Chapter 268 – The Other Side of the Festival – An Unexpected Reunion
A large building the size of an auditorium can be seen nearby. From there, exclamations and sighs mixed with joy and sorrow were heard.
Spurrrrm.
As I entered, I was greeted by a plastic ball rolling noisily on a roulette wheel.
There are tables for baccarat and blackjack, and slot machines are lined up in one corner.
While the majority of customers were Korean, the operators were foreigners.
The dealers dressed in suits are all handsome men and women who seem to have come from the Northeast or Europe.
More than half of the ‘shoulders’ smoking cigarettes here and there are Western men.
“Just by looking at it, you can smell it. “I guess this is also related to the organization, right?”
[Sure. The boss here has connections there. The manager also knows this person.]
Kids said.
Since the communicator was synchronized with the brain implant, there was no need to put it to the ear.
“Someone I know?”
[I could tell you, but I think it would be fun to see for yourself.]
“I guess that’s true too.”
I smiled and looked around.
However, there are many unique scenes as it is a gambling house operated in an apocalyptic situation.
The most interesting thing is that the exchange of money and chips is done at market price, like the stock market.
“No, this is all you’re giving me?”
A man holding several pieces of paper in his hand said. Looking at it, it looks like food ration vouchers distributed at military bases.
“Customer, this was distributed in Jeonju. The distance is far and the situation at the unit there is not good, so I have no trust. “This is also a lot of hitting.”
A Korean money changer piled up a few chips and said, as if he was being generous. It would be natural for a local person to handle this work as it would be smoother.
“No matter what, I can eat several meals with this.”
Although he was an exasperated man, his desire for gambling eventually overcame his reason. With his trembling hands, he puts down the ration card and takes the chip.
“Oh my.”
I stroked my chin and watched the money being exchanged.
This is because it was more interesting to see a variety of currencies here than anywhere else I have passed by so far.
A total of ration vouchers were distributed by military units and warlords from all over the Korean Peninsula.
The closer the distance to the polis, the more powerful the warlord was from the former Korean military rather than a civilian organization, and the stronger his power, the higher the value of the ration voucher.
Of course, a fight could not have occurred due to the exchange fee issue, but thanks to the tough guards, it did not lead to an uproar.
Some people brought goods instead of ration vouchers. These are mostly weapons such as bullets or knives.
“Mr. Ai, do you know what kind of junk shop we are?”
When the money changer lost his temper, the shabby-looking man cowered.
“Please accept it. “I’ll give it to you cheaply!”
“We only accept what is written here.”
The money changer pointed to the large board next to him. There, various alternative currencies exchanged for chips were recorded.
“Please just give me one chip! Please!”
“Hey, take this person outside.”
When the money changer made a gesture, the black man next to him dragged the man away with a firm resolve.
“Let go! “Let go of this!”
The man who was making a fuss buckled when a fist was planted in his stomach! Knock! The streets made a noise and became quiet.
It was a scary scene, but no one was fazed, perhaps because they were familiar with the guests here.
There is even a man who raises his glass in a toast as if it is a fun spectacle. The beautiful woman hugging his arm and smiling is a bonus.
Next, the gentleman standing in front of the money changer was well-dressed and out of place. He did not take out a small amount of money like other gamblers, but held a clean leather wallet in his hand.
“Welcome. I guess it’s from Prime? Haha!”
The money changer also greeted him with a polite attitude.
Clean banknotes came out of the wallet, but they were not pre-war Korean won. Not the dollar, not the yuan or the yen.
This is credit, a new currency issued by Shelter. The amount is 10,000 credits.
“My face gets hot every time I see that.”
On the front was my strangely glorified face.
[I guess you saw 10,000 credits?]
“How did you know?”
[That’s exactly the trembling voice pattern of shame. It’s time to get used to it.]
“It’s too glorified to be a country.”
[What are you talking about! You look much nicer in person, hehe.]
“Let’s not talk.”
Since it is the most valuable currency in existence, the gentleman received a significant amount of chips.
“You there!”
Should I play a game too?
“You idiot!”
Let’s start with blackjack at table number 4 over there. The young lady, who looked sullen as she was alone with no customers, looked pitiful.
“This guy’s ears are sore?!”
Someone approached me with a yell. It was a Korean man who was smoking a cigarette on a nearby pillar. He wears a thick gold necklace around his neck.
Next to me was a foreign man with tight hair and a tank top. Both appear to be the shoulders of this gambling house.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you said it to me.”
“You pretend to be relaxed.”
A gold necklace came shakily and stopped in front of me.
“What are you doing, looking around like that? Don’t you know that covering your face is prohibited here?”
He came over and pulled down the hood I was wearing.
“I didn’t know there was such a rule here.”
The gold necklace approached me with suspicious eyes, and my eyes fell on the knife hanging on his waist. I clenched my fist with the intention of striking him in the face.
But the gold necklace didn’t come with the intention of threatening me.
“Are you looking for medicine?”
He whispered in my ear.
“Looking at him, he looks like a guy who enjoys it hard, but I only deal with marijuana. “Madam really hates selling medicine.”
“. Haha.”
They must have thought I was a drug addict when they saw my skinny appearance.
“How is it? Are you interested?”
“No, not at all. “I’ll just take a look and then leave.”
His expression distorted at my words.
“Then what is it? There’s something suspicious about this guy. “Let’s search your arms.”
He firmly squeezed my shoulder.
“Please let go of this hand for now.”
I don’t like when men touch me. I adjusted my strength appropriately and pulled the guy’s hand away from the line where it wasn’t crushed.
“Ugh!”
He seemed embarrassed that I, who looked so skinny, showed such great strength.
[■■■■!]
Her gold necklace blushed as the South American next to her said something and giggled. Did I hear a curse that hurt my pride?
Even if the languages are different, if you eat together, you can quickly learn swear words and sarcasm.
“Ah, it’s getting annoying.”
[This is a place run by a foreign organization, so Korean members are looked down on. Would you say it is a kind of territorial within the organization? I don’t think I’ll just let it go for the sake of my face.]
Just as Kids said, it didn’t look like the Koraji was going to end quietly as it approached with a roar.
Whoosh!
But I didn’t think he would throw his fist all the time.
Although the strength is unknown, the strengthening nerves and reaction speed have fully recovered. After briefly dodging, I raised both hands.
“I have no intention of causing trouble.”
“You. Jacket. Pocket. Take it out.”
A South American who was watching with his arms crossed said. His blue eyes are shining sharply. It looks like the eagle’s eye found a slight protrusion due to the communication device.
I took out the communication device in my inner pocket and showed it.
“Nothing special. “It’s just a phone.”
But the expressions of the two men changed. The South American uncrossed his arms and walked towards me.
“I think this guy is from a different organization. Are you sure you recorded the transaction story from earlier? Are you trying to tease the old man?”
The gold necklace said.
It seems like something is going wrong, and I am being misunderstood.
“Not really. “I’ll just go.”
“No, you can’t go now. Marco! Catch this bastard.”
Two men each grabbed both of my arms roughly. Damn this is how it works.
Boom!
When I turned my arms with strength, the two fell out in vain. However, one of them happened to fall on a nearby blackjack table and a loud noise was made.
With the dealer’s scream, everyone’s eyes are drawn here.
“Catch that guy!”
As the money changer shouted, the surrounding guards stopped what they were doing and approached.
[Ah! I can’t believe you can’t see this! Manager, you should have worn a shoulder camera!]
“Are you joking in this situation?”
[Anyway, it would all be a slap in the face to the manager. On a day like today, I wouldn’t take out a knife carelessly, and if I stabbed, I wouldn’t get stuck.]
Even so, it was said that the brain implants were drones waiting overhead, already ready to shoot. With just one command from me, the surrounding area will instantly become a beehive.
Poop!
When I put my fist into the boat of the guy running towards me, it floated away and fell.
“Wow!”
Just pour the pancakes on the floor.
“■■■! ■■!”
A kick was sent along with a yell that was presumed to be an expletive, but it was easily caught by my hand. He was beaten to the pillar next to him.
Bang!
“Wow!”
The muscular man fainted, splashing brilliant droplets of saliva.
“I’m not an ordinary guy!”
Everyone who had been waiting and waiting, thinking it would be sorted out soon, was ready to rush towards me.
“What? What’s going on?”
A somewhat husky female voice was heard from inside the gambling hall.
“It’s nothing, sister. Please come in.”
The money changer bowed and said.
“It’s nothing special, I could hear the sound of vomiting all the way up here.”
The woman who appeared was a Slavic beauty with a striking decadence. Although she is beautiful, her venomous aura is impressive. He has the charisma to not be outdone even among tough gangsters.
When she saw me, her face became confused, and she frowned for a moment as if she was going against her memory, but it soon changed to astonishment. I was a little surprised too.
“Kids, was that the one you were talking about?”
She was Sasha, the leader of her own group of former shelter prisoners.
[Yes. Sasha is also amazing. I immediately recognized the manager, who had been there for three years and whose impression had changed a bit. Since she has that much sense, she probably makes a living like this.]
Sasha was wearing a style commonly referred to as a new urban Missy look. Although she is now in her early 30s, she has managed to work hard and is as sexy as she was in her 20s.
“Stop!”
Sasha’s shout pierced through the entire gambling hall. The shoulders that were about to lunge at me stopped.
“■■■■! ■■■ ■■!”
When she shouted something, her foreign shoulders were startled, and she raised both hands and stepped back. Koreans’ shoulders were also noticeably hunched.
I passed between them and approached Sasha.
“Long time no see. “You’re still pretty.”
“Okay, thank you.”
As if she was happy, she bent her waist at a 90-degree angle. The fact that she even put her hands on her stomach was a belly greeting that only airline flight attendants would give.
“Wow, crazy.”
“Your sister is doing that?”
[■■■.]
Everyone reacted in surprise, probably because it was the first time Sasha had shown something like that.
She was in a half-panic state and looked at me with a desperate look to see if she would come back to her senses.
“Please eat inside instead of talking here.”
“Okay. Let’s go in.”
Sasha must have her own level of prestige while running this organization, so I followed in her footsteps.
As I walked down the hallway, a clean and luxurious lounge appeared. Is it some kind of executive office?
Two Korean men in flashy clothes are drinking with women in their arms.
“Sasha, are you here already? “I guess I left something behind.”
“Everyone gets out.”
Unlike the man who spoke in a friendly manner, Sasha responded coldly.
“Is the man next to you your new boyfriend? I don’t think it’s to your taste… Ah!”
He smoothed his rough beard and suddenly struck his palm with his fist.
“Did you bring that skinny thing over to use as a bottom rug? “You also like being stung.”
He drew a model of a penis band with both hands and shook his waist vigorously back and forth.
“Oh my, this guy is talking crazy again. “Please understand.”
Two men giggling and gulping beer cans and women fawning over them.
Sasha’s face looked like she was going to faint, and she was watching me. Her eyes are already filled with tears.
“They are fun friends.”
“Sorry! “Is it because they don’t know something? Please…”
Sasha fell to her knees
“…?”
“…!”
If you are slow to notice, you will immediately get hit by a knife or a bullet. This is life in the back world. The two guys who were giggling also seemed to realize something when they saw Sasha’s attitude. He stood up with a nervous face and looked at me.
“Are you okay. “I didn’t know what I was doing.”
I put both hands in Sasha’s armpits and helped her up.
“You guys there.”
“Huh? Oh, no yes! Tongue, brother…?”
Why do these people keep calling me brother?
“Hurry up and go out. Because I have something to talk about with Sasha.”
“I understand.”
They quickly left the room. When people pass by me, I keep my body as low as possible in a hurray posture. It feels like I am being treated as a radioactive material that will kill me if I touch it.
On the other hand, the girls’ eyes are full of curiosity.
I arbitrarily opened the nearby refrigerator, poured some cold water, and handed it to Sasha. She takes it with her trembling hands.
“I’m not angry at all, so relax.”
“Thank you!”
“Why are you thankful that it’s yours?”
I sat down on one of the sofas where the men were sitting.
“Now tell me the story. How come you’re doing this here?”
I held in my hand the can of beer they left behind.
* * *
“So, Artemis didn’t kick you out, but you left on your own?”
“Yes.”
Sasha had her knees together and her hands resting somewhat like a private.
“That’s surprising. If you look at the records, all the women who were sent out because they did not meet the standards were all abused by their fathers.”
“Of course. “What better place to live in today’s world than a shelter?”
“Then why did you leave?”
“…”
Sasha hesitated for a moment and then opened her mouth.
“… What I want is not a full stomach and a warm back.”
Her hand flinched as she reached for her beer can.
“Are you okay. Drink comfortably.”
“Thank you.”
She is overbearing. Due to her personality, she is far from expressing gratitude. Aren’t we doing almost 10 years worth of gratitude now?
Gulp.
After taking a sip, Sasha sighed softly.
“During the time of thinning, commercial districts were also released in the lower area. In terms of living standards, even Prime was affluent enough to go away. But…”
“But?”
“In a shelter, you only live one day. It is impossible to make money by trading various products and manipulating men.”
“In one word, you want power.”
“Yes.”
Unlike in the past, when complete closure was pursued, opening is now limited to the lower areas. Not only useful people from outside but also residents can come and go to the police.
However, Sasha is a woman who by nature cannot be satisfied with that level.
“Of course, I didn’t mean to go out without measures. What would you be able to do if you went to the police penniless and carrying nothing but yourself? “There’s nothing else but selling your body.”
I think I know roughly what happened.
“I guess they made some kind of deal with Artemis.”
“Yes. He also needed someone to do miscellaneous chores and dig up information from the underworld of the police. He asked if I would be interested in applying for a position in the police. Of course, I accepted it without hesitation.”
I took a gulp from the beer can in my hand and placed it on the table. It says ‘Cloud’ on the outside.
“I was suspicious because I saw supplies here and there that I thought had been discontinued in the shelter, but now I understand.”
“Trading materials, hideouts, mediation of conflicts with rival organizations, and enforcement patrols by police guards. “I received endless privileges.”
“The bosses of the organizations I was dealing with must have felt quite unfair.”
“Sure. Even when there was a fight, one or two of our children were captured and soon released, and ten of them were taken in at a time and endured hardships, which made them so angry.”
Sasha giggled.
“Are you satisfied with your life here?”
“Yes. In fact, it’s better than before the infection war. Now there is no need to go through the trouble of bribing the police. You can enter and exit Prime, and if you are sick, you can receive treatment at the shelter hospital at any time.”
She smiled softly and took out a bottle of liquor with gold leaf in it.
“It is an honor for the manager to visit you here, and I would be sorry if I just let you go.”
“I came here because of curiosity, not because I wanted to drink.”
“This was airlifted from Japan. You won’t be able to find anymore in Korea. Of course, it may not be noticeable to the manager.”
“He’s very talented in today’s times.”
Click.
At that time, the door opened and a tall man and two young ladies came in.
At first glance, he was a handsome man with an intelligent vibe, unlike his saggy shoulders that gave off the scent of a gangster.
“I heard that a noble person was coming, so I brought our new babies.”
He bowed in a gangster style.
“Because I feel bad.”
“Hello.”
Both women were foreigners, but their Korean language seemed to be inexperienced, as befits them being new ladies.
One was a Slavic beauty who looked about 180 cm tall, and the other appeared to be Japanese.
“You came after a long time. Just have one drink and leave.”
Sasha came up next to her and carefully squeezed her hand and said. Now the anxiety seems to have completely disappeared.
“I am grateful, but I have a lot of places to visit today.”
“If you need any guidance, I…”
“No, if that was going to be the case, I would have brought escorts. “I like traveling alone.”
I put on my hood and stood up.
“All right. Please take a look. Please come visit us anytime, and we will serve you with sincerity.”
Sasha didn’t complain about what I said.
“And there was a guy outside with a gold chain who was secretly selling marijuana. He told me to live a good life.”
“We will correct it immediately!”
Sasha bowed low.
She walked out, past the dumb-looking man and the two young ladies. A faint sound of speech could be heard through enhanced hearing.
“Who is that person? “What on earth is this guy doing that makes you do that?”
“Ah, that’s okay, kill Jintae right now and bring him half to death. No, bring it cleanly. “I will crush it myself.”
The gambling hall was full of life again, as if the commotion just had been forgotten.
Those who come in full of anticipation, those who trudge out in frustration, those who shout in happiness, and even those who put their hands on a woman’s breasts and drink while massaging them.
Women on the street are soliciting men passing by, and a little distance away, there are two gangs engaged in a fight of nerves.
My second city, Polis.
Unlike the static and noble shelter, this was a pleasant neighborhood filled with the smell of sweat and cancer.
