From the sky, rifts opened. From the ground, dungeon breaks erupted.
After the Cataclysm, many zones were renamed and reclassified. Areas that Hunters failed to reclaim were taken over by the monsters who survived.
Still, that didn’t mean no one lived in those zones. People who began to survive in lands where death was always one step away would sometimes kill monsters—and sometimes kill each other.
The place where I was born and raised. Before the Cataclysm, it was known as Dobong-dong. Now, it's called Zone C-281—an outlaw district. And it had been my home.
‘Even if I hadn’t been kidnapped by the lab, I was planning to leave here anyway, so it doesn’t really matter anymore.’
Neon signs of every color flashed chaotically in the damp, narrow alleyways, cloaked in darkness.
Splash. I stepped into a puddle as I made my way through the winding maze of streets. Somewhere nearby, laughter and chatter echoed, and the thick stench of cigarette smoke drifted by.
Taking it all in, I glanced down.
The “villain” I’d managed to extract safely from the lab was quietly following me, still clutching my hand.
I’d lived here for over ten years, so I was used to it—but the kid wasn’t. Even so, her face, still as lifeless as a doll’s, showed no trace of fear as she walked silently behind me.
She’s... surprisingly fearless. Just what the hell happened to her in that lab?
‘...Well, not my concern.’
I shoved the stray curiosity aside and braced my heart. I’d already decided not to care what she’d been through—but I almost wavered again.
Tch. Being too soft is always my downfall. No matter how harmless she looks now, this little brat is the same “Catastrophe” that could split the world in two with one wrong step. So what does it matter what happened to her before?
Enough with the stupid thoughts—focus on the job.
Right as we reached our destination, I decided to throw in a little warning.
“Hey, kid. Don’t leave my side without permission, and don’t talk to anyone. Got it?”
“......”
The child looked up at me with emotionless eyes and gave a barely noticeable nod.
Well, at least that’s something. When we first met, she didn’t respond at all, so I guess this counts as progress.
Suppressing a sigh, I knocked loudly on the massive iron door in front of us.
The building at the end of the winding alleys loomed high into the sky, huge and imposing.
It didn’t have a name—this place, where all the powerful criminals of Zone C-281 gathered. The guy who built it hated unnecessary crap like names.
‘And yeah, it’d be pretty stupid to give some grand title to ★ Novelight ★ a building full of crooks.’
After a moment, with the sound of a lock clanking, the iron door slowly opened.
“What took you so long to open up?”
I grumbled as I stepped inside, and the doorman who’d opened it gave me a look like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Showing up out of nowhere in the middle of the night, and you’re complaining? And who the hell is this kid?”
“You obviously saw me on the security cams. I’m just saying, you could’ve opened up faster. And don’t worry about the kid.”
I half-heartedly brushed him off while shielding the child behind me. The doorman clicked his tongue, embarrassed.
“A guy who vanished for months suddenly shows up with a kid, and you don’t think that’s worth being surprised about? So? What’s the story?”
“My long-lost little sibling. From way back when.”
“Bullshit.”
“Yup~ I’m going in now.”
“You little shit, seriously...”
Ignoring the doorman full of curiosity and suspicion, I walked into the central hall of the building. The inside was massive—spacious and packed with everything imaginable.
It was a mix of commercial and residential space, with elevators and monorails linking different buildings in a complex web. Ads playing on the outer walls and the dizzying neon lights overloaded the senses.
First-timers who came here often got overwhelmed by the cyberpunk-like environment. And if you wandered around like an idiot, you’d lose your life—or at least your wallet.
Gripping the child’s hand tightly, I got in the elevator. Our destination was the tenth basement floor.
Clunk. Hummmm.
The old elevator groaned as it began to descend slowly.
As I waited for it to reach the bottom, I recalled the earlier conversation with the doorman.
‘Can’t keep making up stories forever...’
I had to stay with this kid constantly to prevent her from awakening as the Catastrophe, which meant I needed a cover plan. Since she also had black hair like me, saying we were siblings was the easiest route.
The problem was... I didn’t even know her name. I hadn’t asked, and even if I did, she probably wouldn’t answer. The kid only ever nodded, no matter what I said.
‘Nothing’s ever easy.’
All I could do was sigh. Ding—just then, the elevator arrived on the tenth floor and the doors opened.
Beyond the elevator was a corridor lined with shops full of various goods. Like the rest of the basement levels, this place was completely filled with black market operations.
It was the perfect spot to offload the lab items I’d brought with me—stuff the government was no doubt already chasing down.
I entered a small, rundown room tucked deep into the corner.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
The lights were off. I weaved through heaps of junk until I saw a blue glow coming from a monitor and someone sitting in front of it.
“Hmm hmm, hm hmm~”
He was cheerfully humming to himself, fingers flying across the keyboard. I noticed he had a headset on, so I stepped forward and kicked the back of his chair—hard.
Clang! Slam!
“AH, fuck! What the hell?!”
The guy toppled forward with his chair, hastily ripped off the headset, and spun around—only to scrunch his face in disbelief.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me... Cha Seohu?!”
“Long time no see.”
I grinned as I greeted him, pointing at him while he sat on the floor. He shot up and shouted like he was losing his mind.
“Are you fucking serious right now?! That’s what you say after months of vanishing? ‘Long time no see’? I fucking thought you were DEAD somewhere!”
“You were worried about me?”
“Look at this smug asshole! I’m gonna explode!”
Ugh, so noisy.
Crack! I exaggeratedly covered my ears, and he got so pissed that he chucked his headset at the floor.
“Fuck!”
The guy screaming at me was Hyun Dowoon. He had a design skill and was a top-notch programmer and hacker who went by “k.”
Like me, he was a lucky survivor of this place since childhood—one of the few people I actually knew here.
“Yeah, yeah. I know I disappeared without a word. But hey, I had my reasons, okay?”
I let go of the kid’s hand, walked over, and casually slung an arm around Dowoon’s shoulder.
He was the reason I came here, after all. Pushing him too hard wouldn’t help. I needed his help—desperately.
“Mind taking this off me now?”
But Dowoon just glared at me with his naturally sharp, upturned eyes.
As if that was gonna do anything. He always acted like this, but I knew he’d help me in the end—he always did. I didn’t even flinch as I opened my mouth again.
“I’m serious. I didn’t mean to ghost you. I got kidnapped by some psycho lab—”
BANG!
Before I could finish, the door slammed open with a thunderous boom.
“Cha Seohu!”
“Seohu! Are you here?!”
“Oh no...”freewebnovel.com
Familiar women burst into the room through the open door. I let out a sigh, still leaning on Dowoon’s shoulder.
‘I knew this would happen. I should’ve left sooner.’
The women spotted me and immediately bared their fangs.
“Cha Seohu, you ran off without a word and ghosted us?!”
“We raised you, fed you, and now that you’re all grown, you cut us off? Is that it?”
“You ungrateful little shit! You bastard!”
“No, no, of course not. Please calm down, ma’am!”
I quickly flashed a smile and tried to soothe them. Unlike Dowoon, these women were managers of the black market—and executive-level figures in this building.
They were powerful enough to crush someone like me with a single hand. And their personalities weren’t easy to deal with either. I didn’t stand a chance against them.
If they all showed up like this, word had clearly spread that I’d returned. I should’ve come in through a side hole instead of the front gate. I could’ve slipped by if I was alone, but I had the kid with me, so I had no choice.
“Huh? Who’s the kid?”
“Whoa, she’s adorable!”
As they rushed toward me with fiery eyes, the women suddenly stopped and stared at the child standing motionless nearby. Despite the chaos, the kid was still staring only at me.
“Oh my, Seohu, did you bring her?”
“She looks just like you when you were little.”
“Where’d you pick her up?”
“Please, ma’am, she’s not a stray animal... She’s someone I’m taking care of.”
“Says the kid who was picked up himself.”
...Can’t argue with that.
While I had no words, the women lit up and reached for the girl.
“Hey sweetie, what’s your name?”
“She’s so pretty.”
“Hey now.”
I couldn’t let them touch her. Knowing what she really was, letting them get too close was dangerous. I quickly stepped in, pulling the child into my arms before they could reach.
“Please don’t touch her without permission.”
“Jeez, stingy.”
“We weren’t gonna hurt her! Just wanted to pinch her cheeks and give her candy!”
“You think I’m gonna just let that slide? After what I went through for years?”
The women looked genuinely hurt that I wouldn’t let them touch her, which made me let out a breathless laugh.
I gave them a vague reply and patted the child’s back while she was in my arms. She wrapped her arms tightly around my neck.
She was holding on tighter than I expected. I glanced over and saw her burying her face into my neck—her ears glowing a bright red.

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