Chapter 2146 – 2146. Eternal Eden
The rooftop of the building was clean. It was obvious that someone had taken care to clean it.
It wasn’t cleaned because they knew we were coming. Other rooftops were also relatively clean.
‘Since the government provides food through drones, people must have cleaned the rooftops. Anyway, with the world like this, they probably had nothing else to do.’
This world had a high level of technology by default. Before the world went to hell, the technology level was probably even higher than in reality. Providing food using drones was nothing special.
“Choi Hye-jin. Grab the hoverboard. Don’t trade it for shoes or anything. If you don’t have the hoverboard, you might be stuck here forever.”
“Ugh. Why are you stating the obvious? I cherish the hoverboard too, so I won’t trade it.”
I looked at Choi Hye-jin with suspicious eyes. Regardless of her lack of combat skills, Choi Hye-jin was prone to impulsive actions. So, I had to keep a close watch on her.
‘She’s pretty and has a great figure, but she’s a bit of an airhead.’
Still, it didn’t seem like she’d get scammed easily. She had a strong instinct and was quick to recognize anything disadvantageous to her. Of course, that instinct made mistakes quite often too.
Click!
The rooftop door opened, and people came onto the rooftop. Most of them were men, and they were holding handguns. They weren’t pointing the guns at us, but their eyes were full of wariness. Some of them glanced at Choi Hye-jin.
Tap-tap.
The sound of shoes, which didn’t fit the situation, echoed. The men’s shoulders and waists tensed up. They looked like soldiers standing at attention.
The owner of the shoe sound was a woman decked out in designer brands from head to toe. She wore a high-end blouse with a jacket on top and an A-line skirt for her bottom. She gave off the vibe of a successful young female CEO. The shoes she wore were, of course, expensive designer brands, and the bag she carried on her shoulder was no exception.
Her face was disappointing. It seemed like she wanted to give off an actress vibe, but her heavy makeup made her look rather venomous. Her figure was the only saving grace. Though not as good as Choi Hye-jin’s.
“You really came in person. Thank you, Sung Yu-jin.”
“Haha. Of course, I have to help if you need my help. I, Sung Yu-jin, am on the side of the people.”
She spoke like a politician, with a kind smile on her face. She had to manage her image diligently, even for the distant future. There might be a hidden camera somewhere here.
“I’m Lee Ye-bin, who sent an email to the Sungak Elementary School website. As the head of the Saetbyeol Apartment Residents’ Association, I’m in charge of representing Saetbyeol Apartment.”
“I didn’t expect the apartment representative to be such a young woman. Ah, I don’t mean that in a derogatory way.”
“I know. Everyone I meet reacts similarly. I only have one thing to say. The world values ability more than age or gender.”
“Hmm. I agree with that. But… you all seem quite hostile.”
“That’s… I’m sorry. The situation inside the apartment isn’t good right now. Three people have gone missing today alone. Missing means death.”
“Oh dear. It seems the situation is quite serious.”
“How can it not be serious when people are disappearing! Ah, I’m sorry. I got frustrated without realizing it.”
“I understand.”
“Anyway, you’ll have to cooperate.”
“…I came here to help you, but it doesn’t seem like that’s what you mean by cooperation.”
“Did it sound like that? I don’t intend to be hostile. What I mean by cooperation is that you follow our rules. In this case, please cooperate with the search of your belongings. As you know, there are many looters outside. Our apartment has a rule to search the belongings of outsiders.”
“Do you take away weapons or food if you find them?”
“Not food, but we do take away weapons. But since you came to help us… if it’s not something really dangerous, nothing will happen.”
“What do you mean by something really dangerous?”
“Bombs. About a month ago, someone threatened us with a bomb. I don’t want to experience that again.”
There’s a famous saying: When in Rome, do as the Romans do. So, I should follow the rules of Saetbyeol Apartment for now.
And a search of belongings wasn’t anything particularly surprising. Even Sungak Elementary School searched the belongings of outsiders first. So, complying with the search wasn’t difficult.
“There’s nothing dangerous like a bomb in your belongings. Is this a hoverboard?”
“Yes. I used it to come to Saetbyeol Apartment.”
“How many people can it transport?”
“It can probably carry two or three people. Is there anyone who needs to leave the apartment urgently?”
“No. There’s no one like that. This is our home, after all. Where else would we go, leaving our home behind? By the way, who is the person next to you? She’s quite beautiful, but she’s quiet.”
“Ah, she’s a friend I work with. Her name is Choi Hye-jin, and… even though she looks like a thug, she’s very capable.”
“…I see.”
Even in this situation, Choi Hye-jin kept her mouth shut. That’s because I had ordered her not to speak unless necessary. If Choi Hye-jin did something impulsive, things could get more troublesome. Fortunately, Choi Hye-jin followed my orders well.
The search of our belongings ended quickly. There wasn’t much besides the hoverboard. We didn’t have any guns either. Our weapons were just a baseball bat and a knife.
“Let’s go downstairs and talk.”
Lee Ye-bin turned around first and went down from the rooftop. People surrounded her, acting as her bodyguards. Choi Hye-jin and I silently followed her.
“There’s an elevator, but you’re not using it. Is it broken?”
“The power is out. The monsters outside destroyed the utility poles. Besides the elevator, many other appliances are out of order. Luckily, we have a small generator from the government, so we can use it when it’s absolutely necessary.”
“Has the water or gas been cut off too?”
“The gas is cut off, but the water is fine.”
“……”
The situation was worse than I thought. Lee Ye-bin, who was wearing designer brands, didn’t look like she had suffered at all.
While walking down the hallway, I noticed an X mark painted in red on a front door.
“What does the X mark on the front door mean?”
“It’s a place that’s considered to have zombies. There’s no need to risk it, so we just marked it and didn’t go inside. Come on in.”
“Is this your house, Ye-bin? It’s clean.”
“No. It’s a guest house. Yu-jin and Hye-jin, please stay in this house.”
“We have to go back to Sungak Elementary School. We don’t plan to stay here long.”
“Yes. It would be great for us if you could handle things quickly. But it won’t be easy. The monsters that are active inside the apartment… they’re wearing human skin and acting like humans.”
Lee Ye-bin said with a serious expression. Did she realize they were parasite-type variants?
“Do you have anyone you suspect?”
“…Can we talk just the two of us for a moment? It’s a sensitive topic.”
I nodded and gestured to Choi Hye-jin. Choi Hye-jin glared at Lee Ye-bin once, as if she didn’t like something, then clicked her tongue and left the room.
Lee Ye-bin gestured to the men. The bodyguards also left the room.
Once we were alone, Lee Ye-bin sighed and took off her jacket. Her black underwear was visible under her white blouse.
“As the representative of Saetbyeol Apartment, I’m really troubled. Two or three apartment residents are disappearing every day. People are so scared that they don’t want to do anything.”
There was a strange smell.
It was similar to the scent of a female that excites men. Should I say similar? Or should I say lewd? I narrowed my eyes and looked at Lee Ye-bin. Lee Ye-bin, who was sitting in front of me with her legs crossed, blatantly unbuttoned her blouse.
“Hmm. You must have a lot of worries.”
My gaze went to her chest. She didn’t react to my gaze. It was as if it was natural for my gaze to go there.
“Yes. Last time, they even broke down a front door and killed the person inside.”
“But I saw that the men were armed with guns.”
“There’s no guarantee that you can beat the monsters just because you have a gun. Our apartment needs a stronger man, an expert. Someone like you, Yu-jin.”
After unbuttoning all the buttons on her blouse, she came and sat next to me.
The woman’s scent became stronger. My heart was pounding as well. I put my hand on her thigh. Lee Ye-bin didn’t resist.
“Ah… Yu-jin. Won’t you stay in Saetbyeol Apartment? If you help us… I’ll do anything for you. Anything.”
My hand, which was stroking her thigh, moved towards her crotch. My fingers touched her panties. The soft texture was felt through my fingers.
“Anything?”
“Yes. Anything.”
Lee Ye-bin was an Awakened. It was certain. It seemed like she had the ability to excite and control men. She must have seduced the bodyguards in this way to become the representative of Saetbyeol Apartment.
‘She seems to think I’m affected by her ability… Should I just fuck her once?’
It was the moment I was about to take off Lee Ye-bin’s panties.
Bang!
Along with the sound of impact, Choi Hye-jin’s annoyed voice echoed.
“Ugh, what the hell is this?! Just because I’m watching doesn’t mean you can treat me like an idiot?! Huh?!”
The mood was ruined.
I tried to ignore it and continue, but Choi Hye-jin was more bothersome than Lee Ye-bin.
“It seems like something happened outside.”
“It’s probably nothing. Let’s continue what we were doing.”
“It’s definitely something. Even though she looks like that, Hye-jin doesn’t cause trouble without a reason.”
I went outside. People were gathered in the narrow hallway. All of them were men except for Choi Hye-jin. A middle-aged man wearing a security uniform looked like he had been beaten by Choi Hye-jin. He was holding his abdomen with one hand as he got up from the floor.
“Th-this crazy bitch suddenly kicked me?!”
“Suddenly my ass! You were trying to touch my butt!”
“Don’t accuse me of being a pervert! I was just trying to pass by! You crazy bitch!”
The man was furious and pulled out his gun. Of course, Choi Hye-jin wasn’t intimidated and raised her baseball bat. I stepped in front of Choi Hye-jin.
“Oh, Yu-jin!”
“What the hell are you?!”
“How dare you try to touch my woman?”
Swoosh. I drew the knife I had hanging from my waist. The startled guard pointed his gun at me.
“Sh-shit! I’m the guard here! The guard! Do you think you can ignore me?! Do you think you can beat a gun with a knife?! Do you think I can’t kill a person?!”
“Stop! Both of you stop! What are you doing here?!”
Lee Ye-bin, who came out late, shouted. Her sharp voice echoed throughout the apartment. The guard lowered his gun slightly, as if he was intimidated.
“L-Lee Chairman. It’s a misunderstanding. I didn’t mean to do this to the chairman’s guest. If that crazy bitch hadn’t accused me of being a pervert… The chairman believes me, right? The chairman knows how diligently I’ve been working.”
“Of course. I know. It seems like there was a misunderstanding between you two, so let’s talk it out. We have plenty of time anyway.”
“Misunderstanding my ass.”
I took a step forward and swung my knife. It drew a clean arc and cut off the guard’s arms. His arms fell to the floor with a thud. I then cut off the guard’s legs. The man, who had lost his limbs, fell to the floor.
“You tried to touch my woman, did you think I’d let it slide? Die, you bastard.”
I swung my knife with anger.
The man’s torso split open, and blood and guts splattered. I didn’t care and continued to swing my knife. In less than a minute, it was just a lump of meat.
“……”
“……”
The surroundings fell into a cold silence. The men were now pointing their guns at me.
“If you don’t want to die, put down your guns. I’ll give you three seconds.”
