Chapter 171 – Sponsor
The rest area run by Director Kim is operating successfully.
Since the world is the world, it is impossible to dream of expanding the store just because business is going well, but any survivor who passed through this place hoped to visit again.
As long as I had something to trade, I could at least live like a human being during my stay.
Would you say they were somewhere between the lowest class of pre-war poor and the homeless? I could barely maintain the lowest point of my life at the time.
Of course, rest area operators do not enjoy this position for free.
The supply of talent and products was constantly and rigorously reviewed.
“I don’t accept this. Take it to the outdoor market.”
“The product is new, but the wire covering is about to peel off, right? The connections are also rusty. Did you fall into the water?”
“The sheet breath is alive… Sniff! It smells like mold, right? “I can’t pay the full price.”
“Mr. Geez! We don’t deal in drugs. Get out of here, you bastard!”
Low-quality goods were exported to outdoor flea markets, and mid-grade goods were handled directly.
It was quite a tiring task, but Director Kim’s subordinates did a good job, making it seem like they were suited to the task of evaluating people.
Meanwhile, a mysterious force said to exist inland came behind them, and one more thing was added to the task.
That is shopping.
It is a joyful act that has been forgotten for a long time and makes anyone’s heart beat.
“You can’t do anything recklessly? “Choose the list carefully and hand it over to me.”
“Yes! Director.”
The subordinates looked frantically at the laptop screen connected to the extranet.
Shelter is a shopping mall linked to the inventory list of factories in the central region.
Although it is limited to items that can be taken out, the variety of materials is enormous. It would be safe to say that it is currently the largest supplier on Earth.
“…”
“I can’t speak.”
“Brother, no, manager. I think we really got it right. Right?”
“They take much better care of me than when I was under Chairman Ham.”
The extranet shopping mall dealt with everything from food, clothing, shelter, luxury goods, medical supplies, weapons and armor, drones, and even vehicles.
“The quantity of this is unlimited?”
“They said they run their own factory.”
When Director Kim answered his subordinate’s self-talk, someone whistled in admiration.
“Blood packs in a living prosthesis? “Do you also handle this?”
Director Kim was pleased to see his subordinate looking at the medical items in surprise.
It might be tempting to look through luxury items or automobiles based on interest, but I liked the attitude of looking through products that would make the most money first.
The hard training I had put in to change my mind from a gangster to a businessman was finally showing results.
Among the items handled were artificial organs, but for the medical staff at the rest area, it was just a pig’s neck.
“I think it would be a good idea to have blood packs first, right? “As much as possible.”
Fresh blood is not only usable at rest areas, but is also in high demand.
Just last week, a shootout broke out while on patrol and one of the guards lost half his blood.
If I hadn’t had the shelter-made body armor, I would have died.
“Do you know how long your blood pack can be preserved?”
One of the subordinates said.
He was a man known by the nickname ‘pharmacist’ among his gang.
“It’s barely more than a month. If you stock up on a lot, you’ll end up discarding it all, right?”
He was not a real pharmacist, but a man who had been scouted for organ trafficking by another organization before the war.
“It says here that the expiration date is 3 years?”
“What?”
The pharmacist was startled and brought his face closer to the screen.
“Artificial blood?”
The pharmacist read the detailed information with a fascinated look.
The manager nodded at the enthusiastic appearance of his subordinates.
“We have plenty of time, so check it out among yourselves, organize the list, and report it to me.”
“Yes! Leave it to me!”
He had something else to do. As a boss, it is his duty and right.
* * *
[Hello, how have you been?]
“Of course. The manager didn’t have any problems, right?”
[No problem.]
Rest area regular reporting time.
The attitude of the director over the communicator was polite as always.
[I have checked the catalog sent by the Chairman. Infinite grace! I will repay you with loyalty.]
“Ahaha.”
It’s just that the attitude is so excessive that it becomes burdensome. Even officers who are thirsty for promotion will not go to this extent.
The title was also changed to Chairman.
Although he trained his subordinates thoroughly, it seems that the title ‘manager’ no longer remains in his brain.
‘There’s nothing particularly strange about it. He was a gangster sponsored by a businessman before the war? In that sense, my relationship with you now is special. Could it be said that it is a relationship that goes beyond simply being a partner in the era of destruction and brings back memories of the pre-war era? I think it would be inconsiderate to bother correcting the title.’
Artemis spoke as if analyzing his psychology.
However, the true intention seems to be concentrated in the latter part of what was said in passing.
“The Goheung garrison has been cut to pieces. Is there any threat?”
Most of the remnants that are divided into large and small groups are infantry soldiers, but an army is still an army.
[Doesn’t exist. I checked with our sources, but it seems to be quiet.]
“How many executives gathered in Goheung, and not a single one wants to raise an army?”
No matter how meticulous the drone army sweeps, it can never be perfect.
There are a few executives who survived at the scene, and there are also executives who recovered late or returned from military service.
[There was a major who claimed to be Lee Man-cheol’s successor and tried to rally the remnants of Goheung-gun. He gathered all the soldiers together and gave a speech, but it turned into a beehive.]
Unlike the director, who could hear the stories of people coming and going from the rest area, I could only get limited information from low-orbit satellites or drones.
Although it is possible to look at the outline of the entire forest, it is difficult to see in detail what is happening within the forest.
[Nothing much happens after that. The remnants have returned to their original places and are quietly trying to maintain security. From what I heard, are you managing your image to join another military unit?]
If that’s true, I think they’re probably planning to join the Mokpo garrison, which is planning a successful joint operation and large-scale farming within six months, or the Yeosu garrison, which is nearby and has strong legitimacy.
“Thank you. It’s a problem that’s been on my mind, but I’ve put it to rest.”
[Not much to say.]
After exchanging a few more messages with Director Kim, we ended the communication.
I delegate most of the work to my AI aides, but I do the communication myself with external forces.
The next person to contact was Captain Woosung University.
He is my junior in the military and is currently the leader of some of the remnants of the Goheung garrison.
After the civil war, which did not feel like a civil war, ended, he stayed in Goheung of his own choice.
[Because we cannot abandon the soldiers who have been with us since the infection war.]
He was organizing the remaining troops who were scattered and wandering with a few like-minded executives.
[I have become quite friendly with the residents. If we leave too, immediate survival will become difficult. You never know when the remnants might turn into marauders. First, I would like to see more of the situation here.]
If you’re like a guy, should I say you’re like a guy?
“Do you remember when you panicked during your first real fight and cried while holding onto my pants? “When did that Sowi grow up so wonderfully?”
[No, are you talking about when?]
A voice of protest was immediately heard from beyond the communicator.
“At that time, I ignored the orders from the communication office and crawled back nearly 200 meters to save you, who had fallen behind, right? “I lost a promotion once because of that.”
[Oh, please stop. I remember everything.]
“Are you angry?”
[I’m not angry. I am now a captain.]
The sly guy instantly returned to his tone. I guess his pride was hurt.
“Okay, sorry dude. Are you going to hit me like this?”
[Even though I look like this, I am still a reinforced human? If you hit me, Captain, you will fly into the sky.]
“Ha.”
I laughed for a moment.
Talking to Seongdae made me feel like I was back in my 20s.
“Okay, are there any supplies you need?”
[Well, if you open your hands, there is no limit. There is no major shortage as we have used some of the decoration materials that were brought out ahead of an all-out war.]
The reason why the currently scattered remnants of Goheung County did not turn into looters is because they each took a certain amount of these decoration materials.
[Ah! If you have any chocolate, please send me some. There is nothing better than this to seduce and appease the soldiers, right?]
We accessed the inventory management list and organized large quantities of chocolate, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and antibiotics as external support materials.
“Do you know where the rest area is?”
[I know. It’s a hot place these days. I also used it sometimes. Wow, it was a very dreamlike time.]
“…”
It’s a voice that somehow seems sinister.
Without saying a word, I added condoms to the support supplies.
“I’ll leave it at the rest area, so you can pick it up. The password is first-in-first-out.”
[Is this a stock tray?]
“Not if you don’t need it.”
[Oh my! I was talking nonsense, boss! Hehe.]
It was an insignificant conversation, but it brought a smile to my face.
[But it looks like the captain’s camp is really overflowing with supplies.]
There was admiration in the voice of the vocal cords.
“That’s not necessarily the case.”
Clearly, Shelter is an affluent city that can be self-sufficient up to the size of a town.
However, this is only a story about when you stay alone and do nothing.
Just like now, we explore the outside world, develop technology, battle various infectious agents, study them, provide support only to the most desperate survivors, and even reach the big picture of purifying this land.
In situations where these tasks are performed, the capacity to squeeze out is greatly reduced.
[Then let’s go in, loyalty!]
“What is loyalty? “When was the unit disbanded?”
[Well, that’s also true. Haha.]
That’s how the last communication ended.
[Is it that fun?]
Artemis spoke to me.
As I unconsciously traced the corners of her mouth as she spoke, I felt the corners of her mouth turn up.
[He was laughing with a pitiful expression.]
Deering.
In the video Artemis sent me, I was that of an unemployed person in the corner of a room giggling while looking at a humor site. She was honestly a bit ugly.
“But I’m really glad to see you. Even though we were born and raised in different places, we eat together, sweat and train together, and sometimes go through life-threatening battles, covered in each other’s blood.”
I went through quite a few actual battles with Sungdae.
“I joined the army with my bare fists and without any blood relatives? “That guy feels like a close friend from back home, even if he’s not family.”
Such a harsh and cruel world.
Sharing good times and memories of the past in itself gives peace of mind.
[… Tell me about it too. Things that happened when I was in the military.]
Artemis, sitting with her legs crossed beyond her screen, looks somewhat angry.
“This is the first time I see a woman who is curious about the military.”
I looked at her as if she was curious.
[Yes, that’s right. Who else but me would be curious about your military life? So, you should cherish it that much, right?]
Her angry look quickly disappeared. She was back to her usual sassy self.
[Now, go ahead and tell the story. Like a junior soldier solving a story for a senior soldier during night guard duty!]
“Where did you pick that up again?”
I cleared my voice and chose something to talk about.
What should I talk about first? Is this right? I like it.
“I’ll tell you about when I was deployed. While I was patrolling with the US military, a masked motorcycle chased me. However, there was a very suspicious-looking black object hanging from the luggage compartment of the motorcycle.”
[Huh! Yes!]
That’s how I started to unravel the story.
For reference, that motorcycle was a terrorist targeting American soldiers accompanying him.
My theory is that there is no man who does not like to reveal his military history.
And right in front of me is Artemis with an excited expression that is rarely seen.
This is the best audience for me.
