NTN 34

Chapter 34

The First Location

Jang Mokhwa was driving the jeep at a pace that was neither too fast nor too slow when she suddenly asked another question.

“What do you think about that person the ruin hunters are looking for?
The one with black hair and golden eyes—the person said to have been seen by someone from Haeja Village.”

Yong Yeo-hong inhaled deeply before answering.

“Something about him seems suspicious. His background is unclear, and the man himself feels strange.
It’s not normal for an entire group of people to all feel drawn to someone they’ve just met. And some of them were men, too!”

“I have to admit, I’m curious,” Jang Mokhwa said with a grin. “I wonder what he looks like, and what kind of charm he has.”

Then her tone hardened slightly. “But you’re right. It is suspicious. When I heard that he could make people act so strangely, the first thing that crossed my mind was—he might be an Awakened.”

“Why do you think that?” asked Sung Geon-woo.

Baek Sae-byeok, on the other hand, showed no surprise at the mention of that word. It seemed she’d had the same thought.

Jang Mokhwa eased off the accelerator, the jeep slowing slightly.

“Awakened ones have bizarre, terrifying abilities—and they also exhibit strange physical or mental traits that ordinary people don’t. And those traits are as unique as their powers. It’s incredibly rare to find two that are alike.”

“If he really is one of them, then he didn’t come to the Black Swamp Wilderness just to survive,” Baek Sae-byeok murmured, gazing out at the marshlands. “He might be searching for something… some enormous secret hidden deep inside the swamp.”

Jang Mokhwa nodded. “That’s possible. Anyway, let’s drop the topic for now. Our destination isn’t the north of Weilu Station. And dragging two rookies into something that unusual would be too dangerous. We’ll report it to the company when the time’s right.

Yong Yeo-hong, Baek Sae-byeok—get some rest.

Oh, right. Sae-byeok, you can’t sleep. You’re my navigator, remember…”

“…”

Baek Sae-byeok gave her a long, doubtful look, as if wondering if this was really the same dependable team leader she knew.

The jeep rumbled across the Black Swamp Wilderness and came to a stop around noon on a cracked cement road choked with weeds.

“This is the first site for our outdoor survival training.”

Jang Mokhwa stepped out, pointing down the road on the left side of the jeep.

Following her out, Sung Geon-woo and Yong Yeo-hong looked where she indicated.

The road sloped downward, and from the cracks in the cement, weeds and other plants had forced their way out.

To the left, what looked like it had once been rice fields was now mostly submerged in swamp. The few dry areas were overgrown with wild vegetation.

To the right stood three buildings arranged in a square around an open courtyard. One had completely collapsed, while the others were buried under ivy and vines.

Farther ahead was a broad square, large enough for four jeeps to drive side by side. On either side of it stood several multi-story buildings—four, five, even six stories tall. One of them was quite massive.

Some had partially crumbled; others were so thickly covered in greenery that it was hard to tell where the walls ended and the plants began.

At the far end of the square stood a massive pair of black iron gates, wide open. Beyond them were rows of buildings that didn’t seem residential.

Behind those structures, where the rescue team couldn’t see, tall red-brick or dark-gray chimneys rose into the sky, their sides lined with crude metal stairways. The higher they went, the sparser the greenery clinging to them became.

When Sung Geon-woo and Yong Yeo-hong had finished surveying the area, Jang Mokhwa finally spoke.

“Later on, our team will be exploring ruins of several Old World cities—especially the ones that are barely touched or haven’t yielded anything yet. Places that are very dangerous.

So for now, you two need to get used to these kinds of environments and build experience.”

“But this doesn’t really look like a city,” Sung Geon-woo muttered.

Jang Mokhwa chuckled. “You have to start from the easiest stage.

This used to be a steel plant. Inside, it functioned almost like a small society—basically, a miniature city. See those buildings by the road? They used to be a hospital and a radio station.

Of course, the ruin hunters have scavenged this place dozens of times already, so there’s nothing valuable left.

Your main objectives today are twofold.

First: find food. You can dig up something others missed, or hunt one of the beasts that roam this area.

Second: make a detailed map. Mark all key locations.

Simple enough, right?”

Neither Sung Geon-woo nor Yong Yeo-hong could answer. They couldn’t tell whether this was an easy mission or a deadly one.

Jang Mokhwa turned her gaze back toward the steel plant.

“Ruin hunters show up here pretty often. You’ll need to learn how to deal with them—whether to avoid, negotiate, or trade resources and information.”

“Wait, Team Leader,” Yong Yeo-hong said, frowning. “Didn’t you just say there’s nothing valuable left here? Then why do they still come?”

Jang Mokhwa laughed. “You know the saying—‘Even an old boat still has a few good nails left.’

This is a huge steel factory. It’s bound to have something worth taking. When hunters strike out elsewhere, they come here again to scavenge. Sometimes they get lucky.

One of them once dug up part of an old water pipe and traded it for food.”

After confirming both rookies understood, she turned slightly and issued her orders.

“All right, let’s begin.

Sae-byeok and I will stay with the jeep and keep watch. If anything happens, send a signal immediately. You can use your radios within a two-kilometer radius.”

With that, Jang Mokhwa and Baek Sae-byeok drove the jeep to a hidden spot nearby, leaving the two rookies to prepare.

Sung Geon-woo and Yong Yeo-hong checked their Ice Moss units, Union-202 pistols, and the Berserk assault rifles slung over their shoulders.

After tightening their bootlaces one last time, they rose and began walking toward the plaza—steady, alert, and silent.

It was early autumn, and though the air was cool, the overgrown ruins were still thick with mosquitoes. The insects swarmed around the two men, buzzing incessantly.

Eventually, Yong Yeo-hong’s patience ran out. He scowled.

“Shouldn’t we at least take turns swatting these things? Someone has to stay on watch.”

“Want some help?” Sung Geon-woo asked, eyeing a mosquito clinging to Yeo-hong’s cheek.

Yeo-hong flinched. “You’re not planning to slap my face, are you?”

“Do you really think I’m that cruel?” Sung Geon-woo said, chuckling silently.

He pulled a small plastic bottle from his pocket, uncapped it, and sprayed himself a few times.

“Did you forget our company’s name is Bango Bio? This mosquito repellent works great.”

Yong Yeo-hong’s eyes widened. “When did you pack that? It wasn’t in the jeep, was it?”

Since there were almost no mosquitoes inside Bango Bio’s base and none had bothered them during the last few days aboveground, Yeo-hong had completely forgotten such a thing even existed.

“I grabbed it when I was on night watch before,” Sung Geon-woo said plainly.

“There weren’t any mosquitoes when I was on watch,” Yeo-hong muttered suspiciously.

Sung Geon-woo gave him a look. “Think about it. You’ll figure it out.”

But when Yeo-hong just blinked back blankly, he sighed.

“Team Leader and I stood watch the first two nights. She sprayed the area back then—right after lighting the campfire. You didn’t notice?”

“…”

Yeo-hong went silent, embarrassed that the answer was so simple.

To cover it up, he pointed to the right. “Let’s just check that building first. Team Leader said that’s where the hospital and radio station used to be.”

The buildings stood to the right of the road, surrounding a square courtyard. One had already collapsed.

“Got it,” Sung Geon-woo said, tucking the repellent away.

“What about me?” Yeo-hong asked, mouth agape.

Sung Geon-woo chuckled. “You didn’t ask me to share. How was I supposed to—”

“Enough! Stop talking!”

Yeo-hong cut him off, flustered.

Smiling, Sung Geon-woo finally sprayed some repellent on him too. Joking was fine, but not too much—not in a place like this. Losing focus in a ruin could get them killed.

Free from the worst of the mosquitoes, they headed toward the buildings that had once been the hospital and radio station. The first thing they noticed were two tall, freestanding pillars.

“Someone must’ve taken the gate,” Yeo-hong muttered, rubbing his temple as a dull headache came on.

Sung Geon-woo thought for a moment, then said, “That’s human ingenuity for you.

If even chunks of broken cement and brick can be traded for something, of course the gate’s gone too.”

“Tch.” Yeo-hong clicked his tongue bitterly and walked between the two pillars.

Beyond them stood several one-story houses leaning against the main building. Turning right would take them straight there.

If they followed the slope ahead instead, they’d reach a small square with a pond and a garden—spacious enough to park a vehicle.

Crossing that square would lead directly into the second floor of the roadside building.

Yeo-hong gestured toward the narrow corridor between the houses and the main structure.

A shallow drainage ditch ran through it, choked with moss and weeds.

As they looked around, they saw that the ground-floor doors of the building all stood open. The rooms inside varied in size, and two near the slope were connected into one. Windows gaped without curtains or shutters.

The row of one-story houses was divided into equal units. In their field of view lay overturned stools and desks with every drawer pulled out.

Yeo-hong tried to piece together what this place had been, combining the clues—hospital, radio station—but no matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t come up with an answer.