Chapter 38
The world had perished.
No matter when it had begun or how it had unfolded, the world had perished,
and was now horribly broken beyond any hope of return.
That was an obvious fact that could neither be denied nor evaded.
Those who had survived had to make a choice, whether they wanted to or not, whether they had awakened or not.
Flee, fight back, hide, disappear, or become one with those things.
But as time passed and contact between regions began to break down,
survivors stopped making choices.
Like slaves who had given up trying to reclaim their free will, like slaughterhouse livestock wetting themselves in terror as they waited for their turn.
They were adapting.
To this ruined world.
Like dogs wagging their tails at the one fact that the leash binding them had not yet snapped, even as it rubbed their skin raw and made it bleed.
They were submitting and settling in. They were content even as they crawled along the floor.
None of it held any value Baek Jinhyeok could accept.
It had been exactly three months since radio contact with Control Bureau branches nationwide had been cut off.
At the Anseong branch, the Hunters and leadership had all survived intact, and Jinhyeok too belonged to the Hunters assigned to Anseong.
- People are dying outside right now!! This is no time to be settling in like this!
- Then what are we supposed to do?
- Clear the danger zones! Reconnect the regions somehow by linking the Blank Zones—
- Impossible for now. Let's do it when we're ready.
He, too, had once been like that.
There had been a time when he pitied the survivors and cried out that they had to rebuild the world as soon as possible.
Yet before Jinhyeok, who pleaded for reconstruction, his comrades merely repeated “premature” like parrots.
- Let's start clearing the Red Zone tomorrow.
- No one will recognize you for taking this so seriously, Mr. Jinhyeok.
- At this rate, you won't last long. Let's just pretend to work hard.
All he got in return were excuses laced with mockery.
As those days piled up one after another,
Jinhyeok finally realized.
That most survivors, including his fellow Hunters, did not truly want the ruined world to return to what it had been.
They were merely making enough effort to get through today and tomorrow.
Then there was only one answer.
- M-Mr. Jinhyeok...?
- W-What is with that look in your eyes?! Don't come any closer!!
- W-Wait!! Aaaagh!!!
On the day Baek Jinhyeok slaughtered every last one of the useless fellow Hunters at the Anseong City branch of the Control Bureau, he finally became certain.
[Hidden Achievement Unlocked: Hope's Condemner]
[Reward: Zombie Tamer class evolution]
[You can now use some abilities of mutants and zombified Awakened, in addition to corpses]
- With this ability... I can do it...
There was only one person who could truly bring salvation to this world and end its destruction.
- I was chosen...!
Baek Jinhyeok himself.
If these weak, disgusting bastards would not do it, and had no intention of doing it,
- Then I shall personally put an end to this hell.
It was a mission only I, the one with overwhelming power, could fulfill—and had to fulfill.
I would become this world's sole protagonist and the savior of a new world,
and bring a perfect end to the destruction that had engulfed the world.
****
Meanwhile, on the first basement level of Starplex. Inside a warm, cozy goose-down sleeping bag in a one-touch tent.
[I am Baek Eunwol, the Head Mod of the Capital Area Survivors Gallery.]
[Who are you?]
[My name is Baek Jinhyeok.]
[I am the protagonist of this world.]
On the CCTV feed from Restroom No. 5 that I had brought up, the voices of the Head Mod and Baek Jinhyeok rang out.
“Kraaagh! What the hell is this bastard!!!!”
As I watched it blankly, I screamed.
“I’mm th’ pro’tagonist of th’ w’rld.”
The protagonist of the world, my ass...
Had our boy Jinhyeok eaten the Chuunibyou-Chuunibyou Fruit?
Something had gone seriously, monumentally wrong.
“I don't even think like that, so how the hell does this bastard manage to?”
Did he think the ruined world revolved around him?
Of course, there was another real reason I was this shocked.
Was the Head Mod doing okay...
ㄴ They said they'd announce it in a post if anything happened;;
ㄴ Hmm...
[Troll NEET] No, the Head Mod was a woman!!!!!
ㄴ What
ㄴ Huh?
ㄴ ?
[Troll NEET] No, what the fuck happened here!!!
ㄴ [Troll NEET] The Head Mod... The Head Mod was a woman?!!
ㄴ Then this bastard is just stating the obvious...
So are you saying the Head Mod was supposed to be a man?
ㄴ For real;;
ㄴ What the hell is this guy doing
ㄴ Just your average troll.
“Fuck, the Head Mod was a silver-haired, red-eyed beauty.”
What cliché is this?
“No, I thought she was a middle-aged guy with a beer belly who scratched his crotch like me.”
So unicorns really did exist, and haetae and phoenixes walked the earth.
“Oh, zombies exist too.”
Then I totally approve.
I wasn't about to immediately switch careers into some super-sweet, sugary, candied-sweet-potato, darling-honey-cheese, sweet black-ox buffalo.
“Hmm.”
I was just a little surprised by an unexpected fact.
No, but how did he bring mutants over like that?
ㄴ Is he friends with zombies?
ㄴ How the hell does that make sense...?
A zombie friend.
ㄴ Contradictory words.
ㄴ Exactly.
Unlike me, who was monitoring the real-time situation through the CCTV attached to Restroom No. 5,
the Stalkers still didn't know what was going on, so all they could do was flood the thread with speculative comments.
“Hmm.”
Of course, I didn't know how Jinhyeok had the zombies with him either.
Besides, though I'd never been there, rumor had it he'd crossed that terrifying Blank Zone.
He was probably quite strong.
Of course, by my standards, the ones visible on CCTV were only about Chihuahua level.
Ah, of course, I meant by my knowledge of zombies, not my combat power.
“Heh-heh.”
But judging by the way their conversation was unfolding and its atmosphere, I was also fucking uneasy.
“What are those slaves behind them... and what's with the cart...? Is he insane?”
Besides, now that I'd confirmed our protagonist Jinhyeok's tastes weren't exactly normal, I had a feeling something was bound to happen soon.
Of course, from my perspective, it'd be nice if they just waltzed into the Capital Area with a free pass—no passport required—and boosted the population.
“Acquiring potential customers is important.”
The same went for me and the moderate Stalkers.
Namely, the more people there were in the Capital Area, the better.
“Since you're here, though, I wouldn't mind if you used the restroom too....”
But as you know, the world doesn't go the way you want.
“I should prepare for whatever I can....”
Even if I acted detached, I wasn't truly thoughtless.
There was no stupider thing I could do than put my existing customers in danger just to secure potential new ones.
[Mana stones currently held: 52,100]
[Tile Copy Lv.5 -> Mana stones required for upgrade: 50,000]
Thanks to the other Stalkers making good use of the restrooms, I had just enough mana stones to pay the exact amount.
“Confirm.”
[Consume 50,000 mana stones to upgrade the Blueprint Copy skill.]
[Blueprint Copy Lv.5 achieved!]
[Maximum copy slots increased: 10 -> 20]
[Mana stones currently held: 2,100]
I was prepared to do anything if it meant protecting my customers.
“But first, let's eat some popcorn.”
It was exciting, all right.
*****
Border of the Blank Zone on the southern outskirts of the Capital Area.
“Interesting story. You do seem to have lost your mind, though.”
“Don't take it as a joke.”
“A power that commands zombies... That's interesting.”
Baek Eunwol, having heard Jinhyeok's history, answered coldly.
“You said your name was Baek Eunwol? It's natural to be wary of outsiders, but we have no reason to fight.”
“...”
“As I said, all the mutants are under my control. If you truly seek peace, share the System with us and help us. That's all.”
Jinhyeok's demand was astonishingly flat, as though it were obvious.
“Share the System and help you? What does that mean?”
“As you can see, I have succeeded in commanding most of the mutants. The day I command every mutant in the Black Zone will be the day peace comes to this world.”
Incredible claims continued to pour from his mouth.
“If you and the survivors of the Capital Area truly understand my grand cause, then you ought to help us.”
At Jinhyeok's toneless reply, Eunwol fixed her gaze on the humans piled up like objects, their limbs severed.
“So you butcher living people cruelly and leave them barely alive?”
“It is a necessary choice for me to use my ability. The fresher the prey, the more violently they rampage.”
“Even so—”
“They are evil people. Even without me, they were people who deserved to die someday.”
Unlike Eunwol's shaken gaze, Jinhyeok's eyes were astonishingly calm and cold.
“Then what about the people dragged here tied up like animals? Are they evil people who also deserved to die?”
“That is the fate of those who failed to understand my grand cause, opposed me, and resisted. They killed my precious mutants. And yet I did not kill them. Isn't that generous enough?”
His tone was absurdly full of conviction.
The Head Mod withdrew her gaze from the pitifully bound people and looked at Baek Jinhyeok again.
“All right, Jinhyeok, was it? I can ask you a few questions, I suppose.”
“I permit it. Speak.”
“...You said you came from Anseong. That's quite far south. What were the surrounding regions you passed through like as you came up here?”
Jinhyeok recited information from outside in a flat voice, as if benevolently granting her a favor.
“I have little to tell you. Cheonan became a colony of mutants, and Pyeongtaek... all the survivors committed mass suicide. Everywhere you went in the city, all you saw were corpses hanging from nooses. They must have felt there was no hope.”
“Hmm.”
“Busan... I heard Busan is holding out even more firmly than you are. Apparently, they declared themselves an independent nation.”
“I see.”
Eunwol nodded faintly, then stared at him with sunken eyes and opened her mouth.
“There is one more thing I want to know.”
“Speak, Baek Eunwol, administrator of the Capital Area. I permit it.”
“Why are you asking us to share the System? Why does someone who claims to be the protagonist who will command creatures even in the Black Zone, which not even we dare approach, and end the apocalypse need our help?”
“...”
“If you truly possess overwhelming power, shouldn't you go straight to the Black Zone instead of trying to persuade us?”
A brief silence.
Even amid that terrible silence, Baek Jinhyeok's expression did not change at all. Rather, a faint sneer tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“Could it be that, to you, this Capital Area looks like a pen packed with fresh meat to throw to hungry zombies?”
“Your delusions are getting out of hand.”
Jinhyeok answered with a scoff.
“Do not belittle my goodwill with your vulgar narrative, Baek Eunwol.”
Jinhyeok spoke with an expression that said it was obvious.
“What I seek is not destruction. Ultimately, I seek to revive a world where good people can live. To that end, naturally, if a tool like the System Shop exists, I will use it. Or do you intend to monopolize it all for yourselves?”
At that answer, the Head Mod looked down at Jinhyeok.
“Is that so?”
Eunwol's red eyes narrowed.
“Then what about your hometown, Anseong?”
“...What?”
“The place you supposedly left after killing all your Awakened comrades. What happened to the survivors left there?”
Silence again.
But its weight was heavier than ever.
“...If I command the mutants of the Black Zone, I can save more people in the future.”
“Then how many more people will have to be eaten before that?”
“...What?”
Eunwol's gaze swept over the procession of mutants behind him.
Eyes without focus. Limbs dangling from half-severed stumps. Around one neck, a name tag streaked with blood swung back and forth.
[Administrator: Anseong]
Tags dangled from the necks of the things lined up beside him as well.
[Administrator: Cheonan]
[Administrator: Pyeongtaek]
“You left Anseong, passed through Cheonan, and then Pyeongtaek. So the administrators of those regions are all hanging there in a row.”
Her icy gaze began sweeping across the entire procession.
“You say you're going to revive the world, but in every city you've passed through, the administrators have all become part of your army. I think I finally understand what you mean by revival.”
“...”
“Things you can't control become food. Things you can control become an army. And if they become troublesome, you can just turn them into slaves, right?"
Eunwol's red eyes stared straight at him.
“You claim you're going to revive the world? Let's call things by their proper names."
Eunwol's gaze pierced through Baek Jinhyeok's arrogant attitude.
"Hey."
At last, Eunwol delivered her final pronouncement.
"If you don't feed them, your control over them breaks, doesn't it?"
At those words, Baek Jinhyeok's expression—which had not changed even once until then—
“...I really hate a sharp-eyed bitch...”
twisted. Warped.
“I humored you even though you're just some administrator bitch. You don't know your place, and now you're getting on my nerves, Baek Eunwol.”
Facing Baek Jinhyeok, who radiated a menacing killing intent, Eunwol replied in a cold tone.
“You've been saying ‘I permit it, speak’ and all that from the start. You're getting on my nerves too.”
Eunwol spoke, her red eyes fixed directly on Jinhyeok.
“Don't order me around.”
Suffocating tension pressed down on the surroundings, taut as a bowstring pulled to its limit, ready to snap at any moment.
At that moment.
“Go tear them apart.”
The command fell from Baek Jinhyeok's lips.
As though the air itself were warping,
dozens of mutants that had been cleverly concealed in the thick fog revealed themselves all at once.
- Grrrrr!!
- Kyaaaak!!!!
The mutants closed in from all sides and lunged to bite Eunwol and her companions to pieces.
Eunwol lightly extended a hand and murmured.
“Block.”