Ch.5151. Spider (3)

After engaging in combat with the mutant spider zombies several times, Jeong Dong-geon and his subordinate unit secured the Steel Industrial Complex Intersection, establishing a path toward the Pohang Campus.

While zombies inside buildings near the intersection or those coming down from Pohang Campus remained a concern, securing the Steel Industrial Complex Intersection alone was a significant achievement, as it allowed the unit to move around safely.

The next time they explored this area, they could arrive quickly without major interference.

Jeong Dong-geon, who hadn’t expected to accomplish everything at once, looked toward the path to Pohang Campus and asked Son Sang-hui beside him.

“Over there. Is there a survivor camp?”

“Yes. It’s one of Pohang’s three major camps.”

“I see. If we’re lucky, this intersection is positioned where we might encounter a large survivor camp.”

From Pohang Campus to the university’s main building was about 4km.

By car, it was just a 4-minute drive, while on foot it would take about 25 minutes.

It could be considered both close and distant depending on perspective. Jeong Dong-geon stared at the path toward the campus for a moment and then said:

“Let’s end our exploration here for today. Let’s clear out the zombies around this intersection first.”

“Are you not planning to contact the survivor camp?”

“No, that’s not it.”

He decided not to advance further and instead focus on clearing zombies around the intersection.

Son Sang-hui seemed to question his judgment, asking if he wasn’t going to contact the survivor camp at Pohang Campus.

Of course, Jeong Dong-geon had considered contacting and cooperating with Pohang Campus as one option.

However…

“Today, I just want to collect data on the new mutant zombies we encountered. First, we need to devise countermeasures against the mutant spider zombies.”

“But they weren’t enemies to you and your troops.”

“True. But each of us in the Balhut Cult is a valuable talent. We need to fight with the safest strategy rather than gambling and meaninglessly losing soldiers.”

Jeong Dong-geon stated that the Balhut Cult side had no intention of taking risks to encounter the survivor camp.

This was still enemy territory occupied by zombies, and Jeong Dong-geon’s unit was on an expedition from outside.

Since each soldier in the expedition was an Awakened, losing even one would be a significant loss, so planning the safest possible combat strategy was best.

Therefore, to completely secure the Steel Industrial Complex Intersection, they needed to thoroughly clear its surroundings.

Incidentally, recovering supplies stored in buildings was also part of the expedition’s mission.

“Still, it would be good to leave them a means to contact us.”

Of course, he wasn’t completely against making contact with Pohang Campus beyond.

If they, rather than the Balhut Cult, attempted to make contact, a means to receive that contact would be necessary.

“What do you have in mind?”

“This.”

“Isn’t that… supplies?”

What Jeong Dong-geon pulled out was a supply pack he had prepared in his combat backpack for unforeseen situations.

The contents included food for one person to consume over four days, high-calorie chocolate bars, purified water, and an emergency medical kit.

These were common items before the apocalypse, but now, in the zombie apocalypse, each one was precious and valuable.

“I’m going to leave this on the street.”

“Eh? Isn’t that wasteful? That’s like throwing gold on the ground.”

“It is wasteful. Each of these items is necessary for survival.”

While they were freely used within the Balhut Cult, these were crucial supplies that couldn’t be obtained outside even if desired.

Especially in this apocalypse where medical supplies were extremely limited, the emergency medical kit in the bag was so precious it would cost dozens of cans of tuna to acquire.

Considering that Son Sang-hui and her group of survivors nearly perished due to lack of a medical kit, Jeong Dong-geon’s action was indeed like throwing gold on the ground.

Son Sang-hui expressed this sentiment, and Jeong Dong-geon acknowledged the supplies were valuable, but…

“Conversely, we can use this to lure them. If it’s such a precious item.”

“Ah.”

Precisely because they were such valuable items, they could effectively lure others.

If someone recovered the bag left here, they would gain at least four days’ worth of food for one person, clean water, and an emergency medical kit.

Would many survivors risk their lives to get this? Or would many survivors not risk their lives?

Jeong Dong-geon, who had experienced survivor life before Bahamut’s advent, firmly believed in the latter.

“You’re right. But wouldn’t normal survivors think it was abandoned by someone fleeing from zombies?”

“I plan to leave contact information for the cult.”

Of course, he had no intention of just abandoning it.

He planned to leave contact information with the supplies so the other party could clearly identify them.

Seeing Jeong Dong-geon confidently insert the cult’s contact information into the supplies, Son Sang-hui thought this wasn’t his first time doing this.

“Will the survivor camp that finds this contact us?”

“I don’t know. But if we blatantly leave valuable supplies and ask for contact, the survivor who recovers them will certainly be curious. They’ll wonder how wealthy the other party must be to leave so many supplies behind.”

“But they might think someone abandoned the supplies to flee for survival. Maybe the contact information is just a fake to find the supplies.”

Curious, Son Sang-hui asked Jeong Dong-geon right there if survivors would contact the cult, and he shook his head, saying he didn’t know either.

However, he said that if there was even a possibility, and if they could plant curiosity in the survivors, that would be enough.

Of course, as Son Sang-hui pointed out, they might think someone abandoned the supplies to flee for survival.

“The judgment is theirs to make, not ours. If they think that way, so be it. But there’s a way to make them not dare to doubt.”

“Really?”

In the end, Jeong Dong-geon said the judgment was up to the survivors who recovered the items, but he had prepared a strategy to prevent the other party from doubting.

What kind of plan did he have that would make the other party not dare to doubt?

“We’ll scatter a large amount of supplies in this area. It’s called the ‘money flex’ operation.”

“…”

Son Sang-hui fell silent.

If they did that, even if one didn’t want to believe it, they eventually would.

“Um… do you have that many supplies?”

The Balhut Cult had suspiciously too much money… no, suspiciously too many supplies.

Where on earth did they get all these supplies?

Food necessary for survival, clean water, and numerous weapons.

Considering the amount of supplies going into the outpost construction on Geonpo Industrial Road, one had to wonder if this was really possible with just Gyeongju alone.

“Hmm. Fortunately for us, we found a treasure goblin. Yes, we were very lucky.”

Of course, all these expenditures came not from the Balhut Cult but from Jo Sun-do’s treasure vault.

If Jo Sun-do, who had appealed his death sentence and was imprisoned with all his abilities sealed, saw this extravagance, he would be horrified. However, the cult had no intention of being responsible for Jo Sun-do’s assets and had instead opened the vault wide to compensate the victims.

Despite such reckless spending, they could still cover the costs of the expedition!

Of course, for that wealth, they had completely messed up the governance of North Gyeongju, but that wasn’t the Balhut Cult’s responsibility, so let’s move on.

“Alright, you all prepare too.”

“Understood.”

So Jeong Dong-geon and his troops began placing backpacks filled with supplies in visible locations.

Including Jeong Dong-geon and Son Sang-hui, backpacks for 12 people were placed on the street, and additionally, contact information for the cult was placed to await the other party’s contact.

“Lord Bahamut, I request teleportation.”

Once all preparations were complete, Jeong Dong-geon tapped his identification tag as Yu-na had instructed, along with his subordinate troops.

Then, magic circles appeared around Jeong Dong-geon and his troops, and with a bright white light, they disappeared.

Soon, they were teleported to the front of the outpost where magic circles were drawn.

“Is such a thing possible?”

“I’ve heard about it, but it’s amazing. This will greatly reduce our travel distance.”

Having arrived instantly from the Steel Industrial Complex Intersection to the outpost, Son Sang-hui looked at Jeong Dong-geon with an expression of disbelief.

This magic was also a first-time experience for Jeong Dong-geon, but he was greatly pleased, thinking that if they could use this magic well, they could significantly reduce wasted travel.

“That’s because I’m at the outpost. If the barrier at the outpost disappears, this function can’t be used.”

Yu-na, who had confirmed the teleportation of Jeong Dong-geon’s group, came out to greet them.

Yu-na regretfully informed them that if the outpost disappeared, this function couldn’t be used.

“That’s unfortunate. Then, is it possible to head to Gyeongju?”

“It’s possible, but since Lord Bahamut is currently operating it remotely, it won’t be operated regularly.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Though disappointed by this news, he still found meaning in the remaining possibility.

The technology was still lacking, but with more development, they could grow further.

“But as the technology develops more, it might become possible. Lord Bahamut is researching it too.”

“That’s good news.”

Above all, Bahamut himself was willing to develop it.

Thinking that if Bahamut took direct action, it would be achieved quickly, Jeong Dong-geon said it was good news and then:

“I’ll report the reconnaissance results now.”

He began reporting the achievements from their exploration.

Starting with the mutant spider zombies, he reported the byproducts obtained from zombies, and also informed about the possibility of contacting survivors.

Yu-na would report all this information to Bahamut, and Bahamut would advise the cult based on this information.

“So there’s a camp in that area.”

“Yes. According to Son Sang-hui, there should be a large-scale camp at the university campus.”

“You just had combat there. They probably heard the sounds of battle and will scout the area, so they might have discovered the supplies we scattered.”

“That’s possible. Since we fought in that area. If it’s a well-equipped camp, they wouldn’t miss this engagement. I even used Bahamut Bullets.”

In response to Jeong Dong-geon’s report, Yu-na said that if they had engaged with mutant spider zombies in that area, the other party would surely have detected the battle.

Jeong Dong-geon agreed, nodding and saying that if it was a well-equipped camp, they wouldn’t miss his engagement.

It wasn’t a quiet fight, and when fighting the mutant spider zombies, he had used Bahamut Bullets.

Those bullets with fire attributes produced cannon-like noise in exchange for tremendous firepower.

Having fired several of those, Jeong Dong-geon stated that the other party couldn’t help but notice even if they didn’t want to.

“Well, if they collapsed after we fled, they might not have heard.”

“But it’s a large camp, right? If they just saved the Awakened and fled, they could at least save their lives?”

“…You seem suspiciously well-informed about this.”

Yu-na, the leader of the Balhut Cult, seemed to know extreme survival methods suspiciously well.

At Son Sang-hui’s jab, Yu-na just smiled bitterly.

“Someone informed me well. Of course, that’s for the worst-case scenario. Still, scattered survivors might recover the supplies we scattered. Let’s hold onto hope, Sang-hui.”

“Yes!”

She said that someone scattered might recover the supplies the cult had scattered, and encouraged them to hold onto hope.

Son Sang-hui nodded heavily at the kind leader’s words, saying she would hold onto hope, and indeed, for several days, they launched aggressive operations in various directions through Geonpo Industrial Road.

The main expedition force liberated numerous villages and farms on the outskirts of Pohang and simultaneously began clearing zombies in the surrounding area for safety. At the same time, the reconnaissance team led by Jeong Dong-geon deeply infiltrated Pohang city, scattering large amounts of supplies to try to contact survivors inside Pohang.

And then…

“We’ve received contact.”

“Yes. They posted on the community as we instructed.”

The awaited contact came to the site operated by the Balhut Cult.