Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Leisure
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Around the main base, nothing was going on.
The cameras captured nothing but empty streets from beginning to end.
Peaceful surroundings... Peace is a good thing. It means no need to worry about dying.
It'd be great if I could just stay content like this and keep living.
But food supplies will run out eventually. Most of the grub scattered across the world is already spoiled beyond use.
Only canned goods that you can still choke down past their expiration dates are pulling their weight as rations.
Of course, somewhere out there, people must be farming and raising livestock.
Folks in the countryside or rural areas, or maybe specialists who'd been doing that kind of thing.
With unlimited electricity and water, they might even be having a blast tilling fields and breeding animals.
Plant crops, harvest grain to feed the livestock, fatten them up, then use their manure to fertilize the fields...
It probably wouldn't be as easy as the good old days, but it's not impossible.
Still, that's not a luxury I can afford. I'm no producer—I'm a raider.
Actually, calling me a raider is too generous. More like a parasite.
Or a bedbug. Leech, maybe.
So yeah, I can afford to take it easy for now, but I can't stop my own little production efforts.
No clue if I can snag a third skill, but it sure as hell won't be cheap in coins.
Plus, there's Seung-hee, and the lightning girl holed up in that apartment.
Ah... didn't even ask the lightning girl's name.
Anyway, point is, I need coins. No way around it if I wanna use the shop.
Unless I wanna gather people and head up to the capital to farm, my only option is to keep slaughtering others and raking in the coins.
I finished prepping and headed out.
To avoid the route I'd taken from the apartment to base last night, I took a different path back to the apartment.
Clearing out the area along the way, and scouting for an adult shop.
Fuck, adult shops always cluster in the sketchiest spots, but when you need one, they're nowhere to be found.
This ghost town was slowly losing its shape.
The funniest part? Plants bursting through the asphalt.
One sprouts, cracks the pavement, then another shoots up in the gap.
Just four years in, and nature had invaded huge swaths of the roads.
Brick sidewalks were already meadows.
Of course, winter had killed off most of the growth right now, so it kinda looked normal again. But come spring and summer, it'd be a jungle.
About halfway there, I found the adult shop.
Next to a lottery store with every window shattered. The place was covered floor-to-ceiling in embarrassing pink sheet vinyl over the glass exterior.
Knowing no one was around, I strode right in.
Looked like others had the same idea—shelves were picked pretty clean.
Makes sense. From experience, this stuff works great as torture tools too.
If it were me on the receiving end, I'd wanna off myself. Ugh. Horrifying just thinking about it.
Inside the adult shop... damn, human imagination is wild.
Tons of toys that were shockingly straightforward and straight-up horrifying looking.
Ah... this one's for shoving inside a woman's pussy... but seriously, who puts this in?
Okay, big sizes I get, but what the hell are these bumps? Insane.
Do people actually enjoy this shit? Feel good? No way I'd ever get it.
I thought I'd tried every crazy thing out there over four years, but this humblebrags me into the dirt.
Made me realize how damn conservative I was about sex.
I skipped the gross, weirdly shaped crap and grabbed the most normal, clean-looking stuff.
Electric dildo. Whoa. Fuck. This looks solid? Shove something this big in and make it vibrate?
Time for a test run. Gotta know.
And surprisingly, there were other useful items.
Restraints, blindfold, ball gag? Yeah, that. With these, I could shame the hell out of someone while blocking their sight and mouth effectively.
These cuffs were sturdier and more convenient than expected. Inside lined with soft material so it doesn't cut into the skin. Impressive.
What pointless consideration... nah, not pointless.
Smart folks pooled their brains to make bondage comfy and safe. Can't knock that.
Browsing around, I was getting kinda hyped. Best part? Someone I could use this on right away.
Hmm. Lightning girl seems rough around the edges, so maybe go hard with her. Seung-hee could get the softer stuff?
That girl's been seeming unsatisfied with just the vibrator lately.
I swept up every decent thing in sight.
No one's watching, but stuffing them in my backpack like contraband makes me look ridiculous.
Fuck, this is why Joseon's Confucianism is the problem. Not my fault. Neo-Confucianism's the culprit.
Raid an empty convenience store nearby for a shit-ton of batteries too.
In a world with unlimited power, batteries aren't hot items surprisingly.
Thought they'd be the first to go in a disaster... special circumstances, I guess.
With that, I headed to the apartment.
As the entrance came into view, I scanned with detection. A woman, stock-still. Hell, just detecting her was a relief.
If she'd ambushed me, killed herself, or bolted, she wouldn't show up.
I opened the lobby door and climbed to the third floor.
At her door, I compulsively scanned again... and jumped. What the fuck? Why's she right at the door?
Whoa... fucking terrifying. Goosebumps down my spine.
Dunno how she did it, but she must've peeled off the tape. Being right there means she was gonna skill me the second the door opened?
Fuck... dodged a bullet.
Detection for the win, motherfucker!
What now?
Her lightning wave spreads outward. Obviously can't pass through obstacles.
She'd blast the skill right as I open the door? I could dodge behind it, peek out, spot her, and put her to sleep...
But what if she double-casts? Or spams it?
Tricky. Mistime it, and I'm the one fucked.
Racking my brain, but no clever ideas.
This chick... smarter than I thought?
But here's our biggest difference.
I have detection. She doesn't.
She can't camp there all day.
Doesn't know when I'll show. Can't come out first either.
Psychologically, I'm ahead.
Best play here? War of attrition. Safest, surest way.
Whether she hits the bathroom or eats, the second she steps away, I knock her out.
So I plopped down right there.
Floor was cold, so I set my pack down and sat on it.
30 minutes... an hour... she didn't budge.
How the hell does she stay frozen like that? Impressive. Life-or-death stakes, maybe?
Need a new plan.
I'm freezing my ass off.
What else?
Third floor... balconies. Climb one, peek in, sleep her?
Safest bet. Unlike her, I can pull it off easy.
Okay. Anything else besides that?
Open the door, bait her into spamming skills?
Not bad, but risky. Even grazing electric shock hurts like hell.
Go for the balcony route first. Ladder, and I'm golden.
If I can see her with my own eyes, I win... just need that ladder.
Was about to move when something felt off.
The entrance... can you see it from the balcony?
Don't think so.
Right. Balcony doesn't overlook the entrance.
Fuck. Trickier than I thought.
Climb over the balcony door? Nah... higher chance she zaps me.
Scratched my head.
What to do? Just wait it out?
Apartment hallway, no wind, but midwinter cold isn't ignorable.
Sticking it out like this, my body's slowing down.
You try getting in here, bitch. Better brace yourself.
Racked my brain again.
Ah... wasting time on this bullshit. Annoying.
Glanced at my pack.
And the crossbow dangling from it.
Crossbow. Oh... crossbow.
Great idea. This oughta work.
Should've thought of it sooner. Sigh.
Set the pack against the door, grabbed the crossbow, activated detection. Still frozen.
Swiped the keycard.
Beep-boop!
Cracked the door, wedged the pack in.
Flash!
Lightning wave pouring through the gap.
Fuck. Spine-tingling. Hate lightning for a reason.
She's gotta be wondering why I wedged the pack.
Felt her pushing the door.
Heh. Can't budge it with your strength. I'm pushing too.
Loaded the crossbow, raised the bolt, and fired straight into the gap.
Aimed high at the ceiling to avoid hitting her by accident—that'd be a hassle.
Thwack!
Splat!
Bolt thudding into the ceiling.
"Eek!"
Detection showed her bolting to the back room.
Dumb bitch. Give me distance, and you lose.
Flung the door open and put her to sleep.
She crumpled like the first time I saw her.
"Hoo."
A sigh escaped me.
Fuck, that was rough.
Grabbed the crossbow and pack, stepped inside.
Warm house. Body thawing.
"All that bullshit for something so simple. Like they say, bad brains mean hard labor."
Shed my parka and approached her.
Time to pay for making me sweat.
I pulled out the adult toys and duct tape from my pack, flashing a bright smile.