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The skill information didn't specify if the condition for obtaining packet points was limited to zombies or included humans as well. Actually, the incredibly unhelpful status window didn't provide any information about the conditions for earning points at all.
Just as I only learned that killing zombies granted points after actually doing it, the only way to find out was to kill a person myself.
'Since they're going to die anyway, wouldn't it be better to test it now? This is more like euthanasia than murder.'
There happened to be a perfectly suitable target.
I approached the skinny thug, golf club in hand.
His eyes were so unfocused that he couldn't even see me coming closer. It was clear at a glance that he was on the verge of death.
I was hesitant about killing, but I didn't feel guilt or fear.
Working as a private investigator, especially when looking through cell phones full of others' private lives, you naturally see all sorts of sordid things. But a hacker can't judge good and evil in exchange for money, so I had to look at people unrelated to me coldly.
The reason I could face murder without much agitation was probably because I had practiced looking at others coldly. Maybe that's why I got 「Cold-Blooded(lv.2)」.
The thought of committing murder for the first time filled my mind with distractions. Before it was too late, I erased my hesitation and raised the golf club towards the skinny thug.
Thwack!
The skinny thug, his head smashed by the golf club, stopped even his shallow breathing.
Hitting a person's head wasn't much different from smashing a zombie's skull. Neither the feeling in my hands nor my mood changed.
"Eek!"
Just then, I heard a short scream from the woman hiding behind the counter.
It was ironic that the woman who had been silent when the zombies attacked was screaming because I had killed the guy who raped her.
'Shouldn't she be celebrating his death and kicking his balls or something?'
I was surprised by the thought that suddenly crossed my mind. It was one thing to commit murder without feeling anything, but it was strange that I couldn't empathize with the person who witnessed the murder and was startled.
'Was I that far gone?'
I had always considered myself not to be such a heartless person. The status window classified me as "Cold-Blooded," but I, who had often donated even when I didn't have much, couldn't possibly be just "Cold-Blooded."
Thinking about the status window, I unconsciously brought it up. And surprisingly, something had changed.
『Kang Woori』
Skills: 「Hacking」
Traits: 「Cold-Blooded(lv.3)」/「Social Anxiety(lv.1)」
The level of 「Cold-Blooded(lv.2)」 had increased.
I instinctively knew. It had leveled up when I smashed the skinny thug's head.
It seemed that as the personality of the personality trait deepened, the level of the trait also rose.
'Was it because of 「Cold-Blooded(lv.3)」?'
The problem was that when the level of a personality trait increased, it seemed to affect me in reverse. The fact that I was surprised by my own thoughts was evidence that this was likely the case.
Thinking that made me feel depressed. It was as if I had really become a piece of data bound to the system.
'What do I have to do to get rid of the personality traits? If I send them to the storage, will they stop applying to me?'
These were questions I couldn't answer right now. I would only know after accumulating more points and trying it out myself.
"U-um, excuse me."
Turning my head towards the counter, I saw a woman in her early to mid-twenties standing awkwardly, watching me cautiously.
She wasn't stunning, but she was quite attractive. Especially her impression was so innocent that she seemed harmless, but with one cheek swollen red and her hair disheveled, she couldn't have looked more pitiful.
Of course, that's just how she looked, not that she was really pitiful. I'm barely making it myself; I don't have time to pity others.
"What's the matter?"
"Huh? Oh, well..."
The woman, as timid as she looked, hesitated, unable to continue.
▶Yeo Siyeon
Just then, her name appeared next to the woman, so I naturally brought up the status window.
『Yeo Siyeon』
Traits: 「Double Standard(lv.2)」
'What, she looks timid, but why is her trait like that? Are being timid and being lenient only to yourself different?'
Just as I can't be explained by "Cold-Blooded" and "Social Anxiety" alone, others can't be explained by traits alone either.
However, seeing such a trait appear for someone I just met, I couldn't help but have preconceived notions. At least, it meant that they had such a side to some extent.
Frankly, it was a quite useful function for surviving in this ruined world. Even if you can't know the other person completely, just being able to gauge what kind of person they are, even partially, would provide a basis for judgment. The more you can't trust anyone easily, the higher the value would be.
It was just a shame that it was a skill that wasn't very helpful in direct combat situations.
While I was lost in my own thoughts, the woman kept quiet, watching me warily because my expression wasn't good.
I was about to ask her what she was going to say, but I decided to just ignore it and continue gathering supplies. There was nothing to gain, and I didn't want to get involved.
I unpacked the empty caddy bag and filled it mainly with food with long expiration dates. Canned goods were the best, but there weren't many left, probably because someone had already looted them, so I mainly grabbed retort meals and instant noodles.
"Ugh."
I filled it about halfway, but the caddy bag was so big that it weighed quite a bit. However, it was necessary to take as much as possible now, even if it was a bit of a burden. Aside from the fact that coming back here was dangerous, I didn't know when other people would loot this place.
"Um, please, please help me."
Just then, the woman who had been quiet for a while spoke cautiously while I paused to find something to put in.
"How do you want me to help you?"
"Well, my house isn't far from here. It's near the main gate of Hoguk University, so could you just take me there?"
"Why would I do that?"
"Huh? Well, I'm a woman. How can a woman fight zombies? I won't tell anyone you killed that guy, so please."
"...".
I was at a loss for words for a moment.
'So, you're saying that because I'm a man, it's okay for me to fight zombies? And what if you do tell? The police and the military have all gone into hiding.'
The fact that she had thought so much and come up with such an absurd request.
I decided to ignore the woman and started packing food again. After sweeping up all the retort meals and ramen, I filled the rest with meats such as instant jokbal or pork belly from the refrigerated section. I wouldn't be able to store them for long, but I could put them in the refrigerator and eat them first.
"Okay. If you take me home, I'll let you have me once."
However, I couldn't ignore what the woman said while I was stuffing the caddy bag full. I wondered if these were the words a woman who had been raped just a few minutes ago would say, and if she was doing me a favor by saying it.
The answer came easily.
'She's just crazy.'
I had only thought that the woman had been unfairly victimized after seeing the skinny thug's traits, but perhaps this woman had provoked the short-tempered skinny thug and that's why such a thing happened.
"You'll take me, right?"
"That's hilarious."
"Huh?"
"If I'm going to fuck you, I can just do it here and go my way, why bother with the trouble? You can't do anything anyway. Like when you were being attacked earlier."
"I wasn't attacked! That never happened."
"...".
The woman shamelessly said as if she had erased the events of just a few minutes ago from her memory. Surely, her trait wasn't created for no reason.
There was no need to correct the facts. I decided to just end this pointless conversation.
"I could just do it, but your pussy is covered in some other guy's cum, so I'll just leave it. It's not like I want to fuck you while putting up with that unpleasantness."
"That's so rude—"
"So shut your mouth. Before I kill you too."
"...".
It's not like I don't have sexual desires either.
On the first day of my leave after enlisting, my older friend Jin-ho said that you should meet a woman when you're on leave and took me to a massage parlor.
That was my first and only experience with a woman, but after only having a clumsy taste, my desire for sex grew even more than when I had no experience at all. Especially the thought of wanting to try it with a normal woman, not an 업소 woman, had crossed my mind countless times.
However, if the world wasn't like this, maybe, but I wasn't so crazy about women that I would risk my life for a fuck. Fucking here, where more zombies could come at any time, was simply crazy. And as I said, it was unpleasant.
Of course, that was only if I were to fuck her here, and taking her to her house wasn't even a consideration in the first place.
At my stern warning, the woman lowered her eyes and shut her mouth tightly. Tears welled up and streamed down her tightly bitten lips as if she was so upset.
'Why are you crying so annoyingly?'
I couldn't kill her just because she was a crazy woman, so I was about to ignore her and leave the convenience store when the status window that was next to the woman who was crying so sadly began to unfold downwards.
「Double Standard(lv.2)」[Personality]
☐ Deals Damage +15%
☐ Recieves Damage -1.5%
☒ When reaching lv.10, skill 「Spoiled」 will be created.
(「Spoiled」: Interprets what you see arbitrarily. Enhances the effects of the skill by up to 100% or weakens it by 10%. Cooldown 6 hours.)
▶Change Level: 2p
I didn't know why the trait information suddenly appeared from the woman.
Still, it was good news. It meant that you couldn't only see trait information right before death.
Compared to the skinny thug who was dying, even though he seemed to have been hit a few times, the woman had only suffered minor injuries to the point of being embarrassing. It seemed that there was something other than physical condition in the conditions for examining trait information.
This wasn't a safe place to learn more about it in detail right now, and there was only one sample, the woman, so I probably wouldn't get a good answer.
So, I turned my eyes away from the woman's status window, slung the heavy caddy bag over my shoulder, and left the convenience store.
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