Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Obtained a National Power-Level Ability
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I like 1+1.
The buy-one-get-one-free deals they run all the time at convenience stores.
Sure, nobody hates them, but I love them so much I deliberately pick out only those products when I shop.
I'd ducked out for a quick break and stopped by the store. My eyes landed on the part-timer behind the counter.
She was ridiculously young and pretty. With a great rack, too.
It's a convenience store tucked in a dead-end corner of a building that doesn't get much foot traffic, so the manager must've hired her just for her looks to draw in customers.
I remembered him bragging that he'd snagged the hottest girl from the nearby university.
"……."
Tap, tap-tap, tap.
A customer walks in, and she doesn't even greet me—she's just glued to her phone.
With an attitude like that, what's the point?
Still, I come here on purpose anyway.
I sneak a glance at the part-timer while picking out a coffee.
Oh, it's a 1+1 deal. Perfect.
I can give one to Ga-eun.
The report I was supposed to hand off to Ga-eun ended up being about thirty minutes late. She got chewed out for it but didn't complain to me once. She's an angel.
I do feel bad, though... so I should at least apologize with this.
"This one, and... a pack of Manboro Bronze, please. And a lighter."
"……Bronze?"
"Yeah. Real men smoke Manboro."
She looks me up and down like I'm some kind of bug. When she hands over the cigarettes, she sets them down on the counter so they barely touch my hand. She's still holding her phone the whole time. Social media addict?
"Hoo…."
I grab my stuff after paying and step outside for a moment. Might as well have one while I'm here.
I proudly pull out the pack with "Manboro" emblazoned on it, making sure it's visible. I cover up the "Bronze" part a bit, though. That's embarrassing.
Maybe I should check the community that's been blowing up earlier.
"Kongju! What happened back there? Did that intern screw up again and get you in trouble?"
I hear a familiar voice—some women from my company. I quickly duck into a spot where they won't see me.
In the middle is Gong Ga-eun, my mentor, her big employee ID badge bouncing around. Three other coworkers flank her—the usual trio that always hangs with Ga-eun.
Their names are memorable because of how they go together.
Kim Soyoung, So Hana, Jeom Ssoi.
Number Zero Shop, One Shop, Two Shop, in order.
"You've looked upset since earlier. Did that guy mess up again?"
"Kongju" is short for Assistant Manager Gong, but somehow it stuck as Ga-eun's nickname. I tried calling her that once, but she said it made her uncomfortable and hated it.
Gong Ga-eun let out a deep sigh.
"Haa... Yeah, you're right."
"Ah~ That piggy uncle guy? Right?"
"How old is he again? That pig? Thirty-three? Or four?"
"He looks like he should be a manager by now. How useless do you have to be to still be an intern at that age and causing problems?"
These fucking bitches... talking shit about me right to my face when I'm not around.
I don't know if it's my looks or what, but this trio hates my guts for some reason. Especially Kim Soyoung, who talks down to me like I'm trash—she outright despises me.
But angelic Ga-eun always treats me with a smile, even when I screw up... She wouldn't badmouth me behind my back like this, right?
"Exactly... I told him to hurry up several times, but he was just messing with his phone."
"Wow~. He's next-level garbage."
"When does that uncle intern end? Kongju? I want him gone ASAP. He stinks when he's around."
"Like two or three months left? Having to deal with him for two more months is gonna drive me insane. For real."
Their voices are getting closer. I'm so nervous I can't even keep the cigarette in my mouth properly.
I've been bitched at my whole life, but that doesn't make it any easier to take or turn it into something enjoyable.
Especially not from these young little brats.
"Uh... let's just head to the convenience store first! Us."
Ga-eun seemed uncomfortable with the topic and tried to change it.
The convenience store? No way—are they coming this way?
Shit... If I stay here, we'll run into each other. It'll be obvious I was eavesdropping.
I glance around and spot a mini storage shed right behind me. It was like a small supply closet under the stairs.
Creeeak.
Luckily, the door's unlocked. I slip in and shut it before they see me.
It's fucking pitch black in here. There are like four ventilation slits in the door, but I still can't see shit inside. Dusty as hell, too.
"Did that intern apologize? No, more importantly, I haven't seen him since earlier—where'd he go?"
"No idea. Probably off smoking. Oh, Kongju! Don't accept anything from that intern even if he apologizes."
"Uh, um... But if he apologizes, shouldn't I accept it? I'm his mentor…."
As expected of Ga-eun. She's the only one who'll save me.
"Kongju, you're too nice. Seriously. If you do that, that uncle will think he's got the green light~. He's the type to give you convenience store coffee as an 'apology' and act all smug about it."
"It's probably some 1+1 deal he grabbed. That's all he's worth."
How'd they know? Uncanny.
I instinctively pull the 1+1 coffee I'm holding behind my back.
"O-of course! I'd just take the coffee and that's it."
...What?
"Right? See? Smart thinking, Kongju."
"Who knows what that bastard did to it? I hear guys these days spit in drinks and hand them over pretending it's fine."
"For real? Ew, disgusting."
"Ah... haha... I'll be careful."
Gong Ga-eun laughs awkwardly.
I can't tell if she's sincere or just going along, but Kim Soyoung definitely means it.
"Be careful for real, Kongju. Treat guys like that nice, and who knows what they'll do? They get the wrong idea and confess or some shit. Eww~ Gives me chills."
Kim Soyoung shudders and brushes off her shoulders.
"Don't worry...! I'd turn him down flat if that happened."
"Good. That's the way."
"You can't just accept everything. Cut 'em off the second they cross the line."
"Yes...! I'll keep that in mind."
With Ga-eun's reply, the four of them head into the convenience store.
I watch them go, fiddling pointlessly with the coffee I'd just bought.
Honestly, I couldn't say I felt absolutely nothing. Ga-eun was kind enough to be nice even to a loser like me.
But still, getting openly dissed right in front of her was hard to swallow.
What could I even do about it, though?
Throw a tantrum alone here? Quit and starve?
I'm a disposable intern on a knife-edge life, and even in a small company, Ga-eun's a full-time assistant manager. If shit hit the fan, who'd get cut first? Obvious.
All I could do was hold my breath in the shed and watch them enter the store.
In the end, there's nothing I can do.
No looks, unstable job.
Hell, if I at least had money, but I don't even have that.
Fucking world.
I wish it would just all go to hell.
—Thud!
"…?"
That's when something rumbled.
Shhh... sand-like stuff falls next to me.
What? Dust? Too much for dust.
—KABOOOM!!
This time, a massive explosion.
Loud enough to hurt my ears even inside the shed.
No, something's definitely up. Gas explosion? Earthquake? Either way, shit's hitting the fan.
Feels like a scene I've seen somewhere before.
KABOOM!!
Another huge blast. I have to plug my ears this time.
The ground shakes so hard I stagger. The ceiling rattles, lights flicker, then go out.
"Fuck, what the hell?"
Time for the phone.
Especially the community. Those assholes would post "WTF??" even if war broke out. Me included.
I quickly check the community to figure out what's going on.
💬 Community — User123 Recommend some new releases for today. — NovelFan No way, [Survival Game] author's on hiatus again? — Anon What was that explosion just now? — Witness Explosion confirmed? — Reviewer [Review] Deep Sea Exploration Review of the Day — Prophet Something... something's starting. — Shipper Hilde is the real wife. ……?
Some are talking explosions, others casually chatting webnovels.
Is it just here? Different regions?
Then my screen blacks out with a blaring alarm as a text pops up.
🚨 EMERGENCY ALERT 🚨 [Emergency Disaster Message] [Seoul Metropolitan City] Multiple unidentified explosions reported at present. Strange lifeform sighted in the Han River. Citizens, please evacuate immediat '……Huh?'
I read the text and freeze.
Not because I couldn't grasp the situation.
I'd seen this exact message somewhere before. Déjà vu.
'It's identical.'
Word-for-word the same as the disaster text from the early chapters of the webnovel Survival Game. Even the typo at the end.
—RUMBLE...!
The building shakes again with a massive roar.
This isn't an earthquake or explosion.
It's the sound of something enormous colliding.
Monsters dropping from gates in the sky, slamming into buildings.
"Kyaaah!"
"Monster! It's a monster!"
"Fuck... run!"
People scream and rush inside the building. That's all I need to know it's chaos out there.
The monsters' ear-splitting roars and screams fill the air. Terrified people. The building keeps shaking.
Unbelievable, but I had to believe it.
Should I get out?
No—first, check something.
If Survival Game really started, something should pop up right about now.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Seoul Region - 'Survival Game' has begun.] 'It's here!'
The status window in front of my eyes.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [You are a player in this game.] [Show us your ability to survive any situation.] The messages match my memory perfectly.
My suspicions turned to certainty.
The world really had gone to hell.
And the apocalypse was about to kick off.
Decision made. No time to waste. If the apocalypse starts now, I need to prep—a lot.
I throw open the shed door without looking back.
My target was right across from me.
The place where I'd gripped my coffee tight.
The convenience store.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [From this moment, all forms of movement and interaction between the Seoul region and external areas are severed. The Seoul region is now quarantined.]