Chapter 388

Jang Woo-hang lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

The space allotted to him was extremely limited.

He couldn’t even leave freely on his own.

He desperately wanted to escape and explore every corner of Neo Seoul, but he suppressed that desire.

Neo Seoul wasn’t a place he could manipulate so easily on his own.

Numerous Awakened guarded key buildings, and everything operated with clockwork precision.

There wasn’t even a crack for an outsider like Jang Woo-hang to squeeze into.

His eyes sharpened like a snake’s.

“As if I’d ever give up.”

It was then—

As if in response to Jang Woo-hang’s resolve, the door to his room opened.

Click!

The one who stepped inside was none other than Xiaolun.

Jang Woo-hang sprang up at Xiaolun’s appearance.

“You’re the Pathfinder from outside, I presume?”

“And who might this old man be?”

“My name is Xiaolun. State your identity.”

“Hmm! I am Jang Woo-hang, from Sichuan.”

“You’re really from Sichuan?”

“Yes, I am!”

At Jang Woo-hang’s answer, Xiaolun slowly closed his eyes. Seeing this reaction, Jang Woo-hang cautiously asked,

“If your name is Xiaolun, then perhaps…”

“My grandfather was from Sichuan.”

“Oh! A fellow native. Junior Jang Woo-hang greets you once again.”

Jang Woo-hang quickly brought his right fist to his left palm and bowed.

“If you are truly from Sichuan, then you are like a brother to me.”

“It’s an honor to meet a senior from my hometown in a place like this.”

“From now on, I shall call you Woo-hang.”

“I’m deeply honored.”

“So, I want to know about Sichuan. How are things over there?”

“It’s miserable.”

“Miserable to what degree?”

Jang Woo-hang hesitated briefly at Xiaolun’s question, but soon opened his mouth as if steeling himself.

“Our colony’s formal name is Celestial Subterranean City. Among ourselves, we just call it the Subterranean City.”

“Celestial? So it was built by the Celestial warlords?”

“You know of them, I see.”

Jang Woo-hang wore an expression of admiration.

Before the Great Cataclysm, China had warlords.

The Celestial warlords were a military faction based in Sichuan, and they had wielded enormous influence.

The Celestial Subterranean City was a secret underground city built by order of the central government, constructed by the Celestial warlords.

It was a fortress designed to protect key personnel, their families, and soldiers in the event of nuclear war.

Though it remained a secret, those involved in its construction had called it the greatest engineering feat in Chinese history due to its immense scale.

“It was originally built to sustain one hundred thousand people for a year, but over the past hundred years, it has expanded to accommodate three hundred thousand.”

“Three hundred thousand survived? The tenacity of Zhonghua is indeed remarkable.”

At Xiaolun’s admiration, Jang Woo-hang gave a bitter smile.

“The problem is, the reckless expansion has caused all sorts of problems. Food, supplies, air, water—everything is in short supply. As a result, the Subterranean City has split into factions and is now at war.”

“With that many people, couldn’t they just come above ground?”

“The issue lies with the monsters on the surface. Perhaps due to the basin’s nature, an unusually high number of monsters have gathered there. Among them are some particularly powerful ones. With only our strength, survival against them is impossible. The fact that I even made it here alive was due to sheer luck.”

“I see.”

Xiaolun’s gaze sank deeply.

Suddenly, Jang Woo-hang dropped to his knees before him.

“Please help us. At this rate, the Subterranean City will perish. We desperately need Neo Seoul’s help.”

“Hm.”

“If you would just aid us, I would even offer up my soul.”

“I don’t need your soul. What I need are well-trained Awakened. How many capable ones do you have in the Subterranean City?”

“At least ten thousand.”

“Ten thousand… a pie in the sky.”

What good was a large number if they were thousands of kilometers away?

Just getting there took months, and returning took months more.

That’s assuming one could even make the journey safely.

Xiaolun knew all too well just how difficult that was.

He figured it was better to treat it as if they didn’t exist at all.

There was no greater folly than harboring useless hope.

Then, Jang Woo-hang cautiously said,

“That’s not true.”

“What’s not true?”

“It’s not a pie in the sky.”

“What do you mean? Don’t tell me all ten thousand came with you?”

“Not all ten thousand, but I have seven others.”

“Seven? You said they were all dead… So you lied.”

Xiaolun’s lips curled into a smirk.

Jang Woo-hang matched that smirk with one of his own.

“There’s no reason to tell the truth to your enemies, is there?”

“You consider Jin Geumho an enemy?”

“Don’t you, sir?”

“Hmph! You’re a sly one.”

“You must be sly to protect your kin.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve met a junior I liked.”

“I feel the same, sir!”

“Let me see your wrist before we go.”

“I’d be glad to show you.”

Jang Woo-hang rolled up his sleeve and exposed his wrist.

Five red lines gleamed brightly.

“B-rank in the martial combat class?”

“Yes! I wield a liuyedao.”

Revealing his rank mark was essentially the same as revealing everything about himself.

All of an Awakened’s information was contained in their rank mark.

That’s why Awakened never revealed their right wrist to outsiders unless absolutely necessary.

Jang Woo-hang knew this, yet showed his wrist to Xiaolun without hesitation.

It was his way of showing he had nothing to hide.

Xiaolun liked that attitude.

“Where are the others?”

“They’re standing by somewhere nearby, ready to move at my command.”

“Then we’ll have to find a way to bring them into Neo Seoul.”

“Do you think it’s possible? The security is so strict…”

“Are you doubting me now?”

“No, sir. That was disrespectful of me.”

“Then come with me.”

“I’m allowed to leave?”

“From now on, you’re under my jurisdiction.”

“Thank you!”

Jang Woo-hang was overjoyed.

Just being able to leave that stifling room made him feel alive again.

Xiaolun looked at him and thought:

‘I’ll squeeze every last drop from you.’

To gain custody of Jang Woo-hang, Xiaolun had to give up one of the southern district’s prime businesses to City Hall.

It was quite a price to pay.

He fully intended to extract every ounce of value from Jang Woo-hang.

He had no intention of going easy on him just because he was a fellow countryman. If he could use him to establish contact with the Subterranean City, Xiaolun’s power would grow even further.

Handling a B-rank Awakened was no big feat for Xiaolun.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, sir!”

Jang Woo-hang responded loudly and followed Xiaolun out the door.

Behind him, he wore a quiet smile.

＊＊＊

Zeon, Brielle, and Lemura returned to Zetoya’s village.

The first thing Brielle did upon arrival was retrieve an item from her subspace.

She took out an object as tall as an adult.

At a glance, it looked like a small tower, and a blue gem was embedded at its peak like a snowcap.

Zetoya looked at the tower-like object with a puzzled expression.

“What is that?”

“A protective barrier core.”

“A barrier? Like the ones I’m thinking of?”

“Yep! Now that the Crocodile Village has grown, there are more people, right? It’s time to prepare some defense.”

At some point, people had started calling the place Crocodile Village.

A fitting name for a place in the Crocodile Den.

Rumors of its prosperity had spread throughout the Den.

More people came seeking to settle in Crocodile Village, and naturally, more sought to take advantage of it.

Awakened like Bakoom had done their best to protect the village, but it was best to minimize risk.

Brielle had wondered what the village needed most and came up with the idea of a protective barrier.

She had experienced many dungeons following Zeon, and some had been protected by barriers.

Since then, she’d studied them in depth.

What helped her most was the “Watching Eye” in Zeon’s house.

Nicknamed the fortress guardian of Zeon’s home, Brielle had studied it whenever she had time.

Thanks to that long study, she recently achieved a breakthrough. Using that knowledge, she created the protective barrier.

Though it didn’t match the Watching Eye in performance, it was enough to protect the Crocodile Village to a reasonable extent.

Zetoya’s jaw dropped at Brielle’s explanation.

“To think you made something that incredible… you’re a genius.”

“You just realizing that now?”

“I always knew, but… you still surpassed my imagination…”

“Save the compliments. Let’s get it installed.”

“Okay!”

“First, we’ll place this core in the center of the village. Then we’ll install these at all the entry points.”

Brielle pulled fist-sized orbs from her subspace.

Zetoya took one and said,

“They’re pretty heavy.”

“They’re delicate, so handle them with care.”

“Got it!”

“Follow me with the orbs.”

“Okay!”

Zetoya gathered the orbs and followed Brielle.

Levin watched and chuckled.

“When did she even prepare all that? She acts cold, but she’s always thinking ahead.”

“She’s got a warm heart.”

“Totally. She’s not what she looks like at all.”

Levin agreed with Zeon.

Brielle seemed indifferent but cared more than anyone else.

“Once the barrier is installed, we’ll finally catch a break. There’ve been so many people targeting us lately.”

“So there are still plenty of scavengers, huh?”

“They’ve lived unchecked for over a hundred years. They don’t want to live in the village, but they’re hungry… so looting is all they have.”

Levin clicked his tongue.

The problem was, they weren’t few in number.

The underground sewers stretched like a maze beneath Neo Seoul and the slums.

It was impossible to eliminate or absorb everyone in there.

As word of Crocodile Village’s wealth spread, more people came to take advantage of it.

Repelling them was the job of the village’s Awakened.

Just then—

“Levin!”

Brielle’s voice echoed from a dark corridor.

Levin shrugged and said,

“Looks like she needs help. I’ll go.”

“Alright.”

As soon as Zeon replied, Levin ghosted out and flew toward Brielle’s location.

“Levin!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming, you little brat.”

Levin grumbled and sped up.

Zeon watched them silently.

On the surface and below ground, villages were rising.

It felt like life was returning to the world.

‘The problem is, it’s not just humans who are waking up.’

What disturbed Zeon most was Krasias.

Krasias, who had ruined the world a hundred years ago, had perished.

But his lingering thoughts still existed.

Zeon didn’t know what he was planning—but he had a bad feeling.

‘Maybe Nigel knows something?’

Nigel the half-dragon definitely seemed to know something. That must be why he retrieved the purple gem from necromancer Pilgram.

‘That gem must’ve contained a remnant of Krasias’s will.’

Something was happening beyond his knowledge.

It felt like the laws that had held the world together for a century were beginning to tremble at the foundation.

‘Is another upheaval about to begin?’