CHAPTER 11

Goblin Hunt (1)

After finishing their meal, Hadonggeon's party was the first to descend to the first floor of the apartment.

"Donggeon, do we really need to check the first floor? I took a look earlier, and all the glass windows were shattered. The place was a mess."

"We still need to check. You heard Jaehyun, right? We're here as a rescue team."

Their first mission was to find and gather all the survivors scattered throughout Building 114 and send them up to the 30th floor.

Kim Gun adjusted his glasses and asked,

"…But is it really necessary to find the survivors? I don't think it would matter if we just started the operation."

Moon Byungho shot him a cold glance and spoke.

"Are you doubting him right now?"

"…No, that's not what I meant. What I'm saying is—"

At that moment, Hadonggeon stepped in to convey Kim Jaehyun's intentions.

"As you already know, the core of this operation is to lure a massive number of goblins into this apartment. If everything goes according to plan and we wipe them all out, that's great. But if something goes wrong, the survivors on each floor could be in danger. That's why we're doing this as a precaution."

Kim Jaehyun had never actually explained it that way, but Hadonggeon's words sounded convincing.

"Oh, so it's a plan to guarantee the safety of the survivors! Okay, okay!"

Kang Deoksoo nodded enthusiastically and continued,

"I knew from the first impression that he was an extraordinary person, but he's really amazing."

Two women chimed in, fawning over Jaehyun.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Don't you think he's really handsome?"

"Oh, what's this, Yoo Hyerin~? Are you interested?"

"Hmm. Maybe a little?"

"Look at that! She's serious."

"Unni, I've been single for three years now. It's about time I start dating again."

"Haha, that's hilarious."

Kim Gun glanced around at his group with a slightly uncomfortable expression.

'…Everyone's acting weird.'

They had barely known this man for long, yet they were trusting him to such an extreme degree.

'…I admit he seems like a good person and is certainly capable, but…'

Kim Gun was the type who found it hard to trust people. He prioritized logical reasoning over emotions, and to him, his friends' behavior seemed strangely off.

'…Especially Moon Byungho, this guy.'

Ever since Jaehyun had promised to help rescue his grandmother, he had become something of a fanatic follower.

Then, Hadonggeon spoke up.

"Enough chatter, let's get started. We don't know when goblins might suddenly appear, so stay sharp."

"Okay."

"Yes~."

With that, they began searching for survivors.

"Let's start with Unit 101."

Luckily, entering the first-floor apartments wasn't difficult.

Both Unit 101 and Unit 102 had their front doors wide open.

"Ugh…"

The state of the first-floor apartments was far more horrific than expected.

Unit 101, which had once been occupied by a goblin horde, looked no different from a wild animal's den.

The goblins had only been there for a few days, but the destruction they left behind was staggering.

"Ugh. The smell."

The stench of rotting corpses and goblin filth filled the air.

"Let's start searching."

Even without Hadonggeon's instructions, everyone spread out to inspect the interior.

"No one here."

"Same in this room."

"Nothing here either."

Just as their search was about to conclude with no results—

"Ugh. Urghhhh!"

Yoo Hyerin, who had been checking an inner room, suddenly vomited up her entire dinner.

Hadonggeon rushed over to her and frowned at what he saw.

"Hyerin, are you okay?"

"U-unni… Th-there are… human bodies over there…"

Inside the bathroom, heaps of partially eaten human corpses were stacked upon one another.

So many people had died that the bodies alone numbered in the dozens.

They had seen dead bodies during their ten-day battle against the goblins, but never anything this gruesome.

Hadonggeon spoke.

"…Looks like no one's alive here. Let's move on."

Unit 102 wasn't much different.

The entire apartment was in ruins, and more rotting human corpses were piled in the bathroom.

The only relief was that they hadn't encountered any goblins during their search.

"…Let's head up to the second floor."

The second floor was no better.

Since goblins could easily break the glass windows from outside, the survivors had been left defenseless.

Things only started improving from the third floor.

Though goblin filth still covered the hallways, the front doors were firmly shut.

Knock, knock, knock.

Hadonggeon knocked lightly and called out.

"Is anyone inside?"

Knock, knock, knock.

"If you're inside, please respond!"

But from the third floor onward, a new problem emerged.

With the sturdy metal doors locked, they had no way of getting inside to check.

If no response came, they had no choice but to move on.

"Let's keep going."

Then, when they reached the fifth floor—

Knock, knock, knock!

"We're here to rescue you! If anyone's inside, please respond!"

For the first time, a door creaked open.

It wasn't fully unlocked—the security chain was still in place.

A man peeked out cautiously and asked,

"A-are you really a rescue team?"

"Yes."

Still skeptical, the man made a request.

"T-then, could you give me some water? My throat is so dry…"

Hadonggeon pulled a 2-liter bottle of water from his backpack and handed it to him.

"Here."

The man blinked in surprise before hesitantly asking again,

"Are you really rescuers?"

"We're not part of an official government organization, but we're here to save survivors in this apartment. If you come with us, you won't have to worry about food or water."

The man stared at Hadonggeon for a moment, then closed the door.

"…"

A few moments later, the door reopened—this time fully.

Behind the man stood a teenage boy and a younger girl, both looking awkward and uncertain.

"I don't fully understand, but… I'll trust you. You're saying if we follow you, we won't have to worry about food?"

"Of course."

The man nodded and extended his hand.

"I'm Hong Jungsoo. Nice to meet you."

Hadonggeon shook his hand before turning to his team.

"Gayeong, Hyerin—you two escort them to the 30th floor and then return."

"Got it."

"Yes."

Hearing this, Hong Jungsoo hesitated and asked,

"The 30th floor? Aren't we going outside?"

Having hidden inside his apartment ever since the monsters appeared, he had no clue about the current situation.

His daughter chimed in.

"Dad, obviously a helicopter is coming. Let's hurry up."

She was just as clueless.

Kim Gayeong smiled and clarified,

"That's not it, but once you're up there, you'll be able to eat a warm meal and take a shower."

The boy reacted immediately.

"A shower?! Really?!"

Gayeong grinned.

"Of course. With hot water."

His enthusiasm was instant.

"Dad, what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

"O-oh. Okay."

And so, the goblin hunt entered its next phase.

"Let's move on to Step Two."