Chapter 98: The Urban Legend of the Seongsu Apartment Autonomous Organization
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 98: The Urban Legend of the Seongsu Apartment Autonomous Organization
[3 Points Acquired]
[Normal Mode Level Selection Ticket (★) x5 Acquired]
Along with the rewards for clearing Faction Quest 4, although 4-1 hadn't popped up yet, I knew it would appear soon.
People with guns tend to lose their patience quickly.
Especially with one of their drug production lines completely destroyed, every passing second would be infuriating.
It was only natural that they'd act on even the slightest clue.
In that sense, leaving behind the name of the Seongsu Apartment Autonomous Organization was a smart move.
"I have to move soon anyway, so getting caught in a random gunfight would be terrible luck."
This studio apartment building isn't a great place for a shootout yet.
With its bunker-grade durability, there's no real danger as long as I stay inside. Still, having bullet holes scarring the exterior isn't great, and if rumors spread that a gunfight broke out here, it might needlessly tarnish Paradise's reputation.
Once I move, there will be high defensive walls surrounding the place, so I can just set up a defense system and slaughter anyone who brings a gun anyway.
Either way, it's best to keep guns as far away from my base as possible.
And just in case, I had prepared a backup plan.
– Please report any bastards carrying guns. (50 Coins)
The delivery riders operate 24/7.
I recruited thirty of them to run on two shifts, but since about four of them died, they rotate in groups of thirteen, making deliveries across the various safe bases in Seongsu-dong.
Since their numbers are small, I wasn't sure if they'd spot anything, but I set up this membership quest so that any membership member—not just the delivery riders—could accept it. If there was any suspicious movement, a report would come in quickly.
As expected, a report came in around dawn.
Normally, I turn off notifications because I hate being woken up, but today I kept them on specifically for this quest. As soon as the report arrived, I packed my gear and headed straight for Seongsu Apartment.
The Seongsu Apartment Autonomous Organization.
At first, I had used their name just for fun.
I was trying to figure out how to deal with those pieces of shit at Seongsu Apartment, and I figured I could use other people who held a grudge against me to wipe them out.
And indeed, both the Delivery Rider Faction and the Orphanage Faction had paid Seongsu Apartment a visit.
The problem was that because I had caused such a massive scene, they didn't dare to actually attack Seongsu Apartment.
They could have at least tried to strike when I wasn't around, or targeted it when it was empty.
Because of that, the role of the Seongsu Apartment Autonomous Organization gradually began to warp.
Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that my own power had grown so much that I didn't even need to care about Seongsu Apartment anymore.
I barely even knew if they were still around.
Whenever someone asked who I was, I would just casually throw out, "Oh, I'm from Seongsu Apartment," but normally, I didn't have the time to spare a single thought for them.
So, as long as those tattooed thugs from the Seongsu Apartment Autonomous Organization didn't act up and get on my nerves, I had no reason to go out of my way to destroy them myself.
I still had Faction Quest 2, but the Seongsu Apartment Autonomous Organization hadn't even gathered enough people to qualify as a small faction yet.
I figured I could probably complete it by wiping out these drug addicts this time and then finding another small faction to crush.
That thought was solidified when I saw the drug cartel bastards surrounding Seongsu Apartment.
What the hell were they doing in the middle of the night?
They had their headlights glaring at full blast, blinding everyone, and they were pointing guns and actually shooting at people.
Right now, the streets around my Paradise studio building are too narrow for that many motorcycles to squeeze in anyway.
Furthermore, there are people who sneak out at dawn to buy food. If those people got shot and killed by these bastards on their way, rumors would spread that Paradise is dangerous, and some might even cancel their memberships.
That was why I had to protect it.
Paradise's outpost: the Seongsu Apartment Autonomous Organization.
Fortunately, protecting them didn't seem too difficult.
There were over a hundred people inside.
Some might not have come out, but that crowd was completely drawing the attention of the twenty attackers. And because of the glaring motorcycle headlights, those twenty couldn't even see each other clearly.
In a situation like this, [Cat Step] was the most effective tool.
I approached silently and slit one guy's throat.
I retrieved his gun and searched his body, stripping him of every last bullet.
I wondered if he had brought any drugs, but then again, they had come here to slaughter everyone, so it would be weirder if they had brought drugs with them.
Slowly, I went around killing them one by one.
Thanks to all eyes being focused on the guy shouting excitedly by himself, the other subordinates didn't pay any attention to what was happening to their comrades.
Well, of course.
They had a whopping twenty firearms.
One for each person.
Whether it was a rifle or a pistol, they were armed. What did they have to fear?
The barricade was a shield for the residents, but conversely, it was also a shield for the gunmen.
If a crowd suddenly rushed them, the barricade would act as a breakwater to stop them.
That was why they felt safe.
Even if zombies came, they could just shoot them down, and no idiot would dare challenge a heavily armed force like this.
Except for me.
Had I killed about four of them?
They finally seemed to notice.
But it was already too late.
The moment they turned around to guard their rear, their widely spread formation became completely useless.
They had spread out to surround Seongsu Apartment, but to defend against an attack from the outside, it was as if they had come individually rather than as a group of twenty.
Just for fun, the moment they realized something was wrong, I turned off the headlight of the motorcycle belonging to the guy I had just killed.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, but the trajectory didn't even come close to me.
The darkness of dawn.
And Cat Step.
They knew someone was killing them, but they couldn't identify who.
How terrifying must that be?
Deep down, they probably wanted to run away.
Even if they focused all their senses and looked around, human vision inevitably has blind spots.
Unless their guns could shoot in a 360-degree arc.
"Ugh."
When there were about five of them left.
Realizing they couldn't win, some of them started trying to flee on their motorcycles.
As expected of people relying on guns, they should have run away a long time ago, but they took far too long to make the decision.
And here I was, killing them slowly on purpose so they could run away.
Instilling terror aside, there was no need or reason to kill every single one of them.
These guys needed to keep viewing Seongsu Apartment as their enemy so it would be easier for me to keep coming back and picking up the scraps.
Of course, that didn't mean I had to let all five of them go.
I chased down and killed the loudmouth who had been shouting in front first, then pursued two more and shot them dead.
Any more than that was impossible, no matter how high my Agility was.
Besides, leaving about two alive to explain what happened was the right move anyway.
"Wow. But that was intense."
That's a lot of guns, the kind of arsenal you'd only expect to see in a zombie apocalypse.
Where on earth did they get all of this?
Even in Korea, there are actually quite a few ways to get your hands on guns.
The problem was that a drug cartel, which was basically a den of criminals, was armed to this extent.
Maybe they had emptied out their entire armory for this.
Or maybe this level of gear was something they could easily pull off if they pushed themselves a bit.
Next time, they'll probably come back with even more people and heavier gear.
[Faction Quest 4-1]
– Having lost their production branch, the drug cartel launched a night raid on the "Seongsu Apartment Autonomous Organization," whom they suspected of attacking them, but failed. Defend against the attack of the drug cartel who came to reclaim their drugs, and dismantle one more of their branches.
– Clear Conditions
– Rewards: 4 Points, Normal Mode Level Selection Ticket (★) x5, Faction Quest 4-2 Link, Safe Base-Exclusive Defense Turret (★)
"Yes!"
It was great that the 4-1 linked quest appeared, but getting a Safe Base-exclusive item was an absolute jackpot.
Safe Base-exclusive items have performance that is on a completely different level compared to things you can build through normal construction.
For starters, the fact that they can be upgraded makes all the difference.
The walls currently surrounding Seoul Forest are also Safe Base-exclusive outer walls that I heavily customized and installed, and I've already upgraded them to boost their durability.
But just having sturdy walls isn't enough to keep out zombies or intruders.
In the end, you need weapons to defend those walls.
I've been gathering more than enough weapons, but I can't exactly climb up the walls to fight back every single time an enemy attacks.
I was wondering what to do and kept checking whenever the Visiting Black Market Merchant arrived to see if he was selling any cool items, but I couldn't find any decent Safe Base-exclusive items.
As expected, quests were the answer.
Only by doing lots of quests could I obtain the good items needed to develop my base.
"A turret is more than enough."
Once I get one, I can custom-order more from the Visiting Black Market Merchant, so it won't be an issue.
No matter how many coins it costs, if I set them up securely, I won't even have to wake up to deal with raids like tonight's.
"What? What happened?"
Watching the members of the Seongsu Apartment Autonomous Organization climb over the barricade to assess the situation late, I quietly slipped away.
I had already looted everything worth looting. The only things left were the drug cartel's motorcycles, and I had already told the Delivery Rider Faction to come and take them immediately.
Even if the Seongsu Apartment Autonomous Organization wanted to take them, it wouldn't be easy.
They were already completely terrified.
The next day.
A bizarre urban legend began circulating on the Paradise Gallery.
– I heard gunshots and chaos at Seongsu Apartment yesterday. But looking at it today, there barely seem to be any casualties?
– There's a rumor that they slaughtered the entire armed group that came on motorcycles.
– Do they have guns there?
– No. Not Seongsu Apartment. I mean they just slaughtered the guys who brought the guns.
– How? Did blind people bring the guns or something?
– IDK;; Seongsu Apartment must be fucking strong.