Chapter 262

Chapter 262

Zeon frowned.

That was because an unexpected guest had come looking for him first thing in the morning.

A woman stood before the door to his house, her hair neatly swept back without a single strand out of place, wearing a red suit that revealed the curves of her body.

There were not many women in Neo Seoul who left such a powerful impression.

‘Seo Tae-ran?’

The woman who had knocked on Zeon’s door that morning was Seo Tae-ran, Jin Geum-ho’s secretary.

Seo Tae-ran’s abrupt appearance gave him a bad feeling.

“What brings you here so early in the morning?”

“The mayor wishes to see you, Mr. Zeon.”

“At this hour?”

“He says he would like to have breakfast with you.”

“Breakfast......”

“He said he would very much like you to join him for a meal.”

“Hoo!”

Zeon let out a low sigh.

It was phrased as an invitation, but it was no different from a threat.

“Let’s go.”

Zeon put on his outer garment and came outside.

Outside the building, the car Seo Tae-ran had arrived in was waiting.

After getting into the car, Zeon asked Seo Tae-ran,

“Why is the mayor looking for me first thing in the morning?”

“I don’t know. I merely deliver the mayor’s orders.”

“Is that so?”

“I’m only a mere secretary.”

Zeon did not believe Seo Tae-ran’s words.

The aura, gaze, and presence she gave off were not things a mere secretary could possess.

Above all, there was no way Jin Geum-ho’s secretary would be an ordinary person.

Even Deioden had acknowledged Jin Geum-ho’s eye for people.

Zeon frowned and thought about why Jin Geum-ho would seek him out.

There was only one reason he would look for him.

‘Moby Dick.’

Jin Geum-ho had asked Zeon to obtain Moby Dick’s heart. And by coincidence, Duduyan and Aslan, who had now entered the slums, had also spoken to Zeon about Moby Dick.

There was no such thing as a convenient coincidence in this world.

Every event that occurred without warning had a reason behind it.

Zeon looked at Seo Tae-ran’s face.

Seo Tae-ran still looked straight ahead with an expressionless face. But there was no way she did not know Zeon was looking at her. Even so, she continued pretending not to notice.

“Hoo!”

Zeon sighed again.

This type of person was the most difficult to deal with.

It would have been easier if he could simply crush her with force, but she would never create that kind of situation in the first place.

To deal with people like this, he had to use just as much of his head. That was why Zeon tried not to get involved in Neo Seoul’s affairs whenever possible. Inside Neo Seoul, people like Seo Tae-ran and Jin Geum-ho were everywhere.

They reached City Hall quickly.

As soon as he got out of the car, he immediately took the elevator to the mayor’s office on the top floor of City Hall.

Jin Geum-ho was sitting at a table laid with food, waiting for Zeon.

“Welcome. I apologize for tiring you out so early in the morning.”

“It’s all right.”

“Have a seat.”

“Yes!”

Zeon sat opposite Jin Geum-ho.

“There isn’t much prepared. Still, I wanted to eat with you today.”

“Thank you.”

Just as Jin Geum-ho had said, the food on the table was simple.

Freshly baked bread, soup, and salad.

It was a breakfast so plain that it almost looked shabby.

But the reality was different.

At present, the hardest ingredient to obtain in Neo Seoul was the fresh vegetables placed on the table.

Even in Neo Seoul, fresh vegetables and bread were supplied only to a very small number of people. So even if the quantity was somewhat lacking, one could not call it insincere.

With a table like this, Jin Geum-ho had shown Zeon more than enough courtesy.

“Let’s eat first.”

“Yes!”

The two began eating.

Zeon first picked up the salad covered in sauce with his fork.

All kinds of vegetables crunched in his mouth.

At the fresh flavor he had never experienced before, Zeon closed his eyes.

No colony in the desert could provide such fresh vegetables. They were top-quality ingredients that could only be tasted in Neo Seoul, and even then, only by people with high status like Jin Geum-ho.

Although he had not wanted to join this meal, Zeon decided to enjoy this moment.

The freshly baked bread was delicious too.

It was on a completely different level from the low-quality ingredients supplied to the slums.

He did not know what methods they had used to grow such luxurious wheat, but the freshly baked bread melted softly in his mouth, leaving behind a rich, savory flavor.

It was enough to make him feel guilty that he could not eat such delicious food together with Levin or Briel.

Watching Zeon dip his bread in the soup, Jin Geum-ho said,

“It’s soup made from corn. What do you think?”

“It’s delicious.”

“In the past...... before the Great Cataclysm, corn was a very common plant. The shock I felt when I saw vast cornfields stretching endlessly across the plains was truly beyond words.”

“Vast cornfields? I can’t imagine it.”

“I suppose not. It would not feel real to someone who has never seen it. I first saw that sight in America.”

“America......”

“It was the superpower that ruled Earth before the Great Cataclysm. I heard it has now been destroyed, but......”

“It hasn’t been completely destroyed. It’s not as powerful as Neo Seoul, but it has built several large colonies and continues to survive.”

“Is that so?”

At Zeon’s words, Jin Geum-ho’s eyes gleamed.

At present, the only person in Neo Seoul who had ever been to America was Zeon.

It was possible because Zeon was the Sandmancer. It was impossible for other Awakened.

Once one left Neo Seoul, communication barely worked.

Even if one created a shelter, it would soon be attacked by monsters, so setting out on an expedition itself was not easy.

The desert sand and monsters never allowed humans to travel comfortably.

They tormented, attacked, and eventually brought them down.

Even if one somehow managed to reach America, returning would be even more difficult.

There was a reason caravans that traveled between colonies were treated so preciously.

Caravans were the only channels through which information could be exchanged between colonies. But not a single caravan dared attempt to advance as far as the colonies in America.

Setting out on an expedition to America was something on a completely different level.

Even Neo Seoul’s raid teams could not dream of advancing to America.

Naturally, there was no way to know what America’s situation was like. And there was no particular reason to concern themselves with America on the opposite side of the world.

It was already overwhelming enough to concern themselves with Neo Seoul.

“What is the situation of the colonies in America?”

“It isn’t particularly good there either.”

“Is it very bad?”

“It isn’t good because many large monsters have settled nearby.”

“Large monsters?”

“At minimum, Grade A monsters have made nests in many places.”

“Then there must be Grade S monsters too.”

“Yes!”

“Mm!”

Jin Geum-ho let out a low groan.

If a Grade S monster existed near a colony, that colony’s survival would be threatened.

A Grade S monster possessed power on a completely different level from Grade A.

In old terms, a Grade S monster was a creature with nation-level military power.

In other words, a being with nation-level power was targeting the colony.

Even one such creature nesting nearby would be burdensome. If many of them lived near the colony, their range of activity would naturally be restricted that much more.

“They can’t even dream of expanding outward.”

“Yes! Each colony is completely isolated from the others.”

“As expected.”

Jin Geum-ho nodded.

Perhaps lost in deep thought, Jin Geum-ho did not move for quite some time after that.

The meal was already over.

Zeon thought Jin Geum-ho would now bring up the reason he had invited him.

“Do you remember what I told you before?”

“Which part?”

“Moby Dick!”

As if refusing to give Zeon time to prepare, Jin Geum-ho went straight in.

Zeon had already thought this might happen, so he answered calmly.

“Yes! I remember.”

“Then this will be easier to say. Moby Dick has been found.”

“Where?”

“You would know that better than I would. Wouldn’t you?”

Jin Geum-ho stared intently at Zeon.

His gaze said he already knew everything.

Zeon instinctively felt there was no point in feigning ignorance here.

“How did you know?”

“How I found out is not important. What matters is the fact that you know how to find Moby Dick.”

Jin Geum-ho’s eyes were shining strangely.

His intense gaze, as if piercing through the truth itself, made even Zeon feel burdened.

“That’s right. There is a way to find Moby Dick.”

“Then that is enough. Bring me Moby Dick’s heart.”

“It isn’t as easy as you make it sound.”

“I know. If it were that easy, I would have no reason to ask you. I am asking because it is difficult.”

“Why do you need Moby Dick’s heart?”

“You said it yourself earlier, didn’t you? That each colony is completely isolated. With Moby Dick’s heart, we can overcome that situation.”

“Are you saying there will be a way for colonies to communicate with one another?”

“For now, it is enough that you know that much. Once you obtain Moby Dick’s heart, you will naturally learn the details.”

“......”

“This is not only for Neo Seoul, but for all humans who survived on Earth.”

The cause Jin Geum-ho put forward pressed down on Zeon.

The moment he rejected the cause of Neo Seoul and humanity, he would become the enemy of Neo Seoul and humanity.

Looking at Jin Geum-ho, who was tightening his grip around him with no gap to escape, Zeon thought he was frightening.

When someone pressured an opponent with causes and logic like this, it became difficult to respond.

No matter how much power came first in this world, once people gathered and lived together, causes became important.

A cause was the most efficient means of moving people.

Jin Geum-ho had learned down to his bones how to use such causes for maximum effect.

At this point, how Jin Geum-ho had obtained information known only to Zeon no longer mattered.

Zeon let out a faint sigh and said,

“I’ll keep my promise.”

“Of course you will. I trusted you from the beginning. However......”

“What else is there?”

“I cannot make you suffer alone, so I will provide some help. I will attach reliable combat power to you.”

“That’s fine.”

“I feel sorry, so do not refuse.”

Jin Geum-ho reached out and held Zeon’s hand.

Zeon felt a thick, rough touch.

Quietly slipping his hand away, Zeon said,

“Understood. But I cannot take many people.”

“I will assign only two.”

“Two?”

“I guarantee they will be a great help.”

At Jin Geum-ho’s meaningful smile, Zeon’s eyes sank coldly.

The two looked at each other for a long time.

***

After Zeon left, Seo Tae-ran entered the mayor’s office.

As Seo Tae-ran cleared the food from the table, she said,

“Did the discussion go well?”

“What is there to go well or not? It was decided from the start.”

“Did Zeon...... not ask how we obtained the information?”

“Hehe! He already suspects it, so is there any reason for him to ask?”

“You mean he already knows?”

Seo Tae-ran’s expression stiffened slightly.

They had extracted the information from Aslan without Aslan himself knowing, so it was surprising that Zeon already knew.

“He is a clever one. If you attach ordinary people to him, they will only end up dancing in the palm of his hand.”

“Is that why you are sending Mr. Lee Jeong-ho?”

“Hehe! Since he cannot see, he will not be deceived, and since his core is firm, he will not be shaken. With him, he will surely be able to bring back Moby Dick’s heart.”

“Yes!”

“In any case, you did well. Thanks to you, we were able to respond before it was too late.”

“Not at all. I merely did what I had to do.”

“How wonderful it would be if everyone were like you. If everyone did what needed to be done on their own and produced good results, there would be no need for me to step forward.”

“......”

“That is why Neo Seoul needs me.”

“Ma......yor!”

Jin Geum-ho looked out the window.

A yellow sky full of hazy dust entered his vision.

Even above that yellow sky, monsters were flying.

They simply could not be seen.

The current rulers of Earth were monsters.

Jin Geum-ho clenched his fist tightly and murmured,

“Only I can make humans the rulers of Earth again.”