This was strange, Kim Dokja thought.
Shouldn't Lee Jihye have been here instead?
However, looking around, there was still no sign of the girl.
This was another thing that was different from Ways of Survival.
Meanwhile, Jung Heewon approached the stranger, letting down her guard.
"Van, you were in Chungmuro?"
"You know him?" Kim Dokja asked.
"He saved me when I was attacked outside the station. Without him, I would most likely be dead now."
Saved Jung Heewon?
Kim Dokja looked at the stranger in a new light.
Although he didn't know the exact details, considering Jung Heewon's skills, if this man was able to save her then he must be quite powerful.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Yoo Sangah."
"I am Lee Hyunsung."
Lee Gilyoung clung to Kim Dokja, Kim Dokja's hand patting his head.
"This is Gehrman Sparrow, the child next to him is Shin Yoosoung. The man here is Kim Dokja, and this is Lee Gilyoung,"
Jung Heewon finished.
Kim Dokja also greeted the man, "Nice to meet you."
"You can call me Van."
After the introductions were over, Van asked the group, "Where are you going?"
"Chungmuro."
Hearing Kim Dokja's answer, Van glanced at him and nodded.
Since it was where he came from, he made a gesture to follow him.
"I'll guide you."
Then, the man walked ahead of them, his steps slow as the sound of his cane tapping the ground echoed.
"Van, is your leg injured? You were also using a cane last time."
At Jung Heewon's question, Van shook his head. He thought for a moment before answering.
"No, but it makes it easier to walk."
As they climbed up from the tracks of railway line 3, they saw some people sitting down.
[You have entered Chungmuro.]
[The third scenario is currently in progress.]
[#GIR-8761 channel is active.]
[#BIR-3642 channel is active.]
Some middle-aged people saw them and waved their hands.
"Hey, junkie, can I have a cigarette?
"Oh, you brought new people?"
The middle-aged people seemed relaxed, unlike those who were experiencing a disaster. They also smelled alcohol.
Van threw them a cigarette.
"Nice, you always have a lot of good things. Unlike that samurai…"
At that moment, the 'samurai' in question intervened and snatched the cigarette from the middle-aged man's hand.
Lee Jihye frowned.
"Are you drunk again?"
The middle-aged man clicked his tongue and turned back to Van.
"But did your friends come through the tunnel? How great… won't they have a lot of coins?"
Van passed by the middle-aged men, ignoring him and leading the group further into the station.
Apart from the drunk men and the samurai, everyone looked at them warily, avoiding their gazes.
Respect? Awe? Or fear? It seemed as if they were avoiding Van.
"But who are they?" Lee Jihye questioned, gesturing at the group behind him.
Kim Dokja seized this chance and spoke up, ignoring Gehrman's burning stare, "I am a companion of Yoo Joonghyuk who came back alive."
Van paused, while Lee Jihye was bewildered.
"…Companion? How is that possible?"
She stared at Kim Dokja with suspicious eyes. The latter shrugged shamelessly.
"That guy will understand if you tell him. Where is Yoo Joonghyuk now?"
"…Master isn't here right now."
"Really? This is difficult. I have something I need to say."
Lee Jihye's expression distorted as she stared at him with something like betrayal.
"Then, are you stronger than that guy?"
She pointed toward Van.
The person is question didn't know why he was suddenly involved in the conversation.
Kim Dokja, who didn't know how strong Van was, was at a loss for words.
Lee Jihye shook her head.
"Nevermind." She addressed Van, "Watch over them. I'm going to find Master."
She left without waiting for an answer.
Along the way, they came across a man in the middle of the platform for subway line 3, waving a knife around and threatening people.
"S-Shit! I'll kill you if you come close…"
Other people in similar situations could be seen, standing on a zone emitting green light that stretched into the air.
Yoo Sangah asked, "…Why is he doing that?"
Meanwhile, Klein froze, his eyes widening as cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
Suddenly, the madman that Kim Dokja had been keeping an eye on did something unthinkable.
As Van was about to answer, he also stopped.
Gehrman had pulled out a gun and aimed at someone in the crowd.
The group froze.
Van watched the unnatural development unfold while Kim Dokja was surprised.
A tense silence hung in the air.
'What is that madman doing?'
Kim Dokja had never imagined Gehrman would do something like that in public.
Would Lee Jihye think their group was hostile now?
Or was this their chance to get rid of him? If he talked well, maybe he could make her understand that his group and Gehrman had nothing with each other. He didn't want Yoo Joonghyuk to have a bad opinion of him because of this incident.
They all stared at the man pointing a gun toward someone. The person in question was pale and stepped back in fear, but the madman only glared.
"Gehrman-ssi, what are you doing?! And where did you get a gun?"
Did they have a bad relationship? However, the other person didn't seem to know Gehrman. Kim Dokja speculated.
At Jung Heewon's words, Gehrman—who had reflexively pulled out his firearm out of habit—took a deep breath.
Then, he lowered the weapon and turned toward Jung Heewon.
"Why did you do that?" The angry Jung Heewon questioned him.
"…He was wearing a monocle."
The rest of the group apparently didn't understand why that was enough reason to threaten a stranger's life. Gehrman didn't explain further either.
Okay, maybe he was overreacting…
Or not at all. Was Amon here?
He needed to go above the gray fog and make a divination.
…Then, he recalled that he was unable to access the gray fog. That certainly wasn't reassuring.
Watching the madman's stoic face, Kim Dokja had a headache.
Gehrman suddenly attacked a stranger because they were wearing a monocle?
He had chills just thinking about it.
He had thought that the man was at least reasonable, but he appeared far more unpredictable than expected.
Breaking the silence, Lee Hyunsung approached Van, "Can I ask a few things I am curious about?"
Lee Hyunsung started asking politely while Kim Dokja was locked in his thoughts.
Van nodded.
"How is the food supply here?"
"We take turns hunting monsters and Yoo Joonghyuk cooks them."
That 'we' only included himself, Yoo Joonghyuk and Lee Jihye.
Although Yoo Joonghyuk didn't like Van, it was a relief that he still cooked for everyone.
However, only eating meat wasn't a very balanced diet. It was good that he had found nutritional supplements in the pharmacy.
Lee Hyunsung took out his notes and started to write something.
"Then how is your drinking water?"
Van used magic to make water appear above his hand.
"I create it."
Lee Hyunsung looked at the water floating in the air with his mouth open. Indeed, this ability was useful for survival. It would have been great if such a thing existed while he was in the army.
"Is that your skill?" Yoo Sangah questioned.
Van nodded.
Although it was technically magic, it shouldn't be wrong to say that 'creating water' was part of a skill. If magic was one.
At this moment, the quiet Lee Gilyoung opened his mouth.
"Excuse me, hyung."
"Yes?"
"I want to go to the toilet."
"Is it urgent?"
"Yes."
"…Excuse me, can I also go with you?" Yoo Sangah added.
Hearing their conversation, Van spoke up, "I'll show you the way."
Was their really a need to guide them himself instead of giving directions?
Not long after, Kim Dokja understood why.
They walked upstairs, nobody talking to them, and reached the last passage to the bathroom. Like a bottleneck, dozens of people were gathered in the passage.
Kim Dokja pushed forward. Although they resisted at first, people stepped back one by one once they saw Van's face.
"Pildu-ssi! Please accept it! I won't do it again!"
"Please, please! Please let me stay one more day. I'll go into debt to get the coins!"
The leader at the head of the line was facing the heated up people.
"Now now, back off. Back off."
On the opposite side, people were gathered. Kim Dokja recognized this situation.
'…The Landlord Association?'
Had Yoo Joonghyuk not cleaned them up?
Then, Van stepped into the zone, gesturing to the others to follow him.
Suddenly, the atmosphere became cold and some of the 'Landlord Association' members in the front looked at them.
"Hrmm. You seem to be lost. Do you know where this is?"
[The character 'Gong Pildu' demands 500 coins for invading his private land.]
[If you don't follow the recommendations, all nearby turrets will fire immediately.]
The group behind him tensed up, but Van remained indifferent and ignored the man.
A bench covered with various supplies. A middle-aged man sitting on top of it and reading a magazine was staring at them.
At the same time as Van addressed him, Kim Dokja recognized that this man was the true Gong Pildu.
"These people want to use the bathroom."
Gong Pildu frowned.
"This is the territory of the Landlord Association. They at least need to give a fee to use it."
Unrelenting, Van simply stared at him in response.
Silently.
Calmly.
Gong Pildu backed down first.
"Okay, okay, I understand. These guys can use the bathroom. But I won't make any other exception."
"Thank you."
…What had this man done for everyone to be so scared of him?
Jung Heewon seemed curious about the same thing, "Why does everyone here seem so scared of you? Do they owe you money or something?"
"…"