MTLNOVEL Chapter 42
Chapter 42
#Only READ at DarkstarTranslations
—–CROW—–
Lee Sang-woon stared at the floor of the rattling bus, fear and shock gripping him. Beside him, a male zombie drooled, its chilling gaze fixed on him.
‘H-How can a zombie… follow Lee Seo-ho’s orders…?’
The fact that the zombie was obeying Seo-ho’s command to “never bite” was more terrifying than its presence. This realization plunged Sang-woon into despair.
‘They’re worse than the soldiers….’
He finally understood. The lifeline he’d grasped was not a rope, but a venomous snake in disguise. The soldiers, as menacing as they were, were still human. If their weapons were disabled, they were no different from the civilian men. Sang-woon and the others knew this. That’s why he had tried to organize a rebellion before.
‘But… if this is the case…’
Sang-woon closed his eyes tightly. Seo-ho was far more dangerous than the soldiers. He controlled the very zombies that threatened them all. He couldn’t understand how it was possible, but one thing was clear. There was no escape. One command from him, and they would all be zombie food.
*Creak—*
The bus stopped, and the doors opened. Seo-ho, who had been driving, stood up and addressed the passengers.
“Alright, everyone, get off. This is your new home.”
He smiled kindly, but no one moved. They stared at the floor, terrified. They remembered what they had done to him. Unlike the civilians, the survivors who had joined after Seo-ho’s disappearance simply feared him. But no one dared to meet his gaze.
“What? No one’s getting off?”
He raised his hand, and the zombies stationed beside each passenger let out a threatening growl.
“Heeek!”
“W-We’ll get off! We’re getting off now!”
The civilians scrambled out of their seats. Seo-ho smiled, satisfied.
“…Where is this place? A parking lot?”
“We’re supposed to live here…?”
They found themselves in a large parking lot, filled with abandoned cars. And surrounding them…
“Ugh, sniffle…”
“There are so many of them here, too…”
…were countless zombies. They were all under Seo-ho’s command, waiting outside the perimeter.
“Don’t go near them. There are a lot of them, so they might act unpredictably.”
No one responded to Seo-ho’s warning as he got off the bus last. They were too terrified to even look at him. And no one was foolish enough to approach the horde of zombies.
‘So, this is a department store.’
Only Sang-woon looked around, taking in their location.
‘This is why he had so much food.’
Seo-ho had used food to gain their trust. In this desolate world, it was an unimaginable amount of food, even if he controlled the zombies. But if he controlled this department store, it made sense. Food and power. Seo-ho controlled both. He was the apex predator in this world.
Seo-ho, radiating an aura of dominance, stood before the cowering people. He smiled, looked around, then spoke.
“Alright then… shall we all get undressed first?”
Everyone, who had been staring at the ground, looked up at him in shock.
“H-Here? It’s outside…”
“But there are men here, too…”
They murmured their complaints.
“S-Seo-ho-goon. Why do we have to take off our clothes…?”
Sang-woon cautiously questioned him. Seo-ho smiled kindly.
“Just take them off if I tell you to. So much complaining. You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
His smile was gentle, but his eyes were cold, like those of a human looking at livestock. Everyone understood the meaning behind his gaze.
Don’t want to listen? Then die.
Sang-woon was the first to understand. He quickly began to undress. But the women, relying on their numbers, foolishly raised their voices. Having many people on their side gave them courage.
“E-Even so, telling us to take everything off is too much!”
“Th-That’s right, Seo-ho-ssi! We know each other! At least consider that!”
“What if we catch a cold? This is a parking lot! It’s cold!”
The women hadn’t grasped their situation. Seo-ho looked at them with pity.
“They were always like this.”
This was a common occurrence, even before the zombie apocalypse. Men grew up being hit. They instinctively knew that they could be hit if they did something wrong. This kept them in line. Of course, some men, overconfident or foolish, crossed that line. But generally, men knew when to back down. Because they knew they could get hit.
But women were usually protected by social norms. Parents or siblings might hit them, but a third party, especially a man, hitting a woman was taboo.
Men who hit women were trash. That’s why women often used cutting words in arguments with men. They’d never been hit for it.
“But this isn’t that kind of world anymore.”
The soldiers had treated them more leniently, as was the social custom. They gave the women less work and didn’t hit them, even when they disobeyed. Seo-ho, who had been frustrated by this and had been treated like a slave, smiled at the protesting women.
“Okay, then. Don’t take them off.”
The women smiled faintly, their faces hardening.
“See? You just have to be firm about these things.”
They were proud of themselves for standing up for themselves. The men, however, knew what was coming. They held their hands tightly, praying that they wouldn’t be targeted.
Seo-ho pointed at a woman. She had been the loudest of the protestors. She was also the least attractive of the women. The least useful to Seo-ho. But uselessness didn’t mean she had no use.
He pointed at her and addressed a nearby zombie.
“Hold that woman. Don’t kill her. Don’t let her go.”
Two zombies silently grabbed the woman.
“Kyaaaah—!! Wh-What are you doing!!”
She screamed and struggled, but Seo-ho ignored her.
“Take her to a corner. Not near the other zombies. They might bite her.”
The woman screamed as the zombies dragged her away.
“Everyone else is pretty decent looking, I guess.”
They were all former college students. And the women in the dormitory were of above-average attractiveness, given their major.
Seo-ho looked at the rest of the women and murmured.
“Now… who’s next…”
Realizing what was happening, the women started talking at once.
“I-I’m sorry! I’ll take them off! I’ll take them off right now!”
“Sniffle, p-please spare me…! I’m sorry! I-I won’t say no anymore!”
They quickly stripped, not caring that they were ordered to take off their clothes earlier. They took everything off, including their underwear.
…*gulp.*
Some of the men watching them began to get aroused. Seo-ho snorted, seeing them react like horny dogs.
“At least it’s clear who’s who now.”
Clothing had always been used to distinguish social classes. People judged others based on their attire. But modern clothing had blurred those lines.
So, just strip them.
Now, only Seo-ho and Na-yeon were clothed in the parking lot. Everyone else was naked.
Ha-yeon and Da-hee were still at the dormitory, guarding the soldiers.
“I have a lot of work to do.”
He suddenly had many more slaves to manage. He wouldn’t sacrifice them to the crystal right away. He would play with them, enjoy them, and then feed them to the crystal when they were no longer useful.
“Well then, everyone, welcome. To your new home.”
The naked civilians, no, Seo-ho’s livestock, trembled, their eyes downcast. They had just seen what happened to those who disobeyed him.
And among them, a woman stood in the corner, clutching her breasts and her sex, her face pale with despair.
“Wh-What do I do, what do I do, what do I do…”
She was terrified, not even able to cry. Her beautiful brown hair framed her smooth skin, the most beautiful among the livestock.
It was Chae Su-ah. The woman who had betrayed Seo-ho, earning his deepest resentment.
And she knew it.
“I-I have to do something.”
She didn’t want to die a painful death. She had to survive. She looked at Seo-ho.
“Yes… the opponent has just changed.”
Just like she had done with Kang Hae-seok. She had to cling to the strongest person here. Her beauty was her greatest weapon.
Seo-ho was also aware of her.
“Her body is still beautiful.”
He looked at her, standing in the corner. Their eyes met. He smiled. Su-ah stared back, her expression unreadable.
“Her face is still pretty, too.”
Despite her fear, she was still beautiful. Her beauty had been one of the reasons he’d been attracted to her.
“Though, not as pretty as Ha-yeon.”
But that was in the past. He had no romantic feelings for her now. He just felt aroused, seeing her naked and filled with shame and fear. He licked his lips, looking at her exposed, white skin.
“I’ll deal with you later.”
He still held a deep grudge against her. He smiled, imagining their time alone together.
—–CROW—–
#Only READ at DarkstarTranslations