Laying the Foundation
Laying the Foundation
"Let's start simple. We'll begin with the hands."
Angelica's smile deepened.
She brought the ice hand-axe Kim Ha-yoon had crafted close to the man's wrist, measuring her angles.
"Mmph...! Mmmph...!"
The man gagged and thrashed desperately, but Ha Hui-ryeong was already pinning his neck down, forcing him prone, rendering his resistance meaningless.
"He keeps moving. The angle is off. Ha Hui-ryeong, hold him more securely."
"I am holding him! And why do you get to go first?"
"Because I proposed this idea first. I believe that grants me priority."
"Let's settle it with rock-paper-scissors! Fair and square!"
"I will consider that for the next body part."
Crunch!
A gruesome, wet tearing sound filled the air, and blood spattered outward.
The raised hand-axe buried itself in the man's wrist, and a pitiful wail seeped through the gag.
"Ngggggh...! Ngh-hic...!"
"As expected, one swing isn't enough. Fine. Then I'll just keep going until it is."
"No. You failed, so now it's my turn."
"Hah, fine. If you want it that badly, I will cede the floor."
She passed the hand-axe to Ha Hui-ryeong.
Then they switched positions. This time, it was Angelica pressing down hard on the man's nape.
"Hrraaah!! Here it comes!!!"
Cr-crack!
The hatchet swung down with full force, spraying fresh crimson.
The dangling wrist was severed cleanly and went rolling across the floor.
"Kyah! This is it! This is the feeling I needed!"
Ha Hui-ryeong's lips curled up in deep satisfaction.
Angelica, however, glared at her with disapproval and scolded her.
"If you're quite satisfied, heal him. He'll be in critical danger if he bleeds out."
"Okay."
Immediately, Ha Hui-ryeong lightly ran her hand over the severed cross-section.
Astonishingly, the wound site began to bubble and froth, and in an instant, new flesh sprouted, restoring the hand to a perfectly healthy state.
"Wow. This isn't just healing — it's basically regeneration."
That was my observation after witnessing the entire process.
I knew Ha Hui-ryeong's trait was useful, but I'd never imagined she could restore an amputated body part this rapidly.
She regenerated the missing limb in nearly thirty seconds flat.
This meant that even if she suffered severe injuries in combat, she could be re-deployed almost immediately. From now on, I could throw her into the fray without reservation.
Of course, I'd have to exercise some caution to make sure she didn't die instantly.
"Is that so. That is certainly good news. Now then, shall we move on and confirm what happens to the internal organs?"
"Hold it! Rock-paper-scissors first! We're settling it with that this time, got it?"
Ha Hui-ryeong and Angelica had completely joined forces in their crusade to discover the limits of the healing ability.
Just a short while ago, they'd been glaring daggers at each other in a murderous standoff, and now they were getting along like a house on fire.
"There's not much in here. Not much to take, either."
Kim Ha-yoon, who had been inspecting the interior while floating chunks of ice around her, returned to my side.
Eventually, her gaze fell upon the atrocities Ha Hui-ryeong and Angelica were committing, and a faintly horrified expression surfaced on her face.
"Unnies, I knew you were like this, but you're seriously not right in the head, are you?"
"Ever since the world went to hell, it's like the safeties all came off. I wasn't quite this bad in the past."
Even Ha Hui-ryeong had been trembling on the first day the zombies broke out.
She'd feared death and had a powerful aversion to taking another person's life.
That's why, back when I'd started escalating things, she'd criticized me and even proposed a pact. She said she'd handle the zombies, so I had to be the one to deal with the people.
'Well... I guess that part still holds true?'
Even now, she avoided killing others under the flimsy pretense that she'd only take lives that were "worth collecting."
Because of that, she hadn't personally killed a single person since the Old Man incident.
However.
"Hrrrk... urgh hrrrk..."
"Puhahaha! What's this, is he crying? This son of a bitch is crying — he's crying!"
The only difference from back then was that she'd become more honest about her desires.
She'd torment them so cruelly that the victim would beg for death, but she'd never be the one to snuff out their breath.
A method to satisfy her urges while erasing any sense of guilt.
In a way, you could call it profoundly selfish.
After all, she was foisting the responsibility off onto us.
But then again, that was the original deal she'd made with me, so I was in no position to chide her for it.
"She's changed, a little. So has she, and so have I... and that definitely includes you too."
"That's true. The old me would've been puking and making a scene, not just frowning like this."
Kim Ha-yoon readily agreed.
Not too long ago, she'd been nothing more than a fresh-faced girl of twenty, barely out of school.
But the world...
This mad, spiraling world had steadily eroded her conventional sensibilities.
You had to become cruel to survive.
You had to take from others or your own stomach would gnaw at you.
A dirty, stained evil was better than half-hearted hypocrisy.
That had simply become the natural order of things.
That was why this blood-spattered spectacle felt surprisingly familiar, like just another ordinary day.
"So, what about that woman over there?"
Kim Ha-yoon tugged at my sleeve and asked.
I followed her pointing finger to the woman lying collapsed on the floor.
Regrettably, I wasn't aroused.
I'm a sex-crazed lunatic, sure, but even so, I didn't get hard over some bitch who'd pissed herself and rolled her eyes back in her head.
"We'll have to take her with us, at least."
"What's this? You're not mounting her right away?"
"Oh, I'm going to mount her. We'll head back, wash her up, and then I'll properly fuck her right in front of that bastard's eyes."
"...You really are a sick bastard."
Kim Ha-yoon let out a deep sigh.
I snickered quietly for a moment before speaking to Ha Hui-ryeong and Angelica.
"Hey, that's enough for now. Let's head back. You can do the rest of the cutting later."
"Huh? We're leaving already?"
"Already" my ass.
Just count how many severed hands and feet are scattered at your feet.
Don't you think you've done enough?
I sighed and continued.
"It's starting to get dark. The zombies get way more active once the sun's down."
Day and night are completely different stakes.
During the day, they move sluggishly like they're afflicted with a stack of debuffs, but at night, once the sun vanishes, they go berserk like fish splashing in water.
So this was our cutoff line. The limit.
"Tsk. Damn, just when it was getting fun, you go and kill the mood."
"Stop complaining. My husband gave an order, so shut up and follow it."
"Wow. You know you're a completely different person now, right? When we were kids, you used him as a sandbag, and now you're treating him like your lord and master?"
That part was kind of true.
Back in the day, Angelica had really beat the crap out of me a lot.
She'd done it more than a few times, testing out new techniques she'd supposedly "researched" on me.
Maybe it was the faintly lingering resentment from that past, but my eyes narrowed slightly.
"That was then, and this is now. Rather than foolishly clinging to the past, let us talk about the future that lies ahead."
"Unbelievable. Seriously. Aren't you bothered by her acting like that?"
Ha Hui-ryeong trudged over and poked me in the side a few times, fishing for my opinion.
I stroked my chin and nodded in agreement.
"...A little?"
"If you desire an apology, then I shall apologize."
"Forget it. Asking for that is basically just letting you get down and have me bowing to you. I don't really need it, anyway. I plan to collect plenty of compensation tonight."
I had no intention of dredging up the past to settle old scores now.
Even if her brazen attitude irked me a little, I couldn't disagree with the sentiment that the past is the past.
Yeah, anyway, I'd already taken those bitches' virginity, so I could let this much slide.
And hadn't Angelica even said she'd bear my child?
To me, that was more than enough.
"Forget all that, let's just get moving. Can you float those two with your psychokinesis?"
"Of course. This is easier than lying down and eating rice cakes."
...Wasn't that expression a little twisted?
Regardless, we headed back toward the camper van.
*
"Whoa. Hey, isn't that a vending machine?"
On the way back, we stumbled into an unexpected stroke of fortune.
A vending machine.
While crossing an overpass, I spotted a vending machine discarded in an alley near a bus stop.
It's always darkest beneath the lamp.
I'd never noticed it when passing by, but to think it was tucked away in a corner like that.
I brightened and clapped Ha Hui-ryeong on the shoulder.
"It's real. Wow, Ha Hui-ryeong. Good eye catching that."
"Heh. My attention to detail is top-notch."
Ha Hui-ryeong struck a proud pose, resting her hands on her hips when I praised her.
I hadn't meant it all that sincerely, but our Hui-ryeong seemed happy even with empty words.
"But it looks empty inside. And its condition is kind of sketchy."
However, it seemed someone else had already looted it. The front glass was smashed wide open, and parts of it were caved in, as if someone had used it for stress relief.
"Still, might as well try touching it, right? Just in case."
"Hmm. Should I?"
I readily accepted Kim Ha-yoon's suggestion.
You never knew.
Even if it was busted, the trait of the 'Dark Merchant' itself might still apply.
Yeah. Whatever else was broken, as long as the button worked, that was all that mattered.
Tap.
I reached out and brushed the vending machine.
And then, to my relief.
Ding.
{User 'Dark Merchant' recognized. Vending machine inventory is now accessible.}
[However, due to machine damage, some items may not be available or may have quantity limits applied.]
※Subordination Scroll (Limited: 10 copies) — 50 coins.
※Morning-After Pill (No Side Effects, 48h) — 1 coin.
※Stamina Enhancer (Permanent) — 5 coins.
Alcohol (Random) — 2 coins.
Cigarettes (Random) — 2 coins.
The familiar notification chimed, and the surrounding space shimmered before the interior was swiftly filled with goods.
But the selection was clearly smaller than last time.
The ever-present contraceptives and enhancer were included as expected, but aside from those, there were only two other items in total.
'And the Subordination Scrolls have a specific limit. Unlike the others, there's only a few.'
Tch.
I clicked my tongue internally.
"Alcohol and cigarettes, huh..."
It looked like I'd have to focus on pushing these as my main sales this time.
It was a bit disappointing that there was no water.
Selling that had netted me a decent profit last time, and I couldn't help thinking, 'What if there was more?'
"What, is that all there is this time?"
"Yeah. Otherwise, it's just the same contraceptive and the Subordination Scroll."
"Keke. No sign of that stamina-something pill? Sucks to be you, huh?"
"Unfortunately for you, that one's a default option."
"...Can't you just get rid of that kind of crap?"
It's not like I get to choose what's stocked.
I let out a small sigh, then held my hand out to Kim Ha-yoon.
"Ha-yoon, Amplification."
At that, Kim Ha-yoon silently grabbed my extended hand and held it tight.
I wondered for a second if she really needed to interlace her fingers with mine, but I decided not to nitpick about something like that.
As long as it works.
['Seoribal's' ability 『Amplification』 has been applied to the 'Dark Merchant.' Excluding the 'Lucky One' trait as it is not a valid target.]
[1 random item has been added to the vending machine's inventory.]
※※Rejuvenation Elixir (5 Years) — 500 coins.
Hmm. That seems like a decent find.
But considering my current coin balance wasn't exactly overflowing, I was hesitant to actually buy it.
[Coins Held: 1174]
My current balance was just a little over a thousand coins.
I'd burned through a huge chunk of funds building the camper van and expanding the shower room, so paying a hefty sum of 500 coins wasn't something I could do lightly.
'I guess I'll have to do another round of trading.'
I reliably earned 1 coin every time I came inside Hui-ryeong, Ha-yoon, Ji-min, or Angelica, but even with that, I still couldn't fully cover the rate at which I was spending.
-Beep.
[The duration of 『Amplification』 has expired.]
Right as I was thinking that, the duration seemed to run out, and the extra slot that had opened up locked itself back down.
But that was no problem.
I could buy it any time I wanted to, after all.
"Angelica. Think you can float this and take it with us?"
"Hmm. If I push myself, I can probably manage."
"Then please. I know it's heavy, but I'd appreciate the effort."
"Understood. In return, I'll be collecting my reward tonight."
Angelica flashed a bright smile and sent a wink my way.
Honestly, every time she did that, I couldn't shake the feeling of being slightly overwhelmed.
She has the looks of a cool, older-sister type, but her actions... felt a bit more than just airheaded, veering straight into eccentric territory.
I awkwardly scratched my head, then turned my gaze away as if fleeing, looking instead toward Kim Ha-yoon and Ha Hui-ryeong.
"How many coins do you two have left?"
"Four hundred."
"Huh. Didn't you just get that from hunting earlier? That's all you have left?"
At my puzzled remark, Kim Ha-yoon nodded.
"Yes. Ji-min unnie spent almost all of it to build the rooms and the bathroom. Unnie's situation is probably the same over there."
Come to think of it, they had gained a lot of new additions ever since Angelica kidnapped me.
Just as I'd roughly guessed, they must have all pitched in together to build those facilities, one by one.
It was admirable, but... why a bathroom?
"Well... you did well, for that part. But why did you build a new bathroom? We already had one."
"That's because of Kang Ha-rin's little brother, obviously. You know, that bastard who's a few screws short. Since he's always hogging the one we had, we couldn't use it."
Not that I had any desire to use the spot that asshole had been screwing in anyway.
After adding that remark, Ha Hui-ryeong clicked her tongue as if she found the whole thing distasteful.
I stroked my chin and let out a low hum.
"So that's how it is..."
Since things had turned out this way, it seemed like I really would need to lay down the law once we got back. A general crackdown on discipline.
I hadn't had a proper conversation with Kang Ha-jun, nor with those numbered bitches, or even had a real talk with the newly captured Jeong Yeon-ji and Im Soo-ah.