How to Survive Restructuring

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 123: Night Stroll (2)

"It's a series."

"Huh?"

A series.

In creative fields like art, it refers to works painted consecutively by the same artist with the same theme or subject.

Like Van Gogh's Sunflowers series, where the subject remains the same in each piece.

"When put together, they form a continuous image!"

It's not easily noticeable up close.

So.

Tap!

I grabbed Jieun's arm and pulled her back while whispering.

"Those paintings, the colors connect when viewed from a distance."

"The colors… connect?"

Jieun first widened her eyes slightly, then her eyes grew even larger as if they were about to pop out.

"Oh? You're right!"

[Hmm?]

Sera crossed her arms and looked intrigued.

"Even among the different lodgings, the colors are subtly different. Like a gradient."

Yeon Bora approached with a serious expression.

"If we arrange them in order..."

Pa-pa-bat!

She quickly grabbed the floating paintings and rearranged them.

"There seem to be a few missing in the middle… but yes, they connect."

"They said four were removed earlier. So that makes a total of 46, right?"

"Ah, yes! Then it fits perfectly."

Why hadn’t we noticed before?

Those paintings weren’t separate works.

They formed one large continuous canvas, like a rainbow.

Which meant that the lodgings depicted in the paintings weren’t separate, isolated locations either.

In other words…

"We can travel from one painting to another, right?"

I asked the host.

For a moment, she dropped her lively act and let out a scoffing laugh, as if she couldn’t believe it.

[You actually figured it out?]

"!!"

"It must be true!"

【'Investigation Bureau’s Star Performer' is shocked and speechless.】

【'Investigation Department Druid' is impressed by the target 'Lee Eunho's' perceptiveness.】

【'External Affairs Department's Rookie' boasts, saying they told you it was amazing.】

"Then…"

I scanned the paintings Yeon Bora had arranged.

The one my finger pointed to was the soft white painting closest to the four silver canvases.

"I choose this one."

[Selection complete!]

[ROK Zone has completed all missions for today.]

['The Eye' is closing.]

As messages announcing the end of the day appeared, a burst of colorful energy exploded and swirled around us.

[Transitioning to 'Moonlit Nap.']

[Brace for impact!]

* * *

We stood on the deck of a massive cruise ship, surrounded by an endless sea.

The moonlight shimmered gently on the rippling water.

"It's beautiful."

"Yeah."

But there was a reason Moonlit Nap was called a nap.

That was because…

Sway!

On the rocking ship, the only sleep possible was a light nap.

"Can’t we do something about this? It's shaking too much…!"

"Ugh!"

The deck was crowded with people suffering from seasickness, turning it into a sea of groans.

Apparently, seasickness was fair and impartial, affecting everyone.

Among them, Yeon Bora let out a deep sigh from within.

"I… used to dream of living on a boat when I was little."

At that, Sola looked up at her with a pale face.

"R-really?"

"Yeah. But… I didn’t know it would be this hard."

"Well, it's still kinda nice— Ugh!"

Barely holding back a gag.

"Oh dear… Are you okay, young lady?"

Yoon Sola wobbled with a sickly expression.

Her seasickness seemed worse than expected.

"Sola, why don’t you try healing it?"

"Ah… I'll give it a shot."

At my suggestion, she weakly nodded and wrapped herself in a soft blue light.

Fortunately, by the time Sola steadied herself—

Whoosh—!

"Ah! It's coming!"

"Over here—!"

Guided by Sola and Yeojin’s voices, Jieun flew in, cutting through the pitch-black night sky like a beacon.

"Unni! Is there really another lodging here?"

"Yeah, I didn’t see a building, but as I kept going, a message appeared."

"A message?"

"It said, 'Welcome to Silver Blade.'"

"Wow, I thought he was just guessing."

Thanks to Jieun scouting ahead, things got much easier.

"Shall we head out, hyung?"

"Y-yes… young man…!"

Perhaps it was the hope of escaping the torment of seasickness.

People who had been hesitant about Silver Blade were now eager to go, their eyes shining.

"Yeji, aren’t you coming?"

"Uh… I'm fine. Only about ten people can go at a time…"

Among the crowd, only a few hesitated.

"Huh? I can make two trips!"

"No, it’s okay! Kim, you’ll get tired."

Lee Yeji waved her hands dismissively.

Her exaggerated gesture made it clear—she thought she wouldn’t be much help if she went.

'There are a lot of people…'

Jieun could only transport about ten at a time.

Yet, the number of volunteers eager to hunt for points had long exceeded several dozen.

'Still, having more people would be safer.'

As a brief silence settled in while I pondered, Lee Yeji spoke with a slightly bitter smile.

"I still have some points left, so I’ll be fine. I’ll try to get some sponsorship funds somehow."

Was there a way?

A way for everyone to cross the vast sea together…

Wait.

I realized I had been overcomplicating things.

"Let's all go together."

I said casually.

"That’s kind of you to say. But really, I’m fine."

"No, not just you, Yeji. Everyone."

"What? How?"

"By boat."

"……?"

Lee Yeji lifted her head.

She furrowed her brows as if she didn't understand, while the other survivors perked up their ears.

"Jieun, is there any chance you can move a boat with your psychokinesis?"

"……What?"

* * *

It moved.

Not with psychokinesis, but with sailing skills.

"Wow, you're amazing! I've never seen someone steer a ship before!"

"……It's not steering……."

"Huh?"

"It's navigating."

"Oh…… I'm sorry!"

……Who would have thought there'd be a navigator among us?

With 2,000 survivors, it’s not surprising that at least one person has the skill, but still.

"Too bad."

"Huh? What's too bad?"

"Jieun, this could have been a chance to train your skill to its limit."

"……Eunho, you didn’t actually believe I could do it, did you?"

"I was serious, and I’m sure you could. It would take a lot of training, though."

"……You believe in me too much, Eunho."

Jieun lowered her head, then peeked up at me.

Anyway.

"Thanks to you, we arrived safely. Thank you."

After bowing to the navigator, I descended the stairs.

Then, a cheerful system message rang out.

[Welcome to 'Silver Blade'!]

'So this is Silver Blade.'

Suppressing the rising tension, I took a step forward.

After a long walk, we arrived at a beach where our feet sank deep into the sand.

Instead of a refreshing ocean breeze, dry sand mixed with dry wind clung unpleasantly to our hair and clothes.

"It looks like there’s a house on the hill……."

"Oh, you're right. Let's head over there."

Squish. Squish. Squish.

After struggling through the ankle-deep sand, we stepped onto the dry, crunching grass.

And then.

[You have entered 'Cold Wind Hill.']

The message alone made it clear this place was anything but peaceful.

"Uh…… Uhh……!"

Yeojin, who had been confidently leading the way, suddenly trembled.

Her face barely managed to hold back a scream.

"Si, si……."

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

"!!"

A corpse.

A dead body was sprawled in the grassy dunes, scattered between sparse, low trees.

A severed arm, torn to shreds, lay on a tree stump.

A little farther away, half of a head.

Flesh mixed with sand and grass, crushed into a pulp like cheap ground meat.

Mutilated beyond recognition.

"It looks like…… an animal ate it……."

"……Gasp!"

Some clamped their mouths shut, others covered their eyes at the gruesome sight.

Just like the man we saw this morning.

Except this one was so brutally torn apart it was hard to tell it was ever a person.

"This is…… horrifying."

The fact remained—someone who had been running alongside us earlier had died, reduced to nothing more than a chunk of meat.

Whoosh!

The night air grew heavy, like a soaked cotton blanket.

Still, summoning her courage, Jieun took a step forward and closed the corpse’s remaining eye.

Meanwhile, beside her, Yeojin—

"Ugh, unnie!"

—collapsed.

Her hand stretched forward, trembling violently, as if she had seen something she never should have.

"Th-there…… people……!"

Everyone's eyes followed Yeojin’s shaking fingertip.

And then, one by one, people collapsed to the ground.

"!!"

"Hiiiik!"

Each of them desperately stifling their screams.

'What…… is that……?'

Up on the hill, in the front yard of the crumbling house, monsters swarmed.

Each standing 3 to 4 meters tall, their spines jutted grotesquely from their backs.

Their long, skeletal limbs flailed eerily.

Rustle!

We hid behind the trees, fearing they might hear us, but it was unnecessary.

— ……Tasty……

— Not really……

They were too busy devouring something.

'What is that pile in the middle?'

At first, I thought it was just a mound of garbage.

But……

'……Humans?'

A mountain of human bodies, stacked like offerings, waiting to be devoured by the monsters.

"Are they…… all dead?"

"……."

"This can’t be real……."

「0.0%」

「0.0%」

「0.0%」

Hundreds of corpses, their skin blue with death, hung limp in the pile.

[Defeat the 'Cold Wind Ghouls'!]

Fifteen…… no, sixteen ghouls sat in a circle around the pile of bodies.

As if gathered around a campfire.

And then—

Rip—! Chomp! Slurp—!

……They feasted.

Holding the flesh with both hands, chewing it thoroughly, savoring every bite.

"What the hell?! Why is someone floating in the air……!"

"Kyaaah!"

"Shh! I think something's there……! Be quiet!"

People were paralyzed with fear.

[The title 'Demon Slayer' allows you to perceive mid-tier demons!]

'Demon?'

That meant……

"More ghosts?"

[When fighting mid-tier demons, attack power increases by 20%.]

Mid-tier demons.

That being the case, I can understand why they’re reacting like this.

To their eyes, people are suddenly being lifted into the empty air, only to have their limbs torn apart by some invisible force.

"B-Back up… what did you just say…?"

Jaehyuk's face twisted strangely as he asked, clearly terrified.

It’s not exactly easy to stay calm in this situation.

"…A ghost, that thing."

“G-G-G…”

Gasp!

As Jaehyuk struggled to take deep breaths, a man following behind us asked instead,

"S-So… you're saying… there’s a huge ghost over there…?"

"Yes. It looks like there are about a dozen or so of them."

So I answered honestly.

If they’re too scared, they can turn back.

It’s better than freezing up in fear later when it really counts.

Anyone who stands there trembling in front of a monster is worse than useless—they’ll just bring morale down.

But if someone can overcome their fear—

‘I’ll take them with me.’

With that thought in mind, I spoke.

"Summon."

[Would you like to activate 'The Beacon Fire of Gyeongbongsu'?]

[Choose between Beacon Fire and Beacon Smoke.]

I chose to ignite a rare flame with smokeless fire for the first time in a while.

Sssssst…

In the pitch-black night, an invisible wisp of smoke seeped through the people around me.

Like the aroma of food drifting from a restaurant when you’re walking hungry.

"Everyone, please pay attention."

[Due to the effect of the Beacon Fire, communication efficiency has increased!]

Saying something like this out loud feels a little embarrassing, but…

"There are invisible ghosts over there. They’re called ‘Cold Wind Ghouls.’ You can’t see them… but they devour people."

Since I’m the only one who can see them—

“G-Ghosts? They eat people?”

“Wait… there’s no one alive over there, right?”

“S-So we have to kill an invisible monster? Just to earn welfare points?”

“What? How do we even kill something we can’t see? That thing wiped out all those people!”

Most of them were paralyzed with fear, their minds shutting down.

Even the ones who could still talk rationally glanced at the pile of corpses, bursting into tears, lashing out in anger, or turning pale as ghosts themselves.

But—

"You need to trust me."

[Due to the Leadership (Lv.2) skill, your influence over the survivors has increased.]

"We can defeat them."

"Is… there a way?"

"Yes. Definitely."

[Multiple survivors are now waiting for the orders of ‘Lee Eunho.’]

Their legs trembled, barely holding them up.

To lead them into battle, I needed certainty—not for myself, but enough to convince them to move.

So—

"We're splitting into two teams."

I put more weight into my voice than usual, making sure it reached them like an arrow cutting through the darkness.

"Anyone who can tank, follow me. You two—Mister and Jaehyuk—you’re essential."

"Yes! Understood!"

"And… does anyone here have ranged attack abilities?"

At that, a dozen or so people, including a blond-haired one, hesitantly raised their hands.

It’s a small number compared to the total, but it should be enough.

Enough to smash the ghoul’s head in.

"You all will work with Jieun to attack from above, out of reach. I don’t know their weak points… but let’s start by aiming for the head."

"Huh? But we can’t see where the head is, right?"

Jieun cautiously raised her hand and asked after my rapid-fire explanation.

"Ah."

I forgot to mention something important.

"Bora, you can control mud, right?"

"It’s my specialty… but why?"

With Bora’s ability to manipulate and sculpt earth…

"We’re going to cover those ghosts in mud."

"…Ah?!"

If we can’t see them—

We’ll just make them visible.

"Everyone, return to the beach! Fetch seawater and start soaking the sand!"

"H-Huh?"

"There might still be survivors! Move quickly!"

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]