An Unexpected Proposal
"Ughhh... ahh~."
Go Ah-rang stretched like she always did, gazing out the window. Not the filthy human city spewing pollution and noise, but the finally quiet apocalypse city... A landscape she never tired of, no matter how many times she saw it.
She grinned.
"Looking good."
Swoosh. Swoosh.
Reacting to her voice, the... things that used to be dogs snapped their heads up. They immediately started barking at her.
Woof! Yap! Whine-!
Whine-. Yap, yap, yap, whine.
Despite their finger-long fangs bared in muscular frames that could terrify anyone, she just found it cute.
[Food, food. Food! Friend! Food! Food!]
[Food. Food. Friend! Food! Food. Water. Water. Food-!]
It wasn't just her skill letting her understand animals. Even before that, these dogs had been her friends... Real friends, not the fake kind.
From before the apocalypse and after—they were the only ones who never betrayed her.
Lick, lick.
Pant, heave-.
"Okay, okay! I'll give you some, just stop whining."
Unable to resist their pleading, she opened the cupboard, but only a few cans stared back.
'...Already gone?'
The massive stockpile she'd hoarded was already depleted. She'd rationed carefully, but it was inevitable. Her skill, Species Transcendence, had ballooned their sizes—and appetites—so much that her scrimping was like pissing in the wind.
With a bitter smile, she pulled out the last cans.
Click, patter-.
'Drain the oil as much as possible...'
"Here, eat up!"
[Food food food food!]
Chomp, chomp. Slurp-.
The last of the food vanished into their maws in seconds. Her stomach growled at the sight, but she soothed it by sipping the drained tuna oil.
Lick, lick-.
Pant, lick-.
Pant.
They didn't speak, but they kept licking the plates, unsatisfied. She stroked their heads to comfort them.
"Sorry, sorry. Hang in there just a bit. I'll feed you till you burst later."
Pant, pant.
Yap, yap-.
[Food? More? Lots? Friend. Trust?]
"Yeah. I promise. But I gotta go out again? Can you handle that?"
Screee-.
[Outside, scary. Smells bad. Hate.]
Whine, screee-.
[Other one. Ripped by rotten human hands. Died. Don't wanna fight.]
"No, no. You don't have to fight. Just run around like last time and come back. You can do that much, right?"
Nod, nod.
[That. Okay. Walkies.]
Finally securing their cooperation, she headed straight to the balcony.
Clunk, rattle-.
"Wheeee-! ...Ugh..."
She whistled sharply for the owl. The force plus her hunger brought a dizzy spell, but she succeeded in summoning it.
Flap flap flap.
Hoot, hurrk-.
Hurrk-.
Hoot, hoot-.
[Why? Me. Eating food.]
The owl appeared clutching a mouse in one talon.
Gurgle-.
Her stomach growled at "food," making the owl tilt its head.
Hoot?
[Hungry? Give?]
Hoot, screech-.
"...No. Just the thought's enough."
She hesitated but gave up—figuring out how to eat a raw mouse right then was beyond her.
[Thought? Have it? This thought? Humans. Mouse. Thought?]
Smartened by her skill but still toddler-level intelligence. Instead of explaining, she hung the radio from before around its neck.
"Fly to the school like last time and give this to that human from yesterday?"
[School? Yesterday? Those humans? Which human? Rotten human?]
"The place with the loud noises, remember? Non-rotten humans should be there. Uh, the one frowning like this. Glaring hard—give it to him."
Tilt, tilt.
[Loud noise. Loud noise.]
"Yeah, that's it. And be careful. If a human points something shiny at you, fly away fast."
[Shiny. Fly. Loud noise. Careful.]
Flap flap-.
She raised binoculars, watching anxiously as the owl flew toward the school.
Humans had been untrustworthy even before the end—but now, even more so. She hated them.
But she had no choice. She could starve, but her friends needed feeding.
"It'll be fine."
Especially since they'd offered help first. No matter how ungrateful humans were, they'd been saved from death... Surely no funny business.
Go Ah-rang thought that as she raised the radio.
"Hey, good morning!"
...Just like yesterday, Go Ah-rang's voice came through the ow... radio with an unexpected proposal.
"Collaborate?"
"Yeah."
Her offer: She'd brief zombie positions and pull aggro to keep them away, in exchange for 30% of the farmed food.
"Leave stuff at the spot I say, I'll grab it. We'll keep talking like this."
Not a bad deal on paper. Avoid yesterday's mess, farm faster.
But it rubbed me wrong.
"Bullshit."
"Grrr... 30% too much? How 'bout 20%?"
"Fuck off."
"...15%?"
Surprisingly meek from her.
Told me her food situation was dire. So I countered.
Offer enough food for a month. 30% or 50% of future hauls.
"Join us instead."
"No."
"How do I trust you won't dig a trap or betray us?"
"...Believe it or not, your problem. And...!"
Static, static-.
"I already helped you once. Not enough?"
'Of course not.'
No systemic slave brand or contract? Trust in this world is just weaklings' outdated wishful thinking.
...But I didn't say it.
Focused on her reaction instead.
No room for negotiation. Flat-out "no."
Way beyond normal caution.
'Figured as much...'
[Mental Strength -1 if human within range]
[Mental Strength +1 if attached animal within range]
Go Ah-rang
...She trembled but stepped forward for her friends. The ones tormenting her friends... But contrary to expectations, her friends... Betrayed, Arang vowed. Family, friends, anyone...! She'd never trust humans again...
...Only animals had saved her, and they would forever.
I'd analyzed her status and bible all night with my skills. She was extremely guarded.
Pushing harder here? She'd ditch the deal before showing up.
'Need her, but damn.'
Current farming, future utility—her abilities were gold.
Logically, collaborate and borrow her power.
But that only made me want to own her more.
'What to do.'
Hunt her down? She rides away on mutant dogs like yesterday.
Reject and corner her? Nah—she'd forage alone and die before joining. That's what entity traits do. If not that strong, it wouldn't manifest.
Tilt, tilt.
Hoot-?
Can't tail her—the owl would spot it...
As I pondered, the answer jiggled in, milk sloshing.
"Ngh-."
Thud. Gloop gloop gloop-.
Doksayeon emerged with her cauldron for potion experiments. That sparked an idea.
'If she won't come to me, I'll go take her.'
Sorting my thoughts, I spoke into the radio.
"Fine. 15%."
"Hehe, smart choice. Buuut..."
Static-.
"...Can't bump it to 20% now...?"
"Sure."
"Huh!? Really!?"
"One condition."
"Like I said before..."
"Find one zombie."
"Huh? Even our spinner's eyes can't find a needle in the desert easy."
Her detection was the owl. Bonus: She's dumber than her paranoia suggests.
"Easier than that. No other zombie's doing diagonal gym crunches in a hi-vis vest."
Getting her was one thing. Revenge another.
"Dunno what that means. But I'll know it when I see it? Got it."
Sip, slurp-.
"Huh? Someone coming?"
The owl suddenly turned its head.
Sip, slurp-.
"What? Zombies there now!?"
Pfft-.
I chuckled at her question, relayed via owl.
-Murmur, murmur. Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle.
To the owl, the dingy teachers lining up for rations looked like zombies.
"Something like that."
I eyed their hollow gazes filled with clean desire. Anticipating what they'd say approaching, and soon what pitiful state they'd be in.
Exciting.
The foundation of my kingdom would make for quite the show.