Red Dot - 135

Chapter 135

Daewook’s brow suddenly furrowed. He firmly shook his head and let out a sharp voice.

“Why are you going with that guy alone? I’d rather go with you, or rearrange the team.”

“It has to be this guy.”

At Junseong’s firm reply, Daewook’s brow remained furrowed and twitched.

It seemed Jang Daewook had come to greatly dislike Do Hanseo.

Junseong knew Jang Daewook was a guy with good instincts and quick perception, so he thought perhaps Daewook felt something when he briefly clashed with Hanseo yesterday. Junseong couldn’t be sure since he didn’t know how Do Hanseo acted when he wasn’t around.

“You said he’s someone who never appeared in your dreams. Why would you trust a guy you barely know…!”

“That’s exactly the reason.”

Junseong saw not only Daewook but also the other companions making puzzled expressions and spoke.

“The only person who never appeared in my dreams is Do Hanseo.”

Junseong turned his gaze to look at Do Hanseo. As if Hanseo had been watching him all along, their eyes immediately met.

“Not appearing in my dreams means Nam Ki-hyuk knows nothing about this guy.”

In truth, Junseong had vaguely seen him when he was dying in the last cycle, but he became certain it was Do Hanseo after hearing about his past and the research institute’s story.

Nam Ki-hyuk knew about the last cycle in Junseong’s dreams but knew nothing about Do Hanseo.

If Ki-hyuk had known, he wouldn’t have left Do Hanseo, the sole survivor of the Bl00d Source Research Institute and the ‘true solution,’ alone. Ki-hyuk had even snatched the ‘fake solution’ that was barely found in the last cycle.

Based on that judgment, Junseong thought Nam Ki-hyuk had no information about Do Hanseo. The fake solution Ki-hyuk took lacked any information about Do Hanseo, so he couldn’t even make a guess.

Junseong looked around at his companions and spoke.

“The same goes for the other companions not here, and all of you will act based on your personalities and wills. I chose you as companions based on that information and tried to use you appropriately in the right places.”

His words sounded like he was looking down on game characters and controlling them.

“But I’m not the only one who knows about your personalities and wills. Nam Ki-hyuk knows them too.”

The companions flinched and all wore stiff expressions. Especially Kwak Dujae, who recalled Nam Ki-hyuk speaking as if he knew him well and touched his severed arm.

“It’s hard for him to predict all my movements after going through the same situation countless times. But he can easily guess how you, moving with me, will react and act. If he uses that to set traps or manipulate cleverly, it’ll end up going Nam Ki-hyuk’s way.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Hwang Gyeong-oh’s face turned deathly pale. Since Gyeong-oh had his head lowered, he managed to hide his wildly shaking eyes. Knowing Gyeong-oh was naturally timid and faint-hearted, Junseong didn’t think his pale complexion was strange.

“That’s why we need Do Hanseo.”

Nam Ki-hyuk doesn’t know what kind of person Do Hanseo is, what his personality is, or what will drives him.

He was truly the ultimate variable.

Daewook still looked displeased but seemed somewhat convinced.

To use a game analogy, the opponent knows all the main abilities and styles of this side’s characters.

But there’s a new, unfamiliar character among them. They don’t know his abilities or style. So, they can’t devise countermeasures or rashly set traps. For a trap to succeed, there must be certainty that ‘the enemy character will act this way,’ so a trap without that is just a waste of time and effort.

Though bitter, Daewook couldn’t argue against Junseong’s words.

But one thing.

“What if that guy turns out to be a traitor?”

Even the leader devising the strategy could get backstabbed by the new character.

“He might not join Nam Ki-hyuk, but he could abandon you and run when things get dangerous.”

“That won’t happen.”

Junseong answered without a hint of hesitation and looked at Do Hanseo with unwavering eyes.

As he told Chaeyi last night, Do Hanseo has no option to abandon him and leave.

“This guy can’t abandon me even if he dies.”

See.

Even now, the only thing reflected in those eyes is me.

* * *

Afterward, Junseong briefly explained to the group about the Bl00d Source Research Institute’s first laboratory.

The companions’ faces, upon learning about the hidden first laboratory and why the zombie virus started there, were quite a sight. The complex expressions of anger, shock, and fear were truly rare to see.

“If I had mentioned Do Hanseo too, it would’ve caused chaos.”

Junseong mentally reviewed the explanation, leaving out anything about Do Hanseo.

The space where he and Hanseo were swept into while escaping the Bl00d Source Research Institute was the true hidden laboratory, the ‘first laboratory,’ where they learned the institute’s secrets.

The institute’s people conducted countless experiments on numerous homeless people to create a miracle drug that could cure any disease. In the process, a deadly mutant virus emerged, which became the zombie virus that spread starting from Inhanshi.

The Bl00d Source director and researchers, instead of creating a panacea, spread the zombie virus worldwide and aimed to make a fortune by developing a vaccine.

Around the time the zombie virus spread, the experiments had progressed significantly, and they were on the verge of completing the vaccine. But due to negligence, a test subject turned zombie ravaged the institute, and the virus spread outside.

While all the researchers either turned into zombies or died,

The Bl00d Source director, the sole survivor secretly observing the situation, stole the original research data and the experimental bl00d that would become the vaccine and fled to his home. The solution Junseong found in his dreams, which Nam Ki-hyuk took from the second laboratory, was just a decoy.

The real research data and the bl00d, the main ingredient for the vaccine, were all at the Bl00d Source director’s home.

While reflecting on the information he shared, Junseong secretly glanced at Do Hanseo. Hanseo’s expression remained unchanged, as if he had no connection to the institute.

Junseong considered mentioning Hanseo’s adoptive parents in the context but decided against it.

If they came into the spotlight, Do Hanseo’s existence would be exposed too. Even if it didn’t reveal he was the vaccine, given the media attention he once received, it wouldn’t go unnoticed.

All the blame lies with the ‘Bl00d Source director.’

That’s how Junseong decided to conclude it.

Junseong wanted Do Hanseo to remain someone unconnected to them.

Junseong would rebuild Do Hanseo’s past, present, and future entirely. He wouldn’t let even a speck of their filth touch him.

Recalling the resolve he made when leaving the institute, Junseong opened his mouth toward the grim-faced companions.

“Everyone except me and Do Hanseo will travel by bus. I’ll plan a relatively safe route, but after that, it’s up to Dujae-ssi.”

Suddenly singled out, Dujae raised his eyes, and Junseong looked at him and spoke.

“You know the military secret communication code, right?”

Dujae made a greatly surprised expression. Then, as if understanding, he gave a wry smile.

“That’s surprising. You even know about that?”

“How many times did I move with you in my dreams?”

Junseong shrugged his shoulders and gave a small smile.

The mayor of Inhanshi, whom Kwak Dujae closely guarded, was a former military politician.

Having served as a special forces commander and field army commander, he was one of the few with his own secret military radio communication code. This code wasn’t for making calls but for signaling who he was and where he was. In this situation, it was essentially a survival signal.

Though the mayor of Inhanshi died, Kwak Dujae, who happened to learn the code while guarding him, was right here.

That was one reason Junseong insisted on joining Kwak Dujae in his dreams.

The problem was that the radio communication device for entering the secret code was only available at a specific location.

“The device to input the secret code is at the shelter on the outskirts of Inhanshi, which you know about. If you input the code there, soldiers for rescue will arrive from outside.”

“But will they really come? I heard zombies are already rampant outside Inhanshi.”

Despite Dujae’s worried words, Junseong just smiled reassuringly.

“They’ll come. The mayor of Inhanshi had leverage over the military and key politicians since his special forces commander days.”

Junseong never thought all politicians were clean, but the mayor of Inhanshi was particularly sinister. Even Junseong couldn’t fully grasp the number and weight of the leashes he held.

But thanks to that, the military would move even in this situation. Though they’d find a group of survivors instead of the mayor holding the leashes.

“Still, I’m worried. If they come to rescue and find it’s not the mayor, they might abandon us. The military can be ruthless in times like this.”

Changmin, vaguely aware of the military’s complex situation, still couldn’t relax his expression. He knew well how cold the military could be in a pinch.

“I know. That’s why I’m trying to find the ‘true solution.’”

In his dreams, the trained soldiers blockading Inhanshi aimed their guns at citizens who couldn’t join the shelter. They pulled the trigger without hesitation if anything seemed off, showing no compassion. They believed that was the only way to protect the shelter and people outside Inhanshi.

If so, Junseong would find a way to protect others, securing a perfect right to survival with direct military protection.

That was Junseong’s final plan.