Chapter 66
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: I Clearly Said to Kill Them
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"From now on, you all kill these guys."
With my single command, I could see the crowd of about forty people thrown into confusion.
And at the same time, the three men bound beside me started kicking up a fuss.
"Wait a second!! Kill?!"
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean!! Why the hell do we have to die?!"
"You fucking dog! What the fuck are you saying, you little brat!!"
The men losing their minds at the order to kill them.
"Stay still...!"
Krak—!
"Grk!!"
But Minjun, who had a solid build compared to the others, immediately pinned them down.
His face looked like he didn't want any of the backlash splashing onto him.
He seemed terrified that I might order him killed too.
I looked at the rowdy group and continued speaking.
"But it wouldn't be right to have all of you kill them when there are only three to kill. So two per guy. Pick your people now. If anyone hesitates or shows even a hint of resistance... I figure you know what happens without me saying it."
The crowd quieted down a bit.
At first, they'd gone pale at my words and chattered among themselves about what the hell was going on, but now they were shoving the task onto each other—"You do it."
There was only one reason I'd ordered them to do the killing.
To corrupt these people, who still clung to modern morality and might rebel.
To turn them into perfect slaves I could use however I wanted in the long run.
This was the second button in that process.
The first, of course, was my overwhelming power.
'If they keep thinking I chose them, that subconscious notion will influence their actions and mindset.'
Those who killed directly could no longer see themselves as good people.
And those who picked them became indirectly complicit in murder, leaving a deep guilt in their hearts.
Even if I'd killed them myself, their sense of helplessness—already maxed out by me—couldn't climb any higher.
So this contrived performance was necessary.
"By the way, you all stink pretty bad."
I hadn't mentioned it outright, but honestly, the safe zone smelled like the corner of a steam room that hadn't been cleaned or ventilated in who-knows-how-long.
To put it bluntly, it reeked of body odor and rot.
Their appearances matched—no baths meant hair matted with dandruff, clothes soaked in sweat.
And the only clean ones among them were me and Junsang, standing tall in front of the crowd.
That contrast made it all the starker.
"So here's a condition for you hesitators passing the buck: kill these three with your own hands, and I'll clean you up. Just like Junsang there."
"Feels even more refreshing than a shower."
Junsang, who'd experienced it firsthand, chimed in from beside me.
Sure, to them, Junsang and I might both be villains, but had he mentioned rallying opinions earlier?
Whatever the case, I could see more movement toward obeying my order.
"Yeah... gotta survive in this ruined world somehow..."
"Come to think of it, I might've shoved the guy next to me when I was running away..."
"F-For survival...!"
One by one, they started agreeing.
And slowly, people rose from their spots.
A few got pulled back down by neighbors, but we had our six.
Mostly guys, but one woman among them.
'A woman stepping up? Unexpected.'
The woman who'd stood had the complete opposite vibe of someone feisty.
She was plain-looking with a gloomy air.
Average build, average face—no standout features.
But her face held the fiercest malice among those who'd risen.
"Those who stood up, come forward on your own. Minjun, right? Move these guys where everyone can see."
"Yes, sir...!"
"Damn it...!!"
"Fuck! I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die!!"
"Minjun! It's not too late! Snap out of it!"
Minjun hauled the three doomed men forward at my command.
True to his connection with Junsang, he had the build to drag the struggling ones without much trouble.
This guy's useful later.
As Minjun passed by me, I hit him with Clean.
"Ah...! Th-thank you, boss."
"Work hard under Junsang from now on. Do well, and I'll give you a slave like his."
"I will!"
Minjun's face lit up at my words, he bowed once more, then carried the condemned off in his freshened state.
Men really will do anything for sex.
I watched his more eager movements for a moment.
By then, two people had been assigned per condemned man.
For the record, the lone woman was paired with Mr. Park for Mr. Kim.
'Now that's an unexpected combo.'
Thinking it made for an amusing sight, I stepped forward.
As I did, all six pairs of eyes turned to me.
"You can think of these six as your representatives. Anyone who doesn't like it, step up and take their place."
No one answered.
Just the people in the back, huddling silently, hoping this would end quick.
I let out a small sigh and turned back to the six.
"Hm... you all look pretty ragged. But I like the fire in your eyes. You've steeled yourselves to kill, right? If any of you stop midway, that'll be entertaining in its own way."
"We're ready...!"
"M-Me too..."
Their eyes burned with resolve, as if there was no chance they'd falter.
Especially the gloomy woman.
True to her earlier malice-filled glare, she answered first.
I approached her first.
"Uh, me...?"
"Don't act weird. Just hold out your hand."
"Yes, sir...!"
I placed a kitchen knife from my inventory into her hesitantly extended hand.
Then handed out the rest to the other five.
Now they all gripped their weapons.
I stepped back and gestured at them, knives in hand.
"No need for prep. Kill them."
They approached the three condemned men.
Naturally, the doomed ones went berserk at the sight of knives coming their way.
"Fuck!! Wait! Stop! Stop, goddamn it!!"
"Mr. Park! Are you insane?! Put that knife down!"
"Please spare me!! Please!! I don't wanna die! Aaaagh!!"
But only the resolved approached them.
A hint of hesitation in their knife hands, but their steps didn't stop.
Puuk—!
"Gaaaahhh!!"
The first was the gloomy woman, brimming with malice.
Maybe a nasty personality—despite my clear order to kill, she stabbed her knife into his thigh instead of the heart or gut.
Soon, the sounds of blades piercing flesh followed one after another.
"Aaaagh!! Fuck, stop!! Fuuuuck!!"
"Graaaah! Spare me! Spaaare meee!! Aaaaagh!!"
Puuk—! sounds rang out nonstop, until the blades were yanked free, spraying blood from all three pairs.
But the stabbing resumed.
Agonized screams accompanied it.
'That's... even worse than me?'
And the standout was, predictably, the gloomy woman.
Starting with the thigh had set the tone; now she stabbed Mr. Kim's body with a knife while licking her lips, looking like she was enjoying it.
"Hee hee..."
'Now she's laughing?'
Blood already speckled her face from the first stab, making her look like a psycho bitch, but that creepy grin was giving even me chills.
Was this her true nature?
Or maybe the type who'd bottled up a lifetime of resentment.
Puuk—
Puuk—
Puuk—
"Gaaaaaaah!!"
Mr. Park had started with a thigh stab too, following her lead, but soon got pushed back by her momentum.
Couldn't be helped.
I wouldn't want to work alongside a woman grinning while methodically stabbing a living body all over either.
The condemned men, covered in knife wounds everywhere from the people's blades.
"..."
"..."
"Aaaagh!! Please stop! Aaaaah!!"
The two who'd been stabbed in the gut and heart first spilled their insides and died quickly.
My order was to kill, not torture, so that was expected.
But Mr. Kim, tortured by the gloomy woman—avoiding fatal wounds while getting stabbed all over—still clung to life.
The middle-aged man's wretched screams and her chilling laughter.
With only those left, the other five—splattered in blood—lowered their knives and stared at her in horror.
Me?
I stayed calm.
Though it soured my mood a bit.
And after a full ten minutes of torture, her knife finally plunged into Mr. Kim's throat, ending him.
Two cold corpses with knives in their guts and hearts.
And one gruesome body, stabbed everywhere, radiating desperate clinging to life.
I scratched my cheek at the scene—right result, wrong method—and eyed its creators.