Chapter 107
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: March to the Raiders' Base
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The guy just blinked his eyes in stunned silence, unable to muster any kind of response.
I could understand why. His comrades, who'd been with him just moments ago, had all been slaughtered by my hand, and now I was suddenly demanding he guide me to their hideout. It must have felt like the world had turned upside down.
But I wasn't patient enough to wait around for him to snap out of it.
"Hey, answer me."
"Wh-why... why do you want to go there?"
"Don't answer a question with another question. You can take me to the place where scum like you live, right?"
The guy knew full well that his life hung on how he responded next. His body trembled as he nodded weakly.
"Good. Then guide me there right now. As for the ones outside... I'll just take care of them."
I only needed one guide, after all. No reason to drag a bunch along.
For now, I had to collect all the guns and gear from this guy and the ones I'd just killed.
I gathered up the guns and bodies scattered on the floor and stowed them all in my Subspace.
The guns were fine as-is, but stripping the gear off the corpses was a hassle I didn't want to deal with. I could just have Hadong-seok's men waiting at the base handle it.
"Jaehwan, thank you so much..."
As I finished tidying up, Lee Kangjin walked over, bowed at a perfect ninety degrees, and expressed his gratitude.
"No big deal. I just wish I'd gotten here a bit sooner."
I muttered as I surveyed the Haedong Faction bodies around us. Dark clouds gathered on Lee Kangjin's face.
"I'll handle the guys outside first, so hang tight for a sec."
From memory, there were about five or six outside. Dealing with them wouldn't take thirty seconds.
This time, I leaped straight out through the window.
The sentries standing guard jumped in surprise at my sudden appearance and quickly raised their guns.
They probably thought they'd shoot me down, but I'd already proven that was pointless just minutes ago.
I wiped out the guys outside in an instant, collected their guns and gear, and headed back up.
Thud! Thud!
Lee Kangjin had climbed on top of the raider leader and was raining down punches with all his might.
"You bastard! Because of you! My brothers who did nothing!"
I could understand his urge to beat the guy senseless, but if I let it go on, he'd probably kill our guide. Time to intervene.
"Hey, hey! That's enough."
I grabbed Lee Kangjin's arm mid-swing toward the guy's face. He whipped around, saw it was me, and relaxed his grip.
"Huff... huff... This scum... my innocent brothers..."
Lee Kangjin wasn't an idiot. He knew I needed to interrogate the guy on the floor, so he quietly stood up.
I patted his shoulder and whispered just low enough that the fallen raider leader couldn't hear.
"I'll make sure you get a shot at revenge later. Don't worry."
I hadn't done anything wrong regarding the Haedong Faction getting raided.
Still, these were guys under my wing now, and I felt a twinge of guilt for not looking after them properly. This was the least I could do to ease his mind a bit.
Of course, I fully intended to help him get that revenge.
"Ugh... ugh..."
The guy, pummeled by Lee Kangjin, groaned in agony, his face a bloody mess.
From the looks of it, Lee Kangjin had laid into him the moment I'd stepped outside.
"Alright, now it's time to chat with you. We've got a lot to talk about. How about we have a nice, honest heart-to-heart? Oh, but first..."
I turned to Lee Kangjin and the women with him.
"You all head to my base for now. No telling what might happen if you stick around here."
"Jaehwan! Can't you take me with you? I want... revenge!"
Lee Kangjin's plea was heartfelt, but I didn't think that was feasible.
I had no idea what kind of place this guy came from, and dragging around someone useless would be a huge pain.
"No. Just wait quietly at my base. I'll handle everything and come back. You know how I am—I get things done right."
"Urk... Understood."
Lee Kangjin didn't push back and seemed to accept it. He knew yelling about what he wanted wouldn't change a thing.
The Haedong Faction had learned that the hard way in the past.
Now, I had to get these folks to the base...
Taking four people directly would be cumbersome, and while they knew the location, sending them off alone with zombies everywhere was out of the question.
No one else knew this Haedong building's position except Yejin. If Sohee were here, I'd have her escort them, but asking Yejin was too much.
Guess I'd have to do it myself.
To save time, I'd designate this Haedong building as a new safe zone, teleport them over, then return and undo it with coins.
Decision made, I immediately set the Haedong building as an additional safe zone.
"Everyone, come here. I'll send you to my base."
I gathered Lee Kangjin and the remaining women beside me.
Then I pulled out my phone and called Yejin.
The call connected after a few rings, and her cheerful voice came through on speaker.
"Oppa? What's up?"
"I'm dropping off some Haedong Faction folks at our base. Look after them for today."
"Huh? What do you mean..."
I cut Yejin off mid-sentence and ended the call.
Then I teleported with Lee Kangjin and the women to my base in a flash.
"Huh? Whoa, this is Jaehwan's..."
Lee Kangjin, who'd been here for treatment before, recognized it right away. The women, visiting for the first time, looked around in awe.
"Yejin will be by soon to explain. Rest up here. I've got that asshole to deal with."
I left those words and teleported back to the Haedong building.
There, the raider leader was staggering toward the door, desperate to escape now that we'd vanished.
"Ha, you couldn't wait, huh? Already trying to bolt?"
I muttered as I approached slowly. Hearing my voice, he jolted in terror and collapsed on the spot.
"Hey, where's the rush? Gotta take a dump?"
"N-no, that's not..."
"You're a real piece of shit, but I need to know your organization's location, so I'll let it slide this once. But..."
I drew my knife and swiftly slashed beside his face.
His ear couldn't defy gravity and slowly flopped to the floor.
"Arghhh!"
He clutched his ear and screamed, but it was already too late—one ear gone.
"Next time you act up, I'll rip off every piece attached to your body."
"I-I understand!"
He barely managed the words through chattering teeth and pain.
"Alright, now guide me. Is it far from here?"
"It's a driving distance. Usually takes about twenty or thirty minutes."
"No problem. Give me the exact location."
The spot he'd described was in a direction I'd never been. No wonder I'd been clueless about these guys.
"How many are there? About the same number as the ones who hit here today?"
"No way. Way more than us. They're all self-proclaimed tough guys who banded together..."
Even so, they were nothing to me.
I was certain there wasn't a single threat to me there—no need to let my guard down.
"Then let's get going. You lead."
Without a word, he staggered to his feet and headed outside, guiding me.
Terror gripped him—the fear that any funny business meant death. I followed, letting it slide while chatting.
"Your group lives by raiding others' stuff?"
"W-well... not exactly. We have plenty of stockpiled food and guns, so zombies are easy pickings. Keeps us flush with coins."
"So what are you thirsty for?"
He drove the car we'd arrived in and answered quietly.
"Women."
"Women? Short on them?"
"Except for the top boss, if you want a woman, you bring one from outside. He turns a blind eye to those."
Sex drive was important, sure.
"So you hit Haedong today because of their women?"
"...Yes."
This was a full-on incel gang?
In the apocalypse, women were valuable, but a group this blatant about it?
This oughta be fun.
I was looking forward to seeing what kind of trash awaited.
We chatted as we drove, and soon enough, we arrived.