First Kill, First Slave

"Take it off, you bitch."

"Hold up." Can't leave without handling this first.

Lee Ji-hye's location glowed on the map in my status window. I wanted nothing more than to hunt down that backstabbing cunt and smash her skull in, but I forced my excitement down and cooled my head. There was something I had to do before stepping outside—secure the convenience store.

In this ruined world, the mountains of food, water, and supplies piled inside were priceless. No way I was letting anyone steal my apocalypse lifeline and early-game advantage. My old part-time job had been pure shit, but at least it gave me this one edge.

I walked straight to the entrance and checked the shutter. The explosion had shattered some of the glass, but the heavy security shutter was still intact. I yanked it all the way down and locked it with a heavy click. Drururuk—Clang!

Once the store was sealed tight, I grabbed my baton and slipped out the back door.

The narrow alley opened onto a road that looked like straight-up hell. Blood splattered everywhere. Burning wrecks belched black smoke. But the worst part was the people.

"Graaaah...!"

"Help! Somebody help me! Aaaagh!"

They were tearing into each other like wild animals, ripping flesh with their teeth. Twisted movements. Rotting, peeling skin. Eyes that had lost all focus. Grrrrr—

Real zombies, straight out of a movie, were actually walking around. Seeing them up close finally made the apocalypse feel real.

One zombie caught my scent and staggered toward me. Grrr—

I held my breath and activated the skill I had just stolen from the tattooed bastard—Perception Impairment.

Ssssh—

The zombie that had been right in front of me tilted its head in confusion, then walked straight past me like I was invisible.

Works like a charm.

I could have just let it go, but I swung my baton and crushed its skull instead.

Crack—!

The zombie dropped. A notification popped up.

I checked the number and let out a hollow laugh.

"Only five points? Seriously?"

The tattooed pig had given me a hundred. Grinding twenty zombies wasn't worth shit compared to cracking one player's head open.

Works for me. Cleaning up trash was way more fun than hunting monsters anyway.

I shook the zombie chunks off my baton and kept moving.

After killing the first zombie, I walked down the ruined road with stealth active when something caught my eye.

"Huh?"

A wrecked police car sat beside a bent streetlight. Several officers lay dead around it, throats and guts torn out.

Guess they responded to the emergency bell I rang.

I felt a twinge of guilt, but in this fucked-up world, dying fast without suffering was probably a mercy. They might've died anyway even if I hadn't called.

I searched the bloody corpses without hesitation and scored a pistol, a taser, and a stab-proof vest. Having modern weapons and armor felt reassuring. I didn't know how much they'd help in this broken world, but it was better than nothing.

After finishing my looting, I moved on.

Grrrr—

The streets were crawling with zombies. The apocalypse had only just begun, yet their numbers were already growing fast. Maybe because this was a dense downtown area. Or maybe something else was going on.

Thanks to stealth, I could walk through the city without a single worry. The zombies never noticed me even when I strolled right past them. At least their abilities couldn't detect me.

Feeling safe for the moment, I opened my status window and examined my unique skill properly. I had rushed out of the store ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so fast earlier that I hadn't had time to check it.

"Hunting Target Search."

Ting—

A translucent map unfolded in the air. A single red dot blinked on it—Lee Ji-hye's location, two blocks away inside an office building.

That much I already knew. This time I tapped the dot for more details.

Unlike the pigs I had faced earlier, no stats or skill details appeared. Still, the information I had was useful enough.

Her skill was Shelterization. I couldn't see the full description, but…

That sounds like a fucking broken skill.

A shelter. In the apocalypse, a safe place to hole up was just as important as food. Killing that bitch before anyone else found her had been the right call. I'd steal her skill and points before anyone else could.

Come to think of it…

If she was at the office, there was a good chance she was with other coworkers. I searched for the name of the manager who had fired me—Kim Hyun-seok.

Nothing. His location didn't show up. Maybe he was already dead in the chaos.

Next, I searched for Team Leader Choi Min-ho, the bastard who had been screwing around with Ji-hye.

Ding—

His location appeared on the map. A blue dot right next to Ji-hye's red one. They were still together.

Location: 5th floor, break room corner.

I tapped the blue dot to check his skill.

Physical Subjugation? Slaves?

I didn't have the full description, but it sounded pretty damn good. Being able to turn people—or monsters—into slaves would be convenient as hell.

Shelterization and Physical Subjugation, huh.

No way I'm letting those two pieces of shit keep skills that broken.

While checking the map, I kept walking. Before I knew it, I was standing in front of the office building.

I stepped through the shattered glass doors. The lobby was soaked in blood. A few zombies wandered around. Several familiar faces lay among the corpses. It didn't sit well with me, but I pushed the feeling down.

Staying stealthed, I headed for the emergency stairs and climbed to the fifth floor.

Following the dot on the map, I reached the break room. What I saw through the gap in the door made my blood boil.

Thud—

The same team leader who used to act all sweet and protective around Ji-hye had turned into a wild animal. He had her pinned against the wall.

"Team Leader, please stop…! Aah!"

"Ji-hye, you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠saw my status window just now! My unique skill only activates after forming a relationship!"

He roughly tore open her blouse, veins bulging in his neck as he shouted.

"If I want to keep you safe, this is the only way! To survive this situation, we have to do it at least once!"

Disgusting. He just wanted to fuck her and was dressing it up with pretty words. The bastard was over forty and still pulling this shit.

"Fuck off! Let go of me!"

Slap—

Ji-hye struggled wildly and slapped him across the face. But the response wasn't another slap.

Thud—

He punched her in the stomach instead. In this ruined world, hitting a woman didn't mean shit anymore.

"Ugh…"

She collapsed to the floor, clutching her belly and gasping.

In her extreme terror, a stream of yellow piss burst out between her legs, soaking her stockings.

Choi Min-ho loomed over her, breathing heavily as he started unbuckling his belt.

Clink—

"You fucking bitch. If you'd just been obedient from the start, this wouldn't have happened."

"..."

He was about to pull down his pants and underwear when—

Click—

I dropped stealth, kicked the break room door open, and drove my foot straight into his ass.

Thud—!

"Guhk!"

The unprepared team leader went sprawling across the floor in an ugly heap.

"What the fuck—who the hell—?!"

He looked up, cursing, and his eyes locked onto me standing there with a blood-dripping baton.

"Huh? You… Han Siwoo? Why the hell are you here—wait, how did you even get in?"

He looked genuinely shocked that I had made it through the zombie-infested streets and building.

I answered by casually tapping the baton against my shoulder.

"That's none of your fucking business. Let's start with you taking a hit."

Whack—

I grinned and swung the baton lightly into his shin.

"Aaaagh!"

The same guy who used to lecture everyone in the office like some dignified superior was now screaming like a slaughtered pig. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Hearing that scream washed away some of the resentment I'd been carrying since getting fired.

He gritted his teeth and glared at me for a moment, then noticed the blood coating my baton and quickly changed tactics.

"S-Siwoo! I-I was wrong! I must've gone crazy for a second! W-we're on the same team, right? Let's just put the past behind us and work together to get through this, yeah?!"

He crawled across the floor, begging for his life. It was pathetic as hell.

Choi Min-ho pointed at Ji-hye, who was trembling and clinging to my leg.

"Ji-hye's here too. You hate that bitch, don't you? Let's share her. With my skill, I can turn her into a slave!"

"Oh? Team Leader, you have a skill that makes slaves?"

His face lit up when I pretended to be interested.

"Y-yeah! So let's team up, alright?"

Swish—

While pretending to persuade me, he reached behind him and grabbed a pair of scissors that had fallen on the floor. He was getting ready to stab me the first chance he got.

People really didn't change.

I smirked and swung the baton again.

"Yeah. Go fuck yourself."

Crack—

The baton smashed into his forehead.

"Gaaah!"

He screamed as I beat his head in without mercy, just like I had done to the tattooed pig. After several heavy blows—

"Hoo."

His skull finally burst with a wet, satisfying sound. Blood sprayed everywhere as his body went limp on the floor.

"H-Hiik…!"

Ji-hye, splattered with her team leader's brain matter, gasped and scrambled backward. The arrogant, flirty office bitch who used to strut around like she owned the place was completely gone.

"P-please… spare me…"

She tried to crawl away on all fours. The sight of her pissing herself and dragging her body across the floor was pathetic—and strangely arousing.

She realized crawling was pointless and started begging with her hands clasped together.

"Hic… Please, spare me… Siwoo, I was wrong…! Right?"

"..."

I looked down at the bitch kneeling in front of me, rubbing her hands together. Her hair was messy with sweat. Her torn blouse revealed a black lace bra. Her tight skirt was hiked up and her stockings were ripped. Seeing her half-raped and begging beneath me made my cock twitch.

She was laid out like a perfect meal, ready to be fucked.

Swish—

I extended the blood-soaked baton and pointed it at her head.

"Hic… hic…"

Ji-hye trembled and sobbed as the baton approached. I used the tip to lift a strand of her brown hair. The mascara smeared across her tear-streaked face only made me harder.

I could either beat her to death and steal her skill, or use the skill I had just taken from Choi Min-ho to turn her into a slave. Either way, there was something I needed to do first.

I gave the sobbing bitch a command.

"Take it off, you fucking bitch."