An apartment in Bujeon-dong.

A woman lay weakly on the bed, which took up most of the room.

‘I’m hungry.’

She was so hungry that it hurt, but she had no choice.

Everything edible in the house had been eaten.

She had given up on going to the convenience store, where she had risked her life to get food, ever since the ground had become infested with crawling sharks.

“Water…”

One last sip of water.

In order to suck up every last drop of water, she drank from the plastic bottle while lying down.

Plop.

Her arms, too weak to hold up, flopped down, and the plastic bottle, which still had a few drops of water left, fell from her mouth to under the bed.

‘Is this how I’m going to die…?’

It would’ve been nice if she could think it wasn’t a bad life.

‘Absolutely miserable!’

Baek So-ra thought about her life, which had been the worst until the end.

If there was a review on her life, it would be full of sympathy.

Her only parent, her father, was an alcoholic who would hit her whenever he could. Society, which she wanted to escape from, demanded money from her every day.

Rent, utilities, food, and so on.

It wasn’t a small amount.

She had to work damned hard to survive.

Just when she could barely breathe, the world collapsed.

‘Why me…’

Why was she born into such a family, and why did she have to live such a difficult life?

It would have been better if she had never been born.

“Sob.”

She wanted to live a normal life.

Just like everyone else.

The type of life where you would eat three meals a day, make friends at school, and maybe even date.

That was like a dream to Baek So-ra.

It was then.

Thump, thump, thump!

It wasn’t her room.

The vibrations that traveled through the wall seemed to come from downstairs.

The depression that had filled her room disappeared without a trace, and her heart began to pound nervously.

‘Is it a monster?’

Sometimes goblins would come up.

However, if the door didn’t open, they would soon lose interest and leave.

She curled up in bed, desperately hoping for the monster to leave.

…Even at this point, she still wanted to live?

At that moment, she heard something that was like a lie.

“This is the rescue team! Are there any survivors!”

At first, she thought it was a hallucination.

A hallucination brought on by desperation.

Thump, thump, thump!

But it wasn’t.

“Are there any survivors here! Please respond! This is the rescue team!”

It was definitely a human voice.

‘R-Rescue team?’

Her heart began to pound for a different reason.

“Here…!”

She got up from the bed and staggered towards the front door.

“There’s someone here!”

Just before opening the front door, she froze with her hand on the doorknob.

‘What if it’s a monster mimicking human voices?’

These kinds of things often appeared in novels or movies. Monsters mimicking humans.

Just as she hesitated, panicked thoughts streaming through her mind.

“I-s this really the rescue team?”

“Yes, it is. You’re safe now.”

Hearing the sound outside, Baek So-ra cautiously opened the door.

There, she saw the back of a man wearing a shirt with “119” written on an orange background, handing water to a man who seemed to be a survivor.

Seeing this, Baek So-ra cried.

“H-Here! Me too…”

The man approached with a smile, handing over a 500ml bottle of Samdasoo water.

“Hello, we’re here to rescue you under the instructions of Kim Jae-hyun.”

“…Yes?”

“We’re the rescue team operating under the direction of Mr. Kim Jae-hyun.”

“…Huh?”

“The rescue team is moving according to Mr. Kim Jae-hyun’s instructions.”

“???”

Funnily enough, this was how they identified themselves.

Even among the rescue teams, they were jokingly referred to as cultists, but what could they do?

It worked.

“From now on, we will enter Mr. Kim Jae-hyun’s area. You will all be safe there.”

When rescuing within the safe zone, simply mentioning his name would revive the survivors’ spirits.

In some cases, people who were on the verge of death would get up and recover, so it had become part of the rescue process.

[Footnote: They would shake off death itself.]

“We’ll escort you outside. Those who can move on their own, please come this way.”

One rescue worker led those who could still move outside the building.

“Here! Bring the stretchers! Move quickly!”

There were some patients in critical condition, but most of them were able to move.

Baek So-ra followed the rescue worker at the front of the crowd.

But then.

Bam!

“Ouch.”

Just as she was about to walk into a congested road with overturned cars, an invisible barrier blocked her path. And then, letters appeared in front of her eyes.

[Entry not permitted.]

“…What is this now?”

Just as she was bewildered by the sudden phenomenon.

[Would you like to acquire citizenship?]

[Yes/No]

A new message appeared, and inside it, a rescue worker opened his mouth.

“Once you acquire citizenship, you can enter the area!”

Suddenly, she acquired citizenship.

Ding!

[You have acquired citizenship.]

Baek So-ra felt a surge of energy in her body, as if she had drunk water.

‘What is this…!’

A refreshing energy seemed to flow through her body.

Along with that, she naturally remembered what the rescue worker had said earlier.

“Was it Kim Jae-hyun? Is this his power?”

Could this mysterious power be his ability?

‘What kind of person is he?’

And a while later, she arrived with the rescue worker at a hospital on the third floor of a building.

The place was bustling with people.

“Please wait here in line.”

The rescue worker went back to the scene, and Baek So-ra looked around. Most of the people here seemed to be like her, able-bodied individuals.

Those in serious condition were being transferred elsewhere.

After waiting, she could finally meet a doctor in a white gown.

“Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

“…No.”

“Please wait a moment.”

Then the doctor’s eyes glowed as he scanned her body once and said, “You can go down and take the shuttle bus.”

“What? A bus?”

“Yes. Next person, please.”

There were many things she wanted to ask, but she could only leave as the doctor seemed busy.

Looking around cautiously, when she went downstairs, there was really a bus waiting.

Some windows were broken, but it was still a bus.

“We’re departing!”

The bus, filled with people, began to move.

The road seemed to have been minimally cleared for the bus to move.

The scenery outside the window was changing rapidly. The chaotic scene of blood and corpses gradually disappeared, and a neatly maintained road appeared.

And.

‘The smell of bread?’

It was a fleeting smell, but she didn’t miss it. Her stomach was growling. It seemed the same for others as well.

All eyes were focused on one place.

There was a bakery operating normally. Not just a bakery, but there was also a cafe nearby where people were lining up.

And.

“What’s going on?”

The people waiting in line looked calm, as if living a normal daily life.

‘What about the monsters? The goblins?’

There was no sign of them anywhere.

The view from the bus was a series of shocks. Every sight she encountered as she entered the apartment complex was shocking.

People walking their dogs.

Children riding bicycles.

Even people jogging lightly.

‘Did the apocalypse just pass over here?’

Wasn’t it a stark contrast to herself, who had been trembling in fear of monsters just a while ago?

Baek So-ra thought with a bewildered expression.

‘Did a savior really appear?’

Had her earnest prayers finally reached the heavens? She looked around in confusion.

***

[That is all.]

I replied using the Communication Ring as I listened to Kim Da-bin’s report.

[So, the key point is that the capacity of public facilities is full?]

[Yes. Can you increase the number of facilities?]

After organizing my thoughts for a moment, I replied.

[Send those who had houses nearby back to their homes.]

[Will that be fine?]

[I’m planning on expanding public facilities outside the apartments. Like community centers or neighborhood offices. And I’m also planning on setting up convenience stores in various places, so it will be possible to live comfortably outside soon.]

I had a feeling that the limit would come someday.

Fortunately, most of the recent citizens had homes nearby.

As the area expanded to a 1km radius, numerous houses came into the area.

If people with homes nearby were all sent back, there would be some room to breathe.

‘There are a lot of empty houses.’

Houses had a much lower survival rate than apartments.

‘Because goblins can easily break into it.’

Most survivors were concentrated in high-rise buildings such as officetels, studio apartments, and apartment complexes.

While using the Absolute Dweller’s Eyes to scan for any items to register in the shop, I also selected suitable points to build convenience stores.

‘I’ll make the houses on the outskirts bases for the hunting teams. A convenience store can be set up around here, and I’ll hire someone to manage it!’

It would be uncomfortable to keep going back and forth from the apartment complex.

There was a need to create bases on the outskirts.

Managing the bases would simply be a matter of assigning duties to employees.

With the increase in overall population, the number of economically-active people was also increasing, so there was no problem with assigning duties.

[Ms. Dabin.]

[Yes, Mr. Jae-hyun.]

I briefly explained the plan to Kim Dabin and had her select personnel to manage the bases.

[Leave it to me, Mr. Jae-hyun.]

Then, I used construction mode to establish stores at selected points and supply basic utilities such as electricity, gas, and water.

In the meantime, I also saw the medical team working hard. They were fully supplied at the hospital they were using, and with the availability of medical equipment in the hospital, there was a positive effect on people’s treatments.

I had already purchased enough needles and IV fluids, and had told them they could request anything they needed.

‘It would be great if the area included a university hospital.’

While many things were possible with just a regular hospital, the advanced medical devices at university hospitals would be helpful.

‘Maybe I can use the outpost?’

Of course, there were still things to do before that.

‘How far have they reached?’

Ha Dong-geon’s party was now running towards Jangjeon-dong at the fastest speed possible.

While they could advance rapidly to Gyodae Station using the poison gas tactic, they would have to clear the way afterwards.

[Footnote: ‘Gyodae/Kyodae Station’ is also known as ‘Seoul National University of Education station’.]

This was because the railway line from Gyodae to Dongnae went above ground midway.

From Dongnae Station onwards, it would no longer be an underground subway, but an above-ground railway.

There was a limit to using the poison gas tactic in open areas, and from here on, Ha Dong-geon’s party had no choice but to hunt monsters themselves to advance.

One reassuring thing was that the party’s strength had become several times stronger than before.

“Kaman, tear them apart!”

Kaman, three times larger than a normal crow, tore apart the sky marlins.

[Hunted a Sky Marlin (Lv. 17).]

[You have gained experience.]

[1,295,571 won has been deposited into the Absolute Dweller’s wallet.]

This was Kim Geon’s new skill: Rapid Growth.

The rapidly-growing crow was able to handle dozens of sky marlin on its own.

Bang! Bang!

At the same time, gunshots were heard but nothing could be seen.

It was an attack by Moon Byeong-ho, who gained the Invisibility skill.

Moon Byeong-ho’s bullets, flying stealthily from strategic locations, exploded the monsters’ heads with a single shot.

“Rise!”

On the ground, steel knights summoned by Kang Deok-su aggressively paved the way.

Thanks to this, Ha Dong-geon’s party was able to move forward with minimal combat.

As they smoothly ran along the above-ground railway line, suddenly…

“Stop.”

The road was cut off in the middle.

The bridge connecting the above-ground railway had completely collapsed.