Give a Doe, Take a Mal
Nothing much happened after that until we were nearly back at the school.
Maybe it was because I'd been scavenging for the crate and clearing out everything in sight as I went, but we ran into fewer zombies than usual, and the one corpse horde we really needed to watch out for never showed itself.
We did spot a glass-fronted store packed full of them for some reason, but it was far enough away that it didn't matter.
I left Chaeyeon fretting behind me—That's all points just sitting there...—and spoke to Soeun before we headed through the school gates.
"Come to think of it, you still haven't opened the crate, have you?"
"Huh? Oh, right... I've been so out of it..."
"Crack it open once we're inside and resting."
If something completely worthless came out again this time, I was never looking at another crate for the rest of my life.
Spam crates were still the gold standard. Rotten bread and cabbage and calling it "supplies"? Give me a break.
I looked fondly at the crate resting quietly in Soeun's hands, then pushed open the front gate.
"...We're really staying here? Isn't it way too big?"
"Why? Bigger is better."
"No—you never know when or where a zombie might jump out. Fine for you, maybe, but the others..."
"We already cleared the building we're using ages ago."
As we crossed the athletic field toward the main building, Do Wangu kept glancing around with a queasy look, then muttered under his breath, doubt thick in his voice.
"No matter how I look at it, there's no real upside... Someone like you could find a way better base than this, couldn't you?"
"You'll forget you ever said that soon enough. Quit yapping and move. We're short on time."
We only had a short rest before we had to hit the apartments. Credit was the non-negotiable foundation of every deal, after all.
I prodded Do Wangu's stalled feet forward and we cut across the athletic field, thick with corpses and blood.
I shoved open the main building doors and dumped the tiger carcass like a sack of trash. Haejun, standing watch, gaped and managed one sentence.
"...Hyung-nim? What the hell is that?"
"What does it look like? A dead tiger. Explaining's a pain, so go grab the laptop already."
I had zero intention of dragging the filthy thing into the book café where we actually ate and slept.
The moment I said it, Haejun snapped his mouth shut and bolted toward the café.
Not long after, he came back with the laptop, Yejin trailing him with a face full of shock. They both hurried down the corridor to where I waited.
"Oppa! You killed a tiger? What are you talking about?! Did you raid a zoo or something?!"
"Why would I raid a zoo when there's nothing worth taking? Anything happen while we were gone?"
"No. Nothing unusual. Um... but..."
Yejin was giving Do Wangu and Kwon Jitae the classic Who the hell are you? stare. Instead of explaining, I just powered on the laptop.
A scenic desktop wallpaper bloomed across the screen, and there was the crow, looking extremely busy.
She was snatching papers flying every which way, checking them, scribbling something down. I watched her with a flat expression and opened my mouth.
"What's with the sudden busy act?"
Ah, you're here already? I thought it'd take you a lot longer. And "busy act"? Excuse me! What would I even gain from pretending to be busy? Master wouldn't appreciate it anyway.
"Yeah, fair point."
I don't need to put on any act—I'm already dying of work. The new products that just came in keep fluctuating in market price so setting rates is a nightmare, plus several other items are completely out of stock so I've had to put in restock requests for those too. I never knew early-stage shop management was this brutal!
The crow launched into a full-blown complaint the second she saw me, pouring out her woes.
"Don't care. Just tell me how I'm supposed to use this tiger carcass. I went through hell dragging it here."
One moment. Let me clear these papers first...
The crow gathered up the documents, stretched her wings, stood up, and inspected the tiger carcass below.
Wow! Condition's excellent. Aside from the head, damage is minimal and decay is extremely low—this is almost a perfect one-to-one ratio!
"What are you even talking about?"
Heh. Master, why do you think I specifically ordered someone who hates hassle as much as you do to haul this thing back?
"Beats me. Even if it was nothing special, it's not like I have a way to punish you."
Well, that's true too...
She winked at me like it was a joke while I scowled, then pulled up a site I'd never seen before on the screen.
I only asked because I was certain that just bringing it would earn you a more than satisfactory reward.
"...Butchers? A butcher shop?"
The moment I read the site title, a thought flashed through my head. I looked at the crow with a no way expression. She nodded and gave me a wing-thumb up.
This site has always been one of the core perks of the Wild Necro setting in the apocalypse—and a major welfare function supported by our district.
It's also the only way for Master to get that fresh meat you've been singing about.
I let out a hollow laugh and looked down at the carcass.
Well, now I had no choice but to get my hopes up.
That massive fur-covered tiger was starting to look like one giant slab of meat.
A little later, while I was getting a detailed rundown from the crow on how to use the butcher shop, Do Wangu and Kwon Jitae still couldn't quite process reality.
The mysterious bird chattering away inside the laptop was one thing, but what really had their eyes glued was...
"...You've got electricity?"
"Yes. There are limits, of course. But if we have enough resources, we can even run heating at a decent level."
"How the hell? We tore through our department store—hell, the whole city—and never found anything like this! Wait. Don't tell me this school was the one broadcasting on the radio a few days ago..."
Yejin shook her head at Do Wangu's guess.
"That wasn't us. We have nothing to do with whoever was on the radio."
"Doesn't matter either way. Lee Sijun. You were right. I can see exactly why you settled here."
"Hm? Oh, yeah."
"...Busy?"
"A bit. Stick with Yejin and look around more. Don't let them into the book café."
"Yes, Oppa."
I waved Do Wangu off without even looking at him and stared at the laptop with deadly seriousness.
"...So what do you mean we can't convert the whole thing?"
Exactly what it sounds like, Master. Turning a necro carcass into edible food is called an "exchange," but the cost is enormous.
"I wasn't expecting free food either."
More precisely, we use Tar—the currency of the apocalypse and soul energy—to breathe life back into the meat. Purification is mandatory during the process, of course.
"Right. So it costs a ton of money."
In short, it's an exchange, not a purchase. The amount of meat you get depends entirely on the condition of the carcass.
"So how good is this one's condition?"
I already told you, didn't I? Almost a perfect one-to-one ratio.
The crow squinted one eye at the tiger carcass like she was appraising it and smiled in satisfaction.
This level? I think we can actually do it.
I didn't waste another second. I grabbed the carcass.
"Just hold it up to the screen?"
Yep. Try not to get blood on anything.
"It all drained out while I was hauling it anyway."
I dragged the carcass across the floor and brought it close to the laptop screen lying on the ground.
ZZZT—!
I ripped the tape off its bound legs and pressed it to the screen. Sparks jumped. Chaeyeon and Soeun, who'd been resting, jerked around in shock at the same moment the massive tiger carcass began getting sucked whole into the laptop.
Everyone, me included, just stared with blank faces.
Once the carcass had completely vanished, I leaned in toward the laptop and called the crow.
"...What now?"
Pick the cut you want and buy it!
"Hmm..."
I checked the various card listings displayed on the site.
Hind legs, forelegs, ribs, breast meat—every cut imaginable was there. A fair number of locked options like wing meat or fin meat also stood out.
I didn't need to ask why they were locked.
...Only the parts that actually exist on the carcass, right?
I carefully scanned the list, then asked,
"Do I have to pick just one cut?"
Yep. Multiple cuts make the process way more complicated. Costs more Tar too. I mean, if Master really wants it, it's possible, but...
"Forget it. No need. Tiger meat's going to taste about the same no matter the cut anyway."
Still, I wanted maximum efficiency, so I had no choice but to think it through.
Being limited to one cut was a drawback—but it was also an advantage.
If this were beef, it means I could pull an entire rare cut like the chuck flap out in one go. So then...
For the first time since the apocalypse started, I spun the gears in my brain with real enthusiasm and drive.
For meat to taste good, tenderness is the most important thing. That's exactly why feline meat is usually garbage. Carnivores pack ridiculous amounts of protein, so the gamey smell is strong and the meat's tough as hell. But...
Even so, relatively tender cuts still had to exist.
I hadn't tasted it myself, so the best I could do was guess...
"Belly. Convert the whole thing to belly."
Order received~!
The crow answered like she'd been waiting for it. A chunk of my Tar immediately drained away, and the site's shutter rolled down exactly like a real butcher shop while the sound of something being processed filled the air.
KRRRRRRRRK—
Tonight's dinner was going to be a meat party.