Strongest Deliveryman In The Apocalypse

The fortified apartment's gates closed behind Sobin with a heavy clang.

He walked down the ruined street with long strides, whistling softly to himself. His mood had lightened after the delivery, the weight of responsibility lifting with each step.

The night air was cool, carrying the faint scent of dust and rust. Sobin tilted his head back and inhaled deeply.

"Ah… nothing like a successful delivery." He exhaled, satisfied.

But then—

Grrrrumble!

His stomach twisted and growled angrily, loud enough to echo faintly against the walls. Sobin blinked, then glanced down at his abdomen with a frown.

"…Right. I didn't eat today."

The realization hit him like a brick. From his transmigration around noon, to first delivery this afternoon, all the way to now, he hadn't taken a single bite.

Not even a snack. His expression tightened.

"That's… dangerous. I can't keep running on fumes like this."

He rubbed his stomach once, sighing. "Guess I'll need to stop by an Outpost. Restock food for myself, fuel for Bessie."

His mind drifted briefly as he walked.

It was strange—how quickly he was adapting to this world. Scavenging supplies, maintaining his vehicle, running deliveries under threat of monsters.

It almost felt… normal.

But then his expression hardened.

"No. I can't get comfortable. I still have to get back… to her."

His wife's image flickered across his thoughts—soft features, the warmth of home, the reason behind every step forward. She was also pregnant with their child, was an additional motivation to return home.

He clenched his fists.

He would return.

No matter what this world threw at him.

That was when the System's cold, mechanical voice broke into his mind.

[Emergency Quest Triggered!]

[Alert: Your truck is under siege!]

[Objective: Eliminate the Plunderers before they plunder the cargo.]

[Warning: Failure will result in loss of goods, trust points, and delivery reputation.]

Sobin froze.

For a split second, his brain blanked. Then his body flared up with pure adrenaline.

"…Bessie?!"

WHOOSH!

He bolted. His boots hammered against the cracked pavement, his eyes blazing with fury.

The idea of someone touching his truck—his Bessie—ignited something primal in him.

Deliveries were one thing.

Cargo was sacred.

But the truck? The truck was his partner. His pride. His soul on wheels.

No one touched her.

The world blurred and unfurled, almost like its layers were cracking as he sped across the distance within the fraction of a moment.

By the time he turned the last corner, his eyes widened.

"W-what is… this?"

The scene before him was chaos.

One Plunderer lay sprawled on the ground, his body mangled and broken, lifeless eyes staring at the void. The other two writhed nearby, their limbs bent unnaturally, blood pooling beneath them.

Their weapons had been snapped like twigs.

And towering over them—headlights glaring like predator's eyes—was Bessie.

The truck's massive grill was splattered with crimson. Steam hissed from her vents, and her engine rumbled low, almost like a growl.

The surviving Plunderers shrieked in fear, their bodies trembling as they pressed against the dirt.

"She's… she's alive! The truck's alive!"

"No, no, no! This is wrong—this is unnatural! M-MONSTER! IT'S A MONSTER!!!"

Bessie revved her engine once, and they cried out in terror.

Sobin stood frozen, staring at the sight.

One would think that the mangled corpse of a human being would be what moved him, but it wasn't that at all. It wasn't even the fractured, broken bodies of the survivors, or the grotesque shrieks that poured out of their snot-filled faces.

No… none of that.

What actually made him horrified wasn't the scene of carnage laid out before him.

It was the blood.

"…Bessie…" His voice cracked, horrified. He stumbled forward, eyes wide with panic. "You… you've been stained!"

He rushed to her side, hands brushing against the crimson streaks along her bumper. His expression twisted into anguish.

"You know how hard it is to wash away stains? Especially stains of blood? Oh no… blood! Blood on your beautiful coat—how could they do this to you?!"

The Plunderers blinked at him, stunned. One of them stammered.

"Y-you're worried about… about the truck?!"

Sobin's head snapped toward them. His crimson eyes burned with fury.

"You…" His voice dropped low, venomous. "You dared to stain her. This is your fault."

The two survivors paled, shivering violently.

"N-no! It wasn't us! She killed him, she hurt us! We—we didn't—"

"Silence!" Sobin roared. His voice shook the night. "Bessie only acted in self-defense. If you hadn't tried to violate her, she wouldn't have had to dirty herself!"

The Plunderers were speechless. His logic was insane, yet terrifyingly airtight.

Sobin stroked Bessie's hood gently, his voice softening. "Don't worry, girl. I'll scrub you until you're spotless. They'll pay for what they've done."

At that moment, Bessie's headlights flickered.

Her voice rang aloud, not just in Sobin's head, proud and firm.

"Master, these men tried to force themselves inside me. Only you are allowed that right. Only my Master belongs within me. Their crime is unforgivable. They deserve death."

The Plunderers' jaws dropped.

"…The… the truck talks?!"

"This is a nightmare… they're both Monsters. Ah, we're dead, we're so dead…"

They groveled in the dirt, tears streaking through blood and grime.

"Please! Spare us! We didn't know—if we knew she was yours, we'd never have touched her!"

Sobin's glare darkened further, his killing intent heavy in the air. For a moment, it looked like he would tear them apart himself.

But then—

[Why don't I suggest an alternative course of action?]

"Hmm?" Sobin raised a brow upon seeing the System's azure lights flash in his eyes.

[You should use these Plunderers to lead you to their base of operations. That way, you can infiltrate their den, report coordinates to authorities, seize stolen cargo. You'll even be able to complete many Chain Quests.]

"Oh? I can get chain quests like this too?"

[Indeed. And it should increase your trust points with the authorities if you report this. You'll be sure to gain Social Credit Points as a reward, and if you find rare loot… you could keep it.]

Plunderers were a menace to the world.

There was no doubt that Sobin would be rewarded well if he took them down and reported his actions to the higher-ups. Of course, the more dangerous the Plunderers were, the higher his remunerations would be.

Sobin froze, his fury simmering into something colder, sharper.

His lips curled into a slow grin.

"…Plunder the Plunderers, huh?"

The survivors looked up at him, trembling. His grin widened, teeth gleaming in the moonlight. His aura shifted—not wrathful, but devilish, like a predator who had just found new prey.

He crouched low, his crimson eyes locking onto theirs.

"You two. You're going to take me to your base."

The Plunderers stiffened, their fear palpable.

Their bodies kept quaking under his gaze, and they couldn't help but gulp down their saliva.

Sobin's smile stretched wider, dangerously calm. "You wanted to steal from me. Now you're going to repay me—by letting me steal everything from you."

He straightened, brushing dust off his jacket, his voice dropping into a menacing whisper.

"Take me to your leader."