"Right now, Geumho Station is split into the 'mainstream group' and the 'marginalized group.'"
It was unfair, but it was an inevitable reality.
If you lacked the ability to stand on your own, you had to cling to someone who could if you wanted to survive.
That didn't mean I liked those bastards calling themselves the mainstream group, though.
*The moment Dokja gives the signal, I'll crush them.*
I had already effectively wiped out the likes of the Cheolsu faction and the Cheoldupa, but they couldn't possibly be the entirety of the mainstream group.
"Food distribution is decided by the mainstream group, but since supplies are running low, they've been drafting people for food expeditions."
Put simply: the ones with power secure the food, and then they decide who gets to eat.
The hardship fell on the marginalized; the authority belonged to the mainstream.
No matter how much you hated it, what choice was there? To survive, the powerless and marginalized had to obey orders and head out.
Actually, it was because they were powerless that they were forced to risk their lives for food, only to be denied a fair share of it in the end.
"Heewon, who used to be with us, was one of those drafted."
"Heewon...?"
"That's the name of the woman you two rescued."
"Actually, a few others went out with her, but only the members of the marginalized group failed to return. This is the first time anyone from the mainstream group hasn't come back."
Setting aside the Cheoldupa bastards I'd killed, the fact that only the marginalized had been disappearing until now was definitely no coincidence.
"Hyunsung. Are the mainstream group members significantly stronger than the marginalized ones?"
"Huh? Yes. Generally, that's the case. But why do you ask...?"
[Dokja.]
[I know. I already know.]
My first suspicion was that they were using the marginalized as bait for the monsters so the mainstream group could safely collect the food.
But then, I considered a second possibility.
[You have killed a living being.]
[You have acquired an additional reward of 100 Coins.]
That was the message that appeared when I killed Kim Namwoon.
Furthermore, when I killed the other members of the Cheoldupa, the Coins they possessed were transferred to me.
In other words, you could gain Coins by killing people, and those Coins could be used to strengthen one's stats.
The reason those mainstream bastards were so strong was likely because they had been killing the marginalized and using the stolen Coins to empower themselves.
At first, I wondered if I was overthinking it, but after hearing Lee Hyunsung's confirmation, I was certain.
"...It's a wonder you didn't end up joining them, Hyunsung."
"Now that I think about it, you're right. With your abilities, you probably received quite a few invitations."
"Exactly, Oppa."
"... ... I just felt that I couldn't. I don't know much about grand morality or ethics, but..."
Lee Hyunsung was a soldier, and a soldier's duty is to protect the country and its citizens. These days, people seemed to have forgotten the value of such soldiers.
Yet here he was, in a situation where instead of protecting citizens, he had to kill them to survive.
The self-loathing that comes from being forced to act against one's own resolve and convictions.
That was what was shaking Lee Hyunsung to his core.
"It just felt... 'wrong.' Perhaps thinking about 'right and wrong' at a time like this is nothing more than hypocrisy, but..."
*Is this why Kim Dokja likes Ways of Survival?*
It was an arrogant thought, but even after the world had become this nightmare, I had still treated Lee Hyunsung as nothing more than a 'character in a novel.'
A mere puppet following a predetermined script.
But I was wrong.
The moment the novel became reality, I had accepted that the world was ruined, yet I had still perceived the people in it as 'fake.'
Nothing could be more absurd.
Lee Hyunsung was a human being. Not just a character from Ways of Survival.
I had never read Ways of Survival myself, but if it was a work that could portray such anguish so vividly, then regardless of what others thought, it would have been a masterpiece to me.
Though, according to Dokja, the narration drags on in the weirdest places, so I probably wouldn't have had the patience to finish it anyway.
"Even hypocrisy is a form of goodness. Don't lose that feeling."
"...Dokyun."
[The Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' agrees with your words.]
[Constellations of the Absolute Good alignment nod at your words.]
[Constellations of the Absolute Evil alignment express dissatisfaction with your hypocrisy.]
*So what? Dokja said hypocrisy is still good.*
Lee Hyunsung looked back and forth between me and Dokja, seemingly moved by our words.
I wished this warm atmosphere could have lasted a bit longer.
"Kim Dokja, Kim Dokyun."
Then, the opportunistic bat-faced bastard I loathed appeared.
"Could I have a moment of your time?"
Sure, go ahead. Let's hear what bullshit you've got to say.
I wonder if he really thinks such a shallow approach will move us.
"I'll be direct. Join our group."
*He really doesn't deviate from our expectations at all.*
"For the two of you, I can offer high-ranking positions. I want you to help lead the group."
Judging by the fact that she had clung to an ichthyosaur for four days, Dokja could have probably wiped out the Cheoldupa by herself, but since I was the one who did it, he didn't know her true value.
Still, he was attempting to recruit both of us.
The initial offer might have been out of politeness, but the fact that he wanted Dokja as well showed he wasn't entirely stupid.
Cheon Inho didn't know Dokja's full strength, but he had realized that she was the true center of our duo.
He knew that if he only asked me, I wouldn't come, and if he only asked Dokja, she wouldn't come either. So, he tried to snag both of us.
He figured if one of us showed a positive reaction, the other would likely follow suit.
"And if we refuse?"
"Haha, refuse? That's interesting. I hadn't considered that a possibility."
Look at that. The moment things didn't go his way, he couldn't even maintain his poker face.
The one desperate for the recruitment was the subordinate, and we, the targets, held all the cards.
Instead of trying to genuinely win us over, he was already plotting how to use us. Why on earth would we join him?
"You are heroes who saved people from monsters. Don't you think that those with power have a duty to lead others?"
[The Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' is displeased by Cheon Inho's incitement.]
[Constellations of the Absolute Good alignment frown at Cheon Inho.]
Cheon Inho must have been quite rattled, because he shifted to using the singular "you," making it clear that I was his primary target.
Then, attempting to paint himself as the righteous one, he tried to use the surrounding crowd to trigger our guilt.
*He thinks he can pressure us by using the public eye, but we don't give a single fuck about that.*
"You're trying to recruit both of us, but it seems your real goal is only my brother. Since you don't seem to need me, I'll be going."
"W-wait a moment!"
Dokja seized on the tiniest slip-up to reject him.
—Grab—
And then, a flustered Cheon Inho grabbed my arm.
"It's natural to care for family in a world like this, but how long are you going to let your little sister push you around—!"
"Pfft!"
"What's so funny, Dokja?"
"It's just that you don't seem to know my brother very well. If you have any shred of manners, let go of him and get on with whatever it is you were doing."
Even Dokja couldn't tolerate someone touching her family. No, she *wouldn't* tolerate it.
Especially when that family member was someone who, in a world where blood relatives killed one another, possessed skills designed solely to protect her.
Especially when it was a brother who had already sacrificed his own life for her long before the world ended.
.
.
.
"Was it really okay to refuse him so bluntly?"
"Did you want us to accept?"
"Absolutely not, but... I'm worried about what Cheon Inho said at the end."
"If you change your minds, come find me anytime."
"Don't worry too much, Hyunsung. Our Dokja will handle everything."
There was no way Dokja would have refused without a countermeasure.
And even if she hadn't, I had the power to smash through Cheon Inho's schemes with brute force. What was there to fear?
*...Except for Yoo Joonghyuk.*
I still couldn't beat her if we met again.
"We'll see what happens. Anyway, it's evening. Isn't everyone hungry? Let's have some."
"Oh, really? Is that okay?"
"I'm good."
"Fine. I'll set some aside for you, Oppa."
"Thanks."
Strangely, I wasn't that hungry.
Maybe it was because my blood was still boiling?
"By the way, Sangah, Hyunsung—"
"Hey!"
Why is it that every time I try to speak, I get interrupted?
I looked up to see a group of enraged people.
*What now?*
"Is it true you're hoarding the food?"
"When there's barely enough for everyone, you're just going to keep it for yourselves?"
"We heard everyone helped gather it!"
"How can you be the only ones to keep it?!"
"Hand the food over to Inho! Let him distribute it fairly!"
[All the Constellations in the channel are watching your reaction.]
Dokja thought of 'Cheon Inho from Ways of Survival.'
The truly dangerous kind of person in a ruined world: the one who uses the despair of others as fertilizer for their own power.
Dokja read Cheon Inho's lips.
Normally, this would have been a slight crisis for Dokja.
In a world like this, reputation is everything.
No matter how strong you are, you cannot survive alone.
If you could, Yoo Joonghyuk would have had no reason to regress so many times.
But there was one lunatic here who didn't give a damn about reputation.
A man blindly devoted to his little sister.
Cheon Inho's downfall was that he failed to realize exactly how much Dokyun cherished Dokja.
'Stage.'
Dokja mouthed the word to Dokyun.
Just as Cheon Inho had done to her.
—KWA-BOOOOM!!!!
"Ah, fuck. You're all so goddamn noisy. You leeching bastards."
Geumho Station fell into a dead silence.
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