The Apocalypse Solution Provider

Chapter 17: Playing the Pig to Eat Feed

Su Jin dragged himself out of bed. After a perfunctory scrub and throwing on some clothes, he stuffed a spare outfit into his bag and bolted out the door, making a beeline for the slaughterhouse.

He’d already grilled the local butchers at the wet market for intel.

There was a facility out in the suburbs. From what he gathered, their management was famously lax, and they specialized exclusively in “pigs.”

While the primary livestock in this world resembled swine, the breed was fundamentally different from anything back on Earth.

They looked more like feral boars—small-eared, needle-headed, and aggressively volatile.

Perfect test subjects.

As for gaining entry… he didn’t foresee much resistance. When in doubt, bribe it out.

He grabbed a cab to the city’s outskirts.

Even from a distance, the coppery tang of blood rode the wind, punching him right in the sinuses.

Su Jin closed his eyes, desperately fortifying his psychological firewall.

It’s fine, everything is fine… He’d survived his fair share of street brawls growing up, and he’d even stared down a blade twice before.

This was just a basic murder rehearsal. Just a little blood. As easy as taking a shower.

After several minutes of intense self-hypnosis, he inhaled sharply and forced his leaden legs forward.

Less than a hundred yards later, Su Jin stood before the gaping maw of a massive, corrugated-iron factory.

It lacked front doors. Instead, it aggressively vented a miasma of feral musk and hot, oxidized blood.

The cracked concrete floor was an ocean of pinkish runoff, buzzing with dense, black clouds of blowflies.

Dozens of workers waded through the muck in rubber boots, manhandling carts stacked with plastic vats of glistening, steaming offal.

Management was nowhere to be seen. The floor workers barely spared a second glance at Su Jin’s clean clothes before turning back to their grim tasks.

This was strictly the processing floor. The actual slaughtering likely happened out back.

Su Jin calculated his route and skirted around the main building toward the rear.

Bingo.

The kill floor sat completely exposed—a crude, open-air structure roofed in tin.

Several butchers moved in tandem. Some wielded cattle prods, others maneuvered polearms, systematically dispatching the panicked livestock across a floor of slick, clotted mud.

After lurking in the shadows for a moment, Su Jin locked onto his target.

A hulking brute pushing fifty, sporting faded ink down his forearms.

The others referred to him as ‘Brother Liu,’ and his barking orders clearly marked him as the shift boss.

Bribe the boss, clear the stage. Simple corporate logic.

Decision made, Su Jin marched over to the big man.

Brother Liu was mid-shout when he caught the peripheral movement, instantly snapping his mouth shut to glare at the intruder.

One look at Su Jin, and the foreman’s weathered face tightened.

“You… who the hell are you?” Brother Liu growled, voice like grinding gravel.

“Relax, boss. I’m not health and safety,” Su Jin said, rolling out his fabricated script. “Name’s Lin Shirong… It’s a bit awkward, but you look like a straight shooter, so I’ll level with you. I want to learn the trade.”

“I’ve been out of work. My old man pulled some strings to get me a spot at a meatpacker, an old buddy of his. I can’t afford to embarrass him, so I need a crash course before I clock in…”

“Ah… here to learn.” Brother Liu’s tension evaporated into a sneer. “You think this is a vocational school? What a load of horseshit. Beat it!”

Su Jin checked his corners, then produced a crisp hundred-yuan bill.

He stepped into the foreman’s personal space and dropped his voice. “I’m paying tuition. Spot me one pig to practice on. Keep the meat.”

“You…” Brother Liu’s eyes locked onto the cash, his hardline stance melting into sudden pragmatism. “That’s a liability issue! A total greenhorn, who covers the medical bills if you slip? …Fine. Watch your fingers. I’m supervising.”

Pocketing the two hundred yuan, Brother Liu guided Su Jin straight into the abattoir’s killing box.

Three hours later.

The two men stood facing each other in the shadow of the main building.

Su Jin’s chest heaved with ragged breaths. His face was a ghastly, pale red, looking as though he’d vigorously scrubbed it with marinara sauce, though he had already changed into his spare outfit.

Across from him, Brother Liu looked absolutely sick.

Staring at Su Jin’s twitching features, Brother Liu stammered, “Buddy… you get it out of your system?”

Su Jin pressed his lips together, swallowing a vicious surge of bile, and nodded tight-lipped.

“I’m clocking in again tomorrow…”

“Tomorrow?!” Brother Liu’s voice cracked up two octaves as his internal monologue descended into pure, unadulterated panic.

He thought he was scoring an easy two hundred bucks off an idiot.

But this mild-mannered corporate drone was a certified psychopath!

He wasn’t practicing butchery; he was rehearsing a goddamn massacre!

Liu had told him to use the stunner. Instead, the lunatic chased the beast across the yard, hacking at it like a slasher villain. He’d practically cross-hatched the pig’s ass!

And the frenzy was only half of it. Once the pig was open, he just kept… digging.

He’d been wrist-deep in the squelching hot muck, draping raw intestines and stomach sacs around his own neck like some grotesque scarf. Even when the stench made him dry-heave uncontrollably, the madman just wouldn’t stop.

That wasn’t normal behavior!

If this guy came back, someone was going to end up in one of those plastic vats!

“Don’t you dare come back tomorrow. The plant manager is auditing, he’ll never allow it,” Brother Liu rambled, before his terror got the better of him. “Look, buddy… level with me. Are you in deep shit? Is that why you’re practicing? Just listen to your older brother, don’t throw your life away on a felony!”

Su Jin’s heart plummeted into his stomach.

Critical error.

He’d pushed the desensitization training too far, blinding himself to how insane it looked while fighting his own gag reflex.

If this foreman called the cops, his entire timeline was screwed.

Calculating rapidly, Su Jin twisted his features into a mask of pure, unadulterated anguish.

It didn’t require much acting. His stomach was already doing backflips, drenched in cold sweat and sensory horror.

Ducking his head, he let the acidic remnants of his breakfast rise into the back of his throat. With a sickening gulp, he forced the bile back down.

“Brother…” Su Jin wailed, letting the visceral tears and snot flow freely. “Since you called me out, I won’t lie! I didn’t come here to butcher pigs!”

“Take it easy, man. Tell me everything!”

Nailed it! This psycho was prepping for a homicide!

Brother Liu’s complexion transitioned from pale to corpse-gray.

“My fiancée ran off with another bastard! I was going to chop those two adulterous dogs into dog food!” Su Jin sobbed, throwing in some dramatic vitriol.

“Don’t! Jesus, don’t do that! You’re a young guy, you can find a million other women!”

He had to de-escalate this maniac, otherwise he’d be an accessory to a double murder!

Brother Liu kicked his hostage-negotiation skills into high gear. “Listen to me, it’s just a bump in the road. What man hasn’t worn a green hat once or twice? Hell, I’ve been cuckolded myself…”

After ten solid minutes of desperate grief counseling, Su Jin’s theatrics tapered off. He wiped his face.

“Brother,” he rasped, “honestly, between gutting that pig and hearing your story… I feel a lot better. It’s not worth throwing my life away over those trash.”

“Exactly! That’s the spirit!” Brother Liu’s relief was so profound he nearly offered to buy the kid a plate of braised pork hocks.

The guy’s tone had leveled out. The psychotic rage had been vented. Crisis averted.

He’d just saved two lives and successfully dodged a police interrogation. A productive Tuesday!

Just as Liu relaxed, Su Jin looked up.

“So… can I get a refund on that two hundred bucks?”

“…..”

Brother Liu petrified on the spot, looking like he’d just taken a cattle prod straight to the temple.

After a long, agonizing silence, he fought down the urge to backhand the kid, fished the crumpled bills out of his pocket, and slapped them into Su Jin’s palm.

“Keep it, kid. Go home, live a good life… and never come back here. I am genuinely terrified of you.”

“Brother, I owe you one. Your kindness…” Mid-platitude, Su Jin’s peripheral vision locked onto a stack of heavy sacks nearby.

As the printed text came into focus, genuine surprise flashed in his eyes.

He instantly pivoted, pointing a finger at the industrial feed.

“Can I snag two bags of pig feed? That bitch drained my accounts. Today, I’m dining on slop! I need the taste to remind me of my humiliation. One day, when I’m rich, I’m taking my dignity back!”

This shameless parasite! He’s trying to extort me for groceries!

Brother Liu sucked in a sharp breath, clutching his chest in literal, physical agony.

He offered a weak, defeated wave of his hand.

“Take it… If you like the taste, just take it…”