Absolute Dweller-Chapter 119

To be safe, I decided to check on the newly integrated forward base at the Kori Nuclear Headquarters.

The Kori facility housed a total of eight reactors: Kori Units 1 through 4 and Shin-Kori Units 1 through 4 located nearby.

Except for the decommissioned and permanently shut-down Kori Unit 1, all reactors were operational, generating massive amounts of electricity.

The power output from these reactors was so immense that it could easily meet the energy demands of all citizens with plenty to spare.

‘Like the solar power facilities, any surplus electricity seems to be converted into money.’

This alone was reason enough to seize control of every nuclear power plant in the country.

The daily revenue from such facilities would be staggering.

‘No issues here.’

Fortunately, the Kori plant appeared to be functioning without problems.

‘Among my territories, the one closest to Wolseong Base in Gyeongju is...’

The forward base at Ulsan Homeplus.

If something had gone wrong at Wolseong, it was likely that changes would be noticeable in the Ulsan region as well.

‘Absolute Dweller’s Eye.’

Surveying the forward base at Ulsan Homeplus, I initially noticed nothing unusual.

People seemed to be going about their daily lives as usual.

“Where are we heading today?”

“Let’s check out the Buk-gu area. We haven’t explored there much yet.”

“Man, I hope we find another decent foreign car like yesterday.”

Thanks to the presence of the vampire progenitor in Ulsan, monster activity was relatively low, leaving many vehicles intact.

The city, being an industrial hub, also had a wealth of luxury cars, including expensive imports, attracting citizens eager to scavenge.

These two were part of such a group.

“I’m not even asking for a luxury car. Just something functional would be nice.”

“Yeah, that’d be good enough.”

Even secondhand vehicles fetched hundreds or thousands of dollars, making the search worthwhile.

Monster hunting and scavenging supplies from abandoned homes were added bonuses.

For those capable of handling the roaming goblins, Ulsan was nothing short of a treasure trove.

‘So many people here now.’

Those who had diligently leveled up in instant dungeons now possessed physical abilities that allowed them to easily overpower a few goblins barehanded.

Additionally, one in three groups was equipped with firearms, reducing fear of venturing through the city.

‘Their average level is pretty high, too.’

As graduates of goblin-producing instant dungeons, most had reached level 20 or higher.

While they struggled with orcs, firearms made them manageable, and goblin mobs posed no threat.

The typical parties active in Ulsan were precisely at this level.

‘The forward base itself seems fine.’

I shifted my vision to the rooftop, checking beyond the transparent barrier.

The sky was calm, with nothing unusual aside from thick cloud cover.

But then—

Tap-tap-tap...

“...What’s that?”

Tiny particles, smaller than grains of sand, began striking the transparent barrier.

It was so subtle that one could miss it without focus.

Sensing something amiss, I overlaid the Absolute Dweller’s Eye with black energy.

Fwoosh!

The scenery above changed instantly.

‘This...!’

To the northeast, radioactive air was spreading rapidly from the sky.

Fortunately, the wind was carrying most of it toward the sea rather than in our direction.

Even so—

Tap-tap-tap-tap...

The particles striking the barrier were undoubtedly radioactive.

It had already reached here.

With this realization, I was certain.

‘Wolseong Base has exploded.’

The faint tremor felt earlier at the Kori plant had been caused by the explosion of the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant.

Using the Ring of Communication, I immediately relayed a message to all my retainers.

[Evacuate all citizens to the safe zones immediately.]

I also used the telepathic ability obtained from Kim Da-bin.

[Attention, all citizens.]

Kim Da-bin’s telepathy had limitations: she needed to know the target’s face and name, and the target had to be within a 10 km radius. These constraints had improved with leveling and the power of the stars but still applied.

However, there was one exception—communication with me.

As long as she remained within my domain, distance didn’t matter.

This was because every territory declared as my base was linked to my mind, acting as a telepathic amplifier.

[Return to the safe zones immediately. Do not venture outside for the time being.]

Anyone near the territory could receive my telepathic message.

[Once again, I urge all citizens to return to the safe zones immediately.]

Thanks to Kim Jae-hyun’s swift response, many citizens avoided radiation exposure. However, not everyone was so lucky.

Those far from the safe zones couldn’t hear my telepathy.

The relief team led by Baek Seung-min was among them.

They were the first to grasp the gravity of the situation.

“Cough!”

Baek Seung-min’s face hardened as he looked at a child coughing up blood.

Chosen and empowered by me through a contract of subjugation, Baek Seung-min had awakened a unique ability—sharing fragments of his life force to save others in emergencies.

But his ability was of no use to the child in front of him.

No matter how much life force he poured into the child, there was no sign of improvement.

‘It’s been like this ever since that explosion.’

The catastrophic blast had left its mark, and soon after, children began coughing up blood.

‘What on earth could cause this?’

Baek Seung-min’s team, composed entirely of former firefighters, was tasked with supplying resources to those without citizenship and guiding them to the safety zones if they were willing.

Their journey from Ulsan to this remote area in Gangdong had been prompted by a survivor’s desperate plea to save their family.

“Sir...”

“Yes?”

“Am... Am I going to die? Cough!”

The child’s skin was in a terrible state, ravaged by radiation exposure.

Internal organs were failing, red rashes covered their body, and patches of skin were peeling away.

“I... I don’t want to die!”

Clenching his teeth, Baek Seung-min poured even more of his life force into the child.

But it wasn’t enough.

Before long, the child’s suffering ended.

There was no time to grieve.

“Captain Baek! More people are collapsing!”

Now even the adults were showing alarming symptoms.

They fell to the ground, red rashes spreading across their skin, and the worst cases began coughing up blood.

One of the team members, inspecting the symptoms, approached Baek Seung-min with a grave expression.

“Captain, I think this is radiation poisoning.”

“Radiation poisoning?”

“Yes. I believe the explosion earlier was a nuclear incident.”

“Nuclear?”

Baek Seung-min’s eyes widened as he asked again.

“Are you saying that was a nuclear bomb?”

“No, not exactly...”

The older team member, a seasoned firefighter who had spent his entire life in Busan, had undergone extensive training for various emergencies.

His understanding of the situation was almost spot on.

“I believe the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant has exploded.”

“What?! Then...”

“We need to leave this place immediately.”

“But...”

Baek Seung-min hesitated, looking at the fallen survivors with trembling eyes.

A voice urged him.

“The symptoms are progressing rapidly because they’ve been exposed to a massive dose of radiation! If we want to save even a few, we need to act now!”

Gritting his teeth, Baek Seung-min made a decision.

“We’re evacuating immediately. Those whose symptoms have worsened...”

It was a cruel decision, but it had to be made to save as many lives as possible.

“...will be left behind.”

After relaying the situation, the rescue team prepared to leave.

The people here had been fortunate.

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The vampires’ presence had kept monster numbers low, and the remote village had escaped the attention of predators.

But their luck had run out in the harshest way possible.

“Urgh... Urgh...”

Even those who could still move chose to stay behind with their families, resigning themselves to their fate.

An elderly man, watching a dying young man with sorrowful eyes, spoke.

“Those who can leave should leave. Those who can survive must survive.”

“...I’m sorry.”

Bowing his head, Baek Seung-min looked at those left behind, dying slowly.

“It’s fine. The world’s already gone to hell, hasn’t it? At least I get to see my son’s face one last time before I die. Thank you for bringing him here.”

On the way to the safe zone, the weakest fell first.

By the halfway point, most of those without citizenship had perished.

Before reaching the destination, even some firefighters fainted from exhaustion.

By the time they staggered into the forward base, they were barely holding on.

“Well done.”

“Jae-hyun...?”

Kim Jae-hyun was there to greet them.

Despite his swift evacuation orders, the damage had been severe.

[Citizen An Ho-cheol has died.]

[Citizen Song Mu-yeol has died.]

Reports of deaths continued to pour in following the explosion.

‘These must be people who were near Wolseong when it exploded.’

The only consolation was that those exposed to radiation showed rapid recovery upon entering the safe zone.

Even Baek Seung-min’s group, emitting radiation themselves, seemed to stabilize as soon as they crossed the transparent barrier.

‘Summon Retainer.’

Summoning Kim Da-jeong, Jae-hyun asked her to treat the unconscious survivors, then turned to Baek Seung-min.

“What happened?”

“I’ll report...”

Summarizing his account, it was clear that the radiation leakage was severe enough to cause death within hours.

‘The silver lining is that higher levels seem to mitigate the effects of radiation.’

All those who had lost consciousness were around level 20.

In contrast, Baek Seung-min, who had reached level 30, was relatively unaffected.

‘If retainers are at this level, they can likely endure.’

If so—

‘Then there’s a chance to resolve this crisis.’