CHAPTER 30

Seomyeon Station (4)

The first place where Seo Yejin's abilities would be put to use had already been decided.

"Are you referring to the area near Songdo Beach when you say Nambumin-dong?"

"That's correct."

"I know it! I've been there to ride the cable car! There was a really good naengmyeon place there."

By coincidence, Seo Yejin had been to Nambumin-dong before, where her family home was located.

Naturally, this put her at a much greater advantage than Hadonggeon's party, who knew nothing about the area.

'Besides, I just need to send a mouse.'

While direct rescue efforts would have to be carried out by Hadonggeon's party, Seo Yejin's mice alone could check whether her family was alive and even deliver relief supplies.

"Leave it to me!"

[Citizen Seo Yejin's trust level has increased.]

[Citizen Seo Yejin's loyalty has increased.]

I glanced at the system messages with a peculiar expression.

'It's gone up again.'

From earlier, my trust and loyalty levels had been rising in real time, even though I hadn't done much.

'I knew face-to-face interactions had an effect, but not to this extent.'

Then, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

'Could it be because of this skill?'

[Absolute Ruler of the Household's Mind (Passive) Lv. Max]

Complete immunity to all types of mental abilities.

This was a passive skill I had obtained after leveling up the Dignity Maintenance skill to Level 3.

'Honestly, I thought it was useless.'

Immunity to mental abilities? Given that I couldn't even leave my own domain, it was a practically worthless skill.

Only those who had been issued citizenship could enter this place, and if any of them harbored hostility toward me, they would be eliminated immediately.

Just like when all the goblins that had been inside my domain during the goblin horde hunt ended up with their heads exploding.

I had figured, 'Well, I guess it's better than nothing.'

'At the time, I thought leveling it up was a waste, but this turned out to be an unexpected windfall.'

The reason I had upgraded the Dignity Maintenance skill was because it granted the highly efficient function of vassal registration.

I had actually invested skill points into it, hoping it would increase the vassal registration limit, but instead, I had ended up with a completely unrelated passive skill, which had been pretty disappointing.

'Or maybe… it's just that raising the Dignity Maintenance skill enhanced its existing effects.'

I had already noticed that this skill had a similar effect before. Perhaps its influence had simply become stronger as it leveled up.

Either way, since my trust and loyalty levels were growing faster, raising the skill hadn't been entirely meaningless.

"Then, can I ask you to do it right away?"

"Of course!"

Despite her sharp first impression, Seo Yejin was actually quite approachable.

"I'd like you to move along the subway tracks if possible."

"…The subway tracks? You mean Line 1?"

"Yes. I plan to use that route for the rescue operation later."

At that moment—

"No!"

Startled by Seo Yejin's sudden outburst, I asked her why.

"Why not?"

"There's a monster at Seomyeon Station."

"A monster?"

Seo Yejin nodded, her face filled with fear.

What kind of monster could make her react like this?

"Could you send just one of your mice to the location where the monster is?"

"…Alright."

***

Seomyeon Station was surprisingly vast.

There was a long underground shopping mall stretching along both sides, and it was an interchange station where Line 1 and Line 2 intersected.

Like many transfer stations in Seoul, its structure was far larger and more complex than a typical subway station.

As a station located in a bustling downtown area, it was usually always crowded with people.

But now, Seomyeon Station had become one of the quietest places.

And that was because of a single entity that had made its nest there.

Deep within the station, along the Line 1 tracks—

Slither—

Scaly reptilian skin covered its body.

A pair of slit pupils stretched vertically.

A black, flickering tongue darted out.

A massive serpent lay sprawled across the cold steel tracks.

Its bloated stomach was the result of having devoured every orc in the vicinity of Seomyeon Station.

That was why the station was eerily silent and empty.

Any monsters or humans who had entered unknowingly had all ended up inside its belly.

For now, it remained still, holding its breath, because its stomach was full.

But once digestion was complete, it would resurface and consume every living thing in sight.

Squeak—

The ruler of Seomyeon Station lifted its head slightly in the direction of the sound.

Being highly sensitive to vibrations in the ground, it had already detected the tiny presence long ago.

Yet, it hadn't moved, as it wasn't worth expending energy to chase down a mere mouse.

Besides, with such a small body, it could escape into a hole, making it impossible to catch.

Unless the tiny creature willingly crawled into its mouth, the serpent had no intention of moving.

Slither—

However, on the other hand, if prey approached voluntarily, there was nothing he couldn't eat.

As a natural glutton, he devoured anything without discrimination—big or small.

Just a little closer.

Just a little closer.

Using only the minimum amount of energy needed to catch and eat the mouse, he patiently waited.

The foolish little rodent, for some reason, kept moving toward him.

Just a little more.

Slither—

As he flicked his tongue, the scent of the tempting rodent mixed with the damp humidity of the basement.

At the very moment he was about to pounce, unable to resist his exploding hunger—

Squeak!

The mouse, which had been approaching fearlessly until now, suddenly panicked and fled.

In an instant, it vanished into a hole.

The massive snake licked its lips as it watched the prey disappear.

At the same time, it made a promise to itself.

Next time, it wouldn't hesitate.

***

"..."

Just as Seo Ye-jin had said, something terrifying was lurking in Seomyeon Station.

Who would have thought a monster dozens of meters long would be coiled up inside?

'What level would something like that be?'

Just from its sheer size, it had to be at least level 30.

'Maybe even over level 40.'

As I put on a serious expression, Seo Ye-jin spoke first.

"You saw it too, right, Jaehyun? You should give up on using Seomyeon Station."

She was right.

It would be safer to fight the monsters on the surface than to try passing through a place guarded by that thing.

"How about skipping one station and heading to Beomnaegol Station instead? I've seen the skills of your comrades, Jaehyun. With their abilities, they should be able to clear a path there without much trouble."

Seo Ye-jin had a point.

If she weren't here, I would have made the same plan.

'That is, if she hadn't joined us.'

Before she joined, there was no way to deal with that monster.

But now, things were different.

I smiled at Seo Ye-jin and said,

"You can go to Room 2701."

"Huh?"

"You'll be staying there from today. Ah, you'll have to clean it up a bit."

"Th-Thank you."

Although more than 800 people had recently joined, there were still plenty of empty rooms.

That was because I hadn't assigned them yet.

Those rooms were reserved strictly for citizens who had contributed significantly.

Seo Ye-jin had earned her place among them.

"Well then, I'll be going."

"Yes, get some rest."

After seeing Seo Ye-jin off, I immediately activated construction mode.

'Install solar power generators.'

[Time remaining until solar power generator installation is complete]

23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds

I built solar power facilities for the two newly acquired buildings.

Since I still had 3.5 billion won in funding left, I was able to install both for free.

'This is actually pretty efficient.'

It felt even more worthwhile since it was funded support money—money that could only be used for construction anyway.

'I should expand the communal facilities in the newly acquired buildings too.'

The people had been organizing themselves well, taking turns managing communal kitchens and restrooms.

But with nearly 800 residents, two 21-story apartment buildings weren't enough.

'I'll have to announce a few new policies too.'

Fortunately, Kim Da-bin was quite capable, so I didn't have to worry too much about that.

She was receiving her own weekly wage, so Kim Dabin was working passionately.

Though her wage was only 700,000 won, she was quite satisfied for now.

After all, in the current situation, that amount of money was equivalent to hunting 700 goblins. And with goblins becoming increasingly scarce, its value was even greater.

She was even earning more than her younger brother, Kim Minho, so that said it all.

'I really should increase the number of workers.'

She hadn't directly complained to me, but I had heard her grievances multiple times through the Absolute Eye.

It was only natural.

Out of the 24 hours in a day, she was working alone for over 16 hours, while the remaining 8 hours were covered by Kim Minho.

It was practically exploitation.

If a company had operated like this before the world ended, it would have been reported long ago.

'I need to at least set up a three-shift system. The newly established public facilities should follow the same model.'

There was a lot to do.

By the time I had handled various tasks in a frenzy, the next day had already arrived.

'Time to get started.'

It was hunting time.

***

Ha Dong-geon's party was moving from Jeonpo Station to Seomyeon Station.

The underground tunnel was completely devoid of light, but all eight members had headlamps, illuminating the path brightly.

"They're coming!"

-Kyaaaak!

The subway tracks connecting Jeonpo Station to Seomyeon Station were overrun by massive bat-like creatures.

However, they were no threat to Ha Dong-geon's party.

Swish! Thud!

Their numbers weren't overwhelming, and thanks to Kim Ga-young, who precisely pierced their skulls each time they appeared, the battle was easily managed.

After a few encounters, the bats had completely disappeared.

As they quietly followed the tracks, Yoo Hye-rin turned to Kim Ga-young and asked,

"Unni, do you think we can really hunt that snake in Seomyeon Station by ourselves, like Jaehyun-nim said?"

"I think we'll be fine. If anything happens, Jaehyun-nim will summon us to safety."

"Oh, right. I was worrying for nothing."

They were all aware of the summon ability.

Yoo Hye-rin, having experienced a miraculous rescue during the battle against the Red Tiger through a perfectly timed summon, had complete faith in him.

"There's no need to worry too much."

Everyone in Ha Dong-geon's party had deep trust in Kim Jaehyun.

Even if things went wrong, they believed he would find a way to fix them.

At the end of the long tunnel, they finally arrived at Seomyeon Station.

"Hmm…"

A horrifying sight awaited them.

A subway train had completely derailed and overturned, with bloodstains and corpses scattered everywhere.

Some bodies had clear signs of being gnawed on by bats.

"Ugh."

The stench was unbearable, making them gag.

Ha Dong-geon steadied his teammates and gave instructions.

"Move to Line 1."

They climbed over the derailed train and entered the station.

Inside, the scene was just as gruesome.

Corpses were strewn across the station.

Oddly, there wasn't a single goblin or orc in sight.

Thanks to that, they were able to navigate the transfer passage and reach Line 1 without much trouble.

And then—

"!!!"

As their headlamps shone inside Line 1, Ha Dong-geon's party froze in place.

A massive monster was staring at them from within.

The sheer terror it exuded left them completely paralyzed, until Kang Deok-su, overwhelmed with fear, screamed.

"H-how are we supposed to fight that thing?!"

At that moment—

BOOM!

"Ugh!"

"Get down!"

A sudden explosion rocked the entire underground space.

Beep———

Amid the ringing in their ears, a familiar sound was heard.

Ding!

"Party Quest"

Quest Objective: Finish off the giant snake.

Time Limit: 10 minutes 00 seconds

Reward: Large amount of experience points.

Failure Penalty: None.

'Finish off…?'

Ha Dong-geon slowly lifted his gaze toward where the monster had been moments ago.

There, a massive snake lay gasping for breath.

'What happened to it?'

As the smoke cleared, the snake's body was revealed—completely devastated.

Its organs were scattered everywhere, as if an explosion had erupted from inside.

'I don't know what just happened, but…'

This was a chance.

Ha Dong-geon gripped his spear and hurled it with all his might at the snake's head.

Thunk!

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