Chapter 1196: Internal Disputes, The Reason that Drove These Survivors to Desperation
Day 381 - 5:07 PM - Nam District, Busan, South Korea
At the mountain’s foot, a large group gathered. Most hurried to finish tasks, while some rested and chatted in a certain area. Others spread out with weapons drawn, guarding the group.The most eye-catching in this scene was the large carcass of a giant boar on the western side of the clearing. The majority of the people present were gathered around the carcass, carving its flesh into chunks of a size easy for them to transport. With the current state of the world and the capabilities of this group, this was the best they could do. Although they had a vehicle prepared to carry the spoils, it would not be large or capable enough to transport the carcass whole.
And the vehicle in question was a small electric utility truck. The vehicle was not the best choice to use in a zombie apocalypse due to its slower speed compared to fuel-powered trucks of the same size. Outfitting it heavily would slow it even more, which was why this truck had only been lightly modified to not hamper its already slow speed. Still, it was a more reliable choice than fuel-powered vehicles at this point. More than a year had passed since the apocalypse began. Fuel sources were now scarce, and stored fuel was barely usable. A vehicle using stale fuel would likely break down at any point, which could lead to dangerous situations.
The electric utility truck might not be suitable for running away, but it was more than viable for transport. Unfortunately, it was neither big nor powerful enough to transport the giant boar whole.
Dismantling the carcass of the giant boar in this place was not the best thing to do. The scent of blood could attract many kinds of danger. They were also at the foot of the mountain where the [Mountain King] resided. What if it suddenly went down the mountain to attack them? Even the process of dismantling was all over the place. Normally, they would need to drain the blood first for various reasons. But they skipped that process entirely.However, they were desperate. They had to make do with everything they had, despite the lack of most necessary things.
It was already fortunate for them that a group of strangers appeared to make things easier and safer.
And that group of strangers was among those sitting and resting in the other area.
***
"I’m really sorry, and thank you for the trouble. I hate to take advantage of people, but we really are desperate."
Kang Ye-Jun, the leader of the South Korean survivors, apologized to their guests, especially to the man who led their group.
Although they did not know how, this man, who introduced himself with a simple and common name, Mark, managed to drive away the [Mountain King] while barely doing anything. With his presence here, the likelihood of the [Mountain King] returning had gone tremendously low. Still, their conscience really tugged on them since they felt like they had to use their benefactor who saved Amaya Ran from imminent danger.
"It’s fine."
Mark replied with a wave of his hand. He was already starting to feel uncomfortable with how this group could easily dish out apologies and thanks. It was not the first time since Kang Ye-Jun asked them to have a conversation.
In fact, Kang Ye-Jun had already told him the purpose of inviting his group to stay while they dismantled the giant boar. He did not conceal anything about his intentions. Furthermore, Mark’s abilities could tell that this man was not faking it. He was genuine about his actions and intentions.
Maybe that was why he became the leader of this group, and why his members were willing to follow him.
*CRACKLE...
The fire in the middle of the group crackled as the branches used as firewood began to crumble. Although there should still be more than an hour of daylight, the temperature had already begun to drop. After all, it was still in the middle of winter. While it was odd that there was barely any snow in the surroundings and the mountains looked like they were in the middle of spring, the temperature indicated otherwise.
With the world entering a state of disarray, even the weather became too chaotic to predict. If one were to stop and think about it, a snowless winter was not a strange situation in the current state of the world.
While ignoring the cold, Mark panned his eyes at the opposite group while his mind monitored the rest who were outside his vision. Well, even without this, he could tell they were desperate. Since it was already obvious that his group was not local residents, it would not be strange if he were to inquire about where this group came from.
Kang Ye-Jun and his members readily answered Mark’s question.
It became clear what was going on.
Kang Ye-Jun’s group came from the only remaining refuge city in Busan, the Yeongdo Walled City. As the name had implied, it was a refugee city surrounded by walls. From their statement, it seemed the governance applied the same strategy where the outer areas of the city were divided into territories managed by different survivor groups. This allowed them to slightly reduce the lack of manpower from the main governing body. It left the outer defenses of the city in the hands of the survivor groups in exchange for a bit of authority.
And as one would expect, this strategy created two distinct divisions in the walled city: the outer areas, governed by the survivor groups, and the central area, governed by the current "owners" of Yeongdo.
"Owners" was not just some analogical name given to the leadership of Yeongdo. It was because the Yeongdo was being led by the Chaebols, who managed to retain their authority through money and influence.
Yeongdo Walled City was not managed by only one family. Four families were managing it as a whole, at least on the surface. It was an open secret that these families were waiting to bite each other’s necks and gain dominion of the city if they were given a chance.
The current state of governance of Yeongdo Walled City brought forth both pros and cons. Unfortunately, one of the cons was that the survivor groups governing the outer areas were left to their own devices. They must procure their needs and necessities as a smaller governing body. While the "Owners" would provide some assistance because the outer areas were still the first line of defense, the amount of the so-called "assistance" was not fixed and was bound to change depending on many factors. Sometimes, these factors were disclosed; at other times, not. Yet, the amount of provisions would fluctuate every time they were given.
This time around, the provisions were severely lacking. Even if they tightened their belts until the next time, it was still not enough.
That was why this group took a gamble. They wanted to take at least one giant boar so they would have enough food for the next few weeks, even if the next assistance from the "Owners" was still lacking.
Unfortunately, it almost ended up in a horrific failure. Fortunately, it was just almost.
"Hmpf! I’m sure they’re just trying to push us into a corner since we’re not kissing their asses."
The young-looking woman, Choi Seo-Yeon, grumbled in annoyance with her arms crossed as they tackled the topic of assistance from the "Owners".
"Seo-Yeon, language," Kang Ye-Jun sighed as he reprimanded the petite woman. "We have children here."
"Oops, sorry."
Choi Seo-Yeon apologized as she realized her slip. She was just too annoyed about the situation.
It prompted Kang Ye-Jun to explain to their guests.
By the looks of it, the internal competition between the Chaebol families extended to the survivor groups managing the outer areas. Offering themselves as backers and such, they wanted to gain either alliance or control of the outer areas and survivor groups, adding them to their family’s forces. And in that regard, Kang Ye-Jun’s group and territory adamantly refused such offers.
And the reason? Being backed by one of the four families meant being enemies with the other three. It would not only drag the members of the group, but also the residents of the territory they govern, into the internal disputes of the four families. At least, while they were being backed into a corner due to the lacking provisions, they were still far from being straight-up attacked and sabotaged.
"We were still being ostracized by most of the other survivor groups, though."
The fastest runner of the group, Park Sung-Min, said with a sigh.
"Can’t help it."
The girl of the spear-wielding siblings, Kim Hyong-Hwa, answered.
"Yeah. I also agree."
The boy of the spear-wielding siblings, Kim Hyong-Gyu, nodded in agreement.
As the talk continued, Kang Ye-Jun explained to their guests that most of the survivor groups were fully composed of South Korean members. Even in their territories, foreigners were either unwelcome or straight-up ostracized. There were a few other groups different from the first types, but the concentration of foreigners was the highest in their territory because they were the most welcoming and treated them as equals. This statement was supported by the fact that the present members of Kang Ye-Jun’s group were not all South Koreans. Amaya Ran was Japanese. The siblings, Kim Hyong-Hwa and Kim Hyong-Gyu, were half-Chinese, and there were even some caucasians. Furthermore, they even had two Africans and an Indian helping with the dismantling of the giant boar.
It seemed that due to the difference in values and ideals, conflicts often occurred in multi-racial groups. The worst times it happened, it caused deaths. That was why most survivor groups decided to be closed groups of the same race. In fact, one of the territories in the outer area was managed by a group with American members. Even the concentration of Americans and Westerners in their territory was the highest among all the territories. Unfortunately, they behaved just like the other South Korean groups, being unwelcome to those who were not American or of Western origin.
"You’re home’s a huge mess, isn’t it?"
Mark could not help but comment, to which the other group responded with bitter, resigned smiles.
"It’s not like we can go anywhere else."
Choi Seo-Yeon shrugged.
A short silence came afterward.
It was when Kim Hyong-Hwa broke the silence with a change of topic.
"So... I think it’s time for us to do something about these two?"
Kim Hyong-Hwa said while her eyes glanced in two directions.
On one side, it was Amaya Ran, who was silent all this time, hiding behind Kim Hyong-Hwa while staring at the person beside Mark. On the other side, it was Mark’s wife beside him, who was also staring back.
By the looks of it, the two of them were observing each other without realizing they were already staring at each other.
While the talk was going on, everyone had already realized what was happening to the two. They proceeded with the discussion while waiting for the two girls to stop, but by the looks of it, what they were waiting for would not happen without any interference.
"Doesn’t it feel good to be popular, Uncle? Ack!"
Emika whispered to Mark. Of course, she received a light flick on her forehead for her teasing attempt.
At this time, Mei’s vision turned black, making her snap back to reality. It was the same for Amaya Ran, as her vision was also blocked by something.
Mark and Kim Hyong-Hwa had the same idea, blocking the eyes of Mei and Ran.
"Gege?"
"Hyong-Hwa?"
The two responded the same way, and they realized who was blocking their eyes. And then, they both turned red, realizing what they had just done.
Seeing their oddly similar reactions, the others could not help but ponder what other similarities they might have. Unfortunately, they could only see the eyes of Mark’s wife since she was wearing a mask that covered her nose and mouth.
"Hmmm..."
This time, it was Elise who was being fidgety.
"Is something wrong?"
Hannah asked Elise.
"Spera’s taking a bit too long, isn’t she?"
Elise replied.
That was right, Spera was currently absent. It was because she was sent to do an errand.
Mark was not worried since the errand was to fetch something from home. And just in time, he detected Spera’s presence some distance away, where no one could see her portal.
"I can already detect her," Mark told Elise. "She’s ba-... Huh?"
Mark did not finish his sentence to everyone’s confusion.
It did not take long for them to get the answer to Mark’s sudden surprise.
They soon saw Spera return with Amisha and Melfiss in tow. That was her errand, after all. They were supposed to allow Amisha to accompany them in this adventure, but since her health was still recovering, they would only fetch her after reaching their destination.
However, it was not just the two who were with Spera. Behind them, a woman with a pale complexion and taller than the three was following closely.
Now, Mark and the rest of his group had one question.
Spera was just supposed to bring Amisha and Melfiss. Why was Snow with them, and while wearing a set of spare armor and clothing Mark made the other day?
