The Weapon Genius: Anything I Hold Can Kill-Chapter 87: A Foundation of Order

The streets weren’t silent like the ruined outskirts they’d passed through. As Jin and the others followed Yewon deeper into the territory, the atmosphere shifted from abandoned devastation to something... alive.

People moved with purpose.

A row of makeshift stalls lined one side of the road, vendors arranging whatever supplies they had—bundles of salvaged food, scraps of fabric, even what looked like homemade weapons. A few people were mid-barter, exchanging goods with careful negotiation.

The structures here were still battered from past destruction, cracks and broken windows visible in almost every building, but there was effort in restoring them. Some walls had been patched up with metal sheets, others reinforced with wooden planks. Teams of people were working, clearing debris, reinforcing buildings, carrying supplies from one place to another.

It wasn’t just survival. It was maintenance.

Jin’s eyes flickered to a group standing at a corner—armed, watching. Unlike Yewon’s direct subordinates, these weren’t trained soldiers. Their stances were too stiff, their grips on their weapons a little too tight. But they were standing guard regardless, keeping an eye on the streets, ready to react if anything happened.

A volunteer watch.

Not just a gathering of survivors. A settlement. A structured, disciplined community.

Jin felt Echo shift beside him. The others had noticed it too—the difference in how this place felt.

People noticed them as they walked through, pausing in their tasks, some stopping mid-step. Conversations quieted, eyes flickering toward them with careful curiosity. But no one openly reacted. No one ran or challenged them.

They weren’t feared. But they weren’t trusted either.

Jin exhaled slowly, keeping his posture neutral, watching as Yewon moved through her own territory with practiced ease. She didn’t need to bark orders or assert herself—just walking, just existing here was enough. The people respected her.

Not just because of her power. Because of her.

Jin caught up to her stride. "You built all this in two weeks?"

Yewon kept walking, hands in her pockets, scanning the street like she always did. "It wasn’t like this at first. When we got here, it was a disaster."

He waited, letting her talk on her own terms.

"Looters everywhere. People killing each other over food and supplies. The usual end-of-the-world panic." She glanced at a broken streetlamp, a faint smirk ghosting across her lips. "The first day, we had to fight off three different groups trying to take control. The second, we had to deal with the ones who just wanted to burn everything down. By the third day, we realized that if we didn’t take control, someone worse would."

Joon scoffed behind them. "And let me guess. You just waltzed in and made everyone follow your rules?"

Yewon tilted her head slightly, amused. "You think it was that easy?"

Joon shrugged. "You did stop an entire earthquake with a single sentence."

Yewon laughed under her breath, shaking her head. "Power alone doesn’t build stability. Fear doesn’t last. You can’t hold a place together just because people are afraid of you."

Jin glanced at her from the side. "So how did you hold it together?"

Yewon slowed slightly, scanning the area again—not just out of habit, but because she was proud of what she saw.

"Discipline," she said simply. "We set rules. And we enforced them. Not everyone liked it at first. Some resisted. Some left. Some tried to take us down." She nodded toward a man in a tattered coat standing on one of the makeshift watchposts. "He was one of the first to fight back against us."

Joon narrowed his eyes. "And now he’s working for you?"

"He’s working for this place," Yewon corrected. "Because we proved that order meant survival. Once people saw that rules kept them alive—that we weren’t just forcing authority for the sake of it—they started enforcing those rules themselves."

She gestured lightly to the watch, the workers, the marketplace, all moving in sync, all keeping this place together. "The people who opposed us in the beginning? They’re the ones making sure this place stays safe now."

Jin’s gaze lingered on the people working, the guards keeping watch, the quiet organization in every movement. He had fought his way through too many chaotic, lawless zones in the past two weeks—places where survival was purely based on strength, where the weak were left behind, where power ruled without structure.

But here...

She hadn’t just taken control.

She had made them believe in it.

He kept his expression neutral, but he knew Yewon caught the way he absorbed everything.

"You’re different from the others we’ve met," Jin finally said.

Yewon gave him a sidelong glance. "That so?"

"Most people who get power don’t use it to build something."

For a moment, Yewon didn’t reply. Then she smirked slightly, tilting her head forward.

"That’s because most people with power only think about themselves."

Jin held her gaze for a beat longer before exhaling through his nose.

They kept walking.

For now, at least, there was no fight here. No tension, no standoff.

Just people surviving. Working. Building.

And for the first time in a while, Jin let himself wonder—

If the world was going to rebuild itself, would it be places like this that did it?

They walked in silence for a while, the distant hum of the settlement filling the space between them. The air smelled of dust and worn metal, but there was something steadier in the atmosphere—something more stable than any of the other places they had passed through in the last two weeks.

Jin wasn’t the only one who noticed.

Doyun’s gaze flicked over the quiet patrols, the makeshift repairs, the barter stalls where people traded supplies like it was just another day in the world. Even Echo, who usually had something snarky to say, was taking it all in, absorbing the atmosphere with the faintest furrow of his brow.

They had seen desperation. They had seen violence.

But this?

This was order.

And the one who had built it was walking just ahead of them, hands in her pockets, moving like she had no doubts about where she was going.

Jin’s voice cut through the quiet.

"You didn’t just stabilize the ground back there."

Yewon glanced at him, but didn’t slow.

Jin’s gaze stayed steady. "You made everything stop—like the disaster itself had no choice but to listen to you."

Yewon hummed lightly, as if considering the words. Then, with simple clarity—

"That’s what New Rule does."

Joon scoffed. "New Rule?"

Yewon nodded. "I state a rule." Her tone was as calm as ever, like she was discussing the weather. "Reality adjusts to match it."

That was it. That was all she gave them.

Doyun let out a low breath. "That sounds broken."

Yewon smirked. "Depends on how you look at it."

She didn’t elaborate. Didn’t add any disclaimers or explanations. She just kept walking, letting them come to their own conclusions.

Jin narrowed his eyes slightly, watching her profile.

He had met plenty of powerful people since the world changed. People who could crush buildings, summon storms, tear through squads with a flick of their fingers.

But this was different.

Power like hers—it wasn’t just destruction or enhancement. It was command.

And the way she carried herself, the way people respected her, the way she had built something out of the chaos—

It was enough to make him wary.

For now, he let it drop.

The main hub of the settlement came into view, and with it, the weight of its presence settled over them.

It wasn’t a fortress. No towering walls, no military encampment, no rigid lines of soldiers standing at attention. But it was efficient.

People moved with purpose, not aimless drifting like so many other survivor camps. There was an understanding in the way they carried out their tasks—knowing glances exchanged, quick movements, a rhythm to the activity. Even those who weren’t actively working seemed aware, ready to step in if needed.

A few people greeted Yewon with nods of respect as they passed. She didn’t respond with empty pleasantries or formalities, just a short nod in return, a presence acknowledged, but never forced.

Jin watched the way she moved through her own territory.

She didn’t command with fear. She didn’t need to.

Her authority wasn’t just in her power.

It was in her presence.

People followed her not because they had to, but because they believed in what she stood for.

Jin had seen power. Had seen brute force and domination.

But this was something else.

He wasn’t sure if that made her more dangerous—or more of an ally.

Either way, he knew one thing for sure.

This settlement?

It wasn’t just surviving.

It was thriving.

Yewon led them past the bustling main hall, down a quieter corridor where the sounds of the settlement faded into muffled echoes. The air was cooler here, the walls lined with doors that suggested makeshift living spaces. The scent of disinfectant and herbs lingered faintly, cutting through the usual dust and sweat of survival.

She stopped in front of a door, resting a hand against it for a brief moment before turning back to them.

"You’ll want to meet our healer," she said, voice even. "She’s the reason I’m overlooking the fact that you shot some of my people."

Echo exhaled sharply through his nose. "You’re welcome, by the way."

Yewon gave him a flat look before raising her hand and knocking.

"It’s me. Open up."

For a moment, there was only silence.

Jin adjusted his stance, something about the pause setting him on edge.

Then—slow footsteps.

The faint sound of movement inside.

A breath.

The door creaked open—