Surviving the Apocalypse as an All-Time Best Overpowered Necromancer - Chapter 95

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 95
95. Yu Ha-neul, Yu Bit-na (1)
The next day.
Originally, the plan had been to sweep the remaining two buildings in the apartment complex.
But word came that The Man was arriving, so they decided to wait at the Hideout instead.
Perhaps because of that?
Lee Gang-hyuk, who had slept in for the first time in ages, savored his leisure with a refreshed expression as he brewed coffee.
Soon after, he headed up to the twenty-third floor with three cups in hand.
“You’re awake?”
“Yes. I slept deeply for the first time in a while. How about Seo A-rin?”
As he offered a cup with a simple greeting and asked, Seo Hwa-rin pointed downward.
“She went to the Vinyl Greenhouse. I’ll enjoy this, thank you.”
She set down her work to accept the coffee and smiled brightly.
“It smells wonderful.”
“That’s the taste of leisure.”
“True enough.”
As Seo Hwa-rin nodded in agreement, Lee Gang-hyuk offered a faint smile in return.
“I’ll bring some to Seo A-rin as well.”
“Yes. Then I’ll start on lunch. Take your time.”
“All right.”
He nodded once more and crossed over to the opposite building where Seo A-rin was.
“Lee Gang-hyuk! Good morning… oh, it’s already noon!”
“Why not wait and have it together?”
As he offered the last cup, Seo A-rin’s face lit up with a smile.
“I was hoping to finish quickly and rest. Thank you so much. I’ll enjoy this!”
Seo A-rin accepted the mug and naturally settled onto the planter to sip her coffee, while Lee Gang-hyuk examined the Vinyl Greenhouse and nodded in satisfaction.
‘It was definitely the right call to build this greenhouse.’
After cherry tomatoes, he could now see lettuce and strawberries just beginning to sprout—and he was absorbed in this contentment when Seo A-rin called out to him.
“You were just thinking it was a good idea to build the greenhouse, weren’t you!?”
“Huh? I… how did you know?”
Startled by the sudden remark, Lee Gang-hyuk blinked in confusion as Seo A-rin shrugged.
“Maybe because we’re together all the time? Now I can tell just by looking at your face. Anyway, I should wash up before eating. I’ll go inside first.”
“All right.”
Lee Gang-hyuk watched her disappear into the building, then scratched his cheek and muttered to himself.
“Does that mean my expression is easy to read?”
Or was it simply that living together like this had forged a natural understanding between them?
If the latter, there was no real problem.
But if the former, he’d need to practice controlling his expression—there was a risk that others might see through his thoughts as well.
Just then, something appeared in the northern sky, far in the distance.
“…A Hot Air Balloon?”
As Lee Gang-hyuk furrowed his brow in confusion, a small notification suddenly materialized before his eyes.
[Arriving soon.]
A message from The Man.
At the same time…
Lee Gang-hyuk realized intuitively that The Man was aboard that distant balloon, and he shook his head in disbelief.
‘I wondered how he’d get here, but a hot air balloon of all things.’
It was absurd.
But only for a moment.
‘Wait… is someone else coming with him?’
A sudden unease gripped him.
He didn’t think The Man could pilot a balloon with such precision to reach the Hideout alone.
Of course…
If The Man were skilled enough at balloon control, it might be possible.
But to navigate precisely from Chuncheon to here relying only on the wind?
‘There’s definitely someone else there.’
Convinced of this, Lee Gang-hyuk recalled the person who had treated The Man’s injuries and his frown deepened.
* * *
Whoosh.
Whoof.
Whomp.
Moments later, the balloon descended onto the Hideout’s rooftop, and three figures emerged.
The Man and two young people with youthful features.
From their similar appearance, they seemed to be siblings.
“……”
Seeing this, Lee Gang-hyuk’s expression hardened, and The Man chuckled.
“I wasn’t expecting a warm welcome, but I’m pleased to see you greeting me so enthusiastically.”
At this familiar sarcasm, Lee Gang-hyuk shot back with irritation.
“What’s going on here?”
The Man turned to the children and gave a reassuring nod before explaining.
“It’s because of me. And also because of the weather.”
“……”
At this cryptic response, Lee Gang-hyuk’s expression grew more strained, so The Man elaborated.
“There’s no reason to be so wary. Our paths happen to align, so I’m dropping them off on the way.”
“Your paths?”
“That’s right. They say they’re headed to the US military base in Pyeongtaek.”
“Hmm.”
Lee Gang-hyuk let out a quiet sound and examined the children.
The Man had said he’d stay to protect Seo A-rin, so he wouldn’t be leaving. That meant the children alone were taking the balloon to Pyeongtaek, but…
Lee Gang-hyuk couldn’t help but ask with concern.
“On a hot air balloon? Who’s piloting it?”
“The older one has Wind Attribute Awakening. The younger is a Healing Type. I taught him how to pilot during our time in Chuncheon. He’s sharp—picked it up quickly. The power helps, of course. In fact, he piloted us here just now.”
Wind Attribute Awakening.
With those words, Lee Gang-hyuk’s worry vanished.
He didn’t know the situation in Chuncheon, but having survived six months, the boy would surely be skilled enough with his power to reach Pyeongtaek safely.
After all, they’d made it here from Chuncheon today, hadn’t they?
‘Well, that should be fine then.’
As Lee Gang-hyuk nodded, satisfied there was no real problem, The Man spoke again.
“Which is why I’m asking—and I know I’m being shameless—but before I send the children off, I’d like to give them a proper meal. Would you allow it? They’re the ones who saved my life, after all, and I’d like to repay them in at least this small way.”
At this sudden request, Lee Gang-hyuk looked at The Man, then turned to examine the children’s faces, and let out a quiet sigh.
Now that he looked closely, the children’s faces were gaunt—as if they’d gone hungry for days.
With no adults to care for them,
they’d apparently been struggling to eat properly, starving alongside each other.
What’s more, though they’d come with The Man, the girl seemed frightened of strangers and trembled as she hid behind her brother.
‘Tsk.’
By principle, he shouldn’t let unknown people into the Hideout.
But he couldn’t bring himself to coldly turn away children so young, so he reluctantly nodded.
“…Let’s go.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
As Lee Gang-hyuk gave his permission, The Man bowed with genuine gratitude.
Clearly, The Man himself wanted to help the children who had saved his life.
And so…
When the three of them descended to the twenty-third floor, Seo A-rin emerged from the shower, her eyes widening in surprise.
“Sir!”
“It’s been a while.”
Seo A-rin waved in greeting, then turned to the children with a question.
“Who are these kids?”
“Ah? Well… we happened to meet them.”
It was a simple question, but The Man looked flustered, averting his gaze and giving a vague answer.
He’d kept hidden from Seo A-rin the fact that he’d been injured, so he couldn’t very well tell her these were the children who’d saved his life.
“Tsk.”
Lee Gang-hyuk, who grasped the reason immediately, clicked his tongue and turned to Seo A-rin.
“The children were taking a hot air balloon to a US military base in Pyeongtaek when they happened to meet on the way, so they came along.”
“Ah, yes. That’s how we met them.”
The Man quickly backed up Lee Gang-hyuk’s version, and Seo A-rin nodded without suspicion.
“Is that so?”
Though her expression suggested she understood the situation, her eyes seemed to ask why they’d brought the children all the way here.
“Anyway, since we’ve received their help, he wanted to treat the children to a meal before they left. So I gave permission and came down with them.”
“Oh! Then please, come inside.”
At Lee Gang-hyuk’s explanation, Seo A-rin examined the children and readily opened the door.
She went in first to brief Seo Hwa-rin on the situation, and as Lee Gang-hyuk moved to follow, The Man whispered his thanks.
“…Thank you.”
“That’s enough.”
Lee Gang-hyuk spoke curtly as he removed his shoes, then extended a hand to the child who still seemed frightened and hesitant.
“It’s all right. Come in.”
Startled by the sudden gesture, the children took a step back—but then caught the aroma drifting from inside the house and slowly nodded.
“…Excuse us.”
They had manners.
And from the way they carefully arranged their shoes after taking them off, it seemed their hearts were kind.
Yet they remained anxious and fearful, keeping their guard up even as they organized their footwear, their eyes darting nervously and their hands trembling.
“Don’t be afraid. These are people I trust.”
Suddenly, The Man spoke in a gentle voice, as if trying to calm the children.
People he trusted.
‘Huh.’
That struck Lee Gang-hyuk as rather amusing, but seeing the children’s state, he couldn’t bring himself to object. Instead, he nodded along and offered a smile.
“That’s right. Dependable colleagues.”
“…That’s so.”
The Man hesitated at those words, then chuckled and led the children inside.
* * *
“You must be hungry. Come, eat. There’s plenty, so if you want more after this, you can have it.”
As Seo Hwa-rin offered bowls of Ramen with a warm smile, the children quickly bowed their heads.
“Th-thank you so much. Let’s eat well.”
“…Let’s eat.”
Yet for some reason, the children didn’t touch the Ramen and instead kept glancing around nervously.
‘It’s not as if they’ve never had Ramen before…’
Were they anxious that the food might be poisoned?
Thinking this, Lee Gang-hyuk picked up chopsticks to ease their minds by eating first, and only then did the children dig in, hurrying through their bowls.
‘Ah, so they were waiting for an adult to eat first.’
Whoever these children belonged to, they’d clearly received good training in manners. A smile bloomed naturally on Lee Gang-hyuk’s face.
“Eat slowly. You’ll make yourself sick.”
“That’s right. You can eat slowly. There’s no one here who’ll steal it from you.”
Seo Hwa-rin and Seo A-rin seemed to share the same thought, watching the children with warm expressions.
“Oh! We have Cherry Tomatoes too. Would you like some?”
“Really?”
“…Yes.”
As Seo A-rin mentioned the Cherry Tomatoes they’d harvested that day, the boy looked surprised, and the girl checked his expression before nodding.
“There’s plenty of these too, so eat as much as you’d like. I’ll pack some for you to take with you.”
“…Thank you so much.”
After confirming the children’s reaction, Seo A-rin smiled brightly and brought out the Cherry Tomatoes. Perhaps because they were a precious food source at this time of year,
the children hesitated at first, then bowed again and began eating the tomatoes.
* * *
After the meal ended, the children decided they needed to head to Pyeongtaek before it got too late and climbed to the rooftop to prepare the balloon.
“If the balloon has problems… don’t go too high… go as slowly as possible, and if you encounter a flock of birds… if you have to make an emergency landing…”
The Man stayed close by, rattling off a steady stream of instructions, clearly worried about the children.
After a moment…
As the balloon grew taut, The Man gave final instructions and patted the boy’s shoulder.
“Just do it like you did before, and there won’t be any problem. Send word when you arrive, and if anyone bothers you there, tell me. I’ll come running anytime.”
“All right.”
The children nodded and climbed aboard the balloon. Seo Hwa-rin, watching them, turned to Lee Gang-hyuk.
“…Will they really be all right?”
“I’m worried about that too, but since the children want to go, we can’t stop them. All we can do is hope and cheer them on.”
In response to Seo Hwa-rin’s concern, Lee Gang-hyuk sighed and watched the balloon begin to rise slowly.
Wheeeesh—!
Floating upward.
Immediately, wind from somewhere wrapped around the balloon and pushed it southward.
The boy was using his power.
And so…
the balloon slowly receded, and soon they were passing over Dobong Station.
As long as the balloon itself stayed intact, they should reach Pyeongtaek safely—Lee Gang-hyuk had just felt reassured when
the clear sky, unmarred by clouds, suddenly darkened, and large snowflakes began falling without warning.
“!!”
Startled by the sudden turn of events, all four of them stared at the balloon carrying the children, which was now swaying precariously.
But recalling The Man’s instructions, the balloon quickly regained its balance and began descending gradually, eventually landing near Dobong Station.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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