Chapter 64
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Proof of Sincerity
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*Clap!* And since I still wasn't over it, I slapped her once more.
Blood trickled from her split lip. Clear handprints were etched on both her cheeks. Well, a good amount of time had passed since then anyway, so maybe I'd leave it at this for now.
I forcibly hauled her kneeling body to its feet. With tears streaking her face, she kept mumbling, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"So, what is it you want to say?
You're not really here just to apologize, are you?"
Only after I asked did her dazed eyes return to normal.
"...Please save Shelter D."
"Why should I do that?"
She glanced around before opening her mouth.
"Shelter D's leader, Ben, is planning to attack Shelter Apocalypse."
As the saying goes, a cornered rat will bite a cat. Shelter D, with its dire food situation, didn't have many options. Either submit to another shelter or attack one to secure supplies.
It was obvious what conclusion a power-hungry guy like Ben would reach.
That's what I thought... but there was also the chance she was lying.
I shook my head slowly and asked her,
"How can I trust you?"
She pulled a dagger from her bosom. The nearby residents, thinking it was a threat against me, drew their guns. Her dagger swung.
But the dagger swung toward none other than her own finger. The severed finger rolled across the floor. My first thought upon seeing it was...
'A tough bitch.'
I knew she was tough, but this was even tougher than expected. Teeth chattering from the pain, she muttered,
"I'm not sure if this answers it..."
"How much do you think your finger is worth?"
Without a word, she raised the dagger again. One finger wasn't enough, so now two? No, maybe the wrist this time? Given that she'd just cut off her own finger, she was more than capable.
I had no desire to watch gore up close, so I slapped the dagger from her hand. Then I staunched the bleeding from her finger. She hadn't even thought to do it herself.
"Thank you."
"...Fine, I'll hear you out. Why are you telling me about this plan?"
"Because you're far better than that mad leader. If we attack Shelter Apocalypse, we'll all die, right?"
"You're not wrong."
"Truth is, Ben knows that too. He's investigated Shelter Apocalypse in detail through us and even his personal informants."
"Is that so?"
"You ran into that monster yesterday, right? The giant one."
I frowned.
"Was that your doing?"
She gave me an ambiguous look—neither confirming nor denying—and said,
"We never intended it from the start. Running into that monster was pure coincidence anyway."
Ben had personally led Shelter D residents out for farming. Their target: Hansol University. The reason? Hoping to find seeds or seedlings in the agricultural lab.
And right as they entered Hansol University, they encountered the horrific monster—a Tyrant. They resisted with gunfire, but it was no match for the thing.
In the end, they fled in a panic.
Six trucks set out, but only three made it back alive. The remaining three trucks were on the verge of being caught by it.
Ben not only used the residents in his own truck as bait but, while the monster was distracted by the bait, tied up Jang Tae-hwan—who'd been bitten by a zombie—with a rope.
In a cruel twist, he even ordered the man to blow a whistle to draw the monster's attention. Threatened with harm to his family back at the shelter by Ben's command, he kept blowing the whistle nonstop...
Seizing that opening, they managed to escape. And they succeeded in trapping the Tyrant by its leg.
"That night, Ben, consumed by madness, muttered that we should use that monster to attack Shelter Apocalypse. The funny part? His executives agreed. They even praised it as a great plan."
Midway through her story, I pulled out a small camera and snapped her photo. *Click.*
"Is that so?"
"But then the monster vanished. Probably your doing...? Unable to use it, he changed the plan. Pretend to submit to the shelter... and strike Shelter Apocalypse...."
One more shot. *Click.*
"Did only the executives agree?"
"Yes, for now. But if people hear the plan, they'll probably agree too. They're that starved..."
In short, there were no real alternatives.
"Got it."
She laid out the plan. It involved killing Ben and the executives who'd agreed.
"If you just kill Ben and the executives who agreed, Shelter D will collapse on its own.
Then do whatever you want with me... I just ask you to spare the rest. They're innocent. All the blame should fall on me and Ben..."
I nodded.
"But if the two of us meet like this, won't others find it suspicious?"
As I posed the question, I pressed the shutter one last time.
"I told Ben I was going to seduce you with a honey trap, so they probably won't think it's weird."
With that, she roughly tore her skirt with the dagger. Her underwear was exposed, but she didn't care—she turned the skirt into rags. She even slightly pulled aside her underwear.
"Good enough."
With a blank expression, she rose from the table where she'd been sitting. She glanced at me, then hooked her arm through mine, and I didn't refuse. Together, we headed toward the steel barrier.
Sophia entered the barrier first, and the girl I'd been looking for—Yuna—came out. Hm... I'd meant to ask her about Jang Tae-hwan, but now there was no need.
Of course, I couldn't very well tell her to go back in, so I chatted with her instead.
"Oppa, um... did you and Sophia unnie...?"
She seemed to think I'd raped Sophia or something.
I didn't answer and stayed silent. If there was something to hide from others, I had to hide it from her too. In case she let the truth slip to someone, and it reached Ben's ears.
And because the fact that she'd told me the plan could come out.
"Haha... well, guys and girls can do that sometimes..."
She spoke with a deflated expression. Maybe disappointed in me. To change the subject, I signaled the residents to hand her a box of canned goods.
"The canned food I promised last time."
It didn't take long for her face to brighten again. She pulled out a can from the box and glanced at me.
"Eat it."
*Click.* With the sound of the can opening, she started devouring it ravenously.
"Oppa, thank you so much. And sorry for the ugly display. It's just been so long since I've eaten..."
Embarrassed, she bowed her head deeply to me.
"How's the situation in Shelter D these days?"
"It's getting worse by the minute. People's discontent... it's on the verge of exploding... Some are even saying we should leave this place right now."
She chewed steadily, then gulped down the bottled water I handed her before continuing.
"But Ben said to wait just until today because he has a great plan, so we'll have to wait. No other choice. Oh, and more and more people want to head to Shelter Apocalypse."
She still didn't know what that "great plan" was. I nodded. That was enough.
"I'm glad you gave it to me, oppa... but I'm a bit worried. They'll probably try to take it from me..."
No food, and your neighbor has some? People's reaction was predictable.
"It's fine."
Even if they took it, it was okay. Shelter D would be gone starting tomorrow anyway. With that, I gave a faint smile.
"I hope I see you again next time, oppa. You'll... come visit again, right?"
"Yeah. Next time, I'll bring something even better."
With that, I left Shelter D. The whole way back, I kept a stone-faced expression. To the point where residents found me intimidating.
Back home, I immediately met with Queen and showed her the photos from the camera. I planned to use Queen's facial analysis to confirm if Sophia was telling the truth.
"Analyze the truth or lie in the expression of the woman in these photos."
「Confirmed.」
Queen peered intently into the camera before continuing.
「Analysis complete. The first, second, and third photos all show a 99% probability of truth.」
Surprising, in a way.
"Today's weather."
To my question, she gave an unexpected answer.
「Based on analyzing Master's expression, I believe you're planning something today.」
"No need to analyze that."
「Understood. Master's life is as good as my own. Without Master, Queen can no longer receive maintenance. Without Master, stable power supply becomes impossible. Without Master...」
That line—if said between lovers—would be on the level of a confession, right? Was this the fabled confession attack? Only then did I let a slight smile creep onto my face as I shook my head slowly and said,
"Don't worry. I'm not going to die."
It wasn't a Tyrant—just some no-account Shelter D leader. The arena would have no defenders, just a goalkeeper. Even if I tried to die against him, I was confident I wouldn't.
Only then did Queen nod with a face that seemed to trust me. An android showing concern for someone... I thought Queen had grown a lot in that time.
'Time to make a plan.'
Sophia had proposed using a honey trap on Park Si-hyun, but Ben opposed it. He had a crush on her, after all. But she went anyway, as if to show him.
And she returned with her skirt torn to shreds. Plenty of residents witnessed it. What had happened to her was plain as day.
Ben spat toward Sophia, who lay listlessly on the bed.
"You filthy bitch, was it good screwing that bastard?"
Sophia said nothing. She just pulled the blanket over herself and lay still.
"I told you to become my woman when I said so—then this wouldn't have happened."
Ben clicked his tongue and left. She stayed like that for a while before quietly getting up. Wiping away her gloomy expression, she headed outside with a normal face.
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