Chapter 47: The Mysterious Man Appears

Ever since Taehyun said he was joining the mysterious man Yohan’s faction, the Vigilante forces had split.

Those who disagreed left, and the Vigilante Family who followed Yohan numbered about sixty in total.

Among them, only twenty-one were Vigilante members.

More than half had left, but Taehyun didn’t care.

“Honestly, just because we rush in like this doesn’t guarantee he’ll accept us. If it’s a smaller group…”

“Less guilt, you mean?”

“Exactly.”

“Wow, you really hate taking responsibility, huh? Are all salespeople like that, honey?”

“Who knows… maybe I’m just weird? I even struggle to take care of my own wife.”

“Funny.”

Ji-young chuckled softly, and Taehyun grinned, glancing sideways.

A cargo truck was running alongside the car Taehyun was in, matching its speed.

Behind it came Porter vehicles and several sedans.

They were using the Vigilante Family’s cars to load up their belongings and move out together — or rather, evacuate.

“By the way, do you know where that guy is?”

“Near Bucheon High School, wasn’t it?”

“That’s all we know.”

“It’s not like that area is all of Bucheon City. Maybe if we look carefully, we could run into him.”

“True… and since he specifically said near Bucheon High School, I guess he’s hoping we’ll find him there. Right?”

“I think so too.”

Ji-young chuckled quietly at that.

“But I don’t think he expected sixty people to come along with us, right?”

“Yeah… that too.”

Taehyun groaned.

Still, they couldn’t just leave these people behind. Scratching his head in frustration, they soon arrived at Bucheon High School.

“I never thought I’d come back here after graduation.”

Back in middle school, he thought he was pretty good at studying, but after entering Bucheon High, he realized how naive he had been.

Even at a high school known in Bucheon, he barely kept mid-tier grades, and his middle school self, dreaming vaguely of Seoul National or Korea University, had been ridiculously overconfident.

He never gave up on studying, but he faced countless setbacks.

Then he got into gaming, and he couldn’t break free from it.

“In the end, that game is what’s keeping me alive.”

The world is a mystery.

Taehyun smiled softly as he looked at the school.

“For now… we’ll stay here and move carefully.”

The Vigilante members still bore the marks of being worn down by society, so rather than rushing into empty houses, they patrolled Bucheon High.

“Thankfully, no one’s here.”

“Yeah.”

“So, we’re staying here for a while?”

“Uncomfortable, but we have to bear it.”

“My house is right nearby, but I couldn’t stay home. I stayed at the gym instead. Here or there, it’s the same.”

The group remained mostly positive.

Drawing on their experience living at the school and gymnasium in Seonga Village, they set up a shelter inside the school.

Unlike the school in Seonga Village, where Madam Kim Soonja had taken everything or some defectors had grabbed supplies and left, this school still had plenty of goods, likely because nearby residents hadn’t broken in.

The cafeteria even had a working refrigerator, stocked with frozen food and canned goods, so they didn’t have to worry about hunger.

“Even if we can’t find the guy we’re looking for, I think it’s better to stay here.”

“Taehyun, look at this!”

“What is it?”

“There’s a convenience store and a little corner shop nearby, and when I checked, they still had ramen and stuff!”

That wasn’t all.

Where scarce supplies were prized in Seonga Village, here they were scattered all over.

Of course, with sixty people, there wasn’t enough to fully satisfy everyone, but it was something unthinkable back in Seonga Village.

“We should’ve come out sooner!”

“So that’s where the saying ‘frog in a well’ comes from! Haha.”

They laughed as the heavy faces from Seonga Village faded away.

After just a few hours here, everyone was satisfied with their newfound abundance compared to Seonga Village.

Taehyun felt the same.

Why had he only thought the outside world was dangerous?

Why hadn’t he come out sooner to find a better place instead of just holding on?

He felt like an old politician enforcing a Self-imposed Isolation Policy.

“If we bring the mattresses from the gym, we can divide a classroom each to use as bedrooms. That’s what we’re doing.”

At that, Minseo’s Dad, acting as vice-captain, spoke, and Taehyun nodded.

“Let’s rest for today and start searching from tomorrow.”

“Right, it’s late, and everyone’s tired after the game ended.”

“Yeah.”

They agreed to rest for a day and busied themselves with preparations. Meanwhile, Taehyun entered the teachers’ office.

“There’s a computer here?”

The teachers’ office was in better shape than the others, and seeing the computer, Taehyun tried to turn it on just in case.

In Seonga Village, communication was cut off, with no internet or even TV news, but when they had contacted the Military Unit, they learned other areas still had communication, so he was hopeful.

Electricity was on here; there was no guarantee the internet wasn’t working too.

As expected, the computer powered up normally.

“There’s nothing we don’t have.”

It was the moment Taehyun thought maybe they could really settle here.

He checked the internet news on the computer.

-Estimated death toll in South Korea is 50% of the total population.

-Is the irresponsible government going to be okay?

-Villains and factions running rampant in each region. Is this the dawn of a Warring States period?

-Military Unit’s rebellion creates its own government.

-Daegu Metropolitan City declares, “We will build our own nation, no more government interference.”

-Confirmed that the Southern Region and parts of Gangwon Province have also formed autonomous governments, likely led by the Military Unit.

“The world’s changing terribly fast.”

While he had been ignoring the world, it had transformed frighteningly.

-The government is struggling to operate telephone exchanges; communication is expected to be impossible soon.

-Electricity is still operable. The government pledges to mobilize all available forces to defend power facilities.

“Heh…”

He could almost hear modern civilization collapsing.

Just as he was enjoying the remnants of modern life, it seemed it would soon be gone again.

“If there’s anything I need, I should print it out in advance.”

Lost in thought, night fell.

From dawn tomorrow, Taehyun planned how to find Yohan and join his faction, but he couldn’t fall asleep easily.

The next day.

And the day after.

And another day.

Four days passed in the blink of an eye.

Though they had intended to move immediately, some had minor injuries, and perhaps because of the release of tension after the game, a wave of colds and flu swept through the group, causing many to suffer.

Fortunately, those still healthy searched the surroundings for food, gathered leftover meals from the cafeteria, and made sure everyone ate well. Otherwise, someone might have fallen seriously ill.

After most had recovered, all Vigilante members except the family held a meeting to plan the search for Yohan.

One person printed out a map of the area near Bucheon High, obtained via the internet, and handed it out.

After assigning patrol areas, the meeting officially began.

“We have two goals: find Mr. Yun Yohan, and search the area to secure food and supplies.”

“Isn’t it easier to just drive around together? The neighborhood’s small. Or split into two groups — one to find him, the other to get supplies. Wouldn’t that be better?”

“Still, spreading out is faster.”

“Sure, securing supplies is one thing… but the problem is, we don’t know what he looks like.”

“Hmm… he’s in his late thirties to early forties. But he looks young… and somehow has a mysterious appearance. It’s hard to tell his age. Complicated to explain, but once you see him, you’ll understand what I mean.”

Taehyun said this, lifting a paper cup to his lips.

It was instant coffee left in the school.

When he worked, he drank it all the time and never appreciated it, but in Seonga Village, he’d never tasted it.

Discovering it here was a joyous moment for all Vigilantes.

“Hmm, anyway, the man we’re looking for is the one with that mysterious appearance, or the base where his faction seems to be.”

“What if they’re hostile to us?”

“Hmm… that’s unlikely. What we should worry about is something else. Well, after four days resting here, it might be too late to be cautious, but…”

“What?”

“The Military Unit, or villains hunting for prey.”

“Villains…!”

Though they knew the Military Unit was dangerous, none had truly experienced villains firsthand.

They might have understood their threat through news or internet, but all they’d heard were vague rumors. They had no real grasp of how dangerous villains were.

“Wow… maybe we should’ve just stayed in Seonga Village.”

“Hey, Seonga Village is dangerous because the Military Unit knows its location.”

“Oh, right.”

Suddenly, the friendly atmosphere turned serious as a man hurriedly entered the teachers’ office.

He was one of the sentries.

“What is it? Did a villain show up?”

“Why are you rushing in like that, Kim?”

“Wh-who’s here?!”

“Who?”

“A villain?”

“A soldier?”

The Vigilante sentry said, watching everyone prepare their skills as the mood shifted sharply.

“A… a vague guy who looks neither young nor middle-aged came by.”

“Oh…”

“Huh…?”

All eyes turned to Taehyun.

His mysterious appearance matched what Taehyun had described.

“Ha…”

‘We didn’t even have to look, and they’ve already found us?’

***

Wang! Wangwang!

Woof! Woof!

“Good boy, good boy.”

Yohan patted Janggun and Meonggun on their heads.

At first, he had been uneasy, thinking of them as monster offspring, but now, could there be more lovable pets?

Their blind loyalty to their master, terrifying attack power, and an extraordinary sense of smell beyond that of normal dogs.

Above all, they excelled at finding lost items or uncollected strange stones.

Since the game ended and he discovered their amazing noses, Yohan had been searching around with Janggun and Meonggun.

Finding the people settled at Bucheon High was no challenge for Yohan.

And among them, spotting Taehyun was easy too.

After watching them for days, Yohan finally decided to make contact with Taehyun.