Bustling Sea Life

The sea life bustled on. "So roughly a 20% chance of getting nothing?" Manager Kim's explosion at the start had just been bad luck. Most of the box-opening zombies had pulled supplies. The explosion rate was two out of ten. Since we had no spare human limbs on hand right now, the promised arms and legs were postponed to the future.

"Give us the limbs you promised!"

"That's right! Fulfill your promise!"

The former office-worker zombies raised their voices as if they had suddenly become a labor union. But no need to worry. I had plenty of experience with situations like this.

"Now, now, everyone calm down. The company isn't in great shape at the moment, so we don't have the resources to pay out compensation. However! I think of all of you as family. The rewards will definitely be paid. No need to worry!"

Exactly the kind of lines I used to hear all the time at Barasoft whenever paychecks were delayed. There were easily a hundred variations. The office-worker zombies quickly realized what kind of treatment they were in for and fell silent. Their high intelligence really did make them quick to grasp the situation.

"By the way, looks like it's about to rain."

I looked up at the distant sky. Pitch-black storm clouds were racing toward us at alarming speed.

'Hmm…'

Stage 5 had lousy weather by default. The sky stayed overcast 365 days a year, and rain like this came down from time to time. When it did fall, it poured like the world was ending.

'Perfect timing.'

I summoned zombies onto the widened deck.

"Rain's coming soon. Everyone get ready!"

At my command, the zombies fetched toolboxes and began modifying the rafts. The tools had come from the supply drops. Thunk—thunk— The floating objects possessed an indestructible property. To modify them, you had to attach [Disassembly Stickers] from the supplies. Once that property was lost, they became ordinary floating debris.

I currently owned twenty rafts. I tore half of them apart to build walls and roofs.

Thud—thud—

The modifications finished quickly. It was just a matter of ripping wood apart and nailing it back together—no special skills required. Even a monkey could do it.

Whoosh—

As expected, the rain began to pour. Time for serious hunting. I stored the worker zombies and summoned the ones meant for combat—the octopus-human zombies.

Baengnae, who had been dispatched to the Black Cave, had selected two types of troops to form the zombie army: Frost Wyverns and octopus-humans. When you put 915 gold into the Black Cave, out came octopus-humans with human bodies and octopus faces. They weren't large—roughly 160 to 170 centimeters tall—but they possessed high intelligence and natural regeneration.

"Everyone remembers the fish types, right? Make sure you hit your quotas before the rain stops. Any octopus that fails will become Baengnae's takoyaki."

"Madda!"

"Ah, and of course, anyone who finds a gold vein will receive appropriate compensation. Now, into the water!"

Stage 5 made gathering food harder than Stage 4. Look around. Unlike the vast maze where rabbits and deer had roamed, this place was nothing but ocean. The only way to obtain food here was to dive beneath the surface and catch fish. But the fish in Stage 5 were extremely sensitive. In certain waters you could haul in massive catches with ease, yet how were you supposed to find those spots every time? The sea was vast, and we couldn't afford to waste time wandering in search of fish.

That was why rain was an opportunity. When a downpour hit, the raindrops struck the sea surface irregularly and created vibrations that scrambled the fish's senses, opening a window for hunters to approach.

Splash—splash—

The octopus zombies leapt into the water one after another.

'Heh heh… Finally get to taste them.'

The fish in this sea were hard to catch, but rumor had it their nutritional value was exceptional. After all, fish were friends to good health, weren't they? Through them, I could secure all the nutrients we had failed to obtain in Stage 4.

Fish began piling up on the raft one by one. While I was doing some light swimming as a warm-up, Nareun-i approached and reported.

"Master. They say they've found a gold vein."

"What… already?"

Stage 5 had no islands. But there were cities that had once been islands and were now submerged. Users called the place El Dorado. Some argued that a sunken city should be called Atlantis, yet everyone who had visited it ended up calling it El Dorado—because visually, it was overflowing with gold.

Reaching El Dorado was simple. Wander the dark seabed, and if luck was with you, you would discover a glittering golden path. Follow that dazzling sight and the underwater city would welcome its visitor. The description sounded ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like a rainbow pit luring human desire, but El Dorado was a fairly well-verified location.

Do you remember the Fruits of Good and Evil I had collected without consuming? El Dorado contained ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a place called the Golden Altar. Passing through that altar would grant the "Blessing of Gold" to any kind of food. Since the Fruits of Good and Evil were also food, they could receive the blessing. It was a loophole meant to amplify their effects and obtain skills or Soul Engravings.

"Good. We'll move as soon as the rain stops."

"Yes, understood."

We would head for the golden city of El Dorado.

"Everyone, well done!"

Heaven's Rabbit clapped her hands. After all that effort, the wife list to ensnare the Zombie Summoner was finally complete. She had even contacted the summoners on that list—or their sponsors—and finished the preliminary work.

In truth, the hardest part of the selection process had been understanding humanity's standards of beauty. This phenomenon occurred with every batch. Because each culture lived so differently, their values and criteria diverged as well. Still, she had managed somehow. In the end, attractive females always drew attention, didn't they? She had selected only those females who had captured the public's interest even once and completed the list.

'Whew, that was really tough…'

Moreover, the timing was perfect. The Zombie Summoner had entered Stage 5 not long ago. But his sponsor, the Barbo Cat, was currently unable to visit her summoner because of issues with the "Chain." What if an attractive female appeared now, paired with him, and coquettishly suggested forming a new contract? According to human rules, his heart would waver. Human males were weak to flirtation, after all.

'Hoho. The heavens are helping me!'

Heaven's Rabbit already felt as though she had succeeded, and her mood soared. Somehow, she just knew it would work. And the rabbit's premonitions were never merely feelings.

The executives of Success Myth had given their final review, and at last the rabbit's seal was stamped at the bottom. The beauties would be dispatched. Beautiful, charming females would go to ensnare the Zombie Summoner and make him part of Success Myth.

"H-hey now! This isn't right!"

I tilted my head at Department Head Han Bu-seok, who was throwing a tantrum. He hadn't been an employee at Barasoft, but for some reason Park had kept him on a leash. He was also the client who used to cause all sorts of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trouble whenever he visited our company. In other words, I didn't have particularly good feelings toward him either.

"What isn't right? If you succeed at opening a random box, you get a body part. Isn't that the promise we made?"

"No, I've already succeeded three times! There are other guys over there who have only done it twice, so why is it my turn again…? Let's be fair…"

Since the office workers were zombies, they had no option to refuse opening random boxes in the first place. That had created an atmosphere where the weaker or more timid ones were being pushed to do the openings. Even in this tiny world, politics were at play.

'Hmm… The count does make some sense.'

But so what? The order of opening random boxes was simply whoever I disliked most went first. I remembered that this Han Bu-seok was the guy who had rejected the proposal I submitted seven times. If my ability had been lacking, I could have understood. But in the end, I knew he had taken the very proposal I first submitted and outsourced it.

'Because of you I had to pull all-nighters for days!'

I frowned and clicked my tongue.

"Ahem. If you keep disobeying orders like that, your limbs might end up being sold off to someone else instead."

At my threat, he jumped in fright.

"Eek. A-all right. I'll do it, okay…"

We could have used them as expendables without any compensation and made them open boxes indefinitely. Still, out of some lingering earthly connection, I was showing consideration. Look at the monkey zombies. Those guys got chewed up by Baengnae the moment they showed even a hint of laziness. I had given them opportunities and promised rewards. Since they spoke the same Korean, I was at least showing them minimal respect.

And unfortunately, supplies came out again this time. Han Bu-seok clapped happily. With only one arm, the sound of him striking his chest with his hand was his version of applause.

"See! Now if I succeed just four more times, there won't be any more body parts left to promise! Let's succeed four more times, Han Bu-seok!"

Watching him rejoice made me oddly reluctant. Still, a promise was a promise. If he survived to the end, I intended to attach limbs and use him as a combatant. That was a promise I had made to myself.

At that moment, a message appeared before my eyes. A familiar message.

It wasn't a mistake. Three messages had arrived in succession.

'What… Park Gibeom is already gone.'

I checked my ring finger, but there was no red thread. Then it wasn't the work of the "Chain." Another message appeared. This one contained even harder-to-understand content.

'…What?'

What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kind of third-rate spam message was this? Besides, my sponsor was the Cat. There was no way the Cat would send something like that. But the final message wasn't a system notification. It was a transmission from the sponsor. I was struggling with all my might to understand the situation amid the confusion.

Just then, Baengnae brought over a glass bottle.

"Baengnae found it."

"Ah… okay."

The glass bottle was an item. Sold in the Shop, it was used in Stage 5 to deliver information to distant targets. Then this must have come from a user—one of the three who had just invaded my Stage 5.

'A duel request…?'

I broke the bottle and unrolled the parchment inside. A sweet fragrance spread gently.

My brain froze.