Member Invitations (1)

While the gallery buzzed louder and louder with Odasu Lord's screams of despair...

"Hmm, what about this one?"

I scrolled through the gallery, scouting for potential customers worth inviting as members.

I didn't ban Odasu Lord for no reason. Scalping should be fun and friendly, right? Being that blatant about it just rubs people the wrong way.

"And resellers deserve to be punished."

The system already auto-prices to prevent gouging, so reselling on top of that? I'm totally against reselling.

"Way too shady."

People like that won't appreciate it and will just cause chaos. Still, he escaped, so no complaints there, I guess.

The gallery bait was flowing in a weird direction. Users split into factions, chattering away.

Some users claimed it was a system patch.

Others insisted Odasu Lord was just lying.

Some said it was an anomaly in a danger zone, but no one could confirm.

I just laughed watching it all.

"That's me, kids!!"

The greatest joy of gallery lurking? Tossing bait and watching it burn.

I didn't plan it, but I was enjoying it 100%.

"This is it. This is gallery life."

The one person who knows the truth about the sudden shop: (skull)

Of course, I had no intention of spilling my identity to them. Too risky, and no reason to anyway.

You're hiding your identity for a reason in the apocalypse.

"Hmm. This ain't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠easy??"

But inviting customers was harder than expected.

100 seems like a lot but also not enough. Ambiguous.

You might think just invite the strong rich ones, but...

"Not that simple."

This Survivor Gallery seems essential for survivors. Makes sense.

In an apocalypse where phones are dead, a real-time community is invaluable.

Posts recruit telepaths too. People use the gallery efficiently, but it's still a gallery.

Order and chaos coexist.

Some users dox openly, but most hide carefully.

"This guy's hilarious."

Speedrunner's here or whatever.

Anyway, even a 10-year gallery vet like me struggles to spot premium users in this mess.

Plus, in this brutal eat-or-be-eaten world, high-spec users might not even use my shop.

"They take good care of themselves."

And crucially, I don't want only top-tier members.

"Opportunity should be fair for all."

I'm no saint. But in capitalism, at least opportunity should be equal.

So my member list: premium customers who benefit me, and pure folks who need supplies—balanced.

+ Keep my identity hidden.

But how in this shithole gallery?

"Like this!"

I had a plan.

The shop bait cooled as no one could confirm.

Then a new post dropped.

No purpose, reason, or explanation—just "capacity 100." Users brushed it off.

Orange Zone outskirts. Stalkers' base camp. A woman peered intently at the gallery.

"Hmm..."

Wearing baggy old workout clothes, silver hair tousled, red eyes sharp under a deep-pulled cap. But the dark circles stayed visible.

"Eh...! Isn't that...!"

"Why's she here..."

"Shh! Quiet!"

Locals recognized her but zipped it.

Ding-a-ling-!

"Welcome."

"Don't order me around. I'll take it slow."

"Uh...?"

She shot back curtly, trudged to a corner seat.

"Uh... long time no see..."

The server froze eyeing her two badges.

Awkwardly pinned, like she wanted them off but couldn't be bothered—or forced on.

Her name: Baek Eunwol. Revered hunter, gallery overlord.

"Order...?"

"The usual."

Soon, trembling hands served her drink.

"Your Maxim Mocha Gold Zero Monster Coke with extra shot...!"

"Thanks."

She sipped the straw; server gulped, asked cautiously.

"Um... Judak... Did we do something wrong...? You look upset..."

"Just a headache."

She stared blankly ahead.

Before her eyes: the post and her invite.

"..."

Baek Eunwol narrowed her eyes.

"User IP lookup."

Her red eyes flashed; skill activated, tracing via unique IP.

Red sparks burst from her eyes.

"Eek!!"

Server sensed the menace, flattened on floor screaming.

"I-I only posted one shitpost yesterday!! Aaaah!! Sorry Judak!!! Anything but irl check!!"

"...Not you. Quiet."

She glanced annoyed at the prone server, refocused on the floating window.

[Starflex]—mysterious account.

As coordinates formed in her red eyes...

"N-No way..."

Baek Eunwol murmured in disbelief.

"Th-This..."

She checked admin menu again—same warning.

Baek Eunwol muttered blankly.

"You... what are you...?"