Chapter 124: Outsourcing Base Reinforcement (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 124: Outsourcing Base Reinforcement (2)
Still, it was pretty surprising that shaking down the delivery riders actually yielded 10,000 coins.
I had no intention of giving them a discount, though I did plan to collect whatever they were short on later.
But if I had let them know that, they wouldn't have tried their absolute hardest to scrape up every last coin. That's why I practically held a knife to their throats, and the threat worked like a charm.
I think I heard them whining about having to borrow around 3,000 coins from another faction, but it wasn't my problem, so I just let it slide.
I wasn't just saying that to make myself feel better; once the Zombie Rush passed, they definitely wouldn't regret spending that money.
After all, the delivery rider faction was the core talent of my Paradise Delivery System. That was the only reason I had personally gone out of my way to pull this stunt.
Besides, they might not even have to pay back that borrowed 3,000 coins once the Zombie Rush was over.
If the lenders died, they wouldn't exactly be in a position to collect.
In any case, now that the delivery riders' outer wall reinforcement was complete, I felt a bit more at ease.
As for the other factions, whether they lived or died was none of my business. They had nothing to do with Paradise, so I didn't bother visiting them.
Instead, I just posted an announcement.
[Notice: Accepting outsourcing requests to reinforce base outer walls. Deadline is in 3 days. Inquiries must be made in person by the faction leader at Paradise. We will provide an estimate, and reinforcement will begin once payment is received.]
Would anyone actually show up?
Of course, I expected plenty of people to inquire at first.
But once they saw the estimate, I doubted anyone would actually go through with it.
Even the delivery riders had whined, asking if they couldn't just live without it when they heard the price. It seemed most people didn't care all that much about barricades.
And it made sense.
Inside a safe base, Level 1 zombies were weak enough that barricades weren't strictly necessary anyway; they were mostly just to keep the pests from wandering in.
But once the 2nd Zombie Rush hit, those flimsy, makeshift barricades would be torn to shreds.
Those who remembered the 1st Zombie Rush might try to reinforce theirs a bit, but since most of them had successfully defended their bases back then, they probably assumed their current barricades were sturdy enough.
The real problem was that very few people even anticipated another Zombie Rush.
Well, those who wanted to survive would find a way.
Besides, I had plenty of other things to do even without any outsourcing work.
With only four days left, I was busy reinforcing my own base from the inside out.
I put those thoughts aside and focused on the final preparations.
Today was the day the Level 3 citizens and residents came to collect their food rations.
People filed into the residential district and headed to the warehouse, receiving their boxes one by one from Kim Ji-hee.
"I've packed a generous ten days' worth of food. There are also three days' worth of special meals in thermal pouches, so you shouldn't run short. You can do whatever you want with any leftovers."
"Thank you."
"Wow. This is so much."
"Tank you!"
Watching them line up to receive their rations made me realize just how much Paradise had grown.
To think we had this many members now.
From Oh Yoon-seop's hunting squads to the medical professionals from the hospital.
They looked around at the mansion's inner walls and the beautifully manicured landscaping with awe in their eyes.
"This is my first time seeing this place, and it's absolutely beautiful."
"Right? We put a lot of effort into it."
Oh Se-i also accepted her food with a bright, beaming smile.
"Unni, I packed some cat food in yours. How is Cheese doing?"
"He's doing great. Thank you."
"I'll drop by to visit before the Zombie Rush starts."
Jeon Ye-sol also came along with Lee Mi-sook to collect her share.
"Make sure you eat well, Ye-sol."
"Thank youuu, Unni. Thank you too, Ahjussi."
I had heard that Jeon Ye-sol lived next door to Lee Mi-sook and Oh Yoon-seop.
At six years old, she was at an age where she should be nurtured and cared for, but since she had no family left, she apparently lived by herself. Still, considering how well she had managed on her own back at the Dong Seoul Terminal, she seemed to be doing just fine.
Apparently, Mi-sook would drop by after work to cook for her, and during the day, she would bring the girl to the cafeteria, keeping her seated nearby so she could watch over her while working.
Well, they'd figure it out.
She looked much cleaner and healthier than she had at the Dong Seoul Terminal, and her bright expression made me think she might be a lot like me.
The type who preferred playing alone over receiving constant attention.
Besides, since she was a resident, we provided almost everything she needed anyway.
Growing up a little lonely was still infinitely better than starving and fighting for survival out in the wasteland.
Lee Yu-ri also collected her food.
"How's the broadcasting going? I tune in whenever I'm bored in the evening. You look really pretty on screen."
"Right? It's amazing. I've been getting a ton of donations, too."
Once the food distribution was over, the warehouse fell quiet.
"We'll need to expand the warehouse soon."
"Yes. The supplies are piling up. Food sales have dropped again over the last few days..."
"Keep stocking up. Once the Zombie Rush is over, demand will skyrocket again."
"Got it!"
While some people had caught on to my intentions and were buying up food, others were refusing to buy, hoping to hold out until the inflated prices dropped.
On top of that, since the cafeteria's set meals were still only 10 coins, many of those living day-to-day preferred to just eat there rather than purchase bulk food supplies.
Consequently, our sales volume had noticeably decreased, and the incoming supplies, which we used to go through quickly, were starting to pile up as surplus.
But there was no reason to be disappointed by a surplus.
Food didn't spoil easily, and more importantly, low sales now meant more people would be starving during the Zombie Rush.
Once the dust settled, the demand for food would explode.
I could just squeeze them for every coin they had then.
Sure enough, a few inquiries about outer wall reinforcement came in.
Without even visiting the sites, I simply checked the size of their bases on the Paradise Map and threw out a rough estimate.
"This looks to be about the size of the Seongsu Station Base. It'll be around 15,000 coins."
"Did you say fifteen thousand? Not fifteen hundred?"
"Why are you trying to cheap out on your own life? Once this is installed, it'll last you ten years. Make an investment."
"We don't have that many coins... Can't you do it for 3,000 coins?"
"Are you looking to die?"
"..."
I tried to be polite since I was running a business, but the problem with these motherfuckers was that the moment you showed them an ounce of kindness, they took you for a fool and tried to rip you off.
I briefly considered just killing them on the spot, but I clenched my fists and held back.
They were going to die in a few days anyway.
"Never mind, then. We won't do it."
I made a mental note of the base locations of the assholes who walked out after acting like that.
Most of the inquiries went exactly like this.
Granted, there were a few factions that genuinely wanted the reinforcement but simply couldn't afford the steep price.
Still, I had no intention of lowering my rates.
Just because the cost of a Safe Base-Exclusive Outer Wall and automatic door was less than ten percent of what I charged didn't mean I had to sell them cheap.
I held a monopoly on both the technology and the materials.
In fact, with walls boasting the durability of an underground bunker, defending against not just the 2nd, but even the 3rd and 4th Zombie Rushes would be a breeze.
Of course, since the height and length of their walls wouldn't be as perfect as my Seoul Forest Base, they would still have to put some effort into defending.
But it was still infinitely better to only have to deal with the ones climbing over the top rather than having their entire perimeter breached.
I had nothing to lose except a bit of wasted time.
I spent the remaining time preparing to head to Yongsan once the Zombie Rush hit.
Then, an inquiry came from an unexpected source.
"Would it be possible to reinforce the outer walls of the Jamsil Sports Complex? Just like the walls you have here."
"Oho?"
My safe base's boundary stretched slightly into the Gangnam area.
It ran right along the Gangnam Station line, covering COEX and extending all the way to the Jamsil Sports Complex.
Anything further east fell outside my radius, but the Jamsil Sports Complex itself was fully within my territory.
I hadn't realized people were actually living there.
In a typical zombie apocalypse, the Jamsil Sports Complex?
It would normally be the ultimate Demonic Lair.
A place crawling with tens of thousands of spectators-turned-zombies.
But reality wasn't quite like that.
The apocalypse might have hit on a non-game day, and besides, nothing particularly valuable for farming came to mind when thinking of a sports complex.
If anything, using such a massive space as a base was a great way for a faction to show off its power.
And being such a massive facility, it likely had decent amenities built-in.
Since they were within my safe base's range, they were probably using my electricity service as well.
Checking the Paradise Membership registry, I confirmed that the Jamsil Sports Complex was indeed drawing power.
They had over three hundred Level 1 members and more than fifty Level 2 members. Unlike the delivery riders who had tried to leech off a single subscription at first, these guys were paying their fair share. They passed my initial screening.
"A place that size is going to cost a shitload of coins. I take it you guys are loaded?"
"I heard the estimate was around 10,000 coins. Is that not the case?"
The man who had come to inquire was of average build and carried himself with an air of relaxed confidence.
I didn't know where he'd heard the 10,000-coin figure, but the fact that he had still shown up meant he was fully prepared to pay at least that much.
I always welcomed high-rolling clients.
They were a major faction, they had subscribed to the Paradise Membership on their own without me having to push it, and now they were actively seeking out my premium services.
I adopted a much warmer, more welcoming attitude.
Unlike the cheap bastards from earlier, this man was a true "valued customer."
"How much can you actually scrape together?"
"Will it require more than that?"
The man immediately caught my drift.
I nodded.
"You want to wall off the baseball stadium, the main stadium, and the indoor gymnasium, plus the pathways connecting them, right? The length alone is massive, but once you factor in the height, the price skyrockets. I'll throw in the pathways for free. But for the stadiums, it'll be 30,000, 50,000, and 30,000 respectively. You'll need at least 110,000 coins. And that's the bare minimum. If you want my honest advice, I'd suggest reinforcing only your main stronghold."
I gave him my sincere recommendation.
Even though this was my first time dealing with his faction, I genuinely wanted them to survive.
After all, I had a feeling we'd be doing a lot of business together in the future.