## Chapter 2148 – 2148. Eternal Eden
Lee Yebin, not wanting to die, followed my orders. She brought the list of apartment residents.
“The red X marks are for people who are missing or whose bodies have been identified.”
“What about the blue X marks?”
“Zombies.”
Since we were face-to-face, I continued the interview with Lee Yebin. It wasn’t really an interview, though. The personal information on the resident list was very limited, so there wasn’t much we could do.
And Lee Yebin, being an Awakened, wasn’t a parasite. Even if a parasite latched onto an Awakened, it wouldn’t be able to use the Awakened’s abilities.
A sweet, yet alluring scent filled the air, and my heart started to race.
Lee Yebin was using her pheromone ability again. She crossed her arms and legs, emphasizing her chest and thighs.
Instead of being charmed by Lee Yebin, I glanced at Choi Hyejin sitting next to me. Her face was incomparable to Lee Yebin’s, and she had a voluptuous F-cup chest and a near-perfect body ratio. No matter how much pheromones Lee Yebin emitted, my gaze was fixed on Choi Hyejin.
I even put my arm around Choi Hyejin’s shoulder. She didn’t seem to mind. She was used to my skinship. We’d gone too far for her to make a fuss over something like this.
Lee Yebin, seeing that things weren’t going her way, frowned and glared at me and Choi Hyejin.
“You were armed with guns. Where did you get them?”
“About two months ago, around the time we started getting isolated, some merchants came and sold us guns. They were wearing masks to cover their faces.”
“How much did you pay?”
“One gold don for a pistol and 30 bullets. They didn’t take food or money, only gold.”
I had a feeling.
It was probably the Ilwoo Group. There was no rule that gun factories could only be in Seoul. As a corporation, they were probably collecting gold for the future.
“We took the rest of the guns from the looters who came to the apartment and killed them.”
“You called me a murderer. I don’t think you’re in a position to say that.”
“Ha, it was self-defense. We couldn’t just let the looters kill us.”
“Who are the parasites you suspect?”
She wasn’t a parasite, and as the representative of the apartment, her opinion would be helpful.
As if she had been waiting for this, Lee Yebin rattled off the names of the apartment residents.
I listened with interest when she named 20 people, but after about 50, I started to tune her out. There was no way there were 50 parasites. Lee Yebin was just naming people she didn’t get along with.
‘She’s just trying to use me to eliminate her rivals.’
In a way, she was an impressive woman.
“The most suspicious person is definitely Kang Sanggi. That man. There have been a lot of disappearances in Building 103, where he is.”
“Kang Sanggi? What kind of guy is he?”
“He’s the building representative. I’m the representative of Building 102, and he’s the representative of Building 103. He’s in charge of apartment security, and he’s an old, ugly man who even hits on me. Well, we used to be on good terms… but recently, he’s been acting like his personality changed. What else could it be? He’s infected by a parasite. He’s a parasite.”
“Are you 100% sure?”
I asked sharply. When my voice lowered, Lee Yebin looked a little scared.
“……Not 100%, maybe 90%? When I suggested asking for your help to kill the parasites, he was the only one who refused. Why would he refuse? Because he’s a parasite.”
“Tell me about the security guards. No, tell me about the whole apartment. I need to know how things are going. There are plenty of people who can talk, not just you. So let’s make this easy.”
“……Ha, it wasn’t always like this.”
Buildings 101, 102, and 103.
Originally, the residents of the three buildings were on good terms. They were all residents of the same apartment complex. But after the apartment was isolated, the atmosphere changed.
“The representative of Building 101 was my boyfriend, but he died fighting with the people from Building 103. He fell in the apartment hallway in an accident. I’m not sure if it was really an accident…. Because of this, Building 101’s relationship with Building 103 deteriorated rapidly. I’m the one who’s been mediating, so we’re maintaining the status quo.”
“Your boyfriend died, and you’re not bothered by it?”
“Of course I am. I still want to kill everyone involved. But there’s no benefit to that. Right now, we need to stick together to survive.”
Lee Yebin was very calm. It was as if she didn’t care about her boyfriend’s death at all.
“Is Kang Sanggi involved in your boyfriend’s death?”
“Of course. Kang Sanggi was one of the people involved.”
After that, I ended the interview with Lee Yebin and asked Choi Hyejin.
“What do you think of Lee Yebin?”
The other reason I brought Choi Hyejin was her instincts. Her excellent instincts were as good as a sixth sense. I was hoping that she might be able to find the parasites just by instinct.
“I don’t know. She just seems like a creepy bitch? I don’t like how she was looking me up and down when she left the room. It was like she was laughing at my clothes.”
For Lee Yebin, who was decked out in designer clothes, Choi Hyejin in her baseball jacket might have seemed laughable.
Anyway, the interviews continued.
The residents of Building 102 listened to Lee Yebin and readily agreed to be interviewed. I made a separate note of the people Choi Hyejin said were creepy.
The atmosphere in Building 101 wasn’t good, but they were still cooperative with the interviews.
The representative of Building 101 was particularly striking.
She was wearing a hooded gray jacket and a mask, completely concealing her appearance. However, her hair was bright blonde, and her eyes were blue.
Also, there was no way to mistake that she was a woman. Like a Westerner, her body was curvy. Maybe it was the Westerner buff. Her chest and height were bigger than Choi Hyejin’s.
“Irina from Building 101?”
“……”
Her last name was Lee, and her first name was Irina. She quietly nodded.
“I heard you’re the building representative. Why don’t you take off the mask? If you’re not cooperative, I’ll have to suspect you’re a parasite.”
“……”
Irina sighed as if she had no choice and took off her mask.
‘Passed.’
Her face, completely devoid of makeup, was incomparably more beautiful than Lee Yebin’s. Just seeing her made me think that coming to Saetbyeol Apartment was a good thing.
“Are you a foreigner?”
“My parents naturalized and had me, so I’m Korean. I don’t know how to speak a foreign language.”
Irina spoke mechanically. It was like a voice coming out when you pressed a button. She probably had been saying those words since she was a child.
“You don’t seem like a very sociable person. How did you become the representative of Building 101?”
“…It just happened….”
It really seemed like she had become the representative by accident.
I was very interested in her, so I asked her more questions. Irina didn’t seem like a talkative person, and she answered in short sentences.
“So, you’re a college student and an archer, and you killed zombies with your archery, so people recommended you to be the representative of Building 101.”
“…Yes. They said they’d give me a little more food if I became the representative.”
An archer character.
It was a common character setting in Korean zombie stories. Except she was blonde with blue eyes.
“Your nickname was Elf, right?”
When I suddenly asked, Irina’s eyes widened.
“…How did you know?”
“I figured.”
If you’re a blonde, blue-eyed archer, it’s obvious, isn’t it?
“I heard Building 101 and Building 103 don’t get along.”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
“What do you think?”
“……”
“I won’t tell anyone else, so tell me honestly.”
“…I’m not really interested. I just need to do my job.”
I could tell what kind of person Irina was. She wasn’t interested in anything that wasn’t her business.
“What about your parents?”
“……They were infected and died.”
Irina’s eyes trembled. I didn’t bother asking how the zombies died.
“No siblings?”
“No.”
“Who are you closest to in the apartment?”
“……Lee Yebin.”
“When you came in earlier, you had something on your back. Is that a bow?”
“Yes. A bow and arrows.”
“What about a gun? Guns are more powerful.”
“……I’m not good at shooting guns, and I’m more comfortable with a bow.”
“Okay. You can go now.”
Irina bowed slightly and left without looking back.
Choi Hyejin, who had been quietly watching, opened her mouth.
“That’s unexpected? I thought you were going to jump on her right away.”
“She’s too good for that.”
“You’re planning to take her, aren’t you? Why didn’t you offer? You offered to take the other women to Sungak Elementary School.”
During the interviews, I offered to scout some useful technicians and beautiful women.
“She would have refused right away if I had offered. She seems satisfied with her current life.”
“Satisfied when parasites are running around and killing people? She seems calm, but is she crazy?”
“Most of the people who died or went missing were from Building 102 and 103. Building 101 is mostly safe. Irina probably doesn’t realize it.”
Despite being quiet, she seemed confident in herself.
‘She insists on using a bow even though she has a gun….’
Irina was likely an Awakened. She was either related to archery or had some other power.
“Well, she’s not like the average woman. But… what are you thinking? Your expression is like a dog.”
“Hehe. I’m thinking of something fun. If I take her by force, she’ll just be half-hearted in her cooperation… I need to make her beg me to take her.”
“How?”
“No one wants to live in hell.”
“So you’re going to turn this place into hell?”
Choi Hyejin looked at me as if I was ridiculous.
I chuckled and nodded. The conditions were already perfect.
• • •
The individual interviews were completed except for Building 103.
Building 103 dared to ignore my orders. Their opinion was that the interviews were pointless.
In the end, they were right. I didn’t really gain anything from it. All I did was classify dozens of people that Choi Hyejin felt were creepy. There was no guarantee that any of them were parasites.
The important thing here was that Building 103 had ignored my orders.
I took action the next day.
“I received a tip that there are parasites in Building 103. I will execute the parasites, so everyone gather in the apartment parking lot.”
The first-floor parking lot inside the apartment complex. The place that should have been full of cars was empty. The cars were gathered at the entrance and outer edges to be used as barricades. Nearly 1,000 apartment residents gathered in the parking lot, which had become a plaza.
The residents gathered in front of their apartment buildings. Building 101 and Building 103 glared at each other as if they were mortal enemies. Irina was among the people wearing a hood and mask, but she had an unusually low presence.
On the other hand, Kang Sanggi, the representative of Building 103, had a strong presence.
A burly man in a security uniform. He had tattoos on his neck and forearms. He didn’t have a good impression. The apartment residents were afraid of him.
“There are parasites in our building? Hey, expert. Can you take responsibility for that?”
“Can I? Am I your fucking friend?”
Slap!
I slapped Kang Sanggi’s cheek. Broken teeth fell to the floor, and he lost his balance and staggered before falling to the ground.
Soccer kick.
I immediately kicked Kang Sanggi in the abdomen. He clutched his stomach and gasped. I stabbed a knife into his thigh.
“Kkkkkkk!”
Kang Sanggi’s charisma was just an obstacle to what I had to do. He was the first one to ignore my orders, so I needed to make sure he was under my thumb. I’ll postpone killing him. He was useful for now.
“What are you doing to Kang, sir!!”
One of the security guards pulled out a gun and stepped forward.
“Hey, mister. Can’t you read the room? You’re clueless.”
Choi Hyejin stepped forward. She swung her baseball bat once, and the security guard flew 3 meters and passed out. The surroundings became as quiet as a mouse.
I continued to beat Kang Sanggi. I even used recovery. His burst eyeballs and teeth were recovering in real time.
“I, I’m sorry. I was wrong…!”
Kang Sanggi surrendered in three minutes. I stopped beating him after ten more minutes.
“From now on, anyone whose name I call, step forward. Kim Hosik.”
It was quiet.
“You’re not coming out? Last chance. Kim Hosik.”
It was quiet, but it wasn’t hard to find Kim Hosik. People’s eyes were on him.
Kim Hosik, wearing a security guard uniform, had no choice but to step forward under the unspoken pressure.
“Wh, why are you doing this?”
“I told you earlier. There was a tip.”
“I, I’m not a parasite! I swear!”
He knelt down, crying and begging with his hands clasped together.
“Of course, a parasite would say that they’re not a parasite.”
I took out my sword and cut Kim Hosik in half.
Kim Hosik was not a parasite!
“…Next, Son Mandeok.”
First impressions were important.
I was invited to this apartment as an expert. So, I needed to prove my abilities to the apartment residents. The only way to prove my abilities was to find and kill the parasites.
Therefore, I would kill until a parasite appeared.
I never fail.
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