Chapter 41: Warrior (2)
The life in the detention center, where one couldn’t properly wash, eat, or sleep for weeks.
Yet, the man still possessed a broad frame and an air of dignity.
It seemed partly because he was wearing multiple layers of clothing, but physically, he was quite well-built.
He was a man with a physique on a completely different level from the upstairs citizens, most of whom were like sickly hens barely clinging to life.
A naturally strong body.
That was precisely the kind of laborer I wanted.
But if he came out and caused trouble as he said he might, it would become a headache.
There were a few things I needed to confirm.
The policeman, who had stepped back about three paces behind me, muttered.
“That crazy bastard. Damn.”
The policeman backed away even further after saying that.
He seemed intimidated by the gangster's menacing aura.
Only after he had retreated several more steps did I look back at the gangster.
Spit-.
The gangster spat on the floor.
Then he rubbed it into the ground with the sole of his shoe.
“Are kids doing some kind of field trip to the detention center these days?”
It was a comment directed at me.
I didn’t pay it much mind.
Being called a kid wasn’t much of a provocation for me.
I was sizing him up.
Determining whether or not he was the right person to be my laborer.
Honestly speaking, in the old world, a gangster was nothing more than a criminal, but now that the world had ended, gangsters were a rare resource.
Now, strength was the only measure that dictated this world.
But if he came out of the detention center just to cause trouble, that would be the most foolish thing of all.
I needed to find out whether he was a capable and useful gangster or just a complete idiot.
First, I wanted to know his intentions.
At that moment, hurried footsteps echoed from behind.
“Administrator……! Huff, huff. You’re here.”
It was Constable Kim Soo-kyung, who I had sent out to conduct a population survey.
He arrived quicker than I expected.
I was satisfied with his efficiency.
Kim Soo-kyung, catching his breath as he approached, sniffed the air and frowned.
“Ah-. The smell here is awful. It’s like a really old barbecue restaurant bathroom. That ammonia stench….”
I had never been to a barbecue restaurant for a meal, so I couldn’t understand the comparison he made about the smell.
But that didn’t matter.
“Have you gathered all the individuals I asked you to find?”
“Ah, yes! It wasn’t particularly difficult. Here’s the list of citizens who have the relevant jobs or similar experience.”
I took the chart he handed me.
Kim Soo-kyung shone a flashlight on it for me.
The chart was a list of the citizens here, and the names of those with the jobs I requested were underlined in red pen.
Industrial technician, Park Jong-pal, 32 years old.
Interior industry worker, Kim Doo-jung, 41 years old.
Jeweler, Ma Dong-sik, 72 years old.
Construction worker, Kim Chun-seok, 37 years old.
Boiler maintenance specialist, Lee Jong-chul, 53 years old.
As I scanned the chart, I extended my hand.
“Could you give me a pen?”
“Ah, yes!”
Kim Soo-kyung quickly placed a pen in my hand.
I circled additional names of individuals who seemed particularly useful.
There were about 30 professionals in total.
Among them, there was only one person who had experience related to boiler work.
Lee Jong-chul, 53 years old.
Even after skimming through the rest of the chart beyond the citizens underlined by Kim Soo-kyung, there wasn’t anyone as suitable as Lee Jong-chul.
‘I’ll make use of the rest as manual labor.’
Regardless of age, anyone who seemed strong would be drafted.
Men or women, even if they were students or elderly.
I handed the chart back to Kim Soo-kyung and said.
“Pick out anyone who looks strong and line them up separately. I’ll come upstairs in 30 minutes.”
“Ah, yes. Understood, Administrator. But… may I ask why you’re looking for these kinds of jobs?”
“It’ll take too long to explain. Just do it.”
“Ah, yes! Got it.”
Kim Soo-kyung gave a slight bow and quickly left the detention center.
He probably wanted to get out of here as soon as possible because of the awful smell.
To be honest, even I couldn’t breathe properly through my nose because of the stench.
And yet, despite the putrid smell, the gangster in front of me seemed to keep his composure.
Now it was time to deal with him.
“What’s that, kid? Playing house? Should your uncle here come out and join in?”
The gangster was still trying to provoke me.
I took a step closer to him.
At that, the policeman standing behind me called out.
“Be careful. If you get too close to the bars, it’s dangerous.”
Despite the policeman’s earnest warning, I didn’t stop walking.
Then the gangster threatened me in a low voice.
“Take two more steps, and I’ll kill you.”
I stopped in my tracks.
If I moved about two more steps forward, I’d be within his reach, even from behind the bars.
I paused for a moment.
I wanted to observe his expression, his condition, and his next move.
The gangster was glaring at me.
After a brief moment, I took two more steps forward.
And then—
Bang, bang-!!!
The gangster, who had been at the far end of the detention cell, suddenly sprinted toward the bars with all his might.
Crash-!!!!
He thrust his arm through the iron bars, attempting to grab my neck.
“Ah, watch out!!!”
The policeman behind me shouted, but it was already too late.
I only moved my eyes to the side to look, and the gangster’s tattoo-covered arm was near my neck.
“…….”
“Scared?”
The gangster’s hand didn’t grab my neck; it stopped just next to it.
“Ha, are you scared or what?”
His beast-like eyes were sharp, and his coarse laughter and breath were threatening.
But I calmly asked him.
“Are you strong?”
“…….”
The gangster stared at me.
Then he suddenly burst out laughing.
“Puhahaha-! Ahahaha! Strong? That’s funny, really funny.”
His laughter echoed throughout the detention center.
The gangster withdrew his outstretched hand and grabbed onto the iron bars.
Then, he shoved his face between the bars.
He chuckled for a moment before asking again.
“Strong? Strong, huh? What?”
Only then could I properly see the gangster’s face.
Originally well-built, his cheeks had sunken from days without proper nourishment.
But even so, his broad shoulders and large frame were undeniable, visible even under his clothes.
Moreover, his height was overwhelming.
He seemed close to 2 meters tall.
The gangster bared his yellow teeth and threatened me.
“Kid. Get lost. If you don’t want to die. This uncle here is in a seriously bad mood right now.”
The gangster quickly withdrew his threatening expression and trudged back into the detention cell.
I said to the returning thug.
“Didn’t I ask if you had some strength?”
“Strength? If I did, could you get me out of here? Huh?”
Bang-!
The thug distorted his expression again, trudged back, and grabbed the iron bars.
Now his face was right in front of mine.
The distance between our faces was, at most, around 30 centimeters.
I stared straight into his face and spoke.
“What if you just listen to me?”
At those words, the thug, seemingly dumbfounded, let out a deep sigh and said.
“Hah… listen to you? Me, listen to your words? You’re a real piece of work, kid. Let me tell you, I think you’re seriously mistaken about something… If it weren’t for these damn iron bars, you’d be dead already. You little punk.”
“If it weren’t for the iron bars, huh?”
At that moment, I took another step forward.
Now the distance between us had narrowed even further.
Maybe 15 centimeters at most.
The closer I got to him, the stronger the stench wafted from him.
If he swung his fist, I was within the range where I’d have no choice but to get hit.
In other words, I had deliberately walked into his striking range.
A thug who had been sitting quietly here for days.
And his threats.
Finally, the fact that he could have grabbed my neck earlier but didn’t.
I was certain.
The man in front of me had no intention of causing trouble here.
Why? Because the thug needed to get out of this place.
And surprisingly, the one who was more flustered was the thug.
“Listen carefully, thug.”
I looked up at him.
‘…What’s up with this guy?’
The thug was taken aback.
It was clearly he who was looking down.
Until now, all the men he had looked down on always cowered and shriveled up in fear on the ground.
Because of that, he had unwavering confidence in his ability to intimidate others.
But the little guy in front of him didn’t seem intimidated at all.
No, it even felt as though, despite being the one looking down, the other was looking up at him instead.
Just one person.
Only one man, smaller in build, older, and weaker than him, had ever given off this kind of atmosphere.
It was none other than the Big Boss.
The 67-year-old Big Boss of the Yongmu Gang.
The Big Boss was short in stature and old, but he completely overwhelmed others with his aura and voice.
That very aura of the Big Boss could now be felt emanating from the little guy in front of him.
“Listen carefully, thug.”
Kang Sion’s voice carried the same kind of weight.
Sion was looking for talent.
Broadly speaking, there were two types of talent he sought.
The first were technical experts.
To establish internal systems like boilers and seek advice from various specialists to survive the winter.
The second was combat strength.
Even if experts were recruited, relying solely on the police force like now wouldn’t be enough to secure food supplies.
What Sion wanted was something different from the police scouting teams.
He needed someone who could capture monsters, was stronger than monsters, and could handle them.
Of course, such talent wasn’t limited to dealing with monsters.
Ultimately, the factions they would face weren’t just monsters but also other external forces.
The thug before him.
Even after two weeks, he had managed to maintain enough mental fortitude to provoke the police.
Moreover, his muscle mass was still overwhelmingly greater than others.
Of course, there was a prerequisite.
He had to be obedient.
Thugs, contrary to how they were perceived by most people, could actually be obedient.
Though there was one condition.
And that was recognition.
Thugs usually became submissive to those they acknowledged.
Sion met the thug’s eyes and calmly began to speak.
“The world has been destroyed by otherworldly beings, and we are participating in an unknown game. The outside is no longer the world you knew. Beasts that devour people roam around, humans are hunting other humans, and a massive, unidentified whale floats in the sky. The world has changed. So even if you leave this cell, your brothers and comrades that you hold dear may already be dead.”
“What, what…?”
The thug’s face twisted in disbelief.
He glanced at the police officer nearby.
But the officer remained silent.
“Here’s a proposal. If you promise to come out of the cell and follow my words, I’ll let you out.”
“…”
The thug, still gripping the iron bars, glared at Sion.
The confidence he had shown moments ago had completely disappeared, replaced by an expression somewhere between sadness and fear.
Finally, the thug attempted one last provocation.
“If I leave this cell, I’ll kill you. Do you really think you can trust someone like me?”
“If you kill me, you’ll definitely die.”
“Do you really think there’s anyone here who can kill me?”
“There is. Someone who can kill you.”
“Hah.”
The thug brushed his hair back.
Though he clicked his tongue in disbelief, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the boy’s words weren’t lies.
The thug exhaled deeply.
“I’ve got nothing to lose. I could just kill you and die myself. Right?”
“If you’ve got nothing to lose, then why haven’t you done anything yet?”
“What?”
“You want to get out of here and leave the police station, don’t you? Isn’t that so?”
“What are you to judge me? Huh? Kid.”
“I’ll tell you one thing.”
Sion looked him up and down.
The thug’s appearance resembled a lion standing on two legs.
His long hair, in particular, gave off the impression of a lion’s mane.
“People with nothing to lose have no reason to leave this place, so they do nothing. Like those people over there.”
Sion pointed to a group of people sprawled lifelessly in one corner of the cell.
The thug glanced in their direction and then glared back at Sion.
“But you? You’re working out, provoking the police, and even though you’re close enough to kill me, you haven’t. That’s strange, isn’t it? If you truly had nothing to lose, you’d try to kill anyone whenever the chance arose. And besides, you haven’t even caused a ruckus inside. On the contrary, you’ve even calmed down a guy who was begging at the bars. You’re practically a model prisoner. Of course, your pride won’t let you stop provoking the police… but you avoid causing any real trouble because you don’t want harsher punishment. And honestly, you have no reason to kill me. You and I just met today, so there’s no grudge or bad blood between us.”
Step, step.
Sion walked a little to the side.
He glanced deeper into the cell as he continued speaking.
“The fact that you have a reason doesn’t matter to me. Whether or not you absolutely have to get out isn’t important. What matters is that I have the authority and power to let you out, and you’re just a criminal locked in a cell. That alone means I have the upper hand. You’re smart enough to know that. And… you must’ve realized by now that I’m not just some kid for you to look down on.”
The thug remained silent.
In the cell, Sion’s voice echoed alone.
Sion, after surveying the inside of the cell, stepped back in front of the thug.
The thug, still gripping the iron bars, hadn’t moved a muscle the entire time Sion was looking around.
“Is it hurting your pride? Having a kid offer to let you out if you listen to him?”
“…”
“I’m making you a proposal. It’s not a threat.”
The thug’s breathing grew heavier.
But the calm, steady tone of Sion’s voice filled the cell, chillingly reminiscent of his Big Boss.
“I need you. That’s why I’m here. No matter the situation, no matter the reason. I promise you, if you help me get what I want, I’ll take full responsibility and get you out of here. …Surely, you know what a proposal means?”
Sion took another step toward the thug.
Now, Sion had completely overpowered him.
With just his words, tone, and atmosphere, he had completely disarmed the thug.
In front of Sion, the thug felt like a small boy.
“Either cooperate with me or rot in here until you die. That’s your choice.”
“…”
Sion fixed his gaze on the thug and continued.
“Let me tell you one more thing. If you stay here, you’ll definitely die.”
“…”
At those words, the thug’s pupils shook.
Sion checked his wristwatch and then raised his head to look at the thug again.
“I’ll come back tomorrow. Think about it until then. There won’t be a second chance.”
Sion turned and walked away.
Step, step, step.
The sound of his footsteps filled the cell as he left.
It wasn’t until Sion disappeared into the darkness that the thug, still gripping the iron bars, slowly let go.
The thug muttered under his breath without realizing it.
“…Damn it.”
Because there wasn’t a single lie in Sion’s words.
The thug—no, Choi Myung-joon—absolutely had to get out of this place.
Especially now that the world had already been destroyed.