Employee Interviews
The concept most emphasized in the urban concealment training from my time with the Special Warfare Command was...
The **Grey Man**.
Instead of flashy outfits, you blend into the surrounding environment and become a gray human who doesn't stand out to anyone. In one sentence, the most important survival strategy is **not being noticed**.
But the person in front of me was mocking that very law of the Grey Man.
On his head was a pot tied with string, and not just one, but several layered over each other.
On his body he wore a colorful plastic raincoat, and in his hands were bright pink rubber gloves.
All of it was covered in duct tape and held together by junk.
The sort of attire newbies might wear without knowing any better.
The worst possible outfit from a survival perspective, because it drew every form of **agro**.
It didn't even make fighting zombies easier. It just made you a golden goblin walking around. Between that outfit and the panties underneath, I'd choose to be naked.
*'But... how has this guy survived until now in that state?'*
Yu-hyeon's eyes trembled.
Trying to stock up supplies in a way that drew that much attention meant he couldn't be an ordinary person. And he certainly wasn't a regular Awakened.
Or maybe he was just an extremely lucky bastard.
"Oppa, that guy..."
"Don't let your guard down. He's not normal. He might be an Awakened."
Her younger sister agreed that the guy's strange outfit was suspicious, but she snorted at her brother's talk of Awakened.
"Awakened? Oppa, you're saying that again? He's probably a con man trying to pull some scam after breaking into a fuel warehouse."
Yu-jin thought of the biker gang leader, Gang Cheol-u, who was chasing them.
*'The god of gasoline? What the hell.'*
The crazy guy who had shouted that if she became his tenth wife he'd give her gasoline and then tell her to strip right there.
It was just like those typical scam artists.
"It's not just talk. I have a reliable informant..."
Yu-hyeon started to say something but quickly corrected himself.
"Enough. We'll talk about it later."
The target guy seemed frightened and raised both hands while trembling.
"I-I'm not interested in fighting."
Yu-jin said it as if she had been waiting for exactly that.
"Really? Then do you have any painkillers or medicine? Anything you can drink."
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One woman and one man. Perfect.
She had known someone was approaching for a while now.
She had stayed put instead of running because she couldn't afford to miss any potential future companions.
The woman with the bow aimed at them and the man leaning against the wall.
The ponytail woman wore an old military training uniform that looked worn out. And she had a large chest. She had a large chest. She said it twice because it was very important.
The man with the messy hair wore training clothes; he had a good build, but his face looked rough. It looked like they traveled in a group.
They didn't seem like a romantic couple. Their features were similar enough that they were definitely siblings.
Just handsome and beautiful. If the apocalypse hadn't come, their lives would have been pretty smooth.
The woman took one step closer.
It was a distance where she could make a move if she was willing to take serious injuries. It was like giving up one arm; she probably couldn't pull it off anyway.
But the world was harsh even with a single scratch. Painkillers? They were expensive and hard to get anyway, and individuals struggled to obtain them.
If it was an arrow that had been reused multiple times... well, in reality it was basically a poison arrow.
A normal person wouldn't even think of rushing forward. They wouldn't want to die weeks later with their jaw numb and drooling.
"Answer quickly. Do you have any or not."
Her voice was sharp.
Medicines and drinks.
At her demand, I hurriedly set down my hiking bag.
"W-what? You want to drink something? Sure."
I played the role of a pitiful survivor just enough.
Her eyes sparkled and the man let out a small sigh.
The woman said,
"Then hand it over. As long as you give me that, I'll let you go. We don't want to fight either."
That sounded sincere.
"Understood. Ah, but this is uncomfortable. Can I take off my gloves?"
The man nodded and added,
"And... you have to hand over the gun."
I carefully removed the rubber gloves and placed the gun on the floor under their watch.
I kicked it over with my foot. I had only loaded one blank and one real bullet.
You might think I was at a disadvantage, but not at all.
This was basically an angel compared to what they usually did: without a word of dialogue they would stab you in the head with an arrow and loot your corpse.
The man picked up the gun and said,
"Sorry, but we have our own circumstances."
"..."
"And the important thing is never to carry anything out in the open. It's better to keep your trump card hidden."
He was giving me a friendly survival tip too.
Personality test: passed.
"Yeah, sure... Understood."
I awkwardly smiled and lowered the things I was carrying.
Of course, the awl hidden inside my wrist was left out.
"It's all been thrown out. Are you going to search my body too?"
The woman said it in a sharp voice.
"No need. Open the bag and take out whatever is inside."
I carried the bag toward the display rack. It still didn't reach her.
I naturally pretended to rummage through the bag and narrowed the distance, but the woman didn't step back. She seemed to trust the man's skill enough.
I picked up a large plastic container from her hand and set it on the rack. A heavy sound echoed.
*Thud!*
[Infinite Lox Pineapple 3L]
*Clink-clink-clink.*
I unscrewed the Lox lid and poured it into a paper cup. I played the bartender and slid the cup over.
"Here's one."
If I had just floated an ice cube on top it would have been perfect Lox on the Rocks, but unfortunately there was no ice.
So I just went with plain Lox.
The thing survivors commonly called **Happy Juice**. But you couldn't drink it casually just because of the name.
In games you could just eat it and keep up, but in reality eating this would make you writhe in pain and end up regretting being alive.
I stepped a little closer. This distance was close enough. I casually leaned one foot against the counter edge.
"What? You carry water around like that...? You've properly diluted it, right?"
"No, it's Lox."
I prepared to gain momentum and jump.
"Lox..."
Well, there was no way he could just stand there. It was fine either way. What I needed was a short moment.
When the human brain faces an unpredictable situation under extreme tension, it experiences a lag before it can judge.
A kind of shock stop phenomenon.
At least 0.5 seconds. Up to 2 seconds.
The woman would unconsciously focus on the Lox, and I would use that gap.
That instant was enough.
Right now.
*Fwaaah!*
I threw the Lox and rushed forward.
*Bang!*
"Kyah?!"
She was pushed to the ground by my weight.
Her compound bow flew off and landed. I pulled out the awl I had hidden on my wrist.
Of course, normally I wouldn't have gone this far, but I had cheat skills.
Ten seconds of invincibility. I could finish these two and still do a tap dance three times.
Completely discarding defense and pouring everything into attack made it easy.
*Pinch-*
"Ug...!"
"Don't move."
I aimed the awl tip at her neck with just the right tension.
But I felt a cold sensation on my own neck too. He really was no ordinary man.
Bringing out a knife in that short time with that body condition.
The man spoke calmly, his eyes full of the intention to kill me right there.
"I have no intention of fighting. Let's just forget this ever happened. I'll even return the gun."
I smiled and asked,
"If you don't want to?"
"You probably don't want to die either."
"Then?"
I pressed the awl tip a little closer to the back of her neck. The tingling sensation would have traveled across her thin skin.
"Ugh...!"
Her trembling eyes.
The man would gain nothing by killing me. If I died, what meaning would it have for my sister?
Of course I had no intention of killing her for real.
My precious sister... no, my employees. Would you throw away something like this just because you were crazy?
Already imagining turning her into a bathroom cleaner and making her clean toilets, my chest swelled with pride.
The man finally admitted defeat.
"Say your terms. I'll cooperate as much as possible. Just let the woman go."
But I had no intention of negotiating honestly.
"You have a misunderstanding. Negotiations are done when both sides have similar things."
"What?"
"You have no cards. I have nothing to lose."
Sometimes having nothing is a bigger card than what you have.
Actually I had a lot to lose. I had just pretended for a second.
After over a year of grinding, I had only just gotten the status window, and I needed to live happily for a long time.
The man couldn't continue.
"..."
I couldn't push too hard. At this point it was time to offer carrots.
"I have three questions. Answer Yes or No. If you answer all, I'll let you go. Understood?"
"What...?"
The woman looked dumbfounded, but the man immediately answered.
"Yes."
"Oppa, we don't have time to play around with this crazy guy. Just kill him and let's go back..."
Even I thought he was crazy. I didn't know back when the world was ending, but apparently I had a very lonely personality.
I just wanted to talk to people.
"Ah, that's not a real question. Okay, first question. Are you being chased by someone right now?"
The man hesitated. He probably didn't want to talk about their situation, but my eyes couldn't be deceived.
If he had been farming, there should have been a bag or cart to carry supplies. But these two siblings were only holding weapons.
Most importantly, the man had a bandage wrapped around his wound. Blood was seeping through.
If they had a shelter they would have immediately taken her there to lie down. But carrying an injured person on the street while trying to snatch supplies with a troubled face?
These were clearly mice being chased by a cat.
I would use their desperation.
"I have time. Answer if you don't want to keep doing this."
The man answered right after I finished speaking.
"Yes."
"Second question. If there's a job that provides accommodation and safety guarantees... would you consider taking it?"
The man frowned.
"We don't know what kind of place it is, but..."
"Answer Yes or No."
"..."
At that moment, a faint sound came from far away. Like something being smashed.
The man bit his lip and the woman squeezed her eyes shut.