Chapter 39: A Doctor for the Survivors

That didn’t mean their past crimes could simply be forgiven.

I could understand the situation they had been placed in, but punishment still had to be given.

“Starting today, food will be distributed properly. Since you enjoyed the benefits until now, you’ll have to work for it. I’m not asking you to hunt monsters, but help the survivors.”

Their punishment would be helping people.

In other words, five hundred hours of volunteer service.

While I was giving the Dogani gang their instructions, Han Jun held a piece of delicious-looking meat in front of me.

“Hyung, you said you were hungry. Hurry and eat.”

The only one who worries about me is Jun.

I happily accepted the food.

“Okay. You eat a lot too.”

“Want to go upstairs and rest?”

“No. I should watch whether they’re working properly.”

While we were enjoying our meal like that, the man who said he had been a Chinese restaurant chef approached cautiously after I had eaten a bit.

“Um… boss.”

“Please don’t call me that. That’s not what this is.”

I waved my hands dismissively, but suddenly he knelt down in front of me and clasped his hands together in desperation.

I wondered why he was acting like this after making such delicious food.

Did he poison it?

As I stared in surprise, he began speaking while tears streamed down his face.

“My wife is very sick. She’s not in her right mind and doesn’t even recognize our children anymore. I sent the kids to the shelter… but I couldn’t leave my sick wife behind. I’m a worthless man, but my wife has always been a good person.”

With his hands pressed together, he begged me to treat his wife.

He had sent their two children to a shelter, but injured or sick people were not accepted there, so his wife had been rejected.

He had stayed behind because he couldn’t abandon her.

“She’s truly a kind person. All her life she only did housework and took care of the children. She never caused trouble for anyone. Please… just take a look at her. Just once.”

“Not today.”

Just as I was about to agree, Han Jun stopped me.

When I looked at him in surprise, he pressed down firmly on my shoulder.

“You’re already dizzy. Why are you trying to use your power again?”

“Y-yes… any time is fine… please. Please.”

The man bowed his head repeatedly, grateful even for that.

But he wasn’t the only one with a story.

Other gang members began stepping forward one by one, kneeling as well.

“M-me too…”

“My younger brother…”

Some said their family members had been injured by monsters.

Others said they themselves were sick.

Everyone had a reason they had been unable to enter the shelters and had remained outside.

As the number of people kneeling kept increasing, I became increasingly troubled, while Han Jun’s expression hardened.

“Everyone, calm down.”

Society had collapsed, so even basic medical systems were gone.

Doctors and nurses had been placed in shelters long ago as top-priority personnel.

More and more people were getting sick or injured, but there was no one to treat them.

People were even dying from wounds that could have healed with simple disinfecting.

Under those circumstances, it wasn’t strange that they looked at me with awe after I had healed Shin Doong-ho so quickly.

But I couldn’t possibly treat all of them.

If I tried, I might die first.

Unlike Han Jun, I wasn’t overflowing with humanitarian spirit.

My heart ached, but I still had to judge the situation calmly.

“Can’t you treat torn wounds yourselves? Why did you let them get this infected? Aren’t there any doctors?”

“All the doctors are inside the shelters. When they send people out to fight monsters, they send ordinary people—not doctors.”

“What about nurses?”

“You think nurses would be outside either?”

At that moment, a young man standing in the corner suddenly raised his hand.

“My girlfriend is a nurse.”

“You have a girlfriend?”

“That bastard’s lying, right? He looks like stinky tofu.”

The others looked at him as if hearing this for the first time.

Despite the harsh teasing, the young man didn’t lower his hand.

He clearly intended to bring us to his girlfriend no matter what.

If someone could at least provide emergency treatment, that would be a huge help.

So we immediately headed to where his girlfriend was staying.

He said she lived in a building near the market.

While guiding us there, he hesitated before speaking again.

“But… my girlfriend is a little sick.”

“What kind of illness?”

“I’m not sure. She thinks she might have cancer. She keeps vomiting, losing weight… and she can barely eat.”

He was the youngest member of the Dogani gang.

Taking food out without permission was severely punished, so he had kept his girlfriend a secret.

He had been secretly stealing food to bring to her.

“Cancer…”

The chef’s wife who had lost her mind.

And this young man’s girlfriend who might have cancer.

A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Since psychic powers had appeared, that meant Lespia energy was being released.

Surely some people must have suffered side effects from it.

At the same time, I wondered whether I could treat things like cancer or mental illness at all.

We entered a small building in an alley next to the hotel.

The shutters were down.

Behind them was a heavy steel door, and all the windows were sealed shut with blinds covering them.

“We’re afraid monsters might get in. People like you bosses might not understand, but ordinary people like us are still terrified.”

The man turned back and closed the shutters, locked the steel door, and even placed a heavy board in front of it.

The third floor of the small building seemed to have been a private academy.

Each room had desks and chalkboards.

When he opened a door that looked like the director’s office, we saw a woman lying on a sofa inside.

Just as he had said, she had become extremely thin and was barely breathing.

She looked so ill that she couldn’t even regain consciousness.

I approached her and examined her condition.

The young man came closer and asked anxiously.

“Will Min-hye be okay? She’s really a nurse. If she survives, she could be a big help…”

He clung to me desperately, but when he started pushing too close, Han Jun stepped in and shoved him away.

With Han Jun’s large frame blocking him, the young man immediately lowered his head.

“I’ll take a look.”

Unlike psychics, ordinary people had very faint auras.

Maybe because she was sick, her aura was even dimmer.

It was so faint that it was almost transparent unless I focused carefully.

I didn’t know if her illness had been caused by exposure to Lespia energy, but I tried using my power anyway.

White light flowed into her body.

Her pale gray complexion slowly began to improve.

After about ten seconds, Han Jun placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Hyung, stop if it’s too hard.”

“I’m still okay…”

“Don’t do it too long. Got it?”

“Yeah. Just a little more.”

Finding her faint energy took longer than before, but it didn’t drain me as much as healing Shin Doong-ho had.

When I healed Shin Doong-ho, it felt like my energy was being sucked away violently.

But with her, it felt like a small trickle of water flowing out slowly.

Maybe the required energy depended on the severity of the injury.

After using my power a bit longer, I removed my hand.

The woman still had her eyes closed.

For a moment I wondered if illnesses caused by energy couldn’t be cured after all.

“Min-hye!!”

The young man suddenly shouted and grabbed her hand.

She had opened her eyes.

“Miss Min-hye, how do you feel?”

“W-who are you?”

After hearing her boyfriend’s explanation, she finally calmed down and understood what had happened.

She thanked me repeatedly.

When she heard why we had helped her, she nodded with a determined expression.

“I’ll help people too. I want to help.”

“Min-hye… you’re still sick.”

Her boyfriend worried about her, but Min-hye immediately stood up anyway.

She said she wanted to go where food rations were being distributed and check on injured people.

“Please. I saw many people with cuts and scrapes. They’re getting infected because they weren’t treated in time.”

“Thank you so much. I don’t know how to repay this kindness.”

“Just take care of the injured people for me.”

Leaving her wiping away tears behind us, I leaned on Han Jun as we slowly returned to the hotel.

Even if using my power earlier had taken less effort, I still felt dizzy.

“Man… if using my power makes me this exhausted, I’ll drop dead if I do it one more time.”

It felt like the energy in my body had been completely drained.

Even though I had just eaten a huge meal, I was hungry again.

Looking at my pale face, Han Jun showed concern.

“Try not to use your power unless you really have to. You look terrible. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Since I have the ability now, I should help people who are sick.”

“Hyung, you’re not that much of a philanthropist.”

What does he think I am?

“I’m not a psychopath either.”

Watching my legs wobble like inflatable tube dolls, Han Jun let out a deep sigh.

“Hyung, it was better when you couldn’t do anything.”

He suddenly muttered in a gloomy voice and tightened his grip on me.

His words—wishing I had remained powerless—surprised me.

“…Isn’t it good that I can help people?”

“I don’t want you helping if it means hurting yourself.”

Suddenly he hugged me tightly and buried his face in my shoulder.

He rubbed his face against me in a whining voice.

Warm breath touched my shoulder.

He hadn’t done anything today, yet his eyes felt strangely hot.