Chapter 19: You’re my Zhang Ja Bang

After returning to the shelter, only the youngest, Sejeong and Soyul, had been put to bed, and everyone else in the shelter gathered together.

Not that there were many people—just Yohan’s family and Juhui.

“You all know Soyul’s mom, right? From today, Soyul’s mom will be staying here in the shelter too. Is there… anyone who objects?”

There wasn’t anyone who would object outright, especially not with Juhui right in front of them, but seeing how Seoyoung and Junga had greeted Juhui so warmly, Yohan figured she was already accepted as part of the group, so he asked without hesitation.

“Of course!”

“The more people we have together, the better, Dad.”

Hearing his daughters, Yohan nodded and spread a map out on the dining table.

It was a Bucheon City Map he had printed out in advance, worried the internet might go down.

“Alright, Juhui, where did you first encounter the Bucheon Brothers Clan?”

“Uh… the first time was near Lotte Cinema at Bucheon Station.”

“Lotte Cinema? Sinjung-dong?”

“Dad, it was Lotte Cinema at Bucheon Station. The Jamzone Plaza building.”

“Ah, that place!”

Yohan looked at the map.

Jamzone Plaza was a high-rise building located right next to Central Plaza at Bucheon Bukbu Station.

“So, you met them in front of Bucheon Station.”

Bucheon Station was one of the most bustling areas in Bucheon, full of universities, restaurants, bars, and a large supermarket. Before Subway Line 7 was built, it was the busiest downtown area in Bucheon.

It was common for locals to say, “Let’s meet in Bucheon,” meaning “Let’s meet in front of Bucheon Station.”

Even now, that hadn’t changed.

“From what Juhui says, it sounds like they still have quite a few people… If that’s the case, they might have taken over the Bucheon Station Emart.”

“Uh… I think you’re right, Sejeong’s father. When the fighting started, I caught a glimpse of people from the Bucheon Brothers Clan coming out of Bucheon Station.”

“Hmm…”

Yohan’s expression darkened.

That was also the place where he and Jeonghu had planned to secure additional supplies.

“I made a mistake.”

“Huh?”

“Thinking long-term, we should have gone to the big supermarkets at Bucheon Station or City Hall Station from the start and secured supplies at least once.”

“Well, we had a supermarket here, so it wasn’t really necessary for us, right?”

“That’s true, but still…”

They had no worries about food.

Quantity-wise, they could last for years.

But in this situation, food wasn’t everything.

Just looking at the walkie-talkies, it was clear—they should have secured anything that could be useful.

“Do you really think all that stuff is gone? Don’t worry, Dad! The best way to farm isn’t to waste time on useless loot, but to beat people in a fight and take their stuff!”

“Shut up, you brat.”

“Yessir!”

“Pfft! Whose brother is he, anyway? All talk, tsk tsk.”

“You shut up, too!”

“Hmph!”

Yohan glared fiercely at Jeonghu and Junga, who were bickering, making them fall silent, and looked back at the map.

For now, the place most likely to be their stronghold was Bucheon Station.

“The important thing is knowing their exact numbers and fighting power.”

They had too little information.

Honestly, having any information at all in this situation would be strange—or even cheating.

“I’ll have to find out.”

“Are you saying you’re going to scout them out?”

“That’s right.”

Yohan looked out the window.

It was just past noon, with the sun still high in the sky.

“It’s still a bit too early to go scouting…”

At his words, Seoyoung, who had been quietly listening, spoke up carefully.

“Dad, maybe now is actually better?”

“Why?”

“Because the Game has started.”

“The Game?”

“If this Game was like the first or second Game, they’d probably be busy just defending their own base, but this time the Game is called Loot War.”

“Loot War… Right, that’s true!”

Loot War. You could steal not just items, but even your opponent’s abilities.

It was a wicked way to encourage fighting, but for those forced to play, there was no better opportunity.

That went for the powerful factions, too.

It was a chance to make their people even stronger.

If they used this opportunity well, they could become rulers of Bucheon.

The problem was that the enemy might be moving around in squads, but even with the risk, the Bucheon Brothers Clan might be out searching for people.

“There will be some left behind to guard their base, but probably not many.”

“Exactly. Or we might run into them on the street.”

“Hmm…”

“Now’s the perfect time. We don’t need to go straight to their base—we can take down the Bucheon Brothers Clan one by one.”

Seeing Seoyoung speak so confidently, Yohan let out a small laugh and gave her a thumbs-up.

“You’re my Zhang Ja Bang.”

“Zhang Ja Bang?”

“It’s a thing.”

Yohan patted Seoyoung’s head and stood up.

“Are you heading out right away?”

“No telling when this Loot War will end, so we need to move as quickly as possible. Jeonghu, get ready.”

“I’m coming too?”

“Of course.”

Once again, Yohan decided to take only Jeonghu with him.

While Jeonghu hurried off to get ready without delay, Yohan turned to Juhui.

“I’ll leave the kids in your care.”

“Yes, of course. Don’t worry too much.”

Thanks to Juhui joining them, the burden of leaving his family behind was lighter than before.

It was only five minutes, but Juhui was as strong as he was.

She didn’t seem the type to betray them, either.

Feeling reassured, Yohan stepped out of the shelter.

“Dad, where should we go first?”

“Let’s head toward Bucheon Station. I doubt they’ll risk going too far from their base.”

“Understood.”

Jeonghu started the engine and they set off energetically.

Since the sun was high in the sky, they could hear the sounds of fighting from all around.

Gunshots and explosions rang out frequently—it was no ordinary day.

“It really is chaos.”

“There are probably people fighting as fiercely as our family, maybe even the military moving, and punks like the Bucheon Brothers Clan running wild.”

Or maybe people were just killing each other.

Sure enough, as soon as they hit the street, they saw people fighting.

“Are those the Bucheon Brothers Clan?”

“Not sure, but judging by their appearance, I don’t think so.”

Kang!

A middle-aged man stabbed a young man in the chest with a knife.

“Huff… Huff…”

“D-dad, did we win?”

“Yeah, we won. This man’s items are ours now!”

The middle-aged man spoke heavily to his family, then picked up the fallen man’s weapon and handed it to his son.

They looked just like Yohan’s family, ordinary people trying to get stronger by taking weapons from tougher opponents.

Not wanting to steal from them, Yohan quietly brought the car to a stop.

Just then,

“If you carry your stuff around carelessly, it’s dangerous, old man. You should hand it over to us, not your son. I’m telling you nicely.”

A group suddenly appeared.

Roughly twenty people.

Yohan’s eyes gleamed as he saw them.

There was no proof they were the Bucheon Brothers Clan, but anyone could see they looked like local gangsters.

“N-no way! That’s my son’s!”

“Oh, your son’s? Wasn’t it that kind young man’s, the one who just died without even fighting? Anyway, we all saw, so just hand it over quietly and we won’t kill you.”

While the gangster boss was talking, the middle-aged man hesitated.

His son, biting his lip, swung the item he’d taken from the young man.

A rod with a blue orb the size of a fist? No, it was a staff.

Anyone who’d played online games would recognize it.

It was a staff for casting magic.

“Huh? Huh? Why isn’t this…”

The son stared at the staff in shock.

It looked like it could unleash terrifying magic, but nothing happened.

The gang leader, who had flinched for a second, just smirked.

“Guess the original owner was too useless to use it, and died without ever activating it. Looks like you can’t use it either.”

With that, the gangster boss stepped forward.

“D-don’t come any closer!”

The middle-aged man moved to shield his son.

At that moment, the boss grinned.

His chubby face twitched,

Chwarararak!

“Khak!”

From the gangster’s hand, something like an iron chain shot out, piercing the man’s neck.

“Gah!”

“D-dad!”

As the son called out frantically, another iron chain shot out from the gangster’s back, impaling both the son and the mother.

“Ah!”

Jeonghu gasped in shock.

Watching an entire family get killed left him feeling uneasy. It felt like he was seeing his own family in their place.

‘If our family didn’t have Dad…’

As Jeonghu thought that and looked at Yohan, Yohan spoke.

“Let’s go, Jeonghu.”

“Huh?”

Before Jeonghu could even react, Yohan quietly got out of the car and headed behind the enemies who were collecting the dead family’s items.

He didn’t know what kind of weapon the gangster boss had let’s just call him Pig for convenience but the guy clearly had a unique ability.

It was such a threatening weapon that, in the past, Yohan would have avoided him. But now, if something looked useful, he had to take it.

Gathering the energy of the Asura Blood God Palm throughout his body, Yohan unleashed the Asura Blood God Palm Fifth Form: Suranodo at the distracted gangsters.

Kuuuuung.

A massive crimson wave surged from Yohan’s hand like a tidal wave.

With his much stronger internal energy, the force was even more fearsome than before.

Kwaaaang!

Before the enemies could even react, Yohan saw them explode and clenched his fist.

“That was easier than I…wait, maybe not?”

Just when he thought he’d wiped them all out, as the dust cleared, a single figure appeared.

“What the… Damn, are they all dead?”

The man clicked his tongue as he looked at his fallen comrades,

“That’s… Gangster Pig…”

It was the man who’d been leading the gangsters.

“Wow! I’ve never seen a crazy ability like that, except from our big boss.”

As the dust cleared and the gangster appeared, Yohan’s eyes sparkled.

A weapon similar to the chains that had pierced people in an instant.

A threatening weapon that could strike from any part of the body, and at the same time, it was a suit of armor covering his whole body.

The gangster, encased in that armor, turned his gaze to where Suranodo had come from.

Soon, he spotted Yohan standing there, looking right at him.

“What? Old man, that was you? You’re strong. Where’d you get that ability?”

Yohan calmly drew his Heavenly Demon Spear.

“Doesn’t matter.”

‘You’re going to die anyway!’