The Regressor Only Protects Me Chapter 41

#Episode 41. Warrior (2)

Life in a detention center where I couldn’t wash, eat, or sleep properly for weeks.

But the man had a broad appearance and spirit.

It may have been because I was wearing so many layers of clothing, but it was also physically fitting.

He was a man with a body of a different dimension from that of the other citizens on the upper floors, most of whom grumbled like sick chickens.

A naturally strong body.

That’s exactly the kind of porter I wanted.

But if he came out and caused trouble like he said, it would be a headache.

There were a few things to check.

The police officer who had stepped back three steps behind me muttered.

“That little shit. F**k.”

After saying that, the police officer stepped back further.

He seemed to be scared, perhaps because he was overwhelmed by the gangster’s spirit.

I looked at the thug again only after he had moved a few steps back.

Phew-.

The thug spat on the floor.

And then I rubbed it with the sole of my foot.

“Do kids these days come to kindergarten for field trips?”

He was talking about me.

I didn’t really care.

Because being called a child wasn’t that big of a provocation to me.

I was weighing him.

Whether he is a suitable person to be my porter or not.

To be honest, in the original world, gangsters were just criminals, but now that the world has been destroyed, there is no resource as rare as gangsters.

Now, power is the only measure that can control this world.

But if you only cause trouble after coming out of the kindergarten, there is nothing more foolish than that.

I needed to exchange a few more words with him to find out if he was a useful thug with a sense of humor or just a fu*king idiot.

First of all, I wanted to know the guy’s purpose.

At that moment, urgent footsteps were heard from behind.

“Administrator… … ! Haa, haa. You’re here.”

It was Police Officer Kim Soo-kyung who had been sent to conduct the population survey.

It arrived sooner than expected.

I liked the way things were done.

Kim Soo-kyung came running, catching her breath.

He sniffed for a moment and then frowned.

“Ah-. This place really smells bad. It’s like the bathroom of an old meat restaurant. It smells like ammonia… .”

I have never been to a meat restaurant when eating out, so I couldn’t understand the smell that Kim Soo-kyung was referring to.

But I guess that was good anyway.

“Have all the people you asked me to look for gathered?”

“Oh, yes! It wasn’t that difficult. This is a list of citizens who have this job or do something similar.”

I received the chart that Kim Soo-kyung gave me.

Kim Soo-kyung shined a flashlight on the chart.

The chart was a list of the citizens there, and the names of the citizens with the jobs I had requested were underlined in red pen.

Industrial engineer, Jongpal Park, 32 years old.

Kim Du-jeong, 41, working in the interior design industry.

Jeweler, Madongsik, 72 years old.

Kim Chun-seok, 37, construction worker.

Boiler maintenance specialist, Jongcheol Lee, 53 years old.

I reached out and looked at the chart.

“Can I have a pen?”

“Oh, yes!”

Kim Soo-kyung immediately put a pen in my hand.

I’ve circled only the people who seem like they’ll be useful right away.

There were about 30 professional workers.

Among them, only one had experience working in boiler-related fields.

Lee Jong-cheol, 53 years old.

I glanced over the chart of citizens other than those underlined by Kim Soo-kyung, but I didn’t see anyone as suitable as Lee Jong-cheol.

‘The rest is borrowed as labor.’

Regardless of age, if you put in some effort, you will all be drafted.

Whether male or female, even if they are students or elderly.

I handed the chart to Kim Soo-kyung and said.

“If you want to exert some effort, please choose one and line up separately. I’ll be up in 30 minutes.”

“Oh, yes. I understand, sir. But… … may I ask why you are looking for this type of job?”

“The explanation is too long. Just do it.”

“Oh, yep! I understand.”

Kim Soo-kyung bowed her head slightly to me and then quickly left the detention center.

Perhaps he wanted to get out of here quickly, if only because of the foul smell.

In fact, the smell was so bad that even I couldn’t breathe through my nose.

Even in this foul smell, the gangster in front of me was holding his wits.

Now I had to deal with him.

“What kind of game is that, little one? Is it a game of housework? Should I come out here and play with you, Uncle?”

The gangster was still taunting me.

I took a step closer to him.

Then the police officer who was guarding the back seat called me over.

“Be careful. It’s dangerous to go near the iron bars.”

Despite the police’s earnest warning, I did not stop walking.

Then the gangster threatened in a low voice.

“Two more steps from there and I’ll kill you.”

I stopped walking right there.

In fact, if I had moved just two more steps, the thug would have been within striking distance of me, even inside the bars.

I took a little break.

It was to check the guy’s expression, condition, and next move.

The gangster was glaring at me.

After a while, I took two steps forward again.

That was when.

Boom boom boom-!!!

The thug who had been at the end of the prison cell suddenly ran at full speed from there toward the iron bars.

BANG-!!!!

The thug reached through the bars and tried to grab me by the neck.

“Ah, it’s dangerous!!!”

The police officer behind him shouted, but it was too late.

I just rolled my eyes and looked to the side, and the gangster’s tattooed arms were around my neck.

“… … .”

“Are you scared?”

The gangster’s hand stopped right next to me, not grabbing my neck.

“Haha, were you scared?”

The gangster’s eyes were sharp like those of a beast, and the rough exhalation mixed with laughter was threatening.

But I asked him calmly.

“Are you using any force?”

“… … .”

The gangster was glaring at me.

Then soon he burst into laughter again.

“Poohahahahaha-! Ahahahahaha! Are you using your strength? It’s fun, it’s fun.”

His laughter filled the kindergarten.

The gangster withdrew his swinging hand and grabbed the iron bars.

And he put his face deep into the middle of the bars.

He burst out laughing and asked again.

“Use some force? Use some force? Huh?”

Only then could I see the gangster’s face.

Although he originally had a healthy physique, his cheeks were sunken because he had not consumed any nutrients for several days.

But even so, the broad shoulders and plump body revealed under the clothes could not be hidden.

Moreover, he was overwhelmingly tall.

It looked to be close to 2m.

The gangster threatened me, showing his yellow teeth.

“Kid. Get out. If you don’t want to die. This uncle is in a bad mood right now.”

The gangster quickly erased his expression and trudged back into the detention cell.

I said to the returning gangster.

“I thought you asked if I was using my strength?”

“Strength? If I use some strength, can you get me out of here? Huh?”

Boom-!

The gangster’s expression distorted again, he trudged back and grabbed the iron bars.

Now his face was right in front of me.

The distance between our faces was at most 30 centimeters.

I looked straight into his face and said:

“If you just listen to me?”

The gangster sighed deeply and said, as if he was taken aback by that sound.

I have a good thing to listen to.

“If only there weren’t any iron bars?”

At that moment, I took another step forward.

Now the gap between him and me has narrowed even further.

At best, 15cm.

The closer I got to him, the more foul the smell became.

It was a distance where a gangster could swing his fist and be hit without fail.

So I got into his range on my own two feet.

A thug who has been sitting here for several days.

And threats.

The last one was the one that just grabbed my neck but didn’t grab it.

I was sure.

The man in front of me had no intention of causing trouble here.

Because the gangster had to get out of here.

And rather, it was the gangsters who were embarrassed.

“Listen carefully, thug.”

I looked up at him.

* * *

‘… … What the heck is this kid?’

The gangster was embarrassed.

It was clearly himself who was looking down.

The men she had looked down on until now were always lying on the floor, completely cowering.

That is why he was confident that his own grandeur would not be surpassed by anyone.

But the little boy in front of me wasn’t scared at all.

No, rather, it was he who was looking down on himself, but it seemed like he was looking up at him instead.

Just one person.

There was a time when a man who was smaller, older, and weaker than me gave off this kind of vibe.

That’s right, big brother.

He was the eldest brother of the Yongmu clan, 67 years old this year.

Although the eldest brother is short and old, he completely dominates his opponents with his aura and voice.

The older brother’s atmosphere was being felt from the little boy in front of me.

“Listen carefully, thug.”

Zion’s voice was exactly the same as his older brother’s.

* * *

Zion was looking for talent.

Broadly speaking, there are two types of talent.

The first were professional technicians.

The purpose was to build an internal boiler and seek advice from several experts for winterization.

The second was force.

Even if we hire experts, the current police force alone cannot supply food.

What Zion wanted was something different from the police reconnaissance unit.

He needed someone who could capture monsters, be stronger than them, and know how to handle them.

Of course, such talent is not limited to monsters.

Ultimately, what the powers had to deal with were other external powers.

The gangster in front of you.

Even after two weeks, he still had the mental strength to provoke the police.

Also, the size of his muscles was still overwhelming compared to others.

Of course, there are prerequisites.

Must be obedient.

Usually, gangsters are more obedient than people think.

Of course, there is one condition.

That’s recognition.

A gangster usually obeys those he recognizes.

Zion met the gangster’s eyes and opened his mouth calmly.

“The world has been destroyed by an alien race, and we are playing an unknown game. The outside world is not the world you knew. There are monsters that eat people, and humans are hunting other humans. There is a giant whale of unknown identity floating in the sky. The world has changed. So even if you leave the detention center, your brothers and sisters who are dying and cannot live may all be dead.”

“What, what… … ?”

The gangster’s expression distorted.

The gangster glanced at the policeman.

But the police officer remained silent.

“Here’s a proposition for you. If you promise to come out of the detention center and listen to what I say, I’ll get you out of the detention center.”

“… … .”

The gangster was still holding onto the iron bars and glaring at Zion.

The confident look he had shown just a moment ago was nowhere to be found, and the corners of his mouth were slightly downturned, creating a mysterious expression that made it hard to tell whether he was sad or afraid.

The gangster made his final provocation.

“If you leave the detention center, I will kill you. Can you believe me?”

“If you kill me, you will definitely die.”

“… … Do you think there’s anyone here who can kill me?”

“There is someone who can kill you.”

“haha.”

The gangster swept his bangs up.

He was dumbfounded and held his tongue, but it didn’t seem like what Kang Shi-on was saying in front of him was a lie.

The gangster exhaled.

“I’m a person with no future. I’ll just kill you and then I’ll die too. Right?”

“If there’s no way back, why haven’t you killed him yet?”

“what?”

“You want to get out of there and leave the police station, don’t you?”

“Who are you to judge me, kid? Huh?

“Let me tell you something.”

Zion looked the thug up and down.

The gangster’s appearance was like a lion standing on two legs.

Because his long hair felt just like a lion’s mane.

“People who have no reason to leave this place do nothing because they have no reason to do anything. Just like those people over there.”

Zion pointed to the people lying around in a corner of the detention center and said.

The gangster looked at him once, then glared at Zion again.

“But you exercise and provoke the police a bit. You’re within striking distance of killing me, but you don’t. Isn’t that strange? If you were a really shameless bastard, you’d try to kill them all if you got the chance. And you didn’t even cause a scene inside. Instead, you even tried to appease the man who was clinging to the iron bars. Aren’t you a model prisoner? You have pride, so you have to provoke the police… … But you don’t do that because you can’t avoid punishment if you cause a big problem. No. In fact, you have no reason to kill me. Since today is the first time we’ve met, you probably don’t have any resentment or feelings.”

Thud, thud.

Zion walked a little to the side.

He continued speaking, looking into the inner chambers of the kindergarten.

“It’s clear that there’s a reason. But what the heck. You don’t have to have a reason to go out. I have the authority and power to get you out of there right now, and you’re just a criminal locked up in a detention center. That alone gives me more than enough power over you. Unless you’re stupid, you know that. And… … you also know now that I’m not a brat that you can treat poorly.”

The gangster was silent.

Only Zion’s voice filled the kindergarten.

Zion looked into the prison cell and then approached the gangster again.

While Zion looked into the prison cell, the gangster held the iron bars and did not move even once.

“Are you feeling hurt? Some brat showed up and said he’d let you go if you just did as I said.”

“… … .”

“I’m making you a proposal. Not a threat.”

The gangster’s breathing gradually became rougher.

But the low, majestic voice of Zion rang calmly and steadily through the prison.

Just like the gangster’s older brother.

“I need you. I came here because I need you. No matter what, no matter what the circumstances. I promise you. If you give me what I want, I will take responsibility and get you out of here. … … Surely you do understand what I am proposing?”

Zion took another step closer to the gangster.

Now Zion was completely overwhelming the gangsters.

He was completely neutralizing the gangsters with just his words, atmosphere, and tone.

The gangster now felt like a little boy in front of Zion.

“Either you cooperate with me or you rot inside. That’s your choice.”

“… … .”

Zion continued, quietly glaring at the gangster.

“I’ll tell you one more thing. If you stay here, you will definitely die.”

“… … .”

At those words, the gangster’s pupils shook.

Zion checked his wristwatch, then raised his head again to look at the gangster.

“Come back tomorrow. Think about it until then. You don’t get a second chance.”

Zion turned around and walked away.

Thump, thump, thump.

His footsteps echoed throughout the kindergarten.

The gangster who had been holding the iron bars until then finally let go of them after confirming that Zion had disappeared into the darkness.

The gangster muttered without realizing it.

“F*ck… … .”

Because none of Zion’s words were wrong.

The gangster, no, Choi Myeong-jun, had to get out of here.

Especially if the world has already been destroyed.

(Continued in the next episode)