CHAPTER 28

Seomyeon Station (2)

Today was a series of shocks for Seo Yejin.

'What the hell are they?'

As usual, she had released her mice in all directions to search for food.

But then, one of the mice wandering through the underground shopping mall at Jeonpo Station sensed fear, and she immediately shared its perception.

A shocking scene unfolded before her eyes.

'People slaughtering orcs?'

She had seen orcs massacring humans before, but never the other way around.

A woman transforming into a bear.

A woman making her body glow.

A man summoning armor.

A woman imbuing her arrows with faint light.

A man teleporting.

A man controlling crows.

Among them, the presence of the woman who transformed into a bear was overwhelming.

And even the man who simply fought with a spear seemed extraordinary. Though he didn't appear to use any special abilities, she could tell at a glance that he was far from ordinary.

'Could they all be Awakened…?'

She had discovered countless survivor groups before.

Most were ordinary people, and even if an Awakened was present, there was usually only one at most.

A party composed entirely of Awakened individuals was an absurdly low probability.

'Is that even possible?'

But the real shock was just beginning.

It happened when she followed them out of Jeonpo Station.

"Over there!"

"Herd them in!"

"Screech—!"

Seo Yejin froze for a moment at the sight before her.

'What the hell is that?'

Humans were hunting goblins.

'What…?'

Over the past month, she had seen countless battles between humans and goblins.

But most of those fights had been struggles for survival. It was usually the goblins that hunted, and humans who fought to resist them.

But now, the scene before her was the complete opposite.

"Kill them!"

"Kiieeek—!"

A group of humans was systematically hunting goblins.

They cornered the goblins into dead ends and attacked them mercilessly.

The sight was eerily familiar—

As if they had done this countless times before.

Their weapons varied.

Hammers, kitchen knives, golf clubs, aluminum bats—

Commonly found objects, yet some also wielded rarer weapons like spears and bows.

'Those are orc spears.'

A few of the men were carrying glaives, the preferred weapons of orcs.

They didn't seem strong enough to have taken them by force.

And sure enough—

"It's the Hunters!"

"Deoksu!"

The people called out to the party that had been slaughtering the orcs, and the group acknowledged them naturally.

'So they're part of the same group.'

That explained why they possessed orc weapons.

"Hey, take these! There are still a lot of people without spears, right? Share them!"

They began distributing the orc glaives they had taken as loot.

'Just as I thought.'

After handing out the glaives, the Awakened party resumed their path—heading toward a massive apartment complex.

Now, things were starting to make sense.

'That Awakened party must be the leaders of a large survivor group.'

A survivor community led by eight Awakened individuals.

Even at a rough estimate, that meant there had to be at least several thousand survivors.

Considering the ratio of Awakened to regular people was roughly one in a thousand, it was a logical assumption.

'Should I join them?'

It was becoming harder to take responsibility for everyone on her own.

A large survivor shelter of that scale was bound to have ample food and water.

That alone made it worth investigating.

'My abilities should be enough to impress them.'

Her group of thirty survivors would likely be accepted without issue.

Seo Yejin was well aware of her own value.

'I should observe them a little more first.'

Carefully, she continued trailing the Awakened party as they entered the apartment complex.

And the moment she stepped inside, another shocking sight awaited her.

"Kyahaha!"

"Here I go!"

"Mom! Look at this!"

For a moment, Seo Yejin questioned whether what she was seeing was real or an illusion.

'Kids… playing in a playground?'

Of course, before the world collapsed, such scenes were common.

But now, monsters roamed everywhere.

'What kind of place is this…?'

She couldn't believe this was the same world she had been struggling to survive in for the past month.

Just then—

"Yejin."

A familiar voice pulled her back to reality. She severed the sensory link with her mouse and opened her eyes.

"What is it, Jungsoo oppa?"

"We're really at our limit now. We're out of water. What do we do?"

Seo Yejin let out a hollow laugh.

Just moments ago, she had seen children playing in a park.

Yet here they were, hiding in a basement, worrying about drinking water.

Like being yanked out of a fairy tale and thrown back into cold, hard reality.

'I was foolish to hesitate.'

Thanks to that, I was able to make up my mind.

Han Jung-soo, who had been hesitating, finally spoke.

"Sorry. I feel ashamed. I keep relying on you like this."

Seo Ye-jin chuckled at his words and replied,

"It's not like that. I feel like there's a way out somehow."

"A way out?"

"Yeah. I'll explain later, but for now, tell everyone to get ready."

"Ready for what?"

"To go outside."

Han Jung-soo's eyes widened as he asked back in shock.

"Outside? You mean we're going outside?"

"That's right. Unless you all plan to sit here and wither away?"

"Well, no, but…"

"If you want to survive, stop complaining and get ready."

"…Got it."

After confirming that Han Jung-soo had left, Seo Ye-jin closed her eyes again and activated her ability.

She had lost track of the awakened party due to their conversation, but it wasn't hard to figure out where they had entered.

There was one place where people came and went more frequently than anywhere else.

'Why are there so many people in that building?'

She waited for the right moment to sneak in, but no opening presented itself.

After a long wait, the opportunity finally arrived.

'Now!'

At Seo Ye-jin's command, a small mouse scurried toward the apartment building.

Thud!

Squeak—!

The mouse hit an invisible wall and was sent flying backward.

Then, a strange message appeared in front of her.

[Entry prohibited.]

'…What is this now?'

Just as she was feeling confused—

[Would you like to obtain citizenship?]

[Yes / No]

A barrier blocking intruders.

A system of citizenship.

And in the distance, children and parents leisurely playing at a playground.

As she put the pieces together, Seo Ye-jin could only nod forcefully.

"Yes! Yes! Absolutely yes!"

There had to be an ability user here protecting the people.

Everyone must have gathered around that person.

This "citizenship" seemed to be the qualification to enter their protection.

Ding!

[You have obtained citizenship.]

Did it work?

Seo Ye-jin cautiously sent the mouse into the apartment again.

This time, the invisible barrier didn't stop it.

However, as soon as it entered, it was met with people.

"A mouse!"

"Ahhh!"

For some reason, the first floor was far more crowded than she had expected, and she was forced to flee in a panic.

"It's running away!"

"Catch it!"

The people, unaware of the situation, caused a commotion trying to capture the mouse.

'Yikes!'

The mouse dashed toward the emergency exit and began climbing the stairs as fast as it could.

As soon as it reached the second floor—

'!!'

A completely unexpected sight unfolded before her.

Treadmills, bench presses, chest presses, seated rows—an entire gym filled with exercise equipment.

But what was even more shocking was the bright LED lights illuminating the ceiling and the upbeat music playing throughout the gym.

♪♬―♩―!

'This is…'

It felt like she had traveled back in time.

As if she had stepped into a gym from before the world fell apart.

The scene was so unimaginable that she wondered if she was dreaming.

At that moment—

Crash!

"Ugh!"

A sudden impact forced her connection with the mouse to be cut off.

Someone had caught it.

'Ugh, my head…'

A splitting headache followed, but despite that, a grin spread across her face.

"Haha… Hahaha!"

She had found a way to survive!

'The problem is how to get there…'

This place was Seomyeon.

Realistically, getting there was too far.

Before, it would have taken only about fifteen minutes on foot.

But now…

'We have to get through a field of monsters.'

If the mice were actively utilized, a few people, including himself, could move.

However, taking more than thirty people with them was impossible.

They would be completely annihilated.

'If we could just make it to Jeonpo Station somehow.'

From there, there were hardly any monsters.

That awakened party must have cleared them all out.

So, as long as they could get that far, the road to the apartment would be wide open.

'Is that the only way?'

Thanks to continuous reconnaissance using the mice, he had a thorough understanding of the area.

There was only one way to safely get thirty survivors to Jeonpo Station.

'We could use the subway tracks.'

According to what the mice had discovered, there were surprisingly few monsters inside Seomyeon Station.

But there was always a reason for the lack of monsters.

'…Because that monster is in Seomyeon Station.'

Just thinking about it sent chills down his spine.

It was that terrifying.

A creature beyond comparison to goblins or orcs.

'But because of that, we actually have a chance.'

After all, it was still a living being.

If they could strike while it was asleep, it might just work.

Their goal wasn't to fight it.

They only needed to slip away unnoticed.

'If I use the mice well, we can make this work.'

***

'Huh?'

His heart sank when he saw a mouse getting crushed to death under Choi Hyeong-jun's foot at the gym.

He thought for a moment that Seo Ye-jin had transformed into a mouse.

However—

[You have hunted a Tamed Mouse (Lv. 2).]

[You have gained a small amount of experience points.]

[₩1,416 has been deposited into the Absolute Ruler of the House's wallet.]

'Hmm?'

Thankfully, that wasn't the case.

Checking the Citizen Management Window, he saw that Seo Ye-jin's name was still intact.

'Whew.'

After looking at her awakening ability, he could grasp the situation.

Queen of Mice (Grade A)

All mice that encounter her pledge their loyalty to the queen.

Once tamed, mice can be controlled like her own limbs, and she can share their senses.

'So she was controlling the mice.'

That meant there had been no direct contact.

It was interesting that a citizenship offer was still possible under such circumstances.

Just then—

"Huh?"

Through the living room window, he saw a familiar figure.

'That's…?'

A creature that, in a way, had saved him.

Of course, not that particular one, but its species.

'A Kelikan.'

Was there some kind of designated meeting spot for Kelikans near his home?

This was already the third time one had appeared.

'Well, thanks to that, I survived.'

If it hadn't been for the first Kelikan that showed up, he would have dried up and died without accomplishing anything.

For that, he felt a slight sense of gratitude toward the Kelikans.

But this time, its gaze wasn't on him.

It was scanning the playground below with a hunter's eyes.

It seemed to be targeting the civilians playing there.

'That won't do. Invisible Hand.'

A transparent hand extended from his body, forcefully pushing open the living room window before stretching out toward the creature.

Grab!

–Kieeeek!?

He seized one of its wings and yanked it toward him.

Thud!

[An unauthorized entity is attempting to enter.]

The Kelikan thrashed against the invisible barrier, struggling desperately to escape his grasp.

Watching it, he muttered—

"Nice to see you again."

–Kieeeeeek—!

"Summon Household Member, Ha Dong-geon."

Whoosh!

"Hm?"

Ha Dong-geon, suddenly summoned, glanced at the Kelikan flailing against the living room window and asked—

"Shall I take care of it?"

"Yes, please."

He purchased a standard-issue spear from the store and handed it to Ha Dong-geon.

Stab!

With swift precision, Ha Dong-geon drove the spear into the Kelikan's throat, silencing it instantly.

[You have hunted a Kelikan (Lv. 25).]

[You have gained experience points.]

[₩38,567,987 has been deposited into the Absolute Ruler of the House's wallet.]

[Skill level has increased.]

At the same time as the level-up—

Zzzzzing—

'Ugh.'

The Household Domain expanded explosively, instantly swallowing up the two adjacent apartment buildings.

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