Chapter 116: Slum (2)
Chapter 116: Slum (2)
The time it took for the muggers to become "former" muggers was approximately five seconds.
With a single body slam from the human bowling ball, Baek Si-hyun, the muggers were sent flying down the hallway like bowling pins.
Whether Si-hyun had controlled her strength or the muggers were just sturdy by nature, none of them seemed to have any permanent disabilities.
Instead...
Crash!
The muggers flying through the air collided with a pipe hanging from the ceiling. The old, rusted, and already warped plumbing couldn't withstand the impact.
Screeeech—!
With the sound of twisting metal, murky wastewater poured down over the muggers sprawled on the floor.
And so, a series of unfortunate events culminated in a "Human Trash and Wastewater Medley."
Hmm. I’ve made my decision.
"Let's just leave them."
If we dragged those things along with us, our dignity would plummet to the depths of hell.
"...Isn't this your fault, Senior?"
My disciple, your master is being wronged.
"Did I tell them to make a living by mugging people? Or did I shove them into the sewer? They brought this on themselves."
"I mean, that’s true, but..."
Han A-bin trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words.
She cut herself short, but I could easily guess the rest of the sentence. It was probably something like, 'Isn't this a bit too much?' Even to my eyes, they looked absolutely wretched.
To get that smell off, they’d have to soak in hot water for days, but...
Is that my problem?
"Si-hyun, leave them be and let's go somewhere else. If we mess with them any more, our clothes will get dirty."
My voice, calling out to my disciple, echoed through the alleyway.
"Yes, sir!"
With a vigorous reply, Baek Si-hyun, who had been chasing down a fleeing mugger, returned.
At a glance, it looked like she was just running recklessly, but seeing her move her feet nimbly to avoid the filth, it seemed even Si-hyun didn't want to step in that.
"Was there anything over there?"
"It was exactly the same as here!"
Exactly the same, huh?
I briefly scanned the path we had come from and the path Si-hyun had just returned from.
...Hadn't everything looked the same since we entered?
Lost in thought, I tapped on a nearby pipe as if I were looking for something, but only the hollow ring of the interior returned. I couldn't gain any particular information.
I could just smash through the walls and move in a straight line, but that might alert Villains or Mutants to our presence. Plus, there was the risk of destroying some innocent person's home...
"Let's go this way."
I pointed toward a side path.
The front was covered in filth, and we’d already come from the back, so sideways was the only option.
"Is it... better that way?"
Having already experienced one ambush, Han A-bin asked with a hint of distrust and anxiety in her voice.
"Trust your master. I don't want to stay in a place like this any longer than I have to, either."
I turned back to her with a confident expression.
She took a deep breath as if relieved, but soon realized her mistake and her face turned a pale shade of blue.
"It'll be better if you breathe through your mouth. Or just get used to it like I did."
As I spoke, I yanked a protrusion out of The Wall and tossed it behind me.
Clang!
The beautiful sound of metal meeting flesh rang out, and the mugger who had been trying to sneak away was knocked unconscious.
Satisfied with the excellent throw, I nodded and slowly moved forward.
The disciples left behind looked at each other uneasily, but eventually, they followed me.
In the hallway, where a mysterious humming sound and vibrations that felt like the building itself was shaking continued, the footsteps of three people echoed.
* * *
I felt a subtle change in the air and lifted my head, sniffing.
Amidst the terrible stench, there was the overlapping smell of something burning.
"Let's go this way."
If this place is the same as it used to be, there should be a place to rest over there.
Even if it wasn't exactly what we were looking for, the act of escaping this heap of trash for even a moment would be valuable in itself.
"That's the tenth time you've said that..."
At some point, Han A-bin had dropped the "Senior" honorific, her voice thick with frustration and fatigue.
Had I really picked a new path more than ten times? I remembered the number of times muggers had appeared, though.
The guy from earlier was definitely the fourth.
Unlike picking paths, those encounters had enough impact for me to remember.
Three civilians, one Villain.
For some reason, none of them had the information I needed, so I ended up stuffing them into the nearby gutter.
"You'll be able to rest a bit if we go there."
"I don't believe you..."
Believe me or not, that place really should be a resting spot.
"Si-hyun, let's leave A-bin behind and go ourselves."
I spoke to Baek Si-hyun, who had been following silently, instead of the half-dead Han A-bin...
Strangely, Baek Si-hyun was silent.
She was just following us quietly with her eyes closed, swaying as she walked.
"...Si-hyun?"
Sensing something was wrong, I called her name again, but Si-hyun just continued to rock from side to side.
Did that Villain from earlier do something to her?
He seemed pathetically weak; could he have been a mental-type?
"Baek Si-hyun!"
The moment I grabbed her hand...
"Hah! Yes, I'm Baek Si-hyun! Is it another enemy? Where should I charge?"
What is this now?
Baek Si-hyun, suddenly snapping her eyes open, started spouting nonsense.
As if she truly had no idea what was going on, she materialized a weapon in her hand and looked around.
After scanning the area for a moment...
"Master. Where is The Enemy?"
Could it be...?
"Were you sleeping?"
"No."
"..."
Liar.
"I wasn't sleeping."
Seeing my disciple continue to deny her mistake, I couldn't help but let out a sigh.
"Si-hyun. Even if it's you, denying it when you clearly were asleep is a bit..."
Han A-bin chimed in, apparently unable to let this one slide even if it was Baek Si-hyun.
"A-bin is right. Si-hyun, you were in the wrong this time."
Perhaps because both of us were scolding her from both sides, Si-hyun looked dejected. She lowered her hammer and hung her head, staring at the floor.
"...I'm sorry."
It had been a while since I’d heard Si-hyun’s voice sound so deflated. She probably knew she messed up.
To cheer her up, I continued.
"To be precise, I'm not scolding you for sleeping while moving. In fact, if you can pull that off, it's a good thing."
"Huh? Senior, what do you mean?"
Hmm? Was Han A-bin not on the same page as me?
"It's not a particularly dangerous place, and it's good to rest when you can. However, Si-hyun."
"...Is Senior out of it too?"
Ignoring the annoying background chatter, I went on.
"If you feel like you're going to sleep, tell those around you beforehand. That way, your comrades can look out for you. If they don't know, their reaction time will be delayed if something happens. You could even get left behind."
"Senior? Am I the one who's weird here?"
A-bin. Be quiet.
Regardless of Han A-bin’s reaction, Baek Si-hyun’s eyes sparkled as if she had regained her energy from my advice.
"Master, I will go to sleep now!"
My precious disciple, putting what she just learned into practice immediately.
"Hold off on that for a bit."
However, I couldn't allow it right now.
"You'll be able to rest comfortably soon."
After telling my disciples that, I moved quietly through the alley.
Unlike where we had walked so far, there wasn't much squelching filth.
The pipes that had forced us to keep our heads down were gone, and the electrical wiring that tripped our ankles didn't exist in this hallway.
It was likely because many people used this path.
Because of that, I picked up my pace.
As the footsteps behind me grew distant, a certain sensation grew stronger.
The stickiness and slipperiness of grease.
The smell of burning embers.
Perhaps because I used to frequent this place so often, the familiar sensations began to revive memories that had been dormant in my mind.
A memory of a certain market, strongly engraved in my mind.
And before long, the moment the narrow hallway opened up wide, that sight came into view.
It wasn't a hallway built inside a building, but a wide alleyway created between buildings.
Unlike the rest of Nanjido, where buildings were crammed into every available inch of ground to expand living space, this was a wide-open, straight area.
Though sunlight didn't reach down, blocked by laundry hanging between buildings, sagging power lines, and hole-ridden nylon tarps spread to keep out the rain.
In place of natural light, lightbulbs turned gray by grease cast a dim glow over the area.
"Senior... you're too fa... Whoa..."
"Wow... This is incredible."
The disciples, arriving late, let out gasps of admiration, clearly not expecting such a sight.
And for good reason.
The atmosphere here was entirely different from the places we had passed through.
"Skewers, all 500 won!"
"High-quality ice, 250,000 per gram!"
"Soap, toothpaste available! All 10,000 won!"
"Hey, mister, why not get a haircut and pull a tooth while you're at it? I'll give you a deal!"
"We've got fresh organs here! Come this way!"
A massive market bustling with the energy of people living their lives.
Even in a slum, as if to prove they were merchants in their own right, the walls of the buildings flanking the market were consumed by signs.
Of course, they were so rusted and filthy that it was impossible to tell what kind of shop they were for, which was why the vendors were shouting so loudly to attract customers.
"One skewer."
Since the disciples had caught up, I went to a nearby stall and ordered a skewer.
"Yes, that'll be 500 won."
"Do you take outside currency?"
"What's the mint year?"
The familiar counterfeit check.
Outside, coins aren't worth enough to bother, but things are different in here.
To answer the question, I pulled a 500-won coin from my pocket and looked at it.
It was hard to tell in the dim light, but by tilting it this way and that, I could roughly make it out.
"2011."
"That'll work."
"I guess counterfeits are still rampant?"
I flicked the 500-won coin to the owner as I asked.
"Yeah. There's a high chance they won't take anything after 2015, so be careful," the owner replied, providing information on the latest counterfeits.
Anyway, 500 won for a skewer. Inflation is still a mess here.
I knew banknotes weren't used much because of the fakes, but I couldn't believe food was still 500 won.
While I was thinking that, the owner confirmed the mint year and then dipped the skewer I had pointed at into Black Oil to fry it again.
Might as well squeeze out some more information.
"What's the exchange rate these days?"
"..."
The owner suddenly went quiet.
Does he want me to buy another one?
"Give me one of those, too."
When I flicked another 500-won coin...
"Yes! Thank you! And about the exchange rate? These days, it's 115 for coins and 240 for bills."
240, huh?
Tsk. I should have brought coins, even if they were heavy.
"Where's the nearest exchange?"
"If you go down that alley, there's an exchange certified by the Association. You should use that one."
The owner spoke while holding a skewer in one hand and pointing toward a dark alley with the other.
"Good luck with your business."
"Thank you!"
I stuffed two blackened skewers into my mouth and returned to my disciples.
The disciples approached me, curious about the black skewers, but backed away once they saw what they actually were.
Crunch.
The hard texture of the scorpion skewer registered in my mouth.
Dammit. It's under-seasoned.
I was expecting the salty taste of fried food along with the crunch, but all I felt was the mushiness of undercooked innards.
At least the tail seemed to have been prepared properly; I could taste the crunch and the sting of red pepper flakes, but that was it.
It was a skewer worth exactly 500 won.
"What... is that...?"
"...Those are scorpions, right...?"
"Nanjido's specialty: Insect Skewers."
I stuffed the remaining two scorpions into my mouth, rolled the somewhat chewable tail on my tongue, and held out the remaining skewer to my disciples.
"Want a spider? This one should be okay."
The prickly hairs dancing on my tongue and throat were a bit distracting, but once you get used to it, it's a pretty interesting sensation. They probably cooked it thoroughly since the innards might be poisonous.
"...I'll pass."
"...Do we have to eat that?"
Strong revulsion was written all over their faces. Well, I suppose it's like that if you're not used to it.
"Suit yourselves. Let's go exchange some money."
I tossed the empty skewer from my right hand and shoved the spider from my left hand into my mouth.
Unlike the scorpion, it wasn't crunchy, but when I reflexively bit down at the sensation of the hairs pricking my tongue...
Squish.
The juices from inside flowed out.
Chewing on the complex-tasting substance with its bitter base, I headed toward the exchange the owner had mentioned.
The spider seemed to be worth the money.
The disciples showed the bizarre reaction of hurriedly turning away to avoid even the falling empty skewer, but they'll get used to it if I leave them be.
This is all social experience. Social experience.
It means there are people in Seoul who live by eating bugs.
Not that you would have known.