Chapter 97
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Yeouido's Paradise
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The moment when traits beyond the initial five basic ones we chose at the start began appearing in greater variety was probably when I discovered traits for sale in the shop.
I'd suspected back then that traits came in all sorts of types, and sure enough, not only were they sold in the shop, but capturing mutant zombies also dropped them with a certain probability.
The one I got from a drop was the Cook trait, while Ha Dong-seok had acquired Beast Warrior.
In other words, there was a high chance of all sorts of traits I hadn't even imagined showing up—including, apparently, Politician?
I had no idea what abilities it granted, but from what he'd just said, it seemed to be influenced by the number of people in his territory.
I couldn't tell exactly how that worked or how the ability manifested, but it sounded pretty intriguing.
Still, with so little info, I figured I'd use Shadow Veil to hide in the shadows and eavesdrop a bit more.
"I get that your trait works that way, but we have limits on how many more people we can take in! It's not just living space— if we keep accepting everyone blindly, we'll run out of food to distribute every day!"
Bam!
The man who looked like the military leader slammed his fist down hard on the desk.
The man with the Politician trait turned toward the rough-looking guy at the colonel's words.
"Director Jeon, what's the current food situation? Will we really run short like Colonel Ki says?"
"For now, food isn't a concern. With Representative Park's Double skill, we can double our supplies every day."
"Then there's no problem..."
"That's been true so far. But it's going to be an issue going forward."
The man called Director Jeon sighed and continued.
"The real problem hits about a week after the Zombie Wave ends."
"You mean... the electricity issue?"
"Exactly. Even Representative Park can't do anything about that. No matter how powerful your skill is, you can't double electricity."
Representative Park let out a heavy sigh at Director Jeon's words.
"Doubling food supplies is no problem, but storing them is."
"Once the power cuts out, we won't be able to keep frozen foods anymore. That's why we've been handing out stuff that only needs refrigeration lately. We'll conserve room-temperature goods as much as possible."
"Guess we'll have to focus the Double skill on canned goods to double those. Sigh... If only I could handle larger quantities at once..."
Colonel Ki cut in midway.
"On top of food, we could really use more bullets and weapons doubled if possible. We're producing some with coins, but honestly, your skill is the best option."
"I'd love to, but... the daily limit on what I can double is fixed, and different items consume different amounts of mana, so it's not easy."
This Representative Park guy somehow had an insanely good ability, though I had no clue how he'd gotten it.
Duplicating items with a skill? That was straight-up broken.
Creating resources out of thin air without consuming any—who could call that bad?
Both the Politician trait from earlier and this Double skill they mentioned now... I was dying to know where they got this stuff.
If I had something like that, it'd be a game-changer.
Hell, if there was a way to steal it and make it mine, I'd do it in a heartbeat.
"For electricity production, we'll probably need someone with the Technician trait... Any progress there?"
"No, the skill level's still too low—nothing like a power source has come up yet."
"Then we'll have to invest more coins. Tomorrow's the day the Yeouido Station dungeon opens, right?"
Colonel Ki nodded at Representative Park's words.
"Tomorrow, I'll take my men, neutralize the dungeon again, and bring back the 1,000-coin reward. Should take about a day, like last time."
"Thanks, Colonel Ki."
"Clearing the dungeon that keeps popping up in Yeouido every week to earn coins is our job. Don't worry."
Thanks to their chat, I learned Yeouido Station was a dungeon too. And I could guess how Representative Park got his sweet traits and skills.
Just like I'd snagged an extra trait slot from my first dungeon clear reward today, he'd probably lucked out on his first clear too.
"That said... we need to realize even dungeon coins are getting hard to manage. With so many people in Yeouido now, our stockpiled coins are dwindling bit by bit."
"We'll have to head outside, hunt zombies, or clear dungeons."
"Tch... With over 500 people in Yeouido, this was bound to happen."
Over 500 people gathered here?
That seemed like way too many—almost recklessly so.
They'd probably let in so many to boost the Politician trait's effects, figuring electricity and food would hold out post-Zombie Wave.
This must've hit them like a bolt from the blue.
Listening in gave me a solid grasp of Yeouido's situation.
I got why they called it paradise and lured people in, and also why it wasn't quite living up to that for folks actually here.
Even maintaining the setup was getting tough due to the power issues.
Made my no-freeloaders policy feel spot-on.
I understood needing people for the Politician trait, but still—they should've capped it at a reasonable number.
Couldn't just say, "Sorry, no room—get lost!" now, though.
That could spark riots, or disappoint residents enough to make them abandon Yeouido.
So they'd have to tread carefully on next steps.
Still, coming here netted me tons of useful info.
About dungeons, new traits, and skills—not to mention why they dubbed this place paradise.
Average Awakeners were probably scrambling just for daily meals and craving zombie-free safety.
With the military handling threats here, it must've felt like paradise.
Until the power ran out soon, anyway, giving them headaches.
Part of me wondered if this place would crumble on its own without me lifting a finger. Curious how they'd solve the power problem.
They'd need to funnel coins to a Technician like me to produce generators somehow—but that's no easy task for regular Awakeners.
They said clearing Yeouido Station gave 1,000 coins—if dumped into skill ups, no coins left for generators.
Even with leftovers, powering 500+ people smoothly would demand a ton of generators.
I was growing fastest, had my own paradise-like base, and still couldn't house 500. No way they could.
Couldn't even imagine how many generators that'd take.
With a good handle on this "paradise," I slipped outside to check one more reason I'd come: Joo Hyeri, for my first disciple Seo Yun.
Confirming she was here safe would let me head back to base.
I knew paradise was fraying, but zombies weren't an immediate threat here.
So Joo Hyeri should be fine for now.
Problem was, I knew next to nothing about her.
Never met her, no photo— just verbal descriptions of her looks from Seo Yun.
Spotting her right away wouldn't be easy.
Her standout traits? Half-foreign from her mom, blonde beauty, over 170cm tall for a woman—huge.
Time to scan Yeouido quick for a woman like that.
Keeping Shadow Veil up, I prowled buildings that seemed occupied.
As if answering my hopes she'd be here, I spotted one in a Yeouido apartment— a woman matching Seo Yun's description perfectly, banging some guy.
To confirm, I slipped inside the room, and sure enough, the man moaned her name: Joo Hyeri.
So she really was here.
Sweet—thank you very much.