"We decided to give up on Seoul, and the Legion faction withdrew from the eastern side of the city.

    However, there were people who refused to leave. Seoul, being such a large city, and with so many refugees pouring in from surrounding areas, still had a considerable population. So, there were quite a few people left behind."

    The unfamiliar faces that appeared in front of us, as they had already stated, were from the National Crisis Management Committee’s search team. To explain their purpose, let''s hear it from Song Yoo-jin.

    "There were probably at least hundreds of thousands left. Even though they were abandoned, the population was still quite significant, almost at a provincial level.

    Well, after that, the cold wave hit, monsters descended, and mutated beings like the Four Heavenly Kings started roaming around, so the population rapidly decreased. But at some point, they all just vanished.

    It was probably around last summer."

    Song Yoo-jin looked at me with eyes shadowed by twilight.

    "They sent out the search team to find out the cause. About once a month."

    The man next to her, wearing glasses, added:

    "Besides that, we’ve been investigating the rate of erosion around Seoul, changes in the vegetation, the number of mutations, and monster density.

    In fact, if Seoul, which is practically one with Incheon, falls, Incheon will likely face the same fate."

    The man’s name was Lee Ho-yeon.

    Like Song Yoo-jin, he was an Awakened, at level 4.

    He was the leader of the search team.

    The search team consisted of seven members: four Awakened and three soldiers.

    Although they were Awakened, except for one, all of them were below level 4, low-tier Awakened, which meant their basic combat abilities were insufficient, and the soldiers helped make up for this.

    The soldiers didn’t wear any insignia, indicating they weren’t part of the Ministry of National Defense but the National Crisis Management Committee. They looked like seasoned veterans based on their solid builds and fierce gazes.

    They found us not by their Awakened abilities, but by the campfire.

    They saw the black smoke rising from the fire in broad daylight and came straight here, using their Awakened senses to pinpoint our exact location.

    It was a meeting that seemed to be an unexpected yet fateful coincidence.

    The atmosphere wasn’t bad.

    While the soldiers were keeping their distance, the Awakened were generally friendly, probably thanks to Song Yoo-jin.

    "So why did you suddenly come to Seoul?"

    "Well... that’s..."

    I paused for a moment, thinking about how to speak in a way that would allow me to clearly separate my identity as SKELTON from my role as a professor.@@@@

    It’s true that Song Yoo-jin’s mouth is heavy.

    Had she revealed to Woo Min-hee that I actually had satellite equipment, I might have disappeared long before I could dream of wearing an armband. After organizing my thoughts, I looked at her seriously and said:

    "Do you know Failnet?"

    "Yes, I know."

    The Awakened behind us exchanged glances.

    "It just exploded, didn’t it?"

    "Yeah."

    They were the ones who hadn’t told me their names yet.

    It wasn’t that they disliked me, but being young, they seemed reluctant to connect with others.

    "I’m on my way to fix Failnet."

    "Fix Failnet?"

    I introduced Valentine, who had been silent until then.

    "He’s the current admin of Failnet. We’ve known each other for a while."

    "Valentine."

    "Ah, I see..."

    Unlike me, Song Yoo-jin didn’t seem too pleased with Valentine, but the two friends who hadn’t told me their names were now intrigued and started asking him all sorts of questions.

    While they were talking, I turned to Song Yoo-jin.

    "Can I talk to the team leader for a moment?"

    "The team leader? Sure, no problem. Ho-yeon team leader! Looks like Sam has something to say!"

    As Song Yoo-jin called out, Lee Ho-yeon slowly approached. Then, suddenly, Song Yoo-jin leaned in close to me and whispered in my ear.

    "Our team leader is suffering from depression, by the way. Just so you know."

    "Depression, huh?"

    Lee Ho-yeon, wearing a wry smile, stepped closer.

    This guy’s pretty tall.

    Maybe 187 or 188 cm?

    He had a slender frame and was hunched over slightly, so I hadn’t noticed from afar, but standing close, he certainly had a commanding presence.

    His attitude toward me was neutral.

    He neither liked nor disliked me.

    He knew I was a professor, but it seemed his impression of me wasn’t as deep as Song Yoo-jin’s.

    Honestly, this is the new norm in schools.

    No matter how great I was in the past or the achievements I had, my style was already considered outdated.

    It was like how painters who made incredibly detailed portraits ended up out of work after the invention of the camera.

    I didn’t particularly care about earning respect or being acknowledged for my past, so I simply stated my purpose.

    My purpose was none other than to deal with the new monster.

    Valentine showed the photo of the pale, wriggling creature, which looked like a giant maggot, to Lee Ho-yeon.

    The moment he saw the photo, Lee Ho-yeon adjusted his glasses.

    His expression didn’t change, but it was clear he was surprised.

    "This is..."

    He asked for my phone.

    Once I handed it over, he zoomed in on the image of the new monster until it filled the screen and spoke.

    "It’s an extinction-type."

    "Wait a second."

    Song Yoo-jin pulled out her K-WalkerTalk and started fiddling with the keypad.

    What’s she doing? As I watched, she was entering a personal identification number.

    Personal Identification Number: CLIFF_HANGER.

    "What’s that?"

    "Ah, it’s his personal identification number."

    "What?! That guy?"

    "Do you know him?"

    "No. Not really."

    "Well, honestly, now he’s... like a living cultural asset! That’s the kind of vibe he gives off, you know? His apartment is also called ‘The Hope,’ right? So, he’s been getting a lot of support from here and there."

    "...I see."

    I didn’t not understand, but something about this felt off.

    As a doomsday theorist, my pride in my philosophy was starting to crumble.

    It’s like he’s proving that surviving in a zoo-style setup is possible, which wasn’t what I thought survival was about.

    Sure, it might not be a survival method built on thinking things through, but purely by luck, M9’s method is undeniably impressive.

    Especially in how he’s earned the fair favor of humanity, the greatest threat.

    M9 responded to the call.

    "Captain M9 speaking!"

    Hearing that, I lost my composure and blurted out without thinking:

    "Shut up."

    "Sam?!"

    I quickly shut my mouth and signaled to Song Yoo-jin to communicate with him using the school''s codes.

    With a somewhat reluctant look, Song Yoo-jin asked M9 what I wanted.

    "I think someone just said shut up..."

    "Oh, I was talking about Jurassic stuff next to him."

    "Hmmm..."

    Song Yoo-jin requested information about the extinction-type monster.

    I had a hunch.

    The tilted apartment would offer a better view of things down below.

    "Ah, the one that looks like a maggot?"

    Sure enough, M9 knew the monster we were talking about.

    "That thing’s pretty fast, but it can’t climb slopes well. One time, it chased me all the way to the elevator corridor, but then it slipped there. It fell and I haven’t seen it since. The little bastard got stuck."

    (‘Slipped’ means the floor was made slippery.)

    It seems like it survived despite being attacked.

    "..."

    When I first saw M9, I thought he was missing a few screws, but living in that tilted place, it looks like he’s leveled up.

    I asked a few more questions through Song Yoo-jin.

    Whether he had fired shots or if there were any special abilities.

    Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the specific information I wanted, but I did gather a few details worth noting.

    The most important piece of information:

    The extinction-type doesn’t cause waves.

    Waves are precursors to a variety of miracles, like the reflective energy fields caused by monsters.

    They signify an explosion of psychic energy.

    The fact that there were no waves means this creature isn’t as formidable as it seemed.

    Even in Dongtanmom’s live broadcast, the creatures didn’t cause waves and moved alongside zombies.

    "..."

    Maybe this new species isn’t as strong as we think.

    We won’t know its exact specs until we face it, but for now...

    "Thanks, Yoo-jin."

    "It’s nothing, Sam. It wasn’t that important."

    "Then we’ll head toward Seoul to fix Failnet."

    "What? You’re going to Seoul after seeing the new species?"

    Song Yoo-jin looked at me, surprised.

    "Are you serious?!"

    After thinking for a moment, I realized that I hadn’t really taught my disciple much.

    I had just recited some textbook material, void of any soul.

    Still, if she’s following me this much, I should at least teach her something.

    Looking at her with eyes holding a subtle glow, I calmly added, layering her image with that of the innocent middle schooler she once was.

    "Discovering a new species isn’t enough of a reason to stop the mission."

    "?".

    "If I avoid it, someone else will face that new species without knowing. Like you and your team. You know how dangerous it is to face an unknown new monster without any information, right?"

    "...Yeah."

    "A hunter needs to have this basic mindset: that I am better than anyone else."

    "Sam..."

    I smiled at her softly.

    "And I’m a professor."