Trash in the Apocalypse

Chapter 102: Its Okay, I'm Just Unique

Jun and his group went back to the compound. He gave every Death Squad member 1000 CP to spend however they like and reminded them that they need to come back within an hour.

Gilbert was sheltered on one of the houses near the compound. Jun pestered him for more information regarding the mermaid which he received vague answers that made him feel disappointed and worried. It seemed like Gilbert didn't actually meet the 'mermaid' and only heard from other fishermen about the story.

As Jun bade goodbye and walked back to the compound, an advertisement on the bus piqued his interest.

"This coming Saturday! Drinking Contest at Veronica's PUB. 100 CP to enter! Winner takes ALL! Come and join the FUN!" On the lower part of the advertisement were small written words, "This advertisement has been approved by Black Haven Marketing Department. Please don't take this home. Violators would be punished."

Jun noted this event to his mind, thinking of possible ways to gain something from this event. He then went back to the compound to check on how things were going. The market area received fewer and fewer customers but it didn't mean that sales were going down. Black Haven shifted from daily products trader to specialized product trader. Black Haven buys any unique item as long as it's rare. Did you found some weird branch? A golden leaf? An ultra size thick worm? We'll buy it! Carcasses were being bought too. In terms of items sold, the most popular were the short swords that could cut any regular infected in two with a single slash. The production sped up after Old John accepted some apprentice and the supply finally increased. Though there's still a deficiency, everyone could still see the improvement.

Jun walked inside the mall and saw Rank One staring at Paterno who was playing with a young girl. Everyone at the mall is already used to seeing the masked men loitering about and they know that they were Jun's subordinates, so they feel at ease even though they looked weird or act weird. Most of the time, they just ignored them since they themselves don't even talk.

As Jun passed by, he couldn't help but get curious, he said, "Do you know him? I don't like that old man. In the early days, he almost caused our group to be killed. And what? For his selfishness. Though it's sad when we found out that his wife and granddaughter were dead, it doesn't change the fact that he almost got us all killed."

"I don't know him." Nik bluntly said.

Jun gave him a sideway glance with raised eyebrows. Then he realized from the tone of his voice that this man was the teenager that always requested his little sister's safety.

"You're that brat!" said Jun with widened eyes, then laughed. "So, you do have what it takes. But how can you become my bodyguard when you're weaker than me?"

Nik faced him and through the holes from the mask, his eyes stared at him. "How would you even know that? I trained like crazy every day and I mindlessly increased my speed stat. I'm level 3 and I have 11 points in strength, 13 points in speed, and an average of 9 points in every other stat. Everyone in the squad called me a prodigy!"

Jun laughed. "I hate to inform you this, but let me show you true power."

Jun's throat glowed crimson as he activated Threaten. He glared at Nik then grabbed his neck activating his Rob skill. His hands glowed red indicating skill usage.

[Rob activated! You used 10 energy.]

[Stat check... 28:8.8... check complete. Your power stat is three times higher than the target. Activating Daylight Robbery!]

Nik's dimensional storage showed itself upon Jun. There were various kinds of stuff in it and most of them were weapons and other various survival items like medical stuff. There's almost nothing for leisure except for a book about physical training. Heck, could that even be considered for leisure!?

Jun felt surprised knowing that this brat was truly focused on strengthening himself. It looks like this kid wasn't all talk and was actually doing what he says.

On the other hand, Nik stood there frozen. He received notification that he was being robbed since he was face to face with the robber and robbing is actually different from pickpocket or stealing where you do the deed in silence. The most unbelievable thing that he can't get out of his mind was the notification that stated that Jun had three times his power stat. He usually felt that having 11 points in power should bring him on the top 1% of the survivors. If Jun was like this, then could his teammates possibly have the same stat configuration? Do they know something that the populace doesn't? Whatever the reason, he was three-fold weaker than the man in front of him.

"It's okay, I'm just unique," Jun said as he let go of Nik's neck. He then ignored the inquiring gazes of his group and went straight back to his room. When he didn't find Marianne there, he started asking everyone he met for her whereabouts. He found Marianne in the kitchen playing with Takaw. When they met, the two greeted each other with a kiss, then Jun invited her for a dinner. Mike hastily prepared a few dishes that he knew Jun liked and served additional hotdogs for Takaw, filling his plate to the brim. At the same time that they were eating, Jun informed Marianne that he still needs to go out. Though troubled, Marianne accepted his decision and wished for his safety.

Jun could have finished this business for tomorrow but something doesn't just sit well with him regarding Gilbert's story. Why would sea dwellers eat the children? And why now? They could have started eating them on the first day they were captured and that left many questions unanswered.

It was almost nine after eating dinner. Jun headed towards the back office to check on how things were going. He first went to Tatang Robin in the security office.

"How're things going? Do you have enough booze here?" said Jun as he examined the room.

"Well, after the modifications with the camera, there's only one fool who tried to sneak in. After that nothing. No one dares to steal from the market even though there's no security there. Rumors are spreading around that people who steal from Black Haven are always punished by death." said Tatang Robin.

"What does that mean?" said Jun.

"People who were caught were never seen again. What do you expect the people would think? Did you really kill them?" said Tatang Robin.

"Do you think I killed them?" asked Jun.

Tatang Robin drunk from his glass before answering, "I don't think you killed them. Not one in our group thinks you killed them. But the populace doesn't think like that. I don't know how you'll deal with that, but I hope you don't do something overboard."

"Of course, I don't really care about public opinion anyways. That's probably the reason why some people were acting out of place recently." Jun nodded his head as he reminisced about that officer he met earlier.

"Why? Did something happen while you were out there?" Tatang Robin said filled with worry.

"Nothing much, just some drunk officer looking for trouble. Thank you for always working hard. If you have any requests, don't get shy on me, okay?" Jun said as he tapped Tatang Robin's shoulder. "Alright, I'll have to go. See you next time."

Jun bade farewell and went to Old John's room a few steps away.

Knock, knock.

"Old fart, are you still alive?" said Jun before opening the door.

As he opened the door, the putrid stench of rotting flesh overwhelmed him. The table on the center of the room was filled with fresh bones that still have some flesh and blood sticking to it.

"I'm busy. What do you want?" said Old John.

"What a welcome. Do you hate me or something?" Jun replied acting deeply hurt.

"Every time you come through that door, you increase my workload. Mike just delivered a new batch of bones and I plan on finishing them all before next week," said Old John.

"You have apprentices right? Where are they?" asked Jun after noticing that Old John seemed to be working alone.

"Look at you. You don't even know that my apprentices have their own workplace! You only know what you're interested with! Bah! Just tell me what you need." said Old John slightly smiling.

Though they were talking like this, they felt relaxed and happy. Having some idle chats after a hard day would make someone feel good. Well, having someone you know for a long time to talk with, considering the current circumstances, could be considered as a blessing.

"I was busy, okay? I have something for you. Look at this."