Chapter 54: Search (1)

12 hours after starting the search.

Even though evening had fallen, he hadn’t found any traces of his family, let alone their whereabouts. The biggest obstacle was the cooldown time on skills.

Being able to search only about 200 meters every 30 minutes meant that examining all desired locations within a set time was quite limited.

‘There’s also the possibility they’ve left Daejeon.’

Perhaps they headed to the Sejong Provisional Government after seeing their post. So he used Detection and Precise Observation on those coordinates, but there was no particular gain.

Han-seong turned his attention back to Daejeon.

‘For now, let’s search all of Daejeon first.’

If he still couldn’t find them after that, he’d have no choice but to expand the search range to nearby areas. As he silently continued searching for his family, good news arrived.

This morning, the Replica Living Armor-Phantom that had left the base reached the outskirts of Daejeon.

‘It took longer than expected.’

It was a bit disappointing, but unavoidable.

Unlike the Collector, the Phantom’s physical abilities were only slightly better than an adult male’s.

Still, this was considered early arrival since, unlike humans, it didn’t feel fatigue. He had also tested some of the Phantom’s skills during the journey.

‘Among them, the most interesting skill was…’

Telekinesis.

From simply lifting distant objects into the air to rotating them at high speed to build up power and then striking targets.

It was a skill with various possibilities depending on how it was used. In fact, he had used telekinesis to take down zombies encountered along the way.

‘I like it.’

Not only does it consume little mana, but its killing ability is also excellent, so he’ll likely use it often in the future.

Having finished his thoughts, Han-seong controlled the Phantom to move towards the city center while opening the map to look for any survivors in the area.

And at that moment.

“Hm? That’s…”

About 500 meters away on the road.

Around thirty blue dots were gathered closely together. Survivors. Seeing this, Han-seong immediately moved the Phantom in that direction.

‘This works out well.’

Let’s approach the survivors and try to start a conversation.

If lucky, someone might know his parents from the family photo.

With such thoughts, as he was approaching the destination, Han-seong sensed a strange dissonance.

‘What’s this? The atmosphere is a bit…’

How to put it? It looks somewhat hostile?

He slowed the Phantom’s movement speed and carefully observed the scene. And before long, he confirmed that the group of survivors was divided into two.

Twenty people in handcuffs.

On the other side, eight burly men armed with guns and wearing bulletproof vests. The armed group kept shouting at the twenty people.

“Get on the bus one by one. Now!”

“Don’t dawdle, move it!”

What they pointed to was a prisoner transport bus.

The twenty men and women boarded the bus, visibly terrified. Watching this scene through the Phantom, Han-seong narrowed his eyes.

‘…This doesn’t seem like a normal group.’

Among the twenty were even children.

And without exception, even the children’s wrists were bound with handcuffs. Just as almost everyone had boarded the bus.

“Get on your knees and put your hands up.”

An unfamiliar voice was heard from behind the Phantom.

A man who appeared to be a comrade of the armed group.

He pressed his gun muzzle against the Phantom’s helmet and growled in a low voice.

“If you don’t want to die, do as I say right now.”

Han-seong, on the other hand, didn’t respond.

He had already known the man was approaching through the map anyway. Instead, he moved the Phantom’s body to turn its head towards the man.

And at that moment.

Bang!

The man pulled the trigger.

But the Phantom’s helmet wasn’t pierced. More precisely, it didn’t even touch the body.

[Skill: Mana Shield activated]

[Damage absorbed.]

[Mana consumed: 5]

Han-seong and the Replica Phantom.

The two are connected by Soul Link.

Thanks to being able to use each other’s skills, the Phantom was also affected by Mana Shield.

This allowed it to remain unharmed even when shot. Moreover, allowing the attack without defense was all intentional.

‘5 mana for one rifle bullet.’

He had deliberately let the man approach to find out how much mana is consumed depending on the amount of damage absorbed by Mana Shield.

That’s why he allowed the attack.

Meanwhile, the man showed a greatly surprised reaction.

“Wh-what?”

Of course, that’s to be expected.

He clearly put the gun to its head and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. The guy started firing wildly at the Phantom again.

Bang! Ratatata!

This time, it dodged the attacks.

Now that the experiment was over, there was no need to keep getting hit. Of course, it couldn’t avoid all of them.

[Mana consumed: 15]

Seems like it got hit about three times.

Having finished verifying Mana Shield, Han-seong frowned as he looked at the man.

‘He didn’t hesitate to shoot at a person.’

This isn’t the skill of someone who’s only done it once or twice.

Since he shot with clear killing intent, he must also be prepared to be shot in return.

Han-seong’s eyes turned cold.

[Replica: Living Armor-Phantom]

[Skill: ‘Telekinesis’ activated]

Wooong!

Miscellaneous objects around glowed green.

Glass shards, bricks, stones, and so on. Things that could be sufficient weapons depending on the situation.

The objects lifted into the air by telekinesis began rotating at high speed in place.

“Attack! It’s a monster! Support…! Ugh!”

Did he sense the situation was dangerous?

The man who had emptied an entire magazine shouted towards where his comrades were while reloading.

But he couldn’t finish his words.

A glass shard rotating at high speed crossed the air and pierced through the man’s neck.

“Guk! Gurk! Gurrr…”

The man who had been spewing bloody foam staggered and collapsed. Soon after, his comrades who had heard the gunshots and screams discovered the Phantom and immediately aimed their guns.

“What the hell is that thing!”

“Damn it! Shoot! Blast it!”

Ratatatatata!

Six gun muzzles spewed fire simultaneously.

The Phantom naturally fled to avoid the attacks. If it had taken all of those hits, there wouldn’t be any mana left.

While dodging the attacks as much as possible, it also fired a brick rotating at high speed.

Whoosh! Splat!

The brick that flew in the blink of an eye collided with the head of the man at the forefront. The brick shattered to pieces, and the man collapsed on the spot.

Han-seong wasn’t satisfied with just this and launched stones and glass shards. As a result, a total of three men fell with their heads crushed or pierced.

The complexion of those remaining turned deathly pale.

“Damn it, where did such a monster…!”

“Co-could it be an elite monster?”

A guess someone blurted out in the midst of this.

Did they judge the guess to have merit? The men took a step back, then without anyone taking the lead, they dashed towards the bus.

“Hey! Start the engine right now!”

“We’re getting out of here before that thing catches up!”

The men shouted at their comrade in the bus.

Han-seong had no intention of letting them escape alive.

If he let those who had not only pointed guns at him but also tried to kill him live, it was obvious they would return as trouble in the future.

[Activating skill.]

[Wind attribute: Wind Cutter]

Han-seong loaded Wind Cutter through the Phantom, reduced to 20% of its original power.

Wind Cutter without the Blessing of Remote Support was smaller in size, weaker in power, and shorter in range than usual, but that wasn’t particularly problematic.

After all, he wasn’t facing an elite monster; he just needed to cut the necks of those guys who had lost their will to fight and were fleeing.

Whoosh! Slash!

The blade of wind that flew quickly cut off the neck of the man who was fleeing first.

The body that had lost its head took a few more steps forward before collapsing. And the fate of the others wasn’t much different.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Wh-where is it coming from… Gack!”

“Hiiiek! Sp-spare…”

Attacks flying from empty air.

The men died with terrified expressions. After eliminating the man who had been in the driver’s seat of the bus, the screams quickly subsided.

Having quickly resolved the situation.

Han-seong moved the Phantom towards the bus. As soon as he entered and looked at the people inside.

He immediately felt a strange sensation.

‘What’s this?’

The people’s expressions were remarkably calm.

They must have seen the men dying outside the window, but except for the children and women, there were no faces gripped by fear.

As if this situation was familiar to them.

Just then, a middle-aged man sitting in the front seat of the bus spoke up in a trembling voice.

“Are, are you perhaps from the vigilante group?”

Vigilante group? What’s that?

Curiosity struck for a moment, but answering the question came first. Han-seong shook the Phantom’s head from side to side, then gave an appropriate response.

“I came here from Sejong yesterday. I’ve just arrived in Daejeon.”

“You came from Sejong City?”

“Co-could it be! From the provisional government…!?”

“No.”

Han-seong cut them off.

Then he added an explanation that he had come to Daejeon to find his family, while simultaneously breaking all the handcuffs the people were wearing.

Did they finally realize they were free?

The people each bowed their heads to Han-seong.

“Sob! Thank you so much.”

“How can we ever repay this kindness…”

Repay the kindness?

Well, that works out well. Han-seong immediately took out a photo from the Phantom’s pocket.

“There’s something I’d like to ask you all.”

“Yes? What is it…”

“I’m looking for someone.”

He showed the photo first to the middle-aged man closest to him.

“If you recognize any of the people in this photo, please let me know.”

“Hmm, well… I’m not sure…”

“I’m sorry. I don’t recognize them.”

He then passed the photo around to show everyone, but the result was disappointing. No one knew Han-seong’s family.

‘Well, I can’t expect to succeed on the first try.’

Daejeon is large. With survivors numbering 10,000 on the map alone, unless he was exceptionally lucky, there was no chance of finding them from the start.

Anyway, with this, there was no need to remain on the bus. Just as he was about to go outside.

A voice stopped him in his tracks.

“You might be able to find them if you go to the vigilante group. I heard there are many Daejeon natives gathered there.”

“The vigilante group…”

The name he had heard in passing earlier.

Han-seong tilted the Phantom’s head.

A little while later, the people took turns explaining about the vigilante group.

“The vigilante group is a large-scale survivor group based at Daejeon City Hall. I heard there are over a thousand people gathered there.”

“We were also heading there, but unfortunately we got caught by those militia bastards on the way…”

Militia. Another new name came up.

Han-seong pointed at the corpses of the guys the Phantom had taken down earlier and asked.

“Are you referring to those guys?”

“That’s right. They call themselves militia, but in reality, they’re just gangsters.”

Criminals who escaped from the local prison.

Thugs who used to roam rural neighborhoods.

A large-scale group formed by uniting violent gangs from nearby areas. That’s how the people described the militia.

Then he heard something peculiar.

“They’re abducting people?”

“Yes, it’s been observed for the past few days that they started forcibly taking citizens away.”

“Men, women, young and old, everyone.”

In fact, the people on the bus had also nearly been taken away by the militia. To this, Han-seong asked back in a puzzled voice.

“Do you know the reason by any chance?”

“I don’t know the details either. There are just unpleasant rumors circulating…”

They don’t know this much either?

Han-seong narrowed his eyes.

‘A group no different from gangsters.’

Why would such a group kidnap people?

If they were only taking women, one could think it was for physical purposes, but men, the elderly, and even children indiscriminately?

Something smells fishy.

‘Could it be like that time…’

Necromancer Kim Tae-min.

Could something similar to the atrocities he committed be happening in Daejeon as well?

While he was lost in serious thought.

Someone addressed the Phantom.

“Um, sir?”

“If you’re thinking of going to the vigilante group, would you mind accompanying us to the City Hall?”

The vigilante group mentioned again.

Then others chimed in.

“That’s right. We have transportation too.”

“Don’t worry about driving. I used to drive buses until last year.”

“Please. I’m anxious thinking we might run into the militia on the way…”

Listening to them, it seems they want an escort from the Phantom. Han-seong opened the map and looked in the direction of Daejeon City Hall.

‘I’ve already checked that place, but…’

He had confirmed with Detection and Precise Observation that his family wasn’t at Daejeon City Hall. However, what stuck in his mind was their mention of many Daejeon natives being there.

After all, Han-seong’s mother was born in Daejeon and had lived there until she got married.

‘Maybe there really might be someone who knows my mother.’

Plus, there are many survivors here.

Among over a thousand survivors, wouldn’t there be at least one person who knows his mother?

Having finished organizing his thoughts, Han-seong nodded the Phantom’s head up and down.

“Alright. Let’s go together.”

“Re-really?”

“Thank you. Thank you so much!”

Everyone’s expressions brightened.

Soon, the man who had introduced himself as a former bus driver sat in the driver’s seat. The Phantom sat right behind the driver’s seat, and the bus quickly turned around.

The center of Daejeon city.

Towards Daejeon City Hall, the headquarters of the vigilante group.

The journey to the destination was smooth.

There were no other vehicles moving around besides the bus, and although occasional obstacles got in the way, he activated telekinesis to throw them all to the side of the road.

Just as they were about to enter the city center like that.

“Huh?”

The man in the driver’s seat tilted his head.

A group armed with guns and other weapons was controlling the road ahead. Seeing this sight, Han-seong narrowed his eyes and muttered.

“Is it the militia again?”

“Ah, no. Those are…”

“The vigilante group! It’s the vigilante group!”

A shout was heard then.

Followed by sighs of relief from here and there. Han-seong gazed intently at those controlling the road with curious eyes.

‘So those people are…’

The vigilante group. Han-seong’s eyes sparkled.

But how did they recognize them as the vigilante group at a glance? As he was feeling puzzled, Han-seong found one commonality among them.

They all wore green armbands on their left shoulders with ‘Merchant Association’ written on them.

Knock knock!

Meanwhile, as the bus stopped in place, a vigilante member knocked on the door. After a moment, when the door opened, a voice full of wariness returned.