Albakgi (4)
There were only a few dozen of us, but taking control of the Homeplus store wasn't difficult.
That was thanks to two things: the vampires hiding among the people, and the ease with which my retainers had subdued them.
Following the retainers' orders, the civilians exited the Homeplus building and gathered in the wide intersection outside. At the center of the crowd, nineteen vampires were on their knees, snarling like beasts.
I couldn't step outside the Homeplus perimeter since my territory hadn't been established there yet, so I climbed up to the roof to observe everything from above.
From that vantage point, I raised a megaphone and spoke.
[Ah—Ah—]
One by one, people's gazes turned toward the rooftop.
With the mic test complete, I began my speech in earnest.
[Good day, everyone.]
My voice echoed across the intersection, amplified by the megaphone.
The rest of the civilians, who had been glaring at the vampires, also turned their attention to me.
[Some of you may have already realized it, but these are vampires who were hiding among you.]
The eyes of those who had nearly fallen victim to the vampires—or had witnessed such scenes nearby—flashed with fury.
Everyone here harbored a deep-rooted hatred for vampires.
That was only natural—most of them had lost family or friends to those monsters.
The idea that the vampires had been pretending to be fellow survivors, all while hiding their true nature right beside them, was enough to send anyone into a rage.
"Those traitorous bastards!"
"I'll kill them myself!"
"Kill them!"
Some people charged toward the vampires in a frenzy, but they were stopped cold by Jang Sung-joon's psychokinesis.
Now highly trained, his A-rank psychokinesis easily restrained dozens of angry people at once.
"Mr. Kim was a vampire? Are you serious?"
"Judging by what just happened, it doesn't sound like a lie. I heard he suddenly tried to bite someone next to him."
"Wait, now that you mention it… there was something weird about him last time…"
Some were still skeptical, but the idea that a dozen or more vampires had been blending into a large group of survivors without being noticed was almost impossible.
"What? That really happened?"
"I swear! Back then I thought I was imagining things, but thinking about it now—if he was a vampire, it all makes sense!"
"…Shit."
"What is it? Did you just think of something too?"
"…Do you know what happens if you sleep with a vampire?"
"…It's not contagious, right?"
Testimonies were starting to spill from every direction, and bit by bit, the vampires' identities became undeniable.
"Where's our team leader?"
"You hear the rumors? They say he was a vampire too."
"Team Leader Shin Jung-min? Don't be ridiculous."
There was no need to tell the people everything.
That would only lead to unnecessary chaos.
"By the way, who are those people?"
"No idea. Maybe they're from headquarters?"
"Yeah, that makes sense. Who else could carry that many guns unless they're with the HQ?"
"The folks from HQ are incredible. How did they sniff out the vampires so quickly?"
Before I realized it, people had already decided we were affiliated with the General Stadium Group's headquarters.
[These creatures are cunning. They pretended to be ordinary people and wormed their way into your groups. Then, once your backs were turned, they revealed their true natures and took innocent lives.]
Outbursts of anger erupted from the crowd.
[We are here to expose their crimes to the world—and deliver justice.]
Those quick to catch on began raising their voices, demanding the vampires' execution.
"Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!"
The chants grew louder and louder as more people joined in.
No one here was softhearted enough to feel pity for vampires who drank human blood.
They had all seen too much death—caused by those very creatures.
Nineteen vampires. Eliminated.
That was the reason we had dragged them out here, instead of handling it inside the Homeplus building.
Once their citizenships were revoked, the vampires were momentarily freed from their pain, wearing strangely peaceful expressions.
I turned toward the retainers who were holding the vampires down and gave my command.
[Execute them.]
The moment my voice rang through the megaphone and filled the square—
Bang—! Bang!
Gunshots echoed out, bullets tearing into the vampires' hearts.
[You have slain a Lesser Vampire (Lv. 22).]
[You have slain a Lesser Vampire (Lv. 26).]
[You have slain an Intermediate Vampire (Lv. 31).]
"Woooooah!"
Cheers erupted from the crowd as the vampires were gunned down.
[Citizen Kim Juwon's Trust has increased.]
[Citizen Jung Gukil's Trust has increased.]
[Citizen Lim Chae-eun's Trust has increased.]
There was a trace of madness in the people's cheers.
It carried the weight of their grief—of all they'd lost—and their fury toward the vampires.
That was the kind of world we lived in now.
In a world this insane, you had to go a little mad just to survive.
"Eye of the Absolute."
I turned my gaze toward the room where Park Saerom and Seo Yejin were waiting and activated my skill.
"Teleport."
I had gained the Teleport skill when Moon Byungho's Trust hit 100—and it could now be linked with Eye of the Absolute like this.
As the distance increased, it required more mental energy, but so far, there had been no strain from using it.
"Oh, you're here."
Park Saerom greeted me with an awkward expression.
"Umm… So, what should I do from now on?"
I chuckled softly.
"That's unexpected."
"Eh?"
"I thought you'd speak informally when we first met."
Park Saerom blushed deeply and quickly apologized.
"That… I-I'm sorry."
It was meant to be a light joke to ease the tension, but seeing Park Saerom bowing her head like a guilty person made me feel that my intention had been misunderstood.
The atmosphere grew even more tense, so I sighed lightly and changed the subject.
"Was the original duty of Supply Team 3 to supply materials to the Central Dong Group and the Chari unit dispatched there?"
The Central Dong Group had its base just above the Taehwa River, and it was a place where they fought daily against vampires trying to cross the river.
Thanks to their sacrifices, the group stationed at the sports complex, living a relatively stable life, sent the Chari combat unit and supported them with supplies.
"Yes, that's correct."
"You can continue doing the same work as before. If you need any supplies, just let me know. We'll provide as much as needed."
"Yes, understood."
"Oh, and from today, the leader of Supply Team 3 here will be you, Park Saerom."
"Yes, I understand… huh?"
Park Saerom blinked in surprise.
"Excuse me, what did you say?"
"You'll be taking on the leadership role of this team."
Park Saerom hiccupped a few times before she nodded reluctantly.
"I'll do my best."
"Please, do well."
[Citizen Park Saerom's trust level increases significantly.]
Park Saerom did surprisingly well in the leadership role.
At first, there were some who were resistant, but that didn't last long.
It was all thanks to the endless supplies I was providing behind the scenes.
How many people could hold a grudge against someone who made it possible to stop worrying about food every day and instead think about what to eat that day?
While Park Saerom was managing the leadership of Supply Team 3, I and the others were busy understanding the true situation of this place.
The busiest one was Seo Yejin.
She had trained mice, which had spread throughout Ulsan, acting as scouts.
By linking Seo Yejin's sensory sharing with the Eye of the Absolute, we were able to gather almost perfect information about the situation on the northern side of the Taehwa River, where the survivor groups were located.
'This is ridiculous.'
The situation was far worse than I had imagined.
'The higher-ups of the organizations are all full of vampires.'
The Sports Complex Group, Central Dong Group, and the Industrial District Group.
Vampires were at the center of all three major survivor groups.
In fact, the highest positions in all three groups were occupied by high-level vampires.
The only "clean" zones without vampires were small survivor groups that had formed around apartment complexes or small villages.
'This is absurd.'
The entire Ulsan was playing into the hands of the vampires.
The survivor groups and vampires weren't fighting a war, trying to balance their power.
They were completely controlled by the vampires, dancing like puppets.
'This is like…'
A massive livestock farm.
Ulsan was currently like a huge human farm run by vampires.
'I thought this was a safe position.'
It was no different than setting up a forward base in the middle of enemy territory.
"What should we do?"
The original plan had been to unite the survivor groups into one.
With the abundant supplies I had, it would have been an easy task.
Before they caught on, I had planned to issue citizenship to everyone, turning them into my people, and then arm them with guns to create a combat force to fight the vampires.
"That's it. We're screwed."
From the start, things went downhill.
The main positions in the survivor group were all taken by vampires, so no matter what I did, information would inevitably get to him.
'What now…?'
At this point, the cards I could play were extremely limited.
Among them, the most provocative and effective method was the one and only.
'I'll have to cause a ruckus.'
Jung Hyun-seok, an intermediate-level vampire, climbed the apartment stairs with a wide grin on his face.
After climbing to a fairly high floor, he checked the entire emergency exit staircase to see if any humans were following him.
'No one's here.'
Satisfied, he opened the emergency exit door and stepped inside.
He soon reached the front of apartment 1004 and knocked rhythmically on the door, almost like tapping out Morse code.
Thuk- thud- thuk-thuk
A moment later.
Click.
"You're here."
"Yeah."
The door opened cautiously.
"Ready?"
"Perfectly ready."
With an expectant look on his face, Jung Hyun-seok said.
"Let's go."
Focused on the upcoming task, they didn't notice that the front door had briefly opened just before it closed.
As they passed through a kitchen covered in dust, like it had been abandoned for ages, they arrived at the master bedroom, where another man bowed toward Jung Hyun-seok.
The master bedroom, unlike the living room, was spotless, with not a speck of dust in sight.
"We've been waiting."
Inside the house, aside from Jung Hyun-seok and the other two male vampires, there was one more person.
Perhaps she had just finished her laundry, as a woman, unconscious and drugged, lay naked on a pristine bed.
Jung Hyun-seok licked his lips as he gazed at her naked body.
Licking his upper lip, he approached the bed, made a small cut on the woman's arm, and licked it. He immediately grimaced.
He turned toward the other lower-level vampires waiting nearby and asked.
"How much of the drug did you inject?"
"We administered 3 doses."
Jung Hyun-seok glared at him.
"I told you to inject only two doses if they're small."
The man standing next to him quickly explained.
"We were told to administer two doses only if the person is under 160 cm…"
"You fool. This woman is too thin. You should've adjusted the amount yourself."
"…Sorry."
Since becoming a vampire, he found it more intoxicating to drink blood that had been infused with the drug directly into the veins, rather than injecting the drug. However, when the drug became too concentrated, the taste of the blood itself weakened, which was what bothered him.
After licking his lips again, Jung Hyun-seok relaxed and said.
"Well, it's not too bad."
His face was filled with anticipation.
Just as he was about to bring his mouth to the woman's neck,
Bang—
Suddenly, a loud gunshot rang out, and the vampire standing by collapsed.
"Huh?"
Before he could fully understand the situation,
Bang—
A second gunshot rang out, and another lower-level vampire fell.
Only then did Jung Hyun-seok realize the seriousness of the situation. He quickly rose from the bed and started scanning his surroundings.
"Wh-what's going on?"
But then,
Bang—!
A gunshot from behind him shattered his heart.
After all three vampires had fallen,
Shhh…
Moon Byeong-ho appeared from thin air and used a blanket to wrap up the woman, lifting her up.
As he looked out the balcony window with the woman in his arms,
Swoosh—
At the same time, Moon Byeong-ho and the woman vanished, and the bodies of the vampires left in the room slowly faded away as well.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]