‘What was that just now…?’

Seongho blinked in confusion as Nurse Im Chan left the emergency room.

Still staring at the empty spot where Im Chan had been, Seongho suddenly heard muffled sobs and crying, turning his head toward the sound.

‘It must be the infected.’

While waiting for treatment in the emergency room, Seongho had overheard quite a bit of conversation.

From what he gathered, there were a few things he learned.

The camp members didn’t have a solid understanding of the evolved zombies.

Instead of calling them “evolved zombies,” they referred to them as “monsters.”

This showed that the concept of evolved zombies wasn’t yet fully accepted or understood.

As a result, there was a heated debate about whether the people who had been injured were infected.

Some hoped that, since they’d been bitten by regular zombies and not by the blood-filled lumps, they weren’t infected.

But that didn’t change the fact that they were infected.

The camp members weren’t sure, but at least they seemed to understand that it was a dangerous situation.

- **“If you don’t know whether they’re infected, you should assume they are!”**

- **“What if all those people change and start biting us?”**

- **“Right! You know how quickly mutations spread when an infected person turns inside the camp!”**

The non-bitten members were especially vocal in their fear.

Meanwhile, most of the fighters vented their frustration.

They had risked their lives fighting to protect this place while the others mostly hid in safer areas, trembling.

In an instant, emotions of anger, sorrow, fear, and anxiety blended into one.

Just an hour ago, the emergency room had almost turned into chaos.

The situation calmed down only after Choi Seungjo intervened.

- **“Let’s give it some time and see.”**

- **“But Seungjo, what if they mutate?”**

- **“I’m not saying we should leave them be, I’m saying let’s wait and see. If they’re really infected, someone immune, like me, might show up. If not, everyone should be fine.”**

It was an attempt to dilute the hostility from those who hadn’t been bitten while offering hope to those who had.

The ones who hadn’t been bitten remained quiet, perhaps worried about angering a potential new awakened one.

As a result, the chaos died down, and everyone agreed to an interim quarantine.

However, Seongho wasn’t entirely convinced by Choi Seungjo’s solution.

‘“They might be immune,” huh…’

What would the people who realized it was a false hope feel?

Seongho couldn’t help but wonder.

‘The chance of there being an immune person is very low.’

He sighed deeply in frustration, shaking his head.

Thinking about it too much would only cause him stress.

Shaking off the dark thoughts, he looked up to see the bright yellow sunset outside the window.

Looking through the window, the sun was setting.

Another day was drawing to a close.

‘…It’s still the first day.’

It felt like it had been at least ten days.

Letting out a small, hollow laugh, Seongho suddenly heard a knock.

“Excuse me.”

Turning toward the sound of the knock at the door, he saw a woman he hadn’t met before standing there.

“I came to guide you to the cafeteria.”

Seongho’s eyes widened slightly.

He had thought their interactions were done. After all, they had helped each other once, but he hadn’t expected further favors.

Given the world they were in, he never expected kindness or goodwill.

He had prepared himself to be kicked out anytime, since no one had asked about the evolved zombies.

But now, they were offering to guide him to the cafeteria?

“Are you offering food?” Seongho asked, his voice tinged with surprise.

“Well, you did save our lives, so I think we should at least treat you to a meal.”

Since they were offering food, there was no reason for Seongho to refuse.

“Shall we go, or not?”

The woman urged him on, and Seongho stood up, responding.

“If you’re offering, I’ll gladly accept.”

“Well then, let’s go. We all gather in the cafeteria to eat. By the way, my name is Choi Ji-young.”

“I’m Han Seongho.”

After a brief exchange of names, the two walked down the hallway.

On the way to the cafeteria, they passed by several people.

‘It’s a large group.’

There must have been at least a dozen infected fighters.

The other members weren’t few either.

Guided by Choi Ji-young, Seongho entered the cafeteria, and sure enough.

‘There must be at least twenty people here.’

Not everyone was eating at the same time, so the total number was probably even higher.

With a camp this size, it was likely that all the surrounding resources had been gathered here.

Finally, it made sense why Seongho hadn’t encountered many zombies since arriving.

‘These people must have cleared the area around here.’

As he observed the camp’s situation subtly, Seongho sat down with Ji-young after receiving a simple meal.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, without further conversation.

“Apa, over here!”

Suddenly, Ji-young raised her hand and called out to someone.

Following her gaze, Seongho saw Choi Seungjo entering the cafeteria.

It seemed that Choi Ji-young was his daughter.

Seungjo, having gotten his meal, approached the table where they were sitting.

“Seongho-ssi.”

He greeted Seongho immediately.

“I wish I could have guided you myself, but there’s still a lot to organize. I asked Ji-young for help. I hope you didn’t mind.”

“It’s fine. I appreciate you looking out for me, especially in the chaos.”

“I’m glad you understand. By the way, how’s your wound?”

“According to Im Chan, the sutures went well.”

“That’s a relief.”

Noticing that Seongho’s tray was half empty, Seungjo added.

“If you’re still hungry, feel free to eat more. Given what you’ve done for us, there’s no reason to hold back.”

“Thank you.”

“And the others also wanted me to express their gratitude to you. I’m also really grateful. Just when we thought it was all over, you appeared like a miracle.”

“It was just luck.”

“To us, it felt like a miracle.”

Laughing heartily, Seungjo recalled the events from hours ago.

“We kept fighting, and no matter how much we fought, the creatures kept coming, but then, they all washed away in one go. I had to stop and ask myself, ‘What’s going on?’ How did you know the monsters were weak to water?”

Having gotten a free meal, Seongho thought, *Maybe I can exchange more information and supplies before I leave.*

After quickly considering it, Seongho shrugged nonchalantly.

“Traveling alone gives you a lot of opportunities to observe. I found out that those who use abilities don’t use them when it rains.”

This was information he had picked up from the original protagonist.

Though Seongho felt a twinge of guilt for borrowing the knowledge, he didn’t show it.

Continuing without hesitation, he added.

“It was strange, so I tried sprinkling water on them on a non-rainy day, and they washed away. Their main bodies are slow, so if you neutralize their abilities and take advantage of that, it’s much easier to kill them.”

“Their identity… They are evolved zombies, right?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“They eat people and evolve… Wait, so you mean there’s more than one of these creatures, right?”

“Yes, it feels like I’m encountering them more frequently now.”

Although Seongho had only seen one evolved zombie so far, he knew that more would appear.

It wasn’t hard to believe.

The revelation seemed to shock the table, and the mood quickly turned cold.

Seongho allowed the silence to settle as everyone absorbed the information.

After a moment, Seungjo and Ji-young regained their composure.

Exchanging a few silent glances, Seungjo spoke again.

“I know this is sudden, but would you consider staying until your injury heals?”

Seongho tugged at the corner of his mouth.

‘They’re trying to keep me here.’

It seemed that Seungjo wanted to keep an eye on Seongho to prevent him from leaking information about the camp or possibly being a spy.

Given the timing of the evolved zombies and Seongho’s arrival, this suspicion made sense.

‘It’s likely because of the timing with the evolved zombies.’

Seungjo’s mind must have been racing with various theories and suspicions.

He was probably scouring the hospital’s perimeter, searching for any signs of potential raiders.

‘He’s making a lot of unnecessary trouble for himself.’

Seongho didn’t intend to clear up the misunderstanding.

There was no point in trying to explain, especially since the person who would suffer was Seungjo, not him.

While Seongho silently sorted through his thoughts, Seungjo added hurriedly.

“If you have urgent business, I understand… but you’re a life saver. I’m worried you might get into trouble if you leave too soon.”

Honestly, from Seongho’s perspective, accepting the offer was more advantageous than refusing.

‘If I need to leave, it’s not like I don’t have an exit.’

Seongho had observed the

 layout of the hospital on his way in, and the structure matched what he remembered.

That meant he could likely find other locations within the facility with a similar design.

‘There’s definitely an emergency exit on the west side…’

This was where the medical staff had used emergency escapes during a fire years ago.

There was one on each floor.

Since it was indistinguishable from a regular wall unless someone knew about it, not many people would notice it.

In the worst case, Seongho could escape using that.

‘There’s something I want to check first…’

The tattoos on Im Chan’s neck.

And the line associated with them.

‘That’s definitely from the original story.’

In the novel, there was a character with butterfly tattoos on their neck and shoulder.

Though the character’s name wasn’t revealed, their alias—*Butterfly*—was memorable.

Now Seongho had encountered someone with the exact same tattoos in the same spots.

Could this be just a coincidence?

‘Let’s stay here until I confirm Im Chan’s identity.’

If Im Chan was indeed *Butterfly*, Seongho would have to act fast.

‘Before time runs out, I’ll have to either eliminate or persuade him.’

There was no guarantee it would go as planned, but leaving without checking felt too uncomfortable.

Fortunately, it seemed that Seungjo didn’t want Seongho to leave just yet.

“Seongho-ssi, do you have any urgent matters?”

Seungjo subtly pushed for a decision.

Seongho smiled lightly.

“I just didn’t want to impose. Usually, outsiders aren’t welcomed so warmly.”

“Well, as you can see, we’re already quite a large group. Adding one or two more won’t be a problem.”

“In fact, it’s a bit overwhelming. There are so many people here, and I’m alone.”

“Ah, I see. If that’s the issue, I’ll arrange for a private space where you can rest. Would that work?”

Seungjo, smiling kindly, looked at Seongho expectantly.

In response, Seongho smiled and nodded.

“If you’re offering, I’ll stay for a few days. If I don’t rest, my wound might worsen, and that would be on me.”

“Good decision.”

With that, their conversation ended.

Seungjo quickly left to attend to other matters, and Seongho watched him leave. Just then, he saw Im Chan entering the cafeteria.