The Neck-Cutting Ghost
The residents of the 1st floor stood before the main gate, murmuring among themselves.
“They opened the black market again, I hear.”
“Are those idiots unaware it’s cleanup week?”
When the guards stormed the black market, the criminal organizations scattered in panic, attempting to flee. Most were captured. Smaller groups, aside from the major syndicates, were utterly destroyed.
“There’s a disgusting number of them.”
One resident spat toward the gate.
Nearly a hundred people had been arrested that day alone. The captured members were being strung up one by one along the main gate, their heads displayed for all to see. With so many, rotating the displays was no easy task.
“Be careful, or you’ll end up like this.”
The guards shouted at the residents with stern faces. It might have sounded like a threat, but from their perspective, it was unavoidable. Cleanup week had to be enforced thoroughly, and even grievances had to be processed quickly.
“So there really were that many vermin crawling around the 1st floor?”
The residents clicked their tongues. They had known criminal organizations existed, but most had no idea their numbers were this large.
Yeon Cheong, standing among the crowd, stared at the severed heads and thought to himself.
‘Roughly thirty percent. That’s the ratio between 1st floor residents and criminal organizations.’
Three out of every ten people were involved with criminal groups. It spoke volumes about how lawless and bleak the 1st floor truly was.
The 1st floor was a paradise—or a hell—for those who had nothing left to lose. Compared to the outside of the Tower, the inside was practically an oasis. At least here, people were given a space to eat, sleep, and rest. The portions were small and the nights cold, but it was still better than the outside.
Out there was a lawless zone where countless monsters and human scum constantly hunted for lives. The residents of the 1st floor were people who had fled from that place—either those who had wandered in from beyond the Tower or those born within its walls.
‘Once the desire to survive fades, greed naturally takes its place.’
As Yeon Cheong thought, the outside of the Tower was a place where survival itself was constantly threatened. Once inside, at least one’s life was guaranteed. The daily chance of death dropped from seventy or eighty percent to less than five. The numbers weren’t exact, but they illustrated just how dangerous the outside was—and how relatively safe the inside of the Tower could be.
Yet this very safety exposed the chronic problems of the 1st floor. Humans, once satisfied with survival, began to covet other things. With their lives secured, their eyes turned to others’ food and basic desires.
There was a reason criminal organizations had formed on the 1st floor. Living faithfully to those desires meant stealing from fellow humans. Even with guards maintaining order, crime rarely showed itself openly. Without absolute surveillance, justice depended solely on rumors and eyewitness accounts. Murders, robberies, and rapes were buried and forgotten. These were the crimes of those with nothing left to lose. Even the higher-ups in the Tower could not completely uproot every crime on the 1st floor. It was simply human nature—ugly, deeply rooted, and cultural.
“Cheong, aren’t you heading to the distribution center? I heard there’s extra rations today.”
“Yeah, extra rations aren’t something that happens often.”
Jin Hong spotted Yeon Cheong in the crowd and waved. He nodded and slowly made his way out.
On the way to the distribution center, everyone on the street was talking about the black market incident from the previous day.
“I heard the Black Wolf Group was almost completely wiped out.”
“I’ve never seen any of them hanging from the gate.”
“Most of them were already dead, apparently. Besides, the Black Wolf members hide their identities, so unless someone points them out directly, no one knows who’s who.”
“Weren’t they basically under the deliverymen’s command?”
The Black Wolf Group had operated with a small number of members, but each one possessed considerable combat ability. Most had killed before and could hold their own even against apprentice deliverymen.
“How should I know, damn it! If I knew, I’d be an information broker. We’re all just going off rumors here.”
When the guards had raided the trading site, the Black Wolf members had already been slaughtered. Their cleanly severed heads lay scattered across the ground. Even the 1st floor guards, hardened as they were, couldn’t help but retch at the horrific sight. It was so gruesome that rumors had already begun to spread.
“Have you heard of the Neck-Cutting Ghost? They say it appeared at the black market and cut off everyone’s heads.”
The 1st floor’s neck-cutting goblin—or ghost. A being that appeared at night to claim lives.
“A ghost, huh. You don’t believe in that kind of superstition, do you, Cheong?”
“Of course not. It’s just a rumor. No one’s even seen it. Even if it exists, if it has a physical form, maybe we could fight it.”
“Right. I feel the same. Even if the Neck-Cutting Ghost appeared right in front of me now, I wouldn’t even blink.”
Yeon Cheong chuckled at her words. After all, the so-called Neck-Cutting Ghost was referring to him.
“Oh, there’s Uncle Ben.”
Jin Hong smiled and waved enthusiastically. At the distribution center, Ben was handing out food to the residents.
“Uncle Ben!”
“Ha… I told you not to call me uncle at the distribution center.”
Ben sighed and muttered to himself. Being recognized by a distribution worker could cause serious trouble. For someone who had to distribute equal portions fairly to everyone, family connections were a liability. People often accused them of skimming rations for relatives.
“What? Uncle?”
As expected, Jin Hong’s words drew sharp glances from those behind them.
Yeon Cheong spoke quietly to her.
“Jin Hong, this is the street.”
“…Oh, right.”
Her bright personality was usually a good thing, but sometimes her lack of tact was hopeless. Still, that was part of why Yeon Cheong cared for her.
“Hey, distribution guy. Do you know those kids? They’re calling you uncle.”
An elderly man holding a sack asked Ben. Ben shook his head.
“I don’t. Even if I did…”
“If they’re family, look after them. I’m fine.”
Ben paused at the old man’s words. Most people on the 1st floor were greedy, but not everyone. Where there were villains, there were also good people.
“I don’t have much time left anyway. Seeing such lively kids makes me…”
The old man smiled warmly as he looked back. Moved by the memory, Ben handed him his rations.
“Distribution workers always divide things fairly, whether it’s for family or enemies.”
“Thank you.”
The old man smiled at Ben, who returned the gesture. But impatient voices rose from behind.
“If you got yours, move along! People are waiting!”
“At this rate, we’ll never finish serving everyone today!”
Ignoring the complaints, the old man slowly walked away. Ben lowered his head for a moment, sighed, and called out.
“Next.”
Time passed, and eventually Yeon Cheong and Jin Hong’s turn came. Yeon Cheong picked up a sack from the counter while Ben filled it with food. Jin Hong apologized in a small voice.
“I’m sorry, Uncle Ben… I mean, Mr. Distribution Worker.”
“It’s fine.”
Ben patted Jin Hong’s head as he distributed the rations. After his conversation with the old man, the usual furrow in his brow had eased.
“Please give us Chunja Halmae’s share too. We’re having dinner together tonight.”
“…That’s against the rules.”
“Chunja Halmae can’t stand in line at the distribution center.”
At Yeon Cheong’s words, Ben nodded. There was a limit to how much he could take anyway, and giving two extra portions wouldn’t change anything.
“It’s cleanup week, so we should eat dinner early today.”
“We should. The bread even looks fresh.”
“The guards released extra rations for once. Probably from their reserves.”
Because of cleanup week, resentment toward the guards had soared among the 1st floor residents. The extra rations seemed like an attempt to calm the angry crowd.
‘If the guards are releasing their reserves… No, thinking about it, they wouldn’t have any reserves to begin with.’
Yeon Cheong continued his thoughts. The guards weren’t exactly well-off either. Supplies were too tight for them to stockpile anything meaningful.
‘Guard Captain Kim Tam-su. He must have been skimming the rations coming down from above.’
From what Yeon Cheong remembered, the 1st floor’s guard captain, Kim Tam-su, was one of the worst of the worst. He had been diverting the food that deliverymen risked their lives to obtain, lining his own pockets.
“Oh, and you two—be careful of that Neck-Cutting Ghost or whatever it’s called.”
“You believe that rumor too, Uncle?”
Jin Hong laughed softly at Ben’s concern. It was almost comical to hear someone so much older worrying about ghosts.
“The incident at the black market must have spread quite a bit.”
At Yeon Cheong’s words, Ben shook his head. There was something else he wanted to say.
“This morning, three headless bodies turned up in the residential zone. I don’t know if they’re connected to the black market, but…”
“What? Really?”
Jin Hong’s eyes widened.
“Yeah. An entire family living in the same space was wiped out. Their heads were lined up neatly in front of the door, like they were on display.”
“Can you tell us more?”
Yeon Cheong looked up, his eyes cold.
“…Why?”
“I just want to hear about it.”
Ben looked startled by Yeon Cheong’s gaze but quickly composed himself and continued.
“I’ll tell you tonight. There are too many eyes and ears here right now.”
Yeon Cheong nodded. He gathered the sack of food and turned to Jin Hong.
“Let’s head back first.”
“Okay.”
Jin Hong followed him, looking puzzled by the sudden shift in atmosphere. Yeon Cheong walked in silence.
‘The Neck-Cutting Ghost.’
There was one person he could think of. Or rather, one beast. A murderer on the 1st floor who lived purely by instinct.
‘That rotten bastard.’
Yeon Cheong cursed under his breath and slowly made his way toward Chunja Halmae’s house.