NOVEL NEXT Chapter 13
Chapter 13 – How to Treat a Miracle (4)
—–CROW—–
「You have consumed the Fortune Cookie.」
「Injuries and Special Ability charges have been fully restored.」
「Physical Ability increased by 100% for 1 hour.」
A translucent timer appeared in the center of his vision along with the consecutive messages. The exhaustion that had gripped his body vanished, and vitality surged through him like a dry sponge absorbing water. The pleasant sensation was considerable.
Seong-ho let out a soft gasp, feeling the energy coursing through his body. With the fatigue that had threatened to knock him down gone, he resumed the interrupted task. He extracted the virus from the remaining four infected individuals.
After treating all the infected, he finally had time to breathe and check the numerous messages that had flooded his vision.
「1 Merit Point earned.」
「Discrepancy Score increased by 10P.」
「1 Merit Point earned.」
…….
「Members of the world have witnessed the Fate Pioneer’s actions.」
「Members of the world are being influenced by the Fate Pioneer.」
「The Fate Pioneer’s influence has slightly increased.」
「Discrepancy Score decreased by 5P.」
「Discrepancy Score decreased by 7P.」
「1 Merit Point earned.」
「Discrepancy Score increased by 10P.」
「Discrepancy Score decreased by 7P.」
「Discrepancy Score decreased by 6P.」
「1 Merit Point earned.」
…….
The Discrepancy Score had decreased significantly. However, it had also increased during the treatment process, so it wasn’t completely eliminated.
‘29 points remaining.’
After checking the Discrepancy Score, Seong-ho turned his attention to his stats.
Physical Ability: 10 (+5)
Special Ability: 8/12
The changed numbers due to the Fortune Cookie effect were a bit unfamiliar, but so far, things had proceeded according to his expectations.
Just as he finished checking his status, he sensed a presence beside him.
“Mr. Seong-ho.”
Choi Seung-jo, his eyes red-rimmed, was approaching.
“Mr. Lim has confirmed it. The body temperature and pulse of everyone who was infected have returned to normal. I… I don’t know how to express my gratitude. On behalf of everyone, thank you so much.”
Choi Seung-jo bowed deeply, his head almost touching the floor. It was a gesture filled with sincerity. However, instead of responding to Seung-jo, Seong-ho glanced towards Lim Chan, who was standing near the entrance of the emergency room.
Lim Chan, meeting Seong-ho’s gaze, picked up Ji-hyo. Then he quietly slipped out of the emergency room. The people, caught up in their own joy, didn’t pay much attention to his departure.
After Lim Chan left, Choi Seung-jo straightened up and spoke again.
“It’s not much of a reward for your hard work, but I’ve asked them to prepare a proper meal for you.”
He suggested they go to the dining hall together. Putting on an innocent expression, pretending to be clueless and oblivious, was quite amusing. Of course, Seong-ho had no intention of calling him out on it.
“No, just give me the supplies we agreed on. I’ll be leaving right away.”
Choi Seung-jo’s smile froze at Seong-ho’s words. The people nearby, who overheard the conversation, also looked bewildered. Seong-ho stood up and strode towards Choi Seung-jo, whose expression had hardened.
“Mr. Seong-ho, why are you suddenly leaving? You said you’d consider staying at the camp. If there’s anything you’re dissatisfied with, we can talk it over…”
Choi Seung-jo’s hurried words were cut short. Seong-ho’s fist suddenly connected with his jaw.
*Crack.*
A sickening sound echoed as the clean and precise uppercut landed. The force was surprising, even to Seong-ho.
‘I think I broke his jaw.’
The Physical Ability boost from the Fortune Cookie was more effective than he imagined.
‘Let’s finish this.’
*Thud.*
Choi Seung-jo’s head snapped back with a dull thud. Seong-ho wasn’t satisfied and continued to pummel him.
*Crack, thud!*
The onlookers were frozen for only a few seconds, witnessing the sudden violence. But in those few seconds, Seong-ho had completely incapacitated Choi Seung-jo.
‘According to Lim Chan, Choi Seung-jo’s ability is telekinesis.’
If he regained consciousness and levitated Seong-ho, he would be completely helpless. That’s why he launched a preemptive strike, and as a result, Choi Seung-jo was knocked unconscious, his eyes rolled back.
Seong-ho released Choi Seung-jo’s collar and stood up straight.
‘Don’t blame me.’
He didn’t feel much guilt for suddenly beating him to a pulp. They were the ones who planned to betray him first.
“Th-this…”
“What are you all doing, c-catch him!”
Some of the frozen onlookers finally snapped out of it and rushed towards Seong-ho.
‘I was a pro-aspirant once, it would be embarrassing to lose to you amateurs!’
Seong-ho threw a hook at the face of the person in the lead. There was no way an ordinary person could dodge a movement faster than a professional’s.
“Ugh!”
The person was sent flying sideways, and another person lunged at Seong-ho from behind. Seong-ho grabbed his collar and pulled him forward, then kicked another person who was aiming for his side. The person, kicked in the stomach, collapsed without a scream, clutching his abdomen.
Leaving him behind, Seong-ho rained punches on the face of the person he had pulled in by the collar.
*Thud, thud, thud!*
One, then another, and another. Soon, eight people were lying on the floor. The remaining people hesitated and backed away. Seong-ho took the opportunity to head towards the backpacks placed in a corner of the emergency room. He opened a backpack, driven by a hunch, and as expected…
“Unbelievable.”
*Clatter.*
He overturned the backpack, and rocks spilled out. Just then, a few people mustered their remaining courage.
“F-Fuck! There are more of us! Let’s all attack at once!”
“Yeah, that’s right! We can’t let him get away!”
However, they only circled around Seong-ho, their eyes bloodshot, but they didn’t dare attack. They had seen how quickly the others had been taken down. So, this time, Seong-ho charged at them.
“Whoa!”
His first target stumbled backward in fright. At that moment, Seong-ho’s fist grazed his nose and…
*Bang!*
…slammed into the wall beside him. The man who had luckily dodged Seong-ho’s fist collapsed onto the floor.
“H-hic…!”
He shuddered, looking at the sight before him. A crack had appeared on the wall where Seong-ho’s fist had landed. And then, cement dust rained down. The man’s pants were soaked.
Seong-ho retracted his fist and muttered, “You’re lucky. I was going to smash your head in.”
The hospital staff completely lost their will to fight after seeing him break the wall with his bare hands. They backed away, clearing a path for him.
Seong-ho vented his anger by kicking the rocks that had spilled from the backpack and walked forward. He stopped in front of Choi Ji-young, who was looking down at the floor. He looked back and forth between Choi Seung-jo, sprawled on the floor, and Choi Ji-young, trembling in fear before him, then chuckled and pulled a virus marble from his pocket.
“I’m not leaving without venting my anger.”
“Mmmph! Mmmph!”
He shoved the virus marble into Ji-young’s mouth. After a moment, he released his hand, and Ji-young fumbled with her mouth.
“Wh-what? What did you just put in my mouth?!”
“The zombie virus.”
“…What?”
Seong-ho looked down at Ji-young with cold eyes.
‘The others at least tried to restrain me.’
The conversation, which had initially focused on offering him things and trying to persuade or tempt him, had shifted to imprisonment entirely because of Choi Ji-young. Her idea was blatantly self-serving, prioritizing her own gain regardless of what happened to Seong-ho.
So, Seong-ho decided not to consider her circumstances either.
‘Of course, this isn’t just for revenge.’
The hospital camp was quite large. He had personally seen at least 30 people.
‘That’s a medium-sized camp.’
He had made an enemy of them, but he didn’t have the power to eliminate all the members or destroy the camp itself. But he couldn’t just leave feeling uneasy. So, since he had already made a move, he would make sure to crush them completely. So that they wouldn’t dare retaliate even if they encountered him again in the future.
‘That’s why I’m letting them know that I can infect them at any time.’
By infecting Ji-young, he wanted to send a message to the others. A message of fear.
“Why are you surprised? Didn’t you think that if I can extract the virus, I can also insert it?”
The people around them quickly backed away as Ji-young’s face turned pale. Seong-ho crouched down to meet Ji-young’s eyes.
“Don’t worry too much. You might be immune.”
He returned the words she had carelessly spoken to Lim Chan.
“If you awaken an ability, you should thank me.”
Of course, she wouldn’t turn out to be immune or awaken any special powers.
‘The Cradle confirmed that.’
The only future that awaited her was transformation into a zombie. Trying to monopolize the power to cure the virus only to become infected herself… wasn’t that a fitting ending?
He was very curious to see how Choi Seung-jo would react to the news of Ji-young’s infection. He was almost disappointed that he wouldn’t be around to see it.
‘I’d like to infect everyone who agreed to the imprisonment plan.’
But Choi Seung-jo was immune, and it would take too much time to find and infect everyone involved. He didn’t want to waste the virus marbles he had collected. He needed them too.
‘Let’s end things here.’
Seong-ho clicked his tongue and turned around. The people, afraid of being infected, scrambled out of his way as he walked forward. Thanks to this, he was able to leave without any interference.
He hadn’t received the promised supplies, but he didn’t mind.
“Mr. Seong-ho, you’re here?”
Lim Chan had already taken everything he was supposed to receive through the emergency exit Seong-ho had told him about. One hiking backpack filled with various food supplies. And another hiking backpack full of medical supplies that Lim Chan had packed at his discretion. Ji-hyo’s small character backpack was also filled with high-calorie snacks.
Seong-ho, satisfied with the supplies, said, “Let’s go.”
“Oh, before you go, take this.”
Lim Chan stopped him and handed him a large paper bag.
“I got this from the laundry room.”
Inside were a pair of sturdy military boots, wool socks, thick pants and a coat that resembled ski wear, gloves, and a hat.
“Your clothes looked thin… and they didn’t seem to fit well. I’m sorry if I overstepped.”
“No, thank you so much.”
He hadn’t thought of that, he hadn’t expected such help. Seong-ho bowed his head in gratitude without a word. He immediately took off his clothes and changed into the new ones. Just then, something fluttered out of the pocket of his old coat.
A small piece of paper, about the size of his finger. The paper from the Fortune Cookie. Seong-ho looked at the sentence written on it.
*
As expected, his desired future wasn’t written there. Instead, it was a completely nonsensical sentence.
‘Beasts rarely appear in the *Savior of the Ruined World* setting…’
But since it was a fortune, he decided to keep it in mind. Seong-ho checked the fortune one more time, then crumpled the paper and threw it aside. The paper disintegrated in midair and disappeared, as if it had never existed.
Seong-ho, witnessing the strange sight, shouldered his backpack and said, “Let’s go.”
It was time to move forward again.
—–CROW—–