Episode 5.
“This is an enhanced gun, you son of a bitch!”
A clear, ringing voice echoed out.
But the scarred man—Jeong Unjin, commonly known as Bulgom—couldn’t utter a single word.
‘What the hell?’
Isn’t this the Republic of Korea, a nation of law and order?
I wake up only to find I’m a Black guy in some American slum?
This isn’t some kind of novel, so why a gun?
‘No, it wasn’t a toy gun?’
Impossible!
It was definitely a toy gun.
When the trigger was pulled, the sound was taang—, unmistakably weak and hollow, wasn’t it?
But then why?
Why the hell had it pierced through his knee?
Did kids these days play with such vicious weapons?
Not even those rough Russian kids would play around with such a lethal instrument.
“Fucking crazy!”
A curse spilled out naturally.
It wasn’t to threaten the opponent or to fuel rage—it was an expression of pure shock.
‘Is it illegally modified?’
He had encountered such things a few times.
But those fired steel balls instead of BBs—weapons truly modified for killing.
He had seen white fragments skittering across the floor just now.
Those weren’t steel balls; they were BBs.
Just a BB could put a hole in a person’s body?
Gulp.
He swallowed dryly from the tension.
One thing was certain: that toy—no, that gun—possessed the penetrating power to pierce through a body.
A gun.
The sense of crisis it brought was enough to freeze thugs who lived by the blade solid.
*
『+99(Max) Pigeon Repellent BB Gun
Classification: Firearm (Glock)
Durability: 4/5
Unique Effect: None
Enhancement Effect (9/99): Slight increase in power
Enhancement Effect (15/99): Slight increase in speed
Enhancement Effect (20/99): Slight increase in accuracy
Enhancement Effect (30/99): Slight increase in piercing power
……
Enhancement Effect (99/99): Great increase in power, speed, accuracy, and piercing power
Max Enhancement Effect (Max): Low chance of complete target penetration
Description: A toy gun designed to repel pigeons. Originally meant to deliver a stinging impact, but a fully enhanced BB pellet has gone from chasing to hunting.』
As its name suggests, its original purpose was repelling pigeons.
However, this BB gun—enhanced, no, maxed out at +99—had become a firearm that could no longer be called a toy.
It boasted enough power to dig deep into rock, if not solid steel.
Moreover, the max enhancement special effect, ‘Complete Penetration,’ meant that once it activated, it would unconditionally pierce the target.
Even if that target were steel.
But the activation rate was extremely low.
That’s why I hadn’t expected it, but—what do you know?
“Wow, that must hurt.”
I wasn’t making fun of him.
I said it because I was genuinely surprised—I hadn’t thought it would actually pierce through.
“You….”
The scarred man tried to move.
“Stop.”
But I aimed my gun and stopped him.
“You’d better stay still if you don’t want to see my gun spit fire.”
Of course, since it wasn’t igniting gunpowder, there was no muzzle flash to speak of.
I was just throwing around a line I’d heard somewhere.
However.
“….”
The effect was tremendous!
The men, frozen stiff, stood rooted to the spot, not daring to move a muscle.
Taang—
With another shallow noise.
Thwack!
The BB pellet embedded itself into the wall beside the scarred man.
More accurately, it exploded.
The plastic BB pellet couldn’t withstand the impact and burst, leaving a mark on the wall.
That was enough of a threat.
“….”
The scarred man’s face stiffened after seeing the BB pellet graze right past him.
As expected, the law bows to the fist, the fist to the knife, and the knife to the gun.
“Go and deliver a message. I’ll come find you soon, so tell them not to bother people unnecessarily.”
“And you expect us to believe that?”
Fair enough.
What lunatic would walk into the lion’s den of his own accord?
“So what?”
What are you going to do if you don’t believe?
“You seem to be seriously mistaken about something.”
I raised the gun threateningly.
The thugs flinched at my slightest movement.
“Whether you believe it or not, that’s none of my business. What matters is that I have this gun. Isn’t that right?”
“….”
Silence was an affirmative answer.
They had realized one thing.
As long as I held this gun, no conversation or threat would work on me.
“So get lost. I’ll find you on my own when I have the time.”
The men reluctantly backed away.
As I brushed past them, moving through the path they’d cleared—
“….”
“….”
I saw a swift exchange of glances between the scarred man and the big one.
Ha—look at this?
And with that.
Shhick!
A hand moved.
A sashimi knife that had been concealed in his bosom—its sharp edge rushed toward my chest.
But.
Taang—
“Aaaargh!”
The gun was faster than the hand.
The fired BB pellet accurately pierced the wrist joint of the man wielding the sashimi knife.
But he wasn’t the only one.
“Die!”
“Shit!”
Simultaneously, they charged at me from all sides.
Each wielded a weapon in their hands.
One gun versus five men.
They must have rushed in thinking they had the advantage of numbers, but it was a miscalculation.
Another BB gun concealed at my waist—also purchased as a pigeon repellent and enhanced to +99.
Taang, tang—
Two shots.
Tatang—
And two more.
“Kuk!”
“Kuak!”
Thanks to its rate of fire, which differed from that of a real gun, four of them collapsed in an instant.
But.
“Shhhiek—”
The scarred man.
He had managed to close the distance and thrust the sashimi knife into my lower abdomen.
Tuk—
“…?”
But the sound of piercing flesh I expected didn’t come.
Instead.
Crunch!
“Kuaaaargh!”
Rather, the wrist of the man who had stabbed with the sashimi knife broke and dangled limply.
“Good work.”
Into the belly of the struggling man.
Taang—
“Kuaaargh!”
I fired the BB pellet directly.
Splorch!
Luck would have it that Complete Penetration activated, leaving a hole in the lower abdomen.
Blood trickled out.
The fortunate thing was that, thanks to missing the internal organs, it wasn’t a fatal wound.
“Kuk, kuuuk—”
But the pain was real.
The man groaned in agony, biting his lip as he clutched his broken wrist and lower abdomen.
Even though he was a seasoned thug, the pain must have been considerable, yet he endured it well.
“Sorry about that. I’m just a bit too thorough in my preparations, you see.”
What I had prepared wasn’t just the BB gun.
Concealed inside my padded jacket was a stab-proof vest—a raw item that would protect me from blades.
『+99(Max) Stab-proof Vest Ordered from Hopang Delivery
Classification: Armor (Stab-proof Vest)
Durability: 15/20
Unique Effect: Slight blade resistance
Enhancement Effect (9/99): Slight increase in blade resistance
Enhancement Effect (15/99): Slight increase in blade resistance
Enhancement Effect (20/99): Slight increase in blade resistance
……
Enhancement Effect (99/99): Moderate increase in blade resistance
Max Enhancement Effect (Max): Breaks the opponent’s wrist with strong repelling force
Description: A stab-proof vest ordered through Hopang Dawn Delivery. It originally possessed slight resistance to blades, but through +99 enhancements, it completely protects the wearer from ordinary blades and even gains an effect that rebounds the opponent’s attack.』
The broken wrist wasn’t due to the man’s amateurism.
It was broken by the repelling force of the stab-proof vest’s max enhancement effect.
“Well, I have no choice but to admit it.”
Ha—I let out a sigh as I looked at the men one by one.
“I was weak. From the start, I should’ve just taken you down before talking.”
This was something unimaginable before my regression.
Perhaps because I’d been dealing with ‘humans’ living in an ordinary era, I’d grown a bit soft.
“Well, I suppose it’s not too late even now.”
I raised the gun.
“W-wait….”
The startled scarred man and the thugs tried to add something, but.
Tang, taang—
Successive gunshots rang out, and.
“Kuuuak!”
“Kuk!”
“Kuuuk!”
Screams.
Exactly 24 shots.
Those 24 BB pellets were enough to shatter the bastards’ arms and legs.
“To deliver a message, you only need your mouths intact, don’t you?”
Kindness for kindness.
Hostility met with greater hostility.
That was the creed that had taken root in my heart while living through the apocalypse.
And that much hasn’t changed, even now in this era of peace.
“Well then.”
I took my steps after bidding a final farewell.
It seemed I needed to start sorting out the Kang family before things escalated further.
*
“Sheesh, it looks exactly like ginseng, yet it’s damn expensive.”
A square wooden box.
Inside it was moss(?), soil, and ginseng (蔘).
With its slender roots, it wasn’t low-grade root like balloon flower or common ginseng, but nothing less than Jangnyeok Mountain ginseng—purchased as an 11-root set for the hefty sum of 100,000 won at a herbal medicine shop in the open-air market held near Jangnyeok Mountain.
Because I’d suddenly taken an interest in my health?
Of course, my current body was so frail that I was interested, but eating 11 roots of Jangnyeok Mountain ginseng wouldn’t suddenly turn me into a merchant or anything.
If I were consuming an Elixir that would only appear after the future apocalypse, that might be a different story.
Holding a single root of Jangnyeok Mountain ginseng.
Flash.
I attempted to enhance it.
Flash, flash!
A golden light flashed dozens of times.
In the case of ginseng classified as a medicinal herb, since it fell under ‘Consumables’ rather than miscellaneous items, full enhancement was possible.
After completing the +99 enhancement like that, I activated the Appraiser’s Eye.
『+99(Max) Jangnyeok Mountain Ginseng Cultivated with the Blood and Sweat of Ginseng Digger I Chunsam
Classification: Consumable (Medicinal Herb)
Durability: None
Unique Effect: Temporary stamina increase
Enhancement Effect (9/99): Slight increase in stamina boost
Enhancement Effect (15/99): Temporary state of mental clarity
Enhancement Effect (20/99): Temporary decrease in skin aging
……
Enhancement Effect (99/99): Slight resistance to cancer
Max Enhancement Effect (Max): Complete cure of dementia symptoms for 1 hour
Description: Jangnyeok Mountain ginseng cultivated with devotion by ginseng digger I Chunsam. Through repeated enhancements, this ginseng can perform the miracle of temporarily curing all symptoms of dementia.』
Since I had enhanced various herbs even before my regression, I remembered the effects of Jangnyeok Mountain ginseng clearly as well.
Because it wasn’t ‘Transcendent Enhancement,’ it hadn’t gained permanent effects, but it temporarily raised various abilities.
However, none of the other effects caught my eye.
What I saw was the max enhancement effect: ‘Complete cure of dementia symptoms for 1 hour.’
“This should be enough.”
This was a sort of bribe to be used on the Kang family—on them, who were currently too much for me to handle.
「…It has been a full month since Taewang Group Chairman Gang Seonghyeon collapsed and began receiving treatment. Fortunately, he regained consciousness and was reported to be gradually improving with the help of those around him. However, recent reports say he is showing symptoms of dementia due to the infirmities of old age, drawing regret from those around him….」
From the smartphone, over speakerphone, flowed the news regarding the illness of Taewang Group Chairman Gang Seonghyeon, who had recently begun showing symptoms of dementia.
“I wonder what conditions our grand Taewang Group can offer the sworn enemy who laid hands on their grandson?”
A momentary complete cure for dementia symptoms.
If they saw that effect, they’d probably try to buy it even for hundreds of millions.
Even if it was me who laid hands on their grandson and granddaughter.
Of course, they wouldn’t even dream that its effect lasts only 1 hour, a single moment.