Global Awakening: Only I Can Respawn

Chapter 89: Befitting Reward

As they entered the camp, YuWon handed the carcasses to the soldiers and showed Hojin inside. But a moment later, Gina came rushing towards him. She stopped, looked at Hojin, and crossed her arms, clearly angry.

YuWon wondered why she was behaving like that, but Gina didn't make him wait for long.

"Husband..." she smiled forcefully. "Did you leave to find another sister for me?"

"Another girl? What are you talking about?" YuWon blinked, confused by the sudden accusation.

However, his words infuriated Gina even more than she pointed at Hojin.

"Just because I agreed to share you with Lysandra, it doesn't mean you can just go around collecting girls like some hobby!"

"Gina, you've got it all wrong. Hojin's not a—"

YuWon paused and looked at Hojin. The store was dark, so he didn't get a good look, but now he realized Hojin had some feminine features. The boy's blonde hair, freckled cheeks, and slight, skinny frame made him appear more like a girl than a guy.

"Um..." Hojin's cheeks flushed, and he meekly pointed towards Gina.

YuWon cleared his throat and turned to Gina, "Hojin's a guy. Not a girl."

Gina blinked before narrowing her eyes to look at him more closely. "Oh... Your scent was... off."

"Well, I see how you could have been confused."

YuWon shook his head and turned to Hojin, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Sorry about that, Hojin. Don't take her words to heart. It was a misunderstanding."

"It's okay..." Hojin looked down, blushing slightly as he nodded. "It's not the first time someone mistook me for a girl."

"I'm sorry..." Gina looked at Hojin before mumbling an apology. "I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

"It's fine…"

"Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone else."

They walked up to the makeshift workstation the girls had set up while he was out. Some people were working there, prepping the beast meat to cook while some were making fire.

The first one to come up to them was Lysandra, who welcomed YuWon after his successful hunt.

"This is Lysandra," YuWon said. "She's my wife."

"Your… wife?" Hojin's eyes widened a little, surprised. "I-I thought Ms. Gina was your partner?"

"Yeah, she's also my wife," YuWon nodded, not elaborating further.

After hearing YuWon, Hojin looked even more confused, but nodded politely.

YuWon pointed at Yeji, who was sorting through some supplies, "That's Yeji, my stepsister."

Finally, he pointed toward Yuna and wondered what to say about her.

"That's Yuna. She just... hangs around us."

Yuna looked at YuWon with her mouth wide open.

"Excuse me? I 'just hang around'?" she asked, placing her hands on the hips. "That's the best you could come up with?"

"She also helps with various tasks around the base." YuWon cleared his throat.

Yuna shot him an irritated look but didn't push it further. After all, they had more important matters to discuss.

"How did they do?" YuWon asked, pointing at the people in some distance.

"Some people came back with food," Yuna shrugged. "But... not everyone made it back. Some died while some went missing."

"If they died, then they weren't strong enough to live in this new world. It's as simple as that."

Although he said that, it felt awkward. After all, he was the one who couldn't even kill a goblin and died.

That's all in the past...

"Is that so?" Yuna shrugged. "But losing so many people isn't a good thing."

YuWon heard her but didn't have any reaction. Those who didn't make it weren't strong enough to survive. That was all. Besides, he wanted to sort the weeds out.

That was the primary reason he sent everyone on hunts. YuWon wanted to know who was strong enough to stay on the base without being a burden to the rest. His plan was a success, so why would he feel sad about it?

YuWon's demeanor surprised no one. Well, Hojin was, but he said nothing. Suddenly, YuWon brought the iron pot out and handed it to Yeji.

"Here, use this to cook the rotten meat."

"What will you do with that?" she asked, wondering what was going on inside her brother's head.

"It's not an ordinary pot," YuWon replied. "The meat won't taste good, but this pot will make it edible. Serve that to the people who returned with nothing. The other meat would go to those who brought something back."

"So… we're rewarding failure with awful food and success with good food?"

"Not necessarily," YuWon smirked. "Failure would be to not step out at all. Those people won't get anything."

Yeji understood what YuWon wanted and nodded. For those who did nothing, not receiving anything would be punishment. While those who couldn't contribute would get foul-tasting food.

It would make them do better next time. Some people would resent them, but they were powerless to do anything. YuWon was turning into a necessary evil for people to grow.

That's what the devoted sister thought about her brother. In reality, YuWon was doing this to build an army and teach them they would get rewards as long as they kept following his orders.

Yuna looked at YuWon and smirked. She knew exactly what was going on inside his head. But there was one thing she wanted to know.

"And what will you do if someone objects?"

"If anyone has a problem with it, round them up. I'll have a 'chat' with them." YuWon shrugged without a hint of hesitance.

"Will do," Yuna smiled.

"While you're at it, show Hojin around. He'll be staying with us for a while."

Yuna raised an eyebrow. On the one hand, he was sending people away to hunt or die. But then he was bringing someone who looked so weak into the base?

She gave Hojin a long, piercing look. But she trusted YuWon. He wouldn't recklessly bring someone useless with him. Hojin must have something special about him, and she wanted to know what.

"Alright," Yuna finally said with a small smile. "Come on, I'll show you around."