Chapter. 10 Lead and Silver Coins (4)
****
Originally, today I was going to leave after just saying to the person named Geumpil, ‘I’m out of the house now, so there’s no need to worry, and I’ll do my best in the future.’ I coldly rejected Mr. Park Geum-pil’s gesture to go and have a meal
,
and went out, putting the hunting knife I had made because I thought I might need it in my pocket
. “Don’t push!”
“It came out.”
“You were really inside, right?
Instead of cars parked right in front of the door, I saw people standing close to the door.
“It’s him.”
“It was real. “Your left arm really looks like a monster!”
“Professor Park… come out of the instructor’s house?”
“Hey Geumpil! “Could it be that they created a separate hotline with Professor Park without our knowledge?”
I don’t know when they gathered, but there were about fifteen or six people gathered in front of Geumpil’s house. Judging by the fact that the wrinkles between the rags he was wearing were filled with sand dust, it seemed that he had been working outside since morning.
I came down from the shelter and stayed at the house here at the intersection for about 20 minutes at most. In that short period of time, people from all over the area gathered to work. It is taboo to shout loudly or communicate with loud signals due to the risk of attracting aggro from the mutants, and of course, there are no large groups such as Doms or Raptors or radios to use, so they gathered like this only through word of mouth. Could it be…
“…Mr. Geumpil?”
“Oh no! I really didn’t sing it! Oh my, these people! Why do people who make a living from day to day come here without working? Jade, I heard you are busy with outsourcing from the community!”
“river. I’ve known you for a long time, and I thought we became like family in this harsh world… but since when have we been in contact? When you settled here? Or when we were released and you jumped out of the connector in a huff and told us to go here?”
“You should have at least given me a little hint! “If you knew how anxious we had been for the whole month with only the little lady coming down!”
Judging from their reactions, it seemed like they were not the people Geumpil had invited. I think the person who saw me as the car was coming down spread the word, or the person next to me ran away and followed me, wondering what was going on.
“So even if it’s not like that!”
“Why not! I just heard it clearly! He tells me to go after eating and to talk about work properly next time! Do you know that some people live off the land because they don’t want to work? Don’t do that, if you get the chance, please-”
“I’ll share it with you.”
The bald man, who had been pushing forward with a frown, looked as if he had been on fire and took a step back when I took a step forward.
People in the wasteland really need to know about medicine. He pretended to be surprised, pretended to be excited, and looked at me carefully, and instead of me, who didn’t know how to treat me, he lashed out at the familiar and easy-going Mr. Geumpil and conveyed everything he wanted to say.
‘Give me a job…it won’t hurt.’
It was fun to see the bald man who was scolding Geumpil keep glancing at me, so I wanted to see how far he was going, but he was really going to grab me by the collar if I pretended not to notice, so I cut him off at just the right time and stepped forward.
speech. I never thought I would have to announce something in front of people in my life.
[Are you nervous? In the game, you can scream and do well on the battlefield, right?]
‘It feels different. Between games and reality.]
[Is there a difference between the two for us? Just play it like a game.]
‘Like a game. Like the hero Professor Park.’
Whoa!
I took a deep breath, looking at the expectant looks in people’s eyes. Okay, let’s think of it like a game. What should I do? You need to set goals, plan the process, and control variables.
The goal is not simply to convey information, but to say, ‘I can trust and follow someone like this to a certain extent.’ To gain a certain level of favor and to be alert so that you don’t have any other feelings. What you need to do that is….
‘Charisma.’
As the task to be done became clear and the pounding of his heart slowly subsided, the professor walked among the people.
My left hand, which had turned into a mutant, was uncomfortable in normal times, but it was very convenient in times like this. The appearance, which was visually different even at a glance, was enough to make a strong impression on those who saw it for the first time, whether positive or negative.
‘First of all, eye level.’
When talking to someone, making eye contact or looking up makes a huge difference in distance. If you stand in a high position, both people who are short and those who are pushed to the back in the crowd can look at the speaker. When giving a speech in front of many people, from a presidential speech to a mayor’s medicine seller, it is not for nothing that you make a small podium.
The professor walked through the crowd of people and approached the parked buggy.
“Tskcha.”
I grabbed the frame, lifted myself up lightly, and sat down on the roof.
I decided to manage these people, but I had no intention of raising them and turning them into a huge force like Raptor or Dom or wielding omnipotent power.
I don’t like the justice that seeks to rebuild the civilized world of the past, like the Dom, or the hegemony that wants to rule everything with great power, like the Raptor. There were too many devastations left in the wasteland by my own hands for me to just live a good life, and there were too many things that bothered me to live a completely harsh life.
“Life in the wasteland is so ironic that we ended up meeting together like this.”
A speech given without loudspeakers, group ideology or symbols, just sitting on the roof of a car in a half-ruined street.
It was just this good. For gray people like me.
“nice to meet you. “I am Professor Park, the leader of BDSM.”
I playfully waved my large left hand at people who were looking up at me blankly.
It was the moment when Big Dream Small Margin BDSM officially declared its activities in front of the public.
****
“….That’s why it happened.”
“Hot hot hot hot hot!”
“Is it funny? Are you on the verge of hypothermia and dehydration because of the cold sweat? “I’m drenched in sweat without even a change of clothes…”
“I can’t believe someone like you talks like a petty citizen like that.”
“If a person who risked his life on a can of oil just a few months ago was not a petty citizen, then what then?”
After briefly talking to the people in the village, telling them not to worry and not to do anything foolish as I will take care of it from now on. The professor and his party, who arrived at the dome as scheduled, had to be inspected at the entrance like other people entering the dome.
‘yes?’
‘I… can you please sign…’
What was different from ordinary people was that the check did not ask about identity or purpose of visit, and that it did not end at the entrance but continued all the way to the Inspection Department building where the president is located.
The professor realized that he was much weaker than he thought to that person who was attacking him. When I tried to ask for help, Bex, who was also suffering from autograph requests, had long since disappeared, taking Cynthia with her. The two of us had been training together for almost a month, so while we were distracted for a moment, he threw me as bait and ran away.
The professor was already exhausted when he arrived at the inspection department building, fighting through people who wanted to hold hands like that, people who desperately wanted him to interpret the mechanism of the mutant virus, and even strange women who threw off their tops and rushed at him. The professor was already exhausted and entered the office of the inspector general who welcomed him warmly. I sat down, took a deep breath, and talked about what happened on the way back.
“Hot hot hot! Hmm hmm! Oh, I’m sorry. It must have been a memorable moment in my life. “I didn’t laugh at you, so don’t be angry.”
“Laugh as much as you want. “The ruler of the Area 47 dome says he will laugh, but wouldn’t it be disrespectful for me not to laugh along with him?”
“Huh huh huh huh huh! Ah, I don’t know how long it’s been since I laughed like this. “Do you hate crowds so much when you broadcast in front of so many people?”
“I spoke in front of 16 people in my village, trembling inside. But a parade? “Wasn’t that a joke back then?”
“Once you become the Inspector General, you can’t say lies, even as a joke. Anyway, it’s a village… They call their faction a very affectionate name. “I thought I had a good sense of humor, but you are something new every time I see you.”
“You’ve changed a bit since the last time I saw you, huh? “I didn’t originally talk like this.”
Inspector General Alexander Young looked quite different from the last time the professor saw him. His bushy beard, like that of a field commander, changed into a sharp mustache like that of a 90s officer in a movie, his neat and practical clothes became neat suits that looked like they would cut him if he touched them, and his way of speaking, which treated everyone with respect, became a confident class. It had changed to a lower level.
There is only one thing that hasn’t changed. Even though he was laughing and talking like this, all he could see were wolf-like eyes that flashed blue. The president, who looked like a cross between a wolf and a raccoon, seems to have learned how to completely hide his claws.
“Isn’t it true that politicians have to show what people want to some extent? Since the citizens of the Dome wanted a strong leader, they abandoned all formal honorifics. “You, too, will have to learn about these things.”
“There are about 20 people, including our children. Who are the politicians?”
As I waved my hand as if nothing had happened, the president sighed and tapped on the window behind him.
“Can you see out there?”
“Is it just visible? “I came here fighting with almost half of the people there.”
“That is your current address. The hero of the dome. Professor Park, the savior. If I hadn’t made it known that I admired you as the hero of the Dom and had a deep relationship with you, about 10% of them would have been sitting around your house right now. Since his name is ‘Hero of the Dome,’ he only lives outside the Dome, and in fact, he is considered to belong to us, so he is just quietly sticking his butt out like that.”
Feeling a chill go down my spine at the president’s words, I turned my head out the window once again. People waving flags with symbols they have never seen before. Even at a glance, it looked like I had created a character using my own hands. There are hundreds of flags with charcoal drawings on slightly yellowish pieces of cloth. When I frowned slightly, the president nodded, stroking his sharp beard.
“okay. “There was some encouragement on our part.”
“why?”
“In these chaotic times, there is no image that is more popular and sold than a hero. Look at them. Doesn’t this look like a throwback to the old days, rather than the worried people of the wasteland? There is nothing to hesitate about, since you are actually a hero without any exaggeration. Currently, various BDSM-related creative works are selling like hot cakes at Dome. In the community, the private code for a novel based on this war called [Britting Dawn] is being sold at a high price of 300 shillings, and people who are good at drawing make flags or woodcuts like that and sell them. “There are also things like this.” What the president took out from the
drawer
was a wooden statue. A world-famous object with the name [Professor Roaring Fiercely] engraved on the circular pedestal.
“Give it a moment.”
“I’m sorry, but I bought it with my own money. I made it as part of the inspection department’s project, and it made more money than I expected. “People are thirsty for entertainment.”
“Holy shit! “Are copyrights acceptable while aiming for a democratic and rule-of-law country?”
“Strictly speaking, this character is just someone with the same name as you and a bit similar. Ah, if BDSM becomes an official part of the Dom, it would be possible to share a portion of the profits through a copyright lawsuit. “Are you interested?”
“Hit it! “Why do you need money so much that you cling to it by selling children’s toys?”
“To build a city. “Of course you need a lot of money.”
Sigh –
the posture changed. From a posture of leisurely leaning on a chair to a posture of bending towards the desk with one’s arms crossed.
The atmosphere, which had been laughing and having fun with light jokes, quickly subsided into a serious atmosphere.
[He just talks nonsense and then suddenly gets to the point. No matter how you look at that person, he has an aspect of GG’s nobility.]
‘It means that everything from the beginning to this point was a build-up.’
Even though he went through the war and won, the Dome also suffered significant losses, and he became the leader of the Dome by overturning the existing political system.
There’s no way there’s time to laugh and tell jokes when even three bodies aren’t enough.
They intentionally lightened the mood a bit to give me time to recover, as I was exhausted from wading through the crowds. Once you loosen it and tighten it, it feels tighter.
It also meant that the story to come was important enough to be prepared in that way.
“If it’s a city… the one in District 45?”
“That’s right. An incredibly well-preserved old-time underground bunker. Although the raptors set most of the fire, the most important management room was mostly unharmed except for physical shock. Now that the Raptors’ power has been greatly defeated, we have decided to take a step forward. “If we face each other, the Raptor will probably be more concerned than us.”
“We’re touching cheeks. So is it clear that the Raptors have fully established themselves in Area 43?”
“It stopped between districts 43 and 42. Due to their nature, it is impossible to say that they have completely settled down, but since they cannot move their nest, which is made up of hundreds of tanks and vehicles, it would be better to assume that they will spend the winter there. It is probably certain, seeing that among the residents who recently entered the dome, there are especially many people from districts 42 and 43. Even if there is a hiding place, if the raptors are rummaging around like crazy, it is bound to get discovered eventually.
Area 43. I had a memory that felt like it was burning inside me and was pushing like an awl.
‘Fuck. Old man Woojin.’
Woojin Urology Clinic is located in the very center of District 43. There’s no way they could have passed by a hospital piled high with medical supplies. It means that they have already fully established themselves in Area 43…
‘….Nothing will happen. He was called a legend in his own right, right? I’m a person who can easily remove a piece of my body with just a scalpel. Nothing will happen.’
A long time ago, when I first entered Area 43. There was a time when I was caught secretly trying to tear down a turret outside the hospital and was beaten to death by Woojin. You will be safe. At least I’m not the kind of person who can’t send a rescue signal and gets killed. The professor tried to shake off his worries, thinking that no news was good news. Because now is the time to focus on what is in front of you.
“It’s the construction of a new dome… do you have everything you need?”
“That’s why I’ve been so persistent in collecting shillings lately. In reality, there are limits to self-sufficiency within our dome, and there are many things that cannot yet be redesigned with our technology. However, since we are buying as many special alloys and other small machine parts as they come on the market, I think we will be able to meet our target soon, but there is a problem.”
From his tone of voice, I could instinctively sense that he had prepared this place to talk about this issue.
“What if it’s a problem?”
“A large city-level shield. It’s an essential item if you want to build a city around a bunker rather than just stay in it. The Area 38 Dome was supposed to provide us with spare core parts, but we lost contact a week ago. “All of a sudden, there was no word on the radio that there was an attack or that there were signs of an attack.”
Sigh –
the president said that and pushed the straight piece of paper that was on the desk towards me.
“That’s why I called you to formally request ‘Caravan BDSM’. If the advance payment of 20 million is successful, an additional 4000 will be given. “It will allow me to exercise manager-level authority over the Dome’s facilities scattered throughout the area.”
“It’s a manager-level authority… Does it also apply to exosuits?”
“If it’s about one unit.”
“What are the sizes of the key parts?”
“I don’t know the details, but I heard it’s not that big. “I heard it weighs about 40kg including the cushioning case to hold the parts.”
“It’s about the size of a box…”
Seeing the president’s attitude of allowing not only the Dome’s core power, the exosuit, but also the exosuit, the professor looked at the contract carefully once again. Total compensation: 60 million. This alone is an excessive amount for moving about a single box, but it is said that it allows the dome to freely use the ‘stations’ planted here and there to manage its territory. If you’re a manager, you’re one level higher than the manager, so even if we say, ‘Bring out everything that has oil here,’ they have no choice but to follow suit.
‘The dog is suspicious!’
If the compensation is excessive, it means that there are too many options. For example…
“When money is so tight, is there any reason to spend 60 million dollars and use external personnel? “Our combat power is no better than one platoon, including exosuits.”
A life allowance was added?
“BDSM is a platoon of exosuits… Underestimating it is close to self-harm.”
After remaining silent for a moment, the president took out a bottle of brightly colored whiskey and two glasses from a cupboard hidden behind a curtain, and drank his share in one go.
“…At first, they thought it was a problem with the communication environment and sent the transportation team as planned. It went well, but after the last regular contact from Area 39, the contact was cut off again without any sign. Convinced that something was wrong, we dispatched an additional elite force team, including veteran agents from the Inspection Department and an exosuit, but they also lost contact. “It was as if it had disappeared into the fog.”
Grumble –
The president cast his eyes at the pile of letters piled up on one side of the desk and wordlessly filled his glass with strong drink. Letters engraved with the mark of a dome that resembles a hemispherical shield covering a forest of buildings. This may be a notice for a war-injured person who has not yet been delivered because he or she has been treated as a missing person.
And in the wasteland, missing people are mostly synonymous with dead people.
“If it’s just combat power like you said, there might not be much difference from the exosuit squad that disappeared without a sound. But when it comes to operational skills, I don’t think there’s anyone in this wasteland who can match you. The official reward is 60 million, but if you retrieve a missing ally, especially an exosuit… I’ll give you an additional 100 million.”
“So, what you were saying was to get out of the 40th zone, where the warm sandy wind blows, and go to the 30th zone, where the radioactive storm is blowing, and get the goods through the unidentified enemy who is quietly kidnapping people. “Why do you make it so complicated when it can just be written like this in the contract?”
“It’s something that shouldn’t be leaked to the outside world. “There’s no way you wouldn’t notice.”
“Hmm…”
The pay is great, but it comes with unknown risks.
The professor stood up, putting the contract in his arms.
“Let me discuss it with my colleagues and talk again.”
“…I can’t help it. “I ask you to do so as quickly as possible. At least within the time that the disappeared people will be classified as ‘missing persons’.”
Tick.
Instead of answering, the professor slightly bowed his head and came out of the president’s office.
First, I found Bex and heard that Ian was also staying at the dome on business, so I thought I should bring them together and talk about it.
****
