The Dungeon
Most survivors had a place they primarily called home. They usually called it a hideout or a base.
For the most part, these weren't much — little more than campsites rigged up so they could be packed up and moved at a moment's notice.
Even so, survivors treated them as critically important.
No matter how much stronger they'd gotten with coins, they couldn't perform at their best without proper rest.
The best option was to take up permanent residence at the Shelter, but realistically, that was impossible for most.
Named freelancers who operated alone or in small groups could manage just fine. They could easily afford the shelter fees.
The problem was groups. Once your numbers swelled into the dozens, even a single day at a shelter burned through silver coins fast.
Which meant a secure hideout was an absolute necessity.
"Safety comes first. If you're dead, it's game over. But how many truly safe places are left in an apocalyptic world?"
"Nowhere but the Shelter. That part is certain."
"Right. Nowhere but the Shelter is completely safe — and even that's only *relatively* safe."
"So how did you find out about Dr. Woo's crew's hideout?"
"Do you know where I refuse to scrimp on money the most? Information. Especially intel on the gangs operating around Sabbath — I buy all of it. So what do you think?"
"I heard they move around a lot because of the weather."
It was Jeon Hye-ji.
"That's right. Most gangs operate that way. But when you're relocating because of weather or monster spawns, all your time goes into the moving itself. What's the point of forming a gang in the first place? Banding together so you can live a little easier, right?"
"W-wasn't it to d-do bad th-things?"
"That falls under 'living easier' too. Anyway, that's why the gangs around here keep multiple hideouts, and they always station a minimum number of people at each — a kind of guard force. That way, when the main crew relocates, they can rest easily at whichever site they land on. That's the gas station up ahead. Hye-ji, Chul-soo, and Master Mu — you three handle anyone who runs. The rest come in with me. Nobody escapes."
"If they run, do we shoot? Just like that?"
"Yeah. Just shoot. Aim for the head."
"Yes, sir..."
"What did I tell you before?"
"...?"
"I told you to think about nothing but survival. This is part of that. And there's no such thing as a good gang in this world. There's only worse and less bad. Get used to it — if you want to find your siblings."
"Understood."
When a fierce light kindled in Jeon Hye-ji's eyes, Won-goo gave a nod and slipped into the gas station.
Darkness hung over the place, and their entry team was small, so getting spotted was never a concern.
Besides, Won-goo's people were seasoned professionals at this kind of work. It wasn't their first rodeo, and there wasn't a shred of hesitation among them.
"How many inside?"
As they closed in on the gas station, Won-goo dropped his voice. Lee Hyun-sung peeked carefully inside.
"Quite a few, sir. Looks like they've been staying here a while."
"Hmm... too many could be a burden."
Won-goo's goal wasn't to wipe out Dr. Woo's main force.
He intended to eliminate the crew managing the hideout and get out. That alone would leave Dr. Woo thoroughly incensed.
"Hyeong-nim."
"What?"
"I'll take point."
"Confident?"
"Yes. I'll show you what I can do."
"Then let's move."
"I'll enter through the window."
"Then Su-won, you go in that way too. Claw — rake the side with the most bodies. Got it?"
Su-won answered with a nod.
Won-goo and Jo Mu-sa moved toward the gas station's main entrance.
CRASH!
The moment the sound of shattering glass rang out, Won-goo bolted like lightning.
The sentries had been dozing off with their heads bobbing, and they jolted awake in wide-eyed panic at the noise.
Won-goo channeled his momentum into a full-swing warhammer strike to the temple of the first guard he saw.
With a resounding clang, the guard staggered and toppled over, and Won-goo rolled straight into a forward tackle, hammering the knee joint of the next guard in line.
Thwack!
As the man wobbled, Won-goo drove the electric knife in his left hand into his groin and cranked the voltage to maximum.
Crackle-crackle!
Then, without so much as a glance back, he pushed deeper inside.
Within, Hyun-sung and Su-won were raging through a fierce firefight of their own.
Jo Mu-sa followed right on Won-goo's heels, bringing his weapon down on the skulls of the downed sentries — confirmation kills, every one.
The fight was over in the blink of an eye. There were more men inside than expected, but they hardly qualified as Dr. Woo's core fighting force.
Ordinary hires, all of them.
Survivors with mediocre stats were no trouble to subdue at all.
"I heard they usually keep three or four posted here... that's a lot. Were they bunking together with another crew?"
"Could there have been a weather issue nearby, sir?"
"Could be."
Won-goo had a cigarette clamped between his lips, not a single breath disturbed. Jo Mu-sa was breathing hard, but he recovered quickly.
Hyun-sung and Su-won were mopping up the rest.
There was a man with an aluminum bat.
Pow!
Hyun-sung retreated, and the man squared off against Su-won in a two-on-one — though Won-goo, about to intervene, held off and watched the situation unfold a little longer.
Something about the bat man's movements struck him as anything but ordinary.
"He fights well. Who is he? He's not one of Dr. Woo's regulars."
"No, sir. As far as I remember, nobody in their crew used a bat. Someone this good — you'd have remembered him too, Director."
"He could've been hiding his skills. Or maybe he's been doing a stint as a mercenary."
"A freelancer, then?"
Nod.
Whoosh!
Su-won hurled his blade mid-fight.
But the bat man practically laid himself flat on the ground to dodge it.
"He dodged *that*?"
He looked better the longer you watched. The way he swung the bat around as casually as a chopstick was one thing — but his movements carried zero wasted motion.
Su-won's combat power had been upgraded with Claw in hand, yet the gap between them was wide enough that Su-won would already have been subdued if they'd fought head-on.
The only reason the bat man hadn't put Su-won down yet was that he was keeping a wary eye on the people surrounding them.
Won-goo had read that instantly.
"He doesn't seem rattled either... this one's no joke. Hey! Bat guy!"
Director Gong stepped forward. The fight paused.
"...?"
"You one of Dr. Woo's people?"
"No."
"Then why are you here?"
"Earning money."
"So you're not Dr. Woo's man."
"Not officially."
"Then decide right here. You want to sign a contract? Or die here?"
"A contract?"
"Think of it as a pledge that you'll keep your mouth shut about everything that happened today."
"How exactly does one turn what happened into what didn't?"
At that, the corner of Won-goo's mouth curled upward. Won-goo was not a generous man.
It would be hard to call him the type to hand out favors freely, either.
A good, kind-hearted soul? Absolutely not. Having been burned — badly — by the world once before, he understood better than anyone that kindness alone couldn't carry anyone through the apocalypse.
So no matter how promising a talent looked, if he judged it a threat, he cut it out without hesitation.
The curl at the corner of his mouth right now was exactly that signal.
"Meaning you'll keep going?"
"They paid me, so I have to work. People around here don't do that, apparently?"
"You're from out of town."
With that, Won-goo stepped forward and told Hyun-sung and Su-won to fall back.
Ting!
Warhammer and bat collided in midair.
A single clash was enough for both of them to realize their strength was nearly equal.
The bat man shifted his one-handed grip to both hands and brought the weapon down from overhead.
Won-goo feinted a block with his warhammer, then twisted his body sideways and burrowed into the man's guard —
like going in for a tackle.
The bat man whipped the handle down at the back of Won-goo's neck —
But something strange happened. As if he'd predicted it, Won-goo retracted his tackle mid-motion.
Pulling back a tackle that had launched at full speed was a move that put brutal strain on the body.
'He avoids that?'
The bat man's eyes went round.
His surprise lasted only an instant. He knew he had to react immediately — and what entered his vision was Won-goo's smile.
Thwack!
Won-goo's warhammer slammed into his temple.
Blood sprayed with a wet hiss.
"Everybody eating too salty these days? So many people with high blood pressure."
Won-goo said it while wiping the blood from his face.
"Hyeong-nim! I am in awe of you!"
Hyun-sung said, giving a deep bow of his head.
"Awe, my ass. Jo Mu-sa. You alive?"
"He seems to still be breathing, sir."
"He's an enhancement-type, right?"
"I couldn't say."
"Well, haul him along for now. His skills are worth something."
"He looks a bit stiff, though. Will he be all right?"
"He can sign a contract when we get back."
Hyun-sung and Su-won were already gathering loot, completely unprompted.
"Move fast. We've still got a few more places to hit."
In a single night, they'd raided three of Dr. Woo's gang's hideouts.
The haul was considerable. The crew had a fire going, and they were drinking alongside a simple meal.
"What's got you curious, Su-won?"
"Ah, from e-earlier."
"Earlier, what?"
"The b-bat guy."
"You're asking how I handled him solo when the two of you together couldn't?"
Su-won nodded. Hyun-sung had been quietly wondering the same thing.
Su-won and Lee Hyun-sung.
Neither of them lacked combat experience. Even so, next to Gong Won-goo, the gap between them was still substantial.
"That's why experience matters. Even if my power is a 10, what counts is being able to use all of it. No matter how much you pump your abilities with coins, this is something you can only fill in with experience."
"I-I see."
"And there's matchup to consider, too. That bat guy moved well, but he didn't have anything particularly special. Which means he's predictable. Predictable means no element of surprise. And what does that tell you? That he's guaranteed to lose to anyone with more experience than him. On top of that, I read his movements before I committed. That gave me another advantage."
Everyone nodded along to Won-goo's explanation.
"How do you intend to dispose of him? Will you have him sign the contract and let him go?"
"Do I strike you as that generous a man?"
"Then why bring him along?"
"He's a waste to throw away. Skills like that, you keep alive if you can. He'll fetch a good price if we sell him."
"That's more like it. Here I thought you were about to release him out of respect for talent. I nearly took you for a man about to do something he's never done."
"A man's got to be consistent. Baek Seol says she's short-handed these days anyway. She'll pay handsomely."
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Sounds echoed from inside the trailer.
"Fast recovery, that one. Hye-ji. Go shut him up."
Hye-ji rose and went into the back of the trailer.
There was a loud thud, and Hye-ji came back out.
"Fast learner, like I said."
Jeon Hye-ji blended in with the crew at remarkable speed, and that was the thing Won-goo appreciated most about her.
But then Hye-ji came back to the fire clutching her nose. Seeing that, Won-goo's brow furrowed.
"What'd he get you with?"
"A headbutt..."
"Even when they're tied up, you stay careful. Especially the head — a man can still use his head even bound. Got it?"
"Yes, sir..."
"Ttugi."
"Yes, Hyeong-nim."
"Bring him out. Gotta start treatment before we hand him over."
"Yes, Hyeong-nim."
Lee Hyun-sung rose and went into the trailer, then brought the bat man out.
A bit of commotion carried out with him, though considerably less than when Hye-ji had gone in.
The bat man was dragged out, finally subdued and quiet.
"Good chin on you. What's your name?"
"..."
"I don't know where you're from, but around here, when you wake up after passing out and find yourself alive and intact, you start with a thank-you. Not a scratch on you, perfectly fine, and you're still playing tough? I'll ask again. What's your name?"
This time Won-goo said it while holding up his warhammer for him to see.
"Yang Jun-sik."
"Jun-sik. Why'd you come to this area? Be straight with me."
"I entered a dungeon and got kicked out."
"A dungeon."
At the word dungeon, everyone's ears pricked up.
"So the dungeon apparatus caught you. What about your teammates?"
"I don't know. I got spat out with nothing but a single weapon in hand."
"And then you ran into Dr. Woo's crew?"
"Yes."
"Where's the dungeon?"
"I don't know that either."
A slow grin spread across Won-goo's face, showing the white of his teeth.
"Don't know my ass. When you get force-ejected from a dungeon, you drop through a random entrance. I ask nicely, and you play games with me?"
"I really don't know."
Yang Jun-sik was impassive. His acting was remarkably skilled.
"Jun-sik. My profession is therapist. Physical therapy specialist, that is. And recently I developed a treatment method of my own — I'd say it's a perfect fit for you. Lying is a disease too, you see. Hyun-sung. Tie him up."
"Yes, Hyeong-nim."
"Jun-sik. You any good at running?"
"...?"
"We'll start at thirty kilometers an hour."
With that, Won-goo took hold of the steering wheel.
The crew quickly doused the fire and climbed aboard the trailer.
Vrrrooom!
The trailer lurched into motion.
With Yang Jun-sik strapped to the outside.