Chapter 25. Info to Exploit
In the Safe Zones of Tokyo, two full days had slipped by as Shin kept trying to make out with female survivors, spending every waking minute of his time to seduce them. Not for pleasure—at least, not entirely because he needed to steal their skills. But not a single one bothered to give him even a glance, let alone a kiss. Everyone was far too busy trying to figure out how to earn more coins to enjoy a luxurious life. And to do that, there was only one option: leave the safety of the zone and hunt the other hunters. Nature was cruel like that. The hunter often became the hunted.
Shin's coins were dwindling too, and he knew it. If he didn't act soon, he'd go broke. But to join the hunt, or be hunted game outside the Safezones, he needed skills. He needed power. And to get that, he needed a woman to fall for his pathetic attempts at "rizz."
After a long, luxurious bath—water was never in short supply here—Shin stepped out of his room in only a short while shirtless, his towel draped lazily over his neck. He slumped by the roadside outside the inn, where the cracked pavement met tufts of unkempt weeds. His eyes scanned the passing women like a starving dog at a feast he couldn't touch. Any one of them might have been carrying a rare skill, and he was just one steamy night away from stealing it.
He mumbled pick-up lines under his breath, testing them out like spells before battle, eyeing girls that looked around his age. But the moment he opened his mouth to speak, his throat dried up, and his words choked mid-sentence. And once she was gone, he'd slap himself and curse under his breath, "Dumbass! Stupid idiot!"
Then he'd wait for the next girl... and repeat the cycle of self-sabotage.
That pitiful routine went on—until a loud BANG echoed from a room beside his.
Shin jumped to his feet and turned his head toward the noise.
A naked, muscular male NPC came crashing out of a shattered doorway, groaning, hands cupped tightly over his crotch. He sprawled across the ground, gasping in pain.
Then she stepped out.