Webnovel Author In The Apocalypse World

Word was that Oh Yongho, the weakest member among them, was killed in a moment of carelessness by a zombie.

Unfortunately, Oh Yongho just so happened to be the son of Oh Daehan, the director of the Haneulsae Safe Zone's logistics department.

From both public and private perspectives, the Haneulsae Safe Zone wouldn't let the Pyeongseong Safe Zone off the hook.

Combat strength was undoubtedly the Pyeongseong Safe Zone's biggest headache.

The massive food trades in autumn had been a desperate move to secure enough supplies for winter.

But that strategy left them vulnerable after the winter season.

"As for the Golden Dianthus Squad…" Shin Woncheon hesitated.

He understood the issue with the Pyeongseong Safe Zone's combat power.

Even trading supplies might not be enough to solve the problem, but asking them to take on the Golden Dianthus Squad was a tall order.

Jo Sungmo had considered this too. "We can't eliminate the entire Golden Dianthus Squad, but if we target their leader in a surprise attack, we might have a shot."

As someone who frequently goes out for scouting, Jo Sungmo knew far more about the Golden Dianthus Squad of the Bangnang Safe Zone than Shin Woncheon.

Shin Woncheon and the others only knew that the Golden Dianthus Squad had the largest number of ability users among the Bangnang Safe Zone's ability users teams.

It was a top-ability users squad and had a somewhat unsavory reputation.

However, they had no idea just how horrifying the Golden Dianthus Squad's behavior truly was.

Jo Sungmo had once saved someone who had escaped from the Bangnang Safe Zone.

That person was barely alive and didn't even make it through the night.

To be precise, he hadn't escaped on his own; he had been thrown out by the Golden Dianthus Squad.

When Jo Sungmo found him, the man's body was a mess, with not a patch of intact skin left.

His thighs and other fleshy areas had been stripped down to the bone.

The missing flesh?

It had been eaten by the Golden Dianthus Squad.

When Jo Sungmo and his team first saw the man, they thought he had been mauled by zombies.

Upon realizing he was still breathing, they hesitated to help, fearing he might mutate.
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It wasn't until one of the team members carefully inspected him that they discovered the wounds didn't resemble bite marks.

Nor did the man show signs of infection, such as the characteristic bluish-purple discoloration.

Only then did they dare to bring him back and attempt to save him.

From the man's dying words, they learned the shocking truth: the Golden Dianthus Squad, particularly its leaders, had secretly been eating human flesh.

It wasn't because human flesh was particularly tasty or because they had no other food.

It was because human flesh contained no mutation viruses—especially the flesh of ability users.

As for the victims who died from this cannibalism?

Well, in a world where death was commonplace, a few missing people here and there were easily overlooked unless they were someone's close friends or family.

And in the loosely regulated Bangnang Safe Zone, such atrocities went even more unchecked.

The only reason this man survived long enough for Jo Sungmo's team to find him was due to a sudden attack by mutated plants while the Golden Dianthus Squad was dividing up his flesh.

They had abandoned him in haste, leaving him to die alone.

That twist of fate was the only reason Jo Sungmo's team stumbled upon him.

When Jo Sungmo and his team heard the story, they were furious.

But the man died that night, leaving them without enough evidence to rally support from other safe zones.

The people from the Pyeongseong Safe Zone weren't strong enough to act on their own and their hands were tied.

Jo Sungmo later tried to gather more information about the Golden Dianthus Squad.

The Bangnang Safe Zone was originally meant to provide refuge for those unwilling or unable to join big safe zones.

However, it had almost entirely been turned into the Golden Dianthus Squad's personal empire.

These people acted like they were one step away from declaring themselves emperors, complete with golden thrones.

So, when Jo Sungmo now heard that Caeruleus Draco Squad wanted to go after the Golden Dianthus Squad, he wasn't particularly surprised.

Shin Woncheon glanced at Jo Sungmo.

Knowing the latter's character, Shin Woncheon could tell he was considering agreeing.

This prompted Shin Woncheon to weigh the feasibility of the plan himself.

Kim Haru silently listened to their discussion.

Although he wasn't particularly sensitive to such matters, he understood that powerful combat strength was a reliable guarantee in any situation.

Kim Haru softly offered, "Perhaps my plants might be of some use."

Shin Woncheon's eyes lit up instantly.

The images of the lush green plants around Kim Haru's small farm flashed through Shin Woncheon's mind one by one.

For every single one of them, he could think of multiple ways to use them lethally.

If he had been uncertain about the success of their assassination plan before, Kim Haru's words now made him feel it was practically foolproof!

"Thank you, Mr. Kim!" Shin Woncheon didn't know what else to say besides expressing his gratitude.

Jo Sungmo didn't quite understand why Shin Woncheon was so elated, but seeing his expression, Jo Sungmo could tell that a solution must have been found.

As expected of Mr. Kim.

After the barrier was removed, the people from the Pyeongseong Safe Zone agreed to cooperate but added their own conditions.

"Name your terms," the Caeruleus Draco Squad responded eagerly.

"First, we need to verify whether your proposed method is as effective and harmless as you claim. The Pyeongseong Safe Zone will decide on the next steps after witnessing it firsthand."

"No problem."

"Second, the Golden Dianthus Squad has too many people. We cannot eliminate all of them. The Pyeongseong Safe Zone will only take responsibility for dealing with the core three members of their squad."

"This…" The Caeruleus Draco Squad hesitated briefly before recalculating. "Make that four people. In addition to their captain and two vice-captains, there is also a woman who plays a key role."

"Alright, four it is."