Chapter 281

It's a very clear choice.

"I want to buy some fruit!"

"Give me the fruit now!"

"fruit!"

Even if you kill 'Ber' who came out of the bank and took all the coins, it was obvious that those who were

left would eventually fight over the coins again.

It's virtually impossible to not get hurt in the process.

That is, in the end, they had to come back to the bank again, bleeding profusely, to buy fruit.

So what will be left in the end?

In the end, only the bank benefits.

In comparison, what about the other options?

How about getting a huge pile of coins flashing right in front of you?

If you buy the fruit at regular price and resell it at five times the price, should you really put up with this?

Euaaaahhhhh!

"fruit!"

"Give me the fruit!"

There is no such thing as a mob.

The villains who were harassing bankers to sell them fruit were almost madness-like.

The citizens of this city have long been brainwashed by debt and coins.

They are willing to kill to pay off their debts and get coins.

No, just murder?

In the first place, this place is a city of villains.

In particular, debt hunters wearing explosive chokers around their necks even openly threatened bank em

ployees by grabbing them by the collar and making threats as if they were going to kill them.

"What are you doing! Why don't you come out right now!"

"What's wrong with me buying fruit from the bank with my own money?"

"How much more will my loan amount be in the future?!"

"Okay! I might as well take out a loan while I'm at it!"

"Hand it over! Now!"

They did not hesitate to buy fruit, even going so far as to take out loans.

If you resell it right away, you'll get five times the money back anyway, so what's the problem?

With such a guaranteed return on investment, how many people would not take out a loan?

"Okay, wait a minute!"

"wait a minute!"

The bankers were at a loss and couldn't help but panic at their explosive momentum.

But there was no way.

Of course, they could also refuse to trade with them in the name of maintaining the city's balance, but res

tricting the purchase of fruits essential for survival in this apocalypse could lead to riots by all the villains in t

he city.

If it was just one 'Ber', it might be okay, but if all the villains in the city rose up, there was no way for the

bank to suppress them.

'That crazy guy... ... .'

In the end, the vice president looked at Ber, who was leisurely looking at the mess that was Abigwihwan,

with a look of defeat on his face.

and.

* * *

… … Crunch!

After hearing the whole story, the bank president snapped the neck of the vice president he was holding

and killed him.

The vice president lost his life without even being able to scream.

Then something amazing happened.

Whaaaaaah!

The bank president's 'tree roots', which consisted of hard bark and squirming tree trunks instead of arms,

began to suck up the red energy from inside the dead vice president's body.

Slap.

Eventually, the lifeless, shriveled corpse rolled helplessly on the floor like a dried-up tree.

The expression on the bank manager's face as he trampled the corpse with his foot was surprisingly 'satis

fied'.

"Ugh. You ate a lot, kid. Did you sneak some fruit from me while you were away?"

Hib.

The sound of someone hiccuping.

The bank manager's words made the employees, who had a history of secretly stealing fruit from the war

ehouse, look pale.

As far as they knew, the bank manager's awakening level was only B-class.

But at the same time, he was the bank president who ate the most Alfheim fruit of anyone in the city.

They had no idea what would happen if they ate that much fruit, or how strong they would become.

To begin with, Alfheim itself was an unknown entity.

You can't know what effect something has on your body until you try it yourself.

Just one thing.

There was something they knew.

The bank manager is most wary of someone else eating more fruit than he does.

Clang.

His arm, which had turned into a tree trunk, shrank back to its original state.

The bank manager absently stroked his own arm, which had returned to its fleshy color, and asked his em

ployees who were trembling with fear as they looked at him.

"So where is the guy?"

"That, that… … disappeared again. Suddenly, the moment I left the bank."

"Then what about the other guys who were here?"

"They sold all the fruit back to him and went their separate ways."

"Well, I guess so. Thanks to that guy, they've each made a lot of money, so I guess they'll just hide and

watch out for each other for a while. Haa, this is getting annoying."

The bank manager regained his composure, perhaps thanks to venting his anger or feeling satisfied, and t

ook a moment to collect his thoughts.

"Hmm. First, we need to refill the empty warehouse. If rumors start to spread that there is no fruit in the

bank, the loan sharks will come and raid this place right away."

Gulp.

At those words, the employees' expressions became determined.

The reason a bank can exist as a bank in this lawless land is because of its 'fruit'.

No matter how much the debtors live in debt.

Even though I was wearing a bomb necklace and was treated like a slave, my life was threatened every d

ay.

The reason they could never challenge the authority of the bank was because the bank held the 'fruit'.

With all the fruits that heal all wounds gathered here, what kind of crazy person would volunteer to rob a

bank to make some money?

Although life should be one and only, bankers who hold the fruit are like storing a warehouse full of spare

lives.

But now things are completely different.

'The fruit is gone.'

'Instead, the money piled up just as much as mine.'

… … A bank that only has money and no fruit.

Isn't this really the worst?

What better time to provoke debt collectors than now?

"Everyone, be prepared for terrorism. If word gets out, the debt collectors might come knocking."

… … ?!

At those words, a determined look appeared on the faces of all the bank employees who had been terrifie

d.

This is no joke.

Haven't we just experienced the violence of the mob that was shouting at us to buy fruit?

But that was just medicine.

Their goal was to make money, not to pay off debt.

But how many debt collectors have been squeezing our souls with their debts as bait?

If this situation became known to all the debt collectors in the city, it would only take a moment for them

to turn into bank robbers.

"And spread the false rumor throughout the city as quickly as possible. The truth is that there is another fr

uit warehouse in the bank."

"Yes, yep."

"We must buy as much time as possible. Time to refill the warehouse with fruit."

At the bank manager's command, the employees began to move busily.

"I will doubles the fruit of the fruit for a few days."

"Oh, I see… … ."

"If you know what you're doing, move quickly!"

"Yes, yep!"

"… … No, wait."

Towering.

The bank manager turned his head out the window at the ominous feeling he felt for a moment.

Doo doo doo doo doo doo… … .

I could feel a slight vibration under my feet.

"Could it be already… … ?"

It's ominous.

His expression hardened.

No, that can't be.

This is too fast, even if it's fast.

Given the size of the city, it's unlikely that word had already spread to the loan sharks.

'Even if the rumor spreads, it can't reach everyone yet. It's still a long way before they join forces to attac

k... '

but.

As always, ominous feelings are never wrong.

"… … Damn it. Everyone stop what you're doing and grab your weapons!"

"… … !"

The bank employees were startled by the bank manager's sudden shout and grabbed their weapons.

And they too, a little too late, ended up seeing what he was seeing.

Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo… … !

Far away, outside the window… … .

A lot of debt collectors were flocking here.

With a bomb choker around her neck.

"Oh, how already?!"

That's ridiculous.

Even if there were a lot of hunters who returned here after making five times the money, isn't this too fas

t?

but.

They never dared imagine.

The fact that right now, beneath the feet of the loan sharks who are frantically wielding weapons and rush

ing into the bank, there are 'shadows' spreading rumors in real time at this very moment.

[Hey, did you hear that? They say the bank is out of fruit?]

[Hey, no way.]

[No. Seriously! That bakery villain who showed up at the market earlier bought up all the fruit in the bank.]

[What, really?! Then what's at the bank right now... ... !]

[There aren't any fruits!]

[What? Then isn't now the chance?]

[What are you doing? The other guys have already left, saying it's their chance to get revenge on the bank

ers!]

[How long must we live as slaves to those bastards?]

[Yes, that's right. I escaped all the way to North Korea, so why do I have to become a slave to capitalism

here again?]

The identity of those voices is this morning.

These were the countless shadow soldiers that Suho had planted in the shadows of the people gathered

at the market.

And even at this moment, rumors about the bank were spreading throughout the city, following people's s

hadows.

"What the hell! What the hell is going on!"

The bank manager couldn't believe it.

The fact that the situation in the city, which had been peaceful until now, became like this in just one day.

He eventually had no choice but to resort to the very last resort.

When a city gets to this point, there's only one thing it has to do.

"First, stop it somehow! I'll do whatever it takes to buy as much time as possible!"

"Yes, yes!"

At his abstract command, answers immediately came out of the bank employees' mouths.

And without saying who would go first, they began to draw out the energy of the 'fruit' they had eaten.

Tsk tsk tsk!

Then, in an instant, their skin hardened like tree bark.

Although it may not be possible to reach the level that the bank manager showed us earlier, the bankers

gathered here were the ones who had so far enjoyed the most fruit among the citizens of the city.

And how to use this power was something I could quickly learn from what the bank manager had just sho

wn me.

And with this level of power, it seemed possible to buy some time as the bank manager ordered.

Because the skin has become hard like tree bark, the defense power has increased.

But none of them knew what the bank manager was going to do next.

Kwajik!

The bank president tore up the floor of the bank in front of everyone.

Then, the 'safe' hidden there was revealed.

'Secret safe?'

'There was a safe we didn't know about?'

'There's no way there's fruit there?'

'Or a weapon?'

The first thing that came to mind was fruit, but what the bank manager took out when he opened the sec

ret safe was nothing else.

'slate?'

It was a small stone tablet with a strange pattern engraved on it.

While everyone was wondering, the bank manager ground his teeth and grabbed the slate.

"Just hold on a little longer. In the meantime, I will… …buy some fruit from another city."

"… … ?!"

The bank employees' eyes widened at those words.

The city was a paradise for the last remaining villains in 'North Korea'.

But the villains' city wasn't only in North Korea.

I've only heard rumors, but there are villains in China and Russia who have fled to avoid their association

s...

"Whew. I hate reaching out to those guys more than anything, but I have no choice because it's urgent. I

have no choice but to buy at least a few hundred from China or Russia, or wherever they sell the fruit cheap

ly."

Again, money is flowing in because of that fucking guy.

The bank manager sighed deeply and activated the slate.

Saaaah-

As the red aura extended from the bank manager's hand and the stone slab flashed with light, the empty

space in front of him was forcibly distorted and a 'gate' opened.

* * *

And that moment.

"Chairman, there is a radio message."

"ah?"

A hunter approached Woo Jin-cheol, who was taking a breather on top of the piled up corpses of demon

s.

The hunter handed him a water jug along with a radio.

"Thank you. I was just feeling thirsty."

Woo Jin-cheol gulped down water and turned on the radio.

It may look old-fashioned, but it was a state-of-the-art radio that allowed communication to continue ev

en in this foggy apocalypse.

Chiik-

After a while, a calm voice was heard over the radio.

-Report. This is the Shadow of Paradise. An abnormality has occurred. A riot has broken out in the city. T

his is due to a villain named 'Ber' who first arrived in the city yesterday… … .

"Phew!"

Woo Jin-cheol, who had been listening to the report leisurely, was so flustered that he suddenly spat out

the water in his mouth.

The hunter who brought the radio couldn't help but feel even more nervous at the noticeably flustered loo

k.

Chairman Woo Jin-cheol, who always keeps everything under control calmly and coolly… … is so flustere

d?

'How serious is the situation over the radio! Wait a minute. Are you laughing right now?'

The hunter felt confused for a moment.

Woo Jin-cheol raised the black sunglasses he was wearing and asked into the walkie-talkie.

"Are you saying that 'Ber' just appeared there?"

The corners of Woo Jin-cheol's mouth went up as if he had been embarrassed for some time.