Chapter 69: The Delivery Riders' Circumstances
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 69: The Delivery Riders' Circumstances
Seongsu Station was not a suitable place for delivery riders to park their motorcycles and gather.
With heavy foot traffic and a major road running beneath the station, parking motorcycles there was out of the question.
In the first place, there was no spot around Seongsu Station where delivery riders could park and gather in small groups to chat.
Even if there were, noise complaints would quickly roll in, forcing them to disperse.
However, once the zombie apocalypse broke out, these very conditions made Seongsu Station quite an attractive spot for the delivery riders.
While the main roads were blocked by cars and the surrounding streets swarmed with zombies, the elevated subway station overhead shielded them from the rain. There was no better place to gather and live.
Of course, that was only after dealing with the biggest problem: the zombies.
Thanks to a few proactive individuals, the delivery riders gathered here.
They hunted zombies, earned coins, and united to make Seongsu Station their base.
When zombies swarmed relentlessly for three straight days, they thought they were going to die, and indeed, many did. Yet, enduring that adversity only forged tighter bonds, and they pooled their strength, relying on one another.
Securing food wasn't a major issue for them either.
The area around Seongsu Station was packed with popular restaurants, and their motorcycles served as excellent transportation. They utilized their expertise to navigate any passable path, alleyway, or sidewalk.
Fortunately, most of the delivery riders had received decent skills.
To be precise, it was more accurate to say that any delivery rider without a good skill was already dead.
Even if it wasn't strictly about combat, they had all lived tough, hardworking lives, giving them the courage to charge at zombies without flinching. Thanks to this, the Seongsu Station delivery rider faction rapidly expanded its numbers.
They actively promoted themselves on online communities exclusive to delivery riders, drawing in every rider in the vicinity.
Of course, they didn't just recruit delivery riders.
A faction couldn't survive on delivery riders alone.
They took in people seeking safety, and naturally, a hierarchy began to form.
The dominant class, of course, consisted of the delivery riders who owned motorcycles.
Women were especially welcome.
Even men hated being cooped up in a gloomy, all-male crowd.
One by one, delivery riders started parading around with women on their arms, and soon, having a woman by one's side became a symbol of power within the Seongsu Station faction.
Though, that was probably true for any faction.
The Seongsu Station delivery riders had also gathered with good intentions at first.
In this newly dangerous world.
They had the mindset of uniting under a common bond to survive together.
How noble.
But as always, even the best intentions tend to warp over time.
The more they realized they held power.
And the more they understood how much they could accomplish in the apocalypse through the strength of their faction.
They changed.
No.
They didn't change. Rather, their hidden instincts were finally rising to the surface.
As they expanded their territory, they grew increasingly violent.
And they got away with it.
No one dared voice their complaints to the Seongsu Station Biker Gang.
Violence.
It had a way of making everyone behave.
If they fancied a woman, they would pester her daily, casually groping her and laughing it off as an accident.
They extorted coins and shook people down for protection money.
At some point, the ambitions of the Seongsu Station Biker Gang grew even larger.
"Let's clear the roads and expand our territory."
Their reasoning was that motorcycles, as a means of transport and mobility, were far superior to cars in an apocalypse like this.
They could easily navigate narrow paths and streets blocked by wrecked cars.
They capitalized on their strengths.
The people who had come seeking protection spent their days clearing cars off the roads to open up paths, while the bikers spent all day riding around, eating, and slacking off.
Meanwhile, they used their amassed coins to buy food, making their lives even more abundant.
"Fuck. Now this is living."
Compared to the old world where they had to grind out deliveries in rain or snow just to make a buck, the zombie apocalypse was heaven to them.
But in this heaven, there was one word you must never utter to these Celestial Dragons.
"Delivery boys."
"What did you just say, you son of a bitch?"
---
"Aren't they just delivery boys?"
"You crazy son of a bitch. Are you out of your mind? Who the hell are you?"
Puffing on cigarettes, the two hulking figures walking toward me looked like the type who loved picking fights with anyone.
Then again, my appearance probably made me look like an easy target.
"Why are you picking a fight with someone just passing by?"
"Picking a fight? You motherfucker, you're the one who called us delivery boys first."
"Huh? Are you a delivery boy? Why are you getting triggered when I wasn't even talking to you?"
"..."
I knew that.
That not every delivery rider in the world was a "delivery boy."
In fact, I didn't really have any bad feelings toward delivery riders.
If anything, my feelings were mostly positive.
Why were some delivery riders called "delivery boys" in the first place?
Wasn't it because they drove like absolute shit, ignored traffic lights, and made a ton of noise on the road?
But since I barely went outside during the zombie apocalypse, those nuisances didn't really affect me.
I hadn't ordered delivery all that much in my life, but there were times when I ordered because the time spent going out to pick up food was worth more than a small delivery fee. So, naturally, I had more positive feelings toward them than negative ones.
Even so, there was no deep reason why I called them delivery boys.
"I just called you delivery boys because you look like delivery boys. Guess I wasn't wrong."
"..."
Speaking every thought that crosses your mind isn't always wise, but if you have the power to back it up, there's no need to hold your tongue.
"Ha. You crazy bastard. Just get lost while I'm still being nice."
"Why? I came all this way on purpose. Is this your faction's place?"
"Yeah, you son of a bitch. What of it? You trying to start a war?"
"A war, huh..."
Would it even qualify as a war?
I lightly slapped the cheek of the punk running his mouth.
Smack!!!!!
With a sharp crack, the pig-like man was lifted off his feet and slammed face-first into the ground.
I gestured to the guy standing behind him.
Was he higher up in the hierarchy?
The smirk on the face of the guy who had been squatting and giggling instantly stiffened.
"Hey. You guys have a boss, right? Lead the way."
At least this one wasn't an idiot.
I expected him to fly into a rage because his buddy got thrashed, but he silently turned and walked inside.
Beyond the barricade surrounding the road lay another inner barricade, and at the center of the road was a large village of tents.
It was quite a fascinating setup.
It looked like a tent village of some indigenous tribe, something you'd rarely see in modern society.
There were pathways to navigate between the tents, and each tent housed smaller individual tents to divide their living spaces.
I wondered if they even had heating, but hey, if that's how they wanted to live, who was I to judge?
At the end of the path was an entrance leading into a building. When I stepped inside, I found a crowd of delivery riders gathered there.
"What's going on?"
"He said he wanted to see the leader, so I brought him in."
"Hah."
It was truly fascinating how every faction had a completely different vibe.
This place felt like it had a fairly structured hierarchy.
Although they were all gathered in a crowd, the space around the guy called the leader was clear, and a woman was snuggled up against his side.
"What is it?"
The leader asked me.
Even though I had shown up without any explanation, the leader recognized that his subordinate must have had a reason for bringing me in instead of just kicking me out. He was actually quite impressive for a delivery rider.
Since he seemed like someone I could talk to, there was no need to use force just yet.
The quest I had been given had two clear conditions.
Either dismantle them by force.
Or persuade them with words to submit to me.
Honestly, the latter was much easier and more profitable for me.
Getting 200 people to sign up for the Level 1 Membership would bring in 2,000 coins a week.
Especially since they were an organized faction, they'd be much more likely to renew their memberships than random individuals.
"I'm with the Seongsu Apartment Autonomous Organization. I'm here to deliver a message from our captain. I have a proposal for you."
"Let's hear it."
Both he and I.
Were completely relaxed.
Well, they say even a stray dog fights better on its own turf, so there was no reason for him to feel tense in a place crawling with his own men.
"First option: you resist, get absolutely pulverized by our faction, and more than half of you die."
"What a funny guy."
Laughter erupted from all around.
To guys who were confident in their own strength, my words probably sounded like utter bullshit.
After all, in this world, survival always equated to strength.
"And the second?"
As if the first option wasn't even worth considering, he asked for the second.
"Do you know about the Paradise Membership?"
"Of course. We actually went and got some food from there not too long ago."
So many people visited that I couldn't remember every single face, but it seemed this faction had also bought food from the park.
Then again, any decent faction would have plenty of coins, and buying food would be highly beneficial for some of them.
"Oh, really? Did you sign up?"
"Why the hell would we sign up for that retarded shit? We just have one guy pay for it whenever we go buy food."
"Hmm..."
I took a moment to self-reflect.
So this was how it felt when you called a delivery boy a delivery boy to his face.
Having the system I worked so hard to build get trashed right in front of my face brought a tiny tear to my eye.
And I hadn't even made my actual proposal yet.
Still, I gathered my courage and spoke.
"Get at least 200 of your people to sign up for the Paradise Level 1 Membership. Keep it active for at least five weeks."
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"Pfft, dumbass."
"I think this bastard has dementia."
"Hey. What are you, a salesman? Why the fuck are you coming here and talking crazy?"
Their sarcasm was top-tier.
"Why the fuck did you come all the way here to nag us about some retarded membership? If you brought a pretty bitch to offer her body while begging, maybe we'd consider it. But shoving your ugly mug in my face and expecting me to go, 'Oh, yes, yes, of course I'll sign up'? Are you out of your mind?"
"Sigh..."
I had to hand it to him.
This guy was a pro.
Smack!!!!!!
I hesitated for a brief second.
Would holding back here benefit me in any way?
If I went back, would there be a quest reward or anything to compensate for enduring the humiliation from this dumbass?
Probably not.
So, I shut his loud mouth for him.
If the first slap was a light tap, this one carried a bit of personal feeling.
Teeth rained down as blood splattered in all directions.
"You motherfucker. Watch your mouth."
As I spoke, I threw a punch, watching the multiple trajectories aiming toward my body.