Chapter 119
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: Silence at the Daycare
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I ended up with over 4,000 coins left because I hadn't managed to snag the generators and small purifiers from two shops as quickly as I'd planned.
I toyed with the idea of buying something else from the shop with it, but decided to grab just one zombie infection antidote as an emergency backup and save the rest.
Sure, I could buy all four with the leftovers and try flipping them at a markup to someone desperate like I did with Sohee, but honestly, the odds of running into that situation were ridiculously low. Better to spend the coins elsewhere.
After that, I swung by my hunting ground at the elementary school for a bit, rang the bell to gather some zombies, wiped them out, then made the rounds checking on the shops I had under control.
Part of it was to confirm they were running smoothly, and even though I'd given them pistols loaded with Dark Arrow shots, I kept my distance just in case, watching from afar.
Thankfully, they were doing a solid job keeping random people out of the shops.
Regardless of age or gender, they were making sure anyone who wanted in paid up front in coins before letting them through—just like I'd instructed. Nice to see.
Couldn't tell if they were scared of crossing me and dying or what, but the results were what mattered. Good enough.
Even while I browsed the shop for a minute, a decent number of people were filtering in. Today's coin haul was going to be massive.
I'll have to keep controlling the shops like this every time they open.
Next week, power and clean water will be out again, so plenty of people will be back to roughing it like before—filthy and desperate.
Of course they'll flock to the shops when they reopen. Especially two weeks from now, when the item lists and stock reset. It'll be chaos.
If I play gatekeeper right then, I could rake in way more than today.
Entry fee? Double it at least. No problem.
Making bank without even hunting zombies? Felt damn good.
Who wouldn't love that? Just sitting back while others do the work and bring you the cash.
Not quite passive income yet—I couldn't just lounge around—but maybe soon.
No, I'll make it happen.
Have Sohee and Ha Dongseok's crews handle the coin grinding. Get Seo Yun collecting all the demonic energy for me.
Once she masters black magic—or at least Mana Drain and storing demonic energy perfectly in her dantian—that'll be plenty.
I enchant everyone's weapons with Mana Drain, she tags along on hunts, then transfers the drained energy to me when she gets back.
No clue how long that'll take, though.
That's on her effort, not mine. All I can do is stick close and help her unlock black magic.
Speaking of, I popped in last night and pumped some demonic energy into her to stimulate her dantian. She went wild—room turned into a flood zone—but her control's improving bit by bit.
Never imagined this trick back in that other world. Guess I never met a woman with black magician talent.
If I had a female black magician back then, would I have tried this?
Anyway, her demonic energy control's coming along steadily. A little more time, and she'll be ready to deliver the revenge on Joo Hyeri she's been dying for.
I spent the morning looping the same route like a hamster on a wheel, checking shop control. Things had stabilized—people were lining up, paying entry to get in.
Time for a quick lunch, then go hunt down those generator thieves.
Two shops beaten to the punch. Gotta find out where they are fast.
Curious what kind of bastards they are.
Not mad about them beating me to it—just wanna see how loaded they must be.
Probably not far from the shops Sohee and Ha Dongseok were guarding. And on the opposite side from my base.
If they were anywhere near me, Sohee, Ha Dongseok, or his crew would've spotted them during patrols. Never heard a peep.
So, some group I've never crossed paths with. Wonder who.
Figured they'd be where people cluster, so I roamed toward signs of life. Found a spot buzzing with activity.
Nothing special—an ordinary daycare building. Faint stirring inside drew me closer. I slipped into Shadow Veil, hid in the shadows, and infiltrated.
Inside looked just like any daycare, complete with a bunch of kids.
Easy twenty at a glance?
In a zombie apocalypse, kids, elderly, and disabled die first. These kids surviving means someone's protecting them.
Plus, they all looked pretty clean and healthy. No way it's just kids here.
Keeping toddlers alive this long? Brutal without backup. Gotta be someone strong.
I waited, pondering who could defend against zombie hordes drawn by kid noise without proper defenses. Then a door opened from an inner room.
"Alright, kids! Lunch time~"
Out came a woman who looked like a daycare teacher, mid-30s maybe.
Nothing standout about her. Probably not the protector. Someone else had to be here.
Then footsteps from upstairs—someone descending the stairs.
"Honey, feeding the kids?"
"Yeah. Checked the generator you grabbed today. It's running smooth, thank goodness."
"Good to hear. Was a nightmare snagging it before someone else did..."
Generator? Jackpot. High chance these were my guys.
Still veiled, I snuck into the room she'd come from. There they were—two generators, identical to the ones from today's shop.
Their voices carried on.
"So, skipping the shop today?"
"Yeah. Checked both spots again. Weird guys blocking the entrances—one at each. Said you gotta pay them coins to get in."
"What? Who do they think they are, gatekeeping? Isn't it for everyone?"
The woman snapped back, anger flaring.
"No choice. They were all packing guns. One guy threw a fit demanding entry—they shot him right there."
"Psychos... So you didn't go in?"
"Nah, nothing urgent. But 100 coins entry? Felt like robbery."
From the chat, the guy here definitely bought my targets first.
But that raised a big question: How'd he scrape together 4,000 coins?
Didn't look like a heavy hitter. Hard to imagine him farming zombies en masse.
Regular folks don't hit 4k easy. How?
"Waaahhh!!"
Sudden wail from a kid, all injustice. The couple rushed over, soothing him. Bizarre sight to me.
That cry was loud enough to agro zombies from blocks away. Why no reaction?
Turned out the kid got smacked in a spat with another. Teacher calmed him down, and I caught some gold from their lips.
"Phew... Glad he stopped. Zombies outside don't seem to notice, huh?"
"Yeah. No reaction. Your Silence skill's a lifesaver—keeps house noises from leaking out."
Everything clicked.
Why no zombie attacks despite all the kids.
My first generator was noisy as hell—louder than kid screams—but no aggro. Silence skill.
Blocks all internal sounds from escaping...
Damn, that's a sneaky good skill.
Makes me wanna steal someone else's abilities for real.