The Slave Market
As the sun began to rise, the dark warehouse gradually grew brighter.
The warehouse was a scene of carnage. Corpses lay scattered everywhere, and three more had died while bound. The survivors were three women and one man.
"Ugh, I'm a bit tired."
Kang Dohyun was exhausted from having spent the entire night having sex and playing truth games. He stretched and addressed the survivors.
"I don't have any more questions."
They all sighed in relief at having survived, but Dohyun raised the spear he was holding.
Shing! Thunk!
"Gurk!"
He drove the spear into the man's throat.
"But this one needs to die."
Fortunately.
You have acquired 243 Zombie Coins.
He'd expected it given how much the man knew, but the number of Zombie Coins confirmed it. The dead man had been a mid-level manager in this group.
Now only three women remained, and fortunately for them.
"I'll spare you. But you're my slaves now."
He said he'd spare them as slaves, then bound the women with rope so he could drag them along. The women, naked save for their shoes, were tied with rope and dragged along behind Dohyun.
Dohyun slung a large bag filled with looted goods over his back, gripped the rope in his hand, and stepped out of the warehouse. Then he began to walk.
The sight of a man carrying a large bag while dragging three naked women was certainly jarring, but people on the street paid it no mind.
Dohyun walked, humming a tune as he enjoyed the fresh morning air.
Shiver, shiver, shiver.
The three naked women shivered in the cold as they followed behind him.
After about thirty minutes of walking, they arrived at a tent near the Yangsancheon river.
"Dohun. Dohun."
The tent door was locked, so Dohyun shook the tent to wake his younger brother.
"Hyung? You're here?"
Dohun, roused from sleep, opened the tent door.
"....."
What met his eyes was his older brother grinning brightly, and three naked women.
"Hyung? What kind of trouble did you get into this time?"
"Trouble? What trouble? Let's pack up quickly. We've got somewhere to go."
Following his brother's words, Dohun immediately gathered their things and dismantled the tent. Once they were ready, he began to follow his brother.
As the brothers walked, the naked women followed behind them.
"Hyung? Is it okay to walk around like this?"
"It's fine."
At his brother's assurance, Dohun sighed and gave up, then asked another question.
"But where are we going?"
"Ah, to sell these bitches."
"What??"
Dohun made a baffled face at his brother's casual tone about selling them, so Dohyun explained.
"There's a slave market here."
"What???"
Dohun was shocked to hear about a slave market.
Yangsan had many people who had adapted to the apocalypse relatively quickly. So various goods were traded in the market, and one of those items was slaves. But the slave item was so impactful that the market was sometimes called the Slave Market.
Dohun had gathered various information from outlaw hunters yesterday, and one of those was about this special market.
It was early morning, but the sight of the two brothers moving with three naked women was too conspicuous. Still, most people pretended not to notice and passed by, but not everyone did.
A group of soldiers spotted the brothers and approached.
"Stop."
The soldier commanded in a forceful tone, and after looking at the women's appearance, he continued.
"You can't kidnap and drag around pretty girls just because they're pretty! Let them go right now!"
At the soldier's demand to just let them go, Dohyun found it absurd and answered with a laugh.
"These women attacked first."
Despite the answer, the soldier pulled out a baton with a stern expression.
"Let them go!"
At the absurd sight, Dohun thought, Another life will be lost. But his brother gave a different order.
"Dohun, subdue him. Don't kill him. Show your strength clearly."
"What? Got it."
Dohun briefly set down the bag on his back.
A confrontation between the soldier and Dohun naturally ensued.
"Ha!"
The soldier charged first with his baton, but Dohun easily dodged the attack and punched him in the stomach.
Thwack!
"Gurk!"
The soldier, hit squarely in the solar plexus, collapsed immediately and began vomiting.
The fight ended far too easily, even by his expectations.
Dohun thought it was too easy and put his bag back on, while the soldiers watching were shocked.
"The section leader was subdued in one go."
"The section leader is level 15??"
"There's a skill gap?"
And Song Changwoo, the squad leader leading those soldiers, was even more surprised.
Definitely level 20 or above.
Jang Hyungmu was known for his strength among soldiers in Yangsan, and seeing Dohun subdue him so easily, Song Changwoo immediately grasped the brothers' greatness.
Song Changwoo approached Dohyun with a smile.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. The section leader was a bit presumptuous."
"Ah, it's fine."
Though Dohyun said it was fine, Song Changwoo still asked cautiously.
"But where are you headed? If you go like this, you'll keep being misunderstood. And did those women really attack first?"
"Yes, that's right. We're going to the comprehensive stadium to get them verified and sell them anyway. So don't worry."
"Ah! At the comprehensive stadium. I understand. But you'll run into trouble while moving, so let me escort you."
"Then, thank you."
"I'm Corporal Song Changwoo of the New Busan Army."
"I'm Kang Dohyun."
After exchanging greetings, the two brothers began walking with Song Changwoo, and the women were still forcibly dragged behind them.
The Yangsan Comprehensive Stadium had become a unique market. It was a special market created by the combined efforts of four major organizations and the military, adapted to the new world where all goods were traded. As a result, humans were included among the traded goods.
As the brothers entered the stadium entrance with the three women, the guards on duty asked.
"What's this? Do you have entry authorization?"
When asked about entry authorization, Song Changwoo, who was escorting them, stepped forward.
"These gentlemen are high-level warriors. They have the qualifications to enter."
"High-level?"
Even with Song Changwoo's words, the guards gave suspicious looks, so Dohyun, too bothered to explain, signaled his brother to show them, and Dohun—
Swish!
—rushed at the guards, dodged their attacks, and lightly struck their weapons away with his hand.
He returned in just one minute with the weapons taken from both guards.
"....."
Dohun returned the weapons to the flustered guards and said.
"Do I need to prove it further?"
"No. Please come in. But you must not cause trouble inside."
Once their entry qualifications were proven, the brothers entered the stadium with the women.
Several tents set up by merchants were installed on the stadium grounds, and soldiers and warriors armed for theft prevention were stationed throughout.
As Dohyun tried to find a merchant to sell the women first—
"Hold on. Mr. Dohyun, humans can't be traded directly."
Even though it was a market where people were traded, ordinary people weren't traded — only those who had committed crimes or attacked first and were captured became trade items.
"Huh? Then?"
Song Changwoo stepped forward and guided Dohyun to an appraiser.
A man wearing a name tag that said Appraiser around his neck looked at Dohyun and the bound women and asked.
"Are these women criminals? Or people who attacked you first?"
"The group these women belonged to tried to kill me."
Having grasped the situation, the appraiser exchanged a few words with Dohyun. Through questions and answers, the appraiser confirmed that most of his answers were truthful.
The appraiser then went to the women and said.
"You must answer my questions truthfully."
And he asked the first woman first.
"Did you attack that person first?"
"No."
She answered no, but the appraiser judged it was likely a lie using his skill.
"Did you offer to sell your bodies first?"
"No."
This time too, it was likely a lie.
"Did you lure him to your hideout, the warehouse?"
"No."
She answered no again, but the skill was indicating it was a lie.
The first woman only told lies. So.
"Alright, this woman is your slave."
The appraiser used a special solution on the back of her hand to write Suitable.
"What? That person is a murderer! He's a murderer!"
The woman shouted, but Dohyun didn't change his expression at all.
Slap! Slap!
He slapped her hard twice and said.
"Shut up. You're being noisy."
"....."
And so the first woman shut her mouth, and the appraiser's gaze turned to the next woman.