The Military Chef of a Ruined World

Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Interrogation (Part 2)

“Are you here, Sergeant Shin?”

“Yeah, thanks for your hard work. Any issues?”

“No, sir. We were concerned they might attempt to escape, but they seem to understand it’s impossible and have been quiet.”

After the initial handling of the ‘threat,’ I followed the soldiers to the basement of the restaurant where five men were detained. This was the same space where we had previously held and ‘persuaded’ Lieutenant Kim.

I entered one of the rooms.

“Hello, Chan-jung.”

Inside, a man named Chan-jung sat, bound and dazed. He was supposedly the strongest among the five and the one I personally subdued in the restaurant.

Perhaps that’s why he reacted with such terror.

He screamed and convulsed the moment he saw my face.

“Is that how you greet people?”

“I-I’m sorry!”

His immediate cowering was somewhat satisfying, both for quelling my slight irritation and establishing dominance. Trembling so pathetically, anyone observing might think he was being threatened with death.

He was terrified of me—understandably so. I had devised a non-lethal yet painful method of subduing them. The method itself was gruesome, even from my perspective.

‘It must have been excruciating for him,’ I thought, recalling how he had fainted from the pain. I hadn’t expected him to react so severely upon merely seeing me.

“Anyways, Chan-jung.”

“Y-yes!”

“I’m here because I have a few requests. Will you comply?”

“I’ll do anything! Just please, spare me!”

His intense trauma was evident; he had shown his utmost submission to me.

My conscience pricked a bit, but the situation had turned in our favor with him willing to cooperate.

‘Better to take advantage of this,’ I thought, setting aside any lingering guilt.

“Of course. As long as you cooperate, you won’t have to worry about being ‘handled’ again.”

“Eek.”

“First, have some of this.”

I handed him some confession-inducing Honest Heart Misutgaru Ice Cream that I had saved just in case. He accepted the bowl with a puzzled expression but started to relax as he ate.

‘He seemed fully submissive, but just in case,’ I thought. The ice cream, a concoction I was quite proud of, would make him overly truthful and also it was quite delicious.

“I have a few questions.”

I asked Chan-jung about several things I had been curious about but hadn’t had the chance to ask during the previous interrogation.

“The reason we attempted to occupy the outpost… it’s related to our profession.”

“Occupations?”

His revelation was startling.

“My colleagues and I… we have different jobs but a common trait.”

“Hmm? What common trait between different jobs?”

“We’re criminals.”

“Criminals?”

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“Mine and Gwon-chang’s occupation is that of an arsonists. While the others are gangsters abd con artists.”

“Hah.”

Given that this world had turned into something resembling a game, it wasn’t surprising to find such professions, but it was still shocking. These were not ‘clerics’ or ‘mages’—they were openly criminal occupations.

“It means even in this new world, there’s no trust among humans.”

“We were gangsters operating around Gangwon-do, particularly near Chuncheon.”

Chan-jung explained how he and his colleagues were part of a gangster organization active around Chuncheon.

Despite the harsh world, their organization had adapted into a quasi-corporate entity and was thriving.

“But then monsters appeared, killing people, and zombies showed up… the world started falling apart.”

In the ensuing chaos, most of their gang perished. Only the five of them survived and eventually awakened new powers.

“However, we faced a problem.”

“A problem?”

“Our line of work makes it difficult to build power.”

All of us were awakened criminals.

Although Awakeners were rare, information about the awakening itself was quietly spreading among the survivors.

These men already had a rough appearance.

Hiding their criminal-sounding job titles, it was hard to gain trust or build influence.

“So, we came up with an idea.”

“What do you mean?”

“If we can’t build power, we’ll just take over someone else’s.”

Thus, they joined the survivors’ group led by Lee Sang-ah.

They concealed the fact that they were Awakeners.

“That woman was quite diligent, and though her job was laughable, her abilities were decent. We thought her group would grow quickly. Our plan was to take over that group once it had grown.”

“Taking over someone else’s group isn’t an easy task.”

“One of our brothers has the ‘Con Artist’ ability. With that skill, we can manipulate a legitimate leader into seeming like a terrible criminal and get them ousted. Once the leader is gone, we can take over the group.”

This sent chills down my spine.

These guys.

They’re like a virus, cutting off the head of a group and taking over the body.

“So, why did you target our unit?”

“If we’re going to take over another group, it might as well be a big one. Survivor groups are generally small. We also figured Brother Gwon Chang’s abilities would be advantageous against soldiers who rely on firearms… once we subdued the soldiers and got our hands on their weapons, we wouldn’t need to infiltrate anymore.”

It just so happened that the survivor group had decided to head towards a nearby military base.

If they could seize that base and get their hands on powerful weapons, they could use force to build their power from then on.

“What if there were Awakeners in our unit?”

“That’s why we took several days to investigate. If there were Awakeners stronger than us, we planned to bide our time rather than confront them directly. We would sneak in, use the Con Artist’s abilities to gradually extend our influence, and then… rebellion. Take over.”

Listening to this, I finally understood the prophecy Taejun mentioned.

‘I wondered why we needed to hide our power from such weaklings.’

If they had known we were a strong group, they would have infiltrated our unit pretending to be survivors.

Carefully expanding their influence from the inside, like cancer cells suddenly appearing in a body.

Eventually, they would have taken over the head and the body.

‘…Even if we had realized it later, it would have been difficult to remove a group that had grown from the inside.’

If Taejun hadn’t hinted that we should hide our power, we might have suffered significant damage.

“…Ha.”

It’s good that we discovered their intentions.

Preventing their plan without any losses is a great achievement.

However, despite feeling somewhat content, there was a sense of unease.

Beyond dealing with monsters or zombies, it had come to a point where even encountering other humans required caution.

“Now that I think about it, bringing survivors into the unit was a risky move.”

It seemed like the right thing to do at the time, but…

It could have led to the unit collapsing from within if mishandled.

Having heard everyone’s stories, I left the man behind and emerged from the underground bunker.

I had a rough idea of who these guys were and what they intended.

The problem was…

“How should I deal with these guys?”

Leave them be, and they’ll just consume our resources.

The quickest solution is to deal with them before they cause more trouble.

In other words, it would involve killing them.

“We haven’t killed another human being before.”

Someday, we might have to kill each other.

But for now, to maintain the humanity of the unit, I judged it premature to do something like that.

Without resorting to killing, measures must be taken to neutralize the threat.

There must be a better way…

“Hey, Young-joon!”

“Lieutenant Kim?”

As I pondered, someone called out my name while walking through the unit.

Lieutenant Kim.

He spoke with a forced smile.

“I’ve managed to reassure the survivors as you instructed!”

The sudden threat to their lives had put the survivors on edge.

Moreover, they had learned that we were a unit comprised of awakened individuals.

Anticipating their increased anxiety, I had sent Lieutenant Kim to reassure them.

“Was there any issue?”

“Well! Some sounded a bit anxious, but you know, I’m good with words. I Managed to persuade them, and they ended up laughing it off.”

That ability really comes in handy.

“So, um…”

“Is there anything else?”

“You handled the task well, didn’t you?”

“Yes, sir, I did.”

“So, as a reward… Could you perhaps whip up some late-night snacks or something?”

“…Sure.”

I was about to say something else, but Lieutenant Kim, it seems, has developed a craving for my cooking.

Since he did a good job with the task I assigned, he’s hinting at making another dish as a reward.

“Well, maybe I crossed a line there? Just kidding! I’m perfectly content with three square meals a day! I’m definitely not trying to climb up in the ranks!”

“Oh, no, of course not. I understand. Since you’ve handled it well, let me do something for you.”

Although the ingredients aren’t exactly plentiful.

Captain Kim enjoys dishes made from monster ingredients.

Since lizard meat is abundant, I can manage this much.

“Thanks, Young-joon! I’ll remain loyal in the future too!”

“Uh… sure.”

“Hmm? Got something to say?”

“No, nothing. Carry on.”

Captain Kim, addicted to my cooking, pledged his loyalty with just a late-night snack.

Seeing him, a solution came to mind.

“Hehe, that’s all I wanted to say! I mean it!”

“I know, I know. I’ve come to ask for one more favor.”

I returned to the basement and found Chan-jung.

“Here, hold onto this notepad and pen.”

“Huh?”

“Just jot some things down there.”

Might as well.

Wouldn’t they be happy to receive what they like?

“About you and your brothers, what dishes you like, dislike, whether you prefer bland or savory, your eating habits, everything.”

A few days later.

[Achievement Unlocked – Reformation]

[A party made up of evil attributes was completely subdued with the power of cooking]

[A title has been awarded as a reward]

[Title – The Chef of Reformation]

[While cooking evil attribute monsters and occupations the effects will be increased by 30%]

An achievement and title have been given as a reward for reforming the criminals through cooking.

“Sweet.”

Some unusual members with unique occupations have joined our unit.

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Translator: One Force

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