Chapter 135

               

Seeing Noah growl out his emotions, Yohan nodded. Realizing the meaning behind it, Noah’s expression immediately brightened.

Gae Baekjong’s influence had spread everywhere. Even in this chaos, his reach had been tremendous — a truly formidable man.

Compared to his reputation, the final battle might have felt somewhat anticlimactic. Everything went according to plan, and he ended up a cold corpse. Yet, even in death, the weight of his existence lingered heavily.

“No matter how he died, it wasn’t enough. I made sure to shred that body piece by piece, did everything I could.”

“I love you, friend. Hearing that gives me a bit of comfort.”

Noah’s serious tone made Yohan let out a chuckle.

Just then, ting — a soft firing sound rang out. The muted noise of a silenced pistol. Both men turned toward each other.

“What was that?”

“No idea.”

Noah shrugged at Yohan’s question.

“Probably just another survivor wandering around. Let’s not worry about it.”

Thinking it over for a moment, Yohan nodded silently. No further gunshots followed. He trusted his team wouldn’t act recklessly.

Yohan and Noah, as if simply catching up, continued chatting lightly.

The conversation was enjoyable, and the reunion was joyful.

But their time was short. After nodding understandingly at Noah’s laments about the struggles of running a camp, Yohan soon wiped the smile from his face and fixed him with a determined gaze.

“I’m happy to see an old friend too, but enough small talk. Let’s get back to the main point. If we drag this out too long, my impatient teammates might start attacking. Let’s wrap up this negotiation.”

“Yeah. Good idea.”

Noah agreed readily, adding with a grin:

“This is the first time we’ve talked, but I feel like we would’ve gotten along well.”

“We did.”

“Are you any good at fighting?”

“Who knows. Barely good enough to keep myself alive.”

Noah stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“As a reward for killing Gae Baekjong, I’ll let go of the deaths of my friends. You should be grateful. It’s the first time since all this hell broke out that I’m willing to let something slide.”

“Thanks.”

“But that’s as far as it goes. You’ll have to turn back.”

Yohan tried to read his expression. Why was he so desperate to make them leave? There could only be one reason.

“Just letting you walk out is already enough to cause chaos. But if I let you freely roam around our territory too, I’d get kicked out as camp leader. I’d lose all the trust I barely have left.”

As expected, Noah’s answer matched Yohan’s thoughts. After losing his original core comrades early on and hastily absorbing Gae Baekjong’s underlings, he had failed to fully control the camp. And at the center of it all were Gae Baekjong’s embedded spies.

“No, we have to go.”

“Why? Why keep pushing forward, knowing we’re here? Why be so reckless?”

Yohan let out a deep sigh. It was time to reveal everything. Though he hesitated, there was no real harm in telling this much.

“A nuclear plant’s going to blow.”

“A nuclear plant? What are you talking about?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. A nuclear meltdown. Soon, we’ll be fighting radiation along with zombies. That’s why we need a set of blueprints somewhere nearby.”

“Where did you get that info? Are you sure?”

“That’s something I can’t tell you. But one thing’s certain — we already had one of the safest shelters anywhere. We had no reason to risk our lives coming here — unless it was absolutely necessary.”

Rina’s existence was a top-secret matter. In an era where even a glimpse of the future could spark wars, a seer’s presence had to remain hidden at all costs.

“Really… this is a mess.”

Noah rubbed the back of his neck, visibly exhausted. His face was wracked with conflict. It was understandable. He was already juggling enough internal and external crises.

“Then we’re not safe either.”

“Unless you’ve got a superhero who can prevent radiation or detox it, yeah.”

“You know you talk weird, right?”

“Do I?”

Noah let out a breath and tapped the desk with his palm.

“Mind if I bring in our counselor for a moment? Honestly, if I can convince just one person, we can probably close this deal. I could use the radio, but… you know, communication security and all.”

“Fine. But be quick.”

Yohan pressed the transmit button on his walkie-talkie.

“This is Yohan. One person’s coming through. Let him pass.”

-…Roger.

Sweeper’s voice sounded less than pleased. Noah made a sour face as he watched.

“What, you brought backup?”

“They’re just waiting outside the corridor. I’m sure it’s the same on your side.”

“Fair point.”

Noah smirked and picked up his own radio.

“Tell Mr. Moon to come over.”

-Yes, sir.

Soon after, a man opened the door and entered.

The moment Yohan saw who it was, his pupils dilated sharply.

“What the hell… Yohan? What are you doing here?”

The man who entered was someone Yohan knew — and someone he never wanted to see again.

Before the apocalypse, he’d tormented Yohan endlessly at work with every dirty, petty tactic imaginable. After the apocalypse, in his previous life, he had endangered the camp twice and ultimately stabbed Yohan in the back.

Facility Security Team — Kyungseong Industries. Moon Sung-chul.

This time, even Yohan couldn’t keep a poker face.

Moon Sung-chul… here, in Noah’s camp?

“Why is he here…?”

“You know him?”

Moon Sung-chul, equally flustered, blurted:

“You’re saying it was Yohan who attacked us?”

“Let’s be clear. You guys attacked first.”

Yohan immediately corrected him. The man scowled at Yohan’s words.

“Hey, you little punk. Who do you think you’re talking down to?”

“I’m here as a camp leader. This isn’t some company or school. You should be the one minding your mouth, Moon Sung-chul.”

“Ha. What a piece of work, you are.”

A sneering smile played at Moon Sung-chul’s lips. Feeling something was off, Noah stepped in to mediate.

“Watch your mouth, Mr. Moon.”

Yohan could only sigh.

Not only was Kim Jun — a known spy for Gae Baekjong — embedded in Noah’s camp, but now even the most infamous political manipulator he knew, Moon Sung-chul, was here too. No wonder Noah was struggling.

Those two were experts at political backstabbing. No camp could stand strong with rot like that at its core.

Probably only a few of the original survivors who fought alongside Noah against Gae Baekjong remained loyal to him.

At first, Yohan had genuinely hoped for a peaceful negotiation. Every moment he spoke with Noah reinforced that hope. This was indeed the same Noah he remembered — someone who could be reasoned with.

But with Moon Sung-chul appearing, the negotiations were meaningless. This camp would never be a true ally. It was a ticking time bomb.

Moon Sung-chul.

I swore if I ever met you again, I would kill you.

Yohan ended his deliberation — no, there wasn’t even a need to deliberate.

Forming an alliance with a camp where Kim Jun and Moon Sung-chul existed?

Only a colossal fool would even consider it.

“It was good to see you, Noah. But it seems coexisting isn’t possible this time.”

“Wait, Yohan. What’s going on?”

Moon Sung-chul, sensing something was wrong, tried to stop Yohan. It was obvious he feared his own standing in the camp would drop if the negotiations failed because of him.

He wasn’t worried about war or peace — just his own skin.

Even now, he was setting the stage to blame Noah for whatever happened next.

“Calm down, friend. Mr. Moon, this guy says a nuclear plant is about to blow. He’s looking for blueprints to stop it. Help me convince the others.”

At Noah’s words, Moon Sung-chul’s face twisted. Was it hesitation or disdain?

“A nuclear plant? Seriously?”

Yohan simply nodded. At this point, it hardly mattered.

“And how would you know that?”

“I’m not obligated to tell you.”

“Hey, Yohan.”

Moon Sung-chul’s lips curled into a mocking smile.

“Trying to show off how stupid you are? Nuclear plants don’t just explode, idiot. Even if one somehow did, what are you going to do about it? Are you a technician or something?”

“I never said I could stop it.”

“Exactly. Just your delusion.”

“Mr. Moon, watch your language.”

“Come on, leader. You’re buying this crap? This guy was a lying, backstabbing, no-show quitter even before the world ended. You trust him?”

It’s starting.

Yohan’s certainty deepened at the political venom being spewed. He simply watched.

“Listen. Nuclear plants have automatic cooling systems. Even if an emergency happens, one button can start cooling down the reactor. This isn’t some action movie where everything goes kaboom. And even if something did go wrong — why now? Why, after almost a year of stability?”

“Moon Sung-chul!”

“Oh, come on! Leader, this bastard killed four of our comrades! Did you forget the camp rules? Falling for this nonsense just makes everyone uneasy. We should kill him right now and toss his head to his people!”

“Moon Sung-chul!!”

Noah finally erupted, grabbing him by the collar. Yohan sneered at the sight.

Thank you.

Thanks to you, I have no doubts left.

Thank you, Moon Sung-chul.

You piece of garbage.

Yohan pressed the transmit button on his radio twice.

Beep-beep.

The radio emitted a double-click, and two pairs of eyes immediately darted toward him.

“What was that?”

Moon Sung-chul stared at Yohan suspiciously. Yohan just shrugged.

“You haven’t changed at all.”

“Still talking like a punk—”

“It was nice seeing you, Noah.”

At Yohan’s cryptic farewell, Noah frowned.

“You’re not as capable as you were in my last life. It’s a shame about those who died early.”

“What are you trying to say?”

Without answering, Yohan swiftly drew his pistol from his thigh holster, cocked it, and fired a round directly into Moon Sung-chul’s forehead.

* * * * * * *

(T/N: Im back! Lol, kidding. I had a free time so I’m trying to do some TL work. Mind you, we are STILL NOT on the regular upload schedule!)