Chapter 70: How to Eliminate Dissatisfaction
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 70: How to Eliminate Dissatisfaction
Jeong-cheol realized he was utterly fucked.
At first, it was just curiosity.
He had been smoking a cigarette with a colleague when some clueless-looking guy came trudging out of nowhere, looking around their base as if he were sightseeing. Jeong-cheol had watched him with curiosity.
Anyone living around here couldn't possibly not know about this place.
Since they shook down anyone who so much as made eye contact for coins, ordinary people avoided this path entirely. That made the guy's appearance even more baffling.
He looked like a total pushover, too.
He was tall enough, but so scrawny and weak-looking that he seemed like he'd collapse with a single punch.
"Hey. Go check him out."
"Hyung, he doesn't even look like he has any coins. Let's just leave him be."
"You lazy bastard. Are you trying to half-ass your job?"
"Ah..."
The younger guy with him seemed just as reluctant to get up while smoking.
But what could they do?
Orders had come down from above not to let anyone who wasn't part of their faction wander near the Seongsu Station base.
Just as the younger guy was stubbing out his cigarette to stand up, the skinny guy muttered something.
"So this is the delivery riders' base."
"What? You crazy bastard?"
There was still some distance between them, so if he muttered it loud enough to be heard over here, he wasn't talking to himself—he was talking shit for them to hear.
Although the way he looked over suggested he hadn't realized they were there, his expression didn't show even a hint of surprise, which felt a bit off.
Is he crazy?
It was only logical to assume that anyone still alive after the apocalypse started wasn't normal.
The other guy walked up to him, said a few words, and then got slapped so hard he literally flew through the air.
"..."
Jeong-cheol felt that ominous chill once again.
He had pretty good instincts.
If I mess with him, I'm going to end up just like that.
Any thoughts of looking down on him as a skinny weakling vanished instantly.
This wasn't a problem he could handle alone.
"Take me to your leader."
Fortunately, the guy didn't seem to have any interest in Jeong-cheol.
He quickly led him to the boss.
No matter how strong someone was, there was no winning if they were surrounded and jumped by dozens of people.
Besides, the strongest people in their faction, including the leader, were all gathered inside the "building."
So, he brought him there.
He might get chewed out by the boss later, but...
...he definitely didn't want to get slapped into orbit like his buddy.
But when he saw even the boss get sent flying in the exact same way, he knew they were truly fucked.
Fortunately, the others rushed the skinny guy.
With absolutely zero sense of fair play.
The sheer coordination of their hesitation-free dogpile was so impressive it almost made him admire them.
It was incredibly cheap.
Even as an ally, he found it a bit much, but the outcome was even more shocking.
In that cramped space, the skinny guy threw a punch.
Crunch!
Was that a sound that could actually be made by a fist hitting flesh?
The guy who had been boasting about being the boss's Right-hand Man charged from the front, only to have his face completely caved in and slammed into the wall. The sight unfolded before Jeong-cheol's eyes in slow motion.
The skinny guy didn't even bother dodging the rest of the attacks.
Even though the blows landed squarely, he didn't budge an inch.
No matter if they were bare fists, those were the same fists that had beaten countless ordinary people into submission.
The skinny guy slowly turned his head and made eye contact with the ones who had hit him.
Jeong-cheol couldn't comprehend why the ones flinching were the ones who had the numbers advantage.
The skinny guy grabbed the arm of the man who had struck his shoulder and twisted it. It wrung like a dried pollack, snapping at a bizarre, unnatural angle.
"Aaaaargh!"
What kind of pain must that be?
He couldn't even begin to imagine.
It was his first time seeing such a thing.
That a human arm could be twisted so effortlessly, bone tearing through skin, until the entire limb was ripped clean off.
And that Right-hand Man was a monster with a Strength level of 4.
Standing nearly two meters tall, rumors said he had pumped himself full of steroids to bulk up his massive frame.
"Oof. That looks like it'd taste great roasted."
Holy shit.
Hearing him say that while literally drooling sent a violent shiver down Jeong-cheol's spine.
Only then did Jeong-cheol realize.
This guy is a complete fucking psycho.
We messed with the wrong person.
There are a few psychos in this world you should never, ever cross.
And this guy was one of them.
In the old world, he would have lived out his days as a shut-in in some corner of his room, or ended up rotting in prison for life after getting caught as a serial killer.
But now, in a world plunged into a zombie apocalypse, a bastard like him was running wild.
It was as if the apocalypse had flipped a switch inside him.
The building fell dead silent.
Only the muggy, suffocating heat clung unpleasantly to the air.
"Are you guys done?" the man asked.
"Then gather all the delivery rider bastards out front. Every single one of them, without exception."
Tossing the severed arm back to the Right-hand Man, the skinny guy walked out.
"Ugh, fuck. The smell of sweat. Wash yourselves once in a while, will you?"
The Left-hand Man, who had been watching the skinny guy leave, cautiously called out to him.
"Excuse me..."
"What?"
"Do we only need to gather the delivery riders?"
"..."
After a brief silence, the skinny guy replied.
"Do whatever you want. But if the number of people I want isn't there, you're going to end up with only one arm too."
"I'll gather every single one of them!" the Left-hand Man shouted vigorously.
---
Shouldn't rumors about me have spread around Seongsu-dong by now?
Why hasn't word gotten around to watch out for some crazy guy wandering around alone?
No matter how many times it happens, the pattern of people only listening after blood is shed never seems to change.
All it takes is wrecking one or two of them and saying something psycho, and they'll turn pale and grovel like dogs, whether they're big or small.
"But seriously, that did look delicious."
I'd never seen someone with muscles that swollen before.
He looked like he'd built them up with steroids, but looking at just the severed arm, it resembled a jumbo drumstick so much that my mouth watered.
Of course, I didn't mean a human arm actually sounded delicious.
I should tear into a nice, big chicken drumstick when I get back home later.
Next to Seongsu Station.
People were gathered along the long, stretching road.
This seemed to be the gathering place for the Delivery Rider Faction.
Seeing how the road was neatly cleared and necessary supplies were stocked in the shops lining both sides, it made sense.
There were quite a lot of them.
Around three hundred or so?
I wondered if all these people could actually sleep here, but since the faction was estimated to be around four hundred strong, this wasn't even all of them.
I climbed onto what looked like the platform where their leader used to stand and address them.
I spoke to the gathered crowd.
"Your boss is dead. I killed him."
A commotion rippled through the crowd.
Of course, I didn't actually know if he was dead or alive.
He was probably alive, right?
I'd slapped him pretty hard, but if he had decent stats, he wouldn't die from just that.
Though he might have to live with a permanent disability.
Well, his life as a boss was effectively over anyway.
"Who was that cocky guy next to him? The Right-hand Man?"
"Yes. I'm the Left-hand Man."
"Well, the Right-hand Man probably can't be the right hand anymore. Because his right arm is gone."
"...!"
The delivery riders in the front row looked utterly bewildered by this nonsense, while the ordinary people in the back wore worried expressions.
This faction was definitely dominated by delivery riders; their numbers were far greater.
About half? Or maybe even more.
The rest seemed to be ordinary people. It made me wonder why a faction like this had stayed so quiet.
Maybe they would have stood out more if they had cleared the roads.
"From this moment on, I rule the Delivery Rider Faction. Of course, I don't plan on running things entirely on my own. Even if I took out your boss, just swallowing up this faction right away would be a bit shameless. Besides, why would you guys trust and follow me? Right? So, if anyone has a complaint about me—the temporary boss who defeated your leader—step forward."
At that, a group of delivery riders from the front row stepped forward in unison.
"What a load of horseshit. This is fucking hilarious. You won with a cowardly surprise attack, and now you're taking over our faction? Even if the boss is gone, we'll manage on our own. We have no intention of serving a bastard like you, you ugly piece of shit."
"Whoa. That's a bit too personal."
I knew I wasn't exactly handsome, but getting insulted to my face about my looks still stung.
I was actually trying to be considerate in my own way.
I get the coins, and you guys get your freedom and comfort.
"And you, you motherfucker. Wagging your tail and sucking up to him already? Just you wait."
He spat curses at the Left-hand Man.
I looked at the Left-hand Man.
He looked slightly terrified.
His behavior didn't match his massive size, but as far as I was concerned, he was a sycophant I quite liked.
While guys like him were quick to betray, they were highly useful as long as there was profit to be made.
"Starting today, you're the boss here."
With those words, I stepped forward.
The delivery riders who had stepped forward lined up, with the rest of the crowd backing them up.
"Don't underestimate the loyalty of riders, you son of a bitch. No matter how strong you are, do you really think you can beat three hundred of us?"
Hmm.
I pondered it for a moment.
Now that all my stats exceeded level 10, could I win a fight against humans who weren't even on par with Level 2 zombies?
As long as my stamina held out, absolutely.
At the very least, inside a safe base, there was virtually no way I could lose.
Besides, I wouldn't actually have to fight all three hundred of them.
"Delivery riders have loyalty?"
"You son of a bitch!"
"I'm just curious. Perfect. Let's find out today."
I ran for the first time in a while.
Pushing off with one foot, I closed the distance to the loudmouth in an instant.
Before anyone realized it, a dagger was already in my hand.
Since this was technically the start of a 1-versus-300 battle, I should probably go all out.
The moment I took a step, I activated [Cat Step]. The loudmouth couldn't even register me appearing right in front of him.
It was a fascinating phenomenon.
Not just him, but everyone nearby was still staring at the spot where I had just been standing.
It wasn't teleportation.
Once Agility exceeds level 10, running at full speed produces such immense instantaneous acceleration that it simply looks like you've vanished.
But since I was coming from straight ahead, it wasn't that I was truly invisible.
They could see me, their reaction times were just too slow.
But when you add [Cat Step] to that, they fail to perceive me entirely. Their reaction time lags by more than a second, causing their brains to assume I've vanished.
Well, with that much time, plunging a dagger into an undefended neck is child's play.
"Gurgle... Urgh..."
I stabbed the loudest guy, then stabbed the one next to him.
There was no need to agonize over who to kill. I just had to slaughter everyone who had stepped forward. It couldn't be any simpler.
In the blink of an eye, about ten delivery riders collapsed to the ground, clutching their throats and convulsing.
"..."
"..."
The delivery riders who had been stepping forward to jump me were now backing away as far as possible.
They were probably retreating unconsciously.
Instinct.
"Aw, come on. What happened to your loyalty? Anyone else got a complaint?"
It seemed all complaints had vanished.