Chapter 9 …
Even after gaining a new companion, our conquest of the garbage mountain wasn’t over.
Trash filled our vision so densely that there was no end in sight.
“Seriously, they dumped an insane amount here.”
“What can you do? I heard even Japan and China secretly dump their garbage here and run.”
“They come all the way to the Korean Peninsula just to throw away trash?”
“Yeah. They say they scatter it from the air with drones.”
“Those damned bastards….”
It was all because the country had no power.
On this tiny patch of land, S-class monsters just kept appearing nonstop.
“Ugh….”
Blaming Grandfather Dangun once more, I kept moving.
“At least there aren’t any monsters. It’s comfortable.”
“Yeah. If it’s this safe, people could actually live here.”
“People really do live here, you know?”
“…What?”
“For real?”
Seo Iram nodded calmly.
“If you go a little left at the sign with the arrow stuck in it, you’ll find it.”
“Like ten or fifteen people living together?”
“No? Uh… I think more than a hundred… I can’t count past that….”
“W-what?! A hundred!?”
Leaving Seo Iram behind as she folded and unfolded her fingers counting to ten, Kim Yeoul and I instinctively turned left.
Our supplies were running low anyway. We needed rest too.
Sure enough, about five minutes past the U-turn sign, a village revealed itself. The trash had been pushed aside to create a large open clearing, and even at a glance, there were quite a lot of people.
There was even a sign at the main gate: Trash Village.
“There really is a village….”
“Yeah….”
As we approached the entrance, guards blocked our path.
“What brings you here?”
Unlike the previous monster tamer’s guards, these were quite polite.
I pointed to my bag.
“We’re heading toward Seoul. We stopped by for supplies.”
“Your names?”
“Cha Hyunsoo. Behind me are Kim Yeoul and Seo Iram.”
The guard examined us carefully, then opened the gate.
“The grocery store is straight ahead. When you see the black horse statue, it’s immediately to the left.”
“Thank you!”
He bowed slightly and returned to his post with stern composure.
‘He’s pretty competent.’
Putting that thought aside, I looked around the village.
Naturally, there was no powerhouse on Kim Yeoul’s level in sight. Just in case, she had suppressed her aura again and was cosplaying as a low-rank hunter.
“It’s cleaner than I expected.”
“Yeah. For a place called Trash Village, it’s pretty clean.”
Of course, that was probably because the outside was so filthy that the inside looked clean by comparison.
“Still, people seem to be living fairly well. No one looks starving, and I don’t see any homeless.”
“It shouldn’t be easy to live here geographically… I wonder if they have some convenient way to make a living?”
We headed deeper into the village as instructed.
Before long, the blotchy horse statue appeared.
“He said left from here. That must be the grocery store.”
Inside, a plump, warm-faced owner greeted us.
“Haven’t seen you before. Outsiders?”
“Yes, first time here.”
“Is that so? I’ll give you a fair price. Take your time.”
Since South Korea had collapsed, old currency no longer circulated.
Most transactions were done with precious metals, silver, or barter.
And I still had some silver on me.
When leaving Seoul, I had looted an abandoned jewelry shop.
I picked up some semi-dried foods, medicine, and bandages.
Even with super-regeneration, it was better to be thoroughly prepared.
After finishing the transaction with a few pieces of silver, I casually slipped an extra silver ring to the shop owner.
“The village seems pretty active for such a remote place.”
The owner quietly accepted the ring and replied with the same gentle smile.
“That’s all thanks to the Boss.”
“The Boss?”
“Yeah. The one who rules Trash Village. Name’s Leon, I think. Probably a foreigner.”
Leon….
I’d never heard a name like that in the Korean Peninsula.
“What does the Boss do?”
“Well, the fact that supplies even reach a place like this is thanks to him.”
“Oh? Supplies come all the way here?”
“Of course. Not people—drones deliver them.”
Drones delivering to somewhere this remote?
Just what kind of person was this Boss?
“Wow… that’s impressive.”
“Sure is. We just pay a bit of tax, so it’s quite livable.”
“I see… The taxes are paid in gold or silver?”
“Hm? Ah… well, things like that too.”
“Pardon?”
An awkward silence passed.
The shop owner glanced at me and my companions, then waved it off lightly.
“Oh dear… I should rest now. It was nice chatting for once!”
With that, he practically ushered us out.
“Hm… what was that?”
“Why? Something wrong?”
“I mentioned taxes, and he dodged the question.”
“Tax evasion?”
“Not sure….”
It didn’t feel like something so simple.
“Well, we got what we needed. Let’s find a place to stay.”
“I want to rest on a soft bed!”
“Me too! Me too!”
“You need a shower first.”
Fortunately, perhaps because many outsiders came through, lodging wasn’t hard to find.
We picked a decent-looking one and entered.
“Any rooms available?”
“Only one left. Will that be alright?”
He was looking at Kim Yeoul and Seo Iram behind me—but they were summoner and summon, essentially.
“No problem. One room is fine.”
“Alright. Second floor, second room.”
“Thank you.”
We took the key upstairs.
There were two beds—likely the innkeeper’s consideration.
The room had just a bedroom and a bathroom, but not sleeping on the streets was already a blessing.
After washing up and seeing a real bed for the first time in ages, I passed out almost instantly.
When I opened my eyes again, the sun had already set.
Blue moonlight illuminated the ruined earth.
“Wow… I slept really well.”
As I stretched, Kim Yeoul and Seo Iram stirred awake.
“Mmm… you’re up already?”
“Bed… so soft… best….”
Kim Yeoul came over and looked out the window with me.
“It’s a full moon.”
“Yeah. It’s been a while since I’ve looked at it like this.”
“We saw plenty when we were sleeping outside.”
“That’s different from looking at it while relaxed—…huh?”
Her words trailed off.
“What?”
“Isn’t that Jun-tak from the bakery in Daejeon?”
“What? A survivor?”
I followed her gaze—and sure enough, it was the bakery owner we used to visit in Daejeon.
He was running in a panic, as if something urgent had happened.
He used to secretly give us extra bread whenever we came, hiding it from his wife. I remembered him clearly.
“…Should we check it out?”
“Yeah. If something’s wrong, we can help now.”
“Gotta repay kindness. Let’s go.”
“I’m coming too!”
“Of course. Shoes on!”
We jumped straight out the window.
No one was hurt. It was only the second floor.
Despite our noisy landing, Jun-tak didn’t notice and kept running.
“Let’s follow him.”
“Are we tailing him?”
“Basically.”
We suppressed our presence and followed quietly.
For someone running like that, he should’ve been out of breath—but he maintained his speed effortlessly.
Considering his ladle-shaped body, it was surprising.
“Was Jun-tak always that fast?”
“Maybe he got good at running while escaping Daejeon?”
“Could be.”
After about five minutes, he stopped.
He looked around cautiously, then slipped into an alley.
“Drug deal?”
“Looks suspicious enough… but with no law left, why hide?”
“Maybe he’s secretly eating something delicious without us!”
“He doesn’t even know we’re here.”
“Ah!”
We stopped chatting and watched.
“Quick! Hurry! I paid you!”
“Whoa there, impatient, aren’t you? Who said I wouldn’t give it?”
It looked like Jun-tak was making a transaction.
The other man wore a black coat and red sunglasses at night.
‘Strange outfit….’
After checking the payment, the man opened a cooler.
He took out a red blood pack.
“Confirmed. Here.”
“Hu… hehehehe….”
Jun-tak grabbed it and tore into it greedily.
‘That looks like real blood….’
The blood drained quickly from the labeled blood pack.
Only after emptying it did he exhale deeply.
“Heh… I’ll count on you next time.”
The man disappeared.
In the dark alley, Jun-tak remained kneeling with a hollow expression.
‘A vampire… or something?’
At least right now, he didn’t look human.
“What do we do? Just watch?”
Kim Yeoul whispered.
For some reason, I felt the unease I’d sensed in this village was connected to Jun-tak.
I stepped into the alley.
Walking straight in, I approached him.
“…Wow. You’ve gotten pretty tough since I last saw you.”
His mouth was smeared with blood, his breathing ragged.
More shocking—his eyes were glowing red.
“Hh….”
“What?”
“More… give me more….”
“…Ah.”
“More! Give me more—!”
He had been sitting only to gather momentum.
With red light blazing in his eyes, he lunged at me.
Kim Yeoul, of course, didn’t stand idle.
“Don’t kill him!”
“Got it!”
She deflected his rough grab with two fingers and moved like a snake.
In an instant, she was behind him, locking in a chokehold.
He struggled, but an S-class hunter’s strength easily overpowered him.
“Ghk… kgh….”
Jun-tak foamed at the mouth, his eyes rolling back.
Once she confirmed he was unconscious, she released him and clicked her tongue.
“Jun-tak… I don’t think he’s human anymore.”
“Why?”
“I raised the pressure slowly since I wasn’t supposed to kill him. If a normal person took that much force, their neck would’ve snapped.”
“…You used that much strength?”
“Yeah.”
If Kim Yeoul said so, it was certain.
He wasn’t a bad man. There had to be a reason.
“Let’s take him back to the inn.”
“You sure?”
“He seemed capable of conversation earlier. We’ll ask him.”
And so, we kidnapped a 43-year-old former master baker of South Korea.
