Seongho imdiately focused on Im Chan.
He had planned to use the earlier treatnt as an excuse to start a conversation once Im Chan sat down.
But instead, Im Chan took his food and left the cafeteria without a word.
As Seongho stared at him in confusion, Choi Ji-young stepped in to explain.
"Normally, we can’t take food out because of waste and sanitation issues, but... just ignore it. My daughter was bitten."
Apparently, a number of blood clumps had entered through the windows while they were barricading the front door.
In the chaos, Im Chan’s daughter had been bitten.
Seongho now understood why Im Chan had seed so grim while treating him.
“They gave three days' worth of preserved food to those in the quarantine ward... They’ll probably eat outside the ward together,” Ji-young continued.
This background might have been better left unsaid.
The issue Seongho had been trying to ignore now gnawed at his mind again.
The reason this was bothering him so much was probably because of his own conscience.
He knew there was a solution to this problem, yet he remained silent.
Seongho wasn’t without guilt.
He felt suffocated as if sothing foreign had lodged in his chest.
But rushing in to solve the problem would be a foolish thing to do.
‘Using my power increases the Corruption Score.’
It would likely be the sa for infected people who hadn’t mutated yet.
‘There must be around ten infected people.’
If he helped them, his score would spike again.
If the score increased by just 10 points per person, that would be 100 points.
His score, which had barely dropped to two digits, would climb right back up.
What exactly is the Corruption Score?
What does it do to ?
He still didn’t know what to do to reduce it.
Until the mystery was solved, he needed to be cautious.
Seongho chose not to intervene for now, pushing down the uneasy feeling in his chest as he reluctantly swallowed the food on his tray.
---
**Later...**
"Here we are."
After finishing his al, Seongho followed Ji-young to the hospital's fourth floor.
Their walk stopped in front of room 402.
This would be the room Seongho would stay in during his ti at the hospital camp.
"It’s perfect for staying alone."
According to Ji-young’s explanation, it had been the room of the person who died earlier that day.
It was likely the person who had been eaten alive.
Seongho had no complaints about being given the room of the deceased.
"Please don’t feel too upset. I know you’ve helped us, but we don’t really know who you are yet."
No one would want to sleep in the sa room as a complete stranger.
They could be stabbed in their sleep.
Most importantly, Seongho didn’t want to share a room with anyone.
"I haven’t been able to sort through the belongings yet, so the person’s things are still here. The owner was part of the combat team, so the room and its facilities are in good condition. There’s even a kerosene heater, so it won’t be cold at night. If you need anything else, just let know."
"It’s already enough."
"Alright then. I’ll leave you to it."
With that, Ji-young opened the door for Seongho and left.
Upon entering, Seongho found himself in a simple two-person room.
The door clicked shut behind him, and silence quickly enveloped the room.
Seongho, who had been tugging at his collar with rough hands, suddenly walked quickly to the window.
He wanted to get so fresh air to relieve the unexplained frustration he felt.
But, in the end, it wasn’t the best decision.
The cold wind greeted him, but what caught his attention was the unfamiliar view outside.
Normally, there would have been streetlights, traffic signals, and various signs glowing brightly.
Now, it seed like everything had been subrged in ink, and there wasn’t a single spot of light to be seen.
"*Hah...*"
It felt like his future was just as dark, and a suffocating sensation closed in on him.
As the imdiate problems of the day settled, he was left alone in the silence, and all the repressed emotions ca rushing in.
An overwhelming sense of despair that he had never felt before slowly engulfed him.
It beca hard to breathe, and the numbness in his body made him feel like he might collapse.
The feeling was so disorienting that it seed like the loud ringing in his ears was scrambling his mind.
“*Butterfly, butterfly, co to !*”
A faint song echoed from beyond the cold winter.
Reality, which had been slipping away, started to draw closer again.
"*Hah!*"
Seongho gasped for air as he fell to his knees in front of the window.
"*Yellow butterfly! White butterfly! I love the blue butterfly too!*"
Even as he struggled to catch his breath, the chaotic song continued in the background.
In that mont, that was the only thing keeping Seongho grounded in reality.
He clung to the sound like a lifeline, listening intently.
He fell into a deep sleep, as if losing consciousness, with that strange lody in his ears.
---
**Later...**
As the heavy, suffocating feeling that had sunk deep within him slowly faded, Seongho’s consciousness gradually returned.
When he finally opened his eyes, he wished with all his might that the horrifying mory in his mind had just been a nightmare.
He begged, prayed, and wished again.
Of course, it was in vain.
“*Damn...*”
When he opened his eyes, he was greeted not by a familiar bedroom, but by the unfamiliar hospital room.
"*Huff...*"
Seongho let out a long sigh as he splashed cold water on his face and stood up.
The white sunlight poured in from the window.
The morning of the second day in this world had arrived.
‘In terms of ti... it’s been about fifteen hours.’
It had only been a day and a half, but it felt like so much more.
Seongho now understood why people who experience shocking events often seem to lose their grip on reality.
Thankfully, after a night’s sleep, his mind felt clearer.
The overwhelming emotions from the previous night had sowhat subsided.
This allowed him to start addressing things he hadn’t been able to the day before.
‘First, the status window.’
**[Character Status Window]**
- **Character Information**
Na: Han Seongho
Role: Fate Pioneer
Level: 2 (10/25)
Physical Strength: 4
Abilities: 6/11
- **Activity Information**
Contribution: 15 Points
Corruption Score: 85P
Influence: Only a very small number of world mbers are aware of you, and your influence is minimal.
Title: None
The numbers that had been bothering him had changed.
‘My ability uses have recovered.’
Yesterday, after hunting the evolved zombies, the counter had dropped to 1.
Now, overnight, it had recovered to 6.
‘If I calculate, I ca to the hospital around 4 PM yesterday...’
It seed like it recovered about every 3 hours.
He had wondered if only leveling up would restore his power, but it was good news to find that this wasn’t the case.
"*Huff...*"
Seongho exhaled with relief, covering his eyes with his hand.
Then, he calmly organized his thoughts for what lay ahead.
‘Once I’m done here, I’ll need to find the protagonist.’
He’d have to be near him to intervene in the main story.
‘Since it’s been about a year and a half, the protagonist should be...’
In Jamsil.
Just thinking about the travel route made him sigh again.
Ignoring other factors and thinking purely about the straight-line distance, it would an traveling diagonally across Seoul.
His resentnt toward the Fate Pioneer grew.
They had thrown him into this strange world to “pioneer destiny,” yet the path to et the protagonist was set up to be so difficult.
He would have to cross mountains and rivers to get there.
Seongho scratched his head in frustration.
Then, suddenly...
“Wait...”
Was he thrown here on purpose because of the timing?
‘It’s not just a petty act.’
Seongho started to think about the events happening in Gangbuk, trying to rember if anything was going on there.
Thanks to this, he realized sothing important.
‘The early parts of the original novel barely ntioned Gangbuk.’
Gangbuk and its people weren’t ntioned until the later stages of the story.
And the events that occurred there were always closely tied to major shifts in the protagonist’s storyline.
‘There are at least three major events that co to mind.’
Drugs, cannibalism, and the rise of the New Human Society, who believed in the superiority of awakened individuals.
These troubleso events started in Gangbuk simply because there was no protagonist there.
At the start of the virus outbreak, the protagonist’s influence hadn’t yet reached Gangbuk.
As a result, the events in Gangbuk were only ntioned later when they had gained enough montum to impact the southern areas where the protagonist was based.
‘Maybe this is why I ended up here?’
Perhaps the protagonist’s absence in Gangbuk ant more things needed to be addressed.
If this theory was true...
If it was his role to manage the events that happened here without the protagonist...
Seongho rubbed his forehead with a serious
expression.
‘I rember the events in Gangbuk quite clearly.’
He had witnessed the protagonist’s struggles with these events firsthand.
But the specific timing and origins of these events eluded him.
The original story never explained how, when, or where these incidents began.
‘All I saw were the events revolving around the protagonist.’
But how could he know what was happening in a place without him?
The road ahead was daunting.
‘Should I just go and investigate myself?’
If that’s the case, he might end up going in circles around Gangbuk.
In frustration, Seongho let out a long, deep sigh.
At that mont, a faint ssage that had been lingering in his vision flickered.
‘Pioneer’s Cradle.’
It was the sa button that had appeared after he defeated the evolved zombie.
Seongho quickly waved his hand in the air, but he couldn’t press it.
After a brief mont of wondering how to interact with it, he focused on the button and thought about pressing it.
**“The first viewing requires 10 Contribution Points. Do you wish to proceed? (Y/N)”**
Without hesitation, he pressed "Yes."
**“10 Contribution Points will be used.”**
**“You are now viewing Pioneer’s Cradle, Chapter 1.”**
Imdiately, a massive book, the size of an adult male torso, unfolded in front of him.
Frozen in surprise, Seongho reached out without thinking.
He expected it to be intangible, like the ssage window.
“...It’s real?”
The book was solid, with physical form.
Curious, he pulled on it, but it didn’t move as if it were stuck.
Not giving up, Seongho continued to inspect the book.
Then, he accidentally touched a tab that stuck out from the side.
**“You do not et the qualifications.”**
A new system ssage appeared, blocking his view.
Only then did Seongho notice the number on the tab.
‘Chapter 2?’
Tabs for Chapters 3 and 4 displayed the sa ssage about insufficient qualifications as soon as he touched them.
‘It seems I need Contribution Points to proceed to the next chapter.’
It seed that Contribution Points worked as a form of currency in this *Pioneer’s Cradle.*
Realizing this, Seongho thought carefully about what to do next.
‘It seems I can use these points for various forms of assistance.’
Seongho stared at the ssage and then spoke aloud.
“...Of course, yes.”
The new answer appeared below the question.
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