The Market's Second Day
I stared at the can of soup in the woman's hand, my voice flat. "What the hell is this? Twenty cans for sale?"
She tilted her head, smiling politely. "Survival-grade water filter. Portable, you can carry it around and use it right away. Just feed water through it and it strips out the virus, leaving everything else clean. And you can reuse it indefinitely."
Indefinitely? That sounded too good to be true. Boiling water for viruses was one thing, but using plain water for everything else made sense in a pinch. Besides, who needed fancy cans when you could just raid them later anyway? Price was the last thing on my mind.
"You need this for survival too, don't you? Why sell it?"
"I already have one. Food's running out fast, so I have to sell whatever I can. A lot of people are watching."
He looked like a solid mid-fifties guy, decent-looking, the type who probably camped back in the day. Camping gear and survival gear weren't all that different.
Thinking about it, guys like me who could just raid and grab food without breaking a sweat were probably rare. For normal people, every can was precious and hard to come by. I'd already taken the lives of over two hundred people and collected their souls for food.
My bag was stuffed with preserved food for trade. I pulled out a can from the fighter's duffel bag and handed it over while grabbing the portable filter.
After the deal, I turned and spotted a woman in the distance. She wore workout clothes that moved with her body, a shotgun slung over her shoulder. Did she even know how to use that thing properly? Her face was too pretty to ignore.
It was like a sculpted masterpiece, purer than any actress. Clean-cut features with a strange, sexy edge. Her smile looked even sweeter. And her figure was perfectly balanced—slim waist, full breasts, hips that weren't too much or too little.
She walked around the market with a group of men, laughing and greeting the locals. This had to be someone connected to the apartments around here.
I couldn't stop staring. I kept looking.
"Hey, that woman's super pretty."
The fighter next to me spoke up.
"You think so too? Actress? You recognize her?"
"Nope. First time seeing her. But she looks prettier than most actresses."
Just then the guy I'd traded with opened his mouth. "She's gorgeous, right? She's the apartment district's senior executive. Smart as hell too. Used to be a researcher at some big corporation called Shinsung."
Shinsung—the biggest company in Korea. A researcher there with looks and brains? She had it all.
Something pulled me toward her. The men around her stepped in front of her like bodyguards the second I got close.
It was that feeling—pretty women drawing in wolves who circled them, desperate to grab attention. The way they glared at me told me everything.
"Relax. What do you want with me?"
The woman gently pushed the guy aside, smiling. She scanned me up and down, eyes full of curiosity. Of course—she was looking at the world's top-tier looks. Compared to her, who had the edge? Still, the robot said I was the world's greatest appearance, so maybe I was ahead.
"I heard you're the district executive."
"Ah... I'm more like the market's manager. I helped set this place up."
She handled my strange presence without flinching. Probably because of my looks.
"You do good things in a world where everyone kills each other."
"Food's short... so we're growing our own. Trying to make as much as we can self-sufficient."
"Living near here?"
"Yeah, I have an apartment close by. Do big mart people trade too?"
I asked about the big mart. They had the most stuff around here—did they even do deals?
"No... we should let them sell more. We suggested it, but they refused. No need for extra stuff, I guess. Plus they're pretty aggressive."
"Why? They probably have plenty of food."
"Back at the start it was 'we'll wipe out the raiders.' Moral superiority or whatever. But so many people were starving... most of them regular folks. And they kept doing bad shit."
"So they became warlords?"
"Yeah. A lot of people have guns. They keep expanding their power and killing anyone who crosses them easily."
Her voice was smooth and pleasant. My surroundings had some decent-looking women, but this one? She was on another level. If I ranked actresses by looks, she'd probably be first.
"No more talk. I have things to do. Nice meeting you today."
"Me too. I'm Lee Seo-jun. Let's meet again sometime."
"Oh, I forgot to give my name. I'm Ryu Si-a."
She smiled sweetly and turned. The men around her shot me angry glares, like guards facing a queen bee.
How could I make her mine...
She was a high-ranking woman in a big group. Kidnapping her wasn't easy. She already had plenty and plenty of followers. Nothing to regret.
In the old world I could have just gotten her number and approached naturally. But not anymore.
Should I go visit her every day and ask her out? Dating in this world? It sounded nice, but I should probably take her on a real date.
The thought of her with men who treated women as sex slaves made me chuckle.
The market was just a quick look around, so I headed home.
"Looking at the market, it might be possible for the world to return to normal."
The fighter opened his mouth cautiously.
"If people could stop fighting each other and become self-sufficient... maybe. But the real problem is we can't trust each other anymore. Control's gone. Forget eating and living—right now it's like this."
"What?"
"Listen carefully. You hear nothing at all?"
I listened quietly.
"Hmm... still nothing."
My hearing had changed. I could hear a woman's faint cries and low voices from conversations clearly.
I ran toward the sound, weaving through alley after alley.
It came from inside a half-built building.
—Sob, gasp... stop... stop...
—Now we're starting. Hey, grab her nipple and shake it.
—Oh, her nipple's really sensitive. Look at her hips moving.
I hid behind the wall and watched.
Four young men were raping one woman. Next to them, a man with his hands tied, covered in blood, knelt on the floor.
It wasn't just one woman being attacked. The tied man was probably the woman's boyfriend.
The man fucking her laughed at the tied guy.
—Hey, your girlfriend's pussy's not bad. Body's hot too. I was going to finish and let you go, but we need to play more.
—Please... you promised... if we drop our weapons you'll let us go...
—Hahaha. You believed that, idiot. But after we're done, we'll spare you. That's better than nothing, asshole. This world's a miracle if you don't get killed.
The man wouldn't look at the woman, head bowed low. The girlfriend cried and moaned louder with every thrust. Her big breasts bounced wildly.
I told the fighter beside me.
"They're just raping anyone for food. Should I kill them all? Or save the couple?"
"Hmm... she doesn't look that pretty... but saving and letting them live sounds cool. Like a movie."
"Yeah, like a movie..."
Like a movie... Hero stuff? Sure, killing them all would be experience points from my perspective. But did that make me the bad guy?
I stepped out from the wall and stepped in front of them like the hero in the movie.
"Hey, stop. Let the couple go."
They jumped when they saw me. The rapist pulled out a weapon and the others grabbed theirs. Only a knife, sword, and metal pipe.
"What the fuck is this guy? You part of their crew?"
"Th-there's a gun! Fuck, be careful."
I saw the air gun on my back and they shrank back, terrified. I had to shoot before they ran.
—Bam!
I aimed and fired fast. One guy fell backward. The fighter jumped forward at the same time, and I charged with my spear.
They screamed or roared and tried to block, but the scared ones couldn't fight back.
Two dropped right in front of the fighter and me. One turned to run, but my spear hit his back.
It went straight through because I was so strong. The man wriggled, holding the spear sticking out of his gut.
"This... this... what do I do... gulp... someone..."
He still struggled after being pierced by the spear.
[Soul Devour 4]
[Super Regeneration: 205]
These guys were just easy experience points.
---
Super Regeneration
[205]