Hedgehog — Part 2
Roe Deer’s eyes trembled.
“This can’t be real.”
His gaze then locked onto my face as if nailed there.
“A… a superhuman? You’re really a superhuman?”
His tone had changed a bit.
I shook my head.
“Not yet.”
If I wanted, I could summon the Mutant trait and instantly become a superhuman.
But the aftereffects would be brutal.
My whole body felt like it had been beaten to a pulp.
The dizziness was so intense that it felt like the world was spinning.
Even with the Vigor trait, I’d probably need several days of complete rest.
Suppressing the urge to collapse right then and there, I walked over to the Hedgehog mutant’s corpse.
I placed my hand on its chest and temporarily activated the Extraction trait.
With a swift pull, I yanked something out from between the mushy ribs.
A small stone, about the size of a pinky finger.
It was glassy and translucent, with an oily sheen, like a strange film floating on water.
A Mana Core.
As it was from a Level 1 creature, it held some value.
Not life-changing, but still worth something.
“What… what is that?”
“It’s over?”
“The mutant’s dead!”
“Wait, it’s really dead?”
“We’re alive!”
The men started creeping back, cautiously approaching the corpse.
When they saw the lifeless body sprawled on the ground, each of them stared in disbelief, mouths hanging open.
They glanced from the corpse to me, their faces a mix of astonishment and awe.
No one here was clueless.
“Rookie! You did this?”
“H-holy…”
“You’re amazing.”
“A guy like you… in a place like this…”
They all clearly thought I was a superhuman.
To be fair, only a superhuman could kill a Level 1 mutant.
Sure, if they had a high-caliber shotgun or an automatic rifle, they might stand a chance. But they had neither.
I didn’t bother correcting them.
It’s not like I was going to see them again after today.
Explaining that I wasn’t a superhuman would just be a waste of breath.
Only Roe Deer quietly approached and whispered something to the men, likely telling them I said I wasn’t a superhuman yet.
“Let’s head back.”
“Yes, right away!”
“Everyone, let’s go!”
“What about… it?”
One of the men pointed to the body.
Another man gave a bitter smile.
“If we tell the government, they’ll take care of it. Things like this happen from time to time.”
“Right, I figured.”
“Hmph. Uh, excuse me… mind if I take a few of the spines?”
“Spines? You mean the hair?”
“Yes. There are collectors who’ll pay for stuff like that.”
“Go ahead, help yourself.”
The men grinned and quickly gathered around the corpse.
They grabbed the shovels they’d discarded earlier and began hacking at the mutant’s head.
Clang! Clang!
The mutant’s body, now devoid of mana, had become limp and weak.
The once steel-like spines had turned soft, like decayed flesh. It didn’t take much effort to pry them off.
Even Roe Deer got up and quietly plucked a few of the metallic spines from the corpse.
From what I knew, they didn’t hold much value, but apparently, there were people out there who collected them.
“Rest in peace, old man.”
Roe Deer pulled a small hip flask from his pocket and pressed it to the corpse’s mouth.
A murky brown liquid dribbled out.
The other men followed suit, shoving cheap cigarettes and crushed candy into the dead mutant’s mouth.
“Kim, may you rest in peace.”
“Don’t feel pain where you’re going.”
“Take care.”
“May the blessings of our ancestors be with you.”
Each man offered his own token of respect.
Watching them made a bitter taste rise in my mouth.
This wasn’t a formal ritual of mourning.
These were the same men who had just been looting the corpse with smiles on their faces.
Now they were waving the body off as if it were nothing.
But I wasn’t one to judge.
I’d started the looting by extracting the mana core.
With one last glance at the body, I turned away.
No one said a word as we walked.
The damp air and the oppressive atmosphere hung over us like a heavy blanket.
Finally, we arrived at the exit.
The door opened, and instead of the dim light of flickering fluorescent bulbs, bright sunlight poured in like a flood.
The fresh air was so clean and crisp that I instinctively flared my nostrils.
“Hooah!”
“Finally, we’re out!”
“I thought we were dead.”
“That took forever… an eternity.”
“We survived…”
“Anyone up for drinks?”
“Didn’t you have to pay off two hundred thousand this month?”
“I’ll just take another cleaning job tomorrow. They won’t cut me open. They’ll squeeze as much out of me as they can, like they always do.”
“Are we celebrating with pork belly today?”
“Are you nuts? Do I look like I have money for that? I’ll buy you all some beef stew at least.”
“Beef stew again, huh?”
“If you don’t want it, suit yourself.”
We didn’t even go back to the office.
We just knocked on the door, and the government worker who had let us in that morning came out, walking lazily as ever.
“You’re already done? Huh… looks like someone’s missing.”
“He mutated and died.”
“Inside?”
“Yes.”
“No other casualties?”
“No.”
“Lucky for you. The last team all died.”
Roe Deer’s face twisted in irritation.
What a thing to say.
The government worker looked bored.
“Well, I guess I’ll have to go check inside… Alright, hand in your keycards and you can go. Stop by the decontamination room on your way out.”
“Sure, thanks for your hard work.”
“Yeah, hard work.”
The guy was clearly annoyed that he’d have more work to do.
He lazily took the keycards and disappeared back into the office.
We stopped by the decontamination room to pass through the mana purifiers and contamination scanners before heading to the parking lot.
There, our bus was waiting, parked where it had been before.
The driver, who had been napping in the driver’s seat, woke up with a start when Roe Deer opened the door.
“Huh? Roe Deer, sir? Done already? I thought you’d be a few more hours.”
“Yeah, well… things happened.”
“You must’ve had a rough day. Let’s see… One, two, three… Huh? Someone’s missing. What about Hedgehog?”
“You know what happened.”
“Oh… I get it. Damn.”
The driver rubbed the back of his neck.
Then, without another word, he reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a green soju bottle, putting it straight to his lips.
Was he really going to drink before driving?
But no one said a word about it.
“Hey, Park! Don’t hog it all! Share some with us too!”
“I’ve got nothing left for you guys!”
“Come on, don’t be like that. We’re all dying here!”
“You want me to call the cops on you?”
“Damn it, fine. One sip each.”
The men passed the bottle around, taking swigs from it.
Obviously, one bottle wasn’t enough for everyone. Grumbling, the driver pulled out two more bottles of soju and handed them around.
“Ahhh!”
“Now I feel alive again.”
“Park, you’re a lifesaver!”
“Damn, you even drink the good stuff. What did you spike this soju with?”
“Why work hard if not to drink well? Now hang on tight, we’re about to head off. Rookie, not drinking?”
The driver gave me a puzzled look when I shook my head to decline.
Before I could even respond, the other men chimed in.
“Hey! Rookie? Are you kidding me?”
“You call him Rookie? That’s Junior to you! He’s a future superhuman, you better show some respect!”
“If it wasn’t for Junior here, we’d all be dead right now!”
“Junior? Superhuman?”
The driver’s expression turned to disbelief.
“Wait, seriously? You’re not messing with me?”
“No joke! We all saw it with our own eyes!”
“I mean, look at us—we wouldn’t be here otherwise!”
I didn’t want to be part of the conversation anymore. I just slumped into a seat at the back of the bus and closed my eyes, tuning out the noise.
I could feel the driver’s curious glances in the rearview mirror.
Vrrrrm.
The diesel engine sputtered to life, sounding like an old farm tractor. The bus began to rattle and move, slowly pulling out of the parking lot.
Since it was a weekday afternoon, the highway along the Han River was relatively clear. We sped along with no traffic, making it back to the labor office in just 30 minutes.
Thanks to the others, I was the first to meet with the manager.
The labor office manager, Choi Sunsoo, sat behind his desk, his sharp eyes fixed on me the moment I stepped in.
“I heard there was an incident.”
“Yes. One of the men died.”
“I was informed by Won Il earlier. Kim Min-soo… He loved his booze, but he was diligent and cheerful. Such a shame.”
The manager bowed his head briefly in a show of respect.
His face was grim, his brows furrowed with concern.
But something about it felt off, like crocodile tears.
And sure enough, when he raised his head again, that look of solemnity vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
“Now then, let’s talk business.”
His voice turned cold, the tone of a businessman.
“The living must go on.”
“Agreed,” I said, showing no particular emotion.
I wasn’t any different.
“I’ve already received word from the government office. You cleared all five zones.”
“That’s correct.”
“As you know, all loot belongs to the finder, and the standard purification fee is 10 million won per zone. That totals 50 million won, but after my 20% cut, the remaining 40 million is divided among the eight of you. Normally, that would mean I’d be giving you 5 million, but… given today’s special circumstances, we’ll have to make an exception.”
The manager gestured to the side.
Click.
A safe opened, and two fat stacks of bills floated out, almost dancing in the air as they landed neatly in front of me.
Telekinesis? Or maybe magic?
Two bundles of 50,000 won bills—10 million won in total—sat on the desk before me.
“Please, take it.”
The manager gestured toward the money.
“This is your share, Warrior Kim.”
Ten million won.
A small fortune, even in the world I came from.
I reached out with trembling hands and grabbed the bundles of cash.
The manager gave me a sly smile and waved his hand again.
“Even though I’ve heard you’re a future superhuman, I can’t treat you the same as the other workers, Warrior Kim. Normally, I take a 20% cut, but for you, I’ll only take 10%, no, 5%. The same applies to this payout as well.”
The safe shook once more.
Thud.
Two more stacks of bills floated out—each featuring King Sejong’s face.
Two bundles. Two hundred thousand won.
“That’s a little extra.”
I took the money, but I couldn’t help but blurt out, “This seems like too much.”
As I said it, the manager gave me a wide grin.
“I added a little extra. It wouldn’t feel right to split hairs down to the last won and make it awkward, would it?”
“I don’t mind but…”
“Please, just take it. Consider it a gesture of goodwill. As long as we keep doing business, you’ll never be disappointed financially.”
The manager smiled in a way that was meant to be reassuring.
It was the same kind of smile he gave me yesterday, only now it seemed even more convincing, more trustworthy.
And yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.
[Trust me!]
[I’ll take care of everything!]
Those were the kinds of promises people made right before screwing you over.
I had to admit, the manager wasn’t much different from the others I’d met.
He even changed the way he spoke.
Before, he mixed informal speech and respect. Now, he was strictly polite.
Why?
Because he wanted something, obviously.
He wanted to use me.
I concealed my growing wariness behind a polite smile.
“Alright, then. With the attention you’re giving me, I’d be happy to continue working with you.”
“Hahaha! Thank you! Hearing that from you makes me feel like I have an army on my side. You must be hungry. I know a great place nearby. How about we grab a bite and discuss some ideas over dinner?”
It was clear what he wanted. Dinner and drinks would inevitably lead to talks of contracts.
I shook my head.
“Sorry, but I’ve got some urgent matters to take care of.”
“Oh? Then when…”
“Not sure yet. But I’ll come by soon.”
“Hmm! Alright, I understand. I’ll give you a call later then.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Sure, I’d have to write up a contract eventually.
But not until I was completely in my right mind.
Not until I became a superhuman.
If the manager tried to pull any tricks then, it would be over for him. I appreciated him lowering the commission and giving me extra, but business was business.
Just because he threw me a little extra cash didn’t mean I’d sign away my freedom.
After a firm handshake, I left the labor office.
—
I hummed a little tune.
Maybe it was because, for the first time in my life, I was holding over 1.2 million won in cash.
Realizing it, I let out a chuckle.
‘Guess I’m not so different after all.’
Someone had died.
Mutated into a grotesque monster, then met a horrifying end.
But no one cared about that.
They only cared about the loot, the money, the purification fees.
And I was no different.
Honestly, I had no right to judge the manager or the others.
In fact, maybe I was better suited to this cruel world than I realized.
‘…Hmph.’
Doesn’t matter.
My own life was far more precious than some guy whose name I barely knew.
I just needed to survive.
Clenching my fist, I steeled my resolve. I would survive in this hellish world.
“Junior…”
A voice called out as I stepped into the waiting area.
The others in the room bowed slightly when they saw me.
I could feel their eyes on my bag.
A bag stuffed full of mana cores and cash.
I knew exactly what was in their eyes.
Greed. And envy.
–TL Notes–
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