Ch.6161. Negotiation (1)

After successfully clearing out the zombies from Pohang, it was time to address what had been postponed repeatedly.

Post-war reconstruction, and clearly establishing Pohang’s power structure and governance system.

“We plan to provide substantial resources for Pohang’s reconstruction. In addition to dispatching specialized personnel, we will provide free purified water and energy resources, which Pohang needs most urgently right now.”

Fortunately, since the Balhut Cult had promised to provide necessary supplies for post-war reconstruction, the rebuilding process could proceed quickly.

The Balhut Cult had also promised to dispatch specialized personnel needed for reconstruction and pledged to provide essential resources like purified water and electrical fuel free of charge.

Thanks to this, the Balhut Cult was able to secure a definitive leadership position in Pohang and gain recognition of their governance from the three major camps, but…

“We appreciate that, but wouldn’t you agree that we also contributed to Pohang’s liberation?”

“Yes. The cult acknowledges that you all shed much blood for Pohang’s liberation.”

Conversely, the three major camps of Pohang could also demand compensation for their bloodshed.

Seo Un-jae, who stepped forward as the negotiation representative for Pohang’s three major camps, argued to Park Cheol-gon and Hwang Geun-chul, the Balhut Cult’s negotiation representatives, that the three major camps had made sufficient contributions to Pohang’s liberation.

In fact, after Bahamut’s descent, the three major forces of Pohang had voluntarily cooperated with the cult’s governance, and each force had successfully made significant contributions during the internal cleanup operation in Pohang.

Considering that these three camps had been fighting the mutant spider zombies in downtown Pohang before Gyeongju arrived, the Balhut Cult couldn’t claim that the Pohang side had made no contribution, which played a significant role.

“As payment for the blood shed by Pohang citizens, we demand rights exclusively for Pohang citizens.”

“Rights, you say.”

Even now, instead of unreasonable confrontation, they were seeking to negotiate for the rights of Pohang citizens, so Park Cheol-gon and Hwang Geun-chul couldn’t forcefully reject Seo Un-jae’s claims if they wanted to govern Pohang safely.

Bahamut himself, the deity of the Balhut Cult, had a gentle disposition that preferred resolving issues through dialogue, and the other side had taken the initiative to seek resolution through negotiation.

Moreover, Seo Un-jae’s demands weren’t unreasonable for the cult, and regarding the rights exclusively for Pohang citizens…

“Are you talking about Pohang’s autonomy?”

“Yes. We contributed to Pohang’s liberation. We want local autonomy proportional to our contribution.”

It was something close to local autonomy.

In other words, Pohang would acknowledge the Balhut Cult as the central government and recognize Gyeongju’s superiority, but under that arrangement, Pohang wanted to enjoy its own benefits and autonomy.

“This isn’t a bad proposal for the Balhut Cult. Voluntary cooperation would make the cult’s governance of Pohang smoother than negotiating with and forcibly suppressing each of our three forces individually.”

Additionally, Seo Un-jae’s proposal wasn’t disadvantageous for the Balhut Cult.

Having secured Pohang, the Balhut Cult needed cooperation from within Pohang for governance.

However, as outsiders, the Balhut Cult couldn’t know the internal affairs of Pohang, and naturally needed cooperation from local Pohang residents.

“I have a firm grip on Pohang’s administrative personnel.”

“Ahem.”

Seo Un-jae, who had established himself at Pohang City Hall across the Hyeongsan River, had a firm grip on Pohang’s administrative personnel.

Conversely, this meant that the Balhut Cult hadn’t managed to recruit anyone who knew Pohang’s administration in detail.

Hwang Geun-chul looked at Park Cheol-gon with some hope, but Park Cheol-gon shook his head, indicating that he too hadn’t recruited anyone before the meeting.

In other words, at this point, only Seo Un-jae knew Pohang’s administration in detail, and his help was necessary to properly exercise administrative power within Pohang.

“We didn’t come to dominate Pohang. We are a righteous army that came to save our compatriots. The cult doesn’t want to provoke Pohang’s pride and wants to govern Pohang stably by winning public support. Yes, to be honest, the cult’s true intention is to utilize Pohang’s industry and steel mill smoothly.”

“That’s quite honest of you.”

“There’s no point in lying. You already know it.”

“Of course. If there’s anything of value in Pohang during this apocalypse, it would be the remaining industrial facilities and POSCO.”

Inevitably, Hwang Geun-chul revealed the cult’s honest feelings and circumstances, seeking Seo Un-jae’s voluntary cooperation.

The Balhut Cult claimed to be a righteous army that came not to dominate but to govern Pohang, and wanted to utilize Pohang’s industry and steel mill as smoothly as possible.

To this, Seo Un-jae smiled broadly, acknowledging the honesty, and nodded in agreement that those were indeed the only things of value in Pohang currently.

“I understand that the Balhut Cult is very interested in our industry. Well then, we have much to discuss. You can’t operate POSCO directly. Don’t you need technicians who can run the steel mill?”

“Yes. We would indeed need specialized technicians who can operate POSCO.”

“Our three camps know where those technicians are. We even have professors who taught the technology.”

Even after recapturing the steel mill, they would need specialized technicians and skilled workers to operate it.

In this chaos, the Balhut Cult couldn’t properly identify where the technicians and skilled workers who had worked at the steel mill were, but Pohang’s three major camps knew the whereabouts of the skilled workers and specialized technicians who had worked at the steel mill.

This alone demonstrated why the cult needed to cooperate with Pohang’s three camps.

“If we can coordinate appropriately, both the Balhut Cult and Pohang can benefit.”

“I understand. Let’s coordinate properly through proper negotiations so we can both benefit.”

“We were in the same party before the apocalypse. Do we really need to engage in difficult verbal sparring?”

Seo Un-jae suggested appropriate coordination, but Hwang Geun-chul firmly stated that they should coordinate as much as possible through clear negotiations.

In response, Seo Un-jae, seemingly disappointed, told Hwang Geun-chul that they were from the same party, claiming that he too was from the conservative party before the apocalypse, but…

“The conservative party that existed in South Korea is now over.”

“If this were before the apocalypse, that would be an insult.”

“But now it’s a fact.”

Hwang Geun-chul clearly drew the line that the conservative party from before the apocalypse was completely finished.

In response, Seo Un-jae, seemingly somewhat angry, replied that it would have been a terrible insult before the apocalypse, but Hwang Geun-chul simply answered that it was a fact, saying nothing more.

“Hahaha! But facts are facts. I was hoping to make the negotiations easier by emphasizing our shared party affiliation.”

“If the party I once belonged to becomes an obstacle to current negotiations, I’ll leave the conservative party that no longer exists.”

“It’s been a party with no contact for five months. If you’re doing that, should I also declare my departure from the party?”

At this point, more than five months had passed since the apocalypse began, and if one were to ask whether conservative ideology was helpful in the apocalypse, it would honestly make one tilt their head in doubt.

This was true not only for the conservative party but also for Park Cheol-gon of the democratic party, who was quietly listening to the negotiations from the side.

“Then I’ll also declare my departure from the party here.”

“If I may ask, which party were you in before the apocalypse?”

“The Democratic Party.”

“Well, that’s a rare sight in these times!”

In a situation where surviving against zombies was challenging enough, there was no need to bring up left-right logic or ideology—that was their thinking.

The most important thing in this apocalypse was solely the matter of survival, and in this apocalypse that confronted them, ideological battles or factional logic commonly seen before the apocalypse were clearly a luxury even for the Balhut Cult.

So when Hwang Geun-chul declared his departure from the party, Seo Un-jae, as if unwilling to lose, also declared his departure, and Park Cheol-gon followed suit.

It was a party that no longer existed, and it wouldn’t help with any political power they might exercise in the future, so declaring departure from the party wasn’t a problem at all.

In fact, it was questionable whether there was even a party to accept their departure.

“By the way, unlike me who just left the party, you are no longer South Korean citizens.”

Seo Un-jae realized with certainty that the politicians before him were no longer South Korean citizens.

They had left their political parties without hesitation and were now working for the Balhut Cult.

“Is that strange?”

“Not at all.”

However, their actions weren’t strange in the current times.

“Rather, I express my admiration for your ability to make quick decisions.”

The authority of South Korea had already lost trust and fallen to the bottom, and the positions they once held in South Korea no longer applied in this era.

The missing president had still not appeared, whether dead or avoiding responsibility, and self-proclaimed governments were appearing countless times in Seoul.

Even if one remained a South Korean citizen in this situation, it was merely an empty name, as the government, military, and police responsible for maintaining public order had disappeared.

“I hear there are several self-proclaimed South Koreas in Seoul. Considering what they’re doing, the Balhut Cult seems almost saintly in comparison.”

“There’s also a warlord who’s claiming to be the Korean Empire.”

“Ah, yes. People are talking about monarchy in modern times, but honestly, with the emergence of Awakened ones with overwhelming power that’s easy to see, maybe the existing rules have become meaningless.”

Thinking about it that way, the Balhut Cult, directly protected by the dragon deity, was indeed saintly.

Even if they were criticized as a cult externally, if one witnessed the descent of the dragon deity with their own eyes, their mind would completely change.

Even if that dragon wasn’t a god, it was voluntarily stepping forward to protect citizens, so Seo Un-jae thought he would call it a god for his own benefit.

“But that’s not what’s important. What’s important now is whether the three major camps of Pohang—no, now the local government of Pohang—will follow the Balhut Cult or not?”

“Of course we intend to follow. Isn’t the Balhut Cult the dominant force now?”

Hwang Geun-chul asked whether the three major camps, now the local government of Pohang, would follow the Balhut Cult, and Seo Un-jae said without hesitation that they would.

“But Gyeongju is small, and Pohang is large.”

However, Seo Un-jae mentioned in passing the inherent weakness that Gyeongju had.

“I don’t think the city of Gyeongju has the capacity to perfectly govern Pohang. Don’t you know that too?”

To some extent, the three camps hadn’t given up on bringing leadership to Pohang.

Seo Un-jae said that Gyeongju didn’t have the capacity to perfectly govern Pohang, and…

“Yes. Unlike Gyeongju, which was a tourist city, Pohang, which was responsible for South Korea’s industry, is stronger, if only reconstruction succeeds.”

Hwang Geun-chul, with a dark expression, cleanly acknowledged that a tourist city like Gyeongju couldn’t defeat an industrial city like Pohang in terms of city class.