Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Handing Over the Mart
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"I'll give this mart to you guys."
I'm still not entirely sure if this is the smart thing to do. But in this fucked-up world, where the hell is the right answer anyway? You just live however you feel like it.
I cut the tape binding their four arms.
They didn't seem to expect I'd set them completely free—even with their freedom restored, they hesitated.
"I don't trust you. What I'm doing right now is just a whim. So don't do anything stupid that might make me think I was wrong and kill you all."
I'm not banking on human goodness, trust, or faith—none of that flimsy crap.
Survival instincts and rational calculation. If they're smart, they won't do something idiotic like attacking me—that's my judgment.
"Out of the fourteen punks who were holed up here—none of them looked like real gangsters—I killed twelve. The two left are standing in front of you."
Both men and women glared at the gangsters with eyes burning in hatred. It's only natural for people who've been beaten and raped.
"I'm handing these two and this mart over to you. All I want is for you to use your abilities well, make this place your base, and survive. I'll send over survivors I think are worth keeping alive. Team up with them and make it through."
This is insane, even by my own standards.
I might be sowing the seeds of chaos myself.
But that's what I wanted. In a world left only with slaughter and mutual assured destruction, I wondered if something could still bloom.
It might become humanity's last shred of dignity—or a nightmare headache.
"I'm not telling you to never kill, share humanity and compassion with everyone, or practice love and peace. If you don't like someone, kill them. If there's a woman you want, rape her—I won't say a word. You can use the people I send as fodder to survive, do whatever you want. Even if one of your guys kills the other right now, locks up the two women again as sex slaves, lives like that, then kills himself—I won't interfere."
My words must've been provocative; everyone's faces twisted a bit.
They still have some soft spots.
"There's just one thing I want. Follow me."
I turned and headed to the window.
There's nothing more foolish or stupid than showing your back to others, but right now, it felt okay.
As everyone gathered at the window, I continued.
"You see this main road?"
"Yes."
"The other side of this road is my territory. Don't come this way when you go out. It's a hassle to check and kill you one by one."
"Got it."
"Follow me."
I went over to the two bound gangsters, and they shuffled after me obediently.
"Who wants to kill them?"
"Me! I'll do it!"
"Me!"
Surprisingly, the two women stepped up first.
Their fierce momentum made the men shrink back a little. Well, women with a grudge are scary.
"Want to borrow my axe?"
The grown girl, flustered without a proper way to kill despite saying she would, nodded.
"Here."
Handing over my weapon so readily made the men's eyes widen in disbelief—like, for real?
In their eyes, I probably looked confident. Inside, I was a bit nervous.
"Can I kill him now?"
The fireball girl asked me.
"He's yours."
"Fireball!"
A fireball formed and slammed into the man's body, scorching it. As expected, it was slow and weak.
But at close range, it hit dead-on—the man's body sizzled, giving off a foul smell.
"Urghhh!"
The fireball girl, used to the sight, didn't hesitate and cast it again.
A couple more times, and the man eventually turned to light and vanished.
"The coin... where is it?"
"The killer takes it."
The woman cautiously approached and collected the coin, her face lighting up in surprise. Must be a decent amount.
"I'll do it too."
The grown girl brought the axe down without hesitation.
No qualms, striking with full force decisively. It was chilling.
She lacked the strength to kill in one blow. Well, chopping the chest like that won't do it instantly.
You'd need to aim for the neck or read the ribs' grain to cleave properly. Hitting crosswise like that won't kill in one hit.
"Urgh."
Blood sprayed as the man's body was hacked apart. After seven or eight strikes, he too dissolved into light.
With the splattered blood gone, only the grown girl remained, looking relieved.
The coin was sucked in, and she staggered to her feet, handing me back the hand axe with both hands.
"Girls, grab some clothes and get dressed. We're heading out. Guys, while they're changing, do one experiment with me."
As I tucked away the hand axe, the naked women—wearing only long coats—immediately went to find their clothes.
The men looked suspicious at the word "experiment."
"You won't die or get hurt. Both of you, use your skills."
One turned metallic, the other invisible.
I looked at the metal guy and muttered softly.
"Sleep."
It worked fine even with the skill active. That's what I wanted to confirm. I'd tested it before, but I needed to check differences by type. Self-buffs are trash, as expected.
"Detection."
The invisible guy's presence popped up on Detection. Fuck. Detection is OP.
I cast Sleep on the now-detectable invisible guy. Did it work?
Thud.
Whoa... it did. I heard a body hit the floor.
Completely broken skill. Totally unfair.
I pondered skill mechanics. Invisibility just hides from sight—it doesn't erase existence.
So if you can sense the existence, you can target skills without seeing. Meaning...
Even with eyes closed or in total darkness, as long as Detection works, I can cast skills.
Worth experimenting with slowly.
Soon the girls returned, dressed decently. Must be plenty of clothes in the mart—they looked almost human now.
"Why is Min-joon... passed out?"
"He'll wake up soon. No problem."
The grown girl fell silent at my curt words.
Shortly after, the metal guy woke, and the invisible one rustled before reappearing.
"You guys get dressed too. I'll be waiting at the first-floor exit. Come when you're ready."
The men, led by the women, went to dress, and I headed down to the first floor, watching them.
I sat on a chair inside the entrance, lost in thought. Suspicion gnawed at me again, relentlessly.
This is stupid. Just kill the men, rape and kill the women—why complicate things?
I know. I get it, but I'm just trying it out.
In a world where all you can do is kill and fuck, I'm trying something weird.
If they betray me and I die, that's my fate. Thinking they won't betray me after I spared them is my choice.
"Detection."
I sensed the four approaching together.
A slight tension, but I didn't show it. Four of them? No worry. Unless they can't even swing before instant death.
Their weak skills let me afford this leisure.
They finished preparing and approached. I beckoned and stepped outside.
The daylight was bright, but the air was frigid. My body huddled instinctively against the cold.
After the mart's full heat, it felt even colder. Well... winter's supposed to be cold.
"Anyone know how to drive?"
They just stared at each other. Makes sense—at twenty-two, no license probably.
When we reached the electric car and Benz, they got why I asked.
"Electric car. Just accelerator and brake. Roads are wide. Figure it out. Or don't need it, whatever. I'm out."
I loaded up casually and hopped into the Benz naturally.
Fuck. I was showing off too. Sigh.
Thankfully, no fumbling with the ignition or driving. They reversed coolly and peeled out with a roar.
I didn't know what crazy shit this was, but it made me laugh.
"Heh heh heh."
Now to the bunker. Time for a good sleep.
Where to park this? Just leave it outside?
Whatever. Head near the bunker first.
I drove to the bunker, chugging a Recovery Potion and scanning with Detection.
Impossible without Detection. Kept laughing.
Am I crazy? Why am I so amused?
I parked the car haphazardly in an empty garage nearby, entered the bunker, unpacked, and stripped naked.
Washed up roughly, grabbed my smartphone nude, and went to Seung-hee's room.
I pulled up the photo and tossed it to her. She looked, then burst into tears, sobbing.
Would've been better if she'd done it herself. But dead is dead, whoever did it.
Thought about a quick fuck and cut, but... not the vibe.
Let her be happy. Sex anytime.
As I turned to leave, Seung-hee ran up and hugged me from behind.
"Thank you... sob. Thank you."
A woman thanking the guy who imprisoned her, tortured her sexually, and raped her whenever.
I don't get it. What the hell is she thinking?
I left Seung-hee and exited the room.
Locked the door and went to my room, lying down.
I don't know. Don't understand a thing.
Least of all, myself. Sung-cheol, what the fuck kind of stupid thoughts are you having?