201 – Surviving in the Wilderness #2
The projector cast a bright screen onto the dark wall of the conference room.
VIPs, who held the highest status and influence even within Korea, gathered in one place, staring at the same screen.
The atmosphere was quite chaotic.
While everyone was making muffled sounds like, “Hmm, ahem,” the first to speak was Bang Soo-Ho, the Vice Minister of Defense, who was the moderator of today’s meeting.
“It has begun. As I mentioned earlier, the survival operation that will take place in ‘Ghost Town’ over seven days will be a closely monitored opportunity to test and evaluate the survival skills, quick response capabilities, and operational abilities of A-Rank Awakened.”
Surviving for seven days.
The various situations and variables that could occur there would reveal the limits of the A-Rank Awakened and score their abilities and skills more precisely than the existing ranks.
“Vice Minister.”
At that moment, someone raised their hand.
It was Cha Yura, an S-Rank Awakened.
While the VIPs wore delighted expressions as if looking at a granddaughter or daughter, Cha Yura looked puzzled and asked while staring at the tablet PC in front of her.
“Isn’t it too simple to just survive? If they are A-Rank Awakened, they could survive in an abandoned city for months. I mean, we need more variables.”
If the S-Rank Awakened could be referred to as the highest power beyond standard measures, then the A-Rank Awakened were already elite beings.
If they decided to survive in an abandoned city, they could be self-sufficient for months.
Then Vice Minister Bang Soo-Ho adjusted his glasses and pointed to various areas of ‘Ghost Town.’
“As you can see in the materials provided earlier, there are elite beings who can be called leaders of each region deployed there. They won’t leave intruders in their territory unchallenged.”
Dividing the abandoned city into seven districts was not merely for administrative convenience.
Years ago, due to a certain incident, the ‘Ghost Town’ was deserted, and seven powerful demons took residence there, each acting as the lord of their respective regions.
Thus, the city was divided into seven districts.
“The danger level of each master is near S-Rank…! Even elite A-Rank Awakened won’t be easily able to defeat them.”
“Oh….”
Cha Yura’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Surely, the demons that appeared on the tablet PC looked fascinating.
‘But this alone doesn’t seem sufficient for variables. Even if they are near S-Rank, if A-Rank Awakened collaborate, they can take them down easily.’
Cha Yura thought there must be more undisclosed information.
# # #
Stealthily…
I moved carefully between the bushes, trying not to expose myself to any potential danger.
Our goal was to survive in this city for seven days.
There were surely many variables that could impact our survival besides fighting against the A-Rank Awakened.
Crrk-.
Grrr….
I could see two demonized wild dogs roaming in front of me. Their snouts were elongated, and their fangs and claws looked sharp as blades.
They were not wild dogs but wolves.
Twisted by the residual magical reactions left by the cracks and the radioactive leaks from a few years ago, these dogs had regained their primal ferocity that their wolf ancestors possessed, becoming even more vicious.
Crrk…!
Auu…!
C-Rank demon “Crying Wolf.”
Thanks to the magic dripping from its eyes, it was called a ‘crying wolf.’
For me, an A-Rank Awakened, it wasn’t a particularly strong opponent, but its capacity to gather in packs made it a rather troublesome foe.
Sniff sniff…
It was clear that the wolf detected my presence in the ‘Park Forest’ with its keen sense of smell.
Fighting and overpowering them was one way, but since I hadn’t even joined Lee Jin-A yet, there was no need to attract attention unnecessarily.
Tap-.
I took a potion from my waist.
It was a mixture made from grinding the stones found in the body of C-Rank demon “Musk Cat” with several spices.
The effect was to mask my scent.
It was an essential item when dealing with demons with sharp senses, and I had brought it in case I encountered Dokkebi – Do Jun-Hwan, one of the A-Rank Awakened.
I sprayed it on my body generously, applying it to my outer clothing like lotion, and the “Crying Wolves” that were heading in my direction paused and started looking around.
As I thought they would back off, in that moment, the wolves began to run quickly as if they had found something.
“Let’s go too…! Kkungkkungi, Ahn Ahn, come here…!”
I put Kkungkkungi and Ahn Ahn on my shoulders and followed the wolves’ movements.
After pushing through the bushes for a while, I saw a woman surrounded by wolves in front of a vending machine at what seemed to be an old park.
“Come at me! You better know that the first one who charges in will get its head smashed!”
It was Lee Jin-A.
Would the wolves even understand what she was saying, having only their instincts left?
But the wolves seemed unable to charge straight at Lee Jin-A.
A wolf lying on the ground, panting heavily, could be the reason.
They probably realized that Lee Jin-A wasn’t an easy opponent.
Actions speak louder than words, after all.
However, more and more Crying Wolves were gathering here due to the howling.
If their numbers increased, they might believe in their strength and rush at Lee Jin-A.
Should I step in—just as I was thinking this.
Kkungkkung…!
At that moment, Kkungkkungi, who I had sent to scout for Lee Jin-A, jumped up into the air and blocked the space between the wolf and Lee Jin-A.
Grrr…
Kkungkkungi fluffed its fur as if really angry.
Would even such a small and cute squirrel beast be able to scare the large Crying Wolves that were the size of motorcycles?
Step back…
The howling wolves began to retreat step by step, likely instinctively realizing that Kkungkkungi was a dangerous opponent.
Cough…!
Then, one particularly large wolf with red fur charged at Kkungkkungi. Was it the leader of the pack?
Perhaps calling it ‘Alpha’ would be appropriate.
Kkungkkungi also lunged toward the Alpha wolf like lightning.
Grrr…
Cough…
The two beasts collided in an instant.
Of course, the outcome was determined in a heartbeat.
Bang—!
Kkungkkungi slammed its body against the Alpha wolf’s midsection and knocked it down. The sight of it overpowering an animal several times its size was clearly beyond the laws of physics.
Grrr…
Kkungkkungi bit the Alpha wolf by the nape of its neck.
Then the Alpha wolf let out a high-pitched, pained scream before tucking its tail between its legs and fleeing.
At that scream, the other wolves also got scared and scattered off quickly like a pack of monkeys fleeing from a hunter.
“Kkungkkungi, well done! The fact that you’re here means Haildo is nearby, right?”
With a stroke, I picked Kkungkkungi up into my hand and gently petted its head.
Soon, I revealed myself from the bushes.
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“What? You were really nearby!”
Anyway, that’s how I joined up with Lee Jin-A.
What do we do now?
First off, shouldn’t we find a place that can be called a hideout or a base to set up?
When I expressed my thoughts, Lee Jin-A said,
“If that’s the case, I found a place that looks usable. It’s the park management office. It’s a bit damaged and crumbled, but it’s better than being out in the open. I opened my eyes there.”
Oh.
I followed Lee Jin-A into the management office building.
Naturally, as expected, there was no electricity.
The lights wouldn’t turn on and the water was all shut off.
“Looks like I can’t charge Meow either.”
I let out a small sigh as I placed my bag, where Meow was sleeping quietly, on the floor.
In this survival challenge, it was possible to use tools that I already possessed, but there was a rule to start with them ‘discharged.’
I wasn’t sure if it was to keep the tension by not letting us use all our equipment right off the bat.
Thanks to that, my beam shavel, drones, and mechanical spider Meow were all in a discharged state and couldn’t be used.
I wondered if I could charge them by using the outlet in the management office, but it seemed that was just a hopeful thought.
Lee Jin-A grumbled as she collected papers that seemed suitable for use as kindling.
“If I had teamed up with Han Ju-Ryun, things could have been better in that regard. Don’t you think? He has lightning abilities. Charging batteries wouldn’t be a problem for him. Their party is lucky.”
Just then, I heard a growl from Lee Jin-A’s stomach.
Having realized this, Lee Jin-A blushed even in the dark room, rubbed her stomach, and spoke into the air.
“Ugh, I’m so hungry. I had a solid meal of pork soup in the morning, so why am I already this hungry? Doesn’t something feel off?”
There was a point in what Lee Jin-A said.
Digestion seemed to be progressing rapidly in this city.
It felt as if my metabolism was accelerating.
Whether it was due to the mana scattered from the cracks throughout the city or if the lingering effects of radiation were strangely remaining, my stamina consumption was fast.
By the way, we couldn’t bring any food with us.
We had to be self-sufficient.
Soon, Lee Jin-A asked me.
“Shouldn’t we also go to the shopping district or downtown to get some food? Even if it’s past the expiration date, there must be a few things we can eat.”
The digestive systems of Awakened are strong.
It was said that eating preserved foods abandoned eight years ago wouldn’t really cause any harm.
Just then, Kkungkkungi, who had disappeared somewhere, appeared, tapping on the office window with its front paw.
Hioooong…!
I quickly opened the window to let Kkungkkungi in.
Then Kkungkkungi brought a basket that looked like it was woven from spider webs, full of mushrooms and blue blueberries!
“Oh, it looks like all of these are edible?”
When exploring the cracks, there were times when the supply was cut off for unavoidable reasons or when the food brought got lost, and one had to be self-sufficient.
In such cases, filling one’s stomach with vegetation growing inside the cracks was a fundamental task, and distinguishing what was edible from what wasn’t was also basic knowledge one had to master.
I knew from my extensive experience in self-sufficiency within cracks that all the items Kkungkkungi had brought were likely edible.
“Kkungkkungi, good job! Get more!”
Hioooong…!
Kkungkkungi swayed its front legs left and right, as if feeling pleased.
Soon, Ahn Ahn and Kkungkkungi also scattered into the ‘Park Forest’ to gather greens and wild berries.
Squirrels were creatures skilled in herb gathering, and honey ants also loved collecting various items and storing them, so everyone was showcasing their skills.
“Did you see that? This is my survival skill.”
I proudly straightened my shoulders as I organized a sufficient amount of food on the ground for both of us.
Though most were light ingredients that would digest quickly, it was better than starving.
Soon, Lee Jin-A casually remarked, “No, you just sat still and let the animals bring it all.”
“That’s true. But I commanded the animals. That’s quite a remarkable feat.”
As we finished eating in that manner, the sun was setting.
Didi-dik-.
While I was contemplating how to plan for tomorrow’s schedule, my smartwatch on my wrist vibrated.
When I turned my head, I saw that coordinates were marked on the smartwatch – X –. The same coordinates appeared on Lee Jin-A’s watch, vibrating.
“Hey, Haildo. What do you think this is?”
“Well… In survival games, they usually drop supplies at certain coordinates. Maybe it’s something like that? And if it is, we need to find it as soon as possible…!”
