Chapter 10 …
Everything was frozen solid like a glacier in the cultural district of Eunhaeng-dong.
At the entrance, Jang Sunam was staring up at Sky Road, one of Daejeon’s signature structures.
“After about 100 days, there are stairs now. Back then, you had to climb a ladder on the pillars.”
In the past, it had been a landmark where people gathered. But now, it had turned into a resting place for survivors.
That was because monsters didn’t respawn on top of Sky Road—it was a safe zone.
Voices buzzed around him.
When he climbed the stairs to Sky Road, he found tents and hunters stretched across more than 200 meters.
They had gathered not just because it was a safe zone, but also to save money.
After all, every product of civilization had been sealed away.
Especially facilities—the system demanded a “usage fee” per night in order to use them.
If you didn’t like that, you had to buy the entire building, wasting anywhere from hundreds of millions to billions of coins.
“Not all facilities cost money, though.”
Some public utilities like outdoor restrooms were free. But most businesses required daily fees—yes, even supermarkets.
That was why staying in a hotel for 70 days had cost him at least 1 coin per night in usage fees.
For low-income hunters, saving money meant pitching a tent on Sky Road and living there.
“But… why are there so many sick people?”
Everywhere he looked, people were coughing.
It felt less like a safe zone and more like a quarantine ward.
“Doesn’t seem like it’s because of the cold.”
He discreetly pulled a mask from his inventory and slipped it beneath his crow mask.
If it was an infectious disease, this could be bad.
A simple cold could be treated with pharmacy items, but illnesses requiring prescriptions were impossible to handle without a doctor.
“With so many patients around, those bastards must be thriving.”
Just then—
“Everyone! If you need cold medicine, come to our White Coat Power base camp! We’re handing out medicine free of charge, no coins needed!”
Men and women in white coats, looking like doctors, were shouting, baiting patients with false promises.
“Speak of the devil.”
White Coat Power.
As the name implied, they were a pharmaceutical guild clad in white coats like doctors.
Their executives were real professionals—doctors, pharmacists—and the rest were just enforcers.
Though they all wore the same white coats, their positions were distinguished by nametags.
“Ugh, what an eyesore.”
While others had hoarded food in the early stages, they had monopolized medicine and medical equipment.
Because of that, patients had no choice but to rely on them, and the guild quickly grew rich and became a large-scale organization.
“If only they had stopped there…”
Had it ended there, Jang Sunam wouldn’t have hated them so much.
The reason he despised White Coat Power was simple: they crossed lines that should never be crossed.
Flashback – First Regression, Hundreds of Years Ago (from Sunam’s perspective)
On the rooftop of a tall building, the battered and bloodied Jang Sunam stood against an armed group.
“Haa… what a miserable sight.”
The greatest threat in the first round had been the zombie outbreak.
It began in Daejeon, and the hunters of the time had been powerless to stop it. Humanity had to unite just to survive.
Sunam had nearly died countless times while searching for a solution.
At last, he discovered it: a zombie vaccine.
He gave White Coat Power a sample on the condition that they mass-produce it and distribute it freely.
But they betrayed him—selling the vaccine at exorbitant prices.
Even in a collapsing world, there were survivors, and they wanted to rule over them.
“Damn bastards.”
And worse… they did the unthinkable.
“You spread the zombie virus further? How could any human do that?”
“Kehaha! Human?”
Before him, a man in his sixties laughed wickedly.
Thunder and lightning split the sky, illuminating a massive device that looked like an air purifier.
It bore an emblem shaped like a serrated seed—but the flash was brief, and Sunam couldn’t recall it later.
“Petty human morals mean nothing in the face of our ‘great dream.’”
The man’s name was Pi Gwangseok—Guildmaster of White Coat Power and the architect of the zombie apocalypse.
“If you hate it so much, you should’ve been stronger, Jang Sunam.”
Sunam clenched his teeth.
In this twisted world, strength was truth, power, and law.
The strong took everything—it was survival of the fittest.
“You’re bleeding badly. How about this? Join me now, and I’ll spare your life.”
Sunam, injured after storming their HQ in search of the vaccine, was on the brink of death.
“…Screw you.”
He staggered toward the rooftop’s edge.
Click.
Hundreds of guild enforcers raised their guns at him.
“Trying your luck with a gamble?”
Pi sneered.
The world outside was overrun by zombies. Even if Sunam survived the fall, he’d be bitten and turned in no time.
But Sunam just laughed.
“…Khuhuhu.”
“What’s so funny?”
He hauled himself onto the ledge, barely sitting upright.
“Did you think I came here unprepared? Why do you think I destroyed all the CCTV cameras?”
From his chest, he pulled out a small device.
“Because you wouldn’t notice if I planted bombs.”
It was a detonator.
“Let’s see who turns into a zombie first—me or you bastards.”
Since their HQ had been built after God’s Trial began, it wasn’t system-protected—it could be destroyed.
“What are you waiting for? Take it from him!!”
Beep.
KWA-KRA-KOOM!!!
Explosions ripped through the lower floors, leaving massive holes.
The noise drew in swarms of zombies—tens of thousands, then hundreds of thousands.
“Aaahh! That lunatic! Seal the lower levels!!”
“G-Guildmaster! The power’s down, nothing works! Looks like the generator’s gone too!”
“The generator?! No!! Do you know how long it took me to build that!?”
Pi Gwangseok turned in horror to the massive, dormant device.
Sunam smirked.
“Well, maybe you should’ve protected it better.”
With satisfaction, he raised his middle finger.
“You insolent wretch!!”
Pi shouted in rage, aiming his gun.
But Sunam jumped first, dodging the hail of bullets.
“Serves you right, bastards. I hope you rot in hell.”
Falling fast, Sunam pulled a parachute from his inventory and opened it.
Against the backdrop of the burning skyscraper, he drifted over the endless forest of zombies.
That had been the first great battle between Jang Sunam and White Coat Power in Round 1.
Back to the Present
“……”
Shaking off the memory, Sunam glared at the White Coat Power recruiters luring patients.
Though the guild had been destroyed back then, he never found another zombie vaccine.
He still couldn’t forget the despair of being the last human alive, forced to see the ending message alone.
“…Haa.”
He wanted to crush them right now.
But he couldn’t predict how a single act might ripple through the future.
Perhaps in this round, they weren’t villains yet.
So—
“I need proof.”
He decided to infiltrate their base camp and investigate their plans.
The method was simple: find their orders inside their document storage.
But ordinary means wouldn’t get past their security.
“So I’ll use extraordinary means.”
Sunam leapt to the rooftop of a building adjacent to Sky Road.
There, he found an animal-like NPC waiting in the corner.
“Would you like to use my shop?”
The raccoon-like NPC asked.
“Yeah, I heard you sell interesting things.”
“Oh-ho… I didn’t think anyone would actually buy this.”
Most hunters ignored the shop, as it seemed worthless.
But—
“There it is.”
Scrolling down, he found a strange item at the very bottom.
[Random Box]
A suspicious black box with no description.
It cost a whopping 50 coins, which was why no one ever bought it.
“I’ll take this one.”
“Kehehe… You must have coins to burn.”
With a chuckle, the raccoon NPC completed the trade. Thanks to his title effect, he got it for 45 coins.
“Alright, let’s open it right away.”
He already knew what would come out.
Across six regressions, the box had always produced the same result: [Invisibility Cloak] (F).
An item that made you vanish for a short time when worn. Weak durability, brief effect—a dud in most cases, but perfect for his needs.
But when he opened the box this time—
[Extreme Fortune activates.]
Flash!
Purple particles swirled like smoke as the box slowly opened.
“The color’s different!”
In the past, it had always glowed green. Now it was purple.
Whoosh!
The particles condensed into the shape of an item.
“…This is…”
Not a cloak, but something else.
[Invisibility Bracelet (F+)]
Hides the target of your choice depending on charge time.
Cancels upon minor impact or discharge.
“No way!”
Sunam’s eyes widened.
Instead of the cloak, he’d pulled a higher-grade bracelet. And unlike before, it could hide any chosen target.
“Guess life really is all about timing. Extreme Fortune paid off big this time.”
He put it on.
Fully charged, it had about 30 minutes of energy—triple the cloak’s duration.
“Time to move.”
He dashed back across to Sky Road and walked between tents.
As soon as he was out of sight, he activated the bracelet.
Bzzzt—
His body melted into the air, vanishing.
“Careful now…”
He moved cautiously to avoid bumping into hunters.
“Alright, sucke—no, customers, come this way! Medicine’s ready!”
“This way, we’ll start your consultation.”
At the White Coat Power base camp, a long line of coughing patients waited.
Those who went in were sickly; those who came out looked dissatisfied.
“No need to ask—they’re gouging them for treatment and medicine.”
He slipped deeper inside.
Thanks to past regressions, he knew the base camp’s layout by heart.
“…That’s new.”
But this time, he spotted a tent he’d never seen before.
“What’s this for?”
He crept inside.
Guild members wearing gas masks were diluting a dark, sticky liquid with water.
“What are they making?”
Curious, but he couldn’t risk exposure. First, he had to find the orders.
Those documents would reveal their plans and purpose—enough to judge if they were enemies or not.
But just as he turned to leave—
“This idea really is genius.”
“Right? Who could even come up with something like this…”
The masked guild members began chatting.
“Vaporizing diluted goblin poison to recreate cold symptoms? Brilliant, isn’t it?”
“…What?”
Sunam froze.
“Vaporizing? They’re spreading it like poison gas?”
He turned toward the patients lined up outside.
Every single one was coughing as if their lungs were failing.
So this was it—after leaving things unchecked for 70 days, this was what they’d done.
Looking back, even in the first round there had been an oddly widespread cold.
“…So it was their doing all along.”
Sunam pressed his forehead, incredulous.
“I underestimated these bastards.”
Forget butterfly effects—White Coat Power was trash through and through.
With a bitter laugh, he clenched his fist tightly.
“Now… how should I deal with this garbage?”
