Chapter 117
Chapter 117
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Persuasion
-----------------------------------------------------------------
With Jang Seo-won taken care of, I turned my attention to Seol-hwa's side.
Her battle was already over.
I could see Cheon Su-ho kneeling before Baek Seol-hwa.
Whether he'd gone mad with jealousy and suffered some kind of qi deviation, there were traces of blood around his mouth from vomiting it up.
Seol-hwa seemed to have subdued Cheon Su-ho without much trouble.
It was the expected outcome.
But a bitter expression clouded her face.
"Senior Brother... Please beg forgiveness from my lord..."
"You want me to beg forgiveness from that guy? Why won't you understand my feelings, junior sister..."
Baek Seol-hwa was trying to persuade her once-fellow disciple senior brother to apologize to me, but Cheon Su-ho refused.
She couldn't bring herself to decisively strike down the senior brother she'd known since childhood.
I could understand her feelings.
But Cheon Su-ho, that bastard, just kept spewing nonsense without a clue about her heart...
Maybe he sensed my gaze after I'd dealt with Jang Seo-won.
Seol-hwa's eyes hardened, turning cold.
"Senior Brother, are you truly...?"
"Strike me down. I will never beg forgiveness from Park Un-ho."
Cheon Su-ho showed the resolve of a cornered dog.
Seol-hwa bit her lip and swung her sword toward his neck.
-Thud.
"M-my lord!?"
Seol-hwa cried out in surprise upon seeing me grab the sword mid-swing toward Cheon Su-ho.
I had no idea if she'd regret killing him or not.
But I didn't want to let some punk like Cheon Su-ho be the cause of any potential regret on her part.
"We'll deal with him later."
"M-my lord..."
Her eyes glistened with emotion, clearly touched by my decision.
It really did seem like the right call to stop his death.
Looking at her face, even if Cheon Su-ho had to die, it'd be better if I did it quietly on the sly.
Well... even dog shit has its uses in medicine, and maybe Cheon Su-ho had some value of his own.
"Kuh! You bastard... How far will you humiliate me...?"
-Whack!
I kicked Cheon Su-ho in the face to shut him up and savored the good atmosphere with Seol-hwa.
For now, I'd tossed Cheon Su-ho into the survivor camp's jail.
I hadn't sealed his abilities or anything, so he could probably escape if he wanted.
But for some reason, I didn't feel like he would, and even if he did, it wouldn't matter.
In fact, part of me hoped he would.
"My lord, I thank you for your mercy in sparing my senior brother."
Seol-hwa was deeply impressed that I'd let Cheon Su-ho live.
I'd originally planned to wrap things up roughly and head out...
But I still hadn't left.
Seol-hwa and this guy named Im Gu-seong from the camp had held me back.
He was a man in his thirties with short hair.
I vaguely recognized his face.
It was the guy I'd seen when Jang Seo-won had come to the school.
He wasn't an awakener, but he introduced himself as Jang Seo-won's former adjutant.
"If Un-ho leaves, the camp will plunge into massive chaos."
"He's right. If you just leave, my lord, the innocent people here will suffer greatly."
I understood what they were saying.
If I left them, the camp would lose its leader and devolve into a power struggle among the awakeners vying for control.
From what I'd seen, the awakeners' abilities were all middling at best.
There were quite a few D-ranks, but Jang Seo-won had been the only one above that, so things were bound to go to hell.
It was a decent opportunity to swallow a whole group for free without any risk.
But it also felt like a hassle.
I'd always thought this, but I lacked the qualities of a leader.
I was more of a dictator, wasn't I?
Was a dictator even a type of leader?
It might be convenient for my easy hunting, but managing all these camp humans sounded exhausting.
'Feels like I'm stirring up unnecessary trouble...'
I was torn.
"For now, gather the camp executives."
In the end, I gave the order to Im Gu-seong.
The camp executives sat in a row at the long table, their faces awkward and uneasy.
I lounged at the head seat, propping my chin lazily.
Im Gu-seong and Seol-hwa stood by my sides like attendants.
In the end, I'd decided to heed Seol-hwa's words.
And I'd chosen to take it easy on this matter.
If it got too much, I'd just bail.
"I'm taking over management of this camp now. Any objections?"
Honestly, if too many objected, I planned to drop it.
Otherwise, I'd have to do a bloody purge of the dissenters or sweet-talk them, neither of which suited my temperament.
Maybe because of what I'd already demonstrated, they just quietly gauged my mood without speaking up.
"Anyone who wants to leave can go freely."
Awakener talents were valuable, sure, but from my position, it wasn't a huge loss.
Weeding out potential troublemakers was more important.
They might be dazed by the sudden situation now, but I knew it wouldn't take long for camp opinion to swing my way.
Providing ample electricity and food would secure their support in no time.
Of course, I couldn't supply them indefinitely. I'd need a self-sustaining plan.
Electricity could be handled by putting the camp folks to work.
The real issue was food.
That was more tiring than electricity.
Feeding a handful at the school was nothing compared to hundreds.
Eventually, we'd need self-sufficiency—farming or something.
It was necessary if I didn't want to deal with the hassle myself.
"I'm Jo In-gwang. I was a professor in the Department of Life Sciences at Jiphyeon University."
A middle-aged man with a plain face and rimless glasses spoke up.
".........?"
My gaze turned to him at the sudden brag about his credentials.
"I-if you provide research support, I can create items that would greatly boost the camp's power."
"Research support?"
"Do you remember the liquid in the syringe Jang Seo-won used?"
"You made that?"
"Yes!! I did. Jang Seo-won suffered side effects, but with more support, I can develop a new drug that turns ordinary people into superhumans."
Jo In-gwang boasted proudly, eager for recognition now that I'd shown interest.
The camp executives stirred at the mention of turning normals into superhumans.
It was certainly astonishing.
Astonishing, yes, but it didn't impress me much.
I could do something similar... but I couldn't say that.
Of course, my ability was limited to women.
Men... my stomach suddenly churned, and I nearly cursed out loud.
But the fact that it was possible was undeniably impressive.
This supposed professor had achieved something impossible even in the original world.
"Alright, what kind of support do you need?"
"Blue stones and... um..."
Blue stones meant mana stones, probably.
Jo In-gwang hesitated, glancing at me before continuing.
Seol-hwa beside me seemed to catch on, her face twisting in disgust as she spoke.
"Y-you bastard!!! Were you doing human experiments?!"
Seol-hwa exploded in anger.
"Ah, oh dear... N-no, of course I didn't experiment on innocent people. Even just criminals would be enough..."
"Hey! You scum! No remorse even after such experiments! My lord! Punish him immediately!!"
Seol-hwa was furious, but I didn't care much whether he'd done human experiments or whatever.
It happened in the original world too,
and probably still did.
"This world is filled with dangers! Humanity teeters on the brink of extinction! If this research succeeds, not only will we survive, but humanity might evolve to the next stage."
Jo In-gwang spat his passionate rant.
His words weren't entirely wrong.
Even I felt the harshness of this world after seeing the spider monster city, giant boars, and black wolves.
His work might aid humanity's survival in this zombie apocalypse.
A sacrifice of the few for the many, perhaps.
If I were a true leader.
And if I coldly prioritized humanity.
Assuming his claims were true, supporting his research for the greater good would be the right choice.
"M-my lord. Th-this... this betrays humanity. You mustn't listen to him!!"
Seol-hwa looked anxious, fearing I might buy into Jo In-gwang's pitch.
She pleaded with me desperately.
"If you support me, I swear I'll create a new drug—a hope for humanity!!"
Thinking his persuasion had worked, Jo In-gwang's face lit up.
-Thwack!
A mana spear pierced his head.
-Gasp!!
The camp executives inhaled sharply at the sight.
I got that he was a knowledgeable talent.
Sorry to the dead Jo In-gwang, but if he'd met anyone else, he might've been used even more heavily.
But I wasn't some grand leader driven by ideals or love for humanity.
And... it hadn't been that long since this world changed.
A guy who casually did human experiments wasn't normal, that much was clear.
Left alone, he'd cross lines far beyond this.
Decisively, it wouldn't help my affinity with Seol-hwa.
I chose her over humanity.
Plus, I could go back and forth to the original world.
I had no need to rely on some mad scientist wannabe.
The drug he claimed could turn normals into superhumans might make a buck if I took it back...
But I wasn't desperate enough for that kind of business in the original world anymore.
'Well... unintentionally kicking away a ladder of hope for normals to become awakeners, I guess...'
Still, if I took his research data back to the original world, something might come of it.
Or show it to Suni.