「You have consumed a Fortune Cookie.」  
「All injuries and abilities have been restored.」  
「Physical abilities increased by 100% for one hour.」  

A translucent timer appeared at the center of Seongho’s vision, and the fatigue that had dominated his body vanished. He felt rejuvenated, as if a dry sponge were soaking up water, flooding his entire body with energy. The sensation was oddly exhilarating.

With the exhaustion that had been pressing him to the edge of collapse now gone, Seongho resumed his work. There were still four infected patients left to treat, and he swiftly extracted the virus from each one. Once all the infected were healed, he finally had a moment to catch his breath and review the cascade of system messages filling his view.

「1 Contribution Point has been added.」  
「10P of Corruption Points have been added.」  
「1 Contribution Point has been added.」  
…  
「The world’s inhabitants have witnessed the Pioneer’s actions.」  
「The world’s inhabitants are influenced by the Pioneer.」  
「The Pioneer’s influence has slightly increased.」  
「Corruption Points decreased by 5P.」  
「Corruption Points decreased by 7P.」  
「1 Contribution Point has been added.」  
「10P of Corruption Points have been added.」  
「Corruption Points decreased by 7P.」  
「Corruption Points decreased by 6P.」  
「1 Contribution Point has been added.」  
…  

The Corruption Points had decreased significantly, though some had increased due to his treatments. Even with the decrease, it hadn’t been entirely eliminated.

‘29 points left,’ he noted.

Satisfied, Seongho then turned his attention to his stats:

- Physical Ability: 10 (+5)  
- Ability Power: 8/12  

The numbers looked a little unfamiliar, adjusted by the effects of the Fortune Cookie. But so far, everything was proceeding as expected. Just as he finished confirming all the changes, a presence approached him from the side.

"Mr. Seongho."

It was Choi Seungjo, his eyes red-rimmed from emotion.

"Dr. Im has confirmed that all the infected have returned to normal temperature and pulse ranges. I… on behalf of everyone, thank you so much. I don’t know how to express our gratitude."

Choi Seungjo bowed so deeply that the top of his head was visible, his sincerity evident. However, instead of responding to him, Seongho glanced toward the entrance of the ER, where Im Chan stood. Meeting Seongho’s gaze, Im Chan immediately picked up his daughter Ji-hyo and quietly slipped out.

In their joy and relief, everyone was too absorbed to notice him leaving.

As soon as Im Chan was gone, Seungjo straightened up and spoke again.

"We’d like to offer you a meal as thanks for all you’ve done, though it’s only a small gesture."

He invited Seongho to join them in the dining hall, trying to keep his expression innocent and guileless. It was almost amusing how he feigned ignorance.

Of course, Seongho had no intention of calling him out on it.

"No need. Just give me the supplies we agreed on. I’m leaving right away."

Seongho’s words froze the smile on Seungjo’s face, and others nearby, overhearing him, were visibly taken aback. Seongho stood up and strode toward Seungjo.

"Mr. Seongho, why are you suddenly saying you’re leaving? You said you’d consider staying at the camp. If there’s something that bothered you, we could talk it over—"

But Seungjo’s sentence was cut short by Seongho’s fist connecting with his jaw.

*Crack!*

A crisp, chilling sound filled the air as Seongho’s uppercut hit its mark with frightening accuracy. Even Seongho was a little shocked at the force behind his punch.

‘That probably broke his jaw.’

The temporary boost from the Fortune Cookie was stronger than he had anticipated.

‘I’ll finish this quickly.’

*Thud!*

With another heavy blow, Seungjo’s head jerked to the side. Seongho didn’t stop there, landing several more punches in rapid succession.

*Smack, smack!*

In mere seconds, Seungjo was rendered completely helpless, unable to retaliate.

According to what Im Chan had told him, Seungjo’s power was telekinesis. If he regained his senses, Seongho would be vulnerable to being lifted into the air with no defense. So Seongho had launched a preemptive strike, leaving Seungjo unconscious with his eyes rolled back.

As he released Seungjo’s limp body, Seongho straightened up.

‘Don’t blame me.’

He didn’t feel particularly guilty about beating him down; after all, it was they who had planned to betray him.

"What the…"

"Wh-what are you all doing? Grab him! Don’t let him go!"

A few people, finally snapping out of their shock, rushed toward Seongho.

‘I used to train professionally. It would be humiliating to get beaten by untrained people.’

He threw a quick hook, striking the face of the man in front of him. His movements were faster than most could react to.

"Gah!"

The man was thrown to the side, and another tried to tackle him from behind. Seongho yanked him forward by the collar, sidestepping to deliver a kick to the side of another attacker’s stomach. The man doubled over in pain, unable to even scream, and collapsed.

Leaving him writhing, Seongho delivered a flurry of punches to the one he had pulled toward him.

*Thud, thud, thud!*

One by one, his attackers fell, until eight of them were sprawled on the floor. The remaining few hesitated, backing away.

Seizing the opportunity, Seongho headed toward the bag in the corner of the ER. He opened it to check, just in case, and—of course.

"Incredible."

He tipped the bag upside down, and stones tumbled out in full view of everyone.

Several people, squeezing out the last drops of their courage, shouted at him.

"Sh-shit! There’s more of us than him! Get him!"

"Yeah! We can’t let him leave like this!"

But despite their words, they merely circled him, too afraid to engage after witnessing how quickly he had subdued the others.

This time, Seongho charged toward them.

"Aaagh!"

His first target yelped and stumbled backward, barely evading Seongho’s punch as it hit the wall with a resounding crash. He dropped to the floor, wide-eyed, at the sight of the wall cracking from the impact. Dust trickled down as chunks of cement fell to the floor.

The man’s face went pale as he saw Seongho draw his fist back.

"Lucky you. I was about to crack your head open."

Seeing Seongho punch through a wall with his bare hands drained the last of the group’s morale, and they backed away, creating a clear path for him.

Seongho gave the pile of stones a kick in irritation and walked down the corridor.

He stopped in front of Choi Ji-young, who was staring at the floor in shock.

He looked from her to Seungjo, unconscious on the floor, then back to her.

Smirking, Seongho pulled a virus orb from his pocket.

"Leaving peacefully doesn’t seem like enough."

"Mmph! Mmph!" she tried to scream, but Seongho forced the virus orb into her mouth.

When he let go, she desperately patted her mouth.

"W-what was that? What did you put in my mouth?!"

"Zombie virus."

"...What?"

Seongho gazed down at her coldly.

‘The others, at least, had the decency to consider negotiating with me.’

It was Choi Ji-young who had turned that conversation toward imprisonment. Her suggestion to lock him away wasn’t about mutual benefit; it was a blatant attempt to secure her own gains at his expense.

So Seongho saw no need to show her any mercy.

‘But this isn’t just revenge.’

The hospital camp was large—at least 30 people that he had seen so far.

‘It’s a mid-sized camp.’

He couldn’t afford to fully dismantle the camp, nor could he neutralize all its members. But simply walking away felt too risky; it left his back too exposed. So if he was going to leave, he’d make sure to cut off any future threats.

If they ever encountered him again, they’d think twice about trying to retaliate.

‘By infecting Choi Ji-young, I’m sending a message.’

A message of fear.

"Did it surprise you? Didn’t it occur to you that if I can extract the virus, I can also insert it?"

The crowd retreated, pale with horror, as Seongho crouched to meet Choi Ji-young’s gaze.

"Don’t worry. Maybe you’re immune, right?"

He repeated her own words from earlier, echoing what she had coldly told Im Chan.

"If you awaken, you’ll have me to thank."

Of course, she wouldn’t survive. The Cradle had confirmed she wasn’t immune, leaving her only the fate of becoming a zombie.

To have attempted to monopolize the power to cure the virus, only to be infected herself—fitting, wasn’t it?

He was almost disappointed he wouldn’t be around to see Seungjo’s reaction when he learned of her infection.

‘I wish I could infect everyone involved in the plan.’

But Seungjo was immune, and tracking down everyone involved to infect them individually would take too much time. Plus, the virus he had was a limited resource—he couldn’t waste it.

‘It’s best to end things here.’

With a click of his tongue, Seongho turned and began to walk away. As he moved, those around him backed away in fear, terrified of catching the virus he wielded.

Thanks to that, Seongho exited without further interference. Though he hadn’t received the promised supplies, he wasn’t too concerned.

"Mr. Seongho, you’re here?"

Im Chan greeted him outside, carrying everything Seongho was supposed to receive. Through the emergency exit Seongho had directed him to, Im Chan had quietly taken everything they needed.

There was one hiking pack stuffed with various provisions, and another filled with medical supplies Im Chan had gathered. On top of that, Ji-hyo carried a small backpack filled with high-calorie snacks.

Satisfied, Seongho inspected the supplies and nodded.

"Let’s set off immediately."

"Ah, before you go, take this."

Im Chan handed Seongho a large paper bag.

"I grabbed these from the laundry room."

Inside were a sturdy pair of military boots, thick socks, heavy-duty pants and a jacket (almost like a ski suit), along with gloves and a hat.

"I noticed your clothes seemed thin and didn’t fit well, so I brought these. I hope it’s okay."

"No, really, thank you."

Seongho hadn’t thought that far ahead, and the gesture was helpful. He gave a brief nod of gratitude and immediately began changing into the new clothes.

As he slipped out of his old coat, something light fluttered out of the pocket.

It was a small piece of paper from the fortune cookie he had eaten earlier. Seongho paused, glancing over the sentence written on it.

“If you follow the black beast, you’ll find an easier path.”

Not exactly the future prediction he’d hoped for.

It was vague, even absurd, considering that the Savior of the Destroyed World didn’t feature any significant “beast” characters. Still, he thought it was worth keeping in mind, at least for now.

After rereading it, he crumpled the paper and tossed it aside. The scrap disintegrated in midair, disappearing as if it had never existed.

Watching the strange sight, Seongho shouldered his pack and spoke.

"Let’s move out."

It was time to move forward once again.