Apocalypse's Teacher - Chapter 35
Chapter 35
A Rod is Not a Choice, But a Necessity (6)
***
The leader of Mapo Strike Team 2, Hak-jong.
What he had learned in life was violence, and for him, efficiency was more important than conviction.
“Would you like to sit down first?”
T hi s wa s c op ie d f ro m k i n g m tl . o r g
His own life was an invaluable asset.
No matter how the world turned, no matter what crisis was before him.
He was a man who valued his own life above all else in every situation.
Being such a person, Hak-jong knew one thing.
What was scarier than people who deceived others with fancy words was a madman.
Like the one standing before him now.
Hak-jong had no desire to die in a place like this, caught in an explosion.
T h i s w a s co p i e d f r o m ki ngmt l. o r g
He just wanted to live one more day, to see the sun of tomorrow.
He had a reason for it.
“I’d like to talk.”
At Hak-jong’s display of resourcefulness, Seokho tilted his head.
To Hak-jong, it was quite an intriguing sight.
He had assumed that the madman didn’t know what ‘curiosity’ meant.
‘So, he is human after all.’
An amusing thought crossed his mind.
Shaking it off, Hak-jong slowly took a seat.
Seokho followed suit, sitting down at the opposite side.
A room filled with corpses and the stench of blood.
Hak-jong paid no mind as he began to speak.
“How about a deal?”
“A deal?”
“You don’t want to die here either, do you?”
Seokho’s left eyebrow raised.
Hak-jong took that as a sign to continue.
“Haven’t you achieved your goal? The shelter leader is dead, and the research lab is beyond repair. Is there anything else left to do here?”
“Well, what if I intended to kill you too?”
“If you did, you wouldn’t have let me live this long.”
T hi s w a s c o p i ed f rom k i ngm t l . o r g
Hak-jong felt the tension rising in his body.
The gaze from those gleaming eyes was unmistakably predatory.
And the weapon in his hand was undoubtedly the deadliest.
T h i s w a s c op i e d fr o m k i n g mt l . or g
Though it felt akin to fear, he couldn’t show it.
“…I just want to end this peacefully.”
He knew that madmen like him used others’ fear as their weapon.
So he knew he mustn’t show any sign of being intimidated.
Hak-jong knew that dealing with such people required only one thing.
A reward that would pique their interest.
“Sillim Shelter.”
“Oh, you know about that? No wonder you let me go so easily before.”
Seokho grinned widely.
Hak-jong felt his spine tingle but continued to speak.
“How could I not? It was such a major incident.”
“Oh, really? I didn’t know that. But that’s not important. What do you want to say?”
Switching topics and getting straight to the point was quite odd.
Seokho did it to avoid revealing unnecessary information, but to Hak-jong, it seemed like a symptom of madness.
Not someone he wanted to deal with for long.
Hak-jong thought as he looked at Seokho.
“I plan to take over this shelter. I’d appreciate it if you stopped here.”
“Oh, you’re one of those?”
Seokho gestured with his chin.
At the end of it was the corpse of the ‘former’ shelter leader.
Hak-jong glanced at the body before speaking again.
“It’s not a bad deal for you either.”
T h i s w a s c o p i ed f ro m ki n g m t l. o r g
“A deal. You keep saying deal, but for it to be a deal, there has to be an exchange, right?”
“Of course.”
Now was the critical part.
Hak-jong cooled his head and heart, meeting Seokho’s gleaming eyes head-on as he spoke.
“I’ve thought about it. The shelters you target all have one thing in common.”
“Thinking, huh.”
“…Human experimentation. You don’t like it, right?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“I promise there will be no such experiments in this shelter under my leadership.”
“If I just blow everything up, there will be no future trouble. Is that a deal?”
“You need people to clean up the zombies, don’t you?”
Seokho’s body twitched.
Hak-jong didn’t miss it.
‘Bingo.’
This seemed to be the right answer.
“There are people living in Seodaemun. That area faces zombies from Jongno. It must be tiresome to clean them up every time. We’ll do it for you.”
Seokho’s face showed curiosity.
Hak-jong suppressed the urge to clench his fists and continued quickly.
T h i s w a s c o p i e d f ro m ki n g m tl. o r g
“We don’t intend to cause harm. Considering what you’ve already dealt with, it wouldn’t work anyway.”
You could say he was just scared of one person, but Hak-jong didn’t agree with that.
Top-tier blacklist.
Those referred to by such names had bizarre characteristics that couldn’t be seen as human.
What they did in the post-apocalyptic world was often horrific or astonishing.
Avoiding entanglement was the best.
If entangled, taking a favorable stance was the next best.
Hak-jong, who was obsessed with survival, chose the well-known manual.
And the result was excellent.
“Every Tuesday and Friday.”
“…What?”
“Twice a week. Clean up on those days. Don’t come near Seodaemun on other days.”
Seokho’s words, accompanied by a flick of his gun, indicated agreement.
Only then did Hak-jong nod slightly in relief.
“Let’s do that.”
“How will you take over the shelter?”
“I’ve already set things in motion. Following that pig would’ve led to a dead end. This worked out, so it’s not all bad.”
“You’re quite cunning.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Hak-jong felt a rash coming on as he spoke and added one last thing.
A dismissal order.
“Then, can you leave now?”
“…Alright.”
Seokho stood up.
The tense standoff ended.
Hak-jong sighed in relief, and at that moment, Seokho suddenly stopped moving.
“Oh.”
Thunk—
Hak-jong’s body twitched.
He slowly lifted his gaze.
“Before you go, grab a few things for me.”
Seokho, still brandishing his gun, sounded like a bandit.
Hak-jong clenched his fists.
But his mouth still moved.
“…What do you need?”
“Whiskey and cigars.”
Luxury items.
While thinking that it was typical of a madman’s request, Seokho added another item.
“And pound cake.”
Hak-jong was at a loss for words.
The fact that someone so imposing was asking for children’s snacks was bewildering.
‘…Well, it’s cheap enough.’
T hi s was c op ie d fr o m ki n g m t l . o r g
There was no need to try to understand.
He wouldn’t have to deal with him directly again.
Just send him off like this…
“One hundred.”
“…What?”
“Give me a hundred cakes. Not ninety-nine, not one hundred and one. Exactly one hundred.”
“…”
Thi s w a s cop i e d f r om k i ng m tl .o r g
Hak-jong’s expression finally twisted.
‘It’s not that I don’t need to understand…’
The madman’s thoughts were beyond his comprehension.
Faced with demands that left him blank, Hak-jong gave up trying to understand.
***
Early in the morning, Hyesung woke up and jumped out of bed with a bright face.
“Cake!”
Today was the day Seokho promised to bring cake.
The day he promised to bring sweet, delicious treasures.
Hyesung was so excited that her heart was already pounding.
Her face flushed with excitement.
Unable to contain her excitement, she turned to the plant by her bedside and whispered.
“Beanie! Today is cake day!”
…She whispered softly.
She didn’t want others to hear and take the cake.
“Hehe…”
T h i s w a s c o p i e d f r o m k in g m t l . or g
He promised to bring one hundred cakes.
Enough to last a hundred nights.
Hyesung was so happy about it.
T hi s w a s c op i e d f ro m k i n g m t l . o r g
“Uncle needs to come soon…!”
She made a tiny fist.
It shook up and down, reflecting her mood.
In the meantime.
Growl—
Her stomach growled.
Hyesung pondered.
Today was cake day.
But if she ate rice, she would only be able to eat a little cake.
Eating only a little cake might make her wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it.
So, there was only one solution.
“Today is a day to wait…!”
She had to wait until the cake arrived without eating.
Seokho might scold her, but Hyesung just wanted to eat a lot of cake.
Having made up her mind, Hyesung hugged the plant.
“Yes! I’m good at waiting!”
The bean plant swayed.
Hyesung thought it was praising her and smiled.
“I’ll give you a piece too, Beanie!”
The bean would be pleasantly surprised when it tasted the cake.
Lost in happy and delightful thoughts, Hyesung danced out of the room.
Today was the day she had slept for one night.
The day Seokho was supposed to come, and the day the cake was supposed to arrive.
And it was the day neither of them came.
End of Chapter
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