Chapter 45
The Next Destination
Having regained his composure, Yong Yuhong rubbed his stomach.
“I think I’m a little hungry.”
It was well past lunchtime, and the only thing he’d eaten all day was half a compressed biscuit he’d forced down under Agui Island’s influence.
“Aren’t you curious how we managed to seriously injure Jeongbeop?”
“You got off halfway, Team Leader. I figured you must have had another plan in mind.”
Yuhong straightened his back and spine as he replied.
“I’ll ask about the details—after lunch.”
“Promising young man,”
Jang Mokhwa praised him in the tone of an elderly mentor.
“Smarter than I thought.”
Feeling flattered, Yuhong tried to respond humbly—but Seong Gunwoo spoke first.
“So, Team Leader, you thought Yuhong was stupid until now?”
“…”
Yuhong’s face collapsed.
Jang Mokhwa cleared her throat a couple of times.
“Not exactly. It’s just that Yuhong doesn’t have much field experience. Reacting properly at the right time is impressive enough.
Anyway, since he’s undergone genetic enhancement, he can’t really be dumb.”
“My grades were only average though…”
Yuhong muttered softly, lowering his head.
Mokhwa tilted her head, trying to catch what he said, then turned to glare at Gunwoo.
“Sometimes being too smart isn’t such a good thing. People of average smarts tend to survive longer—they know when to follow orders instead of pushing their own opinions.
Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, after all.”
Yuhong inhaled and slowly nodded.
At that moment, Baek Saebyeok, who had finished confirming their location, pointed to the map and showed Mokhwa.
“Ha, even the nearest outpost is up north. We’ll reach it by evening—or maybe tomorrow.”
Mokhwa studied the map closely and murmured,
“At least it’s pretty far from Weiloo Station, and even off-course from that direction. We won’t get caught up in that incident.”
Folding the map, she handed it back to Saebyeok.
“Let’s move. To Black Rat Village!”
Gunwoo and Yuhong, who didn’t know much about the Black Swamp Wasteland, had no objections.
“Saebyeok, check the vehicle.
Yuhong, grab more energy bars from the trunk.”
After giving orders, Mokhwa headed toward the jeep.
While Baek Saebyeok and Yuhong carried out their respective tasks, Mokhwa slowed her pace and fixed her eyes on a small swamp ahead. She spoke quietly to Gunwoo beside her.
“Why did you have to deflate Yuhong’s confidence?
Be honest—your real reason.”
Gunwoo’s eyes stayed on the horizon as a faint smile tugged at his lips.
“I want him off the rescue team. He’s too much of a burden.”
Mokhwa didn’t reply, continuing toward the jeep.
Two seconds later, she heard Gunwoo’s low, steady voice again.
“This team’s too dangerous for someone like Yuhong.”
Tilting her head slightly, Mokhwa smiled faintly.
“Almost didn’t catch that.”
But instead of replying further, she simply climbed into the driver’s seat of the jeep.
The jeep began its run toward the northern Black Rat Village.
After finishing his lunch during the rotation shift, Gunwoo asked,
“What kind of place is With City? Where is it located?”
Sitting in the passenger seat, Baek Saebyeok turned her head.
“It’s a city on the outskirts of First City, right at the edge of Monk’s Wasteland.”
“Monk’s Wasteland?”
Yuhong reacted sensitively to the strange name.
Very few people born in Vango Bio ever left its walls in their lifetime, and its geography textbooks were painfully simple—just rough outlines of major powers and landmarks.
“That’s where the robotic monks operate most frequently,”
Mokhwa added while driving.
“According to rumors, the headquarters of the Monk Order—their so-called Glass Pure Land, where the Immortal Life technology and related systems are hidden—is somewhere in that wasteland.”
Saebyeok continued,
“The Monk’s Wasteland is southeast of the Black Swamp Wasteland. If you’re heading to First City, you’ll have to pass near it unless you make a huge detour.”
She wrapped up her explanation before returning to the earlier topic.
“With City used to be a small faction under the Monk’s Wasteland. First City expanded its reach there to enslave all of its residents.
Several battles broke out between them, of course, and casualties piled up. But First City was already fighting other large powers at the time, so they couldn’t send reinforcement squads for slave capture.
In the end, they negotiated—turning With City’s people into official citizens.
Thanks to that, With City now has a high degree of autonomy, and relic hunters are extremely active there. Its local hunter guild branch is quite famous, too.”
Listening to Saebyeok’s detailed explanation, Yuhong quietly absorbed the information, asking about how they’d handled Jeongbeop to learn indirectly from their experience.
When their conversation was winding down, Yuhong looked at Gunwoo curiously.
“What’s the name of the ability you used on Jeongbeop? After you used it, he suddenly got really friendly.”
He quickly added,
“If it’s uncomfortable to answer, you don’t have to.”
Gunwoo kept his eyes on the windshield for several seconds before answering.
“Deductive Clown.”
The sun gradually dipped westward, tinting the edges of the sky with a reddish gold hue.
Sparse trees stood upright on the dark gray wasteland.
Watching a few figures walking far to the north, Yuhong frowned.
“How can there be relic hunters who travel on foot? They’ll never catch up that way.”
Since parting with Oh Soohyuk, they’d already seen several groups of relic hunters heading north toward Weiloo Station.
Some drove modified vehicles, others noisy motorcycles, a few rode bicycles or well-trained horses—but none went on foot.
While driving, Baek Saebyeok glanced their way.
“Those ones are scavengers.”
“What do you mean?”
Yuhong pressed.
Without looking up from cleaning her pistol, Mokhwa explained,
“They’re walking on purpose. They want to reach the ruins as late as possible.
That way, the faster hunters ahead of them will trigger landmines and eliminate most of the threats before they arrive.
Sure, they’ll miss out on first-hand data and the rarest loot, but it’s much safer. Unless you venture deep into the city center, you’re unlikely to die. Even large faction teams that arrive early can’t strip every item from the outskirts or guard every road.”
Understanding dawned on Yuhong—but soon after, another question formed.
“But if they’re on foot, they can’t carry much. Wouldn’t it be better not to go at all?”
Mokhwa chuckled.
“You really don’t get how ruined cities work.
There are abandoned cars and spare parts everywhere. As long as you have the skill to repair them, you can build yourself a new ride on-site.
Hah, that’s how we got this jeep, actually.
In that sense, scavengers sometimes come out ahead of those who bring their own cars.”
Yuhong thought about it—and realized she wasn’t wrong.
When they’d met Oh Soohyuk’s relic hunting team, there had been four of them using one gray SUV. If they survived the ruins and avoided danger, they could return with supplies filling three or four vehicles at most.
But a four-person team that arrived on foot could, in theory, claim four working vehicles and all the cargo space that came with them.
As Gunwoo thought this through, he spoke softly, almost to himself.
“The biggest advantage of driving is saving time and stamina, right?”
“Exactly. That’s why those scavengers will probably rest for at least a full day at Weiloo Station. Their goal isn’t to arrive early at the ruins.”
Mokhwa holstered her Union-202 pistol and pointed toward the distant walkers.
Then she glanced around.
“It’s almost evening. Looks like we won’t make it to Black Rat Village today.
Let’s find a slope to camp on. We’ll move again at sunrise.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
The team answered one after another.
Before long, they found a small hill on the gray wasteland and set up their tents, using it as a windbreak.
Watching the campfire flicker, Jang Mokhwa clapped her hands and rolled her eyes mischievously.
“Seong Gunwoo, Yong Yuhong—you two still haven’t completed your daytime assignments!”
“Huh?”
Yuhong blinked in confusion.
It took him a few seconds to remember the missions from the steel mill—first, to secure food by their own means; second, to draw a map of the facility.
“But we had to stop searching because of Jeongbeop! And now we’re headed to Black Rat Village—we can’t exactly go back there.”
He hurried to defend himself.
Gunwoo said nothing, simply smiling at Mokhwa, as if he already knew she was teasing them.
Mokhwa grinned and glanced around.
“Fine. I’ll change the assignment to something you can finish.”
She checked her wristwatch.
“Before it gets dark, you’re each to make one hunting trip.
No size limit on the prey.”
After finishing, she raised her head and looked at both of them.
“As for the map—just submit what you have so far. Let’s see it.”
Gunwoo immediately handed over the map showing only the hospital and broadcast station zones.
As she scanned it, Mokhwa tilted her head in mild confusion.
“Why did you mark the bathroom? It’s unusable.”
Gunwoo answered earnestly.
“In mapmaking, I believe accuracy and detail are essential.”
“You’ve made maps before?”
“No.”
Mokhwa held back what she wanted to say and waved a hand.
“Go hunt, both of you.”
Without further delay, Gunwoo and Yuhong slung their rifles and climbed the hill, scanning the surroundings.
The weeds of the wasteland swayed gently in the evening wind. Gray-black earth and stones stretched in every direction.
There were only a few hundred trees scattered across the landscape—and not a single beast in sight.
Which meant Seong Gunwoo and Yong Yuhong had no targets at all.
