Chapter 609: Contaminated Zone

Oliver entered the Contaminated Zone in F-District and searched the surrounding area according to plan.

The search wasn’t difficult. Using the map provided by Eve, Oliver carefully filled in the blank areas.

First, Oliver chose a spot near the entrance.

Based on Eve’s map, halfway between the marked and unmarked areas, Oliver temporarily set up a camp and used the ample manpower of thirty people to search the vicinity.

They documented the unmarked buildings’ positions, the road layouts, illegal settlements, habitats of contaminated creatures, and potential hiding places or secret passages.

Fortunately, within The Selectors led by Marie and Joe, and Fighter Crew, there were people skilled in such tasks, so the work progressed smoothly.

“Hmm, this should be good enough.”

Oliver reviewed the data his team had collected.

Once the surrounding area was fully surveyed, they moved on to other locations, repeating the process to gradually fill in the gaps on the map.

Of course, there weren’t zero issues.

Some illegally dumped corpses reanimated as zombies and attacked them. Contaminated creatures, tainted by drugs, disease, or black magic, also erupted from beneath the concrete floors to ambush them.

Grooooaaaarrrrr…!

Screeeech!! Screeeech!!

But, they weren’t significant problems.

“Ugh, I’m so tired of this.”

“Wow, that’s huge.”

Each time The Selectors and Fighter Crew encountered zombies or contaminated creatures, they would react this way but always managed to fend them off without much trouble.

For instance, Sam used his firearm-focused black magic to take down waves of zombies single-handedly.

He showcased incredible firepower, sending out an array of projectiles—submachine guns, Gatling guns, shotguns, even mortars—based on a fundamental form like Bullets of Hatred.

Even though Sam’s black magic was limited to firearms, he was as effective as your average gunner.

Oliver hadn’t expected such impressive growth. But Sam wasn’t the only one who impressed him.

Owen showed astonishing close combat skills, employing disease-based black magic alongside his Black Suit, making him resemble a small giant.

After enhancing his strong body with five layers of disease-based black magic, Owen encased himself in the Black Suit like armor, delivering simple yet devastating attacks.

He overpowered a gigantic contaminated creature with brute strength and crushed its head with his iron club, proving his might.

‘Secure the corpses. Contaminated creatures like those sell for a high price at the Tower of Magic.’

However, the one who demonstrated the most growth in the Fighter Crew was none other than Joe.

Joe was now the de facto leader of the Fighter Crew and newly promoted to the rank of ‘Shin’ in Randa.

When Oliver first heard Joe had reached the same rank as Seamus, he was surprised, but now the reasons were clear.

Having directly learned black magic from Oliver, Joe had mastered the use of Black Suit and Black Armor, displaying a completely different level of prowess.

[Zzt-! Zzt-! We’ve encountered a group of zombies during the search. Requesting backup. There’s a Zombie Golem too.]

“I’ll go.”

Inside the temporary camp, a quiet moment was broken by the sound of a communication device.

Hearing the request for backup, Joe leaped into action before Oliver could even respond, instantly wrapping his legs in Black Suit and launching himself forward.

Boom!

With a thunderous sound, Joe disappeared as if he had teleported, leaving a small crack where he stood.

He had propelled himself forward with immense leg strength.

“Impressive.”

Oliver admired Joe’s growth, and Marie nodded in agreement.

“Dave has been training diligently since leaving for the New Continent, and it seems it’s finally paying off.”

Marie, who had been calling Dave ‘boss,’ switched to ‘sir’ once they were alone.

Oliver, noticing this, spoke to her.

“Don’t be impatient; you’ll also achieve as much as Joe soon, Marie.”

Oliver reassured Marie, noticing her slight anxiety.

Though Marie was already incredibly strong, that was mainly due to the strength granted by the demon.

‘That black hand that appeared above Marie’s head… it’s uncanny how much it resembles the Swan Sect’s candidate for the prince.’

Marie’s innate black magic, which turned her entire body black while granting astounding regeneration and strength, raised many questions, but one thing was clear: a demon was lending its power to her.

As soon as Oliver realized that, he forbade the use of such black magic, which resulted in a significant drop in her combat effectiveness.

In fact, she was not much stronger now than when Oliver first left the Joseph Family.

‘Yet, despite not relying on power, she manages The Selectors well. Perhaps it’s just innate talent.’

Oliver reflected on how Marie managed people without power, but she spoke up just then.

“I have no doubt. Dave is teaching me directly now.”

“Then that’s good to hear.”

[Zzt-! Zzt-! This is Joe. I’ve neutralized the zombies and the Zombie Golem. I’ll search the area further and return shortly.]

Joe reported through the communication device after his backup mission.

Marie responded and marked the map.

“I’ll remove this area as a zombie spawn zone… Things are progressing smoothly. At this rate, we might finish the search quicker than expected.”

“I see.”

Oliver replied simply, but Marie sensed a subtle change in his emotions. Not using the Warlock’s Eye, but relying on her faith in Oliver.

“Is something bothering you?”

Marie inquired, and Oliver didn’t try to hide it.

“Actually, yes. We’ve covered quite a bit of ground already, but I haven’t seen any people.”

“Ah….”

“I was told that there were quite a few people in the Contaminated Zone—zombies and contaminated creatures aside. Officially, the City says no one’s here, but the problem solvers and brokers who cleaned up said otherwise.”

“That’s strange. I also heard there were many refugees and criminals here.”

“There have been times when the Contaminated Zone was empty, but those weren’t good reasons.”

Oliver recalled his initial experience in a clean-up operation, where he had encountered Puppet, who had killed every illegal resident and criminal occupying the Contaminated Zone.

They had done so simply because those people were getting in their way. Due to the nature of the Contaminated Zone, they received no protection.

‘Puppet wouldn’t have come back, but maybe it’s a powerful external force again?’

Oliver considered searching the Contaminated Zone alone.

If it was another external force, he needed to determine if it was beneficial or detrimental to his mission.

At that moment, Joe returned with the group he had taken for the search. They had captured a group of warlocks.

“Mmmmph….”

A warlock among them groaned with a gag in his mouth.

Oliver pointed at him and asked who he was. Joe removed the gag and answered.

“We caught these warlocks while investigating the area where the zombies were found. They had something interesting to say, so we brought them over… Speak.”

At Joe’s command, the demoralized warlock began to speak.

“They’re killing outsiders down there. We barely escaped with our lives.”

***

The warlock Joe captured was named Venter. A common warlock in the Contaminated Zone.

Contaminated Zone offered a hidden sanctuary, where Venter gathered discarded corpses to either disassemble or process for profit. Such warlock families were commonplace in Randa. However, what Venter said next was anything but common.

“So, armed forces entered through the sewers and raided your underground hideout, killing everyone in sight?”

“Exactly!”

Venter nodded and replied. The anguish in his voice was genuine.

It stood to reason, as those unexpected invaders had cost him his hard-earned territory in an instant.

Joe then added some context.

“I suspect it might have been the Shield Brotherhood, one of the unaffiliated gangs settled in a small town outside Randa.”

“Why do you think so?”

“The attackers were all in military gear, and based on their weapons, it looks like their style. Crime Firm has been keeping an eye on them.”

Oliver found this explanation convincing. Crime Firm had more than enough reasons to keep tabs on them.

Given that the unaffiliated gangs around Randa routinely plundered its resources, they had enemies across multiple layers of the city’s hierarchy—and Crime Firm was no exception.

But, while one question was answered, another surfaced.

“Why did they come back to Randa? And specifically to the Contaminated Zone?”

“That, I’m not sure. Maybe they planned to re-enter Randa, but I doubt it. The Contaminated Zone holds no value for ordinary gangs.”

Other members of the Fighter Crew nodded at Joe’s statement.

The Contaminated Zone might have some communities formed by refugees, outlaws, and warlocks, but it wasn’t a suitable place for typical gangs.

The area was hemmed in by barriers, limiting expansion, and except for junk and corpses, nothing was worth anything unless you were a warlock. Plus, it was crawling with zombies and contaminated creatures—far too dangerous.

“So, it’s more reasonable to think that they weren’t here to establish a foothold, but rather to retrieve something,”

Oliver concluded, and Joe nodded in agreement.

“Yes, although it’s unclear what that might be. I thought everything valuable here was looted years ago, like any expensive research equipment… Is there anything of value left?”

Joe asked Venter, but Venter shook his head.

“If there was, we’d have sold it ourselves.”

Everyone was at a loss—except for Oliver.

Because Oliver knew what was hidden beneath the Contaminated Zone. But he wasn’t certain yet, nor was it the right time to focus on it.

Crack!

After organizing his thoughts, Oliver lightly tapped the ground with his Quarterstaff to draw attention and resumed his original task.

“Mr. Venter. So, you were fleeing from an external attack when you inadvertently attacked my group, correct?”

“No, no… I didn’t attack… It was my zombie, which suddenly appeared and attacked them. I couldn’t stop it in time. When the fighting broke out, I had no choice but to use the Zombie Golem… Please understand, I was on edge after the attack, and I was hungry, out of sorts.”

Oliver nodded. Despite some escape routes, the Contaminated Zone was still a confined space.

As such, food and supplies were more precious than one might assume.

Naturally, those who fled after being attacked wouldn’t have had time to gather their belongings.

The next logical step for people who lost their hideout, food, and supplies was clear.

“Do you think the other warlocks who settled underground were also attacked?”

“Most likely. If they’d won, we’d have heard rumors about it.”

“If they all suffered defeat, they must have surfaced by now, right?”

“Probably?”

“What do you think they’ll do next?”

Venter couldn’t answer, but Joe interjected.

“They’ll attack those on the surface. They’ll need new hideouts and supplies. It’s obvious because people in this line of work all think the same.”

“I agree. From what I know, the people on the surface are mostly refugees, correct?”

Sensing the gravity of the conversation, Venter nodded. Oliver asked one last question.

“Do you know where these refugees are living?”

***

Fortunately, Venter knew the exact locations of the refugee camps.

He had traded with the refugees in the past, exchanging processed corpses for goods.

In line with Oliver’s request, Venter guided them, and as everyone expected, the refugee camps in the Contaminated Zone had been attacked by warlocks fleeing from underground, turning the already dilapidated areas into utter ruins.

Corpses were strewn about, bloodstains were everywhere, and it seemed that the children and women had been taken away.

“Let’s sell these people off first and raise some money…”

One rough-looking warlock began speaking, only to be cut off mid-sentence.

They had seen a group of people approaching.

The warlocks who had just taken over the refugee camp immediately realized that the approaching group was not ordinary.

Their clothes seemed too clean, and more importantly, the gaunt man at the front exuded an indescribable aura.

The pressure was suffocating at first sight.

The warlocks, who had been brimming with confidence moments earlier, instinctively stepped aside, allowing Oliver to walk unhindered to the center of the refugee camp, where the leader of the warlocks stood.

Seeing the warlock’s face, Joe spoke up.

“This is Guylim, the wanted criminal. His charges include—”

[Targeting]

Before Joe could finish, Oliver used his Warlock’s Eye skill, reeling the wanted Guylim toward him and seizing him by the throat.

Guylim wasn’t a large man, but it was still striking to see him held helplessly in Oliver’s grip.

“Wa- wait—”

Crunch!

Oliver applied pressure, snapping Guylim’s neck, and then laid him on the ground.

Thud.

Everyone watched the scene in silence as Oliver turned to a man lying on the ground, bleeding from his head.

This man seemed to be the head of the refugee camp. Oliver greeted him politely.

“Hello, sir. My name is Xenon Bright, from the Tower of Magic. I’d like to propose a deal.”