Ch.66Chapter 9. How to Bake an Apple Pie (1)

<Chapter 9. How to Bake an Apple Pie>

The electricity went out.

As the humming of machines died down, the ambient noises became more audible.

It reminds me of the time I went to a noisy café.

They say noise creates a sound barrier. People would shout to converse with those beside them. Then suddenly when the music stopped, they lowered their voices.

Because they didn’t need to speak loudly for the person next to them to hear?

No.

Because they didn’t want others to hear their conversations.

People are strange. Once they become self-conscious about what they’re doing, they act unnaturally, stiffly, awkwardly.

Like that couple in the next room who spent all day making love in front of cameras to pay for their lodging.

Even though the CCTV is still running despite the power outage so nothing has really changed, I no longer hear their rough moans or the bed creaking against the wall.

Above. Below. Across the hallway. It’s all the same. All I hear are sounds of people hurrying into their rooms, what’s probably a cart carrying corpses rolling down the corridor, and the unhurried footsteps of patrollers.

Still, the world being quiet was definitely a good thing.

Camilla, her hair wrapped in a towel, wears horn-rimmed glasses and rolls around on the sofa while looking at her phone.

I sit in the chair beside her, alternating between looking at my phone and stealing glances at her.

‘I want to try being alone.’

Various thoughts crossed my mind at the moment my body was holding onto her. It was an impulsive act. Camilla seemed unable to hide her joy.

“I’m not saying we should break up or keep our distance.”

“Then what?”

“I get anxious without you, can’t stand being alone… I want to break free from that. I don’t want to just cling to you; I want to walk side by side with you.”

“Why do you phrase it like that?”

Camilla laughed out loud at my words.

“It’s strange. Neither of us is particularly inarticulate. Why do we keep missing each other when we talk?”

It is a bit peculiar. We clearly want each other and desire to possess one another. We even left hickeys on each other. Yet when we speak, we somehow miss the mark.

Only our bodies are honest and truthful with each other. They communicate without distortion. It’s especially like that with Camilla.

I wonder why.

We didn’t go any further because of the CCTV watching. We didn’t want to show that side of ourselves.

Instead, Camilla washed her face with her clothes on, bent over to wash her hair with cold water, and came out.

“Just in case someone watching the CCTV might report me, though that’s unlikely. Don’t I look completely different like this?”

She certainly did.

“You look like a pineapple with glasses.”

Camilla pinched my arm again.

After that, we fell silent. We quietly looked at our phones.

Of course, we didn’t open messenger apps or send emails to anyone.

Camilla seemed to want to distance herself from past connections, and I had no one to contact.

Instead, I examined the application installed by the Continental Hotel.

“The connection seems good here. Is the VPN part of the service?”

The phone is connected to the “National Communication Network.”

They offer a radical service of “free calls for all citizens,” but I heard hardly anyone uses it properly. Because the Elza government censors everything.

“If we use regular communication, the Elza government will censor it, and if we use VPN, the information will go to the Syndicate? Which would you choose?”

“Maybe it would be better if this world just ended.”

If we’re going to be censored anyway, I didn’t want to use the VPN.

The ‘Weight Scale’ app was the black market I’d seen before, but ‘Weight Scale Plus’ was different. It had a list of items people wanted to buy and a list of potential buyers.

“Camilla. Isn’t this a dating app?”

I said it without thinking, but Camilla glared at me with fierce eyes.

“So you’ve used those before.”

“No, I’m just saying the screen looks like one. I’ve never used it.”

“Then how do you know what they look like?”

“I saw it on the news.”

Camilla muttered something that sounded like “Should I put you on a leash?” or something to that effect.

The UI was a bit outdated, but the content was solid.

It showed some of the users’ past purchase history and had a rating system to determine if someone was trustworthy. It wasn’t much different from a secondhand market, except the usernames were hidden.

Among them, we found the person we were looking for.

“Look at this. Lives in District 4, buys a ton of alcohol? It says they welcome high-end liquor too.”

“District 4?”

Camilla turned on her phone and checked the map app.

“District 4 is in the safe zone.”

“Must be running a bar. Look.”

I showed her the purchase list. The amount and quantity made sense if they were running a small bar.

“…Anyway, those people over there. This… is this the right person?”

Since the name was hidden, we clicked on “View Nickname.”

♡ㅇЙ플ㅍrol쬬Aㅏ♡ – ☆★☆Alcohol○l flows into you like art☆★☆ Special! Price! We welcome you. Feel free to message me☆!

Quite unusual.

“…Let’s try contacting them.”

But to send a message, we needed to create an ID first. Fortunately, we could send messages without creating an ID.

<Sent Message>

“Excuse me. I heard you’re buying alcohol?”

The reply came after a while.

<Received Message>

– “Yeah~ You seem new-_-^ Who are you?!!”

…It was troublesome, so I took a picture of the alcohol I had and sent it. The reply came quickly.

– “Oh my oh my~ What’s all that~Do you really have all of that?;;;(drooling)”

I sent more pictures from different angles, and even wrote “These are authentic” on a note and sent that too.

“But I don’t plan to sell all of this. This is my first time selling to Apple Pie. I want ongoing transactions, not just a one-time sale.”

This is how I always operated in the black market.

First, I’d check if the buyer was trustworthy, and if they seemed okay, I’d gradually increase the quantity and quality of what I sold. It’s like a race to build trust, seeing how far each party can accommodate the other.

Moreover, in this era, people don’t stockpile goods to sell; everyone exchanges small amounts of resources to maximize their profits.

If I sold all this high-end liquor at once, the unit price would inevitably decrease. My strategy was to make this woman eager and gradually extract higher prices.

So I lined up the bottles and took pictures of each one. However, I set aside the most valuable bottle.

“I’ll only sell two bottles from these for now. Take your pick.”

* * * * *

8th National Gendarmerie Special Task Force.

Today, Saturday, Leticia volunteered for duty. For the sake of a “perfect day off” tomorrow.

If she stayed up all night today and got off work tomorrow morning, no one from the unit would call her until evening.

They know that officers are people too and need rest. Especially if there’s no war breaking out.

These days, it’s hard to find even beer, let alone high-end liquor.

The market is dominated by moonshine of unknown origin or kvass made by fermenting bread with yeast.

Leticia had brewed kvass herself, but for someone accustomed to hard liquor, it was unbearably bland.

But then.

“What is all this?”

In the bathroom, Leticia stared at her phone with an ecstatic expression.

As an officer who knew how to separate work from personal life, Leticia carried two phones. One for work, one for personal use. Her personal phone had both “Weight Scale” and “Weight Scale Plus” installed.

And now, someone had sent photos through Weight Scale Plus. There were precious liquors she hadn’t seen in a long time.

Minsk liquor.

Despite being an officer of some rank, these were items that were too expensive to buy when the world was normal. Ironically, after war and disasters struck and barter became common, the prices of such luxuries had actually decreased. Liquor from Minsk.

“My goodness. This… this must be real?”

She couldn’t help but salivate. Already, Leticia’s mind was racing with numerous cocktail recipes she could make with these liquors and a list of side dishes that would pair well with them.

Most of the side dishes were high in calories, but since she had no one to share them with, it didn’t matter.

Good food and drink that could create an atmosphere even when eaten alone. A lonely woman needed such things.

“…But they’re only selling two? Look at this.”

Still, an unfamiliar seller was suspicious.

Even though it was the Syndicate’s application, it only arranged meetings; it didn’t guarantee the goods or the seller.

If a shootout occurred between a seller and a buyer, the Syndicate wouldn’t intervene. Transactions were strictly between the parties involved.

Instead, if such incidents occurred, the Syndicate would leave a note or evaluation. Evaluations like “Shot at seller for overcharging” couldn’t be deleted.

This seller had none of that. No past sales records, no purchase records, and an account that was less than a day old.

But the goods were suspiciously good. It smelled like a scam. Leticia thought the other party knew they would appear suspicious, which is why they were only offering to sell two bottles.

“I should meet in a public place. Somewhere safe. So…”

Leticia fiddled with her phone.

“Yes. This place would be good.”

* * * * *

“…Why does she want to meet at a place like this? Is she asking for a date or what?”

Camilla was annoyed. Even I could see it wasn’t an appropriate place for a transaction. The place ♡ㅇЙ플ㅍrol쬬Aㅏ♡ had designated was a pie shop in District 13.

The location itself wasn’t bad. It was midway between that person and our hotel, and it was right along the main road.

The problem was the shop’s concept: “Fairyland.”

It was a dizzying mix of pink and sky blue, with a rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars, and the top recommendation was “The best meeting place for couples.”

– The entrance fee is expensive ㅠㅠㅠ but it’s all-you-can-eat for two hours, so it’s not that bad in terms of value!

Re: You can’t eat more than two because they’re so sweet they’ll split your head, what value are you talking about…are you a pig?;

– Aside from the entrance fee, it’s right next to Deer Square, you know? So on hot days, a lot of foul odors rise up. I don’t recommend seats by the window. Other than that, the atmosphere inside was nice and the staff were friendly.

“Wait, Camilla. Deer Square… doesn’t that sound familiar?”

“Deer Square. Deer. Ah. That place? Where those fanatics said they’d hold a rally.”

I remembered. They definitely said they’d hold rallies on Saturdays and Sundays. Today is Saturday. The rally will probably be held tomorrow too.

“Ah, this person. Pretty clever.”

I think I understood why they wanted to meet there. Camilla looked at me questioningly.

“Remember? Those fanatics with the gendarmerie following them around. The 14th Gendarmerie, was it? So there are armed soldiers nearby, meaning don’t even think about trying anything funny. That’s what it means.”

“…Aren’t you giving them too much credit?”

Already fox-like in appearance, when she’s slightly miffed, she really does look like a fox.

“By the way, Johan, how much are you going to sell those for?”

I had already decided.

“Lower than whatever price they offer.”

“What? Why?”

Instead of saying “to fleece them to the bone,” I just gave a benevolent smile.