Chapter 18

4 Most of the food I had was gone by morning. Huiwon shook an empty plastic bag in disbelief. “What the heck? You sold everything overnight?” “Yes.” “Hah! What a joke. Those two-faced cowards…” “It wasn’t just members of the minor group who bought the food, though.” They weren’t the only ones who’d visited me in the middle of night. “Mr. Dokja Kim, you’ve made the worst possible choice.” Inho Cheon had been among those people as well. “You’ll regret this.” The major group had bought more than half of the food I had. Of course, I’d charged them full price. Huiwon was furious after hearing that. “Wait. That means the major group has a monopoly on food again!” “I guess so.” “How could you do that? Wasn’t it your plan to encourage people to trade with each other and weaken the major group’s hold over them?” That was pretty sharp of her. I was a bit impressed. “Yes, I was hoping the people would rise up on their own.” “Then you shouldn’t have sold any food to the major group! Now it’s back to square one!” “Not quite. I made a lot of coins.” “What?” A whopping 1,450 coins. Not bad for one night of sales. “Uh…what is Dokja thinking? Sangah, can we really trust this guy?” Sangah flinched when Huiwon suddenly turned to her, then she smiled. “I trust him.” Yeah, no pressure at all. “Dokja, at the very least, you saved some food for yourself, right?” “Nope, I sold everything.” Huiwon’s jaw dropped. Just then, something poked my cheek. I turned my head to find a stick-shaped cookie pointed at me. “Hmm? Is that for me?” Gilyeong nodded his little head. How cute. I took the snack and put it in his mouth. “I’m okay. You eat it. Oh, and speaking of food…you still have the stuff you bought from me yesterday, right?” “Yes, I do.” “Me too. I have a little bit left.” “Why? You wanna buy it back? It’ll be expensive, you know.” Huiwon jokingly shook a biscuit in the air. “No, you should eat the rest of it now.” “Huh?” “Make sure you eat it all by the end of the day. Don’t leave any.” I repeated myself for emphasis. “If you don’t, you’ll regret it.” “Why? …No, wait. Sangah, what’re you doing now? Why are you listening to him?” “If Dokja’s saying that, then there must be a good reason.” Sangah opened up her last package of biscuits and began quietly munching on them. Hyeonseong looked confused but took out his as well. Gilyeong had already shoved everything into his mouth as soon as I’d spoken. Good kid. “Ugh, I dunno about this…I think I’ll save this one.” “I won’t stop you.” I shrugged at Huiwon’s reluctance. It’s her loss, not mine. Around lunchtime, the major group made an important announcement. People gathered around the center of the platform to hear Inho speak. “We’ll be limiting food rations starting from today. Each person will get three biscuits. And…” Before he’d even finished, people began to clamor indignantly. “What? Three biscuits? You expect us to live on that?!” “But the recon team gets way more food than that! You think we don’t know?!” Inho smiled calmly at the angry crowd. “You make a great point. It’s true that those on recon duty receive more food. If you want that, then I suggest you volunteer.” “But most people who go out never come back! It’s always just the Cheoldu Gang members who survive!” “Are you telling us to go out there and die?!” This made the people even angrier, but Inho remained calm. “Those people were just unlucky. As you know, it’s dangerous out there. If you have a problem, then how about getting the food yourself?” “B-but…” People suddenly grew quiet. Everyone knew that going outside meant certain death. Inho spoke up again, switching to a more appeasing tone. “Ah, there’s actually another way for you to get more food without joining the recon team.” “What’s that?” “By trading. Offer something that has value, and we’ll give you food in exchange. Each person has a different thing they can offer, right?” A number of people flinched as he stared at them coldly. They were the ones who had bought food from me last night. [Character Inho Cheon has activated the skill “Incite” Lv.2.] I wasn’t surprised that he had the “Incite” skill. Most ringleader types had it, after all. The question is how they use it. “I didn’t want to resort to this, but Mr. Dokja Kim over there showed me something yesterday. He made a good point. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, right? If you want food, you need to prove your worth. That’s the fair thing to do, ha-ha. Thank you for opening our eyes, Mr. Dokja Kim.” That sly bastard… Everyone’s eyes were instantly on me. Most of them looked at me resentfully. “It’s all his fault…” So this is how he’s turning the crowd against me…… As I watched Inho disappear into his tent, I had a thought. Even this guy was nothing compared to the ones who would be at Chungmuro and Seoul Station. There was already a crowd in front of the major group’s tent. People were trying to barter for food. “W-we’ll pay with coins. How much is it?” “Two hundred coins.” “What? But we don’t have that kind of…” “Then get lost.” Two hundred coins per food item. Even goblins would have been shocked by this price hike. A Cheoldu Gang member who was selling food in front of the tent spotted me and shuddered. Judging by the bandage around his thigh, he must have been one of the ones I’d beaten up when I first entered the station. “Did I thank you yesterday?” I turned my head to see Huiwon standing next to me. “I think so.” “Well, I’ll say it again. Thanks.” I wondered why she was here. Then I saw her eyes were fixed on the gang member with the injured leg. “Over there. That bastard with the limp. He tried to force himself on me yesterday. I fended him off, though.” “…I see.” “Don’t lay a finger on him. I’ll kill him myself. You got that?” The murderous gleam in her eyes was a sight to behold. It was surprising that she hadn’t been chosen by a constellation. Had she awakened her attribute too late? [Exclusive skill “Character Profile” has been activated.] I was worried for a second after having activated the skill. This woman would be dead if I hadn’t saved her. Would she be registered as a character? <Character Profile> Name: Huiwon Jeong Age: 27 Sponsoring Constellation: None (Three constellations are currently interested in this character.) Exclusive Attribute: Crouching Figure (Common) Exclusive Skills: [Demon Slaying Lv.1], [Kendo Lv.1], Stigma: None Total Stats: [Stamina Lv.4], [Strength Lv.4], [Agility Lv.7], [Magic Power Lv.4] Summary: As a crouching figure, she has incredible potential. Her attribute has not yet awakened, and therefore cannot be viewed. Luckily, Huiwon’s character profile was available. I guess she’s different from Sangah, Gilyeong, or Myeongoh. Perhaps she was supposed to have a role in the story at one point, but the author had decided to scrap her character. Anyway, she had quite an interesting attribute. “Crouching Figure.” That name didn’t sound like much, but it was one of the few hyper-evolutionary attributes in TWSA. Crouching Figure is a common-grade attribute, but depending on the circumstances of its awakening, it can evolve into a rare or even a legendary attribute. Mad Butcher, one of the top one hundred fighters in TWSA, also evolved from Crouching Figure. Huiwon Jeong. I thought she was just a background character, but I should consider making her an ally. The fact that she had “Demon Slaying” worried me a bit, but if things worked out, she could grow into a powerful hit man. “I don’t know how you can be so calm, Dokja.” Calm…I guess it might look that way. “You see, I’ve read a lot of novels, so I’m familiar with this kind of situation.” “Huh? That makes zero sense…Wait, where are you going?” I didn’t answer her and hopped down to the train tracks. Huiwon moved to follow me, so I offered her a hand. “I’m good.” Huiwon waved me off, then jumped down next to me. We walked toward the tunnel going to Yaksu Station. I couldn’t see much in the darkness, but there was a horrible smell. The stench of blood. “You’re not trying to go there, are you?” Huiwon asked. “Everyone who went that way died. Even the thugs. No one’s come back alive.” She was wrong. Not everyone had died. I knew that at least one person had made it through and reached the next station. We went back up to the platform. There was still a long line of people trying to buy food. Some objected to the main group and were beaten up, while others paid the unfair number of coins to buy the food. It was then that we spotted several young women from the minor group being sneaked into the back of the tent. Huiwon was furious. “Ugh, seriously. Did you see that?” “I did.” Inho had told people they could offer anything valuable in exchange for food. Those women were empty-handed. Huiwon gritted her teeth and stood up. “I can’t just watch and let them do this.” “What are you gonna do?” “Stop them! I have to tell them that’s not right!” “So are you saying they should starve?” “You expect me to just watch, then?” “Yes, I think you should this time.” “What did you say?” There was a hint of disgust in her voice. Instead of answering, I quietly watched. After a few minutes… “…Sick bastards. They want us to do what?!” The women stormed out of the tent, swearing in disgust. Thankfully, what Huiwon had feared hadn’t come to pass. Just as I remembered from TWSA. “Ha-ha-ha, come back anytime if you change your mind.” The rate at which people’s ethics are eroded in the apocalypse varies from person to person. Just because they’d been forced to commit a murder didn’t mean they’d become desensitized to all manners of crime overnight. Huiwon blinked in surprise. “Did you…know that was gonna happen?” “Yes.” “You had faith in those women?” I didn’t answer. I didn’t trust people. I only believed in the novel I’d read. Huiwon continued, oblivious to what I’d just thought. “I’m glad people still have some dignity—” “For now, yes. It only means they weren’t that desperate yet. Similar things will happen again once night falls.” Rumors of what had just happened spread throughout the minor group. Not only the women, but the people who were about to trade away their valuables eyed the major group’s tent with distaste. It doesn’t take that long for people to surrender their dignity in order to survive. Huiwon gnashed her teeth. “I’ll stop them next time.” “That won’t solve the root of the problem.” “I know. But—” “One of the women from earlier is a mother. If her child starves to death, will you take responsibility?” Huiwon’s eyes twitched. She looked down as if to hide her expression. “Then…then what should I do? Damn it!” [Character Huiwon Jeong has been influenced by your logic.] [Character Huiwon Jeong is seized with a moral dilemma.] I watched her wordlessly. The reason I’d taken the time to persuade her was to prevent her from acting impulsively. A Crouching Figure with the “Demon Slaying” skill. If things went wrong, she could turn into an indiscriminate killer. “Huiwon, the core issue here is food. This is happening all because one group is monopolizing all the food, right?” “…Yes.” “So we remove the source of the problem.” “…Huh?” I looked at the clock instead of answering her. Should be anytime now. Bzzzt! Yes, finally. A familiar figure appeared in midair. Screams of fear everywhere. The instigator of this nightmare, who was ingrained in the people’s minds. Uhh… H-how have you been, everyone? I hope you’re doing okay. A goblin. “Aaack! No!” Most people had yet to grow accustomed to seeing their kind, so the goblin’s appearance alone was enough to throw them into panic. A natural reaction, considering those bastards had brought nothing but bad news so far. Even the fearless Huiwon flinched. But more importantly…it wasn’t Bihyeong. Th-the one in charge of this channel has been disciplined… S-so for this scenario, I-I will be in charge. Originally, Bihyeong had been the goblin in charge of the channel for this area. But the one in front of us looked different. Unlike Bihyeong’s white fur, it was pitch-black. A-anyway, it seems very p-peaceful around here. B-Bihyeong was bragging about it, but the scenario is way too easy… “Why are you here? Just get to the point!” Y-yikes! Don’t get mad at me, everyone. I-I’m here for you guys… “For us?” “Th-then give us food!” F-food? Ah-ha…food… As if on cue, the goblin waved its hand. [A penalty has been added to the scenario.] [Food reserves are now prohibited.] [All food reserves have disappeared.] “H-huh?! What the hell?!” People who’d been eating suddenly cried out. All the food in the station was now floating up into the air. H-heh-heh. Come on, now. This is no good. When a s-scenario starts, you should focus on clearing it. Fsssh! Canned food, cookies, energy bars, et cetera. All food reserves turned to dust and scattered in the air with a single wave of the goblin’s hand. People fell to their knees, devastated. Y-you can’t sit here stuffing your faces, right? S-seriously, you e-earthlings are all trash… The goblin’s tone suddenly changed. I thought I remembered its name. There’d been a goblin like it in TWSA. It might have sounded timid, but this bastard was cruel even for a goblin. From a distance, Inho looked at me with a stunned face. Th-then please put on a good show, everyone. Heh-heh. System messages followed. [A penalty has been added to the scenario.] [A new condition, Survival Fee, has been added.] [From now on, a survival fee of 100 coins will automatically be withdrawn every day at midnight. You will die if you cannot pay the survival fee.] [The survival fee is in effect until the second main scenario is cleared.] I smirked wryly. Now that’s more like the TWSA I know.