Chapter 41
“Today’s loot is quite good.”
“As expected, the more we raid, the more we find. They’re hiding everywhere like little rats.”
“Even the inferior humans who haven’t Awakened have their own talents.”
The guild members exchanged crude jokes and cackled among themselves.
‘I’m not sure what’s going on, but we need to stick to the plan.’
I thought of Baek Yi-heon, who had been breathing heavily, as I headed toward the truck.
“Ah, let me help a lady getting on. I’m not that lacking in manners, you know.”
The man who had been hitting on me earlier reached out his hand, speaking slowly.
“I can get on by myself.”
I retorted coldly, then nimbly jumped onto the truck using the wheel as a step. Yu also climbed on with a light movement.
The man glared at us silently, then turned away abruptly and shouted.
“…The pretty ones always play hard to get. Alright, let’s go!”
💎
The truck sped through the deserted city center. The barrier construction site, which I had only seen from afar, drew closer.
With my hands bound on the truck, I took a slight breath.
“Move it!”
A scene unfolded before my eyes that I had only seen in old slave movies.
A few overseers and many laborers. Tired-faced people were carrying stones like cattle.
The overseers in black clothes all held leather whips. If anyone stumbled, lashes rained down mercilessly.
“I said move! Don’t even think about faking illness!”
Yu, beside me, muttered as if in pain.
“What on earth is this…?”
I, on the other hand, merely wore a cold expression.
It had only been a month since the tower appeared in Gangnam and civilization collapsed.
‘To revert to such a barbaric state in just a month. Humans really are…’
They were all evil to begin with. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be committing such atrocities without evil gods or monsters around.
[(Messenger) Indra silently murmurs with a sorrowful expression.]
A guild member riding in the truck bed for surveillance spoke indifferently, seeing our reactions.
“The non-Awakened are doomed to die soon in this chaotic world anyway. Dying while building paradise is better for their lives too.”
Neither Yu nor I responded to that.
The truck quickly passed the construction site and headed further into the city.
“It’s just like the Tower of Babel.”
Yu quietly mused, gazing at the tall barrier in the distance.
“The Tower of Babel?”
“The tower in the Bible that was built to reach God but ultimately collapsed.”
“…It’s nice to hear a monk talking about the Bible. Feels like religious unity.”
“That’s good then. I believe there’s truth in all religions.”
Yu replied seriously to my joking comment.
“In any case, Baek Yi-heon and our team lack someone who can joke….”
As I grumbled in a low voice, Yu smiled gently.
“You called us ‘our team’?”
…Huh?
Did I just say ‘team’ with my own mouth?
Well, I guess we can be called a team since we’re moving with the same purpose right now, right? Even people who hate each other at work can form a team to work together.
Yeah, that’s it. I meant it in that professional sense.
…So it’s correct, but why do I feel so embarrassed to admit it?
Instead of answering, I pretended not to hear and turned my head away. When I sneakily glanced back with just my eyes, I saw Yu wearing a subtle smile as she looked at me.
💎
The truck headed to a run-down, shabby lodging.
The sign “Paradise Sauna” was still visible, suggesting it was a former sauna now used as workers’ quarters.
Then, a guild member in the truck bed pointed at us and said,
“You two. Only the women get off.”
The truck drove off with the two young men still in the back, heading somewhere else.
‘At least we know Choi Yu is definitely a male. This will make it harder to gather information…’
For now, I should pretend to obey orders quietly.
As we approached the lodging, an elderly man in black guarding the entrance shouted.
“Don’t dawdle, come quickly! This is the women’s quarters in Building D. You’ll wash the fabric delivered here and cook for the workers.”
The old man glanced at my thin arms, clicked his tongue, and handed me a yellow sauna uniform.
“Go to the rest area on the third floor. The others there will tell you the rest.”
I silently took the smelly clothes.
As I was about to head to the third floor—
“Oh, and as a rule, we confiscate personal belongings for security!”
The old man’s gaze fell on the hip sack at my waist.
Yu and I exchanged glances simultaneously.
The old man scrutinized us with sharp eyes and slowly extended his hand.
I stared at him blankly, then wordlessly untied my hip pouch and handed it to him.
With a clatter, the old man immediately turned the pouch upside down and emptied it onto the front desk.
A small comb, a coin purse with now-useless banknotes, hair ties, and other odds and ends tumbled out.
Of course, there was no magic stone.
Only then did the old man nod with a slightly relaxed expression and say.
“Well, that’ll do. Now hurry up and go. For non-Awakened like you, it’s better in here than outside where monsters are crawling!”
💎
Three days had passed since we arrived at Paradise Sauna.
No extreme labor, my foot.
‘That picky old man.’
In what used to be the sauna’s bathroom, I viciously stomped on the laundry at my feet, recalling the old man’s grinning face as I rolled up my sleeves.
“My, the newbie works well.”
“We were worried she might not do a proper job, looking so prim and proper.”
The women doing laundry around me cackled as they watched.
Every day, mountains of sweaty laundry from the construction site poured in here.
There were large washing machines on the first floor, but they were off-limits to save electricity.
As a result, we had to wash this mountain of laundry by hand and foot.
And the amount of food we had to prepare three times a day was enormous.
They said we were responsible for all the food for the people living in Building D.
Oh, of course, just the workers’ food.
The guild members’ meals were prepared separately by professional chefs, apparently.
‘They’re no different from nobility.’
Stomp, stomp—
I muttered inwardly, full of resentment, as I viciously trampled the laundry.
But it wasn’t all for nothing.
Yu and I were able to gather a lot of information while staying here.
First, this Dowonhyang was divided into five sectors, from A to E.
The circular area in the very center was Sector E.
That’s where the guild members, Dowonhyang executives, and “chosen” civilians lived, they said.
The remaining areas surrounding Sector E were divided into four parts, A through D in order.
Their plan was to surround this area, as large as a small city, with high walls within a year.
But a major construction project that would have been difficult even before the apocalypse was hardly feasible in these times of oil and electricity shortages.
So they were grinding down the non-Awakened to carry out the construction.
“Hoho. You’re not used to it yet since you just arrived, right?”
Just then, a middle-aged woman skillfully stomping laundry next to me smiled and spoke to me as I was panting.
“Don’t worry. This is still a place where people live, it’ll get better soon.”
Other women nearby chimed in.
“That’s right. At least here, we won’t get eaten by monsters, right?”
“I’m really grateful to the guild.”
Even though they were forcibly abducted… they’re grateful?
💎
Thank you for reading! ♡
