“It’s from the president of Jeonil.”

The commander was more taken aback by Jamie than by me suddenly appearing in front of him and by the bizarre sight that he had seen from the video of the tablet PC. Yes, these would have felt more real to him than talking to Jamie. The voice of a powerful woman who could remove the stars[1] on his epaulet was more terrifying than the monsters.

I found the Ilsung Group’s logo on the smartphone that the commander handed over to me. A bitter smile spread across my face.

<Seon-Hu: It’s me.>

I said on the phone.

<Jamie: I heard you are in Gwacheon. Also, I’m not Awakened.>

Jamie’s startled voice immediately popped out.

<Seon-Hu: I guess so. I need you to come here.>

<Jamie: I’ll be there soon.>

I hung up the call and prepared myself. Yeon-Hee nodded as if she understood why I was just staring at the phone instead of touching it. She also had a smartphone in her hand, but she was having difficulty contacting her family as well.

The only areas where the communication network was cut off were Anyang and Gunpo, where the monster corps had swept through. The Jeonil Resort, where families of key figures had gathered including mine and Yeon-Hee’s, was always accessible through phone calls.

However, that had been my mistake. The...