Chapter 383

Seo Taeran stood at the front gates of City Hall, her expression firm.

Behind her, her secretarial staff stood lined up in orderly formation.

News from the mana stone mine had arrived that morning.

As soon as she received the report, she had dispatched Supervisor Mandy and a unit of Awakened to the mine.

That’s how shocking the news had been.

It was enough to make even Seo Taeran—who rarely showed emotion—tense.

After a short wait, the convoy carrying Mandy and the Awakened troops came into view in the distance, escorting the armored bus.

Mandy stepped down from the lead buggy and addressed Seo Taeran.

"Supervisor Mandy Systane. We’ve returned safely from the mission."

"And him?"

"He's on the armored bus."

"I want to see him myself."

"I’ll escort you."

Mandy led Seo Taeran toward the armored bus.

The Awakened guarding it stepped aside to make way.

Creak!

Mandy pulled the handle, and the heavy door of the armored bus opened with effort.

From within, a voice called out,

"This is Neo Seoul? Far more splendid than I expected. Remarkable. To have recovered civilization to this extent—Neo Seoul truly is a blessing to humanity."

A man in a cloak slowly descended from the bus.

He had a bow and quiver slung over his back, and at his waist hung a dao with a graceful curve.

Seo Taeran furrowed her brow slightly.

There were users of such dao-style blades in Neo Seoul as well.

"Was it called a liuye dao?"

There were Awakened in the southern district ruled by Xiaolun who used those curved Chinese blades.

She’d heard they were especially favored by Chinese-descended Awakened, being ideal for traditional martial arts.

The man removed his cumbersome cloak, revealing his true appearance.

Disheveled, ash-gray hair; a face marked with deep wrinkles and thick scars; eyes gleaming like those of a feral beast.

He wore lamellar armor fashioned from the hide of an unknown monster, evoking the look of a centuries-old warrior risen from the grave.

His armor was a type unseen in Neo Seoul.

"He looks like a warrior from ancient times."

He appeared to be in his early to mid-forties.

Judging by the many wounds on his armor, it seemed he’d endured great hardship getting here.

This man was the reason Seo Taeran had dispatched Mandy and the Awakened unit.

He bowed, placing his right fist over his left palm.

"My name is Jang Wuhang, from Sichuan. It’s an honor to meet the people of Neo Seoul."

"I’m Seo Taeran of Neo Seoul. You said you came from Sichuan?"

"Yes. I imagine it’s an unfamiliar name to you. It’s an old name from Zhonghua."

"Zhonghua?"

"Perhaps you know it as China?"

"I do know China."

How could she not?

It had once been Korea’s neighboring country.

Both had fallen during the Great Collapse, and few now even remembered the name.

Seo Taeran asked with a curious expression,

"Was there a large colony in China too? If there was, I don’t see how we wouldn’t know about it."

"Sichuan is in an extremely remote part of China. It’s on the opposite side of the continent from Neo Seoul. So it’s not surprising you’ve never heard of it. It took me over a year to travel here from Sichuan."

"You survived alone in the desert for a year?"

"I wasn’t alone at the start. But all my companions perished along the way."

"Was Neo Seoul your destination?"

"Not exactly. Our group—ah, what you call a colony—was in dire straits. We crossed the desert blindly, hoping to find other colonies for help. I’m a scout… or as you say here, a pathfinder."

"A pathfinder…"

Jang Wuhang, who called himself a pathfinder, had encountered the mana stone mine’s scout unit just the previous night.

They’d found him on the brink of death, surrounded by monsters, and rescued him.

When they realized he came from another colony, they immediately reported it.

That was why Seo Taeran had come in person.

Seo Taeran said,

"This might take some time. Let’s speak inside."

"I thank you for the hospitality."

Jang Wuhang expressed his gratitude with his distinctive greeting—right fist in left palm.

Before heading into City Hall with Jang Wuhang, Seo Taeran turned to Mandy and the Awakened.

"Tell no one about what happened today. This is top secret."

"Understood."

"Yes, ma’am."

Mandy and the others replied in unison.

Jang Wuhang smiled at them.

"Oh! Such discipline. Very impressive."

"Let’s go inside."

"Yes."

As Seo Taeran led Jang Wuhang into City Hall, Mandy muttered to herself,

"Phew… A pathfinder from another colony out of nowhere. Neo Seoul’s going to be noisy for a while."

Though Seo Taeran had ordered secrecy, Mandy was certain that by tomorrow, word would spread that a pathfinder had arrived from another colony.

There were no true secrets in Neo Seoul.

Mandy dismissed the Awakened unit and headed toward the slums.

"I’ll have to meet with Zeon tomorrow."

---

Zeon was surprised as he stepped into the underground sewer.

To his amazement, the overpowering stench that once numbed the nose had lessened.

It hadn’t vanished completely, but it was no longer headache-inducing.

"What happened here?"

Something had clearly changed while he was away, though he didn’t yet know what.

Zeon made his way toward Zetoya’s village.

About halfway there, a group suddenly appeared and blocked his path.

"Who are you?"

"State your identity."

They glared at him with murderous intent.

It looked like they would strike at the slightest movement.

At that moment, a middle-aged man rushed out from the group.

"Are you insane? What do you think you’re doing? That’s Lord Zeon!"

He smacked the man who had been leading the group on the back of the head.

Smack!

"Ugh!"

"Trying to get yourself killed? Even a rookie should recognize Lord Zeon!"

"I… I’m sorry."

The man who had been glaring at Zeon now bowed deeply.

He was a recently recruited Awakened in Zetoya’s Crocodile Den, and didn’t yet know what Zeon looked like.

Zeon smiled and said,

"It’s fine. Not everyone knows."

"Now that I’ve seen your face, I won’t make the same mistake again. Welcome, Lord Zeon!"

The man bowed respectfully—his name was Bakhum.

After being healed by Lemura, he had declared his loyalty to her.

He was now the village’s head of security, guarding the entryways.

"Are Zetoya and Lemura inside?"

"Yes! They’re with Master Levin."

"Everyone’s doing well?"

"We have Lady Lemura, don’t we? There’s not a single sick person in the village. People even come from other dens after hearing the rumors."

"Make sure to protect her. There’ll be those who approach with bad intentions."

"A few already have—and I’ve folded them in half myself. Don’t worry. I, Bakhum, will lay down my life to protect Lady Lemura."

"Reassuring. I’ll head in now."

"Shall I escort you?"

"I know the way."

"Then take care. We must stay on watch here."

"Thank you."

Zeon gave Bakhum a nod and descended into the village.

After some walking, he emerged into a vast underground space.

It was Zetoya’s village.

In Zeon’s absence, the place had transformed remarkably.

Where once there were makeshift shelters made from scrap and planks, now stood houses built of sand bricks.

"What’s going on? Why are there sand houses…?"

"Hey, hyung!"

Levin came running over, having spotted Zeon.

"Levin!"

"You’re mumbling again. Surprised by the sand-brick houses?"

"Yeah. What happened?"

"Sehee noona sent over some sand hardener. We tried building a few as a test. What do you think?"

"Not bad at all."

"Right? The hardener works great. We were able to build with sand without much trouble."

Levin answered with a grin.

Even in this pitch-dark underground world, sand could be found—flowing in through ventilation shafts and sewer routes from the surface.

The sand would collect in dead-end areas.

Villagers had gathered it to build these homes.

At first, they were clumsy, but over time, they got the hang of it and made decent houses.

Those who got real homes for the first time wept with joy, and the villagers were fired up with motivation.

"Hyung!"

"Zeon oppa!"

Zetoya and Lemura ran over a bit late, having noticed Zeon.

"Have you all been well?"

"Yes!"

"You just came back from a trip, right?"

Zetoya had become noticeably more mature, and Lemura's face was filled with curiosity.

Lemura had never once been outside.

Before she Awakened, she’d been too afraid. After she Awakened, she’d been too busy.

There were too many patients underground who needed her.

Every day, people wandered the sewers looking for her healing. She couldn’t ignore them.

Zetoya was equally busy managing the influx of visitors, barely able to step outside himself.

Because of all this, the village continued to grow.

"You’re both working hard."

"It’s not hard—I love doing this."

"Me too. Seeing people healed and smiling makes me happy."

Zetoya and Lemura found great meaning in helping others.

Though leading so many was exhausting, the sight of their steadily developing village gave them strength.

Zeon looked around and commented,

"The air’s cleaner too."

"Smells a lot better, right?"

"Yeah."

"That’s thanks to the air purifier we installed."

"Purifier?"

"Yeah! A huge one. It’s cleaning the air around here."

"Those are rare. How did you get one?"

Zeon couldn’t help but look surprised.

An air purifier was as rare as a mana stone generator.

One large enough to clean this entire area was priceless.

Even if one had money, such things were nearly impossible to obtain.

Zetoya answered with an embarrassed smile.

"Actually, while you were away, Mr. Kleksi came here."

"That old man?"

"Yeah. He looked around, grumbled that the smell was unbearable, and a little while later he showed up with a giant purifier. Once it was installed, the stench noticeably lessened."

"I see."

Zeon let out a soft chuckle.

Kleksi might be a gruff man, but he had a warm heart.

Getting a purifier powerful enough to clean this whole area couldn’t have been easy.

He must’ve gone to great lengths, yet made no show of it.

And it wasn’t just the purifier.

There were all sorts of surface-world items scattered about.

These too had likely come through Kleksi.

Right now, it was just a village, but in time, it would grow to rival any proper district.

Zeon asked Zetoya,

"Have you thought about bringing the people up to the surface? With the sand hardener, homes are easier to build."

"You know the answer. Non-Awakened can’t survive up there for long. It’d take generations to adjust to the surface."

"True."

"And I can’t just leave them here and go up alone. I’d rather stay and develop this place. Maybe someday, this village will be as advanced as Neo Seoul."

Zetoya was firm.

The determination of this young boy came through clearly to Zeon.

He supported that dream.

"It will happen. Without a doubt."