As he said that, Cheol-wook put his arm around one of the soldiers standing nearby.  

“He’s been a great help in many ways.”  

The soldier’s face looked a bit familiar.  

“Isn’t that the deserter from the ammunition depot?”  

“You, you remember me?”  

Among the soldiers who had deserted from the ammunition depot and barely survived to join our unit, this was the one who had shown interest in farming.  

“When I heard the soldiers from the ammunition depot were annihilated, I felt a bit melancholic. But seeing a familiar face in the fields, well…”  

“Ah.”  

“I was so glad to see him.”  

Now that I think about it,  

Cheol-wook was close with the officers and soldiers of the ammunition depot.  

And this fellow was from that very ammunition depot.  

No wonder the two seemed acquainted.  

“He roughly told me how the ammunition depot was annihilated.”  

“…So, you were the one who told him that?”  

I looked at the soldier with a slightly surprised expression.  

The main cause of the ammunition depot’s annihilation was desertion.  

I didn’t expect the culprit himself to have brought up the annihilation.  

“…It was probably because of me that the ammunition depot was annihilated.”  

But it seemed the soldier felt he had to explain further, since he was the one involved.  

“I thought Cheol-wook ahjussi, who had many friends there, should know about it.”  

” Cheol-wook ahjussi, are you alright with this?”  

“Hm? Well, it’s clear this fellow did wrong. I’m in no position to judge him on that. But…”  

Cheol-wook ahjussi, said with a chuckle,  

“In this era where most familiar faces have perished, I’m simply glad to see one that I recognize.”  

“Cheol-wook ahjussi,…”  

“This fellow actively helped with the civilian support work when he came out. Even now, if he sees something lacking, he rushes over to help. How could I not be grateful?”  

Looking towards the fields,  

Cheol-wook ahjussi, muttered in a small voice,  

“I picked this place just because it was near my hometown. But now I get to see a familiar face as well.”  

“…”  

“It seems I made the right choice in coming here.”  

Come to think of it,  

I had a question I wanted to ask Cheol-wook ahjussi.  

“How did you end up deciding to settle near our unit?”  

“Ah, I recently heard a rumor that the plunderers causing trouble in the area had been suppressed. And that the military unit doing the suppression was a relatively intact one.”  

It was a rumor spread by Jeong Soo-ah.  

Seems it had spread well among the survivors.  

“In our group, I’m the only awakened one. And I’m not a combat specialist at that. So, there were limits to just hiding.”  

“I see.”  

“At the point when I heard the rumors about this unit, we had only two choices.”  

Two choices?  

“Either join the large survivor group in the north or go to the military unit in the south.”  

“Ah.”  

“Since my original home was also in this vicinity, I simply chose this place. In the end, it turned out well, so I’m truly grateful.”  

The large survivor group.  

I had heard about them a few times before.  

A group that seemed to have plundered some bunker or other, overflowing with weapons and food.  

“To be honest, and it may just be my own feeling, but I’ve had the impression that the number and strength of the monsters have been increasing day by day.”  

“Is that so?”  

“Yes. Up until now, we’ve managed to survive by hiding in small survivor groups, but I think those who have reached their limits will gradually seek refuge in larger forces. And among them, we just happened to choose this side.”  

So, the largest groups in this area have now split into two.  

Our unit, located in the south of Inje-gun.  

And the large survivor group in the north.  

After seeing Cheol-wook off,  

I, who remained in the restaurant, pondered deeply.  

‘Building a society around our unit is not a bad idea. In the long run, it would be the best way to grow our power.’  

However, this method would take some time before bearing fruit.  

I glanced towards the military zone direction.  

It would still require a lot of time to gain the strength to conquer that interior.  

But…  

‘What if that large survivor group is similar in strength to us, or even a bit weaker?’  

I don’t even hope to absorb them.  

But if we could form an alliance with them. Can’t we then take care of the monsters within the military zone?  

Now that a society is starting to form around the unit, the size of the unit will naturally grow without me even my intervention.   

Having reached a conclusion, I got up and thought,  

“I wonder, if I should bring a gift?”