CHAPTER 8

First, Choi Hyung-jun was sent back home.

Since the survivors, who were likely in an extreme situation, wouldn't just open the door for anyone, it was necessary to prepare relief supplies before sending him.

While the supplies were being prepared, he was told to go home, eat, and wash up.

'Water and tangerines should be enough.'

If they hadn't made proper preparations, water would be essential, and tangerines were a suitable food source since they could be eaten without cooking.

'Store open. Purchase a set of tangerines.'

Ziiing—

With just his will, he purchased items from the store.

'Storage open. Place the tangerine box inside.'

He repeated the process of placing items into storage using only his will.

Ziiing—

There was a major advantage to using skills mentally rather than saying them out loud.

'The confirmation step is skipped.'

Since activating a skill required a firm intent from the beginning, the extra confirmation step was unnecessary.

This significantly sped up purchasing from the store and storing items.

'Store open. This time, buy a set of Samdasu water bottles.'

Though it consumed mental energy, with practice, it would definitely be useful.

'Storage open. Store the water.'

Then, an unexpected message appeared.

[Storage capacity exceeded.]

This was the first time seeing such a message while using storage.

'So the capacity is about 100kg.'

Even at level 1, it was quite a large capacity.

'What will be added when the storage reaches level 2?'

Considering that other skills, such as the "Dignity Maintenance" skill and the "Store" skill, gained special features upon leveling up, the same should apply to storage.

'Other than an increase in capacity, I can't think of anything else.'

As he pondered deeply, a familiar message popped up.

[Citizen Choi Hyung-jun's trust level has increased.]

'It went up again.'

It wasn't just Choi Hyung-jun.

The trust levels of the neighboring family had also been rapidly increasing.

In reality, he hadn't done much.

All he had done was restore water, electricity, and gas.

'Citizen Management.'

□ Choi Hyung-jun (Trust: 40) (Lv. 9)

□ Park Hye-won (Trust: 32) (Lv. 5)

□ Choi Na-yeon (Trust: 51) (Loyalty: 17) (Lv. 3)

□ Choi Seo-yeon (Trust: 63) (Loyalty: 39) (Lv. 2)

Current population (4 / 600 people)

Choi Na-yeon and Choi Seo-yeon had already surpassed 50 trust points, unlocking the loyalty stat.

Being young children, they had quickly lowered their guard.

'Luckily, raising trust levels seems easier than I thought.'

Although the sample size was small, at least reaching 50 trust points, where loyalty was unlocked, seemed to be relatively straightforward.

While waiting for Choi Hyung-jun, he spent time as usual looking out the living room window.

After observing like this every day for a week, it had become a habit to watch the outside world whenever he had free time.

'The fire has stopped.'

The fire that started when he killed the Kellican hadn't spread into a massive blaze.

'The sun is setting soon.'

A lot had happened today.

The biggest event was that the level of his "Home Base Declaration" had increased, expanding his territory.

'If I keep expanding my territory and absorbing people, I'll eventually be able to send out a force to rescue my family.'

Just then—

'People.'

For the first time in a long while.

Instead of goblins, he spotted humans walking along the trail.

'What are they doing?'

It wasn't just one person—there were six of them.

Each of them carried a large backpack.

Two men among them approached the remains of the Kellican.

'Don't tell me they're going to eat that?'

It had been over a week since the Kellican died.

Meat that hadn't even been drained of blood wouldn't have lasted that long.

It was probably rotting and reeking by now.

'They won't be able to eat it.'

They seemed to have smelled it too.

The two men who had approached the Kellican remains quickly turned away without hesitation.

'They're crazy.'

The fact that they even considered eating a monster…

How hungry did they have to be to think of that?

At the same time—

'I like them.'

More than anything else, the fact that they had all come outside together stood out to him.

It meant they had the courage to venture out despite the risks.

'Store open. Buy mild Jin Ramen and olive-flavored seaweed.'

Ziiing—

Without hesitation, he threw those, along with a few tangerines, outside with all his strength.

The loud sound of the ramen breaking caught their attention.

As expected, their gazes turned in the direction of the noise, and he naturally met their eyes.

He waved at them.

'If you want more food, come find me.'

They quickly gathered the supplies he had thrown.

But then—

"Keek!"

The noise had attracted a group of goblins.

'…Damn.'

It was a mistake.

He hadn't expected goblins to appear.

'It's hard to help them from here.'

The goblins were too far away for him to throw a dumbbell and hit them.

'Four of them…'

No matter how brave those people were, killing something was a completely different matter.

'I hope they run well.'

But then, something unexpected happened.

One of the men who had approached the Kellican remains swung his hand toward the goblins.

Immediately, something shot from his hand, striking a goblin in the head.

Thud!

The goblin collapsed instantly.

'What?'

That was just the beginning.

Swish!

From the other group of four, a woman shot an arrow at the goblins.

Thunk!

"Keeek!"

Thud!

In an instant, two goblins had their foreheads pierced.

"Uoooooh!"

Meanwhile, a large man charged at the last goblin, swinging a baseball bat.

Smash!

The fight was over in the blink of an eye.

'Whoa.'

After swiftly dealing with the goblins, the group looked up toward him in unison.

He met their gazes and silently willed them—

'Please, come up here.'

But instead of coming to him, they gathered the supplies and disappeared into the entrance of another apartment building.

Just then—

♬♪♬♩~

It seemed Choi Hyung-jun had arrived.

He focused on the entrance.

'Open.'

Click.

'It worked.'

For now, he had to focus strongly to activate the door, but with practice, he might be able to do it naturally.

"Come in."

"Excuse me. Huh?"

He heard the door unlock, but Choi Hyung-jun didn't enter.

When he went to check, he found Choi Hyung-jun standing at the entrance, carrying supplies in both hands, looking confused.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, um… it says I don't meet the requirements?"

"Requirements?"

"Yes."

It seemed that even citizens couldn't enter his home freely. There must be a specific condition to meet before gaining access.

'Maybe only registered residents can enter?'

Handing over the supplies he had brought, Choi Hyung-jun spoke.

"These are the items you requested. I gathered every usable weapon I could find."

"Thank you."

Inside the box were kitchen knives and a large toolbox.

'Storage open. Take out two sets of water and tangerines.'

Seeing the supplies appear out of thin air, Choi Hyung-jun's eyes widened in shock.

I turned to him and said,

"These are for the survivors on the 29th floor. Even if it looks empty, just leave them at the door."

"Yes, leave it to me!"

With that, a new task began.