Subcontract
“So that's why the surface got split up like that.”
Jeon Hye-ji said, wide-eyed with surprise.
“Yep. The ones managing the apocalypse all have their own plans too. They just don't bother telling us. Anyway, let's clean up first. I'll fill you in on the underground later.”
The quick-witted members of the crew scattered at once to deal with the aftermath. Sorting things out after a job was just as important as resolving it in the first place.
Since the crew had handled this incident entirely on their own, they were entitled to every scrap of the loot. Not that there would be anything spectacular among it, but it would more than cover the labor costs.
More than anything, they'd gained quite a lot from this job. In the apocalypse, information was everything. The news that the underground had begun activating was a massive harvest — at least for Won-goo.
Once the underground activates... it's about time for the second Gift, isn't it.
He couldn't hold on to every memory of his past life, but the major events were impossible to forget. One of those had been the activation of the underground railway.
Like the surface, the underground had been torn apart like a jigsaw puzzle and reassembled at random. The difference was that the underground had no distance constraints whatsoever. On the surface, no matter how the pieces were scrambled and stitched together, the effective distances stayed the same. Not so below ground. Physical limitations simply didn't apply there.
With distance rendered meaningless and everything haphazardly mixed together, competition could only grow fiercer. Part of the reason Won-goo had fought to properly secure a shelter in the first place was that he'd known this era was coming. Without a proper base of operations once the mingling intensified beyond what it was now, growth would be stunted completely. That had to be prevented.
And learning about this place was a big win too.
Won-goo glanced around the food mart. It was an environment perfectly suited for survival. Even in the surrounding area it sat in a remote spot with little foot traffic, and the facilities were immaculately maintained. On top of that, it enjoyed protection from a Gift — about as ideal a place to live as one could ask for.
But this was Queen's land. And Won-goo had no intention of seizing a good spot by force. The gains from taking it simply weren't worth it.
Just knowing this place existed was enough. If a situation ever arose where he had no choice but to use it, he could use it then.
The crew worked fast. They finished triaging the wounded and the dead in no time and swept up the loot with impressive speed. Looting was inherently slow work, but for the small number of people doing it, the pace was remarkable.
“Pacific, anything good in there?”
Pacific bustled about among the collecting crew, every inch the merchant. He'd pulled out a ledger and was recording the types and quantities of items in quick entries.
And his speed was startling. It looked like he was barely glancing at things, yet he remembered and recorded them accurately.
“That one needs a closer look. Condition's mostly shot, though. I'm telling you, we shouldn't be using that Wabulgwi thing too often.”
“Why? Is everything broken?”
“Pretty much. Not a single item in decent shape.”
“Bag it all up anyway. We've got Gombang.”
“What, Gombang does repairs too?”
“Not repairs — apparently he mixes junk items in when he's upgrading.”
“So it's not just modifying things that already exist, like with that spanner last time?”
“Right. He takes the junk on hand and splices it all together.”
“And he was... sitting on that ability all this time? What a doofus.”
“I like doofuses like that. Why do you think I rescued you?”
“Hm? Hold on. That was me who—”
“Shut up and clean faster. I'm starving. Been craving pizza for the first time in ages.”
“Pizza? Where the hell is there pizza?”
“Didn't you eat the pizza sitting on top of you?”
“Huhhh?”
“Go up there and I'll hand you a frozen pizza. Frozen pizza's good too, you know.”
“You're unbelievable... pizza's supposed to be wood-fired.”
“Want me to fire you in a wood oven, then? Move it! I'm starving!”
“Director.”
Just as he was trading jabs with Pacific, Jo Mu-sa hurried over. A group of people was meandering up the very path Won-goo's crew had come by.
It was the Mosquito Gang. Queen herself was walking at their head.
“Don't worry about them. Keep working.”
With that, Won-goo started walking toward Queen.
“Thank you for taking the private meeting. You're not what the rumors make you out to be.”
“What rumors? That I hate one-on-one talks?”
“I heard you drive a hard bargain on anything not spelled out in a contract. Since this meeting is essentially an additional request, I assumed you might refuse.”
“I judged there was nothing to be wary of.”
“...”
“The Queen image — you built it deliberately, didn't you? You cultivate a reputation for being hard-nosed so you can keep contact with outsiders to a minimum. So that other survivors can't find this place.”
“That's right. You saw through it, as expected.”
Queen answered with a stiff expression.
“If you're a veteran, that much tells you everything. You had to have anticipated it.”
“I did.”
“Then why did you call us in? Why wasn't there a gag clause in the contract from the start? That's what I'm curious about. Do you think once the incident's resolved, you can simply paper over it all? Or is your judgment that if you peel me off alone, the rest can be handled?”
Queen waved her hands in hurried denial.
“I never thought anything of the sort. Band would always say it — never make an enemy of Won-goo's Services. We're not that reckless, Director Gong.”
“Then why summon me separately?”
“We may not operate that way, but rumors still have to be kept from leaking. Now that Band is gone too... if we want to survive, guarding this place is the only option we have left.”
“I understand that much. But you know, right? If there'd been no contract written at all, there'd be exactly one perfect way to seal our lips.”
“That's why I wanted to negotiate additional terms. But... our finances aren't in great shape right now. So I'd like to pay in a different way.”
“What way?”
“The way men like.”
Queen looked Won-goo dead in the eyes, flinching not one bit. It was a bold proposition, yet she didn't waver in the slightest.
“Do I suddenly look different to you?”
But Won-goo showed no particular reaction at all. He was utterly unmoved — neither scoffing nor startled. Completely composed, as if this too fell comfortably within the range of things he'd expected.
“No. What's special about surviving? Surviving is what matters. That's why we're called survivors.”
“And your answer?”
“Refused.”
“...”
“Don't get me wrong. It's not that you're unattractive. You're plenty beautiful. But I have people I need to keep my promises to. So this was never a deal that could happen in the first place.”
“I see.”
“And there's another way.”
At that, life sparked back into Queen's face.
“What way?”
“A supplementary contract. The value of that mart over there — you know it better than anyone.”
“I do.”
“We'd like to use it as well.”
“...”
“Don't misunderstand. I'm not saying we'll live there. Our office is in Sabbath Shelter. We have zero intention of moving that base.”
“Then you mean to use this place like a hotel.”
“Exactly. Incidents could crop up around here too. Let us use it when things get urgent.”
“That's...”
“It's not a bad offer. Once we're allowed to use this place, the rumors naturally stop leaking on their own.”
“I suppose it would have that effect.”
“And we'll lend a hand whenever you're short on manpower.”
“You mean help like last time?”
“That's right.”
“I accept.”
“And the important part. That Gift of yours — the one that makes Safe Zones?”
“...”
“You'll need to tell me about it in detail. Including the secondary functions.”
“That's impossible. You know as well as I do that asking about a Gift is deeply rude.”
“Well, this time I have to know. Otherwise the scales don't balance.”
“But...”
“In exchange, I'll put a confidentiality clause in. That makes it fair.”
“You mean draw it up as one of Sanghae's contracts?”
“He always carries spares. Only catch — the contract fee comes out of your side.”
“Accepted. In exchange, hand those men over to us.”
This was no amateur haggling, not from Queen or Won-goo alike. They accepted quickly what was worth accepting and gave up cleanly what was worth giving. And naturally, the demands on both sides kept piling up.
“Not that one.”
“Why not?”
“We promised to spare them.”
“...”
“We said we'd let them live. And we keep our promises.”
“Among them is the one who killed Band... at the very least, him.”
“Honestly... how many times do I have to say it? They live.”
Won-goo wore a faint, unreadable smile as he said it.
He tacked on plenty of other demands afterward, but taken as a whole, it was a contract that showed Won-goo's Services extending considerable consideration.
“Director Gong. All the items are collected. What do we do with these bastards?”
“Do about what? We said we'd spare them. So spare them.”
“Actually let them go? Their criminal records make most of them death-row material.”
“We're not judges. What's the point of weighing all that? If we said we'd spare them, we spare them.”
When word spread among the Six-Party Gang members who understood Korean that they were being spared, they relayed it to everyone around them. Faces brightened all around.
Won-goo gave Queen a brief wave and boarded the Trailer. Technically, he hadn't killed anyone with his own hands — so by his own accounting, he'd spared them.
The moment the last crew member boarded the Trailer, screaming began to ring out. It was the Mosquito Gang members, who had been glaring at their enemies through gritted teeth this whole time. With their mortal foes standing right in front of them, holding back this long was a feat of patience in itself.
“What, this was your plan all along?”
“We did spare them. What comes next is those people's business.”
“Fair enough.”
“So what exactly did you negotiate with Queen?”
“We've half taken them on as subcontractors.”
“That's all you got? Looked like there was plenty to squeeze out of her.”
“That would be a loss.”
“A loss, you say?”
“Yes. Queen's Gift is one that guarantees stable growth. That place will keep getting bigger. All we have to do is sit back and reap the harvest.”
“It'll get bigger?”
“Guaranteed. She told me her Gift.”
At that, the whole crew perked up with interest.
“Just as I guessed, Queen's Gift designates a specific building and turns it into a Safe Zone.”
“Nice.”
“But Queen poured her Milestone Trait into that function.”
“...?”
“Inside a Safe Zone, her affiliated group grows stronger.”
“Ooh...”
“Plus a whole stack of other perks. And best of all — that Safe Zone isn't the only one she can designate.”
“Seriously?”
This time everyone was genuinely stunned.
“Yep. The cooldown's long, but apparently she can designate a new one every 400 days.”
“Whoa...”
“A new Safe Zone every 400 days...”
“Impressive, right? That's Queen's second Milestone Trait.”
“Second?”
“Yeah. Queen's crossed the 100-coin threshold.”
“That's a little staggering. But it also makes sense. If you can reliably create Safe Zones, you save an enormous amount — no?”
“Exactly. And unlike a Shelter, the costs don't scale with headcount. That's a foundation for growing a gang bigger and bigger, indefinitely.”
“Director. Queen's Gift, though... it seems a lot like your Gift.”
Jeon Hye-ji cut to the heart of it.
“Right. It has a lot in common with mine.”