Chapter 72
In the slums, Zeon’s life was one of complete idleness.
He did nothing and thought of nothing.
He would sit blankly in place, staring out the window all day, or lie on his bed and sleep.
Having lived in constant tension for the past eight years, he had longed for this kind of time.
Time to focus entirely on himself, time meant only for him.
Right now, Zeon was spending such days.
But there was no such thing as endless rest.
After staying cooped up at home for nearly half a month doing nothing, he began to crave the outside air.
Zeon got up from the bed and headed to the bathroom.
When he had first returned home, it had been filled with stench and filth, but now it was fairly clean.
After washing his face, Zeon stepped outside.
Click!
As soon as he left, the Watching Eye locked the door.
Now, he no longer had to worry about his home being robbed.
The Watching Eye would protect it perfectly.
With no urgency, Zeon slowly walked down the stairs.
It was when he had descended to around the fifteenth floor.
“Huh, I haven’t seen you before.”
A boy coming out into the stairwell spoke to Zeon.
He looked about fifteen or sixteen.
For his age, his build wasn’t particularly large.
A somewhat dull-looking face, unfocused eyes, drooping shoulders, and an oddly languid atmosphere.
His hair was half-shaved, and flashy earrings and piercings stood out.
Like most kids in the slums, the boy lacked motivation.
Children who had neither dreams nor hope, and who struggled just to survive each day, could hardly be expected to have any drive.
Zeon asked,
“Do you live here?”
“Yes! End unit on the fifteenth floor.”
“I see.”
“What about you, hyung?”
“End unit on the eighteenth floor.”
“Same type of place then.”
“Seems so.”
Zeon nodded.
“My name’s Levin. What’s yours?”
“Zeon.”
“That’s a cool name.”
“I hear that a lot.”
Levin was quite talkative.
He didn’t seem afraid of Zeon at all, chattering away nonstop.
“Are you in a gang too, hyung?”
“No.”
“Then how do you make a living?”
“I’ve got enough money not to work for a while.”
“Lucky you. My family’s got nothing.”
“Is that so?”
“I live with my mom and my younger siblings. I don’t even know how we’re supposed to survive from now on.”
“You must have a lot to worry about.”
“Speaking of which, since you’ve got money, can you lend me some? I’ll work hard and pay you back.”
“Nope.”
“Wow, that was way too blunt, don’t you think?”
“Isn’t that a bit shameless of you?”
“Tch! Didn’t work.”
Levin wrinkled his nose.
But he didn’t look offended.
Just because they lived in the slums didn’t mean neighbors were close or kind to each other.
There might have been such cases before the world fell apart, but not anymore.
At least, not in the world Levin knew.
In the slums, the very bottom of the human ecosystem, it was common for neighbors to take advantage of each other.
Here, kindness was just another word for being a fool.
Those who showed kindness were naturally exploited.
While chatting like that, they had already reached the first floor.
Outside, a group of boys who seemed to be Levin’s friends were gathered.
“What took you so long, you slow bastard!”
“Fuck! This guy always makes us wait. Doesn’t even do anything.”
Like boys their age typically did, they greeted Levin with curses.
Levin, used to their behavior, replied casually.
“Sorry! I was talking to a new hyung who just moved in next door.”
“That guy?”
“He looks like he’s got money.”
The boys’ eyes gleamed with greed.
Levin slung his arms over their shoulders and spoke firmly.
“You punks, even if you’re blinded by money, pick your targets. If you mess with that guy, you’ll die.”
“What, your ‘shaman senses’ acting up again?”
“Who knows? Anyway, it’s better for your health not to touch him.”
“Damn it, what a waste.”
At Levin’s words, the boys spat on the ground.
They soon lost interest in Zeon.
Levin’s nickname was “Shaman.”
No one knew if he really had some kind of intuition, but most of what he said turned out to be right.
Because of that, his friends didn’t ignore his warnings.
Pulling his friends along, Levin said,
“Let’s go. I’ve got a bad feeling today.”
“Why?”
“Don’t know. Just feels off. I want to go somewhere else.”
“Then let’s go to Dongdaemun.”
“Why Dongdaemun?”
“That place is hot these days. Heh.”
One of Levin’s friends made a gesture as if sniffing something through his nose, and the others burst into laughter.
Levin spoke to them,
“If you keep doing drugs like that, you’ll die early.”
“Fuck! What’s the point of living long like this anyway?”
“At least drugs keep you from going insane. Let’s go—Sinchon.”
Levin and his friends chatted noisily as they disappeared from Zeon’s sight.
“Looks like they’ve been into drugs for quite a while.”
The “drugs” they were talking about were clearly cheap narcotics.
They brought extreme pleasure when inhaled, but ultimately destroyed the human body.
No one was unaware of that fact.
And yet, people still sought them out.
There was nothing better than drugs for forgetting the painful reality of the present.
At least Levin didn’t seem to be using them yet, but his friends clearly showed signs of addiction.
Kids like them were easy to find here.
Even if someone tried to stop them, they wouldn’t listen, and Zeon wasn’t the type to meddle in someone else’s life.
In the end, everyone was responsible for their own life.
Whether they ruined themselves with drugs or worked hard and made money—it was their choice.
Zeon soon pushed thoughts of Levin and his friends aside and headed toward the market.
It had been quite a while since he last came out, but the atmosphere of the market hadn’t changed much.
“Huh? You’re still alive?”
Old man Clexi looked surprised when he saw Zeon.
As Zeon sat down at his stall, he said,
“Did you think I died or something? Why are you so surprised?”
“You disappeared for so long, I figured you were dead.”
“I was just resting at home.”
“You stayed cooped up for over half a month?”
“Yes.”
“You’re something else.”
Clexi made a face as if he were fed up.
Since Zeon hadn’t shown up for so long, even the people watching him had been withdrawn.
There was no point wasting manpower anymore.
This was the first time Clexi had ever called off surveillance midway.
“You’re really something… something strange.”
“What is?”
“Everything.”
Since he had failed to learn anything about Zeon, Clexi was clearly irritated.
Zeon was the first person to make him feel this way—and that only made him more curious.
“Have you eaten?”
“I came here to eat. Just give me anything.”
“Tch!”
Clexi clicked his tongue and began preparing food.
While waiting, Zeon glanced around.
For some reason, the atmosphere of the market felt somewhat subdued.
“Did something happen?”
“Why?”
“The mood feels a bit off.”
“It’s because there’s a poisonous snake running wild these days.”
“A snake?”
“Too cunning to be dismissed as a mere loach—and with deadly venom.”
“So what happened?”
For the first time, Zeon showed interest.
“There’s a lunatic going around killing people.”
“A lunatic?”
“They kill people, then cut them into pieces and decorate them like some kind of art.”
“Someone like that exists?”
“Hard as it is to find sane people in this world, it’s not easy to come across someone this insane either.”
After killing people, draining their blood to paint with it, and arranging their body parts—
It was something no normal person could ever do.
“And Goran is just letting that happen?”
Goran was the ruler of Sinchon.
In a broad sense, he was just another criminal, but as someone who claimed to rule Sinchon, he had a responsibility to maintain some level of order.
If he allowed such a grotesque killer to run rampant, people might lose trust in him.
“As if. He already sent someone to deal with it.”
“Then they’ll be caught soon.”
“I hope so…”
“Maybe not?”
“Didn’t I say it’s a poisonous snake? If you treat it like a mere loach, you’ll definitely regret it.”
“Hmm.”
“If you’re that concerned, why don’t you catch them yourself?”
“I’m not concerned at all.”
“You cold bastard.”
“Then why don’t you catch them, old man?”
“What power do I have to catch a murderer?”
Clexi snapped back.
“Come on, you still look pretty fit.”
“That’s just on the outside. There’s not a single part of me that doesn’t ache. My whole body hurts.”
“That still sounds pretty healthy. Why are you getting so worked up?”
“Wait until you reach my age. You’ll realize every single day is pain.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Zeon answered half-heartedly, picking his ear with his pinky finger.
Clexi couldn’t help but look dumbfounded.
Zeon was the first person in this place to treat him so casually.
He was used to people constantly bowing and scraping—so this felt oddly refreshing.
‘Just what kind of life has this guy lived?’
He was certain it hadn’t been an ordinary one.
Bang!
“Here. Eat.”
Clexi slammed the food down irritably in front of Zeon.
Soup splashed everywhere, but strangely, not a single drop touched Zeon.
That only irritated Clexi more.
“Lucky bastard.”
“I hear that a lot.”
Zeon replied calmly and began eating the unidentified dish.
Despite his foul personality, Clexi’s cooking skills were undeniable.
The moment Zeon took a bite, a smile naturally spread across his face.
“You little punk, grinning like that…”
Clexi smirked as he watched him.
Zeon finished the entire bowl in no time.
“Thanks for the meal.”
“You going straight back home?”
“Yes.”
“Aren’t you sick of staying cooped up every day? You’re young—why live like some monk?”
“What’s wrong with staying at home?”
“It’s a waste of your youth.”
“I’m enjoying life just fine. No need to worry.”
“Tch!”
When the conversation went nowhere, Clexi clicked his tongue.
No matter how much he wanted to learn more, Zeon rarely came outside, leaving him completely stuck.
As if unaware—or unconcerned—Zeon placed money on the stall and stood up.
“I’ll come again.”
“Hmph!”
Ignoring Clexi’s snort, Zeon walked away.
Before he knew it, the sky had grown dark.
At the same time, lights began turning on one by one in the slums.
Lights flickered in the building where Zeon lived as well, but most of them were unstable, blinking as if the power could cut out at any moment.
Zeon felt fortunate that he had bought the mana generator before it got any later and began climbing the stairs.
It was when he had reached around the tenth floor.
“Ahhh!”
“Argh!”
Suddenly, screams rang out from above.
At the sharp, ear-piercing sound, Zeon instinctively moved toward it.
The screams were coming from the fifteenth floor.
People had gathered at the end of the hallway there.
Zeon pushed through the crowd and moved forward.
The moment he saw inside the wide-open door, his brow furrowed.
A scene straight out of hell lay before him.