Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Rolling Head
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Kim Dae-hyun rode his motorcycle through the ruined city with his friends.
He thought it was all for the best.
'Killing people is fine now? This is straight-up paradise.'
He'd always lived on the edge.
Even back in high school, he'd spent his days joyriding on bikes.
One night, drunk behind the handlebars, he had the bad luck of hitting and killing a kid.
After getting out of juvie, he had nothing better to do.
So he rounded up his old buddies.
It wasn't hard—they were all in the same boat anyway.
With his crew assembled, he'd shake down high schoolers for cash,
or lure runaway girls into prostitution to make a buck.
When the apocalypse hit and the world flipped upside down, he figured it was a good thing.
No more damn cops,
and a world where you could kill without consequences.
"Hey, you bastards! How can you call yourselves human?!"
"Good work on bait duty."
"Heh, shoulda been more careful. How'd you think you'd outrun them on that busted leg?"
"I'll kill you all! I swear I'll kill you! Arrrgh!"
The zombies had caught them off guard at first.
But they survived by tossing some poor sap as bait and bolting.
That morning, they were cruising with a thrill in their veins
when they spotted some young women in the distance.
"Hey, didn't we get that quest to kill people?"
"Man, what can ya do? The world's telling us to off 'em."
"Whoa, hold up? They're smoking hot."
At his buddy's words, Kim Dae-hyun took a closer look.
Curves in all the right places, tight where it counted.
These girls were seriously tempting.
The dragon in his pants stirred to life.
"Wanna bang 'em and then kill 'em? They're cute enough."
"Screw the chicks, rake in coins too. Perfect score."
Kim Dae-hyun and his gang gunned their bikes right up to the three women.
JI-hoon eyed them with bored indifference.
Yoo-ri drew her sword, but the men didn't flinch.
They even laughed like it was a joke.
"Ooh, she thinks she can take us?"
"Dude, haven't you seen Hitomi? Bitches like her always end up moaning once you give it to 'em good—"
The guy's words cut off mid-sentence.
Yoo-ri's swinging blade had sliced clean through his throat.
What should have been on his shoulders was gone.
Blood sprayed out like a fountain in its place.
"Huh?"
The sheath smacked another man, knocking him out cold.
Unbelievably clean work.
The protagonist reincarnator was on another level, as expected.
"Wh-what the...? Crazy... hngh!"
"Argh! Sp-spare me! Please! I'll do anything! Just... please...!"
The downed man flailed and begged.
I ignored him and smashed his skull squarely.
Blood sprayed as I felt the crunch of his cranium.
'Easier than zombies.'
Monsters didn't care if their kin died right next to them.
Humans with emotions were simpler to kill.
Which made them more dangerous in some ways.
'Bums.'
I'd wondered since they rode up on bikes like big shots.
Turned out they'd barely offed two or three zombies.
At least our first real humans were these losers.
Would've been tougher against a mom with kids.
"How much'd you get?"
"70 coins. You?"
"80."
Yoo-ri smirked like she'd won.
Would've been a pretty sight if she wasn't dragging a body behind her.
"That one's still alive?"
"Just knocked out. Hye-na's turn."
Yoo-ri tossed the guy to the ground.
Blood trickled from his head, but he was still kicking.
"Th-thanks, Yoo-ri."
Hye-na stood over him, dagger in her trembling hand, voice shaky.
Her breathing was ragged.
She looked anxious as hell.
Even trash like this sparked her aversion to killing.
"You just need to kill him—no need to stab. Strangle or drop from a height works too."
I suggested, but Hye-na calmly shook her head.
"No. I don't want to keep relying on you guys."
Hye-na raised the dagger high.
Then plunged it into his chest.
"Ah... coins came in for me too. 50 coins. I'm dead last... haha..."
Hye-na forced a smile.
But her bloodied hands shook uncontrollably.
'What a shitty world.'
Unlike me or Yoo-ri, Hye-na was just an ordinary student.
This would scar her forever, yesterday and today.
'But if she can't handle it, she won't survive.'
She had to accept it.
This was an apocalypse novel beyond common sense.
Better than clinging to morals and dying.
Yoo-ri, who'd been watching quietly, offered soft advice.
"These were the guys trying to kill us first. Not for survival—for their own fun."
If we were weaker, we'd be dead.
Yoo-ri and Hye-na would've been raped too.
In a way, it was lucky.
Their first kills were scum like this.
"Yeah, no need to feel guilty."
"I'm fine. No such feelings."
Hye-na nodded with a stiff face.
"Still, thanks."
Simple words, but the tension eased a bit.
Girls like Hye-na were essential.
If it was just me and Yoo-ri...
Honestly, we'd ditch our humanity in days.
"Hmm, should we clear these bodies first? Kinda gross."
"We're fine. Blame yourself for decapitating that one."
"Lee Ji-hoon, shut it."
We dragged the corpses to a corner and dumped them.
No point burying since we were leaving soon.
'What age rating is this novel? Even apocalypse protags don't dump bodies like this.'
Then I remembered 'Comment Search'.
Main quest started, so I could use it again.
'Better check now while we have time.'
Apocalypse meant chaos once shit hit the fan.
Grab info while I could.
'Keyword... none?'
No urgent needs.
Plus, curious what no keyword would pull.
Skill 'Comment Search' used!
[Input keyword: None]
I'd gotten pretty good at using the skill.
But the messages made me balk again.
'Only one comment? And it's unavailable info?'
I licked my dry lips and scanned the list.
First time with just one, and like before, no preview.
'It helped with the boss quiz last time.'
The first comment tailored to my situation, ignoring the original.
What would this one be?
Tension built unexpectedly.
'Does no keyword always do this? Or just once?'
Couldn't be ordinary anyway.
Only one choice.
'How big is this info?'
Mouth went dry from nerves.
I took a breath and opened it.
"Argh, damn it!!"
I thought it was hiding some massive secret.
Wasted 100 coins on trash.
That's seven zombie heads.
"No useful info at all! Trying to screw me over?!"
This proved it.
Some sleazy reader was grinning at my misery on the other side.
"J-Ji-hoon? What's wrong all of a sudden?"
Hye-na looked startled at my outburst.
Damn, let emotions slip.
"Sorry. Blood splashed while moving 'em."
"Oh, got it. Sorry... I should've killed cleaner."
No, that's not it.
Don't make that face—you'll make me feel bad.
"A-anyway, it's morning already. What now? Breakfast?"
Hye-na brightened the mood deliberately.
I played along.
"Got something more pressing first."
"What?"
"Apocalypse proper started, so coin shop should be open."
"Oh, right!"
Coins we'd hoarded with nowhere to spend.
Now we had a use.
Yoo-ri said shops unlock today.
"Better peek before we move out."
Yoo-ri nodded like perfect timing.
"Good idea. I had something I wanted anyway."
Something specific?
Made sense—she'd survived one apocalypse already.
She knew what mattered.
"How do we open the shop?"
"Figured you'd know, reincarnator."
I glanced at Yoo-ri as I spoke.
She hesitated, lips parting, then shook her head.
"Simple. Just think 'open coin shop'."
"Like a game? Item list pops up?"
"More like—"
As Yoo-ri started to explain,
white smoke burst before us.
A man appeared in the smoke.
"Thank you for summoning me, players."
He wore a black suit and top hat.
The gentleman with the cane bowed gracefully.
"I run the Doom Shop. Call me the Mad Hatter."