The Military Chef of a Ruined World

At one point, Sang-heok had contemplated selling cigarettes.

In a bygone era, cigarette products would typically be found on the first floors of supermarkets and convenience stores.

All of those stores had been thoroughly submerged in the dungeons, and it was clear that the value of cigarettes would skyrocket.

People would go to great lengths to find them, driven by that quintessential craving, even if it risked their lives.

In such circumstances, he hypothesized that a single pack of cigarettes would be worth at least a week’s worth of combat rations.

Yet, in reality,

“…They ended up selling for just 1 combat ration.”

Such a conclusion was made possible only due to the selling skills he possessed.

Sang-heok was utterly baffled;

Or that cigarettes had suddenly turned unpalatable.

No, it was much simpler than that.

“Combat rations are just… far tastier!”

In a clash between commodities, the rations utterly crushed the competition.

“I wouldn’t buy them either.”

No matter how appealing people considered cigarettes, why would anyone choose to buy them if they could enjoy the superior taste of combat rations instead?

Consistent circulation in the market, along with a guarantee of worth, played significant roles in solidifying the perceived value of rations as currency.

Even though all sorts of things contributed to their marketability, the value of 1 combat ration was exceedingly high.

Most transactions were conducted in small fractional values.

‘The battery I sold earlier today ought to be worth about 1 combat ration under normal conditions… No, probably even lower.’

The buyer didn’t realize how Sang-heok’s merchant skills had allowed him to serve them an outrageous price.

“Right now, I still have items worth selling, so I can scrape by using those skills. But…”

His inventory was dwindling rapidly.

With no goods left to peddle, enhancing his merchant career felt like a lost cause.

If he needed to find something to sell, he’d soon find himself…

‘Going back out there.’

He had to leave the safe haven protected by soldiers.

He would have to venture into an unknown world teeming with other awakened individuals and the lurking monsters.

“Sigh…”

Each time such thoughts crossed his mind, he found it difficult to suppress a sigh.

Yet, just as he prepared to resume business,

A piece of paper caught his eye, flapping against a wall.

“What’s this?”

It was an ordinary A4 sheet hastily covered with handwritten notes.

The format felt oddly familiar.

“This disheveled appearance reeks of being the soldiers’ work.”

Outdated notices from earlier came to mind.

The ones offering food in exchange for hunting down monsters.

[Notice from the Iron Legion]

[Seeking information on the Gourmet Glutton, a cannibalistic monster roaming the submerged city]

However, the wording felt somewhat different this time.

“A cannibalistic monster? Has it done something lately?”

At least in Chuncheon, no awakened individual could claim ignorance of the cannibal’s existence.

When the war between humans erupted, everyone had watched as he executed countless raiders with ruthless precision.

Yet that was all.

“If anything, I’d nearly forgotten about him.”

Having not seen the creature for quite some time, he was tempted to dismiss it further.

However, upon reading the last line of the paper, he felt his feet freeze in place.

[Information provider will receive 300 combat rations upon authenticity confirmation ]

[Or an equivalent compensation will be guaranteed]

[For further details, please contact the Legion’s temporary base.]

[Map attached.]

“…T-three hundred!?”

Sang-heok was left speechless.

In truth, the return on combat rations for bringing monsters to the Legion wasn’t exactly bountiful.

An 80% processing fee would cut deeply into any potential profit.

Yet oddly enough, he had no prominent grievances about this arrangement.

‘Turning monster corpses into edible rations was bordering on impossible anyway.’

The soldiers couldn’t possibly perform such tasks without some form of compensation.

‘It entails considerable effort and ingredients… and the taste and effects are excellent, making that kind of fee rational in the current context.’

It was quite reasonable to conclude that those factors contributed to the elevated market value of combat rations.

But now,

To think they were offering not thirty, but three hundred.

“Resources for a full party might only be earned after countless life-or-death battles… you mean they’re offering it for a single piece of information?”

What horrible mischief had that cannibal gotten himself into?

‘…If I could snag that reward…’

Excitement surged through Sang-heok for a moment, but…

“No, why am I getting riled up?”

Just as quickly, that excitement drained away.

The reward was only payable upon verification of the information’s accuracy.

As someone devoid of solid evidence, it felt more like chasing a mirage.

“What’s this now?”

In that moment, a particular memory struck Sang-heok.

“Could it be? Well, if it’s not… that would kind of seal my fate.”

Through his merchant characteristics, he held:

[Information Retrieval Mastery].

Thanks to this trait, he had unconsciously absorbed various bits of information swirling around the city.

There was one particular suspicion gnawing at his mind, yet…

The question remained: was it related to the cannibalistic monster?

‘If I’m wrong, I’ll be at the mercy of the soldiers’ ire.’

That scenario would be disastrous.

But then…

‘But who cares if I get hated by the soldiers? If I keep going like this, I’ll run out of goods and have to risk my life to venture outside. So what if I die or the soldiers condemn me?’

However, if this information proved true…

“300 combat rations or equivalent reward… Then,”

*Gulp*

“If I make a connection with those soldiers…”

Aligning myself with the most powerful faction in the area could lead to monumental growth.

‘No, there’s no doubt I could grow significantly!’

There was no time left for hesitation.

“Why not take a chance?”

With that thought, Sang-heok abandoned his plans for preparing sales and turned his body toward the building where the soldiers were based.

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