‘Ah.’

Seongho realized someone must be watching from somewhere out of sight.

With a small chuckle, he stepped aside from the doorway.

"Calling this an interruption might be a bit much… but if you don’t mind sitting, please come in."

As soon as Im Chan entered the room, he bowed deeply once more.

"I’m so sorry for the delay in thanking you properly. For helping Ji-hyo, really… thank you from the bottom of my heart. I—I don’t know how I’ll ever repay this debt, but I promise I will."

He trailed off, overcome by emotion as tears welled up again.

Watching a grown man cry wasn’t exactly comfortable for Seongho, who awkwardly averted his gaze and gestured for Im Chan to sit.

"Take a moment to calm yourself."

Only after a brief pause did Im Chan manage to compose himself.

He then took out something he had brought with him.

"This is hardly a worthy gesture of thanks… but it’s some extra preserved food I received while working here."

Opening the bag, Seongho found it filled with various canned goods.

"This isn’t why I called you here," Seongho replied, glancing at the supplies.

Im Chan gave an embarrassed smile.

"I don’t mean to misunderstand your intentions. It’s just… I wanted to give this to you. It may not be much, but please accept it as a token of my gratitude."

With that insistence, Seongho couldn’t refuse. He nodded and accepted the provisions.

Right afterward, Im Chan’s face took on a noticeably gloomy expression.

"And there’s… something else I need to tell you."

Seongho had a feeling he knew where this was going.

"They’re planning to imprison me, aren’t they?"

"Y-yes… as soon as Choi Ji-young suggested locking you in the basement, everyone got… excited about the idea…."

Im Chan’s hands trembled as he spoke, clearly shaken by what the hospital staff were plotting.

‘Well, I’m not surprised.’

Since he had anticipated this turn of events, Seongho remained unfazed.

"What was Choi Seungjo’s reaction? Did he try to stop them or agree with them?"

"From what I saw, he didn’t actively oppose or discourage them. If anything…."

"If anything?"

"…he seemed relieved that someone else had brought it up first. At least, that’s how it looked to me."

"Hm."

"I’m truly sorry… if you hadn’t helped Ji-hyo, you wouldn’t have had to deal with any of this…."

"There’s no need for you to apologize," Seongho interrupted, his tone firm.

"And it’s not even a big deal. I expected something like this might happen."

"Huh…?"

Instead of answering directly, Seongho asked another question.

"By the way, are you sure you should be telling me all this? Aren’t you part of the hospital?"

"Well, I… I can’t just stand by and let something like this happen as a fellow human being… you helped me, after all, and I want to repay that kindness…."

Im Chan stammered, unable to organize his thoughts clearly.

Seongho, seeing through his hesitation, cut to the chase.

"You want to come with me, don’t you?"

Im Chan’s eyes widened in shock, as if Seongho had read his mind.

‘Originally, I was going to approach this more cautiously.’

Seongho had figured that with a daughter to protect, Im Chan might be reluctant to leave the relative safety of the hospital.

But seeing Im Chan seek him out and reveal the hospital’s true intentions had changed his mind.

‘He’s decided to side with me over the hospital.’

Despite his ties with the hospital group, Im Chan had chosen to rely on Seongho’s powers, valuing them over his old connections.

And fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—

"Actually, I was planning to ask if you’d be interested in coming along. Having someone with medical knowledge would be reassuring, and that’s part of why I called you here."

Seongho had already decided to bring Im Chan along.

‘I’d feel uneasy leaving him here.’

If he left Im Chan behind, there was a high chance he could spiral down a dark path if something happened to his daughter.

‘Plus, he’s knowledgeable in medicine, so he’d be a valuable asset.’

And beyond that, Im Chan was an awakened individual.

Though not a combat specialist, his abilities held a unique value.

‘With Im Chan’s skill, we can solve the food scarcity problem that’s looming ahead.’

There were plenty of reasons for Seongho to bring Im Chan into his group.

‘The only downside is that he comes with a child….’

In a world like this, a young child is practically dead weight.

She couldn’t fight zombies, carry heavy loads, or endure long journeys.

And if she were to start crying in the middle of the road, they’d be in real trouble.

But despite these concerns, Seongho had already made up his mind to take Im Chan along.

‘The advantages outweigh the drawbacks.’

Including a child in the group was a manageable downside for the benefits.

Of course, there was no need to go into all of this with Im Chan.

"Was my guess correct?"

When Seongho nudged him for an answer, Im Chan clenched his hands and nodded.

"It’s selfish of me… but yes. After seeing how the others reacted, I made up my mind."

His voice grew harder and more resolved.

"And as you know, my daughter isn’t immune. Without your power, there’s no telling when she might mutate again… if you’d take us with you, I’d be forever grateful. I promise I’ll do everything I can to support you. I have medical training and I’m sure it could be of help. I only ask that you let my daughter come with us…."

He seemed tense, as though afraid Seongho might refuse to take the child along.

But Seongho had already decided to accept her despite the risks.

"In return, I’ll need you to help me."

"What kind of help, exactly…?"

"What do you think? Betraying the people at the hospital."

Although he had expected their behavior, that didn’t mean he wasn’t annoyed.

‘I don’t intend to leave quietly.’

When Seongho waited in silence for a response, Im Chan’s expression hardened, and he replied resolutely.

"…I’ll do it. Whatever you need, I won’t let you down."

For the sake of his daughter, Im Chan was willing to do anything.

He had already asked to follow Seongho and was prepared to sever ties with the hospital.

---

Later that afternoon, Im Ji-hyo woke up.

Despite showing signs of fever, she had regained consciousness as a human rather than becoming a zombie.

Seeing such a miracle firsthand, Choi Seungjo officially requested that Seongho treat the other infected patients.

Seongho set a few conditions.

- Regardless of my decision to stay, I want the two weeks’ worth of food and emergency supplies I requested immediately after the treatment is completed.

- And I need everyone in the hospital, including the infected and the rest of the staff, to gather in one place.

With no other options, Seungjo agreed to Seongho’s terms.

However, Seongho postponed the virus extraction until after the symptoms of mutation appeared.

This was to allow any possible immune individuals to reveal themselves.

After all, anyone who awakened might be an asset to the camp.

But it turned out to be a needless delay.

Among the infected in the hospital camp, not a single one had immunity.

By the evening of the second day, when the sun began to set, all 15 infected individuals besides Im Ji-hyo began to show signs of fever.

"Mr. Seongho."

Seungjo, who had set aside two backpacks in the corner of the ER, called out nervously.

Leaning against the wall, Seongho stepped forward.

All eyes in the crowded ER turned toward him.

Some of them looked at Seongho with suspicion.

Although the story of him curing Im Ji-hyo had spread throughout the hospital, there were still those who doubted him since they hadn’t seen it firsthand.

Yet no one dared to openly voice their distrust.

The reason being that Im Ji-hyo herself was standing nearby, clinging to her father’s leg and looking around curiously.

**‘Let’s wait and see for now.’**

**‘If he’s a fraud, we’ll find out soon enough.’**

**‘If he’s toying with people’s lives, I won’t let him off easy.’**

Ignoring the array of emotions directed his way, Seongho approached the rows of hospital beds.

Due to his request, the infected patients had all been gathered in the spacious ER.

Their arms and legs were bound in case anything went wrong.

Seongho examined each patient, moving down the line of beds.

Some were barely conscious, while others had already passed out, limp on the beds.

White steam was rising from their bodies, creating a heat so intense that the ER felt warm despite all the windows being open.

Unconsciously, Seongho swallowed dryly.

**‘So, this is mutation.’**

He hadn’t really had time to observe it closely when treating Im Ji-hyo, given the urgency of the situation.

But now, seeing more than ten people suffering with steam rising off their bodies was staggering.

It was unlike anything he’d ever seen before.

And yet, he was reminded that he had known this could happen.

- "Infected individuals experiencing fever often feel as if they’re burning. The abnormal heat they emit defies explanation unless they’re truly setting themselves ablaze."

- "With each step closer, I could feel

 the heat emanating. It was clear a patient on the verge of mutation was here."

The words he had once glimpsed in passing were now coming to life before him.

The gap between fiction and reality was unsettling, and strangely, that feeling of dissonance only pulled him deeper into this world.

It felt as though his body and mind, once distant, were now being drawn into its depths.

With that, an unease crept over him—a sense of detachment from his original world.

"Mr. Seongho?"

Now wasn’t the time to lose himself in thought.

Seongho reached out to the person lying on the nearest bed.

Flash.

A familiar virus orb appeared in his hand with a bright light.

After collecting it, he moved on to the next patient.

Flash, and flash again.

Wherever he went, the patients’ breathing noticeably calmed.

Even the most visible sign of mutation, the rising steam, gradually disappeared.

A murmur began to grow louder among the onlookers.

Some family members, friends, and loved ones of the infected rushed forward toward the beds.

"Joo-seong!"

"My son… my son is safe…!"

"Young-hye…."

They confirmed with their own hands and eyes that their loved ones were safe.

The ER quickly turned into a sea of tears.

Since the virus outbreak, people had been forced to say goodbye to those dear to them.

But today, they had reclaimed the warmth they thought they’d lost.

They celebrated this moment that felt like a miracle.

"This—this is a miracle!"

"Ah, dear God! Thank you, thank you so much!"

And as the crowd celebrated, Seongho staggered.

He braced himself against the bed beside him and reached into his pocket.

**[Fortune Cookie]**

‘I used my power ten times already.’

Now, he was about to use it for the eleventh time.

Just in case, Seongho knelt beside the bed.

His body was trembling, but he gritted his teeth.

**‘I need to keep pushing my limits while I can.’**

With steely determination, he used his power for the eleventh time.

"Ugh…!"

His vision darkened.

"Mr. Seongho?"

"Seongho!"

Realizing something was wrong, a few people tried to approach him.

But as Seongho’s vision cleared, he firmly waved them off.

**‘Using my powers to the limit twice in a row will definitely knock me out.’**

He was sure of that.

So, instead of pushing further, he tore open the wrapper of the Fortune Cookie he’d been holding.

When he split the cookie in half, a slip of paper fell out.

Since he didn’t have time to read it, he pocketed the paper and shoved the cookie into his mouth.