"Whoa, was it like the FBI? CIA? So? What happened then?" Jinpok asked excitedly. It seems like he'd forgotten about his saltiness. Joonb.u.m and Doral smiled at that.

"Haha, well, what could they do? They had their eyes on me for a while, but how interesting could I be?"

"Huh? Is that all?"

Taesoo nodded. "Yeah. Oh, can I get another cup?"

Joonb.u.m nodded as he received the cup to refill it. Taesoo then smelled the coffee as he continued.

"It's so nice. It was two years later when the actual problem surfaced. The precursor was a worldwide drought. People panicked, but world technology had advanced enough to endure such a drought. However, it was only the beginning. Then came the earthquake. Land began falling and the disaster came down upon the world. People died and countries were destroyed. About 70% of the world's population died with that earthquake."

"WHAT?!" Jinpok stood up in shock. Joonb.u.m was also shocked by that.

"It wasn't just a huge tremor. Some cities were even swept down into the ground. Countries like the USA, China, or Russia with large landma.s.s lost 90% of their land because of it."

It was an unbelievable story, but it was still only the beginning.

"So, with that earthquake, the world was taken back to the Stone Ages. Everything that civilization had built up after thousands of years was gone within years. The earthquake also caused hundred-feet tsunamis by the coasts, killing the remainder of the survivors of the Great Earthquake. Then, it finally stopped. I heard that only 5% of the entire population survived."

Everyone became silent after they heard that.

"Hmm, this one's nice too."

"We made that one here."

"This meat - it's not as soft as chicken, but it has a good taste."

Taesoo smiled as he tasted the fried Basett and whiskey.

"So, survivors began to gather together. It was horrible, but we survived. Then, another problem struck us. Cold, hunger, disease… It was like h.e.l.l unleashed on the world. Some people quickly turned unruly as means to survive became scarce. But I can't blame them. Everyone was just trying to survive."

Taesoo paused for a second as he recalled the memories of that time.

"I guess you all are curious about those monsters?"

Joonb.u.m nodded as Jinpok became tense. They already knew that some of the monsters were once humans.

"It was after about a year after the disaster that some people began to turn. We didn't know why. It began with their skin changing, and then they lost their sanity. It took about five months for them to turn entirely. Those humans-turned-monsters began to mate and bred baby monsters at an amazing rate. They made ten babies each time and bred again after four months. They ate a lot too. We had to hide from those monsters then."

Taesoo shook his head. It looked like it was painful to even recall those memories.

"Their numbers grew to the point where we couldn't handle them anymore. And that was when the giant ones appeared. The small monsters that the humans turned into were just food for them. The one we killed with the helicopter just now is only a medium-sized one."

"What?!" Jinpok exclaimed in shock. The monster had been the largest they had seen. It was shocking to hear that there were larger monsters out there.

"I am not sure what kind of monsters you have seen, but there are larger and more powerful monsters on Earth. Humans are now hiding like rats to survive."

"Even with those weapons?" Joonb.u.m asked, but Taesoo shook his head hopelessly.

"All of our infrastructures was destroyed. Those weapons are powerful, but we have limits. Those weapons will soon be depleted. I've witnessed that humans are nothing without civilization."

Doral nodded quietly.

End of Chapter