Hypocrisy Is Still a Kind of Goodness (4)
The next morning, my food supply was nearly gone. Jung Heewon shook the convenience store bag in disbelief.
"Good grief, it's all gone?"
"Yes."
"Hah, this is ridiculous. Everyone was just watching each other and then bought everything..."
"No, it wasn't just the outcast group who bought it."
The late-night visitors hadn't all come from the outcast group.
"Kim Dokja, you're making the worst possible choice."
Among them was also Cheon Inho.
"You'll regret this."
More than half of my food had been bought by the mainstream group. Of course, they paid properly.
Upon hearing this, Jung Heewon flared up.
"Wait a minute. That means the mainstream group ended up monopolizing the food again?"
"In a sense, yes."
"Then what was the point?! Weren't you trying to empower trade between people and weaken the mainstream group?"
Unexpected insight. I was a little impressed as I answered.
"That was the intention. I hoped people would act on their own initiative."
"Then you shouldn't have sold food to the mainstream group! Nothing changes that way!"
"Things have changed. I now have coins."
"What?"
A solid 1,450 coins, to be exact.
Not bad for a single night of business.
"What the hell are you thinking, Dokja? Sangah, can we really trust this guy?"
When the attention suddenly turned to her, Yoo Sangah flinched briefly, then smiled brightly.
"I trust him."
That's a bit much.
"Dokja, you at least saved some food for yourself, right?"
"Nope. Sold it all."
Jung Heewon's jaw dropped. At that moment, someone poked my cheek. I turned to find a cookie stick being offered.
"Huh? This is for me?"
Nod, nod — her little head moved adorably. I smiled and pushed the snack back into Lee Gilyoung's mouth.
"You eat it. Oh, and while we're on the subject—everyone, you've all got some food left from yesterday, right?"
"Yeah, I've got some."
"Me too, just a little."
"Why? You want to buy it back? It'll cost you."
Jung Heewon waved a biscuit playfully.
"No, I mean you should all eat it now. Today."
"Huh?"
"Before the day ends, make sure you eat it all. Seriously."
I repeated the warning.
"Otherwise, you'll regret it."
"Why? …Wait. Sangah, why are you listening to him?"
"If Dokja says so, there must be a good reason."
Yoo Sangah smiled gently as she opened a nearly empty biscuit pack.
Lee Hyunsung looked uncertain, but he opened his ration too. Lee Gilyoung had already scarfed down his before I even finished speaking. He listens well.
"Ugh, this feels wrong… I'm keeping at least one left."
"I'm not going to stop you."
I just shrugged. It's her regret to bear, after all.
Around noon, the mainstream group made a major announcement. Cheon Inho gathered everyone in the platform's center and spoke.
"Starting today, we're restricting food rations. Each person gets three pieces of biscuit. Also—"
He didn't even finish speaking before the crowd erupted.
"What? Three pieces? How are we supposed to live on that?!"
"Yeah! The scout team eats more than that! You think we don't know?"
Despite the outbursts, Cheon Inho remained calm and smiling.
"You're absolutely right. The scouts do receive extra rations. If you want more food, join the scout team."
"No one who joins ever comes back! It's always those Cheoldoo bastards!"
"Are you telling us to die?!"
Even with the crowd growing more aggressive, Cheon Inho stayed composed.
"Those people were just unlucky. As you know, the outside is very dangerous. If you're unhappy, why not go get food yourself?"
"Th-that's…"
People fell silent like mutes. Everyone knew the truth—going outside meant certain death.
And Cheon Inho wasn't done yet.
"Oh, and you don't have to become a scout to get food."
"What do you mean?"
"Trade. If you have something we consider valuable, we'll exchange it for food. Everyone has something they can offer, right?"
Several people flinched under Cheon Inho's cold gaze—most of them had bought food from me yesterday.
[Character 'Cheon Inho' uses skill 'Agitation Lv.2.']
"I wasn't planning to go this far, but our dear Kim Dokja here gave me a great idea yesterday. That's right, everyone—there's no such thing as a free lunch! If you want food, prove your worth. That's how it should be. Hahaha, thanks for the tip, Kim Dokja."
...Really now?
Suddenly, all eyes turned to me. Most of them were full of resentment.
"That bastard..."
I wondered how people could be so dumb. Of course he had [Agitation]. Any decent group leader would. But turning that animosity toward me this quickly?
I watched Cheon Inho walk back to his tarp-covered base.
Still, this was nothing. Compared to the monsters waiting in Chungmuro or Seoul Station, this was almost cute.
Already, voices were rising at the front of their base, trying to haggle.
"I-I'll buy with coins! How much?"
"200 coins."
"What? But I don't have that many..."
"Then get lost."
One meal for 200 coins. Even a dokkaebi would faint at that markup.
One of the Cheoldoo members selling food saw me and flinched. Judging by the bandage on his thigh, he was one of the ones I dealt with yesterday.
"Did I ever thank you for yesterday?"
Jung Heewon was suddenly beside me, looking at the guy with a sharp glare.
"I think you did."
"Well, I'll thank you again."
I was puzzled, until I saw where her gaze landed—on the limping Cheoldoo member.
"That lame bastard tried to rape me yesterday."
"...I see."
"Don't touch him. I'm going to kill that bastard myself. Got it?"
The murderous intent blazing in her eyes was quite striking. With that intensity, she should have caught the attention of a Constellation already—maybe her trait just manifested late?
[Activating exclusive skill: 'Character List'.]
I felt a momentary worry after using the skill.
This woman would have died if I hadn't saved her—would she even be registered as a character?
Name: Jung Hee-won
Age: 27
Constellation Backing: None (Currently being observed by 3 Constellations)
Exclusive Trait: Crouching One (Common)
Exclusive Skills: [Ghost Slayer Lv.1], [Swordsmanship Lv.1]
Stigma: None
Overall Stats: [Health Lv.4], [Strength Lv.4], [Agility Lv.7], [Magic Lv.4]
Overall Evaluation: A 'Crouching One' with immense potential. The trait has not yet awakened, so detailed trait information is unavailable.
Thankfully, her profile appeared.
Looks like her case is different from Yoo Sang-ah, Lee Gil-young, and Han Myung-oh.
Maybe she was a character with a role originally but ended up discarded?
Anyway, her exclusive trait is quite interesting.
"Crouching One."
It doesn't sound like much at first glance, but this is one of the rare "hyper-evolutionary traits" in Destruction Law. Although currently a common trait, depending on what she experiences, it can evolve into a rare or even legendary-level trait.
One of the top 100 strongest characters in Destruction Law, "The Butcher of Madness," also evolved from "Crouching One."
Jung Hee-won.
I thought she was just a passing character, but I might need to consider recruiting her.
That [Ghost Slayer] skill is a bit concerning, but with proper guidance, she could become a powerful hitman.
"But you're incredibly calm, Mr. Reader."
Calm…
I suppose I could seem that way.
"I've seen situations like this a lot in novels, so I'm used to it."
"What? Is that even possible? …Wait, where are you going?"
I didn't answer and stepped off the platform. Seeing that Jung Hee-won was about to follow, I reached out my hand.
"It's fine."
Jung Hee-won landed lightly on the ground below.
I began walking along the tracks, inspecting the tunnel leading toward Yaksu Station. The thick darkness made it hard to see inside, but the stench was unmistakable.
The smell of blood.
"You're not seriously thinking of going in there, are you?"
She asked.
"Everyone who went that way died. Gangsters or not. If you go in there, you die. Period."
She was wrong.
Not everyone died.
At least one person already broke through that path and made it to the next station.
We climbed back up onto the platform.
Even though a fair amount of time had passed, the line for food trading was still long.
Some people who protested the dominant group were beaten up, and others paid exorbitant prices for food.
Jung Hee-won exploded in anger after spotting a few young women from the marginalized group sneak behind the tarp.
"Ugh, disgusting. Did you see that just now?"
"I did."
Cheon In-ho had said food could be traded for "anything." But those women hadn't carried anything.
Grinding her teeth, Jung Hee-won suddenly stood up.
"I can't just sit here and watch that."
"What will you do?"
"Stop them. I have to tell them that's not okay!"
"Then they'll starve."
"So you're saying we should just watch this happen?"
"Yes. I think it's best to just watch—for now."
"…What did you just say?"
I endured Jung Hee-won's scornful glare.
"Even if you stop them now, it won't solve the problem. The same thing will happen again tonight."
"…Then I'll stop it again. And again, if I have to."
"And what about the food? One of those women is a mother. If her child starves to death, will you take responsibility for that?"
Jung Hee-won's eyes trembled. She lowered her head, as if to hide her expression.
"…Then what am I supposed to do…?"
I quietly watched her as she stared at the ground.
That should prevent her from acting rashly. She's a [Crouching One] with [Ghost Slayer].
Depending on her actions, Jung Hee-won could evolve into a mindless killer.
"Jung Hee-won. At the core of this problem—isn't it all about food?"
"…Yes."
"Then we just need to eliminate the root cause of the problem."
"What?…"
Instead of answering, I looked at my watch. It should be appearing soon.
Bzzt—!
There it was.
The air split open, and a familiar figure appeared. Screams erupted from all around. The nightmare of humanity that kicked off all this tragedy.
[Um… H-hi everyone. How have you all been? Must've been a bit boring, huh?]
A dokkaebi.
"U-uwahhh!"
Those still unaccustomed to dokkaebis were panicking at its appearance. Understandable—nothing good ever happened after they showed up.
Even Jung Hee-won flinched for a moment. That said it all.
But wait… that's not Bihyung.
The dokkaebi usually in charge of this area was Bihyung. But this one looked different. Instead of the soft white fuzz Bihyung had, this one's fur was pitch black.
[T-the dokkaebi originally in charge got… punished, so… I-I'll be handling this scenario.]
A surprisingly timid tone for a dokkaebi.
[B-but, you all seem really peaceful? That B-Bihyung guy acted all smug but left the scenario this easy…]
"What do you want?! Get to the point!"
[Eek! D-don't yell, everyone. I-I came here for your sake, you know…]
"For us?"
"Then give us food!"
[F-food? Ahaha… Food, huh…]
Before it even finished speaking, the dokkaebi's hand moved.
[Scenario penalty has been added.]
[From now on, food stockpiling is restricted.]
[Existing stockpiled food has been removed.]
"H-huh? What the hell!"
People eating emergency rations began to shout.
Whether from the dominant group or the marginalized, every scrap of what could be called "food" began to float into the air.
[H-hey. You can't just focus on food, you know? If you're in a scenario, you're supposed to try and clear it.]
Fsshh!
Canned food, snacks, calorie bars—all the emergency rations gathered and disintegrated into dust with a wave of the dokkaebi's hand.
People dropped to the ground, stunned, as they watched their food vanish before their eyes.
[All you think about is eating… Filthy Earth trash…]
The dokkaebi's tone suddenly shifted.
I felt like I remembered its name.
In the original story, there was a dokkaebi like this. Soft-spoken, but more brutal than anyone else.
From afar, Cheon In-ho looked at me with a troubled expression.
[W-well then, I hope you all enjoy the scenario. Hehehe…]
Then came the system messages:
[Scenario penalty has been added.]
['Survival Fee' has been introduced.]
[From now on, 100 coins will be automatically deducted every night at midnight as a 'survival fee.' Failure to pay results in death.]
[The 'Survival Fee' penalty will remain until the second main scenario is cleared.]
I smiled as I read the messages.
Now this feels like 'Destruction Law.'