Chapter 328
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 328
Chapter Title: 133. Fair Trade (2)
One thing was certain: our outing wasn't a picnic.
"SKELTON. Why'd you stop all of a sudden?"
They say the best training ground is the real battlefield.
I didn't agree 100 percent, but there were things you could only learn in combat, so it wasn't entirely wrong.
"Su. What do you think will happen if we keep going straight ahead?"
Just as training curricula varied, real battles took on thousands of different forms.
It might be an oversimplification, but broadly speaking, there were easy battlefields and hard ones.
Teaching someone on a hard battlefield felt like some kind of black comedy.
In a place where even the teacher was likely to end up as a corpse, you could at least say there was meaning if they passed on their lessons through their death.
Provided the student didn't end up the same way.
The ideal training ground—one that would be popular and sought after—had to be an easy battlefield.
The lower the difficulty, the better.
Someone might argue that without any threats, what made it different from a training camp? But it was different. Definitely different.
Experiencing things you'd never tried or known before was a huge revelation and realization for the person involved.
I'd never raised a child, but people who had marveled every day at the small, slow discoveries their kids made.
It was similar.
"Hmm. Who knows?"
Su had talent in shooting and was indeed an excellent marksman, but all her life experiences had been monotonous sentry duties, mostly standing guard.
If she could spend her whole life guarding one outpost, there'd be no problem. But you never knew what the world might throw at you.
Our territory might break apart for some reason, forcing Rebecca and Su to venture out on foot, finding new places to live unlike their lives so far.
It was something we didn't want, but if we ever ran short on fighters and had to borrow Su's hands, she needed some experience to prepare.
Kids grew fast.
That little Su from the operation had already grown tall enough to reach my shoulder, and as the years passed, she might even surpass Rebecca or me.
In this world, anyone who could wield a gun in battle was an adult.
Clinging to pre-war naive standards was a personal freedom, but it didn't apply to those who attacked us to take everything we had.
"There are two cars blocking the road intersection, right? Any oncoming vehicle would have to slow down, don't you think?"
So we had to teach her.
"High speed won't dodge bullets, but the higher the speed, the better your chances of evasion—and more importantly, escape."
Ways for her—and maybe even Rebecca—to survive without me.
"So it's a trap?"
"Exactly. Road traps usually start by forcing the enemy to slow down."
"Why? Couldn't you just finish them off without warning?"
"Vehicles are valuable assets. Especially self-propelled ones—they mean working batteries or fuel at minimum. The guys ambushing here wait all day, maybe a whole month, necks on the line for a vehicle to pass. From a bandit's perspective, maximizing the haul from one opportunity feels rewarding, right?"
"Sounds like SKELTON's right."
On the way to Sejong—not too far away—I taught her a lot.
Not combat or killing techniques, but observation and decision-making.
Su especially needed to learn decision-making.
"SKELTON!"
She reacted sensitively to even the tiniest changes, raising her gun immediately.
A defensive posture was a virtue for women and children.
But even defensiveness needed proper boundaries.
The target Su had aimed at was a non-mutated Korean hare.
At least 600 meters away.
Similar incidents repeated several times on the road to Sejong.
The most dangerous was when we encountered a small group of refugees camping off the roadside.
At about 800 meters, Su tried to point her gun at the tiny ant-like figures watching us, like they were her mortal enemies.
"Su."
I snatched the gun with one hand.
"What's up, SKELTON?"
Su asked with a mix of confusion and annoyance.
"Su. You don't have to be hostile to everyone."
"But they're watching us."
"Think from their perspective. Wouldn't they be scared if strangers like us popped up out of nowhere?"
I lightly tapped Su's knit cap and handed the gun back, then spoke into the K-walkie-talkie.
"Just passing through. We'll be on our way."
I sped up the motorcycle and left the scene.
Of course, I didn't drop my guard until they were completely out of sight.
"Didn't you suspect those people too, SKELTON?"
Su suddenly asked after seeing that.
"Of course I did. But that doesn't mean we fight everyone."
Su looked puzzled, then asked.
"Why?"
"Do you shoot every kid you hate?"
"Well... no."
"Why hesitate?"
"I don't."
A bit further down the road, some interesting guests caught my eye.
A herd of wild boars.
They looked like normal wild boars, but comparing them to the barn nearby gave a sense of their size.
As big as a 1-ton truck. Mutations.
Su loaded her rifle—which still looked bigger than her—with a surprised expression and aimed at the boars.
Distance: 1,200 meters.
Not a meaningful range.
Especially for those with thick skulls.
Su knew that too, so she just watched, gun aimed.
We left them alone and waited.
Eventually, the boars spotted us.
They stared piercingly, snorted, and vanished into the bushes.
"What do you think?"
I asked Su.
Su lowered her gun, furrowed her brows slightly, and pondered.
"They ran away?"
"Why'd they run?"
"Scared of us?"
"Nope."
"Then what?"
I smiled faintly and gazed at the vast wilderness and fields where the boars had disappeared.
"Not all Mutations rush to kill humans. They may harbor hostility toward us, but not every one flips out and charges. Mutations living in nature often avoid humans altogether."
Schools don't teach this.
I wouldn't either.
The Mutations we meet on battlefields are mostly those hostile to us, ones that have no choice but to kill.
Hesitating with vague notions gets you slaughtered in seconds.
But in China, I'd seen plenty living as nature intended.
Even the Gold Pack got along fine among themselves.
"...The camp taught that all Mutations are bloodthirsty killers dying to slaughter humans."
Su couldn't take her eyes off the direction the boars had gone.
This lesson had probably shattered her common sense.
"Plenty avoid us because we're filthy. Well, if food runs out and we're the only option nearby, they'll come looking."
"So we don't need to kill every Mutation?"
"Precisely, we don't need to fight every Mutation. Same as those people earlier."
"The ones watching us?"
"Yeah. I don't know what training you got at camp, but for folks like us without a place to rely on, avoiding combat situations altogether is key."
"Through talking?"
"Talking depends. In chance encounters, it's better not to jump into conversation."
"Then how?"
"Read each other's tension. Think of two beasts crossing paths by accident. They growl, exchange glares, and back off, right?"
"...That's tough."
I gently stroked Su's head under her knit cap as she murmured in confusion.
"You learn bit by bit by observing. No one masters it all at once."
There was something I didn't say.
That this crumbling world was harsher on women like Su—foreigners at that—than on sturdy men like me.
That wasn't a topic for now.
In curriculum terms, it was advanced material.
Passing fields and mountains deepening in autumn hues, we arrived at our destination: Sejong.
A vast ruin nestled in plains surrounded by mountains, embracing a winding river.
Ruins, yes—but ruins with countless plumes of smoke rising from chimneys.
Sejong, currently Korea's largest city.
"That's Sejong?"
"Yeah."
"It looks huge."
"It is. Lots of people too."
Su showed excitement.
Kids always crave new things.
Instinctual curiosity, probably.
That curiosity lets them learn plenty.
"Got your sunglasses?"
"Yeah."
But whether the new was good or bad? We'd see.
"Let's go."
Sorting the jade from the stones—that was our role as adults.
*
Cities that grow do so as fast as kids.
Sejong had expanded and prospered more each time I visited.
When I first came, streets were divided into slave zones and bandit zones. Now, prosperity overflowed without distinction.
So many people.
Hard to adjust to at this point.
"SKELTON. There are tons of people."
Su, riding behind on the bike, leaned forward and whispered as I walked the motorcycle by hand.
"Keep your wits about you. In cities like this, they cut your nose off while your eyes are wide open."
Truth be told, I was the one who needed to stay sharp.
No more gatekeepers at Sejong's entrance.
There were guards at the city gate, but no one came out to greet every wandering vehicle anymore.
Vehicles, carts, bicycles, and wagons flowed in and out freely.
The abandoned wasteland had become farmland, golden rice and crops bowing before harvest, windmills spinning vigorously beyond.
Along the main road, endless stalls piled high with pre- and post-war goods. Musicians in makeshift bands played, begging for supplies.
"SKELTON. This really feels like a city!"
Yes.
A real city.
A real human city, built by our forum user, King.
"Oh. SKELTON!"
King was still going strong.
Still in flashy suits, now hiding his zombifying face behind a fresh, vibrant lion mask from who-knows-where.
Su eyed the city king with a mix of fear and curiosity.
"Who's this?"
King took interest in Su.
"Daughter of a comrade from our territory."
"Ah, I see."
After brief greetings, we entered King's office.
As soon as we did, King turned his back, removed his mask, and let out a heavy sigh.
Couldn't see his face, but the thinning hair on the back of his head was clear.
"...".
King's death was still in progress.
"IAmZeus made contact, huh?"
King flipped his mask back on and turned to me.
I nodded.
Thud.
King placed something on the table.
A gold bar.
A hefty one, easily 5kg.
They say precious metals mean nothing in the apocalypse. Eh.
They still held old power.
We humans gave them meaning.
Gold especially enchanted human souls across eras.
"Chinese love gold."
King pushed the bar toward me.
"500g of silver's plenty."
Decline excessive pay.
Common sense.
No such thing as free in this world.
I pushed the gold back.
"Can't take something this big. We just want a laptop and a gaming console at most."
King pushed it back.
His gloved hand moved with stubborn resolve.
"Buy everything IAmZeus wants."
So King's aim was IAmZeus after all.
I'd expected as much.
I had words on the matter anyway.
"You still see IAmZeus as your successor?"
King nodded.
Without a flicker of doubt.
"...Really?"
IAmZeus was a powerful Awakener, sure.
At least Over Level 10.
Same tier as that Woo Min-hee.
But no matter how near-omnipotent his powers, he was immature.
More than that—below average.
He'd had a rough childhood.
Su had tough times too, but her loving mother was always there.
IAmZeus bore wounds from childhood, festering with them.
The breaking point was seeing his father's pathetic corpse—the man he hated yet loved.
Mimicking a cicada was his way of saying he didn't even want to pretend to be human anymore.
I liked IAmZeus, but I didn't think that thoroughly broken kid could run this vast, vibrant city.
Honestly, the miracle was him messaging me to buy a gaming console.
"IAmZeus lacks the ability to run this city. He's nothing like you."
King replied.
"This city still needs power."
I shook my head.
And shared my thoughts.
"Power alone doesn't make him an adult. He's a kid who grew a body but not a mind. On top of that, his heart's badly scarred. You're saying hand a city of tens of thousands to a guy like that? Isn't this the place you built with your life and soul?"
No matter how the world declined, modern folks knew democracy and history's foolish failures.
Small groups could be ruled by force.
Like that DS guy.
But could you dominate a bustling city like this on raw power alone?
"Teach him."
I sighed as King slumped back unusually weary.
"Teach him."
I almost added more but stopped.
Hearing "teach" made me think of Su involuntarily.
Instead, I stared hard at King's face.
Through the mask's eyeholes, his Awakener glow and unyielding will shone, but I could feel it.
The inescapable dread behind that strong gaze.
"...I don't have much time left."
I knew.
One corner of King's office held an empty oxygen tank.