7. Stray Dogs of the Streets (2)

I decided to accept the quest later and first ran toward the hardware store while tightly gripping the poisoned dagger.

Since there were no approaching entities around, I could quickly reach the hardware store.

“Haa. Haa…”

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve sprinted at full speed today. The anxiety of being sniped or kidnapped while wandering around is killing me.

‘Someone’s already been here…’

The items in the hardware store were scattered everywhere. The presumed owner of the store was lying dead face down on the counter.

Judging by the gaping hole in his back, it was probably the work of a Hunter.

Anyway, now that I’ve reached the hardware store, it’s time to accept the quest.

[Quest: Hunt 5 humans within 3 days. (0/5)]

[Reward: 300P, Random Magic Book]

[Warning: Failure will lower credit score]

The quest was to capture and kill humans.

‘Doable…’

I immediately accepted the quest. Killing just the residents of the villa would be enough to complete it.

‘Now that I’ve accepted the quest… I should grab what I need and get out…’

There’s no point in staying at the hardware store for long.

In an apocalypse hotspot like this, people always gather, and when they meet, a battle is inevitable.

Especially if there’s a pretty-faced woman like me, nine out of ten times they’d try to capture me for their dick cases. If a strong Hunter or Awakened gets involved, it could get dangerous.

‘Grab the hammer, pliers, nippers, and saw…’

I also took utility knives and blades that would be useful in daily life.

Just as I was stuffing useful tools and equipment into my inventory,

-Clang.

Someone roughly opened the hardware store entrance and came inside.

‘Shit…’

I was so focused on gathering items that I didn’t notice someone approaching from outside.

‘Who is it… Fuck…’

I quickly crouched and hid behind a display stand.

“Fuck… They’ve already looted everything.”

“That’s why I said we should come here first.”

“This is insane. No sledgehammer. Nothing.”

“What do we do? Should we go somewhere else?”

“This is the biggest one nearby… Wait a sec.”

“What.”

“Sniff sniff… Fuck… There’s someone in here.”

“What?”

Fucked. There were about five guys, and they’d noticed my presence.

‘They sensed me by smell… They’re Awakened…’

I’m not sure if they’re Hunters from the Academy or just regular Awakened. If they’re Academy Hunters, they’re pretty dangerous.

87% chance I’ll get captured without being able to fight back. Fuck this.

“Over there!!”

“Fuck…! Shoot first!”

-Whoosh!!!!

Boom–!!!

“Uwaaaah!!!!!”

In an instant, the display stand I was hiding behind collapsed, and an explosion occurred. An emission-type Awakened must have shot something.

“Ugh..!!”

Tools hanging on the display stand fell, and a screwdriver lodged itself in my body. Various tools also hit me, causing injuries.

I think my thigh is bruised too. Fucking bastards. Don’t they know how to talk?

“Hey!! It’s a person! A woman!!”

“What?”

Soon, the guys lifted the fallen display stand, surrounded me, and bound me with a restraint-type ability.

‘What… The binding is fucking weak…’

But I decided to stay quietly bound.

I wanted to kill them right away, but if I do that here, I won’t be able to loot them.

‘Judging by their looks… They must have gathered quite a bit…’

So I decided to play the weakling for a bit.

Just thinking about entering their base, enjoying myself, and leaving makes my womb tremble already.

“What’s this bitch? Were you wandering the streets alone?”

“Fuck, is she an Awakened?”

“Could be one of those Academy bastards.”

In this world, regular Awakened and Academy Hunters often don’t get along.

The Academy is a den of elites, reserved for those with insane abilities or multiple powers.

But these regular Awakened are seen as losers who weren’t good enough to enter the Academy or failed the exams.

As a result, they often become mercenaries or laborers, dividing into factions: Academy Hunters with a superiority complex and Awakened filled with inferiority.

Anyway, these bastards suspected I might be from the Academy. Because my hair and eye colors are unusual.

In the real world, they’d just assume I was a foreigner, but in this world where Awakened roam freely, many people have unusual hair and eye colors.

Especially strong ability users-their hair color changes due to magic. Probably a device the author added to justify the variety of hair colors for female characters.

Anyway, they took off my hat and mask.

“What. She’s just a regular foreigner.”

“She might be studying abroad at the Hunter Academy. The Korean Hunter Academy is fucking insane, so a lot of mediocre foreign bastards come.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“No, fuck. So what do we do with this bitch? Kill her? Just kill her?”

“Hey, fucker. Wait. Look at her face.”

“What.? Uh. Hmm. She’s pretty.”

“Yeah. Fucking gorgeous. Let’s take her with us.”

“Take her? Are you insane? She was wandering alone, so she’s definitely a crazy Awakened. Fuck, who knows if she’s some psycho bitch who’ll slaughter us all and laugh.”

This bastard is sharp. I decided he’s top priority for killing.

“Sniff sniff… Junhyeong’s right. I sense magic. She’s definitely an Awakened.”

“So we should kill her right away? Look at this face. Even among foreigners, she’s drop-dead gorgeous. Killing her would be a huge loss for humanity. And look, she’s trembling in fear now.”

True. I’m trembling right now. Trembling with excitement at the thought of killing these bastards and taking their points and loot. There are exactly five of them, so I can complete the quest right away.

Frankly, I’m confident I could break free right now, grab their necks, and kill them all.

Do you think 28 Strength is a joke? I leveled up 11 times, dumped 14 points into Strength, and doubled it with pumping.

In terms of Strength alone, I could slaughter these trash and walk out of the hardware store with ease.

“…Damn… I’m getting hard just looking at her. Let’s take her.”

“Since I suggested keeping her alive, I get to go first.”

“You bastard. Wear a condom. It’s gross to fuck her with cum everywhere.”

They tied my hands and feet with zip ties while laughing, then carried me out of the hardware store toward their base.

‘Five in total. The big guy is emission-type. The two-block glasses guy is restraint-type… The sensitive-looking one is a detection-type. That musclehead bastard gives off the vibe of a body-enhancement type… What’s that fucker’s ability…’

I confirmed they weren’t from the Academy. Meaning they’re all one-ability trash. Two abilities almost guarantees Academy admission.

Moreover, since they recognized me as an ‘enemy,’ I could use my inventory and general store.

‘All traits except “Alone Time” are operational…’

It’s a bit disappointing I can’t meditate, but my hymen is intact, so the 2x physical ability boost is still active.

“No one’s following us, right?”

“Yeah. Let’s hurry up.”

“Okay…”

Surprisingly, the place they took me to was a Pilates studio.

It was an unexpected base, but seeing the spacious area filled with food and daily necessities, it seemed like a decent hideout.

Three floors, just right… And most importantly…

‘Their goal was women.’

Women with severed wrist and ankle tendons were sprawled everywhere. Their eyes had lost all will to live. In just one day, the instructors and students of the Pilates studio had been reduced to their playthings.

“What, another woman?”

“Yeah. A foreign Awakened, I think. Look at her face.”

“Wow… She’s a real catch…”

There were two more guys inside the Pilates studio.

One was a tattooed man covered in ink, and the other was a bespectacled guy holding a scalpel. The glasses guy was cutting the tendons of a recently captured woman, so he was probably a healer.

Tendon injuries don’t heal perfectly in just one day, so either the tattooed guy or the scalpel glasses guy must have healing magic.

From what I could see, the deranged surgeon-looking bastard was definitely the healer.

“Cut this bitch’s tendons and keep an eye on her. We’ll go grab more supplies around the neighborhood. Ah, if you touch her first, I’ll kill you. I’ll really kill you.”

“Got it.”

Soon, the guys who brought me left in a hurry. Now, only me, the tattooed guy in a Hawaiian shirt, the scalpel glasses guy, and four rape victims remained in the Pilates studio.

‘The tattooed guy is also a restraint-type…’

The tattooed guy immediately bound me with yellow magic threads as soon as he took custody of me.

This situation just got way too easy.

“Hey, what’s your name? Where are you from? Are you a virgin?”

The tattooed guy interrogated me after binding me, then grabbed my chest tightly.

“Hey, Seong Tae-gyu.”

“What. You wanna fuck her? Jinsoo said he’d kill us if we touch her first.”

“No… Fuck, how am I supposed to resist this?”

“Sigh… Fine, I don’t care if we get caught.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. She’s probably already lost her hymen anyway… If we clean up properly, no one will kn-“

Crunch…!!!!

“Huh…?”

Right around the time the five guys went downstairs, I broke the restraints with my strength and twisted the tattooed guy’s head 180 degrees.

A disgusting sound of tearing flesh and crushing vertebrae echoed.

30 points came in.

Awakened give 30 points. Twice the price of a normal person. What generous guys.

“Wh-what the fuck!!!”

“Shh.”

The healer bastard swung his scalpel wildly at me, but he was so slow I couldn’t even let him hit me if I wanted to.

Crunch-!

Crunch!!!!!

“Gyaaaaah!!!!!”

-Splat!!!!

I grabbed his wrist, crushed it, then punched him square in the jaw.

His teeth flew out as he fell backward, hitting his head on a desk and passing out.

“Piece of shit.”

I stomped on his neck three times, killing him while he was unconscious.

Another 30 points came in.

“400 points.”

I piled the corpses in a corner, then swung a club at the women looking at me with hopeful eyes, as if I might save them.

“460 points.”

Why should I take care of disabled people? It’s hard enough to survive on my own.

[Quest Completed]

[Rewards have been granted.]

“760 points.”

And the magic book.

I plan to hunt the remaining guys and earn another 150 points.

Truly an excellent point haul.