Chapter 150: The Black Market Enhancement Shop
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 150: The Black Market Enhancement Shop
The Eagle Five Squad absolutely loved the Level 3 Apartment.
"Can I share a room with this person?"
"Yes. If you happen to split up, you can just apply for an additional room then."
"...That... haha... won't happen."
"What's with that reaction?"
"Whoa. Are you two finally moving in together?"
"Must've been tough for you two, sneaking out to the bathroom in the middle of the night."
"Now you can be all lovey-dovey without worrying about us."
"Should Joo-hee move in with Oppa too?"
"Oppa, I only care about looks."
In their extremely typical group of three guys and two girls, there seemed to be some history. A male-female pair cautiously asked if they could share a home, and since Paradise's policy didn't care, Kim Ji-hee informed them that it was perfectly fine.
It wasn't like this was college; if they broke up after sharing a room, it wasn't like one of them could just enlist in the military to escape. Unless he was going to tell them to go out and die, it was only right to give them a separate place.
Besides, there was still plenty of room in the apartments.
In fact, there was another Level 3 Apartment available next to the Trimage, not just behind it, so there was no need to worry.
And as soon as the Eagle Five Squad settled in, they immediately began their activities.
"Captain! Are there any dungeons we should clear?"
"Just give us a mission!"
"Sir, yes, sir!"
"Yeah, yeah. Stop messing around and just focus on leveling up. If I have something for you to do, I'll let you know. Do whatever you want. You have total freedom."
"Yes, sir! Oh, and Captain. The enhancement system... can we use it too?"
"Why? Did you find an Enhancement Stone?"
"No, I was just asking because the system was added yesterday. I wondered if you knew anything about it..."
"You need an Enhancement Shop for that. If you get any Enhancement Stones, save them. They're going to be hard to find."
"Understood! Let's go! It's so convenient that our home doesn't collapse even when we leave it empty. Where should we go today?"
One thing was for sure: having experienced zombie apocalypse survivors enter Paradise brought a bit of life to the place.
Not that it was lifeless before.
It was naturally noisier now that there were more people.
But the bustle came from the change of encountering the Eagle Five Squad in addition to Oh Yoon-seop's Hunting Squad whenever I went outside.
After all, I rarely visited the cafeteria or hospital across the street unless I specifically had a reason to.
And perhaps because they were users who had played the same game, I felt a bit more comfortable around them.
They didn't seem like the type to cause trouble, either.
I figured I'd keep an eye on them, see how they performed, and then make them Residents to use as a loyal Hunting Squad.
Honestly, making them Residents wasn't a difficult task for me.
I wouldn't break my own standards to make people with trash modes and low levels into Residents.
But if I had them "predate" a decent mode and raised their levels a bit, they would easily meet the criteria.
That was the power of Cheat Mode.
The Zombie Rush had entered its fourth day.
While our Paradise was running as peacefully as could be, other places had reached a point where the cries of despair had gone completely silent.
There was no way anyone could be in a good mood.
Even in Paradise, Oh Yoon-seop's Hunting Squad and the Eagle Five Squad avoided going out during the Blood Hour if possible, so how bad must it be elsewhere?
I supposed small factions might be able to hold out to some extent.
The Yongsan US Military Base would burn through a ton of ammo, but considering the strength they'd shown, a minor Zombie Rush of Level 1 and Level 2 zombies was ultimately just a battle of mental fortitude. It wasn't impossible to stop.
That was why these Zombie Rushes were ultimately called "Shaking Off the Ants" in the zombie apocalypse.
Even without installing a Zombie Rush mode, the zombie apocalypse naturally saw zombie numbers swell from the start of the game until they peaked, with high-level zombies constantly spawning. In the end, only the strong factions or strong survivors would make it.
After six months or a year, finding survivors would become as difficult as finding a pearl in the sand. As more time passed, a period would come when finding a survivor was harder than finding a Black Market Dealer.
Well, that was just how it was.
Ultimately, those who survived were the strong ones.
While having a good mode made survival easier in a zombie apocalypse, it wasn't a factor that guaranteed absolute survival.
There were plenty of people who plastered themselves with cheat modes only to die and come whining.
I wondered how many would be left.
I was looking forward to what would happen after the Zombie Rush.
One thing was certain: in a zombie apocalypse, especially on a multi-server, the more people there were, the more fun it would be.
Especially for someone like me, who enjoyed events born from human relationships.
But that didn't mean I needed to go out of my way to save those destined to die just to keep the population up.
The zombie apocalypse was plenty of fun with just the survivors.
Besides, people didn't die that easily.
Those who were meant to survive would find a way.
Once the Zombie Rush ended...
...those people would become even more obsessed with Paradise.
That would be my chance.
The chance for Paradise to grow even larger.
Even now, the supplies accumulated over just four days were so massive that I had built another 100-pyeong warehouse behind the food warehouse.
Since the goods that usually sold daily were just piling up, I found myself wondering if we had always had this much.
That was also why Kim Ji-hee, far from keeping her promise to take a long-overdue rest indoors during the Zombie Rush, was practically living in the warehouse all day.
Once the Zombie Rush was over...
...I would sweep up the Coins of the survivors...
...and strike the weakened factions outside the Safe Base, gradually expanding my territory.
Until then, I should just take it easy and do some farming.
"Would here be good?"
A hell for others, but a vacation for me.
I stepped into the empty Commercial District.
This was where Oh Se-i had picked up her cat.
I wondered if there were any other cats around, or if they were just too scared of me to come out, but I didn't run into any as I walked.
Actually, the landscaping in the Commercial District was much better.
It featured ponds, a small lake, and beautifully manicured gardens, making it a perfect place for families to visit.
That was why I had designated this area as the Commercial District.
When people visited, seeing the beautiful nature and water would heal them, making them want to spend more Coins.
I crafted an Enhancement Shop from the "Safe Living Facilities" and looked for a place to position it.
The Enhancement Shop had a design that looked straight out of a medieval fantasy novel.
The kind of place where, if you opened the door, the clanging of metal and the scorching heat of a furnace would hit you right in the face.
Well, it wasn't a blacksmith's forge, so it probably wouldn't go that far.
"Let's put it here."
I placed the Enhancement Shop in a spot overlooking the lake.
It would be nice to build a cafe or a hotel next to it later, making it a great spot for people to come and stay for a day.
[Black Market Enhancement Shop (★)] [50,000 Coins + 1 Point]
- Can be installed inside a Safe Base.
- Black Market Enhancer (2), Enhancement Anvil (2).
- Enhancement Stones (★) sold at the Enhancement Shop. [30,000 Coins]
- Deploy Armed Forces to the Enhancement Shop. [40,000 Coins]
"Fucking brutal."
A Level 3 Dungeon. An extremely low drop rate.
The privilege of bypassing these two conditions with money was incredibly expensive.
The Coins were one thing, but taking my precious 1 Point was another.
I briefly considered just clearing Level 3 Dungeons until an Enhancement Shop naturally spawned, but I absolutely needed to have one inside my Paradise.
After all, I had created the enhancement content for my own enjoyment. Was I really going to trek back and forth to some randomly spawned shop just to enhance my gear?
Out of sight, out of mind.
Besides, there was no guarantee an Enhancement Shop would ever naturally spawn inside my Safe Base.
It was much better for my peace of mind to just pay the Coins and Points to set it up exactly how I wanted in Paradise's Commercial District.
That way, whenever I was bored at home and felt the itch to enhance, I could just walk over and do it.
For now, I installed the Enhancement Shop for 50,000 Coins + 1 Point.
I hesitated over the two currently available upgrade options.
"I'll hold off on selling Enhancement Stones for now."
I planned to restrict the supply of Enhancement Stones as much as possible.
Not that I could completely control it, but since they were fundamentally "rare" items, the supply would be extremely low even if they did drop.
Only when Enhancement Stones were hard to obtain would trading between players hold real value. Combined with the enhancement fees, people wouldn't be able to just mindlessly spam enhancements.
That would prevent some lucky bastards from running around with ridiculously overpowered weapons.
And the Armed Forces were also put on hold.
I was going to make this area accessible only to those with a Paradise Level 2 Membership anyway.
I held all their personal information, and if anyone tried to act up in here, I could just lock them in and turn this place into their grave. There was no need to waste Coins on deploying Armed Forces.
The first building had been erected in the Commercial District.
It was an unofficial building that I had no intention of announcing just yet.