Chapter 74

Yohan decided to postpone his decision for now. It wasn’t because he wavered at the thought of killing them all. Rather, he had two reasons—first, he needed to resolve a lingering suspicion and reaffirm his conviction, and second, he wanted to determine if they had any other potential uses.

Just as the fanatics had been a tool to corner these people, these survivors could also become a card to play. Now that he had the upper hand, he wanted to consider his options carefully.

“For now, let’s take a look around the camp before making a decision.”

“You’re quite the cautious youngster.”

“Sweeper, Hajin, Hyuk. Follow me. The rest of you, search the captives and stand by.”

Yohan called out three names. Although Jung-mi and the old man served as their hostages and shields, they needed to move with a small, elite group.

Visiting the camp wasn’t for any special purpose—it was primarily for reconnaissance. When you investigate and observe things firsthand, something always turns up.

“We’re heading to the hall with our guests, so don’t move around unnecessarily and stay put, you bastards.”

After instructing the old man to radio the remnants waiting in the hall, the group crossed the zombie-infested streets once again. Yohan kept a close eye on the old man while the three others cleared the path.

The streets were still teeming with zombies, but they were no longer an obstacle for those who had already survived countless battles—on land, in the air, and everywhere in between.

Watching them fight, the old man let out a whistle of admiration.

“Your subordinates fight well. Every single one of them is skilled.”

“They’re not my subordinates.”

“Oh, come on. You treat them like they are. Anyway, impressive. That battle earlier was something else. I didn’t expect the smoke grenade—it caught us off guard. Of course, if it weren’t for that sudden ambush, we would’ve won. Never thought you’d use survivors as bait, lure us into a trap, and then launch a surprise attack. Your men are skilled, sure, but the strategy was excellent.”

“How many people are stationed inside the women’s hall?”

“Hey, listen when people talk. Conversations go both ways, don’t they?”

“How many are on standby?”

“Sheesh—fine, you stubborn bastard. There are three waiting inside the hall.”

With that, Yohan fell silent. The old man clicked his tongue in annoyance before turning his gaze back to the three fighters. They were exceptionally well-trained survivors—so much so that he found himself envious.

Especially that man called Sweeper, who had taken him down—he was something else. He had rushed in at lightning speed, thrown a smoke grenade, and immediately captured him as a hostage.

It was as if he had known from the start that he was the leader. And when he tried to resist, one of Yohan’s men sniped his subordinate before he could even react.

Standing in front of the hall’s glass window had been a fatal mistake. He never expected they had a sniper.

He had never seen a group this strong and well-trained before. And rather than hostility, he felt admiration.

He felt sorry for his fallen men, but in the end, it was just an occupational hazard. If you really thought about it, it was no different from a traffic accident.

Nobody goes after the other driver for revenge just because their comrade died in a crash.

Besides, it was mutual fault. While he felt some regret, revenge seemed petty and trivial. If three of their people hadn’t died and he hadn’t been captured, it would’ve been the other side suffering losses instead.

“We’re here.”

Yohan’s group entered the women’s hall. Inside the fenced perimeter, several vegetable gardens had been cultivated, and a large chicken coop stood in one corner of the yard.

“The annex is where we isolate new survivors, and the back of the main building is where our existing members gather. Hello, ma’am.”

Women passing by greeted Jung-mi with polite nods. “Hello, President.”

Their attire was shabby, but their faces were bright.

“It’s just a title. It’s embarrassing.”

Jung-mi smiled awkwardly, seemingly embarrassed by the formal address. However, Yohan and the others were more interested in the lively chickens than her title. The old man, noticing their gaze, made a remark.

“Each of those chickens is worth a human life. Can you believe it? But once you taste Aunt Bokshil’s chicken, you’d be willing to risk your life for it.”

Jung-mi chuckled politely at the old man’s joke and continued showing Yohan around the hall, as if she were giving him a tour of something she had built herself—almost like she was fishing for compliments.

Yohan was more surprised when he saw the stacks of rice in the storage room. Jung-mi explained that it was originally meant as aid for vulnerable groups under a welfare program.

He didn’t know what connection Jung-mi had with this center, but one thing was certain—she had chosen a good camp.

Yohan spoke his thoughts plainly.

“It’s a well-maintained camp. Impressive.”

Jung-mi bowed her head slightly, blushing. Yohan studied her reaction carefully.

Though his memories were faded by the three extra years he had lived, he recalled being quite close to Jung-mi up until his time at Kyungsung Industries.

Even after the disaster began, they had spent some time together, parting ways only after promising to reunite.

Yohan hadn’t expected nor wished for anything from her. But for Jung-mi, things might be different. If she had been hoping and longing to join him again, she could become a strong ally. She also believed that she owed her survival to him—a kind of debt.

“Let’s check out the annex next. Yohan, the people you sent are staying there. But those people…”

“I only met them yesterday. I wasn’t comfortable bringing them into my camp, but I couldn’t just leave them behind either. I sent them here to ease my conscience.”

Yohan added a slight touch of exaggeration but spoke truthfully. There was no need to hide or sugarcoat the facts. Jung-mi seemed to think that was very like him and nodded.

“They’ve been staying with other newcomers from the past week. We’ve had an influx of people recently, so I’m trying to figure out how to handle it…”

“How many people in total?”

“With the new additions, it’s close to forty.”

“How long has it been since you exceeded twenty?”

“A little over a month, I think.”

That was a dangerous threshold. Yohan didn’t know the exact trigger point for the zombie waves, but he was certain that the number twenty served as a safety limit. It was possible that a larger group wouldn’t immediately cause a wave, but forty people? That was definitely too many. It was a number that would undeniably trigger a wave.

“You need to split the camp. Establish another one at least a fifteen-minute walk away. Each camp should stay under twenty people.”

“Huh? Oh—okay!”

“You already have enough people to sustain yourselves. Why do you keep taking unnecessary risks?”

At Yohan’s blunt question, Jung-mi gave a knowing smile.

“If you knew what I’ve been through, you wouldn’t ask that.”

She had completely misunderstood the point of his question, but Yohan didn’t bother correcting her.

The flaw in her thinking was obvious—just because she had been a victim didn’t mean every woman in the apocalypse was. Regardless of gender, in this world, people were either predators or prey.

And right now, it was a clear example of that.

As Yohan scanned the survivors who had joined in the past week, his heart went cold, yet at the same time, it pounded like fire.

Among them, sitting there with a demure and innocent expression, was someone he could never forget—a truly vile villain.

A high-ranking officer of the ‘Seoul Survival Union’.

The second mistress of ‘Gae Baek-jeong’.

And the most dangerous expert at infiltrating and destroying camps from within.

The Viper, Kim Seol-hwa.

—

Kim Seol-hwa.

A villain among villains, notorious for her ability to infiltrate camps and destroy them from the inside. Her innocent and delicate appearance masked a ruthless, calculating mind. She had nearly a perfect success rate when it came to what survivors called ‘camp breaking’.

She was the type who could be sharing a bed with a man one moment and then, without hesitation, drive a blade through his throat the next. She killed without a second thought—be it children or the elderly.

Poisoning, dismemberment, cyanide-laced food—she had many methods, but her goal was always the same: eliminate the target. She was like a character out of a movie—an assassin who lived only for the kill.

Kim Seol-hwa hadn’t joined the ‘Seoul Survival Union’ later on. No, she had been with ‘Gae Baek-jeong’ even before the world collapsed, his long-time mistress. From the very beginning, she had moved alongside him.

Which meant only one thing—she had already joined ‘Seoul Survival Union’ before coming here.

The ‘Seoul Survival Union’ was here.

And Kim Seol-hwa never worked alone.

Somewhere nearby, her pack of hyenas was lurking, baring their yellowed teeth, circling like scavengers waiting for the kill.

Hidden in the shadows, eyes gleaming, ready to strike.

By all accounts, ‘Seoul Survival Union’ shouldn’t have been here yet. At this stage in the original timeline, they were still in the process of expanding, only just beginning to understand the concept of zombie waves.

The three-month shift in Yohan’s return had changed many things, but most events still followed their general trajectory.

His theory was simple—human nature doesn’t change. People in modern society tend to repeat patterns of behavior.

For example, in both timelines, Jung-hwan had been working at the supermarket when the outbreak happened. Before the regression, Kang Hyuk and Kang Gun had headed straight for the market, and after the regression, they had done the exact same thing.

Even the two failed attempts to secure the loading dock had unfolded just as they had before, as if following an inevitable course.

Yes, some things had changed due to the timeline shift, but for the most part, events continued to align with his past knowledge. At least, in the areas Yohan was familiar with.

And ‘Gae Baek-jeong’ had still built the ‘Seoul Survival Union’. That much was expected.

But if ‘Seoul Survival Union’ had already moved into Incheon, then things had truly deviated.

They were never supposed to leave Seoul.

Why? What had caused this butterfly effect?

Two possibilities formed in Yohan’s mind.

One major deviation from the past was the death of ‘Baek Jong-soo’. But that couldn’t be the reason.

If anything, his death should have delayed the expansion of ‘Seoul Survival Union’, not accelerated it.

There was only one other major change from the past.

‘Kim Jung-mi. It was you.’

Back in the initial chaos, Yohan had saved Jung-mi, who should have been in Seoul, and led her to Incheon.

Not only that, but he had also given her critical information about the zombie waves, ensuring her survival. That had been the trigger.

He had thought that his first major change to the future had been rescuing the survivors at the supermarket.

But it wasn’t.

It had been saving Jung-mi.

Because of that, she had survived. She had built a camp. And through her broadcasts, she had unknowingly lured ‘Seoul Survival Union’ here.

The moment he got involved with her, the future had begun to shift.

Should he regret saving her?

No.

In fact, Yohan grinned.

This was perfect.

With ‘Baek Jong-soo’ dead, one of ‘Seoul Survival Union’s’ arms had already been cut off. And now, by sheer luck, ‘Kim Seol-hwa’ had walked right into his hands.

A snake, oblivious to its doom, slithering into what it thought was a feast.

Right now, ‘Gae Baek-jeong’ didn’t even know Yohan existed.

And ‘Seoul Survival Union’ had yet to fully establish its power.

A group of nearly a thousand armed men was a terrifying force.

But at this moment?

They were just another camp—one caught in a deadly trap.

The perfect chance for revenge.

The perfect opportunity to crush ‘Seoul Survival Union’ before it could take root.

And Yohan had no intention of letting it slip away.