Chapter 139: Paradise System Management Card?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 139: Paradise System Management Card?
Lately, there were many rumors floating around Paradise.
Since the world was in ruins, many of them had to be taken with a grain of salt, but this particular one was quite credible.
"Did you hear that? There's a warehouse inside Paradise, and they have years' worth of food piled up in there."
"Someone saw it. They said he even raided a US military base this time."
"I heard there are enough firearms to arm over two hundred people."
"And apparently, tens of tons of meat are just piled up?"
This was the kind of story that would make anyone scoff even before the apocalypse.
Who on earth would live with that many supplies stockpiled on their private property?
And this was the apocalypse, of all times.
While some were starving and struggling to find a single scrap of food, someone else had years' worth in a warehouse?
"Don't you think this Paradise system is weird?"
When people do nothing but hide indoors, they naturally fall prey to all sorts of delusions.
Why do I have to live like this?
Why am I the only one who's this miserable?
Is the world just going out of its way to screw me over?
When searching for injustices within those delusions, it was only natural to end up hating the wealthiest person they knew.
"It doesn't make sense, does it? No matter how good of a Mode he got. He's not a game developer, so how can he be the only one using such ridiculously broken abilities? His stats are insanely high, and he has food, electricity, running water... He acts like he's doing it all himself, but in reality, isn't everything decided by the Paradise system?"
Of course, anyone who had seen Paradise in its early days could easily refute this.
But to the people, the truth didn't matter.
What mattered was how it looked to them right now.
Rather than accepting the shitty red pill that a single person could manage and use all of this, a plausible conspiracy theory was much easier for people to swallow.
"The theory is that this 'Paradise' system is actually a shared Mode that was already fixed here in Seongsu-dong, and the Owner of Paradise was just the first to find and use its system management card."
This kind of rumor was a conspiracy theory that had been around for quite some time.
Such conspiracy theories tended to grow out of the most trivial things.
"This has been posted on the Paradise Gallery for a while now, you know? But it gets deleted the moment it goes up. If you're curious, try posting it yourself."
In fact, whenever these conspiracy theories were posted on the Paradise Gallery, they were immediately deleted.
To the conspiracy theorists, this only fueled their "reasonable suspicion" that their delusions were actually true.
"That's why we only talk about it offline like this."
In truth, whether it was a conspiracy or not didn't really matter to those whispering about it.
Whether the Owner of Paradise held a card, or it was a system powered by his insanely broken Mode, it was a realm far beyond the reach of most of those gossiping anyway.
It was a classic case of "So what are you going to do about it?"
However, as the conspiracy theory spread, it wasn't something that those who had gained a bit of confidence would just sigh and move on from.
"So, in short, if we just capture the Owner of Paradise, he's a Golden Goblin, right? Whether that bastard built the system or has the card to manage it. If we just keep him alive—chop off his arms and legs but keep him breathing—and bring him into Paradise, we can safely use the Paradise system and take everything he's hoarded. I heard there are tons of hot girls there, too. Rumor has it he fucks them however he likes."
Rumors about Paradise had spread quite widely, at least among those living inside it.
Since so many people went in and out of Paradise, even if it was a closed space, the number of people who caught glimpses of it was substantial.
And with the Saintess, Lee Yu-ri, Cat Mom, and so on...
There were also rumors that these women, who were quite famous on the Paradise Gallery, all belonged to the Owner of Paradise.
In any case, it was inevitable that some people would grow greedy.
The faction based around Apgujeong Station was no exception.
A Zombie Rush? To them, it wasn't a particularly terrifying disaster.
They had gathered their elites to set up a base, and they had structured it well, using numerous buildings as barricades to make it difficult for large hordes of zombies to enter.
The buildings served as both barricades and living quarters, allowing a fairly large number of people to survive safely within a small area.
They had breathing room, and they were steadily farming weapons.
With electricity and water connected through the Paradise system, they even joked among themselves that maybe this place was Paradise.
And so, they gradually began to lose their fear.
"Can't we just lure him out and ambush him somehow?"
"If he's alone, maybe we can just overwhelm him together?"
"Honestly, a guy like that is nothing without a gun, right?"
"No matter how high his stats are."
Were they being complacent?
They didn't think so.
"The complacent one is that bastard, running his mouth relying on his abilities. Clearing zombies for 5,000 Coins? During a Zombie Rush? Who does he think he is? He's probably just going to show up, poke around a bit, and leave. We can't just sit back and watch him pull this bullshit forever."
In fact, rumors regarding this were also rampant.
How many cocky factions had he dismantled?
If you cross him, you die.
They said the Owner of Paradise killed the original leader of the Delivery Faction and installed a new one.
There used to be a drug cartel, but they were wiped out by the Owner of Paradise, and so on.
But they couldn't believe every piece of information.
Without seeing it firsthand, people could only perceive what they understood.
And the leaders of the Apgujeong Station faction, who had grown somewhat powerful, knew just how absurdly exaggerated those lies were.
"Dumbasses. You actually believe that? How could one guy do all that alone?"
The faction known as Paradise was quite large.
Though people only saw a few individuals on the surface, they assumed that anyone with this kind of Mode, or the authority to use it, must have a massive force working under him behind the scenes.
Therefore, if he was alone, they had a chance.
That was their reasoning.
"He really came alone. What an idiot."
"What? He came like that without even arming himself?"
"Fuck. If he's like that, does he really wipe everyone out by himself?"
The people here believed information based on their own convictions, but they weren't blind fools.
They claimed to be holding off the Zombie Rush well, but that was mostly bravado; in reality, after encountering the zombies during the Blood Hour, they had become as humble as possible, focusing strictly on survival.
They only went outside by sending out scouts when absolutely necessary.
Yet, knowing where Paradise was, he had walked all the way here alone?
"He probably has some other Mode. They say he's good at moving around alone. Are we going to give up after coming this far? Fuck, we already paid him 5,000 Coins."
"Exactly."
"We can't just let 5,000 Coins go."
Even for a well-off faction, Coins were precious.
In reality, there was nowhere to spend Coins yet other than buying things from Paradise. According to those who had played the Zombie Apocalypse game, there was a Black Market Dealer, but since no one had found one yet, Coins technically had no other use. Still, they knew it was a valuable currency.
The 5,000 Coins they had already paid couldn't be refunded.
So, they might as well capture the Golden Goblin they had summoned.
That was their plan.
They deployed their full strength.
Everyone, from those with the Stealth Skill to the Hunting Squads meant for killing zombies, was hidden in the buildings near the entrance.
The man who arrived walked straight through the front gate, which had been left slightly ajar.
Watching him enter without a shred of suspicion, they rejoiced.
"Dumbass. He doesn't even know he's walking into his own grave..."
They planned to ambush him instantly, giving him no time to react.
The moment he stepped over the designated line, the hidden stealth users would pounce, and everyone else would rush in.
That was their strategy, but...
Thud!
"Sigh. Why do these bastards keep throwing their lives away like they're worthless?"
The sight of a man falling from midair and collapsing onto the ground from a single punch was nothing short of shocking.
Had they ever seen someone get knocked out like that?
A man who, just three seconds ago, had been charging with gritted teeth, collapsed like a broken mannequin, his face contorted as he hit the floor.
"You motherfuckers just did the one thing I hate most. Do you know what that is?"
They didn't particularly want to know.
But no one was brave enough to shout that out loud.
"I don't mind you trying to take me out and seize Paradise. That's just the romance of the zombie apocalypse, survival of the fittest. But looking down on me like I'm some kind of pushover? I can't tolerate that, you sons of bitches."
The man's anger was genuine.
For some reason, they trembled with fear, but they didn't back down.
"He's alone!"
Someone shouted.
It was the perfect rallying cry to bolster their courage.
After all, weren't humans social creatures who formed factions precisely because they knew there was a clear limit to what a single person's strength could achieve?
If dozens, or even over a hundred people rushed him at once, even he wouldn't be able to do anything about it.
Bang!
"F-Fuck... A gun..."
Bang!
The guy who had shouted that he was alone, and the other who had tried to warn them about the gun, both had holes blown through their heads and died in an instant.
"Everyone, get do—"
Bang!
The moment anyone opened their mouth, a hole was punched through their head.
Any thought of the enemy being alone vanished from their minds.
Watching bullets fly and people drop dead right before their eyes without even seeing him shoot was more than enough to send a cold sweat running down their spines.
"Alright. Anyone here seen A Quiet Place? From now on, anyone who makes a sound dies."