The Devouring Genius of a Destroyed World

*‘Was Seo Min-hee from there?’*

It seemed like this would work out well.

Given the lack of official knowledge, Seongho hadn’t been able to gather any specific information about the awakened ones, but now, through Seo Min-hee, he could understand more about the camp’s internal situation.

Just then, Seo Min-hee, who had lost consciousness earlier, woke up.

"Ugh…"

As soon as she regained consciousness, she cried out in agony. She had overdosed on the painkillers that Im Chan prescribed. 

About an hour later, she had stabilized enough to engage in a calm conversation.

Once she regained her composure, Seo Min-hee turned to Seongho.

"Thank you for saving me. I was so out of it that I didn’t even get to thank you properly."

Perhaps it was due to the prolonged suffering.

Seo Min-hee looked quite disheveled, but the look in her eyes, as they met Seongho’s, was sharp and clear.

After a brief introduction, Seongho asked the question that had been on his mind.

"Since I saved your life as payment, I’ll ask a few uncomfortable questions."

"Ah… I’ll answer whatever I can. Please, go ahead."

"Did you come from Hongik University?"

As soon as Seongho’s question ended, Seo Min-hee whipped her head around to look at Kyuhyun.

Kyuhyun awkwardly avoided her gaze.

"Well, they didn’t say it directly, but I kind of figured it out when we talked."

"...Yes, that's right. I escaped from there. But why are you asking about that all of a sudden?"

"Is the camp leader, Oh Jong-hyuk, still there?"

"...Yes."

"What do you know about him?"

"He's in his 40s… early to mid-40s? I heard he worked at that university before the zombie outbreak."

Seo Min-hee answered Seongho’s questions carefully, her tone tense and guarded.

"While you were there, were there any awakened individuals who seemed to get along or, on the contrary, were there any who were constantly at odds with each other?"

"Well... I don’t know about those who got along, but I did hear that there were a couple of people who fought every time they crossed paths. Kang Yu-ryang and Jang Hyung-su."

At the mention of those names, Seongho’s shoulders tensed slightly.

*‘Jang Hyung-su…’*

In the original work, Jang Hyung-su was the leader of the New Humanity camp.

As Seongho continued thinking about someone he hadn't even met yet, Seo Min-hee kept answering.

"The two of them seemed to have a bit of a factional divide."

"Did Kang Yu-ryang or Jang Hyung-su have any awakened followers?"

"Well... I’m not sure about that. I’ve only seen those two a handful of times, and most of what I know I heard secondhand."

"So you’re not sure about the exact makeup of each faction?"

"Yeah... I don’t know that much."

"How about the structure of the camp itself? Which buildings are used for what purpose, and how many people are there?"

"Ah..."

Seo Min-hee seemed momentarily confused.

She must have wondered why Seongho was asking these things.

But after calming herself, she began speaking again.

"Well, the Social and Cultural Building is used as a dormitory for most of the civilians..."

"Draw it out while explaining, it will be easier that way."

As Seongho handed her the diary and pen, Seo Min-hee quickly began filling the blank pages.

It was the moment when the supplies Seongho had brought from the cathedral became very useful.

A little while later, she turned the diary towards Seongho and began explaining.

The Social and Cultural Building housed most of the civilians, and the awakened ones used a separate apartment building outside the school grounds.

Only certain civilians approved by the awakened were allowed to enter.

There were also storage rooms for supplies, cleaning and laundry areas, and a separate area for waste disposal.

"The campus is pretty large, how do you block zombies from getting in?"

"There’s a stone wall around the whole campus."

Indeed, there was an awakened individual with the ability to create rocks.

Seongho had assumed they used their ability to create a defensive wall around the campus.

It seemed that the awakened were more capable than he had initially thought, so he made a mental note to keep an eye on them.

"How many people are inside? How many civilians, not awakened ones?"

"About... 140? 150? That’s about how many there were when I left."

Im Chan, who had been standing next to Seongho, was visibly shocked by the number.

It was a number that surprised Seongho as well.

While he had expected a large number of civilians, he didn’t think it would exceed a hundred.

"How do you sustain that many people? There must be a lot of food, water, and fuel for heating as well."

"For heating... we just slept close together. We got blankets or sleeping bags, but there weren’t many, so there was always fighting over them. Someone would steal them... The awakened ones' dorm has solar panels, or so I heard. They use that to power appliances and electric mats."

"And how do you procure food?"

"Well, we have a lot of preserved foods."

At the start of the virus outbreak, they raided the nearby stores near the university.

They even scavenged preserved foods from student apartments in the area.

"I heard that with that alone, they could survive for at least a year. Oh, and we also farm. We cleared the mountain behind the school."

"When did you start farming?"

"Since spring. We were forced to work the land as soon as we arrived, so I know for sure. After that, we planted a lot of potatoes and sweet potatoes."

"So, how do you supply water for farming and drinking?"

"Water... The men are usually tasked with fetching it themselves."

"...From the Han River?"

"Yeah, that’s what we use for farming and drinking. I heard they have water filtration equipment for the awakened."

Everything had a hint of inequality.

Seongho realized that once again, and he rubbed his aching head.

*‘Even after dealing with the awakened ones, there will be plenty of problems.’*

The civilians likely harbored a huge resentment towards the awakened ones.

The real issue, though, was that with the appearance of the evolved creatures, any camp without awakened individuals couldn’t survive.

While Seongho continued mulling things over, Seo Min-hee cautiously spoke up.

"Um, but... why are you asking about all this? Where did you hear about the camp…?"

"Let’s just call it information gathering."

"No, but why gather information on that camp…"

"I plan to dismantle it."

Seo Min-hee, and even Kyuhyun beside her, widened their eyes.

After checking their reactions, Seongho spoke calmly.

"By the way, have you considered going back after awakening?"

"Are you really asking that now?"

Seo Min-hee reacted strongly, but instead of retreating, Seongho asked one more question.

"Now that you can fight back, don’t you think you should take revenge?"

Seo Min-hee’s shoulder flinched slightly.

The question struck a chord, exposing her resentment and hatred, something she couldn’t hide.

Seongho was pleased with the reaction.

*‘Maybe I can expect their cooperation after all.’*

Seo Min-hee, who had been one of the civilians but was now awakened, could help alleviate some of the resentment civilians held towards the awakened.

Additionally, the number written in the fortune cookie still lingered in his mind.

*‘The sum of the numbers in the fortune cookie was 17.’*

The New Humanity camp had 12 awakened individuals, and there were 2 people on Seongho and Im Chan’s side.

Adding them up, it was only 14.

The sum in the fortune didn’t add up.

This meant there must be more personnel brought in from outside.

Though, even with that in mind, some parts didn’t make sense.

*‘If I use the puppet ability, I would add five more, so the total should be at least seven. But how did the numbers 5 and 12 come about?’*

Was it possible the puppet ability failed to work?

If so, the 12 might refer to the enemy's strength, but that didn’t necessarily mean it was wrong.

Explaining the 5 was difficult.

*‘Even if I add the two of them here, one person is still missing.’*

As Seongho thought, he glanced over to where Im Ji-hyo was sitting, drawing scribbles on the ground with a shooting star magic marker while the adults were talking.

*‘Adding her would make sense.’*

But Ji-hyo wasn’t a combatant and couldn’t be counted on for anything special.

Yet, she was the only option that came to mind.

Seongho shook his head.

*‘I shouldn’t jump to conclusions.’*

Since he didn’t know what would happen, it wouldn’t hurt to try and persuade the two of them to join.

Seongho clearly explained his stance on the New Humanity camp.

"I can’t explain how I know about them, but my goal has always been to take them down."

If they were willing to help, they could join.

With that, Seo Min-hee’s expression hardened.

"Are you planning to fight all those awakened ones alone?"

Her face showed distrust, wariness, and suspicion.

But there was a small spark of desire in her eyes, something

 she couldn’t hide.

They both swallowed at the same time.

Seongho noticed their reactions and decided to back off for a moment.

"I won’t explain everything to someone who won’t help. If you’re afraid of taking on the risk, then don’t get involved."

As Seongho stood up, shaking the diary in his hand, he said, "I’ve already received your life’s debt, so you don’t need to feel indebted."

"Ah…"

As Seongho turned and walked away, Seo Min-hee’s eyes trembled.

That was definitely agitation.

Seeing the situation turning in his favor, Seongho left them with one last remark.

"And this is a separate matter..."

"Yes?"

"Seo Min-hee’s ability, I believe it lets you control the strength and direction of water, not just create it. Is it possible to move it to some degree as well?"

"Um..."

Seo Min-hee hesitated to answer, perhaps reluctant to reveal too much about her power.

Seongho wasn’t concerned and continued with his thoughts.

"Have you ever thought about using water to block someone’s airway, or trapping them underwater?"

Seo Min-hee took a deep breath and froze.

After a moment, she glanced down at her hands with a complex expression.

Seongho also gave similar advice to Kyuhyun.

"And Kyuhyun, this is the second time you’ve used your ability strangely."

"Y-yeah?"

"The strength of your ability isn’t in long-distance communication. It's more about secretly watching or eavesdropping on distant events. So why reveal your ability so openly?"

"Uh... uh..."

"Practice making the medium as small as possible and hiding it between structures. Naturally, increasing the operational distance is important."

It was still an early time for developing and refining their powers.

Seongho, however, had plenty of data from reading the original story.

As he offered the advice, both Seo Min-hee and Kyuhyun fell into deep thought, remaining silent.

Seongho watched them for a moment, then quietly turned his back.