Chapter 11 : Encounters (3)

“Good. Why did you kidnap the kid? In a zombie-infested world, why?”

At my question, the man swallowed hard and slowly opened his mouth.

“W-Well…”

He was part of a group of lowlife thugs in Gimpo.
Not some grand organized crime syndicate—just scumbags with tattoos on their arms, scamming people through cryptocurrency or voice phishing.

Their lives as thugs were uncertain, always one step away from being nabbed by the cops.

But the zombie outbreak changed everything for them.

“W-When the zombies showed up, we were holed up in an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Gimpo. That’s when he appeared! Someone who offered our boss a deal!”

“A deal? What kind of deal?”

“…”

Crack!

“Arghhh!”

I swung my right hand down on his arm, and he screamed, rolling on the ground in agony.

I sighed and said,

“I told you I’d get mad if you didn’t talk. You gonna keep pissing me off like this?”

“S-Sorry! I’m so sorry! I’ll tell you everything! The deal was… human trafficking! In exchange for handing over kids—especially awakened ones—they gave us weapons and food we needed to survive!”

He also explained why Minseo was being chased.
They’d forced her to kill a zombie to test if she’d awaken.
When she did and used her new ability to escape, they went after her.

“Bullshit. It’s only been three days since the zombie outbreak. And you’re saying a human trafficking ring targeting kids is already up and running? One that trades weapons and supplies? You want me to get mad again?”

“P-Please, believe me! We didn’t do anything bad! We just handed over the kids!”

That’s the bad part, you idiot.

I felt a surge of murderous rage but barely held it back.
There might still be more to learn.

“Anything else you want to say? Think hard. You might have something.”

I clenched my fist and held it in front of his face.

“N-No, that’s it! The boss kept the deal with that guy top secret, so I really don’t know more! I swear! Please believe me!”

“Hm…”

His expression didn’t seem like a lie.

‘Suspicious. A trafficking ring set up in just three days?’
No matter how I thought about it, it didn’t add up.
Normally, something like this would take time to organize after a zombie outbreak.
Even if they had a use for kids, there’d be no way to transport them or trade goods this early.
It shouldn’t be operational yet.

‘But if he’s not lying, it’s the only explanation.’
There was no other reason to kidnap kids.
In an apocalypse, abducting adults would be cheaper and more practical for any purpose.

‘Whatever’s going on, the important thing is kids are being taken.’
If left alone, a lot of children would die.
I’m not a saint, but I’m not heartless enough to ignore this kind of evil.
My next goal was clear.

“Where’s your hideout?”
I asked the terrified man for the exact location.
Their base was an abandoned factory, a 20-minute walk away.

With no more questions, I stood up.

Seeing me move, the man froze.
I gave him a gentle smile and said,

“Choose. Want to die? Or live?”

“…Huh?”

“I’m giving you a special choice. Death or life?”

“…”
His mouth gaped.
Seizing the chance, he blurted out,

“L-Life! I want to live! Please! I’ll never do this again! I’ll live honestly—”

“Ugh, shut up. Fine, I’ll let you live.”

“R-Really?”

“Yup.”

Smiling, I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.

“W-Wait? Where—That’s the railing! It’s dangerous!”

“…”

“L-Let go! You said you’d let me live! You b*tch!”

“I’m letting you live. But who knows if our zombie friends will?”
He thrashed to break free, but it was pointless.
Ignoring his struggles, I tossed him off the Daiso rooftop.

“Arghhhh!”

He screamed as he plummeted.

Thud.

A heavy impact echoed.

Did he hit his head?
I peeked over the edge to check.

“Ughhh…”

Phew, he’s fine.
Looks like he landed legs-first on a checkout counter, not his head.

His legs were clearly broken, and he was curled up on the ground.

I kindly shouted down to him,

“It’s dangerous there! Zombies are coming! You said you wanted to live, right? Hang in there! You got this!”

Zombies, drawn by the noise, started rushing toward him.

He tried to crawl away, but his shattered legs wouldn’t move.

Realizing he was doomed, he looked up at me and roared, blood in his voice,

“You f*cking witch!”

Shouldn’t have trafficked kids, then.

I watched him calmly.
Soon, the zombies sank their teeth into him.

“Sh*t! Nooo!”

Well, hope he makes it to hell safely.

I gave a quick prayer for his soul, then headed to Minseo, who was resting in a corner.

“Unnie?”

“Let’s go. Time to save your friends.”

It was time for a real fight.

Abandoned Factory

The hideout of Gimpo’s human trafficking ring.

A massive figure, over two meters tall, slept on a bed.
Beside him were women, all naked.
And… none of them were breathing.

Goo Joo-ho.
The boss of the trafficking ring, kidnapping kids to trade with some mysterious figure.

It was because of their night with him.
The women couldn’t withstand his awakened physical prowess and died.

“Tch. Dead again.”
Waking up, Goo Joo-ho clicked his tongue.
Another one.
Another woman he liked, gone.

Killing didn’t bother him.
In a ruined world, murder was nothing.

Hell, they enjoyed themselves with him, didn’t they?
A happy death, if anything.
Goo Joo-ho figured he’d given them a gift.

The problem was elsewhere.

‘Damn it. Where am I supposed to find more beauties like these?’
In a ruined world, most people were zombies.
That included beautiful women.
Already rare, they were even scarcer now.
And even if he found more, they’d just die under his strength again.

‘Ugh. No good. I need an awakened woman, not just a pretty one.’
Someone who could handle his awakened body.

[Name: Goo Joo-ho]
Gender: Male
Age: 35
Occupation: Berserker

Level: 16

Health: 225/225
Mana: 24/24

Strength: 90
Agility: 44
Magic: 16
Intelligence: 3

Acquired Skills:
Berserk LV.10
Swordsmanship LV.5
Brawl LV.3

Skill Points: 0

A woman worthy of his stats—Health 225, Strength 90, the strongest in Korea.

Probably the only one to grow this much in just three days of the zombie outbreak.

‘Heh. Good thing I took the deal. Who’d have thought I’d get this kind of power!’
His unmatched stats were all thanks to the deal.

The weapons and supplies from that trade gave him the foundation to grow fast.

Creak.

The door opened, revealing a familiar face.
Jung Doo-sik, his right-hand man and the group’s only real brain.

Doo-sik glanced at the cold bodies beside Goo Joo-ho.

“Hey, boss! Killed them again? The guys are already pissed you’re hogging all the women. Leave some alive, man.”

“Tch. You think I meant to? They’re just too damn weak. Whatever. They’re creepy, so clean them up.”

“Creepy? Your face is creepier. No shame, huh. Guess we’ll have to scour the city for more women…”
Doo-sik snapped his fingers, and the women’s bodies floated up.
One of his awakened abilities—telekinesis.

“Next time, get me an awakener. Someone who’ll last. Oh, and you know I don’t compromise on looks, even if the body’s negotiable.”

“Yeah, yeah. That’ll take time.”

“Obviously. The ugly ones can go to the kids…”
Goo Joo-ho nodded, satisfied with Doo-sik’s response.

Then—

“Boss! Boss! Big trouble!”

A scrawny goon burst into the room, panting.

Annoyed by the sudden noise, Goo Joo-ho scowled.

“Sh*t. I told you to keep it quiet in the morning. What’s wrong? Another ‘product’ escape?”

“An intruder! An intruder’s tearing up the area around the factory!”

“Intruder?”

What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Who’d be crazy enough to attack a factory guarded by him, Korea’s strongest awakener?

Furious, Goo Joo-ho grabbed the clothes hanging by the bed and started dressing.

Doo-sik used telekinesis to float Goo Joo-ho’s weapon to him.

“Ha, who’s this idiot? One of the kids’ parents we nabbed?”

“It’s an angel!”

“…What?”

“An angel descended on the factory!”

What kind of nonsense was that?
An angel, out of nowhere?

Dumbfounded, Goo Joo-ho and Doo-sik hurried to the intruder’s location.

And what they saw—

“A real angel.”

A breathtakingly beautiful angel, wings on her back.

Greed flickered in Goo Joo-ho’s eyes.