“Ah, I haven’t informed you about that. Mr. Park Cheol-gon and his group have also joined us. He seemed very pleased about it.”  

“I see.”  

In these times, there aren’t many people who can show that kind of behavior.  

‘He was a good person.’  

I felt a tinge of bitterness.  

I asked the man one last question.  

“Was it you who brought Mr. Park Cheol-gon to the Guild?”  

“Yes, I’m responsible for the scouting activities of our union.”  

“That’s good.”  

“Pardon?”  

But at least now I can get my revenge.  

I rose from my seat and said,  

“Gwang-il, Su-hyeok.”  

“Yes.”  

[The Chef’s Eyes skill has been activated]  

[Acquired Intermediate Grade Cooking Secret: Enlightenment of Primate (Vampire) Preparation]  

“The weak point is the heart. While the Mist technique may prevent physical attacks, it’s only a lesser skill. The duration won’t be long. They’re quite strong, but you two should be able to handle them easily.”  

“…I see the conversation was a bit strange. So that’s what it was. Understood.”  

“Huh? Am I the only one who didn’t understand? Sergeant Shin, what are you talking about?”  

“Just follow my lead.”  

Corporal Su-hyeok nodded as he heard my words.  

While Gwang-il was still tilting his head in confusion.  

“Huh? What do you mean… Wait, did you just say ‘Mist’?”  

Seemingly not yet realizing the abnormality, he asked about my words.  

Ignoring the man who was questioning me,  

I took out combat rations and poured them into my mouth.  

[All abilities have increased]  

[Due to the effect of ‘Absolute Palate’, the effect of the cooking has increased by 50%.]  

“Let’s go.”  

“Mist? Could it be… you guys have-”  

The man seemed to have realized something.  

Towards him,  

Bang!  

Corporal Su-hyeok quickly drew his gun and fired.  

“Ugh…!”  

The scout we were conversing with, the Lesser Vampire Knight Gwon Wantae, had a hole punched through his heart.  

[Ingredient Identification (Enhanced)]  

[Freshness Excellent → Medium]  

His freshness had rapidly decreased.  

“What have you done!”  

“How dare you inferior beings touch Brother Wantae…!”  

The men behind him drew their weapons.  

I swung my kitchen knife towards them.  

I was planning to sever their windpipes according to the ‘preparation method’ that had entered my mind.  

However,  

Whoosh-  

Their bodies transformed into a crimson mist.  

The knife I had swung merely swept through the mist.  

‘Tsk.’  

They reacted better than I expected.  

“Damn it. Using their racial trait, huh.”   

“Looks like we’ve been exposed.”  

“That’s not important! We must urgently request assistance from the Queen!”  

The men transformed into mist tried to flee outside.  

But,  

“Where do you think you’re going!”  

Sergeant Gwang-il leaped off the ground with a thud and chased after them.  

Unlike Gwon Wantae, who was a ‘Lesser Vampire Knight’ over level 10,  

Those men were ‘Novice Vampire Knights.’  

And their Mist trait, being of the lowest rank, did not last long.  

“Haha! Finally, you’ve revealed your true nature!”  

“Ugh…”  

Crack.  

Sergeant Gwang-il’s fist pierced through one man’s chest.  

In the hand that had penetrated the vampire’s body was his heart.  

“Eeek, eek…”  

“Ah, it looks like you’re sad to lose your friend. Let me send you to the same place!”  

Gwang-il, rambling nonsense, grasped the neck of the remaining one.  

Just as he was about to stab the vampire’s chest,  

“Gwang-il. Hold on.”  

“Yes, sir!”  

The man, consumed by frenzy, immediately stopped his actions at my command.  

Seeing this, Sergeant Su-hyeok looked at me and asked.  

“Won’t you take care of it? If it blooms into fog again, I think we’ll have no choice but to miss it.”  

“Wait a moment.”  

I took out a piece of jerky from the combat ration pouch on my waist.  

I had made one just for a time like this.  

[Powerlessness Jerky created by an Intermediate Chef]  

“That guy. Open his mouth.”  

“Yes.”  

“What, stop. What are you trying to feed me…!”  

“Something delicious.”  

Gwang-il forcibly opened the vampire’s mouth.  

I tried to shove the jerky despite his sharp fangs, but…  

‘Wait. These guys. They said they were vampires.’  

Mac, who had occupied the hardware store, only ate hardware.  

‘If these guys are just the same species as the vampires I know by name, then they might need a suitable dish as well.’  

Hmm.  

In that case.  

‘The hastily made dish might be a bit low in quality. But oh well.’  

I brought my wrist to the jerky I had taken out and lightly scratched it with the [Dokkkogusik].  

“Captain Shin!?”  

“Calm down, dude.”  

It’s not like I suddenly lost my will to live or anything.  

As my blood dropped onto the jerky,  

the name of the dish changed.  

[Powerlessness Jerky infused with blood of an Intermediate Chef]  

That’s it.  

The jerky, now a bit moist from absorbing the blood.  

I shoved it into the vampire’s open mouth.  

“Ugh, feeding me your blood. No matter what you were thinking, you’ll come to regret it…”  

As the vampire started babbling nonsense,  

it soon slumped down.  

“…Captain Shin’s debuff dish. It seems to be getting more effective as time goes on.”  

Since the dish was already powerful at over level 20,  

It seemed to have completely overwhelmed the vampire with a crushing powerlessness and lethargy, sending it into a deep sleep.  

“I just did as you ordered, but… what is this all about?”  

Gwang-il, who was carrying the slumped vampire, asked with a puzzled expression.  

This guy is really remarkable in his own way.  

Even after breaking a vampire’s heart on my command, he still doesn’t know what’s going on.  

“The fact that they turned into fog, and the fact that I mixed in blood to feed them.”  

On the other hand,  

Corporal Seo Su-hyeok calmly looked around and said,  

“Is this… what I’m thinking?”  

“Probably.”  

“I see.”  

“What the hell is going on?”  

Su-hyeok explained to the perplexed Gwang-il,  

“This place is not a paradise, nor is it an appropriate ally.”  

“What do you mean…”  

“It’s a breeding ground.”  

Vampires who grow stronger by consuming human blood.  

This is the place where they lure their prey.  

That’s what this [Large Survivor Group] really is.  

“Wakeup our soldiers and start the vehicle.”  

“Are we heading back right away?”  

“The one you shot down seemed to have some status and was quite articulate. If it’s known that he’s dead, more might come after us.”  

We quickly woke the soldiers and returned to the ammunition depot.  

While riding in the armored vehicle through the darkness, I thought,  

‘That place is probably where they’re gathering the most survivors around here.’  

But they were not trustworthy allies.  

The gathered survivors would either become vampire prey,  

or perhaps turn into vampires themselves.  

 After settling at the ammunition depot outpost, survivors gathered, and a society was formed.  

 With farmers joining, it finally seemed like we were doing alright.  

‘Like hell we’re doing alright.’  

Little did we know, there were bat offspring filled with the intent to devour humans lurking above us.