Chapter 8 …
The roadside of the vast Seodaejeon Park.
Not far from a large supermarket, this open area had naturally transformed into a marketplace, with hunters coming and going.
“Come on~ cheap, cheap! A bag of Choco Pies for just 1 coin!”
“Closing sale! Clearing out the warehouse! The boss has gone mad! Have a drink while you’re at it—one bottle of cola for only 2 coins!”
Most of the vendors exploited loopholes in the system to gouge customers, but since there were a few who sold at fair prices, hunters frequented the place often.
“Ha… looks like it’s just scalpers again today.”
“Back then, a whole box of Choco Pies was only 1 coin…”
Hunters sighed as they felt the cost of living rising steadily.
Just then—
“Come, check out the new goods!”
Jang Sun-nam, wearing a crow mask, set up shop in the middle of the park.
“One box of Choco Pies, 1 coin. One box of cola, 1 coin. All groceries, 1 coin per box!”
“““What!!!”””
It was a conscience-driven price, leagues apart from the scalpers. People’s eyes widened, and they rushed toward him.
“I-I’ll buy it!”
“I’ll take a box of this bread… no, make that two boxes!”
In the blink of an eye, dozens lined up.
Naturally, the nearby scalpers, who had been profiteering, were openly displeased.
“The hell is that?”
“Prices are already set—hasn’t he got any sense…?”
One particularly large man, scowling, pulled out a club and approached Sun-nam.
“Hey, crow-face. Looks like you don’t know the rules here. If you’re new, you should greet your seniors first. Follow me.”
The scalper shoved the club threateningly toward him—a clear warning that if he didn’t comply, things would turn ugly.
Seeing this, the customers backed away nervously, realizing these vendors formed a force backed by muscle. They’d clearly used such violence all along to build the current environment.
“Rules, huh…”
Sun-nam looked at the scalper brandishing the club at him.
Though he wore a smile, his eyes were cold as ice—because he remembered the first round.
Back then, his party, still inexperienced, suffered repeated hunting failures and soon ran out of coins.
The supermarket in the newly reached area had been empty, and the only way to get food was from scalpers.
Unable to afford their outrageous prices, his party had been forced to starve.
They hadn’t eaten a single meal for a whole week until they finally stumbled upon a market that still had leftover food.
That bitter experience left Sun-nam unable to look favorably upon scalpers. Even now, countless people were starving because of them.
Sure, one could say everyone was free to set their own prices—but that same logic applied to Sun-nam as well.
“Rules are set by those with power.”
He rose to his feet and flicked his finger.
“Let’s see if your so-called rules have enough power to bind me.”
“Ha! This punk’s begging for a beating!”
The big man sneered and raised his club high, about to strike mercilessly—
Whoosh!
Smack! Smack!
—but Sun-nam’s fists darted out faster, striking the man’s vital points and knocking him unconscious.
“Not nearly strong enough to enforce rules.”
Among ordinary people, they might’ve seemed tough, but at best, they were just thugs.
Seeing Sun-nam dispatch him so easily, the other vendors panicked and huddled together, whispering hurriedly.
‘Trying to pull tricks again, huh.’
Sun-nam smirked as he watched them.
“Ahem.”
Several of the scalpers who’d been pretending not to notice earlier now approached cautiously.
“Excuse me, could we talk for a bit…?”
“……”
“Would you be willing to sell to us too? We’d like to buy in bulk.”
A bearded man spoke politely, but his hidden intent was clear: if they couldn’t stop Sun-nam with force, they’d turn him into a supplier. Buying wholesale from him would make distribution easier and profits would remain high. Plus, it would let them gauge his intentions. Nothing to lose.
‘…That’s what you think.’
Sun-nam had been waiting for this.
“How much do you want?”
“If possible, everything you’re selling…”
“Very well. But I have conditions.”
“Yes, yes! Anything at all—what conditions?”
“First, the price may be adjusted.”
“That’s fine, as long as it’s negotiable…”
“Second, I sell everything, and you buy everything.”
“…? Yes, sure, that’s fine.”
His tone carried unease, but he agreed anyway.
That was the answer Sun-nam had been waiting for.
“Good. Then let’s trade. But I’d like to set the price at 10 coins.”
“10 coins? Ah, alright, that’s fine.”
Ten times the original price wasn’t a loss to him—it was a box filled with dozens or hundreds of items. Split and sold at 1 coin apiece, it would still yield a profit.
The bearded scalper was thinking exactly that when—
“You’re mistaken. I meant 10 coins per item.”
“…What!?”
Sun-nam’s tone had shifted to casual speech, but the content was all that mattered.
“Don’t be ridiculous! Who’d buy at that price!?”
“You would. We had a deal—you buy, I sell.”
“This is nonsense! I’m leaving—”
Whoosh!
With a clean sound, the man’s head separated from his body and rolled on the ground.
Moments later, his corpse vanished—and he reappeared nearby, pale and trembling.
“Lucky you. You still had a life left.”
“Gasp… gasp…!”
“Judging by your face, this was your first resurrection. If you don’t want to experience a second, you’d better behave.”
“W-wait, why are you doing this? I only wanted to trade…!”
“Yes. A trade goes both ways. If you make a promise, you keep it, right?”
“……!”
The scalper’s face turned even paler.
That was exactly the line they always used when forcing others to buy at inflated prices.
Sun-nam remembered vividly—how they’d said those words in the first round while his party was being extorted and starved.
“You’ll buy only what you can afford. If you have leftover coins, I’ll take them in exchange for your life. And bring over those other bastards watching from the sidelines.”
In other words, hand over everything.
And having just tasted death, the scalper knew he had no choice.
[Hidden Achievement Unlocked – “Profiteer Slayer”]
After dealing with the scalpers, Sun-nam gained nearly 48,000 coins in profit.
That enormous amount proved they’d been price-gouging for about a hundred days straight.
‘Let’s see…’
He checked the system menu.
There it was—the title he’d been aiming for.
[Title]
- <Tycoon>
┗Effect 1: 10% discount when purchasing sealed items.
┗Effect 2: 10% discount when purchasing from hunters.
It was a difficult title to earn, requiring over 4,000 trades and more than 40,000 coins’ worth of transactions in a single day. Yet Sun-nam had cleared both conditions at once.
With his earlier “Savior of Strangers” title from defeating the tutorial boss, he now enjoyed 10% discounts across NPCs, sealed goods, and hunters alike.
‘Still… I’ve got more food left than I thought.’
He looked into his inventory.
Because the scalpers’ funds had run dry first, he hadn’t been able to sell everything. Bulk-bought goods, resold individually, left his stockpile barely dented.
‘The more food, the better—but I’ll have to worry about expiration dates.’
He pulled out a canned drink bought from the refrigerated section and took a sip.
Cold carbonation slid down his throat, refreshing.
In the first round, he’d only dreamed of tasting soda, chocolate, or coffee again.
But as he savored the chill—
‘…Wait, isn’t this too cold?’
He stared at the can.
Refrigerated items should have warmed after more than an hour, yet this felt freshly taken out of a fridge.
‘Could it be…?’
A thought struck him.
‘When my inventory became infinite, did it also gain a preservation function?’
Normally, one had to learn a separate preservation skill and apply it to each item, but now, merely storing them seemed enough.
That would be useful later, since production had halted until factories were restored, causing a “famine season” in between. But more importantly—
‘This feature is crucial to preventing the first bad ending.’
Because certain items lost half their effect if stored above a certain temperature.
Namely—the zombie virus vaccine.
Up until now, the only way was to stuff ice boxes full of ice, but that inconvenience was gone.
Just as he clenched his fist in satisfaction—
Thunk!
He nearly tripped over something at his feet.
Looking down, he saw shriveled figures huddled together.
‘What the—mummies?’
“W-would you… like to use… our shop…?”
‘Not corpses, huh?’
On closer inspection, they wore familiar armor and two identically dressed maids stood among them.
Above their heads floated the tag <NPC>.
“Please… mercy…”
The twin maids were so starved they couldn’t even shed tears.
It was a common sight. Unlike hunters, NPCs didn’t earn coins by slaying monsters, so their only chance of survival was trading with hunters.
‘If only they’d moved in smaller numbers…’
Ten armored men and two maids—twelve in total.
In groups that big, profits naturally dwindled. There were only so many hunters to buy from.
‘For safety’s sake, they stuck together—but it was a mistake.’
NPCs were protected by the system only during the tutorial.
In a world where hunters killed other hunters for coins, why would NPCs be spared?
True, their shop menus were system-owned and couldn’t be stolen, but their personal belongings could.
‘They’ll regret it later.’
Right now, beginner-area NPCs were weak—but higher zones would summon far stronger NPCs, warriors who’d fought to the last in their doomed worlds.
Here’s the real problem: if hunters killed NPCs for easy coins, wouldn’t NPCs do the same, given the chance?
Of course they would—either for profit or revenge on hunters who had slain their kin before they were summoned.
Thus, the higher the zone, the more likely NPCs could also become enemies.
‘That’s why NPC favorability is important.’
The higher your favorability, the better your reputation, and the less likely NPCs would turn on you later.
“Hm.”
For that reason, raising multiple NPCs’ favorability was a long-term investment.
‘Might even lead to hidden quests I haven’t found yet.’
He pulled out porridge from his inventory and handed it to them.
This wasn’t altruism—he’d long since abandoned such notions. It was an investment for the future.
“Talk later. Eat first.”
“F-food!”
“Oh… heaven hasn’t forsaken us after all.”
They forced the porridge down with the last of their strength.
Too weak, it took them a long while to finish.
Eventually, after regaining a bit of strength, one of the twin maids bowed gratefully.
“Thank you, benefactor.”
“We wish to repay your kindness, even in some small way.”
She glanced at the armored NPCs, who all nodded as if granting permission.
‘Wait… could this be a hidden shop?’
He hadn’t seen these NPCs before, but the armor bore a familiar national insignia.
If so, his title would surely apply.
“I hope this helps you, even a little.”
The older twin maid revealed a shop screen before him.
At first, nothing special appeared—until she toggled a hidden list.
‘Skill Enhancement Stones!’
Exactly what Sun-nam needed—items that raised skill ranks.
