Apocalypse Landlord: My Tenants Are All Beautiful Heroines.-Chapter 32: Weakness

Aiden stood on the balcony, his eyes fixed on the bloodied alley the goblins had disappeared into. Yet his mind was somewhere else.

"You weren’t useless after all," he said, smiling.

Marcus, after his bout with death, didn’t dare think about anything except winning Aiden over. As such, when Aiden told him to spill everything he knew about Karina and their survivor camp, he didn’t hold anything back.

He didn’t know it, but Marcus had just given Aiden a weapon to tame the beast.

The only reason he won Alisha over so quickly was that he knew her weakness and exploited it. In Karina’s case, it wasn’t so straightforward. Thankfully, he knew all her weaknesses now.

"That’s what makes it perfect," he mumbled before turning around. "No wonder she didn’t want to help move the guns. They trigger her, don’t they?"

"Yes, sir. Even when we worked together, she always fought the monsters on her own, leaving the wolves free to use guns as they pleased—"

"She’s not that weak," Aiden cut him off.

"...I don’t get it."

Aiden didn’t reply, but he could guess why Karina worked alone.

She’s afraid of losing control again.

Perhaps she didn’t have complete control over her transformed self. That’s why she preferred fighting alone so that she didn’t harm her allies again. Even her strange fixation with showers made sense to him now.

"Do you trust her?" Aiden asked out of nowhere.

"With my life," Marcus replied without hesitation.

"I didn’t mean Karina. It’s obvious you trust her, otherwise you wouldn’t have left the camp’s safety for an unknown apartment. So let me rephrase my question. Do you trust the beast?"

Marcus remained silent in response. The truth was, he didn’t really know, and it wasn’t just him. Everyone in the survivor camp was grateful to her, but at the same time, they feared the day she’d lose control.

No one said anything to her face, however, the disgust in their eyes was difficult to miss. Perhaps that’s why the upper echelon of the camp rejoiced upon receiving the news of her departure.

"It’s a simple question, Marcus," Aiden continued. "Do you trust her completely?"

Marcus didn’t want to state the obvious, but still body did.

Meanwhile, Aiden smiled, seeing him shake his head.

"That hesitation is exactly why she prefers fighting alone."

Marcus was about to say something more when Aiden waved his hand, dismissing him.

"You’ve been gone for too long," he said. "Get back to work."

Marcus didn’t argue, just nodded and left to help the others. He had just left when James knocked on the door.

"What is it?" Aiden asked, examining a handgun.

"Um, Old Joe sent a letter for you."

"Just keep it there and leave."

With James’s departure, Aiden finally got a moment to himself. He opened the map to ensure no one was around before letting out a sigh.

"Thanks for the help."

[...just doing my duty, host.]

Duty, huh? Can’t blame her for it after what I did to them in the Otherworld.

Aiden’s thoughts briefly went back to the day he truly embraced villainy. A day so gruesome, even he didn’t want to remember it. He shook his head, returning to the task at hand.

After all, he had thirty new slots in the shop waiting to be filled.

First, he took the camp’s official currency and tossed it into the shop. Since it was a cheap metal cap, he didn’t think it would be worth much.

That way, he could ’print’ as much currency as he pleased to ruin the camp’s economic activities if such a need ever arose.

Unfortunately, the system was ready to rain on his parade.

[Register item: Currency Cap in the shop for $400?]

"What? This cheap trinket is worth two hundred dollars?"

[The value of external items registered in the shop reflects their worth in the apocalypse.]

"Did my thanks get into your head or something? Whatever."

He registered the cap to shop and checked the pricing.

As I thought. It takes twice their actual price to register the items. The cap’s actual worth is around $200.

After the caps came the rifle they had been using before.

+++

Weapon: Remington Magnum

Type: Bolt-action precision rifle

Grade: Standard

Caliber: 7.62×51mm.

Durability: 300 / 300 (Repairable in Workshop)

Damage: 140 ~ 190 HP

Description:

A reliable bolt-action sniper rifle known for its accuracy and durability. It was widely used before the fall of civilization, making ammunition easier to find compared to military-grade weapons. Highly effective for long-range engagements, but has a slow reload and mag capacity.

Special effect:

• Precision shot: Deals increased damage (up to 2.4x) on hitting vital areas.

+++

[Register item: Remington Magnum in the shop for $36,000?]

Aiden didn’t even bother looking at the price and agreed. However, another notification greeted him afterwards.

[Blueprint: Remington Magnum has been added to the workshop.]

[Item: Remington Magnum seems to have been used.]

[Use $3,000 to restore it?]

"The shop can restore items now?"

[Yes. The feature was unlocked after the recent shop upgrade.]

Aiden scratched his cheek. Moments ago, he was lecturing Marcus about reading things carefully, just to realize he hadn’t been doing the same when it came to his skills.

At least, unlike himself, the system wouldn’t dare cross him after the stunt the so-called system admins pulled in the Otherworld.

"Alright, restore it."

Next, he picked up the bullets used in a Remington.

+++

Item: 7.62×51mm handcrafted round

Type: Ammunition (rifle)

Quality: Basic

Damage Modifier: 1.0×

Category: Armor piercing

+++

No damage, just a damage multiplier, huh? Well, it makes sense.

[Blueprint: 7.62 mm and its 4 variants have been added to the workshop.]

One after another, handguns, bullets, explosives, everything was registered into the shop, occupying twelve slots. Eighteen slots were still vacant, but Aiden wasn’t in a hurry to fill them up.

Well, there is one item I want to register next. But before that...

Aiden picked the letter Old Joe sent him. As expected, it had information on that strange group he had noticed during James’s little outing.

"Gang members of the Butcher Gang? Interesting. I should talk to Marcus about this gang."

With that thought, he walked out of the room, just to see that the wolves were done shifting the last of the gear.

"They didn’t send any Evo-Gear?" he asked Glenn, raising an eyebrow.

"No, sir," Glenn replied before hesitating.

Aiden noticed it immediately, telling him to speak his mind.

"I... shouldn’t say this, but Old Joe is a cunning bastard. He gave an excuse that it’s difficult to find the gear, but conveniently forgot to mention the ones stored in the camp’s armory."

"Is that so?" Aiden smiled, patting Glenn’s back. "You did the right thing telling me that. I’ll deal with Joe later. For now, gather everyone in the hall. It’s time to clean house."