Standing before me was a thin man with long brown hair and narrowed eyes.
"You..."
As I saw that face, something dark welled up inside me. Years had passed, but there was no forgetting him.
Kim Minhyuk.
The cause of my hellish high school life. All because I'd accidentally stained his favorite uniform. That single moment condemned me to years as his punching bag—his personal slave. He'd rallied Iljins to beat me, harassed me daily, and ensured I had no friends. No one dared associate with me for fear of becoming a victim.
And because he came from a wealthy family, fighting back was never an option. Expulsion—or worse—would have been my reward.
The worst years of my life were shaped by the man standing in front of me. Maybe I should just...
The gun in my hand shifted slightly.
[Exclusive Skill, 'Black Box,' has activated.]
Suddenly, the anger coursing through me dissipated, replaced by an eerie calm. My hand lowered the gun against my will.
What the hell?
The abrupt mood swing left me disoriented. I frowned at the unnatural shift.
It was almost horrifying how my anger suddenly changed to calmness and indifference in an instant. In any case, it prevented me from doing something stupid right now.
I spoke with a blank expression.
"Minhyuk? What are you doing here?"
"You know me?"
"We went to high school together. Don't tell me you've forgotten. I was your favorite houseboy."
"Hmmmm."
Minhyuk leaned in, squinting at me.
You bastard, was I easily that forgettable after you treated me like shit?
A flicker of recognition dawned in his eyes before he burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! So you're Kim Jakga? You look so different now that I hardly recognized you. How have you been all this time? It's been, what, three years?"
"Don't talk like we're friends."
"C'mon now, are you still holding a grudge?"
Yes, I'm still holding a grudge. For that matter, I will hold a grudge until I die, you bastard.
No, Let's calm down.
"My personal feelings doesn't matter. Are you the leader of these kids?"
"How do they look like kids?"
"Answer the question."
"Yes, I'm the leader here."
"Then explain why you're collecting coins from these people?"
In response, Minhyuk just shrugged his shoulders as if it was no big deal.
"It's very simple. Tell me Jakga, do you think anything is free in this world?"
"Excuse me?"
I tilted my head and raised an eyebrow.
"Even after the world fell into destruction, nothing is free in this world. Food is scarce and a new currency called Coins has replaced Yen."
"What are you trying to say?"
"What I'm saying that even though this is a lawless world, it doesn't mean the laws of the old world has completely disappeared. The strong and the weak. These two fundamental concepts remains the same even when the world's destruction is near."
"..."
"This is a lawless world. A world without laws and morals. If you want to survive in such a world then you need to be cruel. It's an unavoidable situation."
Minhyuk looked at the trembling people and smiled slightly. Those were the people who could not adapt to the new world.
Then he looked at me and spoke.
"If everybody entered for free, the safe zone will be crowded and there will be no food to go around. So I made a choice. I made this place my property and made the willing pay rent and kicked the unwilling."
"So you became a landlord?"
"Correct. As long as you stay here, you must pay rent. That way, resources can go around and everyone can survive. Isn't that an happy ending?"
Happy ending? What a joke.
"What about the people that you kicked out of the safe zone? What happened to them?"
"Oh, that..."
Minhyuk did not answer immediately. It was obvious what had happened to them.
I turned and looked at the faces of the survivors who wore sad expressions.
Those were kicked out of the safe zone became food for the monsters outside. While those unfortunate people were kicked out of the safe zone, these people watched without lifting a finger to help.
But it couldn't be helped. They couldn't have helped even if they wanted to.
Why? They were weak. They could barely save themselves so how were they expected to help another person.
I'm sure that was what they were thinking right now. This case wasn't that different from bullying.
There are three main parties involved in bullying. The bullies, the victim and the spectators.
The bullies treated their victims like shit while the spectators watched without lifting a finger. Why? The reason was simple. People were cowards especially when they lacked strength.
If they decided to help the victim then they will become the target of bullying. Therefore, they have no choice but to silently watch. It was a story I have already experienced before.
Being weak was not a sin, that I could understand. But choosing to stay weak was an unforgivable sin. Unlike the old world, anyone can become strong in the new world. Women, children and even grandpas and grandmas were no exception.
The fact that they silently watched as those people were sentenced to their death proved that they were nothing but murderers. But who am I to judge, really.
This is not the cruelty of the world. It was the cruelty of humans.
Let me think for a little. Sure, what Minhyuk did was nothing but an act of cruelty. However, it was a logical decision. It was impossible to feed one thousand people especially when food was scarce.
So kicking a few useless people will help to perceive resources for the remaining survivors. But it is not like he heartlessly kicked out those people. By bringing in the concept of rent, he gave them a surviving chance.
All the survivors needed to do was hunt a few monsters and gather coins, then they will be able to enter the safe zone. Like this, dead weights can become a little bit useful in real time.
In the end, both parties can benefit from this. The mainframe group collect rent on a daily basis and the survivors can become stronger.
It was a good yet cruel strategy. In other words, it was wrong to call them complete villains. But it was also wrong to call them heroes too. Therefore, there was no need to eliminate them.
... I'm not planning on staying for long anyways.
Besides, 500 coins was a huge amount to ordinary people. But I couldn't be called an ordinary person.
Once I reached the conclusion of that reasoning, I finally made my decision and opened my mouth.
"Minhyuk."
"Hmm?"
"I will pay the rent."
Minhyuk grinned triumphantly. "Good choice, Jakga."
****
After handing over the coins, Minhyuk and his lackeys left to patrol the zone. I could have refused, but the resulting chaos wasn't worth it. An angry mob of cheated survivors was more trouble than I needed.
In the meantime, I was listening about the situation of the safe zone. Lee Jong-ho was the main provider of the information.
"I see. So the initial number of the safe zone was around 500."
"Yes. When the horde arrived, only those close to the safe zone survived. The rest were not so lucky."
"It's less than I thought."
The sector center was the most populated part of Hongdae. For only 500 people to survive, that would mean the casualties were more greater than I expected.
The survivors were likely those who stayed indoors and quickly made their way to the safe zone. The others either didn't know about its existence or failed to grasp the severity of the situation in time.
Nowhere outside the safe zone offered protection during the Second Fable. Those who chose to remain indoors ultimately fell victim to the monster horde.
In the end, lack of information was the problem.
"Then what's the situation here?"
"There are two main groups in the safe zone. To be honest, it's just the Mainframe group and everybody else. But I'm sure you already knew that."
"Yeah, I already figured."
We both looked at the people walking around with pipes and other weaponry with a dark expression.
This was already expected.
The situation could be summarized as follows: the Mainframe group, led and organized by Kim Minhyuk, held authority and managed operations.
The remaining survivors were tenants who paid rent to the landlord for the privilege of staying in the safe zone—a haven they sought to escape the relentless threat of monsters.
"Food distribution is determined by the mainframe group. All the convenience stores and fast-food restaurants in the area have already been robbed so food supply is very limited."
"I see."
"That was why Kim Minhyuk recruited some of the survivors to join as food scouts to go into deeper territory in search of food. But..."
"They never returned?"
"That's right. It's already been 15 hours, yet there has been no sign of the survivors, not even from the Mainframe group."
"Hmm."
This was an interesting development. There are two possible things that could have happened to them.
First, they might have been ambushed and killed by another group of survivors. Second, they could have fallen victim to a monster attack.
The former seemed more likely, as even in the event of a monster attack, at least one of them should have survived to recount what happened.
Wait.... could it be they encountered a Nightmare above Teir 7? If that were the case, it would explain everything.
I glanced at Lee Jong-ho, wearing a sad expression. Placing a hand on his shoulder, I was surprised by the firmness of his muscles. It was far tougher than I anticipated. His strength stats must have already surpassed 10.
"Huh? Wh-What?"
"Jongho-ssi, there's no need to be disheartened."
"Even if you say that, everything feels wrong. The death, the tragedies... When will it end? Why did this all happen?"
"You're right. I don't know the reason either. I suppose we were just unlucky."
It seemed we were treading into heavy territory now. I needed to uplift his spirits before a seed of darkness took root in his heart.
"Well, since this is our current situation then we have to do our best to survive, right?"
I smiled at him. It was not enough to completely calm his heart but it was enough to impress his mood.
Jongho hesitated before nodding.
"Thank you, Jakga-ssi."
That seemed to motivate him. In the end, Lee Jongho was just Lee Jongho. A simple guy.
... Ah! That remains me.
Turning my head, I saw Angelica and Jung Yunhee sitting at a corner and keeping to themselves. They seemed rather depressed. Shouldn't I go and greet them?
I slowly approached them with the plastic bags in hand.