Settlement Time Returns!

The next morning in the kitchen. I was having breakfast with the two women. Eunha stretched out a big yawn and shot Sa-eun a side-eye.

"Ah, seriously. Sunbae. Why do you keep waking up so early?"

Sa-eun smiled warmly at Eunha's whining. She took a spoonful of yukgaejang hot pot before replying.

"What kind of times are these? Waking up early can't hurt, right?"

"Najin sunbae already cleared out this whole area anyway. Sigh."

"You still never know."

"Najin sunbae, say something."

Eunha wasn't wrong. Before the blood I'd scattered in the alleys could even dry, reactions came flooding in. It felt so vivid, like my nerves were connected directly to it. After repeating this a few times, I even figured out the patterns of the zombies passing by.

Zombies normally shuffled around slow and sluggish. My body had memorized that pattern first. Right now, there were no reactions except for the occasional stray zombie. Well, they were all dried up anyway—no reactions to pick up.

"What should I say?"

I ate leisurely. I eyed the menu of short-shelf-life stuff and frozen foods. Topped with pristine white rice. Who in the apocalypse gets to enjoy a breakfast like this?

"I'm not complaining at all?"

At my words, Sa-eun beamed like she'd been waiting.

"Hear that? Eunha's the lazy one—surprisingly."

"Tch, seriously."

I shoveled a bite of steaming rice into my mouth and grinned. It was delicious. Maybe because I was eating with these two women. Hell, it even tasted sweet.

The two of them looked great too.

Peaceful. Fake peace, but still.

The conflict with Joo Jintae's crew wasn't resolved yet. But I didn't need to worry about that right now. I'd checked the revelation live—Joo Jintae's image was trashed. He'd be busy for a while. Probably needed to regroup.

So, time to take it easy.

After breakfast, we headed to the living room. I was chilling comfortably when the clear notification finally popped up.

'Huh?'

I was surprised by the notifications popping up one by one. The two women were too.

'What is this? Cumulative rankings?'

It seemed like they were totaling up everything we'd done so far and ranking us. Sa-eun didn't even make the list. Joo Jintae barely scraped third—and way behind second-place Eunha.

Eunha, who was actually second, was insane. I couldn't help glancing at her across from me.

Eunha smiled shyly.

"Whoa, awesome. Najin sunbae, you've taken down 200 already? Total butcher!"

"And you've got more Mutatio than me?"

Like she'd cherry-picked them.

"Psh, just got lucky!"

"Doesn't feel like just luck."

A chill ran down my spine. Total kills, I was still first. But where the hell had Eunha racked up all those Mutatio?

I looked away from her.

Did she get them in Sanggye-dong? Or after coming here?

Mutatio were supposed to swarm starting from the second trial. I'd been kinda looking forward to it. But I barely saw any. The only one I fought was that cockroach. Had she been secretly hunting the rest?

Why? Doesn't seem like she just stumbled into them. Does that mean she tracked them down and beat them?

Unless she had some Mutatio-summoning power. But was that even possible?

I checked her status window just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in case. Still glitched out. That was weird from the start.

Fuck, can't just ask her straight-up.

This was the kind of thing you figured out on your own, in secret. Even if I asked, she probably wouldn't tell the truth. Plus, it'd expose that I was peeking at status windows.

Even so, this was hard to believe. Sa-eun was shocked too.

"Whoa, Eunha. You're amazing."

"Nah, no biggie. Sunbae, if you went more aggressive, you'd beat me easy."

"No, but really."

"Anyway, the real star's Najin sunbae! Total solo show!"

Felt like she was bowing on the floor. I rested my chin on my hand.

For now—at least for now—I could still use Eunha. She was the one submitting herself.

But what's her real goal? If only I knew that.

No mind-reading skills? Even the constellations were quiet about her. Either they knew nothing or couldn't read her.

Somehow, it deflated me.

"Just grinding hard to survive. Solo show, my ass."

But that wasn't the end. The reward notification felt off somehow.

"Hm?"

"Huh?"

"Eh?"

We were all surprised at once. The reward system was different from last time.

I thought for a second, then my eyes widened. My heart started pounding faster.

This favored whoever hoarded the most ration coupons. I recalled how many I had.

38!

Even just picking the first option would net me 3,800—not bad at all.

But the second?

Random grade skill or artifact? Total gamble.

No telling what you'd get. Those precious coupons turning into a measly 1 point.

I sighed.

I could just go out and farm 40-50 zombies for points easy.

But how to resist this? Sa-eun sighed deeply.

"Haa, what to do? Pick the safe one?"

Eunha, next to her, shook her head.

"Nah, sunbae. Gotta go bold here!"

"But I only have four."

"Hehe, I've got more actually."

Eunha grinned smugly and casually pulled out 11 ration coupons.

I'd expected that—didn't surprise me. That's just how Eunha was.

Instead, she looked puzzled.

"Najin sunbae, you're not shocked?"

"Feels like you'd do anything."

"Ooh, so I'm living up to expectations? Whoa! This is new."

"What?"

"Nothing! Hehe."

"That ain't praise."

"Heehee, I'm really happy! Heehet."

What the hell? Eunha winked and smiled shyly. I looked away quick.

Just in case, I glanced at Sa-eun. She was mulling it over.

Even if it busts, it's still good.

I was leaning second option. Sa-eun shook her head.

"My dad always said: if your investment's small, play safe. I'm going first option."

Me and Eunha nodded like we got it. Eunha grinned wide.

"I'm doing the second!"

Called it. Time to summon.

"Arolong."

Classic 8-bit BGM from old games played, and Arolong appeared. Kinda growing on me.

"Yessir! Your idol, I'm your idol! Arolong here~!"

Sa-eun raised her hand first.

"Me, first option."

"Great!"

"Can I touch you?"

"Nope, just hand over the coupons."

"Hiiing."

Sa-eun handed over her ration coupons. Arolong took ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them, and they dissolved into light. Sa-eun stared at her hands. The light enveloped her and vanished.

"Whoa, it really came! 400 points!"

Eunha was different. She handed over her 11 coupons.

"Me, second option!"

"Oho, fun one, huh? You've come to the right place."

"I'm pretty fun, right?"

"Nah, just interesting."

Awkward silence. What was with them?

They know each other?

Eunha smiled warmly at Arolong, then their eyes sharpened like a staring contest. Arolong snorted and took the coupons. Popped them in her mouth.

"Alrighty. Gachaaaa~♡"

Arolong's body glowed. She blinked big about eleven times, then nodded.

"Got your items?"

"Yup! Love 'em."

"Aww, too bad."

"Heehet!"

I watched silently. Guess she got items. Maybe skills too.

Why the weird tension between Eunha and Arolong?

Not my business.

Focus on reality. Someone could lap me while I dilly-dallied.

I handed over my stack of coupons. Arolong's eyes went wide.

"Hyaah, champion vibes!"

"Just spin the gacha, quick."

One thing bugged me though. As Arolong reached for the coupons, I held tight.

"Hey, Arolong. These coupons useful later?"

"Nope."

That confirmed it. No future use for these coupons. If there was, she'd hesitate or give some vague "time will tell" bullshit.

From what I've seen, Arolong never lies. Hides truth, maybe.

So, trust Arolong. Handling NPCs is all about spotting their rules and playing by them.

"Alright. Second option for me."

"Hyaah, champion style! Gacha hot!"

Arolong spun in midair, struck all kinds of dumb poses, then swallowed the whole stack. Weird how she still looked cute.

What even was Arolong? Definitely not a normal lifeform.

Maybe someone's avatar?

Ridiculous thought. I smirked, then Arolong's body lit up in all colors. Vibrated a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠few times. She stopped blinking and gaped.

Looked genuinely shocked.

"Ooooh, this is why you hoard coupons!"

"Whatever. Good stuff?"

I wanted the gacha results. I don't worship gacha—probabilities always suck. But this time, I trusted my luck.

I looked away from Arolong to the notifications floating in the air.

Then I froze.

Th-these are my rewards?!

My jaw dropped on its own.