Absolute Dweller - Chapter 40: Assembly (4)

[Episode 09] Assembly (4)

From yesterday until today, Kim Dabin had been busy without a moment’s rest.

After receiving the position of team leader, she hired fourteen individuals she had been keeping an eye on.

Including Yoo Hye-rin, whom Kim Jae-hyun personally introduced, they began running the team of fifteen members.

Tasks such as managing and supervising the common facilities and cleaning were quickly taught, and with people delegated across the three public facilities, the workload became much more manageable.

Just when she thought she could catch her breath, yesterday a giant appeared, triggering an emergency, and since then, newcomers had been pouring in and bugging her.

“There are six of you, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“You can head to Room 503 in Building 113.”

 

Kim Dabin calculated inwardly as she watched them leave.

 

‘That makes 49 people in Room 503. Can I squeeze in a few more? It’s risky.’

The newcomers were all being accommodated in the communal spaces.

In fact, calling it communal space was misleading; it was more like a refugee shelter now.

Dozens of people slept in cramped narrow rooms, barely able to stretch their legs.

That’s when it happened.

“Dabin! We’ve finished cleaning the 6th floor!”

Choi Hyeong-jun came to her to report.

It was perfect timing. Room 503 was about to explode anyway.

“Good job. Now please organize the 4th, 6th, and 7th floors of Building 110.”

“Building 110. 4th, 6th, and 7th floors. Got it! Thank you!”

“Thank you too.”

Choi Hyeong-jun’s role was a sort of cleaning duty.

Furniture and unnecessary items were cleared away so that it could accommodate as many people as possible.

As someone who had great strength, he was able to tidy up efficiently even by himself.

♩♬―

[21st floor.]

[Door opens.]

As soon as Choi Hyeong-jun left, the elevator arrived and people streamed out.

Their behavior of constantly looking around indicated that they were newcomers who had come from outside the apartment complex.

“Excuse me. Is Kim Dabin here?”

As expected.

“It’s me. Are you new here?”

“Yes. Actually, we were supposed to come yesterday, but we’re late since we took a shower and had some food first.”

“Huh? What…”

How could newcomers be able to wash up and eat?

Then, Kim Dabin noticed the weapons they were carrying.

They were armed with orc spears and bows.

‘That means…’

Quick to catch on, Kim Dabin immediately asked the man who seemed to be the leader.

“Have you met Mr. Jae-hyun?”

“Yes, that’s right. Mr. Jae-hyun asked us to ask you if we have any questions…”

The fact that they met Mr. Jae-hyun before her meant that Mr. Jae-hyun valued them.

Grasping this, Kim Dabin put on a business-like smile and asked.

“What questions do you have?”

“We heard that we get paid for killing monsters. What does that mean?”

“Exactly as it sounds. When you kill monsters, you earn money, kind of like a currency. You can use it to buy food, equipment, and resources like electricity and gas. It’s best to experience it yourself, and since you have equipment already, why not go outside and try hunting monsters?”

Although the man nodded, he didn’t leave.

Kim Dabin, who wanted to rest for a moment after sending him off, asked, “Do you have any more questions?”

“I heard there’s a convenience store…”

“As the name suggests, it’s a store that sells items. But as for what’s special about it… should I say it’s state-of-the-art? When you order something, the item is instantly created in front of you. It’s kind of like a kiosk? It’s on the first floor, so I recommend going there to use the money you earn from killing monsters.”

“Hm, I see.”

It seemed like the man didn’t intend to leave anytime soon.

Looking at Kim Dabin, he suddenly extended his hand and introduced himself, “I’m Lee Joon-hyuk. Nice to meet you, Ms. Dabin.”

Having received too much attention from men throughout her life, Kim Dabin could immediately read Lee Joon-hyuk’s thoughts.

‘He just wants to hold my hand somehow. Anyway, his popularity…’

Pretending not to notice, she shook his hand and replied, “Nice to meet you, I’m Kim Dabin.”

“Haha. I feel like I had another question…”

As Lee Joon-hyuk continued to speak while holding Kim Dabin’s hand, a sharp voice came from behind.

“Joon-hyuk oppa, let’s go monster hunting. It’s getting late.”

“Oh? Oh, right.”

Kim Dabin inwardly thanked the woman, who was glaring at her with sharp eyes.

‘They’re finally leaving.’

Just as she was about to sit down for a moment and rest her eyes…

“Excuse me. I was told to find Kim Dabin.”

When Kim Dabin opened her eyes, she found a family of four this time.

“Haa…”

After sighing, she called out to them, “Please come this way!”

It was in the midst of this busy work.

“Team Leader Kim.”

“Oh! Mr. Jae-hyun!”

“Thanks for your hard work.”

Kim Jae-hyun came to see her.

“No problem? I am getting paid to do this job.”

“Thank you for thinking that way. Are there any shortages?”

“Currently, it’s still quite sufficient, but if people continue to come in at this rate, we might run out soon.”

Kim Jae-hyun summoned a note from the air and handed it to Kim Dabin.

“Here’s a list of new households that can be used as communal facilities.”

There were over 50 units listed on there.

Kim Dabin widened her eyes and replied.

“This should last for a while!”

“That’s a relief. And…”

Feeling a sense of unease from Kim Jae-hyun’s apologetic expression, Kim Dabin urged him, “Please feel free to speak, Mr. Jae-hyun.”

“I’d like to borrow Yoo Hye-rin for two days.”

“Yes…?”

Yoo Hye-rin was the one among her team members who had taken over the most work.

Basically, Yoo Hye-rin was the only one who could replace Kim Dabin’s role.

‘That means…’

Kim Dabin’s face turned white as she realized the impact on her schedule.

With a calm smile, Kim Jae-hyun uttered words more ruthless than anyone else.

“Then, I’ll be leaving it to you for the next two days, Team Leader Kim.”

“Ah… Of course!”

Kim Dabin pondered seriously for a moment.

Then, with a determined expression, she called out to him.

“Mr. Jae-hyun.”

“Yes?”

“…Would it be possible to add a night shift allowance?”

Kim Jae-hyun readily nodded.

“I’ll double it for you.”

***

After finishing my showdown with Kim Dabin and returning, Yoo Hye-rin and Seo Ye-jin were waiting for me.

Yoo Hye-rin, who had been sprawled on the sofa, suddenly stiffened with tension as I entered.

“Have you been resting well?”

“Yes.”

“Shall we start again?”

Yoo Hye-rin got up from the sofa and raised both hands into the air.

Then, purple poisonous mist began to gather in the air.

‘Warehouse storage, Poison Mist.’

Since the warehouse could hold up to 100kg, more gas than expected had been stored, draining Yoo Hye-rin’s mental strength.

At a glance, Yoo Hye-rin looked extremely exhausted.

‘It won’t do.’

I immediately opened the management window and increased Yoo Hye-rin’s level.

It required 50 million won, but it was not a waste at all. After all, I was a billionaire now.

With her level rising from 25 to 30, Yoo Hye-rin was the first to notice the change, blinking in surprise.

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“I feel like I’m suddenly gaining strength.”

The speed of poison mist generation was now twice as fast as before.

‘Good.’

There was a clear improvement in both her mental strength and skill proficiency.

[Storage capacity exceeded.]

“That’s enough. You can stop creating it now.”

“Oh, okay!”

The remaining purple mist in the air gradually faded and disappeared following Yoo Hye-rin’s will.

“But is it really okay if I don’t go myself?”

“It’s fine. It’s enough as long as you keep producing Poison Mist here.”

After completing the preparatory work, I told Seo Ye-jin.

“Now, please start.”

“Yup!”

As Seo Ye-jin adjusted her posture and started sensory sharing, I saw a dim underground basement through the Absolute Dweller’s Eyes.

The thick darkness was filled with the sound of rotting corpses and the eerie sound of wind rushing out of lungs.

This was the central station platform overrun by zombies.

“Open the warehouse.”

Swoosh―

As poison mist began to spew out from the warehouse, a mouse darted across the tracks.

「Tamed Mouse (Lv. 3)」

Behind the small, unevolved mouse, purple poison mist was being dispersed.

“Graargh!”

“Aaagghh!”

Excited by the sound of poison mist spewing out, the zombies began to rush forward.

However…

“Grrr―!”

The moment the zombies inhaled Yoo Hye-rin’s Poison Mist, their movements noticeably slowed.

Poison Mist inherently had the function of paralysis.

When inhaled, this poison initially slows down movements, eventually causing the body to collapse, unable to move. Then, it progresses to a lethal type of paralysis poison that induces suffocation by paralyzing the diaphragm and intercostal muscles.

The zombies who inhaled the Poison Mist soon began to fall one by one with gasping sounds.

‘Good. At least paralysis works for now.’

Initially, I was concerned whether Poison Mist would work on corpses, but fortunately, there were no issues in paralyzing them.

However, even after a long time passed, the zombies didn’t die.

‘As expected.’

Zombies were already dead bodies.

They wouldn’t die just because they couldn’t breathe for a while.

But simply paralyzing their muscles was huge.

This was where Plan B came into play.

“Ye-jin, please.”

“Yes!”

The army of mice hiding in the darkness jumped out and started ruthlessly gnawing at the fallen zombies’ throats.

Crunch!

[Hunted Zombie (Lv. 11).]

[Acquired experience points.]

[120,085 won deposited into the Absolute’s wallet.]

[Hunted Zombie (Lv. 12).]

[Acquired experience points.]

[212,112 won deposited into the Absolute’s wallet.]

…

…

Dozens of mice began slaughtering the paralyzed zombies.

Zzzing—

During the process of hunting zombies, some of the mice evolved through acquiring experience points.

“Tamed Giant Mouse (Lv. 7)”

The mice that had grown bigger threw themselves at the zombies’ throats more unhesitantly, rapidly acquiring more experience points.

‘Do they share the experience points distributed to Seo Ye-jin?’

In addition to 100% of Basic Salary, I had distributed an additional 100% to her.

So, the mice were effectively gaining double the experience points from hunting.

It was then.

Some mice with zombie blood on their mouths began to show signs of distress.

‘What’s happening?’

After a moment, the names of the mice changed.

‘Tamed Zombie Mouse (Lv. 5)’

‘Tamed Giant Zombie Mouse (Lv. 9)’

Some remained small in size but turned into zombie rats, while others evolved into Giant Zombie Mice with larger bodies.

‘This could have been dangerous.’

It seemed that being exposed to the blood of zombies could lead to zombification.

While others might not be affected, Oh Eon-ju who actively engaged in combat with claws and teeth was at risk of infection by the zombie virus.

Thanks to the tactical use of the mice, we managed to avoid the worst-case scenario.

“Huh? What’s this…?”

Seo Ye-jin looked bewildered.

She could sense that something had happened to her cute mice.

“How are the mice that turned into zombies? Are they obedient?”

“What? Uh… They seem to be following my orders, but they’ve become a bit more aggressive.”

“That’s a relief. Let’s continue with the operation then.”

Once again, the warehouse was filled with Yu Hye-rin’s poison mist, and after paralyzing the zombies using Seo Ye-jin’s ability and the Absolute Dweller’s Eyes, the zombies were finished off by the mice.

By proceeding this way, we were able to quickly eliminate the zombies piled up on the subway tracks from Jungang Station to Jagalchi Station.

By then, Ha Dong-geon’s party was making its way towards Choryang Station on the Bumnaegol Station railroad.

‘Everything seems to be going smoothly.’

The operation was going according to plan.

If we could safely reach Jagalchi Station, then the end was near.

I had a strong feeling that this time, I might be able to save my family.

Then.

[Unauthorized entity attempting entry.]

The notification, which had become tiresomely familiar.

[A being satisfying the conditions to be recognized as a citizen has approached the area.]

[Would you like to offer citizenship?]

What was unusual was the number of citizens who had arrived this time.

‘157 people?’

The number was significant, indicating that survivors who had been hiding in groups somewhere had come.

The moment they accepted citizenship.

[The number of citizens has reached 3,000.]

[With the number of citizens reaching a certain level, the ‘Economic Activity Population Support Fund’ skill is now available.]

{Economic Activity Population Support Fund}

Assign roles and provide support funds to citizens. The support funds are separate from the cash in the Absolute Dweller’s wallet.

※Daily Wages

– Employee: 100,000 won (0/300)

– Deputy: 150,000 won (0/100)

– Manager: 200,000 won (0/30)

– Vice-President: 250,000 won (0/10)

– President: 300,000 won (0/3)

A pretty good skill has emerged.