blueteamnovel Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Im Chan had once made a promise to his wife, who had passed away due to complications after childbirth.
"I must protect our child... no matter what."@@@@
He vowed to protect his daughter, even at the cost of his own life.
He had pushed aside the grief of losing his spouse for the sake of his daughter. There was no time to dwell on the pain of loss if he was to care for her.
And so, he had kept going for four years, using every ounce of his strength to live.
Fortunately, as time passed, the past grew fainter, and each day spent with his daughter, Im Ji-hyo, felt precious, like a treasure.
Even when the virus outbreak shattered humanity's legacy, he found strength in her presence to endure such a tragedy.
To Im Chan, his daughter Im Ji-hyo was more precious than anything in the world. If there was anything he valued more than his own life, it was her.
That’s why he could never forgive anyone who would try to take his daughter away from him.
"Get away from my daughter!"
"Ahh! Aagh!"
Grabbing a hold of Choi Ji-young's hair, who had suddenly appeared and picked up Im Ji-hyo, Im Chan shoved her aside with a kick.
He clutched his daughter tightly in his arms and shouted furiously.
"Everyone, get back! Back off!"
Im Chan didn’t have a clear plan or strategy. Overwhelmed by the terror of losing his daughter, he was already losing his grip on reality.
He grabbed a steel food tray that had fallen to the ground and swung it with all his might.
Meanwhile, Im Ji-hyo, who was nestled in his arms, began to thrash wildly, like a fish pulled out of water.
Even though Im Chan held her tightly, her movements only grew more violent.
Crack.
Snap.
A bizarre sound, unimaginable for a human body, started emanating from her. Those nearby turned pale.
Once the early symptoms begin, it usually takes about half a day for the mutation to complete. However, if the infected is a child or elderly, the process can accelerate exponentially.
And Im Ji-hyo was exactly that type of case.
"Eek...!"
"She’s mutating!"
"It’s a zombie!"
"Run, run! Lower the shutters to the ward!"
People scrambled out of the room, fleeing in fear.
But while they were retreating, someone approached from the opposite direction.
"Seongho! She’s about to finish mutating! Come this way!"
It was Seongho. Ignoring Choi Ji-young’s urgent shouts from behind, he steadily closed the distance to Im Chan.
He opened his mouth, trying to initiate some form of conversation.
"Please, calm down...."
"Shut up! Stay away! Come any closer, and I’ll tear you to shreds!"
Im Chan was in no state to communicate rationally.
Clicking his tongue, Seongho quickly abandoned the attempt at dialogue.
Instead, he fixed his gaze on the steel tray that Im Chan was swinging threateningly.
As soon as he saw an opening, Seongho lunged at him.
In a flash, he closed the distance, using one hand to apply a jiu-jitsu technique called a half-guard, effectively pinning Im Chan’s upper body and neck, stopping his struggling.
Seongho immediately reached out to Im Ji-hyo.
Im Chan’s bloodshot eyes bulged, his mouth moving, but no sound escaped his lips, likely due to the pressure on his neck.
"My daughter, my dau...!"
"If you want to save her, hold still!"
Seongho cut him off sharply, cradling Im Ji-hyo’s small head with one hand.
Suddenly, a blinding light burst forth, so intense it was almost blinding.
For the first time since the virus ravaged the world, a miracle had descended upon it.
---
‘I hadn’t planned on revealing my ability this way.’
But he had managed to stop the birth of Butterfly.
The series of system messages that filled his vision served as proof.
「1 Contribution Point has been credited.」
「Congratulations! You have successfully altered the fate of the character ‘Im Chan’!」
「You have intervened in the fate of the world.」
「A reward for fate intervention will be granted.」
「The inhabitants of the world have witnessed the actions of the Fate Pioneer.」
「The influence of the Fate Pioneer has slightly increased.」
「Discord Score has decreased by 12P.」
「Discord Score has decreased by 13P.」
「Adjustment by the administrator’s discretion.」
「Discord Score has decreased by 5P.」
「Discord Score has decreased by 5P.」
「Discord Score has decreased by 6P.」
...
Among the messages, one in particular irked Seongho.
‘Adjustment by the administrator’s discretion...’
It was the second time he’d seen such a message.
And neither time had been to his benefit.
‘The first time, my stats were reduced.’
‘And now, the decrease in Discord Score has been halved.’
Seongho’s eyes turned cold.
As the light gradually faded, he felt a cool sensation against his palm.
He shared the details of his conversation with Seongho.
"He said... he can cure the virus. It’s an ability he awakened."
The onlookers each reacted differently.
"Wow!"
"A miracle...!"
"Ha, yes! Right, there must be such a power!"
"So, Ji-hyo is really cured?"
No one doubted the incredible news.
After all, they had seen the child, who was on the brink of mutation, now peacefully asleep.
Hope filled their faces as they recalled the miracle, and the room warmed with a renewed sense of possibility.
However, Seungjo couldn’t shake the serious expression as he recalled their conversation.
- If you want, I can use it on the others who were bitten yesterday.
At that moment, Seungjo’s face had also brightened just like those standing before him now.
But unfortunately, that hope couldn’t last.
For Seungjo, nor for anyone else here.
However, there’s a condition. I’ll need two weeks’ worth of food supplies, enough medical supplies, and regular, abundant meals until I leave.
Seungjo shared Seongho's demands with the group, and a strange chill settled over the room.
After a few moments of uneasy silence, someone gulped and finally broke it.
"He’s... planning to leave, isn’t he...?"
As Seungjo remained silent, the tension in the room thickened.
It was as if the hope that had filled the space moments before had been nothing more than an illusion.
The atmosphere took on a sharp edge, until one person spoke in a trembling voice.
“We’re not really going to just let him go, are we?”
The words were phrased as a question, but their meaning was far from uncertain.
The man’s expression already made it clear: they could not allow him to leave.
The others felt much the same way.
“Mr. Seungjo, we’re not letting him leave, right?”
“With his ability, we could live without fear of the virus!”
“Just convince him to stay with us! We have plenty of supplies, don’t we?”
Seungjo tried to calm the crowd, who seemed ready to pounce.
"I’ve already offered him the best supply package we could afford. As you said, we have enough people, food, and medicine."
"You should have mentioned that sooner!"
"So... what did he say?"
"Did he agree to stay?"
The questions bombarded Seungjo. Although he hadn’t made the decision, he felt the weight of their expectations press down on him.
Taking a nervous gulp, he answered in a slightly quieter voice.
"...He said he’d think about it."
But that response wasn’t nearly enough to ease the crowd’s anxiety.
As some people exchanged nervous glances, one of them finally voiced the question on everyone’s mind.
"If he decides to leave, then what are we going to do?"
“Shouldn’t we be preparing just in case?”
“Isn’t there a way to make him stay?”
“He’s young, isn’t he? Couldn’t we... maybe have some of the ladies ask him nicely?”
“Hey, good idea! He’s still a guy, after all; he might be persuaded by that.”
“No, that’s... why don’t we just all go and beg him to stay?”
“Begging won’t make him stay! Relying on sympathy is pointless and stupid.”
“Why are you yelling at me? We’re all on the same side here!”
“We’re wasting time arguing!”
The voices rose steadily until they became full-blown shouting.
And then, a few minutes later, the heated tension was broken by a voice from the back of the room.
“Why don’t we just lock him up in the basement...?”
Choi Ji-young, who had been following the conversation, gulped as she made the suggestion.
As if her words had cast a spell, the crowd fell silent.
After a brief pause, they all began to speak in agreement.
“That’s right! We can do that!”
“Let’s tie him up with the ropes we have, and we can stop by the hardware store to get chains and locks...”
“There’s that room in the basement with no windows. That’ll do!”
Slowly, but surely, hope transformed into a frenzy, consuming everyone in the room.
And from the shadows outside the infirmary, a hidden figure observed everything in silence, slowly stepping back.
TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars for the translation - it inspires me and gives me the strength to write more. Thank you~!
If you want to buy me a /kimsu