The World Is Ripe for the Taking
Civilized people in a world good for fucking generally have worse manners than savages. After all, there’s no risk of getting your head split open for acting like an asshole.
***
That day was different. It happened around sunset while I was working my shift at the convenience store.
“You motherfucker. Do I look like a dick to you?”
A thick hand grabbed my collar and twisted hard. My shift was almost over, yet here we were, dealing with this bullshit.
“Haa…” I sighed and looked at the tattooed pig spitting in my face. Early twenties at most. Irezumi ink, a shirt stretched tight over his bloated chest and gut—the classic thug stereotype. His rough hand kept yanking my collar back and forth.
“Huh? Say that shit again!”
He’d demanded alcohol without showing ID, so I refused the sale. That set off this tantrum. I’d seen every kind of customer during my time here, but this brainless piece of shit was a first. I exhaled inwardly. ‘I really can’t keep doing this part-time job.’
Three months ago I was still a normal office worker. The reason I ended up as a convenience store slave was all because of that bitch Lee Ji-hye from my department.
She was the type who constantly dumped her own work on others. With her decent looks and big tits, she kept flirting with the male employees and slacking off. It pissed me off, so I told her straight: “Handle your own tasks.” She must have held a grudge, because a few days later she accused me of sexual harassment at work.
That was when I learned the hard truth—public authority isn’t a fence protecting good citizens. The police didn’t even bother checking the CCTV I had secured. They just listened to that lying bitch and started yelling at me. My manager told me to quit before the trial results came out so I wouldn’t ruin the company atmosphere. Even the usually nice team leader sided with her and pressured me. Probably got seduced by her flirting and fucked her on the side.
The rumor spread through the company in an instant. I couldn’t handle the ruined reputation, the pressure from above, and the repeated police summons, so I eventually resigned. I was innocent, so I appealed until the end and got cleared of all charges, but nothing remained. I’d spent every last cent on lawyers and lost my job anyway.
That’s how I ended up taking this convenience store part-time job just to survive. Maybe running into this crazy tattooed pig right now was also because of that bitch.
“Fuck, why aren’t you saying anything?!”
“...”
My eyes drifted to the collapsible baton I kept under the counter. I’d bought it because the world was getting dangerous. Part of me wanted to smash this pig’s skull open with it. But instead—
I pressed the hidden police emergency button beneath the counter.
“…I just pressed the emergency bell. You should leave before the cops show up and make things complicated.”
That was the best choice a civilized modern person could make. The thug only snorted at my gentlemanly response.
“Cops? Go ahead and call them, you retard. Even if I turn you into ground meat, I’ll be out in no time.”
He sounded confident he could beat me half to death and still walk free. Maybe it wasn’t just empty bravado. Just like with Lee Ji-hye, the authorities were always late and incompetent. Even if I got beaten bloody, the police would only show up after everything was over, scribble a few reports, and let this trash go after he tossed them some pathetic settlement money. In the end, the good people lose. Trash like this tattooed pig and Lee Ji-hye win.
If that was how the world worked, then I wished this fucked-up world would just collapse already.
“…Haa. Fuck.”
When I cursed under my breath, the thug raised his voice, thinking he had me cornered.
“What, you mad? Then crawl out from behind the counter and fight me. Huh?”
“Fine. Let’s do this, you piece of shit.”
The moment my patience snapped and I grabbed the baton with confidence—
BOOM!!
A massive explosion rang out from outside. The ground shook like an earthquake, and the road cracked open. Cars driving down the street crashed into each other one after another.
“W-what the fuck!”
The tattooed pig who had been picking a fight with me fell on his ass in shock. I was just as startled by the sudden chaos. But this was only the beginning.
“Kyaaah!”
“Run!”
Screams and shouts came from outside. Looking out the window, I saw people scrambling out of their cars and fleeing. Behind them—
Grrr—
Slow-moving, grotesque figures with rotting skin and unnatural movements.
‘What the fuck. Zombies?’
Real zombies were walking down the road. Even seeing it with my own eyes, it felt unreal—like I was dreaming. But there was no time to be shocked.
Earth’s Tutorial has begun.
The previous world has been destroyed. Survive as long as possible.
The blue hologram floating in front of my eyes was the reason.
‘The world is ending? Status window?’
I opened my status window even in the middle of the chaos.
Unique Skill: Hunting Target Search
Scans information on humans within range. If you know a target’s name and face, you can track their location and status.
Looking at the numbers, I narrowed my eyes. ‘All stats at 10?’ I didn’t know much, but I could tell these were average human values. Not exactly advantageous for survival. Still, I didn’t have time to be disappointed. The unique skill looked pretty useful.
‘Hunting Target Search, huh.’
I immediately looked at the tattooed pig still sitting on the floor. A soft chime rang out, and information appeared above his head.
Name: Kang Cheol-min / Age 22
Strength: 15 / Agility: 8 / Stamina: 16 / Mana: 3 / Luck: 8
Unique Skill: Perception Impairment
Completely erases your presence from others’ sight and hearing.
Criminal Record: At 15, led a group assault and water torture on a classmate, resulting in suicide. Received reduced sentence as a juvenile. Currently works as a debt collector for an illegal loan shark.
Reading the text, the corner of my mouth slowly curled upward. I might not have combat skills, but I’d just obtained something even better. There was no weapon stronger than information in this world.
Still, this trash had gotten a decent skill the moment the world ended. ‘Perception Impairment.’ It was a stealth-type ability. Extremely useful in an apocalypse where hiding and striking first mattered most. If he figured out how to use it, he’d definitely try to kill me first.
So there was only one answer.
‘Strike first.’
He was trash that contributed nothing to society anyway. I might as well take out the garbage.
“Fuck, what the hell is this thing floating here?”
He was still swinging his arms at the status window, completely lost. He hadn’t realized he even had a skill. Perfect for me.
Grinning, I raised the baton I was holding.
“You don’t need to know, retard.”
Crack!
“Guh!”
The satisfying impact traveled up my arm as I smashed his head.
“W-wait…”
He finally understood the situation, but it was already too late.
“Die! Die!”
Thud! Thud!
I kept swinging until his skull caved in. When he finally collapsed, system messages appeared before my eyes.
Hostile player eliminated.
Apocalypse common rule “Skill Plunder” has been applied.
Stolen target’s skill “Perception Impairment” and equipped it in an empty slot.
Obtained 100 Points.
“Hoo.”
I looked down at the corpse and wiped the sweat from my forehead. It felt like ten years of frustration had finally lifted. My trembling hands gripped the baton tightly.
“…This is fucking sweet.”
The old shitty world had collapsed. What replaced it was an apocalypse where I could beat trash like this to death without consequence. On top of that, killing gave me their skills and some kind of points. Could it get any better?
And my own skill was Hunting Target Search. I could find and deal with as much trash as I wanted. I could even track down that bitch Lee Ji-hye and kill her—or fuck her. Either way, in this ruined world, I could do whatever the hell I felt like.
I opened my status window again.
Unique Skill: Hunting Target Search
Scans information on humans within range.
If you know a target’s name and face, you can track their location and status.
Two functions. The first one had been used on the tattooed pig. The second would be perfect for finding Lee Ji-hye.
‘If I know their name and face, I can track them.’
I input her name into the status window.
‘Lee… Ji… Hye.’
Beep—
Search complete.
A red dot appeared on the map. She was still near the office. The convenience store and the office were only a ten-minute walk apart. Now that I knew her location and had gained a stealth skill, I had to move before she ran off somewhere or died pointlessly.
I’d catch her, beat her to death, or fuck her. Either way, in this ruined world, nothing mattered anymore.
“Alright… let’s go.”
I was starting to like this broken world quite a bit.