CHAPTER 41
Busan Station (1)
'Assigning positions to Kim Da-bin and the public facility management team would be perfect.'
The originally planned weekly wage of 700,000 won and the daily wage of 100,000 won for employees matched exactly.
Now, there was no need to deduct a commission when handing over money to them.
But that wasn't the only advantage of this skill.
'I need to drastically increase the number of public facility management personnel.'
The money given to citizens from the economic activity support fund was entirely free.
And it wasn't a small amount either.
If all 300 employees received 100,000 won each, that would amount to 30 million won per day.
When filling all positions from employee to manager, the total amount received was—
'More than 50 million won per day.'
As this accumulated, the money gained through the tax collection skill would increase, and at the same time, a portion of it would return to me through spending at the stores.
'Assigning positions to as many citizens as possible is the best strategy.'
However, for now, no suitable positions came to mind other than public facility management.
'Facility maintenance, cleaning, and security could work.'
That was all that came to mind at the moment.
'I should assign security positions mainly to those who gathered at the main gate back then.'
The picture was starting to come together.
First, I immediately appointed Kim Da-bin as one of the three available managers.
'Who did Kim Da-bin accept as team members? Choi Hyung-jun, Yoo Hye-rin, and… who else?'
As I was trying to recall the names of the employees to fill the positions—
[Citizen Kim Da-bin's loyalty has reached 100.]
[Citizen Kim Da-bin has been registered as a retainer.]
[The limit on the number of retainers has increased.]
Among those who weren't retainers, Kim Da-bin was the first to reach 100 loyalty.
'So, reaching 100 loyalty automatically makes someone a retainer.'
That also meant they would awaken their abilities the moment they hit 100 loyalty.
Just as I was about to check Kim Da-bin's abilities—
At that moment.
"Drrrrrrrng."
A loud snoring sound pulled me out of my thoughts.
"?"
Turning my head toward the source of the noise, I saw Yoo Hye-rin sprawled out on the sofa, fast asleep.
"Kuuuuul— Drrrrrng—."
Exhausted, she was snoring loudly in deep sleep.
As I quietly watched her, Seo Ye-jin asked me,
"Should I wake her up?"
"No."
Yoo Hye-rin had already fulfilled her duty.
In fact, the fact that she had pushed herself to exhaustion meant she deserved a reward.
"Let her sleep."
Using an invisible hand, they moved her to the bed in the master bedroom.
She was so deeply asleep that she didn't wake up even once while being moved to the bed, completely lost in her slumber.
She was truly sleeping so soundly that someone could have carried her away without her noticing.
"Drrrrrng—Kugugugul."
Of course, her loud snoring remained unchanged.
Seo Yejin watched Yoo Hyerin disappear into the master bedroom and commented,
"She sounds just like a steam locomotive."
"Indeed."
Once the door was closed, the noisy snoring became somewhat muffled.
"Are you okay, Yejin?"
"There's nothing tiring for me. I'm perfectly fine."
"Then, please continue your work."
"Yes, sir!"
Seo Yejin's reconnaissance abilities were unmatched.
With hundreds of mice spreading out in all directions, acting as her eyes and ears, there was no comparison.
But then—
"Huh…?"
"What's wrong?"
"…I can't link."
"What?"
Even Seo Yejin's ability wasn't all-powerful.
"What do you mean? All of a sudden?"
"Hold on a moment."
Seo Yejin closed her eyes, testing different things before coming to a conclusion.
"The distance… seems too far."
"But it worked fine just a moment ago."
"If I establish the link first and then move, I can extend the range a little further. But the range where I can actually initiate a link is limited to somewhere near Central Station."
'Of all places…'
Just a little farther from Jagalchi Station, their family home was waiting.
The plan had been to check on the family home's condition using Seo Yejin's mice—
But that plan had now gone up in smoke.
"It's a hassle, but could you start again from Central Station?"
"Understood."
Seo Yejin started from Central Station again, sharing her senses as she moved toward Jagalchi Station.
Since all the zombies there had already been wiped out, she moved without hesitation.
'Thankfully, she should arrive soon.'
While the mice traveled to Jagalchi Station, he used the Absolute Eye to observe Hadonggeon's party.
***
Hadonggeon's party was emerging from Exit 1 of Choryang Station.
Even though it was just before 6 PM, the surroundings were already pitch black.
Winter was approaching, making the days shorter.
"Whoa…"
The sky above the city, devoid of any artificial light, radiated vivid colors like the night sky in a quiet countryside.
Because of that—
The devastated cityscape became clearly visible at a glance.
Giant footprints imprinted in various places, buildings leaning sideways, and heaps of shattered concrete scattered around.
The scene of utter destruction, bathed in moonlight, shone like a surreal painting.
"This is unbelievable."
"Geon, scout the area."
"Yes, sis."
At Kim Gayoung's urging, Kim Geon sent Kkamangi soaring into the sky.
"Caw—"
Flying high, Kkamangi scanned the surroundings, and Kim Geon relayed the information he received.
"There don't seem to be any monsters nearby."
Kang Deok-soo said,
"There wasn't even a single goblin at Choryang Station. Thanks to the giant causing a ruckus, we can pass through here without any trouble."
Kim Geon agreed.
"That seems to be the case. No one with a sane mind would dare approach after seeing this scene. It's practically a territorial marker. Who would step into a giant's domain?"
At that moment, Kim Dajeong spoke with a worried tone.
"But is this really okay? It's almost night. Wouldn't it be better to find a safe place to rest and set out in the morning?"
"Dajeong! Don't worry. If you consider the goblins' habits, nighttime is actually safer. Those creatures tend to hide once night falls. Back then, we used to move around only at night in apartment complexes!"
After contemplating for a moment, Ha Dong-geon made a decision.
"We'll keep moving. If things become dangerous, Jaehyun will summon us to safety."
Everyone nodded in agreement at Ha Dong-geon's words.
That was how much they trusted Kim Jaehyun.
Even if the situation worsened, they believed he would find a way to handle it.
Just then, a mouse appeared before them.
Squeak—
"It looks like Yejin sent it. Let's follow it."
The mouse led Ha Dong-geon's party along a pre-explored path.
Seo Yejin, who was sharing her senses with the mouse, had sent it from Central Station to Jagalchi Station. The mice she had trained were quite intelligent and capable of guiding them on their own.
By the time they arrived at Busan Station following the mouse's guidance, what lay before their eyes was a massive lake.
"What is this place? Did the giant make this too?"
"Probably. That collapsed building must have hit the ground and created this space."
A crater, dozens of meters in diameter, had formed in the forecourt of the Busan Station high-speed rail building. It was filled with water, though whether it was seawater or groundwater was unclear. Concrete debris was scattered throughout, floating like isolated islands.
Then—
Splash—
Something emerged onto one of the floating islands.
The sudden sound of water drew everyone's attention to that spot.
'What is that…?'
At first glance, it looked like a person.
"Is that a person?"
"It looks like a woman?"
That made sense since the upper body appeared to be that of a woman.
However, the lower half was not human but covered in blue fish scales.
The creature, half-human and half-fish, was a siren.
"Aaaaaah—"
The siren began to sing.
No, rather than a song, it was more like a high-pitched scream.
"Aaaaaaaah—!"
"Ugh!"
"Argh, what the hell?!"
The deafening noise made everyone raise their hands to cover their ears.
At that moment—
"Uh? W-wait!"
Splash!
Kang Deok-soo and Moon Byung-ho, their bodies stiffened, were the first to be dragged into the lake.
"Deok-soo! Byung-ho!"
And then—
"Aaaaaaaaah—!!"
One by one, the rest of the party began to be pulled into the lake as well.
Splash!
Gurgle—
The first to react in the sudden chaos was Kim Dajeong.
'Magic Armor!'
Just before being dragged underwater, she cast a skill toward Oh Won-joo.
Wooooong—
A glowing suit of armor appeared around Oh Won-joo's body, and the next moment, her form began to swell.
"Grrr!"
Oh Won-joo, having transformed into her beast form in an instant, lunged toward the siren instead.
Sploosh—!
With terrifying speed, the transformed Oh Won-joo swam toward the siren, leaving the siren visibly startled.
For a moment, the siren stopped screaming, and the paralysis on the others was lifted.
Swooosh—! Thud!
A spear, thrown from within the water, pierced straight through the siren's heart.
***
[You have hunted Siren (Lv. 33).]
[You have gained experience points.]
[₩350,376,203 has been deposited into the Absolute Overlord of Home's wallet.]
'That was close.'
When Ha Dong-geon's party started getting pulled into the lake one by one due to the siren, he had been truly alarmed.
I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should use my instant summons.
'That was dangerous.'
Fortunately, thanks to Kim Dajeong's efforts, we were able to escape the crisis.
'Creatures with special abilities sure are troublesome.'
Even though it was just a level 33 monster, it put the entire party in danger.
'If it weren't for Kim Dajeong's ability, we would've been in serious trouble.'
Her ability, Magic Armor, wasn't just a skill that blocked physical attacks. It was a magical armor that "protected" the target from various harmful effects.
When the siren subdued me and tried to drag me into the water, I felt paralyzed, unable to move. But Kim Dajeong's Magic Armor prevented that.
That's why only Eon Ju was able to move freely. Taking advantage of the siren's momentary shock and its brief paralysis wearing off, Ha Donggeon threw his spear and finished it off.
'Kim Gayoung is injured.'
The others were fine aside from being soaked, but it seemed Kim Gayoung hit her head during the struggle.
Luckily, Kim Dajeong was right there and immediately started treating her.
"Phew…"
No matter how I looked at it, including Kim Dajeong in the party was truly a godsend.
Her Blessing skill was efficient, and her healing was great whenever we got injured. But the best part was that we had a countermeasure against special abilities like the one we just encountered.
"Jaehyun…"
At that moment, Seo Yejin approached me with a gloomy expression.
Just from her face, I could tell what had happened.
"It failed, didn't it?"
"Yes… The link was severed before I could even reach Jagalchi Station this time."
"It's unfortunate, but there's nothing we can do. Just focus on guiding Ha Donggeon's party."
"Yes… I'm sorry."
Watching Ha Donggeon's party overcome the crisis only solidified my belief.
'These people are the best combination I can put together right now.'
Even without Seo Yejin's support, I was confident that this group alone could make it to the main base.
'I have no choice but to trust and watch over them.'
The best I could do was supply Kim Gayoung with arrows and Ha Donggeon with spears in real time, while using intermediate fire magic to assist them as much as possible.
'Is there anything else that could help…?'
At that moment—
[You have hunted a Goblin (Lv. 6).]
[You have gained experience.]
[7,150 won has been deposited into the Wallet of the Absolute Homebody.]
[You have hunted a Goblin (Lv. 6).]
[You have gained experience.]
[6,920 won has been deposited into the Wallet of the Absolute Homebody.]
······
······
Even at this late hour, citizens were diligently continuing their hunts.
And thanks to them—
[Skill level has increased.]
[Absolute Homebody's Proclamation has reached Level 20.]
[You have gained 3 skill points.]
[You have learned a new skill.]
As my level rose, a sharp pain surged through my body.
READ MORE CHAPTERS HERE : ko-fi.com/pokemon1920