Chapter 44: Scouting Talent
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 44: Scouting Talent
The amount of food I brought to Seongsu Park is still equivalent to about four or five Medium Ration Boxes.
Meaning it's about three to four days' worth of food.
Of course, I didn't bring the actual boxes; it's just the equivalent amount of Hetbahn, kimchi, and ramen. A Medium Ration Box actually contains far more than that.
For starters, if I put out even a few Special Meals, they'd be incredibly popular.
The frozen foods would be, too.
But the reason I deliberately brought only basic provisions is that I didn't come here to run a real business.
My primary goal is, indeed, to earn Coins.
There are people who are desperate for food but have plenty of Coins from killing zombies.
Trading the food rotting away in my warehouse to them on favorable terms in exchange for Coins is a transaction with absolutely zero loss for me.
Besides, things like ramen have a surprisingly short shelf life.
About six months.
Even if Kim Ji-hee and I stuffed our faces with ramen every single day, it would pile up faster than we could eat it, so I need to get rid of it quickly.
The same goes for the meat.
Actually, thanks to deep-freezing, I could hoard meat for a lifetime. But since meat is even easier to obtain, I brought it along as a high-value item to trade for more Coins.
I have to make it look like I'm just selling food I hoarded beforehand. There's absolutely no benefit in letting too many people know that my food supply is practically an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Not that I'm desperately trying to hide it, but having pests swarm around me isn't exactly pleasant.
And aside from this primary goal...
My secondary goal is to size people up.
"Excuse me... boss... I only have 30 Coins... Could you throw in one Hetbahn if I buy three ramens...?"
"Hey, mister. Did someone spread a rumor that this is a free soup kitchen for beggars? Why are there so many bastards coming here to beg?"
"..."
"Are you buying or not?"
"I'll buy it..."
What's the most important thing when running a business?
I've never done it before, but it's cold-headedness.
Meeting all kinds of people and facing all kinds of situations, but maintaining a steadfast determination to never lose out!
I am the one in power.
The seller is king.
If you do business with this mindset, you will never lose.
My expectations had been high because the first and second customers were such big hits, but after that, the customers were exactly as I had anticipated.
Even when they came in small numbers, they'd only buy one or two items. Or they'd show up in a group, raising my hopes, only to spend a measly 40 or 50 Coins while throwing a tantrum for freebies.
Those kinds of customers are the absolute worst.
"Hey, mister. It looks like you hoarded some food beforehand, but you shouldn't rip people off like this. What are you even going to use Coins for anyway?"
"None of your business."
"Give us 20 of them for 3 Coins each. We won't steal them from you."
"Ha. Holy shit. You guys are no different from thieves. Aren't you ashamed to swarm here with your kids like this?"
"The adults can manage, but the kids need to eat. Right?"
There are too many people who think they're hot shit just because they have numbers on their side.
The past.
Using the word "past" feels a bit funny, but maybe that worked in the pre-apocalypse world.
But now, they're just noisy cockroaches.
Slap!
I deliver a sharp slap to his cheek. He flies through the air, crashes to the ground, freezes for a moment, and then comes to his senses.
"Uh, uh..."
"Dad!"
"Honey!"
The slapped cheek swells up bright red, and a tooth or two falls out along with some blood.
This is my problem.
Back in the early days when I played Zombie Apocalypse and was active on the gallery.
I had a bit of an attention-seeking streak, so I used to upload videos often. Every time I did, many of the comments criticized me for playing too frustratingly.
Since I was overflowing with passion back then and wanted to test out various things, I played while holding back from killing as much as possible.
Well, looking back now, I can't deny it.
I'm too soft-hearted.
Can I really survive in reality with a mindset that gives a gentle first warning like this, when I could just kill them and be done with it?
"Hey, mister. Are you buying or not? It's 15 Coins each now."
"I-I'll buy..."
Watching the backs of the dozen or so people scurrying away with a few ramens, I wonder.
How many more days will they survive?
They'll probably collapse soon.
It's a structure where so many mouths are leeching off of just one or two people with decent Modes.
"Useless."
Still, customers keep trickling in without stopping.
By lunchtime, the crowd actually started to grow.
"Oppa, reviews are starting to go up one by one."
Kim Ji-hee shows me the comments on the post she made.
[Don't go here. Sht is fcking expensive.]
[Ramen is 10 Coins. Hetbahn is 10 Coins. Meat is 25 Coins per 100g. Small kimchi is 5 Coins. It's a total rip-off, so don't go.]
[The seller practically threatens you if you don't buy, so I spent my Coins out of fear.]
Not a single bastard came quietly and made a clean transaction, and yet they write such shitty reviews.
You guys are dead meat if you ever come back.
Despite these shitty comments, the reactions from other users were surprisingly decent.
[What? Is that real? That's a ton of food.]
[Wow... So there are people who hoarded that stuff and are selling it now.]
[Are there only two people selling it?]
[The expiration dates haven't passed, right? Well, if it's ramen, it shouldn't be expired yet. Should I go check it out?]
There were photos taken from a distance with a zoom lens, and it seemed like the people who had been skeptical were now coming after seeing them.
These were the people who had been waiting and watching because they had no reason to risk leaving their homes over uncertain information.
This is how you utilize information.
You judge based on the information provided by those who went first.
Of course, even that could be fake, but when it's not just one person but several uploading the information, the probability of it being fake drops.
In fact, the negative comments resulting from my rough handling actually helped.
If there had only been positive comments, people might have suspected that I manipulated them.
[We have nothing to spend Coins on anyway, so isn't trading them for food a good deal?]
[Do they really give you food if you give them Coins? They don't just take it back?]
[Hmm... Maybe I should spend some Coins.]
This is the normal reaction.
A few zombies = 1 Hetbahn.
If you calculate it like that, it naturally feels like you're losing out on the Coins, but considering there's no one else who would make that trade right now besides me, it's absolutely not a loss.
And some even went further, making more fundamental speculations.
[Are Coins that important? Why are those people trading food for Coins?]
Food is crucial.
Even if they have so much food rotting at home that they're selling a bit of it, why?
Why trade it for Coins, which are useless by their standards, instead of other survival-assisting items?
Others answered this question on my behalf.
[Looks like they're Zom-A veterans? Probably hoarding them to use when they find a Black Market Dealer.]
[Black Market Dealer? There's such a thing?]
[There was in Zom-A. You can occasionally find them in Demonic Lairs or... hard-to-find places. You can buy food or get rare items with Coins.]
[Seeing how they're selling food at such a f*cking inflated price, they're 100% veterans. They know that even if you buy food from a Black Market Dealer, it'll be around that price anyway lol.]
Well, while there's probably no one who has played Zombie Apocalypse more than me, there are plenty of people who know a lot about it.
And they're right about hoarding Coins to use on a Black Market Dealer.
Except, in my case, I'm preparing for a Black Market Dealer who is 100% guaranteed to show up tomorrow.
Anyway, thanks to that, more people started coming from lunchtime onward compared to the morning. It became a natural rule for teams to approach one by one to trade while keeping a wary, moderate distance from each other.
In fact, because there were so many onlookers, the number of troublemakers decreased.
Did they hear rumors about me?
Or did they realize that even if they coveted the food, they would be in danger themselves if other teams intervened?
It was a bit of a shame from my perspective, but since these guys came having tacitly agreed to 10 Coins per ramen or Hetbahn, it wasn't bad.
The stockpiles of Hetbahn and ramen dwindled rapidly.
It's only because my range of activity isn't that wide and I set up my base in a secluded area, but Seoul's population is nearly 10 million.
There's no way there would be few people along the Han River, which is practically the heart of Seoul.
Everyone is just hiding somewhere, holding their breath.
"Do you happen to have more food? If we buy in bulk, could you give us a discount?"
"If you're buying in bulk, you should pay more. Why would I give you a discount?"
"...We have about 200 people right now. Our daily Coin acquisition is around 300, and we'd like to buy up all your remaining stock."
"That won't be enough."
Then, a major customer arrived.
Unlike those thugs from the Seongsu Apartment self-governing body, this ahjussi looked reliable and trustworthy from his very appearance.
With stats of 3/3/3/2 and a Level 6 Combat Mode, he was the picture-perfect image of a leader.
Even when I subtly needled him by speaking informally, he remained completely unfazed, giving me the feeling that his group would grow into quite a large faction.
"Are you saying it's a no?"
"If you have the money, you can buy it. It's a flat rate of 10 Coins today, so take as much as you can afford. We can talk about bulk supply next time."
Without much of a reply, the man handed over the points first.
1,500 Coins.
Proving that his words weren't a lie.
"Please include some meat as well."
The food, which had already dwindled significantly, was now almost completely depleted by this transaction.
I packed exactly 1,500 Coins' worth and was contemplating what extra goodies to throw in for this potential customer, when one of the five people who had come with the man swaggered forward and slung an arm over the man's shoulder.
"Come on, Lieutenant Colonel. How can you haggle like that? Huh? Do you know how f*cking much those Coins are worth? Hey. If we bought 1,500 Coins' worth, shouldn't you throw in whatever's left on your own accord?"
What the f*ck?
This ahjussi wasn't the leader?
And he's a soldier?
[Oh Yoon-seop]
- Age: 50
- Mode: Combat Readiness (★★★★★★), Integrity (★★★★★), Charisma (★★★★★), Bravery (★★★★)
- Stats:
* Strength: ★★★
* Agility: ★★★
* Stamina: ★★★
* Mana: ★★
I can't hold back on this one.
My lips, which had been smacking in disappointment, twitched as I tried to suppress a bursting grin.
"Hey, ahjussi. Want to come over to our side?"
In the end, I couldn't resist blurting it out.