"Dokja-ssi, Gang-hoon-ssi. How about getting some sleep now? I can take the night watch."
"No, I have something I need to do."
"Something you need to do?"
Kim Dokja pointed behind Lee Hyunsung. When Lee Hyunsung turned around to follow his finger, someone was approaching.
"Excuse me, are you still selling food?"
"Good luck. Dokja-ssi. I'm going to take a nap."
...
"Oh my god, it's all sold out?!"
"Mmm..."
I took off the sleeping mask covering my eyes and let out a yawn.
"Ah, you're awake? I'm sorry. I was just so surprised."
"No, understandable."
I stuffed the sleeping mask into my pocket and immediately took out the sunglasses I usually wore and put them on.
"Look at this! The food sold out overnight, can you believe it? It's hilarious. Everyone was just watching each other's reactions at first..."
"I expected as much. Since it was essentially a situation where the 'Mainstream Group' was hoarding food while we were selling it for just Coins."
I offered my index finger to Kim Dokja, and he naturally touched his index finger to mine, transferring Coins to me.
"Sold quite a lot, huh."
"Gang-hoon-ssi mainly picked small items. Since we sold those for 50 Coins each too, we made quite a profit."
"That's foresight for you."
Of course, I hadn't actually thought that far ahead when farming the food.
"But Gang-hoon-ssi. Unfortunately, there is one thing that defied expectations."
"What is it? That Cheon Inho's side bought about half the food?"
"Huh? You knew?"
I nodded and picked up an empty bag.
"Once you start raising livestock, you hate to lose them. He probably thought if he delayed any longer, it would really be like locking the stable door after the horse has bolted. Well, we achieved our primary goal of acquiring Coins, so it doesn't matter, right?"
"That is true. It is a bit regrettable, though. I also had the intention of suppressing the Mainstream Group's power by activating trade."
"Well, that's just unfortunate."
I looked at the Coins Kim Dokja had transferred to me.
"I can let it pass as just unfortunate. Since I earned 1800 Coins."
"If I had brought and sold it alone, I would have only earned about 1400 Coins."
"We were lucky."
At our conversation, Jung Heewon looked at Yoo Sangah in disbelief.
"Is it really okay to trust these people?"
"Trust them. Dokja-ssi has never been someone who acts without reason."
"Then what about Gang-hoon-ssi?"
At Jung Heewon's question, Yoo Sangah turned her gaze to me and thought for a long while.
"He's someone who said with his own mouth that overwhelming martial power backs up all his actions."
Ah, that thing I said yesterday.
"So, what about the food for us to eat? I feel like Dokja-ssi would have saved some..."
"No. I sold it all."
Kim Dokja showed his empty hands as if he really had none, and Jung Heewon's jaw dropped in disbelief at his words.
"Ah, and if you have any leftover food you bought yesterday, it would be best to eat it all in advance. Gang-hoon-ssi too."
"Hm? Ah."
I took a chocolate bar out of my pocket and put it in my mouth.
Then, feeling stinging gazes from around me, I looked around and saw attention focused this way.
"What is it? Giving me looks, aren't they?"
"Ah, Cheon Inho's side reduced the food rations. Because of that, people's backlash was quite severe, but Cheon Inho played a strong hand by saying additional supplies are possible through trade."
"Sly bastard, using our Dokja-ssi's idea."
After swallowing the entire chocolate bar, I turned my head to look towards Cheon Inho.
"How much did he sell them for?"
"He tried to get 200 each."
"Funny guys."
Selling for 200 Coins what we sold for 50. Desperate to squeeze out profit somehow, aren't they? Those guys.
"Hmm."
Kim Dokja got up from his seat and jumped down onto the subway platform.
"I plan to come back up, so no need to follow."
"Good thinking. Everyone who went that way never returned."
"Is that so? Why. Are you interested?"
Kim Dokja simply stared at the end of the tunnel, which looked only dark.
"No."
As Kim Dokja tried to come up, I reached out and pulled him up.
"It's chaos."
Kim Dokja looked behind me.
Wondering what was behind, I also turned my head to check and saw people being beaten while protesting against Cheon Inho's side—the Mainstream Group. I also saw people trudging away after buying food at clearly unfair prices.
"Come to think of it. Did I thank you two?"
"I think I heard it."
"Me too."
Jung Heewon looked up at us while crouching.
"Still, I'll say it one more time. If it weren't for you two, I don't know what would have happened to me."
Kim Dokja understood Jung Heewon's words and nodded quietly.
He probably realized Jung Heewon's words implied something bad.
"So, don't touch that cripple."
"Hm?"
Wondering who she meant, Jung Heewon was pointing at one of the men I had taken down.
"Because it's him. The guy who attacked me."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to kill him myself."
Jung Heewon looked at them with a face full of murderous intent.
"Those bastards...!"
"Hm?"
Feeling Jung Heewon's anger grow, I followed her gaze.
At the end of that gaze, I saw members of the Mainstream Group taking women to a secluded spot. Food was in the hands of the Mainstream Group members, while the women held nothing.
"It is unpleasant."
"Right! We have to stop them!"
"You shouldn't stop them."
"...Excuse me?"
Jung Heewon turned around angrily at Kim Dokja's words.
"You're telling me to just watch that?"
"If you stop them, the women will starve. Also, even if you stop them, the problem won't be solved. It means similar things will happen again when night falls even if you stop them now."
"...Then we should block and block it again."
"What about those people's food? The person the Mainstream Group just took was a mother of a child. If the mother can't get food and the child starves, will you take responsibility for that child then, Jung Heewon-ssi?"
After pressing Jung Heewon once, Kim Dokja looked at her.
There was a time earlier when he stared at her for a long while too. He probably used Character List on Jung Heewon back then, and he's likely looking at her potential through Character List right now as well.
"Then what am I supposed to do..."
"Jung Heewon-ssi. The core of this problem right now is ultimately 'food'. Right?"
"...? Right."
"Then we just need to remove the cause of the problem."
Just as Kim Dokja finished speaking, with perfect timing, sparkles popped in the sky and a Dokkaebi appeared.
"I feel this every time. The timing seems really good."
"It's a coincidence."
Coincidence my foot. Knowing everything and inserting himself at that timing.
"It-it's a Dokkaebi!"
[Umm... H-have you all been well? You were bored, right?]
Startled by the sudden appearance of the Dokkaebi, people began to back away.
"Not the one we used to see."
"Indeed."
Perhaps hearing Dokja and me, the Dokkaebi immediately opened his mouth to start explaining.
[The friend who was originally in charge of this channel got disciplined... S-so, I-I ended up in charge of this scenario.]
Overall black fur. For some reason, his timid appearance made me feel strangely annoyed.
[B-by the way, everyone... Y-you look extremely peaceful? That guy Bihyung, acting all high and mighty, yet setting the scenario difficulty like this...]
The Dokkaebi snapped his fingers, and familiar message windows popped up before our eyes with a ding, ding sound effect.
[Scenario penalty has been added.]
[From now on, food stockpiling is restricted.]
[Existing stockpiled food will disappear.]
As the message window appeared, the gathered food floated into the air all at once and crumbled with a fwoosh, turning into dust and disappearing.
[I-if the scenario has started, you should think about clearing the scenario... A-anyway, E-Earth trash...]
At the sudden disappearance of the food, people from all groups were shocked and looked around. Wondering if there was any remaining food. Hoping against hope, they looked around, but nothing remained.
[T-then... Please entertain me from now on, everyone.]
Ding. Ding.
[Scenario penalty has been added.]
[The 'Survival Fee' item has been added.]
[From now on, at midnight every night, 100 Coins for 'Survival Fee' will be automatically collected. If you fail to pay the 'Survival Fee', you will die.]
[The 'Survival Fee' penalty will be maintained until the second main scenario is cleared.]
Looking at the messages that appeared, Kim Dokja chuckled involuntarily.
"Laughing in this situation will make you look like a psycho. Dokja-ssi."
"Ah, I just had another thought."
I smirked at those words.
"Understandable."
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