《Stagnant Water of Apocalypse》


 Chapter 0

    -Rabbit Princess: Ah¡­This game is so boring. There¡¯s really nothing to do.


    -Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek: Well, it¡¯s a failed game. What did you expect?


    -Survivor 1: So, going to play another game?


    -Rabbit Princess: After playing this game for so long, I don¡¯t think I will be able to play another game.


    -Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek: LOL.


    The only players left in this game were all stagnant water. Just like usual, we were hanging out on the rooftop of a certain building as we chatted about various topics. We didn¡¯t have any choice but to do this because we had cleared everything this game had to offer. On top of that, there are also no newbie players who came to play this game.


    (T/N: Stagnant water refers to players who have played the game for far too long.)


    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that corpses of various kinds of monsters were scattered here and there, the night view from this place would have been very beautiful. However, there¡¯s nothing we could do about it, because in this game, players and corpses were inseparable.


    This game was called ¡®Survival Life¡¯. A virtual reality game advertised with catch phrases like, ¡®Extremely realistic apocalyptic world where zombies and monsters roam freely!¡¯


    ¡®You are the only one who survives this hell!¡¯


    However, not anymore. The impregnable difficulty of this game demotivated the users and everyone dropped this game one by one. Moreover, the need for dedicated VR equipment to play this game also raised the hurdle as tall as Mount Everest.


    Thus, within months after its launch, the number of players decreased significantly.


    Then, what about a year after its launch? Well, let¡¯s not talk about it.


    -Rabbit Princess: Ah¡­ There are no fresh newbies coming in¡­.


    -Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek: What are you going to do when a newbie appears?


    -Rabbit Princess: I will go to them and greet them LOL.


    -Survivor 1: Look at yourself in the mirror please, it would be a miracle if they didn¡¯t run away.


    -Rabbit Princess: Tsktsktsk, this kid really knows nothing even though he¡¯s a stagnant water as well.


    The appearance of ¡®Rabbit Princess¡¯ was that of a 30-year-old male, and it was very unique. His whole body was covered in pink colour and a carrot was embedded on his face which acted as his nose. The white tail on the top part of his buttock was disgusting, though.


    Of course, the appearances of both Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek and Survivor 1 were also quite unusual. And between all of us, I was certain I was the one with the best appearances. At the very least, a newbie wouldn¡¯t run away when they saw my appearance. Even though what I was wearing was basically the same as wearing only underwear.


    Then, out of the blue, a message popped out in the chat window.


    -Newbie Is NubNub: Hello!


    It was a message from a newbie all of us had been longing for. Both their nickname and greeting was very good. We could also see a VR caf¨¦ icon beside their name. They must be playing from a VR caf¨¦ which is rather popular these days. Even so, all of us who didn¡¯t care about those kinds of things swiftly answered to their message.


    -Rabbit Princess: Sniff! Sniff! What is this smell?


    -Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek: It smells dirty, HAHA.


    -Survivor 1: This game finally has 5 players!


    -Newbie Is NubNub: But what are you guys doing here?


    It¡¯s time for me to step up. The other three players were the type of players who break through any kind of hurdle through their strength alone. They wouldn¡¯t be much help to the newbie. Meanwhile, I was a player who analyzed every weakness of the monster and used my surroundings to hunt it.


    -I Love Gimbap: Have you finished the tutorial?


    -Newbie Is NubNub: No, not yet. Do I have to finish it?


    -I Love Gimbap: Yes. In order to play freely, you have to finish the tutorial. The title of the game is Survival Life, right? To stay alive is the goal of this game¡­.


    As I explained to the newbie, the other three began to chat sarcastically.


    -Rabbit Princess: Here it comes!!


    -Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek: Here comes the speed wagon!


    -Survivor 1: But, Gimbap-nim is indeed qualified to do these kinds of things since the three of us are players who only smash through everything on our path.


    ¨C Rabbit Princess: I agree.


    (T/N IIRC, Speed wagon is some kind of wikipedia, for those who read EER, that¡¯s what Yu Ilhan called Erta.)


    Damn it. There¡¯s a lot of background noise, so I¡¯ll cut my explanation short.


    -I Love Gimbap: Anyway, you have to finish the tutorial. We can only help you once you finished it.


    -Newbie Is NubNub: Okay. Then I¡¯ll finish the tutorial.


    How long has it been since we had this kind of newbie?


    Tears of happiness were dripping from the eyes of the stagnant water including myself as I started to explain about the placement of zombies, the effect of various items and where it could be found as well as the landscape of the tutorial to the newbie.


    And then, the newbie stopped sending messages. It seems like they are trying to finish the tutorial now.


    Will it work out?


    We prayed that the newbie would join us safely.


    -Rabbit Princess: Please, please, four of us have been praying for months! If there¡¯s one more person, we¡¯ll have more fun together!


    I also feel the same way. No more, no less, we only need one.


    -Newbie Is NubNub: This game is so hard. I give up!


    When the newbie¡¯s message came up, four of us were thrown into chaos.


    -Rabbit Princess: No!! Don¡¯t go!!!


    -Duck buttock goes kwek kwek: GO GO OUR NEWBIE! You can do it! Fighting!!


    -Survivor 1: You¡¯ll get warm support once you finish the tutorial!


    -Newbie Is NubNub: But I¡¯ve been doing the tutorial for 2 hours now¡­.


    Yeah, that¡¯s right. The difficulty of this game was really disgusting. Does it make sense that there were only a few players who could finish the tutorial?


    The funny thing is, the tutorial that the newbie did right now was a much easier version compared to the early version of the tutorial. Back then, even after 3 days after the launching, no one was able to finish the tutorial.


    I tried to encourage the newbie to try a little bit more and not quit.


    -I Love Gimbap: It should take more than 3 hours, so please try a little more.


    -Rabbit Princess: Without you, there¡¯s only four of us. We can¡¯t make a five eagles brotherhood!


    -Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek: But who will be the swan?


    ¨C Newbie Is NubNub: Bye!


    Ah¡­.That was it.


    The newbie didn¡¯t send anymore messages after that. We could only sit down and lament.


    -Rabbit Princess: It is confirmed that this game is a failed game!


    -Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek: It¡¯s been a long time since this game became a failed game, though.


    Yeah, that¡¯s right. We¡¯re just holding on to a failed game.


    If the update was also bad, maybe we would also give up on this game a long time ago. However, the game company always updates the contents of this game on time. But the problem is, we were done with the newly updated content as soon as it was updated. Who knows why the company still updates the game when they don¡¯t even have any source of revenue¡­


    We looked at the night view of the city as we talked about this and that.


    The Rabbit Princess said, ¡®I want to beat an ogre with my bare hands.¡¯ but no one responded to his rambling because it was annoying.


    He¡¯s been saying all of that as well as doing all kinds of crap for a year, and we were tired of it.


    -Survivor 1: I¡¯ll go first bye bye..


    Starting with Survivor 1, everyone else also disconnected from the game after saying they had work to do.


    I turned the recording function off. With some editing, I think I would be able to upload it on MeTube. ¡®Survival Life¡¯ was a small game, at most, I would get around 10,000 views from one video.


    I turned off the monitor and laid down on the bed.


    ¡°Should I just quit?¡± I sighed. The number of viewers on my live streaming, which used to be 20, had recently decreased to less than 10. The cause was obviously the characters in the video, the other 3 people and me. It would be better if there¡¯s a newbie to be introduced, but most of the time, they quit long before finishing the tutorial.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been playing this game for quite a while, too.¡± If I remember correctly, it¡¯s been around a year and three months. I had spent around 5,000 hours on ¡®Survival Life¡¯. It was never easy. It takes quite a lot of effort to run a snack bar and broadcast a VR game.


    So far, I¡¯ve been holding out with sponsorship I got from my streaming, but it is getting harder and harder these days.


    Should I just quit and fully concentrate on my business? Summer is just around the corner, should I make a new menu? I think it would be a big hit if I developed a cold menu since these past few days, there were many students who were looking for shaved ice at the store.


    My eyes slowly got heavier as I was thinking about this and that. And when I finally closed my eyes, I saw numerous zombies filling up my vision as they bare their teeth at me.


    How dare a mere zombie do that to me!! I moved around the gap between the zombies and threw my fist towards them one by one. And then, the sound of the alarm woke me up. It¡¯s already morning.


    What a shitty dream.


    I got up and washed my face as I yawned. It¡¯s time to get ready for business.


    Few months have passed since then. Some minor patches that greatly reduced the difficulty of the tutorial as well as improving the starting condition for new players was added. However, for me and the other stagnant waters, the patch was akin to repairing the barn after losing the cow.


    -It¡¯s too late.


    -Fixed the barn, but you had no cows.


    -Please decrease the equipment requirement. Who¡¯s going to buy a hundred thousand won machine just to play this game? It¡¯s just us.


    -Mm-hmm.


    -Or, just let them play with keyboard and mouse. We¡¯ll make a lot more friends if you do it!!


    -Stubborn staff members.


    -They aren¡¯t going to do it.


    Because of life in reality, the playing time of the other stagnant waters had become lesser and lesser. Even though there was a big update coming, no one enjoyed it except for me. And just like always, from time to time a newbie appeared, but they soon got frustrated by the terrible difficulty and ran away.


    And a few more months after that. My playing time was also decreasing, but I still had all the patch details and my playthrough videos on my PC. I had to explain it to my friends when they came back. However, no matter how much I waited, they didn¡¯t come online.


    Am I the only one on this server?


    ¨C I Love Gimbap: Is there anyone online?


    There¡¯s no answer to my question.


    Did the management finally decide to throw away this game?


    The graphic and realistic aspects of this game were quite good. Is it really okay to throw away this kind of game? That¡¯s what I¡¯m thinking about. However, in the end, It¡¯s none of my business.


    -I Love Gimbap: There¡¯s no answer. So, I¡¯m really going to quit this time.


    Even after I said that, the chat was still completely silent.


    Few days after that. I was still enjoying the new content all by myself. It was neither zombies nor fantasy monsters, but a bizarrely transformed monster. It was quite fun to analyze them and devise a plan to hunt them down.


    Some people who were curious about the new content came to my stream, but it was not that many. Sometimes, some newbies appeared through VR caf¨¦, but as always, they didn¡¯t last long.


    And a few more days passed. As I was preparing to fight the new monster ¡®Brutra¡¯ a notice suddenly popped up.


    -System: Hello, this is the ¡®Survival Life¡¯ Operations Team. Firstly, I would like to thank the users who have been playing ¡®Survival Life¡¯.


    I¡¯m a little nervous about what they were trying to say.


    -System: In a week¡¯s time, the ¡®Survival Life¡¯ will be terminated. As a member of the development team, I¡¯m truly sorry about the end of the service. I hope we will be able to meet again someday. Thank you very much!


    Is this real?


    What are you talking about?


    The service will be terminated?


    Are you saying ¡®Survival Life¡¯ is completely over?


    The system instantly disappeared as soon as they finished spewing some nonsense. Haha¡­. This was the end of more than 5,000 hours spent in this game.


    I looked at Brutra howling in the distance. I really wanted to hunt it. But, it wasn¡¯t something I could do alone. It would only be possible if all 4 of us prepared thoroughly.


    It¡¯s all over now.


    ¡°Live streaming or whatever¡­¡± I suddenly felt empty and erased all of my videos from MeTube. There¡¯s nothing to be disappointed about since the number of views was less than 10,000 anyway.


    While I was at it, I also entered the live streaming platform I used and posted my retirement notice. Even though I only had less than 10 viewers, I still had to do this at the very least. Then, I opened a can of beer and gulped it down as I sat on my bed. I really wanted to meet my friends. Even though I didn¡¯t know anything about their name or age, they were people who had played the game together with me for the past years.


    I won¡¯t be able to see them again in the future. There¡¯s still a week left before the termination of service of Survival Life. but I don¡¯t think they would come online in the meantime.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stop.¡± I need to face reality. The 5,500 hours I spent in ¡®Survival Life¡¯ would soon disappear. As I thought so, I threw the beer can into the trash can and fell asleep.


    ***


    After closing my store, I was having my lunch while browsing through the internet on my PC. Then one post in a certain forum catches my eyes.


    -I got a status window.


    ?What kind of bullshit is this? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s the one from a game?


    ?Holy XXXX crazy!!


    ?What a bullshit!


    ¡°Status window my ass¡­¡± Well, the status window was a common cliche in webnovels. It was a power that could make an ordinary person gain a special strength and become popular. But in reality, no one had actually experienced it. After all, reality was not like a work of fiction. No matter how many times you spew the words with your mouth, it was impossible for a status window to appear.


    When people keep slandering the poster, he posted another reply.


    -Oh, did you get an XXXX in your ear? Just try saying status window. Is it that hard?


    Certainly, it¡¯s not a hard thing to do. I swallowed the rice on my mouth before uttering the words. ¡°Status window.¡±


    Just like the poster said, something appeared in my sight.


    This is crazy¡­.


    The real status window popped out.

 Chapter 1

    ¡ºLevel: ¨C


    Point(s): ¨C


    Vitality:11


    Strength:12


    Agility:9


    Dexterity:11


    Perception:10


    Unique Ability: Dedicated Dimensional Portal


    Skill: ¨C


    Active Buff: -¡»


    I was surprised as soon as I saw the floating status window in front of me. But after scrutinizing the detail of the window in front of me, I promptly regained my composure.


    ¡°It¡¯s the same status window from Survival Life!¡± Although the numbers were different from my status window inside the game, I was sure it was the same status window from ¡®Survival Life¡¯ which ended its service a few months ago.


    ¡°Anyway, just what the hell is happening?¡± Thinking that it was nothing but an illusion, I closed my eyes and reopened it several times. I even washed my face with cold water. But, the status window was still floating there.


    ¡°Status window.¡±


    As soon as I said it, the status window disappeared like a lie.


    ¡°Status window.¡±


    Then it reappeared once again. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve gone crazy.


    When I swift my attention back to the forum, most of the reaction I saw was colorful words of cuss.


    ?You piece of XXXX, it didn¡¯t appear even after I said it!


    ?LOL It appeared for me, though. Seems like you aren¡¯t chosen.


    ?What a load of crap!


    The poster seems like he didn¡¯t even care about the harsh response and just kept posting his reply.


    ?Seems like tomorrow will be chaotic, I¡¯m looking forward to it.


    To be honest, I could understand his feelings. He must be elated because he felt like he was a chosen one compared to others which don¡¯t have the power.


    ¡°By the way, just who in the world granted this power to people?¡± It had the exact same UI with survival life. Maybe the giver was someone who was related to that game?


    Even after pondering for a long time, I couldn¡¯t find any concrete answer. It would be useless to keep thinking about it, therefore I gave up and looked at the ¡®Unique ability¡¯ section on my status window.


    [Special Ability: Dedicated Dimensional Portal.]


    It probably means that I could open a dimension portal. Moreover, as it was a unique ability, I was certain that the only one who could use it was me. However, no description or whatsoever tells me where the portal would lead me to.


    Back in Survival Life, one of the biggest features of the game was labyrinth. Perhaps, the portal in front of me would lead me to one of those labyrinths.


    ¡°Dimensional Portal, open.¡± I whispered, but after waiting for a few seconds, there was no response.


    ¡°Dimensional Portal, open.¡± Trying one more time with a louder voice than before, the space around me suddenly began to distort. Then, in a matter of seconds, a blue portal materialized in front of me. It was such a beautiful portal with an opaque water-like surface.


    [Dedicated Dimensional Portal: The one who has this ability is the only one who can use it.]


    ¡°Huh¡­.¡±


    I stood up and rubbed my eyes. And when I saw the Portal was still there, I reached out to it. A cold sensation struck my finger as soon as my finger touched the smooth surface of the portal.


    ¡°Oh my gosh!¡±  I quickly pulled my hand away from the portal in surprise.


    To be honest, I was really curious about what¡¯s inside the portal, but I don¡¯t think I should enter the portal without making any preparations. From what I remembered from Survival Life, labyrinths were an extremely unfavorable place for intruders.


    ¡°It will be the end if I go in and die.¡± My life was not a game. I was just an ordinary civilian who earned money by running a snack bar. I couldn¡¯t throw my life away just like that. But on the other side, I also didn¡¯t like the curiosity that bubbled inside my mind.


    For now, let¡¯s observe the portal some more. The portal size was around 200cm long and 100cm wide. It was almost the same size as a 90-inch TV. I put my finger on the surface again, but this time, I pushed it through the water-like surface. And then I could feel a cold soil on the tips of my finger. It was just ordinary soil. A cold, moist, and nutritious soil.


    ¡°¡­Good.¡±


    Now that I¡¯ve come this far, I can¡¯t back off anymore. I took my hiking backpack and put various things inside of it. I took a deep breath in front of the portal before walking through its opaque surface.


    When I finally went inside, an amazing scenery unfolded before me.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t help but exclaim at the dense forest in front of me. I could hear the cry of an unknown mountain bird and the sound of flowing water from the distance. On top of it, a faint smell of sea tickles my nose.


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty cold here.¡± Even though it will be summer soon in Busan, I guess it will be winter soon in this forest. I quickly put on a jacket to shield my body from the prickling cold.


    I was wondering where this place is as I looked around. Judging from the atmosphere of the forest and the fact that my phone showed a no signal icon, I don¡¯t think this forest was located in Korea.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave a mark for now.¡± With the white marker I brought, I leave a mark on a nearby tree. Afterall, in a forest like this, once you lost your way, it would be extremely difficult to find your way back.


    ¡°Hmm¡­.¡± I walked through the forest carefully. After only a few meters in, the bush a few meters in front of me suddenly shook violently. Then, through the bushes, a huge animal with a huge horn on its head popped out. It was a deer.


    ¡°What kind of deer is that big¡­¡± Is it a moose which lives in North America?


    However, I didn¡¯t have to rack my brain about the identity of the animal any longer, because a status window appeared around its neck.


    [Valley Deer]


    ¡°Do I have a ¡®human¡¯ tag on my body, too?¡± I looked around my body with that thought, but betraying my expectation, the status window didn¡¯t appear at all. By the way, just like the status window, it seems like the valley deer was an animal which didn¡¯t exist on Earth.


    The deer looked towards the air as its nose twitched several times. In the next seconds, it turns away before running away with an outrageous speed.


    It seems like it was aware of my presence by smelling my scent.


    ¡°Fuhhhh¡­.¡± As I released the breath I was holding in, I remembered various animals I met inside the labyrinth in ¡®Survival Life¡¯. The crazy stone monkey and the wild boar which always charge forward left quite an impression on me. However, for us stagnant water, they were nothing but a source of food.


    ¡°I¡¯ll probably pee myself if I meet them now, though.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t imagine how big the wild boar would be if a deer in this forest was that big. It would be nigh to impossible to hunt it since this was reality not a game.


    As I walked deeper into the forest, I found a tree with a bright yellow fruit hanging on its branch.


    [Solar Apple]


    This was my first time seeing the fruit. However, I was rather familiar with the name itself as in Survival Life there¡¯s an endurance recovery potion which could be bought from the store. The name of that very potion was [Solar Apple Juice]. I didn¡¯t expect to find this fruit in this forest.


    ¡°Just how¡­ Survival Life is nothing but a game¡­.¡± Why did a mere game turn into reality?


    I fiddled with the yellow fruit and smelled it. It had the same fresh scent as the potion from the game. And when I finally put it in my mouth, a mixture between apple and pineapple flavour filled my mouth. At the same time, a new notification appeared at the bottom of my status window.


    [Active Buff: Endurance Recovery.]


    ¡°This fruit also recovers some endurance just like the potion.¡±


    When I spat it out, the effect also disappeared from my status window just like in the game.


    ¡°Maybe, the winter strawberry and shadow grape are also here in this forest?¡± I laughed at my own thoughts. I was certain I wasn¡¯t dreaming because I felt a stinging pain when I pinched my own cheek.


    Who would believe me if I told them that I could find animals and fruit from Survival Life in this forest?


    ¡°Just like that guy who posted about the status window in the forum¡­¡± I chuckled. Perhaps there were many others besides him and me who got a status window. I wonder what kind of unique ability they had.


    Then suddenly, as a certain thought came into my mind, I stopped walking.


    There must be a reason for the status window and unique ability to appear. Maybe it¡¯s some kind of preparation for the incoming disaster. For example, the zombie apocalypse and the emergence of other monsters.


    ¡°Ey¡­ No way¡­¡± I shook my head. It¡¯s a ridiculous imagination. Afterall, It was impossible for a monster to suddenly appear in this peaceful world.


    But what if it really happened?


    What if the world turns into a place where zombies and monsters attack people?


    ¡°I¡¯d like to think that it doesn¡¯t make any sense, but¡­¡± Something strange had already happened once, there¡¯s no guarantee it wouldn¡¯t happen again.


    Reviewing all possibilities and preparing for the future. It was what I always do in Survival Life. I had no choice but to do it because I lacked physical skills. For example, I once dug through the excrement of a goblin which was famous for its ability to repel kobolds just to learn what they ate.


    ¡°For now, I need to gather more information.¡± I raise my cane once again and continue to walk deeper to the forest. There was no evidence that zombies and monsters would really appear, it was foolish to be worried about it at this point. For now, it would be better for me to explore the clues in front of me, which is this forest.


    I picked up a few solar apples and put them in my backpack. In total I currently had two solar apples. The rest of the apples in the tree weren¡¯t as good as the first one. They were blander and dryer compared to what I ate earlier


    ¡°Let¡¯s save the seed¡­¡± I set out exploring the forest once again. As I kept wandering through the unfamiliar terrain, my breath began to get rough. I know it would sound like an excuse, but since I run a snack bar, I had to eat a lot of things. The result was a body with height of 187cm and weight of 95kg.


    ¡°Kang Sungho, let¡¯s learn from this experience and start working out.¡± Since I would have this forest for myself, I could walk around it as an exercise. I just had to be careful of wild animals.


    While walking with those thoughts in mind, I saw something I never wanted to see.


    ¡°Darn it!!¡±


    It was a goblin¡¯s excrement. Goblin was a creature with the height of an elementary school student, but their strength was comparable to a grown-up human. On top of it, they had a unique hunting method of using paralyzing darts which was hard to deal with even for a veteran player. Of course, a normal guy like me wouldn¡¯t have any chance to beat it. However, in the future, I was confident that I would be able to kill dozens of goblins if they came and attacked me¡­. In Survival Life though, not reality.


    ¡°There¡¯s a goblin in this forest?¡±


    Suddenly, my stomach churned. It¡¯s not a game. I wouldn¡¯t be able to revive after dying just like in Survival life.


    Goblins enjoy disabling and playing with their opponents after inflicting them with their paralysis poison. It was terrible to imagine being stabbed by their darts and wooden spear.


    ¡°No way¡­¡± I glanced around before running full speed towards the dimensional Portal. Since there¡¯s goblins in the forest, walking around aimlessly was synonymous to suicide. I only had 2 choices. The first one was to stay away from the forest forever, while the second one was to prepare thoroughly.


    But do I really have to prepare? Why should I come to this dangerous forest while there¡¯s a peaceful world outside?


    ¡°I won¡¯t be able to eat more solar apples, that is a little sad¡­¡± But for now, let¡¯s focus on gathering more information. There must be more people in the forum who have also posted about their status window. With that thought, I left the forest and returned to my house through the dimensional portal.


    After properly washing my body, I fell asleep as soon as I touched the bed. In my dream, goblins appeared. I was fighting against them inside the forest with a wooden spear in my hand. Why the hell did I use a spear when the best weapon to hunt goblins was a bow?


    It was already morning when I woke up from such a violent dream. As expected, a peaceful daily life was the best. It would be better to avoid meeting monsters like goblins at all costs.


    I force my body to move. It was time to prepare the ingredients for today¡¯s business. ¡°Oh, my gosh.¡± I grunt, I really need to work out.


    ***


    A two-story brick building in a residential area in Busan was my home. I used the first floor as a snack bar and the second floor was where I live. I inherited the building after I lost my parents in my second year at high school.


    After moving around my relatives¡¯ house and work so many jobs as soon as I became an adult, I was finally able to open a small store only in my late 20s.


    Since the surrounding commercial district was crowded, business was flourishing. From time to time, some rival store would appear in the neighborhood to challenge my snack bar. However, I had always become the one who laughed last. Since students were the main customers for my snack bar, they would only eat if the portion was sizable. That was why I had always provided a good size with a considerably cheap price. I even kept my shop open for longer hours than my competitor just to get my money back.


    Although today, I couldn¡¯t concentrate on working at the snack bar at all.


    My mind was busy analyzing the status window and checking the responses of the internet community.


    It seems that the level and the point would eventually go up after hunting a monster, just like in the game.


    But what¡¯s the point of raising it up? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s going to be an item store like in the game. And the stats itself couldn¡¯t be increased with points just like any other game. It would only increase, once someone hunts hard enough.


    After spending 5,500 hours, I could easily overwhelm other users in terms of stat. Of course, it was the result of boosting through items and many other multipliers, but there were also many restrictions imposed on it.


    After looking at various communities throughout the day, I didn¡¯t find any significant response at all. It was full of some people who claimed they had awakened making a fuss, while others who didn¡¯t awakened treated them like a madman.


    But then, a poster with a believable story appeared.


    -I stole 7 million won from many places using my ability today.


    The comments under the post were filled with curse words, envy and just straight up gibberish. However, some people also took him seriously.


    But I couldn¡¯t bring myself to believe the poster¡¯s words.


    Just like I awakened my dimensional ability, did he awaken an ability to hide?


    While I was making a serious face, someone was calling me.


    ¡°Ahjussi¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes?¡±


    As I looked up, a girl from the hair salon next door was smiling at me. I don¡¯t know her age, her name, nor anything else. I just know that she was the owner of the hair salon and her skin was so white, it even glistened under the bright summer sun.


    My hair was always done by her and she always stopped by my shop after work.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been calling you since earlier.¡±


    I guess I didn¡¯t hear it because I was lost in my thoughts.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. What would you like?¡±


    ¡°The usual, with two slices of cheese, please.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Please wait a minute.¡±


    Her favorite dish was spicy tteokbokki with eggs and cheese. She ate it every day. It was still a mystery to me how she wasn¡¯t bored of eating that every day.


    With those thoughts in my mind, I stirred the tteokbokki in the pan. Then I wrapped the plastic around a large paper cup before putting the tteokbokki inside of it. After that, I added an egg and two slices of yellow cheese to complete her favorite menu.


    She was staring at the cup seriously while the passing young men peeked at her back.


    ¡°Here you are.¡±


    When I held out the cup, she accepted it with delight.


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡±


    She said before digging in with gusto. I had to admit that she looked so cute when she ate.


    Who does this girl go out with?


    One time, I swear I saw a man driving a foreign car come to pick her up after work. There were a lot of guys who were trying hard to get her attention too.


    Anyway, she lives a life that has nothing to do with me. The slight connection we shared was simply because our shops were next to each other.


    Thinking so, I watched the TV and found unusual news.


    ¨C NASA said that an asteroid has entered our solar system. NASA says they were keeping a close eye on the asteroid and there is a little chance for the asteroid to reach Earth. Reporter Lee Ho-jong reporting.


    It¡¯s the news of an asteroid.


    It was no surprise to hear news about a falling meteorite. What surprised me the most was the name of the asteroid.


    ¨C NASA named the asteroid Silver Dragon. Please, do not come to Earth.


    Silver Dragon¡­ It was the name of the meteorite in the background story of Survival Life.


    Don¡¯t tell me¡­


    Quickly concluding today¡¯s business, I ran up to the second floor to check a certain video. Even though information about Survival Life had long disappeared from the internet, it still exists on my hard disk.


    ¡°Where did I see the background story¡­¡± Here it is!


    I clicked the video twice with my mouse to play it. It was a video of me browsing through the official website of Survival Life and explaining it. The video had only 3 viewer, sadly.


    ¨C The setting is unique. Usually, zombies spread through viruses, but it¡¯s a meteorite in this game. To be exact, it¡¯s an alien spore attached to a meteorite called Silver Dragon¡­


    I closed my eyes as I heard my own voice from the video. All of the recent happenings could no longer be dismissed as accidental.


    The appearance of a meteorite called Silver Dragon, the status window and the rise of a strange forest.


    What all of it meant was clear.


    The end was approaching.


    The end is coming.

 Chapter 2

    Survival Life.


    It was a survival VR game with a post-apocalyptic setting which ended their service a few months ago. The story inside the game goes like this: people turned into zombies because of the spore carried by Silver Dragon meteorite, and all kinds of monsters appeared on Earth to threaten the well-being of the handful of survivors. In the meantime, ¡®corrosive diseases¡¯ spread all across the world and destroyed any kinds of metals.


    The objective of the survivors would be to preserve their food and water and travel through the dangerous zones to find safe areas while fighting against monster threats. But safe zones were never truly safe. It was because monsters and zombies had the ability to find a place where survivors were gathered.


    Anyway, there were all kinds of bizarre settings in Survival Life that drew a lot of anger from the users. Those settings¡¯ difficulty was so high to the point we stagnant waters only able to find the way to beat it once we had died for countless times.


    But what if it becomes reality?


    I denied the information laid in front of me for a while. My eyes darted from the monitor to the scenery beyond the window. I could see children jumped down from the yellow van and swiftly held their mother¡¯s hand who were waiting for them. On the other side, I could see students leaving the school while having a happy chat with their friends.


    It was peaceful day just like usual. I couldn¡¯t come to terms that this peaceful world would soon come to an end.


    ¡°Let¡¯s check it once again¡­ I mumbled the words ¡®status window¡¯ and ¡®Dimensional Portal Open¡¯ to make sure it was real, not just some weird hallucination. And turns out, it was really real. Then, I watched the re-run of the news from earlier on MeTube.


    After the re-run ended, my speculation that the end was approaching had solidified into a conviction.


    ¡°Then when exactly is the End coming?¡± I wrinkled my forehead as I checked the video.


    ¡°July 20th¡­¡± Oh my god! It¡¯s a month from today.


    Currently it¡¯s June 18th. In just one month and two days, I would never be able to see the peaceful street in front of my store again. Monsters which only exist in books and games will pop out on Earth, and there will be countless lunatics attacking people.


    A part of the meteorite will also pour into Earth¡¯s orbit, creating various phenomena. Gas pipes will burst and the power grid will be cut off. Then, there¡¯s also ¡®corrosive disease¡¯. Under its terror, civilization of humanity which had stood strong for many years would collapse.


    Very few people would survive the catastrophe. In fact, I¡¯m not entirely sure that I wouldn¡¯t turn into a zombie either.


    ¡°Well, what can I do? It will be the end once I turn into a zombie.¡±


    Should I turn my live broadcast on to look for other stagnant waters? No, no, no, no, no. The most dangerous thing in an apocalypse was to reveal myself and all the information I have. Without an overwhelming power, exposing my existence was tantamount to suicide. In fact, that was exactly what happened in the early days of Survival Life.


    Users who had barely passed the tutorial attacked users who had unique items without mercy. They didn¡¯t care about their death since they could just start over from the tutorial. It would be amazing if I could get my hand onto an item, though. But for now, I should scrap the idea of other stagnant waters being nice to me in real life just like how they were in the game.


    ¡°They should also have a rough idea about what¡¯s going on by now¡­¡±


    Once I thought till here, I realized an interesting fact. I was the last person to keep playing Survival Life! Moreover, when I quickly moved my hand to scour through many sites and MeTube looking for information about Survival Life, I found absolutely nothing. It means, only a handful of people had information about Survival Life!


    ¡°There¡¯s really nothing!¡± I shouted out loud.


    Aside from rough information about the game and early game walkthrough, there was practically nothing. Even the backstory of the game couldn¡¯t be found anywhere.


    Joy slowly crept up into my heart. No one else knows. Only I know the information of Survival Life. It was all condensed into three terabytes worth of videos where I dissected the information from the game and played it for the viewers. The information included data on expansion pack updates, balance patches, and many other patches. At that time, I was extremely invested in Survival Life, so I enjoyed making such videos a lot.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it to be helpful now.¡±


    Come to think of it, the developers of Survival Life should know better than I do. I was curious about their identities, but even if I tried to find out about it, I would not find any answers. What¡¯s important right now is¡­


    ¡°Preparing for the future.¡±


    Only those who prepare for the end will survive.


    It should be like that.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Let¡¯s stay calm, calm.¡±  I let out a long breath. Let¡¯s calm down and think about what I need to do.


    Weapons, food, tools, medicine, and so on came to mind. I have to collect all those things before the end comes. How? Of course with money.


    ¡°The store won¡¯t be available just yet.¡± As far as I remember, the store doesn¡¯t open until players reach level 10. There¡¯s also a chance that it won¡¯t open at all.


    ¡°How much money do I currently have¡­¡± I checked my account as I asked myself those questions. It was 73 million won. This was the result of having a frugal life for three whole years after opening the snack bar.


    Can I store all the things I will buy here in my house? It might be possible, since It would be hard for looters to break in.


    Is there any safer place? A place where no one knows and only I could enter.


    I opened the status window and blankly stared at it. The forest on the other side of the portal was certainly suitable as a warehouse. Moreover, as the forest was certainly a different world from Earth, it was safe to assume that the corrosive disease wouldn¡¯t reach there.


    ¡°There are monsters there, but¡­¡± I could just fight and kill them all, turning this into my own territory. There¡¯s no reason to be afraid of the forest when the peaceful world outside would soon turn into a hellhole. On the contrary, the forest will become a safe haven which should be pioneered.


    There were also animals there, so if i could hunt well, I won¡¯t face any food problems. Moreover, I won¡¯t have to be worried about the supply of water there since I remember hearing the sound of flowing water when I was there.


    ¡°All right.¡± I pulled myself together and opened the portal. As I stepped in and breathed the fresh cold air, I thought about what I needed to live in the forest.


    Tent¡­Weapons¡­Food¡­ Water¡­. And¡­Many other things. In particular, it was important to bought a lot of metal equipment since the metals on earth would be destroyed by the corrosive disease.


    ¡°I need weapons, too¡­¡± Should I order it from foreign workshop? If the corrosive disease spreads in this forest too, I¡¯ll be damned though. I will be forced to live a real primitive life. But well¡­ Let¡¯s just prepare as much as I can.


    ¡°I need to take out a loan with the building as collateral¡­¡± 73 million won was not enough to buy all the necessary supplies. Especially the power supply. I need to keep checking through the 3-terabytes worth of videos, but where will I draw the electricity from of I don¡¯t have a source of power?


    ¡°Solar generator sounds good¡­¡± aside from that, there¡¯s also an option of buying a generator and stock up on a lot of diesel fuel. I also heard that these days many people in foreign country use a hydropower generators for electricity. How can I learn that? My thoughts started to run rampant because of all the thoughts I had. That¡¯s why, I returned back to my house and took out a notepad before pouring all my thoughts on it.


    From time to time, I searched through the forum while writing. People were still busy fighting about the authenticity of the status window.


    ?LMFAO, these bastards are really funny. Why are you still working hard at school? In two months, the world will be gone, you crazy bastard.


    ?Here comes the next zombie.


    Unfortunately for him, there¡¯s one thing he is wrong about. The zombie crisis would take place in a month and two days, not in two months.


    ?I think I¡¯m the only one who can survive amongst all the people here LOL. Just be a zombie you idiot LOL. Do you think you¡¯re the only one who knows the game? LOL.


    The game they were talking about was of course Survival Live. Even though it was such a minor game, more than thousands of people had experienced the tutorials. They simply quit as soon as they finished the tutorial because of the hellish difficulty of the game.


    The guy who¡¯s pulling the aggro right now must be one of them. Those who had sincerely played Survival Life wouldn¡¯t do something meaningless like that. Instead they would prepare for the end quietly like me.


    One person complained after finally being annoyed by the user¡¯s aggressive attitude.


    ?You funny little thing. Do you think you¡¯re not going to get fucked if you just go on your own? Don¡¯t you think the developers would also know about all this? Sooner or later, guys in black suits will come to your house LOL.


    ?Will you still be able to look at the status window when they catch you alive and pull your eyes out? LOL


    ?Why aren¡¯t you replying anymore? Cat got your finger? LOL.


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­¡± If what that guy said was true, wouldn¡¯t it become dangerous for me, too? If Survival Life developers knew about all this, they would naturally know about my information. Guys in black suits would knock on my door soon!


    ¡°Let¡¯s stay calm, calm¡­¡± If push come to shove, I still have my last line of defence; the dimension door. They might also have the same ability as me, but they wouldn¡¯t be able to catch me.


    ¡°I need to at least have some equipment ready.¡±


    In case I suddenly enter the forest, I need equipment and food that would last for several days. I once again opened the door and was about to put a pack of bottled water inside, but I stopped.


    ¡°Those stinky goblins¡­¡± I groaned.


    I could be in danger if they found the bottled water and food. Who knows what they would do afterwards? If they decide to camp there while I run away from the black suit guys, it wouldn¡¯t be pretty. I should store all the food and equipment once I secure a safe zone.


    ¡°Let¡¯s pack a basic survival kit first.¡± I took out my backpack and put some ramyun and canned spam into it. It¡¯s a good which was not good for health, but who would care about such things in an apocalyptic world? Then, I put knives, flashlights, lighters, wipes, locks, gloves, bandages and some candies. After taking out the tent I used to use for fishing from the storage room, the size of my luggage was quite a sight.


    ¡°If they really come, I just have to throw this bag in before I enter.¡± I would run away as soon as the black suit guys knocked on my door. For now, there was no choice but to act cautiously.


    Watching the forum and making lists, I was only able to fall asleep once the dawn come. By the way, there seems to be quite a few people who got the status window.


    When I looked at the comments in the community related to the current situation, the reaction was rather cold. Some people even cursed at the poster and accused their post as nothing but to promote the survivalist community. Well, it¡¯s only natural since when we dig up those who incite us with strange information, the root was always money.


    For the general public, the poster¡¯s words would look like a deliberate attempt to spread anxiety.


    ¡°That¡¯s none of my business.¡±  I could prepare for the end quietly just by myself. Fortunately¡­ or is it unfortunate? I have no blood relatives. To be exact, I have relatives, but it has been a long time since I cut off my connection with them. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s okay to be so cold-hearted like this. But for me, my own survival is the top-most priority.


    Then, when the sun finally came out, I ran to the main branch of the bank I used and took out a loan. The collateral was of course my old two-story building.


    The official hinted that approval would be dropped within a week, perhaps due to the fact I had no other debt and my credit had good ratings.


    Then he asked me.


    ¡°What is the purpose for this loan?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to remodel the store. It¡¯s quite old you see.¡±


    ¡°Oh, then you won¡¯t be able to do business for a while. That¡¯s too bad.¡±


    It turned out that the person in charge also ate tteokbokki and gimbap that I made for the students.


    It¡¯s true that I wouldn¡¯t do business for a while. Though, it wasn¡¯t because of remodeling.


    When I came back to my store with several survival necessities I had bought, the shutter of the store was down even during the business hours. It was because I thought it was pointless to work on the snack bar since the end is approaching.


    I stood in front of the store and looked around. It was peaceful just like usual. Maybe I¡¯m just making a fuss by myself. What if nothing happens in a month?


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll just suffer for two or three years.¡± If I dispose of all the things I had bought secondhand, how much will I get?


    After thinking like that, I started to clean my house before going out to buy a compound bow with 60 pounds draw weight which has been placed in the local flea market. According to the seller, he had bought it because he thought he would use it instead of an air gun during the hunting season. However, it was more difficult to handle than he had thought.


    With the bow, I could attack the goblins without any problem.


    As I was on my way to the second floor, someone walked out from the hair salon next door. It was the owner of the hair salon as well as my regular customer. She was wrapped in white shorts and white shirt.


    ¡°Fyuuuh.¡± She sighed as she stretched out her legs and arms. Her shirt went up slightly, exposing her white belly to my eyes. I turned my head pretending not to see it and tried to climb up, but unfortunately, she had found me.


    ¡°Oh. You aren¡¯t doing business today?¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, well, I¡¯m going to remodel the store.¡±


    ¡°Wow, you must have made a lot of money.¡±


    ¡°Not really¡­¡± I smiled awkwardly and went up the stairs, then I heard her voice behind my back.


    ¡°By any chance¡­¡±


    Oh, no, I¡¯m already on the second floor. Nevermind, she was probably just wondering when she could eat tteokbokki again anyway.


    Let¡¯s just do what I need to do.

 Chapter 3

    I looked at the secondhand black carbon compound bow I had bought. The seller told me that he had given up using it due to his lack of strength to draw its string. And although he was sad, he also handed some aluminum and carbon arrows at a low price.


    Out of curiosity, I notched an arrow into the bow and then drew it with all my strength. My muscles were stretched to their fullest, and yet it still feels quite heavy.


    ¡°60 pounds draw weight is about this much tension, huh?¡±


    Back in Survival Life, I had plenty of experience of using bow. But since it was a game, I could draw and aim it easily as long as my stats met the minimum required stays for the how. However, in reality, there were many things to care about when using a bow. Aiming it alone was so difficult as the bow shook along with my arm which was exerting power to draw the bowstring. It was truly a big fat lie when games and novels show how a slender girl could easily draw bowstring.


    I put my bow down before moving towards my PC. I went to MeTube and put my inquiry in the search column. It was a habit of mine from Survival Life to analyze a problem once I encountered them.


    ¡°These days, you can learn many things from the MeTube.¡± With a little English proficiency, you could literally learn about a lot of things. I was never a bright student back in school. However, with subtitles on, I could interpret the words and roughly understand its meaning.


    ¡°This is how you hold your posture.¡± The western uncle in the video stood with his legs open at the same length as his shoulder. His arms were naturally stretched as he slowly lifted the bow.


    The uncle screamed something while looking at the screen. Based on the word ¡®One more¡¯ I guessed he was telling me to try again.


    ¡°This, is, surprisingly, hard.¡± The uncle said it was still too early to notch an arrow at this point. He shouted that at least a thousand times of drawing practice was needed before moving to the next step.


    As I was clearly aware that this practice would protect me from any danger in the future, I crammed every single thing the uncle did to my brain. But this is truly no joke. The once light bow gradually became heavier and heavier as beads of sweat formed on my forehead even though all I did was lifting a bow.


    ¡°Whoa¡­¡± Let¡¯s take a break for a few minutes. I had continuously lifted the bow without resting. Admiration blooms in my heart towards the white uncle in the video. I¡¯m sure he¡¯d hunted a lot. On the other hand, I¡¯m just a beginner, a noob. Though, in Survival Life, I was a master of all kinds of weapons.


    Just like what was instructed by the uncle on the video, I lifted the bow for a thousand times until my body was bathed in sweat.


    And then, as I played the video once again, the uncle said now is the time to practice lifting the bow while changing the direction of my legs. It was a good technique for quick aiming.


    ¡°Oh, my gosh.¡± I groaned.


    I swear I will master it. After all, one of my few strengths was that I always finish what I put my mind into. Of course, there were some exceptions like becoming rich or going to a prestigious university.


    Trying to imitate the uncle¡¯s movement with a straight face, I could slowly feel the cramps in my muscles. When I looked at the clock on the wall, it had been three hours since I started.


    I decided to call it a day since the Apocalypse wouldn¡¯t happen tomorrow. There¡¯s still a month and a day left for me to work hard in mastering it.


    ¡°Oh, my gosh. I¡¯m dying.¡± I fell on the bed as I screamed those words out.


    Out of reflex, I almost closed my eyes. Then I jerked up as I remembered I would suffer from muscle pain once I woke up if I fell asleep now. I certainly didn¡¯t want to enter the forest in that condition. It¡¯s better to do it right now while my muscles were still relaxed.


    I slung my backpack to my shoulders and wore everything I needed. Looking at the reflection in the mirror, the bow really makes me remember my days when I was still playing Survival Life.


    ¡°I have to do something about the goblins if I want to safely store my supplies.¡± I don¡¯t know how many of them were out there, so this time I just want to check it out.


    I opened the dimensional portal and went into the forest. I was instantly greeted by the cold wind that crashed into my body.


    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s cold.¡± I mused out loud.


    Let¡¯s see. For now, let¡¯s set the distance to be 15m. The range of a goblin¡¯s paralyzing dart was about 10m while the range of a bow clearly exceeds it by miles. However, since I¡¯m only a beginner, I decided to set my bow¡¯s range into the minimum.


    I drew a target with a marker on a wooden board and hung it on the tree 15m away with an arrow. Then, I notched an arrow before pulling the string.


    I had only practiced it for a few hours, but I could feel that I was much better than when I first started.


    I aimed carefully at the target before letting the string go. With a hiss, the arrow pierced through the air before hitting the wooden board with a thud. When I approached the tree to check on it, the arrowhead was deeply digging through the tree.


    Pretty good.


    I couldn¡¯t hit the circle, but since it¡¯s my first time shooting an arrow, I was pretty satisfied with the result. By the way, my finger hurt quite a bit when I drew the bowstring. Thankfully it was slightly dampened by the gloves I wore.


    Come to think of it, there was also a glove item in Survival Life. It was a pretty useful item which shortened the reload time.


    ¡°Let¡¯s practice a little bit more.¡± I nock the arrows and shot a few more arrows. My accuracy obviously did not go up in such a short time, but I felt that the trajectory itself was satisfactory.


    I was pretty sure I wouldn¡¯t miss any goblin within 15 meters away. Though, I don¡¯t know where the arrow would land.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see, where¡¯s the dung?¡±


    I wrapped up my practice and dived towards my memory trying to remember the place I found the goblin¡¯s dung yesterday.


    When I finally found it, I didn¡¯t want to get close, but I still needed to check the information. Well, it looks like it¡¯s the dung of a single goblin.


    ¡°Was there anyone else beside you?¡± Since Goblins live in groups, when a goblin¡¯s dung was found in one place, several other dung piles could also be found nearby.


    I rummaged through the dung with a tree branch while trying to push down the rising acid in my stomach.


    ¡°Why did you eat so much fruit?¡± To my eyes it seems like the goblin didn¡¯t have any strength to hunt an animal. Moreover, the dung¡¯s color was completely black, it didn¡¯t look healthy at all.


    ¡°Did this guy perhaps get kicked out of the group?¡°


    There was no guarantee that goblins from Survival Life were the same kind as the goblins in this forest. But basing my judgement through the traces I found, they seem to be quite similar. My gut was also telling me that this guy was kicked out of the group. If my perception stats were high enough, I would¡¯ve seen its footprints right away. But, because I¡¯m still no different from an ordinary person, I had no choice but to look around for it.


    After several minutes of rummaging, I finally found its footprints. It was leading out into the dark forest,


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a trap.¡±


    Goblins were crafty monsters who knew how to set a trap. If the opponent was mistaken and blindly attacked the trace they left behind, they would soon be surrounded by the goblin and fall because of their paralyzing attack.


    Of course, even though the goblins were cunning creatures, they weren¡¯t very smart. They were often killed because they couldn¡¯t grasp the difference in power between them and their opponent.


    However, I¡¯m alone in this forest. If I make a mistake, I would be the one who was killed by the goblin.


    ¡°You must kill him.¡± I patted my cheek with my hand before following the goblin¡¯s trail. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to work comfortably until I killed the lone goblin.


    In the meantime, if I meet another monster or carnivorous animal, I would quickly run away,


    My rank in this forest was just that low.


    .


    .


    .


    As I walked carefully through the forest, my surroundings become visibly darker. Pushing all my senses to the limit, I constantly checked my surroundings.


    Goblins were a very difficult monster to find in the forest because of its unique green skin. They were already short, and yet, they walked with their body slightly bent forward.


    As I walked through the forest, I could hear cries of various animals echoed around me. As expected, this forest was full of life, If only I could make it mine, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about starving to death.


    ¡°Is there a valley nearby?¡± The sound of flowing water was getting louder and louder. It was such a good sign because when the Apocalypse began, procuring drinking water was a difficult thing to do. Having a valley like this means at least I won¡¯t be thirsty.


    It¡¯s time to forget about the zombie information again and focus on the traces of the goblin.


    As I continued to mark the tree with white markers, I finally arrived near the valley.


    Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-


    The loud sound of the water going down the valley echoed through the surroundings.


    ¡°Oh, my gosh.¡± I lowered my body and hid myself behind a nearby rock. I was so out of breath because of my poor physical strength. But looking at the bright side, wandering through a forest like this would certainly increase my endurance stats, which will also eventually increase my health.


    Looking around, I finally found it, no, him.


    ¡°Are you thirsty?¡± The goblin was drinking water with his back turned against me. The thick hair which grows on top of his green skin was truly a bizarre sight. His limbs were scrawny and his lower body was covered with a piece of leather cloth, making his ¡®rod¡¯ completely hidden away. All he had with him was an old pocket hanging on his waist.


    Looking closely, his hair was gray. Moreover, there¡¯s so many deep wrinkles around his body.


    ¡°You must have really been kicked out.¡± I was certain now. The guy was kicked out of the group because he had become too old. And as he slightly moved his head, I could see his eyes were dry and weak. I don¡¯t think he will last long even if I leave him alone.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m going to kill you and turn your death into points.¡±


    If I could, I want to unlock the Store before the zombie crisis breaks out. My goal was to buy a blackwood club, a weapon without any special options but was extremely sturdy. With it, I could easily kill anything by simply swinging it around.


    I picked up an arrow from my bag, notching it to the bow just like how I practiced earlier, and drew the bowstrings.


    My aim was the body of the old goblin. Normally, I would have aimed at his head, but since he was weak, an arrow to his body would be enough to kill him.


    As I let the string go, the arrow sprang and dug towards the body of the green monster. The goblin jumped once before falling down.


    ¡°One more shot.¡±


    I aimed once again carefully and shot another arrow. With one last shudder, the goblin drops to the ground, lifeless.


    [You have gained two points.]


    Zombies in the early stages give one point while goblins give two.


    With the amount I currently have, there¡¯s nothing I could buy. But I¡¯ll happily collect even a speck of dust for future use.


    I drew my bow and carefully approached him. In Survival Life, corpses were an everyday thing. Countless monsters were being hunted either by other monsters or by the bored stagnant waters. I could say that back then I didn¡¯t really care about goblin¡¯s corpse. But now seeing it with my own eyes, it felt different.


    ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever killed an animal this big¡­¡± If the Apocalypse comes, I have to kill more monsters¡­maybe even some humans.


    The goblin¡¯s blood splattered towards the water. Maybe because of it, something was swimming close to the ground. Because of the light reflected on the water I couldn¡¯t clearly see it, though.


    Red trout? Let¡¯s catch that next time.


    I turned the goblin¡¯s corpse upside down with my foot.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what you have.¡±


    Goblins have a habit of collecting what they like. It¡¯s not that good, though. Because most of it was junk. But sometimes, a rare goblin called golden goblin would appear. They carried a sack full of good items and made people like me satisfied after hunting it.


    With those thoughts, I cut off the rope wrapping on the goblin¡¯s waist with my knife.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    I exclaimed as I saw something strange. It was a knife that was so dull to the point I doubted it was created by pounding it in repeat. It was just like a collection of numerous beads of iron slapped together haphazardly.


    ¡°You are carrying something useless.¡± I sighed.


    It might be considered as a weapon for a goblin since it will still hurt if someone was poked by it thanks to the fact it was made from metal, but not for me. Other than that, the leaf pocket contained some oily fruit and a white powder.


    ¡°This is guaca powder.¡± If it was well covered in oil and hardened, it would become a healing ointment. The effect was quite good, it would quickly stop any bleeding and heal the wound. Of course, it wasn¡¯t the usual healing potion you could find in any game, since there¡¯s no way a hellish game like Survival Life would have it.


    ¡°There¡¯s guaca and a source of vegetable oils nearby.¡± I gained some good information out of this. Nodding for a moment, I recovered the arrow stuck on the goblin¡¯s body, took out a shovel from my bag, and started digging.


    The goblin¡¯s group shouldn¡¯t be made aware of the corpse. Or else, they would track me down wherever I go because they were a persistent little bastard.


    ¡°It¡¯s really tiring¡­.¡± It was not easy to dig a big enough pit for the goblin¡¯s corpse. Even more so when I did it in the state of exhaustion.


    My HP bar dropped considerably. It was still tolerable when the MP bar was the one which drops, but for the HP bar to drop, that¡¯s dangerous.


    For a remedy, I took out one of the solar apples from my bag and ate it.


    [Effect: Endurance Recovery]


    [The effects of the solar apple restored a lot of endurance.]


    I noticed my HP bar had been filled once again. I should be okay now. It was now time to continue digging deep before I could push the old goblin¡¯s body in.


    Wook wook wook- wook-


    The cry of an owl could be heard in the distance.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    My eyes darted towards the surroundings as my body started to shake. The cry was far too dull for a bird. Which means¡­


    An Owlbear.


    I hurriedly pushed the goblin¡¯s body into the pit and ran without looking back.


    ¡°Come on!¡± I screamed.


    Koo Woo-wook-


    The cry echoed through the forest once again.


    ¡°Huh huh Huh Huh Huh!¡±


    I ran as quickly as I could and followed the markers I had left on the trees.


    When I finally arrived at the area where I entered from, I sat down with my back leaning against the tree. My lungs were still busy pumping hot air through my mouth.


    ¡°Oh, my God, an Owlbear!¡± It was a monster only a level lower than an Ogre. If I ran into it in my current state, I wouldn¡¯t even last for three full seconds.


    Just when I managed to find and kill a goblin, a real monster popped out. Should I just give up this forest?


    ¡°Never!¡± I said weakly. I realized the forest was more dangerous than I initially thought. But still, I couldn¡¯t give it up. After all, the outside world would be far messier than this place.


    Anyway, I couldn¡¯t face an Owlbear right away, so I had to run away. And now, it¡¯s time to go home. I opened the dimensional portal and walked through it into my room.


    I had a lot of work left to do, but I didn¡¯t want to pay any attention to it because my body was sore all over as if someone had beaten me up.


    I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m in this stage just after walking through the forest for several hours.


    Just what should I do with this wretched body? Looks like the consequences of eating so many unhealthy snacks have finally caught up to me. But I can¡¯t help it since I need to try a variety of snacks to research more on the market.


    I buried my head and closed my eyes. At the moment, I don¡¯t care whether the black suits guys would come or not.


    I was just that tired.

 Chapter 4

    As soon as I opened my eyes, a barrage of pain assaulted my body.


    ¡°Oh, my god.¡± With such a groan, I forced my body to get up. Fortunately, unlike usual, I don¡¯t have to make any preparations to open the store today.


    I opened the window and tasted the soon to be gone peace. In 30 days, it would turn into a giant big mess of chaos.


    When I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I noticed that I had lost a lot of fat on my cheek. And my stomach also looks like it has lost a lot of fat. Although the reason it looks so bloated to begin with was because I drink a lot of water. I look pretty athletic now.


    After enjoying my slight transformation, I turned my computer on and checked what I had to do. First, I need to order solar and diesel generators. It was pretty cheap when I ordered it from a Chinese shopping site. But just in case, I also bought one each from a Korean shopping mall.


    It didn¡¯t have to be a powerful generator though. At the very least, I only need them to be able to charge a laptop and smartphone.


    ¡°I need to buy a tablet, too.¡± It would be good to have various means to watch the video I had downloaded as desktop was out of the equation since it consumes a lot of power. Though, it could be easily fixed if I build a full-fledged safe-zone. However, for the current me, it would be too grand of a goal. Afterall, if monsters like Owlbear from yesterday appear again, I would have no choice but to abandon everything and run right away just like yesterday.


    With that in mind, I searched through the videos list for the one in which I explained to the audience about owlbear. The video started to play with a double click from my mouse.


    -I Love Gimbap: As you know, this guy is an owlbear. He¡¯s a very violent monster. Just like its name implies, this guy has a bear¡¯s body but his head is that of an owl. As you can see, there¡¯s also a long claw at the end of its wings. And because this guy likes red trout very much, he is mainly active around a valley.


    ¨C Poor Guy: Red trout¡­ sounds delicious. I want it too¡­ I only had ramyun today.


    ¨C A Dog That Barks When It Sees A Fool: Woof!


    ¨C Rice Soup: No, stop sponsoring him. Please use your money to buy rice soup. Please, Poor Guy-nim!


    I don¡¯t know if it was Rice Soup-nim¡¯s concept or what. But whenever someone sponsored me, he always relates everything to Rice Soup which was amazing and funny.


    For example,


    ¨C Poor Guy sponsored 5,000 won!


    ¨C Poor Guy: it¡¯s 1000 dolls day today!


    ¨C Rice Soup: 5 won per piece, right? You¡¯ll only need 1400 won to eat a rice soup.


    ¨C Neighborhood Lunatic: It¡¯s Gimbap¡¯s fault, anyway.


    ¨C A Dog That Barks When It Sees Injustice: Woof!


    ¨C I Love Gimbap: Wait, everyone. What did I do?


    Mm-hmm. I am getting emotional while watching the video. I really had a lot of fun with the viewers back then.


    Every single one of them created their own unique way to make fun of me. The Poor Guy was always poor. Meanwhile, Rice Soup would convert all kinds of currency into gukbap (rice soup) while the bastard Barking Dog changed its nickname in real time following what¡¯s happening and made people laugh.


    ¡°Huuhh.¡± It¡¯s a video from a year ago. It will be hard for these people to survive when the apocalypse starts. Well, those who watched my show diligently would be able to beat zombies to some extent. Maybe¡­ They¡¯re working hard to find my trace by now.


    Then should I help them?


    ¡°No, no no, there¡¯s no guarantee that the information won¡¯t leak.¡±


    I shook my head. I have to look as normal as possible. No one should know the extent of knowledge I possess.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just do what I need to do.¡± That was the best thing I could do right now.


    I proceed to organize the patterns of the owlbear by listening to my voice in the video.


    ¨C I Love Gimbap: The presence of an owlbear means the monster¡¯s ecosystem has stabilized. In other words, there are many sub-monsters around. Oh, man.


    ¨C A Dog That Barks At The Sight Of  A Bug: Woof!


    ¨C Neighborhood Lunatic: Pooh-booh-booh-booh-booh-booh.


    Damn it! Sub-monsters include zombies, ghouls, bone creepers, goblins, kobolds, trolls, and werewolves. Just by simply thinking about it, my head already hurts.


    I should be fine if I fight against the other monsters, but if the werewolf appears, I would be in big trouble. Afterall, werewolf was a monster with monstrous strength and agility. It could easily outrun and shred anything to bits and pieces.


    ¡°What I can deal with right now¡­¡± only a couple of goblins or kobolds.


    Even if I couldn¡¯t win against monsters like owlbear, I must have the means to fight them. I couldn¡¯t just trust my legs and run away because if it was able to track my presence, I was certain that it would be faster than me.


    ¡°From what I remembered¡­ its weakness lay on its eyes.¡± As it was a monster which had both traits of owl and bear, it was only natural that it had something like night vision. That means, if I could get a strong light in its eyes, I could buy several seconds for myself. That kind of window was more than enough to run away.


    My mind suddenly remembered the game I often played with other stagnant water to alleviate our boredom in Survival life. It was a game where each of us threw a flash can made of glowing stones into the owlbear¡¯s eyes. Thinking about it now, it¡¯s a completely crazy thing to do just for the sake of alleviating boredom.


    I closed the curtains and turned on the flashlight I took from my storage room. However, the light it radiates was weak. Forget about blinding it temporarily, if I shone this flashlight towards the owlbear, I would only make it angrier.


    I will need a better flashlight. With that in mind, I searched for a tactical light on the Internet. In just a matter of minutes, I found a perfect product for my purpose. It was a tactical light with a power of 2,000 lumens complete with a strobe function which would certainly confuse the owlbear. The only downside was, as it used a lot of power to operate, its lifespan was quite short. At most 1-2 years. But for me, that was okay because in 1 or 2 years I was certain that I could beat any monster without any problem.


    ¡°With this on top of a laptop and smartphone, solar panels won¡¯t be enough.¡± However, as diesel generator was noisy, I couldn¡¯t use it as a regular power source. If I turn it on at the wrong time, all monsters in my camp¡¯s vicinity would surely flock towards my camp.


    Wishing I had one more quiet charging solution, I found a manual generator after searching through the internet.


    ¡°20 watts with 5 volts and 12 volts should be fine.¡± With that much power, at least charging a smartphone and laptop wouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    I carefully compared their specifications before picking up a few which I liked.


    Then, a thought came to my mind. If the situation in the forest stabilized more in the future, wouldn¡¯t it be possible for me to safely connect towards the valley and build a hydropower generator?


    ¡°There¡¯s many people who make it by themselves these days.¡± Some people with a strong experimental mind had shared their work process on MeTube. When I watched their videos, all I could feel was admiration.


    My pioneering spirit flared up and the thoughts of what I would be able to do once the forest was cleared up and I could use the valley filled my head.


    By the way, I just realized¡­ If l want to watch all the videos at a later date, I would need a lot of hard disks to store it.


    Let¡¯s add harddisks to my shopping list then.


    ¡°For now, let¡¯s order this first.¡± I said as I confirmed my purchase of solar generators, diesel generators, and some manual generators.


    ¡°While at it, let¡¯s order some weapons too¡­¡± I clicked on Steel rod, spear blade, mace, and shield. They were all ordered from a foreign weapon store. The more weapons I had in my arsenal, the better. Afterall, monsters were diverse and there were various ways to fight against them.


    I had to be well prepared in advance so I could overwhelm them in every situation, just like how I hunted the old goblin yesterday.


    However, the first and the most important thing to do was to build a safe zone. If I could choose, I¡¯d like to have a cave as my safe zone¡­


    Growl-


    Ah yeah, I passed out in bed last night, didn¡¯t I?


    Let¡¯s eat first¡­


    .


    .


    .


    Even though I make a living through a snack bar, sometimes I get sick of the smell of oil. Whenever that happens, I would always go to a nearby diner. Compared to their low price tag, the portion of every food in this diner was large. On top of it, the food was also quite delicious.


    While I was watching the TV after placing my kimchi stew order, I saw the lady from the beauty salon next to my snack bar enter the diner. She wore an oversized T-shirt and shorts, showing off her long and white legs.


    Judging by her appearances alone, a brunch in a fancy caf¨¦ would be a better fit for her rather than this gaudy diner. I know that it¡¯s nothing but prejudice, but her atmosphere was just that fancy.


    After looking around the store for a moment, the lady saw me and walked straight towards me.


    I fixed my eyes on the TV thinking she wasn¡¯t going to me but a water purifier behind me, however, I was wrong.


    ¡°Can I sit here?¡± She leaned her upper body halfway towards the chair across me and asked me.


    ¡°Yes?¡± There are a lot of empty seats, but why here? Though, I still nodded my head as it wasn¡¯t a big deal.


    She quickly sat down and whispered to me. ¡°I come here often. Their kimchi stew is delicious.¡±


    Ah.. She must be a regular customer in this store too. As expected, people shouldn¡¯t judge other people by their appearances alone.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll have doenjang stew today.¡± She said. ¡°Owner 1 doenjang stew please.¡±


    (T/N But you said their Kimchi stew is delicious¡­ Ah btw, Doenjang is bean paste.)


    ¡°Okay! Please wait a minute.¡± The owner turned his head at her as he heard her order.


    After some time, a large tray came out, it was my food. Trying to not mind her company, I took the cutlery and awkwardly started to eat.


    Then suddenly, she held her chin up and said. ¡°Ahjussi, you don¡¯t know my name, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯ve heard people call you, boss, before.¡±


    ¡°My name is Mikyung. Jeong Mikyung.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see. Do you know my name?¡± I said, imitating her tone from before.


    ¡°Of course, I do. Kids call you often. Seongho Ahjussi! Like that.¡±


    Well, it¡¯s a little bit embarrassing, but I am pretty popular with kids. The reason was, even when they only ordered one serving, I always added a little bit extra on their portion. Though, thanks to that, the store almost became a children¡¯s playground.


    Then, Mi-kyung asked me with a serious look. ¡°Ahjussi, by any chance, do you happen to know about the topic that has been pretty famous on the Internet these days?¡±


    ¡°Which one?¡± I eyed her.


    Looking at my reaction, Mikyung quickly took out her phone and showed me a popular video on MeTube.


    Even though I also like MeTube quite a lot, I don¡¯t really watch videos from the popular videos list because I felt like the popular videos list was some kind of playground for the cool kids. I couldn¡¯t relate whatsoever with all the vents and comments under the video which seemed as if the commenter was doing something great even though they didn¡¯t.


    ¡°Here, this is the most popular video these days. It¡¯s a superpowers.¡± The exaggerated thumbnail and provocative phrases caught my eye.


    ¡°Superpower? In this modern world?¡± I could feel my face distort as I said it.


    ¡°That¡¯s not it. These days, a lot of strange things happen, you know? Do you happen to know about status window? People said they could see it.¡± She said innocently.


    ¡°Status window?¡± When I blinked, she began to tell me all the details she knew. Levels, points, stats¡­ Well, it was all things I knew. I felt a little guilty pretending I don¡¯t know about it, but I can¡¯t help it.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a lie? They probably just made it to joke around.¡±


    ¡°No Ahjussi, you see, there are too many people who said it was true to be a mere joke. There are hundreds of people who said they have status windows and superpowers. The community I visit frequently is going crazy right now.¡±


    ¡°Hundreds of people should be on the news, then. But where are they?¡±


    ¡°Oh, there you go.¡±


    The announcer on the TV suddenly reported it as if she had been waiting for me.


    ¨C A thief had broken into a convenience store in Sejong City. The thief had committed the crime using an extraordinary method. Let¡¯s take a look at the CCTV footage now.


    What was caught on CCTV was a surprising scene where a bundle of cash disappeared from the cash register.


    Customers around me who were watching the news simultaneously pointed their fingers to the TV.


    ¡°Oh, what is that? Just what is happening?¡±


    ¡°Wait wait, where is the part-timer?¡±


    It seemed the thief had done it while the part-timer was in the warehouse. It took less than 10 seconds for the entire cash to disappear from the cash register. Then, the door of the convenience store slowly opened before closing once again.


    When the part-timer came back to the cash register, he was so taken aback to see that it was empty.


    The thief used invisibility, I was certain of that.


    I don¡¯t know the exact reason, but it seems that those who had encountered Survival Life awakened their status windows as well as ability. Some of them were even committing crimes.


    Mi-kyung then spoke once again. ¡°If I remember correctly, not too far from here, there¡¯s also someone who stole money from a local store. No one could stop him.¡±


    ¡°No one could stop him, why?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s invisible. Who could stop him?¡±


    Well, there¡¯s really nothing to do about it if the criminal was invisible. However, it¡¯s not like there¡¯s no way at all. In Survival Life there¡¯s a myriad of monsters with hiding abilities, and yet we, stagnant waters, could defeat it just fine.


    Well, I don¡¯t have time to commit a crime. Perhaps, am I the only one who knows the end is coming?


    Then, Mikyung continued talking about the topics.


    ¡°Ahjussi, you see, people said if you say a specific keyword, something will come out in your sight¡­like levels and stats.¡±


    ¡°This is reality, not a game. How could they appear?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you it¡¯s real, Ahjussi. The status window, like this.¡±


    Wait, why are your eyes moving there? Don¡¯t tell me, this lady, could she see the status window?


    I ignored her and kept eating in silence as if I wasn¡¯t interested.


    Looking at my disinterest, Mikyung also closed her mouth and waited for her order to come out without talking to me anymore.


    (T/N she probably just wants you to survive you dense¡­ Just don¡¯t end up like Yoo seodam please.)

 Chapter 5

    Every human needs a house to live. In my case, a two-story house in Busan was my home. But, in the forest, I don¡¯t have anything, not even a shed. The remaining time until the zombie outbreak was 30 days. Within that time frame, I must build myself a safe zone no matter what the cost.


    ¡°It would be nice if I could find a cave to live¡­¡± Having such a cave which was enclosed on every side leaving only one entrance for my use was desirable. Of course, I wouldn¡¯t need the monster which used to occupy it, so, I would have to kill it first before I could occupy its dwelling.


    With the thoughts of securing a safe zone in my mind, I walked deeper into the forest as I left a doodle mark on the nearby trees, just like what I did on my previous visit. Getting a better look at the forest, I noticed that there were a lot of thick and tall trees in this forest. Those trees would certainly become a useful resource for me in the future. And in order to process it, woodworking tools should be brought here. Though, it would be better if there¡¯s an ebony tree here.


    As I was walking through the thickets with a bow slung on my shoulder, I suddenly saw it. An entrance to a cave which I want the most.


    ¡°What a luck!¡± I thought. Even though I was elated by this finding, it doesn¡¯t mean I would run directly to the cave. I know from experience that a cave like this was bound to have something living inside. There¡¯s a long list of monsters which use caves as their dwelling, but amongst them, goblins and kobolds were the most common.


    I rummaged through the forest near the entrance to look for a lead.


    ¡°Found you.¡± After several minutes of rummaging, I finally found a small hole in the bush near the entrance with a footprint right beside it. Looking closer at the footprints, I could easily infer the identity of the monster. It was those kobold bastards.


    Kobold was a monster which lived in a small group of 7 or 8. The leader of the group, the Alpha, would have two or three females on his side while the rest of the group could be said as a lackey. However, for the current me, dealing with those number by myslef would be synonymous to suicide.


    In my bag, I had a capsaicin spray ready, but I¡¯m not sure how much it will work against monsters.


    Should I just set a fire at the entrance and shoot them when they escape?


    ¡°The direction of the wind¡­¡± I raised my finger to the air. The cold wind was currently blowing from my front side, which means, it wouldn¡¯t make the smoke move towards me in case I lit a fire in front of the cave. Therefore, I would be saved from coughing from inhaling the smoke.


    Wait¡­can¡¯t I just use the power of technology?


    Why am I taking a risk when I could bring a gas mask or something like that here?


    Fire was lethal to monsters, so they naturally shy away from smoke. And even if it was eye-catching, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about monsters moving closer because of that reason.


    ¡°Should I really do it?¡±


    Since I would only light a fire on the entrance, it probably would not spread into the surroundings and become a big wildfire. Even if it does spread, I could easily put it off with a fire extinguisher.


    With that plan in mind, I returned to my house. I spent the next 2 hours buying the necessary equipment for the hunt. Fortunately, when I returned to the cave with my brand-new equipment, the kobolds were still asleep because they were creatures which become more active once the night comes.


    ¡°These sleepyheads¡­ i¡¯ll teach you a very important lesson.¡± The equipment I bought was a gas mask, thick cotton clothes, and a fire-fighting ax. Those kobolds, who were still asleep, wouldn¡¯t wake up at least for a while more. And by the time they woke up, they would have become considerably weaker as they had inhaled a lot of carbon monoxide in their sleep. And after they came to their senses and escaped out of the cave, It was my turn to work hard to cut them with the ax. By the way, for a sidearm, I bought a metal pipe. It was a pretty heavy guy as there¡¯s a coupling at the end.


    ¡°Damn it, I wouldn¡¯t be able to shoot the bow.¡± Due to the thick bushes obstructing my view, it was difficult to take an aim with the bow. I thought of getting rid of it for a moment before deciding not to do so because in the end, I would be the one who uses the cave and the bushes would act splendidly as the first line of defense.


    With great vigor, I carried a lot of branches, firewood, and vines to the entrance of the cave. Though, after doing it for nearly an hour, I started to pant and felt like I was going to die.


    I took my coat off and instantly felt the cold air caressing my skin and made me shiver. But, it was fine. Afterall, soon enough, this place was going to be sweltering hot.


    I retrieved a gasoline bottle from my backpack and sprinkle it on top of the piled up greenery. At the same time, my eyes laid on one of the kobolds inside the cave. Its yellow eyes shone brightly in contrast to its fur which resembles a dirtiest towel in the world. Its other features were almost the same as a dog, the only difference between them was that kobold stood on two feet.


    The kobold stumbled as it walked towards me. It seems that it was still half-asleep.


    ¡°Hup!¡± I powerfully swung my ax at kobold¡¯s head. Surprised by my sudden attack, the kobold flinched and growled at me before tumbling down into the ground with a thud. As a finishing move, I swung my ax once again, but this time, I aimed for its neck.


    [Level has risen to 1]


    [Acquired 2 points]


    The most important thing when dealing with monsters was to be sure you had killed them, and waiting for the system prompt to appear was the surefire way to  ensure that.


    I quickly moved once again. Using a lighter, I lit a fire on a ball of tissue before throwing it into the pile I had prepared. When the tissue fell, the gasoline quickly caught fire, burning all the bits and pieces of twigs underneath and creating a dangerous black smoke that invaded the cave.


    Unlike my previous calculations, the smoke also hit me. But thanks to the gas mask I wore, I was not affected too much by it.


    The smoke soon covered the whole entrance, obscuring my view of the cave. In the current situation, it was questionable whether I could hit a kobold in time when it jumped out of the cave or not.


    ¡°They¡¯re coming!¡± From beyond the smoke, whimpering and scrambling footsteps could be heard, they must¡¯ve been confused since their cave was covered in smoke which choked them as soon as they woke up. Though, it would be difficult for them to jump out since the entrance was blocked by a furiously burning fire.


    I hope they just die without fighting me. However, sooner rather than later, my hope was crushed. 5 kobolds suddenly jumped out through the fire.


    ¡°Die!¡± Without thinking any further, I rushed towards the biggest kobold¡ªwhich I assumed to be the Alpha¡ªwith an ax high in the air. It couldn¡¯t even open its eyes and could only raise its head to sense me.


    But that was the end for it. My ax came down hard into its crown, causing a snapping sound to echo through the forest.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Letting such a sound escape from my mouth, I realized the ax was stuck since I couldn¡¯t pull it out. Fortunately, I had prepared a backup plan for a situation like this beforehand.


    I kicked the kobold¡¯s body and picked up the metal pipe. With a shout, I swung the 1m long pipe with heavy coupling on its end and lodged it into a nearby kobold¡¯s head.


    Just like the first one I killed; it growled before falling to the ground. It was still breathing, but it would be dead soon enough, therefore I left it alone and quickly shoot a capsaicin spray into the nose of the rest of the kobolds which were groveling on the ground, trying to catch their breath


    Whimper! Whimper!


    They tried to brush the capsaicin spray off from their nose by scratching their nose using their paw. However, it was useless. Now, all I had to do was beat the shit out of them with my pipe until they were completely dead.


    Whimper!


    After swinging the pipe for god-knows how many times, the last kobold finally let out its last whimper before dropping lifelessly into the ground. The once sturdy metal pipe in my hand was now dented in many places and stained in red blood.


    ¡°Fuck you all!¡± I cursed as soon as I finished and took my gas mask off. My breath was ragged. I could also feel my heart beating violently as if it was only inches away from exploding. Obviously, it was all due to my lack of exercise, and it was not a problem that could be solved in a short amount of time.


    ¡°Status window.¡± I said.


    ¡ºLevel: 1


    Point(s): 14


    Vitality:8


    Strength:10


    Agility:7


    Talent:8


    Perception:5


    Unique ability: Dedicated Dimension Portal


    Skill:-


    Active Buff: Exhausted¡»


    My stats were reduced drastically. Of course, it was not a permanent one but due to the [Exhausted] debuff which was displayed on my status. It will soon return to its original value once I take a rest.


    ¡°I¡¯m finally level 1.¡± I had amassed a total of 14 points in exchange for killing 1 goblin and a group of kobolds. With this amount of points, all I could buy from the store was just a stick! It¡¯s really pitiful. Back in my Survival Life day, no matter what I bought, or how many points I wasted, my points would never drop below 10,000!


    ¡°This is not a game.¡± I slapped my cheek. This is not a game. This is reality. Here, one small mistake could make me lose my life.


    I should consider myself fortunate as I found kobold¡¯s cave during the day. If I had set a camp nearby without knowing that they were there¡­ I would probably be taken alive to the cave before getting eaten after being steamed while being tied into a stick.


    Let¡¯s keep that in mind.


    The only good monster is a dead monster.


    Using the pipe as a makeshift crutch, I forced my body to stand up. My surroundings spinned for a moment before returning to normal a few moments later.


    ¡°Aigoo¡­¡±


    Anyway, do I have to dig a pit again?


    Monster¡¯s corpses were a dangerous thing, so I probably should do it. Though, right now, I wouldn¡¯t bury it but burn it. With the leftover gasoline I had, burning them couldn¡¯t even be considered as a job.


    But¡­ Why did my back feel so hot?


    Looking back at the entrance to the cave, the scene that greets me left me baffled.


    The fire I set was spreading around!


    It¡¯s fire! (T/N Now playing Fire by BTS.)


    .


    .


    .


    I threw the exhausted fire extinguisher to the ground as I cursed myself for not being careful enough. It took all the fire extinguishers I had in store to put out the spreading fire.


    Then i realized¡­ the bush I had kept for the purpose of becoming the cave¡¯s first line of defense had been burnt to crisp, I felt my world crumble before me.


    ¡°I¡¯m tired¡­¡± I sighed as I sat on the nearby rock and looked at the entrance of the cave.


    Kobolds¡¯ corpses, burnt debris, and all kinds of junk were tangled into a giant mess in front of the cave. It would take me at least several hours of cleaning to get rid of all of that.


    Because of my exhausted body, I really want to just return home and lie in bed right now. However, I held myself back from doing it. After all, as I had used too much stamina to kill the kobolds, if I didn¡¯t do the cleaning right now, I would only put myself in the worst suffering tomorrow.


    ¡°It would be easier to hunt if I had guns.¡± If I was living in the United States, by now, I would¡¯ve already brought all kinds of firearms.


    I could just go to America now and buy it there though. However, from what I had read from the internet, it¡¯s hard to get a gun license in America for a tourist.


    There¡¯s another way to get it though. It was through backalley routes.


    I scoffed at my wild imagination. Afterall, it would be a bloody miracle if I got out of the back alley without being stabbed in the stomach.


    There¡¯s also the matter of creating a passport and flight time. With only 30 days left before the zombie outbreak, it would be a waste of time to use that route.


    But still, life in the forest would be much easier with guns.


    ¡°Ah right! there¡¯s also an air gun.¡±


    I quickly opened the portal and searched through the internet. However, what I saw on the screen was only old news regarding someone shooting others using an air gun. And since there were a lot of incidents involving air guns, its trade was now closely monitored by the government.


    Damn it.


    And naturally, firearms and bullets were only available in the police stations, military barricades and maybe in shooting ranges. In other words, it was almost impossible to obtain firearms in Korea.


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­ wasn¡¯t there an accident involving firearms before the zombie outbreak happened?¡±


    I suddenly remembered an event from the Survival Life¡¯s backstory.


    Some parts of the Silver Dragon, driven by the sun¡¯s gravity, fell towards Earth earlier than its main body. It crashed into the sea near Busan and caused a tsunami which swept over a Russian fishing boat ashore.


    It was an absurd imagination, but at the same time wasn¡¯t completely nonsense, either. In reality, there¡¯s also a chance for a tsunami to occur when a meteorite falls on the sea. And it was also true that Russian fishing boats frequently come and go through the Busan Port.


    ¡°Because of that ship, Busan was blamed  by the world as the epicenter of the zombie outbreak¡­¡± Of course, that was not true. The real source of the outbreak was spore from outer space which was carried towards Earth by the Silver Dragon Meteorite. Busan was merely an unfortunate place which was infected because the spores were carried to the land by the infected sailors from the stranded ship.


    ¡°I clearly remembered that I read something about ¡®gunshot was heard at that time¡¯.¡±


    Was it the police who shot it?


    I browsed through private videos and found the corresponding video.


    Now that I think about it, I was completely in love with Survival Life. I even went through the length of recording and explaining all those cumbersome background stories.


    -I Love Gimbap: Look at this, this is Gamcheon Port. The image we currently see is certainly taken from a high place. You can see the tsunami that swept the entire area and made it difficult for police to react. There¡¯s no way they wouldn¡¯t be delayed in this case. This is where the zombie outbreak began¡­according to the lore. But don¡¯t you think the criticism the world threw at South Korea by saying we are late to respond, a little bit unfair? After all, how could we know that the fishing boat is infected?


    I double click the video to pause it. In the video I could see a flight of stairs going down. However, once again, I need to tell myself this is only a game. Does it make sense such a small detail could happen in reality?


    When I hit the play button again, my voice finally explains the gunfire.


    -I Love Gimbap: Actually, the Russians seemed to be fine until the fishing boat landed on land because we could hear a gunshot from their boat. What I¡¯m curious about is just how the spores infect humans here¡­ Hey, is there anyone listening?


    ¨DA Dog That Sleeps When He¡¯s Too Sleepy: Drool¡­


    Judging from the sound of gunfire, it was clear that the Russians had guns. Probably, it was the captain who had it. From what I heard from older folks in Busan, back in the 1990s, Russian sailors often brought pistols with them as they did their business in Busan Port.


    ¡°Gamcheon Port, huh?¡± It¡¯s quite far from my house, but it was still worth the trip if I could secure a gun. Although it would be useless on Earth because of corrosive disease, I could use it only in the forest while waiting for corrosive disease on Earth to disappear.


    However, all of this was just what happened in the game. If it didn¡¯t occur in reality in the exact same way as in the game, I could kiss the gun goodbye.


    Thinking so far, I shifted my focus from the computer screen to the entrance of the cave.


    I still have something to do before entering my new house.


    It was cleaning.

 Chapter 6

    I finally cleared the entrance to the kobolds¡¯ den¡­no, since they were already dead, shouldn¡¯t I call it Kang Seongho¡¯s den now? Well, whatever the name was, the cave truly made me feel at  ease as it would be the foundation for my survival in this forest. Now I only need to work hard to protect this cave from any monster who comes knocking.


    With a shining flashlight in my hand, I looked around the interior of the cave.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that spacious¡­¡± The size of the entrance itself was narrow to the point I had to bend down to get in. Then as soon as I entered, I was greeted by a straight path with no turns whatsoever. The humidity wasn¡¯t that high for a cave, so it seemed like it would be cozy. Plus, there were no worms or rats visible anywhere.


    ¡°Did those kobolds eat them all?¡±


    My question echoed in the cave. They¡¯re just that gluttonous. They were creatures that would eat practically anything.


    At the end of the cave was the nest of the kobolds. All sorts of rubbish and bloodstains could be found there as a horrendous smell swept over me.


    Covering my nose, I took out a measurement tape and measured the distance from the kobolds¡¯ nest to the entrance. It came out to around 15m.


    ¡°It should be spacious enough.¡± I mused.


    For now, let¡¯s tidy up the interior of the cave first.


    It was quite difficult to walk through the uneven cave floor. Even more so when my body was tattered like this. But I ignored it and desperately moved my aching body to clean the remains left behind by the kobolds. And after some time passed, it was finally over.


    ¡°Should I layer the ground with some mortar mix?¡± This space was a cozy and decent-sized cave, but the ground was too bumpy for my liking. It would certainly become much better once I flatten the ground. And also¡­ I thought it would be good to bring a sandwich panel here to separate the room I would use for my daily life from the warehouse.


    As I wandered through the cave with those plans in mind, my eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of a shining stone embedded in the one corner of the floor.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s been awhile since I have seen you.¡± I smiled.


    The shining stone in front of me was called a glowstone. It was a stone which was used as the primary lighting source in the incredibly dark night of apocalyptic world since carelessly starting a fire in apocalyptic world was synonymous to suicide as it would attract the nearby monsters to come. With the help of a piece of dark fabric covering the basecamp, the light from a glowstone wouldn¡¯t be seen on the outside.


    ¡°Can I dig this up?¡± I momentarily returned to my home through the portal to pick up a pickaxe. My mind told me to continue working but my body urged me to just lie down on the bed as soon as I see one. But my mind prevailed in the end, albeit barely.


    When I returned to the cave once again, I quickly started to hit the ground around the glowstone with the pickaxe. Fortunately, as the ground was on the softer side, I was able to excavate a glowstone around the same size as a fist without much difficulty.


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty big. Will I find more if I dig more?¡± If I dug up more of these stones and put them in every corner of the cave, I don¡¯t think I would fall down because of the uneven ground.


    And so, I became a miner.


    After religiously digging the ground, I found several more glowstones and even found a red stone.


    ¡°Boy! What a jackpot!¡±


    The red stone was some kind of flint called an ignition stone. It would produce a spark when two of it were rubbed against each other. It also could be used without any problem even when it was wet.


    ¡°The more means to start a fire the better.¡±


    With a lighter, a flint, a firesteel and an ignition stone, I practically wouldn¡¯t have any problem starting a fire.


    Of course, the use of an ignition stone wasn¡¯t just to light a fire.


    I put the glowstones and the ignition stone in my backpack for now and looked at the entrance of the cave.


    It would be evening soon¡­


    ¡°Even if this is the last day of my life. I don¡¯t want to sleep here¡­¡±


    It¡¯s indeed my cave, but it still needs to be renovated before I could live here with ease without worrying about my life.


    As I exited the cave, I carefully covered the cave entrance with some bushes before returning home through the portal. And as soon as I saw my bed, I felt that it beckoned me to just throw myself to it. But once again, I resisted as I still had something to do, which was planning for the cave¡¯s renovation.


    ¡°After levelling the ground with mortar mix¡­¡± I need to install a sandwich panel to separate the space inside. After that, I would be making a bed and stocking up on some supplies.


    ¡°I have to spend the night in the forest soon.¡±


    It¡¯s scary there but¡­


    As I was thinking about it, suddenly the desk was in front of me.


    ¡°Aigooyaaaa.¡±


    I was too sleepy to the point I unconsciously fell face-first into the desk.


    It didn¡¯t hurt that much though, although it did make my sleepiness grow heavier.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just sleep¡­¡±


    As I threw myself to the bed, my mind instantly went black.


    It was a very tiring day.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Ugh.¡±


    These days, starting my day with a groan seems to be a routine.


    I think I should have lost some weight after all the hard work from yesterday. And so, I headed towards the mirror and checked myself¡­


    And what I saw there was very pleasing. My body had become a tad slimer. Though, I couldn¡¯t pinpoint exactly which part of my body had lost some weight. And at the same time, I also felt that I had become fitter than before. However, it turns out to be just an illusion.


    ¡°Got fitter my ass¡­ It¡¯s just been 3 days since I actively ran around in the forest.¡±


    Now that the zombie outbreak is drawing near, I need to make my body much more agile than before. When I thought to the point, I thought of registering myself to a gym, but soon after l,  I completely gave up on that idea because I think working in the forest would suffice.


    As I was about to go cook and eat, a text message notifying the arrival of my package arrived.


    Why did it arrive so early¡­ Ugh, it¡¯s already afternoon? Seems like I was completely wasted.


    ¡°I wonder what arrived today¡­¡±


    With an expectant feeling, I walked down the stairs. But suddenly, a sharp pain struck my ankle.


    I rummaged through my memory trying to remember what I did with my feet yesterday as I crouched and checked my foot. Then I recalled that I was using it to kick a kobold. It seems like I couldn¡¯t feel it yesterday because of the adrenaline rush I got from fighting the kobolds.


    In this state, going up and down the stairs was really a painful experience.


    ¡°It¡¯s because of the shoes.¡± The shoes I wore yesterday couldn¡¯t protect my ankles properly. It would be better if I buy a pair of hiking boots or tactical boots that go up to the ankle.


    When I think about it now, yesterday¡¯s fight was quite dangerous. And in the future, I was certain I would be caught up in much fiercer fights. Therefore, I would need better equipment to raise my chance of surviving.


    ¡°Aside from a stab-proof uniform¡­¡± Gloves with hidden knife function, tactical vest and pants, and tactical boots seemed to be needed. For head¡¯s protection, I could just wear a full-face motorcycle helmet.


    I should order one after browsing through all the sellers and choosing only the one with good reviews.


    As I arrived on the first floor, it seems the package which arrived today was the external hard disk I ordered. The ten 3 terabyte hard disks would be enough to store various videos I need.


    ¡°Let¡¯s put other videos too¡­muehehe.¡±


    I downloaded all the videos I had been watching on MeTube and stored it all on the hard disk. These were all necessary videos for me who would have to lead a primitive life in the forest. Especially those which shows me how to make weapons.


    Currently, I used a ready-made bow as one of my weapons, however I was quite interested in the crossbow. Although it has a glaring weakness of slow reloading speed, it also had advantages which cannot be ignored: it was much more powerful, required less strength, and was smaller in size.


    ¡°It¡¯s really good, but I can¡¯t buy it¡­¡±


    The authentication process of buying a crossbow in South Korea has been strengthened since the incident where a crossbow was used to shoot a person in the past. Crossbows with pulleys cannot be imported at all. Even the composite crossbow was treated like a firearm.


    This goddamn country had far too many regulations dammit.


    ¡°The compound bow looks good, but¡­¡± it wouldn¡¯t be enough. Reviews from real users said it¡¯s powerful, but still, there were a lot of parts I was concerned about.


    ¡°How to make a wooden bow and crossbow¡­¡±


    I type those words on the search bar of the MeTube. And then, a long list of videos uploaded by a white uncle showed up on my monitor. Truly, MeTube was the best source of information on the planet.


    I selected the ones with the highest number of likes and saved them one by one on the hard disk. It may not be of much use right now, but it would certainly be a great help later on.


    ¡°These uncles are also capable of building a house.¡±


    Even though it was not a fancy house, the videos even showed me how to cut trees in the wild to make a simple hut. Moreover, the videos also only use woodworking tools which were relatively easy to obtain.


    ¡°It¡¯s really great!¡±


    The time passed quickly as I continued to save the related videos. And when I finally looked at the clock, it was already 3 o¡¯clock.


    I quickly called the material store and ordered a mortar and several other tools.


    ¡°And can I get some sandwich panels, too? Ah, you want me to come and pick for the specification? All right, I¡¯ll be there soon.¡±


    I went out of the store and started the Tamas parked in front of the store.


    (T/N the Tamas I found is an electric car. I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s the one.)


    .


    .


    .


    I bought some stuff and brought it home.


    It turns out sandwich panels were more expensive than I expected, but I still ended up ordering a lot. Afterall, money would soon become a useless piece of paper. And it would be better to exchange it with something more useful for the future.


    I also bought many other things such as dozens of mortar sacks and a 20L barrel which was too big to be loaded in the Tamas. Fortunately, the manager of the construction material shop decided to deliver it to my house as a service.


    I¡¯ll just put it on the first floor when it arrives and bring it to the forest later on.


    When I finally reached my store, I turned off the engine and got out of the car when a white face popped out of the hair salon next door.


    It¡¯s Mikyung.


    ¡°Ahjussi, I think it¡¯s been a while since you cut your hair.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t that long though, but I thought it would be okay to cut it now since in the future I would have to shave it myself.


    ¡°There¡¯s no other customer here, so I¡¯ll cut it nicely for you.¡±


    ¡°Well, if that¡¯s the case then¡­¡±


    I went into the hair salon and sat down in the chair she recommended.


    The chair momentarily wobbled under my heavy weight. And then Mikyung came towards me and wrapped a cut cloth on my body.


    ¡°Ahjussi, I think you¡¯ve lost a lot of weight.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you noticed that?¡±


    ¡°Yes. You lost quite a lot around your face. When I saw you earlier, I thought it wasn¡¯t you for a moment.¡±


    Then, Mikyung placed her hand on my shoulder and asked softly,


    ¡°What kind of cut do you want, Ahjussi?¡±


    ¡°Just cut it all, like a soldier.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ a buzzcut?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve grown your hair this long. What a waste.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I just want to have a fresh start.¡±


    ¡°Ahh.¡±


    She smiled knowingly, then she took the sprayer and sprayed it into my hair. After that, with scissors in hand, she cut my hair.


    As I looked at my hair being cut in the mirror a short man with a tattoo on his forearm entered the salon. He is a tow truck driver who operates nearby and someone who once had an argument with me.


    We had argued because his modified truck¡¯s headlights were too bright and his sound system extremely noisy. When I told him to lower the volume of his music, he went out of his way to drive around my store while playing the music on maximum volume. When I came out and yelled at him, he would run away. After that, every time I saw him, I would report him for illegal modifications. But unfortunately, he was never caught and continued to wreak havoc in the neighborhood freely.


    When he saw me while he was trying to sit on the sofa, he flinched. Then, he started to talk to Mikyung.


    ¡°Miss Mikyung. I¡¯ve looked into it. But I think we are in big trouble.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°That guy deleted all of his videos and disappeared. Currently our group is trying to figure out where he lives.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that illegal?¡±


    The tattooed man grinned. ¡°Illegal? No no no. After all, we are going to cover it up. Miss Mikyung needs to be a little bit bolder.¡±


    ¡°But still¡­¡±


    From their conversation, I could roughly know what they were talking about.


    It seems that the tattooed man knew about Survival Life as well as the upcoming end of the world. And the guy who deleted all of his videos is probably me.


    The reason he said it in front of me is probably to arouse my curiosity. It was obvious he would feign ignorance as soon as I asked him what he was talking about.


    So, he¡¯s trying to figure out my identity, huh? Well, let¡¯s let it slide for now. The law is still alive, after all.


    When he saw me keeping my silence, the tattooed man coughed.


    ¡°Miss Mikyung, you are so frustrating. Are you really going to continue living like this? If we started to prepare only after the signs had appeared, it would already be too late! We have to prepare in advance.¡±


    It seems I wasn¡¯t the only one who was preparing for the end.


    I don¡¯t know whether he had awakened or not. But looking at him, it seems it wasn¡¯t the case.


    As Mikyung kept hesitating, the guy urged him.


    ¡°We can¡¯t wait for your answer any longer, Miss Mikyung. Even right now, many people are begging to join us. As you know, the more people there are, the more dangerous it will become. We are taking a risk here by inviting you, Miss Mikyung.¡±


    That¡¯s right. Monsters, including zombies, had the ability to instinctively search for traces of living things. The more people there were in a group, the higher the chance of them being caught by monsters.


    That¡¯s why in Survival Life, I was reluctant to gather more than 6 people in a group.


    The tattooed man continued to seduce Mikyung with plausible information. Thanks to that, the hand which takes care of my hair keeps stopping, making the treatment too long for a simple haircut.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, but please stop. Can¡¯t you see she is cutting my hair?¡±


    When I said those words, the tattooed man¡¯s face twisted and he stood up.


    ¡°Tch! Fine then! I¡¯ve already said everything I want to anyway.¡±


    He then went out as he murmured in a low voice. ¡°Let¡¯s see how long you will last¡­¡±


    Well jokes on you, since I would probably last far longer than you. Moreover, I didn¡¯t have any intention to leave the people who tried to harm me alone.


    By the way, he looked strange when he left. When he was about to bump into someone who was passing, he freaked out and pulled out his hand. It was so suspicious.


    On the other hand, Mikyung was restless. In her current state, it would be difficult for her to focus on her work.


    ¡°Hurry up, please. I have a lot of work to do.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    She leaned her body forwards and continued to focus on my hair.


    It smells really good though.

 Chapter 7

    My ID in Survival Life was I Love Gimbap. I also used the very same ID for my streaming account.


    Back in the day, every time I entered those words into the search bar, nothing related to me ever came out. Instead, It always showed articles written by people who loves gimbap.


    But it seems like things had changed considerably these days as thousands of people awakened their status windows.


    ¡°I, Love, Gim, Bap.¡±


    Click.


    My eyes widened as soon as I saw the search results. I was in disbelief because my existence had garnered so much attention from people around the country.


    -The bastard had erased all of his videos, it seems he wanted to keep it for himself.


    ?Where did the bastard go?


    ?That bastard, If only I knew where he lived, I¡¯d beat the shit out of him.


    ?No one knows the identity of the bastard? Even the smallest clue will be fine.


    Just what in the world did I do wrong to be cursed like this? Were they thinking I deleted all the videos because I want to monopolize the strategy?


    ¡°I just lost interest.¡±  I deleted all my videos because I was annoyed by the termination of Survival Life. I also don¡¯t have anything to hold me back for doing so since the number of views was low.


    But now, those who weren¡¯t interested back then are searching for me?


    ¡°Guess I won¡¯t be posting anything.¡± I shrugged. The feeling of wanting to share my knowledge with others which was originally non-existent, had reached the negative point.


    With all those people trying to find out about my identity, I don¡¯t want to be a pushover who did what they wanted and ended up dead.


    Wait a minute¡­


    What about the other stagnant waters?


    I entered their IDs into the search bar, but nothing unusual was found.


    All I could see were articles that cursed them.


    -What are the other guys aside from I Love Gimbab doing? They don¡¯t even say a word in this situation.


    ?Well, they are probably collecting supplies now, and will start their activity once the outbreak happens.


    ?I mean, why don¡¯t they share their strategy?


    ?Oh¡­ yeah, nothing came up even when I tried to search for it.


    ?Really¡­ Those fucking stagnant bastards. If I see them I oughta¡­


    ?You guys are so funny LOL if you guys ever meet them, you¡¯ll be dead! LOL


    ?What the fuck are you saying? Do those bastards have two lives just because they are stagnant water? Once I hit them from behind, they¡¯ll die.


    ?In the first place, do you know their identity? LOLOLOLOL And I¡¯m sure they wouldn¡¯t give you any chance to do it.


    -I Love Gimbap is the one who played the longest. He played until the service ended¡­it would be over 5,000 hours.


    ?He¡¯s completely crazy. That fucking bastard.


    ?If only the videos of his streaming still remain¡­


    ?Right¡­ It¡¯s really unfortunate. Does anyone really don¡¯t know where I Love Gimbap lives?


    ?I would give I Love Gimbab a very special service if he lets me see the videos, though.


    ?Are you a woman?


    ?I¡¯m a man.


    ?Get lost, you bastard.


    I could understand to some point why they were acting like that. They were probably feeling anxious as the end of the world was slowly approaching. The thought they had to survive while relying on some unverified information must be haunting them, forcing them to make a ruckus and put blame on someone else to ease their worry.


    Well, It¡¯s not really my business, so I pray they will live well.


    By the way, it seems like the other stagnant waters were inactive on the internet just like me.


    ¡°They are probably busy preparing and waiting like me.¡± Even if they don¡¯t have any videos like me, they should be fine since they have hundreds of hours worth of experience. In particular, they should have the tutorial and the beginning part of the game memorized in their head since they had died a lot on those parts. Moreover, they must have decided to work independently since they knew gathering people was dangerous.


    ¡°Holding on is the answer.¡±


    However, there¡¯s still some things which could become a threat to me. It was the management team of Survival Life, MeTube, and the streaming websites I used who should be aware of my IP.


    What if those people found me through them?


    ¡°Let¡¯s see their terms of service.¡±


    After thoroughly examining it my heart soon became calmer. MeTube and the streaming sites said all records would be deleted if you cancel your membership.


    Though, Survival Life was still somewhat problematic¡­ I couldn¡¯t read their terms of service since their official site had disappeared.


    ¡°For now, I¡¯m satisfied.¡± Putting down my worry, I checked all survival packs scattered around the room. With the current amount I had, I should be able to survive for at least 3 days.


    Just like my initial plan, I was thinking of running away if men in black suits came knocking on my door as changing my residence information wasn¡¯t the answer because I still need it to get my package delivered.


    By the way, it seems like people who knew the end was coming were slowly gathering in groups.


    The tattooed man from earlier was also talking about it.


    ¡°They should have a forum for it¡­ Let¡¯s see.¡±


    After entering several incorrect keywords, I finally found the Awakened Forum. From the looks of things, it seems they have no intention of hiding it.


    ¡°Busan, Busan¡­here you are.¡±


    The main content of the forum was an instruction to prepare for the end just like what I did.


    But¡­ they seem to have misunderstood something.


    -Smashing Zombies: Tips for breaking through the tutorial at the beginning (must read)


    ?I¡¯m probably the only one who has broken through the tutorial in this forum. Moreover, I have broken through the very difficult early version of the tutorial, not the updated easier one. Anyway, if you listen to me, you can clear the tutorial. got it?


    ?yep!


    ?I only trust you, Hyung-nim!


    In the comment section, several accounts threw such an obvious flattery to the poster.


    ?I think I did well to come to this forum hahaha


    -Smashing Zombies: So, be nice to me, okay? If you have some pretty girls, bring them in advance! In the beginning, camping is the best answer. I mean, get a blackout curtain, put it on, and lock the door. then just live. It¡¯s that simple.


    ?Eh¡­but the answer is to run away¡­


    ?Smashing Zombies: Who said that?


    ?People who had broken through the tutorial. They said all metal will shatter because of those strange spores¡­ The reason the military and the police didn¡¯t appear in the game is because of that setting¡­


    -Smashing Zombies: Does it make sense that all the metal in the world will shatter? Then, are you saying that the very foundation of the damn society is going to collapse?


    ?That¡¯s why the tutorial is so difficult! The survivor has to survive alone!


    That guy was right. The corrosive disease would completely destroy the foundation of human society and rendered most of the military and police equipment into a useless piece of iron.


    Mr. Smashing Zombies were probably embarrassed to death by now. He had proudly declared he had the best tips only to be countered in a matter of few comments. And now he didn¡¯t answer anymore and just completely disappeared.


    Let¡¯s see¡­ I noticed something suspicious in an earlier post by a guy named Pusiungpasiung74.


    -Pusiungpasiung74: Hyung, I already asked her, but she still hasn¡¯t answered yet.


    -Smashing Zombies: Ah, she¡¯s the freshest in the neighbourhood. Do you know why she hasn¡¯t answered yet?


    -Pusiungpasiung74: I don¡¯t know, Hyung. Anyway, I¡¯m so pissed because of that hair salon auntie!


    -Smashing Zombies: You don¡¯t seem to know the situation yet. I¡¯ll tell you when it gets serious. Don¡¯t mess with her okay? Because she¡¯s mine.


    -Pusiungpasiung74: hahahaha okay Hyung.


    ¡°Pusiungpasiung74, this guy is definitely that tattooed bastard.¡±


    Anyway, it was clear that man was preparing for the outbreak together with this Mr. Smashing Zombies. He was also trying to get Mikyung in their group. I have to remember these two.


    ¡°But you guys won¡¯t last long.¡± It was a judgement I drew after reading through his post which was disastrous on many different levels. It indeed gave many tips for surviving, but every single one of them wasn¡¯t accurate enough to guarantee a survival.


    ¡°If Mikyung gets caught by these guys, it would be bad for her.¡±


    The thought of a nice and pretty woman getting caught by these bastards really pained my hearts for some reason.


    It¡¯s not ideal, but¡­


    ¡°If she asks me, I¡¯ll tell her.¡±


    It would be my payment to her for cutting my hair as well as increasing my snack bar¡¯s sales.


    Though, if she still ignores my advice, that¡¯s it.


    Finally, I looked at the government trends.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    The news section was clean. It seems that the government hasn¡¯t done anything yet. Or, they were dismissing all the strange crimes that happened as a mere coincidence. Afterall, the majority of people who occupied important positions in the government were middle-aged and elderly people. It¡¯s clear that they don¡¯t know what Survival Life and status windows were.


    It¡¯s not their responsibility, though.


    ¡°Those who were destined to live will live, and those who are destined to die will die.¡±


    In this case, should I say I¡¯m glad I don¡¯t have a family?


    And as I was thinking that, a text message arrived from the manager of the material store I visited earlier today.


    The things I bought were about to be delivered.


    -Yes. You can come now.


    It seems I would have to work hard for a while.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°There you go.¡± I put the last material on my hand to the ground. I had finished moving 30 sacks of mortar, barrel and other building materials to the cave. At first, after moving the first few materials, I thought I was going to die. But at some point, my body had seemingly managed to adapt and could move more easily to continue the hard work.


    Were my muscles finally adapted to the hard work I¡¯ve been doing?


    ¡°This is weird.¡± I wouldn¡¯t wake up with another muscle pain tomorrow, would I?


    Even though I have such worries in my mind, I still have to work now.


    ¡°The first thing to do is¡­¡± I clicked on the video of how to make mortar coating in the laptop on top of the chair. And after watching it until the end¡­ I decided to just do it. No matter what kind of tricks a beginner like me used, the end product would still be the same, a disappointment. It would be fine as long as the coating didn¡¯t break off.


    And from the video, I would need water. A lot of it. So that I didn¡¯t have to carry the water with a barrel, I returned to my home, headed to the first floor to get a hose and then connected it to the 2nd floor bathroom before returning to the cave once again.


    Water rushed out of the hose and dampened the cave entrance.


    ¡°This is it.¡± I poured an appropriate amount of water into a large basin, cracked the mortar sack open before pouring it in and then mixed it with a shovel. It was surprisingly difficult and time consuming.


    When I checked it after several minutes of mixing, I was greeted by a lot of lumps which clearly signalled it hadn¡¯t mixed perfectly. Therefore, I was forced to mix some more.


    After several more minutes passed, I stopped to check again as I looked into the cave before my face hardened.


    ¡°Was it always this wide¡­¡± The cave which felt so cramped just a few minutes ago had somehow become bigger in my eyes.


    Pushing down my anguish, I clenched my teeth and focused on the work. With the mortar mixture finished. I only need to spread the mixture into the ground and it¡­ wouldn¡¯t be finished just yet. I would also need to level it evenly so I won¡¯t be tripped while walking or get stabbed while I was laying down.


    Though, it could be easily solved by using a string technique.


    I fix a piece of string to a nail hammered into the wall near the ground and stretch it. After it¡¯s done, I only need to spread the mortar mixture following the height of the string.


    ¡°Damn, it¡¯s hard to get it right.¡±


    However, since the interior of the cave was jagged here and there, it didn¡¯t work as I intended it to. Therefore, I completely gave up on making it perfectly flat and only decided to just make it as straight as I could.


    ¡°Whoa, this is hard.¡± The inside of the cave was warm. And as I kept working hard at such a place, my body was sweating like crazy.


    And slowly, hunger comes to me. It would be nice to just go home and eat, however for some reason, I wanted to eat here today.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat ramyeon.¡± If I also put a whole package of spam on it¡­heh heh, the sodium level would explode, but It¡¯s okay since I would take care of it in the future.


    I took out a portable burner from my backpack and put a yellow aluminium pot filled with water on top of it.


    ¡°Feels like I¡¯m camping right now.¡± Though, it was not a normal peaceful camping but a dangerous camping trip in the forest filled with predators and monsters. I just hope monsters like owlbears and werewolves won¡¯t come out.


    ¡°Even a bone creeper would be dangerous.¡± If you ask Survival Life users which monster is the most powerful, many of them would answer an ogre.


    But what if you asked them to pick the scariest monster?


    90 people out of 100 would surely pick a bone creeper.


    A bone creeper was a monster which was born from a dead monster¡¯s bone. In other words, it was a skeleton monster. On the surface, it might look weak. However, because of its attack method, it was a quite bothersome monster to fight against.


    Silently crawling towards its enemy before detonating itself was its attacking method. The explosion it caused was powerful and if a human gets caught properly on it, they would instantly die. Because of it, many users who had played Survival Life for a long time often have their characters deleted in one blow.


    And because of that very reason, the bulletin board of the official site was once flooded with requests to delete the creeper. However, the management didn¡¯t even listen to the user.


    Bone creepers were also one of the reasons why I killed the old goblin and buried it under the ground. Because for some reason, if you bury the monster corpse under the ground, it wouldn¡¯t turn into a bone creeper.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t come out¡­¡±


    As I was about to finish my ramyeon, darkness fell into the forest. And because it was a place with no light, it instantly felt like it was late in the night, not evening.


    The mountain bird stopped crying and an orchestra of sinister bugs began to play.


    Should I just go home?


    I shook my head.


    I need to finish the mortar installation by tonight. Because the sooner it dries the faster I could start storing my supplies here.


    ¡°The entrance is well covered¡­¡± It would be fine. And if something truly happened, I could just run away through the portal right away.


    I washed the dishes and went back to work. After becoming quite proficient at doing it, I was able to do it much faster and easier than before. With no obstacles in the way, the progress became pretty fast.


    Seeing the cave floor finally covered with smooth mortar, joy filled up my hearts. My hideout was truly well made. Though, It would be even nicer if I had a door to cover the entrance.


    Then, as I felt something was about to burst on my lower body, I quickly ran to the outside. When I arrived at the nearby tree and was about to pull my pants down, a strange sensation suddenly struck my back


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Slowly turning around, I saw a horrific skeleton walking towards me in the pitch-black darkness.


    ¡°Fu¡­¡± Without being able to complete my cuss, I ran towards the cave as fast as I could. In the meantime, I covered my head and abdomen with my hands. It was something I learned after dying countless times in Survival Life.


    Boom!


    The explosion shoved my body and turned the sky upside down. My body rolled over a few times before I crashed into something and stopped.


    At that moment, severe pain struck my whole body.


    ¡°Ouch!¡± I trembled and forced my body to move. I was really relieved when I felt that I still had strength on my body. Even though everything was aching as if I had been beaten to pulp by someone, I was still grateful. Because at least I wasn¡¯t dead.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± With a groan, I got up.


    A bone creeper had spotted me. Thankfully, it didn¡¯t come close enough, so I managed to survive.


    When I looked into the state of my body, pieces of bones were digging through my arms. It was terrifying.


    And because it struck far away from the artery, I decided to pull it out.


    ¡°Fuck.¡± I cursed as sharp pain once again struck me as I pulled the piece of bones from my arm. It was really painful to remove something that¡¯s deeply embedded in your body.


    I half crawled and opened my backpack to take the guaca powder and vegetable oil which I got from the old goblin. It¡¯s not yet made into an ointment. But still, if you apply it on your wounds, it would heal the wounds to some extent.


    I shut my mouth and tightened the grip of my finger which was holding onto another piece of bone. I was really glad I had covered my head with one of my arms. Or otherwise, the bones would surely strike into my temple.


    ¡°Gasp!¡± Tears welled up as I removed the last fragment.


    Applause for the bone creeper who had successfully made a grown-up man cry.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    As I applied more guaca powder and vegetable oil into the wounds, the pain slowly subsided.


    After lying down for a while, I called my status window.


    ¡°Status window¡­¡±


    I could see a bleeding debuff attached into my active buff, however my health did not decrease. This means I will soon recover.


    Speaking of which, with the bone creeper¡¯s death, my level was raised to 2 and my points became 19.


    For now, let¡¯s just go home.


    ¡°Open the portal¡­¡±

 Chapter 8

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Just like these past few days, today too, I miserably woke up with a groan. However, this morning¡¯s groan was deeper than usual because of the stinging pain I felt from the wounds I suffered from last night¡¯s ambush.


    Did the effect of the healing ointment end?


    ¡°Status window.¡±


    ¡ºLevel: 2


    Point(s): 19


    Vitality:9


    Strength:10


    Agility:8


    Dexterity:9


    Perception:8


    Special Ability: Dedicated Dimensional Portal


    Skill:-


    Active Buff: Weakened¡»


    My overall stats had dropped due to the ¡®Weakened¡¯ debuff. But it was still much better than the stats drop I got from the ¡®Exhausted¡¯ debuff.


    While feeding myself a simple breakfast, I tried to figure out a way to avoid yesterday¡¯s ambush from happening again in the future. The best method would surely be raising my Perception stats. And when I looked at the calendar, there¡¯s still 26 days left before the zombie outbreak. That means, I couldn¡¯t rely on items just yet because they won¡¯t be available until then.


    ¡°No, wait, it was definitely there in the setting.¡± According to my memory, there¡¯s an article in the backstory of Survival Life which reports the appearance of a monster in Mt. Jiri. And because of that very incident, the government would finally wake up from their denial and spurred into action.


    It was only a background story, so most users would not even know about it. Survival Life was just that kind of game, there¡¯s no way to know about the story if you weren¡¯t digging deep enough.


    Let¡¯s check the video first.


    I¡¯d skimmed through pretty much every setting in Survival Life, so I was certain I had explained it at some point.


    ¡°Here it is.¡±


    Thinking about it, the past me was really dedicated. Even though Survival Life was a shitty and unpopular game, I still covered things in depth in every video.


    ¡°If it¡¯s 24 days before the outbreak¡­¡± That means, It would happen in two days. And even though it was extremely dangerous, I wouldn¡¯t shy away from it because it was such a unique chance to get myself an item before the zombie outbreak occurs.


    ¡°Even though the stats on the item will be random, an item will surely come out.¡± and personally, I want an item with Perception stats to drop.


    Usually, users who played Survival Life for the first time would think this way: ¡®Isn¡¯t it better to be stronger and more agile in order to kill monsters easier?¡¯


    They couldn¡¯t be any more wrong. Such users would not last long and would eventually get eaten somewhere unseen and get their character deleted.


    ¡°In the first place, the title is Survival Life, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    The game was not about hunting, it¡¯s about survival. It was important to run away and survive as long as possible. For that purpose, higher Perception serves better than higher Strength or Agility, especially in the beginning.


    ¡°The most important thing is to find them first and run away.¡±


    Right now, my goal is to unlock the Item Shop which will open once I reach level 10.


    When I checked the later part of the video, my annoying voice came out from the speaker.


    -I Love Gimbap: This is just a background story; you can just play without even reading it.


    -A Dog That Barks When It¡¯s Curious: Woof Woof Woof!


    -I Love Gimbap: I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re curious about in this minor setting, but very well. I¡¯ll read it.


    Good job you shitty puppy. Thanks to you, I was able to acquire the information in the back story.


    In the backstory, it was told that the media had broken the embargo issued by the government, and leaked a picture of a typical orc corpse lying on the ground to the public. Next to the orc was a giant axe, the evidence that proves it drops an item.


    ¡°I might even get a skill if I kill the orc.¡± The skill name should be ¡®Survival Instinct¡¯. It was a skill which gave its user the racial trait of an orc, which was an increase in stamina regeneration, Perception stat, as well as a ¡®fighting spirit¡¯ buff that activates when the user was injured or cornered by an enemy, making it harder for the enemy to kill the user.


    ¡°It would be great if I could acquire Survival Instinct skill.¡± With those skills in their arsenal, an orc was certainly not a mob. They are powerful monsters with superhuman strength and high vitality. Even though it always stood in a slouched position, once it straightened its back, it would easily become over 2m tall. Moreover, they were even scarier because they could use weapons.


    We stagnant waters often kite an orc towards the beginners who had just passed the tutorial. It could be said that it was some kind of selection process because we thought it would be possible for users to become a stagnant water if they could beat the orc.


    And once they beat it, a very warm helping hand from us would be given to them. Of course, even with such support from us, many users still quit the game altogether because of Survival merciless difficulty.


    Anyway, back to the topic. To get the item, I would have to kill a 2m tall monster which looks like a gorilla who religiously goes to a gym. Moreover, it would have a very fierce killing intent and has a weapon with it.


    When looking at it from such an angle, it seems that the monster was unbeatable¡­


    However, for me,


    ¡°It¡¯s worth doing.¡±


    Since currently the world had yet to be an apocalyptic world and still a healthy modern country, I wouldn¡¯t use the stab-proof vest and the tactical boots I had ordered.


    I would show that orc the taste of Korea.


    And by that, I don¡¯t mean Kimchi, mind you.


    .


    .


    .


    I started preparing for orc hunting. And because of that I had to temporarily stop the construction of the cave.


    ¡°Should I use a bomb?¡± To make a bomb I know from Survival Life, I would have to grind the ignition stone into powder and mix it with oil and organic solvents.


    But now that I¡¯m thinking about that¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s a Molotov, huh?¡± To be precise, it was a Molotov cocktail without a can, not a glass bottle. And because ignition stone powder was added into the mix, the power it exhibited should be considerably higher than a normal Molotov.


    Even after the monster dies, the fire it produces would continue to burn fiercely, and to put it out, a fire extinguisher would be needed.


    ¡°Gasoline, organic solvents, sugar, resin¡­¡± As I was thinking about the recipe, I remembered the time when I was throwing things at an ogre and playing around with it. Though, once it gets angry and destroys the surroundings, I would quickly run away.


    ¡°Wait, if I throw something like that, the surroundings will be caught on fire.¡±


    Voice of an announcer who reported the appearance of an arsonist who burned 10 hectares of forest suddenly played in my head. It was highly possible to come true since there were many hikers on Mt. Jiri.


    What¡¯s the weather like in two days I wonder?


    ¡°Ah¡­it would be raining.¡± I sighed in relief. The rain would certainly make Mt.Jiri have fewer hikers than usual. Afterall, if there were many hikers that day, I would have to sneak around and pay a very close attention to my surroundings in order not to get seen by other people or get caught by the authorities since the location the orc was found is around the Jungsan-ri campground.


    Moreover, as the weather forecast predicted hundreds of millimetres of rain would fall in two days¡¯ time, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about my bomb getting extinguished since that much rain was powerless against the fire caused by the bomb.


    The only problem was, I would have to walk around the mountain while being soaked by the rain. It would certainly be difficult.


    ¡°Well, I just have to do it, what else can I do? ¡±With that determination in mind, I tried to get up from my seat. However, when my arms held onto the armrest, waves of pain swept over me. It feels as if thousands of needles poke through my arm simultaneously. I almost scream because of it. If things continue like this, instead of catching the orc, I would be the one who got caught.


    For now, let¡¯s just rest for two days and forget all of the work I need to do. I need my body to recover as much as possible so I would be able to fight against the orc in top condition.


    ¡°Or, should I give up on hunting the orc?¡±nIn case I gave up, the orc would eventually be killed by the police and its identity would soon be known by the government. And then, when the media broke the embargo issued by the government just like in the background story, the public would become aware and naturally start to believe in the words of thousands of people on the internet about the soon spreading meteorite spores, zombie outbreak and the collapse of civilization. It would be a miracle if even after all of that, the public could remain calm and didn¡¯t start a riot or something.


    ¡°And I¡¯ll see the truck of those uncles in black across my store.¡±


    Even though the government might not have the power to rectify the situation, it would be easy for them to find me.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I can¡¯t let it happen.¡±


    For my safety, I need to kill the orc, and erase all of its traces.


    ¡°Let¡¯s completely rest for two days¡­¡±


    Even if I said something like that, it would only be a rest from physical work since I decided to download many videos from MeTube and store it on the hard disk as well as ordering another bulk of daily necessities.


    By the way, since the world was going to be destroyed, shouldn¡¯t I make something out of the trees in the forest?


    ¡°Oh¡­ this is some nice selection of woodworking tools.¡± My shopping desire got stimulated as a long list of woodworking tools spread before my eyes. I really wanted to put many variations of it on the forest, but due to cost limitations, I decided to only choose one in the end.


    As I was gleefully shopping, my phone suddenly rang. When I picked it up, it was a call from the bank.


    ¡°Ah¡­the loan has been approved? Yes. Okay. Yes, please deposit it today¡­I¡¯m glad. Have a good day.¡±


    Smiling, I leaned back to the chair. With the loan approved, my funds were much more relaxed now. That means, I could prepare some more by buying a lot more things.


    What would I need in order not to die in the forest and in Korea?


    I traced back into the memory of the bone creeper¡¯s ambush yesterday. It was indeed a difficult monster to deal with. However, If I had been well prepared, I would be able to survive without even a single scratch on my body.


    ¡°A defense line would be good¡­¡± If I build a double defence line with barbed wire and fence, the bone creeper wouldn¡¯t be able to break through. Even if it detonated itself, the worst thing that could happen would be the annihilation of the defence line. It¡¯s still a cheap price to pay if it means I could keep my life.


    ¡°Should I buy an infrared detector?¡± If I had it, I would be able to prepare for a monster¡¯s attack as it could detect movement and ring an alarm.


    ¡°Calm down, Kang Seongho.¡±


    With a light slap on the cheek, I calmed myself before ordering an infrared detector and several sets of batteries.


    It would be nice to have a telescope too. Even though the forest had limited visibility due to the thick foliage, there¡¯s nothing wrong with having a tool which could make me see things in the distance.


    ¡°Oh, I could use a drone for that purpose too.¡±


    I forgot about it for a second. It would be miles better than a telescope since it could help me scout in greater distance. That way, I would be able to figure out the location of the sea and the valley where owlbears were often seen.


    After browsing through numbers of drones which were being sold and reading all the reviews left by the buyer, I finally placed an order for a drone I found most suitable for my circumstances.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just buy 4.¡±


    And after placing several more orders for various things, it¡¯s already afternoon.


    I sighed and looked at the ceiling. For some reason, I felt too bored staying at home like this. After mulling over my options, I decided to go shopping at the nearby grocery store to exercise. Though, since it¡¯s more convenient to get my daily necessities delivered to my home, I would just buy some first-aid kits from the pharmacy corner of the grocery store.


    Limping down to the first floor, I walked towards the Tamas and turned its engine on.


    Fortunately, I could still drive.


    ¡°Ugh.¡±


    Though, the pain keeps coming up on my arm every time I turn the steering wheel.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Ahjussi?¡±


    In the grocery mart, I ran into Mikyung.


    By the way, Is this girl crazy?


    Why did she buy so many spams at once?


    She¡¯s like advertising to people who know about the situation that she was preparing for the outbreak. On top of that, her choice of food was so wrong. Canned food was absolutely a no go for the upcoming apocalypse since the package would quickly break due to the corrosive disease.


    She closed her eyes and then smiled at me.


    ¡°I¡¯ve lost weight these days¡­ Ehehe.¡± As if knowing my inner monologue, she closed her eyes and then smiled at me.


    It¡¯s a very cute but obvious excuse. I wonder if she could survive the apocalypse when she¡¯s this clumsy¡­ Now that I look closer to what she had bought, it wasn¡¯t spam but luncheon meat!


    Why did she buy something that didn¡¯t taste good?


    After that question, I stopped my mind from prying deeper. Afterall, now is not the time to consider the circumstances of others. I need to quickly go home and rest.


    As I was about to walk away from Mikyung after bowing slightly to her, she suddenly pointed at my sleeve.


    ¡°Ahjussi, why are you wearing a long sleeve? Isn¡¯t it hot these days?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I just don¡¯t get hot that easily.¡±


    Well, it¡¯s obviously a lie. The truth is, I used it to cover my wounds.


    Mikyung tilted her head on my answer before starting to fiddle with my sleeve.


    ¡°Uhm¡­ Ahjussi, I have something to ask, do you perhaps have some time to spare?¡±


    From her tone which was tinted with worry, I could infer it was something which was burdening her mind. So, I nodded my head after checking on my watch.


    I pushed my cart to a suitable place before heading to the cafe next to the store together with Mikyung.


    After we ordered our coffee, and sat on one of the empty tables, Mikyung finally opened her mouth.


    ¡°Ahjussi, did you know that some kind of zombie apocalypse is coming?¡±


    Well, to be honest, I could confidently say no one knows better about that matter than I do, but let¡¯s act clueless here. Afterall, Mikyung only knows me as an ordinary snack bar owner.


    ¡°Oh, that? I think I saw it on the internet. Isn¡¯t that just a meme?¡±


    ¡°Ahjussi, that¡¯s real, not a joke. You can also see a window where your abilities are displayed.¡±


    I deliberately put on a puzzled expression.


    ¡°By any chance¡­ Mikyung, do you have it?¡±


    She looked around her surroundings for a moment before nodding.


    ¡°St¡­status window. If you call it like that, it will show you your stats¡­ and ability¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what you said before.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    I wonder what kind of special ability she got?


    By the way, Mikyung didn¡¯t look like she¡¯s good with games at all. But it seems like she had played that shitty game.


    ¡°The stats you¡¯re talking about, was it like strength or agility like in a game?¡±


    ¡°Yes Yes. It¡¯s Vitality, Strength, Agility, Dexterity, and Perception.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing to know thousands of people could see that.¡±


    ¡°I looked it up, and read that everyone has different special abilities. For me¡­¡±


    ¡°For you?¡±


    Mikyung licked her lips, but it seems like she couldn¡¯t get the words out. Well it¡¯s fine, no matter how naive she might be, she must have instinctively felt she should not speak about it.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t say it¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine. By the way, what do you want to ask?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ about the thing that the truck driver ahjussi told me the other day¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°In your eyes, would it be okay?¡±


    ¡°Even if you ask me¡­ ah, by the way, does that person have a status window too?¡±


    ¡°I think so.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I am the only one who doesn¡¯t have a status window.¡± I crumpled my expression.


    Across me, I could see Mikyung¡¯s face turn solemn. It seems like I¡¯m pretty good at acting.


    ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t think that person is a good person.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°I am not saying I¡¯m a very good person, either. But I think I at least have common sense. However, that man is seriously no good. Haven¡¯t you seen it before? He played a very loud music in front of the students at my store and made a lot of noise.¡±


    ¡°Did something like that happen?¡± Mikyung¡¯s eyes widened.


    I have told her them as they are, without any exaggeration.


    ¡°Was it last winter? He blocked the road and caused a ruckus with his illegally modified headlight.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine if he wanted to park his car, but making people uncomfortable is no good, right? I don¡¯t know why he parked his car in the middle of the road when there¡¯s so many spaces on the corner and in the wall.¡±


    Mikyung had a look on her face which looked like she completely believed in what I said.


    ¡°I said this because I believe in Mikyung, so don¡¯t tell that person okay?¡±


    As I joked, she waved her hand.


    ¡°No¡­Ahjussi¡­I¡¯m not the kind of person who would do something like that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m relieved. Anyway, if the apocalypse is really coming, trusting people like him is no good right?¡±


    ¡°I, I don¡¯t know¡­ In the first place, I don¡¯t understand why things like the apocalypse suddenly happen¡­¡±


    ¡°But you also can¡¯t completely brush it off and sit still so you come here to buy a bunch of spams?¡±


    When I mentioned it, her cheeks became beet red. Like I said before it was actually a luncheon meat not a spam, but I think she let it slide because she thinks I was mistaken.


    ¡°People like me are really in trouble. I can understand what those people on the internet are talking about, but realistically, I can¡¯t take any action. Even if I tried to do anything, I would still end up becoming a zombie.¡± I said it in the most pitiful tone I could.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°I envy you, Mikyung. Because you can still survive.¡±


    ¡°I¡­I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think Mikyung has anything to apologize for.¡±


    I think my teasing has become too far, so let¡¯s stop. I opened the lid of the coffee cup and emptied the contents inside in one gulp. After that, I stood up and held my hand towards her. ¡°Since this is also a relationship¡­ how about helping out each other if we meet again alive?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes!¡±


    Her hands were so soft. It was a feeling I had forgotten since I¡¯ve been alone for too long.


    Lastly, I gave her some advice. Just like what I promised to myself the other day. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you know, but stockpiling canned food wouldn¡¯t help much because of the corrosive disease.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ corrosive disease? What is that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a disease which breaks metal into small pieces. It was famous in the survivors¡¯ community. They say it¡¯s the default setting for Survival Life.¡±


    Hearing my words, her face, which was originally white, turned whiter.


    It seems like she thought that canned foods were a good idea for whatever the reason is.


    ¡°Then, what should I do, Ahjussi?¡±


    ¡°You need to focus on combat ration or emergency ration. Just make sure there¡¯s no metal.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, thank you very much, Ahjussi!¡±


    I bowed my head slightly and went back to the mart.


    ¡°I give her some advice, but¡­¡±


    In the end, Mikyung must survive with her own power.

 Chapter 9

    It really took a lot of patience to turn the ignition stones into powder. I couldn¡¯t just hit it into pieces with a hammer because doing so would turn the powder into sparks, so I had to manually grind it slowly and gently using a chisel. Though, it would be far easier and a lot faster if my Dexterity stat was a bit higher.


    ¡°Finally, it¡¯s over!!¡±


    A pile of ignition stone powder was in front of me. At first, I thought half of the current amount should be enough to kill the orc. However, when I finished making that portion, I changed my mind and grinded some more. Afterall, I don¡¯t want to imagine what kind of scary situation I would find myself in, if the orc still survived after I used that amount.


    ¡°This guy is pretty useful, too.¡± I smiled and looked at the pile of glowstone powder. While the ignition stone could be used as a Molotov cocktail, the glowstone could be used as a flashbang.


    Since orcs were monsters with good eyesight, The flashbang would certainly come handy to damage the orc¡¯s sight and buy me some time to prepare my next move.


    ¡°I did a lot of crazy things with this guy¡­¡± I reminisced to the times when I used it to harass a lot of monsters. From time to time, I also used it to troll a troll.


    ¡°I remember the last time.¡± My thoughts went back to the time when me and the other stagnant waters ran around like crazy hunting numerous monsters on the server just before the termination of service. Now that I think about it, it was some kind of farewell party. They all burned their remaining passion to the game by doing that, and then completely returned to reality. I was the only one left to wait for the new update.


    Speaking of which, why did the update come at the last minute?


    It was an update where alien monsters which were completely different from the zombie and fantasy monsters appear. And when I saw the Brutra for the first time, I remembered wondering if it was a monster meant to be caught.


    Anyway, let¡¯s stop reminiscing and just focus on the work on hand. And no, I won¡¯t make a bomb, since it would make me look like a terrorist. What I would make is just a simple Molotov cocktail.


    ¡°The trace will be washed away by the rain.¡± When I looked at the weather forecast earlier, their prediction had changed slightly. Now they said it was supposed to rain heavily tomorrow. And with that kind of weather, I doubt anyone with a sane mind would go to Mt. Jiri that day.


    I carefully put gasoline, organic solvent, and sugar into the empty can. Then, I mixed the ignition stone powder, resin, and hardener before putting it on and let it harden.


    ¡°Once I stick a wick here¡­¡± the flame can will be complete.


    Because I only have one flame can, I couldn¡¯t test its power. But, I really want to test its power! So with the leftover materials, I made another flame can, albeit smaller than the other one.


    Once it was finished, I placed the smaller flame can in the open space outside the cave and lit the wick before running to seek for a shelter.


    With an expectant heart, I was waiting for its explosion. And without any warning whatsoever, the flame suddenly burst out.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    As expected, the flames soared high to the sky before slowly subsided as sparks splattering to the surroundings. And because I put a lot of sugar in the mixture, the fire was kind of sticky. The orc would certainly get tortured by it until it dies.


    ¡°That much power should be enough.¡± Even if there¡¯s a fire left after the orc dies, I believe in the power of tomorrow¡¯s heavy rain. And in case it was still not enough, a fire extinguisher should be enough.


    With that in mind, I returned to my house for a little bit and brought several pieces of equipment delivered by the courier into the cave before sitting down in the cave and watched the orc raid video several times. Though, I felt a little bit frustrated since back in my heyday in Survival Life, I could easily hunt an orc with a fruit knife.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± My eyes were staring intently at the orc in the video.


    That¡¯s right. it moved like that¡­ Its attack radius was wide thanks to its long arms. But it rarely attempts any attack with its lower body.


    After finishing dozens of videos of orc raids, I finally felt confident to catch it.


    Checking my arms by moving it, the pain from yesterday had considerably reduced; only a little bit of it was left.


    ¡°The healing ointment definitely works.¡±


    I loaded the things I had prepared into the rental SUV and set off. The reason I didn¡¯t use Tamas was because I felt it would break down and stop on the way. Driving that shit car to Mt. Jiri at night was the last thing I wanted to do.


    A few hours later, I finally reached the campsite. As expected, I couldn¡¯t see any cars around because of the heavy rain which was predicted to fall tomorrow.


    ¡°Flare¡­check, flame can¡­check, flashbang¡­check.¡± I had prepared all the things that I needed. The only thing left now was to find it and kill it.


    I folded the rear seats of the SUV and lay down on a mat I spread.


    Starlight and sleep fell at the same time.


    .


    .


    .


    I woke up early in the morning and quickly walked around the forest. Because of the rain cloud hanging in the sky, it was so dark. However, there¡¯s nothing for me to be afraid of since ghosts are afraid of smartphone cameras anyway.


    I circled around the campsite and repeated it over and over again before I returned to the SUV and rested.


    ¡°Just where the hell is that bastard?¡±


    Even when I know an orc would appear here today, I don¡¯t know the exact details. The only thing I knew was that it was killed near the campsite, nothing more. In case anything went wrong, I might miss it.


    And then, the rain started to pour in earnest.


    Whoooshhh-


    A thick mist of water rose from the ground. With this much noise, I was certain I wouldn¡¯t be able to hear the orc¡¯s roar once it appeared.


    ¡°Shit.¡± With a curse, I put all the necessary items on my backpack and slung it to my shoulder before I put on my raincoat and started walking around the campsite again. It was something I should do because I don¡¯t want to miss the orc.


    This is really, really hard!


    Walking around the forest was hard enough! But with all this rain and the fog which blurred my view, it was even more so!


    And then suddenly, I could hear the roar of something nearby.


    Kuooohhhh-!!


    How can I forget this sound?


    I quickly put my backpack down and pulled out the flare. After removing the cap, light and smoke rose amidst the heavy rain, dyeing the dark surroundings in red.


    ¡°Hey! Look at this!¡± orcs are very aggressive monsters, if you call them out like this, It will definitely come, unlike goblins who sometimes would run away if they think their strength wasn¡¯t enough.


    And as I had expected, the green-skinned monster was attracted to the red light and smoke.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, hasn¡¯t it?¡±


    The huge, muscular gorilla-like monster which was staring straight at me while drooling was towering in height, standing at around 220 cm. I was certain if I fought it in a 1:1 hand-to-hand battle, I would be decapitated in less than 5 seconds.


    By the way, where¡¯s the item? I quickly glanced at the weapons and the primitive trinkets-made-into-necklace clinging on the orc¡¯s neck.


    It looks like it hasn¡¯t been itemized yet.


    I hope I won¡¯t get that stone axe.


    ¡°For now, take this.¡±


    I flicked the flare to the clearing nearby. And as expected, the orc was chasing after it. Realizing it wasn¡¯t a big deal, it crushed the flare with the stone axe.


    ¡°Good job, you orc!¡±


    By that time, I was already wearing my sunglasses and getting ready to throw a glowstone flashbang.


    Kuooooohhh-!!


    The bastard suddenly roared loudly.


    Without flinching, I took a step back and threw the flashbang with all my might.


    After bouncing several times in front of the orc, the flashbang explodes; engulfing all spaces around them in a very bright strong light.


    Even with my eyes closed and my sunglasses on, my eyes were still throbbing. I don¡¯t dare to imagine how painful it must be for the orc.


    After I barely opened my eyes, I saw the orc gripping on its own face while writhing in agony.


    Kuooohhhh-!


    The effect of the flashbang was awesome!


    Then, I immediately lit the wick of the flame can and ran towards the orc. I could just throw it from where I stand, but I wanted to put it down at its feet if possible.


    When I came closer to the orc, it swung its humongous arms as if it could feel my presence. However, as it was a wild swing, it wasn¡¯t difficult to avoid it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s have an orc meat barbecue!¡± Of course, it¡¯s a joke, there¡¯s no way I really want to eat orc meat.


    I tossed the flame can and it landed splendidly on a wet ground between the orc¡¯s legs. When I ran away as fast as I could, a huge flame soared. As if a small volcano had exploded, sparks splattered all over the place and lit the whole area. On top of it, a tremendous amount of heat rose and evaporated the rainwater around it.


    KEUUUUUUKKK-!!


    The orc screams like a madman as flame engulfed its body. It frantically swung its arms around before eventually falling to its knees.


    Meanwhile, I nocked an arrow into the bow. I couldn¡¯t just simply believe it had died. Afterall, because they had a strong vitality, orcs were infamous for waking up once again when its hunter thought it had died.


    So, before the point notification comes out, I need to stay vigilant.


    ¡°Goodbye.¡±


    I let loose the bow string and the arrow tore through the air and dug deep right in the orc¡¯s face. The bastard slowly fell to the ground, still engulfed in flames.


    ¡¸Level has risen to 3¡¹


    ¡¸You have earned 10 Points ¡¹


    ¡¸You have acquired ¡®Survival Instinct¡¯ skill¡¹


    ¡°Whew¡­¡± I finally sighed in relief. Though, I still need to use the fire extinguisher because the fire did not go out even under the pouring rain.


    After spraying the fire extinguisher, all that was left was the burnt orc¡¯s corpse.


    By the way, how about the item?


    Survival Life didn¡¯t follow the classic MMORPG system where an item was dropped from the corpse of the killed monsters. Instead, they had their own unique system which turns an object in the surrounding of the corpse into an item. And naturally, an object that was already an item or the monster¡¯s corpse won¡¯t turn into the item loot.


    Currently, at the vicinity of the orc, there were only my item and the item the orc possessed, so maybe one of my items will be an item. ¡°Please, anything but the stone axe¡­ Please!¡±


    If I get any other item, I could instantly use it. But if I get the stone axe¡­ It would be too hard to use. Moreover, it was too eye-catching.


    After waiting for a while, a faint light suddenly gathered and swirled around my watch. That¡¯s right, my watch had become an item.


    ¡¸Watch: Perception +2¡¹


    I clenched my fists and threw it to the air. This is it! The Perception stat item that I had been longing for!


    However, there were still a few things I had to take care of before going through my newly acquired skills and items.


    I opened the dimensional portal and tied the rope I had prepared to the orc¡¯s ankle. After that, I crossed over to the forest beyond the portal and began to pull the orc in.


    ¡°Seriously! This is so damn heavy!¡±


    It was extremely difficult to pull something muscly with a height of around 220cm. It was even more so when one of my arms still hadn¡¯t recovered properly.


    The tug of war continued for around 10 minutes. When I saw the orc body had safely crossed to my end of the forest, I let out a long breath. ¡°It¡¯s finally over¡­¡±


    Of course, this place is not around my cave. It was around 1km from my cave. But, since monsters like kobolds like to dig up and eat rotten corpses, I would just bury it here. Also, I don¡¯t think I would be able to handle the smell and the bugs if it was buried close to the cave.


    ¡°Whew¡­¡± After I finished shoveling, I almost instantly lay down without dragging the orc corpse into the pit because of how tired I was. With a steel will, I fought my fatigue and dragged the orc body into the pit. And now¡­ I had to put the dirt inside again.


    ¡°Huh, huh¡­¡± After panting for a while, a notification suddenly appeared in my vision.


    ¡¸The ¡®Survival Instinct¡¯ skill has been activated due to exhaustion¡¹


    ¡¸Survival Instinct: Dramatically increase Vitality regeneration, Stamina regeneration, and Perception¡¹


    Damn it!


    The adrenaline rushed through my head, and strength was suddenly surging through my body even though I was exhausted to death just a couple seconds ago. With this renewed vigor, my shoveling became faster.


    Fortunately, there seemed to be no monsters around me. Therefore, I could finally bury the orc¡¯s corpse completely. Then, I put a bunch of bushes and stones to cover the freshly dug ground. After looking at it and making sure nothing was amiss, I returned to Mt. Jiri.


    ¡°I think this much should be fine.¡± I nodded my head as I scan through the burnt ground. Because of the heavy rain, all the ashes had been washed clean. Even if the campsite manager or a hiker found it, it was not bad enough to report it to the police.


    I packed my backpack and returned to the SUV; I was so exhausted. Driving in this state was completely unreasonable, but it must be done. When I arrived at the nearby village¡¯s parking lot, the Survival Instinct was finally worn out.


    ¡°Uhhhhhhhh¡­¡± My body was sagging like tofu.


    I still haven¡¯t fully recovered from the ambush the other day just yet, but today, I was already working so hard. Wandering through the cold mountain with muddy ground while being rained by countless droplets of water¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m really worried about tomorrow¡­¡±


    Let¡¯s leave it to my tomorrow self.


    Then I fell into a long sleep with the sound of rain as a lullaby.

 Chapter 10

    ¡°Ouch.¡± I opened my eyes and groaned.


    Where is this?


    Since It feels quite comfy and soft, it couldn¡¯t be the mat inside the SUV.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± I finally remembered. After hunting the orc, I was able to fall asleep in the parking lot at a village near Mt. Jiri. However, when I woke up a few hours later, I couldn¡¯t get up. It was the aftereffect of Survival Instinct. The skill itself dramatically increases my survival rate, but it has a quite long cooldown and quite severe aftereffect. Therefore, it was best to end the battle quickly and run away before the skill deactivates.


    That¡¯s why I called a designated driver. But the driver¡¯s not the only one that came because I also called a taxi at the same time. I could still vividly remember the absurd expression the two drivers had when I told them my home.


    -To Busan? Are you kidding me?


    I said no, smirking, and then left the car to the designated driver while I loaded myself into the back seat of the taxi.


    That¡¯s how I arrived in Busan, crawled home and fell asleep.


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± I slowly put some strength in the order of neck, limbs, and fingers respectively. Fortunately, I could move it just fine. Thankfully they didn¡¯t get strained to the point where I couldn¡¯t move.


    As I moved a little, my muscles relaxed.


    ¡°If the fatigue is this severe, I don¡¯t think I would be able to hunt again.¡± I sighed. Even though I said it like that, I was well aware that I¡¯m gonna need to hunt a lot more in the future.


    After a few minutes of enduring the stinging pain, I finally finished showering.


    Then, while eating, I turn on the computer and do a search.


    The keyword was monster, Mt. Jiri, and fire. Thankfully, after scouring through the news, I found nothing about it.


    ¡°After all, no one knows.¡±


    Only a few Awakened communities had posts like this.


    -Anyone knows when the first monster was found in the background setting of Seola?


    (T/N Seola is the shortened version of Survival Life.)


    ?Was there anyone who read something cheesy like that?


    ?I don¡¯t know the exact date, but it seemed to be found near a mountain. I think it was about an orc that was killed or something, I only remember that from I Love Gimbap¡¯s stream.


    ?Were you a viewer of I Love Gimbap?


    ?I¡¯m just a viewer, but not a subscriber. I just passed by and looked at it a few times.


    ?Did he have a lot of viewers?


    ?No, it only has like 10 viewers. The broadcast was hella boring. Though, his voice sounds quite good, so it was like a sleep radio for me.


    ?Ah what a waste¡­ I want to watch the stream too.


    I¡¯m so sorry for being hella boring!


    After that, I looked further into the Awakened community and found an unusual article.


    ¡°It¡¯s a gathering of people preparing for the Apocalypse, huh?¡±


    It was said to be an organization created by a stagnant water with over 3,000 hours of playtime. The creator even proudly shows his ID and uploads his playthrough video.


    ¡°You are a stagnant water, you say?¡±


    When I saw the guy¡¯s ID [Come To See Spring], I instantly laughed.


    Isn¡¯t this guy someone from a whiner series?


    Whiner series was how we stagnant waters called those who were particularly demanding us to support them amongst the user who successfully broke though the tutorial but could not get over the orc we kited to them. They just keep asking for support even though they don¡¯t have the skill and motivation to play the game.


    Come To See Spring was especially famous for his demands. In the game, he followed Rabbit Pwincess everywhere he went just because he had a feminime ID.


    ¡°If he found out that Rabbit Pwincess is a man in his 30s, I think he would be shocked to death.¡±


    In the community, he even uploaded a video of him dancing, saying it was a dance only that stagnant waters know. However, he couldn¡¯t be any more wrong. Afterall, we stagnant waters didn¡¯t dance like that, the dance we did was something called cossack dance.


    The reason why we chose cossack dance as our signature was because we were mesmerized by the strange footwork the Russian soldiers had when they did it on a video. It¡¯s actually a difficult dance, but it¡¯s much more difficult when we do it in Virtual Reality.


    ¡°This guy is a pure scammer.¡± I snorted. It was clear that his purpose was to bring people together under him. I guess he¡¯ll make them a subordinate and try to reap as many benefits as he could from them. Though, I doubt it will go well.


    Anyway, as I browsed through the community, I became aware of another fact. There were so many groups appearing.


    Extinction, The Last Survivor, etc, however, their name was the only noticeable thing they have.


    Some of them even tried to recruit people by offering preferential treatment if they sign up now. Though, they didn¡¯t even explain what kind of preferential treatment it was. But I guess, it would be some kind of privilege.


    ¡°A guild that gives a privilege¡­¡± It reminded me of the guilds that did all kinds of dirty tricks in the early days of Survival Life. And as they have quite a lot of playtime, I¡¯m certain they wouldn¡¯t act as clumsily as these guys.


    ¡°By the way, why did those ahjussis stay inactive.¡± I once again searched for the ID of the other stagnant waters, but just like before, nothing came up.


    It was only filled with threads written by the Awakeners who were looking for them.


    I also searched for the IDs of other non-stagnant water players that I know, but it also ended in vain.


    Perhaps currently, they¡¯re also preparing in hiding.


    I also already got plenty of rest, so now it¡¯s time to work.


    As I was trying to calculate the event date, a sword importer contacted me.


    It¡¯s finally here.


    .


    .


    .


    arming sword, mace, multiple spear blades, shield, machete, arrowheads, 100 lbs compound bow, war club, survival knife, tomahawk, etc¡­


    Even though I was the one who ordered it, the amount is just ridiculous. Afterall, I ordered 5 of each, not one. However, after laying my eyes on the five gleaming arming swords lined up on the shelf, I couldn¡¯t help but feel reassured.


    ¡°I struggled a bit to bring all of this.¡± The staff on the side of the shelf said.


    ¡°Aigoo, you did a great job.¡± I smiled and took his hand.


    I was aware that in order to import all of those weapons, a permit from the National Police Agency and a weapon possession permit were required. Naturally, I already submitted all the necessary documents in advance, but the chance it would be confiscated in the customs remains high since South Korea had quite strict controls on weapon distribution.


    So, it was imported and brought to South Korea under the name of a certain company. It was not done in a clean way, in other words, It¡¯s a shortcut, but I couldn¡¯t help but use it since I didn¡¯t have much choice.


    The staff suddenly asked me for forgiveness saying something I ordered was missing.


    ¡°We are sorry we couldn¡¯t bring the spears. It didn¡¯t get a clearance from the customs¡±


    Well, it couldn¡¯t be helped. Seems like the spear blade was fine, but the spear itself wasn¡¯t.


    After exchanging pleasantries several more times, I, together with the staff, loaded the weapon back into the car.


    As soon as I arrived at my home, I parked my car with its trunk close to the front door. Then, I carried all the weapons alone to the second floor before checking each and every single one of them.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ it looks good.¡± To be honest, I have no qualifications whatsoever to evaluate the quality of the weapons. However, as it was purchased from a reputable company, I felt like it should be good because it looked sturdy.


    For example, the arming swords. It was somehow plain with minimal decorations but still boasted a beauty from the fact it was purely made for a practical use. The blade itself wasn¡¯t that sharp, but it should be okay once I sharpened it.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity I wouldn¡¯t be able to use it in the beginning¡­¡± I took the arming sword to my hand and entered a stance.


    At the beginning of the zombie apocalypse, all kinds of metal are going to be shattered by the corrosive disease. So, naturally, weapons and shields would be unable to be used. Although the corrosive disease would disappear in time, it would take around 6 months or a year. Until then, the only option was to use all the metal weapons I had in the forest while using only the Indian war club in reality since it¡¯s made from wood.


    ¡°One attack from this would hurt a lot.¡± I put the arming sword away and took the vicious looking war club. At the one side of the stick¡ªwhich was the opposite way from the handle¡ªthere¡¯s a sturdy sphere attached with several sharp objects protruding from it. There¡¯s no metal at all in the entire war club, but if a hit connected properly, I¡¯m certain it would easily shatter a skull. Moreover, it¡¯s easy to handle, and there should be nothing as good as this club at the beginning stage of the zombie apocalypse.


    ¡°A club made out of ebony wood. It should be enough.¡± As time goes on, more and more diverse weapons would be needed, but I should be able to get them easily with points from the Item Store.


    After checking all the weapons, I opened the portal and moved them all away to the cave.


    Now, it¡¯s time to finish the cave renovation that was still not done.


    But, as soon as my eyes landed on the pile of mortar sacks, my arms trembled.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to meet you if possible, but how come it seems like we will continue to meet?¡±


    I quietly prepared for work after saying such nonsense.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°It¡¯s finally over¡­¡± I threw my hand in the air. Finally, the inside of the cave was levelled. Though, If someone accurately checked it, they would surely find a lot of uneven ground. But this much should be enough, and I have no complaints whatsoever.


    ¡°What a sight!¡± I said as I lit the inside of the cave with a tactical light with an overflowing pride. There were some rough parts remaining here and there, but that wasn¡¯t something urgent, I can work on those later on.


    Now I just need to wait for it to dry up and then store all of my supplies inside.


    I opened the portal and headed to my house. But before long, I returned to the forest once again together with a load of barbed wire and fences which had been delivered today.


    ¡°Of all days, why did it all come at once today?¡± I put them down near the cave and promptly unboxed it. Then, I started to work on it as I nailed the fences to the ground in a constant distance between each of them, before installing the barbwire using an asbestos glove.


    ¡°It would be perfect if a bone creeper didn¡¯t come¡­¡±


    With this defense, goblins and kobolds wouldn¡¯t be able to pass. But if a monster stronger than them comes, the barbed wire would get destroyed instantly.


    ¡°Open the entrance like this¡­¡± I removed the barbed wire before heading to the outer perimeter. It was a simulation of what I should do to leave the cave. ¡°It¡¯s so annoying.¡±


    But since it was something that protected the cave, it was an inconvenience that I happily accepted.


    When I entered the house once again after covering the barb wires at the cave¡¯s entrance with bushes, another text message came to my phone from the courier.


    Just what the hell is happening today? Why did they arrive all at once?


    Several large boxes arrived and I found out that they were the infrared detectors and protective gear I ordered several days ago.


    ¡°These guys are very welcome.¡±


    After wearing them all and holding a shield and a mace in both of my hands, I stood in front of the mirror.


    ¡°Woah, I looked like a mob.¡± That¡¯s right, I completely resemble a motorcycle-riding looter who was chasing the main character in a post-apocalypse movie.


    My face was hidden by a motorcycle helmet, and a gray tactical suit and a tactical boot protected my body from the top to the very bottom.


    It would easily defend me from the attacks of goblins and kobolds.


    ¡°Though, I¡¯m still worried about the goblin¡¯s paralyzing dart¡­¡±


    The only way to avoid paralyzing darts was to detect the goblins as quickly as possible before they start attacking. And it wouldn¡¯t be easy to pull such a feat with this equipment equipped as it had a very limited visibility and was somewhat hard to move in. Furthermore, it was quite difficult to shoot a bow with this equipment on.


    There were quite a few downsides to this equipment, but I couldn¡¯t just give it up entirely.


    ¡°Prioritizing defences in the forest is the highest priority right now.¡± The situation I was in was not a game. It would be the end of me if I was dragged away by a goblin, after they shot me with a paralyzing dart.


    I put the infrared detector on the entrance of the cave as soon as I returned to the forest before walking around the forest near the cave. Probably because it was due to the fact that I had a new set of equipments, I feel like smashing monsters if they ever appear. Except for monsters stronger than orcs, of course.


    And then suddenly, a forest rabbit passed through me.


    When the Apocalypse comes, I would have to hunt those animals too.


    ¡°I can¡¯t live on canned food forever¡­¡±


    Since the forest was on a different dimension, it would be free from corrosive disease and all the canned food would be safe. But still, it would be better to eat real food. Maybe, I really need to find where the sea is and do some fishing there. Ah, also, maybe making a farmland is not a bad idea as well. The more abundant the food, the better.


    Well, it¡¯s more work to be done in the future.


    Then, after I finished strolling around and didn¡¯t find any monsters, I covered up the cave and returned home.


    I pull out my to-do list and go through them one by one.


    ¡°Tomorrow, terrain reconnaissance¡­tetanus injection¡­ and ordering drinking water and more food.¡±


    It was cold at night in the forest, so measures for winter were also necessary. I would need a wood stove and plumbing.


    As I was writing it on the to-do list, my stomach let out a growling sound.


    But before I could open my refrigerator to get a decent meal, I heard someone¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Ahjusiiii~~¡±


    It was Mikyung¡¯s voice.


    I peeked through the window and saw her waving her hand towards me from the street. And thanks to her antics, everyone on the street was staring at me.


    I went to the first floor and opened the door. Then, as soon as she saw me, she ran to me and said,


    ¡°Wow¡­ Ahjussi, you lost a lot of weight¡­¡±


    She looked at my face and admired it. I could feel that it was a sincere praise rather than a teasing.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been exercising quite a lot these days. What are you doing here anyway?¡±


    ¡°I was wondering if we could talk a little bit.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I could go anywhere with this clothing. Wait a bit, okay?¡±


    However, before I could go to the second floor, Mikyung stopped me.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just talk at your house?¡±


    ¡°At my house?¡±


    She nodded.


    There¡¯s nothing wrong with that. But It still bothers me because a young woman such as her was coming to the house of a gloomy man like me.


    Let¡¯s just assume that we have gotten a lot closer these days. That should be fine.


    I nodded towards her and went up to the second floor first.


    By the way, it¡¯s the first time a woman has ever come to my house¡­ Oh, except for the gas-checking lady.


    ¡°Come on in.¡±


    At my suggestion, she tilted her head slightly and took off her sneakers.


    ¡°Please, excuse me.¡±


    Ummm¡­ her white legs come and go in front of my eyes, and my heart was beating a little bit faster than usual.


    Mikyung¡¯s curious eyes scanned every nook and cranny of my house.


    ¡°I heard that a man¡¯s room is supposed to be messy¡­But why is Ahjussi¡¯s room so clean?¡±


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s not really a lot of things here that can make this room dirty, so it always remains clean.¡±


    Except for the unidentified hair that fell on the floor, that¡¯s it.


    ¡°Ah. Ahjussi, let¡¯s eat this together. I bought it for you.¡±


    She put the black plastic down she carried on the floor. I don¡¯t know why she suddenly did this, but I also had no particular reason to refuse as I was quite hungry too.


    She folded her leg and neatly put the content on the table before ripping out the wrapper.


    Gimbap, tempura, tteokbokki¡­


    ¡°Mikyung seems to really like snacks.¡±


    As I mumbled, she laughed.


    ¡°Of course! That¡¯s why I bought tteokbokki every day at Ahjussi¡¯s store.¡±


    But¡­ When I ate the gimbap and tteokbokki, it didn¡¯t taste very good.


    Meanwhile, Mikyung was putting cheese on top of her portion with a happy expression and waited for it to melt.


    And when she finally ate the tteokbokki, her face turned strange.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t taste really good, does it?¡±


    She nodded.


    ¡°Just how did they cook this? It¡¯s really hard to fail at tteokbokki.¡± I said.


    Then, she swallowed the food in her mouth before asking me.


    ¡°Ahjussi, have you ever heard of a person called I Love Gimbap?¡±


    Yes?


    I need to take care of my facial expressions as much as possible.

 Chapter 11

    <D-23>


    Translator: Asta


    Editor: Kig


    ¡°That person who¡¯s been trending on the internet?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that person!¡±


    ¡°I heard that he had been playing Survival Life for a long time?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not just a long time. The Internet said it was 4,000 hours.¡± Mikyung whispered to me as she leaned her upper body towards me as if she was telling me about a closely guarded secret.


    However, unfortunately for her, she was completely off the mark. My mouth was itching to tell her that by the time the game was terminated, my playtime was 5,541 hours. I could hold it in, though, albeit barely.


    Then, she shoved her smartphone at me.


    ¡°I was really surprised to see this.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    An absurd passage appeared on the screen of her phone.


    ¨DIf in the past, you and I Love Gimbap has 10 points, now he would¡¯ve had more than 20.


    ¨DOne day, an ogre came to I Love Gimbap. After three days of intense battle, the ogre died.


    ¨DI Love Gimbap¡¯s level is ¡Þ, and this is only an approximation of his strength.


    Well¡­ To be honest, I¡¯ve read articles like these several times. It was a nonsensical article which was created because of the fact that all stagnant waters could easily defeat any zombie and monsters.


    Let¡¯s put a surprised expression on, a surprised expression!


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s great! Even if it¡¯s a joke, it means that person had played the game very well.¡±


    ¡°Uh? Was this a joke¡­?¡± Mikyung panicked and covered her mouth with her hand.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Did she really believe that it was real? What an innocent girl.


    ¡°I also have heard a bit about it. But I think that person said it was not real. It just blew up like this because of the fact the stagnant waters were so good at playing the game.¡± I briefly explained to her.


    Mikyung¡¯s face turned red in real time and she suddenly said she coughed, ¡°Kuuhum. I wonder why that person wasn¡¯t active on the internet¡­¡±


    ¡°Beats me.¡± Well, to be honest, it was because ¡®that person¡¯ had an ability which was difficult to tell to others. If my unique skill wasn¡¯t for opening a portal, but combat related stuff, I would have written a post to look for the other stagnant waters without hesitation. However, since my unique skill could only be used by me, there¡¯s no reason for me to do so.


    Anyway¡­


    In apocalyptic words, being a pushover would be synonymous to death. It¡¯s only in the game that I wouldn¡¯t really die so I could still have fun while doing crazy things, but in reality things would be different.


    When my expression became serious, Mikyung looked at me while scooping her tteokbokki. She then spoke out of nowhere which I perceived as her trying to change the mood.


    ¡°By the way, Ahjussi. I turned that offer down.¡±


    ¡°Are you talking about the offer you get from the tow truck driver?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that one. The things Ahjussi said last time to me was one of the reasons¡­but this one was what made me decide it was for the best.¡±


    She fiddled through her smartphone with her thumb for several seconds before a slightly high-pitched male voice came out.


    -That bitch holding up pretty well¡­What am I supposed to say to that bastard?


    ¡°This¡­ was recorded at the cafe where I met with that person. I left my phone in my bag then went to the bathroom for a while.¡±


    ¡°Seems like you made it obvious that you don¡¯t want to join them.¡±


    ¡°Yes. It was the only thing I could think of after hearing Ahjussi¡¯s story last time, but hearing this gave me goosebumps¡­¡±


    Mikyung then played another file.


    -Just you wait. If you ever appear in front of me again, I¡¯ll get you and make you moan in pleasure heh heh heh heh.


    A sinister laugh was heard.


    What the fuck?


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it was okay to treat other people like that. Why did he do something like this to me when I didn¡¯t do anything against him¡­¡±


    ¡°Miss Mikyung, you have to be careful,¡± That was the only thing I could tell her.


    For now, she was safe because CCTV and public authorities were protecting her. But when the zombie apocalypse breaks out, she would no longer be protected by anyone. She only had her own power to believe in.


    ¡°I was so shocked when I browsed the internet. Some people say they¡¯re going to kill some people¡­ and some say things I can¡¯t say with my mouth¡­¡± She said weakly.


    ¡°There are many people like that in the world. When that happens, the only thing you can trust is yourself.¡±


    ¡°How about you Ahjussi? Can¡¯t I trust you?¡± She said as she gave me a puppy eye.


    But I cut it coldly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Afterall, I might turn into a zombie and attack Miss Mikyung.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    She hesitated for a brief moment before finally telling me.


    ¡°The zombie thing¡­ I told it to my aunt. But she told me to stop saying nonsense and told me if I have the time to imagine something, I better use that time to quickly get married¡­¡±


    Well, it¡¯s indeed an absurd thing for older people to believe.


    Then, Mikyung¡¯s eyes turned red.


    ¡°I, uh, I don¡¯t know what to do¡­ I don¡¯t know a lot of people¡­¡±


    It seems like she didn¡¯t have many friends. Well, that explains why she asked someone like me out of the blue.


    ¡°For now¡­ You need to find someone other than those bastards. There must be people around Miss Mikyung who are in the same situation as you.¡± I advised her.


    ¡°Oh yeah, I saw on the internet that some people were recruiting. They even interviewed the applicant before they decided.¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be bad to join a place like that.¡± At least it would be better than being alone.


    But not for me. Afterall, I don¡¯t have any need for a deadweight.


    Throughout the chatter, it seems like Mikyung has somehow relaxed and opened up to me as she confessed that her ability was [Blink].


    She said it was an ability that could make her instantly move within a distance of 10 meters, and she could use it several times a day depending on her concentration.


    She also told me that the tow truck driver¡¯s ability was shooting lightning from his hands.


    It was an unexpected piece of information which was very beneficial for me.


    When I asked her if she could show me her abilities, she nodded with a smile and got up.


    ¡°Uh¡­It¡¯s a bit difficult to activate it. I need to focus on the place I want to go¡­¡±


    Then, she suddenly disappeared from my sight. And then, the bathroom door opened as Mikyung walked out while rubbing her red forehead.


    ¡°It hurts¡­¡±


    I could barely hold my laughter back at her action. Truly, what a careless girl.


    Still, it was quite a productive chat as I could discover her abilities. Maybe one day I would ask her for help. Therefore, it seems like I should pay more attention to her.


    .


    .


    .


    After finishing my chat with Mikyung, I wandered around the streets of the neighbourhood to do some terrain reconnaissance. The reason I¡¯m doing this was because the timing of the zombie apocalypse and the corrosive disease was different. It was separated by a time frame of several hours.


    ¡°The gap was five hours¡­¡± When the whole area was engulfed in chaos because of the zombies, I must loot everything I need before the corrosive disease spreads.


    ¡°This is¡­ a hardware store.¡± I noted its location on the map I drew in my notebook. What I paid attention the most was of course things which have quite a lot of metal inside, like the hardware store or a department store.


    While I was busy surveying and noting the location of important places, I saw a motorcycle shop across the street. I could see from the window that they were displaying a 4-wheel motorcycle. I really like it as it seemed like it would work well even in the forest.


    ¡°The gas station will be destroyed, but there should be plenty of oil left in it.¡± If I could pull those oils out, my life in the apocalypse should be pretty easy.


    Then, for the pharmacy next to it, I should break into it once the chaos begins. Having no antibiotics and painkillers in the apocalypse was just simply unthinkable.


    ¡°There is a new supermarket here, huh?¡± Unfortunately, contrary to popular belief, if a zombie apocalypse occurs, a supermarket was a place you should never go to either because the guests would turn into zombies, or the surrounding zombies would flock to it in case the guest was yet to turn into a zombie.


    ¡°Back in the early days, I remembered there were some beginners who went to the mart without knowing anything and were killed.¡± In Survival Life, people got turned into zombies because they were infected by spores which controlled their minds. Just like any other living being, the spores require energy to keep living and it took it from food and water. Because of that, it was a wide-spread knowledge amongst the players that a supermarket was a place where a lot of zombies gathered.


    ¡°I think convenience stores will be fine though¡­¡± Even if the part-timer became a zombie, I could just shut the shutter, kill it and throw all the things I need through the portal. And in case the guest also becomes a zombie, there should be only one or two so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    ¡°The shutter is pretty strong.¡± The corrosive disease strikes a few hours after the zombie outbreak, so it would be okay if I could quickly loot it all clean then disappear.


    I noted the two convenience stores facing each other in my notebook.


    As I was walking in front of a certain building, the smoking, muscular man nearby suddenly called my name.


    ¡°Uh, hey, Seongho.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Hyung-nim.¡±


    The muscular man was someone I knew; his name is Oh Hyeong-jun. He was about forty years old and was running a fitness club. He¡¯s also married and had a child, but got divorced because their personalities didn¡¯t suit each other.


    He had a very easy-going personality which made him popular among the young men around him. Though, his obsession for muscles is a little bit¡­.


    With a cigarette pinched around his fingers, he got up with a strange expression on his face.


    ¡°Seongho, you¡¯ve lost a lot of weight! Did you exercise?¡±


    ¡°I feel like my stomach is coming out these days¡­¡±


    ¡°Stop.¡±


    He squinted his eyes towards me. It was some kind of silent protest because he thought I was working out at another gym rather than his gym. In fact, Hyungjun Hyung had offered to help me exercise many times.


    ¡°Kang Seongho, you are exercising somewhere other than Oh Hyung-jun¡¯s shabby gym?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that, brother.¡±


    I quickly explained to him that I ran around town at dawn everyday and stopped snacking.


    ¡°Well, exercising in the morning is good for your body. But what¡¯s up with the sudden change of heart? normally, you don¡¯t even come out much, don¡¯t you?¡± He said while smiling shyly.


    ¡°It¡¯s because of the strange rumours going around these days.¡±


    As he spends a lot of time with the young people in his gym, he immediately understood what rumour I was referring to.


    ¡°Oh, is it about that zombie apocalypse or something? The members of my gym are going crazy because of that. Sit here.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Hyung-nim.¡±


    We sat cross-legged on the railing of the stairs. If someone sees us, they probably mistook us for neighbourhood thugs with nothing to do.


    ¡°Was it a week ago? A young kid who doesn¡¯t even exercise and only hangs out with girls every day came and said that he had awakened.¡±


    ¡°Those status windows and skills thingy?¡±


    ¡°I see, it seems you¡¯ve already heard about it too¡­ By the way, back then I was like ¡®What the hell is this kid saying?¡¯ and then, it turns out, a zombie apocalypse would happen in a month or two. He also wasn¡¯t the only member to say that.¡±


    ¡°Did he show you his skill?¡±


    ¡°Yep. I saw him flying with my own eyes. His body floated about 50 cm above the ground. I thought that my eyes had finally gone bad, so I was really trying to figure out the trick he was using.¡±


    A 50cm levitation? What will it be useful for? It would heavily depend on how the user uses it, but it didn¡¯t seem like it was usable for battle right now. It¡¯d be nice to use it to run away, though.


    I wiped my lips with my tongue to look nervous.


    ¡°But it wasn¡¯t?¡±


    Hyung-jun Hyung swallowed his saliva.


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s a real superpower. And one more member said, ¡®Director, I think I should prepare in advance for the zombie apocalypse¡¯. Then, he quit.¡±


    ¡°They kicked up a lot of fuss, huh, Hyung-nim?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going crazy these days. All my gym members don¡¯t come here to exercise anymore. What should I do with all this spare time?¡±


    ¡°But Hyung-nim, if a zombie apocalypse really happens, exercise and everything is useless.¡±


    ¡°Haaaa¡­ Whatever, really.¡±


    ¡°By the way, what should we do, Hyung-nim?¡±


    I pretended not to know and asked him.


    ¡°Why are you asking me that? Of course, we should try not to be bitten by zombies.¡±


    ¡°Hyung-nim, the infection spread because of spores carried in the air.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be fine if we turn on the air purifier?¡±


    ¡°I do not know¡­¡±


    Seeing that people who were hiding themselves in a luxury bunker were also infected, I don¡¯t think that would be fine.


    Feeling frustrated, Hyung-nim pulled out a new cigarette and lit it.


    ¡°By the way¡­ you know, that levitating kid I just told you? He went to Seoul this morning. He said he was going to appear in a program.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s appearing in a broadcast program!?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. He said he wanted to take part in it. So, I couldn¡¯t stop him. After All, I¡¯m not even his parent.¡±


    Hyung-nim said it as if it was not a big deal, but it hit different to me.


    A superhuman revealing their ability in a broadcast¡­


    That means the government would soon find out about the truth. If there were many awakeners who revealed their abilities to the world, the government could no longer dismiss it as a mere internet rumour. The truth would be investigated, and Survival Life and their production team would be known.


    If all of that happened, it would not be long before mens in black suits came knocking on my door.


    ¡°It¡¯s a big deal.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s truly a big deal. If we turn into zombies, isn¡¯t it¡¯s really fucked up? We will lose a lot of muscle.¡±


    That¡¯s the problem? I let out a long sigh and before saying goodbye to Hyung-jun Hyung.


    ¡°Hyung-nim I¡¯m a little busy today, so I¡¯ll go first.¡±


    ¡°Seongho, come to my gym when you have time. Let¡¯s do some exercise and have a serious conversation. With that height and that size, If you learn how to exercise properly, it won¡¯t be a joke.¡±


    ¡°Yes Hyung-nim, I¡¯ll think about it.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to think about? You just have to come.¡±


    If the zombie apocalypse doesn¡¯t happen, I would love to do your suggestion, Hyung-nim.


    I finished my terrain reconnaissance, got a tetanus shot, and then returned home. Then, I proceed to order more drinking water and spam through the internet shopping mall before thinking about the information I just got.


    ¡°It was something that was bound to be known.¡± Thousands of people had awakened and gained superpowers. The fact it was not being widely known after just a few days was a miracle itself. And once society knew about them, more and more people would have to take the zombie apocalypse seriously.


    But what would change? Nothing. In the end, the Silver Dragon Meteor would still fall into the Pacific Ocean and our world would come to an end.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stop worrying and just do what I need to do.¡± I opened the portal and headed to the forest. Then, I took the fully charged drone and piloted it. On my laptop, a live video feed of the drone was being broadcasted.


    The vast forest and sea filled my eyes.

 Chapter 12

    ¡°Woah, the scenery is crazy.¡± That was the only word I could utter as soon as I saw the live feed on the laptop. The lush and beautiful unpolluted forest on the monitor was the place where I struggled.


    ¡°Is north in that direction??¡±


    If I put the cave as the center, the sea which seems to be the source of smell that greets me when I first enter the forest was to the south while the mountain was closer to the northwest. It seems there¡¯s a lot of snow piled up there, since the top of the mountain is filled with white.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that far from here, huh?¡±


    Even though I¡¯m only seeing it through the drone¡¯s camera, I can roughly guess the distance. if it was only that far, it would be worth visiting.


    ¡°Now, where is the valley¡­¡± I diligently moved the drone to search for the valley where I saw the red trouts and owlbears. I was only guessing the correct direction, but it seems that I managed to guess it right as I saw the view opened up and a valley was captured in the video.


    ¡°I was there before.¡± Dozens of fish the size of an arm could be seen swimming freely in the flowing stream. ¡°I can live my life here by eating that.¡±


    Though, it would only be possible if the owlbears weren¡¯t anywhere close to the valley.


    After moving the drone for a while, I finally found the pit where I buried the old goblin I killed last time. At that time, I was in a hurry because of the owlbear so I just pushed it away¡­


    ¡°Oh, where is it?¡± I couldn¡¯t see the corpse or at least any remains of it. Even after looking around the pit for several minutes, I couldn¡¯t find it.


    Just where did it go?


    Was it eaten by the owlbear? Or did the corpse turn into a bone creeper?


    Or maybe¡­


    Did other goblins see it and threw it away? If so, a group of goblins would pay me a visit sometime soon.


    ¡°And the bone creeper from back then wasn¡¯t in the shape of a goblin skeleton¡­¡±


    Moving the drone closer to the pit to check my conjecture, I could see numerous small footprints around it. It seems like my conjecture was correct. A group of goblins had come by.


    ¡°The distance from the valley to here is¡­¡± It was about 1km in a straight line, but taking into account that this place was a forest, it would be safe to assume that it was around 1.5km away. It¡¯s not that far, but it¡¯s not that close either.


    ¡°Since there is no GPS, I have to calculate these things one by one.¡± I proceeded to make a rough map of the surrounding terrain around the cave. ¡°If they came to the valley, I should be able to find more traces.¡±


    The scariest thing about goblins was that with their green skin, they were basically invisible in the forest. On top of that, they also use paralyzing darts, and know how to dig traps.


    If I want to fight them, I have to somehow find them first with drones, telescopes, Perception stats and infrared detectors. Even if it¡¯s not perfect, my stab-proof suit and motorcycle helmet should be able to block the paralyzing dart if they somehow managed to launch a surprise attack towards me.


    And if I limit the battlefield just to around the cave, my chances of winning would considerably rise.


    ¡°This much should be enough to catch the goblins.¡±


    I scoured through my list of videos and found the one where I was teaching a newbie how to deal with goblins.


    ¨DI Love Gimbap: Goblins were basically a cowardly monster. But Isn¡¯t that a bit of a weird statement since goblins are known as creatures who love to gobble up players?


    The answer was simple. It¡¯s because goblins know how to grasp their opponent¡¯s fighting power. They knew how to keep their eyes on the target unlike other monsters who mindlessly rushed in as soon as they saw a target.


    But a monster would still be a monster. No matter what kind of trap they dug, or how far they plan to capture their target, they would still be outwitted and annihilated at the end of the day.


    ¡°For now, I should be safe as long as I¡¯m in the cave because of the infrared detector outside.¡±


    The real problem was if I ran into a group of goblins while roaming the forest.


    Should I run away or¡­


    ¡°It would be nice if I could contain three or four goblins away from the fight.¡± The perfect tool for that purpose would be a net.


    Humanity had improved a net so much to the point they had developed a net gun which could shoot nets using compressed nitrogen. Although it was pretty costly, it was a very powerful weapon with a very durable net on top of it. Those rusty daggers that the goblins use wouldn¡¯t be able to tore through it.


    I piloted the drone back to the cave before I returned to my house to search for the net gun on the internet.


    ¡°It looks like a flashlight.¡± It fires with the power of a disposable compressed nitrogen capsule and has a range of 5m to 20m. A total of four nets could be loaded to the gun at the same time, so it would be possible to shoot consecutively. After comparing the size of a goblin and the nets, I estimated about two goblins could be restrained in one shot.


    ¡°That means I can neutralize eight of them in one reload.¡±


    The price¡­exceeded 100 million won as it wasn¡¯t mass produced. Not only that, the net heads were also expensive, and the compressed nitrogen capsules cost around 9,000 won each.


    ¡°It is expensive, but not to the point where it¡¯s not worth buying.¡±


    Being able to temporarily tie up a monster was a really big advantage in a fight. Add some firecrackers on top of this and you would have no problem dealing with goblins.


    ¡°This is a must buy item.¡± I promptly ordered two net guns with additional accessories attached. It was guaranteed to be able to shoot at least 300 times, so I won¡¯t have to worry about it for a while.


    I would also need some firecrackers, but they didn¡¯t have to be ordered in bulk. After all, during the week when the zombie apocalypse would happen, the Busan Fireworks Festival should be on-going. Those fireworks would just be left there to rot like trash while everyone is panicking during the apocalypse.


    ¡°As a good civilian, it¡¯s my duty to clean up the trash.¡±


    No one would say anything. Afterall, a lot of them would¡¯ve become zombies.


    With all my business at home finished, I return to the cave.


    Let¡¯s go see the sea.


    .


    .


    .


    It¡¯s the sea!


    The sea I wanted to see was there on the monitor. It was stretching towards the horizon beyond with its emerald colour. It was majestic and serene, but at the same time reminded me of the lonely feeling of winter.


    This sea of another world was something that no one had ever touched, it was clean from the ravaging hand of humanity. It would be a dangerous and cruel sea, but at the same time, it would contain a myriad of creatures and resources only for me.


    My drone circulated along the coast while sending a 4K video to my laptop. It was deserted from any living creatures at first glance. However, I knew there are many unseen monsters here, hiding in plain sight.


    ¡°There¡¯s a white sandy beach, mud rocks, and everything!¡±


    In front of a virgin sea like this, anyone would naturally have the urge to fish. That¡¯s also the case for me. Even though It¡¯s been a while since I stopped fishing for various reasons, a fishing rod was still sleeping in the warehouse.


    Are there any monsters?


    I looked around the beach with the drone, but I couldn¡¯t see anything. Then, in the middle of searching, the battery low notification popped up. Therefore, I direct it back to the cave before launching another drone.


    But, even after searching with the new drone, I still couldn¡¯t find any monsters. It was simply impossible that monsters weren¡¯t present around the sea.


    I¡¯m guessing this wasn¡¯t enough. So, while flying the drone back to the cave, I calculated the distance while setting its flying altitude to about 2.5m to record the surroundings.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ the maximum speed of the drone¡­¡±


    The distance from the cave to the shore was about 900m. Of course, there¡¯s a chance that my calculations were wrong since there¡¯s no GPS satellite here. But the difference between my estimation and the real distance shouldn¡¯t be that big.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that far.¡±


    And from what I saw from the video, there should be no dangerous terrain between the cave and the coast.


    I quickly packed my backpack and prepared my weapon. I turned the infrared detector off with the remote control and turned it on again after leaving the entrance.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go.¡±


    I looked at the map while leaving a white mark on the nearby tree. But even when I did all that, I didn¡¯t forget to pay attention to my surroundings. No, to be exact, it was as if I was forced to hear all the sounds. The rustling of the bushes, the sound of the wind and the cry of insects were all louder than usual.


    Was it the effect of the 2 points of Perception that got increased by my watch?


    As I conclude it was indeed its effect, I continue my journey. My steps were rather quick as I already checked the road ahead with the drone. All I had to pay attention to were dangerous animals and monsters that would suddenly appear.


    Rustle-!! Rustle-!!


    Something is here.


    I reflexively notched an arrow to the string and pointed my bow to the direction of the sound. It was the result of practicing this motion for a thousand times.


    And finally, the bush parted with one last rustle. The bastard which appeared was a gigantic wild boar.


    ¡°What on earth did you eat to grow as big as that?¡±


    I quickly prepare myself to run away. If I tried to hunt something like that with my current stats, I would be the one who got minced into pieces.


    Meanwhile, the giant boar with a hump on its forehead glanced around its surroundings before looking back and made a strange noise. After a short moment passed, several wild boars which I presumed to be its family came out. There¡¯s also a small wild boar cub in the pack.


    ¡°So cute¡­¡±


    As it was shown on TV shows about wild animals, the boar cub was really cute. It looks like a fluffy bundle of fur trotting after its mother.


    No, wait, no no, I can¡¯t be like this. I shook my head and cleared my mind.


    As long as they lived in this forest, those wild boars were nothing but prey. Wild boar, deer, rabbit¡­ and many other animals would be my food. Whether it was using a bow or a trap, I must hunt them by all means.


    ¡°That would be my way of life.¡±


    Fortunately, the giant wild boar didn¡¯t seem to find me.


    I carefully painted the surrounding trees with spray and updated the map.


    ¨DWhere the wild boar family appeared.


    A herd of animals had a fixed place where they chose to be their territory. Gathering information like this would surely come in handy someday.


    After finishing it, I quickly continued my journey.


    And finally, the blue sea stretched directly in front of my eyes.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Wow¡­¡±


    It was so beautiful. It couldn¡¯t get any better than this.


    In an instant, I forgot about my fatigue and ran out into a rock formation on the edge of the beach. I was truly one step away from a virgin sea untouched by human hands.


    ¡°But it¡¯s very cold here.¡±


    Is it because there¡¯s nothing to block the wind here unlike in the forest?


    As winter was around the corner, the sea breeze was sharp and painful like a needle.


    And as I couldn¡¯t stand it any longer, I put clothes over my vest, put on a neck warmer, and even put on a hat.


    ¡°This is better.¡±


    The waves crashed against the rocks and shattered. And at that moment a strong urge to cast a fishing rod washed over me. But I couldn¡¯t do it, as it¡¯s dangerous here.


    There might be no monsters on the coast itself, but there should be plenty of them roaming around in the nearby forest. I don¡¯t want to be attacked by monsters while fishing.


    ¡°I think it will be fine if I prepare for it.¡±


    I looked around slowly. I caught sight of a small octopus and a crab fighting in a fairly large puddle of water. Like a certain wiseman said, watching fights when it didn¡¯t have any relation to you was always fun.


    Few moments later, the fierce battle ended with the victory of the octopus. The guy ignored the crab¡¯s futile resistance and wrapped around it with its tentacles. Whenever it bites, a squeaking sound could be heard.


    ¡°When the weak become the food for the strong.¡±


    As I watched their fight, I thought of the apocalyptic world that would soon unfold in the future. It would become a world where zombies and monsters fight against survivors. It will be thousands or even hundred of thousand times more fierce than the fight between the octopus and the crab.


    To survive, one must become a predator. You have to trample on others.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t do that, you will just be culled.¡± In the apocalypse, a single moment of weakness would mean death.


    Just like this¡­


    I moved my machete to the octopus that was eating the crab. It momentarily flinched as if sensing a threat, but the guy had nowhere to run. In an instant, the octopus, slightly larger than my fist, was dragged around by my machete. This slimy guy would become my side dish.


    Then I thought carefully about how to use this sea.


    ¡°First of all, there doesn¡¯t seem to be much difference from the Earth¡¯s oceans.¡±


    If I had brought a fishing rod and a pot here, I thought I would be able to at least prepare some seafood for myself.


    Should I bring a rubber boat and go fishing in earnest?


    ¡­but a sea monster that might exist caught my mind.


    At the very least, I would be able to run away through the portal, but the next time I passed through it, it would become a mess since I would be in the sea without a rubber boat.


    ¡°For now, let¡¯s be content with fishing on the shore.¡±


    With seafood collected from this coast, processed food I had bought and the food I would be able to procure from the forest, at least I would be safe from starvation.


    ¡°That alone isn¡¯t enough¡­¡±


    I wanted to make a garden and grow crops. I also want to raise chickens in the long run.


    My heart fluttered as I imagined the rooster crowing at dawn.


    ¡°Though, I¡¯m sure the monsters nearby would love it.¡±


    Raising the chickens is a big no-no then.


    While lost in those thoughts, I was walking around the seashore and picked up a few large clams from a pool of water.


    ¡°Today¡¯s dinner will be seafood ramyun.¡±


    I wanted to wander around some more, but the sun on the horizon was starting to dip. With a heavy heart, I returned to the cave, cleaned the seafood, and ate ramyun noodles.


    Sluuurppp-!!


    ¡°Wow, this is a hella good seafood ramyun.¡±


    The ramyun was very refreshing because there was plenty of seafood inside. I immediately thought of drinking, but it was simply impossible to do it.


    Will there ever come a day when I can share a drink with the other stagnant waters in a safe shelter?


    ¡°Cheers for that day.¡±


    I tilted my empty glass in the air and ate all the ramyun.


    It was said that if you lie down immediately after eating, you would become a cow, so, I guess I would be the first stagnant water to ever become a cow.


    As I lay down on the bed, my body seems to melt.


    ¡°Ah¡­ well¡­¡±


    Let¡¯s hope that I won¡¯t get a ¡®groaning¡¯ morning.

 Chapter 13

    My condition as soon as I woke up was way better than I thought it would be. My body was a little sore, but not as heavy as usual.


    And when I looked at myself in the mirror, what I saw was unfamiliar to me.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± My clothes had become baggy and it looked like I was wearing oversized clothes because of all the weight I lost. If things continued like this, it seemed like I would be able to at least move around nimbly when the apocalypse happens.


    I hummed happily as I turned on the TV and had some breakfast.


    What was broadcasted on the TV so far was all normal things, until¡­


    A big ¡®Breaking News¡¯ text suddenly appeared on the bottom of the screen. At the same time, the announcer panicked as someone handed him a note.


    After reading it with a face plastered with shock, the announcer began to speak.


    -Dear viewers, a gunfight had broken out in Seoul.


    ¡°Wait! What the hell are you talking about?¡±


    Wasn¡¯t Korea a country that didn¡¯t allow ownership over guns?


    So how did a shootout happen in Seoul?


    ¨DUh¡­ viewers, a deserter has caused a shootout in Seoul. Currently, the entire Yeouido area is closed by the military and police. Viewers who are watching this broadcast, please stay tuned in our channel. As soon as more news is heard¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s strange¡­¡± It¡¯s not like we were currently in the 80¡¯s, so how the hell is there a soldier deserting and shooting in town?


    I quickly searched the internet and social media for more detailed information. The current era is an era where everything was readily available on the internet. So even though the accuracy of the information was not guaranteed, it should be there.


    Not surprisingly, people around Yeouido started posting one after another.


    -I¡¯m nearby right now, isn¡¯t this the sound of a K2 rifle?


    -I also heard the sounds of machine guns. It doesn¡¯t seem like a normal situation.


    -Did a fucking Civil War finally happen?


    But as I read those posts, something really amazing happened.


    Like divine interference, all information regarding the shootout disappeared. Even when I input a new keyword related to it, nothing came out.


    ¡°What in the world is happening right now?¡± When I turned my attention to the TV once again, the announcer was already reciting the usual news in a calm voice. The breaking news words had also disappeared from the screen. It was as if there was no such thing in the first place.


    I searched through the internet more but just like before, I couldn¡¯t find anything.


    Was it supposed to be a battle between Awakeners or what?


    For now, let¡¯s just install a spare infrared detector on the stairs and do what I have to do.


    .


    .


    .


    Sandwich panels and the woodworking tool I had previously ordered finally arrived. With a groan and sweat, I finally managed to put the last material on the cave.


    ¡°Assembly Manual¡­¡±


    [Assemble the sandwich panels one by one on the mortared floor.]


    Well, that¡¯s not helpful at all because that was what I was about to do.


    The reason why I installed the panel in the cave was to preserve the food I store. Afterall, because it was a cave, it was quite damp. In addition, with a warehouse made of panels, it would be easy to sort the things I have.


    Tang-!! Tang-!! Tang-!!


    After dozens of hammerings, a somehow functional warehouse was created.


    And when I was piling spam and ramen on an iron tray inside the warehouse, I suddenly stopped.


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­ the spam has to go to the back since ramyun has a short shelf life.¡±


    Canned spam would still be edible even after 10 years. However, ramyun would start to become too oily even after only several months of storing and wouldn¡¯t be edible anymore.


    After I finished sorting the spam and ramyun, I loaded a lot of bottled water to the iron tray and stored it in the warehouse. Judging by how much supplies I had ordered, it seems I¡¯m going to spend all my time carrying luggages for a while.


    ¡°Phew¡­¡±


    By the time the sun slightly passed the midway point, I finally finished tidying up the cave. However, there were still plenty of supplies piled up here and there.


    ¡°Should I just turn the area around the woodworking tools into a workshop?¡± The cave was too narrow for that, though. It¡¯s also difficult to enlarge it with expansion, so how should I proceed?


    ¡°Ah, I can make a basement.¡± Since the ground was relatively soft, it should be doable. And since I didn¡¯t spread the mortar on the end of the cave because it was the place where the glowstone and the ignition stone were mined, it should work out well.


    ¡°If I dig the floor, install a support, and apply the mortar ¡­¡±


    Wouldn¡¯t it be finished?


    It could also act as a secondary shelter to run even though I have the dimensional door. Afterall, the more places to escape, the better.


    With that in mind, I quickly returned to my home and searched for tutorial videos on how to make basements on Metube.


    Hmmm, hmm¡­


    It turns out, If the ground was soft, there¡¯s a chance the ceiling would collapse. And because the softness was caused by moisture, if I don¡¯t want that to happen, I would have to do the waterproofing properly.


    ¡°For now, let¡¯s just move the other materials first.¡±


    I still have a lot of work to do right now, so it was impossible to build it right away.


    After finishing my light meal, I slung my backpack on. I want to go to the swamp that I saw with the drone yesterday.


    However, the infrared detector suddenly beeped.


    I quickly jumped and hid behind my luggage.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Is it a monster? Or just an animal that went the wrong way?


    My heart is beating so hard as I keep waiting. Fortunately, even after several minutes of waiting, nothing entered the cave.


    After waiting for about 30 minutes more, I quietly came out of the cave. And then, as I arrived at the forest located just outside the perimeter of barbed wire and fence, I could see goblin footprints all over the place.


    ¡°These bastards have come all the way here.¡±


    It was obvious that they were the group where the old goblin that I killed near the river were driven out from. Judging from the number of footprints, it doesn¡¯t seem like there¡¯s a lot of them¡­


    ¡°One, two, three, eight.¡±


    Eight goblins in total had passed in front of my hideout.


    Should I just leave these guys alone?


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t.¡± Even though the cave was hidden by the bush, it was not completely concealed. If they just go through the bushes, they would come across the unnatural fence and rounds of barbed wire. From that alone, they would naturally know that I was there.


    ¡°When they still aren¡¯t aware of me, I have to attack and thoroughly eradicate them.¡±


    The time is now.


    I quickly let the drone fly. I followed the goblins¡¯ footprints with it, then at a place not too far from my cave, I saw they¡¯re currently fighting against a rabbit. It looked like they were hunting.


    ¡°These guys seem like they are in a good mood.¡±


    Their behavior was no different from what I knew. They were violent and ferocious.


    At that time, I saw something flying into the camera. It seems like they had mistaken the drone as a prey and shot a paralyzing dart into it.


    ¡°Shoot as many as you can, see if it ever fell.¡±


    I immediately lifted the drone into the sky.


    Perhaps, thinking that the drone had escaped, they were elated for a few moments before pulling out a flimsy net.


    ¡°It seems like they want to capture the drone if it comes again.¡±


    Even if one of my drones was captured, there would be no significant damage done to me as I could just order some more. But, there¡¯s no need to give a present to those bastards.


    All I would give to them was violence and death.


    Returning to my house for a moment, I bought the firecrackers then went through the portal.


    Due to the strict regulations these days, the power of firecrackers circulated in the public market had been greatly weakened. However, it would be more than enough for the purpose of surprising those goblins for a moment.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got all my clothes on¡­ okay.¡±


    Putting on my motorcycle helmet, I completed my hunting set.


    I will attack before others attack me.


    That¡¯s the only way to survive in the apocalypse.


    .


    .


    .


    Goblins were a pretty clever monster. However, no matter how clever they are, there will always be times when they let their guard down. It was especially true when your attention was drawn towards something else.


    For example, when all of the goblins were obsessed with the drone that is currently flying 10m above the ground. They were dying to catch it, but since the paralyzing darts couldn¡¯t reach the drone, they couldn¡¯t do anything.


    I hovered the drone and approached the back of the goblins.


    Fwoosh-!! Tang-!!


    Those bastards even took out a javelin and threw it towards the drone. Nevertheless, the power was not enough to reach the drone.


    Perhaps, from the goblin¡¯s point of view, the drone is a very exciting prey to hunt.


    I think if I use a little more force, I can reach it!


    The goblin chief might also think so as well, that¡¯s why he was busy throwing commands to his subordinates.


    ¡°I should aim for the leader first.¡±


    I nocked an arrow to my compound bow and carefully aimed at the back of the head of the chief who was excitedly running around.


    Letting my grip loose, the arrow whistled through the air and stabbed the goblin chief in the back, not the head. The goblin chief roared as it looked around.


    Without feeling frustrated by my missed shot, I quickly nocked another arrow to the bow. And when I let it loose, this time, it hit the head properly.


    When the chief suddenly collapsed, the goblins who were busy chasing around the drone, opened their mouths and roared.


    I promptly shot another arrow. The arrow hit one of the goblins¡¯ stomach. After that, I put my bow away and pulled out a machete.


    ¡°Six left.¡±


    The goblins found me. Depending on their actions, my response would also change.


    Will they use their blowguns or will they run into me?


    Kiyaaakkkk-!!


    When one of them shouted, all of them pulled out crude daggers from their pockets and ran towards me at the same time.


    They might be choosing this option because they thought it was a correct choice because I was alone.


    ¡°You chose the wrong opponent.¡±


    I stepped back and pulled a firecracker out of my backpack. I calmly lit it up and threw it at them after counting until two.


    Papa Papa!


    The sound of firecrackers, the flashes and the smoke confused the goblins.


    Giyaaakkk-!!


    While they were screaming, I rushed towards them without missing an opportunity. Zooming towards the nearest goblin, I raised my machete high to the sky before swinging it. And when the machete met with its target, it cleanly cut through the goblin¡¯s shoulder.


    I let my legs loose towards the stomach of the impaled goblin. At the same time, I pulled out the fire ax with my other hand and buried it deep into the goblin¡¯s head.


    Five left.


    I jumped among the goblins and mercilessly swung my machete. As a result, one goblin had one of its arms chopped off while all of its intestines spilled out from its open stomach.


    At that time, one goblin who could barely open its eyes suddenly looked at me then pulled out his blowgun and shot a dart at me.


    However, unfortunately for it, the paralyzing dart couldn¡¯t penetrate through my stab-proof vest.


    ¡°You motherfucker.¡±


    Since it was close, my reaction was quick. With a quick step, I was already in front of it and pushed my machete through its stomach. Not only that, I also twist it to make the goblin die faster.


    The bastard screams a bloody murder from the pain until it finally died.


    Meanwhile, the other 3 goblins were only standing still while watching one of their kin meet a painful end.


    ¡°Come on, you bastards!¡±


    As I screamed out, they became frightened and showed signs of escaping.


    But I can¡¯t let them go just like that. I quickly moved towards them and smashed them all.


    After several minutes of fighting, I finally killed the last one.


    ¡°Huufttt¡­ Hufttt¡­¡±


    My breath became ragged and the helmet¡¯s visor turned hazy because of it. But, it was still too early to take off the helmet.


    I went around all the corpses carrying a fire ax in one hand to confirm that they were indeed dead one by one. After I was sure, I unequipped my helmet. As soon as I did that, a strong bloody smell wafted to my nose.


    ¡°Whew¡­¡±


    I was so exhausted. My arms and legs were aching because I was so nervous the whole time. Though, in the end, I still succeeded in killing eight goblins.


    It was a victory I attained from a surprise attack and numerous other tricks such as drones and firecrackers, but a victory is still a victory.


    When I checked my status window, my level had risen to 4 while my point had reached 45.


    ¡°This is not the time to rest¡­¡±


    The bloody smell would surely call other creatures. I need to bury them.


    I collected all the goblins¡¯ pockets, put them in my bag and dug the ground.


    After a lot of digging and suffering, I finally finished burying all of the bastards. Not long after that, the Survival Instinct skill was activated. And my exhausted body has become much more comfortable than seconds ago.


    Now, when it was still active, I had to go home and lie down. I quickly retrieved the drone and returned to the cave.


    ¡°If I do it one more time, I will die.¡±


    However, I still feel refreshed as I managed to kill those bastards.


    Now, should I see what¡¯s in their pocket?


    As I opened the pocket with anticipation, a large frog suddenly popped out.


    Why the hell did they carry a frog?


    I was dumbfounded with what I got. However, when I scrutinized it carefully, I could see a thin liquid on its back.


    The identity of this yellowish liquid is¡­


    ¡°Are you a poison frog?¡±


    It seems like the goblins were collecting the paralytic poison for their darts from this frog. I was certain because of its colour and its musty smell is identical to the ones on the darts.


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­¡±


    A good idea came to mind.


    There¡¯s no law that states only goblins could use paralyzing darts, isn¡¯t there?

 Chapter 14

    The paralyzing darts used by the goblins had an immediate effect of paralysing the body of its target. However, that¡¯s not all it could offer; if the poison had been a little bit stronger, it could also cause the target to have some difficulty in breathing. The one used by goblins simply couldn¡¯t reach that stage because of the goblins¡¯ simplistic approach to it.


    ¡°I was wondering where the poison for the darts came from¡­¡± And it turns out I could get it from this kind of frog.


    I brought an old tank from my home and put the poison frog in it. It would certainly be more comfortable for the frog to live inside the tank rather than going outside to hunt its own food.


    For its first meal, I caught a bug from the bush right in front of the entrance and put it on the tank. In a matter of seconds, the frog stretched its tongue and gobbled up the bug. It seems like the guy has a pretty good appetite, just like me.


    ¡°I feed you and you give me your poison. It¡¯s a good trade, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    I¡¯m not sure if the frog agreed with me or not. But when I nudged it with a branch, it didn¡¯t secrete any poison.


    ¡°Hm¡­ It must be tired from the countless touch of the goblins. Get a good rest for now.¡±


    I plucked some moss from the surrounding area, put it inside the tank for its bedding, and gave it a bowl of water. With this much, the frog should be able to live well.


    By the way, I haven¡¯t checked what else was in the pocket of the goblins.


    ¡°Hmm, isn¡¯t this is a guaca fruit?¡±


    It was the first time I saw the fruit in person. There¡¯s also plenty of buds with vegetable oil.


    Wait¡­ This fruit cut looks fresh. It smells fine too.


    ¡°Seems like it hasn¡¯t been long since they picked it up¡­¡±


    If so, that means the fruit could be found around the vicinity of the cave.


    And as the rest of the pocket was nothing but rubbish, I swiftly prepared my equipment and went out. I followed the footsteps of the goblins in reverse and carefully walked through the forest.


    ¡°If I use the cave as the centre, it seems those guys were walking from the west.¡±


    If I go a little bit further, I should be in the vicinity of the valley.


    After several minutes of walking, I found a small spring nestled in a majestic landscape.


    ¡°Wow.¡±


    For some reason, I felt like deer and fairy would come to quench their thirst from this very spring. It was just that fantastic.


    Next to it, a rather small tree with fruits hanging from its branch was growing.


    ¡¸Guaca Tree¡¹


    ¡°It looks like plum.¡±


    I stretched my hand towards the fruit as I wondered what the taste would be like. However, as soon as I ate it, a bitter taste spread through my tongue.


    It¡¯s not edible at all!


    ¡¸Active Buff: Health recovery¡¹


    ¡¸Some health has been restored due to the effect of guaca fruit¡¹


    The ¡®health¡¯ mentioned in the text means physical health. Afterall, it would make no sense if mental health could be restored through the effect of these fruits.


    ¡°Hmm¡­


    I think it would be better to grind the guaca fruit and turn it into an ointment rather than ingesting it directly. It would be much better to make it into a potion though. But the problem is, I don¡¯t know how to create potions.


    ¡°For now, let¡¯s just turn it into an ointment.¡±


    I harvested all the available fruits and put them in my backpack. Now, all I need are vegetable oils.


    Looking around the spring, I quickly spotted it. It had a very strange appearance which I had never seen before on Earth.


    ¡°Ah right! This place is a fantasy world, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    The plant had a very long stem with a big bud on the end of it. Oil was seeping through the bud when I touched it.


    With this finding, at least I didn¡¯t have to worry about oil.


    ¡°If I only pluck the bud, I think It¡¯ll die quickly.¡±


    With that in mind, I took out a small gardening shovel from my backpack and carefully dug up the roots and then put the whole thing in the backpack.


    ¡°Now, I¡¯ll be able to create many ointments¡­¡±


    I moved towards the spring and then lightly scooped the water with my hands before sniffing it. There doesn¡¯t seem to be anything wrong with it. I didn¡¯t even see anything dirty on it either. Thinking I probably wouldn¡¯t die from it, I gulped the water in my hand at once. What came next was a cool refreshing sensation in my throat.


    ¡°This place is pretty close to the cave.¡±


    With this finding, the fear of dying from not having enough drinking water had disappeared from my thoughts. It was such a great feeling to be honest.


    Reassured, I recorded the location of the spring on the map.


    And when I turned around to leave, I flinched.


    A bird, which I couldn¡¯t identify whether it was an owl or anything else, sat on a tree nearby.


    ¡°Uh¡­ You look cool, you know?¡±


    It probably wouldn¡¯t transform into an owlbear, right?


    Then, I quickly returned to the cave and started to make my new bed.


    .


    .


    .


    The cave finally had a door!


    I ordered it in a hurry after the incident with the bone creeper. But as the shape of the entrance was crooked, the door was not symmetrical at all.


    ¡°Though, it doesn¡¯t matter much since I¡¯m the only one who sees it anyway.¡±


    I moved the infrared detector away as an urge of wanting to install a CCTV blossomed in my heart. If I had it, I would be able to look outside with the door closed. However, to have such a system installed, a constant supply of power would be required. It would only be possible to have it after the solar panel was installed.


    ¡°Only one week left before the generator arrived.¡±


    Only after the generator comes that the cave could be said to be complete.


    I proceed to put two layers of floor mat I bought from the interior shop on the ground before putting a mattress on top of it. Because the floor was raised thanks to the mortar construction, even if it rained, there was little chance of flooding.


    ¡°I still have to dig a drain, though.¡±


    Putting my mind into action, I shoveled hard around the cave. After It was finished, I brought all the daily necessities and weapons I had bought from my home to the cave.


    With that, the cave was 80% done.


    ¡°Looks like I can live comfortably here.¡±


    After 22 days, I really have to do it.


    If it¡¯s not here, I don¡¯t think I would be able to sleep peacefully once the zombie apocalypse began. Afterall, all kinds of metal would be broken and you would never know when the zombies would attack. Moreover, the dark at night would make running away even more difficult. Turn a flashlight on and the zombies would certainly love it and chase you until you die.


    ¡°Now that I think about it, it¡¯s definitely hell difficulty.¡± At the launch of Survival Life, no one broke through the tutorial even after several days passed. However, later on, the difficulty became lower as patches were implemented. I hope it was also the case in reality.


    I returned to my house, ate lunch, and watched the news as well as the internet forum.


    ¡°There¡¯s no news about the shootout.¡±


    Just what the hell happened to the deserter?


    The news had completely disappeared as if it was nothing but a dream. It was very odd.


    When I looked up the thread created by the Awakeners, it seemed that they had all moved to one site.


    ¡°This is a site preparing for the end¡­¡± It was classified neatly into the likes of material preparation bulletin boards, tip bulletin boards, and strategy bulletin boards. The problem was that the correct information was not being uploaded at all.


    The information released on the tip bulletin board were all posted by those who like to fuck other people over. On the video bulletin board, almost nothing was posted. Meanwhile, on the free bulletin board, there were a lot of people who were voicing their frustration at all the information which was posted on the sites.


    ¨DThose people who post on the tip bulletin board, just what kind of bastard are they? Just which one is right? Zombies reacting to light or not?


    ?React.


    ?But, didn¡¯t they say zombie didn¡¯t respond to light on the information posted today? They say something about their eyeballs being contaminated by spores or something.


    ?Trust me, I¡¯m a stagnant water who had played the game for 500 hours.


    ?Bro¡­ You could only become a stagnant water once you play for more than 2,000 hours.


    ?Fuck you, you son of a bitch!


    Something like this¡­


    The truth is, zombies in the early stages could distinguish not only light but also human movement. They were able to do so because the spores haven¡¯t completely taken over the body just yet. However, as time went on and all kinds of nutrient sources were consumed, the dominance of the spores would become stronger and the zombie would lose sight.


    Although, their other senses would be enhanced as a trade.


    There were even posts that had more than a thousand comments fighting over the difficulty. At a glance, the difficulty of the initial tutorial was the topic.


    ¡°There are so many patches, it¡¯s just confusing.¡± There were only a handful of people who had respectable game time on Survival Life. Most people were only playing for a few dozen hours before quitting. So, no matter how good their memories were, they wouldn¡¯t be able to remember all the difficulties.


    It could be easily resolved if a stagnant water with proper information came in, but there seemed to be no such person.


    ¡°I. Love. Gim. Bap.¡±


    When I searched for my ID, just like before, nothing but swear words came out.


    ¨DAre you sure that bastard has videos? Didn¡¯t people say he was playing alone on the latter stage of the game?


    ?There was definitely a video on MeTube, but it was all deleted a few months ago.


    ?Fuck! Then, there¡¯s no other place with his video?


    ?It¡¯s hella annoying.


    ?By the way, what are you going to do when you guys meet I Love Gimbap?


    ?Well, I don¡¯t know? Maybe saying thank you for coming to my house?


    ?LOLOLOLOLOL.


    As expected, I should hold back from sharing any information.


    By the way, why are you all swearing so much?


    When I looked around the free bulletin board, there were people who introduced themselves along with the screenshots of their game time.


    420 hours¡­


    From my point of view, that much of game time was only the game time of someone who barely graduated from being a newbie, but for these people, it¡¯s a little different. And not surprisingly, his popularity skyrocketed.


    ¨DThis is an authentication shot. I had broken through the tutorial and even caught goblins, kobolds, and orcs. Werewolves were too difficult so I couldn¡¯t catch them. There¡¯s also a video where I played with I Love Gimbap.


    Sorry? Did you say you have a video of you playing with me?


    When I looked at the comments, I felt itchy down to my ass.


    The poster wrote a thread saying he would play the video on MeTube without even saying his ID. I guess the reason he put it on MeTube even though there¡¯s a video bulletin board was to make some money.


    ¡°Even a small amount of information is huge right now.¡±


    And as soon as the live broadcast on MeTube went on, a lot of people swarmed towards it.


    By the way, just what kind of video do you have with me?


    When I finally appeared on the screen, I unknowingly sighed as I massaged my head.


    It was because the me on the video was only wearing a panty while showing skin painted in pink.


    ¡°It¡¯s really embarrassing.¡±


    However, my embarrassment didn¡¯t last long as people who were crazier than me finally appeared on the video. No matter what I did, I wasn¡¯t confident enough to catch up to the craziness of Rabbit Pwincess and Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek.


    However, when I saw the comments, I was surprised by the praise thrown by people towards us.


    ¨DWoah! Look, they are the real stagnant waters.


    ¨DGoddamn! Their stagnant water aura is overflowing.


    ¨DThe majesty of 5,000 hours of game time hahahaha.


    The video showed the zombies that had escaped from me and were filling the street. All of them were large and ferocious because they were the ones who had consumed nutrients and succeeded in evolving.


    We called them ghouls.


    ¨DWah, do we have to fight with those guys, too?


    ¨DShit, I don¡¯t think I would be able to catch even one without dying.


    ¨DNo, those zombies are evolved zombies. They¡¯re the ones who ate things at the supermarket and evolved.


    ¨DThat¡¯s right. Zombies like that wouldn¡¯t appear in the beginning.


    ¨DThen, are you saying that zombies can even evolve? Doesn¡¯t that mean it¡¯s a losing game for humans?


    The chat window was already full of wailing and worries.


    Some of them did not even understand why the night was so dark.


    ¨DBut isn¡¯t it too dark? I can¡¯t see anything.


    ¨DAll the people at the power plant have become zombies, that¡¯s the setting as to why there¡¯s no light, as there is no electricity.


    ¨DYour words are too rude¡­


    ¨DToo rude my ass. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re preparing for the end by just piling up ramen and spam?


    -Oop!


    -Huh, how did you know?


    ¨C Don¡¯t you even think about the corrosive disease? When all the contents are spilled, will you lick it up?


    ¨C Two more people who will be eaten by zombies hahahaha


    ¨C Then what? What should I prepare?


    The whole chat window was a melting pot of chaos. I¡¯m really worried about how they would survive, seriously.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s their business not mine.¡±


    What I wanted to check was this person¡¯s ID.


    I had helped a lot of newbies to the point it was impossible to remember who he was, but It should be possible to remember if I knew his ID.


    I kept watching the video, but then, the video stopped just when the me on the video started to run through the zombies.


    ¡ª?


    ¨DWhat? Is that it?


    ¨DAh, hello. This is the owner of this video. Zombieman. Are you all well prepared?


    The owner finally appeared.


    He cleared his voice and paused the chat window.


    ¨DI won¡¯t talk much. I¡¯ve been playing Survival Life for about 420 hours. I also have 5 videos. It was taken in the beginning of the tutorial, and there is a part where I Love Gimbap gave me a strategy.


    He paused for a moment.


    If he unpauses the chat window here, I bet he would get a huge response.


    ¨DThe reason I revealed this is because I was preparing for the end by myself, so it was difficult. It costs a lot of money and there are many difficulties. So, I¡¯m only releasing the video to ten people. The price for each person will be 10 million won. If you are interested, please message me, I would then inform you of the account you could wire your money to.


    The live stream ended there.


    However, on the MeTube system, the chat window wouldn¡¯t disappear even when the live stream ends.


    Then, the chat continued at a very rapid pace.


    ¡°¡­Most of them are insults.¡±


    Such a violent reaction was understandable. Afterall, people who swarmed all the way here would have expected to get some useful information.


    However, the person who turned on the broadcast acted for his own benefit. He looked for a sponsor after showing the public he indeed had the information.


    There was no information greater than his at this point, unless the other stagnant waters suddenly popped up.


    ¡°Should I upload a video too?¡±


    If I upload it now, I¡¯m certain it would become the most popular video on MeTube. The money I would get would be huge too.


    But it would also attract too many aggro. The thought of thousands of people re-selling my videos was terrifying enough.


    Let¡¯s just stop thinking about this.


    ¡°The money I have now is enough.¡±


    It¡¯s not insanely much, but it¡¯s enough to quietly prepare for the end.


    Anyway, I need to find that guy¡¯s ID.


    The period when I was using pink-painted skin and only wore panties was very short.


    If I narrow down my memory of that period only¡­


    Found it.


    ¡¸Help me¡¹


    Ah¡­ This guy was a freaking troll!

 Chapter 15

    There will always be trolls in every game. Survival Life was no exception. The trolls in Survival Life always pretend to be a normal user before joining a party and summoning monsters to annihilate the said party.


    To the unsuspecting eyes, at first glance, they might seem to be helping a newbie doing their quest. However, while accompanying the newbie, the trolls would stab them in the back and steal their items.


    Switching back and forth between two teams that were doing well on a quest to make them fight and entering the beginner area needlessly to rapidly increase the monster regen were their basic modus operandi. And as the management team had a policy of not interfering directly on what¡¯s happening in the game except for patches and bugs, the trolls on Survival Life were particularly more active than any other games.


    ¡°The good news is, the game was hard to play even for trolls.¡± Being a troll in games like Survival Life means they have to take risks, too. Once they make a mistake, their character will be deleted immediately. And because it was too cumbersome to restart from the very beginning, most of them ended up quitting the game after a few deaths, which resulted in the number of trolls decreasing overtime.


    ¡°They were part of the game, too.¡± So did we who destroyed them. What was certain was once the zombie apocalypse actually happens in reality, there would be a lot of trolls roaming around. Afterall, Isn¡¯t there a saying that says when five humans gather, one is bound to be trash?


    ¡°To prepare against a troll¡­¡±  Preparation for direct combat was needed. So far, I¡¯d only been concerned with fights against monsters in the forest. It was a different thing altogether with fighting in the city where various obstacles and terrain scattered all over the place and I wouldn¡¯t be fighting just monsters, but humans as well.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be able to tell if my enemy is crazy or not.¡± It was of utmost importance to determine who or what you were fighting against. However, it wasn¡¯t something which could be done perfectly every single time. So ultimately, a variety of coping methods would be needed.


    What should I do if I meet someone who targets me?


    First, let¡¯s review the weapons I had.


    ¡°Eumm¡­¡± There were a lot of weapons in my arsenal. Nevertheless, when they¡¯re classified between ranged and melee weapons, anyone can clearly see that I have a lot less ranged weapons than melee weapons. The 60lbs compound bow should be the strongest one I had. Although, it¡¯s bulky and difficult to handle.


    ¡°It¡¯s also a troublesome weapon to use as I have to put it down if the enemy moves closer to me.¡± Though, I could just throw it across the portal in case I was fighting alone with no one by my side.


    While I was browsing through the MeTube, I saw a video of an American uncle playing with a slingshot.


    ¡°Slingshot? Isn¡¯t it only useful to catch birds?¡± That¡¯s what I thought, but turns out, I was completely wrong. Slingshots these days were powerful enough to pierce a human skull using a 20mm iron bead.


    ¡°Its power was no joke!¡± Of course, the power was only possible with a special firing method and the use of a special rubber band. Nonetheless, the strength of the slingshot really attracted me. As an icing on the cake, it was also easy to handle and had a small size, so it would be easy to conceal it.


    ¡°I could use it in situations where it¡¯s difficult to shoot using the bow.¡± For example, if I need to attack through a small window.


    Of course, the best ranged weapon amongst them all would be guns. If I could get my hand on a gun, I was pretty certain I wouldn¡¯t dwindle on such trifling thoughts about bow and slingshot.


    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for the cursed corrosive disease¡­¡± Though, I could still get one if the Russian boat incident 5 days before the outbreak really came true.


    As I was browsing through the list of videos related to the previous video, I saw a video of the same uncle using a primitive sling to throw a stone and instantly clicked on it. What I thought to be just a simple stone throwing turns out to be a completely different thing.


    ¡°You could hit a target that¡¯s a hundred meters away? It¡¯s no joke.¡± I also used to throw stones at monsters in Survival Life. However, compared to what the uncle could do using the sling, it was a child¡¯s play. He boasted that after nearly 10 years of training, he was currently able to hit enemies from 300 meters away.


    Although I wouldn¡¯t be able to perfectly copy what he did with the remaining time I have before the apocalypse, it seems like it¡¯s a good idea to follow his practice routine.


    ¡°Learning something new is always a good thing.¡± Let¡¯s keep this video as well.


    As I continue to browse through the list of related videos, a video about javelin throwing also caught my eye. After all, it was a ranged weapon which used a spear as a throwing weapon. The range might be shorter than most ranged weapons, but the penetration power against monsters was guaranteed. I know that fact better than anyone because I had used this weapon a lot of times in Survival Life against many kinds of monsters.


    ¡°but it¡¯s expensive¡­¡± And modern steel javelins wouldn¡¯t be usable. So, I would have to learn how to craft a wooden spear if I want to use one.


    ¡°I must have a javelin, too.¡± If I have it, the range as well as the destructive power would be secured. It would also work better than a bow against a medium-sized monster.


    Anyway, it seems like there are a lot of people who were interested in these kinds of weapons as the videos were numerous. I downloaded dozens of videos which showed me how to make it, and use it.


    ¡°For now, I will buy what I can buy.¡± And would make my own if I couldn¡¯t buy it.


    I ordered the things I needed and started practicing the slingshot.


    As it turns out, it¡¯s really hard.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°The time has come to use this.¡± I chose the mace from the pile of weapons for the close combat weapon in the future. I had chosen a fire axe, a machete, and an iron plumbing pipe for my melee weapon of choice so far, but all of them were still lacking. In the first place, those weapons weren¡¯t designed to attack monsters.


    But the mace was different. This weapon had been voted as the weapon with highest destructive power in the production company poll about zombie apocalypse.


    It was made by attaching several pieces of iron to the end of a long wooden stick, which made its appearance intimidating.


    ¡°It¡¯s more like a flanged mace.¡± There¡¯s a slight protrusion on the tip of every iron, so you can concentrate the striking power on one point. With one swing of it, humans who didn¡¯t wear any protection on their head would certainly be sent across river Styx. However, the sad thing was, I had to wait for at least 6 months before I could use it on Earth because of the corrosive disease. So, before that, I would have no choice but to use the war club or the ebony stick.


    The fire axe and the machete were also a good weapon, but they have a drawback.


    ¡°It¡¯s difficult to pull out once it digs into the skull¡­¡± I experienced it first hand in the previous battle against the kobolds and goblins. However, with the mace, I could be reassured as it could still smash the head without digging deep into the skull and getting stuck between it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s practice.¡± I clicked the play button of the video downloaded from MeTube and used the nearby tree as the dummy.


    This time, the video shows me an African-American man. With a serious expression on his face, the man teaches about the stance.


    ¡°When hitting towards the left, step forward with your left leg¡­¡± Then comes a big swing.


    With a thump, the tree slightly swayed, pouring out leaves to my body as the mace connected to its bark.


    After a few more swings, I compared his posture with mine.


    ¡°Strange¡­¡± It¡¯s obviously the same, but somehow, I feel something was off.


    After watching it over and over again, I was finally able to understand some of the differences.


    ¡°So, it was a matter of which rotates first, huh?¡± the ahjussi rotates his knee first whereas I rotate my shoulder first. That was why the impact after the mace hit was different.


    With my new found knowledge, I entered the stance and hit the tree one more time. When the mace connected to the tree, the impact greatly changed; it was much better than earlier.


    ¡°But it¡¯s gonna be hard to use this stance every time in a fight.¡±


    Well, even if I weren¡¯t able to do the stance, I should still be able to break the zombie¡¯s head even with a one arm swing.


    Then, for another hour or so, I keep alternating between the mace and the war clubs. Even though winter was approaching, I didn¡¯t feel cold at all. All I knew was that the temperature was getting hotter and hotter from all the sweat.


    ¡°Nice.¡±


    After feeling satisfied with the progress I made with those two weapons, I switched to the slingshot; A very useful ranged weapon which could attack from a distance with only a rubber-like string and a stone.


    But when I tried it myself, it was difficult to even send the stone close to the target.


    ¡°This is hard!¡± It¡¯s hard to turn the direction of the sling and drop the stone at the right spot even though the video said the basic way to use it was to turn one and a half circles over the head and release it. Moreover, the weight of the stone I used was around 300g when the professional slingshot thrower in the video uses a 500g stone.


    ¡°Hmmmm.¡± I watched the downloaded video over and over again.


    Then, after I felt I knew enough, I took the pose the man told me to do, snapped my wrist the same way as him, suppressed the urge to turn three or four times and released the strap after turning only for one and a half turns.


    Then, after trying it several dozen times, the stone I threw started to fly away at an invisible speed and hit near the target. My training finally bore some fruit.


    ¡°Whoa¡­ it¡¯s difficult.¡±


    If someone asked me if I was really satisfied with this small progress, my answer would be ¡®yes¡¯. It was only possible because I had invested 5,500 hours in Survival Life. And as it was reality, not a game anymore, I was well aware of how hard and difficult using a weapon truly is.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to master it somehow¡­¡± in order not to die.


    The prickling cold finally got to me as I was trying to cool off. At the same time, my stomach is fiercely demanding compensation for all the energy I had spent.


    Should I boil some ramyun and eat it?


    When I went into the cave, I was tired of seeing the warehouse full of ramen, spam and canned food.


    ¡°This is not it¡­¡± These foods were important for my survival, but for me right now, they looked like terrible monsters.


    If you put spam in a ramyun, of course it would be delicious. But for long-term survival in the apocalypse, you would require a greater variety of food. One day in the future, I might crave some rice and one day I might be craving noodles.


    People would become stressed if their needs were not met. And stress was the cause of all diseases and the enemy of survival.


    ¡°It is best to move the whole mart¡­¡± However, as it was difficult to do right now, I started with thinking of a variety of canned food. Currently, I have already stocked up canned tuna and spam among the many canned foods on the market.


    ¡°There is saury, mackerel and salmon¡­¡± In addition, there were also whelks, peaches, and pineapples. It was important to diversify my options rather than stockpiling a lot of one item.


    ¡°Let¡¯s write some more things on the notes.¡± After all, all of this hard work is what was supposed to help me survive in the apocalypse. Without having enough nutrients by eating only one type of food only in the apocalypse, one wouldn¡¯t have the strength to keep on living.


    I returned to my house on the other side and put an additional order for canned goods.


    After that, I looked for information about food from the survivor forum.


    ¡°Noodles are good for long-term storage¡­ I guess it¡¯s because they don¡¯t have moisture.¡± It was a possible solution as noodles were delicious even when eaten only with soy sauce. If I grow some vegetables in front of the cave, I would be able to enjoy them more luxuriously.


    ¡°And if I have oil, I can cook various things as well.¡± Though, oil was difficult to store for a long time. At most, it could only last for 1 or 2 years before expiring. Which means, in the apocalyptic world two years from now, I would have to cook without oil at all.


    Fortunately, it could be easily resolved as I have procured the plant which produces vegetable oil in the forest. It won¡¯t be able to produce enough to serve as a frying oil, though.


    ¡°I need sauces too¡­¡± It really would be nice if I were able to loot a whole mart. The thought of opening the portal and throwing everything in the grocery section into it brought a smile on my face.


    ¡°But it¡¯s difficult to do so.¡± Supermarkets were places where most zombies would gather. In particular, more than 100 zombies would easily be found in the grocery section. Going there would be synonymous to suicide.


    ¡°But the local mart¡­¡± Let¡¯s think about it. What are the zombies¡¯ favorite food? It was an easy-to-open item like something wrapped in plastic. It was almost impossible for them to eat canned food because they couldn¡¯t bite it with their teeth, so they¡¯re more likely to give up after a few tries.


    Of course, they would easily eat it once the corrosive disease struck and disintegrated the metals.


    ¡°Glass bottles, too, are surprisingly good enough to survive.¡±


    And when the zombie apocalypse broke out, there was a high probability that the local mart would be properly routed. People would either become zombies or run away, and all I had to do was lower the shutter.


    ¡°But even that would be difficult once the tutorial starts.¡± Once the tutorial starts, I need to be completely focused on it to get items that would help me in the future. In other words, the time allotted to me to loot anything I want was approximately 5 hours.


    The hardware store, convenience store, pharmacy, neighborhood mart, and the motorcycle shop, all must be looted within this 5 hours.


    ¡°What else is there¡­¡± there¡¯s firearms which matter more than all of those things. It was something that could be easily found in police stations and military bases, but it was difficult for ordinary people like me to get my hand on it.


    If the situation breaks out, the troops would be dispatched, so there should be an opportunity¡­


    I laughed out loud at the stupid thought of destroying the police arsenal with an oxygen cutter. I¡¯m sure I would be shot to death if they found me doing something like that when they were already going crazy because of the zombies.


    ¡°No, wait a minute¡­ If the police station is empty, that method is fine.¡± The police were not capable of responding to the zombie apocalypse. At first, they would be busy running around and directing people under the direction of their superiors, but then, they would gradually become zombies as well.


    What if the police station was empty just before the corrosive disease spread?


    ¡°It would be a walk in the park once I get in.¡± If I could monopolize a lot of guns and ammunition. I would certainly become the king of the forest.


    What a mouth watering thought!


    Unfortunately, when I searched on PC, there was no police station in this town, only a district office was present. It was relatively small compared to the police station and had a small arsenal. However, I still need to have my eyes on the prize. Therefore, I marked the location of the district office on the map.


    By the way, what was I thinking about earlier before reaching this point?


    Ah right, I was hungry.


    I put spam and tuna in ramen and boiled it.


    This is delicious.


    (T/N so after you said it was a monster you still eat it. Okay¡­)

 Chapter 16

    Winter was fast approaching in the forest. It was proven by the fact that piercing cold wind could be felt prickling on my skin whenever I stood on the cave entrance.


    ¡°It must be very cold in the middle of winter¡­¡± I said while sitting down next to the furnace I had installed to warm myself up. Meanwhile, the trickling raindrops outside seemed to be getting louder and slowly turned into a heavy rain.


    Today¡¯s training was over. I also had done every work that had to be done by today. It seems like it would be fine to just return to the other side and go to the market.


    However, when I was having those happy idyllic thoughts,


    Beep~!! Beep~!! Beeep~!!.


    The infrared detector suddenly rang.


    ¡°Who is it this time¡­¡± I quickly geared up and raised my weapon. All muscles in my body contracted as I knew the only things that could alert the infrared detector from the forest would be monsters.


    I walked closer to the door before peeking through the window attached to it. What greets my eyes was a creature with fluffy silverish fur, long snout, and furry tail, walking through the bushes.


    A wolf?


    I pushed the door open and saw it with my own eyes. Just like what happened to the deer I met when I stepped into this forest for the first time, a system message appeared around the neck of the wolf.


    [Silver Wolf]


    ¡°Is that a monster, or what?¡±


    The wolf stumbled and collapsed while walking near the fence. Looks like it was severely injured as red blood splattered all around the ground.


    ¡°This is a pain in the butt.¡±


    If it¡¯s a monster, the correct thing to do was to observe it for some more time, and if it¡¯s an animal, just don¡¯t touch it. Moreover, as the wolf was way bigger that the wolves I saw in the zoo once, I was very reluctant to get closer to it.


    ¡°But if it was that big, wouldn¡¯t it be possible to ride on it?¡± If I really rode on it, my waist would surely hurt, though.


    As my mind starts to imagine myself riding on a silver wolf all across the forest, my eyes keep a close look on it. But the question still remains¡­ Is it a monster, or an animal?


    But before I could come into an answer, my train of thoughts was cut off as the bushes behind the wounded wolf suddenly shook. After shaking for a couple more times, a wolf way smaller than the other one finally jumped out from it.


    ¡°A husky?¡± It looks just like a Siberian Husky cub I saw in the neighbourhood one day.


    Was the big silver wolf its mother?


    The little one whined before licking its mother. But, unfortunately for it, the mother never got up again. The deceased silver wolf and its pitiful cub were buried in the heavy rain.


    ¡°¡­¡± I quietly looked over at the mother and the cub. If things continue like this, even the cub would soon die. In the corner of my heart, the urge of taking in the little cub and raising it starts to bloom. However, it was such an absurd thought as I couldn¡¯t even guarantee my own well-being in the future.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be lucky if it doesn¡¯t eat me once it grows up¡­¡± Assuming it would become as big as its mother, I would certainly be in danger.


    However¡­


    For some reason, I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off the cub. Perhaps it was my symphaty talking. There¡¯s no doubt that the little guy would become an individual that could withstand any storm in the future. But in order to achieve that, it would have to overcome many difficult obstacles first, and the very first one would be living alone in this dangerous forest.


    ¡°It¡¯s just like me.¡± It¡¯s only a baby now, but it will grow a lot bigger and stronger in the future. I wonder would it be okay to take it in and in the future, bring it to hunt together, eat together, sleep together, and protect each other¡¯s backs?


    ¡°Have I watched too many movies¡­¡± I shook my head to cool my thoughts off. Nevertheless, even after that, my desire to save the little wolf did not wane at all. If so, It would be better to do it now, before it¡¯s too late.


    I walked away from the comfort of my cave and went closer to the silver wolf. Noticing my presence, the little guy instinctively looked at me and growled. It¡¯s definitely a wolf as it doesn¡¯t look like a dog at all while doing it. However, it wasn¡¯t terrifying at all. So, without any hesitation, I grabbed the back of its neck.


    ¡°Come with me.


    Probably thinking it was its mother who bit its neck, the cub became quiet.


    What a cute guy.


    With the little wolf in my hand, I glanced over the gaping wounds of the mother wolf one last time. The wounds were caused by a bite from something which had a fairly large mouth. I¡¯m certain it wasn¡¯t the result of an owlbear¡¯s bite.


    Anyway, It was not something to think about while being in the rain. I took a picture of the wound with my phone and returned to the cave with the baby wolf.


    ¡°This feels surreal.¡± I immediately realized the fact that a wolf was certainly different from a dog as soon as we arrived in the cave. The little guy was busy scratching the door with its cute paw without even looking at me whereas a normal dog should have looked at me at least once at this point.


    I¡¯d heard before that an animal researcher said that wolves didn¡¯t need humans. So, even if I leave it alone, it would probably figure something out by himself, right?


    ¡°But it¡¯s dangerous to leave him like this¡­¡± Let¡¯s dry it up, warm it up, and feed it. That¡¯s all I could do for now.


    Following my thoughts, I wrapped the little guy in a towel and placed it next to the furnace. It rebelled with a growl at first, but soon ceases all its struggle probably because it felt comfortable thanks to the warmth as he kept yawning.


    ¡°Hmmmm.¡± I wiped its chubby body with a towel. Like all mammals¡¯ cubs, this one was incredibly cute. It looks similar to a husky pup at first glance, however, if you look closer, the colour of the eyes between the two kinds were different.


    ¡°With that, all the water had dried up. Now, should I start touching his belly?¡± When I turned its body over, the little guy struggled vigorously and tried to resist. It seems that it instinctively knew that exposing its belly is dangerous. It¡¯s definitely different from dogs.


    I ignored the little guy¡¯s struggle and stroked its stomach.


    ¡°Looks like you haven¡¯t eaten much.¡±


    Do you have any teeth?


    When the little guy opened its snout, I could see sharp teeth lining up. It seems like I could give it a tender chicken meat.


    I made a harness to tie it up and return to the other side momentarily. By the time I returned to the cave with a chicken meat in my hand, what greeted me was a tangled little wolf which showed just how much it struggled in that short amount of time.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if this is the right choice or not¡­¡± I¡¯m worried about how many accidents the little guy will cause in the future. But since the apocalyptic world was coming, it doesn¡¯t matter if the furniture was damaged.


    I lightly grated the chicken and fed it to the little guy.


    ¡°Eat it. I know you are sad because of what happened to your mother, but¡­¡±


    Whoops!


    I almost got bitten. The guy swallowed the chicken without even chewing it. Then, it looked at me and my hand alternately, seemingly confused. It probably wondered whether it was me or my hand who gave it the chicken.


    ¡°Look here, I¡¯m the one who gave it to you.¡± Even though I told it that, the little guy didn¡¯t look at me and only looked at my hand. Then it suddenly turned its head to the chopping board as if it seemed to notice that the chicken on top of it was bigger than the one it ate earlier.


    ¡°Uh-huh. No way.¡± When I put the chicken away, the guy barked loudly towards me.


    By the way, what should I call it?


    But, before naming the guy, I had more pressing things to do. The mother of this guy, who was cooling down at the entrance of the cave, needed to be buried. Or else, it would attract monsters from the surroundings.


    ¡°For now, just eat this and wait here.¡±


    When the chicken was cut into small pieces and placed in front of the little guy, it quickly jumped towards it and gulped it down. Meanwhile, I got up with a shovel in hand as the rain outside stopped.


    I¡¯m going to have some trouble.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Whew¡­¡± After fighting hard with the ground for almost an hour, I finally buried the mother wolf. As I was doing this kind of hard work frequently, I unexpectedly got a knack for it. Though, the wet ground certainly makes it easier for me to do it.


    When I stopped and looked at the ground I just finished covering up, my heart ached. Someday, I would surely die too, but if possible, I wanted to die where I wanted and when I wanted.


    ¡°I wonder if that will happen.¡±


    The baby wolf rubbed the soil in the place where its mother was buried. Maybe because it instinctively smells its mother, the guy didn¡¯t make a lot of commotion.


    Now the guy had to choose.


    Will it stay here or will it follow me?


    I had no intention of keeping it as a mere pet. If it wants to live in this dangerous forest, it has to make some choices too.


    ¡°I¡¯m going.¡± I said. With those words, I walked away from it. While walking, complicated thoughts filled my mind. I wonder if it would be better if I just brought it with me as it was still a cub which didn¡¯t know anything yet.


    I glanced behind me and saw the little guy just standing there while staring at me. Once I go a little further, the guy wouldn¡¯t be able to see me anymore and we would be separated as the bushes would cover me.


    I thought that if the two of us worked together, we would be able to get along in this dangerous forest.


    ¡°Bark!¡± When I was lost in sadness, I heard something running behind me. The baby wolf was trudging along my footsteps.


    I looked forward and spoke.


    ¡°Your name is Dingo. got it?¡±


    Woof~!!


    Dingo was the name of a puppy I had at home when I was a kid.


    ¡°Law of Survival number 1! Get your own food. But because you are young and it will be difficult to do so, I will do it for you. You have to pay it back later, okay?¡±


    Woof~!


    What nonsense am I talking about? Can it even understand me?


    But one thing was certain. Now, I have a guy who could stand by my side in this desolate forest. I don¡¯t know if it would someday return to the wild and leave me, but for now¡­


    ¡°At least until then, let¡¯s stay together.¡±


    Woof~!


    Dingo barked loudly.


    I have a companion in the forest.


    .


    .


    .


    An hour after Dingo became my companion, I came to learn a new fact about the small silver wolf; its stamina was endless. It didn¡¯t get tired even after playing tug for an hour straight. Thanks to that, now I was laying down with a towel on my back.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you in great shape?¡± As I said that, Dingo got on my stomach and barked. This guy didn¡¯t play cute like any normal puppy at all. It just likes to be by my side. It sticks to me everywhere I go, and to be honest, it was a little annoying.


    And as I was preparing to go to the other side, Dingo still sticks to my side. I had no choice but to leash him in the cave. However, after several minutes of trying, I completely abandon the idea because it keeps barking loudly.


    ¡°Ha¡­ all the monsters in the surroundings will come.¡±


    That¡¯s why I decided to take Dingo with me to Earth. It¡¯s like a husky puppy anyway, so there won¡¯t be a lot of problems. And as we crossed the portal, it made me aware that creatures other than me could also pass through the dimensional portal.


    ¡°The ¡®Dedicated¡¯ part seems to apply only to humans.¡±


    After that, we went back and forth dozens of times through the portal.


    The next day after bringing Dingo to Earth, I packed up my gear and headed out into the woods as usual. I was trying to find the identity of the monster that killed the mother silver wolf.


    Behind me, Dingo cautiously followed me. It¡¯s not completely in my back, but it¡¯s not at the side either. It positioned itself nicely, if I were to say.


    ¡°It¡¯s much better than going alone.¡± Even if it wasn¡¯t human, it was reassuring to have someone by my side to protect me. Although Dingo couldn¡¯t fight against monsters just yet.


    Then suddenly, Dingo pulled the hem of my pants.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Grrrrr¡­


    Dingo let out a low growl.


    My body stiffened and my heart started pumping as I lowered myself and hid behind the bushes. Looking through the telescope, I saw a rabbit.


    Just what¡­


    The moment I thought that It was only a rabbit, Dingo suddenly ran like lightning. Before the rabbit could even react, Dingo was already on top of It.


    ¡°Wow!¡± I unknowingly exclaimed. It was truly a good move.


    Is that the same guy who ate the chicken meat like a puppy and played tugs?


    Dingo bit the rabbit¡¯s neck and held it tight, not thinking of letting go. However, because they had a similar size, Dingo¡¯s body starts to bounce as the rabbit flails around for its life.


    ¡°Wait, wait.¡±


    I quickly moved closer to them and caught the rabbit. When I grasped it, it was quite large and had long claws on its paw. It seemed that it wasn¡¯t a mere pushover animal.


    Meanwhile, Dingo growls at the rabbit hanging from my hand before meeting my gaze. I feel like it was asking to be praised and for some reason my heart was happy because of it.


    ¡°Good job, Dingo.¡±


    As I walked with the rabbit in my hand, Dingo sniffed the surroundings and followed me. It¡¯s still a cub, and doesn¡¯t even know how to hunt just yet, but from its behaviour alone, I could tell it was a good companion.


    After returning to the cave, Dingo took turns looking at me and the rabbit for a long time. I instantly knew what it wanted; It wanted to kill the rabbit and eat it. However, I¡¯d never disassemble an animal other than fish.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just let it go?¡±


    Do we really have to eat this rabbit? Afterall, there¡¯s a lot of canned food and ramyun inside the warehouse¡­ However, I couldn¡¯t turn away from Dingo¡¯s eyes.


    Yeah, what¡¯s the big deal with dismantling a rabbit?


    I would have to do more extreme work than this in the future.


    I made up my mind and returned to my house to search for a way to dismantle a rabbit on the MeTube.


    ¡°It¡¯s an animation.¡± Though, it was pretty sophisticated as it didn¡¯t seem like there was much difference from the real thing.


    Anyway, the basics of butchery were the same as I knew. Draining the blood, skinning, removing the skin, and then removing the head and removing the joints.


    ¡°Shit, it¡¯s easier said than done.¡± I grunted and returned to the cave. As I arrived, I moved towards the rabbit and grabbed it by the throat.


    Sorry, I have to eat too, so I can¡¯t help it.


    I hung the rabbit upside down on the wall and cut off the swollen veins in the back of its head.


    Now, I have to wait until all the blood runs out¡­


    Dingo looked at my actions calmly, it was not even excited when it saw the blood.


    ¡°Are you some kind of a supervisor?¡±


    Maybe it¡¯s just checking to see if I¡¯m doing it right?


    When the blood finally comes to a slow drip, it¡¯s time to dismantle the skin. According to the video I watched, it was easier to do it while the body was still warm.


    ¡°I also have to cut the intestines. I really have a lot of work to do.¡± The intestines had to be cut to keep the meat from smelling bad. It was a very difficult thing to do. As I kept going, blood and soggy liquid clung to my hands, but I didn¡¯t stop moving the knife.


    ¡°Once you do it, you have to see it until the end, right?¡±


    Woof!


    Dingo lightly barked as if he agreed with me.


    Anyway, I succeeded in removing all the intestines. I took what appeared to be the liver, cut a small piece of it and gave it to Dingo.


    ¡°Want to eat it?¡±


    Dingo sniffed towards the liver for a moment, then, it inhaled the liver with its snout, and swallowed it.


    It was said that when a carnivore kills a prey, it eats the blood and intestines first to get various nutrients which couldn¡¯t be obtained from meat.


    ¡°Cut off the head . . . and put the knife in the joint.¡± After trimming the meat like that, its appearance became quite good. Though, It¡¯s still a little¡­ no, it¡¯s very disgusting, but I have to get used to it.


    I cut some meat and fed it to Dingo.


    ¡°You did a good job hunting.¡± I said as I stroked its fur. Dingo then put its head on my leg as if it was satisfied. It felt like the hunt was completely over now.


    I had finished butchering. Even though my hands and knife were soaked in blood, I felt proud that I had accomplished something.


    Crackle~!! Crackle~!!


    The meat on top of the furnace was turning to golden brown with a crackling sound. From what I had read somewhere before, it was said that if you eat only rabbit meat, you will get some kind of disease due to lack of fat.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s probably because there are many other foods¡­¡± I cut a chunk of meat and gave it to Dingo. The little guy ate it as if it was starving for days.


    ¡°There is nothing left.¡± It seems like I had to eat the meat on the bones.


    What should I do?


    When I put it in my mouth after lightly seasoned it with salt, a gamey smell came up.


    Shit. I guess I did the trimming wrong.


    I endured the nausea and chewed the meat before quickly swallowing it.


    I should be grateful for being able to eat something like this.


    Afterall, it was all to survive in an apocalyptic world.

 Chapter 17

    18 days before the zombie outbreak, the TV program Hyung-jun Hyung told me finally aired. If I remember correctly, Hyung-jun Hyung mentioned that the guy has levitating ability.


    When I saw his face on TV, the guy in question looked like a very ordinary man. It¡¯s been a few days since he went to Seoul, so why did the program only air now?


    Anyway, on the TV, the MCs and the panel of celebrities took turns talking to him.


    ¨DYou know that if you lie, you won¡¯t be able to stand back up, right?


    ¨DI heard that there are some foreigners who want to give you 1 million dollars if you could prove your superpower, so why did you come here?


    ¨DAnyway, we will thoroughly verify it. Stage, please!


    As the round stage slowly rose, smoke blew on the surroundings of the stage, adding dramatic effect to its entrance. When it finally stopped several moments later, the celebrities climbed up to it and went around the stage.


    ¨DThere¡¯s really nothing here¡­


    ¨DI couldn¡¯t find any strange devices around here, either!


    It looks that way to me too¡­


    Then, the TV showed the face of the guy in question as he licked his lips with his tongue. It seems that he was nervous.


    Then, the MC said to him,


    ¨C You know, it¡¯s okay for you to give up now. If you continue, we¡¯re going to take a really thorough look at your so-called ¡®Superpower¡¯.


    ¨C No, I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯m not going to give up.


    ¨C Then go up to the stage, please. Now, dear audience, let¡¯s see if he can really unleash his superpower in front of us! Let¡¯s give him a round of applause!


    At the same time as the audience gave a soulless applause, the guy went up to the stage. He then stood there for a brief moment before showing off his levitation ability.


    -Let¡¯s fly in the sky! Air Levitation!


    His body rose to the air. Though, it¡¯s not very high; only about 50cm from the ground. But no one pays attention to it. What¡¯s more important was that he successfully did it.


    -Wow!


    -He¡¯s really floating! But he really looks like a normal human!


    -Hey, put a stick under him and check it out!


    What followed after was the verification time. The MCs and the celebrities all rummaged through the guy¡¯s surroundings and see if they could find some strange device. Not only them, several audience members were also called to the stage to confirm the authenticity.


    After it was done, The MCs asked for permission to the guy before they started to push and pull his body. When the guy¡¯s body smoothly slid in the open air, the MCs¡¯ faces were coloured in surprise.


    ¨DUh¡­ This is, as far as I know, the first appearance of a superhuman, right? We are truly honoured to have you in our program. No matter how many times I see it, this is real¡­


    They should have rehearsed beforehand, but it seems that they were still pretending to be surprised for the sake of the show. The levitating guy continued to use his power even after he came off the stage.


    ¡°It would be useful  to run away.¡± If I could also use that ability¡­


    Then suddenly, the guy excitedly took the microphone offered by one of the MCs.


    ¨DI, the reason I am standing here today is to inform you of one thing.


    ¨C And what might that thing be?


    ¨C I don¡¯t know when, it could be in a week or two months. But, a zombie apocalypse is coming.


    -Zombie apocalypse? You said zombie just now, right? Is it the same zombie we saw in movies?


    When one of the celebrities moved their body just like a zombie, the audience burst into laughter. That¡¯s kinda funny. However, the guy didn¡¯t laugh at all, his face remained serious.


    ¨C It¡¯s not a laughing matter. Most of the people gathered here will turn into zombies while the rest will have a hard time surviving. Our society will collapse, and the world will be full of zombies and monsters. We are heading into ruin.


    ¨C Come on, wait a minute.


    The MCs were bewildered and tried to stop him because it seemed like it was something that wasn¡¯t planned for the show. However, the guy quickly stepped back and spoke quickly.


    ¨DSearch the internet with the keywords of Survival Life, Status Window, etc.! Be prepared in advance! The end is coming! Zombie Apocalypse!


    -Hey, excuse me! Hey!


    ¨DYou all will become zombies! You¡¯ll die! It¡¯s not the time to laugh, Okay!?


    As his voice continued to climb higher, the celebrities in his surroundings were all bewildered and tried to calm him down.


    -Please calm down, okay?


    And that was the last thing I could see as the camera went up to shoot the ceiling and no more sound came out.


    ¡°It¡¯s a broadcast accident.¡± Since the program was a special program, it was broadcasted live to the entire nation. Thanks to that fact, people would become aware that a zombie apocalypse was coming.


    The internet was quiet at first, but after a few minutes passed, an explosion of reaction took place.


    -Did you guys see it? Are we really going to be zombies?


    ¨DIt¡¯s so funny LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL.


    ¨DI wish life would be turned upside down. Damn Hell-Joseon, GO TO HELL!!


    ¨DBut, is that man¡¯s superpower real?


    It was not taken very seriously. Afterall, they don¡¯t know anything. If they knew that there were thousands of people who could see the status window as well as that a meteor with the name Silver Dragon had entered the solar system, they would certainly react differently.


    A superhuman has appeared? So what? People would still live their life normally as it wasn¡¯t something that directly affected them.


    ¡°But the government might be interested¡­¡±


    Looking at the Awakened community, the overall atmosphere of the sites was tenser than usual. Every single one of them was cursing the person who appeared on the show.


    ¨C Is that bastard crazy? Why did he appear there?


    ¨C I don¡¯t know what the hell he hoped to achieve by appearing there. Anyone know who the guy is?


    ¨DThe zombie apocalypse is coming LOLOLOL Anyone who didn¡¯t know about it will die LOLOLOLOL


    ¨C I think he¡¯s very commendable. Do you think it¡¯s good that the world is ruined?


    ¡ª? Why are you triggered?


    And they started to fight again¡­


    Meanwhile, at the different bulletin board, there was a heated discussion about how to collect points.


    ¨DIs it only me who has a ¡°¨C¡± symbol on their ¡°point(s)¡± section?


    ¨DEveryone¡¯s the same. No one seems to have accumulated points for now.


    ¨DBut, where can I use the points?


    ¨DYou can use it in Shop and Auction Houses¡­


    ¨DIn order to open Shop and Auction House, you need to level up first.


    ¨DIs there any other way to get levels and points other than killing monsters?


    ¨DI think that¡¯s the only way. But who knows? Maybe the stagnant waters have a different way.


    ¨DThat¡¯s so cool¡­


    Well, truth to be told, there¡¯s another way to earn points other than killing monsters.


    ¡°Killing other users.¡± You would get 50 points by doing so. Compared to goblins which gave 2 points and orcs which gave 10 points, it was a far more lucrative offer. Thanks to that, there¡¯s so many users who hunted other users in the early days of Survival Life.


    ¡°The problem is, if you do that, the ¡®murderer¡¯ system will be applied to you.¡± A user who kills another user would be registered as a ¡®murderer¡¯. And if they keep killing other users, the ¡®murderer¡¯ system would be activated and would force them to fight in a deathmatch with the users around them. Moreover, the location of the ¡®murderer¡¯ would be revealed to the others. And if someone managed to kill a ¡®murderer¡¯ in the deathmatch, a lot of points would be rewarded to them without turning them into a ¡®murderer¡¯.


    ¡°Once someone becomes a ¡®murderer¡¯, the game would be almost unplayable¡­¡± Though, there were people who overcame that penalty and kept playing as a ¡®murderer¡¯ for about a year. However, it was only possible for them to do so since we, the stagnant waters, left them alone since they¡¯re so fun to toy with.


    But, If they actually meet me¡­ I was certain that they wouldn¡¯t last long. Afterall, I had won deathmatches more than 100 times.


    Although the question of whether I could actually kill people still exists¡­


    ¡°If I really have to, I will.¡± Otherwise, i would be the one who die


    .


    .


    .


    Dingo have a very good sense of smell. He could easily smell an animal at a distance of more than 100 meters. However, the problem was, he always barks loudly every time he smells one. Thanks to that, I had to educate him before the apocalypse came or else, I¡¯ll be doomed.


    ¡°Come on, Dingo. Smell this.¡± I pushed a tree bark that a valley deer had rubbed against towards his nose. And as expected, Dingo barked loudly after sniffing it.


    ¡°No, Dingo. That¡¯s not it.¡± I said as I showed him my palm.


    The little guy was confused for a moment. He probably thinks along the lines of ¡®What do you mean?¡¯ right now.


    I removed my palms and fed him a chunk of meat after seeing that he¡¯d calmed down. After that, I offered the tree bark towards him again.


    Woof! Woof!


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to not bark?¡±


    After trying several more times, giving him a chunk of meat and offering him the tree bark, the little guy finally stopped barking loudly and replaced it with a low growl.


    ¡°Right, good job!¡± I spoke as concisely as possible and praised him excessively. While doing that, I also rubbed his neck and gave him plenty of meat.


    After repeating this training for several more times, he seemed to finally understand my intentions.


    I taught him two things. If he smells a strange smell, he would lie down in the direction of the smell and growl. If he smells blood, bark immediately to let me know.


    ¡°Great. Now, let¡¯s go to that place! Follow me.¡± Dingo trudged behind me without any leash attached to his neck. What a weird puppy, no, wolf.


    Our destination this time was the valley. The reason I wanted to go there was because I really wanted to use the harpoon I bought at the fishing supply store. It¡¯s a bit difficult to use it in the sea, that¡¯s why I wanted to train first against the relatively easy red trout.


    ¡°We¡¯ll also do reconnaissance at the same time.¡± There were so many areas to explore in this forest. I also wanted to climb the mountain in the distance and scout it out with the drone. But for now, I had to push it aside because the first step was to fully learn about areas nearby my cave.


    ¡°Please¡­Just don¡¯t let an owlbear pop out¡­¡± Oh, and werewolves too. Dingo would surely warn me anything was around, but I just couldn¡¯t let go of the tension. Afterall, monsters always appear from places you don¡¯t want them to appear.


    I clenched my bow and quickened my steps. It¡¯s definitely a road I had taken before, but for some reason, I was not as tired as myself from back then.


    The moment I thought about it.


    ¡¸Vitality has increased by 1¡¹


    I have 12 points on my Vitality stats now. If I continue to be active in the forest, It would climb higher than this, but there¡¯s a limit.


    ¡°Around 16 or 17¡­¡± The number I raised on my own effort while playing the game for a year and three months was about that much. If it got boosted by one item, it would get close to 20.


    ¡°Raising the Perception stats is certainly good, but¡­¡± As now I have Dingo, it became quite ambiguous. And if it wasn¡¯t the Perception stats, raising the Agility or Dexterity would be better.


    ¡°Dingo isn¡¯t perfect, though. There¡¯s nothing wrong with raising the Perception stats, either.¡± Let¡¯s just forget about this and focus on catching a red trout for now.


    When the sound of the falling water entered my ear, Dingo energetically ran past me and took the lead. But he never went too far away from me. Whenever he felt that our distance was too big, he slowed down and glanced back to confirm my position.


    He¡¯s really a smart guy.


    Together, we finally entered the valley. Dingo quickly looked around and became interested in the fish swimming in the water. Then, he looked at me with a strange look as if conveying that he¡¯s too afraid to go inside.


    ¡°Are you smelling dangerous things around?¡±


    Woof!


    It was questionable whether he understood what I said or not, but judging from his carefree attitude, I think we should be okay.


    If that was the case, then, shall we try to catch a red trout?


    I took my harpoon and put it in the water.


    Let¡¯s see¡­


    The red trout swimming leisurely nearby quickly ran away as it sensed the ripple I had caused. If I could just catch two of them, both me and Dingo would be very satisfied.


    ¡°The bending angle should be around this¡­¡± Great. I just spotted a trout.


    It was a bit small in size, but it seemed to be easy to catch as it was floating around the water.


    However, I failed. The harpoon hit the ground without even hitting the body of the trout. I tried several more times, but nevermind a trout, what I got was only a new knowledge that trout was quite an agile creature.


    ¡°Why is it so fast!¡± I took the harpoon again and aimed at the nearby trout.


    However, I failed again.


    Do I have to order a speargun?


    If I have a speargun, I¡¯m sure I would be able to catch it as I could simply shoot it.


    ¡°Please let me catch at least one, please!¡±


    Could it be that the sky heard my wish? Because as soon as I did that and carefully stabbed the back of a small trout, I could feel the tingling sensation of something moving on the tip of the harpoon.


    ¡°Wow!¡±


    Dingo, who was sleeping, was startled at my voice and ran to me. Once I raised the harpoon, the pierced trout floundered, spraying water to every direction.


    ¡°Haha, I got it!¡±


    Woof! Woof!


    Dingo got excited and barked at the trout. Quickly, I showed him my palm.


    ¡°Shh. Monster will come if you keep doing that.¡± Especially owlbears. However, it seems that they did not reside around this valley, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. In case they come, I could just run away through the portal and sneak back a few hours later.


    Dingo showed a great interest towards the trout. So, I pulled it out of the harpoon and put it on the ground. The looks on his eyes changed instantly; it seems that he wanted to jump towards it but didn¡¯t know what to do. However, he turned over and whined after being hit at the snout by the trout¡¯s tail.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to catch one more, so let¡¯s leave it alone for now.¡± I scooped some water with a plastic bag and put the trout inside before anchoring it to a rock. Since I¡¯d done it once, it would certainly be easier, right?


    But I was wrong.


    The red trout didn¡¯t even come nearby as if they were wary of the harpoon. It seems that the common knowledge which said the memory of fish evaporates after 3 seconds was a big fat lie.


    ¡°Anyway, nothing is easy.¡±


    The day was also getting dark. I forced myself to be satisfied with just one trout and collected my gear.


    ¡°Dingo, let¡¯s go home.¡±


    On the way back to the cave, Dingo suddenly turned away as he sneezed after sniffing into a certain pepper plant. The identity of the pepper was a bull pepper.


    ¡°Are canines supposed to be weak against spicy things?¡±


    As I used to eat cheongyang pepper, I confidently took one pepper from the plant and chewed it.


    And I tasted hell.


    ¡°Uhhhhhhhhhhh¡­¡±


    My breath was held up on my throat as I felt a volcano erupted in my mouth. Tears keep running from my eyes while snouts come from my nose. My head was also dizzy and I couldn¡¯t come to my senses.


    The effect of the pepper was spectacular. It looked like it could be used as a substitute for tear gas if it was grinded well. So, I dug up the soil around the bull pepper plant and carefully pulled it out.


    When I did that, Dingo didn¡¯t even come near me.


    What a cute guy.


    As soon as we arrived at the cave, I quickly planted it on the entrance of the cave. Only by then did the spiciness on my mouth go away completely.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s eat the trout¡­¡± Because of its small size, it wouldn¡¯t be a meal but a snack.


    While the trout was being grilled, Dingo panted heavily as his eyes focused on the trout.


    ¡°Wait. If you eat it now, your mouth will be burnt.¡±


    I took out a piece of the trout, cooled it off for a few seconds, seasoned it with salt and put it in my mouth.


    Wow¡­ it¡¯s delicious.


    The crispy skin and the moist flesh were a heavenly combination.


    I took some out and gave it to Dingo before quickly gobbling down my portion.


    Next time, I will surely bring a speargun with me.


    Dingo who seemed to have finished his share suddenly licked my fingers.


    There¡¯s none left, you cute bundle of fur!

 Chapter 18

    ¡°Eugh¡­¡± As soon as consciousness came to me, I could feel something was pressing down my chest. When I opened my eyes and looked at it, it was the furball Dingo. I gently moved him to the side of the bed and got up.


    ¡°Ahhhh.¡± I put my arms in the air and stretched my body. After a few seconds, I head to the bathroom and wash my face before walking to my desk to check what I need to do today.


    ¡°Ah, first of all, the cave.¡± I opened the portal and looked around to make sure the cave was safe.


    Interior OK, Door OK, Detector OK, Barbed Wire OK, Fence OK¡­


    Except for some animal footprints outside the fence, all of it was no different from last night.


    ¡°This kind of footstep is new. What animal is this?¡± I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a wild boar or a valley deer.


    Dingo sniffed around the ground a few times before sitting down and growled.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to hunt in the morning, so leave it alone.¡±


    I brought Dingo into the cave and checked on the poison frog.


    How are you?


    I cleaned the tank and put some food in it. After I finished, I lightly touched the frog¡¯s back with a chopstick and it secreted a yellow poison.


    ¡°Don¡¯t spill it.¡± I slowly put the poison into a sauce bottle. Using this poison, I would try to develop my tolerance.


    Isn¡¯t it said that the more contact you have with poisons, the higher your resistance towards it?


    After all, what doesn¡¯t kill you, makes you stronger.


    ¡°In the game, I couldn¡¯t do it because there were no goblins who carried these frogs in their pockets¡­¡± But now I have one. And I would make sure that this guy was treated well.


    The reason why I tried to do things like these was because goblins were very troublesome monsters. Even if I couldn¡¯t get the paralyzing immunity, a resistance would definitely be better than having none of it.


    ¡°Afterall, I will keep meeting goblins until I get fed up with them from now on.¡±


    The next thing to do was to check the shopping list and place an order. Most of them were food and daily necessities. Thinking that all lives would end in 17 days made my heart race.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just buy in bulk.¡± I could just divide it into small portions and put it into an unused can later on so let¡¯s order the biggest one available on the market.


    I put an order for dozens of seasonings, sauces, and many other things. It seems like it¡¯s too many, but as I am preparing for things to come, I¡¯m sure all of this will come in handy in the future and when the apocalypse begins, I don¡¯t want to be regretful for not buying things ahead of time.


    I would also need a lot of sugar, salt and pepper.


    As I kept looking at the pages related to food, preserved food came to mind.


    ¡°I think I also could make pickles¡­¡± it would be okay to bury the jar in front of the cave just like how people traditionally store a Kimchi. Afterall, the more varied the food I had, the better.


    In the apocalyptic world, eating would become the second most important thing for humans. The first one was survival itself.


    I put in the keyword ¡®pickle making¡¯ into the search bar of MeTube.


    ¡°Wha¡­There¡¯s a lot of videos.¡± The varieties were also numerous. There¡¯s peppers, onions, eggplants, corn, pumpkins, etc. It was a shock to me, who only thought about cucumber pickles.


    Survivalists think of pickles as an important preserved food as it could be stocked up for years. Another thing that stood out to me was how long an egg could be stored.


    ¡°Wow, so it was possible to store it for a year?¡±


    Even without a refrigerator?


    A grandmother with a luxurious accent on the videos said that eggs would last long if you coat it with oil as it would act as a natural repellent against water.


    I should write this down.


    In the related videos list, a survivalist even laid out a dried cod in bulk in his basement.


    ¡°Dried fish also lasts quite a while.¡± For example, something like dried pollock.


    Moreover, there¡¯s even a sea that only I could use. Even though it would be difficult to catch a fish there, if I could get my hands on one, I could dry it in that way and it would become a reliable preserved food.


    ¡°It would be nice to know how to make a home-made canned food.¡± It¡¯s not often used these days as canned food was mass produced, but it¡¯s a type of preserved food that you can make yourself.


    I was salivating even more when I read that if it¡¯s sealed well, it can be stored for a year or two.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ 17 days left.¡± I thought that I had become quite free, but surprisingly I don¡¯t have much time to dilly dally. I ordered everything I needed before leaving my home and went to a nearby grocery store to buy a bunch of daily necessities.


    Then, after returning home, I quickly put it in the cave. It¡¯s really reassuring to see the supplies piled up in the cave.


    ¡°¡­isn¡¯t this too narrow?¡±


    Woof~!! Woof~!!


    Dingo barked before going to the corner of the cave and dug into the soft ground. The place he dug was where the glowstone and ignition stone were mined. It seemed to me that he was telling me to quickly make the basement.


    I¡¯ll have to hurry up to secure the warehouse. Storing supplies outside the cave was unreasonable at the moment.


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­ I should have stocked up on something in my house too.¡±


    I promptly returned to the other side and skimmed through the first floor and the second floor. It was lacking in many ways to make it a hiding place, but I couldn¡¯t just leave it alone. Afterall, one cave wouldn¡¯t be enough to completely guarantee my safety.


    ¡°If the cave is in danger, I should use this place as our hiding place¡­¡± I quickly abandoned the 1st floor. It used to be a store, so it was difficult to use it as a hiding place unless it was remodelled extensively.


    If so, it was better to completely empty it because there was a high probability that looters would pass by and enter.


    ¡°When they know that this place used to be a snack bar, they would search for something to eat.¡±


    I contacted the demolition company and negotiated a price. An hour later, a truck came and picked up all the furniture together with the store sign.


    ¡°Why is it so dirty?¡± I quickly took cleaning tools to clean it up. But at that moment, Dingo suddenly came down to the first floor.


    ¡°This guy, go up, go up.¡± Despite my gestures, he seemed like he didn¡¯t have any intention to climb to the second floor.


    Should I just leave him be?


    He looks like a husky puppy with some weird fur, anyway. And he only sat still while watching people passing by. It was unlikely that he would cause an accident.


    Then, a familiar silhouette called to me.


    ¡°Seongho, do you have time?¡±


    ¡°Ah, Hyung-nim, come in.¡±


    It was Hyung-jun Hyung. He looked haggard, as if he was carrying all the worries of the world on his shoulder.


    He looked at me as I was cleaning and said,


    ¡°It seems like you cleaned it all up? Maybe because of ¡®that¡¯?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right Hyung-nim. I would be in great danger if there were people passing by and knowing that it was a snack bar.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ well, if it¡¯s a snack bar, they might think like that. But aren¡¯t you pretty serious about all this?¡±


    ¡°Hyung-nim, I also have to figure out my own way to survive.¡±


    ¡°A way to survive, huh¡­¡± Hyung-jun Hyung pulled out a cigarette from the depth of his pocket and lit it up.


    ¡°I¡¯m really going crazy these days. My members advised me to turn the gym into a hideout because of those zombies.¡±


    ¡°The gym is on the 4th floor, isn¡¯t it? I think it would be fine as long as the entrance is blocked. And if you also piled up some supplies, it would be perfect.¡±


    Listening to my words, Hyung-jun Hyung made a surprised expression.


    ¡°Seongho, you said the same things as my member. Do you think the zombie apocalypse is really coming?¡±


    ¡°Hyung, didn¡¯t the dongsaeng you know appear on the TV a while ago, and tell people that the zombie apocalypse is coming and they will all die if they aren¡¯t prepared? The internet is all over the place these days because of him.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not aware of that¡­ Older men like me are all unaware of it, while younger ones are all telling people they are going to die right away. Why did they do that?¡±


    ¡°It must be because of that game, Survival Life or something.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ Are they making this much uproar just because of a game?¡±


    ¡°By the way, Hyung-nim, if that game becomes a reality, it¡¯s no longer something that can be easily brushed off. It¡¯s better to prepare in advance rather than get lost and get hurt.¡±


    ¡°¡­that¡¯s correct, but¡­ Whoo¡­¡±


    In my opinion, this Hyung was really someone from the stuck-up generation. They were well aware of what young people were saying, but yet, they still refused to fully believe it and dismissed it as nothing but nonsense.


    Hyung-jun Hyung let out a huge puff of smoke from his mouth.


    ¡°I can¡¯t even sleep these days. I¡¯m really worried that everyone will turn into a zombie when I¡¯m asleep. What should I do with my mom and Ji-eun, really¡­¡±


    Ji-eun is the name of Hyung-jun Hyung¡¯s daughter. She¡¯s a 5 year old girl and since she listens to people¡¯s words so well, I find her really cute. She¡¯s currently visiting Gimhae with her mother.


    Hyung-jun Hyung rubbed off his cigarette and tried to enter the store when he found Dingo.


    ¡°Uh? what kind of dog is this? Husky?¡±


    As expected, Dingo really looks like a husky. What a relief.


    ¡°Yes. I adopted him just in case it helps.¡±


    ¡°In case the zombie apocalypse really happens? Ah, because of his smelling? Anyway, this guy is cute. come here, come here.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t do this!¡±


    What is this all of a sudden?


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t Dingo who said that. The sound came from the hair salon next door.


    When I looked from the outside, I saw several men standing in a circle around Mikyung. It seems like they came to make a second offer towards her. Not in a peaceful way though, but in a slightly coercive way.


    The man with the tattoo I met several days ago here was also present. He was sitting down on the sofa.


    I quickly opened the door.


    ¡°Hello!¡±


    Surprised by my loud voice, the men simultaneously look at me like a meerkat. Mikyung also looked at me, his face was brimming with happiness as if she¡¯d just seen an angel.


    I¡¯m more like a devil than an angel, though. But at this moment, I would gladly become an angel for her.


    .


    .


    .


    I checked the faces of all the men. Just as I thought, the gangs had all gathered. They¡¯re the ones who go around making loud exhaust noises on their motorcycles at night.


    When someone reports them to the police, they would run away. And when they come back, they will create much more noise than before.


    The tattooed man moved his head and asked me.


    ¡°Just who do you think you are?¡±


    I ignored him and told Mikyung.


    ¡°You promised me a lunch, Mikyung. It¡¯s time, let¡¯s go.¡±


    She was dazed and just stood there without words. Then, when she tried to answer after belatedly realizing the meaning of my words, the tattooed man shook his head and spoke first.


    ¡°Just where are you going to go? You have to come up with an answer first!¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I already tell you? I won¡¯t be joining your group.¡±


    As Mikyung reaffirms her refusal, the tattooed man¡¯s voice rose an octave higher.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I tell you to think carefully one more time! Wouldn¡¯t it be safer for you if you come with us? Are you trying to be bitten by zombies while walking alone?¡±


    He¡¯s really spewing nonsense¡­


    I beckoned to them.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but please stop. Didn¡¯t she already say she won¡¯t join you? It¡¯s not like you are a thug, so what are you doing in someone else¡¯s shop?¡±


    ¡°A thug?¡±


    The tattooed man stood up from the sofa as he said that. His shoulder looks quite powerful, but because of his short stature, he didn¡¯t look that scary in my eyes.


    He came over to me and stopped just a few distance away from me. He must have thought that I was too big for him to take on. Judging from his momentary pause, I don¡¯t think the ability he got was a powerful one.


    I raised my voice.


    ¡°If you hate to hear the words ¡®thug¡¯, then go quietly.¡±


    ¡°I came as a guest, so why should I leave, o great sir?¡±


    ¡°Are you really a guest? The owner doesn¡¯t seem to think so, doesn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m going to eat. The store will be closed, so please leave.¡±


    When Mikyung had the courage to finally say it, the men burst into laughter.


    ¡°Wow, this is too much. So, please repay us by joining us.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that if you die, it will be our responsibility too? Let¡¯s see what happens later, huh? Let¡¯s see.¡±


    Their bullshit didn¡¯t last any longer though. Because Hyung-jun Hyung suddenly opened the door and came in.


    When the muscular gorilla appeared, the men all planted their eyes in the ground. Afterall, everyone must have had experience working out at his gym. Men from their 20s to the 50s in this neighbourhood, including me, had at least one experience of working out at Hyung-nim¡¯s gym.


    ¡°Wow! Isn¡¯t it Cheol-jun who ran away back then? Are you not exercising these days? Ugh, look at this shoulder¡­ Just what is this?¡±


    The man called Cheol-jun seemed to be embarrassed by the sudden appearance of a close acquaintance. However, Hyung-jun Hyung did not stop there, he also rolled his eyes to the other thugs.


    ¡°You were all here, huh? Back then when I said I was going to give you a personal training, why did you run away?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, that¡­¡±


    Even though they were thugs, it seems that they couldn¡¯t treat Hyeong-jun Hyung recklessly. The tattooed man was the only one who was still smiling. It seems like he¡¯s confident in his ability to stun his opponent.


    But it won¡¯t be long before he realizes that it¡¯s useless.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not do this here! Let¡¯s exercise together. Exercising before eating has a good effect on your body.¡±


    Hyung-jun Hyung held out his hand and encouraged the tattooed man. However, the man took a step back and said,


    ¡°Just forget it! Exercise my ass.¡±


    Before he went out, he shot a glare towards me.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see how it goes later. Snack bar ahjussi.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, see you later.¡±


    The man then went out, followed by his underlings.


    I gently look at him. At the same time, I burn his face into my mind.


    The reason I did this was not because Mikyung is pretty. It was to lay the foundation in advance so that when the zombie apocalypse broke out, I could kill him.


    Judging from what they were doing, I was certain they would become a group of predators. I wanted to get rid of them as soon as the zombie apocalypse happened. Afterall, it should be easy to catch your opponent off guard when they are confident. Though, I still have to make sure that I won¡¯t be tagged as a ¡® murderer¡¯, so I¡¯ll have to be extra careful.


    Another reason was that I couldn¡¯t just watch someone with an ability like Blink follow a group like them.


    After the last men left the salon, Mikyung plopped down to the chair helplessly and sighed.


    With his eyes gesture, Hyung-jun Hyung asked me what was going on.


    ¡°It¡¯s no big deal, Hyung. They¡¯re just forcing Mikyung to join their group and she turned down that offer.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    At that moment, M-kyung jumped up and greeted Hyung-jun Hyung.


    ¡°Ah, ahjussi, thank you very much¡­ I almost had a bad day.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think anything big will happen in broad daylight.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it would happen because they have some kind of ability.¡±


    ¡°Ability? Are you talking about something like levitating?¡±


    ¡°Yes. But what they have is different.¡±


    Hyung-nim¡¯s face turned serious as he heard Mikyung¡¯s words.


    And when his phone rang, he said to me, ¡°Seongho. I have something to do, so I¡¯ll go first.¡±


    He passed through my side and whispered in my ear.


    ¡°Are you two lovers?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°You mean not yet?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it either.¡±


    ¡°Pretending till the end I see. Anyway, I¡¯ll leave first.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Thank you so much, Hyung-nim.¡±


    Hyung-jun Hyung opened the door and went out. At the same time, Dingo slid past the door and came in.


    Mikyung¡¯s eyes widened when she saw the little guy.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a dog¡­ come here, come here.¡±


    However, Dingo ignored her and only scratched his head with his hind paws.


    ¡°Is this dog Ahjussi¡¯s dog??¡±


    ¡°His name is Dingo. He¡¯s a Husky.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s too big for a Husky¡­ isn¡¯t he a Malamute?¡±


    Well, to be exact, he¡¯s a Silver Wolf, but oh well¡­


    Mikyung called out to Dingo once again, but the guy didn¡¯t even spare a glance towards her.


    My usual training seems to be paying off.


    Feeling proud, I picked him up and handed him to Mikyung.


    ¡°Dingo is so cute¡­¡±


    I concur, he also looks really cute to me.


    Mikyung performed various cute acts towards Dingo such as kissing him in the snout. I wonder if dogs usually respond to this kind of cute act or not, but it doesn¡¯t really matter to me.


    Anyway, now it¡¯s time to get serious.


    ¡°Mikyung, the guys from earlier, they will keep coming.¡±


    ¡°I clearly said no¡­¡±


    ¡°They are not the type who will give up after hearing those words. It would be nice for you to get somewhere quickly. The internet said there¡¯s not much time left.¡±


    To be precise, there¡¯s only 17 days left.


    She lowered her head and stroked Dingo¡¯s head. I know that she wants to go with me, but I couldn¡¯t take her. I have so many things to do once the apocalypse arrives such as hunting zombies and the bad guys.


    Mikyung was indeed someone competent as she had Blink ability, but she¡¯s nothing but a burden for me in her current state.


    So, I gave her some recommendations.


    ¡°The Ahjussi who just left is someone who runs a gym¡­ how about it? I think it would be fine if you exercised there and improved your stamina a bit. It seems that there are quite a few members of the gym who are interested in the situation.¡±


    ¡°I am quite confident in my stamina. I used to dance.¡±


    ¡°Dance?¡±


    What did she mean by those words?


    She hurriedly covered her mouth with her hand.


    ¡°Ah, anyway, as it was Ahjussi¡¯s recommendation, I¡¯ll go there once my aunt arrives. But¡­ will you be okay against those people, ahjussi?¡±


    It¡¯s cute how she cared so much about me.


    ¡°I should be fine. You don¡¯t have to worry about me. Come on Dingo.¡±


    At my words, Dingo¡¯s ear perked up and he escaped from Mikyung¡¯s arms.


    Mikyung sighed and stood up before bowing towards me.


    ¡°Ahjussi, thank you very much for today.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just did it because next time we meet, you might be the one to help me instead.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s anything I can do to help¡­¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you thought about this? If you train your Blink ability well, you might be able to move not just yourself, but others as well.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    It¡¯s nothing but a speculation on my part, but Mikyung seems to have been quite shocked to hear it. It looks like she never thought she could develop her skills.


    In my case¡­


    How can I develop the ability to open doors to another world?


    Will it let me bring someone else to the forest?


    I would have to give it some thought.


    I took Dingo back to the store.


    ¡°The generator and the net gun will arrive tomorrow.¡± It was something that would drastically change my life in the forest.


    Anyway, I had cleared the first floor.


    You looters, there¡¯s nothing here.


    So, don¡¯t come.

 Chapter 19

    The morning news these days never fails to put a frown on my face. The currently airing news in front of me was summarizing that the incident from several days ago¡ªwhere an Awakener stole some cash from a convenience store¡ªwas nothing but a cute act. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what they think Awakeners really are, are they predicting that the Awakener will rip the whole ATM machine away in the near future?


    They also reported that there were times when some Awakeners were wanted by the police after making a riot on their drunken stupor. Just how could they know that the identity of the man was an Awakener? In the first place, finding someone who could disappear right in front of the police wouldn¡¯t be that common.


    The announcer added cautiously at the end of the news.


    ¨DThe behaviour of the so-called ¡®Awakeners¡¯, who appeared in our daily lives a while ago, is getting more and more violent. Don¡¯t we need to know what they want and what they¡¯re doing?


    ¡°It was too late¡­¡± When I changed the channel, the question that happened in the National Assembly yesterday came up.


    ¨DIs the government aware of this problem? The people are quite distressed! Do you know who exactly they are and where did they come from, Mr. Minister?


    ¨DFor now, we are constantly trying to figure out their exact number¡­


    ¨DMr. Minister, if it¡¯s only words, even I can say it. Have you heard about the rumour that those so-called Awakeners are preparing for a zombie apocalypse?


    After those questions, I could see someone whispering towards The Minister of Public Administration and Security from behind. It looks like the whispering man was giving him some advice.


    Then, a member of the National Assembly stood up in anger and shouted out towards the Minister. The shout was so loud, even though the mic was off, emphasizing his anger.


    ¨DWhat are you doing right now? Just what are the Ministry of Public Administration And Security doing when thousands of people have awakened strange abilities out there and some kind of conspiracy was happening on the internet! Does it make sense that a Minister like you doesn¡¯t even know about that!?


    ¨DAnd, is the Ministry of National Defence really working properly? We are curious about what happened to the shootout which was caused by a deserter that happened a few days ago! Please do your job right! People are frustrated!


    ¨C No, wait a minute.


    As other members of the National Assembly raised their voices, the conference room became chaotic. But contrary to them, my heart was relieved by their display. If things continue like this, the chance that the men in black suits would come to me would be greatly diminished, since they would be busy with their own internal affairs.


    It had already been over two weeks since the appearance of the Silver Dragon meteorite was known to the world and status windows started appearing. It¡¯s already far too late for the government to try to grasp the situation.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure there must be some reason.¡± However, I don¡¯t care about it at all. At that moment, the thought of the meteor¡¯s current position enters my mind. Thus, I went to a site where space enthusiasts gathered.


    ¡°It¡¯s moving fast.¡± It¡¯s already coming close to Jupiter. However, everyone on the site was clasping their heads because it was difficult to calculate the arrival date because of what happened to it on its journey.


    ¨DIf you look at the announcement made by NASA, it¡¯s certain that some parts of the meteor were chipped by Jupiter¡¯s gravity. Looks like the meteor has turned into a fragment.


    That¡¯s it. It was the very fragment which would be the cause of the Russian fishing boat events. And five days after that, the zombie outbreak would occur.


    16 days left.


    When I was doing my daily routine of ordering food and other necessities from an online shopping mall, a text message from the courier service came. They¡¯re giving me the notification that the generators and the CCTV set have arrived.


    ¡°It¡¯s finally here.¡±


    I went down to the first floor and received it before moving it through the portal.


    Upon closer inspection, I wondered if I could make these things work properly.


    ¡°I just have to read the manual carefully¡­¡± Except for the manual for the diesel generator, everything else was written in English.


    ¡°Let¡¯s be thankful it¡¯s not written in Chinese¡­¡± I read the manual thoroughly and carefully to not misinterpret even a single sentence. Afterall, these precious and valuable machines would be the backbone of my life in the forest. Without them, the foundation of my plan would be greatly shaken.


    ¡°Turns out, it¡¯s not that difficult.¡± Fortunately, I would be able to assemble it, albeit little by little.


    Pull out the cable¡­ and install the panels¡­


    I struggled quite a lot at this step. In this forest, it was difficult to pick a place where the solar panel could get enough sunlight while being hidden from any monsters passing by.


    ¡°Dammit. It¡¯s difficult to make it work.¡± I could barely finish it by laying an additional mortar mixture beneath the panel. The hiding was solved by cutting the bushes and putting them around the panel, though.


    From the outside, it didn¡¯t seem strange.


    ¡°Is this enough?¡±


    Woof!


    I took Dingo back to the cave and started the generator with an anticipating heart. As soon as I clicked on the switch, the generator turned on while letting a soft hum.


    Well¡­ it¡¯s pretty quiet. It¡¯s said that the low noise was caused by the parts called inverters. I couldn¡¯t make it more silent than this, so I guess, I just have to get used to it.


    ¡°It will take some time for it to charge.¡± Bored, I decided to bring some diesel oil and test the diesel generator out. However, unlike the solar panel, the machine roared as soon as I put the oil in and started it out.


    Because of it, Dingo was startled and scurried away.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± I quickly turned it off. If I let it roar for a few more seconds, all the monsters nearby would certainly flock towards the cave. I guess I would only turn on the diesel generator if the surroundings were already perfectly safe or in case of emergency.


    The manual generator also did its job splendidly. After I turned the knob hard for several minutes, the power to charge one tablet was produced.


    After I finished piling up the groceries delivered by the courier in the warehouse, a number appeared on the solar generator panel.


    ¡°12.5 volts¡­¡±


    I brought my laptop, tablet as well as my smartphone and connected all of it using the cables. Then, on their respective battery bars, the sign of thunder symbolizing that it¡¯s currently charging appeared.


    ¡°Amazing.¡± It was surprising that such electronic devices could be used in a dimension other than Earth.


    ¡°Now I should be able to install CCTV here¡­¡± Though, it was still questionable whether I could install it or not because the power requirement is quite huge. But it should be doable as long as I didn¡¯t charge multiple electronic devices at the same time.


    I unpacked the CCTV set and installed it in the vicinity of the cave¡¯s entrance to test it. Then on the monitor of my laptop, the feed came.


    ¡°Wow, the picture quality is really good.¡±


    Are all civilian CCTVs this clear these days? It even had a motion detection function!


    As a test, I told Dingo to stand on the cave entrance. Then the moment when the bored guy scratched his head with his hind paws¡­


    Beep~!! Beep~!!


    Along with the sound of the alarm, the screen floated on the monitor as well as on the smartphone and sent a warning.


    Bluetooth¡¯s range was a little bit short, but¡­


    ¡°This should be enough.¡±


    As long as I didn¡¯t get attacked while sleeping in the cave, it¡¯s all good.


    Currently, my two-story house would still be a comfortable place to live in, but when the zombie apocalypse breaks out, it would no longer be the case. It was better to stay in the cave rather than staying in a place surrounded by zombies on all sides.


    ¡°Screams would be heard from everywhere.¡±


    .


    .


    .


    Thanks to the solar power generator, there were many things that could be done.


    As soon as I turned the two LED lights on, the cave subtly brightened up.


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be too bright or the monsters might notice¡­¡± I tried my best to maintain secrecy by doing things such as putting blackout curtains on the door. It¡¯s best not to get caught at all until I have enough strength.


    Anyway, I would have to start expanding by making the basement. The space on the cave was diminishing quickly because so many supplies were brought in.


    ¡°It is difficult to expand to the other side aside from the basement for the time being¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t afford to put things outside currently, so my current option was only to dig into the ground.


    I had come to that conclusion and had purchased a sturdy pickaxe as well as all the necessary materials.


    If I dug the ground carelessly, the thumping sound would be heard from outside the cave. If it was before, I could just escape if some monsters popped out because of the sound because there¡¯s nothing in the cave. However, right now I couldn¡¯t do so because there¡¯s so much precious supplies in here.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to try my best to do it.¡± I erected a sandwich panel and applied a lot of sound-proofing material around the place I would dig into. The necessary step was completed as I put a lot of sound-proofing sponge into the small gaps which couldn¡¯t be closed by other big materials.


    ¡°Would this be enough?¡± I brought a bluetooth speaker and played a song with a maximum volume through it. As expected, only a very small sound could be heard from the outside.


    The forest itself is quite noisy, so the chance of being heard by monsters seems to be quite low. Though, I¡¯m not completely certain if monsters like kobolds, which had a very good hearing, pass by.


    ¡°I should only do this during the daytime only.¡± I picked up the pickaxe. Because I had watched a lot of videos related to making a basement, I was already familiar with what to do. However, the question was, can I actually do it?


    ¡°Well, I just have to do it.¡± As winter approaches, the floor would certainly become harder to dig. This time around was the best time to do it.


    I hit the ground with a pickaxe. Hitting it again, again and again.


    And after some time.


    ¡°Huff¡­Huff¡­Huff¡­ This is no joke.¡± I deeply realize. There¡¯s a big difference between digging aimlessly and digging into something with a plan in mind.


    The size of the basement needed to store all the supplies should be 5 x 5 x 3. At first, I thought it would be an easy thing to do because the ground wasn¡¯t very hard. But turns out, digging up the soil was no joke.


    ¡°Why is there so much soil in there¡­¡± They were simply endless. The deeper I went, the more difficult it was to dispose of the soil. So, in the end, I need to set up a ladder to help me go back and forth. Moreover, as I couldn¡¯t just leave all the soil in the narrow cave, I had to throw it out of the cave too.


    ¡°Dammit. Moving all the soil is exhausting.¡± In the MeTube video I had watched, all of these things were solved with a truck. But since it was impossible to use a truck here in the forest, I had no choice but to throw it away manually.


    Dingo was of no help other than watching from above.


    ¡°¡­it¡¯s okay since he¡¯s cute.¡± It was unreasonable to wish for more than that.


    However, at some point, I realized I could just install a pulley.


    ¡°All you need for a pulley is¡­ a rope¡­ a bucket¡­¡± And some pillars to fix the pulley in place. Though, I still had to figure out how to build it.


    I took my laptop to the two-story house and browsed the internet.


    When someone is surfing through the internet like this, they often do other things than what they were intended to do at first. Those theories also applied to me.


    I was looking at the community of the Awakened.


    ¡°There are people who have been scammed.¡±


    It seems that there¡¯s quite a few idiots who gave 10 million won to the ID [Help Me].


    ¨DAt first, he sent me the first part of the video, so I transferred money to his account, but this bastard suddenly ghosts me. I will kill him if I ever find him.


    -Fuck, he also did it to me.


    -Try to send a complaint to the management team.


    ¨C Oh shit, I¡¯m going crazy. Doori Bank 52132 Kim Hyo-jong is really dead.


    It¡¯s a bit harsh to say that this kind of scam was bad amidst all of this chaos. In the very near future, the world where things like that didn¡¯t matter at all would come. If someone acts ignorantly and clumsily, their neck would instantly fly, not their money.


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of scammers here and there.¡± When people gather, money is the law. And in the Awakened community, people who were scammed and wanted to file a complaint were abundant.


    There¡¯s only 16 days left, so what did they want to achieve by filing a complaint?


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± As I browsed the community further, I came across an unusual article.


    ¨DI¡¯m looking for a stagnant water.


    ¨DI have some money, so I built a concrete bunker in the basement around the Busan area with a reinforced plastic gate. Here, five people had already stockpiled supplies that could last at least for three years. To the 4 users who had played until the very end, please contact me¡­ You know ID MyDream, don¡¯t you?


    ¨C I¡¯m really envious


    ¨C Are you gathering all the stagnant waters now?


    -Wow¡­ 3 years¡¯ worth of stockpiles in a concrete bunker.


    -Using reinforced plastic rather than steel for the door, is it because of the corrosive disease¡­


    -Shit, then what are the others going to do in the beginning if all the iron gates are going to break? How will they survive?


    -The only downside is that there are no women. Aren¡¯t they all black men?


    -Isn¡¯t it better?


    -Crazy bastard¡­


    ¡°Long time no see.¡±


    The ID [MyDream] was a very familiar name for me. He was quite active before me and the other three were the only ones left. He was especially kind to newbies and also got along well with us, so we played together.


    If I remember correctly, he played for around a thousand hours?


    But in the end, as he was frustrated because he couldn¡¯t kill some giant monsters, he quitted. It¡¯s a funny fate that the bunker was also in Busan.


    ¡°Should I contact him¡­¡± I opened the note and hesitated for a while. [MyDream] was also a user who had been playing the game for a long time. He even had built a concrete bunker, so I could say that he¡¯s ready.


    I searched for a post written by him and found that he had shared some tips. He was monopolizing the popularity of the tips board while I was not watching. Hundreds of comments were posted on his post, and he commented on each one.


    His sincerity was so apparent.


    ¡°I think this person will be fine¡­¡± A person who, unlike me, had a heart to help people. But logically speaking, there¡¯s really no reason for me to contact him. I had a lot to give to him, but on the contrary, he had nothing he could give me.


    Concrete bunker? 3 years¡¯ worth of stockpiles?


    I¡¯m sorry, but my forest and cave were stronger and more abundant. I also just finished installing a generator today, therefore electricity wouldn¡¯t be a problem once the apocalypse hits. On top of it, in case I truly make a vegetable garden in the future, that bunker couldn¡¯t even be compared to my forest.


    Above all, the corrosive disease won¡¯t be able to touch the forest which means I could stock up on metal tools and canned foods.


    ¡°For now, let¡¯s just wait and see.¡± Because it really didn¡¯t matter much whether I contacted him now or later. Though, If Rabbit Pwincess, Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek, and Survivor 1 joined him, I would have to think about it again¡­


    I bookmarked [MyDream]¡¯s writing and closed my laptop.


    Meanwhile, courier texts were constantly pouring into my smartphone.


    ¡°Damn, I really ordered so many things.¡±


    But when the apocalypse came, all of it would become something that could raise my chance of surviving.


    I left it all alone for now and went to the nearby hardware store to buy what I needed to install the pulley.


    I¡¯m going to have to work hard today.

 Chapter 20

    ¡°Finished!!¡± I threw the shovel on my hand aside and plopped down to the ground. After a long and gruelling 12 hours of constant shovelling the basement was finally completed. And since the ground had also been covered and flattened with mortar, it was now possible to turn it into a storage. Though, the problem about dampness was still not fixed yet.


    ¡°I should only store canned food here¡­¡± If I were to store foods other than the canned ones, I feel like molds would immediately grow on them in just a single day.


    ¡°But it¡¯s good enough.¡± Building another warehouse alone was already a great achievement. It would certainly be better if I could find a way to get rid of the dampness altogether, but I should be satisfied with this as there¡¯s currently no possible way to do it. Dehumidifiers and other drying machines need a lot of power to run so it¡¯s a no no.


    ¡°Dampness isn¡¯t so bad, moreover¡­¡± I¡¯m not that disappointed because I managed to find this black glass-like material. It¡¯s called Emeras, and it had similar properties to obsidian. The only difference was that this one was much sturdier than obsidian. It was a quite popular material among the users because it was very sturdy and sharp compared to other materials within the same grade. However, we, stagnant waters, didn¡¯t like it very much as it wasn¡¯t good enough for our level.


    ¡°If I touch it with my bare hand, it will instantly cut my hand.¡± Even a slight touch of this Emeras would be dangerous. I had seen too many people carrying it around and got into a bleeding state.


    ¡°If it is processed properly, it will be useful.¡± With the amount I just excavated, I could roughly make about ten spear blades. Anyway, it¡¯s better than nothing.


    I put on three layers of gloves before moving the emeras chunks into the warehouse. While doing so, two layers of gloves protecting my hands were cut off. It was an absolute proof that it was not an exaggeration to say Emeras could easily cut through things, even the tough hide of monsters.


    ¡°Stay here for the time being.¡± I said as I opened the portal to return to my house with Dingo in tow. I really want to wash up as my whole body is covered with dirt thanks to the work of creating the basement.


    However, before I could even take my clothes off, a text message arrived.


    ¡°Oh! The net gun.¡± The most expensive weapon I¡¯ve ever ordered finally arrived. Even when I called it a ¡®weapon¡¯, it wasn¡¯t that lethal. However, it was the best item for me as I would have to fight many enemies at once in the future. With the net gun I could restrain one or two enemies, keeping them away from the fight.


    ¡°Still, I can¡¯t use it on orcs¡­¡±


    Werewolves, as well as other medium-sized or larger monsters are practically immune to nets as they would be able to easily tear through it with their strength.


    When I received the parcel, it was much larger than I expected.


    I promptly return to the forest and test it.


    Clack~!!


    The net launched from the gun and wrapped around the bushes neatly.


    The result was satisfactory. I also had to clean the net up, but it wasn¡¯t that difficult as it was all written in the manual. All I needed to do was gather the net, put it inside the capsule and it was done. However, before I put the net away, I pulled the net with my hand at my full power to test its durability. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the net didn¡¯t rip. As things stand, small monsters would have a hard time getting out of this net even if they had a crude weapon.


    ¡°It¡¯s enough.¡± I was satisfied with the performance of the net gun. After this one test shot, I now had 299 shots left. When I first ordered it, I thought 300 shots was quite a lot, but now I felt strangely disappointed.


    ¡°I need to buy 200 more compressed nitrogen.¡±


    Now all that was left was to drill a hole in the newly built basement. In fact, it was close to impossible as I had to bring a lot of heavy equipment to the forest to drill a hole in the rock ceiling.


    ¡°Even if something went wrong, it won¡¯t collapse¡­ right?¡±


    Woof~!!


    Dingo barked as if he was sympathizing with me.


    Let¡¯s leave the whole digging matter for now because at least I still had a good escape route, the portal.


    I proceed to move all the canned food to the basement. Thanks to that, the cave became spacey once again and Dingo could run around inside with its tail swaying left and right. But the hideout was not complete just yet.


    ¡°I need a bigger warehouse to store the stuff I will loot on the D-day.¡± The cave already had too many things stuffed inside, there was no room to put anymore items. Therefore, my only choice was to build the warehouse outside the cave¡­


    With Dingo in tow, I looked around the cave entrance.


    ¡°I have to choose between the two.¡±


    Either completely hide it or make a shelter which couldn¡¯t be accessed by anyone or anything.


    Whatever the choice I would choose, I need to decide it quickly and act quickly. Afterall, the time I had left was only 15 days.


    .


    .


    .


    If you go outside these days, you could definitely feel the atmosphere of people had changed. In front of the mart, in the bank, or while sitting on a bench, people were all talking about the appearance of superhumans and the zombie apocalypse.


    ¡°All of it was bullshit. This society? Collapsing overnight?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you also see that superhuman which appears on TV? Are you saying that he lied to everyone around the nation?¡±


    ¡°It looks like a fraud to me. You know that these days, broadcasting stations are all complaining about not getting enough ratings¡­¡±


    ¡°Look here, look here. This is from MeTube.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all bullshit! How many times should I tell you?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you just calling everything that didn¡¯t suit your taste as bullshit?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it¡­¡±


    The news about superhumans and zombie apocalypse had spread around widely. You could tell it by the fact that even the retired elders who were gathering on a bench were having a conversation about that matter with a glass of makgeolli in hand.


    ¡°Perhaps by now, every Korean knew about it.¡± However, there had been no visible change just yet. Elementary school students were still crossing the road while laughing and holding their parents¡¯ hands. The road was also still clogged with vehicles on their way to work. It¡¯s just another normal mundane day.


    While crossing the road in front of the hardware store, someone suddenly call my name,


    ¡°Oh, Seongho?¡±


    ¡°Hyung-nim¡­¡±


    It was Hyung-jun Hyung. He was together with a young woman in front of the hardware store.


    The young woman put on her glasses, and then said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you the owner of the snack bar who delivered to the gym before?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s  right.¡±


    It seems like she¡¯s a member at Hyung-jun Hyung¡¯s gym. I think I saw her there once when I delivered an order to the gym.


    Gym and snacks were a combination that didn¡¯t go well with each other, but sometimes they still needed to eat whatever they wanted so they wouldn¡¯t go crazy because of the stress.


    She stared at me for a few moments before her plump lips parted. ¡°Wow, for a moment, I didn¡¯t recognize you. Did you lose a lot of weight? I thought you were someone else.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes¡­ I lost a lot of weight lately.¡±


    ¡°If you have any special tricks, please teach me.¡±


    But I don¡¯t have one¡­ Moreover, I don¡¯t think she needs any, looking at how fit her body is. With her hair tied back, she looked very lively. Her leggings and tank top make her look like she¡¯s going to work out at the gym rather than going to a hardware store.


    As I laughed awkwardly, Hyung-jun Hyung pulled me away from her.


    ¡°Wait here for a sec, Sooyeon. Hey, Seongho. What weapon is good to beat up zombies?¡±


    ¡°Weapon? If you are looking for a weapon, why did you come to the hardware store¡­¡±


    ¡°The members told me to pick it up at the hardware store, though? Would a pipe be okay?¡±


    Just where did this hyung hear that strange information?


    When I was about to correct it, Sooyeon stabbed hyung at the side.


    ¡°Owner, we need to tell him why we need it first.¡±


    ¡°Seongho also knows about it. anyway¡­¡±


    Hyung-jun Hyung¡¯s explanation was as follows: Members who wanted to prepare for the zombie apocalypse had gathered and formed some kind of group. At first there were 10 people in the group, but now there were only 5 people left due to various problems such as family. Mikyung, whom I recommended, was also part of the 5 who stayed. Sooyeon hadn¡¯t decided whether to join or not just yet, but when she heard Hyung-jun Hyung was going to buy a weapon, she still followed him. It seems like she thought it would be fun to tag along.


    ¡°Anyway, the five of us are going to prepare, but this is really difficult. Food and daily necessities are ready, but weapons¡­¡±


    ¡°But Hyung-nim, why are you he¡­ No, Hyung-nim, did you know that at the beginning there¡¯s something called corrosive disease?¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that right? What¡¯s the effect? Will all kinds of metal really get destroyed?¡±


    ¡°The setting of the game said so¡­¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Why didn¡¯t they tell me that?¡±


    It¡¯s probably because they don¡¯t have the right information. Even in the Awakened community, this information wasn¡¯t really widespread. I thought that everyone had known about the existence of the corrosive disease by now, but it seems that I was wrong.


    Sooyeon suddenly said. ¡°When you watch a zombie movie, don¡¯t people use a wooden bat and a baseball bat in the beginning?¡±


    Hyung-jun Hyung shook his head at her words. ¡°Aigoo, where will you use such a weak stick? It will certainly break after a few swings.¡±


    ¡°Owner, have you tried it before?¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t mean to say that I have tried it before¡­.¡±


    ¡°But to me, it sounds like you have some experience in that area¡­¡±


    ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t like them because they are fragile.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s the only thing worth using.¡±


    Hyung-jun Hyung and Sooyeon had a hot debate over weapons. But in my opinion, both of them were wrong. The best weapon in the early days of the zombie apocalypse was a weapon made from reinforced plastic.


    For example, something like this.


    ¡°I think this one would be good.¡±


    ¡°Huh? what?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    The two focused on the smartphone screen as I shoved it towards them.


    ¡°It¡¯s an Indian War Club, not as in American Indian, but India. It has a protrusion on the end of the stick, so it will certainly be lethal, and the whole thing is made from a composite plastic, so it¡¯s very strong.¡±


    ¡°Oh, there was such a thing.¡±


    Hyung-jun Hyung¡¯s face was so close to my smartphone, and his gaze looked like a predator who was ready to chew its prey.


    Sooyeon also stared intently at the screen while putting her thumb up.


    ¡°It¡¯s made of polycarbonate and polypropylene composite. If it was this much, it wouldn¡¯t break with just a normal shock.¡±


    Sooyeon pointed at the sphere on the tip of the club with the tip of her finger.


    ¡°This sphere and the protrusion adds weight to it. This one looks fine.¡±


    ¡°Then, should we buy this weapon?¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute, let¡¯s see some other weapons. How about this one?¡±


    She pointed to the American Smasher made of composite plastic. It¡¯s not bad. Judging from the reviews of users, it¡¯s said that it was a bat that would never break.


    However, in a zombie apocalypse, a melee weapon would certainly not be enough. I also advised them to buy a stab-proof suit.


    Then, Sooyeon asked me. ¡°How did you know about all this?¡±


    ¡°I came here because I was trying to figure out how to survive the apocalypse without any metal and fragile wood.¡±


    ¡°To be honest, about the corrosive disease¡­ I¡¯m still not sure about that. A phenomenon which would destroy all metal in the world feels impossible to happen.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s because the reality has become similar to that game.¡±


    ¡°You mean Survival Life? Have you ever played that game?¡±


    In other words, she¡¯s asking me if I¡¯m an Awakener or not.


    ¡°I never played it, but I¡¯ve seen some videos of it on MeTube.¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°Did you see the gameplay then?¡±


    This time, Hyung-jun Hyung intervened.


    I nodded my head indifferently.


    ¡°I saw a little bit of the beginning. It¡¯s a video where someone called I Love Gimbap broke through the tutorial.¡±


    ¡°Just how the hell did it start in the first place? When I asked the members of my gym who said they had played that game, they said they didn¡¯t remember well because they just died repeatedly in the beginning.¡±


    ¡°First of all, the setting of the game happens a few hours after the zombie apocalypse happened. At first, it shows that zombies are just coming in while the users are all behind a metal gate. And because they are standing behind a metal gate, they would naturally think they are safe, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ Zombies can never break through a metal gate.¡±


    ¡°But when the zombies came and rushed on the gate, the gate collapsed just like that. Most of the users died there, but that person jumped right out of the window and took all the weapons inside.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Did the metal gate collapse because of the corrosive disease?¡±


    Sooyeon chimed in.


    ¡°Yes. After listening to I Love Gimbap¡¯s explanation, I could understand roughly. So, there are a lot of things that will keep their original shape before crumbling completely. But in a car with a lot of load, it will be destroyed as soon as it gets infected with the corrosive disease, as it would be dragged by the weight of the load inside it.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°What about the building?¡±


    ¡°A lot of the tall buildings collapsed right from the start. Though, a studio or a commercial building will be fine.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s a normal situation, it may take some time for buildings to collapse because of fractures¡­ And honestly, I don¡¯t believe that Korea will change to something like that.¡±


    Sooyeon didn¡¯t seem to believe it completely.


    I answered her with a light shrug. Afterall, that¡¯s a normal reaction from people. ¡°So do I. Though, I would rather be prepared than to die helplessly.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Her face became complicated as she heard my answer.


    Then suddenly, someone¡¯s phone rang.


    ¡°Agh!!! It¡¯s my time off today!!! Annoying!!¡± Sooyeon looked at her phone before looking at me.


    ¡°I have a call and I have to go first. Is your name Seongho? My name is Jo Sooyeon. If you see me next time, please pretend to know me.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll certainly do that, and Sooyeon¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°I think it would be better for you to change your glasses frame.¡±


    ¡°¡­that¡¯s right. Thank you for your concern.¡±


    She smiled before running across the street. Then, she opened the door of a red sports car which was likely to easily cost several billion won.


    Fuuuuhhh, you are rich, huh?


    Hyung-jun Hyung pointed to the car with his chin.


    ¡°Sooyeon is a doctor. She said she works in the emergency room of the hospital up there.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great.¡±


    If there was one thing I lacked right now, it was experience and knowledge about emergency treatment which wouldn¡¯t be a problem for a doctor. They would surely know how to administer antibiotics, painkillers, and anesthetics, etc. towards injured people.


    And because I¡¯m not a doctor, it was impossible for me to have their knowledge. There were limits to cramming alone. On top of that, I wasn¡¯t very good at studying.


    When the Shop opens, Potions would be available to be bought, So, there should be no big problem, But, in the long run, a doctor would be needed.


    See you later, and if you survived, I¡¯ll help you a little.


    Hyung-jun Hyung seemed to be dissatisfied as I was watching the sports car that was moving away from me.


    ¡°This bastard, you sent Mikyung towards me and now you¡¯re aiming for another woman. Seongho, do you really don¡¯t want to join our group?¡±


    ¡°But, didn¡¯t you say it already has 5 people, Hyung-nim? Wouldn¡¯t it be dangerous?¡±


    ¡°What will be dangerous?¡±


    ¡°That person, I Love Gimbap said it¡¯s dangerous when there are more than five survivors. Zombies would be able to sense their lifeforce if there¡¯s a lot of people gathering and will come rushing in.¡±


    ¡°What kind of head do they have that they can sense such things? Seriously?¡±


    ¡°I heard that they will come from all directions¡­ If I join your group, it will be too dangerous.¡±


    ¡°What a fucked up setting.¡±


    ¡°Well, that game was known for being a very difficult game.¡±


    As if he had given up, Hyung-jun Hyung shut his mouth.


    It¡¯s very convenient to use I Love Gimbap¡¯s name.


    Seems like I would be using it a lot more in the future.

 Chapter 21

    <Unique Skill Upgrade>


    I had been immersed in spear making since the morning. Though, even when I said it was ¡®making¡¯ a spear, all I did was attaching spear blade into a ready-made wood shaft.


    ¡°I want to make the shaft too¡­.¡± But it was something beyond my ability. Cutting and trimming a good tree was still easy. The problem only arose once I tried to shape it into a spear handle. No matter how hard I tried, the end result was all crooked. Not a single one of them was straight.


    After trying a few times more, I decided to just order the shaft from a woodworking shop.


    ¡°Get in there!¡± I attached the spear blade into a 1.5m-long spear shaft and fixed it with a nail. The length of the spear was a tad bit shorter for my liking, but I couldn¡¯t help but use it as there¡¯s not enough space to store it if it was too long.


    ¡°Still, if you add up the spear blade, it¡¯s quite long.¡± It was about 1,8m. Several centimetres shorter than my height.


    I was satisfied with my creation and quickly ran a test by stabbing a rabbit skin. It went through the leather without any feeling of resistance at all as if I was cutting butter with a hot knife.


    As it is, small monsters wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against it.


    ¡°Though, it will be different for goblins because of their paralyzing darts.¡± However, there¡¯s not much to worry about in fights against them if I could set off a firecracker beforehand like before. But I had to refrain from doing that trick too often.


    Actually, there¡¯s another reason why I made a spear. It was because I found a pack of wolves in the forest.


    Of course, they were different from Dingo who was peacefully sleeping next to me. Those wolves were called maned wolves, and although they had a smaller size than silver wolves like Dingo, they were more aggressive and ferocious.


    I had seen them hunt a pack of wild boars through the drone. Although the adult wild boars desperately tried to defend their group, the maned wolves managed to kill one of the young wild boars in the end.


    ¡°It would be pretty tasty if it was pork¡­¡± I took Dingo, a baby wolf, in and yet I salivated at a piglet. I feel like there¡¯s something amiss in my head, but I can¡¯t help it. Afterall, for me, dogs were friends not food.


    Anyway, the appearances of those maned wolf packs were quite intimidating to me.


    ¡°They¡¯re pretty fast¡­¡± They are not as fast as a werewolf, but still faster when compared to a weak monster like goblins. Therefore, unless I hit them with a surprise attack, it will be difficult to hit them using my bow.


    I had fought against goblins and kobolds in this forest, but it would be my first time fighting against a wolf. And from what I know from their characteristics, a spear was the perfect weapon against them. I would also use all means available for me such as net gun, firecracker, and capsaicin spray, aside from the spear, my main weapon.


    ¡°Anyway, I have to get them.¡± Otherwise, it would be difficult for me to move around the forest.


    When I looked at the spear, it glinted sharply. It was a weapon that had been used for a very long time in the history of mankind. It was said that when humans raised their spears, there were no animals that could not be caught.


    I should be like that too.


    .


    .


    .


    It was not difficult to find the traces of the maned wolf pack. It was because, due to their nature as a territorial creature, they would always hunt in one specific area after they found a place they like.


    When I looked around the traces of their previous hunt with a drone, I saw them right away.


    Their target this time was a valley deer. Through the drone, I could see them running after the valley dear.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t say anything on the scene that unfolds on the laptop. A pack of wolves hunting a valley deer, trying to strike it down was something that normally appears in a documentary. And to me, the winner had already been decided.


    I carefully moved the drone to follow the wolf pack. They showed great stamina in long-range traveling as if they were making a statement that their bodies were made for hunting.


    The thought of being in the deer¡¯s shoes without a dimensional door to save me sends shivers down my spine.


    ¡°They are more frightening than monsters.¡±


    At the moment, the pursuit had reached the valley. And because the deer could not cross the valley, it ran straight towards the upstream.


    If I remember correctly, the place that deer is running towards is close to where I heard the roar of an owlbear last time.


    With my sweating palm, I lowered the drone. Maybe, just maybe, I would actually see the owlbear.


    Woof~!! Woof~!! Woof~!!


    The barking of the maned wolf that resounds from the cheap speakers sounds ferocious. However, the deer did not look back and kept running away. And suddenly, the deer slipped on a stone near the water¡¯s edge and almost fell.


    I was completely immersed in rooting for the valley deer and hoped that It could escape.


    ¡°Just don¡¯t escape when I¡¯m the one who hunts you.¡± I know it¡¯s a bit weird, but people were normally like this.


    Suddenly, the forest upstream shook and something appeared from the line of trees.


    It was an owlbear. The monster which had the upper body of an owl and lower body of a bear rushed straight towards the deer.


    The valley deer quickly turned its direction, but unfortunately for it, it was already too late. The owlbear had become too close to it and had swung its wing.


    When the claw on its wing hit the head of the valley dear, it popped out like a balloon and the deer instantly went limp and slumped to the ground.


    ¡°Damn.¡±


    I know owlbear was a strong creature, but to think that it could kill a deer with just a single swing¡­


    It seems like if I confronted an owlbear at my current level, I wouldn¡¯t be able to hold for 3, no, 1 second.


    Now, with the common prey out of the picture, the confrontation between the 2 predators began. Whoever wins this contest, a trophy in the shape of a deer meat would become theirs.


    The wolves snarled towards the owlbear, showcasing their sharp teeth. But it wasn¡¯t long until both groups ran towards each other while roaring a ferocious cry.


    ¡°It would be better to just run away¡­¡± The agility of the owlbear was not inferior to that of the wolves. They would greatly suffer if they continue to be greedy. ¡°It¡¯s good for me, though.¡±


    Instead of running away, the wolves took a different strategy. When one wolf caught the owlbear¡¯s attention, the other ate the deer little by little.


    ¡°That¡¯s an eat-and-run strategy.¡±


    On the surface, it seems like all the wolves were satisfied with eating little by little, but that¡¯s not the case. One particular wolf was too greedy and munched at the deer for too long. Quickly, the owlbear pounced towards it and put it under its mercy.


    ¡°it¡¯s over.¡± The fate of that particular wolf wouldn¡¯t be much different from the deer. As it bounced around desperately to run away from its predator, it suddenly stumbled as the owlbear broke its hind leg before instantly killing it using the claw of its wings.


    Its stomach was ripped open, and moments later, intestines and blood promptly gushed out from the hole.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    I lifted the drone into the sky. The wolves who had lost one of their companions had now run away with their tails between their legs. The owlbear pursued them, but it was unable to catch up to them as its pace was not fast enough.


    ¡°Now it¡¯s my turn.¡±


    Now that the power of the wolf pack had been reduced, I should make my move.


    I left the sleeping Dingo behind and packed my things.


    .


    .


    .


    The pack of maned wolf which originally had 5 wolves had now been reduced to 4. Meanwhile, the owlbear returned to the upper area of the valley without chasing them further, perhaps because it was reluctant to leave it¡¯s prey?the deer.


    Currently, the wolves were on their way towards their den. I checked their direction, retrieved the drone, and remained in an ambush position.


    Once again, I ran through my strategy in my mind.


    ¡°First, completely isolate two wolves with the net guns¡­¡± I was lucky to have ordered two net guns.


    Then there will be two left.


    ¡°Isolate another one with capsaicin spray.¡± The range of the spray was quite long, about 3 to 4 meters. It was longer than the spear, so It would be better to use it first. Finally, it would be a 1:1 fight. All I had to do was stab the last wolf with the spear.


    My limbs, which the wolf would be aiming for, were firmly protected with a stab-proof suit. Even if it was bitten, my flesh would not be ripped.


    I steeled my heart and paid my utmost attention towards the direction the wolves would be coming from. Currently, I was hidden behind a rock, so even if they smell me, they wouldn¡¯t be able to spot me right away. Moreover, the wind was also blowing towards me.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    They¡¯re here!


    The sounds of their footsteps and growls could be heard alternately. I quickly held my smartphone camera to the edge of the stone to peek out. They were approaching from a distance that was neither too close nor too far.


    I checked the net gun one last time and made sure that it was ready. The target of the net gun would be the two on the right.


    It¡¯s now!


    I jumped over the rock and aimed at the wolf. They hadn¡¯t responded yet. It seems like they hadn¡¯t discovered me just yet.


    As I squeezed the trigger, the net was thrown forward with a clicking sound. The net rushed towards the maned wolf before completely wrapping it inside when it hit.


    One more!


    The three other wolves seem to have finally found me. I quickly grabbed the net gun on the ground and fired once again. In the next moment, another wolf was caught in the net and slumped to the ground.


    These guns really work great!


    The remaining 2 wolves saw me and started running towards me.


    How many seconds will it take to close the distance of 15m?


    I took the spear and the spray at the same time. Then, I sprayed capsaicin towards one of the two wolves rushing towards me.


    Whimper~!! Whimper~!!


    An animal with a good sense of smell would certainly taste hell if they were hit by this spray. The maned wolf was no exception, as the wolf lost its focus and fell to the ground.


    Now, there¡¯s only one left. I dropped the spray and grabbed the spear with both hands. However, the maned wolf¡¯s movement was faster than I expected. The moment I turned my gaze towards it, its sharp teeth were already in front of me.


    ¡°Ahh!¡±


    I covered my body with my hand and rolled to the ground together with the wolf. The wolf frantically tried to bite me. Unfortunately for it, my whole body was protected with a stab-proof suit and a helmet.


    With my free arm, I pushed its snout away.


    ¡°Go away you bastard!¡±


    Crackle-


    The wolf bit my arm and shook its head violently.


    How¡¯s the taste? Aren¡¯t your teeth sore?


    With my other hand, I grabbed the survival knife hung on my waist. And right away, I hammered it towards the wolf¡¯s side.


    Whimper~!!


    As the knife slices through its fur, I violently twist it.


    Perhaps because of the pain, the wolf jumped up and released my arm. Blood gushing to the ground from the gaping wounds. Since the knife was quite long, it would not be a small wound.


    But, I didn¡¯t have time to wait for it to die.


    I raised my spear as the maned wolf limped around because of the unexpected pain.


    ¡°Die!¡± I screamed as I put all my weight behind the thrust I sent towards the wolf. The spear impaled its neck and went through the opposite side of where it was coming from.


    The maned wolf stuck out its tongue and died.


    Now what¡¯s left?


    I had a difficulty in seeing my surroundings as my helmet visor fogged up because of my breath. I momentarily raised it and wiped it clean before approaching the wolf that I used the capsaicin spray on. It still couldn¡¯t open its eyes properly.


    ¡°Fuuuhh!¡± I took a deep breath and stabbed it on its chest. After leaving it for several seconds, I pulled the spear with force. The maned wolf went limp and laid lifelessly on the ground.


    Now, only two wolves left.


    I was vigilant to the very end and stabbed the remaining wolves from the maximum distance of the spear. Every time I did it, a desperate roar echoed to the surroundings. it¡¯s much better than hearing my screams, though.


    When the battle was finally over, the strong smell of blood wafted out. I sat down on the ground and checked the messages which were slowly coming up.


    ¡¸Level has risen to 5¡¹


    ¡¸You have earned 12 points¡¹


    ¡¸When you reach level 5, an additional effect will be added to your unique ability¡¹


    ¡¸Invisible Dimensional Door¡¹


    ¡¸Dimensional Door Projection¡¹


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    It¡¯s only natural that I got levels and points from this hunt, but what is this additional effect on my unique skill?


    Looks like I would have to experiment with it to know it better.


    ¡°Open portal.¡±


    The dimension portal that appeared in front of me was a little different from what I had always seen. It was still translucent¡­but the blue colour was almost gone. It¡¯s probably because of the new effect I just got. If I believe the name, the current portal should be invisible from others.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice.¡± Seems like it would be useful depending on the situation I found myself in.


    Moreover, the Dimensional Door Projection effect was also great. I could see the landscape of where I was going to go through the portal even before stepping in. It means that the portal could also act as a CCTV.


    The ability to also hear the sounds across the portal was nothing but a bonus. Afterall, no one other than me could enter through the portal anyway.


    How convenient would it be to run away through the portal and then monitor the situation on the other dimension while laying around?


    ¡°The fact that this effect was applied at level 5¡­¡± Maybe an additional effect would also be given after I reach level 10 and 15.


    Well, the only thing I needed to do to achieve it was to work hard to level up.


    For the very first time after I found this forest, I could laugh while burying the four wolves in the ground.


    When I came back to the cave and took off my equipment, my forearm ached so much.


    ¡°Damn you¡­ you damn wolf.¡±


    The plate in my arm was dented, apparently. The maned wolf¡¯s biting power was no joke. And as the armor was bracing the impact from the wolf¡¯s claws several times, it was torn here and there.


    I¡¯ll have to order a few more.


    Beside me, Dingo wriggled before he fully woke up and licked the wounded area.


    Hey. My face is not wounded!!

 Chapter 22

    Until now, what I knew about the portal was limited to the fact that it could be summoned for an indefinite amount of time. That¡¯s why, in order to deepen my understanding of it, I was currently conducting various experiments with it. The first thing I wanted to know was what would happen if I put an object on the portal and closed it.


    ¡°Close the portal.¡± As I said that, the pipe in the middle of the portal was pushed out to my side rather than being cut in half. I also tried it several more times with a chunk of meat and many other things. The results were all the same, they were all pushed out. In the end, I conclude that the same thing would also happen to living things.


    ¡°I can¡¯t use it as a weapon.¡± I sighed before moving on towards the next experiment. The next experiment was about analyzing where it would materialize once It was summoned. I called the portal while doing so many different poses. After many many tries, I concluded that the position the portal would appear in was constant. It was always 1m away from my body.


    Even when I was lying down facing the floor, the portal would open vertically on the ground.


    ¡°If I open it in a narrow space, it will materialize in the wall.¡± The portal opened in the wall won¡¯t allow anyone other than me to enter. With this, it was possible to open an invisible portal on the wall and escape, making whoever chasing me hit the wall.


    ¡°The sound is¡­¡± There¡¯s no difficulty to hear sounds from the other side of the portal when I was inside. However, when I was outside, I couldn¡¯t hear the sounds from inside the portal.


    So, to sum it up, ¡°This portal is a 90-inch CCTV with a dimensional leap function.¡±


    I was still unaware whether the portal could be destroyed or not. However, with the newly acquired invisibility effect, it should be okay as long as I don¡¯t mess around too much.


    ¡°I thought the levels existed just to open the Shop and Auction House¡­¡± However, I¡¯m not complaining at all about the newly added feature. The game Survival Life had no system such as unique skill, but now that it exists, everyone¡¯s chance of survival should be slightly higher.


    I closed the portal and looked around.


    ¡°¡­this place is too narrow.¡± It was the conclusion I came to after stocking up on supplies for several days straight. Even though I already made a basement, those feelings still remain. Maybe it¡¯s because I bought too much canned food¡­


    ¡°Now, I have no choice but to put the supply outside.¡± The problem was, by doing so, I would put myself in danger. Those foods would undoubtedly become something which would lure all the inhabitants of the forest to come. Even if the passing animals weren¡¯t interested with the supplies, the monsters who saw it would certainly come either because of curiousity or pure greed.


    How to fix it, I wonder¡­


    ¡°In the end, there¡¯s no other option than building a shelter.¡± However, it was too high of a hurdle for me to create a shelter which was capable of withstanding the power of medium-sized monsters such as orcs. My head started to throb just by thinking about a way to get them away from my cave.


    ¡°They can¡¯t break through the barbed wire easily though.¡±


    Thankfully, I¡¯d never seen such medium-sized monsters around the vicinity of the cave. At most, there were only goblins and kobolds or carnivorous animals such as wolves around.


    I took out my hand-drawn map of the forest and noted down the ecology of each monster I know based on the footage I got from operating the drones from the past few days.


    ¡°And I also need to find out whether there are only low-level monsters such as goblins and kobolds around here, or are there other monsters stronger than them.¡± Perhaps, the territory of the stronger monsters were in the forest beyond the valley just like the owlbear. If that¡¯s really the case, then it all would¡¯ve become simpler¡­


    ¡°Let¡¯s check it out.¡± I took out four drones and let them fly at the same time. Drones these days were so good as they could fly automatically while maintaining an appropriate height. Of course, they couldn¡¯t automatically execute a complicated movement, but for my purpose, the automatic flying function was enough.


    The four drones flew low through the forest and transmitted the scene they captured to the laptop. Every time I saw an animal, I stopped the drone and noted down their location on the map.


    ¡°Valley deer, rabbits, wild boars, forest rat, spotted bird, maned wolves, gray fox, weasel¡­¡±  This forest was truly an animal paradise. It would be perfect if monsters didn¡¯t exist here.


    ¡°There are no dangerous monsters near the cave.¡± There used to be an adult silver wolf around the area near the cave, but it could be considered as an exception as I couldn¡¯t find a single one other than Dingo and his mother.


    About 3km to the north from my cave, I found a cluster of primitive huts made of wood with a roughly-built wooden fence circling around them. It was a goblin nest. Currently, I could see around 10 moving things there through the drones, but I know that there should be more goblins inside the huts and the forest.


    ¡°There should be around 20 or 30 goblins, it is unreasonable to attack it right away.¡± It would be nigh to impossible to withstand the paralysis darts from dozens of those guys. In addition, there seems to be a hobgoblin present on the nest.


    ¡°By the way¡­ where is the kobolds nest¡­¡± From what I know, kobolds mostly live in a cave, so it would be difficult to find them with a drone.


    After spending a few hours scouring the forest with the drones, I was convinced that there are no medium-sized or larger monsters around. This means that I only need to repel kobolds, goblins, and other small carnivores from my cave if I build a shelter.


    It¡¯s worth doing.


    .


    .


    .


    In my note, a detailed topographical map around the cave was drawn. Bushes, trees, rocks, and all other features were also precisely noted down. Then, around the vicinity of the cave, I drew a circle.


    ¡°Securing the area within the radius of 15m around the cave should be enough.¡± If it was converted to pyeong, it would be over 200 pyeong. With that much space, I could build a comfortable country house in Korea.


    ¡°If it¡¯s too wide, it will be troublesome to control the whole area.¡± Even if it feels cramped, I could expand it later down the line when I¡¯ve become strong enough. Let¡¯s just be satisfied with this much for now.


    By the way, what sort of defensive measures should I build?


    ¡°Ah, Let¡¯s build that!¡± A basic defensive measure everyone thinks of when they think of medieval castles: moat.


    The wider and deeper you dig, the more difficult it is for the enemy to cross. Though, the moat around my cave didn¡¯t have to be too grandiose as kobolds and goblins weren¡¯t that big in the first place.


    I drew another circle around the existing circle to mark the location of the moat. When thinking of a moat, there¡¯s also an option of filling it with water. However, as I will be working on it alone, I don¡¯t think I would be able to do that. So, In the end, I decided to just dig it. The thought of shoveling thousands or tens of thousands of times already made my shoulders stiff.


    ¡°The more I work hard, the stronger my defense will become¡­¡± This forest was full of honey. Even though it was currently bitter, it would certainly become sweet once I finished all that I had to do.


    ¡°The width of the moat should be about 2m.¡± It doesn¡¯t have to be too wide as barbed wire would be installed right behind it. Moreover, if I poured mortar mix on the floor and threw in some broken glass on it, it would become a proper defensive measure.


    ¡°If they jump in without knowing, they will die.¡± To remove their corpses, I just need to fish them out with a rope. Simple!


    After careful consideration, the defense would be like this:


    ¡°A 2m wide moat and 2 lines of 2m high barbed wire fence.¡± It looks perfect at first glance, but it was not impenetrable. For example, If a large monster or a bone creeper comes, they would breach it with little to no struggle.


    A werewolf would easily jump over the moat and the barbed wire fence while the bone creeper would blow up the entire structure to smithereens


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a werewolf before, so I think it would be fine.¡± And in case of the bone creeper, let¡¯s just say I would be able to kill it with money instead of skill.


    After finishing the concept, I took a walk through the forest together with Dingo to calculate the necessary materials. By my calculation, a large amount of money would be needed. But it¡¯s fine. Afterall, it was all to ensure my safety.


    ¡°Let¡¯s order generously as I will surely need to repair it as well in the future.¡± After securing the zone with a defensive measure, the next step would be building a new warehouse.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just build it with sandwich panels as the wall and mortar mix on the ground to prevent dampness.¡±


    And as the area became wider, several more CCTVs were needed. Fortunately, this part of the forest receives a lot of sunlight, so there should be no difficulty in gaining electricity. It was amazing to see that the solar panel¡¯s production rate was the exact same as what the manufacturer said even after installation.


    I went to my house, booted up my PC and ordered the necessary materials to build both the moat and the warehouse.


    ¡°I should go to the construction store too.¡± Afterall, it was better to buy tools like shovels and pickaxes offline. A lot of saws and axes were also needed because there were too many unnecessary bushes and trees in the safe zone I set up.


    ¡°Thanks to that, I don¡¯t have to buy firewood.¡± I don¡¯t know if it was a good thing or not though.


    After that I walked out from my house and turned the tamas on.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°They were here huh?¡± On my way back from the building supply store, I happened to see the thugs hanging around in an abandoned villa at the foot of the mountain which was rarely visited by people. I could see all of them having fun as I peered through the telescope.


    ¡°That guy already removed the crane from the back of his car.¡± Was it because he thinks that there¡¯s nothing to tow now?


    Instead of the crane, the back of the car was converted into a cargo box full of combat ration and bottled water.


    ¡°All of you are also trying to survive, huh?¡± Afterall, it¡¯s impossible to not do anything when they know precisely what will happen.


    As I continued to observe, a car arrived at the villa. From the car, two women walked out and joined the crowd. They were really having a sweet time, a can of beer in one hand and cigarettes on the other.


    The man with the hat I met at the hair salon several days ago suddenly headed towards one of the cars and pulled something out of the trunk. It was baseball bats and wooden sticks.


    ¡°It seems like they ordered it from abroad.¡± There were also reinforced plastic bats which were promoted as unbreakable. It was a quite strong weapon to inflict damage to humans. However, the soon appearing enemies were not humans but zombies.


    ¡°It¡¯s not enough.¡± Making a hole in the skull was the surest way to kill a zombie. We, stagnant waters had concluded so after doing our experiment to prove our speculation about where the spores were nested at. Me buying a war club was because of that very reason, not just because it was a good weapon.


    ¡°Still, he seems to have some idea of what had to be done.¡± When I saw him taking out a stab-proof vest and even a reinforced plastic shield, I could feel that he was well prepared.


    ¡°How many of them will survive, I wonder¡­¡± From what I know from Survival Life, less than 50% of the initial number of people would survive through the tutorial.


    ¡°The exact conditions of who will be infected by spores and who will not is also still unknown.¡± The only thing I knew was everyone except the awakeners could become a zombie. There¡¯s also a possibility that the entire human race would extinct at once without differentiating Awakened or normal people. The future was unknown, so the most important thing to do was to prepare as much as possible.


    I jolted down the location of the villa on the map. I will surely visit them once the apocalypse hit. Looking at their usual attitude, it was easy to tell what they¡¯re going to do once the apocalypse happens. Running wild like the owner of the world and become predator for other survivors. I had to deal with them first in order to have a less hectic post-apocalyptic life.


    I hopped into my car and drove back to my home. When I arrived, I quickly checked the video on my laptop.


    ¡°If I remembered correctly, there should be an event around this time¡­¡± When I was still doing a live streaming, I just skimmed through the content of the event, so I don¡¯t know the details. What was certain was, after the appearance of the orc?which I already kill?another monster would also appear in reality.


    ¡°Was it a hobgoblin¡­¡± As a higher-level goblin, it boasts quite outstanding physical abilities. Though, it was still weaker than an orc. However, the reason a hobgoblin was deemed to be a dangerous  creature was due to the fact that it always had at least 20 subordinate goblins around him.


    ¡°It¡¯s here.¡± I found a part of the video where I was talking about the event.


    ¨DI Love Gimbap: No, honestly, is there anyone who looks at the background story while playing a game? In MMORPGs, there are background stories, and yes, it does exist. Things like ¡°In the beginning, the devil invaded the human world¡­.¡± But who reads those kinds of things these days?


    ¨C Poor Man: That¡¯s right.


    Hmmm¡­ was there only one viewer?


    I held back the urge to just turn the video off and watch it until the end. Even on this video, Poor Man donated 3,000 won towards me out of his loyalty to me. And just like any other day, he told an absurd story.


    ¨DPoor Man: I managed to survive by eating only one ramyun for 3 days hehehe. And with the money I saved, I sponsored you.


    ¨DI Love Gimbap: No, Poor Man. I haven¡¯t told you to sit down yet.


    ¨DPoor Man: I¡¯m sorry¡­ Should I just stand here?


    ¨DI Love Gimbap: No¡­


    By the way, I¡¯m really curious about the identity of Poor Man¡­ His concept while watching the broadcast was really unique. But, if It¡¯s hard to just eat ramyun, it¡¯s a bit strange to be able to use the internet to watch my broadcast every day. Ah whatever, let¡¯s not think about that. Afterall, it¡¯s not like he¡¯s someone I know.


    After the videos ended, I summarized the information I got on my notes.


    ¨DA group of goblins, including hobgoblins, will pop up in Korea.


    ¨DI don¡¯t know anything about the date, place, time, etc.


    ¨DThere are, however, reports of a fight between the police and a group of goblins.


    ¡°If it¡¯s a police officer who was dispatched in a hurry, they would have a revolver with them.¡± Of course, goblins could be eliminated with a pistol. But the real problem was the hobgoblin. It had a physical ability which was stronger than any humans. It would be difficult to stop it with one or two pistol bullets.


    ¡°This is mouth-watering¡­¡± If these guys only provide some levels and points, there¡¯s no need to overdo it.


    However¡­


    ¡°If there is a hobgoblin, there is a high probability that there will be a golden goblin.¡± Though, when I say golden goblin, I¡¯m not talking about their skin colour. It was only a term used for goblins which carry a bigger pocket than other goblins. Normally, most of what was inside was junk, but sometimes a rare treasure would be mixed in there.


    ¡°Because he¡¯s a hobgoblin, he¡¯ll probably also have a fat pocket.¡± In the backstory of the game, it met its end when it got killed by the military of South Korea. But, are there any rules that state it only could be killed by the military?


    The problem was that I didn¡¯t know the exact date.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it was before the Russian fishing boat event.¡± If so, I would have to rent a car and load the gears I need in advance. Once I heard the news, I would have to go right away so I could kill it. The portal had also been upgraded, so it didn¡¯t seem like there would be any problem for me to walk around while avoiding people¡¯s eyes.


    Once I had decided, it was time to put it into action. I went to a nearby car rental company to rent an SUV. Following the guidance of the staff, I looked around the parking lot to pick what kind of car I wanted. That¡¯s when I saw three motorcycles.


    Wait a minute¡­


    Can I ride those motorcycles in the forest once I change the tires?


    ¡°Can I rent a motorcycle too?¡±


    At my questions, the staff had a nice smile on his face.


    ¡°Renting up to 125cc motorcycles is possible.¡±


    The rental period was, of course, 15 days plus 1 day.


    After deciding I would rent one SUV and one motorcycle, I went back home by driving the motorcycle while the car was sent by a chauffeur.


    When I put it in front of the store, Mikyung sticks her head out from her hair salon.


    ¡°Wow, Ahjussi, I didn¡¯t know you knew how to ride a motorcycle.¡±


    ¡°Well, these days motorcycles are similar to a bicycle, so of course I can.¡±


    While I was having a conversation with Mikyung, it seemed that Dingo had sensed me as I could hear him scratching the second-floor window.


    It seems like a CCTV should also be installed on the door around the second floor for protection. And I also need to block the window with some things to prevent being seen from the outside.


    As I opened the trunk of the car, a red sports car suddenly stopped in front of my store. The person who got off was Doctor Jo Sooyeon.


    ¡°Hello, Seongho?¡± She greeted me.

 Chapter 23

    ¡°It was very difficult to find glasses without any metals on the joints.¡± Sooyeon said as she tapped on the new retro-style glasses fitted on her face.


    ¡°Ah. There¡¯s metal parts in the joints, huh? I forgot about that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s so. The optician said, ¡®Why are you trying to find outdated glasses like that?¡¯ and I said to him, ¡®It¡¯s beause i like the old style¡¯¡±


    Just like what she said, Sooyeon¡¯s smiling face exudes the 80s vibe. It was so different from the chic looks she sported back when we met in front of the department store with Hyung-jun hyung.


    ¡°That glasses looks good on you.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? That¡¯s a relief.¡± she subtly smiled. ¡°By the way, after our last meeting, I looked around the internet again. It turns out that this matter was a lot more serious than I initially thought. I found that a lot of superhumans have appeared these days¡­ are those things really true? And I also found out about the Silver Dragon Meteor.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Silver Dragon? If I remembered correctly, around two days ago, it split because of Jupiter¡¯s gravitational force? I don¡¯t know its current location, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s on its way to Earth.¡±


    Sooyeon¡¯s face hardened after hearing my words. She then moved her hand to fanned her face. ¡°Whew¡­¡±


    At one point, Mikyung¡¯s head which earlier popped out from her shop¡¯s door had disappeared.


    ¡°Anyway, because of that, I couldn¡¯t sleep all night looking for information. Those ¡®Awakeners¡¯ people¡­ they are preparing for the end more systematically than I thought.¡±


    ¡°If you know that the end is coming, can you just stand still? Look at me, I do everything I can to increase my chance to survive.¡± I said.


    ¡°One of the pieces of information I read says that the end of the world is almost certainly going to happen. If it¡¯s only one or two people who said it, I will simply brush it off as a lie, but thousands of people¡­ now that¡¯s worrying. Should I prepare for it or not?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s better to be safe than sorry.¡±


    ¡°Haha¡­ that¡¯s right. I came here after my shift in the hospital. I also turned my phone off so I won¡¯t be called there again.¡± She shrugged her shoulders helplessly.


    ¡°The emergency room will be fine, right?¡±


    ¡°Even without me, the emergency room can still function perfectly. Anyway¡­ I¡¯m currently preparing for the apocalypse. While I¡¯m doing it, I thought it would be good if I greet people who are also preparing like me.¡±


    Ah, that¡¯s why she came to me. Well, even a small connection like meeting through an acquaintance in front of a hardware store could be a valuable relationship in the apocalypse.


    Sooyeon held her hand towards me.


    ¡°I am a doctor, so if I managed to survive, I would be of great use. Let¡¯s make a deal. If Seongho helps me, I will also help Seongho.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a deal.¡±


    ¡°Not a bad deal, right? it will be hard to find first aid in the apocalypse, afterall.¡±


    Her words were right. And since that¡¯s what I was planning to do to begin with, there was nothing wrong with helping each other. This kind of give and take relationship was certainly better than a relationship where you just one-sidedly helped someone.


    I moved my hands towards her and grasped her hands with a smile in my mouth.


    Then, after shaking it a few times. Sooyeon showed interest towards the rented motorcycle.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it impossible to drive a motorcycle because of the corrosive disease?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t got any chances to ride a motorcycle, So, if the world is going to end, I thought that at least I gotta try it.¡±


    In fact, I intended to mainly use this motorcycle in the forest aside from using it in the few first hours of the apocalypse to loot the places which hold supplies I need.


    Hearing my words, Sooyeon¡¯s expression turned solemn.


    ¡°I think it would be romantic to ride it on the coastal road. Though, It would be impossible to do so if the world ended. Anyway, Seongho, see you next time.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Please do your best to survive.¡±


    At my remark, Sooyeon smiled and left in her red sports car.


    Now, I have to do what I had to do.


    I left the Tamas¡ªwhich had been with me for a long time¡ªand decided to go to the shop with the SUV.


    But before that,


    ¡°Why do I need so many things¡­¡± I made a list of all the necessary things to make homemade preserved food.


    Canned food was unquestionably the most fitting long-term preserved food in the current situation. Smoked meat and dried fish were also the same as it could be stored for a long time. However, if someone took out those foods in an apocalyptic world, people would certainly think it¡¯s odd.


    Where did that person get such a thing? How did the metal can survive the corrosive disease? Such questions would arise in the minds of people who saw it.


    That¡¯s why I would need non-canned foods with me in case I met another group of survivors. Homemade preserved food was one of the options.


    Anyway, in the chaotic apocalyptic world, I had no choice but to move actively in order to complete quests, events and earn points. Though, there¡¯s still no guarantee that all elements from Survival Life would become reality. However, it was best to prepare in advance so when it started, I would be ready.


    ¡°I should keep all of these things on the second floor for now.¡± I would only bring it to the forest once the shelter in the forest was finished.


    As I was thinking about this and that, Mikyung¡¯s head popped out once again from the door of her store.


    ¡°Ahjussi, are you acquainted with the emergency room doctor?¡±


    I guess that¡¯s what she¡¯s curious about.


    ¡°I met her for the first time not long ago when I met Hyung-jun Hyung in front of the hardware store. We talked a bit about weapons to use in the apocalypse.¡± I replied to her while busily noting down what I need to do in my notes.


    ¡°Then? What¡¯s the conclusion of those talks?¡±


    ¡°I told them that a normal baseball bat is a no go and suggested they order a weapon made from reinforced plastic from a foreign site.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, I bought that too.¡± Mikyung said as he walked out from her store.


    Mikyung brought out an American Smasher¡­ a black baseball bat made of reinforced plastic with studded things etched all over it. That weapon was very popular indeed.


    ¡°When I contacted the importer, they said that they had ordered a lot of these. So, the ahjussis in my group bought a lot of them.¡±


    On the other hand, it seems that the Indian War Club had few orders, so if someone wants to buy it, they have to wait for quite some time for the importers to get them.


    Mikyung leaned towards me and looked at my notes. I had to be blunt, looking at her leaning on me like this, she looked so cute like a squirrel who watched me while I was cooking.


    ¡°A homemade preserved food? we¡¯re making it too.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Well, it¡¯s only natural.¡±


    At this point, everyone should have known about how to make preserved foods as many survivalists had created a complete wiki about it. I was also someone who benefited from that.


    In fact, the wiki was so popular amongst the people who knew about the impending zombie apocalypse because it was one of the few foods that can survive for long span of time, as the best type of preserved food, which was canned food, couldn¡¯t be stockpiled because of the corrosive disease.


    Mikyung turned her gaze from the notes and stared at my forearm.


    ¡°Wow, Ahjussi, your veins are bulging here.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s because I lost a lot of weight.¡±


    I replied to her while writing things on my notes. However, moments later, I felt something strange on my skin. When I turned my head, I saw Mikyung touching the veins with the tip of her finger.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    A moment of silence passed between us. Then, moments later, as if she had noticed my gaze, Mikyung quickly ran away into the beauty salon.


    Well¡­ I¡¯m not really bothered if you touch it¡­ But, oh well.


    I folded the notebook and put it in my pocket. Glass bottles and all the necessary things for making homemade preserved food could also be ordered online, but they would be too bulky.


    ¡°It¡¯s also possible that it broke on the way¡­ So, it¡¯s better to go and buy it by myself.¡±


    While in the store, I should also buy a vacuum packing machine. It will be winter soon in the forest, so if I stored the meat with a vacuum packing machine, I would be able to store the meat for quite a long time.


    ¡°At least, I could store it until early spring.¡± Around the time spring arrives in the forest, winter would have come to Korea. So, I would be able to store that meat in Korea. It won¡¯t last long, but it will be good enough until I learn how to make smoked or dry goods.


    Suddenly, I heard Dingo barking from the second floor. I guess he was worried as I went away for so long.


    I climbed to the second floor, fed Dingo and set off to the grocery store.


    .


    .


    .


    Homemade preserved food was actually not a food for long-term storing. Its shelf life was considerably shorter than any regular canned food, around 1 or 2 years. Nevertheless, the reason why I made it was because of the forest¡¯s climate.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be winter soon, but I also need to make a vegetable garden soon¡­¡± Even though it would be cold and probably snowy, there were quite a lot of crops that could grow even in those conditions. For example, potato, lettuce, spinach, onions, etc.


    In the end of long deliberation, however, I decided to put it on hold because I didn¡¯t know what winter would be like in the forest. If I make a vegetable garden, and snow actually piled up over the garden once the winter came, wouldn¡¯t it be ridiculous?


    It¡¯s an easy problem to solve, however. I could just build a greenhouse.


    ¡°What if the winter is very long?¡± Just because right now, the season was the exact opposite to Korea, there¡¯s no guarantee that it will continue to be so.


    ¡°I will need a lot of firewood.¡± and the reason for creating a new shelter had increased considerably.


    In any case, vegetables that could provide me with various nutrients until spring came were needed.


    By the way, making homemade preserved food was harder than I originally thought. There were a lot of things to worry about, such as temperature and air pressure.


    Slowly, I proceed to cut ??the cucumber into small pieces. The once spacious small living room was currently full of ingredients I bought at the mart.


    While I was doing that, I saw that Dingo was showing an interest towards the peaches from the corner of my eyes.


    ¡°Uh-huh! It¡¯s not something to be eaten right now.¡±


    Woof! Woof!


    As he has a great sense of smell, he must¡¯ve smelled the heavenly sweet scent from the peaches. I tried to ignore his antics, but Dingo kept acting up by constantly rubbing his body towards me. In the end, I gave up and decided to give him one.


    ¡°It¡¯s only one, okay? Only one.¡± When I sliced the peach, Dingo¡¯s tail moved wildly as if it was a propeller.


    ¡°At this rate you will fly, you cute little fur ball!¡±


    Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!


    Dingo quickly ate the peach before turning towards me once again and sent me a look of intense longing.


    ¡°No! This is something we will eat later.¡± I said as I showed my palm towards Dingo.


    Seeing it, Dingo lowered his head and ceased all of his antics. It seems like he¡¯s well aware of what my palm means by now. Maybe he thinks of me as the alpha of the group.


    I continued to slice the fruits and vegetables before putting them inside the glass jar. It was difficult at first because I had to go through many trials and errors, but after doing it a few times, it was nothing but a simple repetition.


    Once the jar is filled, I close it off with a plug before completely sealing it with a plastic wrapper.


    As I was working, my ears were still wide open to the sounds coming from the TV. In the case that I heard news about unidentified monsters appearing, I¡¯m going to ditch everything that I¡¯m working on and immediately go to the monster¡¯s location.


    ¡°It will be fine as long as the police didn¡¯t arrive first¡­¡± News these days was filled with the public cursing the police and the government as they couldn¡¯t properly respond to the sudden appearance of superhumans. I hope this time too, they won¡¯t be able to react in a timely manner. Though, I also hoped that there¡¯s no casualties from the civilian side.


    ¡°Hopefully there isn¡¯t anyone who knows about it other than me¡­¡±


    While I was slicing the fruit, I searched through the Awakened community forum on my laptop.


    Hmm¡­ Fortunately, there¡¯s no news about the event whatsoever.


    The free bulletin board, as always, was full with people who fought each other. The subject this time was whether apartments would collapse or not.


    ¨DYou crazy bastards, don¡¯t you know how sturdy apartments are these days? Does it make sense that it will collapse once the freaking corrosive disease spreads?


    ?Aren¡¯t you the real crazy bastard here? Have you ever seen a tall building in Seola? There are none! They all fell and broke! (Note: Seola is short for Survival Live, do comment on whether should we just leave it as it is or change it into something like SL)


    ?That¡¯s why I said that no matter how strong the corrosive disease is, and even if the reinforcing metal bars inside apartments disappeared, it doesn¡¯t make sense for the whole apartment to crumble¡­


    ?Apartments are mainly reinforced by the concretes, not the reinforcing bars. The metal bars¡¯ role is just as a base for the concrete to stick on and dry. Even if the reinforcing metal bars disappear, isn¡¯t it natural that the concrete will support the weight of the apartments?


    ?Then what about the new city?


    ?Well, almost every building in the new city are apartments¡­ All of them are going to collapse.


    ?Damn, why the fuck did this information just come out now?


    ?But, it was said from a long time ago¡­ You are the one who didn¡¯t believe it you stupid bastard.


    ¡°Why do they like to swear so much?¡±


    I could understand their state of mind to some extent though. As the apocalypse draws closer, they must have become impatient and react sensitively to any trivial matters. And cuss words were the best means to let it out.


    Anyway, it seems that as people knew that there would be a lot of zombies in places like supermarkets and stores, they were curious whether they could loot around apartments or not.


    Since apartments were heavily populated, it was possible to gain many things to loot from there. It may vary depending on the time of day, but there was a high possibility that there could be less zombies on each floor than what it should be.


    ¡°Though it was only possible to do so if the apartments didn¡¯t collapse.¡± However, all apartments would collapse. I was certain of that as even after watching dozens of videos of the post-tutorial stage, I couldn¡¯t see any tall buildings.


    ¡°I think the only things left would be around the 7th or 8th floor.¡± It could be said that aside from a commercial neighborhood building, everything will collapse. In other words, it was dangerous to be around tall buildings on the day of the zombie apocalypse.


    Fortunately, there were no tall buildings around my place.


    ¡°Oh, here comes someone who knows about buildings.¡±


    Amidst the fighting, someone who majored in architecture explained the reason why tall buildings would collapse in a detailed way. However, even after that, the awakeners could not give up their regret towards the collapsing apartments. Among them, there were people who said they were serious about robbing a private shooting range.


    ¡°Private shooting ranges are really mouth-watering places.¡±


    But how are you going to store it? The moment the gun is exposed to air, the spores will attack it.


    Then, one of the awakened came up with an idea.


    -You just need to get a gun! If you dip it in an industrial oil, you can use it without any problem.


    ?Is it really possible?


    ?You mean if a metal is covered in oil, the spores wouldn¡¯t be able to destroy it?


    ?But, when can I use the gun?


    ?No one knows.


    ?Maybe I Love Gimbab knows?


    ?Ah¡­ that bastard.


    ¡°About six months to a year.¡±


    It¡¯s not only me who knows about it. If you were someone who often saw my broadcast, you would naturally be aware of this fact.


    So, even if the storing method using the industrial oil mentioned worked, the gun would be still unusable for at least 6 months. And if someone who stored it like that died in the meantime, it¡¯s just useless.


    Anyway, the method itself was pretty good. It¡¯s not of much use to me, but it seemed like something the awakeners would try.


    The question was, where will they get the gun¡­


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it almost impossible to break into a private shooting range?¡± However, it seems like if a few superhumans set their mind to it, they could easily outsmart a private security company or even the police.


    When I hit refresh to see more comments, what appeared on my screen was only a notification which said the post has been deleted.


    ¡°Are they really going to do this?¡± To me, the act of deleting the post means that they are really going to do it, and they don¡¯t want any more people to know about how to do it.


    ¡°I need a gun, too.¡± Going abroad to buy it was out of the question as it would take too much time. It was better to use those times to prepare. It was more convenient to use the chaos on the day of the outbreak and loot the nearby police station.


    Aside from taking advantage of the chaos that would spread on the day of the outbreak, I also had another chance to procure a firearm, which wqs through the Russian fishing boat event which would happen in a few days.


    Hopefully, I will get a good number of bullets and guns from it. The military base was also mouth-watering, but it¡¯s too dangerous.


    ¡°There¡¯s an infantry regiment nearby.¡± it¡¯s likely that they would experience extreme chaos as well on the d-day. Afterall, the number of soldiers who will turn into zombies wouldn¡¯t be only a few. Moreover, no matter how trained the soldiers are, it would be difficult for them to fight against the zombies in the beginning. Because the zombies in the beginning didn¡¯t look like zombies in movies.


    ¡°To be exact, they¡¯re closer to a madman, rather than a zombie.¡±


    Will the superiors issue an order to fire?


    And could the soldiers shoot towards the civilians-turned-zombies that attack them?


    ¡°I think there will be quite a lot of soldiers who choose to run away.¡± Even so, it would still be difficult even if I took that opportunity to loot some guns there.


    However, if I did not give up and wait, the opportunity would surely come.


    Just like in Survival Life.

 Chapter 24

    ¡°I¡¯m going crazy, really¡­¡± I sighed as I finished drawing a circle around the cave. I don¡¯t know what makes me think that digging a 2m deep moat alone was a great idea. ¡°Why did I do that, I wonder?¡±


    It would be great if I could bring heavy equipments to do it. By the way, aren¡¯t mini forklift cranes available for rental these days?


    However, as I had experimented quite a lot with the usage of the portal, I soon became discouraged.


    ¡°If it doesn¡¯t fit, it won¡¯t go in.¡± This fact alone threw my plans to bring in a mini forklift crane out of the window.


    Dammit¡­ Realizing I had no option but to do it alone without the help of heavy equipments, the bushes and trees in my surroundings feel disgusting all of the sudden. As it stands, it seems like I had to clear the area by cutting all the trees and bushes around before I could even start shoveling. Which means I need to buy a lot of saws.


    At that moment, Dingo came out and ran around the area to his heart¡¯s content. It seems like he felt stuffy staying in the narrow cave. At the same time, he glanced at me as if asking ¡®Are you working hard?¡¯


    This guy really¡­ Anyway¡­


    ¡°Let¡¯s start working.¡± No matter how many times I procrastinate, there is no one who can help me finish this project. Let¡¯s just remember that today¡¯s sweat is tomorrow¡¯s safety.


    I returned to my house to bring the tools I bought yesterday to the forest. Once I returned to the cave, I piled all the tools on one side. Only then I started to feel relieved.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start.¡± First, I installed a barbed wire around the circle I had drawn earlier. It was an easy thing to do as all I had to do was hammer down the pole into the ground before connecting the round barbed wire from pole to pole.


    These days, I purchased all of the materials I need offline without using a courier service. It¡¯s not that I moved from my house or anything¡­ it¡¯s more like I¡¯m afraid that the neighbours would start suspecting something fishy was up. They only know that I was remodelling the store, so if a lot of things unrelated to remodelling the store were piled up in front of my house, they would definitely be suspicious.


    It was expensive and cumbersome, but there was no other way.


    ¡°Dingo, watch the surroundings and tell me if something is approaching.¡± At my words, Dingo yawned before giving me an assurance with his bark. Somehow, his attitude of easily getting distracted while working really reminds me of a sergeant I know in the army.


    Uh¡­ why are you already sleeping?


    After a few shakes from me, Dingo barely woke up. I understand that he needs to sleep a lot because he¡¯s still a cub, but please, hold it in for today.


    ¡°I¡¯m going through a hard time too, you know!¡± I sighed as I stood up and scanned my surroundings. For some reason, I felt that it would be a pity to cut down all the greenery which covered the entrance of the cave. However, at the same time, I¡¯m also looking forward to the open view it would bring.


    After 3 hours of constant sawing, the bushes were finally cleared out. Because I don¡¯t want to miss the hobgoblin, from time to time, I would return to Earth to check the internet and TV about the appearance of the hobgoblin. However,


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be able to fight against monsters when I¡¯m this exhausted¡­¡± It was a pity that there were no more solar apples.


    I had collected the seeds, but how many years will it take for it to fully grow I wonder?


    If this land was a fantasy land where crops grow faster because of some kind of magical energy or something like that, the tree would undoubtedly grow faster¡­


    ¡°How could there be such a magical land, stop dreaming, Kang Seongho¡­¡± I shut my mouth as I moved all the bushes that I had cut to one side.


    Now, only the trees are left.


    ¡°Aigoo¡­¡± I sighed as I shook my head. It¡¯s going to be a lot of trouble to cut it all and put it away. However, since I had already cleared the bushes, I couldn¡¯t stop here. Fortunately, there were no large trees around, so I was able to cut them down with only a hacksaw in hand.


    Of course, it¡¯s by no means easy.


    ¡°Dingo, get out of the way!¡±


    The guy, who had fallen asleep again, jolted up and ran away.


    The tree I cut down slanted to one side before crashing to the ground with a thunderous thud. After waiting for a few moments for the dust to settle, I head closer to the tree and cut all of its twigs off before cutting the middle parts of the tree with a saw.


    By the way, it¡¯s really surprising¡­


    ¡°To think I voluntarily do something like this¡­¡± how did this happen? I¡¯m just a guy in his late 20¡¯s who likes to play games.


    ¡°Sigh¡­ It¡¯s my own choice though¡­¡± Even if I complain, nothing will change. It was better to use the time I took to complain to face the hell of the trees which awaits me instead. Therefore, I clenched my teeth and continued to work.


    My only safe haven amidst the hellish number of trees was the 10 minutes break I took in order to watch the online community and news for any kind of information about the hobgoblin. The curse words which I usually found disturbing, for some reason became cute and adorable at these times.


    After two more hours, the front area of the cave was finally cleared. The area which once was so dense with greenery was now open.


    ¡°Huh, huh, huh¡­¡± Let¡¯s get some rest now. Contrary to me, who was plopping down to the ground while sweating bullets, Dingo happily ran around the open space.


    It¡¯s good that it¡¯s now clear, but now it has become too open. If a group of goblins happens to pass by, they would surely come to say hi. Of course with violence in hand not a gift.


    ¡°Still, there is the barbed wire¡­¡± The two layers of barbed wire fence boasts a great defence. Small monsters wouldn¡¯t have any chance to breach through it. Even if a monster such as goblins opt to shoot paralysing darts from outside the barbed wire, it would never reach the cave.


    ¡°It will be fine as long as a bone creeper doesn¡¯t appear.¡±


    After a few minutes of rest, I stood up and wandered around the vacant lot and designated the location of each facility which is going to be built here in the future.


    ¡°This is where the warehouse will be built¡­ this one is for the vegetable garden¡­ and this is for the parking lot¡­¡± After listing several important facilities, I came to realize that there was quite a bit more space than I thought. Well, it¡¯s all good as I could just leave it there for spare, in case I need it in the future.


    Now, what¡¯s left was digging the moat. However, the sun in the sky was already on its way to hide.


    ¡°Except for working, I haven¡¯t done anything today¡­¡± This is what happens when you¡¯re busy with work. Let¡¯s just start digging the moat tomorrow. I checked the barbed wire for one last time before calling Dingo and returning to Earth.


    As soon as we arrived, I headed to the refrigerator to take a chicken leg for Dingo. The guy wolfed it down with gusto as soon as I put it in front of him.


    ¨DThe government announced that they will launch an investigation about the Awakened, which has recently become a hot issue¡­


    While listening to the news on the TV, my eyes were scanning through the Awakened community. Unsurprisingly, within a minute after the news, the Awakened community was thrown into chaos.


    ¡°If the government investigates, what will happen?¡± Well, those guys who openly conspired to commit a crime would be surprised.


    After scrolling some more, I found a post written by MyDream, a quasi-stagnant water, that I had bookmarked before. However, when I looked for his new post, I couldn¡¯t find any. It seems like the very post I bookmarked was the latest post from him.


    ¡°It reached 500 comments already?¡± When I clicked on the post, the comment section was, as always, filled with swear words and envy.


    While I kept scrolling down to read all the comments, I saw a comment from MyDream saying that he had hired someone.


    ¡°Is this true?¡± You recruited Survivor 1?


    Survivor 1 wasn¡¯t as good as me, but he¡¯s still someone who had been playing for over 4,000 hours. And compared the Rabbit Pwincess and Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek, his playstyle was relatively calm.


    ¡°When it comes to shelters, he¡¯s second to none¡­¡± And, he was the kind of person who would collect valuable healing items without ever using them until the end when playing RPG games. We used to call him squirrel for that.


    ¨DMyDream: We have recruited Survivor 1 who played for around 4500 hours to our ranks. Congratulations everyone!


    ?I¡¯m so freaking envious!


    ?Really? Isn¡¯t Survivor 1 one of the 4 stagnant waters that has played for more than 4000 hours? I¡¯m so jealous.


    ? 4500 hours¡­ he¡¯s not a stagnant water anymore! He¡¯s a rotten water!


    ?Let¡¯s attack monsters! Early zombies!


    ?Please tell us how to break through the tutorial.


    There were no comments from MyDream despite people¡¯s desperate requests. Looks like he didn¡¯t have any intentions to share information more than what he already shared.


    ¡°Survivor 1, huh¡­¡± Should I contact him? But if it¡¯s Survivor 1¡­


    ¡°He¡¯s the type to build a shelter by himself and not entrust it to anyone.¡± Even though we normally play together, his basic tendency was being alone. Rather than fighting, he enjoyed being stuck around somewhere and collecting various miscellaneous things.


    His knowledge of the game was considerably less than mine, but it was still quite good.


    Such a person decided to join hands with other people? Of course, it could be true if he was desperate for survival, but¡­


    ¡°It could be a trap.¡± My finger rhythmically tapped on the table.


    If I blindly sent a message, wouldn¡¯t a bunch of muscular men come to my house? The possibility of it happening was quite high because MyDream was someone who had enough resources to build a concrete bunker.


    If that was truly the case, there¡¯s a good way to solve it. It was the new ability of the dimension portal.


    I could use it to find out whether it was a trap or not.


    .


    .


    .


    I came to an old PC caf¨¦ on the other side of Busan while wearing a hat which covered half of my face, and a black sunglasses. I took a seat in the corner and opened the bathroom door behind me.


    It would be quite difficult to reveal that I was I Love Gimbap¡­ So, let¡¯s borrow Rabbit Pwincess¡¯s name. I could just use it first and apologize to him once I meet him later.


    When I sent a message to MyDream, a reply came shortly after.


    ¨DMyDream: Rabbit Pwincess? Where do you live now?


    ¨DRabbit Pwincess: I can¡¯t tell you my location.


    ¨DMyDream: By the way, are you aware of the situation? You are completely a rotten water now.


    Is this a compliment or an insult I wonder¡­


    ¨DRabbit Pwincess: I¡¯m aware of the situation and I¡¯ve prepared everything. I only contacted you because I want to meet the others.


    ¨DMyDream: It¡¯s perfect. Wait a minute, Please accept my invitation to a direct chat.


    Just tell me the location. Why bother inviting me to a chat room?


    Once we were on the chat room, MyDream brought up a question that can only be answered by stagnant waters.


    ¨DMyDream: I will check by asking you one question. How high werewolves can jump vertically?


    It¡¯s not a question which could be easily answered by anyone. Afterall, only us stagnant waters know about this information since we¡¯re the only ones that have experimented on werewolves.


    ¨DRabbit Pwincess: I remember it was 3m.


    ¨DMyDream: That¡¯s right.


    You aren¡¯t asking anymore questions?


    How do you know for sure that I¡¯m Rabbit Pwincess just with that question alone?


    However, contrary to my expectation, Instead of confirming my identity, MyDream brought up all sorts of unimportant topics.


    ¨DMyDream: You were really cool when you caught a werewolf before. It was really thrilling to see you run around barefoot without a weapon.


    Are you wasting time? I glanced around the PC room before deliberately following his plot.


    ¨DMyDream: By the way, have you been in touch with I Love Gimbap?


    It seems that his purpose was also the videos that I have. I told him that I hadn¡¯t been able to contact I Love Gimbap.


    ¨DMyDream: What a pity¡­ I really wanted to take him into the shelter too.


    ¨DRabbit Pwincess: Can you tell me the location of the bunker now?


    ¨DMyDream: But, are you going to join?


    ¨DRabbit Pwincess: I am thinking about it. However, I want to talk to Survivor 1 first.


    Unsurprisingly, MyDream said that Survivor 1 wasn¡¯t there right now. My doubt deepened. It seems like his statement about successfully recruiting Survivor 1 was a lie.


    MyDream then started to boast about what he had prepared.


    ¨DMy Dream: The shelter was built with 50cm thick reinforced concrete. Once you step inside, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be amazed. I had put an entire supermarket inside. It can last at least 3 years without any problems.


    If it was Rabbit Pwincess himself, he would have said something like this here¡­


    I hesitated for a moment before continuing to type.


    ¨DRabbit Pwincess: Are there any women there?


    ¨DMyDream: Haha, I knew you would say that. If you want, I can provide them to you. Afterall, there are many people who are desperate to live.


    No matter how I looked at it¡­ By his words, it seems that MyDream was a very wealthy man.


    ¨DRabbit Pwincess: Okay!


    ¨DMyDream: All you have to bring here is yourself as we already have everything here. By the way, can I ask what kind of unique skill you have? If you tell me yours, I will also tell you mine.


    The Awakeners were naturally unwilling to reveal their unique skill. It was because revealing it would mean that they would publicize their weakness. However, exceptions were always present in every case, for example, there¡¯s some crazy bastards who were wanted by the police after bragging about their unique skill and went wild.


    But naturally, I told MyDream an amazing unique Skill. Although it was not a real one but a made up one.


    ¨DMyDream: I can¡¯t believe you have such an amazing unique skill¡­ I¡¯m guessing it was because you are among the last four people who played the game. Now, I¡¯m really curious about what I Love Gimbap got¡­


    ¨DRabbit Pwincess: That ahjussi didn¡¯t contact you at all?


    ¨DMyDream: That¡¯s so¡­ I also didn¡¯t get any contact from Duck Buttock. It¡¯s really a pity because I thought it would be better to live together rather than being alone.


    ¨DRabbit Pwincess: That¡¯s exactly my thought.


    After that, MyDream continued to throw many unimportant topics towards me. For some reason, MyDream seems desperate to buy time.


    Are you doing it to try to find my location through my IP?


    But, in this place, there were part-timers and lots of customers, so I don¡¯t understand how he would force me to follow them even if they came.


    After chatting for about 20 minutes like that, I noticed that MyDream¡¯s reply became slower and slower.


    And eventually, four burly men dressed in suit entered the PC room. Two men stood on both sides of the door like a gangster, while one skinny man in his 30s looked around as he took off his gloves.


    Why are you wearing such attire in this weather?


    He leaned towards the PC room part-timer as if he was trying to talk to him before grabbing his wrist. The moment the part-timer tries to shake off his grasp, He grabs the part-timer¡¯s head before whispering to his ear.


    What the hell did you do?


    After he did so, the part-timer plopped down to his seat with a blank look on his face. With a satisfied expression, the man walked away from the counter and headed towards the closest man he could find.


    Maybe he has a mind related unique skill?


    Meanwhile, the other man was scanning every nook and cranny of the PC room.


    After feeling that I had seen enough, I went into the bathroom that I had opened beforehand before entering the portal that I had opened on the wall of the toilet stall. Then, I carefully observed the toilet side from the cave. It was only possible thanks to the portal invisibility and projection effect.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    After waiting for a while, the sound of footsteps finally could be heard. The man looked inside the bathroom stall where I opened my portal with a stern expression.


    When the man waved his hand right in front of the stall¡¯s original door, I unconsciously pressed Dingo¡¯s snout shut. Feeling nothing on his hand, the man clicked his tongue. He then pulled out a walkie-talkie and shouted towards it.


    ¡°It¡¯s a blink ability. Look around.¡± As he said that, he turned around and untied his pants. At that moment, I saw something appetizing.


    Is that a holster? Now I know the reason why he wore a suit in this hot weather.


    ¡°He¡¯s a golden goblin¡­¡±


    Golden goblins refers to either goblins or hobgoblins who brought a pouch with a good item inside. However, it was also a term that was used by murderers to call users with good equipment. And according to them, once you see a golden goblin, catching them is a must.


    ¡°Let¡¯s catch a golden goblin after a long time¡­¡±


    You tried to catch me, so you won¡¯t have any complaints if you get hit back, right?


    As I was spying on the man, he started peeing into the closet.


    Is it refreshing? Wait a bit, I will make it more refreshing!

 Chapter 25

    I pondered for a moment¡­


    Should I kill him?


    I was unharmed right now only because I have my portal ability. If not, I would have been caught by them and would be forced to become his subordinate whether it was through brainwashing or memory manipulation skill.


    But, as the law still existed, killing people right here right now would undoubtedly sprung a problem. Once a report is filed towards the police, it won¡¯t be difficult for them to pinpoint me as the main suspect through numerous means such as CCTV.


    I wanted to avoid going to the police station if I could help it.


    ¡°Because it¡¯s a waste of time¡­¡± Then, let¡¯s just steal the golden goblin¡¯s pocket. All I needed to pull that off was the frog¡¯s paralysis poison, a spear, and a towel.


    I showed Dingo my palm and quickly rubbed the paralysing substance on the spear blade.


    Then, after putting on a glove, I silently stepped out of the portal and lightly stabbed the tip of the spear at the man¡¯s thigh. The reason I stabbed him there was to avoid seriously injuring him.


    ¡°Keuk!¡± The man groaned. Unfortunately for him, his groan fell on deaf ears as it was drowned by the sound of running water. The man looked at his thighs as he quickly grabbed his leg. And as the feeling of being paralyzed on your legs was much worse than being in pain, by now he should be reminiscing about when he¡¯s still a newbie on Survival Life.


    As the man fell down to the floor, I quickly followed up by throwing a wet towel on his face to make him panic, as it was really hard to breathe when you have a wet towel over your face.


    ¡°Ugh! Huk!!¡±


    With a knife, I quickly cut off the pistol holster from his body and took it. Then, I went through his pocket and took out his wallet. It turns out, his name was Kwon Kyung-jun, age 38 years old.


    In the back pocket, I found a smartphone. And in exchange for trying to kidnap me, it will be confiscated by me.


    ¡°Keheukk!¡± The towel inflated and deflated together with Kwon¡¯s breath. It seems that he gave up talking and just focused on breathing.


    By the way¡­ Where¡¯s the phone fingerprint recognition?


    After I found it, I put Kwon¡¯s finger on top of it to unlock the phone. Then, I quickly delved into the phone¡¯s settings and set the screen off time to 10 minutes while at the same time activating the Smart Stay function.


    Before long, sounds of footsteps could be heard from beyond the bathroom door. I quickly put all the things I got from Kwon and jumped into the portal.


    Soon after, two burly men dressed in suits just like Kwon opened the door. As soon as they saw Kwon laying down on the floor, they shouted.


    ¡°Team Leader!¡± One of the men ran towards Kwon and helped him to get up.


    ¡°What happened? Why are you laying down like this?¡±


    ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t know. When I realized, I already became like this¡­¡±


    ¡°Team Leader¡­ Breath slowly!¡±


    ¡°M¡­my thigh is wou¡­wounded!¡±


    ¡°Why are you just watching there? Move quickly!¡± One of the men supported Kwon¡¯s body while the other shouted towards the walkie talkie.


    ¡°The Team Leader collapsed inside the bathroom; we will evacuate him. Over.¡±


    -Order Received.


    After they left, I thought for a moment. As their leader was in no condition to lead, they would be confused about what to do. This means, now is the best time for me to run away.


    Kwon was not fatally injured; the paralysis would be released in around 2 to 30 minutes. Once the paralysis wore off, they would certainly return here and kick a fuss. However, as there is no CCTV in this old PC caf¨¦, they wouldn¡¯t be able to know what I looked like aside from the part-timer¡¯s testimony.


    ¡°Then¡­ I should go.¡± I waited for a few minutes more before putting on my hat and left the bathroom.


    ¡°It¡¯s one thousand and two hundred won.¡± The part-timer said. It seems that he didn¡¯t remember anything about what happened earlier. Seeing it, I feel that Kwon¡¯s unique skill was quite great.


    I handed one five thousand won bill to the part-timer and went out before waiting for the change. The thugs who stood on the door had also disappeared.


    Now, I would have to inspect the smartphone in a suitable place¡­ Thankfully, I quickly found a suitable place. It was on the commercial building right across the street.


    When I opened the portal on the wall of one of the buildings and walked in, I can clearly see the front door of the PC cafe from the forest. I could see anything outside, but no one would be able to see me. It was no exaggeration to say that right now I was invisible.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± I moved my finger on Kwon¡¯s smartphone screen.


    Is he perhaps a businessman?


    There¡¯s a lot of contact information of people with titles like Team Leader or Manager on his contact list. There were also dozens of women.


    However, the most important information for me was¡­


    ¡°The location of th the bunker¡­¡±


    Here it is¡­


    Yongjeong CC? Isn¡¯t there a golf club there?


    Perhaps Kwon was the owner of the club?


    ¡°From what I know, that particular club has a lot of celebrity members.¡±


    I looked through his gallery and found a picture of him kissing a beautiful woman in a bikini on an exotic beach.


    ¡°Hah¡­ he¡¯s living such a good life.¡± Though, in the near future, I¡¯m not sure If I could say he had a good life anymore.


    I searched through the messages and found a report from his subordinate.


    ¡°Three bunkers currently and 3 more bunkers to be completed by next week¡­ Industrial oil storage¡­ Firearms¡­¡± The information I needed was readily available. However, there was very little information about the awakeners under their wings. It seems that even Kwon doesn¡¯t know about it.


    While I was feeding Dingo and looking through the phone, I heard a squeaking sound from the portal. It was from the tire of a black van which stopped in front of the PC cafe.


    After the guys from earlier stepped out, Kwon followed them while limping. He then took one of his men¡¯s phone and pressed it hastily.


    ¡°Try hard to find the location.¡±


    Jokes on you, where I am currently is not Earth, but in a different dimension altogether. Even the best hacker out there wouldn¡¯t be able to find my location.


    Seems like Kwon realized it by now as he exploded in anger and smashed the phone into the asphalt.


    ¡°Find that bastard!!¡±


    Do you know where my home is? Because I know where yours is.


    When the apocalypse comes, I promise I will definitely kill you. Your bunker would also be cleaned up.


    While thinking so, I closed the portal.


    Let¡¯s just eat.


    .


    .


    .


    As soon as I arrived at my home, I took out the holster and inspected it. Inside the holster was an MP 335, a gun which, according to the internet, was an automatic pistol made in Russia. It also has a silencer attached to it.


    ¡°There¡¯s also magazines in the holster.¡± In total, the two magazines would have around 20 rounds.


    It was the first time I ever touched a pistol, but as I already saw it a lot of times in movies, I knew what to do and how to do it.


    ¡°If you release the safety lock and push the slide¡­¡±


    Click.


    The slide was pulled forward with a cold metallic sound. Now all I have to do is to pull the trigger.


    I put the safety back on and went to MeTube to learn how to shoot a gun. While I was on it, occasionally some savage knowledge popped out from time to time, but it was all precious to me, so I learned it too.


    After several more hours, I felt confident that I had learned all the theories. Now is the perfect time for practical experience.


    I opened the portal and went to the forest together with Dingo. Then, I walked towards the empty space in front of the cave and pointed the gun towards one of the trees.


    I evened out my breathing, checked my aim for one last time and finally pulled the trigger.


    Then, together with a knockback, a strange and loud noise came out from the gun.


    ¡°It¡¯s louder than I thought it would be¡­¡± In movies, when someone shoots a gun with a silencer attached, the gun sound wouldn¡¯t even be heard by people close by. However, in reality, it doesn¡¯t seem to be the case. And I can only imagine how loud would it be if the silencer was removed, since even after being equipped with a silencer, the gunshot sound was already so loud.


    ¡°I have to keep it on.¡±


    Anyway, with my current skill level, I realized it would be too high of a goal to hit a target at a far distance, but at a close distance I should be fine. Though, I still have to work hard to master both the gripping technique and the shooting technique to make every shot count.


    ¡°Let¡¯s practice with an empty gun.¡± I had no other choice to practice without the bullets since the ammo I currently had was so few. I could only hope that I would hit a jackpot at the hobgoblin event which could happen anytime by now.


    Suddenly, when I was moving my body to practice with the gun, the news about an unidentified monster popped up. On top of it, quite a lot of eyewitnesses wrote what they had seen on social media.


    Without wasting any more time, I ran towards the SUV with Dingo. I started it, and stomped its acceleration pedal. While on the way, I checked the internet for the location of the monster. And turns out, it was on Mt. Gaya.


    From what I read on the internet; it seems that some hikers had seen a creature they had never seen before while descending the mountain.


    -Woah, it seems like a monster appeared on Mt. Gaya.


    -What is it? Is it a real monster?


    -A monster? In this age and day? they probably just saw a wild dog or wild boar¡­ What nonsense.


    -Hehehehe¡­ Don¡¯t you know about Survival Life? In a little while, the world will be destroyed. The appearance of a monster is a sign of destruction.


    -You¡¯re talking nonsense.


    -Haha, I¡¯ve seen a lot of people like you. If you become a zombie later, won¡¯t it be embarrassing?


    -By the way, what kind of monster appeared?


    -I don¡¯t know. From what I read, it was a very ugly dwarf-like monster, but there¡¯s also a large one in the mix.


    -Is it a goblin then? But what about the big one?


    It¡¯s a hobgoblin!


    ¡°Shit, the news has already spread.¡±


    I stomped the pedal harder. I know it was useless to do so since from where I am currently at, it takes around two hours to get to Mt. Gaya no matter how fast I go. However, I don¡¯t care, as I would feel anxious if I don¡¯t drive fast enough.


    By the way, since the day is slowly getting dark, will I be able to find them? There¡¯s a chance that they have already been shot and killed if the police moved already. It was completely a different story from when I took down the orc that day, since I managed to hunt it alone without any disturbance because of the rain.


    I also would be in danger if the police were there.


    ¡°But I still have to do it.¡± Because it was really worth the trouble to kill a strong monster with a large level difference from myself as it has a very high chance of dropping items as well as skills.


    In addition, I had the dimension portal with me. So, I would be in a much safer position compared to others.


    ¡°And I also has Dingo with me.¡± He¡¯s already familiar with the smell of various animals and monsters so he would be able to find it faster than anyone else.


    I drove with one hand and used the other hand to find the first location where the goblin horde was spotted. From what I read, it was first spotted in Huangshan Reservoir.


    If it was Huangshan Reservoir, it was almost at the foot of a mountain¡­


    By the way, because there¡¯s a hobgoblin, the horde should be quite large. At the very least it should be around 20 monsters. And if the horde met some hikers, there¡¯s no chance those goblins would miss those hikers. If so, there should be a raid by now.


    ¡°But there¡¯s no report about that anywhere¡­¡±


    Perhaps, they couldn¡¯t post it on social media because they were being chased? But, if that was truly the case, it was still weird as no one wrote about hearing a scream.


    While I continued to drive, several posts stating that they could hear gunshots started to appear. Looks like the police had already arrived. If I¡¯m unlucky, I wouldn¡¯t get anything from this golden event.


    After driving for another 40 minutes, I finally arrived near the Huangshan Reservoir. And it was pretty crowded.


    ¡°Dingo, stay here for a second.¡± I parked and climbed up the hill to see the two police officers who were controlling the people.


    ¡°Go down! It is dangerous here!¡± Some hikers listened to their words and went down, but there were some guys who went against the police¡¯s words.


    Have some awakeners come?


    Four people ignored police restraints and continued to climb the mountain.


    ¡°Come down! It¡¯s dangerous there!¡± Seeing their action, the police only yelled but did not stop them.


    ¡°By the way, its been two hours since we submited a report, why hasn¡¯t the reinforcement arrived yet?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious. It was delayed because the higher ups didn¡¯t believe the rumour.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, those guys who continue to climb were surely brave. What will they do if they run into the monsters?¡±


    ¡°Maybe they came here to fight those monsters?¡±


    ¡°Why are they fighting them? They should leave it to the police.¡±


    ¡°In today¡¯s world, there are people called the awakeners. Don¡¯t you see it on the news?¡±


    ¡°What kind of people are they?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ They have some kind of superpower¡­¡±


    ¡°What nonsense¡­¡±


    Suddenly, a gunshot could be heard from a distance.


    Bang! Bang!


    ¡°Mommy!¡±


    ¡°So¡­Someone shot a gun¡­¡±


    The people crowding around the police line were startled by it, while the police pulled their radio and tried to talk with it before they climbed up the mountain by themselves.


    Now it¡¯s my turn. I returned to the SUV and stroked the yawning Dingo¡¯s back.


    ¡°Dingo, I believe in you.¡±


    After changing clothes, I put my helmet on my backpack and carried it on my back. Then, I slung the bow to my shoulder and began to depart.


    My secondary weapon would be the pistol. The problem was getting caught by the police while using it. If it happened, I would surely be sent to jail. However, since I had the dimensional portal at my disposal, that probably won¡¯t happen.


    I started climbing up the mountain a little far from where the people were crowding. In front of me, Dingo was leading the way while sniffing the ground.


    ¡°Do you smell a goblin?¡± As he heard my words, Dingo moved his tail like a propeller. It was a sign of ¡®yes¡¯.


    At one point, Dingo stopped and sniffed violently on the ground. Then soon after, he plopped down to the ground while facing towards one direction.


    I unknowingly smiled at his action. Training him was indeed the best decision I¡¯ve ever made.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I said as I patted Dingo¡¯s ass.


    Woof!


    Dingo started running. But, because he was yet to fully grow up, his speed wasn¡¯t outrageously fast. Thanks to that fact, I could follow him without much difficulty.


    ¡°This is unexpected¡­¡± I murmured after I ran for several minutes. Even though I climbed through quite a steep mountain, my breath is not as ragged as it is before when I hunted the orc. It seems my hard work in the forest wasn¡¯t a waste.


    Dingo ran for a few more minutes, then he suddenly stopped.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± In front of us, a man in a police uniform was slumping on the ground.


    I quickly moved closer to him. I hope he isn¡¯t dead¡­


    ¡°Thank god he¡¯s still alive.¡±


    Seeing that the guy was breathing heavily and could not move his body; I was certain that he had been struck by a goblin¡¯s paralyzing dart.


    I moved his body to a more comfortable position. While doing so, drool dripped out from the guy¡¯s mouth. It seems like he was trying to say something. But whatever¡­ I don¡¯t have any intention to hear it.


    I tied a towel to one of the surrounding trees before patting Dingo in the ass.


    He started running again.


    On the way, we stopped once again as we saw 7 corpses of ugly green creatures laying on the ground.


    ¡°They¡¯re shot by a gun.¡±


    It was clear that the police were the ones who killed them. But, the guy from earlier didn¡¯t have a gun¡­


    Has someone looted him already? If that was the case, what a pity¡­


    When I gave Dingo some water, the guy vigorously swallowed it. Then as if he¡¯s feeling energized, he sniffed the ground again.


    Meanwhile, another gunshots could be heard from a distance.

 Chapter 26

    For a moment, while looking at the corpses of the goblins, I was conflicted. Should I get rid of them or not?


    There were simply too many of them for me to throw into the portal one by one. I don¡¯t have enough time to do it because I started to hear sounds of other people climbing up from below.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do it.¡± Once the goblins¡¯ corpses were found, it was clear that tomorrow morning¡¯s news would be dominated by reports about these ugly creatures.


    The gears in my head started to spin. However, no matter how hard I think about it, it was impossible to stop it from happening. If so, all I had to do was take what I needed and hide in silence until the curtain of the ordeal came down.


    I patted Dingo¡¯s back and followed him to the side of the mountain. If the goblins didn¡¯t kill the police, it means they had escaped. Which means, aside from the goblin group, there were three more groups which were roaming around this mountain namely, the police, the group of four awakeners, and myself.


    The outcome of this hunt would heavily depend on who meets whom first.


    ¡°If possible¡­¡± I hope that the goblin horde would only run into me after their power diminished considerably. It was such a selfish thought, but I couldn¡¯t help it. For me, my own life was more important than others.


    After running around for god-only-knows how long, Dingo and I stopped for a moment to take a brief rest. But at that moment, a loud noise echoed not too far away from us.


    I quickly grabbed Dingo on the back of his neck and hid behind a big tree nearby. As I stuck my head out, from where the sounds came from, I could see awakeners clashing violently against the horde of goblins.


    ¡°Swords and bows, huh? It looks like they have the same thoughts as me.¡±


    However, to my surprise, there¡¯s several stones floating around one particular member of the group. The stone then flew towards the goblin horde.


    ¡°Is it telekinetic?¡± Just how many kinds of unique skills are there I wonder?


    The flying stone struck one of the goblins on the back of its head, rendering it unconscious. Meanwhile, two awakeners worked together and shot their arrows from a distance. Their shot wasn¡¯t as accurate as a real archer, but it was useful enough to make the goblins fall into disarray. The last awakened from the group was fighting two goblins at the same time, using a machete on one hand and a plastic-made riot shield on the other. It looks like he¡¯s pretty confident in melee combat.


    ¡°Huap!¡±


    Screeeech~!!!


    The shouting of the man intermingles with the goblin¡¯s high-pitched roar. By the way, are they the only ones here? Are there no other awakeners who come to this place?


    A user with a moderate amount of experience would¡¯ve come here¡­ well, there¡¯s a chance that they were reluctant to do so since they could be apprehended by the police as the case had become big. Though, if they had a stealth-based skill, they would be fine.


    ¡°Should I help¡­¡± However, since it would be a three-way battle if I were to interfere, there was a risk that I could be attacked by both sides.


    As I was busy thinking, a high-pitched sound of whistle thundered from the area behind me. Dammit, it¡¯s the police.


    ¡°Open the portal.¡± Without hesitation, I jumped towards the portal together with Dingo. Let¡¯s just watch how things developed for now.


    Tang Tang!


    The arriving police fired several warning shots using blank bullets into the air. Because of the thunderous noise, the hobgoblin and its underlings got startled and froze on the spot.


    At that moment, the telekinetic guy who was working hard to fly the stones tripped over a tree root and fell to the ground.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    ¡°Ahjussi, be careful!¡±


    While the group of awakeners get distracted for a moment, the goblin horde begins to flee from the battleground.


    The group of awakeners rearranged themselves and tried to chase after them, but unfortunately for them, the police was a beat faster than them and rushed towards them to block them.


    ¡°Stop!¡±


    ¡°What the hell are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°No, we¡­¡±


    ¡°How many times should I tell you? It¡¯s dangerous here, so please go down.¡±


    ¡°Why are you doing this sir! Look there, because of you, the monsters are running away!¡±


    ¡°Just go down now! I was dispatched from the military base! Do you want to get shot and die?¡±


    The group of awakeners flinched and fell silent at the mention of ¡®shot¡¯ and ¡®die¡¯.


    ¡°But Team Leader, isn¡¯t there one more person here?¡±


    ¡°There is no one here! So, let¡¯s go quickly!¡±


    It looks like they had somehow seen me. But thankfully, they didn¡¯t delve into the matter deeper and just went down quietly.


    ¡°Was that a real superpower, earlier?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ It was some sort of telekinesis.¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­was that real?¡±


    ¡°But I have to catch the goblins¡­¡±


    After a while, the area became completely silent.


    ¡°Dingo, let¡¯s go.¡±


    I came out of the portal and went to the direction where those goblins went with Dingo. Breezing through the inclined terrain, I found many traces of the hobgoblin and his underlings scattered all over the place. By the looks of things, it seems that they went deeper into the mountains.


    .


    .


    .


    Darkness descended into the mountain. Thanks to this, Dingo and I were left wandering through the dark forest with only moonlight as our light source. Thankfully, because of Dingo¡¯s excellent sense of smell, we were able to keep tracking the hobgoblin without losing our way. He was obviously tired, but he was still doing his job magnificently. Once this hunt is over, I¡¯ll feed him a lot of beef. I promise!


    From the foot of the mountain, I could see many lights flickering every now and then. It seems that the military had finally arrived and were busy searching for any traces of the goblins.


    ¡°They will be coming up soon¡­¡± Before that happened, I had to kill the hobgoblin.


    ¡°Dingo, stay strong.¡± I patted the guy¡¯s ass and cheered him on. It would¡¯ve given him some strength, but it seemed like he had decided to run a little more regardless.


    Dingo, who had been running for a long time through the dark forest path, suddenly lowered his body to the ground.


    I also knew intuitively.


    Was it due to the increased Perception stat?


    Seconds later, an unpleasant smell unique to goblins entered my nostrils.


    ¡°Dingo, get in.¡± I said to him as I opened the portal. Now it¡¯s just me and a bunch of goblins.


    Even though the forest was dark, my eyes could somehow see them as I was already accustomed to darkness from playing Survival Life for too long. Moreover, the increased Perception stat also helped me to understand the state of my surroundings.


    The silhouette of the hobgoblin began to appear in the vacant lot in the distance. It would be great if I had night vision goggles in time like this¡­ guess, i would have to buy one after this job was over.


    ¡°Are you building a nest?¡± Goblin was a creature which had a habit of returning to their nest after doing what they had to do. So, it must¡¯ve been confusing for them since they didn¡¯t have a nest here. Which means, the hobgoblin must¡¯ve ordered his underlings to create a new nest for them.


    They were quite smart to even dig a trap around the area. However, It were also stupid at the same time as they must¡¯ve thought that their enemy wouldn¡¯t chase after them. Their movement was quite quick amidst the darkness. Their night vision was supposed to be worse than mine, so, how could they move just fine?


    However, I couldn¡¯t back away just because of that fact alone. This was a golden opportunity.


    ¡°Six goblins in total, including the golden goblin and the hobgoblin¡­¡± Once the fight broke out, the golden goblin wouldn¡¯t be able to fight properly because of its big pocket. And there¡¯s a high chance that they had run out of paralyzing darts by now because of the many fights they had been involved in. Moreover, the hobgoblin wouldn¡¯t get involved in the fight at the early stage, and would only order around his subordinate to fight, so my opponents, at least before the latter part of the fight where the hobgoblin would join in, should be the other four goblins.


    It¡¯s doable.


    I threw my bow into the portal because it was useless as my vision is greatly reduced due to the darkness and brought out my machete and helmet. I didn¡¯t bring the gun out because I wanted to save as much ammunition as possible.


    ¡°Damn, I can¡¯t see anything.¡± I sighed as I put my helmet on. Though it¡¯s better than having a paralyzing dart hitting me on the head.


    My first target would be the guy who¡¯s walking aimlessly far away from the group. I had to kill it swiftly and hid its corpse inside the portal.


    Gripping the machete hard, I ran towards it. Because I didn¡¯t even try to mask my footsteps, the goblin looked towards my direction. However, by that time, it was already too late for it to defend itself.


    ¡°Huep!¡± I raised my machete and swung it towards the goblin. It was a simple and ignorant attack with no technique whatsoever, but the end justifies the means. It worked well as the machete dug deep into the goblin¡¯s shoulder and ripped it apart.


    ¡°Die!¡±


    Without giving it time to recover, I once again swung the machete to cut the goblin¡¯s head in half. For a brief moment, as if it was its last struggle, the goblin grabbed the machete with its hand and struggled. But a couple moments later, the hand lost its power and went limp.


    I opened the dimensional portal behind the goblin and entered the portal together with the goblin corpse.


    Meanwhile, in the distance, the hobgoblin roared. It seems like it already detected my presence. From the portal door, I could see the rest of the goblins except for the hobgoblin and the golden goblin slowly walking towards me while baring their teeth.


    Looking at how they approached me instead of shooting paralyzing darts from a distance, it seems like my conjecture was on point. They already ran out of paralyzing darts.


    Then there was nothing to be afraid of at all.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± I shouted as I thrusted my spear towards the goblin through the portal. The goblin I targeted couldn¡¯t even dodge and died immediately, since I aimed the spear to stab it directly on its heart.


    When I pulled the spear, the goblin¡¯s body collided with the portal and fell to the ground.


    ¡°Aha.¡±


    It seems that it¡¯s what the ability description means as ¡®the only one who can use this ability is the one who has it¡¯. If it is not in direct contact with me, humans or monsters wouldn¡¯t be able to use my portal. I¡¯m not sure why animals like Dingo were okay, but whatever.


    The other two goblins quickly took a step backwards, perhaps frightened. Without any more delay, I ran out of the portal and thrusted the spear again towards one of the goblins. When the spear blade found its mark, an eerie sensation of the metal spearhead cutting through its meat and bones could be felt in my fingertips. It was very unpleasant, but still bearable.


    With another one dead, there¡¯s only three guys left. I tried to hide inside the portal again, however, to my surprise, the rest of the goblins started running away.


    And at the same time, I heard a commotion from below.


    Are the soldiers already here?


    ¡°Dammit!¡± In a hurry, I dropped the spear and took out the pistol I looted from Kwon.


    I pushed back the slide and quickly ran to pursue them. Luckily, not far from me, I saw the golden goblin who could not even run properly because of the large pocket it carried. I tried to aim my gun at it, but as it was dark, I couldn¡¯t see properly. Clicking my tongue, I ran as fast as I could to catch up to it.


    ¡°Huh, huh!¡± The combination of rapidly moving while wearing a helmet made it hard for me to breathe to the point where I could barely keep the golden goblin in sight. Then, suddenly, as if it¡¯s a blessing from god, the guy fell to the ground while running. Without wasting any time, I closed the distance and pulled the trigger.


    Tang~!! Tang~!!


    Two bullets lodged themselves into the goblin¡¯s upper body. Blood pooled beneath the goblin¡¯s body. And when the point notification came to my eye, I quickly grabbed its pocket.


    ¡°Open portal!¡± Then, I threw it across the portal.


    Now, there was only one hobgoblin and one goblin left. Standing still for a moment, I gave myself time to take a breath. However, suddenly, I felt goosebumps all over my whole body. As I lifted my head to check, I saw a huge black shadow rushing towards me.


    It¡¯s the hobgoblin!


    GYUOOOHHHH~!!!


    Its roar, attack, and my evasion were done at the same time.


    I rolled to the side trying to distance myself from it. As I keep rolling, my body hits something. Maybe it¡¯s a tree, but I¡¯m not sure.


    ¡°Keuk!¡± A painful sensation travelled through my body. At the same time, I felt my head spinning. Seconds later, power suddenly surges through my body. Seems like Survival Instinct skill has kicked in.


    I quickly stood and ran towards the roaring hobgoblin and pointed my gun towards it. When I pulled the trigger, a dull gunshot echoed. However, I didn¡¯t stop there as I pulled the trigger several more times, just in case it survived the first shot.


    Then, the huge body of the hobgoblin collapsed causing a small tremor. Slowly walking towards the hobgoblin, I put two more bullets in the back of its head when I arrived.


    Then, I shot the last goblin, who seemed to be in a panic, in the head.


    ¡­


    From that last kill, a delightful notification appeared in front of my eyes.


    ¡¸Level has risen to 6¡¹


    ¡¸You have earned 18 Points ¡¹


    ¡¸You have acquired ¡®Terrain Detection¡¯ skill¡¹


    ¡°Terrain Detection?¡± To think I got this skill here¡­ It¡¯s really a jackpot.


    Just like its name, Terrain Detection is a skill which allows its user to detect his surrounding area. It¡¯s such an amazing skill as it would be incredibly useful in the apocalyptic world where everywhere was filled with zombie corpses and fallen buildings. And for the item¡­ this time, it¡¯s my glove which got turned into an item.


    ¡¸Gloves: Dexterity +2¡¹


    It was a good option. In Seola, Dexterity was related to some hidden stats such as Hit Rate and Critical Rate. The higher the Dexterity, the higher the chance of both to occur. And then suddenly, a lot of noises could be heard moving towards my location.


    ¡°It¡¯s here!¡±


    ¡°Be quiet! Don¡¯t you know how to track something? Keep strict boundaries! If something comes up, just hold out!¡±


    I quickly hid in the shadow of a tree and opened the portal. As I entered, Dingo came over to me and started licking my hand. I gave him a pat on the head before sitting on one side of the cave and laid my back to the wall. And then the Survival Instinct skill immediately wore off and extreme fatigue flooded in.


    I wanted to check what¡¯s in the pocket¡­


    ¡°Let¡¯s just do it tomorrow and just sleep for now¡­¡±


    I forced my aching body to move towards the mattress and when I finally touched it, I could feel Dingo pulling up the blanket to cover my body.


    Truly, what a weird guy.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Ugh.¡± As soon as I opened my eyes, my back throbbed violently. It was the pain that came from rolling in the dirt last night.


    ¡°I could live if it was only this much.¡± As I moved away from the embrace of the blanket, Dingo, who was already stretching, looked at me with his puppy eyes.


    I know very well what those eyes mean. He¡¯s asking me for a reward.


    ¡°Wait a minute, let me check the pocket first.¡± My heart was pounding like a child who was about to open a gift from Santa Claus on Christmas as I walked towards the pocket.


    When I lifted the pocket and turned it upside down, various stuff came out from it and dropped to the ground.


    ¡°Kyaaahhh¡­ as expected of the Golden Goblin!¡±


    Amongst the miscellaneous stuff that came out, there¡¯s 2 revolver guns on the mix. When I grabbed it and opened the chamber, there¡¯s 5 bullets inside. One blank bullet and four live bullets.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think whoever had this even got a chance to shoot it.¡±


    Unfortunately, because the bullets inside the revolver were different from what Kwon¡¯s automatic pistol uses, I wouldn¡¯t have any spare once I shot everything. It¡¯s not a big deal though, as I could just loot the police station on the day of the apocalypse.


    I put the guns down and inspected the bunch of items once again. And when my eyes met a silver knife on the piles, I couldn¡¯t help but to exclaim.


    ¡°Oh oh¡­¡±


    To think I¡¯ll see this knife here¡­


    ¡¸Mithril Knife: Permanent¡¹


    ¡®Permanent¡¯ option means that the item was indestructible. Even the corrosive disease wouldn¡¯t be able to destroy it. Though, it didn¡¯t mean that it was completely immune to physical force, which means it can still break if you apply too much force to it.


    ¡°This knife costs 100 point in the store¡­ it was terribly expensive.¡±


    Anyway, it¡¯s a good item to have.


    But just where did the golden goblin get this? Considering their level of civilization, it¡¯s impossible that they made it themselves.


    ¡°It¡¯s strangely rough on the surface¡­¡± Somehow, it looked like small grains were collected and glued together to make this knife unlike knives made by humans which had a very smooth surface that looks like a mirror.


    I took the old goblin sword that I had picked up earlier and compared it.


    ¡°It¡¯s similar.¡±


    Although the craftsmanship level that¡¯s focused on it was slightly different, it felt like it was made by the same person.


    Who the hell made this?


    And the rest of the items were¡­ 5 solar apples, 5 shadow grapes, some guaca fruit powders and some vegetable oils.


    ¡°Oh¡­ that¡¯s not bad.¡±


    Shadow grapes were fruits which would give a temporary night vision buff when eaten. Paired with Terrain Detection skill, I wouldn¡¯t have to be afraid of tripping in the darkness at all.


    All that was left was garbage such as rotting meats and dried fruits.


    ¡°Now that I have pistols and a mithril knife, I¡¯m the new golden goblin.¡± I wonder how the dead goblins would react if they saw me like this¡­


    ¡°Status window.¡±


    ¡¸Level: 6 Point(s): 77


    Vitality:12 Strength:12 Agility:9 Dexterity:11(+2) Perception:10(+2)


    Unique Ability: Dedicated Dimensional Portal


    Skill: Survival Instinct, Terrain Detection


    Active Buff:- ¡¹


    ¡°Good.¡± As I was busy looking at my status window with joy, Dingo kept barking towards me. I guess he knew that by doing so he would quickly get his food.


    I stroked the guy¡¯s head.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat. And on the way home, I will buy you some beef.¡±


    Once we finished eating, I changed into clothes similar to hiking clothes. It was a precaution if I met some soldiers while walking down.


    ¡°It seems that there are no soldiers around¡­¡± Even the hobgoblin and goblin corpses were already gone. It seems that it all had been collected by the soldiers.


    I went down the mountain road. When I finally reached the foot of the mountain, the remaining soldier who had not yet withdrawn stopped me and threw me several questions. But when I said that I was a night hiker, they released me after a simple body check.


    When I went down to the parking lot, I saw that the police had put down a police line all around the area. And outside those police lines, dozens of people are gathering. Several people whom I presume to be reporters ran up to me as soon as they saw me.


    ¡°Excuse me, but can I ask where you are coming from?¡±


    ¡°If you know anything about last night¡¯s incident¡­¡±


    ¡°Uh, I¡¯m just a hiker. I only went up to the mountain at dawn, so I don¡¯t know what you are talking about.¡±


    The reporters who heard me turned back while showing their disappointment.


    Did the typical hiking attire I wore lessen their doubts to that extent?


    ¡°Whew¡­¡± I could only breathe out a long sigh when I went further down and got into the SUV.


    And when I reached home and turned the TV on, my conjecture was once again proven to be correct. The world had turned upside down.

 Chapter 27

    -President Jang Wontaek is currently holding a National Security Council meeting. The opposition demanded that any kinds of information related to underground emergency bunkers be open to the public. This is Reporter Kim Ho-jong reporting.


    The faces of the people attending the meeting were all heavy. The cause was, of course, the hobgoblin and goblin corpses. At this point, most of the citizens had also known about it thanks to the news program which showed all kinds of videos regarding them.


    ¡°They blurred it, huh?¡± On one particular news program, they blurred a sight of goblin corpses being dissected. And when the screen changed, the operation table was replaced by the sight of a white-haired man draped in a lab coat being interviewed by a reporter.


    -Dr. Lee Hyung-tae, can you tell us what kind of creature this is?


    -They are from a species which hasn¡¯t been discovered on Earth.


    The sample¡¯s height and weight are 136cm and 37kg¡­


    Doctor Lee Hyung-Tae proceeded to give a detailed explanation about the goblin. But all of it went over my head, as his words were too hard for me to understand. Thankfully, the reporter cut off the doctor¡¯s explanation.


    -Rumors circulating on the internet said that this monster is actually a goblin. And its appearance fits the description of goblins from many sources. What do you think about the matter?


    -Until now, I thought it was nothing but a joke¡­ but now that I have witnessed it with my own eyes, this creature is surely not something that originated from our planet, but a creature from another world. Therefore, we have to prepare.


    -What kind of preparation are you talking about?


    -Preparation for the end.


    Those words come out from the white-haired doctor.


    ¡°It is only a matter of time before it becomes known to the world.¡± Of course, some people would think that it was nothing but a fabrication and propaganda made by Korea. But with evidence as clear as this, there would be no sane governments who dares to simply ignore it. Sooner or later, key figures from various countries would surely visit Korea to find out the truth.


    ¡°At this point, it¡¯s getting dangerous for me too.¡± Things got too big. Unless the government were an idiot, they would surely figure out the situation. They would try to find the production team behind Survival Life. They would also search all over the Awakened community for an answer, leaving no stone unturned. Up until now, I had only been concerned about other people and their superpowers.


    ¡°But when the goblins popped out on the news, everything was revealed to the world.¡± Maybe, about me too.


    ¡°At this point¡­¡± Should I just expose everything? What would happen if I announced that I¡¯m I Love Gimbap and that I have videos containing all the information about the incoming apocalypse?


    A few days ago, except for some awakeners, no one else would really care if I did so. But now as goblins have appeared, what the awakeners claimed was becoming reality. Therefore, the government would definitely try to secure me first.


    ¡°And they would also be interested in the world beyond the portal.¡± They would surely ask me to bring evidence, samples and a lot of other things from there. And then what? Except for myself and animals, no one could enter the portal. At the end of the day, there¡¯s no way to save other people with my portal.


    What do they think the people would do once they know that the zombie apocalypse is unavoidable?


    ¡°Protests¡­riots¡­terrorism¡­¡± Only negative thoughts came to mind. The actual results won¡¯t be much different from that, unfortunately. In the end, there was a high possibility that people would create a bloodshed just to stay by my side.


    It would be great if everyone can just stay together. ¡°But it¡¯s very dangerous for more than 5 people to gather¡­¡±


    So, the conclusion I came to was that spreading the video would undoubtedly put myself in danger. Anonymous tactics? With all kinds of false information circulating around the internet, it would not be surprising if people cursed at me instead of trusting me. And if I revealed that it was me, I Love Gimbap, who uploaded the strategy, the government would track me down like hungry hounds from hell.


    My reluctance became bigger after remembering how Kwon found out where I was through my IP. And if it were the authorities, they would definitely be able to find me even faster than Kwon did.


    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± It was selfishness disguised as force majeure. But to ensure my own safety, there was nothing I could do. Let¡¯s just do what I¡¯ve been doing.


    By the way, it was still questionable whether the government would be able to find the production team of Survival Life. Afterall, even though the situation had boiled up to this point, those guys still haven¡¯t said a single word. It seems like they¡¯re hiding something.


    There were so many things I wanted to ask them, but since there¡¯s not even a single news or rumour about their current location, there¡¯s no way for me to ask. I hope they won¡¯t ever be found, together with my private information.


    I rubbed my eyes and searched the internet. It¡¯s messed up there too, as always.


    .


    .


    .


    -Is it true that a hobgoblin appeared?


    ?Well damn¡­ it¡¯s enormous¡­


    ?Just who killed that one? Is it one of the four stagnant waters??


    ?If it¡¯s one of the four, it should be that bastard.


    ?But didn¡¯t the news say that the cause of death was a gunshot wound? Is there a reason for I Love Gimbap to use a gun?


    ?That¡¯s right¡­ he probably has a cheat-like unique ability, so there should be no reason for him to use a gun¡­


    ?Wasn¡¯t there several people who said that they¡¯re planning on hunting it? Where are they?


    ?They are probably arrested by the police and being investigated right now.


    ?Crazy bastards LOLOLOL


    ?Other than points, is there other kinds of rewards that you can get after killing a hobgoblin?


    ?If the level difference is large, there¡¯s a chance that a skill would drop.


    ?Ah damn! I¡¯m so envious of whoever killed it!


    ?We can¡¯t even guess who killed it.


    ?That person may be reading this post right now.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m reading it.¡± I scoffed. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s still time to chat around while relaxing, now that the whole world knows about the apocalypse. Soon, the government will issue a search and seizure warrant for the server. Yet, these people were still busy discussing the recent goblin incident. Then, in one particular post, someone posted a translation of the reaction of a foreign community server.


    ¨DA green monster appeared in Korea¡­ Hey guys. To what extent do you think this article is reliable?


    ?They say that the front page of a Korean newspaper today are all showing same picture. The TV over there had also been raging since morning. So the credibility should be guaranteed.


    ?Are you kidding me? This is a goblin. The same one that shows up in games and novels. Did they really show up? In Korea?


    ?Does anyone know some Korean community server?


    ?I¡¯ve been looking for it, but I¡¯m completely confused right now. The Korean government is silent as they seem to be taking measures on their own, and a lot of community servers are truly becoming a melting pot of chaos.


    ?Jesus. Is this picture real? I don¡¯t know what happened. Can someone explain to me?


    ?Friends, that¡¯s what I heard¡­


    It¡¯s pretty chaotic there too. When Korea was buzzing with awakeners and superpowers, they regarded it as nothing but nonsense. However, when the news about the goblins finally appeared, the situation changed.


    ¨DI can¡¯t believe it, but just now, our President tweeted that he has sent the Secretary of State and National Security Advisor to South Korea.


    ?Are those two going to Korea now?


    ?It¡¯s probably because of the green monster¡­


    ?That means the President know about it.


    ?So what¡¯s the conclusion? Are gates gonna open soon and monsters will invade our land, like in novels or movies?


    ? It¡¯s similar but incorrect. According to my Korean friends, a zombie apocalypse will soon come.


    ?Did they got hit by 22 bullets in the back of their head? (Note: it¡¯s probably a reference to the movie ¡°22 Bullets¡± where the MC got shot 22 times, the joke here is that the MC didn¡¯t die even after being shot so many times, making him similar to an undead, or in this case, zombie. Do tell me if I¡¯m wrong about the reference by leaving a comment below.)


    ?It¡¯s not a joke. Do you know about the Silver Dragon meteor that broke because of Jupiter¡¯s gravitational field a while ago? It¡¯s pouring down towards Earth.


    ?Even at this moment, the fragments of that meteor are pouring down towards Earth.


    ?That meteor is different. Because it contains something that will turn us into zombies. I don¡¯t know whether it was a virus, spore or bacteria¡­ But what is certain is that most of us will become zombies.


    ?Wow. That¡¯s cool.


    ?The time has come for my shotgun to show off its power.


    ?So, when will us survivalist¡¯s turn comes? When exactly is the date of this ¡®apocalypse¡¯?


    ?No one knows about the exact time. Also, there¡¯s no guarantee that you survivalists won¡¯t also turn to zombies. To put it bluntly, nothing is certain yet.


    ?Wow, it¡¯s sounds fantastic.


    You think it¡¯s fantastic, huh?


    By the way, it¡¯s really surprising. I thought they would be completely in the dark about the whole situation, but turns out, they knew quite a lot.


    ¡°Do they know about the corrosive disease?¡± I wanted to see more of those foreigners¡¯ reactions, but I couldn¡¯t do so as I had a lot of work to do. I have to buy seeds, and I also need to stock up several books, in case I get bored in the apocalyptic world, since when the apocalypse begins, the world will be turned back to the stone age, with no technology in sight.


    The forest would be no different, since there would be no internet there, even if I have the technology such as a laptop or a phone.


    I also had so many other things to buy such as medicines, various nutritional supplements, clothes, and blankets.


    Moreover, I had to dig a moat around the cave to keep me and my supply safe!


    ¡°Shit.¡± My head hurts just by thinking about it. Digging a moat was such a pain, but it was a must, so I had no other option but to do it.


    Meanwhile, the awakeners from Korea were still busy laughing and chattering in the community at the foreigners¡¯ reaction. Afterall, it was their opportunity to laugh at them in reverse as they were saying that the goblins were nothing but fabrications created by the Koreans.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do anything like that anymore¡­¡±


    Then someone suddenly chimed in.


    ¨DIt would be better for you guys to quickly delete all your comments. The government now knows about the goblins, which means they¡¯ll know about the apocalypse and Survival Life too. Do you think they¡¯ll leave this place unchecked? They will confiscate the server.


    ?Screw them.


    ?There is no delete all options in this site¡­


    ?What are the admins doing?


    They only start erasing all their comments once someone warns them and reminds them about the government. I closed the community tab window and updated the list of things I needed and placed an order.


    Then, as soon as I finished, my phone suddenly rang. When I checked the caller, it was Hyung-jun Hyung.


    ¨DSeongho, did you watch the news?


    ¡°I did, I was really surprised.¡±


    -People are gathering at the gym right now, can you come?


    ¡°I can¡¯t join your group, Hyung.¡±


    -No, it¡¯s not about that. Let¡¯s just talk. You know¡­ I¡¯m just frustrated.


    It seems that he¡¯s frustrated because even though there are awakeners in his group, he doesn¡¯t seem to know a lot of information about the incoming apocalypse, and even if he did, there¡¯s no way to check whether the information is fake or not.


    I got into the rented SUV parked in front of my store and went to the fitness centre.


    When I went up to the 4th floor, unlike usual, the gym was silent with only sounds from the TV, echoing throughout the room. There¡¯s also no people who are exercising as everyone is gathering in front of the TV.


    Hyung-jun Hyung raised his arm and waved it as soon as he saw me walking in.


    ¡°You are here? Everybody knows who Seongho is, right? He¡¯s the owner of the snack bar close by.¡±


    ¡°Oh. The person who delivered snacks here back then.¡±


    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Kim Bora.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you.¡±


    I greeted the man who greeted me with my eyes while I gave my full name to the woman named Kim Bora. Mikyung, who¡¯s sitting on an exercise machine, walked towards me and said,


    ¡°Ahjussi, did you come here after working out somewhere?¡±


    ¡°No, I was at home.¡±


    ¡°Your face is so thin.¡±


    ¡°Sorry?¡±


    When I looked at my reflection on the full-length mirror at the gym, I was gobsmacked. Just when did I become like this?


    Behind me, I could see Hyung-jun Hyung standing while giving an intense glare towards me.


    ¡°Seongho, are you really not working out anywhere? Take off your clothes.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Hyung-nim, why should I take my clothes off?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know today¡¯s rules of the gym. If you are a beginner, you need to take off your shirt and get checked. Take it off quickly.¡±


    ¡°What kind of rules change every day?¡± I grumbled and quickly stripped. It was something unthinkable for me from a month ago because I was shy and didn¡¯t want people to see my bare skin. However, after going through many hardships in the forest, I could feel the change in my body, so I was confident.


    When I took off my shirt, Mikyung¡¯s eyes went round.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Hyung-jun Hyung then looked around my body with a serious expression.


    ¡°Hey Seongho, did you get into a fight?¡±


    ¡°Sorry?¡±


    Oops. All the wounds from rolling in the forest still remained on my body.  Minor wounds such as bruises could be found in many places, while quite severe wounds such as cuts from where the bone creeper¡¯s bones were embedded could be seen around my wrist. My body looks like a canvas for an abstract painting.


    ¡°It¡¯s not from a fight. I fell a few times while running.¡±


    ¡°How did you fall while running at your age? And this one¡­ it¡¯s not a bruise, is it?¡±


    Hyung-jun Hyung grabbed my arm and looked closer to the wound from the bone creeper¡¯s explosion. It was really painful, but seeing that it hadn¡¯t healed yet, my heart aches.


    I coughed and turned around.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s a wound I got after falling down the stairs while carrying things. Don¡¯t you know I have another staircase in my house?¡±


    Will he believe the gruesome excuse that a young man rolled down the stairs while carrying things?


    Fortunately, Hyung-jun Hyung didn¡¯t dig that deep.


    ¡°You need to be careful.¡±


    Then the screen on the TV changed. A spokesperson for the Blue House was standing behind a podium. It seems like he was about to give a public statement. (Note: Blue House is the equivalent of USA¡¯s White House in South Korea)


    ¡°Manager, they are doing a press conference.¡±


    When the man spoke, Hyung-jun Hyung ran to the TV.


    I¡¯m still standing in my place and putting my clothes back on. Mikyung approached me and whispered with a smirk.


    ¡°Ahjussi, you¡¯re so cool.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean cool?¡±


    ¡°Your shoulders and arms look so strong. I was surprised at how wide it was.¡±


    Yes, it¡¯s as big as a pig.


    I smiled at Mikyung and walked together to the TV. It seems that the government had reached a conclusion from the conference this morning. The spokesperson examined the manuscript hidden in the desk once more before opening his lips.


    ¨DI will tell you about the government¡¯s stance on the current situation and guidance for the future. A group of monsters that appeared in Gaya Mountain National Park have been identified as a species of goblins. It is a lifeform that does not exist on Earth¡­


    He started with a long winded intro full of basic things which was prepared for people who don¡¯t know about goblins at all.


    ¨D¡­Based on the following facts, it is judged that it is necessary to find out to what extent the words of the awakened with supernatural powers are true.


    -In response, the President delivered two instructions. First, we are going to find the trace of the Survival Life developer team. And second, we will listen to the opinions of those who might know the truth of this situation. For a prompt resolution of this situation, the cooperation and interest of the people and related organizations is desperately needed. That is all.


    The spokesperson said and withdrew from the podium. He gave no time for questioning unlike usual, so the reporters were quite stunned. Sighs erupted from all over the press conference room.


    Meanwhile, Hyung-jun Hyung, who was watching, said.


    ¡°It¡¯s going crazy. Kyunghoon, aren¡¯t you going to be arrested as well? You are an awakened.¡±


    ¡°No one can catch me.¡± The man in question shrugged his shoulders and laughed.


    Then, the woman who identified herself as Kim Bora asked him.


    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you go to Mt. Gaya as well? They say that if you catch a goblin, you will get some items.¡±


    ¡°Ah, items? What nonsense. They only give points.¡±


    They also give you item and skill, you stupid. It seems like this Kyunghoon guy is the one behind the misinformation at the gym. If he only searched the awakened community, he would be able to find the information. Just where did he hear about those stupid information?


    Mikyung sat on the bench and shook her legs.


    ¡°The person who caught those goblins¡­ his level must have risen, right?¡±


    ¡°Currently he should be at level 1 or level 2. Not too far to catch up. Trust me.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    I¡¯m sorry but¡­ it¡¯s level 6.

 Chapter 28

    -So, in the end, we will all turn into zombies?


    -Yes. Once the zombie apocalypse happens, most people will become zombies. But we, awakeners, are a little different.


    -How are you different?


    -We have superpowers and information. It was enough to survive even when zombies and monsters popped out.


    -Is there any guarantee that awakeners wouldn¡¯t turn into zombies?


    -Uh, that¡¯s¡­


    The man who was being interviewed stuttered, seemingly lost about what to answer. And to be honest, I also didn¡¯t know for certain whether awakeners are immune to the spores or not.


    Looking at the faltering man, a bitter smile was etched on the reporter¡¯s lips.


    -Next question. Hypothetically, how would our society change if the apocalypse happened?


    -I¡¯ve told you! It will really happen. Anyway, once it happens, personal strength becomes the most important thing. Whoever wins the fight is the winner. Well, working and earning money will be useless. Basically, the rule of the jungle will be applied to the society, where the strong will survive and the weak will be eradicated.


    The awakened let out a rough breath. It seems like he¡¯s feeling excited. From his tone of voice, it was clear as day that he was waiting for the end.


    Did he perhaps have a lot of pent up frustration on his social life? If that¡¯s the case, I could sympathize with him. Back when I was still working in a factory in my early 20s, I often hated the times when I had to wake up and go to work, to the point where sometimes I considered dying would be far better. But isn¡¯t that still better than the world coming to an end?


    Hyung-jun Hyung, who was scowling at the TV with his arms crossed, opened his mouth, ¡°In my opinion, he¡¯s jobless. That¡¯s why he cursed the world and hoped it would be destroyed.¡±


    Everyone nodded their heads in agreement at Hyung-jun Hyung¡¯s words.


    ¡°But the interviewer does have a point¡­ how do we distinguish those who will be turned into a zombie and those who won¡¯t?¡± Bora asked.


    ¡°If there¡¯s no one who spread the words up to this moment, it¡¯s safe to say that nobody knows.¡± Hyung-jun Hyung spoke. However, the misinformation guy quickly opened his mouth.


    ¡°That¡¯s not it, Manager. People who stay around an awakener will be fine.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Bora raised her eyes.


    ¡°Do you know why people awakened? It was because they had played Survival Life before. In other words, they have made contact with Survival Life. Now, who has made contact with me?¡± The man smiled as his gaze fell on Bora and Hyung-jun Hyung. It seems like he didn¡¯t bother to look at Mikyung as she¡¯s also an awakened. While the reason he didn¡¯t look at me was obvious, as I am not even in their group.


    ¡°Ahhh, so you¡¯re saying that Bora and I wouldn¡¯t turn into zombies because we had made contact with you?¡± Hyung-jun Hyung asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I think so.¡± Kyunghoon shrugged his shoulders.


    ¡°Then, should I follow Kyunghoon wherever you go?¡±


    He seemed to be in a good mood as Bora asked while stroking his muscular forearm.


    ¡°Haha, just trust me. Those zombies can¡¯t even move quickly. If I just beat them up, we¡¯ll be safe.¡±


    ¡°The tutorial was very difficult though¡­¡± As Mikyung spoke, Hyung-jun Hyung turned his head towards her.


    ¡°I heard that it¡¯s difficult, but just how difficult is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really hard¡­ I couldn¡¯t even get past the beginning part of the tutorial and died. Those zombies move so fast.¡±


    Hearing Mikyung¡¯s words, Bora rolled her eyes at Kyunghoon.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say zombies are slow earlier?¡±


    ¡°It feels different from person to person.¡±


    ¡°So, how far did you go? Did you manage to clear the tutorial?¡±


    ¡°Ehm¡­ It was a long time ago, so I can¡¯t remember very well, but I must have cleared it.¡±


    By his words, I could easily tell that he couldn¡¯t even finish the tutorial. I wonder just where his confidence came from. By all the good things in the world, please stop confusing Hyung-jun Hyung by spreading wrong information!


    Without knowing my feelings, the guy moved his body and said proudly, ¡°So, imagine the zombies are coming¡­ Because they can¡¯t move normally, so you can move like this. Backwards, backwards.¡±


    I sighed in my mind at his ridiculous display. Meanwhile, beside me Hyung-jun Hyung gave Kyunghoon a questioning gaze.


    ¡°Is that information true? Didn¡¯t you tell me to go to the hardware store when we were talking about weapons before?¡±


    ¡°Ah, Manager¡­. I was a little confused back then. It¡¯s been a while since I played the game.¡±


    Long? It¡¯s been less than two years, you bluff. As I can¡¯t just let this idiot confuse Hyung-jun Hyung anymore, I whispered to him and dragged him to the corner.


    ¡°Hyungnim, I heard from I Love Gimbap on one of his broadcasts. He said that if you run into a zombie, you have to avoid it.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°In the apocalypse, the roads will be incredibly messy. Buildings and car wreckages, corpses of both humans and zombies, debris¡­ If you just move backwards carelessly, you will definitely trip over something.¡±


    ¡°Thinking about it¡­ It should be like that, isn¡¯t it? So, we need to move to the side?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Before the zombies arrive, take a good look at your surroundings. Then, you have to be careful with every step you take. In fact, fighting zombies isn¡¯t a very good way to do it either. You should avoid it if you can.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to remember it.¡±


    ¡°Hyung-nim, do you know how many people there are in our neighborhood? Imagine all of them turning to zombies. If we decide to fight them all at once, we will instantly get surrounded.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    Hyung-jun Hyung looked at Bora and Mikyung before throwing an incredulous face towards Kyunghoon, who was busy boasting about something.


    ¡°You should have joined instead of that man.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s already full, I can¡¯t help it. By the way, where did the other one go?¡±


    ¡°Do you know there¡¯s a store nearby that sells things related to camping? That store is currently holding a huge sale. He went there.¡±


    Big discount on camping supplies huh¡­ what a temptation. When the D-day arrives, it will be a better option to break into it rather than a convenience store. I checked it out on the internet and was about to bid a farewell to Hyung-jun Hyung. But, the front door of the gym suddenly opened and someone¡¯s head peeked inside.


    It was Sooyeon, the doctor that I met at the hardware store. Though, she¡¯s no longer a doctor.


    ¡°Sooyeon, what are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°I have something to give you. Wait a minute, okay?¡±


    ¡°Come in, come in.¡±


    Sooyeon headed towards us and greeted the other gym members before taking something out of her bag. It was a red bag with a white cross printed on top of it. ¡°This is a pain reliever, antibiotic, and anti-inflammatory pain reliever pack. When you get hurt, you just have to use one of these.¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­¡±


    I was quite surprised by what she took out. From what I knew, it was something which couldn¡¯t be bought without prescription. So, who the hell prescribes¡­ Ah¡­.


    Sooyeon, who received the attention of the people, said confidently.


    ¡°I personally forged the prescription.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it illegal because you quit being a doctor?¡±


    When Hyung-jun Hyung smirked, Sooyeon smiled and pulled the first aid kit bag closer to her, ¡°I still have my medical license. So, you don¡¯t want it or not, Manager?


    ¡°No, no, I do want it. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°I have been watching TV since this morning. Because of those goblins, they all went crazy.¡±


    Ah, that¡¯s why you finally decided to join here.


    ¡°In the end, the world is going to be ruined anyway, so who would care even if I forged some prescriptions?¡± Sooyeon gave a brief glance towards all the members and shrugged.


    ¡°You¡¯re so cool, Sooyeon.¡± Hyung-jun Hyung chuckled.


    ¡°Ah by the way, Seongho, are you also in this group?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯m not with them.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Then I¡¯ll just give you this.¡±


    What she handed me was a small pouch. When I opened it, there were several medicine bags identical to those in the first aid kit.


    ¡°Thank you. Someday, I will pay you back.¡±


    Sooyeon tapped my shoulder as she heard my words, ¡°Don¡¯t forget that kindness, and if we do meet next time and I get into trouble, please help me.¡±


    As long as I¡¯m not in danger, I would make sure I would pay her back. I put the pouch in my backpack and finally gave my farewell to all the gym members.


    From his gaze and body language, Hyung-jun Hyung seemed to still want me to join their group. However, I simply couldn¡¯t join them as I have a lot of work to do once the apocalypse descends. Moreover, as my level became higher, being next to me was considerably more dangerous as stronger monsters would spawn more frequently around me.


    Even normal zombies that appear in the beginning were a big threat to them, so let¡¯s not talk about how threatening reinforced zombies are to them.


    I got in the SUV and headed to my next destination.


    .


    .


    .


    The plant nursery I was currently at was full of seeds I had never heard of in my life.


    Coastal hog fennel? Heracleum? Sweet wormwood?


    My mind blanked out because of the plant names I heard for the first time. And to be honest, it would be a waste to stock up seeds I had never even heard of, because if I somehow choose a seed of a fruit that has a disgusting taste, I will have to endure and eat it anyway, as those fruits are my source of energy. Therefore, I decided to just choose seeds that I frequently encountered.


    After purchasing hundreds of thousands won worth of seeds, the owner added some seeds as a bonus.


    ¡°Thank you very much, please come again.¡±


    I smiled at her words. I will definitely come again in the near future. At that time, I would probably wipe the store clean. In fact, however, there was a more important place than this plant nursery. It was the seed vault located in Gyeongbuk. From what I heard, it was the biggest seed storage in the entire Asia which houses approximately 50,000 seeds.


    When the D-day arrived, naturally, the electricity which powered the vault would be cut off, so it would be difficult for the seeds to survive.


    ¡°Still, because they¡¯re seeds, those things will definitely hold up well.¡± When the corrosive disease subsided, I would pay a visit to that vault with the motorcycle I had stored in the cave.


    ¡°By the way, there are too many places to rob.¡± As most of the foods in convenience stores had a short lifespan. It would be better to just loot the plant nursery, the hardware store, and camping equipment store. The list just kept getting longer and longer. I was worried about my ability to loot everything in just five hours.


    ¡°Because you never know how things will change.¡± What would await me on the D-day was either an orderly end or a chaotic ruin. It depends on the government¡¯s actions.


    ¡°I think it would be ok if I tell them when it will happen.¡± It would also be a good way to teach reporters who were thirsty for the scoop on the exact timing. Though, it would be useless if the government managed to secure the Survival Life¡¯s developer team, as no matter how good I am at the game, I can¡¯t compete with those who created the game.


    When I arrived at the camping supply store, the sheer size of the parking lot shocked me.


    ¡°Why is it so big¡­¡± Can I loot the whole place in just one day? I think zombies would be swarming here too¡­


    Upon entering the store, which was tiny when compared to the size of the parking lot, it was jam-packed with customers. They were all young people with backpacks on their backs. Looking at the spectacle, realization dawned to me. It seems that rumors about the apocalypse had finally penetrated deep into daily life. It was proven by the fact that even the counter staff was watching the news about the goblin finding on their smartphones. Everywhere, the talk about goblins, zombies, and the apocalypse could be heard.


    ¡°Rope¡­ is here.¡± After browsing through the display, I found a good quality paracord. Nowadays, it was also commonly used as a material to make bracelets, but its main use was a parachute cord. It was said to be very strong and could withstand a load of 250 kg with only a single rope. It would certainly be useful for my life in the forest.


    Besides the paracord, there¡¯s also many products which caught my eyes. For example, the gorgeous ceramic kitchen set and tableware set which I¡¯m seeing right now. Unfortunately, when I look at the price tag, ¡°Damn, it¡¯s too expensive.¡±


    What kind of chopsticks cost 10,000 won? Outrageous!


    I stuck my tongue out and erased the thought of buying products that are too pricey or unnecessary for me. On the day of the apocalypse, the hardware store, the pharmacy, and this place were places I should prioritize on looting first.


    After buying the paracord and some other supplies, I went out. When I got back into the SUV and was about to drive away, I incidentally saw a heavy equipment rental company on the side of the street. Various equipment was lined up in the vacant lot, but what caught my eye the most was the cute mini sized fork crane.


    ¡°There¡¯s a small fork crane?¡±


    With that size, it would fit into the portal, right?


    I drove the car to the empty lot, and checked the mini fork crane with a tape measure. The result made a smile bloom in my face. It was only 80cm wide.


    ¡°It fits.¡±


    And then, an old man who appears to be the president of the company came out.


    ¡°Will you rent 008?¡±


    It seems that 008 was what this mini fork crane is called. I nodded my head heavily towards him while smiling, feeling happy that I don¡¯t have to dig all those moats alone manually. However, my smile fell apart when the president asked me whether I have a heavy machinery license or not.


    While I was making a sad face, the president told me. ¡°You can get a license in just two days, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± My voice filled with power once again. There were 10 days left before the apocalypse, so there was enough time to get it. Rather than digging a moat for two days by hand, it would be much better to wait to get a license before digging the moat using the crane.


    I followed the president to look around the inside of the company. Then, a peculiar piece of equipment tickled my curiosity.


    ¡°President, what is that?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that? It¡¯s a hydraulic ax. You use it to cut firewood.¡±


    ¡°Nowadays, even cutting firewood could be automatic, huh?¡±


    The boss immediately headed towards the machine and manned it. He took a piece of log and put it on the blade. When he flipped the switch, the machine roared as the log split in half.


    ¡°It¡¯s strong.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s strong, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯ll lend you one at a cheap price.¡±


    However, because the hydraulic ax ran on electricity, it wasn¡¯t something I could use in the forest. The electricity gathered from the solar panels was simply not enough to power it.


    ¡°Do you have anything similar that runs on gasoline?¡±


    ¡°There is, but it¡¯s a bit expensive¡­¡±


    ¡°Please show me.¡±


    The gasoline hydraulic ax the president showed was much larger than the hydraulic one. It weighed more than 200 kg. However, there would be no problem moving it as it was equipped with wheels. So I made a contract to loan one. Additionally, I also ordered a chainsaw, engine oil, and an oxygen cutter. Of course, the loan duration was 11 days.


    ¡°I was an idiot for not knowing this.¡±


    The next place I would stop by was the bookstore. It might be redundant to store books in the cave as I already possessed a splendid substitute for it, which was various videos ranging from tutorials to survival tips downloaded from MeTube. However, the knowledge I could get from the videos was limited as there were many parts that were difficult to interpret because I wasn¡¯t familiar with all the terminology.


    ¡°For Koreans, Hangul is the best.¡± I hummed as I browsed at the list of gardening books displayed on the shelf. Just in case, I also picked books about electricity, electronics, and basic construction.


    ¡°¡­I should definitely come here too.¡± By the sheer number of stores I planned on looting on the D-day, It seems like I would die because of exhaustion, not because of zombies. However, I couldn¡¯t just give up on them for they were things that would enrich my life.


    I put all the books I just bought on the back of the car. The last thing on today¡¯s itinerarium is buying jerry cans and going to the gas station to get gasoline. It was something which needed to be stocked up as it was hard to get it once the apocalypse starts.


    ¡°I need to find a way to store it somehow.¡±


    I got gasoline and stopped by Daiso to buy the things I needed from the 4th floor to the 1st floor. Toothpaste, toilet paper, soap, sewing set, tableware, etc¡­


    ¡°Come to think of it, this place has so many useful things.¡± So, after the tutorial ended, it seemed that looting this place would be the number one priority.


    When I got home with a lot of luggage in the back of my car, the president of the heavy equipment company came to deliver what I borrowed.


    ¡°Please put it here, I¡¯ll take care of the rest by myself.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    As soon as the president left after he finished loading off the machinery, I opened the portal and carried all the equipment and the things I just borrowed into the forest.


    Dingo overreacted as soon as he saw me and all the new things and ran towards me.


    ¡°Go away, go away. These things are dangerous.¡± However, he didn¡¯t heed my warning at all. Therefore, I went to the house for a second, took some vinegar, and sprinkled it onto all the dangerous machinery.


    When he ran towards the chainsaw, he yelped and quickly ran away because of the vinegar smell. Sorry Dingo, it¡¯s all for your safety.


    I read the manual slowly before starting the chainsaw.


    Wooaaang-!!


    A roar of machines echoed throughout the forest. Countless birds were startled by the noise and flew away as they chirped. It seems like monsters in the vicinity of the cave would soon flock into this place. However, it¡¯s all fine as long as they were only small sized monsters. The barbed wire would fence them out.


    When I hit a tree that was too big to get rid of with the hacksaw, the chainsaw went in easily like a hot knife cutting butter. It was really cool.


    Just like that, three days passed in a blink of eyes.

 Chapter 29

    7 days left until the zombie apocalypse begins. To my surprise, no one contacted nor came to my home throughout the time. I was not complaining though. However, it also raised a question about the capability of the government in my mind.


    Just how hard is it to find someone or something in this small country? Even Kwon managed to find where I was simply through tracking my IP. I was certain that if the information agency belonging to the country put their mind on it, they would be able to find out what kind of underwear am I wearing today. Of course, I didn¡¯t want them to find out, but still¡­ ¡°Why are they still so quiet?¡±


    I turned on the TV and left it on while showering. But there wasn¡¯t much to watch. News about high-ranking foreigners as well as foreigner correspondents visiting Korea was no longer fresh news. What I¡¯m most curious about is what they intend to do next.


    As I sat idly and watched the TV, a discussion on the current affairs started.


    ¡°Why is this program aired in the morning?¡± It was a rule of thumb for such a heavyweight program to only air at night. However, it seems like the media decided to ignore the rule this time because the matter was so serious.


    At that time, Dingo came out of the bathroom, yawned and put his head on my leg.


    -This case is judged to be very serious. The government¡¯s judgment is also delayed. In our program, we will discuss what we should do if all of this is true. Let¡¯s focus here and move on to the discussion. I shall present the stage to you, sir panelists.


    As soon as the presenter finished speaking, one particular panelist made a bombshell declaration.


    ¨DThere is nothing to say. We must enact the Martial Law immediately!


    ¨DWait a minute, you can¡¯t just mention the Martial Law so early like that¡­


    The first panelist shrugged his wide shoulder as the other panelist tried to object.


    ¨DAre you seriously still saying that? As soon as the monsters we thought only appeared in fantasy appeared on Earth, it¡¯s all over. We too, will eventually become zombies. But will the people just accept it like that? Even at this moment, many protests were happening all over the place. It is certain that it will only become worse in the future. If we don¡¯t do anything about it, soon it will spiral into an uncontrollable chaos. That¡¯s why we need to enact the Martial law.


    ¨DThe enactment of the Martial Law is not a simple matter to decide¡­ It will put an enormous burden on the government, especially in the personnel and economy section. The Parliament won¡¯t allow it.


    ¨DSigh, the world is about to end, so what does it have to do with the government and the Parliament? In a few weeks or months, there will be zombies roaming around our city. If we don¡¯t do anything it will be hard for the survivors.


    To be exact, it¡¯s a week later sir¡­


    The Panelists kept debating back and forth in a tense manner. The wide shoulder panelist who seemed to have a good grasp of what would happen kept insisting on one thing. In short, he¡¯s saying that since we¡¯re already screwed anyway, let¡¯s enact the Martial Law and greet the end like a proper human being.


    -I want to raise a point about the corrosive disease here. It is a very terrifying phenomenon which will destroy all kinds of metal. If this disease spreads on the day of the zombie apocalypse, the effect will be devastating. Is there anyone who can explain what happens to the metals that get exposed to the corrosive disease?


    -Isn¡¯t it a little bit difficult to explain things that are scientifically impossible to happen?


    ¨C Well, After all, it came from a game, so it¡¯s not wrong to say that those things came from fantasy.


    When the two panelists, who have a contrasting view with the wide-shoulder guy, started to dismiss his claim, he sighed and shook his head.


    -Weren¡¯t the appearances of superpowers something that¡¯s supposed to come out of a fantasy? Just yesterday, a world-famous awakened visited Korea and admitted that he had a perfectly working superpower, right? By now, there¡¯s as many as 100 people who had been admitted to the government task force, and there were more people who wanted to join. And what about the goblins? Are you saying that those ugly creatures were propaganda made by the government?


    ¨C No, no. But¡­ just because A turns out to be true, it doesn¡¯t mean that B and C will also come true, right?


    -The superpower is A, the goblin is B, and, coincidentally, the Silver Dragon meteorite, which was on its way to Earth as we speak, is C. Are you gonna keep that attitude until all factors from A to Z turns out to be true? I bet even after zombies appeared in front of you, you¡¯ll still say there¡¯s a 5% chance that a zombie apocalypse wouldn¡¯t happen.


    The wide-shoulder panelist scoffed as he hurled a sarcastic remark. The two other panelist¡¯s expressions become sour and they start to cough. Then, the moderator finally intervened.


    -Gentleman, let¡¯s calm down a bit. Today¡¯s topic was how we should act if all of this was proven to be true¡­ but I think we need to look at it from a slightly different point of view.  Mr. Lee Hyun-soo, what is the reason behind your first statement , about how we need to enact the Martial Law as soon as possible?


    The broad shoulder panelist, whose name turned out to be Lee Hyun-soo, chugged down the water from the mug in front of him and slammed it back to the table.


    -The Martial Law needs to be enacted for an orderly end. Invasion of zombies, corrosive disease, and monsters. When all these unrealistic factors are mixed together, our civilization will surely end.


    When he paused for a moment, the other two panelists coughed. It was mentioned earlier, but it¡¯s clear as day that they still wouldn¡¯t admit that a zombie apocalypse is bound to happen, even if they were to see a real zombie in front of them.


    Then, Lee Hyun-soo continued.


    -However, even though our civilization will end, there will of course be survivors left. The number itself wouldn¡¯t be much, but it was our job to leave a legacy for them to live on. Metal couldn¡¯t be used because of the corrosive disease, so it would be better to seal it tightly with something like plastic.


    ¨DSo¡­ you¡¯re saying that all we can do is to leave a legacy for future generations? Who lives in an apocalyptic world?


    -Yes. I don¡¯t know when the corrosive disease will end, but it won¡¯t last forever, as there is a limited amount of metals in the world, the disease will surely be gone once they devoured every single metal exposed. All we have to do is create an unexposed storage that could last for several years, that can be opened once the corrosive disease ceases to exist. Also, there are also other reasons¡­


    ¨C And what are those other reasons?


    -If the corrosive disease becomes a reality, our society will completely collapse. I presume that everyone knows that all buildings that are constructed with reinforced concrete and metal will collapse, right?


    -Actually, that sounds a lot like nonsense¡­ it is impossible for a disease to have such a strong permeability.


    Then, a panelist that wears glasses, who had been quiet up until now, opened his mouth.


    But the wide-shoulder panelists immediately refuted his statement.


    -Why do you only think of direct contact? We don¡¯t know what the identity of the disease was. What if it¡¯s some kind of radioactive disease, not an ordinary disease we are aware of? What if it has a strong permeability because it¡¯s form is that of a radiation particle?


    -That¡¯s¡­


    The glasses panelist immediately went silent. Rather than being silenced by logic, it was more like he had no base to refute back because the identity of the disease is indeed still unknown.


    I browsed the background story of Survival Life with my laptop.


    ¡°There are spots or dots on the metal.¡± When I was playing the game, I brushed it off as I deemed it unimportant. But looking at it now, it was indeed strange. All the buildings had collapsed and the vehicles were severely discolored.


    ¡°Is it really because of a radiation particle?¡± When I read the background story, only the word ¡®disease¡¯ was mentioned. There was no indication of how it worked. And if the disease is indeed in the form of radiation particles¡­


    Then, no matter what humanity does, If we didn¡¯t create an unexposed storage a few kilometers underground, it will be difficult to avoid the corrosive disease.


    -That¡¯s why! We need to at least create an orderly end. We don¡¯t know exactly when the end will be coming, but America will definitely find out. We must invoke the Martial Law to shut down nuclear power plants across the country and purify dangerous chemicals. We also need to turn off the city gas.


    -You seem to have gone too far. Do you know how much damage it will do?


    -What about it? We¡¯re all going to die anyway, why are we still thinking about the damage?


    -If the end didn¡¯t come, who would be responsible for the damage then?


    -Haaaaaahh¡­.. even though I¡¯ve explained it in such a detailed manner, in the end, it¡¯s still like this. It¡¯s frustrating¡­ Really frustrating¡­


    -At least, the government should only enact the Martial Law after securing several more superhuman recruits and the developer team of Survival Life.


    -It was reported that they were still looking for them at the moment¡­


    -It would¡¯ve been too late once they¡¯re done!


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± There¡¯s no answer really. The views of each panelist were so dissenting. It¡¯s unlikely that they would be able to find a middle ground.


    By the way, an orderly end, huh? Surely, the Martial Law would be able to achieve that. The question is, whether the current government had the courage to do so.


    ¡°I think I need to let some zombies run around.¡± In two days, the Russian fishing boat event will happen. At that time, as long as I didn¡¯t kill all the zombies, the world would witness the appearance of the very first zombies.


    And for the meteor¡­ ¡°There is NASA and KARI¡± It was said that the meteor shattered into fragments near Jupiter, which makes tracking it extremely difficult. However, the article I read before also stated that a large group of meteorites can be seen slowly approaching Earth. (Note: KARI is short for Korea Aerospace Research Institute, the equivalent of NASA in South Korea)


    ¡°Can¡¯t we intercept it with something like a missile?¡±


    If the Earth Defense Force is the U.S. military¡­ There¡¯s a high chance they would succeed. They¡¯re American after all.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s good if it never happened.¡± I carefully hugged the sleeping Dingo and headed to the forest. Outside the cave, several pieces of equipment, including a mini fork crane, a chainsaw and many others were lined up neatly. I was only able to move the mini fork crane to the forest after opening the portal in an empty parking lot at dawn when everybody was fast asleep. I also had acquired the license and all the necessary knowledge to operate it. But one problem still remains. The fuel usage of the mini fork crane was pretty huge.


    ¡°It eats one jerry can a day.¡± I sighed. I decided to overlook it as it did a magnificent job by reducing my workload on digging the moat. As I sat on the seat and carefully moved the lever to lift the soil, I instantly felt ecstatic. This is how it should be! Being able to shovel a lot of dirt at once was the epitome of an advanced civilization.


    However, as a trade-off, the whole forest became extremely noisy. Monsters in the vicinity of the shelter came every once in a while and bared their teeth towards me. I was prepared for it when I decided to expand my area of operation, but I couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly nervous as they kept doing that. I knew they couldn¡¯t attack easily because of the barbed wire fence, but an accident was bound to happen sooner or later.


    Fortunately, every now and then, I just needed to shoot some arrows towards them, and they would quickly run away without looking back.


    Come. I¡¯ll smash you all!


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°It¡¯s strange.¡± I looked blankly at one particular spot after comparing the inventory ledger with the stockpile. I seem to be missing a single pack of jelly.


    I¡¯m not particularly fond of jellies. But I still decided to keep 100 jellies just in case I got bored of all the foods I stored here and wanted something new. I know I haven¡¯t touched it yet.


    ¡°Dingo, did you eat it?¡±


    The guy jolted up, startled and shook his head.


    By the way, when I looked closely at the empty space, I could see a single dried grape. How did it get here?


    ¡°Did whoever took the jelly leave it as an exchange?¡± If so, how? The cave was protected by CCTV with movement sensors. Even if it¡¯s an animal the size of a mouse, it was impossible for the sensor to miss it. It means, the size of the thief was even smaller than that.


    I quickly went to the laptop and checked the CCTV footage from last night. It was too long, so I skipped it minute by minute, but no matter how long I watched the footage, I didn¡¯t find anything odd.


    ¡°The devil is singing¡­¡± To prevent it from happening again, I must catch this thief. Who knows what it will steal in the future? The creature had indeed left a grape behind for the exchange. But I haven¡¯t agreed to it!


    ¡°It means that it is likely it will return to steal some jelly again¡± I installed one more CCTV inside. Unless the creature had a stealth ability, it would surely get caught in the footage.


    I put Dingo next to me and continued building the moat with the fork crane. Digging alone was a fun activity to pass time, but sometimes, it was creepy. Afterall, monsters over the barbed wire fence were staring daggers at me. The goblins in particular, would drool with their teeth exposed. It looks both disgusting and scary at the same time. So each time they did that, I stopped the construction for a bit and fired some arrows to chase them away.


    ¡°Dangerous¡­¡± Goblins are monsters that can dig traps. They know how to modify their surroundings to their advantage. So, if someone falls into their trap, it¡¯s the end. And at night, some kobolds even snooped around.


    ¡°I¡¯ll hit you first before you can hit me.¡±


    It seems that there would be no answer if I only focus on defending. I worked on the moat and waited for the right time to come.


    July 14th in the morning.


    As usual, the first thing I did after waking up was to head into the cave and check to see if anything had changed. And today, something had changed.


    ¡°Look at these guys?¡± Another jelly had disappeared. And in its place, a single grape was placed.


    Do these guys like the sweet potato flavoured jelly that much?


    ¡°What the hell are you doing¡­¡± When I looked at the CCTV, I couldn¡¯t help but be amazed. I mean, how can¡¯t I? In the footage, several insects were shown carrying a pack of jelly.


    ¡°Are those black scarabs?¡± For an insect, black scarabs were quite big. Their size was about the size of a plum. There¡¯s a horn that looks like a pincer on its head. its forelimbs were also quite long.


    Are scarabs supposed to be an insect that can work well as a team?


    Just looking at the footage made me feel like they had some intelligence.


    ¡°What nonsense.¡± I scoffed as a scarab that has quite a nice horn puts a grape in the place of the jelly pack they took. It seems like they felt that they weren¡¯t stealing but exchanging.


    ¡°But I never allowed it.¡± Looking at it, they were carrying the jelly through the crack in the door. I¡¯m not angry at the fact that they stole one of my jellies. After all, I¡¯m not really a big fan of jellies. What makes me angry is the fact that they left a single friggin normal grape as an exchange. It¡¯s not even a shadow grape, but a single normal grape that you can find anywhere! I simply couldn¡¯t forgive them.


    I quickly browse through the MeTube and learn how to make a trap for insects. The trap I made would activate as soon as a jelly was removed. A sturdy plastic case would keep them in there with no problems.


    I tried to activate the trap several times. Every time I pulled out one of the jellies, the plastic case hit my hand from above. ¡°This is good enough.¡±


    Just imagining the scarabs trapped in the plastic case made me happy. I won¡¯t kill them, but I would make them give up on stealing my jellies. After finishing the trap, I continued to dig the moat all day before returning to Earth with Dingo in the evening.


    ¡°A protest, huh?¡± Gwanghwamun and some places in Seoul were full of people. They were voicing their discontent about how passive the government was regarding the situation.


    ¡°How many days left until the apocalypse? Is it 6 days?¡± I wonder how those people would react if they found out that the zombie apocalypse would break out in less than a week. Maybe, the wide-shoulder panelist from yesterday was right, enacting the Martial Law is the answer. Shutting down nuclear power plants, shutting down chemical plants, etc. would be great for the survivors.


    Whatever impetus the President needed to make such a decision would come out tomorrow. And by then, humanity will realize that the zombie apocalypse is not just nonsense which was made up by irresponsible people on the internet.


    I went through the backstory of the Russian fishing boat again and simulated the action in my head. I hope I will get lots of guns and ammunition from this event.


    ¡°There should be several more people other than me who know about this event¡­¡± Because it¡¯s such a famous event.


    That day, if I meet someone I know, how should I respond?


    It¡¯s unlikely, but if Rabbit Pwincess asks for help, can I ignore him?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    I laid myself down on the floor. I would usually fall asleep right away once I laid my back on the floor, but today, I couldn¡¯t do so as my heart was stormy. Then, Dingo suddenly crawled into my arms.


    What a cute guy¡­ But isn¡¯t it a little hot to cuddle like this?


    From tomorrow onwards, let¡¯s stay together in our cave and stay away from here.

 Chapter 30

    July 15th.


    In the last 2 days, quite a lot of things happened. Opposition lawmakers, unable to stomach the president¡¯s silence any longer, attempted to enter the Blue House by force. But they were blocked by the president¡¯s guard at the front door. The National Assembly was also paralyzed, it all became juicy news for the media to munch on.


    Meanwhile on the internet, a debate about who would emerge victorious when a zombie and a goblin fight becomes a hot topic. Many netizens put their money on the zombie¡¯s victory for various reasons. Though, If anyone asks me, I would answer that the result would vary depending on the circumstances.


    ¡°If the zombie can block the paralyzing dart of the goblin, the zombie wins. If not, it was the goblin¡¯s victory¡±


    Unfortunately, zombies and monsters did not fight each other. To be precise, monsters tend to avoid zombie hordes because they have numbers on their side


    ¡°It is quite noisy abroad, too.¡± If someone visits a foreign community, they could easily feel that something was going on from the very first page. Their community was full with news such as the UN holding an emergency meeting regarding the goblin appearances as well as the US President cancelling all of his schedule to come to Korea. NASA also appealed to space-related research institutes, astronomical observatories, and independent astrologists around the world to monitor any space object that has a possibility of coming in contact with Earth. In the meantime, eschatologists were performing a large-scale worship service in various parts of the world.


    ¡°To think they still exist¡­¡± I thought they had gone extinct back in the 90¡¯s. It¡¯s really surprising to see them appear in the world again.


    The topic of the end was also popular on many broadcasting platforms, including MeTube. Afterall, these days, rather than having a conversation directly, information was mainly shared through the internet. Of course, it doesn¡¯t mean that the information spread around the internet was guaranteed to be correct.


    ¡°By the way, what is the President doing?¡± It¡¯s been five days since the goblins appeared, why did he still maintain his silence? No press conference, no announcements, and no public appearances. Just what the hell is he doing? It was so strange. From what I know, the President this time around is not this incompetent.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s the same in foreign countries.¡± Key figures from each country had already visited Korea and confirmed the authenticity of the goblin¡¯s corpse. Perhaps they had also learned about the superpowers of the awakeners and what will happen in the future. Nevertheless, no country had taken concrete steps whatsoever. And about the developer team of Survival Life¡­ There¡¯s no proper information about them as the government is still consistently keeping their silence.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me they are still waiting for a more conclusive evidence.¡± I sighed. It makes sense though, if they interviewed hundreds of awakeners, they would undoubtedly know that there will be a zombie-related event that happened before the real apocalypse. Namely, the Russian boat event. Maybe the government was waiting for that event to occur, before deciding their next move.


    On the TV, the scene of lawmakers gathering in front of the Blue House and protesting violently were being broadcasted. They hurled many harsh words and expressed their frustration towards the man who is standing against them; the President¡¯s Chief of Staff.


    -We only want him to respond accordingly! There is so much evidence already, what more did he need?


    -We ask for your understanding.


    Even though the Chief of Staff politely bowed his head towards the masses, the slander of the lawmakers only grew even worse.


    -Are you sure that the President is still inside?


    -By chance, he¡¯s not running away by himself overseas, is he?


    That is indeed a fair suspicion. After all, a significant number of people, especially rich people, have already escaped to another country using various excuses to save themselves. They were victims of rumour which stated that Korea would be the first nation in the world to be destroyed because awakeners and zombies only came out in Korea so far. The truth is, however, because the first meteorite will fall on the coast of Japan, Japan and Taiwan would be the first country to be destroyed. Then came Korea.


    It was clear as day that the Chief of Staff was uncomfortable because of the lawmakers¡¯ accusation.


    -The presidential plane is still sitting in the dock of the national airport. And, don¡¯t you know that his family is still here in Korea?


    -Who knows? Maybe that coward left them alone and ran away by himself.


    When he heard those words, the Chief of Staff¡¯s calm demeanour changed into rage.


    -Your words are too harsh!


    -Hey! Calm down! Calm down!


    People spurred into their feet as they saw the Chief of Staff jumped into the lawmaker who hurled the sarcastic remark just now. The security guards as well as politicians who had always looked so calm and mighty and only fought using their words now looked so disheveled as they tried to separate the two.


    Looking at the attitude of the Chief of Staff, it seems like the President was indeed still in Korea.


    ¡°Are you planning on enacting the Martial Law only after a zombie truly appears?¡± I guess that was a natural course of action to take in this kind of situation. As mentioned in the debate several days ago, suspension of huge infrastructure such as nuclear power plants and gas lines would place a huge burden on Korea. It would be difficult to decide what to do when there is no solid evidence yet.


    ¡°Guess I need to leave a few zombies behind to wake them up, huh?¡± That was the extent of help I could offer.


    In the past 2 days, I had already prepared a small rubber boat and had finished building a warehouse with sandwich panels. What was left was just waiting for the event to occur. And finally, when I was watching TV with Dingo around lunchtime, my phone rang.


    ¡¸Emergency Disaster Text Message.


    Tsunami Warning: 30km south of Busan Metropolitan City at 12:21 on July 15th. Residents around the coast should evacuate immediately. ¡¹


    At about the same time, news about a meteorite that crashed into the sea near Japan blew up in various internet communities.


    This is it.


    The zombies have finally arrived.


    .


    NT


    .


    I hurriedly drove to Gamcheon Port. The road was pretty empty. Seems like even though the world is heading to the end, people still want to at least try to survive.


    ¡°I can¡¯t be late.¡± I parked the SUV far away from Gamcheon Port, and continued to trail on foot. Once I came close enough, I went up to one particular building. After checking the Russian fishing boat event several times, I was now well aware that the water level of the incoming tsunami wouldn¡¯t be too high. It would only reach the 2nd floor of a commercial building at most. Of course, that much alone could be considered as a big disaster, but I don¡¯t have to worry too much as I have a rubber boat with me. I would use it to head over towards the Russian fishing boat as soon as the waves calmed down a little. The boat had a motor attached, so moving wouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    ¡°I have to finish it before the police arrive.¡± In the worst case scenario, I could just throw away the rubber boat and escape through the portal before sneaking back after the situation died down.


    I waited quietly for the tsunami to come. The area around Gamcheon Port was unbelievably silent.  Except for the occasional car horn in the distance and wind sound, I couldn¡¯t really hear anything. In the near future, this silence would be something that humanity will have to live with.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad that the zombies can make some noises.¡± I don¡¯t know if I should consider it as a good thing, but thanks to them, things wouldn¡¯t be too silent to the point where it would drive humans to insanity.


    Peep-oooooo¡­¡­ Peep-oooooo¡­¡­.


    The high-pitched tsunami alarm sound blared. At the same time, the roll of waves got bigger and bigger with every passing second in the distance. It was the tsunami I¡¯ve been waiting for.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t find any words except for that. The scene in front of me was just that devastating yet magnificent. It was as if the whole sea had decided to grow taller.


    Is it okay for me to be here? That question came to mind. I hurriedly called for the portal. If the tsunami ended up being too high, I was thinking of running away from the event altogether. Nothing was more important than my life, after all.


    Dingo whimpered at the scene as he curled himself up and slipped between my legs.


    ¡°Get inside.¡± I said to him. After he entered the portal, I saw a ship over the horizon. Peeking through the telescope, it was a huge fishing boat with the Russian flag flapping on the top of its dock. The huge fishing boat which was supposed to weigh around hundreds of tons bounced around on top of the waves as if it weighed nothing.


    ¡°It¡¯s no joke¡­¡± My palms were all sweaty as I waited for the tsunami to hit. At some point, the siren had stopped blaring, plunging the surroundings into a dead silence. Only death throes of sea breeze which blows violently remains. And then, the ground shook. Even though I was sure that I would be safe, I couldn¡¯t help but feel scared. What transpired in front of me was after all none other than a natural disaster beyond human control. A force of nature that can¡¯t be defied by any living being. And in five days, a disaster incomparable to this one would also occur.


    ¡°I have to endure¡­¡± I steeled my mind. Clenching my teeth as hard as I could, I looked straight at the sight of the fishing boat rolling in with the waves. In a single moment, an enormous tidal wave invades the land of Gamcheon Port.


    ¡°Damn it.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but to curse. How can¡¯t I? In front of me, a huge ship collided with a smaller ship and wreaked havoc.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± I came to my senses and looked around. Seawater was coming inside the building. And as expected, the height of the waves was about 2 stories high. On the streets below, vehicles were violently being shoved by the water. And there were sounds of windows breaking from literally everywhere.


    I closed the portal and headed to the office on the 3rd floor.


    ¡°Anyone here?¡± I shouted to make sure. When there¡¯s no answer, I looked out the window. The seawater was flowing rapidly 2m below. Then, I started to blow on the rubber boat. It was truly a tiring thing to do. I could barely put enough air into it after a few minutes of intense blowing before smashing open the window in front of me.


    I looked carefully at the water current. I need to wait for it to become slow enough for me to jump down towards it with the boat. If not, even though there¡¯s a motor on the boat, there¡¯s a high chance that I¡¯ll be overturned as soon as I touched the waves.


    After about 10 minutes, the current finally calmed down.


    ¡°At this point, the media should be brimming with news about this tsunami¡­¡± Let¡¯s go out of here before they come. I attached a rope to the boat and tied it to a pole. Then, I hurriedly tossed it to the water before jumping off towards it. Once I was onboard, I took out the motor engine and attached it to the boat. Then, I immediately started the engine by pulling the pull cord rope attached to the motor as hard as I could.


    Vroooommm-!!


    The engine roared. And the boat began to gallop forward. I put my hat on and directed the boat. As I passed through the collapsing buildings, the Russian fishing boat stranded at the pier came to my sight.


    ¡°It¡¯s exactly the same¡­¡± Its position was exactly the same as the illustration in the backstory of Survival Life. Even the angle of inclination was the same.


    ¡°The ladder should be over there.¡± As I approached the fishing boat, gunshots thundered. So far, all of the development went exactly the same as what I know. My only concern was whether I would be infected by the spores or not.


    ¡°Lets just hope that I¡¯ll be fine since I¡¯m an awakened.¡±


    Fear crept into my heart. It was an inevitable feeling to feel even though I had prepared myself. I took a deep breath near the ship, which should have been contaminated by the spores, but I didn¡¯t feel strange at all. ¡°Seems like awakeners truly are immune to the spores.¡±


    There seems to be other conditions other than that, but I brushed it off as there¡¯s no point in thinking about it. Moreover, where I currently am was not a suitable place to think about such things.


    I tied the boat to the ladder and climbed onto it. As soon as I reached the deck, a familiar scene welcomed me. Two Russian sailors stood still with their backs hunching. That sloppy attitude¡­ It really has been a while¡­


    ¡°Nice to meet you again, zombies.¡± Both zombies whipped their heads towards my direction as I said that. At first glance, they look like normal human beings. But if you look closer, their eyes were rolled over and there¡¯s a blue spot all over their face. Currently, they have lost all of their reasoning ability because the spores were already taking root in their brain.


    Zombies, a fearful creature that attacks all living things indiscriminately, and would only become stronger once they consume enough energy, had finally appeared.


    At that moment, a desperate scream was heard from the direction of the deck house.


    Did that scream come from the same person who shot the gun earlier?


    After a moment of lull, the zombies start to bare their teeth towards me.


    Guaaahhh-!


    You know, I¡¯ve always been thinking about it, but wouldn¡¯t it be better for them to just attack straight away instead of roaring first?


    I called the portal and took out my mace and shield. In the meantime, with the corner of my eyes, I could see the zombies limping towards me. Oddly enough, I didn¡¯t feel nervous at all. I just felt like I truly was back in the game.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s a newbie who stood here¡­¡± But I was a madman who had dedicated 5,541 hours of my life to Survival Life. Even with my eyes closed, I could avoid the zombie¡¯s attack. Of course, since I only have one life in reality, I wouldn¡¯t do something like that.


    While waiting for the zombies to arrive, I even had enough time to take out the motorcycle helmet and put it on. ¡°Close portal.¡±


    The zombies finally arrived in front of me. Without any further ado, I raised the mace and smashed it towards the head of one of the zombies. The sensation of bones breaking transpired into my fingers. It¡¯s really been a long time since I¡¯ve had this refreshing feeling of breaking a skull in a single blow.


    The zombie I hit with mace instantly collapsed with its head dented.


    ¡°You died with just this much?¡±


    Another zombie approached me with its arms outstretched. But with a light push using my shield, it staggered.


    ¡°Go away.¡±


    When I landed an ujima kick into its stomach, it bounced away helplessly. It even rolled several times on the ground.


    (T/N Ujima kick, directly translated to don¡¯t come kick. I think it¡¯s something like a Spartan kick?)


    It¡¯s really weird. Are zombies supposed to be this weak? From what I remembered, the zombies I faced in the tutorial were not as weak as this.


    Are these guys a weakened version of zombies which comes after the difficulty reducing patches?


    The zombies that appeared in the beginning of the game often stopped on their tracks randomly because their mind hasn¡¯t been completely taken over by the spores just yet. But these guys were way too weak to the point it¡¯s ridiculous. It¡¯s like their mind and body were acting separately.


    The zombie got back to its feet after struggling for quite some time before limping back towards me with it¡¯s arms stretched forward. When It finally reached me, it whipped its head towards me. Out of reflex, I unconsciously moved to the side before swinging my mace towards its head. I didn¡¯t think I swung it with all of my power. And yet, the zombie still died.


    ¡¸You have earned 4 Points¡¹


    ¡°They definitely got easier.¡± It seemed like these zombies were not even the weakened version of zombie which came with the tutorial difficulty reduction patch but rather the version of zombie which got nerfed so bad in the last patch before the game terminated their service in order to attract more users. Which means, it would be easier for me to do things that I need to do here. I smirked. The chance of the other survivors to survive will also rise exponentially.


    Anyway, earlier, without even thinking about it, my body reacted on its own. I felt a warm fuzzy feeling buzzing through my heart. I was proud of myself. Back in the forest, I couldn¡¯t even move like this.


    ¡°Is it because I consider the forest as an unfamiliar environment?¡± Losing a lot of weight might also be the reason. This is not the time to be like this. I have to move quickly and finish what I came for before other people start swarming here.


    I quickly ran towards the deck house. When I opened the door, I saw two zombies crutching beside a corpse. A disgusting sound of sticky flesh being chewed echoed throughout the room.


    ¡°Shit.¡± The smell of blood was no joke. As I tried my best to push down the rising acid on my throat, the zombie which was closest to me stood up and screeched at me.


    Kaaaah!


    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± I blocked it with the shield and opened the iron door at my side.


    Is this place the cafeteria as well as the storage?


    A large can of mayonnaise stood out amongst all things inside. It seems that it¡¯s true that Russians love mayonnaise. Aside from that, there should be a large amount of food kept here, but I didn¡¯t have the time to enjoy the scenery.


    I once again raised my mace and bashed the zombie¡¯s head. Once it collapsed, another zombie greeted me with the same screech from behind the collapsing zombie.


    ¡°The hallway is very narrow, isn¡¯t it?¡± it was only wide enough for a person to pass through. Therefore, I only had to watch my back if I just blocked the front with my shield. On top of it, I could just attack them with my mace while defending. Just like this¡­


    Crack!


    The zombie fell to the ground as its skull broke. However, it wouldn¡¯t be this easy once the corrosive disease strikes. No matter how strong the war club was, in the end it was only made of ebony¡ªa very durable wood. Therefore, it¡¯s hardness couldn¡¯t be compared to a metal-made weapon.


    ¡°The difference in power can clearly be seen when it takes only one hit to kill zombies with a metal mace, while with the war club, it¡¯ll probably take around 2 or 3 hits.¡±


    ¡¸You have earned 4 Points¡¹


    I stepped over the dead zombie and moved forward. Just where is the captain¡¯s office? From what I know, for a fishing boat this huge, the captain¡¯s office was often doubled as a control room.


    As I walked down the hallway, I flinched as a loud banging came from a metal door on my side. Looks like they were in the cabin when they turned into zombies. And now as they were nothing but a mindless creature, they were trapped inside the room without any way to come out. From the small windows attached to the door, I could see three zombies chaotically pushing and biting each other. It was a bizarre scene, but at the same time, it¡¯s quite funny. Maybe because back in Survival Life, the scene in front of me was an everyday thing.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just go.¡± Looting the guns and running away was more important than a mere 12 points. Moreover, I also promised myself to leave some zombies behind for the government. Those three zombies would undoubtedly serve that purpose very well.


    When I opened the door located in the middle of the hallway, on the floor, I found a corpse and a corpse of a zombie. Seeing that the man was not in work clothes, it seems like he was the captain. Next to him was a Tokarev, a semi-automatic pistol.


    ¡°The ammunition is more important than this. I need to find where the bullets are first, or else the gun itself wouldn¡¯t have any use.¡±


    When I opened the nearby door, I saw the steering wheel as well as a bed. They say that Russian sailors often hide something under their beds. Therefore, I put my hand beneath the bed and rummaged around. And indeed, something touched my finger.


    ¡°Ohh.¡± When I took it and checked it out, I couldn¡¯t help but exclaim. It was a box full of bullets.


    ¡°There¡¯s about 100 bullets.¡± Unfortunately, it¡¯s not a 9mm ammo.


    Just what kind of divine joke is this? How could all of the pistols that I looted didn¡¯t share the same ammo?


    I called the portal and moved both the pistol and the ammo box into it. At the same time, Dingo barked and ran at me as soon as he saw me.


    ¡°Dingo, not yet, don¡¯t come over.¡±


    I also searched the captain¡¯s office, but found nothing worth looting. Now that I have finished my business, it¡¯s time to escape. As I passed the hallway, the mayonnaise in the cafeteria where I killed zombies earlier beckoned me. There¡¯s also a row of big canned food around it.


    ¡°Eugh¡­ Yeah, let¡¯s do this.¡± Even if I could tolerate other things, I couldn¡¯t just stand still knowing that a large amount of food was being abandoned. I put the mayonnaise, ketchup, canned food and other foods into the portal. After moving those things, I heard the sound of a helicopter from somewhere.


    Is it a radio station helicopter?


    There¡¯s no more time. I ran down the deck, climbed the ladder, and got into the boat. As I cut the rope and turned the motor on, I saw something approaching from afar.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Does anyone have the same thoughts as me?


    Whoever that person was, they also had a rubber boat, stab-proof suit and motorcycle helmet. The person looked at me and flinched. The two of us stared blankly at each other. I wanted to ask who they were, but I couldn¡¯t open my mouth. In the end, I quietly got out of the pier with my boat.


    Meanwhile, helicopter rotors echoed loudly from the sky above.


    .


    .


    .


    A sudden tsunami which make a Russian fishing boat stranded on the Gamcheon Port drew a lot of attention from the people. Various broadcasting stations delivered the video taken by drone to the people.


    In the video, a human-like creature which came out from one of the crew¡¯s rooms was recorded vividly. They roamed the deck for a while before revealing their teeth towards the helicopter which approached them.


    A reporter dispatched to the scene said:


    ¨DA-as y-you can see, t-they don¡¯t look n-normal¡­


    Hundreds of comments were pouring in on the broadcast station¡¯s MeTube¡¯s live stream, asking them to kill the zombies quickly.


    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s a zombie?¡± Most people didn¡¯t know much about zombies. They were just asking them to kill it because they looked grotesque. After a while, another helicopter arrived and circled around the fishing boat while broadcasting in Russian. As the whole process was being broadcasted live, it was only natural that there was an uproar.


    Meanwhile, news broke out that the President had cancelled all of his schedules and departed for Busan.


    ¡°But you shouldn¡¯t get too close¡­¡± Because the exact contamination method of the spores was yet to be uncovered. There are a lot of robots these days, right? How about deploying them first to check the situation?


    I arranged the looted material one by one in my cave while watching the TV through the portal.


    And I also found out that there was a large hole in the plastic box trap I had installed to catch the scarabs. When I checked the CCTV video, I saw the scarabs gnawing at the wall from the inside. Another guy joined in and gnawed at the wall from the outside. After some time passed, they successfully created a hole in it. In an orderly fashion, all the scarabs who were trapped inside went out with the jelly on their hand.


    What¡¯s with all these guys?


    ¡°Crazy¡­¡± I laughed out loud. What they stole was a sweet potato flavored jelly just like before. And they also left a single grape again.


    ¡°I will catch these guys.¡± I have to catch them and let them play with the sweet potato flavored jelly until they are satisfied.


    As I finished arranging my loot, I headed out towards my house. In the news, a report about the President arriving in Busan was being delivered. Then, from the helicopter, the police shot and killed the zombies on the deck. It seems like the President had given them his command.


    The drone slowly approached the deck. Then, the President¡¯s expression turned gloomy. He slightly moved his head. Seems like he was asking the people next to him about what to do. I¡¯m not sure though, as there was no sound coming out except from the announcer¡¯s voice.


    However, by reading the movement of the mouth of the man who seemed to be an awakened, I could guess what he was saying.


    The conversation probably went like this.


    -Please check if it is truly a zombie.


    -It is.


    With that, the next thing I had to do was decided.

 Chapter 31

    Early at dawn, I took a taxi from my house towards Pohang. My intention was to inform the Apocalypse Countermeasure Headquarters that had just been set up by the government about the exact time of the D-day.


    ¡°Though, I¡¯m sure they will figure something out by themselves now that they have seen the living proof that the end is coming.¡±


    However, it seems that the President still needs more concrete evidence than the appearance of the zombie to make the decision. Because until late at night, the President had yet to give any sort of information or command.


    Moreover, it seems like the government had failed to secure any more awakeners to recruit as well as the developer team of Survival Life. Which means, the only one who could provide them with the information was me.


    I went near the sea where no one would come at the current time and called the government hotline using Kwon¡¯s phone that I stole. After a few beeps, a hoarse voice could be heard from the other end.


    ¨DHello, Administrative Officer of the Apocalypse Countermeasures Headquarters, Lee Woo-beom, speaking.


    ¡°I know the exact time of the D-Day.¡±


    The man on the other side sighed at my words.


    ¨DI think I have received about 300 of such calls over the past few days¡­ Do you also know it from ID I Love Gimbap?


    Why are there so many people that fake-called them?


    ¡°The D-day is July 20th at 1pm. I repeat. July 20th, 1pm. If you don¡¯t believe me, then hear this. There must be two holes in the back of the head of the hobgoblin¡¯s corpse that had been recovered from Mt Gaya a few days ago.¡±


    The only people who know about that fact should be me as the one who hunted it down, the autopsy doctor, and some high-ranking people involved. If he asked one of them about that fact and confirmed that the fact is, indeed, true, then he should¡¯ve realised that my words are true.


    -Please wait a minute!


    However, without hearing his words any longer, I hung up then threw the phone into the sea. I opened the portal then went inside it to change my clothes in order to cover my tracks. Actually, I did think that even if I didn¡¯t do such a thorough work on covering my tracks, I would still be fine. I simply couldn¡¯t imagine that the government, now that they knew about the exact date and time of the D-Day, would just use their force to track me down instead of preparing for the incoming end. However, it was always better to be safe than sorry. Always be wary in all kinds of situations, as you wouldn¡¯t know what could happen in the next moment. It will definitely be a huge help in surviving in a ruined world.


    Of course, it didn¡¯t mean that it was a bad move to help other people, just like I did with Hyung-jun hyung, Mikyung and Sooyeon. We were on a friendly terms, after all. And maybe in the future, they would help me in return for helping them now. Karma exists, and it¡¯s best if you just stay on its good side.


    I returned home and started to rummage through my Survival Life notes.


    ¡°Where are the patch notes¡­¡± In a few days, the world will turn into a fantasy world. Most of the population will be turned into zombies while a handful of people who were able to survive the initial breakout would be living in despair and chaos. That was what I thought, at least until yesterday.


    The zombies that I met at the fishing boat were awfully weak. It was far cry from the intimidating zombies I faced back in the early days of Survival Life. It was clear that the appearances of those zombies followed the latest patch of Survival Life.


    As I found the notes I was looking for, I clicked on it.


    ¨DTutorial Difficulty Patch (Reducing zombie¡¯s durability, reducing zombie¡¯s ability to track organic matters, providing a 10 point weapon to the users)


    ¨DExpanding the methods of points acquisition.


    ¡°Oh, right. There was something like this.¡± Back then, the patch didn¡¯t really matter to me as it didn¡¯t affect my gameplay, so I just took a screenshot of it and moved on.


    ¡°I already experienced the decrease in durability of the zombies.¡± It was indeed a very advantageous change for the side of humans. However, the other two changes were also eye-opening. The ¡®Reducing zombie¡¯s ability to track organic matters¡¯ means that survivors would have a better chance of hiding from zombies, while the ¡®Providing a 10 point weapon to the users¡¯ most likely means that a free weapon that are worth 10 points in Shop would be gifted to all users. Considering there¡¯s a small number of weapons that are worth 10 points in Shop, there¡¯s a high chance that it¡¯ll be an ebony stick. Combined with the decrease in durability of the zombies, the chance of people surviving the tutorial will dramatically increase.


    Meanwhile, ¡®Expanding the methods of points acquisition.¡¯ means that there would be other ways to get points available other than hunting monsters and zombies. By the way, if this is the last patch, then this one should be the patch that got updated when the game is about to shut down. So, why did they even bother updating the game, when the whole game itself is about to be disabled?


    If possible, I wanted to find the developer team and ask them various questions, such as how did the game become reality?


    But before that, just where in the world were they hiding?


    ¡°Now that I¡¯ve checked the patch notes, let¡¯s work on something else.¡± I remembered that as I was digging the moat in the forest with the mini fork crane, the amount of goblins which paid me a visit kept getting larger and larger. And even though they scurried away as soon as I shot an arrow towards them, they stubbornly still kept coming back. Most of the time, they will appear again in a matter of a few hours after I chased them away.


    ¡°Goblins are stubborn creatures.¡± Their philosophy of life was along the line of do or die. It¡¯s either they crush their opponent or get crushed themselves¡ªwhich was the case most of the time. When I followed the goblins who ran away with drones, I found out that they belonged to the nest about 3 km to the north of my cave. I do want to just immediately raid their base and kill them all, but I decided to put that up for a later date.


    ¡°I need to clear the tutorial first and stabilize everything first¡­¡± The word stabilize here means that I need to make sure nothing big happens anymore.


    ¡°Now for the rest of the event¡­¡±


    From what I know, after the Russian fishing boat event, there would be no more events in the game until the tutorial begins. But, there¡¯s still an event from real life. The fireworks festival hosted by Busan City on the 21st. The festival should still commence as scheduled, as there are no announcements about the suspension of the festival. Which means, the fireworks should still be there.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ I wouldn¡¯t be able to use the motor when the disease strikes¡­¡± Which means I would have to paddle the boat manually. It didn¡¯t seem to be that difficult if it happened once the tutorial was over.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just go shopping today.¡± I didn¡¯t feel like constructing the moat today because somehow, I had a hunch that something big is about to explode today. I put Dingo in the passenger seat and went to the fishing supply store.


    As I was choosing a bowl and a harpoon, a gray-haired grandfather suddenly shouted, ¡°Ah!¡±


    When I went to the counter to check whether he was okay or not, I saw him looking at the TV as it began to broadcast breaking news one after another.


    -Bzzt Bzzt¡­ All commanders of the military division or higher were being called to the Blue House.


    -Bzzt Bzzt¡­ All Professors from Seoul National University were being called to the Blue House.


    -Bzzt Bzzt¡­ All executives of the Korea Construction Association were being called to the Blue House.


    -Bzzt Bzzt¡­


    Then the broadcast suddenly stopped as if it had been censored.


    ¡°Wait, why did it stop?¡± The grandfather grumbled.


    ¡°Looks like it has been censored.¡±


    ¡°Censored? Do you know what era this is?¡±


    ¡°An era where monsters and zombies came out from fantasy.¡±


    When I said that, the grandfather took a deep breath.


    ¡°Nowadays, I feel like my business is declining. I¡¯m going to die, seriously. You are my first customer from yesterday. I don¡¯t know what the hell those guys up there were thinking, can¡¯t the army just shoot the zombies?¡±


    ¡°I know, right? By the way, how much are all these, boss?¡±


    I put a bunch of fishing gear that I wanted to buy on the desk in front of him. A few days ago, when I was shopping at the camping supply store, that store was jam-packed with people. However, in this store, there are no customers other than me.


    The grandfather put his glasses up and waved his hand.


    ¡°Why are you buying this much?¡±


    ¡°Because I think it will be my last time fishing. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever have a chance to fish again in the future¡­¡±


    ¡°Haaah¡­ At such a young age¡­.¡±


    Though what I meant was that the reel and the other parts which were made of metal will crumble because of the corrosive disease, the grandfather seems to have misunderstood.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give it to you at half the price, so take it.¡±


    ¡°Then can I choose more?¡±


    When I asked happily, the grandfather put a sad expression on his face.


    ¡°Once you get into fishing, you can¡¯t stop even if the world is going to end. And as I think the world will be destroyed soon¡­ Take whatever you want.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡±


    I bought quite a lot of fishing gear and other fishing related stuff, enough to fill the trunk of the SUV to the brim. Then, I said goodbye to the grandfather and went out. On the map that I prepared, I marked the location of the store.


    ¡°I will come here again later.¡± Only idiots would raid a fishing supply store in a world infested with zombies. Moreover, as the beach would be a very dangerous place since there are only a few places in the beach that can act as a proper hiding spot, naturally there wouldn¡¯t be many people who raid a fishing supply store. However, I¡¯m different. I have a ¡®private¡¯ virgin sea that is ready to be used all by myself across the portal. It would¡¯ve been a perfect place to chill at if only there were no monsters roaming around.


    ¡°Where should I go next¡­¡± I decided to stop at a traditional market to buy a lot of manual sewing machines, bedding, and fabrics. Right after I bought them, I went to a deserted alley in the market and passed it through the portal. It was fortunate that I had made a warehouse in front of the cave. I could store so much more things now. But, as a trade-off, quite a lot of monsters were attracted to my shelter. Though, I could live with it if it was only that much inconvenience.


    ¡°I still have to buy shoes, basin¡­¡±


    The list of things I needed to buy got shorter slowly but surely. Of course, it wouldn¡¯t be the end of my stockpiling. The list I currently have only includes things that I¡¯ll need for the time being. After all, zombies were not interested in anything other than food, and it would take some time for monsters like goblins to start appearing. In the meantime, it was my plan to turn the cave into a fortress where I can safely put all of my supplies.


    ¡°If by that time, I met some survivors, it would be fine to help them.¡± Though, it would only be limited to those who were helpful and kind to me.


    I stopped by the mart to buy some food, some daily necessities, and clothes. And just like at the traditional market, I opened the portal in place with no people and moved it all there. The once spacious new storage has now become quite narrow because of the sheer amount of stockpiles.


    From the store, I went to another market to buy a bunch of jars that I¡¯m gonna use to make kimchi later on. It was a storage-friendly preserved food as I can just dig the ground and put the jar inside the ground. I spent the whole day shopping and organizing my storage.


    And when I finally went back home in the evening,


    ¡°What in the world is happening?¡±


    Why are there so many military trucks running around in Busan? Moreover, each of those trucks was full of troops. It seems that something big has happened.


    Is it a war?


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°What kind of bullshit is this?¡± I murmured. A few days before the zombie apocalypse, a war broke out? Did North Korea finally invade?


    -Did a war break out?


    -Countless tanks and armored vehicles are moving toward Pocheon. The atmosphere is no joke.


    -Everyone, the military police have entered our broadcasting station.


    -I¡¯m someone who works at a company at Yeocheon Industrial Complex, many trucks just arrived here!


    News came up from all kinds of communities. However, when I tried to find out more information about it, the internet suddenly got cut off. At almost the same time, my cellphone went out of service and there was only one channel that¡¯s available on the TV. When I turned on the radio, no matter what frequency I tuned to, all I heard were static noises.


    When I looked out of the window, people were coming out from their house while shouting loudly. Then, from the building next door, Mikyung poked her head out.


    ¡°Ahjussi, the TV is cut off, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The internet and the cellphone signal were also cut off. Just what is happening¡­ Why did the government suddenly dispatched the military¡­¡±


    ¡°Maybe a war broke out?¡±


    Seems like Mikyung had the same thought as everyone. But my thoughts were a little different. In order for North Korea to start a war, they must first blow the DMZ up. In other words, it could be said that the war only broke out when the northern part of Gyeonggi-do was bombarded. But there was no such news today. In addition, it was too far-fetched to think that a special operation team from North Korea had penetrated the rear and taken over the national communication network. Therefore, it was simply impossible to think that a special operation team from North Korea had invaded Yeocheon Industrial Complex, the centre of South Korea¡¯s petrochemical industry while disguised as a South Korean military.


    (Note: DMZ is short for De-Militarized Zone, the center of the border between North Korea and South Korea. Basically, it¡¯s a grey area between the two nations, a place where any kinds of military-related actions from either side are prohibited.)


    Perhaps the military was dispatched because the President has finally decided to enact the Martial Law in order to avoid mass confusion.


    Looking at Mikyung who rolled her feet and looked around with an anxious face, I told her, ¡°Mikyung, go to the gym. It¡¯ll be safer there.¡±


    ¡°How about you, Ahjussi?¡±


    I wanted to say that I would be safe here, but I also thought it wouldn¡¯t be bad to have company in this chaotic time. And it¡¯s not like the apocalypse will begin in a moment or something.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go together then.¡± Along with Mikyung, I hurriedly went into the gym. As I went to the main road, I noticed a small military truck moving slowly as it was giving an announcement.


    ¨DCitizens of Busan, please cease all of your activity and promptly go home! Stock up enough groceries and water for three days¡¯ time and spend your precious time with your family! The situation will be resolved soon! I repeat¡­ Citizens of Busan¡­


    I felt Mikyung tugging my arms as we listened to the announcement. And after the truck passed by, I heard conversations of the ladies around the street.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, my husband just suddenly went home. He doesn¡¯t know what is happening.¡±


    ¡°By the way, Ahjussi, what is your job?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just a civil servant.¡±


    ¡°How in the world¡­¡±


    Shops around the street began to roll down their shutters. On the one hand, rows of huge field trucks passed by on the street.


    When I went to the gym, the first thing I saw was the gym members looking out to the street nervously.


    ¡°Oh, Seongho, you came?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Hyung-nim. I¡¯m not intruding, am I?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! Ah, say hello, this guy is Yoohyeon.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I must be younger than you. Hello Hyung-nim.¡±


    A dazzling young man bowed his head and greeted me. He seems to be about the same age as Mikyung, and if someone told me that he¡¯s an idol, I would 100% believe it. He¡¯s just that handsome.


    ¡°Are you an awakened?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s so. But I don¡¯t know much about the game¡­ I just tried Survival Life in a VR caf¨¦. It was just too scary, so I quit right away.¡±


    Yoohyeon proceeded to tell me that he was an engineering student attending a nearby university. I was really curious about his major as soon as he said that. However, It would be a bit odd to ask about his major. If it¡¯s an electric or electronic major, there might be times when I need his help in the future.


    ¡°By the way, Hyung-nim, did you hear the announcement?¡±


    ¡°No. I was on the phone with my wife¡­ No, my ex-wife when the phone suddenly cut off.¡±


    ¡°I was buying something at the mart when suddenly, soldiers came in and told me to quickly buy everything I need and leave. They were absolutely oppressive.¡± Bora testified.


    Kyunghoon and Yoohyeon also shared their experiences. Everyone was frustrated not knowing what was going on. Even though I knew what was happening, I kept my silence.


    ¡°No matter how much I think about it, I think I should go to Ji-eun. Seongho, can you stay here in my stead until I get back?¡± (Note: Ji-eun is Hyung-jun¡¯s daughter)


    ¡°It¡¯s okay Manager, leave it to me!¡± Kyunghoon smiled and waved his hand.


    Looking at him, Hyung-jun Hyung nodded reluctantly before going downstairs. I thought it wouldn¡¯t be okay for me to stay here without Hyung-jun Hyung, so I followed him.


    As soon as we arrived downstairs, I saw two soldiers arguing with someone in front of the gym building.


    ¡°In this democratic society! Why should I do what you tell me to do? I¡¯m running a business here! If I close it, will you reimburse my loss? Huh?¡±


    ¡°No, sir, that¡¯s not it. We are only relaying the orders from our superior¡­¡±


    The young soldier seems terrified at the elder who shouted at him. Hyung-jun Hyung realized that as well, so he had a strange expression on his face.


    ¡°If there was a war or something, wouldn¡¯t they mobilize soldiers who had a firmer mental state to reassure the public? They wouldn¡¯t send something like him.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡±


    ¡°Which means it¡¯s not war either. Just what in the world is happening? Well, Seongho, I¡¯m going first.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Hyung-nim. Please be careful on your way. Say hello to sister-in-law and Ji-eun.¡±


    ¡°She is no longer your sister-in-law.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah. By the way, Hyung-nim, are you coming back here again?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± He said firmly as he walked away.


    After Hyung-jun Hyung left, two soldiers came to talk to me.


    ¡°Sir, you cannot be here. Please quickly get enough food and water for three days and go home.¡± One of the soldiers said. His forceful tone really didn¡¯t match his gentle face behind the round glasses he wore, which made him look a bit funny. It seems like the soldier next to him also had the same thought as me as I can see his mouth twitching ever so slightly.


    ¡°I¡¯m on my way to the supermarket now. Do any of you know the reason why I need to buy three days¡¯ worth of food and water?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know that either, Sir. We just did what our superior told us.¡±


    Seems like the soldiers were hurriedly mobilized, so they weren¡¯t briefed about the situation in detail. Well, there¡¯s no reason to argue with them.


    ¡°Yes. I will go home as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your understanding, Sir.¡±


    I stopped at the mart, joined the crowd to buy a bunch of candles and matches before going home. Then, I opened my laptop and checked the list of videos I had downloaded.


    ¡°This should be enough.¡± The videos I downloaded were videos which were useful for my future daily life, such as how to prepare preserved food, gardening, and how to operate a manual sewing machine. I downloaded it without watching the content first. I just download whatever feels right based on its title and thumbnail. There were hundreds of them stored in the hard disks, so I had no choice but to check it all later.


    ¡°There was even something like this.¡± It was a video on how to cut and transport a large tree. There¡¯s also a video on how to make a wood canoe by carving the inside of a log. This one is about how to make fertilizer from poop¡­will it be useful someday?


    As the night fell, complete darkness shrouded the area. It was so quiet to the point that the noise of a car in the distance feels like thunder.


    ¡°Is this perhaps a rehearsal to prepare the people for the true apocalypse?¡± I grumbled and lit the candle.


    Now, It felt like the apocalypse was really approaching.

 Chapter 32

    A lot of things had happened in the span of three days. A lot of people said that barricades had been set up in places leading to the outskirts, such as highways. At some places, not only barricades but also military trucks were parked in the middle of the road. When people protested, the soldiers showed a strong attitude towards them, while saying that they were only doing orders from their superiors. Fortunately, Hyung-jun Hyung was able to return to the gym through a provincial road where no barricades were installed. Though, he was currently saddened by the fact that her daughter had become quite rebellious towards him.


    ¡°By the way, while I¡¯m on my way here, the atmosphere was no joke. It feels like there¡¯s poison in the eyes of the soldiers. It was completely different from yesterday when they were a little bit tame.¡±


    ¡°They must have heard some bad news.¡±


    ¡°I believe so. The person who stopped me said that he¡¯s a captain. I heard from him that some military personnel have been deployed to the nuclear power plant.¡±


    ¡°To the nuclear power plant?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Seems like whatever reason they got sent there is the cause of the power outage.¡±


    ¡°I thought so too. I also heard from someone who, by accident, heard an announcement in Ulsan. Those living near the oil production complex were ordered to evacuate.¡±


    ¡°Woah¡­ that many people were ordered to evacuate all at once?¡±


    ¡°Whether it¡¯s a war or a coup, that¡¯s just crazy. How is the government planning to restore everything once it¡¯s done?¡±


    ¡°Hyung-nim, what if¡­ they think that there is no need to restore it?¡±


    Hyung-jun Hyung¡¯s eyes opened wide. Seemed like he realized what I meant, ¡°Are you talking about the zombie apocalypse?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know whether it was due to the apocalypse or not, but judging from the government¡¯s action, it seems likely, no? Moreover, even though they are deploying soldiers into important infrastructures, they didn¡¯t even call the reserve force.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ It does make sense. I stopped by the district office on the way here, but none of the civil officers were there, they all went home.¡±


    ¡°Then my thought should be correct. It¡¯s all because of the zombie apocalypse.¡±


    Seems like the President decided to enact the Martial law in order to achieve an orderly end. Looks like he¡¯s also shutting down the nuclear power plants and evacuated people living close to a petrochemical production complex in order to help future survivors living in an apocalyptic world. Apart from those, there are many other measures being taken. Such as shutting down the gas supply to the city, just like what happened right now.


    ¡°They even turned off the city gas. Wow, how the fuck are we supposed to live?¡± Hyung-jun Hyung grumbled as the gas stove in the kitchen refused to light up. At that time, Kyunghoon and Bora returned to the gym. Both of them looked very excited.


    ¡°The atmosphere outside is no joke. Some of the soldiers even started to use violence.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes. They probably become like that because there are stubborn people who won¡¯t follow their order. But, if they expect us to follow their order, can they at least tell us the reason? How can they just order people around without any reason like that?¡±


    ¡°It seems like the situation is getting worse.¡±


    Then, not long after, Mikyung and Yoohyeon also returned. Their eyes were red. It seems like they have a problem with their family, so it¡¯s best to just keep my mouth shut.


    Hyung-jun Hyung then called people together. ¡°Let¡¯s gather together first. Seongho¡­ is also a member of ours in a way, so stay and listen too.¡±


    Looking at his expression, it seems that Kyunghoon disagrees with that statement, but he did not dare to bring it up. It seems like he thinks that there is no need to fight with Hyung-jun Hyung.


    ¡°I heard a couple things when returning here from Gimhae. Big accidents are happening all around the country right now. Electricity, gas, internet, nothing works, so isn¡¯t it reasonable to call it an apocalypse already?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± The gym member answered in unison.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know when the zombie apocalypse will happen, but let¡¯s act according to our plan from now on. We¡¯ll start to limit the amount of food that we can consume for each day¡­ and we¡¯ll also have to secure as much drinking water as we can.¡±


    ¡°From now on?¡± When Mikyung asked, Hyung-jun Hyung simply nodded his head.


    ¡°Our situation right now, it¡¯s like an apocalypse, just without the zombies, right? We don¡¯t know when this situation will end, so we can¡¯t just recklessly consume the food we have.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Bora nodded in agreement.


    Things would become clear as soon as tomorrow comes anyway. It wouldn¡¯t get better, rather it would get worse and worse.


    Anyway, as soon as the meeting was over, everyone started complaining about the heat. It was summer currently, so without an air conditioner or fan, it was obvious that everyone was drenched in sweat.


    Everyone fanned themselves with the front of their T-shirt and grumbled.


    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s hot. I¡¯m dying, really.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s completely steamy because of the high humidity.¡±


    Meanwhile, I quickly jotted down a tutorial plan in a note before giving it to Hyung-jun Hyung. It was a strategy I devised while taking the lowered difficulty into account. As soon as Hyung-jun Hyung saw the note, his eyes widened.


    ¡°This¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen his videos, so it wouldn¡¯t be 100% accurate, but it should be roughly correct. Please keep in mind that you have to be extra careful because the escape route at the beginning varies depending on your location. And after the tutorial is over, items will appear, and you need to take it with you.¡±


    ¡°Where will the items appear?¡±


    ¡°In the game, items will spawn in a nearby location. The location is random, so you have to find it by yourself.¡±


    ¡°Huh? So, items will appear from empty air?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t the goblins appear like that too?¡±


    ¡°¡­well, yeah.¡±


    In this kind of time and situation, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if magicians and dragons from fantasy worlds start to appear.


    Hyung-jun Hyung grabbed the note and tapped my shoulder.


    ¡°Thank you. Actually, I worried about this a lot. That Kyunghoon said that he had watched many Survival Life tutorial videos. I want to ask him about it but I¡¯m never really sure how to ask.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me, Hyung-nim, it¡¯s only natural. Rather, I¡¯m sorry that this is all I know.¡±


    ¡°What are you sorry for? In the future, if you ran out of food, come to me.¡±


    ¡°I will do so, if I still survived at that time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­¡±


    I said my goodbye to the gym members and went out. I still thought that not joining their group was the best choice. If I let Hyung know about my abilities and join his group, my post-apocalyptic life would certainly become more comfortable. But, it would be difficult for them to survive. Although the difficulty was lowered, zombies were still a scary opponent. Even more so if it was a reinforced zombie. Just the thought that reinforced zombies would be mixed in the middle of countless normal zombies while attacking the gym sent shivers down my spine. They would be unable to survive if they were together with a guy like me, as stronger zombies and monsters would spawn in my vicinity.


    As I was on my way to my house, I heard a loud noise from a distance. It was from the convoy led by the tattooed man¡¯s tow truck, running crazily on the empty road. The soldiers blew whistles to stop them, but to no avail. They only keep accelerating even more.


    Two thugs who were sitting on top of the storage box saw me and spitted on me.


    ¡°See you later, you bastard! Hahaha!¡±


    Yeah, see you tomorrow.


    .


    .


    .


    As I arrived in front of my house, I got reprimanded by the soldiers who passed by my home. They ordered me to quickly enter my house. It seems like after working nonstop for several days, there¡¯s no more trace of their gentle and persuasive tone, replaced by a thorny and aggressive tone.


    When I went up to the second floor, I saw a woman hiding in an empty place on the first floor.


    ¡°Sooyeon, is that you?¡±


    ¡°Shh. Have the soldiers gone away yet?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they went away already. But, what are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°I have something to tell you. In the underground parking lot of Busan Civic Park, there¡¯s a construction going on.¡±


    ¡°A construction?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The laborers and materials just suddenly arrived one day. I saw it from my house using a telescope a few days ago.¡±


    ¡°Is it currently still under construction?¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s already finished. They are insanely fast, aren¡¯t they?¡± Sooyeon shook her head.


    I don¡¯t know what was being built there, but does it make sense to finish it in mere three days?


    ¡°I can¡¯t explain it, but it seemed like the whole process was rushed. The parking lot was quite large, so the laborers and materials needed to build whatever inside must be substantial¡­ Afterwards, a wing body truck just came in. They must have put something important inside.¡±


    Seems like they were building an unbreachable shelter.


    ¡°It looks like they¡¯re making a shelter.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Rather than making shelter for the people, the government just makes shelters for the politicians. Usually, people like them who could move undetected were the most dangerous kind of people.¡±


    ¡°Since they¡¯re in a rush, it seems like something is about to happen soon.¡±


    Sooyeon nooded. Her shoulders slumped. ¡°Haaaah, I hope it will happen sooner rather than later. This situation is just so messed up!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no guarantee we won¡¯t turn into zombies though.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just frustrated. Don¡¯t you feel something like this sometimes? When you don¡¯t do anything, you feel frustrated. You just want to do something or you feel like you will explode.¡±


    She¡¯s indeed a fiery noonim.


    ¡°Why are you telling me all this?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°If I say it was just cause¡­ it will be weird, right? Somehow I feel something from Seongho.¡±


    ¡°What kind of feeling? I¡¯m nothing but a slightly buff guy.¡±


    ¡°Before, when we met for the first time in front of the hardware store, you told us that a war club was the most suitable weapon, didn¡¯t you? I¡¯ve been gathering informations on my own, and it seems like the spores that infects people and turn them into zombies are settling in the skull?¡±


    ¡°It seems so.¡±


    ¡°However, people didn¡¯t believe the information which said that once the spores settled in, the most suitable method to get rid of it was drilling through the weakened skull.¡±


    ¡°Well, in the first place, there¡¯s so much information on the internet to the point where people can¡¯t decide which one to believe.¡±


    Kwon also posted some information, but after stealing his phone, I deleted all of it. As a result, until a few days ago, the awakened community was tainted with all sorts of unverified tips. Some of them might be written in the wrong way deliberately to make people suffer.


    ¡°I remembered what Seongho said back then. Weapons that have some protrusion works better against zombies. The ebony sticks that are rumoured will be available to be bought with points once the Shop is open, does it perhaps also have some protrusions?¡± Sooyeon said while clasping her fist with the other hand.


    ¡°I think so¡­ yeah¡­ I think I remember seeing it in one of his videos.¡± I deliberately said it vaguely.


    Sooyeon¡¯s eyeglasses gleamed. ¡°I know that you gave Manager Hyung-jun a method to avoid the zombies. You are awesome. It would have been great if the men in my group were like Seongho.¡±


    ¡°How are the people on your team?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit strange for me to say this when I¡¯m the one who decided to work with them, but they were people who didn¡¯t want to work hard but still expect to get a share from the result. Anyway, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything wrong with being close with Seongho. I¡¯m not being a nuisance, am I?¡±


    ¡°Not at all. If both of us survive, we should help each other later.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to hear that.¡± As Sooyeon had brought me some information, I should give her something too. I took my notes out, ripped a page out of it and squatted down. Then Sooyeon squatted beside me.


    ¡°What are you writing?¡±


    ¡°Tutorial strategy.¡±


    ¡°Sorry? Didn¡¯t you say you haven¡¯t played the game?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. But I often watch the live stream of I Love Gimbap. My memory isn¡¯t accurate, so do take it with a grain of salt.¡±


    She happily clasped her palms. ¡°Wow, if I take this and spread it around, will I become well-known?¡±


    ¡°Since you¡¯re a doctor, aren¡¯t you popular enough?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not. I felt like people in my group were slightly ostracizing me as I wasn¡¯t an awakened.¡±


    ¡°If they think that since they have some superpowers, they can fight against the zombies, then they wouldn¡¯t be able to survive for long.¡±


    ¡°I know, right. I have to go and try to convince them not to try and fight against the zombies.¡±


    She stood up and took a pen from the front pocket of her jeans. Then, she wrote something on the palm of my hand.


    ¡°This is my place. Eden Villa Room 302. If you heard rumors that I was dead, take everything inside.¡±


    She would know that what she said doesn¡¯t make sense. I don¡¯t even know where her group was, so how could I hear anything if something happened to her? But I understood her feelings. She just wants someone she knows and trusts to use the supplies she stored up to survive, which in this case, was me. Though, I don¡¯t know why she suddenly thought about something like that.


    ¡°All right. Be sure to survive. I¡¯ll see you later.¡± At my words, she smiled and handed me a pouch. It¡¯s the same pouch which contains a pain reliever antibiotic pack I got from her before.


    ¡°For some reason, I felt that because Seongho fights well, you will get hurt a lot, so I prepared some more for you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°See you next time.¡±


    She turned around and left as if nothing had happened.


    .


    .


    .


    20 hours until the zombie apocalypse happens.


    I spent the remaining time inside the forest while doing chores, such as organizing the warehouse. Although the moat was still far away from being done and it¡¯s still a little dangerous here, I just kind of wanted to be here to calm my mind.


    ¡°When looting tomorrow, I should put the portal here.¡± The place I would anchor my portal at was the vacant lot in front of the cave. It¡¯s because the time I have to loot was limited, so I won¡¯t have enough time to organize every single thing that I looted.


    ¡°There are too many places to loot¡­ Looks like I have to prioritize looting metal-made things and medicines ¡± The rest could be delayed as they wouldn¡¯t be destroyed. I could just loot it in the future.


    I checked the map of my neighborhood and decided on a route. I have to move as effectively as possible because there¡¯s only 5 hours between the arrival of the zombies and the corrosive disease. On top of that, I also had to prepare for the tutorial.


    ¡°Currently, I¡¯m level 6¡­¡± and there¡¯s an opportunity for levelling up waiting for me tomorrow. It was a method which could only be used right when the corrosive disease struck. If I do it right, I could gain levels as well as a lot of points easily.


    ¡°The possibilities are good enough.¡± I nodded and closed the map. With Dingo in tow, I walked around the forest near my shelter. Because I have a big job waiting for me tomorrow, I didn¡¯t want to exhaust my stamina today if possible. I hoped those damn goblins were busy today and didn¡¯t show up here.


    Dingo sniffed a couple times and went ahead to lead me somewhere.


    ¡°Ah, they were the first thing I ever found in this forest.¡± To my surprise, Dingo led me to the solar apple tree I stumbled upon on my first day in the forest. On its branch, there were 2 plump apples dangling ready to be picked.


    ¡°¡­it¡¯s strange.¡± It¡¯s only been around a month, but there¡¯s already 2 full grown apples? No matter how I looked at it, the solar apples on the branch had the exact same size as the solar apples I picked back then.


    ¡°How did you grow so fast?¡± Perhaps it was because the soil on this forest was so nutritious since there are various monster poops and carcasses?


    I picked the two solar apples and put them in my backpack.


    ¡°However, it just doesn¡¯t make any sense that they grow this fast simply because the soil is good.¡± Another reason buds in the back of my mind. Perhaps, it was because the whole forest was enchanted? If it was indeed the case, if I make a garden and plant some crops, will it grow faster?


    ¡°I need to check.¡± It¡¯s difficult to do it right away, but once things stabilize, it¡¯s worth a try. I don¡¯t know anything about farming except for digging the soil and putting the seeds in, but as I have books and many videos about basic farming methods, I could just learn from them in the future, when I have the time.


    I wandered around the shelter some more to check whether the goblins had dug some traps. As it turns out, they have. Dingo sniffed at the ground before pounded the ground with his front paws. When I dug into the soil Dingo pounded at with a shovel, I was greeted with a hole. Several wooden spears could be seen protruding upwards at the bottom of the hole.


    It¡¯s a trap which had been made meticulously by the goblin¡­ However¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m big, you idiots.¡± On top of that, I¡¯m not even barefoot. Let alone my feet, stepping on something like this won¡¯t even leave a dent on my boots. Well, all traps made by goblins were always like this. Meticulous but sloppy at the same time. I broke the wooden spears and covered the hole with soil.


    ¡°There¡¯s still 19 hours left¡­¡± Now, it¡¯s time to calmly wait for the zombie apocalypse to come. I returned to the shelter, checked the CCTV for any kind of movement outside, before playing the tutorial video on repeat.


    ¡°It won¡¯t be too difficult because the difficulty has been lowered.¡± The method of gaining points had also been expanded. I was really curious about what those methods were going to be.


    ¡°Well, I guess I will find out tomorrow.¡± I opened the portal at the vacant lot in front of the cave and returned to the otherside together with Dingo.


    There really isn¡¯t much time left now.


    .


    .


    .


    At midnight, I went up to the roof of my house with Dingo. But contrary to the time, the weather was piping hot.


    ¡°At this point, I feel like living in a tropical nation, it¡¯s no joke.¡± A report from the Korea Meteorological Administration said that this summer would record the worst heat wave in 40 years. Though, it was not too surprising as those guys always said something like that every summer.


    Because of the heat, Dingo stood a little bit away from me. Truly, what a naughty guy.


    I looked up at the sky.


    ¡°By now, the US military forces should be preparing to intercept the meteorites¡­¡± Well, it was just a deduction. Because no matter how I think about it, I wouldn¡¯t be able to get my hands on those kinds of informations. Afterall, all kinds of ways to acquire information such as the internet and TV channels were being restricted. It was hard to even know what the Korean government was doing, let alone the governments of foreign countries. All I knew was that there were a lot of soldiers around the Busan area.


    ¡°And that the end is coming¡­¡± There¡¯s still 13 hours left. While the hot night breeze hits my face, I suddenly remembered the moment when I opened my status window for the first time and became aware of the situation. I remembered I still served Mikyung a bowl of tteokbokki after I heard the news about the Silver Dragon meteor.


    In the meantime, for the last 32 days, I had made a lot of preparations. But I couldn¡¯t confidently say that it was enough in any way. There must be something I have missed. I¡¯m still human after all.


    However,


    ¡°I have no regrets.¡± It was useless and dumb to cling on to the time that had already passed. It was better to use that time to just run straight ahead.


    ¡°¡­¡± The wind hit my body once again. But this time, the wind carried some strange sensation. I opened my eyes and looked at the sky above. The night sky in the northwest was shining red. It was not a pleasing red but a bloody and violent red.


    Then moments later,


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    Hundreds of lines passed through the night sky.


    It was only at that time I finally realized. The Silver Dragon meteorites had finally arrived on Earth. And that meant one thing. The Americans had failed to intercept the meteorites.


    ¡°Finally¡­¡±


    The apocalypse is just around the corner.

 Chapter 33

    <D ¨C Day (1)>


    The morning of the 20th was peaceful as usual. People left their home, looking at their surroundings, while some were already gathering with other neighbors. And sometimes even cars passed by. It seems like the hottest topic among the gathering people was about the sudden disappearance of the soldiers.


    ¡°Well, they also have to see their families¡­¡± They had worked very hard for the past few days, so it was only natural that they would spend their last few hours with their family.


    I walked away from the window to the bathroom. I turned the faucet on and as expected, no water came out. The city was now completely paralyzed.


    ¡°Dingo, come eat this.¡± I cut a raw chicken I stored inside an earthen jar that I buried in the forest¡¯s soil in half and fed it to Dingo. Over the past two weeks, he had grown a lot. Now the cute wolf cub I met in the forest had become the size of a Beagle. However, he has not yet been able to lose the unique baby fat of a cub.


    ¡°You eat this and wait inside.¡± Even though I want to take him around with me, the situation would become too chaotic soon. He wouldn¡¯t offer much help. The incoming environment was a place where his strong sense of smell and tracking ability wouldn¡¯t do much.


    Let¡¯s just fill my stomach too. I would need all the energy I could get to face what would happen soon. However, it would be a disadvantage instead if I ate too much, so let¡¯s just eat in moderation. While I was preparing my last meal before the end, which sadly came in the form of canned food, the lamp inside the room suddenly lit, albeit dim, for a moment, before suddenly it shone bright enough to light up the whole room.


    Oh?


    The TV also turned on. And there, the President¡¯s face appeared. He looked haggard and considerably older than the last time I saw him on the TV.


    ¡°In just a few days, his face completely changed¡­¡± They say that when someone is stressed out, they will grow older in just a few days. I guess that¡¯s not just a saying, huh. The clean cut and neat suit he always used whenever he appeared in public also couldn¡¯t be found anywhere. Replacing it was a disheveled suit which looks like it hadn¡¯t been washed for several days. It was as if the man on the TV wasn¡¯t the most influential man in the nation but just a random neighbourhood elder.


    ¨DDear citizens of the Republic of South Korea. This is Jang Won-taek, the President of the Republic of South Korea. Before starting this broadcast, I would like to ask you one thing. Please call everyone around you to also listen to this announcement. I¡¯ll say it again¡­


    From the street in front of my house, several shouts could be heard.


    ¡°Hey, watch the TV!¡±


    ¡°Everyone please watch the TV!¡±


    ¡°The electricity is back on!¡± I shouted, adding another shout into the countless shouts.


    After a few minutes passed, the President nodded and started to speak.


    ¨DDear citizens. This is President Jang Won-taek. I know that you must have been heartbroken by the unknown arrangement that started a few days ago. Today, I¡¯m here to explain everything.


    Are you finally telling everyone about the truth?


    The street became quiet. Meanwhile, with my eyes locked onto the TV, I moved another spoonful of Bibimbap into my mouth.


    ¡°Tasty but a bit salty.¡± I think, because it was some sort of MRE, it was made with the assumption that whoever eats it would sweat a lot. My throat instantly felt parched because of all the saltiness. I don¡¯t think I would be able to eat this everyday¡­


    ¨DA few days ago, I ordered the enactment of the Martial Law. The Republic of South Korea¡¯s military force has taken over all media outlet offices, important infrastructure, and closed all major roads. Everyone must be curious why I did all of that, right?


    The President paused for a moment before putting a cigarette into his mouth and lit it up.


    What the¡­ Smoking cigarettes while speaking to the public? It seems that he had decided to throw away all the broadcasting ethics now that the end is near.


    ¡°Well, there are only four hours left.¡±


    Puffing a thick acidic cigarette smoke into the air, the President finally spoke.


    ¨DHaha¡­If the opposition sees me doing this, they will undoubtedly make a lot of noise about keeping the dignity of the President. Anyway, the reason I ordered the enactment of the Martial Law was because I wanted an orderly end.


    The word finally came out. It was the only natural course of action. As a President who is faced with something as crazy as an apocalypse, he must¡¯ve wanted to prevent all sorts of confusion until the D-Day comes.


    ¨DI gave the orders to cut off communications, cut off power lines, and shut down the nuclear power plant. We evacuated not only people around the city gas factory, but also residents around the chemical industrial complex. An orderly end, that is what I was hoping for. Then again, you must be wondering, why did I decide to appear in front of you right now of all times?


    The President exhaled a long puff of cigarette smoke again and said something unexpected.


    ¨DEarly in the morning, we received news that the U.S. military forces had failed to intercept all of the Silver Dragon meteorites. A group of meteorites had managed to reach the surface of the Earth, and had landed off the coast of Okinawa, and it was confirmed that Okinawa suffered catastrophic damage. As we speak, a lot of Japanese people are turning into zombies. Yes. Those zombies that you saw in movies that attacks all kinds of living beings. The Japan archipelago is currently being devoured by zombie spores. Currently, Kagoshima is in the midst of chaos. Japan is definitely coming to an end. Unfortunately, we will also meet the very same fate as them soon.


    As soon as that bombshell announcement fell, people on the street started to go crazy. Even though some of them might have known that the zombie apocalypse will happen, they probably were taken aback that it happened today rather than in the near future.


    After drinking some water, the President continued.


    ¨DThe exact date of the apocalypse is July 20th, which is today, at 1pm. Zombie spores that infected the Japan archipelago will also land in Korea soon¡­ hmm¡­ I was just informed. People in shelters equipped with air purification facilities will also be infected.


    ¡°You son of a bitch!!!!!¡± I heard an old man swearing loudly outside. And after him, a lot of people also start to shout out a lot of colourful words. They must have felt cheated. But if they thought about it a little more, they would understand that it was all for the best. Afterall, because of the Martial Law, they could spend time with their family for a few days when the people who made and oversaw the decision were busy running around until dawn, without being able to spend their remaining time with their family for the last time.


    ¨DWhat is certain is that we, too, cannot avoid the zombie apocalypse. But few will be able to survive. Namely, the awakeners, and others. For you future survivors, we, the government, have prepared something. From now on, please take note of the places I¡¯m going to tell you¡­


    The President proceeds to list places in several cities, including Seoul and metropolitan cities. It seems to be the underground parking lot shelter Sooyeon told me about yesterday.


    ¨DThe location I just told you about was currently tightly sealed with concrete and composite plastic. You could call it a time capsule. After one year, when the corrosive disease finally perishes, the seal will be automatically released. If anyone survives until then, there are a lot of items you will find useful such as food, bottled water, clothes, gasoline, diesel, basic necessities, books¡­


    I should note those locations down. The President also listed places to avoid such nuclear power plants and chemical manufacturing complexes.


    ¨DDo not, at all cost, approach the listed facilities within the radius of 20 kilometers. Nuclear power plants, in particular, are very dangerous. I shut it down a few days ago and started the emergency cooling procedure, but there will still be residual heat in the core and it will last for quite a while. There¡¯s also a possibility that the core will melt. We have taken several measures to prevent it, but it was far from perfect.


    The nuclear power plant was quite far from my area, but that doesn¡¯t mean I could feel relieved. From what I know, radiation exposure will give you the taste of blood in your mouth. But¡­


    ¡°Once you feel it in your body, doesn¡¯t that mean that you¡¯ll certainly die?¡±


    The President¡¯s speech continued.


    ¨DDear citizens. It was a pleasure to be with you. Although I, as both a person and a President, still lacks a lot, I have done everything in my power in order to give the future survivors a better life in the apocalyptic world. All I can do left is pray that you future survivors will be able to live a good life. Thanks to a certain someone who gave us the exact date and time of the D-Day, we are able to prepare this much. Without his help, we would be in chaos by now, caught in the beginning of an unexpected apocalypse.


    ¡°It¡¯s not something I should be thanked for¡­¡± Rather, I thought I should thank the President. Even though he knew that the end was approaching, he still carried his duty as a President rather than running away. He¡¯s definitely different from a guy like me.


    Then a man in a suit from the news a few days ago whispered something towards the President. After a few seconds, the President spoke once again.


    ¨DAll thermal power plants will also be shut down soon, as the managers also need to at least meet their families. They probably are unable to watch this broadcast, but I¡¯m sorry that I had threatened you. I also expressed my regrets to all the generals who were imprisoned for not complying to my wishes. This old man has been talking for too long, so let¡¯s end it here. Before we finished, what will be broadcasted after this was a summary of the monsters which would appear in the beginning. People of South Korea, let¡¯s do our best to survive and see each other again in the future.


    At the end of those words, the screen changed from showing the presidential room into a line of text. Just as the President had said, it was the characteristics, weaknesses and countermeasures against monsters which would appear in the beginning such as zombies, goblins, kobolds and bone creepers. And at the bottom, there¡¯s a single line.


    ¡°Written by a stagnant water¡­¡± Who is it? Whoever it is, I was certain about one thing. They decided to entrust their life to the government. While I was admiring their decision, the screen suddenly distorted and the electricity went out again.


    Now, South Korea has finally come to a complete end.


    .


    .


    .


    The reaction from the people was immediate and simultaneous. A lot of people ran out of their house and shouted wildly. Panic screams and cursing screams filled the entire area of my neighbourhood. One particular man even took all of his clothes off before running around.


    ¡°You bastards!!¡±


    ¡°Fuck them all!¡±


    Crasshhh-!!


    There are sounds of window glasses being broken all over the place while the streets were dominated in madness. It¡¯s only natural, though. People had been very patient these few days while being restricted by the army. And yet, when they thought that the situation was finally over, what was waiting for them was an apocalypse.


    ¡°They¡¯ll feel like they were sentenced to death.¡±


    I slowly covered the windows with a few layers of planks I had prepared beforehand and started laying bricks behind it to strengthen it. This building was close to fully camouflaged, but I still equipped it with a minimum amount of defense so I could be at ease whenever I needed to go somewhere to hunt.


    ¡°Let¡¯s block the stairs as well¡­¡± If I blocked both the stairs and the windows, where would I enter and exit from? The answer is through the large bathroom window on the back of the building. Adjacent to the window was a fence. It was pretty high so zombies wouldn¡¯t be able to climb it. Beyond that fence was an alleyway. It was so narrow and dark to the point where if they were given a choice, people would not enter. I will use that alleyway for my in-and-out path between my building and the streets.


    I pushed all the furniture and junk down the stairs to the first floor. It¡¯ll become some sort of barrier. Then, I piled up another round of bricks on the very top step of the stair to block off the stair.


    Suddenly, a loud crashing sound of a car could be heard from the street.


    ¡°Wow¡­ What a mess¡± How long will all this commotion last, I wonder?


    Sound of people bickering and fighting could be heard from literally everywhere. Now that the law and public authority had disappeared, there was nothing left to control the primordial urge of humans for violence. Even small things which would normally be ignored in everyday life would become significant enough to provoke them into a fight.


    However, unlike them, I was busy laying all the bricks and applying a thick layer of mortar mix in the space between them. It doesn¡¯t matter if it dries slowly. Afterall, it was something I prepared for the time after the tutorial.


    Then, I went to the forest to check on the motorcycle which had a hammer and an oxygen cutter tied to it. I took the oxygen cutter and turned it on for one last check. And as expected, a frightening flame came out of its nozzle together with a hissing sound, indicating that it¡¯s working perfectly. Satisfied, I tied it to the motorcycle once again before returning to Earth.


    Once I went up to the rooftop of my house, I could finally see the violence, chaos and madness which filled the streets. It was a scene which normally could only be seen in a movie. A broken storefront, a lot of smoke and people fighting against each other. However, once I looked closely, there¡¯s only a handful of people who ran wildly. It seems like most of the people decide to hole themselves inside their home.


    In the distance, I could see the tow truck driven by the thugs keep surprising people by constantly accelerating and braking. They even hit someone in the process. However, they didn¡¯t stop at all and left the unmoving man behind.


    ¡°Looks like the only law that prevails here right now is the law of the jungle.¡±


    So, just wait for me, as I¡¯ll make you suffer the same fate as that man you just hit. When I looked at the gym through my telescope, I saw the members of the group having a meeting with serious expressions on their faces. Hyung-jun Hyung would surely take care of them, so let¡¯s leave them to their own devices.


    When I looked at my watch, it was currently 11 o¡¯clock. There¡¯s still 2 hours left before the apocalypse begins. I could just start looting now, but it¡¯s better to do it later in order to avoid people¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Right now, people are still scary.¡± At 1 o¡¯clock, no one would notice me because of the chaos caused by the arrival of the zombies. Suddenly, a loud sound came from the sky. When I looked up, numerous pieces of paper rained down from a plane that flew by. When I caught it, the paper listed the location of all shelters mentioned by the President earlier, places to avoid, and the walkthrough of monsters from earlier broadcasts.


    ¡°They are truly great people.¡± Living with such people in the apocalypse would be worth it. However, people like them were few and far in between. In reality, the world would be full of bastards like me and all kinds of trolls like those thugs.


    I crumpled the paper and tossed it to the street below. Then I went to take a nap while waiting for the zombies to come.


    .


    .


    .


    At around 12:59 p.m. I opened my eyes. Strong wind blew and ruffled my hair. At the same time, an ominous sense of incongruity swept the street below. A man who was running around the street just a second prior suddenly stopped as if he was exhausted and collapsed to the ground. He gasped several times before grabbing his head and screamed.


    ¡°Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!¡±


    His body ominously twisted before becoming completely still. When he slowly rose to his feet, blue spots could be seen covering all over his face. He was turning into a zombie. He¡¯s not the only one though, as all over the street, numerous people also rise to their feet with blue spots covering their face.


    I went downstairs, went out through the bathroom window and let the motorcycle out of the portal once I reached the street.


    There¡¯s around 5 hours before the corrosive disease strikes. In the meantime, I must loot all the places as soon as possible and move the portal location to another location because I need to check whether the corrosive disease affects the forest or not.


    I started the engine, and it roared. However, even though it was noisy no zombies noticed me. When I pulled the throttle and took my foot off the clutch lever, the motorcycle moved. Almost at the same time, the zombies on the street glanced at me. Their eyes gleamed and saliva was dripping from their mouth. But they couldn¡¯t move right away.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± My first target was the pharmacy. I drove in the middle of the road while ignoring all the zombies. Right now, they still can¡¯t move because it takes around 5 to 10 minutes for the spores to take over the brain and start to control the body. Until then, I just have to focus on getting to the pharmacy.


    All over the street, all I could see was zombies. There¡¯s no living person at all. Just where did they go? Were they all infected?


    Once I arrived at the pharmacy, there was no one there. On top of it, the shutters were not down. I broke the glass door with the hammer before parking the motorcycle inside and closing the shutter.


    ¡°Open portal.¡± I summoned the portal. Then I quickly shove everything on the shelf into the portal. Currently, it is an unusually hot summer, and when the shutters were closed, it was completely steamy inside. As I was frantically moving around, my breath quickly became shallow and beads of sweat started to trickle down all over my body.


    ¡°How could a small pharmacy like this have so much stuff?¡± I was left bewildered as soon as I entered their storage room. However, it only lasted for several seconds before I began to tilt the shelf and swept everything into the portal.


    As I almost finished looting everything in the pharmacy, someone suddenly banged the shutter. I threw the last bunch of syringes then pounded the shutters.


    Guaaahkkk-!


    The answer I got from the otherside was a roar and another set of banging.


    ¡°I¡¯m not happy at all to see you.¡± From the sounds alone, I could tell there¡¯s not just one, but several zombies outside.


    ¡°For now, let¡¯s turn the motorcycle around first.¡± Driving out as soon as the shutter was opened was a bad idea as there¡¯s a chance I would crash down because of the zombie and get eaten. It¡¯s better to do it step by step.


    I moved the location of the portal to another warehouse and came out with a mace and shield. Fully equipped, I raised the shutter while putting the shield in front of me. Four zombies quickly limped towards me with their hands stretched forward. However, they couldn¡¯t reach me and collided with my shield instead.


    Keakkkkkk-!!


    They let out another roar. The scene unfolding before me really threw me back to my early days of Survival Life. I could feel tears welling up in the corner of my eyes. What a nostalgic feeling, really.


    I retrieved the shield and swung the mace into the head of the zombie standing in front of me.


    ¡°Let¡¯s dance.¡±

 Chapter 34

    In all honesty, fighting zombies wasn¡¯t difficult at all. Their agility and durability were less than a goblin. Even without any martial arts knowledge, an ordinary person could easily overpower 1 or 2 zombies if they got a weapon in hand. However, the problem was, when you fight against zombies, unless you kill them quick enough, other zombies around you would slowly swarm towards you because of the noise the fight caused, leaving you no path to escape.


    ¡°That¡¯s why you have to choose where you fight wisely.¡± If you chose to fight in a narrow space such as an alley, hallway or between a door, the chance you¡¯ll come out alive from the fight would be considerably higher as you could effectively defend against the zombies coming front the front with just a shield. Unless they were a reinforced zombie, you could literally beat it up without breaking any sweat in a one-to-one battle.


    Just like what I was doing right now. I let one of the zombies come towards me, then I immediately push it back with my shield before hitting it with a mace right on the head. I repeated the same trick over and over again until the last zombie laid lifelessly on the floor.


    ¡¸You have earned 8 Points ¡¹


    ¡°Huff huff huff, this is no joke.¡± It wasn¡¯t this hot yesterday, why did it suddenly become this hot today? Even though I wanted to stop and rest for a few minutes, there was no time to cool off at all. I threw the mace and the shield across the portal and jumped to my motorcycle. With a roaring sound, the motorcycle sped up through the street full of zombies.


    Every zombie around the area stretched their arms towards me as I passed by. But thankfully, even though the spores had finally taken over the body and were able to control it, their speed was still slow. They would only start to move faster after a few hours as they gain more energy from foods. Before that time comes, I need to finish all my looting.


    ¡°ANYONE THERE? HEEEELPPP!!!!¡±


    As I blitzed through a house, I saw a zombie sinking their teeth into someone.


    ¡°AAAAAAAHHHHH! SAVE ME!!!!¡±


    However, I keep holding the throttle without letting it go. There¡¯s simply no reason for me to stop. In this situation, everyone was responsible for their own life. If they couldn¡¯t survive this much, there¡¯s simply no hope of surviving in the future for them as the difficulty would only get harder from here on.


    After a while, I finally managed to arrive at the hardware store. But a problem came up. The door of the hardware store was locked with a huge padlock.


    ¡°Shit.¡± I immediately took the oxygen cutter and turned it on to cut the padlock. While doing so, I could hear many shuffling steps inching towards me from all directions. Thankfully, I managed to cut off the padlock before the zombies could reach me. I lifted the shutter and pushed the door with my body. The inside of the hardware store was quite narrow so I had to leave my motorcycle outside.


    As I closed the shutter, the thick and stale air enveloped me. Then, the owner-turned-zombie staggered toward me from the side room. However, as the space was narrow and there were a lot of things placed between us, it was difficult for him- no, it, to approach me.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Without waiting for it to attack me, I pounced towards the zombie and buried my mace in its head. Meanwhile, the other zombies outside start to bang the shutter.


    ¡°Be patient, you bastards!¡± Then, I proceeded to took a swipe through the display. However, even if I limit things I want to loot to something with metal on it, there¡¯s simply too many things around. I wouldn¡¯t have enough time to take all of it. I can¡¯t just spill the shelf just like what I did at the pharmacy, because these things are way heavier than the medicines at the pharmacy.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just do it slowly.¡± I cleared my mind. The items in this store were things that won¡¯t be available once the corrosive disease struck. Therefore, it would be better to secure as many metal-made things from here as I can, even if it means that I have to spend a lot of time here.


    ¡°After I sweep this place clean¡­¡± I should go to the police station. The camping equipment store was located right next to the main street, which means there would be a lot of zombies there. Rather than going there right after this and wasting both time and stamina fighting zombies there when I still have places to go, it would be better to just go there after I¡¯ve looted the police station. And for the other places listed in the note, like the fishing equipment store, I could just loot those places later on in the future.


    I could feel sweat trickling down from my forehead to my neck. I stopped my work for a moment and took off my motorcycle helmet in order to get some fresh air, then continued my work.


    ¡°These guys, really!¡± While I was throwing all the items across the portal, the banging on the shutter got even louder. They just can¡¯t let me loot in peace, can¡¯t they? The heat is already annoying for me, but the banging sounds makes me even more annoyed .


    For a moment, I decided to enter the portal, so that I wouldn¡¯t have to listen to those annoying banging sounds while feeling the extreme heat at the same time.


    ¡°Ah¡­ So refreshing¡­¡± Let¡¯s just stay like this for another minute. Then, Dingo, who seemed to be running around in the vacant lot before I came, barked and ran towards me as soon as he saw me.


    ¡°Shhhh. Just stay here for now, okay?¡± After stroking the cute guy a few times, I returned to the hardware store again. And as expected, the heat once again assaulted me.


    Bang bang bang!


    The shutter suddenly vibrated like it was about to break. However, I paid it no heed as I was busy throwing random things across the portal. There are simply too many things here, that I couldn¡¯t even tell what I need and what I do not.


    ¡°Ura-cha-cha!¡± After throwing dozens of cement sacks, my vision blurred as I lost my sense of balance for a split second. After regaining my senses, I put my head inside the portal to let it cool off.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Refreshing¡­¡±


    Bang bang bang!!


    Suddenly, as if knowing that I was taking a break, another round of pounding came. However, this time, it didn¡¯t end there as the shutter shook violently for a moment before some parts of it fell off to the ground. When I peeked through the hole left by the fallen part, I was left speechless by what I saw.


    ¡°When did so many of them come?¡± Five zombies were standing outside, pounding the shutter with their arms. Isn¡¯t it more efficient for them to find other food rather than trying to destroy the shutter doors just to eat me?


    If I wait for ten more minutes, I¡¯m certain that they would leave to find other food. But I simply didn¡¯t have the luxury to do that. Which means, I would have to fight them again.


    I took out the solar apple slice that I prepared beforehand from my pocket and put it in my mouth. In an instant, I could feel some of my stamina was restored. At the same time, my blurred vision also became a lot clearer. Feeling that my condition was good enough to fight them, I put my helmet back on and took the mace and shield out from the portal. As soon as I opened the half-broken shutter, three zombies quickly walked towards me while staggering while the other two bared their teeth at me.


    ¡°Let¡¯s dance.¡±


    .


    .


    .


    After killing the zombies, I drove as fast as I could towards the police station. It was too hot and exhausting, so no matter how much I ate the solar apple, the effect was minimum. It seems there¡¯s a limit to how much stamina it could restore in a short amount of time.


    I was exhausted to the point that my Survival Instinct skill got activated. Thanks to that, by the time I got to the police station, my body felt very light.


    ¡°I have to loot quickly and rest¡­¡± I threw the motorcycle at the entrance of the police station and took the oxygen cutter with me as I walked in. But suddenly, gunshots rang out from inside the police station.


    Dammit, did someone get here first? They can¡¯t use the guns for long because of the corrosive disease anyway, so why bother coming here? Or, is it actually one of the police officers that originally works here?


    ¡°They must have decided to come here because they thought it was safer here than their own home.¡± Afterall, there¡¯s a weapon storage here. The problem was, that same weapon storage was the reason why I came here.


    ¡°I can¡¯t help it.¡± I opened the portal on a wall that faces directly towards the entrance before jumping in. Not long after that, I saw zombies who heard the gunshots starts to flock towards the entrance from all directions.


    ¡°Damn, things are getting troublesome.¡± However, going out and helping those survivors is not an option. It¡¯s not just zombies that I have to fight if I decide to help out, since there are also humans. Worst case scenario, I could be killed because of a stray bullet or even a deliberate shot.


    As I was enjoying the fresh air of the forest, the zombies finally arrived at the entrance. At that moment, another series of gunshot thundered. Several zombies which the bullets landed on, slumped down to the ground. However, their numbers hardly decreased. No, it was more apt to say that their numbers will soon increase as more and more zombies come because of the gunshots.


    ¡°Even after the effort the government put in, they still did those stupid things? Didn¡¯t the government already said that loud noises would attract zombies? Did they not know about it?¡± I facepalmed at their foolishness. It was clearly written in the TV after the President¡¯s speech earlier today as well as in the paper spread by the plane that zombies have a sensitive sight and hearing. So how?


    Then, I saw the shooter running to the second floor before looking down while tilting his head. He must have thought that if he jumped to the side where no zombies were spotted, he would be able to run away. I admit, it was indeed a good idea. However, when he started to dangle from the railing rather than jumping straight off, I sighed. What unfold after that was the exact same as what I expected it to be. The guy¡¯s pants was grabbed by a tall zombie and he got pulled down.


    The man struggled to push the zombie away. Unfortunately for him, there¡¯s no chance that other zombies would leave him alone. More and more zombies swarmed towards the man, and moments later, his scream pierced the air.


    ¡°Shit.¡± I quickly closed the portal. It¡¯s just too early to see someone being eaten alive by zombies. I should wait like this for a few minutes before re-opening the portal. Hopefully, by that time, the zombies already moved away.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have much time¡­¡± The longer I wait here, the less time I have to loot another place. Ten minutes later, I finally re-opened the portal. The zombie swarm, which was occupying the entrance to the police office building earlier, had moved to the second floor. It seems that they were moving towards where the foods left behind by the man who just died were kept. I wanted to chase them away and take the foods for myself. However, after pondering for some time, I decided to not do it. The amount of the food itself wouldn¡¯t be worth the trouble.


    After a while, the zombies came down and started moving out of the police station. What was left was only a corpse which had been shredded to bits. I walked towards it before taking the revolver the man dropped while looking away.


    Damn, it reeks of blood¡­


    When I opened the tattered door and entered, I was greeted by an extremely messy sight.


    ¡°Is this the only weapon you have?¡± When I went to the place where the man first shot the gun from, I was greeted by 15 rounds of .38 calibre live bullets, one K2 rifle, and 20 rounds of 5.56mm live ammunition. Meanwhile, the weapon storage was completely empty.


    ¡°It seems like there¡¯s someone who came even before the man from earlier.¡± But I can¡¯t judge them. Afterall, I also came to steal, just like them.


    ¡°Let¡¯s move this for now.¡± I opened the portal and moved all my findings into the portal. When I went upstairs, it was incredibly messy. Leftover foods could be seen scattered all over the place while the desks and chairs were turned upside down.


    Fortunately, I still found some useful things such as a light stick, three tasers, and a pair of walkie-talkies. I packed it all up then threw it into the portal, before gearing up again then went outside.


    As I was driving my motorcycle down the road, numerous zombies roared and came after me from all over the place. I¡¯m in a very bad mood right now, so get lost!


    As I finally arrived in front of the motorcycle shop, I was taken aback by the situation. The shop was completely exposed, so it was difficult to avoid the zombies¡¯ gaze. Moreover, all that was left was a scooter and an ATV. Without any delay, I quickly entered the store, pushed the ATV to block the door, and rummaged through the drawers behind the counter.


    ¡°The key¡­ the key¡­¡±


    Growl-!!


    In the meantime, a few zombies managed to find me and tried to get over the ATV. I¡¯m not letting them do it, though. I swung the mace towards their heads with one hand while my other hand kept on rummaging through the drawers to find the key. And after doing that for several minutes, I finally found the key. I quickly opened the portal and tossed the keys along with anything I could find inside it. By the time I closed the portal, several more zombies had gathered around the ATV.


    Because I was moving in a hurry, my breath was quite ragged. My helmet visor was foggy, my legs and arm felt heavy and sweat dripped like waterfall all over my body. And yet, the zombies in front of me were all aiming to sink their teeth into my flesh. With my current condition, I simply couldn¡¯t afford to fight them. Therefore, I decide to open the portal and wait for them to disappear. I took my helmet off and took a breath, enjoying a short moment of respite.


    Outside, the zombies who had passed through the ATV blockade bounced away from the portal as soon as they touched it. It was as if they were hitting a wall. Hopefully, the portal would be strong enough to withstand their march. Afterall, except for that one time when I pulled the goblins with spears towards the portal, I hadn¡¯t got the chance to check its durability.


    ¡°Should I go to the camping gear store next?¡± However, I was still a bit dissatisfied by what I got from the district police office. It was good that I managed to secure 2 new guns, but I wanted to secure more live ammunition.


    Should I go to the nearest infantry battalion next? But if at least one of the soldiers survived and were armed, I would be caught in a gunfight.


    ¡°And it¡¯s likely that the ammunition depot has been captured.¡± No matter how many times I thought about it, it was simply impossible for me to win against anyone who managed to get the ammunition depot under their control first. If I just hid inside the portal, the soldiers would undoubtedly leave after some time passed, but I couldn¡¯t do that as the time was running out.


    I ate half of the solar apple slices I had at once before I ran outside. Just then, a motorcycle running down the street suddenly stopped in front of the store. As soon as I saw who was riding it, I cursed and ran to the backroom to hide.


    Just why is my luck so bad?


    ¡°Hey fucker. I finally found you.¡± It was the tattooed man and one of his friends from the Villa gang. As soon as he finished his words, both of them aimed the crossbow they carried and shot it towards me.


    ¡°You nosy bastard, I will catch you and feed you to the zombie.¡±


    Judging from his ragged breath, it seems like he was very excited to see me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re so angry, though.¡±


    As he heard my answer, the tattooed man jumped over the ATV and entered the store.


    ¡°Do you seriously don¡¯t know? I¡­ I¡¯ve been working hard to coax her to join our group¡­ But¡­ What did you do? You fucking tell her to join another group, you fucker!¡±


    ¡°Well, that was because we have to respect her opinion.¡±


    ¡°Respect her opinion my ass! If I want her to come with me, she must come with me, you bastard. Stop hiding and come out or I¡¯ll put an arrow in your eyeball. Or do you prefer an electric shock, specially made by the great me¡¯s superpower?¡± The guy chuckled, as his palms were gathering electricity. Though, I¡¯m not surprised at all as Mikyung had already told me about his ability.


    With a whisper, I called out the portal and went inside. I could hear beyond the door that his step was getting closer and closer. Few moments later, he kicked the door open. However, when he couldn¡¯t see me anywhere in the room, his eyes instantly widened.


    ¡°Huh? Where did that bastard go?¡±


    ¡°Hyung-nim, he¡¯s not there? The zombies are coming!¡±


    ¡°Hey, look for him outside! Was that bastard an awakened as well?¡±


    The tattooed man said those words before he turned his body away. At that moment, I clenched my mace tightly, raised it to the air and pounced towards him. As soon as my mace hit him, an ominous cracking sound filled the air. At the same time, the man bounced away and crashed to the wall.


    ¡°ARRRGHHHHH!¡±


    ¡°Shhhhh.¡± I swung my mace once again, this time with all my strength towards his head. When it hits, blood splatters all over the wall like paint to a canvas. Without wasting any more time, I quickly took his backpack and threw it together with the mace to the portal before hiding once again with his crossbow in hand.


    ¡°Hy¡­Hyung-nim!¡± When the guy saw what happened, he was flustered, presumably not knowing what to do. I jumped out of my hiding spot and unleashed 2 arrows towards him.


    ¡°Keuk!¡± The arrow buried themselves on his body. One in shoulder, one in stomach. He fell from his motorcycle and instantly became a feast for zombies who were close to him.


    I entered the portal and let out a long round of heavy breath.


    ¡°Phew¡­¡±


    ¡¸You have earned 50 Points ¡¹


    This is the result of killing users¡­ I mean people. I guess the murderer system wasn¡¯t here just yet because the tutorial hadn¡¯t even started. Though, the murderer system wouldn¡¯t be given to users who only killed a single person. Most of the time, it was given to users who had killed 3 people while in some cases it was given to people who had only killed 2 people. However, the exact method for the system to determine whether a user is a murderer or not is still unknown.


    In any case, even after killing the tattooed man, the characteristics of a murderer¡ªan echoing heartbeat¡ªweren¡¯t given to me. Which means, there was no penalty for killing people in the next few hours. But I had no intention of killing anyone except for thugs from the Villa gang. Though, I also wouldn¡¯t seek them out.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have to take a risk just because of those trashes.¡± Although the portal was such an amazing ability, it couldn¡¯t guard me from an arrow flying to me from my blind spot. My principle would be as simple as it could be. If someone decides to attack me, I, of course, will pay them in full. And by paying them in full, I mean destroying them completely and looting everything they own.


    Outside the portal, zombies were growling as they devoured the two corpses. Their movement was so slow, it started to get frustrating. Running out of patience, I shot a barrage of arrows towards their heads.


    After making sure that there were no zombies left, I picked the keys and went out. I turned the scooter and the ATV on and moved them to the forest before moving the motorcycle that the thugs rode here inside the portal too.


    When I checked my watch, there¡¯s 1 hour and 40 minutes left until the corrosive disease struck.

 Chapter 35

    4:30 p.m.


    Even though the sun no longer shines directly towards me from over my head, the scorching heat is still torturing me. On top of that, since the zombies no longer move individually and start grouping up, their momentum grows stronger, which means I need to move around with more caution and quicker than I was. I couldn¡¯t even use my motorcycle anymore as it would attract too much attention and ended up returning it to the forest.


    ¡°How do I break through that¡­¡± I murmured as I saw dozens of zombies clamouring on the camping supply store¡¯s door to get inside. From their actions, I was certain that there were survivors inside. And my hunch was instantly proven to be correct as from the shattered windows, several arrows came out, burying themselves on the zombies¡¯ head. However, even after the death of those zombies, their number didn¡¯t dwindle much. Rather, more and more zombies were flocking towards the door.


    ¡°Are there a lot of people inside?¡±


    Whoever is inside there, they probably weren¡¯t originally in the same group. They must¡¯ve decided to temporarily work together as they were trapped together when they came to rob the store. Looking at the arrows, there was a possibility that they were well prepared rather than just some random survivors who just came to save themselves. If that¡¯s the case, they wouldn¡¯t have the heart to make concessions to others, so there¡¯s a high chance that a fight would break out amongst them sooner or later.


    After several minutes passed, as expected, the sound of fighting could be heard from the broken window.


    ¡°Get out of here!¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding me? We came here first!¡±


    ¡°Do as I said or I¡¯m going to open the door!¡±


    ¡°I dare you! Open it!¡±


    The extreme situation they found themselves in amplified their negative emotions, making them fight against each other. Now that they had no way out, they would be aiming at each other¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Ah! That bastard shot me!¡±


    ¡°Shoot him!¡±


    ¡°It was a mistake! It was a mistake, I said!¡±


    Can you really say it was a mistake after you shoot someone?


    ¡°Well, I guess I will also say those words after I kill someone.¡± Though, I would only kill those who tried to kill me first. By the way, it seemed that the zombies wouldn¡¯t simply leave. Therefore, I climbed onto the roof of a nearby building and waited for the incident to end.


    ¡°One hour and twenty minutes left¡­¡± Waiting patiently, I finally heard a loud noise from the inside of the store once again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t open it! We will all die!¡±


    ¡°You guys shot at us first! Let¡¯s all just die!¡±


    It was such a chaotic dialogue.


    After a while, another loud sound broke out. It seems someone opened the back door of the store. Naturally, the zombies noticed the sound and rushed towards it.


    ¡°Run! Run!¡± A high-pitched voice said urgently soon after the zombies started to move. It was a commendable decision. In this kind of situation, escaping was way more important than fighting.


    By the way, the scene of dozens of zombies rushing towards the back door was truly spectacular. It was as if they had become one entity which was connected to a single brain.


    Without any more delay, I calmly descended to the ground and approached the front door of the camping store which was now pretty deserted as there were only a few zombies left standing there.


    ¡°Hmpph!¡± I swung my mace to one of their heads before quickly moving towards another zombie without a delay. I repeated this for a few more times until there were no zombies left standing in front of the door. Then, with a hammer I took from the portal, I smashed the hard glass door.


    A pretty loud shattering sound rang out around the area. But nothing came towards me. It was all thanks to the survivors who had escaped earlier while taking the aggro of all the nearby zombies with them¡­ or not. Turns out there were still four zombies walking around inside the store.


    ¡°You should have chased them too¡­¡±


    As soon as they saw me, they started to walk towards me while limping. Disposing them wouldn¡¯t be too difficult. However, it wouldn¡¯t always be the case, as after the tutorial ends, reinforced zombies will start to spawn around me, making it harder to kill all the zombies.


    I stepped towards one of the zombies rather than waiting for it to come and smash its head with the mace. However, after that, instead of running towards the other zombies just like what I did in front of the store, I dashed towards the back door first, then I closed it and locked it with the chain sprawling on the floor. Afterall, It was more important to close the back door quickly so that other zombies wouldn¡¯t be able to come in and sneak attacked me while I was busy.


    Growl-!!


    The three zombies limped towards me with their hands stretched. Their mouths were also strangely twisted. It was as if they were smiling since they thought that I was trapped and had no way to escape.


    ¡°Unfortunately, you guys are wrong¡­ I¡¯m not locked in here with you, you¡¯re locked in here with me!¡± (E/N: I miss you Rorschach¡­)


    I swept the distance between me and the zombies in a heartbeat and turned the three zombies into points.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up and get out.¡± If possible, I also want to loot the heavy equipment company where I rented the mini fork crane from. They had so many mouth-watering equipments which would undoubtedly make my life easier in the forest.


    I opened the portal and hastily threw all the camping gear I could find inside. And just like before, the heat was getting to me as I felt my head start to spin. So I decided to stop for a moment and put my head inside the portal for some cold fresh air.


    ¡°Ah¡­ that¡¯s refreshing¡­¡± I could see Dingo barking towards me in the distance as I put my head in. I¡¯m sorry, but please be patient for a little bit more.


    Since I don¡¯t have much time left, after resting for exactly one minute, I forced my body to move and once again indiscriminately put anything I could find into the portal. Tents, sleeping bags, tableware, kitchen set, folding tables, chairs, stoves, braziers, ropes and the list goes on.


    ¡°There is no end to these things¡­¡± Fortunately, the items in this shop were organized by types and price. So, I was able to put in a few expensive looking ones before heading to the other sector. Titanium-made kitchen set was certainly something I really wanted. However, there¡¯s no need to take so many of them. ¡°Let¡¯s take the pottery set too.¡±


    And when I entered the portal to cool off once again, my eyes widened. The open lot in front of the cave was now filled with the materials I had looted. Even Dingo couldn¡¯t be found anywhere. It seems that he already ran away to the cave, perhaps because he felt stuffy outside¡ªa very odd statement that I had never thought I would say.


    One hour left¡­ Let¡¯s keep on giving it all a little more.


    ¡°Wow¡­ I¡¯m going to die.¡± As I squeezed the last bit of my remaining energy and went around the camping equipment store once more, someone raised the shutter from the outside. Because of the light from their flashlight that is pointed directly towards my eyes, I was momentarily stunned and couldn¡¯t react properly.


    Thankfully, the people who opened the shutter, which consisted of two men and one woman who looked gaunt and messy, didn¡¯t seem to have any ill intention.


    They looked at me with a puzzled expression on their faces.


    ¡°What, what? When did you come in?¡±


    ¡°Is he one of them?¡±


    Ah¡­ It seems that they were the ones who ran away from here earlier. I came to my senses and shook my head. ¡°As you can see, I¡¯m alone here. There are a lot of things inside, so you can just take them with you.¡±


    All I had in my hand was the ceramic tableware set.


    They glanced at me and whispered.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there a pottery set here? Who took it?¡±


    ¡°Is it perhaps that guy?¡±


    ¡°Hey stupid, he doesn¡¯t even have a backpack, where do you think he stores it? Just hurry up and take what we need.¡±


    Now there¡¯s 40 minutes left. I¡¯ve properly looted this place and have to move quickly in order to to loot the heavy equipment company next. I looked at the situation outside once before walking out. Meanwhile, the other survivors were still busy picking things up. I could feel in the back of my head that one particular survivor kept staring at me even after I went out.


    ¡°Are we just gonna let him go like that?¡±


    ¡°Then what do you want us to do? Kill him?¡±


    ¡°Hey! If you have spare time to think about something like that, use that time to move quicker instead!¡±


    That guy is quite smart.


    After I walked away from the camping equipment store, I pulled out my motorcycle from the portal and drove it towards the heavy equipment store. Surprisingly, when I arrived, there were hardly any zombies there. They probably left to look for food because they were hungry. Afterall, there was hardly anything to eat around here.


    I cut the lock attached to the door with the oxygen cutter before entering. Just like what I did in the other stores, I moved all the equipment and consumables inside the portal.


    ¡°Huff, huff, huff, I really am going to die.¡± I want to just lie down and rest for the rest of the day. But I know I wouldn¡¯t be able to do that since in just a couple minutes, the corrosive disease would arrive. And then, the tutorial will begin. Moreover, I feel like the agriculture tools store next door for some reason keeps beckoning me to loot it. Fertilizer sacks, pesticides, farming tools, seeds¡­ all of it could not be missed.


    I quickly moved to the store next door and threw everything I could get my hands on towards the portal. And when I finished, there¡¯s only 20 minutes left.


    When I looked outside the store, I could see buildings with several one-rooms, presumably a boarding house. From what I know, since the monthly rent was cheap in this area, the boarding house was mainly used by college students attending nearby universities. And since it was a boarding house where a lot of college students live in, there must be at least one PC inside, right?


    ¡°Did they all went home because it¡¯s currently vacation time?¡±


    With only 20 minutes left, I couldn¡¯t loot something big, like a store or a warehouse. But it was still enough to rob a couple of houses. I ripped the iron bars out of the windows on the first floor with the oxygen cutter and entered. As soon as I barely put my heavy body in the room, bingo¡­ There was a desktop and a NAS sitting on a desk in one corner of the room.


    ¡°The case looks expensive.¡± A good computer must have a lot of good data. I unplugged all the cords and moved the computer with great care as if I was carrying a baby towards the cave, as I can¡¯t just throw it to the empty lot where I put the other things that I looted today.


    And now, there¡¯s not much time left. After looting one more room on the first floor, I moved the portal entrance a bit further from the shelter. It was some sort of precaution for corrosive disease. If my assumption turns out to be incorrect, all of the metal in the shelter would be destroyed and I would be forced to live as a complete caveman.


    Then, I left a single nail under where the portal was anchored at and left. It would act as a test subject to see whether the corrosive disease can infect the forest through my portal or not.


    I sat on the stairway right in front of the room that I had just looted and just waited in silence. At exactly six o¡¯clock, the ground suddenly shook as if there¡¯s an earthquake. At the same time, the sound of metals being squeezed could be heard from everywhere.


    ¡°It¡¯s here.¡± I rose to my feet and strolled towards the middle of the road. The corrosive disease is a disease that will destroy all kinds of metal. Therefore, when the disease strikes, an empty space without metal is the safest place to be.


    Creak-!! Creak-!! Creak-!!


    The sound continued to ring. Then, moments later, a skyscraper in the distance tipped into one side before falling into the ground.


    Rumble-!!


    ¡°Ho¡­¡±


    That building was an apartment complex. And that very building which had stood firm for years had just collapsed, shaking the ground, creating a mini earthquake as well as blowing a lot of dust.


    It was just a start¡ªA fanfare which indicated that a true apocalypse finally happened. Following the falling building, the frame and exterior of all cars in my surroundings started to crumble. A gas pipe attached to a villa also collapsed and hit the ground in the form of dust. Street lamps lost their shape before being broken to dust and scattered in the wind.


    I touched a piece of metal that landed close to my feet. The metal, which was around the size of a thumb, quickly turns into something like a grain of sand. It¡¯s just like the corrosive disease I know from the game.


    When I looked at the building closely, there were stains everywhere on the wall. ¡°It¡¯s definitely not a disease caused by bacteria or viruses¡­¡±


    Judging by the fact that the whole apartment collapsed in just a very short time, it seems that the identity of the corrosive disease was indeed a radiation particle rather than a normal disease. However, it was still weird as it didn¡¯t harm the human body at all.


    ¡°I remember in the game, when the tutorial begins, there was an iron gate near the user.¡± It might be placed there just to increase the tension of the user rather than based on the real world. However, a much more frightening thing happened when I was thinking about it. The wind which was pretty tame up until now suddenly blew wildly as a loud boom swept the area just a moment before a mushroom cloud appeared in the distance.


    ¡°What is happening?!?!¡±


    It was such a huge explosion to the point I couldn¡¯t help but to think it was a nuclear explosion for a moment. However, there was no such thing in Busan. And if it was indeed a nuclear bomb, I would¡¯ve been turned into ashes by now.


    If so¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s an explosion from the ammunition depot.¡± The place where the mushroom cloud came up is in the same direction as where the infantry battalion is. It seems that some shells of the ammunitions stored in the depot shattered and somehow caused a spark which lit the gunpowder inside it, which caused a chain explosion and exploded the entire ammunition depot.


    ¡°If I had gone to the military, I would have been blown into smithereens.¡± With a sigh of relief, I entered the boarding house and opened the portal. The nail that I placed in front of the portal was still unblemished, and there is no sign that the corrosive disease had affected it.


    ¡°Good.¡± My assumptions turn out to be correct. The world inside the portal was unaffected by the corrosive disease. Then, it means that there¡¯s nothing I have to be afraid of. I quickly moved the location of the portal once again to the empty lot in my shelter which was currently not-so empty.


    The motorcycle¡­ was no longer usable on Earth.


    ¡°Which means, I could only use the war club and the weapon which would be distributed at the start of the tutorial.¡± Ah, also the 100lb composite bow I bought before. Its arrows were made of carbon so it wouldn¡¯t be affected by the corrosive disease. Moreover, I wouldn¡¯t be short on arrows as I already bought around 100 arrows.


    I took several essential things such as food, bottled water, first aid kit, and firecrackers and put it on a metal-free backpack. From now on, this backpack will be my survival backpack.


    ¡°There¡¯s no guarantee that the portal will always open¡­¡± If the developer team of Survival Life were deeply involved in this whole mess, there¡¯s a chance they would patch the system just to fuck with the users. ¡°They¡¯re just that much of a sadist.¡±


    Also, I remember there¡¯s quite a lot of reinforced zombie types and reinforced ghoul types with the ability to block the effect of an item or skill throughout the game. So, I better be prepared. I checked my equipment for one last time. And as expected, there¡¯s no metal on it at all. Afterall, I had changed all of the metallic zippers into strings.


    Then Dingo came next to me and barked loudly.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be dangerous for you.¡± I giggled and walked towards him with my hands outstretched just like zombies to scare him a little bit. But Dingo didn¡¯t even take a step back and just barked towards me. Well, it seems like he¡¯s been really bored because he has been alone in the forest for the past several hours.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go together then.¡± He¡¯s much quicker than me, so I was certain that he won¡¯t be caught by zombies easily.


    With Dingo in tow, I crossed the portal towards Earth. More buildings had collapsed in various places in such a short time when I was on the other side. On top of that, clouds of dust were literally everywhere, considerably limiting my sight.


    ¡°The atmosphere is no joke¡­¡± It¡¯s exactly the same as the apocalypse I know.


    .


    .


    .


    As soon as the zombie apocalypse breaks out, the supermarket becomes the most dangerous place in the world. It was because all of the zombies around the area would naturally flock towards it, attracted by the foods inside it.


    ¡°Whoever sees it will think the mart is opening a huge sale.¡± The grocery store in my neighbourhood was no exception. It was full to the brim with groaning and rotting zombies.


    I hid myself in the shopping mall across the grocery store and peeped inside it.


    All the shelves inside the grocery store had collapsed. And it was hectic inside as more than a hundred zombies were flocking together while eating every food they could find. At the parking lot, there were dozens of cars¡­ No, to be exact, a wreckage of what used to be cars scattered all over the place.


    ¡°Good, I think there¡¯s enough oil¡­¡± The fuel which was once kept inside the fuel tank was now scattered all over the ground together with debris from collapsing buildings as well as various metals. With only a small spark, there¡¯s no doubt that all the gasoline would lit up, and then this place would¡¯ve turned into a literal hell.


    I retraced the route in my head again. ¡°Go to the left then kite the zombies out to the right¡­¡±


    I need to light the fireworks in advance and lure all of the zombies towards the location before the wick burns out.


    ¡°I have to run around to attract them but also carefully keep my distance far enough to not get surrounded.¡± I wasn¡¯t the type to kite a lot of monsters at once before hunting them. That was the specialty of the Rabbit Pwincess and the Duck Buttocks Goes Kwek Kwek. However, I can also do it to some extent.


    ¡°Dingo, you stay here, okay?¡±


    I need the zombies to be fully aggro-ed on me. But zombies are creatures that can be easily distracted when there are several targets that they need to catch. That¡¯s why I need Dingo to stay still in order not to distract the zombies from me.


    I took one firecracker, lit it up and ran. As soon as I was out of the mall¡¯s building, I shouted at the top of my lungs. ¡°Here! here!¡±


    Kuaaakkk-!


    The result was instantaneous. All of the zombies in the area, whether they were just mindlessly walking on the street or hungrily eating the food inside the grocery mart, turned their heads towards me and bared their ugly teeth.


    Rather than being terrified, I smirked and swayed the firework in my hand towards left and right, as if saying that a real, still alive and moving food is right here. ¡°You guys are hungry, right? Come here!¡±


    A zombie¡¯s sense of smell is either completely dead, or it¡¯s crippled to the point where they wouldn¡¯t be able to smell anything further than their nose. However, their eyesight and hearing were relatively intact. Therefore, the best way to lure a zombie was by using some loud noises or a bright light.


    Fascinated by my movements as well as the light from the firework¡¯s wick, the zombies started to follow me. Dozens of them came out towards the parking lot in an instant. Meanwhile, I keep running while scanning through the ground, searching for the driest ground. Afterall, if the spark from the wick suddenly touched the ground when I passed by, it wouldn¡¯t be the zombies who were burned to death, but me.


    ¡°Hey!¡± More and more zombies joined the bunch who were chasing me. It was as if I was the flute-blowing man while they were the rats. (Note: A reference to a German folklore, the Pied Piper of Hamelin.)


    And finally, when I deemed their numbers to be enough, I quickly ran out of the parking lot and tossed the fireworks into the air. When the fireworks touched the ground, a fire instantly broke out, enveloping the whole parking lot in a mere second.


    ¡°Wow!¡±


    The fire ruthlessly burned everything inside. Wreckage, debris, and all of the zombies, nothing was able to escape its grasp. However, the zombies didn¡¯t just stop chasing me. Even when they were being burnt, they were still limping towards my direction. But, not for long.


    One by one, the zombies fell to the ground. And every falling zombie became an obstacle to other zombies who were chasing me, slowing down their movement which made more and more of them die in the fire.


    While the parking lot was burning bright in red like a campfire, a message appeared in front of my eyes.


    ¡¸Level has risen to 11¡¹


    ¡¸You have earned 104 Points ¡¹


    ¡¸Congratulations for reaching level 10, an additional effect will be added to your unique ability. ¡¹


    ¡¸Dimensional Slot¡¹


    Once I finished reading it all, I brushed it away and ran as quickly as I could towards the now-empty grocery store. As soon as I arrived, I opened the portal and threw anything intact towards it such as chewing gum, candies, and jellies. The amount was huge, it was to the point where I wouldn¡¯t run out of food for months even if I ate it every day. (E/N: More jellies for the scarabs, yay)


    ¡°Huff, huff¡­¡± While in the middle of looting, the ¡®exhausted¡¯ debuff and Survival Instinct skill got activated at almost the same time. Without thinking anymore, I ran outside and avoided all the zombies that came late to the party. Afterall, if I didn¡¯t do this, I wouldn¡¯t be able to run away anymore, considering how exhausted I was.


    Dingo also came out from the mall building and followed after me.

 Chapter 36

    ¡°UGHH¡± I let out a long and heavy groan as soon as my body touched the soft mattress inside the cave. There was a huge amount of supply scattered around the vacant lot in front of the cave, but I was too goddamn tired to care about it at this point. I believed the barbed wire fence would do its job to fend off any creature who wanted to get their hands on it perfectly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s rest a little¡­¡± I surrendered my body to the mattress. But, when I was about to lose my consciousness and fall asleep, I quickly jolted up to my feet. The tutorial was about to begin, and it would be a disaster if I missed it because I fell asleep.


    By the way, it¡¯s cold here inside the cave. I felt like it was more like a refrigerator rather than a cave. My stomach is also growling loudly, demanding remuneration from all the hard work my body just did.


    I took off my armor and put on another layer of clothes before walking towards one side of the cave and lit a fire in the brazier. I had worked hard for several hours until now, and I would work for some more soon. so I think it would be okay for me to eat something delicious to celebrate this short moment of rest.


    As I contemplated about what to eat, Dingo suddenly barked a little.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Who¡¯s outside?¡± I looked at him. If Dingo indeed has sensed something outside, the alarm should¡¯ve been triggered¡­ But it stayed silent. I carefully opened the door, and was taken aback as soon as I saw what was in front of the door. It was two pieces of root plants which resemble the roots of deodeok from Earth. Upon closer inspection, I realized that the two roots were being carried by a group of scarabs. (T/N: Deodeok is Codonopsis lanceolata or lance asiabell. Its roots were mainly used in Korean cuisine. Do correct me if I¡¯m wrong by leaving a comment.)


    ¡°What kind of deodeok is that big?¡± Moreover, why did these guys come here when they knew that I had discovered them stealing my jelly?


    The scarabs took a step in unison and walked towards me. Then, they held out the deodeok towards me.


    ¡°Can I take this as a sign of apology from you guys?¡± Even though I said that, there¡¯s no way they would be able to understand me. I mean, they¡¯re scarabs, they¡¯re insects. How could they know a human¡¯s language?


    The scarabs put the deodeok on the ground and retreated to the left and right. From the back, a particularly big scarab who looked like a captain took a branch and drew a picture on the ground¡­


    ¡°Hoooo¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t find any words to explain the bizarre scene in front of me. The big scarab was drawing a picture! On top of it, the drawing was vivid enough for me to understand! What is happening?


    The thing the big scarab drew was a package of jelly. Then, after he finished, he pointed towards the picture with his small uh¡­ front legs?


    ¡°That¡¯s right, you guys stole that thing from me, so what?¡±


    The big scarab drew a grape next before backing off. It seems like he was saying: ¡®Isn¡¯t it okay since I already left this thing behind as an exchange?¡¯


    This guy was really unreasonable¡­


    ¡°Hey, if you want to take the jelly, you have to bring a bunch of grapes, not just a single grape.¡±


    With the branch I found near me, I drew a bunch of grapes before tapping it several times. The big guy looked at the picture of grapes and me alternately, and then he pointed to the deodeok with his front legs. It seems like he was saying ¡®How about that?¡¯


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that thing will be delicious if it was that big.¡± However, contrary to my expectation, when I took the deodeok and put it in front of my nose, it was extremely fragrant. If I could get a constant supply of wild deodeok at this quality, I wouldn¡¯t have to look for wild ginsengs anymore.


    ¡°If the quality is like this¡­ I guess it will be okay.¡± I drew a deodeok and a bunch of grapes next to the jelly drawn by the big scarab. Looking at the drawings, the big guy nodded for a moment before looking at me once again. It seems like he was asking ¡®Is this really okay?¡¯.


    ¡°It is. Are you in or not?¡± After saying that, I entered the cave and returned with 4 packs of sweet potato flavoured jelly not long after. I laid it all in front of the scarabs before continuing. ¡°If you want this, you need to bring something to me. It doesn¡¯t have to be food. It could also be something strange and unusual, like this.¡±


    I carefully brought the emeras ore and showed it to the big scarab. Hmm, let¡¯s call him the scarab leader for now. He moved closer towards the emeras and circled it several times. Can they really find something like this? If that¡¯s the case, it would be a good idea to give them a favour here. Afterall, currently I have a lot of jellies after sweeping the grocery store. Giving a few away wouldn¡¯t even make a dent of the amount I possessed.


    ¡°This is just a gift. I¡¯m giving it to you hoping that you will bring me something good in the future.¡± I handed the 4 packs of sweet potato flavored jelly to the scarab leader.


    The scarab leader¡¯s eyes gleamed. He then turned back and walked away as he stroked his chin with his front legs, seemingly lost in thoughts.


    A sapient scarab inside a mysterious forest¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s really something straight out of a horror movie¡­¡±


    By the way, I decided to forgive their past transgression and trust the scarabs because they were courageous enough to come to me when they could just run away or even continue to steal from me. On top of it, making connections with a sapient being in this forest is not a bad thing.


    ¡°By the way, these roots¡­ Does it also taste like deodeok?¡± I murmured. If I had to exaggerate for a bit, the size of this deodeok-like thing was about the same as a baby¡¯s forearm. From the smell emanating from it, I would be furious if it didn¡¯t taste good at all. I cleaned the deodeok, peeled the skin, and pounded it with a hammer to flatten it out.


    ¡°The best way to enjoy deodeok is of course with red pepper paste sauce.¡± I said as I spread the sauce all around the deodeok. After making sure it was coated perfectly, I put it on top of the grill I placed on the brazier.


    ¡°With this much deodeok¡­ I think I will need 2 bowls of rice.¡± I dumped two packs of instant rice in hot water before preparing for Dingo¡¯s meal. The guy didn¡¯t look at me at all, though. All his attention was fully locked at the grilled deodeok. But when I put a little red pepper paste on his nose, he flinched and quickly ran away.


    ¡°It¡¯s bad for you, so don¡¯t eat it.¡± I laughed. As soon as the deodeok was ready, I took it into my bowl before shoving it into my mouth together with a lot of rice. After savouring the taste for several bites, I switched my attention towards the items I looted from the tattooed guy.


    ¡°Crossbow¡­ and it¡¯s well-made.¡± It was a good weapon in my opinion. Even though it took more time to reload than a normal bow, it is compensated by having a higher penetration power. On top of it, because of its small size, it could be used to shoot while in hiding.


    ¡°I will use it too.¡± On top of the crossbow, I also looted about 30 rounds of arrows from the tattooed guy. So, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the ammo for the time being. By the way, what was in the backpack? As I chewed on the grilled deodeok, I poured everything in the backpack to the ground.


    ¡°Look at this guy¡­ He¡¯s completely prepared.¡± What came out were essential things for survival, such as food, water, ceramic knives, pottery, matches, and toilet paper. The items themselves were not in a good condition, but nevertheless, it¡¯s still a valuable item in an apocalyptic world.


    ¡°But he didn¡¯t have the most important thing of all¡­ a strong enough mental fortitude so one won¡¯t be swallowed by their wild side.¡±  In the chaotic apocalypse, it was easy for anyone to lose their civilized nature and went crazy because of their own arrogance, thinking they¡¯re some sort of chosen ones who were destined to survive in the apocalypse, aiming for the supplies of other survivors, turning them into something akin to a predator for other survivors who just wanted to survive. However, if you think about it, looting other people was a very ineffective and inefficient method because they would have to fight the other people first. Unless they¡¯re an OP character from novels, they wouldn¡¯t be able to win every fight. Every small wound and damage they suffered in a fight will drain their stamina. The feeling of death coming closer and closer would exhaust them mentally. When those two factors come together, they would be prone to make mistakes. And in an apocalyptic world, a single mistake could easily lead them to their grave. There¡¯s also a chance that they could choose the wrong person to mess with, for example, me.


    ¡°Just wait for it¡­ I will kill you all after the tutorial is over.¡± I clenched my fist. My heart would only become relieved once all of the predators around my area of operation were dead.


    When I checked the clock, it was currently 7 o¡¯clock. It was unknown when the tutorial would start, but what was certain is that it would happen on a pitch-black night.


    I can rest for another hour before returning to Earth.


    I put the slightly burnt grilled deodeok in my mouth and chewed it.


    This is hella tasty!


    .


    .


    .


    Now that I had reached over level 10, the Store was available for me.


    ¡°Store window.¡± I whispered. In front of me, a blue translucent window appeared, showing a long list of items. At first glance, I could easily tell that it¡¯s different from what I had been seeing in the game. The items had become more expensive. To be precise, the initial items like the ebony sticks or healing bandages have become cheaper. However, the expensive items had become even more expensive.


    ¡°A mithril knife costs 150 points? Are you kidding me?¡± Is this the work of the balancing patch? I quickly rummaged through my saved videos and played one particular video. In the middle of it, I paused the video as it showed the thing I was looking for.


    ¡¸Weapons made from magic metal are quite unbalanced because they are too powerful. However, rather than nerfing them or buffing other weapons, we had balance them out in a whole new way¡­¡¹


    And that so-called ¡®new way¡¯ was to increase the already expensive price even more?


    ¡°Those crazy bastards¡± I couldn¡¯t help but curse. However, I knew that there¡¯s no use in complaining. I closed the videos and looked at each of the patch notes closely. After reading the last one, I smiled. They haven¡¯t fixed the tutorial bug until the very end of the service.


    In the very beginning of the tutorial, because of the difficulty reduction patch, a random weapon would be given to the user. That¡¯s where the bug is. When it appears surrounded by light, if someone sntached it immediately before it managed to spawn completely, another one would be spawned. It was the only bug in the tutorial that survived all patch notes.


    Only a few people, including myself, know about this bug. It could be said that the bug was akin to a god-sent miracle in the early part of the tutorial because they would be able to get another durable weapon. And this very bug was one of the things I wrote on the note I gave to Hyung-jun Hyung and Sooyeon, saying that it¡¯s a tip from I Love Gimbap.


    ¡°Even if they fail to get it, they would still be okay since the difficulty level is lowered¡­ hopefully.¡± Though, I was certain that there would be no big problems.


    The difficulty of the tutorial was indeed difficult. That difficulty comes from the pressure of dozens of zombies attacking you. Even people who were aware of the fact were still managed to be surrounded by those zombies. However, since the zombie¡¯s ability to track organic matter had been nerfed, the chance of every survivor to run away had become higher than ever.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t know about another way to earn points, though.¡± Well, I guess it can¡¯t be helped. I just need to figure it out while doing the tutorial.


    I took my survival backpack and packed a few more essential items inside of it. Since I had to run away from the zombies in the dark of the night, there were quite a few things I needed. I couldn¡¯t just hide in the portal while doing the tutorial, as the tutorial¡¯s goal isn¡¯t for one to get to a specific place, but the tutorial judges the completion by the distance someone has traveled. The tutorial might reset if I were to go to the forest, which isn¡¯t considered a part of Earth.


    ¡°And the boss monster in the tutorial is a reinforced zombie.¡± It was something a little different from the normal reinforced zombies though, as it had a special ability. Though, I wouldn¡¯t be able to know what their ability was until I faced it. Afterall, each time I repeat the tutorial, their ability always changes.


    ¡°Number 6 and number 11.¡± I bought a glowstone and a potion from the shop. After waiting for a while, an item appeared on the floor from the thin air. Back in the game, I took the phenomenon for granted. But because it is now happening in reality, something about it is bugging me.


    ¡°Where the heck do these things come from?¡± However, it was an unanswerable question because no one other than the developer team knew about it.


    By the way, items with prices more than 100 points were useless at this point of time. It would only attract more trouble to me rather than helping me. And even without it, the ebony sticks would be enough to get me through the tutorial.


    ¡°Up to this point, all good.¡±


    Then, I proceed to try the newly-acquired effect of my unique ability,


    ¡¸Dimensional Slot¡¹


    How do I use this?


    ¡°Dimension, slot¡­¡± However, even after saying a lot of different combinations, nothing really happened.


    ¡­


    Wait a minute¡­ If I remembered correctly, In Survival Life, the inventory of each user was numbered. If I combined the slot and the numbers of the inventory¡­


    ¡°Slot #1.¡± At that moment, something like a translucent box appeared in the front of me. ¡°Ah¡­ is this a quick slot?¡±


    Once I put the potion I just bought from the Store into it, the box disappeared. When I recited ¡®Slot #1¡¯ again, the box appeared once again.


    ¡°This is good.¡± I nodded as I kept summoning and unsummoning the box. It¡¯s not as good as the ¡¸Invisibility¡¹ or the ¡¸Projection¡¹ability of the portal that I got previously, but it¡¯s still pretty useful because I could easily store and take out items without going back and forth to the shelter. Seeing that it only opened up to number 5, I think more slots would be unlocked as I level up.


    ¡°Let¡¯s put the bow in number one¡­¡± I proceed to fill the slots with various items. Unfortunately, the slot couldn¡¯t store two items at the same time. So, in the case of potions, I would have to restock once I used up everything that I brought in the bag.


    After I checked the time once again, there¡¯s still some time left before I had to go out. Therefore, I decided to take a look at the PC I had looted.


    ¡°To have a NAS attached¡­ you must have gathered a lot of good things, huh?¡±


    When I removed the case with a screwdriver, 6 hard disks could be seen inside. 3 on the main unit, 3 on the NAS.  ¡°Six ??three terabytes worth of hard disks. Did this friend perhaps run a server?¡±


    When I connected them to the external hard drive and checked them one by one, my fists instantly clenched. ¡°This is it.¡±


    It was filled with the contents that I wanted, such as movies, dramas, songs, novels and most importantly videos that all men need. The fancams of girl groups as well as the dance teams were also great. On top of that, every single one of them were in high definition.


    My hand hovered the mouse towards one particular video with ¡®white skin¡¯ as its title. And by mistake, I clicked it. As soon as I saw what appeared on the screen, my jaw dropped. The person the camera was focusing on was none other than Mikyung.


    ¡°Oh my god¡­¡± Her face was a bit different from the Mikyung I knew, but judging from her small stature and white skin, it was indeed the same Mikyung I knew. The Mikyung on the camera had long hair, but the current Mikyung had short hair. She then proceeds to dance, occasionally smiling towards the cameras.


    ¡°Now I remember, she said that she used to dance¡­¡± But to think it was such a risqu¨¦ dance of shaking her pelvis in slow thrusting motion¡­ I blankly watched the fancam as it kept going before forcing myself to come to my senses. (T/N: Probably u guys just need to check ¡®EXID HANI ¨C UP, DOWN FANCAM¡¯ Thank me later.) (P/N: wow.)


    ¡°The tutorial will start soon, what am I doing?¡± In this case, when a particular place was standing straight, doing push-ups would certainly help it to calm down. Ah, let¡¯s slap my cheeks too¡­


    Slap!


    Okay, now that I have woken up, let¡¯s go.


    I stroked Dingo at the back before walking through the portal. This place, which I didn¡¯t even know whose house it was, was immersed in darkness. The surroundings were also quiet. It was as if this place was drowned into the swamp of silence. It was such a contrast to the situation of this morning where people were quite chaotic.


    ¡°It¡¯s too dark.¡± However, I didn¡¯t have to worry since I have the shadow grape. After munching it a few times, a message appeared before me.


    ¡¸Active Buff: Night vision increase¡¹


    And after waiting for a while, I could vaguely feel the things around me.


    Growl-!!


    I heard the cries of the zombies. Although it was obvious that they were far away, it was as vivid as if they were right in front of my nose.


    This is the beginning of the tutorial.

 Chapter 37

    One of the characteristics of Survival Life was that it didn¡¯t give any announcement to the users when a certain event was taking place. The users would only realize that an event is taking place when they found something unusual or something that¡¯s not supposed to be there. That fact is what makes the tutorial really hard for beginners. One moment they didn¡¯t see anything, and the next moment, dozens of zombies were swarming towards them. However, after experiencing similar things dozens or even hundreds of times, you would naturally come to terms with it even if you hate it.


    While having those idle thoughts, I stared at the empty air around me. Suddenly, a light that doesn¡¯t light up the area slowly comes to existence out of thin air. And inside it, a long wooden stick appeared.


    ¡°One for now.¡± As I quickly took the stick, another one regenerated inside the light. Thanks to the bug that didn¡¯t get fixed until this day, I was able to obtain two ebony sticks.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I saw you too.¡± Dark brown surface, moderate weight, a great grip as well as the pointed protrusion at the end and the insane durability. In the beginning, there is no weapon better than this stick to smash zombies¡¯ heads. We stagnant waters always choose this weapon whenever we died and had to get through the tutorial again.


    ¡°It was even stronger than a steel rod.¡± After some time, the corrosive disease would subside and metal weapons could be used once again. However, we stagnant waters always prefer to use this stick rather than a metal rod since it transpires the cracking sensation to our fingers vividly whenever we hit those zombies¡¯ heads.


    I put one stick in my backpack while gripping the other one with my hand. From the outside of the building, countless shuffling noises unique to zombies¡¯ limping could be heard. And after some time passed¡­


    Growl-!!


    Here they come. I left the living room and looked down the stairs. Zombies were coming up in hordes. Moreover, since the spores had completely taken over the body, the zombies were moving at a much faster pace than the zombies from this morning and afternoon.


    I opened the window near me and jumped down through it. Thanks to the soft soil I landed on, the impact from failing wasn¡¯t that harsh to my body. The zombies which were currently flocking on the entrance of the building quickly found me and stretched their arms to me.


    Growl-!!


    ¡°The difficulty definitely got easier.¡± If the difficulty was still the same with the early version of the tutorial, the zombies would have swarmed me at this point because they were much more responsive and agile.


    When I ran out of the garden, I could see zombies gathering up while forming some kind of wall on the edge of the area. It seems that the unique zombie wall still exists. In the game, it¡¯s some kind of a barrier which would keep users from going anywhere else instead of finishing the tutorial. Those walls of zombies would only disperse once the tutorial boss was defeated. Of course, there¡¯s also a way to break through the zombie wall without finishing the tutorial. However, as in reality I only have one life, it was something I wouldn¡¯t dare to try since it was too crazy.


    I ran away from the zombie wall which was slowly coming towards me. Thanks to the improved night vision and terrain detection skills, I could run without bumping into anything because I could see all the obstacles quite vividly. As I entered a certain residential area, the zombies drove me to one side as if they were herding a sheep, though it was more apt to say they were hunting rather than herding.


    The place I arrived at was an unnamed three-story building. It¡¯s tilting to the side quite a bit, but for some reason, it hadn¡¯t collapsed yet. This very building is something the users called a checkpoint. It was called so since zombies wouldn¡¯t attack anyone as long as they were inside the building. It was not completely safe, though.


    When I stepped onto the second floor, an unexpected person who wore almost the same outfit as me was standing there with a worried face. It was Mikyung. She flinched as soon as she saw me and pointed the ebony stick at me.


    ¡°Ah, Ahjussi!¡±


    ¡°Shhhhh.¡± I put my finger in front of my mouth. This girl¡­ is she trying to summon the zombies? ¡°Follow me quietly.¡±


    With Mikyung in tow, I climbed to the third floor. Then through the window, I looked down at the herd of zombies below. They were something I had to fight against soon. But first, let¡¯s just rest for a while. However, the moment I was about to rest my body against the wall, a text suddenly appeared in front of my sight, jolting my body back up.


    What the heck is this?


    .


    .


    .


    While I was looking blankly at the air, I could see Mikyung fidgeting within the corner of my eyes. For now, I¡¯ll have to get away from her to check the authenticity of the text.


    ¡°The zombies are giving us time to rest, so stay here for a bit.¡±


    ¡°Where are you going, Ahjussi?¡±


    ¡°I need to go to the bathroom.¡±


    ¡°Ah, okay¡­ I¡¯ll let you know if the zombies come up.¡±


    ¡°Yes, please.¡±


    I went into the bathroom and called the portal, but as expected, it didn¡¯t open.


    ¡¸ ¡®Unique ability¡¯ restriction¡¹


    When I called up the status window, those words were written on the ¡®active buff¡¯ row.


    The fact that these words suddenly appeared¡­


    ¡°Goddammit! It¡¯s those reinforced zombies.¡±


    In Survival Life, when the moniker ¡®reinforced¡¯ was attached in front of a monster¡¯s name, the strength of the monster would rise exponentially in comparison to its normal fellow monsters. Some monsters had a much stronger physical ability when the moniker was attached. In some cases, there were also entities that attacked with unusual skills such as invisibility or hallucinations. And those types that got unusual abilities when reinforced seems to be the cause of this.


    ¡°This kind of ability doesn¡¯t exist in the game. I sighed. In Survival Life, there¡¯s no such thing as unique ability. So, I was quite taken aback with this sudden development. But the silver lining was, it only restricted unique ability, not the stats as a whole or the other skills. That means, I could still kill the reinforced zombie. I was certain that the restriction would be lifted once I did that.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to find out where it is.¡± And then immediately hunt it. It¡¯s not my style to just take a beating without retaliating after all.


    ¡°Slot #1. Oh¡­¡± I exclaimed and took the bow I stored in slot #1. The portal, which was my unique ability, was sealed. But for some reason, the additional ability attached to it can still be used. I¡¯m not complaining though. It¡¯s way better to have this quick slot rather than just hunting with the equipment I currently have in my hand since I would have more options.


    I put the bow back in the quick slot and returned to Mikyung. When I tapped her on the shoulder, her body jolted up as she quickly covered her mouth with her hands.


    ¡°Mikyung, listen carefully. I was curious how you ended up here, but let¡¯s talk about it later. You know what we need to do now is to break past the tutorial, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Ahjussi.¡±


    ¡°The situation right now is a little different from the strategy I gave to Hyung-jun Hyung. So firstly, let me ask you something. Do you see something strange in your status window?¡±


    ¡°Please wait a moment. Status window.¡± Her eyes moved back and forth. Moments later, her eyes widened. ¡°It says my unique ability is restricted¡­ How does this happen?¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know for sure¡­ Can you at least try to use your skill?¡±


    ¡°Okay. Wait for a moment.¡± Mikyung recited the activation words quietly. But as expected, she failed to activate it as she didn¡¯t blink anywhere. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°If so, listen carefully.¡± I grabbed her by the shoulder and spoke as slow as possible. ¡°I remember from one of I Love Gimbap¡¯s video that every reinforced zombie has an ability unique to them. Among them, there¡¯s probably an ability which could restrict a unique ability, just like what happens to us.¡±


    ¡°Were there any unique abilities in Survival Life?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. But maybe it was updated with a patch before the game ended.¡± Mikyung nodded her head after listening to my words. I once again realized that she was truly a very gullible girl. ¡°Mikyung, once the restriction is lifted, will you be able to use your unique ability?¡±


    ¡°You mean my blink?¡±


    ¡°Yes. You told me that you can move about 10m with it. Can you still do it?¡±


    ¡°How can I do it¡­¡±


    I whispered in Mikyung¡¯s ear. ¡°Listen. Down there, there must be a reinforced zombie that is blocking Mikyung¡¯s abilities.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes.¡±


    ¡°If it was killed, there is a high probability that Mikyung¡¯s abilities will be usable again.¡±


    ¡°But, who will kill it?¡±


    ¡°Me.¡±


    ¡°No, Ahjussi, that¡¯s dangerous¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. So, I need you to get the other zombies¡¯ attention so I can fight that zombie which restricts your ability. Can you handle it?¡±


    She pondered and said. ¡°I, I think it¡¯s possible¡­¡±


    ¡°Mikyung¡­ possible is not enough. You have to do it. If not, both you and me will die.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡±


    ¡°Can you do it?¡±


    She hesitated for a moment, then nodded her head.


    Then, let¡¯s do this.


    I took Mikyung to the roof. Normally, it would be a restricted area, but since the door was gone because of the corrosive disease, it was now accessible.


    ¡°Ah, Ahjussi, did you hear that sound during the day? The explosion¡­¡± Mikyung asked nervously.


    ¡°It was probably the sound of an explosion from the military ammunition depot.¡±


    ¡°Military ammunition depot? Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°¡±Yeah, it probably happened when the corrosive disease destroyed the metal parts of the ammunition, which caused the gunpowder inside to spill out. Then all of it got lit up because of some random sparks.¡±


    ¡°Uncle Kyunghoon said that if a nuclear bomb exploded, you should run away quickly¡­¡±


    Ah, that bluffer for once got things right¡­


    As I thought that, I lay flat on the floor and looked at the zombies below. Amongst the zombies, there¡¯s one particular zombie which had a strangely shaped head. I think its head evolved into something like that to act as an antenna to spread his unique ability restriction ability.


    ¡°What do you see, Ahjussi?¡± Mikyung asked.


    ¡°Shhhhh. Your voice is too loud. Do you see that guy over there?¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°The guy with a weird head.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I can¡¯t see well¡­¡± She said with a stutter. Well, it¡¯s as expected. In fact, if I hadn¡¯t eaten the shadow grape, I wouldn¡¯t be able to see this well either. I took a firecracker and a match from my backpack and handed them to her.


    ¡°Take this. Once I went down, set off firecrackers from here to lure the zombies. Soon, the restriction on your ability will be released.¡±


    ¡°Ahjussi¡­ about that¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill that zombie. Once the restriction was lifted, Mikyung should quickly use your ability to run away to the building across from here, okay?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous, Ahjussi¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. You just need to do what I told you. Or, you can¡¯t do it? If you can¡¯t, I¡¯ll look for other ways.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± After a moment of hesitation, Mikyung nodded her head vigorously. ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡±


    Even though she still had a long way to go with her action, her courage was something to be admired.


    ¡°Okay. Once I went down, set off fireworks right away, okay? If you are late, I will be surrounded by zombies.¡±


    Mikyung nodded at my words. She then practiced a motion of lighting the wick several times. When she stopped, she looked at me.


    ¡°But Ahjussi, will the zombies really come here? If they don¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Trust me, they will. Zombies love loud and moving things.¡± I assured her. Even if there¡¯s food in front of them, if there¡¯s someone running in the distance, they would ignore the food in front of them and chase the person. And as the organic tracking ability of the current zombies were lower than those back in the game, they would without a doubt chase after the firecracker.


    As for the possibility that Mikyung will betray me¡­ Well, it could be said that it was non-existent. Afterall, without cooperating with me, she wouldn¡¯t be able to escape from this place.


    ¡°Once I jumped off from the second floor, light the wick right away.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s do it.¡± I went down to the second floor. When I opened the window and looked down, the zombies were slowly getting ready to come up. I moved towards the window where the least amount of zombies were and jumped off.


    ¡°Ouch!¡± The impact striking my body was a league different from what I felt when I fell on top of soft soil earlier. As I rubbed my legs, I heard the sound of firecrackers burning from above.


    ¡°Hey! Here! Here!¡±


    I didn¡¯t tell her to scream, though. However, thanks to that, the zombies were over-stimulated and started to stagger up the stairs. I quickly took my bow out of the slot and aimed at the reinforced zombie. It¡¯s the 100 lbs bow, not the 60 lbs one.


    In the middle of the darkness, the figure of the reinforced zombie could slightly be seen. And even just by looking at its bulky body, its power could be felt. If it¡¯s a reinforced zombie with the ability of physical reinforcement, its muscles will swell like a pufferfish. And in the case of a reinforced zombie with unique ability, the colour of their skin will be unique. They might also have some strange body parts.


    In this case, the guy had an antennae-like protrusion on its head, which as I had assumed before, was a means to spread his power.


    A message popped up as I pulled the bowstrings.


    ¡¸Strength has increased by 1¡¹


    The result of toiling hard in the forest finally appeared.


    As soon as I released the bowstrings, the zombie¡¯s upper body wobbled. The guy looked at me with its mouth wide open. As I always say, you guys need to stop roaring with your mouth open. Well, it¡¯s all good for me, though. I returned the bow into the quick slot and pulled out the ebony stick and shield.


    Growl-!!


    The WiFi zombie ran towards me and tried to ram me. I moved out of its path and counterattacked with the stick.


    ¡°Even when my unique ability is sealed.¡±


    Puck, puck, puck!


    The WiFi Zombie was indeed a reinforced zombie with special ability. But its physical ability wasn¡¯t very high. It was stronger than a normal zombie, but it was not a problem for me, who had fought against reinforced ghoul before.


    ¡°You are nothing to me.¡±


    I blocked the zombie¡¯s arm with my shield and then hit its chin with the stick. The zombie¡¯s jaw bounced up into the air. Without giving it any time to recover, I swung my bat and buried it on its head.

 Chapter 38

    Obviously, the attack power of the ebony stick was weak. However, thanks to the rain of attack that I unleashed towards it, the WiFi zombie¡¯s movement finally stopped.


    ¡°Die!¡±


    With one last swing, the WiFi Zombie crumbled to its leg before its body hit the asphalt with a dull thud sound.


    ¡¸You have earned 10 Points ¡¹


    However, because of my level, the WiFi zombie didn¡¯t give me any level. On top of that, I also didn¡¯t learn any new skills. But still, the most troublesome problem was gone, together with its death.


    I shouted at Mikyung, who is still on the top of the building.


    ¡°Mikyung! Now!¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    However, instead of using her ability to go to the building across, Mikyung went to my side instead.


    ¡°Be careful of the manhole and follow me.¡± I said to her before running towards the direction adjacent from the building we were trapped in earlier. Just because the boss monster had been killed, it doesn¡¯t mean the tutorial would end right away. We still had to run away and survive until the zombie wall collapsed. The tutorial will truly end when there is not even a single zombie chasing us.


    I kicked a zombie that¡¯s looking away from me and swung the ebony stick towards it. As soon as it hits the head of the zombie, a refreshing cracking sound can be heard.


    ¡°This way.¡± Quickly brushing the kill notification that popped up in front of me, I led Mikyung into an alleyway. Behind us, less and less zombies could be seen. The other zombies that had only joined in the chase halfway through had a quite dull reaction, so it¡¯s quite an easy task to shake them off our tail.


    After several more minutes of running away like a criminal, the zombies around us started to disappear. Without giving it any second thought, I went up to the second floor of a shopping mall together with Mikyung. Once we arrived, I quickly moved towards the window. On the street, no zombie could be seen. On top of it, the zombie wall couldn¡¯t be seen anywhere. Which means, the tutorial has finally ended.


    The moment I took my eyes off the window, a message showed up.


    ¡¸You have earned 17 Points ¡¹


    My brows furrowed for a moment before I nodded my head. It seems that I had found one of the alternative methods of earning points mentioned on the patch notes. Namely, successfully running away from a zombie horde.


    Since there¡¯s no need to fight, this method was perfect for awakeners with a unique ability that is not related to combat to acquire points. But if you keep trying to acquire points that way, at one point, you will die. Hunting to acquire points means that you will get some combat experience as well, which in turn would improve your sense and instinct when fighting. If you only level up by running away from the zombies, you wouldn¡¯t be able to cope with the reinforced zombies.


    While Mikyung was taking a break, I went around the floor to see if there were any items spawned for us. In Survival Life, there were two ways of how items would appear. The first way is one of the items that is around the user when they kill a monster would be turned into an item, just like what happened to my watch when I killed the orc. The other was a method in which items were regenerated randomly near the user as an event. Users usually preferred the former because it¡¯s cumbersome to move around looking for where it would spawn, though.


    When I reached the bathroom, I could see two items sitting on top of the sink. They were bracelets made of soft material.


    ¡¸Robutan Bracelet: Perception +2¡¹


    It seems that the reason two items appeared rather than one was due to the fact that me and Mikyung finished the tutorial together. It was something I, a stagnant water, saw for the first time. Afterall, back in the original tutorial, I didn¡¯t have any contact with other users until I finished it.


    ¡°It¡¯s a fine item.¡±


    When I showed it to Mikyung, her eyes opened wide. ¡°It¡¯s an item with +2 Perception, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s take one each.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can have this¡­ I was just running around on the roof.¡±


    ¡°I was able to deal with the WiFi zombie because Mikyung drew the attention of other zombies. Please take it.¡±


    Though, the truth was, even without Mikyung, I would be able to handle it without any problem. But I couldn¡¯t just take both of the items for myself. Also, it¡¯s not like I lost much from giving it to Mikyung. Afterall, It was never harmful to be friendly with someone with a useful ability.


    She looked me in the eye and took the bracelet. I also shut my mouth and put the bracelet on my wrist.


    Then, she asked me ¡°Ahjussi, are you hurt anywhere?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. I just feel a little tired.¡±


    It was only natural because I had been running around like crazy to loot various places since daytime. I really wanted to just quickly send Mikyung away then go home and rest.


    ¡°I¡¯m a bit apprehensive about saying this, but I would have died without you, Ahjussi.¡± she said sadly.


    ¡°Why did someone with an ability that lets you teleport talk about dying that easily? You just have to jump off the second floor and run.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I was aware of the attack, but when the zombies came, my feet didn¡¯t want to move¡­ My heart was beating fast, so¡­¡±


    Well¡­ That¡¯s only natural. The pressure emitted by countless zombies swarming towards you was indeed no joke. On top of that, as it is currently night-time, she wouldn¡¯t be able to see anything, adding more pressure to the already heavy pressure. No matter how many times they read the walkthrough I gave them, there¡¯s a big difference between imagining it and actually doing it.


    I asked her. ¡°What about the others?¡±


    ¡°We hid in the gym until evening. Fortunately, no one in our group got turned into a zombie. Manager asked us to do the tutorial together, but Kyunghoon ahjussi was stubborn¡­¡±


    ¡°Sigh¡­¡± That person will surely pay the price for his arrogance someday. He¡¯s the kind of person who was stubborn without even knowing it. In a normal world, doing so wouldn¡¯t do much damage to others, but in an apocalyptic world, it would endanger the people around him.


    By the way, two people in the gym group were non-awakened, but neither of them turned into zombies. It seems like they didn¡¯t turn into a zombie because they were close to an awakened, just like Kyunghoon said. With that in mind, anyone who¡¯s close to an awakened must also be alive¡­ Well, there¡¯s no point in thinking about that now. The most important thing at this moment was to survive.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the gym together.¡± I urged Mikyung.


    ¡°I can go alone. You don¡¯t have to worry too much.¡±


    Well, of course she could. She has her blink ability. But I want to go there in order to get more information, not just because I was worried about her. And I would only stay there for a short moment, since that Kyunghoon guy looked uncomfortable whenever I came there.


    ¡°Do you not like it?¡±


    ¡°No, no. Let¡¯s go together.¡±


    Me and Mikyung rummaged around the floor for one last time, but there¡¯s nothing good other than the bracelets. There¡¯s just some ramyun and sweets near expiration date. Once we put it in the bag, we quickly left the shopping mall.


    It was quite noisy on the way as there were tutorials going on here and there.


    The night was getting deeper and deeper.


    .


    .


    .


    We headed to the gym while avoiding all the zombies. However, while coming out of an alley close to the gym, I saw zombies surrounding a brightly lit house.


    Just what kind of candle did they use? Why is it so bright?


    I beckoned to Mikyung and led her to cross the road quickly and silently. Once we crossed, we finally arrived in front of the building where the gym was located. The building was still standing, but some part of its wall had collapsed.


    We quickly entered the building. In the meantime, Mikyung suddenly said,


    ¡°Ahjussi, the building is a bit strange, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, some parts of the wall had collapsed. And there¡¯s a lot of crack in the wall.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t like this when I left¡­¡±


    ¡°I think it was because there¡¯s a lot of load in this building. It would be dangerous.¡±


    In the videos I made about Survival Life, buildings which have 5 floors would be fine, but in reality, it would be different as there¡¯s a chance that they¡¯re constructed poorly. It won¡¯t collapse right away, but it would be safer if people here moved to another location. Though, it wouldn¡¯t be an easy task as they had already stockpiled quite a lot of supplies here in this building.


    While I was waiting on the first floor, Mikyung went up before returning seconds later.


    ¡°They said Bora unnie and Kyunghoon ahjussi haven¡¯t returned yet.¡±


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s go.¡±


    We went up to the 4th floor. It was very dark inside, with blackout curtains placed against the windows. In the middle of the room, one candle was present, providing the minimum amount of lighting.


    Currently, there¡¯s only 4 people here, Hyung-jun Hyung, Yoohyeon, Mikyung and me. So, zombies shouldn¡¯t be able to detect us here.


    ¡°Seongho you came. I¡¯m glad.¡±


    ¡°I lived thanks to you, Hyung.¡± Yoohyeon came by my side and said in a friendly manner.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Hyung wrote it on the note, remember? If you see walls of zombies in your path, change your direction. And if you were about to be completely surrounded, go up to a building. I followed your advice, and I was able to survive.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t meet a boss monster?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t meet one. How about you, Manager?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t see one, either.¡±


    For some reason, the only people who met the boss monster were only me and Mikyung. It seems like the developer team also fixed the condition of meeting the boss monsters in the tutorial. Probably, based on level.


    Hyung-jun Hyung beckoned to me. ¡°Hey, Seongho, just sit down¡­ Let¡¯s sit down and talk. That guy hasn¡¯t returned yet so it will be fine.¡±


    We sat with the candle in the middle. Before everyone else begin to talk, Mikyung opened he mouth,


    ¡°I was hiding in a building while running away, then Seongho ahjussi came and helped me.¡±


    ¡°It must have been terrifying. But, how did you manage to escape?¡±


    When Hyung-jun Hyung asked, Mikyung shook her head and said. ¡°I caught the attention of the zombies on the roof using a firework while Seongho ahjussi went downstairs and killed the boss zombie¡­ it¡¯s a zombie that can restrict unique abilities.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s eyes widened at her words. Hyung-jun Hyung whipped his head towards me and asked. ¡°Is there such a thing?¡±


    I sighed in my mind. I came here in order to get more information. And yet, I¡¯m the one who needs to give it. Just how did it happen? But this isn¡¯t a bad thing either.


    I explained the situation in the most downplayed way. That the WiFi zombie isn¡¯t a big deal, and I was only able to do it because Mikyung took the other zombies¡¯ attention.


    But, as soon as I finished, I could still see that Yoohyeon was deeply impressed. ¡°You are really great, Hyung! I was busy running away.¡±


    ¡°I, too, was just running¡­ But Seongho, you really smashed that zombie?¡±


    ¡°Well, I just killed that one guy.¡±


    ¡°Still, the pressure¡­ I couldn¡¯t handle it. By the way, did you awaken too?¡±


    Too? Don¡¯t tell me¡­


    ¡°I awakened as soon as the tutorial started. There was a lot of talk about how the system was now applied to some new users.¡±


    Ah¡­ Could it be that people who haven¡¯t played the game have been forcefully awakened once they come across the tutorial?


    If so¡­


    ¡°¡­ I also awakened. I wasn¡¯t able to tell Mikyung earlier because I was in a hurry.¡±


    Would she believe my words even though she knows I have enough time to talk while rummaging through the floor for items? Fortunately, Mikyung kept her mouth shut. It seems like she didn¡¯t even suspect me.


    ¡°I awakened some kind of a physical enhancement ability. When I went into battle, my Vitality, Strength, and Agility stat increased dramatically. So, I will become stronger in a fight.¡± Hyung-jun Hyung explained.


    ¡°It seems like a very good ability.¡± I nodded.


    Then, Yoohyeon revealed that his ability was to make puppets. He then proceeds to demonstrate it. He made a frog out of paper, swung his hand and it started jumping!


    ¡°The puppets I make can move freely. And if I close my eyes, I can hear and see through it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s such an amazing ability.¡± I exclaimed. It would be great to make a paper airplane puppet and use it to spy on enemy camps.


    Come to think of it, wasn¡¯t Yoohyeon a university student majoring in engineering? It was a major that had something to do with making something¡­ That¡¯s probably why his ability was to make puppets. Mikyung was pretty quick on her feet, so she got a blink ability while Hyung-jun Hyung was muscular, so he got a body strengthening ability.


    By the way, I guess I have to say something like this¡­


    ¡°What is your unique ability?¡± All eyes were on me as Hyung-jun Hyung asked me that.


    I already finished the tutorial, so I couldn¡¯t say I didn¡¯t have any. And although I¡¯m not a member of this group, we were maintaining a close relationship. However, if I told them my real unique ability, it would certainly become difficult. Unless I had decided to actively help them in the future, it¡¯s better to hide it.


    What was the best unique ability that would make it easier to move around without being suspected, I wonder?


    Yeah, that would be great.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°My unique ability is¡­ some kind of foresight.¡±


    ¡°Foresight?¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that you can see the future? It¡¯s a great ability.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that great. I could only see the trajectory of a monster¡¯s attack.¡±


    Hyung-jun Hyung folded his arms and tilted his head. ¡°It¡¯s a bit unfortunate. Me and Yoohyeon thought that you will acquire an ability related to cooking.¡±


    ¡°Because I used to open a snack bar?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I thought that you¡¯ll get an ability that can give us a buff once we eat your cooking.¡±


    Well, to be fair, that would be quite a useless ability, since you can also get buffs from eating special fruits like the shadow grapes or solar apples.


    ¡°Anyway, I didn¡¯t even know what it was at first. I only became aware of it once I killed the reinforced zombie. I could see the trajectory of the zombies attacking me. So, It¡¯s easy to avoid the zombies.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that you killed a reinforced zombie without any ability? That¡¯s awesome.¡±


    ¡°It was only because that zombie wasn¡¯t that strong. On the contrary, I think Hyung could kill it easier than me. I mean, with your body strengthening ability, you¡¯ll be fine even if you fight several zombies at once.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the case¡­ Even though I knew the strategy to fight them in advance, the pressure was no joke.¡±


    Everyone nodded without saying a word at Hyung-jun Hyung¡¯s words.


    ¡°By the way, what should we do now?¡± Yoohyeon asked while covering the candle with his hand as it started to flicker because of the wind.


    No one said anything to his question, so I answered. ¡°We have to survive.¡±


    ¡°After surviving?¡±


    ¡°We just have to keep surviving to the end. Survive against zombies, ghouls, kobolds, goblins, orcs, werewolves, etc.¡±


    ¡°There is no answer¡­. Really.¡±


    Everyone looked tired at my words. But that¡¯s not the end.


    ¡°We will have to fight humans too. After stabilization, the predators will appear. There¡¯s a villa at the foot of the mountain, isn¡¯t there? Be careful with the people living there.¡±


    ¡°They are bad people. They coerced me to join their group, and they said they won¡¯t allow me to join another group¡­¡± Mikyung chided solemnly.


    ¡°The villa is not far from here¡­ If they come, you have to fight.¡± I said. Hyung-jun Hyung¡¯s face grew darker and darker with every word we said.


    Amongst the villa group, two were already dead, but I still couldn¡¯t say I felt relieved now. That¡¯s why I would deal with the rest of them once I finished looting the firecrackers from the festival venue. Sparing them would be foolish as they would definitely come back for revenge in the future.


    Anyway, my eyes were getting heavier and heavier¡­ I would have to get the information I wanted soon.


    ¡°Is there anyone who managed to get points in an unusual way? As in, you managed to get points other than by hunting those things? I know that if you run away from a zombie horde, you will get some.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ Manager, didn¡¯t you say that you got some points earlier?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Earlier?¡±


    ¡°When you helped me as I was about to be caught by a zombie.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that. A zombie was trying to catch Yoohyeon, so I pushed and stepped on it¡­ After that, a notification shows up, saying that I got some points.¡±


    If you help others, you will earn points¡­ It¡¯s something that is not exactly useful for someone like me.


    ¡°If you hunt, run, and help, you get points.¡± Hyung-jun Hyung summarized as he nodded his head. ¡°I was worried for Yoohyeon because he didn¡¯t have a combat-oriented ability. But now I¡¯m relieved¡­ with his ability, he would be able to escape easily.¡±


    ¡°But, Manager, it¡¯s a bit dangerous to keep doing that. Because if we get points, our level will eventually go up, right? Levelling up without fighting is really dangerous. The higher our level is, the stronger monsters that spawn around us will be as well. If we only level up by escaping, we would have trouble when we¡¯re forced to fight against those strong monsters without any combat experience.


    At Yoohyeon¡¯s words, Hyung seemed to have been beaten in the back of the head. ¡°¡­that¡¯s right. Oh, this is a pain in the butt. On top of that, we also have to match our level as well, right? So that monsters that will spawn around us would have the same average level.¡±


    ¡°If we want to live together, we have to do that.¡±


    ¡°Me and Yoohyeon are level 1, how about you, Mikyung?¡±


    ¡°I am level 2¡­¡± Mikyung said.


    ¡°What¡¯s yours, Seongho?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s level two.¡± I lied through my teeth. I couldn¡¯t just tell them I was already level 11.


    ¡°I think Mikyung had become level 2 because she ran away from the reinforced zombie Seongho fought against. If Mikyung is level 2, then how should I do this¡­¡±


    ¡°But Hyung, there is no need to match the level in detail. From what I heard, it is still okay if the difference was around 3 levels.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. By the way, what can we do with the points we collected?¡±


    ¡°You can buy items at the Store, and you can also use them at the Auction House that will be unlocked in the future. As far as I know, the Store will be open at level 10 and the Auction House will open at level 15.¡±


    The Auction House also includes a limited community role. If someone posts a product, others could comment on it. Since Survival Life was nothing but a game in the end, it was a pretty useless function as the users could easily communicate using message functions. But, as all kinds of communication on Earth were no longer available, that function would be a great boon for the survivors.


    When I reach level 15, no one should be there before me, right? Or maybe, those crazy ahjussis would¡¯ve already gotten there first¡­ (Note: crazy ahjussis referring to the other stagnant waters)


    Hyung-jun Hyung¡¯s expression turned strange at my words. ¡°If you buy something in the Store, the points will be reduced and the items will be spawned nearby, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the case in the video I watched. The ebony stick came out in similar fashion too, right?¡±


    ¡°It was¡­ haha, right. How will we get to that level? I¡¯m just level 1 now.¡±


    ¡°Well, as long as we survive, someday we will reach it. Don¡¯t worry too much about it, Hyung.¡±


    Everyone here or maybe everyone who still survived at this point was at a loss as to how they were going to live from now on. At the same time, they also felt a sense of loss or longing for their family and friends who got turned into zombies.


    By the way, I would have to go before the monsters start to spawn around here. I got up and said, ¡°Since the tutorial is over, don¡¯t go out at night unless it¡¯s an absolute urgency, as bone creepers and keepers spawns at night.¡±


    ¡°Keepers? Ah, that one in the note you gave us. Is it really such a dangerous monster?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous. Even though zombies took a break around that time, the reinforced zombies protecting them are called keepers, and they were strengthened several times.¡±


    So far, there was no problem in explaining it. Everyone knows that I¡¯ve seen it on I Love Gimbap¡¯s video. However, I should stop supplying them with monster¡¯s information soon or they would find me suspicious.


    ¡°Well, there are so many scary monsters¡­¡± Hyung-jun Hyung and the others sighed in choir.


    ¡°Well, this is an apocalypse, what are you expecting? But Hyung, this building looks a bit dangerous¡­ will it be okay?¡±


    ¡°Ah yeah,about that, we will discuss it when he and Bora come back.¡±


    It seems that Hyungjun Hyung didn¡¯t really feel attached to Kyunghoon as he didn¡¯t even call his name but called him by ¡®him¡¯.


    ¡°By the way, I will go first.¡±


    ¡°Are you okay? You can take a break here for a little longer if you want.¡±


    ¡°I must go before it is too late. If I¡¯m still here when those two come, everyone is gonna be in danger.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Thanks for helping Mikyung. Take it.¡± Hyung-jun Hyung handed me some food. He was just this kind of person. Someone who always took care of others despite lacking a lot. Guess I would have to repay him. Maybe if I create a farming plot nearby, then tell him that I accidentally managed to find it, and that he can use it. Yeah, that should be enough.


    Yoohyeon also took something out of his backpack and handed it to me.


    ¡°Hyung, this is a gift. In return for giving us a lot of useful information¡­¡±


    ¡°What is this?¡± The thing in my hand was a small cylindrical thing made of plastic.


    Wordlessly, Yoohyeon went to the window and gave me a demonstration.


    Oh, it¡¯s a telescope!


    ¡°We can¡¯t use this on a big hole, since that would be dangerous, right? So, I made it smaller.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a good idea.¡± With this telescope, I would be able to see from wherever I was hiding. He really lived up to his name as an engineering student.


    I gave my farewell to the gym group members for one last time and went down the building. When I looked outside the first floor, there were a few zombies roaming the street. Once I walked away from this building, they would definitely see me and try to catch me.


    Let¡¯s hunt them and get some points¡­


    ¡°Whew¡­¡± In the future too, I must live like this. This is what a post-apocalyptic life offered to humanity. A constant survival.


    I returned home and quickly went to the cave. Dingo swung his tail like a propeller and ran towards me as soon as he saw me.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just go to sleep today¡­¡±


    I hugged Dingo and quickly passed out.

 Chapter 39

    When I woke up on the morning of the 21st, snow was falling heavily from the cloudy sky above. ¡°Why did it snow so much?¡±


    I was born and raised in Busan, a place where there¡¯s hardly any snow. So, when I first saw those white things fall from the sky, I was quite excited. But it immediately turned into irritation in just 2 seconds.


    My supplies!


    ¡°Ah really!!¡± I forced my heavy body to move. I took everything I could fit in my hand and stored it in either the shelter or the cave. I had to do it several more times before the vacant lot truly became vacant once again. After that, I start to sort all of the supplies.


    Meanwhile, Dingo excitedly ran around the vacant lot as it was his first time seeing snow.


    ¡°Uh-huh, it¡¯s cold¡­¡± I rubbed my body with my hands. Yesterday, I felt like I was being cooked alive by the heat, but today, I am freezing to death. Just what kind of life is this¡­


    After struggling all morning, I was finally able to sort all the things I looted. Edible things as well as tools went into the storage and the cave. Meanwhile, I parked the motorcycles next to the place where I parked the mini fork crane.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ now, what¡¯s left¡­¡± First, I still had to finish digging the moat to complete the shelter defence. Then, I also had to loot the fireworks which are currently floating in the sea off Gwangalli. From the article I read, the boat used to transport the fireworks was made of plastic, so it should not have sunk.


    ¡°I also have to get rid of those predators¡­¡± If they¡¯re alive, I would be in danger. Better get rid of them quickly and do something else more productive like looting. But not today¡­ I was just too tired and in no condition to fight.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just go do some fireworks looting today.¡± My medium-term plan includes the reconnaissance of Mr. Kwon¡¯s bunker and attacking the goblin nest at the north of the cave. I also have to go out to sea and catch some fish as well as make a vegetable garden.


    ¡°I really have a lot to do.¡±


    Well my long-term plan was¡­ to meet other stagnant waters if possible. Now that I think about it, it was a pity that I didn¡¯t say any word to whoever that was that I met during the Russian fishing boat event.


    ¡°I can¡¯t help it.¡± Afterall, It was unreasonable to come into contact with someone with unknown intention and ability. It would be nice if I could talk to them through the Auction House first before deciding to meet them.


    I put on my hat and boarded the mini forklift in order to complete the moat. The snow did not stop falling, so on top of the dirt, I also have to remove the snow piling up above the dirt. When the snow was dug up and thrown behind the barbed wire, it piled up and formed a wall of ice. At the sight, an eureka moment dawned on me. It was an unexpected harvest. I could use it to my advantage, using the wall of piled snow as a defense mechanism, at least until the winter ends.


    After some time, I return to the cave to eat. Roasted sweet potatoes would be on my menu for today. As I was grilling it on top of the brazier, Dingo entered the cave running. It seems like he finally felt the cold after running around for hours.


    Dingo barked loudly towards me with his eyes locked to the sweet potato.


    Can I give this to a wolf?


    When I gave it to him after cooling it down, he gulfed it down in mere seconds before looking at the remaining sweet potatoes on top of the brazier.


    ¡°Aigoo¡­ I am losing weight, but you are turning into a pig.¡±


    Woof!! Woof!!


    .


    .


    .


    Around midnight, I return to my house on Earth. I came back because I was planning to loot the fireworks tonight. But first, I need to plan the route from my house to the sea of Gwangalli. As any kind of land transportation was unavailable, the only choice I had was to use the rubber boat in the river.


    ¡°Without the motor, I will have to use the oar.¡± My reason for going in the middle of the night like this was because these are the times when the zombies were resting. They were also living beings, so it was natural that they needed some sleep.


    ¡°But instead, the bone creepers and the keepers will pop out¡­¡± The memory of being brutally flung away by the bone creeper¡¯s explosion at the entrance of the cave came to mind. But it didn¡¯t deter me from doing it since there were plenty of places to hide in the city. Moreover, unlike before, I currently have the Terrain Detection skill and higher Perception stats. Which means, I could detect them in advance.


    ¡°And now, you are here too. Right?¡± I said as I ruffled Dingo¡¯s fur. The guy answered my question with a silent bark.


    So, let¡¯s make a route. I looked over the map spread in front of me. With the exception of places where there are marts, supermarkets, and convenience stores, there would be almost no zombies around.


    ¡°I can pass through the riverside road here.¡± It would be full of debris from the crumbling skyscrapers, so it would be quite hard to pass through. But on the flipside, there would be less zombies there. However, I couldn¡¯t keep using the road until I reached my destination, as the bridge which connects the road with my destination should be broken because of the corrosive disease.


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s just use the rubber boat around the bridge to go across.¡± My mouth is watering at the thought of adding lots and lots of fireworks to my arsenal. Fireworks were very effective against most monsters. It has little to no lethal power, but it was an impactful weapon to completely distract the monster¡¯s attention for a period of time. And in that short time, I could either run away or set up a surprise attack.


    I concluded and packed my backpack. As I was about to go out to the wall, I saw something strange. Around the alley, three figures were slowly approaching my house.


    What are these bastards doing, walking around at night? Is it because they think that it would be safer in the night since zombies are less active at night?


    ¡°I¡¯m sure information about both bone creeper and keepers was written in the last broadcast and in the paper¡­¡± Well, it didn¡¯t matter. Afterall, from the jerry can and molotov cocktail on their hand, I could easily conclude who they were and what they were here for. The bastards from the villa group. Seeing that even those guys managed to pass through the tutorial, the last patch must¡¯ve made the tutorial extremely easier.


    The three of them ran away and hid from the zombies which were roaming around before then gathered back at my house. I must admit, these guys were really energetic. The tutorial had just finished yesterday. And yet, they are already doing this kind of thing.


    But there¡¯s something they didn¡¯t know. I¡¯m level 11. Which means, scarier zombies would spawn around me. Will they be able to fight against it?


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ this is an opportunity.¡± A plan popped out in my mind. If they were attacked by a keeper or a reinforced zombie, most likely they would run away. If I could predict their route and prepare in advance and then interfere¡­ Then all of the supplies in the villa would be mine.


    ¡°Though, I must be careful so I wouldn¡¯t be tagged as a murderer.¡± The murderer system in the game has a very vague deciding system. Direct stabbing another user to death would 100% turn that user into a murderer. However, there¡¯s some act which wouldn¡¯t turn users into one even though they had direct involvement in the case. However, we, stagnant waters, knew the criterion to some extent.


    ¡°I did a lot of stupid things to uncover those criterion¡­¡± Now was the time to receive the reward for my hard work. The thugs finally arrived in front of my house. They cheered for a bit before pouring the oil all over the first floor. At the same time, I saw something approaching fast in the distance.


    Heh heh, heh heh, heh heh.


    A strange cry rang out from that ¡®something¡¯.


    .


    .


    .


    Reinforced zombies and keepers have a big difference in appearance. The former still retained its human appearance to some extent, but the latter didn¡¯t. Its appearance was completely monstrous. Their muscles and bones intertwined with each other and bulged grossly. Their limbs position changed, making it suitable for crawling and running, and their neck was long. Long enough to give whoever saw it goosebumps as it shook grossly when it ran.


    Anyway, it¡¯s not as strong as a bone creeper, but it was still a very impressive monster.


    ¡°Now that I think of it, it does look like a brutra.¡± A creature that appeared just before the end of Survival Life. I was glad I didn¡¯t have to fight against that monster now. Though, the possibility was still there.


    ¡°So what¡­¡± I ate the shadow grapes and shook my head. It was something that is still far away in the future. Let¡¯s not think about it now, and just focus on the matter at hand.


    Once my field of vision brightened, I could confirm that the guy was indeed a keeper. It limped its long limbs and ran quickly towards the 3 thugs.


    I quickly went to the bathroom on the back of the house and jumped out through the window. Once I was in the alley, I could hear the thugs spraying gasoline and laughing.


    Did these guys¡¯ parents never tell them to not play with fire at night?


    I ran out of the alley just in time. Once one of them saw my figure, he shouted. ¡°Hey! That¡¯s him!¡±


    I smiled. Soon, they wouldn¡¯t even have time to pay attention to me. Returning to the alley after my brief cameo, the heavy thud of the keeper could be heard echoing closer and closer.


    ¡°What, what!¡±


    ¡°Roooarrr!!!¡±


    Even if they had a good unique ability, it wouldn¡¯t matter if they¡¯re panicking as they wouldn¡¯t be able to properly use it. The thugs threw away the jerry can on their hand and started running away. The direction they went was exactly where I was at.


    I opened the portal and went inside. Dingo was already waiting for me inside.


    ¡°Shh. Just go over there and rest.¡±


    I did not close the portal. Afterall, in this narrow alleyway, if they want to avoid the wreckage of the vehicle, they must pass through this passageway, where I opened my portal. And since the portal can only be used by me, it didn¡¯t allow other humans or monsters to pass through it. Which means, the man who was running at the front would crash into my invisible portal.


    Roarrrr-!


    ¡°Eugh! Eugh!¡±


    The keeper¡¯s roar made the bastards terrified. The three of them ran without even thinking about where I had run away to. And as expected, the man in the lead collided with the portal. He collapsed to the ground with a groan.


    ¡°What, what?¡±


    ¡°Go sideways! sideways!¡±


    Thinking of what was in the empty space, the hat-wearing man behind him hurriedly jumped over the wreckage of the car. The woman also follows suit, leaving the man who hit the portal alone. He staggered to his feet while holding his nose which was bleeding profusely. And when he looked back, the keeper lunged at him.


    ¡°Ackkkkk!¡± At that moment, I closed the portal and waited for a while. If I stopped the man directly, maybe by kicking him or punching him, I would¡¯ve been tagged as a murderer by now. But as the one who blocked the man was the portal, I was fine. At first glance, there might not seem to be much difference between the two, but in Survival Life, this small difference was always important.


    By the way, what should I use to kill the keeper? The ebony stick certainly lacked the power to kill the keeper, so it wouldn¡¯t be usable. The other melee weapons and arrows were also out of question for various reasons. If so¡­ I think I should use guns here. All objects recognized as my possession could enter and exit the portal. Which means, the bullet would pass through. Once it passed through, it would be affected by the corrosive disease, but it won¡¯t be a problem since the bullet should¡¯ve already planted itself deep into the keeper¡¯s body as I plan on shooting it from a point-blank range.


    When I came out, the thug had already become an unrecognizable lump of flesh and blood.


    ¡°Rest in peace.¡± I said as I walked away. I didn¡¯t feel any shred of sympathy towards the guy. Afterall, If I hadn¡¯t found them earlier, either me or my house would have been the ones that got burned. This world was just that kind of world, it¡¯s a dog eat dog world. Only the strong will survive.


    I followed the keeper who was chasing the woman in front of it. If she kept running like that, it would only be a matter of time before she got caught, no matter what kind of unique ability she possessed. Then suddenly, a scream was heard. When something white came out of the corner, the woman stopped in fright.


    ¡°Bo¡­bone creeper.¡± A bone creeper in the front, a keeper in the back. What an unlucky woman. The hat-wearing guy in front glanced back for a second, but he did not stop running.


    A good decision I should say.


    Boom!


    Meanwhile, the bone creeper approached the woman before exploding itself. Countless fragments of bones were lodged in the woman¡¯s body as she flung away to the distance. Without paying any attention to the woman, the keeper kept running towards the last thug standing. The hat-wearing man.


    ¡°GODDAMNITTTTT!¡±


    The hat-wearing guy spit out curse words one after another. It seems like he¡¯s beginning to feel tired. The keeper crouched down to all four before lunging towards him.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± The guy tried to avoid it by throwing his body to the side. However, the keeper already grabbed one of the man¡¯s legs. But, it seems like the guy wouldn¡¯t go down without a fight. He rolled over, took off his backpack and tossed it at the keeper. Then he ran and swung his club.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Surprisingly, the keeper¡¯s head snapped to the side. Was he someone with a unique ability to amplify striking power? I know that no matter how strong someone is, It¡¯s not easy to do something like that.


    ¡°AHHH.¡± As the keeper flinched and backed off, the man screamed, either because of his courage or fear, before swinging his ebony stick. By doing that, he also advertises his location to every monster around this area. Congratulations.


    I hid in a corner and entered the portal. Thanks to the guy¡¯s screaming uproar, the zombies start to flock around the area.


    Growl-!!


    Growl-!!


    Despite the loud and numerous growling, he was still busy fighting the keeper. But to be honest, since the keeper has a huge vitality, it couldn¡¯t even be called a fight. Unless he couldn¡¯t keep dealing significant damage to the keeper, he wouldn¡¯t be able to win.


    After some time passed, the hat-wearing guy¡¯s movement became slower and slower. At that moment, the keeper started to move.


    ¡°It¡¯s over.¡± I murmured. The keeper delivered the final blow to the thug.


    ¡°Ackkkkk!¡± Almost at the same time, the thug let out his death cry.


    I also aimed my K2 rifle towards the keeper. The iron sight of the gun had not been adjusted just yet, but as the distance was not that far, it would be fine.


    Bang bang bang!


    A loud roar echoed inside the cave as soon as my finger pressed the trigger. The keeper screamed and went mad at the bullet baptism.


    ¡°Is it dead?¡± It was dark so I couldn¡¯t see well, but from that reaction, it looked like the bullets had indeed hit it. However, as it was affected by the corrosive disease, their penetrating power was terribly low. And due to the nature of the keeper, it was meaningless to inflict small wounds.


    Clicking my tongue, I pulled the trigger again and fired two more bullets at its feet. And finally, the keeper collapsed.


    ¡¸Level has risen to 12¡¹


    ¡¸You have earned 20 Points ¡¹


    ¡¸You have acquired ¡®Terrain Detection¡¯ skill¡¹


    ¡¸As you already have the same skill, the power of the skill will be increased¡¹


    ¡°Tch.¡± I was quite disappointed that I had to use 5 bullets in order to kill the keeper. Even more so when I got the skill. It would have been nice if it was an entity detection or regeneration skill.


    But I just have to come to terms with it. Afterall, it wasn¡¯t that bad as it would enhance my senses in the night more.


    I waited for the zombies to disappear then went outside. The corpses of the keeper and the hat-wearing guy were scattered across the narrow alley.


    This is exactly what will happen if someone with no skill pretends to be a looter. Even if you kept hiding and ran away, it was difficult to guarantee that you would escape with your life.


    Anyway, thanks to those guys¡¯ foolish actions, I don¡¯t have to bother killing them by invading their home base. I threw the bloody backpack of the thugs into the portal and headed for the villa at the foot of the hill.


    I hoped they had collected a lot of things.

 Chapter 40

    <Life After The End>


    From what I saw several days ago, there were six members in the gang occupying the abandoned villa at the foot of the mountain. But since I already killed 5 of them, there should be only one member left. However, when I arrived at the villa and looked around, it was deserted.


    ¡°It¡¯s empty.¡± Which means, all the stuff here was mine.


    With a glowstone in my hand, I went up to the second floor. There, I found dozens of packs of cigarettes piled up all over the place.


    ¡°Why did they collect so much?¡± I didn¡¯t smoke at all, but there¡¯s nothing wrong with looting it. In the apocalyptic world, where food and water was scarce, cigarettes would undoubtedly become a precious commodity, after all.


    ¡°It will definitely sell for a lot of points once people unlock the Auction House.¡± I heard that cigarettes have an expiration date, but it didn¡¯t matter to me, as once it was sold, it¡¯s the buyers¡¯ decision whether to still use it or not. When I opened the veranda, it was filled with plastic bottles filled with beer and soju. It was something dangerous to be taken in this situation, but people don¡¯t always act rationally. These guys were the prime example.


    Though, it was useful sometimes to handle the piled-up stress. Of course, I wouldn¡¯t drink unless the situation around me was completely safe, which was a hard thing to secure in this kind of world.


    I moved all the supplies in the house to the shelter. When I finished and stretched my body, dizziness assaulted my head. Even if I took a deep breath, the fatigue did not go away at all.


    ¡°Well, I had a hard time yesterday¡­¡± I wanted to just lie down on the mattress and rest, but since I already got out of my house, I had to finish what I set out to do. Namely, looting the fireworks.


    After resting for a few more minutes, I hit the road once again and moved along the route planned in advance together with Dingo. It was quite a long way to Gwangalli, but it seemed that there would be no blockage if I used the riverside road. As soon as we left the residential area, the ghastly wreckage of a high-rise building showed itself in front of my eyes.


    ¡°Oh my god.¡± I exclaimed softly. There were no buildings left. Only a mountain of concrete debris and a handful of zombies roaming the area. The riverside park, which should have been crowded with countless people enjoying the night breeze around this time, was empty.


    ¡°It¡¯s only both of us here, huh?¡± I said. Meanwhile, Dingo bravely took the lead. And as expected, when we arrived near the river, we couldn¡¯t use the bridge to cross since it had already collapsed.


    ¡°It can¡¯t seem to bear the load.¡± Taking out the plastic telescope given by Yoohyeon, I looked at the bridge to the north. But the bridge there was in the same state as the one in front of me.


    ¡°Guess I will have to go by boat from here.¡± I took out the rubber boat and put some air in it. After it fully inflated, I threw it to the river, jumped on it, and beckoned Dingo. ¡°Come! Come!¡±


    The boy jumped up and got into the boat. Taking up the oar from the portal, I started to row. However, since the current of the river was quite strong, the boat could move just fine even without me rowing. I just need to correct its direction every once in a while. Then, as soon as I arrived at Gwangalli pier, I saw a huge amount of firecrackers waiting for me in one particular boat.


    ¡°Lucky me! They haven¡¯t moved it yet.¡± It seems like the organizer didn¡¯t move it yet because of all the chaos and decided to just put that here unattended.


    From the pier, I looked at the city centre in the distance. It was dark without any trace of light anywhere. But, undoubtedly, someone was still alive there, just like me. They are probably struggling to avoid the zombies, trying their hardest to get food, cooperating with people, or even fighting against zombies or each other. And in the future, that would be their daily routine. At least until they met their death.


    ¡°At least I¡¯m on the better side¡­¡± Unlike them, I had the forest in another world, so whenever I wanted to rest, I could just go there. The forest itself wasn¡¯t very safe either, but it¡¯s much better than here, where zombies, and soon, monsters, are free roaming all over the place.


    ¡°When the monsters finally come out, it will be a real hell here.¡± Zombies did not disappear just because monsters such as goblins and kobolds appear. They would merely be shoved to the bottom of the chain. But still a problem nonetheless. What that means for humanity was, survival would become even more difficult. Very few people would be able to survive. But I was confident that I would survive to the end.


    As I looked at the fireworks wrapped in plastic, I was startled.


    ¡°Why is it so big?¡± Each of them was the size of an arm. Some were as large as a jar, and some were too big to the point I doubt it was a firework. If it was stored incorrectly and exploded, the shelter would surely be blown away.


    ¡°I can¡¯t even throw something this big.¡± I sighed. But, since it could be disassembled and used in other ways, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that I still had to take it.


    ¡°It¡¯s easy to take, but storing is the problem.¡± If even a tiny spark got in and touched the fireworks, my life in the forest would be over in an instant. However, storing it by burying it  underground wasn¡¯t an option either since it wouldn¡¯t be usable anymore because of the moisture.


    After deliberating several more times, I decided to just store it in two different places. In the shelter and in the building next to my home. It would be safe from zombies since those guys had no interest in gunpowder at all. And as long as I covered it well with rubbles on top of an old and ugly door, looters wouldn¡¯t be able to find it.


    ¡°It would become even more effective if I put some zombie carcass there, too.¡±


    I moved the fireworks to the vacant lot. Because of its sheer amount, I had to go back and forth several times. Once I was done, I felt like I¡¯m going to collapse. But I shrugged those feelings away and forced my body to move. I had to come home before sleeping. It was better than just sleeping in some random places.


    I put the boat into the portal and walked with Dingo. The road in front of Gwangalli beach was full of zombies. It would be impossible to force my way through in my current condition. Therefore, I took a firework out, lit it up, and threw it away.


    When the firework exploded, the sound made me think about a bomb exploding for a moment. At the same time, flames in several colours shot out in all directions. The zombies instantly whipped their heads toward where the sound and the flames roared and chased after it. In the meantime, Me and Dingo escaped from the place using the gap the firework made.


    After running for about an hour, I finally reached my home. And naturally, I was in a complete wreck. After moving the fireworks to the building next door and decorating the entrance with zombie corpses and rubbles, my body staggered. Once I laid myself down on the mattress, my head immediately started spinning.


    I¡¯m worried about tomorrow morning¡­


    Then with the sound of wind as the lullaby, I fall asleep.


    .


    .


    .


    Woosshh-!! Wooshh-!!


    The wind blew violently in the morning, waking me up from my slumber. When I looked out through the hole in the wall through the plastic telescope, everything that was light enough to be carried by the wind on the street was flying wildly.


    ¡°It¡¯s a typhoon, huh?¡± Well, it¡¯s currently summer. It¡¯s about time for them to come. It¡¯s a big problem for us humans, but the zombies roaming outside were not excluded as they were being tossed around by the wind and stumbled amongst themselves. A zombie even got hit in the head with a flowerpot and couldn¡¯t get up again.


    I wonder, In that situation, will the pot get points?


    It feels like a comedy, but if you look closely, it was nothing but a tragedy. (E/N The Joker reference?)


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to stay home for a while.¡± I¡¯ll probably finish the moat and other preparations for the long winter in the forest. I might as well kill the owlbear, the ruler of the valley, so I could safely use the river to catch some red trout for food.


    ¡°What to do today is¡­¡± I jotted down my to-dos in my notebook. It would be great if I could start making a vegetable garden or even a greenhouse, but let¡¯s see.


    I crossed into the forest with Dingo. However¡­ It was raining so hard.


    ¡°There¡¯s a typhoon on Earth and ice rain here¡­ I¡¯m going to go crazy!¡± Only a few seconds inside the forest makes me feel like the tips of my limbs are falling off. It¡¯s just that cold. However, unlike me, Dingo didn¡¯t seem to mind at all.


    If it was this cold, the valley would have frozen too¡­


    I looked up at the sky and gave up trying to fly the drone. The drones were something precious which I couldn¡¯t get anymore if I ran out, so I would have to scout by myself.


    But before that, let¡¯s finish digging the moat first.


    I put some hot packs in my pocket and went towards the mini fork crane. Thanks to that, a larger and deeper moat was created than what I originally planned. The length and the depth were enough to prevent small monsters from crossing over. Even if it wasn¡¯t, there¡¯s still a barbed wire fence behind the moat as a second layer of defense. Moreover, although it was limited in winter, the ice wall was also there.


    ¡°But if an orc appeared¡­¡± I sighed. Let¡¯s just think about it when the time comes. I continued the construction without even taking a meal break. And after several hours, I finally completed the moat.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just skip the glass shards¡­¡± When the view of the completed moat stretched in front of me, I didn¡¯t want to touch it anymore. On top of it, breaking glass bottles was a bit pricey for a mere defense line.


    I parked the fork crane and covered it with a tarp before setting out with Dingo to patrol the valley. A menacing greyish K2 rifle was hanging around my shoulder. I had used 5 bullets to kill the keeper yesterday, so I only had 15 bullets left.


    How many shots were needed to kill the owlbear, I wonder?


    ¡°If I shoot it in the head, it will die in three shots.¡± The problem is, it was not an easy thing to achieve as an owlbear is not a slow monster. If Dingo was a little bigger, he would have been able to keep him in check while I aimed for its head. It was a pity he was still small.


    ¡°You have to eat a lot and grow up fast.¡± At my sudden words, Dingo barked excitedly.


    After trailing carefully in the frozen hard and slippery ground, we finally reached the valley.


    ¡°Wow, it hasn¡¯t completely frozen yet.¡± But I could see the red trout became quite immobile and only swam slowly unlike usual.


    Will it be possible to catch it with my hand?


    I moved my hand into the valley water. But as soon as I touched it, I immediately pulled it out.


    ¡°Ugh.¡± With a groan, I cursed my stupidity. Just why did I do that?


    I took a net from my bag, and threw it into the water. After feeling that it had reached the bottom, I pulled it back to the ground. Inside, several red trout could be seen, flapping uncontrollably as it reached the ground. I picked them up and put them in a plastic container I prepared before throwing the net once again.


    ¡°Dingo, make sure to tell me if the owlbear comes, okay?¡±


    Woof-!!


    Though, as we are currently in the forest, I also wear my watch, bumping up my Perception to 14. There would be slight to no difference between my and Dingo¡¯s sense in noticing the presence of the owlbear.


    But this time Dingo was a little faster. The guy lowered his posture and growled, a sign that he had found the owlbear. Normally I would have run away from here without looking back, but now I didn¡¯t have to.


    ¡°I have this guy with me.¡± I loaded the K2 rifle and quickly put the iron sight in my eye level, aiming at the owlbear that was charging towards me. I was a little scared to be honest, but I didn¡¯t take my eyes off it. My experience of living in the forest until now and the rifle in my hand gives me strength.


    ¡°Please hit¡­¡± The gloves with Dexterity +2 option would undoubtedly give me a significant correction to my attack. The gun was not even zero-adjusted, but since the distance was close to 30m, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    The force of its rush was ferocious, but every monster was equal in front of firearms. When the trigger was pulled, the owlbear collapsed to the ground.


    Ho-!! Hoot-!! Hoot-!!


    The guy hadn¡¯t died just yet and tried to rise to its feet. Dingo swiftly ran towards it before barking fiercely from a safe distance. Meanwhile, I pulled the trigger again.


    Bang-!


    The sounds traveled across the forest. Sounds of numerous flapping birds could be heard from all over the place.


    Bang-!


    And with the last shot, the bullet pierced through the owlbear¡¯s forehead.


    I lowered my rifle while keeping my eyes on the owlbear, looking for any hint of movement. But even after several moments passed, the owlbear didn¡¯t move. Clearly, in this forest, where there¡¯s no corrosive disease, rifle bullets boast tremendous penetrating power, allowing me to kill it quite effortlessly. Had I met it on Earth, I would have to fire around 10 bullets in order to kill it.


    ¡¸Level has risen to 13¡¹


    ¡¸You have earned 25 Points ¡¹


    ¡¸You have acquired ¡®Motionless Movement¡¯ skill¡¹


    ¡°Jackpot!¡± I grinned. The skill I just got was a skill that removes my presence. It would significantly lower the sound of my footsteps, breathing, and hem of clothes when I moved. Combined with stealth skill, it would be nothing but a scam, but even without it, I would gladly take it.


    ¡°It¡¯s a perfect skill to run away.¡± If I needed to run away and hide while the portal was unusable, with this skill, most monsters wouldn¡¯t be able to find me.


    By the way, this owlbear¡­ What should I do with it? It was difficult to dig a pit big enough to bury it.


    ¡°I think it weighs about 400kg.¡± Should I cut it into parts? It would be gross, but it was better than leaving it alone and letting it become a bone creeper. Let¡¯s just use this opportunity to practice dissecting.


    I took the owlbear¡¯s claws and cut off two of his legs and threw it away. The claws on the wing were so long that it looked like it could be used as a substitute for a knife.


    ¡°It¡¯s also quite popular.¡± The items which were available on the store were definitely better, but a significant number of users preferred to use materials looted from monsters as weapons rather than store items. And then there¡¯s us, stagnant waters¡­ who didn¡¯t like either because both of them were simply too fragile for our taste and ended up just using our bare hands.


    ¡°Dingo, let¡¯s go home.¡±


    Since the gunshots were so loud, it was better to go home as soon as possible because it was unknown which kind of monster would be attracted. I packed my things and returned to the shelter, after giving the ground where I buried the parts of the owlbear one last glance.


    .


    .


    .


    July 26th.


    Quite a lot had happened in just a few days.


    I gave some supplies I got from the villa to the gym gang. Hyung-jun Hyung was elated when he saw that I also brought him some cigarettes.


    ¨C Seongho, I love you.


    ¨C No, stop that, Hyung.


    ¨C There¡¯s no need to be shy¡­


    ¨C I am not happy to hear that from a man.


    Those who had lost their families and were depressed had finally regained their vitality. I also kept telling them to move as the floor they reside in was in a worrying state. It could collapse at any time. And as they had the same idea, they moved to the academy on the second floor. It was originally used as a taekwondo studio, so it was spacious enough to accommodate a few people.


    My level had also reached 15 by hunting zombies and monsters. The additional effect of the attribute was another dimensional slot. This time, it went up to number 10. It was a convenient ability, but it was overshadowed by another function I had acquired.


    ¡°Auction House.¡± As I called it, a UI almost similar to the Store unfolded before me. The difference was, in the Auction House menu, there¡¯s a menu where I could sell products.


    ¡°The fee is¡­ raised as well. These guys, seriously!¡± It was 10% off the winning bid. Originally it was 5%, so the current rate was doubled than the original.


    When I finally opened the menu where the auctioned item was being displayed, my eyes went wide. There¡¯s already an item which was being auctioned. It¡¯s an ebony stick with an ¡®old¡¯ tag, which means its durability was close to 0. but that¡¯s not what matters.


    ¡°Who the hell uploaded it?¡± No, let¡¯s calm down. It was possible that someone had levelled up faster than me since I had a lot of work to do aside from hunting, such as shelter construction and farming.


    What if this guy was a stagnant water with a combat-related unique ability? Even if they started hunting later than me, it is only natural they already reached level 15.


    ¡°Auction No. 1.¡± As I entered the item¡¯s menu, I saw a comment left by someone.


    ¡ª?


    ¨DNobody here?


    ¨DI Love Gimbap-nim? Duck Buttock-nim?


    ¨DShit, I levelled up way too fast.


    ¨DToday, I fought a keeper and reached level 17. oh shit sex!


    A chuckle escaped my mouth as soon as I read the last bit.


    I know who it is.

 Chapter 41

    In order to communicate in Survival Life, a microphone was required. However, in the game, it¡¯s not possible to hear the voices of users. It was because of the game¡¯s unique system where it converts the voice input into text. Since the ID was not revealed, there¡¯s no way to know who the user was unless the user speaks. The developer team seemed to want users to keep the concept of anonymous survivors. There was also a patch about that at one point, so in the beginning, users kept the concept well. Afterall, users who hunted and chatted with me today could become my enemies tomorrow.


    But as time passed, the atmosphere of the server changed. As more and more users dropped out of the game, leaving only the us, the stagnant waters, we began to decorate our appearance to our liking. So, even when our ID couldn¡¯t be seen, the others could immediately recognize who is who by looking at their appearance.


    For example, Rabbit Pwincess used to wear a bunny girl costume on a bald male. Because he¡¯s a man, should I call the costume bunny man? At first, we cursed his appearance because it was disgusting.


    ¡°But later, everyone ended up only wearing underpants¡­¡±


    The most frightening thing in this world was getting used to things like this¡­seriously.


    And Rabbit Pwincess, who pioneered the fashion change of the the stagnant water, often shouted ¡®sex¡¯. The reason was unknown. Everytime he opens his mouth, those words always come out without fail. It was my daily routine with Duck Buttock¡¯s Goes Kwek Kwek to beat him up because he¡¯s such a perverted guy.


    ¡°If he levels up this quickly, it looks like his unique ability is not a joke.¡± I said as I looked at the item menu. Rabbit Pwincess had the longest playtime amongst the three. Probably over 5,000 hours. He¡¯s only second to me. If so, just how good his unique ability would be?


    ¡°Dangerous¡­¡± I stopped trying to type something in the comment. Judging from the fact that he leveled up so quickly, Rabbit Pwincess¡¯ unique ability was clearly combat-oriented. On top of it, since he had reached level 15, he must have acquired 3 additional effects to the ability. I don¡¯t know what it was, but it was clear that I won¡¯t stand a chance against him in a fight.


    ¡°In Survival Life, we played together¡­¡± but in reality, there¡¯s no guarantee that it will be the case too. I have no idea who he really is or what his personality is like after all.


    ¡°But it doesn¡¯t seem like that idiot-like personality in-game was made up.¡± Let¡¯s take a closer look. I selected the comment field and entered text by voice.


    -Hello


    Once I put it out, I left the comment section and immediately began to work. Lately, I¡¯ve been obsessed with learning how to make smoked trout. My teacher was naturally the survival books and videos downloaded from MeTube. It¡¯s impossible to make it with a smoker right now, so I decided to try the easy way.


    ¡°Put this rod into a triangle¡­¡± covered it with tarpaulin and put the salted trout inside. It looks clumsy, but as it¡¯s a traditional method, it is worth the try. I cut the firewoods into small pieces and put it under the triangle rod before lighting it up.


    Cough-!! Cough-!!


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s stinging!!¡± The smoke was so strong to the point I had to move away from the pit. But still, I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off it. Afterall, this smoking method requires maintaining the same temperature for up to several hours. I still don¡¯t know the best number of hours yet, so I had to perfect the method through trial and error. If the current method didn¡¯t work, I would have to smoke it in another way and perhaps also change the wood.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    By the way, watching a smoking process together with Dingo like this made me feel like I¡¯m an actual caveman. It was a strange and complicated feeling. Though, I still felt grateful as even at this moment, when I was enjoying the moment of peace, countless people out there were fighting against zombies for their survival. They couldn¡¯t even dream of eating smoked trout. All they had were those bland MRE.


    I spent hours doing various things while waiting for the trout to be cooked. And when I finally decided to take it out, the colour was scary. It was completely black, like it was completely burnt.


    ¡°Can I eat this?¡± I think I should eat after peeling its skin, like fruit. And as expected, as I scraped the skin off with the mithril knife, an appetizing red flesh showed itself.


    ¡°Woah¡­¡± After blowing it a few times, an explosion of flavour shook my body to the core. The meat melted easily in my mouth. It had a hint of sweetness in it before a smoky flavour came in. It was a kind of flavour which would be a perfect pair with soju. But I wouldn¡¯t drink it today.


    ¡°It¡¯s too salty for you¡­ Eat this instead.¡± I said as I saw Dingo, which looked like he was ready to bite my hand if I didn¡¯t give him any. When I put the grilled trout in front of him, the guy finished it in a matter of seconds, leaving only the bone.


    In the middle of eating, an answer was posted in the item menu on the Auction House.


    -Who are you?


    -I hope you can tell me your name first.


    ¨C It¡¯s me, Rabbit Pwincess.


    I smiled at how direct he was. It would be better to respond in the same manner and reveal my identity here. If push came to shove, I would still have some time to run away since Rabbit Pwincess didn¡¯t know where I lived. Or does he? Have I ever told them that I lived in Busan? I want to make sure about it by looking through the video, but since it was only a daily chat, it would be hard to pinpoint when and in which videos did I ever say it. Let¡¯s not make a big deal out of it. Even if he knew I lived in Busan, it would be hard to find me since Busan wasn¡¯t a small city.


    -This is I Love Gimbap¡­


    After typing like that, no answer came back for several seconds.


    But then¡­


    -Hiks Hiks Hiks¡­


    -What¡¯s wrong?


    Is he crying?


    -I Love Gimbap-nim is alive!! I thought you were dead.


    -I suffered a little bit, but I am still alive as of today.


    It¡¯s so weird to use polite speech while talking to him like this. Back in Survival Life, we talked in a semi-formal way to make everyone equal. Rabbit Pwincess extended his long wild welcome before telling me that he was currently in Seoul.


    -Are you with the President by any chance?


    -I¡¯m not. I¡¯m alone.


    -Ah¡­ then just who gave the President the info that they show on TV on the D-Day?


    -I thought it was you¡­ You are the only one who has that much information and you used to stream as well.


    -I didn¡¯t do it because I have some situation.


    If Rabbit Pwincess criticized me after knowing the truth, I decided I was going to cut off contact with him. But contrary to my expectation, he showed a surprising reaction.


    -I get it. Is it because you have something you can¡¯t tell others? Did you decide not to do it because you were afraid of being caught and arrested?


    I finally met someone who understood me for the first time.


    -That¡¯s right. It is because I have a unique ability that is difficult to reveal to others.


    -Oh¡­ Whatever it is, I know it will be awesome! My unique ability is resurrection, but yours must be something even greater.


    -Resurrection?


    -Yes. On top of it, it¡¯s an infinite resurrection. I can respawn as long as I have points.


    -Woah¡­


    My mouth hangs open as I read his message. I don¡¯t know if his unique skill is as good as mine or not. But still, resurrection was a cheat-like ability in this kind of world. Rabbit Pwincess then revealed his unique ability¡¯s additional effect too.


    -Level 5 effect is physical resistance, level 10 is elemental resistance. Level 15 is a variety of special resistances. Those goblins darts are useless against me now HEHEHEHE!


    -That¡¯s great¡­ You wouldn¡¯t have any problem clearing the goblin dungeon then.


    -Well¡­ I could only tank 3 hits.


    -Then it¡¯s not okay. What will you do if you get hit by 4 and get paralyzed?


    -Will you not go with me? Let¡¯s just wear underwear and hit them with bare fists!


    -I can¡¯t do that because I don¡¯t have a resurrection ability like you.


    -Oh, yeah. I forget.


    Is this guy really wearing only panties? If it¡¯s really true, he probably had already died a few times until now. Well, his elemental resistance will keep him safe from the weather even without clothes, I guess. Afterall, it works even against the heat from the sun and the cold from rain.


    -Perhaps¡­ are you only wearing panties right now?


    -How did you know?


    -You are totally crazy¡­


    -I don¡¯t feel the heat or the cold anymore, so it¡¯s okay. By the way, have you met the other guys?


    -I have only met one.


    -Who?


    -MyDream.


    -Ah¡­ that person. We¡¯re not even close, but he kept acting friendly to me. I don¡¯t like it. If I remember correctly, he said he had a lot of money.


    -I think he has some kind of mental related unique skill, because he has some minions working for him.


    -Oh, this is a really good information. If he had people working for him, it¡¯s probably brainwashing or memory manipulation ability.


    -Speaking of which, please don¡¯t shake hands with other people recklessly.


    -Okay. By the way, did you meet him in Busan?


    Ah¡­ Yeah, so he indeed knew where I lived.


    I answered casually.


    -Did I ever tell you why my ID is I Love Gimbap?


    -Yeah, you said you were running a snack bar. Are you scared now because I can find you?


    -I honestly admit¡­


    He laughed.


    ¨C Hey, relax. We¡¯re too close to do that to each other. Don¡¯t you remember? We hunted those trolls together, did the tutorial again together after being killed by an ogre, and even got lost in the labyrinth because we couldn¡¯t find our way out together!


    It¡¯s because of you that we got lost in the labyrinth¡­ Well, I guess I could relax a little bit more. I was friendly with other stagnant waters, but I got along very well with the rabbit Pwincess. Maybe it¡¯s because his personality could entertain my emotionally dry heart.


    Wait a minute¡­ Doesn¡¯t that mean I felt happy when I was together with this crazy bastard?


    Anyway, it was nice to have some good memories with Rabbit Pwincess. Even If we both died because of it, we always laughed it out and did it again.


    But now¡­


    ¨C Things have changed. RabPri.


    ¨C It¡¯s Rabbit Pwincess.


    -It¡¯s hard to pronounce, so please accept it.


    ¨DPwi, Pwi, Pwi, Pwi, Pwi, Pwi.


    I sighed. This guy was very strict about some unimportant things. The more we talked, the more I felt I had returned to the game.


    -By the way, I envy your unique skill. It would be nice to be able to survive with only points. I need too many points to equip myself.


    -From your words, it seems like your unique ability isn¡¯t combat related¡­ How about this? Because it seems like we¡¯re the only ones in the Auction House right now, let¡¯s exchange one item we had looted so far with only 1 point.


    I nodded my head at his words. It was a great offer for me. Since Seoul had a huge population, the number and difficulty of zombies there would naturally be on the high side. I wondered what kind of loot Rabbit Pwincess had got there.


    -Put away the stick and let¡¯s put something elsewhere.


    -Hehe, did you get two of these too?


    -Of course.


    -They¡¯re really funny. We reported a bug like that, but they ignored it until the end.


    -But did you know that they doubled the Auction House fees with the patch?


    -Ah¡­ those fucking bastards!!


    it seems he didn¡¯t know. After a while, the ebony stick disappeared from the display and was replaced by a ring. My mouth hangs open once again after reading the description. It was a ring made of magic metal with two stats increase options. The stats option attached to the ring was a rare one to boot, Vitality and Strength.


    Rabbit Pwincess proudly gave a comment.


    -You know how difficult it is to get something with two stats in the beginning, right? I searched all over the town to find this.


    -Are you saying that you worked really hard to find this item? How many points do you have right now?


    -I only have 240 points right now.


    Ah¡­ It seems like he literally worked hard to death. Still, with the ring equipped, the chance he would die in the long run would decrease considerably.


    -Take the ring. I put that up for 10 points.


    ¨DHey! How can you sell it for just 10 points? It has a Vitality and Strength stats increase option!


    ¨DIt seems like I Love Gimbap-nim doesn¡¯t believe me yet, But I believe in you 100%. So, just take it.


    I never thought that there were people who would believe in me like that. To be honest, I was touched by his words. To answer his belief, the item I have to put up on the Auction House should be¡­


    -Huh? How did you get this? An owlbear¡¯s claw could only be obtained through looting, right?


    -Yes, that is correct. I got it through looting.


    -How??? Did an owlbear somehow get spawned in Busan?


    -That¡¯s not it. Like I said before, I have my own situation.


    Even if I told him I got it by hunting an owlbear in a forest in another world, he wouldn¡¯t believe it.


    By the way, I remembered that Rabbit Pwincess said that he usually enjoys drinking. I have a splendid snack that will definitely fit to be eaten while drinking with me now, so I think he would be happy with it. I¡¯m not sure if he got some alcohol with him now, but even if he didn¡¯t, he will definitely look for it. It¡¯s him after all.


    However, it was questionable whether the food would be treated as an item. Because back in Survival Life, there¡¯s practically no one who ever auctioned food, even more so a handmade one.


    Let¡¯s try it first. I wrapped one smoked trout with clean paper and placed it on a disposable plate. Then I clicked on the auction registration. Thankfully, a message popped up in front of me right away.


    ¡¸Do you want to register smoked trout to the Auction?¡¹


    I hit the YES button and set the auction winning bid to the minimum. In a heartbeat, the plate and the trout were engulfed in the light and disappeared entirely. Eat well, Rabbit Pwincess.


    ¡°By the way, I forgot to tell him I used his name to trick Kwon¡­¡±


    Will he get angry once he knows about it? Well, I doubt it.


    .


    .


    .


    Hwang Seokhyun carefully unwrapped the fish when a plate suddenly appeared on the desk in front of him.


    ¡°This item really come out.¡± He had won a bid for a smoked trout, but never did he expect it to be real. With his eyes locked in the food, he wondered just where did I Love Gimbap get it. Is he at a place near a river or something right now? Or maybe his unique skill was related to cooking.


    In fact, Seokhyun didn¡¯t care at all about those things. It¡¯s just a fleeting curiosity. The more important thing was that he had confirmed that his friend was alive and well. He even gave him a present to boot. Namely, the piping hot fish in front of him. For Seokhyun, who only ate military rations for the past several days, the food in front of him was no different than a true feast. In other words, he needs a drink to celebrate it.


    Seokhyun kicked the zombie who crawled towards him and dashed off towards the kitchen. When he returned, he had a green plastic bottle filled with soju in his hand. Seokhyun sat down on the chair and wiped the saliva flowing down his unkempt beard.


    If someone suddenly passed by and saw him, they would undoubtedly turn their head towards him. Afterall, his appearance was a bit¡­ quirky. His hair was sparse, and he wore a half-ripped cloak with only a panty underneath. Moreover, he also wore a pair of boots which covered up to his calf.


    ¡°Heh, heh heh¡­¡± Seokhyun grabbed a wooden chopstick and moved it towards the smoked trout. When he opened his mouth wide, his tongue came out to meet it.


    Munch munch munch.


    With a happy expression as if he had tasted heaven, Seokhyun kept munching on the fish. This is it! he thought. What he ate for the past few days were all garbage. Once he swallowed the fish, he poured all the content inside the plastic bottle to his mouth. With his current body, he didn¡¯t have any worry of getting drunk.


    ¡°Khaaaaak¡­¡±


    After the alcohol was gone, Seokhyun ate the smoked trout again. He kept repeating the cycle for several more times until he finished the whole fish.


    ¡°Khaakk¡­ today¡¯s food is delicious¡­¡±


    In the last few days, he¡¯d fought hundreds of times, killed dozens of zombies, and had died a few times. Therefore, there was nothing left around him. What he was feeling right now was not just the deliciousness of the smoked trout, but the joy of being a human being. At this moment, he was the happiest man in the world.


    After he ate all the trout, he grabbed his backpack and jumped out the window.


    ¡°Sexxxxxxxxx!¡±


    A few zombies shrieking in the street looked at him as he landed on the ground.


    Growl-!!


    ¡°Move! I had to go to Busan!¡±


    Seokhyun shouted something that would undoubtedly surprise Seongho had he heard it.


    ¡°Giant- Swing!¡± Seokhyun shouted as he grabbed the ankle of a zombie and swung it around in a circle, hitting all zombies around him.


    Seokhyun worked hard. As it was, he had all the momentum he needed to go to Busan. However, there was one problem¡­


    After 30 minutes of walking, Seokhyun returned to his original hideout.


    ¡°Huh? Where is this?¡±


    He had a terrible sense of direction.

 Chapter 42

    ¡°Ummm¡­ So¡­ You guys are the ones who made this?¡±


    Nod nod.


    The group of scarabs nodded their heads simultaneously as I asked them. The item that they claimed to be their creation is the mithril knife I was using.


    It started out with a simple transaction. The scarabs had brought a spark stone to me in order to trade it with their favourite jelly. However, when I started to skin the rabbit that Dingo hunted with the mithril knife, the scarabs came and watched. Then, the Scarab Leader drew a knife, an arrow, and a scarab figure on the ground. They claim to have made it.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a scarab? How do you make a knife like this?¡± I was aware they were not an ordinary scarab but a sentient one, but it was still hard to believe that these tiny bugs had the ability to make something like a mithril knife.


    The Scarab Leader hit its head with its forelegs. Is it an action to express their frustration just like how gorillas pound their chest to express their emotion? Then, let¡¯s give them the benefit of doubt.


    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± I took a coin from my cave and held it to them. ¡°If you¡¯re truly it¡¯s maker, can you process this?¡±


    When the Scarab Leader moved its forelegs to indicate something, the two scarabs behind him rushed towards the coin. They moved their snout, and then, to my surprise, they started to gnaw on the coin.


    ¡°Huh?¡± I let out a surprised voice as I saw an unthinkable thing happen in front of me. The two creatures were eating the coin before spitting it back and mending it into the shape of a sword. On top of that, the surface of the tiny sword was also sleek, about as shiny as a weapon crafted by modern technology. At this point, I have no other choice but to admit it.


    ¡°Awesome, really. But if you can process it as sleek as that, why is this knife so rough?¡± I asked while holding out my mithril knife towards them. The Scarab Leader then moved his forelegs and covered his eyes.


    Why are you crying all of a sudden?


    He then drew a slumping picture of scarabs and a certain familiar monster. The monster in the drawing¡ªwhose identity was a goblin¡ªwas hitting the slumping scarab.


    ¡°Goblins hit you?¡± The scarabs nodded his head eagerly at my question. In the next picture, scarabs were seen running away from the abuse of the goblins. From those two drawings alone, I roughly know what situation the scarab was in. They were being abused by the goblins. Therefore, they didn¡¯t make the right stuff, just haphazardly make anything the goblins want them to make. And the crude knives and mithril knives with rough surfaces were the result of that forced labor. It¡¯s impossible for goblins to recognize good products, so even if I was in their shoes, I would also make it roughly.


    ¡°You guys did a good job running away. So where are those goblins?¡± At my question, all the scarabs pointed north, in the direction of the goblin nest I had found. At that revelation, an idea crossed my mind. I already had a plan to destroy that nest someday, but since the scarabs also bear a grudge against them, I could turn the hunt into a profitable one.


    I put the Scarab Leader on the palm of my hand and said. ¡°I will take revenge for you. But of course, I won¡¯t do it for free, so let¡¯s make a deal. I want these kinds of ignition stones. Emeras is fine too.¡±


    The Scarab Leader thought for a moment, then drew ten lines on my palm. It seems like he was asking if it¡¯s okay for him to pay me 10 of those items.


    ¡°Deal.¡± With that, a deal was established. From my point of view, the goblin nest in the north was just a threat that should be removed one day. But with the deal I just landed, I would get paid and also get a friendship point with the scarabs. All in all, it was a very profitable deal for me.


    ¡°I should save some live ammunition¡­¡± But it was inevitable to use some ammo if I wanted to eradicate the goblin nest. Afterall, there¡¯s a hobgoblin there. So, my 173 bullets will dwindle even more in the near future. And with the situation on Earth as it is, it was not easy or straight impossible to get some more.


    While thinking like that, I looked at the scarabs. These guys can use metallurgy pretty well. Wouldn¡¯t it be possible for them to make bullets if I brought gunpowder to them?


    ¡°Even if they could make the casing, the ignition part is a problem.¡± On Earth, they were made by hand somewhere in Africa or the United States, but that was on the premise that an equipment was present.


    Let¡¯s think about it more later.


    After getting two more packs of jelly from my generosity, the scarabs walked away from my shelter happily.


    Let¡¯s do better in the future, I said to myself as I looked at them moving into the forest.


    .


    .


    .


    I packed my bags and prepared to go outside. My plan for today was to go to Eden Villa, which Sooyeon told me about. I wanted to check to see if the materials she told me about had been stolen yet or not. On top of it, I also wanted to see the existence of the time shelter that the government had installed close to that villa. As it¡¯s a facility for a large number of unspecified survivors, it should¡¯ve contained an enormous amount of various supplies. I wouldn¡¯t loot it today, but checking the situation around it wouldn¡¯t hurt.


    ¡°I will also scout the bunkers.¡± Kwon¡¯s golf club was also located near the Eden Villa. I would be able to get an idea of ??its approximate size by checking out the people wandering around.


    By the way, Yoohyeon from the gym group had been sending a paper airplane to my house since morning. He had been contacting me like this for a few days. He told me that he had reached level 5 and could now send his dolls to quite a distance.


    -The Manager had opened the Store for the first time. It has some really good items, Hyung! But I don¡¯t know why the items inside are so expensive. I want a mithril knife.¡±


    A mithril knife was a good choice indeed. Afterall, the current Earth was a place where metal couldn¡¯t be used because of the corrosive disease. And as mithril knives were made of magic metal, it wasn¡¯t affected by the corrosive disease at all. However, it was better to not be interested in magic metal weapons in the beginning. The priority for survivors in the beginning was to find the zombies before they could find them by raising the Perception stats. I implied this to Yoohyeon, and he was giving his opinion to Hyung-jun Hyung, saying that they should trust me because from experience it was a good choice.


    -Certainly, as my Perception stats go up, my surroundings feel different. I feel like I can hear zombies twitching.


    It¡¯s not that much though¡­ Yoohyeon is a good kid, but he tends to over-dramatize things. But Hyung-jun Hyung never told him off, it seems like he found him adorable too.


    ¡°He felt like a nephew at this point. Both for me and Hyung-jun Hyung.¡±  Hyungjun Hyung, who had lost his family, as well as the other people in the gym group, were gradually adjusting to the apocalypse. Kyunghoon and Bora had become a couple while Yoohyeon had made an engine using ceramic and plastic only. And for now, we were only using it for a fan.


    I crumpled the paper airplane. If I have something I want to say, I can write it down on a paper airplane and send it off. Yoohyeon, who was linked to the paper airplane, will take care of taking it back to the gym. All means of communication were cut off, so we had no choice but to communicate like this.


    ¡°Well, once they open the Auction House, it will be much easier.¡± The problem was, the messages would be visible to everyone who uses the Auction House.


    Would it be better to set up a password in advance? I¡¯ll think about it later.


    Next, I called up my status window.


    ¡¸Level: 15 Point(s): 384


    Vitality: 12 (+2)


    Strength: 13 (+2)


    Agility:9


    Dexterity:11(+2)


    Perception:10(+2)


    Unique Ability: Dedicated Dimension Door


    Skills: Survival Instinct, Terrain Detection 2, Motionless Movement


    Active buff(s):- ¡¹


    Seeing my stats had been boosted by the items really put my heart to ease. Vitality and Strength-boosting items were especially hard to find, so I was really grateful to Rabbit Pwincess for giving it to me. ¡°By now, I¡¯m sure he¡¯s already running around trying to get one again.¡±


    After packing, I checked the map for the location of Eden villa.


    ¡°I once thought it was a simple villa¡­¡± When I tried to check it with Nevermap before the apocalypse happened, I couldn¡¯t see inside because of the high fence and trees. It¡¯s like a luxurious villa in Seoul. (N: Nevermap is a reference to Naver Map, a GPS navigation app that is mainly used by South Koreans)


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Dingo.¡± The guy followed me outside. ¡°You have to be careful, okay?¡±


    After several days since the apocalypse had begun, the zombies had gotten considerably stronger. Their strength remained the same, their eyesight weakened, but their hearing became more sensitive as a trade-off. They also became faster to boot.


    ¡°The goblins and the kobolds are also coming soon.¡± Just because they will spawn, doesn¡¯t mean the zombies will disappear or weaken, so surviving is going to be even harder. Although they also fought against each other, they will always prioritize humans.


    I tapped Dingo in the back.


    ¡°Run!¡±


    However, the zombies quickly caught up.


    .


    .


    .


    I stopped by the construction material store on the way to the villa. For some reason, no one had looted the place yet. Once I¡¯m sure there¡¯s no one around, I put sacks of cement, bricks, and PVC pipes into the portal.


    From the outside, A few zombies quickly approached me. Dingo barked towards them while I swung my ebony stick towards their heads.


    Puck-!! puck-!!


    I hit a zombie a few times while moving left and right to avoid its attack, but it didn¡¯t fall as easily as before. The domination of the spores over the body has been completed. Therefore, their durability was enchanted considerably. Now these zombies could crawl even when their lower body was cut off. A zombie in this state is what we call a half, but it¡¯s not as cute as its name.


    ¡°Come on!¡±


    Crack-!!


    When I finally punched a hole in the head of the last zombie, it fell down. Seeing it wriggling to the end while various parts of its body being torn apart, these things were definitely different from before.


    ¡°This stick is finished.¡± I said as I saw the ¡®Old¡¯ option attached to it. It means that its durability was close to zero. It was still possible to kill one or two zombies with it, but it was a risk I would rather not take. I tossed the stick in my hand and took a new ebony stick out of the slot and put it in my backpack.


    By the way, there were so many things to loot in the construction store, such as vinyl, string, styrofoam, basin, etc. Other than that, while I¡¯m here, I should also loot all the items on the dusty shelves.


    ¡°I feel it all the time, but this moment never fails to make me feel really good.¡± The sad thing is most of the items were broken and had turned into a grain of sand because of the corrosive disease.


    After putting the last dozen bags of sand, I closed the portal and left the construction store. Through the zombie-infested city center, I headed to Eden Villa.


    ¡°The location is¡­ over there.¡± A secret space surrounded by high fences and trees. All the buildings around the Eden Villa have the same luxurious atmosphere just like it. Even if I worked hard my whole life, I feel like I still wouldn¡¯t be able to live in a place like this.


    I took my notes to check the number of Sooyeon¡¯s room. It¡¯s room 302. I entered through the broken gate and was instantly greeted with a very neat garden and a nice building. Let¡¯s just pretend to not see the decaying zombie corpses strewn all over the garden and just admire the beautiful display.


    The building itself looked intact. Probably because it was built with excellent material and by a rather clean and good architect befitting the luxury part of it. How could I know? It¡¯s a luxurious villa, so wouldn¡¯t it be natural? Just like what I¡¯d heard, there¡¯s an elevator inside the building. Then, once I moved to the emergency stairs, I saw various pieces of furniture were blocking the stairs. It would be too bothersome to move it one by one just to climb up.


    ¡°How do you get in and out, miss Sooyeon?¡± I whispered as I returned to the lobby. I proceeded to move towards the elevator passage to see if there was another way. And what I saw there was a sturdy rope hanging down from the top. There¡¯s a knot in reasonable distance from each other all over the rope which makes it easy to climb.


    ¡°Are you using this?¡± I pulled the rope a few times in order to test its strength, but it didn¡¯t come off. It seemed like it was tied to a pole or something. At that moment, I remembered Sooyeon¡¯s toned body which she got from exercising. With her body, she would be able to climb this rope without any problem.


    Then, that means, I could do it too. Since I don¡¯t know whether there¡¯s someone around or not¡­


    ¡°Dingo, get up here.¡± As Dingo climbed and hung onto the backpack on my back, I started to climb. It was quite heavy, but it wasn¡¯t that difficult once I got my foot on the knot. When I went up to the third floor, it was filled with remains of various decorations. Meanwhile, a sturdy wooden door protected room 302, which was Sooyeon¡¯s room.


    I knocked on the door and waited for a while. She must have passed the tutorial, so did she go farming with her group members?


    The moment I made up my mind to look around the other room after confirming that the door to room 302 was intact, a small window on the side of the door suddenly slid open.


    ¡°Get off the door.¡±


    ¡°Miss Sooyeon, it¡¯s me. Kang Seongho.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Seongho?¡± Her voice quivered as she called my name. From the window I could see Sooyeon¡¯s eyes and hair were droopy. ¡°How did you get here?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me to come here for the supplies? I¡¯m just here to make sure they¡¯re okay.¡±


    ¡°¡­is there anyone other than Seongho?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s Dingo. My dog.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ that dog.¡± After she said that, the door opened slightly. However, I did not go in immediately, but raised my arms first.


    Sooyeon sighed in relief and said. ¡°I was surprised that you came here all of a sudden. Is that Dingo in the back?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Dingo, come down.¡±


    Sooyeon¡¯s eyes twinkled as she told me how cute Dingo, which resembles a husky, was. But the guy didn¡¯t even come to her and only stood next to me with his tail wagging. After a few more moments, Sooyeon fully opened the door.


    ¡°Come on in. Normally, I never invite anyone to come in. But since it was Mr. Seongho, it should be fine.¡±


    ¡°Is there anyone who has come here?¡±


    ¡°It will take some time to talk about it, will it be okay?¡± She said as she walked inside with me and Dingo in tow.


    Once I went inside, my mouth hung open. The inside of the room was wide. It was so spacious to the point even with the huge sofa in the middle of the living room, there was still quite a space left. It was certainly different from a normal villa. The floor was made with marble which I had only ever seen on TV while there are dozens of antique furniture decorating the wall. Because the window was completely covered with a black curtain, it was quite dark. But a couple of candles lit up the room offers the bare minimum light to see.


    Sooyeon, wearing leggings and a tank top, smiled shyly and pointed her hand towards the sofa. ¡°Please sit down. Sorry, it¡¯s too hot, so I¡¯m wearing this outfit.¡±


    ¡°There is no fan, so there is nothing we can do about it.¡±


    ¡°You seem to have passed the tutorial safely?¡± Sooyeon said as she sat down.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not only me. The others from the gym have also passed and are doing just fine. But why aren¡¯t you with your members?¡±


    Her face slightly darkened as I asked her.


    ¡°I feel like I¡¯m going to die if I stay with them.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I think there is a murderer around. No, I¡¯m sure about it.¡± He said as he stroked Dingo¡¯s head as the guy climbed onto the sofa.


    ¡°A murderer?¡± I asked. It seems like there¡¯s someone who has already killed two or more people. In some ways, they were a little like me. The only difference was that I avoided the system¡¯s verdict while they¡¯re not.


    A smile bloomed in the back of my mind. If I succeed in killing a murderer in a deathmatch event, I will receive a large amount of points. There¡¯s also an opportunity to acquire unique skills. It was simply too mouth watering to simply pass it up.


    However, I didn¡¯t let my inner excitement come out to my face as I touched my forearm to act as if I was terrified.


    ¡°Wow¡­ It¡¯s scary. It would be nice if I never met them¡­ Do you have any information about it?¡±


    ¡°The story is a bit long¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, I have a lot of time.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡± Sooyeon cleared her throat and started her story.

 Chapter 43

    Sooyeon¡¯s story revolved around the time shelter. She told me that there were three factions that had been formed around the place which would be opened in a year¡¯s time.


    ¡°Let¡¯s call my team, Team A, one other team as Team B, and the golf course as Team C.¡± As soon as I heard it, I immediately knew. The golf course team of Mr. Kwon, whom I stole the pistol and smartphone from, must have something to do with the murderer. But I kept my silence and listened to the story. According to Sooyeon, Team C was the most powerful group amongst the three.


    ¡°I think there¡¯s around 10 people there. At first, I thought they were from a different team, but I think they communicated with each other because I often saw their members exchange supplies.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that they normally live apart from each other?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    I nodded my head at her words. It was a smart move in order to prevent the zombies from detecting them when there¡¯s 6 people or more in a group. It was thanks to that fact that I have a reason for not joining the gym team.


    ¡°Anyway, that point is still fine. As Mr. Seongho knows, this neighborhood¡­ is filled with wealthy people. Therefore, a lot of information has been circulating, including things about the zombie apocalypse, and people have prepared for the apocalypse quite well. The problem is¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Team C made an offer to others to open the time shelter.¡±


    ¡°Already? Wasn¡¯t it set to be openable only in a year¡¯s time?¡±


    ¡°We thought so too, but the leader of Team C came to Team B before he started to persuade us too. He said, what is the difference between now and a year later? Let¡¯s share it before more powers gather here.¡±


    ¡°Who is the leader of Team C, if I may ask?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know his name. I only know that he looks tall and skinny¡­¡±


    Tall and skinny, huh? Then it really is Mr. Kwon, the owner of Yongjeong Bunker. Why did he propose to open the time shelter? Did he pretend to be a gentleman in order to have connections with people so that he can use his mind manipulation skill?


    Since from what I knew, he had 3 bunkers, it could be said that he had around 14 people inside his team. And because on his phone, he has photos of womens, the number of personnels who are capable of fighting should dwindle to around 10.


    Sooyeon elaborated further by telling me that her team and team B refused Kwon¡¯s offer because they felt that they could live just fine for the time being using their supplies and the looted supplies from the building around the area.


    ¡°But what does opening the time shelter have to do with a murderer showing up?¡± I asked nonchalantly.


    ¡°Should I say, the timing? As soon as we refused to open the time shelter, the rumour that there is a murderer around spreads. sound of heart pounding, do you know about it, Mr. Seongho?¡±


    I know a lot about it. Back in the game, I had encountered over 200 murderers and had killed over 100 of them.


    ¡°Roughly. The sound came when the murderer was close to us, didn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ When I told my team members about it, they laughed at me because it was nothing but a game system. Then, one of our team members died while going out to farm¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ By the way, the murderer had only appeared after the proposal had been refused?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ I think it has something to do with it.¡± I¡¯m 100% sure about it. But I just couldn¡¯t tell Sooyeon about it. By the way, I¡¯m really curious about why Kwon wants to open the time shelter this early. If there were 14 subordinates under him, it would be easy for him to survive regardless whether it was now or one year later. So, why?


    When I enquired about it to Sooyeon, she hesitated before opening her mouth. ¡°The leader of Team C that I was talking about, I once saw him hunting zombies using a molotov cocktail.¡±


    ¡°A molotov cocktail?¡±


    ¡°Yes. He used several of them and turned the road into a sea of ??fire¡­ At that time, we stopped our hunt and returned to our shelter just in case the flames somehow reached us.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s certainly dangerous.¡±


    Through Sooyeon¡¯s story, I was able to determine the reason Kwon wanted to open the time shelter. It was because he wanted to amass points and open the Auction House faster. After all, if his subordinates were the one who defeated the zombies, the points went to them, not to Kwon. It also seemed like he would rather use a molotov cocktail than a bow. Probably, because it was easier to get exp points that way, since you can kill several zombies at once with just one molotov.


    Speaking of Auction House, I haven¡¯t heard from Rabbit Pwincess for a few days now. Did he perhaps get sick of eating trout?


    ¡°¡­if it¡¯s molotov cocktails¡­.could it be¡­ because he needs gasoline?¡±


    Sooyeon thought about my words for a few moments before snapping her finger. ¡°That¡¯s right. If his group is filled with that many people, there should be someone  who knows about chemistry in his group. The President also announced that there¡¯s gasoline inside the time shelter.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? However, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to open a time shelter right now.¡±


    ¡°He must¡¯ve thought that his old way from normal world would also apply on the current world¡­¡± Sooyeon¡¯s face darkened as she said it.


    In any case, Kwon seemed to need gasoline and auxiliary materials in order to make more molotov cocktails. He must¡¯ve stockpiled a lot of it in his own bunker, but as he felt that it was not enough, he decided to open the time shelter. Then, what he would do once he opened the time shelter here in Busan was obvious. He would go to another area and open the time shelter there. By that time, Kwon and his men should¡¯ve been strong enough to overpowered anyone who tried to stand in their way.


    Then, what I should do was clear. Killing the murderer in a deathmatch and preventing Kwon and his subordinates from opening the time shelter. My additional goal would be killing Kwon since it was a promise I made before the apocalypse.


    .


    .


    .


    Sooyeon showed a lot of interest towards my bow. When I offered to touch it, she quickly agreed and immediately tried to pull the bowstring. And as expected, her arm that is used to pull it trembled violently while doing so.


    She whimpered, smiled awkwardly, and then lowered the bow. ¡°How much pulling weight does this bow have?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s 100 pounds.¡±


    ¡°Ah! That¡¯s why it¡¯s so hard. You have to have an arm as big as Mr. Seongho¡¯s to use it.¡±


    I shrugged and gave her a demonstration of pulling the bowstring. It was easy since I had practiced really hard with it. Even more so, thanks to the ring RaPri gave me, it felt even more easier. He was kind, and I¡¯m very grateful to him, but I wish I wouldn¡¯t meet him in the near future. I feel like my plans would be messed up somehow with him in the mix.


    ¡°By the way, Mr. Seongho, did you awaken too?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my unique skill is something akin to ¡®foresight¡¯. It¡¯s quite useful in fighting against zombies.¡±


    ¡°So you can predict their attacks?¡±


    ¡°It is similar. However, rather than predicting, I can see the trajectory of the attack in the shape of an image.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± Sooyeon exclaimed. ¡°It would be very useful in fights. My unique skill is really good, but I find it quite difficult to use it in battle¡­¡±


    ¡°Since you¡¯re a doctor, I bet it was some kind of wound treatment skill?¡±


    At my words, Sooyeon¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°How did you know that?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I heard about the ability characteristics of the people in the gym group. The Manager has a physical strengthening type skill, while Yoohyeon can create dolls that he can control, something like that.¡±


    ¡°But Seongho¡¯s unique skill is unrelated to your specialty.¡± Sooyeon said as she pointed her finger at me.


    ¡°There may be exceptions.¡± Even my real unique ability didn¡¯t match me. Is it because it was something given to those with enormous playtime?


    Sooyeon proceeded to complain about how low her level was since it was hard for her to fight. Then, after she finished, she started to rant about another thing.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit weird to say this myself, but the guys on my team can¡¯t even see the big picture and could only see things in the short term.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°You know¡­ That¡­¡± Sooyeon said while fidgeting. Her face also slightly turned beet red.


    ¡°Aha.¡±


    From her body language, I roughly knew what it was. It was only natural though, since Sooyeon was an attractive person. She had a firm body and cool features, a girl crush-type of girl. She was also quite tall, and was quite a looker. So, it¡¯s understandable that the men in her group were chasing after her.


    ¡°Every time they meet me, they always try to show me their good side. I¡¯m not sure whether it¡¯s a good thing or not, though. Isn¡¯t it strange to ask me to pay attention to them when life and death are so close?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°The funny thing is, the three men were all doing the same thing. They keep criticising each other and make a big deal out of every mistake the other makes.¡±


    ¡°They are all so excited, huh?¡±


    ¡°But the funny thing is, when the murderer signs appeared, they were all terrified out of their minds. I wish they could at least be half decent as Seongho. And you know what? Every single one of them asked me to run away with them, just the two of us. All three of them are the same, really.¡±


    ¡°You should¡¯ve asked what they were going to do once you followed them to get away from that place.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious. At first, they act as if they will give me anything in the world. But when it becomes dangerous, they will ditch me and run away alone.¡±


    In the apocalypse, that¡¯s not necessarily wrong. Afterall, it¡¯s stupid to help other when your safety wasn¡¯t guaranteed. Though, I kept my opinion to myself, not telling it to Sooyeon. With those thoughts in mind, I looked around the living room and found dozens of umbrella holders full of arrows.


    ¡°You have a lot of arrows. Are they all made of carbon?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Would you like some? I bought a lot.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, if you could spare some for me.¡±


    She stood up from the sofa and walked towards the line of umbrella holders. Then, she grabbed a handful of arrows and gave it to me. I accepted the arrow and promptly put it in my backpack before handing her a glowstone.


    ¡°You bought this at the Store, right?¡± She said while her eyes widened.


    ¡°Yes. It lasts incredibly long. If it is too bright, you can shatter it to pieces and only use the one that fits your needs. It¡¯s much more comfortable than a candle.¡±


    ¡°¡­But Mr. Seongho. I thought you only knew these things from watching I Love Gimbap¡¯s streams. How did you know so many things?¡±


    ¡°Well, it was because I Love Gimbap talked a lot about these things every week. He was such an explanatory person.¡±


    She nodded her head as if she knew. ¡°From what I read in the awakened community, he was indeed that kind of person.¡±


    It¡¯s a bit embarrassing for me to hear about it directly like this. My heart felt complicated. By the way, I had to go before the reinforced zombies spawned near here. I put the sleeping Dingo on top of the backpack and said my farewell to Sooyeon.


    She returned my farewell and waved her hand with a sad expression when I walked away from the door.


    .


    .


    .


    These days, Kwon Kyung-joon has been living the best time of his life. Even though the apocalypse had come, he had never felt his life was in danger. After all, with a sturdy bunker, more than three years¡¯ worth of stockpiles, and 14 subordinates serving under him, there¡¯s almost nothing that can threaten him right now. Although at first, there was a slight problem because he decided to take three unawakened women just for his amusement, it was no longer a problem since they had also awakened too.


    But then, a bigger problem arose. The points earned by his subordinates didn¡¯t come to him. So, his points count was a little bit on the low side. Running away and helping others to earn points wasn¡¯t to his taste. With so many things to do, why did he have to do that shit? Using a bow to hunt was also not his cup of tea. It simply takes too much effort from pulling the string to aiming. And yet it only could kill one zombie per several shots.


    Then, one day, one of his men had a good offer.


    -Boss, why don¡¯t you use a molotov cocktail to hunt? One of our guys can make it.


    -That¡¯s a good idea! Do it.


    However, after using it to hunt several times, he realized that it was a weapon that eats a lot of supplies to make. In other words, a resource heavy weapon. Then, Kyung-joon thought of gasoline and chemicals that were stockpiled in the nearby time shelter. As it was prepared by the government, the amount of supplies would be staggering.


    If he could get that¡­


    -We need to open the Auction House as soon as possible.


    Kyung-joon immediately communicated his intentions to all groups of survivors around the time shelter. Let¡¯s open the shelter together. It¡¯s possible to do it with our combined strength. But they refused his offer. And Kyung-joon didn¡¯t take that refusal well.


    In anger, he thought of a good way to proceed.


    -The method father used when he first built the golf course¡­


    Creating an ugly incident around the area to let others walk away on their own feet. At the same time, he knew the perfect way to do it. It was to turn one of his brainwashed subordinates into a murderer. It was not a perfect plan by any means, since when a murderer was around, the nearby survivors, including his other subordinates, would be forced to participate in the deathmatch against them. And in case the murderer was defeated by someone from the other groups, the murderer¡¯s killer would get a lot of things. However, he felt that the risk was still something he could handle.


    The more Kwon Kyung-joon reviewed the plan, the more he loved it.


    However,


    -That bastard¡­


    He suddenly remembered about the guy who pretended to be Rabbit Pwincess and ran away. If he had only escaped quietly, he would¡¯ve been able to quell his anger, but because that shitty bastard used paralyzing poison to knock him down and took his pistol and smartphone, Kyung-joon swore he would kill the guy next time they met.


    Just where did that bastard get the goblin¡¯s paralyzing poison from? That guy didn¡¯t dare to fight head-on, so it looks like his unique ability isn¡¯t suited for combat. Once he remembered his sorry state, lying on the bathroom floor because of the paralyzing poison, his anger flared once again.


    -Once I meet you, I will beat you up to death.


    Kyung-Joon¡¯s plan proceeded smoothly, and the survivor groups, who had rejected his proposal, are starting to run away from the area. Now, he only had to wait until his men broke through the time shelter¡¯s barrier. The door of the shelter was tightly protected by a composite plastic and some unknown materials. It was clear just how much the government wanted to keep this place tightly sealed.


    But,


    ¡°If they say it can be opened in one year time, it means there should be a key somewhere. Find it quickly.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Kyung-joon was sure. If it would only open after a year, it also means it could be opened now. If he didn¡¯t find any key or whatever he needed to open the door, he could just simply set a fire and melt the door. Any survivor who dares to disturb him will be dealt with by his subordinate-turned-murderer. But Kyung-joon didn¡¯t know. Before the game¡¯s service was terminated, there¡¯s a patch about murderers. A murderer who commits more than a certain amount of murder would gain a special ability.


    When about a dozen people gathered in the shelter, Seongho was hiding in a nearby building while looking at the patch notes he wrote on his note.


    ¡°Special skill as well as stats¡­ Isn¡¯t that too much?¡± Seongho facepalmed. According to the patch contents, a murderer would become more and more powerful as they continued to kill more and more people. They were already strong even without the patch, but with the patch, their strength would be enhanced further.


    ¡°First, let¡¯s see what the special ability is.¡± Seongho¡¯s eyes traced every word written on the particular page about the patch. Meanwhile, a loud ominous heartbeat sound was ringing in his ear.


    Thump, thump!


    It was a sign indicating that a murderer was nearby. It sounds terrifying for anyone who heard it for the first time, but not for Seongho.


    Afterall, he was used to it.

 Chapter 44

    < Survivor and Murderer (3) >


    All stagnant waters, including me, had always secretly wished for a deathmatch against a murderer. It was stemming from the fact that in addition to a large number of points one will get from defeating them, there¡¯s also a chance that one would acquire special skills that only murderers would have once we defeat them.


    The skill all stagnant waters wanted was undoubtedly ¡®Friendliness¡¯. A wonderful skill which would prevent all monsters from being hostile to its user. However, it was quite difficult to actually get it because the condition to get it was to keep killing other users.


    ¡°Though, there¡¯s someone who did it for a year straight.¡± And when the stagnant waters hunted them down and was lucky enough to get the Friendliness skill, they would use it to do a cossack dance amongst the zombies. That¡¯s the only useful thing the skill can give us, after all.


    However, as Survival Life didn¡¯t have many users, naturally the number of murderers were also low. So whenever one appeared, all four of us would come to them and fight them in hope of getting the ¡®Friendliness¡¯ skill.


    However, we also made an agreement that if the murderer was talented enough, we wouldn¡¯t hunt them. After all, someone like that was rare and exotic, like an endangered species. And endangered species need to be preserved.


    ¡°By the way, where¡¯s this guy¡­¡± I walked around the mall and listened to the heartbeat sound. As the sound would get louder the closer you are to them, it was something that can be used to track the location of the murderer. Only for the ones who were brave enough, though.


    After several more minutes sweeping through the building, with a thump, the zombies outside the mall started to gather, creating a wall of living rotten flesh. It was the sign that the deathmatch event had been activated. Which means, aside from the murderer and me, there are 2 other survivors around here since the deathmatch event wouldn¡¯t be triggered unless there¡¯s more than 3 users around the vicinity of the murderer.


    ¡°Since the murderer is Kwon¡¯s subordinate, the event wouldn¡¯t be triggered by someone from his camp.¡± I continued my sweep with Dingo in tow. And at one moment, a familiar presence creeped into my senses from the floor below. I checked it by looking below through the railings, and what I saw was indeed Sooyeon. However, she was not alone, as there¡¯s a man next to her.


    For a moment, I thought that the man was some kind of stalker. However, when both of them started to talk, I realized it wasn¡¯t the case.


    Unlike her usual calm and cool demeanour, the current Sooyeon looks angry as she starts shouting towards the man while both of them are climbing to the second floor.


    Is it perhaps a lover¡¯s quarrel?


    I quickly opened the portal and hid inside with Dingo.


    ¡°Sooyeon, hey, Sooyeon!¡± The man who chased after her urgently grabbed Sooyeon¡¯s shoulder as soon as I crossed the portal.


    ¡°Why are you doing this?¡± Sooyeon said while brushing his grip away. A hint of frustration was apparent in her voice.


    ¡°Wait, please calm down and let¡¯s talk. We can¡¯t have a conversation If you keep being angry like this.¡±


    ¡°You know there is a murderer around us right now, right? Do we really have to do this now?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that¡­¡± The man pleaded.


    After listening to their argument. I realized that it wasn¡¯t a lover¡¯s quarrel. It seems that the man was one of the three Sooyeon mentioned a few days ago. And just like how Sooyeon described them, the man didn¡¯t feel reliable at all. His physique was quite small and thin. Since even after awakening he still has that kind of body, I doubt his unique ability is a combat-related one.


    Sooyeon crossed her arms and said. ¡°Really! Tell me, what do you want?!¡±


    ¡°I just hope that the relationship between me and Sooyeon will develop further. I will take responsibility for you.¡±


    At his words, a chuckle leaked out from my mouth. It was funny and outrageous to say that kind of thing in this apocalyptic world. Even the purest person on Earth would know what a man wants from a woman in this kind of world.


    ¡°It¡¯s not all you want, isn¡¯t it? You¡¯re just saying something like that, hoping I will bite it so you can put me on your bed.¡± Sooyeon said with a smirk.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about the other two, but I harbour no such feelings.¡±


    ¡°Then, answer this. Why are you following me like this? And why are you screaming in front of my house that day?¡±


    It seems that the man was the reason why Sooyeon acted cautious when I knocked on her door when I visited her. And to think he even followed Sooyeon around to this kind of place, he was really brave, or maybe foolish. Love is truly blinding.


    As the man fumbled on his words, probably trying to make some excuses, Sooyeon spitted another barrage of words. ¡°What are you going to do by following me all the way here? If a murderer appears, can you handle them? Why do you keep saying sweet things when you can¡¯t even do anything?¡±


    ¡°Sooyeon¡­¡±


    ¡°People need to match each other well to date, isn¡¯t that right, Dingo?¡± The guy didn¡¯t even show any reaction to my words. He just yawned while laying on the ground.


    Anyway, should I intervene right now or just protect Sooyeon from the dark? Judging by the man¡¯s actions, he didn¡¯t seem to be a man who would give up easily. Although there¡¯s no special connection between me and Sooyeon, I wanted to at least take care of her so that she didn¡¯t die.


    She¡¯s someone who had cleared the tutorial, had a quite good unique ability, had a strong will to survive, and was kind to me. Those reasons were enough for me to protect her.


    Sooyeon interrupted the man¡¯s words before quickly turning around and walking away. The moment the man tried to chase her again, Sooyeon¡¯s steps came to a halt.


    ¡°Huh? Wha¡­what?¡± Sooyeon¡¯s expression hardened. The man also lost all his words as he looked at the zombie wall in the distance. ¡°It¡¯s a deathmatch event¡­¡±


    Anyone who entered the event always had the same expression as them. I quickly took a peek at the vicinity of the portal and returned to the mall after confirming there¡¯s no one around. As soon as my body crossed through the portal, a loud thump of heartbeat entered my ears. It was loud, as if I was listening to a heartbeat using a stethoscope. It¡¯s proof that the murderer was very close to my location.


    I checked my whole equipment for one last time. Even if there¡¯s no corrosive disease, guns wouldn¡¯t be useful to kill a murderer. After all, their health regeneration and durability were off the charts, so one or two bullets wouldn¡¯t be enough to kill them. But just because a deathmatch event must be triggered if there¡¯s 3 people or more around the murderer, there¡¯s no rule that states all of the survivors need to team up in order to kill the murderer.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, Kwon?¡±


    .


    .


    .


    Murderer would chase the survivors. While the survivors must avoid the zombie wall and escape from the killer. This was how the deathmatch event works. It would only end when one of the two camps were obliterated. But, what if the survivors keep running away from the murderer, avoiding a fight? The chase would continue, until at one point, where the zombie wall finally blocks all kinds of escape routes the survivors can use, forcing them to fight against the murderer, while the murderer will be plunged into a state called ¡®Enraged¡¯. Murderers in this state were really strong, so strong even stagnant waters would find it difficult to fight against them.


    ¡°There was a time when we met a murderer who was strong enough to tore a werewolf to death barehanded.¡± I put the flame can and rope in my backpack as I reminiscences the past before returning to the mall again. This time, the heartbeat had become much louder than earlier, but the murderer still couldn¡¯t be seen anywhere.


    ¡°Are they within 50m?¡± If it is so, staying in one place would only make me a sitting duck, so I would have to move around. Then, once I met the murderer, it would be better to stop their movement using the glowstone and run away.


    While I was moving around the mall carefully, I finally met Sooyeon and the man directly.


    ¡°Mr. Seongho!¡±


    ¡°Shhhhh. Can you hear that?¡±


    ¡°Yes Yes.¡± Her head moved up and down as she answered. Meanwhile, the man next to her looked at me with a very ambiguous expression plastered on his face. He probably thought something like ¡®Who is this bastard?¡¯. But well, it¡¯s not like he is directly harming me so I don¡¯t have to confront him about it.


    ¡°It¡¯s the murderer. They are very close. They may have already found us. If you don¡¯t want to die, run away now!¡± As Sooyeon was a wise woman, she nodded her head without saying yes or questioned my words and started to dash away.


    However, as it turns out, we are late. From the stairs at the end of the hallway, a man walked casually towards us. He was wearing black suit just like Kwon and his subordinates back when they tried to capture me. His build wasn¡¯t that big, but because of the pressure he emanated, he looked like a giant. His face was expressionless while his right hand was gripping a blood-stained knife.


    Is that a ceramic knife? I clicked my tongue. As I was looking at him, Sooyeon, whose face turned whiter and whiter with every passing second, stuttered in a very low voice.


    ¡°He¡­he¡¯s here.¡±


    Thump-!! Thump-!!


    The heartbeat became even louder as he stepped closer and closer. If the one from earlier felt like listening through a stethoscope, the current one felt as if the heartbeat was being amplified by a large concert speaker. At the same time, the murderer¡¯s eyes glowed red. It was a murderer¡¯s bread and butter skill, Life Tracking. With that skill activated, hiding in the portal wouldn¡¯t help much.


    I tapped Sooyeon¡¯s shoulder as she stepped backwards. ¡°Sooyeon, follow me. Hopefully we will be able to survive this.¡±


    ¡°O¡­okay, I¡¯ll just run, so please save me.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t promise you that.¡± I said to Sooyeon while ignoring the man. ¡°Run, now!!!¡±


    We went up the stairs at once. However, suddenly, zombies from all directions gathered and formed a wall in front of us. It was much thicker than the one from the tutorial, so it was virtually impossible to break through it. But in a building like this, there¡¯s exactly one way to get through. It was something which most users didn¡¯t know. Even MyDream wouldn¡¯t know about it.


    As I ran, I glanced behind me to see the man and the murderer. I took the brightest glowstone I had prepared beforehand and threw it towards the murderer.


    ¡°Keaaaakkkkkk.¡± The murderer screamed in pain and rubbed his eyes. It wouldn¡¯t be able to move for at least a few seconds


    Looking at that, Sooyeon said admiringly. ¡°How did you know about that trick?¡±


    ¡°I learned it from the internet. Looks like I found a real information from there for once.¡± I said as we kept running away. However, I felt the man following me suddenly stop. Was he perhaps trying to imitate my action? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s doing it because he wants to look cool in front of Sooyeonl.


    He rummaged through his backpack, pulled out his glowstone, and threw it towards the murderer. Just like what I did a few moments earlier.


    However, instead of stopping like before, the murderer staggered towards him.


    ¡°Uh? Hey, why did it not work?¡± The man said in panic.


    I guess he didn¡¯t know that the attack would only work once every few minutes. Oh well¡­


    Thump-!! Thump-!!


    The murderer¡¯s steps accelerated. It seems like he is already entering the ¡®Enraged¡¯ state, albeit not yet fully. He didn¡¯t even run, maybe just power walking. Nevertheless, he was still quite fast, so if someone stumbled, it would be the end of them.


    The man did not know what to do and started running again. Meanwhile, Sooyeon kept looking back with worried expression.


    I warned her. ¡°Don¡¯t look back. Just run!¡±


    ¡°O¡­okay!¡±


    Running while looking behind was only possible if someone had something like Terrain Detection skill. Anyway, looking at the situation, the man wouldn¡¯t survive much longer. Every single one of the murderer¡¯s attacks was deadly. I didn¡¯t have any doubt that the man might die in just one hit.


    Once he died, the murderer would fully focus on both Sooyeon and me. If I want to save Sooyeon, we have to break through the wall of the zombies.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Ah¡­ Sa-save me, save me!¡±


    The man reached out his hand towards me. It was an earnest gesture that contained the will to survive. But it was too late. The murderer was already one swing away from him. In the blink of an eye, the killer swung his arm. The man could not resist and his body was pierced by the murderer¡¯s knife.


    ¡°AHHHHHHHH!¡± The man screamed for one last time before dropping to the floor, lifeless. Without sparing any glance to his newest prey, the murderer¡¯s reddened gaze turned towards us.


    You are itching to kill us, huh? Just wait a little bit longer.


    .


    .


    .


    Rabbit Pwincess, or Seokhyun, thought about going to Busan, but for some reason he couldn¡¯t find the way at all since all road signs were destroyed by the corrosive disease. He knew that he could just run through the highway to do it because he would be able to know the area name through one way or another. But he lacked patience, as he only wanted to run in the right direction from the start.


    After much deliberation, he decided to join a group of survivors to get the info he wanted. However, his definition of joining was different from normal people. He simply appeared in front of the said group and started talking. Afterall, real men didn¡¯t need permission from others.


    When Seokhyun appeared, the survivors did their best to drive him out, but after realizing the difference in power between them, they surrendered.


    ¡°Ta¡­take whatever you want! But please spare my life!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need your life. Just tell me the way to Busan.¡±


    The leader¡¯s expression changed strangely at Seokhyun¡¯s words. In his mind, he thought, what is wrong with this bastard?


    ¡°Do you know or not? Do you want me to beat you up until you know?¡±


    ¡°So, uh¡­ are you really asking about the direction to Busan?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± The leader of the group was confused beyond belief. But simultaneously he felt a desire to take revenge on the man in front of him. He wanted to screw him out by pointing in the wrong direction, but his mind was able to put a stop on that stupid plan, afraid of his revenge. Who knows what a man with a perverted outfit like him would do if someone angered him.


    The leader pointed in the direction of Busan. On top of it, he also told Seokhyun that if he runs along the Gyeongbu Line from Yongsan Station, he could go straight to Busan.


    ¡°Gyeongbu Line? Okay, thank you.¡±


    Seokhyun rummaged through his backpack and threw one of his items towards the leader. He then left the hideout and started to run.


    The other survivors, who had been beaten up by Seokhyun, rose to their feet and asked the leader.


    ¡°What did you tell him just now?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s how to get to Busan through Yongsan Station.¡±


    ¡°But why is that bastard running in the opposite direction?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    Meanwhile, Seokhyun ran as fast as he could. This time he felt outrageously light as he knew he was on the correct path. Although it will take some time to get to Busan, he had no doubt that he would be able to endure it. After all, he¡¯s going to meet his friend!


    ¡°I am gooooooooinggggg!¡± Seokhyun shouted, attracting all the zombies around him. After arriving at the place he thought to be Yongsan Station, Seokhyun ran along the railroad tracks. Every time a zombie appears in his path, he would smash them. He only rested once when he arrived at the next station.


    Due to his high level, reinforced zombies would also appear along with the normal one, but it did not hinder his progress at all. Every night, when the zombies were asleep, he ran. And when morning came, he stopped and slept before running again once he woke up. And after a few days, he finally arrived in a rather big city.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think this is Busan¡­ Ah¡­ This is Pyeongtaek!¡± Seokhyun nodded his head in satisfaction. Never had he thought that he was in the wrong place. But after walking away from the station, he felt something was odd. From what he knew, the area around Pyeongtaek Station was normally quite jam-packed by people. But, right now, he couldn¡¯t see any zombies around.


    And when he crossed the road, he was surprised. After all, there was a large lake right in front of it. At that moment, Seokhyun decided to walk the opposite way from the lake. After wandering frantically, Seokhyun found out that this city was Chuncheon, not Pyeongtaek. He should have ran along the Gyeongbu Line, while in reality, he had ran along the Gyeongchun Line.


    ¡°DAAAAMMIITTTTTTT.¡± Seokhyun roared. He was crestfallen and had lost all of his motivation. Meanwhile, a lot of zombies rushed towards him because of his roar. However, Seokhyun didn¡¯t do anything to them, he just crouched down while hugging his knees. A sob could be heard every now and then amidst the growl of the zombies.


    However, even though numerous zombies were clawing, punching and biting at him, no wounds could be seen on his body. It was simply because his skin and muscles had become too thick for a mere zombie to inflict damage upon.


    After a while, Seokhyun rose to his feet and walked into the city centre. Behind him, a horde of zombies follow suit. The survivors who were hiding were frightened at the display. All of them thought that it was a horde led by a reinforced zombie which only wore a panty underneath its rag-like coat.


    ¡°Seeeeeeeexxxxxxxx!¡± As the reinforced zombie roared, one survivor grabbed his head and desperately forced his hand to write in his diary.


    -After a few weeks, a zombie which didn¡¯t growl but screamed ¡®sex¡¯ appeared. Has he turned into a zombie while bearing a grudge for sex? In the future, they may even pretend to be human¡­ I will call them New Humans. I am leaving this record as a person from the last generation¡­ Hopefully future generations will discover it¡­

 Chapter 45

    Sooyeon and I successfully escaped to the third floor of the mall. However, even at this moment, we still hear the sound of a thumping heartbeat echoed in our ears. I looked out through the broken window to check at the zombies swarming below. Wow, a lot of those guys had come.


    ¡°Seongho, wh¡­ what are you looking at?¡± Sooyeon asked while stuttering a bit, probably because of her rough breathing.


    ¡°Look over there. A lot of zombies had come for us.¡±


    ¡°Oh my god!!¡± Her eyes instantly went round as soon as she saw the pack of zombies below. It was a natural reaction since the zombie wall at the tutorial wasn¡¯t as big as this. The zombies found us and growled, but they didn¡¯t approach us. It was because some kind of power was holding them back.


    I tapped Sooyeon at her shoulder. ¡°Sooyeon, are you a fast runner?¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯m a little faster than normal people. Why are you asking?¡±


    ¡°Good. From now on, all we have to do is run away. But, once the murderer¡¯s eyes turn completely red, you have to break through the zombie wall at once.¡±


    ¡°Is that even possible? Look at them, they look impenetrable.¡± She said as she cast a skeptical look at me. It was a fair concern. They indeed look impenetrable.. However, not in the current situation. Inside a building like this, there¡¯s a gap we could take advantage of in order to run away.


    Thump-!! Thump-!!


    The heartbeat becomes louder once again. Sooyeon quickly moved her hand to her mouth and muffled her own voice. I took one of her hands and ran away towards the first floor before entering the bathroom to hide. Our location wouldn¡¯t be left unexposed for long. Just like us, who could roughly guess where the murderer is, he could also detect us with his skill. But nevertheless, there is still some time left before he comes.


    I said hastily. ¡°Earlier, on the 3rd floor, did you see the building which was connected to this building by an overpass?¡±


    ¡°Ah, that building? Yes, I see it.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ Go there. Once the murderer¡¯s eyes turn red, and the zombie wall shrinks, a gap will be opened. Use that timing to climb down to the road with a rope, okay?¡±


    ¡°When the zombie wall shrinks? Okay.¡± Sooyeon nodded.


    The reason I asked her to do so was because, aside from the time when the zombie wall was shrinking, the vision of the murderer was akin to an infrared vision. Therefore, it was impossible to escape or hide from them.


    Sooyeon rolled her eyes and asked. ¡°But¡­ Do you have a rope?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have it.¡± I said as I took a bundle of rope from my backpack and put it in her hand. ¡°I will lure the murderer to buy you some time. When that happens, Miss Sooyeon has to tie the rope to a strong base, and observe the zombie wall. Try to find a gap among them.¡±


    ¡°I understand, I will do so.¡± It¡¯s very convenient because she didn¡¯t ask any questions and decided to just do what I told her to. The moment I was about to stand up, goosebumps grew all over my body as the sound of heartbeat echoed. Moments later, the murderer broke through the bathroom wall and went inside. 3 minutes and 50 seconds had passed since I blinded his eyes earlier. I could only use the same trick once again after 10 seconds.


    ¡°Sooyeon! Run!¡± I shouted out.


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    The moment she ran out, the murderer¡¯s eyes gleamed red. I pulled a shield I stored in the dimensional slot and lifted it. I could kill him here, but if I do so, Kwon would be upset.


    Clang! Tang!


    The murderer walked over to me and brandished his knife into me. I followed his movement and put the shield between me and his attack. I successfully blocked it, but everytime it hit, I could feel a rather strong impact pushing me back. It looked like If I did it wrongly, my bone will be dislocated.


    His attack was simple, devoid of any fancy technique. But the power behind it was not at the level where normal humans could withstand. I rubbed my wrists and stepped back. The moment he approached, I threw another glowstone towards his gleaming eyes.


    ¡°Keaaakkk.¡± His reaction was weaker than earlier. It couldn¡¯t be helped since this method could only be done three times to a murderer in a deathmatch event. The stun time was also reduced with every instance.


    I ran and counted in my head. Now, I had no choice but to hold on until Sooyeon tied the rope. Meanwhile, the zombies outside looked at me and growled. They already moved closer than earlier. In a while, there will be nowhere for me to run to. The murderer¡¯s footsteps behind me began to accelerate. At the same time, the heartbeat started to become even louder and frantic.


    A little more, a little more¡­


    And when I went up to the second floor, Sooyeon¡¯s voice greets me,


    ¡°Mr. Seongho! There are zombies down there!¡±


    ¡°Tell me when the zombies are gone!¡± The timing of the moment when the zombie wall moved closer and the moment when the killer¡¯s Enraged state was at its peak had to match perfectly.


    I continued to play chase with the murderer. Though, no matter how much I ran, it was hard to lose him. His speed in the Enraged state was much faster than normal, equal to the speed at which I was running. On top of it, the narrowing zombie wall as well as the murderer¡¯s infrared sight make things even more difficult. I¡¯m glad his infrared sight skill has a cooldown. if it could be used continuously, like Mikyung¡¯s blink, it would have been a disaster.


    ¡°Kuaaahkkkk!¡± Suddenly the murderer fell to his knees in pain. A bright red light passed through the opening of his hands which covered his head. It¡¯s finally starting.


    Sooyeon shouted hastily from above. ¡°Mr. Seongho! The zombies¡­!¡±


    ¡°Climb down as soon as they disappear!¡± I answered and changed my gloves. If I use the Dex +2 gloves when climbing down the rope, it will undoubtedly become tattered. Before I get a stronger item to replace it, I need to take good care of it as much as I can.


    Finally, the heartbeat echoed once again. This time it was not frantic, it was on-beat.


    Thump-!! Thump-!! Thump-!!


    I immediately went up to the third floor. But the murderer was already waiting for me in front of the overpass. Did he pierced through the ceiling?


    By the way, Sooyeon is probably already going down by now. I don¡¯t have to fight him directly anymore. In front of the approaching murderer, I opened the portal and went in. The murderer promptly stopped. He must be thinking about my whereabouts now.


    Eat this.


    Bang!!! Bang!!!


    The Tokarev spewed fire as soon as I squeezed the trigger. The murderer gripped his face which was hit by the bullets


    ¡°AGGHHHHHHH!¡±


    He won¡¯t die because of it, but he shouldn¡¯t be able to move for at least 10 seconds. I ran out of the portal and hit him in the neck with my ebony stick. His body rocked before crumbling to the ground once my hit connected. As I passed by the overpass, I saw zombies had completely surrounded the building. If so, it means that there were no zombies under the building where Sooyeon came down from. I kept running, then immediately went down using the rope.


    As soon as I arrived at the ground, Sooyeon opened her eyes and looked at me. ¡°Mr Seongho, how did you do that? I know you¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s keep the question for later and run first. It¡¯s not over yet.¡±


    She shut her mouth and ran ahead. From our back, I could hear zombies screaming loudly. As the last zombie wall disappeared, another one was forming. At the same time, all of the negative effects on the murderer will disappear.


    Kwon, you must be in front of the time shelter right now, right?


    I¡¯m on my way, so sit tight.


    .


    .


    .


    I ran out with Sooyeon while pulling out a firecracker from my backpack.


    ¡°Go into the alley on the right! Never look back!¡± I shouted to Sooyeon.


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Both of us were very tired from the chase under the hot weather. But it was simply impossible to stop since the murderer was behind us. And then, with the sound of a thumping heartbeat, the deathmatch event was triggered once again.


    Realizing the situation, Kwon and his subordinates, who were at the entrance of the time shelter, jumped to their feet.


    ¡°What, what? How did you get out?¡± Kwon said as he looked at me. Without answering, I lit the firecracker wick and threw it at them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look back!¡±


    Papapang!


    Because sodium was mixed in the mixture, a yellow flame bloomed fiercely. It was impossible to look beyond it for a second as it was too bright.


    ¡°Ahh!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t see!¡±


    I can¡¯t see in front either, but I didn¡¯t think too much of it as it exploded closer to where Kwon and his cronies were than where I was. I ran towards the alleyway where Sooyeon went into. From behind, Kwon was saying something, but I couldn¡¯t hear it clearly.


    And then.


    Thump-!!


    With the deathmatch event triggered once again, all harmful effects on him were removed and he¡¯s reborn. Of course, Kwon¡¯s brainwashing is also released. As I hid behind Sooyeon and the building, I heard the killer approaching.


    ¡°Hey, just stand there. You bastard can¡¯t even do your job proper- Hey, can¡¯t you hear me? Stay there!¡± Kwon tried to control the murderer. It seems like he thinks the murderer is still under his control. I went up to the second floor of another building with Sooyeon. The messy entrance of the underground parking lot was there for us to see.


    ¡°Stop there! Hey bastard! Stop!


    ¡°The arrow doesn¡¯t work!¡±


    ¡°Ouch! That bastard tried to attack me!¡±


    The sound of Kwon¡¯s subordinates being hacked to pieces by the murderer could be heard. If they didn¡¯t use their molotov cocktail, they would have a hard time fighting him. Kwon seemed to think so too, so he shouted.


    ¡°What are you doing? We have a molotov cocktail left. Throw it!¡±


    When someone threw a molotov cocktail, the asphalt caught fire.


    ¡°AGHHHHH!¡± The murderer was instantly engulfed in flames and shouted in pain. Nevertheless, he didn¡¯t stop attacking. Two people have already died, falling victim to the murderer¡¯s emotionless knife. Now, only Kwon and his two men left.


    The three of them ran into the same alley where both me and Sooyeon went into earlier, it seems like they were tired fighting against the murderer even though he was engulfed in fire.


    Are you planning to join the rest of your subordinates?


    I whispered to Sooyeon, ¡°Watch out for anyone coming. The rest of his men will come.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± She turned and nodded her head.


    I notched an arrow to my bow and aimed it towards Kwon who was running. Unfortunately, when I let it loose, the arrow didn¡¯t find its target. Kwon then looked at me.


    ¡°You bastard, I don¡¯t know who you are but-¡°


    Without being able to finish his words, Kwon¡¯s body wobbled. He hit debris scattered on the road. In this ruined world, one always had to check for obstacles wherever they were going. I fired arrows one after another, but nothing hit the target. I found it extremely difficult to hit moving targets.


    Then, Sooyeon whispered urgently from behind. ¡°I think his subordinates are coming.¡±


    Shit, they came earlier than I thought. At the same time as my thoughts, a hail of arrows flew over my head. I ducked down and hid behind the wall. Looking out through the broken window, Kwon had successfully joined his men. One of his men ran to the murderer. It seems like he was trying to run away using his subordinates as a shield. When the two met each other, his subordinate screamed and died instantly.


    I took a plastic flame can from my backpack and tossed it towards them with all my might. When it landed and exploded, the two were engulfed in flames in an instant. The murderer struggled, but since the fire was made to be sticky, it wouldn¡¯t come off. Then, I fired three arrows in succession at the murderer. When the last arrows dug deep to his body, The murderer¡¯s upper body twitched and he slowly fell to his knees, immobilized. It seems that the damage from the previous flame can was great. At that time, a message popped up in front of my eyes.


    ¡°This¡­¡± Kwon stared blankly at his subordinate who died together with the murderer.


    Do you have that much leeway?


    I also fired arrows at Kwon, but it didn¡¯t hit him as his remaining subordinates blocked it with their body. In retaliation, they shot arrows at me simultaneously. One of the arrows brushed my shoulder, leaving a stinging sensation.


    ¡°Keukk.¡± When I ducked down to take cover again, Kwon¡¯s furious voice echoed.


    ¡°You are that guy! I will definitely catch you and kill you!¡±


    I wrapped my arms around my shoulders to stop the bleeding. Sooyeon, who was hiding in the hallway, came out and covered my shoulder with her hand.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move. I will treat you.¡± A bright light emanated from her hand. I marveled at the sight. It was my first time seeing a healing unique ability. The bleeding stopped instantly and the open wound closed. As the light disappeared, she let go of her hand, looking a little sad.


    ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m still not good enough, so that¡¯s all I can do.¡±


    ¡°No, this is enough.¡± The wound wasn¡¯t completely healed, but the pain was already gone. When I listened to the sound outside, I could hear Kwon¡¯s terrified voice. It was only natural, now that the deathmatch event was finished, the zombie wall would crumble, and I wonder who will the zombies hunt? Of course, the group with the most people.


    ¡°Run, run!¡± I peeked out and watched them run with their tail between their legs.


    ¡°He has a lot of subordinates.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why the zombies rushed towards them. Let¡¯s run away too.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    If I use the guns here, I would be able to kill several of Kwon¡¯s men, but I decided to not do it. It was not worth the bullets. We went down to the first floor, lured zombies with firecrackers, and checked the entrance to the time shelter.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s still fine.¡± Even though it was a bit tattered because of all sorts of crazy things Kwon¡¯s men did to it, the door was still strong. Seems like more firepower was needed to open the door. A good information was acquired. Both of us walked away from the entrance and headed to Eden Villa.


    .


    .


    .


    Once we returned to Eden Villa, Sooyeon didn¡¯t ask me anything. She¡¯s a smart woman so there¡¯s no way she couldn¡¯t have analyzed what happened earlier. So, it seems like she decided not to ask, in consideration of me.


    She put an ointment on my wounds and wrapped it in bandages. Then, said. ¡°Now, what should I do, Mr Seongho? A lot of people have died¡­ I don¡¯t think I can live in this area anymore.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s indeed dangerous to have that guy around. Even though he still didn¡¯t know about this place, I think it will be better for Ms Sooyeon to move out.¡±


    ¡°To Mr Seongho¡¯s house?¡±


    ¡°No. That¡¯s not it. But around.¡±


    Sooyeon smiled and she sat down next to me. ¡°I think so too. It¡¯s annoying to have men living with me. And I also want to go with people I know well. Haha, how did this happen?¡±


    Well, the answer was probably because of the zombie apocalypse. I grabbed my backpack without saying a word.


    ¡°Are you leaving already?¡± She asked me.


    ¡°Yes. Even if you want to take a break, you should go home first.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s true¡­ Please wait a bit.¡± She went to one side of her room and returned with an umbrella stand full of carbon arrows. ¡°I have only this to give you. Thank you very much. If it wasn¡¯t for Seongho, I would be¡­¡±


    ¡°I wonder what will happen.¡± I said before she could finish her words.


    ¡°No. I knew very well what would happen. Earlier, I really didn¡¯t know what to do. After all, what you know in your head and reality are two different things.¡±


    ¡°The compensation for saving ms Sooyeon¡¯s life, I will receive it well¡± I put the arrow in my backpack.


    ¡°Mr Seongho, you are a person who has a lot of secrets. I personally guessed it, but I thought it would be better not to say anything.¡±


    ¡°To say it was a secret is a bit¡­ It¡¯s not even that great.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave it like that then. I thought if you decided to stay a little bit longer, I was going to serve you a meal¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can, Dingo is waiting at home.¡±


    ¡°Then you should leave quickly. To think he can be left alone at home, he¡¯s a truly smart dog.¡±


    ¡°Well, if he wasn¡¯t that smart, I won¡¯t take him in in this kind of apocalyptic world.¡± I nodded at her and walked towards the door.


    ¡°Be well, Mr Seongho¡­ Let¡¯s meet again later.¡± She waved her hand helplessly. She seems to be thinking about the dead man that she went with from her group.


    As soon as I left Eden Villa, I went into one of the buildings. When I opened the portal, Dingo quickly ran and jumped towards me. It seems like he was bored out of his mind waiting for me. If he¡¯s just a little bit bigger, I would¡¯ve brought him.


    I checked the message I ignored earlier.


    ¡°1 Level up and 200 points¡­¡± It wasn¡¯t quite what I expected, but it was still a good result. The skill I got by killing the murderer is Life Tracking. It was a skill which would give the user the ability to track the traces of any living being, if they managed to lock their eyes towards the target for more than a certain amount of time.


    ¡°Good for hunting and good for running away¡­¡± Anyway, it was a good skill which would give my survivability a big boost. It¡¯s a pity that an item didn¡¯t come out, but it can be supplemented through other ways.


    ¡°Auction House.¡± I closed my eyes shut as soon as I saw a panty being auctioned. Why did he put what he wore on the Auction House, seriously?


    As soon as I checked it, I was left speechless.


    ¡°What are you doing in North Korea? No, how did you even get there in the first place?¡± I couldn¡¯t imagine how did Rabbit Pwincess managed to go to North Korea. Is it because he found a labyrinth, wandered inside and ended up there?


    ¡°That¡¯s probably the case.¡± No matter how stupid someone is, there¡¯s no way that they will end up in North Korea by taking the wrong road, right?


    -Seeeexxxxx!! There¡¯re so many zombies here in North Korea!! But there¡¯s nothing to be eaten here, I¡¯m famished! Come here if you want to farm!


    Hmm¡­ I was tempted to do so for a moment, but I quickly close the Auction House while shaking the stupid thoughts away. Moreover, with his unique skill, it can be said that he¡¯s immortal, so even without me, he¡¯ll be fine.


    I took Dingo and returned to Earth. It¡¯s time to go home. Once I arrive, I¡¯ll try to buy a good item with the points I¡¯ve accumulated.

 Chapter 46

    Steam rose from the shaking lid of the kitchen set mounted on top of the brazier. Meanwhile, on one side of the brazier was Dingo, laying down without any care in the world. With the bubbling sound from inside the kitchen set as a cue, I slowly reduce the brazier¡¯s heat. Exactly 5 minutes later¡ªwhen a slight burnt smell tickled my nose¡ªI opened the lid.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ good.¡± I hummed with a smile as the glistening rice revealed itself. Even though there¡¯s a slight burn smell, the rice in the bottom was not burned at all. Dingo sniffed the smell and quickly jumped to his feet.


    ¡°This is not for you.¡± I pushed him away and poured dog food into his bowl first before adding up some chicken breast meat I stored in a vacuum-package. As soon as I finished preparing it, Dingo moved his snout to the bowl and devoured it.


    ¡°You are pretty big now.¡± I said as I patted the back of the guy. He¡¯s definitely getting bigger. Compared to the first time we met, he had grown around 1.5 times more. He¡¯s still cute, but now and then, I could see the appearance of the mother wolf from him. One day, I will take this guy to hunt a wild boar with me.


    ¡°Their meat must be delicious¡­¡± My mouth watered as I imagined their taste. Since they were wild animals, the meat would be pretty tough. But in this situation, any meat, regardless of their degree of tenderness, is always welcome.


    Should I set a trap in a place they often pass by? I fumbled through survival books and videos as I mixed the rice with side dishes. I need to do it soon because my meat stock is running low. Living with only fish meat was also an option. But fish is fish, and meat is meat. I wanted to eat real meat.


    ¡°Dingo needs to eat meat too.¡± Dogs and wolves were almost the same animal, so giving Dingo dog food was fine. However, in order for him to grow strong, this little guy needs to eat meat. And watching him chewing a piece of meat while holding it with his forelimbs somehow makes me happy too.


    ¡°I need to know their moving path first¡­¡± The prey I was looking for was a young wild boar, not an adult one. But since all of the herd would be covering their younglings while moving, it was hard to catch them. However, if a trap was installed, there¡¯s a chance I would be able to catch the young one.


    ¡°Actually, it will certainly be easier if I use the guns, but it would be such a waste.¡± Currently, I have 171 bullets in total. And as it was something which was hard to procure, I had to use it sparingly. it would be best if I only use it in case of emergency.


    I washed the dishes after I finished eating with a mix of brazier-warmed water and cold water. After shaving and brushing my teeth, the scruffy look I had earlier disappeared.


    ¡°I need to cut my hair a little shorter.¡± I said as I looked at myself in the mirror. I wanted to go to Mikyung to ask her to do it. However, the message I got from Yoohyeon yesterday stopped me. Through Yoohyeon¡¯s paper plane, he wrote,


    -Mr Seongho, thank you for always helping us. But now we will take care of our problems by ourselves, so I hope you will refrain from coming if possible.


    Then, I replied like this,


    -I understand.


    If it¡¯s making someone uncomfortable, then it is better not to do it. On top of it, from what Yoohyeon told me, there¡¯s a brewing tension between Hyung-jun Hyung and Kyunghoon. Although Hyung-jun hyung is the leader of the gym group, he was someone who didn¡¯t want to force others to adhere to his opinions. Taking advantage of that, Kyunghoon pulled Bora to his side and even tried to coax Yoohyeon.


    ¡°Now that he felt a bit safe, he quickly tried to take over the command over the group.¡± I chuckled. Yoohyeon also said that Hyung-jun Hyung and Kyunghoon often clashed on important matters. Compared to Hyung-jun Hyung who insists that survival is the most important thing, Kyunghoon insists that it would¡¯ve been better if they actively hunted zombies. If they asked my opinion, I would have said it would be better to share the roles, but I am an outsider. So, I don¡¯t have the right to say it.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s their problem to solve.¡± By the way, I want to see people who came to settle near the gym. According to Yoohyeon, there was no major movement from them as of right now, so I thought I should go scout them later on to determine whether they were a decent neighbour or not. When the last parts of those thoughts came to me, I chuckled. There is no such thing as a good neighbour in the apocalypse. It was either a friendly neighbour who has yet to turn into an enemy, or an outright enemy.


    ¡°I should have killed him¡­¡± No matter how much I thought about it, it was a pity that Kwon was still alive. The main reason for my inability to kill him was accuracy. Even though his subordinates were in the way, which could be said as one of the reasons too, in the end, if I had good accuracy, Kwon would be dead by now.


    So, what should I do to increase my accuracy?


    ¡°Of course practicing.¡± Or, work hard until I get an item with more Dexterity options. There were no items in the store to raise your stats, so that option was out of the table. The items users could wear was also limited to 5. So, even if someone wears 6 or more, it has no effect at all.


    I spent an hour practicing with the bow. Once I finished, I checked the bull pepper I planted in one corner of the vacant lot. It had become quite high.


    ¡°You grow incredibly fast, huh?¡± I smiled as I looked at Dingo who kept his distance from the plant. It seems like he¡¯s traumatized by it.


    ¡°Whoa¡­ tears are coming out.¡± I said as I lightly touched the bull pepper and sniffed it. Looking at the growth rate of the plant, it was clear that there was some kind of mystical power enveloping the forest.


    ¡°Will the growth rate apply to plants I planted too?¡± There¡¯s only one way to find out, which is by trying it. However, I can¡¯t do it now since there¡¯s one thing that cannot be delayed any longer. Which is, making kimchi. The cabbage I bought before D-Day was getting worse by the day. It¡¯s holding up just fine, but it seems like if I kept delaying it, I wouldn¡¯t be able to use it anymore.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it then.¡± I prepared the ingredients for kimchi and salted the cabbage. Then, I made the seasonings in a large basin and covered it with plastic.


    ¡°Now I have to wait a few hours.¡± To use the time wisely, let¡¯s not idle away but make a trap. I opened one of the videos and started to make it. The frame of the trap was made out of wood. But, as the caught prey would be flailing wildly, I had to put a stone underneath it.


    ¡°Will they really get caught with this?¡± If they don¡¯t get caught, I¡¯ll try making a spear trap next time. I made another trap before setting out to the forest with Dingo, searching for the trail of the wild boar pack. They have a habit of rubbing their backs against trees, so Dingo immediately sniffed them.


    Woof-!! Woof-!!


    ¡°Here? Okay. Dingo, you back off.¡± Because wild boars also have a good sense of smell, they would smell Dingo¡¯s odor if he is close to the trap when I made it. I put the trap frame on the tree and fixed a solar apple on the stick as bait. Because wild boars always feed their cubs  first, the ones that will be caught in the trap would be the young wild boars.


    ¡°Will the adults attack the tree in anger?¡± Well whatever, if this method fails, I just need to try a different method. After setting up another trap around the same area, Dingo suddenly growled. At the same time, I felt something approaching from the bushes. It¡¯s goblins. They were hiding in the bushes and advancing little by little.


    The situation that is happening right now was what made goblins a scary monster. They were smart enough to use the surrounding terrain to their advantage. But the stupid thing about goblins, is that they all believed that if they disguises themselves like that, they won¡¯t be caught no matter what. Therefore, goblins were completely powerless against the experienced while they¡¯re relatively powerful monsters for newbies.


    ¡°You must have been waiting.¡± It looks like they were hiding and planning to attack me when I came out. Seeing the three goblins crawling side by side somehow made me very annoyed. I pulled Tokarev and shot one of them. (E/N I thought you wanted to preserve the bullets¡­)


    Bang!


    The goblins froze in surprise. Dingo ran and barked loudly, and they began to retreat quickly. My Life Tracking skill was activated and their tracks were visible to my eyes. They were retreating not far away and stopped.


    ¡°Is there where you set your trap?¡± I smirked. Looking through the telescope, it was indeed a trap. It is probably one of those traps that will trigger a stake that will pierce the target, complete with paralysis poison smeared on top of it. Unfortunately for them, I¡¯m not stupid enough to play their game. Because it was a waste to use the Tokarev, I pulled my bow and used it to hunt them. Two arrows were what it takes to kill them. I would remove the body later, but now there¡¯s work to be done.


    I returned to the shelter and fully armed myself. At this point, it was better to just destroy their nest. I¡¯ve killed a few guys, so their numbers won¡¯t be the same as before. If I wait any longer, there¡¯s a chance their number will increase.


    ¡°There should be at most about 20 leftover goblins ¡­ the odds are good enough.¡± As I was in a position to attack, I thought It would be best to not spare any bullets. I pulled the weapon I bought from the Store from the scabbard and inspected it.


    ¡¸Orichalcon Long Knife: Permanent, Sharp¡¹


    Although it¡¯s called a knife, the length of the blade is close to 60 cm. It is single-edged but it has a very sharp edge. It¡¯s not as good as the ones made of Emeras, but it¡¯s easier to handle and repair. The price was 300 points, so it could be called a useful weapon worth its price.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to use it right now, but¡­¡± I need to familiarize myself with using it. I thought so while putting it back in the sheath and fastened it around my waist. After a few months, the time to use the swords that I had kept from before the apocalypse happens will come. Survival Life was a survival game, so it was only natural that most users used a bow as their main weapon. However, there are some monsters that can render ranged weapons useless because of their movement speed, such as werewolves, and they will force you to enter a close-quarter-combat with them. To counter them, you need to be able to use melee-only items and weapons.


    ¡°It¡¯s not bad to practice beforehand.¡± That¡¯s why I bought the arming sword from a foreign armory site. There are many different types of monsters, so you can¡¯t deal with them with just one or two kinds of weapons.


    ¡°300 points is a bit of a waste, but¡­¡± With the Auction House open, earning points will be easy for me, who have this whole forest for my own use. Everyone¡¯s identity was anonymous in the Auction House, so I wouldn¡¯t have to be worried of being caught. Of course, this plan was for the future, when other survivors unlock the Auction House.


    Dingo then barked loudly as if telling me to get out quickly.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah let¡¯s go.¡±


    .


    .


    .


    Reconnaissance is a must when attacking the enemy¡¯s shelter or nest. I had checked the goblin¡¯s nest a while ago, but I still use my drone again now because I didn¡¯t know the current situation of the nest. Information from the past is useless after all.


    ¡°How many guys are there I wonder¡­¡± Usually, in the daytime, only about 30-40% of the total number of goblins remained in their nest. The rest were outside, digging traps and hunting. In that case, I would only need to kill about 10 or so.


    ¡°After that, I would be in the position of the defender, and not the attacker¡­.¡± or to be exact, I¡¯ll be a camper. I didn¡¯t want to go into that messy nest if possible. The correct way to win was to wait outside, and then shoot them one by one. At that moment, I remembered Kwon¡¯s bunker. Somehow, I feel like his bunker is similar to a goblin¡¯s nest.


    ¡°Then, is Kwon the hobgoblin? his girls should be golden goblins then.¡± I chuckled. They might not be carrying a real pocket, but since they were always by Kwon¡¯s side, the image fits. By the way, he had lost three subordinates this time, so he¡¯ll be quiet for the time being.


    ¡°The best way to kill them was to hide inside the portal in front of their bunker and shoot them as they came out.¡± But it will undoubtedly leave a hole in the bunker. On top of that, it would be hard for me to keep camping there.


    ¡°If I hold on, I will be in trouble.¡± The other way was to get a strong tank and push in¡­ I thought of Rabbit Pwincess as I thought about it but quickly shook my head. It¡¯s unlikely since it seemed that it would take at least a year for him to get here.


    ¡°I can go there to meet him, but¡­¡± The sight of a bearded man in his thirties wearing only panties running up to me made me shudder. Let¡¯s just pretend he didn¡¯t exist. When I unloaded my drone, I found the scarabs underneath me. (E/N Suddenly, scarabs.)


    ¡°You scared me! I almost stepped on you.¡± All of them were pointing north with their front legs. It seems like they were saying ¡®It¡¯s them!¡¯.


    ¡°I know. But first, let¡¯s do some scouting.¡± I flew the drone and connected it to my laptop. With my permission, the scarabs climbed onto the backpack and looked at the laptop screen.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± it looks like they¡¯re nodding their heads as they¡¯re pointing their front legs around the screen. It seemed like they understood the videos. Anyway, the reconnaissance in the sky continued smoothly. I didn¡¯t even tell him to do it, but the Scarab Captain told me his and his group¡¯s opinions.


    ¡°There are 9 in the nest and there are 12 outside, hunting and gathering?¡± The scarabs nodded at my question. Their number was roughly in line with my prediction. In other words, if I kill all of the 21 goblins now, this area will be quiet for a while. Then it¡¯s worth a try. The scarabs also drew some fat bird-looking creatures which confused me greatly. Is it possible that goblins are raising animals?


    ¡°Hmm¡­ goblins were breeding these birds.¡± I¡¯ll check that later, but here¡¯s my plan. Dingo will pull the aggro from some goblins from the east while I will hit them from the west. There were a lot of enemies, so I want to divide them into as many groups as possible. There was enough equipment, so I didn¡¯t think it was dangerous at all. But there is one important thing here. There were always a lot of traps around the goblin¡¯s nest, so I needed to figure them out in advance. Thankfully, I have the perfect way to do it.


    ¡°You have to go around the nest and find their traps. Once you do, mark them with this. Can you guys do it?¡± I held out a white marker to the scarabs.


    The guys gathered for a while to have a meeting and then nodded their heads. When I handed them the marker, some scarabs caught it and the Scarab Captain opened the lid.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s how you use it. Close it when you¡¯re not using it.¡± I didn¡¯t say my thoughts out loud, but seeing what they were capable of doing, they seemed smarter than me. They quickly move out while carrying the marker. Meanwhile, I checked all of my weapons and waited for them.


    When I opened the Auction House, I couldn¡¯t see RaPwi¡¯s post, but there were a few people inside. They auctioned some items, probably trying to figure out who¡¯s in the Auction House aside from them. Since RaPwi had retracted his panties post, their items were the only items on the Auction House. When I checked their items, I could see from the comments that the three were delighted because they thought they were the first. And from their conversation, I could get a rough idea of ??who they were.


    ¡°They know each other.¡±


    But did Duck Butt and Survivor 1 haven¡¯t arrived yet? They must have acquired a great unique ability and they were people who don¡¯t know how to hold back, so why? Let¡¯s just ask them when they came here. It¡¯s pointless to think about it by myself.


    After a while, the scarabs returned and held out the marker towards me. Surprisingly, they even controlled the drone to tell me the location of the traps. Clumsy traps unique to the goblins were being shown in the laptop.


    When they finished showing me the location of each trap, I tapped Dingo¡¯s ass.


    ¡°Dingo, let¡¯s go.¡±


    The guy quickly run into the east side of the nest.

 Chapter 47

    Woof-!! Woof-!! Woof-!!


    When Dingo barked loudly, the goblins quickly ran towards him. Meanwhile, the hobgoblin who stayed back at the nest smashed his club to the ground while roaring. Seems like he¡¯s issuing orders to his lackeys.


    Kyaaakk-!!


    Woof-!! Woof-!!


    Dingo¡¯s bark and the goblins¡¯ roar went back and forth, filling the forest with roars. No matter how fast the goblins can run, they can never catch up with Dingo. He skilfully kept the distance between them constantly. I even wondered if he¡¯s not a wolf but a shepherd dog. Unfortunately, even though he had done what I wanted wonderfully, I couldn¡¯t give him beef anymore. Hopefully, there will be a wild boar cub caught in the trap.


    As I started walking at the west side of the nest, I saw a mark written with the marker.


    ¡°As expected, those guys are smart.¡± They put the marker exactly at my eye level. It seems like it was best to maintain a friendly relationship with them. But it was something to think about later, as for now, I need to focus on the matter at hand. I checked my equipment for one last time. As long as I didn¡¯t make any mistake, I should be able to subdue the nest without a scratch.


    When I walked further, a goblin¡¯s shiny bald head entices me. Giving up to temptation, I pulled the bow out of the quick slot and pulled the string. The arrow slithered through the air and buried itself deep in the goblin¡¯s head. With a thud, it fell to the ground. But since the nest was quite chaotic and noisy, it was barely noticeable.


    With bow in hand, I moved closer and closer to the nest. When I killed two more goblins, the hobgoblin finally noticed something. Though, he didn¡¯t know where I was. I moved as carefully as possible. While Dingo¡¯s bark went further and further, I took 2 firecrackers out of the bag and threw them into the nest.


    With a boom, dazzling fire blazed in the nest. The goblins instantly froze in place, completely confused and didn¡¯t know what to do. It¡¯s only natural, since there¡¯s a wolf howling outside while fire, smoke, and death were raging inside the nest. Without giving them any moment to think, I continued to shoot arrows around the nest. A group of goblins rushed out from the nest a moment after the hobgoblin roared. However, they all fell to my arrows.


    ¡°My aim is pretty good today.¡±


    I only practiced for one hour today, though?


    Then suddenly, as if it couldn¡¯t stand the situation anymore, the hobgoblin personally came out of the nest. Then, it immediately rushed towards where I was.


    ¡°Come on.¡± I said with a smirk as I unsheathed the orichalcon long knife and took out the shield from the slot. The hobgoblin¡¯s brows furrowed. It seems like the guy was pretty surprised because I suddenly had another weapon with me. But the surprise didn¡¯t last long as he rushed at me once again with a shout.


    Roar-!!


    ¡°Why do you guys always roar?¡± Unfortunately for him, I was a different person from my past self back in Mt. Gaya. I had regained some of my old gamer senses after fighting for so many times. It¡¯s not as good as RaPwi¡¯s fighting sense, a man who fought by literally breaking everything, but it was still something which I had honed for 5,541 hours.


    I jumped sideways and deflected the trajectory of the hobgoblin¡¯s club, staggering it. Thanks to that, the hobgoblin opened a gap in its defense. I dug into the gap and swung my long knife, cutting through its shoulder and stomach in the process. However, even though the wound was wide open, it¡¯s too shallow, not fatal at all.


    The hobgoblin, who seems to be taken aback by my attack, retaliates by swinging its club wildly. However, it was too late. I already stepped back and went out of its range. When it saw that it didn¡¯t manage to hit anything, the hobgoblin roared before rushing towards me again. I jumped to the side a moment before the hobgoblin tried to ram me. Without being able to stop, the guy slammed hard into the tree behind me.


    Keuk-!!


    The guy groaned.


    ¡°Now!¡± Without mercy, I stabbed the long knife into its back and twisted it sideways. Then, I rolled sideways and got away from it. The hobgoblin stumbled with a long knife still stuck in its body. In its current state, I only need one or two more attacks to kill it. Therefore, I took out the bow from the quick slot and aimed it towards its swaying head.


    ¡°Goodbye.¡± When the arrow stuck in the hobgoblin¡¯s head, the guy fell to the ground, creating a slight tremor. However, even after taking out the hobgoblin, there are still a lot of goblins left. I wouldn¡¯t leave this place before I eradicated each and every single one of them.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Aigoo, my shoulder¡­¡± I groaned.


    Why does it feel like cleaning up the goblin corpses is more tiring than fighting them?


    I gathered the goblin corpses in one place and cut their ankles off. If there were only one or two of them, I would just bury them without doing this extra work. But since there were 21 bodies, there was nothing I could do about it. It¡¯s better than having bone creepers crawling to my shelter.


    Once I finished cutting all of their ankles, I finally got to the fun part: looting. I walked around with Dingo and the scarabs that rode on my shoulders as the navigator to the bird¡¯s farm. When I went to the back of a certain hut, I saw a clumsily built coop. Inside, there were several fat birds which resembled turkey roaming inside. When I looked at them, a window came up at their body.


    ¡¸Hwajo¡¹


    ¡°They are slightly smaller than turkey¡­¡± but still bigger than a chicken. Apart from them, there were also a few eggs rolling around in the corner. They were much bigger than special eggs you see at the supermarket. When Dingo barked, the birds all flailed and gathered in the corner.


    ¡°They can¡¯t fly, huh?¡± Now I know why the goblins locked them up in a coop with no roof. Looking at their fat bodies, it seemed like they couldn¡¯t even jump high.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± I think their meat would be pretty tasty. Should I raise them? The reason I didn¡¯t bring chickens to this forest in the first place was because they were noisy. However, these hwajos fixed that problem as they were pretty quiet. On top of it, the shelter had also been completed, so I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about wild predators eating them.


    ¡°Let¡¯s raise it well and eat fried chicken later.¡± When I left the coop and entered the hut in front of it, I was greeted by a pile of animal corpses. I got out of the hut quickly, holding back my vomit as well as the cuss words which were threatening to come out.


    When I checked the goblins¡¯ pockets one by one, the contents inside were mainly the same. At best, it was decaying fruits, pieces of meat, and crude weapons. Fortunately, I found four poison frogs in the corner of the nest.


    ¡°This is how they procured the paralysis poison in the darts.¡± I put each of the four poison frogs in the pocket. If there were five of them in the shelter, I would be able to gather their poison quickly. Now that the time for goblins and other monsters to appear in real life is looming closer, it would be better to develop my tolerance in advance. If not, I would need to prepare a lot of things if I want to fight against them.


    I searched all over the nest, but couldn¡¯t find anything useful. Afterall, it was unreasonable to expect great things from a nest in the forest. Since the goblins in the game have their nest in the city, they used to have a lot of good things. However, it was difficult to farm such things in a forest. But at least there¡¯s many edible things in the forest.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad I found the hwajos and the frogs.¡± And more importantly, I decided to be satisfied with my safety. I tore down all the huts and ripped all the dry grass to cover the goblin corpses. Finally, I picked up the hwajo¡¯s eggs and tied a rope around the hwajos¡¯ neck.


    ¡°Come on, come on.¡± These guys were surprisingly docile. They didn¡¯t make a lot of fuss on the road to my shelter.


    ¡°Now it¡¯s your turn to fulfill your part of the deal.¡± I said to the Scarab Captain as I arrived at the shelter. The Scarab Captain nodded his head and jumped off my shoulder together with all the scarabs. Then they disappeared into the forest. Next time they come, they¡¯ll bring 10 presents. After putting the hwajos and the frogs in a temporary place, I returned to the forest to check the trap. However, there was nothing there. When I returned to the shelter once again, I remodeled the warehouse, made a coop for the hwajos, and put them inside.


    ¡°It¡¯s good that I managed to bring you guys here safely, but what should I feed you with¡­¡± As a test, I threw some rice at them. And they eat it very well. There would be no food problem for the time being since I have stockpiled enough grains¡­


    ¡°But I¡¯ll have to look for some other food source soon.¡± If I go to the Garak Rice Center, it should still be full of things. After all, It¡¯s a place where no one goes in and out, so there shouldn¡¯t be any zombies. I could also use the chance to stockpile more rice. Thanks to spending a few hours hunting the goblins, the cabbages were fermented enough to be made into kimchi. It¡¯s a bit strange to make kimchi after clearing the goblin¡¯s nest. But for a Korean like me, kimchi was just as important as clearing a goblin¡¯s nest.


    ¡°If only a wild boar was caught, I¡¯d be able to cook a Suyuk, right?¡± Dingo rested his front paw on my arm as I said that. I think he¡¯s asking for something¡­ I went into the hwajo coop and came out with an egg. When I broke it in a bowl, it looked so delicious, its yolk was dark yellow. Dingo then ate all of it quickly.


    ¡°Is it delicious?¡±


    Woof-!!


    As expected¡­


    I¡¯m looking forward to the day where I would be able to eat both the egg and the birds.


    .


    .


    .


    In August, extreme heat comes. The air reminded me of a sauna. Even if I stood still, sweat kept dripping down to my body. Had the media still existed, they would have reported the current weather as the worst heatwave ever.


    ¡°They are holding up very well.¡± Zombies were different from humans. Since they were dominated by spores, they could withstand the heat relatively well. Until July, there was still movement from survivors to hunt zombies. But now, it has completely stopped. In this hot weather, if someone was brave enough to hunt zombies, they¡¯re going to die because of the heat, not zombies.


    ¡°It¡¯s cold in the forest and it¡¯s hot in Earth¡­¡± If I had to choose, I prefer to stay in the forest. Even if it¡¯s cold, it could be solved easily by putting on more layers of clothes and making a fire in the brazier. But cooling off heat was difficult. Even if I brought ice from the forest to cool off the room in my house, it would only last for a short time. Even Dingo had no intention of coming out of the forest at all. After all, for a guy with long hair, Siberia would be better than a sauna room.


    ¡°Just stay there like that.¡± I said as I thought about Dingo. I emptied my backpack and headed to the Rice Centre in Gangseo-gu. After 30 minutes of running and hiding from the zombies, my body was wet with sweat.


    ¡°Short break¡­¡± After entering the portal, cooling off, and coming out again, I feel a little better. By the way, when I went out to the suburbs, the number of zombies around the area was low. Should I just move and live here?


    ¡°Though, it is difficult to farm here.¡± Even when all the buildings had collapsed and there were a lot of zombies, living in the city was comfortable. There¡¯s a lot of places to hide and a lot of things to loot. But one day, I will have to get out of this city. There¡¯s a limit to food availability in one city.


    ¡°I can buy food at the Store, but¡­¡± It¡¯s too expensive so it¡¯s not worth it. You have to kill 10 zombies to buy a loaf of biscuits the size of your palm. Even before that, it would only be purchasable after you kill a specific monster.


    ¡°Was it a goblin?¡± Moreover, it¡¯s more convenient to loot the food that the goblins often carry in their pockets rather than to buy them from the store. But I wondered if people would actually try it. It¡¯s only expressed as a piece of meat in the game, but the actual meat carried by the goblins would be in very bad shape.


    ¡°Still, if you roast it, it should be quite edible.¡± If not, you¡¯ll have to search around for more food. After thinking for a little while, I arrived at the half-collapsed Rice Centre. It was located in such a secluded place, so no zombies could be seen around. It seems that the zombie apocalypse broke out when all the employees were at their respective homes.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± There¡¯s nothing to see in the processing facility itself. What I want is the rice, not the crumbled equipment. When I went to the warehouse, it was a jackpot. Hundreds of bags of rice were placed on a row of plastic pallets.


    ¡°Nice! This is what I should be looting.¡± I quickly make rounds around the warehouse. It was overflowing with all kinds of food, not just rice. It seemed like I wouldn¡¯t starve to death if I managed to acquire all of this.


    ¡°I can also sell it later.¡± The problem was, the space in the shelter was limited. With so many things already stockpiled, there¡¯s not much space left. But, I still pushed all the pallets to the portal and lined it up in the warehouse.


    ¡°Let¡¯s be satisfied with this today.¡± Seeing all of the materials piled up in the warehouse made me feel reassured. With this much grain and rice, even if there were about a thousand hwajo and any kind of birds, they wouldn¡¯t be starving. When I returned home, Yoohyeon¡¯s paper airplane was waiting for me.


    ¨DHyung, Sooyeon noona came here. She said for the time being, she will be staying at the Rio officetel.


    If it¡¯s Rio officetel, it¡¯s located in the crossroads. It was close to the gym-no, now it should be called academy since they aren¡¯t using the gym anymore,but the academy.


    ¡°There is no reason for her to stay in that villa anymore.¡± I shrugged. By the way, it¡¯s really hot. I took off my suit and applied an ice pack on my body. I feel sorry that I¡¯m the only one enjoying this luxury when other people can only imagine it.


    ¡°Will people buy ice if I sell it?¡± a thought came to my mind. Even if they don¡¯t want to, when they see a lukewarm coke, they will immediately think of ice. So, why don¡¯t I try selling it at a minimum price? If it doesn¡¯t sell, I can just take it down. I went into the shelter in the forest and chopped the ice with a jigsaw. Then I put it in a plastic bag and tied it with a cable tie, and it became a makeshift ice pack.


    ¡°Auction registration¡­¡±


    ¡¸Do you want to register an ice bag?¡¹


    The auction notification went up. I quickly agreed to it. After a while, some comments were posted in the ice bag post. It¡¯s all criticism. I really don¡¯t get why they cursed me. If you don¡¯t want to buy it, then don¡¯t.


    .


    .


    .


    A small commotion broke out in the Auction House with several people in it. The cause was because someone had put up an ice bag in the auction.


    -OMG. It¡¯s ice


    -Wow, did the seller really sell this at an auction?


    -But where does the seller get this? There would be no cold place in Korea right now.


    Initially, Survival Life was a game which was only playable in Korea. So even if there were people who survived in other countries, they would not be on the level to enter the Auction House. The chance is also high that they wouldn¡¯t even awaken at all. However, people didn¡¯t even think about that as they were busy accusing the seller because they have to pay 5 points for the ice bag.


    -I will never buy it.


    -Right! Do you know how hard it is to catch zombies these days? 5 points is ridiculous.


    -But if you buy this, you can drink a cold coke¡­


    -Oh, don¡¯t say that.


    -Isn¡¯t the person who registered this cheating?


    -Let¡¯s go ahead and report this.


    However, there was a person who just watched quietly as the others poured out their complaints. Her name was Choi Da-jeong. As she was enduring her heat among her zombie subordinates, she immediately pressed the purchase without hesitation. Five points disappeared from her balance and an ice bag appeared on her desk.


    ¡°It¡¯s real?¡± Da-jeong tilted her head. The bag in front of her was filled with a very cold ice to the point she could feel the cold aura from a distance. Unknowingly, she placed the ice pack on her neck.


    ¡°Ah¡­ that¡¯s cool¡­¡± It was the first cool feeling she felt after the zombie apocalypse. She quickly ordered one of her zombies to bring the lukewarm coke and a can of lukewarm water. ¡°Put it there.¡±


    While waiting for them to turn cold, Da-jeong checked the comments with a smile.


    -Wow, you¡¯re crazy to buy it.


    -They buy ice for 5 points?


    -Who are you really?


    ¡°Five packs may be big for you, but it¡¯s only a spare change for me.¡± Da-jeong took off her shoes and dipped her feet in the tub.


    ¡°Ohhh¡­¡± A moan escaped her lips. Her feet seemed to melt. After enjoying it, a thought came to her mind. Who put the ice on the Auction House? She had never met people after the apocalypse began, so she imagined that people would have the ability to make ice.


    ¡°Won¡¯t it be useless in winter?¡± she thought. Or probably, it will change to another skill when winter arrives. Da-jeong continued to rub the ice onto her toes. As her unique ability enables her to control zombies, points will keep coming in even when she¡¯s standing still. If she can feel the fresh freezing sensation of ice in this kind of weather, even if it¡¯s only temporary, she would gladly invest 5 points.


    ¡°It¡¯s slowly getting cooler.¡± Da-jeong opened the cap of the coke and drank it with excitement like in a commercial. Foam ran down her neck and chest, but she didn¡¯t care. Once she finished, she burped out loud.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Now that she had put her feet in the cold water, she wanted to dunk her whole body into the cold water. Her body trembled as she imagined pouring the ice into a large basin. She couldn¡¯t stand it and quickly posted a comment on the ice bag post auction that had ended.


    ¨C Do you have any more ice?


    However, no answer came. At first she was angry as she felt like she was being ignored. But as time passed, she began to plead inwardly. I¡¯ll buy it for any price, so please sell it!


    That day, Da-jeong waited all day for the ice to appear at the Auction House.

 Chapter 48

    To be honest, I never thought that someone would buy the ice bag I posted. It¡¯s priced at 5 points, an amount which should be quite burdensome for many people at this point of time. One had to kill three zombies in order to get around 4-6 points, so the price I put for a single ice bag was the same as 3 zombies¡¯ worth, which was ridiculous. Moreover, on this blistering day, it takes a lot of sweat just to hunt three zombies. So, after putting it on the Auction House, I didn¡¯t pay much attention to it and did things I was planning on doing, which was making a garden.


    However, In the middle of planning about the location and how to make it, I suddenly remembered the ice bag. When I checked what happened, someone had clicked the Buy Now button. Naturally, the comments section was raging. People were questioning why the buyer paid such a price just to get something as measly as an ice bag. And at the end of the comment, the successful bidder¡¯s comment was shown.


    -Do you have any more ice?


    ¡°Ohh. You want more, huh?¡± I smirked. For me, selling ice was as easy as selling river water. The snow around my cave was simply overflowing since it is currently winter in the forest. It piled up and became an ice wall. I just had to cut it with a saw and sell it. That¡¯s 5 points in about 10 minutes. Of course, the ice is not unlimited, however I shouldn¡¯t worry about running out soon since grey clouds are still hanging in the sky. Since I do want to earn points, I put up five more ice bags. As if the previous successful bidder was already waiting for it, the ice bag disappears immediately seconds after it was just displayed on the auction menu. Whoever bought it just used a total of 30 points to buy ice¡ªa non-essential thing in this ruined world.


    ¡°Do they still have a lot of points left?¡± Of course, if they had a good unique skill, 30 points might not be a burden. But still, it takes quite a lot of effort to earn it. But spending it  just to buy some ice¡­


    ¡°Nope. Let go of your preconceived notions.¡± I shook my head. The buyer might have a unique skill which makes earning points easy for them. By the way, I was actually quite curious about their identity¡­ Since they just used 30 points without hesitation for a useless thing, it seems like they aren¡¯t a stagnant water. I wanted to ask what their ID was, but before I could do it, the successful bidder openly revealed their identity.


    ¨DMy game ID is Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek. Are you perhaps someone I know? I kind of feel that way.


    What is this¡­ To think that I met Duck Buttock here¡­ Why??


    He was one of the 4 stagnant waters. He enjoyed doing crazy things in the game just like Rabbit Pwincess. If RaPwi was a bomb that could explode anytime, Duck was the one who kept igniting that bomb¡¯s wick. When the two of them created an accident, it was always up to me and the Survivor 1 to fix it. Or sometimes, the four of us went crazy at the same time and then started from the tutorial all over again.


    Thanks to him revealing his identity, the three people who were watching began to ramble.


    -Hey, are you really Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek? I¡¯ve seen you play a lot.


    ¨DIf you are a stagnant water, your unique skill should be insanely good, right? I¡¯m also a semi-stagnant water, so how about it? Let¡¯s work together.


    ¨DI am building a force in Seoul. It will become easier for you if you join me.


    But Duck didn¡¯t seem to be interested in their offer at all.


    -I don¡¯t need anyone¡¯s help.


    Does that mean he can do it all by himself? Or is it that he only wants to join other stagnant waters?


    Then, the three continued to spit.


    ¨DYou can do anything alone in the game, but this is reality hahaha! ??To survive, we have to help each other!


    ¨DNo matter how good you are, you alone can¡¯t beat numbers! I¡¯m giving you a good offer right now.


    Duck then left a comment in the end.


    -Ah, these guys really! Just scram! Or else I¡¯ll stick it at you.


    -What do you mean, stick it?


    -I¡¯m going to stick it in your ass!


    -Wow, Isn¡¯t he a complete madman?


    -Yeah, I¡¯m a madman, what will you do? I oughta!


    His personality came out. Even though Rabbit Pwincess was someone who was famous for his ¡®sex¡¯ catchphrase, the real pervert was actually Duck Buttock. His pervertness encompasses everything. Whether it was a goblin, kobold, zombie, werewolves¡­ or anything, he didn¡¯t care. It could be said that it was a miracle that he didn¡¯t just lay his hand on every user.


    The three of them were silent for a moment when the Duck Buttock came out strong. He must have had a good unique skill, so he would have thought that it would be better for him to work alone. Well, I¡¯ll know about it later when we meet. Then, Duck asked me in kinder words.


    ¨DThe person who auctioned the ice, have we ever played the game together?


    Well, we were together until almost the end. However, I wrote a different comment.


    -I¡¯m not sure. I may have seen you once or twice.


    -Hmmm¡­ is that so? Do you have anything other than ice?


    I have a lot of things, but it simply couldn¡¯t be said here with so many eyes looking. So, I put another bag of ice instead of answering. Duck grumbled that he had revealed his identity for nothing, but he still bought the ice.


    -The ice is really nice. Would you like to team-up with me for the rest of the summer? I can protect you.


    Making ice wasn¡¯t that great of a skill, so why is he doing this? Is he someone who needs ice to enjoy every drink except in the winter?


    -Then you will abandon me after summer, right? I will have to decline.


    -Why don¡¯t you just try coming here first, then leave with no regrets.


    -Don¡¯t be surprised later.


    -Why should I be surprised?


    I left the Auction House, pretending not to read his last comment. By the way, I earned 45 points by selling ice today. The demand for it was still low for the time being, but I¡¯m sure it will increase over time as more and more users unlock the Auction House. Not just ice, of course. People would need more variety of things than that.


    ¡°I can sell fish, meat, vegetables¡­¡± All of the resources I obtained in the forest were auction-worthy items. With them, my future was set.


    ¡°I just have to run straight on the path paved by my plans.¡± I smiled. An abundant life in the apocalypse¡­ Although it¡¯s not possible to share it with others due to the portal¡¯s restriction, it¡¯s still good. After all, if I had finished taking care of myself, I could then help the people around me.


    .


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    .


    I have more neighbours around my house now. A group of at least three people had come and settled down in a building between my two-story house and the academy. After observing them for a few days, there¡¯s still no significant movement from them as of yet. So I concluded they were not hostile, at least for now. Yoohyeon also reported that Sooyeon had moved.


    -Sooyeon noona will live in the two-story officetel on the crossroads. The items there were hers, so she said please don¡¯t touch it.


    When I asked Yoohyeon what she did with the rest of her luggage, he told me that she would slowly move it from her villa to the officetel. It¡¯s really convenient to ask about something to someone who knows about it. I don¡¯t have to make any conjecture whatsoever.


    ¡°Still, it¡¯s a man¡¯s duty to carry the luggage.¡± I spoke to myself as I rose to my feet. Once I arrived at the officetel, I could see Sooyeon and Yoohyeon. Her crestfallen face from a few days back had disappeared, replaced by an invigorated face.


    ¡°Seongho, did you come to help me?¡±


    ¡°That is the case, since I don¡¯t have much to do right now.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m not going to move everything, but still, please take care of me.¡± She said as she bowed at me. We promptly departed from the officetel to Eden Villa to take the luggage she left behind. Because Yoohyeon is quite skinny, he wouldn¡¯t help much, but he brought a cheerleader named Mikyung. As soon as Mikyung saw me, she ran up to me and boasted.


    ¡°Ahjussi, my ability now has an additional effect!¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Can you tell me what the additional effects are?¡±


    ¡°I can now teleport together with someone!¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s great. Now you¡¯re like a transportation.¡±


    ¡°A transportation that can only carry one person.¡± Yoohyeon chimed in with a smirk on his face.


    ¡°I won¡¯t give you a ride later.¡± Mikyung retaliated.


    ¡°You can go alone. I can stay at Sooyeon noona¡¯s hideout and return to our place when it¡¯s safe.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Mikyung looked at Yoohyeon incredulously before kicking him in the ankle.


    ¡°Ouch.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ just wait until we return to the hideout.¡±


    They seem to get along pretty well. When I asked if they were dating, both of them gave me a surprised expression and told me that it¡¯s too much even if what I said is a joke. Sorry for crossing the line, you guys.


    When the chatter died down, and we were ready to return to the officetel, I said to Mikyung. ¡°Mikyung, attract the zombies while we move the luggage.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Ahjussi!¡± She said before disappearing. There was a good distance between Eden Villa and the officetel, therefore it was important to lure the zombies away in order to secure a safe route between the villa and the officetel. And since Mikyung was quick on her feet and had her blink ability, she¡¯s the perfect person for the task. She did the job perfectly as we were able to move Sooyeon¡¯s luggage without encountering a single zombie.


    ¡°Mikyung is really amazing.¡± Sooyeon said as we put down the luggage at the officetel.


    ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s nothing, Unnie. It¡¯s Ahjussi who was good at planning.¡±


    ¡°You are doing well.¡±


    After she left, Yoohyeon walked up to me and made a strange expression on his face. ¡°Hyung, didn¡¯t you feel the way Mikyung was addressing people was a bit weird?¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t Sooyeon noona older than you, hyung? Yet she called her Unnie, while she called you Ahjussi¡­¡±


    Now that I think about it, what Yoohyeon said was indeed true. Does her conscience not allow her to call me Oppa?


    ¡°Well, it could be because she didn¡¯t feel particularly close to me.¡±


    ¡°The way I see it, it¡¯s absolutely not the case.¡± Sooyeon chimed in. But to be frank, I didn¡¯t really care what people wanted to call me with. So I urged them to drop the topic and start to move again to Eden Villa. After a couple of hours, we finally finished moving all of Sooyeon¡¯s luggage. Naturally, after moving so much in this damned hot weather, everyone was drenched in sweat.


    ¡°It¡¯s really hot¡­¡±


    ¡°There is no wind whatsoever and it is a very hot summer.¡±


    ¡°Eww¡­¡±


    The coolest thing on the building was the stairs¡¯ floor, so everyone sprawled on the floor while complaining and fanning their faces with their hands. While they were doing so. I went to Sooyeon¡¯s luggage and prepared a meal. If I had been alone, I would have gone into the portal and had a cold meal to cool the heat off, but in this situation, I can¡¯t help it. Therefore, today¡¯s menu would be ration food. Everyone put it in their mouth as soon as I laid it in front of them even when they had no appetite. After all, they need the energy to keep surviving in this wretched world.


    ¡°Sigh¡­ I feel more comfortable here than in our hideout.¡± Yoohyeon suddenly said in the middle of the meal.


    ¡°Why? Are you not getting along with the others?¡±


    When Sooyeon asked, Yoohyeon sighed once again. ¡°These days, the atmosphere of the group isn¡¯t good. There are people who don¡¯t get along.¡±


    I knew the people mentioned by him were Hyung-jun Hyung and Kyunghoon. It seems that their nerve war was still on-going until now. If I were to guess, the one to blame for the whole situation was none other than Kyunghoon. Contrary to his appearance, Hyung-jun Hyung was quite old. So, he¡¯s not the type of person who would actively argue with other people. But those kinds of people are the scariest when they get really angry.


    ¡°I would rather live with Ahjussi or Sooyeon unnie. Kyunghoon oppa and Bora unnie talk only with each other every day and it¡¯s so uncomfortable.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, can¡¯t you just divide the supplies and separate?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my exact thought. In the first place, Kyunghoon oppa and Bora unnie were more friendly with those people anyway.¡±


    ¡°Those people?¡±


    When I asked, Mikyung answered with a lower tone than before. ¡°People came into the office on the third floor a few days ago. They were all wearing hiking clothes.¡±


    ¡°Ah, those people.¡± I spoke. It was a group of two men and one woman. I paid close attention to them as they seemed to be the same people I met at the camping supply store on the D-day. But as they were quite silent, at least for now, I decided to just ignore them. By the way, if those two leave the group, I think I could join the academy group. The main reason I kept my distance until now was because I didn¡¯t like Kyunghoon at all. it was unsightly of him to act as if he had become the leader of the members even though he didn¡¯t know jack shit about anything. If both him and Bora disappeared, I thought it would be okay to join the group of Hyung-jun Hyung, Yoohyeon, Mikyung and Sooyeon. They were all trustworthy people. And it should be fine since our level now wouldn¡¯t be so far apart.


    Yoohyeon, who looked like he lost his appetite after a few bites, quickly folded a paper airplane and flew it away.


    ¡°I¡¯m sending it to the Manager,¡± he said. ¡°He must be alone now.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Is he eating alone right now?¡±


    ¡°Probably? We asked him to go together with us, but he said he didn¡¯t want to go because he thinks at least one person has to stay to protect the hideout.¡±


    It¡¯s not necessarily the case, but he¡¯s not Hyung-jun Hyung if he¡¯s not stubborn. After a while, Yoohyeon¡¯s face turned sour. He seemed to be looking at the hideout through the paper airplane.


    ¡°I must go. The atmosphere between the Manager and Kyunghoon hyung doesn¡¯t look good.¡±


    ¡°How bad is it?¡±


    ¡°They are not fighting with their fist yet, but they are throwing curses at each other. Kyunghoon hyung told the Manager if he doesn¡¯t like being here, he can leave.¡±


    ¡°Hiks Hiks.¡± Mikyung was in tears as soon as she heard it. I¡¯d heard that the two often fight. Hyung-jun Hyung emphasized survival is the most important thing, while Kyunghoon said that they should focus on hunting. At first, I thought it was simply due to the difference in personality, but when Kyunghoon told me not to come anymore to their group, I knew my conjecture was wrong. If they were left alone like this, the end result was clear as day. It will be a bloodbath. I¡¯ll have to go to intervene.


    I slung my backpack to my shoulder and said to Mikyung. ¡°Let¡¯s go together. I think we need to find out what¡¯s going on.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± She grabbed my hand after brushing off her tears. Yoohyeon told me that I just need to touch her in order to blink together with her, and the moment I did, the surrounding scenery quickly moved away. The next moment, we were already on the first-floor staircase leading up to the academy.


    As I stood still, Mikyung asked, seemingly surprised. ¡°Aren¡¯t you dizzy, ahjussi?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Do people usually get dizzy when they do this?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Both Manager and Yoohyeon said they were dizzy as if they were on a rollercoaster.¡± Ah so there were such side effects. When I was musing like that, a loud noise could be heard from above. As I started to climb the stairs, Mikyung followed closely. And the moment I entered the academy, the eyes of three people were all focused on me.


    ¡°Uh-huh¡­ Didn¡¯t I tell you to not come here anymore?¡± Kyunghoon spoke in a sharp tone, but I ignored him and just kept walking to him.


    ¡°Is everything fine?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s all fine. So, thank you for coming.¡± Hyung-jun Hyung said as he wiped the sweat trickling down on his red face. He must have been angered because of Kyunghoon and Bora¡¯s sudden attack.


    ¡°Mr Seongho, I told you before, but this is our place. Please leave.¡±


    ¡°Why should he leave? Can¡¯t I just invite him so he can stay?¡± When Hyung-jun Hyung said, Kyunghoon¡¯s eyes went wide. It seems like he was baffled.


    ¡°What the hell is this, the leader ignores what the members said and does whatever he wants! Can¡¯t you see that we¡¯re uncomfortable?¡±


    ¡°Yoohyun and Mikyung say it¡¯s okay, so, why are you the only one feeling that way?¡±


    ¡°Because he¡¯s an outsider! Isn¡¯t it strange that you guys just believe whatever he says?¡±


    I could see Hyung-jun Hyung tried to say something for a moment but swallowed it down. Then after calming himself, he spoke in low tone ¡°Yes, he¡¯s an outsider, but It¡¯s not like he¡¯s a complete stranger to us. He has helped us a lot since before D-day and is still helping us until now. I don¡¯t know why you look at him negatively, Kyunghoon.¡±


    ¡°He indeed helped us! But did I do nothing after the D-day? Every time I tried to express my opinion, you always said Seongho this, Seongho that. Do you believe more in an outsider rather than your own member?¡±


    Was it bothering him that I helped? My influence had indeed grown among the gym members, and Kyunghoon seems to be dissatisfied with it. Therefore, when issues about hunting and farming come out, he comes out strong in order to assert dominance.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that. Seongho¡¯s advice is proven to be correct, so I believe it. In the meantime, you, Kyunghoon, have never been right with your advice.¡± His face turned red at Hyung-jun Hyung¡¯s words. He pretended to know a lot, but he didn¡¯t seem to be of any help. It¡¯s time for me to intervene, as I said calmly.


    ¡°With all of these disagreements continuing on and on, it¡¯s hard to live together, isn¡¯t it? Then, let me make a suggestion. Take all the supply you need, and go on your separate way¡±


    ¡°Haaahh¡­. What an absurd suggestion. If we leave, their fighting power will drop sharply, are you really suggesting that?¡±


    ¡°Not very much. Because Sooyeon and I will be joining.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Hearing my words, Kyunghoon¡¯s face contorted.

 Chapter 49

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it simple, Hyung? Just go your separate ways since you guys aren¡¯t getting along with each other. It seems like both Kyunghoon and Bora have also joined forces with another group. Was it those people who came a few days ago?¡± I spoke. Though, I didn¡¯t say that it was a piece of information I got from Mikyung. I felt like it would be a big problem if Kyunghoon knew about it.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you hate outsiders?¡± Hyung-jun Hyung furrowed his eyebrows.


    ¡°They are capable and good-natured people.¡± Kyunghoon answered.


    ¡°Seongho here is also capable. Moreover, he also gets along well with all of us.¡± Of course, Kyunghoon wouldn¡¯t want to be included in that ¡®us¡¯. He hated me, after all.


    This time, Bora sighed. ¡°Yes, oppa. We did join hands with some other people. But that¡¯s not wrong, isn¡¯t it? We need to level up quickly and open the Auction House.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do once you open it? Didn¡¯t you say that there will be no one there this early?¡±


    Kyunghoon beat his chest at Hyung-jun Hyung¡¯s words. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to understand! By now the stagnant waters will already be there. Making friends with them is much better than looting and farming. How many times should I tell you?¡±


    ¡°Why would the stagnant waters pay any attention to us? Have you ever met them? Or have you ever played with them?¡±


    ¡°Ah Seriously¡­ You know nothing!¡±


    They were really like water and oil. It seems that until now both of them have been arguing like this. I¡¯ll have to stop them. Decisions wouldn¡¯t be made if they keep arguing like this.


    ¡°Since both of you really didn¡¯t get along, let¡¯s just stop and separate. It seems that Kyunghoon and Bora are more comfortable with those guys who came a few days ago, and Hyung-nim is also more comfortable with me. Pack 2 people worth of supplies, and we¡¯ll help you move.¡±


    ¡°Help them move? How?¡± Hyung-jun Hyung asked, seemingly bewildered.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that hard. Mikyung will lure the zombies with her ability and the rest of us will help them carry their luggage to the halfway point.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Hyung-jun Hyung only closed his eyes. It seems like he didn¡¯t disagree with my proposal. So, what remains was the decision of Kyunghoon and Bora.


    Kyunghoon looked at me after talking to Bora in a whisper. ¡°What if we don¡¯t leave?¡±


    ¡°Hyung-jun Hyung, Yoohyeon, and Mikyung will probably be the one to leave.¡± I said. One way or another, the separation seemed to have been confirmed. If Kyunghoon trolls more than this in the near future, I would have no option but to kill him myself.


    He contemplated for a while before opening his mouth once again. ¡±Let¡¯s separate then. It¡¯s inevitable at this point. However, let me remind you, Manager. If you keep doing what you do without actively hunting, sooner or later, you¡¯ll be culled. Not by those zombies, but by other survivors.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Then let me remind you too. If you keep talking like that, someday, you¡¯ll be in trouble.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my way of talking?¡±


    Hyung-jun Hyung rolled his eyes at his question and raised his voice. ¡°What qualifications do you have to tell people that they are going to be culled? Are you that good yourself?¡±


    ¡°No matter how many times I tell you¡­¡± Kyunghoon said, clearly frustrated. However, before he could finish his words, Bora pinched his side. ¡°Ack¡­ why?¡±


    ¡°Stop it. let¡¯s just leave.¡± She told him in a high tone. She seems more rational than Kyunghoon. I must admit she had done a good job. After all, if he continued just a little bit more, I would probably kill him. It¡¯s easy since he¡¯s low levelled. And killing one person wouldn¡¯t turn me into a murderer.


    When I looked at him quietly, Kyunghoon turned his head. ¡°We¡¯re leaving, so please just sort it out. We will move on our own.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Thus, it was decided that the gym group will dissolve.


    Kyunghoon and Bora went outside to get some air, and then Hyung-jun Hyung put his hand on my shoulder. ¡°Ha¡­ Seriously, Seongho, you don¡¯t know what that bastard had dared to say to me.¡±


    ¡°Just forget about all of it. The only one who can help you is yourself, Hyung.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ By the way, I heard that Sooyeon is moving nearby so it¡¯s natural for us to join hands with her. but Seongho, are you joining too?¡± Hyung-jun Hyung said with a face full of anticipation. I felt bad all of the sudden.


    ¡°I was just saying that to get them to leave.¡± I spoke.


    ¡°Why won¡¯t you join, though? Isn¡¯t it fine for up to five people to group up? Kyunghoon and Bora are leaving, so it¡¯s perfect for you and Sooyeon to come in.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because I have to go somewhere soon. Let me tell you something good, Hyung.¡± When I told him the location of the rice center, he started to get excited.


    ¡°Hah¡­ was there such a place? But can you really tell me about this? You don¡¯t know how much we will take away.¡±


    ¡°You will find out if you go there. But, even if all of the survivors around Busan rushed in, they won¡¯t be able to get them all out.¡± I laughed. There were hundreds or maybe thousands sacks of grain and rice in one warehouse. And there were several warehouses at that place. It was still untouched since it had not yet been attacked by zombies because of its remote location.


    ¡°Is that so? But Seongho, if you join us, I think I¡¯ll feel a little more reassured.¡± Hyung-jun Hyung let out a sigh of regret.


    ¡°Even if we don¡¯t live together, can¡¯t I just come and talk often? I didn¡¯t join because I have to go around to check bottled water distributors, fishing spots, etc.¡±


    ¡°Why are you checking them?¡±


    ¡°For how long do you want to keep eating only military rations? We need to start looking for other food sources soon. And from what I knew, there¡¯s no zombie in the sea.¡±


    ¡°Really? There¡¯s really no zombies in the sea?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s so. There¡¯s a lot of zombies in the city because there¡¯s a lot to eat here. But they can¡¯t catch fishes for food by diving into the water, so there¡¯s no zombies there. Just go to the fishing supply store, take anything intact, and we¡¯ll use it to fish in the sea, it will be fun.¡±


    ¡°Then we can do that together¡­ Hmm¡­ Forget it. I have to understand that you have other work to do. Anyway, with your information, things did not look so bleak anymore.¡±


    ¡°I will check those places and tell you about it later, Hyung.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll look forward to it.¡±


    If I joined the group and revealed my unique ability, everything would become uncomfortable. They would probably start by accusing me of not helping them or even humanity as a whole. Then they¡¯ll go on mentioning family and stuff. It¡¯s human innate characteristic to demand more from people who are more well-off than them¡ªwanting them to help them from the simplest thing to the hardest thing. I don¡¯t want to be in that position at all. In this apocalyptic world, every person was responsible for their own well-being after all. Even if I explained it to them, no matter how good they are, there¡¯s no guarantee they would understand. Sooyeon seems to be suspicious of me, but she¡¯s a wise person, so it should be fine.


    However, it seemed that Hyung-jun Hyung could not completely shake off his regret. He said, ¡°Because you wouldn¡¯t join us, our fighting power will be decreased. I know you are busy, but it¡¯s still disappointing. It is true that the level is also important.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Hyung, there will be a chance soon.¡±


    ¡°What chance?¡±


    ¡°I Love Gimbap, in one of his videos, said that when the goblins and other monsters start to appear, there is a good chance to level up. I think he mentioned some kind of cave or a dungeon, but I can¡¯t remember which¡­¡±


    ¡°Ummm¡­ is that so? If It¡¯s really an opportunity to level up¡­ I wonder if we¡¯ll be able to seize it.¡±


    I¡¯m not sure whether he will be successful or not if he attempts it with the others, but with me, the chance of success will be 100%. Sooyeon can heal me, Mikyung can help me move around, Yoohyeon will be my eyes and ears, and Hyung will be their leader. Their growth would help me a lot. And in the future, I was thinking of adding a decent person to this party. Because it was inevitable to get to know other people along the journey.


    ¡°It will be difficult to keep my identity under a wrap.¡± So far, I have done pretty well, and I have to do well in the future too. If I fail, people like Rapwi will¡­ Damn, I¡¯m getting goosebumps all of a sudden.


    .


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    Sooyeon accepted my offer and joined hands with the rest of the academy¡¯s members. She welcomed it with open arms since she knew Hyung-jun Hyung even before the apocalypse. Moreover, she also said that even though she had decided to move from her previous hideout, she didn¡¯t have any confidence to survive on her own like me. Just like Hyung-jun Hyung, Sooyeon, Mikyung and Yoohyeon also expressed their regret when I said I won¡¯t be joining. But it was unavoidable. With my unique ability, unless I feel like I¡¯ve met the right people, I was destined to be a loner forever.


    Now all that was left was to move Sooyeon¡¯s luggage to the building that the academy group used. She had to move twice in one day so it was only natural that she was exhausted. The members helped her both physically and mentally, so there was no big problem.


    Meanwhile, Kyunghoon and Bora packed their bags and left. I secretly followed them to make sure exactly where they lived now and how many people were there in their group. It was a precaution, since the nature of those who focused on hunting was to strike first when bumping into other groups. And I was reminded once again, in the apocalypse, all of your neighbours were either an enemy or a soon-to-be enemy.


    ¡°I hope my judgment is wrong.¡± I spoke to myself as I walked around the neighborhood to find the trace of other survivors.


    ¡°Surprisingly, there are a lot of people¡­¡± However, I don¡¯t know where exactly they are. I could only judge by the fact that there are some traces left behind here and there. The reason they came to this neighbourhood must be because there were many buildings that hadn¡¯t collapsed yet. The buildings in this neighbourhood were originally not that tall, as it was filled with houses and low buildings, so the neighbourhood was relatively intact compared to other places.


    ¡°Surprisingly, there are still a lot of things that can be looted¡­¡± By the way, why are there so many survivors? I thought there would be just a few people who survived. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that this many survivors would remain.


    ¡°Is it because the difficulty has been drastically lowered?¡± So far, I haven¡¯t even encountered that much reinforced zombies, which are supposed to spawn near me as my level is quite high already, which is also the reason why I was reluctant to be with other people. If they didn¡¯t spawn for more than 10 days, it looks like they won¡¯t spawn ever again. It was clear that it was the result of the new reduced difficulty patch.


    If that¡¯s the case, then the upcoming goblin event would also undergo some fix¡­ I killed a zombie who shuffled towards me before going into an alleyway and entered the portal to watch videos about the goblin event.


    ¡°It¡¯s terrifying to think about it again.¡± After zombies, goblins will appear in the world. They were completely different from zombies because they were creatures who actively sought and hunted humans. If there¡¯s something that looks good to them, they would not hesitate to loot it even if it was useless. On top of that, they¡¯re quite cunning as well, as they knew how to differentiate between a strong enemy and a weak one. If they feel that the enemy is too strong, they would run away before returning with the whole group and start attacking again. They also like to use paralyzing poison a lot. That¡¯s why, even though zombies were stronger than them, the users in the game were more reluctant to deal with goblins rather than with zombies.


    ¡°A goblin den will appear at the beginning of the event.¡± This was an event unknown to me at the time of the launch. I only knew it once I faced it directly and died numerous times. A portal leading to a goblin¡¯s den will be opened at the time goblins start to spawn. If a user clears it, various rewards will be given to them. If the size of the cave is large, users usually call it a dungeon or a labyrinth.


    But this portal is¡­ ¡°It looks similar to my portal.¡±


    Perhaps, the dimension where the goblin comes from is the same as where my forest was located. But let¡¯s just leave that for later, and just focus on preparing to fight against those goblins in reality. I rummaged through my notebooks and checked all the materials I had hoarded since before the D-day up until now. I was thinking about telling the academy group to get the materials needed and prepare a suitable defensive measure.


    ¡°Well, goblins are stupid to begin with¡­¡± So, even if it was only a simple barricade, they wouldn¡¯t be able to bypass it easily. Of course, they would be responsible for building it. Though, I didn¡¯t worry at all, since Yoohyeon was there.


    I have quite a lot to do¡­ The time when the goblins appeared was not specified, but roughly, it was around the time when zombies who have consumed enough nutrients evolved into ghouls. When I was on the street earlier, the number of zombies had decreased immensely compared to the tutorial phase. However, it didn¡¯t mean survival would be much easier. On the contrary, It will be even more difficult.


    But what can we do?


    ¡°We just have to hold out until the end.¡±


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    .


    .


    Quite a few people had opened the Auction House. All of them were anonymous, so I couldn¡¯t figure out exactly who they were. They keep putting out items into the auction in order to figure out the identity of people who were there. However, they were all people who had reached level 15. Which means, they have enough knowledge about things in Survival Live, at least enough for them to be called a stagnant water. So, of course there was no one who was gullible enough to expose their own identity.


    Of course, it was only the case for people aside from Rabbit Pwincess and Duck Buttock who already exposed their identity. However, there¡¯s no guarantee that they were the real one, not an impostor.


    -Ah! Just where is this place? I¡¯m going crazy¡­


    -Heh, is it true that you went to Chuncheon? Why the hell did you go there?


    -Did I go because I wanted to go? It just turned out that I was in Chuncheon.


    -I had heard rumours about a reinforced zombie screaming sex rather that growling¡­ but it was RaPwi-nim?


    -I think I¡¯m in North Korea right now¡­


    -I beg your pardon? Why the hell did you go there?


    -No, it just turned out that it was North Korea.


    -I can¡¯t understand¡­


    -Don¡¯t try to understand me, darling.


    -You really is Rapwi¡­


    Naturally, the comments under Rabbit Pwincess¡¯ auctioned item¡ªwhich was his panty¡ªwas raging. But since everyone is anonymous, it is impossible to know who is who. Thanks to that, he was annoyed.


    -Hey, scram! Why are you guys here? Are you my friend?


    -Hehehe, how about joining us Rapwi-nim? If you join, I¡¯ll let you have sex.


    -I don¡¯t need it.


    -Don¡¯t you want to do it Rapwi-nim? Sexxxxxx!!!


    -Yeah I want it, but I don¡¯t need you.


    -You¡¯re too arrogant. If you continue like this, you¡¯ll die.


    -No one can stop me.


    ¨C But¡­ The guy who offers Rapwi-nim to join their group is really funny. Everyone in this place are anonymous in the first place, so how are you going to meet? If you tell your location here, there will be a lot of people swarming at your location.


    -That¡¯s right.. To be honest, all of the 10 people here are competitors.


    -By the way guys¡­ Rapwi-nim is here¡­ But where is I love Gimbap?


    For a moment, the comment section went silent. Then after a while, it continued with a flurry of colourful words.


    -Ah that bastard¡­


    -Hey son of a bitch, who did you call a bastard?


    -Why do you care? It¡¯s up to me how I want to call other people! And that guy is really bastard since he didn¡¯t disclose the information he has to other people! Selfish prick!


    -Why are you so mad? It¡¯s his choice whether he should disclose it or not¡­


    -Stupid fuck¡­ If I meet that guy, I will kill him.


    -AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. YOU? KILLING HIM? AHAHAHAHAHAH. WHAT SKILL DO YOU HAVE TO BE THAT CONFIDENT? THAT GUY UNDOUBTEDLY HAVE THE BEST UNIQUE ABILITY OUT THERE!


    -Right! you bastard, my unique ability is infinite resurrection. So, I Love Gimbap, who played longer than me, should have a much stronger unique ability.


    -Infinite resurrection?


    -Is that true?


    -Wow, that¡¯s so unfair.


    -You guys believed him? How can a stagnant water disclose their skill to other people? That guy is not the real Rabbit Pwincess.


    -By the way, Duck Buttock-nim, what is your unique skill?


    -Secret~


    With the appearance of Duck Buttock in the comment section, there are now 3 of the 4 stagnant waters in the Auction House. The one who had yet to appear was Survivor 1.


    Is he perhaps secretly watching? Or maybe there was another reason why he didn¡¯t enter the Auction House? From the looks of things, it seems like the guy I met close to the Russian fishing boat was him. Looking at people¡¯s comments, it also seemed like the one who gave the government information about the apocalypse was also him.


    ¡°Then, should I assume that Survivor 1 is with the government?¡± Right now, there¡¯s little to no information about it, so I can¡¯t be sure. Right now, the comment section is buzzing with people who wanted to follow Rabbit Pwincess to North Korea, which was an untouched hunting ground. But when they arrived there, I¡¯m sure Rabbit Pwincess wouldn¡¯t be there anymore. While I was shaking my head, someone who I assumed to be Duck left a comment.


    -Rapwi-nim, shall we go to the snack shop?


    -Should we?


    ¡°These guys are coming here?¡± My body instantly jolted up. What a terrible thing to say¡­

 Chapter 50

    It was extremely difficult to travel long distances in this ruined world. It is especially so under the blistering heat of summer. But if it were Rabbit Pwincess and Duck Buttock, I don¡¯t think it would be impossible.


    In case they really do come here and come to find me¡­ What should I do?


    I exited the Auction House and organized my thoughts. It seems that both of them acquired a good unique ability, so their combat power should be higher than mine. Which also means that they should have quite a lot of points. It was proven by the fact that Duck Buttock had spent 45 points just to buy some ice bags, and Rapwi¡¯s unique ability which costs points. In this apocalypse, having a high combat power and lots of points was synonymous to being an individual powerhouse.


    ¡°Moreover, they have no relation with me whatsoever¡­¡± In the game, we had indeed laughed, chatted and played together, but in reality, we don¡¯t have any connection with each other. There was one reason why I had to hide my identity from them. Just because those two had played the game together with me for quite a long time, it didn¡¯t mean that they wouldn¡¯t covet my portal ability. The thought of living in abundance in the midst of this apocalypse would naturally be coveted by many people.  Humans are greedy creatures. Once you give them an inch, they¡¯ll ask for a mile.


    ¡°However, if it¡¯s those two, I¡¯m not quite sure¡­¡± From the experience I had from hanging out with them for so long, both of them couldn¡¯t be said to have the same mindset as normal humans. They were just weird. Their way of thinking is just¡­ I don¡¯t know how to say it. If they really come to Busan¡­ I smiled bitterly. I¡¯m sure I would be elated when I heard the news that they had come. After all, we shared the same memories of getting lost in the labyrinth, lighting a bonfire and chatting about all kinds of things. It would be a great blessing to have someone who shared those memories in the apocalypse.


    ¡°Though, it¡¯s all on the premise that they can come to Busan.¡± I¡¯m not sure about Duck Buttock, but it seemed like Rapwi wouldn¡¯t be able to come here on short notice. No matter how hard I imagined, I couldn¡¯t picture Rapwi meeting Duck and coming here. So, I won¡¯t have to worry about it for a while.


    By the way, what was I trying to do before opening the Auction House again?


    Looking at the book opened in the cave, it seems like I was trying to make a vegetable garden. In this kind of season¡ªwhich is winter¡ªit would be hard to dig the ground in order to make a vegetable garden. But since I have a mini fork crane, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    ¡°First¡­ Let¡¯s try farming potatoes.¡± It couldn¡¯t be helped. I watched a lot of survival movies, so I had a preconceived notion that potatoes were the best vegetable to be farmed in those movies. And actually, there were a lot of potatoes stockpiled in the cave.


    Anyway, this forest was a magical place where solar apple and bull pepper grew very quickly, so the potatoes will grow quickly too, right?


    ¡°Once fertilizer is applied and the site is overturned with a forklift¡­¡± I had to make some furrows with a pitchfork and shovel, then cover it with plastic¡­ Hmmm. It looks easy watching it in the video, but in reality, it won¡¯t be as simple as that, as the ground here was frozen. Though it would be a good way to warm up my body in this kind of freezing weather.


    When I was gathering the tool and lining it up on the cave¡¯s floor, Dingo, who had been sleeping with its stomach exposed suddenly jolted up and growled.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did you sense something out there?¡± Seconds later, I also heard some noises.


    Oink oink!


    Huh? Don¡¯t tell me, something was caught in the trap?


    I quickly grabbed my gear and ran outside.


    Oink oink oink?


    When I went outside, a wild boar cub got its feet entangled in the trap. Before celebrating my first successful hunt with my trap, I forced myself to quickly catch it and tie its legs with a new set of rope.


    ¡°Let¡¯s return quickly.¡± I said to Dingo. The reason why I wanted to return quickly was that the adult wild boars would definitely return to this site to look for its cub. It was definitely a 1+1 situation if I waited. But considering the size of those guys, an unfavorable battle was expected. They wouldn¡¯t die even if they got hit with one or two arrows, so I would have no choice but to fight at close range with a spear.


    I brought the struggling cub into the cave and killed it with a single blow. To me, who had already killed so many things, the cuteness of a cub wasn¡¯t enough to even make me bat an eye. The wild boars were merely meat regardless of their ages. Meat that is going to be my strength in order to continue living.


    ¡°I have to butcher again¡­¡± As I watched the drooping wild boar cub, a realization came to me. Because it¡¯s still a cub, the meat should still be really tender! I quickly moved with those thoughts as the fuel. With all my strength, I drained the blood and began to cut its meat into pieces.


    ¡°Oh really.¡± After a hard fight, I was able to hang a piece of meat from which the head was removed from on the ceiling of the cave. This reminds me of a butcher¡¯s warehouse. Dingo stared at the meat while his tail spun like a propeller.


    Have you not tasted meat these days?


    The size of the cub was a little too small to feed both of us wholeheartedly. So, I think I would have to give a bigger portion to Dingo as he needs a lot of meat to grow up, since he¡¯s a carnivore. I only need a small portion in the first place since I only want to eat some Suyuk. (Suyuk = Korean boiled pork belly slices)


    ¡°For now, eat this first.¡± I took the liver and intestines and fed it to him. After that, I cut the meat based on it¡¯s parts like thigh, belly, shoulder, tc. Though, since they were small, it was hard to tell them apart. After I¡¯m done, I put all the spices inside the pot before putting in the meat.


    ¡°Is this really Suyuk or what?¡± When the meat is softly boiling, it is the best time to eat it. The taste doesn¡¯t matter, as the freshly-made kimchi will take care of it. Meanwhile, Dingo already devoured all of the intestines and was about to eat his share of meat.


    ¡°Eat the rest with me.¡± I spoke as I rubbed his back. The guy sniffed the meat for a moment before sitting still and waited.


    Then a thought came to me. Since the meat was extremely tender, can I shorten the cooking time a bit? When I gently opened the lid, there was a light colored piece of meat floating in the middle of the boiling yellow broth.


    ¡°HEHEHEHE¡­¡± Laughter seeped out from my mouth. How lucky I am to be blessed with this unique ability. I took out one kimchi from the ground and cut off only the stem. This much is enough for me. Then, I took the meat out of the pot, and sliced it into bite size pieces. I wrapped the long kimchi around the meat and put it in my mouth.


    ¡°Hmmmmmmmmmmm¡­¡­ The combination of the tender meat and spicy kimchi was fantastic. Then, something came to mind. I stood up, went to the warehouse and returned with a green bottle of soju. The clear liquid filled the glass as I poured it. I didn¡¯t want to get drunk in the apocalypse if I could help it, but I had no choice but to do it today. ¡°Let¡¯s forget about anything today and drink just 3 shots.¡±


    When we continued our fest, Dingo showed more interest in my Suyuk rather than his share of meat.


    ¡°Hey, you have more meat, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Woof!


    ¡°Okay, okay.¡± I said as I gave half of my share to him. I¡¯m a little bit worried since it¡¯s hot, so I gently cooled it down and cut it into smaller pieces. I¡¯m such a good owner, aren¡¯t I?


    Dingo sucked it all in like a vacuum and looked at me as he finished. This guy, really¡­ I ignored him, placed the plate on the table and enjoyed the supper slowly. It¡¯s so delicious!


    .


    .


    .


    Before the first appearance of goblins, there would be an event that appears randomly. It was an animal raid event. It¡¯s a valuable opportunity for users to secure any type of meat they want. It was a clich¨¦ development in which the carnivores would become a threat for survivors and the herbivores would become prey. Though, I didn¡¯t know when the exact date was.


    However, my preparations such as nets and throwing spears were already finished. Moreover, I trained with those weapons every day. Even when choosing the site to make my garden, whenever I had the chance, I always trained by shooting some arrows and throwing some spears. Thanks to that, when the heat of summer slowly subsided, 1 more point was added to my Strength stat, rounding it up to 14.


    If you throw a spear with enough strength, you would be able to inflict quite a lot of damage to a moderate size monster. After all, because of the weight of the spear, its power was much higher than that of an arrow. Also, I tried to develop resistance with the paralytic poison I had collected through poison frogs. In a world where abilities were expressed as skills, I was sure that something like a paralyzing poison tolerance skill would also appear.


    ¡°The time is very close for the goblins to start appearing.¡± I put a very little amount of paralyzing poison on the needle and stabbed it to my thigh. Instantly, the feeling in my leg disappeared.


    ¡°¡­¡± After waiting for a few minutes, the sensation on my leg finally returned. I breathed a sigh of relief and started cultivating my resistance in earnest. The method I chose was to make paralytic poison a part of my daily life. I would take it once upon waking up in the morning, once while working, and once while eating at lunch. But I¡¯ll stop if I think that my legs won¡¯t be able to take it anymore.


    And finally, on the 10th day, it finally showed up.


    ¡¸You have acquired ¡®Paralyzing Poison Resistance¡¯ skill¡¹


    ¡°This is it!¡± I was skeptical if I should keep doing it when I reached the 9th day, but it finally happened. I don¡¯t know the exact effect, but I should at the very least be able to avoid being paralyzed by one dart from the goblins.


    ¡°And together with the stab-proof vest, it¡¯ll stop most of them.¡± I would only need the skill just in  case one of their darts hit me in the joints or any other armor gaps around my body. By the way, I¡¯m a bit concerned that it¡¯s a resistance type, not an immunity type. Just in case, I put paralysing poison all over the needle and stabbed it to my thighs once again, and my whole body twitched.


    ¡°Keuk!¡± The moment I felt that, I realized why it¡¯s a resistance skill, not immunity. I could still move, but it¡¯s very, very hard to do it. I was sweating bullets even though I had only managed to take just a few steps in this cold winter.


    ¡°Ha¡­¡± I sighed in relief once the effect of the paralyzing poison started to wane. At that moment, my body was drenched in sweat.


    ¡°Let¡¯s keep building resistance.¡± Maybe, the skill can evolve into a greater form of resistance, like immunity or something. When I went out into reality after quite a long time, I could feel that the heat wave from the summer had quite subsided. It¡¯s still hot, but it¡¯s much more tolerable than it was a few days ago.


    ¡°Before I even got time to realize, autumn is already around the corner. Then after that comes winter.¡± Usually there was a saying that the summer is as hot as the winter¡¯s cold¡­ but I hoped it wasn¡¯t the case this year.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the forest get really hot again?¡± I grumbled and looked outside through the telescope from my house. The number of people who were hunting zombies has increased considerably over the past few days. It was the result of being locked in their house for several weeks because of the heat. There were also no reinforced zombies around, so they probably think it was the best chance to hunt.


    ¡°Until those guys start to turn into ghoul, it should be fine.¡± Actually, there¡¯s no clear categorization between zombie, reinforced zombie, and ghoul in the game. We would just simply call a zombie who had turned into an even more monstrous form that can run a ghoul. The time of their appearance should be shortly after goblins and kobolds appear. At that time, it could be said that the apocalypse had really begun.


    ¡°For now, it¡¯s just a taste.¡± As I was cleaning the dusty two-story house, a paper plane flew in. When I opened it, a breaking news from Yoohyeon was written inside.


    -Hyung, Hyung! A tiger has appeared, a tiger!


    ¡°It¡¯s finally here.¡±


    I took my backpack from the cave and pulled Dingo, who didn¡¯t want to come out to reality into the portal.


    The guy had eaten meat, so shouldn¡¯t he work for it?


    .


    .


    .


    A tiger was roaming the street. Even though it was startled by the zombie attack, it did not leave. When I looked at the map to see where it came from, it looked like it came from Samjeon Park.


    ¡°Well, all of the cages should be broken.¡± Since zombie spores only latched itself into humans, the animals would be fine. Though, through the apocalypse, their number would decrease considerably since most of them would be attacked and eaten by zombies.


    The current position of the tiger was across the building which was occupied by Hyung-jun Hyung and co. Then suddenly, an arrow flew from somewhere towards the tiger. The tiger, which was walking slowly, was startled by the arrow that passed an inch away from its tail and fled to the side. It even growled in anger.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ is there something else¡­¡± I looked everywhere from my rooftop and was finally able to find a herd of sheep. Each and every one of them was in a state where their hair was fully grown, probably because there was no keeper that could cut it. They¡¯re all adult sheep, so there should be enough meat for everybody.


    When I looked toward Dingo, the guy was looking at them while drooling. Well, I understand him. If it¡¯s not for the tiger, I would have chased the herd right now. The answer to my problem suddenly came out of nowhere. Arrows started pouring down into the tigers from the roof of the office at the crossroads. However, due to the distance, its accuracy was atrocious, and nothing hit the tiger. The guy ran away from the arrow baptism, and then I saw people in hiking clothes descending from the roof.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Kyunghoon and his group.¡± He was probably trying to catch the tiger in order to brag about it. Well, whatever floats your boat, I guess. The most important thing for me was to catch the sheep and feed my allies. Everything that I can catch in the forest is mine, but is it necessary to adhere to that principle here?


    Yoohyeon gave me the information and I would need Mikyung¡¯s help to catch it. In case I get hurt in the hunt, Sooyeon can heal me, and Hyung-jun Hyung will subdue the sheep herd together with me. It would be a team effort, so it was correct to share it with others.


    I wrote on a paper airplane about hunting the sheep herd and flew the paper plane into the sky. In the distance, I could see Yoohyeon catching it and giving it to the other member.


    ¡°Dingo, let¡¯s go.¡± I said. As soon as we went down to the first floor, the guy ran out into the street and blocked the front of the sheep.


    Woof! Woof! Woof!


    Dingo barked. The power behind his barks were different from the subdued one he did in the forest. The three sheep flinched and looked down towards Dingo. That¡¯s not a gesture of surrender. On the contrary, it was a preparatory gesture to headbutt Dingo.


    When the sheep ran forward, Dingo beautifully moved to the side. The sheep retreated back, perhaps bewildered by the noisy, tiny creature in front of them.


    Suddenly, a few arrows flew towards the sheep. It was shot from the second floor of the nearby building by Mikyung and Hyung-jun Hyung. However, only one hit the sheep while the other one missed.


    The three sheep were startled and started running towards the other side of Dingo. As I watched the sheep run towards the alley, I moved my automatic crossbow into the direction of the wounded sheep. Once I pulled the trigger, one arrow whistled past the sheep while the other one buried itself on its shoulder.


    However, maybe because the sheep¡¯s vitality was quite high, it did not slow down. I ran through the zombies and pursued it. Terrain Detection and Life Tracking skills were all activated. Thanks to that, I was able to chase the wounded sheep without difficulty.


    Growl-!! Growl-!!


    Two zombies in the alley walked towards me. I pulled out a long knife and cut the head of one of the zombies before running straight ahead, leaving the other one. Even if the sheep had an amazing vitality, it was still impossible for it to survive 2 hits of arrows for long. I could see more and more blood dripping onto the ground it passed through. When we reached pretty deep into the alley, the sheep was finally exhausted and fell to the floor.


    ¡°Huh, huh¡­¡± Breathing in, I pulled out my automatic crossbow and fired another arrow at the sheep. Once it hit, the sheep jumped up, but that was all. He instantly wobbled before once again falling into the ground. At the same time, the zombies, which sensed a living creature, flocked towards us. But, Hyung-jun Hyung pushed those zombies away and ran towards me.


    ¡°Seongho!¡±


    ¡°Shh. Hyung, let¡¯s just carry this guy.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll carry it, you just have to follow me. Mikyung will come soon.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Hyung-jun Hyung took the lead with a sheep soaked in blood carried on his shoulder. Since his unique ability was physical strengthening, it seems like that the weight of an adult sheep didn¡¯t bother him too much. At the moment when we were blocked by countless zombies who tried to enter the alley, Mikyung arrived with her Blink.


    ¡°Mikyung, please take care of me.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me!¡± She took my hand. The scenery around me quickly changed like a video being fast forward. And when I came to my senses, we had already arrived at the academy. Sooyeon and Yoohyeon quickly welcomed me, while Hyung-jun Hyung and Mikyung¡ªwho left again as soon as we arrived¡ªentered the room shortly after. Mikyung was pale, probably because she was dizzy as she had used her Blink several times in a short time.


    ¡°Aigoo, my head¡­ my head¡­¡±


    ¡°Mikyung, if you feel dizzy, sit down.¡± Sooyeon helped her to sit down. Then, everyone¡¯s gaze shifted towards the sheep.


    ¡°¡­Thanks to Seongho, the hunting itself was successful, but now¡­¡±


    I called Dingo through the window. The guy quickly came into the academy. ¡°Does anyone know how to butcher an animal?¡±


    Naturally, everyone shook their heads. After all, people who live in the city always buy their meat. If you weren¡¯t working on the field related to it, it was a matter of course that you wouldn¡¯t know how to do it. I also couldn¡¯t even butcher a chicken until recently, but now it is different.


    ¡°To butcher this guy, I will have to use a little bit more water, will it be okay?¡±


    Everyone was confused at my words. Their faces looked like they were saying ¡®what the hell are you talking about?¡¯ It looks like as long as they get to eat meat, I can use as much water as I want.


    Hyung-jun Hyung tapped my shoulder. ¡°Seongho is amazing, isn¡¯t he? Once he saw the sheep, he instantly thought of hunting it.¡±


    As I was embarrassed by the compliment and scratched my neck, Mikyung chimed. ¡°Manager, did you see it earlier? Seongho ahjussi just passed through the zombies so easily! I thought I was watching some kind of spy movie.¡±


    ¡°Seongho, are you hurt anywhere?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no. I¡¯m fine¡± I need to get out of here as fast as I can. With Hyung-jun Hyung¡¯s help, I dragged the sheep to the bathroom downstairs. ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m not very confident about butchering it. There will be a lot of stench. Moreover, there will be a lot of parts that will be thrown away.¡±


    ¡°Where in the world can you eat meat in this situation? I¡¯ll give you some water, so just do the best you can. I¡¯ll help.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± It¡¯s always better to have someone to help. When my hand moved the knife into the sheep¡¯s neck, Hyung-jun Hyung was quite terrified. But he did not turn his head away.


    ¡°Wow¡­ the smell of blood is no joke. Seongho, how can you endure this?¡±


    Well, it was because I had done it a few times in the forest. Though the experience of butchering two small animals was all I had under my belt, it was still quite helpful. While I was dismantling the sheep, people came with water and took all of the unnecessary parts to throw it away. A couple of hours later, the bathroom on the first floor was covered in blood, fat and mucus. And while Yoohyeon and Mikyung were cleaning it, the rest of us prepared the meals on the second floor.


    ¡°The current weather is so hot, so it won¡¯t last a few hours. We have to eat all of this.¡± Hyung-jun Hyung and Sooyeon looked at the tray full of meat with tired eyes as soon as I told them that.


    ¡°Can we finish it?¡±


    ¡°If we can¡¯t, Dingo will eat it all. If there is still anything left after that, I will dry it.¡± I only need to take it to the forest and smoke it. After a while, the meat was ready to be grilled. The cut of the meat was sloppy, and it didn¡¯t look appetizing at all. If this was still a functioning society, this kind of cut would be thrown away, I was sure of it. And the side dish prepared for the meat wasn¡¯t much, it¡¯s just sesame oil, ssamjang and dried vegetables in water. However, since the main menu was meat, nobody complained.


    Yoohyeon, who watched the situation outside with his paper airplane, said to us with his eyes wide open. ¡°It seems like the guys who tried to hunt the tiger failed. They¡¯re now fighting among themselves.¡±


    ¡°If they went for the sheep, they would have succeeded.¡±


    ¡°But, is a tiger¡¯s meat delicious?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know because I have never tried it.¡±


    The chatter about the other group instantly died down when the meat on the grill started to sizzle. Zombies had lost almost all of their sense of smell, so they wouldn¡¯t be able to smell it. Once it was done cooking, everybody quickly moved their chopsticks towards the meat.


    ¡°Delicious, this is really delicious.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I ate meat.¡± Sooyeon said with a shocked face.


    ¡°I am so happy that there is still a lot of meat left after eating like this. Seongho and everyone, thanks for the hard work.¡±


    From the corner of my eyes, I saw that Hyung-jun Hyung was quite restless while inhaling the meat. I think he¡¯s craving for a drink. I took the leftover soju pack out of my backpack and put it in front of them.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just drink this.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes.¡±


    ¡°Give me a drink, too.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡±


    Except for Yoohyeon, everyone wanted soju. These drinkers really¡­


    When everyone had exactly one glass each, the drink ran out. We enjoyed the meat and the alcohol thoroughly.


    Time passed, and summer deepened. When the crickets finally started to cry, ugly monsters with green skin started to appear.


    It was none other than


    Goblins.

 Chapter 51

    One day, the scarabs came to my hideout together with their 10 promised gifts. Two chunks of the obsidian-like emeras, 2 glowstones, 2 ignition stones, 3 black charcoal, and 1 mithril ore. Black charcoal was similar to a normal charcoal, but it was more flammable and could burn for a longer period of time. Just one of these things could warm me up for a whole night. In short, it was a very good substitute for firewood.


    Mithril ore was self-explanatory. It was an ore which contains mithril. The one in front of me though, seemed to contain quite a lot of mithril because it looks so silvery. Everything else was good, but how could I use this mithril ore¡­


    The group of scarabs scrambled around my feet as if feeling worried. Then, they made a gesture as if saying ¡®is this much okay?¡¯.


    ¡°Oh, yeah. It¡¯s enough.¡± Anyway, these guys were actually quite strong. The ignition stone was quite heavy even with my current strength, but they were able to carry it with only two of them. It seems like on top of being an intelligent scarab, they also have the strength to pair it.


    I went to the cave and gave them two packs of jelly. ¡°It¡¯s just a gift, so take it.¡±


    Sway-!! Sway-!!


    The guys raised their front legs and took the jelly. Then, the leader scribbled a picture on the floor. It was a picture of a scarab holding a hammer and pounding an ore.


    ¡°You are willing to make something out of it for me?¡±


    Nod-!! Nod-!!


    If so, without any more delay, I drew the things I wanted and showed it to the scarab leader. It was a climbing hook. Because it would be made of magic metal, it won¡¯t be affected by the corrosive disease, so it would certainly be a great tool to use on Earth.


    ¡°Can you make something like this?¡± The scarab leader tilted his head vaguely at my inquiry. Was it perhaps that the ore is not enough? I took out the mithril knife I looted from the goblin. ¡°What if I add this?¡±


    The scarab leader then nodded his head. What a relief¡­ The mithril knife could be replaced with a ceramic knife anyway, so there would be no problem. It also won¡¯t count as a waste because I got it from looting, not from purchasing it with points. I took out a paper and started to draw what I wanted in it.


    6 hooks total?


    Nod-!! Nod-!!


    The length is about this long?


    Nod-!! Nod-!!


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Mithril pretty strong? then maybe something like this.¡±


    After the planning phase was done, the scarabs started to make the hooks. Since I thought they would be cold if they made it outside, I asked them to enter the cave. They quickly came in and settled down around the brazier.


    ¡°Do scarabs get cold?¡± When I asked that, one of the guys staggered. It seems like their body couldn¡¯t move well if they were cold. Well, it¡¯s natural for any living thing which wasn¡¯t made to live in the cold climate.


    The scarabs warmed themselves around the brazier. Looking at them, I felt quite worried about their well-being. I think it was possible for us to live together. At first, I only wanted to keep a business partnership with them because I was quite scared of them since they were so intelligent. Now, however, I found out that they were harmless and yet powerful. They also excelled in metal-working. Although they were small, they could handle all the processes from extracting minerals from ores and making metal tools by themselves. It was almost like cheating.


    Of course, they also have their limitations. They couldn¡¯t fly and they were extremely weak to the point they couldn¡¯t even defeat goblins. But I could easily cover their limitations. They could also help me with their mastery over metallurgy, or they can be a scout to find enemies or traps, like when we raided the goblin hideout.


    ¡°Do you guys have any thoughts of living here?¡± I said as I sat down beside the scarabs. The guys were startled at my word. It seems like I need to explain it more to avoid any misunderstandings.


    ¡°I got rid of the goblin nest, but there are still many dangers in this forest, right? You never know when things like goblins will appear again. If you stay here, you will be safe. It will also help me greatly, because you guys can make something like that.¡±


    When I pointed at the mithril knife, the guys seemed to gather in one place and have a meeting. After a brief meeting, the captain drew on paper with my ballpoint pen. He seems to be asking if it is possible for me to provide a picture of jelly¡­ in other words, food.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you eat anything other than jelly?¡±


    I put the scarabs in my hand and showed them the food warehouse. When I put them down, they picked up things that they could eat. And it was more diverse than I thought. It seems like the reason they only stole the sweet potato flavored jelly was because it was the most delicious.


    Anyway, the scarabs finally decided to stay in my shelter. They had no luggage so moving wasn¡¯t complicated at all. Their house was made of sandwich panels with soil inside. The scarabs dug in the soil, went inside, and made a room one by one. They¡¯re really cute guys.


    This means that me, Dingo, and the four scarabs now share a shelter.


    Let¡¯s keep doing well in the future.


    .


    .


    .


    After I finished making the vegetable garden and a clumsy vinyl house in the shelter to plant the potato seedlings, the goblins finally appeared in reality. I could see some of them roaming the street as soon as I returned to my house on Earth. When they saw the zombies, they fired their paralysis darts, but when they realized that there were a lot of them, they quickly retreated. I don¡¯t know just when exactly did they appear, but they were now occupying many streets, buildings, and empty houses.


    ¡°From now on, they will slowly make a nest with the hobgoblin at the center.¡± They will also sweep the city to look for food and various things that they found useful. Naturally, they would raid human shelters, so in the early days of survival life, there are battles between monsters and survivors raging all over the place.


    ¡°It should be okay to warn the gym group in advance¡­¡± I read the walkthrough that the government had sent once again. As it was printed on a single sheet of paper, there was not much information. However, it was still summarized so well to the point even I couldn¡¯t write better than this.


    ¡°If it¡¯s only this much, I think it will be fine.¡± From now on, I need to find the goblin¡¯s den event. If I succeed in finding it, I could get my hand on a great reward. Because even though I had a lot of experience under my belt, starting from level 15 onwards, it will be the hellish section. It was called the hellish section since, if originally 10 experience points were needed to level up from 14 to 15, it would take 20 experience points to level up from 15 to 16, and so on. There was a time when users asked the developer team if it was a bug. But it was announced that it was intentional, which left a lot of users stunned.


    ¡°Though, the reward is more important than the exp.¡± It was because within each and every den, there¡¯s bound to be 1 unique item drop which couldn¡¯t be seen normally in the store.


    I put water on the brazier to make some coffee. At most, this luxury would only last for 2 years. The beans were indeed stored in a vacuum-packed packing, but it was unclear whether it would be fine even after two years. As I drank the strong roasted coffee, the caffeine registered into my system. My mind started to work and my eyes lit up.


    ¡°Dingo, let¡¯s go.¡± I went out of the portal with Dingo. The current time was early in the night. I had to quickly find one of the goblin¡¯s den before late night, since at that time, the keeper and bone creepers would start to spawn.


    ¡°Where are you, goblins¡­¡± Huh? It¡¯s here? I was confused since I found it way too easily. A portal was tucked away in the corner of the parking lot of a one-room building. Its size was smaller than my portal. And these kinds of portals will be the ones that will lead me to the goblin¡¯s den.


    ¡°If I open my portal inside, where will it lead me to, I wonder?¡± Will it be Earth? or the forest? Well, it¡¯s no use to think about it. I can just try it myself. I pushed my ebony stick over the portal to make sure there were no problems and went in. Dingo followed me closely from behind. Then, once we crossed over, a narrow, dark cave greeted us.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Kieekk-!! Kieekk-!!


    Shrieks of goblins could also be heard nearby. There seemed to be at least five or six of them. Without making any noises, I opened my portal. Once I entered it, I found that the forest was the place I arrived in. I quickly headed to my cave, took a metal nail and brought it with me to the den. It stayed intact and didn¡¯t crumble. I¡¯m not sure in what dimension this den is located, but it was confirmed that at least there was no corrosive disease here.


    Because the cave was narrow, winding and dark, it was difficult to take advantage of the bow. If I blindly walked through the corner with bow in hand and met a goblin, I would be left with no way of retaliating. Although there¡¯s Dingo and my Perception stats was quite high, if I was attacked first, it would be hard for me to win.


    ¡°I would need a shield.¡± A spear and a shield would be more helpful than a bow in this kind of place. If some paralyzing darts flew, I could just hide behind the shield. Every goblin usually only had two or three shots, so once I blocked it all with the shield, I could charge in to kill them all. In case I also need some space, I could utilize the crossbow.


    I put all the necessary weapons and equipment in the slots. The net gun was also very good at covering the front in such a narrow area. But what if a hobgoblin shows up? Well, I¡¯ll probably just shoot it and stab it with a spear.


    ¡°Dingo will take care of those who come from the side or from behind.¡± When I put on the watch, my Perception stat rose to 14. Great. Since night vision goggles were useless here, I wear a helmet with a flashlight taped to the side of the helmet. This will undoubtedly expose my location, but I don¡¯t care as there will be a commotion anyway. I took out a shield and a crossbow from the slot and lifted them. When I finished, I turned on the flashlight fixed to the helmet, enabling me to see the front better.


    Kieekk-!!


    The goblins noticed the light and started to scream. Come quickly you bastards, I¡¯ll kill you all. I held out my shield and moved forward. As soon as the light hit the corner in front, a goblin jumped out. Since they were living in this dark place, they were startled by the strong light. Without hesitation, I fired my crossbow and pulled out my spear. A popping sound was heard as the crossbow bolt was lodged in the goblin¡¯s side.


    Kieekk-!!


    ¡°One down.¡± Then, the sound of footsteps echoed through the narrow hallway. Two goblins popped out of the corner. I quickly moved. One of them was pierced in the stomach by my spear and died. The other one ran towards me with a cub.


    ¡°Slot #1.¡± I pushed the goblin away with my shield, pulled out a long knife from the slot, and stabbed the goblin.


    Kie-!!


    Without any resistance, the goblin died.


    ¡°Three down.¡± After that battle, I continued to explore the den. I keep slaughtering goblins every time I meet one. Thankfully, I didn¡¯t take any damage. Every time there was a fork in the road, I searched thoroughly before marking the location with a marker. Thanks to this, I was never lost in the den. It was not that difficult since it was a small event den.


    ¡°Though, if it were a dungeon or labyrinth, there would be so many traps¡­¡± The monsters inside also had various means to attack such as hit and run and throwing nets from above.


    Once I cleared dozens of goblins, the space began to expand. Looks like this place was the hobgoblin¡¯s nest. Since I already made quite a commotion here, there¡¯s no way he won¡¯t notice me. He¡¯s probably already waiting for me.


    or not¡­


    When I quietly walked inside, a strange sensation swept over me. Dingo instantly lowered his stance and growled. It seems like something was hiding behind the wall. In such a small den, where it was even difficult for goblins to pass through, they wouldn¡¯t set a trap. However, there were often cases where those goblins repaired a naturally collapsed wall and used it as a trap. They would attack any users who passed through the said wall by jumping out from it. If their Perception stat was low, they would undoubtedly get hit.


    ¡°Where are you~¡± I smirked as I shot the flashlight to the wall. Something could be seen hiding in one of the holes. It¡¯s a little bit creepy, but there¡¯s nothing to be afraid of when you know it.


    I quickly raised my long knife and stabbed the wall.


    ¡°What are you doing, not coming out?¡± When the wall crumbled, a hobgoblin walked out.


    Roar-!!


    But unfortunately for him, I had already pulled the net gun out of the slot. At the push of a button, the compressed nitrogen capsules burst out and pushed the net flying towards the hobgoblin. In the blink of an eye, the hobgoblin was caught in it. The guy frantically tried to tear the net, but to no avail. I put my long knife away, replaced it with a spear, and stabbed him with all my strength behind it.


    One stab, two stab, three stab. When I kept stabbing him without mercy, the guy screamed in agony. And with a stab to his neck, the hobgoblin fell silent.


    ¡¸You have earned 32 Points ¡¹


    What about level up? None?


    ¡°Fucking hell section.¡± I spat as I retrieved the arrow and my other weapons and put them into the slot. Now, even when I kill a hobgoblin, I couldn¡¯t even get a skill because there¡¯s no level difference between him and me. To get one, I have to beat a stronger monster, which means I¡¯ll have to take a bigger risk.


    ¡°It¡¯s ironic.¡± I went into the nest as I said those words. Rotten meat, half-eaten foods, and crude wooden weapons greeted me. After waiting for a while, a light began to appear in the air. It gradually became brighter and brighter before disappearing when it reached the peak of shininess. Dropping an arrow to the ground at the same time.


    ¡¸Adamant Arrow: Increased penetration¡¹


    ¡°Oh, this is good!¡± When a weapon or projectile had the ¡®Increased Penetration¡¯ option, it would be able to pierce through pretty much any armor. With this option attached, the arrows I just got would be strong enough to pierce the thick owlbear¡¯s hide. Though, the quantity was a little disappointing, as only 10 arrows were dropped.


    ¡°With these, even werewolves will be easy prey.¡± With a note that I could land a perfect hit on it, though. After all, most users would be hit by the werewolf while still aiming, since those things can move very fast. I went through the den one last time and came out through the portal. However, when I exited, the portal was still there, it didn¡¯t disappear.


    ¡°I think this portal will last for quite some time.¡± No one knows when it will disappear. But I didn¡¯t care about it anymore since I already cleared it. I put the adamant arrows into the slot and moved on.


    Hmm¡­


    Since this is an early event, some survivors might know about it. Let¡¯s hide and watch the portal a little bit longer.


    .


    .


    .


    30 minutes after Seongho leaves the goblin¡¯s den, a group of people consisting of 3 men and 2 women wearing hiking clothes found the portal. They were members of the group that Kyunghoon and Bora joined. Their leader¡¯s name was Kim Cheol-jung, a user in his 30s who enjoyed Survival Life for quite some time.


    ¡°Look there! I told you that it was there!¡±


    ¡°Ah, it really is. If we go inside, will we really arrive at the goblin¡¯s den?¡± When the woman aside from Bora tried to enter the portal fearlessly, the leader, Cheol-jung grabbed her shoulder.


    ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t go carelessly, who knows what is waiting for us inside that portal.¡±


    ¡°Then, oppa should go in first.¡±


    ¡°Hey, do you know what¡¯s inside? In cases like this, it will be safer to put the stick first into the portal. Like this¡­¡± The man pushed the stick he wielded into the portal and moved it back and forth, causing the crowd to burst into low laughter because they knew what kind of action that he imitated.


    Oh Yeon-hwa, the woman who tried to enter earlier, realized this and slapped the leader in the back. ¡°Oppa, you are really a pervert.¡±


    Cheol-jung giggled and pulled out the stick before going inside. Kyunghoon and Bora sighed and met each other gazes. Kyunghoon had decided to throw away gym group and joined this group in order to focus on hunting, but¡­ he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something was off. The atmosphere in this group was not very good. The leader, Cheol-jung, coveted Bora even though he already had a lover named Yeon-hwa, and so did the other men. Although it was clear what kind of relationship Bora had with Kyunghoon, their sticky gaze did not disappear.


    The experience of Cheol-jung as a self-proclaimed veteran was not much different from Kyunghoon. It was about 200 hours. But, when both of them had a disagreement, Yeon-hwa and the other men always took Cheol-jung¡¯s side. Therefore, Kyunghoon¡¯s idea never got approved.


    His bad feeling grows day by day, but as he couldn¡¯t go anywhere if he left this group, he kept it for himself. After all, Kyunghoon didn¡¯t think that this group would allow both him and Bora to leave with their share of supplies just like the gym group. Leaving in the middle of the night with their supply also didn¡¯t seem viable because of the monsters that spawns only at night. So, Kyunghoon and Bora can only keep what is in their thoughts hidden while keeping up with whatever Cheol-jung is doing.


    ¡°Hurry, get in. The bone creepers are coming.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t push.¡±


    The three of them entered the portal, and Kyunghoon spoke softly soon after.


    ¡°If we clear this portal, an item will appear¡­¡±


    ¡°Will Cheol-jung give it to you?¡± Bora said in a tone of concern.


    ¡°He should. This time is my turn.¡±


    ¡°It is, but¡­¡± Bora muttered. There¡¯s a chance that Cheol-jung would say some strange bullshit again to keep the item for himself. And since he was stronger than Kyunghoon, the two had no choice but to follow.


    When Kyunghoon was about to enter, Cheol-jung came out from the portal, raging.


    ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuck! Who cleared this den!?¡±


    As soon as Kyunghoon heard it, his anger also flared up.


    ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I don¡¯t know! Is it perhaps your previous group?¡±


    ¡°You mean they came out at night, and immediately cleared this den? That¡¯s impossible. They didn¡¯t even dare to hunt those weak zombies because they are a bunch of cowards.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Then, who is it?¡±


    The other two came out and instantly said they had to find out who did it. At their words, Cheol-jung brows furrowed


    ¡°It seems like whoever cleared this place knows about the goblin¡¯s den event. Then we¡¯ll be looking for another portal¡­ and wait there until that bastard appears.¡±


    ¡°Wait, if you kill someone, you will be tagged as a murderer.¡±


    ¡°Killing just one person is fine. Don¡¯t you know about it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! All competitors must be eliminated.¡±


    Kyunghoon, who was about to refute that statement, quickly bit his mouth and swallowed his words back in. To be honest, he just wanted to find another goblin¡¯s den rather than chasing and killing people, but the atmosphere was so ferocious. It was simply impossible for him to give his opinion.


    Knowing his lover¡¯s turmoil, Bora patted him in the back. ¡°We will still look for the portal, won¡¯t we? You just have to convince Cheol-jung oppa to enter rather than waiting for whoever cleared this den to get there.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± The two followed in the footsteps of the three who had walked away from the portal. When they disappeared, Seongho, who was hiding inside his portal attached to the wall across the goblin¡¯s den portal, came out.


    ¡°They don¡¯t look good.¡± He was certain that they were people he met in the camping supply store back in the D-day.


    He remembered their words at that time.


    -Are you going to leave him alone?


    -Then what do you want me to do? kill him?


    At that time, because looting was more important, they decided to leave him alone, but it¡¯s different now. Those guys were the type who would turn into predators whenever necessary. They would undoubtedly attack the gym group and himself if they felt the pros outweigh the cons.


    ¡°Before that happens, it¡¯ll be better to nip it in the bud.¡± Seongho muttered as he disappeared into the dark night.

 Chapter 52

    Zombies didn¡¯t disappear just because goblins appeared. It would only make the already hellish and chaotic situation even worse. The street which used to be quite safe if people were careful on treading it would become more dangerous. It was because, unlike zombies, who could be easily avoided, goblins would chase humans for a long time, and with the paralyzing darts on their arsenal, they were a very ferocious predator.


    If someone gets hit by one of those paralyzing darts, they would get immobilized and fall down on the spot. If they had no companions that could protect them at that situation, they would certainly be dead. Of course, even if they have companions, there¡¯s no guarantee that they would be safe.


    ¡°Ahh!¡± A man¡¯s scream echoed through the dark city. Goblins had no regard for human suffering. Therefore, they did not hesitate to slam the man¡¯s head down with a club and thrusting a wooden spear into his eye. The man was unable to move, uttering only scream and ragged breath. After another few minutes passed, the man died. Alone, in a dark night. His comrades had already fled long ago.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Cheol-jung and Kyunghoon along with the others in the group hid in an alley and watched the scene. Yeon-hwa, who was about to recklessly enter the goblin¡¯s den a few hours ago, was completely nervous. Her whole body was drenched in sweat as she saw the scene. Never in her wildest imagination she ever thought that goblins would be that cruel.


    ¡°You should never come close to them just because they look easy. There is no immediate cure for those darts.¡± Kyunghoon snorted.


    ¡°But it¡¯s not really dangerous.¡± Cheol-jung said. His opinion was different from Kyunghoon. ¡°We can fight them from a distance. Their shooting range isn¡¯t further than a bow, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but, they will certainly try another way to attack us if we did that. Those bastards use their heads well¡­¡±


    ¡°From whom did you learn that from?¡± Cheol-jung laughed,


    Kyunghoon bit his lips. He couldn¡¯t say that it was from Seongho. His pride simply didn¡¯t allow him to. Seongho had told the gym member about a lot of things. And when Kyunghoon learned it from Yoohyeon, he realized that there were things which were not in the walkthrough given by the government. The prime example was about the tendency of goblins. They were cunning creatures who knew how to dig traps. However, they were also foolish at the same time since they could fall into the trap they made themselves. They are also quite timid, but when they have the upper hand, they turn to be cruel instantly, etc¡­


    At that time, Kyunghoon refused to believe anything he said out of a sense of rivalry. but when the goblins appeared, he instantly realized that his words were the truth.


    ¡°Then what should we do? Are we just going to hide like a fool like this?¡± The other man in the group said. At his question, Kyunghoon bit his mouth. It¡¯s problematic to be too cautious like people at the gym, but it¡¯s also problematic to be as aggressive as this group. Anyway, since the leader of this group was Cheol-jung, he was the one who should make the decision.


    ¡°High-risk, high-return, you know? The more dangerous it is, the more we could get if we clear it. While hunting goblins, we also have to find portals to wait for that bastard.¡± Cheol-jung said.


    It was reckless. High-risk, high-return was something worth doing when it was sure that your life would be preserved. A man who gambled with his life was nothing but a mere idiot. However, Kyunghoon and Bora had to follow that same idiot.


    Cheol-jung instructed. ¡°Let¡¯s all use the bow. When those guys look away, we strike.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t see anything because it¡¯s dark¡­¡±


    ¡°Just shoot it towards where you think they are. If we shoot together, there must be at least one which hits.¡±


    After several minutes passed, everyone had a bow on their hands, ready to hunt. At that moment, Yeon-hwa, who looked around for the last time, whispered urgently.


    ¡°Oppa, look over there.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°There, that¡¯s a hobgoblin, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    The two men looked in the direction she was pointing and swallowed. A hobgoblin which no matter how they saw was extremely weakened passed by. Its movement was somehow unnatural, but it didn¡¯t matter. After all, If they kill a hobgoblin, they would get 10 points and there¡¯s also a possibility of getting items or skills.


    Cheol-jung¡¯s eyes instantly lit up. When the hobgoblin disappeared into the alleyways, he jolted to his feet. ¡°Change of plan. Let¡¯s go kill that bastard.¡±


    At the sudden appearance of a hobgoblin, Kyunghoon felt something strange. Currently, it was dark, so why did that hobgoblin look so vivid? Then why did it limp alone without any goblin subordinate in tow? However, since it was only his suspicion, he couldn¡¯t object to the plan. He knew that once he did it, he would receive scornful glances from the others.


    ¡°Are you going to object again?¡± Cheol-jung asked.


    ¡°No, let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the right attitude! Let¡¯s not go through there, let¡¯s go over there.¡± After Cheol-jung said that, the party carefully headed towards the alley where the hobgoblins disappeared into. It was late at night and nothing was visible. They wanted to take out a glowstone to light the way, but they knew, If they did that, the zombies around or even goblins would flock towards them. Thanks to that, the group had no choice but to walk around without being able to see a thing in the darkness, as a blind person would.


    At that moment, Kyunghoon remembered what Yoohyeon said about Seongho.


    ¨DSeongho hyung is really strange, isn¡¯t he? Even at night, he can move as if he can see everything around him.


    In this apocalypse, every survivor had memories of tripping over something while farming at night without exception. It was because the night in the apocalyptic world was extremely dark. On top of it, hubris was scattered all over the place. However, he said that Seongho moves naturally at night as if he was moving at daytime.


    Why did that thought come to mind now? Kyunghoon shook off his thoughts and focused on chasing the hobgoblin. Not long after, the group could finally see the hobgoblin they were after. However, it was not standing anymore but lying in the garden of a luxury house.


    At the scene, Cheol-jung got frustrated and ran straight away to the hobgoblin. ¡°You must not die yet.¡±


    ¡°But oppa, doesn¡¯t the hobgoblin seem to be shining for some reason?¡±


    ¡°Oh fuck! This guy is dead.¡± Cheol-jung spat as he took the mop-like pouch off the hobgoblin¡¯s head. The moment he took it, a bright light spread in all directions. Everyone froze on their feet. When such bright light spreads out in the middle of the night like this¡­


    ¡°Hurry up and cover that!¡± Yeon-hwa screamed out. However, it was a grave mistake. Because of the combo of the bright light and her scream, the surrounding zombies began to flock towards them. The group who saw numerous zombies shuffling towards them shook, as sweat started to drip all over their body. They quickly scanned their surroundings and looked for a way to escape.


    At that moment, Cheol-jung remembered that zombies couldn¡¯t climb high fences.


    ¡°Fence, climb up the fence!¡± He shouted.


    He¡¯s indeed correct. Zombies couldn¡¯t climb the high fence. The guys would just scream and clamour from below. But there was something the party overlooked. Currently, zombies aren¡¯t the only ones that are coming towards them, as the goblins can be seen slowly coming towards where they are.


    Once they climbed up the fence, the man in the lead suddenly flinched and fell down the fence. Zombies attacked him in an instant, and a terrifying scream rang out.


    ¡°HUPPP!¡± Bora shut her mouth, and Kyunghoon, who was the last to climb the fence, jumped right off.


    ¡°Jump! Jump!¡±


    ¡°Oppa!¡±


    ¡°If you stay there, you¡¯ll die! That¡¯s the paralyzing dart! The goblins are here!¡±


    The rest of the group jumped off and quickly dispersed.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°¡­it turned out better than I expected.¡± I murmured. Through the whole ordeal the group suffered, I was hiding in the portal while watching them. All of the suffering I went through by dragging that huge hobgoblin corpse paid off. It seems like they truly couldn¡¯t see me dragging it around thanks to my full jet-black equipment.


    ¡°By the way, why did they even climb up the fence? That¡¯ll only make them an easier target for the goblins.¡± Well, they probably forgot about the existence of goblins because they were taken aback by the fact that zombies were flocking towards them. Anyway, it¡¯s better for me that way.


    I came out of the portal and followed Cheol-jung who was running away. The guy almost tripped over an obstacle, but was able to keep his balance and keep running away from the zombies. By the way, what kind of unique ability did this guy have, I wonder¡­


    However, moments later, the answer to my question came. As he ran, he put both of his hands together. Then, the two zombies which were blocking his way were engulfed in a light and stood still.


    Is it binding?


    For a moment I thought that his unique ability would be unrivalled in a 1:1 situation. But I was wrong. His power only lasted for a few seconds: at most it was only around 3 to 4 seconds. Moreover, if there was an obstacle like a wall between him and the target, it wouldn¡¯t get activated.


    ¡°It¡¯s enough.¡± I murmured as Cheol-jung beat the zombies up and continued to run away. I have no need to watch him any longer to get information about his unique ability. After all, additional effects did not modify the nature of the unique ability itself. It would only give additional effects such as increasing the total number of targets that can be affected, or increasing the range of the ability itself.


    I followed him closely. But I still kept a good distance from him, enough not to be attacked by the zombies. Cheol-jung suddenly shouted. It seems like he had noticed me.


    ¡°It¡¯s you who are behind all of this, aren¡¯t you! You motherfucker!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± The guy got angrier at my calm tone. He stopped on the spot, turned back and rushed into me. With a relaxed smile, I opened the portal in front of me. Like this, even if he swung his weapon at me, I would be fine. On top of it, his unique ability wouldn¡¯t be activated as it would be blocked by the portal.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°This, this!¡±


    The guy came over to me and clapped his hand. I purposely stopped moving. At that moment, Joy spread across Cheol-jung¡¯s face.


    ¡°Die, you bastard.¡± The guy then ran towards me with a knife. However, without being able to reach me, he crashed head-on to the portal.


    ¡°Keuk!¡± How does it feel to run into a wall? The zombies approached us from every direction. But I quickly hid inside the portal. ¡°Close portal.¡±


    Inside the cave couldn¡¯t be more peaceful. Dingo was sleeping and while the scarab leader was busy pushing firewood into the furnace. It seems like he did it in order to keep the warmth in case I suddenly come in.


    ¡°Thank you for your hard work, but¡­¡± It would be better if it¡¯s a little bit cold since it¡¯s extremely hot on Earth right now. I brew some coffee while waiting for the commotion outside the portal to end. All my tension instantly melts away as soon as the hot coffee wet my throat and traces along my stomach.


    ¡°Fuhhh¡­¡±


    Once I finished the coffee, I stood up. It¡¯s now time to return to Earth. When I opened the portal and walked out from it, the first thing that greets me was a corpse which had been torn into several pieces. I quietly put the backpack Cheol-jung was carrying into the portal and walked away, trying my best to not attract any zombies.


    It is already deep into the night. I need to return to my house quickly before the keepers and bone creepers start to pop out.


    By the way, should I take the risk and kill the other three, or just go straight home?


    The moment I pondered about that, I scoffed. ¡°Why am I even thinking about this?¡±


    The answer was a no-brainer, of course I would just return home. Why should I risk my well-being for those guys? With Cheol-jung and the other man dead, the office team could be said to be finished. Judging from the conversation content of the remaining three, their aggressiveness was weak. In particular, Kyunghoon and Bora were only the victims of this situation.


    ¡°He only needs to be careful about things that he says from now on.¡±


    When I reached the crossroads, after walking for a few minutes. I could see members of the gym group were engaged in a siege battle. Their enemy was, of course, goblins. I quickly took the adamant arrow I just got, notched it into the bow and let it fly. The adamant arrow pierced the goblin¡¯s body easily, it even took the body with its momentum and lodged it to the barricade. That¡¯s really a great penetrating power.


    Mikyung, who was shooting arrows from the second floor, shouted as soon as she saw me.


    ¡°Ahjussi!¡±


    Following her shout, the others who looked extremely exhausted also looked at me.


    .


    .


    .


    Hwang Seokhyun, or Rabbit Pwincess, had somehow arrived in Seoul. It was a miracle in itself since he just walked aimlessly from North Korea. He¡¯s currently emaciated. It was because there was really nothing except zombies in North Korea. Whether it was building or food, there was none.


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry¡­¡± He wanted to go somewhere to find food, but in doing so, he knew he would get lost again. He was barely able to arrive in Seoul, so it would be really, really, sad if he somehow ended up in North Korea again.


    Suddenly, someone came out and walked towards him from the opposite side. He was a middle-aged man in a neat shirt and suit pants. He looked at Seokhyun and greeted him politely.


    ¡°Are you Rabbit Pwincess? Nice to meet you.¡±


    For a moment, Seokhyun wondered how did the man know that he¡¯s Rabbit Pwincess. However, now that he thinks about it, it must be rare to see a man wander through the apocalypse with only a coat and panties. It¡¯s been a long time since he put his underwear at the Auction House and now people already knew that particular panty was his.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve seen your face somewhere before¡­¡± Seokhyun pondered for a moment. Then he flicked his fingers. He remembered that the man in front of him was a man who was often seen on the side of the president.


    The man then introduced himself. ¡°My name is Lee Beom-seok. I serve the presid-no, the title of president itself is gone now. Anyway, I serve Jang Wontaek. The person who appeared on TV on the last day.¡±


    Seokhyun nodded his head at his introduction.


    ¡°Hm¡­ Thank you for your hard work. But what are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here to meet Rabbit Princess-nim.¡±


    ¡°Me? I think it will be difficult for you.¡±


    As Seokhyun¡¯s eyes narrowed, Beom-seok hurriedly waved his hands and gave him an explanation.


    ¡°I have no desire to take you by force! I don¡¯t even have the ability to do that. I just want to meet you. By the way, do you remember Survivor 1?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Did Survivor 1 stayed with them? Seokhyun thought. If so, it makes sense how the government has managed to get their hands on all of the information they spread just before the end.


    Beom-seok picked up a pile of stones and killed several zombies running towards them in the distance. From the scene, Seokhyun could easily figure out what his unique ability was. It was telekinesis. Seokhyun then sat on the sidewalk and suggested Beom-seok do the same.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hear your story first.¡± Seokhyun spoke. Then, Beom-seok told him the rough story. The president himself and a few others had managed to survive. The ex-government was also able to recruit several users from Survival Life, including Survivor 1. And currently, they are forming a force.


    ¡°What we want is a shelter that is safe from the threat of monsters, including zombies. It¡¯s not just a small shelter that can fit a few people. It¡¯s way bigger than that.¡±


    Seokhyun tilted his head at his words.


    ¡°If there are more than five people in a shelter, a raid will come.¡±


    ¡°How long can we live in groups with such a small scale? Our goal is to build a strong force that can defeat any monsters even if they come, Rabbit Princess-nim.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Pwi. Rabbit Pwincess.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t pronounce it.¡± Beom-seok tried to pronounce Pwi a few times but to no avail. He then cautiously suggested. ¡°How about joining us, Rapwi-nim? If you join, our power will really increase. We have an undisclosed underground shelter. And inside, we have a lot of supplies.¡±


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s tempting.¡±


    ¡°Of course, there are also quite a few women who are interested in Rapwi-nim. We¡¯re not going to do anything about it¡­but there¡¯s no denying it¡¯s a great opportunity. How about it?¡± Beom-seok said. From what he knew from Survivor 1 and the Auction House, Rabbit Pwincess had always shouted sex wherever he go, so it should be very tempting for him. However, unfortunately for him, Seokhyun¡¯s heart is already somewhere else.


    ¡°I won¡¯t buy it.¡± He got up and started walking again. At that moment, Beom-seok¡¯s eyes opened wide.


    ¡°No, why did you reject my offer?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because someone is waiting for me.¡±


    ¡°Who might that be?¡±


    ¡°A friend.¡± Seokhyun said. It¡¯s not like they had met each other, but for him, friends in Survival Life and in reality weren¡¯t so different.


    Beom-seok started walking next to Seokhyun. ¡°Are you going to see I Love Gimbap or Duck Buttock?¡±


    ¡°Hey, please go away! I have to go south.¡±


    ¡°But if you walk in that direction, it¡¯s Uijeongbu¡­¡±


    Seokhyun quickly stopped walking in embarrassment. Then Beom-seok suggested it again. ¡°How about this¡­ Why don¡¯t you come to our shelter for a while and talk with Survivor 1? After that, we will give you a guide that can guide you wherever you want to go.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°I never lie. Also, it is not a ploy to forcefully arrest Rapwi-nim. I just want you to meet Survivor 1.¡±


    ¡°After that, can I do whatever I want?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, I¡¯ll even give you a guide.¡±


    If the guy is really going to give him that, there¡¯s no reason for him to refuse, Seokhyun thought.


    When Seokhyun nodded, Beom-seok took the lead and guided him. In his mind, he¡¯s smiling. So far, things have gone quite smoothly. However¡­ he looked at Rabbit Pwincess with the corner of his eyes. His half-ripped cloak was fine, but his holey panty¡­


    Beom-seok closed his eyes as Rabbit Pwincess started to put his finger inside his panty.

 Chapter 53

    The battle in front of the gym building was not that different from a real war. Goblins were trying to cross the barricade while the humans struggled to keep them away. Hyung-jun Hyung and Mikyung stopped the goblins from behind the barricade on the first floor while Sooyeon and Yoohyeon fired arrows on the second floor. However, the long balance struggle was broken, not by one of the two camps, but by a man who attacked the goblins with a bow from a distance.


    Kieekk!


    The goblins¡¯ attention quickly shifted towards Seongho, who was not inside the barricade.


    Let¡¯s kill that guy!


    A consensus was formed, and some goblins ran towards him. But, the moment those goblins took out their dagger and paralyzing darts from their pouch, the distance between them had widened, as he had moved backwards.


    The goblins ran as fast as they could, trying to close the distance. But when they realized they were moving away from the barricade that they wanted to break down, they halted their steps and turned away, returning to their horde. But soon after, another arrow slithered towards them, killing another one of them. The goblins become angry when things keep repeating. Two of the goblins ran with wooden spears in their hands to catch the man. As soon as he saw the green creature rushing towards him, Seongho climbed up to the second floor of a nearby building.


    Yoohyeon stopped shooting for a moment and tapped Sooyeon¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Noona, Noona. Did you see that?¡±


    ¡°See what?¡±


    ¡°The goblins came down 2 seconds after going up the stairs. Dead.¡±


    ¡°Really? Wow, that¡¯s no joke¡­¡±


    Sooyeon wondered, how in the world did he kill two goblins in just 2 seconds? It was a pity that she couldn¡¯t see it because the stairs were not clearly visible from where she stood. After killing the goblins, Seongho casually left the building and started pulling the arrow again. Every time the bowstring was released, another goblin dropped dead. If they use the barricade as a shield against his attack, Seongho would move and kill them one by one like a ghost. It makes no sense for her, but he actually is doing it. The power of the arrows he shoots was also really great, so great that the goblins that were shot by it got dragged with the arrow and were lodged at the barricade.


    Sooyeon stared at the figure for a moment.


    ¡®Well, he is someone who almost finished the murderer event all by himself.¡¯


    It wasn¡¯t until she became a member of the gym group that she realized just how awesome it was. Around the time Kyunghoon was still a member, he once emphasized the murderer event to the group immensely. He told them that if they ever hear a heartbeat, don¡¯t look back and leave the area immediately. According to Yoohyeon, when he said that, his usual bluffing appearance was gone and he became really serious.


    It must mean that it was that dangerous¡­


    ¡®Seongho seemed to know everything.¡¯


    At first, he said he didn¡¯t know much about things. However, the more she spent time with him or with people who knew him, it turned out he knew about many things. It was too strange to say that it was his first time experiencing this all. It felt as if everything was just normal to him. Looking back now, when they were facing Kwon, he predicted that his subordinate would come. It was truly a pity that she sent him right away when they returned to her room. She should¡¯ve given him more thanks.


    ¡®I should¡¯ve been bolder.¡¯ Obviously, she and Seongho weren¡¯t in a relationship where they could show affection to each other without hesitation. But in such a chaotic world, love could bloom suddenly and immediately. Mostly through bodily actions, though. She did not know what Seongho thought about her, but what she did know was that he¡¯s an attractive person. His face was also not bad.


    Should I try it next time?


    However, the moment she thought about it, Mikyung came to mind. She didn¡¯t show it openly, but she was undoubtedly interested in Seongho. The Manager and Yoohyeon seem to not realize it, though.


    Can I even compete with a 22-year-old?


    Sooyeon thought so and then sighed. ¡°Hah¡­ What am I thinking, in this kind of situation.¡±


    ¡°Sorry? What situation?¡± Yoohyeon asked.


    ¡°No, nothing. Just keep shooting at them.¡± Sooyeon said as she shook her head.


    Anyway, thanks to Seongho¡¯s help, the number of goblins was rapidly decreasing. Hyung-jun and Mikyung, who were fighting at the barricade, finally took a breather. On top of that, when the goblins realized that they were at a disadvantage, they began to scamper off.


    However, the battle wasn¡¯t over just yet. It was because suddenly, a commotion lured the zombies to flock once again.


    Growl-!!


    They couldn¡¯t cross the barricades like goblins, but their advantage lay on numbers. Barricades that were made by a mishmashing of things began to get pushed back little by little. On the second floor, Yoohyeon, who was shooting arrows at the zombies while controlling his paper airplane at the same time, shouted.


    ¡°Noona, there¡¯s a person running over there!¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°There! He¡¯s running towards us!¡±


    It was a very serious matter for people to suddenly come in this situation. After all, who knows what he would bring together with him?


    As soon as Sooyeon thought so, Seongho moved. He shot an arrow into the darkness. At the sight, Yoohyeon clenched his fist, his jaw fell a little bit.


    ¡°Seongho hyung is shooting at the zombies behind the man! Wow! How can he shoot like that?¡±


    Meanwhile, Hyung-jun and Mikyung, who were stabbing zombies with wooden spears on the first floor, were confused. The footsteps they heard were obviously those of a human. What if whoever they are tried to jump over the barricade?


    However, before they could answer their own question, someone¡¯s voice echoed towards them.


    ¡°Help, help!¡±


    Hyung-jun¡¯s brows furrowed, as he tried his best to see the location of the man in the darkness. It wasn¡¯t in his nature to turn away from people who were asking for help. He said to Mikyung. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for asking you this, but can you help him?¡±


    ¡°Okay, Manager. I¡¯ll be back.¡± She nodded her head and immediately disappeared. Moments later, she already returned with a man who looked weary in tow.


    ¡°Gosh.¡± Mikyung sat on the floor. Her head was throbbing. Meanwhile, the people on the second floor clenched their teeth and kept raining arrows towards the flock of zombies. Little by little, the number of zombies decreases. It seems like they will be able to rest soon.


    However, contrary to their expectation, suddenly Seongho shouted.


    ¡°Bone creeper! Run away!¡±


    Bone creeper!?!?


    People who heard Seongho¡¯s shout were shocked and quickly looked for a place to hide. At the same time, a white skull popped out of the darkness on the street. It crackled for a few times before ramming into the barricade and exploded. Several zombies were blown away by the explosion, and one side of the barricade fell. It was truly a scary power. Fortunately, the people on the first floor who heard Seongho¡¯s shout had fled into the building. However, they did not come out completely unscathed. Hyung-jun, who used his body to cover the other two while entering the building, had two pieces of bones lodged in his back.


    ¡°Keuk-!¡± He groaned. Mikyung quickly ran towards him.


    ¡°Potion, potion!¡± She shouted.


    The man who was saved by Mikyung looked at Hyung-jun. ¡°We need to remove the bones first, can you stand it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m quite strong, so it should be possible. Please take it all out at once.¡± Hyung-jun nodded his head. Cold sweat rolled over his face.


    ¡°Take this and bite it tightly.¡±


    ¡°Ugh.¡±


    When the bones were pulled out, Hyung-jun limped. Fortunately, his unique ability helps him to endure and survive. After hearing the situation from Yoohyeon, Sooyeon rushed down to the first floor and treated Hyung-jun. Meanwhile, since the people of the gym stopped attacking, the zombies regained their momentum and completely destroyed the barricade.


    It was getting dangerous. Seongho thought as he looked at the situation. He unsheathed the orichalcon long knife and entered close combat. With every swing, the limbs of zombies who rushed towards him flew to the air.


    At the sight, Yoohyeon blinked several times in succession. He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes.


    ¡°The combat foresight ability is really great¡­¡± He murmured. However, no matter how he looked at it, Seongho¡¯s movement couldn¡¯t only be attributed to his unique ability. It seems like he was reacting to each and every move the zombies made. Though, since he only watched it through his paper plane, he couldn¡¯t be sure. After all, his movement was too fast, so he could be wrong.


    Yoohyeon drew the bowstring again without thinking about it further. Thanks to everyone¡¯s struggle, after a few minutes, the zombies around the barricade all fell down. After taking a stock into the surrounding area for one last time, Seongho jumped over the barricade and entered the building.


    .


    .


    .


    I laid Hyung-jun Hyung whom I supported with my shoulder on the floor.


    ¡°Hyung, are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll die. I should be fine,¡± he groaned. By the way, there were six of us here.


    It would be better for me to leave this place as soon as possible so that the zombies wouldn¡¯t be able to detect us. As I rose to my feet, Mikyung waved her hand.


    ¡°Me and Yoohyeon will go somewhere else. Please have a nice talk.¡±


    ¡°Why me?¡± Yoohyeon protested, but before long, both of them disappeared. It seems like Mikyung felt that something serious was going to happen and decided to run away.


    The man bowed his head to everyone present in the room. ¡°Thank you. Thanks to you, I lived. I thought I was prepared to die, but my body moved by itself, so I think it still wants to live.¡±


    Hm¡­ judging from his appearance, the man was a soldier who seemed to be in his early 30s. Lieutenant¡¯s epaulettes were attached to the granite patterned uniform. With that kind of face, he¡¯s a lieutenant? It doesn¡¯t fit well, truly.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, my name is Captain Kim Hyun-woo.¡± He introduced himself.


    ¡°Captain? Aren¡¯t you a lieutenant?¡±


    When Sooyeon asked, he smiled awkwardly. ¡°Well¡­¡±


    Sooyeon did not understand about ranks in the military, but after listening to my explanation, she understood. It seems like I¡¯ll have to lead the conversation for the gym group here. After all, Hyung-jun Hyung was in no position to think straight and Sooyeon didn¡¯t know much about the military.


    ¡°May I ask which battalion you belong to?¡±


    When I asked him, he made a shocking remark. ¡°I was in the infantry battalion of the 5X Division. But my actual deployment site was at the Kori nuclear power plant.¡±


    ¡°Are you talking about that Kori nuclear power plant?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I took on the role of escorting the workers at the Kori nuclear power plant until D-Day. After the incident, I watched the Kori nuclear power plant from nearby. And then I realized that something big had happened.¡±


    ¡°What is it, if I may ask?¡± Sooyeon asked. But before he could answer, he coughed violently. It seems like his throat was dry from all the running. When I took a water bottle out of my backpack and gave it to him, he emptied the entire bottle in an instant.


    ¡°Puhaaaa, thank you. Anyway, to continue the story¡­ The worker I escorted had told me that the nuclear power plant had entered the emergency cooling process, but it is not perfect.¡±


    ¡°We know about that.¡± Because the president spoke about it directly on TV.


    Captain Hyun-woo continued the story. ¡°When the D-day comes, one of the workers joked and said: If you see smoke rising from the nuclear power plant, evacuate immediately.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±


    Captain Hyun-woo bowed his head. ¡°Your assumption is correct. Didn¡¯t I mention that I had stayed at the nuclear power plant to watch over it? Just a few days ago¡­ There¡¯s smoke rising from the power plant.¡±


    ¡°Did the core experience a meltdown?¡± Sooyeon asked urgently.


    ¡°I¡¯m a soldier, not an engineer, so I don¡¯t know the details. But I knew intuitively that something unusual had happened. So we evacuated quickly. I came here via the coastal road while notifying all the people I found. Then I met you guys.¡±


    Hyung-jun Hyung, who had barely come to his senses, asked. ¡°¡­then what should we do?¡±


    At his question, Captain Hyun-woo took out a map from his pocket. It was a sophisticated military map that was only issued to military personnel. A circle was drawn all over the Busan area with the Kori nuclear power plant in the center.


    ¡°People inside this area must evacuate immediately.¡±


    ¡°¡­to Gimhae Airport?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°Everyone in the area?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You must evacuate quickly. If you don¡¯t, you may experience radiation exposure.¡±


    Radiation exposure. It was as terrifying as being killed by a monster. It was proven by the fact that the faces of both Hyung-jun Hyung and Sooyeon were instantly dyed in fear as soon as they heard it. Of course, I feel the same too. After all, no one wanted to be exposed to the radiation which they had only heard on TV.


    If so, should we follow Captain Hyun-woo¡¯s order and evacuate right away?


    Is it possible that he lied about all this?


    At that moment, Yoohyeon¡¯s paper airplane slipped through the window. It seems like he wants to hear what¡¯s going on.


    ¡°So, to summarize, there is a problem at the nuclear power plant, and it is serious, right? And if we want to be safe, we need to run away from the Busan area?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that is my judgment. If your judgment is different, there is nothing we can do about it.¡±


    Sooyeon asked in an urgent tone. ¡°Did you perhaps come all the way here to inform people?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, people don¡¯t treat me as well as your group does. I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t die this time.¡± he said bitterly.


    At his words, I couldn¡¯t help but to admit that he¡¯s a good person. After all, even if he¡¯s a soldier back before the D-day, it doesn¡¯t mean that he still has to do his duties as a soldier when the world is literally fucked. However, Captain Hyun-woo didn¡¯t forget his duty and was still doing it in earnest even though it was not clear whether the government or the army still existed.


    Captain Hyun-woo massaged his tired eyes. ¡°If you don¡¯t believe it, then there is nothing I can do. I will find other people. But please, believe me.¡±


    Hyung-jun Hyung looked at me. His eyes are saying that this man could be trusted. I wanted to believe it if possible, but I was still suspicious. I would have to check it out by myself.


    ¡°Then do we have to give up all the supplies we have stored here and go?¡± Hyung-jun Hyung asked cautiously.


    ¡°It must be so. Carrying those supplies with you will slow you down, which in turn would increase the chance of danger occuring¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± A sigh escaped from the mouths of Hyung-jun Hyung as well as Sooyeon. Yoohyeon and Mikyung, who were listening through the paper airplane, will probably have the same reaction.


    Needless to say, there was a considerable amount of supplies in stock here. With their current stock, they would be fine for at least a year. So, the sheer amount of their supply made it impossible to be carried in a single backpack.


    I could help them move it, but still. Water was the problem. It was quite heavy so it was impossible to carry it for a long distance. If it¡¯s only myself, it was simple enough because I could just put it inside the portal before embarking.


    Maybe this is a chance¡­


    People were silent and looked at me. I wrote what I wanted to ask on the paper plane and flew it out. After a while, the paper airplane came back. When I unfolded it, number 8 was written inside. It means that Mikyung only needs 2 more levels until she gets a new additional effect. It would undoubtedly be an effect that will buff her blink, so it should be useful in this situation.


    Sooyeon muttered as if she was frustrated. ¡°It seems like the meal we ate a few days ago was our last supper here.¡±


    Yeah, that sheep was delicious¡­


    I clapped my hands to get their attention. ¡°Let¡¯s do it like this¡­¡±

 Chapter 54

    Survival Life begins right after the zombie apocalypse broke out and the world got destroyed. When the users started the tutorial, they were spawned without any guide or help, and without knowing anything as well, except that tall buildings had collapsed, zombies were swarming, and the surroundings were dark. Ah, and of course, after 5 minutes, they would realize that the game was so goddamn hard.


    Anyway, the game was very unfriendly. There was no introduction or in-game help that was set for the new users. Whatever they wanted to know, they had to find out about it personally. Therefore, there was no way to know what had happened to dangerous facilities such as nuclear power plants and chemical factories.


    There were no related events surrounding those dangerous facilities, and for users who were busy surviving, those places were just not that interesting. So, back in the game, everyone thought that it was just a background setting which they didn¡¯t have to pay attention towards. But in real life, if we didn¡¯t pay attention to it, it would be a very dangerous factor to our survival. Though, it was on the premise that Captain Kim Hyun-woo¡¯s words were true.


    ¡°If the nuclear power plant is really dangerous, let¡¯s run away and go here.¡± I put my finger on the map. The place I pointed out was a neighbourhood with a lot of one-room housing in Gangseo-gu, close to Gimhae.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it too far? It seems to be about more than 10 kilometers from here.¡± Hyung-jun Hyung creased his eyebrows.


    ¡°This is the best place that was located on the west side of Gimhae Airport. There are many rice centers around, and all of them are industrial fields, so there will be fewer zombies. Goblins are unavoidable, though.¡±


    ¡°Can we drink water from the Nakdong River?¡±


    ¡°If we refine it, it should be quite drinkable.¡±


    In fact, we don¡¯t have to drink river water because there¡¯s Yongjeong CC nearby. The owner of the bunker, Mr. Kwon, would surely resist fiercely, but we just had to break him. The stockpiles of his three bunkers would be far more numerous than the supplies that the gym members had stockpiled.


    I was planning to stay behind after the group left and watch for any thieves. Since the nuclear power plant was getting dangerous, I wouldn¡¯t be staying too long, though.


    ¡°This location is where Gimhae Battalion is located. There¡¯s a military base there. I¡¯ve been told that the soldiers had taken over the command, but I don¡¯t know about their current situation. There must also be a type 1 warehouse there.¡± Captain Hyun-woo pointed at a space a little bit above the location we picked.


    ¡°Were they your subordinates?¡± When Sooyeon asked, Captain Hyun-woo waved his hand.


    ¡°They are no longer my subordinates, but colleagues. One is a private and the other is a sergeant who couldn¡¯t get discharged because the zombie apocalypse occurred just before the date of his discharge.¡±


    ¡°What a poor guy.¡±


    ¡°Aigoo.¡±


    Hyung-jun Hyung and I touched our foreheads at the same time as soon as we heard the words. Those guys really had no luck whatsoever. However, this also could be a lie. But I thought that it was too real to be a lie. At this point, I¡¯d like to hear some news from the Auction House. Wouldn¡¯t it already spread around if it¡¯s true that smoke had risen from the Kori nuclear power plant?


    Sooyeon, who had been quiet, spoke out of nowhere. ¡°Come to think of it, if things went wrong, half of the Korean Peninsula could be polluted.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because of China. A nuclear power plant was built on the coast of China. I don¡¯t think they had the chance to shut their nuclear power plants like we did. Therefore, because the direction of the wind would always go towards Japan, we would be hit as well.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ is that so?¡± Hyung-jun Hyung scratched his head.


    I nodded my head at Sooyeon¡¯s words. His deduction makes sense. After all, when Korea, which had shut the nuclear power plant and other dangerous industrial factories in advance, still had problems with it, then what about other countries, for example, China? They would surely be devastated.


    Depending on the direction of the wind, the damage would spread to Korea too. If I had informed the government in advance¡­


    No.


    No government would shut their nuclear power plants down just because some random guy told them to do so. Even the Korean government only took action after identifying the corpses of goblins and zombies. Even if I had revealed the truth, nothing would¡¯ve changed. Because from what I know, the core of a nuclear power plant emits residual heat for as long as 1-2 years.


    ¡°If what Captain Hyun-woo said is true, we should flee to the west of Gimhae Airport. It would be better to pack your bags right now.¡±


    ¡°How about the supply? Should we leave it all here?¡± Sooyeon said as she looked around the supplies with a confused face. She probably thinks that if we threw it all away, it was the same as throwing away all of the money she spent on it. It was fine for her to not worry too much, though. I¡¯ll keep them in the portal and give them to her saying I found a place to farm. There¡¯s no risk of getting caught because I¡¯ll be using the name of other survivors.


    The more pressing matter was whether Captain Hyun-woo¡¯s words were true or not. Well, I could just confirm it once the others left.


    ¡°Seongho, what is that number on the paper plane?¡± Hyung-jun Hyung asked me.


    ¡°This is Mikyung¡¯s level. If she raises it by 2 more levels, an additional effect will be added to her unique ability.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Because it was an additional option for blink, it should be useful in this situation. It would be great if it increases her blink distance, or the maximum of things she can carry.¡±


    ¡°Will it be Mikyung¡¯s role to move the supplies?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Should I say she will be a courier?¡±


    ¡°By the way, how can she raise 2 levels in this situation¡­¡±


    ¡°The truth is, I cleared a goblin¡¯s den a little while ago. I found another one, so I¡¯ll take Mikyung along to level her up.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll help her level up?¡±


    ¡°Goblin¡¯s den?¡±


    Everyone looked at me incredulously. Then, I explained what happened. Except, of course, about Kyunghoon and the guys from the office group.


    ¡°There were goblins and hobgoblins inside. But the den was straightforward. With enough preparation, it was not difficult to clear.¡±


    ¡°Seongho, you are no joke¡­¡±


    ¡°Usually, I wouldn¡¯t enter alone, but when I found the den and took a peek inside, because of its narrow way, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to block the paralyzing darts shot by the goblins.¡±


    ¡°¡­it¡¯s not up for me to decide. Yoohyeon, are you listening? Please ask Mikyung about it.¡±


    After a while, a paper airplane appeared and moved up and down, like a nodding gesture. Looking at the sight, Captain Hyun-woo¡¯s eyes widened. It seems like it was the first time he saw that kind of ability. Since it looks like Mikyung agreed, I¡¯m going to have to go crazy here. I said quickly.


    ¡°There is a lot to do. Hyung-jun Hyung and Sooyeon, please prepare backpacks for people to carry, and Yoohyeon will be helping Captain Kim Hyun-woo telling other survivors about this news. Would that be okay?¡±


    Captain Hyun-woo nodded his head with a warm smile plastered on his face. After all, It would be more convenient to contact other people with a paper plane than to go around in person, with the risk of dying coming from both the monsters and the survivors. Then I said towards the plane, ¡°Mikyung and I will go to the goblin¡¯s den. We will also hunt zombies on the way.¡±


    Then, Sooyeon asked me. ¡°Seongho also had supplies at home. Should we help you with it?¡±


    ¡°I will take care of it. When everyone is ready, just leave immediately. We will follow soon. Our meeting point will be here.¡± Everyone paid attention to the meeting point I pointed at the map.


    Hyung-jun Hyung had a face that looked like he wanted to ask something, but in the end he nodded his head. ¡°No matter how much I think about it, I can¡¯t think of any better plan in my head. So, let¡¯s do as Seongho says for now. If there is a problem on the way, we will discuss it at that time. Mikyung will join us as soon as she gets an additional effect, alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We will move at night when there are no zombies, and will move with Mikyung during the day.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s always you guys who suffer.¡±


    The paper airplane moved up and down again after hearing Hyung-jun Hyung¡¯s words. I¡¯m sure it was Mikyung¡¯s way to say it¡¯s fine. In fact, there was no reason why Mikyung had to get her additional effect in this situation. But I wanted to do it since it would assure them that they would be safe.


    When I finished explaining and answering all of their questions, I called Mikyung and we went out. We directly headed towards the goblin¡¯s den that I had seen in advance. And when we cleared it, Mikyung¡¯s level reached 10. At first, she was quite scared fighting against them, but she still bravely stepped forward. Luckily, the den we entered had no hobgoblin inside.


    ¡°Wow, the Store is open! It was like this, huh?¡± She exclaimed in delight as she opened the Store window.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there something more important than that?¡± Mikyung came to her senses as I said that and rolled her eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s a long-distance blink.¡± After experimenting a couple times, we found out that the additional effect makes it possible for Mikyung to move about 1 km. It was a huge increase in distance compared to before.


    I returned home with Mikyung¡¯s help. As soon as she arrived, she looked for Dingo.


    ¡°Mikyung, you should hurry¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll go first. Ahjussi, you have to bring Dingo with you!¡±


    After she disappeared, I finally could breathe a sigh of relief. Then, as I opened the portal, Dingo popped out with his tail wagging.


    Let¡¯s put some luggage inside.


    .


    .


    .


    Even when the four stagnant waters were comrades who had played Survival Life together for a long time, there were still some among them who were not very close. For Rabbit Pwincess, Survivor 1 was such an existence. When the four of them get together, they would still have fun while making a lot of commotions. But, when it was only both of them, the atmosphere would be quiet.


    For Rabbit Pwincess, Duck Buttock was a friend that he goes crazy with. And I Love Gimbap was a friend who acted as his brakes and someone who would always come to help him even though he knew that there¡¯s no chance they would survive. Meanwhile, Survivor 1 was¡­ just a friend..


    ¡°We are not very close.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ is that so?¡± Beom-seok never thought that Rabbit Pwincess would honestly tell him about it. After all, they were on their way to meet Survivor 1 right now, so there¡¯s nothing wrong with pretending to be close with him.


    However, he knew the man who was following him right now was an awakened with resurrection unique ability, and he was in a position where he was free to act however he wanted. Therefore, the other person who had business with him was the one who had to match him.


    Though, it was still surprising that he¡¯s not excited in the slightest even though he¡¯s going to meet such a famous persona like Survivor 1 and Jang Won-taek.


    ¡®By the way, it¡¯s amazing that he obediently followed me like this.¡¯ Beom-seok thought. He had no doubt that Rabbit Pwincess would know about the existence of brainwashing-type unique ability. With a simple hand touch, the skill would activate, incapacitating the opponent. So, it was a taboo among awakeners to get in direct contact with each other unless they trust the other party a lot.


    Does he have confidence to be fine even if he¡¯s under the influence or does he not know?


    Beom-seok asked quietly as he walked beside him. ¡°Did you know that there are awakeners with brainwashing-type unique abilities?¡±


    ¡°My friends warned me about it and I also met one.¡±


    ¡°What happens when you meet them, then?¡±


    ¡°That guy was no longer in this world.¡±


    ¡°Did you kill him?¡±


    Seokhyun stopped and smiled softly. When his yellow teeth were revealed, Beom-seok pretended not to see it and guided him to the designated location. When they arrived, someone had been waiting for them.


    ¡°He has the ability to blink. So, he will take Seokhyun and me to the shelter.¡± Beom-seok said. At first glance, people might think that It was some kind of measure to hide the location of the shelter. But in fact, it was just because the shelter was too far to walk.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡± When Seokhyun came to his senses, he already stood in a wide and empty space which was built from concrete. Moments later, Beom-seok and the man from earlier also appeared. Then, Beom-seok led Seokhyun into a small door on one corner of the room. An old desk, a few chairs, a map, and two people were waiting for Seokhyun inside. One was the president while the other one was¡­


    ¡°You are Rapri-nim, aren¡¯t you? Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Survivor 1. My real name is Geom-in.¡± A cheery young man said as he stood to his feet.


    ¡®His name was Geom-in? What a weird name¡­¡¯ Seokhyun thought. ¡°¡­we weren¡¯t very close, were we?¡±


    ¡°Why are you being like this again? The four of us had fun together.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s only when the four of us gathered.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t come here for this.¡±


    Seokhyun was caught in a strange sense of incongruity. The reason why he didn¡¯t get along well with Survivor 1 was because he felt Survivor 1¡¯s personality was fake. The others had a fairly constant personality throughout their time together, however, Survivor 1¡¯s personality changed drastically depending on the situation. Duck Buttock or I Love Gimbap might have thought he changed to match the situation, but Seokhyun felt it was not like that. After all, he always felt like talking to a mask rather than a person when he communicated with Survivor 1.


    When the atmosphere between the two started to worsen, Jang Won-taek intervened. ¡°Haha, it¡¯s been a while since both of you met, but the atmosphere is strange. May I ask for your name?¡±


    ¡°My name is Hwang Seokhyun. My unique skill is infinite resurrection.¡±


    ¡°Infinite resurrection, huh? What a great ability.¡± Jang Won-taek smiled warmly. He had been informed that unique abilities given to people were linked to their play time in Survival Life. The higher their playtime, the better their unique ability would be. Of course, it didn¡¯t work that way in every case, but in most cases, it was like that. So, his staff had speculated that the four stagnant waters would each have an off-the-chart unique ability.


    ¡°Seokhyun¡¯s skill is infinite resurrection, our Geom-in¡¯s skill is a shelter-related abilities. Then, the other the other two must also have a great unique skill¡­ How about this, can you please gather them for me?¡±


    At Jang Won-taek¡¯s suggestion, Seokhyun buried himself in the chair.


    ¡°You want me to do that?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. We¡¯ll also give you some people so you can travel comfortably.¡±


    ¡°Let me ask you this, why did you want to do that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s to survive. As Seokhyun knows, the world will become much harsher in the near future. Even if humanity manages to get used to zombies and goblins, werewolves would definitely cause a problem for us.¡±


    Seokhyun shook his head. ¡°If they know how to, werewolves are great targets for hunting.¡±


    ¡°Well, it was certainly true for Seokhyun. However, it was not true for other people. We want to protect many people. We desperately need your help.¡±


    ¡°You want me to gather my friends so that the two of you can rule as kings?¡±


    It was such a rude question, but Jang Won-taek laughed it off. ¡°Why should I be a king in a world like this? I already live long enough. I just want the legacy of Korea to carry on.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Seokhyun crossed his arms and pondered. The person in front of him had remained faithful to his duty until the D-day. He didn¡¯t seem like a person who wanted to take advantage of others and deceived them. However, it was also true that he didn¡¯t feel good about him because he had Survivor 1 on his side. His ever-smiling face somehow made him feel uncomfortable.


    ¡°I think I should go now.¡± Seokhyun said.


    When he was about to get up, Geom-in spoke. ¡°You said you were going south, could you tell me where you are going?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know where I¡¯m going.¡±


    ¡°Aha¡­ I hope it¡¯s not Busan or Ulsan. Rumour said that those areas were dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Why is it dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Join us and I¡¯ll tell you.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Seokhyun quickly closed his mouth and stood up. He couldn¡¯t stand the discomfort he felt because of Survivor 1 anymore. It seems like the discomfort he felt would only go away once he went crazy with Duck Buttock or met I Love Gimbap.


    Jang Won-taek said quietly. ¡°This is unfortunate. But today is not the only day¡­ I will keep my promise, I¡¯ll attach one person as a guide for you. You can leave her wherever you see fit. Well, as Geom-in said, it is better not to go to Busan or Ulsan.¡±


    ¡°Then, see you next time.¡± Beom-seok came in and guided Seokhyun out of the room. When he left, a sigh echoed in the small room.


    ¡°It seems like he doesn¡¯t believe what we say.¡±


    ¡°I guess both of you really didn¡¯t get along well, huh?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why he¡¯s being overly vigilant towards me. I had a good time with Duck-nim and I Love Gimbap-nim.¡±


    ¡°There will be a chance next time.¡± Jang Won-taek stood up and headed to his office. There was something else that bothered him these days. It was the core of nuclear power plants. Using his authority as a president, he had commanded the people under him to put those cores into an emergency cooling process. But even though it was already done, those cores were now causing a problem. In particular, the one in the Kori nuclear power plant was the most troublesome one. Several people had seen smoke rising from the power plant. Those are signs that it might explode soon. He was only able to confirm it because his employees were collecting information from each region from the Auction House.


    Won-taek picked up the summarized note on his desk.


    ¨DIt is almost certain that the Kori nuclear power plant is in a steam explosion sequence. Multiple testimony confirmed.


    ¨DThere was no sign of a tsunami in the southern coastal area. Considering the size of the Silver Dragon meteorite group, this is impossible.


    ¨DIt is said that the wind from the sea and the coast is blowing strangely. Please confirm.


    ¨DNo abnormalities were detected in the Gyeonggi, Hoseo, and Honam areas. There appears to be no radioactive contamination that was feared.


    ¡®How should I feel about this, I wonder¡­¡¯ Won-taek thought. There were so many nuclear power plants in China, so, it was hard to believe that they had successfully shut all of their nuclear power plants down. Therefore, even at this moment, the core must be dissipating tremendous heat to the area.


    ¡°Whew¡­¡± Won-taek let out a long sigh. It was useless to worry about nuclear power plants in distant lands. What he had to do now was to evacuate the survivors around Busan.


    Won-taek said to Beom-seok.¡° I will put the information on the Auction House.¡±


    ¡°People will notice our existence¡­ Will it be okay?¡±


    ¡°Kid, isn¡¯t that our job?¡±


    Is it? Beom-seok thought. Even if the Seoul shelter was created to protect a large number of survivors, it doesn¡¯t mean that they had to take in every survivor who came. But Beom-seok knew it was better to not talk about it in front of the president that he respected.


    He bowed his head to the president, left the room and quickly wrote the information on the Auction House.


    .


    .


    .


    When all of the survivors were leaving the town, the streets were full of zombies and goblins. I was still in the academy the gym group used to occupy. Since it has already been a few hours since they left, the thieves should¡¯ve come around now. However, even after waiting several more hours, the thieves did not show up.


    ¡°It seems like Captain Hyun-woo¡¯s words are true.¡± Which means, the nuclear power plant was really in a dangerous state. Then there¡¯s no need to wait any longer. I quickly moved and put the supplies stockpiled by the gym members into the portal. But even though I was busy, I didn¡¯t forget to check the Auction House¡¯s reaction.


    ¡°Huh? What is this?¡± Several same items were being auctioned. However, its starting price was outrageous. It was clear as day that whoever put those items up didn¡¯t have any intention on selling it.


    When I clicked on it and went to the comment section, my eyes widened.


    -This is the government. We are informed that the Kori nuclear power plant is in a steam explosion sequence. We predict that the damage will span around the distance from Gimhae International airport to Ulsan airport. Thus, we implore survivors around Busan and Ulsan to evacuate.


    In other words, the nuclear power plants will damage all of Busan and Ulsan.


    However, unlike me who was worried, some people scoffed at the information and brushed it off as mere bullshit.


    -I admire your effort to get rid of all survivors around the area in order to hog the supplies on the time shelter for yourself.


    ¨C What if it¡¯s true? Wouldn¡¯t a steam explosion be like Chernobyl?


    -Then we will all become mutants.


    -Would my dick get bigger?


    -I think so, it will double in size to 3 centimeters.


    ¨C Hahahahahahahahahaha


    I wondered why there were so many crazy people out there. They could laugh it off because they think that it was not their problem, of course. Well, I can¡¯t blame them either. After all, in the apocalypse, one¡¯s own survival was the basis of every action.


    In a hurry, I simply threw all the stuff into the portal. The thing I currently did was no different than things I did back in D-day. I think it must be the fate of those who have an ability like me. I wandered around the survivors¡¯ hideouts, threw the supplies they left behind into the portal, before hitting the road with Dingo in tow.


    Naturally, zombies were lining up to eat us.


    ¡°I¡¯m not in a good mood, so get lost!!!¡±


    We ran away from the zombie hordes.

 Chapter 55

    Fortunately, it seems like many survivors had heard about what happened to the Kori nuclear power plant. In the span of 30 minutes after I navigated through the city center, I¡¯ve already seen more than 20 survivors fleeing towards the west.


    Naturally, zombies and goblins were everywhere. But all of the survivors still managed to run away successfully. The tactic they used to safely get by was the most basic one. One person would gather the attention of those monsters while the others would hunt them moderately before running away again.


    I kept running while being chased by a horde of zombies. On the other side of the road, I could see three other people who were also running, just like me. The messy road conditions in Busan gradually brought our path closer and closer before it merged into one single path.


    If someone among the four of us falls, the zombie chase would stop temporarily. The three glanced at me, seemingly having the same thoughts as mine. However, in this situation, it¡¯s better not to not entertain those useless thoughts and just run as fast as we can. We are akin to gazelles running through the meadow, and the zombies were the cheetahs. If we become just a little bit slow and weak, we are going to be eaten by them.


    Fortunately, I wasn¡¯t on the slow side. During this summer, I had lost so much weight to the point that the stab-proof armor felt loose. My stamina had improved too, as a result of going around and lifting heavy things while looting.


    Once I began to speed up, I could see the people running next to me falling behind.


    There¡¯s no need to put these people in danger with me. I led the zombies into the alley with Dingo. Then, I went up to the roof of a nearby building and then cooled off for a while.


    Growl-!!


    After a few seconds, the zombies who arrived at the roof ran towards me. Their movement was much more agile than before. And when they evolve into a ghoul, all the lags between their brain and body would completely disappear, resulting in a much quicker and stronger zombies. Before that time comes, I have to hunt diligently in order to get levels, points, and items.


    ¡°Dingo, cross over.¡± As the guy heard my shout, he barked at me. I ran around the zombies, aggroing their attention before jumping into the roof of the building next door. The zombies who tried to catch me floundered on the railing and fell one by one. From below, numerous thudding and popping sounds could be heard soon after.


    ¡°Thankfully the system recognized it as my kill.¡± In order to earn points, people had to work hard to realize the outcome. Take Mikyung, who entered the goblin¡¯s den together with me, for example. She had the will to earn points and worked hard for it. The result? She manages to reach half of my kill counts there. Therefore, she got some points in the end.


    When I looked down from the roof, people who were running next to me earlier had entered one particular alley. But it seems that there were goblins in the alley since the man in the lead fell down without being able to scream right after they entered. The other two were terrified at the scene and quickly scampered into the first building they could find, but that was the end for them. Zombies swarmed towards the building they were at, before ear-shattering screams tore the air a few moments later.


    ¡°They were unlucky.¡± In the current world, a momentary lapse of judgment will cost you your life. Though, if they had a good unique skill, they could have lived.


    When I looked around once more, I saw people running with their ears covered so they wouldn¡¯t hear the screams of the fallen survivors. From whom did they hear the news about the meltdown, I wonder? Did someone who had unlocked the Auction House told them? or do they know from Yoohyeon?


    I ran down the road and glanced to the side as I ran with Dingo. Our first destination would be the Nakdong River. After that, Gimhae, Changwon, etc. and maybe even settle down somewhere good.


    ¡°It is dangerous to enter the city now.¡± In every neighbourhood, there¡¯s bound to be groups of survivors who have already established themselves. Thus, they wouldn¡¯t welcome other groups who came to their turf kindly.


    There were several new groups of survivors in my neighbourhood too. But the reason they were able to settle down there was because people in the gym group weren¡¯t aggressive. If it was the office team who occupied the neighbourhood first, they would¡¯ve evicted them.


    ¡°After all, they are all competitors.¡± Two tigers cannot live on the same mountain. However, in this case, tigers were too grand of an animal for them. Those guys were nothing but foxes.


    After running hard, I finally reached the riverside. I could see some people flocking together and looking crestfallen as they¡¯re staring at the collapsed bridge. Since the gym group has Mikyung with them, they should¡¯ve been able to move to the other side easily. However, the group I saw didn¡¯t have such means. Therefore, there¡¯s no other choice for them but to swim across.


    ¡°Though, the river current is no joke.¡± Even if they could swim well, the chance of being drowned because of exhaustion was still high.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to another place! It¡¯s too far to swim from here!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s move towards the marina! There should be some boats left there.¡±


    Most of the boats should¡¯ve sunk, but there should be some FRP boats left. When someone shouted that idea, everyone followed the guys as if they were ducklings following their mother.


    But, don¡¯t they think that they are a little bit too crowded?


    It seems like one of them realized it too and shouted that they should disperse into smaller groups. However, unfortunately for them, before they could do it, the zombies which had sensed their presence had already started flocking into the area. If they didn¡¯t cross the river right here and now, they would all be killed.


    I, who hid in the reeds on the riverside to observe them, quickly took out a rubber boat from the portal, floated it on the river, and jumped onto it. When the boat started to move away from the ground, Dingo also jumped in.


    ¡°Hey, that guy rides a boat alone!¡±


    ¡°Please take us too!¡±


    Alone? Are those guys blind or what? I have Dingo with me. Though, even if I was alone, I wouldn¡¯t be foolish enough to help them. I know that if I tried to help them, they¡¯ll try to take the boat from me, and then there¡¯ll be a fight. I continued to row hard without paying attention to their curse and plea. The current wasn¡¯t that strong, but the boat¡¯s speed was slow and it kept drifting down the river.


    After a few minutes of rowing, I finally reached the land.


    ¡°There¡¯s nobody here.¡± The apartment complex around the area had all collapsed, making the area akin to a wasteland. Zombies were the only ones who were wandering around in search of organic matter. Once they found us, they approached us with a growl.


    ¡°You have rested well, haven¡¯t you? Let¡¯s run!¡± I spoke to Dingo.


    .


    .


    .


    The meeting place, a neighbourhood full of one-room buildings, was quiet. I climbed on a nearby building and looked around with a plastic telescope. It¡¯s all paddy fields in the surroundings. It¡¯s a fine place to stay for a while since there were not many zombies because to begin with, the population here was quite small. But if I wanted to farm, I would have to go up to Gimhae or Changwon.


    ¡°There are a lot of goblins instead.¡± I could see some of those ugly bastards pulling out rice sacks from the warehouse and jumping around. There were also some guys who made a bonfire on the first floor of a building with no window intact. Without zombies around, this place was their heaven. I scouted around carefully in order to not be noticed by them.


    ¡°Convenience stores are all robbed¡­¡± Even the few local supermarkets were empty. This fact would surely disappoint the people in the gym group.


    ¡°First, let¡¯s find a suitable place.¡± I have to put some stuff I had looted around in the old neighborhood to give it to the gym group. I entered a suitable one-room building and opened a portal on the top most house. As I piled up the items, a paper airplane flew in.


    Seems like the gym group had already arrived here. I said while holding the paper airplane. ¡°Yoohyeon, everything is good?¡±


    nod nod.


    ¡°Mikyung, can you get Hyung-jun Hyung here? There is something good here.¡±


    After a while, Hyung-jun Hyung and Mikyung appeared in the room, with their countenance a bit dark. But the moment they saw the goods I had piled up, their expressions made a U-turn.


    ¡°Hey! What is this all?¡±


    ¡°Ajhussi, did you find this?¡±


    ¡°I thought that maybe the owner of this house had piled up things, so just in case, I went here. I was lucky to find all of this.¡± It seems like, since it hadn¡¯t been long since the gym group arrived here, they didn¡¯t have a chance to look around.


    Hyung-jun Hyung said while looking at the materials. ¡°You know, the supplies we brought here aren¡¯t much. So, I was wondering about what to do from now on. But with this, the four of us will survive.¡±


    Four? Wasn¡¯t there five people with the Captain? When I asked about it, Hyung-jun Hyung told me that he went to Gimhae University in order to look for his colleagues. Hopefully, he would be able to enter the class 1 warehouse and return with some supplies.


    ¡°The warehouse might be full of groceries.¡± Mikyung said excitedly. Better not think that it¡¯s ours, though. Captain Hyun-woo seems to not have questioned his colleagues, but it was questionable whether the soldiers would share the warehouse with others or not.


    Hyung-jun Hyung, who was looking at the supplies I had in my backpack, spoke slowly. ¡°Seongho, wouldn¡¯t it be better for you to come to our group now?¡±


    ¡°Look, hyung. I find these things because I wander around alone.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Don¡¯t you know that If you go with someone, your luck will drop?¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s a bit troublesome. Anyway, thank you. Thanks to you, we will be able to survive.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much, Ahjussi. But¡­ for the time being, you will be here, right?¡±


    Mikyung asked me with her glittering eyes. I think she wants to play with Dingo, who was busy lying down on the floor.


    ¡°Well, you can play Dingo as much as you want. There¡¯s still some time left before I¡¯m going.¡±


    ¡°Our dingo~¡± As soon as she heard my words, Mikyung jumped and hugged Dingo. To be honest, I know that the guy didn¡¯t really like to be treated that way. But what can I do?


    I went up to the roof and looked over the golf course. Hyung-jun Hyung, who came along with me, said in a worried tone. ¡°I heard that there are people living over there. But their personality is a bit¡­¡±


    ¡°Sooyeon probably knew about them.¡±


    ¡°I heard from her. That place is in the middle of our path to Eden Villa, isn¡¯t it? That¡¯s quite problematic. We have to visit her villa one of these days and move the supplies that Sooyeon left there.¡±


    Although Sooyeon had joined the gym group, I heard from her that she didn¡¯t move all the supplies she had yet. Most of the things she had hoarded were still left untouched inside her room in Eden Villa.


    ¡°Mikyung was really working hard. She just went around with Yoohyeon and told people about the information regarding Kori power plant. She kept doing it even though I told her to do it in moderation.¡±


    ¡°Maybe because it was a good thing?¡±


    ¡°Obviously, it¡¯s a good thing, but¡­ sigh¡­. It actually got dangerous in the middle of it. There are even crazy people who shoot at Mikyung.¡±


    ¡°Those kinds of people deserve to be abandoned to death, hyung.¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah. There¡¯s nothing we could do with them, so I told them to do whatever they saw fit.¡±


    I nodded at Hyung-jun Hyung¡¯s words. People who were aggressive towards other people, even while getting helped, were likely predators. Leaving them to their own devices would be the wisest thing to do.


    ¡°By the way, Seongho. If you ever run out of supplies, just come to our hideout and eat together with us.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do so, Hyung.¡±


    Hyung-jun Hyung tapped my shoulder several times then went down. Meanwhile, I took out the plastic telescope and looked over the golf course. There, I saw a few people moving around busily moving plastic carts full of stuff.


    ¡°I wonder what was inside those things?¡±


    Did they succeed in opening the underground parking lot time bunker?


    That time bunker was located within the danger zone, so it was a bit difficult to visit it. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. If they truly had opened it, it would be all the better for me. After all, I planned to end the hate relationship between us very soon. So, him getting more supplies would only make it better for me.


    When the night falls, lights peculiar to the glowstone lit up from the windows of many buildings. It looked like whoever lived there didn¡¯t even have a blackout curtain or anything to cover it up because they evacuated in a hurry.


    ¡°The goblins will love it.¡± The gym members had followed my words, so they took something to cover the windows with them. After taking a walk around for one last time, I opened the portal and crossed over. As soon as I arrived, the scarab leader held out a hook and a pair of gloves towards me.


    ¡°Oh, thank you.¡± I took it from his hands. A hook was an item which would be really helpful when I was moving around. And the metal gloves were something which would help me in processing emeras. If I make a spear blade out of emeras and put it on the Auction House, I¡¯m sure it would be a highly coveted item.


    I groaned and put the gloves on.


    .


    .


    .


    When most of the survivors were having a difficult summer due to the appearance of goblins, Choi Da-jeong, or Duck Buttocks Goes Kwek Kwek, was living a comfortable life while being protected by her subordinates. Though, her so-called subordinates weren¡¯t humans but zombies. On top of it, they weren¡¯t just an ordinary zombie, but were closer to a ghoul¡ªzombies which had considerably become stronger.


    All of them will slaughter the zombies and goblins around the area while the points they get from the hunt goes to Da-jeong. They also knew how to shoot a bow and gather food. They normally stole from the survivors who always struggled to fight for it. Whenever that happened, Da-jeong had always told them to beat them in moderation and let them go without killing them. After all, if the survivors were killed by her zombies, she, as their owner, would become a murderer. Thanks to that, survivors who set their base in her area often called her the heartless bitch, zombie bitch, and many more.


    However, Da-jeong didn¡¯t pay any attention to those people.


    ¡°They will all die in a year, so why should I care about what they say?¡± Recently, she has been talking to herself more and more. It was because the zombies who faithfully followed her orders couldn¡¯t speak. The survivors around her area also hated her, so she was naturally left alone.


    She was also tired of watching people gossiping at the Auction House. There were so many people who pretended to be Rapwi. It was as clear as day that they weren¡¯t him considering his way of talking which was direct without any brakes. The real Rapwi hadn¡¯t appeared at the Auction House for quite some time now.


    ¡°Haaah, I¡¯m bored.¡± Da-jeong sighed. It would be nice to have I Love Gimbap around at times like this. According to Rapwi, I Love Gimbap didn¡¯t reveal his identity because his unique ability was quite problematic. When she asked Rapwi how he knew about that, he said that I Love Gimbap had given him a smoked fish as a gift. From that alone, Da-jeong couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of unique ability he had.


    Is it perhaps a creation skill?


    ¡°He gave a smoked fish to Rapwi but sold me a bag of ice for 5 points?¡± Da-jeong wasn¡¯t angry because she felt it was a waste to spend the points, but rather because he pretended to not know her. He even said, ¡®don¡¯t be surprised later¡¯ as their parting words.


    ¡°It¡¯s really absurd.¡± After all, they were really close back in the game. She even knew where and what I Love Gimbap was doing back then. He was running a snack bar in Busan. However, since Busan was a metropolitan city, not a rural area, she couldn¡¯t just go there to look for him.


    Suddenly, a sudden information came up in the Auction House. The content was that Busan and Ulsan have been designated as hazardous areas.


    ¡°If the radiation spreads, everything will be destroyed, right?¡± She looked at the Auction House, and she was upset about it. People in the comment section didn¡¯t take it seriously and only joked about it.


    Anyway, it was a good information for Da-jeong. According to the information, survivors from Busan and Ulsan were encouraged to move towards Changwon or Gimhae. There¡¯s also Yangsan, but since it was quite close to the danger zone, probably the survivors wouldn¡¯t go there. Therefore, I Love Gimbap should be in one of the two possible areas.


    Da-jeong scanned the map laying in front of her and tapped it rhythmically with her finger. ¡°What¡¯s good about only thinking about it? Guys, get ready to go out.¡±


    The zombies quickly moved and stripped her of her clothes. Da-jeong then walked towards her luggage and took a red dress which would be appropriate for an evening party and wore it. Of course, the only shoes which fit with that dress was a high heel. Normally, people wouldn¡¯t wear a high heel in this kind of world because it would be hard to hunt while wearing it. But since Da-jeong wouldn¡¯t be hunting by herself, she could easily wear it.


    As Da-jeong finished changing clothes and sat on a soft chair with her legs crossed, four large zombies lifted the chair. Even if it¡¯s not a high-quality sofa, its comfiness was still quite good.


    ¡°Let¡¯s gooooo.¡± At her command, her zombie subordinates began to move. The total numbers of zombies under Da-jeong influence were as high as 30, so even goblins did not dare to attack the group. Though, the roaming zombies, which felt that the zombies under Da-jeong¡¯s command were different, still came from time to time to attack her group.


    Growl-!!


    Growl-!!


    However, since Da-jeong¡¯s zombies were different from normal zombies, the zombies which came to attack them were instantly slaughtered. While all the chaos was happening, not even once had Da-jeong moved her eyes away from the book in her hands. Yet, she is still raking in points in real-time.


    But suddenly, an arrow flew towards her.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    However, the arrow didn¡¯t hit her since it was blocked by a zombie from her Boys Generation series. Da-jeong frowned and looked at the arrow. She then scanned the area with a vicious smile on her face. Once she found the location of the guys who shot the arrow, she stepped on her foot and got up.


    ¡°Now is the time for Boys Generation to appear! Sugar Sunghoon!¡± At her words, a zombie with a slender body came out.


    ¡°The Strongest Jio!¡± This time, a muscular zombie stepped forward.


    ¡°Shine Yesung! Victory Chanjung! Passion Jay!¡±


    A total of five zombies followed her instructions and took a pose reminiscent of an idol. The survivors who were watching the scene from the third floor of a building laughed out of absurdity.


    ¡°She¡¯s really a crazy bitch.¡±


    ¡°Well, what did you expect from the zombie bitch?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s shoot more and run away.¡±


    However, when the five zombies finished their pose and ran towards the building at a frightening speed, the laugh they had just a moment ago disappeared. They were frozen in place.


    Two zombies arrived at the bottom of the building and became the stepping stone for the other zombies to jump up. The three zombies reached the third floor in an instant thanks to their colleagues.


    ¡°Ackkkk!¡± The survivors struggled to escape, but the zombies were much faster than them. Two out of the three poor people were caught by the zombies and were dragged away by zombies to the first floor. As soon as they arrived, Da-jeong pressed the heels of her shoes into the groin of the half-insane men.


    ¡°Because¡­¡±


    ¡°Keuk!¡±


    ¡°You have sinned¡­¡±


    ¡°AHKKKKK.¡±


    ¡°You should be punished.¡±


    At her feet, the two men who suffered an excruciating pain were on the verge of fainting once she finished her words. Da-jeong grabbed one man by the neck and raised him up. She then took off her high heels and began to use it to slap the cheek of the man. In an instant, his face swelled up.


    ¡°Are you kidding me? Yes? What do you want to do with this arrow, huh? Are you going to stick it in my eyeball?¡±


    ¡°Sp¡­Spare me. Please spare me¡­¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you guys try to kill me? Then you¡¯re ready to be killed as well, right?¡±


    ¡°Spare us¡­ We will never do it again¡­¡±


    When the man below her feet mumbled, Da-jeong added strength to her feet that is stl on top of the man¡¯s groin.


    ¡°Ackkk!¡±


    ¡°What? I can¡¯t hear your mumbling, say it again.¡±


    ¡°We will never do it again!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be watching.¡±


    Da-jeong dropped the man she was holding in the collar towards the man in her feet. Then she snapped his fingers and the zombies around her began to move. The two men¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Do¡­Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±


    Da-jeong crossed his arms and declared. ¡°Try it one more time. I¡¯ll let you do what you love. Of course, you¡¯ll be the hole. Do you understand?¡±


    The two nodded desperately. Never in their life had they ever wished for something so earnestly.


    ¡°Scram! I don¡¯t want to see you anymore.¡±


    ¡°Ke¡­Keuk!¡± The two men grabbed their groin and crawled away.


    ¡°They are really pathetic people.¡± Da-jeong sighed. She hoped I Love Gimbap would at least be a decent person. While thinking that, she returned to her chair and crossed her legs.


    ¡°Let¡¯s goooooo.¡±


    With her words, the zombie queen started to move once again.

 Chapter 56

    ¡°Ah seriously!¡± I grumbled at the white poop dust falling from the sky. If I could, I wanted to make a super long spear and stab the ass of the demon that caused all of this.


    ¡°AHHH!¡± Birds flew away, startled by my shouting. The snow which had piled up on the branches also fell, joining the snow on the ground. Let¡¯s do some work.


    I started off with the snow that had piled up on top of the warehouse. Then, once I had finished with those, I cleaned places around the shelter which snow piled up on. However, as the size of the shelter was around 200 pyeong, the amount of snow I had to clean was beyond my imagination. However, I couldn¡¯t just neglect it, as it might be dangerous for me if I did that. Who knows when bad luck would hit me in the head, making me fall over my head because of the slippery ground.


    I shoveled the snow away for 30 minutes, then warmed my body up for 10 minutes in the cave. I keep repeating this routine, which allowed me to fully focus on shovelling the snow without being overly exhausted. And after repeating it for 3 or 4 times, I finally threw one last pile of snow into the ice wall.


    ¡°Ouch.¡± I stretched my back while lightly hitting my waist with my hand. Beyond the fence, the forest was completely covered in white. It was beautiful. But since I knew what kind of danger lurks inside the forest, I couldn¡¯t get completely immersed in its majesty.


    ¡°When will spring come¡­¡± It was so cold to the point I wanted spring to come sooner. Though, it seems like the current temperature was perfect for Dingo. I put the shovel away in the warehouse and entered the cave. When the scarabs noticed that I had entered, they quickly added a couple more firewood into the brazier.


    ¡°Oh, thank you.¡± The heat of the brazier permeated into my body and warmed my half-frozen body. I sat on a chair and was starting to doze off when I found the scarabs melting something strange in a bowl, a thick and transparent liquid.


    ¡°What is that?¡± When I asked that, the scarab leader moved his hand and made an eating gesture. As my curiosity flared up, I asked permission from him to try it. As soon as the scarab leader nodded his head, I scooped a little bit of the liquid using the tip of my pinky finger and put it in my mouth. The slight sweetness spreads around my mouth instantly.


    So, this is the main food of the scarabs. I nodded my head. According to the picture the scarab leader drew, it was difficult to find food in winter because the sap from which these liquids came from freezes. It seems like that was the reason why they lurked into my cave.


    ¡°You guys too had to work hard¡­¡± Fortunately, now they can live together with me in this cave. It¡¯s warm, free from menacing monsters, and they could eat their fill while living here. What I asked for in return from them was simple: metalworking. And these days, as it seems like they had more free time, they started making something using the gold ore I collected. It was a gold bar the size of a finger.


    ¡°Well done¡­¡± When I looked at the heavy gold ingot despite its size, nothing but admiration came out. If it were properly processed, it would certainly become useful. Though, I can¡¯t do it now because currently, the world is still in apocalypse. So, maybe in the future.


    I warmed myself up moderately, applied some paralyzing poison to the needle, and stabbed myself on the thigh. As I had been doing this for a few days now, my Paralyze Resistance skill had become level 2. I can now move properly even if I was hit by the paralyzing sting of the goblins. (E/n changed ¡°Paralysing Poison Resistance¡± to ¡°Paralyze Resistance¡±)


    ¡°If you can withstand the paralyzing poison, goblins are nothing.¡± And, the kobolds, which would appear along with the labyrinths, were not that difficult. The only thing that one had to look out after from those guys was that they have a great night vision. Well, they would be a disaster for those who farmed at night to avoid the goblins, though. But after the appearance of kobolds, the difficulty will jump sharply. The reason was because the long-awaited orcs and werewolves would appear after the kobolds.


    Orcs were creatures which were active during the day, while werewolves were active during the night. Of course, what I meant by ¡®active¡¯ is that most of them will only be actively hunting for prey at those designated times. So, some of them would still be hunting outside of their active period.


    For example, there were some orcs who would go out hunting at night. Speaking of which, dealing with orcs from afar was extremely difficult. Its vitality was very high, so it would take quite a lot of arrows to kill it.


    ¡°Though, it would be easier if I had more ignition stones¡­¡± Currently I only had 2 ignition stones with me, so at most I could only make a few bombs to hunt the orcs. It was not nearly enough. Capsaicin spray was also unusable as of now since the corrosive disease was still going strong on Earth.


    When I thought about capsaicin spray, I suddenly remembered about the bull peppers. I rose to my feet and quickly went out to pick some bull peppers from the garden. After wearing two gloves and a mask, I start to grind them into a paste. The pungent smell spread through the cave from the very first hit, making Dingo run away into the vacant lot.


    ¡°This thing is like a poison¡­¡± If I could throw this at the nose of an orc or werewolf, it seemed like it would deal a great deal of damage to those monsters. Werewolves, in particular, have a very sensitive sense of smell, so with this much, there¡¯s a chance that they wouldn¡¯t be able to get back up for quite a long time.


    The question is, how do I turn it into something which would spread only after I threw it?


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± While looking at the liquid sap the scarabs had melted, an idea came to mind. How about making a lump by combining ground bull pepper and flour and then coating it with the sap? If I just leave it in a cold place, it should stay frozen, then when I throw it, it would break, pouring the bull pepper all over the target.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try it.¡± What I had plentily besides snow in this place was time, so even if this method didn¡¯t work well, I could just try another method. I mixed bull pepper paste and flour, then put it in a sap container and rolled it. Then, itt became a little sticky lump. After leaving it for quite some time outside, it turns into some sort of candy-like substance.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it will work.¡± I put it on my slingshot and tried to shoot in the cave, but I stopped myself in the nick of time. I almost made a big accident. I went to the area near the ice wall and shot the pepper bomb towards the ice wall. The sap-coated thing crumbled as soon as it hit the ice wall and the contents spread.


    ¡°¡­is this going to work?¡± There was no need for me to try and turn into a weapon which could subdue monsters in one hit. Buying a few seconds was already good enough, as other weapons would take over from there. If this pepper bomb works, it would fit that criterion perfectly. Though, the downside of this pepper bomb was that it can only be used in winter, but that issue could be solved later down the line.


    As I got closer to the ice wall and sat down around the area where the pepper bomb exploded, a violent strong smell shook my brain.


    ¡°Cough! Cough!¡± My breath was caught in my throat while tears and snot were dripping down my face at the same time. It was worse than the time I entered the gas chamber for training back in the army. It was my fault for thinking that the pungent smell would have gone away when it had shattered and spread.


    (T/N quick reminder, South Korean male have to perform compulsory military service.)


    ¡°Wow, this is better than I thought¡­¡± On top of it, It made me feel better when I thought that the monsters would suffer even more, since their senses are higher than mine. I went into the cave, put the metal gloves on, and looked at the blade of the emeras spear.


    ¡°If I turn this into a throwing knife, its power will be no joke.¡± Though, since the blade was so sharp, it wouldn¡¯t make much difference whether it became a throwing knife or spear blade. When I gave it to the scarab leader, he skillfully made a hole in the emeras and attached a handle into it. Not only was he good at metalworking, he seems to be good at many other things as well.


    ¡°Great.¡± I promptly threw it to a piece of wood, but unfortunately, my throwing skill sucks. So, the knife bounced off and buried itself on a roll of tissue far away from the original target.


    ¡°That¡¯s dangerous.¡± If I threw it incorrectly, I would have an extra hole in my body. It would take a lot of practice to master it too.


    I asked the scarabs to make a few normal throwing knives about the same size as this emeras throwing knife. I also asked him to make me some sheath coated in iron powder so I could keep all the throwing knives around my thigh. Without thinking much, the scarabs readily agreed.


    These guys are really good guys.


    .


    .


    .


    August passed and September came. It was still quite hot on Earth, but at least now, a cool breeze could be felt in the night. Meanwhile, in the forest, the cold which had been occupying the forest had subsided considerably.


    In one of the gardens I made, I sat around while digging into the wet soil. Before long, a potato the size of a fist showed itself. ¡°When did these things grow this big?¡±


    Didn¡¯t I plant the potatoes around the times the goblins appeared on Earth? If it was growing at normal speed, it should only be entering the sprouting phase. But now, all of them had grown around the size of a fist. I cut the stems, returned the vinyl into its original position and made a cut on the potatoes. Some were cut based on where the seed is and would be used as seed potatoes.


    ¡°Tonight¡¯s dinner will be a delicious steamed potato.¡± Dingo ran into the dug up potatoes and made quite a fuss. I ignored his antics and put the basket inside the cave before searching for a particular video. It was a video about an event which happened after the appearance of the goblin¡¯s den.


    ¡°It¡¯s a speedrun event.¡± In this event, rewards would be given to the fastest user who managed to reach the deepest part of the labyrinth first. It was some sort of simulation for when the real labyrinths spawned, which had the same function as the real one, to connect numerous dimensional doors around the world. Hopefully, I would be able to meet Rapwi or the other stagnant waters through this event.


    Speaking of which, the labyrinth would be filled with monsters which have appeared so far. Anyone who entered it would be able to hunt the monsters inside for the points, but it¡¯s not the wisest thing to do since they wouldn¡¯t be able to really see anything, as the inside would be pitch black.


    ¡°There are only a few ways for people to be able to see in the pitch black labyrinth..¡± At best, they can only use torches or glowstones, but those things weren¡¯t good as they would surely attract monsters. In the end, those who decide to enter have to walk around relying only on their naked eye, so it would be extremely dangerous to people who didn¡¯t have the suitable skill.


    ¡°Will there be others who knew about this event?¡± In the original game, this event happened at the very early phase of the game. So, I don¡¯t think there would be a lot of people who know about it. Just in case, I opened the Auction House to look for information regarding the event.


    But contrary to my expectation, the topic was a hot potato here. Practically everyone was talking about it.


    -Guys, when will the speedrun event happen?


    -Don¡¯t know.


    -There¡¯s probably no one in this place who knows about it.


    -There¡¯s one. That bastard should know about it.


    Am I really going to be called ¡®that bastard¡¯ for the rest of my life?


    -All I know is that it happened not long after the release.


    -Well damn, my Terrain Detection skill is only level 1 now, how can I run in the labyrinth?


    -You¡¯re showing off, aren¡¯t you?


    -You can try running around inside while carrying the glowstone.


    -Then the monsters will chase after you. If you have a brain, please, use it to think.


    -Fuck you, you bastard.


    -In the game, a ranking window will appear to show the list of people who have cleared it.


    -From the information I heard in the past few days I spent here, it seems like it was a very famous event, but is there anyone who knows about the details of it?


    -Back then, everyone was busy doing something else. I bet even the original four wouldn¡¯t have done it since it was so early, just after the release.


    -Except for that bastard.


    -Is that bastard going to be number one this time?


    -Of course no, you stupid. Unlike in the game, we have our unique abilities here. Those with blink ability would be much faster than that bastard.


    -If you run while avoiding monsters, you are guaranteed to be number one.


    -But guys, does anyone know about that bastard¡¯s unique ability?


    -That¡¯s the biggest mystery around right now.


    -Rapwi is resurrection, Duck Butt is zombie ruler, I think? But what about I Love Gimbap and Survivor 1?


    -Who is I Love Gimbap? Wasn¡¯t ¡®that bastard¡¯ his ID?


    -Oh my god¡­ How are you even here? Are you a spy?


    -Anyway, I¡¯d be satisfied if that bastard didn¡¯t get first place.


    -Same.


    -Shall we work together to make that happen?


    -Should we?


    -LOL¡­.


    -It would be funny if the IDs of people who always go ¡®That bastard this, that bastard that¡¯ were revealed later.


    -There¡¯s no way that¡¯s going to happen.


    -Do you know about the balancing patch? The chance was quite high for it to happen.


    -Oh fuck.


    Anonymous communities were always like this. Just filled with bullshit. The hatred for me was also still there. Even if I decided to share my videos, it would have been the same. After all, people will always find a way to vent their frustration on something.


    ¡°I can win only if I have more shadow grapes¡­¡± However, for some reason, the scarabs didn¡¯t bring it. I searched the Auction House for it, but there were only a few items being auctioned. It was only natural, since currently, everyone was living a tight life, so there wouldn¡¯t be a lot of items to sell


    ¡°Let¡¯s take it easy for once.¡± However, when I checked the schedule, my to-do list of exploring the forest beyond the valley caught my eye. Should I go since I have the time? Before, I couldn¡¯t afford to go because of the owlbear, but I already killed that guy, so it¡¯s now possible.


    ¡°Dingo, do you want to go outside?¡± The guy¡¯s tail went wild at my words. It seems like he loved the forest more rather than going to Earth. Well, I also share that sentiment since I don¡¯t have to hide anything while I¡¯m here.


    ¡°Good. Wait a bit.¡± I packed all the necessities in my backpack and put the pistol in the slot.


    Then, I flew the drone over the valley and saw a lake.


    ¡°It¡¯s huge.¡± To be honest, I was afraid that some kind of monster might be living inside such a big lake. However, after flying over it for quite some time, nothing jumped out of it, so my fear was quite quelled.


    I think it would be safe to explore there now. I quickly went out with Dingo in tow.


    .


    .


    .


    The atmosphere in the forest beyond the valley was different from the part of the forest I was familiar with. It was dark because there were many tall trees around the area, and the thick fog added more gloom into the already spooky atmosphere. However, Dingo, who did not care about the atmosphere at all, moved forward bravely.


    ¡°I believe only in you.¡± I spoke quietly. By the way, in a dark and gloomy forest like this, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if a werewolf popped out. A human being in an unfamiliar place, isn¡¯t that the best kind of situation for werewolves?


    ¡°Oh my god.¡± I stopped and exclaimed as I found a thicket of shadow grapes under a big tree. This is how exploration should be. Fun and rewarding. I opened my pocket and put some shadow grapes into it. For the time being, I would be able to go around at night without any worries.


    At that moment, goosebumps swept over my body.


    ¡°¡­¡± Dingo also lowered his stance and looked around frantically. There¡¯s undoubtedly something here. Without delaying even a second more, we entered the portal. Then, I saw something panting past the portal. Black fur, reminiscent of night, and ferocious set of teeth. It was a werewolf.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I will be able to cross the portal again.¡± Unlike normal monsters, werewolf is a tenacious monster. It wouldn¡¯t stop chasing until it couldn¡¯t smell its target¡¯s odor anymore. After all, even if the presence couldn¡¯t be felt anymore, the odor would still linger.


    Crackle.


    The guy sniffed around the portal. In terms of strength and agility, it was not an opponent I could fight directly.


    ¡°There is no need to take any risks.¡± Let¡¯s just wait until it gives up.


    Or should I use the gun? It was disappointing that the gun I brought in my quickslot was the Togarev, which didn¡¯t have a lot of bullets left. It definitely can inflict damage to the werewolf, but it would be difficult to inflict fatal wounds because of the low amount of ammo.


    The black werewolf kept on sniffing, and finally, it was right in front of the portal. My body froze at that moment. Did that place have the most odor lingering?


    If I could kill this guy, I will undoubtedly get a good skill. Something like Wolf¡¯s Sense or Fighting Instinct skill would come out. I was about to take Togarev out of the slot in the moment of greed, but managed to come to my senses and stopped.


    The place I am currently at was my new room on Earth. Which means, the gun will be affected by the corrosive disease if I took it out. It was still fine when it was inside the quickslots, since they were akin to a subspace. But the moment I take it out, it will crumble to dust in seconds.


    ¡°Shit.¡± I have to get out somehow but I can¡¯t use the gun. So, I pulled the emeras spear out of the slot and aimed at the curious werewolf. When I stabbed it as hard as I could, I felt it go in through its fur without any resistance. However, to my surprise, the werewolf actually grabbed my spear. Then, it tried to pull me out of my portal.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± I groaned as I let the spear go. I would have been dragged out if I didn¡¯t do it. While massaging my hand, I stared at the werewolf. The wound caused by emeras spear had closed due to its amazing regeneration ability.


    The werewolf¡¯s eyes flashed. It turned sharper than before in an instant. Moreover, it seemed to be territorial for some reason.


    ¡°Is this because it¡¯s your turf?¡±


    If so, I¡¯ll break it, that territorial sense of yours.

 Chapter 57

    The werewolf broke the emeras spear and continued to wander around the portal. I showed my palm to the growling Dingo and checked the supplies I currently have.


    ¡°Slingshot, pepper bomb, Togarev¡­¡± And the emeras spear. It¡¯s broken because of the struggle earlier, but the penetrating power of the blade is still there. The problem was the timing. With my current stats, it was impossible to keep up with the werewolf¡¯s movements. That¡¯s why I need to distract him before attacking him. It was not a fail-proof plan either. If I miss my timing, even for just a millisecond, his claws will surely tear me to pieces.


    However, with the new weapon I just created, I was confident that I would be the one who came out victorious from this fight. When I took out the pepper bomb from the backpack, Dingo whined and quickly ran towards the corner.


    ¡°Dingo, stay there.¡± I loaded a pepper bomb into my slingshot and glared at the werewolf.


    Are you running out of patience?


    Do you want to find me and tear me apart that bad?


    Growl-!!


    The eyes of the werewolf were fierce. It looked like it was screaming for blood. It was proof that the guy had the Fighting instinct skill.


    After waiting patiently for quite a while, the guy began to slow down. It seems like the Fighting Instinct skill had been deactivated. I quickly pulled the string of the slingshot and waited. The guy moved closer and closer towards the portal. When his snout finally twitched in front of the portal, I released the slingshot¡¯s string.The pepper bomb flew and shattered as soon as it hit the werewolf right on its snout. Taken aback, the guy frantically moved his limbs around and sniffed.


    That was a big mistake, my friend¡­


    The moment the werewolf took a deep breath of the bull pepper powder, he jolted crazily. The guy rubbed the back of its nostrils with its claws as he moved. Its blood and saliva splattered everywhere, and the dirt around it flew away.


    After inhaling that dreadful powder deeply, it must feel like its soul was being expelled out of its body. Well, I don¡¯t really know whether werewolves have souls or not, though.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start.¡± I quietly exited the portal and opened the slot which the Togarev was in.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    A total of three shots struck the werewolf¡¯s chest and head. But as expected, it didn¡¯t die. After all, this guy was an extremely tough guy who was also quick on his feet.


    I took the emeras spear and started running after closing the portal. Hide-and-seek wasn¡¯t a bad strategy either, but there was a risk that the guy would be fed up and escape instead. I can¡¯t let that happen, since I had to kill him in order to get a skill.


    As I ran with all my might, I heard quick footsteps echoing behind me. The distance was not that close, but if I let my focus slip off, the guy would definitely catch up in the blink of an eye. I know this because I¡¯ve done this a lot.


    ¡°Cough! Cough!¡± I turned around and pulled out my pistol and fired.


    Bang! Bang!


    The running werewolf could not overcome the momentum of the bullet and collapsed. Originally, the guy would have been fine if the damage was only this much. However, that wasn¡¯t the case right now, as he already took a lot of damage.


    I continued to run for a while. Then, the moment I found a suitable tree, I took out the hook and threw it upwards. The hook wrapped around the sturdy branches and the ropes went taut. With all my power, I climbed using the rope as my support. It was extremely hard. However, the one that kept me going was the werewolf instructor, which is still chasing me while roaring.


    The moment I arrived on top of the tree, the werewolf jumped to try to bite me. However, its sharp teeth didn¡¯t even meet my foot. I looked down, supporting my weight with my arms.


    The werewolf moved quite anxiously because it couldn¡¯t attack me.


    Its jumping reach was only about 3m, so it¡¯s too short to reach my current height. But suddenly, it seems like the guy realized that climbing the tree was the way to go rather than jumping as it started climbing with all of its limbs.


    But didn¡¯t you forget something?


    The werewolf¡¯s nose twitched as I pulled out the pepper bomb. It was a moment he had to choose. Will it try to dodge the pepper bomb and fall? Or will he continue to pursue me? Of course, I already knew that the guy wouldn¡¯t back off here. The werewolf opened his mouth and exposed his teeth, eyes full of hatred.


    ¡°Your mouth is so big. Eat this.¡± The bull peppers from the pepper bomb that I threw were precisely sucked into the guy¡¯s snout. As it shattered, the guy¡¯s eyes widened and fell backwards.


    Khaaaaakkk-!!


    After that, the guy continued to jolt around without even being able to open his eyes. If someone who didn¡¯t know anything had seen it, they would have thought the guy had hurt himself.


    I aimed and fired at the guy¡¯s head with the Togarev. After a few gunshots, the werewolf¡¯s movements slowed down considerably. No matter how strong his vitality is, he wouldn¡¯t be able to stay unaffected after taking bullets on his head several times. The guy¡¯s breath became rugged. His face was also dripping with blood.


    Let¡¯s finish this quickly.


    I stabbed his heart with the emeras spear.


    Stab-!!!


    The werewolf let out one last breath as his body twitched before crashing to the ground, lifeless.


    A message popped into my mind, and then I fell to the floor too.


    ¡°Cough¡­ Cough¡­¡±


    It was dangerous. Even though my body had become lighter, it was still quite a burden to climb up the rope alone. If it hadn¡¯t been for the two-stats ring given by Rapwi, I wouldn¡¯t have dared to do it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to pay him back with something good next time.¡±


    I rubbed my stiff shoulders and checked the kill notification.


    ¡¸Level has risen to 16¡¹


    ¡¸You have earned 25 Points ¡¹


    ¡¸You have acquired ¡®Fighting Instinct¡¯ Skill¡¹


    ¡°Yes.¡± I clenched my fists and threw it into the air. The thing which made me excited was not the level nor the points, but the Fighting Instinct skill. This skill was what the users commonly referred to as a tier 2 skill.


    ¡°There aren¡¯t many skills which raise stats.¡± The limit of stats in Survival Life was about 20. The developer team set it around that much because they said it was the limit of a normal human being¡¯s body. However, if one has a tier 2 skill, they could break through the limit in certain situations.


    ¡°Tier 1 is even more awesome.¡± One of the most common skills among tier 1 skills was ¡®Stone Skin¡¯, a skill which could be obtained after defeating an ogre. Its effect was reducing all damage afflicted to one¡¯s body by 50%. In the first place, ogres have tremendous stamina and defence. And with this skill activated, they would be even more difficult to kill.


    ¡°It will be like hitting a concrete wall with a bare fist.¡±


    Anyway, Fighting Instinct adds 20% to Vitality, Strength, and Agility stat for 3 minutes. It was thanks to this skill that the werewolves who were walking around in front of the portal suddenly became faster. However, the trigger to this skill was a bit tricky. It was to have a fierce murderous intent.


    Which means, if you fight against an enemy while being enshrouded in fear or confusion, or even without any intention of killing, the skill wouldn¡¯t be activated.


    ¡°There¡¯s a reason these werewolves have a bad personality.¡± Whatever it is, it¡¯s similar to my reason.


    I called up the status window.


    ¡¸Level: 16 Point(s): 505


    Vitality: 12 (+2)


    Strength: 13 (+2)


    Agility:9


    Dexterity:12(+2)


    Perception:10(+2)


    Unique ability: Dedicated Dimension Door


    Skills: Survival Instinct, Terrain Detection 2, Motionless Movement, Life Tracking, Paralyze Resistance 2, Fighting Instinct.


    Active buff(s):- ¡¹


    If I get 4 more skills, my skill count would reach 10. Just as there¡¯s a limit on the amount of items that can be equipped, there¡¯s a limit of skills users could have, which is 10. Therefore, when a user reaches the limit and acquires a new skill, the oldest skill on their list would be replaced.


    The first skill I acquired was the Survival Instinct skill from the orc. However, since my stamina had increased tremendously and was less likely to be surprise-attacked by some random monster because of how high my Perception stat is, the significance of the skill dropped immensely.


    ¡°It¡¯s still a good skill, though.¡± As long as it was still usable, it was good. But, if a chance to get a better skill comes, it would be better to change it.


    By the way, this werewolf doesn¡¯t give any items. That¡¯s too bad. Looks like I had to wait until the labyrinth speedrun event which would happen soon to get my hands on a new item.


    I cut off the werewolf¡¯s ankle and threw it away. Then, I opened the portal.


    ¡°Dingo, Dingo.¡± The guy ran out excitedly but started to whine when he saw the werewolf corpse. When will this furball become strong enough to fight together with me, I wonder? Two seasons had passed yet he still wasn¡¯t strong enough.


    With that thought on my mind, I returned to the shelter with Dingo.


    .


    .


    .


    Yoohyeon¡¯s unique ability was doll making. It was a skill that enabled him to make a doll and move it freely. Moreover, he could also see as well as hear through them. Thanks to that, even though Yoohyeon did not have any combat capability, he was unmatched in the intelligence gathering field. The paper plane he often made had given him the ability to easily see the whereabouts of other survivors as well as monsters around the area.


    Today, at Seongho¡¯s request, Yoohyeon and Mikyung climbed up to a nearby studio building and flew a paper airplane. The paper plane passed through the sky of the desolate one-room neighbourhood and headed for the golf club.


    After flying the paper airplane in the sky of the gold club, Yoohyeon sighed.


    ¡°They are so territorial.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± asked Mikyung, who was lying next to him without any care in the world.


    ¡°To give you a brief explanation¡­ People who moved here from Busan would definitely be short on food, right? We¡¯re fine since Seongho Hyung is helping us¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute. I¡¯ve felt it for a long time, but you¡¯re too explanatory.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a need for build-up to make a story.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah whatever. Just tell me quickly.¡±


    ¡°That guy named Kyung-joon is using that fact. Instead of giving them food for free, he urges them to do his bidding.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ he told them to kill people.¡±


    ¡°WHAT?!?!¡± Mikyung¡¯s eyes widened. However, the moment before she could bombard him with questions, Yoohyeon raised his hands.


    ¡°Wait a minute. People are making quite a fuss there so I can¡¯t hear well.¡±


    ¡°Okay, tell me quickly if you hear anything.¡±


    After a while, Yoohyeon stood up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. ¡°Wow¡­ that guy called Kyung-joon was really awful.¡±


    ¡°What did he do?¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡±


    The thing which Yoohyeon heard goes like this.


    It could be said that Kyung-joon was a top dog in the area. And since he had been there for so long, and ruled the area like a king, he was displeased that so many survivors suddenly came to his area. It was because monsters would only spawn near people, so the more people there are, the more monsters there would be.


    He told several people.


    -Look at the desolate surroundings. What are you going to eat? On the other hand, there¡¯s so many of you here! After a while, the zombies will certainly come in droves.


    -Then what should we do?


    -Let¡¯s reduce the number of survivors.


    People were taken aback by his suggestion. After all, his suggestion means that he wants the people here to be murderers.


    -You know that if you only kill one person, you wouldn¡¯t be turned into a murderer, right? Kill, and I will give you food.


    -Wait a minute, what are you talking about? How can you say something like that so casually¡­


    -Shouldn¡¯t you worry more about what is happening behind your back?


    Kyung-joon chuckled. When the man turned around, he noticed that the people around him were looking at him with strange eyes. They were already falling for Kyung-joon¡¯s words.


    -Ah, no¡­


    Kyungjoon laughed.


    -Right now, it¡¯s like I am choosing a supplier company for my main company. If you don¡¯t deliver, you¡¯ll either starve to death or attack others. How is that different from what I¡¯m proposing? Don¡¯t you understand this simple thing?


    The reason Kyung-joon was trying to manipulate people with food as bait was because he saw that most survivors who came here had only one backpack on their back. Which means, they only had enough food for a few days. On the flipside, Kyung-Joon had a bunker with him. The supplies stockpiled inside were also enormous.


    Then, someone said,


    -There is a rice centre nearby! Do not be shaken by his words!


    -Are you planning on only eating rice for your whole life? Shouldn¡¯t there be a side dish? How about water? Are you sure that you can drink from the Nakdong River?


    -We can just go to Gimhae or Jinhae¡­


    -Ah yeah, people there who are already fighting for food among themselves will surely accept you. Please, by all means, go there.


    The expression of the survivors wrinkled at his sarcasm. Then, Kyung-joon urged them.


    -Think carefully. If you hold hands with me, even if the work is tough, you can still make a living. It¡¯s not bad.


    -How can we trust you? Can¡¯t you just kill us once you give us some food?


    Someone said that, but Kyung-joon¡¯s eyes turned cold at that moment.


    ¨DYou seem to be mistaken. The one who has to earn trust, is you guys. Not the opposite.


    At that moment, people¡¯s reactions were split in half.


    One side thinks, ¡®Do I have to listen to this man?¡¯


    All of them who had this thought were well aware that it¡¯s dangerous and difficult to go anywhere else. Holding hands with the person in front of them wasn¡¯t a bad option at all.


    There were, of course, many who were against it. They begged Kyung-joon several times to let them go, but to no avail. On top of it, Kyung-joon was surrounded by his ten subordinates, so it was difficult to attack him.


    -Decide quickly. The raid will begin soon.


    Currently, there were no zombies around, but one couldn¡¯t be too sure when this many people gathered.


    At Kyung-joon¡¯s urging, three people came to the front then shook hands with the gloved man. Then, their eyes changed drastically.


    -Get rid of them.


    At Kyung-joon¡¯s command, thirteen people rushed towards the five. Moments later, a terrifying scream echoed across the golf course. One survivor hid in the surroundings using his stealth ability, but unfortunately for him, he was discovered when one of Kyung-joon¡¯s men sprayed paint into the field. Promptly, Kyung-joon gave one of his subordinates a bow. Then, using that bow, his subordinate shoots at the last survivor.


    Just like that, the five survivors died. Kyung-joon said to the remaining three.


    -I am a person who will surely reward those who deserved it. Take this.


    His subordinates put down three backpacks. When the 3 opened it, it was full of food and bottled water. They sighed in relief and grabbed the backpacks.


    -Talk well and bring someone else with you. got it?


    His order means that they need to bring a clean survivor to this place and kill them. It was a terrifying order, but no one could disobey Kyung-joon¡¯s words. It was because they were already in the same boat.


    ¡°The end.¡± Yoohyeon wrapped up his story.


    ¡°Wow¡­ That kind of person exist?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Sooyeon noona say it? He is the kind of person who sacrifices his subordinates without any thought just because he wanted to open the time shelter.¡±


    ¡°Then what should we do?¡±


    ¡°Even if you ask me¡­ Seongho hyung just told me to monitor them, so we should just keep flying the plane.¡±


    ¡°Even if it¡¯s Seongho ahjussi, he won¡¯t be able to solve it alone. There¡¯s too many people there¡­¡± Mikyung spoke in a worried voice.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been hunting together with him but you still didn¡¯t believe he can¡¯t do it?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not like that¡­¡±


    ¡°Personally, I believe Seongho hyung can do it. Hyung is just different from us. Didn¡¯t Sooyeon noona said it that as long as you don¡¯t betray him, he will help us?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    At that moment, Mikyung remembered how Seongho found a stockpile of food as soon as he arrived in this area. It was hard to believe that he just found so much food in the area which was ruled by a big faction like Kyung-joon¡¯s faction. Surely, he¡¯s still hiding something from her and the rest of the group. However, Mikyung knew that trying to figure it out wasn¡¯t a good decision. So, she decided to think that whatever Seongho was hiding, it was a good thing.


    ¡°Fine¡­ Just hurry up and fly the plane to Ahjussi.¡±


    ¡°But why do you keep calling hyung Ahjussi? Sooyeon noona is older than him yet you called her unnie.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s up to me whether I want to call him hyung or ahjussi, why do you care?¡±


    ¡°Seongho hyung said that he was hurt because of that..¡±


    ¡°R-really?¡±


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s a joke! Huh? Your face turned red.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± While Mikyung was kicking Yoohyeon¡¯s ass, the plane flew into the sky.


    Seongho caught the plane which came through the window of his room and looked at it. After reading the content written inside, Seongho drew a map of the golf course on paper and was immersed in thought.


    ¡®I have to go inside even if I don¡¯t want to.¡¯ He thought. After all, it was almost impossible to drill through a strong bunker even if the door wasn¡¯t made of concrete. And even if he wanted to drill it, he didn¡¯t have any machinery which could accomplish that task as of now.


    ¡®Then, I have to subdue more than 10 people.¡¯ If it was a few days ago, that many people would be quite burdensome for him. But it is no longer a problem, as currently, he had many useful items together with the new skill he just got from hunting the werewolf. If he played his card right, his possibility of winning would be quite high.


    However, unlike last time, Seongho would surely kill Kwon this time. But, since there would be no monster inside the bunker, it would be hard to use the method that he often uses to kill others without him actively trying to kill them, which is to lure monsters and zombies towards them. But Seongho quickly figured out a new way to do it.


    ¡®That should work.¡¯

 Chapter 58

    The night of the apocalyptic world was terrifying. It was complete darkness. No moonlight nor stars could be seen adorning the sky. No light nor white noise enveloped the city. Only the fire that the goblins made and the growl of zombies could be seen or heard. Even if someone could brace the darkness to hunt zombies and goblins in the night, bone creepers or keepers will pop out from out of nowhere, sending shivers down their spine. Therefore, it was common sense to refrain from going out at night unless you have a strong heart and good ability.


    Of course, there are people who are not afraid of the night for various reasons and still dared to go out. For example, a guy like me, who wanted to attack Kwon¡¯s bunker.


    In the dark garden next to the parking lot, I hid myself. As a result of checking in advance with Yoohyeon¡¯s paper airplane, I know that Kwon¡¯s bunker was located in the clubhouse of the golf course across from my location. The two people who guard the entrance yawned over and over again, it was clear as day that they were bored. It seems like even after they get brainwashed, the basic function of their mind still functions.


    ¡°One other bunker is in the academy.¡± And the location of the other one was still unknown to me. The distance between the bunkers was quite far, so they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about being attacked by zombies because too many people lived around the same area. However, thanks to that fact, my work would become easier.


    ¡°There were 12 people in total in this group.¡± However, since one hideout could only accommodate up to 5 people for safety reasons, aside from the sentry, there should be 3 more people inside, including Kwon.


    ¡°Are you indulging yourself with two girls inside? What a good life, really.¡± But, tonight, your good life will come to an end. I checked the plan once again. It wouldn¡¯t be difficult for me to neutralize his subordinates. It was because I knew everything about them, while they didn¡¯t know anything about me. If support comes from another bunker, I just have to block the entrance with the portal and get out when the situation dies down.


    However, rather than Kwon and his subordinates, the more problematic one was the bunker itself. It was made of concrete which was near indestructible to my current level. The door of the bunker was made with reinforced plastic. Which means, it wouldn¡¯t melt easily even if I forced it to open using fire. Toxic gas could work against it, though. But since it was a double door, the inside would be fine.


    ¡°This bastard was thoroughly prepared.¡± I mumbled as I saw various obstacles installed in the area near the door. It wasn¡¯t far-fetched to call this bunker an impregnable fortress.


    ¡°But still, it doesn¡¯t mean that there¡¯s no way to break through.¡± I smirked. After all, if a frontal attack wouldn¡¯t work, I just have to let them bleed to death.


    I opened the slot and chewed a handful of shadow grapes.


    ¡¸Active buff: Night vision increase¡¹


    In the next moment, all the obstacles and the two guards were clearly visible to my eyes. The effect is really no joke.


    I carefully crawled to the guards. What I¡¯m going to use here is a crossbow with paralyzing poison coated around its bolts. Because the bolts are quite thin, even if it hit them in their thighs, they wouldn¡¯t fall instantly.


    ¡°Slot #1.¡±


    A crossbow loaded with bolts appeared in front of me. And I quickly took it with my left hand. After getting close enough to the guards, I squeezed the crossbow¡¯s trigger. With a muffled groan sound, the guy grabbed his thigh and collapsed.


    ¡°Huh?¡± While the other guard was puzzled about what¡¯s happening, I called slot 2 and shot another bolt at him. Since I had applied a lot of paralyzing poison to the bolt, they would be unable to move for about 30 minutes.


    I dragged the two fallen guards and hid them in the bushes before going to check the door. With only one glance, I could see that the door was strong. However, it still wouldn¡¯t be strong enough to stop the attack of the scarabs¡ªwho can literally chew metals.


    ¡°Open the portal.¡± When I put my hand in, the four scarabs which had been waiting, climbed up to the palm of my hand.


    Come on, don¡¯t be shy, isn¡¯t this your first time in reality?


    ¡°Can you make a hole in it? This much should be fine.¡± I said quietly as I drew a hole on the wall only large enough to put a flame can in. The scarab leader nodded his head as soon as he saw it. While the scarabs went to do their job and gnawed at the reinforced plastic, I loaded the bolts into the two crossbows. These two were the last bolts that were coated in paralysing poison.


    After waiting a while, a hole bigger than I wanted was drilled on the door. Inside it was a dark wooden door. It looks quite strong, but it still won¡¯t be strong enough to withstand the power of flame can.


    ¡°Good job. Now rest.¡± I said as I sent the scarabs away to the portal. Then, I lit the wick of the flame can and threw it inside. Smokes billowed from the hole the scarabs had dug instantly. I opened the portal again and hid in the portal. After waiting for a while, I saw the door slammed open and someone throwing something through the smoke.


    ¡°They are throwing fire extinguisher packs, huh?¡±


    The container of the extinguished fluid shatters when it meets the flame. Then, the inside gushed out, trying to extinguish the fire. Unfortunately, the fire caused by the ignition stone was sticky, and it couldn¡¯t be extinguished easily. So, only after several fire extinguishers were thrown did the fire finally subsided.


    Through the black smoke, someone wearing a firefighter suit could be seen standing. From the glance, it was not Kwon. Without hesitation, I fired a bolt at her.


    ¡°Ouch!¡± With a high-pitched scream, the figure collapsed. Then, I went inside.


    Now, there should be only Kwon and one other woman.


    I threw two pepper bombs at the place where the two people might have been hiding. Instantly, a strong cough erupted from the corner.


    ¡°Cough! Cough!¡± From the high pitch, it seems like it was the other woman.


    Moments later, I could hear a voice coming from that side. ¡°You are that bastard from before!¡±


    His voice sounds muffled. I think he¡¯s wearing a gas mask. I walked out from the portal and answered. ¡°Yes. That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°You bastard! Did you come here to die?¡±


    ¡°Should we see who dies between us?¡±


    When I answered relaxedly, Kwon¡¯s voice raised up. ¡°If I manage to catch you, I¡¯ll cut all your limbs and then throw you to the zombies! You picked the wrong opponent, you bastard! You motherfucking limp dick fucker!¡±


    In an instant, something snapped in my mind.


    .


    .


    .


    Kwon Kwon will never forget what the bastard in front of him had done to him. He still vividly remembers being paralyzed senselessly in the PC caf¨¦ by the bastard before the apocalypse hits. On that day, he even took away his smartphone and gun.


    What about when the apocalypse comes?


    He lost many of his men on the hand of the bastard and was forced to flee from the time shelter. However, as if all of the humiliation he suffered wasn¡¯t enough, the same bastard came again, this time, to his bunker. It seems like he was hell-bent to ruin whatever he had built.


    His anger flared up. He really wanted to kill the bastard in front of him.


    ¡°You motherfucking limp dick fucker!!¡±


    As soon as finished his words, Kwon realized that something had gone wrong. It was because Seongho¡¯s clenched fist was already right in front of his face.


    ¡°Keuk!¡± Kwon flew to the wall because of the punch. When did he move? Kwon wondered. He couldn¡¯t even see his movements. With this development, his plan of shooting at him then running away from the bunker had gone awry.


    ¡°You¡­ You¡­ Just who are you¡­¡±


    However, instead of answering, Seongho¡¯s heavy fists come down to his stomach.


    ¡°Ackkkk!¡± Pain spread all over his body. He knew that his back was broken. Kwon struggled to move to his knees with his mouth wide open. He had hit him so hard to the point that blood-soaked saliva dripped down through the gaps in his gas mask.


    Seongho took off his gas mask and kicked his body with a football kick. Thanks to that, his body bounced away several times on the floor before stopping.


    ¡°St-stop it. Please stop¡­¡±


    ¡°You know, there is one thing I promised to myself. It was to kill you when the apocalypse comes.¡±


    ¡°If you kill me¡­¡± Kwon sneered towards Seongho. However, Seongho¡¯s gaze stays constant, there¡¯s no change whatsoever in his eyes even after hearing Kwon¡¯s words.


    ¡°What if I kill you? I will turn into a murderer? Do you think I didn¡¯t know that?¡± Kwon¡¯s pupil shook at his words. ¡°If I disguise it as a suicide, the system will be fooled. You probably don¡¯t know that because you are nothing but a self-proclaimed stagnant water.¡±


    ¡°WHAT!?!?¡± Kwon¡¯s eyes widened. Numerous thoughts ran inside his head. The most prevalent one was the identity of the man in front of him.


    ¡®Don¡¯t tell me, this guy¡¯s true identity is¡­¡¯


    On the other side, Seongho shook his head. Dizziness swept over him as his body became sluggish.


    ¡°Tsk, the effect is great, but the side effects are great too.¡± He mumbled. Then before long, Seongho kicked Kwon¡¯s again before opening one of the slots, took something out of it, placed it on Kwon¡¯s hand, then tied his hand to the thing with a rope.


    When Kwon realized the thing Seongho tied to his hand was fireworks, his eyes widened. More and more cold sweat dripped all over his body as his heart beat furiously. He was aware of what the guy in front of him was going to make him do.


    ¡°No, no! Please! Please!!¡±


    ¡°What a hassle¡­¡± However, Seongho didn¡¯t even pay any attention to his plea. He just walked around before returning while carrying the two women in his arms simultaneously.


    ¡°Open portal.¡± Hearing those words, Kwon realized. Even though he couldn¡¯t see anything on the air, the bastard in front of him had been moving while using some sort of portal to hide.


    ¡°Keuakkkkkkkkkk!¡± Kwon let out a beast-like howl as he struggled to free his arms from the rope.


    ¡°You¡¯re noisy bastard.¡± But moments later, Seongho had already poured gasoline all over him. After that, Seongho lit the fireworks fixed in Kwon¡¯s hands.


    Knowing that his life would end as soon as the wick was burned out, Kwon mustered all of his remaining strength to release himself from the binding. But to no avail. When he realized he wouldn¡¯t be able to free himself, he began to beg.


    ¡°Please¡­ Spare me¡­ Please¡­ I won¡¯t do it again! I¡¯ll give you my life¡­ so please¡­!¡±


    ¡°Be sure to not do it again in your next life, okay?¡±


    Tata Tak Tak!


    ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± At the crackling sounds, Kwon raised the firecrackers as high as he could, however it would only delay his death to a mere seconds. Finally, the fireworks went off. The sparks dropped into the gasoline and ignited the gasoline.


    Kwon couldn¡¯t even scream anymore and only floundered like fish out of water. On the other hand, Seongho looked straight at Kwon¡¯s death scene. He had evaded the system¡¯s judgment even though he just committed a murder through this method. He burned the scene in front of him to his memory. He knew that this wouldn¡¯t be the last time he killed someone. After all, it was his way to pay back anyone who tried to harm him tenfold, without mercy.


    Seongho left the burning body of Kwon behind and swept over the bunker. He threw every supply he could find into the portal.


    ¡°I¡¯m tired.¡± He sighed as he finished his looting.


    Suddenly, people from the other bunkers came in.


    ¡°What? How are you here?¡±


    ¡°Who are you? Isn¡¯t this place our team leader¡¯s golf course?¡±


    Everyone didn¡¯t know about what was happening, so they asked Seongho. But no answer came out as suddenly, Seongho¡¯s body disappeared into the darkness.


    .


    .


    .


    Lee Yoon-jeong, who guides Rabbit Pwincess, Hwang Seokhyun, was fed up of hearing various things about him. He was a stagnant water who played Survival Life for more than 5000 hours. In other words, a madman. So, her superior told her to not provoke or insult him in any way throughout the journey.


    Naturally, her first impression of Seokhyun was quite intense. After all, in today¡¯s world, it¡¯s not common for a survivor to walk around with only panties and a robe. However, after spending several days with him, Yoon-Jeong realized that he¡¯s not a complete madman who didn¡¯t care about anything. On the contrary, he was kind enough to ask her if she was tired or in need of anything.


    ¡®In today¡¯s world, this is normal enough.¡¯ That was her final judgement on him. She thought that his messy appearance was probably due to the loss he felt after being separated from his friend. Yoon-Jeong imagined that after he reunites with his friend, he would show a slightly tidy appearance.


    Yoon-jeong guided him with such expectations. But when they arrived in Sejong, all of her expectations went awry.


    ¡°Rabbit Princess! I wanted to meet you.¡± Among the ruins of buildings, a big man flanked by 2 other big men called out towards Rapwi. All of those guys were dressed almost like Seokhyun.


    Yoon-jeong looked at them and frowned while Seokhyun shouted in response.


    ¡°Why do you want to meet me?¡±


    ¡°Because I heard a lot about you in the game.¡±


    ¡°Tell me your ID. I don¡¯t know who you are.¡±


    Then the guy replied ¡°It¡¯s Strawberry Princess.¡±


    It was at that moment Yoon-jeong realized that there is no normal princess in that cursed game.


    Seokhyun tilted his head, said ¡°Ah¡±, and then hit his palm. ¡°Aren¡¯t your first ID Fairy Of Love?¡±


    ¡°Yes! That¡¯s right!¡±


    Hearing that conversation, Yoon-jeong tried her best not to burst out laughing. No matter how she looked at it, the man who called himself Strawberry Princess didn¡¯t fit into words like love or fairy. It¡¯s just absurd.


    However, she could still feel that the corners of her mouth were slightly raised. But she felt reassured rather than worried that she would offend someone as she could see that the two other men who flanked Strawberry Princess had the same expression as her. But contrary to the three of them¡ªwho tried not to laugh¡ªthe two princesses were surprisingly serious.


    ¡°So, why are you calling out to me?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s join forces. If we do so, the twin princesses can rule Sejong!¡±


    ¡°Why should we rule?¡±


    ¡°Why should we rule, you say? Do you have no desires? Isn¡¯t it what everyone wants in the apocalypse? To enjoy power and use everything freely?¡±


    ¡°All I want is to meet my friends.¡±


    ¡°By friends, are you talking about Duck Butt, Gimbap, and Survivor?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Though he only wanted to meet the two other than Survivor 1. But he knew it¡¯s better not to told him that,


    ¡°What are you going to do when you meet them?¡±


    ¡°We will play together, of course.¡±


    Strawberry Princess furrowed her brows at Seokhyun¡¯s words.


    ¡°Disappointing, truly. I thought you were really crazy, but It seems like you are only pretending to be crazy.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°Is that all you want to do in the apocalypse? It¡¯s disappointing.¡±


    Seokhyun¡¯s expression hardened in an instant.


    ¡°Why is it disappointing?¡±


    ¡°You need strength to survive the apocalypse! You know that only the really crazy can have power, right? Open your eyes, Rabbit Princess! Let¡¯s go crazy!¡±


    Yoon-jeong¡¯s expression turned into worry at the man¡¯s words. No matter how she looks at it, the man in front of her wished to become a tyrant in the apocalypse.


    Seokhyun was silent for a few moments. Then suddenly, he started taking off his cloak.


    ¡°What are you doing now¡­¡± Yoon-jeong asked him. The other three didn¡¯t even care when he took off his cloak. But when he started to take off his backpack and boots too, their eyes changed instantly.


    ¡®Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡¯ Yoon-jeong said in her mind.


    Seokhyun¡¯s hand touched the hole in his panties. Then, when the panty was pulled down, Yoon-jeong witnessed his hairy and plump ass. Seokhyun had just returned to his original form in front of the four of them.


    ¡°Three.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Two.¡±


    ¡°Wha¡­ what are you murmuring about?¡±


    ¡°One.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ That¡¯s why¡­¡±


    However, before Strawberry Princess could finish his words, Seokhyun was already running towards him. At the sight, he was terrified out of his wits. How couldn¡¯t he? A naked man was running at him!


    ¡°Wait!! Come on, wait!¡±


    He started running away, and so did his men.


    ¡°Do not come! Don¡¯t come!¡±


    However, Seokhyun still rushed towards them.


    ¡°SEXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX!!!!!!¡±


    While he was running, something flapped violently between his crotch.

 Chapter 59

    Kwon Kyung-joon was dead. People who were under the effect of his brainwashing ability had also come to their senses. They all decided to leave after sharing the supplies stockpiled inside the bunker among themselves. Naturally, the rest of the survivors in the area, including people from the academy group, also got their share. But amongst them all, it was me who got the most. After all, I hoarded supplies from one of his bunkers entirely for myself. I also took Kwon¡¯s diary with me, and there¡¯s quite a lot of information written inside.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ The other survivors were making a communication network with him.¡± I murmured as I read what was written inside Kwon¡¯s diary. Those who were in constant contact with Kwon were survivors whose main range of activities concentrated around Gimhae and Changwon. I couldn¡¯t figure out what kind of people they are as of yet. However, it was clear that I had to be vigilant towards them since they were pretty much allied with Kwon.


    The next piece of information that caught my eyes was the code they used to have a conversation in the Auction House. It was a method of communicating using an encrypted language that they have decided on in the comment section of a specific item on the Auction House every week. It was important to do so because the Auction House was a place that everybody can use.


    ¡°Aha. They already did this, huh?¡± I was thinking of using the same method to talk with Rapwi or Duck, but it seems these guys had beaten me to it. ¡°Today should be September 1st, so I will have to look for some strange items in the Auction House on the 8th.¡±


    By the way, the name of the group who was active in Changwon was Changwon Clan¡­  Did they already gather enough power to call themselves a clan? It would be a difficult thing to do since a zombie raid would come if there¡¯s more than five people gathering¡­


    ¡°But it¡¯s not impossible, as they can just use the same method as Kwon.¡±


    They might think that there would be no major problems if they just exchanged encrypted conversation through the Auction House. However, that¡¯s not the case. By using that method, control becomes more important. If the others have a different thought from the agreement, what can the others do? Nobody knows what others are thinking. We humans are a fickle being who only act for our own benefit. So, how could they be sure that they wouldn¡¯t get backstabbed by the others?


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s not something I need to be worried about.¡± I shrugged. They may delude themselves by having a sense of peace and superiority in numbers after surviving through zombies and goblins hordes. However, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll crumble soon. After all, menacing monsters, including orcs and werewolves, have not yet appeared. On top of that, winter is also approaching in 3 months.


    ¡°Since the summer was so hot, the winter will be freezing.¡± In this kind of world, winter was a season which was much more difficult for survivors to endure than summer. And since it¡¯s been awhile since the apocalypse began, food supplies which could be looted would become more and more scarce. In short, the time has come for survivors to come up with a long-term survival plan.


    ¡°No one wants to live their whole life while eating just military rations, right?¡± Looting for supplies while hunting monsters was a much more efficient method to get some food source rather than farming or fishing right now. But, things will change soon. When the kobolds came, hordes of kobolds would sweep through the city at night, and there would be nothing left for humans.


    More difficult times are coming, how should I prepare my group members, I wonder?


    ¡°¡­they wouldn¡¯t even remotely care.¡± I said when the thought of Rapwi and Duck entered my mind. They were capable of resolving it by themselves. They weren¡¯t called stagnant waters for nothing. In the end, the one I should help was the academy group. For now, with the supplies they will get from the rice centre as well as from Kwon¡¯s bunker, their food situation should be safe for another month.


    ¡°Seems like we will need to move soon¡­¡±


    I think it would be better to go to Gimhae first. Then if we still need to move again, Changwon would be a good destination. No matter what kind of place we ended up settling at, the place should have a stable source of food.


    ¡°It has to be a place where we could fish as well as make a vegetable garden.¡± When my thoughts reached that point, one particular place came to mind. Changwon, especially Masan-gu, should be suitable for that purpose. It was the largest city in Gyeongnam so it should be big enough. Moreover, it has the advantage of being attached to the sea.


    ¡°What about other cities¡­¡± I searched the Auction House to see if there was anyone else who had the same thought as me. The Auction House was now being used as more than just a place to auction items, but also as a place akin to a forum. Every forum had their respective topics marked by the items so people could navigate easily.


    The content of a forum I entered was as follows:


    -Going inland is foolish when the sea is not polluted. Considering that food supply will become even more difficult in the future, coastal cities are the best.


    -It is necessary to secure as much fishing gear and nets as possible, too. I¡¯m sure you can survive with your supplies for now, but it will be difficult in winter.


    -Before winter, you have to finish making a garden and stocking up some firewood. In particular, those who are in Seoul, Gangwon-do, Gyeonggi-do. It¡¯s going to be extremely cold there.


    -Some people might think that winter will be better than summer, but that is only when your home and workplace are warm. This time, it will be hell.


    ¡°Seems like people are thinking similar things as I did.¡± I nodded my head. Since this particular item¡¯s comment section was where survival information is shared, there¡¯s almost no joke comment here, only serious comments.


    However, If someone¡¯s goal was to only prolong their lives, they didn¡¯t have to do such things written in the comments. Together with the appearances of the goblins, bread is now available to buy on the Store. Which means, you could simply buy it with points after killing some goblins or zombies. The problem is, the bread tastes awful on top of being quite expensive.


    There was a time when Mikyung, who had accumulated a lot of points, bought one out of curiosity and spit it out instantly without even getting a single chew.


    -It¡¯s like chewing raw flour¡­


    She said at that time.


    Literally, that bread should be something that you only take when you are in the most extreme and urgent situation, with no other choice to pick from.


    ¡°The current situation isn¡¯t that bad yet.¡±


    As I was looking for this and that in the Auction House, Yoohyeon¡¯s plane flew in through the window.


    It¡¯s time for us to hunt together.


    .


    .


    .


    In the academy group, Sooyeon and Yoohyeon are the only ones who haven¡¯t reached level 10 yet. They were currently at level 8 and 9 respectively. Therefore, I¡¯m going to help them to get that level in order to get an additional effect on their unique ability.


    When I got to the meeting place, the two of them were already waiting.


    ¡°Seongho. Did you hear about the golf course?¡± Sooyoen asked as soon as she saw me.


    ¡°I have heard about it from Yoohyeon.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really surprised that a group with such a strong bunker like that would collapse in just one day. When I saw it in the morning, a lot of people were going crazy around it.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there a saying that says it¡¯s easier for things to fall rather than to be built?¡±


    ¡°Seongho, even Rome did not fall in a single day. It¡¯s strange, truly. There didn¡¯t seem to be a group nearby who were powerful enough to destroy the whole bunker in a night.¡± Sooyeon said as her brows furrowed. It seems like she didn¡¯t really understand how such a bunker fell in just one day. Well, any normal person would be as lost as Sooyeon.


    ¡°Yesterday, I had Yoohyeon do some reconnaissance, and their defenses were amazing. The ability to destroy them in a single night means they¡¯re much stronger than we are, so we¡¯ll have to prepare.¡± I said as Yoohyeon looked at me. They both nodded their heads at my words.


    Of course, that strong force would not harm them in any way. I mean, why should I? But it¡¯s not bad to say so to keep these people on their toes.


    ¡°Seongho hyung, you know people who came out of the golf course yesterday, right? The three people.¡±


    ¡°Those three murderers?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I just found out that they had settled down near our hideout.¡±


    ¡°How about the guys who originally live in the bunker?¡±


    ¡°They now occupy the other two bunkers. It seems like this one bunker can¡¯t be used anymore since It was completely on fire.¡±


    I nodded at Yoohyeon¡¯s words. It was clear as day that the two newly established factions will be quite aggressive. One faction was filled with people who had already committed murder once, while on the other side, there¡¯s people who use to be Kwon¡¯s subordinates, who of course wouldn¡¯t shy away from resorting to violence.


    Yoohyeon told me that, after they came to their senses and listened to what they¡¯ve done under Kwon, they didn¡¯t even show any remorse.


    ¨C So what? We¡¯ll live our own way from now on, so don¡¯t be nosy.


    -Those supplies are all our stuff, right? Why are you taking them?


    The ¡®You¡¯ in that story were the other survivors in the area, including people of the academy group. When people said that they looted it amidst the chaos that happened in the Bunker, Kwon¡¯s subordinates could only grind their teeth. However, it didn¡¯t mean that they would only take it just like that. A storm of another chaos was already brewing.


    Sooyeon said worriedly. ¡°When that confrontation happened, there were people who threatened that they would guide zombie hordes here, but I didn¡¯t know what happened next.¡±


    I paused at her words. I only killed Kwon, which means that his 11 subordinates were still alive. They also had taken over the two bunkers. Even if there¡¯s no murderer system, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for me to attack them since it means there¡¯s at least 5 people in each bunker. I said hastily. ¡°Yoohyeon, can you check how many people are in each bunker?¡±


    ¡°Okay, Hyung.¡± Yoohyeon took a notebook out of his backpack, ripped one page, folded it into the shape of an airplane and sent it to the sky.


    After a while, Yoohyeon, who was closing his eyes, said, ¡°I see¡­ People fighting in front of the¡­ Uh, clubhouse? It seems to be a matter of which bunker the two women should go to.¡±


    Ah, that¡­ I just remembered that out of 11 Kwon¡¯s subordinates, there were 2 women. And they were fighting because of them?


    ¡°It seems that they want to have Kwon¡¯s two lovers.¡± Sooyeon laughed dryly.


    ¡°It would be interesting if the two of them decided to be independent.¡±


    At my words, Sooyeon sighed. ¡°Is it easy for the two women to be independent in this situation? If they want to live, they have to stick with them even if they are not a decent group. They couldn¡¯t simply beat those guys and run away.¡±


    That¡¯s right. I don¡¯t know how strong those two women are, but I know that their strength wouldn¡¯t be enough to beat the other nine. Therefore, in order to survive, they must attach themselves to one side.


    After solving the problem of Kwon, a new problem arose. Although this world was ruined by the zombies and monsters, somehow it¡¯s humans who became the source of all my headaches.


    ¡°Uh, uh¡­ the atmosphere is very bad right now. They are arguing that one guy should either die or get out¡­¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± If a person who had murdered someone before commits another murder, an event will appear immediately. The problem was that I didn¡¯t know which one of his subordinates had killed before. Kwon didn¡¯t even write it in his journal.


    Yoohyeon¡¯s face scrunched. ¡°Gosh¡­ they already killed one. The smallest uncle is surrounded by everyone¡­¡±


    ¡°Did you see who killed him?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    I sighed at Yoohyeon¡¯s answer. Since the murderer event didn¡¯t happen, it seems like the one who killed him was a clean person.


    Should I say this is lucky?


    Soon after, Yoohyeon said that the two women had already attached themselves to one side.


    ¡°The other side is objecting to their decision, but they said ¡®Why should you care?¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Those two women said that?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    When one conflict ended, another happened. For those women, it would be terrifying, I bet. They¡¯ve barely escaped from Kwon¡¯s grasp, but were now forced to join a group of people which was not that different from Kwon.


    Anyway, it seems like that faction wouldn¡¯t last very long. They¡¯re already fighting among themselves like this from the beginning, so it wouldn¡¯t be strange if later they become real enemies.


    ¡°We can¡¯t stay here long.¡± As I spoke, both Yoohyeon and Sooyeon looked at me.


    ¡°Where should we go, then?¡±


    ¡°There are only two possible places to go, right? I think Changwon would be better.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ Hyung-jun Hyung seemed to want to go to Gimhae¡­¡± Yoohyeon said after hesitating a bit.


    When I asked him why Hyung-jun Hyung wanted to go to Gimhae, Yoohyeon told me that Hyung-jun Hyung¡¯s ex-wife and daughter were at Gimhae. There¡¯s no chance that the two of them were still alive, but it seems that Hyung wants to find at least the traces of them. However, it seems like he couldn¡¯t say it outright because he¡¯s thinking of what the other members are thinking about, as he¡¯s currently the leader of the academy group.


    ¡°What do you think, Sooyeon? How about you, Yoohyeon?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ I think Changwon will be good, since it¡¯s close to the sea. It¡¯s going to be winter soon, so shouldn¡¯t we stock up more food?¡± Sooyeon said.


    ¡°I also think so.¡± Yoohyeon concurred.


    I think Mikyung will also think the same¡­ So, it could be said that our next destination had been decided.


    We wrapped out our chatter, packed our things and went hunting. After killing several monsters, Yoohyeon finally reached level 10.


    ¡°I finally got another additional effect¡­ doll bomb?¡±


    ¡°Does that mean you can turn your dolls into bombs?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try it now.¡±


    He folded the paper into the form of a frog and sent it away. After the frog was quite a distance away from us, Yoohyeon muttered ¡®doll bomb¡¯. Then, the frog exploded on the spot.


    ¡°Ugh.¡± As the fragments flew, Sooyeon lowered her head and covered it with her arms.


    The power was quite ambiguous¡­


    ¡°¡­a goblin won¡¯t die in one shot.¡± Yoohyeon said dejectedly.


    I put my hand on his shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t be too disappointed. Try to use it by combining it with other attacks. For example, tying a folded paper to an arrow and shooting it. Wouldn¡¯t it explode after the arrow digs into the flesh of your target?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± I guess he hadn¡¯t even thought of that.


    ¡°Even if it is a large monster, if you shoot the arrow in a place like its groin and explode it, they will be fatally injured. Imagine a bomb going off here.¡± As I pointed between the crotch, Yoohyeon became quite pale and instantly folded his legs. Meanwhile, Sooyeon¡¯s face turned beet red. She moved her hands to fan it.


    We continued hunting and managed to raise Sooyeon¡¯s level to 9.


    Then, Hyung-jun Hyung and Mikyung, who had gone to loot the rice centre, returned and showed off their loot. I ate with them before returning to my own hideout.


    The labyrinth will open soon, so I should review the video about it.


    .


    .


    .


    Labyrinths were a fairly large-scale event in Survival Life. However, the labyrinth which would open soon was just a simulation. It would appear together with the speedrun event, an event which would judge how fast a user could get to the end of the labyrinth. Whatever trick they used, or whichever route they took was of no concern.


    There would be quite a few monsters inside. On top of it, the track would be quite narrow. Therefore, it would be hard to pass through even a zombie which normally could be avoided easily thanks to the nerf they suffered.


    Then there¡¯s another problem. It was the darkness. They could use glowstones to light the way, but it would mean that they have to face all the monsters inside that are attracted to the light it emits. So, their clear time will definitely plummet. However, if they decide to not use it, without a shadow grape, they will get lost inside.


    Also, because it was an event that came quite early, it was difficult for people to do it because they haven¡¯t grown strong enough yet.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard and dangerous even in the game. And because now it¡¯s in reality, it was much more dangerous.¡± Back in the game, if you die, you can just start over from the tutorial, but in real life, you can¡¯t do that, right?


    There won¡¯t be many people with the courage to break through the labyrinth that they enter for the first time in their lives. At most, there should only be a few stagnant waters, including me¡­ and some foolish and greedy people.


    Or that¡¯s what I thought¡­


    As soon as I opened the Auction House, I could see there¡¯s quite a lot of people who were already waiting for the event to come.


    -Ah, when will the labyrinth appear? Why is it so slow?


    -The monsters inside are completely stupid. They can¡¯t even sense us when we pass near them. Just be careful with the kobolds.


    -Are you guys really going to join the event? It must be very dark and scary inside. How can you guys endure it?


    -Just think about the sweet rewards that are waiting in the deepest part.


    -Don¡¯t you want to put your name on the rankings? Just join the fun, man!


    -You bastards, it¡¯s only fun when it¡¯s in the game. But you¡¯re saying that you wanted to risk your life for this?


    -Don¡¯t be such a scaredy cat, you noob¡­


    -What? I¡¯m at least better than you.


    -Want to have a bet?


    -Call.


    (T/N call is like, ¡®Okay¡¯.)


    Hmm¡­


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that guy just bluffing?¡± I mean, what can¡¯t people say in the anonymous comment section?


    I left the Auction House right away and searched on my video storage for a video regarding the speedrun event. However, only two videos came out. And both of them only have one viewer: Poor Man.


    Come to think of it, Poor Man was a stagnant water of my stream. He was the person I am most grateful towards who came every time I started the broadcast and had also supported me with donations. If it wasn¡¯t for him, I would have quit streaming sooner. In a way, he was the one who made me decide to save all of my stream recordings.


    (T/N TBH, that¡¯s what keeps me translating too. Even when sometimes I got angry, when people asked ¡®Asta, SWOA chapter where?¡¯ I got energized. I can¡¯t just quit now¡­)


    When I played the video, Poor Man sponsored me again as always.


    -Poor Man donated 4,000 won!


    -Poor Man: Are you doing a labyrinth speedrun? I hope you leave a good record.


    -I Love Gimbap: What kind of part-time work did you do today?


    -Poor Man: I was sick, so I took a break.


    -I Love Gimbap: Oh, you should get well soon.


    -Poor Man: That¡¯s right. I have to get well so that I can pay for the donations.


    -I Love Gimbap: No, that¡¯s not it.


    My conversations with Poor Man always went like this. Then, the viewers who came later used this as an excuse to slender me. At the same time, Poor Man solidified his persona.


    ¡°Is this person alive?¡± I murmured. If he had played the game at least once, he probably wouldn¡¯t have turned into a zombie. However, it was difficult to think that the poor Poor Man would have purchased an expensive VR equipment. The game could also be played through VR caf¨¦, but that was long after the game had been released. It seems like it would be correct to assume that he was dead. If by chance the guy was alive and I was able to meet him, I would definitely help him.


    I scoured the video to find the settings and started reviewing. The exact date of the appearance of the labyrinth was tomorrow. Though, the location of the portal would be random. But since it opens so many times, people would be able to find it without any problem.


    ¡°I¡¯m the only one who can get in there around this area.¡± My main competitor for the event in this area, Kwon, had died.


    I packed my things and slept in the cave. When I woke up due to the alarm, it was already dawn. When I went outside, the parking lot of the nearby building shook violently, and a portal appeared.


    As I entered, a pitch-black space greeted me.

 Chapter 60

    Users who had played Survival Life always had this question.


    ¡®Just from where did these monsters, items, and labyrinths come from?¡¯ Even though it was nothing but a game, at least a minimum setting was required to know the game better. Unfortunately, there was no such setting listed on the homepage. When the curious users made an inquiry about it, there¡¯s also no response whatsoever from the developer team.


    The weird thing is, while there¡¯s no background setting regarding the earlier question, there¡¯s actually a hidden setting about it in Survival Live. However, until now, no one knows what kind of setting it was since all the books found in dungeons and labyrinths were written in an unknown language. But for some reason, there was an aspect that surprisingly stimulated the desire of people to collect it. Though, it was only me and Survivor 1 who managed to collect it.


    ¡°¡­¡± I entered the labyrinth and looked into the dark space in front of me. In fact, this place was not even a proper labyrinth. The deepest part of this place, or the finish line for the speedrun event, was actually not that deep. Moreover, compared to the real labyrinth, the monsters here were stupid, there are too few traps installed around, and the road was too simple. In short, this place could be said as nothing but a simulation that was made to prepare the users for the real labyrinths.


    The reason I participated in this event was of course because just like that one guy said in the Auction House, the reward given for completing the event in first place was quite sweet. The rewards will be a unique item which couldn¡¯t be obtained through any normal means such as through Store or through the loot dropped from hunting. Naturally, because the name of this event was ¡®speedrun¡¯, the shorter someone¡¯s records are, the better the reward.


    ¡°I have to get it by all means.¡± I murmured. In preparation for this event, I deliberately took off my stab-proof suit, backpack, and the helmet in order to make my body lighter. I¡¯ll just trust in my skills, items and run with everything I have. Though, amongst all my skills, there¡¯s some skill which was quite useless in this event, namely the Survival Instinct and Fighting Instinct skill. Their effect was a potent one of course, but their aftereffect would badly affect my speed. If only I had more solar apples with me now, the aftereffect wouldn¡¯t matter much. However, since I already consumed all of my stock, I didn¡¯t have any on me at the moment.


    ¡°The aftereffect of Fighting Instinct is still quite fine, but the aftereffect of Survival Instinct is a bit¡­¡± I sighed. It¡¯s still a useful skill though, but only if I managed to time it right and crossed the finish line before the skill wore off and the aftereffect came.


    I took a deep breath and tried to not think about anything else. From now on, I will only run through while relying only on night vision buff, the Terrain Detection skill, my Perception stats and my experience from the game.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I lightly kicked the floor. This event labyrinth was separated into 4 sections. The first section was a long and straight corridor infested with zombies. It¡¯s so narrow to the point it¡¯s difficult to move past the grouping zombies. Even though it sounds simple, people who entered this kind of labyrinth for the first time in their life would surely be pressured by the sheer amount of the zombies coupled with the dark surroundings.


    ¡°Heup!¡± I swung the long knife at the zombie standing in the middle of the dark corridor. Instantly, the cold metal cut through the rotting flesh on the neck of the zombie and lopped off its head. The zombies in this labyrinth were nothing but a sandbag with an extremely suppressed ability to track organic matter. Though, it didn¡¯t mean that everyone could do the thing I just did.


    ¡°Slot 1.¡± I put the long knife into the slot while I keep on running. The cheat-like capability of the slot shines brightly here. I could easily call anything stored in the slot without stopping. I called slot 0 and lit the dark corridor in front of me with a flash. I stomped on the footsteps floating in various places in the puddle and crossed over to the other side.


    ¡°It feels good.¡± I smirked. As a result of checking the video in advance, my speed was much faster than when I did this event back then. After all, at that time, I was still a noob.


    As I walked down the hallway, the space suddenly became wider. A lot of zombies were swarming in the slightly wider corridor. Even though it looks like there¡¯s no way to pass through except by fighting your way through, there is no need for me to fight against all of them here. With the right method, you can pass through this place safely without fighting. In the game, I named this hall ¡®disco club¡¯. It was because the place was slightly tinted with psychedelic lighting, and it looks like the zombies were dancing when they swarmed.


    As I passed through the zombies, they stretched out their arms.


    Growl-!!


    Growl-!!


    Their momentum was still quite fast, but their reaction time was very slow. I danced among the zombies to pass through and occasionally swung my long knife to get points.


    ¡°I should¡¯ve done the cossack dance here¡­¡± It could be said that dancing amongst the reinforced ghouls, rather than the ordinary zombies, was the true definition of being a stagnant water. But let¡¯s not do it since this is reality, and my life is precious.


    ¡°Heup! Heup!¡± After blowing the heads of the last two zombies on my way, my surroundings changed. Instead of a solid stone wall, a mud wall surrounded me. From now on, it was the realm of goblins: the Wildlands.


    This place was so wide to the point it was hard to think that this place was inside a labyrinth. Moreover, the ceiling wasn¡¯t closed like the earlier section. The ceiling was open, and you could see stars shining in the sky above.


    I could see goblins gathering around a bonfire in a group of three some distance away from me. I quickly rushed to them and kicked the bonfire.


    Kiek-!!


    Kieeekk-!!


    One of them covered the bonfire and screeched at me. The reason I kicked the bonfire was to extinguish the fire. Once it was extinguished, the goblins wouldn¡¯t chase after me because they had a bad vision at night.


    Without killing the goblins, I ran once again. While I traversed the Wildlands, I kicked quite a lot of bonfires.


    ¡°Cough¡­ Cough¡­!¡± I stopped right before the entrance of the goblin¡¯s nest because I saw a trap often used by goblins. If someone stepped on it while running, their ankle would instantly get wrapped by some rope-like things before they got paralyzed because the thorns in the trap were coated in paralyzing poison. Well, once you see it, it¡¯s actually quite easy to avoid it. You just need to jump over the trap.


    When I sprinted as fast as I could after jumping through the trap, I heard some goblin noises from my back. It seems like they decided to not pursue me. Thank you very much.


    But suddenly, I saw a goblin coming through the entrance while carrying a quite large pouch, considering the size of its body. Which means, it was a golden goblin. I jumped while running slightly and kicked the guy in the stomach.


    Kiek-!!


    ¡°Open portal!¡± I said as soon as I took the large pouch off the goblin¡¯s waist and threw it in. As I was about to close the portal, a slice of solar apple suddenly rolled out.


    Did the scarabs find this? What a great timing, I was feeling quite exhausted right now. (E/n scarabs saves the day)


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I swung my hand inside the portal to take the rest of the slices before closing it and continued running. Meanwhile, my mouth was busy savouring the crunchy and refreshing taste of the solar apple.


    ¡¸Effect: Stamina Recovery¡¹


    ¡¸Stamina is restored through the effect of the solar apple¡¹


    If a lot of solar apples were consumed within a short amount of time, the effect would be reduced again and again to the point where it feels like it doesn¡¯t activate at all. I experienced it first-hand at the apocalypse D-day. However, that doesn¡¯t matter right now, as I would finish this labyrinth before I was exhausted to that point.


    When I was about to leave the Wildlands, I could hear voices of two people. One was quite high pitched, while the other one was low.


    ¡°This is the land of the goblins¡­¡±


    ¡°Be careful!¡±


    I was quite surprised when I saw them. For a moment, I thought that my progress wasn¡¯t as fast as I feel. But then I remembered. For someone to reach the last section, which was the finish line, they had to go through 3 sections first. However, there¡¯s no set order of sections which they¡¯ll appear at when they enter. For example, If I left the labyrinth now then re-enters it, there¡¯s a chance I will start from just anywhere between the Corridor of Death, the Wildlands or the Silent Forest. Of course, there was also the possibility of meeting people who had just entered one of those sections, like what just happened to me now.


    ¡°What the?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    The boy and girl? stopped by the tree. It seems like they sensed me.


    From their figure and face, I don¡¯t think they were Korean. Were they in Korea when D-day happened and somehow became an awakener? I wanted to ask, but sadly, I don¡¯t have the time. Therefore, I just passed by both of them.


    ¡°Something just passed by! Wha-what is that!¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a hobgoblin!¡±


    Sorry guys, last time I checked, I was still human.


    I ran and entered the Silent Forest¡ªthe realm of the kobolds. It was a gloomy space full of swamps and fog that kobolds loved. An obstacle which was different from those found in the Corridor of Death or the Wildlands stood in my way.


    If someone just ran through the swamp ignorantly, they would fall into a swamp and get caught by kobolds who hide in the bushes. Once they were caught, well¡­ the only thing waiting for them is death.


    But passing through this swamp wasn¡¯t difficult at all for me.


    ¡°See you later!¡± I smirked. After the speedrun event ends, I would have to fight against kobolds in reality until I was sick of it. Therefore, there¡¯s no need to fight them here. I quickly broke through the obstacles while kicking the kobolds and headed for the deepest part.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Huh, huh.¡± I finally arrived in the deepest part of this event labyrinth. However, it was not an actual end, but a temporary space created for the event. All users who had reached this part had to enter their name here. Their name will also be engraved in this place. Naturally, the rewards would be given in this place too. I looked through the books covered in light on top of the altar and the number 00:38:45 was waiting for me.


    ¡°38 minutes. Whoa¡­¡± I plopped down on the floor with a smile plastered on my face. As a result of reviewing the video, I was able to clear this place in less than one hour. I¡¯m quite sure nobody is going to be able to break my records.


    ¡°It was only achievable because I was well-prepared.¡± Knowing the route in advance, using the appropriate skills, and the help of the solar apples as well as the shadow grapes was the integral factor to my success. If it weren¡¯t for those things, I would never have been able to clear this place under the 1 hour mark.


    It feels like I was cheating, but what can I do? This world was an unfair place in the first place.


    I wrote something in the column marked as 1st. Instead of I Love Gimbap, I used a new name¡­


    ¡°This is fine.¡± Now it¡¯s my turn to get my rewards. As I was about to catch my breath, a thick pouch appeared next to the book. It was a quality leather pouch which was miles better than the ugly ones the goblins carried.


    ¡°Is this real?¡± When I opened it, I found a scroll and a pair of leather shoes. First, I inspected the shoes.


    ¡¸Leather Shoes: Vitality +2, Dexterity +2


    The skill ¡°Light Gait¡± will be automatically applied when the shoes is equipped¡¹


    ¡°Oh, this is good!¡± Two stats items were still rare at this stage, and only a handful of people who were crazy enough to look for it would have it, just like Rapwi. Moreover, I liked the Light Gait skill very much. It reduces stamina consumption considerably.


    ¡°It works well for traveling.¡± I would be able to march several tens of kilometers far as if I was just going around the neighborhood. However, it was not very effective for upper body-oriented labor.


    ¡°The design isn¡¯t bad either¡­¡± I put the shoes into the portal and opened the scroll.


    ¡¸Eyes of Truth: With 10 points, you will be able to see the ID of person you wanted¡¹


    ¡°Well¡­¡± It¡¯s a bit ambiguous. Does it work only on people in real life or can it work on people in the Auction House? Then, what about people who didn¡¯t have an ID because they never played the game? Guess I had no choice but to do some research myself.


    As I packed all my belongings and climbed onto the circular ornament in front of the altar, the light enveloped me. When I came to my senses, I was already in the parking lot where I entered the portal from. When I looked at the place where the portal was located, it was already gone.


    I went back to my hideout and opened the Auction House. As I expected, it was still quiet.


    ¡°They are probably busy running as hard as they can right now¡­¡± It will take at least an hour for them to finish the labyrinth, so I could use a break in the meantime, maybe resting in the forest hideout is good enough.


    I went into the cave and cooked dinner. I cooked some rice in a stone pot, scraped it off, and boiled the miso soup with it. The savory taste was excellent as it was a mixture of nurungji and miso soup.


    ¡°This is really delicious.¡± When I take out one of the ripe kimchi out of the fermentation bottle it becomes more delicious.


    Right now, I was the happiest man alive.


    .


    .


    .


    The speedrun event was attracting a lot of people¡¯s attention. After all, even if someone didn¡¯t have a great fighting skill, it¡¯s an opportunity to get something good if they had a suitable unique ability. In particular, a lot of awakeners with mobility-oriented unique abilities, such as blink and stealth types, were very excited. They insisted that the one who will get 1st place will be among them.


    The Auction House, as always, was a mess.


    -Wait a minute, as someone who is more than level 15, you didn¡¯t even know the structure of the labyrinth? Have you ever tried it before?


    -hehe


    -hehe


    -What are you laughing at, you idiots?


    ¨C Then do you know about it?


    -Actually, I don¡¯t know either.


    -Lol


    Because it was an anonymous forum, the delivery of accurate information couldn¡¯t be expected. When a great record came out of a speedrun, people on the forum spit it as nothing but bullshit without even checking the facts. Even if it turns out to be correct, there¡¯s nothing to refrain them from doing that.


    Anonymity was just that powerful.


    No matter how they enjoyed Survival Life, everyone in the Auction House was at least a semi-stagnant water. The reason they couldn¡¯t call themselves stagnant waters was because the difference between them and the three original stagnant waters was too high.


    -Only the following three persons are recognized as Stagnant Water: Rabbit Pwincess, Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek and Survivor1.


    -How about Gimbap?


    -That bastard is just that bastard.


    -LOL


    Among the people, I Love Gimbap was a good object to mock. The reason was simple. They thought that since Gimbap didn¡¯t reveal himself just like Rapwi or Duck Buttock, he must have gotten a bad ability. Though his presence wasn¡¯t as weak as Survivor 1, he must have been able to survive by hiding, so people were mocking him as a coward. However, that¡¯s not the only reason. People were also still angry about the fact that he didn¡¯t share his videos to the world.


    -You dare to live well alone?


    Though no one said so, there were probably quite a lot of people who thought so.


    Anyway, at the Auction House, I Love Gimbap was treated as public enemy #1. If he appeared in the Auction House, he would instantly experience just how colourful Korean curse words are. It was all possible because the Auction House guarantees anonymity.


    Anyway, the reason the speedrun event attracted quite a lot of people¡¯s attention was because in this apocalyptic world, there were only a handful of things which were as fun as the event. Most people thought that they should enjoy something like this to the fullest by either participating or just praising someone who got a good record or making fun of someone who did poorly. It was an event which could take someone¡¯s life if they¡¯re not careful. However, for the spectators, it was an irrelevant fact.


    -We just need to eat popcorn while waiting for the one who gets the first place.


    -But there¡¯s no popcorn¡­


    -There¡¯s only a lukewarm cola.


    While people were chatting at the Auction House, users who had decided to try the speedrun event finally came back. The comment section, which was messy as it is, turned even more chaotic as both real information and rumours came in.


    -What kind of bastard can clear it in just 56 minutes? Is it really possible to do it in under one hour?


    -You bastard, do you believe in that?


    -The fucking kobolds are the problem. Those bastards live in a very dangerous swamp, so I spend all my time there.


    -Can¡¯t you just use your blink?


    -What good is blink when there¡¯s no vision at all?


    ¡­


    -Woah¡­ a few people just died. They thought it was a goblin¡¯s den and went in a group.


    -You crazy bastard! Hahahahahahah! That portal could only be entered by one person at a time! Stop lying!


    ¨C So what¡¯s going on? Is it finished yet? Who is the 1st place?


    -People who had cleared the labyrinth, tell us the truth, how long is your record?


    -It¡¯s 1 hour and 52 minutes. The kobold forest was a real challenge.


    -When will the rankings come out?


    -I heard that the ranking page will only appear when all the portals are closed.


    -By the way, did you guys meet foreigners in the labyrinth?


    -Ah right! I met some Japanese people. The guys I met spoke Korean so well, so at first, I thought they were Korean.


    -That¡¯s worrying¡­


    -However, the Japanese can¡¯t play Seola, right?


    -Hey! Hey! The ranking page is up.


    When the information came, people immediately went to the ranking page almost at the same time. Then, they lost all of their words.


    ¡¸1st place: That Bastard


    Clear time: 0:38:45¡¹


    -?


    -What?


    -Is that real?


    -If it¡¯s That Bastard, is it I Love Gimbap?


    -That one is I Love Gimbap¡¯s record?


    -Is it really possible to clear it in under one hour? Everyone who had tried it said it¡¯s impossible, though? Is it bugged?


    -This is legit information. I saw it too.


    Soon after, all hell broke loose in the Auction House.

 Chapter 61

    38 minutes and 45 seconds.


    The Auction House went into chaos because of that record.


    -Where¡¯s the bastard who said it was impossible to clear it under an hour earlier?


    -You think clearing the whole labyrinth in just 38 minute is physically possible? Don¡¯t you think it would take around 50 minutes even if you just run through the whole thing without fighting?


    -I got over 1 hour and 20 minutes even when I was sneaking around. What is that record?


    -Crazy, crazy!


    -You guys are in big trouble now.


    -??


    -Why?


    -I Love Gimbap is paying attention to this place.


    -So what?


    -Yeah, so what? We¡¯re all anonymous here anyway, what can he do?


    -Guys, guys, do you know what¡¯s more shocking? The record was that fast even though he still killed some monsters.


    -Fuck¡­


    That was correct. In the same record prompt, aside from clear time, there¡¯s also a number of monsters killed as well as the amounts of points earned throughout the clearing process.


    The final record goes like this:


    ¡¸1st place: That Bastard


    Clear time: 00:38:45


    Kill: 23


    Points: 46¡¹


    ¨C 38 minutes while also killing 23 monsters? Crazy!


    -I don¡¯t think this makes sense¡­


    -Even if the whole labyrinth is empty, I don¡¯t think I can be faster than his record.


    -It¡¯s a bug! A bug, I tell you!


    -By the way, what is his unique ability? Didn¡¯t someone say that he has a creation-type unique ability?


    -Now that I think about it, back in midsummer, there was someone who sold ice packages here. That bastard must be I Love Gimbap.


    -So, does it mean that the record came from someone with a creation-type unique ability? Does that even make sense?


    -Isn¡¯t it possible to do so if he creates OP items then uses them to get the record? (N: OP = Overpowered)


    -There¡¯s a limit on items that one can equip, you idiot! You can only equip 5 at the same time!


    People understand that the fact that he could finish with a record less than 40 minutes, while also killing 23 monsters in the process, could be addressed to the fact that he¡¯s a stagnant water. However, what people really want to know is how the hell did I Love Gimbap managed to get to the finish line that fast? Did he run blindly through that dark labyrinth? After all, although one wouldn¡¯t waste much time fighting monsters, they would still be slowed by the fact that they can¡¯t see anything inside the labyrinth, with how dark the inside was.


    Some users quickly jumped into in-depth analysis.


    -Since it was still impossible to kill keepers now, he probably only relied on the Terrain Detection skill that you can get from hobgoblins.


    -If you can kill two, you¡¯ll get Terrain Detection 2. But still, even with that skill, that record is a bit¡­


    -Are you sure there are no other skills that he can use to navigate himself inside the labyrinth? By the way guys, what skills come out when you kill a keeper?


    -Didn¡¯t keepers give some kind of stamina regeneration skill? I can¡¯t quite remember the skill¡¯s description when I caught one back in the game¡­


    -Don¡¯t lie! Have you really ever caught it? Back in the game, there are only a handful of users who managed to catch one.


    -It was still impossible to kill it now, but it will be possible to do it when the ignition stones start to drop later.


    -Then you are saying that I Love Gimbap achieved that record by only using Terrain Detection skill? Unbelievable¡­


    -Are you I Love Gimbap?


    -Now, do you think I Love Gimbap would just reveal himself here, after all the bad things you guys had said about him? Are you stupid?


    -He must be watching! Say good things about him!


    -I Love Gimbap-nim, I always cheered for you¡­ Loyalty ^^7


    -You guys, why should we stop calling that bastard ¡®that bastard¡¯? That bastard doesn¡¯t even seem to care.


    -You write that bastard 3 times in one comment, you¡¯re really brave!


    -If I¡¯m in I Love Gimbap¡¯s shoes, I¡¯ll kill that guy first.


    -But I Love Gimbap seems like a really cool guy? He entered the swear words you guys use to call him as his ID.


    -Bullshit. If that bastard is cool, he would have released the video in a cool way. Then, there would¡¯ve been more people that could have survived D-Day.


    -That¡¯s right.


    -I think he would¡¯ve still been insulted even if he released all the information he had hahahahaha ??good thing he kept it hidden.


    -But if you think about it, even if he releases the information, the survivors would still be hostile towards him LMAO.


    -I saved you guys! So why are you attacking me!


    -So what? LMFAOOO


    -By the way guys, if I Love Gimbap is not the one who helped the govs, then just who was the one who sent the early walkthrough to the govs?


    Only then did people remember that there was someone who provided the government with information about the apocalypse. And that very information had benefited many survivors, but now nobody cares.


    -I don¡¯t know¡­


    -Well, it was because you guys only take it for granted.


    A meaningless fight took place in the Auction House right after that. However, the person who they had been talking about didn¡¯t know about it. He was busy looking at the records of people who he presumed to be Rabbit Pwincess and Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek.


    ¡°Look at these people¡­¡±


    .


    .


    .


    ¡¸2nd place: Sex


    Clear Time: 00:56:15


    Kill: 37


    Points:74¡¹


    ¡¸10th place: I Am The Queen


    Clear Time: 01:45:24


    Kill:157


    Points:340¡¹


    That was the records of people whom I presumed to be Rapwi and Duck.


    ¡°Totally crazy¡­¡± Duck¡¯s record was crazy, but Rapwi¡¯s record was simply absurd. It seems that he cleared the labyrinth without any plans, and just used his body alone.


    ¡°I was only able to make that record because I have the necessary skills and items¡­ These guys, really¡­¡±


    Looking at the comments section, a lot of people were undermining Rapwi¡¯s records, saying that it was not good enough for someone like him, as one of the 4 original.


    -Rapwi is only 2nd place? His record is surprisingly not that good¡­


    -He can just go through everything with that resurrection ability of his. Why can¡¯t he do it?


    -Rapwi, I¡¯m disappointed in you this time.


    These guys really said anything they wanted. Why don¡¯t they try it themselves then.¡­


    ¡°By the way, what kind of slaughter did Duck do?¡± His kill count was just absurd. It was to the point that I wondered whether she killed all the monsters in the labyrinth.


    ¡°It looks like her unique ability is some kind of control over zombies.¡± No matter how strong he was as an individual, that kill count was a record which could only be achieved when someone had a lot of subordinates.


    But then, Duck¡¯s ID on the records was a bit strange.


    ¡°Duck is a woman?¡± Considering that he, no, she had committed all sorts of crazy things with Rapwi, It was difficult to think that she¡¯s a woman.


    ¡°Survivor 1 should also have joined the event, but where is his record¡­¡± I had searched all over the records, but found no record that I believed belonged to him. At first glance, maybe it¡¯s hard to know which records belong to a stagnant water when they didn¡¯t use their real ID on the record. However, it was easy to tell when you look at the amount of monsters they killed in the records. If it was quite numerous, it was one of the original stagnant waters. The reason was simple. Non-stagnant waters would think that catching monsters in an event like this, where time is a big factor to win, was a loss, so they would ignore them. It was proven by the fact that me, Duck, and Rabbit Pwincess are the only ones who killed more than 10 monsters. Other users killed less than 5.


    ¡°Seems like Survivor 1 didn¡¯t participate.¡± Maybe his unique ability weren¡¯t suitable for combat just like mine. If you have a support type unique ability, it would be better not to participate in events like this, where the clear requirements are heavily reliant on individual strength.


    ¡°Then, it seems like he¡¯s the one who joined the government forces.¡±


    When I finished, I tore the skill scroll that I got for being the fastest in the event. Instantly, a message which notified me that I had acquired the skill ¡®Eyes of Truth¡¯ appeared before me. Then, when I looked at the ID of the guy who was pulling too much aggro in the comment section, another message appeared in front of me.


    ¡¸Would you like to use 10 points to verify this ID? YES/NO¡¹


    I focused my eyes on the YES without hesitation. Then the ID was displayed after the comment.


    -What bullshit! Didn¡¯t I say it was impossible to do it? My records was only 1 hour and 41 minutes (ID: HelpMe)


    ¡°Huh?¡± Isn¡¯t he the one who used the videos of him playing with me as bait to scam people in the past? If I remember correctly, his name was Kim Hyojong. After that, I scoured through my videos to make a list of users I had to be careful about. When it¡¯s done, I checked all the IDs of the people who commented in the Auction House and cross-checked it with my list.


    Here¡¯s the result after spending 150 points:


    -I¡¯ll Take Care of You(The Boss): In the first place, the fucking unique ability is not in the game, so the system should¡¯ve disabled it before people entered the labyrinth!


    -Newbie Friendly (Newbie Hunter): Right¡­ Originally, there was no unique ability in Seola, right? There are only skills that you can get by hunting or doing other things.


    -King of Profanity (Kindness): Since Seola is a game, it¡¯s possible to try again if you die. But in reality, can you try again once you¡¯re dead?


    -This Game Sucks (Madman_26):  It¡¯s possible for me to try again because I am Rabbit Pwincess.


    -You¡¯re Just a Mob (Super Madman_7): If you are Rapwi, then I am Duck Buttock.


    ¡°They are playing around well.¡± Well, it¡¯s ironic that the King of Profanity¡¯s ID is Kindness¡­ If there¡¯s a need to categorize the guys who commented, the guys that I evaluated as bad attracted the aggro of the masses unconsciously while those who I evaluated as good were respectful and did not attract aggression.


    ¡°Is this also a trend?¡± It¡¯s just so funny to watch.


    Soon after, the comment section was lively with people bragging about the item they got from the event.


    -I cleared in 1 hour and 55 minutes, and I got a weapon enhancement ticket.


    -Really?


    -The nerf patch is absolutely crazy.


    -What will happen if you use it?


    -It will probably raise the weapon¡¯s attack power¡­ I haven¡¯t tried it yet, so I don¡¯t know. (T/N really?)


    -LOL


    -Isn¡¯t the gacha coming out later? The one where you can gacha using points.


    -Stop talking nonsense.


    -This stupid game should¡¯ve perished!


    -If it perishes, doesn¡¯t that mean that we will perish too?


    -Guys, what kind of item do you think I Love Gimbap get?


    -We¡¯re not calling him by his nickname anymore? Okay then¡­


    -¡®The guy who used ¡®Sex¡¯ as his name in the rankings is Rapwi right? I¡¯m so curious about what items the stagnant waters got.


    -Fuck! Some people get good abilities and get good items, while others don¡¯t even have a clue.


    -If you are envious, you should¡¯ve played Survival Life longer.


    -You fucker! Are you bragging?


    -if you have a good unique ability, of course you have to brag about it.


    Now the comment section has been lit up with a debate about whether the speedrun event was fair or not. The topic around here was really fickle, as it changes as often as the weather.


    ¡°Seeking fairness in the apocalypse¡­ What a stupid notion.¡± When I went to the comment section of other auctioned items, I saw that they were sharing various experiences in the labyrinth. Thankfully, only normal people gathered here.


    -Milk Tea on Toes (Pervert): Did you guys see a demon in the labyrinth? I was really scared because of that demon.


    -My Mother (Good Person): What do you mean by demons? Were there any demons in the labyrinth?


    -Milk Tea on Toes (Pervert): I was walking around carefully because it was too dark, then I saw something, standing naked in the middle of the field.


    -My Mother (Good Person): That¡¯s so scary dude¡­..


    -Milk Tea on Toes (Pervert): Then, his eyes stared straight at me, then he said this while looking at me. ¡®embrace the darkness, If you look into the light within you, you will see the way¡¯.


    -My Mother (Good Person): Then, what happened next?


    -Milk Tea on Toes (Pervert): I was scared, so I ran away.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it was Rapwi.¡± After all, he¡¯s the only one who would stand naked in the middle of a dangerous field like that.


    Was he resting because of the backlash of his resurrection skill?


    I moved to the comment section of another item. This section was a place to post some noteworthy news. However, people said that there was little credibility in the news posted here. After all, in this anonymous community, anyone could spew some bullshit and call it a truth, so it¡¯s weird if there¡¯s a place to get credible news here.


    However, among them, there was a news article which had a large number of testimonies.


    ¨DBreaking News: A crazy bitch carried by zombies is moving from Gyeongsan.


    ¨DBreaking News: A crazy bastard spotted running around naked in Sejong City.


    ¡°What kind of bullshit is this?¡± The crazy bitch who was carried by zombies was probably Duck Buttock, and the crazy bastard running around naked was surely Rapwi. It was not strange at all for them to act crazily like that, as I was quite used to that side of them, after all. However, the thing which sent shivers down my spine was the locations that they were seen.


    Wasn¡¯t RaPwi in North Korea?


    Why is Duck moving from Gyeongsan?


    ¡°This is worrying¡­¡±


    Their final destination wouldn¡¯t be where I am, right?


    .


    .


    .


    One day, Captain Kim Hyunwoo came to us and brought us some surprising news.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that I told my colleagues to occupy the Gimhae Battalion? Surprisingly, these guys really did it. There was also a first-class warehouse intact there.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ What a great friend you have, Captain.¡± Me and Hyung-jun Hyung applauded sincerely. Can it be called ¡°the power of a sergeant who is filled with resentment because a zombie apocalypse happened just days before his discharge¡±?


    Anyway, Captain Kim invited us there. ¡°Since the Gimhae Battalion also serves as a supply depot for nearby remote units, the warehouse was quite large. Let¡¯s go there together.¡±


    He¡¯s really a good man. Everyone was busy monopolizing food in the apocalypse, but this guy was thinking of sharing it with everyone like this.


    ¡°Is it okay for us to go? If we do so, you would have to share the food with us.¡± Hyung-jun Hyung asked.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. We, the army forces, have to go to Seoul anyway. So, the supplies left behind wouldn¡¯t be a waste if we were to leave it with you guys.¡±


    ¡°Seoul?¡± Hyung-jun Hyung said, clearly he was confused.


    I knew through the Auction House that a force, presumed to be the government, had issued a summon to all remaining units of the South Korean army scattered around the country.


    But, even though they issued a summon for the remaining units of the military, they¡¯re not that big of a deal. It was just a group of survivors which could be said to be stronger than other survivors because they consisted of people who used to be in the upper echelon of the government. Of course, there would also be soldiers in it, so Captain Kim was feeling quite excited.


    By the way, it¡¯s great that he has already reached level 15. As his unique ability was a shooting-type skill, the additional effect he got should be related to it as well.


    Captain Kim explained that the government had ordered a summon through the Auction House to Hyung-jun Hyung. Then, Hyung-jun Hyung nodded. ¡°So, there¡¯s such a function in the Auction House huh? Seems like I need to level up quickly. Anyway, so what you¡¯re saying is, the government still exists?¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll have to go to know the exact details, but at least I¡¯ve confirmed that the president is alive.¡±


    ¡°That gentleman¡­¡± I murmured. I¡ªor maybe everyone¡ªevaluated Jang Won-taek as a responsible man who fulfilled his duties until the end. If he was confirmed alive, many people would surely flock to join them.


    But what will he do to avoid zombie raids, I wonder? He should¡¯ve known that it¡¯s dangerous if there were more than 5 people in a single place.


    A little while later, a paper airplane flew by. Hyung-jun Hyung scribbled something on it then sent it back. It seems like because he didn¡¯t want to decide on his own, he first asked for the other members¡¯ opinion.


    We had a tentative discussion that we were going to Changwon next, but we couldn¡¯t miss out on the opportunity to get a whole first-class warehouse for ourselves.


    ¡°But are you guys okay here? The situation didn¡¯t look good when I first came here.¡± Captain Kim said.


    ¡°It¡¯s not very bad right now. The power in the golf course has collapsed. I don¡¯t know who the culprit is, but he should still be around.¡± Hyung-jun Hyung explained.


    ¡°Then it seems like you have to leave soon.¡±


    ¡°Where is the Gimhae Battalion located? I¡¯m thinking of stopping by the rice center first.¡±


    ¡°If you look at the map here¡­¡±


    While Hyung-jun Hyung and Captain Kim were discussing their opinions, a paper airplane flew over. The other members had given Hyung-jun Hyung their consent. So now, all that¡¯s left is to leave.


    However, when we had finished our preparation and were about to leave, the golf course people suddenly attacked other groups.


    An arrow flew into the building where the three murderers that Kwon coaxed had gathered.


    ¡°Why the fuck are you doing this!¡±


    ¡°You thieving bastards! We¡¯re here to get our supplies back!¡±


    The golf course people who had woken up from Kwon¡¯s brainwashing were talking about how the survivors have looted the bunker by taking advantage of the chaos.


    But it wasn¡¯t yours to begin with. It was Kwon¡¯s, right? The owner was gone, so they wanted to get some shares. What¡¯s wrong with that?


    I went up to the roof and watched the fight between the two factions. It didn¡¯t seem like it would last long as it was a fight between a dozen people against only three people. The problem was, there were too many people clustered in one small area.


    ¡°I¡¯m not worried because of the zombie raid.¡± Rather, it was murderer event I was worried about. There were quite a lot of people who had murdered people here, so if they made a mistake, a murderer event could begin.


    They don¡¯t seem to know that.


    It seems like I need to do some cleaning up before I leave this place.

 Chapter 62

    After Kwon died, the other golf course group members (who were hypnotized by Kwon) were at a loss about what to do. Their memories were jumbled up, and the majority of them did not even know why and when the society had collapsed. Even though they soon knew that the world they knew no longer existed, and that some kind of a game system had been created in place of that, they couldn¡¯t fully take in how much things had changed.


    From that moment on, they have to fight for their survival in a ruined world. Who can be sane after being shoved to those circumstances after their consciousness went blank for god knows how long?


    The survivors were outraged. Kwon¡ªthe culprit of their misery¡ªwas already dead. Since they couldn¡¯t vent their anger towards a corpse, they seek for another avenue.


    One of the survivors said:


    -From what I remember, someone among us has to die in order to prevent a zombie raid from coming!


    -How the fuck did you know that?


    -I saw it on the internet! It¡¯s dangerous if there are more than 5 people¡­


    -What nonsense. If so, why is it still so quiet right now? There are 11 people here, so shouldn¡¯t the zombie raid come already?


    -This ahjussi is suspicious.


    Unfortunately, the instigator quickly got cornered.


    -If we only need to kill one person, then let¡¯s kill that man! He doesn¡¯t look strong!


    -That¡¯s right. We can just kill him.


    -Let¡¯s surround him and attack!


    -If you kill me, do you think you guys will be fine?


    He tried to incite the others, but in an instant, he was surrounded and was beaten to death. It was truly a fitting end for an instigator. But, even though they had just killed someone, their anger did not subside. Then, they realized that the supply inside one of the bunkers had been stolen by the other groups of survivors in the area.


    -It must have been stolen while we were still confused!


    -Bastards!


    -Let¡¯s get it back!


    -Let¡¯s kill those bastards and get the supplies back!


    The rage which had no place to go had finally found its target. However, since they had just come to their senses after being brainwashed by Kwon, they had no idea about common things in the apocalyptic world which survivors should¡¯ve known in order to survive. They didn¡¯t know that it would be dangerous if there¡¯s more than 5 people gathered in one small area. They also didn¡¯t know that if they killed more than two or three people, the system would register them as murderers, and if they¡¯re still jumbled together like that when one of them became a murderer, the murderer event will be triggered.


    They would be able to know about common sense while living in this apocalyptic world simply by asking other survivors around the bunker. However, those thoughts never appear in their head, as they¡¯re currently being blinded by their anger.


    Meanwhile, the fate of the two women was decided, and the atmosphere became harsh. Both of them were attracted to a group with three young, decent-looking men, but the opposing group protested heavily.


    -Wait, shouldn¡¯t you share them with us too?


    -Share? You think they¡¯re items? Let¡¯s just stop, it¡¯s embarrassing for you guys to lose like this, but what can we do?


    -It¡¯s really funny. Previously, you guys wouldn¡¯t even be able to look at us.


    -What did you say? I dare you to say it again.


    -It¡¯s not wrong, ahjussi. Please, just make some concessions.


    -Does every group have to be limited to five people?


    -I don¡¯t know, that¡¯s what the dead ahjussi had said.


    Before the situation escalated even more, someone suggested a new target to turn their anger towards.


    -Let¡¯s not fight among ourselves, and kill the thieves first!


    -We¡¯ll discuss things later! After killing those bastards!


    -That¡¯s right!


    The disagreement between them disappeared, and they agreed to move towards the neighbourhood.


    -We¡¯re all going together! Don¡¯t let the guys who stole our supply escape!


    Ten people marched together. Hearing the last words of one of the men, each and every single one of them knew that they would be dead if they didn¡¯t follow the rest. Meanwhile, Cheol-jun and Yuju, the two women that Kwon had brought, held each other¡¯s hands secretly. Whatever the others said or plan to do, the two of them had decided they were going to leave this group as soon as they saw a chance.


    The group hunted goblins on the way and moved to the one-room neighbourhood. It was a very remote neighbourhood, so there were very few zombies. Once they arrived, they surrounded a particular building that had survivors inside and attacked indiscriminately. The three survivors inside the building couldn¡¯t help but counterattack. With that exchange as the impetus, the whole neighbourhood turned into a battlefield. And among the chaos, there was one person who moved quietly.


    .


    .


    .


    The gym group and Captain Kim, who heard about the battle, quickly started packing. The MVP of the process was none other than Mikyung and Yoohyeon. Even though the two did not have an ability that is good for combat, thanks to their reconnaissance and mobility-based unique ability, they were able to perform spectacularly.


    When Yoohyeon relayed the battle situation in real time with his paper airplane, Mikyung moved the members and their luggages little by little. In less than 10 minutes, the five people and their belongings were moved to the outskirts of the neighbourhood.


    And a paper airplane flew to me too.


    -Do you want Mikyung to move you too, hyung? She¡¯s a little bit dizzy now, so if you need her please wait a little.


    I shook my head.


    ¡°No. I¡¯ll join you guys later, so go first. I have something to check.¡±


    The paper plane went silent for a moment, then flew again through the crack in the window. They¡¯re quite smart as survivors, so they should know they shouldn¡¯t wait for me for nothing.


    I looked down to the chaotic street below.


    ¡°They are all here.¡± The group of 10 was still ferociously attacking. However, it seems like they didn¡¯t know how to use their unique ability as they only shoot arrows over and over again.


    Did their memories get erased when they¡¯re brainwashed?


    ¡°However, it¡¯s still dangerous.¡± The three survivors, who had murdered other survivors under the order of Kwon, were still hiding. The only thing that assured me that they¡¯re still inside was that every now and then, they would shoot arrows back. Looking at their boring fight, I almost fell asleep.


    Should I just go? I don¡¯t think things would go south even if I stay here¡­


    The moment I thought that, one of the attackers groaned and fell to the floor. Arrowhead could be seen piercing through his chest.


    ¡°They are shooting from our back!¡±


    ¡°Scatter, scatter!¡±


    The attackers scattered around to the surrounding buildings.


    ¡°Sigh, I was just about to leave¡­¡±


    Now that someone has clearly committed two murders, the murderer event should begin soon. However, even after about 30 seconds passed, there was no heartbeat thump¡ªwhich was the starting signal of the murderer event¡¯s deathmatch.


    ¡°Ah¡­ there are no zombies around here.¡± Back in the game, zombies could spawn anytime and anywhere the system wanted it to. But in reality, there¡¯s no such thing as that. Since this neighbourhood was located far away from the city center, it would take some time for zombies to come here and create the zombie wall, marking the beginning of the murderer event.


    So, the murderer event wouldn¡¯t happen? That¡¯s not the case either.


    Thump-!! Thump-!! Thump-!!


    There¡¯s a weak heartbeat echoing through the area. It looks like the murderer has a stealth-type ability. Stealth-type murderers were a bit more difficult to deal with.


    ¡°The way that I can use here is¡­¡±


    Moments later, another scream could be heard. This time, it seems like the attacker had succeeded in killing the defenders. At the same time, another sound of heartbeats came elsewhere.


    ¡°There¡¯re two murderers.¡± I furrowed my brows. It was something I had never encountered in Survival Life. In the first place, because there weren¡¯t that many users, it¡¯s hard to even see a single murderer. Like I said, we sometimes treat them as a ¡®cultural asset¡¯ as they¡¯re so rare.


    When I listened, the heartbeat became louder and louder. It was clear that the murderers were moving towards where I was. I didn¡¯t even flinch because of it, but others would surely be terrified.


    First of all, I need to identify the murderer. I went down to the first floor, entered the portal and focused my attention on the street. A pounding heartbeat could be heard soon after. At the same time, I could see several people pursuing after a single man whom I suspected to be one of the two murderers.


    ¡°Don¡¯t come! Don¡¯t come!¡±


    ¡°Wait! Let¡¯s talk for a second!¡±


    Funnily enough, the murderer didn¡¯t seem to be able to accept the reality that he had become a murderer.


    ¡°He¡¯s a novice murderer. Isn¡¯t that right, Dingo?¡± The guy yawned at my words, clearly uninterested.


    Being a murderer doesn¡¯t necessarily mean that they¡¯ll lose consciousness. The murderer I met before had been brainwashed, so it could be said that it had lost consciousness. But if he¡¯s not brainwashed, he would be able to think for himself. The problem was, once someone became a murderer, they would have an urge to kill people as their eyes turned red which enabled them to see the location of people around them. The more people they kill, the more that urge corrupts their mind.


    As I was waiting for the right timing, someone shouted. ¡°What are you talking about while throwing stones? Get lost, you murderer!¡±


    This murderer seems to be someone with telekinesis unique ability. I focused my mind as much as I could and grasped the circumstances around me. To be honest, I¡¯m not really interested in stopping a murderer. I just wanted to kill them to recoup the points I used to verify the IDs of people in the Auction House.


    ¡°It would be better if I could also secure supplies.¡± However, I couldn¡¯t touch the supplies in the time shelter because it was inside the danger zone. But if it¡¯s the supplies in one of the bunkers, it should be fine.


    By the way, because there was no zombie wall, it looks like everyone could easily escape from the murderer. But then, screams could be heard again.


    ¡°One murderer had already killed two people.¡± The more he killed, the stronger he would become, so the danger of fighting one would increase considerably. The deathmatch event hadn¡¯t started yet, but I had to end it here. However, as I was equipping my gear, I saw zombies approaching from afar.


    ¡°You have worked hard to come this far.¡± A louder thumping heartbeat was heard one after another. The deathmatch event had finally begun.


    .


    .


    .


    Cheol-jun and Yuju only pretended to attack the three survivors, unlike the others in their group. It was because, after this whole thing ended, they were planning to run away from the group. They only followed them this far to secure enough supplies for the two of them.


    But a problem suddenly occurred. Shrieking screams and chilling heartbeat began to intersect.


    ¡°Wh-what is this?¡±


    ¡°Cheol-jun, what sound is this?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Let¡¯s just run away for now.¡± The two entered a building while holding each other¡¯s hands and hid in the stairs. All they had to do was get to the bunker alive, so the two kept running. But the heartbeat didn¡¯t stop. Then, the two saw a silhouette behind them.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Cheol-jun narrowed his eyes. She was sure that she had seen someone¡¯s silhouette. But that man had disappeared.


    Then, a voice was heard.


    ¡°I was here.¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Is that important now?¡± The man appeared again and pulled a blood-stained ceramic knife out from his pocket.


    Cheol-jun and Yuju stopped breathing at the same time. They realized who they¡¯re facing was a murderer.


    ¡°Can you hear this¡­ thumping sound? At first, I thought it was my heartbeat, but turns out, it wasn¡¯t. It was actually the heartbeats of others, people¡­ the heartbeats of their hot and pumping hearts¡­ the sounds of your heart beating again and again¡­ thump¡­ thump¡­ thump¡­¡±


    The man¡¯s knife pointed at the two. He seemed to be a bit out of his mind.


    ¡°Should I tell you how I managed to find you? I can sense you¡­ as I can sense everyone else¡­ as if the one who gives me this power tells me to kill all of you¡­ hahahahah.¡± The man laughed maniacally.


    ¡°Yu, Yuju-ssi, let¡¯s go upstairs.¡±


    ¡°Cheol-jun-ssi¡­¡±


    The two grabbed each other¡¯s clothes. While both of them were quaking on their feet, the murderer licked his lips with his tongue while casually striding up the stairs. His eyes were red and bloodshot.


    ¡°I am very strong right now¡­ very, very strong¡­ with just a grip, I can crush that slender neck of yours¡­ I can snap it to the right¡­ to the left¡­ so¡­ just give-khuuak!¡±


    However, before the man could finish his words, Cheol-jun could see ¡®something¡¯ poking out of his chest.


    ¡°Huh?¡± The murderer touched the ¡®something¡¯ protruding from his chest with his hand. The skin on his hand bleed as soon as he touched it, showing how sharp the thing is. Then, he felt that coldness had swept all over his body as strength began to leave him. It was then that he realized that someone had stabbed him.


    ¡°Someone¡­¡± The murderer swung his other arm behind, slamming it against the wall. The wall shattered, but that was it, as he didn¡¯t even hit that ¡®someone¡¯. The dark green blade, which was already pulled out from the murderer¡¯s chest, passed through the murderer¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Uh-huh!¡± That was the end of him. The murderer¡¯s head fell off as his body slowly fell. Blood spurted out of his headless neck like a fountain, and Cheol-jun as well as Yuju screamed at the same time. At the place where the murderer stood, there was a man who silently put his sword back to the sheath in his hips. He was dressed in black with a large helmet covering his face.


    ¡°You better run away from this place. The zombies are coming.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what?¡±


    ¡°If you just stutter and don¡¯t do anything, you¡¯ll die.¡±


    Cheol-jun covered her nose because the smell of iron from the blood started to agitate her sense of smell. At that moment, she had a thought.


    Is this man perhaps¡­


    ¡°The one who killed Kwon Kyung-joon¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s me.¡± Seongho replied, his voice was calm and toneless. As he was about to turn around and leave, Yuju squealed.


    ¡°Why! Why didn¡¯t you tell us!¡±


    ¡°What should I tell you?¡±


    ¡°After you killed that bastard, Kwon Kyung-joon! You could have explained what happened to us!¡±


    ¡°Why should I?¡±


    At that one sentence, Yuju stopped. She couldn¡¯t find any words to say anymore.


    Seongho said ¡°You should be grateful that all I did was kill him then left quietly. Why are you so upset? Are you saying that I should take care of you like a teacher? To all 11 of you?¡±


    ¡°Left quietly? you steal his stuff!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the one who killed Kwon. So, his stuff was my rights. I didn¡¯t even take everything and left more than enough for you guys. If you have enough supplies, you should be satisfied with it, then try to figure out what¡¯s happening. Why did you come here to get it back? It looks like everyone here is going to die, thanks to your group¡¯s foolish action.¡±


    ¡°We are all going to die?¡± Cheol-jun asked.


    Without words, Seongho pointed to the outside. Zombies were screaming as they limped closer and closer.


    ¡°While we were here, playing 21 questions, zombies were slowly swarming towards us. Haven¡¯t you heard about zombie raids?¡±


    Both Cheol-jun and Yuju¡¯s faces turned pale. They realized that what the ahjussi they had killed said was right.


    Seongho looked outside. ¡°If you want to live, run now. Go north.¡±


    ¡°What about those things?¡±


    ¡°Are you only going to stop asking questions after being bitten by a zombie?¡±


    ¡°Yuju-ssi!¡± Cheol-jun grabbed her arm in a hurry and ran downstairs, passing Seongho, who made way for them.


    Seongho thought it¡¯s been a while since they¡¯d been freed from brainwashing, but it seems like they still don¡¯t know how to use their unique ability. Moreover, they probably had a lot of questions. But in the apocalypse, someone couldn¡¯t just simply ask someone about even the basic information without anything to pay them with, while not knowing anything was also a sin. No one cares even if they complain about it being unfair.


    Growl-!!


    Khaaakk-!!


    Without paying attention to the zombies outside, Seongho sat down.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­what I got today.¡± By killing two murderers, he got 300 points, a skill called Stigma of Death, and an item. The item was a pretty good item, and the 300 points was pretty savory. However, it wasn¡¯t comparable to the Stigma of Death skill which was used by murderers to find survivors. The murderer would eventually gain infrared vision to replace this skill, but it was a skill which normal users couldn¡¯t simply get.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to be able to locate enemies and strike first¡­¡± Now, if he set his eyes on someone, they would surely die. They wouldn¡¯t be able to hide.


    Suddenly, zombies entered the building. Seongho leisurely packed his luggage and entered the portal. The zombies, who had lost their target, wandered out of the building. And the whole neighbourhood went quiet once again.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Have any of them responded to the gather order, yet?¡±


    ¡°Not that many. Just about 3 people¡­¡±


    Jang Won-taek and Bae Geom-in were smoking and talking on the roof of the shelter. Although there was an age difference between them, Jang Won-taek didn¡¯t care about it at all. Afterall, it was because of this guy that he was still alive right now. He seemed to be hiding his real intention from him, but that was something he could easily brush off as someone who had survived the political battlefield for so long.


    As Jang Won-taek whisked away the ashes off his cigar, it fell on the head of the zombie who was knocking on the shelter from below.


    ¡°The more people, the better¡­how did the labyrinth event go, by the way?¡±


    ¡°Gimbap took first place. His record is 38 minutes, and that¡¯s an absurd record.¡±


    ¡°I have never played the game, so I don¡¯t know how absurd it is.¡±


    ¡°Even in the game, it was almost impossible to get through in under an hour. But here, in real life, where people only have one life, he manages to do so. It¡¯s extremely absurd, right?¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ It seems like he¡¯s running while being prepared to die.¡± Jang Won-taek furrowed his brow as he shook his head at Gimbap¡¯s recklessness.


    ¡°I think Rabbit Princess is in second place and Duck Buttock is in 10th place. I think Duck even killed all the monsters in the labyrinth.¡±


    ¡°Haha, those people are really awesome.¡± Jang Won-taek exclaimed. This shelter would surely become much safer if such people were willing to help them. But he doubted he had anything which could reel them in. Even if he dragged them by force, he wasn¡¯t confident he would be able to hold on to them if they decided to fight back.


    Geom-in then changed the subject.


    ¡°These days, what happened in the labyrinth is a very hot topic. A lot of people said they met foreigners.¡±


    ¡°Something is strange.¡± Jang Won-take hummed. From what he knew, Survival Life was a game with a local server, which means, it could only be played in Korea. He doubted there would be many foreigners who played it while they were in Korea.


    The two met their eyes.


    ¡°Do they look like real foreigners?¡±


    ¡°There is a possibility that they were real foreigners. It may have something to do with the complete isolation of the Korean Peninsula.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s already September and there is no typhoon and the air is so fresh. It means that most of the dust has disappeared.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    Jang Won-taek brushed off the ashes of his cigarette and stroked his beard. There¡¯s a need to collect more information on this matter. All of the important equipments were broken, so they had no choice but to send people to manually collect data. Fortunately, there was a person with a blink ability in their group, simplifying the task, albeit a little.


    After Jang Won-taek decided to go down to get things done, Geom-in opened the Auction House.


    ¡®I¡¯ll have to work on it soon.¡¯ What he¡¯s about to work on was none other than his reputation. Many survivors had benefited from the walkthrough he gave to the government, but Jang Won-taek¡¯s reputation overshadowed his own. Moreover, all three people who responded to the order came only because they¡¯re excited to hear that the president was still alive. He was thoroughly pushed back.


    If he¡¯s an ordinary person, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for Geom-in. However, since Jang Won-taek was once the President of South Korea, he will continue to exert great influence in the future. But Geom-in couldn¡¯t leave it alone.


    ¡®At least, the people in the Auction House¡­ I should bring them to my side¡­¡¯


    First of all, he had to promote the ID of Survivor 1.


    -I think Survivor 1 is better than the rest of stagnant waters. At least he¡¯s not completely crazy.


    -If he¡¯s with the president, isn¡¯t he the one who spread the information on the D-day??


    -Is there someone who survived and hasn¡¯t seen that strategy?


    However, that was it. People were not interested in Survivor 1. The stars of the Auction House were RaPwi, Duck, and Gimbap. Even though he¡¯s not jealous about it, he was still worried.


    ¡°I was the one who spread the strategy¡­¡± He thought. The people who had opened the Auction House at this point could be said as semi-stagnant waters, so they wouldn¡¯t need the walkthrough he gave to the president. So it¡¯s natural that they didn¡¯t feel grateful to him.


    However, in a few more months, those who have benefited and in need of those walkthroughs will come in. He thought that it would be the most ideal time to promote himself.


    Geom-in left a comment to those who were fighting over where the stagnant waters were currently located.


    -Do you all know the location of Survivor 1? A gathering order had been issued by the govs, so, if you go there, you can meet him.


    -Not interested.


    -What the hell is he doing? He didn¡¯t even participate in the speedrun event.


    -That bastard is more cowardly than I Love Gimbap!


    When he saw his comments were answered with negative comments, Geom-in¡¯s face reddened.


    ¡°Sigh¡­ Let it pass, let it pass. I¡¯m the one who will win in the end, anyway.¡± He sighed and closed the Auction House.


    Meanwhile, far, far away from the government shelter, Seongho, who was still checking the ID of people in Auction House, grinned.


    He realized that Survivor 1 was a self-proclaimed type of person.

 Chapter 63

    Because the murderer event and the zombie raid overlapped, only a few people from the golf course group survived. That¡¯s why I robbed another one of their bunkers. Which means, there¡¯s one bunker left. So, if there were any survivors close by, they would be able to loot it to their heart¡¯s content.


    ¡°By the way, I need to expand this place¡­¡± As I was looking around the shelter in the forest, it felt somewhat cramped even though I already expanded it once before. The culprit behind this problem was, of course, the numerous materials I looted. If I had to exaggerate, it was cramped to the point there wasn¡¯t even enough space for Dingo to run around.


    ¡°If I move the barbed wire fences further then dig another moat¡­¡± and then cover the existing moat with the excavated soil from the new moat, a space of about 6m would be opened up. It¡¯s not huge by any stretch of meaning, but that should be enough to solve the most pressing things.


    The reason I dared to make such a plan was because I just looted a lot of gasoline from Kwon¡¯s bunker, so I could use the mini fork crane to do the job since it was different from the usual fork crane, which uses diesel fuel. While I was drawing the blueprint of the new area on my notes, I saw the scarabs working in the garden.


    ¡°How did they learn that?¡± I murmured as my brows furrowed. The scarabs, after picking the ripe vegetables, sprinkled another batch of potato seed, and then covered it with plastic.


    ¡°It¡¯s a little slow, but they¡¯re quite helpful.¡± There was no need to stop their actions, so I decided to let them be. As I finished things I had to do in the forest, I got out of the portal with Dingo and headed straight north. The Gimhae Battalion, the place we were going to, was located in Sangnam-myeon, north of Gimhae. Which means I had to pass through the Gimhae Plains as well as Gimhae City to reach there.


    ¡°It was quite far and the road was dangerous.¡± It would be better to settle down in a residential area near Gimhae City Hall, but the gym members had already left. I couldn¡¯t just settle there alone and abandon them now. Though, it doesn¡¯t matter where we would settle down for now. After all, the final destination would be Changwon or any other coastal city.


    By the way, the location of the Gimhae Battalion was a bit of a problem. It sat on a mountainous area, so there would be less zombies there. However, it was by no means safe because there would be many goblins and kobolds roaming around the area. If things went wrong, the survivor inside the base would have to fight against groups of monsters rather than hordes of zombies.


    I crossed the Gimhae plains with Dingo leading the way. It will be harvest season soon, but the golden colour of the rice plant couldn¡¯t be seen anywhere. The only thing left was a trace of destruction caused by either zombies or monsters.


    ¡°Even locusts swarm couldn¡¯t be seen anywhere.¡± Soon enough, all of the Korean Peninsula, or even the entire Earth, would change like this. Everything that lived on Earth, whether it was animal or human, would slowly disappear. Monsters absorb organic matter to evolve into a much more powerful entity and put pressure on survivors. Later down the line, plant-type monsters would appear and change the soils of Earth itself. In those crises, all the survivors could do was run away and hold on.


    ¡°We weren¡¯t that different either.¡± Even though survivors who used to play the game were treated akin to god by the ordinary survivors, in the end, we were only a small fraction of the world. No matter how strong we are, we can¡¯t go against the will of the world.


    I switched my shoes with the leather shoes I got from the speedrun event. It would be nice to keep wearing it wherever I go, but doing so would be a waste since it consumed durability. Moreover, there¡¯s no need for extra stats when walking.


    ¡°Oh, I feel lighter.¡± I jumped a few times before continuing to walk. Me and Dingo left the Gimhae Plains while killing some monsters. Once I reached the city center, I went straight north from the city hall to take the shortest way possible. Even if it was steep and slippery mountain terrain, it was much better than to deal with monsters roaming the streets.


    However, as I was walking through the city, I realized that the atmosphere in this area was different from Busan.


    ¡°There are quite a lot of survivors here¡­¡± As I hid myself in the shopping mall and looking outside, I saw people running all over the place. Whoever they were, they always had at least a zombie or goblin running on their back.


    ¡°The population of Gimhae wasn¡¯t large¡­ So, how?¡±


    Were the survivors who fled from Busan came here?


    Anyway, the atmosphere was very strange. It was as if it was a mixture of mismatched ingredients such as pork cutlet, chicken, and pizza in one bowl.


    With Dingo in tow, I quietly went out of the city center and walked along the Sanbok Road. Then, after sniffing something, Dingo ran up the mountain. When I followed him to see what he had found, it turned out to be a kobold poop.


    ¡°These guys finally appeared.¡± Well, it is only natural since back in the game, they came out right after the speedrun event. With these guys appearing, from now on, the night would become even more dangerous. If goblins were like street robbers, these guys were more like thieves.


    They had an excellent night vision, so it could be active both at night and the day. Thanks to that, it was a daily routine for shelters to be robbed by these guys.


    ¡°Back in the game, even when people only logged off for a couple minutes then came back, some of their supplies would¡¯ve been already stolen by those guys¡±


    No matter how strong a shelter was, it still won¡¯t be powerful enough to perfectly fend monsters off. For that reason, users had always slaughtered kobolds roaming around the area around their shelter when they saw one. However, the rate of those guys dying and the rate of those guys reproducing couldn¡¯t even be compared, resulting in more and more kobolds around.


    ¡°Still, destroying their nest does work.¡± Though the result wasn¡¯t great compared to the effort, because it won¡¯t be long before some kobolds from god-knows-where came and built another nest nearby their shelter. But it¡¯s better than not doing it at all. Speaking of which, I think there were quite a few kobolds here in Mt. Bunseong¡­ But it would be better to talk about it after joining with the rest rather than taking it on alone.


    After another few hours of walking, I finally arrived at the destination: Gimhae Battalion. As soon as I walked in, a man popped out from behind the guard post and pointed his bow at me.


    ¡°Stop! State your business for coming here!¡±


    I slowly raised my arms. ¡°Didn¡¯t my party come here? Two men and two women.¡±


    ¡°Are you the one who the lieutenant met?¡±


    ¡°Are you talking about Lieutenant Hyun-woo?¡± (E/n changed Captain Hyun-woo to Lieutenant Hyun-woo)


    At my words, the man lowered his bow. But his eyes were still hovering at Dingo who, as always, didn¡¯t care about anything.


    ¡°Please wait, I will contact the inside.¡± Then, a flag was raised at the post.


    .


    .


    .


    As I was guided into the dormitory, Hyung-jun Hyung, Sooyeon, Lieutenant Hyun-woo and a man I saw for the first time were already waiting for me.


    ¡°Seongho, you¡¯ve come? It also hadn¡¯t been long since we arrived.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± Said the man I saw for the first time. He introduced himself as Cho Seong-tae.


    Then Lieutenant Hyun-woo chimed in with a smile.


    ¡°He¡¯s the guy I mentioned before. The one who couldn¡¯t get discharged.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± That pitiful guy¡­ ¡°Nice to meet you, my name is Kang Seongho. First of all, I was together with them, but we do not act together.¡±


    It was a bit strange to say it like that, but what can I do? It¡¯s the truth.


    Lieutenant Hyun-woo then introduced the battalion. ¡°This place is Gimhae Battalion, and although there are no great facilities here, our first class warehouse is quite large. It serves as a supply depot for nearby remote units. But when I went to check it, it had become quite a mess.¡±


    ¡°When you saw it, we already cleaned up a lot.¡± Commander-in-chief Seong-tae quickly added. Well, it was only natural, since when it comes to military supplies, there would be a lot of cans. Without seeing it directly, I knew just how messy it was.


    ¡°Everyone worked hard. One group acted as sentry and the other was on cleaning duty. It was really tiring. At first, there were not that many monsters around, so it¡¯s quite easy, but now, even kobolds have come out¡­¡±


    ¡°They even stole some of the supplies at night, so the soldiers said they rarely sleep these days.¡± Hyung-jun Hyung said as he looked at Commander Seong-tae with a pitiful gaze.


    Stealing something from the base at night meant that they would eventually decide to attack the base.


    ¡°There were no kobolds when I left this place, but they suddenly¡­¡± Lieutenant Hyun-woo let out a dry chuckle as he scratched his head.


    ¡°Then, are there any solutions?¡± Everyone shook their heads at Hyung-jun Hyung¡¯s question. That¡¯s right, there was no perfect countermeasure against monsters in the apocalypse. The best the survivors could do was hold on.


    ¡°Is everything okay aside from the kobold problem?¡± When I asked, Lieutenant Hyun-woo met Commander Seong-tae¡¯s gaze.


    ¡°Well¡­ The nearby survivors were also setting their sights on the warehouse. We¡¯re distributing it little by little, but it seems like they¡¯re not satisfied with it.¡±


    ¡°At first, they were always so thankful even with only a bag of rice and a box of ramen. But these days, they just try to take more and more for themselves.¡± There was a little hint of anger in Commander Seong-tae¡¯s tone as he said that. The army was the one who occupied it as well as defended the base, but people who had never done anything for it acted like they were the real owner. Of course, he would be angry.


    Well, in a way, we were not different from those guys.


    ¡°They act like they are going to manage the warehouse later. But, they didn¡¯t even try to participate in the defense.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute. Lieutenant Kim, didn¡¯t you say that both of you will go to Seoul later?¡± Sooyeon asked. However, the reaction of Lieutenant Hyun-woo and Commander-in-chief Seongtae were weird.


    ¡°About that¡­¡±


    ¡°If you have something to say, say it, Seong-tae. We are no longer soldiers, you can voice your opinion freely.¡± When Lieutenant Hyun-woo said so, Seong-tae hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.


    ¡°Can¡¯t I just stay here? I want to be with you guys¡­¡±


    Sorry? You want to join the gym group? Well, I¡¯m not bothered by that at all but Sooyeon¡¯s eyes changed at his words.


    ¡°Seong-tae-ssi, it¡¯s because of Mikyung, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Th-that¡¯s not it¡­¡±


    Ah, so it¡¯s like that. It looks like he fell in love at first sight with Mikyung. She looks a little bit shabby because she can¡¯t wash herself often these days, but she was originally a charming girl with a pretty face and fair skin. She also had a bright and good personality, so she was quite popular to everyone.


    Was the Commander-in-chief the same age as Mikyung?


    Sooyeon smirked as she placed her chin on the back of her hand. ¡°That girl¡­ Her heart is somewhere else. I will tell you that.¡±


    Tsk, how could she say it like that, without revealing who it is. (E/n: my man¡¯s denser than a scarab¡¯s carapace)


    Commander-in-chief Seong-tae waved his hand in embarrassment. ¡°I-I¡¯m just her fan. Grace dances well, doesn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°Grace? What are you talking about¡­?¡±


    ¡°Mikyung can dance?¡±


    Everyone was surprised at the revelation. Commander, why can¡¯t you be a little bit more careful! I know Mikyung was on the dance team, but I kept my mouth shut about it. There must be a reason why she didn¡¯t tell everyone about it.


    Commander Seong-tae quickly shut his mouth, seemingly realizing that he had made a mistake. However, it was already too late. Sooyeon¡¯s eyes lit up like a predator finding prey.


    ¡°Is Grace the stage name Mikyung used in the dance team?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s pretty, isn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ Her skin is completely milky-colored¡­¡±


    I agree that her pelvic thrusting dance was awesome, but I¡¯d rather not say it. It would be akin to giving myself a public execution.


    ¡°So, are you saying you want to join us just for that reason?¡± At this point, the Commander-in-Chief must have felt that something went wrong. In order to join, he had to convince each and every member, but he had already failed since, for some reason, Sooyeon looked angry. I don¡¯t know why she¡¯s angry, but let¡¯s keep quiet here.


    When the Commander-in-chief couldn¡¯t utter any more words, Lieutenant Hyun-woo intervened. ¡°Come on, I¡¯m not going to go to Seoul right away, I also need to make some preparations. So, let¡¯s look at the situation for a few days.¡±


    ¡°I understand¡­¡±


    When Sooyeon turned her gaze away, Commander Seong-tae started to sweat profusely. It would be nice to lighten up the atmosphere a bit here.


    ¡°If it¡¯s okay with you, can I take a look around the warehouse for a moment?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes. I will guide you.¡±


    When commander-in-chief Seong-tae stood up, Sooyeon followed suit. From his body language, it was clear that he¡¯s restless. He was only able to regain his composure once we arrived at the warehouse. There was a really extreme smell, probably a mix of disgusting things in the warehouse. Everyone frowned and had to cover their noses because of it.


    ¡°As you must have felt now, the stench is no joke. When we first arrived, all the cans were broken and the rotten water from rotten vegetables and meat flooded the area¡­¡±


    ¡°You must¡¯ve done a really good job at cleaning this place.¡±


    Commander-in-chief Seong-tae nodded his head eagerly. ¡°Jaehyun was the one who really suffered. Anyway, we are the ones who cleaned this place up. But those kobolds came like it was their home or something. We get very angry because of them.¡±


    ¡°We came here to eat too.¡±


    When Sooyeon said, he denied it.


    ¡°We already know about you guys. I was also secretly looking forward to when you would come.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it because you heard there¡¯s two women in the group?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Commander-in-chief Seong-tae turned his head quickly, while Sooyeon smiled cheerfully. Then, she put her hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°Even if it was only when we are here, let¡¯s get along.¡±


    At those words, his face brightened. While they were doing that, I looked around the warehouse. At the sight of disgusting footprints in the ground, it was clear that kobolds had come and gone multiple times to this warehouse.


    The Commander-in-chief came to me and said, ¡°No matter how strong we reinforced the window, they still can break through, so there is nothing we can do about it. We even get tired of responding when they come.¡±


    ¡°Seongho-ssi, is there anything we could do?¡± Commander-in-chief Seong-tae asked.


    ¡°I do not know.¡± It seemed like it would be difficult to keep storing the supplies here. The warehouse itself was large and had dozens of windows and several doors. Defending this warehouse would be impossible unless 10 or more people were participating.


    if so?


    ¡°Let¡¯s use the best defensive plan there is, then. You know what they say, offense is the best defense.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    Their expressions changed to confusion as soon as they heard my solution.


    .


    .


    .


    Wherever Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek, or Choi Dajeong, goes, the monsters around those areas would be massacred. Her subordinate zombies killed every monster and zombie they encountered while they were moving, so there was nothing left for other survivors to hunt. But rather than resenting her, a lot of survivors praised her and started to call her Zombie Queen. It was because since all of the annoying monsters in the area are obliterated by her, other survivors could focus on farming the easier prey, the zombies, which had a faster spawn rate than monsters.


    While Dajeong was on the way to Miryang, she realized that the city was crowded with dozens of survivors. Sometimes, there was even a fight to get a good hunting spot. Today, Dajeong was fighting a bunch of zombies in front of Miryang Bridge. Her subordinate zombies were almost as strong as ghouls, so it was not a battle at all. It was literally a one-sided massacre.


    Survivors hiding in nearby buildings grumbled when they saw it.


    ¡°Crazy¡­¡±


    ¡°Fuck, she already gained 120 points.¡±


    ¡°Is she going to fight while taking a detour from the river?¡±


    ¡°Probably? Even if she¡¯s strong, she won¡¯t be able to cross the river.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get ready to follow her.¡±


    To go to Gajak Island from Miryang, people had to cross a bridge, but unfortunately, all the bridges towards Gajak Island had collapsed. That¡¯s why survivors who followed Duck thought that she would make a detour along the river. Because unless there was a boat, it was impossible to cross the Miryang River.


    But something exceeding their wildest imagination happened. Duck¡¯s zombies start to jump into the river.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°What the hell are they doing?¡±


    To their surprise, her zombies were making a makeshift bridge so she could cross. At the unbelievable sight, the survivors could only express their awe.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡±


    ¡°Damn it! Does that even make sense?¡±


    She walked graciously at the makeshift bridge. Then, the zombies at the very back edge of the bridge, which she already stepped on, start to swim forward towards the front edge of the zombie bridge. It continues to repeat again and again, creating a moving bridge.


    ¡°It¡¯s crazy, crazy.¡± One of the survivors screamed.


    Choi Dajeong crossed the river without any difficulty and finally arrived on the island. Then, her gaze scanned the surrounding commercial buildings. She had something she wanted to ask. When she clicked her finger, the survivors peeking through the window hid at the same time.


    ¡°I have something to ask you. I wouldn¡¯t hurt you.¡± Then, hearing her words, a man and a woman came out from a messy alley. They decided to do so as they knew that even though she likes to beat up people who tried to harm her, she did not kill them. She was well known for giving gifts towards people who helped her.


    The Queen stepped towards the, showing off her elegant catwalk.


    ¡°My name is Choi Dajeong. Your name?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m Lee Kyunghoon and this is Kim Bora.¡±


    ¡°Did you originally live here?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ we came from Busan. We only moved here since people said Busan was dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Ohh!!!¡± Dajeong smiled brightly. An ordinary person would have asked why they came here instead of going to Gimhae or Yangsan, but Dajeong didn¡¯t care about that at all.


    When she smiled, both Kyunghoon and Bora shivered.

 Chapter 64

    Although I said that offense was the best defense, I didn¡¯t have any intention to do it right away. I have just arrived and I want to take a little break.


    Then, Commander Seong-tae briefly introduced me to the battalion¡¯s accommodation and facilities. The gym members and Lieutenant Hyun-woo and the other military personnels were living apart with a training ground in between. That¡¯s enough distance.


    ¡°For now, please rest. The Commander said he wants to have a meeting again later, is it okay?¡±


    ¡°Yes. That¡¯s okay.¡± While having that conversation, Sooyeon and I entered our lodgings. All metal had disappeared from this world, but the room was surprisingly neat and seemed to be good enough to live in. As I entered the hallway on the first floor, Mikyung came down from the stairs from the second floor while drying her wet hair with a towel.


    ¡°Ahjussi, You¡¯re here?¡±


    ¡°How is it? Is it good staying here?¡± I would know soon enough even without asking, but I still asked anyway. Mikyung smiled bashfully and said it was good because there was a lot of water here. She also told me that all the basins and tanks on the base were filled to the brim before the water supply was cut off. Once again, I was amazed at how fast the soldiers are at responding to emergencies.


    Sooyeon tapped my shoulder. ¡°The men¡¯s room is on the first floor. You¡¯ll smell if you just go to sleep right away, so wash up firs¡­ huh?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t smell at all. Where did you shower?¡± Sooyeon blankly looked at my face and sniffed the air around me.


    Oops. I forgot that I showered once I passed through the Gimhae Plains. Mikyung approached me with eyes gleaming in curiosity and also sniffed.


    ¡°Ah¡­ it smells like soap.¡±


    ¡°I washed in one of the waterways in Gimhae Plains.¡±


    ¡°But, Ahjussi. I¡¯ve been thinking for a long time, you¡¯re so clean. Look at my skin, it¡¯s a mess.¡±


    Is it because I washed quite often in the forest?


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s because I like to clean myself.¡± I said before I turned around and entered the room. It was a simple room with a bed, a wardrobe and a desk, but it would do just fine. It¡¯s not a place I would stay for long anyway.


    While I was unpacking, I heard Sooyeon nagging. ¡°Mikyung, are you going to keep showing your bare legs like that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, why?¡±


    ¡°Quickly put on long pants. It¡¯s not good to show your bare legs to men.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s more comfortable this way. It¡¯s cool too.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if there¡¯s only the two of us, but there are men here, so it could be dangerous, Grace.¡±


    ¡°Eh? How did you know that name, unnie?¡±


    ¡°Just go quickly!¡±


    Mikyung kept pushing for an answer for some time while Sooyeon told her to quickly change into long pants. In fact, she was truly careless. No matter how close you are to the group, men are still men. If she keeps showing off her bare skin, an accident is bound to happen. This is why masks are the best thing to have for women in an apocalyptic world.


    As I was lying on the narrow bed, Yoohyeon¡¯s paper airplane flew in.


    -Do you want to have dinner together? -Lieutenant Hyun-woo.


    I would love to. When we gathered, the meal was very different from before. It was probably due to the fact that the materials stored in the first-class warehouse were enormous. There were more than a dozen boxes of cup noodles alone, and don¡¯t get me started with just how many military rations there are here. Including military rations, the supplies inside the warehouse would be enough for all of the people here to last several months, even when everyone eats their fill every meal. Of course, we were not the only ones using the supplies, so it wouldn¡¯t last that long. But it was still necessary to take measures because it was said that kobolds as well as survivors nearby were looting it without care.


    After dinner, we all gathered once again.


    ¡°Let the kids rest, let¡¯s just talk between ourselves.¡± The people Hyung-jun Hyung included in his ¡®ourselves¡¯ were me, Sooyeon, and Lieutenant Hyun-woo while the ¡®kids¡¯ he referred to seems to be the two soldiers in their early 20s, Yoohyeon and Mikyung.


    I boiled water in a pot and handed them a cup of mixed coffee each.


    ¡°Ah¡­ it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had coffee.¡± Sooyeon quickly gulped it down before letting a content smile. It was blissful to drink coffee while looking at the dark forest on the autumn night while hearing the crickets chirping. It would be perfect if there aren¡¯t any of these damn monsters roaming around, though.


    Lieutenant Hyun-woo then began the talk. ¡°I heard that Seongho-ssi said something about ¡®offense is the best defense¡¯.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I suggest that while you guys are still here, we need to do some kobold subjugation. Well, if you don¡¯t want to, we will do it ourselves.¡±


    If that¡¯s the case, I would definitely participate. Well, there was no problem at all if they decided they wanted to just go to Seoul without doing so.


    ¡°Is it because they robbed the warehouse?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s okay to leave it alone. However, after listening to Seong-tae-ssi, he said that whenever they robbed the warehouse, they also create a mess while doing so. So, It¡¯s annoying to clean up.¡±


    ¡°It must be difficult though¡­ Do you have any plans?¡±


    I put a roughly drawn map on the folding table. It was a map that included the Gimhae Battalion, Bunseong Mountain, and the theme park located at the top.


    ¡°If you just clean this area, it will be much better for the time being.¡±


    ¡°But there are other monsters, aren¡¯t there? Like zombies or goblins.¡±


    ¡°There aren¡¯t that many zombies around here, and there would be only a few goblins here because they love the city more as they love to do weird things there. At least that was what was written on the walkthrough that the government scattered.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Seongho is right. It¡¯s clearly written.¡± Sooyeon put the walkthrough pamphlet next to the map. Lieutenant Hyun-woo looked at it and said to me,


    ¡°Are you saying that if we can just subdue some kobolds, the surroundings will be safer?¡±


    ¡°For the time being, that will be the case. This base was quite hidden, so it would be quite difficult for goblins to find this place. Moreover, they wouldn¡¯t roam around in this area as there would be nothing to eat if the kobolds were all dead.


    Simply put, when there¡¯s no organic matter in one area, there¡¯s no reason for monsters to exist in that specific area. In the case of goblins, they would prefer wandering a city¡¯s centerpoint when there¡¯s a lot to eat and loot rather than staying in an empty forest. However, unlike goblins, kobolds prefer forests. Therefore, as long as they were killed, the area around the battalion will be safer, at least for a while.


    When I look at Hyung-jun Hyung, I can see that he¡¯s not listening at all, as his eyes look blank, like he¡¯s busy thinking about something else. He is probably thinking about his daughter and ex-wife. Of course, it was impossible to expect the two of them to be alive. However, it seems like Hyung honestly wants to at least find their traces. But, since he feels responsible for his role as the leader of the gym group, he wouldn¡¯t be able to go. It looks like I need to help him, so he won¡¯t be distracted in the future and able to move on .


    ¡°Hyung, I can take a look at them for you. Can you tell me my sister-in-law¡¯s address?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Seongho? You wanted to check them for me?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll go look for them later.¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡­ The address is Angkor Apartment in Jangyu 2-dong.¡±


    ¡°The apartment complex there must¡¯ve collapsed, so if they were still alive, they would have evacuated.¡±


    ¡°There should be a studio complex and a shopping mall nearby. Can you look over there too?¡±


    ¡°Of course, Hyung.¡± It wouldn¡¯t be that difficult.


    Anyway, while we were chatting, Lieutenant Hyun-woo looked at the map several times before making his decision.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do as you said then, Seongho-ssi. I think I wouldn¡¯t feel relieved if I left this place still infested with kobolds while going to Seoul¡­¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll rest tonight, and we¡¯ll start making plans tomorrow morning.¡± Everyone agreed with my proposal. The kids¡­ no they were all adults, why am I copying Hyung-jun Hyung. Anyway, they probably had already fallen asleep by now. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter, we want them to rest anyway. The two soldiers, as well as Mikyung and Yoohyeon, must have been very tired because of their situation. Even though Sooyeon said she was fine, it didn¡¯t seem to be the truth as she kept rubbing her eyes, looking sleepy.


    Hyung-jun Hyung looked at me and envied me. ¡°As expected of someone in their late twenties, you¡¯re still fervent, even though it¡¯s this late. I envy that stamina, really.¡±


    At those words, Lieutenant Hyun-woo looked at me in surprise.


    ¡°huh? I¡¯m also in my late twenties. Our age is actually closer than I thought. I¡¯m 29, by the way.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m also 29. Then, should we drop the formalities?¡±


    He nodded at my suggestion.


    ¡°Of course, it will be more comfortable that way.¡±


    After that, we bring our bows and snacks, in order to prepare for the night duty. Unfortunately¡­ or maybe fortunately, the kobolds did not appear throughout the night.


    Then, the morning of the 8th dawned.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Sooyeon, Mikyung, and Yoohyeon will be in the support team. Do you know what your respectful role is? Sooyeon will be the medic, Mikyung will be the transport, and Yoohyeon will be the reconnaissance aircraft.¡± Seongho said as he pointed at them in order he called their name.


    ¡°Woah, it¡¯s Mercy! Mercy!¡± These were the words of Commander-in-chief Seong-tae after hearing about Sooyeon¡¯s role and unique ability. When Seongho asked about what he was talking about, he told him that ¡®Mercy¡¯ was a famous game character. (E/n: probably Mercy from Overwatch)


    At the revelation, Sooyeon made an ambiguous expression on her face. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be compared to a game character.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry. But you are very similar to her.¡±


    ¡°Is she pretty?¡±


    ¡°Very! The reason for her popularity was due to her beauty. But the downside is that she¡¯s a little older¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Private First Class Lim said and instantly got the attention of Sooyeon, who was older than most of us. However, he wasn¡¯t bothered by her gaze at all.


    ¡°If it were you, Hyung, you wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the attack of the kobolds. Just don¡¯t go over the direction the arrows are pouring towards.¡±


    ¡°So, I should stay away?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Dingo will move along with you and herd the kobolds towards us.¡±


    ¡°Okay. He¡¯s such a smart guy.¡± Hyung-jun Hyung said as he eyed Dingo who was laying on the ground.


    ¡°And this¡­¡± Hyung-jun¡¯s eyes widened as Seongho held out a long knife towards him.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a 300-point weapon? Are you borrowing it to me?¡±


    ¡°That is so. If you use this, the kobolds will be very easy to deal with.¡±


    Hyung-jun stared at the swords before gulping his saliva down. ¡°I was thinking of buying this too, but I was hesitant because I had to spend all of my points if I do so. But it seems like it was a really good weapon.¡±


    Anyway, Seongho had assigned the other three soldiers for a long range offensive role. The reason was simple, as it was their expertise as soldiers.


    To be honest, Seongho personally thought since the monster¡¯s nest which they would raid was nothing but a small scale one, they wouldn¡¯t need any plan to do it. Or at least, it was how it should be normally. However, as the opponents were kobolds, they had to be more careful. It was because those guys often called for reinforcement by making strange noises when they were cornered. There was no content regarding it in the walkthrough pamphlet, therefore Seongho had no choice but to personally explain it as well as the strategy to the group.


    ¡°All you have to do is hold on to your own position and attack! Team 2, if the kobolds run away, don¡¯t chase them! Team 1 or 3 will take care of it!¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The party left the battalion and headed for the mountain. Since they already found the nest by using Yoohyeon¡¯s paper airplane, all that was left was to go and attack it.


    When they moved closer to the nest, Dingo started to bark. The kobolds who heard it quickly ran out of their den and looked around. This will be the very first time the gym group ever saw kobolds. Wet fur because of morning dew, ferocious-looking teeth, and slumped posture. It was a very ugly looking monster. They¡¯re on a different level when compared with the ugly green-skinned goblins.


    Unlike goblins who use nets and traps, kobolds only use really primitive weapons such as spears and slingshots. However, they were still annoying little bastards because they have a habit of calling their kin when cornered. Moreover, they could run on all fours, which would make them very slippery and hard to track.


    ¡°That guy is running away!¡± When one of the soldiers shouted, Yoohyeon fired an arrow with a folded paper tied on it towards it. The arrow bent to avoid a tree before piercing the back of the running kobold like a guided missile. Then, a small explosion occurred. However, as the explosion came from the inside of its body, it was quite fatal. The kobold couldn¡¯t stand the explosion and fell forward, whimpering.


    Before it could run away, Seongho jumped to it and smashed its head with an ebony club.


    ¡°Phew. It¡¯s done! Let¡¯s rest for a while before moving to the next nest!¡± At his cry, Lieutenant Hyun-woo sat down and sighed.


    The raid, which had just finished, was already the second raid. Never in his wildest imagination Lieutenant Hyun-woo ever thought that hunting kobolds would be so easy. His eyes followed Seongho as the two soldiers began to speak, seemingly thought so as well.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you surprised, Commander-in-chief? He seems to have a lot of experience in fighting against kobolds.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I think so too. He seemed to know in advance where they were going to run.¡±


    Of course, it could only be nothing but coincidence. However, the direction he went to whenever some kobolds ran away, as well as his timings, were always impeccable. He guided people to take action by going back and forth between them and the front line. And when they did what he told them to, the battle proceeded easily. Moreover, whenever he told someone to retreat a few steps back, stones thrown by the kobolds fell right in front of them. When Lieutenant Hyun-woo asked how he did that, he said that he saw it in advance because of his unique ability.


    However, even though Seongho seemed to be doing a lot, the truth was he didn¡¯t even fight directly. He only went around with Sooyeon to help her get some experience. As a result, Sooyeon¡¯s level finally rose to 10.


    ¡°Oh. I¡¯m level 10 now.¡±


    ¡°What about the additional effects?¡± Seongho quickly asked.


    ¡°It increases the healing distance. Though, I don¡¯t think the range increase will be that far.¡± Sooyeon explained.


    ¡°I think you are really Mercy. Though, I don¡¯t know about her at all.¡±


    ¡°They say I look so similar to them when I take my glasses off. Should I tie my hair up too? To ponytail?¡±


    But Seongho just shrugged his shoulders at her question. After all, he didn¡¯t care much about her appearance. Before she knew it, he already approached Yoohyeon and told him that he did a good job while patting him on the shoulder. Sooyeon quikly shut her mouth and hid her embarrassment by tying her hair with a rubber band.


    After looking at the group, Seongho decided to end the hunt there. It was because the party¡¯s stamina consumption was too severe due to the fact they had to climb the mountain. Most of the nearby kobold nests had been cleared, so he judged that it should be fine for a while.


    The group went down the mountain in unison and headed to the base. However, when they arrived, they were reminded that it wasn¡¯t only kobolds who were taking the supplies without their consent.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Wow, I really wanted to slap them.¡±


    ¡°You did well for holding it in.¡± I said as I patted Hyung-jun Hyung on the back. What made him angry were none other than the nearby survivors. When we returned from the kobold subjugation, we saw them rummaging through the warehouse as soon as we entered the base.


    When the soldiers sighed at the sight, Hyung-jun Hyung was the one who threw them a question.


    ¡°What are you doing now?¡±


    ¡°Why are you asking that? Can¡¯t we be here?¡±


    ¡°This warehouse is public property prepared by the state. not yours.¡±


    The survivors argued that it was the property of the state and that they had the right to take whatever they want.


    Then, Lieutenant Hyun-woo said,


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take some every now and then? We already told you so, don¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Why should we listen though? It¡¯s up to us.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t be like that. Just do what you have to do. By the way, has the number of people here increased? Who are the two girls over there?¡±


    The survivors even tried to dig into the identity of Sooyeon and Mikyung. What annoying bastards. However, since Lieutenant Hyun-woo, the one who was in charge of this base was standing still, I couldn¡¯t just confront them.


    While they were talking to us, they still gathered as much supplies as they could.


    ¡°Let¡¯s live together. There are so many things here, you can¡¯t eat them all anyway.¡±


    ¡°Are you taking it and sharing it with the survivors around you? If so, you can take whatever you want.¡±


    The guys laughed out loud at Hyun-woo¡¯s words.


    ¡°What are you talking about? Sharing?¡±


    ¡°Lieutenant Kim is a nice person, huh?¡±


    It would have been fine if they just said they will share it with other survivors even though it¡¯s a lie. But the survivors brazenly denied it and walked away while laughing out loud. Their attitude was so pompous to the point Hyun-woo, who had always been calm, turned red.


    ¡°¡­I didn¡¯t hunt kobolds to see something like this.¡± Everyone agreed with Sooyeon¡¯s words, but there was nothing they could do. Afterall, It was true that there were many supplies piled inside. It was also true that we are not the owners of the supplies. You couldn¡¯t just drive some survivors out just because their attitude was annoying.


    When the two soldiers said they would take Lieutenant Hyun-woo to the dormitory, I quietly returned to the room.


    ¡°Looking at their attitude, they must have belonged somewhere¡­¡± After all, ordinary survivors had no reason to make enemies by acting cocky to another group, unless someone is backing them. It¡¯s even more true when the group had someone from the military. Which means, they must have been ordered by someone.


    Today was the 8th, the day the groups from Gimhae and Changwon, who were related to the Kwon¡¯s group, would give each other their regular report. When I opened the Auction House, a strange item was listed as an auction item.


    I opened Kwon¡¯s journal as I read the comment.


    ¨DCW5 C


    ¨DCW3 C


    ¡ªGH4 C


    ¨DGH2 ST AR


    ¡°The front was the branch name, and the back is their situation¡­ C means that nothing is wrong.¡± CW stands for Changwon and GH stands for Gimhae. Meanwhile, The ST and AR were shortened English words for ¡®Stranger¡¯ and ¡®Arrive¡¯ respectively. The stranger they reported was probably referring to us.


    ¡°It means GH2 was around the battalion.¡± It seems like the one behind those guys was this GH2 clan. Their real goal was probably to drive us out and take over the warehouse.


    Then, a comment suddenly appeared.


    ¨DBS11?


    ¨DBS11C


    As I typed the answer, no more questions came. Just like this, I just check the situation in each area. They were also quite meticulous as they periodically removed the auction items and put them up again to erase all traces of communication.


    When the auction items came up once again and several comments were written, I used points to check everyone¡¯s ID. At that moment, I discovered something surprising. The troll who was the source of all the commotion happened back in the awakened forum was here.


    -GaeTroll (Help Me): There¡¯s women among the strangers? Are they pretty?


    ¡°Aigoo.¡±


    He¡¯s the guy who scammed 10 million won from some awakeners and ran away.


    -GaeTroll (Help Me): Change of plan. Get the kids together tomorrow night. Try to find where the girls are sleeping.


    ¡°My god¡­¡±


    It seems that the rumour that Sooyeon and Mikyung were pretty has spread all the way there.


    At that moment, an idea popped out in my head. It was none other than the same ¡®offense is the best defense¡¯ strategy.


    When I left that auction item¡¯s comment section and browsed through the other auction items, I found out that Duck had arrived at Miryang.


    ¡°If it¡¯s Miryang¡­ it¡¯s not that far from here.¡±


    The comments also said that the whole area was crowded with survivors who flocked there because of her.


    -There were already two zombie raids here lol


    -Her body shape, posture and gesture is all perfect. She¡¯s like a real queen


    -Hey, you bastards, stop saying anything when you are only quaking on your boots because of her zombies!


    -LOLOL


    -But why is she in Miryang?


    -I don¡¯t know. She may have come to meet Rapwi.


    ¡°She¡¯s really popular.¡± By the way, the reason she came down to Miryang must have been to meet me. In fact, I was still hesitating whether to meet her or not.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I recalled my memories with Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek. He¡­ No, she mainly played with Rapwi, but it couldn¡¯t be said that we were not friendly to each other.


    ¡°She once said that she wanted to suck a werewolf¡­¡± At that time, I brushed it off as simple nonsense. But now that I think about it, why is a woman like her saying such vulgar things like that?


    ¡°Let¡¯s not think about it, let¡¯s not think¡­¡± Duck was also a stagnant water, so the more I think about it, the more I will suffer.


    Anyway, it seems like it would be better to meet her. Afterall, she was someone I shared many memories with.


    ¡°You came all the way here to see me, shouldn¡¯t I at least offer her some hospitality?¡±


    I decided. Let¡¯s meet her and have a talk.

 Chapter 65

    The next day, the survivors returned once again and rummaged through the warehouse. They were even pompous enough to laugh out loud while doing so.


    Hyung-jun Hyung and Lieutenant Hyun-woo did not come out from their lodgings to see them, saying that seeing them would only cause their blood pressure to rise. So I was the one who watched them take the supplies. I looked at them indifferently, not overly friendly nor angry, while they were shamelessly taking the supplies.


    Seeing me that way, a smile came to their lips.


    ¡°We¡¯re asking you to survive together, so let¡¯s work together.¡±


    ¡°Lieutenant Kim was a really nice person, but how come that ahjussi is like that?¡±


    ¡­If he had been here, he might have punched that guy with his fist.


    I sent them off with the utmost patience. But there was nothing I could do about the heat rising inside my body.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be able to do this nonsense again. I¡¯ll make sure of it¡± Afterall, the moment they took those supplies, my plan was already in motion. In one of the boxes they took, there was a paper doll of Yoohyeon. Once I knew their location, I would immediately move. I¡¯ll teach them that once they get the attention of a bastard like me, they would only be able to sleep with one of their eyes peeled open.


    When I got to the dorm, Yoohyeon ran up to me. ¡°Hyung, what are we going to do with them?¡±


    ¡°First, we have to find out where they live.¡±


    ¡°After that?¡±


    ¡°I just want to know about it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, just like before¡­¡±


    ¡°Like before?¡±


    Yoohyeon turned his head and didn¡¯t say anything more. Only an idiot wouldn¡¯t come to a conclusion after being given so many pieces to put together. However, people also know that it¡¯s easier to pretend not to know rather than confronting something they didn¡¯t want to.


    Yoohyeon groaned. ¡°Sometimes, I-I¡¯m afraid¡­ that Hyung will become our enemy¡­ at the kobold raid too¡­ Hyung is a person on a different level from us¡­¡±


    ¡°Unless you betrayed me first, that will never happen.¡± I said so while patting him in the back.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I was someone who was not that smart and had quite a dirty personality, but I won¡¯t abandon people I know if I could help them.¡±


    ¡°¡­by any chance, the supplies that you found when we arrived at the one-room building neighbourhood¡­¡±


    ¡°It was originally there, isn¡¯t it?¡± When I smiled, Yoohyeon laughed awkwardly. That¡¯s right, If you act like a fool in moderation, everyone becomes comfortable.


    After I finished packing up, Yoohyeon said, ¡°I think they have arrived.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell me anything about the location? Any landmarks or something similar?¡±


    ¡°School¡­ I can see schools. There are three of them side by side¡­¡±


    ¡°It should be Saman-dong¡­¡± I marked their locations on the map. Now it¡¯s my turn to act. ¡°Just in case, change the location of the women¡¯s dormitory before night falls. got it?¡±


    ¡°Is there something wrong, Hyung?¡±


    ¡°They kept looking at Sooyeon and Mikyung with disgusting eyes yesterday. We couldn¡¯t be sure what they would try to do with them.¡±


    ¡°Yes Yes.¡±


    ¡°If people ask you about me, just tell them that I went out for a brief reconnaissance, okay?¡± Yoohyeon nodded his head eagerly. I went outside and called Dingo who was playing in the training ground.


    Let¡¯s go hunt some assholes.


    .


    .


    .


    The hideout of the guys who come to the base and make a fuss was in a villa in front of a school. I stayed in a building nearby for a while and watched them come and go.


    ¡°Three people¡­¡±


    They were diligently killing the zombies around them to avoid having many zombies around their hideout. And since they were all men, the possibility that they were interested in Sooyeon and Mikyung was quite high.


    Yoohyeon¡¯s paper airplane suddenly flew in through the window.


    -The entrance could only be open from the inside, so it will be difficult for Hyung to enter through there.


    They put quite a lot of thought into security, huh?


    Which means, including the person who was responsible to open the door from the inside, there were four people in total. I expressed my intentions by tapping the paper airplane. After the paper plane flew, I looked through the binoculars at their villa. A man was peering out through the window. I need to get him out so I can get in.


    ¡°What is a good bait to lure him out, I wonder¡­¡± It seems like I would need more time before deciding. I sat on one corner of the building and observed the villa. After some time had passed, the guy inside the villa peered through the window again.


    Hmm, once every 30 minutes?


    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t be able to hold himself back if he saw delicious monsters passing by while looking out.¡± In this case, golden goblins would be that delicious monster. Because it carried a large pouch with them, most survivors were aware of its existence. However, it was difficult to find one roaming around alone because they often hung around hobgoblins.


    ¡°How many paralysis poisons I currently have?¡± I used up all of them to attack the bunker, and I didn¡¯t get that much from harvesting the available frogs. I also couldn¡¯t keep touching the poison frogs to get them to produce the paralysis poison quickly, because by doing so, it would make them stressed out and they would eventually die.


    ¡°It¡¯s enough for two shots.¡± Moreover, this time the target would be goblins, not humans, so it would be easier. After deciding, I left the building and roamed the area. After some time, I finally found 3 ugly green-skinned bastards wandering in one alley. I quickly made my move, killing 2 others while paralyzing the other one. Now, it¡¯s time to disguise the still living one as a golden goblin.


    ¡°I mean, these guys are very greedy.¡± Even if their pouch was still tied to them, if they found other things and liked it, they would take it. Moderately stupid and moderately greedy, they were the perfect monster to be used in this circumstance.


    ¡°Just give them one big pouch and that¡¯s it.¡± They would turn into a golden goblin. I tied a pouch full of junk to the neck of the paralzyed goblin¡¯s neck and left. After waiting for a while, the guy squirmed.


    ¡°The paralyze duration is similar to that of a human.¡± Maybe size didn¡¯t matter for the poison.


    Anyway, the guy wriggled then jumped up and touched his pocket.


    Kik!


    The guy panicked, but once he realized the pouch was still there and even got a bigger pouch, it calmed down. Hey goblin friend. Isn¡¯t there something better to get you out of the alley? Sure enough, the goblin was lured out of the alley by some of the candy I had thrown away.


    ¡°It¡¯s time¡­¡± The time was approaching for the man inside the hideout to look out. Though, there was a margin of error of about 1 or 2 minutes. But he should look out around this time.


    As if he had heard my words, he opened the window and looked out. ¡°Huh? A single golden goblin. Do you want to be killed that much?¡±


    The guy looked around and opened the window fully before firing an arrow. His first shot was a miss, but the second shot successfully pierced the back of the goblin. He cheered silently and disappeared from the window.


    Now it¡¯s my turn to enter. I watched the entrance to the villa. However, when the door opened, no one walked out, and only sounds of footsteps could be heard. It seems like he had a stealth-type skill. After the sound had completely disappeared, I rushed towards the open door and climbed to the second floor.


    ¡°¡­¡± There must be a gathering place somewhere¡­ Here it is. I opened the portal in the wall next to the window and entered. The portal was transparent and it was stuck to the wall, so they wouldn¡¯t notice anything strange even if they moved closer and tried to touch it. After a while, the man who left to loot the fake golden goblin came up while grumbling.


    ¡°What the fuck¡­ Why did a golden goblin only have nothing but junk?¡± Well, that¡¯s because that goblin was not the real golden goblin.


    I smirked as I waited for the rest of the group to come back.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Is it because it¡¯s an apocalypse?¡± Or did they really don¡¯t have anything better to do?


    The men who returned before the night became late instantly talked about adult topics. The subjects were, of course, Sooyeon and Mikyung.


    ¡°Before that happens, I will take care of it.¡± But only after getting useful information. At the very least, I had to know where Help Me, Kim Hyojong was.


    Then at dinner time. They finally started talking.


    ¡°A while ago, a person came from Klejang¡­ he said Klejang hyung was going directly.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s only natural since those girls have such sexy bodies. Though, It will take some time before he arrives.¡±


    ¡°I should have said they were pretty in moderation, but since I said they were so pretty, he decided to come directly. Sigh¡­¡±


    ¡°Should we move and get our hands on them first?¡±


    ¡°If you do that, they will run! So do it in moderation, you bastard.¡±


    They laughed as if it was funny. I waited longer and found the hideout of a guy named Klejang. It¡¯s near Naeoe-dong Park. I think I would have to go there next.


    By the way¡­


    ¡°These guys need to die here.¡± I pulled out a plastic whistle, pushed it slightly out of the portal, enough to let the sound echo and blew it.


    Fwiiiii-!!


    Their conversation stopped. A man came into the living room and looked around.


    ¡°What is that whistle sound just now?¡±


    ¡°No one was blowing a whistle.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I was asking you, you bastard! What did you do during the day? What did you do when you were stuck at home?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t do anything! I¡¯m just watching the house¡­¡±


    He did go out to loot a golden goblin, but if he said that, he would definitely get beaten.


    ¡°Then who the fuck blew it? Hey, search everywhere. Look at the ceiling, bathroom, everywhere!¡±


    The four men left the room and began to search the house. When they left, I left the portal and pulled back the blackout curtains on the windows before setting fireworks on fire.


    puff puff puff!


    Brilliant fireworks lit up in the room. It¡¯s getting dark, so it would be easily seen from the outside.


    The men jumped in fright and started to panic.


    ¡°What the fuck is this!¡±


    ¡°Turn it off! Turn it off quickly!¡±


    While they were making a ruckus, I quietly threw a few pepper bombs. The room was so noisy with flames and smoke to the point they wouldn¡¯t even know what was coming to them even if it made a sound.


    ¡°Oh fuck!¡±


    The guys, who were frowned at first, grabbed their noses and started coughing. Even a werewolf was knocked down because of that pepper bomb, so naturally ordinary humans wouldn¡¯t be strong enough to stand it. All four men collapsed to the ground. One of them screamed, scorched by the flames.


    ¡°OUCH HOT!!!¡±


    ¡°Shhh¡­ Don¡¯t be noisy you bastard¡­ Cough Cough!¡± The more they breathe, the more they open their mouth, the more it will sting. I know it very well because I had suffered because of it too.


    Papapapa!


    Because the villa was quite noisy with the combination of all the screams, flames and smoke, there would be no monsters who wouldn¡¯t notice. After a while, the entrance to the villa became quite noisy and zombies came up the stairs.


    Growl-!! Growl-!!


    Even though the power of the zombies were much weaker than back in the game, and even though they were still not as strong as ghoul, they were still quite powerful nonetheless. The horde banged the door and seconds later, a loud thud could be heard.


    ¡°Zo-zombies!¡±


    ¡°Growl!¡±


    The four men knew it was dangerous, but they couldn¡¯t help it as they couldn¡¯t move properly. I threw one remaining chili bomb at the entrance and then closed the portal. Even if they run through the window to avoid zombies, they would definitely encounter a group of goblins. It was almost impossible to avoid their paralyzing darts by running away alone.


    I patted Dingo¡¯s stomach as I sat down and waited. After about 10 minutes, I opened the portal. The commotion outside was already over. In the midst of thick smoke, two corpses were lying on the ground in a miserable state. All their food supplies were also eaten by the zombies.


    ¡°Did the two other run away?¡± By the looks of things, It seems like they ran away through the window. Since their stats should be quite high, jumping from such height wouldn¡¯t be a big deal.


    When I looked outside through the window, I could see some goblins dragging someone in the distance. Judging by his attire, he was a man from this group. He must have jumped off the second floor and got caught by the goblins.


    ¡°Where did the other one go?¡± As I said that, I saw the man in one of the alleys across the villa. Because I couldn¡¯t see his body clearly, it looks like that man was the one who had stealth ability. He didn¡¯t even think of attacking me even though he saw me, and he quietly disappeared.


    If I let him be, things will be dangerous. Therefore, I activated Life Tracking and Fighting Instinct, and my vision was dyed red. There¡¯s no use in hiding. The Stigma of Death will find you.


    I lightly kicked the floor.


    .


    .


    .


    Lately, Kim Hyojong didn¡¯t know how to wipe the smile off his lips. It was due to the fact that finally, a chance of him getting some lovers finally came. It was something which Kim Hyojong had always thought after Kwon from Busan boasted that he had two lovers.


    ¡®I just have to go and get them.¡¯ According to information from another branch, two women came to the Gimhae Battalion. Both of them were so beautiful that the informants were surprised to see. They said that their body was so drool-inducing.


    It¡¯s not like his clan didn¡¯t have women at all, but Hyojong didn¡¯t like them at all, as he wanted to have his own personal girlfriends. Afterall, he¡¯s none other than the clan leader.


    There was no need to worry about those who occupied the Gimhae Battalion. Afterall, even though the guys from other branches often quarrelled against them and took their things without any concerns, they didn¡¯t react at all.


    ¡®They are pushovers.¡¯ His groups would take all of their goods and women and all that¡¯s left for them was for them to die. Up until now, Hyojong has been living a life while finding pleasure in other¡¯s pain. In real life, he was the head of an internet phishing group, and in Survival Life, he formed a clan and slaughtered newbies.


    Back when the internet was raging because of the apocalypse, he stole tens of millions of won using the video he had made as bait, which still makes him happy when he thinks about it now. Of course, his current subordinates did not know about it. Afterall, in the whole world, no one likes scammers, moreover having them as their leader.


    When Hyojong stood up, one of his men entered the villa.


    ¡°Brother, some bastard shot this arrow at us.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Puzzled, he saw a letter tied to the arrow.


    -Show it to the boss.


    When he saw what was written on top of it, he felt wary about what might the shooter put in the letter, so Hyojong turned his back and opened it with chopsticks. However, to his surprise, the most dangerous thing was not the arrow, nor was the inside of the letter, but what was written inside.


    -Help Me, Kim Hyojong, scammer. I know what you did.


    ¡°¡­¡± Hyojong hastily covered the letter with his hand.


    How the hell did this bastard know my ID and name?


    Did someone else see this?


    He hurriedly looked through the folds of the letter. He could see some folds were overlapping as if it had already unfolded before. Hyojong¡¯s voice naturally lowered.


    ¡°Have you seen the content?¡±


    ¡°Sorry? No, I didn¡¯t see it.¡±


    However, even after hearing his subordinates¡¯ answer, he couldn¡¯t believe him. To everyone in his group and the others, he was known as Park Ho-jun. The name Kim Hyojong was so well known to the awakened community that he was forced to use a fake name.


    If this is known¡­


    His heart pound¡­


    Hyojong began to doubt his subordinates.

 Chapter 66

    Once someone fell in doubt, it wouldn¡¯t disappear easily. Especially so if that someone was cornered.


    Kim Hyojong could not breathe properly. His mind was flirting with the idea that his subordinates had already read the letter and knew who he really was. The incident in which Kim Hyojong scammed some people in the awakened community by using a video as bait was quite famous. Even within the clan, there are some people who knew about it and had expressed their hate towards it.


    If it were only that, there was room for consideration, but if his ID was known, it would be the end. After all, there were only very few people who have played Survival Life and had never got their character deleted because of some trolls. In this case, he was one of those trolls, who hunted newbies specifically.


    ¡°Anything¡¯s wrong, Hyung-nim?¡± Even when his subordinates asked, Hyojong did not answer. His mouth was dry and cold sweat dripped down all over his body. In the end, Hyojong decided. It doesn¡¯t matter whether they knew or not. He needed a way to get out of this situation right away.


    ¡®I can use this situation in reverse.¡¯ In other words, he would just blame all of this on the bastard who shot the arrow. Because he just shot the arrow, he should still be close in this area, right? He could find him by tracking the trace he left behind. He¡¯s probably watching this from the outside right now. He¡¯d love to see him panic because all his plans crumble.


    ¡°Offense is the best defense¡­¡± If he just killed him, things would return to normal. However, first of all, it was necessary to check whether the subordinates saw it or not.


    Hyojong immediately tore the letter to shreds.


    ¡°It¡¯s that bastard¡¯s doing.¡±


    ¡°Sorry? Who?¡±


    ¡°That bastard! The guy who won first place in the speedrun event!¡±


    ¡°You mean Gimbap? Are you saying that he was here?¡±


    It looks like the guy in front of him really didn¡¯t look at it because his eyes were wide open and asked some questions about what Hyojong had just said. But there was no guarantee that the guy who shot the arrow had only fired a single arrow.


    Unsurprisingly, one of his subordinates came to his room with a letter in his hands.


    ¡°Hyung-nim, what is this? I think I need an explanation.¡±


    ¡°What explanation?¡±


    ¡°This letter says that Hyung-nim¡¯s name was Kim Hyojong. Help Me? Isn¡¯t that the ID of the person who scammed people in the community? What does it have to do with you, Hyung-nim?¡±


    ¡°What nonsense are you saying¡­¡± Hyojong said and glared at his subordinates. ¡°You bastard, you believe in that letter? Do you believe in the words of someone you¡¯ve never met rather than mine? Are you kidding me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying it because there was a time when Hyung-nim didn¡¯t answer when I called your name! Hyojong and Hojun were similar names¡­¡±


    Hyojong cursed himself. Apparently, there were a few times that he didn¡¯t answer when people called him Hojun. Well, it¡¯s only natural since he wasn¡¯t really familiar with it. Well, let¡¯s leave it like that now.


    Hyojong acted like he was in shock. ¡°Hey, I Love Gimbap, that bastard is causing internal strife within us, and I am also going crazy because he is so openly about it! And you guys just swallowed his whole shit just like that!¡±


    ¡°I Love Gimbap?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, that bastard! Do you think that bastard only sent letters to you? He sent it to me too, look at this!¡±


    As he exaggeratedly stepped on the piece of letter he had shred on the floor, his subordinate¡¯s momentum softened slightly. Before his subordinates could become angry once again, Hyojong urged the two of them.


    ¡°Get out and get that bastard. He¡¯s definitely still nearby. Let¡¯s catch him!¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ yes!¡±


    ¡°Just in case, you guys don¡¯t know, that bastard, I Love Gimbap seems to have creation-type unique ability so be careful not to get caught by it, okay?¡±


    ¡°Yes, understood.¡± Both of them answered, even though one of them still found him suspicious and left the room.


    Hyojong let out a sigh of relief. But he knew that it wouldn¡¯t end here.


    ¡®I have to catch that bastard and kill him.¡¯


    It doesn¡¯t matter whether he¡¯s truly Gimbap or not. He could just pretend that it¡¯s a mistake and kill him to cover it up.


    Meanwhile, Choi Dajeong, who was traveling south, finally arrived in Gimhae.


    .


    .


    .


    Choi Dajeong arrived in Gimhae with Lee Kyunghoon and Kim Bora in tow. The two had given her some good information while guiding her.


    In particular, a man that they said had briefly acted together with their group in Busan, caught her attention.


    ¡®It¡¯s a man called Kang Seongho. He¡¯s tall¡­ and he said that his ability is some kind of foresight, but it didn¡¯t seem to be true.¡¯


    ¡®His knowledge about monsters was also very deep. We benefited from it a lot. If it wasn¡¯t for that incident, we¡¯d still be together until now.¡¯


    When Dajeong asked what the incident was, Kyunghoon said he and the man had a confrontation.


    ¡®Now that I think about it, I was wrong about a lot of things, while almost everything he said was correct. Things like monster¡¯s habits and countermeasures.¡¯


    ¡®Did he tell you whether he had ever played the game or not?¡¯


    ¡®Uh¡­ He said he just watched the video from I Love Gimbap¡¯s MyTube.¡¯


    ¡®Oh¡­¡¯


    Choi Dajeong smirked. It smells fishy. When She poked around more, she was finally able to get some more convincing information.


    ¡®He wasn¡¯t originally a member of the gym, and he had a snack bar¡­¡¯


    Dajeong clenched her fist at that information. She finally found him. Combining the elements of ¡®live in Busan¡¯, ¡®has a snack bar¡¯, and ¡®his knowledge of monsters¡¯, the man they were talking about is absolutely I Love Gimbap.


    Kyunghoon and Bora asked.


    ¡®Is he perhaps someone you know?¡¯


    She dismissed their question and quickly asked whether they knew where the man was now. Unfortunately, both of them didn¡¯t know. However, they knew that it must be towards the west of Busan, either Gimhae or Changwon.


    Well, she could take her time to find him anyway, so she didn¡¯t worry much. Afterall, he wouldn¡¯t go all the way to Jeollanam-do.


    Dajeong made an offer to both of them.


    ¡®I¡¯m going to Gimhae, how about you? Do you want to accompany me?¡¯


    The two quickly agreed, as it was a no-brainer offer. Dajeong could ensure their safety, so it was a win-win situation for them. However, if there were things that bothered Kyunghoon, it was the other survivors who followed Dajeong.


    Occasionally, there was bickering rather than an argument between them and Dajeong.


    ¡®Queen, why are you wearing white high heels today?¡¯


    ¡®Yeah! Red high heels are way sexier!¡¯


    After hearing such words, Dajeong raised her middle finger to them.


    ¡®Should I dye it red with your blood?¡¯


    Of course, that didn¡¯t actually happen.


    As they arrived on the national road, the number of people following her had drastically decreased. Apparently, it was because moving between cities in the apocalypse was burdensome. The few who followed to the end all fell behind when her subordinate zombies speeded up. Thanks to that, the three were able to arrive in Bukbu-dong, Gimhae without any problems.


    ¡°We should part here.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± Kyunghoon said. It seems like Dajeong would start to look for him here. Both him and Bora wondered if Seongho was really the one the Zombie Queen was looking for. He¡¯s definitely hiding something, but he doesn¡¯t seem like such a great person to garner the attention of the Zombie Queen.


    Dajeong gave them a reward as promised. They were weapons that he wanted to buy at the store, but couldn¡¯t do so because he didn¡¯t have enough points. After receiving it, the two of them went their separate ways.


    Meanwhile, Dajeong slowly descended south and found some survivors. However, they didn¡¯t even bother trying to get close to her. The reason was, naturally, the dazzling appearance of Dajeong.


    When someone lived in an apocalypse like this, it was not easy to invest in their appearance. The reason was simply because there¡¯s no reason to waste their time doing so. Therefore, naturally, the faces of the female survivors changed to resemble those of men. They didn¡¯t wear any make-up, their skin darkened and they all cut off their hair because it was too cumbersome to manage long hair and it can get tangled among the rubbles or even their own weapons, which made the only difference between them and men was their physical difference.


    Among those females, Dajeong¡¯s appearance was one-of-a-kind. She had always been protected by zombies, so she had a lot of leisure, and that was reflected in her appearance. The distinctive dress and high heels were also elements that stimulated the gloomy survivors. But they didn¡¯t dare to come forward to her.


    It was all due to the fact that a rumour about her had circulated among the survivors. It said that the Zombie Queen had captured some men and made her zombies humiliated them. So all survivors who saw her thought, what if they tried to come closer to her, and by accident, provoked her? It would be a disaster.


    However, thanks to that, Dajeong was able to go south without any hindrance. But she also realized that it won¡¯t be easy to get cooperation from the survivors here because of the same reason.


    ¡°Catch two from any of them.¡± Dajeong said. About 10 zombies dispersed quickly. Several minutes later, the zombies return to the side of their queen with two people on their arms, trembling. Dajeong, who was wearing a Chinese dress, placed her feet between their legs.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, because they won¡¯t hurt you. There is something I want to ask you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes¡­¡±


    ¡°Did you ever see a tall man walking around with a dog around this area?¡±


    The two looked at each other and shook their heads.


    ¡°There is no such suspicious man around here.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. We knew this area well because this place is our homebase.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Have you ever heard rumours about such a person?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so¡­ Though, I heard a loud noise from down the road.¡±


    ¡°We sent some of our people to fight.¡±


    ¡°Fight? Do you know the details of whom they are fighting with?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s our internal business, so¡­¡±


    Dajeong smiled at both of them as one of them said that.


    ¡°If you just told me, then close your mouth right after, it means you didn¡¯t tell anyone, right?¡± While doing so, Dajeong¡¯s feet inching closer to the men¡¯s groin. Normally, by this point they would throw curses to her and flaunt about their clan. But the two didn¡¯t do anything but try to close their legs. Afterall, they didn¡¯t want their dick to be hurt in this apocalypse when they didn¡¯t even know when they would be able to use it!


    ¡°No, I will tell you! I will tell you!¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Even while the three of them were busy doing this, Dajeong¡¯s zombies were dealing with the monsters in the surroundings.


    Just how many points did she have? The two men had this thought on their minds, clearly envious of her capability.


    ¡°They were fighting against I Love Gimbap.¡±


    ¡°But there is no reason why I Love Gimbap should be here, right?¡± Dajeong said. However, in her mind, she didn¡¯t really ask for confirmation. It doesn¡¯t matter whether it¡¯s true or not, because it means that someone had done something that could be mistaken for the act of Gimbap.


    Dajeong smiled sullenly. ¡°If it is false, I will come back here. You know what will happen then, right?¡±


    As soon as Dajeong snapped her fingers, the zombie began to gather and made a hip thrusting motion. As the two of them nodded frantically, Dajeong smiled and walked away.


    According to Kyunghoon and Bora, the man was tall and big. His face was expressionless and his hairstyle was a sports cut. In case the man brings his dog along, then it¡¯s confirmed.


    Dajeong had come this far to meet him. At first, the reason was because she was bored, but now it has changed a bit. She wanted to meet someone with whom she could share her story with. The only ones who deserved it were only the stagnant waters who shared the same memories with her.


    It¡¯s been a month since Rapwi and her promised to meet, but there¡¯s no news from him yet. Moreover, there was still no news on whether Survivor 1 was alive or dead. All that¡¯s left is one, I Love Gimbap.


    ¡°I won¡¯t miss him this time! Boys Generation, GO!!!!¡±


    The zombies, who are too strong for their moniker ¡®Boys¡¯, supported her body as they trudged forward.


    .


    .


    .


    In the early evening, a fight broke out between the survivors in the residential area. At first, it was a passive fight where they only fired some arrows from a distance. However, it then changed when one side got reinforcement and began to pressure the other side in earnest.


    Seongho, who had been facing them alone, had no choice but to retreat for a while.


    ¡®It seems like they are desperate to drive me into a corner.¡¯ However, Seongho had no intention of avoiding a fight even the slightest, He just wanted to get rid of anyone who he had marked as ¡®evil¡¯.


    ¡®Other people hunt monsters, but here I am, killing humans.¡¯ Seongho sighed as he found himself acting like a man-hunter. Even so, he didn¡¯t have any thought to stop this fight. If he had left them alone, something very messy and cruel would have happened. At the very least, Sooyeon and Mikyung would be dragged away by them and subjected to all sorts of things.


    ¡®You shouldn¡¯t have touched them.¡¯ However, even if they kneel and regret, It¡¯s already too late. All that Seongho could give them was quick death and utter ruin.


    He made up his mind to come out of the portal and hid in a place where there were many clan members. Thanks to his high perception stats and his various skills, he could roughly know where and how many people were there.


    As soon as he hides, however, he hears a scream.


    ¡°It¡¯s zombies!¡±


    ¡°Fuck! I saw that bastard here just now!¡±


    The zombie raid has begun. The clan members ran away while swearing, and Seongho quietly hid in the portal. After going back and forth a few times, the clan members had become quite tired.


    ¡°Ask Klejang Hyung how long we have to do this!¡±


    ¡°Where the hell is that bastard hiding?¡±


    At first, the clan members felt refreshed as they could finally go crazy. However, when they couldn¡¯t get any results after several hours of running around like an idiot, they started to become agitated. Afterall, their enemy wasn¡¯t that many, it was only one person.


    Seeing the fleeing clan members, Seongho threw a pepper bomb and threw the emeras throwing knife towards one of the running clan members, which hit him in the thigh.


    ¡°Keuk!¡±


    ¡°Wha- Hey! Can you move?! Just pull it out!¡±


    ¡°What the fuck are you doing?! Run! Leave him be!¡±


    ¡°Kaaak!¡±


    As expected, the one that got hit on the thigh died, eaten by the zombies. They¡¯re only dealing with one person, but they were the one who got hit instead. Turning around and attacking was useless. I Love Gimbap was able to get out of their attack zone with ease, as if he knew all their unique abilities in advance.


    When such a commotion occurs, a zombie raid was to be expected. The clan members desperately ran away and gasped, but I Love Kimbap reappeared without any wounds. It was crazy how many times it was repeated, he¡¯s still safe and sound.


    ¡°How did that bastard didn¡¯t look exhausted at all?¡±


    Meanwhile, Kim Hyojong was quietly watching his clan members fight.


    ¡®I thought his unique ability was a creation-type¡­¡¯ However, he didn¡¯t think so anymore because he can¡¯t see him using his skill, or him fighting at all. It wasn¡¯t a blink-type or stealth-type either, but it seemed to be able to hide his existence completely.


    Does his unique ability perhaps have something to do with space? But what was certain is that it was difficult to deal with him only with his subordinates alone. He had sent 10 people to fight against him, but one had already died and the rest had lost their will to fight.


    ¡®I¡¯ll have to go in directly.¡¯ His unique skill was his voice. It was quite a strong ability and could inflict various effects to whoever heard it. Hence, it was not easy for people who heard it for the first time to respond to it. It was really funny to have such a unique ability when he¡¯s originally an internet scammer.


    ¡°Hey, there! stop!¡±


    Hyojong¡¯s voice gave strength to his voice, and Seongho¡¯s body stopped right away. He panicked for a moment, but then managed to snap out of it by mustering all strength in his body. But then, an arrow flew to where he was.


    ¡®Damn it.¡¯ Seongho cursed. It¡¯s a very strange ability to have the power on their voice. Seongho thought, maybe ¡®stop¡¯ was the starting word, what should he do¡­ It didn¡¯t seem like it would do much justice even if he used some earplugs. Because, since he must¡¯ve reached level 15, his additional effects should nullify that.


    If so, then for now it was best for him to figure out the exact effect of his additional effect as well as reduce the number of his subordinates.


    Seongho screamed as he ran away from him. ¡°Kim Hyojong is a scammer!


    ¡°His unique skill was derived from the fact that he¡¯s an internet scammer! He uses his scamming skills by calling people and telling them lies!¡±


    ¡°You guys knew he had already scammed an awakened, and yet you guys are still serving such a bastard!¡±


    Hearing that cry, the clan members murmured.


    ¡°Hyung¡¯s name is Kim Hyojong? Isn¡¯t it Park Hojun?¡±


    ¡°There were times when he didn¡¯t respond when I called him ¡®Hojun Hyung¡¯.¡±


    ¡°If that is so, then maybe¡­¡±


    Hearing these words from one of their members, who already had doubts, was very disturbing. If what that bastard said was right, then they¡¯re utterly foolish. As the clan members started to hesitate to attack, Kim Hyojong became desperate.


    Even alone, he had to kill that guy quickly and rectify the situation. If he makes a mistake, the clan members might attack him. He jumped into the sky and shouted, ¡°Fly!¡±


    ¡®Hehe, you must be surprised because I can fly.¡¯ At first glance, it might look similar to the levitation skill, but it had a time limit. Also, there¡¯s another disadvantage. If the other person, who was affected with his skill before, resists even the slightest, the effect would be gone.


    He came down without attacking and carefully went to Seongho¡¯s back. He also had to avoid monsters, so it was a really long journey. But when he arrived at where Seongho was supposed to be, he was no longer there. Hyojong hurriedly looked for him, but he couldn¡¯t be seen anywhere. It was as if he had disappeared into thin air.


    ¡°Where did that bastard go?¡± He murmured. From the looks of things, it seems like he had hidden himself in a subspace. He hurriedly left the area. But soon, he found someone. It was a woman who wore such absurd attire in this apocalyptic world. White Chinese dress and high heels. There¡¯s only one person who roams through the apocalyptic world in such absurd attire: Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek.


    ¡®Don¡¯t tell me¡­ is she here to find I Love Gimbap?¡¯ Hyojong smiled awkwardly and stepped back. It was better for him to run from her rather than to attack and worsen the situation. However, unfortunately for him, Duck raised her arms and posed like a model.


    ¡°Take him, Boys Generation!¡±


    Her zombies quickly ran at him. Hyojong¡¯s eyes went wide at the spectacle. However, because of his moment of indecisiveness, he was too late to respond. When he shouted fly again and slowly flew to the air, the zombies had built a tower in an instant and managed to grab Hyojong¡¯s ankle.


    ¡°Kuahkkk!¡± He shouted as he was dragged back to the ground. Then seconds later, the sound of high-heels stepping the ground entered his ears. When he looked at the source, The woman was walking towards him while receiving a long knife from one of her zombies.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you the one who is fighting against I Love Gimbap?¡±


    ¡°Oh no! I¡¯m just saying it was him! I really don¡¯t know who he truly is!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®no¡¯?¡±


    Someone¡¯s voice could be heard by both of them from behind. Dajeong then looked back slowly. A man with tall stature and quite a muscular body entered her view. He was also a man with an expressionless face and with sports cut hair. He had a backpack as well as a bow on his back and a long knife in his hand. He looks exactly like the man Kyunghoon and Bora described, minus the dog.


    That instant, Dajeong swung the long knife in her hand. Hyojong, who was struggling to break free moments ago, became quiet.


    At that sight, Seongho was perplexed. ¡®She just killed someone like that?¡¯


    After Daejong flicked the blood on the long knife, she slowly took off her high heels. Meanwhile, Seongho unknowingly took one step away from her. He still had the thought of meeting her, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little scared since she actually turned out to be more insane than he had imagined. Her Chinese dress and white high heels was one of the reasons, the other one was the fact that she commited murder without batting an eye.


    ¡°This is our first time meeting each other, right?¡± Daeong tilted her head and smiled.


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­¡± She used informal speech from the get-go, huh?


    Looking at her, Seongho thought that he could understand why her ID was Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek.


    In any case, she was just like Rapwi¡ªhad a few screws loose. Hence, when he saw her approaching him, he couldn¡¯t help but feel that she¡¯s trying to catch him.


    ¡°Hey! Why are you moving away from me?¡±


    ¡°Because you moved towards me first!¡±


    ¡°What! I even killed him for you!¡±


    ¡°Thank you for that! But let¡¯s talk with some distance between us!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to! You¡¯ll just run away again if we do that! Boys Generation! GOOOO!¡±


    ¡°You crazy! Are you calling your zombies ¡®Boys Generation¡¯? Are you sane?¡±


    As the zombies rushed in, Seongho was startled and started to run away.


    Meanwhile, Dajeong followed him and smiled happily.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since we did this! SEXXXXXXX!¡±

 Chapter 67

    I guess I¡¯m probably screwed. Anyone who is being hanged upside down from a tree would think so. Especially when there¡¯s about 30 zombies circling around me below. Dajeong, who was sitting on the zombie chair, suddenly stood up and took her pants and panties down.


    The queen then sits again on the zombie chair and looks at me.


    If you cross your legs like that, your pelvis will be twisted.


    ¡°Are you going to run away again or not?¡±


    ¡°Hey¡­ this is already the 10th time you¡¯re asking.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to run away again?¡± She repeated the question like a parrot.


    I couldn¡¯t help but answer with a sigh, ¡°I won¡¯t run away.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Really. Real. Hontou. promise.¡±


    ¡°Great.¡± Dajeong then cut the rope and freed me. Thanks to that, I finally could sit on the floor.


    ¡°Huh¡­ now I can finally say it. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you too. In the game, we not only meet often, but almost every day.¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I didn¡¯t know you were such a person. I also never thought you were a woman.¡±


    Dajeong¡¯s eyes opened wide at my words.


    ¡°Really? I used to often think that I Love Gimbap would look like this. When I look at the way you normally talk, I can imagine your appearance.¡±


    ¡°What about Rapwi?¡±


    ¡°That guy is chaos itself, so imagination is meaningless.¡±


    Well, both of you were similar. If Rapwi was 100% chaos, then you¡¯re about 90%. You might think that the difference wasn¡¯t that much, but from my point of view, there¡¯s a stark difference between the two.


    By the way, it¡¯s amazing in many ways. We didn¡¯t ask each other¡¯s age. Knowing each other¡¯s name was enough and we used informal speech from the start. Even if Rapwi came, the three of us wouldn¡¯t even ask each other¡¯s age. We would still use informal speech to each other.


    Dajeong got off her zombie chair and sat down on the floor. We were sitting right like the last time we met each other in the game.


    ¡°When we are still playing the game, I never thought this day would come.¡± Dajeong said as she ran her wavy hair behind her ear.


    ¡°Well, me too. I was preparing to hunt the new monster and was waiting for you guys to come online.¡±


    ¡°Did you wait for long?¡± Her voice turned into a tone of concern.


    ¡°Actually, I didn¡¯t wait that long. Preparing to catch those new monsters by myself was also quite fun. But in the end, I didn¡¯t hunt it.¡± I answered casually.


    ¡°Did you fail even with all your stats and items back then?¡±


    ¡°If all four of us thoroughly prepare and fight, we have a chance of winning. Those guys were on a different level than even ogres.¡±


    ¡°Hey. That looks fun.¡±


    ¡°But now, I¡¯m much weaker than you guys¡­ I don¡¯t know if I could be of help if those Brutras really appears¡­¡± As I said that, she stood up, grabbed my leg, and pushed her high heels towards my groin area.


    ¡°uh? Wai- wait a minute!¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute my ass. Get a grip, my friend!¡±


    ¡°Ackkk!¡± I groaned as I I felt pain radiating down my groin. To think that this crazy bitch was acting this way to a friend too! I should have been more careful!


    The pressure was finally relieved as I pounded on the floor while shouting surrender.


    ¡°Gosh.¡± I almost ended up not using ¡®it¡¯ forever.


    ¡°Weakness doesn¡¯t matter. What matters is what you decide to do, my friend.¡± She said looking straight into my eyes.


    I shook my head. ¡°You can say that because you don¡¯t know my unique ability.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about it and it doesn¡¯t matter. Judging by how you kept disappearing and appearing randomly, I can say that you can somehow hide in a pocket space or something? And there must be a lot of strange things inside, including ice.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± I keep my silence. Neither denying or affirming her words.


    She knelt down on her knees and stroked my hair.


    Isn¡¯t this what men usually do to women?


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we friends? There is nothing that cannot be done if we trust each other and prepare. At least this world was still based on that game. Trust your back to us like before and there would be no monster we couldn¡¯t hunt.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°But you¡­ you didn¡¯t ask about my unique ability.¡±


    ¡°Because you didn¡¯t tell me.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just wait until you¡¯re ready to tell me later. You will tell me someday, right, my weak friend?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± I answered. But¡­ I¡¯m concerned. I tried to ignore it, but it looked so disturbing I couldn¡¯t help it. I finally opened my mouth.


    ¡°Wear your panties please.¡±


    She glanced under her and smiled. ¡°Isn¡¯t it cleaner than Rapwi¡¯s panty?¡±


    Is she seriously going to react like that? She¡¯s definitely not normal.


    Well, I guess I¡¯m not normal too, then.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Is it okay for you to kill that guy?¡±


    ¡°One kill should be fine.¡±


    ¡°It sounds like you¡¯ve never done it before.¡±


    ¡°How about you?¡±


    ¡°¡­I did.. a lot. To those who threaten me.¡±


    ¡°Would you like me to praise you?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. And over there, there are people who live with me.¡±


    ¡°So, you have a party?¡±


    ¡°No, not a party. We are just helping each other.¡±


    ¡°If it was like that, you can leave at any time, then.¡±


    ¡°What will they do if they find out who I am, I wonder?¡±


    ¡°Well, since you are kinda ¡®the traitor of mankind¡¯ right now, there¡¯s nothing we can do about it.¡±


    ¡°But, traitor of mankind, huh? What a grand nickname.¡±


    ¡°Well, people are cursing you at the Auction House every time. Even if you only breathe, they will still curse at you. Though, after winning first place in the speedrun event, you gained some followers.¡±


    ¡°Those ¡®followers¡¯ were the ones who insulted me not too long ago. Wouldn¡¯t they try to stick a knife in my back if they get a chance?¡±


    ¡°You are a very suspecting person.¡±


    ¡°By doing so, I could keep my life and it¡¯s working. Look at me now.¡±


    We chatted as we hid in the forest and looked at the Gimhae Battalion. Dajeong had finally changed her clothes after my desperate begging. She wore jeans and a T-shirt. But she couldn¡¯t give up her high heels.


    She claimed:


    ¡°I don¡¯t have to walk. So, I can wear high heels.¡±


    ¡°Good for you.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°But you have to be careful. There are also reinforced zombies that can nullify unique abilities.¡±


    Dajeong¡¯s eyes widened for the first time. ¡°Seriously?¡±


    ¡°I call them Wi-Fi zombies. By their name alone, you know roughly what it looks like, right? I met one of those guys in the beginning of the tutorial, so his combat power isn¡¯t strong. But if they turn into ghouls later, it¡¯ll become quite a headache. You have to be especially careful, as your subordinate zombies might turn against you.¡±


    ¡°Those fucking developer team! Just what did they do with the patch?¡± Dajeong swears at the developer team.


    After she calmed down, she spoke again. ¡°So are you going to look for Rapwi?¡±


    ¡°I have to meet him. Though, it will be difficult to live together with him.¡±


    ¡°Why? Rapwi wants to be with you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say it like that, people might misunderstand. Let¡¯s just do what we want to do together, without living together.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that we should gather, right?¡±


    ¡°If we gather, people will know right away that I am I Love Gimbap.¡±


    ¡°Aha!¡± It seems like it was only then that Dajeong realized what the problem was.


    I obviously want to meet up with him. And it wasn¡¯t like I didn¡¯t want to live with Rapwi. But if we do that, then people will know who I am. Afterall, if the three of us were together, it¡¯s obvious who¡¯s the only unknown face between the 2 most famous stagnant waters is¡­ Even if I wanted to pretend to be Survivor 1, it was difficult to do so for long since the real one was in the government.


    ¡°You guys and I have different ways of solving problems. You guys just brute force yourself through it, and I like to plan ahead in order to have complete success.¡±


    Dajeong furrowed her eyebrows. ¡°I don¡¯t like it.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t help it. Since my unique ability is like that. And it was the way I¡¯ve used while living in the apocalypse. You let those who attacked you live because you know they could never harm you, right? I¡¯m different. I will kill them and destroy them thoroughly and pull out all of their roots because it will be dangerous for me if even a sliver of them survive.¡± And I will keep doing so in the future.


    Dajeong did not say anything for a long time, but then she suddenly took my hand.


    ¡°But you trust us, right?¡±


    Until recently, I had my doubts about them. But after meeting her in person¡­ I realized I was wrong. Dajeong did not hesitate to kill someone for me. Perhaps Rapwi would be the same. So, shouldn¡¯t I repay them even if we can¡¯t live together?


    ¡°Yes, I trust you guys.¡± I said and gave her a smile. Then, I handed her a piece of paper. It was a list of coded words I made myself to communicate in the Auction House, just like what Kwon and his friends use.


    ¡°If we talk using this, other people won¡¯t know what we¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ Should we also tell Survivor 1 about this?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hold that for the time being. I need to keep watch on Survivor 1 for a bit longer.¡±


    ¡°Why? What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°You know, I can see the IDs of the people who write at the Auction House.¡±


    ¡°¡­today, I¡¯ve heard a lot of surprising things. Could it be¡­ is that the speedrun reward?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a skill I got after winning the speedrun event. I can use points to find out their ID. I can¡¯t use it in real life, though.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s how you see what Survivor 1 wrote.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Right now, he¡¯s with the government. And he secretly tried to spread his fame and ID by praising himself. Was he that kind of person in the first place?¡±


    ¡°I felt like he was always immersed in his own world. Afterall, he would always be focused on decorating the shelter by himself.¡±


    ¡°It must have been that way¡­ Anyway, for the time being, it would be better to just limit the communication to ourselves.¡±


    Dajeong suddenly stood up and pulled her pants and panties down. While I was startled, she dangled her panties right in front of my eyes.


    ¡°Rapwi also uploaded his panty, so should I upload this too? We can post this as the keyword item for us!¡±


    ¡°Never, please, don¡¯t do that¡­ quickly get dressed.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I got it¡­¡±


    She¡¯s truly a difficult person to talk to.


    I told her. ¡°I can¡¯t live with Rapwi, but I¡¯ll have to meet him anyway.¡±


    ¡°Do you want me to go to him?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯ll go. You are so gorgeous that everyone would recognize you.¡±


    ¡°Then you mean I will be stuck here?¡±


    ¡°Help those people for me. You just need to be by their side.¡±


    ¡°From the minions of the guy I killed?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Those guys originally wanted to kill our group.¡±


    Dajeong looked into the battalion with my telescope and instantly screamed. ¡°Who is that person over there? That beautiful man!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ Ah it¡¯s Yoohyeon.¡±


    ¡°Yoohyeon? He¡¯s very handsome.¡±


    ¡°Why? Do you want him to be your lover?¡± He looks so kind and handsome, so there¡¯s no way she wouldn¡¯t feel that way. However, contrary to my expectation,


    ¡°Oh no, I just want a dick! I¡¯m going to flirt with Yoohyeon!¡± She jumped up and shouted.


    In the end it was like that. She was a woman who wanted to flirt with monsters, so there¡¯s no way she would pass up the opportunity to do ¡®that¡¯ with someone as handsome as Yoohyeon.


    How would he look if he found out that the famous Zombie Queen wants him, I wonder?


    It seems I¡¯ll have to tell him to be careful. If it¡¯s this woman, she might attack Yoohyeon at night while wearing some adult clothes.


    ¡°Calm down.¡±


    ¡°If you want me to calm down, give me ice! And a lot of ¡®em!¡±


    ¡°Alright, wait for a sec.¡±


    I made a note on a piece of paper and sent it into the portal. Dajeong was amazed when my hand entered the empty space.


    ¡°That must be the pocket space.¡±


    ¡°Well, yes.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s inside? No, that should be left for later! I want to be surprised later!¡±


    ¡°Whatever¡­¡±


    After waiting for a while, the scarabs put some ice in a basin and put it in my hand. Dajeong tilted her head as I pulled out the basin from the portal.


    ¡°Is there a world filled with ice inside?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s similar.¡± It¡¯s winter inside, so I guess ¡®filled with ice¡¯ was apt. Dajeong took off her high heels, dipped her feet into the basin and put a coke bottle he got from one of her zombies into the basin.


    ¡°How long have you been carrying it?¡±


    ¡°Probably a month? It shook so much that maybe all the soda had gone.¡±


    ¡°Put that away and drink this.¡± I took a bottle of cola from the scarab and gave it to her.


    ¡°Is your unique ability actually a vending machine?¡±


    It seems like she has become quite unsure of my unique ability now, even though she already guessed it quite closely before. She would be even more surprised if she knew that there¡¯s even a cave, forests, and scarabs that understands human words inside.


    Though, I kept my mouth shut. I believe in Dajeong and Rapwi, But I couldn¡¯t be perfectly sure that jealousy wouldn¡¯t arise within them if I told them my unique ability. As long as we¡¯re human, it¡¯s even weirder if we don¡¯t have that kind of feeling.


    I was also afraid of information about me being spread, even if it¡¯s accidental. Of course, the two won¡¯t divulge my information, but there¡¯s still a chance. The safest way to keep my information under wraps was to not tell anything to others.


    .


    .


    .


    After losing Hyojong, the Gimhae Clan rapidly disintegrated. According to Yoohyeon, an internal conflict had arisen because of the information I spread, and they fought each other a lot because it has spread that they were loyal to a scammer. If Hyojong still existed, he would have taken control somehow, but he¡¯s already dead. So, there was no one to calm the situation down.


    Moreover, Zombie Queen Choi Dajeong¡¯s appearance poured oil into the already burning house. She wandered from place to place, giving people anxiety. She fought monsters fiercely, and even caused zombie raids to happen a few times. Soon, people decided that this neighbourhood was not a good place to stay, so they packed up their belongings and started moving. Thanks to that, the place where the Gimhae Clan occupied was now empty. After finishing her mission, Dajeong came to me.


    ¡°End of expulsion.¡±


    ¡°Splendid job, my queen.¡± It was a method I couldn¡¯t afford. Afterall, it only works because she knew the reputation of herself as the Zombie Queen and knew they would get fucked if they touched her.


    Then, I discussed my future plans with her. ¡°We can¡¯t stay here long anyway. For the time being, we still have a lot of supplies to sustain ourselves so we can stay¡­¡±


    ¡°Changwon should be fine. There is a sea close by there.¡±


    Seems everyone is thinking the same thing. We tentatively agreed to make Changwon as our destination. By the way, Dajeong had already introduced herselves to the gym members and soldiers.


    ¡®I¡¯m not hostile!¡¯


    Those who saw the Zombie Queen for the first time and had only heard of her were terrified beyond their wits but still welcomed her because they didn¡¯t see hostility from her. Yoohyeon showed interest in her, but when he saw her eyes shone in madness when looking at him, he quickly dipped.


    ¡®Didn¡¯t you see her eyes? It¡¯s the eye of a predator who is trying to eat me!¡¯


    Well, it could be said she does want to ¡®eat¡¯ you, but in a different way, I guess. Of course, it would be Yoohyeon, not Dajeong, who gets eaten. He trembled and said that for the time being, he would share the same room with Hyung-jun Hyung.


    Poor guy.


    Anyway, thanks to her appearance, the area around Gimhae became quiet. Though, the monster didn¡¯t disappear. The zombies were still here as well, and the threats of goblins and kobolds were still there too. However, the fights between survivors should lessen considerably.


    I headed to Gimhae¡¯s new town with Mikyung. When I finished looking for Hyung-jun Hyung¡¯s daughter and ex-wife, I was planning to go to Changwon and find a new hideout. After that, the Orc First Kill event would happen, and there will be a lot of other events too.


    Surviving would become even more difficult when orcs and werewolves appear. Before they come out, we need to build a strong hideout to stay for a long time.


    I looked around the new town with Mikyung, but couldn¡¯t find a clue. It seems that the entire apartment complex collapsed and the survivors took refuge elsewhere. When the two of us returned and talked about it, Hyung-jun Hyung grieved for quite some time, but managed to overcome it.


    ¡°I did think it¡¯s unavoidable. So thank you. Now, I can let go¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t fully understand the feelings of Hyung-jun Hyung, as I didn¡¯t have any family to begin with. However, it was clear that it would be difficult for us to try anything for a while.


    In the meantime, Hyun-woo, Seong-tae and the two soldiers headed to Seoul. They knew we wouldn¡¯t stay at the Gimhae Battalion for long. So, they asked if it¡¯s possible for us to distribute the supplies to the survivors that we¡¯ve marked as ¡®non-aggressive¡¯ around. Of course, Hyung-jun Hyung accepted it.


    Before they left, Commander-in-chief Seong-tae asked Mikyung for something, but she stubbornly refused. Maybe he wanted her to show him her dance. And after the rejection, Commander-in-chief Seong-tae went to Seoul with a gloomy look.


    Then, I prepared to leave for Changwon. When I told the group I would go ahead to find a suitable place for a hideout, everyone was worried, but they didn¡¯t stop me. I guess they already got used to the fact I prefer traveling alone.


    ¡°If I go with you, we can arrive a whole lot faster.¡± Mikyung suggested, but I declined because I felt more comfortable being alone. It¡¯s definitely faster if we go together, but getting there was not my only goal. I had to meet Rapwi and prepare to get the first kill of the orcs, and it would be too difficult for her to follow.


    Fortunately, she didn¡¯t cling any further.


    I packed my things and left for Changwon with Dingo.

 Chapter 68

    All the monsters which had appeared so far were not very threatening. Even though it sounds like bullshit looking at how chaotic the world had become after their appearance, it was the truth. Zombies, goblins, kobolds, they were monsters which survivors could handle with the correct strategy. A lot of people also surprisingly survived because the respawn rate of the reinforced zombies was nerfed by the patch.


    The keepers or bone creepers could be said as some sort of event monster which would only appear at night. If people hide at that timeframe, they would hardly ever see it. However, things would change drastically starting from the appearance of orcs and werewolves, since those guys were monsters which had superior fighting power than humans with unique ability. It also had the intelligence to actively seek and hunt humans. In other words, those guys are the ones worthy to be called ¡®monsters¡¯.


    The most famous monsters among users was the ogres. The most feared monsters in the game were the bone creepers. But the monsters that represent Survival Life the best could be said to be orcs and werewolves. It was not for nothing that the orcs were monsters that even stagnant waters had to be anxious about.


    ¡°The important thing is that they show up almost at the same time.¡± Just like before, existing monsters would not disappear, so surviving would be even more difficult. Again, attacking was useless. Survivors could only run, hide and just fight to survive, not for conquest.


    A true apocalypse was about to unfold.


    ¡°Since I will change my hideout, I have many things to do.¡± When orcs and werewolves appear, it is good to change hideouts as well. Before their appearance, a two floor hideout was preferred, but with those guys appearing, the taller the hideout, the better. This was because the burden of the hideout had to be distributed in several places. The existing monsters could often be defeated by concentrating one¡¯s firepower.


    ¡°But the orcs and werewolves aren¡¯t like goblins and kobolds.¡± Since they were strong, just a few arrows wouldn¡¯t deal any damage to them. Therefore, the hunting method of scattering several people around the hideout, while keeping on poking damage to the monster would be effective. On top of it, from now on, even the firecrackers would have no effect. The time has come for flash can or ignition can to be used.


    ¡°The problem is that there aren¡¯t many ignition stones in circulation.¡± Glowstones could be purchased at the Store, but ignition stones could only be obtained through looting. I had asked the scarabs to dig up some ignition stones when they found them. It¡¯s not very likely, but if it¡¯s those guys, there¡¯s still a chance.


    ¡°What I have now is 10 glowstones and 4 ignition stones¡­¡± That amount was what the scarabs had been diligently collecting. Which means, my chance of surely killing an orc or a werewolf were about 4 times.


    ¡°The chilli bomb is also very effective, but it¡¯s not indefinitely.¡± Moreover, I had used the last chili bomb I had in the fight against the Gimhae Clan. However, since I already planted the chili plant in the forest, it would grow quickly. But for the time being, I had to make do without it. The paralyzing poison also had no dramatic effect on medium or larger monsters.


    ¡°So¡­ I need a trap.¡± Humans have been hunting animals using weapons and traps since long time ago. I would do that too.


    ¡°It will be a little difficult, though.¡± Considering the habits and behaviors of orcs and werewolves, a few traps that could be used immediately came to mind. However, since I have to conserve ignition stones, I would have to hunt with traps for the time being.


    I left Gimhae and headed for Changwon. The area I chose to be the next location for our hideout was Masan. It was a good place to loot because the commercial and residential districts were intricately intertwined. On top of it, the sea was right next to it, so it means we wouldn¡¯t have to worry for running out of food. Of course, it would be better to go to Geoje or Tongyeong if we want a huge amount of seafood, but it was too far.


    ¡°I may go there someday, but¡­¡± For now, let¡¯s be satisfied with Masan. When I arrived, the first thing I noticed was the shopping complex around the pier. There were also a few FRP boats and a couple of fishing supply stores around.


    ¡°There is a small piece of land that can be used as a vegetable garden¡­¡± Fortunately, there¡¯s only a few people who would eat from it if we ever cultivate the land, so it didn¡¯t require a huge landscape. After taking a few more glances, I went into reconnaissance.


    The number of survivors around this area were a little different compared to our previous area, perhaps because they all had similar plans, which is to gather food by fishing at the sea. And all of them were moderately wary of me. They were definitely different from the Gimhae Clan, which openly tried to assert their dominance as soon as they saw me.


    ¡°There doesn¡¯t seem to be a big force here¡­¡± Though, if I go to a populated area in Changwon, I might be able to find it. In any case, I finally decided on a location for a hideout. It was a four-story commercial building. The building was rundown, but there were plenty of places to hide, and there were many furniture and miscellaneous things left inside. The fact that there was a quilt shop and a crockery shop close by also attracted me.


    ¡°If we could find food, we can eat in moderation.¡± Though, for me, location wasn¡¯t so important. but for the gym group, who was pretty poor, it would be quite important. I don¡¯t know when will they come, though.


    ¡°There are quite a few monsters roaming around. But it should be fine¡­¡± If someone only want to live in place without monsters, there would be no place to live. Moreover, since there were a lot of different things in the Store, without points from killing monsters, surviving is practically impossible. Unless, you want to continue living while eating only tasteless bread.


    ¡°It¡¯s a problem because a person can¡¯t live with just one food.¡± So, we need to carefully select a place with moderate amounts of monsters and supplies around.


    By the way, while walking around to this building, I saw quite a few survivors in the street. They farmed in pairs of two or three and carefully hunted monsters. It didn¡¯t seem like they had great fighting strength. However, their strength was still enough to ensure their survival.


    For now, they all seem to be good neighbours.


    ¡°Let¡¯s live quietly.¡± Please don¡¯t be like people of Gimhae Clan who were willing to fight for stupid reason. The Changwon Clan, who was close with Kwon, will be in Seongsan-gu, so we won¡¯t run into each other right now.


    I threw my backpack into an office on the fourth floor.


    .


    .


    .


    I started looting from one of the fishing supply stores. Fortunately, it was still untouched by survivors, so I got quite a lot of things from it.


    I¡¯d like to put a trap here, but can I afford it? If those green-bastards ever found it, I would lose everything because they were very interested in things that humans made. They were such annoying creatures, that¡¯s why you have to destroy them thoroughly. However, it¡¯s impossible to do since they were simply everywhere.


    To prevent that from happening, it seems like I have to put the trap at night and pick it up early at dawn, but around that time was a scary time since keepers and bone creepers would be roaming free.


    ¡°There may still be food left.¡± About two months had passed since the zombie apocalypse. People who originally lived in Busan should be poor as they threw away most of their supplies while moving, but the survivors¡¯ situation in other regions should be different.


    ¡°What I need¡­¡± It¡¯s a net, a trap, a fishing line and all kind of tool. If I want to fish in the pier, it seems like I have to fish after I get on the boat, since monsters would love it if I just hang the fishing rod and leave it. If I go to the beach where there were few people, I would be able to fish comfortably, but farming would become difficult. There were pros and cons in every place.


    ¡°Still, it¡¯s a good city to live in.¡± If it¡¯s a busy place, there would be a lot of survivors and monsters, so it¡¯ll be difficult to live, but this place was just enough. I put the necessary things in the portal and returned to the fourth-story house. As I was organizing my supplies, an arrow suddenly flew through the window. As it flew in a parabola, I had a gut feeling that the shooter didn¡¯t have any intention of attacking me.


    ¡°There¡¯s no arrowhead too¡­¡± replacing it was a note being folded. Perhaps it was sent by a nearby survivor. When I opened it, a couple lines of sentences greeted me.


    -We want you to be a quiet neighbour. We don¡¯t have much power, but it¡¯s still enough to drive away some disrespectful neighbours. But the best thing would be not to fight. We don¡¯t want to summon monsters for nothing.


    ¡°Is this a warning to get along?¡± The meaning was vague, but one thing was certain. The person who sent this note was at least not as unscrupulous as the guys in the Gimhae Clan. Because such people wouldn¡¯t even bother on sending a note, they would just come unannounced and get rid of whoever they didn¡¯t like.


    ¡°It seems that their strength is not very strong.¡± I felt that way when I saw that they emphasized that they had the power to expel me. That¡¯s why he showed his will not to fight.


    Is it perhaps because they have any elderly people and children?


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll find out later.¡± First of all, it was necessary to change this building into a proper shelter. I finished my meal in an instant and started to set up some net trap. However, I was aware that it would be difficult to restrain both orcs and werewolves with a net trap alone since orcs were strong enough to rip it apart and werewolves have their sharp claws. But it was important to be able to tie them up even for a few seconds to give me enough time to close the distance and stab them with a spear.


    Of course, it will not just be a normal stab but a powerful one, aimed towards its vital organs. Otherwise, it will only aggravate the monster¡¯s anger. It was a bad idea to lure them in, hide in the portal and fire the net gun. The net that goes into the net gun was standardized, so if it breaks, it must be repaired before it could be used. Though now, there should be no one who was able to repair it.


    ¡°If the situation calls it, I¡¯ll have to use the gun¡­¡± There were only 164 bullets left, so I wanted to save as much as possible. If I hadn¡¯t fired at the goblin because I was angry, there would have been a few more shots left.


    I made one trap with a net and tested it several times. It wouldn¡¯t work twice, so I had to kill the monster when they were caught in it.


    ¡°If you pull the rope like this.¡±


    Fwoosh-!!


    The ceiling collapses and the net falls. Since I have to pull it right in front of the monster, I must avoid the monster¡¯s attack at least once.


    ¡°It¡¯s not hard to avoid an orc¡¯s attack. The werewolf¡¯s attack was the problem.¡± Where the trap was located was quite a small place, so if its claw hits me, at least one of my arms would fly away.


    Should I tie the string to another string so I could pull it from inside?


    When I was caught up in those thoughts, night came. Survivors wandering around disappeared from the streets, and goblins began to disappear too. I quickly went into the cave and caught a turkey-like monster that I had looted from the goblin nest, the Hwajo.


    Kieek-!!


    Hwajo didn¡¯t usually cry, but it doesn¡¯t mean it couldn¡¯t make a sound. The Hwajo I caught banged its head and struggled violently to escape my grip.


    ¡°Sorry. I want to eat some chicken after a long time.¡± It¡¯s not a real chicken, but I bet it would taste similar. As the butcher tutorial book says, I had to cut its neck and stab its heart¡­ but,


    ¡°Just where the hell is the heart?¡± It was a different animal than a chicken and larger too, so it wasn¡¯t easy to find its heart. Therefore, I couldn¡¯t help but just cut the guy¡¯s neck. When I hung it upside down, blood poured out from the cut. The next step would be to pluck the feathers after blanching it in hot water.


    ¡°It¡¯s still easier than slaughtering a wild boar, though.¡± When I pulled out all the feathers, its appearance surprisingly not very different from the raw chicken I saw at the supermarket except for the fact that it¡¯s about two or three times larger in size. I cut the feet, took out the intestines, cleaned the inside, and washed it. By doing so, my hands were instantly covered in dirt, but I didn¡¯t care.


    ¡°Dingo, do I smell a lot?¡± The guy got excited and put his nose towards me. Then, his tail starts to turns like a propeller. It seems like he¡¯s looking forward to eating it. The scarabs also came and watched my work, probably offering help. However, since It¡¯s a job that requires quite a bit of power, it¡¯s difficult for those guys to help.


    ¡°You just take care of the garden.¡± In my words, the scarabs nod their heads. Thanks to the hard work they put, my garden was growing splendidly. Of course, making the garden itself was my job. Afterall, it¡¯s too hard for these guys to do. But after that, the guys would take over the job to fertilize and watered it. It could be said that they were an optimal worker for the garden as they can even plant and harvest crops.


    By the way, in addition to potato, spinach, lettuce, green onions, and onions were also planted. Their growth rate was rapid to the point that the lettuce could be eaten 4 days after planting.


    ¡°Originally, they said it would take about four weeks even if the weather was nice.¡± Though, since it¡¯s a forest where monsters and scarabs that could understand words lived, it¡¯s not that strange.


    I cut the cleaned Hwajo into pieces and put them in the pot to boil them. Dingo seems like experiencing a torture as he lying on his face in front of the brazier. Now he knows that if he waits patiently, something to eat will come.


    ¡°He¡¯s a smart guy.¡± While waiting, I checked the video on my laptop while basking in the warmth of the brazier. After the speedrun event, there would be a first kill event happening. It was an event to kill the representative monster of Survival Life, orcs. It wouldn¡¯t be too difficult if it¡¯s only killing one orc, but the targeted orc had a setting of being a tyrant who rules nearby goblins and kobolds. To get the first kill, I had to smash a few nests.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit difficult to do this secretly¡­¡± An orc nest would appear somewhere in the city. The setting was that the orc ruled all the monsters in the surroundings, so goblins or kobolds did not run away, they clung to each other. User have to deal with them all before you can finally reach the king. In the original game, it was a difficult event to do alone.


    ¡°It will depend on how the nest is structured.¡± And the number of competitors was also important. Unlike the speedrun event, I expect the competition to be fierce because many users would participate. The fact that the location was in the city centre rather than a dungeon or labyrinth will be a factor which would increase the competition.


    ¡°It won¡¯t be easy.¡± But I had no intention of giving up. There¡¯s a way to sneak into the nest when other competitors were fighting monsters. If discovered, I would probably get cursed, which was not surprising at all, but I would be able to eat to my fullest.


    When I played the video, there was something I analyzed.


    -I Love Gimbab: This king¡¯s nest is quite large, so it seems that the nest wouldn¡¯t appear in a small area.


    -I Love Gimbap: And the nest does not appear at night. They always appear during the day, so you just have to find a place where the kobolds appear during the day. Originally, kobolds do not appear during the day, but in the setting, they couldn¡¯t help it because of the power of the tyrant.


    ¡°Why are you talking to yourself?¡± There were no viewers at all in this video. I could see why my voice at that time was hoarse. It¡¯s such a minor game, and I¡¯m too lazy when there are no fixed viewers.


    As I was going to watch a little more, I sighed and turned off the broadcast.


    ¡°Good job, old me.¡± I got few hints from the video. The first kill event always starts during the day, and you could find the nest by simply looking for kobold who roam during the day. Lastly was the fact that the nest would only appear in a fairly large place. If I work with those things in mind, I would be able to find the it quickly.


    When I entered the Auction House, I saw traces of quite a few people talking about it.


    And another topic was me.


    -If that bastard win again this time, I will kill him!


    -You don¡¯t even know who he is, so how will you kill him?


    -It¡¯s just impossible, you idiot. The location the nest will appear is not a labyrinth, but in the city centre, so do you think people will just let him take it? The number of monsters is no joke too.


    -This time it will be difficult for Gimbap to win. Rumor has it that the clan is working together in several places.


    -Wasn¡¯t it originally a solo event?


    -That¡¯s right. But since there are so many monsters, it is almost impossible to break through alone. The orc was also quite fortified.


    -Survivor 1: This time, the hunters led by Survivor 1 will win. I¡¯ll let you know what kind of item and skill come out at that time.


    -Win? Survivor1? My ass.


    -Not interested.


    Seems like Survivor 1 was still passionate about self-PR. But just like before, no one paid any attention to him.


    ¡°Your presence is so faint¡­¡± It was pitiful to look at Survivor 1 who promote himself so hard but to no avail. Somebody please do it for him.


    ¡°Well, whatever floats your boat, I guess.¡± Apparently, people were expecting Duck to win the event. It was because, although the unique skill and combat power of Rapwi was outstanding, there¡¯s a limit to what he could do alone.


    -Since Duck have 30 zombies under her, this time I bet she¡¯ll win.


    -But where is she and what is she doing now?


    -I heard that she caused a riot again in Gimhae.


    -What is she doing there? Is she going there to meet Rapwi?


    -Rapwi couldn¡¯t have gone down there¡­


    -I saw him in Daejeon a while ago, but no one knows since then.


    ¡°If you go down a little further, Jinju ¡­ or Changwon.¡± Reading what people wrote, it seems like I don¡¯t have to be worried for her since he was travelling with someone.


    ¡°For now, let¡¯s wait while making a shelter here.¡± I decided. By the way, It takes some time for the Hwajo to get fully cooked. Eventually, darkness descends. I left the forest, took the fish trap and threw it on the pier with Dingo in tow.


    Thankfully, there were no goblin in sight. When I looked under the pier, I saw quite a lot of baby pufferfish and eels biting the trap, but before long they gave up and ran away.


    ¡°Because there are no people, there are quite a lot of fish.¡± If things continue like this, In a few months I should be able to catch quite a bit of seafood. At that moment, I remembered that there was also an ocean in another world. I didn¡¯t particularly check it, but seems like it was more abundant with creature than the sea of Masan. If I could get my hands on it, they could be stored for quite a long time after drying it with sea breeze.


    When I got home and went into the cave, the scarabs were controlling the firepower while pulling out the firewood. Thanks to them, the Hwajo and the white rice were cooked perfectly.


    What a weird guy.


    Before I start cooking, I put a ciphered text on the Auction House. It was meant to tell Dajeong to buy it. I wanted to give it to her for free, but there¡¯s a risk that someone else would take it. Dajeong was rich in points, so she doesn¡¯t care even if the winning bid is high.


    She finally answered as I was about to separate the two legs from the body.


    -Put it up right now. hurry. I¡¯m starving to death.


    -If it¡¯s too cheap, someone else will take it, so how about 100 points?


    -That¡¯s fine, so upload it quickly!


    After putting it up for 100 points, she quickly won the bid.


    ¨C It¡¯s as big as my ass. But where¡¯s the legs?


    -The legs are DLC, customer-nim.


    -Ey! Do you want to get hit?


    -It¡¯s too big even without two legs anyway, right?


    -Still, the human heart is¡­ But did you get this from the cold place you mentioned? Is there a raccoon who says ¡®Welcome back¡¯ when you go inside?


    Well, it¡¯s not a raccoon but a scarab.


    She left a comment saying she called the gym people to enjoyed the Hwajo together. Even if she acted like she¡¯s crazy, she¡¯s quite warm inside.


    I gave Dingo one leg and ate the other with soup and rolled up rice.


    This is also delicious.

 Chapter 69

    The fire in the brazier felt hotter than usual today. Slowly, winter was leaving the forest. I¡¯m quite tired of seeing piles of snow anyway, so of course I welcomed the change with a happy heart.


    I ground some ignition stones I had into powder in preparation to make some flame cans. Meanwhile, Dingo, who was lying on his stomach, fell asleep.


    ¡°They should¡¯ve returned by now¡­¡± Unlike usual, there were no scarabs in the shelter right now, so something felt different. They went out on a mission to secure as many ignition stones as possible. Actually, I didn¡¯t order them to do that. Scarabs always went outside daily to roam the forest, so I told them if they found an ignition stone, if it¡¯s possible, bring it to me. However, it looks like they took my words as some kind of command.


    ¡°Shall I go out to check them out¡­¡± Though, I knew it was dangerous to go at night. If by accident I was caught by surprise by a bone creeper, I would be gravely injured. But the forest was quiet these days, so it doesn¡¯t look like those guys will come out, as there should be no corpses for them to spawn with.


    As I was about to stand up from my seat, I heard a squeak beyond the door. The guys are here. When I opened the door, I saw four scarabs carrying two ignition stones.


    ¡°Are you late because you need to dig this up? Next time, I¡¯ll go with you, so you won¡¯t have to come back late like this.¡± The guys scrambled inside and warmed themselves up. Even though winter was slowly leaving, it¡¯s still freezing nonetheless, especially at night.


    I took the ignition stone, placed it on the workbench, and gave them some honey. It¡¯s nothing but cheap honey, but it¡¯s a snack that they really like. It was said that if you give honey to an ordinary beetle, their tongue would harden, but it didn¡¯t happen to these guys.


    ¡°Their tongues are strong enough to reshape metals.¡± The scarab filled their stomachs, and crawled into their bed. But at that moment, the scarab leader poked my leg. I think he has something to say.


    ¡°Hm? You found a cave? And it isn¡¯t a normal cave?¡± It seems that these guys went even further than the old goblin nest to find the ignition stone. And on their journey, they found a cave which they mined the ignition stone from. There were also quite a few glowstones and black coals, so it would be good to go back there again.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go tomorrow.¡± I was relaxed, but the scarab leader was quite hurried. He drew an arrow as well as the cave.


    ¡°You have to go right now? Why?¡± Then, he drew a round fruit as well as a large scarab who was hand picking it. It seems that some kind of fruit that he wanted has grown enough to be ripe.


    This place was an enchanted forest, so even if weird things came out or happened, I didn¡¯t find it strange.


    ¡°If that¡¯s so, then let¡¯s go.¡± The kobolds could be easily beaten down, so I just had to watch out for the bone creepers. If I ever see something white popping out, I have to open the portal and run away immediately.


    As I was eating a shadow grape and packing my bags, Dingo stretched his body and followed me. Even though I had gotten used to the forest and my night vision had improved considerably compared to the time I first came here, there¡¯s still some sense of fear haunting me because of the darkness brought by the night. I¡¯m not talking about ghosts, mind you, but a bone creeper that practically could one-shot me. If I find it even 1 second late, my life would be forfeited. Therefore, every step I took, I had no choice but to be very nervous. (E/n one-shot = gaming terms for when you only uses a single attack to kill something)


    The scarab leader sat on my head and pointed out. Then we moved right away. Fortunately, we didn¡¯t encounter any monsters on the way. And when we finally passed the now-empty goblin¡¯s nest and passed unfamiliar terrain, an open space appeared. There, some unknown fruits and winter strawberries were waiting for me.


    ¡¸Moon Tangerine¡¹


    ¡¸Effect: Agility +2 for 3 minutes¡¹


    ¡¸Winter Strawberry¡¹


    ¡¸Effect: Increases cold resistance¡¹


    Is it called moon tangerine because its branches extend toward the moon?


    And the effect of the winter strawberry was just the same as how I remembered.


    ¡°The moon tangerines are amazing.¡± It¡¯s buff increases a stat, which although temporarily, is still very amazing. If I ate this, orcs and werewolves won¡¯t be able to just toss me around, like last time when I fought against the werewolf.


    ¡°If I also activate my Fighting Instinct skill, I feel like I can withstand a direct confrontation.¡± This does not mean that I would just fight them within melee range like an idiot. I would still use all sorts of means, including traps. Life is more important than glory, after all.


    After I picked the moon tangerines and the winter strawberries, I recorded their location on the map, and then headed further north. After walking for a while, a cliff appeared.


    ¡°¡­you want me to go up there?¡± The scarab leader tapped my shoulder. He seemed to shout ¡®You can do it! Fighting!¡¯ Though, it didn¡¯t seem that hard as there were many places to step on.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that high.¡±


    Maybe 4m at most? Considering that the floor was soft, it didn¡¯t seem like I would die if I ever fell. It would be better if I could hang the hook somewhere though¡­


    ¡°Can you climb and put this up there?¡± I handed the hook to the scarab leader.


    The guy put the hook on his horn before hugging the cliff and proceeded to climb up. Before long, he went down again and drew a hook tied in a pole on the ground.


    Ah, you tied it to a pole?


    Dingo climbed onto my backpack and I pulled the rope with force. Even after a few test pulls, it stayed steady. I nodded, it¡¯s strong enough.


    ¡°Just what in the world did I do in the middle of night like this¡­¡±


    Kung-!! Kung-!! Kung-!!


    Right after that noise, Dingo loudly growled. Then, a tingling sensation assaulted my back. I grabbed the rope quickly and went up without looking back. For a brief moment, I could see something white under my feet. Then, together with a loud bang, the world momentarily brightens.


    ¡°Phew¡­¡± This is one of the ways to avoid a bone creeper¡¯s self-destruct. It was also shown in the strategy the government gave on the day of the apocalypse, but it was difficult to implement it in the real world. After all, in the real world, one would normally encounter a creeper on a street, where there¡¯s nothing to climb on. So, it would be better to raise the Perception stat to find it first before it could get close to us.


    ¡°I thought I was going to die.¡± I put strength on my shoulders and climbed up. When I arrived at the top, an entrance to a cave greets me.


    ¡°Oh! Oh¡­¡± I exclaimed as soon as I shone the flashlight towards it. There were quite a lot of ignition stones, black coals, and glowstones buried on the wall of the cave. Not only that, I could also see veins engulfing the entire cave.


    Is this what people call hitting big?


    I put down both the scarab leader and my backpack and prepared to dig mainly for the ignition stones. The wall was quite soft, so a simple pickaxe should do the job. Though, kobolds would definitely love it if they know someone is out here, working at night.


    ¡°Looking at the presence of the bone creepers, it seems like there are quite a few monsters here¡­¡±


    It would be quite difficult to get up here again, but it was necessary to prepare. I put the scarab leader on Dingo¡¯s head and said, ¡°Don¡¯t look up while I¡¯m working, okay? Just keep watch in case something comes.¡±


    Both of them nodded their heads. I reduced the light of the flashlight and started working. Not long after, banging sounds echoed through the forest. It seems like all the kobolds around the area were coming.


    As soon as I dug up one ignition stone and put it in my backpack, Dingo barked loudly. When I went to the entrance, there were indeed a few kobolds walking around below. They would throw stones and spears to attack me, but they would not be able to reach this place. I collected stones around the entrance and threw them at the kobolds.


    ¡°Get lost, you punk!¡± A couple of them squealed as the stones hit their head, but they didn¡¯t back down. If I still had at least one pepper bomb, I would have crushed them, what a pity¡­


    ¡°You just wait there. I¡¯ll take care of you when I¡¯m done with the work.¡± Of course, I didn¡¯t seriously mean it. After all, If I have time to deal with them, I rather run away.


    I continued to work, ignoring the noises of the kobolds. When I put the fifth ignition stones in my backpack, my shoulders drooped. I feel tired.


    ¡°¡­let¡¯s just do this much today.¡± It was nice to hit a jackpot, but I need to sleep now so I can be active tomorrow. Dingo and the scarab leader were still watching the kobolds below. They also occasionally drop a stone towards them.


    I stroked them both, ¡°Good job. Now let¡¯s go home. Unhook it when I arrived on the ground, okay?¡±


    Going back would be tiring. Because I have to pass through 10 kobolds. I took out a firecracker, lit it, and threw it.


    Puff-!! Puff-!!


    Woof-!!


    The kobolds closed their eyes because of the light. At that moment, I quickly descended the cliff with Dingo in my backpack.


    ¡°Scarab!¡± After a while, the scarab threw the hook and came down the cliff. I quickly put him on my shoulder and ran as fast as I could. I wanted to kill all the kobolds which were busy rubbing their eyelids, but running away is my priority right now.


    After a while, we barely made it back to the shelter.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to do it again.¡±


    nod nod.


    Dingo and the scarab leader seem to have the same idea. It¡¯s already late at night, so now I need to rest.


    We crawled into our respective beds.


    .


    .


    .


    Everyone must have this imagination at least once, coming to a sea with overflowing seafood where fish would bite after simply putting the hook in the water. It would be even better if they were the only ones who could go there. But for me, it¡¯s not just an imagination. That sea was stretched far wide in front of me.


    I strolled along the beach with Dingo and the scarab leader, looking for a place to throw a fish trap.


    ¡°I should throw it in a place with a moderate depth of water¡­¡± It takes about two hours to walk around at such a leisurely pace. The current time was early at dawn, the time when goblins start to wake up and the kobolds return to their nests. There was no keeper and creeper at sight, so it was quite reassuring.


    After wandering around for a while, I threw the fish trap to a suitable place around the tidal rock. I tied the other end of the rope into the stone on the shore.


    ¡°I wonder what kind of sea creatures live here?¡± Looking at the octopus and crab I caught before, it seems the sea creatures here weren¡¯t much different from Earth. The animals in this forest, such as wild boars and valley deers, also weren¡¯t different from animals on Earth.


    I took out my fishing rod and put bait on its hook. It was none other than the intestines of the Hwajo I slaughtered a few nights back. Then, I cast the line into the sea. I didn¡¯t know what would come out, so as I stood waiting for a bite, I thought about the method to attack water monsters.


    ¡°If the sea is this big, huge monsters should come out.¡± For several months I¡¯d been here, the sea had not been touched by anyone. My guess was that it has likely been preserved in this condition for more than a few years.


    While I was imagining happy thoughts, I suddenly felt a tug in the line.


    ¡°It¡¯s here!¡± I clenched the fishing rod and jerked it up as hard as I could to make sure it was hooked up properly and reeled it in. Whatever is on the other side of the rod makes me use quite a bit of power as it tries to free itself away.


    After a fierce push-and-pull war, the weakened fish appeared on the surface of the water.


    ¡°It¡¯s big.¡± It was a rockfish with a length of around 2m. I only know the name of the fish, but I don¡¯t know what its exact breed is. When I pulled the hook from its mouth and put it in an icebox, it wiggled vigorously.


    ¡°Weirdly enough, it looks quite similar to a mullet.¡± In particular, it looks similar to the yellow-eyed mullet. It seemed that it would be okay to sell it as a mullet in the market if the size was a little smaller.


    ¡°Its stomach is bulging, is it full of eggs?¡±


    Aren¡¯t mullet roe quite famous?


    Though, since it was not a mullet, but a rockfish, it wouldn¡¯t taste the same. But whatever, most fish eggs were edible anyway.


    While I had those thoughts, Dingo was excited. It looks like he wanted to eat the rockfish, while the scarab leader was sitting on his head. I let him be and walked towards the seashore again.


    ¡°I think I will catch some fish again.¡± I cast the fishing rod again.


    rockfish.


    Again, rockfish.


    ¡°Another one, seriously?¡±


    The sea continued to vomit only rockfish. Thanks to that, the icebox was full of rockfish. There were also quite a few of them that had eggs on their belly.


    ¡°It¡¯s a rockfish jackpot.¡± Anyway, I¡¯m not complaining at all, since it was still precious food. I immediately trimmed the rockfishes¡¯ fins, opened the bag, and packed them in a plastic bag. When I finished, I saw the scarab leader clinging to a rockfish bone. When I asked what he¡¯s doing, he answered me, which I take as him wanting to make something out of the bone.


    ¡°Oh, this is fine.¡± In real life, I couldn¡¯t use normal needles because of corrosive disease, but bone-made needles should be fine. When I touched it with my fingers, it was quite hard. I would be able to catch some small fish with it.


    The scarab leader looked up at me.


    His eyes were asking ¡®continue to make it or not?¡¯


    ¡°Make a few more.¡±


    The guy nodded his head and continued to work. Then, I returned to the seashore, and for quite some time was caught up in a rockfish frenzy.


    ¡°Wait a minute, what kind of sea is this?¡±


    Although I tried to throw the line into various depths of the water, the only fish I caught  was rockfish.


    Are these guys the only fish in this sea?


    ¡°Is it because of the bait?¡± It also might be because of my lack of skills in fishing. If I knew the sea better, I would be able to catch some good fish. But, when I looked at the two ice boxes full of rockfish, I shook my head. I am still glad I was able to catch this much.


    The day was slowly getting brighter. I had to leave soon. When I pulled the fish trap, I was surprised at how heavy it was.


    ¡°Woahhh!¡± When I pulled the fish trap to the seashore, it was full of all kinds of seafood including octopuses, crabs, shrimps, and conches. The three octopuses were busy devouring the other guys inside.


    ¡°Hey hey hey.¡± I quickly put my hands inside and moved the octopuses to one of the iceboxes. When I checked the trap once again, a smile came to my lips.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t have to worry about starving.¡± I wanted to put this on the Auction House and sell it. I don¡¯t have any need to spend points right away, but there¡¯s nothing bad about gathering some right now. I put all the seafood in the icebox and loaded it onto the ATV I drove to get here.


    ¡°It¡¯s a jackpot here too. Jackpot!¡± Winter is coming soon to Earth, so I had to do my best to secure food for the time being.


    Dingo and the scarab leader got up the ATV then sat above the ice boxes, then I started the ATV. The four-wheeled motorcycle crossed the beach.


    .


    .


    .


    Seongho wasn¡¯t the only one who went to a beach without people. In a certain beach on Earth, a certain man was also wandering the beach, collecting his traps. However, his trap, which he had just pulled to the land, had lost its shape and looked shabby.


    ¡°Hup.¡± When the man lifted the trap, sea water poured out from it. He collected another trap and walked with two of it in his shoulders. Still, he did not neglect to be vigilant about his surroundings. It¡¯s been a long time since he had hunted all the zombies in the area, but lately, some monsters have appeared replacing them.


    The kobolds in particular, were very troublesome monsters since they loved to steal his haul at night. It would be fine if they just stole it, but they also broke his fish traps while they¡¯re doing it. On top of them, there are also goblins. Cunning monsters which was a huge pain in the ass. However, that¡¯s not the end as he was also worried because orcs and werewolves would soon appear.


    Will he be able to survive with his weak unique ability?


    He walked along the coastal road and came into a certain fishing village with only a few houses and pensions. The town hall in the centre of the village was his hideout. It was a very boring place because there¡¯s no other survivors around, but he didn¡¯t mind.


    ¡®People are scary.¡¯


    Not long ago, he also lived in a shopping street with many survivors around. He tried to reach out to them by giving them some gifts, but after he gave them some more, the survivors started to look at him with a glint of greed. The survivors were salivating at his bio-friendly unique ability. It was a strange unique ability which would quicken the process and enchanted the quality of the crops grown near him. Moreover, animals would approach him without showing even a glint of fear towards him.


    It¡¯s not very helpful in battle, but it has a huge advantage in survival. Therefore, survivors tried their best to get him¡ªor more precisely, his unique ability.


    ¡®We are protecting you.¡¯


    ¡®So shouldn¡¯t you be grateful, and pay us back?¡¯


    ¡®You want to run? Don¡¯t do that. If you did that, I¡¯m going to have to smash your legs.¡¯


    The person who said that added that it was a joke, but the 20-year-old couldn¡¯t stand the oppressive atmosphere. So, when opportunity presented itself, he ran away. The place he came to after running away was this place, a fishing village. There wasn¡¯t much to get by looting here, but it was still enough for a single person to survive. It was especially fortunate that there was a lot of bottled water.


    The young man went up to the second floor of the city hall and then sealed the entrance with some furniture. This part of the building was used as a guest house, so it was perfect for him to stay. He had pushed all the furniture to the wall,and put all his supplies tidily. The young man has lived for 20 years and has not had much of a thing under his name. So, he became obsessed with tidying up.


    ¡®First of all, let¡¯s clean this up.¡¯ The young man skillfully trimmed the seafood with a ceramic knife. It seems like, with everything he had just caught, he would be able to live well for a few days. But his worry did not go away completely.


    ¡®The orcs and werewolves are coming soon.¡¯ There were only a few days left. After he finished, the young man knelt in front of a crippled desk and opened a certain notebook. It was something he valued as important as his life. Inside, there was a lot of text written on it.


    After he opened a few pages, a passage about orcs and werewolves appeared.


    -In the case of orcs, their attack is always straight. They don¡¯t care about other things. If they see even a sliver of your hair, they will immediately charge towards you. When that happens, don¡¯t try to run away, because you can¡¯t outrun them. Dodge sideways instead.


    -The body of an orc is definitely similar to that of a gorilla. But the thing is, different from a gorilla, it has a very good throwing power. Wouldn¡¯t you be surprised to see it throw a wooden spear at you?


    -Werewolves¡­ I only have one piece of advice for beginners: Just don¡¯t go out at night. At all. Still, that doesn¡¯t mean there isn¡¯t a way to beat it.


    ¡°¡­¡± The young man tried to memorize the entire sentence. For him, who had little combat ability, this notebook filled with strategies which he got from watching I Love Gimbap¡¯s broadcast was the most precious thing he had. Before the zombie apocalypse, he wrote down all of I Love Gimbap¡¯s strategies in this notebook.


    At one time, he even posted it on the internet, but all of them were ignored. It was unavoidable, because all kinds of fake strategies were circulating. But, after he informed a broadcasting station and the government¡¯s task force, several people came to him. They said they were working for the government, but the young man had a hard time believing them. Afterall, they didn¡¯t look like someone who worked for the government. The young man ran away from their pursuit and he never again had the thought to reveal the information.


    He has been alone ever since he fled from the survivors who coveted his unique ability. His only friends were the sea and seagulls. His life wasn¡¯t lacking much, but he still wanted one more thing.


    A good friend. He wanted to live with a good friend, not someone who tried to restrain him and take advantage of him.


    ¡®I think it would be fine if they were someone like I Love Gimbap.¡¯ But it would be crazy. Although his identity was still unknown until now, it could easily be assumed that he¡¯s one of the people with a strong unique ability.


    Isn¡¯t he the one who has played Survival Life longer than anyone else?


    Poor Man thought so.


    He closed the notebook and stood up. He looked out the window and felt autumn were ending and winter was fast approaching. But he had no worries. Because he¡¯s someone who tolerates the cold well. Afterall, even when society was in good shape, heat or heating device was something he¡¯s unfamiliar with. Therefore, even in the apocalypse, his life was not much different from before.


    ¡®But sometimes, I feel lonely.¡¯ He had no one to talk to. Once, he had picked up a cat and raised it, but it was killed by a monster. His only hope was the Auction House. It seemed like a lot of people would welcome him if he went there.


    However, currently, he¡¯s just level 6, so his goal of unlocking the Auction House is still far away. Which means, if he wanted to reach level 15, he had no choice but to hunt.


    Jimin grabbed his weapon and went outside.

 Chapter 70

    I hung the cleaned rockfishes on one empty space inside the shelter. To be honest, I wanted to hang it around the seashore and dry it using the sea breeze, but it would be difficult to do, since if I did that, monsters would surely steal it.


    ¡°The smell is also no joke.¡±


    The kobolds, which came after smelling the fishes, kept dying while trying to break through the moat and the barbed wire fence.


    ¡°Damn bastards, can¡¯t you learn to just give up.¡± In the end, because of their stubbornness, it¡¯s me who had to get rid of their body. I cut the kobold¡¯s corpses into pieces and threw them away to the forest. Still, I was glad, as now that I¡¯ve seen how effective my defenses are, I can feel safer. It could at least withstand the invasion of small monsters.


    Meanwhile, I salted all the eggs of the rockfish that I had kept separately. I want to make it into something similar to salted pollock roe.


    ¡°It takes a lot of work to make it, though.¡± To make it, it was important to remove all the water and dry it for several days. However, I don¡¯t mind doing all of that hard work since salted pollock roe was delicious. Some people said in the apocalypse, it was best to avoid eating salty foods as much as possible, as it would make you thirsty easily, but I disagree.


    ¡°People just can¡¯t eat it because it was unavailable.¡±


    Anyway, even though the salted roe wasn¡¯t complete just yet, I was already thinking of how much I should sell it on the Auction House. Even if it¡¯s a little expensive, anyone who wants to eat salted fish would definitely buy it.


    ¡°Is there anyone who put food in the Auction House?¡± When I checked, it turns out there are some people who posted it. Amidst all of it, the one which stands out the most was the wild boar meat that someone had posted. However, when I entered its comment section, it was full of curses because the instant winning bid for the auction that the posted had set was 1000 points.


    -Someone has to catch 500 zombies to win the bid for wild boar meat. Fuck you!


    -If you butchered the wild boar incorrectly, it will smell and you won¡¯t be able to eat it.


    -Then what will be the fair price?


    -Because the store bread is 20 points, so I think 500 points is the fair price.


    -Wow, it¡¯s still expensive.


    -Think carefully, you bastards. The wild boar will at least give 20kg of meat. That means, it¡¯s 25 points per kilo. Do you think that¡¯s still expensive?


    -20 points worth of store bread VS 25 packs of 1 kilo of wild boar?


    -LOL?


    -Looking like this, 500 points is not that expensive¡­


    -Wait, store bread is edible right away, but wild boar has to be butchered before it can be eaten!


    -The store bread is disgusting. It was absolutely tasteless.


    -And yet there¡¯s still people who eat it? just how miserable are you?


    Some moments after that, the comment section was raging once again as someone had won a bid for the wild boar.


    -Wow, are you a pushover? Why did you buy it?


    -Survivor 1: If you feel jealous, why don¡¯t you just buy it?


    -No, it¡¯s not that I want it. I¡¯m just saying that the price is ridiculous.


    -Are you crazy? In the first place, the prices look fair.


    -Someone wants to eat meat but can¡¯t do so because there¡¯s no supply. Of course, it will be expensive.


    -Still, there should be common sense!


    -Trying to find common sense in the apocalypse¡­


    -LOL


    The person who bought the wild boar was Survivor 1. He¡¯s with the government, so it¡¯s only natural that he would need a lot of meat.


    ¡°I thought his unique ability is related to shelter-making¡­¡± However, by the looks of things, it seems like I was wrong. At that time, the topic of discussion in the comment section took a strange turn. Someone suddenly posted that there¡¯s someone who had a bio-friendly unique ability while the others were busy discussing wild boar hunting. He said that with a bio-friendly unique ability, it was easy to hunt a wild boar.


    ¨C It was an unbelievable unique ability. The animal just came as if asking to be caught.


    -Really?


    -No need to worry about starvation¡­ How great it would be if I were the one who has it¡­


    -Everything is good, but there was a problem that rats would also come hahahha.


    -Ouch¡­


    Well, that¡¯s indeed a bit problematic. But it¡¯s likely that the additional effect for that skill was the ability to exclude certain animals. After skimming some more, I read the last comment of the guy who talked about the bio-friendly unique ability.


    -If you meet someone with that unique ability, be careful. He betrayed us and ran away.


    In the apocalypse, such a thing wasn¡¯t exactly rare. But to say he¡¯d been betrayed, didn¡¯t he look perfectly fine? He could even laugh. When someone points out my thoughts, he accuses the guy who ran away as an idiot.


    He¡¯s suspicious¡­ I promptly used 10 points to check the ID of the guy who claimed to have been betrayed.


    ¡¸Scream 5 (ComeToSeeSpring)¡¹


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this guy someone from the whining series?¡± He demanded excessive support from us in the game, and was someone who thought that Rapwi was a woman. He must have been shocked when he found out that Rapwi was a male. (E/n check chap 10 if you guys forgot)


    ¡°Didn¡¯t this guy have a guild? If I remember correctly, the name is JongSaMu.¡± I jolted down his ID and guild name in my notebook. I believe it will be useful someday.


    .


    .


    .


    Early at dawn, I retrieved the fish trap I had installed on the pier. The tie enveloping the trap was broken here and there, so the shape was quite bad. But still, there were quite a lot of things inside.


    ¡°There are octopuses here too.¡± And even though it failed to catch some shrimp, there are eels and a few unnamed crabs inside. It¡¯s definitely lacking compared to the sea of ??another world, but it¡¯s not bad at all. I pulled out the trap and quickly went into the alley when suddenly I heard someone¡¯s voice calling for me.


    ¡°Hello¡­¡± Two women greeted me in the motel parking lot. They were faces I had seen before, but I don¡¯t remember where exactly I saw them. When I rummaged through my memories, I finally remembered that they were the girls who used to be Kwon¡¯s slave.


    Did they run away from the one room neighbourhood after the murderer event?


    They put down their weapons and tried to look as harmless as possible.


    ¡°Can we talk to you for a moment?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we have something to ask you¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    At their word, Dingo relaxed while I concentrated and looked around. There doesn¡¯t seem to be anyone else except them in the area. I quickly signaled them to follow me. There¡¯s absolutely no need to enter the dark parking lot.


    They looked at each other¡¯s faces, then nodded and started following me. The place I chose to be our conversation place was a gas station which reeks of gasoline. Although the walls collapsed here and there, there were quite a few pillars to hide in case things went south.


    I leaned on the pole and waited for the two of them to approach.


    ¡°What do you want from me?¡±


    ¡°Before, we ran away without saying any words¡­ Thank you. Thanks to you, we lived.¡± The man approached me and bowed.


    ¡°My name is Yuju and this is Cheol-jun-ssi. Once again, thank you very much.¡±


    At their words, I relaxed my expression a little and nodded my head. ¡°My name is Kang Seongho.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ so it was Seongho-ssi.¡± Until now, my judgement that there¡¯s no ally or enemy in the apocalypse had not changed. But there¡¯s also no need to unnecessarily increase the number of enemies. Though, still, I wouldn¡¯t show any mercy to those who threatened me.


    ¡°How did you end up here? Didn¡¯t I tell you to go north?¡±


    ¡°At first, we really headed towards Gimhae¡¯s new town. But halfway through, I remembered that¡­¡± Cheol-jun scratched his head. ¡°I remember a little bit from the time when I was still under Kwon¡¯s hypnotism and recalled that Gimhae and Changwon are dangerous¡­¡±


    Right, those cities were where the clans related to Kwon were located at. Though, It doesn¡¯t seem like they remembered it.


    ¡°To what extent do you remember?¡± I asked.


    Cheol-jun said cautiously. ¡°Well, I want to make a deal with Seongho-ssi with the information we know.¡±


    ¡°You can ask us anything in exchange for what Seongho-ssi knows about Kwon.¡± Yuju-ssi concluded the conversation.


    If all I had to give was information about Kwon¡ªwhich had now become useless to me¡ªthat should be fine.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go over there and talk.¡± I pointed to the office inside the gas station. It was about time for the zombies around us to notice our presence and flock to us. While we walked, the two took an interest in my trap.


    ¡°Did Seongho-ssi catch all that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    ¡°The octopus looks delicious¡­¡±


    ¡°Go to the fishing gear over there and install some traps in the pier.¡±


    ¡°There are monsters on the pier, so it¡¯s dangerous, isn¡¯t it? We could get hit by a paralyzing stinger from behind when installing a fishtrap¡­¡±


    ¡°It should be safe now.¡± The two sat quietly in their chairs, not knowing what to say.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take turns asking each other, you can ask me first.¡±


    Yuju hesitated and bit her lip. Cheol-jun, who was sitting next to her, said, ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± and patted her on the shoulder.


    Maybe what she want to asked had something to do with slavery.


    ¡°What was I like in Kwon¡¯s bunker? I mean, what am I to Kwon?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to know exactly, or roughly?¡±


    ¡°I want the 100% truth.¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be a pretty truth.¡±


    ¡°I know. I know roughly, but I think I have to hear it directly from someone who truly knows in order to overcome it.¡±


    ¡°You were his sex slave.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Yuju instantly closed her eyes and bit her lips at my words.


    Moments later, she even told me her story. ¡°I¡¯m a model who originally went to that golf course to do some jobs.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Now it made sense. She¡¯s quite tall and a looker as well.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think it was a big deal because I was told that I was only going to shoot a promotional video¡­ but¡­¡± Finally, tears welled up in her eyes. It was crystal clear that she was angry. However, Kwon, the object of anger, did not exist anymore. Therefore, her anger couldn¡¯t go anywhere.


    Then, Cheol-jun asked me. ¡°How did Kwo- that guy die? I know he died on fire. But did you know exactly how?¡±


    It seems like she wanted to ask was ¡®Did he die in pain?¡¯


    ¡°Kwon died while suffering pain and burns all around his body. He was burned alive.¡±


    ¡°You did a great job, Seongho-ssi. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Are you the one who killed him, Seongho-ssi?¡±


    I nodded. It was a little bit late to say I was not the one who killed him.


    ¡°Now, it¡¯s my turn to ask¡­ is there any power who controls this area?¡±


    Cheol-jun stuttered and answered my question.


    It wasn¡¯t long since they arrived in the area, so they don¡¯t know much about it. But they knew that there were two other groups around here besides me.


    ¡°One was the group where we belong, and the other was a group consisting of a few high school students.¡±


    ¡°Two boys and one girl. They seemed to be friends.¡±


    ¡°How about their inclination?¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t seem bad, but I can¡¯t be sure since I never really bumped into them.¡±


    ¡°They rarely hunt and seem to be focused on looting.¡±


    Hearing their behaviour, it seems like they didn¡¯t have a combat oriented unique ability.


    Then, I showed them the note that had been shot towards me with an arrow to them. And instantly, Cheol-jun confessed that it was her leader who shot it.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t shoot it with any bad intention. We are not that radical.¡±


    Is that really so? I couldn¡¯t be sure. In my eyes, even though ordinary people weren¡¯t as bad as Kwon or the Gimhae clan, they were still not as good as the gym group members.


    We took turns asking questions and got some information we needed from each other. From them, I knew that Jinhae had become a monster¡¯s paradise. On top of it they also told me that the Changwon clan was big and violent.


    ¡°It would be better not to go to the Seongsan-gu area if it was not necessary. Rumor has it that the clan there is holding a tight control on the area.¡±


    ¡°Are there a lot of people there?¡±


    ¡°Our leader used to live there, then went here after being pushed out. Our leader said there are more than 30 people there.¡±


    ¡°The rest of the survivors are mostly living in their tyranny.¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­¡± someone who commands over such a force would surely be someone I knew¡­ I had to look for his ID in advance. The meeting of the clans would be held again in a few days, so i should check it at that time. Though, If the meeting didn¡¯t take place because they somehow knew that the password was leaked, there¡¯s nothing I could do about it.


    Anyway, I get along quite well with these people. Both of them were trying to get information from me without being overly frustrated. Let¡¯s help each other here. As a token of my sincerity, I handed what was in the trap to Yuju.


    ¡°Even if I can¡¯t give you guys some tteok, this should be enough to replace it.¡± (T/N in Korea, there¡¯s a tradition of giving tteok/rice cake to the neighbors after moving to a new place.)


    ¡°Ah, thank you very much. In fact, we only have some battle ration.¡±


    ¡°Yuju-ssi is completely constipated because of that¡­ ah.¡±


    ¡°Why are you saying that?¡±


    These girls are really free-spirited, huh? It seems like they weren¡¯t yet aware that the apocalypse was a time when it was better to go solo rather than with other people. Though, it¡¯s good to have someone that can be trusted next to you.


    ¡°See you later.¡± I said goodbye to both of them and went out.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Hey, they went inside the building.¡±


    ¡°He should¡¯ve left the trap before going.¡±


    ¡°But, isn¡¯t his expression quite serious?¡±


    ¡°He must¡¯ve eaten something wrong today and was having a stomach ache now.¡±


    ¡°Then is he going to poop after a while?¡±


    ¡°Hey you crazy guys!¡±


    When Seongho, Cheol-jun, and Yuju entered the gas station building, there were three sets of eyes watching them. They were friends who went to the same coeducational high school up until the apocalypse struck. The three of them were born and raised in the same neighborhood, so it could be said that they were friends who had played and studied together for 18 years.


    Their names were Park Junho, Kim Dohyung, Han Yeowool. These three were famous as three foolish siblings at school. To be more precise, the two boys were the ones who committed foolish acts, while Yeowool was their red light¡ªthe one who always stopped them.


    All three of them had lost their families because of the apocalypse and have been living together now. Though, It was a pity that they could not prepare enough food and water because they received the information regarding the apocalypse quite late.


    Yeowool lowered her posture and looked at the man inside the building. The man was obscured by a pole, so she couldn¡¯t see him well. But she could tell that the man was quite sharp.


    ¡°Where did that ahjussi come from, I wonder?¡±


    ¡°He must have come from somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Hey you fools. The important thing now is that ahjussi walked around with his fish trap.¡± Yeowool said so as she landed a kick on both of her friends¡¯ butts. The two swallowed their saliva while touching their butt.


    ¡°It seems like there was something in the trap.¡±


    ¡°I think he didn¡¯t get it from around here since the sea here is absolutely shit.¡±


    Yeo-wool sighed at her friends bickering, eyes still on Seongho.


    ¡°Are we going to steal that? How about sneaking into his hideout at night?¡±


    ¡°He looked so damn strong, can we do it, though?¡±


    ¡°¡­to be honest, I¡¯m not confident, but if there are three of us¡­¡±


    ¡°If you planned to do that, count me out, please. Why are you trying to steal in the first place? We can easily get that if we find out when and where that ahjussi put the trap.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes.¡±


    ¡°Yeowool is right.¡±


    ¡°You two, get up!¡±


    Junho and Doyoung quickly rise to their feet. When Yoowool speaks, the two of them had always followed her commands. It was because she was the one who thought about plans and stuff between the three of them.


    She said with her arms crossed. ¡°I was thinking, it¡¯s morning now, right? Do you know why that ahjussi took the trap way before the morning came?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ because there weren¡¯t any monsters around that time?¡± Junho came up with an answer.


    ¡°Yes. Around that time, goblins and zombies are not very active. I¡¯m sure there will be times like that in the night as well. That ahjussi knows that, and he used that time frame to throw the bait.¡±


    ¡°Now that I think about it, there¡¯s no kobold anywhere around this time.¡±


    Yeowool turned her head to the gas station building.


    ¡°We could say that around this time there¡¯s no monster being active.¡±


    ¡°Then should we throw some fish traps, too?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll do that. But we still need to meet that ahjussi, too. I think he had a lot of information.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Are you planning to use your beauty on him, Yeowool?¡±


    ¡°Seducing?¡±


    The two boys giggled and smiled strangely. At the sight, Yeowool sighed and slung her backpack to her back.


    ¡°Think whatever you want. I¡¯ll go first.¡±


    ¡°Hey hey, wait a minute.¡±


    Junho and Doyoung quickly put their hand on Yeowool¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°But you know¡­ Since we¡¯re friends, we can¡¯t just let you go alone¡­ Let¡¯s go together.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Then please, I beg you two! Don¡¯t do anything stupid, okay?¡± Yeowool sighed and walked through the stairs with the two idiots in tow. In the distance, she saw the man coming out from the gas station. Seeing that he talked to Cheol-jun and Yuju without kicking too much fuss, she thought that he would be anything but violent.


    Then the man got closer and closer with the trap on his shoulder.


    Behind her back, her two friends chattered.


    ¡°Wow, his shoulders are so wide.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t he almost 190?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Even to Yeowool, the man¡¯s body size was no joke. He didn¡¯t have a scary face, but he had an atmosphere around him that somehow makes him feel unapproachable.


    Is the dog chasing after him a husky?


    She gathered her courage and slowly moved towards him as she flung her hair back with her hand. However, as she was about to say hello, the man suddenly raised his bow.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Yeowool let out such noises as she froze in place after seeing the sharp arrowhead pointing towards her.

 Chapter 71

    The man shook his head.


    ¡°Get down.¡± Out of instinct, Yeowool followed his command. As soon as she got down, Seongho released the bowstring he held. The arrow flew and pierced the head of a goblin, which had just popped out of the alley.


    Kiak-!!


    As soon as another shout was heard, the man pulled the bowstring again. Yeowool didn¡¯t know why, but for some reason she was glad that the man used respectful speech towards her. Thinking like that, she looked back and saw the heads of goblins which were pierced by the arrows the man shot out.


    ¡®Strong¡­¡¯ Yeowool said in her head. The man had killed four goblins in an instant without much effort. Every time an arrow found its target, a scary but reassuring crunching sound could be heard. At that revelation, she felt like the bow she and her friends had been using was nothing but baby toys in comparison to his bow.


    The man retrieved the arrows he shot from the goblin corpses and rummaged through the goblin¡¯s pouches. Yeowool stayed silent while he did that and then got up. He didn¡¯t even ask if she was okay. It felt like he was just doing his job. From what he had been doing until now, Yeowool could easily see that he¡¯s something different from ordinary survivors.


    She mustered all the courage she could find in herself and called him.


    ¡°Ah-ahjussi.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°I have a question for you, could you please give me a moment?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not difficult¡­ Since when have you been living here?¡±


    At that moment, the two boys moved towards the girl. At the sight, Seongho realized that they were the group of high school students that Cheoljun and Yuju told him about.


    ¡°We have been here since July.¡±


    ¡°We also have lived here since we were born. We are native.¡±


    If so, they would undoubtedly know some information about the area, Seongho thought.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go over there and talk.¡± Seongho nodded his head and looked at the shop next to him.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Seongho looked at the boys behind the girl. They looked pretty excited. What were they excited about when they almost got attacked by monsters just a few moments ago? Seongho looked around him again with an absurd expression on his face. There were a few zombies in the distance, but he didn¡¯t think they¡¯re going to attack right away. It¡¯s always like this in the morning.


    The three entered the store and Seongho took a seat at the closest chair to the entrance.


    ¡°My name is Han Yeowool, this guy is Junho, and this is Dohyung.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Hello.¡±


    Seeing them nodding their heads sincerely, Seongho felt that they weren¡¯t bad students


    or people who acted as good people only to hit him in the back later.


    ¡°My name is Kang Seongho.¡± He introduced himself. ¡°Have you been following me since morning?¡±


    The three didn¡¯t answer right away and only looked at each other¡¯s faces. In the end, Yeowool took a deep breath and opened her mouth.


    ¡°I saw you taking out your fish trap, earlier today, at the pier.¡±


    ¡°You want to know when is the correct time to put the fish trap? When there are no monsters at night?¡±


    This man is quite quick-witted. Which means, lying would only impact them negatively, so Yeowool nodded her head.


    At night, you can¡¯t really see anything. If you went out blindly just to find out the timeframe when the monsters were gone from the beach area, you would be stinged by the goblins. And if you go out after the goblin disappears to install the fish trap, it will be taken away by some random kobolds who must have been watching you from somewhere. Therefore, the best timing to install the trap was when there¡¯s no monsters at all.


    Looking at Yeowool, Seongho had an ambiguous expression on his face.


    ¡°You seem like good kids, so I want to help you. But, let me ask you one thing first. Is there any group aside from the three of you nearby?¡±


    ¡°There is!¡± Before Yeowool could even open her mouth, Junho and Dohyung started talking.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there a school nearby? There are some people there.¡±


    ¡°There are also many people on the west side of the railroad tracks.¡±


    ¡°What about those who stand out or those who look strong?¡±


    ¡°Ummm¡­I¡¯d say they¡¯re all equally arrogant.¡±


    ¡°Did you know the court over there? The people who occupied that place were people who already opened the Auction House.¡±


    ¡°We also need to open the Auction House soon or we¡¯ll be in big trouble.¡±


    ¡°Hyung, have you opened the Store and the Auction House?¡±


    The two boys began to act friendly by calling Seongho hyung out of nowhere. However, Seongho answered indifferently.


    ¡°I already opened the Store. I¡¯d like to hear more about the people on the court group¡­ is that okay?¡±


    When he pulled out some jerky from the backpack, the three¡¯s eyes brightened. How can¡¯t they? It¡¯s meat! Something they haven¡¯t seen in a while. Yeowool took the three strips of jerky and shared it to her friends equally.


    From that action, Seongho inferred the relationship between the three of them.


    ¡®I think the girl is their leader.¡¯


    While the two boys were munching on the jerky, Yeowool confided.


    ¡°Actually, we don¡¯t know the people on the court side very well. There¡¯s one thing we do know though¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you talking about the man who got kicked out by them?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, he ran away from those guys because he¡¯s too nice, unlike them.¡±


    When Seongho heard their bickering, he guessed that there¡¯s a story here that he didn¡¯t know.


    Then, Yeowool elaborated. The story goes like this: The court group had a strong influence in the area around them and somehow managed to recruit a certain young man. However, the problem was that the unique ability of the young man was special.


    ¡°Have you seen wild animals approaching without warning? That¡¯s just amazing.¡±


    ¡°When that hyung threw a bait to the sea, the fishes around started flocking right away.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Seongho said. Obviously, he already knew such things because the Whining Series no. 5 had said so in the Auction House.


    ¡°Do you guys know the name of the group occupying the court?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it something like samu?¡±


    ¡°Oh, what was it again¡­¡±


    As the two of them stumbled, Yeowool hit them in the head, frustrated.


    ¡°Gathering of people preparing for the apocalypse!¡±


    In short, JongSaMu¡­ It¡¯s them, huh? Seongho thought.


    ¡°By the way, the young man with the amazing unique ability, was either kicked out or ran away, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. That hyung was very nice. Sometimes, he handed out what he caught to us too. But, the JongSaMu guys didn¡¯t like it¡­ They even tried to restrain him from doing anything other than being a bait for animals.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®restrain¡¯?¡±


    ¡°They tried to lock him up. And whenever he goes outside, they will attach some people to monitor him.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too much¡­¡± Which means, he¡¯s unique ability was just that good.


    The JongSaMu guys probably thought like this: ¡®What¡¯s the problem when we¡¯re just trying to protect a guy with poor fighting ability? Isn¡¯t this a win-win situation, both for him and us?¡¯


    However, it¡¯s not a protection by any stretch of meaning, but a confinement.


    Anyway, when Seongho combined the inclinations of Whining Series No. 5 and the testimony of the three students, it sounds like the survivor with the jackpot unique ability of bio-friendliness ran away from the group.


    Seongho asked,


    ¡°You guys don¡¯t know exactly where that person ran away to, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ All we knew was that he went southward¡­¡±


    Seongho nodded. It seems he would have no choice but to go south if he wanted to find the guy. Though, he would go right away, since the Orc First Kill event was drawing near.


    Then, Seongho suggested to the students who looked at him with a gaze which was burdening him. ¡°I¡¯m saying this because you gave me some good information, but if you tell me the location of your hideout, I¡¯ll go meet you tonight.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to tell us the timeframe when there¡¯s no monsters?¡± Yeowool¡¯s voice brightened at Seongho¡¯s words.


    ¡°Well yeah, however, it depends on several factors too. But I¡¯m sure after doing it a few times, you would get a hang of it.¡±


    ¡°If you teach me, I will learn.¡±


    Seongho held out his hand to her. ¡°Then¡­ let¡¯s help each other out.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± Without much hesitation, she grabbed his hand and shook it.


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    ¡°Hyung, please just call us by our first names from now on.¡±


    ¡®Why are they so happy?¡¯ Seongho thought. Maybe it¡¯s nice to have someone you can trust and rely on in Apocalypse. Though, Seongho himself was not capable of feeling so, because of his playstyle. Anyway, since he had to stay here for a while, it wouldn¡¯t be bad to help them.


    .


    .


    .


    The Orc First Kill event was drawing near. I had spent some time exchanging information with the trio these past few days. But of course, I didn¡¯t forget to prepare everything I needed in order to get first place in the event.


    I should start making some flame cans.


    As I entered the cave and was about to grind the ignition stone, the scarab leader came to me with a black charcoal on his foreleg.


    ¡°Huh? Why?¡±


    At my question, the guy made a gesture of breaking both the ignition stone and black charcoal and mixing it.


    ¡°You want me to mix them? How about the ratio?¡± However, the scarab leader didn¡¯t give me the exact answer but only told me that if I mix black charcoal in moderation, the firepower of the flame can would increase, but if I mixed too much of it, the power would decrease instead.


    It seems like I have to do some experiment if I want to get the best ratio.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start with the 2:1 ratio.¡± I grinded the ignition stone and black charcoal completely and mixed it little by little. I took some of it and set it on fire. When it lit up, compared to adding only ignition stone powder, the firepower was much higher. It seems it was almost 1.5 times stronger.


    ¡°This is good.¡± Even though I reduced the amount of ignition stone powder in the mix by 30%, the firepower was increased by 1.5 times. When I increased the proportion of black coal powder out of greed, the size of the flame became smaller instead. It seems like what the scarab leader said was correct.


    ¡°So, in order to get the most out of everything, I need to put in the black charcoal at exactly half of the amount of ignition stone powder used.¡±


    So, by adding black coal powder, I could reduce the amount of the precious ignition stone powder by half.


    This is good. Afterall, currently I only have a total of nine ignition stones. Including those in the newly discovered cave, there should be around 15. However, I could get as much black coal as I wanted, since it was relatively abundant.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have much in stock, but there are a lot of them in the cave¡­¡± According to the scarab leader, if we dig the ground, black charcoal would come out. I didn¡¯t do it because I didn¡¯t feel the need to stock it up.


    In conclusion, by adding black charcoal powder to the mix, the amount of the flame cans I could make is doubled.


    ¡°I can sell this for a high price too.¡± Black charcoal was something the Store didn¡¯t have available. And back in the game, I had never seen it being sold as well. On top of that, I haven¡¯t met anyone who claimed they got it from a goblin¡¯s pouch. Therefore, it¡¯s safe to say that it was a resource unique to the forest. Which means, I was the only one who could procure it.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the flame cans worth a lot right now?¡± There should be quite a few people who could manufacture the flame cans itself. Afterall, it was our ancestors who found the recipe and spread it. However, the problem was the ingredients. The drop rate of the ignition stones was not good, so in the end, only a few people could make flame cans.


    When I turned on the Auction House, everyone, without exception, was waiting for the ignition stone auction to come up.


    ¡°Even if it¡¯s as expensive as the wild boar meat, people will still buy it¡­ I think.¡± Well, one ignition stone could be used to kill an orc, so 1,000 points wouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    I divided the black charcoal powder into two. One for sale, while I¡¯ll put the other one as a sample. I priced the sample as low as possible so that anyone could buy and use it without hesitation. Of course, the amount for the sample was miniscule.


    ¡°First, we need to promote it.¡± When I wrote the ratio in the comment section after uploading it, people¡¯s attention was instantly drawn into it.


    -Black charcoal powder? What is this?


    -The description says that if you mix it with ignition stone powder to make a flame can, you can reduce the amount of ignition stone powder needed, while getting almost the same result¡­


    -?? So, you¡¯re saying that, with this, we can make two flame cans with one ignition stone?


    -This is a scam!


    -If it¡¯s a scam, the uploader won¡¯t bother to upload a sample, you stupid ass bitch. I will buy a sample and try making it.


    Because the black charcoal powder for samples was cheap, it was instantly sold out. And after a while, the auction of black charcoal powder began. Because of it, a lot of people were confused.


    -What is it? Is it true?


    -If the auction began, didn¡¯t it mean that it was real?


    -Those who are quick-witted are surely different.


    -People who joined the auction were semi-stagnant waters while the person who uploaded it is a stagnant water.


    -I am envious of those who were born with both golden spoon and silver spoon.


    -Hey, how high will the price go up, I wonder?


    -I saw an auction for an ignition stone before. It got sold for 1000 points.


    -Then wouldn¡¯t it go up to 500? The rest of the ingredients are easy to find.


    -That thing will cost 500 points? Half the price of the wild boar? Bullshit!


    -You bastard, can you even compare it to the wild boar? You can catch orcs with that powder.


    -Yeah, it¡¯s incomparable! With those 500 points, you will get the chance to get some skill or item. If you¡¯re lucky, you can even get first place.


    -But, has anyone ever found a black charcoal while farming? Why have I never seen it?


    -Isn¡¯t that because you¡¯re unlucky?


    -I saw quite a few ignition stones being auctioned, but this is the first time that a black charcoal has been put up.


    -Then, where did this guy get it from?


    -Don¡¯t tell me¡­


    -Is it that bastard again?


    Yes, it¡¯s that bastard again, you bastards. I laughed as I watched the auction prices go up. It has already reached 400 points.


    Looking at the comments section, the bidders were fighting.


    -Because it will exceed 500 points anyway, so for those who don¡¯t have that many points, fuck off! Stop wasting my time!


    -Is there anyone here who doesn¡¯t have 500 points?


    -Hehe, this will go up to at least 1000 points.


    -Are you crazy? The winning bid for the last ignition stone was 1000 points. So, there¡¯s no reason for this black charcoal to reach that point.


    -Hey, fools, I¡¯ll teach you. That 1000 points was because there¡¯s only a few ignition stones being auctioned, not the real market price. But with this item, you can make two flame cans with just a single ignition stone. 500 points? That¡¯s nothing.


    -LOL?


    -If you already have an ignition stone, you might want to buy this and increase the flame cans you make into 2.


    -The price is surging! Let¡¯s go!


    -This shit.


    And when I put one of my ignition stones up for auction as a test, another uproar erupted.


    -That bastard was watching us.


    -I Love Gimbab, you know what I love, right? Loyalty ^^7


    -Just how much money that bastard will get from this! Fuck!


    The auction price of the ignition stone rose to 1,500 points in an instant. Normally, the auction price would not go this high. It seems like it was the result of the anticipation for the Orc First Kill event.


    ¡°In the first place, the first kill event itself was quite famous¡­¡± The reason was none other than the fact that no one knows who will be number one. People would think, if everyone has a flame can, and they have one as well, wouldn¡¯t they have a shot at winning it?


    With a single correct throw, you would be able to defeat an orc. Of course, there were still issues with how to break through their subordinates¡­


    I enjoyed watching the auction prices of ignition stones and black charcoal powder go up. It was going up endlessly because people were paying attention. Then, when the price starts to approach 2000 points, the competition starts to dwindle.


    -You crazy people, you are willing to buy an ignition stone for 2,000?


    -I only have 600 points¡­ There¡¯s so many rich people here¡­


    Actually, I also don¡¯t have that many points right now. I¡¯m not too obsessed with earning points since I have many ways to get points instantly whenever I need it.


    ¡°This is one of the ways, though.¡± Finally, the auction is over. The final bid was 1980 points for the ignition stone and 1050 points for the black charcoal. The two items disappeared from the Auction House and 2727 points, excluding the fee, came to me.


    ¡°This is cool.¡± The points I currently have were 3550. Probably I was the richest man around, second only to Dajeong. Hopefully, this was just the beginning. If I use the forest of another world, I could easily sell things the survivors need and earn their hard-earned points.


    ¡°Though, currently, the situation of the other survivors isn¡¯t that good¡­¡± However, once dungeons and other things come out later, they would be able to farm points much easier than right now.


    Looking through the video, I realized that the tier 2 Store was scheduled to open once the first kill event finished.


    ¡°The elderwood longbow is a good choice.¡± It was an item that was popular with many users because it was quite a light bow, yet it carries a great strength. If there¡¯s a problem, it¡¯s the damn price.


    ¡°Two thousand points? Was it originally this expensive?¡± Back in the game, I didn¡¯t care about the price because I had a lot of points. Though, the maintenance cost was quite high since I had to purchase arrows separately. If you have the right skills, you can shoot from a very far distance, which increases your survival rate.


    ¡°The power is good, so I¡¯ll buy this when the Store opens.¡± The adamantium spear with an improved penetration option was also quite attractive. With that weapon, I could easily kill an orc by simply stabbing it.


    ¡°It¡¯s also a good throwing weapon.¡± Seems like I would have to buy both.


    I spent the rest of my time practicing my archery and javelin throwing.


    And after a few days, as I was wandering around the city centre of Masan, I finally found a crazy kobold wandering around during the day. But I wasn¡¯t the only one who discovered it, because several people wearing similar clothes also found it.


    I quickly went up to the roof of a nearby building and watched them.


    ¡°What kind of rustic group uniform is that?¡±


    Is that some sort of symbol of unity?


    When I followed them as they walked away, they went near the courthouse. It seems like my competitor for this event would be Whining Series No. 5¡¯s group, JongSaMu.


    As I was hiding inside the portal, a large man passed by. It¡¯s none other than Whining Series no.5.


    ¡°Make sure no one walks in here, okay? Be especially careful with that newcomer. That huge bastard.¡±


    He seems to know me. Well, I¡¯ve been actively wandering around, so it would be weirder if he didn¡¯t know.


    But why do you call me a bastard?


    ¡°Is it a sin to wander around?¡±


    There is a saying, If someone hates you for no reason, give them a reason. (E/n weird flex but ok)


    I plan to do that from now on.

 Chapter 72

    Bae Geom-in, or more well known as Survivor 1, looked around.


    ¡®The preparation is perfect.¡¯


    For the Orc First Kill event, he had mobilized about 20 people. They were all scattered around the area of the shelter, monitoring the appearance of the kobolds. Once they found some kobolds who are unusually roaming around during the day, even though they¡¯re supposed to be nocturnal creatures, Geom-in, together with the ¡®Event Team¡¯ would dispatch. This ¡®Event Team¡¯ consisted of the best members of the government shelter. They were all level 15 or higher. The team¡¯s purpose was, as its name implies, the first rank in the event, that¡¯s all.


    Geom-in slowly scanned the faces of his comrades and said, ¡°Even though I will be the one who gets first place in this event, I will definitely give it to one of you in the next event.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve told us so a few times already.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re doing this because we believe in Geom-in-ssi. We are not worried.¡±


    Geom-in smiled at their response. They were reliable. These people were survivors Geom-in had recently recruited. Even though he didn¡¯t tell them that he¡¯s a stagnant water, whenever he¡¯s with them, they always treat him as a capable person.


    By the way, his plan for this event was fighting 1:1 with the orc while the others keep the orc¡¯s subordinates busy.


    ¡®It¡¯s easy to kill the orc when his subordinates were not present.¡¯


    First of all, orcs were not an extremely difficult monster to beat. Even though it had great stamina and attack power, their movement was slow. Though, because the orc in this event was an event monster, it would be moderately strengthened. However, it¡¯s not a problem since with just a single flame can, he could still kill it.


    (E/n: for those who are still confused (or maybe got sidetracked by my lack of skill in editing), in this event, nests will be spawning, of which had a single orc inside that rules over some other monsters like kobolds and goblins as subordinates. The way to find a nest was to find a kobold, a monster that usually only comes out at night, going around at day. Those kobolds are scouts sent by their leader, the orc, to scout around the area and find prey. Sorry for the long note.)


    ¡®If I don¡¯t get 1st place this time, I won¡¯t be able to talk.¡¯


    His goal to put his ID, Survivor 1, in the ranking column was because he wanted to get the other survivors to pay attention to him.


    ¡®I am not the president¡¯s subordinate.¡¯


    Unfortunately for him, one of the biggest influencers in government shelters was the former president Jang Won-taek, a man that has a fame far exceeding himself, at least for now. Existing members and survivors who came to the shelters greeted Jang Won-taek with joy. He admitted that he¡¯s admirable since he did not give up his post as a president until the very end.


    However,


    ¡®Then what about me? What about the things I did?¡¯


    Was the walkthrough he wrote worth nothing?


    Why do the survivors only talk about other stagnant waters and not him?


    ¡®If you don¡¯t respect me, I will force you to do so.¡¯


    To do that, the achievement of the Orc First Kill event was necessary. The other stagnant waters were also definitely aiming for that record, but this time, the case would be different. After all, it was an event where everything was not decided by individual combat power.


    ¡®Rapwi and Duck wouldn¡¯t be able to easily penetrate through so many monsters.¡¯ In other words, quantity was more important than quality in this event. On top of it, survivors had to clear the event as quickly as possible so that zombie raids wouldn¡¯t happen.


    For this event, Geom-in didn¡¯t even care about Gimbap. He wasn¡¯t sure how he managed to reach rank 1 in the speedrun event, but this time, the story will be different.


    ¡°Geom-in-ssi, we found it.¡± Someone spokes. Then, the survivors met Geom-in¡¯s eyes.


    He nodded.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go set a record.¡±


    .


    .


    .


    When five survivors gathered, the kobolds went into a state of excitement. In that state, those monsters would attack indiscriminately, so they wouldn¡¯t be able to kite them. (E/n: Kite is a gaming term for a simple action of players who kills/hunts monsters by attacking them to keep their aggro on them, then runs back just a little bit before going out of the aggro range, repeating the process until the monster runs out of stamina and dies.)


    Therefore, the best way to proceed was to fight them head on.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s win! Fighting!¡± The guys of JongSaMu gathered and shouted. After that, they ran towards the group of kobolds.


    When they were already far enough from my portal, I went out. Currently, there were so many monsters in this place to the point that my Perception stat didn¡¯t work well. My senses that got buffed by the Perception stat were blurred to the point where I was only able to detect the location of creatures without knowing what kind of creatures they are.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the orc? Is it the first floor, the second floor, or the third floor?¡±


    This building was quite large and spacious, so with the Perception stat malfunctioning, it seems like I would have to look on every corner of the building to find the orc. However, that wasn¡¯t the case right now, since I have Dingo with me.


    I used the hook to go straight up to the second floor.


    ¡°Dingo, find the orc¡¯s smell.¡± I said as I took Dingo out from the portal. The guy sniffed around for a few moments before starting to rub. At that moment, I activated my Fighting Instinct skill. It would be best if the orc dies before the duration of this skill, which lasts for 3 minutes.


    My vision turned red and I ran ahead of Dingo, who looked up at me in surprise.


    ¡°Go on, don¡¯t worry!¡± In the lower floor, the survivors of JongSaMu were engaged in a fierce battle with the orc¡¯s subordinates. Dingo started running up to the third floor. It seems like the boss monster was located at the very top.


    When we were about to climb the stairs, a few goblins ran down. Without fighting them, we jumped through them and kept running. Normally, I would have kicked that bald head and killed them on sight, but I don¡¯t have the time to do that right now.


    I moved quickly behind Dingo. But suddenly, goblins rushed out to the open office. Each of them had red eyes and were dripping with saliva. It was evidence that they were currently not in their normal state. Those guys quickly formed a line and pulled out a pole from their back.


    Unfortunately for them, me and Dingo had already come too close to them.


    ¡°Heup!¡± In a jumping posture, both me and Dingo attacked one goblin each. I kicked one guy who was in the process of taking his pole out and kicked it downstairs.


    The rest of the goblins shot out some paralyzing darts. However, it didn¡¯t hit us since we already took cover behind the wall of the office. It would take some time for them to reload. Rather than waiting for them and beating them down, it was wiser to just run away and find the orc.


    When I patted his back, Dingo lowered his stance once again and ran through the hallway. Then, after some time, Dingo stopped in an office with a broken sign in front. I opened the portal, sent him inside, and prepared everything I had to use.


    When I peeked inside, I could see an orc mottled with red lines all over its body. It was a higher variant of orcs, which was normally referred to as an orc shaman. Its physical abilities were the same as normal orcs, but it had a special ability that other orcs didn¡¯t have. Around it, three hobgoblins were standing menacingly.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill them all.¡± I turned around and opened the portal. The door was now blocked by my portal. Therefore, no other monsters on the 3rd floor could enter through it.


    When the orc shaman growled, two hobgoblins approached me with a club in their hand. Now is the time to use the gun.


    I waited for them to come closer and held their club high before jumping into the portal.


    Kiek?


    Tatatata-!!


    Four bullets crossed the portal and buried itself on the hobgoblins¡¯ head. The guys clasped their foreheads in agony. Without giving them any time to recuperate, I immediately ran out of the portal and swung my long knife towards their throats. With the two hobgoblins falling to the ground, only one hobgoblin and an orc shaman remain.


    I pulled out a flame can from the slot. But, the moment I was about to light the wick, the orc shaman waved its staff. Then, the orc¡¯s giant body popped and disappeared.


    Was it a blink?


    It seems like it was its special ability.


    But I¡¯m not that easy either. If he wanted to kill me, he would need more than just that ability alone. When I activated the Life Tracking and the Stigma of Death skill, the orc shaman¡¯s position was instantly outlined in red in my vision. It¡¯s actually running to another room.


    ¡°Dammit, just die!¡± I closed the portal after killing the one remaining hobgoblin who was rushing at me. The monsters that had been clamoring for being blocked by the portal instantly rushed at me.


    In the midst of melee, a paralysing dart shot by a goblin somehow hit my knee. Because of it, I could feel my strength slipping away. But I clenched my teeth and swung my long knife to break through the encirclement.


    The Paralysis Resistance skill finally shows its use here!


    ¡°Huh, huh!¡± My breath was ragged as I kept attacking the endless waves of monsters which came at me. The Survival Instinct skill had been activated since a while ago. Now, whether I live or die, I must finish this event before the skill expires.


    When the last monster was dealt with, blood dripped from the long knife. At the same time, strength finally returned to my numb legs. However, I couldn¡¯t rest here since I needed to chase after that orc shaman. If I give it enough time, it will use its ability again to run away even further.


    ¡°Open portal.¡± When Dingo came out, he licked me and my hand. Let¡¯s try a little bit harder.


    ¡°Next time, I¡¯ll catch a warthog and feed it to you.¡± He didn¡¯t listen to all my rants and ran straight to the orc shaman. We were running towards the second floor.


    Wasn¡¯t the second floor a car showroom?


    It would not be an exaggeration to say that it was a wasteland since all the furniture and cars were all destroyed.


    ¡°I hope it won¡¯t be on the first floor.¡± Though, since orc shamans should still follow the unwritten rule for long-range support or DPS, which is to avoid any kinds of direct confrontation, I was sure its current location was the second floor, as it wouldn¡¯t want to be at the first floor, where the JongSaMu guys were, still fighting the endless waves of monsters. Without hesitation, I grabbed the rope and went down to the second floor at once. I never learned anything like rappelling, but my amazing stats had made it possible for me to do it perfectly.


    Now there¡¯s just a little time left before my Survival Instinct skill wears off. I jumped through the window sill with full force. As I expected, the orc shaman sat down by the window on the second floor and then jumped up as soon as it saw me.


    ¡°Slot three.¡± I called the slot and took out the emeras spear before throwing it with every little bit of strength I could muster towards it. The extremely sharp emeras blade easily pierced through the skin and flesh of the orc shaman.


    Keakkkk-!!


    An intense scream resounded through the spacious car showroom.


    While I was taking out a flame can from the slot, the orc shaman pulled out the spear from its body and entered the combat stance. But, unfortunately for it, I have no intention of fighting it directly.


    ¡°Here, a gift.¡± I threw the flame can to it. At the sight, it roared towards me, showing its teeth. However, soon after, its roar ended as it was surprised by the sudden explosion and flames.


    Khaaakk-!!


    The orc shaman let out a pained scream as it was swept away by the pillar of fire from the flame can. Nevertheless, the guy did not instantly die and moved its hand to the wand on its hips.


    If it runs away with its special ability again, I wouldn¡¯t be able to catch it.


    I kicked the ground and picked up the emeras spear while running. Then, when I was close enough, I jumped and buried the spear on its body.


    ¡°Haab!¡± The spear pierced through the sturdy skin and buried itself on the stomach area. The guy fell backwards as its hands grabbed the spear.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± I let go of the spear, but I couldn¡¯t stop it from being dragged out the window. The orc shaman fell to the first floor, landing back first with a loud thud.


    ¡°Keuk!¡± I groaned as I fell to the floor. Thanks to my high stats and skills, I suffered almost no fatal wounds. However, it didn¡¯t mean that I would be free from exhaustion.


    .


    .


    .


    Yoon-jeong, who travels together with Rapwi, realizes that he was a very impulsive person.


    One time, when they were traveling relaxedly, he suddenly said that he was hungry and attacked the nearby goblin nest. If it stops there, it would be fine. But he even tried to roast a goblin and eat it!


    A monster that no one eats!


    ¡®Please! please! Don¡¯t give up on being a human!¡¯


    Just because monsters eat humans doesn¡¯t mean humans should eat monsters too, right?


    In addition, the people¡¯s evaluation of the monsters¡¯ meat was bad. It smelled a lot and was actually quite poisonous, so it was impossible to eat it. At her persuasion, Rapwi, who was about to devour a goblin¡¯s forearm, changed his mind. However, the very next moment, his eyes glinted as he saw some zombies in the distance.


    ¡®This guy is totally crazy.¡¯ Before they arrived in Sejong City, she thought that Rapwi was at least, a decent human being. But after he took off his panty in order to fight that other ¡®princess¡¯ guy, her evaluation of him took a 180 degree turn. Hwang Seokhyun, or Rabbit Pwincess, was just a crazy guy.


    The madman suddenly ran into the military office. Yoon-jeong looked at him blankly, not even thinking of stopping him. In just a few more days, they would arrive at Jinju, and their journey would end.


    But why? Why did her heart ask her to stop him?


    ¡°Seokhyun-ssi!¡±


    As if he didn¡¯t hear her shout, Rapwi jumped into the Sancheong County Office and fought the monsters there.


    Kiiikk-!!


    Kiek-!1


    Countless monsters rushed towards him, but not even one of them could catch up to his shadow. Yoonjeong watched him blankly from the outside as he kept jumping around while stomping several monsters at once. Anyone who saw him at this moment would guess that his unique ability was levitation, not resurrection.


    There was no monster that could properly withstand his attack. Seokhyun dodged a goblin¡¯s attack like an acrobat and kicked them back. Those who attacked him were instantly thrown around in the parking lot. Once he landed, he kicked the ground again and rammed through the monster horde with his body. Countless spears and stones were flying at him, but none managed to pierce him.


    ¡°Giant Swing!¡± One swing of his fist deformed a kobold¡¯s head strangely. He then grabbed its leg and wielded its body like a mace. At that moment, a few monsters broke through the window and jumped towards him while roaring.


    Yoon-jeong was terrified out of her wits and avoided the incoming monsters by rolling on the floor.


    ¡°Just what kind of person are you¡­¡± She had seen Seokhyun fight a few times, but it¡¯s the first time he¡¯s been fighting as fiercely as today. He was much stronger than she originally thought. His power was something that no survivors in the government shelters could hope to imitate.


    Soon, his stage was moved to the second floor.


    ¡°Shoulder Attack!¡±


    Yoon-jeong sighed at his antics and sat down on the pavilion.


    Moments later, something popped out from the window.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±


    To her surprise, It was Seokhyun who was rolling on the floor this time. His skin reddened and smoke rose from it, evidence that he was struck by something.


    ¡°Seokhyun-ssi!¡± Yoojeong tried to feed him a potion, but she couldn¡¯t do so, as she had to run away after seeing something jump off from the second floor.


    Boom-!!


    What landed on the ground from the second floor was an orc shaman. The orc shaman, who landed on the floor, tilted his head and approached Seokhyun. It seemed like it was wondering why the man hadn¡¯t died yet. Needless to say, the lightning from its wand had enough power to kill any living thing at once. He even fell from the second floor, so the impact would be even greater.


    Seokhyun, who was lying there then, opened his eyes. He jumped up and instantly rushed in while the orc shaman was still confused.


    ¡°SEEEXXXXX!!!!¡±


    Kiekkkkk¨C!!


    After that, a close battle between the two ensued. Looking at the scene, Yoon-jeong was left speechless. She could never have imagined that there would be a human who could fight evenly against an orc with just pure muscle strength.


    After some time, the muscled, over 2 meters monster staggered as Seokhyun¡¯s met its head.


    Kiaaakkk-!!


    The guy swung his wand in anger, but Seokhyun skilfully dodged it. It was as if he was reading its attack in advance.


    ¡°Oh my God.¡±


    Puck, puck, puck!


    The force behind Seokhyun¡¯s fists was so strong to the point that sounds akin to the sound of punching bags being punched could be heard. Not wanting to take it without retaliating, the orc shaman hurled a streak of lightning towards Seokhyun¡¯s chest. However, once again, Seokhyun avoided it by stepping to the side.


    ¡°I avoided it. You are dead now.¡±


    Baba Bak!


    Seokhyun¡¯s attacks looked like afterimages to Yoon-jeong¡¯s eyes. Then, he took away the orc¡¯s wand and beat it with its own weapon.


    Kiaaakkkk-!!


    The orc screamed and fell to its knees after a few more attacks.


    Then, as Seokhyun was about to stab the orc shaman in the eye with the tip of the wand, he stopped. He exhaled heavily and lowered the wand.


    Yoon-jeong, who was watching, could not hide her confusion. The chance to kill the orc had presented itself in front of him, so why did he stop?


    However, without knowing Yoon-jeong¡¯s confusion, Seokhyun took a deep breath and called up his status window. It should be fine if he killed the orc right away. But he had to help a certain weak friend of his. That friend indeed had made an amazing record in the labyrinth speedrun event, but it¡¯s an individual event. The trick he used in that event wouldn¡¯t work anymore in this event, which depends heavily on the headcount.


    Seokhyun was presuming that his friend, Gimbap, had gotten a non-combat unique ability, which made him unable to announce himself in the Auction House, and would struggle to complete this event. That¡¯s why he thought that he would wait a little bit until his friend cleared it. He had no doubt that Duck would also think the same as him.


    ¡®Our friend is weak, so we need to help him.¡¯


    However, when he opened the ranking page, a record that should not have existed was engraved there.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Seokhyun tilted his head at the sight.

 Chapter 73

    ¡°Follow me.¡± The Zombie Queen said as she entered a high school in the middle of a residential area. The gym members followed right after her. To be honest, they weren¡¯t interested in the kill event at all.


    But what can they do?


    The Zombie Queen¡ªwho had been taking care of them for the past few days¡ªwas calling them. It was a bit far fetch to say that she cared for them, but they could not deny that she had helped them a lot. They were able to live comfortably as the Zombie Queen, who dismantled the Gimhae Clan all by herself, looked after them.


    She said it was now their turn to pay for the meal, and even though she dragged them away, they didn¡¯t even think of rebelling. Half of the reason was because they were grateful towards her, the other half was because they were scared of her.


    As her name suggests, she was usually affectionate, but sometimes she shows madness. That madness wouldn¡¯t explode today¡­ right? That was what everyone was hoping for.


    A paper plane flew and Yoohyeon went to Da-jeong and whispered something. She nodded her head and she said in front of the porch.


    ¡°Everyone, you will take the first floor together with my cuties.¡± The word cuties refers to none other than her zombies. Each of them had a name reminiscent of an idol, and all members of the gym had memorized it. They didn¡¯t do it voluntarily, though. It just happened that way when they had no choice but hear her calling Sugar Sunghoon and Strongest Jio.


    Hyung-jun stepped forward and asked. ¡°Is it okay for you to go up to the second floor alone?¡±


    ¡°I have a sca~~ry orc unnie waiting for me, would you like to go with me?¡± Da-jeong said as she laughed softly. At her words, Hyung-jun shook his head desperately.


    He is tough enough to fight against goblins and kobolds, but he didn¡¯t want to deal with orcs. In the depth of his heart, he wanted to get out of here right now, but it was so difficult to get the words out. Afterall, at first glance, Da-jeong seems to be a sweet girl, but inside, she¡¯s a little¡­ or a lot twisted. The only people who could accept her as she is should be the other stagnant waters who played the game together with her.


    Maybe Seongho was running away because he¡¯s afraid of her personality.


    When Hyung-jun had such thought, the monsters who had been messing around in each classroom ran out into the hallway. Da-jeong quickly posed like a model and called out for zombie idol group. The zombies ran out, at the same time, she took off her high heels and grabbed two long knives.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start. By the way, I will not forgive you if you run away, you know? Because this is all for you.¡±


    The gym members closed their eyes as they braced themselves. The words ¡®I just want to rest at home¡¯ did not come out of their mouths. Which means, the only way they could return home was to survive through this.


    Hyung-jun unclenched his knuckles and stepped forwards. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They¡¯re monsters we had fought with before. Sooyeon, please focus on healing me.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Leave it to me and go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Mikyung, keep dividing the monsters¡¯ attention from the side, and Yoohyeon, aim only for the goblin that went past me and take them out, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Joining Da-jeong¡¯s zombies to fight against monsters was something they had done several times. Even if Da-jeong¡¯s zombies didn¡¯t wear the red ribbon on their neck that distinguishes them to any other normal zombies anymore, they could easily tell them apart from the monsters.


    While the four of them were fighting the monster together with the Boys Generation, Da-jeong went up to the second floor. Only two zombies followed her. Both of them were the most powerful and ferocious zombies among the bunch. However, Da-jeong didn¡¯t have any intention of letting them deal with the orc, because she would be the one who would fight it.


    Once Da-jeong arrived on the second floor, a bunch of kobolds appeared and made a wall in front of her. Without batting an eye, Da-jeong instructed one of her zombies to face them. Her gaze was locked into the end of the dark hallway.


    ¡°Our orc must be hiding there.¡± As if responding to her words, the orc shaman ran out with 3 hobgoblins in tow. They would have continued hiding if it wasn¡¯t she who¡¯s there, but it seems like thanks to her unique ability, they looked at her in a slightly ¡®friendlier¡¯ way.


    As the orc shaman¡¯s wand struck the ground, the ground shook as if an earthquake had occurred.


    ¡°Aha.¡± At that moment, Da-jeong knew what its ability was. Her zombie, who guards her from the back, put down the backpack and rushed at the hobgoblins. While the guy was dealing with the guards, Da-jeong went through the backpack and changed her items.


    ¡°If the dress code has been changed, you should notify me. What is this?¡±


    At her murmur, the orc shaman walked out while waving its wand. No matter how powerful a zombie is, it was simply too weak to stop an orc while also dealing with three hobgoblins. Because of that, Da-jeong faced the orc shaman 1:1.


    Puck-!!


    As the orc¡¯s staff hit the floor, the ground rumbles. The monster on the second floor collapsed to the ground, but Da-jeong survived thanks to her amazing sense of balance.


    ¡°Seongho was worried about me. He said I would be in danger if I met a zombie with the ability to block one¡¯s unique ability.¡± She said.


    Kiek?


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to kill you and prove that I would be okay on my own. If I catch an orc with my own hands, he will accept it, no? So¡­ let¡¯s dance.¡±


    Geruk-!!


    The orc didn¡¯t know what the little human in front of it was talking about, but it knew that the human was taunting it because of her hand gesture. The orc roared, showing its jagged teeth to her and then rushed to Da-jeong.


    Small creatures like this, just one dash¡­


    However, unlike its thought, its dashed to nothing. The human side steps its dash to the side and even makes a cut on its side. It was shallow, but because the long knife was quite sharp, it successfully cut apart its skin.


    Keaaaaaaakkk-!!


    The orc swung the wand on its hand madly in anger. However, Da-jeong avoided all the attacks with grace as if she was dancing, and gave it several more scars on its skin. She wasn¡¯t as strong as Rapwi, and her attacks weren¡¯t that accurate, either. However, the reason she could do so was because her agility stats was close to 20.


    It was the result of equipping various items. At times when it would have been too difficult for an average person to get one or two items, Da-jeong used her subordinate zombies to collect a lot of items by scouring through the city. Thanks to this, she was able to unilaterally play with the orcs.


    ¡°Focus, focus!¡±


    As she continued to swing the two long knives, two of the orcs¡¯ fingers floated into the air. The orc shaman wailed in pain and pounded its staff against the wall. At that moment, the window on the wall exploded and the shattered glass poured into Da-jeong.


    However, even though Da-jeong was being assaulted by numerous pieces of glass, she didn¡¯t take her eyes off the orc even once and quickly retaliated by cutting one wrist of the orc away.


    Keaaakk-!!


    The orc wept painfully, and the Zombie Queen wiped the blood staining her lips with her tongue.


    ¡°Because you made me bleed, I will also make you bleed even more.¡± But she didn¡¯t know how much. She would only stop once she judged it had bleeded enough.


    A moment after that, her subordinate zombies, which had slaughtered the three hobgoblins, stared towards the orc shaman.


    But before it could rush towards it, Da-jeong stopped it.


    ¡°I see you, Strongest Jio! I acknowledge your love for me, but we¡¯re not in a relationship where we can have more than this. You understand?¡±


    Both the zombie and the orc tilted their heads at the same time at her words. However, without caring about their reaction, Da-jeong crossed her two long knives in front of her and jumped at the orc.


    Papapa-!!


    After several more exchanges, the orc fell to his knees, bleeding from all over his body. But, instead of killing it, Da-jeong deliberately backed off.


    ¡°I should give the 1st place to my friend.¡± A poor friend who had to hide himself because his unique ability was not a combat-related skill. Even if she didn¡¯t kill the orc now, she would still be able to set a record right after her friend finished. She just need to wait a little bit. She believed that Rapwi would have the same thoughts as her.


    But, when she opened the ranking page, her sweet expression twisted.


    ¡°WHAT?¡±


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Huff¡­Huff¡­¡± Survivor 1, Baek Geom-in, exhaled heavily. He thought that once he used his unique ability to copy a blink-type unique ability to quickly find the orc, the rest would be easy. But he was mistaken. The resistance of the orc¡¯s subordinate monsters was stronger than expected. The other awakeners, who had to support him in the fight against the orc, got blocked by the waves of monsters and couldn¡¯t get up to the second floor, so he had to run away for a while.


    If the monsters he had to fight were nothing but mere mobs, he should¡¯ve been fine. But since the monsters he had to fight were the orc shaman, as well as its guards, 3 hobgoblins, the story was different. On top of it, since the unique ability Geom-in copied had no additional effects, its efficiency was considerably lowered.


    Frustrated because the orc was still fine after a long time of running away, Geom-in swore inwardly.


    ¡®Hurry up, you idiots!¡¯


    In fact, the reason he didn¡¯t cursed out loud was because he didn¡¯t want to treat them badly. He had recruited them to his side with great difficulty. If they were offended because of his curse, they would quit. Geom-in didn¡¯t want that.


    ¡°Are you guys still far away?¡± Geom-in shouted timidly. As if to respond, two people came up soaked in blood.


    ¡°Sorry we are late!¡±


    ¡°Where are the bodyguards?¡±


    When Geom-in told them the location of the 3 hobgoblins, the two immediately clashed with the three hobgoblins. Thanks to that, Geom-in was able to fight 1:1 with the orc shaman.


    ¡®I will be the one who got the first kill!¡¯ Geom-in threw a flame can as he said so to himself. Then, something amazing happened. A pillar of fire rose to the air and instantly filled the hallway. Because of that, the orc shaman fled to the first floor using its blink ability.


    ¡°Oh shit¡­!¡± Geom-in screamed. Then, he hurriedly pursued it with his own blink. The road in front of the Art Center quickly became a mess.


    ¡°Watch out for the tip of that wand!¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t approach it, it doesn¡¯t matter!¡±


    Flames erupted and orcs roar filled the road, but the survivors remained calm. They weren¡¯t stagnant waters or even semi-stagnant waters, but they were people who had dealt with orcs back in the game. Thanks to their experienced act, Geom-in was able to stab the orc in the back with a long knife.


    The sharp blade tore the orc¡¯s skin in an instant.


    Kieeeekkk-!!


    When his long knife finally impaled the orc¡¯s throat, Geom-in fell into ecstasy. There was no doubt in his mind that he was number one. There was a delay of a few seconds in the middle, but that¡¯s something the other guy should have suffered too.


    While the survivors were still fighting the other monsters, Geom-in quickly opened the ranking page. The name of Survivor 1 was going to be firmly engraved on the record¡­ Or that¡¯s what he thought.


    Why are there three records already?


    Geom-in rubbed his eyes to see if he had seen something wrong, but the three records did not disappear. Then, just as he was being attacked by a monster, other survivors rescued him.


    ¡°Geom-in-ssi! Let¡¯s deal with these guys first!¡±


    ¡°There are still many monsters!¡±


    However, those words didn¡¯t even register in Geom-in¡¯s ear. He only stared at the ranking page with disbelieving looks.


    ¡¸1st place 00:03:21


    That Bastard


    Kill:13


    Points:62¡¹


    ¡¸2nd place 00:03:28


    Sex


    Kill:35


    Points:104¡¹


    ¡¸2nd place 00:03:30


    I Am The Queen


    Kill:20


    Points:76¡¹


    ¡¸2nd place 00:03:31


    _Please insert your name here_


    Kill:6


    Points:30¡¹


    The cursor was blinking next to the 3 minutes 31 seconds record.


    ¡°Why?¡± He muttered blankly. He never imagined that there would already be three people ahead of him. The 1st place was even that bastard, I Love Gimbap, which the Auction House folks said to be lucky to have gotten first in the speedrun event.


    ¡°Lucky?¡±


    Wasn¡¯t his unique ability from creation-type?


    But what is this result?


    Geom-in glared at people with bloodshot eyes. If these idiots had come up 10 seconds faster, he would have taken first place.


    A monster attacked him again while he thought so again, and he was saved yet again by another survivor.


    ¡°Geom-in-ssi! What are you doing here!¡±


    His shoulders shook violently. Then, his words finally exploded.


    ¡°Ahhhh!¡± Meanwhile, Beomseok, the chief secretary of the president, who was looking at the Art Center from afar, lowered his telescope.


    ¡°He¡¯s crying. His final record is 4th place. Except for 1st place, all of them are recorded as 2nd place.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ he¡¯s in fourth place even though he had such a fast clear time?¡±


    Jang Wontaek felt sorry for him, and Beomseok wrote on the wall with chalk.


    ¡°The 1st place was 3 minutes and 21 seconds¡­ that¡¯s an amazing record.¡±


    ¡°Even though Geom-in prepared that much, he couldn¡¯t overcome him. It seems like his records on the speedrun event was no luck, and his unique ability wasn¡¯t creation type.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s your guess?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ We have to meet him to be sure.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure he¡¯s in Gyeongnam?¡±


    ¡°Seokhyun and Da-jeong are both in Gyeongnam currently. He must be around Changwon¡­ my guess is, he¡¯s in Seongsan-gu.¡±


    Jang Won-taek mumbled and scratched his cheek. ¡°Find more about him. Even if we can¡¯t get him to join us, we need to at least convey our will to him.¡±


    ¡°Will he be able to understand? He is someone who hid the information he had until the very end.¡±


    ¡°Stop talking about that.¡±


    The former president and chief of staff were silent for a moment. They couldn¡¯t guess what kind of unique ability Gimbap had that made him hide any kind of information about him. But surprisingly, his fighting power seems to be great.


    Beomseok¡¯s head hurt.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Find that bastard quickly!¡± People of JongSaMu ran around the bank as soon as they found body of a dead orc shaman. Whining series No.5 screams as loud as he could to his subordinates. He must have been very angry because his target was stolen right in front of his nose.


    ¡°It¡¯s a competition in the first place, so why are you so angry?¡± After killing the orc shaman, I was able to return to the hideout thanks to all my skill which was activated throughout the fight. I thought I¡¯d stay there for a while until the commotion subsides.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ the status window.¡±


    ¡¸Level: 17 Point(s): 3712


    Vitality: 12 (+4) Strength: 13 (+2)


    Agility:9 (+2) Dexterity:12(+4) Perception:10(+4)


    Unique Ability: Dedicated Dimension Door


    Skills: Survival Instinct, Terrain detection 2, Motionless Movement, Life Tracking, Paralyze Resistance 2, Fighting Instinct, Light Gait, Eyes of Truth, Stigma of Death, Hard Skin.


    Active buff(s):- ¡¹


    ¡°The point I got isn¡¯t important¡­¡± The more important thing was the orc¡¯s unique ability, Hard Skin. ¡°The effect is 20% reduction on physical damage, right?¡±


    Even though it was not comparable to the ogre¡¯s Stone Skin, it was still a good skill because it reduced physical damage by a percentage. For the item, I got the bone necklace the orc was wearing. By the way, it¡¯s such an incredible item which was hard to find since it increased Dexterity and Perception by 2 each.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to get a 2 stats option item in the first place.¡± And the probability of obtaining a three-stats option item was extremely bad. Even if the playtime exceeds a thousand hours, most users had never saw it. Even I, who had played for 5000 hours, only had two of such items in the game.


    ¡°This is what really matters.¡± I opened the scroll from the rewards. I had guessed that it would be a unique item before, and it seems like I was right.


    ¡¸Crime Pardon: Consume 2,000 points to delete all murder records. This also applies to murderers.¡¹


    There was no such thing like this scroll in the original game. If someone commit more than one murder, the system would instantly register them as a murderer. Since their location would be exposed through heartbeats, it becomes almost impossible for them to live a normal life. It would also last until they meet their end.


    And if there¡¯s a scroll which could reset that status?


    ¡°If I put it on the Auction House, it will sell for quite a lot.¡± But, I have no intention to do so since it would be better to give it to Da-jeong, who had committed murder for me without thinking twice. There¡¯s no way that won¡¯t happen again in the future. Probably, Rapwi would easily do something like that too, so the first of the three of us to become a murderer should use this scroll.


    I organized the items and turned on the ranking page.


    ¡°Ohoo, as expected!¡± Rapwi and Duck took 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Due to the nature of the event, there¡¯s no meaning other than 1st place, but anyway. The one who got 4th place was someone I didn¡¯t know.


    ¡¸2nd place 00:03:31


    Fuck


    Kill: 6


    Points: 30¡¹


    ¡°Why did you put a curse word as your name?¡±


    Are you in a similar situation to me?


    When I entered the Auction House, as expected, there was a commotion there.


    -It¡¯s you again?


    -His previous record in the speedrun event is not luck! You guys who said it was luck, come forward!


    -Woah, he even takes first place in the Orc First Kill event.


    -Everyone, I Love Gimbap will surely see what you are writing now hahahahaha


    -You stupidass, what will he do even if he saw it?


    -This is really upsetting. Survivor 1, you said you¡¯re going to take first place? You don¡¯t even appear on the records.


    -That guy is such an attention seeker.


    -Survivor 1: Shut up you bastards.


    -Hehe, are you Survivor 1? Where¡¯s your ID on the rankings?


    -Survivor 1: I finished 4th, so what?


    At his words, the comment instantly filled with LOL.


    -Oh LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL.


    -The one who use curse words as their name.


    -Crazy lololololololol


    Then, out of nowhere, someone entered a strange comment.


    -Are there any Japanese here?


    -?


    -Why would the Japanese people be here, you idiot?


    -Aren¡¯t all Japanese dead?


    I stared at the comment section for a moment. Well, there¡¯s no law that state that there should be no Japanese survivors. Even if they didn¡¯t know about the game and don¡¯t have any unique ability, there should be places where they could survive.


    However, entering the Auction House means they have reached level 15.


    ¡°Maybe they also awakened?¡± After the speedrun event, didn¡¯t people say they met some foreigners in the labyrinth? If that¡¯s true, The Japanese and the rest of the world might have been affected by the system too. But the fact that they could speak Korean was strange.


    In any case, the commenter who asked about Japanese did not comment any further, seems like they were embarrassed by the aggressive reaction. When I checked the ID, to my surprise, a name came out.


    ¡°Yuzuka? Instead of an ID, a Japanese name came out?¡± Oh my God. It looks like this guy is really Japanese.

 Chapter 74

    A few days after the Orc First Kill event. I had a conversation with Da-jeong at the Auction House through our ciphered language. It seems like even though on the rankings, my record was shown as faster a few seconds than them, they¡¯re actually yielding the first rank to me, by not immediately killing the orcs they hunted and waited a couple seconds for me to kill mine first.


    Of course, I thanked her for that.


    -Are you gonna thank me with just your words alone?


    -Is there anything you want? Maybe something you want to eat?


    -I want the dish from before, it was so delicious. But this time, I want it fried!


    -Ummm¡­ it¡¯s difficult to fry because I don¡¯t have any fryer. How about smoked?


    -Call! But you know, you should probably include the DLC this time, am I right?


    -You do know that DLCs have a different price to the main course right?


    -Die!!!


    Da-jeong and I were already acting like we were back in the game. Gender or age doesn¡¯t matter at all between us. The more important thing was to be able to help each other and have fun. I wished Rapwi would join soon. Even if we couldn¡¯t live together, I still want to give him the ciphered code first, so we can communicate easier.


    When I sent the smoked Hwajo to Da-jeong, I also told her that I¡¯m going to find Rapwi soon.


    -He must have been somewhere near Jinju by now. So, I¡¯ll go look for him. You just stay there, Da-jeong.


    -Okay. I¡¯m a princess waiting for her prince anyway.


    -Princess my ass¡­ you are a whip-wielding SM queen.


    -You know, I looted some gags and a butt plug at the adult toys store. It will suit you.


    -Let¡¯s just stop here.


    If this girl said she¡¯s going to do it, she will surely do it. So, let¡¯s not talk about it anymore. Maybe she had made Yoohyeon her slave by now. When I asked her how the gym group people were doing, she said they¡¯re doing fine. Then, I explained to her the circumstances around my current hideout.


    -It¡¯s not bad to stay here. There are many water tanks in the residential area. There is also the sea, so I don¡¯t think there will be any problem with food supply.


    -So, when should we go there?


    -I would like you guys to come next month at the latest¡­ Do you have a lot of food left in the base?


    -Compared to when you left, it had already been reduced by half. So, are we leaving in early October?


    ¨C Ask the others. You aren¡¯t making decisions on your own like a dictator, aren¡¯t you?


    -¡­.noooo¡­. I did it democratically, of course¡­


    -Why is your answer so delayed, like you¡¯re hesitating?


    -Shhhhh. Be quiet. I love you. Dream of me. Bless you.


    -That¡¯s more of a curse rather than a blessing.


    I came out of the Auction House and prepared a meal. It¡¯s about time for Yeowool and her group to come. We had become quite friendly while throwing traps and hunting together these past few days. And when we talked about having dinner together, they instantly said they would love to do so.


    Even though it was just pleasantries, I couldn¡¯t back down because their eyes were twinkling when we talked about it. So, I prepared a lot. By prepared, I mean taking out food from the cave when saying that I looted it from here and there.


    When the sun in the sky was at its highest, the three finally arrived.


    ¡°Ahjussi, we are here.¡±


    ¡°Wow, it smells delicious!¡±


    ¡°Shh.¡± I quickly shushed them while pointing to a road in front of the building which was full of zombies. After the Orc First Kill event, the zombie¡¯s behavior had changed. Now, some zombies have become more sluggish than before. The three students liked it because it makes it easier for them to get around, but as I knew what their behaviour means, that¡¯s not a good sign. At all.


    That sluggish behavior means that they would soon evolve into a ghoul. I don¡¯t know if it can be considered as a real evolution or not, but what I know is that zombies, which already had enough nutrition, would soon turn into ghouls and would be granted the ability to run. When that time comes, the situation will become the worst, to the point where our current situation can be said as heaven when compared to the future.


    Unlike zombies, ghouls could run, crawl, and overcome obstacles. Their strength and stamina were also quite high, and above all, their tracking ability would be significantly improved from the time when they were only a normal zombie. Therefore, it would be harder to run away from those guys. To survive, the only way was to kill them. However, on top of them, orcs and werewolves would also appear. The true apocalypse was about to happen.


    But in order to survive, one needs to eat first.


    The children¡¯s eyes widened as I placed one large bowl on the table.


    ¡°You worked really hard on farming, Ahjussi.¡±


    ¡°I looked at many places and couldn¡¯t find anything like this. Where did you get it, Hyung?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really absurd.¡±


    What I prepared for them was bibimbap made by soaking dried vegetables in water. Even after soaking it in water, it does not return to its original shape and texture, but rubbing it with red pepper paste was enough to make it delicious once again. When I sprinkled some sesame oil on it, the faces of the children changed to those of a zombie with food in front of them. Even Yeowool, who was normally calmer than the other two, was also staring at the bowl.


    Adding Hwajo on top of it would make it even more fancier, but I didn¡¯t do it because I couldn¡¯t find any excuse if they ever asked me where I found it. Let¡¯s just let Da-jeong and others eat it for now.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat.¡± I said after pouring a doenjang soup which didn¡¯t have any ingredients inside.


    ¡°Thank you for the food!¡± The children said in unison. Yeowool was holding up the bowl and putting it in her mouth. Well, I think it was natural since 18 years old was the age where they reached the peak of their growing age, and would need a lot of nutrition.


    As I ate slowly, I thought of a means of escaping from monsters. The time has come when simply running away wasn¡¯t enough to escape from monsters. The best method to run away at this kind of time was to use ropes to cross between buildings. It¡¯s a method I used a lot in the game since most monsters couldn¡¯t traverse the rope. Other people could also use it to go back and forth between buildings. Afterall, the road would become so dangerous that it was impossible to use.


    ¡°What are you thinking about, Ahjussi?¡± Yeowool, who had already finished her portion of the bibimbap, asked quietly.


    I quietly added more rice and garnish to her bowl.


    ¡°But I¡¯m already full, Ahjussi.¡±


    ¡°This is the last bibimbap.¡±


    ¡°Then, I will enjoy this food.¡± Indeed, it seems like there¡¯s always an extra room in a woman¡¯s stomach. In the case of Sooyeon and Mikyung, even after eating so much food, they still said that they had a separate stomach for sweets.


    Junho and Dohyung also emptied one more bowl of rice.


    When they finished, I opened my mouth.


    ¡°There is something I want you two to do.¡±


    ¡°What is it, Hyung?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that the two of you have Terrain Mastery unique ability?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    Terrain Mastery means they can do parkour. Although I had superior athletic ability compared to ordinary people thanks to my stats, it was impossible to compare myself with the two. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen someone jump over a wall that seems to be over 10m at the shortest.


    According to Yeowool, their unique ability came from their daily activity. When they were still in school, they often ran around, jumping around walls of their school just to get to the cafeteria earlier than other students. And it seems like those repeated actions had turned into Terrain Mastery unique ability. They were both still level 4, so they still had no additional effect on their unique ability. That said, their skill had a lot of potential to be useful.


    ¡°Can you run around between buildings with a rope?¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s only that much, it was a piece of cake.¡± The two thought for a little while then nodded.


    ¡°Ahjussi, are you thinking of tying ropes between buildings?¡± Yeowool intervened in the middle of our conversation.


    When I affirmed, she thought for a moment and then she said. ¡°The monsters might be able to use the rope as well.¡±


    I¡¯m sure they wouldn¡¯t be able to use it as I had used this method thousands of times in the game, but it¡¯s better to take a step back here.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try it first before making further decisions. Or, are you worried because you¡¯re afraid of heights?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that. It¡¯s just¡­ if the monsters are able to use the rope, there will be nowhere to escape for us.¡±


    ¡°I think most monsters wouldn¡¯t be able to use the rope. Zombies, of course, can¡¯t. And goblins and kobolds, as you all know, are cowards, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    Orcs, of course, wouldn¡¯t be able to use it since they couldn¡¯t move delicately, and it would tear because of their weight, and werewolves will choose to tear it apart rather than to use it. Anyway, as far as I know, there were very few monsters that could ride the rope. Among the enhanced ghouls, the only one who could do it was the one we called ¡®grasshopper¡¯, an enhanced ghoul notorious for its agile movements.


    ¡°Since Hyung want us to do it, let¡¯s just do it. Can I use that rope over there?¡± Junho jumped to his feet.


    ¡°Yeah. There¡¯s a structure at the end of the hallway, isn¡¯t there? Tie it there.¡±


    Dingo grabbed the parachute rope and handed it to Junho. He said ¡®what a good boy¡¯, patted Dingo¡¯s head and ran straight away.


    Meanwhile, Yeowool, who was busy looking at her strategy book, said in a complicated tone. ¡°Goblins and kobolds are not really a problem, but the problem is the orcs and werewolves. Especially werewolves.¡±


    ¡°They are mainly active at night, so just don¡¯t come out at night.¡±


    ¡°It will be tougher to farm¡­¡±


    ¡°What can we do? We just have to adapt.¡±


    After waiting for a while, Junho returned.


    ¡°Hyung, I tied it up.¡±


    ¡°It will be fine even if I hang on it, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course! It would even be okay even if Yeowool was the one who used it!¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Yeowool kicked Junho¡¯s thigh as soon as she heard his words.


    We then went to the end of the hallway and checked the ropes. It was tied up strongly. I immediately got on the rope and moved to the building across the street. If my Strength stat were insufficient, I wouldn¡¯t be able to move as fast, but since my current Strength stat was 15, I was able to move between buildings in no time by holding the string as if I was doing a pull-up and moving it in strides.


    At the building where I was moments ago, I saw the kids cheering happily.


    ¡°Shh.¡± I put my finger in front of my mouth and then pointed to Yeowool. Until now, She still didn¡¯t tell me what her unique ability was. Even when I said that I had to know her unique ability to take measures, she still didn¡¯t want to tell me.


    Anyway, she plucked up her courage and put her hands on the rope. However, due to lack of strength, she could only move slowly.


    ¡°Ouch!¡± When she let out such a short scream, the monsters below instantly looked up. I quickly shot and killed them one by one, then approached Yeowool and said,


    ¡°Get to my back.¡±


    ¡°Ah-Ahjussi, will it be okay?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it better than to hang around like that?¡±


    She nodded her head and climbed into my back. The child was so light to the point I didn¡¯t even feel anything when she climbed up. I moved her to her original building and dropped her off.


    ¡°Haaahh, I can¡¯t cross.¡±


    ¡°You have to. We need to secure some more means of escaping. Dohyung and Junho, can you two connect more ropes to the surrounding buildings? If you run out of ropes, just tell me.¡±


    ¡°Yep. Leave it to us, Hyung.¡± After the two disappeared, Yeowool buried her head between her knees.


    ¡°How long do I have to do this? I can¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°You have to do it until you die. If you don¡¯t do this in the future, you won¡¯t be able to survive.¡±


    ¡°I have no powers¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have your unique ability? Though, I still don¡¯t know what it is.¡±


    ¡°My unique ability is useless. It¡¯s the same as not having it.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to say it, you don¡¯t have to.¡±


    Everyone had their secrets. And there must be a reason why Yeowool decided to hide her unique ability. But when she decides to do so, she would have to solve a lot of things by herself. It doesn¡¯t matter for me since I could use the forest, but it will be difficult for Yeowool, an ordinary high school student.


    From the window, I could see Junho and Dohyung running between the buildings and connecting the ropes. There¡¯s a mountaineering equipment store nearby, so I would have to do some looting because we would need a lot more ropes.


    As I was about to leave, Yeowool grabbed the hem of my pants.


    ¡°Ahjussi¡­¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Would you like to go out with me?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± What the hell is this¡­


    I squatted and put her hand on her shoulder.


    ¡°Can you tell me more? I don¡¯t get it because I¡¯m slow at this kind of thing.¡±


    She barely raised her head and said. ¡°My unique ability is called¡­ One heart and one body. But, isn¡¯t that what a couple do?¡±


    ¡°That should be right, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Sometimes it refers to an organization or a friend that boasts a strong sense of unity, but usually it talks about a couple¡­ It seems that her unique ability would only get displayed when she had a partner.


    ¡°Is that why you asked me to date you?¡±


    ¡°I-I mean, there¡¯s no other man¡­¡±


    ¡°What about Junho or Dohyung?¡±


    At that word, her voice rose a bit.


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel like that towards either of them. And if I date one of them, it means I will have to ignore the other one¡­¡±


    Well, that¡¯s right. They¡¯ve been friends since they were so young, so it would be hard to do so.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to force yourself to do something you don¡¯t like.¡± I said as I tapped her shoulder.


    ¡°No. If it¡¯s Ahjussi, I¡¯m fine with it. If I stay like this, I can¡¯t even use my unique ability¡­ I don¡¯t want to die¡­¡±


    ¡°What do you mean ¡°I don¡¯t want to die¡±? There will be another man besides me coming soon, you can just date him and use your ability with him.¡±


    This time, Yeowool¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Who is he?¡±


    ¡°His name is Yoohyeon, and he will arrive at the beginning of October. He¡¯s currently, uh¡­ 22 years old? You will surely fall in love at first sight.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not someone who looks at appearance. Ability is more important.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s good at what he does. Anyway, just wait for him and decide. Because dating a guy like me will only make your life dull.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m okay with Ahjussi, though¡­¡±


    ¡°You will regret it when he comes. He¡¯s really handsome.¡±


    ¡°Is he really that handsome?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. When I first saw him, I thought he was an idol.¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t have a girlfriend right now?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I don¡¯t know for sure.¡± Since Yoohyeon was close with Mikyung, they might have developed romantic feelings for each other. And if they aren¡¯t, I hope Da-jeong hadn¡¯t yet made him her slave.


    Anyway, Yeowool brightened up after hearing that a handsome oppa was coming soon.


    After a while, two boys came because they had run out of rope. I went up to the roof with Yeowool and saw that ropes had been installed toward all nearby buildings.


    That¡¯s cool.


    Now we just need to install some traps.


    .


    .


    .


    My shelter in the forest suddenly became noisy. The kobolds had come and tried to invade endlessly. They sleep in their nearby nest during the day and flocked to my shelter at night. I didn¡¯t care, though. The defensive power of the barbed wire fence was quite high, so I didn¡¯t even think of going after the kobold by myself. Moreover, after they ran a few times into the barbed wire and became bloody, they only threw wooden spears and stones from a distance now.


    ¡°Weak strength and low accuracy¡­¡± They caused no major damage to me or to the shelter. But since their number was quite high, it was a concern. Especially whenever I went to Earth since the shelter would become defenseless if the defensive measures had ever failed.


    ¡°I have to kill them all.¡± Or I should strengthen the shelter. I asked the scarabs to make a lot of wooden arrows to deal with them. It¡¯s a waste to use carbon or aluminum arrows against the likes of kobolds. It certainly could be retrieved, but the durability would lessen.


    ¡°The time has come to make arrows.¡± When the scarabs made it, I was the one who assembled it. It seems like they readily cooperate because they found the dozens of kobolds scary too.


    Just like that, three days passed.


    The current time was night. A kobold-specific rattling sound was heard outside the shelter where I come to rest after a long day on Earth. It was a soggy cry, qualitatively different from the barking of Dingo.


    I quickly grabbed my spare 60-pound bow I had in the warehouse and scattered the wooden arrows on the floor. The number of kobolds was so great that it was almost impossible to not hit any of it.


    ¡°¡­it¡¯s kind of weird.¡± It was strange for kobolds to form a group like this. Originally, these guys only moved in a group of about 7 or 8 with the alpha as the centre. Moreover, It¡¯s not like the shelter was so appetizing, so it¡¯s abnormal that they were united for just the purpose of looting.


    In any case, I¡¯ll have to show them that this shelter was anything but easy so they would turn their tail.


    Woof-!! Woof-!!


    A particular kobold, who appeared to be the alpha of the big group, held up wooden spears and howled, while others chorused. The whole forest instantly filled with the howls of kobolds.


    ¡°They are absolutely crazy.¡± I spat as I lit a firecracker and threw it towards the alpha. A roar erupted, and the kobolds were thrown into chaos. Taking advantage of that opportunity, I nocked some arrow and shot it towards them. After shooting all the arrows, the scarab from the side threw me some more one by one.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± It¡¯s very comfortable to have an infinite refill of arrows. By the way, while I was attacking, Dingo barked inside the barbed wire to grab the attention of the kobolds. Alright, if we keep doing it like this¡­


    Then, before I could finish my thought, through the darkness, a muscular gorilla-no, an orc appeared.


    Isn¡¯t this our first time meeting in the forest?


    When it appeared, the kobolds scrambled to get out of the way.


    ¡°Ahh, so you¡¯re the reason why so many kobolda had gathered to form a single group¡± I said in a disbelieving voice.


    Kieeeekkk-!!


    A deafening roar erupted as the orc¡¯s mouth opened. Then, the guy went down to the moat, grabbed the barbed wire. But soon after, it let out a scream full of agony.


    Kiaaaakk-!!


    ¡°Shit.¡± It didn¡¯t seem like it would back off easily. If so, there was only one way. I had to kill all the monsters gathered here.


    While I was checking the slots, the orc who had returned to the horde threw a few kobolds towards me.


    It¡¯s an orc catapult!!! What the fuck!!!


    Of course, it¡¯s not effective since the kobolds who got thrown away were half stunned as they crashed on the ground and could be easily killed. But the orc seemed to have fun, so the problem was the fact it kept on throwing them!


    ¡°You motherfucker!¡± I cursed out loud as I shot him with a 100-pound bow I took from the slot. When the orc saw me drawing my arrow, it moved towards the back of the kobolds and used them as shields.


    The guy was pretty smart. Next time, it might even throw the kobolds onto the barbed wire and use them to cross over. It must be stopped before it could do that.


    I faced the monster with all my might. And an hour later, finally, all of the monsters disappeared.


    ¡°Huh, huh¡­¡± All skills were disabled and I felt quite tired. However, since the orc successfully ran away, I could expect more attacks soon. It could be easily killed with a flame can, but if I use it here, there¡¯s a possibility that the fire may spread to the surrounding tree. So I tried to kill it by sniping it with arrows and guns. However, it survived by using the kobolds as its shield.


    ¡°Damn you.¡± The reason today was harder than the time I killed the orc in the Orc First Kill event was because at that time, I was the one on the offensive. But now, I was on the defensive. It was also fatal that I couldn¡¯t use the flame cans while the guns did not work properly.


    ¡°I need to have a good plan.¡± I sat on the floor and stroked the panting Dingo. Even the scarabs were on their backs, looking quite tired. Afterall, throwing arrows at me and organizing weapons was a difficult task.


    ¡°You worked hard today. Go in and rest.¡± However, when his brethren come inside, the scarab leader stays and starts to draw on the ground with a branch. What he drew was a giant arrow, a ballista. It wasn¡¯t portable at all as there was a stand attached to it. And the bolt was drawn almost the size of my forearm.


    This could be a sure solution, but¡­


    ¡°Can you really make it?¡± The scarab leader nodded.


    Could it be that these guys were blacksmiths in their previous lives?

 Chapter 75

    It was said that people should study until they die. In addition to studying in the traditional sense, which is by gathering as much knowledge as possible from sources like books, it also meant that people should not give up the mindset of always wanting to learn something new.


    I juggled with the thoughts inside my head and tried to apply it to reality. Of course, the thoughts were about modifying the shelter in order to survive. In a way, this could also be called study. However, what the scarabs were doing was the real study.


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting¡­¡±


    They were currently looking at the tablet now. I had always wondered, what will dogs or cats do when they see the screen of a tablet or smartphone?


    When Dingo saw the crossbow making videos, he immediately fell asleep, but the scarabs did not. The guys were clearly looking at the screen and studying. They nodded their heads and pointed to the screen with their front claws as if telling the others what they thought about it. When they kept trying to draw something on the cement floor, I brought a large piece of paper and a pen to help them. Then, the blueprint was drawn on the spot.


    To my ears it sounded like the scarabs were quarreling like this.


    -Wouldn¡¯t it be better if we use metal as the material for the bow?


    -The problem is the loading process! It will be hard to load a ballista on our own!


    -Isn¡¯t it possible for the owner?


    -What about when he¡¯s not here? We should design it so not just the owner, but us would also be able to load it!


    -By ¡®us¡¯, does that include the wolf as well?


    -That¡¯s right. If we use some pulleys and gears¡­


    I shook my head and came to my senses. What the hell was I thinking about. I was tired, so I must have heard a strange noise. In any case, the scarabs were enthusiastically discussing something about the design of the ballista. The structure was confirmed right away, but the blueprint was revised several times to tweak some smaller parts.


    The other scarab nodded their heads as the captain took the action of whining and turning something.


    ¡°Is this because you don¡¯t have enough strength?¡± At my question, they nodded as a group.


    Maybe what I heard was true?


    Anyway, it seemed like it was difficult for the scarabs to load some arrow to the ballista because they lacked the strength to do so. These guys were quite strong for their size, but in the end, there¡¯s a limit because they were nothing but scarabs.


    They looked at me and then took an interest in Dingo. A scarab stuck out its tongue and handed a piece of paper to the sleeping Dingo¡¯s snout.


    At that time, I realized.


    ¡°You want Dingo to load the arrow?¡± I questioned. Well, the strength of Dingo¡¯s bite and pull was strong. Now that he had grown to the size of a small Jindo dog, it was difficult even for me to deal with him. (E/n: Jindo dog is one of the native breeds of South Korea, originated from Jindo Island. It is one of South Korea¡¯s Natural Treasures, famous for its loyalty and homing instinct)


    When I glanced at the blueprint, it looked like gears and pulleys were added in order to multiply Dingo¡¯s pulling force.


    ¡°Are you guys perhaps dwarves in your previous life?¡± I said without thinking much. This world has turned into more fantasy than fantasy world itself, so I¡¯m referring to the dwarven race, a race that is often related to the theme ¡®fantasy¡¯, together with the elves and beastman.


    At that moment, the scarabs stopped working and stared aT me.


    ¡°Sorry¡­.¡± I thought I did something wrong, so I apologized immediately. ¡°So what do I need to prepare?¡±


    The guys drew something on the paper. It was an instruction for me on what shape they wanted the wood to be. The guys did the design and other small parts while I took care of the big parts and assembly. In other words, it was a division of labour.


    ¡°Nice. However, before we start¡­¡± I¡¯m tired today, so let¡¯s eat and sleep first before doing it. When I proposed, the scarabs looked at me and pointed towards the sweet potato flavored jelly.


    It seems like they¡¯re asking ¡®Can we eat that since we had worked hard today?¡¯


    I instantly gave them two packs of jelly.


    ¡°You did a good job today. Get a good night¡¯s sleep and start working again tomorrow.¡±


    The sleeping Dingo sniffed the air, jumped up and let out a short bark.


    ¡°Okay, Okay.¡±


    We got together, ate, and slept.


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    .


    The next day, me and the scarabs started working in earnest. We decided to recycle the old ebony sticks, which almost lost all its durability. It cannot be used as a weapon anymore, but the handle was still intact, so it¡¯s still usable.


    The scarabs who guided me around the forest picked a suitable tree. Seeing that some acorn-like fruit littered the ground around the tree, I wondered if it was something like an oak tree.


    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s do it.¡± I said as I started the chainsaw machine. I had to finish the task quickly before the monsters swarmed over here because of the noise.


    Why did this forest, which was relatively peaceful except for the trouble the goblins bring, become like this, I wonder?


    When I was on my way back to the shelter after cutting the wood into smaller size to fit the ballista, water drops start to pour from the sky. It didn¡¯t turn into snow because the temperature had risen quite a bit. However, it¡¯s still not completely okay. Afterall, If I caught a cold in this kind of world, where clinics and hospitals are gone, I¡¯d be the one suffering.


    I fixed the wood on the woodworking tools and worked it out. Turning the lever to cut the wood was nothing but tedious task. Nevertheless, I could not neglect it because the orcs and other monsters would definitely come soon.


    With the forest becoming more and more chaotic, who¡¯s going to guarantee that werewolves wouldn¡¯t appear next?


    ¡°That¡¯s why, I have to do something.¡± While talking to myself and cutting the wood, the shape finally came to form. Starting from now, it¡¯s up to the scarabs to refine it to perfection. When I squinted in their direction, they were watching the video while touching the tablet screen with their forelegs.


    ¡°Ho¡­.¡± Their act was proof that they had a clear understanding of what a tablet is and what the screen was explaining. I decided to ignore them and give up understanding what the scarabs were doing.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just confuse myself if I keep thinking about it¡­¡±


    While they were making metal bows, I started making the stands for the ballista. Looking at the blueprint, it seems that it was a fixed type. In fact, it¡¯s better to operate such a ballista in a fixed stand rather than trying to make it moveable. Since the shelter itself is circular, most of the directions would be covered just by rotating it.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to move this big thing in the first place.¡±


    When I thought how great the power of the ballista would be, I instantly got excited. It would definitely be powerful enough to deal some damage to orcs and werewolves. Though, I still need something to restrain werewolves¡¯ movement first so they wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge. But for now, let¡¯s not think about it.


    ¡°If only the bull peppers grew a little faster, I would have no worry.¡± There are only a few monsters who can¡¯t use their sense of smell, such as zombies and plant-type monsters. Keepers and bone creepers also couldn¡¯t use their sense of smell, but since they¡¯re special cases, let¡¯s make an exception.


    Anyway, it means that if I stocked up a lot of bull pepper bombs, I could deal with almost any monster.


    ¡°It is important to recognize them and prepare for countermeasure beforehand.¡± The worst thing that could happen was not being prepared to deal with unexpected things.


    After a lot of work, a stand was created. The shape was sloppy, but it fills all specifications required by the scarabs. Now, I needed some pillar to hold it in place. I dug the ground and planted some timber quite deeply. I put a few boards with 4 holes on them and they didn¡¯t move even if I pushed them with my feet.


    ¡°Is this okay?¡± When I called the scarab leader and showed it to him, he looked satisfied. The next thing I would have to do was assembling the parts, but¡­ when I looked at the scarabs, it seemed that the scarabs were having a hard time making the parts. They had made the bow, but they were having problems with the string.


    Dingo would bite and pull it without mercy, so it had to be strong and resilient.


    ¡°How about this?¡± I said to them as I gave them strings I looted from a hardware store before the end. It was made of stainless steel, therefore, it¡¯s very strong and bends relatively well. The scarabs instantly gathered and admired the wire.


    Behold, this is the technology of Korea, the modern nation.


    Anyway, the wire seems to have solved the big problem as the scarabs began to work diligently again. When I saw them moving like that, I pondered what to do next.


    ¡°How should I even respond to werewolves and other monsters¡­¡± The problem was that there was nothing preventing more monsters from appearing. Especially flying monsters. Although rare, griffons were extremely dangerous. It could dive from above the sky and snatch people.


    Come to think of it, there were such scenes in horror movies. People were suddenly caught by their claws and got flown away, then they were thrown into the nest, screaming, and eaten alive by their younglings. They couldn¡¯t even run away because when the griffon grabbed their limbs, it also broke them because of how strong their grip was. Of course, a lot of people died horribly when they were caught by monsters, but being caught by a griffon was more frightening than them all, because they built nests in very high places, denying all kinds of escape methods.


    I looked around the shelter. At the very first glance, it was obvious that this place did not has enough defence to fend flying monsters. But I was not worried at all. After all, there was no suitable place for the flying monster to use as a nest around the area. Although the trees were quite tall here, it¡¯s still not big and tall enough to support their size and weight.


    ¡°Still, I couldn¡¯t be completely sure.¡± They might suddenly expand their range of activities due to lack of prey. It was a common occurrence in animal documentaries.


    ¡°By the way, I heard that a griffon cub is delicious.¡± It was one of the few monsters that could be eaten because its meat is non-toxic. The eggs were also large and had a very strong taste, so it was considered a delicacy. In the original game, they were nothing more than a protein shuttle which we stagnant waters used to bet on. But in reality, it would different. If something goes wrong, we would instantly be caught by its claws and dragged to their nest.


    ¡°To prepare for their threat¡­¡± It seems like I had to make a place to hide, something akin to a bunker, in the shelter. It would be perfect if I made it around the ballista.


    I looked around the ballista stand. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to make two.¡±


    Let¡¯s say that one day, while I was working, I noticed a griffon¡¯s attack. I have to hide myself within just a span of seconds. So, if the hiding place was too far away, I would be caught by it while running.


    ¡°Sandwich panels can¡¯t be considered as a defense.¡± The warehouse where I store my supplies seems sturdy at first glance, but it shakes even when I push and pull it. If it was something as large as a griffon, it would be destroyed immediately.


    I¡¯d also like to build a strong guard post.


    ¡°How should I build it¡­¡± Stacking bricks seemed best. But, since I have to shoot the ballista too, I¡¯ll have to dig a small hole to use as a passage. I instantly sketched out the blueprint. However, there were a few things I must do before building it.


    ¡°It¡¯s killing zombies.¡± Of course, zombies and monsters were something I killed every time. However, at this moment, there was a need to focus on the zombies, which were about to turn into ghouls.


    By the way, they were easy to distinguish from normal zombies because they were slower and only walked alone.


    ¡°At the end of evolution, they look like a person who is crouching in a corner.¡± Not everyone knows exactly what the moment of evolution was like. I was no exception to that as it happened when I was still a beginner. At that time, there were simply so many other dangerous monsters I needed to pay attention to.


    After I gave the scarabs another jelly pack, I grabbed my backpack and called Dingo.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go hunting.¡±


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    .


    ¡°Woah¡­¡± I said as I went up to the roof of my hideout building. I didn¡¯t expect Junho and Dohyung could handle things this well. Ropes were stretched from my building to the other buildings in the surrounding. If I was in a hurry, I could just use it.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting something like this.¡± They did a lot better than I ever expected. The ropes I gave to them shouldn¡¯t have been enough to do it all, but I guess they looted ropes from many places. Seems like, next time we meet, I should treat them to some meal.


    ¡°I see some bastards who are evolving into ghouls.¡± I murmured as I leaned against the roof structure and looked down. They had some characteristic which were not well known to others. The first one was that they always closed their eyes.


    Is it because they lose sight when they become a ghoul?


    Their other senses were also dulled, so their movement itself had becomes dull. However, when they finished evolving, their hearing would be very enhanced to the point of superhuman hearing. It feels like a trade-off, because their sense of smell and sight would worsen to the point where they wouldn¡¯t be able to see or smell anything. If I had to exaggerate a little, their hearing could even pick up a human heartbeat from a few meters away.


    ¡°Thankfully, not all zombies would evolve to ghouls, so they wouldn¡¯t be too spread.¡± Not only that, mid-grade monsters such as orcs and werewolves aren¡¯t that many in numbers either. Even when ogres appear later, the monster survivors would often encounter would still be goblins and zombies.


    By the way, this matter was also written in the strategy the government spread, albeit vaguely.


    ¡°A quick-witted person should be able to get it¡­¡± When I entered the Auction House, there was a discussi- no, a fight on the subject.


    -Has everyone been hunting for ghouls? It¡¯s best to kill them before they change. What will you do if you later turn into an enhanced ghoul?


    -At that time, the Tier 1 Store will also open, so we can just hunt them then.


    -Are you saying that those who didn¡¯t manage to unlock the Store can only wait for their death?


    -Sorry, is there anyone who is less than level 10 right now?


    -There are plenty.


    -There¡¯s not a lot in Seoul, but if you go to other cities, there will be a lot of people who don¡¯t even know that there are additional effects on unique abilities.


    -Wow¡­


    -Anyway, it is useless to force people to do it, let¡¯s just hunt the zombies around us. You can just think of it as earning points, right?


    -It¡¯s a bit slow and was traveling alone, so it¡¯s easy to hunt it. But watch out for the guy crawling around corners. They are the ones that will soon evolve into a ghoul.


    -Don¡¯t wanna.


    -?


    -Why?


    -If they evolved into a ghoul, you¡¯ll get more points from killing it. Why should I kill them now and give up points?


    -What a selfish bastard.


    -Are you an idiot? What is more important than points in the apocalypse?


    -Give me your ID, you idiot.


    -HAHAHA¡­ ID? What are you going to do with it?


    Well, I was essentially no different from that person who didn¡¯t want to hunt the ghoul. But I just decided that it¡¯s better to deal with them before they turn into ghouls because I¡¯m physically weak. In short, I have to choose wisely which situation is beneficial to me.


    ¡°It would be dangerous if there are a lot of ghouls.¡± Although its size was small, it¡¯s agile and could easily enter survivors¡¯ hideouts. And when it evolved to the final stage, enhanced ghoul, even encountering it would be very dangerous. However, in this reality, things would be different as there were unique abilities here which were not present in the game. And except for Rapwi, the fact that everyone had only one life was also a variable.


    I proceed to spend some points to check the IDs of the people in the comment.


    ¡°But what did I come here for again?¡± Oh right. I came here to deliver the cipher text to Rapwi. For some reason, he¡¯s living a quiet life in Jinju. Once I hear anything from him, I¡¯ll come find him right away.


    ¡°I have to find that man who flees to the south too¡­¡± I have a lot of work to do. However, my job right now was to find and destroy any zombies which would become ghouls. Dingo was good at smelling, so if I didn¡¯t notice them, he¡¯d be able to find them.


    ¡°Dingo, come up here.¡± The guy jumped over the backpack as I called him. Then, I rode down the rope.


    Now, the hunt begins.

 Chapter 76

    Which means, current jar of greed count is $45. So, stay tune for the 5 sponsored chapter!


    on another note. This chap is edited by aaghna! So if you find any different skill name or name from the last chapter please tell us. Kig have exam!


    I walked around the shopping district with Dingo, looking for a zombie that was on the verge of evolution.


    ¡°Dingo, smell it.¡± When I said so, Dingo sniffed through the air and started to walk forward while avoiding normal zombies. It was only possible for Dingo to smell them since a ghoul had a distinct smell that was different from normal zombies.


    Woof-!! Woof-!!


    ¡°Oh, you found it?¡± I asked as I smashed the head of a zombie who walked towards me with the ebony stick. Dingo went ahead and soon, he found a ghoul crouching in the corner of a dark parking lot of a dilapidated motel.


    ¡°¡­it¡¯s on the verge of evolution.¡± It was not everyday you could see a zombie crouching down. Moreover, transparent membranes spewed out of its limbs and covered its entire body. By this point, It was already difficult to discern its normal human form. This is more of a metamorphosis than evolution. After a little while, the ghoul will tear the membranes out.


    ¡°Zombies are worth 2 points while ghouls are worth 10 points¡­but it¡¯s better to deal with them now.¡± Without any hesitation, I smashed the crouching zombie¡¯s head. It was quite hard unlike other zombie¡¯s heads and only after being hit a few times, the skull finally broke apart. As I hunted the zombies around in this way, the scope of my activities gradually expanded. Apparently, there weren¡¯t that many zombies that had begun to evolve.


    As I was moving on a rope to avoid the goblins, I could see the courthouse in the distance. ¡°That¡¯s the place where JongSaMu resides.¡±


    They only know me as a new survivor in the area since I completely hid my identity in the first kill event. I could have contacted them and exchanged some information, but considering the leader¡¯s disposition, there was no need to do so. After all, the fact that he confined a man with a bio-friendly unique skill was evident of what he would do to skilful people.


    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous when an insignificant person comes to power.¡±


    If I touch them now, well¡­ someone will end up dying.


    I hunted moderately and tried to return to the hideout. But, a man and a woman suddenly came out of the alley and blocked me. Looking at their uniform, it¡¯s apparent that they were members of JongSaMu which I didn¡¯t want to meet yet.


    I turned around and tried to leave, but they appeared before me once again.


    Blink, huh?


    The woman crossed her arms and said, ¡°Is this our first time meeting each other? My name is Jang HeeWon, from JongSaMu. This is Kim Jongsu¡±


    ¡°My name is Kang Seongho. Is there anything you want from me?¡±


    ¡°These past few days¡­ I saw Seongho walking around in the area. And you¡¯re playing well with the kids.¡±


    Did it look like we were playing? Well, if she has developed such a misconception, there¡¯s nothing I can do about it. Just let her continue to misunderstand like that.


    ¡°So?¡± As I spoke bluntly, the man¡¯s eyes twitched slightly. However, Heewon only smiled and softened her voice even more.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why you are on guard like that. I didn¡¯t come here to fight.¡±


    ¡°But knowing that you observed my movements, I don¡¯t feel very good.¡±


    ¡°Please understand. When you are in an organization, isn¡¯t reconnaissance a big part of it? We have to bring some evidence for the leader to judge¡­ Something like that.¡±


    ¡°So, what did this leader of you think about me?¡±


    ¡°He judged that it would be good to accept you as a member of the JongSaMu.¡±


    Unfortunately for them, I had no intention of joining.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pass.¡±


    ¡°Ah, is that so? Will you be okay? Without our help, you won¡¯t be able to live well here in this area.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been living well so far, so I don¡¯t need your help.¡±


    ¡°It will be more dangerous in the future. Ghoul will soon appear. And once orcs and werewolves appear, you need organizational strength to fight them. Seong-ho doesn¡¯t have that.¡±


    ¡°I am preparing myself.¡±


    ¡°I saw it. You look for zombies that would evolve into ghouls and smash their heads. But that¡¯s not the best way.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®not the best way¡¯?¡±


    She raised two fingers.


    ¡°Zombies are worth 2 points while ghoul gives you 10 points. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to kill a ghoul rather than a zombie?¡±


    ¡°But the government said that the ghouls are much more powerful?¡±


    The corner of the woman¡¯s lips rose slightly. ¡°That¡¯s something people who don¡¯t know anything have to worry about. Our leader knew the timing in the evolution process that if you get it right, 2 points will turn into 10 points. Are you interested?¡±


    A timing, huh¡­ one that even I don¡¯t know about?


    ¡°No. There¡¯s no such timing. And even if there¡¯s a timing, I¡¯m not sure people will be able to recognize it.¡±


    ¡°Even though it¡¯s a little bit too much to say something like this, but our leader is a stagnant water. Someone who has played for over 3,000 hours.¡±


    I¡¯m sorry miss, my playtime is 5,500 hours. And from what I checked, the play time of Whining Series No. 5, Come to See Spring was only 350 hours. How can someone with only that much playtime know something that someone with more than 10 times his playtime doesn¡¯t know about?


    ¡°If his playtime is around that much, he should know the other stagnant water, right? I¡¯m talking about Rabbit Princess or Gimbap.¡±


    Her expression changed subtly. ¡°¡­He knew them. He said he knew them.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Then, do they know him?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you come with us and check it out for yourself?¡±


    It seems like she said that because she realized that I couldn¡¯t be persuaded any other way.


    ¡°Thanks for the suggestion, but I don¡¯t have any intention to do that.¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°If so, it will be uncomfortable for you in the future.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, I¡¯ve been living well on my own.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t do that alone, did you? They did it for you.¡± With bored looks, she gestured at the long rope on one side of the building with her chin.


    ¡°Sometimes you need help.¡±


    She said hurriedly as she saw me about to turn around.


    ¡°If the ropes were cut, wouldn¡¯t Seongho-ssi be in trouble?¡±


    ¡°Are you threatening me?¡±


    ¡°This is not a threat. Rope is something that can be cut in battle.¡±


    ¡°I doubt parachute string that can withstand up to 250 kg will be cutted. And I have absolutely no intention of joining that group of yours, so let¡¯s stop.¡±


    ¡°What a troubling answer¡­ Actually, our leader is suspicious of Seongho. I don¡¯t know if you know that something is happening at the Orc First Kill event.¡±


    I purposely opened my eyes wide. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the event which happened nearby?¡±


    ¡°Someone stole it from our leader. So, he¡¯s furious If the preparator gets caught, things won¡¯t end well for them.¡±


    ¡°Well, good luck finding them. I didn¡¯t even participate in that event.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s for us to decide¡­¡±


    At that moment, a portal opened in front of the building on the other side, and an orc walked out from it. The orc was bewildered for a moment, then when it looked at us, its nose twitched.


    The complexion of the two ambushers changed rapidly.


    ¡°Orc¡­ this is too fast.¡±


    ¡°We should return to headquarters.¡±


    ¡°You are right. I¡¯m sorry, but we can¡¯t save Seongho-ssi.¡±


    I shrugged at her words, and then she chuckled.


    ¡°You look confident. Then work hard to survive.¡± After those words, the man placed his hand on the woman¡¯s shoulder and both of them disappeared.


    ¡°You talk a lot.¡±


    The orc glared at me and revealed its yellowish and jagged teeth.


    Oh sorry, I wasn¡¯t talking to you.


    I immediately grabbed the rope and climbed up. The orc ran towards me and jumped, but unfortunately for it, I had already gone up to the third floor.


    It shook the rope a few times, then gave up after seeing hordes of goblins passing by in the distance.


    Kuooohh-!!


    At the orc¡¯s roar, the goblins were startled and quickly ran away.


    ¡°Even an orc appeared¡­¡± With the weapon I currently had, it would be difficult to counter them. But, if I receive the crop buff and activate all skills, I would have an edge in close combat against it, but I didn¡¯t feel the need to do that.


    ¡°Because a fight against a mob should be easily won.¡± I need to finish the ballista quickly. I got on the rope and returned to my hideout. When I entered the cave, the scarabs were waiting for me with the ballista parts ready.


    Great.


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    .


    I assembled the ballista with the help of scarabs. Since it was not as easy as assembling a toy, I had to gather all my focus and strength to do it.


    ¡°It¡¯s sturdy!¡± The completed ballista was quite large and heavy; the bow alone was over 1m tall. Meanwhile, a scarab brought a bolt as thick as a finger towards me.


    ¡°Everything will die in one shot if they are hit with this arrow.¡±


    Even medium-sized monsters wouldn¡¯t escape without fatal injury if being shot by an arrow this thick.


    ¡°It¡¯s great. But, what about the loading process?¡± At my question, captain scarab grabbed the back of my hand and taught me how to load it. And it was quite easy. It was only turning the lever which would activate the pulley. It could also be loaded by pulling the handle on the back.


    Isn¡¯t this what Dingo would bite and pull?


    ¡°Dingo, bite this.¡± When I gave him the handle, the guy instinctively pulled back. The bowstring was pulled back as the pulleys and crawls turned with a clicking sound. The bow bent like it was about to explode, at that moment, I put the bolts on the rails.


    ¡°If you remove the fixing nail and move it like this¡­¡± The ballista turned in place. With this, we could deal with monsters wherever they appear.


    What about the power, though?


    I quickly aim at the tree in the distance and flip the switch. A dull sound echoed for a moment and then the bolt flew. When I went to check it, the bolt had dug half way through the tree.


    ¡°This power is no joke.¡± If I shoot well, it seems like it would also be able to damage large-monsters.


    ¡°Good job, you really did a good job.¡± I stroked the scarabs with sincerity. But¡­ this one isn¡¯t enough. After all, I envisioned two outposts. I wanted to be able to launch a ballista no matter where I was hiding.


    ¡°Would it be difficult to make another one?¡± When I asked that, the scarabs quickly gathered for a meeting. While they were doing so, I brought a box of jelly and told them, ¡°Will this much be enough?¡±


    The guys looked at the box of jelly and lifted their claws. The contract was established. While the scarabs devoured the jelly, I made a mark around the ballista stand. Now, what¡¯s left was to build a post by stacking bricks.


    After carrying the necessary materials, I opened the store just in case. The tier 2 shop had finally opened. Though, the nerf patch¡ªwhich I hated with all my beings¡ªwas also applied.


    ¡°Look at these damn bastards!¡± The Elderwood Longbow had 3,000 points attached to the price tag. And the special arrow for Elderwood Bow was worth 30 points each.


    ¡°They raised the price by 1.5 times.¡± I¡¯d like to protest that this is too much, but there¡¯s no place to pour it towards. Those developers were still nowhere to be seen. With a raging heart, I bought an elderwood longbow and 20 arrows. That instance, the many points I gathered shrunk to 220, and a bow and arrowhead appeared at the bottom of the cave.


    ¡°What a wonderful weapon.¡± When I looked at the weapon adorned with old-fashioned decorations which could only be seen in fantasy movies, my rage subsided. When I pulled the bowstring and released it, the sound was similar to the sound produced by a racket when being swung. It¡¯s really cool, but it was a pity that I couldn¡¯t use it in front of others. I wouldn¡¯t be able to explain where I earned 3,000 points if they ever asked me without exposing my identity.


    ¡°Let¡¯s say I only bought the arrows.¡±


    And since I have my slot, switching weapons shouldn¡¯t be a problem. When I entered the auction house, it was also covered with swear words. The sorrow of those without points was exploding, so let¡¯s not interfere.


    ¡°I need to collect some points.¡± I put up a set of ignition stone powder and black charcoal powder in the auction house. Previously, the auction price of those 2 items soared to nearly 3,000 points, but that was due to the special circumstances of the event. However, now that the event was over, it wouldn¡¯t be as high as before. But, I would still earn at least 1,500 points.


    Watching the auction, the commenters were divided into a fierce battle of words.


    -Is there anyone who is willing to pay more than a thousand points for this?


    -Exceeded 1100 guns!


    -It would be a waste of time to catch an orc with this.


    -You have to think about skills and items the orc will give, you idiot.


    -Even taking that into account, it¡¯s expensive, you idiot. I¡¯m at a high level, so now I couldn¡¯t get anything even if I killed an orc.


    -Then, what is a guy like you doing sneaking around here? Are you stupid?


    -LOL


    -They give skills to people up to level 16, So, are you saying that you are level 17?


    -Is there anyone who has already reached level 17 out there?


    -Because it requires a lot of experience, there should only be very few people who are now level 17.


    -Is there anyone who has already killed an Orc here?


    -Our guild is preparing for a raid right now.


    -The stagnant water must be killing them by themselves, right? I¡¯m envious¡­


    -Exceeded 1300 guns!


    The powder set broke through 1,500 points and stopped at 1,800. When I added one more set to the auction, it was sold for 1,700 points. Which means, I received 3,150 points excluding the fees. It¡¯s very easy to earn points.


    I properly packed my backpack and wore my armor. When I got out of the hideout, the members of JongSaMu were already spread out on the street.


    Are those people looking for the orc too?


    After kicking the rushing goblins with soccer kicks and entering the alleyway, I saw Yeo-wool who came down from the stairs.


    ¡°Hyung, the orc is here, did you see it?¡±


    ¡°I saw it. When you see it, you have to run away right away.¡±


    ¡°How about you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m also going to run away.¡±


    Jun-ho and Do-young had faces which told me that they were curious about what people were doing, but they agreed to return to their hideout. When Yeo-wool took the two of them, I walked away. If only Yoo-hyeon was here, I would be able to scout with his paper airplane. But since I don¡¯t have it, I have to figure it out myself.


    I was looking around on the roof when I saw an orc making a fuss. Considering that a group of goblins were besieging it, it seems that they were fighting each other.


    ¡°The paralyzing poison doesn¡¯t work on orcs.¡±


    The orc smashed the goblins without regard to paralyzing poison. The hobgoblins resisted a bit but it still died in the end. At that moment, the goblins became obedient. They had accepted the orc as their new captain. Then, the attitude of the goblins changed. It seems like they were gaining confidence because their new captain was better than everyone else.


    Isn¡¯t your attitude changing too quickly?


    The members of JongSaMu, who had been after the orcs, finally found the group.


    ¡°The orc is together with the goblins!¡±


    ¡°What, why aren¡¯t they fighting?¡±


    ¡°Call Hyung-nim! hurry!¡±


    In an instant, five people surrounded the monsters. Orcs and goblins roared ferociously and threatened them by showing their fangs towards them. I would have to get out of there quickly.


    Staying here any longer would only summon zombie raids.


    As I rode the rope hanging to another road, I found a woman named Heewon with Whining Series No. 5 on her side. Heewon whispered to Whining Series No. 5.


    ¡°Kang Seongho-ssi. I heard you turned down my offer.¡± Whining Series No.5 said so after listening to Heewon¡¯s whisper.


    ¡°I heard people say there¡¯s an orc over there. Will it be okay for you to not go there quickly?¡±


    ¡°I have to go, but before that¡­ hear this, I am very suspicious of you. Have you ever intervened in the Orc First Kill Event?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t even know such an event existed.¡± No one should know that I have intervened because I didn¡¯t show myself throughout the event. However, Whining Series No. 5 still suspects me until the end.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange? The only person who has been suspicious these days is Kang Seongho-ssi. Then, when the Orc First Kill Event was stolen from me¡­ It wouldn¡¯t be unreasonable to think of you as the culprit, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Then, in case I was really the one who did it, what will you do?¡± When I asked, Whining Series No. 5 grinned.


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t be nervous. If you¡¯re one of my men, there should be no problem. My family got it, what can I say? But if that¡¯s not the case¡­¡±


    ¡°What if not?¡±


    ¡°I have to kill you. I just can¡¯t let it pass. My family members will criticize me for being an incompetent leader otherwise. Words are still coming out among them even right now.¡±


    ¡°Let me say it once more. I¡¯m not the one who did it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that¡­¡± As he said it, he bent his head left and right and popped the bone on his hand.


    However, when I was about to move my hand to the bow on my back, a man appeared beside Whining Series No.5 and whispered to him.


    ¡°Is that bastard here?¡± His voice was too loud. I think he¡¯s asking me to listen¡­


    ¡°You have to find it. HeeWon and Jongsu, go catch that bastard. I will catch the orcs.¡±


    After the two left with the Blink, Whining Series No. 5 smiled at me. ¡°Do you know who that bastard is?¡±


    ¡°I heard that was what the auction house called I Love Gimbap.¡±


    ¡°Haha, indeed he¡¯s that bastard. A greedy man who had a lot of information but didn¡¯t even disclose it. But the guy I asked to catch is different. He was once a part of my group.¡±


    Ah, I think he might be talking about that guy with a bio-friendly trait.


    ¡°I treated him really well¡­ I even think of him as my real little brother. But then, he stabbed me in the back.¡±


    ¡°Did that guy think the same too?¡±


    ¡°Well, seeing what had happened, it seems like he didn¡¯t think the same even though I treated him really well.¡±


    As I was about to leave, Whining Series No. 5 raised his voice. ¡°Do you know why I told you all that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°I am extremely obsessive. I¡¯ll definitely catch that bastard, and Kang Seong-ho. You¡¯re on my radar too, so it would be best for you to not think about doing anything useless. You are really suspicious.¡±


    ¡°People are free to think whatever they want. But if you touch me, it won¡¯t go over nicely.¡±


    When I warned him, he crossed his arms and shuddered dramatically. ¡°Aigoo¡­ I¡¯m scared¡­ Spare me¡­¡±


    Let¡¯s not get aggroed. I¡¯m going to go to look for Rapwi soon, so I don¡¯t have time to play with them. I turned around and left the place with the dingo. As I entered the alleyway, I heard a loud noise around me.


    ¡°Jongsu! Did you find Jiman?¡± (T/N Sorry guys, I misread Jiman as Jimin¡­)


    ¡°Yes! He¡¯s cornered now!¡±


    ¡°By the way, how did you find him?¡±


    ¡°When we were doing daily looting, a lot of toilet paper suddenly rolled over and we saw him. It seems like he¡¯s surprised because he saw us.¡±


    ¡°Just like his ID ¡®Poor Man¡¯. He¡¯s really pitiful. Let¡¯s go. Orcs are not the problem now.¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    My mind went blank and my feet froze as soon as I heard their conversation.


    Who did you say you had found?

 Chapter 77

    Poor Man was one of the viewers of my live stream. He watched my stream all the time, even when there was no one to watch. That¡¯s why some people called him Gimbap¡¯s loyalist. Moreover, every time he came to watch, he spared no support for me. He said that he had a physically hard part-time job, so he always looked forward to my streams to relieve his stress.


    ¡®What kind of part-time job should I get this time?¡¯


    I laughed every time the Poor Man said so. I had always thought, since he could even sponsor people, his ID must be nothing but a gimmick, right?


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I had forgotten about him after the zombie apocalypse came. I had thought that there was no way he could be alive. But now, out of nowhere, I would meet him. No, to be precise, I had heard people claiming that he¡¯s alive. They coveted the unique skill Poor Man had, imprisoned him, and exploited him. Whining Series No. 5 claimed that he ran away even though he took care of him and was now trying to find him.


    What should I do¡­


    ¡°¡­ it¡¯s been a while since I had fever.¡± I patted my cheek hard with my palm. When I woke up, my eyes were bloodshot. Didn¡¯t they say his name is Jiman?


    ¡°If he gets caught this time, he will be in a tough situation¡­¡±


    Whining Series No. 5 had said several times that Poor Man had stabbed him in the back and run away. It doesn¡¯t matter if that¡¯s true or not. What was certain is that the relationship between the two was far from good. If Poor Man was caught this time, he would never be okay.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t he say that he was very obsessive?¡±


    Whining Series No.5 was a human who could easily break someone¡¯s leg. When my thoughts reached that point, I decided on what I should do. Since talking was impossible, I must strike with force.


    ¡°Sorry, friends. I have to use this here.¡±


    I pulled the pardon scroll from the slot and held it in my hand. It was an item that clears all murder records. With this, people could commit murder without fearing the side effects.


    Guilt? I have already killed several people. So, it was not something which would bother me this late in the game. After all, if I didn¡¯t kill them, they would be the ones who would kill me later.


    Wise men even said this: Death solves all problems.


    At least it was true in the apocalypse.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not going to kill them all.¡±


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Hey, drive him that way!¡±


    ¡°Run run run!¡±


    The members of JongSaMu, who were chasing Jiman, were half possessed by the hunter¡¯s spirit. They were all having the time of their lives. After all, their prey was like a rabbit without any proper means to attack them. In contrast, they were all armed with various kinds of offensive unique skill characteristics and weapons.


    ¡°He ran to the alley!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t block the way, let him run!¡±


    An important point in this hunt was to satisfy the sadism of their leader, Hong Ki-seop. They wanted to make sure that Poor Man, Eum Jiman, paid the price for stabbing him in the back and running away. He even instructed Jongsu to only chase him and not to catch him with his Blink ability. He had said that he would catch him himself.


    People laughed menacingly when they thought of how Ki-seop would grab Jiman by the neck and beat him within an inch of his life.


    Before the apocalypse, they weren¡¯t actually vicious in nature. But, after living in a group called JongSaMu, they came to realize that violence was now the normal way to survive.


    There were no laws nor morals or public authority to stop them.


    And in the apocalypse, where unlimited freedom prevailed, it was only natural that the sadism which was sleeping deep within the human heart to emerge.


    Well, it wasn¡¯t like there was absolutely no one who felt no pity for Jiman. This was especially the case with women In the group. But, they were also brainwashed by Ki-seop¡¯s logic, so in the end, they also turned their eyes away, pretending not to notice.


    -Didn¡¯t he run away after we protected him and fed him? This is betrayal, betrayal.


    Not everyone in the group was a complete moron, but they simply couldn¡¯t object to Ki-seop¡¯s words. And they might have the underlying mentality of not forgiving those who betray the group either.


    Jiman was running away as fast as he could in order to not be caught by the members of JongSaMu. His backpack full of supplies had also been ditched so that he could run faster. His stamina was above average, but unfortunately, there were too many people chasing him. On top of it, they also had an awakener with the blink ability in their midst, so it wasn¡¯t easy for him to run away.


    He ran down a narrow alley, when a skinny man suddenly appeared before him. He jolted in fear.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s useless to run away. Just surrender.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Jiman slowly stepped backwards.


    ¡°Just give up. I¡¯m sure Ki-seop hyung will not treat you that badly. At worst, maybe a cast on one of your legs?¡± Jongsu clicked his tongue.


    ¡°That means he¡¯s going to break my leg!¡±


    When Jiman shouted with tears running down his cheeks, Jongsu yelled back: ¡°Isn¡¯t that the only way to keep you from running away? We have protected you, but you still betray us!¡±


    ¡°I never betrayed you guys!¡±


    ¡°Never? Our group is one. We are family. Does it make sense for you to run away without your family¡¯s permission?¡±


    ¡°I never thought of you as family.¡± Jiman screamed as he escaped over the fence and went into one of the houses. But, to his surprise, there was already someone more terrifying waiting for him there. Moments later, Jongsu who had left the alley and entered the house¡¯s garden, saw Ki-Seop who had caught Jiman. He laughed at that sight as if he had found something funny.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve met like this, right?¡±


    ¡°Uck¡­¡± Ki-seop, who Seongho knew as Whining Series No. 5, had grabbed Jiman by the neck and lifted him up. Then, he told Jongsu.


    ¡°Contact the others. Tell them we¡¯ve caught Jiman.¡±


    ¡°Yes, hyung.¡±


    Ki-seop then turned his head and whispered softly. ¡°Jiman.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Eum Jiman.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    However, there was no reply since Jiman had pursed his mouth shut and had turned his head away.


    Ki-seop smirked at Jiman¡¯s act and patted his cheek.


    Pak-!!


    ¡°Hey, Eum Jiman.¡± He called his name as he slapped his cheeks.


    But there was still no answer.


    Ki-seop pulled Jiman¡¯s face closer to him and stared at him in anger. Rage had clouded his mind.


    ¡°You bastard! You ran away without saying a word? You dare betray us who took care of you?¡±


    ¡°Hey, you didn¡¯t even take care of me¡­¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t take care of you!?!?! We fed you, put a roof over your head and gave you safety when you sleep! What more do you want?¡±


    As he said that, Ki-seop clenched his neck, so that he couldn¡¯t answer any more.


    ¡°Ughhh!¡±


    It was always like this. Ki-seop forced his thoughts onto others and instilled them with violence. To those who surrender and humble themselves before him, he treated them well. But if they didn¡¯t accept him, he tormented them till they broke.


    ¡°Jiman ahhh¡­ How am I supposed to listen to you? If you just be quiet, everyone will be comfortable, don¡¯t you think so. Is this leg the problem? If that is the case, let me cut one of it.¡±


    While Ki-seop was babbling sadistic nonsense to Jiman, Hee-won, who was going to the house to see Jiman, stopped Seongho who suddenly appeared a few steps away from her.


    ¡°Go somewhere else.¡± She instructed.


    ¡°¡­¡± However, Seongho didn¡¯t answer her.


    His large body was moving slowly towards her, his eyes were bloodshot. When she saw this, Hee-won raised her voice.


    ¡°I said, go somewhere else. Why aren¡¯t you listening?¡±


    ¡°Slot three.¡±


    ¡°Ah really! What are you talking about?¡±


    When she was annoyed with him and tried to unleash her powers, Seongho¡¯s hand stretched towards her. No, it was Hee-won¡¯s misunderstanding that it was stretching out. After all, what she saw wasn¡¯t Seongho¡¯s body but a gray blade.

 Chapter 78

    1/11


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    Translator: Asta


    Editor: Aaghna


    ¡°Follow me.¡±


    At those words, Poor Man followed me like a child. I could feel him scanning everything I did as he followed me. Is it because he¡¯s actually seen someone he¡¯d only heard of? Well, I also feel the same right now. Poor Man was a famous user because of his unique concept on the streaming site that I used. And sadly, he was more popular than me.


    I looted the weapons and backpacks from the dead people, then we moved to a suitable two-story house. Once inside, I asked Poor Man to sit and gave him a bottle of water.


    ¡°For now, drink some water and calm down.¡±


    ¡°¡­Yes.¡± He breathed heavily, then drank water and coughed. I watched him without saying a word. His breathing finally stabilized after maybe two or three minutes passed. His eyes filled with fear darted around the room before finally looking into my eyes.


    I asked him.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to answer anything you don¡¯t want to answer. Poor Man, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. My real name is Eum Jiman. That¡­ that voice¡­¡±


    ¡°I am I Love Gimbap. My real name is Kang Seongho. Let me ask you this, what did I do for a living before?¡±


    If he¡¯s indeed the real Poor Man, there¡¯s no way he wouldn¡¯t know this.


    ¡°You used to run a snack bar in Busan.¡± He answered right away.


    Bingo.


    I slowly sat down on the floor. ¡°Huh, I didn¡¯t think we would meet like this.¡±


    ¡°Me too¡­ I thought I Love Gimbap-nim would be with a lot of people¡­¡±


    ¡°I had no choice but to be alone. It is because of my unique skill.¡±


    ¡°My unique skill is Bio-friendly. You roughly know about it, right? Plants grow well around me and animals chase after me.¡±


    When he told me about his unique skill, I was a little worried.


    Will I be able to tell Poor Man my secret? He seemed quite docile and didn¡¯t seem like the kind of person who would blabber about it to anyone. Moreover, I also have a deep connection with him. In a way, it could be said that he was even closer to me than Rapwi or Duck.


    ¡°Jiman will be the first person I ever tell my unique skill to.¡± I stated.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± He looked around for a moment. ¡°I think it would be better not to say anything.¡±


    ¡°Why? Are you going to tell other people about it?¡±


    ¡°No, I would never do that! It is said that the birds hear the words of the day, and the rats hear the words of the night.¡±


    ¡°There is no one around. And I am saying it because I think it would be better for you to know my unique skill. If you don¡¯t want to hear it, I won¡¯t tell you.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­ I¡¯m curious. Afterall, no one knows the unique skill I Love Gimbap-nim possesses.¡± Jiman¡¯s eyes shook and spoke.


    ¡°Yes. No one knows, including Rapwi. Duck seems to have noticed it, though. But she didn¡¯t ask anything.¡±


    ¡°Have you two met?¡±


    ¡°I met with Duck, but I have yet to meet Rapwi.¡±


    ¡°Thank God you¡¯ve met them.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°The three of you were close, weren¡¯t you? I just thought about what would happen if there were some conflicts between the three of you in this situation.¡±


    Was he worried that we might fight? Wow¡­ He¡¯s a kind person, which is rare in today¡¯s world. He¡¯s the extreme opposite of me¡­ I¡¯m not sure if we¡¯ll be a good fit.


    Anyway, I decided to reveal my character to him. Which means, from now on, he had no choice but to stick with me.


    ¡°My Unique Skill is¡­ to open a dimensional door.¡±


    ¡°A dimensional door? Like Portal? Where does it lead you to?¡±


    ¡°I think it will be better for you to witness it directly rather than hearing it from my mouth¡­¡± But well, since it¡¯s transparent, he wouldn¡¯t really be able to see it. He could still feel it directly, though.


    ¡°Open the portal.¡± I called.


    ¡°Dingo.¡±


    Jiman¡¯s eyes widened as he saw Dingo suddenly pop out of nowhere.


    ¡°Gimbap-nim, how did this happen?¡±


    ¡°There is a portal there. Its size is about one big door¡­ but no one but me can see it because of its additional invisibility effect.¡±


    As I told Jiman the size of the portal, he touched it and was instantly startled. ¡°Did I just touch something?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the dimensional door. It¡¯s exclusive, so I¡¯m the only one who can enter.¡± I demonstrated it by entering the portal before returning with a canned food¡ªsomething which no longer exists on Earth¡ªin hand. The can soon crumbled and the contents dropped into the floor, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a waste since it did a good job of conveying information to Jiman.


    ¡°There is a forest inside. Do you know what kind of place it is?¡±


    ¡°A forest without Corrosive Disease¡­ Ah, is that place, perhaps, a farming dungeon?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. A farming dungeon which opens on a temporary basis. I have unlimited access to such dungeons. I also made a shelter inside.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why Gimbap-nim hid his identity¡­¡±


    ¡°If it was a combat-related unique skill, I would have told other people. But this ability is a bit¡­¡±


    Jiman nodded vigorously at my words. ¡°I would have done the same if I was you. You did a good job of not giving out information. There were scary men who came to me when I disclosed some information.¡±


    ¡°Scary men?¡±


    It can¡¯t be.


    The government led by President Jang Won-taek I knew, was the kind of people who people faithfully carried out their duties. They shut down dangerous facilities and built a time shelter to prepare for the future. Why would such people try to harm someone who gives them information?


    When I told Jiman that maybe they were trying to find and protect him, he said it was absolutely not the case. ¡°Their atmosphere was strange. I can¡¯t explain it, but I felt like they were not ordinary people¡­¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± If that¡¯s the case, then it seems like there¡¯s another group formed by some people from the government. It seems like I would have to be careful when I decide to spill some information in the future.


    While the two of us were having a serious conversation, Dingo lay beside Jiman and showed him his belly. Dingo, who didn¡¯t care about anyone but me, just did that.


    ¡°Bio-friendly is really great. That guy, even though he looks like a husky, he¡¯s actually a wolf.¡±


    ¡°A wolf?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. His race is called silver wolf, and its adult size is as big as a bull. So, I am thinking of an excuse to explain his existence to people later.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ looks like Gimbap-nim¡¯s world is filled with nature inside.¡±


    ¡°Well, since I haven¡¯t explored much, I can¡¯t be sure. But as of now, there are forests, lakes, seas and mountains there¡­¡±


    ¡°Is it dangerous inside?¡± Jiman instantly showed interest in the forest inside the portal. I roughly described what I went through. From the very first time I stepped into the forest, how I ran away after meeting goblins and owl bears, rebuilt the cave and used it as a shelter to store my supplies and installed barbed wire fences around it. When my story reached the orc and werewolf part, Poor man, Jiman, closed his eyes tightly.


    ¡°As expected, it is a dangerous forest¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still worth taking the risk to explore it. There are a lot of things there that can¡¯t be found in real life.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s right. It¡¯s a pity that no one else can enter except for Gimbap-nim. Ah no, if someone else gets in, it will be problematic.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it can cause jealousy. Some people can go in and some can¡¯t. If the portal was not for exclusive use and was known to the world, I would have died long ago.¡±


    ¡°That is likely to happen¡­¡±


    ¡°I am telling you this because you are you.¡±


    ¡°I will never tell anyone!¡± He vowed again. At that moment, someone¡¯s stomach rumbled.


    I got up and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to Jiman¡¯s hideout now.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have much to bring¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm? Still, you must have gathered some things.¡±


    Jiman shook his head without thinking much. ¡°No. There is really nothing other than bottled water. My hideout is in a fishing village.¡±


    ¡°I guess you ran away from the bastards and lived there?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then give it up and just come with me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can do that¡­¡±


    ¡°You can. I didn¡¯t ask you to come and just live off me. There is a pier in front of my hideout, so you should throw some traps there, do some fishing, and build a vegetable garden.¡±


    Jiman¡¯s expression brightened at my words.


    Is he happy that he has something to do?


    ¡°And the most important thing is, since I already told you my secret, I have no intention of letting you go easily. In a way, this is also confinement.¡± I patted his back.


    ¡°I, I am fine. Please lock me up.¡±


    ¡°You are speaking dangerous words.¡±


    So, it seems that Jiman had made his decision. There¡¯s no need to stay in this place full of corpses any longer. When I took the lead, Jiman followed me closely. It felt like I had a little brother. A good-looking and good-natured little brother who could only be found in a fantasy.


    .


    .


    .


    I brought Jiman to the hideout and let him wash first. I need to feed him and the kids, but what menu should I serve I wonder¡­ After much deliberation, I decided on the Hwajo. It¡¯s a little big for a chicken, but I could just say that it was a local chicken caught and raised by Jiman.


    While Jiman was washing, I went to the shelter and caught a Hwajo. All I did was look at them occasionally as the scarabs were the ones who fed them and even collected their eggs. Although Hwajo¡¯s eggs were not as big as turkey¡¯s, they were still large enough for several people to eat their fill.


    Once I returned to my hideout, I raised a small flag from the roof. The children rushed into the hideout instantly.


    ¡°Are you being carried again, Yeowool?¡± When I teased, she stuck out her lips.


    ¡°No. I walked on the rope by myself.¡±


    ¡°If you see how she did it, you would die of laughter hyung.¡±


    ¡°Ke¡­ pu huh.¡±


    ¡°If you talk, I will kill you.¡±


    Both of them shut their mouths when Yeowool glared at them.


    ¡°Huh? Ahjussi, who is here?¡± Yeowool asked. She probably heard some noise from the room next door.


    ¡°I think you¡¯ll be surprised once you see who¡¯s here.¡±


    ¡°Who is it?¡±


    Eventually, Jiman appeared. Their faces turned noticeably brighter when they saw him.


    ¡°Hyung!¡±


    ¡°Hyung! You are alive!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you again. I lived because Gim¡­ Seongho hyung saved me.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Jiman told them the story we had created earlier. He was chased by a monster and was rescued by me. The death of JongSaMu members had nothing to do with us at all. Also, we decided to hide our identities for the time being.


    When Jiman talked about being chased by a monster while walking around looking for a local chicken, the three of them looked at the Hwajo whose feathers had been plucked.


    ¡°¡­But it¡¯s strangely large for a local chicken, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve never seen a chicken this big.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a chicken, a chicken, uh-huh.¡± It¡¯s not a real chicken, but let¡¯s pretend it is.


    Anyway, the four of them were quite excited about eating the chicken. I started cutting the Hwajo into smaller pieces. Yeowool looked at me, then squatted next to me.


    ¡°Can I help you with anything, ahjussi?¡±


    ¡°I can do it alone. Go play with the others.¡±


    ¡°I still think I need to do something to help.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I have to do something to help rather than just keep receiving.¡± Compared to Junho and Doyoung, who were busy chatting, she indeed had a sense of reality. But I¡¯m not feeding them for free.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have something to do for you guys later.¡±


    ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll find out soon. It¡¯s not a difficult task, so relax your face.¡±


    It¡¯s just a little dangerous.


    ¡°Ahjusi, I¡¯m not making any face.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, if you¡¯re bored, add some seasoning. I¡¯m going to make spicy chicken stew.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not braised spicy chicken?¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m the one who is making it, it¡¯ll be spicy chicken stew.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ ok.¡± Yeowool kept her mouth shut and started following my instructions to make some seasonings. Then suddenly, she grumbled.


    ¡°Ahjussi, you came here without anything. So why do you have so many things? You are really a farmer.¡±


    She was talking about was the seasonings I had prepared.


    ¡°I was lucky.¡± I shrugged. After a while, the porcelain bowl began to emit a delicious smell. I called everyone and spoke in a serious tone. ¡°As you may already know¡­ the orcs have arrived. Now is not the time to joke around anymore, got it?¡±


    ¡°The orcs are said to be very strong.¡±


    ¡°Cheol-jun hyung and Yuju noona over there told me that several people have already killed it.¡±


    ¡°Oh right. I saw a group of people gathered together for the first kill event before.¡±


    As they said that, Jiman and I met each other¡¯s gaze. Then, I opened my mouth. ¡°It¡¯s about people who have nothing to do with us. Anyway, orcs have appeared, and soon zombies will become powerful. From now on, you can¡¯t carelessly roam around. Be ready to leave the hideout at any time.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± They all gulped and looked at each other¡¯s faces. They probably felt guilty for barging in my hideout as if they were going on a picnic in the neighborhood.


    At that moment, Jiman took something out of his backpack.


    ¡°I drew a map because I was interested in Dot island. I think it will be fine as a hideout.¡±


    ¡°Dot island? Oh, you mean the island over there?¡±


    Everyone stared at the map. Jiman¡¯s handmade map recorded not only the facilities, but also the place of remaining boats and fishing points.


    ¡°On the day of the apocalypse, there were very few people on that island. Two people at most? So there will be practically no zombies there.¡±


    ¡°There is a high probability that there will be no monsters either.¡± I chimed.


    Monsters normally respawn around humans. For example, they wouldn¡¯t appear in the desert where there are no people.


    In case we use the island for our hideout, very few monsters will naturally appear, but we are strong enough to hunt them.


    ¡°It looks good for the long run, how about it?¡±


    The faces of the three were not very good. ¡°There¡¯s really nothing wrong with the island¡­¡±


    Then the three started to tell Jiman and I their story. They said that in the past, when Masan students went on a field trip, the destination had always been that island nine out of ten times. It wasn¡¯t very popular either because all the facilities were old, and there was a lot of dissatisfaction among the students because they had to take a boat.


    ¡°You know right, hyung? During the field trip, students like to sneak to the nearby popular places, but we can¡¯t even do that because it¡¯s an island.¡± Junho Spat


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Doyoung chimed.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to be on an island like that. There won¡¯t be many monsters.¡± But as always, it was Yeowool who made the decision. ¡°Do we live there and only come out when we are farming?¡±


    ¡°See this boat? It¡¯s an FRP boat, but to put it simply, it¡¯s made of plastic. You can go back and forth between islands and land with it.¡±


    ¡°There is also a building inside, so let¡¯s make it our hideout¡­ we can also make a vegetable garden.¡±


    ¡°And there is one more advantage¡­¡±


    ¡°What advantage?¡±


    Yeowool asked, and I briefly explained. Imagine the gym people who will join later. Usually, you need to be a few hundred meters away from any zombie in order to prevent zombie raids to occur. But since the island was quite distant from the beach, it already nullified the risk.


    If the island was too large, it would definitely be infested by zombies and monsters. And if the island was too small, there would be no room for infrastructure. However, Dot island was just the right size for a few survivors. Everyone was happy when they heard that a zombie raid might not happen.


    ¡°Then you can hang out with people!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go there quickly.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute. It¡¯s only a hypothesis, no one really knows if it will really work or not.¡±


    ¡°If you look at the conditions of the zombie raid, well¡­¡± Then the chicken soup started to boil. The smell was so enticing. Goblins might be coming, so we¡¯ll have to eat it quickly. I put out the fire and opened the lid of the bowl. The unique spicy aroma of chicken soup spread in the air.


    ¡°Discussion is good, but let¡¯s eat first.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the food!¡± Everyone rushed towards the meat with all their might, but Jiman was hesitant. Tears flowed from his eyes when I asked him to eat.


    ¡°I think I did well coming here.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since you ate this, right? Eat as much as you can.¡±


    ¡°Yes. I ate it when I was young and haven¡¯t eaten it anymore since then¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The three kids who were busy inhaling meat, instantly stopped. Junho caught Yeowool¡¯s fierce gaze and put the big leg on his plate into Jiman¡¯s bowl. At that moment, I was determined to catch a wild boar even if I had to use live ammunition.


    We¡¯ll have to eat well for a while.

 Chapter 79

    Translator: Asta


    Editor: Aaghna


    After the dinner, I headed straight to JongSaMu¡¯s hideout as soon as Jiman fell asleep. Since the leaders of the group had already been annihilated, I suppose the remaining survivor of JongSaMu would be restless. If I use the situation well, I would be able to get something.


    ¡°One-room building near the courthouse¡­ Here it is.¡±


    I hid inside a nearby building and watched the hideout. There is no one in this current world who didn¡¯t know of the importance of drawing curtains and hiding the light source inside from the outside. But, in JongSaMu¡¯s hideout, bright lights could be seen clearly as if the blackout curtain had been deliberately pulled up.


    ¡°Kobolds will love it.¡±


    I cautiously entered the first floor and hid in the portal. The building was quite noisy, several voices talked back and forth.


    ¡°We have to leave right now! Do you know how many people have died?¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that there¡¯s a murderer roaming around the area? If we really have to leave, what about the supplies? Are you going to leave those too?¡±


    ¡°Are the supplies more important than our lives?¡±


    ¡°No, wait, wait. Did you check the bodies of the dead?¡±


    ¡°Heewon had her head cut off! Kiseop hyung was ripped to shreds by zombies, I have a hard time identifying him!¡±


    ¡°Hah¡­ what a mess.¡±


    Everyone seems to be having a hard time because of what I¡¯ve done.


    Someone who had come to his senses hissed in a low voice. ¡°Everyone, be quiet. Monsters are coming.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s draw the curtains. We shouldn¡¯t advertise ourselves.¡±


    ¡°So, are we really going to leave this area? No revenge whatsoever?¡±


    ¡°Revenge? Are you sane¡­ If the murderer had killed five people, his stats should be no joke. Can we beat him by ourselves? It¡¯s impossible¡±


    ¡°Maybe we will even hear the heartbeat right now¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really crazy. Agh!¡±


    ¡°Be quiet!¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I want to get out of here quickly. To leave the supplies behind is a pity, but it¡¯s too dangerous to carry them all. We just have to bring anything that fits in our backpack and run away.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not argue and settle this neatly. Are we really leaving?¡±


    ¡°Am I the only one who wants to stay? Are you all really afraid of the murderer?¡±


    ¡°We can just farm the supplies again, but we only have one life¡­ The place where people died is nearby¡­¡±


    ¡°It would be fair to assume that the murderer is around here too¡­ I, I don¡¯t want to fight him.¡±


    ¡°Me neither.¡±


    This is the kind of atmosphere in which everyone agrees to leave. It¡¯s only natural since this place is pretty close to the murder site. Well, I am no longer the murderer, but they don¡¯t know that. They were only focused on leaving quickly before they could hear the heartbeat.


    ¡°But leaving all these supplies¡­¡±


    It¡¯s indeed troubling.


    I quickly opened my laptop and clicked on the video file with a loud heartbeat. I have to play it inside the cave but still need to let the outside world hear it. But that¡¯s not a problem since I have some planks. I carefully placed the laptop on the floor and folded the plank into a trumpet shape to cover it. When I pressed play, a thumping heartbeat echoed through the cave.


    ¡°If you are going to leave, leave quickly.¡± So that I can loot.


    I pulled the trumpet out of the portal, and pressed play.


    Thump-!!


    Thump-!!


    Thump-!!


    Heartbeats from the laptop speakers echoed through the hallways of the building.


    ¡°¡­what¡¯s that sound?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not the only one who is hearing it, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the murderer! Run!¡±


    There were sounds of something tangling and falling. A few people, carrying only one backpack, fell down the stairs and ran into the street.


    Have a good time¡­


    Had it not been so chaotic, they would not have fallen for such a crude trap. After all, the thumping sound which came from the laptop speaker was thin and light. However, JongSaMu was currently in a state of unrest, so it was only natural for them to feel terrified when they heard the heartbeats.


    After waiting a few more minutes and making sure that no one was in the building anymore, I went upstairs.


    ¡°They have collected a lot.¡±


    I had no intention of taking all of it, though. There¡¯s not enough space in the shelter, so I just have to choose the things I like.


    I opened the portal and tossed a pile of supplies from the living room.


    ¡°There is also jelly. Scarabs will like it.¡±


    There was also quite a lot of small package spam. Since they couldn¡¯t stock spam cans, they stocked up on something like this, even if it¡¯s expensive. There¡¯s also soju and cigarettes¡­ There is a lot of it. I leisurely packed the things while keeping an eye outside.


    ¡°If you ever come back, you will die.¡± I really wanted to tell this to JongSaMu members who ran away.


    They had chosen to run away, so I won¡¯t catch them. But, if they return and notice that their supplies are missing, and if they ever rage with the fire of revenge within them, they won¡¯t live long.


    As I was looting the material, I was almost exhausted. I walked around the one-room building, scraped it and threw it into the portal. Amongst all the things people could do in the apocalypse, this activity was the most fun.


    .


    .


    .


    Yeowool and her friends had agreed to move to Dot island. However, there was one thing we had to do before actually moving our luggage, it was reconnaissance.


    I paddled the boat we found in the marina to the sea together with Jiman. While on the way, all kinds of fishes were bumping towards the periphery of the boat.


    ¡°Jiman, you don¡¯t have to worry about starving to death.¡±


    ¡°Well, fish should be fine, but I¡¯m worried if I run into animals like elk or wild boar later.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°They come because they feel close to me, so if I eat them, I feel sorry¡­¡±


    Well, it¡¯s natural to feel so. But if I had that kind of ability, I would have eaten them with all my gratitude. There was silence for a while, and only the sound of rowing was heard.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll just eat shellfish¡­¡± Jiman said all of a sudden.


    That¡¯s not okay, though.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay if you feel that way. No one can tell you anything in the apocalypse.¡± I replied. From my point of view, I would like to know the difference between shellfish and a wild boar, but it seems to be different for him.


    Jiman brushed off his melancholy gaze and began to row hard.


    ¡°I do not know. I¡¯ll just do what hyung tells me to do. I also want to live¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine.¡± He seemed to be able to get rid of his depression and worries quickly since he had lived alone for a long time. It made sense. If he didn¡¯t think positively, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to survive this long.


    It took about 20 minutes to get to the island. We parked the boat on a quiet marina and climbed to the island. The whole island was quiet except for the occasional sound of waves.


    ¡°It looks like no one is here¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± If I had Yoohyeon with me, the reconnaissance would have ended sooner, but since he¡¯s not here I will have to do it myself.


    When we went to the information centre, piles of metal powder could be seen all around the place. According to Jiman, there was originally a statue of a golden pig located here. The centre was a plausible building to be a hideout, but the metal frame of the building had crumbled and all the glass had shattered.


    ¡°We can¡¯t live here, can we? There is no heating in winter, it will be cold.¡±


    ¡°It is okay even without heating¡­¡±


    Well, I¡¯m not okay.


    When I went inside, it was filled with the smell of rotten food. However, the sweets and the cup noodles were all still fine and untouched.


    I¡¯ll get them later.


    As we were walking through the island¡¯s main road, we found a lot of carcasses of birds.


    ¡°Hyung, there are rabbits over there.¡± Jiman said suddenly. It was not one single rabbit but a huge herd of them. They ran around in the park before running away as we moved closer.


    We continued to walk along the waterfront, but couldn¡¯t find many buildings on the way. At most, there was only a memorial and an octagonal pavilion. Since it was a small island, there was nothing more to look around, and after looking at some of the sculptures, we returned to the pier.


    ¡°There doesn¡¯t seem to be any monsters around here.¡±


    ¡°Yes. I didn¡¯t feel anything.¡±


    ¡°The memorial is in good shape. The information centre is a bit too open to live in because of no glass. It also smells bad.¡±


    ¡°Then why not leave the supplies at the information centre?¡±


    ¡°That sounds good.¡±


    We paddled again and returned to the land. A few zombies warmly welcomed us, and I responded kindly with a long knife, giving them the eternal rest they deserved.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to tell the kids, so you go to the hideout and pack my things. Beware of orcs and ghouls.¡±


    ¡°Should I stay there after packing your things?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll raise the flag, so you should move after seeing it.¡±


    He nodded his head and began to run hard. He did a lot of this and that, so his stamina was considerably good and his gait was pretty fast. Which is why I don¡¯t have to worry about him getting caught by the ghouls.


    I avoided the monsters and headed to the kids¡¯ hideout. Yeowool opened the door in advance for me, it seemed like Yeowool was looking at me through a telescope.


    ¡°How was the island, ahjussi?¡±


    ¡°It was fine. It¡¯s a little messy and there¡¯s no other place to stay other than the memorial.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there an information centre and an octagonal pavilion there?¡±


    ¡°The information centre is not usable because it is wide open, and the octagonal pavilion is not a place for people to live. We will freeze to death in winter.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like cold.¡±


    ¡°There is a room at the memorial, so if you bring a blanket and a sleeping bag, it will be fine. What about Junho and Doyoung?¡±


    ¡°They went out for one last farming trip. After all, you have to keep farming.¡±


    When I looked around the hideout, their luggage was already organized. Though, it was packed really badly. As we were chatting about this and that, the two boys returned with a backpack slung over their shoulders.


    I gathered the kids.


    ¡°Listen. We can all get on the boat, but you can carry only one bag of luggage with you, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°And if your friend falls, don¡¯t look back. I¡¯ll take care of it, so don¡¯t hesitate.¡±


    Everyone nodded eagerly. It seems like they had known about this. It¡¯s convenient to run one by one, but if even one person gets caught by a monster, it¡¯d be a pain in the butt. I¡¯d rather collect the aggro and then deal with it all. I told them to pack one backpack, then went up to the roof and raised the flag.


    ¡°Start.¡±


    The race to the marina began. As expected, some monsters came after us. There were four people running at the same time, so it was impossible for them not to move. Some of them were even evolved ghouls.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look back, run!¡± I shouted at the kids and turned around with my long knife and shield.


    Khaaaaaak!


    A few zombies rushed in, but I was able to cut their heads off without difficulty. However, the problem was the evolved ghoul. It had a bizarrely deformed skeletal structure which makes it look more like a lizard rather than human. Anyone who saw it crawling back and forth on all fours would definitely get terrified. But I had seen too many of them. It was to the point where I was already sick of them, so I was unperturbed.


    ¡°You are really as ugly as the other zombies!¡± As if it understood my words, it pounced at me in anger. I raised the shield in line with its trajectory.


    Tung!


    The long claws of the ghouls scraped the wooden shield. At the same time, I moved my body sideways and blew its arm off with a long knife. Its arm soared into the air with green blood spurted around.


    Kiaaak!


    My fighting instinct skill was activated at that moment. I rushed to the screaming ghoul. It spread its snout and stuck out his tongue to prepare for me, but I had already lowered my upper body.


    ¡°Bye.¡±


    The long knife slid past its neck and lobbed it off. The ghoul, who had lost his head, fell to the floor and spilled a lot of green blood to the ground. But it didn¡¯t end there. The goblins were watching me in the alley and were probably looking for an opportunity.


    I hit the shield with the handle of the long knife.


    ¡°Come here all at once you ugly f*cks!¡± Seeing that I was alone, they rushed towards me. Let me teach them that it was a mistake.


    Numerous paralyzing darts flew, but the sword armor protected my body from most of them. One of the poison darts penetrated my joint, but my paralyzing poison resistance skill shone at that moment.


    When three goblins saw me on my knees, they shouted happily and approached me. But as soon as they moved closer, I jumped up with all the strength in my body.


    Kiek!


    The three goblins shrieked in surprise. I mercilessly cut their bodies with the long knife. Their ugly heads, arms and legs were scattered everywhere. At that scene, the other goblins were frightened and ran back down the alley.


    It¡¯s a bit quieter now. I flicked the blood off my long knife and ran towards the marina. Once I arrived there, I could see that the three kids looked tired.


    ¡°Hyung, you are really strong!¡±


    ¡°I think you can just kill all the monsters here, ahjussi.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying? I won¡¯t be able to kill the orc.¡±


    Even if I say it like that, if I activated all of my skills, I think I would be able to beat an orc with only a long knife and a shield. Orc¡¯s movements are slow, so if I aim for the delay¡­ Well, it¡¯s still best to attack safely from a distance.


    After waiting for a while, the last member of our group came rushing in with a backpack. After he got on the boat, Junho and Doyoung started to row hard. At first, it was a little awkward, but because they were boys, they quickly got used to it.


    The boat which we boarded was heading to the island.


    .


    .


    .


    That evening. We sat down at the memorial and enjoyed the peace after a long time. There weren¡¯t a lot of supplies here, but in retrospect, there were no monsters either. Everyone sat down on the bench in daze as they looked either towards the sea or the sky.


    ¡°Today we will rest, eat and sleep, and start working hard again tomorrow, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Even after running and rowing hard, the children did not show any exhaustion on their faces. It was probably due to the fact that they saw hope. Although the island was small, it was enough for a few people to live and the food was adequate. And the most important thing of all was the fact that there was soil to make a vegetable garden, which was great. If we bring fertilizer, we will be able to grow enough vegetables to eat. It would even grow faster because we have Jiman.


    Yeowool rested her head on my shoulder before standing up straight.


    ¡°How about splitting up our team? One team goes to the land and farms, the other works on the island.¡±


    ¡°Would that be convenient?¡±


    It would be better for me, Junho, and Doyoung to move, but I doubted whether the two of them would accept it. No matter how you look at it, the island was more comfortable. Fortunately, they both showed enthusiasm.


    ¡°I will happily go. Instead, since Jiman hyung is here, I want to eat some sashimi tomorrow, hehe.¡±


    ¡°Hyung, I heard there are congers here in this sea.¡±


    A smile bloomed in Jiman¡¯s lips as he nodded his head.


    ¡°If it¡¯s a fish, I¡¯ll catch it anytime.¡±


    Well, it looks like it was sorted out.


    With that, it was decided that Jiman and Yeowool would remain on the island to work. Even though it seemed to be safe and easy job to stay on the island, it was not true since there was so much work to be done here.


    In the evening we ate and talked about our future plans.


    ¡°In early October, people from the gym will probably come. So, there¡¯s only a few days left.¡±


    At my words, Yeowool carefully parted her lips. ¡°I¡¯ve heard a lot of stories about them, but I don¡¯t know what kind of people they are.¡±


    ¡°They are all good people. As for why they are called gym people, it¡¯s because the first place they settled at was at the gym. The older brother I knew was the owner of that gym.¡±


    ¡°Ahh.¡±


    In addition to the gym folks, I also told them about the zombie queen. Everyone¡¯s faces instantly turned pale in fear.


    ¡°Hey, why is such a person working with people at the gym?¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess because she liked it?¡± There was no need to explain my relationship with Dajung here. Junho and Doyoung started making a fuss, saying they had heard the rumors from Cheol-jun.


    ¡°They say she catches people and throws them to her subordinate zombies.¡±


    ¡°There are rumors that she¡¯s doing crazy things with those zombies at night¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Yeowool furrowed her forehead at their words. This, too, was a rumour originated from Dajeong¡¯s action of turning everything into a mess. Though, she¡¯s not the kind of person who cares about that.


    In my view, Dajeong was not a person who would be satisfied with the stable life on this island. She was more likely to leave after helping the people here together with her zombies. After all, she needs a lot of monsters for her unique skill to shine.


    I also need to meet Rapwi. But, it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea for me to go meet Rapwi together with Dajeong. Strange rumours will start circulating in the auction house about the suspicious man clinging next to the Zombie Queen.


    Suddenly, Jiman interrupted my thoughts as he rummaged through the notes and chimed,


    ¡°The farming dungeon will be open soon.¡±


    ¡°Farming dungeon?¡±


    ¡°What is that?¡±


    Is it already time for it to open?


    In other words, the farming dungeon was akin to my portal. The only difference was that it is an event held by the system and there was no limit on the number of people who could enter. On top of it, no one knows where it will lead to. It¡¯s called a Farming Dungeon because you can get a variety of things from it. Without it, it would have been much tighter to survive.


    Jiman gave a rough explanation about it to the kids. and the three children looked at his notebook with dazzling eyes.


    ¡°Hyung, these notes¡­¡±


    ¡°I put it together while watching the stream. It¡¯s not complete, though.¡±


    ¡°Whose stream?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s I Love Gimbap¡¯s stream. He¡¯s someone who specially streamed Survival Life. He¡¯s a nice person.¡±


    No, I¡¯m not a good person. Even after that, Jiman kept praising me. Everything you say about me is good, but please stop saying that I am a nice and wonderful person¡­

 Chapter 80

    Translator: Asta


    Editor: Aaghna


    2/11


    It was difficult to make a vegetable garden on the island. The situation here was completely different from the forest inside the portal. There were no iron farm tools here, let alone the help of the almighty scarabs. It was not far-fetched to say that our current technological level was far below the primitive age.


    The best thing is that I am not alone. Everyone was very motivated because they liked this island, so that was worthy of a high evaluation. Of course, there was no guarantee that the motivation would necessarily lead to success.


    Anyway, I called the children and assigned a task to each one of them. In this situation, it would be good for efficiency to hand out a hard task since I had already fed them well.


    ¡°The two of you go out to land and farm. If you find yourself in danger, just run away, okay?¡± Junho and Doyoung nodded at the same time. It¡¯s funny how their past actions of running around to eat lunch quickly had become a reassurance in this kind of situation.


    I wrote a list of items needed for fishing and making a vegetable garden on a note and gave it to them. ¡°There won¡¯t be any metal farm equipment left, but some plastic ones should still be left. Don¡¯t forget to bring a shovel.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°And make sure to bring a net and a trap. The trap must be out of shape, but it doesn¡¯t matter. Just bring them.¡± If Jiman¡¯s unique skill is at work, fishes would definitely come asking to be caught.


    I checked the list one last time and sent them both to the dock. It¡¯s at least an hour¡¯s journey to the land so I want to make sure that I had written down everything that was needed. After all, if they put themselves in danger, rowed and farmed, but had to go back because they missed something, it wouldn¡¯t feel right. Though, if we have Mikyung, we could go back directly with her Blink¡­ This island and this situation really reminds me of the members of the gym group.


    I took Jiman and Yeowool and pointed at the tree. ¡°You have to turn that thick-branched tree into an axe. Also a plow, and a hoe.¡±


    ¡°Will we really use stone? It¡¯s really primitive.¡± Yeowool spoke in frustration.


    ¡°We are less than primitive men.¡± I corrected her. ¡°We can¡¯t even handle stones properly. We have to learn everything step by step.¡±


    ¡°I watched a video.¡± Jiman said and borrowed my long knife. He cut a tree and brought it. Then, after smashing the branches, he picked up two stones and began to trim them. While he did so, Yeowool exclaimed ¡®oh¡­oh¡­¡¯ while squatting and watching.


    He¡¯s good. When a string was coiled around it to tie the stone and the wood, a tool similar to a stone ax was completed. Although it looks sloppy, it was a useful tool which could cut down trees and plow some land.


    Jiman started digging with it.


    ¡°It takes a lot of effort, but it works.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s difficult for Yeowool since it needs a lot of strength, so she should just clean the bushes and stones.¡±


    ¡°Yes. But what will Dingo do?¡±


    King~


    Dingo barked a little and I patted him on the ass.


    ¡°He will walk around and keep an eye out for monsters.¡± As Dingo ran right away, Yeowool looked at his back as if she was not sure.


    ¡°Does he understand what we are saying?¡±


    ¡°He will bark when monsters appear.¡±


    ¡°As expected.¡± Since it¡¯s a small island, even if Dingo just strolls around, he will easily cover the whole island. I left the island and boarded the boat that was anchored at the dock. Since the sky was cloudy, I think that rain is going to pour. That¡¯s why I brought a lot of basins.


    There¡¯s quite a bit of bottled water on the island, but the more water, the better. After all, I need something to water the garden. As I rowed without thinking, I finally arrived on the land. A few zombies greeted me, but I ignored them and put the boat into the dock.


    Looking through the telescope towards Dot Islands, I saw Jiman and Yeowool playing around.


    ¡°They will surely fall in love with each other.¡±


    Was Jiman 20 years old and Yeowool 18 years old? It¡¯s not unusual for people with such an age difference to fall in love and become a couple.


    Meanwhile, the only things that approached me right now were monsters. It¡¯s really karma I kicked the zombies that were rushing at me and ran towards the mart.


    .


    .


    .


    When people think of a dungeon, they often think of a dark, narrow space. The dungeons in Survival Life were not much different from that. It was larger than a den and smaller than a labyrinth. Nevertheless, it was a place that required a lot of preparation.


    But when it comes to Farming Dungeons, the story was completely different. It was another world which could only be entered through the portal. No one knows what¡¯s inside. Forests, seas, swamps, mountains, deserts, wastelands, and all kinds of terrains await users. It¡¯s a place to farm, but it also has limitations. Once you exit after entering, you cannot enter the dungeon again. So, inside the Farming Dungeon, it was common sense to set up a base camp, stockpile some supplies there, and then take them all out once you are done exploring.


    Occasionally, users would run to each other inside, but far from fighting each other, most of them would cooperate. The reason was simple; They didn¡¯t have the time and reason to do so since the ecosystem inside was quite rough.


    ¡°When a good dungeon comes out, it should be fixed.¡±


    Farming Dungeons were basically random events. Each time they appear, the terrain inside changes randomly. But, there is one way to make a particular terrain appear again: it was to leave behind one item inside the dungeon. If you do so, a bug will occur and the last opened Farming Dungeon¡¯s terrain will appear again next time the event happens. In my experience, when there were about 4 or 5 people in one area, one portal leading to the Farming Dungeon must appear around them.


    ¡°Since our hideout is on an island, it¡¯s good to be able to enjoy it alone.¡± The dungeon opening cycle was once every one to two months. Without the Farming Dungeon, everyone on Earth would have starved to death as time went by. There will be less and less things to loot in the cities eventually.


    ¡°Well, it is possible to continue living by eating store bread¡­¡± But It was questionable whether it could be called life.


    I played some videos related to farming dungeons on my laptop. The portal which was shown on the screen was similar to my dimensional door. So, it¡¯s highly likely that my dimension was the same as the dimension inside the farming dungeon. And if people rushed in after the portal opened, there¡¯s a chance they would be able to see my shelter.


    ¡°This place is really a golden goblin¡¯s nest.¡± All kinds of supplies were piled up in my shelter, which was about 200 pyeong. There were even motorcycles, ATVs and mini fork cranes here. It wasn¡¯t usable now, but if I fix the position of the gate with an item, I could use it to move around places quickly.


    ¡°¡­it¡¯s more dangerous than I thought.¡± The moment they see my shelter, people¡¯s eyes will roll over. There was a good chance that a siege battle would take place. The defensive power of the moat and the round barbed wire was quite high, but it was not difficult to break through if a few people rushed in.


    In fact, people¡¯s perceptions were more dangerous than physical threats.


    If someone spread rumors like: ¡®That bastard set up a shelter here by himself when others were dying and was eating well,¡¯ I will become a public enemy. Well, currently I am already a public enemy on Earth, but it¡¯s a different story if people are hostile to me everywhere I go.


    ¡°Well, it won¡¯t be easy to find.¡±


    No one knows how wide this world is, so these worries of mine are useless. I got out of the cave and ran towards the pier. I had moderately looted around the area, and now I was going to return to the island.


    An orc suddenly appeared with several goblins in tow before me. When the guy smashed his stone ax on the floor and screamed, the goblins rushed in.


    ¡°Are we really going to do this?¡±


    I grabbed a rope from a nearby building, climbed up to the roof, and pulled the Elderwood Longbow from the slot. With every shot I unleashed, one goblin fell down.


    ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve grown too.¡±


    The orc started tossing objects around me in anger when its men fell. However, the accuracy was low, so it was not difficult to dodge it.


    ¡°Are you envious because I didn¡¯t shoot arrows at you?¡± As I said that, I nocked another arrow in the bow and let it fly. The orc roared in anger as the arrow dug into its stomach. He ran to the building and started climbing on the window. It¡¯s like that one scene from the King Kong movie.


    I waited until it reached the top, then pulled out Emeras spear from the slot and aimed it at its forehead. The orc¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Here! a gift!¡± As I pushed the Emeras spear with all my strength, the orc fell to the ground.


    Thump-!!


    The orc went mad and I started shooting adamant arrows from above. When the penetration enhancement was added to the power of the Elderwood Longbow, the skin of the Orc was easily pierced. Finally, when two arrows hit its head, the orc couldn¡¯t stand it any longer and dropped to its knees.


    I finally threw the spear.


    ¡°Khaak!¡±


    The practice I had done was worthwhile since I succeeded in piercing the orc¡¯s chest. The orc, who boasted a strong vitality, finally died and left a point. The two remaining goblins have already run away. I could see the direction they ran to, but tracking only two normal goblins was nothing but a chore.


    ¡°They don¡¯t give anything but points.¡±


    Monsters such as orcs did not drop skills and items anymore when the user who killed it reached the same level as them. Werewolf was level 20, so they should be fine for me to hunt for a while.


    I pulled out the arrows and looted anything I could find on the monsters. At that moment, a few people came out of the building.


    ¡°Seongho-ssi. Can we talk to you for a moment?¡± It was Cheol-jun. There was no prior contact, but I was aware of their existence. I pointed to the store inside, and as they entered, I took a seat at the entrance. Two men and two women looked at me curiously.


    ¡°You know Cheol-jun hyung and Yuju, right? My name is Lee Sangcheol.¡± Said a young man who seemed to be the leader of the group.


    ¡°I am Lee Sanghee.¡± The woman spoke after him and smiled at me brightly which burdened me quite a bit.


    Since both of them have the same family name, it looks like they were siblings.


    Sangcheol lowered his head. And when I asked him what was going on, he said, ¡°At that time, I didn¡¯t know Seongho-ssi well¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. There was no damage done to me.¡± And if I was harmed in any way by them, we wouldn¡¯t be talking like this right now.


    Sangcheol said again. ¡°I just saw that you killed an orc. You are amazing. Did you set up a rope to climb up on and catch it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well¡­ Even if werewolves appear later, those ropes will come in handy.¡±


    ¡°We also installed some ropes, but it was not easy.¡± Yuju shook her hand.


    In fact, the task would be easier if you have someone with the movement-type unique skill such as Blink or Terrain Mastery.


    But what do these people want to say?


    When I urged them with my eyes, Sangcheol hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.


    ¡°Recently, a series of strange things have happened around here. The murderer¡¯s event is one, but even the people who were engaged in it suddenly disappeared.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that the people of JongSaMu have disappeared?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to know¡­ Yes. They literally disappeared overnight. I couldn¡¯t see them at all, so I went to the hideout, and there was no sign of them.¡±


    ¡°¡­were they attacked by the murderer?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s the case. I don¡¯t know who the killer is, but it¡¯s clear that he¡¯s around here. That¡¯s why I¡¯m telling you¡­ why don¡¯t you join us and fight against it?¡± His voice lowered towards the end.


    In the end, I think they wanted to talk about this. It¡¯s ironic that they actually came to the perpetrator to join them.


    At the moment, Sanghee leaned her upper body towards me.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been watching Seongho while you were roaming around the area. You have great skills¡­ What do you think¡­ I think we¡¯ll get along well.¡±


    ¡°There are people I hang out with.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen those students these days.¡±


    ¡°We moved our hideout.¡±


    ¡°Where¡­ ah, it seems like that¡¯s the reason you were running around a few days ago.¡±


    ¡°Did you move to the island?¡±


    Sanghee pondered and asked me as if she didn¡¯t understand. ¡°Isn¡¯t there nothing there? There are no supplies there and it is difficult to loot.¡±


    ¡°We have our ways.¡±


    ¡°Sanghee, wait a minute. Seongho-ssi, if you go there, wouldn¡¯t you be fine from zombie raids and murderers.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we occupied it.¡± I emphasized the word occupy. Although there was no ownership on the island, it was us who occupied it first, so it would make people think twice if they wanted to come there.


    Cheol-jun and Yuju¡¯s expressions darkened a bit when they heard my words. Seems like they understood the meaning behind my words.


    Sangcheol smiled bitterly as he tapped the table. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I think of that? There are also plastic boats, so you can cross over.¡±


    ¡°There is nothing on the island.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why it is good. There are no monsters, but food can be transported by boat. Ha¡­ that¡¯s unfortunate.¡±


    Sanghee looked at me and pursed her lips. ¡°But you must be very bored on the island. What do you do all day?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty busy there. We have to make a vegetable garden and catch some fish.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ But you must be bored at night¡­ Seongho, how about me?¡±


    She looked into my eyes and licked her lips. Her companions around her were visibly embarrassed by her actions. It¡¯s the first time I saw a woman speak so openly. But I wasn¡¯t interested in her. To be precise, I couldn¡¯t be bothered to have a special relationship with a woman right now. I had a lot of work to do on my own, so it would be a pain in the ass if she clings to me.


    I slung my backpack. ¡°Are we done? If so, I will go first.¡±


    When I was about to leave, Cheoljun said hurriedly. ¡°Please wait. There was something I wanted to say to Seongho-ssi¡­ Recently a lot of people have been walking around the playground.¡±


    In Masan, when you say a playground, it means the baseball field. It¡¯s north of here and pretty close.


    ¡°Are they a clan?¡±


    ¡°They are the biggest clan members in Changwon. I don¡¯t know why they¡¯re walking around, but I think Seongho should be careful.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the information.¡± Though, It doesn¡¯t matter who comes at me. In return, I told him that a Farming Dungeon would open soon.


    ¡°Is it open now?¡±


    ¡°In Survival Life, it opens right after the appearance of the Orcs. I can¡¯t say for sure, but the time is roughly around now.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Sanghee patted Sangcheol on the shoulder. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you saw it in one of the mytube streams?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah that¡¯s right. But I didn¡¯t see it properly. That man¡¯s voice was so sleep inducing¡­¡±


    ¡°I Love Gimbap? That person?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Anyway, hearing his voice made me fall asleep. I can¡¯t even remember now.¡±


    To think I¡¯d meet someone who used my stream as a sleeping drug¡­


    Well, it was something I couldn¡¯t be angry about as that came up often among viewers. I hid my burning face and went outside.


    ¡°If we meet in the farming dungeon, please pretend to know us.¡± Sanghee said quietly from behind.


    Hmm¡­ it will depend on the situation. I boarded the boat and headed to the island. The children were watching the rabbit farm while they were working.


    ¡°It¡¯s cute¡­¡± Yeowool squeals.


    It¡¯s cute, isn¡¯t it? We¡¯ll have to catch it and eat it soon.


    .


    .


    .


    That evening, we finished our meal and prepared to enter the Farming Dungeon. Even if we were excited like this, there¡¯s a chance that the dimensional gate might not appear. If that was the case, I was wondering if I should go to the mainland and look for it. But when such worries filled my mind, Dingo, who had gone for a walk, ran towards us while barking loudly.


    ¡°What¡¯s up? Who¡¯s coming?¡± Everyone got used to Dingo¡¯s barking, so they quickly learned to distinguish the meanings. His current bark was a warning sign that a strange thing had appeared, not a monster.


    When I followed him to the information centre, a blue portal greeted me. The children raised their arms and cheered.


    ¡°Oh yeah!¡±


    ¡°Wow!¡±


    I restrained Dingo and the boys, then carefully slipped my hand into the portal. Cold air could be felt on my hand. This is getting more and more disturbing. Even though winter was over in the forest, it was still cold.


    ¡°Hurry up, uncle.¡±


    At Yeowool¡¯s urging, I pushed myself into the portal.


    What?


    Where the hell is this?

 Chapter 81

    Sponsored Chapter 3/11


    Translator: Asta


    Editor: Aaghna


    When I crossed the blue portal, what stretched before me was a vast land covered in white snow. Dozens of big strange rocks rose to the sky, and at the end of it, a hat-like fog covered the tip.


    ¡°This is Zhangjiajie, huh?¡±


    We, stagnant waters, called this place like that because the topography was similar to the real Zhangjiajie. Here, as long as we were careful of flying monsters, there would be danger. Scratch that, the cold was dangerous. Compared to the forest where my shelter is, it was much colder here.


    Isn¡¯t winter over yet?


    At that moment, Yeowool¡¯s head pierced through the portal. It seems she couldn¡¯t overcome her curiosity.


    ¡°Wow, where is this ahjussi?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡±


    Yeowool took a long breath and shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s very cold here¡­ By the way, what are we supposed to do here?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that either.¡±


    Actually, I know very well about this place and what we should do here. But, I couldn¡¯t just say it.


    At that moment,


    Kaaahkk-!!


    Through the mist, we could hear the sound of something wailing.


    Yeowool¡¯s face hardened as she took in a deep breath. ¡°Di-did you hear that, ahjussi? What is that?¡±


    ¡°It seems that there are monsters flying in the sky.¡±


    ¡°Woah, isn¡¯t that dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Not really. You have to overcome at least this much if you want to eat meat.¡± Not only meat, various resources could also be obtained. ¡°I¡¯ve heard from people before and they said that this door can only be used once.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that once we go in and leave, we can¡¯t go back in again?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, at least until the next portal opens. They say once it opens, it lasts for 3 or 4 days. Can you ask the others whether they want to come in or not?¡±


    ¡°Wait. Oh, can I really do so?¡±


    ¡°It will be okay since your body isn¡¯t fully inside yet.¡±


    Nodding at my words, Yeowool exited the portal. After a while, Yeowool showed her face again. ¡°They said, even if it¡¯s a little risky, they want to try it.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Tell them all to come in then.¡± Even if we leave the island unattended, there won¡¯t be any problems since all FRP boats on the surrounding coast have already been collected by us. So there won¡¯t be any intruders suddenly barging in.


    Soon the children came in with two large backpacks.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s cold!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s totally winter here!¡±


    Unlike the three who trembled, Jiman got used to it surprisingly well. After all, it would be like a daily routine for him.


    ¡°This is¡­ griffon dungeon.¡±


    ¡°When you say griffon, you mean that winged monster, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s insanely dangerous. Despite that, there is so much to farm from them.¡±


    ¡°This is going to be my first time seeing a flying monster, so I don¡¯t know what it will be like¡­¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t they just going to attack us from above?¡±


    That¡¯s right. However, it would be difficult to detect them in advance since there was heavy fog at the end of the peak.


    ¡°Calm down, what we¡¯re going to do first is build a base camp. We have to build it in a place where we can see the portal, okay?¡± I gathered the kids who ran around curiously.


    ¡°The portal disappears after three or four days, so you have to get out before that.¡± Poor Man, who acted as the knowledgeable one instead of me, chimed in.


    Yeowool asked, tilting her head. ¡°What if I can¡¯t go out and the portal closes?¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ll be stuck here. At least until the next portal opens in this area.¡± But since there¡¯s a way to fix the Farming Dungeon, you don¡¯t really have to stay for that long. At most for 1 or 2 months.


    In Rapwi¡¯s case, he used to deliberately go in and stay alone for several months. But since it is no longer a game, no one in their right mind would ever do that.


    After that, we moved around the area and looked for a good place to use as a base camp. The ground was wet so it was difficult to even set up the tent. I wish there was a cave. Shortly thereafter, a suitable place could bee seen on one side of the cliff.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s about 7 meters deep. It should be okay, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s perfect because the floor is dry.¡±


    Most importantly, the ceiling was blocked, so attacks from the griffon could be prevented. There were also a few portals we could see from this place. We pitched a tent there and laid out thin mattresses on the ground.


    ¡°Scrap the branches around you and make a fire with it.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Once the fire was lit, everyone sat around it. It¡¯s like camping.


    ¡°It would be perfect if we have meat to grill.¡±


    ¡°If you want to get meat, you have to hunt.¡±


    ¡°Since Jiman hyung is here, all we have to do is find the animals, right? Brother, what is the range of your unique skill?¡±


    ¡°Huh? I haven¡¯t been able to confirm that.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go check it out together later.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    They made plans to hunt amongst themselves and become quite noisy even though I told them to be quiet. Jiman looked at me and I nodded. There are times when you guys have to move by yourself. I can¡¯t always support you.


    The three men were in good spirits and decided to go hunting, and Yeowool and I decided to stay at the base camp. It seems like because they were boys, they have a strong sense of adventure.


    I took the potatoes from the shelter which I put in my backpack beforehand and put them on the fire.


    ¡°Eat this before you guys go and take a good look around. If you meet anyone, come back and let me know.¡±


    ¡°Is there anyone other than us here?¡±


    ¡°Because the portal appears in random locations¡­ the famous Rabbit Pwincess might be here.¡±


    ¡°I really want to meet that person¡­¡±


    ¡°A few days ago, Cheol-jun hyung told me that he is now in Jinju.¡±


    I know that he¡¯s there too. I don¡¯t know what the hell he was doing there, though. I keep telling myself to go there to meet him, but why does it always get postponed I wonder? After the Farming Dungeon event is over, I should leave the island to the kids and go to Jinju.


    After a few minutes passed, the potatoes were finally baked, and I served them with a bit of sugar on top of it.


    Yeowool looked at me shyly. ¡°Ahjussi, you are really amazing.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Where did you get potatoes like this? We stayed in Masan, but we didn¡¯t even get to see it.¡± That¡¯s because it was grown in the shelter¡­


    However, what I used as an excuse was: ¡°I planted this in the village where Jiman was staying. That¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Ugh.¡±


    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t nag anymore and eat two each.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not nagging!¡± At that moment, a cry of an animal was heard from somewhere.


    woo woo woo-


    Everyone was startled by the unknown vague sound of something which was probably a wolf or some other animal. But moments later, they shrugged their shoulders as they saw Jiman.


    ¡°It should be okay since Jiman hyung is here.¡±


    ¡°But it might not be too big an animal. I confirmed that it could even be an elk.¡± Jiman said. However, the problem is, the wolves here are much bigger than an elk.


    I warned the kids not to rush and explore carefully. The three of them ate the potatoes in an instant, then packed their clothes and left. Meanwhile, Yeowool and I cleaned up and unpacked our luggage. In fact, there were more things to do at camp compared to exploring.


    ¡°Yeowool, let¡¯s make some wooden spears.¡±


    ¡°How can we make it, ahjussi?¡±


    ¡°You can follow me. First let¡¯s cut this tree.¡±


    I cut down two trees with the stone ax that Jiman made. A popping sound echoed through the valley. Soon after, the tree fell and I pruned it with a long knife and brought it to camp. Then,


    I handed the mithril knife to Yeowool.


    ¡°You hold the tree tightly with your hands and cut it into a spear shape with a knife. It¡¯s sharp, so be careful.¡±


    After trying a few times, Yeowool finally got the hang of it.


    ¡°Is it really this easy to cut a tree?¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s because you are using a mithril knife.¡±


    ¡°How much does this knife cost in the store?¡±


    ¡°150 points.¡±


    ¡°Eh? If you catch one zombie, you get two points.¡±


    ¡°It was originally 100 points in the game. But the price has increased.¡±


    ¡°Annoying. Who increased it?¡±


    ¡°If I knew that, I wouldn¡¯t be doing this. I would instead be looking for them¡­¡±


    We sharpened the wood and put it in a fire to burn the surface.


    ¡°Be careful, if you burn it too much, it will get weaker. We only need to burn the outside a little.¡±


    ¡°Like grilling seaweed?¡±


    ¡°Yes, like that.¡±


    After that, a few wooden spears were thus completed. The next thing we would need were pickaxes. After all, there¡¯s a chance that we might stumble upon a piece of land containing glowstone or ignition stone.


    Even though the hard work, such as bringing stones and cutting down trees and fixing them, continued, Yeowool did not complain. I felt sorry to see those tiny hands of hers labor through such hard work, but I had no intention of helping. I already taught her how to do it, so now she has to do it herself.


    While Yeowool sprawled on the ground when we finished, I put the pickaxe down and looked around the area. The environment was damp but it¡¯s still fine as a good amount of water was flowing through the area. We also have plenty of food, so now we need to get resources and preserves.


    It would be great if I could catch a wild boar. But are there wild boars here too?


    At that thought, I became frustrated and regretted that I didn¡¯t go on a reconnaissance. But since it was also important to protect the base camp, there was nothing I could do about it. At that moment, I looked up. And, above that mist, griffons were flying¡­ If we could go to its nest, we could get our hands on their eggs and cubs, but that was nigh to impossible for the current us. Climbing up the strange rock formation was similar to rock climbing. Except, there were no safeguards in this situation.


    With that in mind, I turned around and a bighorn goat came through the bushes. It didn¡¯t come any closer and only looked at me.


    ¡°Yeowool, can you bring me a bow?¡± I¡¯m talking about the 100 pound hunting bow in the cave. She carefully took the bow and some arrows and handed it to me and me. Then, she hid behind my back and stared at the goat.


    ¡°Wow¡­ it¡¯s so big¡­ But why does it have a ¡®big horned goat¡¯ on it?¡±


    ¡°Shh, lower your voice.¡±


    Yeowool put her head on my back and nodded. It¡¯s ticklish. I placed the arrows on the string and aimed at it. Shooting in the head was stupid because of its horn so I had to target the main organs. If an arrow hits the heart or lungs, it would fall within a minute. But that is if I am lucky. The common sense to hunt a game was to chase it while making it bleed.


    When I was about to let go of the bowstring, I was startled by the sudden sound of the wind around me.


    Whoosh-!!


    The wind blew fiercely, it was as if a typhoon suddenly occurred.


    I turned around, hugged Yeowool and lowered my posture.


    ¡°Ahjussi!¡±


    ¡°Shh, something is coming!¡±


    Before long, a large silhouette fell through the mist. From its majestic figure, I could easily know what it was; Griffon. A monster with the head of an eagle and the body of a four-legged carnivore. It snatched the goat with its forelimbs. It was so massive; the size was similar to the goat. The goat, unable to resist, was pulled up and disappeared above the fog. All that was left was the leaves shuddering because of the gusts of wind it left behind.


    ¡°¡­is that a griffon?¡±


    ¡°It seems so.¡± In my old days, I used to catch a griffon with just a net and an Emeras spear. Of course, at that time, my status window was filled with tier 1 skills, that¡¯s why it was possible. Even though the basic stats were limited to about 17, but if you receive boosts and get the correct skill, it will approach 30. At that point, the movements that could only be done by superhumans in movies becomes possible.


    Anyway, Yeowool quickly hid in the tent because she was terrified by the griffon. Then, not long after, the three boys who went on an expedition came back in a hurry. I thought it was because of the griffon, but I was wrong.


    ¡°Hyung, there are zombies here.¡±


    ¡°Zombies?¡±


    It¡¯s not a place where zombies would appear, though?


    Unlike other monsters, zombies only respawn when there¡¯s a human to be infected.


    Did humans like us ever live here?


    ¡°There are a lot of them. But they didn¡¯t attack us for some reason.¡±


    Jiman added that the attire was pretty neat for a zombie.


    A zombie with a neat outfit¡­ Somehow, it reminds me of someone


    ¡°Jiman and Doyoung stay here, Junho, lead me there.¡±


    ¡°Yep. I will go slowly.¡±


    ¡°You can run at your usual speed.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to follow me. You know my unique skill don¡¯t you, hyung?¡±


    ¡°You talk too much. Just run.¡±


    When I urged him, he started sprinting. I did not have Terrain Mastery skill, but since my overall stats were quite high, it was not difficult to chase after him.


    Junho, who looked back, muttered with an incredulous expression. ¡°Wow, really. How do you run so well, hyung?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s because I lost a lot of weight.¡±


    ¡°Hyung, when I see you, you have a perfect body type. Your shoulders are also wide.¡±


    ¡°I used to be a pig.¡±


    ¡°Really? Wow¡­.¡±


    Well, even if it¡¯s not a pig, I can¡¯t say that I was slim before the apocalypse.


    Anyway, we approached the terrain where they found the zombies. A large tree had fallen by the lake, and it was so big to the point it could accommodate 2 tents on top of it.


    Junho said excitedly. ¡°There it is hyung. There are zombies around that woman.¡±


    What a coincidence¡­ It seems like my hunch was right. Those zombies were Dajeong¡¯s subordinate zombies. She was sitting on a zombie chair and staring at the lake.


    Did tents in the trees belong to the gym members?


    It was very strange to share a Farming Dungeon like this. I tapped Junho on the shoulder and approached Dajeong. At my action, the zombies started to move, but they stood still again at Dajeong¡¯s command.


    ¡°Who are you and why are you approaching me so proudly?¡± Dajeong said as she leisurely turned around. ¡°What? Look who¡¯s here¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s me.¡±


    Dajeong looked at me. Then she stood up and ran towards me.


    I suddenly want to run away.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Welcome!¡±


    ¡°Haha, nice to meet you. My name is Jang Wontaek.¡±


    People flocked to the government base camp. According to the reconnaissance done by the government people, dozens of people had entered the valley. Users who had played the original game were surprised that it was the first time the Farming Dungeon was so crowded.


    ¡°Originally, Farming Dungeons are like, you go in in a small group, and you just farm and come out. It¡¯s not as crowded as this.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ and it¡¯s good because there are no zombies.¡±


    ¡°The president is very popular.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this the first time we¡¯ve seen each other since the apocalypse? The presentation on TV worked great.¡±


    ¡°A president who fulfills his duty to the end¡­ isn¡¯t that wonderful?¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s why I came here in the first place¡­¡±


    People scattered behind Geom-in who sat on the plastic chair. Everyone flocked to check out the government group. After all, the government base camp was the biggest force in this farming dungeon.


    ¡®I don¡¯t like it.¡¯


    Geom-in clicked his tongue. His plan had been ruined yet again. He originally wanted to bring some talented people who rarely opened their hearts to him into the farming dungeon and form networks with them as well as the other users. But with President Jang Wontaek here, his presence became fainter.


    Moreover, the first location of the farming dungeon was gryphon habitat. Dozens of people came in, but Geom-in guessed that the actual count would be at least 100 people. And currently, there were only 30 people in the government base camp.


    ¡°Duck Buttock is also here!¡±


    When someone shouted loudly, people¡¯s attention quickly shifted. They instantly tried to pinpoint where she was.


    ¡°She¡¯s near the lake.¡±


    ¡°How many people are with her?¡±


    ¡°There won¡¯t be that many. If the president decides to go there, we will follow.¡±


    ¡°You speak very well.¡±


    ¡°Because of the zombies, outsiders can¡¯t even get close to her. I wonder if that will happen if we go there.¡±


    ¡°Would you like to visit?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m busy meeting people right now¡­¡±


    That¡¯s funny. Geom-in laughed at them. Among them, there must be people who had fought with each other at the auction house. That¡¯s why, even though everyone had greeted each other, the atmosphere was still awkward.


    On the other hand, Jang Wontaek was more interested in the other Stagnant waters, including Duck Buttock.


    ¡°If she¡¯s in the lake¡­ I¡¯ll have to go meet her. Has anyone seen I Love Gimbap?¡±


    He shouted loudly, but everyone shook their heads.


    ¡°No one knows who he is.¡±


    ¡°If you look at the rankings, he must be hiding somewhere.¡±


    ¡°That bastard.¡± Someone joked, but no one laughed at his words. This place was not an anonymous auction house, it was reality. They understood that talking like that here would be risky for their lives.


    Who can guarantee that there¡¯s no I Love Gimbap amongst the crowded people here?


    ¡°If I Love Gimbap is here, you will be the first to die.¡±


    ¡°I-it¡¯s not something I made up. That¡¯s what people called him.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know that because people cursed at him so much, he even made a statement by using it as his nickname on the ranking?¡±


    ¡°Everyone swore at I Love Gimbap at the auction house, right? Is there anyone who hasn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Me neither.¡±


    ¡°How come you didn¡¯t curse at all? So, are the people who cursed at the auction house somewhere else?¡±


    Geom-in felt tired of their chattering. He sighed and stood up.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just do what we should do here.¡± When he spoke, people¡¯s eyes turned to him. Even though things had gone against his original plan, it was also an opportunity. If he proves his leadership here, many people would naturally follow him.


    Geom-in said in a confident voice. ¡°I am looking for people who are going to catch the griffon. I¡¯ll take first nine people with me.¡±

 Chapter 82

    This one is regular chapter


    After greeting Da-jeong, I went to greet the members of the gym group. Unlike Da-jeong who dressed extravagantly, they were all dressed lightly. When I asked them about what was going on, they told me that while passing through the Changwon Tunnel, a Farming Dungeon portal popped up and they had no choice but to enter it.


    ¡°We were going to give up on the dungeon and just go, but Da-jeong unnie entered.¡± Mikyung clung onto me and whined. It¡¯s a voice which I hadn¡¯t heard for a long time. After I said hello to everyone, I brought Junho, who was hanging out by the lakeside, to say hello.


    ¡°He¡¯s one of the students who joined me in Masan.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Park Junho! My unique skill is Parkour!¡± (T/N the raw says parkour unlike the earlier chapter¡­)


    ¡°Oh! So Parkour can also be a unique skill, huh? By the way, if it¡¯s ¡®one of the students¡¯ that means there are other students too?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. They are at our base camp now. I think it would be better to go there instead of staying here¡­ How about it?¡±


    ¡°Seongho, if we go there, do you have some extra clothes there? I am freezing to death.¡± Sooyeon came out of the tent and stomped her feet while exhaling a breath of cold air.


    ¡°Put this on for now.¡± I took off my windbreaker and handed it to her.


    Sooyeon, who had a much more relaxed expression now, smiled at me.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what do I do? Seongho must be cold too.¡±


    The moment I saw her smile, I realized why commander-in-chief Seong-tae was so obsessed with her. I didn¡¯t think much of it when we were together before, but after seeing her after a long time, I just realized, she truly is an amazing beauty. Junho, too, as soon as he saw her, lost his soul and muttered ¡®Mercy¡­ Mercy¡­¡¯


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve heard it about ten times.¡± Sooyeon muttered bitterly. It seems like a lot of things happened when I was away from Gimhae.


    Da-jeong came to me and said, ¡°Kang Seongho-ssi. You left us and went to Masan alone, so what kind of things did you stumble upon?¡±


    ¡°I went to find a hideout.¡±


    ¡°So what are the results?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain that later.¡±


    Originally, we used to talk nonsense, but we had no choice but to talk like this in front of other people. I proceeded to mention that there was a portal around our base camp. And when I told them that the portal was connected to the hideout I found, the faces of gym members brightened.


    ¡°But Seongho, can we go there? How many of you are there?¡± Hyung-jun hyung asked me


    ¡°Excluding me, there are four. Therefore, including Da-jeong, there will be nine in total.¡±


    ¡°Hey, then the zombie raid¡­¡±


    ¡°There will be none. The hideout I found is on an island.¡±


    ¡°Island? Ah, right! There¡¯s an island in Masan¡­¡±


    ¡°Right now, we are using a boat to travel to and fro from the land. But with Mikyung¡¯s help, it will be easier to move around.¡±


    ¡°So, are you saying that you want to merge the two groups? What do you guys think?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with it.¡± Sooyeon said.


    ¡°We have to walk a long way to get out of the tunnel. If we join, we will instantly arrive in Masan. So, I¡¯m extremely okay with it¡± Mikyung chimed.


    Everyone responded positively. The fact that the Farming Dungeon could become a teleporter pushed their decision to agree. Then, Hyung-jun hyung came to a conclusion.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s not waste any more time. It¡¯s a pity we have already pitched the tent, but let¡¯s pack it and walk again. Seongho¡¯s base camp is just a short walk away. Let¡¯s go there and talk.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do that.¡±


    I went to Yoohyeon, who was walking towards one of the tents, and whispered in his ear. ¡°Did the arrogant queen attack you at night?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ Noona is surprisingly a pitiful person.¡±


    ¡°Sorry?¡±


    I wondered if Yoohyeon was also captured, but it seems like that wasn¡¯t the case. He told me that the only thing Da-jeong did to him was ask him to drink with her. Of course, that alone was terrifying enough for Yoohyeon. But when he thought of her only as an older sister instead of a terrifying and arrogant Zombie Queen and listened to her story, she was surprisingly a good noona. The next day after they woke up, she thanked him and bought a weapon with plenty of points for him. It¡¯s really interesting to see the youngest see Da-jeong in that kind of way.


    Perhaps, originally, she was an extremely affectionate person, but after the apocalypse, she had no choice but to act arrogant and violent. She must have felt lonely since she lived alone with only her zombie subordinates around her as companions.


    ¡°Let¡¯s follow Student Junho! When the wind blows, lower yourself to the ground! Beware of the griffon!¡± Da-jeong shouted to the group. We carefully went through the forest, and after some time, we finally arrived at my base camp.


    The three who were guarding the base camp were startled when they saw us.


    ¡°Who are they, ahjussi?¡± Yeowool asked me.


    ¡°It¡¯s the gym people I talked about before. This is Yoohyeon.¡±


    Yeowool¡¯s gaze fell directly to Yoohyeon. Her stoic expression quickly melted and turned soft because of his handsome face.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he handsome?¡±


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know.¡± Even though she said so, she quickly glanced towards the mirror, and then greeted Yoohyeon in the most cheerful way. The smile never left her face.


    After the greeting session ended, we sat down and started talking. The Masan personnel were afraid of Da-jeong who was sitting outside the base camp. Well it was not much of a surprise to see them like that. After all, she was sitting on a zombie chair with her legs crossed while being surrounded by zombies. Da-jeong, who thought that people¡¯s eyes were drawn to her, simply smirked. She really has a bad personality.


    We continued to talk about what we had done so far and what we would do in the future. After a while, the fog settled down and several people approached the base camp. When I asked who it was, it was a very familiar person; President Jang Won-taek.


    He had come to see us. How many people have entered this dungeon I wonder?


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°It has a great atmosphere here. I am not sure if it would be right of me to say that in this situation though.¡± Everyone in our group met with the president separately. Our base camp instantly became crowded because of too many people.


    He said goodbye to the one he met previously and smiled as he saw Da-jeong, who was a little farther away from the group.


    ¡°With this, I¡¯ve already met three of the four stagnant waters.¡±


    ¡°Have you not met Gimbap yet?¡±


    ¡°That is the case. In fact, he is the person I wanted to meet the most, but it¡¯s disappointing.¡±


    When President Jang Won-taek said so, Da-jeong didn¡¯t even glance at me.


    ¡°By the way¡­do you want to join us? I would extend my offer to all of you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any thoughts of doing that.¡± Da-jeong refused. I always thought that Da-jeong was blunt, but Jang Won-taek was also surprisingly blunt.


    ¡°Anyone else?¡±


    Hyung-jun hyung spoke cautiously. ¡°Now is the time for us to settle down in a new hideout¡­ and I¡¯m not used to Seoul.¡±


    Jang Won-taek smiled faintly at Hyung-jun hyung¡¯s refusal. ¡°Government Shelter is always open to everyone, so please call me if you change your mind. There is a dedicated comment section in the auction house for it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes. But we¡¯re not at that level yet¡­¡±


    Hyung, I don¡¯t think you need to tell him that¡­


    ¡°You will be there soon. Or Da-jeong can let me know?¡±


    ¡°When I hear that, I suddenly don¡¯t want to do it.¡±


    ¡°This¡­ It seems like you are a frog rather than a duck.¡±


    When Jang Won-taek jokingly said that, Da-jeong suddenly stood up and showed him her ass.


    ¡°Do you still think I¡¯m not a duck?¡±


    ¡°No, Kuhum¡­ Kuhum¡­¡±


    It seems like the President was taken aback by Da-jeong¡¯s actions. I need to change the atmosphere.


    ¡°Why is the government trying to bring people together?¡±


    When I asked, Jang Won-taek replied, ¡°It is to protect our society from monsters.¡±


    ¡°Even though zombie raids are dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Government shelters are strong. And Awakened are gathering there. Zombie raids are taking place even now, but that¡¯s not a problem.¡±


    Well, how long can it continue like this I wonder?


    When people gather, it means that eventually more and more problems will crop out. It would be nice if the internal unity was good, but the current government shelter had a ticking bomb called Survivor 1.


    I doubt he knew about that¡­


    At that moment, Jang Won-taek was handed a note by the aide behind him.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t come here to scout¡­ haha, it¡¯s just seeing talented people makes my heart flutter. In that sense, I will give you some information. Is anyone here still living in Busan?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no one¡­¡±


    ¡°We also evacuated because of the power plant.¡±


    As the people spoke, President Jang Won-taek nodded his head. ¡°That¡¯s good. This is information I recently got. Foreigners have landed in Busan. They are probably Japanese.¡±


    ¡°Why are the Japanese coming here?¡±


    ¡°Probably to look for something to eat.¡±


    ¡°Did they all come here by the sea? That¡¯s tough.¡±


    ¡°There is no clear information about how they came yet, but it seems that there are at least a few of them. And everyone speaks Korean.¡±


    This information surprised me too. After all, how can people from mainland Japan speak Korean? Not only one or two but all of them.


    Jang Won-taek rubbed his hands when people looked like they couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°When I heard about it, I ordered my agent to check it again, but the same information came up. To be precise, they speak Japanese to each other, but to us it sounds Korean. Do you understand?¡±


    Hmm¡­ He said from his agent? It also means that there was information he hadn¡¯t told us yet. It seems like if we were really curious, we would have to join the government¡¯s organization¡­


    Hyung-jun hyung was so surprised that he asked again. ¡°Then do they hear us in Japanese too? Is that even possible?¡±


    ¡°That part is not yet clear. For now, we are observing them from a distance¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing that foreigners are still alive.¡±


    ¡°There would be no system, so how come they survived?¡± Dakeong, who had been silent all this while, crossed her legs and sat down in the opposite direction. All the gazes of the male aides standing behind Jang Won-taek turned towards her at once.


    ¡°I think the person who was looking for Japanese people at the auction house a few days ago was a real Japanese person.¡±


    ¡°Did that happen? If so, it seems like people who said they had met foreigners in the speedrun labyrinth must have said the truth. Heh heh, I¡¯m actually getting information.¡±


    That Japanese name was Yuzuka¡­ It seems like when someone does not have an ID for Survival Life, their real name will be registered in the system. If so many Japanese are still alive, so would people from other countries. I proceeded to ask how far the government delivered the information about the apocalypse, and Jang Won-taek replied that they spread it to all the necessary countries.


    ¡°Of course, there were countries which did not believe in the apocalypse. However, a number of countries have directly confirmed the monster¡¯s in real life. So, they accepted it. After all, it¡¯s hard to deny that.¡±


    ¡°To put it all together, I¡¯d say all of the survivors now have the system. Including the Japanese who landed in Busan.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ now that I think about it. If you already opened the auction house, you¡¯re already level 15, right? Aren¡¯t you very fast?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because my unique skill is combat-related, and if you focus on leveling up, reaching level 15 is not that difficult. After that, it¡¯s the Hell section, so it¡¯s really difficult.¡±


    Da-jeong¡¯s words are correct. Though, she also lied about the hell section because she was currently at level 17.


    Jang Won-taek glanced at his aide and after receiving a nod, began to stand up.


    ¡°It was nice to meet you today. By the way, Da-jeong is going to meet a lot of people today.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Did I have a date scheduled today? I have no idea.¡±


    ¡°The rumors about the Zombie Queen have spread far.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ I don¡¯t like it. If I catch one of them and force them to have a good time with my boys generation, they will be quiet, right?¡±


    ¡°Haha, I wouldn¡¯t recommend it. Anyway, today was fun. See you next time.¡±


    When President Jang Won-taek disappeared with his aides, Hyung-jun hyung shook his head.


    ¡°The president is really alive. I once thought it was only rumour.¡±


    It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve actually seen him in person too. We all owe him something. But it doesn¡¯t mean that we will join the government shelter. After all, that guy, Survivor 1, was there. By the way, the president must have awakened, but what kind of ability does he have¡­ Since he is the president, his ability wouldn¡¯t be combat related¡­


    Da-jeong dangled her high heels on the tip of her toes and clicked her tongue.


    ¡°Director, the kids over there are calling you.¡±


    ¡°The kids?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Go quickly.¡±


    After Hyung-jun hyung disappeared, Da-jeong turned to me.


    ¡°Seongho, aren¡¯t you being too shy? Do you know how many days I rotted in Gimhae because of you?¡±


    ¡°You still look fine.¡±


    ¡°My stomach is rotting, what can I do? It¡¯s not fun because everyone is living a good life! I can¡¯t have fun!¡±


    ¡°Hey, lower your voice.¡±


    It seems like she was bored because people were afraid of her and treated her with respect. People like her need something exciting and dangerous to happen after all.


    She put her finger under my chin. ¡°I will follow you from now on. Consider yourself warned!¡±


    ¡°Oh, so you want to advertise that I¡¯m Gimbap, huh?¡±


    ¡°I can just call you my slave. I think it would be perfect if you just put on your panties and go with a butt plug. You have a pretty good body.¡±


    ¡°I refuse, Duck Buttock. I need to go find Rapwi, so I don¡¯t have time.¡±


    Her eyes gleamed. ¡°Rapwi? You have not met him yet? What the hell did you do in Masan?¡±


    ¡°I was a little busy¡­ Fighting with people.¡±


    ¡°¡­Seeing you say that seriously, I guess it wasn¡¯t a joke.¡±


    ¡°Something like that happened. By the way, I found Poor Man.¡±


    ¡°Poor Man? Really?¡±


    A few fixed viewers of my show were even known by the other stagnant waters. And in Poor Man¡¯s case, they enjoyed his concept a lot. Especially Da-jeong.


    ¡°It was not a concept. He must have had a really hard life.¡±


    ¡°Is that him? Strongest Jio, get him.¡±


    In an instant, the zombies caught Jiman. Then, when he was brought over, her attention switched from me to Jiman.


    ¡°Your face is so pure. What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Hyu-hyung¡­¡±


    I¡¯m sorry. Please play with her a little.


    I sneaked away from them.


    .


    .


    .


    I was finally able to find the approximate number of people who had entered the farming dungeon. It was over 200 people. I wish everyone would peacefully hunt and focus on farming, but that hope was squashed when there were already some fights and riots starting to brew.


    Through Yoohyeon¡¯s paper airplane more information came.


    ¡°Someone died because a fight broke out while they were digging for resources¡­¡±


    ¡°Where did it happen?¡±


    ¡°The lake side where we were.¡±


    It¡¯s close to our location. It was clearly a murder case, and there was a high probability that it will happen again. Wasn¡¯t it originally said that blood calls for more blood? As there were so many people, it seemed like a big commotion would happen if a death match took place.


    After hearing everything, Hyung-jun hyung briefed the members again. ¡°It¡¯s dangerous there, so don¡¯t go to those areas for the time being. On top of it, be especially careful of wind noise. When something gusts, you go down on your stomach instantly. Understand?¡±


    ¡°Yes!!¡±


    After that, we wandered around and got back to farming. It was nothing special, but I picked some fruits and, although small, I did some hunting. While we did so, Da-jeong and I acted separately from the rest of the group. When it was decided so, everyone looked at me pitifully. Da-jeong made an excuse that she was harassing me.


    In fact, the real purpose of me moving with Da-jeong was to attack the nearby griffon nest. As a result of reconnaissance through Yoohyeon, a nearby griffon nest was spread across a relatively low rock.


    We observed the nest by hiding in the forest under the rocks. ¡°The nest is very low. As far as I remember, if the nest is low, the size of the griffon is very small.¡±


    That¡¯s what I saw through the video. Griffon¡¯s nest was determined through territorial battles. The strong build their nests high, and the weak build their nests low. The owner of the nest we observed was probably kicked out by nearby stronger griffons.


    ¡°Given the size of the nest, It¡¯s safe to assume that it¡¯s not fully grown yet.¡±


    ¡°How big is this ¡®not fully grown yet¡¯? I can¡¯t remember.¡±


    ¡°About twice the size of a bull. If we rush in, it will probably greet us like we are a lunch box.¡±


    ¡°So what? Let¡¯s just go to the nest, beat the griffon and rob it.¡±


    It seems like Da-jeong didn¡¯t want to pass on the chance of beating the Griffon. While we were making plans, a paper airplane flew in front of us. This was some sort of warning from Yoohyeon. Which means we couldn¡¯t speak comfortably anymore.


    As I jumped up and looked around, a few people appeared through the bushes. As soon as they saw the friendly zombie, they pulled out their weapons.


    ¡°It¡¯s a zombie!¡±


    ¡°Calm down for a second. I think I know who is here.¡±


    The gaze of the man in the lead stopped at me for a moment, then moved to Da-jeong. Among the zombies, he must have thought that I was of little value.


    ¡°Duck Buttock, is that you? It¡¯s me, Survivor 1.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Da-jeong¡¯s eyebrows creased.

 Chapter 83

    Among the 4 stagnant waters, Survivor 1¡¯s standing could be said to be rather awkward. It was fine and fun when they all played together, but when there was only him and one of the other three, things would be awkward. Moreover, because he enjoyed being in the shelter so much, the three hardly had any memories of playing with Survivor 1 personally.


    Every game has an item collector. And since the theme of Survival Life was survival, it was not at all a problem to place importance on shelter. However, when the other characters sometimes decided to do some crazy thing, Survivor 1 always took a step back and declined to participate. When Rapwi or Duck were in danger of being slaughtered, Gimbap always came to help them, albeit while cursing a lot in the process. However, Survivor 1 was always reluctant to help them. He always stood a few steps away from them.


    Maybe that¡¯s why Da-jeong wasn¡¯t very happy when she met him. She had memories of playing together with him, but she didn¡¯t have any memories of doing crazy things with him like what she has with either Rapwi or Gimbap.


    ¡°Long time no see! How are you doing?¡± Da-jeong greeted him in a friendly tone. Her tone was totally 180 degrees from what she truly felt. When Da-jeong moved and gave him a hug, he just stood there and gave her an awkward smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m in the government shelter now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard! Have you met Rapwi or Gimbap yet?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve met Rapwi few months ago, But have yet to meet Gimbap?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve met Rapwi?¡±


    ¡°Yes. And as rumored, he only wore panty, cloak and boots.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ he¡¯s a real man. Now I want to kidnap him.¡±


    For Geom-in, her words sounded as if she was saying that he was not a man since he was only sitting in the shelter rather than going out there and doing crazy things.


    ¡°Your real name is Choi Da-jeong, right? I¡¯m Bae Geom-in. Age doesn¡¯t matter between us, so should we stop talking formally?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do that.¡±


    ¡°Can you move your zombies now? I will do the same to my subordinates.¡± As he said that, Geom-in beckoned the people who came with him to move away for a while.


    They were a little annoyed by his gesture. They were irritated by Geom-in¡¯s audacity of asking them to move back with a simple chin gesture even though they were not his real subordinates. However, since the infamous zombie queen was in front of them right now, they didn¡¯t dare to kick any fuss and obeyed.


    While they retreated, the zombies quickly surrounded Seongho. He used that opportunity to open the portal and entered that.


    Geom-in revealed his true nature only when they were alone.


    ¡°Never did I think that Duck Butt would be such a beauty. If I knew, I would have surely looked for you earlier, haha.¡± While saying so, his eyes swept through every inch of Da-jeong¡¯s body. She was currently wearing a long dress and high heels that people wouldn¡¯t even wear if they weren¡¯t quite confident in their body. Those clothes were something that made absolutely no sense in an apocalypse. But considering her unique skill and personality, it made perfect sense for her to wear those. After all, she had no need to engage in direct fights. She was not called the Zombie Queen for nothing.


    At that moment, Da-jeong noticed his gaze. ¡°Now that you¡¯ve met me, what are your plans?¡±


    ¡°¡­Among the four of us, it seems like you and I are the only ones who behave properly.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Rapwi is indeed strong, but he¡¯s out of his mind, and Gimbap is only hiding like a mouse. Of course, considering that he won first place in the event, he is definitely quite strong. But not as healthy as I am.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Da-jeong lifted her head and urged him to speak more. Though, Geom-in was struggling to say more about himself. In the end all he said was,


    ¡°I am the ruler of the government shelter.¡±


    ¡°You are? Isn¡¯t Jang Won-taek there?¡±


    ¡°That is only a front. I am the one who is in direct control of the shelter. My unique skill is to strengthen the shelter. Even now, zombie raids are happening non-stop there. Who do you think is blocking it?¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Da-jeong tilted her head. Just like what Seongho told her before, Geom-in¡¯s unique skill was really mysterious. First of all, it was known to people that his unique skill was to strengthen the shelter, but there were many suspicious things about that information. In the first place, how could he place 4th in the first kill event if that was his unique skill?


    ¡°For someone who has such unique skill, you killed the orc quite quickly.¡±


    At Dajeong¡¯s words, Geom-in spread her arms left and right as if there were subordinates around him. ¡°I have a lot of subordinates¡­ They helped me.¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t help you voluntarily, did they? It was a deal, wasn¡¯t it? Those people just didn¡¯t seem like your real subordinates.¡± Even though Da-jeong only saw them for a brief moment, it was enough for her to deduce so.


    Geom-in quickly changed the subject. ¡°Anyway, there are a lot of people in the government shelter who helped me¡­ How is it? Will you join me and live a comfortable life?¡±


    At his question, a smile bloomed on the lips of the zombie queen. ¡°Even without doing so, I¡¯m living a comfortable life.¡±


    ¡°I guess so. But if you decide to come to the shelter, you will get a lot. Food, clothes, fuel, medicine¡­ Everything you need is in our shelter. You just have to name it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you can¡¯t lure me with that. You¡¯ll have to think of something better if you want to stick yours into mine.¡±


    At those straightforward words, Geom-in¡¯s eyes opened wide. He realized that he had been staring at her body too much. He organized his thoughts as he ran the palm of his hand across his face. He still had something to attract Da-jeong to join him, but was it worth it to tell her about it?


    He didn¡¯t want to give up Da-jeong, though. Apart from her unique skill, her appearance was also attractive. Even though the survivors shouldn¡¯t have enough supplies now, her appearance still shone brightly. Of course, when he looked closely at her, she also had some dirt and what not on her, but those things only made her charm stand out even more.


    ¡®I want to make her my woman.¡¯ Geom-in felt such an impulsive desire. And so, he spilled something he should have kept secret.


    ¡°I am only telling this because it¡¯s you¡­¡±


    ¡°Okay! I like secrets.¡±


    Like a child, Geom-in curled his hand into the shape of a trumpet and placed it near Da-jeong¡¯s ear. He looked around him for one last time before opening his mouth.


    ¡°We have guns in our shelter.¡±


    ¡°A toy gun?¡±


    ¡°Haha, it¡¯s a real gun. It should even work well because we buried it deep underground.¡±


    ¡°But you know that the Corrosive Disease can even destroy metal buried underground, right?¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Even if it was buried 500 meters underneath?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Now, it was Da-jeong¡¯s turn to have a blank look on her face. At that moment, Geom-in who felt that he had piqued Da-jeong¡¯s interest, opened his mouth once again.


    ¡°Corrosive Disease is a particle beam. In other words, it¡¯s like radiation. So, there is a limit to its penetration power. Back in the game, while you guys were playing with monsters, I researched them. I dug a hole in the shelter to see just how far the Corrosive disease went.¡±


    ¡°In the game? Where is the metal¡­ ah.¡±


    Geom-in was talking about magic metal. Basically, magic metal was immune to Corrosive Disease. However, it was also possible to completely eliminate the immune option on it by using some special methods. If it was performed, it would return to being a normal metal.


    To test something like that was a stupid action, but there were a lot of people like that in Survival Life.


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t have dug hundreds of meters by yourself, could you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± He graciously admitted. ¡°The one I dug by myself was only about 20 metres. But when I checked, even at such depth, the Corrosive Disease became weaker. I got a hint from that.¡±


    ¡°So, are you saying that if we dig further, the metal might be completely free from Corrosive Disease?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how I persuaded the government people. When they built the government shelters, a lot of guns and live ammunition were sealed in mineral oil and buried underground. Do you know that the government shelter is in an unopened subway station?¡±


    Seongho, who had been eavesdropping, was shocked. The government was hiding guns. Doesn¡¯t that mean, once the Corrosive Disease subsides in a few months, they would be able to use it? There wasn¡¯t any Awakener who could ignore guns. After all, it had the power to fatally injure anyone from a distance.


    When the conversation continued, Seongho realized it wasn¡¯t just guns which were hidden.


    ¡°Generators, computers, geiger counters¡­ and even bombs. We¡¯ve stockpiled various things. In other words, after a few months, it would become difficult for Awakeners to go crazy with their unique skill alone.¡±


    ¡°Are you threatening me?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. This is just a sales pitch. You can be the owner as long as you hold my hand.¡± Geom-in smiled wide and held out his hand towards Da-jeong. However, Da-jeong had no interest in such things. She picked up a branch from the nearby bush and slapped his palm with it.


    The smile on Geom-in¡¯s mouth instantly disappeared. ¡°Why are you rejecting me? Aren¡¯t we friends?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like it. There¡¯s nothing I like about you. Whether it was your bragging in the auction house, your action after getting 4th place at the Orc event or even your bluffs right now. I don¡¯t like it at all. Are all the weapons in government shelters yours?¡±


    ¡°Making the shelter mine will be easy as long as you help.¡±


    ¡°And by doing so, will I be your subordinate?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! We are friends and will always be. It¡¯s just continuing the relationship we had in the game. Nothing will change.¡± Geom-in held out his hand again.


    He emphasized that they were friends, but unfortunately, in Da-jeong¡¯s heart, he was not a friend. Not like when they were in the game at the very least. When she actually met him, she could read the frivolity in his words and actions. He also gawked and ogled at her body. Moreover, in addition to the bluff of having many subordinates, he had the audacity to say that the government shelter¡¯s vast supplies belonged to him. In other words, there wasn¡¯t a single word or action of his that appealed to her.


    In comparison, Seongho was a pretty good friend. He didn¡¯t do anything fun, but when she was with him, things which she really liked happened. Who would have known that she could eat savory chicken porridge in Apocalypse? He even introduced her to a nice guy named Yoohyeon. Although Yoohyeon wasn¡¯t her lover, he was still a big help in relieving the pent-up feeling in her heart.


    ¡®Once I fix his timidity, we will be able to have fun together.¡¯ Since his timidity was stemming from his unique skill, Da-jeong could still tolerate it. She was really looking forward to how Seongho would surprise her in the future.


    On the other hand, she did not expect anything from Geom-in. Since he said that he would rule over people and the supplies, he must have a good unique skill, but that¡¯s it. He didn¡¯t give her that feeling that she was searching for.


    As her face turned cold, Geom-in¡¯s expression soured quickly. He could force her here, but by doing so he knew that he would garner resentment from his subordinates¡­ no, his colleagues. So, he decided that it wasn¡¯t the time for it. The Zombie Queen¡¯s rejection was a pity, but he had no choice but to shake it off and focus on hunting the gryphon. The important thing is to win people¡¯s hearts.


    He withdrew his hand. ¡°Okay. I will never offer it again to you.¡±


    Da-jeong smiled and gently waved her hand at him.


    ¡°Okay. Goodbye.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    At that moment, something snapped inside Geom-in.


    He glared at her and then quietly left.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°This is worrying.¡± Da-jeong was surprised when I came out of the portal and I said that.


    ¡°Appearing out of nowhere like that¡­¡±


    ¡°Shh.¡± I put my finger on my lips and pointed to the sky. Then, she called Yoohyeon¡¯s paper airplane, apologized to him and then tore it.


    ¡°Always be careful because Yoohyeon might be listening.¡±


    There were limits to hearing and seeing through paper airplanes, but there was nothing wrong with being careful.


    ¡°He¡¯s not a kid who easily changes his mind, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°A person can change their mind any time they want. Especially if they knew who I was.¡±


    Da-jeong inflated her cheeks. ¡°You are really timid! I think it would be better if I followed Geom-in.¡±


    ¡°Follow him? What are you talking about? You don¡¯t even give it a thought!¡±


    ¡°Hehe. What can I do? There are guns over there. I don¡¯t want to be on the receiving end of the shot.¡±


    Of course, I had the same thought as her. It¡¯s best to detect it in advance and not give it time to shoot. However, some guns were simply hard to detect. Take a sniper rifle for example, once it shoots from a distance, that¡¯s it.


    ¡°He dug under the subway¡­ In the game it was what he did in the shelter every day. He even researched it.¡±


    ¡°Hey, we were busy catching monsters. It is not unreasonable to not know.¡± Her words did not comfort me. In the next few months, the effect of the Corrosive Disease will gradually fade away. At least that¡¯s what the setting says and we didn¡¯t actually experience it back in the game. But considering the events that have taken place so far, it won¡¯t be wrong.


    Hundreds of guns would soon come out into the world. If Geom-in really succeeds in taking control of the government shelter, it would become a big problem. It means that unfriendly forces can turn their guns on us. It won¡¯t be easy for them to find us if we¡¯re hiding, but we are bound to bump into them someday.


    When I said that, Da-jeong¡¯s expression turned pale. ¡°Will we be shot in a few months? I hate that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not definite. Even now, you refused to join him because you didn¡¯t agree with each other, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I feel like he won¡¯t talk to me ever again.¡±


    I organized my thoughts. There¡¯s a possibility that Geom-in¡¯s words were nothing but bluff, but let¡¯s put it aside for now. Considering the president¡¯s determination to prepare for the apocalypse in a short time, it would be safe to say that they truly buried it. And as of now, they didn¡¯t belong to Geom-in yet. In the government shelter, Jang Won-taek and Bae Geom-in were fighting for power. If we dig into that gap, we will have a chance.


    ¡°Da-jeong-ah, can you go to Seoul for a while?¡±


    ¡°What? I barely met you, but you want me to go there? Hell no.¡± She flatly refused.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want us to split off either, but I need to work somewhere else for a while. I want you to go to the government shelter and hang out with the president, not with Geom-in.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not fun there. I will die of suffocation.¡±


    ¡°Just wait a little. I¡¯ll also go there with Rapwi.¡± Da-jeong¡¯s eyes widened at my words.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just asking you to buy some time there until I arrive. If the three of us are going to play, the island I currently live in as well as the surroundings are too small. On the contrary, Seoul is big, so let¡¯s play there.¡± I said that simply to entice Da-jeong. After all, if the three of us stick together, I will become a living target from that day forward.


    She crossed her arms and contemplated. To my eyes, she looked like a fish which was circling around the bait. In this situation, I just need to nudge her a bit.


    ¡°I will provide you with unlimited dishes of your choice.¡±


    ¡°Ummm¡­can I have fried chicken?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible.¡±


    Da-jeong tilted her head and looked at me viciously. ¡°What? Didn¡¯t you say that it was impossible before?¡±


    ¡°I never said it was impossible, it¡¯s just difficult. I don¡¯t have a fryer, so if I want to make fried chicken I have to cook it in what I currently have.¡±


    ¡°Can you give me tuna sashimi?¡±


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s a little¡­¡±


    Is there anything similar to tuna in the otherworld sea? Guess I would know once I catch it.


    I barely persuaded her to compromise with her request.


    After a long negotiation, Da-jeong snapped her fingers. ¡°You are going to make as many dishes as I want, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay. Instead, you stay with Jang Won-taek in the government shelter until I tell you otherwise. If possible, I want you to spy Geom-in too.¡±


    ¡°But there is an important issue which hasn¡¯t been addressed here.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Seongho, you said as if we were a team, but strictly speaking, we are not a team, right? I can just call that uncle and join him instead of doing what you want from me, right?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you had no intention of doing so?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why you have to convince me! Ugh!¡±


    Da-jeong walked closer to me with a strange smile. Then she ran past me and hugged me from behind.


    No way?


    Is this what she wants?


    I don¡¯t hate it at all, but for me, she was nothing but a friend¡­


    She said as she buried her face in my back. ¡°Oh, I want you. I want a d*ck.¡±


    In the end, it was as I expected. I forgot for a moment that she¡¯s not a normal woman. I twisted my body and pushed her off.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you like Yoohyeon?¡±


    ¡°There is no difference between a handsome boy and a muscular man.¡±


    ¡°In terms of wanting to get down with them, right?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    Let¡¯s not go further down that road.


    I turned back and placed my hand on her shoulder. ¡°You are my friend. Rapwi is the same. It won¡¯t change until I die.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Does that mean you¡¯ll never betray me?¡±


    ¡°Yes. So let¡¯s survive together.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t just about surviving against monsters and the surrounding environment. We also have to fight against people and win. And there was a high probability that it was Geom-in we would have to fight against.


    Da-jeong¡¯s eyes twinkled. ¡°Are you going to invite me to that door where the raccoon is, in the future?¡±


    It seems that she misunderstood the world beyond the portal as a fantasy land with raccoons. Regarding her question, I couldn¡¯t answer easily. But maybe someday, I could give her a concrete answer. But for now, let¡¯s promise first.


    ¡°I promise I¡¯ll take you in someday.¡±


    ¡°Deal.¡± She patted my ass and called her zombies.


    ¡°Then, can I go out via Seoul portal just like this?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. You must help me kill the gryphon first.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we just going to rob the nest?¡±


    ¡°Change of plan. I need the Gryphon¡¯s Eye skill.¡± It was a skill that provides a field of vision superior to that of a crude telescope.


    ¡°With our current stats, it will be dangerous¡­ Even if I mobilize everyone from Boys generation, it¡¯s still questionable whether we can do it or not.¡±


    ¡°I have some plan and I¡¯m confident in it, so please help me.¡±


    I don¡¯t have to catch the gryphon on my own, right? After all, as humans, there are times when you will need help from others.


    I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Geom-in


    I¡¯ll have to get the monster this time too.

 Chapter 84

    Before hunting the gryphon, I need to run an experiment first. When I tested the portal a few months ago, it appeared 1 meter in front of my line of sight. No matter what was in front of me, it would spawn without fail¡ªit even appeared on the floor if I lay down on my stomach. But, since there would be nothing in the air, the question remains as to what will happen if I open the portal while I¡¯m falling.


    Having said that to Da-jeong, she tilted her head as she sat crossed-leg on a rock. ¡°Ummm¡­wouldn¡¯t you just hit the floor and die?¡±


    ¡°I need your help to figure out exactly what will happen, I need to go beyond theory. I want you to be ready to catch me with your zombies.¡±


    ¡°With your current stats, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll die if you just hit the ground, though?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that different from what you just said?¡±


    ¡°Tsk. My evil conspiracy has been uncovered.¡±


    She pretended not to know and pointed to the tree.


    ¡°Are you going to jump from there? Hurry up.¡±


    ¡°I believe in you, Choi Da-jeong.¡±


    ¡°Huhuhuhuh, you made a mistake by trusting me.¡± Da-jeong said as she smirked like a villain.


    I put my backpack down on the floor and started climbing the tree.


    ¡°Oh, you look like a stone monkey!¡± She shouted gleefully.


    Was that a compliment or an insult?


    By the way, Stone Monkey was a monster that always attacked survivors in groups. On top of being agile and strong, they also had a knack of throwing things. If you get caught in a bad situation by them, you wouldn¡¯t be able to get close to them without getting hurt. Therefore, everyone hated dealing with them.


    ¡°Are you going to jump now?¡±


    ¡°Wait a bit.¡± After I answered, I stepped onto the branch in front of me. I hope it doesn¡¯t break. Looking down, the friendly zombies had their arms stretched out, they were ready to catch me.


    I was not familiar with this composition. Back in the game, jumping down like this was what we did when we were bored. However, instead of zombies, what caught us were reinforced ghouls. I hope the zombies won¡¯t attack me.


    My breath hitched as I let my body fall. Then in the next second, ¡°Open the portal!¡±


    Soon the cold floor could be seen in front of me.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± I grabbed my head and prepared to roll over. This was an action to reduce the impact and pain. But surprisingly it didn¡¯t hurt at all.


    ¡°¡­¡± I slowly stood up and realized that I was in my cave. The four scarabs who were eating, stared blankly at me.


    ¡°Keep eating. Don¡¯t worry about me.¡± I waved my hand towards the scarabs.


    Let¡¯s see¡­ If my plan goes well, I will eventually need the ballista from the shelter. If it¡¯s an adult gryphon which had collapsed after being injured, it will die in one or two hits of the ballista. Attacking it directly with a long knife until it dies was not an option since there¡¯s a risk of getting hurt by its retaliation. After all, they were creatures with insane vitality.


    ¡°In order to do that, I will need a bait.¡± I need a zombie to catch its attention and die on my behalf.


    By the way, how do I get out of here? The portal was not formed vertically on the air or horizontally in the wall or floor like usual but was formed horizontally in the air since I called it when falling down. For now, let¡¯s go out first and tell Da-jeong I was fine.


    I took a chair and pushed my head towards the portal. Once my head passed through, Da-jeong was looking up at me. ¡°Why are you just half out like that? That raccoon world of yours is really strange?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a raccoon world.¡± After I said that, I returned to the cave and packed all the necessary things for the hunt. Then, through the same chair, I climbed out. I jumped out of the cave and fell to the ground in front of Da-jeong before closing the portal.


    ¡°5 points for not doing either a flip or a backflip.¡± Da-jeong clapped like a seal.


    ¡°Shut up! By the way, how many zombies can you sacrifice?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Who should I sacrifice, I wonder¡­? They¡¯re all good kids.¡±


    ¡°Once we return to Earth, you can just catch more anyway. This time, just catch some ghouls.¡±


    ¡°I mean, those ghouls are disgusting.¡± Da-jeong shuddered.


    Aren¡¯t these guys more disgusting with that foul smell they exude from their entire body?


    After chatting for some more, I proceeded to explain my plan in detail to Da-jeong. However, once she heard the last step of my plan, her brows furrowed. ¡°Can you really give them enough damage by doing that? You know the gryphon¡¯s vitality is insane, right? If you just shoot a few arrows and stab them a few times, they won¡¯t die.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. I will attack them with a heavy one.¡±


    ¡°Survivor 1 will be infuriated then. He told people he was the best, but he won¡¯t get anything since we are going to steal his prey.¡± Da-jeong laughed.


    ¡°What do you mean by stealing? We¡¯re just robbing the nest. But unfortunately, the gryphon returned in anger.¡±


    ¡°Oh right! Gryphons guard their nests tightly.¡± Da-jeong gave me a fake surprised face and giggled.


    Anyway, I can¡¯t say with 100% guarantee that this plan of mine would work. But, even if it does not work, I could just use another method since I have several baits that gryphons love.


    Da-jeong gently pushed her arm around my shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll give you the skill and points, so the nest is mine, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­¡± To be honest, I wanted to have all of it, but since this hunt was a collaborative hunt between us, naturally I had to give her what she deserved. There¡¯s nothing great in the nest anyway. At most, a few shiny things that the gryphon cub and the adult gryphon love.


    We checked our plans one last time and waited for the gryphon under the nest.


    ¡°Your acting will be important. Geom-in might come and suspect you. In case that happens, you just need to say that you are robbing the nest, but because he couldn¡¯t kill the gryphon, your zombies were sacrificed.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t he know what¡¯s going on in the nest?¡±


    ¡°Well, we don¡¯t know what his unique skills are. So it¡¯s useless to think about that.¡±


    ¡°Okay then.¡±


    .


    .


    .


    Currently, Geom-in was brimming with confidence. With such a large number of people following him to the hunt, forget about a teen gryphon, he could even hunt a fully grown one. And naturally, the last hit would be his. What he promised in return to the people for the last hit could be said to be expensive, but it was still worth it. After all, he would get Gryphon¡¯s unique skill. On top of that, he would also gain a reputation for successfully hunting a gryphon which would take him one step closer to his goal.


    Geom-in¡¯s unique skill required the trust of many people with various characteristics to truly shine. Even if it wasn¡¯t affection or allegiance, they had to believe in him and follow him. The problem was, there were only a handful of people who felt that way towards him. As of now, there were only two or three who believed in him.


    ¡®What a pity¡­¡¯ Geom-in agonized. If only he could win either Rapwi or Duck¡¯s heart, he would get a tremendous unique skill. Even though his unique skill couldn¡¯t copy the additional effect, both Rapwi¡¯s and Duck¡¯s unique skill were great even without it. The more he thought about the immortality and zombie control unique skill, the more thrilled he became.


    At the same time, he was also annoyed by Gimbap. Based on the information about Rapwi¡¯s and Duck¡¯s movement, it seems like both of them had met him. Otherwise, there was absolutely no reason for both of them to go to Gyeongnam.


    ¡®As always, it¡¯s just me and the three of them again.¡¯ Back in the game, this situation also happened often. The reason was because he preferred to be holed in his shelter. However, Geom-in quickly shook those feelings out of his heart.


    ¡®If I continue doing what I am doing right now, I can soon do whatever I want.¡¯ Once he successfully takes over the government shelter, expands its territory and eventually becomes the king of all survivors, the three of them wouldn¡¯t be able to ignore him anymore.


    The only obstacle preventing him from doing so was Jang Won-taek. The halo of the former president was strong to the point it relegated his fame as stagnant water into nothing but a supporting actor. The more people gathered around him, the stronger Jang won-taek¡¯s power became. To overcome that, Geom-in had no choice but perform an outstanding feat.


    ¡®This Gryphon hunt is just the first step.¡¯ Geom-in said to himself, his hand clenching the long knife¡¯s handle.


    At that moment, one of his followers delivered the news.


    ¡°Geom-in, the gryphon is returning to its nest! Shall we set off fireworks now?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s get started!¡± Even though firework was precious in the current ages, the situation called for its usage. As the wick ran out and sparkling fire exploded in the empty air, the Gryphon that was flying low turned its head. It opened its beak straight away, signaling that he was in the vicinity and descended to the ground. When it landed on the ground, Geom-in shouted.


    ¡°Now!¡± A man jumped out of the bushes at the gryphon¡¯s left and right and threw a net at it. Almost at the same time, spears and arrows rained on it. The gryphon suffered a shallow wound from all the attack and thrash wildly in anger.


    Kiaaaakkk¨C!!


    ¡°Don¡¯t let it spread its wings!¡±


    ¡°Throw the net again!¡±


    The important thing when hunting a gryphon was to prevent it from flying into the sky. However, because it thrashed around so much, the poorly-landed net failed to contain its wings. The gryphon spread out its wings, blowing a strong wind in all directions.


    In the current situation, the hunter had to get the gryphon¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Geom-in shouted as he decided what to do. Unfortunately for him, the people around him hesitated. They had no intention of becoming the gryphon¡¯s target. They thought, since Geom-in took all the important and sweet rewards, he should also bear all the dangerous risks.


    In this kind of hunt, a moment¡¯s hesitation had fatal consequences. Since Geom-in was the one who ran at the forefront, he was exposed to the gryphon. Seeing that Geom-in suddenly popped out, the gryphon ran towards him in anger. Because of its size, its speed was also fast. Geom-in eyes went wide, however it was only for a split second as he quickly used his blink ability to move behind the gryphon.


    Kiaaakk-!!


    The gryphon twisted its body as it felt something clinging into the back of its neck before flapping its wings and ascending to the sky. At that moment, spears and arrows flew towards it. But just like before, it failed to fatally wound it.


    ¡°Heup!!¡± Geom-in, who was standing in the gryphon¡¯s back, put all of his weight on the long knife and thrust it towards its exposed neck in front of him. The moment the long knife dug into the strong feathers and flesh, Geom-in lost his balance and fell from the gryphon¡¯s back.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± He used blink in mid-air again and land on the ground. The effect of using blink almost successively kicked in, his head started throbbing like crazy.


    On the other side, the gryphon was hanging still in the air with a long knife stuck on its neck. Its furious eyes were scanning Geom-in and his party members.


    Geom-in was sure, at this moment, a lot of his party members must have wanted to run away. Nevertheless, he shouldn¡¯t treat them badly. Having told them his unique skill, he had to make them his.


    ¡°It will come back to the ground soon. Let¡¯s do it for sure this time.¡± Geom-in said in the calmest tone he could muster as he tried to suppress his anger.


    ¡°Oh, yes.¡± The party members were hesitant, so they didn¡¯t say anything more.


    Now, if only the gryphon comes down, the second round will begin. In Geom-in¡¯s mind there was little chance that the angry gryphon would go anywhere else instead of attacking them. However, a strange thing happened as the party members recovered and prepared the spears and arrows once again.


    ¡°Huh? The gryphon is flying away!¡±


    ¡°What? Why did it leave us?¡±


    At the news, Geom-in was startled and climbed up the tree with his blink. The gryphon was really flying to the nest in the distance. At that moment, a myriad of curse words poured out from his mouth.


    .


    .


    .


    Blink?


    I¡¯m sure I clearly witnessed it. Geom-in, who was in front of the gryphon, moved towards its neck in an instant. It was something impossible without Blink.


    His unique skill wasn¡¯t Shelter Enhancement?


    Or did he by chance have multiple unique skills?


    Whatever it was, it was clear that Geom-in had Blink or similar movement-type unique skill. I moved my head away from Geom-in¡¯s direction and watched the zombies plunder the nest. The question right now was whether Geom-in saw what we did or not.


    Kieek-!!


    Seeing the zombies rummaging its nest, the gryphon flew in a straight line to the nest. In order for me to hit it, the zombies have to attract its attention. At that moment, the young gryphon cub which we killed a few minutes ago was pulled into my portal. Seeing its cub disappearing, the gryphon rushed faster than before.


    Kieeekk-!!


    When it landed, the zombies quickly moved towards it and showed some resistance. But in front of its claws and beak, any resistance was meaningless. With one swoop, the zombies were cut into bits and pieces and strewn all over the nest. I took the opportunity to sneak towards the nape of the gryphon.


    When I thrust the long knife in my hand, it pierced the gryphon¡¯s neck after meeting some resistance from its feather and muscle.


    Kieek-!!


    Perhaps, because it couldn¡¯t stand the pain, the gryphon twisted its body and started to flail around. I mustered all my strength and held on to its feather as hard as I could, in hope to not be flung away.


    But¡­ Why are there two long knives here? Is it Geom-in¡¯s long knife? Should I be grateful for it?


    While I was frantically holding on to the feathers, the gryphon flew up again. However, after circling its nest several times, its flapping wings started to slow down.


    Kiee-!!


    The cry which earlier sounded like it could easily tear the sky now only had little strength in it. Okay¡­ if things continue like this¡­ I just have to preserve for a little bit more. Opportunity will come soon, I¡¯m sure of it.


    A few shouts could be heard from below. It seems like they wanted the gryphon to come down soon. Unfortunately for them, even though the gryphon had suffered a lot of wounds, it had no intention of going down at all. Because it seemed like it didn¡¯t have any more strength to flap its wings, it was gliding in the air following the wind.


    As we slowly moved away from the rocky mountain, the flailing gryphon had become a lot calmer. I finally pulled out two long knives and shoved them towards its wings.


    Kieeekk-!!


    The gryphon thrashed for one more time to flung me away. To be honest, because its power was incomparable to the previous one, I could continue to hang on if I wanted. But I loosened my grip and began to fall to the ground to continue with my plan. I only opened the portal once I knew what the shape of the grass that grew on the ground was.


    When I crossed the portal, my momentum was cushioned by the dead gryphon cub¡¯s body


    ¡°Huh¡­ What a relief.¡± When I stood up and looked around the cave, I could see the scarabs were hiding in their nests, only their eyes sticking out. It seems like they were terrified because so much happened all of a sudden.


    I reassured them, shoved the gryphon cub¡¯s corpse into one side, and placed the two long knives into my weapon shelf. Then, I focused on the sound outside.


    Thud!


    Soon enough, the sound of something heavy falling to the ground echoed. Now, I have to move quickly. I ran towards the cave¡¯s entrance, loaded the ballista and walked out through the portal I opened in front of the ballista. When I went to the place where the gryphon had fallen, it was still gasping for breath. However, its eyes were still staring viciously at me. Even though it was in such a state, it still had the power to send me into the afterlife. It was still dangerous to approach it.


    ¡°Just lie there.¡± I entered the portal and aimed the ballista at it. I could see the gryphon¡¯s eyes moving after me and then stopping. Well, it would feel strange if something just disappeared in front of you suddenly so I couldn¡¯t judge him.


    When I pushed a lever forward, the elasticity of the string pushed the bolt away in an instant.


    Tuck-!!


    Kieek¨C!! Kieek-!!


    The gryphon was in agony when the large arrow lodged itself into its eye. I hurriedly loaded one more bolt and fired. When the follow-up shot dug into its head, the gryphon limped to the ground.


    Moment later, a notification which signalled the death of the gryphon appeared in front of me.


    ¡¸You have earned 50 points¡¹


    ¡¸You have acquired ¡®Gryphon¡¯s Eyes¡¯ skill¡¹


    I¡¯d like to see what items I got as well, but I simply didn¡¯t have time to check them right now. I made a few more cuts on the knife wounds on the gryphon¡¯s neck and removed the bolt from its eyes. Now, no one will know for sure how the gryphon died.


    At that moment, a shout could be heard in the distance.


    ¡°I think it fell over there!¡±


    ¡°Someone call Geom-in, quickly!¡±


    I opened a portal in a suitable place to watch and entered. Then some people ran up to the corpse and sighed.


    ¡°Hey¡­ this¡­¡±


    ¡°It just fell and died?¡±


    ¡°Did it hit its head too hard?¡±


    Then, Geom-in suddenly appeared in front of the gryphon corpse. Now I¡¯m sure that it¡¯s Blink. He looked at the gryphon¡¯s corpse and smiled in dismay.


    ¡°Ha¡­ Really.¡± Because he was in front of people, he could not express his anger. But his anger was palpable as his body was trembling violently. I¡¯m sure if someone said or did something wrong right now, he would explode.


    He knelt and looked closely at the gryphon¡¯s corpse.


    ¡°The long knife is gone. I¡¯m sure I stabbed it.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it fell off while the gryphon was falling?¡±


    ¡°Or because it struggles so much.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Geom-in¡¯s gaze turned to the severely damaged head.


    ¡°This is not a wound from falling¡­¡±


    The party members looked back at the gryphon¡¯s corpse and chatted.


    ¡°Is there anyone apart from us here?¡±


    ¡°Or, perhaps, it¡¯s the zombie queen who did it?¡±


    ¡°Ah, it can¡¯t be. After all, zombies are nothing in front of the gryphon.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, I think this guy¡¯s meat will be delicious.¡±


    ¡°If we cook it well, it will be edible.¡±


    ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard before, the cub tastes better than the adult.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that natural? Because it¡¯s still a cub, its skin will be soft¡­ yet it¡¯s still big because it¡¯s a gryphon¡­¡±


    ¡°If you add soju to it, it will be insanely delicious heh heh¡­¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the nest empty now?¡±


    ¡°Shall we go catch the cub?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not important right now!¡± Geom-in, who was still very angry, finally exploded. The party members momentarily faltered at his outburst, but soon talked back at him.


    ¡°It¡¯s important to live and eat, what is more important than that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not our fault that we failed, so why are you screaming like that?¡±


    ¡°Who was it that gathered us in the first place?¡±


    In Geom-in¡¯s eyes, I could see a hint of ¡®I screwed up.¡¯


    His party members turned their eyes away from him and just talked amongst themselves.


    ¡°Ah, put it away, put it away.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the nest and catch the cub or whatever.¡±


    ¡°It will be hard to butcher it.¡±


    ¡°Geom-in, please make sure you pay us what you promised.¡±


    At those words, Geom-in lost his energy and collapsed on the ground.


    I¡¯m sorry¡­ probably?

 Chapter 85

    Everyone took a part of the gryphon¡¯s flesh before returning to wherever their basecamp was. While overhearing their conversation, I could feel the conflict brewing amongst them. However, after his initial outburst, Geom-in was cautious about his actions and words, so people didn¡¯t take notice of his mood anymore.


    At first, I thought they were colleagues from the shelter, but from what I heard, that was not the case. They were people from all over the country who gathered at Geom-in¡¯s call to catch a gryphon.


    ¡°That means, they wouldn¡¯t be easily pushed aside by Survivor 1.¡±


    Even though they weren¡¯t Stagnant Waters, it was clear that they were people who had enough play time. Someone who tried to hunt a gryphon must have reached level 15 or else they wouldn¡¯t try it unless they were crazy.


    Geom-in looked at the half-disassembled Gryphon, and sighed. Somehow he looked pitiful. In hindsight, there were only a few areas where he messed up in this hunt.


    ¡°It makes me feel a bit sorry that I got too much.¡± Of course, I have no intention of giving it up. It¡¯s just that there¡¯s no need to show blind hostility.


    Finally, Geom-in stood up.


    ¡°AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!¡±


    Surprisingly, he shouted out loud and then pounded his fist against a tree near him. With a thump, a shape of a fist could be seen carved on the tree bark. However, there was no sign of him feeling the pain at all.


    Did he perhaps have a physical strengthening unique skill too?


    As far as I know, physical strengthening not only greatly increases the user¡¯s strength, but also reduces the rebound the user will suffer from their strength. For example, when two people punch a wall, even if their strength stats were the same, the one with the physical strengthening unique skill will suffer less compared to the one without physical strengthening unique skill.


    ¡°Blink and Physical Strengthening¡­¡± On top of it, there¡¯s also a high probability that he even possessed the Shelter Reinforcement unique skill. It¡¯s out of norm, but why don¡¯t the people in the government shelter find it weird?


    ¡°What a cheat.¡±


    I know I¡¯m not in the position to say it since my unique skill is also a cheat, but I also couldn¡¯t help but be surprised.


    After Geom-in completely disappeared from the vicinity, Da-jeong appeared. I exited the portal and explained the circumstances to her.


    ¡°¡­And so it¡¯s like that. For now, just keep an eye on him.¡±


    ¡°No killing him?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think being a little pretentious is a mortal sin.¡±


    ¡°I mean, he took a sneaky look at my body.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s because you are so attractive, Da-jeong-ah. I¡¯m sure he couldn¡¯t help it.¡±


    ¡°No! You don¡¯t understand! I am the one who is supposed to take a sneaky look at a man¡¯s body, not the other way around!¡±


    That¡¯s the problem? I forgot that Da-jeong¡¯s emotions were different from normal.


    She giggled and then she asked me to take her top off. ¡°A pheasant instead of a chicken. I should take a look at your muscular upper body for compensation.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that sexual harassment?¡±


    ¡°Quiet! Take your clothes off!¡±


    I barely calmed her down and explained what she should do once she entered the government shelter.


    ¡°Hmm. Don¡¯t kill, just check on him?¡±


    ¡°For now, pretend to hold hands with the president and observe the shelter. It would be better if you know what his unique skill really is. What I¡¯ve figured out so far is that he has shelter reinforcement, blink, and physical reinforcement.¡±


    ¡°Multiple unique skills? What a scam!¡±


    Well, our unique skill was also a scam, so¡­


    ¡°Anyway, he is strangely obsessed with relationships with people¡­maybe he can steal or copy other people¡¯s unique skills. Be careful.¡±


    ¡°So I can¡¯t shake hands with him?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°No one knows what the conditions are. So, go to the shelter and try to find out.¡±


    ¡°You want me to act as a spy!!!¡± Da-jeong¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Let¡¯s be a bit of a spy. Just think of it as preparation for our survival.¡±


    ¡°¡­Okay. Instead! Make sure you definitely bring Rapwi to Seoul.¡±


    ¡°Of course. After this job is over, I¡¯ll go find him right away.¡± Which means, I would have to go all the way to Jinju. Until now, I hadn¡¯t heard from him since he arrived in Gyeongnam. I was worried that maybe he stumbled on some problem along the way.


    We continue our conversation by discussing what to do with the captured gryphon cub¡¯s corpse. Since It was enormous, it would be more than enough for people in the basecamp to eat. I¡¯ll have to smoke it here before returning.


    After some time, we finally returned to camp after a rather long delay.


    .


    .


    .


    The journey in the Farming Dungeon was about to end. The shining portal had begun to flicker, and the gym people plus the tri friends and Jiman started to dismantle the camp. Although it was a short journey, they had gained quite a lot.


    First of all, more colleagues. And then, resources such as glowstone and sparkstone. On top of it, they also succeeded in securing a variety of food. It was not a huge amount, but with it, they could eat their fill for two or three weeks. It¡¯s nothing but lucrative for a three day¡¯s investment.


    Da-jeong said goodbye to the gym group and told them that she suddenly changed her mind. The people at the gym were very reluctant to let her go because they had grown fond of her through the hard work they had done together.


    ¡°Survive. If you miss me, just dream of me! It¡¯s okay even if it¡¯s a dirty dream!¡± She blew a kiss to the group and disappeared along with the zombies.


    ¡°Welcome Da-jeong. No, should I call you Queen?¡± Jang Won-taek greeted her with a satisfied expression on his face. Of course, there were a lot of people around him that Da-jeong saw for the first time. But she¡¯s not Da-jeong if those small things prevent her from being blunt.


    ¡°Even though I¡¯m from Daegu, I was thinking of going to Seoul. Will it be okay?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about! Of course, you are welcomed! If Da-jeong comes, our shelter will be strengthened even more.¡±


    Meanwhile, Geom-in watched Da-jeong join hands with the president with a blank expression on his face.


    Why? That question filled his mind.


    Didn¡¯t she reject his offer not too long ago?


    She was with Jang Won-taek, so did she choose that side rather than his side?


    Geom-in¡¯s mind was filled with complicated thoughts. He only called her once they arrived at the government shelter.


    ¡°You said I¡¯d never see you again.¡±


    ¡°Just what are you thinking? Didn¡¯t you turn down my offer?¡±


    ¡°I liked the president¡¯s offer.¡±


    Geom-in¡¯s expression distorted at her answer.


    ¡°But he¡¯s not the president anymore.¡±


    ¡°A lot of people still accept him as the president, don¡¯t they?¡±


    Geom-in was speechless. What she said was indeed true. Jang Won-taek was very influential in government shelters. Some of the people in the government shelter even still call him President. Geom-in was trying hard to establish himself amidst his influence. But it was still far from enough.


    ¡°What did he offer you?¡±


    ¡°Did you call me to ask me that?¡± The corners of Da-jeong¡¯s lips rose, and Geom-in realized that he had made a mistake.


    ¡°It would be unreasonable to act like a solitary general as long as you¡¯re in the shelter, will you be okay?¡± He changed the subject out of panic.


    ¡°That¡¯s not your concern.¡±


    ¡°First of all, I am the main character of this shelter. As much as I am defending the shelter, I want to avoid clashing with outsiders as much as possible.¡±


    When someone said so, it¡¯s natural for people who were called an outsider to be angry. But Da-jeong¡¯s reaction was different.


    ¡°As an outsider, should I turn this shelter upside down and just open them all up?¡±


    At her answer, Geom-in was startled once again and had to fix what he said. ¡°No, wait a minute, calm down. I don¡¯t mean it like that. Because we¡¯re in the same space, shouldn¡¯t we work together?¡±


    Da-jeong turned her ferocious gaze away.


    ¡°As long as I¡¯m in the shelter, I¡¯ll be quiet, so you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯m happy. But what kind of wind blew for you to suddenly change your mind?¡±


    ¡°I just feel like I wanted to, why?¡±


    ¡°Of course that is the case, but¡­ there must be a reason, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t like you. Why are you so obsessed with such trivial things?¡±


    Geom-in flinched at her momentum. How could she be so similar to her persona in the game?


    Back in the game, he played by adjusting his online persona to the other characters. Even if they did crazy things, Geom-in thought that it was nothing but a concept. But now, after meeting them, he realized that it was not a mere concept.


    Is I Love Gimbap similar to both Rapwi and Duck?


    Da-jeong crossed her arms and said. ¡°I joined because I want to give Boys Generation a gun.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What did you say?¡±


    ¡°That was what we talked about every day in the game, right? I¡¯m really curious how many bullets it will take for an ogre to be killed.¡±


    ¡°¡­you can¡¯t use it carelessly.¡±


    Creating a space 500 meters underground was not an easy task. Most of the space created in this way was not occupied by firearms, but by facilities that would become the basis of mankind in the future. After the Corrosive Disease subsides, shouldn¡¯t humanity escape from the primitive age? Firearms and live ammunition stored there were not many. In fact, the reasons why they couldn¡¯t use guns recklessly was not because of that.


    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ll give the zombies a gun and shoot all the monsters. Tutatatta!¡±


    Geom-in blurted out as she looked at Da-jeon speaking excitedly,


    ¡°Come on, wait a minute. Can you change your mind?¡±


    ¡°Why? Didn¡¯t you brag that you have guns here?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that¡­¡± Geom-in said with a voice which gradually lost volume. He had no intention of spreading guns to the masses. After all, no matter how good the unique skill was, in front of firearms, it was all useless. Giving such a dreadful weapon to anyone randomly would only shake his dominance. He would only give it to a small number of trustworthy subordinates and use it to attract people to his side. If he succeeds in shaking Jang Won-taek¡¯s influence, he will definitely become the king of Apocalypse. However, Da-jeong suddenly intervened and his plan was in danger of failing before it even started.


    She¡¯s going to give her zombies guns?


    It can¡¯t be allowed. If she was the only one using it, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. But if it gets stolen, it will be a mess. Geom-in¡¯s mind worked in overdrive as he thought of ways to change her mind. He wanted a compliant survivor, not a bomb that could explode anytime.


    Looking at him, Da-jeong sighed inwardly. It wasn¡¯t her style to be this patient with people. But a promise is a promise. Since she had come here, she needed to get along with him in moderation. She had to play push and pull to get what she wanted. If she built a wall all at once, Geom-in will get scared and give up.


    As she stood and walked towards him, the sound of high heels hitting the floor echoed through the corridor. Geom-in barely avoided her, almost colliding with her.


    Da-jeong said as she walked past him.


    ¡°But even after talking like this, we still don¡¯t know each other¡¯s unique skill, do we?¡±


    ¡°U-Unique skill?¡± In today¡¯s world, revealing one¡¯s unique skill was essential to gaining trust of the other person.


    ¡°My unique skill is zombie domination, you?¡±


    ¡°Uh, um¡­¡± Geom-in did not expect Da-jeong to ask such a blunt question. He stuttered for a while, then bit his mouth. He still had to keep it a secret.


    Da-jeong said, ¡°You are really timid,¡± and she started walking away from him.


    Geom-in looked back at her quietly. Maybe this is an opportunity. Since she had joined the government shelter, they would have many encounters ahead. That means there would be plenty of opportunities to show his strength and charm to her. So far, it has been a series of failures, but if he kept his mind sharp and showed her his skill, he might win her trust in the future.


    Even though Da-jeong had caught him looking at her body, she didn¡¯t even curse him. ¡®Does that mean that she is attracted to me? Hang on¡­ is that the reason why she came into this shelter?¡¯


    Even while he was mistaken like this, Da-jeong walked farther and farther away.


    At that moment, Geom-in decided and open his mouth.


    ¡°My unique skill¡­ is not limited to one.¡±


    After hearing those words, Da-jeong stopped and turned towards Geom-in. At her action, Geom-in was elated. He felt like his heart, which had already broken, was being pieced back together.


    .


    .


    .


    The people of the gym group who came to the island for the first time were both surprised and delighted.


    ¡°To think there was a place like this¡­¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t monsters come here?¡±


    ¡°They can¡¯t. Those monsters can¡¯t swim.¡±


    ¡°Farming is¡­ Ah, Mi-kyung can help.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, trust me!¡±


    Everyone seemed relieved because of the fact that there was a safe shelter. When so many people appeared all of a sudden, Dingo, who had been guarding the island for three days, was startled and barked loudly.


    The eyes of those who saw him widened.


    ¡°Wait¡­ it hasn¡¯t been that long, but why have you grown so much?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s a husky¡­¡±


    By how much he¡¯d grow, it¡¯s unreasonable to claim that he¡¯s a husky anymore. Even though he¡¯s still a baby, it¡¯s grown as big as a Jindo dog.


    I hardened my face and called Hyung-jun hyung, Sooyeon, and Yeowool.


    ¡°If you stay on this island for a while, there will be no problems. Even if a monster swims, they can¡¯t swim for hundreds of meters.¡±


    Hyung-jun hyung smiled and nodded his head. ¡°Even if a few guys managed to come here, with our numbers, it will be easy to kill them.¡±


    That¡¯s right. Unless it¡¯s a flying monster, there would be no big problem. And they will only show up after a while.


    People were full of hope for the future, so I made a plan for them and told them how to farm in the future.


    ¡°I think I will have to leave the island for a while.¡±


    ¡°Wait, why?¡± Sooyeon put her hand on my wrist. Now that we are on an island, it must feel strange to try to go out again. But I have to go find Rapwi.


    ¡°Well, I need to go to Daegu Seed Vault because the zombies ate up all the seeds.¡± This was what I discovered after arriving on the island. To grow crops naturally, a seed was needed. Back in Masan, there were a lot of farming and seedling stores, so I didn¡¯t worry too much, but when I came to this area, it was a mess. The monsters had eaten them all. Looking at the traces, there was a high possibility that it was the doing of zombies.


    Is it because it takes a lot of energy to evolve into a ghoul?


    As a result, there were no seeds to plant in our garden. There were some seeds left, but not enough. When I explained this, everyone nodded with serious faces.


    But Sooyeon seems to have a different idea. ¡°I know that the germination rate of a crop becomes strange when the seeds exceed two or three generations.¡± I didn¡¯t even think about that but still nodded my head. Sooyeon touched my hand as if thrilled. Hmmm, her hands were soft.


    ¡°That is why you need the original, don¡¯t you? Should I go with you?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯m more comfortable walking around alone. It¡¯s not because I find Sooyeon uncomfortable, though. So don¡¯t misunderstand.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ But will you return soon?¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­¡± Though, I¡¯m not really sure. It¡¯s been a while since I went up to Seoul, and I don¡¯t know what might happen there. At the very least, I would have to spend at least a few months there.


    ¡°With Jiman around, you guys won¡¯t have to worry about starving.¡±


    ¡°Because I lack the ability, only you will suffer.¡± Hyung-jun hyung sincerely apologized to me. But in my mind, he didn¡¯t have to do that because he was also going to suffer soon. When I broke up from the group and was on the way to my room, I saw the children of the same age gathering and playing. They were discussing amongst themselves about what they should do in the future.


    Suddenly, Mikyung looked at me, snuggled next to me and said, ¡°Are you leaving tomorrow, ahjussi?¡±


    ¡°No, not tomorrow, I¡¯ll leave after a little rest.¡± I¡¯ve worked hard in the farming dungeon, so I need to recharge before going. On the otherside, Jiman didn¡¯t show any reaction to my announcement because I had told him in advance. There were many events that will be held in the future, so we would still meet occasionally.


    ¡°Ahjussi, wait.¡± Mikyung took my hand and dragged me somewhere. As we arrived at the beach, she folded her arms behind her back and looked straight at me. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking¡­ can¡¯t I call you oppa from now on?¡±


    Yes? Why are you asking this all of a sudden? Ahjussi isn¡¯t bad either. After all, there¡¯s a pretty big age difference between us¡­


    ¡°What, does it make you uncomfortable? I am fine with it.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯m not going to say that. Anyway, can I call you oppa?¡± Well, there¡¯s nothing wrong with that. I gently nodded my head, and Mikyung instantly hugged me slightly before running away.


    Hmmmm. As expected, her body is soft.


    .


    .


    .


    While Seongho was flirting on the island, Seokhyun and Yoon-jeong finally arrived in Changwon. It was a long journey indeed. Now, Yoon-jeong fully understood that Seokhyun was just a kid.


    He made her wonder, just how did he live when the world was still alright? Maybe he¡¯s mentally ill, so he¡¯s obsessed with the game.


    Anyway, it¡¯s finally time to part. Because the president¡¯s original request was just to guide him to Changwon. After hearing her words, Seokhyun gave her a deep bow and headed to a collapsed apartment complex.


    ¡®It¡¯s a bit sad¡­¡¯ Yoon-jeong ruffled her hair. She had learned a lot about him while traveling with him. The reason he talked so much while travelling with her might be due to the fact that he was bored when he was traveling alone.


    He told her that he mainly spent his time in the game with I Love Gimbap and Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek. He also told her about their crazy adventures, it was to the point that she became curious about them.


    What kind of people can get along with this man?


    Anyway, she has to go back now. Having achieved such an achievement, the president would surely give her a great preferential treatment. While Yoon-jeong headed north, Seokhyun soon suddenly ran into a group of people. They surrounded him in a semicircle and were fully armed.


    ¡°Eub!¡±


    Yoon-jeong was caught. Seokhyun tilted his head, and the leader stepped forward.


    ¡°Are you Rapwi? Nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got an important person to meet, so can I go?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± The man had already obtained information about Rapwi. He looks like a madman, but he was surprisingly loyal to those he thought of as his friends. After securing Yoon-jeong, who had been with him for a few weeks, the leader of the group was sure that he would never run away alone, and that was correct.


    Seokhyun clenched his fists. ¡°I¡¯m in a hurry, can you help me out? If possible, I wish you could let Yoon-jeong-ssi go too.¡±


    ¡°Wait until the boss comes.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have time to wait.¡±


    ¡°Hey, the boss would be upset if he found out. Still, didn¡¯t you guys play the games together?¡± The leader of the group covered his forehead.


    ¡°Who is your boss?¡±


    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s such a scary person.¡± When the leader of the group made a fuss, everyone around him giggled. ¡°If you get close, you can hear him. Can you feel it?¡±


    ¡®Is he possibly a murderer?¡¯ Seokhyun tilted his head. However, it was almost impossible for a murderer to make a group. After all, when there were three or more people nearby, a deathmatch would take place¡­


    When Seokhyun put his hand on his panties, the leader encouraged him.


    ¡°Take it off, let¡¯s take a look.¡± Everyone whistled as he slid his panty down. Seokhyun clenched his fist and the smile disappeared from the leader¡¯s lips.


    ¡°If you can hold out until your boss comes, it¡¯s your win.¡± Rabbit Pwincess jumped out like an arrow towards the group.

 Chapter 86

    One of the best ways to survive in the current world was to avoid fighting other people. No matter how powerful a person is, they can¡¯t always win. A single moment of hesitation and recklessness or a single mistake will cost their life.


    There were quite a few people who avoided fighting altogether. Which means, currently, 70 days since the apocalypse began, there are still people out there who haven¡¯t grown a single level or gotten a single point since day one.


    -If you don¡¯t fight, you won¡¯t die.


    That¡¯s logical. But there were others who survived in a completely opposite way than them. The Murderer of Changwon, Kim Cheol-seong, belongs there. His first murder on the apocalypse was committed as soon as the apocalypse began. Then, once he become a murderer, he deliberately seek other survivors in order to trigger the murderer event. When it happened, the confused survivors who got caught in it became his point.


    With nearly 4,000 hours of playtime under his belt and thorough preparation to raise his abilities to the limit, it could be said that he¡¯s a well prepared murderer. He did not take advantage of loopholes in the system like Seongho. He committed murders openly. Thanks to that, the survivors around him are all either already dead, or already escaped. It¡¯s only natural. Afterall, A powerful murderer is lurking around the area, so who in the world would be stupid enough to stay?


    However, not long after, Kim Cheol-seong acquired an amazing skill. It¡¯s Friendliness¨Da skill that anyone who has played Survival Life wanted to acquire. However, because of the burden of becoming a murderer, only a few people chose to maintain that skill.


    Friendliness is an amazing skill which prevents it¡¯s bearer from being attacked blindly by monsters. After obtaining the skill, Cheol-seong went to several people to discuss things.


    -From now on, you are my subordinate.


    -Aren¡¯t you going to kill me?


    The man who was caught by Cheol-seong by the collar trembled as he said that. Around him, a loud thumping heartbeat could be heard. It¡¯s a proof that the giant who lifted him up was the infamous murderer.


    Cheol-seong gave the trembling guy a faint smile.


    -If I want to kill you, wouldn¡¯t it be easier to kill you right here right now? Listen well. I need a subordinate¡­ someone who obeys all of my commands.


    ¨D¡­


    The man was silent for a moment. He seems confused about the purpose of the man in front of him. Then, Cheol-seong pushed him against the wall, and a pained moan broke out from the man¡¯s mouth.


    -Keuk!


    The power in the hand that tightened his neck was so great that he couldn¡¯t even pull it off even though his unique skill was physical reinforcement. (Note : Changed ¡°unique ability¡± to ¡°unique skill¡±)


    Cheol-seong put his face before the man. At that moment, the man thought, perhaps all murderers looks like him, with pale skin and expressionless faces.


    -I want a subordinate who has no hesitation. If you do it, in return, I¡¯ll give you control over the area that I¡¯ve cleaned up. I don¡¯t care what you did as long as you keep your loyalty to me.


    -A-anything?


    -Anything. It doesn¡¯t matter if you loot, rape¡­ or whatever. I¡¯ll only kill. Wouldn¡¯t this be convenient for you too? Because you can cut down your competitors without having to get blood on your hands.


    This was the security guarantee that comes in return for his loyalty. It would give people who loyal to the murderer an absolute edge in the fight against other survivors.


    The man tried to think about it more, but the murderer didn¡¯t let him think.


    -Why are you thinking? If you refuse, you will die here and now.


    -I-I¡¯ll follow you!


    -That¡¯s good.


    The murderer dropped him right away.


    -What¡¯s your name?


    -It¡¯s Jo Kyungsoo.


    -My name is Kim Cheol-seong. Just call me the boss.


    Surprisingly, after saying that, the murderer left Kyungsoo alone and started to walked away.. Kyungsoo looked at his back. In his eyes, it felt like a huge target was painted on his back. However, the moment Kyungsoo unsheathed the long knife in his waist, he heard the murderer¡¯s voice.


    -The price of attacking me is your death. Do you want it?


    -Ummm¡­


    Just what kind of skills did he have to be able to see what¡¯s behind him? Kyungsoo thought.


    The killer spoke bluntly as the Kyungsoo was shaking with humiliation.


    -There is no second chance. Follow me.


    At that words, Kyungsoo walked helplessly behind the murderer.


    -I want a powerful force. I want you to find the location of nearby survivors.


    -Then do you plan to personally visit them and make them kneel, boss?


    -Yeah.


    -If the number of people increases, wouldn¡¯t a zombie raid occur? There is also a deathmatch¡­


    -Just like the Gimhae Clan, you guys just have to stay apart. Are you stupid enough to cause a deathmatch? Only two people need to convey my will to people. Or perhaps, you can¡¯t even do that?


    -Oh, I didn¡¯t mean it like that.


    Then, the murderer suddenly asked.


    -Which one do you fear the most? Monsters? Or humans?


    For Kyungsoo, it¡¯s a simple question. There¡¯s nothing to think about.


    -Humans are scarier.


    No matter how powerful a monster is, it¡¯s still a monster in the end. There¡¯s a lot of countermeasures to fight against them. It would certainly become harder in the future, but for now, it¡¯s still bearable.


    But humans were different. From the outside, there was no way to tell whether they were predators or survivors. If they were predators and pretended to be friendly before suddenly stabbing you in the back, you can¡¯t even respond.


    The murderer put his hand on his shoulder. For a moment, his body shivered because of the chilling touch, but Kyungsoo endured it.


    -I will be the one who fights those scary humans. You should only focus on building more strength.


    Kyungsoo shook his head hard and finally came to a conclusion. There¡¯s not much harm done to him if he followed the murderer in front of him. At most, he just had to endure the loud sound of heartbeat.


    On the other hand, what he would get was quite large. First of all, he would be able to avoid a fight with humans which was not profitable by any means. Even if he had someone he wanted to kill, he could just asked the murderer to do it. Thus, he didn¡¯t have to risk himself to become a murderer. On top of it, he would get the best benefit from going under him: the power to rule.


    Kyungsoo bowed his head to him.


    -I will follow you, boss.


    -Well thought. From now on, you are my ally.


    From then on, they started their project. When Kyungsoo finds a survivor, he captures them and then the murderer makes them their subordinate and kills anyone who choose otherwise. In the process, Cheol-seong continued to grow stronger.


    By October, it was impossible to resist him even if a few people attacked simultaneously. Looking at the sight, Kyungsoo completely abandoned the thought of fighting him and came to the idea that it was better to be under him. Afterall, even though it¡¯s not a perfect life, he still had a lover and was leading a prosperous life.


    What more do he need?


    It was also during this time that Kyungsoo learned that his boss was a stagnant water in Survival Life with 4,000 hours of playtime. Not only that, the boss also told him that most of the time he lived as a murderer.


    He was such a monster.


    Then one day, the boss called him.


    -Something happened. They say Rapwi is coming from Jinju. If you find him, take your time.


    As always, there is no need to have any doubts on the boss¡¯ words. Afterall, the boss only gives orders his subordinates can do. So Kyungsoo took his men and waited for Rapwi. When they meet Rapwi, overconfident because the boss is behind him, he decides to have a go towards Rapwi.


    However, Rapwi didn¡¯t say anything anymore and just moved.


    At that moment, Kyungsoo realized just how terrifying the stagnant waters are.


    .


    .


    .


    Swish-!! Swish-!! Swish-!!


    Ceramic scissors cut my hair. It was something Mikyung carried while moving from place to place. She said the reason for keeping it with her was because she wanted to trim other people¡¯s hair.


    Now that I would leave the island, I have decided to entrust my hair to her. As I quietly closed my eyes to enjoy the peaceful moment, Mikyung whispered into my ear.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you get a cut from me too before, oppa?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Was it back in June?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s June 20. You want a sports cut to signify a fresh start.¡±


    It¡¯s been over 3 months already. At that time, I had no idea that Mikyung would live this long. Although she has Blink as her unique skill, it wouldn¡¯t be far-fetched to say that it¡¯s weird if a woman with such a small and frail-looking body could endure the apocalypse for a long time.


    However, contrary to my expectation, she was quite talented in all fronts of survival such as looting, farming and hunting with her Blink. According to Hyung-jun Hyung, the current Mikyung was an indispensable member of the group.


    When Mikyung finished with my top hair, she trimmed my sideburns with a razor.


    ¡°Oppa, are you close with Da-jeong unnie?¡± She looked around her and said in low volume. ¡°Da-jeong unnie talked a lot about you, Oppa. Both of you met for the first time in Gimhae, right? and Oppa left almost immediately after Unnie came. So, it¡¯s kind of weird.¡±


    Ah that girl¡­ she made it obvious. Well, it¡¯s unavoidable. I just hoped she didn¡¯t tell the group that I was I Love Gimbap by a slip of tongue.


    ¡°She seem to like me as a slave because I look strong.¡±


    At the same time I answered, Mikyung came in front of me and trimmed my bangs. She was only wearing a T-shirt and short pants, revealing her body lines. There were no monsters in the hideout so she was able to wear something comfortable like that.


    I had thought about it before, but her body lines were so perfect.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t seem like that. I heard Unnie talk about it when she¡¯s drunk. Have you ever been in contact with her before, oppa?¡±


    Well, we met everyday back in the game.


    As I kept my mouth shut, she continued to chatter. ¡°Even when I listen to Sooyeon unnie and Yoohyeon, it¡¯s like¡­ Oppa had played Survival Life before. On top of it, a lot, too.¡±


    There is no way to hide it beyond this point. But it would be better to let them know that going further will only hurt you.


    ¡°Are you the only one who thinks that way, Mikyung? Or does everyone else also think that way?¡±


    ¡°The manager is probably noticing it too. Da-jeong unnie mentioned Oppa a lot to him.¡±


    ¡°Are you thinking that maybe I¡¯m stagnant water of Survival Life?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that far, but everyone thinks that Oppa has seen something they¡¯ve never seen before.¡±


    ¡°So you think that, I¡¯m lying right?¡±


    When she heard what I said, Mikyung panicked and quickly wield woman¡¯s best weapon: aegyo. (Aegyo = basically flirting)


    ¡°Oppa, that¡¯s not it¡­ Don¡¯t be angry like that~¡± She said as she touched my shoulder, but my vigilance was not relieved at all.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say it before? I saw it all in the stream¡­¡± I wanted the people I looked after to keep their mouths shut. Even if they feel a question or something strange about my actions, it¡¯s easier for each of us if they just move on.


    Sooyeon and Yoohyeon wisely kept their mouths shut, but it seems like it was difficult for Mikyung to do so.


    Is it because she has an active and curious personality?


    Mikyung finally hugged my neck.


    ¡°Ahjussi, I don¡¯t know anything about it. I¡¯ll just pretend I don¡¯t know.¡±


    She called me Ahjussi again¡­ Well, this isn¡¯t bad either. I put my hand on her arms which were wrapped around my neck.


    ¡°Sometimes it is more convenient not to know. Right?¡±


    ¡°Yes Yes.¡±


    ¡°I want to be friends with Mikyung for a long time, do you feel the same?¡±


    ¡°Me too¡­¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ You just have to keep it to yourself.¡±


    ¡°Well then¡­ Can I be comfortable with you like before?¡± Mikyung asked carefully, and I nodded my head. I¡¯m going to keep my mouth shut, but there¡¯s no need to ruin the atmosphere.


    Mikyung said she was happy, and started chattering again. Well, she¡¯s the type of person who will recover quickly.


    After Mikyung finished the haircut, I looked at my reflection in the mirror and noticed that I had lost a lot of weight.


    ¡°It¡¯s good¡­¡±


    ¡°Oppa, I will wash your hair.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that.¡±


    ¡°Just bend over.¡±


    It seems like she didn¡¯t have any intention to back down whatever I did. After washing hair and wiping it with a towel, Mikyung asked. ¡°Oppa, you aren¡¯t angry because of the last conversation, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Not at all. Because I already forgot what we are talking about. Mikyung needs to forget it too. it just didn¡¯t happen.¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡±


    Her smiling face is cute. I went to my room and packed my things. Outside, Hyung-jun Hyung, Sooyeon, and the two high school students were repairing nets and windows. It was preparation in case werewolves appeared. This island was a good shelter, but they couldn¡¯t keep hiding here forever. They have to go out on land to farm. Other monsters were also dangerous, but werewolves were the most dangerous of them all.


    They have a very sensitive sense of smell, so they can quickly find survivors. Against them, a clumsy escape won¡¯t work. The net would be the last resort for that time.


    Meanwhile, Yeowool, Yoohyeon, and Jiman were casting their fishing rods to the sea.


    Maybe it was because of Jiman¡¯s skill, I could see them lifting the fishing rod as soon as they threw it into the sea.


    With my backpack on my back, I looked back at them and said my goodbye. Everyone said that it was a pity that I had to go, but they were waiting for the day I would return.


    ¡°Dingo, let¡¯s go.¡±


    Mikyung took us across the land with Blink. It¡¯s really comfortable compared to rowing the boat. Then, I said my goodbyes to her.


    ¡°See you again.¡±


    ¡°You must return, Oppa.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Mikyung hesitated to leave. Only after a few goblins ran out towards her had she returned to the island.


    Tuck-!!


    I felt a slight sting on my skin. After that, my knees become quite wobbly. Though, I¡¯m not concerned or afraid at all. On the contrary, I feel refreshed after getting hit by a paralyzing dart in the morning.


    But, in return, they must die. I charged towards the goblins with a long knife. Behind me, Dingo barked and followed close after.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Huff¡­ Huff¡­¡± Seokhyun took a deep breath. In his hand, a man¡¯s collar was held. It took some time for him to arrive at this point since the abilities of the guys who blocked his way were quite above average. He also had rescued Yoon-jeong, letting her escape.


    ¡°Hu¡­¡± Seokhyun took a breath and put the man down as heartbeats continued to echo around the area. Turning back, he could see a giant was watching him from a distance. He seemed to be over 2m tall, perhaps because of the intimidation skill.


    ¡®How many murders have he commit to exude such a sense of intimidation?¡¯ Seokhyun thought.


    ¡°Long time no see, Rapwi.¡±


    ¡°Who are you? I don¡¯t remember.¡±


    ¡°WIll you know me if I say I¡¯m a bastard who wants to kill you guys?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    The giant¡¯s lips twitched. He was the boss of those who stood in the way of Rapwi. He¡¯s a murderer who had killed dozens of people as well as the ruler of Changwon.


    As for who he was in the game, he was someone who had fought a lot of users while working as a murderer for a year. But he had never fought against the 4 original stagnant waters. That was because they were reluctant to have a deathmatch with him because they said they were protecting an endangered species or cultural asset. That reasoning was a humiliation for Cheol-seong, who was proud of himself as a murderer.


    In the end, somehow, he could have a fight with I Love Gimbap, one of the four stagnant waters. But it ended absurdly. He used a bug in the system to paralyze Cheol-seong and leisurely escaped among the zombies.


    When he woke up, only the message of him remained.


    -Our endangered species, live well!


    Who do you call endangered species?


    That was a humiliation. After that, his hatred for the stagnant water really rages. And he has been waiting for the day to meet them since the apocalypse.


    ¡°I play as murderer most of the time back in the game. Do you remember now?¡±


    Only then did Seokhyun realize the true identity of the giant. ¡°Ah, the endangered species!¡±


    Cheol-seong smiled menacingly as he walked towards Rapwi. If he beats the guy, he was certain that he would be able to find I Love Gimbap. If not, at least his whereabouts.


    His eyes gleamed red. ¡°Come on.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Seokhyun left those words and started running away. He was someone who enjoyed fighting, but he knew that the guy in front of him was too much for the current him.


    But Cheol-seong was faster than him, unfortunately. He hit and crushed Seok-hyeon while leaping from behind. The two rolled around on a pile of concrete. And it was Cheol-seong who took the stance first.


    ¡°Heh heh! I have been waiting for this day!¡±


    ¡°You are too immersed in the game!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it from you who played for more than 5,000 hours!¡±


    Cheol-seong rushed and swung his fist. It was loaded with great power. Seokhyun¡¯s arm trembled when he blocked it with his two arms.


    ¡°Even though your immortality unique skill is good, your body doesn¡¯t look like much?¡±


    ¡°You are strong.¡± Seokhyun snorted.


    ¡°My skill slots are currently full. How about you? At most, maybe two or three, right?¡±


    ¡°How many people have you killed until now?¡±


    ¡°Do you remember how much bread you have eaten in your life?¡±


    It was an absurd answer.


    The two grabbed each other¡¯s fists and started a power struggle. However, anyone could see that Cheol-seong had the upper hand.


    ¡°Heh, if Rapwi in this world is this weak. Gimbap or duck won¡¯t be a big deal either.¡±


    ¡°My friend¡­is stronger than me.¡± He was certain of it after confirming through the two events that had passed. Seokhyun made some concessions, but Gimbap was strong enough not to need that concession.


    ¡°Of course you would want to believe that!¡± When Cheol-seong gave strength to his arm, Seokhyun¡¯s face distorted.


    When the two of them were struggling, Seongho, who had already entered Changwon, checked the two from afar. The Griffon¡¯s Eye skill gave him a tremendous increase in vision. Now he could see as far away as an eagle.


    ¡°What is a murderer doing, standing there?¡± Seongho took out the elderwood longbow and an adamantine arrow without thinking too much. He had a belief that he wouldn¡¯t touch other people unless they were threatening him. However, it¡¯s a different story if it¡¯s murderer. Afterall, there¡¯s no repercussion of killing murderer; there¡¯s only reward.


    Seongho pulled the bowstrings after taking his time to aim. An adamantine arrow slithered through the air as he released the bowstring. It travel a great distance and zoomed into the murderer¡¯s back.


    Cheol-seong heard the ripple of the air and stretched out his hand. He thought that it must have been an arrow shot by a survivor who bore a grudge against him. He tried to grab it, but contrary to his expectation, the arrow absurdly pierced his hand.


    ¡°Keuk!¡± Cheol-seong grabbed his bloodied hand. But at that moment, someone covered the sun and came down at him. It was the naked Rapwi.


    ¡°Falcoooooooonnnnnn puuuuuuuuuunch!!!!!!¡±


    (E/N this chap is filled with references and memes lmao)

 Chapter 87

    The very evening after Seongho left the island, after all members were done with today¡¯s task and had eaten their fill of dinner, Sooyeon used the water allotted to her to wash her face and even brushed her teeth. As a doctor, she took cleanliness very seriously.


    ¡°Let¡¯s sleep.¡± For the entirety of today, most of the members of the group, except for Jiman¡¯s group, were walking around the mainland to look for whatever they find useful. Therefore, as of now, Sooyeon was quite battered. Thankfully, thanks to the ropes the two students had installed, nothing to write home about happened.


    Seongho, who told them to install those things in advance, must have had some kind of foresight. Thus, it felt even more pitiful to let him go alone. Well, technically, he¡¯s not alone because Dingo was with him. But no matter what, a human will always need another human to not feel lonely.


    ¡®DIdn¡¯t I say I was going to force my way to him?¡¯ However, Sooyeon had realized it wouldn¡¯t work well as he¡¯s not the type of person who would allow anyone to get too close to him. It was due to the fact that he had many secrets.


    Sooyeon went under the blanket and closed her eyes. When she was fiddling with her tomorrow¡¯s to-do list, she heard someone¡¯s voice calling her name. ¡°Excuse me, Unnie.¡±


    ¡°Is that you, Mikyung?¡±


    ¡°Can I go inside the blanket for a moment?¡±


    How can a 22-year-old woman say such easily misunderstood words like that?


    Sooyeon gently lifted the blanket covering her body and let her in. Even though it was only for a mere moment, she could feel the cold night air on her skin vividly. There¡¯s no doubt that the upcoming winter will be freezing. Even if she had a strong man by her side, it would still be difficult for him to keep her warm.


    ¡°Unnie, something¡­happened this morning.¡±


    If it¡¯s in the morning, it was before Seongho leaves. Could it be related to him? Without uttering any words, Sooyeon waited for Mikyung to elaborate..


    ¡°I think I make Ahj-no, Seongho oppa angry¡­¡± Mikyung starts to explain the situation.


    When did Seongho¡¯s title change from Ahjussi to Oppa? But that wasn¡¯t the point.


    Mikyung proceeded to reenact what had happened with a quivering voice.


    ¡®Ouch¡­my head.¡¯ Sooyeon touched her forehead and pushed Mikyung with her butt. She reciprocated with a whine and clung to her side.


    ¡°Seongho oppa told me that it was okay, but is it really okay?¡±


    ¡°Did he really say it was okay?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s fine. Seongho¡­ he had many things to hide, but he didn¡¯t hold grudges.¡± However, Sooyeon guessed that, rather than holding grudges, it was more likely for him to sever all of their ties altogether.


    ¡°Then I¡¯m relieved. I also told oppa that I was wrong¡­¡±


    A sigh leaked out of Sooyeon¡¯s mouth as she remembered the time when the three of them, including Yoohyeon, got together and talked about Seongho.


    ¡°Why did you cross the line? didn¡¯t Yoohyeon warn us to stop trying to pry into Seongho¡¯s business before?¡±


    ¡°I know¡­ But when I thought about Oppa leaving us, I want to leave an impression on him¡­¡±


    ¡®I also want to leave an impression on him.¡¯ Sooyeon couldn¡¯t help but think so as well. But she didn¡¯t say it. Instead, she just hugged Mikyung tightly.


    ¡°We¡¯re like a family now, aren¡¯t we? We are inseparable.¡±


    ¡°I think like that too.¡±


    The gym members have been working closely together for several months. Sometimes, they even overcame the crisis of life and death together. They even shared their past to each other.


    But Seongho wasn¡¯t like that. No one knew what he was doing before running the snack bar, nor what his past was like. Amongst the gym members, Hyung-jun Hyung was probably the one who knew Seongho the best.


    ¡°But Seongho didn¡¯t feel that way. To be precise, we think of him as a family member, but he¡¯s not thinking the same way. Do you know what that means?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of strange¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not strange. It¡¯s just, he has something he wants to hide, and its probably something private, so he can¡¯t just show it to others.¡±


    Mikyung put one side of her cheeks at Sooyeon¡¯s chest without saying a word, and she was instantly surprised.


    ¡°Unnie¡¯s breasts are so big¡­¡±


    ¡®Oh my head¡­¡¯ Sooyeon sighed. The girl in front of her really can¡¯t read the atmosphere. Because of that, she crossed the line that Seongho drew. Sooyeon thought that she had to make her understand now. She grabbed her ear and pull her face off her chest,


    ¡°Everyone has kindness, right? I have it and you also have it. That kindness is the line you don¡¯t want others to invade.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°Seongho has it too. She said implicitly that he didn¡¯t want us to go over it either, but Mikyung didn¡¯t even notice it and passed over it.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to go over¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course you didn¡¯t, but how about your mouth?¡±


    When Sooyeon tapped Mikyung¡¯s lips lightly with her hand, Mikyung instantly tried to run away. At that moment, Sooyeon continued. ¡°In normal times, it might not be a big deal. I would have thought that Seongho was overreacting too. But it¡¯s an apocalypse. Everyday, people are still dying everywhere on the mainland.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­¡±


    ¡°How many survivors asked us during the day? I mean, asking us to enter this island? Do you know why Hyung-jun oppa refused?¡±


    ¡°Ummm¡­ that¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because he thought that all the people that Seongho brought were good people. Jiman, Yeowool, Junho, and Doyoung¡­ All of them were quick on their feet, and they are also kind. At least they won¡¯t harm us. But what if Hyung-jun oppa decided to let those people in?¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that a conflict will occur?¡±


    Yes? What did she eat wrong?


    When Mikyung saw Sooyeon looking at her with perplexed eyes, she quickly said that Yoohyeon had told her so.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It is also because he can¡¯t trust them. Hyung-jun oppa thinks there¡¯s no need to do what Seongho didn¡¯t do. This is a really good and safe shelter. We just have to keep it the way Seongho runs it. if we try to do something new or change something, things might get complicated, or at worst, ruined.¡±


    ¡°Then what should those people do?¡±


    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t care about them. Even now, a lot of people are still dying elsewhere. How can we survive if we keep paying attention to each and every one of them?¡±


    She tried to emphasize that it was an apocalypse to Mikyung just before, but now she got off topic. Sooyeon coughed and then spoke again.


    ¡°Seongho is not someone who cares about anyone. He didn¡¯t think someone was on his side just because they cared about him.¡±


    When Sooyeon thought about it, there were only two people who Seongho thought of as his ally. It was Hyung-jun and Jiman. It was only natural for Seongho to think like that about Hyung-jun since their relationship stretched way back, but Sooyeon was quite surprised about Jiman.


    Is it because the kid is so innocent?


    If you listen to the two of them chattering, they were really like brothers. When Seongho said he was leaving, everyone was saddened. But it was clear that Jiman didn¡¯t feel so. Though, she wasn¡¯t sure if it¡¯s due to the fact that he¡¯s sure that Seongho will definitely come back.


    Sooyeon placed her hand on Mikyung¡¯s shoulder, and whispered to her. ¡°Without him, we wouldn¡¯t have been alive. All he wants in return is to keep our mouth shut. It¡¯s not difficult¡­ isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Un-unnie, you look just like Seongho oppa¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess I imitate him quite a bit. anyway, be careful about what you say from now on, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Sooyeon let out a sigh of relief at her words. She was glad that the matters ended there. If Mikyung had been more aggressive, Seongho might not have returned at all. When she mentioned it, Mikyung¡¯s eyes quivered.


    ¡°Do-don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s not going to return¡­ Because of me¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He¡¯ll return. Do you know the reason he gathered us here?¡±


    ¡°Ummm¡­ what¡¯s the reason?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a house¡­ a house.¡±


    After observing Seongho for so long, Sooyeon was able to deduce that he was a person who could endure loneliness. To be precise, he is the type of person who does not feel lonely even when he¡¯s alone. All he needed was a home to return to; a cozy place to relax after a tough long journey.


    Seongho had gathered themselves one by one for that purpose. Or at least, that¡¯s what Sooyeon thought.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°That¡¯s absolutely crazy.¡± My eyes went wide as i saw the murderer tried to catch my arrow. He probably didn¡¯t know that it¡¯s an adamantine arrow, so it means that it¡¯s his muscle memory which also means that he¡¯d been doing it a lot.


    Have you accumulated a lot of resentment from the people around you?


    Well, it only natural because he¡¯s a murderer. As I was preparing for the second shot, I found a certain man beating the killer. I guess I couldn¡¯t see him earlier because of the murderer¡¯s size.


    He¡¯s completely naked in the apocalypse, it¡¯s crazy. And as far as I know, only one person was crazy enough to do something like that.


    ¡°¡­Rapwi?¡±


    The man literally flew around and beat the killer. It was clear that the arrow I shot had given him a chance. But, his offensive did not last long. His fists which he had been swinging with excitement were blocked by the murderer and the two went into a struggle of power again.


    It was clear those two guys were people who really enjoyed fighting.


    WIthout shooting the next arrow, I moved to the building in front of me. As soon as I went up to the roof, the panoramic view of the area was revealed. At the same time, thumping heartbeat could be heard in my ears. Some distance away from the two fighting men, a few people were lying on the ground.


    ¡°It¡¯s strange that zombie raid didn¡¯t happen.¡±


    The murderer moved and start to attack Rapwi. Since he knows how to measure the distance, he¡¯s certainly a user with a noticeable amount of playtime. And the one he fought was of course, Rapwi. However, there¡¯s still work to be done before reuniting with him, namely killing the murderer who¡¯s fighting him.


    I immediately opened the portal and went out with the things I needed: A small firework. Then, I tied it to the arrowhead of the adamantite arrow. This small firework was made by the scarabs.


    Existing fireworks were too large so there¡¯s a risk of it attracting all monsters in the surroundings. And when the firework is this small, it becomes a firework that only shocks one person. Kudos to the scarabs who found the correct mixture of gunpowder, ignition stone and black charcoal to make it.


    The arrow¡¯s trajectory would get weird because of it, but it doesn¡¯t matter at this distance. Moreover, I¡¯m not shooting to hit him anyway.


    I took advantage of the gap between the two of them, lit a fire and pulled the bowstrings. As the arrow flew towards him, the murderer swung his upper body to avoid it. Unfortunately for him, this arrow was an exploding arrow.


    When the arrow fly right in front of his face, the firework exploded.


    ¡°Keeuuukkkkk!¡±


    From his scream alone, I could easily infer just how painful it was. Excited to know that someone was helping him, Rapwi moved again to beat him up. But that was the end of it. Even though Rapwi had beaten the murderer for countless times in one second, he didn¡¯t appear to be severely injured.


    His stats were no joke, just how many people did he have killed so far?


    Did he even get the quick recovery skill?


    Why not use a sword rather than a bare fist?


    Afterall, most of the killers had ceramic knives with them.


    ¡­Anyway, I thought I would have to use a heavy object to kill that guy. I opened the portal and let the dingo in. They told the scarabs: ¡°Tell Dingo to pull the string when I signal, okay?¡±


    nod nod.


    Once I open the portal right in front of the ballista, the preparation is finished. Now, if I open the portal again and throw a stone inside, the ballista will fire. SInce the ballista was a weapon which send the gryphon to the death door with only 2 shoots, no matter how high the murderer¡¯s stat is, he will suffer a fatal wound.


    Now, I have to approach him to trigger the deathmatch, I took out the hook, hung it on the railing, and rappelled down. Once my feet touched the ground, I retrieved the hook and hid in the parking lot to watch the two fights.


    They were both moving in rapid momentum. Therefore, it was hard for me to find a gap to exploit since the process of opening a portal, sending a signal, and the ballista finally shooting was quite long¡­


    ¡°Hahaha! Even when you have someone¡¯s assistance, you still can¡¯t beat me!¡±


    As I looked closer to Rapwi, I became more and more convinced that he¡¯s a real one. His muscular body and bald head was just like his avatar in the game. Let¡¯s not mind the swinging things on his lower body.


    The murderer blocked the Rapwi¡¯s mid-air kick and then rotated his body to blow him away. Rapwi took a stance to strike him again in the air, but was pushed back by the attack of the running killer.


    ¡°What kind of action movie are you two filming?¡± The two people were those who have almost reached the limit of their physical body. In that state, people would be able to face an ogre only once they acquire a few tier 2 skills. However, just because you can fight it doesn¡¯t mean you can win. Because ogre was a real monster.


    Anyway, it would be nice to be able to tie him up even for a few seconds. However, with Rapwi alone it seems like it was impossible. Therefore, I must help him directly.


    I sneakily approached the two who were fighting fiercely. Mid-fight, Rapwi looked at me and cocked his head to the side as if he recognizes me,


    ¡°Where are you looking at!¡± The murderer¡¯s fearsome fist slammed into the face of Rapwi.


    I¡¯m sorry.


    .


    .


    .


    Seokhyun was happy. Even though he was beaten by a murderer who knows about him back in the game, he could finally met his friend. SInce his enemy was the infamous murderer who is notorious in the Changwon area, hardly anyone normal will sneak up on him.


    Togong glanced at his friend as he fought. He is quite tall and bulky. An all-black armor was wrapping his entire body with a long knife hanging on his waist and a backpack and a bow on his back. Somehow, what he¡¯s wearing was the standard outfit for a survivor.


    But he was clearly different from other survivors. Afterall, his sharp eyes were staring at him clearly. There was also a certain determination in his expressionless face.


    However, soon after, Seokhyun had to pay the price for taking his mind off the fight as suddenly, the murderer grabbed two of his wrists.


    ¡°You are so careless! Do I look that insignificant to you?¡± The murderer said, face burning in rage.


    Seokhyun twisted his body and tried to pull his arms out of the murderer¡¯s grip, but he couldn¡¯t move as it was too sttong.


    How high is his strength stat?


    Bam-!!


    Their foreheads collided against each other, and a dull sound echoed throughout the area. Amongst the two, It was only Seokhyun who faltered because of it. His vision became dizzy,, and the murderer gave him another headbutt.


    If there was a brick between the two, it would have been shattered immediately.


    ¡°Hardskin! That¡¯s awesome! How are you doing, can you stand it?¡± The murderer taunted.


    Seokhyun did not lose consciousness even when blood was dripping from his forehead and obscuring his vision. His survival instict skill was activated and his eyes lit up. As his body become lighter, the moment the murderer released his wrist to swing his own fist, he ducked away.


    There was a sound of wind along with murderer¡¯s punch, but Seokhyun was no longer there. When the punch passed, Seokhyun stood up once again. stretched out, it was his turn to headbutt the murderer. Not in the forehead though, but in the chin.


    ¡°Eugh¡± The murderer staggered and collapsed but still alive even though It was a blow that would have killed him if he¡¯s just a normal person.


    He should end the fight here. If it¡¯s delayed any longer, the murderer¡¯s survival instinct skill will also get activated, which would lead into much harder fight.


    Seokhyun tried to break the murderer¡¯s knee, but his body tensed up at the sudden voice.


    ¡°Move away!¡±


    it¡¯s his friend¡¯s voice. He was looking at where he was from a dozen meters away. The object his friend shot out moved faster than he thought. Therefore, Seokhyun had to throw himself to the side.


    ¡°You bastard¡­¡±


    When Cheolseong rolled his eyes and stood up, a bolt the size of a hand zoomed towards him. When it hits his body, the bolt simply pierces his body which was strengthened by his stats like it was nothing.


    ¡°Ackkkkkkkk!¡±


    Cheolseong opened because of the excruciating pain. At that moment, his instinct screams: This is dangerous, run away quickly.


    However, before he could do so, Rapwi managed to hold him of by throwing a punch at him. The shock was so great to the point it made his head dizzy..


    ¡°Fuck, get out of the way!¡± Cheolseong pushed Rapwi with his body and started running. But suddenly, zombies began to gather around. Seongho tried to shoot more bolts at the murderer, but instantly gave up because the murderer hides amongst the zombies.


    ¡°What are you doing that for?¡±


    Then an amazing thing happened. The zombies which saw the killer did absolutely nothing to him. They just walked around like usual.


    Did he acquire the friendliness skill?


    The number of people who need to be killed in order to acquire that skill would easily surpass the number of people Seongho had killed.


    The killer grabbed the ghoul¡¯s head near him and threw it at Seokhyun. Once it landed on its feet, it soon took a stance and exposed its teeth towards the Rapwi. Then, with a thump as the signal, the deathmatch opened.


    Cheolseong laughed hard among the zombies. ¡°Heh heh! If you can hold on, you win!¡±


    On the other hand, Seongho mumbled to no one in particular. ¡®Is he crazy?¡¯ and frowned. He just tasted the power of my arrow earlier, yet he was brave enough to do deathmatch here?


    ¡°Let¡¯s see how well you do.¡±


    Seeing the murderer running towards him, Rapwi shouted loudly.


    ¡°My friend is here! You are so dead now!¡±


    Hearing that, Cheolseong¡¯s face contorted.


    Is that friend supposed to be I Love Gimbap?

 Chapter 88

    Sponsored Chapter 5/11


    The survivor who suddenly broke into his fight against Rabbit Princess was by no means an ordinary man. No one in the area were foolish enough to intervene his fight, who is already famous as the murderer of Changwon. Afterall, everyone who had the guts was already dead. The only survivors left were those who were living under his rule.


    Then what about this guy?


    Cheol-seong endured the pain in his hand and glared at his two enemies who were hiding in a certain building. Around them, zombies were surrounding them like a wall. As long as the deathmatch event was still active, it was almost impossible to run away from this area. But for some reason, Cheol-seong felt uncomfortable.


    ¡®Is that guy really I Love Gimbap?¡¯


    The chance that Rapwi was bluffing is quite high. And in case the guy was really I Love Gimbap, the fight would become more dirty since he¡¯s the most annoying person to deal with amongst the four original stagnant waters. He was also the only one amongst the four who he had managed to drag into a deathmatch event back in the game. However, he managed to injure him in a cowardly way and escaped the deathmatch event using a bug.


    ¡®There is no way such a person will reveal his identity.¡¯


    Isn¡¯t he the person who had the worst reputation at the Auction House? People always said that he was all alive but no one had actually seen him. However, judging by the fact that he used the nickname he was called at Auction House at his ranking, it was certain that he¡¯s alive.


    ¡®Keuk.¡¯


    Cheol-seong grabbed his right shoulder blade. The wound he suffered from the earlier attack was quite grave to the point it was difficult for him to wield his fist right away. Thanks to the help of his recovery skills, the wound was already in the process of closing, but it took time before he could regain his top shape.


    ¡®Should I say I am lucky or unlucky¡­¡¯ If he just endured, he knew that he would surely win, but Cheol-seong wanted to see the end.


    Cheol-seong spit to the ground as he moved his right arm. At that moment, excruciating pain washed over him. But it¡¯s become a lot better than before. As thing stands, It seemed like he had to use his left hand to deal with the two of them.


    He pulled out his long knife and focused his gaze and the murderer¡¯s see-through gaze swept through the area. By now, both of them will hear a very loud heartbeat.


    ¡°Where are those rats hiding at¡­¡±


    Cheol-seong walked slowly while trying to figure out the unique skill of the intruder. The penetrating power of the first arrow still made sense to him, but the ability to shoot a terrifying big bolt did not make any sense.


    If the bolt is that thick, the crossbow must be quite large, but he saw nothing that looked like a crossbow when he was shot by the huge bolt. So, just how did he do it?


    Did he perhaps hide his weapon in a subspace or something?


    If that was really the case, it was highly likely that the man was not Gimbap.


    ¡®There is no way that Gimbap had that kind of ability.¡¯


    It was said that he had over 5,500 hours of play time. So does it make sense for Gimbap to only have a mere subspace ability when the other stagnant water had unique skills such as zombie domination and immortality?


    ¡®I have to forget that possibility.¡¯ The more Cheol-seong thought about it, the less likely the man to be Gimbap. Therefore, he decided to assume that Rapwi was only bluffing.


    Cheol-seong waved his long knife and walked forward. There was no need to be in a hurry as long as the deathmatch event was open, due to the fact that after some time, the zombies will take care of narrowing the area. But that¡¯s not the only reason why. In fact, he choose to walk due to the Death Gait skill common to murderers. It imparts greater pressure to the survivor side when walking rather than when running. Rapwi won¡¯t be affected much by it, but the guy who broke into the fight might be trembling by now.


    After walking for some time, the figure of a man squatting behind the wall was visible to Cheol-seong¡¯s eyes. Judging by the man¡¯s size, it was clear that it was Rapwi.


    By this time, a normal murderer would have already ridiculed him, thinking that he had already given up. But Cheol-seong didn¡¯t do that and kept his vigilance sky high. It was due to the fact that Rapwi had enough stats to inflict damage to him, even without wearing any items.


    Cheol-seong stopped his trail and waved the long knife with his left hand.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the other guy¡­¡± He looked around, but there were so many obstacles strewn around. WIth those in the way, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to find him. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. Afterall, time is on his side.


    He started walking towards Rapwi again. Along with his steps, a thundering heartbeat accompanies.


    .


    .


    .


    The key to surviving the deathmatch event was cooperation of the survivors trapped inside. However, there were not many situations in which cooperation was possible because when people meet for the first time, it¡¯s not easy for them to match each other¡¯s tempo when fighting. If they work together clumsily, they were likely to be cut down by a murderer who boasts overwhelming specifications.


    However, it was possible for a small number of users who had played the game for a long time. Just looking at the atmosphere and the situation alone, they would directly work like cog wheels inside a clock. The few users who could do this used to be called survival experts. And both Gimbap and Rapwi also belonged to it.


    The combined play time of the two was over 10,000 hours. And since they had played together for a long time, they could immediately know what the other person wanted and what they planned to do. That strength would certainly shine in the deathmatch event against Cheol-seong.


    When Cheol-seong tried to figure out the location of the intruder and waved the long knife in his left hand towards him, Rapwi rushed towards him.


    ¡°SEXXXXXXXXXXXX!!!!!!!¡±


    ¡°It seems like you find some leeway, huh?¡± Cheol-seong said as he looked at Rapwi who rushed at him while screaming.


    Rapwi¡¯s high kick barely passed Cheol-seong¡¯s head. Cheol-seong reflexively tried to move his right shoulder, but he felt an excruciating pain wash over him.


    ¡°Keuuukkkk!¡±


    Habits were scary. Even though he was holding a long knife in his left hand, out of reflex, he still tried to swing his right hand instead.


    When Cheol-seong paused for a moment because of the pain, Rapwi turned around in the air and kicked him with his opposite foot. Cheol-seong managed to block it with his arm. However, the power behind the kick was enough to push him back.


    It was then, the intruder appeared.


    ¡°Hap!!!¡±


    Seongho appeared from the right rear window and kicked Cheol-seong¡¯s head. Normally, he would have avoided it, but since he had been pushed back just a few moments ago, he couldn¡¯t afford to do so.


    ¡°EUUUUUKGHHH!¡± Cheol-seong took a heavy blow and flew back.


    Whoosh-!!


    When he was thrown back, the long knife rotated in the air. Without giving him the time to take his long knife, Rapwi immediately leapt up and attacked Cheol-seong. It all happened in less than a second.


    If it was in his normal condition, Cheol-seong would have grasped the situation and counterattacked. But now, he was only rolling the floor miserably.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Cheol-seong spit out swear words and stood up. After being beaten by two, his vision became clear and he could finally see the shape of the two men clearly.


    Seokhyun grabbed the long knife on the ground, threw it upwards, then ran towards him.


    ¡®Are you going to have another hand-to-hand battle after being badly defeated before?¡¯ Cheol-seong snorted.


    However, Seokhyun¡¯s purpose was not hand-to-hand combat. His right hand grabbed the window frame and his momentum stopped. Then, Seokhyun kicked the hilt of his long knife.


    ¡°Dammit!¡± As Seokhyun¡¯s long knife flies right in front of Cheol-seong¡¯s nose, there¡¯s no escape for him. Cheol-seong barely covered his face with his right arm, thus his arm was pierced by the long knife. The pain spread, but it was still in the realm of tolerable for him.


    But that wasn¡¯t the end.


    Wooosh-!!


    Something flew past the left and right side of Seokhyun.


    Cheol-seong, whose arm had just been pierced, could not avoid the attack and had to bear the strike of Emeras throwing knife with his bare body.


    ¡°AGGGGHHHHHHHH!¡±


    Cheol-seong fell to his knees.


    How do these guys fight so well together!!!


    With a spear in his hand, Rapwi ran towards him.


    You fucking survivors!


    Cheol-seong, whose anger had reached the limit, stood up and blocked the spear brandished by Rapwi with his hand. Resulting in his hand being pierced once again.


    ¡°Keeeeuk!¡± A great torment struck his body, but on the contrary, he was able to stop Rapwi¡¯s chance.


    Rapwi looked back the moment his attack was blocked. He seemed to be giving a signal. However, Cheol-seong knew what was coming to him: a thick bolt which had made a hole in his shoulder earlier. Thinking he was one step ahead in terms of psychological warfare, Cheol-seong flew to the side and smiled.


    But moments later, what he saw in his sight wasn¡¯t Rapwi¡¯s startled face, but his feet.


    ¡°It¡¯s a fake, you idiot!¡±


    Bam-!!


    Cheol-seong slammed to the ground as Rapwi¡¯s soccer kick landed directly on his nose. Then, out of nowhere, a huge crossbow bolt suddenly appeared in the air.


    Tuck-!!


    When it pierced his side, Cheol-seong let out a pained moan. An excruciating pain that made him feel as if his soul would be ejected enveloped him. Cheol-seong crawled on the floor and clenched his teeth. If he decided to endure more, he was sure that he wouldn¡¯t be able to live. The instinct to run away once again filled his mind.


    At that moment, Rapwi rushed again, but Cheol-seong pulled out his weapon with difficulty and started running. And suddenly, the zombie wall was closing in.


    ¡°We have to kill him here.¡± Seongho, who just came out of the portal, shouted. However, they also couldn¡¯t let him kill himself at any cost. Afterall, if it¡¯s not this moment, the Friendliness skill would be too difficult to acquire, since it was skill which only murderer that has killed a lot of people could get.


    Seokhyun agreed with Seongho¡¯s words and nodded his head. He wanted to greet his friend so much, but for now, he had to chase that guy first. However, before they could do so, Cheol-seong quickly disappeared among the zombies even though he was badly injured.


    When a murderer disappeared, the deathmatch event instantly ended. Then, the horde of zombies, which formed the zombie wall, attacked the two of them. If it was the usual Seongho, he would have immediately escaped into the portal. But since he was with his friend now, he didn¡¯t feel like doing that.


    The two turned their backs and stared at the zombies.


    ¡°Rabbit Princess, they are staring at you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Seokhyun. Hwang Seokhyun.¡±


    Seongho hesitated for a moment at the unexpected common name, and then he revealed his name.


    ¡°My name is Kang Seongho. Isn¡¯t this our first time meeting on Earth?¡±


    ¡°There is one thing we need to do.¡±


    ¡°Right? Let¡¯s finish it first.¡±


    Breaking through hundreds of zombies¡­


    It was a statement which would be dismissed as nonsense if anyone heard it. But the two were stagnant water who had played the game for thousands of hours. Even though they just met for the first time on Earth, they worked together and pushed a murderer which had much superior stats than them. It will be difficult to find a combination more perfect than the two of them throughout Survival Life.


    The two turned their heads to look at each other¡¯s faces. Meanwhile, two ghouls jumped up and attacked them. But in an instant, they were beaten and fell to the ground.


    Then, they both shouted at the same time.


    ¡°SEEEEEXXXXXX!!!¡±


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Fyuuhh~ I brought all of them.¡± I said as I spilled the weapons and clothes I recovered from the road. Meanwhile, Seokhyun only looked curiously at the clothes scattered on the floor.


    ¡°Put this on quickly.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. If you keep being naked, I¡¯m the one who will be embarrassed.¡±


    ¡°But I have a very great body.¡±


    ¡°Of course, you are. But try to be in my position. If people see someone walking together with a huge, naked guy, which is definitely Rabbit Princess, who do you think people would think I was?¡±


    Seokhyun tilted his head at the topic and immediately gave the correct answer.


    ¡°Probably I Love Gimbap?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, so get dressed quickly.¡±


    ¡°But you are strong. Even more than me.¡±


    It seems like he thinks that there¡¯s no need for me to hide my identity because I¡¯m strong. But my thoughts were a little different from his.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that. And even if it¡¯s true, I would like if there¡¯s less people who knew who I am.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    ¡°Please put on some clothes for me, please.¡±


    When I said earnestly, Seokhyun nodded his head and put on his panties and jeans. And then he also put on a T-shirt, transforming his overall impression from a pervert battle-maniac to a handsome man.


    ¡°Woah¡­ What a surprise.¡±


    He would be even more handsome once his bald head and messy beard was cleaned up. However, contrary to my good thoughts, Seokhyun¡¯s face was dark.


    ¡°Now I have three things to take off¡­¡±


    ¡°No, why are you trying to take it off? It¡¯s not even exhibitionism.¡±


    ¡°When I take it off, I feel liberated. You will know when you take it off.¡±


    ¡°¡­.¡±


    I facepalmed at him and sat down next to Seokhyun. By the way, from the looks of things, it seems like he was in his 30s¡­ He¡¯s older than me, but it was very awkward for me to use formal speech to him. So, I decided to just continue to use informal speech as I also talked like that with Da-jeong.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know who Duck is, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°His name is Choi Da-jeong. You know, she¡¯s a woman.¡±


    ¡°Where is she now?¡±


    ¡°Something happened so she¡¯s currently away. Anyway, Seokhyun¡­ I want to hear from you first. Why did you suddenly decide to come here after roaming mindlessly?¡±


    Like Da-jeong, I couldn¡¯t understand him. No matter how confident you are in your abilities, moving between cities was by no means easy in the apocalypse. Hiding and settling in the place where you were born and raised were much more comfortable.


    Seokhyun said with a large grin on his face.


    ¡°Because my friend is here.¡±


    Friend, huh? I didn¡¯t know there were people who thought of a guy like me this way.


    We looked at the southern sky at sunset without saying a word for a moment. But suddenly, Seokhyun¡¯s stomach rumbled. It seems like I would have to feed him something first.


    ¡°Are you hungry? Let¡¯s eat first.¡±


    ¡°There are a lot of them. I¡¯ll catch them.¡± He said as he pointed to the distance. What Seokhyun was pointing at was a goblin.


    When I saw them, I shuddered.


    ¡°Have you ever eaten that? They are poisonous.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay because the poison disappears when you roast it. I¡¯ve tried it before.¡±


    You¡¯ve eaten it before?


    However, his argument was simple.


    ¡°They eat us humans, so it¡¯s only fair for us to eat them too.¡±


    ¡°Seokhyun-ah, let¡¯s not give up on our humanity.¡± I desperately wrestled Seokhyun who was about to leap towards the goblin. He looked at me and said he didn¡¯t understand. Seems like I would have to move quickly before he really put goblin meat in my mouth.


    I opened the portal and came out with the gryphon meat from before. It was still in good condition because it was buried in the cold ground of the forest. Even though I appeared and disappeared from thin air, Seokhyun did not show any reaction. He didn¡¯t even ask what my unique skill was. Guess he wants to wait for me to tell him someday. Just like Da-jeong.


    ¡°It¡¯s gryphon meat. It¡¯s delicious, so eat it.¡±


    Having said that, I immediately regretted it. Afterall. Seokhyun¡¯s eyes lit up and he began to eat the meat raw.


    ¡°No, wait! I¡¯m not telling you to eat it like that!¡±


    I told you to eat it because I¡¯ll cook it for you!


    After eating the raw meat, Seokhyun said it was okay to eat like this¡­ What a troublesome guy.


    That evening. After we finished eating, we shared some glasses of alcohol as well as some snacks.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he an endangered species? To think he was still alive¡­¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s an obsessive guy, so he won¡¯t give up on us.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that he will come to us again?¡±


    I checked the Auction House just in case, but I couldn¡¯t find any comment which seemed like it was written by him. It¡¯s not that he¡¯s hiding his identity, so it seems like he was trying to keep us for himself.


    Is this good or bad I wonder?


    After talking for long, we set a goal for ourself. It was to someday get together and hunt a brutra. While deciding that, Seokhyun hoped to subtract 1 survivor from it.


    When I asked why, he said:


    ¡°¡­ he¡¯s a bad guy.¡±


    That¡¯s a very subjective opinion. I answered by saying let¡¯s just watch him for now. I¡¯ve sent Da-jeong to the government shelter, so she¡¯ll judge him for me.


    ¡°But Seokhyun-ah¡­¡± Oh man, he¡¯s already sleeping. He must have been very tired from coming here.


    I took some blankets and pillows from the shelter, laid them on the floor, and rolled him to it.


    Get a good night¡¯s sleep, and see you tomorrow, my friend.

 Chapter 89

    Snore-!!


    ¡°Judging by the situation, I believe that an immediate dispatch of an investigation team is necessary.¡±


    If someone was sleeping in the conference room when a meeting was happening, it would be logical to wake them up immediately and kick them out of the room. However, right now, the people didn¡¯t do that and have decided to just ignore the sleeping person. It was all due to the fact that the one who was sleeping was the Zombie Queen, Choi Da-jeong.


    She was sleeping on two chairs and snoring. In her justification, it wasn¡¯t that she purposely came to the conference room to sleep while a meeting is undergoing. It was just that people came and had a meeting while she was sleeping.


    Jang Won-taek rubbed his tired eyes and gestured to the man sitting next to her.


    ¡°I will leave the investigation to Miss Da-jeong. Please wake her up.¡±


    ¡°Yes? Wake her up?¡± The man stuttered at Jang Won-taek¡¯s words before moving his head towards Da-jeong. Then, he, gently, very very gently, tapped on her body.


    The sleeping person wasn¡¯t the one who made him scared, it¡¯s the ghoul behind her which made him scared. That ghoul and many other zombies and ghouls of hers were the only monsters which could enter and exit this shelter.


    And perhaps, because they received the power of Da-jeong, they were in the shape of a normal human being, unlike ordinary ghouls. The only difference they had from normal human beings were the fact that they were all over two meters tall and their forearms were as thick as a human waist.


    Fortunately, the ghoul did not react despite the man¡¯s actions.


    ¡®Have It been ordered not to harm the people in this shelter?¡¯ The people who saw it all wondered.


    As Da-jeong didn¡¯t even flinch when the man kept touching her shoulder, Beom-seok stood from his seat. He walked over to her and shook her shoulder vigorously.


    ¡°Da-jeong, Da-jeong, wake up.¡±


    ¡°AH~ it¡¯s so tight¡­¡±


    What the hell are you dreaming of?


    People coughed at her overly-lewd wake up speech while Da-jeong struggled to open her eyes.


    ¡°What the¡­ Why are you guys here? What are you trying to do?¡±


    Her gaze turned to Jang Won-taek, and he simply responded with a tired smile.


    ¡°We aren¡¯t going to do anything to you. By the way, I have something to entrust to Da-jeong, can you please help us?¡±


    ¡°Is it a task for me?¡±


    ¡°You have to pay for the food.¡±


    At the word ¡®food¡¯, Da-jeong puckered her lips and sat right up. The regret of coming here crossed her mind. Government shelter is an organization which runs with a lot of rules. It¡¯s not as tight as the military, though. Therefore, for a free-spirited person like Da-jeong, who eats whenever she¡¯s hungry and sleeps whenever she¡¯s tired, it was the worst place to be.


    The man who had said that dispatching a team immediately was necessary earlier summarized it to Da-jeong.


    ¡°Something strange is happening on Bam Island. It looks like it wasn¡¯t the erosion, but plants from other worlds could be found there. I want you to investigate it.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, this is not the time yet for erosion to happen, though.¡±


    erosion refers to a phenomenon in which plant-type monsters erode the Earth. It was due to the fact that when zombies or ghouls run out of energy and withered, their corpses will be turned into plant-type monsters.


    Jang Won-taek added. ¡°To be precise, this is not erosion. It is speculated that the seeds of plants from other worlds were brought here by monsters and were blown away by the wind and had somehow grown on Earth¡¯s soil. I would like you to get a sample of it and investigate its impact on the land.¡±


    Da-jeong put her chin on her palm and yawned. ¡°Can I set the island on fire after the investigation is over? The filth must be disinfected.¡±


    ¡°Do you seriously want to set the land on fire? But it is an ecological conservation area¡­¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s when Korea was still fine, and now, it¡¯s a mess, right?¡±


    ¡°Haha¡­¡±


    What Da-jeong said was right. They were now in the apocalypse, so what¡¯s the use of keeping it there?


    However, in this case, it was necessary to observe the phenomenon for a little more.


    Jang Won-taek comforted Da-jeong.


    ¡°I promise the next time the erosion happens, you can set it on fire to your heart¡¯s content.¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­ What a waste.¡±


    Anyways, it was concluded that Da-jeong will take over the investigation of Bam Island. After it was finished, other important things were also decided one after another in the meeting. But for Da-jeong, it was nothing but a trip of boredom.


    ¡°Ah¡­ It¡¯s hella boring.¡± She was annoyed. Normally, she would have washed up with the water brought by the zombies before heading out to eat with the handsome Yoohyeon. But there were only dull old men here.


    Seongho, who sent her here, must be having fun playing with Rapwi by now, right?


    Da-jeong suddenly became excited as soon as she imagined the two of them running through the city naked.


    ¡°I want to play too!¡± As soon as she got up, Jang Won-taek cleaned up the papers in front of him and noticed the people.


    ¡°Let¡¯s end the meeting here today. Let¡¯s keep being faithful to our respective duties.¡±


    In an instant, the conference room was empty. Da-jeong sat down in despair and put her legs on the table. Then moments later, someone came in and sat down next to her.


    ¡°Nice to meet you. My name is Joo Seungcheol.¡± At his greeting, her head slightly turned towards him. There, a handsome-looking man was staring at her with a broad smile plastered on his face.


    ¡°I hear that name a lot¡­ Where is it¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve probably heard it mostly on the news. They often call me the heir of Daehyun group.¡±


    ¡°Ahh. But aren¡¯t you in a wheelchair?¡±


    ¡°If I am in a wheelchair at my age, It would be better to be dead hahaha..¡± Seungcheol roughly ignored Da-jeong¡¯s sarcastic words. ¡°When the apocalypse happened, I wasn¡¯t here from the beginning, but in my own shelter. Do you know why I came here?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know and I¡¯m not curious.¡±


    Da-jeong didn¡¯t seem interested, but Seungcheol didn¡¯t care as he told her anyway. ¡°I want to see the stagnant waters. Especially you.¡±


    ¡°What do you think of me after meeting me? Do you want to slam me on the bed and spread my legs?¡±


    By Da-jeong¡¯s unrefined answer, Seungcheol was taken aback. But as expected from the heir of conglomerates, he could smoothly continue the conversation.


    ¡°It would be a lie to say I wasn¡¯t attracted to Da-jeong¡¯s appearance. But I value your abilities more.¡±


    ¡°So? Let¡¯s just get to the point. Do you want me to take over this shelter? Like a particular scheming bastard?¡±


    While Seungcheol was looking for something to say for a moment, the door of the conference room opened once again. This time, it was Geom-in who entered. He looked at Da-jeong with a smile on his face, but when he saw Seungcheol, he immediately frowned.


    ¡°I thought the meeting was already over¡­¡±


    ¡°We have our own meeting. If you have something to say, do it quickly and leave.¡± Seungcheol said with an authoritative voice while also frowning at Geom-in.


    As the two of them were having a mental fight, Da-jeong stood up from his seat and gathered her ghouls, as she had no interest in it at all.


    ¡°Get ready to go out.¡±


    ¡°Da-jeong, wait a minute¡­¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s still something I want to talk about with you¡­¡±


    The two men called her, but she didn¡¯t care and went outside. She walked down the hallway and slammed the shelter door opened, revealing the view of the devastated ground. Several combatants could also be seen fighting the zombies on the edge of the shelter. However, when they saw Da-jeong, they immediately began to retreat.


    ¡°The Zombie Queen is here!¡±


    ¡°Get out of the way!¡±


    Da-jeong, on the other hand, beckoned as she kept walking without batting an eye to them. The ghouls, who were waiting only for her command, instantly roared and jumped out towards the hordes of zombies. Then, a one-sided battle ensued.


    The ghouls of Da-jeong were originally strong and were in a state of being strengthened by receiving numerous buffs from Da-jeong¡¯s skill. Therefore, it could be said that each of their individual strengths was equal to a reinforced ghoul. So no matter how much the normal zombies tried, they would only get destroyed by them.


    In particular, the performance of the strengthened ghoul called Dangchi was dazzling.


    ¡°They are annoying, so destroy them all.¡±


    Kuoooooo-!!


    Hearing the owner¡¯s instructions, the giant ghoul roared and unilaterally beat the surrounding zombies. Whenever Dangchi swung its fist, zombie heads exploded.


    Thanks to Da-jeong¡¯s interference, the zombie raid ended in an instant. The ghouls started eating the zombies, and people turned their heads away from the disgusting scene.


    Geom-in, who was watching the scene while smoking a cigarette at the entrance, saw Seungcheol standing next to him and muttered, ¡°Fuuhh¡­ Da-jeong came into this shelter because of me. So get your hands off her.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the first I¡¯ve ever heard of it. I hear she came here because she was interested in the President¡¯s proposal.¡±


    ¡°That is not true. We¡¯ve been playing together for thousands of hours. No one can intervene in the memories built up between us.¡±


    ¡°Her earlier response is too cold for someone who shares thousands of hours worth of memories. Maybe Geom-in is mistaken.¡±


    At Seungcheol¡¯s words, Geom-in¡¯s face turned red. He had boasted to his comrades that he was the reason why the Zombie Queen came to the shelter. However, that¡¯s it. He couldn¡¯t show anything more since Da-jeong didn¡¯t take any order from him.


    But it was impossible to pick up the already spilled water. Therefore, he must somehow change the heart of Da-jeong, who was walking amongst the corpses of zombies outside the wall of the shelter.


    When Da-jeong found the two men while returning to the shelter, she sighed.


    ¡°Ah¡­ it¡¯s really boring.¡± The thought of going into the shelter and listening to the nonsense of the two men made her grimace.


    She decided to just wait until Seongho and Rapwi to come¡­


    She jumped on the shoulder of one of her bulky ghouls and then commanded.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to Bam Island.¡±


    Dozens of ghouls moved at her command. Meanwhile, Geom-in, who tried to follow her, soon gave up. He had to somehow make an impression towards Da-jeong, but he didn¡¯t have the courage to do so.


    The swordsman looked at her back for a long time before returning into the shelter helplessly.


    .


    .


    .


    Cheol-seong dragged his body and hid in a dark, empty alley. His body was greatly wounded because of the two attacks from Rapwi and Gimbap. But since he possessed transcendent stamina and vitality, he was still able to keep his life.


    ¡°Fuuuhhh, Fuuuuhhh¡­¡± Even at this moment when he exhaled violently, the blood had stopped dripping from his wounds as the wounds itself has started to heal.


    He gritted his teeth, trying to suppress the pain. ¡°That guy¡­¡±


    Looking at the circumstances, the person who broke into his fight with Rapwi was highly likely to be I Love Gimbap. Afterall, there wouldn¡¯t be many people who could fight in such perfect harmony with Rapwi like that.


    He also didn¡¯t think he was the other 2 of the four stagnant waters since Duck Buttock turned out to be a woman while Survivor 1 was in the government shelter.


    Therefore, only I Love Gimbap is left.


    ¡°HAHAHAHAHAHAHA¡­¡± Cheol-seong laughed out loud. He had finally found him; The very guy who treated him as an endangered species. When he opened the Auction House and scoured through it, it seemed that no one had found him but himself.


    ¡®Should I put the information up now and put him in trouble?¡¯ Cheol-seong thought. ¡°No¡­ No¡­¡±


    Cheol-seong didn¡¯t want anyone else to intervene. He wants to kill both I Love Gimbap and Rapwi with his own hand. It¡¯s foolish to bring the grudge he bears in the game into reality, but nobody could say anything since the game had become reality.


    ¡°Just wait¡­¡± he will keep looking for them until the end and kill them. But before that, it was necessary to analyze the fighting power of the two. Apart from Rapwi, he still couldn¡¯t accurately grasp I Love Gimbap¡¯s unique skill.


    ¡®I guess he can hide his body¡­¡¯ He was not caught in his field of view, so that was worth mentioning. On top of it, he could also pull a weapon from perhaps a subspace. In other words, I Love Gimbap could attack unilaterally whenever he wants.


    ¡®Is the bolt fired by an assistant¡­¡¯ Chelseong mumbled. Maybe, the previous fight was a 1:3 fight rather than a 1:2 fight. If it¡¯s indeed so, things look dark for him. Afterall, although it was unplanned, the combination of the two was enough to defeat him, who had higher stats than them. Which means, if they were to add another person in the combination, the chance he would lose his life was high.


    Cheol-seong decided. For the time being, he would forget about revenge and just focus on hunting. After all, once he reaches level 20 and kills more survivors, he will become much stronger.


    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s do that.¡± Cheol-seong stayed in the place to heal his wound and moved to the place where his other men were. As the loud heartbeat echoed through the area, several people came to him.


    ¡°Boss, what happened to Rapwi?¡±


    ¡°If you have suppressed him, we will bring him to you.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ you don¡¯t have to.¡±


    Cheol-seong answered and killed the subordinates in front of him with a ceramic knife.


    ¡°Keuk!¡±


    ¡°Wh-why are you¡­¡±


    ¡°Heuk!¡±


    The dying subordinates, whose head had been cut in half let out one last death throes. But Cheol-seong did not even raise an eyebrow at it.


    What¡¯s the problem with predators wanting to hunt in a world where the strong survive and the weak die?


    ¡°Hmmmm¡­¡±


    After sacrificing three of his subordinates, murderer¡¯s unique skill Blood Offering rose to level 3, and his Strength stat broke through 25 point. Now he would be able to destroy concrete with bare fists alone.


    But Cheol-seong was not satisfied just yet. In the previous fight, the reason he could read the movement of Rapwi was thanks to his strength which was way higher than Rapwi. If it was 1:1, He definitely would be able to overpower him. But because of I Love Gimbap¡­


    ¡®I need to kill more people¡­¡¯¡¯ He decided he would start killing all of his subordinates in Changwon. Then, in a much stronger state, he would be able to deal with both Rapwi and Gimbap.


    And once he killed them¡­


    Cheol-seong¡¯s train of thought stopped there.


    ¡®What should I do after finding and killing them?¡¯ Making a lot of subordinates and expanding his influence did not arouse his interest. Hasn¡¯t he personally experienced it in the previous fight? Only the stagnant waters could excite him.


    ¡°It seems like I shouldn¡¯t kill them easily¡­¡±


    Cats didn¡¯t kill mice easily. After driving them into a corner, they play with them and only kill them once the cats lose their interest in it.


    ¡®I¡¯ll make you stop calling me endangered species.¡¯ That derogatory word was the reason why Cheol-seong was particularly obsessed with Gimbap. He avoided having a fight with him because he didn¡¯t want Cheol-seong to die, reducing the user in the game even more. The funny thing was that the other stagnant waters also sympathized with Gimbap and avoided the deathmatch with him.


    Cheol-seong tightened his muscles and raised his body. Then his gaze turned to the north. In his mind, he was certain that the two of them were going to Seoul. It was a judgment based on the fact that rumors were circulating in the Auction House that Duck had entered government shelter.


    All he had to do was to slowly follow them while developing his abilities.


    And once he arrived in Seoul¡­


    ¡®I¡¯ll deal with everyone in a deathmatch¡­¡¯


    Cheol-seong moved his steps to where his men were.


    .


    .


    .


    Whoosh-!! Splash!! Pitter-patter¡­


    In the morning, heavy rain enveloped Changwon. When I looked out the window, I could see weeds growing abundantly between the sidewalk blocks. It made me realize just how much resilience nature has. If things stay this way, it is certain that within a few years nature will overthrow the city. Plant monsters from another world will also join them.


    I got up from my seat and rotated my shoulders. It looks like the exhaustion from yesterday¡¯s fight hadn¡¯t gone away yet since my body was still sore all around.


    When I turned my gaze to one corner of the room, I saw Rapwi, no, Seokhyun, shaving his head in front of the mirror.


    ¡°Are you going to be completely bald?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I thought it would be more comfortable to wear a hat if I was bald.¡±


    ¡°When I say I want you to disguise yourself, I don¡¯t mean you have to be completely bald.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about hair. Can you shave the hair on the back of my head?¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡±


    I took the ceramic knife from Seokhyun¡¯s hand and did what he asked me to do. While I was doing that, he shaved his beard with a mithril knife. Moments later, all of Seokhyun¡¯s hair had disappeared except for the hair on his eyebrows. When he put a hat on top of his head, a handsome man with sharp eyes revealed himself.


    ¡°Nice.¡± I exclaimed. With this, those who had seen Rapwi before would not believe that he is the same person as Seokhyun. As soon as he put on some clothes, his appearance and atmosphere changed completely.


    I tapped his shoulder.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat and leave in the morning.¡±


    ¡°What is the menu?¡±


    ¡°Rice, soybean paste stew, grilled fish, and kimchi.¡±


    I thought he would be happy because he will be able to eat abundantly after a long time, but contrary to my expectation, he looked surprisingly pale.


    Maybe it¡¯s because there¡¯s no meat?


    ¡°Did you say you only ate meat? You should also eat a lot of vegetables. You need a balanced diet.¡±


    ¡°It should be fine. The animals I ate are mostly herbivores.¡±


    So he¡¯s saying that if you eat the meat of animals that eat plants, that should count as eating vegetables¡­ That¡¯s a strange logic. But it strangely fits the image of Rabbit Pwincess. So, I didn¡¯t argue with him.


    SInce I want to feed him and he wants to eat meat, I will give him that. I went to my shelter, caught some hwajos, butchered it, and then returned to Earth again.


    When Seokhyun saw the hwajo meat on my hand, his eyes showed a curious glare.


    ¡°Da-jeong too had such eyes when I took something out of my world. She even asked if there was a raccoon inside.¡±


    ¡°Is there a real raccoon inside?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no raccoon inside, but there are other guys.¡±


    Dingo woke up from his slumber when he smelled the smell of the meat being cooked. He quietly took a seat between us and rested his head on his front paws.


    While the hwajo was turned into boiled chicken, Seokhyun and I had a conversation. It was mainly about the government shelter and Survivor 1.


    ¡®There are guns in the government shelter. Guess they¡¯ll take it out after the corrosive disease has completely subsided. I sent Da-jeong there to find out more.¡±


    ¡°Guns? It¡¯s something which can¡¯t exist because of the corrosive disease, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°It looks like it was being stored hundreds of meters underground. Since the corrosive disease has a form of a particle beam, it probably won¡¯t be able to reach down there.¡±


    I came to know it through a conversation with Da-jeong at the Auction House using the encoded words. On top of it, she was also angry because she thinks that I was having fun with Rapwi and left her alone to suffer.


    In fact, we didn¡¯t have fun but suffered a lot because we had to fight a murderer¡­. Ah, that might be exciting for Da-jeong.


    ¡°Ohh. Then there will be trouble later.¡±


    ¡°I think so too, since Geom-in wants to be the ruler of Korea once he successfully takes over the government shelter.¡±


    Seokhyun supported his chin with the back of his hand while listening to my words.


    ¡°That would be fun.¡±


    ¡°Of course it will be fun for you. But not for me, since I only have one life.¡±


    ¡°Why do you keep getting bothered by it? Since I can resurrect through my unique skill, it will surely come out as a skill later, or even as a consumable item.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t serious, are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m serious. In this world, nothing is impossible. No matter what happens, it wouldn¡¯t be strange.¡±


    Is that so?


    I remembered the skills and the items I got from both the speedrun and First Kill events. It was something I couldn¡¯t even see in this game. As Seokhun said, the world has become more fantasy than fantasy itself, so it wouldn¡¯t be strange to say that resurrection will appear as a skill.


    ¡°You may be right.¡± When I said so, Seokhyun smiled contentedly.


    ¡°So if you find yourself in a dangerous position again in the future, you can fight bravely and die. I will save you.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s a little¡­¡¯¡± What a reckless person. Anyway, we decided to rob the Changwon Clan¡¯s hideout before going up to Seoul. Because it was obvious how the endangered species would behave.


    ¡°He will kill all his men and pursue us. We should take their supplies, since it¡¯s basically free for the taking.¡±


    ¡°He will become even stronger if he really did kill all his men.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    It was clear that he would be a pain in our butt on our way to Seoul. It¡¯s really regrettable that we couldn¡¯t kill him before.


    No, wait.


    Thinking in reverse¡­


    I tapped Seokhyun¡¯s forearm and lowered my voice.


    ¡°Let¡¯s follow him.¡±


    ¡°You mean we?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t like the feeling of someone following my tail. He¡¯ll definitely get stronger by killing his men, right?¡±


    ¡°Are we going to put him down?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s our specialty.¡±


    ¡°SEEEXXXXXX.¡± Seokhyun clapped his hands, then got up and started dancing clossack dance. However, not long after that, he stopped. He grumbled and tried to jump down the building after complaining that it didn¡¯t feel the same as back in the game because there¡¯s no ghouls around him now.


    ¡°Seokhyun-ah, please! Don¡¯t do that!¡±


    I barely caught him and made him dance inside the building. He¡¯s really not normal.


    Well, since I hang out with him, should I say I¡¯m not normal either?

 Chapter 90

    Sponsored Chapter 6/11


    Da-jeong, who had finished investigating Bam Island, returned to the shelter. The very first person who greeted her was the former president, Jang Won-taek. He called Da-jeong and served her a cup of coffee.


    ¡°How is the situation on Bam Island?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s been a bit of a problem¡­.¡± Da-jeong proceeded to explain everything she saw on Bam Island to Jang Won-taek. Vines, which did not appear to be from Earth, had covered the entirety of Bam Island.


    Jang Won-taek¡¯s eyebrows furrowed at Da-jeong¡¯s explanation. ¡°Did those vines cover only Bam Island, or¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course not, they stretched all the way to the land. Because of that, it was convenient to cross to and from Bam Island.¡±


    ¡°Hoho¡­ That¡¯s true¡­¡±


    How thick and strong were the vines to be able to withstand people and ghouls passing through?


    Jang Won-taek, imagining Da-jeong being carried by a ghoul, felt goosebumps assaulting all over his body.


    The situation over Bam Island was not what Jang Won-taek initially expected. It seems like plant-type monsters from another world had really invaded Earth. And it could be said that it was more serious than the appearance of animal-type and human-type monsters such as goblins and orcs since they didn¡¯t pollute the land itself.


    Jang Won-taek then asked.


    ¡°Did you just leave it alone?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me to leave it alone because it was an ecological conservation area?¡±


    ¡°I told you to set a fire if it¡¯s indeed an erosion. Since it is an erosion¡­¡±


    As Jang Won-taek slowly said his bits, Da-jeong got angry and took off her high heels before slamming it on the table.


    ¡°Seriously! Why are you so wishy washy!!!¡±


    However, Jang Won-taek was not surprised by her outburst. Rather, he asked her quietly.


    ¡°I am sure Da-jeong would have taken action. How is it going?¡±


    ¡°Sigh¡­ I made a flame can and set it on fire. Those vines burn really well.¡±


    ¡°Good, good¡­ By the way, a flame can, huh? Do you have the materials to make it?¡±


    ¡°I bought it at the Auction House.¡±


    ¡°Looks like someone just posted it¡­¡±


    The keen gaze of the former president reached her. Da-jeong instantly flinched and averted his gaze.


    In fact, when she was thinking about what to do with the creeping plant in front of her back in Bam Island, she contacted Seongho through the Auction House.


    -You can just set it on fire with a flame can. It will burn really well.


    -Have you met Rapwi yet?


    -SEX!


    -Good! Then, come to Seoul quickly. Otherwise I¡¯ll go there.


    -We have an important job right now, so we won¡¯t be able to do it for a while.


    -If I judged your ¡®important job¡¯ as not important at all, I¡¯ll stick my toys up you guys¡¯ asses.


    -We are playing with an endangered species.


    -Okay, approved!


    Thoughm Da-jeong knows that they are not playing but fighting. Da-jeong wanted to go to them in that instant, but she held it in.


    Let¡¯s wait a little longer¡­


    When Seongho put the ingredient of the flame can to the auction, he raised the opening bid higher than usual. People who were at the Auction House at the time swore at him when they saw the price, but Da-jeong bought it right away. Afterall, for her, points were nothing but something which piled up after she closed her eyes and called it a day.


    When the ghouls took the flame can and set it on fire, the large vines were engulfed in flames.


    -Filth disinfection!


    However, Da-jeong exempt them from the story she told to Jang Won-taek. However, Jang Won-taek seemed to have noticed.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I think you¡¯ve met him.¡±


    ¡°Meet whom?¡±


    ¡°I Love Gimbap. He is the only one who can make flame can in a timely manner and put it up for auction.¡±


    Da-jeong looked at Jang Won-taek with serious eyes. It seems like he knew about what was happening in the Auction House even though what he did was only staying at the shelter. His level was also not 15 yet. So, probably his subordinates were the ones who reported it to him.


    Da-jeong tied her hair behind her shoulder and asked. ¡°What would you do if I indeed met him?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­. Nothing. I am just checking the facts in order to collect information. Have you really met him?¡±


    Da-jeong¡¯s brows furrowed. As they already reached this point, it would be difficult for her to hide the fact anymore. In fact, even if she told him that she had met with Gimbap, it¡¯s not a big deal since it¡¯s by no means a great piece of information. At the Auction House, rumors were already circulating that the reason Rapwi and Duck moved to the south was because of Gimbap.


    As she nodded her head, Jang Won-taek drank his cold coffee at once with one big gulp.


    ¡°I want to bring him to the government shelter.¡±


    ¡°If he came, wouldn¡¯t there be a riot? He¡¯s a traitor to mankind.¡±


    ¡°Haha¡­ I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    ¡°He hid the information so he could survive alone, didn¡¯t he? People at the Auction House even call him ¡®That Bastard¡¯.¡±


    ¡°That is only what people think about. My thoughts on the matter were slightly different. It¡¯s a hazy perspective, but I was in a position to see the whole idea to some extent.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    It sounded like he knew the truth. As Da-jeong pushed her face towards him, Jang Won-taek put down the teacup in embarrassment.


    ¡°If you promise to bring Gimbap, I will tell you everything. But now is not the time yet.¡±


    ¡°Well, it has nothing to do with me. Please work it out with that ahjussi by yourself.¡±


    ¡°Is he old?¡±


    ¡°No, he¡¯s just like me. Wait, don¡¯t bother with what I said just now!¡±


    ¡°I Love Gimbap is a man between 20s and 30s. Good good¡­ I think I must make a plan with Mr. Geom-in and Mr. Seungcheol.¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­ He¡¯s completely different from those guys, so it wouldn¡¯t work. It would be nice if they didn¡¯t fight.¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t know unless you let him meet them. There are some things that you can only know when you bump into a man with a lot of blood.¡±


    ¡°No, I am sure. I don¡¯t know about Seungcheol, but he definitely doesn¡¯t match with Geom-in.¡±


    ¡°¡­is it I Love Gimbap that sent Da-jeong here?¡±


    How come he even knows about that? Da-jeong looked at him with incredulous eyes.


    ¡°It was clear that day that Da-jeong was not interested in my proposal. Nevertheless you still came to me on the last day. It means that there was a change of heart¡­ Was I Love Gimbap present in that dungeon?¡±


    This guy¡¯s intuition is scary¡­


    When Da-jeong shut her mouth completely, Jan Won-taek tapped the back of her hand.


    ¡°I want to tell you that I am not his enemy. At least no secrets about him will ever come out of my mouth.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t the President hate him? If he had given the information about the apocalypse a little earlier, a lot of people could have been saved.¡±


    ¡°If he had told us sooner, we would have wasted our administrative power looking for him. And we were not alone in the government at the time. There was another force out of my reach.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s forces that the President¡¯s power couldn¡¯t reach?¡±


    Were they related to the scary man who came to see Jiman?


    ¡°¡­let¡¯s end it here. I will tell the rest directly to I Love Gimbap.¡±


    In other words, If Da-jeong wanted to hear it, she had to bring him. However, Da-jeong was not interested in the truth of the situation. She stood up from her seat and told him to do it by himself.


    Jang Won-taek quickly stood up and said to her,


    ¡°Be friendly with Mr. Geom-in. He is someone who will give it all away if you give him a little acknowledgment.¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t seem like that in my eyes. He wants to completely dominate this shelter.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s normal for a man. And he¡¯s not the only one who wants to rule the shelter.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you the President?¡±


    Jang Won-teak turned around and shrugged his shoulders.


    ¡°I am nothing but an old man. I have already passed the age of being greedy. And there was also a time when I was the president of a nation. What more would I want?¡±


    These were the words of a man who once held the highest seat in Korea.


    At this point, should I give him a chance?


    But if after she gives him the chance and he is still acting like a jerk, she¡¯ll throw him away.


    Da-jeong scoffed and walked away from the room.


    .


    .


    .


    In the middle of a chilling mid-October night. A wolf howl suddenly could be heard from the street.


    Auuuuuuu-!!


    In response to the sound, Dingo raised its snout and was about to cry, but Seokhyun put his hand around Dingo¡¯s snout to stop him.


    ¡°Shh, they are not your friends.¡±


    He¡¯s right. The ones who let out a howl just now were not ordinary wolves, but wolves which had been infected with some disease. It was incomparably larger than a normal wolf and was extremely ferocious. It could be said that it was a beast that had lost even its survival instincts and only lived with the sole purpose of hunting prey. And when those wolves attacked humans, those humans would become werewolves.


    It was a much more complicated process than the process of monsters regenerating back in the game.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be even more tiring from now on¡­¡±


    ¡°Why? Werewolves are nothing.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s only nothing to us.¡±


    When I pointed it out, Seokhyun let out an ¡®Oh¡¯ and came out to the veranda to look at the situation on the street.


    In fact, the survivors have been comfortable so far. Afterall, their chance of survival increases dramatically if they just hide in their hideout.


    There are indeed goblins and kobolds roaming around the street, but it was relatively easy to respond to them. Meanwhile, keepers and bone creepers are monsters that only appear at night, and orcs do not move at all after settling in one place.


    But werewolves are different as they will actively hunt for prey. Its sense of smell was so great that even the slightest smell would be dangerous for survivors. On top of it, it was also insanely agile, making it difficult to respond against their attack.


    The only way to defeat them, unless someone had a combat-type unique skill, is by attacking it with numbers. However, numbers alone wouldn¡¯t work, so they would also need to waste a lot of energy for the hunt, such as digging a trap, throwing a net at it, and stabbing it with a spear.


    When Seokhyun nagged at Dingo to not become a werewolf, someone¡¯s scream could be heard from the street. We both quickly laid down on our stomach and looked outside. A man with a backpack was being chased by a pack of wolves. He screamed for help, but in the blink of an eye, a wolf attacked him and ended his ordeal.


    ¡°Aggghhhhhh!¡± The man let out a desperate scream and then limped. But a moment later, a change occurred. The man¡¯s body stretched, turning his clothes and hair grew all over his body. At that moment, the other wolves only walked around him,


    When the man had fully transformed into werewolves and roared at the full moon, the pack of wolves also cried.


    Auuuuuuuu-!!


    Then, the guys started running. From now on, the night would be their world. If survivors went outside without knowing what to do about them, they will end up being torn to pieces by the werewolves.


    When I glanced sideways, I could see Seokhyun was gloomy.


    ¡°At your current state, how many minutes do you need to kill it in a one-on-one fight?¡±


    ¡°If it was with traps and weapons,1 minute. With fist alone, 10 minutes.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that because you don¡¯t have the troll¡¯s skill set that you had back in the game?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s a limit with bare fists. I must have tier 2 skills to be able to run free.¡±


    One of the troll¡¯s skills is Strength Outburst. If you acquire it, you will gain incredible strength when you are in a crisis. If Seokhyun gets it, he might be able to strangle a werewolf with his bare hands. The problem was it was unacquirable right now as trolls would only appear later.


    In my case, it was unreasonable to fight with only bare hands, and it would take three or four minutes even with all the equipment I had in my arsenal.


    The pack of wolves suddenly barked loudly. It¡¯s really noisy.


    I proposed to Seokhyun. ¡°Let¡¯s kill that werewolf. I need to feed you some skills.¡±


    ¡°Have you ever caught it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, inside the portal¡­ Though, I almost exhaust everything I have to just kill one.¡±


    ¡°As expected, Seongho, you are strong¡­I don¡¯t have to worry about you.¡±


    ¡°Then call them here.¡±


    At my words, Seokhyun shouted loudly.


    ¡°Hey! You dogs! Stop barking! it¡¯s noisy!!!¡±


    In the distance, the werewolf roared in response.


    Seokhyun looked at me and smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s fight like the old days.¡±


    It seems like I have to do some gymnastics at night.


    .


    .


    .


    The appearance of the werewolves caused an uproar in the Auction House. The sightings of werewolves were reported from all over the place. However, no one really believed it.


    -Nice! A good skill will come out if we can kill it!


    -What bullshit. Can you even kill it?


    -I just say it was profitable to kill it, you bastard!


    -There weren¡¯t many werewolves caught in the original game, can we even kill it now?


    -Yeah. Even though they are classified in the same tier as orcs, they are worlds apart¡­


    -That¡¯s right. Its power was inferior to orcs, but it¡¯s super fast. Most people wouldn¡¯t even see them moving and their necks would have flown off.


    Everyone shook their heads saying that werewolves were really scary.


    In Survival Life, from werewolves onward, survivors had to work together to kill it. Only a small number of users can compete in direct fight with those monsters.


    And among those few users, the two who had reached the peak of the game had just finished their werewolf hunting.


    ¡°Damn it, it¡¯s not even a live fish, so why did it flounder around like that?¡± Seongho grumbled as he brushed away the blood on his long knife. Meanwhile, Seokhyun was giving the werewolf one last punch.


    ¡°Fuuuhh¡­¡± After acquiring the skill, Seokhyun opened his eyes. His level which was stuck at 19 even after hunting a lot of monsters finally reached 20.


    At the same time, another additional effect was added to his unique skill.


    ¡¸Cooldown reduction¡¹


    It was a very good effect which reduced the time before Seokhyun could resurrect again. Before this additional effect was added, Seokhyun could only resurrect once every 30 minutes.


    At that moment, Seokhyun pointed his long knife to his chest.


    Seongho, who looked at him calmly just a moment before, instantly jumped in fright.


    ¡°Hey Seokhyun! Wait a minute¡­¡±


    ¡°I will be here again soon.¡± As soon as he said that, he pushed the long knife in his hand into his own chest. His body collapsed, and Seongho looked blankly at the body of his friend. He knew his friend would be resurrected, but it was still a shocking scene.


    ¡°Huh huh¡­¡± Moments later, Seokhyun¡¯s body was engulfed in light and disappeared. And Seokhyun jumped out of nowhere.


    ¡°How many minutes have passed?¡±


    ¡°About three minutes. But are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine except for the fact that the more I resurrect, the more points I need.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a problem. What if you don¡¯t have enough points? Wouldn¡¯t you be dead?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I have to hunt a lot more. By the way, I have reached level 20.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations. I stopped at lvl 17.¡±


    Seokhyun¡¯s eyes lit up after hearing Seongho¡¯s words.


    ¡°If you catch that endangered species bastard, you will level up. Let¡¯s catch him.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Seongho was perplexed. When Seokhyun said it, it sounded like he wanted to catch him.


    ¡°If I catch him, my skill list would be changed. There¡¯s a chance that something strange might come in to replace my Terrain Detection skill.¡±


    Seokhyun looked at Seongho with puzzled eyes.


    ¡°Your skill slot is already full?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I got exactly ten skills. If something like Friendliness comes in, I will be completely at a loss.¡±


    It¡¯s a skill everyone wants to acquire in the game, but in reality, it¡¯s a little different. Afterall, with that skill on your skill list, you would have to keep killing. Unless you have a really strong heart, it¡¯s hard to do it.


    Seokhyun thought for a moment before opening his mouth.


    ¡°That bastard¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait, call him ¡®that guy¡¯ instead.¡± (E/n lmao)


    ¡°Anyway, the endangered species told me something. He said that he has 10 skills. So the probability of you getting a bad skill is 1/10.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Seongho previously thought that the murderer had 5 skills at the very most. But apparently, his skill was 10. It was perhaps due to the fact the murderer system had been reorganized.


    If the probability is truly 10%, the story was different.


    ¡°Great. Let¡¯s find him.¡±


    The two promptly moved and tracked down the endangered species. But since he¡¯s a murderer, it won¡¯t be difficult to find him because of the heartbeat echoing around.


    When they climbed up to the highest floor of a dilapidated building, they could finally hear the sound of a heartbeat..


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely a deathmatch¡­¡±


    ¡°It looked like he was fighting his subordinates or whatever¡­¡±


    A total of four people were trapped in a zombie wall, running and rolling. Their faces showed a sense of fear and a determination to die at the same time. Meanwhile, the endangered species leisurely pursued them with a ceramic knife on his hand, not a long knife.


    ¡°Kim Cheolseong, you bastard! You said you¡¯d spare me!¡±


    ¡°I changed my mind. You should be my stepping stone.¡±


    ¡°What a load of bullshit!¡±


    Seongho tapped Seokhyun on the shoulder.


    ¡°There¡¯s something we are really good at, right?¡±


    ¡°Breaking in and making a mess?¡±


    ¡°Correct. I want to hit that guy, Cheolseong or whatever, in the back of his head.¡±


    The scarabs had already made one more hook. Since ropes were overflowing in my storage, there¡¯s no need to unnecessarily save it.


    Seokhyun used a rope to close the distance between him and Cheolseong at once and kicked him in the back of the head. He only has himself to blame for believing too much in his skills and did not raise his Perception stat.


    ¡°Keuk¡± Cheolseong groaned as he fell forward. At about the same time, Seongho opened his portal in mid-air and fired the ballista.


    Cheolseong, who got up from the ground and twisted his shoulder at the scene, could barely escape the bolt.


    Seongho and Seokhyun then landed in front of him.


    Cheolseong looked at the red eyes of the two and was startled. It was due to the fact that glowing red eyes was the sign of werewolf¡¯s Fighting Instinct skill.


    ¡°They are absolutely crazy¡­¡±


    How come they¡¯d already killed a werewolf when it had just appeared?


    At that moment, Cheolseong began to regret his decision to touch Rapwi.

 Chapter 91

    I¡¯m not going to make any excuse for only uploading one chapter today. It¡¯s because that fookin K-drama called Hellbound. ISTG it¡¯s so good. Go watch it and forget about my laziness!!!


    The survivors who were dragged into the deathmatch event and somehow still survived looked at the two people who broke into the deathmatch event voluntarily with incredulous eyes. They all thought that they were crazy. That¡¯s because the opponent of deathmatch was none other than Cheolseong, the infamous Murderer of Changwon who at the very least had killed 50 people.


    Four survivors hid in the back of an office building quite far away from the fight. However, since their positions were also still quite far from the zombie wall, they could still hear the sound of the fight vividly.


    ¡°Hey, let¡¯s negotiate. There¡¯s no point for us to fight, isn¡¯t there?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? If we kill you, you¡¯ll die, and we will also get some skills and items.¡±


    ¡°Points and level too.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, that too. Anyway, you must die for us. Haven¡¯t you already killed enough people until now?¡±


    The conversation between the two men and their former boss could only leave the four survivors dumbfounded. Not only did Cheolseong try to negotiate their fight, but the two men had also refused it.


    The survivors looked at each other to make sure that the conversation they had just heard was right.


    ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t hear it wrong, did I?¡±


    ¡°I think the boss was trying to negotiate with those two¡­¡±


    ¡°The boss who always kills whoever he wants and even tries to kill us, is trying to save his own life by negotiating¡­ What a bastard. ¡°


    ¡°Shh, be quiet. Let¡¯s Listen.¡±


    ¡°Heh heh¡­ so your mind is set to kill me? It would be difficult with your strength, though.¡±


    ¡°Look into my eyes before you say that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you know what skill we¡¯ve got when you look into our eyes, right?¡±


    ¡°I know. You¡¯ve just acquired the Fighting Instinct skill. You¡¯ll move really fast with that.¡±


    ¡°Yep. and that speed is what we will use to beat you down. Especially this ahjussi..¡±


    ¡°Heuk!¡±


    Suddenly a popping sound echoed through the area. Out of curiosity, the survivors stuck their heads out to peek and their eyes instantly went wide. It was due to what happened in front of them. The two men were literally flying around the hallway.


    What kind of action movie are you two filming?


    They all uniformly thought so. On top of that, they could also see Cheolseong-who boasted of overwhelming power-was also pushed back by his adversary.


    ¡°It¡¯s really absurd¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Look. The two of them are moving so fast..¡±


    ¡°Ah, yeah¡­¡±


    The survivors watched the action movie performed live by the intruders and Cheolseong. Then, other survivors opened their mouths.


    ¡°Is that blink?¡±


    ¡°Ah, that makes no sense. You can¡¯t use blink one after another. Your head will hurt really bad if you do that.¡±


    ¡°I know, right. So how do they move that fast?¡±


    ¡°Hey, this isn¡¯t the time for us to be like this¡­ we need to run away..¡±


    ¡°We are surrounded by the zombie wall, so how can we run away¡­ We have no choice but to hide.¡±


    ¡°If those people managed to kill Kim Cheolseong, it might be possible then.¡±


    Now the four survivors were in a position to cheer for the two intruders. Of course, they can only do that inside their heart because they couldn¡¯t voice their support out loud, since it might put themselves in danger.


    While such a commotion is taking place in real life. Dingo and the four scarabs were moving hecticly in the shelter in the forest. The three scarabs were turning the lever under the direction of the scarab leader. WIth every turn, the ballista on the stand turned around with a squeaky rattling noise.


    Change of direction is complete!


    Now it¡¯s Dingo¡¯s turn. The guy bit the ballista string and started running hard towards the opposite direction of where the ballista was pointing at. The ballista¡¯s bow, which even an adult man couldn¡¯t pull easily, immediately bent because of Dingo¡¯s strength.


    When the string reached the detent, it clicked and locked into place. Two scarabs flicked a bolt from below, and the leader caught it and put it on the rail.


    Ready to shoot!


    WIth this, once the master¡¯s signal comes in, the scarab leader will pull the detent.


    But when suddenly a hand came in through the portal, the signal was not the signal to shoot. The hand which came was clenched, a signal to prepare for a heavy attack.


    The scarabs immediately threw explosives at the captain. This explosive was made by the scarabs by adjusting the mixing ratio of firecrackers, ignition stones, and black charcoal. The explosive power itself wasn¡¯t great, but if it explodes at close range, it would pack another set of attacks after the first explosion. The scarabs made the explosives with great effort, since after the griffon attack, the owner said that the bolts lacked destructive power.


    The price the master would pay for the hard work was the search for emperor honey. It was the dream food that all of the scarabs want, and the master said he would go to find it when spring comes.


    The scarab leader fastened the explosives to the bolts.


    Installation complete!


    When will the launch signal come out?


    After a tense period of time, the master¡¯s hand finally appeared and made a snapping gesture with his fingers.


    The scarab leader immediately pulled the detent. The bowstring came loose and pushed the bolt out of the portal in an instant.


    .


    .


    .


    They got stronger.


    Cheolseong charged and used his hand to block a long knife swung by Rapwi. Thanks to his power, which could be said to have already transcended human limit, the blade of the long knife shattered.


    He instantly entered a power struggle with Rapwi, but unlike the previous fight, Rapwi was no longer pushed back by his unbelievable strength. When Rapwi¡¯s red eyes looked straight at him, Cheolseong laughed hard.


    ¡°To come back stronger like this¡­¡±


    ¡°Leveling up before fighting the boss is always an essential part of a game.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for calling me the boss¡­ I must be the final boss, right?¡±


    ¡°No, just a middle boss. This game is quite hard after all.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha¡­.¡±


    Cheolseong gave strength to his whole body and tried to push Rapwi away. However, a wrinkle appeared on his forehead as his arm was pushed back little by little.


    ¡°Oh!¡±


    Cheolseong lost his balance for a moment, and Rapwi, who had been waiting for it, jumped up and struck Cheolseong¡¯s jaw with his knee.


    Boom-!!


    With a loud sound which seemed like it wasn¡¯t produced by the collision of 2 human bodies, Cheolseong¡¯s body bounced back. Rapwi used the recoil to retreat, and it was Seongho who suddenly appeared in his place and threw some emeras throwing knives at Cheolseong.


    ¡°Keeuukkk!¡±


    As the sharp blade pierced Cheolsong¡¯s body without mercy, the murderer was forced to scream. His body lost balance and rolled over.


    Looking at the opportunity, Rapwi rushed with a long knife in hand.


    Tang-!!!


    Cheolseong blocked the attack with the handle of his long knife. It wasn¡¯t a perfect block though, as his knife handle was broken to pieces on Rapwi¡¯s second attack.


    WIth no weapon left, Cheolseong blocked Rapwi¡¯s next attacks with his bare body. Naturally, he was the one who was defeated. Afterall, when two people with similar stats clashed, the one with a weapon will always win.


    ¡°Keuuk!¡±


    ¡°Ughhh!¡±


    Cheolseong let out scream after scream and retreated. His body was bloodied as he was slashed all over. Nevertheless, his eyes did not lose their vicious light.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what makes it fun.¡±


    His eyebrows twitched as Seongho spoke as he landed on the floor.


    ¡°Let me ask you one last question, are you I Love Gimbap?¡±


    Seongho remembered the distance between them and the survivors. They were quite far away, and he might be able to say it in a low voice, but it was still dangerous to hold such a conversation.


    Seongho said casually.


    ¡°You can think whatever you want.¡±


    ¡°Looks like I¡¯m right.¡­ If I die in a deathmatch against two of the four original stagnant waters, I can say it¡¯s not unfair¡­¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t your eyes too bright to think about something like that? What are you hiding?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably an updated murderer skill, who knows?¡± Cheolseong grinned. And the truth is, it was indeed the case. The skill was called ¡®Death Defier¡¯, a skill which would allow the bearer to escape death and make him able to exert his maximum power for a short time when they receive a fatal wound.


    For that stellar effect, however, the penalty was downright hell, so if the bearer couldn¡¯t kill the opponent even after activating it, they would suffer terrible damage.


    That¡¯s the reason why he didn¡¯t use it when the huge bolt pierced him in the previous fight.


    ¡®I¡¯m going to use it here¡­¡¯ After all, these guys were getting stronger faster than he was getting stronger. He couldn¡¯t guarantee that if they meet again in the future, he will still have a chance to kill them. Therefore, he must kill them now.


    For some reason, instead of finishing the fight, the two only looked at him, as if waiting for his wounds to heal.


    What does I Love Gimbap mean by clenching his fists?


    Now that the zombie wall is closing more and more, Cheolseong¡¯s vision has changed to resemble an infrared mode. He couldn¡¯t understand just why the two give him time to recover.


    But, he would still thankfully take it.


    ¡°HAHAHA thank you for giving me time. Now, DIEEEE!!!.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too predictable and cliche. You are relegated to being the first boss.¡±


    Rapwi said with a disappointed face, and Cheolseong opened his eyes.


    ¡°Think whatever you want!!!!¡±


    As he rushed, the two widened the space to the left and right.


    Are you going to shoot the damn bolt again?


    Cheolseong had a rough guess as to where it would come from. If he can let himself get hit enough to be fatally wounded and activate his Death Defier skill, the victory will belong to him,


    And finally, when something popped out from the air. Cheolseong stopped and let his body get hit by it. And now, he was sure of his victory.


    But, a moment later¡­


    Boom-!!


    Something exploded.


    ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡±


    Cheolseong looked down at his tattered body. A bolt which pierced his stomach was the one which exploded. It wasn¡¯t a huge explosion by any stretch of meaning, but it was still enough to blow away a body which was made of blood and flesh. As a result, his upper body and his lower body were separated.


    Thud-!!


    When he fell to the floor, he could feel his Death Defier skill activating. However, his body refused to move.


    ¡°Haha¡­¡±


    Eventually, blood gushed out of his mouth.


    The last thing he saw was I Love Gimbap walking to him while wielding a long knife.


    ¡°You are still strong until the end¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how you¡¯ll survive in this era.¡±


    Swiish-!!


    Cheolseong¡¯s head was separated from his body as Seongho cut his neck. Instantly, several messages appeared in his sight.


    ¡¸Level has risen to 18¡¹


    ¡¸You have earned 600 Points ¡¹


    ¡¸You have acquired ¡®Resolute Strike¡¯ skill¡¹


    It seems that one item has been dropped from finishing the deathmatch event, but there was no time to check it up.


    The two moved quickly and broke through the zombie wall. The remaining survivors naturally followed after them. However, as they were not strong and skillful enough, two of the four survivors were caught by the ghouls and died a tragic death.


    But no one looked back.


    .


    .


    .


    We ran to a nearby officetel to catch our breath. I never thought that the operation of hunting Cheolseong would be this smooth. Credits really had to be given to the scarabs who made those explosives.


    Seokhyun shook his head.


    ¡°What was the last thing that guy was going to do?¡±


    ¡°He must have tried to activate whatever skill he¡¯s hiding by deliberately getting hit.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s worth trying as long as you don¡¯t hurt your internal organs¡­¡±


    ¡°But he didn¡¯t know the bolt was going to explode.¡±


    I didn¡¯t even know it could be so powerful. And as it exploded when it was already inside Cheolseong¡¯s body, it seems that even Cheolseong¡¯s hard skin couldn¡¯t stand it.


    Now I need to find that emperor honey for the scarabs as the payback.


    I took things out of my backpack.


    The Dexterity +2 Gloves have been upgraded and transformed into a three-stat item.


    ¡¸Gloves


    Strength +2, Perception +2, Dexterity +2


    The skill ¡®Lethal Strike¡¯ has been automatically applied¡¹


    Seokhyun squatted and touched the glove, eyes twinkling.


    ¡°This is absolutely crazy stuff.¡±


    ¡°Do you want it?¡±


    ¡°No, this is yours. By the way, didn¡¯t you say that the skill you got is Resolute Strike?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°If they overlap, the power would be no joke.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ it¡¯s my first time having skills that overlap.¡±


    Resolute Strike adds weight to all of the bearer¡¯s attacks. Those who were hit would feel as if they were being beaten with a hammer. This skill was the reason why Seokhyun, who has considerable strength, was beaten by Cheolseong and could not retaliate.


    The effect of Lethal Strike is slightly different, but it deals collateral damage.


    For example, hitting the head with a fist makes the opponent feel dizzy.


    Seokhyun seemed curious about what effect would be obtained by overlapping the two skills.


    He stood up and pointed his finger at his cheek.


    ¡°Put on your gloves and hit me as hard as you can.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s a bit¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m immortal. On top of it, do you know how high my Vitality stat is? Even when that guy headbutt me, I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t your legs wobble?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve seen too much¡­¡±


    Seokhyun grabbed me by the collar as a joke. And only after I agreed to his craziness did he put me down.


    When I picked up the gloves, he took a stance and said seriously.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be concerned about me, just hit as hard as you can. Also! Activate the Fighting Instinct skill.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not use that skill. I have no desire to kill you.¡±


    ¡°Sheesh, okay okay! Anyway, if I don¡¯t like your hit, I¡¯ll tell you to hit me again.¡±


    When I put the gloves on, the Motionless Movement skill was deactivated, replaced by the Lethal Strike skill. It was due to the fact that Motionless Movement is a skill with an activation condition.


    As my preparation finished, I slapped Seokhyun¡¯s face as hard as I could.


    puck!


    He slumped against the opposite wall.


    Did I hit too hard?


    As I hurriedly ran to help him, his hands trembled.


    ¡°So-sorry. Is it painful?¡±


    Seokhyun chuckled and lifted his thumb.


    ¡°Great effect.¡±


    Is that so?

 Chapter 92

    People in the government shelter were supposed to eat in the cafeteria. Because the organization was systematized, the meal schedule, as well as the menu were always set. So, whether it¡¯s the former president or just a normal civilian, everyone gets the same menu. It was an unavoidable measure because the shelter¡¯s food situation was not so good. Of course, Da-jeong, who had just entered the shelter was no exception, as she was also given the same menu.


    Da-jeong looked down at the plastic plate in front of her. Soup, some potatoes and unfermented bread were waiting for her.


    ¡®I ate this yesterday too¡­¡¯ Looking around, it seems that everyone was hungry, as they devoured the food in front of them in a hurry. Da-jeong put her fork down, losing her appetite.


    ¡°Haha, what the hell is this?¡±


    Da-jeong remembered the time when she first arrived in this shelter. Back then, Lee Beomseok, a close aide of the president, said she should expect the meal here.


    At first, she thought that it would be plentiful since it was a government shelter, but the reality was, it was horrible. No, even that word is an understatement.


    Moreover, what made Da-jeong more angry was due to the fact that vegetable bibimbap, bread, soup, potatoes, and curry rice were served on the 15th, but on the 16th, curry rice, vegetable bibimbap, bread, soup, and potatoes were served.


    In other words, they¡¯re the same menu. They¡¯re just put in a different order.


    The rotation would last for several days. Only after a few complaints were filed did the new menu come out. Actually, there were complicated circumstances behind the curtain for that to happen, but Da-jeong did not think that far nor did she care.


    ¡°What the hell is this!!!!¡± She suddenly screamed and everyone around her looked at her. Da-jeong quickly quenched her anger and chewed the bread. It really didn¡¯t taste like anything. But to be honest, it¡¯s still amazing that these guys could still make bread even when they were lacking a lot of things.


    When she was with Seongho, she could enjoy heavenly food often. And when she¡¯s not, she could still buy Seongho¡¯s food through the Auction House. However, since the last time he said that he¡¯s dealing with the endangered species in Changwon together with Rapwi, he hadn¡¯t come online to the Auction House.


    ¡°Once you come. I will suck you dry.¡±


    When Da-jeong cooled her anger once again, a man sat in the empty seat in front of her. The person was none other than Bae Geom-in.


    Without reading Da-jeong¡¯s atmosphere, he spoke with a smirk on his face.


    ¡°Is the menu okay today? I asked the chef to put sugar on the potatoes. It should be delicious.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Da-jeong stared at him without a word, and Geom-in was perplexed.


    Why is she exuding this much pressure in the morning?


    Geom-in avoided talking more and bowed his head to start eating. Compared to Da-jeong, who was chewing on her bread and potatoes as if she was trying to kill them, Geom-in looks quite happy while chewing.


    Da-jeong, with a heavy voice, asked nervously.


    ¡°¡­is that delicious?¡±


    ¡°This? to be honest, it doesn¡¯t taste good.¡±


    ¡°So, why did you look so happy?¡±


    ¡°Well, it can¡¯t be helped. After all, you can¡¯t expect good quality food in a shelter with dozens of people like this. I¡¯m just thankful I¡¯m not hungry.¡±


    Da-jeong¡¯s eyes widened slightly at the unexpected answer.


    Does he have this side on him?


    While moving his plastic fork, Geom-in spoke.


    ¡°The government shelter had a capacity of 30 people. But now there are over 50 people here because people keep coming in. That is thanks to my publicity.¡±


    The downside of this man is that he always finds a way to credit himself to whatever is happening on the government side.


    Da-jeong was hungry, but he decided to listen first rather than eat.


    ¡°Then?¡±


    ¡°To exceed the originally planned capacity is scary. So, the person in charge of food supply has no choice but to plan the menu conservatively. They chose to lower the quality rather than to give the people here an insufficient amount.¡±


    ¡°Hmmmm, is that so?¡±


    When Geom-in see Da-jeong listened carefully, he was excited. Normally it was hard to make her listen to his words, but today she was a little different.


    Maybe she felt a little soft today?


    Geom-in thought that he could score some points with her today.


    He hinted at caution. ¡°Have you met someone who called himself Joo Seungcheol? He probably has made an offer to you by now and says he will provide you with a delicious meal.¡±


    ¡°But he didn¡¯t say so?¡±


    Seungcheol, the third-generation heir of conglomerates. Da-jeong had met him and exchanged a few words with him. However, It was the first time she heard that Daehyun Group was the one in charge of the construction of this shelter.


    Geom-in leaned towards Da-jeong and said cautiously.


    ¡°I think you have decided that you haven¡¯t been able to trust me yet. So be careful. He¡¯s going to ask you to go to his shelter.¡±


    ¡°Why? Because he wants to spread my legs?¡±


    Geom-in panicked at her straightforward and racy remark, but he managed to carry on with his words. ¡°Kuhum. It could be said that it might be a pig in a poke. Rumor has it that there is a lot of food there. But I don¡¯t know for sure since I haven¡¯t been there.¡±


    ¡°What? He¡¯s rich. Why do I have to say no to a rich man?¡±


    ¡°That, the rumor¡­¡± Geom-in suddenly stopped. He was hesitating whether to tell it to Da-jeong or not. In cases like this, normally if you don¡¯t tell the people outright, they will try to get close to you in order to be told. However,


    Since Da-jeong had been with him for a few days, he had a rough idea of ?what she would do.


    ¡°He¡¯s tall, rich and has a shelter. It would be perfect if we were to date.¡±


    As Geom-in heard those words, anger rose up in his heart. So he revealed what he had been hiding.


    ¡°Are you sure? Let me tell you this¡­ The company he owns invested in the production company Survival Life.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. This is information which is only available to me, the president and Beomseok. To put it simply, a man named Seungcheol knew something about this apocalypse before it happened. It¡¯s still speculation, though.¡±


    Oh~~


    Da-jeong tries so hard to not let herself grin. She got some good information unexpectedly.


    ¡°After hearing about the thing you said, I want to go to Seungcheol¡¯s shelter even more. Could it be that there are a lot of strange things there?¡±


    ¡°I-it¡¯s dangerous¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, Geom-in.¡±


    When Da-jeong called him by his name for the first time, Geom-in was startled. After all, before this, Da-jeong had always called him Ahjussi. Da-jeong even pulled out the chair next to her and sat down. Thanks to that, the distance between the two became extremely closer than it ever was.


    ¡°Oh, yes. Say anything.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that we need to help each other?¡±


    Geom-in smiled at her words.


    ¡°O-of course! Strong monsters are going to pour out in the future, so we have to live while helping each other¡­¡±


    ¡°So push me.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    What is she talking about all of a sudden?


    Geom-in, who was dreaming of a sweet life with Da-jeong, woke up from his dream.


    And then, Da-jeong pounded her chest.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to be a queen, so support me.¡±


    Geom-in was shocked at her sudden declaration and instantly clenched his mouth shut.


    Is this woman insane?


    .


    .


    .


    Being in a comfortable place makes people lazy. Those words hold true for the people on the island.


    After Seongho left, Hyung-jun and Sooyeon, as the elder of the bunch, suggested that even though they had acquired a safe place to live at, they shouldn¡¯t let their guard down and become too comfortable. Afterall, since they don¡¯t know when a fight will happen, they need to have the minimum combat power to respond and defend what¡¯s theirs.


    At first, everyone agreed with their sentiment. In preparation for the appearance of werewolves, they made nets and spears, and trained to defeat them cooperatively. And of course, they also did some field practice by hunting on land with the help of Mikyung.


    However, as time went on, less and less people were focused on hunting and training. It was due to the fact that the island was so abundant and comfortable. Seongho was excellent in looting, so he had left some supplies which could sustain them for months even without hunting in the island.


    And even if the supply ran out, they wouldn¡¯t be hungry because there was Jiman with them. WIth him around, vegetables grew rapidly in the garden, and on some days where they all went fishing together, everyone always got their share of fish.


    As the eldest and leader, Hyung-jun sometimes nagged at the other members, but he also couldn¡¯t escape the tempting laziness as the island was so quiet. Even when the werewolves finally appeared, the quiet wasn¡¯t interrupted as they couldn¡¯t get to the island because of the sea and the distance.


    Occasionally, there were monsters that spawned on the island, but the members were not weak, so they were easily defeated. The mainland was full of zombies and other monsters, but the island was peaceful.


    However, there¡¯s exactly two people who weren¡¯t affected by those temptations. It was Jiman and Mikyung. They were still hunting even though their current life is very fulfilling.


    With the help of Mikyung, they move to the hunting grounds and shoot arrows at their prey. Both of them held the 60-pound bow that Seongho had left behind. And since Mikyung¡¯s blink ensures them a good escape path, the risk wasn¡¯t that big.


    Of course, there is a disadvantage of doing so, since leveling up will be slow. But the two endured it and continued to catch only zombies and goblins, as other monsters were too dangerous and they didn¡¯t even dare to touch them.


    When they were in the middle of hunting, an orc found them and ran towards them.


    ¡°Let¡¯s run!¡±


    Mikyung hurriedly puts her hand on Jiman¡¯s shoulder and blinks away. The two moved to a nearby dilapidated building to catch their breath. Meanwhile, the angry orc which ran towards them before was thumping in place, clearly angry because it just lost a prey.


    ¡°Hey, let¡¯s take a break here.¡±


    ¡°Yes. You worked so hard today.¡±


    Mikyung ran her sweat-drenched hair behind her ear and looked at the island through the broken window.


    ¡®The others must be digging radishes by now.¡¯ She thought. Some of them would go fishing. They were all busy with their survival activities.


    But Mikyung had to focus on hunting.


    Because¡­


    After staring emptily into the air, her face brightened.


    Suddenly,


    ¡°Noona, I¡¯m level 8 now.¡±


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s good. Just a little bit more and you¡¯ll be level 10.¡±


    ¡°Right? When I reach level 10, I might be able to ride a dolphin for real.¡±


    ¡°Oh, dolphin, oh¡­¡­.¡±


    The reason the two of them were so focused on hunting was the same: they wanted to show that they had grown when they met Seongho again someday.


    Mikyung had a feeling that the reason Seongho hides something from her is because she¡¯s weak. Therefore, she wants to grow her strength in case they meet again someday.


    While for Jiman, he knew that his unique skill is helpful to everyone. So he thought that as Seongho stationed him there, he had to take care of the rest of the group.


    They both wanted to quickly hit level 10 and 15 to unlock additional effects.


    The two hunted for several more days to raise their level, and finally reached levels 13 and 10, respectively. And Mikyung got to see an amazing sight.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡± Mikyung exclaimed as Jiman was riding something in the waters off Masan. She looked at the dorsal fin and found out that it was a shark.


    She instantly moved to the island and called the others. When they arrived on the seashore, they were all astonished to see all the sharks roaming the waters around Jiman.


    ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t this dangerous?¡±


    ¡°But Jiman¡¯s unique skill is bio-friendliness¡­¡±


    ¡°But they look very friendly¡­¡±


    ¡°Is he waving this way?¡±


    Sharks were gathering around Jiman as if they were guarding him. On the other hand, Jiman handled the sharks as if they were his kids. When he tapped on the back of the shark he rode and pointed towards the group¡¯s direction, it swam all the way to the island and dropped him off. It was a dream-like scene to see the sharks see him off as a group.


    Now, the sharks take turns swimming around the island to become defensive. So, even if a monster appeared in the sea, they would attack it.


    With Jiman, whose unique skill wasn¡¯t combat related, grew stronger, the island had become even more safer. So those who had been lazy because of the comfort the island presented to them, finally got a wake up call.


    Thus, there was a hunting competition among the members of the Island. But the one who was truly busy was Mikyung as she had to transport them to the main island one by one.


    But she didn¡¯t complain. With this, she thought that she will have a lot more to show when she sees him again someday.


    .


    .


    .


    I found the two survivors who survived Cheolseong¡¯s deathmatch event. There was a possibility that they had heard my conversation with Cheolseong, so I thought I shouldn¡¯t let them go like this.


    At the very least I had to check.


    When I looked around for them with Seokhyun, we found them hiding in a commercial building. I infiltrated the building alone and hid inside the portal. When some sound echoed through the building, one person came out to check, but seeing that no one was there, he returned immediately


    ¡°You know¡­ Wouldn¡¯t it be better for us to stick with those people? They are strong¡­¡±


    ¡°Do they need us? That¡¯s the question. We are lucky they didn¡¯t kill us because they found us annoying.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think those two are that cruel¡­¡±


    ¡°That one guy who wears only panties is definitely Rabbit Princess.¡±


    ¡°And the other one?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It could be another stagnant water or maybe just a powerful survivor.¡±


    It seems like they didn¡¯t know my identity for sure. Thus, the need to kill them was eliminated. When I listened to their conversation moere, I was able to roughly find out the location of the Changwon Clan.


    ¡°I heard that the boss¡¯ hideout was around the square next to E-Mart. Let¡¯s loot that place.¡±


    ¡°There? Wouldn¡¯t it be dangerous?¡±


    ¡°The boss is dead and most of his direct subordinates were also dead. The one who took supplies first is the new owner.¡±


    I quickly escaped from the portal, taking advantage of the fact that they had to go somewhere else after their conversation and went back to Seokhyun to tell him about the hideout.


    ¡°If we loot that place, can you put the supplies inside your portal?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but I have to expand it next time because I think it¡¯s almost full by now.¡±


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s do the expansion work before we go to Seoul.¡±


    ¡°I have to be inside for quite some time, then¡­ What will you do while I¡¯m working?¡±


    He looked up and raised his fist. ¡°Take my clothes all off and hang out with the werewolves.¡±


    Ah yeah, this guy is not exactly a normal human, wasn¡¯t he?


    But, it¡¯s only natural for him to do so since as long as he had enough points, he wouldn¡¯t die.


    I ran to E-Mart in Jungang-dong with Seokhyun. Near the E-mart was a densely populated area of ??shopping malls, motels, and studios. As I entered a shabby motel, I could see that various goods were piled up inside.


    There¡¯s no one here yet¡­ Good.


    When I opened the portal on the wall, Seokhyun pushed it with his hand and tilted his head.


    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s open? Isn¡¯t this just a wall?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be working, so you just go play.¡± When I pushed my leg in, Seokhyun said ah, and scratched his hair.


    Now it¡¯s time to do those things which I am already used to; looting supplies. Before long, all the supplies were piled up in the shelter. I worked non-stop for an hour, but I didn¡¯t get tired. It seems like I¡¯ve grown quite a bit.


    I took a cool coke from the shelter and threw it at Seokhyun.


    ¡°It looks like it¡¯s still cold inside.¡±


    ¡°The season inside seemed to be opposite of Earth.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s great¡­ And this coke is still cold. This taste is what I miss the most..¡±


    We moved to a safe place and decided on our next destination.


    ¡°I have to go to Bonghwa-gun through Daegu. There is a seed vault there.¡±


    ¡°Seed vault?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a seed warehouse. The electricity will be out, but there still will be some to salvage.¡±


    I used this as an excuse to the members of the island, but the seeds were necessary. That seed vault was said to be the largest seed vault in Asia, so a huge amount of seed must¡¯ve been stored there.


    Seokhyun wondered why I needed it, but when I told him about Poor Man, he was startled.


    ¡°Have you met that person?¡±


    ¡°I brought him to Masan. His unique skill is bio-friendly, it can¡­¡±


    When I explained in detail, Seokhyun tapped his knee.


    ¡°Awesome.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really great. Once you go to the sea with a fishing rod with him, the fish will bite as soon as you throw it in. We always have bowl full of fish in the island¡±


    ¡°Then, he can easily become friends with Dingo.¡±


    ¡°¡­well, that¡¯s right.¡±


    Dingo was wary of people other than myself. To be more precise, it¡¯s closer to being unfriendly rather than being wary. Seokhyun was no exception, so when he tried to pet him, DIngo would twist his body and run away.


    Just then, Dingo came up from the first floor and stared at us.


    Instantly, Seokhyun jumped to the guy and grabbed him.


    ¡°Then I will bite you.¡± Seokhyun frowned as if he was really serious about it. And when I thought it was just a joke, he really bit Dingo¡¯s back.


    Whine-!!


    Surprised, Dingo instantly struggled to get out from Seokhyun¡¯s grab, and the two of them rolled around.


    ¡°Because you are the one who bite me first, I¡¯ll bite you too. Woof!¡±


    Not only is he not a normal human, it seems that he had decided to be a wolf.


    Without paying more attention to them, I entered the portal and started the mini forklift.


    After the expansion work finished, it was time to go to Seoul while transiting on the Seed Vault.


    It¡¯s going to be a long journey.

 Chapter 93

    This is catch up chapter¡­ Though, i don¡¯t remember anymore what day i missed the upload.


    While I was expanding the shelter in the forest, Seokhyun and Dingo, who had become closer to each other, set out to find a werewolf. They, who normally would fight whenever they had free time, had become quite friendly.


    Thanks to that, I was able to focus on the shelter. While expanding, I also cleaned the cave, which has been postponed for a few weeks now. The expansion ended only after several days of hard work and a lot of mini forklift noises.


    ¡°Next time, I should make up my mind and do a huge expansion at once¡­¡±


    In fact, there¡¯s a lot of materials stocked in my shelter. Most of the 200 pyeong was being used for storage. It was all due to the fact that while other survivors had to throw away the supplies they had stored up in order to move their hideouts, I am not.


    ¡°This is all thanks to the scarabs who worked hard to defend the shelter¡­¡±


    While I wasn¡¯t in the shelter, they devised their own defensive measure; Small ballistas and explosives. Thanks to those, a lot of monsters couldn¡¯t even approach. And when an orcs appear, they often run away after having the taste of the ballista.


    However, just because the defensive measure was strong, I still couldn¡¯t relax. It was because some monsters had made nests around the shelter. Since the scarabs can¡¯t just chase them away with their small bodies, I had to take care of them by myself, but I didn¡¯t have time at all.


    ¡°I need to clean up a bit.¡± I cleaned the cave and dusted it off. Next time, I¡¯ll be sure to clean up those monsters by taking a tour around the forest. Once I finished cleaning, I washed my body with hot water. It¡¯s really nice to take a bath once after a long while.


    But, unlike me who enjoyed myself, the Zombie- no, she¡¯s the Ghoul Queen now, Choi Da-jeong, who was calling for me at the Auction House, seems to be in a grave situation.


    -Da-jeong is starving to death!


    -Da-jeong is starving to death!


    -Da-jeong is starving to death!


    She put up a folded paper in the Auction House and left those words in the comments section.


    It¡¯s not even a coded word, so why did she write that?


    I called her in another auction item of hers.


    -Didn¡¯t I tell you to write in coded words?


    -I don¡¯t have the strength to do that because I am starving.


    You don¡¯t have power to even type?


    Then, Da-jeong proceeded to say, no¡­ Rant about how she only eats rice and plain food after entering the government shelter.


    -Why should I eat only rice and potatoes for a week?


    -It¡¯s probably because they are conserving food. You have to be patient.


    -Hurry up and give me something delicious. Or else, I¡¯ll tell people that Kang Seongho is I Love Gimbap.


    If you tell them in this age where there¡¯s no internet, would they be able to find me, though?


    Anyway, I needed something to keep Da-jeong¡¯s mouth shut.


    -What do you want to eat?


    -Seasoned Fried Chicken!


    -Didn¡¯t I tell you it needs a lot of oil to fry a chicken? It¡¯s not that it¡¯s impossible, it just takes a lot of money.


    -Shut up and just give me already. You already promised!!


    -I did¡­ but please wait a little longer.


    -Just what are you doing so far?


    -Well, now that the work is done, we will soon go to Seoul after making a quick stop at Gyeongsangbuk-do.


    -Oh! Does that mean the endangered species is dead? What did you get from it?


    -Not telling.


    -Hey!


    Anyway, Da-jeong gave me two hours to make the seasoned fried chicken. She paid me by giving me information from the shelter.


    Hmm, hmmm¡­ so it¡¯s like that.


    Isn¡¯t Joo Seungcheol suspicious?


    Seems like I need to check on him too.


    -The reason you sent me to Seoul was because of guns, isn¡¯t it? What if there¡¯s guns too in Joo Seungcheol¡¯s shelter?


    -Then you should check on both.


    -I¡¯d rather fight to death in the wilderness¡­


    -But that¡¯s not the reason why I sent you! Anyway, is there any more progress?


    -I told Geom-in to help me. That I wanted to be a queen in this apocalyptic world.


    -Geom-in? When did you become friends with him?


    -I¡¯m pretending to be close to him to dig some information from him. Moreover, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any need to fight with him.


    So it was only a front¡­


    Anyway, Da-jeong told me that when she said she wanted to be a queen, Geom-in was surprised. He must¡¯ve come up with a plan to be a king himself but it was ripped apart the moment the Ghoul Queen declared so.


    -The Ghoul Queen will be the ruler of the government shelters¡­ that¡¯s a good idea


    -Right? So, come quickly and support me too.


    -I¡¯ll think about it.


    I need to cook the chicken quickly and do something else.


    When I went to the hwajo pen, I was quite surprised by their numbers.


    ¡°When did you become so many?¡±


    Although I had already eaten a few of them, their numbers had increased rather than decreased. I think there were more than 10 now. Inside the pen, the scarabs were carrying eggs. They seem able to tell the difference between a fertilized egg and an unfertilized egg by tapping it with their forelegs.


    Those guys work hard too. Once I find the emperor honey for them, they will grow bigger and stronger, so I should definitely go next time.


    I caught one hwajo, butchered it and raised the oil temperature.


    ¡°Seasoned fried chicken recipe¡­¡±


    I don¡¯t have all the ingredients to make it, so it would only taste okay. But I¡¯m sure despite it, Da-jeong won¡¯t complain since being able to eat seasoned fried chicken in this chaotic world was an unimaginable luxury.


    After frying the hwajo coated in batter twice and tossing it into the seasoning I prepared, a golden brown visual came out. The problem was, the size of each part of the hwajo was too big. Afterall, when a normal chicken weighs about 1kg, this Hwajo weighs over 3kg.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯ll take some for me, Seokhyun and Dingo.¡±


    I placed the hwajo on top of disposable bowls and registered Da-jeong¡¯s portion in the Auction House. Since both it¡¯s labor cost and ingredient cost are quite expensive, let¡¯s set it at 200 points.


    The seasoned chicken instantly disappeared and the point came in.


    -Something this big wouldn¡¯t fit!!! Angh~


    What nonsense are you spouting?


    When I returned to Earth, Seokhyun and Dingo had also returned from whatever they were doing throughout the day. Both of them were the same, only wearing their birthday suits. or no. I don¡¯t even know if those clothes can be considered clothes or not. Though, for Dingo, he had always been naked because he¡¯s a wolf.


    ¡°Did you guys win?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    I think Seokhyun hunted a werewolf with his bare body. Thanks to that, his body was full of wounds, so I gave him an egg and put the fried hwajo on the table.


    Seokhyun sat down on a chair and rubbed the bump on his eyelids which was as big as a chestnut with the egg. Dingo who sat next to him also had dark spots around his eyes.


    ¡°You guys are really brothers now.¡±


    Seokhyun grinned and suddenly bit Dingo¡¯s toe.


    Looking at the scene, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder just how far he¡¯s going to keep acting like a wolf like that.


    .


    .


    .


    Me, Seokhyun, and Dingo left Changwon. Our first destination will be Miryang.


    As we walked through the tunnel along the national road, deserted rice fields filled my vision.


    Seokhyun looked away and tilted his head. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen that in a long time.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    What we found was a tree, or to be precise, a plant. However, unlike plants from earth, its stem, which looked like a vine, twisted and entangled with other stems like pretzels and grew towards the sky.


    When I got closer, it turned out to be quite high; towering at around 20m. Moreover, the surrounding area had also changed into an area which didn¡¯t look like Earth.


    This kind of phenomenon could be said to be some kind of erosion. It¡¯s happening because as monsters crossed over from another world, the seeds of plants somehow also crossed over and grew.


    ¡°We should be careful¡­ if we do it wrong, those man-eating bastards will fall over.¡±


    ¡°They are delicious if you chop them and blanched them.¡±


    There were several species of man-eating plants, and some of them were edible. Of course, there were also poisonous ones, so if you eat them incorrectly, you will instantly die.


    Though, if it¡¯s Seokhyun, he¡¯ll be fine whatever he eats.


    As I walked back to the national road, I saw a shop which sold outdoor clothing. Since winter is just around the corner, it would be a good idea to have some spare coats stored up.


    I wandered through the dusty outdoor store to get the clothes I needed. However, Seokhyun just stood there as if he didn¡¯t need clothes.


    ¡°All I need is pants.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to wear only pants in the winter too?¡±


    ¡°It will be fine because I have a lot of heat in my body.¡±


    ¡°Please just do it for me, please.¡±


    Seokhyun was barely convinced and grabbed a few clothes that fit his size. I don¡¯t need the women¡¯s one right now¡­ but just in case, let¡¯s keep it too. WIth bundle of clothes in my hand, I crossed the portal, built a quick storage with the sandwich panels, and stocked put all the clothes there.


    Seokhyun, who was watching, yawned and said,


    ¡°With that amount of stuff, you can even do some business.¡±


    ¡°Well, it seems so. Soon, clothes like this will become precious.¡±


    It was now 3 months after the apocalypse hit earth. Except for food, the city was overflowing with various supplies. If someone dares to take some risk and ventured out, they will be able to dress warmly.


    But over time, the story will change. Things we took for granted will disappear. And in a few years, it may become common for people to scour throughout the whole city looking for a pair of clothes. Before that happens, you need to stock up all the necessary things. Especially equipment.


    I¡¯m not fully convinced as of now, but the facilities I need the most are hidden in the government shelter. It wouldn¡¯t be easy taking what¡¯s inside of it, therefore it was necessary to prepare in advance so we could secure it when the opportunity came.


    Shelter strife¡­ isn¡¯t it common content in stories about the apocalypse?


    It is also common for a third party to suddenly barge in and intervene in-between the two sides.


    I was aiming for that by sending Da-jeong to the government shelter. And she was doing better than I expected. I was worried that she would cause an accident as soon as she arrived there, but turns out, she¡¯s still doing things peacefully.


    When I was thinking about that, a loud bang suddenly echoed through the room. It was from Seokhyun who suddenly went near the freezer and beat up the ghoul which was there.


    ¡°Hey, Seokhyun-ah!¡±


    ¡°Come here quickly and get your points!¡±


    Perhaps, thanks to two werewolf skills he got, he had become much stronger than before. He¡¯s mercilessly beating it up without caring about defense at all while holding it so I can do the last hit to it.


    He¡¯s really a good guy.


    I took out my equipment and killed it with it.


    And my points went up.


    .


    .


    .


    Ten hours later, we finally arrived in Miryang. As I walked along the Seonghan Bridge, I found a place which was administratively called Sammun-dong.


    It had an island in the middle of the city. And there, a tall apartment was still standing. It¡¯s strange that it didn¡¯t collapse because of the corrosive disease, but there was something even more interesting than that.


    ¡°I think that apartment has turned into a dungeon.¡±


    Seokhyun frowned and looked back at me when he heard my words.


    ¡°Can you really see it?¡±


    ¡°I have the Griffon¡¯s Eye skill.¡±


    ¡°You get all the good things yourself¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how I live. Anyway, that¡¯s a dungeon. Which means, there will be monsters inside.¡±


    Dungeons in Survival Life were usually located underground. However, sometimes, there¡¯s a case when a dungeon appears above ground. But, whenever they appeared, it was always accompanied by otherworldly landscape which overturned the original terrain of the area. Both inside and the outside.


    However, as it was a familiar space for monsters, They rushed into the dungeon driven by their instinct and the strongest of them would be the apex predator of the dungeon. Which means, at this moment, the apex predator will be an orc.


    That apex monsters will make all the monsters inside the dungeon their subordinates. And they would be stronger than when they were outside the dungeon. On top of it, the dungeon itself also influenced the monsters, so the monsters would have some kind of sense of belonging to the dungeon. It wasn¡¯t far-fetched to say that they would be like a clan.


    I used the Griffon¡¯s Eye skill to sweep through the Dungeon. By the size alone it was clear that a pretty strong guy would be the boss. Which means, the skill it will give to us once we kill it will be good.


    He also must have piled up a lot of stuff¡­


    Before I could even propose, Seokhyun clenched his fist.


    ¡°Let¡¯s enter. I will take you on a bus¡± (T/N for those who didn¡¯t know, ¡®Bus¡¯ is a term for ¡®power leveling¡¯. It¡¯s an act where higher-leveled people subdued monsters who are weaker than them, but stronger than that.)


    ¡°It would be nice if we went together. The road is¡­ we can go through there.¡±


    All the bridges to Sammun-dong were broken, but the beams installed in the low water were still intact. We put on our gear and tried to cross the beam. However, an arrow flew from the direction of a checkpoint installed in Sammun-dong.


    ¡°What is this? Do they want to fight?¡±


    It seemed like a warning not to come, but¡­ When I opened the note attached to the arrow, it was a warning not to set foot on their island.


    As soon as Seokhyun read it, he snorted.


    ¡°Your land? From now on it¡¯ll be our land.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Seokhyun, wait a minute. Let¡¯s try to talk first.¡±


    It seemed that there was a force that controlled the entire Sammun-dong. And there¡¯s no need for useless violence here. We want to kill monsters and get supplies, not fight with people. Though, If they are acting up, we will teached them.


    As I was waiting, three people appeared on the other side of the broken bridge. We can just have the conversation by shouting to each other, however, by doing so we would attract all the monsters in the area. They seem to realize that too as they attach a note on an arrow and shoot it towards us.


    Seokhyun, who opened it, crumpled the note and tried to lower his pants. I could barely prevent him from doing that.


    ¡°Wait, we don¡¯t have to fight. There is a way.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°The bridge is broken, but I have a boat. Let¡¯s use it to cross.¡±


    ¡°I want to beat them.¡±


    ¡°Ah my head¡­ There will be at least twenty people in their group, are you going to beat them all?¡±


    Nod Nod.


    Ugh¡­ I asked the wrong question to the wrong person. Seokhyun and I have different ways of overcoming obstacles. He always preferred to hit head-on while I liked to take more roundabout ways.


    I reminded him that there is no need to fight here. ¡°If you look at the state of their fighting personnel, their level should be low. There is a high probability that they can¡¯t even dream of entering the dungeon. Therefore¡­¡±


    ¡°We should sneak into the dungeon?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Unless they are brave, or borderline crazy, they won¡¯t be able to even approach it.¡±


    ¡°Because the monsters inside are quite ferocious¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go on a rubber boat. I wonder what they¡¯ll do if we do so.¡± I don¡¯t know how many people there are in their group, but the chance the whole Sammun-dong was monitored by them was low.


    We slowly retreated. I could see the three across the river throwing their clenched fists into the air, celebrating their success.


    But that man is somehow familiar¡­


    However, I couldn¡¯t think about it further as I was busy walking and urging Dingo and Seokhyun at the same time.


    .


    .


    .


    Kyunghoon ran to the hideout with his colleagues. The joy of having done what they just did reigned supreme on their body.. On the other hand, however, he couldn¡¯t shake the impression that he had seen the intruder somewhere.


    ¡®It¡¯s not uncommon to be that big¡­¡¯


    But, upon arriving at the hideout, he recalled his memories and realized that the man was the man of the snack shop.


    Can¡¯t remember his last name but didn¡¯t he say his name was Seongho?


    The person who should have been in Busan came to Miryang. Kyunghoon didn¡¯t know who the man next to him was, but seeing that he wasn¡¯t even properly armed, he thought that he wasn¡¯t a great guy.


    Kyunghoon reported what had happened to the leader of the Sammun-dong clan. Then, Ma Yeong-seok, the de facto ruler of Sammun-dong, stroked his unkempt beard.


    ¡°Are the two really not a big deal?¡±


    ¡°One of them has a lot of knowledge. Bora and I got some help from him back in Busan.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that something from the pamphlet?¡±


    ¡°No. He knew a lot more than that. For example, he knows how many darts a goblin can shoot?¡±


    ¡°Huh, really?¡± Yeong-seok¡¯s eyes opened wide. But moments later he started to think that the man would definitely be a great help if he had a lot of knowledge on top of being such a sharp-looking man.


    Maybe he knows what that hideous creeper apartment is.


    Then, Kyunghoon continued, ¡°He said he didn¡¯t play the game and only watched the video. But, he fought pretty well for someone who only watched the video. He¡¯s even stronger than me.¡±


    ¡°Still, he¡¯s not as strong as me, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°Ei¡­ Of course not¡­ He¡¯s not your match, hyung-nim.¡±


    Ma Yeong-seok listened to him and shrugged his shoulders. His forearms, which were thick enough to be mistaken for an orc¡¯s forearms, wriggled.


    ¡°Then I should try to contact him and bring him in. ¡°


    ¡°Can I borrow your name? If it was through the Auction House, he probably would come right away.¡±


    ¡°Yes you can, hyung-nim¡±


    Since Miryang was a small city, the level of talented people was relatively low. There were only three people who had grown up to level 15, including Yeong-seok. The three strengthened their influence by checking and cooperating with each other.


    However, even though they had worked together, they still couldn¡¯t clear the weird vines which covered the tallest apartment building in Miryang. According to the person who managed to escape, the inside of the apartment had become horrifying and was full with strong monsters.


    ¡®If the Zombie Queen is here, it might be possible to attack again, but¡­¡¯


    Her whereabouts were currently unknown. Even if she had stayed in Miryang, he doubted that she would listen to his words even when he¡¯s the ruler.


    Kyunghoon left the room and Yeong-seok looked for information at the Auction House. Rapwi is by far the hottest issue in the current Auction House. It was confirmed that he had done something in Changwon, but what exactly happened was not revealed.


    ¡®Where the hell did you go¡­¡¯ Rapwi¡¯s attire was one of a kind, therefore it would be easy to recognize him wherever he went.


    Yeong-seok was reading the report from the apartment when someone hurriedly knocked on his door.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Hy-hyung-nim, there¡¯s two people who are crossing the river right now.¡±


    ¡°What? Who?¡±


    ¡°I do not know. Both of them are men, and they are crossing the Moon Bridge on a rubber boat.¡±


    ¡°Those troublemakers!¡±


    Yeong-seok was certain that the two men were the same men Kyunghoon was talking about. Yeong-seok got up, then relaxed and warmed his shoulders up. Since they had trespassed to his land and ignored his warning, he should personally teach them a lesson. It was also necessary to take the rubber boat the man was using.


    ¡°Call Heewon and Cheol-jung.¡±


    The complexion of the man who was tasked to do so changed. Including the leader Yeong-seok, the three were the most powerful of the Sammun-dong clan. Which means, no matter who the two are, they¡¯ll never be able to fight them.


    Yeong-seok hurriedly opened the door and went out into the hallway. Out the window he could see the rubber boat the two men were riding on.


    ¡°Oh my god¡­ He even took a dog with him?¡±

 Chapter 94

    Moving between cities in Apocalypse was not an easy task, as practically all types of transportation was either already destroyed by the corrosive disease, or was unable to function properly. On top of it, monsters and zombies are always threatening the survivors at every possible moment, and at night, visibility approaches 0. Because of this, some people did not want to travel if there¡¯s absolutely no reason to do it.


    But still, there were people who had to move. The likes of the pushover who got pushed out of the city, and a small group with a certain purpose. In that example, the latter couldn¡¯t be easily touched because they move with clear destinations and goals in mind.


    While for the former, it¡¯s easy to win them over. It was how Yeong-seok grew his subordinates¡¯ numbers. He forced them to submit to him while he was camping in Sammun-dong. Afterall, at that point, those people were nothing but low level survivors.


    It was debatable whether they could be helpful because they were weak. However, in the apocalypse, manpower itself is helpful. If anything, he can use them for reconnaissance or simple patrol and guarding duty.


    In that respect, Yeong-seok could be said to be lucky. Sammun-dong was like an island, so it was easy to secure some supplies from marts and convenience stores. He and his group had spent the past three months collecting all supplies in all the marts and convenient stores in Sammun-dong. Thanks to that, he and his men were able to lead the most prosperous life in Miryang.


    ¡°Hey¡­ that friend is in quite good shape.¡± Yeong-seok said as he looked at the large man who rowed the boat. With that kind of physique, the chance the man had a good unique skill is high. The man was dressed like a survivor and was well armed. He keeps taking glances at his surroundings, proof that he has a strong sense of vigilance.


    On the other hand, the man next to him was poorly armed. Aside from the clothes he was wearing, he¡¯s only carrying a long knife.


    ¡°Did he dress like that because he¡¯s confident in his skill? Kyunghoon, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s too careless. He might just be a mindless bastard.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ indeed, we can see it that way.¡±


    However, whether they were useful or useless, Yeong-seok was still interested in those two. It was because he needed to grow his clan in order to counter the other two factions in Miryang. It is not enough to just stockpile materials, human resources are also important.


    Kyunghoon asked. ¡°Shall I go to them, Hyung-nim?¡±


    ¡°Ah, you are acquainted with him, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Well¡­¡± Kyunghoon remembered when he separated from him and the gym group. They didn¡¯t exactly become enemies, but the atmosphere between them wasn¡¯t good. To soften it, he thought he needed to bring Bora with him. That man, Seongho, doesn¡¯t have a lot of close friends, but I think Bora will do well as a mediator.


    When he said that to Yeong-seok, he nodded his head and agreed.


    ¡°If possible, bring both men in. HIs movement looks agile, so there are plenty of possibilities.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Hyung-nim.¡±


    Kyunghoon ran somewhere and brought his lover, Kim Bora, before returning to where Yeong-seok is. When they arrived there, the boat had already reached the land. When Bora saw Seongho who was pulling the boat to land, she let out a surprised voice.


    ¡°Oh my gosh. That man has lost a lot of weight.¡±


    ¡°He must have exercised a lot.¡±


    ¡°I understand why you asked me to come. Do you think there will be a fight if you go alone?¡±


    ¡°No, not that far. I just thought it would be smoother if there was a woman around.¡±


    ¡°Huu¡­. That¡¯s right. So, Bora, you need to work hard.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°If you two can¡¯t do it, I¡¯ll use a somewhat coercive method, so tell them to accept it while we¡¯re still being kind.¡±


    To fully explain the fighting power of Yeong-seok, he was a man who could engage in hand-to-hand combat with orcs. So, Kyunghoon thought that no matter how skillful Seongho is, he couldn¡¯t win against him.


    Kyunghoon and Bora headed to the ruins of an apartment complex where there were no monsters with confident steps. After waiting for a while, two men with a dog that looked like a husky appeared.


    ¡°Where did he leave the boat?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t see it¡­ it must have been hidden.¡±


    Bora focused her gaze on the two and slowly walked out. However, at that time, the eyes of both men were looking at her. It was as if they knew she would come out of there.


    ¡°Seongho oppa, it¡¯s been a while, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Bora-ssi? You¡¯re here?¡±


    Bora let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Seongho remembered her. Afterall, it¡¯s not been long since they left Busan. Eventually, Kyunghoon came out to say hello, and Seongho instantly raised his eyebrows, but he didn¡¯t say anything. Their confrontation was only a thing in the past as of now.


    ¡°By the way, why are you here? Do you have anything to say?¡±


    Kyunghoon glanced at Bora. And then she stepped out.


    ¡°I want to make an offer to you. This place¡­ You know roughly that there is a clan in Sammun-dong, right?¡±


    ¡°Where there are people, there is power who controls it.¡±


    The story will be easy, Bora thought. She talked about the clan and the leader Ma Yeong-seok. She also did not forget to boast that the clan¡¯s supplies were plentiful.


    However, even after all the things she said, both Seongho and his companion¡¯s expressions did not change at all. The man and the dog next to him even yawned. It seems like they weren¡¯t even interested in what she had to say in the first place.


    ¡°There are not enough people in our clan. If you join our clan, we will treat you well.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I have to decline. Both me and my friend have no intention to belong somewhere. We are just here because we are just passing by.¡±


    Seongho deliberately didn¡¯t talk about the vine apartement dungeon. It was due to the fact that they can just sneak in.


    Meanwhile, Kyunghoon¡¯s expression darkened as he heard Seongho¡¯s words.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to regret it¡­ Of course, not about what I¡¯m going to do to you. I have an older brother here who takes care of me.¡±


    ¡°Ah okay. You can just continue being taken care of while we will leave. It¡¯s simple, right?¡±


    As the two men and the dogs were about to move, Bora said urgently.


    ¡°Seongho, think again. I love staying here in Sammun-dong. Yeong-seok oppa is a good person too.¡±


    ¡°I have work to do.¡± Seongho waved his arms to the two of them, expressing a breakdown in negotiations.


    The two went back without a word and reported the truth to leader Yeong-seok.


    Bump-!!


    Yeong-seok slammed his knuckles.


    ¡°Those bastards. I tried to treat you well, but it seems that I can¡¯t do so anymore.¡±


    .


    .


    .


    The vine apartment in Sammun-dong was known to all the survivors of Miryang because of its presence. Not only that, the fact that monsters poured out when it was disturbed had also spread, cementing its horror. Therefore, the other two factions besides the Sammun-dong clan always kept a close eye on the vine apartment.


    Sammun-dong could be said as peaceful compared to other areas because it was closed from the mainland, but the situation suddenly changed. A sudden news that two strangers have entered the vine apartment flew in.


    Oh Hyeon-hwa of the Nae-dong clan was fed up when she heard the news.


    ¡°What the hell is The Sammun-dong Wild Boar doing? Were they just watching them get in?¡±


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know the details.¡±


    Hyeon-hwa ran out the window. The broken asphalt which had been lying on the road rose up and floated in the air to support her body. It was her unique skill: telekinetic.


    It was difficult to find someone with telekinetic unique skill throughout Miryang, but that¡¯s not the only incredible thing about her. She has also reached level 15, quite a high level for an ordinary survivor. Her combat power was also great, she could kill a lot of zombies and even ghouls without too much trouble. Thus, Hyeon-hwa naturally came to dominate the Nae-dong clan.


    Of course, it only happened after the Zombie Queen left Miryang.


    Hyeon-hwa crossed the river on the asphalt debris and headed for the vine apartment. Sammun-dong was a good place to live because there were less monsters there, thanks to the vine apartment which absorbed all of the monsters around the area, leaving the surroundings devoid of any monsters.


    Though, no one knows what¡¯s inside until now. Because everyone who had entered never returned. Even when she tried to peek from the outside, she couldn¡¯t see anything because the vines obstructed her view.


    WIth her Perception stat, Hyeon-hwa found the area where people were gathering. She landed on the ground and saw Sammun-dong Wild Boar, Ma Yeong-Seok and his men looking anxiously at the vine apartment.


    ¡°Just what are you doing to let this thing happen?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve come?¡±


    ¡°YEAH! I came here because I thought I was going to die of boredom. By the way, what did you do to let people enter the vine apartment?¡±


    Yeong-seok, who is called Sammun-dong Wild Boar, waved his hand as if to make Hyeong-hwa stop talking.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not complain too much. Do you know how fast they are?¡±


    ¡°Fast?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, they are like loaches. They ran away from us so quickly. Hyeon-hwa should have seen it, too.¡±


    When Hyeon-hwa heard it, she felt absurd. By Yeong-seok¡¯s words, it looks like the intruder entered the apartment by mistake thanks to the member of the Sammun-dong clan who chased after them.


    ¡°You¡¯ve killed a decent person.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if they are decent or not. What I know is once someone enters that building, they will not survive. And now, I think roughly twenty minutes have passed?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct, hyung-nim.¡±


    His subordinate spoke, and Yeong-seok licked his tongue.


    However, something was strange. If 20 minutes had passed, they would have already died, and by now, the monsters, who should¡¯ve gone excited as they smelled blood, should have come out.


    But nothing happened.


    ¡®Just what the hell is going on inside?¡¯ Yeong-seok said to himself.


    .


    .


    .


    The dungeon we entered while pretending to be chased was indeed a magical field. We were greeted warmly from the moment we entered by the goblins, who for some reason didn¡¯t use their paralyzing darts.


    ¡°What a welcome, they even decided to gather by themselves so that we can kill them faster.¡± Seokhyun clenched his fist and ran towards the rushing goblins. After a few punching sounds, the goblins made strange noises and crawled on the floor.


    Kiiiiii-!!!


    I asked as I put a long knife into the goblin¡¯s back.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you are going to take me on a bus?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a taxi, not a bus. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be in charge until level 20.¡±


    Thank you so much. Seokhyun showed off his strength as he went ahead. The monsters, which had been strengthened under the influence of the dungeon, couldn¡¯t even give him a proper response. They were all lying inches away from the death door after tasting a single punch. Only the ghouls could hold out for a while, but they also ended up on the floor after 5 punches.


    Meanwhile, what I had to do was only stabbing them with the long knife and see my points went up.


    The dungeon was filled with vines and all kinds of strange plants. At first glance, people might not even notice that it was the inside of an apartment building since the structure had changed a lot.


    At that point, a deer, or maybe an elk, popped out of a corner, pounded its head against the wall, then passed out.


    Seokhyun looked back at me and grinned.


    ¡°Dinner comes to us by themselves.¡±


    Yeah. Although it was said that elk meat was tasteless, it was still a valuable food in the apocalypse. I tied the elk¡¯s leg with a rope and threw it over the portal. If I kill it now, it will be difficult to clean it, so let¡¯s do it later.


    Seokhyeon shattered the monsters while screaming out loud as if he was getting stronger when he saw the meat. But the more we climbed the stairs, the stronger the resistance.


    And on one floor, a bunch of hobgoblins appeared and ran towards us.


    Kieeeeeek!


    There were 5 hobgoblins in total. Seokhyun jumped at them and threw one guy on the floor, but they didn¡¯t take it lying down. One of them caught the fist he was making while another guy swung a stone ax towards him.


    With that kind of attack, no matter how strong Seokhyun was, he had no choice but to clench his teeth. It was even more difficult because he had to control his strength so that the hobgoblins wouldn¡¯t die.


    Puck, puck!


    In the end, Seokhyun was beaten by the hobgoblins and fell backwards. His body laid on the floor for a moment and looked up at me.


    ¡°Please get off here, sir.¡±


    ¡°I thought my destination was about a kilometer ahead?¡±


    ¡°I do want to drive you there, but the road is blocked and there is nothing I can do about it. It would be better to run.¡±


    This hellish section of the taxi is so inconsistent. I had no choice but to get off¡­


    When I loosened my fist, Seokhyun got up tumbling and pointed at the two hobgoblins.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see how well we can do it in hand-to-hand combat.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do it better than you, slot two.¡±


    He boo-ed from behind as I pulled out a shield.


    ¡°Ah, Kang Seongho, are you seriously using a shield in this sacred and honourable fight!!!!¡±


    ¡°What should I do with their stone ax without my shield?¡±


    I ran towards them and swung my shield just in time.


    Tung!


    With a dull sound, the stone ax and the club were thrown at the same time. Even after being hit by the impact, there was no strain on my arms and shoulders at all. I felt proud and threw my clenched my fist in the face of one of them. It was an ordinary straight attack, but the result was spectacular; The hobgoblin¡¯s face shriveled up and he instantly collapsed.


    ¡°Ohhhh.¡± Seokhyun let out an exclamation from my back. In fact, even the hobgoblin standing next to me was surprised. It was proven that the power of two skills is not a joke. Therefore, the guy will undoubtedly have a hard time waking up from my punch.


    The rest of the hobgoblin, who came to their senses, bared their teeth towards me.


    I lowered my body to avoid the incoming club, and then slammed my fist to the chin of one hobgoblin. Even though the hobgoblin had gigantic size, for me, it felt light.


    I landed several more punches at it. The guy staggered as he became incapable of even opening its mouth. As the last attack, I lopped it neck off with a long knife. Then, after dealing with all the fallen ones, I heard Seokhyun applauding.


    ¡°What a great show, o hero. But remember. They are the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings¡­¡±


    Are you imitating the Great Demon King from some novel or game now?


    We dealt with the monsters and kept going up. The one who dominated the entire dungeon was probably located on the top floor. As we went up, the monsters increased and the space became narrower.


    And finally, we met the guy,


    Seokhyun tapped my shoulder.


    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s the boss?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a little too big for an orc¡­¡±


    The guy who made a loud thumping sound everytime it made a step was too big to be considered an orc. It was close to 2.5 meters tall and wore a poorly crafted emeras axe and armor.


    Just who the hell made that?


    Anyway, it was clear that that guy was the boss of this vine dungeon.


    However, even if we killed it, the vine dungeon wouldn¡¯t just disappear, nor a big change would happen. But as it looks like quite a strong monster, it was clear that it would give us a lot of loot. That¡¯s enough reason to kill it.


    ¡°Leave it to me.¡±


    Seokhyun crouched down, then just like a spring, he flew and attacked the guy.


    Puck-!!


    Puck-!!


    Puck-!!


    After a brief struggle, he returned to me with black bruises on his face.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s fight together.¡±


    This taxi is really inconsistent.


    .


    .


    .


    The vine apartment was like a beehive. Those who entered had always died. After that, the monsters inside would pour outside. Those who had experienced it watched the apartment nervously. But suddenly, one of the windows on the highest floor shattered. Then, something flew at them. Hyeon-hwa, who saw it, stopped it in the air with her telekinetic power.


    While it was floating in the air, the identity of the thing was exposed. It was a bizarrely deformed orc head.


    ¡°Kyaaaaakk!¡± She let out a strange scream and dropped the head to the ground. Meanwhile, the people behind her start to make a ruckus.


    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that an orc head?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it too big for an orc?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Yeong-seok clenched his teeth and looked up. The ones who made the orcs like this were probably the ones who came in dozens of minutes ago. However, he still couldn¡¯t make sense of how the two could break through all the monsters. On top of it, he also knows just how scary an orc was. Even if all the high-level survivors in Miryang gather and rush in, they must fight with their lives on the line to defeat it.


    ¡°What the hell is going on¡­?¡±


    No one could answer his question.

 Chapter 95

    I apologize in advance if this chapter feels clunky. I TL this while doing 2 other job at the same time, so¡­ Yeah


    There¡¯s something wrong with this. It seems like the two who entered the vine apartment dungeon weren¡¯t normal survivors. But Yeong-seok couldn¡¯t figure out who they were.


    Maybe one of the two is RaPwi?


    ¡®No¡­ The people at the Auction House always said that RaPwi only wears panties.¡¯


    From what Yeong-seok heard at the Auction House, the only clothes RaPwi had ever worn were panties, cloak, and boots. And when he entered a battle, he would throw them all away and become completely naked. But the two men who entered were both wearing proper clothing.


    ¡®A neat guy with a clean face without a beard like that couldn¡¯t be RaPwi¡­¡¯ The shaggy hair and unkempt beard, along with the panties, is what symbolizes Rapwi. Yeong-seok had heard countless times that there shouldn¡¯t be any other person who wore those clothes except him. All kinds of rumors were circulating in the Auction House even at this moment. Yeong-seok looked through the comment section of an item, which was specifically created to talk about RaPwi. However, there was no information about his latest move at all. All he saw was the news that he had gone south to find Gimbap.


    ¡®Perhaps, the other man was I Love Gimbap?¡¯


    What if they had met and disguised themselves to hide their identity?


    However, Yeong-seok quickly dismissed his own thought as he thought that, as someone as famous as them, it was more rewarding to be active in the open rather than hiding their identity.


    While Yeong-seok kept pondering, he also asked some questions at the Auction House while giving the impressions of the two men.


    -Currently, two crazy people have entered a dungeon. Are they perhaps Rapwi and Gimbap? Neither of them has a beard and they both wear proper clothing, though.


    -If he wears proper clothes, he¡¯s definitely not Rapwi.


    -That bastard is a real crazy bastard. He lowers his panties while counting down. You know what that means? If you don¡¯t take off your panties soon, you¡¯re going to get ripped to pieces.


    -Hahahahahah crazy bastard hahahahhahah.


    -If he doesn¡¯t even have a beard, it¡¯s not Rapwi.


    -Did Rapwi perhaps hide his identity after meeting I Love Gimbap?


    There was a person who had the same thoughts as Yeong-seok. However, collectively, the opinions in the comment section said that the man wasn¡¯t Rapwi.


    -If the two of them met, why would they hide their identity? Even just one of them is enough to destroy everything.


    -Seriously! It¡¯s hard enough to touch Rapwi when he¡¯s alone. And if he really is together with Gimbap, he¡¯s practically untouchable.


    -They could go to the government shelter and rule as a king. Isn¡¯t Duck already there?


    -OMG¡­ Duck is in the government shelter?


    ¨C It¡¯s been awhile since she¡¯s been here. There have been times when she overturned the cafeteria because the food was not good.


    ¨C What a temper¡­


    ¨C Noonaaaaaaa Kill me pleaseeeeeeeeee


    The subject of the discussion suddenly changed to Duck. There¡¯s quite a few people in the government shelter who were active in the Auction House. Therefore, Duck¡¯s whereabouts and action were known to the public.


    Now, the comment section started to be filled with how pretty Duck Buttock are. It¡¯s always like this.


    ¡°AH. WHATEVER.¡± Yeong-seok left the Auction House and stroked his chin. In fact, the information about the two stagnant waters was numerous but vague at best. Therefore, it was hard to judge which one is real and which one is fake.


    Yeong-seok then recalled the information that I Love Gimbap had a creation-type unique ability. There¡¯s a chance that information was false, but he couldn¡¯t help but to trust it, as he had literally no other lead or hint other than that. At least uncertain information is better than nothing.


    ¡®Let¡¯s just check if one of them has a creation-type ability.¡¯ If one of them truly has creation-type ability, Yeong-seok thought it would be better to just back down and let them go.


    Afterall, with Rapwi¡¯s unique skill,


    ¡®He can easily lose his murderer status by commiting suicide.¡¯


    Someone once mentioned it at the Auction House. However, Yong-seok still doubted whether it was actually possible. But, he had no intention of trying it out.


    Yeong-seok decided to keep his mouth shut.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡¸Level has risen to 20¡¹


    ¡¸You have earned 35 points¡¹


    ¡¸You have acquired ¡®Hard Skin¡¯ skill¡¹


    ¡¸Since you have reached level 20, an additional effect will be added to your unique skill¡¹


    ¡¸You have acquired ¡®Dimensional wall¡¯ additional effect¡¹


    ¡°I reach level 20.¡±


    ¡°What? already?¡± Seokhyun, who was resting on the floor after giving the last hit to the boss to me, jumped up with wide eyes.


    I was originally level 18, but it has risen by 2 levels. It was thanks to the experience gained from clearing the whole dungeon.


    I handed Seokhyun the long knife which was strengthened by the itemized effect.


    ¡°This item is what we got, you can have it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need it.¡± Seokhyun looked at the option of the long knife and tilted his head. ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen an enchanted option on a weapon, though.¡±


    ¡°I think someone said that they got an enchantment scroll as the prize at the last speedrun event¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s worrying. With this development, I think the gacha will be coming soon.¡±


    He had the same thought as me. However, we can¡¯t do anything about that. At most, we could only curse at the developer team, who included that system in the game. Therefore, it¡¯s better to just check on my new unique skill¡¯s additional effect.


    Just looking at the name, it sounds like the effect is making a wall¡­ but isn¡¯t the portal before the upgrade can also work as a wall for others?


    ¡°Open portal.¡±


    Only the portal I knew opened. Seems like the activation words are different. However, before I could try another phrase, suddenly a round dimensional wall appeared at the place where I focused my eyes.


    Ah, it seems like it had no activation words. I just can use it by focusing my eyes or probably mind in particular places.


    Only after conducting a few more experiments, I could finally figure out the activation method of the additional effect. The wall will be created at the places where my gaze hits and disappears when I take my gaze away. Just like my portal, it can be built anywhere. However, the distance between it and me could be more that 1m, unlike the distance between the portal and myself. And although it was small, it was still quite advantageous for me, as it doesn¡¯t require a complicated action for it to activate, and it¡¯s activation time is quite short as well, so it¡¯s like having an invisible shield that I can pop out anytime I want.


    ¡°It would be nice if I can change the angle at will¡±


    Seokhyun looked at me with strange eyes.


    ¡°What are you muttering to yourself?¡±


    Ah, I forgot. It¡¯s because I was usually alone.


    I moved to the opposite side of Seokhyun. ¡°Throw a stone, this way, weakly.¡±


    I said weakly¡­ So what¡¯s the deal with that winding up posture?


    When the stone thrown by Seokhyun hit the dimensional wall, it bounced off.


    ¡°What is that? Another portal?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t see it? There¡¯s a transparent dimensional wall here that bounces it off..¡±


    ¡°Oh. So it¡¯s a wall.¡±


    Seokhyun said so as he quickly tested how strong the dimension wall is. He slammed his body into, punched it, and kicked it. But it was to no avail. He was pushed back by it instead.


    After a few more experiments, I was finally able to set the angle. I¡¯m hellbent to do it because by doing so I would be able to deflect my opponent¡¯s attack back to them¨Csomething which couldn¡¯t be done with my portal.


    Anyway, the scope of use for this wall was quite wide.


    I thought of a way and said to Seokhyun. ¡°Seokhyun, try to jump in place.¡±


    ¡°Like this?¡±


    When Seokhyun jumped, I constructed a dimension wall at his falling point. And when he landed on top of it, it looked as if he was floating in the air.


    Seokhyun¡¯s eyes opened wide, he was clearly impressed by my additional effect.


    ¡°It¡¯s great!!!¡±


    With this, climbing to high places will become much easier. And making my opponent couldn¡¯t reach me was a big advantage in a fight. However, when I want to use it as a complete footstep to walk on the air, I couldn¡¯t do so, since the first dimensional wall instantly disappeared the moment I looked away from it in order to make another dimensional wall.


    Seokhyun came down and looked out.


    ¡°Are you okay? By the way, should we really continue? What if you got exposed?¡±


    ¡°The mighty Rapwi can worry about something like that?¡±


    ¡°Of course I can. I¡¯m fine with being exposed, but you shouldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, you can just jump down.¡±


    ¡°You want me to jump right away? What will you do if they inform the Auction House?¡±


    ¡°Anyway, the things that happened here are going to be buried soon. Don¡¯t you know how much bullshit there is in the Auction House?¡±


    Even at this moment, there were rumors which stated that Rapwi is dead in the Auction House, and there were also a lot of people who believed in it. Therefore, even when a fairly reliable information comes up, it is still quickly buried.


    I looked down the other side of the apartment. There seems to be no one there, so we can just run away through that route.


    Seokhyun came over and tapped my shoulder.


    ¡°We should experiment more with those walls of yours.¡± Then he jumped down.


    ¡°Crazy bastard!!!.¡±


    I construct a dimensional wall underneath him to catch him. After repeating it several times, Seokhyun finally arrived on the ground without a single wound.


    Then, he looked at me and waved his arm.


    ¡°See? It works!!!¡±


    ¡°Shhhhhh!¡±


    Does he really have to shout as loud as that?


    Unsurprisingly, because of his voice, people noticed him and instantly ran towards him.


    Damn it.


    I jumped straight down using the same methods as Seokhyun. On my way down, I could see people running around the vicinity of the apartment. But when they saw us, they all stopped and only stood there.


    Then, the tall man at the very front of the crowd opened his mouth.


    ¡°By any chance¡­ Are you Rabbit Princess?¡±


    .


    .


    .


    Seongho thought that Seokhyun would affirm that he was indeed the Rabbit Princess. Because so far, he has always been like that. But, contrary to his expectation, Seokhyun only fiercely glared at the people.


    ¡°Me? Rabbit Princess? Are you seriously comparing me to a pervert who walks around while only wearing panties?¡±


    At Seokhyun¡¯s aggressive answer, Yeong-seok waved his hand in surprise. ¡°Oh, no. I just thought so because you are strong enough to clear this apartment. Sorry for my misunderstanding.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not, so please go away..¡±


    He waved his arms and looked at Seongho. They both want to just run away like this. However, it was proven to be difficult since one person in the group, Oh Hyeon-hwa, climbed through the asphalt that she¡¯s controlling and blocked the two of them.


    ¡°Wait. I need to check. What was inside?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to tell you.¡± Seokhyun crossed his arms and looked at her.


    Hyeon-hwa, who received his attention, flinched, but was not afraid at all. She lifted a few asphalt debris to the air and swirls it around herself.


    ¡°Telling us is not difficult, isn¡¯t it? So why are you being like this?¡±


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t want to tell you. You can just go inside and check it out by yourself.¡±


    Seokhyun ignored her and started walking away. Meanwhile, Seongho gave advice towards Hyeon-hwa with a quiet voice.


    ¡°It would be better not to touch his temper. He¡¯s a dangerous friend.¡±


    But even after hearing those words, Hyeon-hwa still had no intention of letting them go like this. After all, does it make sense for the leader of Miryang to not know about what some trespassers do and perhaps get their hands on in their area?


    Hyeon-hwa, thinking that far, blocked the two of them again.


    ¡°I wonder what you got. I know there are a lot of monsters inside.¡±


    Seongho turned around.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of what we will do to you?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t even kill me since you¡¯ll be a murderer fo the rest of your life if you do so. So, why should I be afraid?¡±


    ¡°Shall we see?¡±


    ¡°Seriously! You can just tell us and then we will let you go! You guys have made a fuss here, and if we just let you guys go, what will people think about us?¡±


    ¡°You are noisy.¡± Seokhyun, who was walking away, stopped and raised his fist. Hyeon-hwa instantly took a defensive stance by gathering all the asphalt fragments around her. That was the beginning of the battle.


    Seokhyun¡¯s body flew away and zoomed towards Hyeon-hwa. Startled, she tried to stop the attack by putting the debris on his path. However, the shards bounced to all directions as if being blocked by something.


    ¡°Wha!!! What happened?¡±


    Could it be that the other man was also a telekinesis user like her?


    In that brief moment when she thought about that, Seokhyun arrived in front of her. His fists slammed into Hyeon-hwa¡¯s stomach.


    ¡°Keuk!¡± She let out a pained moan and grabbed her stomach. Her breath was caught in her throat and her head was dizzy.


    ¡°This guy¡­¡± Hyeon-hwa fainted in one shot and fell forwards. After seeing the spectacle, no one dared to approach them.


    Seokhyun grabbed her back and threw it at the crowd.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be tiring. We aren¡¯t survivors from here in the first place, so don¡¯t try to use your puny authority on us. We just passed by. It¡¯s okay, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Ye-yes. That¡¯s right.¡± Yeong-seok readily agreed. He was aware that there was nothing he could do to someone who made the strongest telekinesis user in Miryang collapse in one punch.


    Seongho clicked his tongue and said. ¡°If this ahjussi is really RaPwi, by now, you¡¯re all would¡¯ve been dead already. That guy can reset his murderer status by simply killing himself, after all.¡±


    Yeong-seok and his subordinate nodded eagerly while seeing the back of the two men who were walking away.


    After they left, Hyeon-hwa came to her senses.


    ¡°Ughh¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you feeling okay?¡±


    ¡°¡­not very good.¡±


    ¡°Why did you do that?¡±


    Hyeon-wha raised her head and looked towards Yeong-seok.


    ¡°Who would have thought that man would run in? Moreover, if the other man didn¡¯t help him, I probably could beat him.¡±


    ¡°Help? When?¡±


    ¡°The asphalts I threw at him bounced off before it managed to touch him. That person must be a telekinesis user.¡±


    Yeong-seok rubbed his beard at her words. Turns out, the other man wasn¡¯t someone with creation-type unique ability. Which means he was not Gimbap. Looks like he¡¯d been thinking and simulating for nothing.


    Yeong-seok scratched his head and supported Hyeon-hwa. They fought often, but there¡¯s no need for them to fight right now.


    Hyeon-hwa looked at Yeong-seok before turning her head away. In fact, when she said she would¡¯ve won if the other man didn¡¯t help, it was actually nothing but a bluff. Afterall, the moment she saw the man move, she felt it. She would lose no matter what.


    Even though she felt superior because she had awakened telekinesis power, it seems like she was nothing compared to the truly strong people in the world.


    .


    .


    .


    By November, government shelters were busy.


    ¡°Open it up!!!¡±


    ¡°One, two, three!¡± People opened the concrete cover of the sealing chamber, revealing a dark deep hole beneath.


    ¡°There¡¯s a piece of metal 500 meters down there, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. They placed it there in order to check the corrosive disease.¡±


    Da-jeong, who sat in the observation room, laughed as she crossed her legs in the opposite direction. Beside her was Joo Seungcheol. Meanwhile, since Geom-in was the one who came up with the plan of burying all metals underground, he was on the scene, not in the observation room.


    The test was attracting a lot of people¡¯s attention. It¡¯s due to the fact that if it turns out that the corrosive disease has subsided, many things will change. The amount of facilities and materials sealed 500 meters underground was no joke and was enough to change people¡¯s lives.


    ¡°Okay! Hook it there!¡±


    Under the direction of Geom-in, people lowered the rope and hung it on the block of concrete before pulling it up.


    Click-!! Click-11


    The pulley took turns lifting the concrete, and people piled it up in one corner of the sealing room.


    ¡°Ha-am¡­¡±


    When Da-jeong yawned because of the long excavation process, a burst of exclamation broke out. The reinforced plastic case, which had been sleeping 500 meters deep below underground, finally came to the surface.


    Geom-in took the case, brought it to the middle of the room and rubbed his hands.


    ¡°3 months and ten days since the apocalypse. Will our fate change, or not?¡±


    ¡°Hurry up and open it!!¡±


    Da-jeong, who got angry while waiting, shouted loudly, and everyone laughed as a response.


    Geom-in coughed and opened the case.


    ¡°Huh¡­?¡±


    ¡°Oh oh?¡±


    Inside, they could see a metal spoon still in its original form. Because it¡¯s been a long time since they saw a metal spoon, everyone marveled at it.


    Geom-in carefully raised the spoon.


    ¡°Hold on, hold on.¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­ Does it mean that the corrosive disease has subsided?¡±


    However, the spoon betrayed people¡¯s expectations and broke into several pieces as if it was never intact in the first place. The silver lining was that it didn¡¯t turn into sand like before.


    Geom-in smiled as he touched the broken pieces. With this as a proof, it shouldn¡¯t be long before the corrosive disease subsided.


    Miles away from the government shelter, Seongho and Seokhyun, who finally escaped from Miryang, also did the same experiment. However, unlike the people in the government shelter, the two didn¡¯t even need to do hard work and preparation, as Seongho just pulled out a random nail from his portal.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s holding on.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    But when Seongho applied some strength to it, the nail broke. After looking at it for several moments, he threw away the broken nail and slung his backpack to his shoulder.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the seed vault.¡±


    The two headed north together with Dingo

 Chapter 96

    We passed through Daegu and visited the arboretum in Bonghwa, Gyeongbuk. Inside the arboretum was where Asia¡¯s largest seed vault is located. Although the optimal storage conditions were no longer there due to the loss of electricity, the seeds shouldn¡¯t be contaminated. Afterall, the entrance of the seed vault was tightly sealed with concrete.


    Both me and Seokhyun scratched our heads at the same time.


    ¡°With that concrete blocking the way, how can we enter¡­¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have been completely blocked, though.¡± I looked around the area with Dingo. The guy kept on sniffing, looking for something, and then started making a digging motion at one particular spot.


    I asked Dingo to move away and hit it with a stone. When the stone clashed against the concrete wall, the sound it made was different from the usual dull solid thudding sound. It still sounds dull, but with a lot of echo following it.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s quite weak here.¡±


    ¡°Hold on.¡±


    Seokhyun walked away before returning with a big rock in his hands.  Then, he slammed into the concrete. After repeating the process for several more times, the concrete crumbled, creating a square hole which was big enough for a person to pass through. When we went inside and looked down, a dark tunnel leading downwards greeted us.


    ¡°Is this going down the elevator?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­it would be at least several tens of meters deep ¡±


    Will there be monsters waiting for us down there?


    I could say that I was not afraid of dark spaces, but the thought of going into some dark unknown hole made me feel like I was going to suffocate and die.


    I tied several glowstones to the rope and lowered them down. Meanwhile, Seokhyun laid down with his stomach on the floor and looked down.


    ¡°I see the ground. There is no elevator.¡±


    ¡°Well, elevators are made of metal¡­¡±


    We promptly head down using the dimensional wall as our footsteps. In an instant, we arrived underground. What greeted us there was a tunnel which looked like something out of a movie.


    Seokhyun nudged me on the side. ¡°Doesn¡¯t this tunnel remind you of some kind of a movie¡¯s ending where the main character beats the villain, but then, the villain¡¯s secret base exploded, so the main character had to escape through a long tunnel?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say something ominous like that.¡± By the way, for some reason, the temperature was pretty warm here. Probably due to the fact that the electricity and everything were out. No, not probably. I¡¯m sure of it.


    We thread through the tunnel to reach the seed storage sector. When we arrived there, dozens of doors had crumbled into dust, and what¡¯s left was only various plastic cases which contained seeds inside, sitting on the shelves.


    ¡°There really is a lot.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s only take what we need.¡±


    ¡°Why? These are ownerless loot. We can just take everything.¡± Seokhyun tilted his head in confusion, but my thoughts were different from his. The seeds in this place were numerous and varied a lot, so I did not feel the need to monopolize them. We only need to take what we can eat. There¡¯s no reason to bring some random tree seeds which we have never heard of before.


    I reached out towards one of the plastic containers and let the glowstone shine on it.


    ¡°Do you know what a crow pillow tree is?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t even guess.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I mean. We don¡¯t have to take those unknown plants and just take something we can eat.¡±


    While passing through Daegu, we visited several plant nurseries and secured a large amount of seeds. Therefore, there¡¯s no need to be too obsessed with the seeds in this vault.


    ¡°But still, with your large storage, it will be better to take all of it since it will be difficult to come here again in the future¡­¡±


    ¡°But I have a motorcycle? When the corrosive disease subsides, I can just take it out and come here.¡±


    ¡°Really? You even have a motorcycle?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s two of them in the shelter.¡±


    One of them was an ATV though¡­


    Seokhyun approved my plan and started walking around while holding a glowstone in his hand. He swept through the place and took anything he knew and put the container on the ground. Meanwhile, I collected them and organized them in the hallway.


    ¡°Pile it up here. I¡¯ll take them inside.¡±


    ¡°OK.¡±


    We spent hours picking out the things we needed. Of course, we leave anything we haven¡¯t heard before alone. Just looking at the loot piling up in the shelter¡¯s warehouse made me full. With all these seeds, Jiman¡¯s unique skill will truly shine.


    ¡°We are done here. Let¡¯s head out now.¡±


    We left the vault using the same path from which we entered. Once we were outside, We covered the hole with mortar mix and then painted it with white paint to restore it to its original state. Now, at a simple glance, no one will know that the seed vault had been looted.


    We left the seed vault and headed north.


    .


    .


    .


    Thanks to the highway, our travel towards the north was done at a blazing pace. However, we didn¡¯t just go straight to Seoul, as we stopped at Jecheon and Wonju to hunt and farm at the same time. Each time, my level went up little by little, and more supplies were piled up in the shelter.


    When we stopped at Wonju, I found a bottled water dealer¡¯s building full of unopened bottled waters. Naturally, all of it went into my shelter.


    When Seokhyun saw me hoarding all the bottled water, he called me a pig. It was due to the fact that I ¡®ate¡¯ everything I found. Well, I didn¡¯t know pigs could be that smart, so I took that as a compliment.


    (T/N So, ¡®Eat¡¯ in this novel is used for, eating the items, eating the skill, etc. So I changed it to ¡®take¡¯ or ¡®get¡¯. However, in this one¡­ I don¡¯t think I can change it because it will be strange if ¡®pigs take everything they found¡¯.)


    On our way, a cold wind suddenly started to blow. And by the time we arrived in Seoul, it was already mid-November.


    ¡°It¡¯s cold¡­ Why is the weather like this even though it¡¯s only November?¡±


    ¡°Seems like the upcoming winter will be freezing.¡±


    ¡°If you know that¡­ Why are you still hellbent on using pants only?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s more comfortable!!!¡±


    After having some unfruitful conversation like usual, we decided to settle in a residential area in Gangdong-gu. Around the area, there were a lot of monsters and survivors running around which made me realize that I was indeed in the busy and bustling capital city of South Korea.


    Everytime I looked out of the window, I could see some survivors with a backpack running around. But they were not alone, since the number of monsters chasing after them was no joke.


    Seokhyun looked out and said. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of zombies over there.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ There¡¯s probably around 20 zombies there.¡±


    What is the population of Seoul, I wonder?


    In the other cities, if there¡¯s no survivors who was stupid enough to gather attention by doing stupid things, it was rather quiet. But here, it was noisy without a break.


    Do I have to think of this as energizing?


    After looking outside for a while, we agreed to not go out to hunt if it wasn¡¯t really necessary. Afterall, it¡¯s clear that after killing a monster, we would end up dealing with all the monsters in the area that got attracted to the noises we made.


    ¡°Once the night falls, it will be scary around here.¡­ Both bone creepers and werewolves will be a headache.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget about the keeper bastards.¡±


    That¡¯s right¡­ They were all monsters which I absolutely don¡¯t want to fight if I can. I¡¯d rather sit here and check the surroundings.


    I unpacked my luggage and Seokhyun decided he wanted to go out to scout. I gave him the hook and he flew through the buildings like Spider-Ma¡­ Let¡¯s pretend we didn¡¯t see anything that hit the wall and fell to the ground.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    All of a sudden, the area was filled with the sound of monsters.


    Do you call that scouting?


    I ignored whatever was happening and went into the cave to prepare a meal. We had worked hard to get here, so it was only correct to have a feast now. However, the previously caught elk had already rotted to the point that all but the thighs had to be thrown away. It seems that there¡¯s a reason why elk haven¡¯t become extinct in Korea.


    As I was cooking rice and slicing kimchi in the cave, Seokhyun came in, blood dripping from his nose.


    ¡°Did you do some looting?¡± I put my head out of the portal and asked.


    ¡°I got this¡­¡± Pasta and jerky came out of the backpack he had put down. When I asked if there was any sauce, he said it was rotten because there was no lid. It seems that there¡¯s some survivor who did not believe that corrosive disease is real.


    But there¡¯s a lot of sauce in my shelter. It will take some time, but I can also make tomato sauce.


    I took the food I had prepared and went out. Once I put it on the ground, Seokyun instantly gobbled it up, making his cheeks inflated like a chipmunk.


    ¡°When are you going to call Duck?¡±


    ¡°Tonight. I can¡¯t do it now because there¡¯s too many eyes around.¡±


    A woman dragging ghouls as subordinates was by no means ordinary. People could easily tell that she¡¯s Da-jeong.


    ¡°You can just reveal your identity. You are stronger than me.¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the time yet.¡±


    Seokhyun was someone who didn¡¯t care about the Auction House at all, so he doesn¡¯t know the situation. When I told him about the Auction House, he frowned.


    ¡°Those guys¡­ If people see them, they might think they are the victims when they are the aggressor.¡±


    ¡°If they know my identity, they are going to try and kill me because for them, I am a traitor to mankind.¡±


    ¡°But, didn¡¯t they still get the information about Seola on the very last day?¡±


    Well yeah¡­ Geom-in gave it to the government and the government spread it to the people.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to them. They are angry at me because I didn¡¯t release vods.¡±


    ¡°Aha, so the actual reason is different.¡±


    When we look closer to the reason why people cursed at me in the Auction House, it was mainly due to my videos. They act as if they were a noob, but the truth is, they already know about the basics of survival in the apocalypse. What they really wanted was Survival Life event information and hidden treasures. What happens, when, what events, and what rewards were given. In other words, they were angry at me because I hoarded all the good things for myself when they also wanted to hoard it.


    Seokhyun asked me while munching on the smoked meat.


    ¡°Do you regret it?¡±


    ¡°No and never will be. If I return to that time again, I will still do the same.¡±


    ¡°Okay then. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll help you.¡±


    ¡°I wish you could wear pants first before helping me further¡­¡±


    ¡°There you go nagging again!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a person who nags a lot, but when I¡¯m with you, I can¡¯t help it¡­¡± Truly. It was due to the fact that whenever I look at Seokhyun, I feel like he¡¯s nothing but a kid. But a kind of kid who can beat orcs and kill werewolves.


    After finishing the meal, Seokhyun went outside to loot again, and I called Da-jeong through the Auction House.


    As if she had been waiting, she responded quickly.


    -Where are you now? Answer me, Over.


    -Just arrived in Seoul. Currently at Gangdong-gu.


    -Tell me the location. I¡¯ll go there right this instant, Over.


    -I¡¯ll tell you at night. There¡¯s too many eyes around right now.


    -What a coward, Over.


    -That¡¯s how I¡¯ve lived so far¡­


    Da-jeong grumbled and told me about an experiment in a government shelter. And for some reason she also dropped her ¡®over, over¡¯ roleplay.


    -The guys here took out a spoon from 500 meters underground¡­ You wouldn¡¯t believe just how much ruckus they made¡­.


    They probably conducted it as soon as November came since Geom-in was there. And from what Da-jeong told me, their result was the same as mine. When I told her about my experiment, she instantly made a ruckus.


    -I want to enter the place where the raccoons are too.


    -I¡¯m sorry, but there are no raccoons inside. And as of now, no one can enter except me.


    -What level are you currently at? Are you over 20 already?


    -I¡¯m level 22.


    -You leveled up a lot! Anyway, once other people can come and go, I want to be the first to do so! I won¡¯t yield it to anyone.


    -Got it.


    SInce I made a promise, I¡¯ll keep it.


    Once the night fell, I told her where we were. Meanwhile, Seokhyun was sleeping while holding Dingo, who hated it so much, in his arms.


    Auuuu-!!


    A werewolf¡¯s cry rang out from somewhere. Around this time of the day, everything should¡¯ve fallen into silence except for 3 types of monsters. But Seoul was surprisingly still full of noise.


    As I closed my mouth and listened, strange noises could be heard here and there.


    A low whisper.


    A scream.


    A growl of a monster.


    And¡­


    Sound of something which didn¡¯t fit in with the other sounds; the sound of high heels.


    She¡¯s here¡­


    I quickly woke Seokhyun and Dingo up.


    .


    .


    .


    Da-jeong changed her nickname to Ghoul Queen while staying in Seoul. It was due to the fact that all zombies in her Boys Generation had turned into ghouls.


    She and her 30 ghouls arrived in a residential area in Gangdong-gu. When a group as big as that passed by, there¡¯s no chance the monsters around the area would just let them go. Therefore, a commotion occured. Kobolds, ghouls, bone creepers, and even werewolves all come out to fight. Survivors around the area were startled and did not think to come out.


    Da-jeong took the gap and went up to the third floor of the building where Seongho and Rapwi were through the one-room building¡¯s parking lot. Once Seongho heard the sound of high heels echoing down the dark stairs, he removed the furniture barricade and let her enter.


    ¡°Huh? That¡¯s Dingo right?¡±


    ¡°He has grown, hasn¡¯t he? I think he grows so fast because he¡¯s a wolf..¡±


    ¡°Once he becomes a little bit bigger than now, you wouldn¡¯t be able to say that he is a husky anymore.¡±


    ¡°At that time, I should tell people that my unique skill is monster taming.¡±


    ¡°By the way, where is Rapwi?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s sleeping. I can¡¯t wake him up¡­¡±


    As soon as Da-jeong heard Seongho¡¯s answer, she rushed inside while saying. ¡°He dared to sleep when I came?¡±


    Upon entering his room, the sight of a young man curling up in the fetus position while wearing panties only welcomed Da-jeong. At the sight, Da-jeong, who was about to kick his ass, suddenly stopped and sat down next to him because he felt pity towards him.


    ¡°Hey, hey.¡±


    When Da-jeong shook his body, Seokhyun opened his eyes and yawned. But as soon as he saw a woman dressed in some sassy dress, his eyes instantly went wide.


    ¡°Who are you? A ghost or what?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek who played with you in the game.¡±


    ¡°I guess I didn¡¯t sleep well. Better go back to sleep¡­ Good night.¡± Seokhyun closed his eyes again. Da-jeong, surprised by his action, kicked him in the ass in anger.


    ¡°Ouch.¡±


    ¡°Hey! Do you guys really have to fight as soon as you meet?¡± Seongho came in and separated the two.


    Meanwhile, Seokhyun rose from his sleeping position and looked into Da-jeong¡¯s face.


    ¡°¡­I didn¡¯t know you were this kind of woman.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t know. You must have heard the story.¡±


    ¡°I mean, it¡¯s an apocalypse, but why are you still wearing makeup, a dress and high heels?¡±


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t walk on my feet when I¡¯m heading somewhere! Moreover, I don¡¯t want to hear something like that from someone like you who only wears panties in the apocalypse!¡±


    ¡°But when I went out with Seongho, I wore pants!¡±


    ¡°Ohhhhh~ Our Rapwi has grown~.¡±


    The two looked at each other and smiled. Through just a simple conversation like that, both of them had been convinced that the person in front of them was exactly the same one as the one they played with for thousands of hours back in the game.


    Seongho, who was always on the lookout, intervened between the two.


    ¡°How come you guys are playing the same game¡­ Anyway, sit down. Are your ghouls still fighting down there?¡±


    ¡°It will all be sorted out in a little while.¡±


    ¡°Send them somewhere else once they are finished. And, did people see you coming?¡±


    Da-jeong crossed his arms and snorted at him. ¡°Do you think people are courageous enough to look out when a lot of monsters are fighting to death?¡±


    As she said, even at this moment, it was a mess outside. A sane person would clearly choose to hide in silence.


    ¡°Okay then. Anyway, thank you for your hard work, Da-jeong-ah.¡±


    ¡°Then, from now on, will it be a fun seggs time?¡±


    Seongho slapped her leg and sighed as soon as he heard her question. ¡°Stop talking nonsense and just tell me what the government shelter is like¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm. You¡¯ll have to grease me a lot if you want to hear it. I am very hungry these days.¡±


    ¡°You are still hungry even after I sent you those foods?¡±


    When Seongho pointed it out, she screamed loudly. ¡°I don¡¯t eat anything aside from what you gave to me! The food in the government shelter is very bad!!!!!¡±


    ¡°It seems like the rumor about you turning the cafeteria upside down is true¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely not normal¡­¡±


    Even Rapwi looked at her with strange eyes.


    ¡®These crazy people¡­¡¯ Da-jeong felt that the two of them were not different at all from her. Thus, she was dissatisfied with the two of them who looked at her as if she¡¯s the strange one.


    She rose to her feet and declared.


    ¡°I can¡¯t stay in government shelter anymore. It¡¯s not fun! That president grandpa is always thinking of giving me some work!! Geom-in always smiles awkwardly every day and only tries to make friends with me!!! The rice is not good and the space is cramped!!! I will leave!!!¡± The frustration which had built up inside her during her time in the government shelter finally exploded.


    Seongho instantly tried to comfort her by saying he needed someone to tell him what was going on inside the government shelter, but Da-jeong was adamant on her choice. Lastly, Da-jeong pointed to a bowl full of sesame oil and red pepper powder which was placed on one corner of the room.


    ¡°Seongho, I also want to eat delicious food at every meal! So, you go in.¡± She pointed at Seokhyun.


    ¡°But I refuse.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Da-jeong raised her eyebrows at Seokhyun¡¯s answer. Then, Seokhyun slowly stood up and took a strange pose.


    ¡°A man like me will not succumb to the temptation offered by a witch like you¡­¡±


    ¡°Who are you calling a witch!!!!!¡±


    Da-jeong, angry, kicked Seokhyun¡¯s ass who said nonsense. And sandwiched between them was Seongho who only sighed while massaging his temple.

 Chapter 97

    Thank you John Wallihan for the $20 donation!! That +2 on the jar of greed. And the left over money is $8, $1 dollar short from another one. But here¡¯s the things guys, with all the year-end things happening, Xmas and holday, Tonight will be the last time we post extra chap for this year. We will start posting extra chap again in the first week of january. I¡¯m sorry i¡¯ve been slow with the extra chaps, never thought RL stuff could be this busy in december. Thank you for your understanding!!!


    As Da-jeong said, in order to smoothly gather some information, a greaser was needed. In the apocalypse, most of the time, it means food, so Seongho set up a table as well as some alcohol. Of course, he only did so after checking the dangers around the area and ordered Da-jeong¡¯s ghouls to stand guard around the building.


    ¡°We¡¯ll only drink until we feel good, okay?¡±


    Even though Seongho said so, deep down he didn¡¯t believe that his two friends would adhere to his warning. He just hopes that the two didn¡¯t drink too much and start making ruckus out of drunken stupor.


    Right after, the three raised their glasses and cheered.


    However¡­


    ¡°What is all this?¡± Da-jeong¡¯s eyes went wide open when Seongho started to bring out some smoked fish, pajeon (Pajeon = green onion pancake), tteokbokki, clam soup, etc, to the table. All of it makes her wonder whether it¡¯s okay for them to eat something like that in the apocalypse.


    But right after, she woke up from her awe because of the sound Seokhyun was making. She quickly shouted, ¡®Thanks for the food¡¯ and took her wooden chopsticks to the tteokbokki with egg.


    But why is it so big?


    ¡°Seongho, I¡¯ve been curious about this for a long time¡­ The chicken dish you made, what was it made of? Moreover, I don¡¯t think this big egg is a chicken egg either?¡±


    ¡°Now that I think about it, you are right¡­ Now it¡¯s bothering me.¡±


    Seongho disappeared into the air, making the two laugh loudly. The good thing about him was that he always did what the two wanted even though he found it annoying.


    But when he came out with a monstrous bird in his hand, their raucous laugh stopped.


    Flap-!! Flap-!! Flap-!!


    The hwajo, which was caught in the neck, flapped its wings violently.


    Seokhyun quickly covered the food in the table with his upper body and murmured.


    ¡°If you get even one of your feathers on the food, just know that we will eat you instead.¡±


    On the other hand, Da-jeong was surprised to see the hwajo, which is three or four times larger than a normal chicken.


    ¡°Is that what the dishes are made of?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you see its name? Hwajo.¡±


    nod nod.


    ¡°I found these guys in a goblin¡¯s nest. So after clearing it, I brought it to my shelter. Because their fertility was good, their number still increased even after we ate a few of them.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re growing vegetables and chickens inside, while also fishing?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    ¡°Your unique skill is really a.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from you..¡±


    Seongho disappeared again after saying that, while Da-jeong chewed the soft and chewy tteokbokki.


    ¡°Ummm¡­ it¡¯s really delicious. But normally, you can¡¯t keep a rice cake like this for a long time, right? Did you make it there?¡±


    ¡°If you store it in a vacuum-pack and bury it on the ground of the forest, it can be stored for a long time. The ground over there is almost like a refrigerator.¡± However, that was only the story for now. The weather in the forest keeps getting warmer and warmer these days, so sooner or later, Seongho would have no other option but to sell the food he had in bulk at the Auction House. By doing so, he would get some points in exchange; It was way better than just letting all of it rots away.


    Seokhyun chewed the smoked fish and swallowed it before speaking up. ¡°I thought that when Seongho reached level 20, other people would be able to enter the portal as well. But turns out, it¡¯s not like that.¡±


    ¡°Will it be possible at level 30?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ the unique skill¡¯s name has the word ¡®dedicated¡¯ embedded on it. To be precise, the unique skill¡¯s name was Dedicated Dimensional Door.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Da-jeong frowned.


    ¡°What is that? It¡¯s completely selfish.¡±


    ¡°It would have been a big deal if someone else other than me could come in. The entire population of Korea would have run to me.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Da-jeong looked up at the ceiling and imagined the case when the portal was opened to everyone. Going by Seongho¡¯s words, which said that there¡¯s a forest inside, valleys, and sea inside, it was easy to tell that the world inside the portal was quite wide. Which means, it could accommodate quite a large population.


    If Seongho makes his unique skill known, as the apocalypse approaches, he will get countless requests he cannot afford. And the public¡¯s attention will be drawn to him. Jealousy, envy, as well as desperation, can lead people to do extreme things. Even if he received protection from the government, there were limits to what the government could do alone.


    When her thoughts reached that point, Da-jeong realized the essential reason why Seongho hid his identity and ability until now. Opening a portal which led to another world filled with resources was indeed a great ability, but at the same time, the risk was equally high. There will be a lot of jealous people who will come for Seongho. Afterall, although no one but Seongho could enter, there¡¯s no law that says other people should not be greedy for what¡¯s his.


    Stay by our side and help us¡­


    Da-jeong was terrified to imagine an unspecified number of people reaching out to her.


    ¡°It seems like you are not hiding yourself out of fear, huh?¡±


    ¡°Well yeah¡­ Let¡¯s stop talking about unimportant things and set our goals first.¡±


    Seokhyun¡¯s ears perked up at the words ¡®goals¡¯.


    ¡°Should we set our goal as ?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You guys haven¡¯t seen it, right?¡±


    ¡°What does it look like?¡±


    Instead of answering, Seongho went into the cave, captured the screen where brutra appeared, and printed it. When he came out and showed them the pictures, their expressions instantly turned strange.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a keeper?¡±


    ¡°This guy is a lot bigger than a keeper. Should I call this part its head? Anyway, this part of it goes up to the third floor.¡±


    ¡°So, this guy will appear later on, huh? Can the three of us win against it, though?¡±


    Seongho nodded at Seokhyun¡¯s words.


    ¡°We can. On the premise that we reached the stats we have just before the game closed.¡±


    ¡°But, what should we do after beating that guy?¡±


    When Da-jeong asked out of curiosity, Seongho wrote the notice from the management team on the paper. Then, he pointed at the sentence. ¡°¡®I hope we will be able to meet again someday¡­¡¯ Now that I see it, it seems like a prophecy.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s those guys who are controlling all of this from behind. I mean, the entire production team of Survival Life.¡±


    ¡°For what reason?¡±


    ¡°If I knew that, would I still be here?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    Then, Da-jeong told the two about Joo Seungcheol, the most suspicious man in the government shelter.


    ¡°Did I even mention that he had a personal shelter? It turned out that his shelter was gigantic.¡±


    ¡°Does it mean that he prepared for the apocalypse in advance? Do you know what his game ID is?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that, but I heard that he invested in the company which makes Survival Life.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    When those words came out, even Seokhyun, who had been quiet, paid attention. It was obvious that the man named Seungcheol smells fishy.


    Da-jeong tapped the table. ¡°Anyway, the people in the government shelter are all shady. I¡¯m sure they are still hiding something. Even the president keeps trying to dig up our information without telling us what his unique skill is.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why one of us should stay there. And the only person who can do it is you.¡±


    ¡°Send him.¡± When Da-jeong¡¯s finger pointed at Seokhyun, he chuckled.


    ¡°Shall I go in?¡±


    Seongho refused without even thinking twice. ¡°No. never. If I let you go, the government shelter will definitely be destroyed.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Da-jeong intervened in the middle. She then looked straight towards Seongho. ¡°I need to know what your true goals are. Are you just going to monitor them? Or maybe you want to get the guns they kept bragging about.¡±


    ¡°To be precise, I want to prevent the guns that could threaten me from going into the hands of someone like Geom-in.¡±


    ¡°Him? Are you serious?.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    In response to his question, Da-jeong expressed what she usually felt. ¡°That guy, even when he boasts a lot and tries to socialize often, people still hate him. There is even a strange rumor about him.¡±


    ¡°What kind of rumor?¡±


    ¡°It says that if you are on friendly terms with him, you will lose your unique skill.¡±


    ¡°I had a thought that he had more than one unique skill, but was it actually a unique skill that can steal the unique skills of others?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m 100% sure about that. But there are rumors like that anyway. So everyone hates him.¡±


    Seongho caressed his chin. Perhaps, Geom-in¡¯s unique skill was to steal other people¡¯s unique skill and make it his. But if that was true, there should be no one who wanted to stand beside him, or became his subordinates. But according to Da-jeong, there were a couple of people whom he considered to be his direct subordinates.


    ¡°The unique skill of those whom he considered as direct subordinates was blink and body strengthening.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Is this coincidence or what¡­¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°In the gryphon dungeon back then, I saw Geom-in used blink while hunting one of the gryphons. He also punched a tree with his fist and made a dent. So, he must have body strengthening skills.¡±


    Da-jeong, who heard the story, grinded her teeth.


    ¡°You were hiding it from me.¡±


    Seongho concluded. ¡°If we take all the circumstances together¡­ The chance that Geom-in has multiple unique skills is quite high. Then the question is, what is his real unique skill? My guess is, his unique skill can¡¯t exactly steal someone else¡¯s unique skill, but it can only copy it..¡±


    ¡°How? There is no system to register someone as a subordinate.¡±


    ¡°Heart, heart.¡± Seokhyun put his hand on his chest. Then, after telling Seongho to open his portal, he stabbed the air with his chopsticks. Of course, it was blocked.


    ¡°If Seongho was the one who did it, the chopsticks together with his hand would enter the portal, you know? If we think about it this way, do you know what the difference is?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ Because the portal recognized Seongho?¡±


    Seokhyun nodded his head.


    ¡°Geom-in¡¯s unique skill probably worked the same way. If he gets the heart of the other people, he will be able to copy their unique skill.¡±


    It felt a bit strange that the system could even judge a person¡¯s heart. Da-jeong¡¯s expression also changed strangely. ¡°If someone gives him their heart, they will lose their unique skill. I almost got fucked.¡±


    ¡°Da-jeong, in the first place, there is no chance that you will fall for Geom-in, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course. But the possibility still scares me¡­ Now, I don¡¯t want to see his gross smile anymore.¡±


    Da-jeong shook her body before inhaling the tteokbokki. She must have been under a lot of stress to the point she complained that there¡¯s no cheese left when she¡¯s the one who ate all of it. Seongho took out more cheese he had kept and put it on top of the tteokbokki.


    ¡°Women really like tteokbokki.¡± Seongho thought. Mikyung also really liked tteokbokki.


    The three of them drank alcohol until dawn, reflecting on their memories. Then, Seongho presented to them his future goals.


    ¡°The first is to monitor the dangers in government shelters, and the second is to prepare for the aftermath of the corrosive disease. The last thing is to prepare to catch the brutra. Do you have any objections?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ no.¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°Raising our stats is not something that we were forced to do. Rather, it is something we must do¡­ I will make more preparations in the cave. So Da-jeong should take care of the dangerous people in the government shelter.¡±


    ¡°Sigh¡­ I got it. But I have to tell you this. What if the dangerous people you mentioned aren¡¯t as dangerous as you think?¡±


    ¡°Are you assuming that their goals are normal? For example, the reconstruction of civilization.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that.¡±


    If that¡¯s the goal, there¡¯s no justification for Seongho to intervene. But Seongho was a guy who thought that there was no justification in the apocalypse. What was there in the apocalypse was attaching one¡¯s conviction in whatever they do.


    ¡°Even in that case, I will still need guns. One or two will be fine.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s different then? That¡¯s still extortion!¡±


    ¡°Phrase it beautifully please. Call it transfer of ownership.¡±


    ¡°You are really psycho.¡±


    ¡°You only realized it now?¡±


    Do anything to survive. Even though it sounds evil, in the apocalypse, that¡¯s the only way to survive.


    Da-jeong raised her fist towards him. ¡°You look so dangerous, but you¡¯re not an enemy, so I¡¯ll take care of you. But if you betray me¡­ I will stick my toys up your ass!¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­ giving a reward as a punishment¡­ she¡¯s actually quite generous¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a reward.¡±


    Seongho hurriedly corrected it and Seokhyun gave an inexplicable smile. Now that the three of them had gathered, they were ready to face whatever will appear in the future.


    Seongho opened his mouth once again. ¡°I just remembered this, did any of you come to the fishing boat event? But, judging from the body type, it doesn¡¯t seem like it was Da-jeong.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t go there.¡±


    ¡°Is it Geom-in, then?¡±


    ¡°Well. He said he had never been to Busan.¡±


    It could be a lie.. But, it¡¯s not that important. So, after pondering for quite a while, he decided to forget it and poured some alcohol towards Da-jeong¡¯s glass.


    .


    .


    .


    Da-jeong took Seokhyun and disappeared somewhere. She said that since she had been alone for a long time, it¡¯s now her time to play together with Seokhyun.


    ¡°It¡¯s not bad.¡± Since Seokhyun wasn¡¯t here, I could finally do the things I¡¯ve been putting off.


    I flew a drone and piloted it towards the forest to scout the area pointed by the scarabs; It was close to the northern mountains. Although the weather had cleared up considerably compared to before, the peaks were still as white as ever.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ I heard that emperor honey is made by emperor bees¡­¡± And it was said that the emperor bee lives around the flower they like; a kind of flower which formed a colony.


    When I scanned the foot of the mountain with a drone, I saw a huge blue lake. At the end of the lake was a cliff, the water of the lake fell from that cliff, making a big beautiful waterfall.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡± Although the video was taken by a camera, it was nonetheless a very impressive scene.


    I would love to live there¡­


    However, there were monsters there, and the terrain itself made defending against monsters not an easy matter.


    Let¡¯s just take a look.


    I flew two drones alternately and finally found the flower colony. It was flowers with dark golden colors. They were blooming in heaps around the lake.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the bees?¡±


    When I lowered the drone to take a picture of the terrain, I heard some buzzing noise from the laptop. The bees were small and fast so it¡¯s a bit hard to see, but I could still see them nevertheless.


    I drew the route towards their area on my personal map.


    Isn¡¯t this a good place to go by motorcycle?


    On the return flight, I checked the terrain and found that most of the route towards the emperor bees area was flatland. It was a typical grassland with low bushes swaying because of the wind which could be found close to any forest area.


    ¡°Should I go¡­¡± But before that, I need to clean the monster nests around my shelter first. When I got out of the cave with my backpack, I could see the scarabs were busy running maintenance on the ballista. Meanwhile, Dingo was inside hwajo¡¯s cage, sleeping.


    I woke him up and proposed to the scarabs.


    The captain scarab raises his foreleg, signifying that he is willing to go with me. Now that the expedition members have been decided, it¡¯s time to do some cleaning. But, this cleaning wouldn¡¯t use any brooms or other cleaning tools, but weapons..


    At the top of the list of the cleaning plan was to confuse those thrash with dingo¡¯s barking as soon as we found their nest. The second and the last was to ignorantly charge in and kill everything in sight.


    Even though two of my useful skills: Terrain Detection and Survival Instinct had disappeared, the newly acquired skills gave me a boost which was far beyond the effect of the disappearing two. Therefore, engaging in a close fight against a group of kobolds wouldn¡¯t pose any problem for me.


    ¡°Get lost, you trash!¡± I landed a soccer kick on one particular kobold, making it could not even scream before dying as its skull was dented. I seemed to have gotten pretty strong, but shouldn¡¯t get arrogant. I paid attention to every detail and did my best to kill all the monsters.


    Just like that, before lunch, I was able to destroy all the nests around the shelter.


    ¡¸Agility has increased by 1¡¹


    ¡°Whew¡­¡± Even though I had moved wildly, my breath did not even become ragged. It was solid proof that I had grown a lot.


    Feeling proud, I called the status window.


    ¡¸Level: 22 Points: 6610


    Vitality: 12 (+4) Strength: 13 (+4) Agility: 10 (+4) Dexterity: 12 (+4) Perception: 10 (+8) Unique skill : Dedicated Dimensional Door


    Skills: Life Tracking, Paralysis poisoning Resistance 2, Fighting Instinct, Light Gait, Eyes of Truth, Stigma of Death, Hard Skin 2, Griffin¡¯s Eye, Resolute Strike, Lethal Strike


    Active buff:- ¡¹


    ¡°Looks good¡­¡± What was written in the status window was not everything. It was because all stats will be strengthened by 20% when the Fighting Instinct skill is activated.


    It was really disappointing that the skill space was limited to 10. Because if I manage to acquire more skill in the future, both Life Tracking and Paralysis Poison Resistance will disappear.


    ¡°If only skill slot extensions fall from the sky¡­¡± It seems like I would have to look forward to the battle royale event.


    When I sat in the ATV and started the engine, it groaned and smoke poured out from its exhaust. I loaded both Dingo and scarab leader into the trunk at the back before accelerating through the woods.

 Chapter 98

    Jar of Greed: $8


    After defeating every monster we found in the forest, we finally arrived in the meadow; a mesmerizing place which could easily refresh anyone¡¯s heart with its beauty.


    Driving through the green outstretched field, I could feel the warm wind caressing my body. Thankfully, the topography of the meadow was not too bumpy, so the ride was a pleasant one. Though, it was doubtful whether Captain Scarab, who flew into the air every time the ATV rumbled, would think the same.


    When the ATV let out a loud noise, the animals which were busy drinking water from the lake ran away.


    ¡°Why are there so many animals here?¡±


    The meadow was filled with animals I had never seen before. I wanted to catch one, but since they were all too far away from me, I had to swallowed my regrets.


    Vrooom-!!


    After driving along the river for quite some time, an enormous lake came into view. The distance between one side of the lake to the other was so far away, it made the group of wild boars on the other side of the lake seem tiny. Behind them, I could see a pack of silver wolves running towards them.


    I stopped the ATV at that moment. Dingo got up from the trunk and placed his snout on my shoulder.


    ¡°Are they your relatives?¡± No matter how I look at it, they are the same species as Dingo; Silver Wolf.


    The few wolves, who were not intimidated by the gigantic size of the wild boars, surrounded the group.


    Does the hunt begin now?


    Anyway, it will be dangerous if I stay here since ATVs can¡¯t run quick enough on grasslands terrain. When I prepared to move away, I realized that luckily the wolves didn¡¯t pay any attention to us. And the hunt was over in the blink of an eye.


    Awoooo-!! Awooo-!! Awoooo-!!


    The wolves attacked one wild boar from the pack while the other boars ran away. Looking through the telescope, the wild boar which was caught seemed to be the worst of the pack.


    ¡°No matter how you look at it, it seems like it¡¯s being sacrificed¡­¡±


    Several silver wolves retreated after the wild boar stopped breathing. The only one who stayed around the carcass was the largest silver wolf. Judging by its size, it was probably the alpha of the pack.


    The large silver wolf started eating boar ravenously. There¡¯s no need to interrupt its fun mealtime. I looked at the map and scanned the route once again. I could reach the flower colony without coming into contact with the swarm if I cross the lake.


    But suddenly, Dingo ran out of the ATV.


    ¡°Huh? Dingo!!!!¡± I called, but he only gave me a simple glance before continuing to run straight to the wolf pack.


    Maybe his instincts have awakened?


    Even if that¡¯s the case, it was still doubtful whether the group would accept him. If things went wrong, he could get attacked and die.


    ¡°Damn it.¡± Revving the ATV, I chased after Dingo. If push comes to shove, we could just open the portal and run away through it.


    The pack of wolves noticed Dingo and the loud ATV and immediately stood on alert. When the alpha wolf let out a one long howl, the other guys also followed suit. Dingo also stopped and let out a howl.


    Awwooooooo-!!


    The choir of wolf howls instantly enveloped the area. The tension in my body ran high as I watched the wolf pack and Dingo come into contact with each other. It wasn¡¯t noticeable earlier, but the size difference between the wolves in the pack and Dingo was huge. I thought Dingo had become quite large, but compared to the adult wolves, it seems like he was still nothing.


    ¡°You¡¯re still a baby¡­¡±


    The wolves showed their curiosity when they saw Dingo. However, only the alpha wolf marched forward and approached him.


    Kererereung-!!


    The two of them sniffed each other while maintaining some distance between them. From what I remembered, if Dingo makes even the slightest mistake here, they would attack him. However, Dingo sniffed loudly without being weighed down by the size of the other wolf.


    Aigoo¡­ You even want to smell Dingo¡¯s ass?


    Does this mean that Dingo will join the pack?


    Just when that anxiety was budding in my heart, a relatively small silver wolf approached Dingo. Although small compared to other adult wolves, it was still 3 times bigger than Dingo. The small silver wolf exuded an excessive amount of aegyo. It panted while placing its feet next to Dingo and rubbing its body against Dingo.


    [Aegyo means cuteness]


    After glancing at me once, the alpha wolf bit the board and turned away. It left the two of them alone.


    What the hell is this?


    As I was bewildered by this development, Dingo and the new wolf ran towards me.


    ¡°Damn it.¡± I don¡¯t have any doubt about Dingo, but there¡¯s no guarantee that the new wolf won¡¯t attack me. I pulled out my weapon and held it tight. When the two wolves arrived before me, they showed no hostility towards me. Both of them were busy biting and licking each other.


    Wait a minute, is that wolf a female?


    The shape of its ears and eyes are  slightly different from Dingo¡¯s. If it¡¯s truly the case, maybe the reason it came with Dingo was because it was searching for a mate.


    While I was thinking so, Dingo jumped up and loaded himself into the ATV¡¯s trunk. The new wolf looked at me softly, then bowed its head and sat down.


    It seems like it means that if I leave, it will also follow.


    I can¡¯t just feed something of that size easily. What should I do? Kicking it out was not an answer either, since it seems to like Dingo.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ Whatever!!!¡±


    Let¡¯s just take care of both of them for now. Though, the new wolf has to take care of her own meal, since I wouldn¡¯t be able to do so.


    As I sped up the ATV, the silver wolf chased after us. She was pretty fast, so it seems like I don¡¯t have to worry about her falling behind.


    I¡¯m annoyed.


    I have an unwanted companion.


    .


    .


    .


    The new silver wolf had proven that she could find a meal for herself. As soon as we arrived at the flower colony, both Dingo and her went hunting for a small rabbit. Then, once they caught it, they put it down in front of me and backed away.


    Did she think I was the alpha?


    Rabbits are small, not even enough to share.


    After trimming it and throwing it at the two of them, they noticed it and ate it up. The distance between the new wolf and me seems to have decreased slightly.


    Should I like this or not, I wonder?


    Anyway, I arrived at the flower colony and checked the situation.


    ¡°I was curious about the name of the flower, but to think the name is this simple¡­¡±


    Its name was Emperor Flower.


    Could it be that Emperor Honey was called so because it was gathered by emperor bees from Emperor Flower?


    Meanwhile, the Emperor Nectar had such an effect:


    ¡¸Effect: Poison resistance for 3 minutes¡¹


    ¡°It¡¯s not paralyzing poison, but just poison.¡±


    In my experience, there were several types of poisons that appear in Survival Life. Paralysis poison used by goblins, blinding poison used by some goblins in dungeons, and some other poisons which were fatal to the body.


    Yet, this honey seemed to provide resistance to all of that.


    ¡°This is a jackpot!¡±


    The 3 minutes active period was disappointing, but I know that if it lasts forever, it will destroy the balance.


    By the way, should I gather nectar directly from the flowers or from the hive?


    When I asked Captain Scarab about it, he said it was okay to eat it as it is, but he said that the honey in the beehive was the real thing. On top of it, the effect of the honey was incomparable to the effect of the nectar.


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s try the nectar first.¡±


    As I said that, Captain Scarab climbed onto my body and jumped towards the Emperor Flower. He pulled out a part of the flower, which looked like a toothpick, from the middle of the petals, and held them out to me.


    Isn¡¯t this similar to a Sage flower?


    The official name of plants was Sage flower, but in Korea, it was more well-known as a red flower where people could directly suck honey from. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s real honey or not, but I remember sucking on it when I was a kid.


    As I sucked on the flower, a sweetness which was incomparable to the Sage flower came rushing in like a herd of Texas cows. And yet, from what Captain Scarab told- No hinted to me, Emperor Honey was tastier than this.


    I turned my flashlight on and looked around for the beehive. Dingo and the new wolf also sniffed the honey and started walking around. Seeing the two of them moving together, they seemed like close friends. But it reminds me of a mature woman in her twenties and a teenage boy¡­


    ¡°Let¡¯s call it Ding-soon.¡± That name was not sophisticated. But I don¡¯t care since I was entitled to call her however I want.


    As I was squatting on the floor and waiting, Dingo and Ding-soon barked. It seems like they had found it. I put Captain Scarab back in the trunk and drove the ATV to chase them. When I saw both of them, I also found a beehive in a large tree at the foot of the mountain.


    ¡°I¡¯m certain that we will be stung if we take that hive.¡± Around the hive, dozens of emperor bees were flying. The buzzing of their wings could be heard even from our position, which was still some quiet distance away. Moreover, judging by the hive size, which was as big as my body, there must be a lot of bees inside.


    But I have a secret weapon prepared. I took out the fireworks and a plastic bag from my backpack. The noise, light, and smoke from the firecrackers would definitely confuse the bees. In the meantime, I would wrap the beehive in the plastic bag and run away.


    Pshhh-!!


    Flames gobbled the wick after I lit it. At that moment, I flicked the fireworks under the beehive. To prevent the worst case scenario of being stung by hundreds of bees, I covered my body with gloves, jacket, and sunglasses.


    Ding-soon suddenly barked at me.


    Did she forget about me since my face was covered?


    Puff-!! Puff-!!


    Finally, sparks and smoke rose from the fireworks, and the bees scattered everywhere.


    I quickly approached the hive and cut off the top of the hive with a long knife. Because honey was a liquid, most of it should be concentrated in the bottom part of the hive.


    A large beehive fell from the tree, and the bees inside instantly went out of the hive. However, since the fireworks were still spewing out flames and smoke, they couldn¡¯t focus their minds even if they had one.


    I quickly covered the beehive with plastic and sealed it opening. Bees flew around me, but they didn¡¯t make any major attacks.


    ¡°Run! Run!¡±


    As I ran with the beehive on my hand, Dingo and Ding-soon followed me. I loaded it into the trunk hurriedly as soon as I arrived at where I had parked the ATV.


    It¡¯s time to run away.


    There seemed to be a lot of wildlife in the lake, but there was no time to look around to figure it out.


    We all ran straight into the forest.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°This is delicious.¡± As the scarabs had mentioned, the Emperor Honey boasted an out-of-this-world taste. I never thought that honey could taste this delicious. No matter how much I ate, I didn¡¯t get tired of it.


    I made eye contact with the scarabs who were busy separating the emperor honey from the honeycombs using the tools they had made. Their black eyes, which looked sad, were peering at me.


    Let¡¯s hold back. After all, the reason I brought this emperor honey was for the scarabs. But that doesn¡¯t mean I wouldn¡¯t eat it at all.


    ¡°How can I give up this effect?¡±


    ¡¸Emperor Honey¡¹


    ¡¸Effect: Vitality +4, Poison Resistance for 3 minutes¡¹


    This Emperor Honey was the very first item outside the game that raised the stats by 4. It¡¯s really worth the name. If I eat Moon Tangerine at the same time, in total, my stats will be raised by 6. It had the same effect as putting on 3 additional items.


    ¡°I won¡¯t get tired of fighting for a while now.¡±


    I put the Emperor Honey in a bowl and gave it to the scarabs. The four of them gathered together and ate the honey. There were no immediate dramatic changes. But, probably, in the long term, they would grow bigger.


    By the way, that girl Ding-soon, will she stay outside all the time?


    She followed me to the shelter, but she did not enter the shelter and stayed outside. Seems like she still did not feel comfortable around me. Well, it was better for me too since I would feel burdened if an adult silver wolf was inside the shelter.


    When I went outside, I saw a dead fawn outside the barbed wire fences. It seems like a gift. Meanwhile, the giver of the gift was sitting some distance away from the gift. Dingo, who was following me, stared blankly at his lover from the fences.


    If you keep staring like that, the emperor honey will run out even before you taste it, you brat!


    I trimmed the fawns, hung it upside down, and dug into the ground of the shelter to take out the food that had almost reached its expiration date. It¡¯s better to sell them to the auction house and get some points rather than let it rot.


    Looking at the food I had dug, it still looked fine.


    ¡°It also still smells good¡­¡±


    However, since the weather was getting warmer and warmer with every passing day, I can¡¯t bury it any longer. I moved them all to the cave and put them up in the auction house one by one. As soon as I uploaded it, people at the auction went into overdrive.


    -Where did they get this fish cake? Isn¡¯t it all rotten?


    -It¡¯s cheese!!! Cheese!!! Bet it will be delicious.


    -It had already rotted. Don¡¯t buy it!


    -The seller¡­ Is it you again? I Love Gimbap?


    Yes, you are correct.


    I ignored all the comments and just waited. No matter how loud they bark, I will still earn points. Not long after I put it up, some items were already sold. By that point, my points had already exceeded 7,000.


    It sells well.


    Meanwhile, people put up a separate auction item and started fighting there.


    ¡°It¡¯s always fun to watch a fight.¡±


    -You bastards! Just how desperate are you guys to buy something like that?


    -Well, there are people who have spare points to buy it¡­


    -It¡¯s so funny lol I¡¯m spending my own points to eat some cheese, so why do you care?


    -Whether or not you are going to eat, I don¡¯t care! But you have to admit that, that bastard is such a jerk for selling things like this.


    -The cheese melts gently.


    -It¡¯s disappointing that there is only rice cake¡­ Is there no tteokbokki set?


    ¡°Yes? Should I make one?¡±


    I took down some items I auctioned and made a tteokbokki set with it. Since It¡¯s cumbersome to add the cost of every single ingredient and decide the correct price, let¡¯s just put it at 200 points.


    When people saw that the tteokbokki set could be eaten by 2 people, they instantly went into a frenzy.


    -Hey fucker! Isn¡¯t 200 points a little too much?


    -200 points for a tteokbokki set, which is good for two people? Are you kidding me?


    -To get 200 points, we have to kill 100 zombies.


    -If you could only eat tteokbokki after working hard for a few days, it wouldn¡¯t taste good.


    -It seems like the guy who put up a wild boar before was an angel.


    -You bastards, if you can¡¯t afford this much, it means that it wasn¡¯t posted for you! There are many people who have a lot of points in this world.


    As if backing up that one last comment, the tteokbokki set sold out quickly. The same went for other groceries. After this, my points finally crossed 10,000.


    This is magnificent¡­


    Thinking I should check for any information, I left the raging comment section and looked at the comment section of other items.


    -A portal has appeared in Gildong Station in Gangdong-gu.


    It seems like a dungeon has finally appeared. Everyone was telling the poster to take his items down, but the registrant didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of doing that.


    -If I can¡¯t clear it, you bastards also can¡¯t!! Let¡¯s get fucked together.


    -You bastard¡­ Why are you being annoying like this!!! There¡¯s a zombie raid happening right now!!!


    -LMAOOOOO


    -Just now, one guy got hit by an arrow while trying to sneak into the dungeon.


    These guys¡­ Are they crazy? It¡¯s not a laughing matter. Why did they laugh?


    On top of the things which were mentioned in the comment, everyone had decided to prevent anyone from entering the dungeon.


    ¡°Where is Gildong Station?¡±


    I opened the map and checked the location where the dungeon appeared. It¡¯s near my location, but the fact that it¡¯s in the middle of Yangjae-daero made me hesitate a little.


    However, In the end I decided to check it out. I crossed the portal and packed my things. When I arrived at my destination, it was no exaggeration to say that the surrounding area was a mess. Hundreds of zombies violently combed through Yangjae-daero and those who were hit by the goblin¡¯s paralyzing darts were struggling hard to run away in order to survive.


    In the meantime, a bluish portal showed its presence In the middle of Yangjae-daero. However, no one could approach it since arrows would rain on them if they approached it.


    Suddenly, I could see someone rushing towards the portal with shields tied all over his body.


    ¡°Shoot him!¡± someone shouted through the window.


    Eventually, the arrows poured out, and the man gave up on his attempt and ran away with countless drooling zombies chasing after him.


    As the day turned a little dark, shines of glowstone could be seen from all over the area. On top of it, the area around the portal also became brighter than before. It seems like people deliberately brightened it up in order to prevent others from sneaking in.


    ¡°Aigoo¡­ Thank you so much.¡±


    No one will be able to enter for a while. But it was not like there was no way at all..

 Chapter 99

    The real present is this man/lady Unkenny. He donate $3 to the pot of greed, making the count into14 with $2 left on the pot. It will be posted on january, stay tune~


    Two hours passed and no one approached the portal. Even though darkness had fallen to the area faster than usual, as it is almost winter here, the area around the portal was still bright. The reason for that was due to the 10 glowstone fragments scattered around the portal by the survivors camping on its surrounding. They did so in order to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the darkness to sneak in.


    ¡°These guys are trying hard¡­¡±


    By observing all the things that happened around the portal, I realized that the survivors who were currently around the portal were at least level 15. Which means, they must have a lot of gaming experience. Otherwise, most of them wouldn¡¯t be able to survive through the zombie raid.


    Though, it¡¯s not that there¡¯s absolutely no casualty at all, since several survivors who were either careless or arrogant had been killed by either zombies or goblins.


    ¡°It means, if chance presents itself, they will try to enter the dungeon¡­¡±


    It¡¯s really funny. No one knows what kind of dungeon is unfolding behind the portal. As there were many people around the area, the probability of it being a boring dungeon was low, but it was not zero.


    What will they do if it¡¯s kobold¡¯s dungeon?


    ¡°The reason they do all this blocking business is because they know their stomach will hurt if they see someone eat what they couldn¡¯t eat.¡±


    In other words, it was ¡®If i can¡¯t have it, you shouldn¡¯t be able to as well.¡¯ These guys were a lot like me.


    Anyway, the night falls deeper. What I was waiting for was the appearance of the kobolds. They were creatures who loved to steal things. So, they would definitely be exhilarated to see the glittering glowstone fragments around the portal. However, since there¡¯s no zombies around, the timing I could use to sneak into the dungeon was small. But I knew that the time would come if I waited.


    There was a similar situation to this one back in Survival Life. Since it was inside the game, It wasn¡¯t life-threatening. Thus, people were more upfront and radical on their approach to block other people from getting into the portal. And the ending wasn¡¯t good: Most of the survivors were captured by the kobolds while the rest were annihilated by the crowds of monsters.


    At the current situation, if an organized force comes in, all of this ruckus would be sorted out instantly. But at the moment, there¡¯s no force who could exert such strength in Seoul. The sole giant force in Seoul was the government shelter. However, it was doubtful whether they could do such an act with their current power or not.


    Anyway, everyone around the portal held up better than I thought. If they were normal survivors, they would have run away to save themselves and look for better things to do.


    ¡°Is it because you don¡¯t want your stomach to hurt, or is it because of the slightest possibility that they might be able to enter?¡± Or it might be both.


    Suddenly, I could hear a familiar howl from somewhere near. When I looked out of the window, I could see some kobolds coming out of the dark alley between 2 buildings. When they saw countless zombies and ghoul who ran around the street, they flinched. However, no matter how scared they were they definitely won¡¯t be able to resist the temptation of glowstone fragments around the portal.


    ¡°It¡¯s instinctive¡­¡± No one could ever top the greed of a kobold. The goblins were a little better compared to them, as in case their life was in danger, they would instantly flee before coming back with more numbers.


    I went up to the roof and called the dimension wall. I ran through it as if I was running up the stairs. After running for a few seconds, I realized that the building was now below me.


    Great¡­ Now it¡¯s time to move up straight towards the portal. It was best to enter the portal while falling. Afterall, there would be no one who could do anything to me as they wouldn¡¯t expect someone to enter through the sky.


    Kobolds emerged from the alley as hordes of zombies ran after the survivors. Their eyes were fixed on the glowstone.


    Don¡¯t you want those shiny little things? You can take it if you want.


    I don¡¯t know if they¡¯ll be able to understand my feelings but please for once, understand me!


    As if my wish had been granted, the kobolds slowly moved closer to the portal.


    Of course, there was no chance that the survivors, who were hellbent on not letting other survivors enter the portal, would look at the kobolds kindly. A few arrows flew towards the kobolds before piercing some of the kobolds.


    However, the amount of the kobolds was simply overwhelming. It was as if, all the goblins which had disappeared from the area had all changed into kobolds. Some of them fought the zombies, but most of them showed an interest in the glowstone.


    ¡°What, what?¡±


    ¡°What the hell are these dogs doing!!!¡±


    Screams echoed throughout the area. Meanwhile, more and more kobolds flocked into the portal and picked up the glowstone fragments before running away. In an instant, the portal was engulfed in darkness.


    The timing is now.


    I jumped off the dimensional wall and fell straight into the portal.


    .


    .


    .


    The situation around the portal at Gildong Station wasn¡¯t as bad as it was now at the beginning. Those who discovered the Gildong Station portal first did not have any intention to monopolize it at all. Rather, they thought that if they disclose the appearances of the portal to the other group, they would be able to enter together with them.


    However, that turned out to be their naivety.


    Rumors of the portal spread like the corrosive disease and people flocked towards Gildong Station. Amongst those who gathered, there were people who started trolling; they fired arrows at people approaching the portal.


    People instantly yelled at them to cease fire, but of course, they didn¡¯t stop. Afterall, why would they stop when people asked them to, when their intention of coming to the area was to make a ruckus to begin with?


    They are probably people who took drugs to cope with this apocalypse. People like them weren¡¯t hard to find per se, as by the government shelter research, the number of drug abuse in Seoul alone had skyrocketed since the apocalypse D-day.


    With arrows coated in poison flying around, accessing the portal became difficult. The group of people who discovered it almost gave up at this point and thought about leaving the area.


    Why did this happen, I wonder?


    ¡°It was because in the apocalypse, cooperation with someone we don¡¯t know is impossible.¡± Lieutenant Kim Hyun-woo who said that.


    After arriving in Seoul, he received a special mission from the president and researched something in Incheon. By the time he returned to the government shelter, he got another mission to check the truth regarding the dungeon portal. Luckily, he met two friendly survivors, and they decided to follow him here.


    But as they arrived, things took a bad turn.


    ¡°This situation is exactly like how crabs always pull other crabs who try to get away from a bucket.¡±


    (T/N This is called ¡®Crab Mentality¡¯. It is a way of thinking best described by the phrase ¡°if I can¡¯t have it, neither can you¡±. Wikipedia~)


    ¡°Yeah. I also had no idea things would be like this.¡± Moon Dae-ho, lowered his head while speaking so. Beside him, his sister, Moon So-yoon stood with her arms crossed in front of her chest.


    The two were born athletes and had outstanding qualities enough to be selected for the national representative. SInce D-day, they depended on each other to survive, but recently, things keep getting harder for them two, yet they also struggle to find the correct people they can trust.


    Their search led them to meet Lieutenant Hyun-woo. After talking and going on some looting trip, they thought that he¡¯s a good person to work together with. However, since it was hard to trust anyone in the apocalypse, they hesitated.


    While they were hesitating, rumors about the appearance of a portal spread. When they checked it, what they saw was beyond their expectation.


    Kim Hyun-woo opened the black curtain sticking to the window and looked outside. ¡°They even threw some glowstone fragments towards the portal since the day is getting darker¡­ I think they are hell bent on not letting anyone in.¡±


    Moon So-yoon leaned against the wall gaze outside. Then, her eyes opened wide.


    ¡°They throw those so they can see anyone approaching the portal?¡±


    ¡°I think so. Otherwise, there¡¯s simply no reason to throw those fragments there.¡±


    ¡°They are insane!! Definitely not normal!!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no sane person in the apocalypse.¡± Dae-ho approached the window as he said so. Then, he asked Lieutenant Hyun-woo. ¡°Do you think there will be a gap we could pass through once it gets dark? With all those shining things in front of the portal, I¡¯m sure some monsters will approach it.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ there¡¯s a lot of zombies in the area, so it¡¯s questionable whether monsters will come out or not. But perhaps, kobolds might come out.¡±


    ¡°If we are going to do this, we have to enter before bone creepers and werewolves come out. It will be hard if we wait until morning.¡± So-yoon urged them to make a decision, but the two still could not easily make up their minds.


    So-yoon sighed while rubbing her hair at the same time before tying her shoelaces. She grew up as an all-rounder type of athlete under the influence of her parents, who both used to be in the national team. She could proudly say that she grew up while testing her limits. She had gone through the special forces brigade training regime as well as the presidential bodyguard training regime.


    Maybe thanks to that, the unique skill she got was instant acceleration. It¡¯s a terrific unique skill which boosts her physical abilities by several levels.


    ¡°I can¡¯t stay still like this. I¡¯m going in, so get rid of those monsters.¡±


    ¡°So-yoon, once you go inside and exit, you can¡¯t go back in.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    Lieutenant Hyun-woo nodded his head to confirm. He had been in a government shelter for a while, therefore he had heard several settings about the event which occur in Survival Life.


    ¡°This dungeon setting was the same with Farming Dungeon a few months ago. You can only enter once.¡±


    Hearing Hyun-woo¡¯s explanation, So-yoon bit her lips.


    ¡°Then¡­ Doesn¡¯t that mean that we have to enter the dungeon without knowing what kind of dungeon it is beforehand?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why my backpack is this big. Though I¡¯m not sure whether this bag can stop arrows or not.¡±


    While the party was chatting about strategy and what-not, time passed and night came. As if waiting for the specific time, a kobold¡¯s unique cry could be heard from somewhere.


    ¡°They are here already.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure we will see bone creepers and werewolves walking around soon.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why¡­ Like I said before¡­¡±


    That¡¯s when things happened.


    Together with a loud cry and bang, kobolds began to flock towards the portal. Arrows flew towards them, but it only slowed them down a little as their sheer number was just overwhelming.


    When the shimmering glowstone fragment was held in the kobold¡¯s hand, the surroundings instantly descended into darkness.


    However, at that moment, So-yoon witnessed it vividly: Someone, or something, appeared from the pitch-black sky and entered the portal.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    It happened so quickly, so she thought that she might have seen it wrong. However, the ripples of the portal said otherwise; someone had entered the dungeon.


    She whipped her head towards her party member and said. ¡°Di-did you see it just now? Someone entered the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Pardon? That doesn¡¯t make sense. There was no one near the portal.¡±


    ¡°But I saw it clearly!¡±


    ¡°So-yoon had a good sight. So, if she says she saw it, it should be real.¡± Dae-ho told Lieutenant Hyun-woo. For him, it wasn¡¯t the first time his little sister did something like this.


    ¡°Someone had entered the portal! Come on, let¡¯s stop talking and just go!¡±


    ¡°So-yoon, wait!¡± Lieutenant Hyunwoo was startled at her sudden movement.


    However, So-yoon ignored him and slung her backpack to her shoulder and said,


    ¡°I¡¯ll go first, you guys can do whatever you want. EIther follow me or not.¡±


    Dae-ho turned his head and sighed as So-yoon jumped out of the window.


    ¡°As you can see, we should hurry¡­¡±


    Now, they had no other choice. There¡¯s only one way they could take.


    Lieutenant Hyun-woo quickly took his backpack. ¡°Let¡¯s go too. If we take advantage of the night time, we might be able to do something.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s¡­¡±


    The two went down to the first floor and peeked towards the road, looking for a chance. However, even when So-yoon entered the portal, there¡¯s no arrow flying.


    It seems like finally, the riot has ended.


    .


    .


    .


    This place is¡­


    I stopped at the intersection right after the entrance. I turned on the flashlight, and scanned through the terrain.


    ¡°It¡¯s the experiment dungeon, huh?¡±


    No one knew exactly who did the experiment, though. We only inferred that it was an experimental dungeon based on mutant monsters which appeared in this dungeon as well as from items and books written in some unknown language.


    We used to call this dungeon an experiment dungeon or an alchemist¡¯s dungeon. The characteristic of this dungeon is that this place was where the monsters were confined. Since the monsters inside this place were mutant monsters, they are far stronger than normal monsters. However, despite the danger, it was worth hunting here.


    ¡°There are also numerous traps here.¡± But unlike clumsy traps made by goblins, the traps here were cleverly hidden.


    I focused on the sign lying on the floor at the intersection. If I stepped on it¡­ I will fall into a trap. Since this place was narrow, if poison darts come flying, I¡¯ll be dead.


    After stepping back a few steps, I pulled out the Emeras spear and tapped on the sign.


    Swooosh-!!


    ¡°As expected¡­¡± I could feel the poison sting flying through the air along with the air ripping sound. If I get hit by that, it won¡¯t end with just paralysis or blindness.


    I checked my armament for one last time and moved on. Not long after, some figures moved out from the darkness. It was a goblin with an awful face even for a goblin¡¯s standard.


    ¡°Nice to meet you¡­¡± As I said it, I pushed the Emeras spear, right towards its head. Without being able to let out a shriek, it died.


    Is this guy a mutant?


    I looked through its pouch and found a poison sting. When I took a whiff of it. The smell was completely different from the usual paralyzing poison. I don¡¯t know what it is, though.


    When you are faced with a question you couldn¡¯t possibly answer, it¡¯s better to experiment with your body.


    I opened a potion bottle and took a small amount of emperor honey. When I stabbed my thigh with the poison dart, the effect box was updated and my eyes were slightly blurred.


    ¡¸Effect: Poison Resistance, Blindness¡¹


    ¡°Ah¡­ Blindness!¡± It would be terrifying to suddenly lose sight in a dark space. However, thanks to the emperor honey, the blindness effect quickly disappeared and my vision became crystal clear again.


    By the way, it was about time for someone else to enter the dungeon. I wanted to block the entrance with my portal, but if I do that, I wouldn¡¯t be able to use it in case of an emergency. I also couldn¡¯t use the dimensional wall as it will disappear as soon as I move my gaze from the area.


    ¡°Guess I would have to compete¡­¡± Though, It doesn¡¯t matter because I¡¯m used to it.


    At that moment, someone appeared at the entrance. I quickly opened my portal and went in. The one who just entered was a young woman. She took a glowstone from her backpack and grumbled.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t those guys coming?¡±


    Hmm¡­ So she¡¯s not alone. By the way, she¡¯s quite tall. Her physique was slim but packed to the point I thought she was an athlete.


    After a few seconds, two more people came in. One is a stocky man which reminds me of Hyung-jun Hyung, and the other¡­


    Lieutenant Hyun-woo?


    I know that he¡¯s going to Seoul, but I think I¡¯ll meet him here out of all places¡­


    But, since he¡¯s a soldier, I guess it wasn¡¯t strange to meet him here. He might have been instructed by the president to get in here.


    The three got together and whispered.


    ¡°Are there any more people coming in behind you?¡±


    ¡°They will come. Because of your shout, the attack stopped.¡±


    ¡°Glad they come to their senses. What¡¯s so hard about cooperation? We can just share the rewards.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the most difficult thing in the world to gather people¡¯s hearts?¡±


    ¡°By the way, it¡¯s very dark here, so let¡¯s be careful. I¡¯ll do my best, so please support me from behind.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Wait, is there a sign right there?.¡±


    The woman picked up the sign without being vigilant, and belatedly, Hyun-woo pulled her shoulders.


    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous to touch it carelessly¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh? It must have been a string.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a trap. Looks like someone has dismantled it.¡±


    ¡°A trap? You mean the guy in front of us?¡±


    The three looked around with serious faces. It seems like they were looking for me.


    After they disappeared, I cautiously went out from my portal. I felt like I could have a conversation with those people. I know Hyun-woo, so it wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to cooperate a bit here. It would be better to do that rather than giving it to those dumbasses outside.


    I opened a portal at the narrow entrance and completely blocked it. Someone who had just entered was blocked by the portal and struggled.


    ¡°What the fuck is this?¡±


    The man pushed the portal with his fist and body, but it didn¡¯t even budge. It would be best for him to turn back, but it seems like it didn¡¯t cross his mind as his eyes were still shining with greed.


    I pretended not to know, went into my cave and played a song written by a Korean traditional musician on my laptop. As a gloomy and scary melody resounded in the dungeon, the man groaned.


    ¡°Wha-wha¡­!¡±


    Eventually, when he heard the cry of a ghost, the man could not bear it and ran outside.


    ¡°Next guest, please.¡±


    A woman came in and plopped to her bottom as she heard the ghost¡¯s ghastly laughter.


    ¡°Mo-mommy!!!!!¡±


    Business is going well today.

 Chapter 100

    Happy 100th chapter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


    When i decide to tl this novel, i never thought this novel will received this much donat- LOVE¡­.. Please continue to read and give us the feedback so we can support.


    It¡¯s really quiet around here now. Seems like it was due to the fact that people who just left had told the people outside that they had met ghosts upon entering. Even so, let¡¯s keep still on our toes.


    After successfully blocking the entrance with the portal, I entered the dungeon to explore. The structure of this dungeon was mostly the same. The problem was, if someone doesn¡¯t know the structure very well, it¡¯s easy for them to get confused and get lost.


    And what made it worse was that there were traps which confused people¡¯s sense of direction at certain points.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± Since Hyun-woo and his party had also entered this dungeon, I couldn¡¯t use my flashlight. It was quite a pity, as I had confirmed that these kinds of dungeons and labyrinths are located in the same dimension as my shelter, which means the corrosive disease can¡¯t reach this place.


    ¡°Well, I can just use something else.¡± Afterall, I will do anything to survive. I checked my gear, checked the footage on my laptop, and picked up some glowstone from my storage. Even though I said that it¡¯s hard to use it, since the dungeon was not very large, there was a high probability that I wouldn¡¯t meet Hyun-woo and his party right at the bat. So, I probably would have a chance to use it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s find the smell¡­¡± Monster cages have a distinctive smell. It was quite similar to the smell of a truck that carries cattle and pigs. The difference was, since this place was a cave, the smell would be leagues above.


    ¡°Let¡¯s put on a filter mask¡­¡± In Survival Life, the bad smell was also a kind of debuff, so wearing a mask will relieve it. Of course, a regular mask would have no effect.


    After I armed myself quite heavily, I summoned Dingo and set out to find the cage.


    ¡°You can¡¯t bark, okay?¡± Being a clever guy, he immediately recognized the environment of the cave and stepped out in front of me.


    As we were walking down the narrow hallway, both Dingo and I heard footsteps at the same time. It was thanks to my Perception stat, which had grown to the point of being comparable to Dingo¡¯s sense. Of course, I still couldn¡¯t keep up with his sense of smell.


    After quickly hiding in the portal and waiting, Hyun-woo and his party, whom we saw earlier, passed by.


    ¡°It¡¯s another intersection¡­ Why is this dungeon so complicated¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the dungeon will be that big¡­ but how come we lost our way¡­ I lost my sense of direction already.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I already leave some mark behind? We should be okay.¡±


    ¡°Oh, well done, So-yoon.¡±


    Is that girl¡¯s name So-yoon?


    She smiled and put her hands on her waist. As she scans the walls of the cave, she accidentally knocks on the door of my portal.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    She probably feels that it¡¯s weird.


    I immediately closed the portal. She probably won¡¯t even notice that I was spying on her. When I opened the portal again after a few minutes, Hyun-woo and his party had already left.


    I quickly leave the portal again with Dingo. After walking for a few moments,we arrived at an intersection. At that moment, Dingo¡¯s eyes stood as he lowered his posture and made a guttural growl.


    Something is here¡­


    I took an adamantine arrow from my bag and notched it to the longbow¡¯s string. Then moments later, the shadow of a monster could be seen in the darkness.


    I threw a glowstone in front of us. As its soft light shone on the face of the approaching monster,


    ¡°It¡¯s a troll, huh?¡±


    To think I would meet a troll here¡­


    It is a monster similar in size to an orc, but with longer arms and thorns all over its body. In other games, they were nothing but ordinary mobs, but in Survival Life, they were considered as a very dangerous monster.


    ¡°Those thorns are no joke¡­¡±


    Those thorns would be shot out to all directions if the troll ever judged that they were in a dangerous position. It¡¯s not poisonous, but it was still painful if you were hit by it. On top of it, their unique skills, explosive strength and super regeneration, make hand-to-hand combat extremely dangerous.


    Back in the days, I could deal with it. I can deal with it only by running away several times while kiting and baiting him to several traps though.


    ¡°But now it¡¯s different.¡± Because I could attack it unilaterally since it was inside the cage. Upon release, the adamantine arrows mercilessly pierced the troll¡¯s tough skin.


    Kuoooohhhh-!!


    The troll¡¯s cries echoed through the narrow cave. I must deal with it and run away before Hyun-woo and his party arrive.


    After shooting several arrows at the troll, it finally died with an arrow I aimed at its head. However, instead of being elated by the fact that I had killed an orc,  I was frightened due to the fact that arrows embedded in its body were being pushed out.


    ¡°It should have come out by now¡­¡±


    ¡¸You have earned 50 points¡¹


    ¡¸You have acquired Ferocity skill¡¹


    Ah¡­ the skill is a bit disappointing. Ferocity is similar to the Fighting Instinct skill; it raises stats in times of crisis. Though, It had the advantage that I don¡¯t need to exude killing intent and to activate it. But the effect was just that.


    ¡°The Explosive Strength skill should have come out.¡± Even though it didn¡¯t really fit my fighting style, It wouldn¡¯t be a bad skill to have as an insurance.


    ¡°Well, this skill is not bad either.¡±


    It¡¯s a pity that the Life Tracking skill is gone, but now that the result is like this, there¡¯s nothing I can do about it. Let¡¯s just think positively.


    I quickly shot other monsters and got a total of 95 points in total, including the one I got from the troll.


    Then a loud sound of footsteps echoed through the cave.


    ¡°What was that noise!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go there quickly!¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­¡±


    You guys seem to be busy, so I should quietly leave for the next place.


    I summoned Dingo from the portal and let him smell the old book. As it is an alchemist¡¯s dungeon, there were a lot of old books and tools. Of course, to get there, we would have to overcome a lot of traps and monsters first. Fortunately, the experience I had accumulated and the combat power I had steadily accumulated should be able to get me there.


    And after several battles, we finally reached the deepest part of the dungeon: the alchemist¡¯s room. We stagnant waters often referred to it as The Residence.


    When we went inside, a few desks, boxes, furniture, etc, covered in dust greeted us.


    ¡°Is this place really ownerless¡­¡±


    I have never seen a human-like creature in this dimension. But I was certain that they existed. After all, who would have made these books and household items if they didn¡¯t exist?


    By the way, since the portal which I used to block the entrance was gone, people must have entered the dungeon by now. I¡¯m sure they would be mad once they know someone already got whatever lay here.


    But it doesn¡¯t matter. Very few people know who I am.


    Even though I planned to block the entrance again later and make a fuss for others, it¡¯s not like there was no other way to escape from the people outside unnoticed without it. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m new to these kinds of things.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start with taking care of all of these things.¡±


    I opened the portal and shoved everything inside. As I put it in, 2 shabby and old-looking scroll caught my eye. Most of the things here were written in a language I did not understand, but the two items were different.


    ¡¸Item box expansion ticket: The item box will be expanded by 1 slot. 1,000 points required.¡¹


    ¡¸Skill slot extension ticket: The skill slot will be expanded by 1 slot. 1,000 points required.¡¹


    ¡°This is it!¡± I grabbed the scroll and tore it apart. A message promptly popped up and a thousand points disappeared at every notice.


    ¡¸The number of items you can use has been expanded to 6¡¹


    ¡¸The number of skill you can have has been expanded to 11¡¹


    It would be great if it came out before killing the troll¡­. However, given the structure of the dungeon, it couldn¡¯t be helped that I had to kill the troll first.


    I threw every single piece of paper and even a pen in the residence into the portal and closed it.


    Now it¡¯s time for me to return to the entrance. Of course, there will be a few people waiting to curse me.


    Well, it¡¯s not like it¡¯s the first time¡­


    .


    .


    .


    Several groups were tangled in the narrow dungeon. Afterall, It¡¯s simply impossible to forget everything which had happened between them before entering the dungeon. Thanks to that, the inside of the dungeon was full of tension. Whenever they encountered each other, they often bowed their heads and just quietly passed by.


    However, amidst that, a fight still broke out and someone was injured because of that. The victim collapsed on the floor and shout a bloody murder.


    ¡°I¡¯ll fucking kill you and become a murderer, you bastard!¡±


    ¡°Kill me! Kill me if you dare!¡±


    ¡°I clearly remembered you hit me with an arrow earlier! Did you think I would just let you go?¡±


    At that moment, two people intervened when it seemed that a murder was imminent.


    ¡°Hey! Let¡¯s stop!¡±


    ¡°Please be patient¡±


    People didn¡¯t just stop it because they pity the victim or because they were afraid of the assailant, It was simply because of the nature of the dungeon; you never know when the monsters will pop out.


    Of course, most of the monsters had already been dealt by Seongho, but they did not know about it.


    That occurrence happened all over the dungeon. Fortunately, murderer did not appear because of it. Though, It would be a pity for Seongho, who was looking for a way to escape unnoticed.


    Meanwhile, Hyun-woo and his party finally reached the deepest part of the dungeon. Of course¡­ it was empty because Seongho had swept it clean.


    ¡°I think that man took them all.¡±


    ¡°It would have been difficult to put in one backpack¡­¡±


    ¡°Wow, if he really swept away leaving nothing behind, can he at least take some dust with him too?¡±


    So-yoon grumbled and closed the drawer. At the same time, Hyun-woo, who was looking around the residence, found something. It was a hinge of the door.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s corrosive disease here¡­?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ It¡¯s true¡­¡±


    The three of them were surprised when they checked the hinge. In Seoul, even if you scour through the entire city to look for good metal, you wouldn¡¯t be able to find it. There were rumors that the government shelter had stored a lot of metal, but it was only a rumor so far.


    The three of them walked away from the residence while trying to swallow their disappointment. At that moment, a shuffling sound of footsteps could be heard and several people blocked the residence.


    ¡°Are you going to leave after robbing everything?¡±


    ¡°Wah¡­ What a pity, we don¡¯t get anything.¡±


    It seems that from one point of time, the people in front of Hyun-woo¡¯s group had decided to work together. Two of them were the two who fought earlier.


    So-yoon stepped in front of Hyun-woo, who was nervous.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we didn¡¯t get anything. It was already gone when we arrived.¡±


    ¡°Haha, who would believe that?¡±


    ¡°Someone got in before us. You can just take our backpack and check it out.¡±


    Dae-ho, noticing his sister¡¯s thoughts, said cautiously.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bit iffy to fight with people who also didn¡¯t get anything? Let¡¯s just move on.¡±


    ¡°¡­aren¡¯t you already hiding it?¡±


    ¡°Is it really possible to hide something in this cave? It will be found easily since people will come in and scour through it.¡±


    However, even after that explanation, the three men still decide to check Hyun-woo and his party¡¯s backpack. After opening it, disappointment was apparent on their faces since they found really nothing inside. On top of it, since they couldn¡¯t even bring up the words of searching through their body, they could only kick the wall and grumble.


    ¡°Shit¡­¡±


    ¡°Then, did someone else rob this place?¡±


    ¡°Who the hell?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know who they are, but they should be running towards the entrance by now.¡±


    When So-yoon hinted, the three of them suddenly changed their expressions and started running without saying goodbye or sorry.


    ¡°It has become difficult to go out.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. That person will have a hard time going out.¡±


    When Dae-ho spoke, her younger sister So-yoon took offense.


    ¡°Now is not the time to worry about him!¡±


    ¡°What I mean is¡­¡±


    At that moment, some people came towards them again. Hyun-woo and his party had to once again let them check their backpack to avoid a fight. So-yoon clenched her fist tightly at the people, but when her brother stopped her, she barely held it in. At the same time, she grinds her teeth in anger towards the guy who entered the dungeon first and swept all the things away.


    But when she recalled the monsters, which were shot to death in their respective cages, she had a thought. ¡®That guy must not be an ordinary person¡­¡¯


    He shouldn¡¯t have been here for long, so how can he act so quickly?


    Is he perhaps a stagnant water?


    Meanwhile, rumors spread amongst the people inside the dungeon that the one which took everything was still in the dungeon. Naturally, what happened to Hyun-woo and his party also spread. When they heard it, people turned towards the entrance and ran.


    ¡°Block the entrance! Don¡¯t let the guy escape.¡±


    ¡°If we block the entrance, that guy will be unable to do anything.¡±


    It was a fair point. There¡¯s only one entrance to this dungeon, so naturally there¡¯s also one exit. So, when it was blocked, the guy would have no choice but to get his backpack robbed.


    At about the same time, change started to occur in the dungeon. People start to greet each other while questioning those who walked around alone without a group.


    Hyun-woo couldn¡¯t help but smile bitterly when he saw all this. Just before, they were shooting arrows at each other in order to prevent people from entering the dungeon. But now, they are dancing to the same tune.


    ¡®If they had done so earlier, they could have shared the rewards¡­¡¯


    But greed devoured everything. Now people gathered at the entrance, waiting for someone to show up.


    However, even after waiting for a long time, the one they were waiting for didn¡¯t show up.


    ¡°Where the fuck is that guy?¡±


    ¡°How about sending a search party?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve looked around just now, I can¡¯t find anyone.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you are really looking? Not just joking around?¡±


    ¡°Then you go.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk rudely, okay? You know it¡¯s not easy to search around the area.¡±


    The longer the people wait, the bigger their dissatisfaction grows.


    Meanwhile, the culprit of the whole situation, Seongho, was looking through the items he just looted at his comfortable shelter.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°It¡¯s time to get annoyed.¡±


    When I opened the portal, I could hear the people bickering loudly.


    Keep fighting!


    It would take quite some time before the dungeon to disappear, so I thought I¡¯d take it easy. After all, I¡¯m not in a hurry.


    By the way¡­


    ¡°Of all things, why is this thing the one that got turned into an item?¡±


    I caught a troll, but the one which got itemized was an old scarf.


    ¡¸Old Scarf: Vitality +2, Cold Resistance Increase¡¹


    ¡°The cold resistance will be worth so much in the winter.¡±


    Since the item slot has been expanded to 6, I could equip one more item. If I ate the winter strawberry that I had picked before and put on this scarf, then, the freezing air would change to normal.


    ¡°The effect is killer!¡± It seemed like this scarf would be enough to survive the upcoming cold winter. Summer was hard in the apocalypse, but winter was even more so. Everyone was running out of food and was busy moving to another hideout to avoid monsters. When winter comes in earnest, there will be a real fierce battle for survival.


    Of course, all of that had nothing to do with me. Because when everyone is shivering in the cold, I will spend time in the warm forest.


    I fumbled through the pile of old books.


    ¡°What is written on it, I wonder?¡±


    It seemed to be explaining something about plants, but I couldn¡¯t understand any of them. As I quickly turned the page, a strange map caught my eye.


    Isn¡¯t this the mountain in the north?


    It¡¯s covered in ice caps and there¡¯s a lake underneath, so it should be right.


    ¡°Is the place written on it really that mountain?¡±


    Seems like I needed to check it out. I showed it towards the scarabs just in case, but they didn¡¯t pay any attention to it.


    Are they actually scarabs that got possessed by a wandering soul?


    Then, they were now nothing but an ordinary scarab.


    ¡°I hide my identity, and you also hide yours, huh?¡±


    The scarabs working next to me were startled and looked at me.


    What¡¯s the matter, I wonder?


    I opened the portal and looked outside.


    A few people held the glowstone and completely blocked the entrance. Thanks to them, there was no way out for me.


    ¡°Grudgeful bastards.¡±


    In fact, I am the most grudgeful bastard around here since I was trying to figure out how to fuck those bastards and get out of this place.


    ¡°If I just wait for the dungeon to disappear, what will happen to the portal, I wonder¡­¡± My guess was that I would also return to Yangjae-daero but i couldn¡¯t be sure.


    The best was to run away from them.


    ¡°There must be some people outside¡­¡± After much deliberation, I found a good way. At first I wanted to turn on a heartbeat sound loudly, but those people must have been immune to hearing those sounds since they just heard a ghost sound earlier.


    ¡°Seems like I would have to use that this time.¡±


    Let¡¯s see how long they can hold on.

 Chapter 101

    (E/N Happy New Year, everyone!)


    To make people who blocked the entrance fall into chaos was not difficult at all. Just make the scarabs and Dingo shoot ballista arrows towards them should do the job.


    ¡°I can also paralyzed them by shooting arrows coated with the paralyzing poison at them.¡± I¡¯ve been amassing the poison from the frogs, so the amount I have now was considerably large.


    However, right here, right now, the method I chose to do was the pepper bomb. The area near the entrance was narrow with a poor ventilation; an ideal condition for the pepper bomb to exert its maximum power.


    Of course, I can¡¯t stop them from running away outside once I threw it, since the bomb will also affect me if I do so. But, that was my goal in the first place.


    ¡°Once you leave, you can¡¯t come back in¡­¡±


    The guys waiting outside would only be able to suck their fingers when I left, so that¡¯s even better. Moreover, because of the monsters parade outside, they won¡¯t be able to stay around the portal either.


    While I was picking some peppers and about to turn it into bombs, I saw several people passing by in front of my portal. Then, those who blocked the entrance gave a stern order towards them.


    ¡°Take off all your backpacks.¡±


    ¡°We are not him, nor are we related to him.¡±


    ¡°Prove it.¡±


    ¡°Why do we have to prove it?¡±


    ¡°Come on, just cooperate.¡±


    Those kinds of conversations went on and on. Still, seeing that they were not fighting, it seems that they just want to leave the dungeon as quickly as possible. Or maybe, their hatred towards me was just that great.


    ¡°Your awaited guest will be leaving soon. Just be patient a little bit more.¡± Of course, what they¡¯ll get as a farewell gift were not the items I looted, but a spicy one in the form of pepper bombs.


    With an ear-to-ear smile plastered on my face, I finished coating the grinded pepper with sap. Now that spring has come, it would be difficult to use this method again, as the sap wouldn¡¯t be able to freeze in the temperature. Therefore, an alternative method was needed.


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s no use thinking about it. The mighty scarabs will surely take care of it.¡± Even though I might look like an insane person who talked to no one, the truth is, I could feel the scarabs listening next to me, startled and trembling.


    Hmmmm. Did I put too much pressure on you?


    Anyway, let¡¯s start the game. The rules will be as simple as it could be. All the participant have to do was either sniff the smoke rising from the pepper bombs and endure, or run away and leave the dungeon.


    Though, if they choose the first option thinking that it was nothing but a mere smog, they would experience what hell on Earth truly is.


    ¡°Ready¡­ Set¡­¡± I put a pepper bomb on the slingshot and aimed it towards the portal. In order to be able to present the taste evenly to all customers, location selection is important. Therefore, It would be better to shoot at the ceiling, since the powder of bull pepper will rain down on them, delivering the taste right to their eyes, nose and lips.


    ¡°GO!¡± The pepper bomb launced and hit the ceiling in mere second. It make a slight cracking sound before another one followed suit as I shot another bomb.


    When the powder reached the height of people¡¯s head, immediate reaction could be seen.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Everyone wrinkled their noses.


    The smell of ciggarete¡¯s smoke was nothing compared to it, wasn¡¯t it?


    The bridge of the nose contorted. However, a cough wasn¡¯t something they let out from their mouth. What came out instead was a pain-filled moan.


    ¡°Kaaaaaakkk!¡±


    ¡°Euuhgghhh!¡±


    All kinds of action from covering their nose, choking themselves, and pulling their hairs could be seen from everyone.


    ¡°Agghhhhh!!!¡±


    ¡°Ca¡­ breathe!! Keukkk¡­¡±


    As the one who made the food, I feel honored to see all my guests shred tears of joy because they enjoyed the meal.


    One by one, they collapsed. When I felt that the time was right, I left my shelter and went into the dungeon while wearing a gas mask. Passing by as carefully as I could to not step on someone, a hand grabbed my ankle out of a sudden.


    ¡°You¡­ You!!!¡±


    It¡¯s amazing that he could see me even when he was suffering through unbelievable pain and confusion. As a reward, I gently patted his hand.


    ¡°Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!¡±


    He let out a strange scream at my action. That¡¯s why you should¡¯ve just stayed lying there¡­


    I left the guy behind and walked towards the dungeon portal. When I was right before it, I called my own portal. With me only inches away from the dungeon portal, my own portal opened up right after the dungeon portal. In other words, on the outside.


    Therefore, when I left the dungeon, it would be impossible for people to find me in only that brief time of exposure. Moreover, as I was wearing a gas mask, no one should be able to identify my face.


    I took a step and passed through two portals at once. I could just wait inside from now on, but for some reason, I wanted to hide in another place and observe from there.


    In order to do that, it seems like it would be nice to attract attention with fireworks.


    ¡°It will buy me a few seconds¡­¡± Using that gap, I would jump out of the portal and run to a nearby building.


    I lit two wicks of firecrackers and threw them away.


    Boom-!! Boom-!!


    On a pitch-black night, flashes and fireworks burst forth, painting the sky. At the marvelous sight, people exclaimed, forgetting that it would attract monsters to their area.


    I used the timing to jump out of the portal and run away,


    Naturally, no one noticed my presence.


    .


    .


    .


    Just wait until that bastard shows himself. That was the thought of the majority of people around the dungeon portal. They were all certain that anyone who had entered the dungeon was still inside. Which means, he would have no choice but to show himself if he wanted to leave.


    However, apart from those thoughts, there¡¯s also people with different thoughts. As whoever the person is could enter the dungeon unnoticed, couldn¡¯t the person come out without anyone knowing?


    For that reason, those people were only staring at the entrance of the dungeon. If they ever saw someone come out of it, they promised to themselves that they would shoot him.


    However, when fireworks exploded in the sky, they could not stand the sight of the fireworks exploding and looked at it.


    Boom-!! Boom-!!


    It was a large fireworks display. Blinding flashes and flames erupted in the sky and the people watching the entrance turned their eyes away without realizing it.


    It goes without saying that the one who was responsible for it had disappeared within those few seconds. Realizing that they had been deceived, the people looked around, but Seongho was nowhere to be found.


    Meanwhile, in the dark and deserted alleyway, So-yoon and Dae-ho, who were walking a few distances away from Hyun-woo, coincidentally overlapped with him.


    So-yoon noticed Seongho¡¯s presence and whipped her head towards his direction.


    ¡°Wait, oppa, who is that behind you?¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°In that store.¡±


    With her good eyesight, she immediately recognized where Seongho was hiding. Though, she felt chills all over her body, as if a beast was crouching down while it was stalking her at that very moment.


    When So-yoon focused her eyes on the darkness, she finally saw the figure. He was quite tall and was wearing a gas mask. The bow protruding which was slung to his back together with his backpack was a testament that the figure was a seasoned survivor.


    As she looked at the gas mask man, she felt something inside her; it was anger. It was something which stemmed from the fact that the man left nothing behind, which made her and her group suffer from the other¡¯s survivors¡¯ suspicions.


    ¡®That guy dared to take all the items for himself?¡¯


    It was natural for human beings to be suddenly angry. As much as her temper, her action was also quick. Without giving Dae-ho time to stop herself, she rushed towards Seongho.


    Seongho, who was observing her, never thought that she would come running at him. He placed his hands on the long knife¡¯s hilt on his hips and prepared to pull it out. However, when he realized that she was rushing with nothing but her bare hands, he canceled it.


    ¡®Since she¡¯s with Hyun-woo, I can¡¯t be rough.¡¯ Seongho thought so. He crouched and placed his hands on the girl¡¯s trajectory to block her fist from hitting his body.


    ¡°Ugh.¡±


    When the two collided, So-yoon was the one who was surprised. It was because she¡¯d never thought that there would be a man who could block her fist that effortlessly. Afterall, even the most physically talented survivor she had met so far had all failed to do so!


    On top of it, what makes her even more surprised was the fact that the gas mask man¡¯s strength was so great that he did not budge when she punched him with everything she got.


    This man is strong¡­


    So-yoon¡¯s voice came out of nowhere.


    ¡°Why¡­, why did you do that?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Why did you take all the items for yourself and ran away? Don¡¯t you know that because of your action, me and my group were being framed?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a normal treatment for people who finished 2nd.¡±


    Most Survival Life events were just like that in nature; winner takes it all.


    ¡°Who are you? Are you perhaps a stagnant water?¡±


    ¡°If I am one of them, would you still be alive, after trying to attack me?¡±


    She bit her lip at his words and quickly kicked him in the chest. She did that in order to use the recoil force to pull her fist out of his grip. Normally, it would be normal for someone to back off when they saw a kick was coming. But the man in front of her didn¡¯t even flinch and just grabbed her by the ankle with his free hands and sent a kick into her belly as a counter move.


    ¡°Keuk!¡±


    She flew a few meters away because of the kick and bounced off the ground before stopping. WIth a grunt, she covered her belly with her hands and tried to stand up.


    It was at that time that Dae-ho¡¯s expression¨Cwhich only had been looking at them from afar¨Cdistorted.


    ¡°You!!!!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s stop.¡± The man pulled out a long knife from his waist. It was an action which Dae-ho read as a declaration that the man would use the sword if he decided to push the matter further. At the same time, the man took a step back and made it clear that he would not attack first.


    With a sigh, Dae-ho chose to support her younger sister, who struggled to stand up rather than attacking the man. With the corner of his eyes, he could see the man nodding his head before disappearing into the darkness.


    ¡°That man is strong¡­¡±


    ¡°Is your stomach okay?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It was just a slightly strong push.¡±


    ¡°Thank god¡­¡±


    By the way, how could the man block his sister¡¯s attack, who has the instant acceleration ability?


    So-yoon, although not physically powerful, was good at utilizing her unique skill to accelerate herself and blitzing towards her enemy, using her accelerating force to surprise and damage her enemy. However, the man just shrugged off her attack.


    Did he perhaps have met someone with the same instant acceleration unique skill before? So he knew how to deal with it?


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it surprising, oppa? Is it because of that man¡¯s unique skill that he could enter the dungeon without anyone knowing, kill all the monsters and take all the loot faster than anyone, even though he¡¯s alone? Is that the reason he could stop my attack that easily?¡±


    ¡°You saw and experienced it first hand. It seems like it was possible.¡±


    ¡°No, I mean, I don¡¯t know what that man¡¯s unique skill is. Afterall, even if an additional effect is added, the essence of the unique skill does not disappear.¡±


    ¡°Well yeah¡­¡±


    It was also difficult for Dae-ho to guess the man¡¯s unique skill. Seeing him come out of the dungeon after making a fool out of all of them, he seems like a stealth type, but after seeing him easily block her younger sister¡¯s attack, he also seems like a physical type.


    He was truly a chameleon-like man.


    Looking at his sister, she seemed to be interested in the man. However, it was dangerous to be interested in an unknown man in the apocalypse. Both of them knew it all too well.


    His sister continued to look in the direction the man disappeared into, as if she was still sad. It¡¯s probably not that she had a crush on the man she met for the first time. Rather, she was just curious about his strength.


    Dae-ho patted his sister on the shoulder.


    ¡°Someday we will meet him again.¡±


    ¡°Oppa! I am just curious. Nothing more.¡±


    ¡°Whatever. Let¡¯s go to the hideout for now.¡±


    .


    .


    .


    I went up to the roof of a certain building and found Hyun-woo muttering to himself. It¡¯s clear that he¡¯s typing some comment in the Auction House.


    ¡°Yes. That¡¯s right. Someone advanced into the dungeon and took all the items for themselves. A few people were beaten up and they were now looking for the man to get their revenge. No I don¡¯t think so, It¡¯s not a physical-type unique skill. Yes.¡±


    Listening to the conversation, it seemed that he was reporting to someone in the government shelter.


    I turned on the Auction House and navigated to the government¡¯s auction item. But as the comments were entered in a ciphered text, I couldn¡¯t understand the whole conversation.


    ¡°Is it the president? Or maybe, the chief of staff?¡±


    There¡¯s probably no one else than the two who had the authority to give orders to Hyun-woo.


    When I was thinking so, Hyun-woo suddenly mentioned my ID.


    ¡°Well¡­ There¡¯s a possibility that the man was I Love Gimbap. But, isn¡¯t currently in Gyeongnam¡­ Yes? Rapwi and Duck were both in Seoul? Oh, then he¡­¡±


    These guys¡¯ speed of gathering information was commendable. Or is it because Seokhyun and Da-jeong are too noticeable?


    Hyun-woo only answered a few times, and then he brought up a strange story.


    ¡°Ah, yes, they probably come to Seoul because of Geom-in-ssi¡¯s shelter. Afterall, it¡¯s a safe shelter which could withstand zombie raids¡­ I was going to go and tell you about Incheon, but to summarize, there¡¯s a lot of boat people. From what I see, their number amounts to hundreds.¡±


    A shelter which could withstand zombie raids?


    Hundreds of boat people in Incheon?


    I listened while sticking close behind my portal, thinking it might be something important.


    Hyunwoo was not aware that I was eavesdropping on him, and he continued to tell me all the information he knew.


    ¡°After checking with many people, it seems to be true that the nuclear power plant on the east coast of China had blown up and caused a radiation accident. However, it has not been confirmed whether our west coast has been affected by it or not.¡±


    It was a piece of eye-opening information. As far as I know, there were hundreds of nuclear power plants on the east coast of China.


    And those power plants caused radiation?


    Moreover, it seems like the boat people he¡¯s referring to are the Chinese.


    So they came to Incheon?


    ¡°The amazing thing is that I can communicate with them. Just like with the Japanese who landed in Busan, the boat people also didn¡¯t seem to have learned Korean, but they could communicate well.¡±


    It¡¯s getting more and more surprising.


    Anyway, it was clear that foreigners were coming into Korean soil.


    Is it because their land is too dangerous to survive?


    Because it was an apocalypse, it was impossible to expel them, so the government shelter seemed to be at a loss about what to do.


    ¡°It would be unreasonable to expect them to live together in harmony with us.¡±


    The public sentiment was also quite bad, so it didn¡¯t seem like the government was going to be quiet.


    Hearing Hyun-woo¡¯s words, the government shelter seemed to be upset about losing the coastal waters of Incheon. After all, it¡¯s the closest sea to Seoul.


    After Hyun-woo left, I contacted Da-jeong through the Auction House. She responded a few minutes later.


    -What¡¯s wrong? Did you get something delicious?


    -No. I have something to ask you. What is the mission you get from the president?


    -I was never given any explanation, they just told me where I needed to go.


    -Incheon?


    ¨C How did you know that?


    -I just overheard Hyun-woo¡­ Uh, Lieutenant Kim talking to the government shelter. He¡¯s a former member of Gimhae Army Base.


    -And?


    I explained to Da-jeong what I heard. After hearing my words, she got angry.


    -Is that half-hearted man sending me for that? Trying to test if the zombie raid won¡¯t happen?


    ¨C Don¡¯t explode yet. Don¡¯t we need to find out the truth?


    -You know what? The only truth is that I want to stab that bastard with a twin sword. If he wants to experiment, he can just go by himself! Why is he dragging me into it?


    -Calm down¡­


    It was surprising that Geom-in could come up with a way to avoid the zombie raid. I don¡¯t know what it is, but it seems like it was ready to be executed as he continued to experiment whenever Da-jeong went out of the shelter.


    From Da-jeong¡¯s point of view, she must have felt like she was being played by Geom-in. After talking for several more minutes, I finally calmed her down, albeit barely.


    -You can just get your revenge later. For now, we have to get information first. So please be patient.


    -Hm¡­ I think my anger will subside if I see you nude?


    What is it with all these perverts?


    -Ask Seokhyun to show it to you.


    -You don¡¯t know that I¡¯m currently on a diet, aren¡¯t you?


    -Why dieting suddenly?


    -It¡¯s because I¡¯m seeing that yellow panty of his everyday! The taste of food that comes in my mouth immediately becomes rotten when I remember the sight.


    Ah¡­ It seems like since I¡¯m not there, Rapwi only wears panties around, not wanting to wear a full set of clothes.


    -Anyway, for now, please just do what you are asked to do. Let¡¯s talk later in Incheon.


    -Why Incheon all of a sudden?


    -You¡¯ll find out when you go there.


    -You bastard! You are starting to sound more and more like that grandfather and his gang.


    Me? Sounds like the president? really?


    After the conversation, I quickly prepared to leave for Incheon. It would be nice to hunt the monsters around this area first, but I wanted to understand the situation as soon as I could.


    ¡°There are hundreds of Chinese in Incheon alone¡­¡±


    There was little chance that they would be peaceful and ready to mingle, which means a collision was inevitable. People from the same nationality will soon fight together.


    In my case, I don¡¯t have any particular prejudices against Chinese people. All I know is that no matter the nationality, there¡¯s a lot of fucking bastard everywhere.


    ¡°There are a lot of fucking bastards in the world¡­¡±


    When I was still running a snack bar, I had come across a lot of customers. And it was true that there¡¯s so many bastards in this world. A crazy kid who treats me like I¡¯m inferior to him. An ahjumma who tells me that she only wants to pay for the ingredients of the gimbap because she will cook it by herself. A mother who raises her voice saying that it is not okay to accept money for what the child eats. Etc.


    ¡°There were a lot of good people too, though.¡±


    But it was also true that the memories of those wretched things were the ones which remain deeply in my heart. Because of that,I think I only need to take care of a few people I can trust.


    What a shit philosophy.


    Awoo-!!


    When the werewolves¡¯ cries echoed through the area, the bustling and rowdy chatter completely stopped, descending the area into silence.


    At that moment, I closed the portal.


    Let¡¯s call it a day.

 Chapter 102

    Look forward for Friday¡¯s update y¡¯all.


    As soon as November ends, winter comes in earnest. When I stepped outside the hideout on Earth at dawn, freezing wind assaulted me. I don¡¯t know why, but for some reason, the winter on Earth was much more difficult to bear than the winter in the forest.


    ¡°Is it perhaps because I know how winter on Earth usually is?¡± Fortunately, I have the old neck warmer with the cold resistance option that I got from the last dungeon. Others may be suffering from the bone-chilling cold by now. And it will only get worse in January.


    On the other hand, spring has come to the shelter in the forest. The barren white landscape turned green, and weeds began to grow in the open lot in front of the cave. The forest also sprung to life, with unknown birds chirping in harmony as well as squirrels roaming around the trees.


    The female silver wolf Ding-soon was still nested outside the cave, by the way.


    ¡°Why did she come to my house in the first place?¡±


    I know that the purpose of Ding-soon is to be with Dingo. However, there was no conclusive action whatsoever.


    Shouldn¡¯t you be courting each other before marrying?


    Is it because Dingo is still young?


    Woof-!! Woof-!!


    As I was cleaning the warehouse, Dingo, who followed me, barked at Ding-soon. At that moment, I got even more annoyed because of his heartfelt love for her. I left the warehouse and opened the barbed wire to let Dingo out.


    Once he left the perimeter, he blitzed past through the terrain and slammed towards Ding-soon. However, they were not fighting at all, they were just playing around and licking each other. With that kind of atmosphere, whoever saw it would surely mistake them for a couple who had already held the wedding ceremony.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The longer I saw them, a strange expectation of getting a new pet sprung in my heart. Since Ding-soon will surely give birth to a few cubs, if they give me one¡­


    ¡°No¡­ Dingo is still a baby.¡±


    Looking back at the time when I first met Dingo, he¡¯s at the very most only about 1 or 2 months old. In other words, that guy who is currently biting and licking his girlfriend is at most 5 or 6 months old.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t wolves only able to reproduce after they become a year old or more?


    Though, I am aware that silver wolves might have different characteristics from normal wolf species on Earth, as they¡¯re still classified as monsters. Anyway, it was clear that the two were inseparable. However, the relationship between me and Ding-soon hadn¡¯t progressed yet. When I woke up in the morning and stretched out, our eyes always met, but she was always the one who turned away first.


    Our relationship is just that complicated.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a problem, but¡­¡±


    Since I mainly live in a shelter, there was no inconvenience whatsoever from her existence at my side. However, several days after that, Ding-soon had an accident while trying to catch an adult wild boar.


    When I went out to clean up the lot at dawn, I was startled to see Ding-soon biting a wild boar¡¯s neck. Blood splattered everywhere on her silver fur, dying it crimson red.


    ¡°Hey, hey, are you okay?¡±


    I hurriedly ran to the cave and came out with a potion and ointment. Meanwhile, Dingo was lying on its side, sleeping soundly.


    When I opened the barbed wire and went to Ding-soon, her nose was slightly wrinkled. It looks like she¡¯s still afraid of me.


    ¡°I¡¯m doing this to heal you.¡±


    As I raised my arms, Ding-soon lowered her head to the floor.


    Does it mean she¡¯s willing to try it?


    As I approached cautiously, the adult wild boar caught my eye. ¡®Big¡¯ was an understatement to describe its size; It was basically a giant. Ding-soon¡¯s size was also considerably big, but the wild boar¡¯s size was several times larger than her.


    Seeing that it wriggled from time to time, it seemed that it hadn¡¯t died yet. And while bleeding profusely, Ding-soon did not let go of the wild boar¡¯s collar until the end.


    I caressed Ding-soon¡¯s fur carefully to look at the wound. She let out a growl in the process, but I didn¡¯t stop. The wound was quite long, but fortunately, it¡¯s a shallow one. After applying the ointment thoroughly at it and feeding the potion to her, Ding-soon¡¯s eyes widened instantly. She must¡¯ve felt weird at the feeling of pain suddenly fading away.


    ¡°Feels better?¡± I said while stroking Ding-soon¡¯s head. Surprisingly, Ding-soon didn¡¯t growl and suddenly licked me with her tongue.


    Ugh¡­ The smell of blood!


    But it didn¡¯t feel bad at all. I feel like I¡¯ve been recognized by Ding-soon.


    When the wild boar finally stopped breathing, Ding-soon put her snout away from me and went to another place to watch.


    ¡°What should I do with it?¡±


    Do you want me to have the wild boar?


    Dead animals must be eaten quickly. Even if I want to save it for later consumption, I need to drain the blood first. I thought Ding-soon was catching it to eat it, but it seems like I was wrong¡­


    ¡°Is this a gift?¡±


    She turned her head to the other direction at my question. For me, it¡¯s as if she said that she didn¡¯t want any piece of it. What a strange girl¡­


    What will you gain by showing this kind of action to humans, I wonder?


    ¡°No, wait¡­¡±


    Is this something like a girl trying to win over her lover¡¯s parents?


    Then Ding-soon turned her head and glanced at me.


    She¡¯s a clever one isn¡¯t she?


    ¡°Happy?¡±


    If she wants to think of me like a mother-in-law, fine, let¡¯s do this.


    But I still wouldn¡¯t give Dingo to a girl like you!


    Ah no, I shouldn¡¯t do this¡­


    I grabbed the wild boar¡¯s hind legs and dragged it into the shelter. In the past, it was a weight that I would not have been able to bear, but as my stats were now quite high, the weight was not burdensome at all.


    After putting the giant wild boar on the ground, I went into the cave and tapped Dingo to wake him up. He slowly opened his eyes before sniffing to the air. After several sniffings, the guy jerked up and immediately ran to Ding-soon. It seems like he sensed her blood.


    ¡°You should¡¯ve set your own nest.¡± Maybe in a few months or so, he would do that. Ding-soon will be the one who brings the food while Dingo waits at the nest.


    Why did their role got reversed?


    I took my gear from the warehouse and butchered the wild boar. It was the first time I butchered something this big. It took a lot of strength just to hang it upside down.


    ¡°Damn it. I can¡¯t even say that she caught something too big.¡± Afterall, the bigger the animal, the more meat it has. Therefore, I should be grateful.


    Dingo and Ding-soon were drooling as they watched the wild boar get butchered piece by piece. I hope they won¡¯t ever look at me that way.


    Hahaha.


    I finished the work in two hours, and then put a lot of blood and intestines in front of the two lovers. The two ate in haste, smearing their snout with blood.


    Once they finished it, I brought a whole hind leg to them. And naturally, Dingo pushed its snout to it first. Ding-soon showed the leisure of an elder and waited for her younger lover to eat.


    ¡°These guys¡­¡± Their love isn¡¯t a joke.


    I went into the smoker while feeling some kind of sadness creeping in my heart. I should give a whole cut to Da-jeong. From what she said at the Auction House these days, it seems that her stress is piling up. The cause was, of course, Jang Won-taek and Bae Geom-in. But, as the one who sent her there, I have to take the responsibility.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if a boar¡¯s feet will be enough to relieve her stress.¡±


    If it¡¯s not enough, I would have to go out to sea and catch something similar to tuna. Afterall, she had been singing a song about tuna every day.


    .


    .


    .


    Rabbit Princess and Duck Butt Goes Kwek Kwek always stood out wherever they went. Even when they only walked through the city without doing anything, people¡¯s attention was always on them. Therefore, the road they took was always crowded with both monsters and humans.


    Currently, the two had just finished stopping a zombie raid.


    ¡°Ugh, it¡¯s so frustrating! Why do we have to do this all the time?¡±


    Da-jeong took one of her high heels and threw it as hard as she could in annoyance. On the other hand, Seokhyun was laughing raucously next to her. The reason was simple: he finally got the pink bunny ears he desperately wants. On top of it, it even turned into an item with great options, making him pamper it even more.


    A subordinate ghoul comes with Da-jeong¡¯s heels, which she had thrown away just before and put them on her feet.


    Da-jeong looked at Seokhyun next to her and sighed. ¡°Haaah¡­ I really envy you.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°You have nothing to worry about.¡±


    ¡°Worry is something stemming from your complicated mind. If you empty your mind, your worries will disappear.¡±


    ¡°Then, did you not worry about anything? If things continue like this, it will be endless. Stronger monsters will also appear in the future.¡±


    ¡°For me, worrying about the future is just not my style. Why worry about things that haven¡¯t happened yet?¡±


    ¡°So we can prepare ourselves!¡±


    ¡°I bet 90% of that preparation will be useless, though. Plans always go awry after you make it.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± What¡¯s wrong with this guy¡­ He spoke something so profound just like how he did back in the game¡­ Though, If it wasn¡¯t for those rabbit ears, I would have listened to it seriously¡­


    Da-jeong couldn¡¯t stand it and grabbed his pink bunny ear.


    ¡°Is this mere rabbit arrogantly admonishing the Queen?¡±


    ¡°Aaaah, stop¡­ It¡¯ll break¡­ It¡¯ll break¡­.¡±


    As they fought and bicker back and forth, the two arrived at Wolmido marina. Yeongjong Island could be seen in the distance, but unfortunately, all the bridges leading to that island were destroyed, leaving nothing but rubbles.


    The distance from where they stood towards the island in the distance was about 1 km. It¡¯s a good distance which could be traversed by simply rowing a boat. According to Jang Won-taek, there were quite a few Chinese living on that island.


    For what reason did they come this far?


    As they passed through Incheon, they heard that people were excited saying that they came to this area to fight the Chinese, but why is that?


    The more Da-jeong thought about it, the more her head throbs. So, she decided to leave this complicated matter to Seongho.


    After noting that all the bridges are down, she patted Seokhyun¡¯s ass. ¡°Let¡¯s go home and have lunch.¡±


    ¡°Yes. I kept the bread here.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t take anything out of your panties!¡±


    ¡°Ouch.¡±


    Seokhyun¡¯s was grabbed by the ears by Da-jeong and was dragged somewhere. Dozens of ghouls followed closely behind the two, escorting them.


    After walking for some distance. The two and the ghouls arrived at the hideout designated for them by the people in the government shelter. It was said that this place was a hideout with a special device which could cancel the zombie raid.


    Da-jeong wondered what the special device was and looked around the building. However, even after sweeping through all nooks and cranny, she couldn¡¯t find something which she thought to be remotely close to a special device.


    ¡°To think the reason Geom-in locked himself in his shelter back in the game was to study things like this¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like him.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡±


    ¡°Then why are you sticking with him?¡±


    ¡°Because Seongho told me to do it!¡± Da-jeong clenched her fists and roared. ¡°To be honest, I hate him, who is always pretending to be polite, and yet still tells me to pay for my meal, even though the meal was all nothing but crap. I want to beat him until he beg me to stop before stepping on his thing!!!¡±


    ¡°Then do it.¡±


    ¡°If I did that, what should I do with the backlash? I will be a murderer!¡±


    ¡°When did you ever worry about such things? If you¡¯re worried, then I¡¯ll kill them all for you. You guys only need the guns stored in the government shelter, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, but¡­¡±


    ¡°If they are all dead, the problem will be solved.¡±


    Seeing that Seokhyun smiled as he said it, torrents of complex emotions assaulted Da-jeong. He¡¯s a kid inside, so she thought that he might actually commit it.


    She cleared her throat and said. ¡°It¡¯s not that annoying though. I can easily tolerates it by looking at Seongho¡¯s face.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? If you can no longer tolerate them, tell me. I¡¯ll kill them all. I can just kill myself after that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, okay.¡±


    Because the two were talking loudly without any care, monsters gathered around them as they walked on. However, before they could get to the two, they had to fight against Da-jeong¡¯s subordinates first.


    ¡°Let¡¯s clean up the way and go inside.¡± Seokhyun rushed to the monsters as soon as he finished his words. After a while, the surroundings become quiet once again. However, blood and body parts could be seen scattered all over the place.


    Without any care, the two entered the house circled by a three-meter-high fence.


    Once they entered, Da-jeong rushed towards the living room first and lay down.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m hungry¡­¡±


    ¡°You can just ask Seongho for food, can¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    She jumped up and wrote a ciphered text on the Auction House. After a while, Da-jeong¡¯s lips parted from ear to ear.


    ¡°For real, the only reason I can keep on living is just because of this guy.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a full set of Jokbal!¡± (T/N Jokbal is a dish made mainly from a pig¡¯s feet.)


    Soon, a full set of Jokbal appeared on the floor of the living room. It was a perfect set, including side dishes, sauce, bibim noodles and cola. The amount was staggering to the point it could be mistaken as dinosaur¡¯s feet instead of pig¡¯s feet.


    ¡°Is he perhaps running a jokbal restaurant instead of a snack bar before the apocalypse?¡± Seokhyun looked at the jokbal set with wide eyes.


    ¡°I really love this! It must have been difficult to make this.¡±


    Da-jeong unwrapped the package and smiled. As the brownish color entered her eyes as well as the smell assaulted her nose, the stress she had accumulated were already gone.


    ¡°It must have been difficult to catch such a big wild boar with such a weak unique skill.¡±


    Seokhyun slowly waved her finger in front of her. ¡°You can only say that because you haven¡¯t seen him fight. Seongho is stronger than me.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s stronger than you?¡± Da-jeong¡¯s eyes went round at his words.


    ¡°We fought together while on the way to Seoul. His simple attacks and defenses may be weaker than me, but overall, he is superior to me. I¡¯m not confident that I will win at 1:1 against Seongho.¡±


    ¡°You are serious, huh?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know? Even though you met him earlier than me?¡±


    ¡°No, we never fought together¡­¡±


    Da-jeong frowned. Jealousy arose at the thought that Seongho had shown Rapwi everything he hadn¡¯t shown her.


    She snorted and raised her chopsticks.


    However, even before she could pick her first piece of meat, the door opened and some people walked in. The ghouls were making a lot of noise because of it, but when Da-jeong waved her hand, they quickly became quiet once again.


    The identity of the people who just came in was Bae Geom-in and Jang Won-taek. When the two saw the full set of jokbal, their eyes widened.


    ¡°Ho-how did you get a jokbal¡­?¡±


    Unlike Jang Won-taek, who was surprised and frozen on the spot, Geom-in rushed to the table with chopsticks in his hand.


    Looking at him, Da-jeong rises to her feet and drops a flying kick at him.


    ¡°Today is the day you die!¡±


    ¡°Keuuukkk!¡±


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Why are my ears itchy?¡± I scratched my ears as I hid in a residential area in the southern part of Incheon. The atmosphere in this area was different from Seoul. There were quite a lot of monsters here, but there¡¯s not many people who hunted them, even in daylight.


    When I looked around the area, I could find some people running away from monsters with heavy backpacks on their backs.


    ¡°Looking at their movement, their level is quite low¡­¡±


    At most, they seemed to be lower than level 10. The reason for their level was simple: It was because there¡¯s too many monsters in the area. Therefore, it was difficult for the people to farm peacefully without alerting the hordes of monsters.


    I was looking at the spectacle while sitting on the third-floor balcony of a five-story apartment. There were huge cracks in the walls, which looked dangerous, but it should hold on until tomorrow¡­


    Right?


    As I was unpacking, I heard the sound of running footsteps upstairs. Guess there¡¯s still people in this building. As I moved some furniture to block the entrance, I felt someone watching me through the window.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    I¡¯m someone you could call an introvert, so I don¡¯t feel good when I know people are staring at me. I packed my bags and quickly left the building. At that moment, I saw a middle-aged man walking down the stair. He didn¡¯t look dangerous at all, but it¡¯s better to leave before they start to bother me.


    As I was walking on the street, an arrow suddenly flew at me.


    ¡°Puck!¡±


    I barely dodged the arrow and looked in the direction it came from. On the terrace of a one-room building, three men panicked and chatted among themselves.


    It¡¯s no use to use my stats to spy on what they said, it must be a mundane chat of whether to run away or try to shoot again.


    ¡°You bastards are annoying.¡± I wanted to just gather the monsters in the area and kill those guys using them, but securing a hideout came first.


    I checked their location and then moved to the building where I could see the windows and the entrance. However, in the evening, something which made me realize I shouldn¡¯t pick the place occured.


    As I was packing my gear, I heard someone coming up the stairs. I¡¯m kind of cautious about the sound of the footsteps, so I wield my long knife and wait for whoever the footsteps belong to, to come up.


    ¡°Pl-please save me!¡±


    A woman?

 Chapter 103

    The portion of the jokbal sent by Seongho was extremely large. Thanks to that, Geom-in and Jang Won-taek could also join Seokhyun and Da-jeong to enjoy it.


    Geom-in admired the softness and the chewiness of the jokbal and did not even try to hide his eating habits. Meanwhile, Da-jeong¡¯s hand trembled as he looked at Geom-in, who could shamelessly enjoy the food even while he¡¯s being stared at.


    Jang Won-taek put his chopsticks down, stood up, and leaned against the window.


    ¡°Whoever sent this jokbal is a very kind person. How much did you pay for it?¡±


    ¡°100 points.¡±


    ¡°100 points huh? The person must have a place to hunt wild boars as well as have a lot of supplies.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask any more. I hate it..¡±


    ¡°Is it Da-jeong who hates it, or is it that person?¡±


    ¡°Both of us.¡± When Da-jeong laughed, Jang Won-taek shut his mouth. Instead, he communicated his intentions in a way which surprised Da-jeong.


    ¨DJust listen without answering. Is I Love Gimbap here right now?


    ¡°¡­¡± Da-jeong¡¯s eyes become round at the voice which rings inside her head. She had wondered and tried to deduce what the former president¡¯s unique skill was, and it turns out it was telepathy.


    By the way, how did he know that Seongho was here?


    While she rolled her eyes, Jang Won-taek sent another telepathy.


    -I have a lot of information coming in from multiple sources. Don¡¯t get me wrong. I am a heavy mouthed person, so you can relax.


    Instead of answering, Da-jeong just blocked Geom-in¡¯s chopsticks, which were rummaging through various side dishes like a cavalryman roaming the battlefield.


    ¡°What are you doing? Pick just one and go home..¡±


    ¡°Wait, I can¡¯t decide! There are so many delicious things¡­¡±


    Geom-in read the underlying emotion underneath Da-jeong¡¯s cold words and quickly moved his chopsticks and took a kimchi.


    On the other hand, telepathy entered Da-jeong¡¯s mind again.


    ¨DI heard about his whereabouts from Geom-in. Da-jeong knows what I want. It¡¯s to meet him. Please tell him that I¡¯ll meet him at Wolmi-do when the werewolves cry for the first time tomorrow night. By the way, he should¡¯ve wanted to see me too.


    Da-jeong stared at Geom-in¡¯s back as she heard the former president¡¯s words. Geom-in, who noticed her gaze, suddenly became anxious.


    Why is she kept looking towards the president?


    The delusions run rampant and the jokbal starts to lose its taste in his mouth.


    Meanwhile, in one corner of the room, Seokhyun, who just finished eating, rose to his feet and walked towards the door. Looking at him, who was coldly trying to leave the room, Jang Won-taek whispered.


    ¡°It¡¯s been awhile since we met each other, but you didn¡¯t even greet me.¡±


    ¡°There is no rule that states that the young have to say hello first.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I¡¯m sorry. As I grew older and got to hold high positions in government, I sometimes made mistakes. I will greet you first, then.¡±


    The truth is, no matter where in the world, it was not easy for a person who was once a president to bow his head to a mere single citizen. But Seokhyun wasn¡¯t even bothered by that and had a face that was devoid of any emotion.


    ¡°So why are you here?¡±


    ¡°You could say I¡¯m doing an inspection. I¡¯m not sure if you know about this, but there are quite a lot of Chinese on the island beyond the sea.¡±


    ¡°Why are the Chinese here?¡±


    ¡°I cannot tell you why since you are an outsider.¡±


    At that answer, Seokhyun shut his mouth and Jang Won-taek smirked.


    ¡°How about this? If you join the government shelter now, I will tell you everything.¡±


    As soon as those words came out, Da-jeong raised her voice.


    ¡°What!!! So, why don¡¯t you tell me?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it human psychology to neglect the fish we already got?¡±


    ¡°Do I look like a fish?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you are the northern snakehead of our fish tank. If you are handled wrongly, you will instantly destroy the fish tank ecosystem.¡±


    ¡°But didn¡¯t I behave well even though you mistreated me?¡±


    ¡°Such a thing! Didn¡¯t you come in for food? I feed you plenty and still have many things I haven¡¯t fed you yet. so I thought as of now there¡¯s no possibility for you to destroy the tank.¡±


    At that moment Da-jeong realized that she wouldn¡¯t be able to win in a battle of words against the old man in front of her. After all, he was someone who had reached the pinnacle of political power in Korea. In other words, even though he looks like a kind old man on the outside, he has about a hundred serpents inside of him.


    Like Seongho, there were a lot of people in the world who did not show their inner feelings.


    As Da-jeong pouted her lips, Lee Beom-seok entered the room.


    ¡°The test was successful. Even with a total of 8 people gathered, there was no zombie raid happening.¡±


    Jang Won-taek smiled at what he heard.


    At those words, Geom-in put strength in his stomach and pushed his chest as high as he could, showing how proud he was. However, even after doing such things, he still couldn¡¯t get the kind gaze he wanted as the conversation went on.


    ¡°Now you can say that we have taken the first step.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s work together for the new government. Will Da-jeong help too?¡± Jang Won-taek asked. However, no words come out from Da-jeong¡¯s mouth. She just shook her head.


    After the former president and his aide left the room, Geom-in whispered at Da-jeong.


    ¡°Da-jeong, you will have a different mission from the other. To be honest, sending you to this headout was only a front.¡±


    ¡°Stop pretending to know!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not pretending to know, It¡¯s real¡­ I can¡¯t tell anyone about what kind of mission you will have since someone overheard us. You know my heart right?¡±


    When Geom-in glanced at Seokhyun, he was still munching on the jokbal. Except, now he was eating it without the chopstick and directly munching on the bone like a caveman.


    ¡°It was so chewy that it didn¡¯t taste good¡­¡±


    Of course it wouldn¡¯t be delicious if you eat it that way!


    Meanwhile, Da-jeong, who had been holding back her anger, said coldly.


    ¡°You are noisy! Get lost!!!¡±


    Geom-in¡¯s expression paled as soon as he saw Da-jeong screaming. Since he had changed the physical strengthening unique skill to something else, he would only incur a loss if he decided to push the matter further. Therefore, he ran away quickly. And Da-jeong threw her high heels towards his trail.


    ¡°Anyway, either a fat guy or a bald guy, you are all frustrating!¡±


    ¡°Then, what about Jang Won-taek?¡±


    At Seokhyun¡¯s question, Da-jeong lowered her voice.


    ¡°He uses his telepathy skill on me. He said he wanted to meet Seongho.¡±


    ¡°You should have refused.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ At first I also wanted to refuse. But he said that Seongho should¡¯ve wanted to meet him too.¡±


    ¡°Really? I¡¯d rather kill them all before Seongho hears anything.¡±


    As Seokhyun said that, he tried to get up on his feet. Afraid of what he was about to do, Da-jeong put both of her hands on his shoulder and pushed him back down.


    ¡°Wait a minute. It¡¯s not too late to kill them once we know what they said to Seongho.¡±


    ¡°You think too much. Sometimes you have to forget everything and just act.¡±


    ¡°The time to do that is not now! Seriously, you know I¡¯m not normal either. If it¡¯s up to me, I also want to just kill them all here.¡±


    As her face grew visibly redder, Seokhyun encouraged her.


    ¡°Accept your inner anger! Let the devil in you awaken!!!¡±


    ¡°Shut up and just sit down.¡±


    Without uttering any more nonsense, Seokhyun sat down like a well-behaved kid. A ghoul then brought Da-jeong¡¯s high heels back and put it on her.


    ¡°After this job is over, even if Seongho grabs my leg and help me mast*rbate, I will still leave the shelter. I¡¯m tired of listening to their bullshit. It¡¯s over now.¡±


    ¡°Good thinking!¡±


    ¡°And just know that I will stick with you two. If Seongho tries to run away, we have to catch him, okay?¡±


    At those words, Seokhyun tilted his head.


    ¡°If Seongho decided to run away, we would never catch him.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already caught him once though?¡±


    ¡°He probably let you do it. If he enters his portal, how are you going to catch him?¡±


    That is true.


    Da-jeong, who was speechless, pressed her weight on Seokhyun¡¯s shoulder as anger flared up by the thought of Seongho deliberately letting her to catch him.


    ¡°¡­Anyway, we¡¯re going together, okay? Since that guy didn¡¯t want his identity to be known, I guess we just have to kill anyone who attacks us.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a cool idea!¡± Seokhyun put his thumb up.


    .


    .


    .


    Even though the girl had screamed ¡®Please help me¡¯, I did not remove the long knife I brandished at her.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°U-uh¡­ I was wondering if you could help me¡­¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s three guys out there who are trying to kill me¡­¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    The girl nodded her head violently, but my tension did not ease at all. After all, It was common practice to catch prey with bait in an apocalypse. The bait that was the most commonly used came in the shape of a woman, as they were the most suitable for alleviating one¡¯s vigilance.


    In a traditional apocalypse, they would kill their prey once it bit the bait, but in the current apocalypse, they couldn¡¯t do so since there is a murderer system. So probably, they would only tie up their prey and rob their supply.


    It seems like I would have to throw counter bait at them here. I put away my long knife and put my hand on her chin like a playboy.


    ¡°If I protect you, what will you give me?¡±


    ¡°Wh-wh-what do you want¡­?¡±


    Terrified eyes and voice. If this woman was just acting, she deserves at least a grammy for it. I moved my gaze at her bulging breasts.


    It kind of looks like fake breasts?


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you let me look at it first before I help you?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Her eyebrows trembled, but she still placed her hand on her chest.


    As of now, our distance was extremely close. And she should¡¯ve thought that my vigilance was down.


    So, isn¡¯t this a great opportunity to show off your true colors?


    She bowed her head, then a moments later, she took a mithril knife from her arms and stabbed it towards me.


    Unfortunately for her, my dimensional wall was faster than her stab. The mithril knife fell at the impact, and she opened her mouth in surprise.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Huh what?¡±


    I kicked her hand with my right foot and slammed my fist into her stomach.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    ¡°Are the three people outside your party? Sleep for a while.¡±


    When I pieced her skin with a knife coated with a paralyzing poison, the girl fell to the floor. To be honest, I shouldn¡¯t have used the paralyzing poison in a place like this. It was because the frogs in the shelter were suffering from some kind of illness, so they haven¡¯t been able to give me much poison.


    ¡°I have to go catch some new frogs¡­¡±


    I dragged the girl towards the window before opening her mouth ever so slightly so she could scream.


    ¡°AAAGGHHHH¡±


    With her scream, the three people outside should come upstairs thinking that I had successfully overpowered the woman.


    As expected, moments later, there was a sound of hasty footsteps echoing through the building. I quickly threw a hook onto the roof and climbed it.


    ¡°Where is he? What happened?¡±


    ¡°That bastard went up to the roof!¡±


    ¡°Hurry up!¡±


    Even here I am called ¡®that bastard¡¯¡­


    When I heard the guys¡¯ footsteps, I took out a whistle and blew it as hard as I could.


    Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep-!!


    At one instance, zombies and ghouls around the building rushed into the building. And at that moment, I was certain that the woman and all the guys were dead.


    Because¡­


    ¡°Hey you bastard!¡±


    ¡°I will kill you¡­¡±


    The three of them, who were just about to jump out onto the roof, collided with the dimensional wall I had deployed.


    ¡°What the fuck is this!¡±


    ¡°Keuk!¡±


    Even when they pushed the dimension wall, they could do nothing while the monsters were coming up to the building.


    As I was about to squat down, the three men began to pound the dimensional wall violently. Their faces were paler than seconds before.


    ¡°If you let them come, you will die too!¡±


    ¡°Le-let¡¯s negotiate! Negotiate!¡±


    ¡°Please open whatever this is!¡±


    I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t have to worry about such things. Eventually, the three pale even more when they see a ghoul coming up the stairs. One particular man even rubbed his face against the dimension wall and cried a thousand tears.


    ¡°Pl-please! I will never do this kind of thing ever again!¡±


    ¡°If you open this, I will do anything for you! PLEASE, HYUNG-NIM!!!!!¡±


    I turned from ¡®that bastard¡¯ to hyung-nim in a mere second¡­ Even so, I still didn¡¯t make the dimension wall disappear. After all, they need to pay for their actions.


    ¡°Goodbye.¡±


    When I waved my hands, the three looked back and roared.


    ¡°AGGHHHHH!¡±


    ¡°Do-don¡¯t come!¡±


    Even if you say those words, the ghoul will still come.


    Then, a gruesome battle took place on the other side of the dimension wall. The three men resisted as much as they could, but it was still far from enough to overcome the ghoul.


    ¡°Ackkkkkk!!¡±


    One of the man¡¯s hands flew to the air, cut by the ghoul¡¯s claws. His blood was splattered and smeared the dimension wall red.


    The two other men were punching at the ghoul as hard as he could. Perhaps because of their physical strength, the ghoul¡¯s head spun around. But that was all, as there were still many zombies coming up the stairs.


    ¡°Kuaaah!!!¡±


    One of the men held onto the ghoul¡¯s wrists, but then, a zombie bit him on the shoulder.


    ¡°Aaaah!¡±


    A terrifying scream rang out.


    I finally removed the dimension wall and moved to the roof of the next building. A ghoul jumped up towards me, but when I swung my long knife, it fell to the floor like a doll with its string cut off. The zombies rushed towards the ghoul¡¯s carcass to eat it.


    With all the things that happened here, I couldn¡¯t stay here any longer. I waited for the monsters to disappear, packed the backpacks of the three dead men and moved to another place.


    .


    .


    .


    Four people had just died because of me. I certainly have a choice to quietly take care of things without killing them for sure. After all, I was certain that they don¡¯t want to be murderers either, so they wouldn¡¯t kill me.


    But I didn¡¯t even try to think of that option.


    ¡°Idiots¡­¡± It was very, very dangerous to be a robber in the apocalypse without the necessary skills. It was because there¡¯s no one that would be willing to give away their supplies for free. Therefore, battle will be inevitable.


    If you are not a stagnant water like me, repeated battle is a shortcut to death. No matter how many times you get lucky and end up able to claim the loot, there¡¯s no way they will keep winning.


    Someday, either from unluckiness or fighting against someone with superior skill, they will get hurt and lose. And the result is death.


    The best option was to hide and run away. But the guys who attacked me before had made the wrong choice. Therefore, South Korea¡¯s population continues to decline.


    ¡°Ha-am.¡±


    It¡¯s a thing from the past, so let¡¯s just forget it and eat. Once the portal opened, Dingo came out to greet me. He bit on my sleeve and pulled me. I don¡¯t know why he did it all of a sudden.


    Upon entering the cave, I could see Ding-soon panting heavily near the barbed wire. Around her, there were goblin corpses scattered all over the place. It seems like she was the one who killed them all.


    ¡°Would you like to come in?¡± To be honest, even though I said so, It was burdensome for me to bring a large silver wolf into my cave. But somehow, my heart says it was okay.


    The girl looked at me with a blank look before exposing her stomach to me. It¡¯s a sign of obedience.


    As soon as the barbed wire fence was opened, Dingo ran and brought Ding-soon inside. They fell down in front of me and rolled over, exposing their stomachs at me.


    ¡°You have to be quiet though.¡±


    By the way, it was a bit problematic because the shelter was narrow. It was fine for Dingo, but it¡¯s not big enough for Ding-soon to run around. Well, I could just open the barbed wire fence once every now and then and let them go out.


    After deciding on that, I tested Ding-soon¡¯s ability to pass through the portal.


    ¡°Come here, come here.¡±


    She followed me out to my hideout on Earth,


    She¡¯s big¡­


    She looked even bigger when she was in a narrow room.


    I stroked her fur and let her return to the cave. It seems like, If there¡¯s anything suspicious in the future, I should bring Ding-soon and disguise myself as a tamer because Dingo is still small.


    While scooping through my meal, I looked around the Auction House and found out that Da-jeong was calling for me. She then told me that Jang Won-taek wants to see me.


    How did he know I¡¯m here?


    ¡°¡­No, wait.¡±


    If anyone knows my whereabouts, it has to be Jang Won-taek because he has a lot of people around him who supply information to him. He was probably aware that I was the one who broke through the dungeon that appeared in Gangdong-gu.


    ¡°Should I meet him?¡±


    I also have something to talk about with him. But I didn¡¯t want to show up. When I asked if Da-jeong could set the time and place, it turns out it was already decided.


    ¡°When the first werewolves cry was heard at Wolmido marina¡­¡±


    This means that he was sure that I would not refuse his invitation. At the same time, it meant that he wanted to see my skills.


    However, I had no slightest intention of playing into his hands. He might be in a hurry, but I wasn¡¯t.


    -Tell him that I am rejecting his invitation.


    -Good thinking! That old man¡¯s unique skill is telepathy. Maybe he can even read your thoughts.


    He has telepathic abilities?


    This information was much more interesting than his invitation. What is his unique skill activation condition, I wonder?


    Was it a handshake like Kwon¡¯s condition?


    While I continue to ponder, Da-jeong wrote another comment.


    -By the way, once this is over, I¡¯m going to leave the shelter, okay?


    Dammit, is she tired of it already?


    Well, it doesn¡¯t matter since I¡¯ve roughly figured out the location and structure of the shelter. A tiger and two foxes were living under the same roof, therefore a lot of quarrel happened. One day, there will be cracks between them, and I just need to spy on the opportunity and take it.


    What if the shelter stays strong, though?


    ¡°Then I will have to use another method.¡±


    There are many ways.


    I spit my meal out of my mouth as I looked at the comments Da-jeong wrote.


    ¨DOnce we meet this time, you should spend some time with me. I need to put a stamp on you so you can¡¯t run away.


    What kind of stamp?

 Chapter 104

    Fortunately, Da-jeong¡¯s words didn¡¯t mean what I thought it would be. She just wants to venture around with me.


    -This place is full of people wearing masks, smiling around like dolls. They all want to do something about me. it¡¯s just hell. So take me out before I end up killing them all.


    She must have been under a lot of stress¡­


    -I want to tell you to leave now, but please wait a little bit. At least until I meet the president.


    -Didn¡¯t you say that you won¡¯t meet him?


    -You have to make him believe so¡­


    ¨C Ahh. I got it. Actually, Rapwi is more problematic than me. If I didn¡¯t stop him, he would have attacked those people. We and the government people just don¡¯t match at all.


    Well, he¡¯s Seokhyun after all¡­ By the looks of things, It seems like after the corrosive disease subsided, things would turn to be pretty hectic.


    Once I wrapped up the conversation with Da-jeong by saying I would serve her a tuna if she waited a bit longer, I left the Auction House.


    ¡°Sigh¡­¡± To be honest, I know the reason why the president wants to meet me: He wants to bring people together. His goal was to gather talented people to increase the government shelter¡¯s power and finally build a brand new civilization.


    Let¡¯s say the plan went well, then what? What comes after that?


    Jang Won-taek was someone who had experienced holding the highest authority in a nation, so, he shouldn¡¯t bother himself fighting for a small seat, like the leader of a brand new nation.


    But I couldn¡¯t be sure.


    ¡°His telepathic abilities could develop into a skill to control others¡­¡± I did not think that he would quietly retire and live a mundane life.


    ¡°You can¡¯t just trust politicians¡­¡± Humans were fundamentally full of lies, especially in an apocalyptic world. But politicians were even more so. But still, I should take a wait and see approach right now before making my decision about him. After all, Jang Won-taek was way better than any clan leaders he had met, as he was concerned about the well-being of his shelter.


    I entered my shelter after writing the location Da-jeong told me on the map. By the way, I have something to worry about these days. A few stone monkeys were roaming around the shelter. As soon as they saw me, they giggled and jumped towards other branches. Their size was also bigger than their normal size. On top of it, it was an annoying monster to deal with, as their attacking method, as their name implied, was throwing stones at their target, and it was very annoying to deal with.


    At their first appearance, I thought that they were just passing by. However, their numbers were gradually increasing. And now, it has turned into a large group of 30, or maybe even 40, and they keep throwing stones at my shelter.


    Of course, I didn¡¯t just stand still. I retaliated and successfully killed a few of them. However, they responded swiftly. When I pulled the bow string, they immediately jumped down from the tree and hid. It was not easy to match how fast their movement was.


    I also succeeded in killing one guy with a ballista, but there was no more result after that.


    The guys were obviously learning. They learn from their fallen comrade that bows and ballistas were dangerous.


    Those fucking bastards¡­


    ¡°How do I kill them all effectively¡­¡±


    Even at this moment, they were throwing stones at the shelter. Since the warehouse was strong, it suffered no big damage. However, stress has accumulated in me, the scarabs, and the two wolf lovers since we could not even go out to the empty lot in front of the cave.


    Those monkeys were not classified as an animal, but a monster, so its throwing power was strong. If their stone hits you, it would clearly break a few bones.


    ¡°Why did those bastards come to my house?¡±


    Is it their migration time since spring has come?


    If that was the case, it would be better to just kill them all.


    ¡°If I fight, I certainly will win, but I want to avoid that route¡­¡±


    I¡¯m not good at climbing trees, so I thought I would just wait for them to disappear. But now as I decide to fight, I have to do it right.


    ¡°155 shots left¡­ I have to be thrifty with my shot.¡±


    So, what¡¯s the best way to beat those bastards?


    ¡°Let¡¯s start with the leader.¡±


    Stone monkeys were led by a large and strong alpha. If those alpha just stay behind his group, it will not be respected by other monkeys, so it will come forward and attack aggressively. I have to kill that guy first.


    I came out with the K2 rifle, which I cherished so much. I have to aim carefully and kill the leader in one shot. If it was killed, the group would be thrown into chaos. Once that happens, I will destroy their nest. Since they were monkeys, there should be nothing worthwhile to loot in their nest, so I can just set it on fire.


    I got my gear and hid behind the warehouse.


    Bang-!! Bang-!! Bang-!!


    Stones thrown by the stone monkeys hit the warehouse and bounced off while making a loud sound.


    When the stone stopped ,I quickly held out my gun and fired at the leader.


    Bang-!!


    The birds sitting on the trees flew away in droves as the sound echoed. And a beat later, a large monkey fell and shook the ground. It suffered a puncture wound to its forehead and died a miserable but painless death.


    Kieeekkk-!!


    The stone monkeys, who had just lost their leader, fell into chaos. They quarreled among themselves and at some places, some monkeys even attacked the monkey next to them.


    Without delay, I switched the gun with the bow and fired at them. After a couple of them fell by my arrow, the stone monkeys started to run away one by one.


    WOOF-!! WOOF-!! AUUUUUU-!!!


    Ding-soon and Dingo came out to the vacant lot and performed a wonderful howling.


    Isn¡¯t there a saying that the greatest loss came not when war is ongoing, but when it was done?


    Therefore, it¡¯s time for us to realize those sayings.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    When the barbed wire fence was opened, the two wolves rushed out and pursued the stone monkeys. Even though it¡¯s impossible for the two wolves to catch those monkeys which jump from tree to tree, I can help them.


    When I stopped and fired some arrows, a monkey that had been playing with the wolf by throwing stones fell down.


    Ding-soon, obviously angry, ran and bit the monkey¡¯s head and shook it violently.


    Crack-!!


    There was a terrible sound of a broken neck moments later.


    The three of us hunted down a group of stone monkeys in that way and hunted more than ten. We chased them down to the nest and caught 20 of them by the end.


    Dingo and Ding-soon looked at me after rounding up the monkey cubs in front of me.


    It¡¯s cute because they were still babies. But in the end, they¡¯re nothing but monsters. If we let them go, one day they might return as enemies and attack me again.


    ¡°Kill them all.¡±


    King-!!


    I looted the nest while the two wolves killed the cubs.


    ¡°Where did they get this?¡±


    An old leather backpack could be found in the nest. However, it didn¡¯t look good as a lot of bite marks could be seen on it. Probably, the monkey cubs used this leather backpack as a biting practice.


    When I untied the knot, things like knives, a pot, cloak, and a map could be seen inside. Judging from those objects, it was clear that the original owner of the backpack was a traveler.


    When I opened the map, it was full of unknown alphabets. However, I could understand that the alphabet was written in order to mark some places.


    ¡°This place was nearby.¡±


    It was clear from the fact that the place was situated on the north of a mountain covered in white and lake. The map also explained in detail the various topography, vegetation, and distribution of animals. When I compared it with the book I got from the dungeon, it matched perfectly.


    ¡°Who the hell made this?¡± With this proof, I was certain that there was also a civilization here in this dimension.


    When I was busy checking the maps, Ding-soon and Dingo came to me with their bloodied snouts, proof that they had finished their job. Now, we must burn the nest quickly before the other stone monkeys arrive.


    I pour some gasoline on the nest and set it on fire. With this, the other stone monkeys should give up this nest and go somewhere else.


    Had there still been a leader in their midst, they would have attacked me again with a burning desire for revenge, but since the leader is no more, the remaining stone monkeys wouldn¡¯t even think of that.


    When I returned to the shelter and launched the drone, I could see that the stone monkeys were moving westward.


    ¡°Huh¡­ it¡¯s over.¡±


    The stone monkey threat, which would have been quite dangerous if handled incorrectly, is over. Moreover, now Ding-soon completely trusted me and followed me just like Dingo.


    It wasn¡¯t bad to feel a large silver wolf rubbing its body on me.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get along well.¡±


    When I showed the scarabs the map, they just stood still without telling me anything.


    ¡°You guys really don¡¯t know, do you? Did you know anything?¡±


    The scarab leader looked carefully at the map, then pointed to a spot and made an overhead swinging motion.


    ¡°Ignition stone or black charcoal? Is this place an ore field?¡±


    Nod nod.


    He made a very exaggerated gesture with his front legs spread out.


    It¡¯s not too far away, so it¡¯s better to pay a visit to that place. Though, I need to get some gasoline before that. The mini fork crane used too much gasoline so much to the point that my stockpile was now in dire situation.


    I called Ding-soon as well as Dingo and then fed them the wild boar meat I cured. I hope you both eat well and give birth to a baby soon.


    .


    .


    .


    The next evening, I infiltrated Wolmido and settled down near the marina.


    I could go straight to the mansion where government officials were staying, but somehow, I wanted to see the president first.


    I¡¯ve seen him back in the farming dungeon, but he probably wouldn¡¯t have recognized me as I Love Gimbap at that time. Da-jeong said that his unique skill was telepathy, but from that alone, it was difficult to figure out exactly what kind of ability he had. I¡¯m sure it wasn¡¯t only an ability to simply talk to someone without opening his mouth.


    ¡°His unique skill has the potential to evolve into something to read minds¡­¡±


    Jang Won-taek was the President of the Republic of South Korea. The process of meeting supporters and opponents to gain support and persuade them could be said as a battle. After decades of swimming in the political arena, he finally reached the apex. Therefore, it wasn¡¯t far-fetched to say that he had the ability to read people¡¯s minds even without a skill. So it would be problematic and scary at the same time if that quality of him turns into a skill.


    ¡°I have no choice but to hope that his level is low.¡±


    According to Da-jeong, she had never seen him hunting, so his level should be low. No, wait, I don¡¯t have to think like that. Jang Won-taek is a very good person. It was clear from things he did to prepare people for the apocalypse. Gathering people in the government shelter and experimenting wasn¡¯t a problem.


    After all, Isn¡¯t it natural to fight monsters together?


    ¡°At least, on the surface¡­¡±


    Da-jeong once said that if I had revealed my identity before the apocalypse, I would not have been alive. It was due to the fact that there were other forces besides the government. Poor Man, Ji-man also said something similar to Da-jeong. Therefore, there¡¯s still this feeling of distrust in my heart towards Jang Won-taek even though he¡¯s a good person.


    I opened the portal and waited for him, looking out at the sea. Finally, when the werewolf first howl could be heard, an old gentleman appeared. Even though it was dark, I could clearly see his gray hair, shirt, and trousers.


    He turned his back and said to someone.


    ¡°Leave. It seems that he has come.¡±


    Maybe he noticed me?


    Has he been hiding here since evening?


    Once the footsteps volume died down, proof that whoever stood behind him earlier had walked away, Jang Won-taek said, ¡°Is this our first time meeting each other? Or have you ever seen me?¡±


    He¡¯s talking about the farming dungeon. However, I waited without answering.


    Jang Won-taek continued to speak while still turning his back against me.


    ¡°I will never turn my back to see your face. I can promise you this one thing.¡±


    I see¡­ I checked my backpack and went outside. Even though I¡¯m sure he heard it, he didn¡¯t look back at all. Once I stood behind the president, he mused.


    ¡°You have quite a build, contrary to your cute ID.¡±


    ¡°How did you know I was here?¡±


    ¡°I just thought that you would come. Because If I were you, I would surely come.¡±


    ¡°Even though I refused through Da-jeong?¡±


    ¡°Da-jeong? It seems like you are on really friendly terms with her. Do you have any special relationship going with her?¡±


    ¡°We are friends.¡±


    ¡°Haha¡­I don¡¯t believe in friendship between a young man and a woman, but let¡¯s leave it like that. After all, I thought you would come, and you did. So, I can¡¯t complain about anything else, can I?¡±


    Jang Won-taek sat cross-legged and invited me to sit as well. I accepted his invitation and sat down as well. However, he still kept his face opposite mine.


    ¡°I want to thank you again for letting us know the exact date of the apocalypse. Thanks to your information, I was able to spend time with my friends and children. It was a bit sad back then, but now that I think about it, I am so grateful towards you.¡±


    From what I know about the actions of other high-ranking people in the government, who didn¡¯t even bother trying to help the civilians and just trying to save their lives, the words Jang Won-taek just said wasn¡¯t something a person such as him should¡¯ve said.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just did the bare minimum.¡±


    ¡°If that is the bare minimum? What is the maximum, then? Revealing all the information you have?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, the reason you didn¡¯t do that was because of your unique skill?¡±


    ¡°It is similar.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s as I expected. By the way, the reason Da-jeong was brought into the government shelter was probably because of the gun, right?¡±


    As expected from the former President of the Republic of South Korea, his wits were quick. But it would only be right for me to deny his accusation here.


    ¡°Maybe?¡±


    To be precise, what I wanted was live ammunition and the instructions on how to make it. With the help of the scarabs back in the shelter, making the metal shell was not a problem. But I need to know how to make the primer part to make a proper bullet.


    Those guys even shook their heads when I showed them the bullet, indicating that just looking like that wouldn¡¯t work.


    After disassembling three ammo and blowing them up, the guys never touched the bullets again.


    Jang Won-taek stroked his beard.


    ¡°Guns¡­ are a very dangerous thing. In fact, if it wasn¡¯t for the corrosive disease, we wouldn¡¯t have been destroyed. The power of modern weapons is that great.¡±


    ¡°I think so too. And it¡¯s a bit unfortunate that such a dangerous weapon falls into the hands of Geom-in.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. As expected, it¡¯s because of the guns! Our poor Geom-in was really hated, huh?¡±


    He seemed to be on friendly terms with Geom-in. Heck, they lived right next to each other for several months, so of course they would be friendly.


    Then, The president suddenly made an unexpected offer.


    ¡°For me, It was fine for Geom-in ssi to have power. His personality is a bit problematic, but he also has a lot of good points. He gave me all the information and I think that¡¯s a good reason to have power.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡±


    ¡°How is it? I think it would be good for you to reveal your identity like Geom-in-ssi. Although you have several clashes with people in the events, if you are capable enough¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but if I reveal my identity, there will be at least a hundred people who will come running to me.¡±


    ¡°¡­I heard that story too. The Auction House is full of people swearing at you. I think I¡¯ve given them enough information, but why are they still¡­¡±


    ¡°They want information about the events, not monsters. It is some kind of jealousy because I am the only one who knows everything.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ indeed¡­¡±


    ¡°And I don¡¯t fully trust you, ¡®Mr. President¡¯¡­To be precise, about those hidden forces behind you.¡±


    Jang Won-taek sighed when I talked about the topic.


    ¡°Now that I have the opportunity, I will tell you. Do you remember the incident that took place in Yeouido at the end of June? If you ever watched any news channel, or heard about it, you should know which incident I¡¯m talking about.¡±


    Ah¡­ that.


    There was a time when there was news about a gunfight caused by army deserters. But that piece of news only lasted for several minutes before disappearing as if it had never happened.


    Well, as always, I thought it was covered up by the government¡­


    ¡°The truth is, it wasn¡¯t caused by army deserters. I already ordered the commanders of the entire army to reign the army tight, after all. Which means, it¡¯s not the army who caused it.¡±


    ¡°Then you mean someone else brought guns and started a shootout? In South Korea?¡±


    ¡°Are you curious? I suspect it was the doing of someone inside the government shelter.¡±


    Is he perhaps talking about Joo Seung-cheol?


    A heir of the Daehyun Group and a man who invested in the production company of Survival Life.


    ¡°Does anyone come to mind? It seems that Da-jeong gave you a lot of information, heh heh.¡±


    ¡°Well, she was sent there to precisely do that.¡±


    ¡°I see. Anyway, that man has his own shelter. Its size might be bigger than a government shelter since he already knew about the apocalypse long before the government knew about it. On top of it, he had Daehyun Construction under his command. Would it be helpful if I could give you the rough outline of where the shelter is located?¡±


    ¡°Nope. I will figure it out myself.¡±


    I got all the necessary information, so I declined and stood up. At that moment, Jang Won-taek said in a stern tone.


    ¡°I admit that you have lived well on your own until now. But in the future, you will need authority. If you come to our shelter, you can save a lot of time.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that force dictates fighting strength. For me, it¡¯s enough to be on friendly terms only with a few people.¡±


    ¡°I see you are the type of person who doesn¡¯t trust people very well. But I still believe in my own words. Do you know who is on Yeongjong Island over there?¡±


    ¡°Hundreds of Chinese people, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. However, even now, the number of those people continues to increase. They are looking for land that has not been damaged by radiation.¡±


    If so, it means that while Korea is safe, the land of China was contaminated by radioactive contamination.


    Jang Won-taek said vigorously. ¡°The murderer system limits how many people you can kill. Even though they chose to communicate with us, since the culture and customs between us are different, there will be a lot of clashes. Looking at your disposition, you will stand for the Koreans rather than the Chinese, right?¡±


    ¡°Maybe?¡± I shrugged. ¡°Mister President, do you know how many Koreans I killed yesterday?¡±


    Jang Won-taek¡¯s body twitched at my question.


    ¡°¡­you mean you made them die rather than killing them yourself, right?¡±


    ¡°Same thing, Mister President. I killed four Koreans. They tried to bait me and attack me. In that situation, what is the difference between them and the Chinese?¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡±


    The answer didn¡¯t come.


    I raised my voice. ¡°It is foolish to differentiate people simply by their nationality in the apocalypse. Anyone you meet will either be friends or foe. I have lived that way so far, and I plan to continue to live that way.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± The president was silent. Seems like he¡¯s contemplating my words.


    At that time, through the dark night sea, I could see several boats approaching the marina.


    ¡°There are boats coming here.¡±


    In my words, Jang Won-taek narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°I can¡¯t see anything¡­¡±


    ¡°There are five boats in total. Everyone abroad was armed.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like they come with good intentions¡­¡±


    I walked backwards slowly and entered the portal.


    Jang Won-taek then looked back.


    ¡°Your unique skill is really great.. You don¡¯t even feel a sense of urgency after seeing 5 boats. By the way, I¡¯ve given you a lot of information, so, can you do me a favor in return?¡±


    Instead of answering, I hung a firework on the ballista arrow and fired it.


    Piuuuu-!! Bam-!!


    When the fireworks exploded, light shone on the five boats.


    Jang Won-taek went silent and shook his head.


    ¡°Thinking about a countermeasure for this kind of thing will be a headache¡­ Anyway, thank you very much. We will take care of the rest ourselves.¡±


    I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t intend to just stand still.


    Afterall, when someone comes to my house with a weapon without any permission whatsoever, they will have to pay the price.


    (E/n Hypeeeee)

 Chapter 105

    In an apocalypse, being fully armed in the night most of the time means that those people were just going to farm. Therefore, it¡¯s a little bit vague to tell whether the Chinese on the boat were enemies or not, if we were to judge by their appearance alone. However, the reason I decided that they were enemies was due to the sound of heartbeats.


    Thump-!! Thump-!!


    Since the sound was irregular, rather than on tempo, it¡¯s clear that there are multiple murderer amongst the guys on the boat.


    When Jang Won-taek heard it, he also shouted some instructions to his subordinates.


    ¡°Just leave. Remember, today is a secret from anyone.¡±


    It seems like he really is a heavy mouthed person.


    After he disappeared, I went to the shelter and got ready. Although I just said that nationality was not important, in the end, I am still a Korean. Those incoming Chinese made me remember those Chinese fishing boats which scoured through the Korean West Sea, making me feel sick.


    ¡°Their minds were clearly set.¡±


    An ordinary Chinese would have room for compromise, but those guys were not alone but together with a murderer. Therefore, they would certainly kill to take whatever they need. I know it very well because I¡¯ve experienced being a murderer for a while. When in that state, it¡¯s hard to resist the urge to kill.


    ¡°In the end, I have no choice but to kill them all.¡±


    I prepared the weapon and put it in the slot. Through my long playtime, I¡¯ve never experienced multiple deathmatches with multiple killers. At most, it was only once or twice, with at most two murderer. The cause was simple: murderers were very rare back in the game.


    ¡°I think there are at least three murderer on their midst¡­¡± Now that they had landed on the shore, I could hear the heartbeat more vividly.


    The streets of the amusement park became chaotic with the sound of numerous footsteps. I could see some people from the government shelter hiding behind the dilapidated buildings and structures. Though, the only people I know was the President¡¯s chief of staff, and that bastard, Bae Geom-in, who grumbled something about how he wasn¡¯t ready.


    ¡°You have to guard this place and respond if the situation gets worse.¡±


    ¡°I got it.¡±


    The moment the chief of staff disappeared with a blink, his grumbling turned into abusive language.


    ¡°Fuck, I don¡¯t even have the physical strengthening anymore, so what can I do? Can I copy Da-jeong¡¯s ability?¡±


    Obviously, if he got Da-jeong¡¯s zombie domination skill, he would be stronger than now. But I don¡¯t think Da-jeong would let him copy her unique skill.


    By the time some Chinese shouted something in the distance, Geom-in disappeared with a blink while scratching his head. According to the chief of staff, he should be in charge of this area, but it seems like he didn¡¯t want to do it.


    ¡°I can see why Da-jeong didn¡¯t like him.¡± If he didn¡¯t want to be ordered around, he should have lived alone like I did. But to be honest, I don¡¯t know why he ran away from the fight even though he had a blink ability. Afterall, coupled with bow and arrow, he could easily dominate the battlefield.


    Then, suddenly, Seokhyun, no, Rapwi appeared in the middle of the road.


    Where the heck did he get that bunny headband?


    As the man was only wearing panties while using the headband, it felt like poison had entered my eyes.


    ¡°Ah, seriously!!¡±


    As I was about to leave my shelter, Seokhyun put his hand on his waist and shouted at the murderers on the boat.


    ¡°TAIWAN NUMBER ONE!!!!!!!!!!¡±


    The eyes of a dozen people turned to him in an instance.


    The provocation effect was waaaaayyyyy too effective.


    .


    .


    .


    The people who gathered at the Wolmi-do¡¯s marina went through a number of battles simultaneously. Everyone¡¯s been through countless zombie raids and deathmatches. Therefore, they should¡¯ve not been surprised by anything. However, as this was their very first involved in such a big battle like this, and with multiple murderers to boot, everyone was quite lost about who to fight. Should they fight the murderers? Or the zombies closing in?


    However, in the midst of the confusion, there were people who could keep their composure and perform a bloody splendid performance. It was Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek, Choi Da-jeong and Rabbit Princess, Hwang Seokhyun.


    The two caused chaos while ignoring the zombie wall and stick around the murderers. Da-jeong, who had took her high heels off, rushed towards one particular murderer together with one of her ghoul. Though, as the murderer¡¯s power was no joke, when the ghoul was hit by his fist, it flew away to the distance.


    ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± The murderer smiled, obviously insane. Then he launched a direct assault towards the ghoul. As he had killed dozens of people, his combat power exceeded that of a ghoul. However, the moment Da-jeong reached him with her eyes gleaming in red, the situation changed.


    ¡®She¡¯s strong.¡¯ Bae Geom-in, who was watching Da-jeong¡¯s performance from afar, was mesmerized by her move. Da-jeong pulled out a long knife and unilaterally assault the murderer. It was solid proof that even in 1:1 fight without her ghouls, she was still a powerhouse.


    Her movement, which was boosted by fighting instincts and frenzy, was like an arrogant queen. She didn¡¯t fly around in the sky like Rapwi, but each and every one of her swings was heavy.


    Eventually, Geom-in shut her eyes tight as Da-jeong¡¯s feet hit the killer¡¯s groin.


    ¡°Ackkkkk!¡±


    It must have been crushed¡­


    Meanwhile, Rapwi engaged in a hand-to-hand battle with several murderers simultaneously. He has gotten a lot stronger lately. In particular, after fighting that murderer guy in Changwon.


    Some murderers were pushed out by his stats and some were because of his skills and combat sense. The result was of course, annihilation. Seeing Rapwi was drenched in blood, Geom-in couldn¡¯t tell who the true murderer was.


    Meanwhile, far from Geom-in, Tang Zhao Long and Tang Shen Long, two siblings which was responsible to bring the murderers to this place, were astonished by what is currently happening before their eyes.


    Back in the northern part of Shandong Peninsula, those murderers were anything but weaklings. It would be difficult for anyone to find people who can match their prowess. However, right now, their plan to create a bridgehead for farming on land was completely shattered.


    How can those murderers got beaten by just two people?


    As they rushed to board the boat to leave, someone blocked their way.


    ¡°You have to take off your dirty shoes if you visit someone¡¯s house.¡± The man with a big build said.


    At his words, the older one between the two, Tang Zhao Long, contorted his face.


    ¡°Is that so? Then, can I assume that Koreans consider attacking blindly as a polite act?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s natural to kill murderers, but it seems like it wasn¡¯t so for you guys?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not okay to touch other people¡¯s things, mister.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I hate the brainwashing unique skill the most. Bye.¡±


    As Seongho shook the strange feeling which crept into his mind, he decided that it would be better to kill them here.


    Seeing that the items of the man in front of them were quite unusual, the younger sister, Tang Shen Long stepped forward.


    ¡°I know you are displeased by us, so it would be better for you to let us leave. It was a much simpler way than spilling each other¡¯s blood, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you will be the only one who will spill blood.¡±


    Realizing the atmosphere had turned colder. Zhao Long send instruction to his subordinate murderer to come forward towards the man. However, before the murderer could touch Seong-ho, a bolt slithered out of the air and pierced the murderer¡¯s stomach, sending him to the sea.


    Zhao Long¡¯s mouth opened wide and looked into the sea where his murderer fell into.


    ¡°Nonsense¡­¡±


    At that moment, the man¡¯s eyes lit up red. At the sight, Zhao Long was surprised even more.


    This man even acquired the powers of a werewolf?


    However, unlike her brother who stood still, Shen Long quickly moved her hands. From it, a gust of wind blew and hit Seongho. However, instead of blowing Seongho¡¯s body away, the wind was only making Seongho fly to the sky. After that, the man spins his body and descends straight down to Shen Long.


    ¡°Uh, how?¡±


    When her attack was interrupted, she was taken aback.


    Does it make sense for someone to rotate their body in the air? There¡¯s nothing to put their feet into!


    It was her older brother, Zhao Long, who saved her. He ran towards Shen Long and tackled her to move away.


    ¡°Ackkk!¡±


    While the two were rolling on the floor, the remaining murderers rushed towards Seongho who landed on the ground, failing to meet his target.


    PAPAPAPAPAT-!!


    After several exchanges, an arm and a head flew into the air. It was only then that the two siblings realized; the man in front of them was a monster. After all, he could easily kill their subordinates murderers, who can be considered strong even amongst other murderers after winning several deathmatches.


    The two immediately started running away after making eye contact with him. Seongho chased after him, but he was left behind as he had to stop himself to avoid a thunderbolt running at him from the sea.


    It was blocked by his dimensional wall, but it was still difficult to properly prevent the water from pouring out at him, obscuring his vision.


    ¡°Damn it.¡±


    He got wet and stopped. He was about to shoot the ballista at the two, but the two of them disappeared around the corner.


    ¡°She can control the wind, huh?¡±


    Seongho scratched his head and looked around. In the distance, he could see Seokhyun beating some murderer while shouting ¡®Seeeeegggsss¡¯. On the other hand, Da-jeong used her ghouls to hunt down some zombies.


    Jang Won-taek asked him to leave it to him, but turns out, Jang Won-taek was the one who didn¡¯t have much to do.


    Now, we just had to stop the zombie raid and it will be over.


    ¡°I will have to leave soon.¡±


    There¡¯s a high probability that Geom-in will come to greet the two and see me, therefore, it¡¯s dangerous to walk around carelessly.


    I opened the portal and disappeared into the transparent portal.


    .


    .


    .


    Meanwhile, Jang Won-taek was watching the battle with his eyes closed on the very top floor of a dilapidated three-story building. Contrary to what Da-jeong told Seongho, his unique skill was not telepathy, but conductor.


    It was an ability to grasp all the elements in the surrounding battlefield and issue instructions to his subordinates. In other words, he could grasp the entire battlefield of Wolmido as easily as reading his own palm.


    If a young man these days noticed his unique skill, they would certainly say:


    It¡¯s a maphack.


    In addition to that, Jang Won-taek was also able to give buffs to the people who agreed to be his subordinates. Though, it was a pity that in the current battlefield, he had only one person which the skill saw as a subordinate.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t even need to mobilize troops¡­¡± Jang Won-taek mumbled to himself. He was well aware that Da-jeong and Rapwi were such a people. However, he had never thought that I Love Gimbap would be that powerful.


    One murderer died at his hand, while the other two run away. The Chinese who tried to land on Wolmido were not an ordinary bunch by any stretch of meaning, so I Love Gimbap¡¯s display was quite a surprise for Jang Won-taek.


    Moreover, the space he used as his hiding place seems to not be a normal subspace either. There must have been a lot of stockpiles inside. By the looks of things, it seems like Gimbap was the one who¡¯s the talk of the town, the man who took all the loot in a laboratory dungeon and ran away.


    ¡°What a pity¡­¡± How great would it be if someone like him, who could use such an ability, work under him? When the time comes, he will surely inherit his authority and become someone who will lead the organization.


    Jang Won-taek turned away from the battlefield and the chief of staff, Beom-seok, appeared with his blink.


    ¡°Mister President, Da-jeong and Rapwi had stopped the zombie raid.¡±


    ¡°What about I Love Gimbap? Can you see him?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Mister President, I cannot see where he has gone.¡±


    ¡°How about Geom-in? Where is he?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    Jang Won-taek sighed at his subordinate¡¯s answer. It seems like the reason Geom-in didn¡¯t get involved in the fight was due to him changing his unique skill. Moreover, since he brings no subordinates, he couldn¡¯t copy anyone¡¯s ability.


    Jang Won-taek tried to talk to Da-jeong telepathically and then smiled bitterly.


    ¡°Da-jeong said that once this is over, even if the world collapses, she will leave our shelter.¡±


    ¡°Sorry? Then our defense¡­¡±


    ¡°The rest of us will have to work hard to do her share. She would probably go with I Love Gimbap¡­ But it went well. She¡¯s gorgeous, so gorgeous that it¡¯ll attract the attention of people, so we¡¯ll know where they are right away.¡±


    ¡°Will he not disguise her too?¡±


    ¡°It will be difficult to hide her because of her unique skill. So, we have to make a plan for them.¡± Jang Won-taek said as he wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it to Beom-seok.


    Beom-seok, who checked the content, tilted his head. After all, what¡¯s written inside was an instruction for him to prepare the method of making bullets and firepowder.


    ¡°¡­why does he need this?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. But, what is certain is that I Love Gimbap has a gun.¡±


    ¡°To think such a dangerous person like him even has guns¡­¡±


    ¡°No. he¡¯s not our enemy, so it should be fine. He might be the most reliable helper for use than anyone else. Aren¡¯t our goals ultimately the same?¡±


    It¡¯s survival.


    In the apocalypse, survival was the ultimate goal of anyone. The approach was the only thing that differentiate one person from another.


    ¡°I understand¡­ I will prepare the present.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t give it away too easily. Prepare it in English.¡± If they can¡¯t interpret it, he will use that opportunity as an excuse to create a situation where they should keep in touch.


    ¡°And did you check why the Chinese in Yeongjong Island came here?¡±


    ¡°The Chinese in Yeongjong Island were people from the Shandong Peninsula. And since their homeland was polluted by radiation, they came to our land. However, In Yeonjeong Island, nothing was left, so they came here to loot and look for something to eat.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure we have told their government about the apocalypse¡­¡±


    ¡°They probably brushed it off as nonsense. Or maybe they couldn¡¯t properly take action since their land was huge.¡±


    Jang Won-taek took a deep breath.


    ¡°Now, on top of fighting against monsters, we have to fight against the Chinese too¡­ What a headache.¡±


    Not only Yeongjong Island, but all the cities in the west coast would soon fall to their hands. It would be nice if they just lived quietly, but it was simply impossible. Something like today will happen more often in the future.


    The president closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s been sorted out. We should hold a farewell party before the Ghoul Queen leaves. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Um, so¡­ I hear it correctly right? Seokhyun, you are going to enter the government shelter?¡±


    Nod Nod


    After wrapping up the zombie raid, I regrouped with Seokhyun as well as Da-jeong and heard an amazing story. I knew that Da-jeong would leave the government shelter right after this, but never in my wildest imagination had I thought that Seokhyun would take her place and enter the government shelter.


    ¡°Can I ask why?¡±


    When I asked him, he replied: ¡°If they ever show signs of hostility at you, I will kill them all.¡±


    ¡°For that reason?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s impossible to destroy them from the outside, So I¡¯m going to break it from the inside.¡±


    ¡°I mean¡­ the government isn¡¯t our enemy as of now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll destroy them when they become an enemy then.¡±


    How should I take this situation I wonder¡­ Will he be able to mingle and hold back as much as Da-jeong?


    ¡°Just think of it as insurance. He¡¯s someone who will be your reliable cancer insurance.¡±


    Da-jeong took a chair and dragged it between me and Seokhyun before she sat down. She then placed her hands on my shoulders.


    ¡°That old man allowed it too.¡±


    ¡°Jang Won-taek allowed it? If it was in the past, I wouldn¡¯t think twice before letting Seokhyun go, but now I am a bit reluctant.¡±


    Afterall, Jang Won-taek knows that me and Seokhyun had acted together.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I hate that old man so much! I couldn¡¯t grasp what he¡¯s thinking,¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll enter and monitor them for you.¡± Seokhyun said as he smiled ear to ear.


    In fact, even though Seokhyun will enter what could be a lion¡¯s den in case something goes wrong between me and the government, I don¡¯t even have to worry about him. It was because If there¡¯s ever an accident or someone which was powerful enough to kill him, he could just resurrect and flee.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I said to Seokhyun. That was the only words I could say as he was doing it for me.


    ¡°Our trip from Changwon to Seoul was fun. Let¡¯s play like that again next time.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we will.¡±


    Seokhyun rose to his feet after hearing my words and left the building. At that moment, Da-jeong inched closer to me and put her legs on my thighs.


    ¡°Now it¡¯s time to stamp you.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Didn¡¯t you say it was a joke?¡±


    ¡°A joke? Do I look like a joker? Be quiet and stick to me.¡±


    ¡°Come on, wait a minute.¡±


    As I struggled, she giggled and pulled a piece of paper from her chest.


    ¡°I was told that if I give this to you, you would be happy.¡±


    When I opened the paper, I was astonished. The quite long instruction was all written in English alphabet, there¡¯s no shred of Hangul everywhere.


    ¡°¡­Is that old man fucking kidding me?¡±


    At my curse, Da-jeong leaned on my shoulder and looked at the paper. ¡°It¡¯s all in English. It will be difficult to interpret.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t.,,¡±


    ¡°Oh, do you speak English, Kang Seongho?¡±


    ¡°I can at the very least interpret it. Though, it will be slow.¡±


    I could just do it like back when I was interpreting the English in the MeTube video. If it doesn¡¯t work, I just have to experiment with the scarabs and find out.


    Dajeong crossed her legs and said. ¡°I¡¯ve heard quite a few things in government shelter. If you want to know, you should be nice to me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m getting ready to catch tuna for you, madam.¡±


    ¡°Wow. I forgot about that! Then, I¡¯ll give you this¡­ Joo Seung-cheol told me that there are not only one or two forces who built a shelter in advance.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    Da-jeong tilted her head at my words. ¡°You didn¡¯t look worried at all. Rather, you have the look that screams you¡¯re going to rob them all.¡±


    ¡°Ah damn, I got caught.¡± Though, as always, I wouldn¡¯t go attack them just because I want their supply. Instead, when an opportunity arises, I¡¯ll rob them all clean.


    While I was thinking so, Da-jeong kept repeating ¡®Tuna, Tuna, Tuna¡¯ without stopping. Seems like she was really craving tuna.


    ¡°Ah well, since our shore was now blocked, can you really catch a tuna, though?¡±


    ¡°Blocked? By whom? The Chinese? They are nothing.¡±


    ¡°No, not them. I hear that we are being separated from the other region, like a server.¡±


    ¡°¡­are you talking about the game server?¡±


    I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s talking about. However, when I was about to ask her to explain it to me, the door swung open while someone shouted a deafening scream a beat later.


    ¡°Bae Geom-in, come here!!!¡±


    The person who slammed the door was none other than Seokhyun. At that moment, I once again realized that his direction blindness was just that severe.

 Chapter 106

    Ah¡­ Should I¡¯ve be more adamant in my persuasion for her to stay in the government shelter?


    After living together with Da-jeong for only one night, I was forced to know her flaws I had not known before. Being fussy about what to eat was cute compared to this flaw of hers; It was drooling, snoring, and sleeping chaotically.


    The terrifying pressure of the three-piece set made me unable to sleep. Originally, we were sleeping in separate rooms in accordance with the strict law of gender equality. But turns out, she wasn¡¯t the type of person who would just sleep peacefully as she sleepwalked and laid next to me. She then put her legs on mine and started snoring loudly. She¡¯s also sleep talking to boot.


    ¡°Ahhh, honey, please~¡±


    ¡°Oh really.¡±


    I got fed up and moved to another room. The strange thing is that she somehow always found my location and laid next to me again. Thanks to that, I couldn¡¯t sleep all night long.


    When I woke up in the morning and asked her about the last night, she said she didn¡¯t remember anything.


    ¡°I¡­ I haven¡¯t slept all night. Because of you.¡±


    ¡°Then sleep here.¡± Da-jeong patted the empty area of the bed beside her. When I asked how she slept with Seokhyun, she said that he didn¡¯t complain at all.


    ¡°It seems like it was because the two of you were both snoring and sleeping chaotically.¡±


    ¡°Probably?¡±


    ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s not normal¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from you.¡±


    ¡°Sleep quietly, please!¡±


    This is why living alone is more comfortable. I asked for her understanding before going to the cave and sleeping there. It was my most comfortable sleep in a long while. When I woke up and left the cave, Da-jeong was grumbling as she touched her head.


    ¡°Because the supply of nutrients is not good. My head is aching. I feel under the weather.¡±


    ¡°You have the audacity to say that with that belly fat of yours?¡±


    ¡°It feels good to touch this belly of mine. Would you like to touch it?¡±


    ¡°Forget it¡­¡±


    Even though she was hellbent on going on a diet because she said she had gotten a bit fatter, in reality, her physique looks really good. It was due to the muscle she had accumulated.


    At that moment, a ghoul walked into the room and left two bottles of water on the floor. Da-jeong promptly took the bottle and started to wash her body with it.


    ¡°These days, it¡¯s hard to find water¡­ Ugh¡­ It¡¯s cold.¡±


    Of course it would be cold, it¡¯s winter after all.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have any cold resistance items?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t. Can you give me one?¡±


    Since I only have one and I also need it, I couldn¡¯t give it to her. Thankfully, I have a good method for fighting the cold. I asked her to wait a bit, and then went to the shelter to boil some water in the brazier and bring it out.


    When the hot water was mixed with the cold water her ghoul brought to her, Da-jeong let out a sweet moan and rubbed her body against mine.


    ¡°Ugh. You are the only one who cares for me. I wouldn¡¯t be able to live without you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make any strange noises and just wash your face. But, aren¡¯t you bothered by your smell?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s natural to be a little smelly in an apocalypse. I bet you are smelly too?¡±


    She put her nose right in front of my chest and sniffed. At that moment, surprise painted her face.


    ¡°You have a strangely refreshing and subtle scent¡­¡±


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s because I live in the forest. Just wash your face quickly!¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    While Dajeong was washing, I also washed in the shelter before preparing a meal. By the way, today¡¯s date was December 1st. I left the portal with one nail on my hand and held it up for quite a while. Even after 5, 10, and 15 minutes passed, the nail still maintains its shape. It¡¯s evidence that the corrosive disease had slightly subsided. When the nail still held its shape after 30 minutes passed, I tried to apply some pressure on it. However, it broke at once. The good thing is, It didn¡¯t turn into sand anymore, like it used to.


    Da-jeong said while combing her hair with a comb,


    ¡°We might be able to use iron in February.¡±


    ¡°Shelters will start to actively use it, especially the government shelter. After all, there must be a furnace there.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have it too?¡±


    ¡°Dunno.¡±


    I indeed have it. And even if I don¡¯t have it, I have the scarabs with me. They have an amazing ability to extract and process metals without any special facilities. That, in my opinion, was close to a miracle itself. After all, even in modern society, it takes enormous effort and cost to produce metal from ore. However, the scarabs could easily make it with accurate dimensions and shape using their mouth alone.


    By the way, judging from the video I had in the laptop, it would not be impossible for them to make a gun given the time.


    As I smiled happily, Da-jeong raised her eyebrows.


    ¡°Do you know that you are smiling like a villain right now?¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°Are you thinking about something? Did you decide to keep it a secret from me too?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not a secret¡­ It¡¯s just that those friends are shy.¡±


    ¡°Friends? Are you talking about the raccoon?¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute. I¡¯ll ask them.¡±


    ¡°And why are you asking them?¡± Da-jeong¡¯s confusion was apparent on her face. If she knew that there¡¯s a scarab which could understand a human¡¯s word inside, she might have ripped her head off.


    I walked towards the scarabs who were busy trimming the harvested vegetables and spoke, ¡°Is it okay if I introduce you guys to someone?¡±


    After a long contemplation, The scarab leader shook his head. It seems like they¡¯re still being wary. I went back to Da-jeong and told her their answer. But, even though I told her as it is, she was still suspicious, saying that I was lying.


    ¡°Think however you want.¡±


    ¡°Then, are you seriously saying that there are raccoons who can understand human words inside your pocket space? I will see them soon! I will!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just eat¡­¡± I said. Our breakfast menu is pork soup. When Da-jeong saw it, she quickly forgot the racoons and said she couldn¡¯t remember the last time she ate a hot pork soup.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be a bit chewy since I used wild boar meat instead of a domesticated pig to make it.¡±


    ¡°We are eating hot pork soup in an apocalypse! So why does that matter?¡±


    ¡°Add some salted shrimp to it.¡±


    ¡°Wait! I come from a faction who had to taste the soup as it is first before adding more things.¡±


    Was there such a faction amongst pork soup eaters? Did they have the same war like those guys who like pineapple on their pizza and hate pineapple on their pizza?


    Anyway, she scooped the broth with a plastic spoon and slurped it. Then, she grinned widely and put her thumb up. After that, without any more words, we were focused on our meal.


    After finishing our meal, Da-jeong took her ghouls to the surrounding area to farm while I checked the English documents the president gave me.


    ¡°Wait a moment¡­¡± There¡¯s something odd here¡­


    When Chinese and Japanese people spoke to us Koreans, we heard it in Korean. But why is it not working for written text?


    ¡°Is it only working for spoken language?¡± Then, if an American read this text out loud, I might hear it in Korean.


    When Da-jeong came back and read it, it didn¡¯t work. The words coming out from the mouth sounded like Konglish. (T/N Korean english¡­ In other words, Elite Miko English.)


    ¡°I guess it will only work if it was read by someone who speaks English as their first language?¡±


    Da-jeong grumbled and said what kind of strict magic is that¡­


    Wait, is this really magic?


    ¡°It could be.¡±


    As I muttered, I asked what Da-jeong got from the looting. Without words, she threw me an instant ramyun pack.


    ¡°Hurry up and cook this¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t eat ramen like this anymore. The expiration date has passed.¡±


    ¡°The shelf life of a product and the expiration date of consumption are a little different.¡±


    ¡°It is, but it will start to smell oily.¡±


    When she didn¡¯t believe me and opened the package and smelled it, Da-jeong frowned and stepped back from the ramyun package.


    ¡°The smell is no joke.¡±


    I think the storage location wasn¡¯t very good.


    ¡°This is why ramyun is not a long-term food; It has a short shelf life. Handmade noodles are better.¡±


    ¡°Then? Isn¡¯t it bad? The food situation is getting worse¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course it should be getting worse. It¡¯s an apocalypse after all. That¡¯s why we need to come up with a long-term survival plan.¡±


    Currently, It was still possible to loot, but the possibility of getting something decreased considerably with every passing day. It was due to the fact that it was not only survivors who were looking for food. Monsters were also looking for it.


    A lot of marts, convenience stores, and distribution centers had been robbed a long time ago. Therefore, survivors now had to wander around for hours to find even a scrap of food in the city. Though, if they were courageous enough to venture outside the city, they would find a lot of food because there¡¯s several rice centers outside the city.


    Da-jeong, who heard my explanation, was bewildered. ¡°Every day you look at me and say I¡¯m a pig, But you are the true pig between us two!¡¯


    ¡°By the way, I¡¯m running out of gasoline, have you heard anything about gasoline storage?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s gasoline in time shelter, isn¡¯t there?¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t open until a year has passed since the apocalypse D-day. And people are keeping a close eye on those places, so I don¡¯t want to be a target.¡±


    ¡°Well, that should be right. Oh, I heard that there¡¯s oil stockpiles in the refineries.¡±


    ¡°Tell me more.¡±


    ¡°This information is pricier than a pork soup.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you Hwajo for lunch.¡±


    ¡°I like steamed chicken. So, what is it again¡­¡±


    What she said was this:


    Time shelter was not the only thing that the government had prepared for the survivors. She heard that the government contacted the Korean oil company and stock a lot of diesel, gasoline, and kerosene in specially made containers.


    It was truly an eye-opening piece of information.


    ¡°But, they didn¡¯t tell people about it because people will surely rob it since they want to use the oil to fight the cold, right? That¡¯s why they say they stocked it in a rural area that no one knows about.¡±


    ¡°Do you not know where that is?¡±


    ¡°That old man should know.¡±


    That¡¯s right¡­ Damn it. I didn¡¯t want to be associated with that shelter anymore, but there was no way to get the location other than asking him.


    In order to extend the shelter further, I need to use the mini fork crane. But that mini fork crane was truly a gasoline eater. Therefore, I will need a lot of gasoline.


    While looking at the auction items used by government shelters for some information, I found something unexpected. It was the ciphertext conversation of people on Dap island.


    They finally reach level 15?


    I could see the names of all gym members and Jiman. Only the three friends couldn¡¯t be seen.


    ¡°They worked hard.¡±


    Suddenly, Da-jeong pulled my ear.


    ¡°You need to stop talking to yourself. I am with you, you are not alone anymore.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yeah, sorry. I¡¯m just excited that the gym group people have reached level 15.¡±


    ¡°Since we are already over level 20, they should¡¯ve reached that level. If not, then they¡¯re not worth surviving all these time.¡±


    ¡°Still¡­ wait a minute.¡±


    I suddenly remembered Sooyeon. She was a doctor, so she will definitely speak English well. Meanwhile, Yoohyeon should be able to translate the engineering terms.


    When my thoughts reached that point, I promptly wrote some coded words on the very same item they used. Instantly, the comment section was turned upside down.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Noona, noona, noona! Seongho hyung left a comment!¡±


    On a certain peaceful day on the island, Yoohyeon, who was resting after doing his daily tasl, noticed the comment Seongho left and went outside to announce it to others.


    Sooyeon and Jiman, who were harvesting some spinach from the large vegetable garden, whipped their heads at Yoohyeon at his shouting.


    ¡°Yes? Seongho?¡±


    ¡°Yes Yes. He asks about everyone¡¯s wellbeing.¡±


    ¡°¡­Ah, it¡¯s true. Let¡¯s take a break.¡± Everyone sat on the ground at that very moment and entered the Auction House. Winter gardening was a difficult thing to do for normal people, but in Dap Island, that fact didn¡¯t apply. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and spinach were growing well, ignoring the climate. The reason for it was thanks to the bio-friendly nature of Jiman.


    ¡°It will be too chaotic if all of us answer him all at once, so I¡¯ll talk to him first.¡±


    After asking for their understanding, Sooyeon coughed to clear her throat. The thought of chatting with Seongho after a long time sends quite a butterfly to her stomach. After he went to Seoul, she never knew whether he was alive or dead. The main reason for that was because her level was low, so she couldn¡¯t use the Auction House.


    ¨C It¡¯s been a while, Seongho.


    ¨C How are you all doing? The reason I contacted you guys is¡­


    He wrote some instructions in English and asked if it was possible for us to translate it. After reading it, turns out, it was a method to make bullets and gunpowder.


    Where in the world did he acquire this?


    What else is he going to do?


    As always, Seongho¡¯s actions were very secretive. However, as Sooyeon already came to terms with it, she didn¡¯t ask him further.


    -So, rather than the structure, you want us to translate the step by step movement when the ball hits the live bullet, right?


    -Yes.


    -And the recipe for the gunpowder has to be interpreted in detail¡­I¡¯m not sure if Yoohyeon could do it or not¡­


    Then, Yoohyeon intervened.


    -Basically, to make gunpowder, you will need potassium nitrate and charcoal.


    -Is that you Yoohyeon? It¡¯s been a while¡­


    -Hyung!!! Are you doing okay? But let¡¯s cut out the chit chat and do the urgent things. So, to make potassium nitrate, fertilizer¡­


    -Wait a minute, wait a minute. It¡¯s too complicated, so please tell me about it step by step.


    -Okay


    -Seongho, I¡¯m ready.


    The work lasted for almost an hour. By that time, Hyung-jun, Mikyung and the three friends who came for lunch were surprised when they¡¯re told that they were currently conversing with Seongho.


    ¡°Did Seongho arrive at the seed vault safely?¡±


    When Hyung-jun asked, Suyeon put her finger on his lips. ¡°Please wait a minute, manager, we are concentrating.¡±


    Next to him, Mikyung smiled. And finally, the translating work was completed. Seongho said his thanks to them and quickly put the seed he obtained from the Seed Vault at the Auction House for 10 points. By the time they bought the last seed, it could be said that almost all edible vegetables in Korea were brought to Dap Island.


    Hyungjun crossed his arms and nodded his head. ¡°Looks like he really went to the seed vault. He¡¯s really someone who fulfills his promise.¡±


    Through the auction Seongho said that they had done a great job translating, and then, he sent them various weapons and food.


    While the others look at the weapons which have just arrived, Mikyung finally greets Seongho.


    ¨C How are you, Ahjussi? You didn¡¯t forget about me, didn¡¯t you?


    -Of course not. Is there something you want to eat? I will send it to you if possible.


    -There are many things to eat here, hehe.


    At his easygoing words, Mikyung let out a relieved sigh. It seems like the crack between them which happened at the time of his departure had already disappeared.


    Mikyung proceeded to tell Seongho that the new additional effect she got when reaching level 15 was terrific.


    -There will be a chance for us to meet next soon, I¡¯ll be able to see it by then.


    ¨C Really?


    -Of course. So, keep working hard, eat well, hunt hard.


    ¨C You too, stay safe, oppa.


    ¡°But the possibility alone is enough.¡±


    He opened the portal and went into the cave and explained the method to the scarabs. However, they said they didn¡¯t understand any of it and only grabbed their head.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ He need gasoline¡­¡± Jang Won-taek made an ambiguous expression upon hearing I Love Gimbap¡¯s request.


    Why does he need gasoline and not kerosene?


    Looking at the president who seemed to be confused, Lee Beom-seok opened his mouth.


    ¡°It seems like he has a facility which runs on gasoline.¡±


    ¡°In that subspace of his?¡±


    ¡°After recovering the bolt, we are able to confirm that it wasn¡¯t made with trees which could be found In Korea. So maybe¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ There is a chance that he can enter the place from which these fantasy creatures came from.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s guns and a gasoline-powered facility inside¡­ He¡¯s really like a squirrel.¡±


    ¡°What should we do, Mister President?¡±


    Jang Won-taek tapped the desk with a pencil rhythmically as he stared blankly to the ceiling. After a few moments passed, ¡°I thought he¡¯s going to ask us to translate the English document¡­ DId someone do it for him? How is Da-jeong¡¯s English?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s barely enough to say hello.¡±


    ¡°Then, he must have other helpers. Maybe even an engineer.¡±


    ¡°Shall we find them?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ There¡¯s no need for that. You shouldn¡¯t be unnecessarily vigilant against him. Be mindful. He is not our enemy.¡±


    ¡°But he¡¯s also a man who has the potential to be an enemy.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we need to do him a favor here¡­ We don¡¯t want other shelters to take him in, don¡¯t we? Tell him the location of the gas station in Ganghwa.¡±


    Ganghwa-do gas station refers to a warehouse where various types of oil are stocked. As the government had threatened oil companies based in Korea, there was a huge stockpile of oil there.


    Lee Beom-seok¡¯s stomach aches when that location comes out from the president¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°It¡¯s really nice to be him¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong. I will definitely ask as much as I give to him.¡±


    Meanwhile, Seongho clenched his fist when he heard the location. Though, he also felt strange at the same time as the strict president informed him without even thinking much about it.


    ¡°I think he¡¯ll ask for something later¡­ No.. He¡¯ll definitely do it.¡± Afterall, it¡¯s only natural for people to ask for something after giving something; that¡¯s the basics of trade.


    ¡°Well, for now, I just have to do what I have to do. There¡¯s no need to worry about it¡± My priority right now was to go to Ganghwa Island and secure the oil.


    Without sitting idly any longer, He left together with Da-jeong.

 Chapter 107

    Naturally, the bridge to Ganghwa Island was already destroyed. It seems that the government did not expect the bridge to crumble because of the corrosive disease when deciding to put the oil storage there.


    The Ganghwa Island on the other side surrounded by thick fog, and a strong wind blew over the remnants of Choji Bridge, where we currently are. On my side, Da-jeong¡¯s body shook like a leaves hit by wind. I¡¯m not surprised though, because in this cold weather, she chose to wear a mini skirt and high heels.


    ¡°It¡¯s time to let go of that nonsense fashion.¡± Even though she had ate winter strawberries that increase cold resistance, the effect will be rendered obsolete with that kind of clothes.


    Her cheeks turned red and could barely agreed to my sentiment. ¡°Yeah. I think that would be better. But I don¡¯t have any winter clothes, so maybe in a while¡­ the ghouls will look for some.¡±


    ¡°No, they don¡¯t have to.¡±


    It was fortunate that I had looted an outdoor outlet while coming to Seoul with Seokhyun. Amongst all the things I got from that place, I also got quite a few outdoor items for women. Of course, the metal parts of the clothes, such as zippers, were gone, but that problem could be easily solved by sewing a button on it.


    I attached some button to the clothes in the cave and brought it out to Da-jeong. When she received the pants, sneakers, and the winter jacket, she quickly hugged me.


    ¡°You are really the only one for me!¡±


    I patted her on the back.


    ¡°Just change your clothes quickly or you¡¯ll catch a cold..¡±


    ¡°If I catch a cold, will you throw me away?¡±


    ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? Just get dressed quickly.¡±


    Da-jeong smiled and took off her clothes without covering herself with her ghoul.


    That, hmm¡­ oh¡­


    At that moment, I decided to think of Da-jeong as a man with a boobs. I went into the shelter, took out a rubber boat, and let it float on the river. Ganghwa Island was not too far away from the place we stood, so it wouldn¡¯t take that long for us to cross over.


    Da-jeong, who was all dressed, tied up her hair and gave orders to the ghouls.


    ¡°You guys follow the boat, Go!!!.¡±


    As the rubber boat floated in the sea, 30 ghouls followed. When we landed on the shore of Ganghwa Island, the island was surrounded by fog. In the ground and all other remnants of structures, green vines could be seen wrapping, making the atmoshpehere of the island much more scarier than how it should be.


    Da-jeong poked my in my side.¡±You know that I was sent to Bam Island before, right? Those things also could be seen there.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It was much worse than here, though. Even when I just walking around, somehow I get the feeling that the vines there were still growing.¡±


    ¡°It is not yet time for erosion to occur, though?¡±


    In the setting of Survival Life, erosion only starts when the spores settled in the brains of zombies and ghouls finished consuming all the nutrients as well as finished growing and ceased to be active.


    To make sure, I went into the cave for a moment to check the point at which the erosion occurred, and then came out once again. ¡°Erosion should still be far away. According to the video, it will happened at about the same time when trolls appeared.¡±


    ¡°After them, it¡¯s the owlbears, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Those guys will only appear when the ecosystem become stable.¡±


    ¡°Ah yeah, when the seed of those vines covered the world, right?¡±


    ¡°Though, those guys wouldn¡¯t last long¡­¡±


    Life needs energy. Neither zombies, other monsters, nor those vines can escape from that rule. Moreover, since those vines¡¯ size were enormous, it would have to absorb a significant amount of energy to maintain its size. It wouldn¡¯t be long before they died if these things can only absorb zombies in Ganghwa island.


    However, at that moment, I remembered the hundreds of Chinese who came to Yeongjong Island.


    ¡°If the Chinese made a mistake, they will be absorbed by the vines, making them even more ferocious.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case¡­ Can we said that the monster is ¡®Made in China¡¯?¡±


    ¡°They must have also eaten a lot Korean zombies too, so I guess it¡¯s a joint project?¡±


    While chatting like that, we moved along Provincial Road No. 84. Various plant-type monsters could be seen in the fields on the left and right of the road. There are many types of plant-type monsters, but most of them sit still and did not move. It was to decrease their energy consumption.


    Suddenly, Da-jeong pointed at a large plant monster.


    ¡°We used to go inside that plant just to play around.¡±


    The plant monster Da-jeong pointed at was a monster which will trap any organism that touches its leaf. Then, it will melts it slowly, which was quite a terrible death back in the game. I¡¯d rather just die at once.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. But let¡¯s not do that now.¡±


    ¡°Shall we try it with my ghoul? How many seconds will it take for the leaf to close after something touch it again?¡±


    ¡°About 1.5 seconds.¡±


    ¡°Ohho! As expected from the monster master.¡±


    That title was given to me by Da-jeong and Rapwi, since, just like Geom-in, who mainly studied things related to shelters, I focused on studying monsters.


    ¡°Those slightly withered guys which was caused by nutrients insufficieny, will close their leaf at around 2 seconds after something touch them. On the other hand, the fresh one will close their leaf in only 1 to 1,5 seconds.¡±


    ¡°How do you differentiate between the withered one and the fresh one?¡±


    ¡°Can you see the veins behind their leaves? It¡¯s bulging, right? That guy is a fresh one.¡±


    ¡°Ohhong¡­¡±


    After explaining to Da-jeong, my eyes were drawn towards a thorny fruit hanging from the body of the plant monster. That fruit is pretty tasty.


    ¡°Goblins like those fruits. They throw something into the leaves and use the gap to pick it.¡±


    ¡°Let us do the same.¡±


    Da-jeong looked back at me and licked her lips.


    You aren¡¯t going to throw me, aren¡¯t you?


    Fortunately, she picked one of her weakest ghoul to be sacrificed. It was something she¡¯d never do back when she still have zombies rather than ghouls. She even cherished them and gave them the name of Boys Generation. But those name was no longer used by her to call the ghoul.


    When I asked why, her reason was simple: ¡°They look ugly. Look at those ugly face. Do you think I will be nice to something with that kind of face?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ It does make sense.¡± I scratched my cheeks as I answer. Surely, there were a lot of handsome zombies in the previous Boys Generation. It was as if they were chosen based on appereance, like idol group.


    However, just before the weakest ghoul got sacrificed, a group of goblins appeared through the mist. Without thinking twice, Da-jeong command her ghoul to catch them. Once caught, she command them to throw those goblins towards the monster.


    Kiiiiiiieeek!


    Kieeeeekk!


    As soon as the leaves came into contact with the goblin, they grabbed hold of it and did not let go. Taking advantage of that opportunity, the ghouls rushed towards the fruit and pluck it.


    After picking several more fruit with the goblins we caught, we found a military base on the road going up to Mt. Jingang. I was unable to loot one of such places back in the D-day, so, it¡¯s now revenge time.


    .


    .


    .


    Military bases usually have ammunition depots. The things which was stored inside were usually starting from 5.56mm bullets to a full blown dangerous items such as grenades,claymores, etc. (E/n hehehe, full ¡®blown¡¯ hehehe)


    The problem was, It was now all useless since their shells were now broken because of the corrosive disease. In some case, a small friction was made when the shell was being broken down, lighting the gunpowder and blew everything up.


    Fortunately, this unit¡¯s ammunition depot was intact.


    ¡°You only need the gunpowder, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. But, If I do it wrongly, this place might be blown away.¡± I proceed to tell her about what happened in army base in Busan. At the time I tell her the explosion even made mushroom to appear, Da-jeong put her hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°If you die, I¡¯ll ressurect you as my subordinates ghoul.¡±


    ¡°If I died in an explosion, wouldn¡¯t I disappear without any remnant? The power of gunpowder explosion is no joke.¡±


    Let¡¯s put aside the little curiosity about whether I could be used as a ghoul after death for now and focused on the trouble at hand. I could scoop the gunpowder with the plastic shovel inside the portal, but I wasn¡¯t sure if it would hold up.


    In the end, Da-jeong decided to send her ghoul to collect it. When some of them brings the gunpowder, the other ghouls divided it up and put it in a plastic bag.


    Meanwhile, Da-jeong, who said she was tired, went into the barracks to rest. While the ghoul was still busy, I bring some gunpowder to the shelter and showed in to the scarabs.


    ¡°Will this much be enough for you guys research purpose?¡±


    The scarab leader thought for a moment, and gave instructions to the scarabs under his command. The task was to separate iron grains from the gunpowder powder. The guys carefully eat the iron and moved the gunpowder, and in the end, only pure gunpowder was left.


    The scarab leader put some gunpowder into a bowl and ignited it with the ignition stone.


    Papapapat-!!


    As the gunpowder blazed fiercely, the scarabs retreated in amazement. The leader raised his front claw, seemingly satisfied with the firepower. Now, if we could just make the primer, we could make a fully working bullets.


    ¡°How long do you think it will takes for you guys to be able to make the primer?¡±


    At my question, the scarabs all fell into silent. It was clear that they were troubled.


    Was the question too urgent?


    I quickly patted the carapace of the scarabs to ease their worry. ¡°it¡¯s okay. Don¡¯t overdo it, take it slow. Just make sure everything you¡¯re doing is save first.¡±


    Perhaps moved by my words, their eyes lit up brightly. By the way, this guys had grown quite a bit. When I first discovered them, they were as small as a plum, but now they are almost at the same size of a mandarin orange. On top of that, they also become strong enough to do some work they¡¯d never even dared to do before.


    It was all thanks to the royal honey. And looking how effective it was, I decided to use them only when it was absolutely necessary, as it¡¯s not like they need to eat that everyday.


    Once I leave the shelter and enter the army barrack, I found groceries in the dirty kitchen box.


    Rice, biscuits, and a few boxes of military rations were there.


    Da-jeong looked at the drooling ghouls and said anxiously.


    ¡°This guys seems to be hungry.. What should I feed them¡­¡±


    ¡°Can they eat rice?¡±


    ¡°They can. But if they eat that, They would be unable to use their strength. After the goblin we threw earlier, no more monsters appeared.¡±


    The crowder the place, the more monsters spawned. That¡¯s the basic setting of Survival Life. In other words, the number of monsters in Ganghwa Island, which had a small population, was ridiculously low. Thanks to that, after we plucked the plant monsters¡¯ fruit, we had nothing to do except walking and enjoying the scenery of rice fields and a few private houses. There¡¯s no food whatsoever for Da-jeong¡¯s subordinates.


    Da-jeong put her arms around me.


    ¡°Even when you are alone, you aren¡¯t lonely, right?¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know what loneliness is since I have a lot of work to do.¡±


    Even months after the fall of civilization, I didn¡¯t feel lonely at all. It was probably due to my personality and the fact that I still had some guys with whom I could share my days with, like the scarabs, Dingo and Ding-soon¡­


    Maybe I was not lonely because I was able to communicate with the scarabs, even though it was mainly done through actions, not words.


    Suddenly, Da-jeong whispered at me while holding my arm tightly. ¡°I didn¡¯t feel this way when I was in the city, but since we are the only ones here, I feel like I¡¯m bursting with emotions¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, Ganghwa Island population is small¡­¡±


    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re really cold¡­¡±


    Are you unaware that I am someone who had little to no tears?


    She suddenly said that her leg was hurting and begged me to give her a piggyback.


    ¡°Why are you asking for piggyback when your stats is higher than me? If you really want a piggyback, ask your ghoul.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve helped you a lot, haven¡¯t I? Just pick me up quickly.¡±


    Well, that¡¯s true¡­ I guess I could do at least that much for her. I walked along the quiet paddy field with Da-jeong in my back. I could feel something pushing at my back.


    Hmm¡­ it¡¯s definitely big.


    ¡°This feels new¡­ And since you have wide back, It¡¯s so reassuring and cozy at the same time. It was so comfortable to the point I feel sleepy.¡±


    ¡°If you drool, I will throw you away.¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­. What a bad guy.¡±


    ¡°Only bad guy? I¡¯m closer to psychopath. I even can live alone all my life.¡±


    ¡°What about me and Rapwi?¡±


    ¡°Well, both of you are my friend. I won¡¯t betray both of you and run away by myself.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough for me.¡±


    She rested her head on my back and started slurring.


    ¡°When I was about to leave the shelter, that old man asked me if I would just settle there.¡±


    ¡°Looking that you are here now, it seems like you declined his invitaton, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ But I was a little torn about what to do. After all, that old man seems to tell me what he really thinks for once.¡±


    ¡°What did he told you?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s telling me his goal. It was to officiate people¡¯s wedding.¡±


    For a moment, I almost laughed. But when I think about his goal deeper, I realized the meaning and stopped. To officiate at a wedding ceremony means that society had to stabilized to a certain extent first.


    President Jang Won-taek seems to be looking forward to that time. However, from my point of view, I felt that the day he envision might never come. But I couldn¡¯t just laugh at him since It was a respectable dream.


    ¡°Hey, I keep slipping down. Be sure to support my ass properly.¡±


    ¡°You are talking too much.¡± To be honest, her butt was too big for my hands to support.


    After the corrosive disease subsides, should we ride a motorcycle on this country road? I think it would be really fun.


    When I told Da-jeong about it, she wrapped my neck around her arms and put her strength on it.


    ¡°You are a human, not a squirrel! Why are you collecting so much things?¡±


    ¡°Because I live alone, I had no other option but to prepare as much as possible.¡±


    ¡°You must take me for a ride later! Promise me!¡±


    ¡°We need to get some gasoline first before deciding on that.¡±


    When she heard that words, she jumped from my back and snapped her fingers. Her ghouls picked us up and started running crazily.


    Just like that, we arrived near Ganghwa Gas Station.


    But the atmosphere around the area was bad.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of people here¡­¡±


    ¡°They are all Chinese, right?¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t just come to someone else¡¯s land and steal something from it. These people, really.¡±


    ¡°If you want to survive, you have to struggle.¡±


    We hid in the bank and peeped out. We could see a group of people running away from it while a group of people approaching the gas station across the road.


    Although the structure was now referred as gas station, it was not a gas station before the apocalypse, but a warehouse where fuel was stored. Around it, vines could be found growing wildly. There were also a huge number of plant-type monsters. Of course, there were a lot of normal monsters, too.


    ¡°Everyone run away!¡±


    ¡°Acckkkkkkk!¡±


    The fairly wide road was full of monsters and people. Some Chinese, who approached the gas station taking advantage of the other group that escaped, were chased away by the monster. I thought it was just us who was in this island, so I was quite taken aback.


    In any case, since the smell of the oil even reached my nose, he Chinese¡¯s target seemed to be the same as me; the oil stockpiled at the gas station. There¡¯s no way they weren¡¯t aware of it after all.


    I checked the inside of the gas station with the Griffon¡¯s Eye skill.


    ¡°Inside the blue container is diesel, while the yellow one is gasoline, and the green one is kerosene.¡±


    ¡°Then, should we just bring the yellow container?¡±


    What a stupid thing to say¡­


    ¡°No way, I¡¯ll take them all.¡± It was my philoshophy to stock on something, even though I don¡¯t have immediate use of it. Who knows, maybe I¡¯ll need it in the future.


    At my words, Da-jeong looked at me with an increduluos expression.


    ¡°You are really greedy¡­¡±


    ¡°You just realized? Anyway, even if I have to forget about the rice from the nearby rice center, I will get all the oils. After all, once I got the oils, I can expand my shelter and just go to another rice centre to loot it clean.¡±


    There¡¯s a rice center nearby. However, since it¡¯s been a while since the Chinese arrived here, there¡¯s quite a possibilty that it had been looted by them.


    By the way, what should I do to get the oil while avoiding these bastards, I wonder?


    By these bastards, I mean the Chinese, monsters, plant-type monsters, and the living vines.


    Da-jeong shook her head nervously.


    ¡°If we join the fray, it would become even more chaotic. Therefore, it would be difficult to mobilize the ghouls.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like there¡¯s no way..¡±


    ¡°Do you have a plan?¡±


    ¡°I will ask for help from my friends.¡± I opened the portal and called Dingo as well as Ding-soon from the shelter. When Da-jeong see Ding-soon who came out first, her jaw drops.


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­ When did Dingo get so big?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not Dingo. Her name is Ding-soon, a female.¡±


    ¡°Really???¡±


    However, even though Da-jeong was excited to see them, Neither of them showed much interest in her. Ding-soon growled softly as Da-jeong grabbed on her tail.


    ¡°Look at her temper. She¡¯s just like her owner.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but she¡¯s a wild wolf. She¡¯s just with us to eat Dingo.¡±


    ¡°Eat Dingo?¡±


    ¡°You know¡­ ¡®That¡¯¡±


    ¡°Ahh. I know what you mean.¡±


    But why are you looking at me with those sinister eyes, not Dingo?


    When I explained the plan to her, she was quite skeptical about it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think It will work¡­ Wouldn¡¯t it be better to just shout ¡®Free Tibet¡¯ at them?¡±


    Suddenly, I remembered the moment when Rapwi shouted ¡®Taiwan number one¡¯ in order to pull their aggro. It made me once again realized that both her and Rapwi was similar. Of course, in crazy way.


    I calmed her down. ¡°My plan worked surprisingly well against Koreans. I bet it will be the same against them.¡±


    ¡°Well, okay then¡­ but¡­¡±


    Da-jeong looked at Dingo and Ding-soon, and I stroked them both. This time, you guys were the protagonist, so please take care of us two.


    (T/N and here come Yoo Seodam¡­)


    (E/n for those who didn¡¯t know, Yoo Seodam is the MC of another novel which we¡¯re working on, Protagonist Are Murdered By Me. Do check it out!)

 Chapter 108

    When more than 5 people gather in a small area, a zombie raid will occur. However, no zombie raid occurred in the center of Ganghwa Island, even though there were at least 100 people gathered.


    The reason behind it was due to the significant decrease in the number of zombies. The population of Ganghwa Island was around 20,000, so it could be said that the number of zombies in Ganghwa Island was around that too. However, that is no longer the case, as most of the zombies were eaten by the plant-type monsters.


    Thanks to that, the Chinese managed to survive in the unfamiliar environment. They swept everything across the island; looting food and daily necessities, and scoured through the warehouse where the oil was stored. However, the place was infested with plant-type monsters, making it hard for people to approach it. Every single Chinese present on the island gathered around the warehouse, trying to breach through. After all, even if they managed to secure food, they would still need fuel to keep themselves warm in this freezing winter.


    ¡°But why did these guys choose to stay here, rather than going to the mainland? It¡¯s just an island¡­¡± Da-jeong asked, clearly confused.


    ¡°They don¡¯t even have motors for the boat, so I guess they just can¡¯t reach our mainland. It¡¯s already amazing that they can reach this Island by rowing alone.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ Now that I think about it, it seems like you are right.¡± Da-jeong said as she put her arm on my shoulder. She¡¯s on the tall side compared to other girls. However, since my height was even taller than her, she had no choice but to be on her tiptoes to reach me.


    ¡°Those poor people worked hard to come all the way here just to look for oil to keep warm in the winter¡­ Should we really take it all away from them?¡±


    ¡°There is no next time in the apocalypse.¡± I snorted. ¡°You have to make out the most of today to be able to survive tomorrow. Never hesitate to do that. We don¡¯t even know tomorrow¡¯s weather. What if suddenly, heavy snows rain from the sky tomorrow, rendering our movement, and we¡¯re stuck in the cold with nothing to warm us up?¡±


    Da-jeong nodded her head.


    ¡°As expected, in terms of garbageness, you are number one. I like it.¡±


    ¡°And, contrary to your thoughts, If I took all of the oil, those people wouldn¡¯t die. Rather, they should be grateful that I took it.¡±


    ¡°Yes? What kind of rationalization is that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not rationalization, but a fact. Listen well¡­.¡± I explained to her the consequences of lighting a fire with kerosene in the apocalypse. There¡¯s no way monsters, which could sense even the weakest light, cannot detect it. So, it would be dangerous for them, as they would have to be ready for a battle at all times, if they were to light a fire to warm themselves.


    ¡°The risk doesn¡¯t apply to us, though. So, we can use kerosene all the time.¡± It was because Da-jeong¡¯s ghouls will clean the surrounding area.


    ¡°So in other words¡­ If we take it, those people won¡¯t be able to start a fire, so they¡¯re safe, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s one of the reasons. However, with the oil gone here in Ganghwa, they would have no choice but to go to the mainland. However, since they didn¡¯t have oil, I hoped they wouldn¡¯t come and just go back to where they come from.¡±


    Da-jeong looked at me with her absurd eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯re just rationalizing your own actions¡­¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the compliment.¡±


    Even if it wasn¡¯t for such a clumsy reason, I had no intention of giving the oil to them. After all, In the apocalypse, power precedes everything. I was ready to do anything necessary to secure the limited supplies.


    Da-jeong snapped her fingers and asked me. ¡°Do you have a long coat in the shelter? Preferably a coat which comes down to my calf.¡±


    ¡°There is. But why?¡±


    ¡°Dingo and Ding-soon seem to be a bit lacking in taking the aggro. I will help them.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t trying to do something strange, are you?¡±


    ¡°Why are you so fussy when I was just trying to help you? Give it to me quickly. High heels too.¡±


    When I brought the coat and high heels to her, she wore it and opened her eyes wide.


    She looks like a barbarian¡­ Or should I say a barbar-woman since she¡¯s a woman?


    .


    .


    .


    The Chinese didn¡¯t even know where they were right now. No one in their midst could read Hangul. Even if there¡¯s someone who could read Hangul, with all milestones and road directions crumbling, they wouldn¡¯t be able to read it.


    However, that fact did not mean that they are giving up. It only makes their will to survive burn even more fiercely. With all the things they had found, such as a warehouse where the rice was kept and a place to loot from, albeit there¡¯s only a little food left, they were still happy as this place was way better than their hometown, which was contaminated by radiation.


    -We must unite! We never know when the Koreans will attack us!


    Someone claimed such. However, it only fell on deaf ears, since there were no Koreans here to begin with. There was no reason to cooperate with other groups unless there¡¯s a common enemy. On top of that, the recently discovered oil depot has ignited the greed of the Chinese.


    -If we secure those oils, we can have a warm winter¡­


    The Chinese who landed on Ganghwa Island thought so. But getting the oil out of the depot was very difficult. It was because of the huge plants they had never seen all their life, which grew around the depot, covering it from all sides.


    A few survivors who were brave enough tried to approach the depot, but they were eaten by the plants. They were caught by its vines, trapped on its bark, and then let out a ghastly scream for hours.


    After they died, no one dared to approach the tree anymore. But still, they hadn¡¯t given up on the oil. They hid in the nearby building, looking for an opportunity when the other survivors moved.


    Then, on one particular night, around the time the goblins roaming the streets disappeared. The howl of a wolf was heard for a long time.


    Aww-


    Ooh-


    Not only one, but many.


    When the Chinese heard the sound, they were terrified and trembled. There should be no wolf on the island, so they knew that those cries must have been the cry of a werewolf, a monster boasting an insane agility despite its huge size. But that¡¯s not all. On top of their insane agility, they also have insane regeneration.


    The cry was heard close to the survivors. So a lot of them fled far away, terrified. After all, even though kobolds and bone creepers were scary, werewolves were on another level when compared to them.


    However, some survivors stayed. Not because they weren¡¯t afraid, but because they believed that an opportunity to get the oil would come if they just persevered.


    -Without a competitor, we can get all the oil¡­


    -Let¡¯s be patient a little longer until we see an opportunity¡­


    They stayed up all night and waited for dawn. Most of the monsters disappeared including the kobolds. Plant-type monsters have limited movement, so they cannot attack those who were on the corners of the oil warehouse.


    But suddenly, something appeared in the dark night. A woman with a voluptuous body, which could make anyone drool, came out from the darkness, wearing a long coat and high heels.


    The men, who make up the majority of her survivors, looked at her with bloodshot eyes. The way she walked was enough to convince them that she was a beauty.


    Is she crazy?


    Why did she appear when the monster disappeared?


    These questions might have sprung on their minds, but for the survivors, it was not an important issue since their desire for a woman clouds their judgement.


    -If we move quickly, we will be alright¡­


    Some survivors thought so and moved on. A much hasty footstep followed, and Da-jeong opened her coat, showing her bare body as she entered a dark alley. The men could not stand it any longer and entered the alley one after another while pushing each other and swearing at each other.


    However, it was not the woman in the long coat who was waiting for them, but ghouls with bizarre faces.


    ¡°Ackkkkk!¡± The careless men were brutally beaten by the ghouls. In the middle of the fight, Da-jeong intervened and stepped on the fallen men.


    ¡°You have such a chance! Even though I gave it to you! Why! You!¡±


    The men didn¡¯t understand what the crazy bitch in front of them was talking about. They only cried and pleaded for mercy.


    ¡°If you just pretend you don¡¯t know, I¡¯ll let you go!¡±


    In the meantime, Da-jeong¡¯s high heels were trampling the men¡¯s groin.


    ¡°UGHHHHH!¡±


    ¡°S-spare me!¡±


    ¡°Shut up! Just let Tibet and Hong Kong become independent!¡±


    Meanwhile, Seongho, who was looking for an opportunity to enter the warehouse next to the oil warehouse, was startled by the scream.


    ¡°Do you really need to step on their balls like that?¡±


    Just beating them a little will surely make them silent, so why?


    Well, Da-jeong was a pervert, so she might have done it to unwind her sadistic personality, which she couldn¡¯t do in the government shelter. Let¡¯s not think about it anymore and just focus on oil storage.


    As I ate the shadow grape, I saw several kobolds and plant-type monsters wandering in front of the warehouse. They were the protagonists who prevented the Chinese from getting the oil.


    ¡°The kobolds are not a problem, but the number of plant-types is no joke.¡±


    Since they ate well, their size was quite large, so they looked pretty intimidating. Each time their vines moved, one kobold disappeared, while the rest howled and ran away.


    However, it seems like because the fruits were too attractive to them, they didn¡¯t completely escape from the vicinity.


    ¡°Those fruits are indeed delicious¡­¡±


    Seongho checked his equipment for one last time. Due to Da-jeong, Dingo, and Ding-soon, all the Chinese around the oil storage had disappeared. But he knew that it was only temporary. They will be back soon, so it¡¯s best to grab the oil quickly and run away.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad there¡¯s no keeper around.¡± Seongho took out the pipe the scarabs had made and some needles. He coated the needles with the scarce paralyzing poison before blowing the needles at the kobolds.


    With every attack, a kobold falls. Seongho quickly picked up the kobolds and threw them at the plant-type monster. When the kobolds hit its bark, the vines wriggled and devoured the kobolds. Seongho took that opportunity and ran towards the warehouse with a long knife.


    ¡°Open the portal.¡± He wants to set the plants on fire, but if he does so, the oil inside will explode. He took out one rice shack from the shelter, threw away the rice inside, and put the oil tanks inside. Kobolds wandering in front of the oil depot found the rice he had thrown away and ran towards them.


    Woof-!!


    Woof-!!


    If it was a goblin, it would have been frightened and ran away. But kobolds were more stupid and reckless than goblins. If they see something to eat right in front of them, they will just concentrate on eating, even if their lives are at stake.


    Suddenly, a bone creeper appeared and rushed to the kobolds.


    Whoa!


    Meanwhile, Seongho leisurely carried the oil barrels into the portal.


    ¡°It¡¯s going better than I thought.¡± He didn¡¯t intend for this to happen, but it doesn¡¯t matter. He put the gasoline tanks first before putting the kerosene and diesel tanks. Some plant-type monsters belatedly detected him and stretched out their vines towards him. Unfortunately for them, Seongho had already activated all kinds of skills.


    Dozens of vines were cut off by his long knife and fell to the floor. After some time passed, some of the Chinese, who felt something was amiss, returned to the oil storage. What they saw as soon as they returned was the figure of Seongho, who was looting the oil containers.


    ¡°What is that bastard?¡±


    ¡°A thief! A thief is stealing the oil!¡±


    It was late at night, so everyone did not know who Seongho was and what he was doing. But they were all certain of one thing; he was their enemy. After all, anyone who entered the warehouse before them will immediately become an enemy.


    Arrows started pouring into the warehouse, and Seongho responded by shooting a few arrows at them. But soon after, he chose to just sneak away outside. There¡¯s still some oil tanks left in the warehouse, but the amount was tiny compared to what he had looted, so Seongho didn¡¯t pay much attention to it.


    Fwiiiiiiit-!!


    When the sharp sound of a whistle echoed through the area, the ghouls ran out with Da-jeong. At about the same time, Dingo and Ding-soon also ran towards the sound. The party regrouped and ran away from the area while ignoring all the monsters.


    Someone who ventured close to the oil depot screamed in anger.


    ¡°It¡¯s all gone! Those bastards took them all!¡±


    The Chinese were filled with anger.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°He robbed it all?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The only thing which was left inside was a few blue containers. The gasoline and kerosene were all gone.¡±


    ¡°Hohoho¡­ Those guys¡­ How did they do it? That place is surrounded by the Chinese¡­¡±


    ¡°He probably threatened to kill them all.¡±


    ¡°In one night?¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡± Lee Beom-seok stuttered. The information they just talked about was delivered to them by their informant who is based in Incheon. She was someone with the puppet control unique skill, a skill which enabled her to fly paper airplanes like a drone, the same one that Yoohyeon got. Thanks to that, she was able to grasp the situation of Ganghwa Island in detail, while sitting in her hideout. Of course, the information was not delivered live, but a day late, but that was still fine.


    They received a shocking report that the gas station in Ganghwa Island was robbed clean in one night. What made them even more surprised was due to the fact that there are around 100 Chinese people surrounding the place, as well as a lot of plant monsters surrounding the gas station. With that kind of hurdle, even with the help of a lot of people, it would still be hard to break through the oil station and take all the barrels stored inside.


    However, I Love Gimbap and Duck Buttock were able to do it. They took out all the oils like a squirrel and went away. At that moment, Beom-seok drew a circle around the warehouse on the map.


    ¡°Considering that they took a lot of oil, it can be concluded that the size of his subspace is big. We estimate it to be a similar place to the farming dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­ Was it at the end of June when the awakeners first appeared? That means that person has been preparing since then, going in and out of the subspace. Alone¡­¡±


    ¡°Once the corrosive disease subsides, He will probably start using guns in earnest.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps¡­ he can even fire a gun from the inside.¡±


    Beom-seok¡¯s expression¨Cwhich was always an impeccable poker face¨C crumbled..


    ¡°Shooting secretly from the subspace?¡±


    ¡°He can shoot those thick bolts, so it wouldn¡¯t make any sense if he couldn¡¯t shoot a bullet from inside it. All I¡¯m curious about was how he would make the ammunition. Simply having the recipe doesn¡¯t mean you will be able to make it, after all.¡±


    Although there¡¯s some ammo which was manufactured by non-professionals in Africa, even that requires considerable equipment and know-how. It¡¯s definitely not something someone could do alone.


    ¡°I also think it¡¯s impossible to make live ammunition yourself.¡±


    ¡°Looking at the recipe he asked for, I¡¯m not sure he¡¯s alone in that subspace of his. Next time, let¡¯s focus more on his subspace.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    Then, the moment they finished their talk, the door of the conference room burst open. The one who kicked the door was none other than Seokhyun. He walked to the center of the room and slammed his fists on the table. With a heavy thud, the table sank down and the floor beneath it cracked.


    Jang Won-taek put a faint smile on his lips. ¡°It seems that there is something our Seokhyun doesn¡¯t like.¡±


    Without uttering any answer, Seokhyun pulled out his long knife. Beom-seok hurriedly moved in front of the president, positioning himself between him and Seokhyun.


    ¡°Hey, why are you doing this all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°Get out of the way.¡±


    Jang Won-taek met Seokhyun¡¯s gaze. When Seokhyun opened his mouth, his reason for being angry was actually different from what Jang Won-taek thought of.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go after my friend.¡±


    ¡°Are you referring to I Love Gimbap? It¡¯s just a simple check¡­¡±


    ¡°I hate people who act as if they know everything.¡±


    ¡°Haha, there seems to be some big misunderstanding¡­¡±


    Jang Won-taek made a wink and sent people inside the room away. He even invited Seokhyun to sit down, but he refused and only stood still. He was made aware once more that the man in front of him was childish. He¡¯s innocent beyond belief and was a man who can¡¯t see ahead.


    Jang Won-taek closed his eyes and pondered for a moment. But when he opened his eyes. He could feel a cold metal touching his neck.


    ¡®Fa-fast¡­¡¯ Beom-seok was startled at how quick Seokhyun¡¯s movement was. Now that Seokhun was already one step away from killing the president, Beom-seok couldn¡¯t make a move, as he knew that one wrong move here would make the president¡¯s head fly away.


    ¡°Should I just kill you all here?¡±


    ¡°All of us? You will become a murderer, though¡­¡±


    At Jang Won-taek¡¯s words, Seokhyun laughed maniacally.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about me. Once I commit suicide, my murderer status will resets once I resurrect. How long do you think it will take me to kill everyone in this shelter?¡±


    Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok were instantly lost for words. They realized that the madman in front of them actually had the ability to do precisely what he just said.


    ¡°For what reason are you doing this?¡± Jang Won-taek mustered all his guts to ask.


    ¡°I want you to just do one thing!¡± Seokhyun grabbed Jang Won-taek by the neck and grasped his face with his hand.


    ¡°Do not look, do not seek, and do not touch that man.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you only meet him at the game?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough reason for me. I want to hear an answer.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok met each other¡¯s eyes and nodded their heads. Negotiation was not an option as long as the madman in front of them was their opponent. All they could do was listen.


    ¡°Good. I take your words on it.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡±


    Seokhyun was satisfied with their words and went back with a wide smile plastered on his face. On the other hand, the two looked at him with puzzled eyes. They thought that, with him joining the shelter, they would be able to fill the power gap which Duck Buttock left behind as she left the government shelter. But, as it turns out, a maniac was what they got.


    ¡°This is a headache¡­¡±


    Jang Won-taek sighed.

 Chapter 109

    Sir Chocolate Dip, if you are hungry or starving, better eat or drink something. Don¡¯t donate $50 to us, though, I really appreciate it.


    Now the Jar of Greed sits on $8. But I know, it wouldn¡¯t stay that way for long¡­ I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE THAT THIRSTTTYYYYYYYY.


    We ran away southward as we followed the coastal road. Since we had caused quite a commotion earlier, I was pretty tired and wanted to rest. At that moment, I saw an old pension at one side of the street. I asked Da-jeong to do some scouting using her ghouls, and she confirmed that there was nothing dangerous inside the pension and around the area.


    ¡°I guess we really are the only ones around here.¡± Da-jeong spoke as she sat on the bench next to the pension and tapped the empty space right next to her. As I sat down next to her, she raised her legs and rested them on my thighs.


    ¡°Just so you know, I¡¯m going to rest here until noon.¡±


    ¡°Whatever¡­¡±


    ¡°My calves are sore, massage them for me please.¡±


    ¡°Why should I? Who told you to run around while wearing high heels?¡±


    ¡°WOW¡­. Do you know for whom I do it?¡±


    ¡°I mean, you don¡¯t have to be naked to lure those Chinese guys, are you?¡±


    She panicked and tapped my thigh with her leg.


    ¡°You saw it?¡±


    ¡°Until the moment you enter the alley.¡±


    ¡°So, you don¡¯t know what I was doing inside, huh?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I was having a violent sex with the Chinese guys¡­¡±


    I know better that it did not happen. Though, it looks like the ¡®violent¡¯ part really does happen, accompanied by a barrage of colorful words as the icing on the cake.


    ¡°Anyway, thank you. Thanks to you, I got all the oil.¡±


    As I slowly gave her calves a massage, Da-jeong coughed to mask her embarrassment and laid herself down. But that only lasted for a few seconds, before she suddenly jumped up and folded her legs.


    ¡°But¡­ It¡¯s so cold¡­¡±


    Well, even for me, who has a cold resistance item, still feels the cold of the strong sea breeze, so naturally she would feel even more so. I opened the portal and handed her a long padding and sneakers.


    ¡°Once we¡¯re inside the pension, I will make a fire.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    She took off her coat right in front of me, put on the padding, and curled up. Now, she looks like a caterpillar, curling up like that.


    ¡°I am hungry. Do you have anything delicious?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s cold right now, should I make you a soup dish?¡±


    Da-jeong jumped up at my word .


    ¡°I like anything which has the word soup in it!¡±


    ¡°Sure¡­ you love all kinds of food, huh?¡±


    ¡°Ummm¡­ the only ones that I didn¡¯t like are probably dishes made of monster meat? Rapwi ate it, but I don¡¯t think I can¡­¡±


    When we¡¯re traveling together, he doesn¡¯t do that, as I told him not to. But it looks like he does that when he¡¯s with Da-jeong, huh..


    Da-jeong murmured that Rapwi was utterly insane.


    ¡°I mean, I was fine with eating gryphon meat since they look like birds. But goblins and kobolds? Ugh¡­ I can¡¯t even imagine eating their meat¡­¡±


    ¡°Just don¡¯t eat them even if you are fine with their looks. Their meat is actually poisonous. Seokhyun may be fine, but if we eat it, our stomach will hurt a lot.¡±


    ¡°You know? When I was with him, I even wondered if I should eat that tasteless Store bread.¡±


    ¡°But, wasn¡¯t it fun to be around him?¡±


    Unexpectedly, Da-jeong shook her head. ¡°I also like to do crazy things. However, once or twice was enough for me. I can¡¯t do it everyday. That guy is always full of energy and wants to keep doing crazy things. I also want to rest.¡±


    Ohho¡­ It seems like there¡¯s a difference between 100% chaos and 90% chaos.


    Da-jeong rested her chin on her hands and sighed. ¡°He¡¯s a fun guy to be around, but it¡¯s too much of a burden to go with him everywhere. Seongho, you are the perfect one for me.¡±


    ¡°When he¡¯s with me, he¡¯s actually quiet.¡± He didn¡¯t do anything and did whatever I told him to do.


    Da-jeong opened her mouth at my words. ¡°What the¡­ Are you saying that you like him more than you like me? What is this favoritism!¡±


    ¡°You are loud! What do you want to eat?¡±


    ¡°Ummm¡­ Can you cook jjamppong?¡±


    ¡°Nothing is impossible.¡±


    ¡°Tangsuyuk too.¡± (T/N: Tangsuyuk is Sweet and Sour pork.)


    ¡°You are greedy.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you know that Tangsuyuk tastes best when the sauce is poured over it, right?¡±


    Sorry?


    Tangsuyuk with its sauce poured?


    That¡¯s heresy. I can¡¯t stand it.


    ¡°Tangsuyuk tastes best when you dipped it in the sauce!¡± As I declared, she jumped off the sofa like a frog and leaped at me.


    ¡°HERETIC! It is war!¡±


    (T/N For those who didn¡¯t know what this is about¡­ This is the Korean version of pineapple on pizza war or mint choco vs regular choco.)


    Bam-!!


    We rolled around the living room. But far from blood and bruises, our fight only creates a pleasant and subtle atmosphere. However, Da-jeong¡¯s smell of sweat was so overwhelming to the point where I had to frown.


    ¡°Let¡¯s wash up first before we eat. You smell so bad.¡± I pushed her face away with my hand.


    ¡°Is that how you treat a woman? By calling her stinky?¡±


    I wanted to ask if she was really a woman based on her shameless act, but since I seemed to have said something a bit too much, I swallowed my question back. I mean, there should be a reason why she insisted on wearing uncomfortable clothes and high heels in the apocalypse, right?


    When she sniffed her armpits, she instantly frowned. She then sat down on the floor and looked at me with a puppy stare.


    ¡°Aren you going to let a fragile girl like me wash my body with cold water in this cold winter?¡±


    If the ghoul queen in front of me was a fragile girl, then I am an innocent kindergarten kid.


    ¡°Wait a minute, I¡¯ll get you some warm water.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    When I brought a round barrel through the portal, Da-jeong¡¯s eyes went round. ¡°Oh my gosh. Why did you have this?¡±


    ¡°The more you prepare, the easier it will be for the future.¡± As the water starts boiling, I put it in the bathtub before also pouring cold water to set the temperature.


    Da-jeong threw her clothes off and slipped into her bathtub while I turned my head away. The barrel wasn¡¯t big by any stretch of meaning, but it was big enough for her body if she squatted down.


    ¡°Ah, I feel like my body will melt¡­¡±


    ¡°Is the temperature okay?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m so happy now. I never imagined I would be able to soak my body in warm water in the apocalypse.¡±


    ¡°While you are taking a bath, I will prepare our food.¡±


    ¡°Would you like to come over for a second?¡±


    Da-jeong wiggled her finger at me. She wanted something, so I got closer. However, light-fast, she grabbed my neck and kissed me. I licked my lips and was barely able to back away.


    When she saw my expression, she got angry.


    ¡°What? You don¡¯t want to kiss me?¡±


    ¡°No, not that.¡±


    ¡°Then what?¡±


    ¡°The smell of your mouth¡­¡± To be honest, it smelled like rotten fish.


    Da-jeong shut her mouth and then poured water on me.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do about it in this apocalypse!¡±


    I simply scoffed and handed her a toothbrush and a toothpaste before heading towards the cave. To make jjamppong and tangsuyuk, a lot of ingredients are required, but I don¡¯t think it was a waste at all. Afterall, I was cooking it for a friend. On top of it, the amount of ingredients Da-jeong¡¯s ghoul farmed and handed over to me was quite a lot. Though, I don¡¯t want to ask where those guys get it.


    While I was frying ingredients in a wok, I saw the scarab leader and one other scarab doing some strange things. They were gathered around a small device. That device shot out a nail at high speed and struck a piece of metal when the switch was pressed.


    When the scarab leader looked at the trail, he waved his claws.


    Maybe that device was an imitation of a firing pin hitting the detonator?


    Meanwhile, two other scarabs next to them completely disassembled the live ammunition I gave them and measured the dimensions.


    Aren¡¯t you guys good at using a tape measure?


    ¡°How is it going?¡± When I asked, the scarab leader came up to me and showed me three of his claws.


    ¡°Three weeks?¡±


    Shake Shake.


    ¡°Will it finish in three days?¡±


    nod nod.


    It was amazing. Even if they know the blueprint of making live ammunition, I never thought they would be able to make it this quickly. However, according to the scarab leader, there¡¯s a high risk that the bullet will clog the muzzle if it was made with the materials currently available for us. I don¡¯t have a lot of guns, so if that happens, it will be a disaster.


    ¡°Is the original casing made of copper or brass¡­ Anyway, do you need something similar?¡±


    nod nod.


    ¡°Wait a second.¡± I remember throwing something which shines like gold when I was looting a hardware store¡­


    When I went out of the cave, Dingo and Ding-soon were nowhere to be seen. It seems like they were hunting in the forest, or maybe they¡¯re busy doing something else¡­


    After scouring through the warehouse, I found a bunch of something which looked like brass.


    ¡°This is it.¡± It¡¯s worth the hard work sweating profusely on that hot summer day. I brought in a brass door handle as well as plumbing pipes to the cave and showed it to the scarabs.


    The scarabs jumped up and ran towards me instantly. It seems that the problem with the material of the casing was a very hard obstacle for them to overcome in order to make the bullets.


    ¡°The metal composition will be different from the real brass casing¡­¡± Well, I couldn¡¯t hope for everything to be identical. As long as it can be used to shoot, I will be satisfied.


    I poured the broth with joy and simmered the jjambbong. Then, the smoked warthog was cut into small pieces and fried in oil. The texture would undoubtedly be little different from the tangsuyuk from Chinese restaurants, but there¡¯s nothing I can do about it.


    When I got ready and went outside, the first thing I saw was the bonfire burning in the garden. I think Da-jeong ordered her ghouls to put all the furniture in that fire. I went into the garden and handed the bowl to Da-jeong, who was warming her body around the bonfire.


    Slurrrrrp-!!


    ¡°Ummm¡­ it¡¯s delicious.¡± Fortunately, it seems like it suits her taste. She drank the red jjamppong soup in a hurry before moving her chopstick towards the tangsuyuk.


    After we ate, we leaned against each other for a moment, watching the sea beyond the bonfire. Out of nowhere, Da-jeong spoke, breaking the silence.


    ¡°Hey.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°RIght now, a woman and a man are traveling together, right.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°They are close and they have a crush on each other. Do you admit it?¡±


    When I nodded my head, she knocked me down, sat on top of me and roared.


    ¡°At the apocalypse! The two of them are together in a place with no one! But nothing happens? What kind of child fairy tale land is this?¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute, wait a minute.¡± I calmed her down. ¡°Da-jeong, of course you are pretty and have a nice body. It¡¯s true that I want to hold you every now and then, I am also a man.¡±


    ¡°Then what is the problem? Your thing is already standing.¡± She said as her hand crawled under my pants. ¡°Wow¡­ It¡¯s as big as you¡­¡±


    ¡°Da-jeong.¡± I grabbed her cheek with both hands.


    She said as she pressed her body against mine. ¡°Speak quickly. I think I¡¯m going crazy right now.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s about Seokhyun.¡±


    ¡°Him. why? Do you want to do 3P? It¡¯s a little bit early to do that.¡±


    ¡°No, not that. Seokhyun doesn¡¯t know that we¡¯re doing this. I¡¯m afraid that this will make things between us awkward, I¡­¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t I told you already?¡±


    ¡°Sorry?¡±


    She ruffled my shirt and frowned. ¡°I already got permission to eat you. So, take off your clothes.¡±


    ¡°Come on, wait a minute.¡±


    ¡°What kind of man are you? Did you think I was talking nonsense when I said I will leave my stamp on you? I¡¯m a woman who always fulfills her words.¡±


    She looked at me, licking her lips with her tongue. It gave me goosebumps, like the gaze of a predator scanning its prey.


    ¡°You just need to stand still, I will take care of the rest. I will send you to Hong Kong.¡±


    She¡¯s not going to bring a di*do and bang me, right?


    Da-jeong¡¯s face came down and covered my lips with hers.


    At that moment, I hugged her.


    .


    .


    .


    Even after we did the deed, nothing changed between us. Da-jeong is still the same old Da-jeong while I was still, well, me. Both of us are adults and we know how to control our emotions. We got up and prepared for our next trip as if nothing had happened.


    Da-jeong asked me to open the portal and then hit her head at it as she tried to get inside.


    ¡°Hey, why is it that I still can¡¯t enter?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°You said the important thing is the heart. Are you thinking of another woman?¡±


    I hastily denied it.


    ¡°Absolutely not.¡±


    ¡°Then why can¡¯t I enter? I also want to see the raccoons.¡±


    ¡°Because there are no raccoons inside.¡±


    I can¡¯t let it pass any longer. It¡¯s really tiring to tell her that there¡¯s no raccoon inside. I went into the cave and begged the scarab leader. He meekly nodded his head at my words before the others followed suit. It¡¯s time to introduce them to Da-jeong. I took them out and showed them to Da-jeong.


    ¡°They are too big for a scarab¡­¡± Da-jeong got down on her knees and touched the carapace of the guys, and she was startled because the scarab leader pushed her hand away.


    ¡°They are kind of weird.¡±


    ¡°They are sentient scarabs. I get a lot of help from them.¡±


    ¡°You guys are sentient? What about this scarab theme¡­¡±


    When Da-jeong was startled, the scarab leader scraped the floor with his claws and drew a picture. It was a picture of scarabs defeating monsters with swords and shields.


    Da-jeong saw it and stuttered, as if she was shocked.


    ¡°Th-the scarab are drawing¡­¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that these guys are sentient? They are even smarter and more capable than me. They can even make bullets.¡±


    ¡°AHA! So that¡¯s why you asked for a bullet manufacturing method from the Old Man¡­ By the way, how did you guys meet each other?¡±


    I told Da-jeong about my encounter with the scarabs. The more she listens, the more her expression becomes ambiguous.


    ¡°Even when you are that good, you¡¯re being held captive by a mere goblin horde and can¡¯t escape?¡±


    The four scarabs grew pale, having nothing to say.


    I defended them. ¡°They don¡¯t have enough power. The goblins lock them up, throw materials at them and threaten them.¡±


    ¡°Then this is a scam.¡± she said in a higher tone than before while moving her eyes to the hero in the scarab¡¯s painting while the scarab leader secretly erased the picture with his claws.


    After the guys left, Da-jeong grabbed me by the collar. ¡°I¡¯ll take you on a bus from now on, so fasten your seat belt, okay?¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡±


    ¡°From here until Seoul, I¡¯m going to beat all the monsters there and leave them one breath away from death. You will take all the last hit.¡±


    ¡°You want me to level up?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Once you level up to 30, you will get two additional effects, right?¡±


    She¡¯s really determined¡­ It¡¯s even scarier since she really has the ability to do that. However, there was something I needed to do here before returning to Seoul.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we aren¡¯t returning to Seoul now. I have to participate in an event here.¡±


    ¡°What event?¡±


    ¡°Battle Royale.¡±


    Da-jeong frowned upon hearing that.


    ¡°It¡¯s the last event that remains.¡±


    In this event, all weapons will be temporarily gone, and our stats would also be capped. Back in the game, users were reluctant to participate because the character would be deleted if they did not become the final winner.


    You can¡¯t just throw a character away for an event, right?


    There were only a few people who took it seriously, including me. After dying and dying and dying, I finally came up with the optimal farming route and survival strategy.


    Even though I explained it like that, Da-jeong could not hide her trembling voice.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you really die once you die in the event? It¡¯s different from simply fighting monsters. No matter how good your abilities are, they would all be limited by the event, so what¡¯s the use of it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a guess, but I think unique skills wouldn¡¯t be disabled.¡± This is a conjecture I drew based on the fact that unique skills don¡¯t exist in the original game.


    ¡°Are you going to bet your lives on that?¡±


    ¡°No one knows Battle Royale as well as I do. And there are only Chinese people here.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Da-jeong realized something then and looked at me. ¡°The Chinese don¡¯t know much about the game, much less about the Battle Royale event, so you¡¯re going to go in and take over.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the way I¡¯ve been living so far.¡±


    If I went to Seoul and did the Battle Royale event there, I might have to kill someone I know. It will be a bit troublesome.


    But Da-jeong¡¯s eyes lit up when that Idea entered her head.


    ¡°If we go to Seoul, we can kill all of those people!¡±


    ¡°Some people are not going to participate. And if we meet someone we know on the battlefield, it¡¯s a bit¡­¡±


    Of course, It¡¯s not really the end for me since I know the bug which could get people off the battlefield. But since the success rate wasn¡¯t 100%, I thought I would just participate in a place where I knew no one.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t the Chinese know you? They must have seen you stealing the oil.¡±


    ¡°Stealing? It¡¯s just a transfer of ownership. From the government to me.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure they didn¡¯t think so. If they see you, they¡¯ll run at you with their weapons on the ready.¡±


    ¡°And they¡¯ll be massacred.¡± There¡¯s another reason why I want to participate in the upcoming Battle Royale event; it was the reward. After Da-jeong fell asleep last night, I went into the cave and checked the video. The reward was a character resurrection ticket.


    The reason I forgot this was because I died so many times back in the game. It was most often because I get caught in whatever crazy things Rapwi and Da-jeong do. And since we all start anew together, we have no choice but to leave the resurrection ticket in the warehouse and forget about it.


    Da-jeong¡¯s eyes widened as she heard my words.


    ¡°The reward is a character resurrection ticket? So, doesn¡¯t that mean we will be able to resurrect even after we die?¡±


    ¡°Uh yeah. Isn¡¯t Seokhyun¡¯s unique skill precisely that? Though, what we will get will be a one-off thing. Maybe¡­¡±


    ¡°Nonsense.¡±


    Well, we currently live in that kind of nonsensical world.


    I must win the Battle Royale event at all costs.


    For sure.

 Chapter 110

    Since we didn¡¯t know when the Battle Royale event would start, Da-jeong and I prolonged our stay in Ganghwa Island. The exact date was unknown, but after confirming the time through the video, it¡¯s clear that the event began around this time.


    I set three goals while staying on the island: The first one was to gather enough food. While moving here and there, the stockpiled food in my storage had decreased quite a bit. Though, if I add up all the food both in my storage and in the cave, I would be able to live comfortably for at least a few years. However, since I had something like an ¡®obsessive-compulsive disorder¡¯, or in short, OCD, I needed to fill in what was missing. It would only be when the shelter¡¯s supplies were fully stocked that my heart could finally be at ease.


    The second goal was expanding the shelter. With the gasoline I just got, it would be foolish if I decided to postpone the plan further. But, to be honest, the main reason why I wanted to do it now was due to the fact that it would be difficult to stock up more supplies inside the shelter, unless the shelter was expanded.


    I did threw away some rice, but the empty spot it left was now filled with oil. If you go out of the cave and look at the vacant lot at this moment, there¡¯s a lot of oil containers lining up here and there. It¡¯s a nice sight to see indeed, but stacking them up to 3m in height was a bit¡­


    The last goal, but not the least, was to explore the snow-covered mountains in the north. It was because of the map I obtained from the dungeon, as well as the ore veins which I discovered through the map I found in the stone monkey¡¯s nest.


    Meanwhile, Da-jeong didn¡¯t stick to me and did her own thing. She and her ghoul horde swept all the marts in Ganghwa Island and looked especially for jellies in order to gain the trust of the scarabs.


    When she heard that there was a lot of flat-headed gray mullet in the sea around the island, she went out to the sea to catch it. The method she used was amazing, to say the least. After checking where the mullets are, she sends her ghouls to the water to swim and spread a net.


    With a smug expression painted on her face, she brought dozens of them and said:


    ¡°Did you say we had to secure food? I¡¯ll do it for you, so just clean it up.¡±


    ¡°As expected, you are a wonderful woman.¡±


    ¡°Have you just realized that?¡±


    I took all the fish into the cave, trimmed it, and packed it in a vacuum packaging machine. When I brought it out, Da-jeong was speechless.


    ¡°If it is stored this way, can it hold on for a long period of time?¡±


    ¡°If you bury it under the ground, it will last a few weeks. However, even if you can¡¯t eat it all, you can just sell it to the Auction House.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re collecting points like that¡­ You¡¯re really¡­.¡±


    Well, point is synonymous to survival itself. So the more points, the better and easier my life would be. While Dajeong went back to farming, I plunged myself into expanding the shelter-the tedious task of cutting down trees with a chainsaw, digging the ground with a mini forklift, and moving the already-installed barbed wire fence.


    Had I done this all by hand, I would have gone sick.


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely good to have a lot of oil.¡±


    The mini forklift roared through the forest all day long. Thanks to all the noises, more and more monsters came to my shelter.


    Why are there so many monsters in this forest?


    My conjecture was because the forest was bountiful, the monsters around the area filled it once there¡¯s an empty spot.


    And the reason for the empty spot? Of course, because I killed all the monsters I saw.


    The scarabs were engrossed in bullet making, so me, Dingo, and Ding-soon were the only ones who went to defend our shelter. The two guys drew the attention of the monsters from the outside of the fence while I fired arrows at them using the ballista. Occasionally, when there was a gap, the two silver wolves would attack and rip the monster apart.


    ¡°Well done!¡± I said as we finished driving away the monsters who flocked towards the shelter. Then, I proceed to move the barbed wire into a new place.


    By the way, it looked scarier than it used to be because it was discolored by the rust. Some monsters couldn¡¯t even dream of approaching it, and even orcs will find it difficult to cross this fence.


    ¡°The problem is that those guys are pretty persistent, and they¡¯re pretty smart as well¡­¡± Back then, an orc once tried to cross the fence by throwing some goblin corpses to it. Of course, the orc was clumsy and he fell over the barbed wire in the end, but it was a pretty worrying moment for me nevertheless. My shelter¡¯s defense was completely dependent on the barbed wire fences, so if it broke, I wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything else. In short, that orc¡¯s action was pretty much a wake up call for me, who is too reliant on the barbed wire fence.


    ¡°Should we build a wall¡­¡±


    I had a lot of cement and bricks in stock, so there was no problem in making a wall using them. It would be perfect if the wall was built about 3m behind the fences. The problem was, by doing so, my field of view would be greatly limited.


    Even if I put holes on it, it would still be very difficult to respond to the monsters¡¯ movement. And if I did that, I won¡¯t be able to see the beautiful scenery of the forest.


    This place was not a country house, but seeing the scenery that always changes in the morning and evening kind of heals my weary mind.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just not do it.¡± Afterall, a wise man once said, it¡¯s best not to do it when you¡¯re not sure whether to do it or not.


    I continued to expand the shelter over the course of two days. Thanks to that, the space of the shelter went up from 200 pyeong to 300 pyeong.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to have a lot of space, but it¡¯s definitely going to attract even more monsters.¡± But since the scarabs were now able to make bullets, defending would be slightly easier, as I can just shoot them with guns.


    Dingo and Ding-soon were running around. Just looking at them, I realized that it was a good idea to expand the shelter. I went into the cave and checked the work of the scarabs.


    ¡°¡­¡± They were only one or two steps away from completion. The scarab leader was assembling the detonator and the bullethead into the casing. What was more surprising is that they even made a dedicated clamp for assembling purposes. With that device, there was no need to hold it. The bullet was attached to the clamp and they just had to do some click-by-click to adjust the position and assemble it.


    ¡°It¡¯s really great.¡±


    The scarab leader put the bullets in a straight line with great care. Then, he put the bullethead into a wooden case and pounded it with a small hammer, so it was firmly attached to the casing. When I checked the wooden case lying nearby, I saw a groove longer than the length of the bullethead itself.


    ¡°They did this so the tip of the bullethead wouldn¡¯t get crushed.¡± Surely, these guys were artisans. As soon as they understood the structure of the bullet, they identified its characteristics and used it immediately.


    By the way, the bullets, which were about to be completed, were bullets for the revolver. Afterall, there¡¯s only one Togarev and one K2, but I had two revolvers. I could at least spare one of it for experiment purposes. My stomach will still churn if it is broken, though.


    A few minutes later, the scarab leader brought the finished bullet to me.


    ¡°I believe it will work well because you made it.¡± The guys scratched their heads simultaneously at my words. I put the scarabs on my shoulders and went out of the cave.


    ¡°This round thing will spin after we shoot¡­¡± This was my first time using a revolver, because until now, I had only used both K2 and Togarev. Fortunately, the bullet fits right into the chamber. It was as if it wore clothes that fit its body precisely as it is, without it being too baggy or too tight.


    ¡°Great.¡± I aimed the revolver against the tree in the distance. I could see the scarabs on my shoulders covering their head at the same time.


    Are you covering your ears?


    Well, if you can understand what I¡¯m saying, you should have ears.


    Then,


    I pulled the trigger.


    Bang-!!


    With a roaring sound, the tree was smashed and shards were blown away to all directions. It was a success. The cylinder then opened and a mini hot cartridge case was spit out onto the floor through the front axle.


    Hey hey!


    The scarabs danced on my shoulders.


    ¡°Wow, you guys are really great.¡± I was looking forward to it, but I¡¯m still surprised. Afterall, even though they had the blueprint, that doesn¡¯t mean that they would be able to make it perfectly, and even more, on the first try. They must have gone through a lot of trial and error to make this.


    ¡°You guys did a really good job. Thank you for your hard work.¡± I gave the scarabs a lot of food for doing this wonderful job. The guys were so excited to the point they did a butt dance.


    This gave me a supply of something I desperately need in this world: bullets. As it was handmade by the scarabs, the supply was not large, but the fact that I have it is still the most important of all.


    I asked indifferently. ¡°How much will you be able to produce in a day?¡±


    The scarab leader pondered for a moment, then stretched out three of his claws towards me. It¡¯s small at first glance, but I¡¯m quite satisfied with that, since I won¡¯t always need to use these bullets, so I can just pile them up.


    ¡°After ten days, I will have 30 shots.¡± Then the scarab leader carefully drew a picture on the ground. When I looked at it, the picture depicted something about rescuing scarabs which were trapped in a place like iron bars.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying there are more scarabs like you guys out there? And you want me to rescue them?¡±


    nod nod.


    Why did you tell me now¡­


    No wait¡­


    He might have thought that he should tell me after I give them my full trust. Now that they have an important role that I needed, they must have assumed that I would grant the request. I would have listened to it if they just asked, so why?


    ¡°Good. Let¡¯s go rescue them together¡­ But not now. I still have work to do.¡± After the Battle Royale event is over, I will go to Seoul. It was due to the fact that Da-jeong insisted that I have to raise my level.


    The scarabs rushed to show their gratitude as if they were satisfied with my words alone.


    They also did the ass dance.


    Stop now¡­


    Please.


    (E/n MORE SCARABS YEAAA)


    .


    .


    .


    Many people reached level 15 and entered the Auction House while Seongho was busy. Naturally, just like the internet back in the old days, the atmosphere of the Auction House was chaotic. If someone watches the Auction House all day, they will see that it was littered with all kinds of bullshit, abusive language, and gossip.


    Well, it was only a matter of course, since being anonymous, as well as having to pay absolutely nothing to write a comment, will result in that kind of thing.


    But even in this gutter, some credible piece of information could also be found.


    It was about the Battle Royale event.


    Rumors about an amazing event were creeping up.


    Someone mentions it too.


    Huh? I¡¯ve heard about that too.


    So on so forth. The rumor spread wider and wider with every second passed. And in the end, someone compiled the info of the Battle Royale event under one auction item. And people naturally start to talk about it in that item.


    -No one knows the date the Battle Royale event will be held, but it is clear that it will be in the near future.


    -You need to enter a portal to participate in the Battle Royale event.


    -Like other dungeons, you can only enter it once. But, once the event started, you wouldn¡¯t be able to come out.


    -If you enter, your abilities, including items, will be limited by the system. Items do not pass through the portal and fall off, so be sure to store them in advance.


    -Battle Royale¡¯s battlefield is not limited to one, and the map and item respawn locations are fixed.


    -Until there¡¯s only one person left, the battlefield will keep narrowing and the monsters will also grow stronger.


    -If you did not manage to become the final winner in the Battle Royale event, your character will be deleted.


    For the people, everything was fine except for the last sentence. Because in reality, character deletion meant death. Which means, in the Battle Royale event, If 100 people participate, 99 people will die.


    Comments from people who were angry about the rule poured out.


    -Are they fu**ing crazy? Just who will do an event where 99 people die?


    -That¡¯s why even back in the game, there weren¡¯t many people who participated. They had raised their character and poured so much resource on it, so it¡¯s annoying if it gets deleted.


    -But there was a guy who tried it continuously.


    -Is he that bastard?


    -Yep


    When this comment was posted, the comment section was filled with resignation and more anger.


    -Ah¡­


    -Sh*t.


    -This time, that bastard will win again it seems.


    -Wait, you b*st*rds! Think well! This time, his stats will be the same as us. It will be an opportunity for us.


    -Yeah! The stats, skill and item were all limited. So there¡¯s nothing he could do.


    -What about unique skills? It wasn¡¯t there in Seola.


    -IMO, it will also be limited.


    -Are you saying that if we participated, we would be able to see I Love Gimbap?


    -You will risk your life to see I Love Gimbap¡¯s face? You are crazy.


    -I bet he will cover his face with a mask.


    -But, didn¡¯t items can¡¯t pass through the portal? So should he enter in naked state?


    -Yeah.


    -So who will participate?


    Comments came up one after another, but no one really believed the words ¡®I am participating¡¯. Afterall, as always, the Auction House was the home of the shi*tiest bull*hit. On top of it, there¡¯s no one in the Auction House who didn¡¯t put their lives above all. As dangerous as it is, the rewards are huge, but since no one has ever won first place, no one even dares to dream to get it.


    Only three people knew about the inside of the Battle Royale.


    ¡°¡­one of them is folding. I won the first Battle Royale event back in the game.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ that¡¯s right¡­¡±


    The man and woman looked at Geom-in with respectful eyes. They both weren¡¯t high level, so they didn¡¯t know what was going on in the world. In the other words, they are extremely gullible. Because even after the end, they lived mainly for survival without any special hunting.


    When they met Geom-in in Incheon, they had a bit of a misunderstanding, but fortunately it was resolved without a bloodshed between them. According to him, he was the one who told the government the early information, and he¡¯s now in the government shelter.


    The woman asked towards Geom-in. ¡°Uh¡­ can we enter the government shelter too?¡±


    ¡°It will be difficult. Because you have to be introduced by someone who is already inside to get in. It¡¯s the government shelter, so there are a lot of secrets, you know?¡±


    As Geom-in lowered his voice, the man and woman looked at each other and then nodded their heads. In fact, they have had a pretty good life so far. But they were still wasn¡¯t sure they would be able to survive further. Afterall, all kinds of even-more-powerful monsters will appear. Can they really live while avoiding them like what they are doing now?


    While they were thinking about it, they met Geom-in. Then, he tells them about the government shelter; A safe place where all VIPs, including the president, are staying.


    Every survivor wanted to enter it.


    ¡°Wh¡­what should we do to get in? If Mr. Geom-in introduces us¡­¡±


    ¡°Before I introduce you guys, wouldn¡¯t we need some trust between us? Even if it¡¯s not trusting our lives to each other, we can just trust each other, right?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t difficult. The three went hunting with the swordsman and ate together. However, throughout the course, both of them were surprised by the fact that Geom-in was stronger than they thought. However, they were surprised once again when he told them that the power he currently uses was only 30% of his overall ability.


    ¡°To survive in this world, you have to hide about 70% of your skills.¡±


    He spoke out words that would have been ridiculed if Seongho had heard it. After all, he¡¯s just a copier. In any case, the men and women admired his knowledge rather than his skills and sincerely wanted to survive together.


    Then at one point, marksmanship and restrain-type unique skills appeared in Geom-in¡¯s status window. If he had obtained the Griffon¡¯s Eye skill back in the farming dungeon, the unique skill he just got will shine even more brightly. But it was a pity.


    ¡®It¡¯s done.¡¯ Geom-in used his blink ability to disappear from the sight of the two people. The two of them, who were abandoned in an instant, were a little concerned, but they had no choice but to accept it.


    Afterall, isn¡¯t it already a relief that he didn¡¯t kill them in this apocalyptic world?


    ¡®It¡¯s not like they¡¯re going to government shelters anyway.¡¯


    Moving between cities requires considerable skill and luck. However, that alone was impossible for both of them in the first place. Geom-in, who instigated the plan, was also responsible for it, but to be deceived in the apocalypse was a sin itself.


    He shook off his uneasiness and checked the map of Incheon.


    ¡®I have to enter the battlefield in the area which is close to the Chinese settlement.¡¯ The reason was because they don¡¯t know anything about the Battle Royale event. Heck, a lot of them still don¡¯t know about monster¡¯s characteristics and other events. Therefore, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to be the winner among them.


    The problem is other Koreans¡­


    ¡®Rapwi wouldn¡¯t be a problem since he went somewhere else¡­ But Da-jeong¡­¡¯


    Geom-in couldn¡¯t figure out where she went. He was upset with Jang Won-taek, who didn¡¯t tell him about such an important issue.


    Has he ever met Gimbap?


    That¡¯s the worst thing possible¡­


    Geom-in crumpled the map as he thought so. Even if the two met, the probability of them remaining in Incheon was not high.


    ¡®They probably went to Seoul.¡¯


    The fact that reports of sightings did not appear on the Auction House was probably because they¡¯re on the move. If it was Gimbap, he would have prepared for the Battle Royale event by himself,, but¡­


    ¡®No, he definitely won¡¯t.¡¯


    Even so, he shouldn¡¯t have been around here. Geom-in unfolded and traced it with his finger. After a while, he thought that it would be better to go to Yeongjong Island.


    ¡®Afterall, it was the place where a lot of those stipid Chinese people reside¡­¡¯ If there¡¯s a pretty girl amongst them, he could take her with him. Once he decides, he uses his blink again while using several islands in-between as a foothold.


    At the same time, Seongho and Da-jeong found a portal just outside the area where the oil storage was located. Since Da-jeong had no intention of participating, she decided to enter the portal to just look at the terrain before coming back out.


    After checking the inside, she crossed to Earth again and walked to Seongho. When he heard the words fly out from Da-jeong¡¯s mouth, his expression changed.


    ¡°Is there perhaps snow on the top of the mountain? And is there a lake?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. Do you know that place?


    ¡°Yeah, I know. It¡¯s near my shelter.¡±


    ¡°REALLLLYYY?¡± Da-jeong tried to enter the portal again, but was pushed away by it. Fuming, she kicked the portal violently.


    ¡°Hurry up! Open up!¡±


    Of course, the portal didn¡¯t even answer.

 Chapter 111

    Seongho clenched his fist as joy filled his heart. Afterall, it was certain that he had hit a jackpot. The place which was designated as the battlefield for the Battle Royale event in this designated area was located near his shelter.


    According to Da-jeong, the place she set her feet on was a meadow, and she saw a lake and a mountain right in front of him. She must have been to where he had gone before to take the emperor¡¯s honey.


    ¡°I am lucky.¡±


    On the other hand, for Da-jeong, she was gobsmacked, No, even that was an understatement. It was her first and maybe last great opportunity in a very long time to visit Seongho¡¯s shelter!


    She won¡¯t be able to be there for a long time, but she would at least know what it looks like. Every time she hears Seongho talking about the cave or his shelter, her imagination always runs wild, but the golden opportunity to see the place with her own eyes just got blown away.


    She crossed her arms and began to grind her high heels on the ground.


    ¡°Are you happy?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am. I can use my gun in this event.¡±


    ¡°Gun? You are too much! People of the world, look at this bastard! He¡¯s about to use his cheat!¡±


    Of course, no one heard her, as there¡¯s no one around.


    Seongho patted her shoulder with both hands.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but stay here until I get out. I want to reduce the number of competitors as much as possible on my own.¡±


    ¡°Even if you didn¡¯t tell me to do that, I will still do that.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Why am I suddenly feeling anxious?


    ¡°I have to stop you from escaping. The entrance and exit of the Battle Royale arena is the same one, right? So, don¡¯t even think about running away.¡±


    ¡°What should I run away from?¡±


    Da-jeong stroked the portal.


    ¡°From fighting in another place like this one¡­ I¡¯m talking about the Great Labyrinth.¡±


    ¡°Great Labyrinth?¡±


    Seongho¡¯s expression suddenly turned sour. Great Labyrinth, just like its name implies, was an enormous dungeon. There were a lot of monsters inside, and it was one of the final contents of Survival Life. It also boasted significant difficulty to the point many veteran users died in the labyrinth. The four stagnant waters were not an exception¨CThey too had died a lot inside.


    At that moment, Seongho grabbed Da-jeong by the neck.


    ¡°I suddenly remembered¡­ You and Rapwi went wild and we all died everyday¡­¡±


    ¡°E-eung? Did we?¡±


    Da-jeong turned her head to the side and pretended not to know, while Seong-ho gave strength to his hand, which was holding her neck. Afterall, each time the two crazy duo called him for reinforcement, he packed up his belongings and entered the labyrinth. He had to break through the labyrinth alone while fighting many vicious monsters that are rarely seen outside.


    However, after meeting them, he was often caught up in their madness and died. Rapwi attacked the monsters by standing on his hands, while Da-jeong held someone¡¯s ankle and used him to attack the monsters. Of course, that someone is Seongho himself.


    ¡°You used me as a hammer then swung me at those monsters, killing me in the process.¡±


    ¡°Tehee pero.¡±


    ¡°Tehee pero my ass¡±


    Seongho let go of her neck, took off his item, and put it in the shelter. After putting the items stored in the dimension slot at the shelter, Da-jeong stuck out her tongue.


    ¡°What kind of walking arsenal are you?¡±


    ¡°Well, it will be a waste if I can¡¯t use it inside.¡±


    ¡°If someone hears that, I bet they will be really upset. By the way, is there anything dangerous inside?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not dangerous at all, but I can scout their location with a drone.¡±


    At Seongho¡¯s answer, Da-jeong was at a loss for words. She knew that he had a drone inside from the story he told her. But he was going to use it in the Battle Royale?


    That was clearly a very cowardly act, one which makes the words ¡®cheating¡¯ become an understatement.


    Of course, Seongho knew it was cowardly, and he was ready to do even more cowardly actions in the future.


    ¡°You¡¯re really spiteful¡­ Do you even need to do that? Just use the gun and you¡¯re done.¡±


    Seongho shrugged his shoulders. ¡°The game is more fun when your winning chance is absolutely 100%.¡±


    In other words, he had to prepare more thoroughly to enjoy the event to the fullest.


    Anyway, he said he would come back soon and went inside the portal.


    Da-jeong left 10 ghouls waiting outside the portal and went into a nearby house. Inside, two zombies, who were eating something when she entered, exposed their teeth towards her as they saw her. When she snapped her finger, her ghoul rushed in, smashing the zombies and throwing them out of the window.


    Kyaaa-


    ¡°Hmmmm¡­¡±


    Da-jeong crossed her arms and looked out the window. Several survivors were seen trying to access the portal and were being chased away by the ghouls.


    Of course, the portal which Seongho entered was not the only entrance, so other people will be able to enter as well. Among them, Koreans are probably rare¡­


    She recalled her work in Incheon, which was not far from this place.


    ¡®Geom-in should still not know about our location yet¡­¡¯


    After coming out of the government shelter, he shouldn¡¯t know where they are because she hasn¡¯t told them. If it¡¯s Geom-in, he would play cunningly and fight the Battle Royale event against the Chinese, as they knew nothing about the event.


    ¡®Anyway, they¡¯re more similar than I thought.¡¯


    From what she saw, Seongho and Geom-in were the same. The only difference was that the former succeeded every time thanks to a thorough preparation, and the latter failed repeatedly because he was clumsy. However, the power of Seongho¡¯s unique skill is incomparably stronger than Geom-in¡¯s.


    Therefore¡­


    ¡°Geom-in, I hope you don¡¯t come. You¡¯ll die.¡±


    The event does not end until the last player wins. If Geom-in entered the same battlefield as Seongho, his death would be guaranteed. Or maybe not. Da-jeong hated him, but Seongho didn¡¯t want him to die.


    He is not guilty as of now.


    Not yet.


    .


    .


    .


    It felt like my strength was draining as I set foot on the familiar meadow. At the same time, it feels like sounds from all directions were cut off. It was proof that my Strength and Perception stats were being reduced.


    When I called the status window, the number displayed on it really put me down.


    ¡¸Level:- Points:-


    Vitality:10 Strength:10 Agility:10 Dexterity:10 Perception:10


    Unique Skill: Dedicated Dimensional Door


    skill:-


    Active Buff(s): Shackles of Battle¡¹


    ¡°AH SERIOUSLY!¡± The stats were all limited to 10, and all the skills I had accumulated after fighting a lot of bloody battles were all gone. All of it was due to Shackles of Battle debuff. Though, it only applies to people who entered the battlefield, and will disappear when people leave the battlefield.


    I wanted to experiment, but now I can¡¯t. I hid in a nearby tree and looked around.


    ¡°Open portal.¡±


    Damn it. The portal, which normally was almost transparent, appeared in vivid blue just like when I first got it. It means that it will be visible to others, and all other additional effects are gone too.


    ¡°I can¡¯t use the slot and dimensional wall.¡±


    What is this misfortune¡­


    But since everyone was in the same situation, it can be said that it was fair. Though, if other people knew about my situation, they might be squealing about whether it was fair or not.


    ¡°Wwell, the world is always unfair in the first place.¡±


    Let¡¯s go to the shelter first. I went to the shelter through the portal and launched the drone. The battlefield was already opened, but there¡¯s still time before the event begins.


    About 2 hours¡­


    Now what I need to do is to wait for people to enter. Before the event starts, I have to finish the reconnaissance with the drone and decide the farming route and survival strategy.


    ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll be going to go with the ¡®Lubu meta¡¯ again this time.¡±


    ¡®Lubu meta¡¯ means an aggressive style of play. People who use it will actively look for enemies, steal their items and kill them. Of course, there¡¯s only one person who used it back in the game, which is me.


    Other than that, there are ¡®stealth meta¡¯ and ¡®farming meta¡¯, but honestly, it doesn¡¯t mean much. Because I literally have guns in my hand right now, which was a god-tier weapon in this situation.


    ¡°It will take care of everything.¡± Imagine that everyone starts with a club and knife, then upgrades it to a long knife, bow, etc.. However, there¡¯s this one guy who carried a gun from the start. In that case, there¡¯s no way the others can upset the balance.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t feel bad at all.¡± I put the Togarev and live ammunition in my backpack.


    The guns I had were MP335, Togarev, K2, and revolver, and they all used different types of bullets, so it was not interchangeable. And the MP335, which had a silencer, only has 10 bullets.


    ¡°I will use it with a crossbow, and if the situation calls for it¡­¡±


    Should I use the revolver?


    I¡¯ve been wanting to shoot long-range with the K2 rifle, but in this situation, it was not even an option. If I carry it in this battlefield without the dimension slots, I will be treated as a golden goblin.


    ¡°So where are the people¡­¡±


    Watching the video sent by the drone, I woke up from my thoughts. No matter what I think about it, killing the person who attacked me first and killing the person I met at the event are different stories. There are people in this place who came in without even knowing that this was a Battle Royale battlefield.


    But¡­


    ¡°Here, the first move is important.¡±


    Perception stats have been drastically reduced, so avoiding arrows was not an option. So the best thing to do was to discover my enemies first and attack.


    Fortunately, I have a good foundation. It was a solid concrete foundation.


    ¡°Everyone is here.¡±


    The drone showed me the people who just entered the battlefield.


    .


    .


    .


    There are two kinds of Battle Royale events in Survival Life. The first was an event which was held in another dimension, while the other one would happen on Earth.


    The difficulty of the latter second was much higher, and it was unavoidable. Since it was a definite way to die for users who were not strong enough, if the event is not identified in advance, their character will be deleted.


    Fortunately, the second Battle roy6ale only comes out after the midway through the end of the game, so there is no need to think about it now.


    I carefully moved the drone to observe the people below.


    ¡°Did these guys come in without knowing anything, or¡­¡±


    There are quite a few people walking around. Some of them were in groups of two or three and there¡¯s also people who were alone. Since the battlefield is a meadow, there were not many places that could be used to hide. At best, they could only take cover in trees, rocks, mountains and lakes.


    ¡°The event will end around the lake.¡±


    The battlefield boasts a very large area at first, but it will narrow itself over time. And just like the zombie wall in a deathmatch, the monsters will act as some kind of wall. Of course, it is not as dense as a zombie wall, but it was much more difficult to pass through it because there were very powerful monsters in the midst. Afterall, with this kind of stats, once we meet a werewolf or an owlbear, we will die without any question.


    ¡°Those bas**rds are moving.¡±


    According to the video sent by the drone, all the monsters in the forest I was in were moving.


    ¡°Were there that many in the first place¡­?¡±


    I¡¯ve hunted quite a lot of monsters since I settled in the forest, but compared to the guys coming out now, the one I had killed feels like a drop in the ocean. I saw goblins, kobolds, as well as hobgoblins, orcs, and even lizardmen on the horde.


    ¡°That¡¯s swamp-dweller.¡±


    I know that there was a swamp in the north and had wondered if I could get more poison frogs there. Let¡¯s go there later¡­


    I marked the people¡¯s whereabouts and their locations on the map. I¡¯ll be updating their location from time to time in-between fighting.


    So far this is the standard Battle Royale strategy.


    ¡°Wait. I have a gun, why am I doing this?¡±


    I can just shoot them every time I meet them. Though, since live ammunition was scarce, it would be better to use a crossbow, if possible.


    As I moved to the northern part of the snowy mountain, I saw someone hiding in the forest. Unlike the other survivors, who were at a loss for what to do, he was calm.


    ¡°I think he¡¯s Korean¡­¡±


    When I lowered the altitude of the drone, that man turned out to be someone I know.


    It was Bae Geom-in.


    To think he entered the same battlefield as me¡­


    ¡°You idiot.¡±


    Why didn¡¯t you go to the Seoul battlefield?


    No, wait. It could be that he didn¡¯t go there on purpose. He might not have information as detailed as mine, but Geom-in was surely aware that Battle Royale is happening at this time.


    ¡°Did you plan to participate in a place with a lot of Chinese?¡±


    It¡¯s a good decision, I give him that. But the unfortunate thing about his plan was that he had thought of the same plan as me.


    You don¡¯t seem to know where I am?


    When a valley deer passed by the meadow, Geom-in moved. Seconds later, the deer was engulfed in the light and was unable to move.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen that before.¡±


    Was it restraint? I have vivid memories of my experience in Busan. As far as I know, that ability doesn¡¯t work if there¡¯s an obstacle between the user and their target. And since this place was a meadow, there were almost no obstacles here, so it would be a good thing for Geom-in.


    He clenched his fists and took an archery stance. After looking at what he had done, it was better for me to think that he had two unique skills.


    I put down his location on the map. It wouldn¡¯t be bad to kill him here, but¡­.


    ¡°The president will be annoying.¡±


    According to Da-jeong, Jang Won-taek and Bae Geom-in were cooperative, but not really colleagues. And it seems unlikely to happen even in the future. It was because Geom-in was greedy.


    ¡°There are a lot of people who need to be checked, including Joo Seung-cheol.¡±


    What I¡¯m looking for is a gap in the government shelters. I will use that opportunity to secure firearms and other equipment, so removing Geom-in here was not a good idea.


    ¡°You are a troll.¡±


    The presence of trolls creates infighting and cracks appear. I decided to leave the Geom-in¡¯s life to fate. If I can use a bug to get him out of the battlefield, I¡¯ll do it, and if not, I¡¯ll kill him. The chance is 50-50.


    ¡°I need to move soon.¡±


    After I retrieved the drone, I gathered weapons and supplies and called Dingo and Ding-soon.


    ¡°Ding-soon, you run around the shelter, and when someone comes, chase them away. got it? You can bite them.¡±


    When I said so, she looked at me blankly. Meanwhile, Dingo¡¯s eyes were asking what he needed to do.


    ¡°I¡¯ll borrow him for a while.¡±


    Kung-!


    ¡°I¡¯ll only borrow him for one day, I¡¯ll give him back to you later.¡±


    Kung-!!


    Ding-soon didn¡¯t seem to like that I only took Dingo. Well, she¡¯s already taking care of the groom. But on the other hand, Dingo was happy to walk through the forest without monsters, and his steps were light.


    We crossed the valley in an instant and broke through the monsters. And we settled on the border between the forest and grassland. Dingo growled as he looked at the monsters behind him.


    ¡°Shh. It¡¯s fine.¡±


    This is the beginning of a full-fledged Battle Royale. Every hour, the monster wall will get narrower and narrower, and people here have to survive while avoiding it. There is no set time limit, but this Battle Royale usually ends in one day.


    I hid behind the trees and quietly gazed at the meadow. When the battlefield was formed like this, everyone would be hiding in the forest. Items also had a high probability of being regenerated in the forest.


    ¡°In the beginning, only garbage would come out¡­¡± Therefore, I wouldn¡¯t go looting those things. What I¡¯m going to do is hunt people who are wandering around looking for items.


    I took Dingo and approached the wall of the monster carefully. Monsters, such as goblins, could not even find me and just stood drooling.


    ¡°They have become complete idiots.¡±


    The symptoms were similar to those mindless monsters at the speedrun event. Maybe they were enchanted by something.


    I crawled around the forest. I wonder if I should laugh or not when I see Dingo creeping next to me too.


    Then two people showed up. The two looked surprised to see a club and a knife regenerated on the rock.


    ¡°Why did this appear? We didn¡¯t even catch a monster?¡±


    ¡°Is it part of the event? The bread from last time is like that too. This reality is fused with the game¡±


    That¡¯s right, but your mouth was a bit loud. Without hesitation, I fired the crossbow. A bolt pierced the back of one of them, and he let out a shriek and plopped to the rock.


    ¡¸You have earned 50 points¡¹


    ¡°What, what?¡±


    You wonder what this is? It¡¯s a crossbow that I looted from those thugs in the D-day of the apocalypse.


    The longbow is nice, but it¡¯s too big to carry around. A crossbow was the best weapon unless you could use a dimension slot. Of course, that is without counting guns on the list.


    I put my crossbow head on the ground, loaded another bolt, and took aim. However, the guy had disappeared.


    ¡°Dingo, find him.¡±


    The silver wolf lowered its posture and ran into the forest.


    The hunt begins.

 Chapter 112

    Battle Royale can be said as a lottery draw. Thousands of people invested their lives to buy lottery tickets and hoped they could be the sole winner. However, there were only a few people who could enjoy the joy of winning, and those who did not, will lose, or in this case, die.


    Some will complain that they participated without knowing that. But what can they do? In the apocalypse, not knowing about something you will take part of, was a grave sin.


    ¡°I am a murderer.¡±


    It was a truth that would not change, no matter how it was packaged. I have killed a lot of people until today, and will continue to do so in the future. Whether it¡¯s an idiot, a killer who threatens my life, or a survivor who attacks a friend, I don¡¯t care. If they touch what I considered as mine, they will die.


    At that moment, the number 37 appeared in my field of view. That number indicates the amount of people the participants need to kill to get the resurrection scroll.


    Though, not everyone will be killed as there¡¯s bound to be some people who died to the monsters, or died because of some other reason. But it doesn¡¯t change the fact that it was the thing they had to do to be the ultimate victor.


    ¡°Second one.¡± With a pop, a bolt pierced the chest of a man who was in front of me. He found me and tried to attack me with a club he got. But well, he died. He must be fuming in the afterlife.


    ¡°I feel like they are slowly realizing¡­¡±


    Anyone can¡¯t help but realize when they look at the limited status window, the numbers, and regenerated weapons that this place was a battlefield where they have to kill each other. If they only cry and scream, they will be turned into a prey.


    ¡°Ha!¡±


    The woman who didn¡¯t want to be prey attacked me. She threatened me with a rock which she floats in the air. It just came to mind now, but it seems that there were many women among the telekinetic users.


    She hurled the stone at me as she also flew. However, unfortunately for her, I was already about to open my mouth.


    ¡°Open the portal.¡±


    A blue dimensional door appeared in front of her and acted as a wall.


    ¡°ACKKKKK!¡± She banged her nose against the portal and collapsed to the ground. Of course, the stones that were flying around her also fell down. I closed the portal and fired my crossbow and the number went down once again, as it goes from 35 to 34.


    ¡°¡­¡± Nothing to loot, nothing to check. I walked away from the area and Dingo suddenly lowered his posture and growled towards one direction. When I looked towards it, I saw two people surrounding someone.


    Where did I see that outfit again?


    Ah, the two Chinese who ran away from me in Incheon!


    Was the man¡¯s unique skill brainwashing and the woman¡¯s wind manipulation?


    Poor him, brainwashing is a useless unique skill in this battlefield.


    ¡°Why are you attacking us without any warning?¡± The man with brainwashing skill asked halfway to screaming.


    What the hell is he saying?


    The besieged man shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Because I have to. After all, no matter what I say, it wouldn¡¯t change the fact that we need to kill each other.¡±


    ¡°What is this place! Tell us!¡± The woman cried out loudly.


    ¡°The battlefield of Battle Royale. This is a place where only one person can survive.¡±


    They both flinched at his words.


    Is this the moment when your conjecture turns out to be true?


    By the way, I was quite surprised that there were other people other than me and Geom-in who knew about the Battle Royale event. The besieged suddenly moved and appeared in front of the man with brainwashing ability and struck him in the head with a club.


    However, since the stats were limited, his next move was bound to be infinitely slow. The man fell to the floor, and the woman panicked and called for the wind.


    ¡°Wind? What is this¡­¡± The man muttered in despair as the dirt and rocks were being pushed away towards him.


    I was also surprised the first time I saw it. The man rolled to the left as if he was used to this situation.


    Should I kill her now?


    No, It¡¯s better to do it once the battle is over. It will only make my battle harder if I go out now and get attacked from both sides.


    The two fiercely exchange attacks while using their unique skill. The ground was upturned here and there, and the woman rolled over the ground to avoid the man, who suddenly approached.


    ¡°Keuk!¡±


    The woman, who was on the offensive seconds ago, was now pushed into her backfoot. However, the man was by no means in a better situation than her, since the blink ability took a lot of toll on the caster¡¯s body if it was used consecutively.


    ¡°Ouch!¡±


    The man pounded his head with his own hand and rolled to the side once again. Meanwhile, the woman raised her hands, seemingly not wanting to lose the opportunity.


    Whoosh-!!


    The wind that blew according to the movement of the woman¡¯s hand lifted the man¡¯s body into the sky. Instead of screaming at her, the man stretched out his arms to the branches of a nearby tree and clenched it tightly.


    The moment the wind became weaker, the man moved to the front of her nose with a blink.


    ¡°You b**tch is so tough.¡±


    Pak-!!


    The man¡¯s club hit the woman¡¯s waist. Without being able to utter any words, even though she opened her mouth, she grabbed her waist. At that moment, the men¡¯s club was already heading towards her head.


    Now!!


    I pulled out Togarev and shot the man.


    Thud-!!


    WIthout managing to hit the woman¡¯s head, the man collapsed to the ground.


    Damn, I shot it a little too fast. The woman didn¡¯t seem to understand that the man had fallen, but a fraction of a second later, she seemed to finally realize and threw her body away.


    She¡¯s a quick-witted woman¡­


    I aimed the Togarev at the woman, but dirt and bushes were obstructing my view. Therefore, it¡¯s hard to figure out her whereabouts.


    I tapped Dingo¡¯s ass, who was crouching next to me. ¡°Follow her.¡±


    The guy ran right away, but he was just walking around the dusty area.


    Did she already run away?


    When I looked up at the sky, she had already disappeared from the tree.


    ¡°Her luck is good¡­.¡± Well, I¡¯m not overly concerned with this failure. On this battlefield, we are bound to meet each other again.


    While checking the battlefield with the drone, I found that the generated items have risen in terms of quality. I quickly moved to take out the leather gloves that have the Dexterity increase option.


    On this battlefield, it was impossible to bring in items affected by the system, so I had no choice but to wear the gloves. Since items generated in the battlefield were one-time use items, it will disappear after the Battle Royale is over. A small bow was also generated, but there¡¯s no need for me to use it.


    ¡°In a bit, long-range weapons will also come out.¡±


    Awooo-!!


    Suddenly, I heard a wolf howl.


    Is that coming from the pack of silver wolves we met last time?


    Dingo pricked his ears at the howl. It would be nice to split the work using this situation. I sent Dingo out of the woods.


    If all goes according to plan, Geom-in will have no choice but to enter the forest.


    ¡°I need you to do exactly that, Geom-in. So please cooperate.¡±


    .


    .


    .


    After round 1, the monster wall narrowed, making the battlefield smaller than earlier. Meanwhile, the remaining survivors finally realized the rules. They have to avoid monsters and kill each other using the generated items.


    Some noticed that the numbers in their field of vision represented the remaining people. Those who were quick-witted began to arm themselves and ran out to the meadow. Their destination was to the snowy mountain and the lake.


    However, since there was also the monster wall, they couldn¡¯t go too far. Those who go too far were either killed by baptism of paralyzing darts from the goblins, or by the stones thrown by the stone monkeys.


    And in the midst of that confusion, blood, and chaos, Bae Geom-in played the role of a predator.


    ¡°Stop!¡±


    A man rushing towards him was caught in the light and came to a sudden stop. To tell you the truth, Geom-in¡¯s restraint skill was by no means extraordinary. It couldn¡¯t stop small movements and wouldn¡¯t work if there¡¯s an obstacle between the caster and their target. On top of it, the restarain will be undone if the caster loses their focus.


    Geom-in realized it only after using it a few times. When he did it while aiming the bow, the arrow did not hit the man¡¯s head and missed by quite a distance.


    ¡°You b*st*rd! You can¡¯t even hit me when I¡¯m standing still!¡±


    ¡°F**k you.¡±


    Geom-on face flushed red when the Chinese slapped him with the insult. By the way, Geom-in did not even think that the marksmanship ability would be this mismatched with restrain ability. If you focus on one thing, the other will be undone.


    At that moment, Geom-in was startled by the sound of a monster coming from his back. Because of that, the already weak restraints were released and the man rushed towards him.


    Thanks to his unique physical strengthening skill, his movement was quick. Thankfully, Geom-in was able to concentrate and barely hold him back.


    ¡°You F*ck! Release this!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no one who will do what you want if you curse at them, you b*ast*rd.¡±


    After putting the man in his sight, Geom-in slowly retreated back. Suddenly, the number in his view declined once again.


    Why is this happening?


    When he first entered the battle royale battlefield, he was full of confidence. The Chinese know nothing about the event, so he thought he would have an absolute advantage. However, as soon as the Battle Royale started, that thought collapsed like a sand castle. After all, the number of survivors was rapidly declining.


    Who the hell¡­


    Could it be that there was someone among the Chinese who understood the situation and went hunting?


    Or is it another Korean?


    What if¡­


    The identity of the person who was reducing the number of survivors is Da-jeong or Gimbap?


    His head throbs even more at those thoughts.


    ¡°I¡¯ll cross the line when I have to¡­¡± He still needed to kill the man in front of him before that. When Geom-in notched an arrow to the string, a group of wolves suddenly appeared in the corner of his sight.


    They were wolves with a huge body with a silver mane.


    Awoooo-!!


    The howling of a pack of wolves resounded across the battlefield.


    ¡°Damn it.¡± The stronger predators have appeared. Therefore, weaker predators have to flee. However, the swordsman could not make a decision and hesitated.


    What¡¯s the difference between dying from my arrow and being eaten alive by the wolves, anyway?


    Crunch-!!


    In the meantime, the pack of wolves attacked the man. The biggest wolf bit the man¡¯s neck and a horrific scream rang out.


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t come!¡±


    Geom-in mumbled as he returned his arrow to his back and ran away.


    Awoo-!!


    Several wolves under the command of the alpha pursued him. Therefore, Geom-in had no choice but to use his blink to get away. However when he was on the run, he saw a person waiting for him at the border between the forest and the meadow.


    The man was dressed in black, wearing a mask and carrying a crossbow and gun.


    The swordsman who saw the man was astonished.


    Gun?


    How did he get it?


    The man in front of him raised the gun and aimed at him. It was a gun with an elongated silencer.


    The swordsman did not even think to unsheathe his sword and only raised both of his hands.


    However, unfortunately for him, the muzzle lit up.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Run!¡± The man commanded him. Geom-in did not even dare to resist and ran through the forest as fast as he could. After all, the gun was more frightening than the monster wall.


    ¡®Fuck, fuck!¡¯


    Why the hell did this happen! And who is that man?


    All sorts of thoughts ran through his head. However, he soon became focused once again as he was tripped by tree roots and fell to the ground.


    A gunshot rang out from his back accompanied by the heavy sound of the man.


    ¡°GET UP AND RUN!¡±


    ¡°F************CK.¡±


    ¡°Cut it out! All the monsters will come.¡±


    The man consistently pushed Geom-in. However, even if he didn¡¯t like it, he couldn¡¯t dream of using the blink or the restraint. He concluded so as he saw the man¡¯s action. He always makes sure to use a tree as an obstacle between them.


    How did he know that restraint skill wouldn¡¯t work if there was an obstacle?


    Woof-!! Woof-!!


    A dog ran next to him and threatened him. After wolves, humans, and now dogs. Just how small he is in the eyes of these guys?


    Geom-in swallowed his anger and ran. Not long after that, he arrived right in front of the monster wall.


    ¡°Uh¡­ What should I do now?¡±


    ¡°Just run!¡±


    bang!


    Two gunshots rang out after the man answered. Something flew past Geom-in¡¯s left and right, startling him.


    As he ran as hard as he could once again, oddly enough, the monster wall had disappeared. He just broke past the monster wall.


    ¡®Wha-what?¡¯


    Something cold touched the back of his head as he stopped running.


    ¡°What are you doing instead of running?¡±


    ¡°Uh, how did you do it? The wall¡­¡±


    ¡°Is now the correct time to think about that? You are pathetic.¡±


    Pathetic.


    It was something Da-jeong often said to him. Geom-in groaned, but since he couldn¡¯t possibly dodge the gun, he swallowed his anger back.


    ¡°The exit is still far. So keep running.¡±


    The man¡¯s words surprised him for the umpteenth time.


    He does all this to take me out of the battlefield?


    ¡°Stay here and die or run. Your choice.¡± The masked man said as he threatened him by pushing his gun from behind.


    ¡°If I run, can I live?¡±


    ¡°That depends on how well you run, Bae Geom-in.¡±


    He even know my name? Who the hell is it?


    If it were a man who had the ability to overwhelm him and even had a gun¡­ A person flashed through Geom-in¡¯s mind.


    ¡°Gi-gimbap, is that you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make any noises and just keep running. The longer you talk, the lower your chance of survival.¡±


    Seongho pushed him harshly.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± He felt a bit sorry for pushing Geom-in to run more. But he had to do this in order to at least give him the chance to survive.


    The location where Seongho led Geom-in towards was the location of the last monster. The reason was simple, it was because the bug will only occur once they killed the last monster in the area.


    If Geom-in did not disappear even after he killed the last monster¡­


    Goo Woo-wook-


    From somewhere, Seongho heard the cry of an owlbear. Hearing that sound, Geom-in was terrified and stopped.


    Seongho, who became frustrated, shouted. ¡°I told you to keep running!¡±


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s an owlbear¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, so hurry up!¡±


    Bang!


    The bullet Seongho just shot barely passed Geom-in¡¯s head. Thanks to that, he started running like crazy again. and then the owlbear appeared.


    Woo woo woo-!!


    As it spread its wings, the dog running next to Geom-in ran and barked towards it.


    Seongho shouted loudly from behind.


    ¡°Restrain that guy!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there like an idiot and use your skill at it! There¡¯s nothing between you guys to stop you!¡±


    ¡°Ah, okay!¡±


    The swordsman concentrated and light shone from the owlbear. However, it didn¡¯t last long as the power of the owlbear was dwarfing Geom-in¡¯s power.


    The moment the frightened Geom-in turned his head, Seongho threw his spear at the owlbear.


    Kieeeeek-!!


    The owlbear, which was struck by a spear in its stomach, roared. It flapped its wings, spreading away the dust around it towards Geom-in. Because of that, the restraint skill was undone and Seongho spit out abusive language before firing the revolver.


    Bang-!! Bang-!!


    In an instant, the cylinder rotated, and six shots were lodged in the owlbear¡¯s body. Seongho had aimed at its head, but it missed.


    In retaliation, the owlbear ran towards Seongho as if it had not taken any damage.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Seongho threw his body to the side and rolled on the ground. When he came to his senses, he was surprised that Geom-in was shooting arrows at the owlbear instead of running away.


    Looking at the situation, it seems like he had activated his other unique skill as the arrow accurately pierced the owlbear¡¯s eye.


    ¡°Well done! Just kite it a little bit more!¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    Bae Geom-in bounced back and forth between his 2 unique skills without even knowing that he¡¯s bleeding from the nose. He was currently maintaining a superhuman level of concentration.


    When the owlbear approaches, he attacks with his bow, and when that¡¯s over, he holds him with his restraint skill.


    Thanks to this, the owlbear suffered from several arrows piercing its head. No matter how tough it¡¯s vitality is, it¡¯s difficult to endure that kind of damage. There was even a dog distracting it by barking next to it, so the owlbear should be extremely dizzy right now.


    When Seongho finally took out a long sword from his backpack, the owlbear gave up and tried to run away.


    ¡°Restraint it!¡±


    Geom-in used his unique skill, and Seongho charged with his longsword. Finally, when the long sword pierced through its chest area, it died. When it stopped moving, Seongho immediately raised his Togarev towards Geom-in.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think of using that skill on me¡­¡±


    ¡°Ye-yeah.¡±


    ¡°Walk over there.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Geom-in glanced at him and walked into the forest. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder if he could really escape the battlefield and why the man was trying to save him.


    Seongho said from behind. ¡°The chance of getting out of the battlefield is low, but it¡¯s better than being dead.¡±


    ¡°How much is the chance?¡±


    ¡°50 percent.¡±


    ¡°Oh my¡­ So I have a 50 percent chance of dying?¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t like it, you shouldn¡¯t have come here.¡±


    The man was right. But in his defense, he didn¡¯t know that the man would participate in the event in the Incheon area.


    ¡°You roughly know who I am, right?¡± Seongho said to him.


    ¡°You are I Love Gimbap, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You don¡¯t know me, but I know you well. I know you have three unique skills. At the least.¡±


    ¡°Seems like Seokhyun and Da-jeong have told you everything¡­¡±


    ¡°It was something I found out by myself. Anyway, you¡¯re in the palm of my hand, so you better not do anything useless.¡±


    ¡°What do you want? What are you doing this for?¡±


    ¡°Because you can¡¯t die now.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Geom-in eyes shook violently at Seongho¡¯s words.


    ¡°Think of it yourself. By the way, you were pretty good earlier.¡± Seongho said so and pushed Geom-in¡¯s back with his gun. Light began to gather in his body, which had been pushed a few steps away.


    At one point, Geom-in was no longer standing in the forest, but on a flat road.


    ¡°Huh?¡± To his surprise, he had escaped the Battle Royale¡¯s battlefield. Geom-in collapsed to the ground as adrenaline left his body.


    ¡°Why did you save me¡­¡±


    However, no one was there to listen to his question.

 Chapter 113

    Geom-in limped until he saw a dilapidated house. On the way there, The question ¡®why¡¯ kept running through his mind.


    Why did Gimbap save him?


    ¡®What the hell is the reason?¡¯


    Wasn¡¯t he one step away from gaining 50 points by killing him and winning the Battle Royale?


    Why did he take the risk by bringing me past the monster wall?


    ¡°He told me it¡¯s not my time to die just yet¡­¡± In other words, he told him that there¡¯s still something he needs to do. Maybe, just maybe¡­ Did Gimbap recognized his competence?


    ¡°Whew¡­¡± Geom-in rested his back on the wall and relaxed his body. Even though Gimbap pushed him and forced him against his own will, in the end, they cooperated to kill the owlbear.


    -Well done.


    -You were pretty good earlier.


    It was the first compliment he had ever heard. Of course, he hears it often from his few colleagues, but it was his first time hearing those words from someone as capable as I Love Gimbap.


    Even when he was cursed in the Auction House, didn¡¯t he still do well?


    He had the best unique skill and his performance was unmatched by anyone else. That kind of guy had recognized him!


    ¡°He said I was pretty good¡­¡±


    Geom-in was not recognized by other stagnant waters. Da-jeong openly said that he was pathetic while Seokhyun openly rejected him. However, I Love Gimbap was different. He not only acknowledged him, but even let him escape the Battle Royale with his life intact.


    ¡®But now that I think about it, he threatened me with a gun, didn¡¯t he?¡¯ However, it¡¯s understandable for Gimbap to treat him harshly. After all, it might have something to do with the bug. The very bug which was known only to himself, which he used to save him.


    ¡®I should consider someone who saved me to the length of exploiting a bug as a¡­ friend.¡¯ No matter how harsh he was treated, he would never consider such a person as anything but a friend.


    When his thoughts reached that point, Geom-in felt a sense of pride budding on his heart. He even assured himself that it was fine for someone like Gimbap to have guns.


    Wouldn¡¯t it be nice to have a strong friend?


    ¡®Well, I can get a gun later. I can use it too when the corrosive disease is gone.¡¯


    Geom-in got up slowly and walked around the room. He was kicked out of the battlefield, so all of his stats and skill had returned to normal. He can use blink¡¯s additional effect: long-distance travel again, so returning to the government shelter won¡¯t be difficult.


    At that moment, he wondered if the Auction House guys were aware of the fact he just uncovered. Geom-in entered the Auction House and looked through the comments related to the Battle Royale event.


    -I am currently inside the battlefield. I will accept any question regarding it!


    -What a b*ll*hit. If you are really inside the battlefield, you should¡¯ve struggled as hard as you could! No way you have the time to open the Auction House.


    -This hyung-nim of yours was so damn good, that he killed everyone else and got first place immediately.


    -Which area¡¯s battlefield are you on?


    -Can you tell us how¡¯s your stats look like now after the limitation?


    Of course, the man can¡¯t tell them. Thus, the people cursed him for being a jerk.


    Then, someone else commented.


    -If you look at it, all the people here don¡¯t know how much the stats would drop. Afterall, we didn¡¯t even participate.


    -LMAOOOOOO


    -That damned Strawberry Princess b*st*rd blocked the entrance of the battlefield by mobilizing his clan members.


    -Who¡¯s Strawberry Princess?


    -You don¡¯t know? Rumor said he boasted that he was famous as the two greatest princesses in Survival Life. Along with Rabbit Princess.


    -Is she pretty?


    -It¡¯s he, not she. Moreover, he¡¯s a muscular man.


    -Why do all the princesses in Survival Life look like that?


    ¡°Heh heh.¡±


    Rapwi, who walks around wearing only panties, and Strawberry Princess, a muscular man. Geom-in smiled while imagining the two of them before turning serious once more.


    ¡®I shouldn¡¯t be doing this.¡¯ He should start praising Gimbap on the Auction House from now on.


    After thinking for a while, he wrote a comment. And it instantly gained an audience.


    -You guys¡­ I Love Gimbap turns out to be a really nice person.


    -?


    -What the hell is this guy saying?


    -Maybe he¡¯s crazy.


    -I think I might¡¯ve misunderstood I Love Gimbap. He thinks of me as a friend, but I think of him as a rival and tried to compete with him.


    -Refrain from making new waves!


    -Isn¡¯t this guy a spy?


    I Love Gimbap was extremely famous to the point of malicious comments pouring like a flood every time his name was mentioned. At that moment, Geom-in felt something like euphoria. Most of the time, people don¡¯t even know about his existence, as if he was invisible. But when he wrote something related to I Love Gimbap, he got the kind of attention he himself always wanted all of his life.


    He continued to praise I Love Gimbap, regardless of the people¡¯s swear words. Naturally, the response he got turned even harsher.


    -Is that a follow-up? Are you I Love Gimbap¡¯s ass licker?


    -Go follow that b*st*rd for the rest of your life.


    ¡°These F**ker¡­¡± Geom-in¡¯s emotion flared up. However, his emotion soon died down when he thought about what Auction House guys say about Gimbap. Some of their words were actually not wrong.


    The attention he got from the people was due to envy. Which means, everyone, without an exception, recognized him as someone strong. It would be a miracle if those who claimed that they¡¯ll kill Gimbap if they managed to find him didn¡¯t pass out once they met him. Afterall, he even had a gun.


    ¡®I don¡¯t know how he got that¡­¡¯ but the most important thing now was that he needed to grow stronger, strong enough to be able to stand next to his friend. As of now, he still lacks many things to stand next to him.


    ¡®Guns, I need guns.¡¯


    Jang Won-taek had said: ¡®Even though right now, the awakeners are overly dominating and can do whatever they want, but once the corrosive disease subsides, the status of the government will rise tremendously and they would be able to control them to some degree.¡¯


    His words also means that no matter how powerful a human is, they were meaningless in front of a gun.


    Geom-in had originally tried to take over the government shelters by attracting Da-jeong. But that plan crumbled to dust when she left the shelter without telling him anything. He had some subordinates under him, but they were not someone he could trust his works to.


    It means his power was not enough to dominate government shelters.


    ¡®Should I hold hands with him¡­¡¯ It was with Joo Seung-cheol. Since he was a very suspicious man, Geom-in had kept distancing himself from him. He also feels repulsed by the fact that he invested in the production company of Survival Life. On top of that, even though he had his own shelter, he chose to stay in the government shelter.


    ¡®Above all, no one knows what his unique skill is.¡¯


    Of course, the unique skill of all higher-ups in the government shelters, including his own unique skill, was largely hidden. But it¡¯s not like there¡¯s no rumor regarding it at all.


    There¡¯s even rumors that Jang Won-taek¡¯s unique skill was similar to telepathy, but no one ever talks about Joo Seung-cheol¡¯s unique skill.


    Geom-in remembered what he had said to him.


    -Maybe it will work with Mr. Geom-in. If you come to my shelter, I will treat you well.


    ¡®He hasn¡¯t set a deadline for that¡­¡±


    Which means he could just tell him now.


    Geom-in quickly prepared his return to the government shelter.


    While he was making a big mistake in Incheon, big things were happening in Seoul.


    .


    .


    .


    The blue portal, which appeared in the middle of Seoul, caught the attention of a lot of people. Since there were rumors about the Battle Royale event in the Auction House, everyone wanted to check it out. However, it didn¡¯t mean they wanted to fight with their lives on the line. They just want to see what kind of place the battlefield is before returning to Seoul again.


    But amidst those curious people, there¡¯s someone who really came to fight. He was Rabbit Pwincess.


    He entered the portal wearing only his panties, cloak and rabbit headband. His each and every step was firm. He had no hesitation whatsoever.


    Then, the Auction House exploded. Those who entered the battlefield through another entrance discovered Rapwi. They saw him standing with his hands at a fountain in the middle of a devastated village.


    -Have you guys seen it? Rapwi is doing a handstand in a fountain.


    -Even though his stats are lowered, he can still do that?


    -What happens to the stats of people who went inside?


    -Unique skill is still available. However, the additional effect is gone.


    -Damn, Rapwi¡¯s unique skill is immortality. That means he can live again even after getting killed?


    -Everyone is afraid of dying because of that. But if his unique skill is immortality¡­


    -Why is this world so unfair?


    Everyone either cursed at their luck or blamed the unfair world.


    Needless to say, the unique skill of Rabbit Pwincess¨Cinfinite resurrection¨C was a natural counter to the Battle Royale event. There¡¯s no way someone can win against someone who could come back to live once killed.


    Then, someone claimed this.


    -Isn¡¯t it worth fighting him, since his stats and skills are all gone? If a few people work together, Rapwi wouldn¡¯t be a big deal¡­


    -His immortality would definitely have its limit. Just keep killing him.


    -Anyone who can stalk Rapwi?


    Of course there are none. Rapwi¡¯s fighting ability and sense is just that high. It was said after he appeared in Seoul, there were some people who shot arrows at him out of curiosity. After a fierce battle, the people who shot the arrows can finally take a break, with a couple limbs and bones broken.


    Aside from that one story, there are also a lot of stories about him in the Auction House. Therefore, his status in the Auction House was untouchable. Thanks to that, the winner of the Battle Royale that appeared in the middle of Seoul was Rabbit Pwincess, Hwang Seokhyun. He obtained the resurrection scroll without even having to fight a single proper battle.


    When he came out of the portal, countless people¡¯s attention were pointed at him. But none of them were foolish enough to approach him.


    Seokhyun returned to the government shelter, and Yoon-jeong, who could be said as Seokhyun¡¯s best friend now in the shelter, spoke to him.


    ¡°Seokhyun-ssi, you won the Battle Royale?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Well, by any chance¡­ if you don¡¯t mind, can I know what the reward was?¡±


    Seokhyun took the scroll out of his panties and unfolded it without saying a word. Yoon-jeong, who was watching the movement of his hand, closed her eyes tightly for a moment. It was because she saw something she never wanted to see.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you want to see it? Look at this.¡±


    At Seokhyun¡¯s urging, Yoon-jeong opened her eyes and checked the scroll.


    ¡°Oh my gosh.¡± She opened her mouth wide.


    ¡¸Resurrection Scroll: Consume 1,000 points to resurrect the dead. ¡¹


    Resurrection¡­


    What¡¯s with all these absurd rewards?


    Unknowingly, Yoon-jeong¡¯s hand reached for the scroll and flinched. She then realized.


    What¡¯s the use of having a resurrection scroll for someone immortal like Seokhyun?


    She then asked Seokhyun, who started walking away.


    ¡°Where are you going to use it? It¡¯s something that Seokhyun-ssi doesn¡¯t need.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need it, but my friend needs it.¡±


    ¡°Which one?¡±


    Seokhyun, who was about to tell her, bit his mouth. Then, with his arm, he pointed down the hallway to prevent Yoon-jeong from following him. And their conversation ended there.


    Yoon-jeong could chase after him, but if she did so, she would only make him angry¨Cthe last thing she wanted to do in this apocalyptic world. She still remembered his anger vividly as she had been traveling with him for quite some time.


    She quickly headed to Jang Won-taek¡¯s room. When she entered the room, Jang Won-taek was having a serious conversation with Lee Beom-seok, and he was pleased with the information Yoon-jeong brought.


    ¡°These days, you¡¯ve been getting along very well with him, Yoon-jeong ssi. Are you certain he won¡¯t sell it at the Auction House? You said he wants to give it to his friend?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°It means that the scroll can be transferred to someone else.¡±


    Jang Won-taek nodded his head at Beom-seok¡¯s interpretation. ¡°It seems that was precisely the case. Normally, scrolls have to be torn to be effective, but I think the resurrection scroll can be activated just by holding it.¡±


    ¡°If he auctioned it on the Auction House, it would surely be sold for a very high price.¡±


    However, Beom-seok never thought that Seokhyun would put it up for auction. What was certain was that several awakeners have an extra life now.


    The two men checked the map and chatted among themselves.


    ¡°There¡¯s only one battlefield in an area as big as Seoul¡­ Therefore, there should be more than 10 of those scrolls in our land.¡±


    ¡°It would be an even bigger problem in the future. They say that the Battle Royale event wouldn¡¯t only happen this time, but in the future as well.¡±


    ¡°Once the second wave of the event began, chaos would ensue. It wouldn¡¯t end with just a couple shelters being destroyed.¡±


    ¡°We need to prepare ahead of time.¡±


    ¡°I need to gather information about that. When Geom-in returns, tell him I want to talk with him.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    The reason they chose to ask Geom-in, who hadn¡¯t returned yet, rather than Rabbit Pwincess, who was in the shelter, was due to the last incident. It became harder for Jang Won-taek to talk with Seokhyun. However, he was not particularly violent, and when being asked to do some work through someone else, he would listen to it. He¡¯s not an ally, but he¡¯s not an enemy either. The relationship between them was just that ambiguous.


    However, Jang Won-taek did not think of that as a bad thing. Afterall, at least he can still ask him to do things that are necessary or urgent.


    Yoon Jeong sneaked out of the room when the two men made serious expressions.


    .


    .


    .


    I sent Geom-in away and focused on the Battle Royale. A fierce battle was happening at the snowy mountains and the lake. However, I wasn¡¯t the main character of the battle, as the Chinese, who noticed what the event was about, started to fight among themselves.


    ¡°If things continue to be like this, this event will soon end.¡±


    I know that in China there¡¯s a lot of gang fights. I don¡¯t know about the details but it often happened between the native and the immigrants. Just like that fight, the fight that happened in front of me unfold in the same manner; A lot of cursing was heard and there¡¯s a lot of death. As a result, the number in my field of view continued to decrease.


    3 people. That was the number of people hiding at the foot of the mountain, including myself. I have a rough idea about both of their positions, since my drone keeps flying in the sky from time to time, updating me of their location.


    The location was also giving me an advantage, as they are currently hiding behind trees, while I¡¯m hiding between the trees and bushes. Even though I was superior in the armament front, I still couldn¡¯t be complacent.


    ¡°Our stats are the same¡­¡± If I get hit by an arrow, I will be dead. I looked at the trees on either side with my telescope. I could feel the breathing of the monsters behind me. When the walls narrowed once again, there will be nowhere to hide for us. It will happen in 5 minutes at most¡­ so I have to finish it before that.


    Should I just charge while using the portal as a shield?


    I do have a couple concerns, but the other two should have even much more difficult matters to be concerned about. After all, If they choose to run, they¡¯ll die, and if they choose to stay still, they will also die. It was the very example of being stuck between a rock and hard place. (En definition of ¡°stuck between a rock and hard place¡± = you are in a difficult situation where you have to choose between two equally unpleasant courses of action)


    Usually, in this kind of situation, the one who couldn¡¯t handle the pressure would be the one who will make the first move.


    ¡°AHHHHHH!¡±


    One man roared and rushed towards me. But before I even pulled the trigger of my crossbow, an arrow flew and pierced the man¡¯s head.


    With the man¡¯s death, there¡¯s only 2 survivors remaining.


    I jumped up and blitzed forward. When the monster wall narrowed, the last survivor also appeared. He was smiling broadly while pointing his bow at my chest. He must¡¯ve been convinced that he had won.


    ¡°Open the portal.¡±


    However, the arrow he shot was deflected by the portal.


    ¡°What nonsense¡­¡±


    ¡°Close the portal.¡±


    The moment the blue door disappeared, I aimed the gun at the man¡¯s chest.


    Bang-!!


    The man fell to the floor right after the gunshot rang. At almost the same time, light enveloped my body and I was sent off from the battlefield. I had returned to the street of downtown Ganghwa with a scroll in my hand.


    When I unfolded it, it was indeed a one-time resurrection scroll..


    ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± In the apocalypse, an extra life was incomparable to anything else. I had to store it well and use it when I truly needed it.


    By the way, where is Dajeong¡­


    Without fear, a nearby ghoul nodded at me.


    ¡°You want me to follow you, right?¡± It¡¯s a bit cheeky to my liking, even though it¡¯s only a ghoul. But as it was Da-jeong¡¯s subordinates, I decided to be patient.


    After following him, Da-jeong was waiting for me on the second floor of a building.


    What does the ribbon tied around her body mean?


    She smiled and asked me.


    ¡°How¡¯s the Battle Royale?¡±


    ¡°I met Geom-in.¡±


    In an instant, her face turned dark ever so slightly.


    ¡°Is that so¡­ He¡¯s dead then¡­¡±


    ¡°No. he was kicked out of the battlefield.¡±


    ¡°Yes? How can that happen?¡±


    ¡°He was kicked out of the battlefield thanks to a bug. Though, the chance of it happening was only 50%. Guess he¡¯s a lucky guy.¡±


    ¡°¡­so Geom-in went all the way here, didn¡¯t manage to get anything, and just got kicked out of the event?¡±


    ¡°Well, by now, he should be returning to the government shelter while wondering why I saved him.¡±


    ¡°Tell me what happened inside.¡±


    ¡°Wait, let me rest for a bit.¡± I drank some water and then explained everything I¡¯ve been through in the Battle Royale. When my story ended, Da-jeong closed her eyes and burst into laughter.


    ¡°HAHAHAHA. Wouldn¡¯t he be completely mistaken after hearing your praise? And isn¡¯t this the first time you¡¯ve hunted an owlbear?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve hunted one before.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, you two cooperated to kill it. You even complimented him. I bet he will be on cloud nine right now. Did you calculate everything that far?¡±


    ¡°Well, he was rude and rough, but he¡¯s patient. I think he knows that what I did was the only thing which could save him.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a bit delusional, so right now, he might be acting too much after over-interpreting what you¡¯re saying.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯d love that.¡±


    If it motivates him, I was fine with it. Because if he¡¯s motivated, he¡¯ll move more actively, which would make the crack inside the government shelter grow even quicker.


    At that moment, Da-jeong told me that Seokhyun had also participated in the Battle Royale.


    ¡°The Auction House is in an uproar because of that right now. A guy with an immortality unique skill got a resurrection scroll.¡±


    Well¡­ That¡¯s weird. Only a few people know that the Battle Royale event¡¯s reward is a resurrection scroll. So how can the people in the Auction House just talk openly about it?


    ¡°It seems like someone had spread the word.¡± I murmured. ¡°By the way, why are you wearing that ribbon?¡±


    ¡°This? This is¡­¡± Da-jeong slowly untied the ribbon and raised her arms. ¡°Surprise!! I am the Battle Royale¡¯s victory reward!¡±


    ¡°I refuse¡­¡±


    I opened the portal and headed inside. Da-jeong stood in front of the portal and banged on it.


    ¡°Dear customer! What has been bought could not be returned! Pay your due!¡±


    Why should I?


    I made eye contact with the scarabs and then went to pat Dingo in the head. As I looked out the window, it was snowing. Somehow, I feel that this winter is going to be a long and cold one.

 Chapter 114

    Snow fell in the abandoned small town we are currently in. The tame snow slowly turned into heavy snow and the whole world was colored in white. And after some time passed, the snow piled up as high as an adult¡¯s calves.


    ¡°It¡¯s snow, snow!¡±


    Woof-!! Woof-!!


    Da-jeong, who had a similar mental age with Dingo, ran out of the house with the silver wolf. Born and raised in Daegu, I don¡¯t think she¡¯d ever seen snow before. And I believed that if the apocalypse didn¡¯t strike, she might never leave her hometown.


    Fwooosh-!!


    A freezing wind blew against my body. Even though I was wearing several layers of clothes and a thick padding, the wind that came through the holes on my buttons still felt cold enough to freeze my bone.


    ¡°It¡¯s really cold¡­¡± Even after wearing the scarf with a cold-resistance option, it¡¯s still freezing. Just how cold is it for other people, or even Da-jeong, who is currently running around outside, playing in the snow?


    I put more things into the bonfire and added more black charcoal in the mix. Normally, it would be dangerous to make a fire in this kind of world. However, it was not the case anymore, as the monsters should have their activity reduced because of the cold.


    ¡°Why is the snow falling so heavily like this¡­¡±


    The scenery outside the window was filled with nothing but white. I couldn¡¯t even dare to remove the snow or go anywhere through the piled up snow, which now had reached up to around my thighs.


    Neither movement nor combat was possible in this kind of weather. Literally all movement would be stopped. Even the plant monsters in the oil warehouse were no exception. It wouldn¡¯t show any movement anytime soon. It was as if a temporary peace agreement had been signed.


    ¡°And our Da-jeong is doing that¡­¡±


    I sipped some warm coffee and waited for her. After 10 minutes passed, Da-jeong and Dingo entered the building, soaking wet.


    ¡°How was it?¡±


    ¡°¡­I¡¯ve been thinking about it, but I think it¡¯s better if it doesn¡¯t snow.¡±


    ¡°But didn¡¯t you just run around outside because you liked it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s cold.¡± Da-jeong said as Dingo sat right next to her.


    ¡°Take off your clothes and warm yourself by the fire.¡± She took off her clothes and leaned her body on me.


    Crackle-!! Crackle-!!


    The fire makes a sound and burns brightly. I thought it wasn¡¯t necessarily a good idea to cover the black charcoal with kerosene before putting it in the fire. But surprisingly, there¡¯s no black smoke rising from the fire.


    Anyway, she must be cold. I opened the portal and brought a bunch of towels and blankets. As if waiting, Ding-soon came out of the portal and started licking Dingo¡¯s fur.


    ¡°It¡¯s crazy how she takes care of her groom.¡± Da-jeong looked at me as she said those words.


    ¡°Guess I¡¯ll have to take care of my bride too.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you already do it? You brought a lot of blankets.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ So you agreed that you¡¯re my bride?¡±


    ¡°Sh-shut up.¡±


    I wiped Da-jeong¡¯s wet body with a dry towel and wrapped the blankets around her. Da-jeong said that it was warm and buried her body even deeper, only revealing her face.


    ¡°What are the others doing right now, I wonder?¡±


    ¡°Well, they should be shivering while wearing padding or a blanket. Those who lived inside a shelter would be in a little better situation than them.¡±


    It won¡¯t be much different with the others though, since it wouldn¡¯t be possible to light a fire inside a shelter, lest they want to be suffocated to death.


    ¡°Then, are we the only ones staying warm in this winter?¡±


    ¡°Maybe? But it¡¯s a lot warmer when you enter the portal. It¡¯s currently spring over there.¡± It¡¯s very comfy and easy to fall asleep when exposed to the sunlight.


    Da-jeong trembled when she heard that. ¡°I want to take you on a bus on our way to Seoul¡­¡±


    She was expecting an additional effect of ¡®allowing others to enter and exit the portal¡¯ at levels 25 or 30. If that didn¡¯t happen, and I got a different additional effect, she would be crestfallen.


    ¡°We can¡¯t do that because of the weather. Let¡¯s just eat.¡±


    I went into the shelter and prepared a meal. It¡¯s a cold day, so I¡¯d like some hot soup, but what should I make, I wonder¡­


    ¡°Yeah. Banquet noodles will be good.¡± Because noodles have a long shelf life, it was still edible at this point. I also don¡¯t have to worry about the expiration date of the pocket broth. I can also easily make the garnish by plucking some ripe vegetables from the garden or from the hwajos.


    ¡°Adding some sesame oil on the kimchi will probably be good¡­¡± It¡¯s a perfect food to eat in this cold weather.


    While I was busy cutting vegetables, the scarab leader, who was busy making bullets, jumped up and came next to me.


    ¡°Are things going well?¡±


    Instead of nodding his head, the guy drew a picture of scarabs on the ground.


    Why are you drawing this?


    When I tilted my head, the guy seemed to feel that he needed more explanation, so he even drew the iron bars.


    ¡°Ah, about rescuing the other scarabs? Let¡¯s finish all the work that has to be done today and then begin the rescue mission.¡±


    The guy threw his hands into the air and ran back to his mates with the good news. I can¡¯t do anything on Earth because of the heavy snow anyway, so why shouldn¡¯t I finish the tasks that need to be done here?


    Da-jeong will surely protest, but what can I do?


    While I was boiling the broth and preparing the garnish, the scarabs clipped three finished bullets and looked at me.


    They seem to be saying ¡°We did everything we needed to do today!¡±


    Although my greed tempted me to make them work more by offering emperor honey, the scarabs were not robots, so I couldn¡¯t force them to. Moreover, making bullets requires a lot of energy and concentration, so it¡¯s difficult to work on that for a long period of time.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take some rest first and set off to find other scarabs in the afternoon.¡±


    The location where the other scarabs were held captive was quite far in the north, so it seemed impossible to find it in a day. When the night comes, I can just come out of the portal and sleep on Earth.


    I took the cured boar meat as well as the noodles with broth soup out. As soon as I handed Da-jeong one of the bowls, she gulped the broth.


    ¡°Ah¡­ it feels like my body is melting¡­¡±


    ¡°I have work to do this afternoon.¡±


    ¡°What kind of work?¡±


    Da-jeong¡¯s eyes twinkled when I told her I was going to look for other scarabs.


    ¡°Ah, so you¡¯re going to go find their friends? In a dangerous forest?¡±


    ¡°Dangerous forest? Well, I¡¯ll be going to the forest in the north, so it¡¯s true that it would be dangerous¡­¡±


    Based on the snow mountains, the atmosphere of the northern forest was quite different from the area around the shelter. It was dark for some reason, and there¡¯s also a swamp near it. There seems to be various kinds of monsters living there.


    Da-jeong waved her hand.


    ¡°Go. I will be here harassing Dingo.¡±


    Dingo, who had been licking bones together with Ding-soon, jumped up.


    ¡°If you bother him too much, you¡¯ll get it back later. Don¡¯t you know how big a silver wolf can be?¡±


    ¡°Well, he¡¯ll probably grow up around as big as Ding-soon.¡±


    ¡°No, Ding-soon is a female and is on the small side. The last time I met a pack of silver wolves, the males were almost the same size as bulls.¡±


    ¡°WOOOOW!! Then he¡¯s going to poop a lot, right?¡±


    ¡°His fighting power will be very high.¡± An adult silver wolf will be able to kill an adult wild boar alone, let alone small monsters. And even though it couldn¡¯t defeat medium-sized monsters, such as orcs, alone, it can definitely distract them using their size, claws, and fangs.


    In the middle of eating, Da-jeong suddenly snapped her fingers. ¡°Right, right. You¡¯ll have to give this to Rapwi as well. It¡¯s a bit unfair if we¡¯re the only ones eating these.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not really using the Auction House. How will we send it to him?¡±


    ¡°At least we should try!¡±


    Da-jeong wrote a comment on an item she auctioned before focusing once again at slurping the noodles. After a while, Da-jeong checked the comment again and made quite a fuss.


    ¡°Hey, Seongho. Rapwi wants to give us his scroll!¡±


    ¡°What scroll?¡±


    ¡°The resurrection scroll he got from the last event.¡±


    ¡°But rather than giving it to us¡­¡±


    Seokhyun¡­ He surprised me¡­ Though, I understand his sentiment. He doesn¡¯t need the resurrection scroll, as his unique skill has the same effect as the scroll. So, he wants us to have it.


    ¡°Should I buy it rather than taking it for free? If that¡¯s the case, should I ask him to sell it for 10,000 points so no one else can buy it?¡±


    ¡°Do that. After all, you have a lot of points, and Rapwi really needs points. The more he dies, the more points he needs.¡± She nodded her head, and a few moments later, a resurrection scroll appeared wrapped in light, proof that a transaction had been made.


    She frowned as she took the resurrection scroll with her hand.


    ¡°It smells musty¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, knowing him, he probably put the scroll inside his panty?¡±


    ¡°Ugh, it¡¯s dirty.¡±


    Why did you throw it at me?


    I picked it up with my clothes and put it inside my backpack. Then I went to the shelter, prepared a meal, and put it up for auction. The noodles disappeared quickly, and Seokhyun¡¯s comment was posted.


    -I¡¯ll eat well.


    -Is that enough for you?


    I put in almost 3 servings in that one meal, so it should be enough.


    -It¡¯s enough. And for the time being, you better be careful. There are people watching you.


    -Who?


    -The President, his right hand man, and someone who can use paper airplanes to spy on others.


    -It¡¯s probably not Yoohyeon¡­ but it looks like there are other people with the same skill.


    -Though, those guys won¡¯t be able to monitor you anymore.


    What? Don¡¯t tell me¡­


    -You didn¡¯t kill them, didn¡¯t you?


    ¨C I just warned them.


    -Thanks. But how long will you be staying in the shelter?


    -You need a gun right? Then I¡¯ll be staying here until I get it.


    -Seokhyun-ah, I¡¯m just saying this just in case. But please don¡¯t make a mess there just to get a gun.


    -I know that much.


    Then Da-jeong intervened.


    -No! Just do it! Build your power and become a king! Take on all the guys you don¡¯t like and beat them!


    -I don¡¯t do such savage things.


    -Then do you prefer to kill them outright?


    -I prefer to break one of their legs and arms and make them walk in all four for 1 hour.


    That¡¯s actually worse¡­


    Seokhyun left a comment saying the noodles were delicious. Although we were in a different place, we were eating the same meal.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°The snow doesn¡¯t stop¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Armed with blankets, Da-jeong and I stood by the window and looked out. The snow continued to pile up and turn to ice. A few buildings, which were still standing albeit in poor condition, rattled precariously because of the weight of the piling-up snow above it. If more snow accumulates, it will surely collapse.


    In a world where everything was frozen, only the ghouls of Da-jeong moved. As a level 20 additional effect, various resistances were given to her ghouls.


    ¡°I¡¯m the owner of those guys, and yet I¡¯m the one shivering from the cold.¡±


    Instead of answering, I put a moktoshi and some winter strawberries in her hand.


    ¡°Try to hold on with this while I¡¯m away.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t running away somewhere, are you?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I already tell you that I¡¯m going to find the other scarabs? I will return here at night.¡±


    ¡°I bet it was because it was way better to be here with me rather than camping in the forest at night, right?¡±


    Well¡­ I had to admit that it was true. I took Ding-soon and entered the portal. Slinging my backpack to my shoulder and putting two scarabs on my shoulders, I was now ready.


    ¡°Because they told me I had to go north of the snowy mountain¡­¡± It would be better to use the ATV. I was worried about the suspension, because it will run through very rough terrain, but should be strong enough to withstand that level of bumpiness.


    When I started the engine and turned the lever, the ATV ran through the forest. After a while, the bright and lively atmosphere darkened. It¡¯s probably not simply just because the thick branches and leaves covered the sky, blocking the sun, since the color of the bushes and the ground itself was also black for some reason.


    ¡°It is truly the black forest.¡±


    I stopped the ATV and flew the drone. The snowy mountains look very warm and peaceful, but this forest is the complete opposite.


    ¡°The lizardmen are here because the forest is like this¡­¡± Since it would be hard to find them in this kind of place, an advantage they would surely love. Here, they were more dangerous than orcs, because they usually formed a group and used all kinds of tools skillfully to hunt their prey. Blocking enemy¡¯s attack with a trident and restricting its enemy¡¯s movement with a net were Lizardman¡¯s main specialty.


    ¡°Their nets are especially dangerous¡­¡± And even though they have very poor eyesight and no ears, they were able to sense vibrations incredibly well. It was sensitive enough to the point they could detect the vibration in the air and pinpoint the location of their prey.


    When I walked around the nearby wetland, I found a piece of their scale in the ground. It signifies that this place was also the realm of Lizardmen.


    ¡°Ding-soon, smell this.¡± I said as I handed the scale towards her snout. She sniffed the scales from all directions and then sat quietly next to me.


    Weird guy.


    Now, if the smell of Lizardman was carried by the wind, she can smell it and alert me about it. I pat Ding-soon¡¯s hand and headed into the direction the scarabs were pointing.


    The place we finally arrived at was a mess of rocks and dirt.


    ¡°Is this a carpet bombing site?¡±


    The two scarabs came down from my shoulders and crawled to some place. They stopped in front of a pillar and pointed their claws at it. The pillar was about half my height, but it didn¡¯t seem like it was formed naturally.


    ¡°I think someone made it¡­ maybe?¡±


    The scarab leader pointed to a hole in the pile of dirt. Inside, several eyes were looking at me.


    Are those scarabs?


    The white flag prepared by the scarab leader flew, but the guys inside the hole didn¡¯t even try to come out. I guess they refused to put their guard down. Therefore, I changed my tactics. I left the jelly Da-jeong looted near the hole, and the blinking eyes inside the hole stared at the jelly.


    ¡°Try it. It is delicious. It¡¯s not poisoned.¡±


    The scarab leader took the jelly from me and pretended to eat it.


    ¡°Hey, you can¡¯t just pretend to eat it.¡±


    At my words, the guy scratched his head and ate the jelly. A few eyes looked startled.


    Isn¡¯t that poisonous? It is probably what their expressions imply. But the guys did not release their vigilance and chose not to go out.


    ¡°There must have been something that made them like that¡­¡±


    As I looked around, I noticed that there were holes all over the place.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that big¡­¡± At best, it¡¯s just big enough for a scarab to fit in.


    I put down my backpack and dug it with a shovel. However, after digging for quite awhile, I realized that the hole actually ran quite deep.


    ¡°Damn, just how deep is this hole!¡± As I was about to dig into the ground with a shovel, something suddenly appeared from the hole.


    ¡°Scarab?¡±


    As soon as it saw me, it retreated further to the back. Somehow, they look different from the guys in my shelter. Carefully digging nearby, a large pincher suddenly popped out and bit into my finger.


    ¡°Ouch.¡± The pain wasn¡¯t what made me jump but the surprise. It hurriedly pulled its pincher from me and hid in the hole. At this point, it was impossible for me to not see them face-to-face.


    ¡°Today, I¡¯ll definitely see you guys!¡±


    I chewed on a solar apple and dug up all the holes in the area with a shovel. The two scarabs next to me waved the flags and cheered me on.


    At some point, what finally appeared was a large stag beetle. When the soil collapsed, they were locked up in a large room. However, they still threatened me with their pincers.


    ¡°Look at these guys.¡±


    Because I didn¡¯t want to be bitten again, I worked so hard to pull out one of them with wooden chopsticks. Before long, the scarabs came out of the hole in the pillar and pointed their claws at the other scarabs.


    That¡¯s them! they seemed to say.

 Chapter 115

    (E/n read this if you¡¯re confused about the scarab-stag beetle thingy. So on the last chap, there¡¯s actually new scarabs, who were still strangers to our MC, and stag beetles in the nest. Our scarabs, the ones who made bullets for our MC, asked our MC to save the other scarabs in the nest, but as it turns out, there are stag beetles in there too.)


    ¡°So you guys were fighting each other? Because of the tree sap?¡±


    Nod~ Nod~


    The new scarabs and the stag beetles nodded at my question. They are currently gathered at two different spots, with both of them being wary of each other.


    By the way, these new scarabs were a bit smaller than the guys at the shelter. They were around the size of the shelter scarabs when I first met them while they¡¯re stealing my jellies. Seeing that they have grown in size after I took them in, these scarabs seem to be lacking in nutrition.


    Meanwhile, at the first glance, the stag beetles did look like normal stag beetles, but it was clear that they¡¯re also sentient, like the scarabs.


    ¡°Hmmmm¡­¡± I observed the stag beetles up close. Their appearances and behavior were quite different from the scarabs. I¡¯d say that they¡¯re kind of cheeky? I¡¯m getting a feeling that they¡¯re looking down at me.


    Anyway, there was one reason these guys were fighting. They were trying to occupy each other¡¯s tree, which still had unfrozen sap, which was their main source of food at the time. The scarabs claimed that they were the first to occupy it by drawing a picture in the ground. The stag beetles argued while showing an expression of absurdity.


    -It¡¯s really ridiculous, we came first, didn¡¯t we?


    What is this feeling¡­


    I asked the two groups.


    ¡°Can you guys only eat tree saps? You can just go somewhere else, can¡¯t you?¡±


    But turns out, that wasn¡¯t the case. The reason they were fighting for the tree sap was because the environment was so barren, and there were all kinds of monsters inside the forest. The safest place was where we are currently at, which was littered with piles of dirt and rocks. Well, it was a pretty justified reason. After all, except for a few trees, nothing else was intact, so no monsters will come.


    ¡°Would you like to come with us?¡±


    I reached out to the scarabs. All five of them were startled and took a few steps back. Then, I looked at my scarabs. The guys were drawing a picture, explaining the condition of my shelter to them.


    The shelter is spacious and full with food, and what¡­ I am strong enough to defeat goblins, kobolds, as well as orcs?


    Up to that point, the stag beetles were still reluctant to come. But when the scarab leader drew a honey jar, the story changed.


    There¡¯s royal honey there?


    (E/n sorry, I actually mistook emperor¡¯s honey as some kind of royal treasure of the insect empire, when it¡¯s actually just some royal honey)


    The little scarab ran towards the scarab leader and seemingly asking so. Then the scarabs of my shelter nodded their heads simultaneously. By that alone, I could feel that the negotiation with them was concluded.


    I looked at the stag beetles. ¡°What are you guys going to do? If you have any special skills, I can invite you to my shelter.¡±


    However, these guys certainly feel more awkward compared to the scarabs. Even when I asked, they weren¡¯t looking at me, and only stared at the scarab group. Well, my original purpose of going here was the scarabs, so it would still be good even if these guys rejected my offer.


    When I waited for the scarabs to make their final decision. Ding-soon, who was yawning, sniffed the air and lowered her posture.


    ¡°What is it, a monster?¡± Instantly after saying that, I felt a tingling sensation pricking on my skin. The cause of it was no doubt, the lizardmen. They were hiding behind thick thickets and were looking this way. Although their physical ability was lower than that of an orc, since they know how to use tools like nets properly, it could be said that they were more dangerous than a werewolf.


    ¡°Unfortunately¡­¡± No matter how good they were, in the end, they were nothing but monsters. On top of that, I wouldn¡¯t have come here unprepared.


    I slowly got up and opened the dimension slot. I saw the stag beetles startled when I took out the net gun and the adamantite spear from it.


    Did these guys know what this is?


    Even though the lizardmens were quite accustomed to hiding, they couldn¡¯t hide their unique breathing sounds. My Perception stat was so high to the point I could hear sounds which were normally inaudible.


    I mustered all my strength in one of my arms and threw the adamantite spear in one direction.


    ¡°One down.¡± As it was thrown strongly, the adamantine spear quickly shot out and pierced one of the lizardmen¡¯s chest.


    The three lizardmen, who failed the ambush, stood up and hissed. All the scarabs were startled and hid behind me. In the meantime, Ding-soon barked at the three lizardmens.


    ¡°Ding-soon, go!¡± As soon as she heard my words, she blitzed towards the lizardmen. On the other camp, the lizardmen were very wary of the silver wolf and pointed their trident at them.


    Unfortunately for them, Ding-soon was an experienced fighter, unlike Dingo. Hence, once they were bitten by her, it would be the end for them.


    But, instead of focusing on Ding-soon alone, the three of them seemed to have decided to disperse their attention. One marked Ding-soon, and the other two ran to me. They took the net from their back and grabbed the piece of wood tied at the end of the net, then threw it towards me.


    But there is one thing that these lizardmens don¡¯t know.


    ¡°This net gun has a much longer range than your throwing net.¡± With a popping sound, the compressed nitrogen contained in the capsule pushed the net away. One lizardman was caught in the net in an instant and fell over, while the other one halted in their step, surprised.


    ¡°You must be vigilant, lizard.¡±


    I pulled out several weapons from the dimension slot and threw them towards the lizardmen. After receiving the baptism of weapons, the lizardman died with weapons stuck all over its body. Even though lizardmen had a superb regenerative ability, if their skull were smashed, that ability wouldn¡¯t matter.


    I approached the corpse, retrieved the weapons, and stabbed the lizardman that got caught in the net to death.


    Keeek-!!


    Hiss-!!


    When I finished, I looked at the last lizardmen. Surprisingly, Ding-soon was standing her ground without being pushed back. As the lizardman swung his trident, Ding-soon dodged then immediately bit the lizardman before running away once again.


    Although lizardmen were considered fairly powerful monsters, it had a glaring weakness: They are slow. They supplemented it by using a long weapon like a trident and also throwing nets to distract their enemy, or catch prey, but this time, it was not enough since their enemy, a silver wolf, was one that can be considered as a counter to their species.


    I jumped in while Ding-soon bit it¡¯s trident and held it in place.


    Pak-!!


    I hit the lizardman¡¯s head with my fist. Since the skill Resolute Strike and Lethal Strike overlapped, it was by no means an ordinary punch. The guy staggered as it spewed saliva from its snout. Without giving it any more time, I kicked its stomach with a soccer kick before finishing its misery by swinging my long sword, cutting its neck.


    ¡¸You have earned 100 points¡¹


    ¡¸You have acquired Underwater Breathing skill¡¹


    ¡°Among all the lizardmen¡¯s skill, why does it have to be this one?¡±


    It¡¯s a good skill for catching fish, but it¡¯s not very helpful in battle. Still, let¡¯s be satisfied because it would still be a very useful skill. Because, in case I somehow got into a fight with a monster far stronger than me, I can just jump into a lake or sea, and just hide under the surface, playing dead.


    I cut off the lizardman¡¯s ankle and retrieved the trident and the net. The net was made by weaving vines together, so it looked quite dense and sturdy.


    ¡°The trident¡­ Is made of ebony¡­¡± It means that there was an ebony tree near the lizardmen¡¯s habitat. I no longer have any use for ebony-made wooden weapons, but since the wood itself was very sturdy, it can be used for a lot of other purposes other than creating weapons.


    After putting everything in the backpack, I could feel the gaze of the stag beetles was slightly different from before. I ignored them and approached the new scarabs.


    ¡°Would you like to go to my shelter? If you help me, I¡¯ll give you something in return. I won¡¯t force you, of course.¡±


    They looked at the scarab leader and nodded. I guess they must be thinking that it was way better than being involved in a never-ending fight with the stag beetles just for a tree sap.


    I put them in a side dish bin and loaded them into the ATV trunk. Just as I was about to put Ding-soon on and leave, the stag beetles came. All six of them.


    ¡°What do you need?¡±


    A guy with a colorful pincer drew on the floor. The guy¡¯s drawing was quite elaborate, unlike the drawing of the scarabs.


    I turned off the engine and looked at the pictures. ¡°Hmm¡­ if I give you something to eat, you are willing to help me?¡±


    Nod Nod.


    In addition to that, they also asked for a few more things: Spacious and comfortable house, dyes and brush for painting, and a garden to grow crops.


    ¡°You guys really aren¡¯t holding back on your demands¡­¡± After hearing my words, the stag beetles discussed it for a while and then erased the picture of the spacious and comfortable house.


    Oho, did they cancel one of their demands?


    I crossed my arms and said to the guys. ¡°If I can provide it to you, what will you give me?¡±


    The chief stag pointed to the trident in my backpack. When I pulled it out and handed it to them, they immediately cut it short and processed it into arrows.


    ¡­


    The trident is made of strong ebony wood, not just any normal wood, yet they managed to process that wood this quick?


    Of course, the scarab could also process wood, but they were beaten by miles in terms of speed compared to the stag beetles. It was due to the fact that wood is not their specialty.


    So when I saw that they asked for a garden, I thought they would do a better job than the scarabs.


    When I saw the scarabs in the trunk, they made an X on the white flag and waved them. Well, I understand their thoughts. It would be absurd to go into a shelter with the guys they¡¯d fought with until just a few minutes ago.


    ¡°The shelter is large enough, so it should be okay.¡±


    I looked at the guy with a colorful pincer, let¡¯s just call him chief stag beetle from now on. ¡°I will accept your condition. But I will only give you a half-trust. It means that if you don¡¯t work properly, or make some trouble in the shelter, you¡¯ll get kicked out. Got it?¡±


    They didn¡¯t seem to like it, but in the end, they still accepted my offer. I offered another side dish container for them, but the guys refused. They instead got on the ATV and took a seat in the trunk. Meanwhile, the scarabs, who had already swarmed into one group and occupied one side of the trunk, were all staring intently at the stag beetles.


    Is that some kind of nerve war?


    ¡°If you fight, I¡¯ll throw you into the forest.¡±


    When I threatened them, the tense atmosphere on the trunk instantly disappeared.


    I drove the ATV and returned to the shelter.


    .


    .


    .


    The stag beetles were certainly different from the scarabs. They were not satisfied with the nest I made, and decided to build a new house for them to live in. However, they did it with the dried, high-quality wood that I had stored.


    Watching them process and assemble wood like a carpenter makes me admire them, but I was still a bit angry.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that you can use it, did I?¡± It was wood of good quality, so I was going to turn them into arrows, but it ended up as their home instead. At that moment, a black stag beetle came to me and asked for a piece of paper and a writing instrument. As it seemed like he wanted to tell me something, I gave it to him. And then, the guy drew a map of the area in an instant.


    ¡°Hey¡­¡± They sure are good at drawing. It was incomparable to the drawing of the scarabs, and it was far more sophisticated than my own drawing. Once the map was finished, he drew a few circles near the northern forest.


    ¡°Flowers¡­fruits¡­mushrooms¡­is this something that you want to give me?¡±


    Nod nod.


    Are you going to use this to pay for the wood you guys used?


    I put him on the palm of my hand. Contrary to the scarabs, which were not bothered by my touch, this guy struggled and tried to get off my hand.


    ¡°Now that we are a family, if you want to use the supplies, you can. But you have to ask my permission first. After all, we can¡¯t just use something important that can¡¯t be replaced, can we?¡±


    The guy looked at me intently. It was the kind of gaze which would surely land him a few punches if he showed that to people in Korea.


    I declared to him. ¡°If you don¡¯t like that, I don¡¯t think we will be able to live together. You don¡¯t have to get along with the scarabs, but at least, you should respect the already established rule, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    The guy thought for a while, then nodded his head as if he had no other choice but to do it. It seemed to mean that he agrees to the conditions for now, since he doesn¡¯t want to leave this place. At that moment, I realized that these stags were very prideful.


    I took Ding-soon and went out of the portal. Once I crossed over, I saw Da-jeong looking out the window with Dingo before turning around towards me.


    ¡°Did you find the scarabs?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. But they were not the only ones I found. I found stag beetles too. And those guys had a very annoying attitude¡­¡±


    ¡°What kind of attitude? Show them to me!¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t listen to me very well¡­¡±


    She frowned.


    ¡°Then why in the world did you take them in? Kick their ass and chase them away.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to do that as well. But I thought they were going to be useful. They are good at drawing, and also very good at woodworking.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Da-jeong nodded.¡±By the way, how long have you decided for us to stay here?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± I leaned towards the window and looked outside. Unlike before, the snow was no longer falling.


    Da-jeong folded her arms. ¡°You came here to get oil. Now that we already got it, we can return.¡±


    But, the problem lies in the situation. If the snowstorm suddenly came again in the middle of our way back, we would be in trouble. Even eating winter strawberries, as well as using the cold resistance scarf was not enough to block the cold wind and snow.


    But staying here is not a good choice either. According to Da-jeong, several people attacked this place while I was away.


    ¡°The snow melts when we light a bonfire. They came to check it. And when they saw me, they rushed in towards me, as if they had nothing to lose.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t kill them?¡±


    ¡°I hit a few of them and threw them away. But they will surely come again.¡±


    It¡¯s going to be annoying. It was a problem that could be solved if Da-jeong could be brought into the portal, but it was impossible at the moment.


    I pondered for a while and came to a conclusion. ¡°Let¡¯s go to Incheon. I can make a sled and have your ghouls pull it.¡±


    ¡°You are doing this to get rid of me, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°You are trying to kill me and take in another woman by getting me freezing to death in the sled!¡±


    I tapped her shoulder.


    ¡°You can rest assured. We¡¯ll frame the sled, cover it with cloth, and cover the front with plastic. It will be warm, so you¡¯ll sleep well.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Can you really make something like that?¡±


    ¡°Of course I can¡¯t. But I know guys who can.¡± I went into the cave and explained the situation to the stag beetles.


    ¡°I need a two-person sled with a frame. If you make it, I will listen to one of your requests.¡±


    They caught my rather heavy voice and started a discussion. I don¡¯t know what they were talking about, though. But since it¡¯s my first request, I know that they realized that it¡¯s not good if they decline it. Because if they do so, I will have a reason to kick them out of the shelter.


    After a while, the stag beetle came forward and drew a picture of the sled on paper.


    ¡°It is difficult to balance when the seats are placed left and right. So, it would be better to put it front and back?¡±


    ¡°There is no need for a luggage compartment, just make it for two people to ride.¡±


    We put our heads together to design the sled. When the final design finally came out, other stag beetles went into production immediately.


    Hmm¡­ They are definitely different from the scarabs, as antique decorations were carved throughout the sled parts.


    ¡°The things the scarabs made were devoid of any decoration¡­¡± As I murmured, the guys made a disgusted expression, as if they¡¯re disgusted that they¡¯re being compared to the scarabs.


    ¡°But for me, scarabs and stag beetles are similar¡­¡± Eventually, the stag beetles stopped working and protested to me. These guys might even start a protest union later¡­ So, let¡¯s stop the teasing.


    Anyway, since I was in a hurry, I gave them solar apples to comfort them. The scarabs, who were tasked to make the steel runner parts of the sled, came with a finished product. As I touched the parts, the stag beetles looked at me with disapproving eyes.


    Those picky guys¡­


    Two hours later, an old-fashioned snow sled, that normally used by high-ranking nobles in stories, was created.


    ¡°Why am I feeling unworthy to ride it¡­¡±


    But as I was the one who created it, of course I¡¯ll ride it.


    I opened the portal and pushed the snow sled through it. Da-jeong, who was waiting, was startled.


    ¡°What??? Did you make this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a collaboration between me, the stag beetles, and even the scarabs. After seeing this, doesn¡¯t it make you want to be dragged?¡±


    ¡°I deserve a seat because I am a queen.¡±


    Of course, of course.


    I put a thick vinyl in front and wrapped some fabric around the sled. And when I was tying ropes to the ghouls, Da-jeong meddled next to me.


    ¡°If I make them pull this heavy sled, their energy consumption would multiply by a lot. We have to go to Incheon as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just go. You can just throw these guys away and find new ghouls.¡±


    ¡°Now it feels like we are of one heart.¡±


    I don¡¯t really want to share my heart to someone else. We jumped into the sled; Da-jeong was the one in the front. As she leaned on my chest, and snapped her finger, the ghouls started running.


    This is it.


    The snow sled glided along the hard frozen ground.


    We are now heading to Incheon.

 Chapter 116

    The cold wave that hit the central and northern parts of the Korean Peninsula was a very devastating disaster for the survivors. People who joked around saying cold waves were better than heat waves back in the summer kept their mouths shut in front of the raging snow that continued to go on for several days. The thermometer broke through minus 20 degrees Celsius, and the normal temperature was reminiscent of Siberia. In such a situation, it was very impossible to farm points, or even just to move around . Even outside activities were difficult, so survivors had no choice but to hole themselves inside their own shelter while avoiding exposing as much skin as possible.


    Meanwhile, a certain agent from the government shelter was currently isolated in the middle of the snow storm. The identity of the agent was Oh Seung-yeon, someone who stayed in the north part of Incheon in order to perform a very important mission.


    She was ordered by the President to monitor the oil depot on Ganghwa Island due to her unique skill: doll making. However, because her skill is not yet fully developed, she had to go as close as possible to Ganghwa Island to monitor it through her paper plane, as she hasn¡¯t unlocked any additional effect which affects the use range of her puppets. However, that was the beginning of the disaster. When the winter snow raged, she became completely isolated.


    Oh Seung-yeon was hiding in an empty building on the side of the national road, looking intently at the Auction House.


    -Please save me¡­it¡¯s too cold¡­


    -I can¡¯t see anything outside¡­ I am at the east side of the national road on the east side of the Ganghwa Bridge¡­ The side of the building with the convenience store¡­


    Two days had passed since she had been isolated, but no one had come to her rescue. She could only tremble and rubbed both her hands and feet. The clothes she brought with her had long been wet because of the snow and were now completely frozen. She is now holding up with only a thin windshield and socks.


    Whenever a cold wind blew through the broken windows and hit her body, she felt as if her lungs would freeze. Her food situation wasn¡¯t any better either, but she couldn¡¯t do anything about it because her hands and feet were numb. She knew that if she continued to be exposed to the cold like this, she would soon suffer from frostbite.


    Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t move even a single step out of the building. Because if she were to get out of this building, she would really die. In a world where everything was frozen, someone who dares to move around without taking any measures to protect themselves against the cold winter would only be someone who wants to die.


    President Jang Won-taek sent her to Incheon and promised her that in case of emergency, he would mobilize someone with blink ability to save her. But in front of the heavy snow, his promise was of no use. The comment section of the auctioned item of the government shelter was overflowing with people calling for rescue teams.


    The guys in the northern part of Gyeonggi-do were especially vocal, because it had a huge snowfall with a height of 1 meter. No one was able to overcome the snow and return to the shelter on their own. It¡¯s not just the agents of government shelter, but practically everyone that lives around the area.


    Jang Won-taek also made every effort he could to mobilize people with the blink ability to save the agents stuck in the snowstorm outside. However, every plan he made was ruined by the heavy snow. There was even an incident where an agent with a blink ability mistook the snow that reflected sunlight for a rooftop, teleported there, and fell to death after.


    When Jang Won-taek heard the news, he closed his eyes and rubbed his face with his palms.


    ¡°Whew¡­¡± He never thought this kind of thing would happen when he sent the agents out. From the bottom of his heart, he truly wanted to send a rescue team to them, but he couldn¡¯t do so, because it was highly possible that the agents that he sent might also fell into danger or got isolated too.


    On top of it, the extremely rare blink ability awakeners in the shelter was reluctant to do his bidding, saying that they aren¡¯t sure about the exact location of the isolated agents.


    While Jang Won-taek was contemplating like that, Lee Beom-seok wrote down the information he saw at the Auction House on the white board.


    ¡°Currently, a total of five agents are isolated. They are waiting for rescue teams in Gimpo, Dongducheon, and Gapyeong, and it doesn¡¯t seem like they will last long.¡±


    ¡°Which one is the most urgent?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably Seung-yeon from Incheon. After she posted an SOS message, no further comments have been made. She is probably unconscious¡­¡±


    ¡°To think it¡¯s her of all people¡­¡± She was someone who Jang Won-taek had instructed to track and monitor I Love Gimbap and Da-jeong. Unfortunately, when her mission was over, and it was her time to return to the Incheon shelter, a cold wave and heavy snowstorm struck. Judging from the comments, it looked like she was located along the national road in Gimpo, which was close to Ganghwa Island. Although it was close to the Incheon shelter, there was simply no one that could go and rescue her.


    As Jang Won-taek got more and more troubled, Lee Beom-seok looked at the situation board. It¡¯s not that they didn¡¯t try their best. On the contrary, they had tried every possible way. However, there are currently no good options that they can take.


    However, not knowing that, the isolated agents have started to curse the government for not sending rescue teams for them, thinking that they have been thrown away by the government. And amongst all, one particular agent had revealed the location of the shelter to the Auction House, saying that the government had abandoned him.


    -Those b*st*rds even have guns. Once the corrosive disease subsides, you are all dead.


    -Really?


    -They have hundreds of guns buried underneath the shelter, as well as countless bullets with it. Maybe they even have grenades and other heavy weapons too. Once the corrosive disease subsides, those b*st*rds will execute you guys!! hahaha!!


    -This crazy guy¡­


    -Wait, so the corrosive disease could be avoided? Why didn¡¯t the government tell us?


    -Can anyone even dig up to 500 meters underground?


    -Ha¡­that¡¯s a no-brainer.


    -Do you know what¡¯s funnier? The chaebols, who obtained the information about the apocalypse in advance, have built shelters while keeping the information for themselves. They probably have guns too. There are over 10 of such shelters all over Seoul.


    -Those f**king b*sta*ds are so egoistic!!!


    -See, I Love Gimbap Is not the only one!


    -Please refrain from making new waves!


    -Jang Won-taek¡­ That b*st*rd appeared on TV and pretended to be good at his job, but he wasn¡¯t any different from those thugs!


    -It¡¯s fine for now, but once the corrosive disease subsides, we¡¯ll have to make a choice. Will we stick to the government shelter or fight them?


    -Well damn¡­


    ¡°¡­¡± Jang Won-taek, who checked the comment section, let out a sigh and leaned back on the chair. In fact, he did expect the secret would be leaked outside. But he thought that he might still be able to control the masses when that happened.


    Wouldn¡¯t it be nice if he had revealed it once he had enough power to withstand the backlash and control the situation?


    However, the plan was smashed to smithereens. Moreover, the main cause was nature itself, with the snowstorm and cold wave being the main reason why his secrets were exposed, so it would be strange if he didn¡¯t feel any headache.


    At that moment, someone knocked loudly at the office door.


    ¡°Jang Won-taek-ssi! Jang Won-taek-ssi!¡±


    Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok¡¯s eyes met each other. At that simple exchange, Jang Won-taek knew that his chief was saying: ¡®You can¡¯t let them in!¡¯


    When he thought about it, Beom-seok¡¯s reaction was only natural. After all, to call Jang Won-taek by his full name, not by his title, means that whoever behind the door was very angry. And the cause was also easy to deduce. It¡¯s, of course, about their colleagues, who had been dispatched and were currently isolated.


    It was a problem that no one can find a solution to. However, Jang Won-taek did not have any intention to avoid it.


    ¡°Open it.¡±


    ¡°Mr President!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. You can think of them as lawmakers who came along with reporters to make a fuss in front of the Blue House. No, you can¡¯t even compare them to those lawmakers. Their intentions are purer than those guys. At least, it¡¯s about saving people, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± When Beom-seok opened the door, three men rushed in with a violent force.


    After surrounding Jang Won-taek, who was sitting on the chair, they said: ¡°Our friend is dying. When will the rescue team be dispatched?¡±


    ¡°If we send a rescue team to them, the rescue team will die too.¡±


    At Jang Won-taek¡¯s words, blood pooled on the foreheads of the three. ¡°Then, are you just going to let them die? Didn¡¯t you promise to promptly evacuate them when something happened?¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding me now? Are you just going to throw them away?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Jang Won-taek said and then told them the truth. ¡°Do you know Kim Jo-won? An agent with blink ability? He died. Therefore, there is only one person left with blink ability in this shelter. But, because of the snow, he says he wouldn¡¯t know where he would be teleported to and refuses to go out.¡±


    Hearing the news, the momentum of the three softened slightly. After all, only a few people would risk their lives for others.


    The tallest of the three pointed his finger at his chest. ¡°Then please open the entrance. We will go ourselves.¡±


    ¡°If you leave, you¡¯ll die.¡±


    The man could barely contain his anger before letting his words pour out. ¡°Whether we die or not, the choice is ours. Are you assuming that you can control everything just because you¡¯re a former president?¡±


    Jang Won-taek took a deep breath. It¡¯s hard to refuse their request when they are ready to go that far.


    As he nodded, the three of them quickly asked to open the door and went outside. However, they were startled when they saw a person, who had rabbit ears on his head.


    ¡°Seokhyun-ssi¡­? What are you doing here?¡± Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok were surprised when Rapwi appeared. They had a bit of a clash with him and didn¡¯t really get along, even though they live in the same shelter. They weren¡¯t enemies though, it¡¯s just that it is very hard for the President to give him some order.


    Rapwi placed his hands on the desk.


    ¡°Tell me the locations of the isolated agents. I will go save them.¡±


    ¡°¡­it¡¯s not that we¡¯re underestimating your strength, but it is very dangerous to go out there, even for you.¡±


    ¡°A friend gave me this. So I should be fine.¡± Seokhyun said as he threw the winter strawberry into his mouth. There¡¯s also a worn out scarf with a cold resistance option borrowed from Seongho wrapped around his neck. He¡¯s now possessed a considerable amount of cold resistance, enough to walk barefoot in the heavy snow. And in the first place, even without the extra resistance, he used to go out without regard for the cold. He does go around buck naked, after all.


    Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok, unaware of this, were bewildered. They deduced that the ¡®friend¡¯ who gave Seokhyun those things was I Love Gimbap.


    ¡°Are you really going to be okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah I¡¯ll come to the rescue, so give me a map and don¡¯t open the entrance.¡±


    The two looked at each other and made a decision.


    Beom-seok handed him a map. ¡°Let¡¯s use gate number two. But¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need a rescue team, so leave them alone. And I will take some rope from the warehouse.¡±


    As Seokhyun left coolly, Beomseok murmured ¡°That guy always talked informally to you¡­¡±


    ¡°I am certain he didn¡¯t think of this by himself.¡± Jang Won-taek thought about someone who he was sure to be the reason why Rapwi decided to rescue the survivor. Since he got his help this time too, he must surely pay him back in some way later.


    ¡°But isn¡¯t Rapwi¡­ Directionally challenged?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The two were speechless.


    .


    .


    .


    We left Ganghwa Island and moved along the national road heading to Incheon. There was absolutely nothing but snow in the way. Thanks to that, the sled made its way at a high speed. However, after some time, problems arose from an unexpected direction; the engine and the fuel.


    The ghouls, who had not eaten anything for so long, were starting to get tired. The guys who were following us were also losing their energy in the constant cold. Some even fell while running and couldn¡¯t move any longer. And when we finally arrived in front of the broken Ganghwa Bridge, there were only 18 ghouls left.


    ¡°It¡¯s a big deal. It¡¯s not easy to make these ghouls lose so much stamina that they die from it.¡±


    ¡°Well, they did run through a blizzard.¡±


    Most of the energy the ghouls stored was used to preserve their body temperature. Even at this moment, the skin of the ghouls was beet red, and they kept spewing steam out from their body. Then, when all of their stored energy got used up, they all froze and died.


    I proposed to Da-jeong. ¡°Let¡¯s pick a few of the coolest guys to get on the boat with us. And use the rest to become the engine of our boat.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that I have to throw them away into the sea?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s better to arrive as soon as possible so we can warm our body up.¡±


    Da-jeong looked at the ghouls with a bitter expression as she heard my words. It was decided before our departure, but it seems like she still feels regretful about it. Well, it was only natural, since they were subordinates who had faithfully carried out her orders for a very long time.


    But, eventually, she nodded her head. I opened the portal and pulled out the plastic boat and floated it into the sea. Since the boat was small, it took quite a bit of time to transport all the ghouls Da-jeong picked. Meanwhile, the other ghouls, who were pushing the boat through the water, lost their stamina one by one and drifted away.


    After an hour, we were able to drive along the national highway in Gimpo. A windshield made of vinyl and cloth fluttered wildly in the raging blizzard.


    Da-jeong clasped my leg with her hand. ¡°Where are we going?¡±


    ¡°Gimpo University! A few of their buildings shouldn¡¯t have collapsed!¡±


    ¡°Can we really rest there?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    She looked tired too. After all, riding on a snow sled that we weren¡¯t used to was as tiring as running with our own legs.


    However, while driving along the national highway, we got into an accident. The snow sled was overturned after bumping itself on some big chunk of frozen snow. I instantly rolled over while holding Da-jeong in my arms.


    ¡°Oh, my waist¡­¡± We finally stopped rolling after bouncing several times. When I woke up, the frame of the snow sled was broken. On top of it, some of the ghouls, who were pulling the sleds, also got hurt here and there and were unable to move.


    It seems like our journey with the sled ended here. I put Da-jeong, who was looking at the sledge blankly on my stomach, to her feet.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the gas station over there and warm ourselves up.¡±


    ¡°Ah Seriously! Why is this happening!¡±


    When we entered the gas station and headed to the second floor, we saw a body lying on the corner of the room.


    In this cold snowstorm, with only vinyl covering her body? What the hell is she doing?


    Da-jeong, who was examining the body, turned to me.


    ¡°This girl is still alive!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    When I walked towards Da-jeong, I saw that the body belonged to a woman wearing glasses. She was unconscious, but her forehead and eyebrows were moving ever so slightly.


    ¡°She¡¯s lucky we stopped here.¡± I took out some rice as well as the mullets and put it on the floor. The remaining ghouls came in, hurriedly picked up food and ate it, then moved to another place. They could recover their stamina just by avoiding the cold snow and wind for a while.


    As I lit a bonfire, Da-jeong dragged the woman and laid her near the fire. ¡°Give me a blanket. This noona is all wet.¡±


    ¡°Whoever sees you will say you are the noona between the two.¡±


    ¡°Hah! I am still in my 20s.¡±


    What crap¡­ We had confirmed each other¡¯s age during our short sledding trip. She was 30 years old, but insisted her heart was still in her 20s. When I teased her by calling her noona, she got goosebumps all over her body and said let¡¯s just be friends.


    (T/N ¡®Be friend¡¯ means to just use informal speech with each other in Korea. Not using honorifics such as hyungnim, noonim, hyung, noona.)


    As the bonfire lit up longer and longer, the freezing temperature in the room rose up to a comfortable degree. At that moment, I said to Da-jeong.


    ¡°You know we can¡¯t take care of her for long, right? Once she comes to her senses, we¡¯ll have to let her go.¡±


    ¡°Of course I know. I¡¯m busy with my life too. I don¡¯t have time to take care of anyone.¡±


    Da-jeong said so, but she still massaged the young woman¡¯s limbs. Well, it¡¯s natural. Even though she was crazier than me, she was also kinder and more compassionate than me.


    I took out the necessities out of the cave ahead of time and put them in my backpack. And then, the woman¡¯s eyebrows riggled and she barely opened her mouth.


    ¡°Sa-save me please¡­¡±


    Da-jeong slapped her frozen cheek. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to die, wake up.¡±


    ¡°Keuk!¡± It seems like she¡¯d been unconscious for quite a long time.


    ¡°The rescue team¡­ The rescue team¡­¡±


    Rescue team? My ears perked up at those words. Waiting for rescue teams means that she had joined a rather large group. At that moment, I found a paper airplane littering the floor.


    Don¡¯t tell me, is she actually the one who was tasked by the government to monitor us?


    If that¡¯s not the case, there was simply no reason for these paper airplanes to be here. And in case she was indeed the one who was tasked to monitor us, it means that she was trapped here on her way back to her hideout.


    When I whispered my thoughts towards Da-jeong, her expression turned scary in mere moments. But before Da-jeong did anything, I grabbed her ear and said.


    ¡°She still doesn¡¯t know who we are. We need to dig something from here. After all, she must have some good information.¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­¡±


    This woman would have been Jang Won-taek¡¯s trustworthy eyes and ears, with that unique skill of hers . Of course she would know a lot. I left her with Da-jeong and opened the Auction House. If I thought about it, there should be some other agents of the government who got trapped in the snowstorm like her. So, there¡¯s bound to be quite a ruckus in government shelter right now.


    However, no matter how hard I try, I couldn¡¯t find any item auction that serves as the government¡¯s bulletin.


    Why did they take it down?


    But soon, I was able to roughly guess their circumstances, after reading the comments on another auctioned item.


    -They took down the auctioned item because there¡¯s a lot of angry masses spamming insults and curses there.


    -Didn¡¯t they say their goal was to gather people? But why did they throw people away instead of saving them?


    -Even if it is a government shelter, there is no way to move in this heavy snow¡­


    -I know that, but at the very least, they still need to send a rescue team!


    -If I¡¯m assigned to the rescue team, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll go. It¡¯s so dangerous. I wouldn¡¯t want to risk my life.


    -Can¡¯t they just send someone with blink ability?


    -You are stupid, aren¡¯t you? It¡¯s snowing. Everything is covered in snow. If you blink and then step on slippery ground, you¡¯re going to fall. And maybe even die.


    -Then just die.


    -You must have a lot of hate for the President.


    Hmmm¡­ So that¡¯s how things went¡­


    Just in case, I entered the panties posted by Seokhyun. I saw that he had left a comment asking if I had any cold resistance items. I don¡¯t know when did he post this comment, but¡­


    -I have winter strawberries. Should I send it to you? I also have a scarf with a cold resistance option.


    Not long after I wrote like that, the answer came.


    -As expected of you, Seongho. Lend me some of them. I¡¯ll pay you back later.


    -No need to pay me back. But what are you trying to do?


    -I need to rescue the agents and make the President owe me.


    Aha¡­ Good thinking!


    If Seokhyun helps them like this, the President will have to offer something in return to Seokhyun. People of the government shelter will also put even more trust in Seokhyun, so the weight of his voice in the shelter will naturally become heavier. Last but not least, it will also cause a crack to appear in the shelter.


    After all, will those who returned thanks to Seokhyun, still be able to trust the President, who neglected them?


    I put the scarf and some winter strawberries in the Auction House. And it instantly disappears from the list. And as the cold resistance given by the item¡¯s option went off, curse words started to pour out from my mouth.


    Meanwhile, the woman, who kept getting slapped by Da-jeong, woke up.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    Who we are¡­


    Before I could speak, Da-jeong opened her mouth.


    ¡°We are a couple who are passing by.¡±


    Yeah.


    That¡¯s a very bad answer.

 Chapter 117

    She¡¯s the one who was ordered to monitor us. However, it was doubtful whether she knew our faces or not. After all, if the paper plane flew too close to the ground, there¡¯s no way I wouldn¡¯t have noticed. On top of it, as she¡¯s currently not exactly in her right mind, and we were also covered from hair to toe¨Cincluding our eyes, as it was covered by our goggles, there was a little chance of her recognizing our identity.


    Of course, I can¡¯t just ask her about the important information about the government that she might know about. So, I would have to disguise my identity and conduct a guided interrogation.


    I took Da-jeong¡¯s hand and dragged her into the corner.


    ¡°Oh,¡± she said, grinning. ¡°I don¡¯t know you¡¯re this wild, oppa.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget that I am one year younger than you. And no, I dragged you here to talk about her.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What are you plotting?¡±


    ¡°Plotting? What are you talking about? I only did that because it¡¯s convenient. By the way, do you know who Hyun-woo is?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I think I remember him, or maybe not?¡±


    Hyun-woo is a soldier who left before Da-jeong arrived in Gimhae. I even saw him wandering around on an intelligence-gathering mission after he arrived in Seoul.


    ¡°In government shelters, there are people like Hyun-woo and that woman, who wander around collecting information for the government.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I know it. They are the reason why that old man knows about so many things, even though he never leaves the shelter himself¡­¡± It was a known fact that there were agents like Hyun-woo who collected information for government shelters. But, few people know about their identities.


    The woman shook her body and looked around her.


    ¡°¡­There was someone here just now¡­ Excuse me? Anyone here?¡±


    ¡°Did you hear it? She¡¯s yet to fully regain her consciousness. We have to finish collecting information before she fully comes to her senses. Da-jeong, all you need to do is just sit next to me, and support any words that come out of my mouth to make it more believable.¡±


    ¡°If we do it my way, we can even find out what¡¯s the color of her underwear in just five minutes.¡±


    Let¡¯s not ask her what method she¡¯s going to use in order to do that and focus on the situation in hand.


    I pulled Da-jeong¡¯s ear and whispered. ¡°Be quiet. And remember, from now on, we are government agents.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    Having done our strategy meeting, we approached the woman. She was taken aback when Da-jeong and I appeared from the other room.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Ah, we are intelligence gathering agents from government shelters. Our designated area was in the northern part of Gyeonggi-do.¡±


    ¡°I think I just heard that you are a passing-by couple just now¡­¡±


    Da-jeong stuck out her tongue.


    Dammit, the more lies you keep, the worse it will get later¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s our fake identity. We need camouflage like that in order to look natural. After all, we are sent here as a pair of men and women.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    Fortunately, the woman didn¡¯t seem to have any doubts. Well, it¡¯s so cold to the point she¡¯s still shivering even when she¡¯s sitting next to a bonfire, so she won¡¯t even have time to think about it.


    I lowered my voice. ¡°Your name?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Seung-yeon. Oh¡­ Seung-yeon.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Seung-yeon. Let me brief you of our situation. We came here after seeing Seung-yeon¡¯s SOS posted on the Auction House, but we are not the rescue team.¡±


    ¡°Then? When will the rescue team come?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still a mess outside. If they decide to send a rescue team outside, they will be stuck outside as well, and all we have will just be more people to save.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes¡­¡± Seung-yeon¡¯s expression turned into disappointment.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much, we can help. But first, there are a few things we need to check.¡± I patted her on the shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you anything¡­ Even my life¡­¡±


    Don¡¯t say something like that. When Seung-yeon looked at Da-jeong with pleading eyes, she responded with a wink.


    This girl, really¡­


    ¡°What do you want to check?¡±


    ¡°We want to check the information Seung-yeon got. I know you have reported it to the shelter, but because of the mess in the Auction House, the report didn¡¯t get delivered perfectly to the shelter.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­ I clearly reported it¡­ No, since I sent it through the Auction House, that possibility does exist¡­¡±


    The woman really had no idea she was being tricked by us. A true intelligence collector wouldn¡¯t show this kind of gap, but judging from her ability, she must have been some kind of an engineer before the apocalypse.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the Auction House like that? They are all anonymous there, so there are a lot of false rumors and information going around. So the President has entrusted us with the task of acquiring the correct report. Even now, the auction items posted by our shelter have also disappeared.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s gone?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The President probably decided to do so because there are too many false requests. That¡¯s also the reason why the shelter is sending us to try to figure out what¡¯s going on.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Seung-yeon seemed to believe my lies. After a while, secrets I had never heard of poured out of her mouth. It was information about the equipment the government kept in a closed subway station in Incheon.


    ¡°Recently, people have started to gather around the subway station. I don¡¯t think they¡¯d found the entrance yet, but it¡¯s dangerous¡­ Those people are predators¡­¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Other than that?¡±


    ¡°I was monitoring two people who went to Ganghwa Island. They robbed the oil warehouse. Just the two of them. They took everything.¡±


    Da-jeong suddenly started coughing while I nodded my head.


    ¡°They are fucking bastards. Anything else?¡± Seung-yeon, who now had completely put her trust in us, told us every single thing she had observed: Chinese people have landed on islands around Incheon. Rumors about the door of the time shelter in Bucheon were half broken, and a lot of other menial information.


    I wrote everything down and then patted her shoulder. ¡°Great. The President will be satisfied. Leave the report to us and recover your stamina first.¡±


    ¡°Here is a backpack. There¡¯s a lot of things inside.¡± Da-jeong handed Seung-yeon a backpack containing food, clothes, flares, and other daily necessities. Having come to her senses because of the warmth of the bonfire, she bowed her head to us.


    ¡°Thank you. Thanks to you two, I lived.¡±


    ¡°Your health is still not very good right now, so please wait and rest here for a while before trying to move around. Rescue teams will come later when the snowstorm subsides.¡±


    I broke some furniture in the room and handed it to her. Seung-yeon didn¡¯t even know that she had leaked a lot of important information to an outsider, and yet thanked us again and again. Once she finds out the truth later, I bet she would be very angry, but it would be better for her to think of it as the payment for saving her life and move on.


    There was no reason for us to stay any longer, so we went outside. At that moment, Da-jeong crossed her arms and said,


    ¡°If we leave just like this, wouldn¡¯t that old man become wary of us?¡±


    ¡°I bet he wouldn¡¯t. After all, we didn¡¯t cross any line we shouldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Oh my God, you¡¯re saying we still haven¡¯t crossed any line, even after robbing all the oil and stealing a lot of information from them?¡± Da-jeong asked sarcastically with an expression which I interpreted as ¡®Do you have any conscience?¡¯


    I shrugged. ¡°When I talked to him last time in Wolmido, I told him about my thoughts. I said unless he wants to become my enemy, I won¡¯t touch him.¡±


    ¡°What exactly does that mean? To what extent do you think his actions can be considered as friendly?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± Although I had told the President about my thoughts, I was still not sure what his true purpose was.


    Will he truly be satisfied once he recreates a stable society and officiates weddings?


    It seemed that the truth was somehow hidden behind those goals. Him giving me some things might have something to do with that ¡®real goal¡¯.


    I rushed down the stairs as if to shake off my thoughts, and Da-jeong followed.


    ¡°Where are we going now?¡±


    ¡°Originally, we were going to go to Gimpo University, weren¡¯t we? But it looks like the plan has to be changed. Let¡¯s go to the time shelter.¡±


    ¡°The one with the broken door in Bucheon?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. There must have been some people who couldn¡¯t wait a year for the time shelter to open. We have to stop them.¡±


    ¡°Speak your true feelings!¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t let them get all the honey for themselves. We need to loot everything inside.¡±


    ¡°Now that¡¯s my Seongho.¡±


    When we arrived at the door on the first floor, the heavy snow had subsided a bit. We shared winter strawberries and headed over to Bucheon. When it becomes too cold on the way, we will enter a nearby building and rest. Without the portal, this forced march would¡¯ve been impossible. Fortunately, when I went inside to rest, I could warm myself by boiling water and soaking my body in it.


    If we saw a frozen, immobile monster in the road, we would hunt it and I would be the one who took the last hit. Thanks to that, I was able to raise my level to 24 by the time we arrived at Bucheon Park.


    ¡°Now, just one level more. You have to promise that you will tell me what the additional effects are.¡± Da-jeong said.


    ¡°You won¡¯t get what you want, probably.¡± I said as we entered a nearby building and checked the entrance to the park¡¯s parking lot.


    Damn it. It snowed so much to the point the entrance was sealed off. Several meters of thick ice had created a barricade for the station. It was unreasonable to try to drill through it or break it, and it seemed that the snow would only melt later in spring.


    When we walked again, we arrived at the entrance of Bucheon Sports Complex Station along the road on Line 7. Just like the snow in front of the park¡¯s parking lot, the snow in this place had also frozen. However, it didn¡¯t completely block the entrance. When we entered, it was surprisingly warm inside.


    ¡°Oh, I wish we could just stay here.¡±


    ¡°Shh, your voice is too loud.¡±


    It was quiet inside, but from time to time, some sound could be heard from the deeper part of the building. It¡¯s probably the sound of the looters inside.


    When we heard footsteps coming up our way while we were exploring the place, we hurriedly hid in a nearby toilet.


    ¡°There will be no one wandering around in this kind of weather, so why are we patrolling?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just go downstairs. It¡¯s cold.¡±


    Whoever they were, they went away without looking for us. Now, we need to start our plan. However, when we were about to do so, a certain man entered the first basement floor amidst the snow.


    Our eyes opened wide as we saw the figure. A bald man with rabbit ears on his head and just a panty covering his naked body.


    ¡°Why is he here?¡±


    ¡°Hey, Rapwi. Rapwi.¡±


    Seokhyun tilted his head at Da-jeong¡¯s voice and found us, who were sticking our heads out from the bathroom¡¯s door.


    ¡°Are you guys lost?¡± He asked as a smile stretched from one of his ears to another ear.


    It was you who got lost, you dork!


    .


    .


    .


    Rabbit Pwincess, Seokhyun traversed city to city like a madman. His physical ability had reached a superhuman level, and with his elemental resistance, which also covers cold resistance, blizzards pose no threat to him.


    Thud.


    The door of a certain building in Anyang burst open. Inside, a man who was waiting for the rescue team inside barely raised his head.


    ¡°Who, who¡­¡±


    ¡°Your savior.¡±


    Rapwi¡¯s appearance while saying that was truly a spectacle; He was standing on his two hands because his feet felt cold.


    ¡°Ackkkk!¡± After he saw the strange spectacle of a naked man walking with his hands, the man passed out.


    Why is he surprised? Seokhyun murmured to himself and carried the man on his back after tying his body to himself with a rope.


    Even though he had one person on his back, Seokhyun¡¯s speed hardly decreased when he departed again. Just like that, he spent hours running back and forth from the government shelter in Seoul to another city in the region.


    As night passed and dawn came, he never ceased to move. Neither bone creepers nor keepers could chase after him because of his speed. Every time he brought an isolated agent to the shelter, he was greeted with a grand welcome.


    ¡°Seokhyun is amazing!¡±


    ¡°As expected of Rabbit Pwincess!!¡±


    But he was not impressed at all by the grandstanding and left the shelter again. Finally, Seung-yeon, whom Seongho had rescued before, was put on Seokhyun¡¯s back. And when they returned to the shelter, two days had passed since he first departed from the shelter. In other words, Seokhyun rescued five agents scattered in different cities in just a span of two days.


    ¡°Really absurd¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s crazy, crazy.¡±


    It was amazing. Some people expressed doubts saying that it was an impossible thing to do for someone who was directionally challenged, but decided to ignore it and just be thankful to him.


    A modest celebration was being held at the cafeteria, and Jang Won-taek sat down next to Seokhyun with a plate in his hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s really great, Seokhyun-ssi. I never thought you¡¯d save all five of them¡­¡±


    ¡°It was not difficult.¡±


    He replied shortly and shoved his meal into his mouth. Even though he boasted a superhuman level of physical ability, after running endlessly for two days, his stamina was in a state of decline. In this case, it was best to eat a lot and rest well.


    Geom-in also sat down next to him while watching him, and finally, Joo Seung-cheol appeared in the cafeteria. He put the plate down in front of Seokhyun and said, ¡°You are wonderful. You rescue all agents without any difficulty, even though you are directionally challenged.¡±


    Jang Won-taek frowned at his words.


    What is this man talking about, all of a sudden?


    Seokhyun looked up at him while putting the side dishes in his mouth.


    ¡°Say what you want to say.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just that I can¡¯t believe it. That illness of yours is so awful to the point you can¡¯t even find the toilet properly, but you¡¯re able to go to several cities correctly, even when the signposts have disappeared¡­ Does it make sense?¡±


    ¡°Say what you want to say.¡±


    When Seokhyun urged Joo Seung-cheol, Jang Won-taek tried to stop him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that¡­¡±


    ¡°No, we have to do it here. Because everyone is gathered.¡± Seung-cheol took an exaggerated pose and stretched his arms wide. ¡°Everyone knows that Seokhyun didn¡¯t come here for nothing. He has clear goals. I¡¯ve been curious about it for a long time, but I found out about it a little bit today.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Someone raised their voice. That person was someone Joo Seung-cheol hired to complete his performance.


    Seung-cheol said as if he was answering the question of the people. ¡°You seem curious. But before revealing that, let¡¯s unpack the information we heard from Seung-yeon.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say we need to give them a proper rest first?¡± It was Jang Won-taek¡¯s request when the rescued agents entered the shelter. They were so exhausted that Jang Won-taek decided to ask them only after letting them take a good rest.


    However, Joo Seung-cheol ignored his words.


    ¡°The President will be surprised to hear what I have to say.¡± Joo Seung-cheol smirked. ¡°She disclosed all information she had obtained to two people, who were supposed to be government agents. Who are those guys, I wonder?¡±


    ¡°I hope you¡­¡±


    ¡°They are agents disguised as a married couple¡­ there is no such thing, isn¡¯t it? It seems that our Seokhyun also received help from someone. Is this a coincidence?¡±


    People were buzzing at his words. The subordinates planted by Joo Seung-cheol tried to aggravate the situation even more.


    ¡°What, then, are you saying that there is someone behind Seokhyun?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious!¡± One of them said, ¡°It¡¯s probably I Love Gimbap and Duck Buttock.¡±


    ¡°You mean that bastard is aiming at our shelter?¡±


    Jang Won-taek massaged his forehead at the situation. Even though it wasn¡¯t just a guess, but a fact, he didn¡¯t want it to be known to people in this way.


    Just why on earth did Joo Seung-cheol bring this up?


    At that moment, Seokhyun rose from his seat. However, Joo Seung-cheol didn¡¯t let him go just like that and asked him. ¡°We need an explanation. Who instructed you? It¡¯s I Love Gimbap and Duck Buttock, right?¡±


    However, instead of answering with words, Seokhyun waved his fist.


    Pak-!!


    Seung-cheol couldn¡¯t react and was hit in the face and rolled around the ground. The restaurant went into chaos in an instant, and people woke up in surprise.


    Seung-cheol¡¯s men ran and tried to stop Seokhyun, but it was simply impossible for them to do so. Even if there are 10 more men like them, it wouldn¡¯t be enough to stop Seokhyun in the first place.


    ¡°Uh-huh!¡±


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    They flew all over the place every time Seokhyun swung his clenched fist. Once he was done with the subordinates, Seokhyun approached Seung-cheol, who was still on the floor, and tilted his head.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t dead yet?¡±


    Joo Seung-cheol stood up as he wiped the blood dripping from the corners of his mouth with his sleeve.


    ¡°¡­were you planning to kill me? Are you out of your mind? President! Are you going to let such violence slide?¡±


    Jang Won-taek moaned as he covered his forehead with his palm. Violence in government shelters was strictly taboo. It¡¯s because they wouldn¡¯t be able to handle a fight between awakened people with various abilities. So he told people who want to enter the shelter one thing: Violence will be considered the same as murder.


    In other words, what Seokhyun was doing right now was the same as committing murder. No one would tolerate such a person in a shelter.


    When Seung-cheol was about to ask for another thing, Seokhyun swung his fist towards him again. What followed next was an indiscriminate beating. No one dared to even think of stopping him.


    After punching several times, Seokhyun¡¯s punch stopped at Joo Seung-cheol¡¯s chin.


    ¡°The wall and the floor is made of reinforced plastic, so do it in moderation.¡± Seung-cheol grabbed Seokhyun¡¯s wrist as he said that. His eyes were blazing red with anger.


    On the other hand, Geom-in, who had been watching the fight, smiled in despair.


    ¡°Haha¡­¡±


    His plan to become more friendly with Seokhyun by having a conversation with him, who would¡¯ve been in a good mood after saving a lot of people and getting praises from all over the place had flown away. Also, his plan to schedule a visit to Joo Seung-cheol¡¯s shelter evaporated.


    Nothing really happens the way he wanted.

 Chapter 118

    ¡°Seokhyun-ah, come here.¡± As I called him, he walked towards us like an obedient child. Once he entered the bathroom, I called the portal and blocked the entrance with it. With the entrance blocked, whatever we said in the bathroom wouldn¡¯t leak outside. Of course, it can¡¯t stop the sound from seeping through the walls, but that much should be okay.


    Da-jeong slapped Seokhyun¡¯s ass.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who got lost, not us.¡±


    ¡°No. I am in the right place.¡±


    ¡°Where are you going, actually?¡±


    ¡°Dongducheon.¡±


    ¡°This is Bucheon, you dork!¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    ¡°¡¯Ah¡¯ my ass!¡±


    Da-jeong crossed her arms as she grumbled that she would die because of the frustration whenever she talked to Seokhyun.


    ¡°Should we do something for Rapwi? He had gone out to save people, but it seems like he had only been roaming around all day.¡±


    ¡°Well, there is a way¡­¡± I said.¡± But first, Seokhyun-ah, the truth is¡­¡±


    I felt like I should talk about what happened between me and Da-jeong here. But before I spoke, Da-jeong said it first.


    ¡°Rapwi, we had sex.¡±


    Isn¡¯t that too straightforward?


    Seokhyun blinked slowly and looked at the two of us.


    ¡°I can¡¯t. I can¡¯t give you Seongho, unless my eyes get covered with dirt¡­¡±


    Then, one of Da-jeong¡¯s ghouls jumped out of the toilet and sprinkled dirt on Seokhyun¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Aww, my eyes!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not asking for your permission, I¡¯m telling you this just so you know. Do you want to do it with us too?¡±


    Da-jeong even asked him to do 3P, but Seokhyun refused. Instead, he gave me a thumbs up.


    ¡°Great. Now Duck is your girl.¡±


    ¡°No. Seongho was the one who became my man.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it usually go by ¡®a man eating a woman¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Hey, think about it. Would Seongho be brave enough to ¡®eat¡¯ me? I was the one who ¡®ate¡¯ him.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ okay! I approve!¡±


    I was blown away by their nonsense. I can¡¯t let it continue. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s start with the important stuff. Seokhyun, you have work to do right now, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I have to go to five places.¡± He pulled a map out of his panties and unfolded it before us. Dongducheon, Gapyeong, and Gimpo. If we only counts Seokhyun¡¯s current stats, there would be no problem in getting back and forth, but as he was directionally challenged, he wouldn¡¯t be able to arrive at the set places. Afterall, all the road signs had disintegrated into dust.


    That said, I couldn¡¯t understand why the government shelter sent Seokhyun alone. They should have attached a guide or something to him. I opened my mouth once I finished organizing my thoughts in my head. ¡°Well, with Seokhyun saving the government agents, it will also benefit me in the long run, so I¡¯m kinda obligated to help you.¡±


    ¡°In what way will it help you?¡±


    ¡°I will explain about that later. And since you need a guide, wait a minute.¡±


    Seokhyun¡¯s eyes twinkled with curiosity when I returned from the portal with a scarab in my hand. ¡°He will help you.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a scarab?¡±


    ¡°This guy is not just a normal scarab, he¡¯s a scarab that understands human words. He doesn¡¯t know Korean, but he can read maps.¡± I took him towards the map on the ground. And all of our eyes constantly focused on the map. ¡°This is where we are on the map. This guy has to visit these five places, and he needs a guide. Can you do it?¡±


    When the scarab put his claw on his chin, Seokhyun fell into a shock. ¡°Th-the scarab is listening and thinking¡­¡±


    ¡°They have a lot of talent. They are probably even smarter than us.¡±


    ¡°They?¡±


    ¡°There are a lot of scarabs in the shelter. There are also stag beetles.¡± Anyway, after the scarab looked at the map, he went outside with Seokhyun. After looking at the sky, the guy made an OK sign. At that moment, Da-jeong lost her spirit.


    ¡°Is what I just saw real? It¡¯s unbelievable¡­¡±


    ¡°If you look closely, do you see the names of the buildings in the map¡¯s legend here? It¡¯s engraved on the wall, so it would be fine. You just have to teach the scarab the letters.¡±


    The scarab doesn¡¯t know Hangul, but it would be able to remember the shapes of the letters. Taking Gapyeong as an example, just let the guy remember the shape of the words Gapyeong, and he will be able to use the buildings which still had their nameplates, which sometimes also contains the place¡¯s name in it as milestones to get to the destination. It¡¯s impossible for Seokhyun, but it¡¯s possible for the scarab. Afterall, they were a weird bunch of scarabs, who could even make bullets.


    ¡°Once you finish, you have to return the scarab to me.¡±


    ¡°But what are you guys going to do?¡±


    ¡°We¡­¡± Da-jeong covered my mouth with her hand before I could even tell Seokhyun.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take him on a bus. He¡¯s at level 24 right now, and if he levels up 1 more, he will get an additional effect. I have to check what¡¯s inside the portal!¡±


    Seokhyun gave her a thumbs up as he heard our plan, clearly liked her plan.


    ¡°SEGGGS.¡±


    I hurriedly took her hand away and said. ¡°By the way, when you return to the shelter, there will be some dispute.¡±


    ¡°Dispute? Against Rapwi?¡± Da-jeong asked in a doubtful tone.


    Well, it¡¯s only natural, since Seokhyun was known as the strongest in government shelter, so who would even be gutsy enough to have an argument with him?


    But I thought of someone who would definitely do so.


    ¡°That guy is going to question exactly what Seokhyun had done, and he will definitely question how he managed to arrive at the isolated agents without getting lost. Also, after hearing Seung-yeon¡¯s story, he would definitely find everything strange.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not the old man or Geom-in?¡±


    I shook my head. Neither Geom-in nor the President were my enemies. Therefore, there was only one person who would do such a thing: Joo Seung-cheol. It would be weird if he didn¡¯t do it after seeing such an incredible opportunity like this.


    ¡°Joo Seung-cheol. He¡¯s gonna argue Seokhyun has contact with you, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°He used to flirt with Da-jeong, but why? Because she¡¯s a woman? Because she¡¯s pretty?¡± Seokhyun asked.


    ¡°Well. yeah. I am pretty.¡±


    I ignored Da-jeong¡¯s words.


    ¡°I think he saw Da-jeong as someone who could be an ally if he played his cards right. However, the same wouldn¡¯t work on Seokhyun.¡±


    ¡°Because he¡¯s childish?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Because Seokhyun is too unique. Joo Seung-cheol would be lost about what he should do to control him.¡±


    ¡°Well, I am second to none in terms of craziness.¡± Seokhyun smiled broadly.


    I put my arm over his shoulder and emphasized. ¡°If he decided to keep his stay-low attitude and didn¡¯t do what I just said, you don¡¯t have to do anything to him. However, there¡¯s a pretty good chance that it will happen. Once he did it¡­¡±


    ¡°Should I kill him?¡±


    ¡°¡­you don¡¯t have to do that. Just show him your strength by being a little rough. No one knows what his unique skill is, right?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think even the President knows.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard any rumors.¡±


    The time he had spent in the government shelter was quite long. But the fact that there were no rumors about him, means that he had been hiding his unique skill thoroughly. I wanted to use this chance to take off his mask.


    ¡°Joo Seung-cheol is full of suspicious things. It¡¯s strange that he invested in the game company which developed Seola, nobody knows his unique skill, and that he¡¯s in a government shelter, even though he has his own shelter.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to reveal his goal this time?¡±


    ¡°If the guy makes his move first. If he¡¯s quiet, Seokhyun can just do what you usually do in the shelter.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, it would be fun if you two fight. Seokhyun¡¯s power is no joke.¡±


    ¡°Just in case, he might have a resurrection scroll.¡± No, I was convinced Joo Seung-cheol had a resurrection scroll. However, I decided to exclude the possibility of him having transcendental powers. If he had that kind of power, he would have successfully seduced Da-jeong and found me sooner.


    Da-jeong jumped on my back at that moment.


    ¡°Rapwi, Rapwi, since he has asked you to do that much, in return, shouldn¡¯t you ask for something from him?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. What should I ask¡­¡±


    ¡°Tuna! Ask him for tuna.¡±


    ¡°Tuna sashimi? I like that idea. I have never eaten one.¡±


    What do those words even mean¡­ Anyway, since the two of them asked about it, it seems like I had to catch one sometime soon. I confessed to both of them ¡°But I don¡¯t know if there are tuna in the sea of otherworld or not. I haven¡¯t been out there.¡±


    ¡°What have you been doing, then? If I was you, I would have gone out on a boat and explored the sea like a sailor.¡± Da-jeong criticized me.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I have 48 hours in a day. These days, because of you, I can¡¯t even go in.¡± I defend myself.


    She moved both of her hands towards my cheek, and pulled it.


    ¡°That¡¯s why you need to level up quickly! The two of us can come in and help you.¡±


    That¡¯s what I¡¯m most worried about. Anyone who sees what¡¯s inside the portal will certainly become greedy. It will evolve into obsession soon and lead to a bad ending for me. But if it were them, my friends¡­


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go in together someday.¡±


    After saying that, I suddenly imagined Rapwi going naked and running on the beach screaming ¡°SEGGSSSS!!!¡±.


    That¡¯s not allowed.


    .


    .


    .


    One hit, two hits, three hits.


    Seokhyun, who was beating Joo Seung-cheol on the floor, panicked as Joo Seung-Cheol grabbed his wrist. It was because he suddenly felt like he was running out of power.


    ¡°The wall and the floor is made of reinforced plastic, so do it in moderation.¡± Seung-cheol grabbed Seokhyun¡¯s wrist as he said that. His eyes were blazing red with anger.


    On the other hand, Seokhyun twisted his arms and shook Seung-Cheol¡¯s hands off him.


    ¡°Status window.¡±


    Once his status window was opened, Seokhyun was amazed. It was because his stats were nerfed. The effect of the items was also blocked, and his skill was downgraded.


    He soon found the cause,


    ¡¸Active Buff(s): Ability Blocking¡¹


    Isn¡¯t it the same ability of the Wi-Fi zombie that Seongho had warned him about before?


    Blocking all abilities, it could be said that it was a really great unique skill. After all, no matter how strong someone is, if they got their stats reduced, they would be powerless.


    Seung-cheol stood up, wiping his lips with his sleeve.


    ¡°I thought you are someone who can be reasoned with, but you are completely crazy.¡±


    ¡°Did you try to argue with me while knowing that?¡±


    ¡°¡­there is definitely someone behind you. It¡¯s that bastard, I Love Gimbap, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    After a brief lull, the two of them were being pulled apart from each other. No one dared to touch Seokhyun, but Jang Won-taek directly blocked him. Geom-in also pretended to stop him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but let¡¯s calm down, calm down¡­¡±


    At that moment, Seung-cheol raised his arms as if it was ridiculous.


    ¡°No, I was the one on the right, am I? Now that person is no different than a murderer.¡±


    That¡¯s right. The person who set that rule was none other than Jang Won-taek. And all personnel in the shelter agreed to the rules. But unbeknownst to them, Seokhyun also had something to say.


    ¡°That b*st*rd has an ability-blocking unique skill!¡± He shouted loudly over Jang Won-taek¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Sorry?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Seung-cheol panicked and Seokhyun quickly explained the situation. He demonstrated that his ability had been weakened by swinging his fist. In other words, he¡¯s telling people that the reason Joo Seung-cheol could block his fist was because he was weakened, not and not because of Seung-cheol¡¯s strength.


    ¡°Oh my gosh¡­¡±


    ¡°Did you really have that kind of unique skill?¡±


    The eyes of the people all turned to Seung-cheol. He said it was a misunderstanding and took a few steps back. Even if he denied he had that unique skill, he wouldn¡¯t be able to explain how he managed to block Seokhyun¡¯s punch.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to hide it. I just haven¡¯t had a chance to speak about it.¡±


    ¡°Seung-cheol, haven¡¯t you invited me to your shelter before? Were you planning on kidnapping me by blocking my ability?¡±


    When Yoon-jeong came forward and asked, he denied that it was absolutely not true.


    ¡°This is frustrating! There is no benefit to me doing that, so why would I do that?¡±


    However, even though he tried his best to explain himself, the people¡¯s reaction was not good. They could tolerate him for hiding his unique skill, but since his unique skill was revealed, and turns out it was an ability where you can block other people¡¯s ability, it was another story.


    After all, doesn¡¯t that mean he can turn awakened people into normal humans if he really wants to?


    Jang Won-taek raised his voice. ¡°Let¡¯s calm down. I have a lot of work to do today, so all decisions will be postponed until later. Until then, neither of you should leave your room. Understand?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Seokhyun looked at Seung-cheol without saying a word, while Seung-cheol looked at people¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Wait. But the rule of this shelter is that violence is considered the same as murder. So, he will be kicked out, right?¡±


    ¡°Seokhyun-ssi, what will you do? Will you obey my order to stay quiet in your room, or do you want ro be kicked out of this shelter right now?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be quiet in my room.¡±


    ¡°You promise me?¡±


    Seokhyun nodded his head at the President¡¯s question. The situation had just managed to calm down. And as no one wanted to be the one who broke the atmosphere, everyone left the final decision to the former President, Jang Won-taek.


    Seokhyun said to Seung-cheol, who was going out surrounded by his men.


    ¡°Remove your ability from me.¡±


    ¡°If I remove it, won¡¯t you hit me again?¡±


    ¡°I said I would be quiet, didn¡¯t I? Remove it.¡±


    ¡°Quiet my ass¡­ I won¡¯t remove it until I get to my room.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Unexpectedly, Seokhyun was the one who took a step back. People who realized the mood had gone wrong, left the cafeteria one by one. In the midst of that, Seokhyun also moved. Geom-in asked something from his side, but he didn¡¯t reply. His gaze was only lay Seung-cheol.


    And when Seung-cheol¡¯s subordinates were pushed away for a while by the people, Seokhyun approached him very naturally. Seung-cheol knew that the madman was approaching him, but he didn¡¯t do anything. Because he didn¡¯t think a man with no weapons and no abilities could do anything dangerous to him.


    But it was a mistake.


    Seokhyun took a piece of mithril from his rabbit ear and stabbed Seung-cheol in the back.


    ¡°Uh-huh!¡± Seung-cheol, who had his heart pierced, screamed and grabbed his chest.


    ¡°Yo-YOU!!!!¡±


    ¡°He stabbed him with a knife!¡±


    ¡°Crazy!¡±


    The entrance to the cafeteria fell into chaos.


    ¡°Move! Move!¡±


    ¡°You moth*rfuck*r!¡±


    Although Seokhyun was treated harshly by Seung-cheol¡¯s subordinates, he did not lose his smile. When Jang Won-taek witnessed the situation, he was genuinely angry.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you promise me not to do this!¡±


    ¡°I promise you to be quiet in my room, so it¡¯s not like I broke any promise.¡± It was such a childish logic, about how he didn¡¯t have to be quiet because he hadn¡¯t entered his room yet.


    When everyone was speechless because of that, something unexpected happened. Joo Seung-cheol, who was on his knees, was enveloped by a light before disappearing. It was an event no one could have predicted.


    ¡°Is-is that resurrection?¡±


    ¡°He has a resurrection scroll?¡±


    At about the same time, the ability blocking debuff disappeared from Seokhyun¡¯s status window. Seung-cheol¡¯s men, who were holding onto him, were beaten one by one and thrown into the wall.


    ¡°Move!¡±


    People were terrified by the thunderous voice, and moved away from the door. At that moment, Seokhyun¡¯s body shot out like an arrow.

 Chapter 119

    Da-jeong fulfilled her promise to take me on a bus by asking her ghoul to find monsters near Bucheon Stadium Station. When the ghouls found out the location of the monsters, they informed Da-jeong and beat them just until it¡¯s on their death door and then passed the baton to me. Because of the cold weather, the monsters¡¯ senses were dulled, so it was not difficult to deal with them.


    After a day and a few hours, we almost annihilated all the monsters near Bucheon Stadium Station.


    ¡¸Level has risen to 25¡¹


    ¡¸You have earned 20 points¡¹


    ¡¸As you has reached level 25, an additional effect will be added to your unique skill¡¹


    ¡¸Dimensional Prison¡¹


    ¡°Da-jeong¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes? Can I enter the portal now? Say it quickly.¡±


    She clings to me and pushes her ears towards me. However, looking at the word ¡®dimensional prison¡¯, it seems that it was far from what she wanted¡­ Instead of explaining, I decided to just use it.


    ¡°Dimensional Prison.¡± A different portal from the one which led to the shelter appeared. Unlike the real one, which is transparent and clear like the surface of water, this one has stripped vertical lines on it, which makes the portal look like a zebra.


    I feel bad about this¡­


    Da-jeong exclaimed happily as she touched the portal in front of her and then threw her hands to the air.


    ¡°Let¡¯s enter!¡± She cheered and entered the dimensional prison. 5 minutes later, she popped back to reality and immediately fell down on all fours.


    ¡°Aaaaaah!!!!!¡±


    ¡°Why! What¡¯s wrong!¡± I headed to her and raised her back to her feet. She grabbed me by the arm and grabbed my shoulder.


    ¡°I just floated and fell! From the sky!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Lord, I thought I was going to die! HUHUHUHU¡­¡± She clinged to me and wailed. If what she had said is true, that she had just fallen from the sky for five minutes, that¡¯s not too bad. I tried to enter the dimensional prison, but was pushed back by the portal.


    ¡°I think it can only be used by people other than me¡­ Would you like to go in again?¡±


    Da-jeong shook her head. ¡°I will never go in anymore, never.¡±


    Well, it¡¯s just my speculation, but I think the dimensional prison sends people it caught to places where people won¡¯t be able to do anything. It could be the sky, the sea, a volcanic region, or even a cold region. It would be hellish to be in such places for them. But for me, it¡¯s an opportunity to suppress and keep a single enemy out of the battlefield for 5 minutes.


    ¡°Even though they would return alive, their mind won¡¯t be in a perfect state. That is the effect of the dimensional prison.¡±


    Da-jeong, who heard my explanation, grunted in disappointment. ¡°I thought I would finally be able to enter the shelter¡­. Well, my next target is leveling you up to 30.¡±


    ¡°Wait, before that.¡±


    I opened the Auction House and checked the comment Seokhyun left. He had rescued four survivors in less than two days and was currently on his way back to the shelter with the last isolated agent. That said, we should go to the government shelter now. I need to take the scarab back.


    I went into the portal and pushed the snow sled, which the stag beetles repaired while we were hunting back to Earth. As Da-jeong tied the ropes to the ghoul, she grumbled. ¡°Their numbers had gone down so much¡­ I need to get more ghouls, but I don¡¯t feel like doing it at all. I can¡¯t find a ghoul that is good enough for my preference.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Her zombie domination unique skill could only be used once per day. Therefore, dominating just any ghouls was not an option. It was due to the fact that when they first join the ranks of Da-jeong¡¯s subordinates, they wouldn¡¯t get the additional stats given to the ghouls under her right off the bat. They would only get it if they managed to grow after they became Da-jeong¡¯s subordinate. In this kind of weather, where it was cold and difficult to even find food, it was difficult to control the ghouls.


    I handed the plastic bottle filled with hot water to Da-jeong and told her to put it inside the sleeping bag inside the sled.


    ¡°It will be warm if you put it in there.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ it¡¯s true!.¡± She went into the sleeping bag and squirmed into a caterpillar. As I sat in the back seat and snapped the rope hard, the ghouls started running. The destination was the area around Yeouido.


    After running for less than 30 minutes along the national road, we found a ghoul. The guy was eating frozen zombies on the side of the road. Da-jeong saw it and turned her head to me ¡°Wait, how was it still able to move?¡±


    ¡°It has adapted.¡±


    I unbuttoned the sleeping bag to make it easier for Da-jeong to get out and got off the sled. We then hid behind a building and observed the ghoul.


    ¡°Its movement is good¡­ I¡¯m excited about it.¡±


    ¡°Do you see its blue skin? From what I¡¯ve studied back in the game, that is proof that it has adapted to this cold environment.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s something like that back in the game?¡±


    ¡°There is. You guys just didn¡¯t pay much attention to it.¡± From the standpoint of a stagnant water, ghoul is just another mob anyway. Therefore, there¡¯s no need to properly understand the characteristics of such a low level monster. After all, even if they just hit it a bit hard, they would definitely die. So why bother learning their characteristics and weaknesses?


    ¡°It does look better than a normal ghoul, but as it has adapted to cold, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s also disadvantages it has developed, such as it being weaker to heat than a normal ghoul would.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want it if its fighting power is lower than a normal ghoul.¡±


    ¡°So let¡¯s check it. Send your ghouls to it.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Da-jeong snapped her finger and her ghouls approached the blue ghoul. The guy immediately showed his teeth to the other ghouls and ran towards them.


    It¡¯s pretty agile. It was clear that it was superior when it was compared to Da-jeong¡¯s ghouls in terms of speed, but when Da-jeong¡¯s ghouls managed to catch it, the guy couldn¡¯t hold out for long.


    Kieeeekk-!!


    The blue ghoul was thrown away. When Da-jeong saw it, her expression turned sour.


    ¡°What the¡­ It¡¯s terribly weak.¡±


    ¡°It seems like the spores in its brain have decided that survival is more important than fighting power. That¡¯s why it¡¯s incredibly agile, so that it can run away from dangerous situations.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Let¡¯s just kill it!¡±


    ¡°No. Think about it. That guy¡¯s pretty fast, right? I¡¯m sure it will come in handy in the future.¡±


    I persuaded Da-jeong to take in the guy. In the end, she agreed. Her unique skill¡¯s activation method was really simple. While her ghouls were holding the blue ghoul, Da-jeong just snapped her fingers. And it¡¯s done.


    We returned to our sled and continued our journey. When we arrived at Yeongdeungpo E-Mart, a scarab was waiting for us at the checkout counter. It seems that Rapwi had returned to the government shelter. I took the scarab back to the shelter and looked around the first floor, but there was nothing to loot.


    Da-jeong, who returned after checking the clothing store, shook her head and let out a sigh. ¡°They had looted everything clean, leaving only dust behind.¡±


    ¡°This is the center of Seoul. Of course that will be the case.¡± Now we just have to wait for Seokhyun. The reason why we were coming to this place was mainly to pick up the scarab, but there¡¯s another goal: It was to back up Seokhyun in case something happens. After all, if Seung-cheol provoked him excessively, there was a risk that he would hit him right away. Seokhyun was just that kind of guy, a guy who acted with their fists first before thinking.


    While I was waiting while drinking some coffee with Da-jeong, I heard a loud noise near Yeongdeungpo Station.


    ¡°Seeegs!!!¡±


    We looked into each other¡¯s faces. Rapwi really doesn¡¯t disappoint.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    Joo Seung-cheol woke up in the parking lot of Yeongdeungpo Park. The reason he dared to be aggressive in his argument with Rapwi was because he had a resurrection scroll. With it, he felt like he was ready to fight against the whole world.


    ¡°That bastard dared to stab me with a knife? I won¡¯t let him go easily next time!¡± He checked his body and vomited a barrage of cursive words. One side of his head was aching. Perhaps it was the side effect of the resurrection scroll, but it soon disappeared.


    What should I do now?


    ¡®Even if I return to the government shelter, it will be difficult to calm the situation¡­¡¯ And as his men would also soon leave the shelter, there¡¯s no need for him to return there. It would be better for him to observe the development of the situation from his shelter in Hannam-dong.


    ¡°It¡¯s cold, it¡¯s cold¡­¡± He covered his ears with his palms and waited for his men to arrive. But then, he heard a particular voice he didn¡¯t want to hear.


    ¡°Seeggs!¡±


    There¡¯s only one guy who makes such noises.


    ¡®He should¡¯ve known about my ability¡­¡¯ And yet, he still dares to come to him again. That could only mean one thing. He has backup.


    ¡®Since he¡¯s crazy and impulsive, it¡¯s better to be careful.¡¯ He closed his eyes, swallowing his anger. And when he saw his men crossing the road, he almost cried.


    ¡°He¡¯s here!¡±


    ¡°President!¡±


    His men saw him and ran to him. It took a lot of effort for Seung-cheol to be able to lead this many awakeners. He had been constantly giving things to them, even before the apocalypse began, and he had claimed that he had prepared a lot for the apocalypse. Thanks to that, he was able to be recognized as a leader by his subordinates. Their allegiance might be slightly shaken because of his death at the hand of Rapwi, but they wouldn¡¯t just leave him because of that. After all, to enter his personal shelter in Hannam-dong, they must have his permission. It would be foolish to give up so many things and turn around just because of such simple things.


    Seung-cheol asked after meeting his men. ¡°Where is Rapwi currently?¡±


    ¡°It looks like he went somewhere else. The shelter is a mess right now.¡±


    ¡°Shall we find and end him? If President can just block his ability, it would be easy to take him down.¡±


    Seung-cheol shook his head at his subordinates¡¯ questions.


    ¡°No¡­ Let¡¯s go back to our bunker for now. I think Rapwi has backup.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s a backup¡­ Is It I Love Gimbap?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s find that b*st*rd and kill him.¡±


    Seung-cheol smiled bitterly. His subordinates, who served him, seem to be in high spirits even though he, their leader, has just got stabbed by a knife. They can¡¯t even do anything when he was stabbed, and yet they want to kill Gimbap? What a foolish bunch¡­


    But he didn¡¯t voice it out loud.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the bunker first. We are too unprepared to fight against them. Let¡¯s make a plan after we get back.¡±


    ¡°Wise decision, President.¡±


    The journey to the Hannam-dong shelter wouldn¡¯t be easy. They have to go through Olympic Boulevard before finding a boat to cross the Han River. Seung-cheol said while wiping the snow on the window sill.


    ¡°In this weather, the Han River would be frozen, right?¡±


    ¡°I think so.¡±


    ¡°Then we will be able to get there in two hours. Everyone, pack your backpacks and let¡¯s go.¡±


    Seung-cheol had kept some supplies around the government shelter just in case. It¡¯s a pity to use it here, but he couldn¡¯t help it. After a while, the four of them left the building and headed for Olympic Boulevard. His men were all fine, but Seung-cheol himself was dying. As he tried to walk through the snow that had piled up to his thighs, his stamina dwindled.


    ¡°Huff¡­ Huff¡­¡±


    He glanced at his subordinates and silently slid behind them, leaving his men to bear the burden of traversing through the tall snow.


    In other hands, his subordinates were all grinning.


    ¡°When we arrive, will we be able to have s*x?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t President said President Kim had pretty girls in his bunker? We definitely will be able to!¡±


    ¡°Brainwashing skill is really amazing. It turned people into a complete doll.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the fun of having s*x with someone who can¡¯t even react?¡±


    ¡°I wonder?¡±


    The subordinates laughed mischievously. At the sight, Seung-cheol got annoyed and waved his hand.


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask him for you guys! So let¡¯s go quickly!¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    Once they arrived at Hangang Park, the Han River was frozen solid. And while they were crossing the frozen Han River, the blizzard raged again.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ it¡¯s cold¡­¡±


    ¡°Hook, hook, hook!¡±


    The cold, which seeped into his lungs, was no joke. As they¡¯re people who had never gone outside the safety of the shelter, they had no resistance whatsoever to the cold.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know it would be this cold¡­¡±


    Seung-cheol deeply regretted not having prepared any ear warmer. He thought that he would never have to go outside the shelter and could just spend his days lazing around, but that damned Rapwi ruined everything.


    After 1 hour, the group finally arrived at Gangbyeonbuk road. But there, they met a problem; there are monsters running towards them from the Han River.


    ¡°Th- those are ghouls!¡± The eyes of everyone in the group widened.


    ¡°Crazy¡­ in this cold?¡±


    It was hard to believe that ghouls could run like that in this cold weather, where it was difficult for even awakeners to be active.


    Maybe those were Da-jeong¡¯s ghouls?


    ¡®No, from what I remembered, there¡¯s no such thing like blue ghouls amongst Da-jeong¡¯s subordinates¡­¡¯


    On top of it, it was hard to imagine her going out and working in this cold. After all, even before winter came, she had always been grumbling about how cold the wind was.


    Anyway, Seung-cheol decided that fighting here was foolish.


    ¡°Let¡¯s run away!¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    In fact, the blue ghouls at the forefront were not specialized in fighting, but speed, so they¡¯re actually weaker than a normal ghoul. But since they didn¡¯t know about that, they had no choice but to run away with their tails between their legs.


    The group was chased by the ghouls and turned around and entered the residential area next to the collapsed apartment complex.


    They saw that the place is close, and that at least they can arrive there with their depleting stamina.


    ¡°Ack!!¡± In the end, Seung-cheol lost his balance and stumbled at the entrance of a small building. He had lost a lot of his stamina after moving for two hours in a blizzard. His men dragged him up and carried him upstairs. Meanwhile, Da-jeong¡¯s ghouls surrounded the building.


    .


    .


    .


    Me and Da-jeong joined Seokhyun, who was running around screaming ¡®Seeegggsss¡¯. He insisted that we follow Seung-cheol. His reasoning was: If we let him go like this, he will bite us later down the line. I wanted to hear the detailed story about how he and Seung-cheol got to this situation, but it was important to move quickly first.


    We were able to cross the Han River without being detected because the blizzard raged at the right time to cover us. It was very funny to see Seokhyun sitting on the sled and shouting ¡®Run, Run, Run!!!!!¡¯


    Anyway, after crossing the Han River, Da-jeong used the newly recruited ghouls to drive them back. They ran away and went into a certain building. As I was about to rest, Seokhyun made a shocking remark.


    ¡°I stabbed Seung-cheol with a knife. So he¡¯s running away now.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ What? Could you please explain in detail?¡±


    Da-jeong asked as he failed to understand what the hell was going on. How did it make sense that, shortly after he rescued a lot of people, he stabbed someone else and started chasing him?


    ¡°As for what happened¡­¡±


    Da-jeong¡¯s mouth opened at Seokhyun¡¯s explanation.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say, but you are definitely crazy¡­ Don¡¯t you know that you will be kicked out if you commit violence in the government shelter?¡±


    ¡°I was just trying to provoke him a little.¡±


    ¡°¡¯Provoke him a little¡¯? Do you think swinging your fist and stabbing him with a knife is only ¡®a little¡¯ provocation?¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°I had no choice but to do it.¡±


    Da-jeong turned her eyes at me. ¡°Did you also expect this?¡±


    ¡°I expected that Seung-cheol would start an argument with him. But I never thought Seokhyun would take things this far.¡±


    ¡°Did I make a mistake?¡±


    I hurriedly denied it as Seokhyun¡¯s voice died down and tinted with sadness.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not a mistake. Rather, it was good. Because we are able to find out what his unique skill is and make him use his resurrection scroll. Now, he will be shivering with cold and fear. Very well done.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, is that so?¡±


    When Seokhyun regained his spirit, Da-jeong muttered as if it was ridiculous.


    ¡°What are you guys talking about¡­ Anyway, what are we going to do now? They will be suspicious if we keep sieging with the ghouls.¡±


    I contemplated for a while before opening my mouth. ¡°Let¡¯s just figure out the location of the bunkers now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it? If we leave him be, he¡¯ll become a trouble for us in the future. Who do you think owns all the bunkers over there?¡±


    Just like Da-jeong said, The housing complex in Hannam-dong was full of bunkers. They must¡¯ve paid a lot of money to the media in order to hide it¡¯s existence. I had heard that there were a lot of chaebols living there, but I didn¡¯t know that they had prepared this much.


    Well, most of it should be empty, but it should be okay to consider all the survivors here as Seung-cheol¡¯s allies.


    ¡°So we have to be prepared. The bunker is mostly empty, but it¡¯s sturdy. It¡¯s hard for us to attack right now. We need to prepare ourselves first.¡±


    Da-jeong nodded, but Seokhyun seemed to have a slightly different opinion.


    ¡°You know what? There¡¯s actually a better way. If Seongho uses his dimensional wall as a staircase for me like last time, I can go inside that building. I can just kill them all and commit suicide. How about it? That¡¯s a good idea, right?¡±


    The two of us got goosebumps hearing Seokhyun¡¯s idea.


    He¡¯s really crazy¡­

 Chapter 120

    ¡°I don¡¯t mean that we need to spare Joo Seung-cheol.¡± I raised my voice. ¡°It¡¯s just so easy to kill him. We can just wait at the entrance to that building and fire a bolt at him once he goes outside. I wouldn¡¯t even be turned into a murderer, because I wasn¡¯t the one who shot the bolt.¡±


    But in fact, I had never shot it towards a person, except for those who had become a murderer, so I didn¡¯t know for sure. However, judging from everything I had experienced, there¡¯s a 99% possibility that the system wouldn¡¯t recognize that as my kill, and it won¡¯t turn me into a murderer.


    Hearing my words, Da-jeong asked in a curious tone. ¡°Bolt? As in ¡®crossbow bolt¡¯? Who shot it, then?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s a bolt from a crossbow. However, the one I have in the shelter was bigger¨Cit was closer to a ballista. And the ones who shot it were the scarabs, Dingo, and Ding-soon.¡± Da-jeong had never seen a bolt shot out from my portal. It was because in the span of time we were traveling together, I had never met anyone strong enough to force me to use it.


    Originally, Dingo was the one who pulled the bowstring of the ballista, but recently, Dingo had also learned how to operate the ballista. Though, he just grabbed the string and ran to whichever way the scarabs were pointing at.


    ¡°Duck, you haven¡¯t seen the bolt popping out of the air, right? Seongho¡¯s big, thick thing suddenly popped out of thin air. It¡¯s amazing.¡± Seokhyun exclaimed.


    ¡°Seongho¡¯s thick and big¡­ I think I already saw one.¡±


    ¡°Hey, stop with this strange conversation.¡± I rebuked and shifted their focus to the important topics.


    ¡°To be honest, there is another reason I want to watch him a little bit longer. Look at this, these are a few additional effects of various unique skills¡­¡±


    As I pulled out the notebook, their gazes were fixed into the content written in it. Da-jeong then let out a sigh and pinched my thigh. ¡°From whom did you get all of this information from?¡±


    ¡°You!¡± I said to Da-jeong.


    ¡°Is that so? By the way, what is this? Command? Have you ever met someone with this unique skill before?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s an ability that can make the target do what the user¡¯s want. If the user orders the target to stop, he will stop. Do you remember when you first met me?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ in Gimhae?¡±


    ¡°I just remembered, you had killed one person back then, so you can¡¯t kill humans anymore, lest you want to be murderer. Ah, my head¡­¡±


    Da-jeong laughed out loud. ¡°Even if I become a murderer, we have to stick together.¡±


    ¡°I refuse.¡±


    Then Seokhyun, who was reading the notebook, opened his mouth. ¡°Hey, that guy can block your ability just by looking at you.¡±


    ¡°The activation method is not through physical contact? Think carefully¡­ you beating him up is also considered as a physical contact.¡±


    ¡°At first I thought that too, but it¡¯s not. His ability didn¡¯t get canceled even when we were separated by the government agents. And he also told me he will only release his ability once we are in our own respective rooms.¡±


    ¡°Then one additional effect is confirmed¡­ He had already opened the Auction House, so he is at least level 15, so I need to find out at least two more.¡± Even when someone doesn¡¯t have a combat-related unique skill, there are always other ways to level up. For example, you can just take the last hit of a dying monster, or use gasoline to make molotovs, like Kwon did. And as Joo Seung-cheol had some subordinates under him¨Cjust like Kwon¨CHe surely had gotten some help from them.


    ¡°Ability blocking is a dangerous unique skill. If it were you, Da-jeong, and not Seok-hyun, who was in the shelter, you would have been the one who got beaten up by him.¡±


    Da-jeong grinded her teeth at my words. It¡¯s only natural, though. After all, if she had accepted Joo Seung-cheol¡¯s invitation to his shelter, she would have been imprisoned by now. And it was very obvious what was going to happen to her next.


    ¡°Just like the Wi-Fi zombie I fought before, you never know what is the full extent of your enemy¡¯s power. You should learn from what happened this time. Also, we should try to pry information about the chaebols too.¡±


    ¡°You are going to find out everything, kill everybody, and then take everything for yourself, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Da-jeong understands me well¡­


    ¡°There is another reason. They¡¯re rich, so they must¡¯ve stocked up a lot of clothes, right? It¡¯s something normal survivors couldn¡¯t do. I bet they stored the clothes in one of those shelters. We need to take those too.¡±


    After hearing my words, Da-jeong wore a fed up expression on her face and whispered to Seokhyun. ¡°Rapwi, Rapwi¡­ That guy is the type of person who when he eats a fish, he won¡¯t leave anything behind, even its bones.¡±


    ¡°I like to eat the bones too, but I think I can¡¯t beat Seongho.¡±


    Now it¡¯s decided. I said while looking out the window. ¡°Leave only one ghoul over there and let those guys run away. I want to see where they are going.¡±


    ¡°Okay. We are really just going to watch them, right?¡±


    ¡°Maybe? I will watch them from the sky using the dimension wall first before deciding. You guys can think of me as a drone.¡±


    ¡°How about me?¡±


    ¡°Da-jeong, you do some farming here, and Seokhyun¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going back to the shelter.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°You want to return there?¡±


    We were surprised by his decision. Even if the people in the government shelter did welcome Seokhyun back, will Jang Won-taek accept him again? After all, he broke the worst taboo of the government shelter by doing violent acts to another member of the shelter.


    No, wait a minute. Even though Seokhyun had used violence in the shelter, which broke the main rule of the shelter, we can¡¯t just dismiss his merit because of that. He had saved 5 government agents who were stuck outside, in the middle of winter, without any hope of surviving. On top of that, him breaking the rules of the shelter can be used as a reason in order to reveal Seung-cheol¡¯s evil intention. Jang Won-taek will also be in trouble, as a lot of people had left the shelter together with Joo Seung-cheol. If we aim for that gap¡­


    ¡°If I apologize, he will accept it.¡± Seokhyun said in a firm tone.


    ¡°¡­you don¡¯t have to apologize. You did nothing wrong.¡±


    ¡°I just realized today why Seongho sent me to the shelter. I could only interfere in such a situation because I was there. And in the future, other opportunities will arise too.¡±


    But in the end, he would have to suffer for a bit if he were to do that.


    I asked him. ¡°Will you be okay? You don¡¯t have to overdo it.¡±


    ¡°I will stay in the shelter until the corrosive disease is completely gone. After that, let¡¯s go around together.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    I nodded my head and stroked Seokhyun¡¯s shoulder. After that, we checked each other¡¯s levels. Da-jeong is currently level 23, Seokhyun is 24 and I am 25.


    ¡°I got an additional effect, but it¡¯s a bit dangerous, so I can¡¯t just test it on people recklessly.¡±


    ¡°What is it? I can try it.¡±


    ¡°Well, alright. Dimensional prison.¡±


    A dimensional prison appeared in the air, but Seokhyun only tilted his head.


    ¡°Is it transparent?¡±


    ¡°To me, it looks like a door with vertical lines. Now, I don¡¯t know what will happen to you, or where you would be sent to when you go inside. But in the case of Da-jeong¡­¡±


    She suddenly slapped my face. ¡°I fell from the sky! For five minutes! Can you even imagine what it feels like?¡±


    ¡°Does that mean you can fly around for five minutes? I bet it feels good.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! So why don¡¯t you try entering yourself!¡± Da-jeong kicked Seokhyun¡¯s ass and pushed him into the dimensional prison. I didn¡¯t even have time to stop her.


    ¡°Hey, you can¡¯t just push him like that.¡±


    ¡°Even if he dies inside, he should be fine.¡±


    ¡°I know. But his unique skill needs points to be activated. It even gets pricier the more he dies.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    Da-jeong stood nervously in front of the dimensional prison with her arms folded. Her face showed that she was worried and sorry at the same time. Exactly five minutes later, Seokhyun came out of the dimensional prison, drenched. It seems like the dimensional prison had some kind of system which would automatically spit out people who entered when the duration was over.


    ¡°Pooh! Sea, I got sent to a sea.¡±


    ¡°Is it the kind of sea without any island, and just water everywhere?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. And I also heard some strange noises from below, under the water.¡±


    As soon as she heard those words, Da-jeong jumped into my hands. I could feel her skin crawling with goosebumps. ¡°I, I will never enter it again!!!¡±


    To be honest, I was scared too. After all, if I consider the sea that Rapwi got sent into was the same sea near my shelter, it means that there are unknown creatures living somewhere under that huge blue sea. Anyway, the dimensional prison can be materialized anywhere I want just, like the dimensional wall. Which means, If I put it in the direction my enemy was going, I would be able to forcefully make them enter the portal. Then, the enemy will be completely isolated for 5 minutes. And even if they didn¡¯t manage to survive inside, it wouldn¡¯t count as a murder for me, since all I did was nothing but opening the dimensional portal.


    I took a towel from the shelter and gave it to Seokhyun.


    ¡°Now that Seokhyun is back, let¡¯s eat.¡±


    ¡°Why haven¡¯t they come out yet?¡±


    ¡°They must have been very tired. I saw them limping when they entered that building.¡±


    We paid no more attention to the building Joo Seung-cheol and his subordinates were at and sat down to eat. Once we were done, Seokhyun, who said he was going to return soon, sprawled on the floor after finishing the hot soup I served.


    ¡°Look at him¡­ he sleeps without any care in the world.¡±


    ¡°Leave him be. He must be exhausted from running around for two days straight.¡±


    He must have been exhausted both physically and mentally because he had experienced that incident at the shelter. I took out a thick blanket and covered Seokhyun before putting a hot water bottle inside.


    We took a break for a while.


    .


    .


    .


    The blizzard finally stopped. Although the temperature outside was still below minus 20 degrees Celsius, it was still much better than before, and we finally could move freely again.


    While Da-jeong went looking for a new ghoul, I climbed into the sky using the dimensional wall and checked Joo Seung-cheol¡¯s bunker.


    ¡°This is awesome¡­¡± I knew he was a chaebol, but I never thought that he would build a bunker this big. The scale of this bunker makes Kwon¡¯s golf club bunker look like a doll house.


    ¡°Is that frozen corpses around the wall?¡± From that, it could be inferred that the bunker was built with a zombie raid in mind. Though, a zombie raid wasn¡¯t something which would happen for 24 hours straight.


    ¡°It¡¯s really great.¡± Joo Seung-cheol¡¯s bunker wasn¡¯t the only one around, though. Several bunkers just as big and sturdy as his bunker were built around this wealthy neighborhood.


    Does the President know about this?


    ¡°Well, even if he knows, he¡¯s someone who will pretend he doesn¡¯t know.¡± He even hid his plans so much that I couldn¡¯t figure out what his real purpose was. However, as of now, I believe he¡¯s not my enemy. Yet.


    Back to the matter in hand, there were two bunkers closely connected to Seung-cheol¡¯s bunker. One belonged to President Kim, and the other belonged to Director Lee.


    ¡°Director Lee doesn¡¯t seem like he would be strong¡­ Though, he¡¯s probably better than most of the other survivors living here.¡±


    From what I hear, President Kim¡¯s unique skill was brainwashing, and Director Lee¡¯s was command. It was a unique skill which suited them so much, as they had experience of communicating and interacting with a lot of people.


    ¡°I think the command unique skill was fine, but I must kill the one with the brainwashing unique skill.¡± Which means, there were at least two people who I need to kill here: Joo Seung-cheol and President Kim.


    ¡°Is it truly a coincidence that they invested in the production company of Survival Life?¡± Or is there more to it? The only way to know about that was to find their bunker and kill them. The problem is, the bunker was tightly closed. Joo Seung-cheol was a clever guy, so he knew that opening the bunker would put himself in danger. So he stayed in his bunker and didn¡¯t come out. The information I got was only from eavesdropping the conversations he had with his subordinates.


    ¡°He¡¯s hiding like a mouse¡­ Can I really kill him?¡± Do I have to do Seokhyun¡¯s plan to kill him?


    I shook my head. No matter how well-equipped the bunker is, they would still feel stuffy if they stuck inside for too long. If I wait, they will definitely come out.


    ¡°Or¡­ I can find the dog hole¡­¡± Previously, Kwon had said something while promoting his concrete bunker. It was something about him drilling a hole in his bunker. I didn¡¯t think of it that much when I was attacking his bunker, but as I delved into my memory, I remembered it.


    ¡°A bunker like that must have ventilation holes and openings.¡± Looking around the bunker, I found that the garden of a certain house was strange. ¡°It¡¯s messy over there. That place has a lot of signs of activity.¡±


    It had been snowing for several days, so the garden was filled with snow, which had turned into ice. If no one stepped on it, the ice should be clean. But the snow in that garden was a mess.


    ¡°It¡¯s proof that people had gone through that place multiple times¡­.¡± It would have been difficult to find something like this if I was only looking for an opening from the ground, but thanks to the dimensional wall and the Griffon¡¯s Eye skill, I could easily find it.


    I went down to the garden and scraped the ice. After a while, a tightly sealed entrance built with reinforced plastic was revealed. From the fact that there¡¯s no lever or something that can function as a door opener on the outside, it was clear that it was not supposed to be opened from the outside.


    ¡°These guys are meticulous¡­¡±


    How should I open this¡­ No, wait¡­ I don¡¯t need to open it, right? I can just do something which will force the people inside to open the door and come out themselves.


    ¡°As human beings, we need to use our head.¡± I opened the portal and picked up ignition stone powder, gasoline, and matches before returning to the other side.


    ¡°I will teach you why Turtling Meta is dangerous if being played incorrectly.¡± I poured the gasoline mixed with ignition stone powder into the vent before lighting up the matches and hurled it into it. Before long, I saw fire coming out of the small hole. It¡¯s not going to be easy to shut the fire off, because it was a fire created by mixing a total of 2 cans of gasoline and two ignition stones.


    I quickly ran to the entrance of the bunker, then went into the cave and summoned the scarabs.


    ¡°Shoot the ballista when I give you the signal, okay?¡±


    nod nod.


    The scarab leader had gained trust from the scarabs that had recently moved in. And as they were satisfied with the condition of my shelter, they were doing everything on their own.


    The stag beetles are the problem¡­


    They said they didn¡¯t like the garden as well as the vegetables, which I and the scarabs had painstakingly created and tended, and decided to go find the seeds of plants they wanted in the forest.


    As I was listening from the portal, I heard a ruckus occuring outside.


    ¡°Fire! Fire!¡±


    ¡°Water, pour water on it!¡±


    ¡°Fireeeee¡± (T/N BTS SONG AGAINN????)


    They were pouring water to put the fire off without realizing the fire was created by gasoline.


    You guys don¡¯t have any fire extinguishers?


    Meanwhile, the scarabs ran around busily, putting the bolts on the rails. The scarab leader even called Ding-soon and put the bowstring in her mouth. She was growling in anger towards the scarab leader, but still pulled the string. Now, I just have to wait for Joo Seung-cheol to come out.


    Finally, the door to the bunker opened. But, Joo Seung-cheol was hiding behind his subordinate.


    ¡°Damned cowardly bastard.¡±


    I immediately opened the dimensional prison.


    ¡°Keuk!¡±


    As his subordinates screamed and disappeared into the air, Joo Seung-cheol stopped on the spot.


    ¡°Sh-¡± Before I could even give the signal to shoot towards the scarabs, Joo Seung-cheol flew to the side. He seemed to have noticed my portal, for some reason. Thanks to that, I couldn¡¯t shoot him with the ballista.


    However, I quickly raised my hand and aimed at Joo Seung-cheol, who was about to get up, with the revolver.


    Tatang!


    Two bullets passed through the portal, leaving blood stains on Seung-cheol¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Aghhhhhh!¡± He screamed and fell to the floor. His men approached him hurriedly, but they were all taken aback. And after a while, an unbelievable thing happened. Joo Seung-cheol was engulfed in light and disappeared.


    ¡°Damn it.¡±


    Two resurrection scrolls?


    I hastily closed the portal. He knew about my portal, and had also learned that I had a gun. I can¡¯t leave him alone. But if I kills him once more, I will become a murderer¡­


    ¡°Should I call Da-jeong?¡± No, she also had one kill under her belt, so if she kill one more time, she will also become murderer.


    Dammit, I didn¡¯t want to use the resurrection scroll here, but it seems like I have no other option. I hurriedly called the dimension slot and pulled the resurrection scroll out.


    When I opened the portal and went outside, two men were waiting for me. In addition to them, Joo Seung-cheol should also be waiting for me inside.


    ¡°You bastard!¡±


    ¡°I already know that you are coming!¡±


    They screamed as they ran towards me. At that moment, I activated the Fighting Instinct and Stigma of Death skill, and my vision was dyed red in an instant.


    The subordinates, who saw my eyes, were startled and stopped.


    ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you a murderer?¡±


    ¡°I will be one soon.¡±


    I grabbed a long knife from the dimension slot and ran into them.

 Chapter 121

    By the way, thank you Chelle for $18 donation, that raise the count to 32. i need to do 13 more¡­ wow¡­ too much love~


    There is no time. Joo Seung-cheol now knows about me. There¡¯s nothing holding him back from exposing me to the Auction House after coming back to life. Of course, I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t reveal it, but it¡¯s necessary to always assume the worst case scenario. Therefore, I could not afford to leisurely hide behind the portal and had to go on full offense.


    I blocked one guy running towards me from the front with a dimensional wall. At the same time, the long knife that the other guy was swinging at me was blocked with the long knife I had in my hand.


    Crack-!! Crack-!!


    Crackling sounds run through both the ceramic long knives as they push against each other. When I put almost all my strength to push my long knife, the man¡¯s eyes opened wide. He probably didn¡¯t expect me to be able to exert power beyond the level of an awakener with physical strengthening-type unique skill.


    ¡°You bastard!¡± He slipped the long knife in his hand to the side and swung one of his legs towards me.


    Is he working as a bodyguard or something before the apocalypse?


    Trusting my Hard Skin skill, I retaliated by slamming my forehead into his face.


    Puck-!!


    ¡°Ughhh¡­¡± Both of us were being hit by each other, but only one of us let out a pained voice. Judging by the fact that blood had dripped from his nose, It was safe to say that I had broken his nose. On top of it, since the headbutt also contains the hit boost from the combo of Resolute Strike and Lethal Strike skills, his brain must be shaking right now.


    Of course, I wasn¡¯t unharmed either. My body trembled and my bones ached. However, I did not lose the center of my balance. And that¡¯s enough for me.


    I jumped towards the man while holding the cracked long knife tight. He tried to push me away even when he was on the floor, but it was to no avail. The long knife backed with my weight quickly pierced the man¡¯s abdomen. At that moment, from my back, a man whom I was blocking with my dimension wall attacked me.


    ¡°Die!¡±


    I rolled over to the side as soon as my feet touched the ground. In my eyes, the movement of the man who was pierced by a long knife in his stomach and the man who rushed at me was very slow compared to the enemies I¡¯ve fought before.


    ¡°Huppp!¡±


    The man swung his long knife to me again. A few strands of my hair flew into the air as I moved just an inch from the blade in order to counterattack. Once I was close enough, I slammed my fist at the man¡¯s chin.


    Puck-!!


    The man flew several inches above ground because of my blow before falling to the ground. However, he still tries to stand again. I have to admit, he¡¯s quite durable. If it had been any other person, they would have been fatally wounded with that one punch.


    I threw the Emeras throwing knives at the two. My throwing skills were by no means great. But since the target wasn¡¯t moving and was also wounded, I wouldn¡¯t miss. The two screamed as the sharp throwing knives pierced their legs and stomach.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    ¡°Keuk!¡±


    It¡¯s about time to end this fight, I pulled out the Emeras spear from the dimension slot and threw it at the man I hit on the chin. He was still able to move his body away from the trajectory even in a state of moaning in pain, but he can¡¯t do anything about the follow up.


    ¡°Bye!¡±


    The Emeras spear pierced his forehead, making his body fall to the ground as it lost all of its strength. All that¡¯s left was the other guy who had a long knife lodged in his stomach. I grabbed the sword hilt as I put my right foot on his forehead. Then, I put strength on the sword.


    ¡°AHHHHHH!¡±


    Blood gushed out from the man¡¯s stomach after the man failed to prevent the blade from going even deeper with his hand.


    ¡¸You have earned 50 points¡¹


    ¡¸You have earned 50 points¡¹


    As the system notification appears in front of my eyes, my sight changed to that of a murderer, and a new skill was generated in my status window. If I hadn¡¯t given the neck warmer to Rapwi, the Paralysis Poison Resistance skill would have been deleted, overtaken by the new skill. Luckily, the empty skill slot that was supposed to be filled with the cold resistance is now the one used for the new skill.


    Thump-!! Thump-!! Thump-!!


    In the midst of a loud heartbeat sound, I opened the portal and summoned Dingo and Ding-soon.


    ¡°You guys go and hide somewhere close. Come out when I call you. You guys know what I mean, right?¡±


    They whimpered, sniffed me and licked my face.


    What are they doing? I¡¯m not dying just yet. I will be soon, though. I stroked the two wolves and chased them away. Now it¡¯s time for the main character to appear.


    When I pulled the bloody long knife, he finally appeared. The guy walked towards me as he made a gun shape with his finger. Then, the ability blocking debuff appeared on my status window.


    Dozens of my skills were unable to use and my stats were drastically nerfed. Finally, a notification popped up, saying that my unique skill was blocked.


    ¡°How is it? Do you like my gun, Mr. Murderer?¡± Joo Seung-cheol waved his gun-shaped fingers at me.


    ¡°It¡¯s awesome. Why don¡¯t you come a little closer?¡±


    Grinning, Joo Seung-cheol took steps forward and came closer to me. ¡°I will do whatever you want. I want to see your face up close too.¡±


    The timing wasn¡¯t right yet. I have to wait for him to come a lot closer to me. I released my grip from the hilt of the sword I was holding because I was feeling a bit tired. It felt so heavy due to the fact that my stats were blocked.


    ¡°So, how do you feel after seeing me?¡±


    ¡°Your skill in dealing with my subordinates and your unique skill¡­¡± He stopped in front of me. In the back of my mind, I want to just attack him right here right now. But because he was currently stronger than me in terms of stats, If I attack now, I will be the one who lost. So, I need to wait for the correct time to attack.


    ¡°¡­ Is quite useful. Much better than my weak subordinates¡¯ skills and unique skills.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Are you sure they are the weak ones, and because of their stupid boss?¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­ My unique skill wasn¡¯t combat-related skill. So I had to give a lot of things to them in order to make them fight for me. It¡¯s really a waste that they had to die. So, I¡¯m so sorry¡­.I have to kill you too.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you spare me? I could be your subordinate.¡±


    Seung-cheol shook his head as if it was a ridiculous notion.


    ¡°You know that¡¯s impossible, right? How can I accept you when I didn¡¯t even know what¡¯s inside that subspace of yours? It is better to just kill you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­¡± When I lowered my head, he smiled.


    ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry. Even if you die, your stats will not go to waste.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°If the ones I used my skill on died, one of my stats will rise. So far, it has risen by 1, and with you, it will rise by 2.¡±


    ¡°Are you absorbing stats? But, wouldn¡¯t that make you into a murderer too?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t get it, do you? The one who killed them doesn¡¯t have to be me. I can just order my subordinates to do it. The stats will come in as long as they die while still being affected by my skill. Do you understand now?¡±


    Oh¡­ So that¡¯s the other additional effect.


    ¡°SIgh¡­ That¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Actually, as soon as I found out about your abilities, I wanted to tell the Auction House about it. After all, there are a lot of people in the world who want to kill you. But I didn¡¯t do it. Do you know why?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    At that moment, Seung-cheol¡¯s expression changed drastically.


    ¡°Because I will have you tortured, to the point where you will ask for me to kill you instead. You had killed me, you f**ker. And you will pay for having me experience that.¡±


    ¡°I never imagined you would have two resurrection scrolls.¡±


    ¡°I got one as a gift. From someone you can¡¯t even imagine.¡±


    ¡°Who is that someone?¡± I asked, but he ignored me and continued.


    ¡°Oh, come to think of it, that b**tard Rapwi also stabbed me with a knife. Just thinking about that time¡­¡± His body shook and his face turned red before looking straight at me. ¡°Neither you nor Rapwi will meet an easy death. I will test how tough a human body could be through both of you. Then, I¡¯ll take everything in your subspace.¡±


    Wow, that¡¯s my main specialty he¡¯s talking about.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I acted as if I was terrified and took a few steps back. Meanwhile, Joo Seung-cheol matched my steps and walked towards me with a long knife in his hand. I don¡¯t know whether it was because he was feeling too excited, or because he was distracted by the sound of heartbeats, but he didn¡¯t seem to realize the two wolves that had climbed up the wall.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to dirty my hand by killing you. So thank you so much for becoming a murderer in advance.¡± He smiled. ¡°So just sit still, and let¡¯s end this easily.¡±


    ¡°But I don¡¯t want to?¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess, let¡¯s start with one arm then.¡±


    At that moment, Dingo and Ding-soon jumped off the wall. The two jumped over a fairly long distance and crashed into Joo Seung-cheol.


    He, who was hit by two wolves, cursed. ¡°M**herf**ker!¡±


    Whimper-!!


    Dingo, who was biting him, was hit by the guy¡¯s fist and fell off. Meanwhile, Ding-soon, who bit his shoulder, backed away.


    ¡°Get away!¡± Joo Seung-cheol swung his long knife and could barely stand up. At that time, I pointed the weapon I had prepared beforehand towards his head.


    ¡°WHA-¡±


    When Seung-cheol saw the police revolver, his eyes became wide open.


    ¡°Corrosive¡­¡±


    Bang-!!


    Before he could say anything, the chamber rotated and exploded the gunpowder. Because of the strong impact, the revolver was disassembled; but the bullet still flew towards Seung-cheol¡¯s head.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    That was the end of it. Joo Seung-cheol stared blankly at me with a hole in his forehead.


    ¡°You¡­how¡­¡±


    ¡°It lasted about 30 minutes. I thought it would be enough for me to do one shot. So I took it out in advance.¡±


    ¡°Fu-¡±


    He couldn¡¯t even finish his curse and fell to the floor.


    ¡°It looks like he didn¡¯t have a third scroll.¡±


    Just having two resurrection scrolls was something close to a miracle, so if he got three of them, I don¡¯t know what to say. He said that he received it as a gift from someone I could not ever imagine, I wonder who that someone might be?


    By the way, it¡¯s about time for Da-jeong to arrive. If she¡¯s nearby, she would have heard the heartbeat and she¡¯ll be able to find me. I¡¯m sorry for her, but I¡¯ll have to ask her to kill me.


    Finally, Da-jeong climbed over the fence, riding on the shoulder of a large ghoul. She seemed to have guessed what happened after seeing me and the corpses strewn all over the icy ground. On top of it, the sound of the heartbeat was a solid proof.


    ¡°Seongho.¡±


    I looked at her and raised my bloody hand. ¡°The gun shattered and hurt my hand. On top of that, I don¡¯t have enough strength, so please do it for me.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡±


    Da-jeong silently unsheathed the long knife in her waist and held it in her hand as she walked up to me.


    ¡°When you resurrect, Let¡¯s do something hotter than this.¡± Then she landed a kiss on my lips.


    ¡°Aigoo¡­ I¡¯m scared to death..¡±


    A cold solid thing penetrated my chest at that moment. Then slowly, my red vision was painted black.


    .


    .


    .


    Da-jeong stabbed her long knife into Seongho¡¯s chest and stepped back from him. Her hollow eyes and bitten lips tell everything about her feelings.


    ¡°Please, just quickly disappear¡­¡± Although she believes in the resurrection scroll, she obviously didn¡¯t like having to kill someone she cherished, with her own hands, no less. Moments later, a system notification, which told her that she had received a lot of points and skills, appeared before her eyes. But she didn¡¯t feel elated even a bit. She¡¯s just staring at the disappearing corpse in front of her.


    Da-jeong sighed and snapped her fingers. ¡°Bring Seongho here.¡±


    Except for the ghoul she used as her chair, all of her ghouls scattered through the city. She waited for him, shaking the boots Seongho gave to her.


    ¡®If I had killed that b**tard earlier, this wouldn¡¯t have to happen¡­¡¯ Just why did Seongho choose to do this alone? Alongside those thoughts, Da-jeong was also thinking of nagging at Seongho once he returned.


    But¡­ Why hasn¡¯t he come?


    Da-jeong squatted and waited, but even after a few minutes passed, Seongho still hadn¡¯t come back. Panicked, she climbed over the shoulder of the large ghoul and ordered it to climb the fence.


    ¡°You guys still haven¡¯t found him?¡± She said as she saw one of her ghouls. For some reason, she felt uneasy. She was certain that something had gone wrong. Da-jeong searched every building in the area, but she could not see Seongho anywhere.


    ¡°You are playing a prank on me, right?¡± Da-jeong shouted. But no answer came back. Meanwhile, a battle broke out when several survivors encountered her ghouls. Those survivors were Seung-cheol¡¯s reinforcement. Da-jeong hardened her face and focused her killing intent on them, driving them away.


    Unfortunately for her, even after waiting for another 10 to 20 minutes, Seongho was still nowhere to be seen. Because of that fact, despair washed over Da-jeong. Therefore, she once again ran around the city to find him.


    ¡°Hey! Come out!¡± Da-jeong ran around screaming, but there was no response. She posted a comment on the Auction House in case he was resurrected in another area, but there¡¯s no reply whatsoever.


    ¡°N-no way¡­ no, it can¡¯t be¡­¡± Da-jeong shook her head as hard as she could, as guilt enveloped her heart. After all, she was the one who killed her¡­


    ¡°He had the resurrection scroll¡­ So why¡­¡±


    A cold wind ruffled her long hair and Da-jeong slowly fell to his knees.


    ¡°I¡­ I killed¡­¡±


    Tears flowed like a waterfall from her eyes.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°¡­¡± I opened my eyes and was greeted by an unfamiliar surrounding. Just where in the world is this place? I thought I would respawn near the place of my death because of the scroll¡­


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± I forced my aching body, which felt as if I was just beaten back and blue, to get up. However, at that moment, an unpleasant stench entered my nose. On top of it, one side of my head was throbbing like crazy.


    Putting all my strength on my body, I forced it to get up once again. And when I finally see my surroundings, my eyes become wide open.


    Isn¡¯t this the spring?


    ¡°It¡¯s odd¡­¡± However, unlike the last time I saw, the water of the spring wasn¡¯t crystal clear, but pitch black.


    Why did I respawn here rather than on Earth?


    ¡°Ughh¡­¡± I stood on my feet and walked away from the dirty spring. When I turned back, gone was the fantastical and mysterious spring. It was replaced by a dirty and terrifying spring.


    ¡°I wonder if the resurrection scroll is still there¡­¡± I searched for it in my pocket, and to my surprise, I found it. It¡¯s wet, but since it was a parchment, it would dry if given time.


    By the way, why am I so lethargic and weak? Joo Seung-cheol¡¯s blocking ability should have been lifted when he¡¯s dead, so my original stats should¡¯ve returned by now.


    ¡°What is this¡­¡± I was left speechless a moment after I opened the status window.


    ¡¸Level: 24 Points: 0


    Vitality: 6 Strength: 6 Agility: 5 Dexterity: 5 Perception: 4


    Unique skill : Dedicated Dimensional Door


    Skills: Life Tracking, Paralysis Poison Resistance 2, Fighting Instinct, Light Gait, Eyes of Truth, Stigma of Death, Hard Skin 2, Griffin¡¯s Eye, Resolute Strike, Cold Resistance, Water Breathing, Lethal Strike


    Active buff: Resurrection Aftereffect ¡¹


    My points became 0 and all the stats fell to the floor. When I saw the ¡®Resurrection Aftereffect¡¯ on the active buff column, I wondered whether Weakness and Exhaustion debuffs were part of this debuff.


    Then, I turned to the notification window below the status window.


    ¡¸Resurrection system corrupted¡¹


    ¡¸With 13560 points, 1 minute of resurrection time and 3 hours of resurrection aftereffects has been applied¡¹


    ¡°Maybe this¡­¡±


    Did the spring save me by taking my points as payment?


    Is it contaminated because it absorbs my death?


    Is the resurrection time and the time applied to the aftereffects of the resurrection got shorter because a lot of points were consumed?


    I sank down in despair. However,


    ¡°Wait¡­ I should consider myself lucky¡­¡± I cherished the resurrection scroll, but instead of it being used to resurrect myself, the spring and the points were used for my resurrection. I can just collect the points again, but¡­ Is there a way to make the spring clean again like it used to be, I wonder?


    I took off my stinky clothes and cautiously returned to the shelter. Fortunately, there were no monsters along the road. And when I arrived at the barbed wire fence, the scarabs were surprised as they saw me.


    ¡®What happened?¡¯ Their eyes seem to say.


    ¡°Something happened. Would you mind moving the barbed wire?¡±


    All the scarabs nodded and moved the barbed wire. Thanks to them, I don¡¯t have to break through the defenses I set up myself to enter my own shelter.


    As I was about to collapse, the stag beetles approached me. Their eyes seemed to say the same things as the scarabs. So, I explained the situation to them.


    ¡°Actually, I died and came back to life. However, instead of consuming the resurrection scroll, the spring inside the forest was polluted.¡± The scarabs nodded their heads. But the reaction of the stag beetles was different. One of them drew on the ground using its claw, asking me the location of the spring.


    ¡°The location? It¡¯s not far from here¡­¡±


    By the way, let¡¯s wash up. I stink. I staggered up and washed myself in the cave. When I put on new clothes, I remembered Da-jeong. She must be looking for me by now. I opened the portal, armed with only some simple equipment.


    ¡°Damn, where did she go?¡± There were three corpses frozen in the ice. After a simple glance, I walked away from the shelter entrance and finally found Da-jeong. When I went to the place where her ghouls were crowded, she was on her knees crying.


    ¡°Why are you crying?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Da-jeong whipped her head and looked at me with her eyes wide open.


    ¡°You, you¡­ uh, what happened? I thought you were dead¡­¡±


    ¡°I did die. Didn¡¯t you stab me with a knife yourself?¡±


    ¡°Th-that¡¯s right¡­¡±


    ¡°I respawned in the forest. Because of some system error, It¡¯s not the resurrection scroll which resurrected me, but a spring near my shelter. I woke up in a polluted spring.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    I spread my arms. ¡°Look. My clothes are different from what I wore before. It smelled, so I washed and changed before returning here.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± She scans my whole body and starts to weep as she finishes.


    ¡°Were you crying, thinking I was really dead? What¡¯s wrong with you? It¡¯s so unlike you who want to f*** me everyday.¡±


    Da-jeong suddenly hugged my neck, kissed me deeply, and pushed me down. I couldn¡¯t stand her strength and fell to the ground with her body on mine.


    ¡°Hey, Because of the aftereffects of the resurrection, my stats were so low right now. I¡¯m weak, and my body is hurting.¡±


    At my words, her eyes shone. ¡°Then¡­ You can¡¯t stop me, can you?¡±


    Well¡­


    I guess that¡¯s a no?

 Chapter 122

    Regular Update.


    After a long crazy wild ride, which made my back sore, I was finally able to tell Da-jeong about what I experienced after my death down to the tee.


    ¡°¡­that¡¯s what happened.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s something like that in the forest? Then, what about the resurrection scroll?¡± Da-jeong furrowed her eyebrows.


    ¡°Well, they work the same, but different. But who cares? I¡¯m still alive, aren¡¯t I?¡± I held out the two scrolls and she touched it.


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing¡­ So, there was a resurrection function in the spring in that forest, but you didn¡¯t know about it until now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I thought it was just an ordinary spring¡­ Seems like I have to die to know that hidden function, but I have never died before.¡±


    ¡°And it got polluted after resurrecting you?¡±


    ¡°Listen. When I first entered the forest inside the portal, I found the spring when I was walking around mapping the surroundings of my shelter. It was really clean back then, to the extent I mistakenly thought that the forest was something out of a fairy tale.¡±


    ¡°But what about after your death?¡±


    ¡°The atmosphere becomes eerie, and the water becomes pitch black. It seems like it accepted my death in exchange for my points. Not only that, the side effects of the resurrection were quite big¡­ My level was reduced by one.¡±


    ¡°One whole level? Ridiculous! My bus was basically for nothing.¡± Dajeong grumbled. Well, I also feel annoyed by it. But if I see it from a different perspective, resurrection without having to use the resurrection scroll, the price becomes quite cheap. In other words, the resurrection method of the spring was different from the resurrection scroll, so the scroll was not consumed. ¡°Let¡¯s just be thankful for now.¡±


    Da-jeong thought quietly and frowned. ¡°Then, if you die again, will you get resurrected inside the portal without consuming the scroll again?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. The spring is currently polluted. I don¡¯t know if it can be cleaned or not.¡± The stag beetles seemed to know something, but when I was about to say so, Da-jeong clapped and looked at me.


    ¡°Why is the balance of this game all over the place? Why are you the only one with such features? Our playtime is not much different.¡±


    ¡°I think¡­ I was just lucky. If the portal had opened somewhere other than the forest, I would be damned.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lucky, huh? So why are you polluting a spring in the deep mountains like that?¡±


    ¡°Whoever hears it will be misunderstood. Moreover, it¡¯s not like I just polluted it on a whim. I also paid a price for it.¡± Thankfully, I have a lot of points at the moment of my death. If my points were the same as the average survivor, I could have been resurrected a long time later.


    Anyway, in exchange for saving the resurrection scrolls, there were three things I needed to restore: levels, points, and the spring. Though for the latter, I still don¡¯t know whether it was possible or not. Of course, before doing all that, there¡¯s still something more important to do. It was to clean Joo Seung-cheol¡¯s bunker clean.


    I got up and looked out the window. ¡°You said you have kicked out all the people who had come to help Joo Seung-cheol, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We are the only ones around. Though, I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s another hiding place around here.¡±


    ¡°Originally, I was going to kill the guy with the brainwashing skill too, but¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too difficult because he locked himself inside his shelter?¡±


    ¡°He should have realized something was happening from all the fuss that we made. Therefore, he probably had run away or hid himself in the deepest part of his bunker. Let¡¯s just loot Seung-cheol¡¯s bunker.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the moment you enjoy the most.¡± Da-jeong stabbed me in the side.


    ¡°I will enjoy it even more this time. After all, there must be some interesting things hidden inside.¡±


    Da-jeong nodded her head at my words. ¡°That should be right. That guy had a lot of hidden things. When I was in the government shelter, he always said that he would let me know about those if I came to his bunker.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ let¡¯s see just how great his secrets are.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± We moved to Seung-cheol¡¯s bunker with the ghouls leading the way. When we arrived at the entrance, the corpses lying there were already covered by snow.


    Da-jeong smirked as she saw the corpses. ¡°That¡¯s why you should just give up when you made I Love Gimbap your enemy.¡±


    ¡°I want to show this to those guys at the Auction House who cursed at me every day. They really have to stop before I kill them.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that make them even more excited? After all, no matter what they do or say in the Auction House, their identity would still be anonymous.¡±


    ¡°That does not apply to me. I can check their names with a skill I have. I already have a few names on my hit list.¡±


    ¡°Wow, you are really awful.¡±


    ¡°You just realized?¡±


    As we chatted, the big ghoul opened the door and we all stepped inside.


    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have used this many ignition stones¡­¡±


    ¡°You say that after you¡¯ve done it?¡±


    However, contrary to my concerns, most of the bunker was still intact, and only the area around the vents was burnt black. When I checked the warehouse, there was indeed a huge amount of material piled up inside. When Da-jeong saw the spam wrapped in a plastic pack, her mouth hung open.


    ¡°To think he stockpiled this many expensive things¡­¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a tycoon, so of course he would be able to do so.¡±


    (T/N: Spam is expensive? It¡¯s like 6 dollar a piece here¡­)


    (E/n There¡¯s probably like a thousand of em in there lmao)


    Spam was not the only thing piled up in this warehouse. There¡¯s also military rations, biscuits, dried vegetables, and pickles. Each in enormous quantities. These things weren¡¯t the true reason I¡¯m feeling excited, but still, I have to take care of them first. I opened the portal and put everything into it.


    Da-jeong grumbled as she saw the spam she threw bounced off the portal. ¡°I¡¯m trying to help, but my good deed is denied.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m used to it.¡± But, now that I can get a good look at this warehouse, the size was no joke. At first, I thought this floor was the only floor used as a warehouse, but turns out, I was wrong. When I looked around the corner, there was a door leading down to the basement.


    Da-jeong went down with the glowstone and cheered. ¡°Wow! There is a lot of rice and flour here!¡±


    ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°They must have stored almost all of the powdered stuff here!¡±


    The size of the warehouse was evident that it belonged to a tycoon. When I went down myself, I was just as surprised as Da-jeong. Including sugar, salt, and various seasonings, the amount of grains stored was also abundant. All of them are also carefully sealed, so it will last quite a long time.


    As I moved the supplies, Da-jeong went down to another floor and cheered. ¡°The amount of dried vegetables and fruits stored in this place is no joke! Oh my gosh! They have meat and fish too!¡±


    If the moisture was completely removed and a deoxidizer was added before packing it in a vacuum-packed container, the shelf life of those ingredients would be greatly extended. By that fact, it was obvious that Joo Seung-cheol had prepared for the apocalypse quite systematically.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he played the game a lot¡­¡± So, the question was, how did he know that the end was coming and prepared in advance? It might have something to do with him receiving the resurrection scroll as a gift from some place.


    Anyway, I finally finished robbing the warehouse.


    ¡°Did he buy a whole mart and put all the stuff inside in here?¡± The amount of supplies stored in this warehouse were enormous. And when I finished moving everything to the shelter, I realized that I had to expand the place once again.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can eat all of this before it expires¡­¡± It would be great to have a subspace where food didn¡¯t rot if being stored inside. I ripped the vacuum-packaged meat and fish and fed them to Dingo and Ding-soon. They¡¯d done a great job, so this is the least I could do for them.


    By the way, in addition to food and daily necessities, there were quite a lot of other things in the bunker. And amongst them, weapons which could only be purchased with points stood out.


    ¡°Only three long knives.¡± But I was still elated to find it, as my long knife was broken in the earlier fight. I moved everything from the bunker to my shelter. Only after a few hours did I finally finish looting the warehouse clean.


    ¡°Sigh¡­¡± The only thing left was the things inside the heavily reinforced door. When the bulky ghoul tore the door up, piles of gold bars, a small safe on the desk, and a door on the floor came to view.


    ¡°Wow, gold¡­¡± Da-jeong shouted in elation as she walked in. And when I opened the safe, there were several sheets of papers inside.


    -I Love Gimbap. Total play time 5541 hours. Known to have knowledge about and had seen gathering information about the unknown monsters in the expansion pack. Records: 103 Deathmatch, 25 Battle Royale, 85% Great Labyrinth completion rate, 105 Hours playing as a murderer¡­


    ¡°This is your game record¡­¡± Da-jeong mumbled beside me.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    How in the world did they have such a detailed record of me? Even things that I myself didn¡¯t know were written here.


    However, that was not the only thing inside the safe, but there are also Seokhyun¡¯s, Da-jeong¡¯s, and Geom-in¡¯s records. On another piece of paper, the date of the D-day, the transcript of the government¡¯s response, and Joo Seung-cheol¡¯s action plans were written in detail.


    On top of it¡­


    -Failed to track the location of the ¡®Four Stagnant Waters¡¯¡­ Also failed to track the location of another informant¡­


    ¡°Huh? Is this ¡®Informant¡¯ they are talking about, Ji-man?¡¯


    ¡°Seems like it. He told me that when he contacted the government, only scary men in suits came to see him.¡±


    ¡°Then, it seems like these guys didn¡¯t know everything.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ After all, if they knew everything, they wouldn¡¯t need us, or even Ji-man.¡±


    Though, there¡¯s a possibility that what they need from Ji-man was his unique skill rather than the information he had. However, I doubted it was the case, since unique skills didn¡¯t exist back in the game, so there¡¯s no way they have records about people¡¯s unique skills.


    I searched the desk and found more papers inside the drawer.


    ¡°This is a list of people that he wants to capture¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, there are even lists of people who need to be killed.¡±


    ¡°They really thought of everything they need to do once the corrosive disease is gone¡­¡±


    On the paper, we could also see their plan to seize government shelters. It seems that their plan was going well, until Da-jeong entered. And when Seokhyun entered, their plan was on the verge of failing, which led Joo Seung-cheol to take an extreme measure: Provoking Seokhyun.


    There¡¯s also his evaluation of me. Which If i must say, quite blatant.


    -I Love Gimbap. Estimated to be male in his 20¡¯s or 30¡¯s.


    -Presumed to be someone with a subspace unique skill. Cautious and full of suspicion.


    -Does not engage first often, but will not avoid battle.


    -Cold-hearted and greedy.


    -His build was quite large, and he seems to be helped by someone.


    -Moving to Seoul after meeting Rabbit Pwincess.


    -Very interested in government shelters. Probably because of sealed firearms.


    -Subspace ability is¡­


    -Cooperation is deemed impossible. Target must be brainwashed to be utilized, or exterminated.


    Look at these b*st*rd.


    ¡°They know you better than you know yourself¡­¡±


    ¡°I know right?¡±


    I was certain that the force that gave Joo Seung-cheol the resurrection scroll was also the one who gave him this information. And judging from the game records of me and the other stagnant waters, they were very dangerous.


    ¡°They know our game record, but why don¡¯t they know our real life information?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ maybe because they don¡¯t know much about Korea?¡± I muttered. ¡°Do you know about the Yeouido shooting incident?¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± Da-jeong put his finger on her forehead and exclaimed. ¡°I remember it. Wasn¡¯t it the incident that got covered immediately? It was suddenly gone without any traces.¡±


    ¡°The president told me that at that time, he summoned all army commanders and checked each army for deserters who might be the preparator of the incident, but there¡¯s none. Which means, there was an unknown foreign force capable of bringing in firearms and fighting in the middle of Seoul.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re thinking they are the ones who gave Joo Seung-cheol the resurrection scroll?¡±


    ¡°Probably¡­ And they are definitely an enemy.¡±


    ¡°Our enemy.¡±


    After nodding my head at her words, I turned the lever of the door on the floor and opened it. Inside, a reinforced concrete wall with a protruding hook made of concrete could be seen. I went down and tied a parachute string to it before returning back up and handed it to the bulky ghoul.


    ¡°Pull it.¡± Several ghouls pulled it as Da-jeong ordered. And just like that, the concrete wall was lifted, revealing the black hole underneath.


    Da-jeong threw a stone and counted. A few seconds later, a small sound was heard. ¡°Huh? It didn¡¯t even reach 200 meters.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± This is somehow ominous. Can they stop the corrosive disease from reaching the things they hid with only a 200 meters deep hole?


    I made a long rope, tied it to the bulky ghoul¡¯s body, and went inside. When I went down to the floor and took out the glowstone, a surprising sight greeted me.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Pistols, shotguns, a few rifles and ammunition boxes, which appeared to be Russian-made, were lying on the floor. When I opened the 7.62mm bullet box, a dark green can covered with Russian words could be seen.


    ¡°Is there 500 rounds in one can?¡± There were 2 such cans in the bullet box, and there are 5 such bullet boxes, so there¡¯s at least thousands of 7.62mm bullets.


    ¡°Not that many¡­¡± It was strange that there was only this amount. Since it was a tycoon who had stocked up these things, I thought he would fill this room to the brim..


    ¡°Tsk¡­¡± I put the guns and the ammo boxes into the portal as I swallowed my regret. And when I returned upstairs, Da-jeong had an excited expression on her face.


    ¡°Are there a lot of guns? Can we arm all my ghouls with it?¡±


    ¡°No. There¡¯s only a total of 6 guns and 5 ammo boxes.¡±


    Her excited expression turned into disappointment in an instant.


    ¡°What the? Are you serious? You¡¯re not lying to me, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I will never lie to you and Seokhyun.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ is that so?¡± Hearing my words, her expression changed again. Now that the bunker has been cleaned, it¡¯s time to leave. I wanted to use this bunker as our temporary shelter, but there were a lot of hostile bunkers nearby. It was difficult to fight them all at once, so we had no choice but to just walk away.


    We board our sled and leave the bunker behind.


    .


    .


    .


    Around the same time as Seongho made a ruckus in the wealthy village of Hannam-dong, Seokhyun crossed the Han River and returned to the government shelter. However, when he arrived, the entrance was firmly shut. He knocked on it with his fist while calling for the person in charge of the gate.


    ¡°How dare you return here?¡± However, it was the President, not the person in charge, who greeted him.


    Seokhyun answered casually.


    ¡°Since I make the suspicious guy leave the shelter, didn¡¯t I actually helped keeping the safety of the shelter


    ¡°It may be so. But I simply can¡¯t ignore the fact that you just casually broke the rules and acted your own way. Hwang Seokhyun, if I let you in, the people of the shelter will not just stay silent.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute, wait a minute.¡± Someone else¡¯s voice comes between their talk.


    ¡®Is that Geom-in?¡¯ Seokhyun focused his hearing on their conversation.


    ¡°President, let¡¯s think about it. Just like he said, that suspicious guy is now gone from the shelter. Isn¡¯t it the same as plucking a rotting tooth?¡±


    ¡°And do you think for the sake of removing a rotting tooth, a dentist can do whatever he wants as long as the tooth is removed? So if a dentist just hits the head of the patient with a chair, and the tooth falls off, is it still okay?¡±


    Seokhyun had also threatened them to not pursue Seongho. However, they didn¡¯t punish him for that. Therefore, Jang Won-taek decided to bring that matter up too. Afterall, crimes must have consequences.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you see it too, Geom-in ssi? We don¡¯t know when or where Seokhyun will kill other people.¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t kill anyone.¡±


    ¡°Who can guarantee it?¡±


    ¡°¡­I can guarantee it.¡±


    Seokhyun blinked his eyes as he was startled. After hearing those words, even though he knew for sure that the voice belonged to Geom-in, he now doubted it.


    Meanwhile, people start to gather inside the shelter. Lee Beom-seok, Oh Seung-yeon, and some other people came and listened to their conversation.


    Jang Won-taek glanced at them and asked Geom-in. ¡°Why all of a sudden? Did you finally become his friend?¡±


    It was an established fact in the government shelter that there¡¯s bad blood between Geom-in and Seokhyun. However, Geom-in couldn¡¯t explain his reason to the President. After all, the reason was because Seokhyun was sent to the government shelter by I Love Gimbap-the man who saved him. And so, he feels obligated to help Seokhyun, as it would count as helping Gimbap.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that¡­ but Seokhyun has helped us a lot. Seung-yeon is here thanks to him.¡±


    ¡°If Seokhyun-ssi hadn¡¯t come, I might have died. I¡¯m very grateful towards him.¡±


    Seung-yeon mustered all her courage and opened her mouth. The other four government agents who also returned to the shelter on Seokhyun¡¯s back also supported her words.


    ¡°It is never easy to run with someone on their back. But Seokhyun still ran without rest and saved us.¡±


    ¡°When we first met, I was a little scared, but he seemed like a very kind person.¡±


    ¡°Seokhyun-ssi is just not good at expressing himself.¡±


    Geom-in stood back slightly, sign that he was sharing the same sentiment as them, and waited for Jang Won-taek¡¯s answer.


    Lee Beom-seok whispered to him. ¡°There will be a power gap if those guys decide to leave as a protest. If Seokhyun doesn¡¯t return, the damage we will suffer in the future will be great.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Jang Won-taek closed his eyes at his trusted aide¡¯s words. In fact, Seokhyun alone was capable of doing the work of 10 people. On top of it, he had also saved 5 people. If calculated, the result was still +15 for Seokhyun as Joo Seung-cheol wasn¡¯t truly dead as he had a resurrection scroll. Therefore, he was innocent. And even if he was found guilty, what can he do with the power he has? Law? In this apocalypse, law was more worthless than a slice of bread.


    Jang Won-taek opened the door with a stiff face. Outside, Seokhyun was doing an ancestral bow naked.


    ¡®What is he doing¡­¡¯ Jang Won-taek bewildered, but Beom-seok pointed out to him.


    ¡°It was perceived by young people as showing the utmost courtesy.¡±


    ¡°The utmost courtesy¡­¡±


    Jang Won-taek took a deep breath and approached Seokhyun. ¡°When you talk to other people, you need to look straight into their eyes. Stand up.¡±


    Seokhyun stopped bowing and raised to his feet. Thanks to that, many people saw his naked figure.


    ¡°Are you forgiving me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not forgiveness. Seokhyun obviously broke the rules, but I judged that it brings more prosperity than harm. So, I decided to put you on parole.¡±


    ¡°Parole?¡±


    ¡°It means that your action would be supervised. In the future, if you stay calm, people will accept you. However, if you caused an accident again¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to cause any accidents again.¡±


    ¡°Is that I Love Gimbap¡¯s instructions?¡±


    Now that everyone knew that Seokhyun had a deep relationship with Gimbap, there was nothing to hide.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Where is he?¡±


    ¡°He should be fighting Joo Seung-cheol by now.¡±


    ¡°Surely you jest. That bunker of his is very sturdy. No matter how much¡­¡±


    ¡°I think he will be robbing his bunker in an hour. Want to bet?¡±


    Jang Won-taek was at a loss for words at how certain Seokhyun sounded. Just how strong he is to break into a concrete bunker in an hour?


    Jang Won-taek said to Seokhyun. ¡°I want to make a proposal in return for accepting Seokhyun back.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I want to meet I Love Gimbap. However, unlike before, I want to talk face-to-face this time. Is it possible?¡±


    ¡°At least, I¡¯ll ask him about it. But don¡¯t expect it, he¡¯s such a shy friend.¡±


    ¡®Shy friend¡­¡¯ Well, that¡¯s not wrong. Seokhyun said he would stay in his place until he heard the news from Gimbap and sat down on the ice. Then, Geom-in brought him a blanket and clothes.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Uh, well, it¡¯s nothing.¡±


    Geom-in retreated. For some reason, those words make him extremely happy.

 Chapter 123

    My plan was to translate one more today¡­ but this one is 3,6k words¡­ So yeah¡­ Burn out¡­


    Da-jeong and I originally planned to go all the way to Bucheon Stadium before stopping. But our plans changed as soon as Seokhyun told us that the President wanted to meet me. However, unlike our last meeting, this time, he wanted us to talk face-to-face.


    ¡°Why should we meet him? We don¡¯t even need anything from them¡­¡± Before I could react, Da-jeong reacted first. She firmly deny the proposal.


    ¡°No, I think I would have to meet him this time.¡±


    ¡°Because of those suspicious people?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. The President probably knows some things about those people¡­ So, I want to meet him.¡±


    ¡°If you talk to him face-to-face, your identity would be known, is that okay?¡±


    ¡°If he had ever wanted that to happen, my information would have been circulating in the Auction House from long ago. He¡¯s a tight-lipped guy.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s also possible that he wanted you to think that, in order to know who you really are. You know that, right?¡±


    ¡°What will he get by doing that? Revealing my identity will not bring any benefit to that guy. And he knew that.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ That old man was indeed a calculative guy¡­¡±


    ¡°And there¡¯s no point in knowing just my face. It¡¯s not like I had ¡®Kang Seongho¡¯ or ¡®I Love Gimbap¡¯ written on my forehead.¡±


    ¡°He could just tell the Auction House about your characteristic features, that you are a man with a big build and short hair who travels with me.¡±


    ¡°The weather is this cold. Everybody should¡¯ve locked themselves inside their shelter. in this cold weather, who¡¯s going to be able to see us going around?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡±


    The fact that the weather was crazy right now also helped me to conceal my identity. With the temperature reaching below minus 20 degrees Celsius, no normal person would want to go outside, except if it was absolutely necessary. And in order to preserve the warmth inside their shelter as much as possible, they would have to close their windows or any other openings of their shelter. Thanks to that, I was able to go around unnoticed, even when I went with Da-jeong.


    ¡°Once the winter passed, corrosive disease would also go away. At that time, I would be able to use guns, and I also have the resurrection scrolls and the spring. Who¡¯s going to attack me? I can just shoot all of them and respawn if the worst case scenario happens.¡±


    Da-Jeong smiled and patted my back. ¡°Our timid Seongho has become a little bolder. Well thought.¡±


    ¡°I will still be as careful as possible, though. I would only resort to such things if it¡¯s inevitable. Just like a docile retriever who reveals his teeth only when they need to.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re closer to a pitbull with rabies rather than a retriever¡­¡±


    Well, I can¡¯t deny that. Though, I don¡¯t have any rabies.


    ¡°By the way, people also wouldn¡¯t be able to notice that you¡¯re Duck Buttock easily now.¡± It was because, except for the time we were on the sled, the ghouls¨Cthe trademark of Duck Buttock the Ghoul Queen¨Cwere placed far away from our location.


    She looked down at her own attire and started weeping. ¡°What is this¡­ I¡¯ve become completely unfashionable.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re still pretty.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe. Well, yeah, I know I¡¯m pretty..¡±


    Hearing my words, she got happy immediately and gave me 10,000 points, as well as the resurrection scroll she bought from Seokhyun. When I asked why, she said she still felt sorry for sticking a knife inside my chest.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to do some ghoul farming. So, in the meantime, you should farm to restore your level.¡±


    Well, that¡¯s just one problem among many that needs to be fixed. I still have to figure out how to cleanse the spring, and I also need to tidy up the shelter with all the new stuff coming in.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± Once we parted, I summoned the portal and walked in. The shelter was actually fine before I looted Joo Seung-cheol¡¯s bunker, but now, it was a mess because of all the scattered supplies and materials I looted before.


    ¡°It makes me happy just looking at it, though.¡± The amount of supplies piled as high as my own height in warehouses assembled from sandwich panels was staggering. If It was only me, Dingo, Ding-soon, the scarabs, the stag beetles, Da-jeong and Seokhyun who used it, it would last for more than 10 years. However, considering that the resources of another world were practically infinite, there was no need for me to do that. That being said, I had no intention of quitting my farming plan whatsoever.


    ¡°People should take everything they can whenever they can.¡± Even at this very moment, the amount of supplies that had not been looted yet in the city were dwindling rapidly. Thus, most of those things would disappear in a few more months. So, the best course of action was to take them when you still got the chance.


    ¡°By the way, I ran out of sandwich panels¡­¡± On top of it, the barbed wire also ran out, making it difficult to expand the shelter. It was too time consuming to ask the scarabs to make it, and making a wall out of brick was out of the question, since it was not as strong as a barbed wire fence, and it also limited my own field of view.


    ¡°What should I do¡­¡± At that moment, the saying ¡®offense is the best defense¡¯ entered my head. If monsters flocking around the shelter are the problem, wouldn¡¯t the problem be solved if they all die?


    ¡°It was a thought I didn¡¯t dare to entertain in the past¡­¡± However, it¡¯s different now. After all, I just looted thousands of bullets from Joo Seung-cheol¡¯s bunker. I should use it as sparingly as possible, but once I rob the Incheon and Bucheon Subway Station¡¯s time shelters, I believe more bullets will come to my arsenal. But to be honest, aside from those reasons, the most important reason was just because I wanted to clear the area off of hostile monsters.


    I loaded a magazine into the AK-74 rifle and put some spare magazines in my pocket.


    Shudder-!!


    Goosebumps ran all over my body as I felt a feeling of ecstacy. The world felt like it had become mine with this durable rifle in my hand.


    ¡°You b*st*ards who dares to bare your fangs at me! Get f**ked!¡± When my fingers pressed on the trigger, lights flashed from the extinguisher.


    bang! bang! bang! bang! bang!


    The monsters were killed one after another by the power of 5.45mm rifle bullets.


    Kiaaak-!!


    Keeeek-!!


    Khaaak-!!


    Countless death throes could be heard beneath the deafening blast of the AK-74.


    ¡°Fyuhh¡­ This is refreshing.¡± Watching the monsters run away in a hurry at the sound of gunfire, it felt like a 10-year-long congestion was finally going down. Without lowering my vigilance, I took Dingo and Ding-soon to the forest to kill all the surviving monsters.


    After shooting dozens of bullets on them, the surroundings finally became quiet. Once again, I was reminded why guns are the absolute power of wars. Had it not been for the corrosive disease, mankind would¡¯ve easily destroyed the monsters and went on living without having to go through the age of apocalypse.


    ¡°It¡¯s all good until this point. But the post-processing is a problem.¡± I had to dig a huge hole with a fork crane to bury all the corpses because I never knew when bone creepers would spawn and break past the barbed wire fence.


    ¡°Come a little later please. Let me live comfortably for now.¡±


    When I tried to push the corpses of dozens of monsters into the pit, a curse came out of my mouth. Is there anything that can just block the invasion of monsters?


    ¡°Such things probably exist. After all, monster raids were not different from zombie raids.¡± However, I don¡¯t know what and where the thing is. This kind of knowledge was not my specialty, but Geom-in¡¯s. Once I finally pushed all the corpses into the hole, I covered the pit and drove the forklift back to the shelter.


    ¡°It¡¯s hot¡­¡± Contrary to Earth, the weather on another world was only getting hotter. I took off my stab-proof armor and put on a short-sleeved shirt. Once I¡¯m done, I brought the forklift to the empty lot beside the cave and turned off the engine. At that moment, I saw a well-organized vegetable garden a short distance away from the parking location. It was much wider than the time when the scarabs were the ones managing it. On top of it, there were also more types of crops than before. I know the stag beetles did not like me too much, but it looks like they do like various seeds that I brought in.


    ¡°I am their landlord, so that¡¯s the least they could do.¡± Currently, watermelons are growing rapidly. But only when midsummer arrives will it finally become fully grown, ready to be eaten.


    ¡°But those guys really should stop fighting.¡± I walked towards the bickering Captain Scarab and Chief Stag Beetle in the distance. These guys are normally peaceful when they¡¯re alone, but they would growl and fight whenever they meet each other for some reason. On top of it, the fight wasn¡¯t just your usual fight between insects. It was a bloody battle that included swords and arrows.


    (E/n so I was mistaken about the name of the leader of the scarabs, it was actually Captain Scarab. Chief Stag Beetle is correct though.)


    The scarabs were superior in numbers, and they also had the advantage in terms of strength and size. Meanwhile, while the stag beetles are losing in number, they substituted it with their agility and their hit-and-run strategy.


    Watching them fight in the wide open space in front of the cave, it really feels surreal. Of course, no one died because of the battle, but it was still frustrating for me.


    Now that those guys are in one family under my shelter, why are they still fighting?


    ¡°YOU GUYS! Were you guys archenemies in your previous life?¡± When I put the leader of both sides on the palm of my hand and asked, they turned away from each other.


    Guess I should warn them here.


    ¡°For three weeks, there will be no royal honey and solar apples for you guys.¡±


    The two of them turned to me at the same time as soon as I finished my declaration. Then, the two leaders hung on my finger. I put up with the tickling and said,


    ¡°You know? I had just finished taking care of the problems in this shelter and felt happy because of it. So, why was I served with the view of you guys fighting against each other? If you guys can keep the peace of this shelter, and do not fight for three weeks, then I will give those honey and apples again to you guys.¡±


    Captain Scarab went down to the ground in a gloomy mood. Meanwhile, I took the Chief Stag Beetle and headed to the spring deep in the forest. When we arrived, a strong smell of gunpowder mixed with the musty smell of filth greeted us. The Chief Stag Beetle looked at the polluted spring and grabbed its head with its front paws.


    Shake-!! Shake-!!


    If I had to tell anyone about what I saw right now, the Chief Stag Beetle¡¯s action was similar to the painting of Edvard Munch, ¡®The Scream¡¯. (The Scream = https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scream)


    The guy approached the spring and checked the dark liquid. Moments later, his body trembled and turned around towards me. From his eyes, I could sense an overflowing resentment and a question of ¡®what I had done to turn the spring like this¡¯.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything. I woke up and it was already like this.¡± Then, I told him what happened. The Chief Stag Beetle was startled to hear that I had died and was resurrected.


    ¡®Really?¡¯ His eyes seemed to ask.


    ¡°Yeah. Is that a sin?¡±


    ¡®Ummm¡­ that¡¯s right.¡¯ The Chief Stag Beetle scratched its head with its chin and drew a picture with a branch he found on the ground. What the beautiful drawing depicted was a certain energy flowing into the spring.


    ¡°So¡­ What is this? An essence or something?¡±


    nod nod.


    According to the Chief Stag Beetle, a unique essence flowed through this forest. It is said that the place where the essence gathered would become a spring after a long time. However, such occurrences only happen very rarely. Therefore, such a spring was highly sought by anyone.


    ¡°I polluted that essence, so I have to resurrect it¡­ But it¡¯s not like I deliberately do it.¡±


    Sting-!!


    I felt a pricky gaze at me. This guy is definitely rebellious unlike the scarabs.


    ¡°If the spring returns to its original state, it¡¯s good for me. After all, I¡¯ll be able to have one more life. So what should I do?¡±


    He drew a picture of collecting sap from the root of a large tree.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it too big for a tree root? Is there something like this in this forest?¡± To be honest, rather than a tree root, it looks more similar to a building. He ignored my question and drew a sharp piece of something that is cutting the root.


    Huh? This shine, this pattern¡­ Something made of Elementium?


    Elementium was a material similar to Emeras. Although it¡¯s use for combat was absolutely trash, it had the characteristic of being colorful, so it¡¯s very good to be used as a decoration. But even though it¡¯s useless, there¡¯s still crazy people who uses it to hunt monsters. Of course, the crazy people I mentioned were us, the Four Stagnant Waters.


    ¡°Where do you even get this?¡± At my question, Chief Stag Beetle pulled out a map from my backpack and put his claws on the mines northwards of the snowy mountains¨Cthe very same place the scarabs told me when I showed them this map.


    ¡°There¡¯s Elementium there?¡±


    nod nod.


    Then we should go. I returned to the shelter, packed my gear, and headed to the snowy mountains with the Chief Stag Beetle. As we got out of the forest with the ATV, the snowy mountains, reflected in the warm sunlight, were revealed. Meanwhile, a group of valley deer rushed right next to us.


    They are really fast.


    .


    .


    .


    Once I arrived at the Black Forest, the Chief Stag Beetle led me into one particular cave. When I entered, something glistened on the walls of the cave. Seems like what the scarab said about how there were various rare minerals here was spot on.


    ¡°Jackpot¡­¡± Even though I still couldn¡¯t see any Elementium, the amount of glowstones I saw was enough to make me smile. On top of that, there¡¯s also several ignition stones here and there, as well as an overflowing amount of black charcoal.


    I pulled a flashlight from my bag and shone it towards the deeper part of the cave.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like a nest.¡± Fortunately, the walls and floors were made of soft material, so it should be easy to dig out those precious materials. I promptly took a shovel from my backpack and started to work in earnest.


    Meanwhile, the Chief Stag Beetle was putting the mined ores into my backpack. After all, unlike the scarabs, they did not have the ability to extract metal. Instead, they excelled at finding ores. If you ever walk around with them, and they suddenly went somewhere and marked the place they went to, you should just trust them and start digging. After hours of digging, I finally found a chunk of Elementium.


    ¡°They are that rare, huh?¡± I pulled out the chunk of Elementium and put it in the backpack. Inside, I could see a lot of glowstones, ignition stones, and black charcoal filling the bag. In addition, several rare ores such as Emeras, Mithril, and Adamant were also in the mix.


    ¡°If we process all of this into a weapon and put it in the Auction House, the price will be insane¡­¡±


    Da-jeong already gave me 10,000 points, but I still want more. After all, there was a need to accumulate enough points so I would be able to buy new weapons once the tier 3 Store opened.


    When I looked outside, the sun was already in the middle of the sky. It seems like I need to stop mining for now and go to find the tree roots the Chief Stag Beetle told me about.


    I loaded the heavy bag into the ATV¡¯s trunk and left the mines with Chief Stag Beetle. The place where the root was located was in the Black Forest, so it will be quite dangerous. It was even farther north from the location where I found the other scarabs and the stag beetles.


    In this place, all kinds of monsters were roaming in groups. There were even plant-type monsters emitting poisonous smoke. In short, it¡¯s a place where one¡¯s life was bound to be gone if they entered clumsily.


    Kieeeeeeek-!!


    The sound of stone monkeys being chased by something can be heard above the trees. I looked up and saw it was a black serpent who was chasing them. Although it was a small snake monster, it was very dangerous because it could spit poison up to several meters.


    ¡°It can even fly¡­¡± It has no wings, but when it glides by spreading some kind of coating on their skin, it could fly away for several tens of meters.


    ¡°Did you really have to bring me to this place?¡± When I asked the Chief Stag Beetle, he just pointed his claw towards one direction. Steeling my heart, I went north while killing all the monsters on the way. And thanks to that, my level got back to 25.


    ¡°The additional effect is still the dimensional prison.¡± Let¡¯s expect that the additional effect Da-jeong desperately wanted will appear once I reach level 30.


    When I finally reached the root of the tree, my mouth simply wouldn¡¯t close. ¡°Why is it so big¡­¡±


    The thickness of a single tree root was at the same size of a single house. Mind you, when I say house, what I mean is a countryside house, which is normally very huge, even bigger than your usual city house. However, I couldn¡¯t see where the trunk was, and many animals were coming and going from it as if it was their home.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this some kind of monster?¡±


    When the Chief Stag Beetle heard that, he pulled my hair with all of his strength.


    ¡°Hey, hey! No violence allowed! Use words, WORDS!¡± I said. I shaped the chunk of Elementium with a hammer and chisel into sharp pieces. It was not as sharp as Emeras, so it was relatively easy to handle. Once I was done, I wrapped the piece with cloth and tape before pushing it into the root. Soon after, white liquid flowed out, and the stag beetle pointed to it.


    Surprisingly, there was a buff in the white liquid itself.


    ¡¸Elderwood¡¯s Sap¡¹


    ¡¸Effect: Pain tolerance, skin regeneration¡¹


    Moreover, it was a double buff. Pain tolerance is a good buff that literally reduces the amount of pain, and skin regeneration was self explanatory. However, what surprised me the most was the name of the tree.


    ¡°Elderwood¡­? Could it be that Elderwood longbows were made out of this wood?¡±


    I didn¡¯t bring it because I can use guns here, but it was a bow that I really liked. The material of that wonderful bow was this wood in front of me. Knowing that, it¡¯s impossible for me to not take some, right?


    When I took out the mini saw from the bag, the Chief Stag Beetle pulled my hair once again.


    ¡°Why? It¡¯s just a tree, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    As I moved the saw closer to the root of the tree, I felt a stinging sensation from all directions thanks to my Perception stat. The cause of those stinging sensation was the countless gaze I was receiving from all of the monsters around the tree.


    ¡°¡­¡± Cold sweat poured all over my body as my breathing got rougher. Only when I put the saw down did all the gaze disappear. Just what¡¯s wrong with this forest?


    Anyway, it seems dangerous, so let¡¯s not touch the tree any more than this.


    ¡°Is that the reason why I should use a piece of Elementium to cut it?¡±


    Nod-!! Nod-!!


    You should¡¯ve told me in advance!!!


    I put the Elderwood sap into a bottle. When I tasted it with my little finger, it tasted like plain milk. Or is it non-fat milk?


    ¡°Hmm. It¡¯s pretty good.¡±


    I wanted to get more of it, but when the bottle was filled, the sap stopped flowing. The cut wound was also healed in an instant, and the large stag beetle pulled my hair once again. I think that means no more harvesting.


    ¡°Okay, okay.¡±


    I am greedy, but I felt like I should only take as much as the tree gives. I put the bottle in my backpack and got on the ATV. As I was driving away from the tree root, I felt as if someone was waving their hand at me.


    ¡°Ah, I must be mistaken.¡±


    I returned to the spring and poured the Elderwood¡¯s sap into the black water. As the cloudy liquid fell, the water slowly turned transparent. It was amazing. The Chief Stag Beetle put his claws in front of his body and spun around me. I think he¡¯s happy that the spring has been cleansed.


    When I asked him if the sap could be collected again, he told me that it would take some time to do that again.


    ¡°I can¡¯t restore it every time I want, huh?¡± I was expecting an infinite resurrection, but it seems like that expectation was a pie in the sky. Or is it an Elderwood tree in the middle of Black Forest?


    When I returned to Earth after returning to the shelter, Da-jeong hadn¡¯t come back yet. When I opened the Auction House and checked the comments of the government shelter, the place and time of our meeting was written there. It was close to my location, so it was good.


    However, Jang Won-taek was not the only person who wanted to meet me.


    -Bae Geom-in wants to meet you too. Would it be okay?


    ¡°Why¡­¡±


    Was he angry because he got threatened with a gun by me?


    He should have been grateful to me since I saved his life, so why?


    ¡°Wait, seeing how he defended Seokhyun, he might have changed his mind.¡± I think I should check on him to be sure. Therefore,


    -That¡¯s fine. Let him.

 Chapter 124

    December 20.


    The snow had completely stopped. I can see everything better now, but the temperature dropped even further; it reached below minus 25 degrees Celsius. The sun shone through the clouds, but the frozen earth did not change. And a freezing gust of wind blew from time to time, pecking at the survivors fiercely.


    A harsh winter had just begun. Both humans and monsters had to work hard to survive. In particular, it was even harsher for the survivors who lost their supplies while moving to a new hideout. After all, they had to live with only tasteless Store bread and no water.


    At the Auction House, rumors circulated that someone had eaten goblin meat raw and died after being ill for three days. Some laughed, and some expressed condolences. However, what they had in common amidst their different reaction was the fact that they quickly forgot about the rumor. Because in the apocalypse, you don¡¯t have time to worry about others.


    Regardless of that grim reality, I was floating around leisurely in the middle of a warm sea on a rubber boat.


    ¡°Sigh, they are really hard to catch¡­¡±


    Woof-!!


    Dingo barked a little as if sympathizing with my words. Our target was the bigmouth bass that floats around the boat. It did not resemble a real sea bass at all, but it was similar in size. The guy kept circling around the boat, ate the clam meat bait and just ran away.


    ¡°If you want to eat it, then bite the hook too!¡± It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve got nothing better to do than fishing. I¡¯m only doing it since Da-jeong kept pestering me about eating fish. Since I already told her time and time again that catching tuna was impossible, she asked for just any big fish. That¡¯s why I was working hard like this.


    ¡®bigmouth bass, please, just get caught.¡¯ I desperately wished. And not long after that, my fishing rod shook furiously. It seems like the god of fishing had heard my prayer. I immediately jerked the fishing rod upwards.


    ¡°Hiyaaap!!!¡± Since the place I was fishing at was quite shallow, splashes of water flew here and there, making Dingo rise to his feet.


    This guy¡¯s strength is no joke!


    But I wasn¡¯t a pushover either, I used all my strength to reel the lines in. And after an intense battle of strength, a bigmouth bass finally came up to the boat.


    ¡°Woooah! It¡¯s huge.¡±


    Is it about 85cm long?


    As the name suggests, the guy had a large mouth, so the amount of meat it had wasn¡¯t that much. But, still, with a fish as big as this, we would still have leftovers even after eating it to our fill.


    I paddled and headed to the beach. After trimming the bigmouth bass, I summoned the portal and went back to Earth. There, I found Da-jeong, who was warming up her body near the campfire.


    ¡°Wow, did you catch that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. This is a bigmouth bass. How would you like to eat this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s cold, so please make Maeun-tang. But is it edible?¡± (E/n Maeun-tang = Korean spicy fish soup. Usually served with gochujang and other vegetables.)


    ¡°The stag beetles said it was not poisonous, so it¡¯s okay.¡± Those guys were surprisingly able to identify poisonous plants and animals. Although they didn¡¯t really like eating animals, to my thanks, they were not pretending not to. They would still eat them, but maybe while grumbling about it a little.


    I placed a large piece of meat on a chopping board and cut i?t into several thick slices with a ceramic knife. Because the fish was fresh, it would be a waste to use all the meat to make Maeun-tang. So, I took 2 thick slices, cut it paper-thin and served it to Da-jeong on a plastic plate after sprinkling some soy sauce on top of it.


    ¡°It¡¯s so chewy! It¡¯s like the flesh is trying to fight with my teeth.¡± (T/N For those who wondered if this means good or not, I once saw a cooking directory, and Asians apparently like their fish chewy, while in Europe, they didn¡¯t really use chewy fish¡­ I don¡¯t really remember if it¡¯s Europe or Just France tho, CMIIW.)


    ¡°You are overreacting¡­¡± As I said that, I started to make the Maeun-tang soup broth. I chopped several radishes into a big chunk and put them on the water which was on its way to its boiling point. While waiting, I chopped some garlic and other stuff before mixing it with the Gochujang and fish sauce. Once the water boiled, I put all the fish and seasoning into the pot. Not long after, the smell of Maeun-tang filled the room.


    Da-jeong, who had finished the fresh sashimi, picked up a spoon. ¡°Ugh, I never thought I would be able to eat Maeun-tang in the apocalypse. I¡¯m really happy that I met you, Seongho¡­¡±


    She scooped out the broth, slurped it and trembled. Right after, she scooped out a big spoonful of hot pot rice, put ripe kimchi and the bigmouth bass meat on top of it with the chopstick, and devoured it whole.


    ¡°Ugh. It¡¯s spicy and really delicious. When I was in the government shelter, the meal didn¡¯t taste good at all, so I stopped eating it and only ate military rations my ghouls got.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not good for your body, eating military rations only for a long time.¡±


    ¡°I know it really well, because I got constipated because of it. The poop just refuses to get out no matter how much I push¡­¡±


    Why the hell are you talking about poop in front of the sacred breakfast table?


    ¡°Hey, you are eating sh*t right now, stop talking about meals!¡± After I spoke, I realized my mistake.


    ¡°HAHAHAHAHAHAH!! Don¡¯t talk about meals while eating shit! So funny!¡± Da-jeong stopped eating and laughed.


    ¡°It¡¯s a mistake. Just let it slide and eat.¡±


    Only after few minutes passed did Da-jeong stopped laughing and continue to eat,


    ¡°Now that I think about it.¡± She swallowed the food inside her mouth and said, ¡°We are kinda like newlyweds, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Newlyweds my ass¡­¡±


    ¡°Why? You don¡¯t like me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that¡­¡±


    ¡°You already said I¡¯m pretty, had a good body, and that I am delicious, so why?¡±


    ¡°Take that last word out. You asked me if you had any taste, so I just answered like that. It¡¯s not literal.¡±


    Isn¡¯t it against the law to bring the bed story into the table?


    There was nothing to do in the apocalypse, and it was cold outside, so it was common to just waste time by enjoying the view of the endless snow outside. Basically, we had too much free time and nothing to do. After doing it for a few days, I can understand why the fertility rate was so high back in the past.


    After we finished eating, I sent the meal I prepared for Seokhyun through the Auction House. Then, as soon as I finished collecting the dishes, Da-jeong rushed at me saying that we had to exercise after eating.


    ¡°Stop. I need to go to the subway station ahead of time and do some scouting first.¡±


    ¡°Why? In case that bald old man does something funny?¡±


    ¡°We are not enemies, but we are not exactly friends. I should always be wary of everything.¡±


    She paused and snapped her finger.


    ¡°Geom-in will be coming too, right? You are not going to kill him, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°If I was going to kill him, I would have done so in the Battle Royale.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ that¡¯s right. Then, are you going to cooperate with Geom-in? With that bald old man too?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s something I will decide once I talk to them. But as of now, there¡¯s no need to fight them.¡±


    Da-jeong¡¯s expression turned strange.


    ¡°What the¡­ You used to talk as if you were going to topple the government shelters.¡±


    ¡°Things have changed. Joo Seung-cheol died. and now we already have some guns with us.¡± Therefore, there¡¯s no need to wait for a crack to appear anymore. If Joo Seung-cheol had still been there, he would have taken a part in the conflict that would arise in the future, but Seokhyun¡¯s punches and knife cut the opportunity. Of course, it wasn¡¯t Seokhyun¡¯s fault. Because thanks to that, I now possessed plenty of supplies and firearms.


    I went out after I was given a deep kiss by Da-jeong. The cold breeze that hit my body seemed to be cold enough to freeze my lungs, but somehow, I didn¡¯t feel cold.


    Just like that, I headed to Sindorim Station.


    .


    .


    .


    Jang Won-taek and Bae Geom-in waited for I Love Gimbap at a platform full of iron powder. In fact, they both had seen him before. The difference between the two was the occasion. While Geom-in met him inside Battle Royale arena in Incheon, and got threatened, Jang Won-taek had met directly with him and talked with him. However, unbeknownst to him, he had seen his face in the farming dungeon. Though, it¡¯s debatable whether he remembered him or not.


    Geom-in looked around the empty station nervously. This station, which used to be the busiest station in Korea, was now empty and filled with only cold and dust. Then, not long after, he heard footsteps from somewhere, and someone came down from the stairs on the other side.


    Once Jang Won-taek saw him, he gulped. As expected, he was a fairly tall man. He was wearing a black stab-proof suit with a backpack and a bow slung to his back¨Cthe so-called standard equipment of survivors.


    When the Geom-in saw him, he felt himself flinching. After all, he remembered the time when he was threatened with a gun and was ordered around without mercy in the Battle Royale arena.


    ¡®It¡¯s okay¡­ it¡¯s okay¡­ nothing is wrong. I didn¡¯t come here to fight, didn¡¯t I.¡¯ He calmed his mind.


    Though, he still questioned what would happen if he fought against Gimbap under normal conditions. After thinking about it, he wasn¡¯t convinced he would win, despite having multiple traits. Above all, his atmosphere was different from anyone he had met until now. The bloody atmosphere he had around him made him think it would only take seconds for Gimbap to kill a person. It seriously sent a shiver down his spine. It even made him wonder about whether he was the same person he laughed and talked with back in the game.


    ¡®I¡­ I am also one of the Four Stagnant Waters.¡¯ Geom-in puffed up his chest and directed his gaze straight ahead. Meanwhile, I Love Gimbap¡¯s indifferent eyes scanned him and Jang Won-taek.


    ¡°Let¡¯s sit down.¡±


    The three sat on the edge of the platform. At that moment, Jang Won-taek laughed. ¡°We have met before, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. We met in the Farming Dungeon.¡±


    ¡°I met Da-jeong at that time¡­ Hehe, to think the person right next to her was I Love Gimbap¡­¡±


    ¡°My name is Kang Seongho.¡± He nodded his head slightly. On the other hand, Geom-in tried not to forget I Love Gimbap¡¯s real name after hearing it for the first time.


    Jang Won-taek asked.


    ¡°I heard that the series of commotions caused by Seokhyun had something to do with Seongho, can you tell me about it?¡±


    ¡°Joo Seung-cheol is dead.¡±


    ¡°Oho¡­ As expected.¡± The truth is, Jang Won-taek wanted to ask him how he could break past the sturdy bunker defense, but he knew best that it was a question which shouldn¡¯t be asked here. On top of it, his short and simple answer revealed his intention about not wanting to waste time. If that¡¯s the case, then he had no choice but to speed up the tempo a bit.


    ¡°Can I ask you what was in the bunker?¡±


    ¡°Rather than answering that, there¡¯s one thing I want to ask you.¡±


    ¡°Please ask¡­¡±


    ¡°About the bunker around Hannam-dong, did you block the media from reporting it? I have never heard of it in the media.¡±


    Jang Won-taek shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t do that. In our country, the media outlets are connected in some way with the big companies. After all, they are a family business, so there¡¯s no reason to report it. It must have been a bit noisy in the internet community, but, as you know, it ended up buried because of the appearance of the first monsters.¡±


    ¡°In other words, you do know in advance about it, right?¡±


    ¡°I received a report¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you also know that there¡¯s some mysterious force supporting Joo Seung-cheol?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°That means, you also don¡¯t know that those forces had infiltrated the countermeasure headquarters you made?¡± What Seongho talked about was the men in suits who had tried to catch Poor Man, who just wanted to provide information for the government. But of course, Jang Won-taek didn¡¯t know about that.


    ¡°I only guessed roughly since the information was somehow twisted, but I couldn¡¯t look into it because there were some circumstances.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mean to criticize you about it. What I want to tell you is that those guys know about our information. It¡¯s not just normal information either, it¡¯s our information which should be known only to the developer team of Survival Life.¡±


    ¡°Our information?¡± When Geom-in moved his head closer to Seongho with his eyes open wide, Seongho¡¯s tone became lower.


    ¡°They even know our playtime, the last content we played before we quit, and the number of events cleared.¡±


    ¡°Even mine?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you also one of us?¡± Geom-in unknowingly smiles at Seongho¡¯s words. After all, by saying that, Seongho admits that he¡¯s one of them, not an outsider. Meanwhile, Jang Won-taek¡¯s expression was far from happy.


    ¡°If it¡¯s the game record, only the developer team, which god only knows where they are, should know¡­ So, whoever this mysterious force you¡¯re talking about is, I don¡¯t think they are the ones who made our world like this.¡±


    ¡°Even if they are not that powerful, they should be one of the strongest powers in the world right now.¡± Afterall, even if it wasn¡¯t the case, guys like Joo Seung-cheol wouldn¡¯t have survived until now.


    Hearing Seongho revealing the information he didn¡¯t know, Geom-in¡¯s self esteem got hurt.


    ¡®Should I also act outside the shelter?¡¯ However, he shook his head because at the moment, it was too cold outside.


    ¡°I¡¯ve just heard good information, so I¡¯ll tell you one in return. The government didn¡¯t only have shelter. There¡¯s a spare in Incheon.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I know about that.¡±


    ¡°You know?¡±


    ¡°I also heard that the entrance to the time shelter on the Bucheon was half broken.¡±


    Jang Won-taek was quite surprised when he heard it. After all, the only person who knew about it was Oh Seung-yeon, who went to Incheon. But he masked his expression well so Seongho couldn¡¯t see it. On top of it, he also drew the conclusion that Seongho and Da-jeong were the couple who saved Oh Seung-yeon when she was stranded in the cold blizzard.


    Jang Won-taek asked. ¡°Then, it must¡¯ve been robbed already?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­ By the way, somehow, I felt that I was the only one who spoke about things in this conversation. I¡¯m not mistaken, am I?¡±


    In other words, since he had provided some information, Jang Won-taek must also provide it. If he offered him something which didn¡¯t match the value of information he gave, he would stand up and leave right away.


    ¡°Okay. Let me tell you one big thing. The Republic of Korea is currently isolated from the rest of the world.¡±


    As soon as Seongho heard that, he had a puzzled expression on his face. He was confused by Jang Won-taek¡¯s statements, as the Chinese were able to come to Korea¡¯s land.


    ¡°The Chinese came in unharmed, didn¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°People can come and go, but other things can¡¯t. It was something we know after sending people to the shoreline over the past few months to observe. Isn¡¯t it strange that, with so many nuclear power plants broken down in China, our west coast is still fine?¡±


    ¡°Come to think of it¡­¡±


    Geom-in spoke at that moment, feeling he could not just listen.


    ¡°To put it simply, our nation has become something like a game server. Korean server, Chinese server, Japanese server, and other servers. People can enter any server they want, right?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there a typhoon this year? A certain force that isolated the Korean Peninsula has stopped the typhoon. I¡¯m not certain, but Jeju Island should have been devastated by it.¡±


    Seongho¡¯s brows furrowed as he remembered Dap Island in Masan. It was a few hundred meters away from the land, but not very far. However, there¡¯s no monster swimming towards it. There were only monsters that occasionally respawn on the island.


    ¡®Maybe the monsters can¡¯t cross the sea.¡¯ However, Da-jeong¡¯s ghoul makes him doubt his own conclusion. After all, he had seen them swimming several times until now.


    As he was in deep thought, a loud groan shook the station.


    Gooooo-


    ¡°Huh?¡± Geom-in, who was looking at Seongho, quickly rose to his feet. There was only one monster that could howl that loud. However, it¡¯s a monster that cannot be seen on the ground.


    ¡°A labyrinth has been opened.¡±


    Seongho also stood up.


    ¡°The location is near here.¡±


    Labyrinth refers to an overly complex and large-scale underground dungeon, which was one of the final contents of Survival Life. Unlike normal dungeons which could be cleared easily, most labyrinths could only be cleared after people wandered in its darkness for several days.


    Since the labyrinth was now open, it wasn¡¯t the time to talk or have a leisurely conversation with each other. ¡°Let¡¯s wrap it up here today. Can we do the unfinished things tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°At the same time here.¡±


    The two made eye contact and nodded. Jang Won-taek went up first, meanwhile, Geom-in fidgeted. With the labyrinth now opened, Seongho and the other two will surely enter. He also wanted to join them, but he didn¡¯t have the courage to ask. However, entering with his subordinates wasn¡¯t an option either, as they were nothing compared to the danger of the labyrinth.


    It was Seongho who broke the silence between them by taking something out of his backpack and throwing it at Geom-in.


    ¡°I brought it here because I remembered you. Eat.¡±


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°You will find out when you open it. I¡¯m sorry for back then. I was trying to save you, so I had no choice but to act harshly.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I know¡­¡±


    After Seongho left, Geom-in went into the bathroom and unwrapped the cloth given by Seongho. Inside, a lunch box can be seen, filled with thickly sliced ??smoked fish and meat. There¡¯s also a large chicken leg, which he never saw before, grilled with a delicious seasoning


    ¡°Hmmmm, what is this¡­¡±


    Geom-in, who had been confined in the shelter and only ate tasteless meals 3 times a day, ate the lunch box in a hurry.


    ¡°COUGH COUGH COUGH.¡± Some of the food got stuck in his throat because he ate too quickly, as it was very delicious beyond words. It was so delicious to the point he even wondered if he should put Seongho in his grand plan.


    ¡®There is no reason there should be only one ruler, right?¡¯ Seongho deserves to stand by his side.


    ¡°¡­¡± But as he was eating, he somehow felt sadder and sadder. Eating something like this in the apocalypse made him feel that power to rule was not something that had to be grasped no matter what. And contrary to him, who struggled to gain power, Seongho was far ahead.


    ¡®No¡­ he saved me in the Battle Royale.¡¯ Geom-in felt that it was no mistake that he reached out his hand to ask him to go with him. As proof, isn¡¯t he eating the lunch box that Seongho himself bought?


    ¡°It¡¯s delicious.¡±


    Geomin felt better for no reason and smiled.


    (E/n redemption arc when)

 Chapter 125

    A labyrinth opened up at the subway station. But since it was basically different from normal dungeons, I didn¡¯t enter right away. There¡¯s not only one entrance to the labyrinth, and without any preparation, it would be very easy for someone to get lost inside. Thankfully, there¡¯s no entry limit to a labyrinth, so users could always go in and out while attempting to clear the labyrinth.


    ¡°Though, it¡¯s uselessly wide and deep¡­¡± There were several types of labyrinths. but none of them were small. At the very least, users had to spend half a day before they reached the deepest part, and in some cases, they even had to wander for days.


    The terrain, traps, and types of monsters that appeared also differed depending on the type of labyrinth, and they all had extreme difficulty levels, so it was easy to get killed if you didn¡¯t prepare thoroughly.


    ¡°It would be difficult to monopolize the labyrinth¡­¡± Even the smallest labyrinth boasts a space that can accommodate dozens of people. It was no exaggeration to say that hundreds of people can wander around the Great Labyrinth at once without even meeting each other. But, since Survival Life didn¡¯t have that many players, there¡¯s only 4 people who entered regularly.


    ¡°The important thing now is to check what kind of labyrinth it is¡­¡±


    It would be nice to go in on my own, but there¡¯s a more effective way to do it: gathering information from those who have entered the labyrinth and posted some comments about it in the Auction House. Of course, there¡¯s tons of bullsh*t and rumors going around there, but all I needed to do was cross-checking the information posted there with the information I had.


    I moved to the spacious bathroom on the second floor of the station. It takes time to get to the hideout, so it¡¯s better to stay here in order to be able to deal with unexpected situations.


    ¡°I should check the Auction House and also tell Da-jeong to come here.¡± She would probably grumble about moving hideout again, but to me, wherever the hideout was, it doesn¡¯t mean much. The real shelter was the one inside my portal. It¡¯s a bit odd to think like this in the bathroom, but there was no suitable place nearby.


    At that moment, footsteps followed by something sliding through the floor could be heard. When I looked outside at the familiar sound, a group of lizardmen passed by in front of the bathroom. The guys roamed around the station with their signature trident and nets in hands.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be messy around here¡­¡± When the monsters inside the labyrinth went out, it was a sign that the labyrinth was not a peaceful one. It would also make it difficult to enter, so the difficulty would be on the high end of the axis. Moreover, considering that lizardmen were roaming around, there¡¯s a chance that the labyrinth is a wetlands-type.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t feel good¡­¡± If it was a game, I would have just passed this labyrinth. But in reality, I couldn¡¯t do so. After all, even a small den must be thoroughly searched to obtain items.


    When I opened the Auction House, as expected, a few people had posted some information.


    -Anyone near Sindorim Station? Did you hear the monster¡¯s cry?


    -I heard it. What kind of monster is it?


    -Probably the labyrinth boss¡­ Though, no one knows what monster it is.


    -The stagnant waters probably know. After all, they were the only people who played in the labyrinth every day.


    -Doesn¡¯t that mean that a labyrinth opened near Sindorim Station?


    -You have to get in quickly before that b*st*rd come and take everything.


    -Please calm down for a moment. A labyrinth is different from a dungeon. There¡¯s multiple entrances.


    -That¡¯s right. It was also wide, so it¡¯s impossible for Gimbap to monopolize it thoroughly.


    -Then can I meet I Love Gimbap if I go there?


    -Hey, stop making a fuss about it and gather around. Let¡¯s form a party.


    -I am level 17 with levitation skill, can I join?


    -Tell me where in the labyrinth can your skill be useful.


    -You guys are too much!


    ¡°if it is levitation¡­ it¡¯ll be useful when crossing swamps.¡± It was an ability which shone the most in scouting. However, the downside was that it was not very useful in battle. And when several people form a party and attack the labyrinth, even a small mistake could become a big one.


    ¡°The moment people say, ¡®I did my part well but you didn¡¯t do yours well¡¯ the party will break up.¡± If that sort of problem happened when the party was still around the entrance, they could just leave and make another one. But, if it happened deep inside the labyrinth, there would be no answer for it.


    I searched the videos on my laptop and found a labyrinth type in which lizardmen often spawn.


    ¡°There are many underwater labyrinths.¡± It¡¯s the most annoying type of all. First of all, the water topography itself was not compatible with humans, which were terrestrial animals by nature. Of course, lizardmen and higher-ranking monsters drop underwater breathing skills, but it was still frustrating.


    ¡°Moreover, it¡¯s annoying that I will always be wet all the time.¡± It smelled a lot and it was a pain in the ass.


    I kept replaying the video, while trying to remember the attack strategy of this particular labyrinth type. The terrain of the labyrinth itself was quite harsh, but the monsters were not very dangerous. At most, there¡¯s only lizardmen, lizardmen who have evolved, and the lizardmen boss.


    ¡°Clear time average is 10 hours¡­¡± That¡¯s on the short side. However, there were probably only a handful of people who could actually do that in 10 hours, as the wetness will be very disturbing, moreover when you have to stay in that state for 10 hours.


    ¡°There would be a lot of trolls.¡± They were going to make a mess around the entrance and obstruct other people to attack the labyrinth.


    I mentally reviewed the topography formed at the entrance several times. Since there are many places to hide, and if I did not do this, there¡¯s a possibility that I would be taken off guard when I enter the actual battle.


    Once it¡¯s done, I left the bathroom and looked for the labyrinth¡¯s entrance. The subway passage was full of water. On top of it, lizardmen, serpents that inhabit the wetlands, and crying toads could be seen everywhere.


    ¡°Ah yeah, those guys are here too¡­.¡± The monster was called a crying toad by the users because their exact name was unknown. Its appearance was, of course, a toad, but its size was quite large, comparable to a human¡¯s upper body.


    Their attack method was simple: curling up and attempting a headbutt when a creature which they considered as a threat appeared. The best course of action against it was to avoid it, because the range of the attack was not a joke, and a follow-up attack will soon follow after the headbutt.


    ¡°However, it was very difficult to avoid.¡± It was literally ¡®you blink, you die¡¯. There¡¯s no way to avoid it if it flies to you from the outside of your detection range.


    While I was thinking so, some serpents were fighting among themselves.


    ¡°How should I break through that, I wonder¡­¡± The passage was filled with water. Therefore, it¡¯s simply impossible to use fireworks to distract them. As I was contemplating, something that was moving like a grasshopper suddenly came out of the dark passageway.


    ¡°How the hell did a reinforced ghoul come out here?¡± The Marsh Labyrinth had absolutely nothing to do with zombies or ghouls. Therefore, it¡¯s baffling to see a grasshopper¨Ca reinforced ghoul which jumps around¨Ccome out here. It was quite a dangerous monster because it stuck itself on any wall or ceiling, or even assimilating its own body to the surrounding terrain.


    Fortunately, my Perception stats are quite high, so I found it quite soon. Though, it had already jumped my way. So, the only action I could take here was to block it with a dimension wall and kill it.


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­¡±


    If it¡¯s a ghoul, there¡¯s a woman who loves them dearly, isn¡¯t there?


    I called Da-jeong through the Auction House. She grumbled and told me to stop hurrying her. But when I said that a grasshopper had appeared, she immediately left a comment that she was coming.


    Well, I can just wait a little bit.


    I waited for her as I used the grasshopper to practice turning the dimensional wall into the correct position.


    .


    .


    .


    Not everyone in the government shelter welcomed Hwang Seokhyun¡¯s return. Contrary to what the survivors outside of the shelter think, the government shelter had its own politics and factions, albeit its small size. And although their conflict was not apparent, under the surface, they were keeping each other in check.


    Amongst those factions, some objected to Seokhyun¡¯s return. Whatever the circumstances, it was only make sense that he had to leave because he had committed murder. President Jang Won-taek initially tried to persuade those factions, but gave up in the end. After all, there¡¯s no conversation between them at all, since those factions only want Seokhyun to be kicked out, regardless of the danger that might befall the shelter as a whole. Thankfully, as Jang Won-taek continued to ignore them, their voices also gradually faded.


    However, not everybody backed down. Geom-in¡¯s friends: Lee Jang-Hoon, Kim Dae-Ho, and Chae Sang-Shin were the exception. However, although the three were in an amicable relationship with Geom-in, they were not in the state of completely trusting him. They just agreed to join forces with him in order to take a bigger part in the shelter once the corrosive disease disappears.


    However, with Seokhyun¡¯s case, the three and Geom-in had different opinions regarding it. Geom-in wanted him to stay in the shelter while the other three were desperately against it. On the surface, they made the excuse that they couldn¡¯t just let a murder goes unpunished and need to set example so it won¡¯t happened again in the future. But deep down, their reasoning was far from those. It was because they hated the very existence of Seokhyun, or to be exact, the existence of I Love Gimbap, who was behind him.


    -Did they just let Seokhyun enter our shelter again? Don¡¯t they know he will only make our shelter worse?


    -In the past, that woman called Da-jeong was also here. It¡¯s obvious why the three stagnant waters are obsessed with this place.


    -That¡¯s right, they want the guns here. After all, no matter what you are, stagnant waters or whoever, with only one shot in the head, they would die. Immortality? What¡¯s so good about that if you can just keep shooting him?


    -Anyway, he must be expelled. Everyone agree on that?


    -Absolutely.


    -I¡­


    -Why can¡¯t you speak, Geom-in ssi?


    ¨C Our Geom-in is changing¡­ Didn¡¯t you say you would become the ruler of the shelter? But why didn¡¯t you show any effort?


    A rift had arisen between Geom-in and his colleagues. However, he could not just say that he received help from I Love Gimbap, and that he had a connection with him because he was afraid of being insulted. After all, the three of them boasted a considerable fighting power, so he did not want to completely sever the relationship between them.


    However, as soon as they heard the information regarding the labyrinth, they opened their mouths as soon as Geom-in returned to the shelter.


    ¡°Geom-in ssi? Did you hear the news?¡±


    ¡°What news?¡± Geom-in pretended not to know. It was because the meeting he just got back from was a secret from everyone in the shelter. Before he left, he told them that he¡¯s going to scout some area the President told him to. But unfortunately for him, the three didn¡¯t believe his words. After all, he was someone who didn¡¯t do the President¡¯s order unless it was really necessary.


    ¡°A labyrinth has been opened. It¡¯s located in the basement of Sindorim Station.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go there quickly. No need to scout in advance, after all, the Auction House will tell us what kind of labyrinth it is.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. There¡¯s just that many fools in the Auction House.¡±


    The blizzard had stopped, so Geom-in was tempted to just agree with their words. However, the fact that a growl was heard from the moment the labyrinth spawned made him hesitate. In his long playtime in Survival Life, he hadn¡¯t seen an easy labyrinth appear when it was spawned together with a growl from a monster. On top of it, the fact that Seongho was near the station also made him hesitate. Obviously, he would enter the labyrinth, and if he made a mistake, there was a risk that his path would overlap with Seongho¡¯s.


    ¡°¡­I just came back and I¡¯m not feeling really well. Let me take a break before we go.¡± Geom-in pretended to be tired, but everyone didn¡¯t believe his words.


    ¡°What are you talking about when you have a physical strengthening skill¡­ Stop pretending and let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you too much, Geom-in ssi? You always ask us to go with you whenever you want. But yet, you want to refuse our request?¡±


    ¡°SIgh¡­ Let¡¯s go then.¡± Geom-in sighed. At this point, he had no choice but to follow them. He just met Seongho and felt happy because he got to enjoy a delicious lunch. Yet, now, his mood had worsened considerably.


    The four packed their backpacks and went out of the shelter. Sindorim Station was quite close to one of the exits of the shelter. Therefore, they were able to get there quite quickly. However, they realized the atmosphere was strange as soon as they arrived. It was due to the fact that a woman¡¯s angry voice could be heard echoing throughout the basement. At the same time, screams of people could also be heard.


    ¡°There¡¯s a crazy b*t*h down there, run away!!!¡±


    ¡°AGGHHHHHHH!!!¡±


    The four rushed down the stairs and encountered a group of survivors. However, no matter how much they tried to ask them, it was of no use. The current situation was simply too chaotic for people to stop and talk with each other.


    Kieeekkk-!!


    People who were busy running away were startled by a high pitched shriek and stopped on their spot while quickly moving their hands into their respective weapon. Almost every single one of them heard the shriek for the first time in their life, except for one person: Bae Geom-in.


    ¡°It¡¯s a grasshopper! Hide!¡±


    ¡°G-grasshopper? What is that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a reinforced ghoul!¡±


    As soon as those words fell, a pair of disgusting long legs came down from the ceiling. When it landed on the ground, the long body and long arms of the ghoul finally could be seen. Without giving the time for the people to react, the ghoul shrieked as it blitzed towards the crowd.


    Reinforced ghoul. It was a monster which was a league above normal ghouls in terms of stats and fighting capability. Not only that, they were also classified into several types, as every entity had a special ability. In the case of a grasshopper, its name itself was self-explaining; It has a very high mobility and a very agile body


    ¡°Hide!¡± When someone shouted, they all ran to the bathroom on the other side. To be honest, if they worked together, they would be able to fight against it. But who in their correct minds would want to work together with strangers in this chaotic world?


    As they each hid in the men¡¯s and women¡¯s restrooms, a terrible scream was heard.


    ¡°AHHHHHH!¡± The person being chased by the grasshopper must have died. The rest of the survivors who heard the scream had to use every last of their wits to control their breathing and prayed that the reinforced ghoul would not come to their hiding place.


    However, at that moment, a woman passed through the platform with leisurely steps. Everyone looked at her at the same time, and had the same thought in their head.


    ¡®She¡¯s crazy¡­¡¯


    Even though it was an insulting thought, no one can blame them. The monster called a reinforced ghoul was not a monster that an individual could face. In some ways, it was even stronger than a werewolf.


    However, the woman didn¡¯t even flinch and walked proudly towards the ghoul, which was busy devouring the corpse of whoever it had just caught moments ago.


    Feeling the presence of the woman, the ghoul turned around to her direction and bare its teeth to her. At that moment, everyone who saw the scene was certain that blood would once again get spilled on the platform. However, as soon as people turned their heads in order not to look at the incoming grotesque scene, an amazing thing happened instead.


    The grasshopper crawled towards the woman who had stopped and lowered its posture in front of her. Its long red arms and legs were bizarrely bent, and it was a very ugly sight for the eyes, but it was clear that it was showing its obedience to the woman.


    At that scene, Geom-in finally realized who the woman was. How could he not? In Korea, or actually the whole world, there should be only one woman who can rule over zombies and ghouls.


    Then someone shouted from the women¡¯s restroom.


    ¡°You f*c*ing necrophiliac b*t*h!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Da-jeong¡¯s expression, which exudes happiness just a moment ago turned sour as soon as she heard those words.


    ¡°W-we aren¡¯t the one who said it!¡± The people in the women¡¯s restroom quickly make an excuse. Geom-in also joined them by desperately pointing his index finger towards the men¡¯s bathroom. However, Da-jeong¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change at all.


    ¡°Are you f*c*ing kidding me right now¡­¡±


    Just before she exploded in anger, a sudden sound of footsteps was heard from the men¡¯s restroom. Whoever it is, he seemed to have some stealth-type unique skill, as there¡¯s no one at the place where the footsteps were heard.


    ¡°Do you think you can run away from me?¡± As Da-jeong snorted, she snapped her fingers. Her ghouls began to flock in from here and there towards the place where the footsteps were heard. Then people rushed out of the bathroom. Even though they were innocent, they just didn¡¯t want to be there, in case they became a second-hand casualty.


    Meanwhile, Geom-in, who couldn¡¯t decide what to do, met the eyes of Da-jeong, who was passing by the bathroom.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Da-jeong¡­¡± She glared at him without saying a word and then turned her body around abruptly. Eventually, the ghouls, who were chasing after the invisible man, returned to her.


    ¡°Th-thank you.¡±


    ¡°Tell them that if they run their mouths again like that next time, I will really kill them..¡±


    He was so overwhelmed by her aura and just nodded, forgetting that whoever shouted those words just now was someone he didn¡¯t know.


    After living in the government shelter everyday, Geom-in¡¯s senses had dulled considerably. It could be said that he¡¯s like a frog while Da-jeong was the snake. No matter how big the frog becomes, in the end, it¡¯s still a frog. It wouldn¡¯t be a match against a snake.


    Geom-in didn¡¯t say anything and could only stare at her back as she walked away with his shoulders drooped.


    .


    .


    .


    The news that a labyrinth was opened at Sindorim Station was widely spread. Since the location was quite accessible, many survivors who thought they could afford to enter it headed towards Sindorim Station.


    But no one had successfully entered the labyrinth so far. The reason wasn¡¯t because of the monsters, which come out from the labyrinth. It was simply because the Ghoul Queen had completely blocked the entrance by stationing her ghouls around the corridors.


    If those guys were just normal ghouls, with so many people gathered around, they would surely be able to pass through it by fighting them. However, with just one reinforced ghoul added in the mix, it becomes impossible. The red grasshopper sprinted through walls and ceilings alike, chasing out those who had big enough balls to approach.


    Even an awakener with body strengthening skill had to run away, so forget about those who had stealth or even non-combat related skills. Around that time, the Auction House turned into a madhouse.


    -Is she crazy? Why the hell is she blocking the entrance?


    -Someone from the government shelter, please ask her why is she doing this?


    -It¡¯s been a long time since she left the government shelter.


    -Sh**. I heard people in Gangbuk had already entered.


    -Is there an entrance in Gangbuk?


    -The labyrinth has multiple entrances you f*c*ing id*ot!


    -Why are you swearing?


    -What? Do you have problem with me, you b*st*rd?


    The atmosphere in the comment section kept becoming more tense as time went by. The labyrinth was in front of them, but since they couldn¡¯t enter, it was only natural that they were angered.


    Without knowing about the events in the Auction House, Da-jeong sat on top of her ghoul at an entrance of the labyrinth and blocked the survivors from entering. It was all because of Seongho¡¯s request.


    ¡®He asked me to block it just until he¡¯s sure what type of labyrinth this labyrinth is, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    Some of the labyrinths completely block one of the user¡¯s abilities. In that case, entering through the same entrance would be dangerous because people would run into each other often.


    Da-jeong shouted to those who were running away from her ghouls.


    ¡°Come back next time! customer!¡±


    ¡°Oh f*ck!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really going crazy¡­¡±


    Sighs flowed from all over the platform. But there was no one who was brave enough to outrightly throw curses at Da-jeong. After all, her craziness was widespread through the Auction House, so no one wants to be the next one who tells the tales of her crazy moments.


    However, after some time passed, people who ran out of patience decided to use the thing most people in that place avoid to do in order to aggro Da-jeong away from the labyrinth entrance. They thought that they would be able to enter the labyrinth if they only made Da-jeong leave the entrance for a fraction of second. So, one particular man started swearing at her from a distance.


    But oh boy, they couldn¡¯t be any more wrong.


    The grasshopper, which had been hiding in the vent, jumped down. Its red limbs spread like a spider and attacked the man. The man who had some sort of acceleration skill tried to run away, but unfortunately for him, the grasshopper was faster. Its red limbs wrapped around the legs of the man and caught him, making him fall face-first to the ground.


    As Da-jeong snapped her fingers, the ghoul dragged the man towards her.


    ¡°It¡¯s easy to breathe these days because there is no fine dust, isn¡¯t it? Shall we raise the fine dust concentration a bit, today?¡±


    ¡°Sa, save me¡­ ah ah ah ah!¡±


    One-sided beatings followed. His group¡¯s miscalculation resulted with the man being the next person who will tell the violent tales of the Ghoul Queen.

 Chapter 126

    Should¡¯ve done 3 chaps for today update, but I drink waaaaaayyyyy too much yesterday to celebrate finishing Protag. My bad guys, i¡¯m still hangover until now¡­


    ¡°For f**k¡¯s sake!!!!¡± I screamed, letting up all the anger in my heart into the air. This labyrinth was truly a pain-in-the-butt type of labyrinth. If it wasn¡¯t really necessary and there¡¯s some other labyrinth spawning at the same time here in Korea, I would rather clear that one wherever it is than to go to this labyrinth. Unfortunately, since this labyrinth was the only one that has spawned in Korea, I had no choice but to do this one. The silver lining is, the higher the difficulty, the greater the rewards. Therefore, I should be getting something juicy once I clear this god-forsaken labyrinth.


    ¡°Ah, seriously¡­.¡± I removed the weeds clinging to my body once I got out of the swamp. Even though I said so, the ground I currently stepped on wasn¡¯t solid and dry when compared to the swamp area either.


    Anyway, this labyrinth was dark, damp and dangerous. In other words, it is the worst environment ever. And even though the amount of monsters in this labyrinth was far less than in any other types of labyrinth, the fact that it was mainly filled with lizardmen didn¡¯t make it easier. Those reptilian guys excel in this kind of environment, after all.


    ¡°The sensation back in the game was nothing compared to the real one.¡± I mused. It was clear to me now that no matter how vivid a VR equipment could be, it cannot come to par with the real senses of a human being.


    ¡°Is this place really clearable?¡± The difficulty of this labyrinth didn¡¯t rise slowly but peaked right out the bat. If a survivor couldn¡¯t get underwater breathing skill by killing the lizardmans around the entrance, they would have to go around the labyrinth while suffering a lot. Though, it doesn¡¯t matter to me since I already got that skill from the lizardmen back in the Black Forest.


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­ I¡¯m not the only one who feels that way, am I?¡± I opened the Auction House to verify my thoughts. Once I arrived at the special item filled with comments about this labyrinth, I sighed in relief.


    -How did you find the underwater cave? It¡¯s so freaking dark!!! I can¡¯t see anything. We are human, not fish!


    -Last time I checked, I don¡¯t have claustrophobia, but I was about to have it now¡­


    -The water currents are rapid¡­ It¡¯s scary¡­


    -Thump~ Thump~ Thump~


    -Wow, it¡¯s difficult right from the start¡­


    -Is it really possible to clear this place?


    -By the looks of things, the stagnant waters would also find it hard to clear this place! We have a chance guys! Fighting!


    ¡°FIghting my ass¡­¡± I scoffed. Then, I grabbed the tail of a lizardman sprawling right in front of me and headed towards the entrance. The reason I did this was because Da-jeong still hadn¡¯t got underwater breathing skill.


    ¡°Dingo, come out.¡±


    When I called him after opening the portal, Dingo came out with his tails moving right and left.


    ¡°Go and call that ferocious Noona for me, okay?¡±


    Woof-!!


    When I tapped his ass, Dingo entered the portal instead of running towards the entrance. Then moments later, she returned with Dingsoon in tow.


    ¡°¡­¡± I sighed and looked at Dingsoon. ¡°You must have a bad personality too, huh?¡±


    After telling Dingo what I truly meant this time, both he and Dingsoon ran towards the entrance. After a while, Da-jeong came in with only a single ghoul behind her.


    ¡°How¡¯s the labyrinth?¡± She asked as soon as she came close to me.


    ¡°To put it simply, it sucks.¡±


    ¡°Hoo¡­ Seems like the difficulty is on the higher end, huh?¡± Da-jeong smirked. ¡°What sucks more, though? The monsters? Or the environment?¡±


    ¡°The environment is very disgusting.¡±


    ¡°Then, what should I do with the ghouls?¡±


    ¡°Leave them outside and let¡¯s just go by ourselves. This place is too narrow for all of them. And since there aren¡¯t any strong monsters around, you should be fine.¡± I answered.


    At my words, Da-jeong nodded and unbuttoned her jacket. Then, she said with a giggle. ¡°Do you like your wife that much? You don¡¯t want to be separated from her, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Wife?¡±


    ¡°Once you already sleep with your lover, they become your wife! You don¡¯t know? Are you going to deny that too?¡±


    Is that really the case? Am I the strange one for not knowing so?


    Without giving her any answer, I took the jacket and pants she took off and put it inside the portal. Then I handed a wetsuit and boots I got from a fishing supply store, and a short adamant spear.


    She looked at me sullenly. ¡°Do I really need to use something like this?¡±


    ¡°Bows and swords are all unusable. Spear is the only weapon usable inside.¡± I can¡¯t even use a gun because we would have to hunt underwater. Well, there¡¯s a harpoon gun in my arsenal. But that thing was not useful at all except for shooting fish.


    Da-jeong took off her clothes and put the wetsuit on. And when she wore the swimming boots, she became a completely pink haenyeo. Then, I pointed to the half-dead lizardman who I brought here.


    (T/N: Haenyo(??): Female diver: A woman whose job is to dive into the sea and gather sea cucumbers, abalone, seaweed, etc.)


    ¡°Kill that guy first.¡±


    ¡°I thought it was already dead.¡±


    ¡°I leave that guy in that state because you said you still hadn¡¯t got underwater breathing skill.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ You think that far for me?¡±


    Isn¡¯t this quite normal?


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you the other equipments as we go.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯ll need it, though.¡±


    ¡°You will. I will lead the way, so all you have to do is follow.¡±


    As I was about to go, Da-jeong suddenly hugged me from behind.


    ¡°You can¡¯t run away from me¡­¡± There was a sense of loneliness in her tone as she said that. I thought she was the type of person who couldn¡¯t feel loneliness, but it seems like I was wrong.


    Or Is it because she got insulted a lot by other survivors?


    I turned her around and hugged her back.


    ¡°Why should I run away from my wife? Uhhhh, my wife~¡±


    I patted her on the ass, and a smile instantly appeared on her face. She then whispered in my ear.


    ¡°Since you¡¯ve touched my ass, shouldn¡¯t we go all the way? You are not going to sleep tonight. Be prepared.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but, let¡¯s clear the labyrinth first.¡±


    She killed the lizardman and gave her thumbs up as if breathing underwater.


    We headed towards the entrance to the labyrinth.


    .


    .


    .


    30 minutes after the cockroach couple entered the labyrinth, the ghouls blocking the entrance finally scattered. People who cursed at even the ancestors of the Ghoul Queen rushed to the entrance without any second thoughts. All of them wanted to check the inside of the labyrinth and decide whether to try to conquer it or not.


    However, the labyrinth presented them with great obstacles from the very first step. The muddy ground was one source of concern, but the underwater cave was the most prominent problem. Everyone who saw the dark, cramped passage filled with water, shuddered.


    ¡°Is there someone who is willing to go in and connect a rope to this side?¡±


    ¡°Are you saying you want to get a benefit from someone else¡¯s work? Are you sane?¡±


    That was the problem. If one suffers, the dozens others would benefit. Normally, the one who did it would end up getting applause and lauded for their heroic act, but not at this time. Everyone was well aware that helping others in the apocalypse was nothing but arrogance and stupidity. The reason they didn¡¯t attack each other right now was because they were still feeling a sense of camaraderie from their anger towards the Ghoul Queen who went in before them.


    However, as time passed, no one volunteered. Then, someone giggled and said,


    ¡°The other entrance is in a mess. Someone died in the middle of the underwater cave and the path was completely blocked. They have to get the body out if they want to enter, but no one wants to go in.¡±


    ¡°Such a thing¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s crazy, it¡¯s crazy.¡±


    ¡°That means, if we enter wrongly, we could die?¡±


    At that realization, everyone just stared. They were like kids who were waiting for someone to take the lead in a group assignment.


    Meanwhile, Geom-in was upset. At first, he wanted to enter the labyrinth and join Seongho and Da-jeong. However, with Da-jeong letting no soul pass through the entrance, he wasn¡¯t able to do it. Luckily, since he also has some know-how regarding labyrinth, it was possible for him to overcome this shitty environment.


    While Geom-in was thinking so, Kim Dae-ho asked from behind him.


    ¡°Our leader, Geom-in ssi, shouldn¡¯t you show some leadership right now?¡±


    ¡°I know, right. If you do this favour for all of us, we will follow you anywhere. Even to the end of the world!¡±


    At his subordinates¡¯ words, Geom-in clenched his teeth tight. He knew that it was just an empty pleasantries without meaning, but sadly, he simply couldn¡¯t refuse it. Geom-in took his shoes off and pulled a rope out of his backpack.


    As he prepared himself, Kim Dae-ho cheered and applauded. ¡°You are the best, Geom-in ssi. Everyone! Please give our leader, Survivor 1, also known as Geom-in of the government shelter an applause!¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s Survivor 1, isn¡¯t he a stagnant water?¡±


    ¡°But what is that person doing here?¡±


    Everyone looked at Geom-in with a mixture of dull and curious eyes. Geom-in muttered to himself that he¡¯s not here by chance. Back in the game, There were only three people who went around the labyrinth religiously. However, he¡¯s not one of them. Of course, it wasn¡¯t like he didn¡¯t have any experience at all, it was just this was his first time in a labyrinth like this.


    ¡°Come on! applause, applause!¡± As Chae Sang-shin encouraged them, those who were drawn to the crowd clapped and applauded.


    Clap Clap Clap-!!


    If it was Geom-in from a few weeks ago, he would have played along with his subordinates¡¯ mockery in order to burn his presence to the minds of the people who were here right now. However, the current Geom-in didn¡¯t even think about something like that anymore. After all, he had seen the reliable back of someone who paved the way for him. That person had even reached out his hand and tried to pull him away. And he no longer wants to turn away from that hand.


    Geom-in plunged into the underwater cave with a determined expression. After a while, the ropes were pulled tight and Geom-in resurfaced. The three people of the government shelters smiled broadly when they found Geom-in coughing. It wasn¡¯t a laugh of happiness no matter how he looked at it. It was closer to the joy of finding a pushover and being able to put them into good use.


    ¡°Geom-in ssi, you did great.¡±


    ¡°I wish you all the best in the future.¡±


    ¡°Because you are our leader, we will be able to do well. We will just follow.¡±


    Geom-in finally realized that the three people were not his allies. They were nothing but people who would readily throw him away if the situation dictated. Waves of resentment rages in his heart towards his past self for not noticing the nature of these guys.


    ¡®They are only pretending to be nice¡­¡¯ Geom-in bowed his head in shame. He had thought that those 3 guys were perfect for him to use. But¡­


    ¡®Not anymore.¡¯


    He stood up and jumped towards the underwater cave again in order to cross to the other side. Once he arrived, he could see a lot of people coughing while spitting a myriad of curse words. And soon after, the three men also resurfaced and walked towards Geom-in. Once the 4 of them regrouped, they proceed to move deeper into the dungeon.


    ¡°By the way, aren¡¯t you close with Choi Da-jeong, Geom-in ssi?.¡±


    ¡°It was just unrequited love. You know, that girl is fierce right? I bet she¡¯s crazy in bed too¡­¡±


    ¡°If I had a b**ch like that, I would slap her ass everyday, heh heh heh.¡±


    ¡°Hey, let¡¯s be as dignified as possible. We shouldn¡¯t talk about something like that.¡± One of them said, of course, not seriously.


    As they talked about those topics, Geom-in recalled the day when he¡¯s hellbent to win Da-jeong¡¯s heart. Now that he looks at it, it was really a pointless endeavor. After all, she didn¡¯t have him in her mind from the beginning.


    ¡®I should have treated her only as a friend¡­¡¯


    If he had, they might even be real friends by now. Geom-in remembered the time when he met Da-jeong, who was passing by outside the bathroom. Even though she did nothing, he still flinched. It was because he was not confident with herself. He had become a sad frog because he was always overly caring about other people¡¯s gaze.


    ¡®What should I do?¡¯


    As he pondered, he stopped in his tracks. Kim Dae-ho, who was following him, shoved him from the back. He seemed to be urging him to go quickly.


    Geom-in clenched his teeth. When he was with the three of them, this was always the case. However, he couldn¡¯t just run away from the three of them now. After all, this labyrinth was far too difficult for him to survive by himself.


    As Geom-in was contemplating, Lee Jung-hoon, who possesses a supersensory unique skill, warned.


    ¡°It smells strange. It¡¯s fishy¡­¡±


    Right after he said that, a group of lizardmen appeared from beyond the cave.


    Siiish-!! Siish-!!


    The group was startled and pulled out their weapons.


    ¡°It¡¯s too narrow here!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back little by little!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t push, you can just kill them!¡±


    The place was narrow, so it was impossible for them to move while holding a weapon. On the other hand, the lizardmen immediately threw their nets and charged. The 4 of them struggled against a group of lizardmen, which excel in moving in water. However, as all four of them could be said as battle-hardened veterans, they won the fight in the end. However, it was only achievable after they suffered a lot of injuries.


    Chae Sang-shin, who was applying a potion to the wound, spat out harsh words.


    ¡°Oh fuck¡­ You should have told me in advance that lizardmen can throw nets, Geom-in-ssi!¡±


    ¡°Who knew they would be hiding in the water?¡± Geom-in raised his voice in retaliation. But it only sounded like an excuse to the three of them.


    After all, If you¡¯re a stagnant water, and one of the original four no less, shouldn¡¯t you be aware of that?


    ¡°Seems like stagnant waters were actually nothing special.¡±


    ¡°Haish¡­ This ahjussi isn¡¯t trustable.¡±


    In an instant, anger surged within Geom-in. He wasn¡¯t the one who asked to come to the labyrinth. So what kind of bullshit they were talking about after bringing someone who just wants to rest?


    If he were his usual self, he would have kept his eyes down and said nothing, because he didn¡¯t want to throw away his connections.


    But he wasn¡¯t now.


    ¡°¡­who are the people who asked to come here in the first place? I clearly said I wanted to take a break!¡±


    However, instead of denying his accusation, the three of them only answered shamelessly.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. Our bad on that one. But since you are already here, shouldn¡¯t you work hard?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We have come all the way here. Or do you want to return, alone?¡±


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one who said we should go together wherever we go?¡±


    Geom-in said while holding back his anger.


    ¡°That¡¯s why! Let¡¯s not blame others and just fight against monsters.¡±


    The two camps looked at each other without saying a word. A mixture of anger and ridicule went back and forth. The harsh environment of the labyrinth had made such minor quarrels and turned them into rifts. The party ended the battle and climbed onto the wet ground to rest.


    While everyone was quietly chewing the biscuits they had, Kim Dae-ho murmured.


    ¡°People who entered from the other entrance saw a dead monster¡­¡±


    ¡°Did the monsters fight amongst themselves?¡±


    ¡°No, It had a hole in their forehead; traces of an adamant spear.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s I Love Gimbap¡¯s doing, huh?¡± Chae Sang-shin said full of conviction. And the two others nodded.


    ¡°That bastard sneaks in every time an event occured and sweeps everything¡­¡±


    ¡°But where did he enter from?¡±


    At that moment, they remembered Choi Da-jeong blocking the entrance for 30 minutes.


    Did she block the entrance to buy enough time for I Love Gimbap?


    Geom-in had thought that it was the case from the start, but he didn¡¯t keep his mouth shut. After all, It was kind of depressing and infuriating at the same time to see the other three stagnant waters had gathered without him.


    ¡®The three of them without me¡­¡¯ He was really envious of them having fun, eating delicious food, and even helping each other. Meanwhile, all he had were just these fake companions that are only using him for their benefit.


    Kim Dae-ho said as he took a biscuit out of the bag. ¡°Hey, right now, someone is instigating the Auction House. They said to attack I Love Gimbap.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that bastard is watching too, so can they even do that? Moreover, it looks like he was already far ahead of all of us.¡±


    ¡°You are so frustrating! The monster he killed had been found. If we follow that trail, we will surely meet him. It will also speed up our progress in the labyrinth.¡±


    ¡°If we do well, we might be able to kill him too¡­¡±


    When Lee Jang-hoon mumbled, everyone laughed at him.


    ¡°Killing I Love Gimbap? That¡¯s too far-fetched.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. That bastard must have all of his skill slots and items slots full. One or two people wouldn¡¯t be his opponent at all.¡±


    ¡°Why fight 1 on 1? We just have to catch him in bad timing and catch him off guard! This place was narrow and dark, if a lot of people attack him together, we will have a chance.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡¤¡± There was a problem that they had to catch up with him, but there seemed to be a possibility of killing him when they thought about it.


    Kim Dae-ho seemed excited, as if he had met I Love Gimbap in his imagination. ¡°Do you know how disgusting it was to have that bastard written on the ranking list in every single event? I think it would be refreshing to put a mithril knife on his chest!¡±


    ¡°Yeah. If I just meet him, I oughta¡­¡±


    Geom-in quietly packed his luggage without responding to their words. The reason they hate Seongho was a funny one. It was because he did not share his know-how with everyone.


    Chae Sang-shin, who was watching him, asked. ¡°What do you think, Geom-in-ssi? You must have hated I Love Gimbap too by now.¡±


    ¡°These days, Geom-in-ssi has really changed. You even befriended Rapwi, who you weren¡¯t friendly with in the past.¡±


    ¡°By the way, isn¡¯t Rapwi I Love Gimbap¡¯s friend? Maybe Geom-in-ssi is too?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not the case.¡± Geom-in denied and everyone burst out laughing. But no one laughed because it was really funny.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. We have to catch up with him.¡±


    Suddenly, it was decided that they would go after I Love Gimbap. Knowing this, Geom-in pretended to pee in the corner and posted some items and left a comment in it.


    -The lunch box was delicious.


    Seongho will see this comment and realize that it was from him.


    .


    .


    .


    Da-jeong clenched her teeth tight as she saw the comments people have posted on the Auction House since a while ago.


    ¡°Seongho, everyone has realized that you¡¯re here.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ with all the monsters we had killed so far, it was only natural. But, did they also realize that you blocked the entrance for me?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, they realized it too. So, they should be angry with us, right?¡±


    However, there was no tension in Da-jeong¡¯s face as she said that. After all, if push comes to shove, she just has to call her ghouls. It wasn¡¯t a big deal for me either. If they decide to materialize their anger by attacking us, they will pay the price for it.


    When I was looking at the Auction House to see all the comments they said about me, an item with a strange comment caught my eyes. The lunch box was delicious¡­ I think this is a message to me fr Geom-in. Just in case, I entered a comment saying ¡®Shindorim.¡¯ (E/n Idk what¡¯s Shindorim, but the author¡¯s probably wanted to write Sindorim, the name of a place in Seoul)


    And then, Geom-in warned me.


    -Be careful, people are looking for you right now.


    -It¡¯s not me who should be careful, it¡¯s the people looking for me. If you¡¯re with them, run away.


    -I¡¯m sorry¡­ I can¡¯t do that right now.


    It looks like he was stuck with them for some reason. I was about to ask what was going on, but Geom-in told me where he was.


    -Currently, I am in a swampy area with tall trees, and three people are walking ahead of me. The guy with short hair is someone with a body-strengthening unique skill¡­


    Geom-in described the unique skill characteristics of his colleagues who were after me. The area Geom-in told me was close to where I was currently, so it would be dangerous for me and Da-jeong if we didn¡¯t take any countermeasures.


    Unfortunately, an alarming comment was posted before I could even send a warning to Geom-in.


    ¨C Ouch!


    That was the end of it. Geom-in sent no further comments


    I stood up as I closed the Auction House and said to Da-jeong.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go get Geom-in.¡±

 Chapter 127

    ¡°It won¡¯t be easy for them to beat Geom-in.¡± I said towards Da-jeong. Even though Geom-in was relatively the weakest among us, he was still one of the four stagnant waters nonetheless. Therefore, when it comes to things like a sudden enemy attack in the labyrinth, he shouldn¡¯t be able to be completely caught off guard. Looking at the last comment he left, it seems to be the case, so he should be able to act accordingly.


    Da-jeong said.


    ¡°But he¡¯s Geom-in¡­ Don¡¯t you think he¡¯s a little too weak?¡± Da-jeong disagreed.


    ¡°I think so too.¡± I said as we traced the way we came and headed for the swamp where the old tree was. As Da-jeong said, Geom-in was a little too weak when compared to us. Of course, his multiple unique skills acquired by copying others were a fairly powerful unique skill. However, it was by no means overpowered, because just like in Wolmido, the result it brought was not that good.


    Da-jeong followed me and murmured. ¡°I don¡¯t think he will be able to fight them because he¡¯s timid.¡±


    ¡°Back when he fought against the griffon, he fought well.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because he¡¯s fighting with other people. He¡¯s not good at fighting alone.¡±


    ¡°Have you seen it?¡±


    ¡°A few times. That guy isn¡¯t particularly good at direct fighting. If you are like a butcher when you fight, he¡¯s like headless chicken. He ran around well, but not cool at all.¡±


    ¡°What kind of analogy is that¡­¡± It seems to be true that Geom-in¡¯s fighting power is weak. If he joined us after this, it seems like I would have to give him some counseling.


    When I said that, Da-jeong¡¯s voice rose several notes higher. ¡°You are willing to let him join us? Will we be finally reunited?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Now is the time for all of us to gather.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? I¡¯m still unsure about him¡­¡±


    ¡°The most important thing is his feelings. Do you still hate him, by the way?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I hate him¡­ I just don¡¯t like his attitude. Whenever I meet him, I feel like he¡¯s spying on my legs.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it wasn¡¯t because of that, but because he¡¯s not crazy like the 3 of us.¡±


    ¡°What the¡­ Why are you suddenly taking his side?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that¡­ That guy is a bit ordinary, a bit timid, and a bit greedy. But he¡¯s still fine. And to be honest, me and Seokhyun are more abnormal, because we can treat you normally even after looking at your body.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I do admit that.¡± Da-jeong giggled.


    ¡°When you travel with Seokhyun, nothing happens, right? When we first meet, too, nothing happens, right?¡±


    ¡°Now that I think about it¡­ you guys are weird. Usually, in an apocalypse, men would do anything to have a go with a woman, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. And Geom-in should also be like that. He wants to stand above others, he wants to dominate and rule people, and he wants to date pretty girls¡­¡±


    ¡°Now that you put it like that¡­ I guess you are right.¡±


    ¡°You said he was in his mid-20s, aren¡¯t you? It seems to me that he was deliberately acting like that towards you in order to not get pushed away by you. He¡¯s at an age when he can be a little pretentious, after all.¡±


    ¡°So what do you want to say?¡±


    ¡°If we save him this time, he will definitely be on our side. There¡¯s no need to wait for a crack to appear in the government shelter before taking him.¡±


    ¡°But, if our relationship with him becomes better, wouldn¡¯t he be able to copy our unique skills?¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡± To be honest, I never thought that Geom-in¡¯s unique skill would be able to copy our unique skill perfectly. After all, it had the modifier ¡®unique¡¯ to it. If he were able to get a perfect copy of our unique skills, it wouldn¡¯t be unique anymore, after all. So, the most probable outcome was it could only make an inferior copy of a unique skill.


    ¡°And when that happens, the world inside the portal will no longer be mine alone.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ that¡¯s right? Will the portal open for me to enter?¡±


    Perhaps the portal will open only with my permission.


    ¡°There is a possibility. If we can do that, we can all enter, work together, play together, eat together¡­ and so on.¡±


    ¡°All four of us, wandering through a forest in another world? It¡¯s gonna be fun!!!¡±


    ¡°To do that, we have to rescue Geom-in first. Let¡¯s see¡­¡± I drew the surrounding terrain and explained what we were going to do to Da-jeong. I planned to make her drag the aggro of those guys from the front, while I attacked them from the flank.


    ¡°Don¡¯t attack and just draw their attention. Check the situation and let them come to you.¡±


    ¡°What if the situation makes me have to attack? Now that I look at it, the b*st*rds at the Auction House were feeling very excited.¡±


    ¡°If the situation becomes like that, just retreat. After all, people who want to meet me are not just one or two people, and I want to make their dream come true.¡± I smirked. Even at this moment, their swearing was still coming at me in the Auction House. I had grown tired of their swearing. So, this time, I wouldn¡¯t just let them go away with it.


    .


    .


    .


    In the middle of a wet, swampy area, four people were fighting. It was Geom-in and his ex-colleagues. The three of them launched a surprise attack towards Geom-in when he was warning Seongho through the Auction House. It was partly Geom-in fault too, though. He misjudged Lee Jang-hoon¡¯s sensory ability range and ended up getting attacked by those who were suspicious of his movement.


    Of course, Geom-in wasn¡¯t someone who would easily go down because of an attack. Even though he deliberately avoided fighting against humans, it didn¡¯t mean he was afraid of them. He was ready to do it if he didn¡¯t have any other choice.


    However, currently, he was in possession of three unique skills: Blink, Physical Strengthening, and Restraint. A set of unique skills specialized in fighting a small number of enemies. Therefore, he was quite at a disadvantage. However, he still withstood the surprise attack and took the opportunity to counterattack.


    ¡°That b*st*rd is screwed!¡±


    ¡°Attack!!!¡±


    The wide swarm turned messy due to the fight. Geom-in widened the distance between him and the three with a blink. The distance he traveled was not long due to his narrow field of view, but that was enough.


    ¡°YOU TRAITOR!¡± Kim Dae-ho jumped and flew towards Geom-in. Unfortunately for him, Geom-in was already prepared for his attack and restrained him with his skill. Then he used blink once again and moved towards Lee Jang-hoon, who was just loading his crossbow.


    Lee Jang-hoon immediately swung his crossbow, and Geom-in blocked the attack with his shoulder.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    If it had been Seongho or Seokhyun, who excel at close quarter combat, they would have launched a headbutt or knee strike to him after blocking the attack. However, because Geom-in was quite timid, he wasn¡¯t familiar with the pain and withdrew, which was a fatal mistake.


    ¡°You¡¯re dead!¡± Chae Sang-shin rushed in without missing an opportunity. Since his unique skill was instantaneous acceleration, if his enemy was not used to it, they would be beaten one-sidedly by him. It was proven by the fact that Geom-in¨Cwho had little experience in 1 on 1 fight¨Cwas beaten unilaterally by him only after a few exchanges of strikes.


    Puk-!! Puk-!! Puk-!!


    Geom-in was being hit in the face in succession and retreated. When he was distracted by his pain, the other two rushed to him. With the one with physical strengthening unique skill stuck close to him and the one with sensory ability blocked his movement, Geom-in quickly turned into a rag. In order to fully demonstrate his unique skill, he had to concentrate, but it was difficult to do so while fighting three people at the same time.


    At that moment, the bolt shot by Lee Jang-hoon lodged into Geom-in¡¯s shoulder, who was still hesitating.


    ¡°ACKKK!¡± Geom-in grabbed his shoulders and fell to his knees. Without giving him time to recover, the two other men surrounded Geom-in on both sides and presented indiscriminate violence to him.


    In front of the flurry of attacks, Geom-in had no choice but to wrap his head and crouch as much as possible. He didn¡¯t even think of using his blink to run away as he was worried that he would die.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe this b*st*rd!¡±


    ¡°Kick him hard! Break his head!¡±


    ¡°Hey! Hey! Let him stand right there.¡± With his crossbow loaded, Lee Jang-hoon smirked. He was planning to use Geom-in as a target practice. After all, with physical strengthening unique skill, if he avoided shooting his vitals, he wouldn¡¯t die.


    Noticing Lee Jang-hoon¡¯s intentions, the other two nodded and dragged Geom-in to his feet. Despite his fairly strong body, he was now a mess of bruises and wounds.


    ¡°Hey b*st*rd, stand up!¡±


    ¡°Shoot him in the d*ck!¡±


    ¡°If I do that, wouldn¡¯t I become a murderer?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± It¡¯s a very delicate situation where they could beat him as many times as they want, but they can¡¯t kill him.


    At that moment, two men entered the swamp. While Geom-in was warning Seongho about the ambush, the three of them did not only stand still. They also did the same to the other survivors in the labyrinth. And the two men were part of people who were incited by them.


    Chae Sang-shin clapped his hands as he saw them.


    ¡°Here you go! This guy is I Love Gimbap¡¯s colleagues!¡±


    ¡°I beg your pardon? Isn¡¯t that person Survivor 1?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s the one who entered the underwater cave.¡±


    ¡°This b*st*rd deceived us! He¡¯s deliberately not helping us to buy time for Gimbap!¡±


    ¡°Cough¡­ Cough¡­¡±


    Geom-in gave strength to his arm which was being held from behind him, but he could not get away. After all, Kim Dae-ho, whose stats were almost the same as him, was the one who was holding his arms.


    Only then did the two new arrivals understand the situation.


    ¡°Are you going to kill him?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you guys come from the government shelter? What if they questioned why did you guys return without him?¡±


    ¡°We can just say that he died in the labyrinth.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. This place is dangerous, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if people died here.¡±


    ¡°AHA!¡±


    ¡°But¡­ We can¡¯t use our own hands¡­ You guys, get 50 points¡­¡±


    ¡°Still, killing people is a bit¡­¡±


    ¡°Just think this guy is Gimbap and do it.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    One of the two new arrivals walked closer towards Geom-in, as if persuaded. Meanwhile, Kim Dae-ho smashed Geom-in¡¯s head to the ground. At that moment, someone appeared from the other entrance. It was a woman draped in a pink swimsuit. People instantly drooled over her body.


    ¡°Who is that?¡±


    ¡°Wow, her body is no joke.¡±


    With her hair tied up and a hat on, the three men of the government shelter did not even recognize that the woman was Da-jeong. Meanwhile, from their flank, a human butcher entered.


    .


    .


    .


    A bolt popped out of the air all of a sudden and stuck in Kim Dae-ho¡¯s abdomen.


    ¡°ACCKKKKK!¡± Without being able to do anything, he fell to his knees and screamed. At the same time, his grip on Geom-in¡¯s arms was released, and people looked at him with their eyes widened.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Wha-what¡¯s happening?¡± Between the remaining 4, Lee Jang-hoon was particularly surprised. He never thought that someone would be able to sneak through his senses.


    Where the hell did he come from?


    In the span of two seconds, of which they used to try and get a grasp of the situation, Seongho spread the dimension wall around his surroundings and used it as a footsteps to rush in. Everyone was astonished at his movement, which looked as if he was running and stepping on air.


    ¡°Uh, how did he do it?¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­¡±


    ¡°Now is not the time for admiring things!!!¡± One person who grasped the situation quicker than others screamed and rushed to intercept Seongho¡¯s movement. But, Seongho didn¡¯t entertain him and just opened his dimensional prison in front of the guy, sending him to god-only-knows where. Only then did the remaining three realize who the attacker was.


    ¡°It¡¯s I Love Gimbap!!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Seongho jumped into the air and threw his emeras throwing knife at Chae Sang-shin. WIth a ferocious hum, it pierced the air and dug deep into the shoulder of Chae Sang-shin, who was right next to Geom-in. Seongho had aimed at his body, but he was able to avoid it with his instantaneous acceleration unique skill.


    ¡°You b*st*rd!¡± Chae Sang-shin endured the pain and ran towards Seong-ho. His anger, which was already overflowing, became even more so because of the pain. However, as soon as he entered a hand-to-hand fight with Seongho, he realized that something was wrong.


    ¡®How¡­¡¯ His opponent easily avoids his rapid attack. He couldn¡¯t wrap his head around it. No matter how high ones¡¯ stats was, it was still difficult to cope with such a quick attack.


    Did he by chance already meet someone with instant acceleration before?


    Many thoughts ran through his head. However, it was soon cut off as Seongho¡¯s fists buried itself in his stomach.


    ¡°Keuk!¡± His body trembled as he fell to his knees. His intestines ruptured, and blood foam poured out of his mouth. At that moment, Seongho¡¯s eyes were already dyed red as he slowly retrieved his fist. Meanwhile, the other two retreated, startled by his eerie gaze.


    ¡°Cr-crazy¡­¡±


    ¡°What the¡­ He¡¯s not weak¡­¡±


    Up until now, there were a lot of false rumors about I Love Gimbap making rounds at the Auction House. While many people acknowledged his achievement, there were also a lot of people who didn¡¯t share the same feeling.


    However, Seongho had no intention of correcting it. After all, in the apocalypse, ignorance meant death. He ran towards the two of them without saying a word.


    Meanwhile, Da-jeong, who rested on top of a broken old tree, couldn¡¯t peel her eyes from the fight. She felt it all over again¡­


    ¡°He¡¯s really strong¡­¡± At first, she thought she¡¯d help him a bit, since there were five opponents. However, it turns out to be unnecessary. His stats was one factor which was enabling him to win. However, what made her astonished was not that, but the way he utilized his unique skill.


    His dimensional wall was strong even though it only lasted for a few seconds. However, if one only focused on that wall, they would be in for a surprise since his punches were deadly. With only one punch from him, they would surely fall and die. Moreover, Seongho seemed to understand his opponent¡¯s unique skill well and was capable of responding accordingly.


    ¡®I think I¡¯m going to fall in love even deeper¡­.¡¯


    The battle was over in an instant. The man who finally came out of the dimensional prison was out cold. Meanwhile, Seongho was just fine. his breathing was a bit rough, though.


    ¡°Can you stand up?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    Geom-in opened his mouth and barely answered. After drinking the potion Seongho gave to him, the wound around his body was healed quite a bit, but the psychological impact he suffered was quite severe. After all, he never thought that Seongho would be this strong. Yes, he knows that he¡¯s strong, but not this strong.


    Then Da-jeong said, ¡°Hey you two, we don¡¯t have time for a tearful and dramatic reunion. People are coming.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I think one of them reported it to the Auction house.¡±


    ¡°Th-then, we¡¯ll be in trouble¡­¡± However, unlike Geom-in, who doesn¡¯t know what to do and is afraid, Seongho was carefree.


    ¡°We can just kill them all.¡±


    ¡°You want to become a murderer and resurrect?¡±


    ¡°No, there are a lot of penalties for that. In this kind of environment, there are many ways to kill people without become a murderer.¡±


    ¡°How exactly?¡± When Da-jeong asked, Seongho told them the methods he had been using: Blocking the entrance of the underwater cave with his portal and making them die in the hands of monsters, pouring gasoline around them and forcing them to hold firecrackers in their hands, and many more.


    ¡°Oh my god¡­¡¤¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re totally crazy¡­¡±


    The eyes of the two opened wide at Seongho¡¯s ruthless methods. He¡¯s really the human butcher.


    At that moment, she stood up and walked towards Geom-in.


    ¡°Our timid Geom-in, are you all right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Even if I looked like this, I was quite strong.¡±


    ¡°Then, why can¡¯t you fight properly?¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡± Geom-in, who was about to make more excuses, bit his lips. Right now, instead of making excuses, he feels like he just wants to admit it. ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m weak. Sorry.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Da-jeong, who wondered what kind of excuse he was about to make, couldn¡¯t help but be surprised at his answer.


    Had he grown up a bit?


    At that moment, she heard a clap from somewhere and whipped her head towards the direction it was coming from. There, she could see someone walking towards them, wearing nothing but a wet panty. Geom-in and Seongho, who were also looking in the man¡¯s direction, were surprised by his sudden appearance.


    ¡°Seokhyun, why are you here¡­¡±


    ¡°Rapwi! You are here to help?¡± Da-jeong was happy and proud at the same time, smiling broadly.


    ¡°No. I just came here because I saw you guys while passing by.¡±


    (E/n the four are now reunited!)

 Chapter 128

    Months after the D-day of the apocalypse, the four original stagnant waters were finally gathered in one place. However, there was no time for them to have some conversation between old friends while reminiscing about the past. It was due to the fact that the five survivors who attacked Geom-in were still around them, bleeding and moaning.


    Seongho called his 3 friends to one side of the swamp. ¡°The atmosphere is not right for our reunion. Let¡¯s do that after we leave this place. Da-jeong, can you take Geom-in out?¡±


    ¡°Do you really want to kill them all?¡±


    ¡°I will kill everyone who comes in. Then it will finally be quieter for once.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that, right? They aren¡¯t familiar with the terrain here, so if we just quickly clear the boss room and leave¡­¡± Da-jeong advised. The thought of killing a dozen or more people was too much for her, no matter how crazy she was. On top of that, since it¡¯s the first time the four of them gathered, she seems to want to keep the good mood up.


    However, Seongho¡¯s thoughts were different from her. ¡°Open the Auction House now and see for yourself.¡±


    The three of them entered the Auction House and saw the active comment section, then fell silent.


    -Have anyone seen I Love Gimbap?


    -No one?


    -Where the f**k is the swamp with old trees¡­ all I see are caves¡­


    -But guys, can we even win if meet that b*st*rd?


    -If we attack him altogether, he can¡¯t do anything.


    -That b*st*rd must be watching this comment. Yet he didn¡¯t say anything. Which means he¡¯s afraid. We can definitely beat him.


    -LOLOLOLO. Are you drunk? even if you approach him with stealth, you will be found out.


    -Why are you saying that? Are you a spy?


    -By the way, once you guys beat him, what will you do? Kill him?


    -Of course! I think it would be refreshing to kill that b*st*rd.


    -But was it so wrong that he didn¡¯t reveal the information he had? You guys here also didn¡¯t give anyone information for free, aren¡¯t you?


    -LOLOLOLO. In my opinion, these guys were just being salty. They can¡¯t stomach him taking what they couldn¡¯t have.


    -AH¡­ They are just thugs then¡­


    -They just wanted to put a blame on someone because they were annoyed that the world was messed up.


    -You are I Love Gimbap, aren¡¯t you?


    -It¡¯s convenient to blame everything on I Love Gimbap. Why did I die? Because I Love Gimbap didn¡¯t release the information. Why do I have to starve? Because I Love Gimbap didn¡¯t release the information.


    -Why am I ugly? Because I Love Gimbap didn¡¯t release the information.


    -LMAOOOOOO


    -Don¡¯t forget that Duck buttock is here too. That f**king b**ch blocked the entrance.


    -Wait a minute, then, aren¡¯t there two of the four stagnant waters here?


    -I remember someone saying that Survivor 1, Bae Geom-in is actually on Gimbap¡¯s side, that he¡¯s a traitor. So doesn¡¯t that mean there¡¯s three of the four?


    -Really?


    -F**k. Don¡¯t tell me Rapwi is here too¡­


    -Are you scared?


    -Scared my ass. Rapwi is just human in the end. If we all attack together, he can do nothing!


    -In movies, people who said that always died first.


    -LOL


    Da-jeong, took a deep breath as she read the comment.


    ¡°You must be angry to see something like this every day.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I want to kill everyone who comes in here. Then it will be a little quieter.¡±


    Seokhyun, who was still quiet, approached Geom-in at that moment. ¡°We must take the arrow out. Clench your teeth.¡±


    ¡°What¡­what are you going to do?¡±


    ¡°Just clenched your teeth tight.¡± Without being able to object further, Geom-in surrendered to his fate. However, unlike his words, Seokhyun slapped him in the face rather than pulling the arrow, making him lose consciousness. Only after that did Seokhyun pull the arrow lodged in his shoulder.


    ¡°Duck, bring him out. Two of us will take care of this place.¡± Seokhyun said while applying a potion to Geom-in open wound.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better for us to leave altogether later?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Seongho answered as he checked his weapon stored in the dimension slot. ¡°It¡¯s narrow here, so it¡¯s hard for your ghouls to run rampant. And Geom-in will not be of much help either.¡±


    ¡°When you put it like that¡­¡± Geom-in was not awfully weak, but he¡¯s by no means extremely strong either. Therefore, Da-jeong could agree with Seongho¡¯s assessment.


    ¡°Take Geom-in to our hideout and wait there. We will go there after finishing our work.¡±


    ¡°Fine¡­. Rapwi! You give the last hit from the boss to him, okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    With that, Da-jeong supported the fainted Geom-in and went outside. Now, the human butcher and the immortal were ready to hunt some survivors.


    .


    .


    .


    Of course, not everyone who entered the labyrinth was Seongho¡¯s enemy. Some people only want to attack the labyrinth, so they need to give them the chance to run away. He opened the Auction House and wrote a comment on the auctioned item with the labyrinth as it¡¯s topic.


    -Attention. This is I Love Gimbap.


    -?


    -You are an impostor, aren¡¯t you?


    -Yeah. There are more than 10 people who claim to be that b*st*rd before you, you know.


    -Give us evidence!


    -It¡¯s up to you to believe it or not. I will only say a few words. I know there are people who came into the labyrinth, with the intention of purely trying to attack the wetland labyrinth. For those people, get out from the labyrinth now!


    -What right do you have to command us like that?


    -It doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t leave. But, don¡¯t whine once you die.


    -What the?


    -Are you threatening us?


    -That¡¯s right. This is a threat. I¡¯ll give you 10 minutes, so get out of the labyrinth quickly. Because once 10 minutes has run out, I¡¯ll kill everybody.


    -This funny b*st*rd. Who are you to tell us to get out?


    -Let me tell you once again. It doesn¡¯t matter if you stay here. There¡¯s no difference between killing ten or eleven people.


    -If you are really I Love Gimbap, let me ask you one thing. Why did you take all your MeTube videos down?


    -It¡¯s obvious. This b*st*rd wants to live alone.


    -Don¡¯t get me wrong. I didn¡¯t take it down just because I wanted to hide it. I take it down since the game is closing. Is it wrong to do that?


    -What a nonsense, that b*st*rd is lying!


    -Even if the video was taken down, the original is still there. Why didn¡¯t you share it with the community?


    -Why do I have to?


    -You f*ck*ng b*st*rd, we can live together if you share it. They all die because of your selfish act!


    -Why are you making a fuss about the video when you just heard it from the community?


    -Humanity was wiped out because you hid it! It¡¯s the same as you killing them all, you kinslayer!


    -Funny¡­ Did I call the zombie spores and the corrosive disease? Whether the information is released or not, the end is certain. What¡¯s different?


    -At least there must have been more survivors than there are now. Everyone died because of you.


    -You guys are still alive yet still cursed at me. I bet it will be the same even if I give everything away.


    -Anyway, you killed them all, you murderer b*st*rd.


    -Yeah I¡¯m a murderer. Curse me more.


    For a few minutes after that, swear words poured towards him. When the other survivors who are off the Auction House heard that the real Gimbap had appeared, everyone immediately went in and did not even hesitate to throw in all kinds of insults towards Gimbap. Even his parents, ancestors, his dog, and everyone related to him got cursed as well.


    Seongho just looked at the comments until ten minutes had passed. And then,


    -10 minutes have passed. From now on, everyone in the labyrinth will die.


    -You are bluffing.


    -Hey, the ghouls went outside the labyrinth¡­ doesn¡¯t that mean that Duck Buttock had gone out too?


    -Then is he alone?


    -How about Survivor 1? Is he still alive? I read earlier that some guys from the government shelter were about to kill him.


    -Hey, where are the guys who asked for help earlier?


    -They are not dead yet, but they are going to die soon.


    -They guy above me, are you I Love Gimbap? Let me ask you one thing. Are you going to kill them all and kill yourself before respawning using the resurrection scroll?


    -Why should I use something so precious to kill all of you? There¡¯s a lot of ways kill people in this labyrinth that wouldn¡¯t turn me into murderer.


    -You b*st*rd is only good with things like that.


    -Totally crazy b*st*rd.


    -You guys are the ones who are crazy. Haven¡¯t you guys been itching to kill me for months now?


    -But I¡¯m here for the first time today?


    -I know better than everyone that not everyone in the auction house swears at me. After all, I¡¯ve recorded the IDs of everyone who ever insulted me, from day one till today.


    -What?


    ¨C The ID of those who insulted me. Let¡¯s see¡­ The ID of the guy above me is Rapwi-nim Please Marry Me. Didn¡¯t you insult my parents before? I wonder what I should do? My mother passed away a long time ago.


    -No, I didn¡¯t do that¡­


    -Do you think I will forget you, who always follows Rapwi everywhere back in the game? Are you still going to hunt me down when you go to Busan?


    -What the hell, it¡¯s not me.


    -Of course, you are not. Don¡¯t you guys feel safe because this place is anonymous?


    -What is my ID then?


    -Parking King Parking.


    ¨C Parking King Parking¡­ What kind of ID was that LMAOOOO.


    -Genital Size King, I am a Mob.


    -Huh?


    As Seong-ho gave them their ID one by one, the Auction House went dead silent.


    -I already warned all of you. It was you who chose to ignore it.


    Everyone couldn¡¯t hide their shock. In particular, Jo Yuhwan. After all, she was the one who incited the Auction House for a long period of time. Then, from her back, her colleague patted her on the back, trying to reassure her.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine. What can he do alone?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. There are four of us, we will win and show off in the Auction House.¡±


    ¡°We are not alone here. Find someone who travels alone and ask them to join us.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute..¡¤¡± Yuhwan wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked at the comment section.


    -You must be thinking. I am trapped here all alone. What can I do against so many people? Guess what? I am not trapped here with you. All of you are the ones trapped in this labyrinth, with me.


    -I¡¯ll come to every single one of you, and I will kill every single one of you, so just sit tight and wait for your turn.


    That was the last comment written by I Love Gimbap. Yuhwan¡¯s colleagues, who saw it, began to sweat, and everyone went silent. They realized that something was going wrong.


    .


    .


    .


    Seongho told one scarab the way to the boss room. Meanwhile, Seokhyun was looking at him as he couldn¡¯t understand why he chose to do that.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it become easier if I help?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it will be more efficient. But this is my fight, against my own enemies.¡±


    ¡°My friend¡¯s enemy is also my enemy.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Seongho would be lying if he said that he wasn¡¯t touched by Rapwi¡¯s words. However, he still had no intention of changing his decision.


    ¡°If you really want to help me, just go to the boss room first. I want to finish all this alone.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ Then I¡¯ll go first, I Love Gimbap.¡±


    ¡°Why are you calling me that suddenly?¡±


    ¡°Seegs!¡±


    ¡°Ye-yeah¡­ Seegs¡­¡± At that moment, Seokhyun left the swamp area with the scarab on his shoulder.


    After making sure that he had left, Seongho went to another area to look for some lizardmen. When he found them, he would hit them lightly before running away. After repeating it for a few times, he kited them to the cave where the 5 unconscious survivors were and opened the portal to hide.


    Meanwhile, the 4 survivors, except Kim Dae-ho, started to come to their senses.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh f*ck¡­¡± Each of them cursed and tried to rise to their feet. Their faces were pale and their eyes were filled with fear. Kim Dae-ho, whose stomach was pierced by an arrow, was even paler than the others because of the bleeding.


    ¡°Dae-ho-ssi, Dae-ho-ssi!¡±


    ¡°Hey, what should we do about him?¡±


    ¡°It is dangerous to pull the arrow out. If he die, the person who pulls the arrow will become a murderer.¡±


    As they hesitated, they moved away from Dae-ho, who was yet to die.


    ¡°But where did I Love Gimbap go?¡± Someone asked, and when Chae Sang-shin opened the Auction House to get some information, he was shocked before slowly turning his head towards his colleagues.


    ¡°He¡­ He announced at the Auction House that he¡¯s going to kill everyone inside the labyrinth¡­¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? Didn¡¯t he left without killing us because he didn¡¯t want to be murderer?¡±


    At that time, several lizardmen appeared from the entrance of the cave. The eyes of those who had not noticed them instantly went larger.


    ¡°F*CK!!!¡±


    ¡°Run away!¡±


    Everyone limped and ran, but the man in the lead banged his head on something and fell to his back.


    ¡°Keuk¡±


    ¡°What, what?¡±


    ¡°Move! Move!¡±


    The person who was trying to push him out also bumped into something. His hand and body felt something invisible was blocking the space in front of him. However, no matter how hard he pushed at it, he couldn¡¯t even feel it budge a little.


    ¡°We are stuck here!¡± When the lizardmens were close enough to them, they threw the net at them. Two people instantly got caught in it. And before long, tridents pierced through their chest.


    ¡°Ackk!¡± A desperate scream echoed through the cave. Normally, the combined power of the four would be enough to kill several lizardmens. However, as they were suffering from severe wounds from the previous fight, and weren¡¯t in their right mind because of the fear, their body was unable to move as they wanted.


    ¡°¡­¡± Seongho came out as the five survivors died. Without sparing any glance at their body, he moved to another place. It would be nice to kill and loot the lizardmen, but his priority right now was to hunt all the other survivors inside the labyrinth.


    .


    .


    .


    Jo Yuhwan and her party hurriedly turned around and ran as fast as they could towards the entrance. At first, they planned to push I Love Gimbap to the corner by collaborating with other people, but the situation had changed. When I Love Gimbap mentioned each of their IDs one by one, everyone got scared. In their party, there was one amongst them who was mentioned. It was Jo Yuhwan herself.


    ¡°I told you several times not to do that. Why are you still doing that?¡±


    ¡°What did I do? He doesn¡¯t know where we are anyway.¡±


    Jo Yuhwan spouted some excuse to the man who scolded her, but deep down she knew that she was in trouble. In the midst of her darkness, she looked everywhere rapidly with her panic-filled eyes. At that moment, the man who ran in front of her stopped and scolded her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care whether that b*st*rd know or not. You should be careful in the first place! Why do you keep angering him by insulting him? And also insulting his parents, even!?¡±


    Normally, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem as they 4 were always laughing together when they were cursing at I Love Gimbap. However, a few minutes ago, I Love Gimbap had mentioned her ID: Tall Woman. Not only that, he also pointed out that her lover¡¯s ID was Tall Man. Because of that, she and her party were frightened and ran away from the Auction House, but it was too late, as her ID had already been recorded by I Love Gimbap, and she had been marked.


    ¡°If we leave this labyrinth, we¡¯ll be safe! And what¡¯s so scary? There are four of us.¡± Tall Woman spat towards her lover, Tall Man.


    ¡°Ha¡­ Really¡­ You can say that because you don¡¯t know how strong I Love Gimbap is.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you would crush him if he showed up? Where did all that courage go?¡±


    ¡°This girl¡­¡±


    ¡°What? Do you want to hit me? Hit me! Hit me!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just not fight¡­¡±


    The other two tried to separate the fighting couple. But they didn¡¯t even listen. The veins bulging on their neck was evidence of how intense their emotion was.


    ¡°For F**k sake! Just stop!!¡±


    ¡°What did you say? F**K?¡±


    Now, it¡¯s not just the couple who were fighting, but all four of the party. The extreme circumstances they found themselves in had blown all of their reasoning out of their heads. And as they pointed and argued like that, they didn¡¯t even realize that a fairly huge man dressed in black was slowly creeping towards them.


    ¡°Tall Woman, and Tall Man. Found you.¡±


    When the woman heard that her ID was being called, she bent her knees a little to make her look shorter. But the ghastly gaze of the man was directed right at her.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless to hide or lie, because I know it¡¯s you. By the way, your insults were pretty creative, I¡¯ll give you that.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what are you talking about? I didn¡¯t do it.¡±


    ¡°Weird¡­ Then are you saying that my skill is wrong? Isn¡¯t the man next to you your lover? The ¡°Tall Couple¡±, Tall Man and Tall Woman.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not her lover¡­¡± Surprisingly, the man denied that he was Tall Woman¡¯s lover. As the woman turned towards him and glared at him, a blunt voice came from behind her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you are in a situation where you can worry about someone else¡­ Well, it doesn¡¯t matter whether I¡¯m right or not. I¡¯m going to kill everyone here anyway.¡±


    ¡°You are alone and there are four of us¡­¡±


    When Jo Yuhwan raised her crossbow, Seongho laughed at her.


    ¡°Shoot.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really going to shoot¡­ I¡¯ve never killed anyone¡­ So, it doesn¡¯t matter if I kill one person!¡± Since their distance was close, Jo Yuhwan was sure it would be difficult for even I Love Gimbap to avoid it, no matter how high his stats were.


    But Seongho was relaxed. ¡°Shoot. Is it hard to pull the trigger? Should I help you?¡±


    ¡°F**k!¡± Yuhwan spit out swear words and pulled the trigger. The arrow blitzed through the air, but before it hit Seongho, something blocked it and the crossbow bolt bounced away from him.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Wha-what?¡±


    People who directly witnessed Seongho¡¯s unique skill for the first time have always reacted like them. And every single one of them has met a similar ending so far.


    ¡°Now that you¡¯ve taken your shot, wouldn¡¯t it be just fair for me to shoot mine too?¡± As Seongho murmured, an arrow popped out of the air all of a sudden. Then, that arrow pierced Tall Man¡¯s chest in an instant.


    Jo Yuhwan opened her mouth wide when she saw the thickness of the bolt, which was the biggest arrow she had seen so far, far bigger than her crossbow bolt.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡±


    The other two instinctively started running back. However, they were sucked into the dimensional prison that suddenly opened in front of them.


    ¡°AHHHHHHHHH!¡±


    A huge sea, where Rapwi could barely survive, swallowed them up. Now the only one left was Tall Woman. She panicked and began to run away with a scream.


    Seongho turned away from her and started to walk away. After all, there¡¯s no way for her to survive alone, as he already kited some lizardmen to this area in advance.


    ¡°Aaaaah!¡± After a while, a deafening scream of terror echoed. However, without looking at the source, Seongho quietly left the place.

 Chapter 129

    The Auction House turned into a melting pot of chaos because of my action.


    -Help me! HEELPPPP MEEEE!


    -That crazy b*st*rd is roaming around killing everyone!


    -That b*st*rd is crazy!


    -What happened?


    -I Love Gimbab is killing everyone inside the labyrinth!


    -He must¡¯ve turned into a murderer already, then. So why not just gather around him and kill him in a deathmatch?


    -Even though he killed people, he did not turn into murderer!


    -OMG.


    -Wait a minute, how did he not turn into a murderer after killong people?


    -Ask him yourself, you a**hol*!


    -Why should I?


    -To be honest, you guys are the ones who cursed and provoked him every day. You¡¯re just paying the price now.


    -Those Auction House addict b*st*rds. They pretended to be on the side of justice, insulting Gimbap for being selfish and what not, but now they¡¯re crying like a dog for their life.


    -Justice my a**. They just cursed at I Love Gimbap-nim just because he didn¡¯t share the information he had.


    -I Love Gimbap-nim? Are you a spy?


    -That¡¯s right! Isn¡¯t it enough to call him that b*st*rd? Why did you use nim too?


    -Wow, you guys still can be that lively even though you are being hunted right now?


    -I¡¯m not a spy, but honestly, seeing you guys¡­ I¡¯m just happy you¡¯ll be gone soon.


    -These Auction House addicts are sitting at the Auction House every day, cursing at the prices of a lot of items sold here, just because they can¡¯t afford to buy it. Because of them, there are a lot of people who can¡¯t sell their items, and end up taking it down. What if there are some survivors out there who are in need of said items, but can¡¯t buy them because they¡¯re not available? Fu*king b*st*rds.


    -I hope I Love Gimbap-nim wipes out all the trash this time.


    -You f*ck*r!!! Don¡¯t you know that you guys are defending a murderer right now?


    -Woah¡­ It¡¯s a pot calling the kettle black¡­ You guys also killed a lot of people by posting a lot of wrong information, you know?


    -Bullsh*t!! you crazy bastard.


    ¡°Bullsh*t!! you crazy bastard.¡±


    ¡®It¡¯s really them.¡¯ I murmured, as I watched some guys in the distance saying the same thing as the last comment posted in the Auction House. If it weren¡¯t for the Stigma of Death skill and the buff from Shadow Grape, I would have passed them as they¡¯re skillfully hiding in the dark places.


    Those guys were the ones who were often referred to as the Auction House addicts. It was a nickname they got from the fact that they were always lurking in the Auction House while trying to steer public opinion of anything they wanted to their favor. For example, if they don¡¯t like the price of a particular item, they will keep posting swear words at it until the seller lowers the price. Feeding people with false information was also their specialty. It was because they know a little bit about Survival Life, so if they mix some truth in their lies, it will turn into plausible information.


    ¡°If you are going to be like this, why are you cursing at him?¡±


    ¡°F**k you, do you know that you all are my accomplice too? If I die, you guys will die too.¡±


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m afraid of him? I¡¯m not. If he appears in front of me, I will tear him to pieces!¡±


    Looking at them, who were still paying attention at the Auction House when they were being chased by me, made me shake my head and sighed. Did they perhaps think they could run away because there is an underwater cave nearby?


    Let me teach you guys, your thoughts are nothing but arrogance. I took out the firecrackers and matches from the dimension slot and lit it. When the wick burned with a cracking sound, they were startled.


    ¡°Did you guys hear that?¡±


    ¡°Hear what? You must be mistaken¡­¡± I¡¯m sorry, but it¡¯s not a mistake. I carefully aimed the firecracker and hurled it into the places the three of them were hiding at.


    Papapapang-!


    As the firecracker excitedly spit out flames and smoke of many colors, the three of them literally went crazy.


    ¡°WAAAAAHHHHH!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s here! RUN RUN RUN!¡± The three of them jumped out and started running away. As expected, the direction they were heading towards was the water pool where the entrance to the underwater cave was. The three jumped into the water, grabbed the rope, and tried to enter the underwater cave. Unfortunately for them, I already laid my dimensional wall there.


    The man in the lead was taken aback after hitting my dimensional wall and struggled. Meanwhile, the two behind him urged him to move faster before realizing something was wrong.


    ¡°They are like a loach¡­¡± I murmured as I saw the bubble created by their chaos on the surface of the water. Not long after, one of the three came out from the water. I quickly throw my punch at him before dragging him out of the water.


    ¡°Khaak!¡±


    Once I¡¯m done with the first one, I also did the same to the other two.


    ¡°Guweeeek¡­¡±


    ¡°AHHHH¡­¡±


    The three of them couldn¡¯t breathe properly and coughed a mouthful of water on the ground. When I kicked their side, two of them groaned and rolled over the stone ground.


    ¡°Get lost!!!¡± Meanwhile, one of them jumped up and ran towards me. It seems like the reason he could withstand my kick was because he has a physical strengthening unique skill.


    As I reached out towards him, he grabbed my hand and grinned. ¡°You made a mistake, f*cker. Do you know how strong I am?¡±


    ¡°How strong are you?¡± I asked. As I already activated my Fighting Instinct skill, my stats were far higher than normal. The man¡¯s forehead wrinkled as he tried to bend my hand.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Ah¡­ What the¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you know now?¡± I immediately gave strength to my hand and crushed the man¡¯s hand. An ominous sound echoed and beads of cold sweat began to drop from the man¡¯s forehead.


    However, at that moment I tilted my head. Unlike people who got their bones broken by me before, this guy didn¡¯t even scream. It could only mean one thing: He has a pain tolerance sort of skill. It was probably something physical strengthening users got as their additional effect at level 20.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Wha-what?¡±


    ¡°Thanks to you, I get to know what physical strengthening users will get once they are level 20.¡± I smirked at the man as I said it. Then, I grabbed his limp hand and slammed my head towards his head.


    Bang-!!


    The man went out and fell to the ground with the sound of his nose bones caving in. But damn, I also feel the pain, too. It seems like Hard Skin wasn¡¯t able to negate all the effects of level 20+ physical strengthening users.


    Then one of the two, who had been lying down, suddenly disappeared.


    Is his unique skill stealth? Maybe the reason why he was not caught in my Stigma of Death skill was because of the additional effect?


    ¡°Sadly¡­ too obvious.¡± I sighed. After all, I couldn¡¯t even pretend I didn¡¯t know where he was when he was making a very loud sound every time he stepped on the ground. I laid a dimensional wall in the direction of his path. Moments later, I could hear a bump in the air before a thud of something hitting the ground echoed. When I reached out to the place where the sound was heard, I could feel something soft was caught in my hand.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± the man groaned as I kicked him. After that, his stealth came off as he fell to the floor.


    ¡°S-spare me¡­¡± The last man crawled to me and begged me.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure I already warned everyone to leave¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m going to leave now¡­ Just s-spare me¡­ please¡­.¡±


    ¡°If I let you go, you¡¯ll probably be talking sh*t about me again while trying to plan your revenge on me, won¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ Never¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t believe you.¡± The man¡¯s face was wrinkled at my words. In my opinion, human nature can¡¯t be changed easily. Of course, there were some cases when it was able to be changed. However, in most cases, it would probably happen because they experience something big, big enough to shake their entire mindset. But these guys, even if they had come this close to death, they won¡¯t change.


    I killed them one by one using the ballista. Though, as the one with physical strengthening skill used all his remaining strength and jumped inside the water entrance, I was unable to kill him using the ballista and opted to kill him by drowning him in the water by blocking the entrance towards the underwater cave using the dimensional wall, keeping him away from the surface. (E/n dang that¡¯s cold)


    ¡°Huuuuh¡­¡± Fifteen people died at my hands today. And finally, the labyrinth had become a little bit quiet.


    ¡°Korea¡¯s population is declining again.¡± I sighed. I couldn¡¯t help but to do so, after seeing these people still arrogantly trying to attack me instead of running away, even though they didn¡¯t even know what my unique skill was. I mean, isn¡¯t it basic knowledge to try and observe your enemy¡¯s skills and attack pattern before trying to do a full-on confrontation?


    ¡°Those who survived the dimensional prison will spread the word about what happened.¡± The reason I didn¡¯t kill all of them was because I needed someone to tell the Auction House about this tragedy. Though, if somehow they still die after I spare their lives, then it means that it was their fate to die to begin with.


    I chewed a solar apple and headed to the place where Seokhyun was waiting.


    .


    .


    .


    The labyrinth that opened at the subway station drew the attention of nearly every survivor. People who were living close to the Seoul area went directly into the labyrinth, while those who lacked skills had no choice but to suck their fingers and only watch.


    However, out of a sudden, an ominous news came from people who attacked the labyrinth. It was a piece of information that stated that everyone who went inside was killed. On top of that, it was in the hands of a single person.


    People who were thirsty for the information about it, left no auctioned items unturned and checked every comment section they could find. And after a long search, they finally found the latest news about what happened inside at an item auctioned by someone who said he was a survivor of I Love Gimbap¡¯s manhunt.


    -Don¡¯t ever go into the labyrinth!


    -Don¡¯t ever go into the labyrinth!


    -Calm down and tell us what happened!


    -What happened inside?


    -Everyone is dead¡­


    -Is the labyrinth that dangerous?


    -It wasn¡¯t that, someone killed them all¡­ I barely survived¡­


    -You are so frustrating, just tell us who killed them all¡­


    -it¡¯s I Love Gimbap¡­


    To be honest, his ID was pretty funny to begin with, as it was a very simple name that anyone could come up with. However, no one could laugh every time that ID was uttered. After all, he was someone who was famous in the Awakened Community even before the apocalypse. Though, his fame was closer to infamy, as he received numerous insults for not disclosing information to the public as someone who played the game the longest. Perhaps the amount of curses that the awakened have got in their lifetime will not be able to surpass the swears that I Love Gimbap got from them.


    Even after the apocalypse, the situation continued. With their anonymity guaranteed by the Auction House, the Auction House addicts, the mainstay of the Auction House, chewed I Love Gimbap¡¯s reputation as if they were chewing gum. They always cursed at him in every single topic of conversation they found, even though it didn¡¯t have any relation to him. For example:


    -A survivor in Gangwondo died after trying to fight an orc alone because he was overconfident in his skills.


    -That fucker I Love Gimbap!!! If he spread his know-how, that poor guy wouldn¡¯t have died¡­


    It would have been nice if it was only a joke. However, every single one of them were serious about their cursing. Apparently, the anonymous space made people reassured that they wouldn¡¯t be found out. Thanks to that, whenever I Love Gimbap¡¯s ID was mentioned, a lot of people ignored the comment section except for those who also like to blame him.


    However, now, the very I Love Gimbap, who had never come out even though he was cursed everyday by a lot of people, had killed all the people inside the labyrinth. Though, according to the only survivor of the tragedy, most of those who died were the Auction House addicts.


    -So, what is I Love Gimbap¡¯s unique skill?


    -His unique skill is¡­ Ah, no, I won¡¯t say anything¡­ It¡¯s so scary¡­


    After crying for a long time, he finally calmed down and told the Auction House about what he had experienced. While running away from I Love Gimbap, he suddenly fell into a huge sea. In that dark and vast sea, he couldn¡¯t see any land, no matter how much he swam around.


    -I was so scared because I kept hearing strange noises from under the surface¡­


    -His unique skill wasn¡¯t creation-type?


    -That¡¯s not important right now. How many people are staying inside the labyrinth, even after hearing his warning?


    -There seemed to be at least ten people.


    The atmosphere of the comment section was friendly, contrary to before. Even when I Love Gimbap¡¯s ID was uttered, no one cursed. It was only filled with people who were curious about him. And that too, not in a bad way. It was probably the result of the disappearance of a large number of Auction House addicts who used swear words all the time. Of course, not all of the Auction House addicts died. However, they were too afraid to appear in the comment section. After all, they were sure that I Love Gimbap was watching.


    -Wow, how strong is he, to actually kill ten people by himself¡­


    -Are you defending I Love Gimbap now? Don¡¯t you know that he¡¯s nothing but a murderer?


    -But, the guy said that he couldn¡¯t hear any heartbeat from him. In other words, he¡¯s not a murderer.


    -I¡¯m not talking about murderer designated by the system. He had killed dozens of people, if he¡¯s not a murderer, than what is he?


    -It doesn¡¯t matter, because I¡¯m not the one who died.


    -I don¡¯t think it¡¯s bad either.


    -Wow¡­ You guys are so cold-hearted. People died, you know¡­


    -They always said that they want to meet I Love Gimbap. Now that their dreams come true, we should congratulate them rather than feeling sorry for them.


    The atmosphere of the Auction House was favorable to I Love Gimbap. Some even defended him.


    -Wait, doesn¡¯t that mean the person who auctioned kimchi and food until now is I Love Gimbap? He is a much more useful person compared to those Auction House addicts.


    -The tteokbokki set he auctioned was very delicious.


    -Woah, here¡¯s the person who won that expensive bid.


    -Yeah, that tteokbokki is good.


    -Anyway, there is no point in cursing I Love Gimbap here.


    -Yeah. Even when you cursed him, he kept silent for so long. Imagine what he would do if you guys just stayed silent and didn¡¯t curse at him! Why are you guys triggering someone who is just living quietly¡­ be glad that he didn¡¯t decide to be the dictator of South Korea or something.


    Lee Beom-seok of the government shelter, who was looking at the comment section, compiled all the information he read and reported it to Jang Won-taek. ¡°At least ten to twenty people have died¡­¡±


    ¡°But it seems people didn¡¯t think much of it since those who died are mainly bad people, huh?¡± Jang Won-taek murmured as he read the report.


    ¡°No one deserves to die.¡±


    ¡°I know. But we can do nothing. This is an apocalypse, after all.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    Jang Won-taek closed his eyes and rested his back to his chair without listening to Lee Beom-seok. It was a pity that dozens of people had died, but he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. It was better to think about the future than to put too much thought into it.


    ¡°What about Geom-in? Is he dead too?¡± Jang Won-taek asked as he tapped the armrest with his finger.


    ¡°We can¡¯t confirm his whereabouts yet.¡±


    ¡°Looking at Seokhyun¡¯s behavior, I don¡¯t think the other three of the four stagnant waters were treating Geom-in as their enemy.¡±


    ¡°We will know about their relationship soon. I am certain that they had made contact inside the labyrinth.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­¡± Jang Won-taek wiped his face with his palm. A total of four people of the government shelter entered the labyrinth, but none of them were confirmed to be alive or dead as of yet. However, by looking at the report of Lee Beom-seok, it was easy to figure that at least 3 of those people were dead.


    Anyway, it was a big deal that people died when they did something related to Kang Seongho. It¡¯s sad that those people died, but it¡¯s unavoidable. It¡¯s time for him to take some countermeasures. He¡¯s not sure it will work, though.


    At that moment, Lee Beom-seok brought out a new piece of information.


    ¡°it¡¯s information regarding the Japanese people who landed in Busan¡­ Their number seems to be quite large. We estimated there¡¯s at least hundreds of people.¡±


    Jang Won-taek¡¯s eyebrows furrowed at those words. ¡°Why are they in our lands?¡±


    ¡°According to the agent, it was due to radiation¡­¡±


    Jang Won-taek smiled wryly at those words. They came to Korea to avoid radiation, but out of all places, they landed at Busan, which was also currently contaminated with radiation.


    ¡°So, are they still there?¡±


    ¡°No. They noticed that Busan was also contaminated with radiation and dispersed into various places. Some people chose to stay¡­ but¡­¡±


    ¡°They all died.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°What about the rest?.¡±


    ¡°It is said that a lot of them entered Masan.¡±


    ¡°It seems that they don¡¯t have maps of South Korea. They should have gone to Changwon.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s also reports about several clashes happening between them and our citizens.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not good¡­ Spread the words to ask our people not to touch them carelessly.¡±


    ¡°It has already been advertised.¡±


    ¡°Good¡­ The only thing left to do is to prepare myself for my talk with Seongho tomorrow.¡±


    Maybe the four original stagnant waters will come out together. And if that¡¯s really the case, he should be ready to talk to them. Jang Won-taek got up from his chair with those thoughts in his mind.


    .


    .


    .


    After killing the boss of the labyrinth, I headed towards the hideout where Da-jeong and Geom-in were waiting with Seokhyun in tow. When we arrived in front of the building, the grasshopper ghoul led us to a room on the third-floor of a one-room building. When the giant ghoul, who was guarding the entrance, moved aside, Da-jeong came out with a smile on her face.


    ¡°You guys are still alive?¡±


    ¡°Well I¡¯m sorry, but we are. Where¡¯s Geom-in?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s inside.¡±


    When Geom-in saw us entering the room, he jumped up. A look of impatience was seen in his eyes, which looked back and forth between me and Seokhyun. Though, before I talked more with him, it¡¯d be good to get his promises.


    ¡°We have helped you, yes?¡±


    ¡°Uh, yes. For that, I thank you guys.¡±


    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re someone we can trust just yet.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Geom-in bowed his head and didn¡¯t say anything. Meanwhile, Da-jeong and Seokhyun also went silent. They seemed to be waiting for what I had to say, too.


    ¡°I will give you a choice. Now that you are healed, you can return to the government shelter. We will not get in the way of whatever plan you have.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t get in my way?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You can expand your influence in government shelters as much as you want. But in exchange, our relationship will end right here, right now.¡±


    Geom-in swallowed dry saliva as he heard my words. Perhaps, because he was still young, he couldn¡¯t hide his feelings well yet.


    ¡°D-do you have a second option?¡± He muttered.


    ¡°Tell us everything you know and our relationship will become like when we are in the game.¡±


    Geom-in¡¯s expression changed. It seems like he was remembering the time when we were laughing and dying together. There were many times when he was locked up in his own shelter, but there¡¯s even more times when we played together.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what happened so far. We will be like we used to.¡± I said to him softly.


    ¡°Like we used to¡­¡±


    ¡°Those two were the only choices I can offer you. If you choose the first, you can just leave. Like I said, we will not get in your way.¡± Seokhyun and Da-jeong nodded at the same time. Even if they disagree with me, I would make sure that the two didn¡¯t get in his way.


    Geom-in thought for a long time. Then, he opened his mouth.


    ¡°I¡­¡±

 Chapter 130

    KIg¡¯s scheduled i s jam-packed yesterday, so only 1.


    ¡°¡­I want to be with you guys.¡±


    ¡°That means you have to share all your secrets with us, no more secrets between us, is that okay?¡±


    When I asked again, Geom-in nodded his head.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about it for a while¡­ What use is it to become a king in this god-forsaken world? Also, can I really become someone who suits the position?¡±


    ¡°Is there something wrong?¡±


    At Da-jeong¡¯s question, Geom-in smiled shyly and scratched his head. ¡°You should know as you¡¯ve been in the government shelter before. My presence there was insignificant. To those people, I was basically nothing.¡±


    ¡°But still, you must have a reason that turns around your mindset completely.¡±


    The swordsman said right away. ¡°It¡¯s because of Gim¡­ Seongho.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We met in the battle royale arena, didn¡¯t we? I was really, really taken aback back then. You, suddenly pointing a gun at me, and telling me to run.¡±


    ¡°I had no choice but to do that, because I want to save you. And as you experienced, the bug only works when we break through the wall of monsters within a certain amount of time.¡±


    ¡°I know. Anyway, after that, I started thinking about you guys. You are all strong, and I wanted to be strong too. So I tried to hold hands with Joo Seung-cheol. But¡­¡±


    ¡°Rapwi kicked that guy out of the government shelter.¡±


    ¡°Yes haha¡­ now that I think about it, it¡¯s a good thing. Anyway, I don¡¯t want to go back to the shelter, but I want to be together with you all¡­ just like back in the game.¡± Geom-in said as they looked at us one by one. I respect his choice, and I do want him to join us. But before that, he still has something he needs to do.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Geom-in, but you have to return to the government shelter.¡± I said. Hearing my words, his eyes opened wide.


    ¡°Huh? Am I- No, I can¡¯t be with you guys?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that. I mean, I do consider you as my friend, but you should stay in the government shelter for the time being.¡±


    ¡°Why? Oh, it¡¯s because of the guns.¡±


    ¡°You say you don¡¯t have much influence, but you still have your stake in the government shelter. Seokhyun is also gaining popularity there too, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°I have to say¡­ These days, he is more popular than me.¡±


    ¡°If he wears proper clothes, not only panties, he would be very popular with women too.¡± Da-jeong giggled as she pulled Seokhyun¡¯s panty line and snapped it back to his thighs.


    ¡°I am not popular. Everyone ran away every time they saw me, as if I was a monster.¡±


    ¡°What the heck did you do in the shelter?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t much. I just eat, sleep, and fight monsters like usual.¡±


    Upon hearing his words, Da-jeong¡¯s face reddened and she started slapping Seokhyun¡¯s back. ¡°I told you to stop eating those goblins, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s okay to eat them, though.¡±


    ¡°Okay my a**! Those people treated you like a monster because you are eating those goblins, you know!¡±


    ¡°I do not care. Moreover, I won¡¯t eat them in front of you guys.¡± He declared proudly.


    Well, should I be happy with his consideration?


    Anyway, I explained the situation to Geom-in. ¡°Until the corrosive disease disappears, you and Seokhyun should stay at the government shelter. We don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen, so it would be better to have someone inside so we can deal with some unexpected situation.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Then, what are we going to do?¡± Da-jeong asked.


    ¡°We have to go to the Incheon subway and loot the government¡¯s spare shelter.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ Nothing changes then.¡± She giggled.


    As if it was timed, there was a rumble coming from Geom-in¡¯s stomach as soon as Da-jeong finished giggling. Hearing that, Da-jeong patted my ass.


    ¡°It¡¯s the first time the four of us gather together like this once again, don¡¯t you have anything good to celebrate this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s winter, so a hot soup should be good, right? Open portal.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the magic word that opens a portal to his own world.¡±


    ¡°If you go in here, the place you will appear at is¡­ at the meadow you spawned at in the last battle royale event.¡± Da-jeong said towards Geom-in, who entered the same battle royale match as me.


    ¡°That place with a snowy mountain?¡± Geom-in asked.


    ¡°Yeah, My shelter is close to that place. This portal is connected to another world.¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­ that¡¯s a jackpot¡­¡±


    Geom-in could not keep his mouth shut and for a long time he just repeated the words of ¡®jackpot, jackpot.¡¯


    Anyway, it seems that he hasn¡¯t acquired our unique skill yet. Well, it was to be expected, as something like ¡®trust¡¯ was something that will take a long time to be acquired. It would take time for the current ¡®us¡¯ to be as close as the ¡®us¡¯ back in the game.


    WIth those thoughts in mind, I entered the portal and prepared a meal.


    .


    .


    .


    We ate and chatted for quite a long time. Thankfully, the meal I prepared seemed to have pleased all three of them.


    ¡°Wow, I never imagined I would eat kimchi stew this good in the apocalypse.¡±


    ¡°These are made with kimchi made personally by Seongho, and they are fully ripe kimchi.¡±


    Everyone ate well, so I was quite proud of myself. Then, after they finished, I started to explain what happened in the labyrinth.


    ¡°So, what happened inside¡­¡± I told them all I did was kill people after separating from Seokhyun who went to the boss¡¯ room. ¡°I killed a total of 15 people. I don¡¯t know if the other two who I sent to dimensional prison are alive or dead. If you look at the Auction House, it looks like one of them survived.¡±


    ¡°Are those who attacked me all dead?¡± Geom-in queried as he touched the wound on his shoulder. Seokhyun had poured a potion at it, but it was still reddish and not yet fully closed.


    ¡°All of them were dead. And by the way, all the guys who died were all Auction House addicts, so the Auction House is clean now.¡±


    ¡°Ummm¡­ the Auction House.¡± Da-jeong, who looked at the comment sections of various auction items, was amazed. ¡°Oh my gosh. Seongho, there is no one swearing at you now.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that all the addicts have disappeared, they¡¯re just laying low for now. After what I¡¯d done, they would be a fool if they still cursed at me.¡±


    Then Geom-in hesitated and asked. ¡°Can you see their ID in real life too or is it available only at the Auction House?¡±


    ¡°I have a skill which allows me to see a person¡¯s ID. I just need to pay 10 points to check people¡¯s ID. I saw a guy with a lot of pretentiousness before, going around praising Survivor 1 in the Auction House, and he turned out to be you.¡±


    ¡°Ey¡­ what are you talking about¡­¡± He lowered his head and ate the well-roasted hwajo I served. He tilted his head and ate two more times in a row. Seems like it was to his liking.


    ¡°So what happens after you kill them all?¡±


    Da-jeong urged me, and I recalled things I did after that. ¡°I thought clearing the labyrinth was going to be really hard, but Seokhyun literally killed every monster on his way to the boss room. He even leaves the boss close to death. As soon as I hit the last hit, experience points come in.¡±


    ¡°That directionally-challenged guy can find a way to the boss room?¡±


    ¡°I asked a scarab to accompany him.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I forget about them.¡± Da-jeong laughed. However, unlike Da-jeong, who guffawed happily, Geom-in was only staring at me, clearly lost. Seems like time had come for the debut of the stag beetles.


    I entered the portal and headed to where the both captains were. I apologized to both Captain Scarab and Stag Beetle Chief and brought both of them outside the portal. Since they would surely fight if they stuck close to each other, I had to place them on the palm of each hand.


    ¡°Uh¡­ it¡¯s a real beetle? I thought it was a codename or something.¡± Geom-in laughed wryly as he scratched his head.


    ¡°They are sentient beetles who can understand our words. These guys are helping me at the shelter. You can think of these two as the captains of both camps.¡±


    ¡°AH!¡±


    ¡°Well, the scarabs were friendly, but the stag beetles were prickly. So be careful.¡± At my words, Chief Stag Beetle looked at me and spread his arms to both sides. It seems like he was protesting my statement.


    ¡°Sorry sorry.¡± I apologized and quickly sent them back to the cave. When both of them left, Seokhyun said as he looked at the place they disappeared into.


    ¡°I have had these thoughts since back then¡­ Those scarabs are good at finding minerals, they¡¯re also amazing at craftsmanship, and they¡¯re good with directions. They are very similar to dwarves.¡±


    ¡°Dwarf?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, That dwarf race, that usually came from the fantasy genre.¡±


    Now that I think about it, Seokhyun¡¯s words weren¡¯t completely off the mark. On the other hand, the stag beetles were similar to elves. But don¡¯t elves have a gentle personality? Well, there must be some elves with bad personalities too, so¡­ yeah.


    Thinking so, I continue to talk about the results I got after clearing the labyrinth. ¡°I went up to level 26, I also got some points and one more skill slot. The skill I got from the Uber Merman was Stamina Regeneration.¡±


    ¡°What the hell is Uber Merman?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a monster that makes a sound like a boat horn. Its appearance looks like a combination between a fish and a lizard. Seokhyun killed almost every single one of them.¡±


    ¡°You did a good job. Just a little longer and our grand plan will come true.¡±


    ¡°A grand plan?¡±


    ¡°YEP! Entering Seongho¡¯s portal and playing together inside!¡±


    When Da-jeong made a fuss, Geom-in asked. ¡°Everyone can come in?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t possible for now, but I hope it will be possible when he reaches level 30.¡±


    ¡°For reference, his level 25¡¯s additional effect is a dimensional prison.¡±


    ¡°That place is terrible. I just fell from the sky for five minutes straight.¡± Da-jeong shuddered.


    ¡°I got thrown into an open sea.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Really, really.¡±


    At their words, Geom-in¡¯s eyes shook violently.


    ¡°By the way, Geom-in. No offense, but you¡¯re very weak when compared to us. What exactly is your unique skill?¡±


    ¡°Ummm¡­ My unique skill is¡­¡± He swallowed what was in his mouth and wiped the area around his mouth.. ¡°I still don¡¯t know the exact conditions, but I think I can copy the unique skills of people who trusted me. Copying costs points, and I can only have one of the additional effects of the unique skill that I copied. That too, was the lowest one, the level 5 additional effect.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you level 19 now? What are the additional effects you have gotten so far?¡±


    ¡°At level 5, the additional effect eliminates the points consumption. At level 10, it copies additional effects of a copied unique skill. And at level 15, I got something called a unique skill storage.¡±


    ¡°Unique skill storage?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I can¡¯t use all of the unique skills I stored there, it just saves it. Taking a desk as an example, don¡¯t you put all the books you don¡¯t need to one side? You just bring it to the desk when you need it again.¡±


    AHA. It had a similar effect as wearing an item with a skill attached. If you have 10 skills and wear an item that has a skill in it, the first skill on your skill list will temporarily disappear. And once you remove an item, the disappeared skill will be restored.


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­ So that means you have four unique skills in total. It¡¯s a cheat!!!¡± Da-jeong screamed as he hit him on the shoulder. However, Geom-in could only smile bitterly.


    ¡°Not necessarily. I mean, I should always have the shelter boost unique skill in the unique skill storage. It¡¯s useful to other people, but not for me myself. After all, it only applies to facilities and weapons in a shelter.¡±


    Hearing those words, Da-jeong snapped her fingers. ¡°So that¡¯s why you didn¡¯t have to do any work at all at the government shelter, huh?¡±


    ¡°Sorry. I couldn¡¯t speak about it at the time.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Back then, you could barely speak too anyway. You¡¯re busy looking at my chest and legs every day.¡±


    ¡°Look at mine instead.¡±


    ¡°Rapwi! Don¡¯t butt in!¡±


    I mean, why should a man look at another man¡¯s legs¡­


    By the time, it¡¯s time to sort things out. ¡°Da-jeong and Seokhyun are waiting for me to hit level 30. But it wouldn¡¯t be easy; it will take some time. And it¡¯s still questionable whether that additional effect will come out or not even after I reach level 30. So, let¡¯s do what we have to do first.¡±


    Then, Seokhyun pointed to his own chest. ¡°The two of us are returning to the government shelter, and you guys are attacking the government¡¯s spare shelter in Incheon?¡±


    ¡°Yes. There is something good stored there, after all. When the sun goes down, I¡¯ll have to check out the nearby time shelters too.¡±


    ¡°The funny thing about this guy is that he never stopped looting from the beginning of the apocalypse until now. It¡¯s a complete farming life.¡±


    ¡°Thanks to that, my life was comfortable inside the shelter. I can listen to music and watch movies when I¡¯m bored.¡±


    ¡°Wait, by chance, do you have a computer inside there?¡±


    ¡°Geom-in, don¡¯t you know? There¡¯s all sorts of things inside his shelter. There are even mini forklifts and motorcycles. He promised that we would ride it here someday.¡± Da-jeong posed like a cheetah who kept failing in a certain snack commercial as she said that. Seokhyun seems to be thinking the same and pointed it out at her. Soon after, he was hit by a kick from Da-jeong.


    Ah, he should have kept his thoughts inside his mind and never talked about it.


    ¡°Where do you get your electricity from?¡± Geom-in asked, paying no heed to the fighting duo.


    ¡°From solar panels.¡±


    ¡°¡­there seems to be no corrosive disease there.¡±


    ¡°I also have some guns. Most of them came from Joo Seung-cheol¡¯s shelter. He stored it together with some ammunition thousands of meters below ground.¡±


    ¡°How many computers do you have?¡±


    ¡°If I include the laptop, there are three. It¡¯s not mine, though. I looted it from a random studio on D-day.¡±


    ¡°Were there any games in there?¡±


    ¡°Games?¡± When I asked him so, Geom-in explained that he used to be an avid gamer. Living without games was the most painful thing he had to do in this apocalypse.


    ¡°There are a lot of movies and music, but for games, I¡¯ll have to look for them later.¡±


    ¡°When the corrosive disease disappears¡­¡± I noticed what he was trying to say. After all, it¡¯s very obvious what a gamer wants.


    ¡°The government shelter didn¡¯t have any computers stored?¡±


    ¡°There is. But it was used for important matters instead, so there¡¯s no game kept in it.¡± I nodded at his words. Well, at least the government gets their priority right. At best, there would be some dramas and movies stored. But games shouldn¡¯t be included.


    ¡°I¡¯ll decide after looking at how you are doing.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You just need me to properly secure my stake in the government shelter, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. After that, if the additional effect Da-jeong wanted really appears, everyone can just live in my shelter. But, since the cave is a bit narrow for everyone to live in together, we must each make a shelter, but we will still live together. We also have to share our supplies.¡±


    ¡°Shelter¡­ Shelter¡­¡± Geom-in, who was a shelter addict back in Seola, suddenly got excited. Back in Survival Life, he was always confined in his own shelter most of the time. I remembered he said that it feels good just looking at his collection of items.


    However, out of nowhere, something I tried not to think about sprung on my mind, making me frown. Da-jeong also makes gurgling noises too, perhaps thinking the same thing as me.


    ¡°Duck, are you pregnant?¡±


    ¡°Pregnant my a**! I get nauseous imagining you running around in the woods naked!!!¡±


    ¡°Humans are supposed to be one with nature.¡± Seokhyun nodded his head and closed his eyes as he said it. As if he just said some profound words.


    ¡°You¡¯re really going to run around naked in there, huh?¡±


    ¡°Pregnant?¡± Geom-in blinked at those words. Then, Da-jeong said lightly.


    ¡°I had s*x with Seongho.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh? Congratulations I guess?¡± Unexpectedly, Geom-in was not surprised at all. He just started eating the kimchi stew again.


    At his indifference, Da-jeong was the one who was left confused. ¡°What the? Didn¡¯t you like me before? You have to show some despair after knowing you lost me to another man! Why are you so calm?¡±


    ¡°I passed that phase already.¡±


    You¡¯ve made up your mind, huh?


    I patted his shoulder. ¡°If it was you, you would surely meet a good woman.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Maybe¡­


    .


    .


    .


    Seokhyun and Geom-in left for the government shelter the next day. I asked for a favor from him before they left. It was a favor to train Geom-in.


    -No matter how much I think about it, it doesn¡¯t make sense that he couldn¡¯t even kill a werewolf with his unique skill. It¡¯s a matter of mindset.


    -You want me to train him?


    -Yeah. Even if you have to drag him around, make sure that he kills some monsters that give him skills and build up some experience. Knowing that he¡¯s not weak will naturally make him stronger.


    -It¡¯s what I do best. Leave it to me.


    -Oh, and for the time being, don¡¯t tell Jang Won-taek about him and us.


    After they left, Da-jeong and I finished preparing ourselves and went to Sindorim Station. When we arrived there, Jang Won-taek and his Chief of Staff, Lee Beom-seok were already waiting for us. The two looked at Da-jeong next to me, and they both smiled.


    ¡°As expected, the three of you are definitely together. May I ask what happened to our Geom-in?¡±


    ¡°At least we didn¡¯t kill him with our own hands.¡±


    ¡°So he¡¯s alive? If so, I guess the three other people who are together with him are dead, huh?¡±


    ¡°Who are you talking about?¡± I knew about it, but pretended not to know.


    Jang Won-taek sat down and let out a sigh. ¡°It¡¯s a big deal that people die just by meeting Seongho.¡±


    ¡°I will not make excuses. But if it wasn¡¯t them, it would¡¯ve been me who died.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just spare them? South Korea¡¯s population will continue to decline in this case.¡±


    I had expected that this ahjussi would say something like this. But my determination wouldn¡¯t change at all.


    ¡°I think it will be easier for you to persuade those who fearlessly attack me rather than trying to persuade me instead.¡±


    ¡°If it was a normal society, it would have ended in a court case, it¡¯s a pity¡­¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case¡­ They wouldn¡¯t even touch me. However, now that they realize what I can do, everyone will be quiet¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°I only attack when the opponent is a murderer or I had been attacked. I¡¯m not a bloody murderer who attack the innocent.¡± As I raised my voice, Jang Won-taek waved his hand.


    ¡°No, no, I am not blaming Seongho. It¡¯s just, it¡¯s a little disappointing. If we all just communicated well, I think we can all work together¡­¡±


    Da-jeong scoffed as he said that. All of us here were aware that what he said was something impossible in this kind of world. After all, currently, everyone has superpowers called unique skills. The era of fantasy, in which monsters attacking humans are your usual daily sight, has arrived. In such an era, it was almost impossible to trust and cooperate with the unspecified majority.


    ¡°You two were talking about Masan earlier, what happened there?¡± Da-jeong asked.


    ¡°Masan? I never said anything like that?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about lying. I have many ears in many places.¡± Da-jeong smirked.


    She was now level 25. An additional effect of being able to hear what the zombies and ghouls hear was added to her unique skill. It was similar to Yoohyeon¡¯s additional effect, but it also had many pros and cons.


    Anyway, I was also interested in what happened in Masan, since I have some people who I trust there.


    After receiving Jang Won-taek¡¯s gaze, Lee Beom-seok opened his mouth. ¡°The Japanese who fled from the radiation in Busan had entered Masan. We still can¡¯t figure out their exact number, but we conclude that it was at least a few dozen people.¡±


    Those dozens of people wouldn¡¯t just pass by the island¡­


    I hid my expression and stood up. It seems like I would have to contact Masan after a long time.

 Chapter 131

    (E/n so there¡¯s actually a mistake on the name of the island where the gym group is staying. The name of the island is supposedly Dot Island (Dotseom), not Dap Island. It¡¯s an island near Changwon, Korea that¡¯s famous for it¡¯s pig-based delicacies, hence the name Dot Island (meaning Pig Island).)


    While survivors in areas like Seoul and Gyeonggi-do were suffering from extreme cold, the members of the gym group in Dot Island of Masan were having a warm winter thanks to the fact that the island was located at the southern coast of Korea, which has always been warm all year. Moreover, as they were on an island several kilometers off the land, the members could make as many fires as they wanted to warm themselves. After all, except for the occasional weak monsters which respawned on the island, monsters from the mainland couldn¡¯t cross towards the island.


    The people on the Dot Island also had no problem with food supply, thanks to the ability of Poor Man, Jiman. Even when all other survivors were barely surviving by eating anything they could find, the inhabitants of Dot Island were enjoying all kinds of fruit and vegetables. On top of it, they also had the stockpiled food they looted from areas near the island. So, it¡¯s not far-fetched to say that their life¡¯s quality were second only to Seongho and his group.


    One day, in late December. Jeong Mikyung, one of the inhabitants of Dot Island, was the first to wake up from her sleep amongst all the members. Just like always, she looked at the bedding next to her. However, just like any other day, the owner of the bedding had already disappeared.


    ¡°Aigoo.. Why don¡¯t you just live there¡­¡± Mikyung sighed. The one she was talking about was Han Yeowool. She was on the verge of starting a newlywed life together with Yoohyeon, as the two of them always flirt wherever they go. On top of it, both of them also always disappear somewhere at night. Hyung-jun and Sooyeon, who were considered as the leaders of the group, didn¡¯t know about it yet, so Mikyung just asked Yeowool not to get pregnant. Afterall, in the apocalypse, pregnancy was a source of trouble.


    Mikyung went out to sea and stretched her stiff body. Even though the sun hadn¡¯t even shown itself yet, the dawn in Masan was not overly cold. Therefore, never in her wildest imagination had she ever thought that the Seoul area was currently hit by the worst cold wave ever, which resulted in not only the survivors, but also the monsters to be inactive.


    ¡°I wish it was a little colder here.¡± Mikyung hoped. If survivors of the Seoul area heard her wish just now, they would spit all the things they ate for the last 3 days together with blood and tears and then probably die.


    Once she felt that the stiffness in her body had gone, she went to the washroom built out of cement in one corner of the island and cleaned her body with as little water as possible. Even though the island was abundant with everything else, water was still considered rare. Therefore, she couldn¡¯t just use lots of it to wash her body like back when civilization still existed. The amount of water a single person could use per day was limited to 3 liters. That was Hyung-jun¡¯s policy as someone who believes in the old adage ¡®You have to save to live well¡¯. And as it wasn¡¯t wrong advice for the current situation, everyone followed it well.


    ¡°My skin is so messed up¡­¡± Mikyung looked into the mirror and whined. The white, shiny, unblemished skin she had before had long gone. She tried to moisturize it as much as possible and covered it from the sun with a neck mask as much as possible, but her skin did not return to its original state.


    ¡®Is it because of lack of sleep?¡¯ Mikyung shook her head, denying her own conjecture. In winter, the sun sets early. And as there¡¯s nothing for her to do, she always maintains 9 hours of sleep everyday. Mikyung tapped the mirror for one last time and left her room. It¡¯s about time for people to wake up.


    ¡°Ouch¡­ It¡¯s cold.¡± Mikyung shouted as her hands became numb after touching the water she was about to use to wash the rice. With sheer willpower, she overcame the cold and cooked rice in the pot while keeping her hands close to the fire. As smoke rose from the furnace, Yeowool appeared out of nowhere. It would not be a mistake to say that her expression always looks good these days.


    ¡°¡­was it warm at night?¡± Mikyung queried.


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s warm if two people sleep inside a single sleeping bag.¡± Yeowool answered with a teasing tone.


    ¡°While you are doing that, someone has been doing all this since dawn.¡±


    ¡°What should I make for dinner?¡± Yeowool skillfully avoided Mikyung¡¯s attack and rolled up her sleeves. Then, she counterattacked. ¡°I mean, Unnie, why didn¡¯t you just mark Ahjussi before he left?¡±


    ¡°What kind of mark¡­¡±


    ¡°You are feigning innocence again¡­ With the way Unnie acts, who doesn¡¯t know that you like Ahjussi?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie, Unnie. If you don¡¯t like him, why did you change the way you called him from ¡®Ahjussi¡¯ to ¡®Oppa¡¯?¡±


    Without being able to utter a single word, Mikyung bit her lips. To be completely honest, the reason she changed the way she called Seongho was because of Yeowool. She didn¡¯t want to have someone else calling him using the same nickname as herself.


    However, even though Seongho didn¡¯t realize that subtle changes meant a lot, the other woman noticed. In particular, Yeowool couldn¡¯t forget it and had used it to make fun of Mikyung.


    ¡°But what do you like about him? His physique is a bit¡­.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s cool, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°What part of him did you find cool about?¡±


    ¡°I mean, it¡¯s cool to see that things were solved everytime Oppa came forward. Moreover, isn¡¯t it thanks to him that we are here right now?¡±


    ¡°This is a surprise.¡± Yeowool laughed. ¡°Unnie didn¡¯t look at people¡¯s appearances, huh?¡±


    ¡°Why should I do that? In the apocalypse, we should judge people by their ability.¡±


    ¡°But Unnie, do you know that such a thing is important? For example, when I was angry at Yoohyeon, my anger faded away when I looked at his face.¡±


    ¡°I know he is handsome, but please stop¡­¡±


    The two squatted in front of the furnace to warm themselves up and chatted.


    ¡°I wondered where and what Ahjussi is doing right now¡­¡± Yeowool said.


    ¡°I want to know too¡­¡± The last time he contacted people on Dot Island was when he needed Yoohyeon and Sooyeon to translate the English document about bullet making. And after that, there had been no contact whatsoever.


    Hyung-jun and Jiman said that no news was good news, but Mikyung wasn¡¯t satisfied with that. Deep inside her heart, she wanted Seongho to at least tell them where he is.


    ¡°Should I just contact him first?¡± Mikyung murmured as she buried her face in her lap. Next to her, Yeowool opened the Auction House, and then said after browsing through.


    ¡°Unnie, do you realize that the atmosphere of the Auction House has changed a lot these days?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know because I rarely go there.¡± Mikyung answered. She wasn¡¯t the only one in Dot Island who didn¡¯t use the Auction House, but almost everyone did. The reason they rarely used it was because they weren¡¯t in need of anything in particular. And if they need anything, it is better to look for it around the area by themselves rather than going there, as it is very rare for things with a good quality being auctioned in the Auction House. The only thing which was abundant there was just curse words, after all.


    Yeowool, who was browsing through the Auction House, poked Mikyung on her side with her finger. ¡°Unnie, I think a lot of people have just died.¡±


    ¡°Why are you saying such terrible things?¡±


    ¡°Unnie, the Auction House addicts, people who used to swear and fight every day have now almost disappeared.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Mikyung¡¯s eyes went wide. She opened her own Auction House to check it. And as Yeowool said, the atmosphere of the Auction House had changed quite a lot from what she remembered. There¡¯s almost no curse words written, only questions which were asked out of curiosity written here and there.


    While Mikyung was frozen in awe because of the drastic change, Yeowool suddenly rocked her body. ¡°Unnie, look at this!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Ahjussi is calling us! Look at these coded-words, this is the one we are using!¡±


    ¡°Daebak¡­¡±


    The two immediately typed a comment in the comment section of the items auctioned by Seongho.


    -Ahjussi, this is Yeowool. Mikyung unnie is by my side right now, you can say what you want to say now.


    ¨C Nice to meet you both. Has it been a month since we last talked to each other?


    -That¡¯s right, Ahjussi. Mikyung unnie missed you a lot. She even cried every night because of you.


    -I¡¯m not crying!!!


    Meanwhile, Seongho, who was reading the comments, could not hide his embarrassment. After all, Da-jeong was sleeping right next to him at the moment.


    ¡°HAAAHHH¡­ Seongho¡­ Yours is too big¡­¡±


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    After hearing the situation from Seongho, Yeowool immediately scouted the nearby area using a paper plane. The reason she was able to use Yoohyeon¡¯s unique skill was because of her own unique skill: one heart and one body. It was a rare unique skill which enables its bearer to share a bonus stats buff as well as their unique skill with someone who the bearer had become one with. Thanks to the effect of the skill, even though Yoohyeon did nothing, his stats went up and he was able to use the additional effect of his unique skill, which should only be unlocked at level 20, even though he hadn¡¯t reached that level yet. Though, he¡¯s not really not doing anything, as he is also diligently raising his level by hunting.


    While Yeowool was spying at the area near the island, Mikyung broke into the men¡¯s quarters with her blink.


    ¡°YOU SURPRISED ME!!¡± Everyone inside jumped up in surprise. However, without minding their reaction, Mikyung woke Yoohyeon up, who was curling up in the corner.


    ¡°Hey, wake up! Oppa had just contacted us!¡±


    ¡°Who is this ¡®Oppa¡¯ you are talking about¡­¡± Yoohyeon murmured.


    On the other hand, Hyung-jun got up as soon as he heard Seongho¡¯s name being mentioned. ¡°What did he tell you?¡±


    ¡°The Japanese had come to Masan!¡±


    ¡°¡­how did he know that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the details, but he said that he heard it from people in the government shelter!¡±


    Hyung-jun shuddered when he heard Mikyung¡¯s words. After all, the government shelter was located in Seoul.


    Just what is he up to, going to that dangerous place?


    Not long after that, everyone got up and went into the Auction House to greet Seongho.


    -Where¡¯s the two troublemakers?


    -They went to Changwon to farm. By the way, did the Japanese really came? Please explain in detail, Seongho.


    -This is what I heard¡­


    They proceeded to listen to what Seongho had to say. And with every word he uttered, their facial expression turned more and more ugly.


    Once Seongho was finished, Sooyeon took out her notebook and scanned it with her fingers. ¡°At least, the Japanese shouldn¡¯t be around Happo-gu. If there are dozens of them, there is no way we didn¡¯t see them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I went farming there every day.¡± Mikyung said. She wandered around Happo-gu with her blink everyday. Yoohyeon and Yeowool were also scanning through the area everyday. So, there¡¯s no way they wouldn¡¯t know if some foreign people came to Happo-gu, which could be said as their turf. So, the Japanese should be a bit far away from where they are.


    Then, Yoohyeon, who is busy using his unique skill to scout the area near Happo-gu with his eyes closed throughout the discussion, opened his eyes. ¡°I saw some Japanese in Yanggok-dong.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that they are Japanese?¡±


    ¡°From the men¡¯s hairstyles. They all had shaggy cuts, which were popular in the past.¡±


    ¡°Can you really conclude that by their hairstyles?¡± Hyung-jun tilted his head.


    ¡°It was expensive to get a haircut in Japan. That¡¯s why men prefer to have long hair.¡± Mikyung intervened.


    ¡°AHA.¡± Only then did Hyung-jun be sure that they were Japanese.


    Hearing the situation, Seongho elaborated further.


    -They landed in Busan to avoid radiation in their own country. However, when they realized that Busan was also suffering from radiation, some of the Japanese went to Gimhae.


    -Then, are you saying that they were contaminated by radiation? This is a pain in the butt.


    -Even if they are not, they must be tired from moving all over the place for a couple months straight. Therefore, they will be hell-bent to secure a place they can use as their shelter.


    Hyung-jun snorted at Seongho¡¯s words.


    -So what if they are hell-bent? This is our place.


    -Are you confident you will be able to beat them, hyung?


    -It¡¯s not like I will be fighting against dozens of people at once alone. This place is an island, at least we won¡¯t lose here. We have already leveled up a lot since the last time you saw us.


    -Then I¡¯m glad.


    However, as Seongho was someone who couldn¡¯t trust just anyone, he also asked Jiman about the main defense of Dot Island, the sharks.


    -They are no longer here. I sent them back to the sea.


    -Why? It¡¯s useful to have them.


    -When they were staying here, they were right off the coast, so I could see they were getting thiner and thiner because they can only eat small fish around the coast. So, I sent them away.


    As soon as Seongho heard that story, he gave up hoping that the shark would help the group. Meanwhile, Mikyung, who noticed his worry, quickly intervened in the middle of the conversation.


    -Oppa, Where are you now?


    -Me? Around Incheon¡­


    -You aren¡¯t coming here? DIdn¡¯t you say that you will be back after looting the seed vault?


    -I¡¯ll be there soon.


    -But how will you get here? Masan is too far from Incheon¡­


    -If you see any farming dungeons appearing nearby, please tell me. We will try to find it too on my side.


    -Huh¡­ we? Who are you with, Oppa?


    -Uh¡­ I¡¯m talking about Dingo.


    -Ahaaa! How big is Dingo now? I want to see him!


    ¡®He had grown a lot.¡¯ Seongho smiled as he closed the Auction House. The guy had become bigger than any dogs in modern Korea. Then suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around his neck from his back.


    ¡°Are we going to Masan?¡±


    ¡°The Japanese are dangerous. I should go.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Should I order the ghouls to find a farming dungeon?¡±


    ¡°Thank you in advance.¡± Seongho laughed. Even at this moment, farming dungeons were popping up all over the country. It¡¯s just that it¡¯s not easy to find them because the location where it appears was completely random. Though, with the help of the ghouls, the probability of finding it will increase considerably.


    Da-jeong reached out and pinched Seongho¡¯s cheek. ¡°Are you going to tell them about your identity and the portal?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit hard to keep hiding it. So I would have to talk about it soon.¡± Seongho answered. The people of the island were not stupid, so he knew that they already suspected it to some extent. However, they kept their mouth shut because they knew that the atmosphere would only turn sour if they asked about it.


    ¡°Look at you¡­ You have become courageous. You used to insist on keeping yourself hidden.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes I think a head-on confrontation is the answer to some problems.¡± His experience in the wetland labyrinth played a major role in changing his mindset. After killing all the people who had gathered to hunt him, the situation had turned in his favor. The Auction House was also cleaned, and no one was swearing at him anymore. Of course, the curses weren¡¯t all gone, but it was true that it became easier for him in more than one way.


    ¡°If I reveal my identity, the people of Dot Island may hate me, but¡­¡±


    ¡°Those people are nice. I bet they wouldn¡¯t do such things.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that.¡± Seongho said solemnly. There might be people who were dissatisfied with him amongst them.


    Why didn¡¯t you tell us in advance?


    Why didn¡¯t you help us more?


    Why didn¡¯t you stop the apocalypse?


    If those words came out, Seongho was going to cut off all contact with them without looking back. However, he was only hoping for a single thing, that those words wouldn¡¯t come out of Hyung-jun¡¯s mouth.


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    Around the same time when Da-jeong sent her ghouls to look for a farming dungeon, Seokhyun and Geom-in were heading to Incheon. In the beginning, their plan was to return to the government shelter right away, but Geom-in suddenly had a different idea.


    ¡°Hey, Rapwi, I¡¯m sorry¡­ I think I need to find someone¡­¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°People I deceived in Incheon before.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Did you steal their unique skill because you need it for the Battle Royale?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ Yeah. I stole restraint and marksmanship.¡±


    ¡°If they are only normal people, shouldn¡¯t they be dead by now? After all, it was difficult for low-level survivors to move between cities.¡±


    ¡°I-I guess so?¡± Geom-in¡¯s expression turns ugly at the realization. He blamed his past self for deceiving someone without thinking twice.


    But what use is it to regret the past?


    Seokhyun said. ¡°You had used people before. Doesn¡¯t that mean that you are going to do it again?¡±


    ¡°No, No. I wouldn¡¯t do it again¡­¡±


    ¡°A person who has done something once can do it twice. Am I wrong?¡±


    Geom-in had nothing to say at Seokhyun¡¯s words and could only lower his head.


    ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ Then, I will be going there alone. At least I should find their body and give them a proper funeral.¡±


    As Geom-in walked away from Seokhyun, Seokhyun suddenly grabbed his shoulder.


    ¡°Wait a moment.¡±


    ¡°What now?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t completely trust you, but I believe in Seongho. So, I will believe in you because Seongho believes in you.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to help me?¡±


    ¡°Well, if you leave, I won¡¯t be able to find my way back to the government shelter.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Leaving anything aside, Seokhyun¡¯s help was a good thing for Geom-in. The two promptly headed to Incheon as soon as they finished their talk. As the weather warmed up, all kinds of monsters were fiercely reappearing. At that moment, Seokhyun remembered his promise with Seongho.


    ¡°Survivor¡­ You shouldn¡¯t be afraid of anything. You are strong enough. You just don¡¯t understand yourself well enough.¡±


    ¡°This is reality, there¡¯s no resurrection like back in the game. I could die anytime.¡±


    ¡°If you keep that mindset, you have no choice but to remain weak. Watch me and learn.¡± Seokhyun ran towards a werewolf in the distance, who made a long howl. When he arrived right before the werewolf, a fierce battle ensued.


    At the first few seconds of the battle, Geom-in couldn¡¯t help but swallow dry saliva, looking at how intense their fight was. However, as time passed, his expression gradually turned into an absurd look.


    ¡°They want me to fight like that?¡±


    Seokhyun was beating the werewolf by avoiding the werewolf¡¯s slashing, at a very close distance. One wrong move and his body would be impaled by its long claws.


    ¡°You¡­ Too¡­ can fight like this!¡± Seokhyun turned around and shouted at him. At that moment, Geom-in realized that his eyes were normal, there¡¯s no red light in it. It was proof that he did not activate any of his important skills.


    Geom-in¡¯s heart began to beat. ¡®Maybe I can do it too¡­¡¯


    Of course, Seokhyun was only able to do that because his stats were high. However, compared to his own stats, the difference is not really that big.


    However, with every passing second, Geom-in¡¯s will to fight like him withered. After all, Seokhyun was now fighting while crawling on his four limbs, while mimicking whatever the werewolf did, either howling or growling.


    Then suddenly, the werewolf blitzed towards Seokhyun and sank its sharp teeth into Seokhyun¡¯s shoulder. However, instead of screaming in pain, the edges of Seokhyun¡¯s lips went up.


    ¡°You bite me, so I will bite you too!¡± He screamed. And then, The desperate cry of the werewolf resounded. At the sight, Geom-in sweated profusely. Deep in his heart, he promised himself to never fight like that.

 Chapter 132

    The situation of the Japanese people who arrived in Masan was truly miserable. They looked exactly like illegal immigrants who abandoned their homeland, dirty and famished. However, that¡¯s not the biggest problem they¡¯re facing in this foreign land. The biggest problem they¡¯re currently facing is the weather in Korea. Even though the Masan area is not as cold as areas in the central region of Korea, for them, who lack a lot of preparation for winter, such as thick clothes, it was extremely cold.


    When the Japanese first arrived in the residential area of ??Yanggok-dong, their first priority was to find food. However, as most apartments around the area had been destroyed by the corrosive disease, they had no choice but to look for food only at the surrounding houses and stores. Of course, with so many people gathered, monsters had also gathered. Therefore, a lot of Japanese lost their lives, and it reminded those who survived once again that it was currently a post-apocalyptic era.


    ¡°This is all we can find.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Shiraishi Yuzuka looked blankly at the food his brother, Kenji, laid down in front of her. The amount was far too little for dozens of people to share.


    ¡°Dozens of people scoured through the city and¡­ This is all?¡±


    ¡°The Koreans must have swept it all away already. I guess it¡¯s time to fill our stomachs with Store bread again.¡±


    Store bread. Yuzuka¡¯s face turned sour at those words. As a Japanese herself, calling those abominable things ¡®bread¡¯ was an insult to other bread she had ever eaten in her life. But of course, she would still eat it when she was really hungry. After all, it was better to just force herself to eat it rather than to die.


    Kenji sat down in front of his sister with a resigned expression plastered on his face. ¡°No matter how much I looked around, I couldn¡¯t find anything other than this. I would like to distribute it to the weak, will that be okay?¡±


    ¡°Yuzuka will not object. Please do as you wish, Aniki.¡±


    (E/n for you non-weebs out there, Aniki is a term that Japanese people use when they¡¯re referring to one¡¯s older brother. It is a more courteous and polite term than Onii-chan.)


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ You must be hungry too¡­¡±


    ¡°No. Yuzuha can bear with it.¡± Yuzuka smiled. It has been a while since they left Busan. When they first landed in Busan, they had expectations to be able to survive by leisurely farming in the empty city. However, after spending some time there, they realized that it was all but a vain dream. After all, the reason why Busan was empty of people was actually because of the radiation.


    While they were living there, people commonly complained about the pain they felt around their abdomen and a taste of blood in their mouth. After a lot of people started to feel the same way, they couldn¡¯t stand it any longer and tried to escape from Busan. It was at that time that they joined hands with Otaro and his subordinates. A dozen people led by the Shiraishi siblings and Otaro fled from Busan and headed west. However, even after seeing several cities on their journey, they didn¡¯t stop. They only stopped in Masan as they saw people around the area.


    However, the problem is, they don¡¯t know where exactly they were. A map of Korea was simply unthinkable to obtain, and even if they obtained one, they still wouldn¡¯t know where their whereabouts was, as no one in the Shiraishi¡¯s group understands the Korean language. In any case, they plan to stay in the area for a while. There¡¯s not much food here, but at least there¡¯s a house for them to stay in.


    Several days later, while Kenji and Yuzuka were out, trying to find more food, they discovered a small island several kilometers away from the shore.


    ¡°There¡¯s people living on that island¡­¡±


    ¡°To think they are still able to set fire in this situation¡­ I envy them¡­¡±


    Yuzuka and Kenji continued to talk about the Island for a while. In the end of their conversation, they concluded that there were no monsters on that island.


    ¡°Maybe, monsters can¡¯t cross the sea.¡±


    Kenji furrowed his eyebrows at her sister¡¯s words. ¡°That¡¯s absurd! Even the brown bears of Hokkaido can cross the shallow water without any difficulty. It doesn¡¯t make sense that monsters can¡¯t swim.¡±


    ¡°But looking at them, Yuzuka has no choice but to think that way, Aniki.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I hope we can talk with them somehow.¡±


    ¡°Yuzuka thinks that it would be difficult, Aniki. Koreans don¡¯t need us. No, they didn¡¯t even like us..¡±


    ¡°I guess you are right. For them, we would be just some strangers that they¡¯re reluctant to talk with.¡±


    At her brother¡¯s words, Yuzuka nodded her head solemnly. But before she could finish her nod, she covered her mouth with her hands and let out a series of phlegm-full coughs.


    Cough-!! Cough-!!


    ¡°Hey, Yuzuka. Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Yuzuka is fine.¡±


    Because of the cold weather, she was afflicted by a disease, which was unknown whether it was just a cold or mild pneumonia. And because they had run without stopping from Busan, her stamina hit rock-bottom and her immunity also got weakened. Therefore, she never got better.


    In Kenji¡¯s effort to ease his sister¡¯s pain, he stopped in every pharmacy he found to look for a painkiller, but to no avail. Kenji gritted his teeth and returned to their hideout while supporting his sister.


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    ¡°Cough¡­ Cough¡­ How is it?¡± Futaba Otaro looked around his subordinates and gave them a challenging gaze. Beneath his feet, a small orc, tattered with wounds and blood, could be seen, breathless. It was an achievement he achieved through hand-to-hand combat. Of course, his subordinates had also helped him by luring and attracting attention of the orc while he¡¯s fighting it, but it was Otaro¡¯s ignorant power that ultimately defeated it.


    ¡°Excellent achievement, Leader!!¡±


    ¡°Even orcs can¡¯t beat you!¡±


    His subordinates made a fuss about his victory. On the other hand, Otaro, a muscular giant, shrugged his shoulders and turned his head away.


    ¡°How is it, Shiraishi? I had grown this strong. How about you and your sister?¡±


    ¡°Why did you only make such a ruckus after we arrived here? Where was your vigor when we first arrived on this land?¡±


    Otaro¡¯s lips twitched at Kenji¡¯s question. ¡°So, why don¡¯t you do something grand for all of us Japanese?¡±


    ¡°¡­you just don¡¯t know.¡±


    Otaro was a professional wrestler with the ring name ¡°Itoshima¡¯s Monster¡±. After the apocalypse, he acquired a physical strengthening unique skill that matched his strong body. And now, he has grown to the point where he can equally fight orcs in a hand-to-hand combat. But character-wise, he¡¯s quite flawed. He was easily agitated and arrogant. And now, he even becomes a greedy person and has gathered a lot of other Japanese survivors under him to form a faction called Shinil Bonjo.


    Otaro took his feet off the orc¡¯s corpse and headed towards Kenji, who was standing on top of a tree.


    When Kenji looked at him walking towards him, he grabbed the wooden sword on his waist. ¡°Do not come any closer, or I will have to strike you down.¡±


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t be like that. We¡¯ve been together since we were in Japan, haven¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°And I consider it a bad fate. Tell me what you want, Futaba.¡±


    ¡°You see that island over there?¡± Otaro turned his head to the side. He couldn¡¯t see it from where he is right now, but there was a small island several kilometers from the shore. ¡°I want that island. The two of you should cooperate with me to take it over.¡±


    ¡°I will decline.¡±


    ¡°Hey, are you going to say no before you even hear my plan?¡±


    ¡°Your plan is obvious. You will mobilize your men to attack and take over that island, without any regard for the people living there.¡±


    ¡°Oh! You are smart, Shiraishi.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not me who is smart. Everyone can easily tell by looking at your greedy eyes¡­ Unfortunately, we will decline. But we will not interfere with your actions, so do as you please.¡±


    ¡°A pity¡­ But, are you really going to feed your sweet little sister only Store bread forever?¡±


    In the end, Kenji pulled out his wooden sword and pointed it towards Otaro.


    ¡°Did I not tell you to stop paying attention to my sister?¡±


    ¡°I am merely worried about her. She coughs a lot everyday. So, didn¡¯t she need medicine? People on that island might have stockpiled a lot of medicines.¡±


    ¡°I had heard about a city a few kilometers to the north. I can just get it there.¡±


    Otaro shuddered mockingly at Kenji¡¯s words.


    ¡°You will have to fight through countless monsters and Korean survivors to do that. Do not forget, This is Korean land. You¡¯ll just exhaust yourself.¡±


    ¡°Then, can you be sure that there are no awakeners on that island?¡±


    ¡°My men have confirmed there¡¯s only six or seven people there. We can just break them with our numbers.¡±


    Kenji sighed and shook his head at Otaro¡¯s answer. Then, he warned him. ¡°As I said back then, we should not cause any fuss in Korea.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Did you not see the Auction House? There are, at least, more than a hundred Koreans who have reached level 15 and have unlocked the Auction House now.¡±


    They had only managed to reach level 15 after they landed in Busan and fought against countless monsters. And the very first one to open the Auction House amongst the Japanese was Yuzuka.


    At first, she thought that as Korea had a smaller population than Japan, there wouldn¡¯t be a lot of people who had unlocked the Auction House as she did. However, she was completely mistaken. The Auction House was already crowded with people when she entered. And when she asked about Japanese there, she was greeted with a barrage of profanity.


    Kenji and Otaro, who reached level 15 a few days after her, were also surprised because of that. Therefore, they promised themselves to be careful about their actions for a while. However, as Otaro was overly proud of his own abilities, he had completely forgotten about his own promise.


    ¡°Heh, it¡¯s nothing to worry about, Shiraishi. Anyway, if I take over that island, your sister will definitely see me again.¡±


    ¡°There will be no such thing. I guarantee that.¡± Kenji snorted and walked away. Meanwhile, Otaro gathered his men.


    Unbeknownst to the two, a paper airplane was gliding back and forth over their head.


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    ¡°They¡¯re going to make a raft to come here, Hyung.¡±


    ¡°What troublesome guys¡­ What do you think? Would it be possible for them to cross on a raft?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ it¡¯s close to impossible. Their boss is almost as tall as Seongho hyung. But I think he¡¯s a lot heavier than Seongho hyung. But.. But¡­ Uh¡­¡±


    ¡°Just call him a pig.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a bit like a pig, but he also looks like he has a very strong body.¡±


    ¡°Then his unique skill should be the same as mine.¡± Hyung-jun sighed. He was now certain that the Japanese would attack the island. Otherwise, there¡¯s no reason for them to build a raft. On top of that, according to Yoohyeon, their number reached about 20.


    Hyung-jun nervously stroked his chin.¡°In terms of level, we should be higher than them.¡±


    ¡°But I think those people have killed people before. While we don¡¯t even have any experience in fighting against other humans.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. There are no people around.¡±


    In fact, the members of Dot Island have accumulated a considerable amount of combat experience. But all of them were gained by fighting against monsters. The reason they had no experience in fighting against other survivors was all due to Seongho, who had overly pampered them. He had always cleaned everything that could be a threat to the group before they knew about it.


    ¡°This is tough¡­ we¡¯re going to die if we stay here. What should we do¡­¡±


    Hyung-jun had said not to worry to Seongho, but he was actually subtly worried. Those Japanese, who had poison in their eyes, seemed to be quite familiar with fighting, even though their level was low.


    They¡¯re also losing in numbers. For the fight to be equal, each member of the island group had to fight against 2 or 3 people at the same time.


    ¡°Seongho hyung said he was coming, can¡¯t we just hold on until then?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s in Incheon now. We don¡¯t know how long we should wait for him. He said he¡¯s going to come here using the farming dungeon, but will it be that easy?¡± The farming dungeon had just spawned on the island two months ago, so it was about time for it to spawn again. However, from what he knew, the inside of the farming dungeon was completely random. Therefore, it was basically impossible for Seongho to enter the farming dungeon and immediately find the correct portal that leads directly to the portal in Masan, no matter how strong he was.


    Hyung-jun made a decision. ¡°We cannot stand still any longer. Yoohyeon, keep scouting the area with Yeowool. I will talk to Sooyeon.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to talk about?¡±


    ¡°I want her opinion regarding whether to stand our ground or run away.¡±


    When Hyung-jun asked Sooyeon about it, unsurprisingly, she insisted on running away. ¡°It¡¯s better to leave now and retake the island when the opportunity arises later. Materials are indeed scarce outside, but we have no choice but to do it because we lack the ability to fight them.¡±


    ¡°You think so too?¡± Hyung-jun queried.


    ¡°I think Seongho hyung will come. But still, we have to think about what might happen if he didn¡¯t.¡± Jiman, who was passing by, gave them his opinion.


    ¡°Assuming Seongho can¡¯t come, we should all leave.¡± With the conclusion reached by the three, Hyung-jun proceeded to gather all the island inhabitants to listen to their opinion.


    ¡°As you all know, the Japanese are going to attack this island. So, I want to ask what you want to do? Both me and Sooyeon thought it would be better for us to run away.¡±


    ¡°We will follow your choice, hyung.¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    Everyone quickly agreed. After all they were all scared because they had no experience in fighting against people at all.


    With the opinion leaning to only one side, Hyung-jun commanded. ¡°We are leaving now. Everyone should only bring one backpack.¡±


    The island instantly became busy. With only one backpack on their back, everyone fled to the land on the west side of the island with the help of Mikyung.


    The Japanese, who finally arrived after rowing the boat, collapsed on the ground as they found that the island was empty.


    ¡°What is this? Why is nobody there!¡± Otaro yelled at his subordinates, but no one was able to answer.


    ¡°Those b*st*rds are fast¡­¡±


    ¡°Is this island ours now?¡± The Shinil Bonjo group cheered and excitedly took all of the supplies stored in the dormitory. However, unbeknownst to them, there was a small change happening in the island. In one corner of the island, a blue portal appeared.


    It was not far-fetched to say that the blue portal would be their worst nightmare so far.


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    .


    .


    After scouring through the whole Seoul, Da-jeong¡¯s ghouls had finally found the farming dungeon. And when the two entered the portal, Seongho explained towards Da-jeong.


    ¡°I used an item to trigger a bug so this farming dungeon will always be the one that appears.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s something like that?¡±


    ¡°It only applies to farming dungeons, but yeah.¡±


    ¡°You really did a lot of research¡­¡±


    ¡°The problem is, we never know when the farming dungeon will open. So in a sense, we¡¯re actually quite lucky.¡± The gryphon nest farming dungeon opened for the first time two months ago, so the timing of its next appearance should be around this time.


    Da-jeong went inside and her mouth instantly opened wide at the scenery. It was due to the fact that what Seongho said was right. They were once again spawned in the place where they hunted a gryphon two months prior.


    ¡°It¡¯s real¡­¡±


    ¡°DIdn¡¯t I tell you just now? I did this because I had planned that I would return to Dot Island someday.¡±


    ¡°¡­Then why did you bother yourself by going up all the way to Seoul?¡±


    ¡°Just because I want to.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Da-jeong shook her head at his unexpected answer.


    Meanwhile, oblivious to Da-jeong¡¯s feelings, Seongho dived into his memories to found the portal leading to the island. After walking for a while, he finally found it, as the tents where they had stayed in before were still preserved in the crevices of the cliff.


    At the sight, Da-jeong quickly took off her shoes and dipped her feet in the clean water running down not far from the tents.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a break here, okay? I don¡¯t think something will happen to them. Those guys are quite strong¡±


    Seongho checked the Auction House after hearing her words, then immediately made hurried steps.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have time.¡±


    As he crossed the portal, an unexpected sight awaited him. The Japanese, who had been carrying the supplies stored in the dormitory towards somewhere, stopped and stared blankly at Seongho.


    Amongst them, Otaro smiled and pointed his long knife at Seongho.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡±


    Seongho checked the surroundings and sighed. It seems like his doubt regarding Hyung-jun¡¯s words wasn¡¯t unfounded.


    ¡°I am I Love Gimbap.¡±

 Chapter 133

    This one is 4k words by the way¡­


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? It¡¯s not even funny.¡± The Japanese laughed at me.


    ¡°That thing¡­ Gimbap, it originated from Norimaki, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    I scoffed at them. Think whatever you want.


    By the way, no matter how many enemies there are, and no matter how lacking in experience the group is, how can they just decide to escape and abandon everything so easily? Hyung-jun hyung even boasted that he had become quite strong and told me not to worry!


    I looked around and found some rafts which seemed to be used by the Japanese to cross the sea. They had made a shield out of wooden pallets in front of the rafts, which meant arrows were of no use against them. Though, the story would be different if it¡¯s an adamant arrow, but the members of the island have only basic equipment, so I couldn¡¯t blame them in that regard.


    Using the paper airplanes as bombs to attack was indeed a viable attack method. However, as aiming on a single moving raft was quite difficult, if things go south, it would make Yoohyeon into a murderer.


    I understand all that¡­ But still¡­


    ¡°Sigh¡­ Let¡¯s just look at the bright side for now.¡± Thanks to the Dot Island members who ran away, I would be able to run around freely.


    Then suddenly, a Japanese man with a build similar to a gorilla shouted at me. ¡°What do you come here for, Mr. I Love Gimbap? Aha! Do you want to be killed by us?¡±


    Alright, that¡¯s it¡­


    As I pulled out my long knife, the man grinned and yelled at his men. ¡°What are you doing? Let him know who we are.¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡±


    His subordinates came up to me while laughing like villains from some cheap anime. Normally, Japanese would not behave like this, so it¡¯s a bit hard to see them right now.


    The Japanese gorilla crossed his arms and shouted at me. ¡°I will forgive you if you dogeza to me while naked! Of course, while having no campfire for you to keep your body warm.¡±


    ¡°Boss! If we do that, the average human will die!¡±


    These guys talk too much¡­


    I activated all my skills at that instant. As my vision turned red, the gorilla and his men were startled.


    ¡°Boss! That¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey. Let¡¯s stop joking for now and fight him seri-.¡±


    Without waiting for him to finish his words, I kicked the ground and flew towards him. Thanks to my high stats, I could clearly see the gorilla got terrified and tried to hold out his long knife at me.


    With that kind of build, I was 100% sure that he¡¯s unique skill is physical strengthening. And judging by the fact that he had people under him, he should be pretty high in terms of level. However, at the very most, he should only be around level 15, as he didn¡¯t even know who I Love Gimbap is. Which means, at the very most, he should only have 3 additional effects.


    I created a dimensional wall in the middle of the air. I rotated my body and jumped off the dimensional wall. At that moment, I could clearly see the gorilla¡¯s eyes went wide.


    ¡°What a fool.¡± I sneered as I saw him awkwardly covering his head with the hand he used to hold the long knife with.


    Fwoosh-!!


    The long knife I swung cut the gorilla¡¯s wrist off, making the long knife he was holding fly and spun in the air. I corrected my position to match its trajectory and grabbed it as I blitzed towards the gorilla once again.


    ¡°AHHHHHHHHHH!¡± The gorilla screamed as his other wrist was cut off. Without prolonging his misery, I shoved two long knives I held into his heart on the very next move after I cut his wrist off. Before long, the gorilla plopped to the ground as blood gushed from various places, like where his wrists used to be at, his chest and his mouth.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Th-that¡¯s absurd¡­¡±


    ¡°Ho-how can he just beat boss like that¡­¡± The other Japanese who witnessed the scene froze.


    After killing Joo Seung-cheol and resurrecting, I hadn¡¯t killed anyone yet, so with this kill, my count kill rose to 1, one short from becoming a murderer. To be honest, I wanted to use the ballista to kill him, but I had no choice but to kill him myself as I entered a battle all of a sudden.


    I put the two long knives into my backpack and walked to the rest of the Japanese. However, as I was pondering on how to kill all 18 of them,


    Kuruk-!!


    Kieeeeek-!!


    Da-jeong came out from the portal with all her ghouls in tow. She scanned the area with her eyes once before snapping her finger.


    ¡°Why in the world do we have to see corpses every day! I¡¯m so fed up!¡± Ghouls, including the grasshopper, roared horribly and attacked the Japanese right away.


    ¡°G-Ghoul!!!!¡±


    ¡°Run away!¡±


    The Japanese lost their fighting spirit before the rushing ghouls and began to run away. Naturally, the ghouls chased after them, but they did not inflict any fatal wounds on them whatsoever.


    When the ghouls smashed all the rafts lining up on the shore, the Japanese¡¯s panic level went into another level. The only way for them to live now was to jump into the sea.


    ¡°I can¡¯t swim!¡± One Japanese turned back and shouted. He then completely rooted on the spot as he saw a ghoul opening its mouth wide toward him.


    Kieeeekkk-!!


    ¡°Uaaaaaggghhhh.¡±


    ¡°You idiot, jump!¡±


    However, some of them who jumped into the sea could not withstand the cold winter sea and sank. It is very convenient for me, as I don¡¯t have to chase every single one of them to kill them.


    Da-jeong stood next to me, whispered. ¡°Should we kill all of them?¡±


    ¡°No. This is enough.¡± I answered. ¡°After all, we wouldn¡¯t use this island anymore.¡±


    ¡°Because of those Japanese?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. They are not the only Japanese who came to Korea; There are dozens of them. Sooner or later, they would come around Masan and see this island. Therefore, it will be hard for us to keep using this island.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, where will Hyung-jun ahjussi and the others go?¡±


    ¡°They can go to the government shelter. After all, the farming dungeon is now open.¡±


    Da-jeong looked at the blue portal behind her as she heard my words and shook her head.


    ¡°Have you calculated all of this?¡± Da-jeong queried. ¡°To be honest, I get scared of you sometimes.¡±


    ¡°How can I calculate that?¡± I pointed at the portal with my thumbs. ¡°If it hadn¡¯t been for luck, we wouldn¡¯t have been here.¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah¡­¡±


    At that moment, Da-jeong¡¯s eyes flickered and she quickly commanded her ghouls to push the gorilla guy¡¯s corpse into the sea. In the next moment, Mikyung appeared before the two of them with her blink.


    ¡°Oppa, when did you arrive?¡±


    ¡°Just now. Using the portal.¡±


    When I pointed to the entrance of the farming dungeon, she had an incomprehensible expression on her face.


    ¡°The Japanese ran away, some died.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m glad you did a great job.¡±


    Mikyung smiled and approached me. However, her face hardened when she saw Da-jeong standing right next to me.


    ¡°You¡¯re really looking at me with that expression? Come here!¡±


    ¡°Unnie, that¡¯s not it¡­¡±


    She was literally a mouse in front of a cat.


    I told Mikyung to bring the other members here. After all, it¡¯s time for my confession.


    .


    .


    .


    The people of Dot Island breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that Seongho and Da-jeong had arrived. But that¡¯s not the only feeling they felt. They also felt puzzled.


    Why did Seongho and Da-jeong appear together?


    When they finally return to Dot island, Sooyeon was shocked to see Da-jeong¡¯s hand carelessly grabbing Seongho¡¯s butt.


    Isn¡¯t that something you do only to your lovers?


    ¡®Maybe the two of them¡­¡¯ Sooyeon sighed. She didn¡¯t want to believe it. But the evidence was too clear for her to ignore it. There was love in their eyes. Now¡­ she had to put her hope to rest.


    As people gathered at the dormitory, Seongho coughed to grab their attention.


    ¡°Nice to meet you all again. I apologize for being away for too long, even though I said I was only going to loot the seed vault.¡±


    Yeowool hesitated and opened her mouth as Seongho finished his words. ¡°Ahjussi, your atmosphere has changed a lot.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Well, I ended up like this because I had struggled to survive in a very horrendous place.¡±


    Others were also a little perplexed by the change in Seongho¡¯s overall atmosphere. In the past, it could be said that Seongho also had a sharp aura on him. However, it was akin to the sharpness of a knife. But now, it wasn¡¯t far-fetched to say that his sharpness had become something like katana; leagues above his past atmosphere.


    What the hell happened in just two months?


    Oblivious to the group¡¯s question, Seongho said abruptly.


    ¡°My ID is I Love Gimbap. The very same I Love Gimbap from Survival Life.¡±


    ¡°WHAT?¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    People didn¡¯t get what Seongho said right away. However, Seongho interpreted it as that there were people who didn¡¯t like I Love Gimbap amongst them.


    The start of the reaction happened a little later. Mikyung, whose face was forcibly buried in Da-jeong¡¯s chest, turned completely red.


    ¡°Oppa, you are I Love Gimbap?¡±


    ¡°You are surprised, aren¡¯t you? You must also feel betrayed¡­¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not like that¡­ It¡¯s just¡­ I once talked about I Love Gimbap with you¡­.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Seongho nodded. Before the apocalypse had begun, Mikyung once told Seongho about a rumor she heard about him and an ogre. When he looked at her body language, she seemed to be very embarrassed.


    On the other hand, the others were all astonished by the fact bomb Seongho just dropped.


    ¡°I just thought that you had some sort of connection with the stagnant waters¡­¡±


    ¡°I never thought that Hyung would be I Love Gimbap himself¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why he can fight so well¡­¡±


    In fact, other people¡¯s reactions did not mean much to Seongho. He only looked at Hyung-jun. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Hyung. I should have told you much earlier.¡±


    Hyung-jun hyung had a confused face as the recipient of Seongho¡¯s words. However, before long, he moved his head left and right.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s alright. You must have your own reasoning to hide your identity¡­ But Seongho¡­ Why didn¡¯t you reveal your identity to us? You don¡¯t have to answer if you are uncomfortable¡­¡± (T/N He lit said it¡¯s fine but proceeded to ask right away¡­ I don¡¯t get it.)


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I will tell you the reason I did not reveal my identity to others.¡± Seongho looked at all the others and continued. ¡°If any of you are uncomfortable with my identity as I Love Gimbap, please raise your hand. I will not use violence on you. I promise.¡±


    People exchanged glances among themselves.


    ¡°Is there anything that makes you uncomfortable?¡±


    ¡°You know, Hyung, there¡¯s that rumor circulating on the internet before the apocalypse. About you not revealing the information you have to the public¡­¡± Yeowool said.


    ¡°Think about it, Yeowool¡­ The reason we are living comfortably so far is because of Seongho hyung. He had taught us most of the things we know today. To be honest, I think we would have died if it wasn¡¯t for Seongho hyung.¡± When Yoohyeon spoke without even breathing, everyone nodded. They realized that their lives had indeed been saved by Seongho.


    Yeowool squatted next to Seongho. ¡°Then, everyone is fine, Ahjussi.¡±


    ¡°It looks like that. First of all, let¡¯s talk about my unique skill¡­ It¡¯s actually not Battle Foresight, but an ability which could open a portal to another world.¡± Seongho opened the portal as he said that, but no one could see it.


    Then, Sooyeon, who noticed he was gazing at something, put her hand in the air and flinched.


    ¡°Th-there¡¯s something here.¡±


    ¡°Where.¡±


    ¡°Ah. It¡¯s real¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the portal. It is invisible to other people because of the additional effect called transparency. But to me, it looks like a blue door measuring 1 meter wide and 2 meters high.¡±


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s amazing¡­¡± Everyone reached out and touched the portal.


    ¡°You¡¯ve entered a farming dungeon before, right? This portal leads to the same dimension as that place. I have access to this portal at all times. So, it acts as my warehouse, home, and a farming place too.¡±


    Hyung-jun realized something at that moment and clapped his hands.


    ¡°Seongho, you¡­ when we evacuated from Busan before¡­ You said you had found supplies and gave them to us¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes. Actually, those supplies were the ones I brought from that place. I looted it from what Busan survivors had left behind.¡±


    ¡°Then what about the supplies we left behind¡­?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all in the portal.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I understand everything after hearing your story. Seongho, that¡¯s why you were able to wander around like that.¡±


    ¡°It is all thanks to this portal. If things get dangerous, I can just go inside and rest. It¡¯s perfect because the season inside is opposite from the season on Earth.¡±


    ¡°Can you show me how you get inside?¡± Sooyeon asked at that moment.


    ¡°It¡¯s not difficult.¡± Seongho went inside and stretched out his arms. Everyone was startled when his arms popped out of the air.


    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s really strange¡­¡±


    ¡°Can you see us from there Seongho?¡± Sooyeon asked. As an answer, Seongho raised his thumb.


    ¡°It¡¯s a perfect ability to scout.¡±


    ¡°You can see what the enemy is doing. Daebak.¡±


    ¡°¡­well, something like that.¡± Seongho said as he walked out from the portal. He decided that he would tell them about the additional effects, scarabs, and stag beetles later.


    ¡°I showed all of you my unique skill because I believe you guys to some extent. So, please refrain from telling anyone else about this.¡±


    ¡°I will never talk about this.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take this to the grave.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ For me, I doubt I will be able to do it in some cases. I¡¯m weak, so if I got hit with a knife from the back, I would die right away. So if someone threatens me¡­¡±


    ¡°If that happens, it¡¯s okay to tell them.¡±


    Hyung-jun said. He couldn¡¯t understand everything about Seongho yet, but he could roughly guess what was going on. Being able to enter a portal that sends you to another world could make others jealous. That¡¯s probably the reason why he decided to hide his identity.


    ¡°Onto the next thing¡­ Hyung, is there any reason why you decided to leave right away when the Japanese attacked?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ They put shields on the raft.¡±


    ¡°Even if arrows couldn¡¯t get through, Yoohyeon would have been able to keep them in check with his paper airplane bombs.¡±


    At Seongho¡¯s words, he shook his head. ¡°The raft is moving, so it wouldn¡¯t work well. If he makes a mistake and accidentally kills them, it will be a mess.¡±


    His reasoning was something that Seongho had thought about. And since there¡¯s someone with blink ability among them, he must have thought that they could just retake the island later on.


    ¡°I understand. But in my opinion, you all seem a little too weak. You guys can catch monsters easily, but your ability to fight people is a bit¡­¡±


    The person who was pointing it out was I Love Gimbap, so no one could raise an objection.


    At that moment, Da-jeong rested her chin on his shoulder.


    ¡°Don¡¯t take his words to heart. I can guarantee that this guy is a complete madman. If I fight him, I¡¯m confident that I will surrender within a minute.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too much.¡± Seongho denied it, but Da-jeong snorted and continued.


    ¡°Even if I do my utmost best and fight for my dear life, he will still be able to reach me with a long knife in 30 seconds. Even if he¡¯s not using a long knife, I bet arrows flying from somewhere will hit me.¡±


    ¡°That can¡¯t be¡­¡± Some members of the Dot Island group had been with Da-jeong for quite some time, so they were all well aware just how strong the Ghoul Queen was. She was a monster, and in her wake, all survivors were shaking like leaves in cold autumn.


    And that monstrous Ghoul Queen was no match for him?


    ¡°So, if you want to increase your combat power, you can trust him.¡±


    ¡°But¡­what is your relationship with Ahjussi?¡±


    ¡°Sorry?¡± When Seongho tried to answer, Da-jeong beat him to it by making a circle with her index finger and thumb in one hand and making her other index finger come in and out to that circle.


    Yeowool¡¯s face turned beet-red at the sigh. ¡°Wh-what is that¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like this. Do I have to explain more?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    All of them opened their mouths wide. It was a shock that the terrifying Ghoul Queen and Seongho were in that kind of relationship.


    At that moment, Seongho coughed to snap them out of it and focused on the task in hand. ¡°¡­Actually, I¡¯m quite responsible for your lack of interpersonal fighting skills, because I had always kept you safe from dangers. Too safe, in fact.¡±


    He did that to an extent that the island became a safe haven. But in exchange, everyone in the group became like plants grown in greenhouses.


    ¡°So I think it would be better for you to move to another shelter to gain experience.¡±


    ¡°Where should we move to?¡±


    ¡°To the government shelter in Seoul.¡±


    Everyone was stunned at Seongho¡¯s answer. But then, Seongho stretched out his arm and pointed to the entrance of the farming dungeon.


    ¡°That portal is connected to the griffon dungeon we hunted at before. If you go inside, you¡¯ll be in Seoul once you walk through another portal which leads to Seoul. Yeouido is just a short walk away from the location of that portal.¡±


    Then Sooyeon tilted her head. ¡°Of course it would be nice to go to the government shelter, but is there any reason why we should move? We can just train to fight each other here¡­¡±


    ¡°It was because of the Japanese. We¡¯ve managed to kick 20 people out now, but their number will increase in the near future. At least hundreds of people will be coming this way.¡±


    ¡°Hundreds of people¡­¡± For them, there is no difference between dozens or hundreds of people. They were all dangerous.


    ¡°It is no longer safe here.¡± Seongho said. However, the real purpose for him forcing them to move to the government shelter wasn¡¯t solely for them to gain experience. Seongho was planning on sending them to the government shelter in order to secure his stake. If six people were added in addition to Seokhyun and Geom-in, Seongho¡¯s friendly forces will occupy a significant portion of the shelter. Jang Won-taek would surely be aware of his move, but in the end, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about it.


    Seongho said vigorously.


    ¡°Of course, I will not force you. if you want to stay here, you can stay.¡±


    ¡°Anyone want to stay?¡± Hyung-jun asked, but no one raised their hand. After being together for 2 months, they already have close camaraderie. Therefore, they all wanted to be together with each other.


    So, just like that, the Dot Island members decided to move to Seoul.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°From Masan?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Those people are the ones we met in the gryphon nest farming dungeon before. I¡¯ve been told that they want to join our shelter. A total of six people were in the group.¡±


    ¡°Six people, huh?¡± Jang Won-taek stroked his chin.


    What is the reason behind it?


    He had a hunch that it had something to do with the fact that Seongho and Da-jeong knew about the incoming Japanese.


    ¡°It smells fishy.¡±


    ¡°Are you thinking that it was all Seongho¡¯s plan, Mister President?¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°From what we know, the farming dungeons are completely random, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s so. We believed it to be completely random. However, the portal of farming dungeon that appeared near Yeouido had led to the same place as before¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­¡± Jang Won-taek moved his hands from his chin into the armrest and taped it rhythmically. ¡°My guts are telling me that he had some hands on why the same dungeon had appeared again.¡±


    ¡°If that happens, he would be a really scary person.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s correct. However, he¡¯s making an offer we can¡¯t refuse.¡± Jang Won-taek smiled bitterly. Seongho had already killed seven people in the government shelter. Even though it was for a good reason, it was still true that the combat power of the government shelter had plummeted because of it. And now, he was trying to fill the gap with his own people. Without having to even enter the government shelter a single time, to boot.


    ¡°Is this what it feels like to have both eyes open and to be taken away¡­ heh heh, I can¡¯t deny it at all.¡±


    ¡°Because we are in need of people too¡­¡± Lee Beom-seok sighed. All of their plans flew up in the air when 25% of the shelter personnel were gone. In particular, the disappearance of Geom-in and Seokhyun was a big blow.


    Jang Won-taek smiled bitterly. ¡°Let¡¯s accept them.¡±


    That way, the members of Dot Island successfully joined the government shelter. When they entered the shelter, all of them were surprised once by the terrible cold and twice by the vastness of the shelter.


    ¡°It¡¯s cold, it¡¯s cold¡­¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s so cold inside the shelter, how cold is it outside¡­¡±


    ¡°If we go outside, we will freeze to death¡­¡±


    In front of the group, Lee Beom-seok was walking ahead of them. And not long after, Seokhyun and Geom-in returned with two survivors in tow. At their sighting, Jang Won-taek felt like he was seeing some kind of ghost.


    When did they meet those two?


    ¡°We came and picked them up.¡± The men and women introduced by Seokhyun were those whose unique ability got copied by Geom-in before getting discarded by him. The two gave up on their way to the government shelter, and later met the two stagnant waters and joined them.


    The two were abandoned and desperate, but Geom-in sincerely apologized so they had no choice but to accept him. Actually, the main reason why they accepted his proposal was because they were afraid of the monster wearing only panties next to Geom-in.


    Anyway, Jang Won-taek had no choice but to accept them too.


    ¡°Seven people died and eight people came in, so this should be good, right?¡±


    Meanwhile, the members of Dot Island, who met Seokhyun for the first time in the conference room, did not know what to do. After all, he¡¯s a man wearing only panties in this dangerous world.


    ¡°H-he¡¯s wearing a rabbit headband¡­¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t suit him at all¡­¡±


    Their eyes felt like they were rotting in real time as they saw a hairy 30-year-old man wearing a rabbit headband on top of his bald head. When Seokhyon heard that Seongho was the one who sent them to the shelter, he greeted them with a smile which looked very scary in the eyes of the group, even though he didn¡¯t intend it to be like that.


    Meanwhile, Geom-in met Sooyeon, who had her hair tied amongst them. From the introduction prior, he knew that she used to be a doctor, and currently acting as a healer with her unique skill.


    ¡®She looks like Mercy!!!¡¯ She looked almost like a female character from an FPS game. In other words, the gamer swordsman¡¯s ideal type had appeared.


    Sooyeon, who noticed Geom-in¡¯s gaze and knew too well what it meant, could only smile awkwardly.


    ¡°Are you Bae Geom-in ssi? I¡¯ve heard a lot about you from Seongho. He said that you are one of the four stagnant waters.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes.¡±


    ¡°Please take care of us.¡±


    For Geom-in, she was prettier and more attractive than Da-jeong. He couldn¡¯t help but praise his past self for joining Seongho.


    And just like that, the 23-year-old Geom-in had once again fallen in love with someone at first sight.

 Chapter 134

    As you guys know or maybe not. Kig had been scheduled to receive a surgery pretty soon, so please hope him a speedy recovery everyone!


    The members of Dot Island had left for the government shelter with only some of their supplies in the bag. They did so because I told them that I will keep the rest of their supplies in my shelter for future use. I also put all the chicken that Jiman had raised into the portal and put them together with the Hwajo .


    As I went to the front of the dormitory, Da-jeong, who was drinking coffee while gazing at the sea, uttered.


    ¡°It¡¯s really interesting to see you having fun while working.¡±


    ¡°Well, it was because I consider this as some kind of farming in a way.¡±


    ¡°Do you know what I am most curious about?¡±


    ¡°The root of all this chaos?¡±


    ¡°Wrong.¡± Da-jeong chuckled. ¡°It was how you build your shelter inside your portal.¡±


    ¡°Well, the shelter there wasn¡¯t anything special.¡± I answered. It only consisted of a cave, a free lot, and warehouses that acted as a storage for the suppli¡­ No, wait. Now that I think about it, there¡¯s also a vegetable garden, a basement, a barbed wire fence, and a lot more of this and that there. But for now, let¡¯s just say to Da-jeong that it was nothing special.


    Anyway, it was quite a lot of work to move all the supplies in the island because the members of Dot Island worked hard in searching for supplies. I¡¯ll give it back to them someday, but as of now, it could be said that all of their supplies have become mine.


    Da-jeong sighed at that moment. ¡°You are really a supply pervert. By the way, will we have our lunch only when the two others arrive?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We should wait for them. Don¡¯t worry, those two will arrive soon. They are quite fast on their feet, after all.¡±


    Yeowool¡¯s childhood friends, Park Junho and Kim Doyoung, had gone to Changwon a few days ago. It¡¯s not for a grand purpose of going to a dungeon whatsoever, but they went there just to look for something to loot. But, since Yoohyeon had sent them a message using his doll before he went to Seoul, they should arrive soon since their unique skill was a cheat skill in terms of pure mobility. The farming dungeon portal will remain here for at least two or three days, so I will wait for them before moving again.


    While waiting, Da-jeong was bored out of her mind because of the peaceful atmosphere. So she wandered around the island and found the vegetable garden that Jiman tended.


    ¡°Hiaaah~ Poor Man¡¯s unique skill is just insane~ farming strawberries in this weather?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s insane, isn¡¯t it?¡± Though, I was also surprised by the size of the garden and the number of types of the crops. They all grew up so well to the point I began to think about making business out of it. Out of all the crops, my eyes especially gleamed at the strawberries. After all, there were a lot of them which had grown to the size of a child¡¯s fist.


    If my garden back in the shelter could grow crops well thanks to the mysterious power of the forest itself, this garden could grow the crops this well entirely thanks to Jiman¡¯s unique skill.


    Da-jeong squatted, plucked some strawberries from the stems and put them into her mouth.


    ¡°Uwah! It¡¯s really sweet and refreshing. This is my first time eating strawberries like this. Seongho, have one too.¡±


    I ate the strawberry that Da-jeong put in my mouth. And at that moment, the burst of sweetness really makes me regret my decision of sending him to Seoul. I had an ominous feeling that Jang Won-taek would never let him go.


    ¡°Da-jeong. Does the government have extra land? I mean, land that could be used to grow crops.¡±


    ¡°They have. Do you remember the time when the government tasked me to slay plant monsters before? It was on that island. They said that once the situation stabilized, they would use that island to farm some crops.¡±


    ¡°I remembered that. Was the name of the island, Bam Island?¡±


    ¡°Yep. That¡¯s the one.¡±


    ¡°Where actually is it, though?¡± I queried. However, without waiting for her answer, I opened the map and checked its location. Turns out, it was a small island in the middle of the Han River. Therefore, its distance from the mainland was quite close.


    With that distance, wouldn¡¯t the monsters be able to cross by swimming? No, wait¡­ This is just my guess, but I think monsters cannot cross through water, based on what the government called ¡®server separation¡¯.


    ¡°Da-jeong, were there any monsters on Bam Island?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing but plant-type monsters there. Are you perhaps curious about whether monsters can cross through water or not?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I know that your ghouls can do it, but what about the other monsters?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ should we experiment?¡±


    ¡°If you are willing, then yes please.¡± As she heard my answer, she dispatched some of her ghouls to catch some wild ghouls and goblins. It will take quite a while for them to swim there and bring them back here, so in the meantime, I decided to move the whole garden to the shelter.


    Some time later, the two monsters which were caught by Da-jeong¡¯s ghoul landed on the island and were instantly surrounded by her other ghouls.


    ¡°I just have to make them swim, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Da-jeong snapped her fingers and the giant ghoul tossed the wild ghoul into the sea. It floundered and flapped its arm around, but it wasn¡¯t swimming at all.


    Were zombies and ghouls unable to swim? Well, I have never seen any of those two monsters appearing in the wetland labyrinth back in the game, so it was probably correct.


    ¡°By the way, you didn¡¯t teach your ghouls how to swim, right?¡±


    ¡°Are you crazy?¡± Da-jeong snapped back at me with her eyes wide open. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m that diligent? Guys, push the goblin.¡±


    When the ghouls walked closer towards the goblin, it took a step back. However, although it was clear that it was terrified by the ghouls, it did not even think of running away to the sea. A ghoul even came close to the goblin¡¯s nose and threatened it by opening its mouth. However, the goblins seemed to be more afraid of the sea.


    Looking at the sight, I concluded. ¡°They seem to perceive the sea as the boundary of the server.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°If you play a game, users can freely connect to whichever server they want, right? But for NPC monsters, that¡¯s impossible. In other words, those monsters perceive the sea as the boundary of the server and do not want to approach it.¡±


    Da-jeong squatted down and placed her chin on her knee.


    ¡°Does that make sense? They¡¯re monsters. They weren¡¯t something which was programmed by someone.¡±


    ¡°They might have been influenced by some force, just like we, humans who were awakened because of the system.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t like it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the reality, so it can¡¯t be helped. By the way, where is the nearest river¡­¡±


    The Nakdong River in the north of the island should be sufficient for another experiment. The goblin, who refused to the end, was then being thrown away by the ghoul. Just like the ghoul earlier, it floundered a lot before sinking into the sea.


    Now, It became clear that land monsters were weak against the sea. If I combine it with a shelter which could withstand zombie raids made with Geom-in¡¯s unique skill I wonder how strong it would be¡­


    At that moment, Da-jeong sat on the bench and took off her padding and cotton pants. At the sight, I couldn¡¯t help but think that it was nice to live in the warm southern part of the country.


    ¡°Why haven¡¯t those two come yet?¡± Her slender legs danced in the air as she said that.


    ¡°I know right.¡± I smirked. They are really late


    .


    .


    .


    The two still did not come until evening. Therefore, both me and Da-jeong decided to just have our meal without them. After eating, we set ourselves around the bonfire and looked at the sky.


    Suddenly, Da-jeong who sat next to me said something out of the ordinary. ¡°Did you see the faces of the doctor and Mi-kyung during the day?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°You are too much¡­ The two of them are in love with you, you know? How can you didn¡¯t even care about it?¡±


    ¡°I already expect to some extent if it¡¯s Mi-kyung, but Sooyeon is like that too?¡± I asked. She¡¯s a person who doesn¡¯t express herself at all, after all.


    Da-jeong straightened his legs and murmured. ¡°When people were packing their bags. I asked them about their willingness to do 3P.¡±


    ¡°Hey, you crazy¡­.¡± I was surprised by those words and snapped my head at her as quick as acceleration unique skill. However, Da-jeong didn¡¯t even flinch at it.


    ¡°They are adults, aren¡¯t they? So what¡¯s wrong with asking them that question? Anyway, the doctor looked completely disgusted.¡±


    ¡°Who will like it?¡±


    ¡°Me! And for your information It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s a woman or a man.¡± As I got used to her antics after traveling together for so long, I forgot for a moment that she had a few screw looses. No wait, this is not even a screw loose, tthis is a question of sexual orientation¡­


    Anyway, I wanted to changed the subject quickly, but I failed miserably as Da-jeong seems to enjoy the topic.


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m fine with women. So I tried to seduce the doctor and Mi-kyung. but I failed.¡± Da-jeong said as she put her legs on top of my thigs.


    ¡°You were determined to make me hated you, huh?¡±


    ¡°Are you really hated the idea being together with them? So, why did you let Mi-kyung touched your hair for an hour?¡±


    Hearing what she says, I coldn¡¯t find any rebuttal. I mean, Mi-kyung spend one full hour to cut my hair. And to be honest, For me, who believed that men¡¯s hair could be cleaned in 20 minutes, it was a bit too long. But I don¡¯t have heart to stop her in the middle because she look serious.


    ¡°When I look at the two of you from the side, she treat your face as if it were a bottle of wine. She keep caressing your face.¡±


    ¡°She just shaved my beard.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t she a hairdresser? Can you cut your beard at a hair salon too?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± I don¡¯t know if it was in an expensive hair salon. But most of the time, the cut will ends with them washing my hair.


    Da-jeong leaned her upper body and looked at me.


    ¡°Even though the doctor said no, Mi-kyung still remains. Someday we¡¯ll do 3P with her!¡±


    Looking at her, I couldn¡¯t help but to let a long sigh. The good things is, I¡¯m sure it would¡¯t happen because Mi-kyung wouldn¡¯t agree to it.


    By the way, what kind of life did she have to be this crazy?


    ¡°Da-jeong, you know that before the end I ran a snack bar, right? Can I ask what you did in the past?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ It was something a lot of people do, but it wasn¡¯t normal at all. But it¡¯s better for you not to know or we¡¯ll be uncomfortable with each other.¡±


    ¡°Ah okay¡­¡± She said it in a somewhat complicated tone. Therefore, I should keep my mouth shut from this point. However, my curiosity about her past did not leave my mind. I¡¯m sure just like Seokhyun, she had led an unusual life. But as of what kind of live¡­ I don¡¯t know.


    We leaned against each other and looked at the moon hanging in the night sky.


    ¡°Those two troublemaker still not coming yet.¡±


    ¡°I know right.¡± Seems like we wou;d have to go find them as soon as we wake up in the morning.


    At that moment, Da-jeong snuck into my arms.


    .


    .


    .


    We woke up early in the morning and prepared to leave the island. It would be impossible for the two to move to Seoul using the Farming Dungeon if we didn¡¯t find them by tomorrow.


    Leaving the beloved Dot Island behind, I walked for a long time on the industrial road with the ghouls in front. As we entered Yanggok-dong, we heard the chorus of zombies and ghouls shriek. It seems like a zombie raid is happening near here.


    ¡°I think there¡¯s people living in this area.¡±


    ¡°Are they the same as the Japanese from yesterday?¡±


    The Japanese who attacked the island were only a few. Therefore, there is no need for us to kick a fuss here. We turned northeast without stopping at Yanggok-dong. While we were looking at the empty industrial complex at the intersection, someone passed by.


    Who is it¡­ I forgot his name, but this movements were vivid in my memory.


    ¡°Junho!¡± After tying my best to recall his name, I called him. The guy stopped and climbed over the iron sand.


    ¡°Huh? Seongho hyung?¡± I think he¡¯s really Junho. He ran quickly and gasped in front of me.


    ¡°Wow, Seongho-hyung, it¡¯s been a long time. By the way¡­¡± It seems that he forgot Da-jeong¡¯s name. Well it¡¯s only natural since even though the two of them met in the farming dungeon, they barely spent time together.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you 10 seconds. Say my name in ten seconds.¡±


    ¡°No-noona I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    Da-jeong covered Jun-ho¡¯s face with her hands at that moment and pressed it hard.


    ¡°It¡¯s Da-jeong, Choi Da-jeong. If you forgot again in the future, I¡¯m going to shove something into your ass. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Seeing his face blushed, it was unknown whether he loved it or not.


    I pulled him away from Da-jeong¡¯s clutch and asked. ¡°Did you guys get the paper airplane?¡±


    ¡°What paper airplane?¡±


    Ah, It seems like the paper airplane couldn¡¯t found them. Then, I briefly explained the circumstances to him. And his expression turns urgent in an instance.


    ¡°That can¡¯t be¡­ We have to go too.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there is still time. Where¡¯s Do-hyeon?¡±


    ¡°Do-hyeon is with the Japanese now.¡±


    With the Japanese?


    Seeing that my impression was getting worse, Junho hurriedly corrected it. ¡°They are not bad people. We were treated well by them even though they didn¡¯t have much.¡±


    Ah¡­ It seems like they were different kind of Japanese from the crazy Japanese we met. From what I hear from Junho, theit number was about a dozen. Moreover, the two who appear to be brother and sister were the one who lead the group.


    ¡°From what I hear from the siblings, they come from family of Japanese nobility. It was a high-standing family to boot.¡±


    ¡°Nobility?¡±


    When Da-jeong asked, Junho told her everything he knew. In summary, the family the siblings came from was a family which had been a Japanese nobility for a long time. Though the class itself had been abolished a long time ago, its influence was still there.


    ¡°Go to Da-hyeon now and tell him to come with you. You two should go to the government shelter too.¡± I said so, but Junho groaned.


    ¡°But hyung¡­ I¡¯m on my way to a pharmacy right now¡­¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°The noble girl, Yuzuka was sick¡­ so I want to find some cold medicine for her¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh my gosh. Our Junho fell in love with a Japanese noblewoman.¡± Da-jeong chuckled. At her teasing, Junho¡¯s face turned red.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that noona¡­¡±


    ¡°Then what?¡±


    ¡°I just want to help¡­¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay.¡± Da-jeong laughed. Even though she¡¯s crazy most of the time, she¡¯s still sensible enough to not downplay his desire to help others.


    By the way, haven¡¯t I seen the name Yuzuka before?


    ¡°Ah, from the auction house!¡±


    ¡°What auction house?¡±


    ¡°Long time ago, someone asked if there were any Japanese people at the auction house. At that time , I was looking for someone, so I checked her ID too, and the name Yuzuka came up.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so if someone doesn¡¯t have a Survival Life ID, their real name will appear, huh?¡±


    ¡°Hyung, Noona, what are you talking about?¡± Junho tilted his head as he asked. Ah right, he still doesn¡¯t know who I am¡­


    ¡°You should ask the others later, bur for now, let¡¯s go.¡±


    Da-jeong intervened. ¡°Why, will you help them?¡±


    ¡°Because they are people from high rank, I think they will have some good information.¡±


    ¡°What they have should only be information about Japan. Hang on¡­ Don¡¯t tell me?¡±


    I said what I had in mind. ¡°Aren¡¯t we going to go to the Japanese server someday? Remember those foreigners who come to our server from a speedrun labyrinth? We should do it like them¡±


    ¡°Nice! By the way, I¡¯ll use the ghoul to beat the monsters, you just need to get the last hitt. I will take you to level 27 here.¡±


    I should say at this point that her tenacity to go inside the portal was commendable. With that in mind, we hurriedly headed to Yanggok-dong.


    .


    .


    .


    Led by the Shiraishi brothers and sisters, Japanese nomads waged an arduous battle against the zombies. Most of those Japanese didn¡¯t know about zombie raids. It was only Yuzuka and Kenji who knew about it thanks to the auction house. However, they often forgot that it was not allowed to gather more than 5 people in one place. And every time, the result was always like this.


    ¡°Hiyap!¡± Shiraishi Kenji¡¯s long knife and wooden sword violently cleaved the zombie¡¯s skull. He was someone who was strong enough to fight several zombies or even one or two ghouls, but the current situation was still a bit too much for him as there were too many zombies. On top of it, there was a ghoul mixed amongst them, making it far more harder.


    ¡°Kenji-sama, we can¡¯t continue like this any longer!¡± Screams were heard one after another. As the icing on their misery, the number of people who were only a few continued to decrease.


    Kenji clenched his teeth as he glared at the ghouls running towards him. Those bizarre twisted limbs, no matter how many times he saw it, he still couldn¡¯t get used to it. He wanted to run away in all honesty, but behind him stood his sick sister. So, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it.


    ¡°Even if this becomes my grave! I will not fall!¡± He shouted after taking a rough breath.


    Finally, the ghoul in front of him jumped towards him. Kenji¡¯s eyes shook as he saw its long claws and sharp teeth. However, just before his long knife collided with the ghoul, something really amazing happened.


    Someone was grabbing the ghoul by the ankle.


    ¡°Wh-who?¡±


    Kenji and Yuzuka¡¯s mouths fall to the ground. What they saw was a man of great size. That man casually grabbed the ghoul¡¯s leg and slammed it to the floor.


    Kieeeek-!!


    Blood and bodily fluids gushed out of the ghoul¡¯s mouth as it screamed.


    ¡°You can endure this, huh?¡± The man said in an even tone as the ghoul struggled to free itself out of the man¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Eutcha!¡± Finally, the ghouls freed itself. However before long, a long knife greeted it.


    Swwwosh-!!


    In the air, the ghouls were dismantled into pieces. Kenji couldn¡¯t keep his mouth shut at the sight. The man just casually cut the strong ghoul into many pieces!


    Oblivious to his thoughts, the man wiped the blood off his long knife and looked at the siblings. At his eerie and cold gaze, they couldn¡¯t help but swallow a dry saliva. They realized that the men in front of them was a league above them in terms of power.

 Chapter 135

    Sorry in advance.


    Kenji stood dumbly as he watched the man fight. No zombies nor ghouls could approach him without being cut into sashimi. Not only that, his movements were also extraordinary. With minimal movement he sliced ??through the monsters swarming towards him. He was also a swordsman himself, but if someone asked him to move like the man in front of him, he would have no choice but to shake his head as an answer.


    ¡®Just how much hardship had he gone through to be that strong¡­¡¯


    Judging by the man¡¯s movement, Kenji was sure that it wasn¡¯t just an effect of mere skills. The man looked as if he was reading the monster¡¯s movements and was attacking accordingly. Wherever his longknife went, limbs of zombies and ghouls flew in the air.


    When the man suddenly walked towards him, Kenji couldn¡¯t help but take a few steps back.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to get hurt, step back.¡± The man¡¯s voice was very thick.


    Normally, repulsion and competitive spirit would arise within oneself if the person talking to them like that was also someone from the same field. However, no such feelings arose within Kenji. After all, the fighting powers of the large man in front of him was beyond something he could handle.


    ¡°Are you helping us?¡±


    ¡°For now, that¡¯s the case. Our ghouls might attack, so it¡¯s best for you all to just stay out of the way.¡±


    ¡°Your ghouls?¡±


    The moment Kenji and Yuzuka furrow their brows, the zombies filling the street suddenly start to fly in droves; someone was throwing them. When both of them stretched their necks to see who was doing it, they couldn¡¯t be any more surprised. It turned out that a group of ghouls was the culprit.


    They were clearly different from the ghouls that attacked the Japanese. To put it bluntly, the difference between them was like the difference between an elementary school student and a high school student.


    And when they saw the woman who was controlling the ghouls, they were surprised once again. Everytime her fingers snapped, the ghouls attacked the zombies in unison.


    Kieek-!!


    Kieek-!!!


    ¡°Oh my god¡­¡± Yuzuka pulled the bowstring halfway and couldn¡¯t close her hanging mouth. Never in her wildest imagination did she ever think that there would be a time when she would see someone ordering ghouls.


    On the other hand, the large guy threw the zombies that were running towards him to the ground with an annoyed expression plastered on his face and crushed them with his foot.


    With the appearance of the two, the number of zombies and ghouls, which were a lot at first, dwindled quickly. It¡¯s unbelievable, but it was also true that the two of them had single handedly stopped the zombie raid. And after watching their bloody dance for another 30 minutes, the zombie raid ended.


    ¡°Huff¡­¡± Seongho let out a long breath as he flicked his long knife to clean the blood over it. Although he had become quite strong, it was still difficult to face such a large group of monsters directly. Thankfully, he had Da-jeong by his side. If not, going into a zombie raid alone to help people he didn¡¯t know was something he wouldn¡¯t do. After all, nothing is more precious than his own life.


    ¡°I went up 1 level. I¡¯m level 27 now.¡±


    ¡°YES! We only need 3 more levels!¡±


    Seongho couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at her answer. Her determination was incredible. However, the moment he looked at the siblings in the distance, he erased all traces of his smile and walked towards them.


    Seeing him approaching, the two siblings nodded towards each other and ran towards him and introduced themselves.


    ¡°Nice to meet you. My name is Shiraishi Yuzuka. And this is my brother, Shiraishi Kenji.¡±


    ¡°These people seem different from the Japanese from before.¡± Da-jeong whispered.


    ¡®We¡¯ll see whether they are different or not.¡¯ Seongho said to himself.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know that if there are more than five people in a single place, a zombie raid will occur?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, we aren¡¯t aware of it. As soon as we arrived in Korea, we were always chased by them, so we thought it was supposed to be like that.¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much for your help. We learned a lot from this opportunity.¡± Yuzuka politely bowed her head. And while doing that, she still let out a series of wet cough


    At that moment, Da-jeong walked up to her and circled around her. ¡°She¡¯s definitely different from Koreans. She has an aura of a lady.¡±


    At Da-jeong¡¯s scrutinizing gaze, Yuzuka stopped coughing and tried to cover her body with her hand. ¡°Does Yuzuka look that different?¡±


    ¡°Wow, this is the first time I¡¯ve ever seen someone call themselves in a third person perspective!¡± Da-jeong laughed.


    ¡°We will be talking for a long time, so let¡¯s go over there.¡± The place Seongho had his finger pointed towards was a one-room building right next to the Japanese hideout.


    ¡°The zombie raid¡­ Has it truly ended?¡± Kenji asked as he covered his nose at the slowly rising rancid smell.


    ¡°For now it is.¡± Seongho answered.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Thank you so much for your help.¡± As soon as they went up to the third floor, Kenji and Yuzuka bowed deeply towards Da-jeong and I. The raid must have been extremely difficult for them considering the fact that they were bowing so deeply to express their gratitude to us even though our bloodline and class were far too inferior to them.


    I exchanged glances with Da-jeong and she nodded. ¡°It¡¯s fine. We helped because we had a purpose for looking for you guys in the first place.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by purpose?¡± Kenji asked. Even though he currently had a beard covering his face, he didn¡¯t have the atmosphere of an overly old person. At most, his age should be around 30.


    I¡¯ll have to dig up some information before I get to the point. ¡°Yesterday we were attacked by about 20 Japanese people. The captain looks like a big gorilla, do you know him?¡±


    ¡°A gorilla huh¡­ Did he perhaps have a strange tone of voice?¡±


    ¡°You seem to know him.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I know him, but we are not allies.¡± Kenji hurriedly waved his hands. ¡°The person¡¯s name is Futaba Otaro. He used to be a famous wrestler in our country.¡±


    Now it makes sense why the guy was huge. But the strange words and actions still cannot be explained through that.


    Kenji hesitated and said. ¡°Futaba was a good wrestler. But he was even more popular due to his bizarre words and actions. There were even rumors that he was on drugs.¡±


    ¡°What is your relationship with them?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have any relationship with them aside from the fact we both hail from Japan. Can I ask what happened to them?¡±


    ¡°He and a lot of his subordinates are dead.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief. It¡¯s better to not have Japanese people who come all the way here just to cause trouble.¡±


    As I heard his answer, my eyes drifted towards Da-jeong who stood still while looking out the window. At her side, Yuzuka was also standing. It seems like the reason she was attached to Da-jeong was because they were both women.


    Seems like it¡¯s time to get to the point. ¡°I have a suggestion. Should we exchange information?¡± Of course, the quality of the information must be good. If their information was not good, the information they will get from me will also be something ordinary.


    At my words, enthusiasm could be seen blazing at Kenji and Yuzuka¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°We¡¯ve come all the way here to live, so there is no reason to hesitate. We will reveal everything we know.¡± Kenji quickly called his men to bring something. Meanwhile, the two troublemakers were talking with a Japanese girl on the second floor of a commercial building across the street. They seemed to be having fun.


    After a while, Kenji¡¯s subordinate came and put a small pouch between us. When Kenji opened it, it contained a map and notes. Da-jeong walked towards us and opened the notebook.


    ¡°It¡¯s a diary, isn¡¯t it? But why is the first page written on July 17th?¡±


    ¡°That was the date when we were informed by the government that the Apocalypse was going to happen.¡±


    ¡°What the¡­ Didn¡¯t zombies appear 5 days before the 17th? Before that, even goblins were found.¡±


    Yuzuka bowed her head at Da-jeong¡¯s remark. ¡°At the time, in Japan, it was considered as nothing but Korean fabrication, so¡­ Yuzuka is ashamed.¡±


    Why is she the one who¡¯s ashamed?


    After thinking like that, I opened the map of Kyushu.


    ¡°Even if civilians think that way, the government shouldn¡¯t do that. What¡¯s wrong with your government¡­ By the way, what happened to the nuclear power plant?¡±


    ¡°The government told us to stay still. We were only able to survive by grasping Korea¡¯s information and stockpiling supplies on our own.¡±


    Kenji shook his head with a crestfallen face.


    ¡°Is this circle the location of the nuclear power plant?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The northern part of Fukuoka prefecture must have become a land of death by now. No one can survive that place¡­¡±


    ¡°What about other lands?¡±


    ¡°We decided to go to Korea, so we don¡¯t know about other regions.¡±


    Then, there¡¯s no information they can provide me, isn¡¯t there?


    Perhaps, Kenji felt the minute change in my expression because he quickly put some marks on some places.


    ¡°I¡¯m giving you this information just in case, but this is Sanribu, this is¡­¡±


    ¡°What is Sanribu?¡±


    ¡°There are a lot of discount stores in Kyushu¡­ And there¡¯s a korean mart in Sanribu.¡±


    ¡°If it was a mart, everything would have been stolen.¡±


    ¡°Their warehouse was located in a remote location, so it should still be fine.¡±


    How did he know I like warehouses?


    Monsters usually appear in places where a lot of people gather, so they rarely appear in a remote location. That¡¯s the very reason why the rice center I looted before was still in a good condition.


    Kenji and Yuzuka knelt down in front of the map and told me quite a bit of information. It was to the point that if I went to Japan right away, I wouldn¡¯t have any trouble. Though, it is only limited to south of Kyushu.


    Then Yuzuka suddenly moved away and coughed heavily. She was almost out of breath because of the coughs she let out. Looking at his sister, Kenji let out a sigh of resignation. It seems that no matter how worried he was, he knew that there was nothing he could do.


    ¡°She¡¯s been like this for a few days. I couldn¡¯t find any medicine and the cough only got worse¡­ I¡¯m worried that she might start coughing blood soon¡­¡±


    Da-jeong stabbed me in the side. She seems to be asking me to do something.


    I sighed and told them. ¡°I knew a doctor who we can chat with through the auction house. If things went well, we might be able to get some medicine.¡±


    Both of their eyes widened at my words.


    ¡°If you can do us that favor, we will never, never forget it!¡±


    ¡°Yuzuka will never forget too.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± I called the members through the auction house. Yoohyeon, who proclaimed himself as the group¡¯s auction house addict, immediately answered my comment.


    -Hyung, is something wrong?


    -There is a patient here¡­ Can you ask Sooyeon to open the auction house?


    -Noona is talking with Geom-in ssi right now, so wait a minute.


    Geom-in with Sooyeon? It¡¯s not a combination I would say is good by any stretch of meaning, but if they like each other, oh well¡­


    As I waited for her, Kenji sent me a dazzling glance. It was something I didn¡¯t want to receive from a man.


    -Seongho, you want to see me?


    -Yes. There¡¯s a patient who needs your help, Sooyeon.


    -Ah¡­ do you need remote treatment? It¡¯s illegal in Korea.


    -There is no law in Korea right now.


    -Ah yeah¡­ Could you please tell me the patient¡¯s personal details and the symptoms?


    ¡°Yuzuka, your personal details and symptoms please.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes.¡±


    She hurriedly entered the auction house and wrote it all down.


    -I can¡¯t be 100% sure because it¡¯s not my major, but I suspect it¡¯s an upper respiratory tract infection.


    What a dangerous sounding name.


    -Seems like it¡¯s very dangerous?


    -That¡¯s right. There is no cure to that disease and without luck, it is a dangerous disease that can lead to death from various complications.


    -Ah¡­


    It¡¯s getting more and more serious.


    However, at that moment, Sooyeon added.


    -The upper respiratory tract infection is a common cold.


    What the¡­ Why did she use that complicated jargon rather than directly saying it was a common cold?


    Seeing the comments, the brother and sister sighed in relief.


    -It¡¯s so cold in Korea right now. Since she had been walking around, her stamina must be low. In other words, her immune system is in a state of breakdown; an optimal condition for the virus to work.


    -Then, she just needs to eat well and get plenty of rest?


    -Normally, doctors would say that, but¡­ it sounds like she has a bad cough, so I¡¯ll prescribe her some medicine.


    Soon after, when Sooyeon put a medicine bag on the auction house, Kenji quickly bought it. She even put it at the lowest price: 10 points. Once they received it, Yuzuka quickly poured water into her cup, drank it along with her medicine, and let out a small sigh.


    ¡°Ha¡­ Now I can rest assured.¡±


    ¡°For the time being, it would be better for you to eat well and rest well.¡±


    But I know that it was something difficult for them as their situation was rather bad.


    When we finished our talk, Da-jeong and I went out and called the two troublemakers.


    ¡°Hyung, what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Take this to the Japanese.¡± I said as I handed them a bag of rice, a match, and a bottle of soy sauce. This much supplies would last them for at least a day or two. After that, they need to start searching by themselves.


    ¡°But where did you get this rice? I couldn¡¯t find it anywhere¡­¡±


    ¡°My ghouls are the ones who find it, got a problem with it?¡±


    In this kind of situation, having Da-jeong with me is very reassuring. The two paid attention to her momentum and went up carrying the sack. However, before they walked away, I told them.


    ¡°Tell them that they can occupy the Dot island. And once you guys are done, return to Dot Island right away¡­ we will also leave right away.¡±


    It¡¯s a good investment if I can win their heart by giving them this little of a help. It won¡¯t pay dividends right away, but you never know what it will bring in the future.


    ¡°Okay, hyung!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be back soon!¡±


    We headed to the island.


    .


    .


    .


    Once Junho and Do-hyung returned to the island, I quickly sent them to the portal. I gave them the map to the Farming Dungeon, and someone had agreed to meet them in Seoul, so they won¡¯t have any trouble.


    Then, we watched the Shiraishi siblings enter the island from the shore. It was clear that they were happy to finally find a way to live. The siblings had continuously thanked me and even said that I was their benefactor. Not only that, Yuzuka herself swore that she would listen to any of my requests once. It was a bonus to see Yuzuka¡¯s face turn red when Da-jeong said that I might demand her body as a joke.


    Well, I have no intention of making unreasonable demands in the first place.


    Da-jeong said all of a sudden. ¡°You gave them the island because you think it was a waste to leave the island alone, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not bad if a friendly force occupies it. We never know when we will need it again.¡±


    ¡°You are really thrifty.¡±


    ¡°By the way, I don¡¯t think there will be anything left for them to loot nearby¡­ our members must have taken everything.¡±


    ¡°You already told them the location of the rice center, so it¡¯s up to their effort from now on.¡±


    Yeah, I guess she¡¯s right. With that in mind, we headed north with the ghouls. And after finally conducting an experiment I found that the monsters could cross the river without any problem. It¡¯s a disappointing result, but it can¡¯t be helped.


    We turned around from there and headed towards Mt. Jiri. The reason was because I wanted to see how many Chinese were in the areas I passed through, which was Jeonnam and North Jeolla Province.


    When we arrived near Mt. Jiri, we found ourselves in a little bit of a pickle. It was because the amount of plant monsters there was no joke. The amount made me feel as if the entire Jiri Mountain came to life. In the future, this kind of mystical scene would also be seen in the city.


    We fought moderately there and then fled to Gurye. Once we arrived there, my level rose to 29, and my points broke through 15,000. It was all thanks to Da-jeong¡¯s bus.


    ¡°One more level¡­ One more level¡­ One more level.¡± She murmured and set out to find a monster to sacrifice to me. When she finally found the orc, she cheered.


    ¡°Thank you for coming, Orc!¡±


    Kiek?


    The orcs threatened her by twitching her pectoral muscles, but were soon beaten by the ghouls and dragged towards her. I continued to level up comfortably in this way. And finally, I reached level 30.


    ¡¸Level has risen to 30¡¹


    ¡¸You have earned 10 points¡¹


    ¡¸As you have reach level 30, your unique skill will undergo a change.¡¹


    ¡¸Your Unique Skill ¡®Dedicated Dimensional Door¡¯ has changed to ¡®Dimensional Door¡¯¡¹


    ¡¸You can set points required for other to use the DImensional Door.¡¹


    ¡¸A special contract is required for other to use the Dimensional Door.¡¹


    It finally came out¡­


    But something is strange¡­

 Chapter 136

    The atmosphere of the government shelter became much brighter than before as a lot of people came in. Most of them were young people in their late teens to early 20s, so it became a bit noisy. But, the older people such as Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok were quite pleased with the fact that they had young blood. After all, just because this place was a government shelter, there¡¯s no reason for it to only house old and boring people, right?


    Of course, there¡¯s no room for fun and leisure time in survival, but it was still a fact that the shelter needed the energy of young people.


    Those aforementioned young people were currently gathered in Geom-in¡¯s room. After noticing that the majority of Dot Island members were younger than him, he felt the need to discipline them. Though, what he meant by ¡®discipline¡¯ was just him making sure that he and the rest of them were in the same page about what to do in the future.


    He deliberately left Oh Hyung-jun and Jo Sooyeon from this discussion as the age gap between him and them was quite big, making it difficult for him to talk to them.


    ¡°Come in, come in.¡± Geom-in welcomed the people who entered his room. From what he remembered, their names were Yoohyeon, Mi-kyung, Jiman, Yeowool, Junho, and Doyoung. With so many people entering the room, the small room became even smaller and everyone had to sit comfortably. However, thanks to it, the temperature of the room has also become a little warmer.


    ¡°It¡¯s very warm here.¡±


    ¡°Eugh¡­ What is this smell?¡±


    ¡°Wow, who ate sweet potatoes?¡±


    A sweet smell spread through the small room. There were no windows whatsoever in the room, so the air flow was bad. So they had to inhale the smell directly.


    Geom-in quickly tried to calm the noisy children.


    ¡°Everyone, please just sit down and try to not make more noise. It¡¯s just farts, why are you guys going crazy because of it?¡±


    ¡°Geom-in is right.¡±


    ¡°Sit down, sit down.¡±


    Geom-in?


    He knew that everyone here was younger than him, so why did she use casual speech to call him?


    It seems like he would have to teach them that this place had a hierarchy.


    ¡°Everyone, tell me your age. I am 23 years old.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m 23 too.¡±


    When Mi-kyung looked at him and said that, Yoohyeon¡¯s face scrunched up and said in a bewildered tone. ¡°You¡¯re the same age as me, aren¡¯t you? So how come you are 23? The year hasn¡¯t even changed yet!¡±


    ¡°I was born early, you know?¡±


    ¡°Is February 25 an early date these days?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too much¡­¡±


    ¡°I try to let it slide, but the 25th of february is a bit too much.¡±


    ¡°Unnie, 25th february isn¡¯t early!¡±


    The three musketeers Yeowool, Junho and Daehyung (Uh names!) expressed their disagreement with Mi-kyung¡¯s statement. Then, Yoohyeon said, ¡°To other people, you¡¯re always 22, but you¡¯re 23 now? I¡¯m speechless.¡±


    ¡°Do you have a problem with it? It¡¯s up to me!¡±


    ¡°You have to tell Seongho hyung that you are 23 years old soon then! No, you¡¯ll be 24 once the year changes, aren¡¯t you? You are in mid-20s already? Wow¡±


    ¡°Do you want to die?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why just pick and stick with 22 or 23!¡±


    The two looked at each other and growled. After staying on the island for quite some time, the relationship between them didn¡¯t get better. Rather it only got worse. Now, they no longer had boundaries between them and act almost like real siblings.


    Yeo-wool, who was sitting next to Yooheyon gently wrapped her arms around Yoohyeon¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Unnie, please don¡¯t say harsh words to my boyfriend.¡±


    ¡°Wow, are you taking Yoohyeon¡¯s side too now? Is he your husband? Huh?¡±


    ¡°We can get married now if we want! It¡¯s completely legal.¡±


    Hearing her words, Yoohyeon¡¯s expression worsened. Then he shook his head. ¡°Where¡¯s the law in this kind of world?¡±


    ¡®That¡¯s your problem?¡¯ Geom-in sighed. No, wait¡­ he shouldn¡¯t get sucked into their conversation¡­


    When he was with Seongho or Da-jeong, the subject they talked about was very heavy, but now, he feel dumb to think he would get the same from the people in front of him just because they were people who Seongho sent over.


    It couldn¡¯t continue any longer¡­


    ¡°Calm down. Let¡¯s have a serious conversation. Anyway, do you all admit that I am the oldest here?¡±


    While Mi-kyung reluctantly nodded, the rest weren¡¯t.


    ¡°But you¡¯re talking casually to Seongho hyung, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Geom-in, you talk to Seongho oppa casually?¡±


    ¡°The age gap between them is huge¡­ How could that be?¡±


    They started to kick a fuss again. At the sight, Geom-in realized that something had gone completely wrong. Therefore he coughed and try to make excuses.


    ¡°I-it¡¯s because I¡¯m a stagnant water. I used to play with I Love Gimbap, Duck buttock, and Rabbit Pwincess everyday. Our time together could be said to be close to five thousand hours.¡±


    Even though he said that, the looks in the eyes of Dot Island members didn¡¯t change.


    ¡°You don¡¯t look like a stagnant water¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, you look so ordinary.¡±


    ¡°I get the feeling that the other 3 were stagnant waters just by looking at them. But I can¡¯t feel it by only seeing you.¡±


    That¡¯s a correct statement. Rabbit Pwincess exuded an aura which made whoever saw him instantly believe that he¡¯s part of the 4 stagnant waters. That¡¯s also the case for Duck Butt Goes Kwek Kwek which had a unrival beauty and looks in this apocalypse. Not only that, she¡¯s easy to recognize as there were always a lot of ghouls following her. And for the people here who know who I Love Gimbap is, he looks ordinary at first glance, but he had a great size and his eyes were bloody. He also boasted an atmosphere that seemed like it would take him less than 10 seconds to smash a person with his power.


    Compared to those three, it was true that Survivor 1, a gamer in his early 20s, looked a bit ordinary.


    ¡°They¡¯re all older and they talk casually with each other. It will be weird if I¡¯m the only one who talks formally.¡±


    ¡°Then we can all talk casually.¡±


    ¡°Should we do that?¡±


    ¡°You know, even in the water, there¡¯s an up and down, so we have to have a hierarchy.¡±


    ¡°Do we really need that?¡±


    ¡°Sigh¡­ Yoohyeon doesn¡¯t educate you right, huh?¡±


    ¡°Hey, Mi-kyung, I will tell Seongho hyung about you! You are such a bully!¡±


    ¡°Hey! Kim Yoohyeon!¡±


    At this point, Geom-in had become depressed from looking at how the people act. He was planning to show off his dignity to the kids in front of him, but it was falling apart miserably. And as the situation seems would¡¯t get any better even if he scold them, he tried to changed the subject.


    ¡°Anyway, everyone. What do you all think about Seongho¡¯s goal?¡±


    ¡°You mean his plan of securing a stake in this shelter?¡± Mi-kyung quietly speaks.


    Geom-in decided to overlook her casual way to talk even though she was one year old younger than him. After all, there¡¯s an age difference of 10 years between Rapwi and him, but they are talking casually.


    ¡°If you want the ask what the ¡®stake¡¯ referring to was, it was him owning this facilities and all the firearms. Supplies such as daily necessities and food are of course important, but guns are more important.¡±


    Firearms. A weapon that had never been used before to hunt monsters. However, it was said that once the Corrosive Disease subsides, it will be used in earnest. It was already an open secret that there were loads of guns in the basement of government shelters.


    ¡°Just because the Corrosive disease subsides and the government decide to take out the firearms, it doesn¡¯t mean that he will get his stake right away; it will happen slowly. The more people handle guns on our side, the better. However, before that, you have to make the president should be able to trust you.¡± Geom-in declared.


    ¡°Then we should work harder and study more fro, now on¡­¡±


    Everyone nodded at Jiman¡¯s words. Everyone knew they wouldn¡¯t turn into a skilled soldier just because they had a gun in their hands nor will the president give out guns to just anyone. At the very least, they must prove their abilities by performing various missions.


    ¡°If you keep bickering like what you all did just now, you will be judged as an incompetent of. Thay guy, Lee Beom-seok is evaluating your every move.¡±


    ¡°Then we should make an impression to him¡­¡±


    As one of the two Yeowool¡¯s friends spoke, Geom-in shook his head.


    ¡°Once you are judged by him, you can¡¯t change your rating. It was because your rating was given to you according to what your usual behavior is. Therefore, what we should do is working hard in order to make our rating high.¡±


    The key to the firearms storage which was made of reinforced plastic was owned by Jang Won-taek. Therefore, it was impossible to acces it without his permission.


    At that moment, J-man brought up a strange story. ¡°Everyone knows about Seongho hyung¡¯s unique skill, right?¡±


    ¡°I know a little bit about it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly what it is.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Seongho hyung¡¯s unique skill some kind of attack-type?¡±


    From what Junho and Do-young said, Jiman judged that Seongho hadn¡¯t tell them about it. So, he start to explain. ¡°So far we have seen a lot of strange places appearing right? The likes of farming dungeons¡­¡±


    ¡°Labyrinth.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­. Those places are actually located in the same dimension. And Seongho hyung¡¯s unique skill is enabling him to travel to that dimension freely through a portal.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    ¡°So, It¡¯s like that¡­¡±


    But there was something else that really mattered.


    ¡°Seongho hyung can open a portal to that fantasy world. However, he¡¯s the only one who can enter as of now. He said that inside, there¡¯s a forest, and hyung said he had made a shelter in that forest.¡±


    ¡°Re-really?¡±


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s great¡­¡±


    Except for Geom-in, everyone had their mouths open and didn¡¯t know how to close them. They all had heard about Seongho¡¯s unique skill, but it was only on a surface level. Therefore, this revelation was quite a shock for them.


    Jimin looked around and said once again. ¡°Even though, we can¡¯t enter that place right now, things may change in the future.¡±


    ¡°Th-then, will we be able to get in too?¡± Junho asked.


    ¡°You know that big chicken that Seongho hyung cook after saving me? it¡¯s actually not a chicken, it¡¯s an animal called Hwajo.¡±


    ¡°He had serve some sashimi to me.¡± Geom-in smiled.


    ¡°I want to eat that too.¡± Everyone swallowed their saliva, imagining the world inside the portal.


    ¡°So, we have to do well. Don¡¯t make trouble here, and don¡¯t betray Seongho hyung. If you just do what you were told, hyung will take care of the rest.¡± Ji-man brought everyone back to reality with his words.


    ¡°But what are we going to do once we are inside?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s SEEEEGS!!¡±


    All of a sudden, they could see the naked Rapwi stood at the door, giving a thumbs up to them.


    ¡°SEGSSS.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Everyone was at a loss for words.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Just tell me this. Did it appear or not?¡± Da-jeong asked as her bloodshot eyes looking at me.


    I slowly said. ¡°It appears.¡±


    ¡°YEEEEEEESSSSSSS!¡± As she was about to run around like a happy puppy, I calmed her down.


    ¡°But¡­ There are conditions for people to enter it.¡±


    ¡°Condition? What conditions?¡±


    ¡°You have to sign a contract and pay a fee to enter¡­ Wait a minute.¡± I opened the portal and asked Da-jeong to enter. Even though she said that I was suspicious, she still stepped forward.


    And then,


    ¡°Huh? What is this¡­ A messages are popping up?¡±


    ¡°Tell me what it says.¡±


    After she told me, the messages she received were as follows.


    ¡¸You haven¡¯t gained the qualification to enter.¡¹


    ¡¸The required fee have not been set by the owner yet¡¹


    ¡¸No entry allowed¡¹


    ¡¸You must sign a specific contract with the owner to use the portal.¡¹


    ¡¸In order to sign a contract, it is necessary for you to supply the necessary Aether Stones for the portal.¡¹


    ¡¸Unique Quest: Get 3 Aether Stones¡¹


    ¡°This is interesting.¡± I murmured. However, on the other hand, Da-jeong was furious.


    ¡°I already give you a bus ride, so why are you doing this to me?¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s not me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what aetherstone is or where to get it¡­ What is it?¡± Da-jeong suddenlt stop her tantrum. ¡°it says I was now able to open a portal just like you?¡±


    At that moment, a blue portal opened in front of her. Its appearance was no different from a normal dungeon entrance. She paused for a moment and then put her hand on the door of her car.


    ¡°I¡¯m going in¡­ Then I have a dedicated portal now?¡±


    Could it be?


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be like that¡­ it must be a limited dungeon for your quest. If you go inside, I¡¯m sure a quest will appear asking you to find the Aether Stone.¡±


    Quest system was first introduced in the middle of Survival Life. I categorized it into daily quests, challenge quests, limited quests, and unique quests, but since so many people died because of it, only a few people did it. On top of that, the quest rarely gives useful rewards.


    However, when the expansion pack was launched just before the end of service, the quest rewards have been greatly reorganized, but I¡¯m the only one who knows.


    Da-jeong thought for a moment, and then she grinned. ¡°If I go in and do a quest your shelter will be mine, right?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t close it at will and you can¡¯t enter at will. So, how is my shelter become yours?¡±


    ¡°Whatever. Anyway it was good. What else do I need to enter your portal? Paying a fee?¡±


    I rubbed my fingers. ¡°I could set it starting from 100 points, but how much should I set it for¡­¡±


    ¡°YOU!!! YOU!!!¡± Da-jeong grabbed my collar and opened her eyes wide. ¡°Oh my gosh. How could you do this to me after all the hard work I gave you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not me who set it. The minimum is 100 points.¡±


    Her eyes softened a little at my words.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Of course. By the way, you¡¯ll have to prepare a bit before entering.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°So you will be ready to travel.¡± I put my hand on the portal that opened in front of Da-jeong. However, unlike my portal, it pushed my hand away.


    ¡°You must travel alone.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Da-jeong lost her mind and fell to the floor. ¡°Why, why are you giving me such an ordeal¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about it for a while, but I think we may have to star to pay the price from now on.¡±


    ¡°What price?¡±


    ¡°The price to be able to use our unique skill. I thought it was free, but it seems like it was not the case.¡±


    She was startled at my words. However, if someone think about the matter deeper, it was natural for them to reach that conclusion. After all who would give people such an ability just because they¡¯ve played the game for a long time?


    ¡°Try to level up to 29, i bet if you want to use more abilities, you have to pay an etherstone or something.¡±


    I don¡¯t know who gave humans this kind of ability, I wonder if it¡¯s from the production team of Survival Life¡­


    Da-jeong complained. ¡°No. You are the one who reached level 30, so why do I have to be the one who bring the Aetherstone?¡±


    ¡°Just think my portal is like my house. If you¡¯re invited to someone¡¯s house, you should buying something as a gift, right?¡±


    ¡°Che.¡± Da-jeong clicked her tongue. Then she stood up and poked my chest with her fingers. ¡°It¡¯s really unfair. The different between our playing time wasn¡¯t much,only a few hundred hours at best. Then why is our unique skill so different?¡±


    ¡°The difference between first and fourth place is heaven and hell.¡±


    She trembled at words. But then, he hugged my waist and pressed her face against me. A faint smell of cosmetics waft into me.


    ¡°Just you wait. Once I enter your portal, I will do whatever I want.¡±


    ¡°Yeah Yeah Yeah.¡± I patted the back of her head and kissed her lightly. Da-jeong looked a little startled, but then she instantly try to eat my lips. After her kiss was over, she let out a long sigh.


    ¡°It¡¯s no fun to go alone.¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you been traveling alone only with your zombies before?¡±


    ¡°Shut up. Just pack my bags. Make sure to put a lot of things to eat.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I went into the shelter and gathered the scarabs and stag beetles to asked what the aetherstone was. The guys froze a bit. They seemed to know what is it, but didn¡¯t give me any answer They were really suspicious¡­


    ¡°I wish someone could guide her¡­¡± One of the scarabs raised its front paws. Good, guide her well and help her finish the quest.


    ¡°Dingsoon, you should go with her to since the two of you have similar personality. You will get along well with her.¡±


    After that, I packed a lot of things in the backpack and went out with Dingsoon and Scarab.


    ¡°What a wonderful portal, right? I have to pay a hefty fee to use it. It¡¯s completely bullshit.¡±


    Hmmmm. I hid my laughter and handed the backpack to the ghouls. Finally, Da-jeong put the scarab on her head and entered the portal. As soon as the ghouls followed her in, the portal disappeared.


    ¡°Should I wait here or¡­¡± Well, I can just wait while farming nearby. After Da-jeong disappeared, I felt uneasy for some reason. It¡¯s a little sad, but it¡¯s not too bad. I them recalled what Hyungjun hyung once said.


    -When Ji-eun go to his mom¡¯s house, that day is Independence Day for me.


    -What did you mean, Hyung-nim? You normally usually say that you like him to the point you want to die.


    -You haven¡¯t married yet, so you don¡¯t know how I feel. You should try to date someone.


    -I already tried it.


    -Then you should have experienced that when you girlfriend came over to play. It¡¯s fun and hot at first, but what if after a few hours, she doesn¡¯t go home and keeps sticking to your side and nagging at you?


    -That¡¯s a bit scary.


    -Of course, the people in the house are the same. When Ji-eun¡¯s mom said she was going camping with Ji-eun, my mouth just broke to smile. Everyone is like that, we need some alone time.


    Come to think of it, Hyungjun hyung says he is lonely these days¡­ I hope you find a new relationship in the government shelter.


    I entered the portal and turned on the monitor. There were not only laptops in the cave, but also two computers looted in the studio. It consumes a lot of power, so to turn it on, I have to turn all the lights off first. When I looked through the NAS, there were quite a few games inside. Geom-in will surely like it.


    ¡°In Apocalypse, any movie or game will be fun.¡± There were quite a few new movies, so I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be bored for a while. However, because of the heat emitted by the computer the cave become quite hot.


    I pulled out a can of beer that had been buried in the ground and laid down on the mattress. Then, I gulped it down.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s cool.¡± When I randomly open a file in order to watch a movie, the one which appeared was a zombie movie.


    -Kieeeeeek-!!


    ¡°Oh, that surprised me!¡±

 Chapter 137

    Kig is back already guys~ And sorry, i got caught up with work last week¡­ Hopefully this week will be better.


    As soon as Da-jeong crossed the portal, a picturesque green meadow greeted her. Not a single cloud could be seen hanging on the blue sky, and a warm, cozy wind caressed her body.


    ¡®Where the hell is this?¡¯ She turned her head around to look for the white snowy mountain Seongho and Geom-in talked about, but it was nowhere to be seen. However, on the horizon, she can still see a mountain range, which wasn¡¯t high enough to actually be called a mountain, and some kind of a golden inverted triangle above it.


    ¡®What is this world¡­¡¯ She was really amazed because of the golden inverted triangle floating on the top of the mountain. When she called for her status window, a quest window¨Cwhich was usually not there¨Ccan be seen attached next to the status window.


    What is this system quest interface? How did Survival Life become this user-friendly?


    According to Seongho, there was a small update after everyone had left. Maybe this quest window was one of the features that came after the update.


    ¡®Seems like his shelter is not around here.¡¯ All dungeons that have appeared so far on Earth were always located on the same world. In other words, Seongho¡¯s shelter was connected to them in some way. However, the problem was, she couldn¡¯t simply go there because she didn¡¯t know where exactly it was.


    ¡®I shouldn¡¯t have left the battle royale battlefield.¡¯ Da-jeong sighed. Pushing down her regret, she made her way to the mountain in the distance with the scarab sitting on her head, as well as Dingsoon and the ghouls behind her. When she looked behind her, the portal she had crossed a moment ago had disappeared.


    ¡°If you poop in my head, you will be scolded, okay?¡±


    Da-jeong expressed her intentions to the scarab who was pulling her hair. Strangely enough, those guys could understand Korean. Probably, the unknown power, which enables humans to converse regardless of their nationality, was also the one who was responsible for this phenomenon.


    ¡®By the way, there is nothing here¡­¡¯ Da-jeong, bored out of her mind, instructed her ghouls to make a chair and got on it. Then, she ordered her ghouls to run, in order for her to preserve time and strength. Behind the running ghouls, Dingsoon excitedly followed. It seems like she was happy to be able to sprint at full speed.


    Da-jeong laid down on an angle and enjoyed the warm spring breeze. Seongho¡¯s shelter must be hotter than here, right? Just thinking that she would be free from the cold weather of Earth made her mouth water.


    ¡°There¡¯s forests, valleys, and sea¡­¡±


    From what she heard alone, she was sure that she could enjoy a luxurious life there. However the shelter was the problem. After all, the owner, Seong-ho, kept saying there was nothing to look forward to there.


    -I bet you will be disappointed once you enter. It¡¯s hard to see the scenery from the shelter because of the piled-up stockpiles obstructing the view. The cave is also quite narrow.


    He also said that he slept on a single mattress inside the cave. Which could only mean that his words about the cave were narrow is the truth.


    ¡®Well¡­ if there is no space, I can just make it.¡¯ After all, she had 30 powerful workers ready to do her bidding. Of course, delicate work was out of the question for her zombies and ghouls, but at the very least they should be more than capable of carrying loads and doing some heavy work. The detailed work will then be done by the stag beetles and the scarabs.


    When she was swimming in her imagination of building a log cabin for her and Seongho, she snapped back because of realization. ¡®Isn¡¯t that just working?¡¯


    It was unlikely that the thrifty Seongho would leave her alone because she had useful manpower. If she clears the quest, wouldn¡¯t she become the only manpower that can go in and out of the shelter?


    ¡®Well, I can¡¯t help it. I¡¯ll just do some work. A little¡­ Very little.¡¯ Just imagining that she was living in the forest with Seongho was thrilling enough. With only the two of them there, no one would care about what they do there; they would have all the freedom for themselves.


    By the way¡­


    Da-jeong, who had been sitting for a long time, got up with her waist aching. She looked for a landmark nearby, but couldn¡¯t find anything.


    ¡°Seriously¡­ Why is there nothing here?¡± The low mountain which she saw some time back now had now become barely visible. She grunted and sat back down in her ghoul chair. Dingsoon, who looked tired after running on top speed non-stop for a while, is now laying down while panting on top of her ghoul.


    Finally, after walking some more, an unknown mountain appeared in front of her. The scarab then guided her to a cave in the middle of the mountain. In that cave, something shone like a star in the sky.


    ¡°You are good at finding this kind of thing, huh?¡± Da-jeong held up the glowstone and looked at it. To her surprise, the place she found the stone at was an ore vein. According to the scarab¡¯s drawing, these magic metals were often gathered in one place. Just like the spring in Seongho¡¯s forest, this vein was an area where the essence of the earth gathers.


    Da-jeong pulled out a folding pickaxe from her backpack. Although the corrosive disease did not completely subside yet, Seongho said that this pickaxe wouldn¡¯t get destroyed in an instant.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve touched this texture of metal¡­¡± She hadn¡¯t touched it since July 20th. In other words, 5 months ago. When the scarab pointed at a particular area on the ground, Da-jeong slammed the pickaxe down.


    Gang-!!


    Gang-!!


    Gang-!!


    The high pitch sound of metal hitting the stone resounded in the cave. The progress was slow, and yet it was already evening. Da-jeong continued the work, relying on the light provided by the glowstone. A few ores came out, but the important Aether Stone was still nowhere to be seen. According to the scarab, Aether Stone was often nestled deep near the bedrock.


    ¡°Does that mean that I have to go through even more hard work just to find one?¡±


    nod nod.


    Da-jeong sighed and grumbled before she worked once again.


    ¡°I¡¯m tired.¡± She was exhausted and fell to the floor. The darkness she saw on the entrance of the cave told her that it was already night. She took a blanket from the backpack, laid it out, and ate the meal Seongho packed for her.


    The food had gone cold, but the side dishes were so delicious to the point she could forget the coldness. Meanwhile, Dingsoon was also eating her meal beside her, and the scarab was busy eating jelly.


    In the cave where the glow of the glowstone could barely shoo the darkness away, Da-jeong felt loneliness creeping in. It was a feeling she had never felt before.


    ¡°Siighh¡­¡¤¡±


    Perhaps because she was lonely, the grains of rice taste like nothing but grains of sand. She put down the lunch box and wrote a comment calling for him.


    -Hey, Gimbap!


    -Your noona is calling for you! Why didn¡¯t you appear?


    -Kang Seong-ho nim!


    -Honey, where are you?


    She called for a while, but he didn¡¯t show up.


    ¡°Just what the hell is he doing?¡±


    Come to think of it, no one sees the Auction House for 24 hours a day. In particular, Seongho had a lot of work to do, so he probably won¡¯t have enough time to check the Auction House. But still, Da-jeong hoped he would appear sooner.


    Da-jeong brought her legs together and rested her chin on her knees. And when she saw Seong-ho¡¯s comment, a smile bloomed on her face.


    -Did you call for me?


    -You are late! Do you know what my situation is right now?


    -I bet you are busy digging in a cave somewhere.


    It seems that the scarabs in the shelter had told him. She proceeded to say that the rice was cold and the side dishes were tasteless. However, rather than rebuking, Seongho just encouraged her.


    -Cheer up. I¡¯d love to help, but there¡¯s nothing I could do. So, I¡¯m cleaning the shelter for you.


    -What should I do when I go in?


    -First of all¡­ since there¡¯s not enough space for you to sleep, we should expand the shelter a bit.


    -What? I have to work as soon as I get in?


    -The cave is narrow, so there is nothing we can do about it. I¡¯m going to have to build a house right now. I¡¯m asking the stag beetles to make a blueprint¡­


    Seongho told her what his plan for the future is. And just like Da-jeong thought, he was planning to use her ghouls as his worker. However, contrary to her initial feeling about working, she was happy because she felt needed by him.


    -Before I finish here, clean up everything, take a bath, and wait for me, okay?


    -Okay, so be careful and finish the quest.


    The conversation was over and Da-jeong was able to stand up with a lighter mind.


    Gang-!!


    Gang-!!


    Gang-!!


    The pickaxe pounded the rock vigorously again, and after 30 minutes, a golden jewel showed up.


    ¡°YEEEESSSS!!!¡±


    Hey hey!


    Da-jeong and the scarab raised their hands and danced.


    .


    .


    .


    Da-jeong reappeared on Earth 3 days after she went in. Her appearance was far messier than before. It was not far-fetched to say that currently, she looked like a beggar.


    ¡°Uhhhhhhhhhhh¡­ I thought I was going to die~¡± Da-jeong ran and hugged me as soon as she found me.


    ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard.¡±


    Suddenly, a golden jewel popped out of her backpack. Since I hadn¡¯t heard anything about the Aether Stone¡¯s appearance, I was quite surprised. I collected the jewel and showed it to the scarab to ask for more explanation. However, it did not give a proper answer. Since there¡¯s no way they would willingly keep a secret from me, the reason for their silence must be some kind of restriction.


    As I opened the portal to the forest, Da-jeong placed the three Aether Stones in her palm and pushed it towards the portal. Thankfully, her hand was sucked into the portal.


    ¡°Oh oh.¡± Da-jeong exclaimed as the Aether Stones disappeared. Then, a message appeared in my view as soon as she removed her hand.


    ¡¸Someone has met the entry conditions. Do you want to allow them to access the portal? YES/NO¡¹


    If I choose NO here, Da-jeong would surely beat me to death and use my body as her ghoul. I picked YES with her burdensome gaze.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s here¡­ It¡¯s here¡­¡±


    It seems like a message appeared in front of her as she frowned for a moment and then said to me, ¡°It appeared in the active buff column. Portal Contractor. But there was also a warning.¡±


    ¡°What warning?¡±


    ¡°it says ¡®If you betray the owner of the portal, the contract will be terminated immediately.¡¯¡±


    ¡°So it can read the minds of people who qualify to enter.¡± After all, without that ability, there¡¯s no way the feeling of betrayal can be captured. Da-jeong couldn¡¯t hide her awkward expression, but she looked happy nonetheless.


    ¡°Come on! Let¡¯s just go!¡±


    ¡°As you please.¡±


    I let go and Da-jeong finally entered the portal.


    She said, ¡°Contractor Duck Butt Goes Kwek Kwek will now enter the portal!!¡±


    ¡¸You have earned 100 points¡¹


    The text also appeared in front of me. When I followed her, she just stood still while looking at the cave.


    ¡°Wow¡­you¡¯ve been here all alone¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s really a lot¡­¡±


    Da-jeong looked at the computers and laptops with a curious glance. And when she saw the basement, which was full of canned goods, she finally burst out.


    ¡°Why did you pile up so many of these things? You can¡¯t finish all these things alone.¡±


    ¡°Canned food has a very long shelf life. So the more, the better.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s really no space here, just enough place to sleep.¡± It was already cramped even when only two of us were standing up inside here.


    As she made her way to the front of the cave, she found the nest of the scarabs and stag beetles. The guys observed her with a glint in their eyes.


    ¡°Why did these guys stare at me like that? Is this a place where I can¡¯t come?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that. It¡¯s because you¡¯re the first person to come here other than me.¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­¡±


    She then happily wandered around the cave, but when she saw the weapon display, she stuck out her tongue. ¡°Oh my gosh. You really have collected a lot, like a squirrel.¡±


    However, without her knowing, the things she saw until now was just the tip of the iceberg. It¡¯s because there¡¯s still a really huge amount of material piled up outside the cave.


    Da-jeong opened the door and went outside, and for the umpteenth time since she entered the shelter, her mouth hangs open.


    ¡°What is all of this¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a warehouse made out of sandwich panels. And inside were things I looted from a hardware store, rice center, and fishing supply store . . .¡± There¡¯s also a lot of oil stored inside. And to be honest, most of the shelter¡¯s space was occupied by the warehouses. But since I have a limited supply of sandwich panels, there¡¯s some warehouse which was made out of wooden boards.


    Da-jeong muttered blankly.


    ¡°My luxury and celebrity country life¡­¡±


    What the hell is a celebrity country life?


    I put the shovel in her hand.


    ¡°Have you finished looking around? Let¡¯s work now.¡±


    Da-jeong couldn¡¯t stand it and screamed.


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    .


    .


    .


    Those who did not work shall not eat. It was a very famous saying, and it was also a saying that I could relate to. I intended to apply this mindset to everyone who enters the shelter.


    The forest around the shelter was plentiful, but it was also dangerous. So, it would be difficult for anyone to enter this place unless it was someone who could bear that risk with me.


    ¡°As of now, I think Seokhyun is the only one who has qualified everything necessary to enter the shelter.¡± I said so as we were lying side by side on one mattress.


    She turned to me ¡°How about those people you send to government shelters?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­ Here, simply working is not enough. They have to be strong enough to fight.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t believe in them?¡±


    ¡°Well, looking at their specs alone, they are capable of hunting monsters in this forest. The problem is their attitude. Since they¡¯d been living on the island until now, you can say that they¡¯re quite¡­ spoiled.¡±


    They were just like Geom-in. They could kill monsters easily by cooperating with others, but if they had to do it alone, they would struggle and take the easy way out. The fact that they ran away without even thinking of fighting the Japanese proves it.


    That¡¯s why I sent them to the government shelter. If they follow my will and grow well, I will someday invite them to the shelter. If they didn¡¯t grow as I expected¡­


    Da-jeong whispered to me. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be willing to give free food.¡±


    ¡°Of course I don¡¯t. Everyone works hard and fights, so they shouldn¡¯t just sit around doing nothing.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± She dug into my arms. ¡°It feels great lazing around like this, right?¡±


    ¡°To be honest, it¡¯s a bit awkward for me since I lie here alone every day.¡±


    Da-jeong¡¯s ears perked up as she reached her hands out and turned on the music. ¡°I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯s been since I¡¯ve heard this song. It¡¯s really good¡­¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you don¡¯t like the shelter because it was too narrow?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my first impression, but it can¡¯t be helped, right? I just have to work hard to expand this shelter.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute. Let¡¯s make some plans.¡± We got up and I showed her the map of the forest.


    ¡°Look. This circle around the cave is almost 300 pyeong in size.¡±


    ¡°300 pyeong? It was actually bigger than any other country house site.¡±


    Though, half of it was filled with oil while the other half was occupied by rice. Anyway, there¡¯s no room for a house in this circle. So, we have to widen it, like this.¡± I scratched the outer line of the circle and redraw it before drawing a picture of a cabin.


    Da-jeong tilted her head. ¡°If we do it this way, the hut will be exposed, right?¡±


    ¡°Since there is no barbed wire¡­ we will build a barrier instead. Let the ghouls defend from the outside.¡±


    It will be easy to maintain because they could kill the monster and eat it.


    ¡°Ummm¡­ I¡¯ll put in about 10 for now and decide how to proceed after that. I can hear what the ghouls hear, so I can deal with any monsters quickly.¡±


    That¡¯s good. We proceed to paint a picture for the future. ¡°We must also bring water from the valley. But we cannot build it 24 hours a day because of the monsters lurking in the forest.¡± Before this, since I was the only one who would work on this project, it was impossible because of the amount of monsters I had to fight and dispose of. However, in the near future, with Da-jeong¡¯s ghouls and Rapwi, it will be possible.


    Da-jeong nodded her head. ¡°Yeah, in order to make something that can bring the water to this shelter, we would have to do a full-scale construction¡­ Ah. It doesn¡¯t matter because there¡¯s a fork crane.¡±


    ¡°I had planned this after thinking about that.¡±


    As she pondered, she raised her upper body. ¡°Ah! Motorcycle! Do you have a motorcycle?¡±


    ¡°There is.¡±


    I went out of the cave and took the cover off. One motorcycle and one ATV showed their presence. It could be operated for quite a long time as long as there were many repair parts and oil. However, the forest was so rugged that it was difficult to use a motorcycle. Da-jeong quickly climbed onto the ATV and beckoned to me.


    ¡°Hey, Driver Kang! Let¡¯s go! Quickly!!¡± I smiled at her excitement. I started the ATV and headed to the snowy mountain. Some monsters followed us, but they couldn¡¯t beat the speed of the ATV and fell behind.


    Da-jeong smiled as she raised her middle finger to them. ¡°Go faster, Oppa!! Kyahaha!¡±


    Eventually, the ATV left the forest and entered the meadow around the snowy mountain. As she saw the battle royale battlefield she had seen before, she burst into laughter. ¡°To that green meadow!¡±


    Whoosh-!!


    Then suddenly, a gale hit our body. When I looked up, a wyvern was chasing us from above.


    ¡°Dammit! It¡¯s a wyvern!¡±


    Let¡¯s run away!


    We indeed have become strong, but it is not on the level of fighting a wyvern without any preparation. I drove the ATV straight into the forest. The wyvern followed us but stopped because of the trees.


    Quaaaaackkkkk-!!!


    A loud roar poured out from the wide open snout of the wyvern, accompanied by a foul-smelling wind. I stopped the ATV and stared at the lower variant of dragon that is looking at us menacingly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s catch that.¡± I said.


    ¡°What will we get if we kill it?¡±


    ¡°Something very good.¡±


    If my memory serves me right, there¡¯s only one skill players could get from a wyvern.

 Chapter 138

    After we returned to the shelter, we directly went into the planning phase to hunt the wyvern. But, as soon as Da-Jeong heard my explanation, skeptical looks appeared on her face.


    ¡°Can we pierce the wyvern skin with bullets alone?¡±


    ¡°You look down on modernization too much. If it weren¡¯t for the corrosive disease, a lot of monsters would fall prey to machine guns.¡± Well, except for high tier monsters like ogres.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, once the corrosive disease subsides, we should really be careful, huh? We never know when a sniper will suddenly shoot a bullet at us.¡±


    Not a lot of people have guns, but there¡¯s nothing wrong with being careful anyway.


    ¡°Always go with the ghouls, and if you have something to do, always do it inside a building. On the windowless side. You should also hold on to this.¡± I hand her a resurrection scroll. It was a really valuable item that served as additional life.


    Then, I flew the drone. It was to use a wild boar as bait to hunt the wyvern. Even if the drone was enough to do the trick to seduce the wyvern, a tasty bait was still needed to make them come down. After that, the ghouls will attack and render its ability to fly. A wyvern was little different from a gryphon, so without good bait, it would rarely come down.


    Da-jeong looked at the laptop screen in amazement. ¡°You¡¯ve been hunting in this way, huh?¡±


    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t do it these days since I have a lot of things to eat already.¡± For example, supplies from Joo Seungcheol¡¯s shelter. I flew the drone over the potato field. Unsurprisingly, a herd of wild boar was currently having a raw potato party.


    ¡°Those are the potatoes I planted. There are several fields like that in this forest.¡±


    ¡°Are you using those potatoes to lure the wild boars?¡± Da-jeong asked. ¡°Isn¡¯t it wasteful?¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t say that if you knew how well crops grow in this forest.¡±


    ¡°How well then?¡±


    ¡°After only two nights, a lettuce will fully ripen.¡±


    ¡°Re-really?¡± She couldn¡¯t believe it at all. Well, I just need to show her later.


    ¡°Da-jeong, If you look at the trees around the spring, there are some trees which have white paint on them. You just need to follow it. Take Dingsoon with you, she will lead you to that potato field.¡±


    ¡°Okay. You just sit there and wait.¡±


    ¡°You have to catch the wild boar alive, okay?¡±


    Da-jeong nodded and went out with the ghouls. The reason I entrusted the work to Da-jeong was because it was hard for me to catch it alive. It¡¯s not impossible, but I¡¯d rather leave it to her and do something else.


    ¡°By the way, I don¡¯t know if there are any skill slots left.¡± I called the status window and checked the skill box. There are a total of 12 skills listed on the list right now because the neck warmer with the Cold Resistance skill was now used by Da-jeong. Among them, the Light Gait was a skill that was attached to my shoes, so it was possible to take it on and off.


    ¡°Nice.¡± I flew the second drone after reaffirming the skill list. The wyvern was still looking for us. It would be nice if the Elemental Resistance skill appeared once I killed it. It increases resistance to non-physical attacks such as fire and electricity. I¡¯m looking forward to how many people will have such an attack as their main offensive means in the apocalypse because even amongst us stagnant waters, it was quite rare.


    ¡°Before, that Chinese girl also had a wind controlling-type of unique ability¡­¡± since then, I had never seen a person with the same ability type as her ever again. But I¡¯ll probably see people with similar abilities again soon. Due to the fact, it was better to get the Elemental Resistance skill beforehand.


    ¡°Wyvern, please don¡¯t give me Hard Skin skill, okay?¡± It would be nice to have my hard skin skill level up to 3, but I don¡¯t want to hunt a wyvern just to get that skill.


    I checked my armament. The pepper bomb coating problem has been solved neatly, I just have to go to Earth to froze it. The AK-47 was also ready. With those two things, I should wrap up the situation once the wyvern descends. Otherwise, the surrounding area will be devastated by its struggle.


    After all preparations were completed, Da-jeong brought a wild boar alive to me. The guy was squeaking. Probably because one of its legs was hurt.


    ¡°Silence it for now. When I signal, hit it with a stick to make it squeal.¡±


    ¡°To get the wyvern¡¯s attention, right?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    Da-jeong ordered the ghouls to shut the wild boar¡¯s mouth. Now, it¡¯s time to call the wyvern. I steered the drone to get close to the wyvern that was roaming around. It opened its mouth and screeched, evident that it didn¡¯t like the drones flying around it.


    I quickly moved the drone to the vacant lot where the wild boar was. The speed of the wyvern far exceeded the speed of the drone, but it didn¡¯t matter because the distance to the vacant lot was close.


    Kieeeekkk-!!


    I could hear the wyvern¡¯s roar from above.


    ¡°Da-jeong, now!¡±


    The wild boar jumped up and howled as Da-jeong hit it. The sound echoed through the forest. And as if the wyvern heard it, it folded its wings and descended.


    Thud-!!


    Finally, the wyvern landed. The moment it noticed the wild boar and paid its full attention to it, Da-jeong snapped her finger.


    Roar-!!


    30 ghouls rushed towards the wyvern. The overall stats of the wyvern was similar to Gryphon. However, unlike before, the ghouls were now stronger than before. On top of it, there¡¯s a Grasshopper ghoul amidst the wave of ghouls, therefore the wyvern wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the attack.


    ¡°Good job!¡±


    As I ran forward, I put two pepper bombs on my slings and released it towards the wyvern. The pepper bomb exploded right in front of the wyvern¡¯s nose and sprinkled the powder contained inside.


    The wyvern, which flinched for a moment, soon suffered terrible pain. It then rubs its head on the dirt below, seemingly to have completely lost its mind.


    I pointed the rifle at the guy¡¯s head and shouted. ¡°Get rid of the ghouls!¡±


    Da-jeong commanded her ghouls to back off and I pulled the trigger.


    TATATATATATTATA-!!


    The wyvern¡¯s hide, which seemed to be able to endure even storms, was pierced easily. The wyvern, who had been hit by a rain of bullets for about two seconds, vomited blood and dropped to the ground.


    ¡¸You have earned 50 points¡¹


    ¡¸You have acquired Elemental Resistance skill¡¹


    As soon as I got it, I felt the air around me getting cooler. The Elemental Resistance skill makes the forest¡¯s heat cool off. The jungle hat I wore also changed into an item. A skill wasn¡¯t attached to the hat, but it looked pretty useful as it still had two stats attached to it.


    ¡°Did Elemental Resistance skill come out?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. And this thing became an item.¡±


    I took off my hat and put it on Da-jeong. She seemed quite impressed because of my actions.


    ¡°I thought you were the only one who would get everything every day, but you also know how to do me a favor, huh?¡±


    ¡°If you use it, it won¡¯t get hot while you work. Now we have to build a hut.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± She got on my back and choked me with her arms.


    Without minding her, I took a saw from a bag sitting on one side of the lot and cut the wyvern¡¯s claws.


    ¡°Where are you going to use it?¡±


    ¡°I want to sell it.¡±


    ¡°Why would people use a claw when they have a long sword?¡±


    ¡°Because there are some people who prefer claws. I¡¯ve sold owlbear claws before, so I think these claws will also sell well.¡±


    Some people prefer this to a long knife. Though, long knife was better in terms of performance. However, if I priced it low enough, I have no doubt that buyers would appear. There were 16 claws in total, so at least 1600 points would come to my pocket.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we eat the wyvern meat?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    Gryphon¡¯s meat could be eaten once it was thoroughly cooked, but wyvern meat would still be tough no matter how long it was cooked. And although it was weak, it was still poisonous, so it was better not to eat it.


    The ghouls joined forces and dragged the wyvern¡¯s corpse far away. It was to prevent monsters from flocking into the corpse as a big monster¡¯s corpse was a very good bait for other monsters to gather.


    Anyway, I need to do some tidying up here. I took the wild boar which was still busy squealing by the throat and cut it throat. Then I hang it on a tree to draw the blood away.


    ¡°Let¡¯s cook some soup with that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of that. You just have to focus on building a hut and put a pump in the valley.¡±


    Da-jeong tilted her head. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it seem like our roles have been reversed?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t build huts because I have to keep moving.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute, how exactly does the portal function work? What will happen to me if you close the portal and move?¡±


    I explained about the portal in detail. ¡°Ah¡­ so if you stayed inside the portal and I moved around on Earth, you would also be moved too, as the location of the portal on Earth would follow my location. It was like you were marching with me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a scam! A scam!!¡±


    Well, now that other people can enter, scam was an understatement. Imagine being able to move 30 reinforced ghouls without leaving a trace. If Seokhyun joins, it would become even more dangerous¨Ctruly a moving, hidden fortress.


    I went into the cave and put my hand into the fire burning inside the brazier. Da-jeong was startled even though she knew that I would be able to withstand it. She probably didn¡¯t know that I would test it this way. Although the fire of the brazier engulfed my hand, I didn¡¯t feel anything. Of course,that state wouldn¡¯t last forever, as it will start burning me if I put my hand on it for a bit longer. When I took my hand out, everything was fine except for a slight tan line on my hand.


    This is good.


    We put our heads together and reviewed the plans for the cabin. Da-jeong, who usually agrees with my opinions, showed her stubbornness at this moment.


    ¡°It¡¯s a house I¡¯m making, so I¡¯m matching it to my taste, okay?¡±


    ¡°Do it as you wish then.¡±


    Though, it was still worrying that she wanted to make the bathroom unnecessarily big. Afterall, we¡¯d have to go outside to urinate anyway. Da-jeong asked the scarabs to build a large bathtub for two people. They rubbed their claws and drew a picture to say that it was a bit difficult to do it. But they fell for the temptation in the end, after she said that she would find more royal honey for them.


    Those guys are really easy.


    I dismantled the wild boar and started smoking the meat. It was better to do it this way since it could be stored for a long time.


    Da-jeong came over and rested her head on my shoulder.


    ¡°This is a really good place.¡±


    I think so too.


    .


    .


    .


    The sun rose and the cold December finally ended. I pulled out a shelf made of metal, not nails and went to Earth to check whether the corrosive disease has disappeared or not.


    The shelf still held its shape while I was moving to Gwangju. When I touch it with a minimum force, it only bends, but does not break.


    ¡°Almost disappeared completely.¡± Probably, starting next month, some metal tools like pots or shovels would be usable. Guns should be available around March, though.


    ¡°It was quite a long time.¡± The corrosive disease took metal away from the grasp of mankind for nearly six months. Even if it disappeared now, the supply of metal would only become scarcer in the future. So, it was important to be able to make it.


    ¡°It is difficult unless people have a blast furnace¡­¡± Very few places, including government shelters, have such facilities. Though, the metal they could make would be nothing but junk compared to the metal tools  from before the apocalypse.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t the scarabs say they could make a blast furnace?¡± The identities of those scarabs became even more certain. A race that could freely handle metal and make a blast furnace came to mind. Though, their side, which likes to eat jelly and royal honey doesn¡¯t fit the image of the race I have in mind, so let¡¯s just assume that it was a side effect of turning into a scarab.


    ¡°I need to get some iron sand.¡± To be exact, the remaining iron from the destroyed iron and metal tools that got turned into dust by the corrosive disease. But not just any iron sand, but a pure iron sand that does not mix with impurities. There would be a lot of it in the shipyards. After checking all over Gwangju, I was planning to stop by the Gunsan Shipyard as I headed north.


    ¡°The weather must have cleared up by then, so I need to go to Incheon and rob the time shelter and the spare shelter¡­¡±


    Inside the portal, Da-jeong was diligently expanding the shelter, so the space problem could be said as non-existent as of now. I packed my things and set out with Dingo. I didn¡¯t pay much attention to my surroundings because there¡¯s nothing to get from all the buildings, but it was clear that it was quite messy.


    Seems like it was because a large number of Chinese people who had landed on the west coast had come in droves. Though, from the information I got from the Auction House, Gwangju wasn¡¯t the only place suffering from the Chinese, since most cities around the west coast were also devastated.


    I want to tell them to leave this country, but will they even hear me?


    Even at this moment, in the Auction House, a fight was in full swing between the Koreans who told the Chinese to leave and the Chinese who told Koreans to not talk bullshit.


    -How can you Koreans treat us this way? Do you know how nice we are to you?


    -The only thing China gave us was fine dust and illegal fishing boats, you bastards.


    -This Joseon bastard is talking nonsense.


    -The only good chinks are dead chinks.


    -Fuck you, we were able to defeat the Japanese in the war without your help! So just go away!


    -Tsk Tsk Tsk,,, You don¡¯t know shit. At that time, without the help of the Ming Dynasty, you guys will now be known as Japanese, not Koreans.


    When Koreans started fighting over facts, the Chinese argued and told them that it was wrong history.


    ¡°Why has the Auction House become like this?¡±


    I took advantage of the night time and sat around Chonnam University. It was as noisy as Seoul because there were a lot of survivors around. And since they were concentrated in a small area, zombie raids happened non-stop, and the screams from both camps were resounding everyday.


    Looking at the Auction House, the eastern part of Seoul was also in a mess. Though it wasn¡¯t because of the Chinese, but due to the Lizardmen who were coming up from the Yeongsan River to hunt survivors.


    ¡°It¡¯s a mayhem.¡±


    And my destination, the time shelter was located in the basement of the department store there. Most of the entrances have been drilled, leaving only the last door. However, it was not easy to break through the sealing gate because there were too many people and monsters in that narrow area. The Auction House was overflowing with words saying they should stop fighting and break through it together.


    A stupid notion.


    When I finished thinking about that and was about to have some meal, I felt a small presence on the floor below. Had it not been for the high awareness, I would never have discovered it.


    I hid in the portal with the growling Dingo. After a while, three people appeared cautiously.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing?¡±


    ¡°Seems like that Ahjussi ran away.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure it was the first time you saw him?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It was the first time I had seen him in this area. He has a very big body.¡±


    ¡°M-maybe it¡¯s I Love Gimbap? They say he¡¯s big too.¡±


    ¡°Why is he here? He was at Sindorim Station a few days ago. Don¡¯t you know about the labyrinth case?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s very famous.¡±


    The man who appeared to be the captain looked around.


    ¡°It is clear that he is still here. He has no angle to run away with blink.¡±


    ¡°Did he use stealth?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps¡­ Hey, Ahjussi! Listen well. I don¡¯t know the reason why you are here, but you should be careful. Shrimps will die if they are caught up between the fights of whales.¡±


    You sure I¡¯m the shrimp?

 Chapter 139

    Although they called me a shrimp, I had no desire whatsoever to intervene in their fight. The reason being, there was not enough space in the shelter right now for the supplies they were contesting. I could only rob the time shelter after Da-jeong completes the expansion of the shelter. But of course, there was also the fact that I had to break through 100 survivors who were fighting too.


    I clicked my tongue at the sight of the battle going on in the building some distance away from where I was hiding. The survivors were split into two factions; The Korean and the Chinese. The battle shows no sign of ending. On top of that, it was even more chaotic as zombies, ghouls, and all kinds of monsters were participating.


    ¡°It¡¯s like a real war out there¡­¡± I sighed. However, I understand their reasoning. It was an important battle for them, as the winner would get all of the supplies in the time shelter.


    I looked around, then entered the portal. Once I crossed the bluish layer, the sight of Da-jeong lying flat on the mattress welcomed me. A faint moan came out of his mouth.


    ¡°AAAAHHHHH~ Da-jeong is going to die¡­¡±


    ¡°How much work have you done to be saying something like that?¡± I asked her. That was precisely what would happen when someone didn¡¯t use their muscles often and only used their fingers everyday.


    She turned around and said weakly. ¡°I have come to respect all of the carpenters in the world ¡­ no, everyone who works on site¡­¡±


    ¡°Nothing in the world is easy.¡± I answered as I walked towards the cave entrance. Once I was outside, I could see that some trees had been cut out and were being stacked neatly. However, the amount was far from enough to cover the total number of logs needed to build a hut.


    ¡°Since we are already in Gwangju, we should work on the expansion together.¡±


    ¡°We have arrived already? How about the time shelter?¡± Da-jeong sprang to her feet as she heard my words.


    ¡°It¡¯s a dogfight out there. Around 100 people were fighting for the time shelter.¡±


    Da-jeong followed me to reality and looked outside the building. The situation had become even more bloody than before. It is proven by the fact that the sound of heartbeat was echoing through the neighborhood¨Csign that a murderer had appeared. The survivors around the murderer tried to run away after hearing the heartbeat. Unfortunately for them, they were unable to do so, as the zombie wall prevented them from doing so. In less than two minutes, three people died, including the murderer. And as the deathmatch event ended, the three abandoned corpses became food for the zombies.


    But I think I had seen the girl who killed the murderer before¡­ I wonder where¡­ Was it when I was called a shrimp by a group who came to find me a few hours ago?


    As I worked hard to remember, Da-jeong¡¯s face suddenly appeared right in front of my face.


    ¡°Why are you staring so hard at another woman?¡±


    ¡°Do you think I looked at her because I like her?¡± I scoffed. ¡°I just think I have seen her somewhere before.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°Ah. I remember!¡± She¡¯s that Chinese girl who can control the wind! I had met her twice, the first time was at Wolmido, and the next one was at the battle royale battlefield.


    But something is strange¡­ Since I was the winner of the battle royale, there should be no other survivor other than me. Well, to be exact, there shouldn¡¯t be any other survivor aside from me and Geom-in, whom I had thrown away from the battlefield using a bug. I didn¡¯t kill her, so I thought she was killed by someone else, but turns out she escaped from the battlefield? How?


    The memory of her running away from me flashed inside my head. Now that I see her again, I could say that she¡¯s truly a lucky one. After all, she not only successfully escaped from me, but also from the battlefield altogether.


    Da-jeong was surprised when I told her that the girl had the ability to control wind.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be surprised like that. There is also someone who can wield lightning amongst them.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s a lightning-type ability, how do you use it? Mehameha! like this?¡± She put her palm together around her waist and pushed it forward as she asked.


    ¡°Well, didn¡¯t you already see Sooyeon do it? That long range healing additional effect of hers? It¡¯s similar to that.¡±


    ¡°Then, lightning will spurt out of your hand? What should we do to avoid it?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± At that time, a blue lightning bolt stretched out in the area of the fight. We clung to the window and watched the lightning-wielder fight.


    ¡°Wow, this is something straight out of a fantasy movie!¡±


    I chuckled at Da-jeong¡¯s words. The world we currently live in has merged with fantasy. However, contrary to her, who was awestruck, I was busy trying to analyze the lightning-wielder. It¡¯s almost impossible to dodge lightning, as it has almost the same speed as light itself. However, it was not impossible to dodge lightning created by an awakener. After all, the trajectory was easy to read just by looking at the caster¡¯s hands movement. On top of it, since I had the elemental resistance skill, I could afford to be hit several times. Though, it doesn¡¯t mean I like to get hit, mind you.


    ¡°Wind magician and Lightning magician¡­ I think it¡¯s a pretty strong combination.¡± The two of them were fighting for the same side, so I didn¡¯t think the Koreans would be able to win. If they just blindly rush in, they would be decimated by the wind and blue lightning bolt from afar.


    My conjecture proved to be correct. The Chinese pushed out the Koreans and took control of the entrance to the time shelter. But everyone knew it wasn¡¯t the end, as the monsters started to come after them.


    We lost interest in the fight and decided to cross the portal to have dinner. And after digging through my old notes, I found a list of supplies stockpiled in every time shelter across Korea.


    ¡°To be honest, I didn¡¯t want to rob the time shelter here.¡±


    Da-jeong took the spoon out of her mouth and looked at me.


    ¡°Wow¡­ You? Just passing by a place full of supplies? Impossible.¡±


    ¡°Hey! I¡¯m serious.. As you see, it was far too chaotic for my taste out there. On top of it, it was a pain in the ass to get involved in their fight.¡±


    ¡°What makes you change your mind?¡±


    ¡°Look at this list.¡± I showed Da-jeong the page where I jotted down the information I got from Jang Won-taek. In the time shelter, which was being fought by the Koreans and Chinese, there was something me and Da-jeong desperately needed. Namely wood, for construction purposes. I had looted quite a bit of wood from hardware stores and its kind, but the amount was small. In other words, if we rob the time shelter outside, we could get enough materials for the hut we were going to build.


    Praise the former president Jang Won-taek!


    A light lit up in Da-jeong¡¯s eyes as she read the note.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to block the entrance, so you just have to take the wood. Make sure you leave not even one of them behind.¡±


    It seems like, when the shrimps fight, the whale is the one who will enjoy the benefit.


    .


    .


    .


    There¡¯s a problem. Since Da-jeong opened the barbed wire fences to make room for the hut she wanted to build, the shelter¡¯s defense line was now in a state of all time low. Therefore, we have no choice but to put more ghouls in the shelter to defend our property. The downside was, by doing so, it means that the number of available ghouls to be mobilized in our battle against the 2 camps and monsters who are fighting for the time shelter would be reduced; something that would make our battle far more difficult than it should be.


    Da-jeong shouted out loud at my worry. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will take care of everything. I won¡¯t let anyone in.¡±


    ¡°I trust you. But since I don¡¯t know what the last door was made of, it might take some time.¡± Well, no matter what it is, the scarabs, which were unparalleled in metallurgy, will take care of it, no doubt about it.


    Da-jeong mobilized the zombies and the few available ghouls to gather information about the two fighting camps. And exceeding my expectations, information came in one after another.


    ¡°That Chinese woman from before¡­ Is her name Tang Shenlong?¡±


    ¡°The name of the man you met earlier is Gu Myung-hoon. His unique skill is body strengthening.¡±


    However, the information which was relayed to us didn¡¯t come cheap. There were already three zombies which were killed because they got too close to the survivors. And since it would be too difficult if our numbers keep getting reduced, we decide to stop scouting and to wait until midnight to act.


    ¡°Around the time werewolves and keepers were active will be good. Those survivors won¡¯t be able to move around much.¡± Da-jeong nodded at my plan.


    After the kobolds, which were active from evening to night, start to disappear from the street, we start to move. Da-jeong entered the portal to pick up the ghouls. Then a message appeared in my view.


    ¡¸You have earned 100 points¡¹


    ¡°This¡­ Do I really have to pay a fee every time I enter?¡±


    Come to think of it, Da-jeong has never left since she entered the portal in Gurye¡­


    ¡°It seems to be the case.¡± I scratched my head.


    ¡°It seems to be the case? You are the owner of this wicked building! You have to be clear with your answer!¡± She grabbed my collar as she hissed. ¡°Let me put it this way. WIll you be happy if your room owner asked you to pay every time you enter your room even though you already paid for the rent?¡±


    If you put it that way¡­ Of course I would be angry.


    ¡°But what can we do? It¡¯s the system who makes it this way.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you are the one who set the point? Aren¡¯t you purposefully setting it for 100 points?¡±


    ¡°Do I look that mean in your eyes?¡±


    ¡°Yes. You are greedy.¡±


    It¡¯s a fact, but it¡¯s a strangely disappointing statement.


    ¡°It¡¯s seriously not like that.¡± I hugged her and kissed her on the neck. Da-jeong said it tickles, but she pushed her neck and rubbed her face against my cheek.


    Skinship is very effective!


    Choi Da-jeong, a level 26 monster, has calmed down!


    ¡°I will believe you this time.¡±


    She took half of the ghouls who were defending the shelter to Earth. Then she said to them, ¡°All of you are not allowed to kill people. If you make a mistake, I would have to use the resurrection scroll. You understand?¡±


    The ghouls growled in unison at her question, proving they understood her command. Satisfied, Da-jeong waved her hand right, and all of her ghouls instantly rushed towards the entrance of the time shelter.


    Beep-!!


    In an instant, a high pitch sound of a whistle rang through the area, followed by a roar which could be heard everywhere.


    I didn¡¯t stay still either, using two reinforced zombies as my shield, I also ran towards the time shelter.


    ¡°Make it quick!¡± When I finally arrived at the sealing door of the time shelter, I called the scarabs and told them so. They began to gnaw through the thick sealing door made of reinforced plastic. It¡¯s much faster than the time when they drilled through the wall of Kwon¡¯s bunker in the past as their number was currently double the number back then.


    Da-jeong said nervously from the outside. ¡°It¡¯s not good. I think everyone woke up because of that whistle!¡±


    Well, it¡¯s only natural for them to be that vigilant. After all, if they could enter this time shelter, they would live in abundance for a while. Therefore, there¡¯s no way they wouldn¡¯t be vigilant about even a tiny movement around the time shelter, all the more with numerous ghouls running towards it.


    Finally, the scarabs broke through the sealing door. I opened the portal, let them in, and then kicked the seal with all my might.


    Bang-!!


    The door collapsed, revealing a pitch black room inside.


    Da-jeong said hurriedly. ¡°Did you open it? It¡¯s really chaotic out here!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s open! Hold on a little longer!¡±


    I can hear the werewolves¡¯ cries and the keepers¡¯ breathing even as I was running inside. Da-jeong¡¯s ghouls were indeed quite strong, but it would still be difficult for them to stop those monsters for a long time.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t help but exclaim as I took a glowstone out of my bag. The amount of material stockpiled inside the time shelter was just that overwhelming; It filled the entire underground parking lot to the brim.


    Greed was creeping up in my heart; I wanted to take it all. However, I couldn¡¯t afford to do that, since there¡¯s not much space left in my shelter. Even if there¡¯s a space in my shelter, I still couldn¡¯t afford to do it. After all, it would be difficult for Da-jeong to buy me the time required to move all the supplies to my shelter. I swallowed my regret and quickly searched for the construction materials.


    ¡°Here you are.¡± I said, as wood of various sizes covered in thick dust entered my vision. I quickly moved the position of the portal and started throwing the wood in.


    ¡°Keuk!¡± When I lifted the wood, which could easily be used as a pillar of a house, my waist almost broke. It was because the two skills which were responsible for my increased stats were not activated as I was currently not dealing with an enemy. I also couldn¡¯t channel any killing intent to a wood, so I have no choice but to suffer like this.


    ¡°Huft, huft, huft!¡± After a long time, I finally feel the dizzying hard labor again. While chewing a piece of solat apple, I forced myself to keep moving, just like what I did back in the shelter way back in the past.


    Finally, after about 20 minutes, the wood couldn¡¯t enter the portal anymore, as the entrance to the portal was completely blocked from the inside.


    ¡°Dammit.¡± I pushed the wood pile as hard as I could and moved the location of the portal.


    ¡°Whew¡­¡± it¡¯s almost over. To be honest, I wanted to just call Da-jeong and hide inside the portal as soon as I finished. But there¡¯s a problem with that plan. We won¡¯t be able to go out if we do so. Now that the sealed door was broken, the survivors would do anything they could to enter the place. I expect the fight will continue for a month or so.


    ¡°The only option left is for us to run away.¡± Since it was still around dawn, It was the best time to do so. I looked at the leftover wood and at the entrance back and forth. After mulling over the pros and cons, I finally ran and shouted.


    ¡°Da-jeong, go outside!¡±


    ¡°People are crazy out there! Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Now or never, there is no time!¡±


    The entrance was clear. When we went outside, Da-jeong ran next to me while ghouls circled around us.


    The survivors who found us blew a whistle once again.


    Beep-!!


    ¡°Those bastards!¡±


    ¡°Catch them! Kill them!¡±


    Isn¡¯t there something more important than catching us?


    I lit the firecrackers and threw them all over the place.


    Boom-!! Boom-!! Boom-!!


    ¡°Ahh!¡±


    ¡°What is this!¡±


    Chaos ensued as a myriad of colors painted the dark street and building. Paying no heed to the bloody screams and roars, we ran down the road, beating the horde of zombies and the keepers that were standing still.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    Tang Shenlong jumped up from her seat. She suddenly heard a loud noise from outside the building and found the situation was far worse than during the day as soon as she peeked out of the window.


    Did the Koreans take advantage of the dawn to break through the shelter?


    ¡°There are werewolves and keepers around this time, so that shouldn¡¯t be the case¡­¡±


    In any case, the situation was still dire, so Shenlong had no choice but to put on her clothes. Soon after, her colleague stormed into her room. His name is Mao Chen, and he was someone who had a rare unique skill of lightning control. Both of them were often praised by their comrades when they joined hands to attack, as no one could ever stop them.


    ¡°Shenlong! Those Joseon bastards attacked the shelter! The entrance has been opened.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Shenlong queried. If that¡¯s the case, she had to go out right now. The two walked out of the building side by side. And once their colleagues saw them, they instantly flocked towards the two.


    All of them were hailing from Shandong Peninsula, and in Korea, they were active under the name Shandongbang. Although their numbers were not very large, every single one of them were the type of people who wouldn¡¯t shy away from a fight, because they knew that they were all talented.


    As they hurried out into the street, many people were flocking to the entrance of the time shelter. The werewolves¡¯ cries and the survivors¡¯ screams mixed to create a chaotic and bloody melody of death. One person was caught by a keeper, and his upper and lower body were separated as the keeper¡¯s hands spread out. Blood splattered onto the road like paint spilled from its container.


    ¡°It¡¯s all crazy¡­¡± Everyone clenched their teeth, and the boss of the group, Shenlong, quickly realized that she had to issue an order. If they keep dilly dallying any longer, they would lose all of the supplies to the Koreans.


    When Shenlong was just about to open her mouth, she saw a group of people rushing out of the time shelter. Her gaze was instantly nailed into one particular man.


    How could she forget that man?


    Back in the unknown marina, and in the fantasy world, she had fought against him. However, on both occasions, she was defeated. However, she miraculously still survived until now. Even if she tried, Shenlong couldn¡¯t forget the man who had pointed a gun at her. She didn¡¯t know how the hell he got a gun, but she knew that she must kill him here.


    ¡°Chen, attack that big guy.¡±


    Mao Chen was stunned by her and stopped on his track.


    ¡°What? Now that the entrance has been opened, why are you asking me to attack someone instead?¡±


    ¡°That guy is the one who killed my brother.¡± Shenlong uttered, full of rage. However, unbeknownst to Mao Chen, it was a lie. Her brother, Tang Zhaolong, was struck and killed by someone else in that fantasy world. However, she definitely wanted to kill that big man.


    Mao Chen gnashed his teeth as he heard Shenlong¡¯s words.


    ¡°If it¡¯s for Zhaolong¡¯s revenge, I¡¯ll do it.¡± A few gusts of wind blew up in front of the big man and his colleague and stopped them from moving forwards. Before they could respond, Mao Chen reached out. Blue lightning flashed from his hand and zipped towards the man hiding among the ghouls. When the lightning hit the man, he fell to his knees. He opened his mouth and smoke rose from his body.


    ¡°Nice!¡± Shenlong clenched her fists. If anyone got hit directly by Mao Chen¡¯s lightning, they wouldn¡¯t die. However, it would make them critically injured. Only a few more attacks were needed to reap their lives from them. No matter how strong their body was, it was simply impossible to withstand it.


    However¡­


    Mao Chen, who retrieved her hand with satisfied looks, was startled. The reason was simple. It was because the man was slowly getting back to his feet.


    ¡°This is nonsense¡­¡± While he muttered so, he unknowingly took a step back. After all, the man¡¯s eyes had suddenly turned red.

 Chapter 140

    As long as Seongho stayed focused, he would be able to block any attacks coming from his front and sides using the dimension wall. However, the skill was by no means omnipotent, because it also meant that he couldn¡¯t block the attack that came from the direction of his blind spot. For example: the attack which just struck Seongho.


    After the guy made a strange hand gesture in the alley, the attack slithered through the ghouls and struck Seongho. He had reacted by trying to move his body away from the trajectory of the attack when it blitzed towards him. Unfortunately, it was in vain. His consciousness grew hazy for several fractions of seconds when his body hit the asphalt. And when he opened his eyes once again, a puff of smoke rose from his forearm.


    Seongho gnashed his teeth as excruciating pain stabbed into his forearm. However, on the other hand, he knew that he should be thankful to the elemental resistance skill that had lowered the attack¡¯s effect to only this much. The Stamina Regeneration skill was activated at that moment. The reddened and bruised skin on his arms begins to recover. At about the same time, the Fighting Instinct and Ferocity skill were also triggered.


    Seongho slowly stood up to his feet while sensing that Da-jeong was looking at him.


    ¡°¡­¡± No conversation was needed between them. They had played together for so long to the point they knew what the other was going to do as well as what themselves had to do.


    The black iris of Da-jeong¡¯s eyes changed to red and the strengthened ghouls began to run rampant with a single flick of her fingers. As the grasshoppers jumped and moved, the Chinese who attacked them were startled.


    Without giving them time to think, Seongho rushed towards them.


    ¡°He¡¯s coming!¡±


    ¡°Stop him!¡±


    ¡°Yaab!¡± A stocky Chinese man ran towards Seongho and swung his spear at him. Seongho calmly put the dimension wall on the trajectory of the spear. As the spear bounced, the Chinese men staggered. However, he¡¯s not lost on what he should do next. He pulled the long knife hanging on his waist from its scabbard and unleashed a follow-up attack, but there was also the dimensional wall on its trajectory..


    ¡°Agghhh!¡± The moment the powerfully swung long knife bounced off the dimension wall, Seongho¡¯s fist landed on his chin. With a crunching sound, the man flies for a few seconds before slamming to the ground. Considering that a lot of his teeth were also flying just like him, the man would have no choice but to eat something soft for the time being. Though, that will only apply if he ever survived from this fight.


    Just before the man could scream from the belated pain, Seongho was already on top of him, gazing at him with cold eyes. He then hurled his fist towards the man¡¯s abdomen.


    ¡°Keeeuk!¡± The man¡¯s stomach churned and his back was planted firmly on the asphalt. He couldn¡¯t stand the pain and began to vomit blood and stomach acid.


    Seongho left the man behind and rushed to another survivor with a body strengthening unique skill. The moment he thought about sending the man to the dimensional prison, a grasshopper beat him to the action by jumping towards the man.


    ¡°Ughhh!¡± The man groaned as the grasshopper latched into him. The two of them were hugging each other and rolling around the asphalt. Since the ghoul was Da-jeong¡¯s subordinate, the man wouldn¡¯t die. However, it didn¡¯t mean that he would be left unschatced. On the contrary, he would feel like death was the better option.


    Within seconds, two chinese were already incapacitated. Looking at the sorry state of her subordinates, Shenlong bit her lip and raised her hands to call for the wind again. A strong gust of wind rose from Seongho¡¯s feet and lifted him up to the air.


    ¡®10 seconds.¡¯ Shenlong said to herself. After attacking, for 10 seconds, she would be nothing but a normal person. However, she¡¯s not not worried at all.


    Sharing her confidence, Mao Chen held out his hand toward Seongho, who floated into the sky. A smile appeared on their lips at that moment.


    ¡°Die!¡±


    The moment a single streak of lightning blitzed towards Seongho, he¡¯s no longer there. He turned in mid-air and started running through the walls of the building as blue lightning flashed past Seongho¡¯s side.


    The Chinese cried out, their eyes were wide open. How could they not act so? After all, a human was currently running on the walls of the building as normally as if it was the ground!


    ¡°Hey, does that make sense?¡±


    Everyone was startled and left speechless by the movement that seemed to defy gravity. Meanwhile, Seongho was narrowing the distance between him and the Chinese at a rapid pace. To them, Seongho looked like a madman with red eyes.


    ¡®Sc-scary!¡¯


    ¡®What kind of demon did we just anger!¡¯


    Unfortunately for them, their regret comes far too late. There¡¯s no escape for them now. Aside from the demon in human clothing, who was closing down to them fast, the ghouls controlled by the woman were also circling them.


    The survivor with levitation unique skill tried to take Shenlong into the air, but three grasshoppers jumped up and dragged them down.


    ¡°Ahh!¡±


    ¡°Aaaah!¡±


    The two were thrown into the ground and rolled. Meanwhile, the other Chinese did their best to keep the ghouls and Seongho in check. They shot arrows and threw spears at him. But he blocked everything and rapidly closed the distance between them. To the Chinese, the image of Seongho was like a messenger of death, who rushed to them with a single purpose: dragging their soul into the afterlife.


    ¡°AHHHHHH! Don¡¯t come!¡± In the end, Mao Chen, who was panicking, tried to escape. He couldn¡¯t even use his trusty weapon, lightning, as it was still on cooldown and started to run away. Unbeknownst to him, the ghouls deliberately opened up a place for him to escape.


    However, just when he thought he would be able to survive, the portal of dimensional prison appeared right in front of him. Without his knowing, he was plunged into the dimensional prison.


    ¡°Uackkkk¡±


    When Mao Chen came to his senses, he was standing on a white plain. He couldn¡¯t see far as a thick blizzard obstructed his view.


    Where the hell is this?


    A chill that seemed to freeze even his brain came rushing in at that moment. Mao Chen shivered and crouched down, trying to preserve every little heat he could have. He knew that if he didn¡¯t move, he would freeze to death, but he could hardly walk.


    ¡°Ughh¡­¡±


    When the blizzard turned his body completely white, he finally returned to reality. Mao Chen could barely move his eyes in order to look around. And the sight which greets him was nothing but hellish. Many of his colleagues had collapsed. All that was left were the large Korean man and Shenlong.


    ¡°Shenlong¡­¡± Mao Chen uttered. He lifted his hands and pointed them towards Seong-ho, but couldn¡¯t fire his lightning bolt. It was not because his skill was still in cooldown, but because Seongho was glaring at him with a terrifying look. His cold and sharp eyes conveyed that he challenged him to shoot it.


    Mao Chen trembled as it was clear what the Korean was going to do next.


    Just like he predicted, the Korean man planted his fist filled with power on Shenlong¡¯s stomach.


    Bam-!!


    Bam-!!


    Bam-!!


    One after another, a dull sound echoed. However, the perpetrator had no sign of stopping.


    When you see a movie, don¡¯t the hero usually throw the enemy away at this point? The hero of the movie was always someone who upheld justice, so they would spare their enemy¡¯s life at this point. But the reality is cruel. Mao Chen¡¯s expectations were shattered as Seongho threw another punch towards Shenlong.


    Bam-!!


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Blood ran down from the corners of her mouth as she groaned. Shenlong could feel that her intestines were badly damaged. As her consciousness started to fade, she pleaded to Seongho, who just silently beat her down.


    ¡°S-spare me¡­¡±


    He stopped punching his fists for a moment.


    ¡°You did attack me with the intention to kill, right?¡±


    Even though it¡¯s true, Shenlong couldn¡¯t help but deny it. She tried to stop his fist that slowly rose to the air by flailing her hands.


    At that moment, Seongho¡¯s voice reached her ears.


    ¡°You must have attacked because you were confident that you would emerge victorious didn¡¯t you? From now on, please think more thoroughly.¡±


    Bam-!!


    Bam-!!


    Bam-!!


    The series of beating continues once again. Tang Shenlong, who was close to ordinary people without her ability to control wind, was unable to endure the pain and passed out.


    Seeing the scene from such a close proximity, fear coloured all of Mao Chen¡¯s being. He looked at the ghouls around him with a disappointed face. A man who beats women relentlessly and a woman who controls ghouls. They shouldn¡¯t have touched them in the first place.


    ¡®If I beg for my life, will they spare me?¡¯ All kinds of thoughts ran through Mao Chen¡¯s mind as he sent his brain to overdrive. However, his eyes were still following Shenlong who was now being dragged somewhere by the ghouls.


    And then, something which he never thought would happen, happened. The ghouls threw Shenlong towards a pack of kobolds. When the ghouls disappeared, the kobolds played with Shenlong with glee. They looked like kids who got a big yummy cake out of nowhere. Moments later, her desperate screams were heard and Mao Chen knelt down on her floor.


    ¡°Spare me! I will do anything!¡±


    ¡°Good attitude.¡± Sengho answered. However, contrary to his warm words, his eyes were cold. ¡°Do that in your next life.¡±


    Realization dawned at Mao Chen. No matter how many times he begs, the man who was walking towards him would never spare him. In a state of panic, Mao Chen turned his head to look at the situation around him. No matter how helpless he was, he wouldn¡¯t just accept his death like this. Unfortunately for him, no ray of hope¨Ceven the slightest sliver of it¨C could be seen anywhere. There¡¯s only ghouls all over the area.


    He had fought the 2 Koreans with his 4 comrades. But now, they have all died, and he¡¯s the only one who is still living. But that¡¯s not the most appalling thing in this situation. The fact that the huge man had killed his comrades without turning into murderer bog his mind more than the death of his comrades.


    A human with strong fighting power and the coolness of not getting blood on his hands. They shouldn¡¯t have touched this kind of man in the first place. But it had already happened, and he knew that his power alone wouldn¡¯t be enough to save him from his predicament.


    Mao Chen fired a last ditch lightning bolt at the incoming man, but it was blocked right in front of the man.


    ¡°What the hell¡­¡± His will and the strength to resist were now all gone. He then literally flew away as a punch struck his abdomen. When he crashed into the ground, blood came out everytime he coughed. However, without even being able to feel the pain, another barrage of punch rained over his body. But this time, it wasn¡¯t from the Korean man but from the ghouls who were swarming at him.


    When his sight grew dimmer and dimmer, he could feel that his body was being dragged. Moments later, he could see a werewolf in front of him. It was busy fighting the ghouls.


    When the ghoul who was dragging him tossed his body towards the werewolf, the ghouls that had been fighting it dispersed, leaving him alone in front of the werewolf.


    In front of the literal jaw of death, Mao Chen closed his eyes.


    Awoooo-!!


    The werewolf howled as soon as it finished chewing the food that fell in front of him. When the deafening howl was heard, all the Chinese who had entered the time shelter came out. Horror painted their faces as they saw the road right in front of the time shelter. It was full of blood and remains of both monsters and humans. The only living beings were the two humans who were fighting against a werewolf.


    The werewolf howled again, covered in blood all over his body. Not long after, two long knives split and sent its arms flying to the sky. At almost the same time, its legs and neck follow suit. Blood gushed like a fountain from its severed neck and pooled at the road beneath it.


    Only then did people realize. The man and woman, who were now standing leisurely a few distance away from the corpse of the werewolf, were the cause of the devastation they saw.


    The man who cut off the werewolf¡¯s heads with a long knife approached them.


    ¡°Leave this place.¡±


    No one could disobey him. The people raced forward and ran away without even thinking of rebelling. The street in front of the department store became quiet.


    At that moment, Da-jeong threw the long knife at a ghoul and hugged Seongho from behind.


    .


    .


    .


    Goo Myung-hoon furrowed his brow as soon as his subordinate¡¯s report came to an end. He had heard that there¡¯s a commotion around the department store building.


    ¡°It¡¯s chaotic every day there, so what¡¯s the big deal?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s different, Hyung-nim! Someone came and just killed everyone there!¡±


    ¡°Does that make sense?¡± Goo Myung-hoon queried, his voice was tinted with doubt. The street in front of the department store, which hosted the time shelter underneath, was always being watched by dozens of people everyday. Even at dawn¨Cthe most dangerous time throughout the day¨Cthere¡¯s always a watchful eye guarding the area. If someone approaches, arrows will fly towards them, no matter who it was. Therefore, no matter how he thought about it, someone going there and killing all the Chinese as well as all the monsters was simply absurd.


    ¡°I¡¯m not kidding. Let¡¯s go together.¡± At his subordinates¡¯ insistence, Goo Myung-hoon¡¯s face hardened. He quickly starts to prepare to go out by donning his armor. However, at that moment, an emergency message flew in one after another.


    ¡°A horde of ghouls are slaughtering the monsters in front of the department store, Hyung-nim!!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a man running around and no one can stop him!¡±


    ¡°He is absolutely crazy! He just finished killing a werewolf without much effort!¡±


    ¡®What kind of guy¡­¡¯ Goo Myung-hoon led his colleagues to the time shelter in a hurry. As he led his men out of their headquarters and arrived on the street in front of the department store, a terrible view unfolded before them. Countless corpses of monsters were piled up on the road, and blood could be seen painting the ground, wall and nearby building.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± One of his men vomited when he saw a shredded corpse of a man. And when they moved their eyes towards the entrance of the time shelter, someone was standing there with his arms crossed in front of his chest. As soon as Goo Myung-hoon laid his eyes on the man, he immediately recognized who he was. It was him, the huge man who arrived at Gwangju yesterday.


    ¡°Let¡¯s have a talk.¡± The heavy voice of the man echoed. As if possessed, Goo Myung-hoon approached the man without even thinking of rejecting him. He couldn¡¯t even hear his men¡¯s words anymore. Right now, he is busy regretting calling the man shrimp yesterday.


    Goo Myung-hoon stopped in surprise when he realized he had finally right in front of the men.


    ¡°Mr. Goo Myung-hoon, right?¡± Seongho opened his mouth.


    ¡°Yes¡­.¡± Goo Myung-hoon was the leader of a clan which he proclaimed to be the best in Gwangju. But he couldn¡¯t stand Seongho¡¯s eerie gaze and bloody smell. He quietly put his hands in front of him and listened to him.


    ¡°Do you know some Chinese who used wind and lightning?¡±


    Of course he knows. Several clans, including his own, had fought against the forces led by the two for almost a month to secure the time shelter. Although the other Chinese did not have high individual fighting power, the two of them were different.


    ¡°The two are dead. The same goes for the guys closest to them. I also kicked out all the Chinese who were watching this place. There are no Chinese here now.¡±


    ¡°P-Pardon?¡± Taken aback, Myung-hoon made a stupid sound.


    Seongho sighed and looked at him. ¡°Do I have to explain again?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, no, no, no. But, is that true?¡±


    ¡°Yes. As you can see, there are no monsters either.¡±


    Looking around, Goo Myung-hoon realized that what the man said was true. However, that realization left a big question mark on his head. Just how did he clean the area?


    At that moment, Myung-hoon remembered the four stagnant waters. If it¡¯s those people, they might be able to do this. From how the man in front of him dressed, he could rule out the possibility that he was Rapwi. He¡¯s not Survivor 1 either, as he rarely ventures out from the government shelter. Which leaves I Love Gimbap as the last viable option, because Duck Buttock was a female.


    The thread in his head kept getting tangled and tangled when he reached that conclusion. Just how could the man, who was at Sindorim Station a few days ago, be here?


    Myung-hoon swallowed dry saliva to organize his thoughts. ¡°If it¡¯s like that¡­ What should we do next¡­¡±


    ¡°The time shelter has been opened.¡± Seongho stated calmly. ¡°The Chinese and the monsters are gone too. So naturally, it is now yours.¡±


    ¡°A-are you serious?¡± Goo Myung-hoon was thrilled at his words. They had been salivating for it almost for months now, and now, it¡¯s finally happening.


    However, Seongho¡¯s words were not over just yet. ¡°Though, it will be yours in five day. I will use it for exactly five days, so be patient until then.¡±


    ¡°F-five days?¡± Myung-hoon¡¯s voice became low. Once his clan members knew that the time shelter had been breached, they would ask to go in immediately. Actually, he also wanted to do it. After all, how could they wait for 5 more days when they could just storm in and get all the supplies they didn¡¯t have to ease their suffering?


    Seongho said as if he knew his feelings.


    ¡°I will give you enough supplies for a few days. We won¡¯t be here long anyway. After 5 days, I will leave this area and the time shelter will be yours. Is it difficult to wait for a moment?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, no, no.¡±


    It is foolish to refuse to take such consideration. On top of it, knowing that the man in front of him was strong enough two kill the Chinese duo, it was better to wait 5 days rather than fighting him which could end up as their total loss.


    When he returned to the alley where the clan members were waiting, ghouls poured out of the time shelter and laid down their supplies. Everyone swallowed their saliva at the sight.


    ¡°Wow, the goods are coming!¡±


    ¡°Hyung-nim, what did you talk about with that guy?¡±


    ¡°He wants us to wait for five days before entering the time shelter.¡±


    ¡°Yes? 5 days? Until then, what is that person going to do?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not our business, isn¡¯t it? We just have to wait.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the other clan leaders would agree¡­¡±


    ¡°What can they do even if they don¡¯t agree? Do you think they are strong enough to fight that person?¡±


    Everyone looked at the man with a serious face. He was someone who was strong enough to devastate this entire area. If he become their enemy, they knew that things won¡¯t end well for them,


    ¡°By the way, who is that person?¡±


    ¡°If he have that kind of power, maybe¡­¡± There was a certain person that came to mind of the clan members at that moment. I Love Gimbap; a stagnant water who was known for his dirty personality and the object of scrutiny of the Auction House¡¯s addicts.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s that bad, judging by the fact that he gives away stuff¡­¡±


    ¡°I know, right?¡±


    But did I Love Gimbap control the ghoul as well? Or was the Ghoul Queen also inside the time shelter?


    Everyone was puzzled, but right at that moment, one person joined them belatedly. He looked at Seongho and then opened his mouth.


    ¡°Oh! Hyung-nim, it¡¯s him! The shrimp you mentioned back then!¡±


    Myung-hoon groaned and shook his head. ¡°You madman! He¡¯s not a shrimp, he¡¯s a whale!¡±


    ¡°Sorry?¡± Hearing that, he opened his mouth wide.


    ¡°By the way Hyung-nim? He wouldn¡¯t take many supplies with him, would he?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s just alone. Even if the ghoul queen was here, he wouldn¡¯t be able to take a lot of things.¡±


    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s right.¡±


    The expectations of the clan members soared at Goo Myung-hoon¡¯s words. They were all fantasizing about what would wait for them once 5 days passed.


    However, unbeknownst to those shrimp, whales eat a lot because of their size.

 Chapter 141

    ¡°How did the negotiation go?¡± Da-jeong asked as soon as she saw me entering the time shelter.


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s a success. I don¡¯t know about other factions, but Goo Myung-hoon¡¯s faction would not enter this place anytime soon.¡±


    ¡°A pity¡­ I was hoping for them to refuse so I can step on them.¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t come for five days, so let¡¯s just finish what we need to do here.¡±


    ¡°Those words¡­¡± Da-jeong wrapped her hands around my neck. Not in a sweet, romantic way, but in a violent way. ¡°I wonder what kind of thing we have to do here¡­¡±


    However, since the smell from our body¨Cwhich was a mix of sweat and blood¨Cwas too strong, Da-jeong couldn¡¯t stand hugging me for a long time and began to gag.


    ¡°Are you having morning sickness?¡± I asked with a playful tone.


    She wiped her lips gently and looked at me. ¡°Be careful about what you say. I can suddenly show you two lines someday.¡±


    ¡°In the apocalypse, pregnancy is a disaster.¡±


    ¡°So, why are you c*mming ins-mmphmpph¡±


    I blocked her mouth before she finished her sentence. In my defense, it wasn¡¯t like I wanted to do it, I was forced to do that because at ¡®that¡¯ time, she held my hips with her legs.


    I calmed her down and opened the portal before dragging her inside. As I was pouring water into the large basin, Da-jeong threw her clothes off and entered the basin.


    ¡°What are you doing? Come in.¡±


    I hesitated a little at her invitation.


    ¡°We are washing together?¡±


    ¡°Why are you embarrassed when you already saw everything? Come in quickly.¡±


    Well, she¡¯s right¡­ I dragged my body and entered the basin. Once we finished, we laid down on the mattress and discussed our future plans. While we were doing so in our birthday suit, the stag beetles trembled, unlike the scarabs who were fine. It was as if they had seen something they shouldn¡¯t see, they locked themselves in their tree house and didn¡¯t want to get out.


    Why are they like that, I wonder?


    ¡°For the next five days, we should focus on expanding the shelter.¡± I said as I drew a circle around the shelter in the map. It was already planned that we were going to expand the shelter using a mini fork crane in advance. However, the problem we faced was the lack of barbed wire in our plan.


    As I was explaining the countermeasures, Da-jeong sneaked up to me and poked her head over my shoulder.


    ¡°It¡¯s so nice to be able to live side by side like this¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­You¡¯re heavy.¡±


    I didn¡¯t realize it when I just looked at her body, but when she was leaning on me, I could feel her weight.


    ¡°Who made me like this? Who made me fat?¡± Da-jeong hissed.


    ¡°I mean, the only thing I did was give you what you asked.¡± I shrugged. ¡°But don¡¯t worry. Even if you¡¯re fat, you¡¯re still pretty. You can be whatever you want.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s true..¡± She smiled and hugged me.


    Putting aside our idle talk, we continue to make the shelter expansion plan.


    ¡°There will be no barriers or fences on our new shelter. The ghouls will be the ones who protect the boundary.¡±


    ¡°But, if we proceed like that, my fighting power will decrease.¡±


    ¡°It should be fine because I don¡¯t plan on fighting for a while.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ are you sure your plan would go without any sidetracks?¡±


    To be honest, I¡¯m not sure either. However, in any case, I decided to put a lot of Da-jeong¡¯s ghouls into shelter defense. If Seokhyun was with us, there would be no problem in our defense, but it was a pity, he was not with us right now.


    ¡°We are going to put a barrier along the border like this¡­ and then leave to farm other things.. What should be secured first was¡­¡± I jotted down a list of building materials such as cements, bricks, paints, and insulations on a piece of paper in front of us.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we secure food first?¡± Da-jeong quirk her brows.


    ¡°You can find a lot of things to eat in the forest. At the very least, we can just go to the valley and fish some salmon. However, these things are different.¡± Just like I said, food was plentiful here in this forest. Not only that, all the things I had looted until now wouldn¡¯t even run out even after being consumed for several years. In other words, we no longer have to worry about starving.


    Da-jeong stared at the list I was writing down and then said something. ¡°You said we don¡¯t need food¡­ so why did you write so much?¡±


    ¡°We have to secure it first. It¡¯s a waste to leave things like military rations alone since it has a very long shelf life.¡±


    ¡°Those people are currently ecstatic because they know that the time shelter will be theirs in five days. If they know that you would only leave them with just a few things, they will be livid.¡±


    ¡°We will take enough and leave a good amount for them.¡± I assure Da-jeong. After all, there¡¯s a lot of military ration in the time shelter to the point it was impossible for me to take them all.


    As soon as we finalized the list, we decided to sleep lightly. At first, we were hugging each other, but since it was too hot in the cave, we started to push each other away.


    After we woke up and had a quick meal, I started working in earnest. But suddenly, Da-jeong gestured to me. ¡°It¡¯s hell out there right now! It¡¯s as if people from all over Gwangju came here.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡± It seems that the news about the time shelter had spread all over Gwangju. It was concerning because in Gwangju, this place isn¡¯t the only time shelter around. They should just drill through the time shelter in their area¡­


    When we got to the entrance of the time shelter, the outside was even more messy than when we first came.


    ¡°Open the door, please!¡±


    ¡°Give us something to eat!¡±


    While many people were shouting, the zombie raid happened around them. It was chaotic beyond words. In the meantime, arrows and stones hit the reinforced plastic door that the bulky ghoul was holding.


    It¡¯s going to be tough to hold them back for a long time¡­


    ¡°Just like the famous saying goes¡­ a plan will go awry as soon as it was made¡­¡±


    We rushed to work at that moment.


    .


    .


    .


    When Seongho and Da-jeong started to expand the shelter, the news that Chonnam University¡¯s time shelter had been breached spread throughout Gwangju.


    Even though the leader of Gwangju¡¯s number one clan Goo Myung-hoon made sure that nobody talked about it in his clan, it was of no use. After all, the information was spread by the Chinese as they fled.


    As the day dawned, the area around the department store was reminiscent of rush hour back in the old world due to the crowds of survivors. They were seen fighting monsters here and there. Of course, death among them was imminent and some of the Auction House addicts started to work their tongues.


    -It¡¯s better to starve than to die like that. What are those guys doing?


    -It¡¯s really hard to bear being cold and hungry! I¡¯d rather die fighting¡­


    -If you don¡¯t force the entrance open, you won¡¯t be able to get in anyway¡­


    Of course, the place where the eyes of the survivors focused on was none other than the entrance to the time shelter. There, a gigantic ghoul was blocking the entrance with a door which was made of reinforced plastic. And it looked like it was almost impossible for them to break through it. After all, no matter how many arrows or molotov cocktails were thrown, the guy still stood firm.


    After some time passed, other regions also became interested in the chaos happening in front of the time shelter. Naturally, the government shelter also found out about the severity of the situation. After hearing the detailed report from Lee Beom-seok, Jang Won-taek massaged his temple and sighed.


    ¡°Is it those friends again?¡±


    It¡¯s not like they were dragon or tiger, so why did chaos always follow along their way?


    ¡°After analyzing all the information, the situation was not their fault. The Chinese did it first.¡±


    ¡°¡­but the power balance was broken because their fighting power was too high?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s like a whale intervening in a fight between shrimps. It was something which was bound to happen one day.¡±


    ¡®Something which was bound to happen someday, huh?¡¯ Jang Won-taek had no choice but to nod his head at his aide¡¯s analysis. The time shelter incident in Gwangju was indeed something which could be seen as a microcosm of what will happen in the future. The cold wave that hit Seoul and Northern Gyeonggi Province was now also spreading across the country. It was clear that the survivors would quickly run out of supplies and eventually become interested in the time shelter near their area. The one-year time limit which the government set had become useless now.


    The problem was, the administration officials, including Jang Won-taek, did not have a system in place to efficiently distribute the materials after the time shelter opened. After all, it was difficult enough to think about who might have survived at that time so it was unreasonable to plan such a plan in advance.


    Fortunately, the entrance of Gwangju time shelter was recently blocked by a ghoul. If it was opened wide unguarded, there would be an incomparable level of confusion. The real big problem was that there was no way to rectify the situation. People who would have been able to live if they just dispersed were gathering and dying in real time. As a former president of the Republic of Korea, Jang Won-taek felt most sorry for that.


    After much deliberation, Jang Won-taek headed out of his office to meet Seokhyun and Geom-in.


    ¡°Is there any way I can contact Seongho? Please, I beg you¡­¡±


    As soon as Seokhyun heard the situation, he stretched out his palm towards the former president.


    ¡°If you have something to ask from Seongho, you have to give something.¡±


    ¡°I will give Seongho a sufficient price.¡±


    ¡°Deal¡±


    Meanwhile, Geom-in could only wonder what the two of them would be talking about.


    .


    .


    .


    Hmm¡­ This is another strange thing. Jang Won-taek contacted me through Seok-hyun and asked me to do one thing for him; calming the chaos in front of the time shelter.


    However, was it possible to do so?


    I cut his offer short, saying it was impossible. I think at least 200 people came. So how in the world should I calm them down? If I say one word to them, at least dozens of words would pour out towards me.


    Jang Won-taek heard my side of the story and made a real offer. However, he was also asking more of me. On top of his earlier request, he also asked me to distribute supplies from the time shelter to the survivors.


    -Only Seongho and Da-jeong can distribute the things while maintaining the minimum order. Please, I beg you.


    I don¡¯t know about that¡­


    Initially, we planned to expand the shelter and leave Gwangju with only supplies as soon as we finished. It doesn¡¯t matter what they would do with the rest of the material.


    However, Jang Won-taek seems to have felt sorry for the survivors who were going to die in the midst of the chaos. After all, it¡¯s impossible for him and his subordinates to control time shelters all over the country like us.


    Well, that¡¯s a matter for you to figure out and how to do it, not our problem¡­


    I took a peek at Da-jeong, who was doing expansion work with a fork crane, and then entered a comment.


    -If you bring a request like this, I think you already have something to offer to us.


    -What do you want? As you may have heard from people, shelters prepared by government shelters are surprisingly few. Most of the items inside also can only be taken out after the corrosive disease is gone.


    -Wait.


    I wandered around my warehouse and found what I was lacking. On top of those items, I also want guns and ammunition. Currently, there were 10 guns and thousands of live ammunition in my shelter, but that much was far from enough. Afterall, it takes one magazine to catch one wyvern. So, in order to fight countless monsters which would pour out in the future, I wanted to secure as many guns and ammunition as possible.


    ¡°There should be some guns and ammo at the spare shelter we are going to, but it¡¯s not certain¡­¡±


    If I was the president, I would have spread all the supplies in several places. No, maybe not only the president, but the army would also think so. After all, in the apocalypse, theoretically, army forces would be the one who moved the most.


    When I mentioned that point, Jang Won-taek was silent for a long time. Without giving him any more time to think, I took the reins.


    ¨C It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t want to talk.


    ¨C Oh no. No. Wait a minute. I¡¯ll discuss it first with my staff.


    All of a sudden, Da-jeong came to my side. ¡°Are you threatening someone again?¡±


    ¡°Threatening? Please¡­ this is a fair deal.¡±


    When I explained the details to her, she shook her head and sighed. ¡°Seems like I have to move the ghouls again. What a pain in the ass.¡±


    ¡°If things went well, we¡¯ll have about 10,000 bullets, you know?¡±


    ¡°10,000 bullets? Then there really is nothing I can do.¡± Actually, I expected we would get more than that, but it was wise to not tell her at this point. The amount of live ammunition stockpiled by the ROK Armed Forces should have been beyond the imagination of a person like me. It would be great to have just a part of it.


    Some time after his last comment, Jang Won-taek entered another comment.


    -There is an ammunition company in Daejeon. And the army had stockpiled ammunition in their base¡¯s bunker. I¡¯ll give you one of the bunkers.


    This is a big fish¡­ If it was in Daejeon, it was natural to stockpile ammunition in the nearby army base bunker. Afterall, the army base in Daejeon boasted an enormous scale and facilities as it was the unified headquarters of the 3rd Army of the Republic of Korea. So, it¡¯s not strange for it to have a few bunkers.


    (T/N Correct me if I¡¯m wrong¡­)


    -However, it is impossible to open the bunker, no matter how strong you are. That¡¯s why, Seongho. Why don¡¯t you take this opportunity to come into our shelter? There is something I want to entrust to you.


    -I will decline. I want to be free.


    -Just because you belong to a government shelter doesn¡¯t mean your freedom will be limited¡­


    -I just hate to be under someone. Please just tell me where the bunker is.


    -Then, this negotiations stop here,


    What a pity¡­


    Then, I informed him.


    -You do know that since you already told me the location, I can find it and loot it, right?


    -The bunker doesn¡¯t just open that easily. It has several layers of security doors which are incomparable to the door of time shelter. It was the masterpiece of engineering in Korea.


    Jang Won-taek¡¯s comments showed his pride that it was impossible to open it even if he found it. I¡¯m sorry, but no matter how smart the engineers in Korea are, I have much smarter guys than them: the scarabs. Those guys could extract metal from ore and easily break through reinforced plastic. It will take some time, but it¡¯s worth the wait.


    -Alright, but I¡¯m just saying, if we were to bet whether I can open the bunker or not, I¡¯m very confident that I will win.


    I left the Auction House and continued to work. However, at that moment, Da-jeong stopped the fork crane and laughed out loud.


    ¡°That old geezer is still calling you, Seongho!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°He said, ¡®I was wrong, so please hear me out¡¯¡±


    ¡°Tell him I have nothing to say.¡±


    It seems that Jang Won-taek finally declared surrender after going out hard. When I entered the Auction House, I saw the comments.


    ¨DI lost. I will give you the location, so please, at least take care of the chaos in Gwangju time shelter. We¡¯ll take care of the rest.


    If it¡¯s like this, It should be fine. To be honest, it was hard to find the bunker location in Daejeon Army Base, which was an extremely wide place.


    I put my hand on Da-jeong¡¯s shoulder at that moment.


    ¡°Sorry, for the time being, you¡¯ll need to take care of the expansion work alone.¡±


    ¡°What will you do?¡±


    ¡°I will have to supervise the distribution of the materials. I will focus on distributing food first because they must be hungry.¡±


    ¡°Will the people listen?¡±


    ¡°Is that a question?¡± As I raised my fist, Da-jeong laughed out loud again.


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±

 Chapter 142

    Btw there¡¯s a donation come in too¡­ I¡¯m going to announce it on next chap. And by that i mean, next friday!


    There were some things that needed to be done before starting the distribution. It was clearing up the mess in front of the time shelter. I immediately left a comment for Bae Geom-in at the Auction House. Not long after, he arrived.


    -If I remember correctly, you did say you have experimented about how to prevent zombie raids from happening in Incheon before, right?


    -Uh¡­ You mean the totem experiment?


    A totem huh? Throughout my time playing Survival Life, it¡¯s an item I never got my hands on; I only know about its existence through records and stuff. Geom-in explained that if I installed the totem, there would be no zombie raid happening in the area around it.


    However, since the materials needed to make it were very rare, only one totem could be made at the moment.


    -Lend me that. I¡¯ll pay you back later.


    -It¡¯s kind of weird to hear something like ¡®paying back¡¯ between us. You can just use it.


    Oh? Did I really just hear those kinds of words come out of him? Not bad. I bought the totem uploaded to the Auction House as soon as Geom-in put it up. The diameter of the totem was around the thickness of my arms. However, that¡¯s not the most interesting part of it. What piques my interest the most was the face of a monster with bulging eyes and an open-wide mouth carved on it.


    -It was made of a material called elderwood, a rare material I got from golden goblins.


    Elderwood? Those gigantic trees in the Black Forest to the north?


    As if his mouth was itchy, Geom-in proceeded to explain to me how he ended up making the totem.


    -As for how I came to make it, I stumbled on its picture in an ancient book I looted at a dungeon.


    Aha¡­


    In dungeons, ancient books sometimes did appear. We can¡¯t read it because it¡¯s written in an unfamiliar language to us, but he must have been lucky enough to find a page with pictures.


    -How large is the area of effect of this totem?


    -Uh¡­ It should be able to cover at least one house?


    That¡¯s a bit lacking. Seems like I would have to move the people around.


    -There is something sticky on its surface¡­ What did you paint it with?


    -There¡¯s a plant-type monster that likes to eat zombies, right? The ones we called zombie hell. If you cut off the stem of that monster, the sap will come out. I painted it with that.


    Geom-in quickly taught me how to make it. And once his informative session was over, I thought that I would be able to make it myself if I found some zombie hells. The question is, how can I get an elderwood?


    Back then, as soon as I laid my hand on the saw inside my bag, all the local beasts and monsters instantly stared dead straight at me. The atmosphere itself also changed from a tranquil, idyllic forest atmosphere into a bloody, horror one in the blink of an eye.


    Anyway, it¡¯s not the time to think about it. Now it¡¯s time to use this to get rid of the zombies. When I took it to the cave, the stag beetles unexpectedly showed interest in it.


    ¡°Do you guys know what this is?¡±


    They shook their heads at my question. However, I could feel that they were only pretending to not know about it. As we lived together, I realized that these guys were a tsundere. They pretend not to be interested, but if they see me struggling alone, they will come to help. They were the exact opposite of the scarabs who had always run right away to whatever fancy their curiosity.


    I turned my back on them and touched the totem.


    ¡°There are rumors of how to make this circulating¡­¡±


    Stag beetles gathered around me at those words. They were desperately pretending not to be interested, but I know that they really do care about it as their eyes are fixed on the totem. One guy unconsciously climbed onto my leg at that moment. Then, the moment the guy realized where it was, it quickly jumped down. At times like this, they act like a shy girl. Meanwhile, the scarabs¡­ They looked like a good natured old man with a long beard¡­


    ¡°Hmmmm¡­¡± As I was fiddling with the totem in moderation, the chief stag beetle bit my hand hard.


    It seemed to shout ¡®Don¡¯t touch it like that!¡¯


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    According to the picture drawn by the chief stag beetle on the ground, this totem was a dangerous object. It was effective in chasing out certain monsters, but it also summons other types of monsters.


    ¡°What kind of monsters?¡±


    After hesitating, the chief stag beetle drew a figure of a monster that I had never seen before.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen this guy anywhere, isn¡¯t it okay?¡± I queried.


    To my question, the chief stag beetle responded by waving its claws. Seems like it was telling me to do whatever I wanted. Then it recommended that I craft a new totem.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m not very good at this kind of thing.¡±


    As I held out the totem, the chief stag beetle accepted it even while grumbling.


    Does it know how to grumble?


    Perhaps, it even knows how to pound its legs on the floor?


    Come to think of it, these guys also showed a lot of interest in the elderwood longbow¡­ Maybe they have ¡®something¡¯ for elderwood?


    The stag beetles gathered and started to remodel the totem in an instant. They gnawed at the wood and made the totem smaller overall. There¡¯s no zombie hell sap, so what are you going to use?


    At that moment, one of the stag beetles brought the elderwood¡¯s sap out from the storage and rubbed it on the totem.


    ¡°Hey, I was saving that!¡±


    At my outburst, they all looked at me at once; their gaze was pricking me. I have no choice but to lower my tail. When the stag beetles continued their work, they drew a tooth on the totem. After some time, the chief stag beetle came to me and held the totem towards me.


    ¡°What changes did you make?¡±


    According to the guy, the range of the totem had been expanded to three times its original range. However, it still wouldn¡¯t work as it is as it needs to be fixed on the ground in order for it to work.


    ¡°Then¡­ I have to make a separate stand, huh?¡±


    Now I know why the ghouls who were working outside the fence did not run away.


    As I was about to draw a picture of a stand in the ground, the chief stag beetles made a movement as if it was sighing before I even finished. Then, he walked away and quickly made a stand.


    Cute guy.


    At the time I left the shelter and went back to Earth, I had both the totem and stand in my hands. Now it¡¯s time to start the distribution.


    .


    .


    .


    Some changes had happened in the building where the time shelter was located. Unlike before, a grayish banner was now spread out on the third floor of the department store. On it, some words were written.


    ¡®If you need supplies, please come to the 3rd floor.¡¯


    People went abuzz at the words on the banner in an instant. Afterall, if all of them went together to the 3rd floor, they were sure that they wouldn¡¯t be able to have a lengthy conversation because of the zombie raid that would happen immediately.


    However, after some time, their concern was rendered null. The zombies and ghouls around the time shelter began to disappear. Monsters such as goblins and orcs were still there, but there were not as many as the zombies and ghouls, so it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. After some hunting happened here and there, there were no monsters left around the time shelter.


    ¡°It¡¯s really amazing¡­¡±


    ¡°If it was like this, wouldn¡¯t we be safe to gather on the third floor?¡±


    ¡°But who¡¯s in charge on the third floor¡­¡±


    ¡°I heard it was I Love Gimbap.¡±


    ¡°What kind of rights did he have to distribute the goods like he owned them?¡±


    People were skeptical about it and headed to the third floor. However, when they arrived, they realized that they were late, as a few quick-acting people were already seated in a store on the third floor.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Everyone looked into each other¡¯s eyes. The tension between them was no joke because they were people who had been fighting against each other just until recently. People kept coming overtime, and noises began to come from here and there.


    ¡°Hey, why are you looking at me like that?¡±


    ¡°I came first, so why are you telling me to not look at you? If you don¡¯t want to be seen, just go somewhere else.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s be quiet.¡±


    ¡°When will I Love Gimbap come out?¡±


    As soon as someone said that, a figure of a man was seen walking down from the stairs leading to the fourth floor. The figure was clad in black, and his body size was bigger than anyone present. All around his body, all sorts of equipment that is a must-have for a survivor could be seen. The most noticeable one for the survivors present was naturally the elderwood longbow slung to his back. It was an expensive piece of equipment which everyone dreams of¨DA pie in the sky they couldn¡¯t get.


    He looked at the crowd and said:


    ¡°I don¡¯t think everyone has come, so let¡¯s wait a little bit.¡±


    ¡°Look here. By what rights do you dare to distribute the supplies here?¡± A man amongst the crowd stood up and said so. However, contrary to his pricking words, the man was breathing heavily, clearly feeling nervous.


    ¡°I was asked by a government shelter,¡± Seongho responded as he tapped on the blood-soaked longknife on his waist. ¡°Is that all?¡±


    ¡°Government shelter? Did you become representative of all survivors? We should have been given the rights to freely use it! Why are you trying to control it?¡±


    Seongho sighed. There¡¯s this kind of guy everywhere.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t like it, you can just leave this floor and walk straight to the time shelter.¡± Seongho pointed out. ¡°Though, I doubt you will be able to go inside with your strength.¡±


    Da-jeong¡¯s ghouls were also affected by the totem, so it should be a little bit easier for them to attack the time shelter right now. However, it doesn¡¯t mean that they would be able to do so, as Da-jeong herself was still a formidable fighter even without her ghouls.


    The man paused and opened his mouth.


    ¡°No, I mean¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    ¡°Speak straight. So what? What are you going to do?¡±


    As Seongho took a step closer to the man, the man instinctively stepped back. Looking at him up close, the feeling of intimidation he exudes was no joke.


    Seongho looked at the man and said again. ¡°Jang Won-taek asked me because he thought a lot of you would die fighting over supplies. If you understand, shut up.¡±


    People were overwhelmed by him and held their breath at that moment.


    ¡°Geez, what a rude young man.¡± A tall, old man stepped out from the silent crowd murmuring so.


    Seongho shifted his gaze to him. ¡°I advise you, just sit down. Don¡¯t do something that will embarrass yourself in front of people.¡±


    The man chuckled at Seongho¡¯s word.


    ¡°No, I admit that you¡¯re strong¡­ But, do you have something to say to us first?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have to apologize to us first? It¡¯s because of you that we became like this. We would have been in a better state if you had just spread the information you have.¡±


    People murmured at the man¡¯s word. They realized what the man was talking about.


    ¡°Continue.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The man bit his mouth as soon as he didn¡¯t receive the same feedback he had in his mind from Seongho.


    Seongho stepped closer to him.


    ¡°There were quite a lot of people who said that. And after meeting a lot of those people, I¡¯ve come to realize. It¡¯s overwhelmingly more comfortable to forcefully make their mouths shut rather than to persuade them to change their view about me.¡±


    It was foolish to explain and ask for forgiveness for them. Seongho had learned that without people there would be no change whatsoever in his daily lives.


    ¡°Killing you would make it quieter, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t be easy¡­¡±


    ¡°Would you like to bet whether I can throw you out in ten seconds or not?¡±


    The man clenched his teeth. He had only heard the news that the time shelter had been breached and that I Love Gimbap had appeared, so he did not know the details about what happened before. But he at least knew that I Love GImbap had painted the street in front of the department store with the Chinese¡¯s blood. However, since he had come this far, he couldn¡¯t back down because of people¡¯s gaze.


    He clenched his fists, ignoring his wet back.


    ¡°Let¡¯s finish this quickly. With a trial case, people will become obedient.¡± Seongho said.


    Sparks flashed in the eyes of the man. As a leader of a clan, he wasn¡¯t someone who would take this treatment lying down.


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    The tall man quickly narrowed the distance between him and Seongho. People expected a fierce fight would happen between the two, but they couldn¡¯t be more wrong. The man who rushed towards I Love Gimbap was unilaterally beaten by him.


    Puck, puck, puck!!!


    The large man was beaten without being able to resist; He was just like a punching bag, A living and breathing punching bag. It wasn¡¯t like he couldn¡¯t throw any punch back either, it was just that all of it didn¡¯t hit I Love Gimbap but only hitting air.


    ¡°Ouch!¡±


    The man was beaten black and blue before he eventually passed out. Seongho grabbed the man by the collar and lifted him with one hand. At the same moment, he asked towards the crowd.


    ¡°If there¡¯s someone else who wants to do this kind of shit, come out quickly. Let¡¯s not waste time.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    After seeing the man, no one came out. Seongho put him down on the floor and saw Goo Myung-hoon, who joined late.


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of people from different clans here. Let¡¯s classify them first.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes.¡±


    He nodded his head awkwardly.


    .


    .


    .


    With the help of the members of the Gwangju¡¯s strongest Clan, Seongho gave each person who came to the time shelter a large bag of sackcloth.


    He also declared to the people.


    ¡°You just have to go in, fill the sack with food and go out. It doesn¡¯t matter what or how you fill it.¡±


    Those words mean that they could take one sack of food. People took the sack and were confused about what to bring. It was a quite large sack, so they would be able to carry quite a lot of things.


    ¡°But we don¡¯t know what¡¯s inside.¡±


    ¡°We have to bring water. We have no water.¡±


    ¡°You guys can use rainwater for water. First of all, you need to choose a combat food that is small in volume and high in calories.¡±


    ¡°If you eat that thing often, you will get constipated.¡±


    Some people trembled and approached Seongho. They had witnessed him smashing people without blinking an eye, so they were all terrified.


    ¡°Can I bring anything other than that¡­ food?¡±


    Seongho was unexpectedly kind and answered.


    ¡°Of course, it could be daily necessities, books, clothes, etc. But isn¡¯t it better to bring food first? You can get the other things next time.¡±


    ¡°AH!!¡±


    ¡°Time shelter doesn¡¯t run away anywhere, so grab what¡¯s urgent first and take it slowly later. There should be enough things for everyone inside.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes.¡± People nodded awkwardly at Seongho¡¯s explanation. Their first impression about him was that he¡¯s very bloody, but he surprisingly had a gentle side.


    Soon the distribution began. The entrance was opened and the five survivors entered the time shelter for the first time.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡±


    ¡°There are so many things¡­¡±


    In fact, this material inside was nothing compared to what Seongho had taken from this time shelter. As soon as Da-jeong completed the expansion work, the things that were left and the ones they didn¡¯t need were put back into the shelter. Still, it was enough to surprise the survivors. They dispersed from the crowd and packed a lot of different things inside each of their own sackcloth.


    Meanwhile, Seongho was waiting at the entrance.


    ¡°Can you write a comment on the Auction House?¡±


    ¡°Yes? Okay¡­¡±


    ¡°I put a spam pack on the Auction House too, please buy it for 20 points.¡±


    ¡®Why are you telling me to buy it?¡¯ The man who Seongho talked with thought. But since he got enough food, he thought that he could use about 20 points, so he wrote a comment and bought a spam.


    The reason why Seongho did this kind of thing was to prevent people from entering twice. There were more than 100 people so it¡¯s impossible for him to remember each of their faces, so he decided to make use of the Eyes of Truth.


    Distribution went smoothly, but halfway to the end of the line of people, a commotion occured. A woman who went out after receiving the rations came back and got caught by Seongho.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you enter already before?¡±


    ¡°N-no¡­¡±


    When the woman tried to defend herself, Seongho called her by her name, making her speechless.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say that people can only enter once for now?¡±


    ¡°Y-y-you saw the wrong person. I¡¯m not Kim Ha-yeon.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll really die if I found out you are Kim Ha-yeon.¡±


    ¡°T-that¡­¡± As she was about to say something, she lowered her head helplessly. ¡°I-I¡¯m, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°Put those things back and leave.¡±


    Goo Myung-hoon, who was next to him, was internally astonished.


    How the hell did he find out the name of someone he¡¯d never met?


    Is that some kind of skill?


    When she left after a while, Seongho relaxed his face and treated people amicably again.


    The news that a supply distribution was going on at a time shelter under Chonnam University naturally spread widely in the Auction House. People didn¡¯t believe the words at first. After all, how can people gather when all kinds of monsters should be running rampant? However, since there were not only two people posting the article, the other people in the Auction House had no choice but to believe it.


    Meanwhile, some people came up with a trick.


    Why don¡¯t we just hang around the area and attack the people who come out?


    -They are going to be slow because they have to carry the bag of sackcloth. We just need to take care of it.


    -Sweet!


    The three people who came out with that plan waited around the area and looked for someone with a bag of sacks to come out from a nearby building.


    Finally, one came out, and three instantly surrounded him.


    ¡°If you leave the sackcloth, I¡¯ll let you go with your life.¡±


    ¡°N-no please¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡±


    Just as the three of them were about to take the sack, Da-jeong appeared. When she understood the situation, her face contorted.


    ¡°Oh my god. There are people who are more trashy than me.¡±


    He came here because Seong-ho said she needed to leave the time shelter so that people wouldn¡¯t feel pressured, but never in her wildest imagination did she ever think that she would find thieves like these guys instead.


    The three¡¯s faces twisted at her words.


    ¡°Trash?¡±


    ¡°What the fuck is this fucking bitch¡­¡±


    ¡°It seems like you don¡¯t understand the situation you are in¡­¡±


    Da-jeong sighed and snapped her fingers. And immediately, the three¡¯s eyes widened when a huge ghoul and a grasshopper appeared.


    ¡°D-d-d don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±

 Chapter 143

    Thank you to Teisen for the $25 donation and Chelle for the $18. Yes, i¡¯ll make sure I¡¯ll be returning to usual schedule.


    The orderly supply distribution in Gwangju¡¯s time shelter became hot news in the Auction House. After all, it was such an unprecedented event.


    When everyone heard the news that Chonnam University¡¯s time shelter had been breached, they assumed that there would be a lot of chaos and blood there. People would naturally rush into the time shelter as soon as the news spread, resulting in monsters and zombies following them. And inside, they would fight to secure supplies, and there might even be a lot of murderer events going on.


    But the reality betrayed everyone¡¯s expectations. Not a single zombie could be seen on the road in front of the building where the time shelter was located. On the contrary, the people who went in and came out holding one sackcloth with them had a bright expression on their face.


    Everyone was curious about what had happened. When they knew that I Love Gimbap had stepped forward, they were all surprised.


    -If I go there, can I meet I Love Gimbap?


    -You can. Currently he¡¯s inspecting people at the entrance to the time shelter.


    -What?


    -Seems like he¡¯s doing it to prevent people who had already taken their share from coming back.


    -I mean, if they just say it¡¯s their first time coming there, how does he even know whether they¡¯re lying or not¡­


    -It seems like he was checking the names of people by asking people to leave a comment in the Auction House.


    -I have a question, isn¡¯t Auction House anonymous?


    -I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the case for I Love Gimbap.


    -Do you guys see the spam that is being auctioned? I think the people that had already gone inside the time shelter had to leave a comment there.


    -Someone go and leave a comment.


    -As soon as you leave a comment, you will be marked by I Love Gimbap.


    -By the way these days, the words I Love Gimbap comes out naturally, doesn¡¯t it? Wasn¡¯t it universally decided that we will call him ¡®That Bastard¡¯?


    -Where did you come from? Under the rock? Why don¡¯t you know the trend?


    -The reason why people now call him I Love Gimbap is because most of the people who called him ¡®That Bastard¡¯ have been killed.


    -LMAOOOO


    -Well, looking at it now, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s that bad. He voluntarily prevents confusion and distributes the supplies that he might even be able to use all for himself. Who can do that?


    -It is said that there are more than 150 people gathering on the upper floors of the time shelter right now.


    -WOAH! There¡¯s no zombie raid happening?


    -That¡¯s what I find odd. There are some monsters around the area, but there are no zombies or ghouls.


    -I am currently at Gwangju¡¯s time shelter. Ask me anything you guys are curious about!


    -Have you seen I Love Gimbap? Is he tall?


    -He is tall and has a wide shoulder. His ¡®chili¡¯ looks great too.


    -Really?


    -Well, tall people usually have big ¡®chili¡¯.


    -Anyway, at first, he gathered people in the area to talk about the distribution. At that time, the atmosphere was heavy. But, there¡¯s this one bastard who challenged Gimbap to a fight.


    -That bastard is crazy. Didn¡¯t he know that I Love Gimbap has more than 10 confirmed kills all by himself inside a labyrinth?


    -The labyrinth case is not so well known because all the parties involved were dead and the auction items filled with their convos were taken down.


    -The man who challenged I Love Gimbap was someone who was quite strong among those who had Physical Strengthening unique skills in this area. However, he was beaten brutally by Gimbap. It wasn¡¯t even a fight.


    -*chills*


    -Well, if it¡¯s I Love Gimbap, wouldn¡¯t he already have werewolf¡¯s skill?


    -He didn¡¯t turn on the werewolf¡¯s skill. His eyes didn¡¯t turn red.


    ¨C What? He didn¡¯t even activate the werewolf¡¯s skill and can still beat people with Physical Strengthening unique skill?


    -Just how high are his stats?


    -I don¡¯t know¡­ But his one punch will probably kill a guy like me, right?


    -Yeap


    ¨C Probably.


    The supplies distribution event in Gwangju¡¯s time shelter left a big impression on the Auction House. Afterall, hundreds of people had gathered just for one reason, supplies. But miraculously, not a single person died. An impossible achievement had been achieved.


    Naturally, Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok of the government shelter also paid attention to this.


    ¡°If I gave you about ten awakeners, can you do something like that?¡±


    Lee Beom-seok shook his head at Jang Won-taek¡¯s question.


    ¡°You have to give me at least 30 people¡­¡±


    Back in the normal world, something like ¡®orderly distribution¡¯ was something which could be easily achieved even with a small number of watchful eyes. However, that¡¯s simply because the law is still active. The current age was an apocalyptic one; a world where strength is everything. In these kinds of times, even simple things could easily agitate people. On top of that, if there¡¯s someone who had killed other people twice, murderer event will occur immediately. If such an event occurred in a narrow time shelter, the mess it would cause was easy to tell.


    ¡°By the way, it¡¯s surprising that there are no zombies at all there. Did Seongho bring the totem with him?¡± Jang Won-taek said as he looked at the report with an unsure expression on his face.


    ¡°Its scope of application is a bit odd. From what we know, the totem only covers the size of a house, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Our Geom-in must have improved it.¡±


    ¡°Well, the last time I saw it, it wasn¡¯t this different. It was just left unattended.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a bit odd.¡± Jang Won-taek straightened his posture. So, was Kang Seongho the one responsible for the improvements? But, didn¡¯t Geom-in boasted that amongst the stagnant waters, he¡¯s the only one who knows about the totem?


    ¡°I¡¯m now certain that Seongho was assisted by someone¡­¡±


    ¡°Or maybe his abilities are just that good.¡±


    ¡°It could be.¡±


    Jang Won-taek fiddled with the report in frustration. If there was one person like Kang Seongho helping him, things would be really easy. Afterall, he solved all difficult tasks easily. Of course, all of his achievements could be said as a result of his unique skill. However, that is definitely not all of it. Jang Won-taek believed so.


    After a while, Lee Beom-seok reported.


    ¡°It looks like the distribution is over. The last person who received the ration had come out and informed the Auction House of the progress.¡±


    ¡°What about the leftovers?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s almost non-existent.¡±


    Jang Won-taek¡¯s eyebrows twitched. ¡°Strange¡­ From what I recall, the supplies stored there were something that would not run out just because a hundred or dozen people took it.¡±


    The time shelter project was a matter that he had directly planned and ordered to be. Therefore, he knew that there was enough food for at least 500 people stocked in there. So, he couldn¡¯t be anymore confused to hear that it had all disappeared.


    ¡°People who come in the middle of the event said all in all there are close to 200 people taking the supplies.¡±


    Jang Won-taek, who went directly to the Auction House and checked the comments, burst out laughing.


    ¡°That guy really¡­ He took all the leftovers.¡±


    ¡°It seems like he took the supplies in the middle of the distribution so that people wouldn¡¯t be suspicious.¡±


    ¡°Not a lot of people know that he is someone who had space ability. If he wants to keep it under wraps, he has no choice but to be careful.¡±


    Jang Won-taek shook his head. He should let it pass and think of it as a fee for delivering the food safely. Though, the fee was a bit high for his liking.


    Lee Beom-seok presented a new report at that moment. ¡°Seongho left a comment. He¡¯s asking for what you promised.¡±


    ¡°Of course we have to give it, but¡­ ask him if he¡¯s willing to take on another shelter first.¡±


    Not only in Gwangju, survivors in other cities were also trying to open the time shelter in their areas. They were inspired by the Cheonnam National University¡¯s time shelter. Of course, they were all having a hard time because the triple sealing doors of the time shelter were incredibly strong. They don¡¯t know that the opening of Cheonnam National University¡¯s time shelter was the result of dozens of days of power struggle. The number of Chinese who died at the entrance alone would be more than a dozen.


    As there were so many requests from people, it was worth considering opening a time shelter early. If Kang Seongho could lead the process¡­


    However, his reaction wasn¡¯t something Jang Won-taek hoped for.


    -Didn¡¯t you say that your side will do the rest?


    -I proposed again because I¡¯m feeling greedy after looking at your results. No one died. How did you do it?


    -No one died? There¡¯s few people who died, though¡­


    -There is? I haven¡¯t seen such a report¡­


    -Ah¡­ It seems like no one had found their body yet. Some people were attacked by monsters while trying to steal rations from people who came from the time shelter.


    ¡®Will something like this happen again?¡¯ Jang Won-taek lay down on his chair in despair. It seems that the people who died have come to the conclusion that they do not want to stand in line to receive rations and resorted to stealing it from other people. The problem was that Kang Seongho had calculated up to that point. Although it was not revealed to the public, it was likely that Choi Da-jeong was moving in his shadow.


    This is really¡­


    The government shelter had made several efforts to preserve the population. But in the end, there¡¯s still several deaths. Now, should he think that it¡¯s fortunate that the majority of survivors got their share of supplies without any major problems? Or should he dwell on the fact that it didn¡¯t proceed as peacefully as he wanted?


    When Jang Won-taek lost in his thoughts, Seongho urged.


    -So where¡¯s the location?


    Jang Won-taek had promised him, so he couldn¡¯t help it. He looked around him and entered the comment.


    -There it is. You¡¯ll instantly recognize it when you arrive there. But, Seongho. Are you really unwilling to take on another shelter?


    -I¡¯m tired of dealing with people. And no matter how free we are, we can¡¯t cover all the shelters.


    ¡®Well, that¡¯s indeed correct¡­¡¯ Therefore, he had no choice but to cooperate with the clans in each region to bring an orderly distribution. Though, he doubts they will follow his will.


    The conversation was over and Lee Beom-seok organized the report. ¡°The whale got involved in the shrimp fight and ate the things they were fighting for.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that what whales do? We can only hope they are not present on the next big thing that will happen in the future.¡±


    Though, it was unknown whether the whale would move according to the will of this side or not. After all, the whale was ginormous and violent.


    Jang Won-taek smiled bitterly and closed his eyes.


    .


    .


    .


    Our next destination was the shipyard in Gunsan. There, I was hoping to secure as much iron powder as possible before going to the military base. Of course, I¡¯m the only one who moved. Da-jeong was locked inside the portal to secure the area around the shelter area. That wasn¡¯t the only reason, though. If Da-jeong also moved, the ghouls were bound to follow her. It was too eye-catching for his liking.


    ¡°Right? Dingo.¡±


    King-!!


    The guy barked and walked next to me. He now boasts a size comparable to Dingsoon. His cute appearance of a baby wolf was almost gone. Now it was clear that he¡¯s going to be a great wolf.


    He eats a lot and poops a lot, but I¡¯m glad he came out of the shelter to do it. By the way, these days, the two wolves were said to be quite unusual¡­ According to Dajeong, they often went out together. On top of it, their expression of affection, such as rubbing the body, has increased a lot. Maybe we¡¯ll see a few babies soon.


    ¡°Dingo, I wish you could eat as much as you want and have as many babies as you want.¡±


    Kieng?


    It sounded to me that he¡¯s saying ¡®That¡¯s a no-brainer!¡¯


    I headed north along the national road with him. On the way, I stopped for a second and took out a shelf from the portal. After several minutes, it was still intact. Smiling as I thought the corrosive disease had subsided, I applied some strength to it. Unfortunately, it broke down under my power. Looks like I need to wait for at least one more month.


    In the evening, just before the sun set, I opened the portal on a quiet roadside and entered the shelter. Inside the shelter, I saw Da-jeong watching a drama show while lying on the mattress in her underwear. From what I know, that drama is boring¡­ Why the hell is she watching it?


    ¡°How¡¯s work going?¡± I asked while taking off my clothes.


    ¡°It¡¯s all over. We can start building the hut tomorrow.¡±


    Oh! it¡¯s already over!


    When I went outside the cave, I saw that the vacant lot had been greatly expanded. The moats and barriers were no longer there, replaced by ghouls on guard.


    After I finished checking, I washed up and laid down on the mattress. At that moment, Da-jeong put her feet on my belly.


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s roast some spam.¡±


    Originally, there were quite a lot of stockpiles in the shelter, but now, it grows even more after we hit a jackpot on the time shelter. The amount of spam alone will be enough to fill a small bathroom to the brim.


    ¡°NOOO! I ate too much spam lately. I want to eat something different.¡± Da-jeong whined.


    To think there will be someone refusing to eat spam in an apocalypse because they were bored¡­


    Well, to be honest, I was also tired of roasting spam and eating it with rice. So, maybe I had to catch some crabs in the sea and make them into soup?


    But Da-jeong turns out to have another idea.


    ¡°I want to eat bread! breeeeaaaaad!!¡±


    ¡°Bread? How do I make that?¡±


    The necessary ingredients to make it were available in the shelter there, but to make bread, too many things needed to be done. In other words, it was a pain in the ass. On top of that, I¡¯d never done real baking before.


    As I reacted, she rolled over my body.


    ¡°I did all the work you told me to do!! Bread!!!! I want bread!!!!¡±


    ¡°I have to make a fire pit to make bread. It¡¯s too much work¡­¡±


    ¡°I saw a rice cooker in the warehouse. We can just use that.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t use it because it consumes so much power.¡±


    Even if all electronics in the shelter were turned off, the available power was only enough to run one computer. So, it was far from enough to power the power-hungry rice cooker.


    ¡°I will make the dough. Can we do it together?¡± Da-jeong suggested in a pleading tone.


    If you did that, my stance would naturally shift. Because in all honesty, I also want to eat proper bread. There¡¯s a lot of jam stockpiled, but eating it with only biscuits every time was boring and bland.


    While I was searching for a video about making bread on my laptop, Da-jeong was stuck on my back.


    ¡°It is said that there is a bread which will make you full for 10 months if you eat it in this world.¡± Da-jeong said. This is another of her brainwashing attempts. However, I ignored her.


    We stayed silent as we studied baking. It was fortunate that I had stockpiled a lot of yeast. Otherwise, we would only be able to eat hard bread.


    I got up and shook Da-jeong off my back.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this. You have to make the dough, though.¡±


    ¡°I can use Hwajo eggs to substitute the regular eggs¡­ is there no butter here?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s none. It all rotted.¡± The margarine had also become moldy and could not be eaten.


    Da-jeong pointed to the sterilized milk she had kept on her side.


    ¡°Let¡¯s make butter with that.¡±


    ¡°If you make butter with that, you wouldn¡¯t be able to move tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°R-really?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really hard work to make butter. I won¡¯t stop you if you want to try. Just don¡¯t whine afterwards.¡±


    I could say so because I had watched someone make butter in the medieval way on MeTube. Frightened, Da-jeong gave up on making butter and proceeded to make the dough.


    ¡°Why, is, this, so, hard, AHHHHHHHHH!¡± screams of frustration echoed in the cave after a few minutes passed since Dajeong started to knead the dough.


    Well, it was not the end yet. She has to knead for at least 30 minutes. I smiled and went into preparation. What I had to do wasn¡¯t easy either. I had to do a cumbersome task of stacking bricks and coating them with mortar to prevent the heat from leaking out. Still, I was able to make quite a bit of progress by working while referring to the video.


    As I glanced around the cave, all kinds of swear words came out. It¡¯s really a talent to fight such a battle against a dough. Anyway, Da-jeong finished making the dough. The only thing left was to let the dough rest to ferment.


    When the day was getting darker, the dough was finally fermented. Therefore, we continue the next step. Meanwhile, the scarabs and the stag beetles watched our work from the sidelines.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this much work crazy just to make a single bread?¡±


    Nod nod.


    It¡¯s hard to eat a piece of bread in the apocalypse. The brightside was that the fermentation time was short because the day was hot. I pressed the dough with a rolling pin, shaped it and put it into a mold. Now, we only need to put it in an oven to bake.


    Heat rose in the oven, and Da-jeong and I watched from a distance. Next to us were Dingo, Dingsoon, the scarabs, and the stag beetles. Seems like they were all curious to see what kind of food will come out.


    So do I, to be honest.


    Da-jeong rested her head on my shoulder. ¡°Thanks to my husband, I will be able to eat bread in the apocalypse.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m your husband?¡±


    ¡°You are not?¡±


    I glanced at her face. Well, after living together like this, It¡¯s hard to deny it now.


    After some time passed, the time had finally come. When I put the fire off and pulled out the mold, the lusciously swollen bread was revealed.


    Dajeong¡¯s mouth opened wide at that moment.


    ¡°Wow¡­ the smell is no joke.¡±


    It was the first time I realized that freshly made bread had such a savory smell. The reason the bakery doesn¡¯t smell like this was probably because there were so many kinds of bread cluttered there.


    The bread in front of us was by no means luxurious, but it was enough to impress us. I brought several kinds of jam and set it right beside the bread. Dingo and Dingsoon have always wanted to eat the same food as us, but they shouldn¡¯t eat this.


    ¡°It¡¯s bread~ It¡¯s bread~ It¡¯s good for the body and tastes good~¡±


    Da-jeong cuts the bread and spreads a lot of jam while she hums. When she put it on her mouth and chewed it, the smile that bloomed on her face made my heart feel reassured.


    Before I took my pieces, I brought meat, jellies, and fruit for the other.


    When I finally put the piece of bread in my mouth, the others also start to eat. Even when our food was different, the feeling of happiness we all felt seems to be the same.


    The day passed like that, and I continued to head north to reach Gunsan. I went to the shipyard, packed a lot of iron powder, and headed to the military base.


    ¡°It¡¯s very big¡­¡± I mused as I arrived at the military base. Well, it¡¯s only natural because it was a unified headquarters of the three military forces.


    When I opened the portal, Da-jeong came out with the ghouls.


    ¡°We have arrived. Where¡¯s the bunker?¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­¡¤¡±


    When I was about to look at the map, a roar suddenly rang out. It was a roar I had never heard before.


    What a grand welcome we got¡­

 Chapter 144

    (T/N a little bit of insight into what Gyeryongdae is. ¡°Gyeryong is a city in southeastern South Chungcheong province, South Korea. The city was created in 2003, by a split from Nonsan City, following prolonged local agitation.


    Approximately half (47%) of the city¡¯s inhabitants are either serving in the South Korean armed forces, or are family of service members. The city hosts several major Korean and international military conferences. It was around 1993 that this area, which was a typical rural area, turned into the best military location in Korea. A large-scale military facility was opened with the relocation of Gyeryongdae from 1989 to 1993, and military families from all over the country were introduced. In 1989, the Army and Air Force headquarters first moved to Gyeryongdae. Four years later, the navy headquarters was completed in 191993.¡±


    -Wikipedia


    The place¡¯s basically a military city of South Korea, where people who have a family member(s) working in the army lives, while also being the core city for all military-related things in South Korea.)


    Even though Da-jeong and I had just heard the fancy welcome roar, Gyeryongdae, for how big it was, was overall too silent. Only after we explored for quite some time did we understand why. There¡¯s no survivor in this city at all.


    ¡°How can it be this deserted?¡±


    ¡°I know, right?¡±


    Maybe it had something to do with whatever monster the roar we heard earlier originated from.


    As the ray of sunlight dissipated from the sky, we went into a dormitory near the main office. Our real hideout was the shelter beyond the portal, so this dormitory was just a camouflage to hide the fact from whatever out there which could see.


    Da-jeong shook off the dust on the bed and sat down.


    ¡°Looks like it would be fine for us to sleep here.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. But just don¡¯t forget to cover the mattress with a blanket first before sleeping on it.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Da-jeong nodded. ¡°What are you going to do now?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go look for the restaurant and the PX. Since this place is big, there should be something left.¡± (T/N PX is Post Exchange.)


    When Da-jeong heard my words, she chuckled as a fed-up face blossomed on her face. The moment Da-jeong stopped chuckling and opened her mouth, the very same roar we heard earlier could be heard again.


    ¡°Seongho. Have you ever heard that roar before?¡±


    ¡°No, this is my first time hearing it.¡± Normally, by just hearing the roar, I could tell what kind of monster it was. However, it is not the case with this one, even though I¡¯ve heard and remembered countless different howls and roars from countless types of monsters from my 5000-hours-long playtime.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s an ogre, but it sounds a bit similar.¡±


    ¡°If it was ogre, it would be a mess.¡± I shook my head at Da-jeong¡¯s words, hoping it wasn¡¯t the case. Ogre was an enormous monster, so it could be easily seen from a distance. Along with its size, it was also powerful. Therefore, with our current state, there¡¯s no way we could defeat it. So, we must run away if we even get a glimpse of it.


    Though, it still makes me think. Can I win against it if I fight it with tier 3 skills and equip myself with tier 3 equipment?


    But unlike back in the game, in this reality, I have guns too. The only question was how many bullets it would take to kill an ogre¡­


    Putting my curious thoughts to the back of my head, I left the dormitory and headed to the main office. As soon as I walked past the entrance, darkness warped around me. I couldn¡¯t see anything in front of me. Only when I ate the shadow grape was I able to see the surroundings once again, albeit only vaguely.


    ¡°The PX is¡­ There it is.¡± I wandered around the room and picked out several useful things.


    ¡°There are a lot of cigarettes here, surprisingly.¡± Selling it to some survivors who are once smokers and yearns to have a smoke in the apocalypse would surely earn me a lot of points. Of course, I¡¯ll give some to Hyung-jun Hyung as well. I packed all the cigarettes and put them inside the shelter. Other than that, there¡¯s no something life-changing. At most, there¡¯s just daily necessities, cosmetics, and groceries lying around.


    ¡°There¡¯s some MSG powder too here, huh?¡± I smiled. It¡¯s something which could turn a dish, no matter how bad the taste is, into something that is edible in the least. So, a great finding.


    I took everything I could bring. And as soon as I threw it all into the portal, the store was empty.


    No matter how many times I do it, it always feels the same¡­


    ¡°Farming is so much fun.¡± It feels really great to be able to get my hands on the last legacies of mankind. In a few years, no one won¡¯t even be able to see some of these things¡­ Except for me. Mankind would surely make a substitute for it, but it won¡¯t be as convenient and useful as the items of the modern era.


    ¡°Where is the restaurant¡­¡± A building this large should have several restaurants. And since this building was a place where a lot of people with stars on their shoulders gathered, the quality of the ingredients should¡¯ve been near the top of the spectrum.


    Of course, most of them would¡¯ve rotted already, but those which were sealed in vacuum-packaging had a long shelf life. So, there should be something I could get.


    I wandered aimlessly around the main office and finally found the restaurant in the basement. Although no signs could be seen anywhere, anyone could tell that it was a restaurant just by looking at the arrangement of tables and chairs.


    As soon as I entered the double door leading to the kitchen, there were quite a lot of vacuum-packed dry ingredients on the floor.


    ¡°¡­But what is this smell?¡± I wrinkled my nose and grabbed the vacuum-packed dry ingredients. The smell of rotting food was just so bad that my head went dizzy while I was taking the supplies. And when I was about to loot whatever that was stored in the warehouse, a terrible sight came into my view.


    ¡°¡­¡± In front of me were piles of corpses composed of various monsters such as goblins, kobolds, orcs, werewolves, lizardmen¡­ and some body parts which I believed belonged to the keepers¡¯, being piled up like a small mountain. My whole body froze.


    ¡°DAMMIT!!!¡± I screamed as I stormed out of the room. I could proudly say that I was very, very familiar with the apocalypse, but this was the first time I¡¯d seen such a terrible sight. There was no way monsters would entered the warehouse and committed suicide on their own whim, so it was clear that someone, or something, had piled them up like that on purpose.


    As I was about to leave the restaurant, the building shook. From the dark hallway in front of the restaurant, I could hear sounds of thumping. With every thump and vibration, the sound grows louder and louder.


    Without thinking about anything anymore, I immediately opened the portal and threw my body inside. After several more sounds of thumping, the creature finally showed itself. It was a humanoid monster that was over 2 meters tall, with limbs so long that it almost touched the ground. From its opened mouth, a lot of jagged teeth similar to shark teeth could be seen.


    ¡°What in the f*cking world is that!!!¡± My eyes went wide at the monster. In my long playtime at Survival Life, it was my first time seeing such a monster. Judging by the fact that its eyes were closed, I could infer that it has very poor eyesight, or maybe none at all, which in turn would enhance its other senses. And as there were not even a single scar on his body, the guy seemed to have some kind of regenerative skills.


    The guy walked around the restaurant as its nose twitched.


    Did it smell me?


    ¡°Your name will be Sniffles from now on.¡± For an obvious reason, I would call it ¡®Sniffles¡¯ because it was sniffing around.


    The guy went into the kitchen. After a while, a sound of something chewing on something could be heard. Seems like it was eating the corpses of monsters. The warehouse full of monsters might have been his food storage warehouse.


    ¡°If I attack it now¡­ no.¡± This place was too small and enclosed. Moreover, I don¡¯t even know what kind of abilities it had. My previous conjecture about its abilities was not enough to make me move forward confidently.


    I cautiously left the portal. And then the room becomes dead silent. The sound of the ravenous eating stopped. It could only mean one thing: the guy¡¯s hearing was also good, good enough to hear my small footsteps.


    As I stormed out of the restaurant and ran up the stairs, I heard Sniffles running behind me. I climbed the stairs, ran to the entrance, and opened the portal at the same time. When I landed on the mattress in the cave and promptly positioned my body to look at the situation, I saw Sniffles sniffling the portal.


    ¡°Seriously!¡± I got fed up and closed the portal at the terrible sight. After a while, I opened the portal again and saw the guy walking around with its back turned against me. It seems like after some time, it loses track of the portal.


    ¡°I want to spank that butt.¡± As I couldn¡¯t resist the temptation, I went out of the cave. I loaded the bolt into the ballista, opened the portal again, and aimed at him.


    ¡°Eat this, and let¡¯s see if you can survive.¡±


    When the improved trigger was pulled, the bolt fired at an amazing speed. As the bolt found its mark¨CSniffles¡¯ butt, the monster turned its head towards the portal.


    However, contrary to my expectations, sniffles slowly rose to its feet and pulled out the bolt. The wound, which was around the size of a finger, healed at a considerable pace as it did so.


    ¡°This is crazy.¡±


    Just how strong is its regeneration ability? With that speed, it was definitely not a normal regeneration ability, which could only mean that it was a higher level one.


    Sniffles turned its body and walked towards my direction. I knew the portal wouldn¡¯t break from the monster¡¯s attack, but I was frankly afraid. As it stood in front of the portal, it began to look around. And then suddenly, it stretched out its arm.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    I was startled and involuntarily took a step back. The guy touched the portal as if it was stroking something precious. Then, all of a sudden, thorns came out of its palm.


    Creaaak-!!


    Fortunately, the thorns could not penetrate the portal and only pushed Sniffles away. The guy roared as more thorns came out from his entire body like a hedgehog.


    I shut the portal down at that moment.


    ¡°¡­a really terrifying guy appeared.¡±


    It attacked using the thorns coming out from its long arms. And its defense was also strong because of the thorns sprouting all over his body. If one was caught by it, whoever it is would be fatally wounded.


    When I opened the portal again after waiting for a while, the guy was nowhere to be seen. When I was about to walk outside the portal, a thought which made me freeze on my trails, passed through my head.


    What if it is hiding behind or in the blind side of the portal?


    I felt goosebumps all over my body at that moment.


    Instead of going outside straight outside, I went to my arsenal and took a rifle. I also went to the warehouse to take a single potato. Once I was in front of the portal once again, I threw it outside. As expected, Sniffles ran towards it.


    ¡°I thought so, you bastard.¡±


    Tatatang-!!


    I pulled the rifle¡¯s trigger and barraged the monsters with bullets. After the fifth bullet hit its body, sniffles whined. However, contrary to its voice, the guy looked to another place as if it had not suffered any fatal injuries.


    With what it just showed me, I became certain that at the very least, it had 2 high rank abilities.


    As if it realized that it wasn¡¯t strong enough, it started to run away to the main office entrance.


    It was proof for me that it had a semblance of intelligence.


    Tatatata-!!


    One magazine was emptied, but after the guy ran into the main office, no more bullets hit it. It didn¡¯t even show itself anymore.


    ¡°It¡¯s a completely crazy monster.¡± The guy didn¡¯t seem to have taken any damage even when it was shot, so I couldn¡¯t think of a way to deal with it as of now.


    Is there a skill that gives one the ability to take less damage from penetration attacks?


    ¡°But close combat is also dangerous.¡± The speed at which it reached with its arms was too fast. Ordinary people would be dragged and pierced by its thorns without even realizing it. I do have the Hard Skin skill, but I couldn¡¯t be 100% confident that it would hold up.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back for now.¡± I waited a few more minutes, then cautiously got out and ran to the dormitory. Da-jeong was baffled as to why I came back so late, but her eyes widened when she heard my story.


    ¡°Has there ever been such a monster in the game?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I shook my head. ¡°And it looks like the main office is in its area, which is problematic for us, since the bunker entrance is in the middle of the main office too. We have to kill it if we want to get in.¡±


    ¡°Shall we send the ghouls?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t. They will all die. Trust me.¡±


    ¡°Really? If nothing works, that means there¡¯s no way to get in at all!¡±


    Well, we just need to find a way to kill it starting from now.


    .


    .


    .


    Because the dormitory was too close to the main office, we decided to move away from it. And after settling down on the new hideout, Da-jeong sent a single reinforced ghoul of hers to look for the Sniffles. When the ghoul encountered it, Da-jeong couldn¡¯t be any more surprised.


    ¡°What the f*ck is that? What kind of monster is that?¡±


    According to her, the reinforced zombie was torn to pieces by the guy in the blink of an eye. Solidifying my conjecture that it was a monster which was incredibly agile and powerful.


    ¡°The entrance to the bunker is blocked by a three-layer security door. It will take quite a while to break through.¡±


    ¡°In the meantime, sniffles would be running around¡­¡±


    ¡°Reinforced zombies are too weak to even hold a ground against it, and ghouls don¡¯t even last very long¡­¡±


    The bulky ghoul and the few grasshopper ghouls might be able to survive for some time. But in the end, it will be torn to pieces¨Cdead. They were hard to find and it would take a long time to nurture them to the peak of their ability, so we should not throw them away uselessly like that.


    Da-jeong sent two more reinforced zombies to observe Sniffles.


    ¡°¡­Its arms are really long. Almost over ten meters long.¡±


    It¡¯s not some kind of rubber, so why is it so long¡­


    ¡°The thorns are also no joke. The reinforced zombie died in one shot.¡±


    Which means, it¡¯s questionable whether my Hard Skin skill will hold or not.


    ¡°The pepper bomb ¡­ is effective, but for only about 3 seconds.¡±


    In summary, it was a monster possessing unimaginable agility, attack power, defense and a highly developed sense of smell and hearing. From the looks of it, paralysis poison didn¡¯t seem to work on it either.


    There¡¯s no answer of how we should attack the guy, really.


    ¡°It seems like the reason why there were no monsters here was because the Sniffles killed them all.¡± Da-jeong muttered. Her voice was shaking, proof that she¡¯s nervous. I don¡¯t blame her. After all, we are in the position of an aggressor who was about to attack its territory in order to occupy the bunker.


    It seemed impossible to kill him with the weapon he had. However, I still hoped that a heavy weapon could do the job.


    ¡°For example, weapons like anti-tank rockets¡­¡±


    ¡°Where can we get something like that?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s probably one in the bunker.¡±


    I contacted the government shelter and requested a list of weapons stored in the bunker. It was the Chief of Staff, the guy called Lee Beom-seok, who answered my question by telling me that I would know as soon as I entered, but when I mentioned Sniffles, his attitude took a U-turn.


    -Its name is Sniffles?


    -I just named it so because the guy likes to sniff around. By the way, it isn¡¯t a monster created by the government, right?


    -What are you talking about! The apocalypse has nothing to do with us. Please wait a moment.


    After a while, Jang Won-taek appeared in the comment section. I talked with this old man often these days. But since every time we talked, it can be said that I was always taking something away from him, our relationship couldn¡¯t be said as a good one. Though, it was not a bad one either.


    -To think that such monsters exist¡­ You really haven¡¯t seen such monsters in the game too?


    -There are two stagnant waters in your shelter, right? Ask them yourself.


    After a while, the aforementioned two appeared. As soon as he heard the story, Seokhyun¡¯s enthusiasm raged. He declared he wants to fight it once by himself.


    -Seokhyun¡­ I think it would be hard to kill it, even if the four of us cooperated and attacked it together. We must have a tier 3 weapon or something else to beat it.


    -Something else like what?


    The one who asked was Geom-in.


    Instead of answering, I pushed Jang Won-taek about the list.


    -I¡¯m trying to kill the Sniffles here, so give me the list quickly, Mister President.


    -We are looking for it now. Can you please share more info about the Sniffles with me in the meantime?


    This guy was trying to get the information for free from me. I wanted to refuse in all honesty, but since I had a lot to gain with this transaction, I decided to just share the information.


    -That monster, Sniffles, was much taller than a human¡­ and its arms can stretch like rubber, up to probably somewhere around ten meters long. It doesn¡¯t have eyes, but its sense of hearing and smell was very well developed. Its stamina is also something to note¡­


    When I talked about its strength and characteristics, everyone in the conversation lamented. Seokhyun was the only one who was different; he still showed his eagerness to have a bout with it.


    -Seems like it was really strong. I want to see it!


    -You¡¯ll die. You should save some points.


    -Seongho, I have put the list on the Auction House.


    When I went back to the list of the auctioned items, I found that the document was priced at 100 points. Those guys really¡­ They were true money-pinchers.


    When I bought and read the document, a smile bloomed on my face without me knowing. Da-jeong, who looked at me from the side, tilted her head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about guns since I¡¯m a Miphil. So please tell me..¡±


    ¡°But you are a woman?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡±


    (T/N: Miphil (miphilja) a man who is exempted from his military duty.


    This word has a negative feeling and meaning. In Korea, all men do their military duty and they have to serve in the military for 2 years unless they have any critical physical or mental disorder. So many Korean men think that if someone didn¡¯t do their military duty, they have ¡®something wrong¡¯ and are weak men.)


    Hand grenades, grenade launchers, and anti-tank weapons stood out in the list. Considering Sniffles¡¯ ability to block bullets as if it was nothing, a grenade wouldn¡¯t be enough. Thus making the hand grenades and the grenade launcher out of the option.


    I¡¯m sure an anti-tank weapon will do the job. The problem is that, to use such a powerful weapon, I would have to break through the triple security door first.


    -Is there any way to pass through the security gate besides breaking it?


    -I¡¯m sorry, but there isn¡¯t.


    -I mean, why? Besides being built so strongly, the entrance itself is hidden¡­


    -We have a lot of dangerous firearms inside, so we need it to be strong. Wouldn¡¯t it be a problem if some civilian took it?


    My conscience was pricked at Jang won-taek¡¯s words because it sounded like he was talking about me.


    Meanwhile, Seokhyun¡­


    -I really want to fight it! Can you do something?


    Well¡­ At this point, making Seokhyun come here and letting him enter my shelter was a good option. But there¡¯s no need to make him come this far¡­


    Or maybe there is¡­


    I needed someone to buy time for the scarabs to break through the three layers of protection. The ghouls were not enough, so it would be great if Seokhyun came forward. But there¡¯s no way he could get here from Seoul alone¡­


    At that moment, I remembered someone: Mikyung. The world was still too dangerous for her, but with Seokhyun, she would at least be safe.


    -Seokhyun-ah, can you call Mikyung? No no no, sorry, that¡¯s a mistake. Let Geom-in do it for you


    -Uh, wait a minute.


    Sigh¡­ It¡¯s a big incident avoided.


    After a while, Mikyung came and told me that the three had moved to another place. Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok must be upset. But oh well¡­


    We changed to our ¡®item¡¯ and started the talk.


    -You want me to go to Daejeon with Seokhyun ahjussi? But it¡¯s still cold¡­


    -Not in Daejeon, but in Gyeryongdae. Seokhyun will carry you out of Seoul. And from there, you can blink until you arrive here.


    Her blink¡¯s range was about 1km. It couldn¡¯t be used consecutively, but since Mikyung was pretty high leveled, I thought it would be doable for her.


    -Well¡­


    She pondered for a long time before answering.


    -If I work harder than usual, I think we will be able to get there in one day.


    -Give her a solar apple. I¡¯ve been fighting with her, and having them will help her.


    -What is a solar apple?


    Seems like she doesn¡¯t know about it. I proceed to explain what a solar apple is and its relation to her blink¡¯s drawback. Once I was done, I picked some solar apples and winter strawberries, and put them up for auction.


    -Wow, what a strange strawberry¡­


    -If you eat it, you won¡¯t feel that cold. And eat the solar apple when you¡¯re feeling tired.


    -Oppa, will you cook me something delicious?


    If that¡¯s what I should do to get her help, I would surely do that. Thankfully, I still remembered what she liked.


    -I¡¯ll make tteokbokki for you.


    Though it wouldn¡¯t be an authentic tteokbokki since I don¡¯t have any rice cake and oden stored in my warehouse.


    -Seokhyun ahjussi, let¡¯s go now!


    -Shall I go too?


    Geom-in asked.


    Well¡­ Even if he could keep up with Mi-kyung, his strength wouldn¡¯t be helpful in the fight, to be honest. So I think it¡¯s not yet his time to hunt with me.


    When I declined his offer, he seemed a little disappointed.


    -Let¡¯s hunt together later.


    -O-okay.

 Chapter 145

    ¡°But, wouldn¡¯t it be better if Geom-in came too? I mean, while at it, we can invite him to the forest shelter.¡± Da-jeong said. However, even though her words sounded like she was being considerate, her underlying tone didn¡¯t sound the same. Looks like she was protesting about being forced to build the cabin alone.


    ¡°We can¡¯t let him enter yet. After all, that guy is a shelter fanatic. I bet he will never want to go out again once he goes in there.¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°Well¡­yeah, that guy is like that, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°That place is a fantasy world. He can build his own shelter and procure supplies whenever he wants. On top of that, there¡¯s also a computer there, so it must be heaven for him.¡±


    As I said that, I received a request from Jang Won-taek¡¯s Chief of Staff, Lee Beom-seok. Seems like they couldn¡¯t imagine the appearance of the monster just from listening to my explanation.


    -This¡­Sniffles monster, can you please draw its appearance? And can you please mark where the thorns came out from? We¡¯ll pay for the information. The more detailed the description, the more we will pay.


    I gave in at his demand and drew a picture in my notebook before giving it to Da-jeong,


    ¡°AHAHAHAHAHAHAH!! What the hell is this! Did you just draw a stickman?? Hahaha!¡±


    Well yeah¡­ Whenever I draw a humanoid figure, for some strange reason it always becomes a stickman.


    ¡°It should be enough, though.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s someone who used to work for the government, so he should want to know the details.¡±


    In other words, he¡¯s a picky bastard.


    As I was about to give up, I remembered that the scarabs were good painters. If they draw them nicely, I could sell it at a high price¡­


    When I told Da-jeong about the idea, she pinched both of my cheeks. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what¡¯s called ¡®exploitation¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I mean, I did get points, but the scarabs got to feel special, didn¡¯t they? So it¡¯s a long-term benefit for both of us.¡±


    ¡°Yeah right.¡± Da-jeong snorted. ¡°You just want to earn points using their skill.¡±


    It¡¯s true that I am greedy, but that¡¯s too blatant. But to be honest, there¡¯s a better way to earn points rather than using the scarab¡¯s drawing skill. It was by selling everything I could find inside the portal. The sea, forest, meadow, valley, and the snowy mountains were all overflowing with things that could easily be converted into points. If I process them and sell them, I would be swimming in points to the point I would not have to be envious of Da-jeong.


    The problem is, it takes too much time. I only have one body, so slaughtering wild boars all day would be a waste of time. Therefore, I would have to hire someone I can trust.


    For now, let¡¯s focus on the task at hand. Before the two arrive, I must finish securing the picture and figure out Sniffles¡¯ weaknesses. Of course, if we have an anti-tank weapon, I wouldn¡¯t need to know any of its weaknesses. But I still need to know it because there would definitely be a time where the situation would force us to fight it directly.¡±


    ¡°Will the flame can work, I wonder¡­¡± Judging by its powerful regenerative ability, it seems that it wouldn¡¯t be able to kill it.


    My thoughts were only broken when Da-jeong found a printer in the corner of the cave. ¡°Is this working?¡±


    ¡°It should be.¡± Though, I wasn¡¯t sure because I had never used it from the time I looted it. From the corner of my eyes, I could see Da-jeong fiddling with a smartphone.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a picture with this and print it to try.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute.¡±


    When I turned on the printer, the light all over the cave flickered. This device consumes a lot of power¡­ Fortunately, the generator did not go out.


    When I connected the printer and the smartphone via Bluetooth, Da-jeong stuck next to me.


    ¡°Quickly!¡±


    Taking pictures was something I didn¡¯t enjoy, but let¡¯s get along with her wish for now. After pressing the shutter button and the print button, the photo was printed out. Da-jeong looked at the paper and a smile bloomed on her face in the next instance.


    Anyway, with the printer working fine, the next step was decided. I will take a picture of the Sniffles and print it out so the scarabs could draw it. At the same time, I could try using the dimensional wall and the dimensional prison against the Sniffles. Though, I doubt dimensional prison will work, as Sniffles was too tall to the point it can¡¯t seem to fit into the dimensional prison door.


    I gathered the materials and made a flame can. Let¡¯s see how long this thing will fare against Sniffles.


    .


    .


    .


    Attracting Sniffles was an easy task. We only need to walk or send something to an area near the main office and it will pop out. However, since it was so powerful, it was almost impossible to hold onto it. Among Da-jeong¡¯s rank of ghoul, a grasshopper¨Cthe highest ranked ghoul, could not last even 5 seconds against it. Whenever it jumps and attacks, Sniffles¡¯ long arm would grab its face and drag it away, and that¡¯s the end of it.


    Kiaaaaak-!!


    When the grasshopper split in half and died, Da-jeong ground her teeth.


    ¡°Fuck.¡±


    At that moment, I pointed the smartphone towards Sniffles and pressed the shutter. Once I printed it, I took it to the scarabs. Unfortunately, the only response I got was them tilting their heads.


    ¡°Have you seen this monster before?¡±


    Shake-!! Shake-!!


    It was also the case for the stag beetles as they also shake their heads.


    So just where the hell does it come from?


    For some reason, I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling of it being made by someone. After all, its little bit of intelligence, as well as its appearance looked like it was something which was made using humans as the framework.


    Anyway, taking advantage of the grasshopper taking the aggro, I was able to test various attacks. I shot bolts and guns into the Sniffles¡¯ head and even threw a flame can towards it too, but all of it failed to inflict any significant damage to it.


    And just as I expected, it couldn¡¯t even enter the dimensional prison as it was too tall and only bounced off the portal. There was also a limit to blocking him with the dimension wall. Truly a formidable monster.


    At this point, Sniffles had become cautious of me. Everytime it sees me from a distance, it runs away. If that wasn¡¯t proof it had intelligence, I don¡¯t know what is.


    I wrote everything from my observation without any exaggeration to the drawing of the scarabs.


    ¡°I think it would be okay if we also draw a picture of it using its thorns. I should also draw humans here.¡± The later part was to express how big it is.


    The three drawings and the detailed explanations were all crammed into a single A4 sheet, turning it into a comprehensive report. This end product could easily give me a good chunk of points from the government shelter.


    At that moment, Da-jeong hugged me from behind and asked me. ¡°How much will you sell it for?¡±


    ¡°500 points.¡±


    At my answer, Da-jeong¡¯s friendly touch immediately turned into a ferocious one.


    ¡°A complete scam! Die, die!¡± Da-jeong hissed.


    ¡°Keuukkk!! Your husband dies.¡±


    Her hand softened at my playful words.


    ¡°Why are you selling it that high? If it is priced at about 50 points each, a lot of people will be able to buy it.¡±


    ¡°Once the government obtains this, they will surely sell the copies for 10 points each. The price I gave is meaningless. That¡¯s why I sell it at a high price.¡±


    ¡°¡­I¡¯ll give you points, so can¡¯t you just give it to the government?¡±


    She¡¯s saying weird things¡­


    ¡°Selling it is fine no matter the price is, but giving it away is just plain stupid. Nothing is free in this world.¡± The maxim rang truer even more so in the apocalypse. My way of survival was that I had to always be vicious at all times because I didn¡¯t know when the other people would answer my kindness with bullshit.


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying this because I don¡¯t want to see you getting sweared on again.¡±


    Hearing her words, I realized that she had changed a lot. Back when we first met, my first impression of her was ¡®There¡¯s this kind of madman in this world?¡¯ but now, she was wiser, to the point of giving me advice.


    I could feel Da-jeong put more strength in her arms.


    ¡°If you ever meet someone who will surely treat your kindness with something else, you can do whatever you want. Better yet, I¡¯m going to go ahead and kill them for you. But the government shelter isn¡¯t like that, aren¡¯t they? The people there just want to help survivors and make a better place for them in the future. So, you don¡¯t have to be too strict with them.¡±


    She still doesn¡¯t know, but my judgment about government shelter was still on going. As of this moment, they were neither an enemy nor an ally to me. But her thoughts were not wrong either.


    Shall I follow Da-jeong¡¯s advice here, I wonder?


    Thinking again, it doesn¡¯t matter whether I¡¯ll get 500 points or zero points here. Just think it was a price I need to pay for drawing the bigger picture. Afterall, what would happen to my reputation if I just stole from them every time?


    ¡°Fine, fine.¡±


    Da-jeong grabbed me and kissed me at my answer.


    ¡°You thought well. Here¡¯s a reward for the obedient child.¡±


    Avoiding the incoming kiss, I called the government shelter and put the drawing in the auction for 20 points.


    -Uh, looks like you uploaded it at the wrong price¡­


    For some reason, I could see what kind of expression Lee Beom-seok made from his words alone. Just who does this guy think I am? A con artist?


    -Just buy it before I change my mind.


    ¨C Oh, yes¡­.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°What a great drawing.¡± Jang Won-taek mused as soon as he saw Seongho¡¯s report. His finger traced the outline of the monster called Sniffles as he could not contain his admiration. The degree of details contained in the drawing such as the monster¡¯s delicate muscles and its bulkiness which seemed to be able to grow bigger at any given moment was surprising. He believed that even a professional artist wouldn¡¯t be able to draw the same drawing with the same level of detail.


    ¡°Did Seongho graduate from art college?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe so. According to information, he used to run a snack bar.¡±


    ¡°Snack bar? It doesn¡¯t quite match the impression I have for him¡­¡±


    ¡°According to the members of Dot Island group, Seongho used to be fat.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Jang Won-taek asked rhetorically. ¡°Anyway, this¡­Sniffles, it¡¯s very different from what I imagined. If I hadn¡¯t seen the picture, I would never have thought that it was this kind of monster.¡±


    ¡°I also thought the same. I only thought that the thorns could only come out of its arms.¡±


    The fact that the thorns could come out from its whole body as well as its stretched parts make the expression of the two a few shades paler. On top of it, compared to the human figure which was drawn right next to it, the monster seemed to be almost 2.3 meters tall.


    Jang Won-taek tapped the paper. ¡°Is there a way to kill this guy in our current state?¡±


    ¡°Seongho said we need to use anti-tank firearms to kill it. However, pouring out a fire extinguisher will most likely incapacitate it. So, I don¡¯t know whether he¡¯s lying or not.¡±


    ¡°We will see that soon enough¡­¡±


    There is no such thing as an unbeatable monster in front of modernization, the two of them believed so. If bullets were not enough, they could use grenades. And if the grenade was not enough, they could use better weapons to kill it. However, rather than wasting bullets on just one monster, it¡¯s better to just do a single attack which does not tax their arsenal too much to kill it.


    Jang Won-taek handed the paper to Lee Beom-seok.


    ¡°How much did you pay for this?¡±


    ¡°¡­I bought it for 20 points.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Did he mistakenly upload it at the wrong price?¡±


    ¡°I thought so too, but he said it himself, the price was 20 points.¡±


    Jang Won-taek laughed at his aide¡¯s words.


    ¡°Hehe, the sun will rise in the west tomorrow!¡±


    Seongho was someone who had always tried to rip something out from them, so why did he suddenly change his mind? Of course, Jang Won-taek knew that wasn¡¯t the case.


    ¡°Maybe it means that Seongho now has the same way of thinking as us?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. As you know, to judge someone¡¯s psychology, a lot of factors need to be considered.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°We have to collect and analyze all of those things. Not only once or twice either. If we wait long enough, the reason will come out.¡±


    ¡°So for now, we will have to step back and see the reaction?¡±


    ¡°Request a couple more cooperation. We¡¯ll see the response for those too. And every time, make sure we pay enough money to let him know that we don¡¯t want to be his enemy, nor are we trying to do him dirty or something like that.¡±


    ¡°It seems like you want to walk together with him.¡±


    ¡°I am. Everyone needs to walk together, hand-in-hand in order to survive in this ruined world.¡± Jang Won-taek said vigorously. ¡°There may be, no, there will be some quarrels along the way. But it¡¯s only natural, since everyone will have ten or thousands ideas and thoughts in their heads. It would be even weirder if there¡¯s no quarrels. But quarrels should not lead to a permanent separation. Isn¡¯t humanity the prime example for being able to move while fighting and spilling a lot of blood along the way?¡±


    It was his philosophy that had never changed at all ever since he stepped into the Blue House. He disagreed a little with Seongho¡¯s radical way of doing things, but he could understand why he did that. Afterall, as someone whom the public branded as the ¡°selfish bastard who didn¡¯t want to share and took everything just for himself¡±, there must be so many people trying to put him down. When such groups of hyenas run around the meadow, the lions have no choice but to be aggressive. That¡¯s how he keeps the group away from him and his pack. That was Jang Won-taek¡¯s view of Seongho.


    (Blue House = executive office and home to South Korea¡¯s President)


    Lee Beom-seok pondered his superior¡¯s remarks for a moment, and then presented a following report to him. ¡°It has been confirmed that the Japanese have settled on Dot Island in Changwon.¡±


    ¡°Dot Island, huh? Isn¡¯t that where people from Seongho¡¯s group used to stay? Did Seongho abandon the island?¡±


    ¡°I think there was some kind of agreement that took place shortly before they left. According to the information I got from the two high school students, there¡¯s someone who comes from the royal family there.¡±


    ¡°Did they all come from the same family line?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know yet. We will know only when Captain Kim comes into contact with them.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not a Captain anymore, he¡¯s a Major.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right.¡±


    Not long ago, when Kim returned to the shelter, Jang Won-taek promoted him to the rank of Major. Others might laugh at his antics as the current time was an apocalypse, a time where law and constitution had died. However, it was still important to Jang Won-taek. The more people have a sense of belonging to the government shelter, the easier it is to form a force.


    Jang Won-taek also wanted people who belonged to Kang Seongho¡¯s pack to have a sense of belonging to the Government Shelter. After all, it would be much easier and more wonderful if they all become one.


    .


    .


    .


    In the late evening, Seokhyun and Mikyung arrived in Gyeoryongdae. Once their contact came in through the Auction House, Da-jeong went out and brought them to our hideout.


    ¡°Lower your voice. That guy has a very good hearing.¡±


    ¡°So this is Sniffles, huh?¡± Seokhyun looked at the paper lit up by the glowstone.


    Meanwhile, Mikyung said it was disgusting, closed her eyes and hid behind Da-jeong.


    ¡°It sure looks strong.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really strong. Even after being hit by several bullets in the back of the head, it¡¯s still fine. I think we have to use anti-tank weapons on him.¡±


    ¡°Have you tried fighting it in close combat?¡±


    ¡°We are trying to kill a monster here, not people.¡±


    ¡°I will test it then.¡±


    Seokhyun jumped to his feet and I quickly grabbed his leg. ¡°Hey, sit down for a second.¡±


    No matter how good his immortality unique skill is, he needs more and more points after each revive. If he keeps dying meaninglessly, some time in the future, I am certain that something bad would befall him.


    ¡°Its regeneration is no joke. You know my ballista bolt, right? When I shot that guy with it, its wound closed up as soon as it pulled the bolt out.¡± I explained all my experience to Seokhyun in great detail. In summary, It¡¯s a monster that is hard to fight either from a long distance or from a short distance.


    ¡°My ghouls can¡¯t fight them too. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to last for a few minutes even if I use them all at the same time.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand why such a strong guy is appearing now.¡±


    Seokhyun tilted his head at Da-jeong¡¯s remarks. ¡°Back in the game, what monsters appear after the lizardmen?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the trolls. Those guys also shoot thorns.¡±


    ¡°Thorn¡­ it¡¯s similar to this one.¡±


    Come to think of it, trolls and Sniffles were quite similar. They both shared the characteristic of having long arms and had thorns.


    Could it be that Sniffles was a terrible result of a fusion between several monsters and humans?


    Well, I hope it was nothing but my imagination.


    I snapped the picture from Seokhyun¡¯s grasp with my finger.


    ¡°Paralysis poison doesn¡¯t work against that guy, the flame cans aren¡¯t very effective either. All we can do is open the bunker and use the anti-tank weapon stored inside to kill it in one hit before it can even regenerate.¡±


    ¡°You want me to buy time.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It takes quite a while to open the bunker.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s us, we can do it! Rapwi, let¡¯s go crazy after a long while!¡±


    When Da-jeong clenched her fist, Seokhyun grinned.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since the three of us fought together.¡±


    ¡°Ah, by the way, Rapwi. I can now enter Seongho¡¯s shelter.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Mikyung, who had transformed into a sagging sack because of the Sniffles, crawled forward at that moment.


    Da-jeong crossed his arms and pointed at me with her chin.


    ¡°That¡¯s what Seongho¡¯s level 30 additional effect is. He took the Da-jeong bus, by the way.¡±


    ¡°But, oddly enough, Da-jeong was the one who paid the bus fare.¡±


    ¡°Ah, ah, stop talking about that.¡±


    ¡°I want to see it¡­¡± Mikyung pleaded.


    ¡°I want to see it too. Duck, go inside!¡±


    At their request, I opened the portal. Da-jeong walked through the portal and stopped once she was half way through.


    ¡°Voila! I can do this. Isn¡¯t it great?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great. But do I have to pay the bus fare?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. 100 points for every entry. However, there is no deadline. You can stay inside as long as you want.¡±


    ¡°Seems like, if you are inside and Seongho moves on Earth, you will also move huh?¡± Seokhyun said.


    ¡°You also need to do the quest quickly.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a quest too?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. But It¡¯s not that difficult.¡±


    At that moment, Sniffles¡¯ roar was heard from afar. Meanwhile, Seokhyun stood up saying he was going to pee. Since the bathroom was on the second floor, there¡¯s no way he would get lost, so we let him go alone.


    Da-jeong took Mikyung in her arms and asked. ¡°My albino, do you want to go inside too?¡±


    Mikyung nodded at the question.


    ¡°Inside, the supplies were huge. There¡¯s a lot of spams, the number can fill a room the size of a bathroom!¡±


    At that information, Mikyung looked at me.


    ¡°¡­Oppa, can I come in too?¡± There¡¯s a tone of desperation in her question. I wonder what will happen if I say no here¡­


    However, she¡¯s someone who had come all the way here just because of my words, so how can I be that cruel?


    ¡°Sure, you can.¡±


    Mikyung¡¯s expression brightened up, and she lifted her head and looked up at Da-jeong. Da-jeong hugged her like she was cute and whispered.


    ¡°Let¡¯s all go in and have a crazy sex party.¡±


    ¡°I, I don¡¯t know about that¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, I can hear everything, so stop talking nonsense.¡±


    The next morning, we went into action. The zombies of Da-jeong entered the main office to kite Sniffles out, and as expected, within a few minutes, they all turned into pieces before the last one broke through the window with Sniffles in tow..


    ¡°Wha¡­¡± A shriek escaped from Mikyung¡¯s mouth who stood behind me. It¡¯s natural for her to be afraid. Afterall, it will be her first time fighting a battle like this.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be nervous. Just remember, never get too close to the monster at all cost, even if Seokhyun or Da-jeong are in danger. I will be the one who rescues them, understood?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes. I will do it.¡±


    Sniffles, who appeared under the morning sun, seemed a little taken aback when it saw us around him. Seokhyun quickly stepped forward and pulled down his panties before putting his hands on his waist.


    ¡°Nice to meet you! I am Rabbit Pwincess!¡±


    KIaaaaaakkkk-!!


    Sniffles opened its large mouth and roared, giving us a good morning greeting.

 Chapter 146

    As soon as the morning greetings came to a wrap, the fight began. Once Rapwi and Sniffles started to face off against each other, I had to run straight into the main office. After all, if I were to do something else instead and somehow took Sniffles¡¯ aggro from Rapwi, I wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything, and would be forced to run.


    The first bunch to rush towards Sniffles were Da-jeong¡¯s reinforced zombies. However, because of yesterday¡¯s experimentation, their number had dwindled quite a bit. But since they were currently running in a single group, their reduced number was not a problem since their group still looks overwhelming.


    Sniffles roared and immediately responded by clawing towards the group. But at that moment, arrows began to pour; digging themselves into Sniffles¡¯ body. However, the guy didn¡¯t look like it cared, showing that the arrows had no effect at all to it, except for taking its aggro away from the zombies. It was probably wondering where the shooter was shooting from.


    As I ran to the main office, I came to realize that it was Mikyung who fired the arrow. It¡¯s a pretty bad shot. Though, it¡¯s understandable because she didn¡¯t have much fighting experience as she was growing in something akin to a greenhouse without ever facing any real danger, a greenhouse I unknowingly made.


    ¡°SEEEEGGGGSSS!¡±


    When that roar came from behind me, I moved my thoughts away from the battlefield and sprinted towards the main office. Once I entered and went down to the 3rd basement floor of the main office, I found the opening I¡¯ve been looking for on the floor.


    ¡°Here you are.¡± It was an airtight chamber which was sealed with a sturdy wood. Without looking at the finer details, I got out of the way and let Da-jeong¡¯s burly ghoul punch it.


    Bang-!!


    A hole was made because of the punch. Inside, a reinforced plastic sealed door could be seen.


    ¡°Can you see that thing over there? You have to create a hole through it.¡± I summoned the scarabs and gave them a quick rundown of the plan. Once they heard the plan, the guys moved and started working right away.


    Unfortunately, even if all the sealing doors were opened, I wouldn¡¯t be able to enter immediately as there¡¯s still a lot of concrete cover I had to bypass first. According to Lee Beom-seok, even if it wasn¡¯t as good as the security on the government shelter¡¯s storage room, there were still a total of 10 covers here.


    If it was in normal circumstances, they would use a crane to lift the cover. However, Lee Beom-seok said that the government shelter didn¡¯t get a report on where it was so he couldn¡¯t tell me. Well, it was understandable because everything was in a state of extreme chaos back then.


    The scarabs pierced one of the sealing doors as they were hanging by a rope tied around its body. I pulled the airtight seal and set it aside.


    I was really grateful to the scarabs that they gnawed at the sealing door. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for you guys, I would have died already.¡±


    Captain Scarab walked towards me and made eye contact with me for a moment. He seems to have a lot to say, but unable to do so because he can¡¯t speak. Anyway, after some time, we broke through all three sealing doors.


    ¡°Great job. Now go back in and rest.¡± I sent the scarabs back into the portal and looked inside the now-opened sealing door. Just as what was written in the information Lee Beom-seok sent, there was a concrete cover and a fairly large room there.


    ¡°Is that something like a VIP room?¡±


    Speaking of Gyeryongdae¡¯s bunker¡­ This storage place, which was now used as a bunker, used to be the President¡¯s villa. I should look into things in the room later and go down to the bunker first. I tied the rope to the cover and went up to the ground to give the signal to Dajeong, Seokhyun and Mikyung.


    Whiing-!! Bang-!!


    Because of the sound, I flinched a little bit because I thought I had attracted Sniffies¡¯ aggro, but even after I waited for several seconds, nothing could be heard. Guess the guy was busy fighting right now. I called the Auction House and entered a comment.


    -Keep going, keep going, annnnnnd stop.


    I have to give orders to Da-jeong¡¯s big ghoul which she called Bulky, but the guy would only listen to Da-jeong¡¯s orders. Therefore, I had to inform Da-jeong using the Auction House for her to order the big ghoul around.


    ¡°Please, do your best in the fight¡­¡± I murmured. Them fighting well would mean that I could spend as much time as possible in the bunker. As long as Seokhyun didn¡¯t go wild, it would be fine, I think.


    Finally, all concrete covers were pulled up. I used around 18 ropes so far, so the depth of this bunker should be almost 180 meters long. Since I was currently on the 3rd basement floor, the bunker was about 200 meters deep from the surface.


    ¡°I hope 200 meters isn¡¯t too shallow for the corrosive disease to take effect¡­¡± I said as I stared at the black hole underneath. I typed a comment in the Auction House, grabbed the rope and went downstairs.


    When I took out the glowstone and walked through the bunker, I saw several wooden boxes in the middle of the darkness.


    There it is¡­


    .


    .


    .


    Oh boy¡­


    My sky-high expectation of an enormous amount of weapons stocked inside the bunker crumbled to dust. After all, other than several wooden boxes I saw as soon as I entered, there¡¯s practically nothing.


    ¡°Is this all?¡±


    Although the crates were quite large, it was far-cry from the list I received from the government shelter. Just where did the countless live ammunition and heavy weapons that should be able to fill a few rooms with just their numbers go?


    ¡°Did they not have enough time?¡±


    When I removed the lid of one of the crates, I could see quite a lot of ammunition boxes stacked inside. From my rough estimation, the total amount would be at least in the tens of thousands.


    However,


    ¡°There¡¯s no grenades¡­ No grenade launcher too¡­ And the only anti-tank weapon is the M72¡­¡±


    Ah seriously!


    Heat was rising inside me and my head started to throb. But it wasn¡¯t the appropriate time to do this, so I pushed it down. I opened another wooden box and pulled out the M72 anti-tank rocket.


    ¡°Why is it so light?¡± I mused. It¡¯s about the same weight as a rifle. For a second, I was suspicious that the inside was empty, so I proceeded to open the weapon¡¯s back lid. There, betraying my suspicion, I saw a rocket loaded. I sighed at the view. It was said that if the ammo was this light, its power would be weak.


    ¡°Still, it¡¯s just Sniffles.¡± It was just a monster made of flesh and blood. No matter how strong it is, it shouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the power of modern weapons.


    I learned how to operate the rocket while looking at the instruction picture lying next to it.


    ¡°Open the cover in advance and take out the tube¡­¡± When the tube was removed, the sights above the barrel would pop out. After that, simply remove the safety device, aim and press the fire button. It¡¯s that easy. Though, It couldn¡¯t be said so when aiming at a moving target.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can really aim for it.¡± I sighed. The opponent was not a large, dull-moving armored vehicle, but a living creature that is only 2.3 meters tall. Even though I have pretty high stats, the problem was it was my first time using the weapon.


    The sights only showed a crosshair and the numbers 200 and 300. I looked into it for a while and found out it was the distance to the target.


    ¡°If it¡¯s only 50 meters, I should be able to hit it easily.¡± However, I should not use it indoors due to the aftermath it would make. Though, because the rocket was a molded peony bullet, the killing radius should not be that wide.


    I took out a few M72s and put them in the dimension slot one by one. The corrosive disease has not completely subsided yet, but it should be okay since the weapon only needs to withstand the brief shock upon firing.


    Once I finished, my impulse to take care of other things surged, but I need to get my priorities straight. Killing Sniffles came first.


    However, before I could even leave the room, a comment appeared in the comment section floating in front of my eyes. Its urgency was bare for my eyes to see as it wasn¡¯t even written in coded words but just an ordinary one.


    -Seongho! Sniffles went there!


    That guy is coming here?


    How?


    The only way to get here was through the airtight room on the 3rd basement floor!


    Immediately, I remembered turning on a flare torch in order to get a good look down here. The guy probably smelled gunpowder¡­


    The moment I remembered that, I heard a ruckus from above. I couldn¡¯t hear it in detail, but it was clear that the big ghoul was fighting Sniffles..


    Kuaaaaaaa-!!


    Together with the roar, the rope fell. At that moment, the ugly face of Sniffles appeared briefly through the hole before it disappeared again. At that brief glance, it looked like it was smiling.


    ¡°Did it just¡­ smile?¡± At that very moment, I was certain. That guy¡¯s intelligence is high. Very high when compared to other mindless monsters.


    Looking at how casual it has been, it could only mean one thing: the big ghoul had died. It also means that Da-jeong¡¯s total strength, including her army, had dwindled even more than yesterday. I¡¯d like to let her kill Sniffles if possible, but we¡¯ll have to look at the situation first before deciding.


    I took the glowstone, summoned the dimension wall and climbed up. At that moment, another comment from Da-jeong appeared. He said that Sniffles had gone back up again and was fighting hard with Seokhyun again.


    -Sorry, I¡¯m in a pinch right now, so it¡¯s hard to write a comment!


    -I¡¯m on my way.


    -Come here fast!


    Once I killed Sniffles, my skill list will change even if the experience and points are not. Paralysis Poison Resistance 2 will disappear and a new skill will take its place.


    ¡°Though, it¡¯s a pity for Paralysis Poison Resistance 2 to disappear¡­¡± Even if it¡¯s not a unique skill, it was a skill that¡¯s only available for me. But at this point of time, it had become a skill with less importance. After all, chances of being attacked by goblins had been greatly reduced. I don¡¯t know what the new skill would be, but I¡¯m sure it would be much better than Paralysis Poison Resistance 2.


    ¡°It would be great if I get that guy¡¯s regeneration skill.¡±


    I hurried up to the top. When I left the main office, a horrifying sight of countless ghoul bodies sprawling here and there greeted me. Not far from the main office¡¯s entrance, Da-jeong and Seokhyun were fighting Sniffles. While Da-jeong was struggling as she only had a few grasshoppers left, Seokhyun¡¯s performance was dazzling.


    ¡°Segggggssss!¡±


    He was flying around, keeping Sniffles still. By the looks of how the monster couldn¡¯t even pull the arrows out of his body anymore, it was apparent that the monster is almost out of stamina.


    Lowering my stance, I opened the dimension slot. I took out the M72, disengaged the safety device, and aimed at Sniffles¡¯ back.


    ¡°Move!¡±


    The moment I shouted that, Seokhyun rolled away from Sniffles and immediately started running away.


    Kieek?


    The guy seemed puzzled at his action.


    Eventually, when all of them seemed to be at a safe distance, I fired the rocket.


    Pooop-!!


    A heavy shock transpired into my body as smoke came out from the barrel. The rocket¡¯s launch trajectory caught my eye as it flew.


    Is it okay for anti-tank rockets to go this slow?


    However, the moment I thought that, flames surged from the back of the rocket, sending itself towards Sniffles.


    Bang-!!


    When the smoke around the area on impact subsided, all that was left from Sniffles¡¯ body was its lower body. It squirmed, spouting blood, and then collapsed.


    At that moment, a message appeared in front of me.


    ¡¸Level has risen to 31¡¹


    ¡¸You have earned 100 points¡¹


    ¡¸You have acquired ¡®Super Sense¡¯ skill¡¹


    ¡°100 points?¡±


    Just how high was its level?


    However, what took my attention the most was the fact that I had acquired ¡®Super Sense¡¯ skill. The moment I got it, I began to hear the heartbeats of people around me. On top of that, even though I didn¡¯t turn my body, I could feel Seokhyun approaching my back.


    Not bad¡­ Not bad at all!


    Seokhyun put his hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°Is it dead?¡±


    ¡°No, that word is dangerous¡­¡± (P/n revival flag lmaoo)


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    Let¡¯s make sure it is completely dead. I know it was since the notification prompt had appeared, but since a flag-word has just been spoken, I want to make sure of it.


    We walked forward and approached Sniffles¡¯ lower body. Mikyung and Da-jeong, who had run away, moved to our side with Mikyung¡¯s blink. When we arrived at where the leftover body part of Sniffles was, we saw something shiny on the floor.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this¡­ Aether Stone?¡± Da-jeong asked as she picked up the sparkling stone. Although it was small, it was clear that the Aether Stone was shining in a golden hue.


    Dajeong showed people the stone and queried. ¡°Have you seen this thing drop from any monster?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    Even ogres from the game did not drop Aether Stone. Maybe Brutra and the other unknown monsters did¡­ Though I¡¯m not entirely sure since I haven¡¯t been able to hunt any monsters that appeared in the expansion pack.


    ¡°If we ever meet this kind of monster again, I wonder how we will hunt it then¡­¡± Da-jeong muttered bitterly. In this hunt, she had lost 20 ghouls. It was a big hit for her power, especially because of Bulky¡¯s death. Fortunately, most of the grasshoppers we recently found were still alive.


    I comforted her. ¡°Tell me if you need anything. I¡¯ll leave everything behind and help you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡­ Let¡¯s just rest here for a while. I will go to Daejeon.¡±


    It takes 20 days to replenish 20 ghouls. Seems like the work of expanding the shelter will have to be postponed.


    ¡°I found a place to rest in the bunker. We can rest there.¡±


    ¡°Oppa, I was so scared¡­¡± Mikyung pulled my collar clothes and murmured.


    ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard. I saw earlier that you fought well.¡± I patted her on the back.


    She jumped up at my words.


    ¡°Did you see that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. But not for too long.¡± I smiled at her. ¡°Your way of fighting is good. Just run away with a blink if anything comes too close to you.¡±


    ¡°I think the same way. At first, I was really scared¡­ but when I realized nothing can keep up with me using blink, it became not so scary anymore.¡±


    Da-jeong grabbed Mikyung¡¯s cheek and stretched it.


    ¡°You are happy because your oppa compliments you, huh? Don¡¯t you remember that you ran away when I asked for help earlier?¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±


    Meanwhile, Seokhyun clenched and released his fist, unable to relax.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that I can¡¯t fight it properly.¡±


    ¡°There will be another chance later. For some reason, I have a hunch that Sniffles wouldn¡¯t be the last weird new monster we have to fight.¡±


    An unidentified monster that is protecting the Gyeryongdae bunker. Was it really a coincidence? I don¡¯t think so. Moreover, it was a monster which had a semblance of intelligence, and it also dropped an Aether Stone. There were too many strange things to brush it off as mere coincidence.


    And if it¡¯s really the case, most likely, the one who was responsible for putting the monster here was the same one who gave Joo Seung-cheol a resurrection scroll and the information about the Stagnant Waters.


    We need to be extra careful going forward.


    We walked away from the site and headed towards the main office. Just before I entered the main office, I turned around and looked at Sniffles¡¯ lower body. Hopefully, it won¡¯t resurrect.


    .


    .


    .


    Turns out, the name of this bunker was the U-3 archive. As it was supposed to be a facility that would be used by the President if war were to break out, the scale and splendor of the facility were no joke.


    We walked down the hallway, opened the doors one by one, and couldn¡¯t help but marvel.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a bed like that¡­¡±


    ¡°It looks like some kind of bed that European noblemen use¡­¡±


    The amount of supplies stored here was also no joke. Though most of them were military supplies. But in these trying times, it was better than nothing.


    After looking around, Seokhyun spoke.


    ¡°Now it¡¯s ours.¡±


    He¡¯s right. Winner takes all. So it was now rightfully ¡®ours¡¯. No one had the right to say anything.


    We sat around the desk that should be used by the President and his aides and discussed our future plan.


    ¡°Everyone had worked hard¡­ I think we¡¯ll have to use this place as our hideout for the time being.¡±


    ¡°YEEEEESSSS!¡± Dajeong shouted.


    ¡°How about us?¡± Mikyung asked.


    ¡°If possible, I want Seokhyun to finish the quest here.¡±


    ¡°Did you mean your portal entrance quest?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I answered as I opened the portal.


    Seokhyun stood up and pushed himself through the portal.


    ¡°A message has appeared.¡± He said.


    ¡°Now a dedicated portal for you will open.¡± As soon as I finished my words, a blue portal opened right next to my portal.


    Mikyung¡¯s eyes widened at the sight. ¡°It looks like a real dungeon entrance¡­¡±


    ¡°My world is similar to a dungeon.¡± I answered Mikyung and turned towards Seokhyun. ¡°Go inside and secure 3 Aether Stones and you are done.¡±


    ¡°I will be back.¡±


    ¡°No! Wait, wait!¡± I quickly grab his arms and hold him back. He¡¯s strong, kind, and loyal. Overall, he¡¯s a fine guy. However, he tends to forget that he¡¯s¡­.very bad with directions.


    Since he was about to go to an unknown place which I personally don¡¯t know how wide it was, I had to attach Dingo and one of the scarabs to him. I summoned them both, packed some supplies in the bag, and handed it to him.


    ¡°If it¡¯s you, the quest should be easy.¡±


    At my words, Seokhyun smiled broadly.


    ¡°Thanks. See you soon.¡±


    When Seokhyun disappeared, Mikyung became nervous.


    ¡°Inside¡­ I have to fight monsters, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Can you do it?¡± I asked. I was thinking, if she¡¯s confident, I will let her do the quest right away.


    But she shook her head.


    ¡°I¡¯m not confident¡­ I think I¡¯m going to die if I go in¡­ Hiks.¡±


    Meanwhile, Da-jeong secretly approached her from the back. I hope she doesn¡¯t intend to push her to the portal. Thankfully, before I could even say anything, Mikyung noticed her and avoided her charge with a blink.


    ¡°UNNIEEEEE!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s for your own good.¡±


    ¡°I-I-I¡¯m seriously not confident¡­¡±


    Seems like she¡¯s really afraid. I guess I need to get her more experience first before letting her undertake the quest.


    I told her. ¡°Tell me when you want to go in. There is no penalty for entering later.¡±


    Da-jeong patted her chin and muttered. ¡°There are so many good things inside, It seems like it will be a while before Mikyung can enjoy it.¡±


    ¡°What is in there?¡±


    ¡°There is a cool and breezy sea, there is a beautiful valley, and watermelons are growing in the garden. You can lead a full country life there.¡±


    ¡°And there are also a lot of monsters who can educate people on fighting.¡± I added.


    Mikyung shivered, perhaps frightened by my words. It seems that it will take some time for the other members to enter.


    Da-jeong asked softly. ¡°I didn¡¯t ask before¡­ What did you get from killing Sniffles?¡±


    I told her everything. She didn¡¯t show any reaction on my level and points gained. But when she heard I had acquired ¡®Super Sense¡¯ skill, she was startled.


    ¡°Can you hear my heartbeat, then?¡±


    ¡°If I decide to focus, yes.¡± I answered as I tapped the table in front of me at the same timing of her heartbeat.


    Da-jeong¡¯s face paled at my words.


    ¡°It¡¯s a really scary skill¡­you can literally know everything that is happening around you if you decide to focus¡­.¡±


    ¡°I can hear your toes¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh my god¡­¡±


    I also heard Mikyung farted, maybe because she was nervous, but I pretended not to know.


    After a lot of time passed, Seokhyun came out of the portal. He rubbed his eyes and grinned.


    ¡°I tried to fight a troll and it was doable!¡±


    Is that so?


    Now it¡¯s his turn to enter my shelter. After paying 100 points, Seokhyun passed through the portal.

 Chapter 147

    ¨C Emergency! Emergency!


    The appearance of one particular human being sent the insect tenants of the cave scrambling on their feet. The two races, which were usually always bickering back and forth, were currently staring at the human male who had entered the portal just now.


    ¨C From the way he dressed¡­ He sure doesn¡¯t look normal.¨C The owner said he was a pervert. I think it¡¯s true.¨C Crazy human!¨C How disgraceful for our noble race to have to live with such a disgusting human being!


    Rabbit Pwincess, who their building owner, or partner, had told them to look out for, had finally entered their home through the portal.


    The owner had once said in the past,


    -In the near future, there will be other people entering and living here other than me. Everyone is a good person, so be friendly.


    He also added:


    -¡­and¡­uh¡­among those people, there will be a man wearing a rabbit ears headband on their head. You guys¡­be careful around him. I¡¯m not saying that he¡¯s a bad person, or that he will harm you guys¡­ But¡­yeah¡­


    The insects, which combat power obviously lacking compared to their crafting abilities, had their eyes stuck at every move of Rabbit Pwincess. His attire, or the lack of it, while wearing the rabbit ears headband, was something far from common sense of the world where the insects lived. They were sure there had never been a pervert with such attire on this continent.


    The stag beetles joined the conversation between tenants.


    -Why is your partner living with such a person?-I thought I would be able to judge the situation calmly, but what the hell is that!!!-He¡¯s coming! Hide!


    Everyone hid in their tree house at that moment.


    Meanwhile, Seokhyun, who always tried to exchange greetings with the insects every time they met, was a little disappointed in their cold shoulder treatment. However, he was not fazed by it that much, as he was busy looking around.


    ¡°So you¡¯ve gathered this much supplies huh¡­¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    Even for Seokhyun, who had no concept of stockpiling materials, Seongho¡¯s stockpiles were still surprising. Afterall, except for things which weren¡¯t there, everything was available here. However, that¡¯s it. His interest was more piqued by the world outside the cave.


    When Seongho opened the door, the vast forest view greeted him.


    ¡°SEEEGGGSSS!!!¡±


    The insects, which understood Earth¡¯s language, were startled at his shout. They all unanimously fall to agreement that the man was really out of his mind.


    -I did hear that he¡¯s crazy¡­ But I don¡¯t think it would be this bad¡­-I heard that we will live together from now on. We should be careful around him.-Live together? That¡¯s a disaster!


    Oblivious to the insects¡¯ cry, Seokhyun went out of the cave and took the fresh forest air into his lungs. Just then, Dingo and Dingsoon caught his attention. He then smiled mischievously and put his thumb up.


    ¡°Sex is a good thing.¡±


    At that moment, Seongho quickly placed a scarab on his rabbit ears headband. And just as he expected, Seokhyun kicked the ground and jumped over the barbed wire before running deeper into the forest.


    ¡°Kiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!¡± Seokhyun cheered.


    Seongho looked at his back for a moment and then closed his eyes. Afterall, it¡¯s disgusting to keep looking at another man¡¯s ass.


    At that moment, Da-jeong came in and leaned against him.


    ¡°Is it okay to leave him alone like that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I put one of the scarabs with him. Navigating through this forest is their speciality.¡±


    ¡°Ah yeah.¡± Da-jeong smiled. However, in the next instance, her smile faded and her ears perked up. ¡°Wait, is he fighting right now?¡±


    ¡°Seems like he¡¯s fighting against goblins. Maybe they rushed in at him because they thought they got free prey. But turns out¡­ the real prey was them all along.¡±


    ¡°AHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA.¡± Da-jeong grabbed her stomach and laughed. Once she stopped, she rested her head on his shoulder.


    ¡°Ha¡­ I¡¯m going to sleep for a bit. Don¡¯t wake me up.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because of the ghouls, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ No matter how replaceable they are, they¡¯re still guys who we¡¯ve been traveling with for several months.¡±


    Even though she didn¡¯t say it, I know that the truth is, the loss of her faithful subordinates is definitely a huge blow to her. Seongho hugged her around the waist and escorted her to the cave before laying her on the mattress.


    ¡°At times like this, it¡¯s great to be able to lie down next to your husband and hug him.¡±


    ¡°I want to do that too, but there¡¯s Seokhyun. Let¡¯s do it later.¡±


    ¡°Tsk. okay.¡±


    After a few minutes passed, Da-jeong¡¯s breath became even, proof that she had fallen into deep sleep. Seongho left her and went to wash his body with water in the basin. At that moment, he realized that Mikyung was still outside.


    He quickly finished his bathing and got some fresh water before leaving the shelter. Once he stepped out of the portal, Mikyung, who was sitting on the bed while sporting a gloomy expression on her face, brightened.


    ¡°Oppa!¡±


    Her appearance was like a puppy welcoming its owner when they returned.


    ¡­


    I carried all the dishes and cookware from the shelter to reality. It was to have a meal with Mikyung. Afterall, I have to do what I promised.


    While I boiled the hwajo, Mikyung was washing herself with the water I brought her. By the way, the smell of a few packs of remaining tteokbokki sets wasn¡¯t bad. Thanks to the vacuum package, the tteok survived, but the fish cake didn¡¯t look very good anymore.


    ¡°This is the last set.¡± When I shook the half-opened package to her, Mikyung¡¯s face became sullen.


    ¡°It will be difficult to make tteokbokki from now on, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Making the tteok without machines will be extremely tiring.¡± Though, it would be easy to make sujebi with the flour. However, it was questionable whether sujebi could be the replacement for the tteok. Fish cakes also have to pass the frying process to make, so making them would be difficult. In other words, the times we have enjoyed for granted so far should no longer be taken for granted anymore. Everyone had to adapt to this world, without exception.


    The pot where the rice was steamed let out an angry hot steam at that moment. I turned off the burner to let it simmer. Mikyung touched the burner and was amazed.


    ¡°I thought I wouldn¡¯t see this thing anymore. But to think I can hold it¡­ This is amazing.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay to put it out on Earth for a while. You don¡¯t have to be that shocked.¡±


    ¡°Then will we be able to use something like this from next month?¡±


    ¡°It depends on the old man. I can¡¯t predict what kind of choices he will make.¡±


    Mikyung smiled mischievously at my answer.


    ¡°Rumors say the President is trying to recruit you, oppa.¡±


    ¡°If he recruits me, we would only end up fighting about every single thing every day.¡±


    Mikyung, who barely knew my history, flinched. In the government shelter, there will be quite a few people who hate me. Even if I was in a friendly relationship with the leaders of the government shelter such as Jang Won-taek, Lee Beom-seok, and Bae Gum-in, I cannot guarantee that the rest will also feel the same towards me.


    Moreover, the corrosive disease will soon disappear. Thus, the guns will be freed. There is no guarantee that anyone will not use one to shoot me. In other words, when the corrosive disease subsides, I have to be more vigilant than ever.


    Mikyung came close to me and started to bring a story about Geom-in out of nowhere. She probably does that because of the heavy atmosphere around us.


    ¡°Oppa, did you know that these days, Geom-in is approaching Sooyeon unnie? Although in my opinion, they don¡¯t seem like a good fit¡­¡±


    Huh? That idiot with Sooyeon?


    I remembered the two soldiers under Hyunwoo who called Sooyeon as ¡°Mercy¡±. As a gamer, he wouldn¡¯t fail to notice it, so his love probably stemmed from the same source as those soldiers.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t their age gaps a little too big?¡±


    Mikyung jerked back at my question and stared into the void.


    ¡°Th-they are ten years apart¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a number which was difficult to overcome with any shape of love.¡±


    ¡°I know that Unnie is very feminine and pretty, but what made him fall for her, I wonder?¡±


    Indeed. She¡¯s someone feminine and pretty, which is a big charm point. But in Geom-in¡¯s case, I¡¯m sure that¡¯s not why he was attracted to her.


    ¡°It¡¯s because Sooyeon resembles a certain game character very much. Remember when we were in Gimhae before? Back then, there¡¯s two soldiers called Sooyeon ¡®Mercy¡¯.¡±


    Mikyung¡¯s jaw dropped at the revelation. ¡°Ah¡­ He likes Unnie because she resembles a certain game character?¡±


    I put my finger on my lips.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell her okay? She won¡¯t like it very much.¡±


    What kind of woman would accept that people liked her just because she resembled a game character?


    Mikyung nodded her head happily.


    ¡°I thought everyone would be depressed because this is the apocalypse.¡± Mikyung giggled. ¡°You know, Oppa, I hear the manager is meeting someone these days.¡±


    ¡°Hyung-nim? With who?¡±


    ¡°I heard that she¡¯s someone in the upper brass of the shelter, but I don¡¯t know the details¡­¡±


    Well, it seems that Hyung-jun Hyung was lonely¡­ I am not in any position to say anything because of Da-jeong.


    Mikyung buried her face between her knees as if she had suddenly become depressed. What a moody girl¡­


    ¡°Everyone has a lover except me¡­¡±


    Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks


    As it turned out, Yoohyeon was also married to Yeowool. It seems that the pessimistic phase in the beginning of the apocalypse had passed and spring had come for them.


    Though, sooner or later, it will also be shattered.


    ¡°You should get one too, Mikyung.¡±


    ¡°Seems like nobody likes me because I¡¯m ugly¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still pretty enough, Even more so than when you still have long hair.¡±


    She slowly lifted her head as I was about to put the condiments in the soup.


    ¡°How did you know I have long hair before?¡±


    Shit¡­ Unconsciously, I told her about what I saw on the fancam. I was about to brush the subject off, but Mikyung pushed forwards as she clung to my side.


    ¡°Tell me quickly! Where did you see it? After working in the hair salon, I never have long hair.¡±


    SIgh¡­ Seems like I have no other option.


    ¡°I saw it in a fancam video¡­¡±


    Her face turned beet red at my answer.


    ¡°Is that¡­ a video where I was dancing?¡±


    Yeah¡­ Her pelvic dance was so artistic¡­ Though, I couldn¡¯t bear to say. I pretended not to know and stirred the boiled hwajo stock. This pounding heartbeat is not mine, I swear.


    I tried to control my mind. And when I recalled Sniffles¡¯s ugly as hell face and Seokhyun¡¯s naked body, my heartbeat naturally chilled.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Mikyung hesitated while still digging my body with her eyes. The atmosphere turned creepy. I poured the rice cakes into the pot before spreading rice on top of a piece of dried laver and rolled it into a gimbap. The only ingredients I used for the filling was washed pickles, smoked pork, and tuna, but the taste should still be there.


    Mikyung, who looked at me with her cheeks puffed, was about to return to normal as I sliced the gimbap. Then Da-jeong appeared. Mikyung¡¯s body jolted as if she had committed a crime and scurred away from my side.


    ¡°Huaaam~ You guys are playing house? I thought you were playing a push and pull game.¡±


    What nonsense is she spouting¡­


    Da-jeong shook his head, pushed Mikyung to her butt and sat down next to me. Her eyes widened as she checked the menu.


    ¡°Tteokbokki! Gimbab! Everything I like!¡±


    ¡°You never tell me you like junk food, though.¡±


    ¡°There is no woman in this world who hates junk food! We just don¡¯t eat it because it makes us fat.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    Can you really say that even there¡¯s only two of you here?


    Anyway, the mood has changed for the better. We ate the tteokbokki and gimbap. Mikyung split the hwajo eggs with a spoon and beamed.


    ¡°I really like this¡­ It would be perfect if we had cheese.¡±


    ¡°If we catch something like a goat, you can make cheese, right? Seongho?¡±


    ¡°Even if we have goats, it would take a lot of effort to raise them and milk them.¡± It was also questionable whether it was possible for us, who are only beginners, to create a good cheese.


    Though, there¡¯s a perfect guy for the job in our midst. If it¡¯s with Jiman¡¯s unique skill, it might be possible. However, It¡¯s only the case if he ever enters the portal.


    Anyway, the two of them finished the tteokbokki and kimbap neatly. And the moment before they start sprawling on the floor, Seokhyun appeared from the portal.


    And in his dick¡­


    ¡°I caught a fish.¡±


    Whenever I see him, his smile is so unpretentious and pure. Mikyung was startled and covered her eyes, and Da-jeong grabbed her chopsticks and threw them at him.


    ¡°Hey you crazy Rapwi! You¡¯re making the food taste distasteful!¡±


    ¡°Are you eating? Let¡¯s roast this.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to!¡±


    Seokhyun looked at me without saying a word.


    I¡¯m sorry but I don¡¯t like it either.


    ¡­


    The four of us devoted ourselves to farming. Da-jeong and I went downstairs to move weapons, and after that we took the supplies from the bunker. Meanwhile, Seokhyun and Mikyung toured Gyeryongdae in search of more supplies. It was fortunate that there were not many monsters because Sniffles was so territorial.


    After spending three days together and stockpiling supplies, Gyeryongdae was finally empty. On the other hand, my shelter was almost full of supplies.


    Da-jeong said with a smug smile on his face. ¡°Now I¡¯m going to build a hut here.¡±


    It¡¯s a good idea, but the timing wasn¡¯t right. Only when Seokhyun and Da-jeong left should we start construction in earnest.


    ¡°Can I build a hut too?¡± Seokhyun asked me.


    ¡°Sure. People who come in here can build their own houses.¡±


    WIth more people around, we would be able to make a fortress. It was difficult for me to handle the construction alone, but it would be possible with a group of people working together.


    Each one of them should build a hut, build a barrier for themselves, and end up in building a fort. It was a necessity to build it as the number of monsters attacking the shelter would not decrease.


    They attack the shelter either when I was present and when I was not. Thanks to that, the barbed wire fence was soaked in blood and started to rust. The moat was not what it used to be either. In times like these, it would be great to have people I can trust in the shelter so I would be able to do other things without any worry.


    Anyway, Seokhyun and Mikyung finally went to Seoul after resting for three days. Meanwhile, Da-jeong and I were preparing to leave for Daejeon. The goal was to increase the odds of capturing ghouls as Daejeon was bigger than Gyeryongdae.


    As I was packing my bags, I got a message from the government shelter. Da-jeong sighed as she saw her few remaining ghouls.


    -Seongho, are you there?


    It¡¯s Jang Won-taek ahjussi.


    -What¡¯s going on?-Oh, it¡¯s nothing¡­ I was only wondering if I could hear the progress of your hunt.


    Should I tell him or not?


    Well, Da-jeong said I should tell everything about this matter for free, so¡­


    -Sniffles is dead, thanks to the M72 in the bunker.-I¡¯m glad¡­ But, is there any reason why you chose to use that old-fashioned thing instead of the other, more modern weapons? It was imported from Turkey, so the defect rate is quite high.


    Seems like my luck is quite good¡­


    -The soldiers didn¡¯t do their job properly, so there were hardly any heavy weapons inside. The M72 was the only thing good enough to be used.-That can¡¯t be happening¡­-I went in and got the weapon myself. The only thing stocked there were rifle bullets and grenades.


    Jang Won-taek was silent for a moment. Seems like it¡¯s true that even though he gave the order, he didn¡¯t check it properly. In fact, I know it¡¯s difficult to take care of all of those things amidst the confusion.


    I gave more detail to him.


    -If you shoot it with the M72, it will die. But if the people are not strong enough, that easy thing will be something hard to do.-What do you mean by other people?-This bunker is not the only U3 bunker Korea has. I think there are other Sniffles in the other bunkers too.-It can¡¯t be¡­-Have you checked?


    It¡¯s strange that monsters like Sniffles were guarding it in the first place. I was sure the occurrence was someone¡¯s trick.


    Jang Won-taek¡¯s comment was rushed to see if my emphasis worked.


    -Thanks for the advice. We¡¯ll check it out soon.-I¡¯m telling you this now, but it would be better for the survivors to not try to fight it if they are not strong enough. The three of us couldn¡¯t even fight it directly.


    In fact, the three of us never fight it together. However, I still thought it was close to impossible to kill Sniffles with our firepower.


    -Haha¡­If it¡¯s impossible for even the three of you, it should be impossible for anyone to do it. I¡¯ll just do the checking then. By the way¡­


    What else is this gentleman trying to ask from me?


    -Are you in Daejeon right now? We¡¯ve heard some good things from you, so we¡¯ll give you one too. Reinforced ghouls had appeared around the City Hall. However, those guys were different from the other reinforced ghoul. Their arms were abnormally long and thick¡­


    It¡¯s them. The tanks!


    Unlike other reinforced ghouls, tanks¡¯ physical characteristics stand out amongst the ghouls. They were at the top of the list in terms of strength among ghouls, and above all else, they had excellent defense. It¡¯s not called a tank for nothing.


    Da-jeong will definitely like it.


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    When I sent the Auction House window away, I saw Da-jeong was busy picking clothes for her ghoul. It¡¯ll all be torn anyway, so why did she do that?


    ¡°Da-jeong.¡±


    ¡°Yees?¡±


    ¡°The tanks had appeared.¡±


    Her eyes widened.

 Chapter 148

    Chapter 148 ¨C Rest and Power up (2)


    {Rest and Power up (2)}


    The raid in the Gwangju Time Shelter, where about 200 survivors took the supplies with almost no casualties, was a great inspiration for other regions. Of course, on that occasion, there were people who got caught and beaten by Da-jeong while attempting to steal the supplies from the other people and were fed to monsters. However, their traces were buried in the midst of chaos, so no one knew about it. Thanks to that, there was a movement in which they wanted to imitate the success of the Gwangju Time Shelter raid at the Auction House. Afterall, they couldn¡¯t stand the long, cold winter any longer, while having to endure not taking over a place filled with a lot of stuff they needed to survive right in front of them.


    -Let¡¯s do it! Those guys succeeded in Gwangju, so why can¡¯t we do it?-Because we don¡¯t have I Love Gimbap.-So what? We can just break the door by ourselves!-The first door is easy to break. A few molotov cocktails will do the job. But the second door and the other doors onwards are multiple times stronger than the first door.-The third sealing door is really strong, how will you break it?-We just have to work hard!-Even babies can say that, you bastard.-You¡­ Who and which clan did you belong to?-I¡¯m from the Conquest Clan. Got any problem?-So what? Do you think I¡¯ll be shaking just because you come from the Conquest Clan?-So which clan are you in?-He¡¯s not answering¡­ Pussy.-Well, if it¡¯s like this, I bet everyone will only say hello awkwardly once they meet on the site. Success rate 0%.-It¡¯s not even a secret. They are always like that. Big talk but zero action.


    There were several strong clans scattered throughout Daejeon. One of them was the Conquest Clan. Their territory was near the G Department Store, where the time shelter was built.


    Unlike Gwangju, there were no Chinese in Daejeon. Therefore, the conflict between the clans did not reach the peak of chaos. However, each clan had tried to breach the time shelter¡¯s door at least once, and they had done it every time they saw the opportunity, which led to the destruction of the first door.


    Unfortunately for them, the second door was far too strong. A clumsy molotov cocktail could only char the surface of the door black and nothing more. The flame can was a little bit effective compared to the molotov cocktail, but it was difficult to have a lot of it ready, as obtaining the material was no easy matter.


    In the midst of all repeated trying and failure, a new monster type entered the scene of the already chaotic ecosystem. The new monsters on the block were the monsters which were called trolls in survival life. However, since there were several varieties of trolls in the game, each and every one of them had a different callsign. The trolls that appeared around G Department Store were simply called thorn trolls by players since its attack, whether a simple punch, or a kick could kill almost anyone immediately. Their defense was not on the high side compared to monsters in its league. However, their thorns were something which couldn¡¯t be trifled with. On top of that, their regeneration was also a headache-inducing skill. All in all, it was a difficult monster to face off against with the currently available weapon.


    Aside from the thorn trolls, ghouls with bloated shoulders and arms also appeared. Those two monsters were like oil and water; they always clashed with each other. Thanks to that, the area around the G Department Store had become even more devastated than ever.


    ¡°Look at that crazy troll.¡± Strawberry Pwincess, Park Hyun-seung¨Cwho proclaimed himself as ruler of Sejong city before moving to Daejeon¨Csaid. The reason he came to Daejeon was simple: There was not much left in Sejong City. Residential areas were essential for surviving in this kind of time, but Sejong City was full of apartment complexes and public institutions. It¡¯s not that there was no place to farm at all, but the clan members still wanted to move to Daejeon in search of greener grass.


    Their time in Daejeon could be said as good so far even when equating the conflict about the time shelter in the calculation. Fortunately, the friction had subsided lately. But he was certain that it would burn again, and even brighter than before, when the time shelter opened.


    Currently, the Conquest Clan members, including Park Hyun-seung, were watching a troll running rampant in front of the G Department Store¨Cits territory. It lags behind werewolves in terms of agility and is inferior to orcs in terms of strength, but its ability to regenerate was truly terrifying. It was the sole monster who came out from the fight with its life intact even after being hit with dozens of arrows by the goblins.


    The troll sat down at the entrance to the time shelter and chewed on the goblin¡¯s leg. At the sight, Conquest Clan members turned their heads away as they gagged. It¡¯s not unusual for monsters to eat other monsters, but in the case of trolls, it¡¯s somewhat even more terrifying. It¡¯s probably due to its ugly appearance.


    Orcs were monsters with the appearance of a savage warrior. Meanwhile, werewolves, albeit scary, looked pretty cool. However, compared to the two, the trolls were, for a lack of better words, ugly. Its black skin and black fur held nothing to write home about. Unless, someone wants to scare their family to death.


    Park Hyun-seung and the clan members looked at each other and started to whisper.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that guy too strong?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve fought against it before. And yes. It¡¯s too strong. There¡¯s simply no answer to how to attack it. It¡¯s not that fast, but its regeneration is insane.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just attack it together at the same time and pile up the damage?¡±


    Park Hyun-seung shook his head. ¡°We can¡¯t do that because of the thorns. Captain 1 also got sick because of that. It seems to be poisonous.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    There was something else to note aside from the troll. It was the ghoul with bloated shoulders and arms. People who played Survival Life spread the news as soon as they found it.


    -The tank had appeared!


    As its nickname suggests, tanks had a crazy amount of strength and stamina. Even when a group of goblins plus a few orcs attack it, it would only take less than a minute for it to destroy them.


    Currently too, the tank, which the Conquest Clan is currently seeing, left quite an impression on them. After all, it wielded a broken concrete power pole like it was nothing.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that thing supposed to be around 500 kilos?¡±


    ¡°We are doomed.¡±


    ¡°Why is it so hard just to live in this world¡­¡±


    While the Conquest Clan members hid and watched, the tank and the troll faced off against each other and growled.


    Park Hyun-seung, who was watching, murmured. ¡°What the fuck are those guys doing! Do they think they are cowboys?¡±


    The fight between the two monsters which followed soon after was enough to silence everyone. It was still crazy and unbelievable even though they had seen it a few times already.


    A troll with its tremendous regenerative power and a tank with its incredible power.


    At the intense fight, the clan members had the same thought running in their head.


    ¡®There was simply no room for us survivors to intervene in the fight. Even if a Stagnant water comes, I¡¯m confident they wouldn¡¯t be able to do it too.¡¯


    ¡­


    When Da-jeong heard that the tank had finally appeared, she got excited and urged me to leave immediately. That¡¯s why me and Da-jeong were currently heading towards Daejeon via the national road.


    Our means of transportation was not on foot, but using a cart made by the stag beetles. It had wheels beneath the main body, so it was quite a pleasant trip. Dingo and Dingsoon were the ones who steered the cart by shepherding the guys who pulled it¨Cthe ghouls. The speed was only around 20 km/h. It wasn¡¯t fast, but at least it was convenient.


    The winter breeze in Chungcheong-do was also not too cold. Some winter strawberries and padding with a hood was enough to make us completely forget about it. Or maybe, it was warmer because the two of us were sticking to each other.


    ¡°I bet once you reach level 30, your Unique Skill will also evolve.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, maybe when that happens, I can also take control of not just zombies and ghouls, but also monsters?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that.¡± I shrugged. My Unique Skill used to be a simple skill, a skill which opens a portal to a place exclusive to me. However, it had changed into opening the portal for everyone who had completed the test. That¡¯s the reason why I told Da-jeong that her Unique Skill will also change.


    ¡°If zombie domination changes to monster domination, isn¡¯t that a complete scam?¡± Da-jeong asked as she folded her outstretched legs. Probably because she felt numb.


    ¡°There will definitely be some restrictions. Maybe you¡¯ll only be able to control monsters with lower levels than you?¡±


    Just like humans, monsters also have levels. The unfriendly system just chose not to show it. The only way to check a monster¡¯s level was by killing it. If it gives you a skill after you killed it, then it¡¯s level was higher than yours. And if it did not give anything, it¡¯s the opposite.


    Da-jeong turned her head back and looked at me.


    ¡°But if the monster is too big, it won¡¯t be able to enter the portal.¡±


    ¡°If you are on a level that could get a monster that big, I bet my portal would also have grown bigger.¡±


    ¡°Oh! it¡¯s possible!¡±


    The size of my portal was only 1¡Á2 meter in width and height. Naturally, anything bigger than that cannot cross over. But if the portal itself gets bigger, I would be able to put a lot of stuff in. Though, it would surely ask for Aether Stones for the upgrade.


    I put my hand on Da-jeong¡¯s shoulder before opening my mouth, ¡°This is only my guess, but I think starting from level 30, a lot of Unique Skill mechanics will change, such as requiring Aether Stone for an upgrade. The additional effect will also be different from what we know right now.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it will change to giving an additional effect every 10 levels instead of every 5 levels like now?¡±


    That¡¯s a good guess¡­


    When our conversation died down, I shifted my attention towards the Auction House for any important information around Korea. One particular news piqued my interest.


    ¡°The trolls have appeared.¡±


    ¡°Already? Didn¡¯t they appear just before the owlbears?¡±


    ¡°The timing is just right. As winter approaches, the Erosion will also begin. That¡¯s when the owlbears appear.¡±


    Da-jeong¡¯s body shook as she heard my words. ¡°We¡¯re not living in a fantasy movie, so what the hell is this?¡±


    When that time comes, a completely different environment will unfold on Earth. Traces of centuries long of human domination on Earth will disappear.


    ¡°A troll has been spotted near Daejeon City Hall. It had just finished fighting against a tank.¡± I said after getting more information.


    ¡°Let¡¯s kill it! You can definitely kill it!¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I shook my head. ¡°You are the one who will kill it.¡±


    ¡°Eung?¡±


    I wrapped my arms around her shoulders. ¡°All this time, you¡¯ve been giving too much to me. Now you have to grow stronger too. Go get some skills and items.¡±


    Da-jeong stayed wordless and unmoving for a few moments after my words fell.


    Did I say something I shouldn¡¯t?


    When she finally looked at me, there was moisture pooling in her eyes.


    ¡°I am happy. Our Seongho, who always took everything for himself, is finally thinking about giving stuff to others¡­¡±


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    ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t take everything for myself alone! And I didn¡¯t do that every time!¡±


    ¡°What have you given to me so far?¡±


    That¡¯s¡­ a good question. I scoured my memory about the topic, but no matter how far back I go, I couldn¡¯t remember a single one. Everytime, I always take the prize and justify my actions with various excuses.


    Da-jeong laughed out loud.


    ¡°I will forgive your greed because you are on my side! I thought it wouldn¡¯t be possible for you to change, color me impressed!¡±


    ¡°I agree with that sentiment.¡± I chuckled.


    ¡­


    ¡°What a mess.¡± I whispered as me and Da-jeong lounged around in a certain department store. Now that I think about it, the government seems to really like department stores. Just like in Gwangju, Daejeon Time Shelter was also located in the underground parking lot of a department store.


    The time shelter here also seemed to cause chaos around. Because from what I gathered from the Auction House, as well as the mess I¡¯ve seen, several clans were constantly trying to enter it. But, both me and Da-jeong didn¡¯t even pay attention towards the time shelter. After all, the warehouse inside my portal was currently filled to the brim thanks to our work at Gyeryongdae.


    Even I, who was always greedy for more supplies, had to admit that farming was difficult at this point. Nonetheless, I still hear whispers in the back of my mind which said it¡¯s wasteful to just pass the time shelter. But I have my priority right now; helping Da-jeong. Afterall, if she¡¯s become stronger, I would also become stronger.


    ¡°This is delicious!¡±


    Da-jeong took the whole kimbap I had wrapped and chewed it. The ingredients wrapped inside were spam instead of ham and washed pickles instead of cucumber. I was in doubt whether it would taste good or not while making it, but it seems like it tastes okay.


    She quickly shoved the kimbap into her stomach, drank coffee and looked outside. The troll in front of the time shelter had now become two.


    Then, when I looked at the Auction House, I couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    ¡°Looks like Strawberry Princess is here.¡±


    ¡°Strawberry Princess? Oh, that pervert?¡±


    Aside from the Whining Series, there¡¯s also the Princess Series in Survival Life. The original one was, of course, Rapwi. However, when his style became a fashion statement, a lot of IDs with the word ¡®Princess¡¯ on it were created. Among them, the most famous were Rapwi and Strawberry Princess. Of course, in terms of power, they were like hell and heaven. However, because their behavior was perverted beyond salvation, everyone just calls them a twin.


    ¡°You know, that guy¡¯s first ID is Fairy of Love.¡±


    ¡°Guy?¡±


    ¡°Would a woman ever use an ID like that? The only person using that kind of ID was a man at least in his 30s.¡±


    In Survival Life, users who use feminine IDs were no doubt a male. Very few women mainly used funny IDs like Da-jeong, Seokhyun, or even me¡­


    ¡°¡­¡± I suddenly felt chills. That stalker too, must be still alive¡­


    Da-jeong looked at the Auction House and smiled.


    ¡°That guy is really funny. Conquest Clan? Just what is he going to conquer?¡±


    ¡°Korea?¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not normal in the first place¡­¡± Even though what he did couldn¡¯t be compared to our crazy deeds, Strawberry Princess was crazy in his own rights. Anyway, it seems like the tank was the reason why he¡¯s not rampaging right now..


    ¡°Seongho! It finally appeared!!!¡± Da-jeong said, excitement was palpable in her tone. Following a thunderous thud from the street in front of our hiding place, the tank appeared, just like Da-jeong said.


    As soon as it appeared, murmurs of chatting survivors around the area completely disappeared. An orc, which attacked it, was destroyed in just one swing. Yes. Destroyed. Literally. Its muscular limbs were torn apart like it was a paper.


    Da-jeong had an ecstatic expression on her face at the showcase of strength.


    ¡°It¡¯s really cool¡­a lot stronger than my Bulky¡­¡±


    ¡°Will your skill work like it used to be against it?¡±


    ¡°It should be okay. But I don¡¯t think it will be easy.¡±


    Thanks to the tank and the two trolls, the front of time shelter became a chaotic mess. The situation was slightly different from Gwangju, but it was also similar to how the survivors did not dare to approach.


    We decided to watch the situation for now. Even without the trolls, the tanks were so strong to the point we would have to pour all of our strength to fight it.


    However, a gift came to us unexpectedly. While we were having dinner. the system was updated. The tier 3 Store was finally open. I tapped Da-jeong on her shoulder and opened the store straight away.


    ¡°The Store is open. The tier three Store.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s time to use the points we¡¯ve accumulated!¡±


    Indeed. Unless the damn production team goes crazy with the patch. When I entered the store, the thing I was afraid of greeted me; The very first digit of the price was different from what I remembered.


    I was left speechless when I saw the price of the mithril blade.


    ¡°Eight fucking thousand points???¡±


    ¡°What do you mean eight thousand point? Ah¡­.¡± Da-jeong mused. Then right after, she started to hurl a myriad of colorful words. ¡°THOSE PEOPLE!! HAVE THEY GONE MAD? What would we do if they raised it from 5,000 points to 8,000?¡±


    Right¡­ It was not even bullying at this point. It¡¯s a straight daylight robbery. I calmed my anger and looked at the mithril blade.


    ¡¸Mithril Blade: Indestructible, reduced regeneration¡¹


    The indestructible option was naturally attached to any tool made using mithril as its material, and the option to reduce regeneration was important. If something gets hit with this sword, its regeneration ability would be significantly lowered. It would not be completely sealed, but it was so effective that it was essential for hunting monsters with excellent regenerative ability.


    Especially trolls.


    If someone hunts a troll with a mithril blade, they will feel as if the difficulty has been drastically lowered. Of course, it¡¯s not an instant win. Afterall, they still need to take care of the unique traits that the trolls have, for example, the thorns of the thorn trolls.


    I¡¯ve already killed a troll once in this reality, but it wasn¡¯t a proper hunt since it¡¯s a caged monster. Anyone can kill it.


    ¡°I think we¡¯ll have to kill the trolls if we want to catch the tank¡­¡±


    When I said that, Da-jeong trembled and bought two mithril blades. It had a longer and thinner blade than a long knife, so it looked quite nice.


    ¡°Why did you buy two?¡±


    ¡°You take one.¡±


    What a kind woman¡­ Now we just have to kill the trolls.


    Under the shroud of dark night, we got ready and headed out onto the road. The trolls were sleeping among the rubble of a half-collapsed building. Even when they were sleeping, we couldn¡¯t be careless as they¡¯re monsters which would jump up when someone comes nearby.


    ¡°Let¡¯s fight one each.¡± I whispered to Da-jeong as I loaded an adamant arrow into the elderwood longbow. When my eyes laid on the bow, I realized that the time to change it for a better weapon was nigh.


    When the string was released, the arrow hit the troll exactly in the head.


    ¡°Nice!¡± Along with Da-jeong¡¯s voice, a gasp could be heard around. My Super Sense skill informed me of the voices around me.


    ¡°What the fuck is that bastard doing?? Doesn¡¯t he know that it¡¯s a troll?¡±


    ¡°They are going to be slaughtered soon.¡±


    ¡°Hyung-nim, look at that man¡¯s size. Doesn¡¯t he fit into the description of the guy who appeared in Gwangju?¡±


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    ¡°Who do you mean? I Love Gimbap?¡±


    ¡°What the fuck? Did I Love Gimbap appear?¡±


    The surroundings became full of whispers once again. They don¡¯t seem to know, but I could sense their every move. Seems like I would have to finish the fight earlier than I thought.


    The troll which had an arrow stuck on its head stood up, and Da-jeong¡¯s grasshoppers sprung up from around him.


    The battle begins.

 Chapter 149

    Chapter 149 ¨C Rest and Power up (3)


    SInce Kig have something to do this month, aaghna will fill in for him. Do tell us if there¡¯s anything wrong.


    A large man in a stab-proof suit and a woman wielding a ghoul appeared out of nowhere. Unless they were an idiot, a survivor should know who the two were. After all, rumors about what they did in Gwangju and other places had shook the auction house several times.


    The woman was Choi Da-jeong, a stagnant water who went by the ID Duck Buttock goes kwek kwek and was famous from the very first day the Auction House opened up.


    The man was, naturally, the infamous one. The enemy of many. The betrayer of humanity. That Bastard. I Love Gimbap. The man who¡¯s stock had been rising recently. However, amidst the newfound side of him, rumor has it that he was a dangerous person who would resort to violence without thinking twice. Of course, there were many people who felt it was something necessary in Apocalypse. Nevertheless, he was a whole different breed than those people as it was said that his expression didn¡¯t even change when doing it and he was a fan of beating people. There were also rumors that he had committed several murders, and people believed it. After all, the stories about him spread by the people of Gwangju were filled with brutality.


    -Guys don¡¯t lose hope! If we fight together, we can win!-This guy¡­ There was a guy who acted like a dick against him in shelter in Chonnam University. The witness said he was beaten up easily like any normal human even though his unique skill is physical reinforcement. Are you saying we can win against someone like him?-There were quite a few people who said that whoever has anger issues would be cured if they meet I Love Gimbap.


    Strawberry Princess, Park Hyun-seung shook his head as he closed the Auction House. However, he wasn¡¯t scared at all since he knew the two. Of course, it was a connection built inside the game, but in a situation like this, wouldn¡¯t such a shallow relationship also help? If he just pretended to know them, it would help him cement his authority in the clan as well as increase the tax.


    Park Hyun-seung thought up to this point, but he didn¡¯t actually go ahead and greet them. He was shocked. The fighting power of the two was greater than he imagined. Duck Buttock¡¯s ghouls were fighting well. They were well coordinated and resilient. But their skills were still not enough to steal the limelight from I Love Gimbap. Afterall, he was doing what Park Hyunseung thought was impossible; changing directions in the air.


    ¡°How is he doing that?¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m not sure, hyung-nim.¡±


    ¡°It seems like he was stepping on some kind of footing¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you blind? There¡¯s nothing there.¡±


    The clan members watched him intently, but they could only barely follow his movements. One reason was because it was dark. And the other reason was because I Love Gimbap moved at a thunderous pace.


    Groaaaaar-!!


    After a few exchanges, the troll, whose arm was severed, howled loudly.


    ¡®That easily?¡¯ Park Hyeon-seung couldn¡¯t even utter a single word after watching the fight in front of him. He realized that he had to correct the idea that it would be difficult to catch a troll even for Stagnant Waters.


    Groaaaaaar-!!


    On the other side, Duck Buttock¡¯s ghoul skipped around all over the place wildly. It was difficult to catch a troll which was equipped with excellent regenerative ability with their attacks alone, so Duck Buttock was the one who landed the final blow.


    Both of them had the newly updated Mithril Blade in their hands, which was a dead giveaway that both of them were overflowing with points. Even if he searched all over Daejeon, he was sure no one would have bought it till now.


    ¡°I envy them¡­¡± Park Hyun-seung murmured. He has boasted his career in Survival Life to his subordinates, but there was no meaning to do so in front of the two monsters in front of him.


    At that moment, the room became darker. The two trolls had died, but now, the Tank had made its appearance. Meanwhile, Seong-ho and Da-jeong evaluated the guy in a calm manner.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a bit small for a Tank.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I had wished for a big guy to appear. What is this¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not good if it¡¯s too big. It won¡¯t be able to go through the door.¡±


    ¡°I can just destroy the building altogether and enter. What are you worried about?¡±


    ¡°I mean the Portal.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­.¡±


    Seong-ho stepped back and Da-jeong flicked her finger towards the Tank.


    ¡°Come on. It¡¯s time to eat with mama.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not the one who will feed me, right?¡±


    ¡°Even if I wanted to give it to you, the milk wouldn¡¯t come out. You know that.¡±


    ¡°But I don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re pretending like you don¡¯t know that.¡±


    ¡°Hey, he¡¯s coming.¡±


    Suddenly, the Tank started to scratch the ground with its fist. It was its preparatory action taken before rushing. Da-jeong and Seong-ho exchanged eye contact and then turned to the side and jumped away.


    Kaaaaak-!!


    The Tank charged like a mad bull and slammed into the entrance of the time shelter. The second seal completely shattered under the Tank¡¯s furious punches. The guy then slammed into the last sealing door as hard as he could to get rid of it.


    Thud-!!


    The ground shook as the heavy door fell, causing the dust to blanket the area.


    ¡°His power is definitely great.¡± Seong-ho smirked. Back in the game, these kinds of details were just simply impossible to notice.


    Da-jeong snapped her finger, and a swarm of grasshoppers rushed towards the Tank. However, with just a single thrashing, all the grasshoppers were thrown away. The difference in power between the two variety was stark in this kind of situation.


    Da-jeong snapped her fingers once more, signalling her grasshoppers to gather. Then with the next snap of fingers, the grasshoppers once again launched a coordinated attack. However, unlike before, Dajeong also shouted.


    ¡°Gimbap! Help!¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Seong-ho blitzed past her. Among the skills he had gained, there was skill called Fatal Blow. As its name implied, it was a skill that sent an enormous amount of damage. But since his current enemy was Tank, it wouldn¡¯t do much. But it might be useful to freeze it in place for a moment.


    Seong-ho and Da-jeong were aiming for that.


    Kuaaaaaa-!!


    The Tank which was covered with grasshoppers ghoul all over its body twisted and stepped forward. One of the grasshoppers was caught in the guy¡¯s hand and thrown into the building. It wasn¡¯t dead, but it was clear that it wouldn¡¯t be useful anymore in this fight.


    Meanwhile, Da-jeong watched Seong-ho running towards the Tank with a worried heart. She was in a hurry and had asked for help, but now she could spare some second to think, worry crept in.


    He can¡¯t get hurt¡­


    Regardless of her worries, Seong-ho jumped towards the Tank without any care. He then clung onto the Tank¡¯s body without any fear once he landed.


    ¡°Gimbap!¡±


    Suddenly, the figure of Seong-ho disappeared. Tank swung its fist at the locusts and looked around, puzzled.


    However, without giving it any thinking time to think, the grasshoppers completely covered its face and scratched it with their claws. It was at that time that Seong-ho appeared once again. He jumped up like a frog and punched the Tank in the belly.


    Groaaaaaaaar-!!


    The enormous Tank¡¯s body shook at the impact, it stayed rooted at the same spot. Da-jeong did not miss the opportunity and ran towards it and placed her hand on the monster¡¯s arm. A subtle light shone where she touched the monster¡¯s arm. Seconds later, the Tank¡¯s shoulders drooped.


    ¡°Good boy.. Good boy¡­¡± Dajeong stroked the Tank¡¯s arm as if it was a mere harmless child. The grasshoppers retreated, and the Tank became completely docile and bowed its head to Da-jeong. It was a sign that the domination had succeed.


    At Da-jeong¡¯s side, Seong-ho murmured while shaking his fist.


    ¡°Starting from now, it will be impossible to use only our fists anymore.¡± As time passed, it became difficult to endure with one¡¯s body. In Survival Life, the Stagnant Waters danced among the strengthened ghouls and beat up ogres with their fists. But it was a kind of entertainment that was possible because it was inside a game. Not reality.


    Da-jeong climbed to the top of the Tank and then smiled with satisfaction.


    ¡°It¡¯s much stronger than 10 ghouls.¡±


    ¡°Your subordinates will be pissed if they understand your words. By the way, let¡¯s get out of here.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°The Time Shelter is over there.¡±


    She craned her neck and looked at the entrance to the Time Shelter which Seong-ho¡¯s finger pointed to.


    Oops.


    The door was open. The two of them were not interested in Time Shelter, but the survivors of Daejeon would be different. In the first place, it was the only reason why people risked having zombie raid by crowding around.


    ¡°You want to get out of here? If we go, there will be chaos.¡±


    ¡°There is no reason to be here.¡± Seong-ho shrugged. The shelter was overflowing with sufficient supplies. It would be meaningless to collect more because the expiration date would be similar.


    But Da-jeong wanted to approach it from a different perspective.


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    ¡°Let¡¯s take this opportunity to change your image.¡±


    ¡°What is my image?¡±


    ¡°Human butcher, anger issue therapist, a pig that eats everything alone¡­¡±


    These were words spoken mainly at the auction house. Seong-ho didn¡¯t care much about it as it was far better than back when everyone still cursed at him.


    However, Da-jeong spoke once again.


    ¡°Of course, getting out of here is now is the most efficient course of action. I do not deny that.¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°With just offering a little help, your image will improve. I¡¯m sure it would profit you more later on. Do you see people waiting there just staring at you?¡±


    Seong-ho nodded. He could see that people were salivating at the sight of the broken entrance. The reason why they hadn¡¯t rushed yet was clear: They were afraid.


    After all, who will be dumb enough to fight against two people who were able to kill two trolls in an instant as well as subdue a Tank and add it into their group?


    Da-jeong stood in front of Seong-ho and placed a hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to do something great. Just sit down here and I¡¯m sure they will sort it by themselves. Everyone here must have heard about what happen in Gwangju.¡±


    ¡°¡­Okay.¡± Seong-ho answered and took a seat near the entrance. He then put his mithril blade on the floor. Meanwhile, Da-jeong and her ghoul procession moved to kill any monsters which came close enough to the entrance.


    People swallowed their saliva. They were all wondering whether it was okay for them to take the supply.


    Meanwhile, Park Hyun-seung gathered his clan members and reminded them.


    ¡°Never touch two of them or the ghouls, you hear me? We go in quietly and come out quietly, okay?¡±


    ¡°If we try enter, won¡¯t he stab us with that knife?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s scary that he¡¯s not saying anything¡­¡±


    In fact, Park Hyun-seung was also worried about that. But the courageous one gets the supplies. He then remembered what happened in Gwangju. Deciding to believe the story, he started moving. He bet his odds on the fact that I Love Gimbap was an asshole but not a pyscho.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. Again, don¡¯t touch them.¡±


    As the clan members left the building and walked closer towards him, Seong-ho looked at them. Their tension was palpable on their face.


    ¡°Why are they so afraid of me¡­¡± He wouldn¡¯t even eat them, they just have to come and take the supplies.


    Somehow, the clan¡¯s leaders, including Park Hyun-seung, seemed to have gained courage by his silence.


    ¡°Ni-Nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I- I am Strawberry Princess. We played together before¡­¡± Park Hyunseung said. Deep down, he wanted I Love Gimbap to remember him. If he pretended not to know him, his prestige would crumble after all.


    Fortunately, I Love Gimbap knew him.


    ¡°Ah! Rapwi¡¯s twin.¡±


    The moment the word ¡®twin¡¯ came out of his mouth, Hyun-seung sighed in relief. The clan members would see him in bright light again. But pretending to be more friendly here would only make the atmosphere awkward, and he would look like a sycophant so he didn¡¯t say anything anymore. Hyun-seung was a person capable to have that kind of insight.


    He nodded and led his clan members inside. As a few people entered without being harmed, the people who saw it quickly sent the information to the auction house, throwing it into a mess.


    -Let¡¯s all go in!-It¡¯s now or never!-Wait, don¡¯t make a fuss! Let¡¯s go in quietly!


    More and more people left their hideout because of the info. However, unlike the other times when they were always fighting whenever they met someone from another clan, they were quiet right now. It was clear that they were walking on eggshells in fear of disrupting I Love Gimbap and the Ghoul Queen¡¯s good intention.


    Seong-ho looked at the people as more and more people left the Time Shelter with items in their hands. No matter how much they carried, Seong-ho didn¡¯t stop them.


    Thanks to that, among the survivors of Daejeon, the image of I Love Gimbap Joa had improved significantly.


    ¡°Th-thank you¡­¡±


    ¡°Thanks to you, we will be able to have an easier life.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Meanwhile, Da-jeong was busy blocking zombie raids on the outskirts. But he didn¡¯t feel like he wanted to help her at all.


    ¡­


    We left Daejeon and headed for Incheon. I received a lot of requests from the auction house, people asking me to take care of the distribution of supplies from the Time Shelter in their area, but I ignored all of them.


    The reason was not because I found it a pain in the ass, not at all. It was because of the rumors that sniffles had appeared in a spare shelter at a subway station in Incheon. Sniffles was a monster that never appeared in Survival Life so there was no information regarding it anywhere. However, because it was a strong monster, the people naturally became aware of it regardless of its inexistence in the game.


    The government shelter, who heard the news, said that the reserve shelter had became noisy, and they were sending some personnel there. Meanwhile, the looters who had lived around the area since the beggining of the apocalypse were now even starting to attack other survivors. It was unavoidable because every movement outside would feel as if it was a threat to them.


    At the first day of February, we finally arrived in Bucheon and settled down. As I entered the portal, the scarabs poked my leg.


    ¡°Soil? Do you need special soil?¡±


    Nod nod.


    According to their explanation, they need special soil to make a blast furnace. It seems like they couldn¡¯t just extract metal with their mouth anymore for the project.


    ¡°The quality should be good when you make metal with a proper blast furnace¡­¡± Since I ordered it, I have no choice but to comply with their requests. Before leaving for Daejeon, I had asked them to make various tools as the corrosive disease had begun to subside. The ware shouldn¡¯t be filled with weapons but with things like knife, shovel, and pickaxe; things that people use on a daily basis.


    There were plenty of those things in the shelter, but I still wanted to borrow the power of the scarabs. After all, they shouldn¡¯t just play around while I was working hard. Well, to be fair, they didn¡¯t just play around, they also work as hard as me, producing more than 100 rounds of live ammunition everyday. But I still wanted more.


    ¡°Okay. Ghoul Queen! I choose you!¡±


    ¡°HUH?¡±


    Da-jeong who had her eyes glued to the drama playing on the PC whipped her head towards me as she heard my words.


    ¡°Don¡¯t pretend you don¡¯t know. Go get some soil for the scarabs. The journey will only takes two days.¡±


    ¡°Noooooo~ I don¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°You prefer making the hut then?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Da-jeong was clearly torn at my question. In fact, while I was moving towards Bucheon, she didn¡¯t do any work and just played around. Therefore, I had to force her to make a choice.


    ¡°Decide quickly. The corrosive disease is slowly subsiding, so we have to finish the preparations too.¡±


    Once the corrosive disease was gone, we would be able to sell the metal tools we produce. The reason for trying to collect points in this way was because of the tier 4 shop. Back in the game, such a store didn¡¯t exist. But we couldn¡¯t be sure it was still that way since the Unknown Monsters expansion was released.


    ¡°Come on, can¡¯t we go together?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s scary, but be patient. There is no one who will dare to touch you.¡±


    I let her know that she has a lot of work to do. It was because we need to build a hut quickly and secure a good ecosystem so that we can live comfortably. We also had to take into account other people who would come in in the future.


    At my repeated prompting, she got up while throwing a tantrum.


    ¡°Just wait until I return! I¡¯m going to have a lot of fun.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t have time to play. We need to attack the reserve shelter.¡± I smiled. Just imagining the amount of guns I would get from there was enough to make me smile.


    ¡°My luxurious country life¡­¡± Da-jung packed her luggage while sobbing in an exaggerated manner.


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    ¡°When you come back, the watermelon should have ripened to perfection. We¡¯ll throw it into the valley, and eat it.¡±


    ¡°Beer too.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    The stag beetles who worked hard to grow crops from another world will be angry, but it can¡¯t be helped. We have to eat to survive.


    After seeing Da-jeong off, I took off my clothes and threw a log over my shoulder. The forest, which was experiencing summer, was hot as hell.

 Chapter 150

    Chapter 150 ¨C Government Shelter (1)


    Everyone must have dreamed about building a hut in the woods at least once in their live. So did I. My plan was to work hard as much as I could and build a hut in the village far from the noisy city for my retirement days. How nice it would be to live in harmony with nature.


    ¡°But, damn it.¡± I hissed. Never had I thought that I would build my dream hut with my own hands. I was going to leave it to Da-jeong, but she didn¡¯t even finish it. I have to do the rest since I was sure I don¡¯t want my hut to have nothing but the Earth below it.


    I clumsily made the flooring and spread mortar all over it. It was somewhat different from the hut originally drawn by the stag beetles. They pointed to the structure and protested.


    ¡°It will be pain if moisture come up to the room.¡±


    The stag beetles protested even more at my answer. They complained that the moisture was something I shouldn¡¯t fear since it was a part of nature. But I¡¯m not a fantasy race like you, goddammit.


    Even though the nagging continued, I did not stop the construction. At some point, the stag beetles seemed to have given up as they went to work on something else.


    ¡°Whoa, it¡¯s hard.¡± Now that the mortar had hardened, it was time to lay down the real floor. I cut the big logs into smaller parts and fitted it along the lines the stags had drawn on the ground. Just by looking at their work, it was clear just how meticulous they are.


    Once it was done, I put a thick tarp and vinyl on the flooring, and finally laid plywood on it. Now it¡¯s time to raise the pillar frame. It would be nice to have a crane, but it¡¯s my style to make it only once I really need it. Currently, having that was low on my priority list. I proceeded with the work while sipping on some beer that had turned up thanks to the winter on earth.


    ¡°Keeeeeeuuuugghhh.¡± If it were a normal society, I would have been fired from my work because of drinking on the job. Though, since my resistance was high, and my body was strong, I couldn¡¯t get drunk with just any kind of alcohol. But the taste is still good.


    Now that the pillars have been erected, it was time to build the walls. The design was slightly different from what the stag drew since I would be installing a brazier and door at one side.


    As I was raising the timber to build the wall, the stag beetles came and nagged me again. Their chief said ¡®Why don¡¯t you clean the floor?¡¯


    This time, I decided to open my heart and listen to their nagging as advice.


    ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    When I stopped my work and cleared the floor, the guys looked a little startled. They seemed to say ¡®Wait, why is this young man suddenly listening to us?¡¯


    After cleaning, I was sitting on the wood to rest, when the chief stag beetle came with a piece of paper in its claw. Drawn on it was an object that looked like a simple crane. If I had that, it would surely make the work easier.


    ¡°But it¡¯s taking too long to make it.¡± When I said that, the stag beetle climbed up to my thigh and pinched my hand.


    ¡°Ouch. What is that for?¡± The guy made a gesture to look at the clearing. That moment I realized, it was saying to look at the bigger picture; other people who were supposed to come here too. Not one or two huts were to be built in the future, but if every time I needed to raise the pole with manpower alone¡­


    ¡°Yes, you are right.¡± I nodded and tried to pet it. However, the stag skillfully moved away to avoid my hand.


    So you mean we can talk but not touch?


    What a picky guy¡­


    While I was taking a break from cutting the logs, a thought came to my mind.


    Has it been two days?


    It was about time for Da-jeong to reach the volcano. When I looked at the auction house, a smile naturally appeared on my face.


    -Da-jeong is dying!-Da-jeong is dying!


    Seems like she¡¯s currently climbing up a volcano. After all, the best quality soil needed to use in the blast furnace could only be found in those areas. I took a sip of my beer and typed in a comment.


    -I¡¯m currently drinking a cold beer.-Just wait until I come back! Ah really! Why did I say I¡¯ll go to this damn place! Building the hut will be easier!-Other people¡¯s rice cakes always look bigger than ours. It¡¯s just the way of the world.-Your wife is having a hard time right now, can¡¯t you just speak more beautifully to comfort her?-How can I even make it more beautiful than this? Anyway, the drink is really sweet today.-Know what? Just wait until I get home. You are dead!


    I don¡¯t know with what method she intends to kill me, but that¡¯s not important. Da-jeong seems to have recognized the shelter as her home now. It used to be mine alone. But now, it has become ours. That¡¯s good progress.


    I accepted her complaint by throwing jokes here and there. After a while, I got back to work and built the crane using the stag¡¯s blueprint. Once it was done, I used it to lift the roof and place it on top of the house. However that¡¯s not the end as I still need to layer it with some plywood and tarpaulins. Only when the third evening after Da-jeong left came did the hut seem completed.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit slanted.¡± It seems that there was an error in the cutting process. Though, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem soon. It¡¯s still perfectly liveable.


    I fitted the door that the stag beetles had drawn to where it belonged before finally building a brazier and building a wall to separate the bathroom from the rest of the house.


    It¡¯s done!


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave the bathtub here¡­¡± After installing the bathtub, I wondered what it would be like to turn this bathroom into a full-scale washroom using water pumped from the valley.


    ¡°I have more and more work to do¡­¡± Someone said that plans were bound to go awry from the start. It couldn¡¯t ring any truer than this moment. My plan to build a simple hut had turned into building a cabin house where I could live comfortably.


    When I contacted Da-jeong, asking where she currently was, she said that she was on her way back. However, no matter how fast she went, it would still take around two days for her to arrive here. There¡¯s still enough time for me to connect the water pipe to this washroom.


    I went to the valley with the dingo and dug deep to place the pipe.


    ¡°Leave the hose here¡­¡± It wouldn¡¯t be difficult for a monster to find it, so I had to bury it in the ground. And so the work time was multiplied several times over. Of course, the monsters around the forest didn¡¯t just leave me¨Cwho made quite a loud noise¨Calone.


    Tatatatang-!!


    I released my stress by raining them with bullets.


    ¡°Stop attacking, you bastards!¡± I shouted. However, no matter how many of them fell, there was no end to their numbers. Seems like as long as we live in this forest, we would be destined to continue fighting. Maybe until we die.


    ¡°Whew¡­¡± I had fired so many bullets, it was to the point that dense smoke rose from the gun barrel. It was good that my stress was relieved, but new stress quickly replaced it. Hearing the gunshots, more monsters came. It would be refreshing to just shoot them all. But the amount of ammunition I had was limited. Moreover, if I just keep killing them like this, I need to dig the ground again to bury them. Without that ending touch, creepers would start roaming this forest at night.


    I cursed again and shot them to death one by one with arrows. Thanks to that, my working hours have stretched even more.


    ¡°Ah, seriously!¡± I huffed as I plopped to my ass. It might be better to wait for people to come in than to work alone like this. But in that case, it was going to be quite long before they came in.


    ¡°They are still too weak right now.¡± Leaving the monster hunting aside, it would be difficult for them to even complete the entry mission with their current combat power. Considering the fact that they ran away because of a surprise attack from a handful of Japanese, they were still a long way off. I sent them to Seoul in hopes they change for the better.


    ¡°They should be doing fine.¡±


    I mustered up my strength and finished the last task, namely pumping the pump lever, which was used by people from 40 years ago. The hose shuddered and water gushed from the pipe. I wouldn¡¯t use the water just as it was, I would put it in the bathtub and use it to wash and many other necessities. It would be nice if I could get my hands on a motor pump¡­ Though it was an easy problem to solve. All I need is Yoo-hyeon entering this shelter.


    I cleaned up and laid down in the hut. Dingo panted and lay down next to me.


    ¡°This is our house.¡±


    kiiing-!!


    I now have a cozy home.


    ¡­


    I moved all the furniture and supplies from the cave to the hut. I decided to live in this house from now on and just use the cave as a warehouse.


    ¡°It¡¯s hot, there¡¯s no ventilation, and it¡¯s dark¡­¡± I was fully aware of it since I was the one who built it, but this house really had quite a few flaws. To mitigate it, a new solar generator and infrared detector had to be installed.


    After cleaning and moving all the mattresses and blankets, Da-jeong finally arrived. She stared blankly at the hut, covered in dirt. From how her cheeks had become slimmer, showing her chin and cheekbone more, it¡¯s crystal clear that she had suffered quite a bit.


    ¡°To think you¡¯ve built this much¡­¡±


    ¡°I have water ready inside. Go wash.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Da-jeong squealed. Once she entered the house and went to the bathroom, she put her hand in the bathtub and rejoiced.


    ¡°Now we just need to connect the pump.¡±


    ¡°I already did that too.¡±


    ¡°NICE!!!!¡±


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    Da-jeong looked at the pump stored in the small warehouse and tapped her forehead.


    ¡°Seriously, without you, I wouldn¡¯t be alive.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you will kill me while you were climbing the volcano?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you another way. Just wait.¡± She (Menyipitkan) her eyes and gave me a predatory grin. I know very well how ferocious a lioness could become after five days of starvation. Though, I already have a plan to avoid that.


    I opened the portal and went to Earth to take the cold beer I had prepared beforehand and gave it to her. She grabbed the beer from the bathtub and wiped the corner of her eyes with her index finger.


    ¡°I¡¯m not someone who cries often, but tears are coming out.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good¡­¡± That was the end of her words before drifting away from consciousness. It seems that all her tension had washed away as soon as she returned home and her body decided to put itself on rest. Of course the alcohol helped.


    I pulled her out from the bathtub, wrapped her in a towel, and laid her down on her mattress. It¡¯s hot, but I still need to cover her with a blanket.


    ¡°¡­¡± As I looked down at her body which was only wrapped in a thin blanket, a desire rose inside me. No matter what anyone says, Da-jeong was pretty and had a really nice body. But since I got work to do right now, I had to push the rising desire back down.


    I packed up and went out to Earth with Dingo. As I went down to the dark subway entrance and hid, I heard a few muffled gunshots from the inside.


    ¡°Those bastards are already shooting.¡± I sighed. Since the corrosive disease had almost subsided, I knew that the guns would survive even after a few shots. The problem was that the looters at the subway station had full control of the guns. There must be some way to find the entrance and loot it from them.


    ¡°The spare shelter is mine, you bastard.¡± Even when that¡¯s the case, I wonder how I should proceed¡­


    WIth my current equipment, it would be close to impossible to survive against a barrage of bullets. Dimension wall was usable, but it wouldn¡¯t be easy. After all, I have to keep adjusting the area I place it on by reacting on where the muzzle was pointed at.


    If only I had a bulletproof vest¡­


    I thought of government shelters at that moment. As a shelter built by governing bodies, they should have quite a stockpile of bulletproof vests and bulletproof helmets.


    ¡°Doubt that grandfather would just give it to me.¡± I sighed. Another way to do this was to go down with Da-jeong¡¯s ghoul. The thing is, even grasshoppers would lose their strength in front of the firepower of firearms. The tank should be able to stand its ground, but the problem is there¡¯s only one in our group as of now.


    ¡°Seems like I will have to leave Da-jeong inside the portal and go down alone.¡± Only when I was deep enough I could let her and her ghouls out to bring down the core of the looters group at once.


    As I was going down to do some scouting, I suddenly heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs.


    ¡°Euk.¡± I opened the portal and quickly jumped towards it. Not long after, I saw several people running inside. Each one of them was holding a pistol.


    ¡°We can¡¯t even hurt it with a fucking gun!¡±


    ¡°We have to get the rifle!¡±


    ¡°Hurry up! it¡¯s not the time to chat!¡±


    Not long after they passed, a monster followed suit. It was an ugly monster that gave Da-jeong Seok-hyun and I quite a headache; Sniffles.


    It¡¯s been quite a while¡­


    However, its appearance was different from what I remembered.


    ¡°This one is very bulky¡­¡± Normally, monsters with the same name would have a similar appearance. Afterall, it is just impossible for a goblin to look like a werewolf. Their genes and lifestyle was different in the first place. However, these sniffles had a bulging stomach, unlike the previous one I fought in Gyeryongdae.


    ¡°It seems shorter too.¡± With this new revelation, I became more and more convinced that Sniffles was a monster which was created by combining humans and monsters. I¡¯ll be sure when another sniffle comes out.


    Once the Sniffles walked away, I continued going deeper towards the subway station. However, when I was on another flight of stairs, I was forced to throw my body into the portal again.


    ¡°There are two sniffles.¡± The ones I saw right now were also different in appearance from the one I saw earlier. With this, I become sure. But I couldn¡¯t laugh. The new Sniffles launched itself towards two looters who were trying to run away. I was extremely surprised by the power of the new sniffle.


    ¡°It can move like that?¡± It¡¯s not even a rubber band, so it doesn¡¯t make sense that it could narrow a distance that seemed 20 meters in one leap.


    ¡°AHHHHHHH.¡± A flurry of gunshots rang through the subway station right after the scream before it died down. The Sniffles retrieved its thorns and started eating the two corpses.


    Shit¡­


    I closed the portal and fell into contemplation. I came here with the plan to occupy the spare shelter, but now it has become a highest difficulty mission due to the existence of two Sniffles. On top of that, each one of them also seemed to have a different set of abilities from the Sniffles in Gyeryongdae.


    ¡°One had the elasticity of a rubber band, and the other¡­¡± Judging from its bulky body, It should be specializing in defense. If I make a wrong move, even the M72 rocket may not work.


    ¡°The elastic sniff is Slingshot Sniffles, and the fat sniff is Shield Sniffles.¡± And the first Sniffles I met was just a normal one. While I was naming the monsters, a group of looters passed me with guns in their hands.


    ¡°Why do so many guys have guns?¡± Even with this curiosity, I simply couldn¡¯t go deeper than this. It was not even known who spread the rumors and when they gathered. There were no traces in the auction house either.


    ¡°Why did the gun break so easily?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because the Corrosive DIsease sickness hadn¡¯t subsided yet.¡±


    ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen before, spoons and other things seem to work just fine.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because there¡¯s no pressure or shock that impacts it.¡±


    ¡°What impact does the gun have?¡±


    For a moment, the looter¡¯s expression, who looked like he was the eldest amongst the group, wrinkled.


    ¡°You meathead. Do you think bullets just go out like that? Don¡¯t you know it needs gunpowder to explode in order to shoot with that much power? When that happens, the barrel will naturally be put under pressure.¡±


    ¡°Ah, is that so¡­¡±


    It was ignorance beyond imagination. The two disappeared while talking about the need to bring out more guns. The guts of these guys¡­ Talking about something which was mine like it was theirs¡­


    I can¡¯t let it slide. I made up my mind and called the government shelter. When someone entered a comment to answer me, it turned out to be Hyun-woo.


    ¡°So Hyun-woo was also in the shelter.¡± I murmured.


    -Just tell them I Love Gimbap has something to say.¨C Oh, yes.


    After a while, Jang Won-taek appeared in the comment section. I briefly explained the circumstances to him.


    -There are two Sniffles there?-Yes. They also seem to have different abilities from the one in Gyeryongdae. By the way, you know that the looters carry guns, don¡¯t you?-I have heard of it, and there are our people too amongst them.


    Seems like I need to be direct here.


    -I need a bulletproof vest and helmets,-Haha¡­ To think even I Love Gimbap afraid of guns.


    All living things are¡­


    If Jang Won-taek showed an opposing reaction here, I was going to wait. After all, my people were in the government shelter, so if I waited, I could get the supplies I wanted. Jang Won-taek, of course, would be aware of that fact.


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    -It seems you need it desperately. But pushing and pulling here will only build up conflict. Let¡¯s do this then. I¡¯ll give it to you. But you must come in person. Come to the government shelter and pick it up.


    For a brief moment I had a thought that it was only a bait for his bigger plan to put me down, but I soon changed my mind. There¡¯s no reason for him to do harm to me at all. Even if he plans to kill me, I would be revived by the resurrection scroll, so there¡¯s no need to be overly paranoid.


    -I will depart today.-Heh heh, now that I think about it, I am inviting a giant to our small house. I¡¯ll wait.


    Jang Won-taek also asked if I was really okay with the arrangements and what kind of food I liked before we ended the conversation. I made my way out of the subway station before long.


    Now, it¡¯s time to finally go to the government shelter.

 Chapter 151

    When news regarding I Love Gimbap¡¯s visit spread through the government shelter, some kind of tension enveloped all the survivors working there. Half of them were filled with curiosity, while the other half were filled with fear.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it his first time visiting this place?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ Even when Seokhyun stayed here, I Love Gimbap never come.¡±


    ¡°Do you know his real name?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Kang¡­ Something.¡±


    Even though the people from Government Shelter knew that I Love Gimbap had some kind of relation with the new addition to the Shelter, The Dot Island Group, they couldn¡¯t figure out the real identity of I Love Gimbap since the whole group kept their mouth sealed. The only thing that the people of Government Shelter knew about the man was that he was strong and had a big figure.


    Naturally, not everyone welcomed the news. There were also some people who rushed to Jang Won-taek¡¯s office and protested as soon as they heard the news. These very people were those who had some close ties with the three who had died in the labyrinth of Sindorim Station.


    ¡°Does it make sense to invite I Love Gimbap here? We are against it.¡±


    ¡°Why are you against it?¡±


    ¡°He killed our shelter personnel!!!¡±


    One of the three people could not control his anger and half shouted when answering the question. Though, in Jang Won-taek¡¯s eyes, his anger was nothing but acting.


    ¡°He¡¯s the man who murder nearly 20 people in the labyrinth. If he comes here, surely all kinds of hell will break loose!¡± The other two nodded as their friend¡¯s pitch came to an end. They all shared the same feeling that the shelter would be ruined if I Love Gimbap became a member.


    It wasn¡¯t quite a wrong statement considering what he had done so far. Jang Won-taek knows it too. I Love Gimbap had killed dozens of people so far and maybe will kill millions of people in the future. Considering his tendency to accept 1 damage as 10, it was difficult to expect his behavior to get better.


    But still, he wanted to keep a good relationship with him. His great fighting abilities will one day be a boon for humanity overall. Of course, if he wants to be at least on the same side of him, he must pay a corresponding price.


    So Jang Won-taek prepared his defense. ¡°He indeed killed about 20 people in the labyrinth¡­ But, do you know why that happened?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± The three looked at each other¡¯s faces. It was evident that they were determined not to be persuaded by any kind logic.


    Jang Won-taek smiled inside and continued. ¡°The labyrinth case can be said as a self-defense case. Afterall, twenty men rushed in to kill one.¡±


    ¡°How can you interpret self-defense that broad?¡±


    ¡°The Auction House just say they are going to kill I Love Gimbap, they are not really trying to do it.¡±


    ¡°I believe from the point of view of I Love Gimbap, it was a big threat to his survival. Normally, that reasoning alone would not be accepted as self-defense, but this is an apocalypse.¡± Jang Won-taek said. In the apocalypse, everything is fair. Even if it deviated from the conventional common sense and morals. It¡¯s not like the three people in front of him didn¡¯t know that either. They were just afraid that I Love Gimbap might harm them.


    ¡°Shall we think of Gwangju and Daejeon for a moment? He controlled people and distributed supplies at no cost. It is evidence that his attitude has changed considerably.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably the case, but¡­¡±


    ¡°It was definitely a surprise.¡±


    The three did not know that Jang Won-taek promised him many things in exchange for those actions. They just know that he happened to pass by and decided to do such things.


    Jang Won-taek pushed forward without letting go of the initiative.


    ¡°In a nutshell, I Love Gimbap is a very violent person, but he doesn¡¯t touch anyone who doesn¡¯t argue with him. That¡¯s what we have determined from our analysis.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    With that assurance, the three realized they had no more ground to argue and decided to leave. In fact, they weren¡¯t even close with the three dead men.


    As their footsteps faded to silence, Lee Beom-seok came in and conveyed the atmosphere of the shelter towards Jang Won-taek.


    ¡°The response is not bad. People from the island were excited of course. For the rest, curiosity seems to outweigh their fear.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because Seongho was not well known to people¡­¡±


    I Love Gimbap¡¯s notoriety was second to none; a hot topic everybody was interested in. But, only a handful of people had actually met him. Therefore, it couldn¡¯t be helped that people expected his arrival. Of course, some people still had a bone to pick with him, but that was inevitable. It¡¯s simply impossible to resolve all conflicts.


    Jang Won-taek looked in the mirror and stroked his gray hair. ¡°It¡¯s only one person coming, but it¡¯s strangely exhilarating. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because of the situation that he finally came here, or¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you going to leave it to him this time?¡±


    ¡°If you throw the bait, you need to immediately hook the fish when the water ripples.¡±


    ¡°Then, I will clean the area around the entrance as instructed.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡±


    The government shelter was ready to welcome the valuable guests. And just an hour later, following Lee Beom-seok¡¯s guide, I Love Gimbap arrived at the shelter. When the heavy door opened, a man with a wide body entered the Government Shelter.


    ¡­


    People paused for a moment as they saw the man. They knew I Love Gimbap was huge. They also had heard that his impression was sharp. But no one expected his overall atmosphere to be this overwhelming.


    Even though the door had just been opened, a bloody atmosphere poured out towards them. They felt like if they moved without his permission, they would be cut in half by a sword.


    Seongho looked around him and nodded at Jang Won-taek. They had known each other for a while now, but he felt that it would be better to pretend like this was the first time he met him.


    ¡°I¡¯m Kang Seongho.¡±


    ¡°The famous I Love Gimbap. Isn¡¯t this your first time in the Government Shelter? Welcome.¡±


    The tension among the people was relieved at this exchange of these few words. After all, it turns out, I Love Gimbap was also a Korean with a name like the rest of them. Behind him stood a familiar face to them; the Zombie Queen herself. Though, the gigantic ghoul standing behind her wasn¡¯t something they were familiar with.


    ¡°I think our greetings can wait. Let¡¯s talk about something important first. Come this way¡­¡± Jang Won-taek guided Seongho and Da-jeong.


    Everyone present were in darkness about the important thing Jang Won-taek was talking about. But they decided to just leave it be. After all, seeing a figure as legendary as I Love Gimbap and knowing his real name, was enough for them.


    ¡°Wow, his aura is seriously no joke.¡±


    ¡°It is said that his fighting power is also great¡­¡±


    ¡°If such a person rushes to kill me in a labyrinth, I am confident I will surrender in a second flat.¡±


    On the other hand, there were those who complained that he should be arrested for the act of murder. Naturally, those who belonged to this group were those who hated him because he betrayed humanity.


    But whatever their reaction was, Seongho didn¡¯t care at all. After making eye contact with the members of Dot Island, he called upon Seokhyun.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk for a moment.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    People knew that calling Seokhyun to a discussion meant that he was really needed. However, another fact dawned upon them at that moment. It was what it would be like to have three stagnant waters in the same room as them. Curious, they asked Geom-in about it.


    If it was the old him, he would have bluffed to escalate his own image in this type of question. But now, he was aware of his position and decided to act honestly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡±


    ¡°If Mr. Geom-in doesn¡¯t know, who knows?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a stagnant water like them?¡±


    ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t know what I don¡¯t know.¡±


    The reason why his heart was not grieving at the eyes of disappointed people was probably because he had matured. He thought to himself.


    Why should I mind how people look at me? I should be honest with myself.


    Before Seongho disappeared, he had made eye contact with him and nodded his head briefly. It means that he will tell him later.


    Meanwhile, Seongho, Da-jeong, and Seokhyun were escorted to the conference room. When the door of the room opened, they could see Major Kim Hyun-woo inside, waiting for them.


    When he saw Seongho, he stood up in surprise.


    ¡°Huh? Seongho, what are you doing here?¡±


    The two had not met officially since they broke up in Gimhae. Seongho reached out his hand to him and was surprised when he saw the insignia of the major rank on his clothes. Wasn¡¯t he originally a lieutenant or a captain?


    ¡°I was promoted.¡± Kim Hyun-woo proudly stroked the insignia.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    Jang Won-taek sat down on a chair and explained.


    ¡°Major Kim Hyun-woo has done a lot for the government, so the rank of lieutenant colonel is not enough. But living in Korea, the second-class special is unprecedented.¡±


    There was such an unprecedented case before, but it was decades ago, so it was difficult to apply it now.


    ¡°President, this insignia is enough for me.¡± Hyun-woo said calmly. But it was clear that he was deeply touched by the president¡¯s words.


    Seongho didn¡¯t think he had such a great unique skill to be promoted that high, but he bit his mouth, preventing the words from coming out. No matter the time, it was not good to undermine the worth ??of others.


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    Hyun-woo, who had a proud expression on his face, then remembered the identity of the person who came here and his face instantly hardened. ¡°I never thought that you would be I Love Gimbap.¡±


    ¡°Sorry. Back then, the situation was not good, so I couldn¡¯t tell you.¡±


    ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to apologize. I am just¡­ a little surprised.¡±


    The two had decided to stop using formal language with each other because they were the same age, but they weren¡¯t that close, so they were quite awkward with each other. The time they spent together in Gimhae was barely a few days, and after that, they were apart for several months.


    Hyun-woo shut his mouth and Seongho sat down on a chair beside Da-jeong. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Da-jeong stroking Seokhyun¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Promise me you¡¯ll be quiet. okay?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to tell me..¡±


    As the atmosphere became softer, Jang Won-taek opened his mouth, his hands interlocking a few centimeters under his chin.


    ¡°Everyone here is a busy person, so let¡¯s get right to the point. You probably know that there are people with guns at the Bucheon Stadium Station on Line 7. Their goal is to capture the reserve shelter. It seems to have failed for now, but the reason is because of this.¡±


    Lee Beom-seok held out two sheets of paper. It was a piece of drawing based on the information provided by Seongho.


    ¡°According to Seongho-ssi, this one is called Slingshot Sniffles and this one Shield Sniffles. The naming is a little childish¡­ but it captured the characteristics accurately. Is it called Slingshot because it flies like a slingshot?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Meanwhile Shield Sniffles inflated its stomach to block the attack. It looked like a shield, hence the name.¡± At first, it was just a guess, but after attacking it using Da-jeong¡¯s ghoul, he found out their characteristics.


    Jang Won-taek turned his gaze away from him and extended his hand towards Lee Beom-seok.


    ¡°Give me the list.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Soon spread over the table was a list of some people¡¯s names and their pictures. They were all wearing a white robes.


    ¡°They look like doctors¡­¡± Seongho tilted his head at the picture.


    ¡°They are the doctors who dissected goblin corpses before the apocalypse. They are the authorities in the field of anatomy.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­.¡±


    Seongho remembered watching a doctor who was being interviewed by a reporter with a mosaiced goblin body behind him. He was an old man with gray hair. And his name was Lee Hyung-sik. Seongho didn¡¯t remember the name, he just knew it from the list.


    Da-jeong was not very interested, so she just crossed her legs and rested her chin on her hand.


    ¡°So, why are you showing this list to me?¡±


    ¡°Before that, let me tell you what happened before the end at our side.¡±


    Da-jeong yawned and gently pulled Seokhyun¡¯s panties.


    ¡°Did you wash this often?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Seems like I had too high of an expectation for you.¡±


    Seongho nodded. If he just washed his hair and let it grow, he would look good. But it seems like he didn¡¯t care at all about all that.


    Jang Won-taek coughed at that moment, restoring the three focus¡¯ on him and brought out the important topic.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t get any detailed reports about it, but I heard that these people¡­ said something crazy.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°They said that it was better to just kill everyone and become one kind. At that time, the dissection of the goblin corpse was over and there were many other incidents, so I was not in a good mood to think about them¡­ but when I heard about your conclusion regarding Sniffles, those people came to mind. Don¡¯t you think they somehow have something to do with it?¡±


    ¡°Did all of them say the same stuff?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Certainly there is something suspicious about them.¡±


    Seongho firmly believed that Sniffles were the result of artificially synthesizing humans and monsters. And after hearing what Jang won-taek just said, he became intrigued. He picked up a picture of Doctor Lee Hyung-sik, an elder with gray hair.


    ¡°Unique skills tend to manifest in the line of people¡¯s skill before the apocalypse.¡±


    ¡°It is, except for three or four of you.¡±


    ¡°Sooyeon became a healer because she worked in the emergency room¡­ if his field of expertise was anatomy, wouldn¡¯t he know anything about the human body?¡±


    Jang Won-taek smiled brightly.


    ¡°I can tell you that he¡¯s knowledgeable in that area.¡±


    ¡°Then it wouldn¡¯t be strange if Unique Skill to synthesizing humans and monsters manifested in him.¡±


    ¡°The question is where did he conduct such a forbidden experiment¡­ We are judging he was doing it in¡­ Major Kim Hyun-woo starts the briefing.¡±


    ¡°Sir!¡±


    Major Kim Hyun-woo, who was silent throughout the conversation, finally opened his mouth. He filled them with information regarding Incheon¡¯s Bupyeong-gu Office Station.


    ¡°We found a number of cleanly mutilated monster corpses. Our estimation is that it was cut by a long knife, etc. However, if it¡¯s a monster who got hunted, the disappearance of their internal organs cannot be explained.¡±


    ¡°From my conjecture, the experiment should be done with a corpse.¡±


    ¡°No human body was found at the same place as the mutilated monsters. But, I think it was hidden. Probably deep in the subway station.¡±


    ¡°Hmmmm¡­¡±


    When Seongho crossed his arms, Jang won-taek put away the picture and said. ¡°How is it? I tried to entrust the task to Major Kim Hyun-woo, but he had other missions to do. If Seongho takes care of it, we will provide a suitable solution.¡±


    ¡°You mean the body armor?¡±


    ¡°In addition to that, we will also provide proper anti-tank guns. Not a clunky thing like the M72, mind you.¡±


    Seongho pondered. Jang won-taek was not talking about giving him a bunker. But, If it was a bunker in Seoul, not anywhere else, he would have known that he would have taken it by himself, so it would be a waste to give it away. How should he approach this¡­


    Seongho looked at Seokhyun. He was scratching his panties and slapped Da-jeong in the back. Seems like he doesn¡¯t have any thoughts on this matter. But Seongho had an obligation to take responsibility for him. He wanted to make not only Seokhyun, but also for people stronger, to survive in the unknown monsters expansion pack that would appear one day.


    For that purpose¡­


    He organized his thoughts. He couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that there was too much information hidden in government shelters. He had no idea how much effort it would take to peek from the outside. Seems like at this moment too, he should make a head-on breakthrough.


    He opened his mouth.


    ¡°All right. However, there are conditions.¡±


    ¡°What conditions?¡±


    ¡°You know that the Corrosive Disease will subside completely soon, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Jang Won-taek nodded his head. It was clear to him that the Corrosive Disease was disappearing from the looters who could use the gun at the subway station.


    ¡°When you take out your guns from wherever you put it, give me as many supplies as the number of my people.¡±


    In an instant, absurd expressions flashed across the faces of Lee Beom-seok and Kim Hyun-woo.


    Just how much is that?


    Jang Won-taek buried himself in the chair at Seongho¡¯s counter offer.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you can call them your people. Even though Seongho introduced them to us, they are clearly members of the government shelter.¡±


    ¡°Shall we ask them?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Jang Won-taek closed his eyes at Seongho¡¯s words. He never thought he would reveal himself blatantly like this. Even though he knew the Dot Island people were sent by Seongho from the start, he still accepted them because he thought he could melt them into the Government Shelter¡¯s personnel over time. However, as of now, even if they were hunting together with personnel from Government Shelter, there was still a wall between them and the other personnel.


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    Lee Beom-seok, who had been quiet until now, interrupted. He who was always calm, had a tint of anger on his words. ¡°Isn¡¯t that too much of a request?¡±


    ¡°Just think of it as a reward for introducing D-Day. Moreover¡­¡±


    ¡°Moreover?¡±


    Jang Won-taek made eye contact with Seongho. An old lion and a young lion were fighting for the prey. Usually, in a fight like this, the old lion would retreat, but Jang Won-taek couldn¡¯t do that. After all, if he accepts his request, he needs to hand him 30% of the total stockpiles! But as soon as he heard Seongho¡¯s words, his eyes trembled violently.


    ¡°I will be joining the Government Shelter.¡±

 Chapter 152

    Chapter 152 ¨C Government Shelter (3)


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    Jang Won-taek calmed his rapidly beating heart and took a slow and steady breath. An action only possible because of decades of rolling in snake filled pits called politics.


    Unfortunately for him, Seongho had the ability to catch even the minute movements of his facial muscles and even the sound of his heart. Therefore he knew that he was pretty excited.


    ¡°Joining our shelter, huh?¡±


    ¡°Is there any problem?¡±


    ¡°Rather than a problem, I wonder why Seongho made such a choice. Not long ago¡­¡±


    ¡°I said I don¡¯t like to be under someone.¡±


    ¡°Has things changed?¡±


    ¡°After hearing the story today, it has.¡±


    Jang Won-taek did not ask further questions. He must have been seduced by the fact that this place had information. Just because government shelters were currently quiet didn¡¯t mean their abilities were nonexistent. If only the Corrosive Disease disappears, they would be able to deal with the surrounding monsters at once and serve as the shield of mankind.


    The shelter¡¯s information and huge amounts of material were enough to make it possible. The problem was, personnel. Rumors had spread that they had guns, but they still failed to recruit survivors. On top of it, the cold also slowed down the already crawling recruiting process pace to something that was barely moving. Jang Won-taek knew that survivors would start to flock towards them once the winter ended, but he wanted to have a sizable force before then.


    That was why, when he heard Seongho¡¯s words, he couldn¡¯t help but get excited. If they could recruit I Love Gimbap, the government shelter will emerge as a hot potato. Something which the current PR team was incapable of achieving.


    Jang Won-taek glanced at Lee Beom-seok, who was clearly bewildered, and tapped the table.


    ¡°Of course we welcome any survivors ¡­ especially if it is Seongho-ssi. But I know you¡¯ll leave someday.¡±


    He, who had strong anti-collusion tendencies, would not stay in the Government Shelter for long. That was Jang Won-taek¡¯s judgment.


    And it was correct.


    ¡°I will be here until a month after the corrosive disease subsides. Until then, I will work for government shelters.¡±


    ¡°Not for government shelters. For all of us.¡± Lee Beom-seok intervened, trying to correct his words. But Seongho did not respond.


    In the first place, he was someone who wouldn¡¯t even try to make people understand him just because they had different ways of seeing things than him.


    He is someone one who really stands out¡­


    Jang Won-taek had lived in Yeouido for a long time and met quite a lot of people who were like Seongho. They were always doing things their own way, making it difficult to change them. That tendency would be even harder to change in this apocalypse.


    Jang Won-taek felt that it would be better for him and the Government Shelter in general to accept his proposition here.


    Despite Seongho¡¯s fame, another thing which he particularly coveted was his combat power. Even Seokhyun had said that if Seongho fought him with all he had, he would lose. Perhaps the same also goes for the Ghoul Queen.


    Jang Won-taek turned his gaze to the woman in question, who was sitting close to Seongho.


    ¡°Our Da-jeong, who came after a long time, seems to be close with Seongho.¡±


    ¡°Of course. We are one.¡±


    Hyun-woo, who had just put the cup to his lips, spit the water. Without minding him, Da-jeong hugged Seongho¡¯s arms and winked at people.


    ¡°How about One Plus One?¡±


    Jang Won-taek smiled sadly. He was aware that they were close, but never had he thought that they were in that kind of relationship. Now, Seongho¡¯s offer has become a league sweeter. Afterall, if he accepted him, he would even get the ghoul queen. It was temporary, of course, but for the current Government Shelter, that was enough.


    He has no reason not to accept it. It¡¯s a service which is clearly worth 30% of the material the shelter has.


    Jang won-taek¡¯s fingers stopped tapping the table and opened his mouth. ¡°I¡¯ve felt it before¡­ but you really have a talent for making proposals by putting people down. You should have been in politics.¡±


    ¡°I am not interested in politics.¡±


    Jang Won-taek smiled brightly at Seongho¡¯s answer. ¡°Every act where a person interacts with other people in life is politics. If you always throw your fists just because you don¡¯t like something, it¡¯s the beginning of a war.


    ¡°You said you didn¡¯t like having someone above you, so I¡¯ll correct it. We are equal partners.¡±


    Seongho said without holding his hand. ¡°Whoever sees it, it looks like you are leaning on me.¡±


    ¡°You are free to think whatever, but I have no intention of giving orders. Seokhyun, did I ever give you an order?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Jang Won-taek had always taken the form of a request whenever he needed someone to do something. And whoever he chose, they had the right to refuse. However, in reality, no one could ignore his influence, so they would obey him.


    As soon as Seongho took his hand, Jang Won-taek furrowed his brows.


    ¡°Now, we are eating from the same pot.¡±


    ¡°For the time being.¡±


    After the three of them left, Jang Won-taek sighed and lit up the cigarette pinched between his fingers.


    ¡°Uh-huh¡­ I¡¯ve designated this room as no smoking area. But it seems like I will be the one who also breaks it.¡±


    ¡°No one will ever say anything.¡±


    When Lee Beom-seok spoke, Jang Won-taek smiled bitterly. ¡°I mean, the action is problematic itself. I can¡¯t even keep the promises I made to myself, so how can I tell other people this and that?¡±


    ¡°The president deserves it. Unlike others, you saved people.¡±


    Jang Won-taek let out a long puff of acidic smoke.


    ¡°You better not say that in front of that friend. By the way, Major Kim, you know Seongho?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes. We moved together for a while in Gimhae. However we separated after I received the summons and went there.¡±


    ¡°How was he back then?¡±


    Kim Hyun-woo tried to remember the days he couldn¡¯t remember well.


    ¡°At that time, he was strong. Some people attacked to collect supplies from the Gimhae Battalion, but they were forced to return empty handed.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    The three didn¡¯t even know that Seongho had destroyed the Gimhae clan and continued to chat.


    ¡°He was kind to the Japanese people on the island as well.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ When I first heard about it, I doubted if it was the same person. He even gave them some medicine.¡±


    ¡°It must have been because those people were worth using.¡±


    Jang Won-taek was bitter at Lee Beom-seok¡¯s words.


    ¡°Don¡¯t always look at the bad side.¡±


    ¡°He is a Punisher type of person. He separates everyone into those who he needs to kill and those who he does not have to. He¡¯s very dangerous.¡±


    ¡°¡­It is our role to embrace such people. You shouldn¡¯t forget that.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    The two bowed their heads to Jang Won-taek. This is why they respected him. He believed in human goodwill. He always thought that even the worst human beings could change. It¡¯s unclear whether that will work in Apocalypse though.


    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s one more thing I need to ask you, Major Kim.¡± Jang Won-taek, who said that, had an apologetic expression on his face. After all, as soon as Major Kim joined Government Shelter, he continued to give him missions and make him wander from one place to another.


    But Kim Hyun-woo didn¡¯t seem to care. ¡°It¡¯s more convenient to take orders.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you said that. All you have to do is¡­ take your men and bring rifles and anti-tank weapons from Yongsan bunker here. It has to be a no-shock one, and it has to be usable.¡±


    Kim Hyun-woo put on a troubled expression.


    ¡°There is no anti-tank weapon without aftershocks. And it¡¯s very difficult to use modern anti-tank missiles. Maintenance is required.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Will the bad gift from before repeat?¡± Jang Won-taek felt his head hurt. He had bragged about the weapon to Seongho, what would happen if he was unable to give it to him?


    He opened his mouth after giving the matter a ponder. ¡°Take him to Yongsan bunker then.¡±


    ¡°President, that is not possible.¡±


    ¡°I know what you want to say. But this time, you will follow my will. We can¡¯t treat a guest who brings you a big gift like that ever again.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± Although Lee Beom-seok was not convinced, he decided to follow his superior¡¯s will.


    Jang Won-taek gave instructions to Hyun-woo. ¡°Take him and tell him to choose for himself. Of course you have to watch him.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.¡±


    Even though Jang Won-taek ordered so, he himself wasn¡¯t sure if the measure would really work. After all, Seongho was someone who was able to grab a lot of supplies from the Gwangju Time Shelter. He told him that he¡¯s not satisfied with what he got at Gyeryongdae bunker, and if he knew about the Yongsan bunker, he would naturally get greedy.


    Jang Won-taek leaned against the chair. ¡°He¡¯s really a greedy person.¡±


    ¡°How about severing contact with him after this, Mister President? He¡¯s too greedy.¡±


    Lee Beom-seok suggested it, but Jang Won-taek just shook his head.


    ¡°No, we have to keep in touch with him. You know why.¡±


    ¡°Is it because of his Unique skill?¡±


    ¡°People did not find Da-jeong in the Gwangju Time Shelter incident. But she was definitely there. Rumor said that people can enter his subspace.¡±


    ¡°It would have saved a lot of people. What a waste.¡±


    ¡°You know what would have happened to you in the Wetland labyrinth if you said it right in front of his face, right?¡±


    Lee Beom-seok¡¯s face hardened and Jang Won-taek looked at him and said,


    ¡°Don¡¯t force him to do anything or even ask why he lives his life that way. Because if you do it, you will only live with him as your enemy. If you are still alive, that is.¡±


    If you keep in contact with goodwill, one day he will reach out. Jang Won-taek thought so.


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    ¡­


    Seems like Da-jeong wasn¡¯t just being picky with food when she told him that the food in the Government Shelter was bad. The dishes they served were terribly tasteless. However, he couldn¡¯t just not eat it. There were many eyes looking at him at the moment. I scooped the mashed potatoes with a spoon and shoved it into my mouth. The seasoning was lacking, there was no taste at all except for the potato.


    Da-jeong shrugged and smirked at his display. ¡°Isn¡¯t so fuckin tasteless, is it?¡±


    She said it in a loud voice to the point people started to look at her.


    ¡°Well¡­ It¡¯s edible.¡±


    ¡°Your face said so otherwise, though? Don¡¯t you think so, Mi-kyung?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Mi-kyung only looked at me before putting her head down and eating again, giving no answer whatsoever.


    Hyungjun hyung fluttered his plastic spoon.


    ¡°They say there are food and seasoning supplies in the sealing room, so we have to hold on until then. That¡¯s right, Seongho. Didn¡¯t you say you have some smoke with you?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to my room after this, hyung-nim. I¡¯ll give it to you there. You should come too, Sooyeon.¡±


    Sooyeon, who put the plastic spoon in her mouth, nodded.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    After exchanging those words, we hurriedly finished our meal. However, when I stood up and was about to return the plate, Jang Won-taek came and sat down next to me.


    ¡°Can I talk to you for a moment?¡±


    I stood back down and nodded.


    He lowered his voice and said, ¡°I was going to prepare something better for you than the previous one, but there was a setback.¡±


    Seongho knew what he was talking about. The anti-tank weapon. However, it would be better than the M-72 he got at Gyeryongdae shelter.


    ¡°It¡¯s enough if it can shoot.¡±


    ¡°There will be a problem with the whole machine if you use it. It¡¯s a sophisticated piece of equipment after all.¡±


    It seems like it would be quite different from the M72, where I could just aim and shoot. If so, should I use the M72 again? I think it would somehow damage the Slingshot Sniffles, but there¡¯s a high probability that it won¡¯t work for the Shield Sniffles. In the meantime, if the looters attack, I would have to fight back. Things were getting complicated.


    Seeing my expression, he quickly added.


    ¡°So we want to give you a choice.¡±


    ¡°What kind of choice?¡±


    ¡°You just have to go inside and choose what you want.¡±


    That means he gives me the location of the bunker. I glanced at him.


    ¡°You will tell me the location?¡±


    ¡°You will go there with Major Kim.¡±


    Ah, so he wants me to take just what I need¡­ Smart. There is no need to show that I could store it in the portal, so I should use a dimension slot. I mean, as long as I have the location, I could just come and pick it up later.


    I nodded and stood up, he asked.


    ¡°How many people will be going?¡±


    ¡°Only four will go.¡±


    He nodded his head happily.


    ¡°It will be the first time the four stagnant waters move together. We look forward to great results.¡±


    ¡°We will just give you the information we acquire, no more.¡± I said so, but he still smiled warmly.


    ¡°That alone is enough.¡±


    Sometimes I just couldn¡¯t figure out what this old man was up to. I went back to the dorm area. Four people were supposed to share one room, so there was no privacy or anything like that. All in all, the food and living place was far inferior to Dot Island. I feel sorry for sending them here now. Thankfully, they didn¡¯t seem to care.


    I headed to the room where Hyeongjun hyung and Sooyeon were waiting for me. When I opened the dimension slot and took out a cigarette, Hyungjun hyung was delighted.


    ¡°It¡¯s a cigarette!¡±


    ¡°You know you can¡¯t smoke here, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just hold on to it now.¡±


    Looks like he¡¯d been starving for quite some time. Meanwhile, Sooyeon showed interest in my dimension slot.


    ¡°Seongho, can I touch it?¡±


    ¡°Sure. Slot number one.¡±


    She was amazed to see the Mithril Blade floating in the air.


    ¡°It¡¯s like some kind of game quickslot.¡±


    ¡°You know about that?¡±


    She laughed awkwardly at my question.


    ¡°I heard a lot from Geom-in ssi.¡±


    It was really sad to hear that he was talking to a doctor in his early 30s about games. Shortly after, Seokhyun, Da-jeong, and Geom-in entered one after another. When the room was full, Da-jeong snapped her fingers.


    ¡°No one will come in because the door is blocked by Tank.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I looked around at the people and said. ¡°Now that we are all here, let me tell you something. I¡¯m here to gather information and respond to anything this place is trying to do if it is regarding us. Do you know that the Corrosive Disease is almost gone?¡±


    Hyungjun hyung and Sooyeon nodded their heads almost at the same time.


    ¡°I know some crazy bastards are shooting guns out there, so you¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure because I haven¡¯t been testing these days.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not completely gone now, so the gun didn¡¯t last long. It will be gone in a month or so.¡±


    ¡°A month, huh?¡±


    ¡°A lot of things will change when that time comes. You know the government has a huge stockpile of weapons.¡±


    ¡°We are aware of it.¡±


    ¡°Once it is usable, the government will no longer stand still. They will use Geom-in¡¯s totem to create a good shelter. Those two qualities will become a focal point that draws people in.¡±


    ¡°Then what should we do? From what we talked about before, didn¡¯t we decide that we will appeal to them by working hard to be able to get guns?¡±


    ¡°From now on, you are all going to gather as many supplies as possible before entering my shelter.¡±


    Sooyeon hesitated and said,


    ¡°After hearing about it from Seok-hyun-ssi, didn¡¯t we need to do some quest?.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. You have to go to a place similar to the Farming Dungeon and find 3 Aether Stones. I¡¯ll give you a scarab and dingo, but it won¡¯t help much in battle.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just like doing it alone.¡±


    Even my hyung-nim seems to have no confidence in doing it. It¡¯s only natural. So far they had been hunting together, so hunting ¡®alone¡¯ would be a foreign concept to them.


    I opened dimension slot 10 and showed them the gun I had. Except for Seokhyun and Da-jeong, everyone was surprised.


    ¡°You have a gun?¡±


    ¡°Oh my gosh¡­¡±


    ¡°There was a time when goblins appeared in Gayasan, is it not? That¡¯s when I looted it.¡±


    I took out the revolver from the dimension slot and put it in Sooyeon¡¯s hand.


    ¡°How is it, Sooyeon-ssi? With this, can you fight monsters?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    After hesitating for a while, she finally nodded her head. Seems like the reason for her delay was because she never had guns in her hand before.


    I retrieved the revolver and put it back in the dimension slot. There¡¯s only one month left, so I guess I would have to go around and train with the members.


    At that moment, Geom-in opened his mouth.


    ¡°I, I can do it. The mission, I mean.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t enter just yet¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I know that once you enter, you wouldn¡¯t leave if we didn¡¯t force you. That too on premise we know where you are, you shelter maniac.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that¡­¡± He laughed wryly and scratched his cheek. But he didn¡¯t seem to be offended at all.


    ¡°You can enter together with the others later. I won¡¯t ask you to leave at that moment.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Seeing him clenching his fists with all his might, it seemed like he¡¯s waiting for that day. But so are other people.


    I looked at them and said, ¡°Anyway, after the corrosive disease disappeared, it¡¯s the real thing. We¡¯re not the only ones with guns.¡±


    Even if it¡¯s not the looters at the subway station, there will be others. After all, there¡¯s quite a few bunkers in Hannam-dong. What they stocked up in the bunker is irrelevant. But I know that it would be dangerous for us. Also, there were those who have not yet revealed their identity yet.


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    ¡°Always cover up and think bullets can come at you any time. Body armor is a basic requirement, and you must always wear a helmet.¡± I said in serious expression.


    Da-jeong, who had only listened so far, opened her mouth.


    ¡°Major Kim is looking for you, Seongho.¡±


    It¡¯s time to depart. I got up and said


    ¡°The four of us are going to kill a Sniffles.¡±

 Chapter 153

    Chapter 153 ¨C We are the craziest ones in this area (1)


    Rumors about the appearances of Sniffles in Bucheon subway station finally made its way to the Auction House. The Government Shelter tried to minimize it as much as possible, but once they realized it was useless, they spread the information about the monsters. Naturally, the survivors were left speechless when they saw the appearance and characteristic of Sniffles.


    -That¡¯s crazy¡­. Absolutely disgusting.-Is that a human or a monster?-It¡¯s arms can stretch like that? The hell¡­-The teeth and the thorns are really disgusting.-Is it real that it won¡¯t die even if it is shot by bullets?-But who has guns? Isn¡¯t the Corrosive Disease still in effect?-Ask the government shelter.


    In addition to rumors about Sniffles, rumors of looters carrying guns also spread.


    -You guys be careful. If you go in there just out of curiosity, you¡¯ll die.-If they shoot, won¡¯t they become a murderer? Until now no murderer event has been held yet.-If they shoot you in the stomach or legs then Sniffles or other monster kill you, then they won¡¯t become a murderer.-Oh, I see¡­-If you go down there, you can get a lot of guns thrown away by looters.-Bro, is your unique skill stealth? Why don¡¯t you pick it up, then?-They are all broken, why should I waste my time on it?-This is a rumor, but I heard that there are many private shelters in the wealthy areas of Hannam-dong. Those bastards got information about the apocalypse in advance. What should we do about them guys?-Bro, those bastards are dangerous.-Oh, I¡¯m sorry. It wasn¡¯t intentional.


    Rumors about Seongho also spread.


    -Is the gossip that I Love Gimbab entered the Government Shelter for real?-His name is Kang Seongho.-It¡¯s kind of a silly name.-Sir, let¡¯s go to I Love Gimbap and say that.-It¡¯s a very powerful and masculine name.-LMAOOOOO-It is said that his eyes are very bloody. I think the story about him spread by people from Gwangju is real.-So, if I go to the Government Shelter now, I can meet Kang Seongho?-He¡¯s on a mission right now.-Is it to kill Sniffles in Bucheon Subway Station?-Yep-There is one thing you guys are overlooking.-What is that?-It¡¯s the fact that four stagnant waters have gathered in the Government Shelter.-OMG.-Duck Buttock is also there?-Wasn¡¯t she originally a member of the Government shelter?-She left Government Shelter a few months ago. But now she has returned with I Love Gimbap.-Together with him? Perhaps¡­-Then, the Government Shelter¡¯s power will rise easily from now, won¡¯t it?-What is I Love Gimbap¡¯s unique skill?-It¡¯s something like subspace, not a creation type at all. I don¡¯t know the details, though.


    Thanks to the news regarding all 4 stagnant waters that had gathered, people were starting to take an interest in Government Shelters. It was on top of the news that they had stocked up on firearms and all kinds of supplies. What they would do after the Corrosive Disease subsides became a matter of concern to all survivors. Some people even went as far as to pack their bags saying they wanted to go to the Government Shelter.


    -It¡¯s still cold¡­ If you go outside, your balls will shrink.-I¡¯m a woman, so It won¡¯t shrink.-LOLOLOLOL-I want to see the faces of stagnant waters¡­-How many people are there in the Government Shelter?-There¡¯s a little over 30 people.


    Seeing those comments, the Government Shelter started promoting in earnest. The main point of their promotion was of course the fact that whoever joined could see the Stagnant Water with their own two eyes.


    Without knowing what kind of ripples they brought, the four stagnant waters entered the Yongsan Ministry of National Defense building without care.


    ¡­


    ¡°This place is commonly referred to as the B2 bunker. A historic place that is still around even though it was built in the 70s¡­¡±


    ¡°Wow, the air is funky down here!¡±


    ¡°I think I will get sick just by breathing.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Even though Major Kim Hyun-woo explained the bunker in great detail, no one cared about him. He sighed and just shuddered when he remembered what the four people in front of him could do. In particular, he was overly cautious with Da-jeong. On their way here, she used her giant ghoul to throw him at orcs to help Geom-in level up. Of course, the man let out a terrible scream as he fell among the hordes of monsters and was forced to fight a fierce battle.


    However, what Hyun-woo was more surprised at was how Seongho and Seokhyun behaved. As if familiar with this kind of thing, they did nothing at the sight and only jumped in to help Geom-in when he really needed it.


    ¡®Why does the President believe in these guys¡­¡¯


    He admits that their fighting power was high. Zombies, ghouls and orcs were no match against them. Through the rumors, he also knew that their power was higher than what he saw as they could easily hunt even werewolves and trolls. But, no matter how strong they are, shouldn¡¯t they act more responsibly because they were given a mission by the President?


    ¡®Can they still do that even when the Corrosive Disease subsides?¡¯


    The answer Hyun-woo reached was a resounding no. No matter what skill they have, they would be powerless against the king of all weapons. Once armed forces with guns emerged, it was clear that the fame of the stagnant waters would take a nosedive.


    What can they do if the army shoots at them?


    ¡®They will die.¡¯


    Of course, Hyun-woo knew that the four of them were armed with good Unique Skill, skill, items. But in his opinion, those 3 qualities were still no match for a gun¡¯s destructiveness.


    ¡®From that point on, the world will be ruled by us.¡¯


    The ¡®us¡¯ he meant was the armed forces under President Jang Won-taek. A lot of people ridiculed the President right now, but things will change soon. Hyun-woo was waiting for that day to come.


    ¡°Oh, it seems like this is the place.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Rapwi! Tear it open!¡±


    Without waiting for Hyun-woo¡¯s permission, the stagnant waters opened the bunker¡¯s entrance. Seokhyun¡¯s power was too strong for the door, making the thick security door slam open without any resistance. After passing through the dark narrow passage, a concrete cover like what Seongho had seen at other shelters greeted them.


    Now it¡¯s time to lift it up.


    ¡°Tank, pull it.¡± As Da-jeong snapped her fingers, the enormous Tank began to use its power. Once the cover was pulled up, Seongho descended on a rope and connected it to the net cover. Originally, Hyunwoo was thinking of using a crane, but he had to admit that the method employed by the four was much faster.


    Finally, all 20 covers were lifted and Da-jeong kicked Seongho¡¯s ass before he dropped it into the hole.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Hyun-woo looked down at the hole in surprise. Somehow, after a few seconds, he could see light coming from the hole. When he was rooted in place, bewildered. Da-jeong shouted.


    ¡°What kind of things are stored there?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot! I need to take a look around first!¡±


    ¡°Steal whatever you see!¡±


    Hyun-woo was startled by the words and jerked up.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t take it carelessly!¡± He shouted. After all, the B2 bunker¡¯s materials belonged exclusively to Government Shelters.


    Dajeong sneered at him and folded her arms. ¡°It¡¯s ours in the end. What¡¯s the problem with taking it with us in advance?¡±


    ¡°It belongs to the government, not you.¡±


    ¡°Up until now. But since that greedy man has come to this place, he won¡¯t just let it pass.¡±


    She and Seokhyun chuckled at the same time. Meanwhile, Hyun-woo started to get anxious. It seems like telling the stagnant water about this bunker was a mistake.


    In any case, he had to quickly go down and guide Seongho around to make sure he didn¡¯t take more than what he deserved. Biting his lips, Hyun-woo started descending using the very rope used to lift the cover.


    ¡®This is no joke¡­¡¯ Even with a knotted rope, it wasn¡¯t easy to climb down 200 meters on a rope. ¡®How the hell did Seongho get this down in seconds?¡¯


    When he finally arrived at the storage room, he saw that Seongho was already ripping away the tarp covering the crates.


    ¡°So you guys are hiding something like this, huh?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but as of now those weapons are unusable because they need to be maintained first.


    ¡°Then what can I use?¡±


    ¡°This one.¡± Hyunwoo checked the list before turning over some tarps on a particular pile of crates.


    When the glowstone in Seongho¡¯s hand illuminated the weapon stored inside, he scratched his chin in dissatisfaction.


    ¡°M16 rifle, K5 pistol, body armor, bulletproof helmet and Panzerfaust 3¡­ These things are too old.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Panzerfaust for your information. It¡¯s an old-generation rocket, but its penetrating power was quite good.¡± Hyun-woo, who corrected the name, immediately assembled the launcher and gave instructions on how to use it.


    ¡°I doubt it will happen, but if you need more penetrating power, you can pull out the extension tube in front. If you open the handle of the launcher here, the trigger will come out, so be careful.¡±


    ¡°After that, I just need to release the stabilizer and pull the trigger, right? How about the explosion range?¡±


    ¡°In the manual, it is at least 2 meters wide, but it would be better to secure more than that. Personally, I like to shoot from a distance of about 10 meters.¡±


    Sengho who listened to the instruction was quite surprised as soon as he lifted it up.


    ¡°It¡¯s a lot heavier than the M72.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s almost 13 kilos¡­ You know now how good the penetrating power is. No monster can stand it.¡±


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll find out later.¡±


    Seongho put the Pzf-3 in its original crate and tied it to the rope hanging from above. Then, he sent them up one by one.


    Hyun-woo, who was silently watching, chose to open his mouth at that moment.


    ¡°Seongho. What do you want to do in the future?¡±


    ¡°How far in the future are we talking about?¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ I guess in the future when everywhere has become reasonably safe. I mean, we are not going to live like this forever, are we?¡±


    ¡°There will be no future where the situation reaches that point. We will continue to live like this.¡±


    ¡°You can only say that because you don¡¯t know.¡±


    Hyun-woo went to the corner of the storage room and a heavy machine gun was revealed as soon as he lifted the tarr covering it. He struck the barrel with his shoe.


    ¡°This bad boy here is something that fires hundreds of 12.7mm AP rounds per minute. Can the monsters of Survival Life survive this?¡±


    Seongho spoke frankly. ¡°Even an ogre can¡¯t stand against it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. As long as the Corrosive Disease disappears, the monsters are over and this place will be our world. In that kind of world, won¡¯t there be work to be done for us?¡±


    ¡°What are your plans for yourself, though?¡±


    ¡°I want to build a new Korea. Of course under the direction of the President and together with the people.¡±


    ¡°You must be happy to receive orders.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m a soldier, so of course it¡¯s easier to just receive orders. But you see, the reason I happily carry my mission is because the President is definitely a man worthy of respect.¡±


    ¡°I agree with that.¡±


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    ¡°Then let¡¯s go together.¡± Hyun-woo said as held out his hand.


    But Seongho just stared blankly at it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go together and help the President to build new Korea.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the difference between this and the old Korea?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s similar. Although the scale will be smaller than before. After all, it¡¯s not possible to recover all the lost land in one swoop, right? The roadmap has already been established too. All that¡¯s left is to gather people. If you decide too late, there will be no seats left.¡±


    Despite Hyun-woo¡¯s enthusiasm, Seongho remained expressionless. He didn¡¯t seem interested in his story at all.


    ¡°If you want to do it, just do it.¡±


    ¡°Why are you talking like someone who doesn¡¯t care at all?¡±


    ¡°Well, I really don¡¯t care. I have other plans.¡±


    ¡°Tell me what it is. Let¡¯s help each other by talking to each other.¡±


    ¡°Is that necessary? I think just like me, you wouldn¡¯t understand my plan.¡±


    ¡°No, we will understand. I believe we can. Even if we can¡¯t, I still believe that we will be able to live with those who we don¡¯t like.¡±


    ¡°Seems like you are already stained by that old man.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that old man, it¡¯s the President.¡± Hyun-woo¡¯s voice was lowered, but Seongho spoke again without having any change in the slightest in his voice.


    ¡°Please, don¡¯t force your thoughts on me.¡± To put it in a good way, Seongho meant that the conversation should end here.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Silence filled the storage room and Seongho sent the last cartridge up by tying it to a rope.


    Hyun-woo said one last thing at the moment.


    ¡°If you¡¯re thinking of coming back here, you¡¯d better give up.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, whatever.¡± Seongho glanced at him and climbed up the rope. He looked fine until back in Gimhae, just what kind of thing did he hear from Jang Won-taek?


    ¡®I don¡¯t even know if he¡¯s normal in the first place. It could be that he was already crazy back then.¡¯


    When Seongho reached where his friend had gathered, he could see Seokhyun was loading a magazine into the K5 pistol while the others had their eyes on him. As Seongho was about to pack his luggage, Seokhyun suddenly put the muzzle on the back of his hand.


    ¡°Seokhyun-ah¡­you¡­¡±


    Bang-!!


    The gunfire bounced around the wall and echoed. When Seokhyun lowered the pistol, the bullet could be seen being pushed out of the wound and fell to the floor.


    Da-jeong muttered in amazement at the sight.


    ¡°The hell¡­ It didn¡¯t go through?¡±


    ¡°Looks like I¡¯m a bit strong.¡± Seokhyun proudly bent his forearm as he declared so. Of course it was followed by getting kicked in the ass by Da-jeong.


    ¡°All the crazy people are here.¡± Seongho muttered as he shook his head.


    ¡­


    Bucheon Sports Complex Station became noisier than before. It was due to the survivors who flocked to the place as if the chaos brought by the looters and two Sniffles were not enough. Everyone at the Auction House said that it was dangerous there, but it still couldn¡¯t stop the swarms of ants rushing to the cookies. As a result, the Bucheon subway station was a mess filled with sounds of gunshots and screams.


    ¡°It¡¯s a mess wherever we go.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s be as quiet as possible when we take care of things.¡± We hid the ghouls in the shelter and hid in the nursery room in the subway station. The reason we had to do it the hard way like this was because Geom-in still couldn¡¯t go in and out of the portal as of yet.


    Da-jeong looked outside and crossed her legs as she sat on the sofa.


    ¡°By the way, what kind of talk did you have with him?¡±


    She was talking about Hyun-woo.


    ¡°It was nothing. He just wants me to help the President with him.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you doing it right now?¡±


    ¡°He means helping him build New Korea.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a very grand plan.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a bad idea at all. If they could get their hands on more totems made by Geom-in, there¡¯s a good chance it will succeed.¡±


    When I said so, Geom-in scratched his cheeks. Clearly feeling awkward being the subject of the conversation.


    ¡°The problem is, it¡¯s difficult to find the materials for the totem. I have only collected two so far.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it okay to cut the elderwood used in the longbow?¡±


    At Da-jeong¡¯s question, Geom-in shook his head.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t work out that way. To make it into a totem, the elderwood must be a drop item.¡±


    ¡°From the pocket that the golden goblins carry?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve found an Elderwood in the Black Forest to the north of the Shelter. It¡¯s only the roots, though.¡±


    Everyone looked at me at that moment.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been there before when I was looking for more Scarabs. However, the atmosphere became chilly as soon as I placed a saw on the root.¡±


    ¡°Is the great Kang Seongho scared of the atmosphere?¡±


    ¡°Da-jeong, you wouldn¡¯t be able to say that if you went there. It felt like everything in the forest was staring at me.¡±


    ¡°Ah so, you feel like if you ignore it and cut the roots, an old man will run out and beat you with a cane?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, like that. From what the Scarabs said, they say that we could only cut it using a piece of Elementium.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s a piece of Elementium¡­ Isn¡¯t that just a metal we use for decoration?¡± As the topics shifted to the subject Geom-in excelled at, the man quickly intervened. Of course with vigor.


    I said while patting his shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s all there in the forest. Let¡¯s go together next time.¡±


    ¡°Uh, yes.¡±


    When the four of us get together, the Black Forest would not be as scary. It was then that Da-jeong got annoyed. I also noticed the source of his irritation: a group of survivors were coming towards our hiding place. It doesn¡¯t matter if they were being kicked out by predators or if they were running away from Sniffles. The important thing was that they shouldn¡¯t get in our way.


    Seokhyun and Da-jeong¡¯s eyes meet each other at that moment.


    ¡°Rapwi, ready to kick those bastards out?¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me.¡±


    He jumped up, took off his panties, and showed off his dignified back to us. The light of the glowing stone revealed his hip-up buttocks.


    ¡°I see a lot of men¡¯s ass these days.¡± Da-jeong laughed softly.


    Geom-in turned his head at the sight, but I didn¡¯t really feel like it. It¡¯s hurting but what about it?


    However, Seokhyun suddenly turned his body over and showed his front side towards us.


    My eyes!!!


    He slammed the door in that state and ran out together with Da-jeong, screaming.


    Aaaaah!


    At the very next moment, voices of the survivors rang out. To them, Seokhyun must have looked like a monster that came straight from a horror movie.


    ¡°WHAAAAAAAAAAHHH!¡±


    ¡°What is that!¡±


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    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    The survivors fled in an instant.


    After a while, Seokhyun came back, straightened his posture, and put his thumb up.


    ¡°SEEEEGGGSSS.¡±


    One shot, One kill.

 Chapter 154

    Chapter 154 ¨C We ate the craziest ones in this area (2)


    Bang-!! Bang-!! Bang-!!


    The fight between Sniffles and the looters was no joke. Wild gunshots rang throughout the subway station but the two Sniffles held out. We hid in the bathroom and refined our plans while looking at the map of the Sports Complex Station.


    ¡°We have two things to do here. One is to find a spare shelter.¡±


    ¡°The other one is to kill the Sniffles?¡±


    ¡°No. We need to find those crazy doctors who made Sniffles. Their shelter must be close to here¡­ near Bupyeong-gu Office Station.¡±


    Geom-in looked at the map and scratched his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite far. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to divide the work into two way attacks?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to kill them if it¡¯s only with the two of us.¡± I then told him in detail what happened at Gyeryongdae. Hearing the circumstances at the time, Geom-in eyes widened. Seems like Seokhyun didn¡¯t tell him in detail about it. Well, it¡¯s him we were talking about¡­ At most the information would only consist of punch, kick, roll, jump, and seggs.


    ¡°Are you saying that even four of you can¡¯t kill the monster?¡±


    ¡°To be precise, I prioritized looting the M-72 first before fighting. Da-jeong and Mikyung were only there to attract its aggro.¡± In other words, Seokhyun was the only one who really rushed to death.


    ¡°What if the four of us¡­ no, the three of you fight against it?¡±


    ¡°It will be difficult. But why three? Are you not sure you can go against it?¡±


    ¡°Because¡­ in this cramped and dark place, blink has limited use.¡±


    ¡°Take this.¡± I took a flashlight from the dimension slot and handed it to him. Geom-in¡¯s face brightened as bright as the flash that boasted a tremendous amount of light when turned on.


    ¡°This should be enough.¡±


    ¡°If things look grim, just bind it and run away. Never fight at close range. They can shoot thorns from their body. Understand?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Geom-in said as he slotted a magazine into the K5 pistol and disengaged the safety lock.


    I nodded at his fluid movement. It¡¯s apparent that he¡¯s pretty good at it.


    ¡°I know that you are aware of this¡­ You can shoot, but the weapon can¡¯t hold on for long. The longest is probably one magazine worth.¡±


    ¡°So, should I use it as sparingly as possible?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. If you can, only shoot it when I give you the signal. While you are at it, just pour it out all at once and also use your binding ability so either Da-jeong and Seokhyun can get the timing to shoot a rocket lancher.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think binding will work.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay even if it doesn¡¯t work. Just be confident in your abilities.¡± When I said that and patted his back, Geom-in nodded and took a deep breath. Seems like he¡¯s running a simulation in his head.


    Da-jeong finished reshaping the body armor inside the portal and came out. Now, in several places of the armor, an additional ceramic plate was sewed. The same also applied on the changed pants.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why I need to do all this.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because there¡¯s a good chance that the looters will shoot us in the legs.¡±


    ¡°Why the legs?¡±


    ¡°There is a risk of death if they aim for the head or torso. They don¡¯t want to be a murderer.¡±


    ¡°Ahh. If they make others immobile, the monster will finish the job, won¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    In my case, there¡¯s a dimensional wall guarding me, but it was still difficult to guard my leg due to my physical structure. That¡¯s why we¡¯re trying to have the minimum amount of defense reinforcing our legs. After all, coupled with the hard skin skill, it won¡¯t be easily penetrated.


    At that moment, Seokhyun, who went out on a scouting mission, returned. Few drops of crimson liquid colored his fist.


    ¡°I checked where the shelter entrance was and it turns out to be near the phone box on the platform.¡±


    ¡°What about the looters?¡±


    ¡°I see no one. But there are a lot of tents nearby. I saw barriers and a crane.¡±


    ¡°Looks like they had taken it from the spare shelter.¡± I whispered. However, why did they stay there? If they already have enough materials, they should¡¯ve run away rather than staying. Why did they decide to fight a losing battle against Sniffles and risk dying?


    Geom-in tilted his head after rubbing his chin for a few moments.


    ¡°I think¡­ they¡¯re transporting the supplies from somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°Look¡­¡± Geom-in fingers drew a circle around Sports Complex Station and the Chun-ui Station. ¡°I saw it on our way here, but there is nowhere to hide around this station. It¡¯s an open field around here. So it¡¯s hard for looters to get supplies from this area.¡±


    ¡°So what?¡±


    At Da-jeong¡¯s urging, his finger pointed to Chunui Station. ¡°But this area is a commercial district. There¡¯s plenty of places to get supplies there. They must be getting it from there.¡±


    Looking at the circumstances, it seems like his deduction was right. Which means, the looters were planning to rob the spare shelter.


    ¡°Oh, Geom-in¡­ Nice one.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. I¡¯ve been around here before.¡± Geom-in shrugged.


    In any case, it turned out that the looters were fighting Sniffles in order to lure them. That¡¯s the only way they could get the stuff from the storage out.


    ¡°If they leave the gun outside, it will only get weaker¡­¡±


    ¡°Look at his face changing! It¡¯s terrifying!¡± Da-jeong smiled when she saw my face as I spoke.


    Of course it¡¯s terrifying. All of the spare shelter supplies were mine!


    ¡°We have to deal with the two Sniffles first. They can¡¯t see, but they are sensitive to sounds and smells. Let¡¯s lure them with firecrackers and kill them at once.¡±


    ¡°Who will kill it?¡± Dajeong asked


    ¡°You and Seokhyun.¡±


    ¡°What about Geom-in?¡±


    All eyes were on him at the question.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I can¡¯t even use the skill properly if I get it.¡± He waved his hand. ¡°But if you¡¯re going to give it to me¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you something later, so let¡¯s yield to the two of them this time.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    It was quite a surprise that he didn¡¯t kick a fuss or show some restrained sad expression on his face. Maybe it¡¯s due to the fact that he¡¯s content with his current situation.


    I explained the plan to Seokhyun and Da-jeong.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you the sign by calling your ID. I¡¯ll take out the weapon from the dimension slot and throw it to you. Take it and shoot it. Beware of the explosion and stay far enough.¡±


    ¡°Can it kill Shield Sniffles, though?¡±


    ¡°The penetrating power of the panzerfaust is no joke. So it probably can kill it in one attack.¡± If it couldn¡¯t, there¡¯s no other choice but to run away.


    Da-jeong summoned the ghouls from within the portal and sent them to scout. Not long after, the locations of the two Sniffles as well as the looters become known to us.


    We donned ourselves in bulletproof armor and carried guns. After eating the shadow grape, we were ready.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡­


    Sniffles had an excellent ability to hear and smell. Which means, they would be sensitive to the smell of gunpowder. And there¡¯s where firecrackers come. It would without fail attract their attention.


    But before detonating the firecrackers, I had to check their location. We have to be sure about their location. So, aside from the ghoul¡¯s scouting we also had to collect the information circulating in the Auction House.


    -The Sniffles are over here! It just passed through the outside of the bathroom!-This is frustrating. Is there just one bathroom in Sports Complex Station?-Isn¡¯t there a sign pointing to where the bathroom is?-There isn¡¯t! All of them are broken!


    What a mess¡­


    Da-jeong, who sent the ghouls, snapped her fingers.


    ¡°The slingshot Sniffles is at Exit 4.¡±


    As soon as Da-jeong threw the information at us, we ran as hard as we could towards the direction. Not long after we arrived, Sniffles, the one with long arms and legs, appeared. Even without us using the firecrackers, the disgusting monster stopped in its track and looked at us.


    ¡°It will fly like a slingshot soon.¡± As soon as I finished my words, the Sniffles jumped and zoomed towards us. I quickly willed a dimensional wall to appear in the guy¡¯s trajectory. The Sniffles, which hit the wall, fell to the floor.


    ¡°Pour everything you got!¡±


    Da-jeong¡¯s ghouls rushed in. And around the same time, a bright light shone on the Sniffles, making it unable to move. Seems like Geom-in¡¯s binding ability worked properly.


    However, it¡¯s not Sniffles if it goes down without a fight. The monster let out a deafening roar and a lot of thorns came out of its body, piercing the ghouls which were beating it.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    Although Geom-in was surprised by the grotesque appearance, he still maintained his binding as hard as he could. If it was him in the past, he would have closed his eyes tightly. But it seems like he had grown quite a bit.


    I opened the dimension slot and threw a rocket at Seokhyun.


    ¡°Rapwi!!!!!¡± Now, all he had to do was follow the procedure and shoot.


    But as a wise man had decreed, there¡¯s no such thing as a 100% perfect plan. The force of Geom-in¡¯s binding that had been holding the Sniffles suddenly disappeared into the air.


    We looked at him to ask what happened, but he just shook his head at a rapid pace.


    ¡°N-no, it¡¯s not because of me. I try to keep it under binding!¡±


    So¡­ did it forcibly release itself?


    The freed Sniffles grabbed the head of a grasshopper that was running towards him and crushed it.


    Crunch-!!


    Da-jeong, who had lost a grasshopper, bit his lip and gave an order to the Tank.


    ¡°Kill that guy!!¡±


    Thump-!! Thump-!!!


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    The enormous Tank rushed into the fray. However, the Sniffles had already jumped. I tried to open the dimensional wall, but the guy already rapidly approached us by kicking the wall of the subway station.


    I instantly opened the dimensional prison on its path. The close to linear Sniffles went into the portal without any fight.


    ¡°It¡¯s done! It¡¯s in!¡±


    ¡°How many minutes will he be inside?¡±


    ¡°5 minutes!¡±


    We quickly moved our feet and stood around the dimensional prison. But suddenly bullets flew towards us.


    Bang-!! Bang-!!


    Just who in the world shot at us?


    I immediately told the Geom-in.


    ¡°Go into the bathroom, now!¡±


    ¡°You want me to lure them?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    The plan was to lure them into attacking him and use the portal to hide and attack them. We went into the bathroom and left Geom-in alone in the bathroom while we hid inside the portal. Soon after, footsteps were heard and the looters appeared.


    ¡°Where have these bastards gone? I¡¯m sure they were definitely here.¡±


    ¡°Those guys ran to the bathroom just now.¡±


    ¡°Hey, you bastards. Are you guys hiding?¡±


    ¡°You guys are regretting your decision to come here, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Heheheheh.¡±


    They were all full of themselves. The reason was obvious even to a baby; the guns in their hands. Though, if the Sniffles were here, they would have run away right away.


    The three looters took a haughty step towards the entrance to the bathroom.


    Just a little bit more, a little bit more¡­


    Seokhyun and Da-jeong clung onto me. It didn¡¯t feel quite good to have a man wearing only panties and exhaling with excitement while sticking to me. Seriously.


    I waited for them to approach closer before storming out of the portal. While me and Da-jeong ran normally, Seokhyun¡¯s body literally went out like a bullet shot out of the chamber.


    ¡°Falcon Punch!¡±


    One of his fists hit one looter¡¯s chin, slamming him to the floor after flying in a beatiful arc.


    ¡°Keuk!¡±


    The two guys next to them hurriedly turned their guns at him. Unfortunately for them, they were cut off by Rapwi¡¯s high kick. The three fell one after another and dropped their guns to the floor.


    The ghouls came into the fray at that moment and held them immobile.


    ¡°Nice fight, Rapwi!¡± Da-jeong patted Seokhyun¡¯s ass and walked past him. I retrieved the gun, went through their bodies and pulled out their magazines. Meanwhile, Da-jeong touched the man¡¯s head with his foot.


    ¡°How many minutes do we have left?¡±


    ¡°Around two minutes.¡± However, there was no opportunity for us to wait patiently for the reappearances of Slingshot Sniffle. After all, the Shield Sniffles appeared.


    Looking at the bulky monster, Seokhyun clenched his fist tightly. ¡°Look at that bastard¡¯s leisure gait. I want to hit him so bad.¡±


    It¡¯s the same for me. Being looked down by a monster was not nice. I called Geom-in out of the bathroom. His relieved expression was palpable when he saw the three collapsed looters. But when his gaze shifted to the new Sniffle, his brows furrowed instantly.


    ¡°What sh-should we do?¡±


    ¡°Fight.¡± I said. It¡¯s foolish to deal with two Sniffles at once, therefore we have to kill Shield Sniffle in 2 minutes. However, when we already steeled our resolve, the big guy suddenly started to run away. Its action once again reminded me that these guys have some intelligence in their hard heads.


    Could it be that it smelled that the Slingshot Sniffles was here?


    Did it feel threatened when it saw the other one disappear?


    Let¡¯s not think further and just act. I took out the panzerfaust from the dimension slot to shoot it, but it already went around the corner and disappeared. Without any communication, we all ran to catch it.


    ¡°Bind it, bind it!!¡±


    As Geom-in stopped and tried to concentrate, Shield Sniffles jumped and ran down the stairs. Blocking it with a dimensional wall was to no avail. The stocky guy was far too quick for its size.


    We stopped at the stairs and I opened my mouth. ¡°Let¡¯s go back and kill the Slingshot Sniffles first. Chasing that guy will only be a waste of time.¡±


    Seokhyun clenched his fist and stepped out. ¡°I¡¯ll chase that guy. You guys take care of the other one.¡±


    The Slingshot Sniffles would come out soon, there¡¯s no time to argue with each other even if it would be better for all of us to go together and deal with Slingshot Sniffles.


    I tapped Seokhyun on the shoulder.


    ¡°Don¡¯t overdo it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m immortal. You just need to focus on killing the other one.¡±


    Seeing that he even took his ripped panties off, he seemed to be serious. Seokhyun kicked the ground and ran dow-no, rolled down the stairs.


    Da-jeong laughed wryly at his action. ¡°That way is faster indeed.¡±


    Though, it was only doable for Seokhyun himself because of his strong body and borderline crazy mentality.


    We headed to the dimensional prison where the Slingshot Sniffles was trapped. I finished preparing to fire the rocket and handed it to Da-jeong.


    ¡°Pull the trigger when it comes out.¡±


    ¡°Okaaaaay.¡±


    She put the 13 Kilogram rocket on her shoulder and waited for it. After a while, the portal spit the ugly monster out. It was roaring and thrashing from being wrapped in flames. Its lower body was also melting on top of it.


    Groaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrr-!!


    ¡°What the?¡± Da-jeong who was startled by Sniffle¡¯s state, picked up the rocket and stood up. Seems like the Sniffle was unlucky enough to fall into pool of Lava.


    Da-jeong licked his tongue and then aimed at him again. ¡°Bye Bye.¡±


    Click-!!


    Boom-!!


    A terrifying flame rose to the air as tremors shook the station. Meanwhile, The already dying Slingshot Sniffle exploded to bits and pieces.


    As soon as Dajeong made an okay sign with her fingers, signaling that it had died, we immediately ran to the direction Seokhyun ran to. The more we ran, the more we could hear that Seokhyun was screaming at the top of his lungs.


    ¡°Okay, I get it! You have a resilient body!¡±


    Is that a good thing, I wonder?


    ¡­


    The people who flocked to the Sports Complex subway station had only one purpose. It was to acquire the guns stored inside. Of course it was not all of them. There were also people whose sole purpose was to watch the four stagnant waters fight, but they were only the minority.


    Since everyone was aware that there were looters and Sniffles roaming around the area, they all hid in dark corners, looking for opportunities. Just like a hyena.


    Then, suddenly, they witnessed two people running. From how they positioned themselves, It was clear that one of them was chasing the other one. The chaser was a human: a bald man with nothing on his body. While the one who was being chased was the Sniffles.


    ¡°That guy is totally crazy¡­¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that Rapwi?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he someone who only wears panties?¡±


    ¡°It might have been torn in a fight.¡±


    Without knowing the Survivors¡¯ murmuring. Seokhyun focused on following the Shield Sniffles. It was strong to the point it didn¡¯t even stop even after Seokhyun¡¯s punches hit its body.


    All of a sudden, Seokhyun¡¯s anger flared up.


    You are ignoring me?


    Seokhyun kicked the ground and flew in an arc. After doing a backflip in the air, he landed in front of Sniffles.


    The guy¡¯s stomach wriggled at that moment, and he created a shield-shaped tissue from it.


    ¡°Falcon Punch!¡±


    Seokhyun threw out his fist with all his might, but was blocked by the shield and bounced off. He pulled his hand back and lowered his stance, eyes changing from black to red. It was proof that his werewolf¡¯s skill had been activated.


    ¡°Kyo-oh clothes!¡±


    The spectators momentarily missed the earthmoving movement.In the darkness, there was a suffocating sound, and the earth-gong retreated.There was a thorn in his shoulder and he was bleeding.


    ¡°Kiaaaakk.¡± The Shield Sniffles let out a high pitched roar, annoyed that Rapwi kept blocking his way. Soon after, thorns erupted from its body.


    ¡°Come!¡± Seokhyun crossed his arms in front of his body. However, it was not enough. He gasped for breath as he was turned into a porcupine. His powerful regeneration skill was pushing the thorns away, but the damage was still huge nonetheless


    ¡°It¡¯s really no joke¡­¡± It seems like it would be unreasonable to fight it with his body alone.


    When Seokhyun was thinking so, the tails of the Sniffle¡¯s mouth raised up.


    ¡°You are smiling?¡±


    Crack-!!


    The Sniffles got into the pose to fight and Seokhyun got down on all four, ready to fight it heads on. But the Sniffles suddenly stopped just before it kicked the ground. Afterall, his target. who seemed to be ready for a direct clash, did a backflip and 180 degrees spin on the air before begin to run away.


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    ¡°It¡¯s fake, you idiot!¡± Seokhyun ran away quickly as he laughed like a maniac.


    At that moment, the Sniffles saw the people hiding in the corner.


    ¡°AKKKKKKK!¡±


    ¡°Everyone, run away!¡±


    The platform became a mess in an instant.

 Chapter 155

    CHapter 155 ¨C We are the craziest ones in this area (3)


    Elastic body. That was the skill Da-jeong acquired after killing the Slingshot Sniffles. Looking at how strong the monster was, it seems to be a good skill. But according to Da-jeong¡¯s explanation, it couldn¡¯t truly lengthen her limbs like the name suggested.


    I asked as I ran beside her.


    ¡°Then what¡¯s good about it?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s a complex skill! It has Physical Resistance! Elemental Resistance and even Skin Regeneration!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a jackpot!¡± Geom-in who was running next to me chimed in at the explanation.


    Just how in the world does a skill become a combination of 3 skills? Moreover, skin regeneration was the effect contained in elderwood sap.


    Da-jeong patted her ass. ¡°Suddenly, my skin feels so much better! Would you like to try it Seongho?¡±


    ¡°Your skin has improved, so why should I like it?¡±


    ¡°Geom-in! Look at him! He¡¯s pretending like he doesn¡¯t know what I mean!¡±


    If it was Seokhyun, he would have reacted by saying SEEGS with a scolding tone towards him. However, Geom-in only laughed awkwardly. But despite that, I could sense that he was feeling happy. He must have longed to feel this kind of atmosphere.


    We ran down to the platform and suddenly met Seokhyun running towards us. It was sad that I didn¡¯t even flinch even when seeing him naked.


    ¡°Rapwi!¡±


    ¡°Where are you guys running to?¡±


    Look at this guy¡­ How dare someone like him question us about direction.


    ¡°We are running after you! Are you running away right now? Where¡¯s the other Sniffles?¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Seokhyun pointed at the bottom of the stairs. ¡°The Sniffle is down there. I ran away because the guy was too hard to fight.¡±


    When Seokhyun said so, it meant that he had definitely been pushed back and the monster was ridiculously strong.


    ¡°With this, you can fight him.¡± I opened the dimension slot to reveal the Pzf-3.


    ¡°Of course! That¡¯s a good way to talk with that guy. Let¡¯s go. Follow me!¡± We trembled almost at the same time at his words. We¡¯d rather have a mole guide the way rather than him.


    Da-jeong snapped his finger and sent the grasshopper down.


    ¡°Forget it. I¡¯ll lead the way. Oppas just need to follow me!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there only one oppa for you among us?¡±


    ¡°Shut it, Seongho oppa!¡±


    I shuddered thinking that she might call me Oppa in the bed once we were done here.


    Ignoring her words, we followed behind her. Including the ghouls, our group was one large group. Even if the Sniffles tries to hide, I bet we would still be able to find it with our numbers.


    Once we went down to the platform, I saw a lot of tents that Seokhyun talked about earlier. Around it, There were also barriers lined up neatly; clearly the primary way to prevent the attack of the enemy of the camp. Well, it doesn¡¯t mean much to us.


    Da-jeong pointed at the dark tunnel on the track. ¡°The Shield Sniffle ran away there.¡±


    ¡°Wait, where is that tunnel heading?¡±


    ¡°It should be towards the Sports Complex station¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Rather than the Sniffles, there¡¯s something bogging my mind more currently. I could feel the presence of several other people besides us. They tried to conceal their breath by taking short breaths as well as keeping their movements to a minimum.


    But what use is it when I can hear their heartbeats?


    The reason they didn¡¯t shoot at us right now was probably because they couldn¡¯t confirm our exact location. However, it was clear that once we ran into the tunnel, they would pull the trigger and riddle our body with holes.


    I gathered everyone and whispered. ¡°There¡¯s looters hiding behind the tents. They have guns with them, so we can¡¯t face them. I¡¯ll open the portal, so go inside.¡±


    ¡°What about Geom-in?¡±


    ¡°You can stay behind me.¡± I shifted my gaze from Da-jeong to him.¡±I can block the bullet coming at us with the dimension wall.¡±


    The dimension wall wasn¡¯t big by any means. But if we crouch down, it would be able to shield us from most of the attacks available out there.


    ¡°Open the portal.¡± Da-jeong and Seokhyun went inside with the ghouls as a blue portal appeared. Only me and the Geom-in remained. My game plan was to block their attack, wait for them to come to check, and then unleash a counter attack.


    We carefully moved towards the tunnel. Behind me, I could hear Geom-in fidget with the pistol holder on his chest, feeling anxious. And soon, there was a sound of bustling movement from far behind Geom-in.


    ¡°Once I count to three, we¡¯ll run to the corner over there.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Two¡­ Three!¡±


    As soon as we ran, I heard the sound of guns spewing bullets from our back. Dozens of bullets were fired in an instant. Geom-in moved past me and crouched behind me as I erect the dimensional wall in front of me.


    BABABABABABABANG-!!


    The looters used all their firepower since they thought we were in a tunnel. The loud gunshots made my ears ring.


    However, before I could even grimace about it, there was a high-pitched sound of something being pulled. In the next moment, I saw a grenade flying straight toward me.


    The warhead looks so round¡­ The moment I thought that, my consciousness flew away.


    BOOM-!!


    When I came to my senses, I was already lying on the floor. My arms and legs were numb and my whole body was hot. Thankfully, since the dimension wall blocked the explosion, I didn¡¯t feel any excruciating pain or the likes.


    ¡°Seongho!¡±


    Geom-in put his arms on my shoulder and helped me get back to my feet. Then, we hid in the corner.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much.¡±


    To be honest, I wanted to get revenge on the looters who threw the grenade. But if I kill even one of them, I would become a murderer. I have no intention of using the precious resurrection scroll just for something like them. So, the question is. How should I beat those fuckers?


    After holding my breath for a moment, I heard them approaching.


    ¡°Shh.¡±


    I put my finger in front of Geom-in¡¯s lips and waited for them. They were chattering among themselves, clearly certain that we had died.


    ¡°Dude, why are you using grenades?¡±


    ¡°Because with a grenade, people die instantly!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Bullets are too precious. I bet those people are already dead now.¡±


    ¡°You know that the next time you kill people, you will become a murderer, right?¡±


    ¡°Then we will definitely kill you, be on your toes.¡±


    They¡¯re doing some very stupid things¡­


    As I was thinking about how to fight them, their shoes entered my vision. Unlike their upper body which was armed with body armor, the shoes were ordinary sneakers.


    I pulled out my pistol and aimed at it. Then, suddenly, a squeak was heard in the tunnel.


    The Sniffle is here?


    Even the looters were terrified when they noticed the Sniflle¡¯s presence too late.


    ¡°Fuck it! Run!!!!¡±


    ¡°Ruuunnnnnn!¡±


    Seeing them running away like that, it was clear that there were no heavy weapons beyond grenades in the spare shelter.


    Geom-in poked my back at that moment.


    ¡°W-wouldn¡¯t it be better for us to just stay here until they are gone?¡±


    ¡°Right?¡±


    To be honest, this moment was perfect timing to hurt the looters. However, since there¡¯s a risk of Sniffle joining the fray, we shouldn¡¯t do it.


    The Sniffles ran out of the tunnel as the looters ran away.


    Kuaaaaak-!!


    As I was opening the portal, the Sniffles jumped and pierced one of the running guys¡¯ chest with its long arm.


    ¡°AHHHHHHHH!¡±


    BABABABABANG-!!


    Screams and gunshots mingled in the darkness. That was the beginning, and the platform was instantly covered with gunshots. The Sniffles was moving fast and continued to attack the other looters.


    BABABABABANG-!!


    Now, the looters were all running away to the other side of the tunnel while wailing.


    Are you planning on going that way?


    Once the portal appeared, I beckoned to Seokhyun and Da-jeong to come.


    ¡°Where is this?¡±


    ¡°Shh. This is the looters¡¯ camp. Don¡¯t be noisy, they are fighting the Sniffles right now.¡±


    Da-jeong snapped his fingers and called out the ghouls.


    ¡°Good. Let¡¯s join the fight, then.¡±


    ¡°For now, let¡¯s scout first. The guy came out of the tunnel over there.¡±


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    ¡°You are very careful. As always.¡±


    Da-jeong, who sent a reinforced ghoul into the tunnel, frowned after a while.


    ¡°There¡¯s someone in the tunnel.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s wearing a white gown¡­ Looks like a doctor.¡±


    I remembered the information Jang Won-taek gave me. In Bupyeong-gu Office Station, Major Kim Hyun-woo had found the corpses of the monsters all over the place and they were all cut too cleanly. If the crazy doctor who was supposed to be there came all the way here¡­


    Could it be that he came here because one of the Sniffles died?


    Da-jeong whipped her face towards me at the moment.


    ¡°Now that the ghoul has come close to him, this doctor is making some weird noises.¡±


    ¡°What did he say?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you¡­ Like that.¡±


    Just who he¡¯s talking about?


    I told Dajeong to get rid of the ghouls. But then¡­


    ¡°Wait¡­ Keuk!¡±


    She curled up before straightening her body back up while biting her lip.


    ¡°¡­ the doctor came running and broke the ghoul¡¯s head.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not an ordinary doctor, huh?¡±


    If he could broke a ghoul¡¯s head that easily, his stats must be at the very least similar to the stats of the murderer I fought in Changwon.


    Seokhyun rotated his arm and tried to enter the tunnel at that moment, but I stopped him.


    Currently, we have two options. It¡¯s either killing the mad doctor and Sniffles or running away.


    However, as soon as I thought that, the latter option was blown away. Through the stairs, a huge number of zombies and ghouls were coming down.


    Guaaaahk-!!


    Because there were simply too many of them, they were hitting each other, entangled, and falling down. All in all, it was a mess. Seems like the reason the horde was here was because of the doctor¡¯s unique ability.


    Da-jeong, who had brought other ghouls into the tunnel, said in a tense voice.


    ¡°There are a lot of monsters behind the doctor too. There¡¯re at least 100 of them.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s a big deal¡­ We¡¯re trapped with a bunch of monsters¡­¡± Geom-in¡¯s voice became smaller and smaller as he stumbled on his words.


    Seokhyun shook his head and placed his hand on his shoulder. ¡°You are wrong.They are the one who was trapped with us.¡±


    That¡¯s right. I opened the portals and dimension slots and took out all the stored weapons. Not only Pzf-3, I also poured heavy weapons such as the M72 and M16 rifles, as well as the short range weapon and shields I had bought so far on the floor.


    At first, Da-jeong¡¯s eyes were full of glitter when she saw the weapons filling the floor. However, it then turned hollow as the weapon kept popping out.


    ¡°Why are there so many weapons?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s show that mad doctor who is the craziest one in this area.¡±


    ¡­


    Major Kim Hyun-woo was waiting around the Sports Complex Station. Originally, the President had entrusted him with another task. However, as soon as he got a whiff about the oddities happening in Sports Complex Station, he was promptly ordered to keep a watch on the station.


    Together with him Lieutenant Jo, Second Lieutenant Kim. Although both were originally soldiers, they were awarded the rank of Commander-in-Chief for their various missions.


    -It¡¯s not a special promotion from Sergeant to Lieutenant, but only to Second Lieutenant. Keep this in mind and continue to work hard.


    Jang Won-taek had said so to Second Lieutenant Kim while handing the badge. Even though it sounds like it was only words of encouragement, they knew that it was his way to emphasize principles and discipline.


    Anyway, the three did not enter the subway station and only monitored the movements of the survivors. Then Second Lieutenant Kim was surprised and reported.


    ¡°Major Kim, Commander-in-Chief Jo. There¡¯s a problem.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Major Hyun-woo moved his gaze towards Kim Jae-hyun.


    ¡°The monsters over there suddenly start running.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s the ¡®Sir¡¯? Why are you being casual while reporting?¡± Lieutenant Jo, who could no longer tolerate Kim Jae-hyun¡¯s way of talking, and slapped his bulletproof helmet.


    Hyun-woo silently looked through the telescope in the direction Kim Jae-hyun was pointing. Then he swallowed dry saliva. A huge horde of monsters was coming their way. No, upon closer inspection, the direction was not exactly towards them.


    ¡°I think they are running to exit 4¡­¡±


    Hyun-woo agreed with Lieutenant Jo¡¯s assessment and tried to estimate the amount of monsters. There¡¯s at least 200, no, more than 300 monsters rushing to the subway station.


    ¡°This is not normal.¡± Major Kim Hyun-woo muttered. He swiftly opened the Auction House and informed the Government Shelter. Without waiting for long, Jang Won-taek appeared.


    -How many survivors are inside?-Most of them have come out. Only the 4 stagnant waters and a few people are inside.-Meaning, those 4 are with the looters right now.-Please give us your command, Mister President.-Notify everyone immediately. Then, go to another exit and let people know. Don¡¯t go down too deep.-Understood.


    Major Kim Hyun-woo immediately poured the information in the comment section of the station.


    -Evacuate immediately! Hundreds of monsters are coming! Evacuate immediately!-Uh¡­ Where are they?-They are rushing towards the exit of Sports Complex Station! Quickly, you don¡¯t have time!


    People hiding inside were outraged at the information.


    -I don¡¯t know where the exit is!-I heard an explosion from below!-Shit, I haven¡¯t even got a single gun yet.


    Major Hyun-woo bit his lips until it bled at the comment.


    Are guns the problem right now?


    Why are they thinking about such things when they should¡¯ve run for their lives right now?


    -Find any exit quickly, you idiots!-Did you just curse at us?


    Survivors hiding in the subway station found the monsters coming down just then. The comment section quickly went silent, and Jo Seung-tae took a rough breath and bowed his head to Hyun-woo.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m just a little frustrated¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­ it¡¯s okay. If you hadn¡¯t done it, I would have done it.¡±


    After all, they were people who didn¡¯t listen. Suddenly, Major Kim Hyun-woo had a thought.


    Can he guarantee that they won¡¯t enter government shelters in the future?


    Fighting together with their comrades in arms against monsters is terrifying enough, but what if a troll was mixed in their midst?


    He believed the President and Chief of Staff would filter them out, but¡­


    ¡®It should be fine¡­¡¯ His role was not to think. It was best to act as the President¡¯s faithful limbs.


    Second Lieutenant Kim muttered cautiously. ¡°But it seems that the stagnant waters haven¡¯t come out¡­¡±


    ¡°Since they entered the station with confidence, they should be okay.¡±


    However, deep in his heart Major Kim Hyun-woo was skeptical of what they could do against so many monsters. Moreover, there were even Sniffles inside.


    Hyun-woo looked at the exit with a complicated expression. No matter how strong they were, it seemed it would be difficult for them to survive this time.


    ¡­


    It¡¯s a total war. All 4 of us were now literally armed to the teeth. We poured bullets at the monsters pouring out of the tunnel without thinking of how precious it was. Thankfully, the performance of the reinforced ghouls which received Da-jeong¡¯s instructions was dazzling. They made a line between us and the incoming horde and protected us so we could aim freely.


    ¡°Filth is disinfection!¡± Da-jeong, like Rambo, put the gun in her sides and fired mercilessly at the monsters pouring out from the tunnel. Meanwhile, Seokhyun blocked the monsters coming down the stairs with only one adamant spear.


    The spear hit the floor, and the naked man began to use the pole as an anchor for his dance. His motion of extending the legs by rotating around the rod was reminiscent of a swan.


    Pupuppupuk-!!


    Numerous monsters were thrown away thanks to Seokhyun¡¯s feet.


    ¡°Ah! Seriously!¡± His sight of him was clearly a visual terrorism. I killed the looters and checked the Sniffles that were running towards us.


    Boom-!!


    A grenade flew and hit the Shield Sniffles¡¯ stomach. A flash of light and an explosion lit the dark tunnel, but the guy stuck his stomach out.


    ¡°He can defend against grenades just fine, huh?¡±


    I shouted at Geom-in who was shooting at the surrounding monsters. ¡°Let¡¯s start!¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    As Geom-in fired his rifle, Sniffles formed a shield and held out. I lifted the Pzf-3 from the floor, opened the launcher and disengaged the safety lock.


    ¡°Seokhyun-ah! Switch!¡±


    ¡°SEEEEGGGSSSS!¡±


    He swept away the monsters with the spear in his hands and flew away and landed in front of me. Something was dangling as he landed. Next time, no matter what happens, I will make sure that he wears body armor.


    Seokhyun picked up the pzf-3 and caught it between his crotch.


    ¡°I hope you¡­¡±


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    Before I could finish my words, Seokhyun pulled the trigger.


    ¡°Men¡¯s Beam!¡±


    Sniflle¡¯s body, which was hit directly by the warhead, swelled up and scattered in all directions.


    ¡°I think we are a little more crazy than everyone else.¡± Seokhyun gave me a thumbs up.


    Please take me out from that ¡®we¡¯.

 Chapter 156

    For fuck sake, this place is not even a forest, why are there so many monsters?


    Seems like all the monsters around the station have gathered here. The winter hasn¡¯t ended yet, but this situation was probably possible only thanks to the unique skill of that doctor.


    We stood side by side and fired at the monsters approaching. The consumption of bullets continued to increase, and more than half of my stock was used. The grenades had also run out long ago. And since there were so many dead monsters on the floor, it was difficult to move properly.


    While my friends were blocking the monsters, I quickly entered the spare shelter. It was because only I could quickly go down to the shelter and take the supplies back to the battlefield.


    Falling down the dark passage, I opened the portal beneath me and went inside. Once I realigned myself, I went outside again, falling not too high before hitting the solid ground.


    ¡°Damn bastards.¡± Curses left my mouth as I saw smashed crates in several places. The looters had stolen a significant amount of my supplies.


    ¡°Just wait until I¡¯m done here.¡± I would track them all the way to the end and regain what was rightfully mine. When I opened the intact crates one by one, there were not many guns and ammunition left. Seems like the reserve shelter literally only serves as a reserve storage for the government. It wasn¡¯t a place of importance, so the stuff stored wasn¡¯t luxurious by any means.


    I quickly went through the list of boxes.


    ¡°There are no heavy weapons here.¡± They should have written that there¡¯s no heavy weapon here in the first place!


    Once I finished ranting, I moved all the guns and ammunition crates and placed them into the portal. In the meantime, I also unearthed an unexpected thing: a crate full of grenades in the corner.


    ¡°Why is this between the clothes?¡± I sighed. It was evidence that everything stored here was hastily put in. I put the whole grenade box inside the portal. And some of them were stored in the dimension slots after removing the safety clips.


    Except for Seokhyun, the rest should be able to pull out the pins and throw them. It¡¯s better to run out of firepower than to give that man a grenade. If he ever got his hand on the grenade, it¡¯s clear what he would do. He would become a human grenade. Running towards the monsters with his body and exploding it while being swarmed.


    ¡°I think I should throw it all by myself.¡± I stepped on the dimension wall and climbed up. After doing it so many times, now I was able to climb much faster than before. When I finally got to the entrance, the corpses of monsters were piled up around me.


    ¡°Grenade-nim will do everything for you.¡± I opened the dimension slot, took out a grenade, and pulled out the safety pin. ¡°Hey! Step back for a second!¡±


    My friends scattered at my voice. After the grenade flew in a beautiful arc, I heard the detonator activating. Right after that, an explosion occurred in the middle of the monster swarm.


    BOOM-!!


    The power of the grenade was not a joke. The floor shook for a moment, and the mangled corpse of the monster splattered in all directions. Everyone opened their mouths as they witnessed the bloody sight.


    ¡°A grenade? Where did you get it?¡±


    ¡°In the corner of the storage room. The looters probably couldn¡¯t find it because it was piled together with clothes!¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­¡± Da-jeong nodded her head in understanding before squeezing the trigger once again. In the meantime, the other two didn¡¯t pay much attention.


    At that moment, the monster in the tunnel parted to the sides like the sea in moses¡¯ story. In the created path, a doctor draped in white robe walked forward.


    I threw the grenade right away without saying a word. However, the ghoul-like doctor flicked his finger, and a large-mouthed ghoul swallowed a grenade in mid-air. And once it exploded, the ghoul disintegrated into bits and pieces.


    The doctor smirked as he was hit by the monster¡¯s remains.


    ¡°Hello.¡±


    As soon as those words came out, the monster¡¯s momentum, which was never-ending, ceased. They backed away as if the blood-crazed frenzy they were in a few moments ago was nothing but an illusion.


    ¡°Are you trying to talk with us?¡± Da-jeong took a long breath.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s worth talking to you. Unlike the other test subjects.¡±


    ¡°Are you referring to the human who became the basis for the test subject?¡±


    Everyone looked at me, and I put the grenade into the dimension slot.


    ¡°A person with spatial ability¡­ The ability we were hoping to get. We have been waiting for you, come, come into our arms.¡±


    Before I could even open my mouth, Da-jeong stepped to my front. ¡°He¡¯s already mine, so don¡¯t even dream about it.¡±


    ¡°A woman who will become the future Queen of monsters. But it is useless to us.¡±


    ¡°Is it useless?¡± Da-jeong, whose self-esteem clearly got hit, bit her teeth. The doctor grinned sullenly, and then he slowly walked forward.


    Seokhyun stepped forward too and spoke in a low tone.


    ¡°If you come any closer, I will slap your ass.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ a person with resurrection power. But there are limits to your ability.¡±


    Even Geom-in went forward and the doctor gave his two cents about him.


    ¡°Oh, someone with several unique skills? It hasn¡¯t even bloomed yet. The harvest must be postponed until later.¡±


    ¡­what the hell is this bastard?


    Considering that he was perfectly aware of our abilities, he wasn¡¯t just a normal crazy guy, I suddenly wanted to get an evaluation from him.


    Stepping forward, the doctor stretched out his bare arms. He was wearing surgical gloves stained with blood, but when I looked at those hands, it was clear they were not hands that belonged to humans.


    ¡°All I need now is you, man with spatial ability. Come to us and let¡¯s become one.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t want to become one with someone who is neither a human nor a monster like you.¡±


    ¡°Are you talking about this hand? Do you know how many things I can do with these hands¡­¡±


    ¡°Not important. If I go to you, I will be remodeled to a Sniffles, right?¡±


    He gave a twisted smile.


    ¡°It is a waste to use a spatially talented person like you as a test subject. You can rest assured. The only ones I will use as test subjects are that naked man and the woman.¡±


    Da-jeong crossed her arms and asked.


    ¡°So what is your purpose? You were the one who gave Jo Seung-cheol the resurrection scroll before, right? What do you want?¡±


    He looked at us one by one with his terrifying white eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s about becoming one.¡±


    ¡°Even now, we are one.¡± Da-jeong grabbed my arm and hugged me.


    The doctor slowly removed his surgical gloves, revealing his bizarrely deformed hands.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just copulation for pleasure¡¯s sake? It¡¯s pathetic¡­ hand him over. I will use him more skillfully.¡±


    Suddenly, Seokhyun and Da-jeong let out a growl.


    ¡°I will never do that.¡±


    ¡°Seongho, you step back!¡±


    The two ran to the doctor. Naturally, the monsters quickly stood in their way and Da-jeong¡¯s ghouls also ran out. Chaos once again descended after the brief lull.


    ¡°Once the two of them start to move away, buy some time.¡± I said to Geom-in.


    ¡°Distract him with guns, right? Okay.¡±


    We immediately turned back and faced the monsters that narrowed the distance again. With the intention of destroying everything, we poured bullets and threw grenades without reserves. However, since the number of monsters were so great, some of them slipped away from our shots and came close to us. Thankfully, we were able to escape the crisis with the dimensional wall and dimensional prison.


    Not many monsters were left now. The hundreds had been reduced to several dozen. Thus, I left the side of pouring monsters to Geom-in and turned around. The doctor was pressing Seokhyun and Da-jeong with his bizarre deformed hands and monsters.


    Just what is his unique skill¡¯s additional effect?


    ¡°To think you will attack me just with those pathetic powers!¡± The doctor¡¯s hand grew longer and turned into a sharp blade as he spoke. Then he swung it.


    Seokhyun, who was rushing at him with his bare fists, quickly kicked the ground and spun back. However, it was not enough to avoid the attack. The sharp claws were still able to cut him on the stomach. Although the wound had healed in an instant, Seokhyun still wrapped his stomach and grimaced.


    I threw a mithril blade at him.


    ¡°Use this!¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡±


    While Seokhyun charged at him again, Da-jeong attacked the doctor together with her Tank. However, from behind the doctor, another Tank jumped out and attacked Da-jeong. She bit her lip and snapped her fingers. Her Tank then moved and threw its fist towards the other Tank. Some of her grasshoppers, too, were attacking the doctor. However the doctor¡¯s hand easily crushed them.


    Kieeeeeek-!!


    A grasshopper flung away to the air and slammed to the wall. When it plopped down to the ground like a leaf, it couldn¡¯t even stand back on its feet.


    ¡°He¡¯s strong¡­¡± I really couldn¡¯t help but say this. He¡¯s stronger even than the Sniffles. All that was left was the anti-tank, but I wasn¡¯t sure whether it could kill him or not. Regardless, I still put the M72 on my shoulder and disengaged its guard.


    ¡°MOVE!¡± I shouted.


    Seokhyun and Da-jeong glanced back and flew to the side. The moment the space opened, Geom-in started shooting.


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    ¡°Keuk!¡± The doctor covered his face with his arms and withstood the bullets. And when I finally pulled the M72¡¯s trigger, a violent aftermath erupted.


    BOOM-!!


    The warhead exploded and swept all the nearby monsters. When the dust finally settled, a gruesome landscape was revealed. Sadly, the doctor did not die. Although he had lost his arms, he was still standing.


    ¡°Fu*k¡­¡± Da-jeong muttered. Even Seokhyun had a nervous expression on his face.


    ¡°Keuk!!! Ahhhh!!¡±


    The doctor wriggled his whole body, then stretched the remaining parts of his arms out towards the nearest corpse of the monster from him. Dozens of tentacles wriggled out of his shattered arms and wrapped around the corpse and pulled it to him. Just like that, the doctor got a new arm.


    ¡°Hah¡­ Hah¡­ you are making me suffer quite a bit¡­¡±


    Let¡¯s see how long he can hold out. When I took out the M72 again, the doctor backpedaled and retreated behind the monsters. Then, a hoarse voice echoed through the tunnel.


    ¡°This has become too grandiose for a mere greeting¡­ I¡¯ll see you next time¡­¡±


    Next time? Sorry, there will be no next time.


    I winked at my friends and threw two grenades at the doctor. I removed the clip and pretended to pull out the pin, and everyone nodded. They were aware of what I wanted to do.


    This is our last chance of beating him. To succeed, the monsters must be removed and Geom-in must remove the tank.


    ¡°You need to put the grenade really close to him, okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    If it was Geom-in in the past, he would have been afraid to approach monsters alone, but he¡¯s different now. When I sent another signal to the other two, they started shooting towards the doctor.


    Naturally, monsters crowded and blocked the bullets for the doctor to run away. At that moment, I threw another set of grenades to the crowd.


    The monsters could not even scream and became minced flesh at an instant. The only monster still standing around the doctor was the Tank. The moment the doctor¡¯s back was revealed, Geom-in secured the sight with a flash and disappeared; he moved behind him with Blink.


    The doctor did something and turned around, but what was left was not the Tank, but two detonator-activated grenades.


    ¡°Fu¡­¡±


    BOOM-!!


    The area lit up, and the doctor¡¯s cry echoed while titanium shards bore through his body.


    ¡°Aaaaaah!¡±


    ¡°Da-jeong! Seokhyun-ah!¡±


    The doctor¡¯s tank, which was moved to another place by Geom-in¡¯s blink, didn¡¯t have any time to regain its bearing as Da-jeong and Seokhyun rushed towards it.


    I quickly handed the M72 to Geom-in who just arrived beside me.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better for you to kill him?¡±


    ¡°If I kill him, I will become a murderer.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Geom-in took the M72 and pointed it at the howling doctor. And when he put his finger on the trigger, I told him. ¡°After this, let¡¯s go inside the portal and rest.¡±


    ¡°Yea..¡±


    The rocket was launched and the warhead struck the doctor directly in the face. The doctor disappeared without any traces and most of the monsters which were caught in the explosion died instantly.


    At that moment, Geom-in exhaled and dropped the launch tube to the floor.


    ¡°You did really well today.¡± I put my hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°Yeah, but a message popped up.¡±


    We didn¡¯t have time to check that. Because there were still many monsters rushing towards us from the stairs. We disposed of the Tank and poured the remaining bullets on the remaining monster. However, it was not as tiring as before since the end was clearly visible.


    ¡­


    Major Hyunwoo and the other two soldiers carefully went down to the subway station. It was a decision they came to because there was very little information available from outside. The President clearly ordered them not to go inside, but Hyun-woo wanted to get some information. So he still went ahead.


    The three of them were sticking to the wall and looked around with a flashlight. It was quite eerie. As if nothing had happened.


    ¡°Why is it so quiet?¡±


    ¡°Is the battle over?¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, we should see some monster still roaming around¡­¡±


    ¡°They must have gone through the tunnel.¡±


    In his head, Major Hyun-woo concluded that the victory of the battle goes to the monster. No matter how well-armed the four were, he couldn¡¯t picture them walking away with their lives in a battle against such large numbers of monsters.


    ¡®At least I¡¯ll give them a proper burial¡­¡¯ Major Hyun-woo said to himself. The President was the one who sent them here, but in the end it was them who accepted it. It was the least he could do for them.


    As they stood on the stairs leading to the platform below, a strong smell of gunpowder and blood wafted towards them. When two of his men lit the flashes in their hand, a horrible sight of monster corpses strewn across the floor, walls and ceiling entered their view.


    ¡°Heup!¡± Second Lieutenant Lim, who had a weak stomach, covered his mouth. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Jo held his breath and moved the light from his flashlight throughout the area.


    ¡°Ma-major Kim! over there¡­¡±


    Hyun-woo clenched his teeth and looked at the four. Their appearance was not very different from when they left the Yongsan bunker. Except for the fact that Rabbit Pwincess was now fully naked.


    ¡°It¡¯s blinding, put the flash off.¡±


    It was Seongho¡¯s voice. Lieutenant Jo turned off the flash and the four climbed up the stairs. It was only then that Hyun-woo came to know the state of the four in detail. They were not fine at all; blood and dust was covering every inch of their body.


    ¡°C-can I ask what happened?¡±


    Hyeon-woo asked, but Seongho did not answer and pointed to him.


    ¡°If you are curious, go check it out. We are going to rest.¡±


    ¡°You must tell me the result so I can make a report.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll come back later and report to you.¡±


    Major Hyun-woo bit his lip at Seongho¡¯s answer. What he¡¯s doing right now wasn¡¯t a mission he had been given, so he had no excuse to intervene more than this.


    The four disappeared into the entrance, while Hyun-woo and two of his men hurried down to the bottom. When they arrived, the bottom was even more messy.


    ¡°Heup!¡± Second Lieutenant Lim couldn¡¯t stop the rising acid on his throat anymore and vomited at the sight of pits of meat and blood scattered everywhere.


    Meanwhile, The two others could not shut their mouths after checking the signs of a fierce battle. It was as clear as day that hundreds of monsters had gathered in the place. And the four stagnant waters had killed them all.


    ¡°Oh my God¡­ all of this¡­¡±


    Major Kim Hyun-woo would have never imagined that what he currently saw was possible. The battle took place not in an open space, but a narrow space. It was simply impossible for whoever was fighting to not be overrun by the numbers of the monsters.


    Major Kim Hyunwoo immediately reported to the President.


    -You mean they killed all the monsters in that small space?-Yes, there are quite a few Orcs and Enhanced Ghouls corpses in here. There¡¯s also the corpse of an entity that appears to be a Tank¡­ its head has been severed.-Hoho¡­ it seems like they went crazy because we gave them the right weapon.


    They were dangerous. Major Hyun-woo had thought that once the guns make their appearances in the apocalypse, the prestige of ¡®Stagnant Waters¡¯ would be shattered. But seeing the sight in front of him, he realized that he was wrong. It became clear that the stagnant waters would only become much stronger when they held the gun.


    -Combat power beyond imagination. They will help a lot in the future!-That combat power can be directed at us, Mister President.-They are on our side now, are they not?


    Major Hyunwoo did not understand why the President trusted them that much. After all, it was doubtful whether they would still be friendly once the Corrosive Disease disappears.


    ¡®I¡¯ll have to prepare.¡¯


    Not knowing what kind of chaos they had caused, the four stagnant waters rushed to Sports Complex Station and robbed the looters with high spirit.


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    ¡°Give us everything you got!¡±


    The looters in charge of transporting goods were not well armed and had no choice but to declare their surrender. Seongho put all of the supplies into the portal, leaving the looters with only enough supply to survive. Then, the four disappeared somewhere.


    The looters who were still able to hang on their lives spit curses once their robbers disappeared.


    ¡°Fu*k¡­¡±


    ¡°Where did those crazy people come from¡­¡±

 Chapter 157

    What happened at the Sports Complex Station quickly spread through the Auction House. Seongho was always secretive in the first place so he never thought of publicizing what he did. But Jang Won-taek wanted to actively promote it. Because that¡¯s how he could bring people together.


    Once it became known that the Stagnant Waters had killed hundreds of monsters, two Sniffles, and even a mysterious monster, people started to flock to Sports Complex Station to check the site in person.


    Naturally, people who were on the scene at the time and were forced to run away also gave their testimony; pouring another bucket of oil to the already blazing fire. Thanks to that, the four Stagnant Waters looked like monsters in the eyes of people. After all, they thought that no matter how much firearms were used, it¡¯s far from enough to deal with hundreds of monsters, two Sniffles and a monster which was rumored to be stronger than Sniffles in such a narrow place.


    Countless praises for the four Stagnant Waters were lined up at the Auction House. In particular, there was a lot of praise for Survivor 1. After all, the report said he was the one who killed the last monsters. It was also known that he was just doing what he was told to do. Regardless, a record was still a record.


    In another comment section of the Auction House, many reviews about what the survivors dubbed as Stagnant Waters¡¯ battle pilgrimage overflowed.


    -When I went to the platform¡­ WOW¡­ It¡¯s really no joke. Monster corpses are lying everywhere. It¡¯s as if a horror movie had become a reality! If you haven¡¯t come to the station, come quickly!-Yeah. If you are late, you won¡¯t be able to see it. It will all go to the stomach of other monsters!-Everyone, I¡¯m level 15, so I don¡¯t really know. But can¡¯t you kill all the monsters as long as you have a gun?


    -Lv 15? A noob!-You¡¯re saying that because you don¡¯t know. If you go there, you will understand.-Imagine you are trapped in a subway platform with hundreds of monsters. Even if you want to shoot, where will you go when the monsters become too many for you to handle?-There were also Sniffles and a monster that was stronger than Sniffles. Better to just commit suicide.-I heard that bullets don¡¯t work in Sniffles.-If I were in such a situation, I am confident that I would die in 3 seconds.


    Many stories had been told and conclusions had been drawn. The Stagnant Waters were strong, and those strong people were now gathered in one shelter. Government officials aimed at that point and started promoting in earnest. As they shed a little bit of their vision for the future, the survivors felt a strong temptation.


    -I heard that we can use a gun after the Corrosive Disease is gone. Wouldn¡¯t life become easier than before?-Even though I agree with that pont, I think we won¡¯t have our freedom anymore. No matter how large the Government Shelter is, if we only stay there for a long time, we will suffocate and die.-You can just go outside.-What about the zombies?-I know, right. What about the zombie raids? Will the Stagnant Waters block them all?-To prevent zombie raids from happening, we have prepared a totem. This item was made by Bae Geom-in-ssi, it can prevent zombie raids from happening.


    When the totem¡¯s existence was revealed to the survivors, they all went wild. Though, the government did not inform them that there were only two totems.


    In any case, when the future plans of the Government Shelter and the presence of the Stagnant Waters were combined, it exerted tremendous luring power.


    On top of that, the survivors¡¯ doubt about their freedom was squashed by Jang Won-taek¡¯s proclamation.


    -You don¡¯t have to think too big about Government Shelters. I am not the President, nor am I the ruler of the shelter. I¡¯m just a survivor with some influence.-Your freedom is guaranteed. Firearms will also be distributed fairly after adequate training. The stockpiled material will be used for everyone. Come to the Government Shelters. We are waiting for you.


    At the Auction House, there was a great response, and Lee Beom-seok reported it.


    ¡°Many survivors have responded ¡­ we can see at least 300 people.¡±


    But Jang Won-taek was sullen.


    ¡°I would be happy as long as 30 people decided to join.¡±


    ¡°Yes? However¡­¡¤¡±


    ¡°The weather hasn¡¯t cleared up yet, it won¡¯t be easy to travel. And there will also be a lot of people who don¡¯t want to throw away the hideout they¡¯ve worked so hard to build over the winter. Let¡¯s stay realistic and make a 30 person supply plan.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes. I will.¡±


    ¡°And I heard that Seongho sent a bill?¡±


    Lee Beom-seok¡¯s face hardened at those words. But eventually he pulled out a piece of paper and presented it to his boss. It was a rundown that he didn¡¯t want to report because he found it absurd.


    ¡°Hohoho. They must have secured military supplies from the reserve shelter, but they left it out.¡± Jang Won-taek chuckled.


    ¡°It makes no sense to ask for 5,000 bullets. It would be better to just ignore it.¡±


    ¡°The materials consumed are quite specific¡­¡± Jang Won-taek murmured. According to the bill, the Stagnant Water team consumed 23 guns and 5,200 rounds of ammunition. The fact that they also used several M72 rockets showed just how intense the battle was.


    However, Lee Beom-seok did not lose his doubts.


    ¡°It must have been inflated several times.¡±


    ¡°We should double the numbers. Give him 10,000.¡±


    ¡°Mister President!¡±


    ¡°It is true that they consumed a considerable amount of ammo, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°On top of that, we also gained some unexpected information. If they didn¡¯t fight it, we would never have received it.¡±


    It was information regarding the numbers of mad doctors. Even if it¡¯s not confirmed just how many of them were out there, there should be more than one person. It was also an unexpected gain to know that they had combat power stronger than Sniffles.


    According to the Stagnant Water team, they were the ones who gave the resurrection scroll to Joo Seung-cheol. They also said that the doctor was completely dead because he didn¡¯t have the Resurrection Scroll.


    After receiving the instructions, Lee Beom-seok reported the information obtained by Major Kim¡¯s team. Jang Won-taek¡¯s white eyebrows twitched when he heard his report.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Nothing was found in the basement of Bupyeong-gu Office Station.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­ Didn¡¯t the stagnant team say that the doctor came from that direction?¡±


    ¡°Major Kim¡¯s team took note of that and looked all over the place. However, they said they couldn¡¯t find any traces.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± It¡¯s unexpected. Jang Won-taek thought that he could get at least a clue from this search. But turns out he got nothing.


    Just where did mad doctor Jeon Ji-hoon conduct the monster synthesis experiment?


    Perhaps there¡¯s some kind of dungeon there. Unless they know how to get in and out, it wouldn¡¯t be discovered.


    Lee Beom-seok presented him with the last report. It was a list of several people who had officially expressed their intention to join.


    Jang Won-taek¡¯s gaze stopped in the middle of the paper.


    ¡°This person is alive?¡±


    ¡°Yes. He has been contacting me saying he wants to join us.¡±


    ¡°Hoho what a headache.¡± Jang won-taek gave a bitter smile. The very person who made him that way was someone who was famous for being a bastard.


    Jang Won-taek patted the paper with his finger. ¡°He proudly wrote that his unique skill is brainwashing. Is he ignorant of the world, or is he crazy?¡±


    ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard so far, that bast- Keheum. I¡¯m sorry, Mr. President. He had never left his shelter until now.¡±


    ¡°His level must be low, then?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Though, he occasionally got information by interacting with the survivors around him.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s interacting with people while having brainwashing qualities? That¡¯s incredible in its own right.¡± He had also endured for half a year. His patience was commendable. ¡°He has guns, but still not relieved and is asking to join¡­ This makes me really worried.¡±


    ¡°If you accept him, it will definitely be a problem.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s meet him first. Can you ask him to come this way?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I will pass it to him.¡±


    After Lee Beom-seok left, Jang Won-taek lit up a cigarette and puffed the acid smoke while looking at the ceiling. There¡¯s a saying that a plan goes awry right after it is executed. The ground shelter, which could be said as the very first step in his future plans, did not seem to be proceeding smoothly.


    ¡°I¡¯m already hearing creaking noises here and there¡­¡± But he couldn¡¯t show a weak side of himself to his subordinates. Once he finished his cigarettes, he dressed neatly and stepped outside.


    ¡­


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    Half of February had come to pass. Government Shelters had finally begun their expansion in earnest. A large number of personnel were mobilized to secure a site for the construction of the ground shelter. Seokhyun and Geom-in were called out, and I went hunting with several people.


    I gave an excuse that I would power level them, but that was not all; there¡¯s another reason. Da-jeong, who was living in the same room with other women, was frightened by their smell.


    -I can¡¯t take it anymore, so let¡¯s take them out to take a bath next time!


    The causes of Da-jeong¡¯s anger were Sooyeon, Mikyung, and Yeowool. They told her that they were okay with each other, but from Da-jeong¡¯s point of view, she was not fine with them.


    -Do you want me to lose my sense of smell?-It¡¯s because there¡¯s no water¡­-Don¡¯t you just wipe your body with wet tissue too, unnie?


    Their argument was sound and not baseless. The Government Shelters provided only 2 liters of water per day. they couldn¡¯t even take a shower with such a minimal amount when there¡¯s another need to use it. Even when they went outside to get water, they were completely frozen due to the weather. Thanks to that, the bodies of the shelter people stank. However, since they were all in the same situation, they naturally accepted it.


    Da-jeong, I and the three others secured a building near Yeouido and made a bonfire with black charcoal inside. After opening the portal, taking out the metal bathtub made by the scarabs, and putting the hose in it, water gushed out and filled the bathtub.


    The three of them stared intently into the bathtub.


    ¡°It¡¯s really amazing¡­¡±


    The portal was transparent, so the only thing they could see was a hose sticking out of the air. Sooyeon was even more surprised when she put her hand in the water.


    ¡°The water is not that cold.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s summer in the shelter right now. The water was also in the hut, so it is a bit lukewarm.¡±


    ¡°Where does the water come from?¡±


    ¡°There is a valley nearby. We put a water tank there and put a pump in the cabin.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really incredible.¡±


    ¡°When Yoohyeon comes in later, the pump will be able to run automatically. I want him to come in quickly.¡±


    If only Yoohyeon comes in, it would also be possible to install a water wheel in the valley to generate electricity. Nowadays, he was studying diligently by reading books in preparation for that time.


    Of course he still complained a bit.


    -To think I will be studying even in the apocalypse.-Anything you need?-I¡¯ll tell you later hyung. For now I need some books about electronics.


    Da-jeong came out of the portal and dropped the plastic bag on the floor. Inside was shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toothbrush¡­ even towels. She declared, putting her hand on her waist.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take all the dirt stuck in your body here, so be prepared.¡±


    ¡°Ah~ How long has it been since my last bath¡­¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t dip my body in the bathtub, can I?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve gone crazy, huh?¡±


    When Mikyung asked, she got a palm massage from her female comrades. The three said they were looking forward to it and looked at me. It¡¯s my cue for exit.


    I apologized and entered the portal.


    ¡°Those people will do fine¡­ So¡­¡± I decided to take a look at the furnace made by the scarabs. When I entered the shelter and took a seat near the furnace, it came up to my waist. It was made from soil collected by Da-jeong from a volcanic area. As the fuel, etherstone and black coal were used. The two of them were grinded into powder and made a special kind of fire.


    Actually, it doesn¡¯t have to be this luxurious to make molten iron. But since processing magic metal and ore were the end game for the Scarabs, I have no choice but to do it this way.


    ¡°I believe only in you guys.¡± The scarabs carried the powder to the unlit furnace. When I ignited it with an ignition stick, a purple flame erupted.


    ¡°Beautiful..¡± I was drawn into the splendid fire and mused. The work began in earnest, and the chief scarab called me.


    ¡°What?¡±


    According to the guy¡¯s explanation, this blast furnace is, in principle, something that should not be extinguished. It was said that once it was extinguished, the molten iron inside would harden and turn into garbage.


    ¡°We can just keep throwing fuel¡­ wait, etherstone goes into the fuel, right?¡±


    Nod nod.


    That was the problem. The amount of etherstone I originally had was 3. I got it all from hunting Sniffles. But since I used one just now, I only have 2 left. One of them could keep the furnace going for a month, so that means with the amount I have, the furnace would last for three months. If I don¡¯t want to destroy the blast furnace they had just made, I would have to get my hands on etherstones.


    ¡°Where can I get it, I wonder¡­¡± Monsters like Sniffle were rare. Even if it¡¯s not rare, with our current power, it took too many things to kill one of them. Thus, it was impossible to make it the main avenue of getting etherstones. The etherstone other people get from the entry quests would be eaten by the portal. So I can¡¯t use that method too.


    ¡°I think it would be better to send an expedition to mine etherstone.¡± However, Captain Scarab¡¯s opinion on the matter was rather ambiguous. Seems like there were no etherstone deposits nearby. I should think about it deeper later when I get the time.


    I walked away from the furnace area and made my way to the workplace of the stag beetles. The guys were busy making totems for me.


    ¡°How are you guys doing?¡± I asked. Their reaction was different from the Scarabs. They just point their claws at the totem without looking at me. Seems like making the totem takes a lot of time because the material was elderwood.


    So far, it had proceeded smoothly, but collecting elderwood had become a problem. I cut the branches with an Elementium knife, but after that I didn¡¯t get permission to cut another one. According to the stag beetles, if I wanted to gather more elderwood, I had to take someone else with me.


    ¡°The amount an individual can collect is limited.¡± I was embarrassed to say that I couldn¡¯t afford to forcefully collect it even if I ignored the warning.


    ¡°For now, Seokhyun and Da-jeong will be able to take it for me.¡± I guess I would have to wait for the others to enter the shelter to collect more elderwood.


    I looked around the shelter and noticed that Dingsoon¡¯s stomach had bloated.


    ¡°Seems like you guys finally did it, huh?¡± I smiled. The couple had rarely been inside the shelter these days. Whenever they came back, they just made their own nest in the corner of the shelter and never entered the cave. Seeing that Dingsoon was alone, Dingo was probably out in the forest looking for food.


    I tore the yellow pollack into pieces, boiled a soup and put it in the nest. Dingsoon, without any doubt, emptied the bowl and licked my nose.


    ¡°You should have a lot of babies.¡± I patted her head. After taking a bath, I ate with the girls who had become brighter than before. When I returned to the Government Shelters to take the boys out, I met Jang won-taek who said he had been looking for me for a while.


    ¡°What happened?¡± He seemed hesitant at my question and then explained the situation regardless. One of the worst chaebol among chaebols in Korea was requesting to join. His trait was even worse; brainwashing.


    When I stretched my neck to the side, Jang Won-taek immediately withdrew.


    ¡°Since it¡¯s brainwashing, it¡¯s a little bit like that, right? Forget I have told you such things.¡±


    ¡°No, let¡¯s meet him first. I wonder what he¡¯s going to say.¡±


    ¡°Since he¡¯s only been in his own shelter for half a year, I doubt it will be a productive talk.¡±


    I doubt whether it was really the case. But if he really had prepared in advance, it wouldn¡¯t be impossible to do. On top of that, with his brainwashing ability, he could enslave some survivors and have life with minimal interactions.


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    Jang Won-taek laughed bitterly when he said that the guy¡¯s level would be low. ¡°You can think of him as an idiot who doesn¡¯t know anything about the current world. He only has guns, and only knows about the situation in general. He doesn¡¯t even know what the Auction House is.¡±


    ¡°I thought they were all dead.¡± I murmured. In the apocalypse, weak people and fools shouldn¡¯t have survived. After all, it¡¯s a cruel world that normal people even find it hard to survive. The fact that a chaebol, who has no knowledge of the world, is alive, was probably due to the combination of several factors. Unfortunately, it seems like his luck would run out pretty soon as he thought joining the Government Shelter was a wise move.


    I told Jang Won-taek. ¡°Let¡¯s do that then. We should meet them first before deciding.¡±


    ¡°Why did I think he¡¯s going to get ripped off by Seongho? I hope it¡¯s just my misunderstanding.¡±


    This man was too quick-witted¡­

 Chapter 158

    Jo Sooyeon¡¯s unique ability was healing. Because of that, she naturally took a position in the back during battle. The only time she would run forward was when her party members got hurt while fighting. Her healing properties could suture most wounds in an instant. It was a powerful ability, but it didn¡¯t really help her in battle. As for the additional effects, it¡¯s just quick healing and long-distance healing.


    Thanks to that, Sooyeon¡¯s level was only 19, which was the lowest along with her party members Jung Jiman. The highest level amongst the party was unexpectedly Mikyung. But it was only possible due to her unique ability which was suitable for battle. Her ability to change position could change the course of the battle in an instant.


    Although Sooyeon wasn¡¯t happy with her low level, she was still satisfied with her situation. After all, being a healer was surprisingly fun.


    She had always told people this,


    ¡°Sometimes, I also want to be active in a battle, but I still feel rewarded when I heal others. Everyone thanked me. They said that they lived thanks to my healing.¡±


    The kind-hearted ex-doctor and current healer, Jo Sooyeon. The Government Shelter was always reluctant to let her go outside, saying they could not lose such precious resources. Because of that, Sooyeon had to spend the majority of her time in the shelter. However, she wouldn¡¯t just sit around and do nothing. On the contrary, she had a lot of work to do like treating sick personnel and healing those who come back from the hunt injured. However, those tasks couldn¡¯t alleviate her boredom at all. Her level stagnation was also making her a bit impatient.


    It was Seongho who brought Sooyeon out of her mundane life. He was the person who thought that everyone should have more than a certain level of combat power.


    -Sooyeon is no exception to that. At least you should be able to protect yourself.


    Seongho emphasized that it was not enough to just level up. She must also constantly accumulate combat experience. Lee Beom-seok was reluctant to let her go, but he couldn¡¯t stop Seongho from taking her out. Thus, Sooyeon and Seongho went out hunting alone. For some reason, Sooyeon was excited by that. Her heart was racing.


    ¡®Now that I think about it, an amazing person is driving the bus.¡¯ There were many people who did not know the name Kang Seongho, but there¡¯s no one who did not know the name I Love Gimbap. If they didn¡¯t know the name, it was certain that they were people who were in the dark about the current world or a foreigner.


    I Love Gimbap was the strongest stagnant water and the leader of the other stagnant waters. But for Sooyeon, both names only made her remember the chubby snack bar guy. She wondered just when did he change like this?


    ¡°It was said that people change when the opportunity comes¡­¡±


    The man in question was currently busy attaching a long knife with a scabbard to Sooyeon¡¯s waist.


    ¡°Even a healer must attack directly if the situation called for it. Though, it will be ideal if such a situation never occurs.¡±


    ¡°This is expensive.¡± Sooyeon¡¯s said bitterly. 300 points was too much for her who rarely had a chance to accumulate points.


    Seongho smiled softly and whispered into her ear. ¡°Actually, I have a lot of such swords looted from other people.¡±


    ¡®Looted¡­¡¯ Sooyeon remembered that the man in front of her had killed many people. According to the people at the Auction House, close to 20 people died in the wetland labyrinth alone, and the number of people who died directly or indirectly at his hands were several times that number. But, she was not afraid of him at all. Perhaps it¡¯s because of his personality where he always treated those who were close to him well. As long as they didn¡¯t cross the line, he wouldn¡¯t get angry. Sooyeon believed so.*


    ¡°If even a long knife doesn¡¯t work, you have to run away. The best way to run away is to run to high places. After all, some monsters will not be able to reach you.¡± Seongho showed a demonstration of climbing up to the 4th floor of a one-room building using a rope attached to a metal hook he threw to the top. Like a good student, Sooyeon worked hard to imitate his actions. After they both reached the top, the two looked at the building across.


    ¡°Sooyeon-ssi, you can only use this while you are with me. When I call you and tell you to run, just run.¡±


    ¡°M-me? Here?¡± The distance to the building on the other side was more than 15m, at the shortest. She knew that Seongho had the dimension wall as an additional effect, but the thought of falling still made her hands sweat.


    Seongho took her hand and led her into the air.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s a dimensional wall under our feet. You can think of it as an invisible floor.¡±


    ¡°O-oh my god¡­¡± Sooyeon floated in the air on top of the invisible floor. The dizziness from the fear of falling overtook her.


    Seongho gently pulled her arm. ¡°Just pretend you don¡¯t know and take a step forward.¡±


    ¡°Wai-wait a minute¡­ Mommy!!!¡±


    Without realizing it, she jumped into the air and crossed over to the roof of another building. After that, Seongho continued to help her. In short, it was power-leveling. Thanks to that, Sooyeon was able to reach level 20 in less than half a day. Once they finished, the two occupied a suitable building, ate and talked about the additional effects she got.


    ¡°It was something called ability enhancement¡­¡±


    ¡°I have no idea what kind of ability it is, just try it.¡±


    ¡°Would you mind giving me your arm for a moment?¡±


    Sooyeon put her hand on Seongho¡¯s arm once he nodded in agreement. When she touched his thick forearm, her heart started to pound.


    ¡®Seems like I still can¡¯t move on¡­¡¯ She said to herself. Back when she found out that he was dating Da-jeong, she gave up¡­ at least that¡¯s what she thought.


    ¡°Sooyeon?¡±


    ¡°Yes? Oh, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Afraid that she would let him know about her true feelings, she quickly placed her hand on his arm and used her powers. A golden light different from the usual golden light when she was healing others was emitted.Seongho was quite startled and touched her arm.


    ¡°This is amazing. My stats were buffed.¡±


    When I said it had become 1.2 times stronger, she covered her mouth with her hand.


    ¡°Your stats increased by 1.2 times?¡±


    If it strengthened others without any side effects it could be said that her skill was close to a scam.


    ¡°If I activate more skills on top of this skill¡­. Wait a minute.¡±


    Seongho stretched his body and jumped to the street below. The orc¡¯s cries were heard afterwards, and after a while he came back up with blood on his fists. Seongho blinked and his red eyes returned to normal.


    ¡°It¡¯s a really great ability, but can you check whether you can cast it to multiple people or not?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ that¡¯s not possible.¡± Sooyeon answered.


    Seongho nodded and opened his mouth again. ¡°Let¡¯s test how much time we have next.¡±


    The two started eating again. The main menu was swordfish. And in the conversation, Sooyeon confessed that she had refused Geom-in advance.


    ¡°The age difference between us is too much for my liking. That¡¯s even after putting aside things like disposition and personality.¡±


    Seongho smiled bitterly at her words. He didn¡¯t know whether he should be happy or sad about it. After all, a former doctor and a former gamer was a strange combination. But Geom-in was still his friend. He hoped he wouldn¡¯t fall into a pit of despair.


    Sooyeon put her bowl down and continued. ¡°He also always called me Noona. So it was a bit hard for me to see him as a man.¡±


    And from what Seongho knows, the kid always talks about games day and night.


    ¡°Come to think of it, you¡¯re older than me, so should I call you noona too?¡± Seongho asked her.


    Sooyeon opened her eyes wide and she hurriedly waved her hand at the question. ¡°No, no. I¡¯m fine with what you call me now.¡±


    It would be burdensome for her to hear Seongho, who was so huge, calling her noona. But when she thought about it from a different angle, she thought that it would please her ears and heart.


    Seongho finished his cleanup and brought a coffee from the portal. The two drank the coffee while looking at the devastated landscape stretch in front of them. A group of goblins, including a hobgoblin, hid in an alley to avoid some orcs. It¡¯s been a while since they appeared, but a lot of people ignored them. After all, once they were hit by a paralyzing dart, no matter how strong they were, they wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything.


    Sooyeon asked while watching the battle between monsters.


    ¡°How long do we have to live like this?¡±


    ¡°World will keep being like this. Strong monsters will keep appearing without end.¡±


    ¡°Looks like no matter how hard we try, we can¡¯t get out of the apocalypse.¡±


    ¡°We just need to work hard to keep surviving. If there¡¯s one thing I¡¯m sure about, it¡¯s the fact that we will live much more comfortably than others.¡± Seongho said. It wasn¡¯t his arrogance or anything but simply a fact. Afterall, they had his dimensional gate.


    Sooyeon rested her head on Seongho¡¯s shoulder without realizing it. She wondered where she could ever find someone so reliable again.


    ¡®In the end, I should have been courageous back then¡­¡¯ After Seongho and herself cleared the death match against a murderer in Busan, he had stayed at her villa briefly. If she had had the courage back then, Seongho would have become hers now, not Da-jeong¡¯s. Though, since it was Da-jeong, there¡¯s a possibility that she would only ignore her advances and push herself to go further. At that moment, Sooyeon remembered Da-jeong¡¯s offer, making her face beet red.


    ¡®How could she say something like 3P¡­¡¯


    While she was in agony and channeled all of her embarrassment to the innocent paper cup, Seongho was browsing through the Auction House. He then opened his mouth, snapping Sooyeon back to reality.


    ¡°Do you know Kim Ho-je, the second son of the Jeil Group?¡±


    ¡°¡­I know. He¡¯s been on the news a lot. In a bad way.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t watch TV a lot, so¡­¡± Seongho asked her to give him a brief summary about the guy.


    ¡°Since back when he was still a student in an overseas college, he had problems with drugs and women. I remember he was arrested for bringing drugs into Korea.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not an ordinary person, huh?¡±


    ¡°He had caused a lot of accidents. There¡¯s also news regarding him hiring gangsters to beat up a certain staff of a hair salon just because he didn¡¯t like the way she treated him.¡±


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    ¡°His father must have spent a lot of money.¡±


    ¡°If that was all, it wouldn¡¯t have been a problem. He was sent to the Jeil group US branch to calm himself down. But on the way, he touched the butt of a stewardess and got banned from entering the country. It¡¯s completely crazy.¡±


    ¡°Now that motherfucker has come to the shelter. Let¡¯s go meet him.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    In Sooyeon¡¯s head, a picture of Seongho beating Kim Ho-je was drawn.


    Just what kind of courage did he have to decide to come to the Government Shelter?


    ¡­


    ¡°Let me tell you once again in case you forget. Never. Use. Violence.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    I replied roughly and opened the door. Inside the room, Jang won-taek was sitting across a man and a woman.


    The man, Kim Ho-je, was so thin to the point even anchovy would call him brother. His thick clothes couldn¡¯t hide his neck and cheekbones.


    Is he wearing sunglasses to hide his expression?


    All in all, he¡¯s uselessly flashy.


    The woman sitting next to him looked better than Kim Ho-je. She was draped in a black body armor and had a well-groomed bob hair cut. Her eyes which looked at me made me feel that she¡¯s a stubborn kind of woman. No matter how I look at it, she¡¯s not under a brainwashing effect.


    As I stood still on the door, Jang Won-taek opened his mouth. ¡°Sit down. There are people who want to join our shelter. I want you to talk to them too.¡± Jang won-taek then moved his head towards the pair. ¡°This is Seongho. If you can¡¯t recognize him, he¡¯s more well known as I Love Gimbap.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    Unlike the woman who only showed a hint of surprise for a brief moment, Kim Ho-je quickly lowered his sunglasses all the way to his nose and made a fuss.


    ¡°Wow, I Love Gimbap! A very strong person has graced us with his presence! Nice to meet you, nice to meet you.¡±


    Eventually he came to me and held out his glove-covered hand.


    What in the world is this guy doing?


    I clenched my fist and the woman hurriedly dragged him back to his seat.


    ¡°I said you can¡¯t shake hands, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    Kim Ho-je kept his mouth shut and only looked down. I sat in front of Jang Won-taek and looked at him. His heartbeat and breathing were erratic. Maybe it was because his eyes were open when he took off his sunglasses, or maybe he was addicted to drugs.


    The woman bowed her head towards me. ¡°Sorry for our rudeness, my name is Lee Hyejin. I work as the President¡¯s secretary.¡±


    Secretary, huh? That¡¯s a surprise. I quietly listened to the words of Jang Won-taek and Lee Hyejin. To summarize, it was like this: Kim Ho-je felt his life was threatened and wanted to entrust himself and his supplies to the Government Shelter.


    ¡°People with the unique skill of brainwashing always make enemies. I know that the Government Shelter is aware that there are many people who have shelters in the Hannam-dong area. Some of them don¡¯t like the President.¡±


    It could be said the thing Lee Hyejin had said was a natural thing to say due to Kim Ho-je¡¯s unique skill. But I still felt a strange sense of incongruity.


    Jang Won-taek glanced at me and continued the conversation. ¡°So it sounds like you want to entrust your people and supplies to our shelter. However, there are concerns. People will never like people with brainwashing traits.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. If there¡¯s a huge level difference, the unique skill won¡¯t work properly. President will also be wearing gloves like this, and I will assist him by his side.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to wear gloves!¡± Kim Ho-je made a promise using a child-like tone. This was new information again. If there¡¯s a lot of level difference, brainwashing doesn¡¯t work.


    Jang Won-taek asked Kim Ho-je how many people he had brainwashed. ¡°Th-three people.¡±


    ¡°A pity, you have turned people into your puppets. Will people let it go? It¡¯s obvious that they aren¡¯t going to turn a blind eye on the matter.¡±


    Lee Hyejin hastily opened her mouth. ¡°Victims of brainwashing will not enter the shelter.¡±


    ¡°Then?¡±


    ¡°I will arrange for them to live somewhere else. The President has also reflected a lot. If there is a way to solve the brainwashing later, we will actively cooperate.¡±


    Kim Ho-Je looked at him with his head bowed. But it didn¡¯t feel real to me.


    When our reaction was not what she expected, Lee Hyejin said again.


    ¡°If his application is accepted, the President said that he would donate all the stockpiled materials to this shelter.¡±


    ¡°There are a lot of supplies in this shelter too¡­ Do you perhaps have any heavy weapons?¡±


    ¡°We have quite a few Russian weapons. We imported it through an arms dealer.¡±


    ¡°I believed that at that time I had already passed the airport closure order¡­¡±


    ¡°I feel sorry to say this but it was brought here through a Russian fishing boat from the East Sea.¡±


    Jang Won-taek smiled bitterly.


    ¡°Hoho, I see.¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡±


    It doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s a good thing, but when you see him smiling innocently, it is clear that the guy named Kim Ho-Je has a few screws loose.


    Jang Won-taek looked at me and blinked. He wants us to go out for a while. Once we were finally alone, he asked. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°There is someone behind him.¡±


    ¡°I also felt that way, but¡­ is there any evidence?¡±


    I recalled old memories at that moment. To be precise, I recalled the piece of information I obtained when attacking Joo Seung-cheol¡¯s bunker. In that piece of information, people who were called President Kim and Director were connected with Joo Seung-cheol.


    ¡°From what I know, President Kim¡¯s unique ability was brainwashing. Director Lee seems to be referring to Lee Hyejin, right?¡±


    ¡°You have that kind of information¡­ that¡¯s amazing.¡± Jang Won-taek was genuinely admiring him. Anyway, it turned out that Jang Won-taek also didn¡¯t trust their reasoning fully. Their purpose must be information that could only be known from inside the Government Shelter. Or maybe, they were trying to find out about me.


    Now I have to choose. Do I pretend to be deceived and accept it, or¡­


    ¡°Let¡¯s agree with them for now. I would like to see their reaction.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do that.¡± We returned to the conference room as soon as we wrapped our conversation.


    I asked Director Lee, no, Lee Hyejin.


    ¡°I want to see how many supplies are there in your shelter, are you okay with that?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to your bunker together and check it out.¡±


    ¡°That, that¡­¡±


    A flustered expression appeared on Lee Hyejin¡¯s calm face. Jang Won-taek pushed forward without losing his momentum. ¡°If this request is accepted, we will accept the requests of Ho-je-ssi and Hyejin-ssi.¡±


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    ¡°That¡­¡±


    She couldn¡¯t answer straight away. Didn¡¯t that mean there is something that needs to be approved first?


    Kim Ho-je rejoiced like a child, happy that guests would come to his bunker. When he took off his sunglasses, his wide eyes were revealed. Lee Hyejin looked at him, but she could barely regain her calm before answering.


    ¡°I need some time to think.¡±


    I don¡¯t think it¡¯s because she needs to think rather it was to get someone¡¯s permission through the Auction House. The two of them left, and I opened the door slightly and focused my hearing. My extra senses were activated, and Lee Hyejin¡¯s whisper instantly entered my ears.

 Chapter 159

    No survivors liked the unique ability of brainwashing. Of course It includes me. The ability to turn humans into puppets was dangerous in a different sense than violence. Thus, I had killed everyone with such ability whenever I met them. There¡¯s only two people so far, though.


    ¡°They told me that they want to visit our shelter..¡±


    Lee Hyejin whispered in a very low voice for fear that anyone might hear it. Unfortunately for her, I could hear it all.


    ¡°I think we should reveal our heavy weapons. It looks like it could entice him.¡±


    Look at that? She wants to lure me in?


    Probably she¡¯s going to pull me into their bunker and then use her brainwashing on me. As the corner of my lips arched upwards, Jang Won-taek showed great interest, but did not open his mouth.


    By the way, the woman, Lee Hye-Jin, was clearly in the dark about the current world. There were quite a few people out there who are not as good as me, but with great sense. It seemed like she spent all her time in the bunker, so she didn¡¯t know how diverse Unique Ability truly is. The information which could be obtained through the Auction House was limited. And amongst those which were available, a lot of them were nonsense. It was better to not look at it at all.


    Then I heard Ho-Je Kim muttering. ¡°I¡¯m bored¡­what should I do?¡±


    It was clear that his intelligence had deteriorated because he was not a kid yet still whined when coming to a place like this. The guy should have drinks in moderation.


    ¡°Be quiet.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    There was a dull sound as the conversation took place. It was a subtle sound that she would have never been able to catch if I had no extra sense. From the sound, it seems like Lee Hyejin had slapped Kim Ho-Je in the head.


    A subordinate beating the boss¡­ Then, we need to revise our information about Kim Ho-Je. It was safe to say that he¡¯s not the one with brainwashing unique ability. What if the one with the brainwashing unique skill is Lee Hyejin?


    I remembered Kim Ho-je unconsciously reaching out his hand towards me. SInce now I know that he¡¯s not someone with a brainwashing unique ability, it should be an unconscious action. Lee Hyejin must have stopped him at that moment to make us believe that the information we got was the correct one.


    Now that I look at it this way, Lee Hyejin, who was flustered back then, should¡¯ve felt quite happy inside. I thought she was a pretty nice lady, but turns out she knows how to deceive people quite well.


    Then the two returned to the room. Lee Hyejin entered with her lips slightly raised.


    ¡°After consulting with the manager, we decided to agree to your demand.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a good choice. Then¡­ When will be the best time for us to visit?¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow is good. The two of us are tired from moving today.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a room, so you can rest and leave tomorrow.¡±


    There¡¯s one thing I need to do before I go.


    ¡­


    I took Yoohyeon and went out of the shelter. He was happy the moment I took him out as lately all he did was studying. I feel so sorry to hear about it.


    ¡°Yoohyun-ah, can you fly your paper airplane to Hannam-dong?¡±


    ¡°I can hyung. Where should I look?¡±


    ¡°In the rich neighborhood.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me.¡±


    Yoohyeon folded a sturdy paper into the shape of an airplane and flew it. In truth, I could use my drone rather than asking Yoohyeon. But the control distance was short. Only around 3km. However, in exchange, I would get a clear image, so there were pros and cons.


    After a while, Yoohyeon opened his mouth.


    ¡°Hyung, I¡¯ve arrived. You are talking about the area around the vicinity of the Grand Hotel, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s exactly there.¡± I unfurled a map in front of Yoohyeon and showed him the location of Joo Seungcheol¡¯s bunker.


    ¡°Do a round around this area. If there¡¯s anything strange, let me know.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m flying low right now and I see a gun. That¡­ Isn¡¯t that an anti-aircraft machine gun?¡±


    Anti-aircraft machine gun? I shuddered as goosebumps enveloped my forearm. When I asked him for the details, he frowned and controlled the paper airplane.


    ¡°There are quite a few guns on the wall¡­ Look at these bastards, their wall is no joke.¡±


    Looks like they had prepared a lot. Though, it wasn¡¯t as much as me. After what had happened back when I fought Joo Seung-cheol, it became difficult to work through the ventilation holes. But there is no perfect security in the world.


    Yoohyeon tapped my arm.


    ¡°Hyung, there¡¯s a drone flying in front of me. What should I do?¡±


    ¡°Did it notice you?¡±


    ¡°It is at the same altitude as my plane, so it probably hadn¡¯t noticed me yet. The camera is also underneath¡­¡±


    Well then, that¡¯s good.


    ¡°For now, follow it.¡±


    After moving the paper airplane for a while, Yoohyeon finally opened his eyes.


    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s difficult to move the airplane because of the distance. Anyway, I¡¯ll mark the bunker with the guns.¡±


    After a while, a few bunkers were displayed on the map of the Hannam-dong area in front of me. There were 7 in total, and they were all close to each other. I guess they decided to build it like that so they could help each other in times of need.


    When I attacked Joo Seung-cheol¡¯s bunker, there was a high possibility that they didn¡¯t help because they judged that they stood no chance against me. I looked at the map and asked Yoohyeon.


    ¡°Where is the bunker the drone landed at?¡±


    ¡°This one.¡±


    Yoohyeon¡¯s finger touched a certain bunker. It was previously designated as the bunker of President Kim. Its location was almost adjacent to Joo Seung-cheol¡¯s bunker, so it would be safe to assume that he witnessed his death.


    This fact made it clear that they were trying to lure me for some purpose. It wouldn¡¯t be for something as petty as revenge. They probably want to make a puppet out of me to steal information. Moreover, if they had a guy as strong as me as a slave, they could worry about their life less. I¡¯m starting to get mad at this.


    As I stayed silent, Yoohyeon looked at me. ¡°Uh¡­ Hyung What did I do wrong?¡±


    ¡°Yes? Nothing. It¡¯s just that there¡¯s something on my mind.¡±


    Yoohyeon put his hand on his chest and sighed. ¡°What a relief¡­ I actually felt it a bit. I wonder if something might have changed while hyung was away from us¡­¡±


    ¡°What has changed?¡±


    ¡°Well you know hyung, something like the mind becomes distant when the bodies are apart?¡±


    Doesn¡¯t that apply only to lovers? Well, I can¡¯t say that it¡¯s not related to me at all because dating someone was a human relationship in the end.


    I put my arm on Yoohyeon¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Why would I leave you and live alone? Do you know how many things you can do once you are inside?¡±


    ¡°Do I have a lot of work to do?¡±


    ¡°A lot. We need to build a motor-powered pump, install a solar generator, build an alarm system, fix a motorcycle¡­¡±


    As soon as I listed the task he would need to do in the future, his countenance softened.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad¡­ I hope I have a lot of work to do.¡±


    ¡°I also have to build a house. You should also build a house for your newlywed life with Yeowool, right?¡±


    ¡°Hy-hyung, it¡¯s not like that¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? I¡¯ve heard everything.¡±


    Seeing him being shy made me want to tease him more. But if he flips the table on me and starts talking about Da-jeong, I would only get tired, so let¡¯s stop here.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the rest. You just need to study and work hard.¡± I ruffled Yoohyeon¡¯s hair.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying the same thing as what Jiman said last time.¡±


    ¡°What did Jiman say last time?¡±


    ¡°Yes. He told us that if we work hard, hyung will take care of us¡­¡±


    That¡¯s not wrong. After all, snacks would only be tastier after working hard.


    I went out and found a suitable seat and sat down. Scouting was over, now all that was left was to enter the bunker and act. There¡¯s a way to break it from the outside without going in, but It would be too difficult. Moreover, breaking into a bunker armed with drones, machine guns and a lot of bastards would be expensive.


    ¡°I have to tear it down from the inside.¡±


    There¡¯s paralysis poison, pepper bombs, tasers, etc., in my arsenal. So I could use them according to the situation. After organizing my thoughts and entering the portal, Captain Scarab approached me with something in his puncher.


    ¡°What is this?¡± I asked, mouth wide opened. It¡¯s a ring. On top of that, It looked like it had been processed and also given an option.


    ¡¸Mithril Ring: Permanent, Mental Tolerance¡¹


    ¡°¡­¡± Does mental tolerance protect against mental attacks? But there was no room for it in the skill space¡­ Let¡¯s see¡­ I can take off the gloves¡­


    I had to give up three stats and lethal blows for a while, but the temptation for mental resistance was too great. I took the ring and put it on my finger, and a message came to mind. Originally, I would have to figure out the effect of an item by trying it out myself, but at some point this message started popping up. It¡¯s probably the newly-implemented system on the new patch or something.


    ¡¸MentalTolerance: Offer resistance to all mental attacks¡¹


    ¡°It¡¯s vague¡­¡± At one time, I had Paralysis Poison Resistance as a skill. What is the difference between tolerance and resistance? In terms of language, resistance felt like it was a higher level. But what do I know?


    When I asked Captain Scarab, he only pointed to Blast Furnace.


    ¡°If you make it with that, you say there will be additional options?¡±


    The guy drew the number 20. The probability was very low though. Permanent immutability would always be attached to items made with mithril material, so it could be said that having mental tolerance attached to this one item was nothing but a stroke of luck.


    Now that I had the skill in my skill list, even if it couldn¡¯t completely defend against brainwashing, it would at least make me able to withstand it to some extent.


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    ¡°Well done.¡± I stroked the guys who were waiting for compliments once in a while. As I turned around, the chief stag beetle said something to the chief beetle.


    Why is he mad again?


    I put on the ring and packed my gear in my backpack. When I went out, the people who had gone out to secure a ground shelter site came back and it was noisy.


    ¡°Where is my husband!¡± Da-jeong shouted as she looked at me. What the hell is she doing with so many people around? She ran at me and tried to hug me, however, she stopped abruptly. Her eyes were stuck on the mithril ring on my hand.


    ¡°Which bitch dared!!!¡±


    ¡°Huh? Oh! This ring?¡± I closed her mouth with my palm as I saw her eyes were filled with anger. ¡°Listen. Not a bitch, but a scarab.¡±


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you see the mental tolerance option? It is made in the ether blast furnace. It¡¯s amazing stuff.¡±


    After I finished my explanation, I moved my hands away from her mouth. She sighed, and then looked at me with her dissatisfied face.


    ¡°You should cover my lips with kisses, not with your palm like that! Give me your lips!¡±


    ¡°People are coming, hold on.¡±


    I greeted those who returned and invited Seokhyun. ¡°Listen, The bunker we¡¯ll be going to next has a good number of people. You remembered the bunker Seungcheol went to before? It¡¯s near there.¡±


    Seokhyun got bored with the explanations one after another.


    ¡°So what am I going to do?¡±


    ¡°You can hide in the portal, then run out and beat them once I¡¯m inside.¡±


    Seokhyun had a pretty happy expression on his face.


    ¡°It¡¯s a great plan.¡±


    ¡°Go in and rest for now. I will call you later.¡±


    While we were talking like that, Yoohyeon rushed over to me. However, before he could arrive in front of me, Da-jeong hugged him tightly from behind and stopped him.


    ¡°Our cutie pie, where are you going?¡±


    ¡°Seo-Seongho hyung. By the way, Noona¡­ Please let me go¡­¡±


    I thought it would make me jealous looking at Da-jeong near another man. But turns out, I don¡¯t really think about it.


    When Da-jeong smiled and let go, Yoohyeon came to me and said, ¡°Hyung, after you left, I looked around Hannam-dong again. And¡­ I found a dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Dungeon? Where is it?¡±


    ¡°Do you know where the art gallery is located, hyung? The dungeon entrance was right in front of it.


    A variable suddenly appeared. Even the chaebols locked in bunkers would not want to miss such an opportunity. They would drive out all the survivors who have flocked to them and try to monopolize the dungeon. If we do this well, we could eat pheasants and eggs. (T/n proverrrbbb.)


    Da-jeong looked into my eyes and giggled. ¡°It has begun, it has begun. Let¡¯s go quickly..¡±


    ¡°Would you like some fish?¡± Da-jeong¡¯s expression changed in an instant as I asked.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not good to be picky. You should eat well.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from you, who only likes meat.¡±


    Seokhyun tilted his head as if he didn¡¯t understand. ¡°Listen. We eat mostly herbivores, right?¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°What do those herbivores eat?¡±


    ¡°Grass¡­fruit¡­grain¡­ Why¡±


    ¡°It means that we who eat them are also eating those things. Understand?¡±


    Da-jeong had a dumbfounded face at his answer. Then she kicked Seokhyun¡¯s ass and pushed him towards the portal.


    ¡°Good words usually sound bitter.¡±


    ¡°You are noisy! Just get in.¡±


    The two just disappeared. Anyway, they¡¯re really noisy guys.


    ¡­


    I followed Kim Ho-je and Lee Hyejin to Hannam-dong. The man was noisy and immature, while Lee Hyejin was blunt, so it was a completely boring journey.


    Some monsters appeared. But Lee Hyejin killed them all with a rifle equipped with a silencer. She blew the smoke equipped with a silencer.


    ¡°Now that I look at it, monsters are no big deal.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°I felt that way when I saw them couldn¡¯t keep up with the power of modern machines. They are nothing.¡±


    ¡°More powerful monsters will come out later.¡±


    ¡°We have more firepower.¡±


    You have great confidence¡­


    After a while, we crossed the Han River and arrived at Hannam-dong. As expected, the area was quite noisy.


    ¡°Why has it become noisy all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°I do not know.¡±


    I guess she didn¡¯t know that a dungeon had appeared in a nearby art gallery. After arriving at the bunker, a woman opened the door.


    ¡°Welcome.¡±


    When I pretended to be flustered because there was no expression on her face, Lee Hyejin lowered her head as if she was sorry.


    ¡°He is a brainwashed person. I didn¡¯t want to show them if possible, but I had no choice but to¡­¡±


    Funny. I¡¯d met a lot of brainwashed people, so I know that their eyes weren¡¯t supposed to be like that. In other words, the woman was acting.


    As soon as I followed them into the bunker, I felt the presence of another person. Someone was hiding from us. As I concentrated, I heard breathing and heartbeats at the same time. Whoever they were, they were inside the sealing room.


    ¡°It¡¯s down there.¡± Lee Hyejin guided me to the sealing room. Now all that was left was to let her try to brainwash me and we¡¯ll attack.


    ¡°Get out for a while.¡± Kim Ho-je was only standing still, but he was kicked out by her cold tone. They are revealing their true colors too quickly.


    I sat down in the chair and opened the portal with a small voice. Lee Hyejin took off her hood and sunglasses. Her elegant impression really makes her an attractive beauty.


    ¡°Should I show you the weapon first?¡±


    ¡°Is there anything else to see?¡±


    ¡°Of course there is..¡± Lee Hyejin smiled without hiding her intent to seduce me and moved her chair to in front of me. She then pulled her knees up and rested her chin on top of it.


    ¡°Again, I have nothing to say, but I¡¯ve heard a lot of rumors about Mr. Seongho. You are the strongest.¡±


    ¡°Not very much. I am the same as everyone, I¡¯ll die in one shot.¡±


    She smiled and took off her top even though it wasn¡¯t hot. While she was still wearing her clothes, I thought she was skinny, but she has quite a bit of volume.


    ¡°I want to ask, is the Government Shelter worth living?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay except for the meals which are not tasty.¡±


    ¡°Aigoo¡­ How can we live without the pleasure of eating in the apocalypse?¡±


    ¡°They said it would be improved soon, so we have to wait.¡±


    ¡°You are very patient. They say that wasn¡¯t the case in the wetland labyrinth¡­¡±


    She leaned towards me and looked me straight in the eyes. All of her facade had disappeared. Even her tone of voice changed completely.


    ¡°It¡¯s because it was two different things.¡±


    Then, suddenly, Lee Hyejin opened her shirt and let it drop to the floor. Her bare skin was exposed in front of my nose. As I blinked, Hyejin smiled contentedly and came over to me and laid her body on my thigh.


    ¡°If this suddenly happens¡­¡±


    ¡°Shh.¡±


    Her lips covered mine. Then she slowly pulled out the glove she was wearing. This is it. I purposely let out a ¡®huh¡¯ and stopped moving.


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    Hyejin wiped the smile from her face and she pulled away from me.


    ¡°It¡¯s done. But why is the message not showing up?¡±


    That¡¯s because I have a mental tolerance. I signaled towards the portal as I watched Lee Hyejin stand to her feet. Da-jeong, who was full of anger, rushed out and kicked the woman¡¯s ass.


    ¡°KEUK!!!¡±


    ¡°Who is this bitch rubbing her mouth at my husband? I¡¯ll kill you!!¡±

 Chapter 160

    Piiiing-!!


    A low beeping sound was heard. The three men who were anxiously waiting for the news in a bunker next to the art museum reacted.


    ¡°He¡¯s caught.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this too easy? How can someone like I Love Gimbap go into a bunker without suspecting anything¡­¡±


    ¡°Even though he suspects it, as long as he entered, he will not be able to avoid brainwashing.¡±


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s believe that.¡±


    The three men nodded at the same time. They all shared the same thought that no matter how strong people¡¯s stats or unique skill ability is, brainwashing was not something they could avoid. As long as they put their hand on them, their target would instantly turn into a puppet.


    The three continued to smoke cigarettes and waited for a call. ¡°If all goes well, we will be able to negotiate with the Government Shelter.¡±


    ¡°We will become enemies of the rest of the Stagnant Waters.¡±


    At his colleague¡¯s words, Yoon Donghoon¡¯s laughed.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t they the same as us? Human beings made of skin? They wouldn¡¯t survive when they get shot.¡±


    ¡°I heard from the Auction House that people with physical strengthening ability can hold up a bit against bullets.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s just if it¡¯s Body Strengthening skill.¡±


    The survivors of the Hannam-dong bunker had one thing in common: They didn¡¯t know the situation of the current world. They all agreed to start their activities on the day the Corrosive Disease disappeared, and holed up in their bunker before that. They believed that guns would solve everything. That was not entirely wrong either. But they also didn¡¯t know just how strong the survivors on the outside had become. In particular, most of them underestimated the abilities of the Stagnant Waters. They thought that it was impossible for humans to be that strong.


    Kim Seung-guk put a cigarette in his mouth and pulled his pistol slide. The live ammunition was loaded with a clicking sound. He turned his gun to the target and pulled the trigger.


    Bang!


    With that sound, the fragments of the target bounced, and the target was dug.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe the Stagnant Waters can avoid this.¡±


    ¡°Pistol bullets have considerably weaker power. If they can withstand that, we just have to use heavy weapons.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t they be surprised by the power of the grenade and claymore? HAHAHAHAH¡±


    The three laughed and proceeded to talk about negotiating with Government Shelters.


    Then Jin Yu-seong said, ¡°But why is Director Lee taking so long? Did she drag him inside and have a good time?¡±


    ¡°HAHAHAHA.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ She might have fallen for I Love Gimbap because he¡¯s a good rice cake.¡±


    ¡°Then, if we go to the bunker right now, will we see the two of them working hard? haha.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Could it really be the case? The three remembered Director Lee. She was a strong woman who brainwashed drug addict Kim Ho-je to use him. So far, she treated all the men she¡¯d brainwashed as nothing but disposable tools. But if it¡¯s I Love Gimbap¡­ if it¡¯s a man who¡¯s that strong, she probably would feel wasteful to use him like that.


    Yoon Dong-hoon looked at his watch impatiently.


    ¡°It¡¯s been 10 minutes since they entered the bunker. I need to hear some news.¡±


    ¡°Should we wait or¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. It might be a good sight to see.¡±


    At Jin Yu-seong¡¯s suggestion, everyone stood up. When they went outside, it was quite noisy due to the dungeon.


    Tatatang!


    Gunshots exploded not too far away from them, and people¡¯s screams could also be heard. The three and Director Lee worked hard to brainwash I Love Gimbap, the other three factions just try to monopolize the dungeon.


    ¡°Those people were in a hurry, too.¡±


    ¡°The survivors were also stubborn. After all, the Auction House said that looting a dungeon will be very rewarding.¡±


    ¡°I heard that the Farming Dungeon is really great.¡±


    The three of them arrived at Lee Hyejin¡¯s bunker after talking about various things. The guard opened the door after checking the three¡¯s identity.


    ¡°Where is Director Lee?¡±


    ¡°She hasn¡¯t come out yet.¡±


    ¡°Woah. Looks like she really fell for I Love Gimbap.¡±


    ¡°Maybe he¡¯s a handsome man?¡±


    The three waited for quite a while outside the bunker. But as time passed, Lee Hyunjin still did not come out. The impatient Kim Seung-guk grabbed the bunker¡¯s security door and pulled it open.


    Shouldn¡¯t this door be automatically locked?


    When he looked inside, Kim Ho-Je was there. He was holding a doll while wearing pajamas.


    ¡°Uh-huh¡­¡± The man sighed. He understood the situation now. The drug addict had left the door unlocked.


    ¡°Director Lee is going to have a big trouble with that bastard someday.¡±


    ¡°I really hate seeing him.¡±


    Even in the apocalypse, someone must not let go of our spirit. Of course, it was Lee Hyunjin and them who made him a drug addict. But they were still disgusted by the sight of him.


    The three went inside, checked their pistols, and stood in front of the sealing room. Jin Yu-seong brought his ear to the door and gave a strange smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s loud¡­ The moaning, I mean.¡±


    ¡°Hey, let¡¯s hear it together!¡±


    The three of them listened to the groans of Director Lee.


    Isn¡¯t her voice a little different from her usual husky voice, is it because of the mood?


    It¡¯s natural for people to change when having sex. Anyway, listening to someone having sex was quite stimulating. Jin Yu-seong recalled his subordinates who had been dispatched to the bunker here.


    ¡°That guy must be watching them inside.¡±


    ¡°How envious¡­ I want to taste Director Lee too.¡±


    ¡°Even though Director Lee looks a little stiff on the outside, I bet she¡¯s insane under those clothes.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe.¡±


    While they were spitting bullshit like that, someone walked out near the sealing door. He was wearing white panties and a rabbit headband. The three, who were not of high level, were surprised to find him late.


    Just where did this guy come from?


    ¡°Hii.¡± As Seokhyun waved his hand, the three immediately pointed the pistol in their hands at him.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­ Looking at that rabbit headband, is he perhaps Rabbit Pwincess?¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t move¡­ you¡¯re going to be a honeycomb.¡±


    ¡°Honeycomb?¡± Seokhyun tilted his head and slowly approached the three of them.


    ¡°Do-don¡¯t come!¡± The three men clenched their teeth and stuck to the wall. If a man wearing only panties approaches them, anyone would naturally react like them.


    But Seokhyun didn¡¯t care and approached them anyway.


    ¡°You can shoot.¡±


    ¡°Crazy bastard¡­ Do you think you¡¯ll be safe after being shot?¡±


    ¡°That guy has Immortality Unique skill. He¡¯ll be resurrected even if he dies. but¡­ We have a lot of bullets. We will be able to just kill him again next time.¡±


    Even though he said that, there was still fear on the faces of the three of them. After all, it was their first time meeting a madman like him. In their eyes, the man in front of them was a league crazier than Kim Ho-je. Normally, they would have pulled the trigger, but they were hesitating.


    Seokhyun noticed their inner feelings and stood up. The three were given the luxury of looking at his groin.


    ¡°Accept the darkness within you¡­¡±


    ¡°This fucking bastard.¡±


    Yoon Dong-hoon clenched his teeth and pulled the trigger.


    Bang-!!


    Starting with him, the other two also threw flash grenades and opened fire. An intense mass of light stabbed the bunker mercilessly, followed by a roar of guns. The three wore sunglasses and earplugs, so they were safe from flash bombs.


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    However, Rapwi was directly exposed to flash bombs. He was even hit with a pistol bullet, so there was no way he was going to be okay. Everyone thought so.


    ¡°What, what?¡± Kim Ho-je, who was shivering badly, came out surprised, and Kim Seung-guk kicked him with his foot.


    ¡°Stay inside, you drug addict.¡±


    ¡°No, I want to play too¡­¡±


    ¡°Noisy!¡±


    Bang!


    Kim Ho-je crawled into the room, startled by the bullets stuck between his groin. The three waited for the smoke to subside.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he supposed to be dead?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure our shots hit him, so he must have died.¡±


    However, when the smoke cleared, their expectations all crumbled. Seokhyun was still standing on top of his hands. The only difference was that he now showed his back side, not his front side. The flattened bullet in his hips and waist were pushed out little by little and then fell to the ground.


    The three of them looked at it and opened their mouths.


    ¡°Crazy¡­¡±


    ¡°Does that make sense?¡±


    In fact, even though he was Seokhyun, he would still not feel good after being shot. However, recently he had acquired the skill of Shield Sniffles. It was a compound skill just like what Da-jeong had. The difference is, his skill had elements of physical resistance, hard skin, and even meat shield. So, his current defense power was no joke.


    Seokhyun straightened his posture and looked straight at the three of them.


    ¡°It hurt a little.¡±


    Bang-!! Bang-!! Bang-!!


    More gunshots rang out in succession. Seokhyun swung his hand, then opened his palm. He pretended to catch the flying bullets, but didn¡¯t actually catch any.


    Even as Seokhyun grinned, bullets poured out of his skin. The three of them looked at it and searched for a new magazine in a hurry.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say it hurts!?!?¡±


    ¡°Heuk!¡±


    At Seokhyun¡¯s charge, the three froze without even thinking of using their abilities. Seongho¡¯s judgment that survivors who have lived like plants in a greenhouse did not use their abilities well was correct.


    ¡°Mmm, stop!¡±


    Someone miraculously demonstrated his ability and stopped Seokhyun. However, as soon as Seokhyun put pressure on his buttocks, his abilities were released.


    The farts came out, and the three of them could neither laugh nor cry, and had to take his fist.


    Puppupuck!


    One-sided beatings followed.


    ¡°I am going to punch you as much as you shoot. It will be as many bullets you spend!¡±


    Of course, Seokhyun didn¡¯t really count the amount of bullets shot at him. He¡¯s just going to do it his way. Which is, until he¡¯s satisfied.


    ¡°AHHHH!!!¡±


    The three let out a tearful scream, and the door to the sealing room opened. Lee Hye-jin and one other man were lying on the ground, body tied with ropes. Seongho and Da-jeong tied the three men who had become unconscious with ropes and covered their eyes.


    ¡°These guys really should have shut their mouths.¡±


    The three men had to lean on each other and enjoy the cold bunker floor.


    Da-jeong put her arm on Seongho¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Rather than letting them imagine it, why don¡¯t you just do her?¡±


    ¡°The two of you are here. Am I that crazy? Oh, stop that guy!¡±


    Da-jeong called the ghoul and blocked the door where Kim Ho-je was heading to. Now, all that was left for them was to loot. Seongho and Da-jeong raised the concrete cover while Seokhyun was tickling and harassing the five.


    The two went down to the floor together and scanned the surroundings with the flash.


    ¡°¡­¡± Seongho smiled. The place was awesome. And when he opened the crates stored inside, Seongho could not hide his joy anymore.


    ¡°There are quite a lot of heavy weapons here. There are also a lot of flasbangs.¡±


    In particular, the number of ammunition stored was staggering. It was made in Russia, so it was not compatible with Seongho¡¯s gun, but there were a lot of guns here too, so using them wouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    ¡°There¡¯s a generator, there¡¯s a drone¡­ and even a refrigerator.¡±


    Were they planning on having a good life after Corrosive Disease disappeared?


    Da-jeong looked at the Auction House as if she was not interested, and then called Seongho in surprise.


    ¡°Hey husband!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Yoohyeon said we should leave right now. There are a lot of monsters in the Hannam-dong area right now.¡±


    ¡°¡­was the dungeon a catastrophic dungeon?¡±


    ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a type of dungeon that if it¡¯s not cleared after a certain period of time, monsters will pop out of the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my first time hearing such things.¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t care about them back in the game.¡±


    The background story of Survival Life was a mystery itself. Most of them were unknown to users. Only people like Seongho, who were digging into the background story, knew about it.


    He hurriedly entered the Auction House and contacted Yoohyeon.


    -Yoohyun-ah, are there any monsters you are seeing for the first time?-Yes! It¡¯s a monster that looks like a bear, but at the same time looks like an owl too. Right now, people around the museum are running away. It¡¯s a mess out there.


    The dungeon even had something like Owlbear, huh? They appear only when erosion occurs and an ecosystem is formed. The fact that the guy who was supposed to come out in April or May is appearing now means the catastrophe dungeon had overflowed.


    Seongho quickly opened the portal and urged Da-jeong.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you the box, so go inside and organize it.¡±


    The two diligently grabbed the wooden box until it was empty. As they climbed up, Seokhyun was putting poop on the men¡¯s head.


    ¡°Seokhyun-ah, let¡¯s go catch OwlBear.¡±


    ¡°What about these guys?¡±


    ¡°Just kill them.¡±


    Lee Hyejin, who recognized Seongho¡¯s voice, trembled. Tears streamed from her eyes which were blinded by the blind.


    ¡°Forgive me! Forgive me! Please spare me just this once! I will do everything you ask me to do!¡±


    However, the faces of the three Stagnant Waters were cold. In particular, Seongho¡¯s face was the worst. After all, he had been through a lot of this kind of situation.


    ¡°Sorry but¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you are sorry, though.¡±


    Before Da-jeong could finish speaking, a scream was heard outside, and someone knocked on the security door.


    Who is it? When Seokhyun opened the door, an orc was standing there holding a corpse of a man.


    Kiek?


    As the guy looked inside and exposed his teeth, Seokhyun smiled at him.


    ¡°SEEGGGSS.¡±


    KUOOOOO-!!


    The orc was quickly beaten and dragged inside. Seongho opened the portal and let Da-jeong and Seokhyun enter and leave the bunker.


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    Then the orc got up shaking his head. Five immobile humans were twisting their bodies beside him.


    When the orcs turned towards the people, Lee Hyejin¡¯s blind was removed. She screamed in tears as she saw the hideous monster in front of her eyes.


    ¡°Ahhhhh!¡±


    Chomp-!!


    As the excited orc bit her in the head, blood slowly dripped onto the floor of the bunker.

 Chapter 161

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    In Survival Life, the event of the catastrophe dungeon breaking occurred more often than expected. The reason was simple. There were simply not enough players in the game. The few players who were still in the game, the four Stagnant Waters, didn¡¯t care about the dungeon at all. After all, even if the monster were strengthened by it, they did not feel any difference in their strength. Even if a level 20 monster was strengthened to level 25, for a level 70 user, it doesn¡¯t mean much.


    But in reality, it was a big disaster. In a situation where most survivors were around level 20, the reinforcement of monsters became a great threat. Though, it could be said that this disaster was self-brought by humanity. After all, it all stems from humanity holding onto each other¡¯s ankles to keep others from entering the dungeon.


    As arrows poured down at the entrance of the dungeon, even the bravest survivors were reluctant to approach. Gunshots rang out intermittently, but there was no significant dent on the monster¡¯s size. The fact that the type of dungeon was a catastrophe dungeon had become a big poison to everyone. The monsters that jumped out of the blue portal were definitely strengthened and even bigger. And there were also unfamiliar monsters on top of that.


    The identity of the new monster was Owlbear. The survivors knew of its existence through the walkthrough, but it was the first time they had actually seen it.


    Bang-!!


    A gunshot rang out from a certain building. It wasn¡¯t a particularly loud noise because the area was already too noisy. Oh Jung-min took his eyes off the scope of the Dragunov sniper rifle. The Owlbear was hit by the bullet and staggered for a moment, but soon continued to follow after someone.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t die.¡±


    ¡°You should aim for the head.¡±


    Kim Ji-eun, who was lying next to her, chided at the guy.


    ¡°I mean, that monster is fast, It¡¯s hard to match its movement!¡±


    The two were living in a bunker built in a luxury villa in the Hannam-dong area. Oh Jung-min was the heir of Mirae Group, and Kim Ji-eun was his secretary. But since they had become closer than merely the boss and secretary relationship, they started to live together.


    The people at the Auction House called them Hannam-dong campers, and no one denied it. However, Oh Jung-min¡¯s faction was different from the other faction in Hannam-dong which wanted to turnI Love Gimbap their puppet. He was reluctant to hold hands with people with brainwashing unique ability. Thanks to this, they escaped Seongho¡¯s rage, but the two did not know it.


    Oh Jung-min put his eyes on the scope and shot again. Right after he pulled the trigger he spat a lot of colorful words. Far from hurting the Owlbear, his shot only made it angrier than before.


    ¡°Damn! This weapon sucks!¡±


    ¡°A craftsman never blames his tools. Give the gun to me, I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    Kim Ji-eun took the Dragunov from her boyfriend and shot. However, just like her boyfriend she couldn¡¯t shoot the OwlBear in its head. Moreover, this also made her catch some monsters¡¯ attention.


    ¡°Oh, it seems like even our Kim Ji-eun can¡¯t do it, huh?¡±


    ¡°Just forgot it. Let¡¯s just run away quickly.¡±


    While they were chatting leisurely, the situation around the museum turned worse. But neither of them was concerned about it. It was due to the fact that their escape route had already been secured and the firepower they had was sufficient.


    The two packed their things and went up to the roof. Several goblins attacked and rushed to where they stood just now, but unfortunately for them, had already left.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Just when the two of them tried to move to the roof on the other side using a rope, Oh Jung-min saw several people running out of the alley. Normally they would have just ignored them, but this time he couldn¡¯t take his eyes from them. After all, one of the men in the group wore a particularly unique attire.


    Instead of hanging on the rope, he tapped Kim Ji-eun on the shoulder.


    ¡°What are you doing instead of going?¡±


    ¡°See that person over there?¡±


    ¡°That one with a bunny headband on his head? Huh? Do you think he¡¯s Rabbit Pwincess?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. This is my first time seeing him.¡±


    Since his name was famous in the Auction House, everyone knew about what he wore. But, never did he imagine that he was even wearing it in a battle zone.


    The two hid behind the railing and watched them. Oh Jung-min was startled as he saw a big ghoul running towards the group. However, it stopped just a few distance away from the group when the only woman in the group snapped her fingers.


    ¡°Is that perhaps the Ghoul Queen?¡±


    ¡°Not ¡®that¡¯ but ¡®that person¡¯.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not the problem right now. If the two of them are together, then¡­ Is that man I Love Gimbap?¡±


    ¡°Ey¡­ I doubt it.¡±


    Kim Ji-eun was in denial, but she couldn¡¯t take her eyes off the group. When they encountered a ferocious group of goblins. The bunny headband wearing panties man who was running in the lead flew up and smashed the goblins. The two could barely grasp how the Rabbit Pwincess moved and was dumbfounded.


    ¡°Is that person even human?¡±


    ¡°It seems like he¡¯s immune to paralysis poison¡­ Is it an additional effect of his unique skill? Ah, I want to keep seeing them too, but I can¡¯t see that guy anymore because of his panties.¡± Oh Jung-min was annoyed and looked away, and so did Kim Ji-eun.


    Fortunately, there was a normal person among them. The large man they presumed to be I Love Gimbap. The two looked at him and were startled. After all, the man was looking at them too.


    ¡°¡­¡± They quickly hid behind the railing, but his gaze did not disappear. It was like a warning to them not to do anything silly. The sense of incongruity disappeared only after the group disappeared toward the museum.


    Oh Jung-min wiped the sweat from his forehead and grinned as his hunter¡¯s senses stopped warning him of danger.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go after them.¡±


    ¡°You have finally gone crazy.¡±


    ¡°You know why we come here in the first place, right? It¡¯s to work with people like that.¡±


    ¡°You must have already forgotten what happened in the labyrinth. Judging from those eyes, We will die before we can even get close to him. ¡±


    ¡°No, the bastards who went into the labyrinth just ran to kill them, didn¡¯t they? If we approach him calmly, he won¡¯t be so cruel. I¡¯m sure of it.¡±


    ¡°You are optimistic.¡±


    At the secretary¡¯s sarcasm, he grabbed a sniper rifle.


    ¡°Because we are in this situation, I should live more happily. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    But the situation was getting worse as they ran after the group. It¡¯s because there were too many monsters pouring out of the museum dungeon. All of them were also considerably strengthened, so there were many cases where even the weakest monsters among them could not be killed with any attack.


    Eventually, the survivors began to run away. It was at that time that the agents of the government shelter in Yeouido arrived. Jang Won-taek could not hide his surprise when he grasped the situation through a drone.


    ¡°When did they get here?¡± He was sure that the three Stagnant Waters were going to the bunker of Lee Hyunjin. So how¡­ Or did he already come to a conclusion?


    Major Kim jumped up and reported. ¡°Some monsters have invaded the museum.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an art gallery. There must be many national treasures inside.¡± Jang Won-taek groaned. The quality and quantity of art inside were no joke as they were collected by a large corporation who operates the museum. He grimaced at the thought of it being trampled by monsters who did not know the value of art.


    Major Kim asked carefully.


    ¡°Shall we secure it?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Jang Won-taek shook his head. Most of the works of art are bulky, so it was impossible to secure them. ¡°Art has no value in a world that has collapsed. People come first. Please put the safety of the survivors first.¡±


    ¡°I will go immediately.¡± Hyun-woo answered with vigor drippin on his voice. Finally, the time has come for the assault team he had trained to prove themselves. The Stagnant Waters had surprised the public by having a huge bloody battle at the sports complex. There¡¯s no way they couldn¡¯t do that either.


    Hyun-woo passed his colleagues as he inserted a magazine into his gun.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The soldiers, including Commander-in-charge Jo and Second Lieutenant Lim, followed in his footsteps.


    ¡­


    The dungeon calls for people.


    People hunted monsters.


    Monsters kill people.


    That simple formula was never wrong. That¡¯s why the situation changes every five minutes in Hannam-dong. People who would normally have been scattered, afraid they would lose their lives, were still lurking in the surrounding buildings, looking for an opportunity. They were expecting that the situation would improve as it would make it possible for them to enter the dungeon.


    No one except the Stagnant Waters knew what kind of dungeon it was, but everyone believed that there was something good inside it anyway.


    ¡°Run faster!¡±


    Some survivors started running while the dungeon entrance was quiet. They ignored the toad monster which was the same size as a man¡¯s torso popping out from the dungeon entrance.


    Croak-!! Croak-!!


    The guy stretched its lower jaw big and ran at a speed unseen by the survivors¡¯ eyes. A man running in the lead was hit by a head-butt by the toad and lost consciousness.


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    ¡°This fucking toad!¡±


    ¡°Kick it!!¡±


    When someone tried to kick the toad, the crying toad felt threatened and clung onto the man¡¯s leg. Its whole body swelled as the man tried to tear it from his legs. But then, the toad exploded.


    Toxic substances contained inside the body of the toad scattered. Thus the three who were surrounded by the toad were covered in toxic substances.


    ¡°AHHHHHH!¡±


    Every single one of them twisted and turned. However, they didn¡¯t know what to do with the searing pain they felt. In particular, the man who had the toad hanging on his leg had his clothes and flesh burned to the point his bones could be seen.


    ¡°Argh!¡±


    While enduring the pain, the three managed to escape. Though, not with increased vigilance. It was due to how fast and strong the toad is.


    But in the alley not far from where the group stood, a loud noise was heard. A goblin croaked and flew out of the narrow street. Not long after that, a perverted man wearing only panties came out.


    Once the man saw the horde of toads coming out from the dungeon entrance, his eyes opened wide.


    ¡°Is that a Crying Toad?¡±


    ¡°Hey, use this!!¡±


    Seongho threw a long mace from behind. It was a magic metal reinforced long mace which boasted tremendous strength. There was nothing better to kill a crying toad than the mace.


    Seokhyun took the mace and hit the toad running towards him. Crying Toad is a monster that concentrates a certain substance on its forehead and hardens it once it collides with an enemy. That was why Seongho gave him the weapon.


    Crack-!!


    With the sound of something breaking, the Crying Toad flew away. Da-jeong, who ran from behind, raised her arms.


    ¡°Home run! Home Run!¡±


    ¡°You do it too!¡±


    Da-jeong grabbed the mace Rapwi tossed to her and struck a toad that started jumping at her. Thanks to the two, the toads which were gathered at the entrance of the dungeon were quickly cleaned. They died before they could even explode, so they couldn¡¯t even release the toxic substances.


    When the three Stagnant Water swept through the entrance to the dungeon, people¡¯s attention was focused on them.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that person Rapwi?¡±


    ¡°He really only wears panties¡­¡±


    ¡°Where did he get that bunny headband from?¡±


    ¡°And people said that is what he wears normally?¡±


    Seokhyun¡¯s one and only attire definitely drew people¡¯s curiosity. Some women poked themselves out of the window and shouted at him.


    ¡°I love you, Rabbit Pwincess! Please have sex with me!¡±


    At the offer, Seokhyun looked at the woman and then pointed his thumb down. His antics made laughter erupted everywhere even though they were currently in a perilous situation.


    ¡°HAHAHAHAHA!¡±


    ¡°Rabbit Pwincess has eyes too!¡±


    Meanwhile, Da-jeong sent in a ghoul to understand the situation inside the dungeon.


    ¡°It¡¯s a swamp inside. Also, the monsters are still coming.¡±


    ¡°So, it¡¯s not over yet.¡±


    ¡°Shall we stop them with the ghoul?¡±


    ¡°People might attack your ghoul. Just leave it alone.¡± Seongho answered. The portal was now meaningless. A catastrophe dungeon would only close after it finished pouring all the monsters living inside.


    Then a paper airplane flew towards them. Seongho jumped and snatched it in the air, realizing that it belonged to Yoohyeon.


    ¡°Seokhyun-ah, let¡¯s go to the art gallery. The Owlbear is there.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Seongho and Seokhyun started running, leaving Da-jeong behind. She cupped her mouth and shouted loudly.


    ¡°If you approach the portal, you will die! Do not come!¡±


    People shouted back at her warning.


    ¡°Why will we die?¡±


    ¡°Tell us the reason!¡±


    ¡°This is no ordinary dungeon! It¡¯s a catastrophe dungeon! All the monsters that pop out are reinforced ones! If you are strong enough you will not die, though!¡±


    ¡°Damn it! You should have told us that beforehand!¡± Someone shouted loudly. Hearing pain mixed in his words, Da-jeong instantly knew that the man was the member of the group which was attacked by Crying Toad a few minutes ago.


    ¡°How can we know this dungeon is a catastrophe dungeon? We also came to know about it just now!¡± Da-jeong rolled her eyes as she looked at the direction where the voice was coming from.


    ¡°Even so! You still have to tell us!¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say we also came to know about it just now, you bastard? And why are you blaming us when you are the one who wanted to eat this dungeon? You are the stupid one for rushing without even knowing anything!¡±


    The man did not answer any more. The people who heard the conversation between the two couldn¡¯t even breathe properly because of the tension which could explode at any moment.


    Da-jeong seemed annoyed and went somewhere with the ghouls in front. Meanwhile, the portal flickered and monsters poured out again.


    The assault team, who arrived late, quickly engaged in a fight with the monsters.


    Bababababang-!!


    As the bullets poured out, blood painted the gray asphalt below. Even though they were strengthened, it was still impossible for them to withstand the kinetic energy of the bullet.


    ¡°Focus on shooting!¡±


    At Major Hyun-woo¡¯s instructions, the team focused their shots towards the entrance. Thus, as soon as the monsters came out, they collapsed and people cheered.


    The dungeon, which had been pouring out monsters over and over again, was finally quiet after a few minutes passed. The assault team which was gathered at the entrance in a shooting stance finally relaxed.


    ¡°Whew¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s finally over.¡±


    ¡°But, this gun is done for¡­ I will have to replace it later.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that.¡± Major Hyunwoo said as he turned the safety of the gun back on. The corner of his mouth was slightly raised. He was happy and once again reassured his belief that monsters cannot compete with modern weapons. The team couldn¡¯t kill the Owlbear, but the monsters below its level were no enemy for them. If they keep hunting like this, they will be able to achieve great results soon.


    But then.


    The blue portal fluttered once again and a huge hand popped out of it. The hand grabbed the waist of Major Hyun-woo¡¯s teammate who was drinking water right next to him and pulled him towards the portal.


    ¡°KUAAAAAKKKK!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Wha-what!¡±


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    Color faded from all the soldiers that witnessed the sight. On top of it, the hand was a really big hand.


    Hyun-woo¡¯s heart beat like a drum, he was forced to take a step back. ¡°RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!¡±


    Everyone gulped their nonexistent salva and pointed their guns at the entrance of the dungeon. Then a mangled corpse popped flew from the portal. Its lower body was gone while the upper body seemed to have been crushed by a pressing machine. Thanks to that, everyone was frightened even more.


    Hyun-woo wracked his brain to identify what kind of monster had such a good hand. As far as he knows, there was only one monster with such large hands.


    It was an Ogre.

 Chapter 162

    Seokhyun and I finally found Exhibition Hall 1 where the owlbears had run away to. Once we entered, Mikyung and Yoohyeon were already waiting for us there.


    ¡°Oppa!¡±


    ¡°Hyung!¡±


    When I saw the two of them run out from their hiding place, I realized that there were only two of them in this place. Da-jeong grabbed Mikyung, who moved towards us with her Blink, and pinched her cheeks.


    ¡°This girl, you don¡¯t even care about me, do you?¡±


    ¡°S-sorry, unnie¡­¡±


    I grabbed Yoohyeon by the shoulder and asked. ¡°Why did you guys come all the way here? You guys should¡¯ve stayed in the shelter.¡±


    ¡°She told me we should help, so here I am.¡±


    When my gaze fell at Mikyung, the girl quickly avoided my eyes. There¡¯s only one dungeon, there¡¯s no need for them to help at all. On top of it, there are a lot of monsters around the area, so it¡¯s quite dangerous. However, when the nagging words threatened to leave my mouth, I bit my lips. Both of them were adults. They were also quite strong. It¡¯s a bit awkward to meddle in their decision.


    I turned my back and said.


    ¡°Yoohyeon, you should scout the area. You too, Mikyung.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    Several paper planes flew over the area in an instant. Meanwhile, I was amazed when I looked around the exhibits. It¡¯s the same place I saw in the textbook when I was still a kid.


    On my side, Seokhyun stroked a wooden statue¨Cone of the very few pieces of art which hadn¡¯t crumbled yet.


    ¡°This is the Gilt-bronze Maitreya in Meditation. It is a national treasure.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Why is the Gilt-bronze Maitreya in Meditation so small?¡± Da-jeong raised a question.


    ¡°The statue of Gilt-bronze Maitreya in Meditation that we saw in textbooks is in the National Museum of Korea.¡± Seokhyun explained.


    Despite this surprising fact, I was more taken aback by the fact that Seokhyun went to school and even knew about the statue.


    How did he live through it with his antics that is unacceptable in Korean society?


    We forgot to track the owlbears for a moment and fell in love with antique art. Metal relics had been destroyed for a long time, but old books, white porcelain, and paintings were still intact.


    ¡°This is so pretty¡­¡± Da-jeong pulled out the white porcelain from between the glasses.


    I wanted to take it too, but our shelter was in a deficit of spaces. It was difficult enough to make room to stock survival items, so there was naturally no place to store these things.


    When we went up to the second floor, there were relics that caught my eye everywhere.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that Kim Hong-do¡¯s painting?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s bigger than I thought.¡±


    ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t touch it!¡±


    I pushed my awe away and expanded my senses to search for traces of the owlbear. From the above, I could hear a distinctive cry.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go kill the owlbear.¡± Seokhyun said as he took the lead.


    Da-jeong and her ghouls were still in trance because of the white porcelain. so we decided to leave her alone. After all, it¡¯s not like we were hunting strong monsters. When we reached the 4th floor, the owlbear was walking aimlessly in the circular room.


    At that moment, two survivors with guns appeared from our opposite sides. I quickly dragged Seokhyun and hid behind the pillar. The owlbear sniffed us and roared, and the two survivors shouted.


    ¡°Are you I Love Gimbap-nim? Let¡¯s talk for a second!¡±


    What are these guys doing in front of owlbear?


    ¡°We will wait for you on the 3rd floor.¡± A calm female voice rang out.


    The girl made more sense than the guy before.


    The owlbear ran towards us at that moment, probably excited to see humans suddenly appearing.


    KYUUOOOHHHH~!!


    Seokhyun clenched his fist and ran towards it. After acquiring the skill of Shield Sniffles, his defense had increased tremendously. However, the claws of his opponent¨Cthe owlbear¨Cweren¡¯t something to be scoffed at, either. Even without any processing, the claws could be used as a weapon whose performance dwarfed many store-bought items.


    Seokhyun jumped as if he was ready to be embraced by the owlbear. But, before he hit it, he changed direction, avoiding the monster. The large owl monster pounded its head against a pillar, and the surroundings shook.


    Seokhyun wrapped the rest of his panties around the owlbear¡¯s neck, trying to strangle it. However, he was met by a violent resistance, The two rolled around destroying the surrounding art before eventually dropping down to the floor.


    ¡°Eugh!¡± Just then, a groan erupted from Seokhyun¡¯s mouth. He¡¯s going to be in a lot of pain because he was squashed by a monster who weighs 400 kilos. But, since he is a very strong human being, I didn¡¯t have to worry about it.


    ¡°Seokhyun-ah, you should start finishing it off¡­¡±


    He listened to me and quickly rolled away from owlbear. When I saw him slowly scratching his panties, I realized something was wrong with him.


    ¡°I tried to do it in a hand-to-hand battle, but it didn¡¯t work. Its neck is too thick.¡±


    ¡°You need a blade to pierce those feathers and skin.¡± Or a gun. In fact, the last monster in which hand-to-hand combat was still effective was werewolf. The monsters appearing after them were all big and strong, their fist and feet alone wasn¡¯t enough to kill them. Back in the game we did it because there was really nothing else to do. But here, where one mistake would make us lose our life, there¡¯s no reason to do so.


    ¡°Take this.¡±


    When I pulled the mithril blade from the slot and flung it to him, Seokhyun tilted his head.


    ¡°Is it okay for you to not kill it?¡±


    ¡°My skill slot is full.¡± I shrugged. Though, if I took off my shoes, the Light Gait skill would disappear from the skills slot, allowing me to acquire one more skill. But compared to the skills owlbear could give, Light Gait was still a league better. It¡¯s not like he could get rid of Fighting Instincts, too.


    Seokhyun nodded and jumped right into the owlbear.


    ¡°KYUOOOOOHHH!!!!¡±


    Crunch-!!


    The hunt was soon over. All its claws were cut off, and shortly thereafter its head was separated from its body. I looked over the fallen monster and found several wounds on its body.


    Just who shot it with a gun, I wonder?


    Then the pair who had gone down to the third floor approached us. As I jerked my head towards their direction, the man stopped and raised his hand. And then, the woman equipped with body armor who stood beside him took a step forward.


    ¡°We have no intention of attacking you. We just want to talk. This man is Oh Jung-min, and I am Kim Ji-eun.¡±


    The man¡¯s face was quite handsome. Meanwhile, the women had a face which I felt I had seen somewhere before.


    ¡°By any chance, do you know President Kim?¡±


    They both nodded at my question.


    ¡°We know a little bit about him. But we don¡¯t work together.¡±


    Seokhyun released his strength from his fists at their answer. If the relationship between them and President Kim was deep, the two would be lying on the floor by now.


    I proposed to both. ¡°I¡¯m busy right now, so let¡¯s talk later. If you tell me the location of your hideout, I will find you.¡±


    If they showed any negative feedback at my suggestion, I¡¯ll wrap this matter here. Fortunately, the answer they gave me was positive. The man said that they live in Mo Villa in Hannam-dong.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a very expensive villa?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not¡­ ah! Yes, it is a bit pricey. I think I bought it for 10 billion won?¡±


    Considering the fact that he doesn¡¯t feel that 10 billion won was a big deal, that guy must be a chaebol. Although I have little knowledge about chaebols, I know a little bit of the Oh family.


    ¡°By any chance, are you from Mirae Group?¡±


    Oh Jung-min¡¯s face brightened a little as if he was happy that I knew him.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I was the finance director of Mirae Group.¡±


    He looks about the same age as me, but sigh¡­ Though, it¡¯s natural since he¡¯s born with a diamond spoon on his mouth.


    Seokhyun, who had caught Kim Ji-eun¡¯s attention by cutting the owlbear¡¯s claws, stood up. ¡°But you guys, do you know that President Kim and a few others are dead?¡±


    The two seemed to be surprised by Seokhyun who nonchalantly spoke with them informally. But they quickly realized that it was one of Seokhyun¡¯s habit and responded accordingly.


    ¡°If President Kim is dead, what about Director Lee?¡±


    I nodded at their question. ¡°They tried to brainwash me by dragging me into their bunker. Killed them both and some other people behind them.¡±


    ¡°Probably Yun Dong-hoon, Kim Seung-guk, Jin Yu-seong¡­¡±


    I think those names were names I¡¯d heard a lot somewhere, but oh well. Oh Jung-min couldn¡¯t hide his tension, but Kim Ji-eun was still calm.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. We didn¡¯t even think about cooperating with them anyway. We are always I Love Gimba¡¯s¡­ Uh¡­ Sorry, but can I ask for your name?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Kang Seongho. That guy is Hwang Seokhyun.¡±


    ¡°I heard a lot about the two of you. We hope to build a cooperative relationship with you¡­ As long as you allow it.¡±


    ¡°It depends on what you can give us.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t be disappointed. Isn¡¯t that right, boss?¡±


    ¡°Uh, uh, Yes!¡±


    The hierarchy between them should be the boss and subordinates. But it was clear that the woman was the one who took the lead.


    At that moment, I heard a loud voice coming from below.


    Is Da-jeong angry? But why?


    ¡°I¡¯m a little busy right now, so let¡¯s talk later.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be waiting for you, we¡¯d like to hear from you.¡±


    The two disappeared, and Seokhyun tilted his head.


    ¡°How do you feel about them?¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t look like they have any ulterior motives.¡±


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    ¡°That¡¯s something we¡¯ll find out later.¡±


    I nodded at Seokhyun¡¯s words. After all, there¡¯s no guarantee that the villa wouldn¡¯t explode as soon as we entered. Seokhyun and I left the room and walked to the third floor. As I went down the stairs, an ominous noise could be heard.


    ¡°What the¡­¡±


    Thud-!!


    The windows shook as the sound was heard. Curious, we looked out the window at the same time. What welcomed us was a monster that we haven¡¯t seen in a long time. A gray muscular monster with a bloated body that towers at the height of over 4 meters.


    It was an Ogre..


    Seokhyun was startled and jumped out of the window before I could even stop him.


    Th-th-that crazy guy!!!!!


    The footsteps from the stairs was the one that distract me from cursing more at my friend¡¯s recklessness. It was Yoohyeon and Mikyung.


    ¡°Op-oppa! A new monster has appeared!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an Ogre.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    As their eyes widened, someone slammed into the window and the concrete above us.


    ¡°Kyaaa!¡±


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    The children were terrified and rolled away. When that ¡®something¡¯ limped as he tried to jump towards the Ogre again, I sighed as that ¡®something¡¯ was nothing but my crazy friend.


    ¡°That guy¡­ Strong.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not something you fight with your body alone.¡±


    It looked like he had suffered a huge blow as his side was dark and bruised. I pulled Seokhyun¡¯s body out and supported him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go downstairs.¡± As I took the lead, Yoohyeon and Mikyung followed. Then a scream was heard from outside. The Ogres began to destroy the pavilion.


    ¡­


    What makes Ogres different from other monsters was their incredible physical abilities. In particular, it has great stamina and defense. Its regenerative ability was also excellent, so to kill an ogre, several people had to engage in hit and run warfare.


    Such a monster appeared in the museum.


    How?


    ¡°As the dungeon exploded, the Ogres also popped out, no doubt.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t afford to kill that!!¡± Da-jeong shouted as she looked at the monster. Everyone turned their heads to it. The Ogre was flaunting its arms, ransacking the ground floor of the art gallery as if it had sinned against it. Buildings built by large corporations with huge sums of money were of no use in the face of its power. With a cracking and thudding sound, the building began to fall.


    ¡°Mikyung, you take Yoohyeon and ran away. If you aggroed it for nothing, you will die.¡±


    ¡°Okay Oppa!¡±


    ¡°And you two go inside the portal and find the rocket.¡±


    ¡°Are we going to fight it?¡±


    ¡°We have to kill that thing.¡±


    To be honest, I¡¯m not confident we would win. That guy was not an ordinary Ogre. It¡¯s an Ogre who was strengthened by the Catastrophe Dungeon. I couldn¡¯t even guess what additional skills it had.


    At that time, Oh Jung-min and Kim Ji-eun, who had gone down to the first floor, appeared. The two found the Ogre and completely froze.


    ¡°Run quickly!¡± I screamed.


    The woman grabbed the man¡¯s arm and started running. The Ogre chased after them while shaking the area with every step it took. It then uprooted a tree and threw it towards the running pair.


    KUUUAAAAGGGHH-!!


    It¡¯s chaos. Fortunately, the two were able to escape to Exhibition Hall 2. The sole reason they were able to keep their lives was because the Ogre was so large that it was blocked by the structure.


    KUUUUAAAAGGGGH-!!


    Out of anger, the guy began to destroy the structure itself. That behaviour was what makes the Ogres dangerous. Concealment and cover did not impede them at all. In a world where Corrosive Disease had spread, few things could withstand his strength.


    ¡°Oppa, we¡¯ll go first!¡±


    ¡°Be careful.¡±


    Mikyung and Yoohyeon disappeared at that moment. When I opened the portal, I heard gunshots from somewhere. I wondered what was going on, and several fully armed soldiers opened fire on the Ogre.


    Kuugghh-!!


    The Ogre shrugged his body and rushed forward. It catapulted itself at an unimaginable speed for its size.


    ¡°Avoid it!¡± The soldiers rolled over in fright, but unfortunately one of them was rammed by it. Blood was scattered on its clenched fist, the street and the wall.


    ¡°It¡¯s really strong.¡±


    Was the effect of Catastrophe Dungeon this good?


    As I carefully moved to another side of the building, I saw Hyun-woo¡¯s face.


    ¡°Combined the grenade launcher! Team 1! Shoot!¡±


    Meanwhile, several grenades flew at the feet of the Ogre.


    BOOM-!!


    The earth trembled and dust rose. The Ogre screamed, but all in all it was fine. Fragments of the grenade which was stuck in its leg were pushed out as the wound closed.


    Why is its defense so high?


    Seems like 100 shots wouldn¡¯t be enough to fell it. At least a thousand shots were needed.


    When I went out to the garden, I saw Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok were standing there. They both found me and asked.


    ¡°Seongho! Do you know what happened?¡±


    ¡°It was a Catastrophe Dungeon, so an Ogre came out. The entrance was torn.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­¡±


    ¡°Anyway, our Major Kim is doing well.¡±


    In Jang Won-taek¡¯s eyes, it would appear that the Ogre could not keep up with the soldiers¡¯ fire. It was actually hit by a grenade and was also hit by bullets, so it appeared to be nothing but a sitting duck.


    But my thoughts were different.


    ¡°It would be better to order them to retreat.¡±


    ¡°Yes? But¡­¡±


    BANG-!!


    Hyun-woo stepped back, ducked into one of his knees, and pulled the trigger of the anti-tank rocket. The warhead flew in an arc. But to our surprise, it was caught by the Ogre.


    At that moment, the fuse was activated and a spectacular explosion occurred.


    KUOOOOOHHH-!!


    The Ogre got caught up in the explosion, screaming and stomping backwards.


    He caught that?


    Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok were at a loss for words and opened their mouths.


    ¡°Everyone will die. Hurry up.¡±


    ¡°President.¡±


    ¡°Major Kim! Major Kim!¡±


    Hyun-woo looked this way, but he had no intention of backing down.


    ¡°I think we just need to attack a little more!¡±


    ¡°Stop attacking and retreat immediately!¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t! Please, just a little bit more!¡±


    Was Hyun-woo always this stubborn? He seemed to be faithful to his orders.


    I took the Ogre¡¯s hesitation and moved to the corner. As I opened the portal, a tree filled my field of vision.


    Dammit!!


    I barely spread the dimension wall and blocked the tree. With a squeak, the tree broke and the branches brushed past my face.


    I heard the Ogre roar.


    KUOOOOHHHH-!!


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    Its roar was qualitatively different from other monsters. Its deafening roar literally shook the air.


    I shouted at Hyun-woo, who was loading rockets. ¡°You idiot! Run away!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    He glanced at me and clenched his teeth.


    What a stubborn guy.

 Chapter 163

    ROAAAAAAAAAARRR-!!


    The ogre¡¯s roar traveled to every corner of the area. Unlike before which just made the survivors flinch, this roar made their legs shake and they suffered from stats reduction.


    ¡¸Buff: Fear¡¹


    The debuff effect wouldn¡¯t dissipate just because the ogre stopped roaring. Thanks to that, the task of killing the ogre had become monumentally harder.


    Kim Hyun-woo, rose to feet, disregarding how wobbly they were. His men were still shooting the ogre albeit the palpable fear he could see on their face; buying him time.


    ¡®I just need one hit.¡¯ Kim Hyun-woo gritted his teeth. He glanced at Seongho from the corner of his eyes. He seemed to be preparing something, but he didn¡¯t mind it at all. He must kill the ogre with a rocket before he could use whatever he¡¯s preparing.


    ¡®As long as we have a gun, monsters are nothing.¡¯ Major Hyun-woo recalled how happy he was when the gun was excavated from the sealing room and he received it. He also felt something similar to ecstasy when reaping the lives of the monsters using the guns.


    But..


    ¡®That ogre bastard¡­¡¯ Hyun-woo looked at the ogre with eyes full of hostility. It had killed two of his men. It was on the verge of disintegrating the assault team he had created and trained shortly after it made its debut!


    If they couldn¡¯t achieve any success here, what would the President think of them?


    ¡®I will kill it.¡¯ Only when this was achieved would he become the man who would lead the military to bring peace to the world. It was an important task that could not be entrusted to the Stagnant Waters who have a tendency to do whatever they like.


    ¡®I have to end it with this rocket.¡¯ It would have been nice if he could put a rocket warhead in the ogre mouth. But, he knew that he wasn¡¯t someone who was strong enough to do that. After all, the ogre showed a ludicrous agility despite its size. It was way faster than him and his men.


    BABABABABABAM-!!!


    The assault team threw everything they had at the ogre. Everytime a grenade exploded, the earth trembled and dust blanketed the area. The amount of time his subordinates bought for him was like gold¨Cincredibly precious.


    Hyun-woo did not miss the opportunity and mounted another rocket launcher to his shoulder. Once he pulled the trigger, the warhead popped out and zoomed towards the ogre.


    KUAAAAAAAAAKKKK-!!


    Did we get it?


    It was the thought that popped into everyone¡¯s mind. Unfortunately for them, the ogre slowly rose from its crouched position. The warhead Hyun-woo just shot was held in its hand.


    ¡°Impossible!¡± Major Kim Hyun-woo and his assault team couldn¡¯t believe what was happening in front of them. The ogre easily crumpled the warhead like it was nothing but made of tin.


    KUOOOOH-!!


    The ogre¡¯s eyes turned red; it was activating some sort of skill. The strong monster was further strengthened.


    Looking at the ogre, Seongho, who just finished preparing for an attack, fled without thinking twice; leaving only words of advice behind.


    ¡°If you want to live, run away!¡±


    However, Major Kim Hyun-woo did not issue a retreat order.


    Hundreds of concrete shards floated up as the ogre stomped the ground. When the ogre roared, the shards flew in all directions, reminding everyone present of what happened when a grenade exploded. When it hit the soldiers around the ogre, their bodies turned into honeycomb and their lives were reaped.


    Thankfully, Major Kim Hyun-woo didn¡¯t die thanks to him being a little bit farther than his subordinates. However, he didn¡¯t escape unschatched either. Blood was pooling under him as he suffered fatal wounds.


    ¡°KUOOOOHH-!!!!¡±


    At that time, Lee Beom-seok appeared beside Major Kim Hyun-woo and took him away.


    ¡­


    As I was watching the ogre butchering the soldiers, Mikyung showed up beside me with Sooyeon in tow.


    ¡°Sooyeon-ssi?¡±


    She looked flustered at my question before looking at me and nodded.


    ¡°Mi-mikyung said she wanted to help, so¡­¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡±


    Hehe my ass¡­ it¡¯s not something to laugh about. There was no way she could do anything in this circumstance. In fact, it would be the same no matter who came.


    I beckoned to the two of them to come closer to where I stood, the railing. At that moment, Yoohyeon came up to the roof. Looking at the three of them, I opened the portal. Seokhyun and Da-jeong opened their mouths when they saw the berserk ogre rampaging around.


    ¡°Is there any way to kill that?¡±


    ¡°Right now? None.¡± I shook my head. ¡°We have to wait for its berserk to end before moving.¡±


    Berserk is a skill that lowers the caster¡¯s defense but greatly increases their attack power. It was a strong skill, but in my opinion, it did not work well with humans. After all, it would only make the already weak human weaker.


    Beside the earlier effect, the berserk skill also affected the roar of the ogre. So it was almost impossible to resist the debuff the roar caused.


    KUOOOOHHHHH-!!


    The ogre swung its fist around, destroying the art gallery more and more. I could see the building tilting every time its fist slammed against the wall. Moreover, whenever its feet stomped the ground, webs of cracks spread on the asphalt.


    Destroying the terrain was possible to some extent even for monsters that appeared after the mid-game. But there was no other guy who could do like the ogre. If it was given enough time, it would turn the area into flat ground.


    ¡°It¡¯s really strong¡­¡±


    ¡°Is that monster the final boss?¡±


    Da-jeong, who heard Sooyeon¡¯s question, pointed at me. ¡°According to him, it is not. Stronger monsters will appear later.¡±


    ¡°Sigh¡­¡± The three paled and let out a sighs of resignation at the information. Well, it¡¯s only natural for them to behave like that. For them, even werewolves and trolls should be difficult monsters to deal with. So, fighting ogre might feel like an impossible thing to do. And yet, the monster was not even the final boss.


    Contrary to the dejected three, Seokhyun was restless. His whole body twitched as one of his feet tapped the ground in fast tempo. It¡¯s easy to see what he was thinking: he wanted to fight the ogre. But he also understood that he was not strong enough to do it. In fact, it¡¯s a tough opponent even if they all rush together.


    At that time, Lee Beom-seok appeared with Jang Won-taek. The two looked at us and were even more surprised when they looked down at the ogre.


    ¡°A monster that I only hear about. Modern weapons don¡¯t work against it. What a humbling experience¡­¡¯¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not entirely correct. Right now, It has been strengthened by the influence of the Catastrophe Dungeon. On top of it, it also has been strengthened again because of its berserk skill. Without those two things, it wouldn¡¯t be that strong.¡±


    As I corrected him, Jang Won-taek massaged his tired eyes with his fingers. ¡°All the soldiers are dead. Major Kim also withdrew. What should we do?¡±


    Now that all of his subordinates were dead, Hyun-woo wouldn¡¯t be able to stand the shame. It was something I wanted to prevent by telling him to run away. But he ignored it.


    ¡°It is best to run away.¡±


    ¡°Sigh¡­¡±


    It¡¯s almost impossible to fight an ogre with our current strength. But it was not that there was no way at all. I looked at the face of the former President. His unique skill was still unknown to me until now. It¡¯s definitely not just telepathy.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about your unique skill, Mister President. Care to tell us about it?¡±


    Jang Won-taek sighed and opened his mouth. ¡°My unique skill is called Conductor. Those who believe in me can get an exclusive buff. Of course I can give it to anyone too.¡±


    ¡°Aha.¡± I nodded.


    Lee Beom-seok got a little excited and intervened. ¡°The President¡¯s unique skill is no joke. It increases people¡¯s stats by almost 1.5 times.¡±


    Huh?


    Increasing stats by 1.5?


    My eyes drifted towards Sooyeon at that moment. She seemed like she was at a loss of words and only smiled at me. A good idea came to mind just before Da-jeong kicked my ass.


    How strong will my Lethal Strike be once Sooyeon¡¯s and Jan Won-taek¡¯s buffs were added on top of my Fighting Instinct?


    Even if the effect of Catastrophe Dungeon will still continue for a little bit longer, the berserk skill will end soon. Once it comes to that point, the ogre will be in an exhausted state¡­


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    If we strike at that window¡­


    ¡°Everyone, please hear me out.¡±


    ¡­


    It was surprisingly quiet around the museum. It was not an exaggeration to say that peace was reached except for the ogre tantrums. The survivors had long hid because of the ogre¡¯s power; the monsters that came from the portal were also crushed by the ogre; and the zombie raid that happened also stopped as most of the zombies and ghouls were killed by the ogre.


    The monster in question was currently sprawling on the floor huffing because of the aftereffect of berserk skill. But suddenly, a small paper airplane flew and exploded, breaking the peace.


    The ogre was still strong enough even in its current state. Therefore, the explosion didn¡¯t leave any wound on it. But it seemed to bother him, so he took a deep breath and jumped up.


    GROAAAAAAR-!!


    As it pounded on the floor, debris exploded into the surroundings. Paper planes fell down like rain, and the ogre was satisfied.


    But an enemy suddenly appeared before its eyes. It was Seokhyun.


    ¡°Hey! Ogre! Let me show you the spiciness of a little pepper!¡±


    The ogre roared and rushed towards Seokhyun. Its movement was fast compared to its size. But Seokhyun, who activated all his skills and got buff from the moon tangerine, was faster than him. He rolls sideways and uses the recoil to jump at the ogre.


    ¡°I rolled for momentum!¡±


    Puck!


    Seokhyun¡¯s fist connected with the ogre¡¯s head, but the monster didn¡¯t take much damage. The power behind it could only make its head slightly tilt to the side.


    The ogre tried to swat Seokhyun away, but something invisible was blocking it.


    Using that split second, Seokhyun stepped back and shook his hand.


    ¡°Ouch¡­ Even with the glove, I can¡¯t damage it.¡±


    He was wearing the gloves that Seongho had lent him. Even though Seongho and Da-jeong had told him that he shouldn¡¯t fight any monster with his bare hand anymore, he was still doing it. In the first place, his way of life was accepting any advice but only doing it if he wanted to.


    Because of the fact that his punch didn¡¯t do any damage, Seokhyun¡¯s fighting spirit was ignited. He didn¡¯t have any tier 3 skills or tier 3 gear right now, but he enjoyed fighting. Even if he died, he could just come back to life after all.


    Meanwhile, an arrow flew towards the ogre. It did no harm to the ogre, but the guys still waved its stretched arms in annoyance. Seokhyun ran again, but with a swat he was sent to the building behind him. At that time, Da-jeong appeared with the ghouls. The Grasshopper¡¯s quick movements obstructed the ogre¡¯s sight, and the tank blocked the guy from the front.


    Of course, even the Tank was not enough to stop the ogre. Every time it fell back because of punches, Sooyeon¡¯s healing wave healed it. The doctor had a surprised expression on her face the first time it happened. She clearly didn¡¯t know she could heal the ghouls.


    The cycle kept repeating just like a cog. Thanks to that, the ogre was constantly attacked and beaten. Although the damage was not great, it was accumulating.


    Grr-!!!!


    The ogre¡¯s eyes reddened again. Using berserk skill in succession would only make the aftereffect worse. But the ogre didn¡¯t care. It roared again, blowing away everything around him without exception. As the surroundings became quiet, the ogre flopped down, as if satisfied with it.


    It was at that time that Seongho, who was hiding inside his portal, fired an M72 rocket.


    BOOM-!!


    A deafening explosion erupted from the ogre¡¯s abdomen as the warhead hit it. A shock wave swept and forced it to fall on its back.


    Mikyung took Seongho and moved to the air right above the ogre¡¯s head. Once they were there, her feet lightly stepped on the dimension wall and disappeared once again. All that was left was Seongho, who was falling with an adamant spear loaded with grenades.


    Crunch-!!


    The adamant spear pierced the ogre¡¯s mouth. The ogre swung its arms with all its might, and Seongho unfolded the dimensional wall again to block it.


    Unfortunately for him, something which hadn¡¯t happened until now happened. There was a sound of glass breaking as the fist pushed his dimensional wall.


    Seongho¡¯s eyes opened wide. Never did he think that his dimensional wall would break. Even the Sniffles and the mad doctor weren¡¯t able to do it! The ogre¡¯s arm broke through the dimensional wall and flew towards him. He managed to raise his arm to defend his head, but the shock was unavoidable.


    As he flew like a broken kite, an explosion erupted in the ogre¡¯s mouth.


    Bang-!!


    Bits and pieces of flesh scattered to the ground as the four grenades exploded. The monster couldn¡¯t stand the pain and rolled over on the floor.


    Seongho didn¡¯t fare better either. His body only stopped flying when it hit a tree. His hand was aching, his head was ringing and he couldn¡¯t come to his senses.


    ¡°Uhhhh!¡± His stamina regeneration skill was activated, but the damage was so great that it hardly helped. At that moment, a gentle warm aura wrapped around his body. Only after some of his pain was washed did he know what it was: Sooyeon¡¯s healing wave.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± His stamina recovered quickly, and his shaky vision finally settled. Even with all the buffs he received and the condition the ogre was at, it was still difficult to receive the ogre¡¯s blow head on


    ¡°Why was I the only one to be seriously punched¡­¡± As Seongho stood to his feet while grumbling, the ogre stared at him. Bubbles of blood poured out from its mouth, and its red eyes became even more redder.


    Whooosh-!!


    The asphalt floor turned over as if it was being plowed when the ogre kicked the ground. However, when the ghouls continued to attack it, the ogre fell to the ground. But it still continued swinging its hand towards its assailant.


    ¡°You are tired too.¡± Seongho murmured. The guy had been hit by hundreds of bullets, a few grenades and a few rockets. It would be weirder if it was still fine. Now he must deliver the final blow. To achieve that, someone needed to stop it from moving for a while.


    ¡°Seokhyun-ah.¡± Seongho said as he saw the glint in the eyes of his nude friend who landed beside him.


    ¡°Me and the Tank will block it for a while, so put a rocket in its mouth.¡±


    The anti-tank rocket was the only one that can provide effective firepower to the ogres, so this was an unavoidable choice.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Seongho asked.


    ¡°Even if I die, I¡¯ll just respawn. Moreover, as you already gave me and Duck the Sniffle¡¯s skill, it¡¯s your time to eat. The skill that guy dropped should be tier 3 skill.¡±


    ¡°We can just retreat and attack again later.¡±


    ¡°When the effect of Catastrophe Dungeon disappears, that guy would be weakened. Better kill him now before someone else does it.¡± Seokhyun shook his head and fingers at the same time.


    Then, Da-jeong screamed. ¡°What the hell are you two men whispering about!! Help meee!!¡±


    She was mobilizing all her ghouls to stop the ogre. However, it¡¯s her who actually could stop the ogre.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go first.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Seokhyun jumped at the ogre after saying so. The ogre had dozens of arrows lodged in its body and was struggling to fend off the attack of ghouls clawing at it.


    ¡°Rapwiiii!!!!¡±


    It was at that time that Seokhyun stuck to the ogre¡¯s back. He thrust two long knives into the ogre¡¯s temple. As the ogre was about to pull the knives away, the tank and the other ghouls grabbed its arm.


    KUOOOOO-!!


    Its mouth was wide open. Seongho, who hid in the portal, quietly pulled the trigger. The rocket slithered through the air and was lodged in the ogre¡¯s mouth.


    BOOM-!!


    The ogre¡¯s head and a few grasshoppers exploded. Green blood spurted out like a fountain, while Seokhyun was thrown because of the shock wave.


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    After the explosion, all that was left was a huge body twitching; Its head was nonexistent and a few ghouls.


    A message appeared in Seongho¡¯s vision.


    ¡¸Level Has Risen to 33¡¹


    ¡¸You Have Earned 500 points¡¹


    ¡¸You Have Acquired Primal Life Skill¡¹

 Chapter 164

    The people who witnessed the battle between the 3 stagnant waters and the orc weren¡¯t only Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok alone. The ogre was ginormous to the point people could see it from a relatively long distance. They all trembled at the ogre¡¯s power and tenacity. At the same time, no one thought the stagnant waters could win. After all, even when it was hit by hundreds of bullets, grenades. and even a rocket from an anti-tank, it still stood tall. Of course, it was the catastrophe dungeon that made the ogre overwhelmingly strong, but the survivors didn¡¯t know that. Anyway, the survivors, as always, started to narrate the story in the auction house.


    -The fucking atmosphere is no joke. It looks like a war broke out here.-Are ogres normally that big? I think it¡¯s almost 4 meters tall.-It was fine even after being hit by a rocket. Is there any way to kill it?-Has anyone ever hunted ogres in Survival Life?-If I said yes, I would be lying.-If you have any experiences of hunting ogres in Survival Life, where there were only a few users, you should¡¯ve been a Stagnant Waters not normal user.-Guys! It seems like an earthquake just occurred here!-Fuck you guys are so loud!-That¡¯s right, stop it.


    Survivors from nearby areas moved to the area near the battle place. Arguing that they could not believe the words in the Auction House. But, after confirming the identity of the ogre, they made even more fuss than the guys before.


    -I¡¯m sorry I snapped at you guys earlier.-What¡¯s happening?-Please tell us!-I¡¯m a different guy from the guy from earlier. The ogre stomped on the fucking floor, levitating any fragments on the ground and blowing them away with a roar. You guys really have to see this for yourself to believe it.-It looks like a scene from a movie!-So how do you feel about it? Will the stagnant waters win?-I don¡¯t know. They are still fighting fiercely.-Wow, never think that could work!-What happened!!!!!!-With the help of a Blink user, I Love Gimbap appeared on top of the ogre¡¯s head and attacked it with an adamant spear.-He can make that kind of movement in the air?-I Love Gimbap¡¯s movement is just out of this world! He can even change direction in the air.-Waaahhh! A grenade explodes in the ogre¡¯s mouth!-OMG. If it¡¯s like that, shouldn¡¯t the orc die?-The guy still hasn¡¯t died yet even though it bleeds from its mouth.-It¡¯s vitality is so tough.-Even though I know I Love Gimbap¡¯s play time in Survival Life plays big part on his strength, I just can¡¯t help but respect him. He truly lives up to his title as stagnant water.-I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever be able to catch an ogre. It¡¯s totally a monster.-Anyone knows how the stagnant waters kill an ogre back in Survival Life?-If I remember correctly, their level was around 70 when hunting the Orc.-Since there was no unique ability back in the game I don¡¯t think their level is relevant.


    At that time, a rocket fired by Seongho exploded on the ogre¡¯s mouth. Its head was blown off and blood spewed from the open wound, sending the auction house into a crucible of frenzy.


    -The ogre is dead! It¡¯s dead!!!!-Really? They killed the ogre?-Wow, that¡¯s fucking ridiculous. A giant ghoul blocked the ogre, and I Love Gimbap put a rocket in its mouth. Just WOW!!!-They can even kill ogre¡­-Seems like an ogre is nothing.-LOL You were shaking on your ass when it was still alive. But now that it¡¯s dead you are saying it¡¯s nothing? Have some shame man.-I don¡¯t care about anything else, but I¡¯m curious about what the ogre drops.-The amount of experience points and points will be no joke. I¡¯m envious¡­-Forget about those trivial things. The skill will at least be tier 3 skill and the item will be insane.-I Love Gimbap has now become a mini ogre. Wouldn¡¯t he get stronger than ever?


    Without paying any more attention to the discussion happening in the Auction House, survivors who were in the vicinity of the battlefield immediately left. After all, as the ogre died, many monsters were coming back. They were all tired, so they didn¡¯t even think about taking the leftovers left by the whale.


    Just like them, Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok also left before regrouping with Major Kim Hyun-woo in a certain building.


    ¡°Major Kim!¡± Jang Won-taek yelled but got no answer. He¡¯s completely out of his mind. All of his subordinates were dead, and the shock hasn¡¯t left him alone just yet. In particular, the death of two people who had been with him for several months hit him hardest.


    Jang Won-taek patted his shoulder with a solemn face and called him once again. This time, Kim Hyun-woo jolted and looked at Jang Won-taek.


    ¡°The ogre¡­ what happened to the ogre?¡±


    ¡°¡­ It¡¯s dead.¡±


    ¡°Who¡­ No, you don¡¯t have to tell me. I¡¯m sure it was them¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s as you say.¡±


    ¡°I, I failed¡­ My subordinates¡­¡±


    ¡°This failure is not your responsibility. I should have given the retreat order faster.¡±


    Despite the comforting words, the grim light of despair filling Hyun-woo¡¯s eyes did not dim. He knew, the command of the assault team rested on his shoulder; Every single movement the team made was his decision. Jang Won-taek also gave him full authority for the team and did not interfere in any way, but he returned with the worst result possible; He had failed him.


    Major Kim Hyun-woo bowed his head and sobbed. ¡°It¡¯s all my responsibility¡­ If only I had retreated back then¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The two looked at him silently. They hoped that Major Kim Hyun-woo wouldn¡¯t read extensively into the mistake he had made. Only time could bring him back to his feet.


    After a while, Major Kim slowly got up.


    ¡°I feel better after crying. Please go first. I will come back later.¡±


    ¡°Return the gun.¡± Jang Won-taek said in a voice filled with authority. To his eyes, it was obvious what he was going to do once he was left alone.


    Kim Hyun-woo clenched his teeth and glared at Jang Won-taek. ¡°Someone should be held accountable.¡±


    ¡°How can I hold you accountable if you are dead? Have you already forgotten your promise to support me until the end? You have a lot of work to do from now on.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Kim Hyun-woo looked down on the floor, and Jang Won-taek spoke even more solemnly.


    ¡°There is no world where everyone always succeeds. People are bound to fail many times. In this case, the wheel of fate decided that it was your time to fail. The history of mankind is full of blood. Reducing the sacrifice as much as possible is our responsibility. That¡¯s what we have to do.¡±


    ¡°Rather than leaving it to a loser like me¡­¡±


    ¡°A man like me would never have become a President if I only mull over each and every mistake I made. Do you know how many times I have failed since I entered Yeouido? Countless number of times. The ruling party didn¡¯t like me, and the opposition party for once shared the ruling party¡¯s sentiment. But in the end, I still became the President. Do you know why?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Major Kim Hyun-woo suddenly began to listen to him.


    ¡°Because I never gave up. If everytime you think it¡¯s over and stand up again, you will be the one who laughs last.¡±


    Jang Won-taek tapped the shoulder of his cherished subordinate.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let him return to the shelter now. Let him cool his head while hunting monsters with a cold weapon for a while. I¡¯ll give him a new mission in a few days.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mister President.¡±


    Major Kim Hyun-woo did not resist and handed the gun to the President before disappearing with Lee Beom-seok. Only then could Jang Won-taek breathe a sigh of relief. Now that all the striker teams had died, if he lost even Hyun-woo, it would be a big blow to Government Shelter.


    ¡°It¡¯s really unfortunate¡­¡± More people had died. Though, he knew it was because of a variable called an ogre. But he could not deny that the damage was huge. On the bright side, Seongho¡¯s value has risen even more. Perhaps those drawn to the ogre killer would seek Government Shelter. Eventually he will leave, but until then it will benefit Government Shelters.


    Jang Won-taek felt a bit disgusted with himself for having such thoughts even when lots of good men had just died.


    However¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s unavoidable¡­¡± Government Shelters must rise using those sacrifices. Those lives should be the foundation of a new Korea in the future.


    ..


    We moved to the nearby mansion as soon as the battle ended. We made that decision based on everyone¡¯s physical state. ; They were too tired to return to the Government Shelter.


    The person who suffered the most from fighting the ogre was Seokhyun. He barely came to his senses after ingesting the potion as well as receiving Sooyeon¡¯s care.


    He shook his head, said he would sleep in the shelter, and went in.


    ¡°We killed the ogre, but with how much damage we suffered, it¡¯s ambiguous to call it a win.¡± Da-jeong said bitterly as she took care of her ghouls which had been reduced by half. She even almost lost the Tank because of this fight.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will help you gather more later.¡±


    ¡°Of course you should. By the way, is it ok if we don¡¯t clean the rest of the monster?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. There¡¯s too many monsters anyway. We alone will not be enough.¡±


    ¡°A lot of people died. Those soldiers¡­¡±


    ¡°When Seongho hyung told Major Kim to run away, he should have heeded it.¡±


    Reading the grim mood, Da-jeong clasped her palms together and sat down on the sofa. ¡°So? What did you get? Tell us quickly!¡±


    The dark eyes of everyone twinkled and looked at me.


    ¡°For now, the item is this.¡± I took off the gloves I wore and placed it on the table in front of the sofa for everyone to see.


    ¡¸Ogre Gloves: Vitality +5, Strength +5, Ogre Power automatically applied when worn¡¹


    ¡°Wow¡­ it¡¯s my first time seeing an item with 5 stats gain.¡±


    ¡°Me too. But isn¡¯t the name a bit odd? Normally the material name is attached to the front.¡±


    I know right¡­ Normally, the material of the item would be the prefix before the actual name. There were very few things that deviated from this rule.


    Is this perhaps a unique item? I put the gloves on and punched the wall behind the sofa. The concrete wall dented with a thump. At the same time, a burning pain traveled through my arm.


    ¡°Keuk.¡±


    Although I still have Hard Skin on my skill list, it was not enough to reduce the pain. The ogre¡¯s power was certainly great, but with the current state of my body, I wouldn¡¯t be able to utilize it fully. Probably it was something like a penalty.


    Meanwhile, people could not help but marvel at the hole caused by my punch.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no joke¡­¡±


    ¡°Seongho¡¯s strength is no joke. But is your hand okay? You have no physical resistance.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not fine.¡±


    As I shook my hands, Sooyeon jumped to my side.


    ¡°I will treat you. Take off your gloves.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay now. My skills heal me.¡± When I took off the gloves, my hands appeared in good condition.


    Da-jeong pushed the two girls with her butt and sat down next to me. ¡°Stamina regeneration alone wouldn¡¯t be able to do that. It¡¯s the effect of the skill you just got, isn¡¯t it? Quickly tell me what you got.¡±


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    ¡°It¡¯s Primal Life.¡±


    ¡°Wow. That¡¯s a hot name. What is the exact effect of that skill?¡±


    ¡°This is also a compound skill. It have super-regenerate, berserk, and¡­¡± I deliberately let my words trail off.


    ¡°I know about those two. The other one?¡±


    ¡°Vigor.¡±


    Da-jeong¡¯s eyes gleamed.


    ¡°Vigor? I don¡¯t know what the effect is just hearing the name.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t get tired easily¡­ something like that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. I¡¯ll have to check it out myself later.¡±


    Well. I don¡¯t think it will work even at night. Sooyeon seemed to understand what it meant, but Mikyung, who looked like she didn¡¯t know, grabbed my hand.


    ¡°You have become very strong. Congratulations!¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes, thank you.¡± After answering Mikyung¡¯s words, I clapped my hands to redirect everyone¡¯s attention.


    ¡°There were a lot of things happening today. Thank you everyone who came to help. Let¡¯s return to the shelter for now.¡±


    ¡°Are you going with us too?¡±


    ¡°No. I have people to meet first. Da-jeong can just enter the portal¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep. Don¡¯t wake me up.¡± She said as she took her ghouls and went inside the portal.


    ¡°You two go back to the shelter first. Starting tomorrow, everyone should do the portal quest.¡± I told Mikyung and Yoohyeon.


    ¡°Us too?¡±


    ¡°Everyone.¡±


    The three did their part without backing down against the ogre. The Corrosive Disease will slowly subside now, so we need to prepare.


    The two of them rejoiced like children at my words and then suddenly asked.


    ¡°But what about Sooyeon noona?¡±


    ¡°I have some business to attend to. I hope she can help me.¡± I moved my head towards Sooyeon. ¡°Will you help me?¡±


    She nodded her head and smiled.


    ¡°I will be happy to help.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Oh Jung-min and Kim Ji-eun returned to the villa to contact others. The ¡®others¡¯ they called were of course the chaebols who built their shelter in hannam-dong area. They weren¡¯t as foolish as the chaebols who Seongho killed, but their information about the current times was still lacking, regardless.


    When everyone gathered, the discussion went up to 100 in an instant.


    ¡°Let¡¯s ask for information. In exchange, we will give them guns. They will be satisfied.¡±


    The person who said that was Lee Min-soo, who can be said as the father of the Korean idol world. He was dreaming a big dream with a few celebrities from his agency. They wanted to build a new shelter around their bunker. It would be impossible if Lee Min-soo was alone, but the celebrities under his care had a great reputation. Using it as the gathering points would make his dream become possible. The only thing he lacked was information.


    Park Kyung-hoo, who was sitting next to him, nodded his head.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Even if you say he¡¯s a stagnant water, he¡¯s powerless against guns. Government Shelter had some supplies, but I believe he wouldn¡¯t get it for himself.¡±


    ¡°Now that I think about it, smuggling despite the lockdown was a huge hit, haha.¡±


    ¡°At that time, everyone was in a bad mood. The harbor was empty, no one could stop our ships.¡±


    The thing they were talking about was the weapons they smuggled from Russia. In addition to the two, most of the people who built the bunker in Hannam-dong also imported their weapons from Russia. Afterall, at that time, the East Sea Coast Guard couldn¡¯t do their job as effectively as before because of the situation.


    Lee Min-soo leaned back on the sofa and spoke slowly. ¡°No, wait¡­ how about telling him to join us?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea.¡± Park Kyung-hoo smiled with satisfaction at Lee Min-soo¡¯s suggestion. The two continue to talk with each other. The topic even arrived at the point where they said that there¡¯s an idol which was perfect for being married to I Love Gimbap.


    ¡°No man hates women. Especially if in an apocalypse like this¡­¡±


    ¡°Is it worth it, though? We will start living in the same bunker afterall¡­¡±


    ¡°Tsk tsk, don¡¯t say something like that.¡± Lee Min-soo waved his hand. ¡°We will be on an equal footing. There is no such thing as who is above who.¡±


    ¡°But, you¡¯re still the owner of the bunker, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Oh Jung-min and Kim Ji-eun were just listening to them. In their mind, they doubted I Love Gimbap would just accept such things. Kim Ji-eun sighed and looked through the auction house. After browsing through the hot topic section, she came across a new piece of information.


    The ogre is dead.


    When she relayed the information to Oh Jung-min through whisper, his expression changed drastically.


    ¡°What? The monster is dead?¡±


    The atmosphere in the meeting room changed drastically. The other two asked what was going on, and Kim Ji-eun told the truth.


    ¡°I Love Gimbap killed the ogre. Of course he didn¡¯t kill him alone.¡±


    ¡°O-Ogre?¡±


    ¡°What kind of¡­ is it true? He killed an ogre?¡±


    Park Kyung-hoo massaged his forehead at the information. Although he had never played the game, he knew from the pamphlet the Government distributed on D-day that ogre was a very powerful monster.


    In the pamphlet, it was written like this:


    ¨C An opponent that should never be opposed. Run away as soon as you find it.


    That ogre was killed by I Love Gimbap.


    When he read the information, he was looking forward to testing the monster¡¯s capability against the guns he has. But to think someone already killed it¡­


    Kim Ji-eun quickly relayed the situation to the two of them.


    ¡°The Government Shelter mobilized their assault team who were equipped with a lot of heavy weapons. But they failed. After their failure, the stagnant water team faced it and killed it. Of course, the main character of the fight was I Love Gimbap.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what skills did he get?¡±


    ¡°A good item must have come out¡­¡±


    When they were busy thinking about such things, an arrow hit the window of their room. However, as it was an arrow without the arrowhead, it only made a knocking sound and fell.


    Oh Ji-eun smiled faintly. ¡°The man in question is here. Check it out for yourself.¡±


    He had arrived? The two jumped up and looked outside. Their eyes instantly met the big man¡¯s eyes standing below.


    The Ogre Killer.


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    The terrifying eyes of a man with a gigantic body swept over them. He licked his lips, and the two moved away from the window, terrified.


    It looked like he was saying this.


    -I¡¯ll be there soon.


    It was too late for them to run away. Lee Min-soo and Park Kyung-hoo desperately thought about what to offer to Kimbap Joa.


    They hoped he would be satisfied.

 Chapter 165

    Seongho stood in the hallway for a moment, scanning the faces of four people inside the room. From how chubby their bodies were, it was clear that they were eating well and having a good time.


    Next to him, Sooyeon was informing him the identities of the people in his sight through a whisper.


    ¡°That tall man is Oh Jeong-min. He was the director of Mirae Group. The woman next to him was a famous golfer if I remember correctly.¡±


    Seongho nodded. He felt he had seen her somewhere, and it turned out she was a professional golfer. Sooyeon also told him the names and backgrounds of the other two men. It was information that Seongho¨Cowner of an ordinary snack bar¨Ccould not even dream of digging by himself.


    ¡°Thank you. Because they had sought for us first, let¡¯s have a talk with them.¡±


    The two walked side by side and entered the meeting room. To Seongho¡¯s surprise, their current meeting room was the living room of the villa. It means, the villa they lived at was so enormous to the point it had a separate living room.


    Slowly, Seongho sat down on the sofa. Through the corner of his eyes, he could see eyes full of fear and curiosity probing him.


    Oh Jung-min spoke first.


    ¡°Uh, congratulations for killing the ogre, Seongho-ssi. It¡¯s surprising for us that such a monster came out, but to think you killed it¡­ We never thought it would be possible.¡±


    A flattery. Seongho frowned. He didn¡¯t particularly like that kind of treatment. He¡¯d rather talk straight to the point of what they could give him and what they want from him.


    ¡°Jungmin-ssi, can you open the Auction House?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Ji-eun can do it too.¡±


    ¡°I heard you were staying in the bunker up until a few days ago. But your level seems to be higher than I thought.¡±


    ¡°Haha, no no. We don¡¯t just stay in the bunker every day.¡±


    ¡°Our group mainly hunted in the Gangbuk area. It¡¯s a place the Government Shelter doesn¡¯t have any information on.¡±


    ¡°How about you two?¡±


    Lee Min-soo and Park Kyung-hoo, who suddenly became the center of everyone¡¯s attention, shook.


    ¡°U-uh but what level are you Seongho-ssi?¡± Lee Min-soo slapped himself mentally as soon as he finished his words. He didn¡¯t mean to ask that question. He was too flustered to the point he spit out what he had in his head without thinking about it more.


    Seongho, whose eyes opened wide because of the blunt question, unexpectedly opened his mouth. ¡°Thanks to the Ogre, I am now level 33.¡±


    When his level was revealed, everyone burst into sighs.


    ¡°Level 33¡­¡±


    ¡°Woah¡­¡±


    The shock of Oh Jung-min and Kim Ji-eun in particular was worse than others. The two knew that the experience point was hard to earn starting level 15. The difficulty was commonly referred to as Hell Section by people in the Auction House.


    It¡¯s difficult to even raise their level by 1 even if they hunt everyday without rest. But to think the man in front of them was level 33¡­


    Meanwhile, Sooyeon was caught up in mixed feelings at the unfolding situation. The four people in front of her were those who, up until a few months ago, lived among the highest class in South Korea. On the other hand, Seongho was only an owner of a snack bar. Although she didn¡¯t see Seongho¡¯s profession as a bad profession, she couldn¡¯t deny that the situation in front of her was a strange one. Their position had been completely reversed.


    Lee Min-soo could not get out of the shock and shook. His head was screaming at him to look good at the man.


    ¡°Are you in a romantic relationship with the person next to you?¡±


    Kim Ji-eun burst into laughter inwardly. It was because the man was trying hard to make a connection between him and Seongho. However, in her opinion, the woman next to Seongho was more attractive than many celebrities in their shelter. Unlike them, her skin was smooth and her hair was well-groomed. It was as if she was living in a normal world where water was plenty.


    Seongho looked at Sooyeon for a moment and then said, ¡°She¡¯s a precious person.¡±


    Precious person¡­


    It wasn¡¯t wrong, but it was also very vague. Sooyeon mustered up her courage to put her arms around him and rest her head on his shoulder. Now the people would believe she was Seongho¡¯s lover.


    Seongho looked at his watch and straightened his posture. ¡°I don¡¯t have much time. Now let¡¯s talk about why you called me here. What do you want?¡±


    A straightforward action.


    Oh Jung-min said what he got in his head. ¡°Uh¡­ I know that you don¡¯t know about it, but we¡¯re trying to establish our own forces around here.¡±


    ¡°A force centered around the four of you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ If you look at our level, it might sound funny. But, we have guns. It came from Russia.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to use it to gather people and build power? That¡¯s a good idea.¡±


    Seongho¡¯s evaluation was a little different, but he didn¡¯t need to tell them here. He only needs to receive what he¡¯s going to receive.


    Kim Ji-eun corrected her posture and opened her mouth. ¡°There are quite a few celebrities under Mr. Lee. They were all quite famous. We plan to use their popularity to create a clan around this villa.¡±


    ¡°Clan? There¡¯s already a few of them all around korea.¡± Seongho said. The clan he himself had destroyed while wandering around would be around 10. But their goals were not so vague like these guys.


    ¡°Comparing us to the other clans is a bit harsh. Our goal is to build a safe zone and empower people. We don¡¯t just have weapons.¡±


    Park Kyung-hoo hastily pulled out a list from his pocket and showed it to Seongho. When he lay his eyes on the paper, he was amazed at the variety of things they had. The amount was simply mind boggling which he thought would be difficult unless they prepared in advance.


    At the same time, a question arose inside Seongho¡¯s mind as to how these people came up with the idea of ??building a bunker and stockpiling materials.


    Isn¡¯t it strange that the Hannam-dong chaebols all built a bunker?


    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about it for a long time¡­ Where did you guys get the information about digging underground?¡±


    ¡°When you run a business, you are bound to come across various information.¡±


    ¡°When did you get it?¡± Seongho asked. He refused to let it go just because they wanted to sweep it under the rug. In fact, for Seongho, the timing of the acquisition of the information was very important. Even the Government started to make bunkers and depots not long before the end. Even if the chaebols obtained information at the same time as the government, there¡¯s still a limit to the manpower and equipment they could mobilize. They were far too fast for it to be true.


    Seongho had suspicions that they obtained the information through other sources.


    ¡°Exactly when? I¡¯m going to ask Geom-in, so it would be better for you to give me an accurate answer.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ Who is Geom-in?¡±


    The other characters were famous for their shocking visuals and performances, but Survivor 1 was surprisingly unknown. Lately, he hasn¡¯t had anything to brag about, so his presence had dimmed even more.


    ¡°He¡¯s my friend. Just like me, he¡¯s stagnant water. He is also the one who told the government the information about the apocalypse.¡±


    In an instant, the four¡¯s hearts sank. It would be a big deal if their answer didn¡¯t match the time the person Geom-in told Seongho. Did the government really get the information a few days before the end? If you think about stockpiling various materials in that short amount of time, it didn¡¯t make sense.


    Seongho picked up momentum and raised his voice. ¡°It would be better not to say that you guys obtained the information from the government. After all, I know Geom-in didn¡¯t tell anyone other than the President.¡±


    Actually, those words were nothing but lies. He was in the dark of whom Geom-in gave the information to. It was just a rough guess on his part, but the four people who didn¡¯t know the situation had no choice but to panic.


    Seongho¡¯s finger pressed against the table. The sturdy solid wood cracked soon after. It was a show of great power.


    Someone out of the four swallowed their saliva.


    ¡°I also went to Joo Seung-cheol¡¯s bunker and learned that he received a resurrection scroll as a gift from someone. My guess is, you guys also got information from that person¡­ don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The four looked at each other. Actually, they didn¡¯t have any connection to the one who gave them the information. They just got a note from someone and executed it before the apocalypse D-day.


    Seongho¡¯s finger pierced a hole on the table at that moment. Lee Min-soo, unable to bear the tension that took his breath away, declared surrender.


    ¡°W-we got a note¡­¡±


    ¡°Did the sender know your circumstances?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    Those guys even know his records in the game, so knowing information about people in Korea should be a piece of cake for them.


    ¡°Did everyone dig a bunker and stockpile after seeing that note?¡±


    nod nod.


    Seongho sighed mentally. They were not scarab but human, so why the nod?


    ¡°You really don¡¯t know who the sender is?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we don¡¯t know at all.¡±


    ¡°The things we knew about the apocalypse were close to none. That note is the only thing we know.¡±


    There were four mouths, but the words they said all hold the same meaning.


    Well, there¡¯s no way those people will show their tail so easily¡­


    Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks


    Seongho took a map out of his pocket and held it out. ¡°I have killed 3 people before the ogre came out. They are all related to Director Kim and Chief Lee¡­ Please mark the location of their bunker.¡±


    The men only cocked their heads to the side at the order. Kim Ji-eun was the only one who immediately moved by marking the location they were being asked for with a pen. She was quick-witted, so she knew that she had to cooperate with the person in front of her as best as she could.


    ¡°The subordinates will still be there. Be careful.¡±


    ¡°If we hit them strong enough, they¡¯ll leave.¡±


    He¡¯ll probably kill them, right?


    Seongho folded the map and left a few marks on the list Park Kyung-hoo took out.


    ¡°There are a lot of machine tools in this list. I need this one.., I want this too¡­¡±


    ¡°I-if we give you all the things you need¡­¡±


    Seongho stared at Park Kyung-hoo. ¡°Not long ago, I had a fight with a certain doctor at the subway station. He was a mad doctor with hundreds of monsters under his command. His stats were also great, he gave the four of us a difficult fight. I think you might have a connection with that guy¡¯s faction¡­ Am I right?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely not.¡±


    ¡°We would never hold hands with someone like that.¡±


    ¡°But what can I do? Words can lie. Isn¡¯t it something that can be seen with just a little thought that the person who sent you the note and the mad doctor are the same faction? Or do you think I¡¯m bullshitting?¡±


    The four didn¡¯t know what to do under Seongho¡¯s gaze. His gaze was so bloody that they didn¡¯t even think of bringing out the pistol. They doubted the guns would work for a man who pokes holes in a wooden table with his finger alone. They felt like as soon as they aimed at him, their heads would be cut off.


    Oh Jung-min looked into the eyes of other people and made a decision. ¡°We will give you anything you want. But, can you give us some information?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll think about that.¡±


    Sooyeon, who was listening next to Seongho, felt absurd and almost burst out laughing. The three men all wanted a good relationship with Seongho while the man in question was¡­ Greedy.


    The four pulled out a list one after another, and Seongho picked the things he liked.


    ¡°If you tell me where the things are stored, I will take care of it by myself. And Kim Ji-eun seems to communicate well, so I will send a paper airplane to her from now on.¡±


    A blush flashed across her face. WIth the man¡¯s words, she had become a person who could be in touch with I Love Gimbap. She would be able to exert considerable influence once the force was created.


    Seongho moved his hands to grab a pen and wrote about Owlbear on the blank paper.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to make a shelter, but it shouldn¡¯t be too crowded. A battle royale event is coming soon.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s a battle royale¡­ isn¡¯t it an event where you enter a dimension and kill each other?¡±


    ¡°Yes. But this time, it will happen on Earth. Except for the last one standing, the rest will die. So, you need to stay away from each other.¡± Seongho then circled the word Owlbear. ¡°Once spring comes, zombies and ghouls will disappear. Strange plants will start to grow on the streets. From that point, there will be more plant-type monsters on Earth. Animals including Owlbear will appear too. After that, the Battle Royale event will take place, so it would be a good idea to prepare in advance. And please remember¡­¡±


    Seongho put his finger on his lips.


    ¡°You guys are the only people I told about this matter.¡±


    The four hurriedly bowed their heads. Seongho stood up and left the building. Once they were outside, he called Sooyeon.


    ¡°I hope you can help me for a moment.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°We need to do some exercise too, will it be okay?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s much better to move outside than to be locked in the shelter.¡±


    The Government Shelter had various facilities, but it was just dull and boring for Sooyeon.


    ¡°I got a lot of help from Sooyeon-ssi, I don¡¯t know how to repay it.¡±


    ¡°Repay? I don¡¯t need it. Just forget it.¡± However, betraying her words, she actually wanted to eat something delicious. Also, a bath.


    As she whispered it in his ear, Seongho nodded his head.


    ¡°Would you like some pasta too?¡±


    ¡°Why pasta?¡±


    ¡°Ah, because it somehow fits with Sooyeon¡¯s image. The red sports car from before and all that.¡±


    Sooyeon smiled softly at his answer.


    ¡°I like mackerel and kimchi stew.¡±


    Surprisingly, her preferences were normal.


    Seongho erased his shock and went inside the bunker.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get some stuff.¡±


    The fun farming time had come.


    .


    The work went on almost all day long. Through force, Seongho drove the people occupying the three bunkers out and obtained the supplies stored inside. At some point, Da-jeong had to drive a mini fork crane to help him. Of course, not without complaining.


    -You brought more stuff? This farming mania, really!


    Not minding her outburst, Seongho moved the supplies to the storage with Da-jeong and Seokhyun. Only when the morning came was it all over. Everyone was exhausted and sat down in a suitable place to eat. The menu was quite luxurious considering that it was an apocalypse. It was kimchi stew and grilled mackerel.


    Once they finished their food, Seongho took off the gloves he wore and handed it to Seokhyun, who seemed to have died from overeating.


    ¡°Give me your gloves and use these ones from now on.¡±


    ¡°Why? You are the one who got it.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t suit me.¡±


    Ogre Gloves allowed the user to use ogre¡¯s powers. However, its utility would be reduced as his body was not strong enough to bear the kickback of the power. The effect of the skill he just received was vigor and super-regeneration. But, it was related to recovery and did not strengthen his body.


    ¡°Yeah, those gloves would be more suited to Rapwi. He has a very strong body after all.¡± Da-jeong said as she cleaned the smudge around her mouth.


    ¡°¡­¡± Wordlessly, Seokhyun put on the gloves, his eyes shining. He looked like a little child who had been given a gift. When he took a concrete shard in his hand and clenched it, it was easily grounded to dust.


    ¡°Do you like it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    ¡°Take a scarab with you!¡± Seongho shouted as Seokhyun stood up and jumped towards the portal. It was clear that he¡¯s going to test the gloves¡¯ power against monsters in the forest.


    Da-jeong hurriedly followed the guy to the portal and put a scarab on him before returning to where Seongho sat. ¡°Seems like that guys will seriously fight. He even took off his panties.¡±


    ¡°You are talking about panties after eating? It¡¯s gross. Stop it.¡±


    ¡°HAHAHAHAHAHA!¡± Da-jeong held her stomach and rolled on the floor. After laughing for a long time, she stood up and placed her legs on Seongho¡¯s little brother.


    ¡°You have given Rapwi a nice present. What about me? You aren¡¯t going to just forget me, are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you level up. If you don¡¯t get another ability, it will be disastrous once the zombies and ghouls disappear later.¡±


    To be exact, they did not disappear. They just become plants.


    Da-jeong puffed her cheeks, clearly didn¡¯t like his answer. ¡°Isn¡¯t there anything more important than that?¡±


    ¡°What is it I wonder?¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t tested the Vigor skill yet, have you? I¡¯ll do it for you, so free up your time. One day should be enough.¡±


    ¡°The group will do the portal quest today. They are waiting for me.¡±


    Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only


    ¡°Sheesh.¡± Da-jeong smiled at Sooyeon. The latter pretended not to know about what she was trying to imply.


    While Seongho was doing this, a big event was taking place at the Government Shelter. Judging that the Corrosive Disease had completely disappeared, they began to take out the materials they piled. Upon hearing the news, many people flocked to government shelters.


    Jang Won-taek greeted them with a somewhat tense face. After all, it was unclear whether they could get along harmoniously with each other. But he needs to believe. If he starts to doubt each and every one of them, he wouldn¡¯t be able to achieve his goal to preserve the existence of humanity.


    Jang Won-taek stood at the entrance and greeted the people who came in.


    ¡°Welcome to Korea Shelter.¡±

 Chapter 166

    -Announcing the information that Corrosive Disease has gone from Korea Shelter


    Those words came to the Auction House in mid-February. Since the source was the government¡¯s publicity auction product comment section, the credibility wasn¡¯t up for any discussion.


    However, the survivors still did not know what to do. Except for Magic Metal, it had been a while since they had seen metal. To them, it was like a remnant of an old, long-lost era.


    Therefore, when Corrosive Disease was finally gone, a question followed the survivors.


    ¡®What should I do?¡¯


    Thankfully, Korea Shelter presented an answer to them.


    -Please come to Yeouido. Come and fight together with us for a better future. Monsters are no longer our enemies.


    There were of course some monsters which even guns couldn¡¯t kill, like ogre. But all in all, most monsters should possess no resistance against guns.


    On top of it, wasn¡¯t the Ogre Killer in Korea Shelter?


    It¡¯s surprising that an ogre had appeared, but it¡¯s even more surprising that someone killed it. There was no one who was foolish enough to not believe such a feast this time around, after all the ogre¡¯s body was still in front of the museum.


    It was hard to gauge the monster¡¯s power from the appearance alone, but people realized. In the future, more and more monsters which couldn¡¯t be dealt with by normal means will appear. If they want to live, they must rely on power. Either it was the power of many, or power of an individual.


    -Let¡¯s go to the Korea Shelter!


    -You want to go there and be controlled by someone?


    -Even if we are controlled, it¡¯s better to live like a human being. How long are we going to live like this?


    -What does it mean to live like a human being?


    -Hunting together with a party, talking without fear, meeting new people, and other things.


    -Have sex too¡­


    -That¡¯s the main purpose, of course.


    -Can we meet a woman in the Korea Shelter?


    -I think it¡¯s possible. But if you are weak I bet no woman will look at you!


    -But, guys. If many survivors gathered in the same places, wouldn¡¯t a fight break out? Among those people I¡¯m sure there¡¯s people who have bad blood with each other.


    That was exactly the problem the Korea Shelter faced. The upper echelon of the shelter had made some preparation to mediate any problem that arose between people, but it was still unclear whether the survivors¨Cwith how strong they had become¨Cwould accept it or not.


    There was also opinion like this among the people who want to join Korea Shelter:


    -Everyone, even if up until now you can live by taking the supplies from the time shelter, things will be different pretty soon.


    -What will be different?


    -Think about it. Food stockpiles in the city continue to decline. Moreover, the rice center in southern Gyeonggi-do has already been swept clean! The monsters entered it and ate them all!


    -*Shiver**Shiver*


    -That means, we need a way to get food in the long term. And in Korea Shelter, they have a lot of seed stockpiled!


    -Isn¡¯t it okay to go to the beach for food? We can catch fish and other seafood.


    -But I want to eat rice¡­


    -You can just farm along the shore..


    -Alone?


    -Oh shit, that¡¯s a problem¡­


    -Do I really have to go there? I¡¯m tired of living alone. Should I just live with other people?


    Of course, there were also people who had different opinions about going to the Korea Shelter. Those people were mostly those who had formed their own powerful group in the region. They had achieved so many things while living without any support from the Government, so they felt a bit iffy to let go of their area and go under the Government¡¯s wing.


    They shared something in common to not want to go to Korea Shelter.


    -If we go there, we must live under their rule, right? I don¡¯t like it.


    -The thing the President hates the most is the power struggle between factions inside of the shelter.


    -Then we can¡¯t join them. Anyone with any other opinions?


    -We should have guns too.


    -Who doesn¡¯t know that? The problem is most guns are stored only in Korea Shelters.


    -I don¡¯t think that¡¯s necessarily the case. I found a suspicious hole in a subway station north of the Han river. Now people are rushing in and trying to get the concrete cover off.


    -There must be a lot of monsters there, right?


    -It¡¯s a mess here. The inside is so narrow and the passageway is so small. We never know who will be dying next.


    One of the spare shelters that the government had kept secret was discovered. In fact, Jang Won-taek, the one who had instructed the creation of it, never thought it would remain a secret forever. However, he hoped that the sharing process of the supplies could be done in a more organized way to prevent lives from being taken.


    In any case, the clans which knew they were strong enough to stand alone were reluctant to join the Korea Shelter. They felt it was foolish to share the wealth and power they had accumulated so far. Procuring guns was difficult for them, but this kind of talk was circulating at the Auction House:


    -Don¡¯t you think there will be guns stored in a military bunker?


    -That¡¯s possible.


    -Anyone knows any military bunkers?


    However, as always, no one knew exactly where a military bunker was. Most of those who were in the know had died or had become members of Korea Shelter, so there was no reason for them to spill the beans.


    But since the clans finally found a way to procure guns, each and every one of them started to look for a Military Bunker. Of course such movements wouldn¡¯t be unnoticed by Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok. However, they couldn¡¯t do anything right away. Their hands were currently tied by the task of moving the stored goods from the underground shelter to the ground.


    The Korea shelter was about to be completed.


    .


    .


    .


    Unlike the name, Korea Shelter didn¡¯t only encompass the building where Jang Won-taek and the other government personnel lived but all intact buildings around the commercial district in front of the National Assembly building. The government built a barricade around those many intact buildings and turned it into housing for the survivors.


    On top of that, because of the totem, no zombie raids would occur; leaving only a few wandering monsters to come and go. Thanks to that, instead of flying confetti, gunshots were the ones who welcomed us to our new dwellings.


    ¡°Let¡¯s all do the portal quest starting from Geom-in. Take this.¡± I put a backpack full of gear on the floor as I said that.


    ¡°Is it really necessary to give us this?¡± Geom-in looked at me as soon as he opened the backpack and saw the resurrection scroll stored inside.


    ¡°It is. It would be good if you didn¡¯t end up using it. But the risk is too great for you to go in without it.¡±


    Even though Geom-in looks a bit weak compared to me, Da-jeong and Seokhyun, he¡¯s a fairly strong person thanks to his multiple unique skills. If he fails even with guns in his hand, no one else would be able to complete the quest.


    ¡°Oh¡­.¡± Geom-in said as soon as he made contact with the portal I summoned.


    ¡°A strange message popped up?¡± Once I said so, another portal for the quest taker opened up. I called Dingo and a scarab before trusting him to them.


    ¡°It should be easy for you to clear it. See you later.¡±


    ¡°¡­I will definitely do it.¡± Leaving those words behind, Geom-in entered the portal. Meanwhile, the others were looking at where the portal stood. Seems like they had no intention of doing anything whatsoever today.


    ¡°It¡¯s like taking a test.¡± Everyone nodded at Yoohyeon¡¯s words. The fate that waited for them was to either they pass or fail.


    I clapped my hands to get their attention.


    ¡°It will take some time for Geom-in to finish the quest, so let¡¯s all do our part. We should move things and clean up the place.¡±


    ¡°Seongho, can I talk to you after lunch?¡± Hyungjun hyung came in with his luggage and said. Meanwhile, the two high school students, whose names I couldn¡¯t remember, were nowhere to be seen.


    Yeowool, who was looking at the window, said. ¡°They went to Major Kim. They said they want to shoot a gun.¡±


    ¡°Are they planning to join that side?¡±


    ¡°They said they love shooting. So it seems like it.¡±


    I nodded at Yeowool¡¯s answer. If the two of them had such thoughts, there was no reason for me to stop them. The choice and responsibility of any individual was solely up to them, after all.


    I called people together. ¡°Anyone want to join another group? I won¡¯t stop you or even hold any grudge if you decide to do so.¡±


    No one raised a hand at my question.


    I asked again. ¡°That means, all of you want to stay inside my portal, right?¡±


    Then, Yeowool raised her hand.


    ¡°But Ahjussi.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°If we go inside the portal, we can¡¯t leave whenever we want, can we?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the case if I don¡¯t open the portal.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯re stuck inside the portal?¡±


    ¡°I will open the portal when I eat. So, around three times a day?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ is there any other way to get out?¡±


    ¡°If there is anything urgent, you can call me through the Auction House and I will open it for you.¡±


    ¡°Okay then.¡±


    ¡°If you have any other questions, ask.¡±


    Others started asking questions as if they were waiting for someone to start it. Most of them were questions regarding things inside the portal, so it was not difficult for me to answer it.


    ¡°Seongho, let me talk to you for a moment.¡± Hyungjun hyung called me and I followed him. Once we were alone, he lit up the cigarette in his mouth. ¡°Fuuhh¡­ everyone is in a good mood, so it¡¯s hard to tell you this there. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to go in for a while.¡±


    ¡°Because of sister-in-law?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I haven¡¯t got the chance to bring the matter to her, but it seems like she wants to be here in the shelter.¡±


    My new sister-in-law was a woman in his 30s whom Hyungjun hyung had just started dating. From what I heard, she entered the Government Shelter after experiencing her share of hardships. However, even though she had a good unique skill, she doesn¡¯t really help in battle since she doesn¡¯t like fighting monsters.


    In the first place, I had no intention of accepting such a person. After all, when people enter the portal, they have to work and fight monsters.


    ¡°Just tell me when you decide you want to enter. I am not going anywhere.¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s something you need to be sorry for, Hyung-nim.¡±


    ¡°Sigh¡­¡± He let out a long puff of cigarette smoke.


    Of course without him saying it, I know what he¡¯s sorry for. He found a new relationship after half a year, but turns out, his partner was someone who didn¡¯t suit my philosophy. So he might feel that his decision was like betraying me in some way.


    Well, that¡¯s not something I could help him with. He needs to figure it out himself.


    In the end, three people were removed from the original planned number of people. Now there would only be 8 people, including myself who will live inside the portal.


    ¡°I¡¯m worried about Yeowool¡­¡± She had the same unique skill as Yoohyeon, but since she was a girl, I wondered if she could fight well. Although she had fought monsters before, it was together with other people. This quest would be the first time for her to fight alone.


    ¡°If she fails, she can just try it again at a later date.¡± After all, Korea Shelter wouldn¡¯t go anywhere. She could just live here until that time.


    As I finished thinking so, I went up to the roof and opened the drone case I looted from Hannam-dong.


    ¡°This¡­ As expected from rich people¡± It was different from the drones I used to operate. The size, weight, and the attached camera were leagues better.


    How many kilometers could this thing go?


    When I set it up and flew it, I felt like dozens of wasps were flying.


    ¡°Awesome.¡±


    I checked the video by flying the drone around the shelter. I could see The entirety of Korea Shelter and all the barricades which were erected around the commercial district.


    ¡°Since it is still inadequate, they want to build a wall too¡­¡± I could see Seokhyun and Da-jeong roam around outside of the barricade. They were tasked to protect the people who were working on building the wall. In any case, the Korea Shelter was closer to a village than a Shelter in common meaning.


    As the Shelter was quite enormous, the area which needed to be defended was also big. Thankfully, there were many people, so I thought it would not be a problem.


    ¡°When the guards inform them of danger, they give out firearms to people to defend themselves¡­ It¡¯s not bad.¡± Jang Won-taek seems to think that it is better to centrally manage guns than to distribute them to each individual. A good move in my opinion. After all, you would never know what might happen if you hand out guns to the survivors.


    When the drone was moved to another area, I could see people coming in through the barricades and walls. Those people were survivors who wanted to join the shelter. Everyone was armed, so it was difficult to check their faces, but I could easily tell that they had lived a rough life.


    ¡°They will not stay quiet for long.¡± I sighed. When the number of people increases, collisions are bound to occur. On top of it, since it¡¯s currently a lawless world, the conflict will be even more violent.


    Fortunately, I don¡¯t have to be there.


    ¡°I should just stay quiet¡­ and leave when things are stable.¡± In fact, I could just run away before then. Yongsan bunker has been taken care of, so we can loot it as we leave.


    Everything was going smoothly as of now, but things would change a lot in spring.


    ¡°The erosion will start soon, so we need to take measures.¡± Until now, survivors only had to be careful about monsters and people, but starting from spring, the environment itself would become their enemy. Plants with vines attached to the building will become the norm. They were not normal plants either since they would attack using their teeth which were hidden inside their body.


    ¡°Respwan is only possible in the game¡­¡± Everyone only has one life, so they must be careful. I also have to do the same even though I have the Spring to revive me.


    As I was thinking about various things, gunshots rang out. I could see people in military uniforms, including Hyun-woo, shot at monsters running behind the incoming survivors.


    The gray asphalt road was splattered with blood and body fluids.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Geom-in is here!¡± In the middle of the night, Yoohyeon shouted as Geom-in jumped out of the portal. He had successfully finished the quest, therefore, the resurrection scroll was not spent.


    Thanks to the shout, people got out of their bedroom and gathered to see Geom-in. Meanwhile, the man in question just unpacked his gear and put the scarab on top of Dingo¡¯s head.


    ¡°Thank you so much. I survived thanks to you two.¡± In his hand were three golden etherstones. After a while, Seongho came and Geom-in was able to enter the portal by offering 3 etherstones.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Geom-in¡¯s eyes went wide as soon as he enter Seongho¡¯s shelter. After all, what he saw was beyond his expectation.


    ¡°Amazing¡­¡± Geom-in said as he crossed the cave¡¯s door. A vacant lot full of sandwich panels, and a hut which was exactly the same as what he had heard from Seongho greeted him.


    Seokhyun and Da-jeong, who were working a few distances away from the cave, came running as soon as they saw him.


    ¡°Geom-in has arrived!¡±


    ¡°Welcome! Welcome!¡±


    Their appearance was reminiscent of a group of lions who found gazelles in the prairie.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Uh¡­ Huh?¡± He couldn¡¯t utter any words before he found himself being dragged by the two and being thrown into the mini fork crane.


    ¡°I¡¯ll teach you how to use it, so finish this work. This is the¡­¡± Without his consent, Geom-in was forced to start working.


    When Seongho passed by, he preached. ¡°Since this place is our shelter, we have to take good care of it.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Geom-in sat in the mini fork crane seat and looked around. From how hot the air was, and the sound of cicadas, he instantly knew that the current season was summer. Outside the fence, a wild boar with a large hump was moving together with its herd.


    ¡®This is the place.¡¯ Geom-in smiled. This place was where he will live in the future. He vowed he would use his old skills to make the shelter strong and safe.


    He stopped the forklift and ran to Seongho.


    ¡°Can I use a drone?¡±


    ¡°Of course. But what are you going to do with it?¡±


    ¡°I need to do some reconnaissance from above to build a better shelter. I don¡¯t really like the current shape of this shelter.¡±


    Seongho nodded at his explanation. In fact, the current shelter was haphazardly expanded. He just built whatever needed to be built in whichever area still available without any plan.


    ¡°Sure. You can do whatever you want.¡±


    Geom-in got excited and went into the cave. Meanwhile, the three stagnant waters only looked at his back.


    ¡°Tsk tsk tsk¡­ He also fell for Seongho¡¯s magic.¡±


    ¡°Now he will be working forever.¡±


    Seong-ho, who was listening, looked at the two with a frown.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you guys supposed to be working?¡±

 Chapter 167

    BTW sorry guys, i have work to do last week, thus the update amount. I¡¯ll try to finish last week and this week quota soon. If not, I¡¯ll die, I think i have some work this weekend¡­


    The End Of Chorrosive Disease (2)


    Hwang Seokhyun, Choi Da-jeong, Bae Geom-in, Jo Sooyeon, Jung Mikyung, Kim Yoohyeon, Eum Jiman, Han Yeowool. And me. A total of 9 people will be living in another world. Geom-in had already finished the portal quest. Sooyeon and Mikyung, who went for the quest right after Geom-in, had also finished it safely.


    I had collected the items of the stagnant waters, selected the best items amongst them, and gave it to those who were about to do the quest before they entered the portal. However, I don¡¯t know if it was because of that or thanks to the support of Dingo and the scarab, but everyone managed to complete their quest without any major difficulties.


    I was prepared to lose at least one Resurrection Scroll for this occasion. However, Yoohyeon and Jiman also cleared the quest without any problems. The only one who still hadn¡¯t finished it was Yeowool. Regardless of her level, she was the youngest among us and when she went in for the quest, everyone anxiously waited in front of the portal.


    Yoohyeon in particular was fidgeting more than others. Normally, he¡¯s someone who¡¯s cool and acts like he doesn¡¯t care about Yeowool. But it seems like when she¡¯s in danger, he can¡¯t act like that anymore.


    Since I already gave her the Resurrection Scroll, even in the worst case scenario, she would only fail the quest and not lose her life. She could just challenge the quest again later.


    When such thoughts crossed my mind, Yeowool came out of the portal. Her clothes were torn in many places and her body was covered in dirt, but her eyes were shining.


    She held out the Resurrection Scroll she was hugging to the air.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t use it!¡± she said. ¡°I did well, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°You can just use it though¡­¡±


    ¡°But then, you¡¯ll nag me like a mother in law!¡±


    How can she know my mind so well?


    When Yoohyeon ran towards her, Yeowool opened her arms. When he landed in her embrace, she patted his back. It seems that somehow the role of the man and woman had changed in this moment. Though, I couldn¡¯t say it was awkward to see such a thing since Yeowool was a peculiar girl who led her two boyfriends in an apocalypse.


    Anyway, everyone finished the quest except for Hyung-jun hyung and the two troublemakers. Excluding Geom-in, I made the others wait until now so that everyone could enter the portal together.


    ¡°Open the portal.¡± When the blue portal opened, we went inside in order of age. As I entered, I could hear the excited murmurs from the people lining behind me.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡±


    ¡°This place is awesome¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really summer here!¡±


    The summer forest that I have grown accustomed to was a very unfamiliar sight to them.


    Da-jeong, who was watching the newly arrived members with crossed arms, suddenly pointed at the place behind them.


    ¡°It is too early for you guys to be awed. Look behind you.¡±


    Everyone looked behind them and their mouths dropped wide open when they looked at the materials piled up in the vacant lot. They were dumbfounded. It was as if they were asking me why I collected so much.


    When I pretended not to see their gaze, Da-jeong walked up to me and poked me in the ass.


    ¡°He¡¯s an incurable farming fanatic. Even I don¡¯t know why he collected so many things that he won¡¯t even use.¡±


    ¡°Hey! I¡¯m going to use it all later.¡±


    ¡°Look at those rice! With that amount, 100 people will be able to eat 3 meals a day for another 10 years!¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡±


    ¡°Hyung, you did collect a lot.¡±


    ¡°When are you going to eat all of this?¡±


    Everyone looked at the rice sacks stacked 3 meters high and said their bits one at a time. Only Mikyung laughed as she said that she would be able to eat delicious tteokbokki again.


    ¡°That¡¯s the evidence that you are a pig, right there.¡±


    ¡°Who are you calling a pig!!!¡±


    While Mikyung and Yoohyeon were arguing like siblings, Jiman had already gone to the vegetable garden.


    Did he instinctively recognize that it was his workplace?


    I put my arm across his shoulder.


    ¡°Jiman, I¡¯m sorry to tell you this, but¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Hyung. I know. I should work here, right?¡±


    ¡°You need to take care of those Hwajo too.¡± I said as I pointed at the Hwajo pen.


    ¡°There are so many of them¡­¡±


    I nodded at his statement. At first, there¡¯s only a few of them, but thanks to the stag beetles and the strong fertility of this forest, their number grew tremendously. If Jiman¡¯s Unique Skill was added on top of those factors, their number would soon become uncountable.


    I led him to the garden outside the cave. At that moment, the stag beetles who were busy planting more crops rushed over and looked up at Jiman.


    ¡°You guys¡­ Aren¡¯t your reactions a bit strange?¡±


    Back when Da-jeong and Seokhyun entered the shelter, these guys were treating them as if they were nothing but air.


    So why are these guys snuggling to Jiman?


    Meanwhile, the man himself, who didn¡¯t know he was getting a one-of-a-kind treatment, smiled brightly and stroked the stag beetles climbing to his hands.


    ¡°Yeah, this is my first time here. Huh? You want me to work here? That should be fine.¡±


    My brows quirked. It seems like he was talking to the stag beetles, but I must be mistaken.


    I looked around and saw everyone moving hurriedly to look around. They seemed to be relieved from seeing what I had gathered so far. It would have been better if Hyung-jun hyung had come, but we can do nothing about the circumstances.


    Da-jeong went around and suddenly asked me to take off my clothes.


    ¡°It¡¯s hot here, so why are you wearing those things? Take it off like me.¡±


    ¡°You dressed too lightly.¡±


    As I spoke, she narrowed her eyes and placed the back of her hand on her pelvis. She was wearing a Dolphin Shorts and a Tank top which exposed most of her body.


    ¡°What are you talking about? He¡¯s the one who is dressed too lightly!¡± Everyone turned their heads following Da-jeong¡¯s finger. They could see Seokhyun walking with a wild boar around his shoulders across the barrier with nothing covering his body.


    ¡°MOMMY!!¡±


    ¡°Oh my god! Please wear some clothes!¡±


    The women instantly moved their hands to cover their eyes, but Seokhyun didn¡¯t even care about them and jumped over the barrier; entering the shelter.


    Da-jeong chuckled.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be as naked as him. But well, if everyone is naked, it¡¯s better for me.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to make a nude beach, you pervert?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t that a good idea? There¡¯s an ocean here, right? Unnie! Let¡¯s go see the sea together.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Da-jeong¡¯s sudden acceleration caused Sooyeon to be dragged away without being able to utter a single word.


    While watching Seokhyun thrust a mithril knife into the wriggling wild boar¡¯s throat, I had a thought.


    ¡®It would have been better for him if he was born around 100,000 years ago.¡¯


    .


    .


    .


    In the evening, a bonfire was lit in the middle of the vacant lot. Wrapped in its warmth was us who sat around it to eat.


    ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡± Geom-in suddenly broke the silence as he presented the results he got from scouting the area with a drone to me.


    ¡°What?¡± I quivered my brows at his sudden declaration.


    At that moment, he unfolded a map which was drawn in great detail.


    ¡°This location is bad. It¡¯s open on all sides, so it¡¯s vulnerable to monster attacks.¡±


    ¡°But, haven¡¯t we been able to block it so far?¡± On top of it, there were more people and there were guns here. So it shouldn¡¯t be hard for us to defend our base from now on.


    However, Geom-in¡¯s analysis was different from mine.


    ¡°Since we arrived, the number of monsters has skyrocketed. There were two attacks today in the middle of the day alone.¡±


    I nodded as I realized that was indeed the case. Back when I was alone, the attack only happened every two days. When Seokhyun and Da-jeong came in, the attack pace increased to about once a day. And now that there were nine people here, the attack came in twice in the daytime alone. There was no problem today since Seokhyun, who was a battle maniac, was here with us. But it would be dangerous in the long run.


    Afterall, there were too many things we needed to process after the fight. It¡¯s not like we could skimp on it either even if we wanted. If we don¡¯t want to see the creepers exploding their bodies like fireworks, we must amputate the ankles of every corpse we kill and bury it.


    ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ So, where are we going to move?¡±


    ¡°Here.¡± Geom-in pointed the pencil in his hand to the area around the beach. I realized that the place he picked was near the point where the valley turned into a river and descended into the sea.


    ¡°Two sides of this place are blocked by the sea and the river. So, some monsters will find it difficult to approach us. There is also a flat lot here, a good place for monitoring things in our surroundings. The best part of this place was that it is close to the sea.¡±


    Judging from the map, the sea shouldn¡¯t even be 100 meters away from the place. That would make it easy for anyone to go out to sea. Geom-in added that being close to the sea would also make it convenient for us to dispose of the monster corpses.


    ¡°The sea current is quite fierce. Once we throw the corpses into the sea, it¡¯s over.¡±


    ¡°Moving there is a problem¡­ When will we move all this stuff?¡±


    Da-jeong crawled on her knees to me while lifting her ass like a cat.


    ¡°It¡¯s not just the two of us here anymore, so get down.¡±


    As I patted her hand, she twitched and rubbed her ass.


    ¡°So what? Everyone knows each other here.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s precisely why we have to be more careful.¡±


    ¡°Tsk.¡±


    Geom-in was perplexed for a moment, then explained again.


    ¡°Anyway, I would like to build a fortress on this beach. The defenses will consist of barbed wire and fences. I also want to build an observatory.¡±


    Geom-in drew a sketch of the fortress really well to the point I think that he had a talent for painting. It looked quite nice as it blended in with the surrounding landscape.


    ¡°It¡¯s all good. But wouldn¡¯t it be difficult to move?¡±


    The amount of materials I have collected so far was no joke. There were a lot of them in the first place, but the number had increased even more recently thanks to the support I received from the chaebols.


    ¡°Of course it will be hard. But, it¡¯s more preferable since this place will be surrounded by monsters soon.¡±


    That¡¯s right¡­


    After gathering everyone¡¯s opinion regarding the matter, I came to the conclusion that the Geom-in¡¯s suggestion was good. Looking at the video filmed with a drone, the area Geom-in picked seemed to be much safer than here. Water could be easily drawn and used, and food supply would not be a problem thanks to the ocean.


    The only downside was that I had to give up on the vegetable garden I had planted. However, with Jiman here, it wouldn¡¯t be long until we have a new vegetable garden.


    I looked at people and said, ¡°Let¡¯s move. It will be a little difficult, but once we are there, things will be easy.¡±


    Yoohyeon, who was arm in arm with Yeowool, said. ¡°Hyung, do what you have to do outside. We will take care of the moving.¡±


    ¡°Is that okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it is. Since we are here, we should work.¡±


    I nodded. He¡¯s truly a guy who only said pretty things.


    Yeowool then said as if she was not going to let his boyfriend hog all the spotlight. ¡°I think there should be rules for all of us. While I personally think it¡¯s okay to live freely, it shouldn¡¯t be too free. First, we have to decide where to sleep.¡±


    RIght¡­


    I alternately pointed to the hut and the cave.


    ¡°Men will sleep in the hut, while the women will sleep in the cave. Let¡¯s do it like that for the time being. Take out the bathtub and make a separate room using a sandwich panel for the communal bathroom.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we also decide on night watch duty?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s necessary because of the infrared detector.¡± On top of it, a lot of people here had high cognitive stats. So, if something strange happened in the night, we could quickly find out.


    Anyway, it¡¯s true that there should be rules in place where people gather. Without it, it would be easy for their life to spiral into a bad route. In the case of Mikyung, she might go out to sea and play all day without working.


    I poured what I had in mind on a piece of paper, and gave it to everyone. The rules gave a clear way of conduct, covering everything from what actions needed to be taken when a monster was found to how to protect each other and how to treat each other.


    ¡°It¡¯s all basic stuff, so I believe everyone will do well on their own. Since we are the only ones here, it would be better not to say uncomfortable things to other people. If things don¡¯t go well, there¡¯s nowhere to go.¡±


    ¡°We never had a fight.¡±


    ¡°Everyone knows how they should act.¡±


    It¡¯s amazing to say the least that people with different personalities have lived together for several months and yet never fought. It must have been possible thanks to the care of the older guys like Sooyeon and Hyung-jun hyung.


    ¡°If you are protecting what we need to protect, I won¡¯t bug you.¡±


    .


    .


    .


    When the time for everyone in the shelter to fall asleep came, I quietly came out to the Korean Shelter. There were so many people around unlike before, it was to the point it was hard to tell who was who.


    ¡°There must be over 100 people here¡­¡±


    In less than a day, nearly 70 people had gathered. Only heaven knows how many will come in the future. Seeing the people working in an office made of sandwich panels made me feel pity for them.


    ¡°I would never have thought that people would be able to work in Apocalypse.¡± Though, it might be better for them to choose that way, since they would hardly be useful in a battle.


    When I went out and passed the office, I saw Jang Won-taek and someone talking. It doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s going well since the man¡¯s voice was pretty loud.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this different from what you promised? You said we would get guns!¡±


    ¡°We need to prevent any accidents from happening. After all, once it happens, there is nothing we can do about it.¡±


    ¡°Even if an accident happened, doesn¡¯t it have nothing to do with this? It¡¯s not like we¡¯re going to shoot whoever we want, we¡¯re just going to use it for self-defense.¡±


    ¡°As long as anyone enters the shelter in Korea, they must follow the established policy. Some should give what they have and some will receive what they don¡¯t have. Making an exception for this rule is not possible.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going crazy. What should I tell my subordinates? We came here because we were told that we could get a gun.¡±


    ¡°I will go and convince them.¡±


    ¡°No, there might be a riot if you go there. Don¡¯t you know our kids are rough?¡±


    Then Jang Won-taek looked at me.


    The man also glanced at me. Moments later, his eyes widened, and he began to stutter.


    ¡°I-I Love Gimbap?¡±


    ¡°My name is Kang Seongho.¡±


    ¡°Th-the O-ogre killer¡­ right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true that I landed the last hit. Is there any problem here?¡±


    As I approached, the man staggered back. And at my question, the man desperately shook his head.


    ¡°Oh, no. There¡¯s no problem.¡± The man ran away, and Jang Won-taek came up to me and said in low volume.


    ¡°You have great fame.¡±


    ¡°Why is he running away like that?¡±


    ¡°Well, he must be scared.¡±


    ¡°You sure you should accept someone like that? It would be strange if there were no accidents happening with those types of guys around.¡±


    ¡°They may not be a good family, but they can be a decent member.¡±


    There was certainty in his voice.


    Come to think of it, this gentleman wanted to embrace everyone¡­ It was a good mind to have, but in my eyes it seems like a failure as of now.


    Jang Won-taek looked behind me and said.


    ¡°By the way, are you done moving? When I went to your base earlier, there was no one there.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we are done.¡±


    ¡°To think it was possible to live inside your subspace¡­ I don¡¯t know what kind of place it is, but I also want to visit it sometime.¡±


    ¡°If the opportunity arises, I will take you there.¡±


    It was nothing but an empty promise, just like a promise to have a meal next time and stay in touch after school graduation.


    ¡°Thank you for even saying that. By the way, can I ask you a favor? I¡¯ll give you the Yongsan bunker if you agree.¡±


    This strict man was willing to give me something like that?


    ¡°Something seems to be bothering you.¡±


    ¡°This is the situation¡­¡±


    After we killed the ogre, its body was left on the grounds of the art gallery. It¡¯s not actually the strongest monster, but for many survivors, the ogre was a scary name. So it was good that there were a lot of people who witnessed it. It would make them believe that humanity could prevail.


    However¡­ A lot of people mean there are people who have nasty personality mixed in.


    ¡°Those people destroyed many treasures kept in private art galleries.¡±


    I frowned at the information. ¡°Did they have nothing to do? Why in the world¡­¡±


    ¡°Even ordinary people are sometimes swept away by malice. It¡¯s even worse when we think that they don¡¯t have the power to control themselves. We should have collected those treasures back then and kept them¡­ It¡¯s a pity.¡±


    ¡°If everything is destroyed, there should be nothing left.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s still treasures kept in the National Museum of Korea and the National Palace Museum.¡± Jang Won-taek looked straight at me. ¡°The amount of national treasures held by the two museums is no joke. It cannot be compared to a private art museum. The metal collection may have been destroyed, but there are still a lot of things you¡¯d see in a textbook there.¡±


    ¡°Do you want me to go there and keep it in the subspace?¡±


    I rubbed my chin


    ¡°It is to pass the soul of Korea to the later generation, Seongho-ssi.¡±


    Soul of Korea, huh? To be honest, I wasn¡¯t really interested in that. People would be too busy surviving, so what does that sentiment hold for people?


    However, it was also true that those bastards who thoughtlessly destroy the treasures were a problem. If we didn¡¯t do anything about them, they would surely become a bigger problem in the future.


    The problem is, it would take a considerable amount of time and effort to collect so many treasures.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s do it.¡±


    Jang Won-taek smiled faintly.


    ¡°I knew you would say that. I have a motorcycle parked just outside the shelter. You can use that.¡±


    ¡°Can I not return it?¡±


    ¡°I wish you could return it if possible, but¡­ if things do not go well, there is nothing I can do about it. You can pick up the key from the office.¡± He told me so and left.


    I got the key from the office and took the motorcycle out of the parking lot. It was a pretty cool bike. It ran on electricity, and the battery had to be charged. Even if it¡¯s a hassle, it was better than nothing for now. I went to the corner and opened the portal.


    ¡°Let¡¯s ride a motorcycle and go to the museum.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What, what?¡±


    When I told Da-jeong the situation, she was ecstatic.


    ¡°BANZAIIII! A drive date!¡±


    It wouldn¡¯t be that exciting, though¡­


    I jumped onto the motorcycle and started it.


    Vrroom-!!


    Thick smoke came out of the muffler as I pulled the accelerator. Da-jeong jumped to the seat behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist. Before long, her hand was slowly going down.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be driving, don¡¯t touch it.¡±


    ¡°Noisy! Just drive!¡±


    The motorcycle raced happily down the open road.

 Chapter 168

    The apocalypse killed the city. The cars that filled the road during rush hours no longer existed. It was the hideous and vicious monsters that took its place instead. And only a handful of humans were struggling to survive by fighting them.


    Vrroooom-!! Vrrrooooomm-!!


    A muffled exhaust sound echoed through the road. Survivors who were preparing dinner in the nearby buildings were startled because of it and quickly opened the curtains to look out.


    ¡°What kind of motorcycle is that?¡±


    ¡°I think It¡¯s a motorbike from the Korean Shelter.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m envious¡­ That guy is carrying a woman behind him.¡±


    ¡°Look over there!¡±


    Moon Dae-ho and Moon So-yun siblings clung to the window and watched the woman sitting in the passenger seat pull out a sword from its sheath and slash an orc¡¯s neck as they passed by. Blood splattered in the air, and the orc, who had lost his head, crumbled into the ground.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t make any sense¡­ right, oppa?¡±


    ¡°Ye-yeah¡­¡±


    ¡°But oppa, didn¡¯t you think we have seen the driver somewhere before?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­¡±


    The siblings sat back down and forced themselves to eat the tasteless shop bread and the jerky. In Seoul, survivors who were not part of a powerful clan or had a high personal combat power, were in a rather dire situation; Their food situation had become grave since the end of winter.


    Since the beginning of the apocalypse, the monsters had eaten a lot of groceries in the mart. So, all that was left for the survivors were food stored in the residential area. However, that too had thinned out. After all, everyone was looking for food.


    Amidst the dire situation, most survivors didn¡¯t dare to approach the Time Shelter in Seoul. They believed that it was not something powerless survivors like them could touch. On top of it, the survivors also heard rumors that a few Time Shelters around the nation had been breached and looted. Therefore, they thought that if they carelessly touched the Time Shelter in Seoul, a lot of people who already had their eyes on it would come for them.


    That¡¯s the reason why the siblings and one other man were considering the option of joining the Korea Shelter.


    At that moment, the other man who since earlier had been staring at his Auction House window, suddenly spoke. ¡°It seems like that person is I Love Gimbap.¡±


    ¡°Sorry?¡±


    ¡°That I Love Gimbap is riding with a woman?¡±


    ¡°The woman riding behind him is probably Duck Butt.¡±


    At Lee Sang-shin¡¯s words, Moon Dae-Ho made a remark about the woman¡¯s ass. When his sister heard about it, she rewarded him with a slap in the back.


    ¡°Looks like you have fun ogling that ass.¡±


    ¡°What can I do when my eyes are automatically attracted to it?¡± Moon Dae-Ho shrugged.


    ¡°I thought it was strange for a woman to have an ID like Duck Butt. But now that I already see her, it is a fitting ID.¡±


    ¡°But Sang-shin-ssi, don¡¯t you know those people?¡±


    He shook his head and sat down.


    ¡°I know them, but they don¡¯t know me, maybe.¡±


    ¡°I doubt that¡­ Didn¡¯t you say you were viewer of I Love Gimbap¡¯s live stream?¡±


    ¡°Among the viewers, PoorMan was the most famous. Compared to him, I was nothing.¡±


    Lee Sang-shin, who said so, was a man in his 30s who has a telekinesis Unique Skill. Using it, he wielded a whopping five long knives to attack and defend. With proper support, he could even kill a werewolf. Although he¡¯s quite strong compared to many survivors, he did not join any clan. The reason was for only himself to know.


    So-yun asked while chewing the hard bread. ¡°But Sang-shin oppa. You said that I Love Gimbap was someone with big build, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, why?¡±


    ¡°I think he¡¯s someone we know. We met someone like him in the Gangdong-gu dungeon before.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Kim Dae-ho snapped his fingers at his sister¡¯s words. ¡°That man we saw was clad in a stab-proof suit and had a backpack on his back. He was also huge. When So-yun attacked, he stopped it without breaking a sweat.¡±


    Sang-shin let his mouth salivate by eating the salty jerky before using it to chew the shop bread and swallowing it. He felt it all over again, whoever made the bread being sold in the Item Shop deserves to go to hell.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ if that man had been I Love Gimbap, you would have died on the spot. He¡¯s not someone who let go of those who attacked him.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yeah¡­ That¡¯s the case, isn¡¯t it? I guess we were mistaken.¡± So-yun nodded. In fact, there was a reason why Seongho didn¡¯t kill her back then, but they didn¡¯t know about it.


    The three frowned and barely swallowed the store bread after chewing it through the entire conversation. Sang-shin muttered to himself as soon as the bread passed his throat.


    ¡°Sigh¡­ I want to eat rice soup¡­¡±


    ¡°Why do you want to eat it? There are many other foods which are more delicious than rice soup.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying? Rice soup is the best food in the world.¡±


    The siblings didn¡¯t agree with him, but they decided to let the matter go.


    (T/N I hope you guys remembered this guy!)


    .


    .


    .


    Thanks to driving around Yongsan-gu and killing monsters, Da-jeong had finally reached level 30. Just like me, her Unique Skill changed. Her zombie domination skill changed into monster domination just like what we expected.


    She was fine so far, but Da-jeong, who was reading the message, suddenly complained.


    ¡°WHAT IS THIS! WHY SHOULD I GIVE IT ETHERSTONES! HAVEN¡¯T I ALREADY DONE SO BEFORE!?!?!?¡±


    ¡°Those etherstones from before were for my portal, weren¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°Sighhhhhhhhhhh.¡± Da-jeong exhaled a long breath before pointing her finger at me, ¡°Give me etherstones! Now!¡±


    I indeed had some etherstone in the shelter. However, it was impossible to give it to her as I needed it to keep the blast furnace going so it wouldn¡¯t break. At that moment, a special portal opened. I put my hands on her shoulders and turned her body towards it.


    ¡°There¡¯s your etherstones.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± She seems to have nothing to say. I patted her shoulder before putting my palm on the portal. It felt nothing like my own portal; it felt like a normal wall.


    I waved my hand to Da-jeong after that. ¡°Get your backpack and go dig a lot of etherstone.¡±


    When I opened the portal to the shelter, Da-jeong entered. Not long after that, she came back with her gear, ghouls, Dingo and a Scarab. She said nothing and acted nothing like her usual self. It seems like she had totally given up from kicking any ruckus.


    After Da-jeong went on a quest, I looked at the area outside of where I was: a cafe inside the National Museum of Korea. The place was empty. It had no monsters nor people. The pond in the center of the room was half-melted and muddy.


    ¡°I think those people will come¡­¡± I murmured.


    As I pulled the Auction House window up, I saw Yoohyeon poking his head out from the still opened portal.


    ¡°Hyung, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Da-jeong just reached level 30 and had to do the quest. So I¡¯ll wait for her here.¡±


    ¡°Noona is already level 30? Wow¡­ By the way, hyung. We¡¯re all ready to move.¡±


    ¡°Wait a bit.¡±


    The moving plan was simple. I would open the portal and move all the supplies to Earth. Then, I would move to the new site, open the portal again to move the supplies there. It¡¯s like using Earth as a warehouse. However, I was wondering whether It would be better to move first or to secure the treasure first.


    ¡°I think moving comes first¡­¡± It was impossible to keep the treasure on the bare, damp floor. I had no choice but to hope that the rogues would not come here until the foundation to put the treasures was laid.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ the Auction House.¡±


    I browsed through the Auction House and looked at the auction items. The President only said that the rogues destroyed the museum¡¯s treasures, but turns out, it wasn¡¯t all. Those guys set a huge fire to the entire building. Thanks to that, the chaebols in Hannam-dong contacted me and there¡¯s chaos amongst them.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ the cipher¡­¡±


    When I entered the auction items of the chaebols of Hannam-dong, I saw Kim Ji-eun¡¯s comment.


    -The art gallery is on fire. Fortunately, it doesn¡¯t seem to have spread to nearby areas, but the artwork inside must have been burned.


    -Have you confirmed who started the fire?


    -Yes. The perpetrator was three people wearing weird masks. They set the fire with flame cans and gasoline.


    They used a flame can? That¡¯s a pretty hard thing to find. It¡¯s an absurd notion to use those rare items to simply set a museum on fire.


    When I looked at other auctions, I could see that people were angry.


    -We should catch those bastards. Just why in the world do they set the national treasures on fire? Are they really that bored?


    -What is the meaning of national treasures in our current world?


    -There¡¯s none. It doesn¡¯t mean much. But they should have left it alone. Why are they touching something which sat quietly in the art gallery?


    -There were more than 30 fucking national treasures in the museum¡¯s collection. They are now all gone!


    -Half of it was broken by the corrosive disease.


    -I don¡¯t care. Let¡¯s get those three bastards together. Those people were walking around together, isn¡¯t that an easy way to detect them?


    -Isn¡¯t it common for two or three people to go around together?


    -I know, right. I wonder how we can find them¡­


    I pretended I was not me and leaked information about three men wearing masks. Then the reaction came right away.


    -Oh, I saw those people going to the Hannam-dong hospital.


    -Let¡¯s go!


    The Auction House had always been a place full of chaos and all kinds of hate. But based on the fact that they all raged because of the national treasures, it seemed like the people there still have their pride as Koreans.


    I sipped the hot coffee I held and kept in touch with Kim Ji-eun. She reported the situation at the hospital which she observed using the drone.


    -Right now, people are gathering near the hospital. It looks like there are at least five people¡­ I¡¯m afraid a zombie raid will happen¡­


    -They must have gotten used to it. No response from inside the hospital?


    -Not yet¡­ Ah, the two of them went inside just now.


    They went inside without knowing what was inside? I applaud their bravery.


    I waited for a while, but there was no more information coming in. When I asked, Kim Ji-eun only answered that there¡¯s practically no movement in the hospital.


    -The hospital is quiet even when it¡¯s a little noisy outside.


    It was frustrating to just wait for the information to come. Da-jeong would need more time before returning, so it seemed like I should go there first.


    When the portal was opened, this time Mikyung¡¯s head came out. I smiled at her and said, ¡°Mikyung-ah, can you go with me?¡±


    ¡°Of course I can! Where are we going, oppa?¡±


    ¡°To a hospital near here.¡±


    ¡°Da-jeong Unnie went on a quest, right?¡± Mikyung giggled after saying that.


    Once I put the motorcycle inside the portal, Mikyung came out together with me while laughing. Then, she folded her arms around my arm and said, ¡°Put your seat belt tight.¡±


    We don¡¯t even drive a car, so what seatbelt?


    The scenery around me spun. Once it stopped, we already reached the roof of a church where we could see the hospital building.


    ¡°The hospital is smaller than I expected.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ Is it because the land price around here is expensive?¡±


    I ignored Mikyung¡¯s comment and gave strength to my eyes. Instantly, the inside of the hospital annex was revealed to me.


    Probably wondering what I was doing, Mikyung looked into my face. But before long, she hurriedly removed her head from my view. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. You were doing something important.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that important. I only looked at the hospital with my skill.¡±


    ¡°Whoa¡­ I want that skill too~¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you get one when the time arrives.¡±


    ¡°That means I should always stick close to you, right?¡±


    Mikyung held my arms as she said that. It didn¡¯t feel bad at all, but if Da-jeong saw her like this, it would probably cause a lot of commotion.


    At that moment, a scream was heard. I quickly noticed that two men who went inside were being chased by a woman in a nurse¡¯s outfit. I thought the concept was weird, but it turns out I couldn¡¯t be wrong anymore.


    The woman¡¯s hand reached out and grabbed the man¡¯s neck.


    ¡°AAGHHHHH!¡± I could hear how much it hurts even from so far away. As the man trembled, the nurse pulled him in.


    Using tentacles sprouting from her arm¡­


    By the looks of it, the woman was not normal. She must be cut from the same cloth as the doctor at the subway station who used the corpse of monsters as a weapon. I think I should start to think that those people who were still hiding their identities must all be like them.


    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous, so go inside.¡± I tapped Mikyung¡¯s shoulder as I opened the portal for her.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty strong too.¡±


    ¡°Just go. Your power isn¡¯t strong enough yet.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Mikyung answered weakly and entered. Moment later, Seokhyun came out. His face lit up as soon as he heard the situation.


    ¡°It¡¯s a nurse after a doctor, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. But her ability didn¡¯t look as powerful as the doctor¡¯s. Now that I think about it, she¡¯s doing something like brainwashing¡­ Look there, the man who was running away suddenly became quiet in front of her.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t brainwashing supposed to be activated through direct contact?¡±


    ¡°I guess there¡¯s a different way to use it. We just don¡¯t know about it yet.¡±


    Seokhyun scratched his bald head and said. ¡°One thing I know for sure is that she is our enemy.¡±


    Not only her, anything or anyone who threatened our survival was our enemy.


    As I was holding my breath and waiting, the nurse suddenly disappeared.


    Don¡¯t tell me, Blink?


    Just how many unique skills did she have?


    ¡°I can¡¯t stand it. I have to show her!¡± Seokhyun stood up and tried to take off his panties. Thankfully, I caught him just before his panty was ripped.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t, Seokhyun-ah.¡± It¡¯s not nice to see another man¡¯s ass right in front of my nose. ¡°Let¡¯s go inside and check what¡¯s going on first. It seems like the monsters haven¡¯t gathered yet.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    We packed our weapons and carefully entered the hospital. Since the sun was already gone from the sky, it was hard for us to even see an inch ahead in the dark hallway of the hospital.


    I stopped Seokhyun and handed him a Shadow Grape. A moment after we finished it, loud footsteps could be heard from the ceiling right above us. Seokhyun tilted his head and jumped straight into the ceiling.


    ¡°Hey, hey, wait a minute.¡±


    However, I was late. Seokhyun already reached the ceiling and punched a hole in it. Sighing, I jumped and reached the second floor through the hole. Once I landed, I saw three people with strange masks covering their face standing still while facing us. Judging from where we were, it seems like the three were just about to go down using the stairs.


    From the way they dressed, I was sure that the three people were the perpetrators behind the destruction of the museum.


    I approached them.


    ¡°You guys¡­¡±


    ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°Are you the one who set the museum on fire?¡±


    ¡°So what?¡±


    ¡°You should just leave it alone. Those things are precious treasures.¡±


    ¡°Haha¡­ A precious treasure¡­¡± The masked man at the forefront chuckled. ¡°It may be a precious treasure to you, but not to us.¡±


    Another masked man came out. ¡°Did you come here just because of that? I never though that the infamous I Love Gimbap, who had committed numerous murders, would have such sense of justice.¡±


    They know about me¡­


    Seokhyun picked his nose and asked me. ¡°You have such a thing?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡± I shrugged before walking towards the three masked men. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t have any sense of justice.¡±


    ¡°Then why are you here?¡±


    ¡°To kill you.¡±


    The masked men laughed almost at the same time.


    ¡°Can you really? You will just waste your resurrection scroll.¡±


    ¡°You are no ordinary bastard, huh?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡±


    At that moment, I felt a creepy sensation creeping behind me. I quickly pulled Seokhyun and ran to the hallway on our right side. What appeared in the place where I just stood a second ago was a woman in a nurse¡¯s uniform soaked in blood.


    ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to meet you¡­¡± The nurse said.


    At that moment, Seokhyun rushed to her with his fist clenched. She shook her head as if disappointed and to our surprise, struck Seokhyun with her tentacles and sent him flying back.


    ¡°GO AWAY! I don¡¯t want you!¡±


    ¡°Then who do you want?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s you.¡± The nurse¡¯s tentacles pointed at me. Even when I moved away, the tentacles followed my chest.


    Seokhyun wiped his lips and stood next to me. ¡°You are very popular, Seongho.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the use of being popular with things like her?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± The nurse shrugged her shoulders and laughed. ¡°It¡¯s been so long¡­ I really wanted to meet you, I Love Gimbap. Please don¡¯t say you don¡¯t know me.¡±


    Good, she wanted to converse. To be honest, I also wanted to know their identities and purpose.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Gimbap Eater.¡±


    Huh?


    She didn¡¯t mean that she literally wants to eat gimbap, right?


    Seokhyun put his shoulder on my shoulder and said in a serious tone.


    ¡°She¡¯s that guy. Your stalker.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± It seemed to be the case. Back in the game, there was a stalker who only followed me and disturbed me. Her level wasn¡¯t that high, but her success rate was pretty high because my character died several times thanks to her.


    I exhaled slowly and looked at her.


    ¡°Why are you doing this? I hope you haven¡¯t been like that since you awakened.¡±


    ¡°Like that? How can you say such things to this wonderful figure?¡± The nurse let the button on her blouse loose, revealing a sensual body inside. What she had there was bigger than Da-jeong¡¯s. But, it¡¯s not enticing at all. After all, it was not a human body but that of a monster.


    ¡°You are making my eyes rot. Cover it again, please.¡±


    Before the nurse could do anything, a werewolf appeared and broke the window beside us. Da-jeong, who was hanging on its back, rolled on the floor just before the werewolf crashed to the ground and only stopped when she hit the wall.


    As soon as she came to her senses, she stood up and shouted. ¡°Hey bitch! Who are you wagging your tail at? That¡¯s my man.¡±


    ¡°I am Gimbap Eater¡­ You don¡¯t know me?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you are her, huh? The stalker who followed Gimbap everywhere he went. Never thought you were a nurse.¡±


    ¡°Fufufu¡­¡±


    The nurse walked towards us sensuously; Her tentacles wiggled in the air.


    ¡°If it¡¯s me, I can satisfy you for hours. I Love Gimbap¡­ How about it? You just need to come with me if you want it.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Da-jeong snorted at her. ¡°He can do it all day long. Just get lost!¡±


    The nurse was startled at Da-jeong¡¯s words.


    ¡°A-all day?¡±


    Hmmmm¡­ I¡¯m not proud of it, but it¡¯s the truth.


    The nurse trembled and stretched out her tentacles. Seokhyun moved to my front and blocked it from reaching me.

 Chapter 169

    I was able to identify some skills that the nurse in front of me used. It was Blink and tentacle. On top of it, judging from the fact that parts of her body were reattaching itself to her body after being hit by Seokhyun, it was clear that she also had a regeneration skill.


    ¡®Neither the doctors nor the nurse are normal.¡¯


    The nurse stretched her tentacles towards Seokhyun at that moment. The air rippled as it brushed next to his head.


    Glancing to my side, I could see Da-jeong also jump to the side to avoid the tentacles. At the same time, Da-jeong¡¯s werewolf, which was clinging to the ceiling, ran at full speed towards the nurse.


    ¡®That¡¯s not an ordinary werewolf¡¯s movements.¡¯ I mused. It seems like it had received buffs from being tamed and became stronger.


    However, the nurse blocked its attack easily. She used her tentacle to wrap around the werewolf¡¯s neck and swing it around to block Seokhyun¡¯s attack.


    Seokhyun, who was just about to punch, pulled his punch back. A good call in my opinion as he shouldn¡¯t have attacked Da-jeong¡¯s werewolf. It¡¯s her first ever monster. So it would be special. If he killed it here, who knows what Da-jeong would do to him¡­ Or me¡­


    Da-jeong rushed in and the nurse threw the werewolf at her. Something which looked like tears could be seen in her eyes.


    ¡°I Love Gimbap is mine! But you! YOUUUU!!!!¡±


    ¡°Just who is yours? He¡¯s mine you bitch!¡± After avoiding the werewolf, Da-jeong raised the mithril blades in her hands and climbed the wall. A white brilliance emerged from the darkness along with a thump. Seconds later, I realized that Da-jeong had cut a few of the nurse¡¯s tentacles.


    However, the nurse didn¡¯t care at all and just continued to stretch her tentacles out to contain Seokhyun.


    Is there no limit to her regeneration ability?


    ¡°Heup!!¡± Seokhyun, who had been striking the tentacles for a while, grabbed a tentacle blitzing towards him without avoiding it. A struggle of strength ensued. And before long, Seokhyun came out victorious; He lifted the nurse away from the ground using his ogre-like strength.


    Just when Seokhyun was about to give her a taste of his high kick, the nurse¡¯s body disappeared and appeared behind me.


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    As soon as I heard her voice, I pulled out a mithril blade from the dimension slot and swung it towards my back. Blood splattered from the nurse¡¯s face and several of her tentacles fell to the floor.


    ¡°Kyaaaak!¡± She hurriedly backed away with a shriek, clutching her hand that had turned into tentacles with her other hand. Using that opportunity, Da-jeong and Seokhyun jumped towards the nurse again.


    Meanwhile, I could see the three masked men running towards me. All of them were screaming with their eyes red. However, my gut feeling told me that their red eyes weren¡¯t the result of fighting instinct skill. It was probably the effect from the brainwashing.


    ¡°I Love Gimbap! Do you know how much I wanted to meet you?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t say you don¡¯t know me!¡±


    ¡°You bastard! We will pay you back for what you¡¯ve done to us in the Wetland Labyrinth!!!!¡±


    Wetland labyrinth? Why in the world is that place coming out from their mouths?


    When I saw the weapon the masked mens¡¯ had in their hand, I thought that I had seen it somewhere. But since everyone was wearing a mask, it was hard to tell who was who.


    If that¡¯s the case¡­


    I put my mithril blade into the dimension slot and clenched my fist tight. The masked man on the left who saw the blade suddenly disappear twitched ever so slightly.


    ¡°Huh?


    I decided on you!


    I activated a few of my skills and ran towards the guy. The incoming long knife was a bit scary, but I decided to trust my senses as well as regenerative power and pushed on.


    ¡°HAAAA¡±


    ¡°Heeeub!¡±


    The long knives narrowly passed my shoulders and head. I bowed to avoid the targeted attack of the masked man and got up straight away. But he noticed my attempt to attack and immediately leaned back to avoid it.


    ¡®Look at this guy.¡¯ My eyes narrowed. Even someone with a high level of awareness wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid this. Which means, the masked man in front of me must have a sensory skill.


    The man retreated quickly, and another masked man swung his longknife with terrifying speed at me.


    ¡®This guy is a body strengthening-type.¡¯


    I blocked their attacks with a dimension wall and stepped back. Behind me, Seokhyun and Da-jeong were fighting with the nurse who was screaming strange noises.


    A smile crept across the face of one particular masked man.


    ¡°Heh, it¡¯s not as easy as before, is it?¡±


    ¡°Back then, you were lucky we were in a closed space¡­ You won¡¯t be as lucky this time around.¡±


    ¡°Have we ever met each other?¡± When I asked, all three of them shook their shoulders.


    ¡°Have we met? Are you seriously asking that? You met us in the Wetland Labyrinth. Have you already forgotten?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just kill that bastard.¡±


    ¡°If we break his head a little, he might remember it.¡±


    Now I was sure about their identity. The masked man trio were those who I killed in the Wetland Labyrinth because they attacked Geom-in.


    But, how can they be here? They were obviously dead.


    Resurrection itself was possible, but those guys had no Resurrection Scroll back then.


    Was there any kind of Unique Skill which could bring the dead back to life?


    I took out a mithril blade from the dimension slot at that moment. The three masked men who saw it mocked me.


    ¡°That bastard is flustered!¡±


    ¡°You murderer. Didn¡¯t we say we haven¡¯t killed anyone else before?¡±


    ¡°It must have been because you don¡¯t have the ability to do so.¡±


    ¡°You bastard!¡±


    The conversation ended here. Even if I couldn¡¯t kill them, it should be okay to cut their limbs. I climbed the wall and ran at them.


    ¡°That bastard climbed the wall!¡±


    ¡°What the fuck are you doing? Are you in the circus or what!¡±


    I spawned the dimension wall mid air and changed my direction using it. The masked men swung their long knives in shock when I suddenly rushed at them. However, the Mithril Blade was much harder than the longknife. Thus, when my sword clashed with theirs, their long knife shattered to pieces right away.


    ¡°Huh?¡± One of them let out such a voice as I grabbed the masked man¡¯s arm and cut its mask off his face. After some resistance, the man¡¯s arm was cut cleanly from the shoulder blade below. But to my surprise, the masked man who had to struggle with pain was able to push me away.


    Not only physical reinforcement, does he also have pain tolerance?


    As I was being pushed back, I observed the man¡¯s shoulder blade. There was nothing on it. Not even blood dripping out.


    ¡®These guys¡­ aren¡¯t human?¡¯ Then I¡¯ll kill them. I gave strength to remove the mask man that was stuck to me and also blocked the attack of the other two. Then, using the gap, I took out a shotgun from the dimension slot.


    When I finished reloading the shotgun, the Masked Man stuttered. ¡°If you kill me¡­¡±


    Bang! Bang!


    The masked man¡¯s head, which took the brunt of the impact of shotgun shells from close range, turned into a beehive in an instant. Surprisingly, he was able to hold on to his two feet for a few seconds before finally collapsing to the ground.


    Dajeong screamed at that moment.


    ¡°Seongho, you!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay! These bastards are not human!¡±


    ¡¸You have earned 10 points¡¹


    If I had killed humans, the points I would get was 50. Therefore, it was safe to say that this masked man was anything but human. Judging from their durability and point count, it looks like they were something like ghouls. But how did they turn humans into a ghoul?


    I aimed at the heads of the other terrified masked man. But at that moment, the nurse suddenly appeared. I quickly spread the dimensional prison in front of her as she approached with her tentacles wide open as if wanting to hug me.


    ¡°Kyaaak!¡±


    After the nurse disappeared with a scream, only the two masked men were left. Seokhyun and Da-jeong ran to them and started to beat them to pulp.


    ¡°They are not human, so you can kill them.¡±


    ¡°Not human? Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Okay then.¡±


    After a while, the two masked men met a tragic death. As expected, Da-jeong and Seokhyun did not become murderers. After that, we quickly circled the dimensional prison portal.


    Da-jeong crossed her arms and stomped the ground rhythmically with her feet.


    ¡°I overheard it just now, but you have already killed them before?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You were there too when I did it. They were the three guys who attacked Geom-in in the Wetland Labyrinth.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s them? They looked different!¡±


    I touched one of the corpses with my foot and showed her the part where I cut him.


    ¡°There¡¯s no blood, right? Moreover, I only got 10 points after killing this guy. It means, he¡¯s a ghoul, not a human.¡±


    ¡°Did they put a human soul into a ghoul body? Is that even possible?¡±


    ¡°There is a skill which resurrects someone as long as he has points, a skill that could fully resurrect someone wouldn¡¯t be so strange.¡±


    Seokhyun scratched his bald head and stood on where the nurse would come out.


    ¡°Then, there¡¯s a possibility that the woman is not human, right?¡±


    ¡°I think so. Though, I need you guys to cut her legs or arms first, not the tentacles to make sure.¡±


    Da-jeong thought for a long time and said, ¡°I¡¯m sure those who are behind the doctor and the nurse are experimenting with humans. The Sniffles and ghouls which act like humans are the proof.¡±


    I agreed with her.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they have an end goal¡­ let¡¯s hear the story when the nurse comes out.¡±


    ¡°Do you think she will tell us? First of all, she¡¯s a villain.¡± Da-jeong tilted her head.


    ¡°We have to show her that we are crueler than villains.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good way.¡± Da-jeong nodded.


    Eventually, the dimensional prison flung the nurse back to reality. Unlike when she entered, her nurse¡¯s uniform was now tattered in many places.


    ¡°UGHHHH!!!¡± Her tentacles and everything else was devoid of any strength. Her face was also painted with fear.


    ¡°I-I-I kept falling off the cliff! It was endless.¡±


    Without showing any pity, Seokhyun grabbed her from behind and while Da-jeong stood a few distance away to prepare if she escaped with blink.


    Contrary to their preparedness, the nurse only laughed. ¡°To think you can use your spatial ability like that¡­¡±


    I pressed the blade to her chin. ¡°I know you are not human. So it would not matter if I kill you. Now, I¡¯m going to ask you something, okay?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I already achieved my objective anyway¡­ What are you curious about?¡±


    Surprisingly, she surrendered easily.


    ¡°Tell me your identity and purpose.¡±


    ¡°If I tell you that, will you go with me? By the way, I didn¡¯t give up on you. Someday I¡¯ll eat you¡­¡±


    ¡°With what? You don¡¯t have any p***y aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I can just make one.¡±


    Is that so?


    Upon hearing her words, Da-jeong smiled and squatted down in front of the nurse.


    ¡°Do you want to do it together with us? Seongho¡¯s ass is really cool.¡±


    ¡°I like that proposition.¡±


    ¡°¡­it was my fault for believing.¡± I gave strength to the blade.


    The nurse said hastily after that. ¡°You¡¯re wasting your time. I will just come back to life.¡±


    ¡°You have a Resurrection Scroll? Why am I not surprised¡­¡±


    She pushed her long torn corners of her lips upwards.


    ¡°Scroll is outdated. Can you see the thing on my back?¡± When I looked at it, an unknown inscription was engraved on her smooth back. It seemed like it was the engraved version of the Resurrection Scroll.


    ¡°I have thought about it before. You guys have quite a bit of information; Your power also seems to be strong enough. So, why are you doing this?¡±


    The nurse answered with something we didn¡¯t expect.


    ¡°It¡¯s to live.¡±


    ¡°Tell us everything.¡±


    At my prompt, she smiled and continued.


    ¡°You guys are misunderstanding something. Even though we have had great power and have done many things¡­ We are just like you guys. We are just trying to survive in this apocalypse.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it too much for something like that?¡±


    She looked straight at me. From the shape of her mouth I could conclude that she was laughing.


    ¡°You have also killed people before, haven¡¯t you? We are just like you¡­ But, we just put the corpse to good use.¡±


    As always, talking to them was like talking to a wall.


    As soon as I heard the answer, I cut off her throat. Her severed head rolled on the floor and her skin stopped wriggling. After that, her body was engulfed in the light and disappeared.


    When Da-jeong was about to snap her fingers, I told her. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. After all, she died, she didn¡¯t use Blink to run away.¡±


    ¡°Shit¡­ I¡¯m so annoyed all of a sudden. We got no answer!!¡±


    ¡°We got one.¡±


    Seokhyun looked out the window as he said so. When we followed his action, we could see one of the men who was brainwashed by the nurse being attacked by survivors.


    ¡°Both the doctor and the nurse are not invincible. If we kill them, they die.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? Of course they will die if we kill them.¡±


    ¡°I mean, they¡¯re not strong to the point we can¡¯t fight them. We just have to level up and collect items diligently to fight them.¡±


    Well, what he said was right. If they were an absolute existence, they wouldn¡¯t have needed me in the first place.


    In other words, they were also like us; they couldn¡¯t use the entire system. However, as of now, it¡¯s clear that they¡¯re ahead of us judging by the fact that they had Resurrection Scrolls engraved on their bodies and their ability to resurrect the dead.


    I put my arms around Da-jeong and Seokhyun¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s work hard to raise our level.¡±


    ¡°But you know, I found it weird how the nurse is weak compared to the doctor from before.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because she¡¯s a nurse. She has less to study than a doctor.¡±


    ¡°What bullshit are you talking about right now?¡±


    We got out of the hospital talking about this and that with Da-jeong¡¯s werewolf in tow.


    .


    .


    .


    We devoted ourselves to hunting in the Yongsan-gu area. And just like me and Da-jeong, Seokhyun gained an additional effect once he reached level 30. His body was engulfed in light, and once he reappeared, his looks became astonishingly young. All of his tiny scars were also gone, and his slender body was devoid of muscles.


    Da-jeong touched Seokhyun¡¯s body while her eyes looked at him with eyes full of doubt.


    ¡°Be honest with me. You aren¡¯t Rapwi, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°SSEEEGGGGGGSSSSSSSSSSS.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you are him, huh? But how come your appearance changed so much?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. My body became much lighter. My stats have also increased by a lot.¡±


    In a nutshell, his body had been transformed into a body suitable for


    I opened the portal in front of the National Museum and started hunting. The matter of national treasure would be taken care of by the members inside the Shelter.


    When dealing with the nurse, I ate quite a bit of experience, so I quickly rose to level 34. Only when the shelter members asked me to move the portal a few days later did I rise to level 35.


    ¡¸Level has risen to 35¡¹


    ¡¸You have earned 20 points¡¹


    ¡¸As you has reached level 35, an additional effect will be added to your unique skill¡¹


    ¡¸Dimensional Warehouse¡¹


    ¡°Did anything good come out?¡±


    ¡°The skill name is Dimensional Warehouse. It sounds shabby, but it should be surprisingly useful.¡±


    If it has the effect I wanted, it would be perfect.


    We decided to return to the museum and look at the additional effects.


    ¡°Open the Dimensional Warehouse.¡± As soon as I finished speaking, a large door appeared in the vacant lot in front of the museum. Compared to the commonly used portal, it was several times larger in size. Since Da-jeong and Seokhyun¡¯s mouths were open, it seemed that it was visible to both of them.


    ¡°Wh-why is it so big?¡±


    ¡°Even the truck will be able to come in.¡±


    As I entered, a huge space greeted me. Da-jeong knocked on the door from outside, but there was no sound. I waved my hand to her and looked around. The sheer size of the place would accommodate few houses easily.


    ¡°The air is a bit stuffy, though¡­¡±


    The floor and walls were all made of white material. When I knocked at them with all my power as a test, it didn¡¯t even budge. I went out and took Dingo into the warehouse. Unexpectedly, the guy stopped moving immediately after entering.


    ¡°Dingo. Hey Dingo!¡±


    The guy who had just jumped in suddenly ceased to move.


    Does time stop in this place?


    Am I moving because I am the owner of this warehouse?


    ¡°If time stops, it means that anything I put inside wouldn¡¯t be damaged, right?¡± It¡¯s a setting that only appeared in a fantasy novel, but since our current world didn¡¯t come short compared to any fantasy novel, I¡¯m not surprised at all.


    I was satisfied with the functionality of the warehouse. All in all, it¡¯s a cheat-like skill. When I took Dingo outside, he panted and ran again, continuing from the point before he froze. Then, I explained the functions of the dimensional warehouse to Da-jeong and Seokhyun.


    ¡°If you put food inside, I don¡¯t think it will ever rot.¡±


    ¡°I think so too.¡± When I tested it, the food also froze in time.


    Da-jeong pulled my cheek as soon as I went outside.


    ¡°Only you get all the good things. You greedy man!¡±


    Anyway, now I had a place to store the treasures. I eagerly carried the treasures that the shelter members had moved to the warehouse. The treasures kept in the art museum which was burnt were those that were less famous, but the ones here were real national treasures.


    As I gave up on things that were too big like a stone pagoda and made my way to the National Museum, spring came.


    On a certain day, I saw a grotesque plant perched on the ground around the pond that grew at an incredible rate.


    At that sight, I realized.


    The erosion had started.

 Chapter 170

    In the blink of an eye, the month changes to March. The cold faded away and new life began to wriggle to existence. However, it was not lifeforms from the old Earth before the apocalypse that occupied the land of Korea, but instead spores from another world that occupied it. It¡¯s all due to the gates, which opened all over the place, sending spores to Earth. The amount was so great to the point the sun could not be seen properly for several days. Thanks to that, people were terrified and did not dare to go outside without wearing masks.


    But what really mattered was what happened after. The spores settled down on every soil it could find and grew rapidly into something bizarre that Koreans have never seen before.


    -Why the hell do those plants look so disgusting?


    That particular comment went viral in the Auction House because so many people replied to it. Plants from another world ate up native plants of Earth and took up all the empty lands. Plants with thorns on their stems were the basic, some of them even had slimy or bloody parts growing on them. Of course, it¡¯s not real blood, but a red-colored sap that has a strange effect on living creatures. However, even when the survivors know about the fact, the existence of those substances was enough to scare the hell out of them.


    If it just ended at that point, it wouldn¡¯t become that much problematic. But it¡¯s not. The plants of the other world could grow to enormous sizes. And when they reached that point, some plants could even eat people.


    Users who played Survival Life before then posted information regarding the plants on the Auction House.


    -You¡¯ll have to be more careful from now on. If not, you will be caught while walking on the road and get eaten.


    -Imagine a plant that grew in the 3rd floor of a building suddenly wrapped you with their vines. What will you feel?


    -What if I was dragged to the third floor like that?


    -The main body of the plant was there. It has a body that looks like a large sunflower, and it will swallow you up and digest you verryyy sloooowwwllyyyy, giving you a slow, painful death.


    -Fuck¡­ It¡¯ll be even more tiring.


    -I heard that those plants had appeared somewhere in the region. If I¡¯m not mistaken, it¡¯s in Gyeongnam?


    -Anyway, let¡¯s be careful. Those plants could even kill monsters easily, so if we are caught by those plant monsters, it¡¯s the end.


    -It¡¯s better to die outright than to die a slow and painful death.


    Zombies that roamed in the street become good nutrients for these plants. After absorbing them, the plant monster would grow larger. In the most severe case, the plant would even erode an entire building.


    The phase after that was where the ghoul plants bloomed. As it contained the spores which turned them into ghoul in the first place, it still retained the basic function of a ghoul: the capability of eating organic matter to get energy. Once it was full enough, the ghoul flower would explode, infecting all the monsters around it.


    As a result, variants, such as goblin zombies and orc zombies, appeared. These variants had more strength and stamina than their original counterparts. On top of it, their agility is also quite high, and their numbers are also numerous; making the already hellish life of the survivors even more difficult than before. However, there was more important information than that fact: being bitten by these new variants would turn the victim into a zombie.


    When the government shelter announced it, the Auction House turned upside down.


    -Damn it!


    -Those spores must have evolved quite a bit while being inside the skull. Damn wicked bastards!


    -We will turn into zombies one hour after being bitten? If someone around us is bitten by the new zombie monster, do we have to kill them?


    -If they become a zombie and then bite you, you will become a zombie. So¡­


    -Dammmit! Who said spring is the season of love? The world become an even more fucked up place!


    Meanwhile, some people in the Auction House were kicking a fuss saying that they had discovered a new kind of drug.


    -Guys, do you know? If you open the fruit around the ghoul flower, a white powder will come out. You can roll it up with paper and smoke it like a cigarette.


    -What is the effect?


    -I feel drowsy and a little bubbly. My senses also seem to be dulled.


    -To think even drug addicts have appeared. The world had become a true shithole.


    -Fuck you. I do drugs because it¡¯s hard to live. Who¡¯s going to say anything about that?


    -Ignore him. It¡¯s your choice. No one can say anything.


    -I picked fruit from a plant monster¡­ Can I eat this?


    -Don¡¯t eat it. They were all made by plant monsters to lure food.


    -But this is very tasty. It looks like an apple on the outside, but tastes like a sweet orange.


    -Shall I pick it up and eat it too¡­


    After plants, animals from other worlds, such as rabbits, deers, and wild boars also appeared. They all wandered through the street; a sight which normally couldn¡¯t be seen in Korea.


    The survivors who saw those animals cheered and hunted the animals. To them, who had been fighting against monsters almost everyday just to survive, animals were nothing but easy prey. The problem was, if they wanted to hunt the animals, the chance of being captured and eaten by the plant monsters would also increase. All in all, the world had become even more savage than before. Hunting and being hunted was now the norm.


    After monsters and plants, even animals appeared in the Auction House, but the question of why humans, or other intellectual creatures from other worlds didn¡¯t appear became an issue.


    -Probably, they all died?


    -A pity¡­ I want to see an elf.


    -I guess there are no elves in another world.


    -What a stupid another world.


    Anyway, people all have found their own way to live. Those who die will die, and those who will live will live.


    .


    .


    .


    We moved to the area suggested by Geom-in. The river on one side and seas on the other side became a natural shield for us, so the risk of being attacked by monsters was reduced considerably. On top of it, water was easy to obtain too. And since the site was a flatland, there was no difficulty in building the fortress.


    After disassembling the sandwich panels, Geomin proposed a way to build a large warehouse by connecting them in a straight line.


    -It would save us some space if we built it this way.


    When we finished assembling it, to my surprise, it really did save a lot of space. At the same time, the shelter members started to build the fortress under the command of Geom-in. The size of the fortress was several times larger than my previous shelter, but the barbed wire could be laid without any problem. After all, there was a river and sea guarding the site on two fronts.


    -The barrier will be our first line of defense, The barbed wire is the second, and we will build a wall with cement for the third line of defense.


    Since the site was located on a hill, our view was not blocked even if the fortress walls were built a bit high. While the other members were working hard to build the wall, Yoohyeon concentrated solely on designing the water pump.


    Meanwhile, me and the other stagnant waters were busy building a temporary dormitory by setting up a tent using the leftover sandwich panels according to the instructions of the Geom-in.


    ¡°It would be best to build a hut, but it will take a lot of time, so we have to make do with this for the time being.¡±


    ¡°Will it be okay? There¡¯s no soundproofing at all.¡± Da-jeong said before went into the tent and made a lewd noise. ¡°AH~ AH~ AH~!¡±


    She then came out and asked the other members who just stood still, dumbfounded.


    ¡°Did you hear everything?¡±


    ¡°Wait a bit, Unnie¡­ That noise just now¡­ What kind of noise was it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my moan!!¡±


    Everyone just looked at her before sighing. They had already gotten used to Da-jeong¡¯s perverted nature, so they didn¡¯t react as wildly as before.


    After receiving their answer, she came to me and patted me in the ass. ¡°They can hear all of it. So, if we want to do it, we should go to the dimensional warehouse.¡±


    ¡°People can¡¯t enter that place.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the portal like that too in the first place? I¡¯m sure the restrictions will be lifted later.¡±


    When I went inside, everything except me stopped, I was wondering what it would be like if other people could move there too.


    After mulling about it for a few moments, I shrugged and got back to things I needed to do. I opened the dimensional warehouse and moved all the food inside. If this ability had come out a little earlier, I would have been able to pick all the short shelf life food I found. What a pity¡­


    But if I always dwell on the ¡®what should¡¯ve been¡¯, there would be no end to it. It was better for my mental health to be satisfied with the privileges I have been given and what I have in the present.


    ¡°These things are what I¡¯ve been hoarding for months. To think I can move it all without breaking a sweat in one go¡­¡±


    While I was working, Yoohyeon came to me.


    ¡°Hyung, is it enough for the tank to be this big?¡± He asked as he showed me a paper with the design of the water tank drawn on it.


    ¡°Since there are nine of us here, shouldn¡¯t it be a little bigger?¡±


    ¡°In that case, the motor should have more output, wait a minute.¡± He calculated on the spot for a few seconds before smiling broadly. ¡°This might be enough.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief.¡± I said. But as I was going to move the supplies again, Yoohyeon opened his mouth again.


    ¡°But hyung, doesn¡¯t it look like we are playing Cavecraft?¡±


    ¡°Cave what?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Cavecraft; a game. As soon as we start that game, we will fall into a different world. There, all we do is dig, build a house, and survive.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just like when I first came here.¡±


    ¡°What did you do back then, hyung?¡±


    ¡°After opening the portal, I found this forest. With a backpack on my back, I went looking around.¡±


    ¡°It must have been fun¡­¡±


    ¡°You really think so?¡± I laughed. ¡°Did you know I met an owlbear in the valley and had to run away?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ I forget. You didn¡¯t even have a gun back then¡­¡±


    I recalled the memories from that time.


    ¡°I hunt around the forest with a machete if I remember correctly. However, after discovering the cave and starting to hoard some supplies, things got a little better.¡±


    After hearing my story, Yoohyeon pretended to dig the ground with a shovel.


    ¡°If we dig here, what will we get, I wonder? A mineral?¡±


    ¡°Follow me, I¡¯ll show you what you will get.¡± I took him and showed him the ore warehouse.


    ¡°It¡¯s really similar to Cavecraft¡­ is there anything else?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I found these things some time ago.¡±


    Yoohyeon¡¯s eyes widened when I showed the old leather backpack I found in the stone monkey¡¯s nest to him.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t something you made, Hyung?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it too old for something l made? What¡¯s inside¡­¡± I stopped and looked around the area for Geom-in. Once I found him, I continued. ¡°Geom-in, come here for a sec.¡±


    When Geom-in came to me, he instantly became excited when I showed him the old book.


    ¡°Did you find this here?¡±


    ¡°Originally, there¡¯s stone monkeys around the shelter. I found it in their nest.¡±


    ¡°The letters used in this book are the same as those letters from books I found in dungeons back in the game.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s not the monsters who wrote it, but people.¡±


    When I pointed my chin to the stag beetles working in the garden, Yoohyeon asked hurriedly.


    ¡°Are they people?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know well, since in the game, they didn¡¯t exist. But over time, I¡¯m starting to know a little bit about them. They are mostly vegetarians and like to grow crops. They also have a good relationship with Elderwood¡­ They handle trees well too. What, or to be exact, who comes to mind when you hear about that?¡±


    ¡°Elves?¡±


    ¡°If you go and ask them, I bet you¡¯ll get bitten.¡±


    Yoohyeon smiled awkwardly.


    ¡°Hyung, are you joking?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    ¡°An elf¡­ must be tall, white-skinned, and have long ears¡­¡±


    It seems Geom-in has now entered the land of imagination.


    ¡°Well¡­ They certainly aren¡¯t. Though, I don¡¯t know for sure whether they are really elves or not at this point.¡±


    ¡°No, looking at their attitude, it¡¯s clear that they are forest elves, which were said to be a reclusive tribe, and would always be hostile to outsiders¡­¡±


    Now he¡¯s just writing a novel.


    Geom-in and Yoohyeon urged each other to go and asked the stag beetle.


    ¡°You can decide with rock-paper-scissors.¡±


    Once they were done, Yoohyeon was crying over his loss. With hunched back and careful steps, he walked to the garden.


    After a while, a short scream was heard from the garden.


    ¡°Ouch!!!!¡±


    See?


    I told you they¡¯d bite.


    .


    .


    .


    For helping Jang Won-taek with the national treasure matters, I was promised two things. The first one was 30% of the government shelter supplies. While the second one was the Yongsan bunker.


    Jang Won-taek informed me that he would give me my shares after the Korean shelter was established, and I only waited without saying a word until now.


    Few days after March came and the erosion started in earnest, I finally got a call from them. Lee Beom-seok came and guided me and Seokhyun to the warehouse.


    While we arrived, Jang Won-taek was waiting there with a calm face. ¡°Welcome. I haven¡¯t been able to see your face these days¡­¡±


    ¡°Since there are more people now in my place, I am busy building more shelters.¡±


    He smiled faintly at my answer.


    ¡°There are a total of ten people¡­ No, since Hyung-jun-ssi is still in our shelter, so it¡¯s nine? Anyway, it should be a fun time. It¡¯s like camping with like-minded people.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that easy to the point you can call it camping.¡±


    ¡°Haha, since I¡¯ve never seen it, my imagination is getting wilder. Let¡¯s not waste anymore time. Come this way.¡±


    The warehouse was almost the size of a playground, and all kinds of materials were stacked there. From what I heard from Geom-in, the first plan was not to build it this big, but it was clear that the plan had changed in the middle.


    When Jang Won-taek¡¯s hand pulled the tarpaulin covering something, at least hundreds of hard disks were revealed.


    ¡°These hard disks contained dramas and entertainment programs we got from the broadcast station directly. There are also movies. But, we downloaded it from a torrent.¡±


    I asked while smirking.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that illegal? Can the government do that?¡±


    ¡°Do you want it or not?¡± Jang Won-taek smirked too.


    I said frankly.


    ¡°Of course I want it.¡±


    Unlike the other materials, there was a risk that the hard disk would not work if I didn¡¯t take it now. I want to take as much as possible, but to do so, I need to reveal additional effects of my unique skill.


    Seemed like I couldn¡¯t help it. On top of it, There¡¯s also no harm in revealing it here¡­


    Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok¡¯s eyes widened as I opened the dimensional warehouse.


    ¡°What is this big door?¡±


    ¡°Big¡­¡±


    ¡°It is a dimensional warehouse that only me can enter. Time does not pass inside.¡±


    ¡°Time? Does that mean that nothing would change inside at all? Physical changes? Chemical reactions, like food rotting and other things like that?¡±


    ¡°I tested it with warm water and it worked. It didn¡¯t cool down at all when I put it inside for some time.¡±


    ¡°Haha¡­¡±


    Jang Won-taek caressed the door as if he couldn¡¯t believe it. Then, he asked. ¡°By any chance, the treasures from the museum?¡±


    ¡°Except for things that are too big like stone pagodas, it¡¯s all inside.¡±


    ¡°Well done. You¡¯ve done a splendid job.¡±


    In the spur of a moment, he grabbed my hand and shook it. It was not a big deal, but being thanked wasn¡¯t bad at all. Good job, past me!


    At that moment, Lee Beom-seok whispered something in Jang Won-taek¡¯s ear.


    What is that guy doing? Don¡¯t he know I can still hear him?


    ¡°President, are you planning on giving all this to him?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Why? You disagree?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not in a position to disagree with you, but from my point of view, you are giving too much¡­¡±


    ¡°In this case, we should give him much. After All, he had helped us to preserve our culture.¡±


    Jang Won-taek looked at me and smiled. ¡°Seongho¡¯s ability is definitely great. I had a headache a while ago, but now I feel better.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because of the stories going around in the Auction House these days. People said they had found drugs¡­¡±


    ¡°Drugs? AH¡­ Those things?¡± I had heard about it too. When a ghoul reaches its final stage, it would transform into a flower. This flower produces a white powder inside the fruit it makes to lure its prey. In the game, I didn¡¯t pay much attention to it because the effect only made the screen shake and made it hard to control our character.


    However, when it appeared in reality, the white powder was surprisingly effective. Rumor had it that there¡¯s also an idiot who gets caught while approaching the flower and gets eaten by it.


    The flowers and the plants were all written in the walkthrough pamphlet. And even though I had spread the information through the Korean shelter, it seemed like people still didn¡¯t take it seriously.


    Jang Won-taek had a very serious face while opening his mouth. ¡°There are also some groups of survivors which concern us greatly. It was the Chinese survivors in Bucheon and Incheon, which are said to be gathering all Chinese from all over the country. They also used humans as bait to gather those drugs¡­¡±


    That was a solid proof of how the apocalypse can drive everyone crazy, without any exceptions.


    Jang Won-taek asked me. ¡°And amidst the chaos, a battle royale will take place?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It will probably happen after the owlbears appear.¡±


    ¡°A battle royale on Earth¡­ Which means, everyone has to live apart from each other. I¡¯m worried if they¡¯ll follow my guidance well¡­¡±


    At his words, I remembered a man who asked Jang Won-taek why he was not allowed to carry a weapon around.


    ¡°I have a question, why did you accept all of those guys? When the battle royale event begins, those guys will definitely cause an accident.¡±


    ¡°I admit it was the old way. But I believe that when people come together, they will get stronger. A single branch is easily broken, but when several branches are put together, it isn¡¯t as easy to break it, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    At that time, Seokhyun, who was working on moving the building materials, suddenly stopped on his track. It seems like he felt challenged by Jang Won-taek¡¯s words. He walked towards a piece of wood used as a pillar and then broke it into two with his bare hands.


    Jang Won-taek¡¯s mouth hit the ground at the sight. It seemed like he was at a loss for words when a piece of wood almost as thick as a human waist broke at once.


    Then he said timidly, ¡°It seems like there are times when it¡¯s better to be alone if you¡¯re strong enough, heheheh.¡±

 Chapter 171

    Lee Beom-seok walked towards the supplies and told me he would choose my share of supplies from the warehouse. When I heard it, I instantly replied that I would take care of it myself.


    His expression soured at my words. But it¡¯s not without reason, because the reason I want to take my own share was so that I would be able to pick up a little bit more than the promised amount. If Da-jeong was here, she would have patted my ass while whispering that I have no conscience.


    Anyway, I put my promised amount in the dimensional warehouse. The original promise was 30% of the whole supplies, but it was simply impossible to get that exact percentage. For example, when there are five motorcycles, wouldn¡¯t 30% land the number in the decimal? What should I do if that¡¯s the case? Just take the wheels? So in the end, I only took two motorcycles.


    In the midst of moving the supplies, Da-jeong¡¯s head popped out of the opened portal. ¡°Is Rapwi busy now? Let me borrow him for a bit.¡±


    Well, I could lend him¡­ But,


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Poor Man is now herding fishes using dolphins! It¡¯s really fascinating!¡± Da-jeong shouted.


    I was wondering what the hell was going on so I entered the portal with Seokhyun. When I went in, I could see a truly fascinating sight on the sea: Schools of fishes swimming towards the shore because of the dolphins chasing after them.


    ¡°Wow! That¡¯s amazing!¡±


    ¡°Jiman! More!! More!!¡±


    Everyone was jumping on their feet as they shouted towards Jiman who was swimming together with the dolphins. Moments later, a shoal of fish that flocked to the beach to avoid the dolphins appeared on the surface. There seemed to be at least several hundred fishes there.


    Da-jeong, who was excited, rolled up her sleeves and shouted. ¡°Hey, bring the net!!!¡±


    ¡°Okay, Unnie!!¡± Mikyung ran and threw the net towards the water. At that moment, I squatted down and looked at the fish caught in the net.


    ¡°This is good¡­¡± I smiled, savoring the peaceful sight.


    ¡°Ahaha!¡± The excited Mikyung laughed as she danced on the shallow water. It was exactly the same dance I saw on the Pale_Skin_Dancer video from before. It was good. Not, that¡¯s an understatement. The combination of the background, her dance, and her face was nothing but a masterpiece. It was something which would easily reach millions of views if MeTube still exists.


    At least,


    Until Seokhyun started imitating her dance.


    ¡°Seriously, man!¡± I sighed. A bald man wearing only panty moving his pelvis sensually was the last thing I ever wanted to see here.


    I got up, dusted the sand off my ass, and went back to the government¡¯s warehouse. Since I was the only one who can enter the dimensional warehouse, it shouldn¡¯t be too much of a problem to move all my shares alone.


    ¡°First, let¡¯s take most of the hard disk.¡± Jang Won-taek had decided to entrust the cultural heritage he had backed up on the hard disk to me. Later on, if he requested me to return it, I would bring it to them.


    The dimensional warehouse freezed the object¡¯s time at the point of its entry. Thanks to that, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about its safety because of the passage of time.


    ¡°Next is¡­ food. Is this packed with mixed gas?¡±(?????) It was really surprising to see cheese powder, a food that contained a lot of fat, wasn¡¯t spoiled yet after being packed. It was certainly different from what I had imagined. As expected from the power of the government.


    ¡°For food, I should focus on things I don¡¯t have.¡± Since I have an overflowing amount of rice, there¡¯s no reason to take more from the government. I walked around the warehouse and packed up supplies I didn¡¯t have. I couldn¡¯t be more proud of myself after seeing the goods piled up one after another in the empty dimensional warehouse.


    ¡°I must take some weapons too.¡± Beside normal guns, there are also heavy weapons stored here. It¡¯s a gun that pours out 12.7mm armor-piercing ammunition¨Cthe exact same weapon that Hyun-woo was so proud of.


    With this gun, I would be able to defeat not only the monsters that had appeared so far, but also the ogres without any problems. It was quite a heavy weapon, weight wise. However, it¡¯s not something that my high stats couldn¡¯t fix.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that there aren¡¯t that many bullets here¡­¡± But, it¡¯s not a problem since I could just create more with the help of the scarabs.


    ¡°The weapons are a little lacking here.¡± Most of the materials stored in the warehouse were food and daily necessities. Well, I could just pick some up later in the Yongsan bunker.


    I spent several hours putting the things I needed, such as medical supplies, building materials, books, and electronic devices into the dimensional warehouse.


    ¡°This¡­ is a gold bar, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    When I saw the 999.9, GOLD engraved on its body, I craved it for some reason. Even though I know it¡¯s currently useless in the apocalypse, and looks like it will always be the case, I pretended to be dumb and took half of the gold bars stored. Who knows? Maybe it will be useful later on.


    After putting the motorcycles and the spare parts to the dimensional warehouse. I left the government warehouse. When I came out of the hidden entrance, it was quite noisy outside. It seems that there¡¯s a lot of new arrivals registering at the office.


    I was trying to pass by without causing a ruckus, but suddenly 2 men and a woman walked up to me.


    ¡°By any chance, do you recognize us?¡± The woman asked.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Who are you again?¡±


    One of the men and the woman have similar faces, are they siblings?


    The woman who stood in front of me asked with a complicated face. ¡°Didn¡¯t you fight us back then?¡±


    ¡°You were the only one who fought, not us. Moreover, that fight couldn¡¯t even be called a fight, you know?¡± The man snorted.


    Ah¡­ I remembered the girl! She was the woman who argued with me for monopolizing the dungeon. At that time, I thought she was one of Hyun-woo¡¯s party members, so I only hit her in moderation before leaving.


    She bit her lip as she remembered what she had done back then, but she didn¡¯t back out. Instead, she held out her hand.


    ¡°It could be said that our meeting was something planned by fate, so it¡¯s nice to meet you. My name is Moon So-yoon. My unique skill is not brainwashing, so rest assured.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an acceleration unique skill, isn¡¯t it? My name is Kang Seongho.¡±


    ¡°My name is Moon Dae-ho. I¡¯m her big brother.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes.¡±


    After finally greeting each other, So-yoon stared at me.


    ¡°You know, at that time, I already thought that you are I Love Gimbap. Why don¡¯t you tell us your identity? It could end badly for us.¡±


    ¡°If I reveal my identity carelessly, it would be troublesome for me.¡±


    She looked at her brother and the two shrugged.


    ¡°Well, since the Auction House cursed you that much, I guess it¡¯s only natural for you to do it. But since you have killed an ogre, you don¡¯t have to do so anymore, right?¡±


    ¡°I was lucky.¡±


    The more I talked with them, the more I realized they were not people I would have to be wary of. However, that sentiment had not reached the one other man yet. The guy had played Survival Life before. He looked like he was around my age, but he said nothing throughout the conversation.


    He only introduced himself once we finished talking. ¡°My name is Lee Sangshin, I played Survival Life for about a year. My unique skill is telekinesis.¡±


    He looked at me and flinched, then slowly turned his head away. By the fact that his heart was beating rapidly, I think he had something to say. But why did he say nothing?


    I got out of the office and opened a portal at the place I decided together with my team. It was to make it easier for them to come and go. However, there were not many people who used it because they had to spend 100 points every time they entered after exiting.


    Then, I entered the portal.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Hyung, I found this.¡± Jiman said as he showed me an unusual mushroom nestled in his hands.


    ¡°Where did you get this from?¡±


    ¡°You know the old leather bag you gave us? Yeowool looked around the area marked in the book inside the bag. It was a dangerous place, so she got help from Da-jeong noona.¡±


    So they did things I¡¯d been pushing back since I don¡¯t have the time to do it.


    I gently stroked the mushroom wrapped in the mud that Jimani had brought.


    ¡¸Fire Mushroom¡¹


    ¡¸Effect: Increase all stats by 1 for 3 minutes¡¹


    Back in the game, this mushroom was the only item which could increase all stats at the same time. Although the duration was short and it only increased the stats by 1, it was still a precious item. However, this mushroom was difficult to cultivate and cumbersome to eat during battle.


    ¡°As far as I know, this only grows on the remnants of ghoul flowers, but¡­ were there any flowers to burn there?¡±


    ¡°Yes. This is the picture Yeowool took by using a drone.¡±


    Look at this guy, being so handy with everything¡­


    Looking at the picture, I could see the burned remnants of a ghoul flower. So, it was safe to say that there were ghouls in the North Black Forest. However, since ghouls were something which used to be humans, does that mean that there used to be humans here?


    ¡°Jiman.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Hyung.¡±


    ¡°Tell Yeowool to scout the Black Forest in a more detailed fashion. Tell Yoohyeon to continue to draw maps too.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Hyung. But what should we do with this mushroom?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit difficult to eat it as is¡­ How did we grow this, I wonder¡­¡±


    I brought my laptop and went through the list of my videos. As far as I could remember, there was only one broadcast related to fire mushroom; it was very brief to boot.


    ¡°Where is it¡­¡±


    As I was struggling, Jiman pointed out one particular file with his finger.


    ¡°This file, Hyung.¡±


    ¡°How do you know?¡±


    ¡°I remember everything that Hyung broadcasted.¡±


    ¡°You remember that?¡± I curled my brows at him.


    Looking at the video, there was a part that briefly explained the way to cultivate fire mushrooms.


    ¡¸Where can this fire mushroom be grown? When you burn a ghoul flower, it leaves a plate-shaped remnant, right? You can grow it in liquid there. But it is difficult to raise because it dies easily. On top of it, there are times when a lot of monsters are coming after it.¡¹


    We listened carefully to the explanation, then looked at each other and grinned.


    ¡°If I bring you the remnant, can you help me grow it?¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me, Hyung.¡±


    I nodded my head. Since he¡¯s someone who befriends sharks and dolphins easily, growing mushrooms should be nothing to him. The quality would also greatly improve by Jiman¡¯s ability, so it was worth looking forward to.


    By the way, I have to go find the ghoul flower. An ogre corpse came to mind when I was looking for a place where the plant grows the strongest. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a huge ghoul flower blooming there. After all, ghoul flowers suck up organic matter around them, and nothing is better as a nutrient for them than an ogre corpse.


    However, the museum was quite far from the government shelter, so I would need Mikyung¡¯s help to get there faster. These days she always wanted to help me, so she¡¯s been hunting hard.


    The higher the level, the more points people could accumulate. Which means, the burden of entering and exiting the portal would lessen for them. With the exception of the stagnant waters, other members were hesitating in coming out of the portal often, except for Mikyung.


    ¡°Mikyung, can you help me?¡±


    ¡°Oh, please wait a minute, oppa¡± Even though she said that, she came out of the stone wall in 10 seconds.


    ¡°Is it okay if you don¡¯t guard the wall?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Goblins can¡¯t even come because they¡¯re afraid. Hehe.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡±


    We crossed the portal and came out to the Korean shelter. As soon as we left, we could hear people shouting.


    ¡°It¡¯s Violet¡¯s Soye!!!!!!¡±


    ¡°Wow, Soye was alive!!!¡±


    Violet?


    Isn¡¯t that the idol group famous for their sexy dances?


    I could see Mikyung¡¯s expression hardened with the tail of my eyes.


    .


    .


    .


    As expected, idols were different. Even from a distance, I could tell that Soye was skinny and had a really small face. She was tall and had makeup on, which made her even more stand out than normal survivors.


    To think she wore makeup at this kind of time¡­ She¡¯s clearly full of leeway.


    Unbeknownst to me, Mikyung got nervous and just grabbed my arm and matched my each and every step like a duckling while looking at the ground.


    ¡°Is there something on the ground? Why do you keep looking at it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡­¡±


    ¡°Did you feel jealous?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that¡­¡± Seeing Soye surrounded by people, she bowed her head again. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m a fake¡­ the dance I used to dance¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­.¡±


    It seemed like the dance that Mikyung performed in the Pale_Skin_Dancer video was originally Violet¡¯s dance. I put my arm on Mikyung¡¯s shoulder.


    She sighed and looked up at my face.


    ¡°In my eyes, the dance you do was better, though? You are prettier too.¡±


    (T/N SMOOOOOTHHHHH OPERATOOOORRRR.)


    Mikyung¡¯s big eyes fluttered at my words. Her expression seemed to loosen, but then, she lowered her head again.


    ¡°No, no, no.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t believe me? You are prettier in my eyes.¡±


    ¡°Anyone could tell that she¡¯s prettier than me. Look at how small her face is.¡±


    To be honest, I also admired Soye¡¯s appearance. But she was someone who had nothing to do with me.


    I tapped Mikyung¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t you have really nice skin? You also have a high level and are good at hunting. Is it not?¡±


    ¡°Well, I admit I do have nice skin.¡±


    Her skin was white enough to the point Da-jeong just called her Albino rather than her name. Seeing that she still retained her white porcelain skin even in the sunlight of another world, she must have been born with it rather than getting it artificially. Well, the Elderwood¡¯s sap must have helped her too.


    Mikyung grinned as she hesitantly showed how confident she was.


    How can someone change their mind so easily?


    We continued walking after that. Our plan was to go to the dorm and eat something there, but Jang Won-taek found us first.


    We chatted in front of his office.


    ¡°Seongho, would you like to have dinner together with me?¡±


    I raised my brows at his question. This guy was not someone who asked other people to do something as mundane as this for nothing. There must be a reason why he suddenly asked me to eat with him.


    ¡°What are you going to ask me this time¡­¡±


    He waved her hand at my accusation.


    ¡°It¡¯s not because of that. I asked you because there¡¯s someone who wants to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ If I have to guess by your action, it¡¯s someone that just came here isn¡¯t it? Is it Violet¡¯s Soye? I wonder why she wanted to see me when we don¡¯t even know each other.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know each other? I heard that you met her CEO at their villa in Hannam-dong before.¡±


    I did. It seems he went back to his bunker and told his celebrities about me. This bothers me. I was planning to find the ghoul flower that ate the ogre corpse, but it seemed like I would end up wasting my time.


    No wait, she lives near the art gallery, so maybe I can ask her?


    It¡¯s a little too much to ask Yoohyeon and Yeowool for something like short reconnaissance¡­ So yeah, let¡¯s do it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it, then.¡±


    After a while, I was invited to a restaurant with Mikyung. What came out as food was far better than the poor meal the government shelter used to serve.


    After waiting for a while, Soye and a woman who I saw for the first time came along with Jang Won-taek.


    ¡°This is Kang Seongho, the strongest psyker at the moment.¡± Jang Won-taek said.


    When I asked what kind of grandiose word it was, he replied that it meant psychic.


    Soye ruffled her long hair behind her back as she greeted me.


    ¡°Hello, Mister Seongho. I¡¯ve heard many things about you.¡±


    ¡°I see. I guess you heard from CEO Lee of Hannam-dong.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Wow¡­ you really look like this.¡±


    ¡°Sorry?¡±


    Soye covered her mouth. She was and was about the same eye level as mine.


    ¡°I saw the museum a few days ago. The monster called ogre is really huge. They say it smashed the art gallery.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal because we caught it together.¡±


    I honestly thought so, but it seems to have been taken differently by her.


    ¡°How can you be humble? My heart is trembling to meet you like this. You are the best psyker.¡±


    I have a strangely suffocating feeling from this girl¡¯s words¡­


    If Da-jeong had been there, she might have grabbed her by the neck while warning her for wagging her tail. I glanced to my side and saw that Mikyung was depressed once again.


    Jang Won-taek looked at me and suggested that we sit down.


    ¡°The food will be cold, so let¡¯s start the dinner first. I don¡¯t have anything special set up, but please, eat to your heart¡¯s desire.¡±


    I asked after we were around halfway into our dinner.


    ¡°You said you went to the art museum a few days ago, right? How is the place these days?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I heard that a big flower has bloomed there. What kind of flower was it again¡­¡±


    The woman sitting next to her chimed in at that moment.


    ¡°It¡¯s a ghoul flower.¡±


    ¡°Is it big?¡±


    ¡°People said that it can¡¯t be compared to other ghoul flowers. But why are you asking that¡­¡±


    I lowered my voice and told them my plan to get rid of the ghoul flower. Jang Won-taek, who heard the story, could not continue to speak as if he was moved.


    ¡°Hu¡­ To think you will do such things because of those drugs¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­Yes?¡± He seemed to have misunderstood something.


    ¡°Drugs from ghoul flowers are ruining a lot of people. There are even heinous cases where they use people as bait to gather them¡­ It¡¯s great that Seongho is going to take care of those huge ghoul flowers.¡±


    ¡­I was just trying to get rid of the flowers to grow the fire mushrooms, though?


    The two women from Hannam-dong did not even speak, but it¡¯s clear that they were moved.


    Things had gotten weird¡­

 Chapter 172

    The ghoul flowers made the white powders to lure their poor victims. At first, people did not know about the existence of the powder, as it was hidden inside the fruits. On top of it, the surroundings of the flowers were extremely dangerous, so no one dared to venture towards the main body of the plant.


    Ghoul flowers need organic matter to grow, so they used the fruits grown on their stems to bait all kinds of wild animals, so that they would go closer to it. Then, as monsters, who saw the flock of animals, would naturally be going as well, seeing so many defenseless prey flocking together, they would also get closer towards the vicinity of the ghoul flowers.


    However, there are some people who fearlessly went to the ghoul flowers¡¯ main body. They avoided the whip-like vines that extend far from the body, in order to collect the fruit that looks scrumptious. The white powder from the fruit was the one that turned the Auction House upside down.


    -Ah¡­ This is really a drug~ Ah~ I feel like flying~


    -Doesn¡¯t it taste a little funny?


    -Where did you get it?


    -There is an art museum in Hannam-dong. It was picked from the ghoul flower there. It was said that the fruit was as big as apples, so there was a lot of powder.


    -Hmm, is that powder a drug? Is eating it all I should do to get the effect?


    -No, No, they said you need to inhale it. but for more details¡­


    -If you use the powder during sex, it¡¯s awesome.


    -Have you used it?


    -Of course. The strange thing is, even though all my senses become dull, my little guy down there has become soooo sensitive! The effect will drop quickly, but if you inhale the powder again while doing it, it does not end!


    -Hmmm, you are really a drug addict.


    -What¡¯s wrong with that? It¡¯s not like it has any bad side effects.


    -Is there really nothing?


    Some people whined that they picked fruit from a ghoul flower near them, but it didn¡¯t work as well as described.


    -It¡¯s true that it made me a little drowsy, but when it comes to sex, it¡¯s nothing special.


    -It¡¯s probably because the ghoul flower is small.


    -Ah, should I go to Hannam-dong?


    -How big is the ghoul flower over there?


    -It¡¯s big enough to occupy the entire art museum¡¯s building.


    -Why is it so big?


    -There¡¯s an ogre corpse that I Love Gimbap killed there. The flower that grows there is absorbing it.


    -That¡¯s awesome.


    The size of the ghoul flower tends to be proportional to the size of the carcass it was based on. The ghoul flower that occupied the ogre¡¯s corpse was so huge that they covered the building. Thanks to that, the entire art museum was transformed into something which looked like it came out straight from a movie. All kinds of deformed plants covered the site, and all sorts of animals that people had never seen before, as well as monsters trying to prey on them, flocked in.


    Everyone just decided that the danger that came from the plant is insignificant in comparison to the prize, and called those who picked the fruit as heroes.


    The eyes of the Auction House people were focused on the Hannam-dong Art Museum.


    -The place is worth living as long as you watch out for monsters and flowers, they said. There¡¯s also a lot of animals in the area.


    -Is it okay to eat the animals? I was so cautious to the point I didn¡¯t dare to even catch it.


    -Don¡¯t hunt anything that looks weird; catch a deer or a wild boar.


    -If you look properly, those animals are being chased by monsters every day, so it¡¯s a bit hard to catch them¡­


    -Come to the provinces. There aren¡¯t many monsters in the province.


    -And there¡¯s also no people there¡­ What are we going to do there?


    This eroded world did not just bring despair to people. New ecosystems have been created, providing new fruits, crops and meat. People went hunting, and the Auction House became more active than ever.


    Occasionally, there were people who bought strange things and got sick.


    -Fucker who sell a f*cking weird meat yesterday, come out!


    -Will that person really see this section?


    -I said, Come out you f*cker! I¡¯ll kill you.


    -Bro, what did you do with the meat?


    -I roasted it. After eating it, I vomited all day long¡­ It felt as if all the liquid inside my body had been poured out.


    -It was actually me who sold the meat.


    -You fucker! Tell me where you live!


    ¨C I won¡¯t tell you :p.


    Since the Auction House was a place that guaranteed everyone¡¯s anonymity. There have been many cases like that. Nothing could be resolved by complaining, so people had no choice but to be careful.


    Meanwhile, the Korean Shelter started collecting information after receiving reports of poisonous plants and animals.


    All in all, people were currently adjusting to the eroded world.


    .


    .


    .


    Thanks to Mikyung¡¯s blink, we managed to forego the process of walking for hours and


    moved to Hannam-dong in an instant. Oh Jung-min and Lee Min-soo, who heard the news that we are in Hannam-dong, quickly invited us to their bunker, but we turned it down. Afterall, we were here for that big-ass ghoul flower, not for a visit.


    ¡°It¡¯s really big¡­¡±


    Probably because it ate an ogre, it was bigger than any ghoul flower I had ever seen. Hundreds of stems wrapped around one building, turning it into something horrifying to look at. Vines which hung down from the top of the building were the whip wielded by the flowers.


    ¡°That looks more dangerous than anything else I¡¯ve ever seen.¡±


    When it comes to ghoul flowers, it¡¯s easy for people to let their guard down. After all, it was nothing but plants. But once they got hit by its vines, they would change your mind without a doubt. The thorns on the vines secrete poison, so if it hits you, even just a scratch, you would be paralyzed and dragged into the flower. It¡¯s not as potent as a goblin¡¯s paralyzing sting, but it can¡¯t be resisted with any skill. The end of those who were dragged like that was crystal clear. They would suffer for hours while their whole body melted away, turning them into nutrients for the flower.


    ¡°I¡¯d rather commit suicide than dying that way.¡±


    I asked Mikyung to look around for a while before paying attention to the Auction House.


    ¡°These bastards had gone crazy.¡± I murmured. They showed a behavior which could be seen in all drug cartels around the world: Fighting for control. The clan who was currently controlling the area was a clan from another area, not a chaebol group from Hannam-dong. They openly declared that the flower was theirs, and they were kicking a lot of fuss.


    -Hello This is the Itaewon Clan. We would like to inform you that we are in control of the ghoul flower at the museum .


    AIgoo¡­


    -Our control period is 3 months, and the section consists of 3 roads leading to the museum. For reference, it is best not to approach the forest behind as it is teeming with monsters.


    -The purpose of this control is to ensure a stable supply of ¡°Ecstasy¡±, so we ask for your cooperation.


    Ecstasy?


    It seemed to be the name of the drug made from the ghoul flower¡¯s powder.


    -For reference, our Itaewon Clan joined hands with a bunker in Hannam-dong. We cannot guarantee your life if you approach it recklessly. That is all.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± I folded my arms and looked out. Clearly, the road leading to the museum was sealed off, as I couldn¡¯t see anything roaming around. If a monster appears, it immediately gets turned into a beehive.


    The Itaewon Clan has guns.


    ¡°They have joined hands with a faction, huh?¡±


    Maybe it¡¯s not people I knew. I don¡¯t know all of the chaebols in Hannam-dong, so there¡¯s nothing I could do on that front. But when it comes to the control policy the Itaewon Clan is enacting¡­ I surely could do something.


    The Itaewon Clan seemed to be monopolizing the Ecstasy and selling it to the Auction House. Ecstasy from other ghoul flowers was known to be weak. At the Auction House, there were several people who ranted about it, and said that the Hannam-dong Art Museum¡¯s ghoul flower was the answer.


    ¡°Did they do something like this because we taught them how to make the totem?¡±


    Korean Shelter have spread their zombie-fighting totem crafting recipes. Thanks to that, some shelters who got their hands on Elderwood had already made it. The Itaewon Clan seemed to be one of them. Zombie raids didn¡¯t happen around the area no matter how many people stayed in the same place.


    I looked at the ghoul flower covered in stems in the distance.


    ¡°I have to go inside¡­¡± The plant was enormous to the point that it¡¯s hard to kill it with only one or two rockets. If I went inside and hit the core directly, the flower would die. The problem was that we didn¡¯t know the structure inside. If it was that big, it might not just have one core, but several.


    After waiting for a while, Mikyung appeared and fished out her phone from the depth of her pocket.


    ¡°Oppa, look at this, I took a picture.¡±


    ¡°Core pictures?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s the core, but it was some strange lumps.¡±


    To think that someone as timid as her dared to go inside and took a risk just for a picture¡­


    ¡°Good job, very good job.¡± I praised her.


    ¡°Hehe.¡±


    She showed me the picture while clinging to me. On the screen, I could see four large lumps wriggling inside a layered shell.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be hard to destroy those even with a rocket gun.¡±


    ¡°How did you do it in the game?¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t kill those plants in the game. After all, if we let them grow for a long time, they would turn into a very fun attraction.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re absorbing living things right now, aren¡¯t they? That energy goes to the roots. Once it has enough energy, the roots will extend all over the place and overturn the surrounding roads.¡±


    ¡°You leave such things alone?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Because it was fun back in the game.¡± I smirked. The thing I described would not happen right away, so it should be okay to leave the ghoul flowers alone for a while.


    In any case, the ghoul flowers destroy its surroundings and expand the ecosystem using that method. Then, the world will finally turn into a fantasy world for real.


    I recalled the time when I was playing in the middle of that fantasy ecosystem back in the game at that moment. ¡°Later on, a giant tree that can bend well, almost like a rubber band, will come out. When one person hangs from the end of the tree, the other person will make a noose with a rope and put it on an ogre. Do you know what will happen next?¡±


    After hearing my question, Mikyung rolled her eyes hard.


    ¡°Uh¡­ if the ogre pulls the rope, the tree will bend, right?¡±


    ¡°At some point, the rope will snap. And then the tree will send people flying. Just like a catapult.¡±


    ¡°Oh my god!!!¡±


    Mikyung¡¯s face turned into a bewildered face.


    ¡°That¡¯s how the three of us play back in the game.¡± I said with a tinge of embarrassment.


    ¡°Where is Geom-in? Was he being shunned?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that. He joined us from time to time, but he mostly spent his days in his shelter. His collection is more important to him.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why he made a separate hut¡­¡±


    ¡°He had already made it?¡±


    ¡°Yep. Seokhyun oppa is currently helping me build mine.¡±


    Seemed like they were working hard. Borrowing a hand to smash the ghoul flowers wouldn¡¯t be an option, then. Let¡¯s just figure it out on our own.


    ¡°Neither a grenade nor a rocket will do the job¡­¡± I murmured as I looked through the list of Yongsan bunker¡¯s items I got from Jang Won-Taek. It¡¯s also difficult to use a mithril blade against it. If I cut the stems, dangerous juices will splash out. I could surely survive it, but I don¡¯t want to take an unnecessary risk.


    After reading the paper some more, I found a particular weapon that made me murmured ¡®This is it¡¯.


    It was a flamethrower.


    ¡°There is nothing better than this to burn plants.¡±


    When I tapped the paper with my finger, Mikyung pointed to her chest.


    ¡°Oppa, I¡¯ll bring it. Please tell me the location.¡±


    There is a hole that goes down to the bunker, but¡­


    ¡°Will it be okay?¡±


    ¡°I can do that. Please leave it to me.¡±


    After I let her go, I checked the Auction House. Oh Jung-min¡¯s secretary, Kim Ji-eun, was calling me.


    -Have you met Soye yet, Mister Seongho?


    -I have.


    -Uh¡­ That¡¯s it?


    -I told her to wait because I need to get rid of the ghoul flower. She¡¯s probably in the Korean bunker right now.


    -Is that so? I understand.


    -By the way, Ji-eun. Do you know which bunker is connected to the Itaewon Clan, by any chance?


    The answer came a while later.


    -I¡¯m not sure¡­but it¡¯s probably not from Hannam-East. After all, we don¡¯t have enough supplies as is. So forget about selling it to others.


    If that¡¯s the case, I think it¡¯s something they got from the spare shelter. There were rumors that people had found a reserve shelter in Gangbuk.


    A new comment from Ji-eun appeared.


    -You seem to be nearby, is it okay if we go there?


    -It¡¯s dangerous, so you¡¯d better stay out of it.


    -Now, the time has come for us to take that risk too¡­ I will never resent you if we end up dead.


    I didn¡¯t fancy the idea of letting someone I didn¡¯t trust to watch my back, so I refused it. However, undeterred, Ji-eun offered me some propositions.


    -If you allow us to be there, we¡¯ll give you a Russian sniper rifle. Of course, the bullets will be included too.


    Just how much did these people prepare?


    Anyway, I had no reason to refuse.


    -That¡¯s fine. The location is¡­


    After telling her the location, Da-jeong and two werewolves appeared one after another from the opened portal. Shel called them Wolfies. Compared to the other monsters, they were really cool.


    ¡°Seongho, what are we doing here?¡±


    ¡°Killing that plant.¡±


    She watched the ghoul flower outside the window. Then she stood in front of me and wrapped her arms around my neck.


    ¡°How about using Ecstasy other than the fire mushrooms? They say that it works great.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a drug.¡±


    ¡°So what? No one can say anything about it.¡±


    Da-jeong leaned close to me with her mouth puckered like a duck. Quickly, I moved my hands to cover her mouth with my palm.


    ¡°Yeah, maybe no one could say anything. But monsters will surely give an example to them. With death, no less. We all know eating anything that blurs our mind is not good.¡±


    ¡°Eup.¡±


    As I pulled my palm away from her mouth, Mikyung suddenly appeared. She sees us hugging and her eyes widened.


    Da-jeong stepped out of my arms and smiled.


    ¡°Oh my, our Albino is here. What is that?¡±


    ¡°I-it¡¯s a flamethrower¡­ Oppa wants me to get it.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to burn the ghoul flower with this thing?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    After I learned how to use the flamethrower, I put it into the dimension slot. Now I have to break through those bastards.


    Da-jeong said.


    ¡°By the way, Rapwi goes to the Black Forest to collect Elderwood sap.¡±


    ¡°Did Yeowool go with him?¡±


    ¡°It looks like he decided to take the kids one after another. But, I¡¯m worried. Didn¡¯t you say Elderwood was very picky?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You can¡¯t touch it by mistake.¡±


    ¡°That pervert¡­ I¡¯m worried about what he¡¯s going to do.¡±


    I¡¯m kind of anxious about that, too. Still, I had no choice but to believe it because they must have taken a scarab or a stag beetle with them. Let¡¯s just focus on my own job.


    When I explained the situation, Da-jeong frowned.


    ¡°Territory battle? It¡¯s not even an online game, why the hell would they do that?¡±


    Then there was a commotion. I saw a group of people pouring out of the building and approaching the museum. Gunshots were heard, and to my amazement, several fell while grabbing their legs.


    ¡°Aww!¡±


    ¡°Fuck that¡¯s hurt!¡±


    It seems that the controlling side was focusing on shooting on the legs. Everyone¡¯s strong, so they won¡¯t die.


    I organized my thoughts.


    ¡°First, let¡¯s warn them through the Auction House. Who knows? Maybe they will be wise enough to leave.¡±


    Da-jeong crossed his arms and snorted at my words. ¡°They will back down after giving a warning by directly shooting at people? They will never do that.¡±


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s just try.¡±


    I found an auction with a warning from the Itaewon Clan. In the comment section, everyone was swearing.


    -Fuck you bastards, go to hell!


    -Just because you have guns!


    -I¡¯m sorry, but no matter how much you bark, we will not let go of our control. Don¡¯t waste your time and just go back.


    Ah, it seemed like the last guy was someone who was affiliated with the Itaewon Clan. He pretends to be polite, but I know that when his mask was removed there would be nothing but rotting flesh.


    I wrote a comment after checking his name with Eyes of Truth.


    -Seong Sang-geun. What did you get from looting the spare shelter?


    -Is your name Seong Sang-geun?


    -Are you the clan leader?


    The answer came a while later.


    -I don¡¯t know who you are, but I will kill you if you act carelessly.


    -But I¡¯m I Love Gimbap?


    When I identified myself, no one commented. However, moments later, a new comment from Seong Sang-geun was posted.


    -It doesn¡¯t matter even if you are I Love Gimbap. You were just lucky to be able to kill the ogre.


    -Is that so? Do you think you¡¯ll be able to kill it?


    -I have a gun, so it¡¯s possible.


    Look at this bastard¡­


    Da-jeong¡¯s expression changed at that moment. She then posted her own comments.


    -I¡¯m Duck. Stop blocking the way so we can get rid of the ghoul flower.


    -Just who do you think you are?


    Huh?


    Da-jeong and I looked at each other without uttering a single word. Seong Sang-geun then poured out comments which make it clear to us that he¡¯s angry.


    -Who are you to tell people what we should do? Do you want to be Jang Won-taek?


    -It has nothing to do with that man.


    -It doesn¡¯t matter. I know that he said Ecstasy is bad for the body.


    Look at this guy¡­ It¡¯s clear that he had planted a spy in the Korean Shelter. Well, that¡¯s a matter for Jang Won-taek to figure out, not me.


    I warned him.


    -Just let us pass when we are still asking nicely.


    -What is it for? Is it because you don¡¯t like drugs? Get rid of that stupid sense of justice!


    -Sense of justice? Will it feed me? I don¡¯t have such things. I do it just because I need it.


    -Tell me why you want to get rid of the ghoul flowers.


    -Because I want to get rid of it. Isn¡¯t that enough?


    -Fuck you asshole. I always hate you. Just come if you dare, because I¡¯ll kill you with bullets.


    As always, talking with these kinds of guys was harder than talking with Da-jeong¡¯s zombies. Well, if he wants a fight, I would bring it to him.


    I said while making the Auction House window disappear. ¡°Mikyung you should stay here, and Da-jeong, follow me.¡±


    ¡°Wow, will we do a frontal breakthrough? Bullets will come flying!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just use this opportunity for skill testing.¡±


    I drank the Elderwood sap and ran towards the building I had seen beforehand. As I walked in the air, two men who had cigarettes in their mouths were startled. But it was too late.


    I approached them through a broken glass window.


    ¡°You guys from Itaewon Clan?¡±


    ¡°Do-don¡¯t come!¡±


    The two of them looked frightened.


    As I continued to approach, they both pointed their guns at each other.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move or I¡¯ll shoot!¡±


    ¡°Shoot.¡±


    ¡°I WILL REALLY DO IT!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, do it.¡±


    bang!


    Right after the explosion, I could feel pain in my right thigh. However, before long, the Primal Life skill was activated, and my skin was quickly restored and the bullet was slowly being pushed out. When regeneration was complete, the bullet fell to the floor.


    My vision turned red and the Berserk skill was turned on.


    Cigarettes fell from their mouths.

 Chapter 173

    ¡°Ackkkkkkkkkkkk!¡±


    After the chorus-like screams broke out, Da-jeong hugged Mikyung from behind.


    ¡°Is it okay for us to just stay here?¡±


    ¡°He seemed to be doing just fine, why should we bother?¡±


    Outside, gunshots and screams were heard. As Seongho jumped over the wall, human bodies flew like leaves in the middle of a storm.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡¤¡±


    ¡°You know, you shouldn¡¯t be worried about him. After all, once he fights, he¡¯s as wild as a beast.¡±


    ¡°Then what should we do now?¡±


    ¡°You just have to wait patiently here.¡± Da-jeong gently placed her hand on Mikyung¡¯s body. ¡°As for me, I want to check how big our albino has grown.¡±


    As usual, Mikyung was almost in a state of giving up.


    ¡°Hm? What is this, is it mulberry? Didn¡¯t I tell you to grow it more?¡±


    ¡°Unnie, about that¡­¡±


    While the two of them were having a girls talk, several people came up from the stairs. It was Oh Jung-min and Soye. The two were startled to see a few werewolves standing inside the office, but they didn¡¯t scream. After all, both of them knew who the arrogant beauty in front of them was: A stagnant water who has the ability to control zombies, ghouls, and monsters. Choi Da-jeong.


    ¡°E-excuse me¡­¡±


    When Oh Jung-min spoke, Da-jeong looked towards the two coldly.


    ¡°You guys need something?¡±


    ¡°W-we got permission from Mister Seongho. He said we could come here¡­¡±


    ¡°Aha! But, what should we do? I think it would be difficult for you two to even observe him.¡±


    As Da-jeong stepped away from the window, they saw someone running wild in the street out of the building. Oh Jung-min and Soye moved towards the window and looked around.


    ¡°Oh my god¡­ is that really a human?¡±


    ¡°From his build, I think he is really Seongho. But¡­ But¡­¡±


    ¡°He looked like a werewolf, didn¡¯t he? Well, relax, it was just because of skill.¡±


    Da-jeong did not say what kind of skill it was, though. The skill Seongho used was the Primal Life skill that he obtained from killing the ogre. It was a hybrid skill, which contained the effect of Vigor skill, which gives the user an undying vitality, and Super Regeneration skill, which gives the user incredible regenerative power.


    Both skills have good effects, but the real jackpot was the effect of Berserk skill. It was a skill that only a few monsters, including ogres, have. It greatly increases attack power at the cost of slightly lowering the user¡¯s defense.


    Thud~!!


    Whenever Seongho moved, a loud noise traveled through the entire area and whenever he stepped on the ground, the area around it cracked.


    Oh Jung-min and Soye leaned over the window frame to see more clearly. Behind a fence, Seongho was using someone¡¯s body like a club to beat others who were swarming to him. His movement was like a beast; It was rapid to the point that, in the blink of an eye, people were thrown away to the ground and flew into the air.


    Even the guns in their hands were meaningless in front of him. The two of the assailants cocked their guns and started firing at Seongho. To Oh jung-min¡¯s and Soye¡¯s eyes, the bullets had pierced through Seongho.


    However, in the next instance, both of them realized that they were wrong. The two men had their arms broken and their body was tossed aside by Seongho.


    ¡®If it¡¯s like this, what use is an observation like this¡­¡¯ Oh Jung-min smiled sadly and took his eyes off the window. He was originally going to make Seongho join him, but the option was now completely out of the equation. It occurred to him that the shelter that he¡¯s going to build soon in Hannam-dong alone was far from enough to satisfy him. Authority means nothing to a beast that runs wild in a bloody prairie.


    ¡®I should approach him from another angle.¡¯


    There was a need to change the goal to acquiring friendship rather than recruitment. But what would satisfy him?


    Seongho liked weapons, but rather than giving him weapons, he wanted to put his hopes on Soye at the moment. Since she still had the halo of a former idol, combined with her appearances, it was clear that even the beast-like man would pay attention to her.


    ¡®But the two of them are concerning¡­¡¯ Oh Jung-min¡¯s eyes drifted to the white-skinned woman with bob hair and Choi Da-jeong, a stagnant water. Suddenly, Choi Da-jeong obscured Soye¡¯s view as she watched Seong-ho¡¯s fight without hesitation.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    ¡°What are you looking at with so much excitement?¡±


    It was clear from her tone that she was annoyed. But Soye was not reckless enough to the point she would try to just fight her.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m just watching.¡±


    ¡°Did you fall for him? Let me tell you, if that¡¯s the case, you shouldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Why? Is there any reason why I shouldn¡¯t fall for Seongho?¡± Soye raised his chin and curled her brows. In the past, there would have been no reason for her to pay attention to Seongho. In a peaceful world, a man¡¯s worth was determined by his looks, intelligence, assets, his charm, including his speech, and so on.


    However, as the times shifted into a turbulent era called apocalypse, combat power and supplies took precedence over other factors. In that respect, the human named Seongho was overwhelmingly superior to all other men. It¡¯s not to the point where she couldn¡¯t even look at his face, it¡¯s just that his muscular body excited her.


    ¡°Because I am Seongho¡¯s wife, lover, sex partner, and friend!¡± Da-jeong smirked; Her momentum was like an active volcano. ¡°If you wag your tail in front of my husband without my permission, I¡¯ll cut your tail off and feed it to my monsters. You understand?¡±


    Soye couldn¡¯t utter any more words in front of Da-jeong and just puckered her lips out. Meanwhile, Oh Jung-min smiled bitterly and turned his head. His plan of using Soye was now rendered meaningless.


    Around the same time, they all sensed the commotion at the museum site. When they looked there, they saw monsters coming in droves.


    Da-jeong glared at Soye, then snapped her finger.


    ¡°Mikyung, let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°To where?¡±


    ¡°To Seongho. You don¡¯t have to fight, so just hang on to the wolf¡¯s back.¡±


    Mikyung screamed as one of the werewolves raised him to the back of the other werewolf before jumping away.


    ¡°Mommy!!!¡±


    As they traversed through the air, the tanks and grasshoppers waiting below quickly followed them.


    Oh Jung-min let out a long sigh at that moment.


    ¡°They are not people we can help out.¡±


    ¡°I think so too¡± Soye nodded her head eagerly, but she was still looking at Seongho¡¯s back. He retrieved the firearms around him, put them somewhere, and took out an expensive mithril blade.


    Why did you take it out?


    Just as she was questioning his action inside her head, a thick vine whip appeared.


    SWOOOOOSH~!!


    A silver flash cut through the air, and the thick vine whip was cut powerlessly and wobbled on the floor.


    Soye was mesmerized by the sight.


    .


    .


    .


    The Itaewon Clan, which imposed control to all areas in the vicinity of the museum, was quite large; They had 35 people in their ranks. Working with a chaebol from Hannam-dong was nothing but their bluff. In fact, he actually teamed up with several clans to rob a spare shelter.


    The control was considered to be successful, thanks to the variety of firearms which they got from the spare shelter. They could earn huge points by monopolizing the high-quality Ecstasy from the ogre¡¯s ghoul flower.


    At least, everyone thought so.


    Everything became a mess by the sudden intrusion of I Love Gimbap. He issued a warning through the Auction House and immediately started beating the clan members. Most of the clan members, or to be exact, thirteen people from the clan are protecting the area while being armed with guns, so who would be brave, no, stupid enough to even try fighting all of them?


    But I Love Gimbap was a madman. He beat up those clan members bare handed.


    ¡°Ackkkkk!¡±


    ¡°The bullet came out from that bastard!!!!¡±


    ¡°I saw it! I saw bullets coming out!¡±


    Testimonies pouring out along with the scream of the clan members. Some clan members were shaking and urinating when they heard of it. Some of them even suddenly disappeared after crashing into a portal which suddenly appeared.


    Seong Sang-geun, who joined the commotion the latest, went crazy.


    ¡°Where did Eunjae and Mingu go?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know! I think they went missing because they went inside the wall that suddenly showed up in front of them!¡±


    ¡°Ten people went out and everyone was knocked out? Does it make sense?¡±


    Seong Sang-geun thought that I Love Gimbap¡¯s plan was to kill them all, then killing himself to get rid of the murderer penalty. But turns out, that wasn¡¯t the case. After all, he couldn¡¯t hear any heartbeat at all.


    Seong Sang-geun ripped his hair out. Because of one person, the foundation of his clan was destroyed.


    ¡°We can¡¯t continue like this¡­¡± He regretted to the death that he clashed with I Love Gimbap in the Auction House, but he couldn¡¯t back down now.


    What should I do now?


    At that moment, Seong Sang-geun remembered the time when he lost his clan member to the ghoul flower. The ghoul flower¡¯s vine whip was incredibly strong, but it couldn¡¯t find an invisible opponent. With his stealth characteristic, he could aim for I Love Gimbab without being threatened by the vine whip.


    ¡®He doesn¡¯t know that my unique skill is stealth¡­¡¯


    Even if he had acquired the ogre¡¯s skill, it was unlikely that his senses would be extremely good.


    ¡®I can shoot him with a grenade from a distance¡­¡¯


    Although the flight trajectory was slightly visible, it shouldn¡¯t be slow enough to the point it could be avoided. Even if he reacts, it should be difficult for him to get out of the explosion radius.


    ¡®Okay¡­¡¯


    If his subordinates got rid of the monster and zombies around the area, he thought there would be no problem in getting into the ambush position.


    He must act quickly before he arrives.


    Seong Sang-geun told his men.


    ¡°Open the way to the main body. I will go in.¡±


    ¡°Clan Leader. you can¡¯t deal with him alone¡­¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t be the one dealing with him; it would be the ghoul flower. If I hide and fire a grenade, he¡¯d have to dodge it as well as the vine whip.¡±


    ¡°Huh? That¡¯s a good idea?¡± His subordinates also thought that the plan was a good one. So, the Itaewon Clan members decided to get together and attempt to drive out I Love Gimbap again.


    A few of Seong Sang-geun¡¯s subordinates drew a fuss, gathered monsters, and fired their guns.


    Tatatatata-!!


    Even the reinforced monster or zombies were powerless against the firepower of guns.


    Seong Sang-geun took advantage of that opportunity to activate his stealth and waited to ambush I Love Gimbap at the front of the museum. It was a place where the whip of the vines could not reach.


    ¡®I should leave no trace. There is no sound and he can¡¯t see me.¡¯


    Seong Sang-geun had used this stealth ability to steal materials from other clans and steal information. Even I Love Gimbap wouldn¡¯t be able to see him¡­ He had no doubt about it.


    ¡®There he is¡­¡¯ He heard the noise and quickly inserted a grenade into the grenade launcher, but no sound was produced by it. His stealth unique skill was just that kind of skill.


    Then, all of a sudden, ghouls came. After them, a few werewolves joined in and ripped the monsters apart.


    Seong Sang-geun opened his eyes.


    ¡®He¡¯s bringing women to a fight?¡¯ His eyes opened as she saw a woman hanging on the back of one of the werewolves.


    Is that the ghoul queen?


    Without paying any attention to him, the werewolves attacked the monsters with great power. In particular, the one werewolf which the short-haired woman was riding was very eye-catching. After all, it was blinking all over the place rather than moving with its feet.


    ¡®What the hell¡­¡¯ The woman and the werewolf worked so well together to the point he suspected that she¡¯s stronger than I Love Gimbap.


    Seong Sang-geun showed superhuman patience and waited. After all, his goal was to ambush I Love Gimbap, not the women.


    However, I Love Gimbap still did not show up.


    Where the hell are you?


    The moment Seong Sang-geun, who was nervous, raised his head, he was shocked. He could see a person floating in the air.


    ¡®Was his unique skill levitation?¡¯


    The large man in a black body armor was looking at him. To be precise, he must be looking at the ghoul flower that is surrounding the art museum.


    ¡®It¡¯s an opportunity.¡¯ Seong Sang-geun was about to fire a grenade, but at the last moment, he stopped. Since he had killed once before, If he killed him while he¡¯s in the air, he would become a murderer.


    ¡®You bastard, come down!¡¯


    He bit his lip to keep his urge at bay. Fortunately, I Love Gimbap didn¡¯t seem to know where he was.


    ¡®Should I break his concentration first by shooting him?¡¯


    A lot of unique skills would lose their effectiveness when the user¡¯s concentration was broken. His stealth was similar.


    Seong Sang-geun was satisfied with his own thoughts and aimed the gun at I Love Gimbap¡¯s feet.


    ¡®You wouldn¡¯t see it coming¡­¡¯


    Since the guy has ogre¡¯s skill on his arsenal, his attack wouldn¡¯t do much damage to him. However, it was enough to break his concentration. Unconsciously pulling the trigger, the bullet left the muzzle at high speed.


    But, betraying his conviction, Seongho was not hurt at all. The bullet hit the dimension wall in front of him. Since he also kept his Super Sense skill active, he already knew that someone was nearby.


    Seongho hurriedly jumped down, and a whip of vines greeted him.


    Swwwwoooosh-!!


    The mithril blade in his hand split the whip into two, and the sap was scattered in the air.


    Seong Sang-geun smiled and pointed his grenade launcher at Seongho¡¯s feet.


    ¡°Even if you don¡¯t die, you¡¯ll be close to death.¡± At that time, the ghouls flower would take care of the rest.


    With a plopping sound, a grenade shot out of the muzzle. It flew towards Seongho at a speed which was difficult for a human to react to. But in that brief moment, Seongho found the location of the man.


    He couldn¡¯t hear the grenade being pushed out of the muzzle, but he felt the trajectory with his supersensory sense.


    ¡®There he is¡­¡¯ He flew away, but it was already too late. The grenade hit the floor, activating the shock fuse. Seongho could miraculously see underneath him before the explosion occurred. The dimensional wall turned on again, but it was impossible to completely cancel the shock. The lower part of his calf was tattered. Enduring the pain, Seongho threw some Emeras throwing knives towards the man¡¯s location.


    The throwing knives flew and struck Seong Sang-geun who was smiling on his knee. Level 2 body armor was insufficient to block weapons made of sharp materials like Emeras.


    Therefore,


    ¡°UAAAAAGGHHH!¡± Seong Sang-geun¡¯s stealth came undone and his body was now visible to anything present. Since he had a stealth unique skill, he had never experienced such suffering. Therefore, unlike Seongho, he couldn¡¯t bear the pain and rolled over the floor.


    As he was tormented by the pain and couldn¡¯t think of anything, a vine whip came towards him. Seong Sang-geun was beaten by a whip and his mind became a blank sheet. And when it wrapped around his body, the greatest fear he ever felt washed over him.


    ¡°N-n-nooooo¡­¡±


    Shh!


    The landscape in his eyes changed in an instant as his body was thrown into the big plant sitting on the road. Before long, Dong Sang-geun experienced something which even Seongho felt he would rather die than to experience¨Cbeing eaten alive by a ghoul flower.


    The venom that filled the body of the plant slowly began to melt his skin.


    ¡°KUAAAAAAAAHHHHH.¡¯ He roared. Seong Sang-geun scratched the wall of the lump, but his body did not have any strength to do more than that. He passed out from the excruciating pain. Meanwhile, the clan members were terrified when they saw their clan leader enter the main body of the plant.


    In all of their minds, they had the same thought.


    ¡®There¡¯s no reason for me to stay in this place any longer.¡¯


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s run away¡­¡±


    ¡°Run!¡±


    Unfortunately for them, they were greeted by a large number of monster zombies and vine whips. The ghoul flower, which had tasted organic matter, blocked their way out and ended them all.


    ¡°AHHHHH!!!¡± A scream was heard from all over the place.


    Mikyung quickly grabbed Seongho and ran to a nearby building. When they came inside, Da-jeong, who was waiting there, quickly ran and took care of his feet, which got caught in the explosion.


    ¡°This!!! Just what¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s healed already. Everything was fine.¡±


    ¡°What? Already?¡±


    Seongho jumped up and turned his ankles, loosening his muscles.


    ¡°Uh-huh, It¡¯s a lot better now. I didn¡¯t get caught up in the explosion head-on. That¡¯s why my feet didn¡¯t break.¡±


    ¡°I think you are taking it too easily, Oppa¡­¡±


    ¡°I know right?¡± Da-jeong nodded her head at Mikyung¡¯s words.


    Anyway, the Itaewon Clan was almost wiped out, and now all that was left were the ghoul flower and the monsters.


    Seongho was in a state of exhaustion, so it was difficult for him to go out right away.


    ¡°Is Seokhyun not here yet?¡±


    Seokhyun appeared as if he had been waiting for the portal to open¡­ With a large bruise on his face.


    Da-jeong asked.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on with your face?¡±


    He grinned as he rubbed the bruise while eating a Hwajo meat.


    ¡°It was a gift from the Elderwood.¡±


    ¡°Elderwood? What the fuck happened?¡±

 Chapter 174

    At that moment, Yeowool jumped out of the portal and slapped Seokhyun on the back.


    Without doing anything to stop her, he just snorted. ¡°AH~~ hit me more.¡±


    ¡°Seriously, this Ahjussi!!!¡¯


    When I asked the usually-gentle girl why she was so angry, she told me that Seokhyun had done perverted things to the Elderwood.


    ¡°How can you rub your naked body against its roots? Did you know it was a holy tree that the stag beetles considered sacred?¡±


    ¡°But, in the end, isn¡¯t it just a tree?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think there¡¯s something special about a tree when you see a tree that huge?¡±


    Well, yeah¡­ That tree was indeed big. The roots alone were at the same size of a house. I wondered just how big the trunk would be.


    ¡°The animals around us ran wild and the atmosphere became scary because of that Ahjussi! The Elderwood roots turned upside down, so it looks like we can¡¯t harvest it for a while.¡±


    ¡°Rapwi, you are in the wrong.¡±


    When Da-jeong kicked Seokhyun¡¯s ass, he just fell to the ground and pretended to be dead. It¡¯s a funny sight, considering his unique ability is basically immortality.


    ¡°Yeowool, calm down and tell me in detail.¡±


    As I listened to the story, I realized that the situation was quite serious.


    Just why in the world did Seokhyun do such a thing?


    When I asked him regarding the matter, the answer he gave me was something which I couldn¡¯t comprehend.


    ¡°Because I feel like it¡¯s something I should do.¡±


    ¡°Your reasoning is strange. Why do you think you should do it?¡±


    ¡°Because it looked pitiful; It was hurt and weak.¡±


    ¡°But hugging it while naked is a bit too much.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a treatment.¡±


    ¡°Treatment my foot. That¡¯s a molestation.¡±


    As Yeowool continued to protest, he squatted and turned pale.


    Well, there must be a reason why Seokhyun did it. The problem was that the Elderwood didn¡¯t exactly see it the same way Seokhyun did. However, there¡¯s a possibility that the Elderwood was actually hurt because Seokhyun felt that way. After all, this guy¡¯s instinct is at the level of a beast. It¡¯s only about 0.0001% chance though.


    Yeowool went inside the portal while grumbling about the fact that she used 100 points for nothing, and Seokhyun jumped up to his feet.


    Da-jeong slapped Seokhyun¡¯s ass at that moment.


    ¡°Because of you, we couldn¡¯t access the Elderwood anymore.¡±


    ¡°There will come a day when we will be called. I can feel it.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re saying we have to trust that feeling? The fu¡­¡±


    Still, it¡¯s a relief that Seokhyun did the pervert thing after he acquired some sap, not before. I pointed to the ghoul flower outside the window.


    ¡°I need your help. There were too many whips for me to take on alone.¡±


    ¡°You will go down and remove the core once we drag the aggro from above, won¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Mikyung will help both of you.¡±


    She nodded her head. Perhaps due to the several rough battlefields she had fought with us, she was calm even in a situation where the whips of the vine and the monsters ran wild. If it hadn¡¯t been for her before, I would have suffered a lot of damage.


    Let¡¯s thank her later. For now, I need to focus on dealing with the ghoul flower.


    Da-jeong gently wrapped her arms around me at that moment.


    ¡°Seongho. There is something I want to ask you¡­¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t told you what, though?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re trying to ask me to get some of those drugs, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°The smallest fruit will be fine. Let¡¯s just test it, yeah? I am very curious about how it feels.¡±


    As expected.


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    As I made my stance clear, her lips puckered.


    ¡°You¡¯re so stubborn. What is the difference between the drugs and Solar Apples? Both give us a buff!¡±


    ¡°The Solar Apples gave us no side effects. But the drug didn¡¯t work that way, didn¡¯t it? I know what side effects will come later.¡±


    Da-jeong threw her arms to the air in my stubbornness and gave up. ¡°Haaahhh, okay, okay! Instead, once it¡¯s over¡­ you know right?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t know.¡±


    As I turned my back while responding, I could feel her angry gaze in my back. Even if the drugs would make us feel good, it was nothing but an illusion. Well, there¡¯s the fact that we¡¯re basically superhumans now, so the aftereffects might not even affect us at all. However, just because we couldn¡¯t feel it, doesn¡¯t mean it wasn¡¯t there. If the drugs were used again and again, the aftereffect would start to surface.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Mikyung took Seokhyun and moved to the flower bud first. The vine whips swept around them, before one of them hit Seokhyun. Unfortunately for the whip, since Seokhyun¡¯s body was strong, he¡¯s able to stop it.


    ¡°This is not enough! Bring a bigger one!¡±


    Equipped with the kgre gloves, Seokhyun¡¯s power was terrifying. After the clash, an unpleasant sound was heard. The whip was pulled out of its trunk and the sap splashed out all over the place.


    ¡°Wow, Rabbit ahjussi is really strong.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s our turn now.¡± When Mikyung returned, she disappeared once again with Da-jeong in tow. Meanwhile, the werewolves waged a fierce battle with the monsters on the street.


    Now, it¡¯s my turn to go.


    I looked down and jumped down. Not only the two of them, Mikyung also attracted the vines¡¯ aggro, so the area around the main body was relatively quiet.


    When I ran into the lobby, I could see someone, or should I say, something, was trapped inside the large hump.


    ¡°Seong Sang-geun¡­¡±


    Signs of struggle could be seen on the hump. But all I could see right now was him pressing what appeared to be a mithril knife towards his chest. He must have thought that suicide would be better than suffering from burns caused by drowning in venom.


    In fact, it was impossible to think about it. It was closer to an instinctive action.


    ¡°Have a good journey to the afterlife¡­¡± I sent my last regards to him, opened the dimension slot and took out the flamethrower. It looks like it¡¯s made for the US military, but it¡¯s old and looks pretty worn out.


    ¡°This is the injection tube¡­ this is the injection lever¡­¡±


    Because it was a dangerous weapon, there was a safety device on both the burner tank and the fuel tank. After loosening both of them and opening the valve, I was ready to spray some fire.


    I pulled the lever towards the four humps from a distance. A stream of water with a sour smell spewed out first, then it turned into a stream of flames.


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ Amazing!¡± The firepower of the flames was so great that the lumps and thick stems of the flowers burned and began to emit black smoke. The four humps squirmed and broke, gushing out venom to the concrete below.


    ¡°Yikes.¡± As I stepped back and continued to spray, the flame-engulfed stem fell down. After a few more seconds passed, nothing came out from the muzzle anymore and the spraying was over.


    The fire engulfed the entire flower and burned bright. The three, who were dragging the aggro of the whip vines, saw that the vines had stopped moving, and the monsters ran away screaming.


    For the finisher, I threw two grenades deep into the lobby.


    BOOM-!!


    With the feeling of the ground sinking, the upper part of the ghoul flower, which was supporting the building, crumbled. Eventually, the building began to collapse.


    ¡°Oppa!¡±


    Mikyung suddenly grabbed my arm.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    We ran to a nearby building.


    .


    .


    .


    The fire in the museum burned everything around before it went out. Monsters were burned to death, animals ran away, and the damage to the area was considerable, but no one cared. After all, it was an ecosystem of another world, not of this world.


    After the fire was over, Seongho searched the rubble to find the ghould flower¡¯s core. The core was practically useless, but the fire mushroom grows very well on it. Seokhyun said that he felt a strong energy there.


    -It¡¯s not that it¡¯s useless, but maybe we just don¡¯t know how to use it? Afterall, it is the core that makes that huge flower bloom and moves the whip¡­


    -It¡¯s a reasonable guess, but let¡¯s just use it to grow fire mushrooms for now.


    Seongho handed the core over to Jiman. Now that he had finished what he set out for, he was going to the shelter to rest. However, the people from Hannam-dong came to him just before he entered.


    Oh Jung-min who stood in the very front of the people, opened a large case and showed it to him.


    ¡°This is the Dragunov sniper rifle I promised you. The accessories are also inside. There are also 200 special bullets. It will be useful for you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a good piece.¡±


    Of course, Seongho didn¡¯t know anything about snipers, so for him, it was just slightly better than a rifle. But since he felt that someday it would be useful, he received it with a grateful heart.


    Oh Jung-min rubbed his hands.


    ¡°By the way, would you like to come to our shelter? Let¡¯s have a meal and talk about the world a little bit.¡±


    ¡°Our kids don¡¯t know much about the world. They want to hear your story, is that okay?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    Even Soye went out to invite him, but Seongho had an unwilling expression on his face. However, when he saw the case that Oh Jung-min showed him, he swallowed his saliva.


    Radiation protective clothing and detectors. If he had that, he could go around Busan. His hometown and a place he will return to someday.


    ¡°It¡¯s made in Russia. Pretty reliable.¡±


    There was no such thing in government shelters. It must not have been the case that there were none. It was more like Jang Won-taek kept it somewhere else. Seongho could have just asked him about it, but he was afraid of what he would be asked to do in exchange for the information.


    ¡°How did you know I was from Busan?¡±


    As Seongho¡¯s voice became low, Oh Jeong-min hurriedly waved his hand.


    ¡°I heard about it from the announcement that the Korean shelter made. It should be still there in the Auction House.¡±


    When Seongho looked at the Auction House, he saw that the Korean shelter was really promoting it.


    -The Reaper of All Monsters!


    -The Butcher of Ogre and The Giant Ghoul Flower!


    -But he has a warm heart for people!!


    -Meet I Love Gimbap from Busan!


    -He is in the Korean shelter now!


    ¡°The Gimbap is here.¡±


    Seokhyun spoke while Da-jeong stabbed Seongho in the side.


    ¡°You are warm to people?¡±


    ¡°The dead guys that you killed wouldn¡¯t think so.¡±


    Anyway, Seongho found the advertisement to be problematic. They were making a profit by telling lies that he cared about people. From the outside, Jang Won-taek looked like nothing but a kind-hearted grandfather, but he still had a politician¡¯s wit inside of him.


    As Seongho held out his hand without saying a word, Oh Jung-min quickly turned the case over.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a big meal, but let¡¯s eat together.¡±


    The faces of the people of Hannam-dong brightened. The shelter they visited was, of course, Oh Jung-min¡¯s villa.


    When the corrosive disease disappeared, everyone got out of the bunker, moved supplies, and settled down. As the luxury villa cost 10 billion won per house, the building was incredibly strong and spacious. The elevator, of course, was broken, and a vertical staircase was installed in the passage.


    ¡°You have prepared a lot.¡±


    ¡°Haha, it¡¯s because we have an abundance of goods.¡± Oh Jung-min bragged. But Seongho was not very impressed. Perhaps, if the world finds out about the materials he had, there will be an uproar.


    In Oh Jung-min¡¯s office, where Seongho was invited to, there were several people who he seemed to have seen somewhere apart from Lee Min-soo and Park Kyung-hoo who he had met before.


    Soye smiled and introduced the people towards him.


    ¡°This man is Ryujin from Zero-One-Hundred. His real name is Jun-goo.¡±


    ¡°Hey, didn¡¯t I tell you not to tell my name?.¡±


    The stocky man grumbled.


    ¡°Zero-one-hundred? Are you talking about the male idol group Zero-One-Hundred?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    When Seongho asked, the man bowed his head.


    Da-jeong said she couldn¡¯t believe it, and kept repeating the word.


    ¡°You are fat.¡±


    As Seokhyun said, Ryujin, who was the lead vocalist of Zero-One-Hundred and the main idol of the group, had turned into a pig. Although he was short in stature in the first place, he was a passionate singer who covered his shortcomings with his powerful voice and energy. However, he had gained weight and looked like nothing but an ordinary man.


    The guy grinned and scratched his beard.


    ¡°I become like this after living in the bunker for a few months.¡±


    Others had a similar situation. Seongho couldn¡¯t help but get surprised every time he was introduced. With no makeup and no stage clothes, they were all just normal¡­


    Of course, their small face and physique typical of celebrities did not go anywhere. But the barren environment made them rough. And as time goes by, they would look even more common.


    Seongho, Seokhyun and Da-jeong got a proper meal and left. The people of Hannam-dong seemed to want them to sit down. They showed them a variety of weapons and supplies and tempted them to use the luxury villa, but Seongho and the others were not interested.


    After all, they have the best shelter in the entire world.


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s go home.¡±


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Seongho, well done!¡± As soon as they met Jang Won-taek, he started to smile at us.


    Meanwhile, Seongho asked him about the advertisement.


    ¡°Did you really have to do that? People who don¡¯t know will know me as someone who was warm-hearted.¡±


    ¡°I believe that was the case. I can see passion in Seongho¡¯s heart. It speaks of humanity.¡±


    ¡°Ha¡­ let¡¯s just forget it.¡±


    By the way, why is Hyunwoo Here?


    Seongho didn¡¯t get along very well with him. They didn¡¯t even talk after the subway chaos.


    Hyunwoo flipped the situation board to reveal the map of Seoul and said, ¡°We have cleared 20 ghoul flowers near Yeouido. The next area will be around Bangbae-dong. To note, people are supporting us.¡±


    ¡°Well, things are going smoothly.¡±


    However, unlike the impressed Jang Won-taek, Seongho was unamused.


    Do they know how many ghoul flowers bloomed as of now? Organizing them one by one was just mad¡­


    As Hyunwoo continued to list his plan of action, Seongho could not bear it any longer and said his cent.


    ¡°What is the population of Korea?¡±


    ¡°¡­fifty million.¡±


    ¡°Do you know how many of them became zombies?¡±


    Hyunwoo looked at Jang Won-taek for a moment and said,


    ¡°It must be close to fifty million people. Why?¡±


    ¡°How many of them do you think have evolved into ghouls? And then, how much do you think had become a ghoul flower?¡±


    ¡°Just tell me the point.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s useless. I mean, your plan.¡±


    ¡°Useless?¡±


    ¡°There are going to be millions of ghoul flowers across the country. Yet, you¡¯re going to remove them one by one? Do you have enough time?¡±


    ¡°Um, there seems to be a misunderstanding here.¡±


    Jang Won-taek came forward and explained.


    In summary, removing the ghoul flowers near Yeouido was not for that purpose.


    ¡°A lot of people are still reluctant to join our shelter. Because there is a perception that crowded places are dangerous because of the plants. It was a necessary measure to break that perception.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you use me as your face to promote as well?¡±


    ¡°Well, for now, you are our staff. are you not?¡±


    Seongho sighed, and Hyunwoo bluntly continued the report.


    ¡°About the new member, Lee Sang-shin¡­ he has very good fighting skills. He seemed to have a lot of experience in the game.¡±


    Seongho showed interest in his words.


    ¡°How many hours did he play?¡±


    ¡°Not that much, but he said that he watched the live broadcast.¡±


    ¡°Live broadcast? I was the only one who did that.¡±


    In the beginning, there were many streamers who rushed to it because it was a fresh survival game, but they all fold because of the insane difficulty. In fact, it was no exaggeration to say that Seongho was the only proper streamer of the game.


    ¡°Then he must be your viewer.¡±


    Hyunwoo spit it out casually, but it was different for Seongho. There were only a few viewers who followed him until the end, including the poor man.


    Could he be one of them?


    ¡°His name is Lee Sang-shin? I need to meet him.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s currently not here.¡±


    ¡°Where is he?¡±


    ¡°Why do I have to tell you that?¡±


    Jang Won-taek laughed internally as the two had a nerve battle. In his opinion, It¡¯s better for them to fight like this, even if it¡¯s childish, he wants to pretend he doesn¡¯t know. After all, there¡¯s a saying that love would bloom after a passionate fight, right?


    He spoke in a passing tone.


    ¡°Sang-shin really liked rice soup. All the notes he left in the suggestion box were notes asking if we could provide rice soup.¡±


    A soup addict?


    Seongho clenched his fist. The viewer who converts all the values ??into soup had finally arrived.


    He jumped up, but sat down again as he heard Jang Won-taek¡¯s next words.


    ¡°It is not yet in Seoul, but I heard that owlbear has appeared in Gangwon-do. A giant green snake also appeared. Why don¡¯t you tell us about what will happen next?¡±


    Battle Royale. The brutal event was about to begin once again. But this time, the battlefield would be in the real world.

 Chapter 175

    ¡°So to speak, Battle Royale is like a game of stealing chairs. Only one person will survive; the rest will die.¡± (Chair stealing game : https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_chairs)


    ¡°It¡¯s a bloody event, huh?¡±


    ¡°It is.¡± I nodded. ¡°The event will take place after the appearance of owlbears. I don¡¯t know the exact details of the width of the battlefield, but I estimated it to be around 1 neighborhood.¡±


    Jang Won-taek thought deeply about something and said, ¡°Is there any place where Battle Royale events would not happen?¡±


    ¡°There is. For example, inside the dungeon. And the space inside the portal that we usually enter.¡±


    ¡°Hmmmm¡­ There aren¡¯t that many dungeons around, so it¡¯s difficult to utilize it¡­¡±


    ¡°What about the battlefield? In the last Battle Royale, monsters were acting like walls around the battlefield while slowly gathering closer and closer, is that the case this time too?¡± Hyunwoo asked, but I did not answer.


    He didn¡¯t answer my question earlier, so why should I?


    Instead, I looked at Jang Won-taek and said, ¡°This Battle Royale does not form a separate battlefield. Instead, our stats will be sealed until the winner is decided. The additional effect will probably be the same as before; Only the first additional effect of your unique skill will be usable.¡±


    Jang Won-taek¡¯s eyebrows furrowed at my words.


    ¡°In other words, if we don¡¯t finish the Battle Royale event, will we continue to be weakened?¡±


    ¡°If someone comes in from outside, the Battle Royale¡¯s time will be extended. If any survivors, which were already inside a battlefield, runs away, the pursuer would be given a special skill, and traces of the fugitive would be visible to them. They would be hunted down and killed.¡±


    Both of them let out a sigh.


    ¡°What a brutal event¡­¡±


    I nodded. Though, there were still things I didn¡¯t tell them yet, but it wasn¡¯t a great setting.


    ¡°When the battlefield was established, if the number of people was reduced to one, they became the winner. The reward is probably a resurrection scroll plus alpha. Like a skill expansion box.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely tempting.¡±


    Hyunwoo stroked his chin.


    Has he already filled his 10 skill slots?


    Jang Won-taek laid himself on the chair and folded his arms. His agony was apparent from his scrunched forehead.


    ¡°So, there¡¯s a reason why you asked us to delay the opening of the shelter, huh, Seongho? But for us, it was an inevitable choice. Because I had to declare that the corrosive disease was gone.¡±


    I shrugged.


    ¡°And you know it¡¯s a mistake right? Because of your move, more than 100 people must disperse. Even if their goal was just to survive, they would ended up as a murderer no matter what. And the real murderers would then came out, and the massacre starts. Colleagues, lovers, family, they all would be killed.¡±


    ¡°¡­so are you saying that there is no such thing as true harmony in this apocalypse?¡±


    Jang Won-taek asked, and I nodded. ¡°It¡¯s the default setting of the game; It forces people to constantly fight. When the Battle Royale event is over, the number of shelters standing around Korea will be reduced to less than half. A lot of supplies will also be looted.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, because I¡¯m going to keep this place safe.¡±


    Hyunwoo pulled the pistol slide for nothing.


    Whatever floats your boat, I guess?


    As I was about to get up, Jang Won-taek erased the status board.


    ¡°May I ask where you will be? We need to mark that place as a must-avoid area.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re gonna need to avoid three places, though.¡±


    ¡°So, aside from Geom-in, you are all participating?¡±


    ¡°Yes. After all, the more resurrection scrolls we have, the better.¡±


    When I pointed at three pictures of the map, Jang Won-taek pointed to Bukhansan.


    ¡°Is it okay if I go up the mountain alone?¡±


    ¡°If you are alone, the event will not start. There should be at least three people around the area.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I wouldn¡¯t know whether the events on the surrounding battlefield are over or not, so I can¡¯t go down without thinking¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good to end the battlefield with minimal damage.¡±


    Everyone doesn¡¯t want to be a victim, so there will be all kinds of nonsense in the Auction House. Better not to believe any words written there.


    Jang Won-taek sighed.


    ¡°Anyway, to avoid this Battle Royale, we have to wait for the dungeon to appear.¡±


    ¡°You will have to go in and wait for quite a while. But if Battle Royale doesn¡¯t end, you will be in trouble.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ this is more troublesome than I thought.¡±


    I stood up at that moment. Looking at me, Jang Won-taek said, ¡°Are you leaving already?¡±


    ¡°It seemed to me that things had stabilized enough¡­ You wouldn¡¯t ask me for another cleanup, would you?¡±


    Jang Won-taek smiled faintly.


    ¡°I want to hold on to you more, but I have no choice but to let you go since I¡¯ve made a promise. But aren¡¯t there people who are related to you here? For example, Hyung-jun¡­¡±


    You make me feel sorry for him¡­ But as long as Hyung-jun hyung decided to be a part of this place, there¡¯s nothing I could do other than just wishing him to be safe.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of informing him myself.¡±


    Aside from Hyung-jun hyung, there¡¯s also the two troublemakers who decide to become a part of this shelter. However, after they joined Hyunwoo¡¯s assault team, they didn¡¯t even show their nose to us. So I wouldn¡¯t bother either.


    I left the office and looked for Hyung-jun hyung. He was living with his new girlfriend, Yoo Ji-hye in their dormitory. At first glance, she was a kind and gentle person. However, according to Hyung-jun hyung, she had suffered a lot because she was a non-combatant and lived alone. Without even being told, I knew what kind of hardship it was.


    ¡°Hello.¡± Fear was mixed in her eyes as soon as I greeted her. She had lived with unfriendly people and heard all sorts of gossip about me. So, it¡¯s inevitable for her to have a stereotype for me. Even if Hyung-jun hyung explained it, she doesn¡¯t want to believe it. Well, it¡¯s unavoidable. I haven¡¯t been living a clean life either.


    Hyung-jun hyung went out into the hallway, stood in front of her and greeted me.


    ¡°Uh, Seongho, what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°The Battle Royale event will start soon¡­Here, take this.¡±


    When I handed him a piece of paper, he grabbed my hand.


    ¡°Sorry. You always take care of me like this¡­ I should have been there too¡­¡±


    The last sentence almost sounded like a whisper. Probably, he thought I wouldn¡¯t be able to hear him.


    I grabbed Hyung-jun hyung¡¯s forearm and answered, ¡°Please contact me anytime. I will never betray you, Hyung.¡±


    ¡°Uh, yeah¡­ Sorry, and thank you again. Anyway, see you later.¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    As I was leaving, I noticed that my new sister-in-law¡¯s stomach was slightly bulging as she turned to the side.


    She¡¯s not pregnant, isn¡¯t she?


    I tried to ask Hyung-jun hyung about it, but I bit my mouth. I think it wasn¡¯t wise to probe deeper into something which I didn¡¯t think I would willingly take care of.


    I said goodbye and went out to clean up our dorm. Since there was no one there, it was mostly clean; I didn¡¯t have to do many things. After throwing some luggage into the dimensional warehouse, it was over.


    ¡°Now, I just have to wait for the Battle Royale event¡­¡± Me, Seokhyun, and Da-jeong have already agreed to take on different areas. No one will come to us because the Korean Shelter had revealed the location where we would be. It would be nice if the Battle Royale ended just like that, but there were always variables. Such as the people who are trying to run away being mixed in the event.


    ¡°It would be better if no one came, but¡­¡± I wanted the resurrection scroll and plus alpha as a reward. So, I just have to stick with the situation and act accordingly.


    I left Yeouido and headed for Gimpo Airport.


    .


    .


    .


    When I entered the shelter, everyone was busy working. It turns out that they were building a power grid under Yoohyun¡¯s supervision.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal, Hyung. We¡¯re just installing some lights and laying it out in each hut. I also took out the wire to the outside and installed an infrared detector.¡±


    ¡°It looks great enough to me.¡± Drawing power from a single solar generator can be done even by a novice like me. However, only Yoohyeon could connect several of them to form a power grid.


    When I praised him, he got excited and took me around the spacious shelter.


    ¡°I want to install a refrigerator in the middle of the shelter, but it consumes quite a bit of electricity. I think we need to generate hydroelectric power in the valley first before proceeding.¡±


    I was surprised.


    ¡°Is that possible?¡±


    ¡°It is¡­ but to do so, we need a lot of material.¡±


    ¡°Just speak. I will bring you everything you need.¡±


    As night fell, LED lights were lit all over the shelter. Even when it advertised our location, the amount of monster attacks were less than what we got in the daytime at our previous location. It was due to Da-jeong¡¯s werewolves, which roamed around the shelter. There is also the fact that our shelter is hard to find, but that¡¯s another case.


    But she said that she couldn¡¯t do it for a prolonged time, as there were times where she had to stay in the real world for quite a long time.


    ¡°If we make it dark, we have to live an uncomfortable life, but we¡¯ll be attacked by fewer monsters. After collecting opinions, everyone said that we should keep the light bright.¡±


    I¡¯m sure the local monsters will love it if it¡¯s bright like this. But, this shelter was different from the old cave shelter. We have enough power to defeat all kinds of enemies invading.


    Geom-in took me along and introduced the hut base.


    ¡°We are going to build a total of five huts. Two people will share one hut. The rest will be used as a warehouse.¡±


    ¡°¡­But why is my and Da-jeong¡¯s hut all the way in the back?¡± It is nice to have a view of the sea¡­but why?


    Geom-in scratched his head at my question.


    ¡°Yeowool complained that you guys are too noisy during the night¡­¡±


    Damn¡­ To think such a thing was the problem¡­


    Geom-in said that he would dig a toilet in each hut and connect it with a water pipe.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to put the computer down. Configure a NAS system so that we can watch movies or dramas at any time.¡±


    ¡°Can we play too, in our hut?¡±


    He scratched his head shyly.


    ¡°Of course.¡± I have secured hundreds of terabytes of content. It also had been backed up several times, so we wouldn¡¯t be bored for a while. It¡¯s a luxury that could only be enjoyed here.


    As the night deepened, we gathered in the middle of the shelter. Even when we lived separately, it was an unspoken rule that we had to eat together. In addition, there were several rules that must be followed, such as not using firearms recklessly. If they just stick to those few rules, I have nothing to ask anymore.


    ¡°What¡¯s on the menu today?¡±


    ¡°We are going to eat roast pork. Jiman-ah~ Can you please bring some vegetables from the garden?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    The group members except the three stagnant water take turns to cook the meals. They decided so probably because there were many times when we were not in the shelter.


    Sooyeon cut the thick wild boar meat on the chopping board with a cleaver. Then, she moved it to the barbecue grill on top of the open fire. In an instant, a sizzling sound, caused by meat being grilled, could be heard around the area.


    ¡°Thank you for the food!¡± In the apocalypse, such luxury can only be enjoyed by us.


    Everyone cheered and ate the meat, and I said quietly.


    ¡°The Battle Royale event is coming, who wants to participate?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Except for Seokhyun and Da-jeong, everyone looked at me. Even Geom-in did the same. It was palpable that he didn¡¯t have the confidence to do it.


    ¡°Then let me, Seokhyun, and Da-jeong go out and do the Battle Royale.¡±


    ¡°I really want to pass, but the reward is too sweet. They give you a resurrection scroll.¡±


    Da5jeong wiggled her leg and I spread another finger.


    ¡°It will also give some random things. It would be best if we got a skill box.¡±


    ¡°How about the crime pardon scroll?¡±


    Seokhyun asked, and I traced my memory.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. This Battle Royale will be over once we finish it.¡±


    ¡°What if I go to the next neighborhood after I finish my area?¡±


    ¡°If it is in progress, it can happen again, but you will not get more rewards.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a shame.¡±


    ¡°We have to sleep today earky today, because we need to depart early in the morning tomorrow. As I said before, I¡¯m going to Gimpo Airport. Seokhyun will go to Y university, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Da-jeong pointed to her chest.


    ¡°I will be close-by with Seokhyun. At the Women¡¯s College. Did you tell our locations to that old man beforehand?¡±


    ¡°Yes. He will inform the Auction House, so I expect only a few crazy people will come.¡±


    ¡°I hope only one person came¡­¡± Da-jeong said.


    If there¡¯s only one person around the college, the event will not be held. It¡¯s an event that¡¯s going to happen anyway, so it¡¯s best to end it with the least amount of damage.


    ¡°A lot of people will die¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s an apocalypse¡­¡±


    The atmosphere became heavy in an instant. But it didn¡¯t last long, as Dingsoon¡¯s whimper broke it.


    Mikyung, who moved with her blink to check while still holding onto her chopstick, trembled.


    ¡°Ba-ba-baby! Dingsoon is giving birth!¡±


    ¡°What? Already?¡±


    Well, it¡¯s been about two months since Dingsoon was pregnant, so it¡¯s not strange that she gives birth now.


    Sooyeon ran towards Dingsoon and quickly went into full doctor mode. Meanwhile, the rest of us were watching from the side.


    Dingsoon gave birth to six wolves. They were all smaller than when I first saw the dingo.


    ¡°R-really cute¡¤¡¤¡¤¡±


    ¡°They are looking for their mother¡¯s milk¡­¡± Sooyeon said as she carried the pups to Dingsoon with gloved hands.


    New lives were born in the shelter while a lot of lives would be forfeited in reality soon.


    .


    .


    .


    Information about the Battle Royale event was released to the Auction House. There were many items to pay attention to, but the most important for the survivors was the location where the three stagnant water would be. It was Gimpo Airport, Y University, and Women¡¯s University.


    People at the Auction House were arguing that these three places should be avoided at all cost.


    -Those three are people who have mastered the damn Battle Royale. If you want to die, just go ahead and come to those places.


    -What about the people who originally lived there?


    -If they don¡¯t want to die, they have to run away.


    -In a way, that¡¯s intruding, isn¡¯t it?


    -Do you have no brain?


    The conclusion was simple. Anyone must stay as far away from the three as possible. However, there were so many survivors in the Seoul area that it was impossible to avoid the battle. When the right information became known, hundreds of auction items came up. Most of the time, it was an item to tell people where people would be.


    ¨C No one should come to Nanji Park. I¡¯ll kill anyone if you come.


    ¨C I came first, you idiot.


    ¨C Everyone, is there no one in Olympic Park? If you are, please go away.


    ¨C I¡¯m there.


    ¨C Oh, please¡­ Please¡­.


    Survivors from the provincial area, who noticed the uproar in the Seoul area, also began to scatter. Some went up the mountain, and some went out to sea by finding a rubber boat.


    But there were comments that put them in despair.


    -If you don¡¯t want to stay locked up inside the Battle Royale battlefield, it¡¯s best for you to finish the event quickly. If you just went somewhere without knowing anything about the area, how many people were there, etc., Who knows, maybe you¡¯ll be forced to enter a battlefield, and hunted down by a survivor who¡¯s armed to the teeth, ready to kill anyone in sight.


    However, there¡¯s a problem. Since the Auction House was an anonymous place, there was no way to believe anything other than the information provided by the Korean shelter. People belatedly tried to get a gun, but the Korean shelter promptly locked themselves.


    -The firearms will only be provided to the essential personnel who were tasked to protect the shelter.


    Of course, no one believed it.


    While the Koreans were outraged, the Chinese who stayed in Incheon and Bucheon were surprisingly calm. After all, they didn¡¯t believe any information from the Auction House.


    After several months of fighting with Koreans on Korean soil, all that was left on them was hatred. To them, Koreans were nothing more than narrow-minded bastards with excessive territoriality.


    The Chinese Alliance, located in Bucheon, came to this conclusion.


    -Now is the perfect opportunity. It¡¯s clear that the Koreans are scattered, so if we hit them, they won¡¯t be able to do anything but panic.


    The Chinese Alliance wanted to occupy Seoul. By doing so, they would have plenty of supplies, and if they¡¯re lucky, they might even get a gun. They didn¡¯t even care about zombie raids, they just rushed around and lynched the survivors.


    And part of the Chinese Alliance entered Gimpo Airport. After passing through the empty runway and parking lot, they saw someone sitting on a chair in the waiting room as soon as they entered the half-collapsed government building.


    One of the Chinese people who saw the man pointed his finger at him.


    ¡°It¡¯s him!¡±


    ¡°Who are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°The bastard who killed Shenlong, The Witch of Shandong!¡± (P/n for those who forgot who Shenlong is, she¡¯s the Chinese lady with the power to control wind)


    ¡°Should we say we are lucky?¡±


    The Chinese people raised their weapons. Although the Chinese who came to Korea often fight against each other, they still hold their nationalism. If Koreans were the enemies, they would unite to one just to eradicate their common enemy.


    Seongho, who was all alone, was a good prey for them. On the other hand, Seongho felt popular while watching a Battle Royale video with Dingo.


    ¡°Are you guys Chinese?¡±


    He didn¡¯t have any preconceived notions against them, but what separated Koreans from Chinese was that they dressed in shabby side. They also didn¡¯t care about zombie raids and just kept pushing around.


    ¡°You guys, you better get out of here.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t listen to anything that a Korean says.¡±


    ¡°Did you kill Shenlong?¡±


    Seongho tilted his head.


    ¡°Are you coming from the same group as that woman?¡±


    ¡°No, but in terms of being Chinese people, we are like her friends.¡±


    ¡°What kind of bullshit are you spewing after coming to Korea?¡± Seongho shook his head. After confirming through Dingo that an owl bear appeared nearby, he was certain that it¡¯s time for the Battle Royale event to happen.


    He warned the Chinese one last time.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you read the information posted in the Auction House? A Battle Royale will begin soon. If you stay around me, everyone will die.¡±


    ¡°We have seven people with us, you are alone. What can you do?¡±


    The guys were overconfident. All of them were armed with tier 1 weapons, which in Seongho¡¯s eyes were nothing but trash.


    ¡°Do whatever you feel like. But, don¡¯t resent me for whatever that will happen.¡±


    Finally, the Battle Royale started, the stats went down drastically, and the skills were locked.


    ¡°Slot No. 1 .


    But it doesn¡¯t matter if you prepare in advance.


    The Chinese also murmured as they felt that something was amiss with their status window.


    ¡°Is Battle Royale real?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we just have to catch him.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°YES!¡±


    The Chinese rushed to Seongho. Dingo started barking loudly, and Seongho opened the portal and took out his gun. What was in his hand in the next instance was a shotgun.


    Shudder.


    When the click from ammunition being loaded to the gun was heard, the Chinese turned over.


    ¡°That bastard has a gun!¡±


    ¡°Fall back!!!!!¡±


    Seongho slowly pulled the trigger towards those who fell to the floor.


    Bam-!!


    The guns spewed fire, and seven people were killed in an instant.


    Seongho checked the points he got and stood up bitterly.


    ¡°I already told you guys, you have to stay away from me if you want to survive.¡±

 Chapter 176

    In exchange for killing the group of Chinese survivors, a spear and a few potions were given to me by the system.


    ¡°This is useless¡­¡± I sighed. However, I still took it and stored them in my backpack, as I felt that it would be a waste to just throw them away. I also salvaged the equipment they had on them and put it inside the portal. Judging by the fact that there wasn¡¯t much food in their backpack, I think that they would start to starve real soon.


    By the way¡­


    ¡°Why wasn¡¯t I sent out yet?¡± If things progress like what I thought, this Battle Royale would have ended as soon as the death of the Chineses were confirmed. But since it wasn¡¯t the case, then¡­


    ¡°It means that there¡¯s still someone here. Those stupid bastards.¡±


    The Korean Shelter had spread the warning regarding the area the 3 stagnant waters would be occupying in this event through the Auction House. But it looks like there were still people who were either blind or had balls of steel to ignore it. Maybe they came to this place to kill me. Or maybe they were just passing by by mistake.


    However, no matter what the truth is¡­


    ¡°As long as the event is still active, they have to die.¡±


    The battlefield enveloped the airport and the area around it. So naturally, the people inside were affected by it. If they want to survive to see the sun of tomorrow, they would have to fight and survive. If they just run away from the area, they would just die soon as the stats block wouldn¡¯t be released, even after they escaped the battlefield. After all, the only way to remove the effect of the Battle Royale battlefield was to win.


    ¡°Anyway, this game is really shit.¡±


    Just what kind of game makes the user die so openly? The murderer system was also fucked up. All in all, this game was really an abnormal game.


    I hid in a nearby building and opened the portal. Since the level 30 additional effect had been sealed, no one could come out from it.


    ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s fortunate that they cannot do so.¡± If they were able to cross to Earth right now, they would be forced to participate in the event and had to fight against me.


    Upon entering, Sooyeon was waiting for me with a basket in her hands.


    ¡°Are you okay, Seongho?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± I nodded. ¡°By the way, the event I¡¯m in is still ongoing. I will have to look around to look for another competitor.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a buff.¡± As she grabbed my hand and squeezed it, my stats jumped 1.2 times higher than before.


    Shouldn¡¯t it get activated just by touch? Why the squeeze?


    Sooyeon then proceeded to hold my big hand as if she liked it and hugged it. The feeling wasn¡¯t bad at all.


    ¡°Be careful out there.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yea. Thanks.¡± I took the basket and went out. Inside the basket were fruits grown in the shelter. Their effects are leagues above the norm thanks to Jiman¡¯s unique ability. For example, the Moon Tangerine, which normally would give the consumer 2 Agility for 3 minutes, was now capable of raising their Agility by 4 for 30 minutes.


    ¡°Solar Apple¡­ Moon Tangerine¡­ Royal Honey¡­ Elderwood Sap¡­ Fire Mushroom.¡±


    If I added the effect of these fruits on top of Sooyeon¡¯s buff, I would have an overwhelmingly better stats compared to others.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a bit cowardly, though.¡± But it couldn¡¯t be helped. Everything was fair in front of love, war, and survival.


    As I chewed the fruit and drank the liquid, a torrent of new strength coursed inside my body.


    ¡°WIth this much, I will be strong enough to fight against someone with a body-strengthening type unique ability.¡± Though, killing them with a gun would be a far better conclusion.


    I got out of the airport and hid in a three-story building and opened the map. From my experience, I know that the battlefield of Battle Royale was quite wide.


    ¡°It will cover the airport and this area.¡± If someone was hiding, they were more likely to be in the shopping mall. I loaded a few guns and put them inside the portal. After that, I ushered Dingo to go to the portal.


    ¡°Once I give you the signal, come out, okay?¡±


    Woof-!!


    The little guy which I found being left by his mother in front of my cave was no more. He had now grown big; even bigger than Dingsoon. It¡¯s not as big as the adult from the silver wolves pack I met before, but I was still proud of his size.


    Once he entered, I closed the portal. As other additional effects, such as dimensional walls and dimensional prisons, were currently sealed, it was unusable. However, I could still use the portal itself as a shield.


    ¡°I need to get the angle right, though¡­¡± My stats were also lowered, so if someone attacked me from behind, I would suffer quite a bit of damage.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to find them ahead of time.¡± The Battle Royale event blocks the use of all items, but it did not prevent the items from modern civilization. In other words, guns and drones were usable. Of course, pepper bombs, paralysis poison, and net guns were included in it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll use these guys again after a long time.¡± These days, everything was solved by guns, so there was no need to use these items. I took the drone out once I stood on the roof and flew it. As I was making a circle around the shopping district, I suddenly heard gunshots and the feed from the drone was cut off.


    ¡°What the hell?¡±


    You shot a drone with a gun?


    We got a few new drones, so the damage wasn¡¯t great, but it was still a waste.


    ¡°You bastard. Let¡¯s do it your way, then.¡±


    The identity of the shooter was most likely a remnant of the Itaewon Clan. Or, even if I don¡¯t want to think about it, it was someone who stole a gun from the Korean Shelter.


    ¡°Worst case scenario¡­ It¡¯s Hyunwoo.¡± Hopefully my hunch was wrong. No matter how short-tempered he was, the Hyunwoo I knew was someone who would follow the instructions he got thoroughly. He was someone who would never disobey Jang Won-taek¡¯s order.


    I wanted to check the area where the drone was shot. I was thinking about flying the drone again, but just before I did it, I thought of Yoohyeon.


    ¡°His paper plane should be able to cross the portal.¡±


    I went inside the portal and looked for Yoohyeon, but he wasn¡¯t there.


    Let¡¯s see¡­


    The only people left in the shelter were Sooyeon, Jiman, and Yeowool.


    ¡°The other went to the valley.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± I said to Yeowool. ¡°Can you help me fly a paper airplane, then?¡±


    ¡°Would that work?¡±


    ¡°Should be. No person can cross over, but things should be fine.¡±


    ¡°Okay then. What am I looking for?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not what, but who.¡±


    The paper plane, which Yeowool used, passed through the portal and rose to the sky. After making a round for a while, it landed on the roof I was on. I took the cue and entered the portal once again.


    ¡°There¡¯s a rooftop of a convenience store nearby right? I see someone there.¡±


    ¡°How many¡­ no. Of course there must be just one. So, just wait there.¡±


    Her expression darkened.


    ¡°It¡¯s a mess out there. People are getting hurt and dying¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing new, isn¡¯t it? World has become like that for quite a while now.¡±


    ¡°Things are different from normal, aren¡¯t they? I heard that the population of the Republic of Korea will be reduced a lot thanks to this event.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s unavoidable.¡± After all, only one person can survive each battlefield. If a dungeon miraculously opened inside a battlefield, death would be avoidable for most people. But a miracle was called a miracle because it didn¡¯t happen just because people wished for it.


    Yeowool squatted and shook her head.


    ¡°No matter how hard I think about it, this game is really strange. Isn¡¯t the existence of the murderer system is a rule for us not to kill other survivors recklessly? But why did this kind of event show up¡­¡±


    I put my hand on her shoulder.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to think about it deeply. No one was in control of all these situations, after all.¡±


    If there is, they would have died in the hands of the doctors and nurses.


    Yeowool opened her eyes and looked at me.


    ¡°Are you saying¡­ it¡¯s just a crazy game overlaid on reality?¡±


    ¡°It is. Though, not just any ordinary game but a shitty game with an impossible difficulty.¡±


    ¡°Even if you said that, you still played the game longer than most people¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a fun game.¡±


    ¡°Hahhhh¡­¡± After sighing, Yeowool flew the paper plane again. After quite some time, she said hastily.


    ¡°He went down from the roof just now. He also had a long gun.¡±


    ¡°Continue to follow him.¡±


    I pushed Dingo out of the portal and went out. If the bastard leaves the battlefield, the tracking system would be activated, revealing his traces. But he didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of going out.


    Yeowool¡¯s paper airplane went round and round several buildings.


    ¡°Wait.¡± I said to Dingo as I pushed a Solar Apple to my mouth and ran along the paper plane. Few moments after that, another gunshot was heard.


    Tatang! bang!


    The paper plane that had been shot fell down helplessly and I stopped.


    The guy is close.


    .


    .


    .


    As soon the Battle Royale event began, the Auction House fell into mayhem. Amongst the complaint, no one uttered a word about the stats blocking and the circumstances where they had to fight with the person near them as it was the basics. They were mainly complaining about the fact that there would only be one person who could survive on each battlefield. The light and joking atmosphere which could be seen everyday was nowhere to be seen; Only swear words and screams filled the Auction House.


    -You bastard, why did you come to my place?


    -Your place? Rapwi was next door you bastard! Do you want me to go there?


    -You can just go to Mt. Muak, Mt. Muak!


    -You¡¯re really smart. They say you have to be alone in the mountains in order to not trigger the Battle Royale. Are you saying I have to live in the mountains for the rest of my life?


    In other words, everyone who is involved in the event should be the last man standing if they want to go back to normal. The good news was people spread it well. It was a feat possible due to the information they obtained in advance.


    However, the Chinese who come from Bucheon did not care about that. The complaints of survivors were heard from the battlefields around Gangseo-gu and Yangcheon-gu.


    -What are these motherfuckers doing? Why are they traveling in groups?


    -The Chinese who were in Bucheon drove all Koreans out.


    -Are they an idiot? Do they know what happened in Battle Royale?


    -I think they know but don¡¯t care about it. Those bastards throw humans as baits at the ghoul flowers just to collect Ecstasy, after all.


    Just like Seongho who fought seven Chinese at the airport, fights against Chinese happened everywhere. Meanwhile, Jang Won-taek, who was hiding somewhere in Gangnam, sighed while controlling the drone. The Chinese coming from Bucheon looked like Chinese who invaded the West Sea with boats.


    ¡®Things are worse than I thought¡­¡¯ He was the one who heard the detailed explanation from Seongho. However, when the Battle Royale actually happened, it was impossible for him to face the horror he saw.


    Hundreds of battlefields were created across Seoul. That means all but a few hundred survivors will die.


    Are there any other brutal events like this throughout history?


    ¡°Battle Royale is taking place not only in Seoul, but in every region¡­¡± It would not be an exaggeration to say that Korea, or even the whole world, was currently swept away by the Battle Royale event. In the end of the event, there would be very few people who win and survive.


    He rubbed his eyes with his wrinkled hands. In fact, even as of now, several people hid around the spare shelter where he was. The chief of staff and Major Kim were in different places, so he had no option but to protect himself.


    Jang Won-taek checked his pistol and laughed blankly.


    ¡°If the dungeon didn¡¯t open, we would all be dead.¡± Battle Royale ended only when everyone but the winner died. Some survivors hid in mountains and seas, but to no avail. After all, as soon as they set foot on an inactive battlefield, Battle Royale would begin.


    ¡®What is this? A ¡®die in public¡¯ event?¡¯ Jang Won-taek frowned.


    Is it someone¡¯s plan to reduce the number of survivors because there are too many people?


    Of course he knew it wasn¡¯t. According to the information obtained by the stagnant waters, the doctors and nurses they fought at the subway station and hospital were also people who tried to survive. In other words, they were also victims of the apocalypse. That means, no one controlled this situation.


    Jang Won-taek stroked his white beard and turned to the Auction House and checked the Korean Shelter¡¯s main item¡¯s comment section. There was only one person who was protecting the whole of Yeouido. It was Major Kim.


    -What is the situation over there? If it¡¯s hard to answer, you can do it later.


    -I just killed two people. They are all approaching me like an ant into sugar.


    -It is unavoidable because it is known that there are a lot of supplies there¡­ Will the defense go well?


    -Leave it to me. I will definitely protect it.


    -I believe only in you.


    Jang Won-taek tried to contact Seongho, but smiled bitterly as he didn¡¯t answer. Now, all that was left for him was fending off the others who were coming for him.


    Then he heard some whispers from outside of his hiding place. Jang Won-taek was nervous and checked his weapon. When he peeked outside, he could see survivors flocked around the reserve shelter. Whoever they are, they won¡¯t leave him alone.


    ¡°Guess I will have to fight.¡±


    .


    .


    .


    ¡®Found you!¡¯


    Goo Myung-jun, who was in the Gonghang-dong area, found I Love Gimbap and grinded his teeth. His anger flared once again at that moment. Because of that bastard, the entire Itaewon Clan collapsed. After he killed the clan leader and several others died, the rest of the members began to steal supplies from the clan they once served.


    They even have the guts to say that nothing could be done and that they need to elect a new clan leader. As if that was not enough, there¡¯s also members who fight over the ownership of guns.


    With those things happening right after each other, it was inevitable that the clan collapsed.


    ¡®It was all that bastard¡¯s fault.¡¯


    Goo Myung-jun put him on the iron-sight but soon took his eyes off him. Immediately killing him was not enough. He wanted to face him and make him beg for his life before pulling the trigger.


    ¡®My stats and that guy¡¯s stats shouldn¡¯t be much different because of the Battle Royale¡¯s effect.¡¯


    One bullet should be enough to send him to the afterlife.


    If he had a Resurrection Scroll? He just needs to kill him again.


    If he didn¡¯t kill him now, he¡¯ll get stronger again, and he will be the one who was in danger.


    ¡®I can¡¯t have that. I¡¯d rather kill him here¡­¡¯ If he succeeds, he would be admired by people as the person who killed I Love Gimbap.


    ¡®Just you wait, you bastard.¡¯¡¯


    He went downstairs and waited for I Love Gimbap. At the moment he heard footsteps approaching him, he jumped out of the corner and aimed the gun in his hand at him.


    Bang-!


    Concrete shards from the ground around Seongho¡¯s feet scattered away as he tried to dodge the aim.


    ¡°If you move even slightly, I¡¯ll shoot right away.¡±


    When Myung-jun raised his gun, Seongho gently raised his hand.


    ¡°I wondered why the Battle Royale¡¯s didn¡¯t end yet, turns out you are here.¡±


    ¡°Bastard. You pretend as if you didn¡¯t know. I know you saw me through the paper airplane.¡±


    Both of them looked at each other from a distance and had a brief battle of nerves. It was Myung-jun who acted first, though. He couldn¡¯t hide his joy that he held the life and death of I Love Gimbap.


    ¡°Ha¡­ Turns out, I Love Gimbap is no big deal. Hey, let¡¯s hear your name.¡±


    ¡°Did you not know? My name is Kang Seongho.¡±


    ¡°Kang Seongho? It¡¯s a pretty common name.¡±


    ¡°You thought I would have an alien-like name?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. After all, you are acting like a complete psychopath.¡±


    ¡°Psychopath is an exaggeration. All I did was kill those who attacked me.¡±


    When Seongho laughed, Goo Myung-jun licked his lips with his tongue. He just needed to pull the trigger and he would die. However, before that, he wanted to hear some information. After all, there were only two of them here.


    ¡°Let me ask you one thing. How did you kill our clan leader?¡±


    ¡°Ah, you mean in front of the museum?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ our clan leader seems like a funny person, but he has a knack for stealth. If he makes up his mind and hides, no one will find him. How did you find him?¡±


    ¡°I saw the trajectory of the grenade he shot at me.¡±


    ¡°¡­you saw that?¡±


    Goo Myung-jun¡¯s eyes opened wide as he heard Seongho¡¯s words. The grenade was, of course, slower than bullets. The shooter could clearly see the trajectory, even if it¡¯s only for a brief moment. But seeing it from the point of view of the victim was nothing but absurdity.


    ¡®Isn¡¯t that crazy?¡¯


    He swallowed dry saliva and tightened his fingers on the guns. He thought he would regret it later if he didn¡¯t kill him here.


    ¡°Anyway, you must die. Do you know why? Because you made me like this.¡±


    ¡°Did you come all the way from Itaewon to kill me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been hard¡­ But since I can kill you, it¡¯s worth it.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to kill me? Do you think that was possible?¡±


    The moment Seongho tilted his head, Goo Myung-jun pulled the trigger. However, the sight he expected to happen did not happen. Rather than the bullet piercing through his head, the bullet bounced off something invisible.


    ¡°Wha-what?¡±


    While he was panicking, Seongho pulled something out of his backpack. In the next moment, something flew into Myung-jun¡¯s forehead as he shifted his position and aimed the gun again.


    Puff-!!


    The pepper bomb exploded and the peppet powder covered his face. Goo Myung-jun, who was about to pull the trigger, did not know what to do as terrible pain enveloped his senses.


    ¡°ACKKKKKKKKKK!!!!¡±


    The pepper bomb was something which made even werewolves go crazy, so it was only natural that a human would also feel crazy, although not as much as a werewolf, which has an increased sensitivity on their senses. Seongho pulled out his gun and aimed it at him as the guy rolled over the floor.


    Bang-!! Bang-!!


    Goo Myung-jun¡¯s movements stopped with two gunshots.


    ¡°You talk too much.¡± Seongho chided in a cold voice. Even if you have something to say, it is better to do it after you kill the enemy.


    When Seongho finally became the sole winner of the event, three items appeared in front of him.


    ¡°One resurrection scroll, the other two¡­¡± was surprisingly a Crime Pardon Scroll and an item slot expansion. Seongho hid his joy, tore the item slot expansion scroll and packed other items in his backpack.


    Thanks to the completion of the Battle Royale event, some of his stats returned and some of his skills could be used once again.


    ¡°Out of all the skills I have, why did it have to be Eye Of Truth!¡±


    Additional effects were also opened up to level 10, allowing 4 dimension slots to be used. Therefore, Seongho put his equipment into the dimension slot. When he checked the Auction House, he came to know that both Seokhyun and Da-jeong couldn¡¯t even see people.


    -Oh, it¡¯s completely out of business. There¡¯s nothing but silence here!


    -Seongho, how is it there?


    -I got 1st place and the event is over. The prize is a Resurrection Scroll, a Crime Pardon Scroll and an item slot expansion ticket.


    -Fuck, why did no one come here?


    Definitely because they¡¯re afraid of them.


    Seongho muttered to himself and looked through the other auctions. As expected, all kinds of rumors were circulating. In particular, the gossip that the battlefield in a certain area was over was buzzing. Whoever posted it must have taken advantage of the psychology of people who want to go to a safe place.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be a mess even when it¡¯s over.¡±


    Those who survived Battle Royale would not believe any information they read. So, it was a terrifying event. At that time, a huge portal appeared next to Seongho. It was bigger from his own portal or even dungeon. Seongho didn¡¯t know what it was at first, but when he turned his head, he was startled.


    ¡°To think this thing is already out at this time.¡± As far as he knows, there¡¯s only one thing which had a portal this large as an entrance.


    The Great Labyrinth.


    One of the end contents of Survival Life.

 Chapter 177

    The Great Labyrinth was something entirely different from a normal dungeon. Once the portal appears, it will not close. On top of it, there¡¯s also no restriction whatsoever about the number of people that can enter. In other words, anyone could enter at any time.


    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s an easy place to clear¡­¡± As one of the endgame contents of the game, The Great Labyrinth boasted an incredibly large scale. On top of it, its difficulty was also hellish. The four of us died countless times there until we got used to the monster and the environment within.


    However, The Great Labyrinth wasn¡¯t something which was absolutely impossible to clear. If people can hold back their greed and keep themselves from diving too deep at their very first run, and decided to plan every step thoroughly, it was possible to attack it with minimum casualty.


    From the 5th floor onwards, the story was a little different, though. It was due to special monsters, which have the ability to attack the mind of the survivors, which would appear from 5th floor onwards. It¡¯s easy to get confused by them because they¡¯re monsters which people couldn¡¯t normally see on the outside world.


    The key to defeating those monsters was having a mental resistance or immunity. However, items containing those options would only start to appear from the 5th floor. In other words, to break the 5th floor, you need an item from the 5th floor. It¡¯s a f*cked up rule, indeed.


    ¡°Even thinking about it now makes me mad.¡± Luckily, I have a ring with a mental resistance option ready. So, I wouldn¡¯t have to experience those ordeals ever again.


    Of course, that wasn¡¯t the only factor that made The Great Labyrinth a pain in the ass. There were also various traps and dangerous obstacles with strange status ailments throughout every floor. In my experience, the most difficult thing in the beginning stage of the labyrinth was the doppelgangers, which came out on the 6th and 7th floor.


    ¡°It¡¯s scary because it feels as if we are fighting ourselves.¡±


    The further down we go, the more dangerous it becomes. All in all, The Great Labyrinth was one of the end contents for a reason. After all, I hadn¡¯t seen the deepest floor of it either.


    ¡°There were rumors that there¡¯s a real monster in the deepest part.¡± I remembered that Rapwi said that he heard the cry of a monster from below when we were inside once. Though, as we were not going down soon, it was irrelevant information for the current me.


    I looked around and poked my head into the portal. Naturally, a dark space welcomed me. This endless dark labyrinth would be the thing that would wear out the mind of the challenger. However, The Great Labyrinth was not necessarily a desolate place. There were places where people could use as a rest area in the deeper part of the labyrinth.


    ¡°But, it¡¯s hard to find a place like that¡­¡± I was the only one with a systematic strategy for The Great Labyrinth. With our current power, it¡¯s enough for us to clear the middle part and a few stages in the deep part.


    ¡°Not like it¡¯s the time, though.¡± When I pulled my head out and put my hands on the portal, it went in smoothly. There¡¯s no need to be anxious. The entrance is not the only entrance to The Great Labyrinth, as there are many other entrances all over the country. It wouldn¡¯t be too late to attack it after the Battle Royale event concluded.


    I noted the location of the portal on the map and climbed up to the tallest building nearby. Even though I already got my prizes, there¡¯s still work to be done. It¡¯s regarding the Chinese survivors who come from the west sea. Those guys were pushing in recklessly with no regard to their safety. They didn¡¯t care about zombie raids or Battle Royale at all.


    ¡°They only have one life. What a reckless bunch¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t understand their actions at all. If they just drive out the Koreans and occupy Incheon and Bucheon, they would be able to live quite a stable life. So why are they trying to push further?


    I browsed through the Auction House to find out what the hell they were thinking. But what I found at first was the raging Koreans.


    -Why did those guys come this way? We are in the middle of Battle Royale right now!


    -When did those bastards pay attention to the event? There¡¯s only one thing they know how to do. Pushing in with quantity.


    -If you can¡¯t handle them, destroy every supply you can¡¯t carry before retreating. Don¡¯t give anything to those bastards!


    -How many Chinese were out there?


    -I heard that they had occupied most cities on the west coast.


    -The clans from Gwangju are preparing to move now.


    Normally, Koreans and Chinese survivors always debate with everyone, no matter who they are, in the Auction House. However, at this moment, every Korean survivor is gathered together by their mutual hatred for the Chinese, and the same was also true for the opposite side.


    In the case of the Koreans, even though they were sometimes hard to convince. they were still reasonable to some degree. However, the Chinese were completely out of hand. Every single of them argued that they should unite and kill Koreans and take over this land. Looking at their actions made me¨Cwho doesn¡¯t have any preconceived notions about people from other countries¨Con the cusp of looking at them with preconceived notions.


    At that time, I came to know that someone had found an auction item put up by a Chinese person. So, I went into the auction item and looked at the comments for a while. It seems like some Chinese had made a decision to enter the Auction House.


    -The brothers who went to the airport were all dead.


    -It¡¯s fine. There are still many people who are willing to replace them.


    Aigoo¡­ What is this conversation? Are they trying to imitate people from the ages of the Three Kingdoms?


    Judging from the conversation, it seemed that that one particular person had a high status among the Chinese. It could be said that he¡¯s someone who¡¯s on the level of a military general from a martial arts novel.


    Using the Eye Of Truth skill, I saw that the name of the military general was Ju Seung Su.


    -Continue to push the Koreans. They¡¯re currently going through a big event and they wouldn¡¯t be able to help each other.


    -F*ck you! Don¡¯t you know Battle Royale applies to you guys too?


    An angry Korean stormed towards the comment section and poured out abusive language. The comment section became noisy for a while, but Ju Seung Su responded calmly.


    -So, what would you do if we continue to do so? Do you guys have any countermeasures?


    -Do you know what a Battle Royale is? All your men are currently dying.


    -Didn¡¯t I say it doesn¡¯t matter? There are many brothers who will die for us.


    What kind of drugs did he take to be able to say those kinds of things out loud? Even if the Chinese were crazy, they probably weren¡¯t retarded bastards who don¡¯t think their lives worth anything.


    I entered a comment.


    -This is I Love Gimbap. Koreans, please be quiet for a moment. I¡¯ll talk.


    The noisy comment section became really quiet And Ju Seung Su showed interest in me.


    -Who are you?


    -No one. I just someone who like gimbap. Though, I am also someone who killed the subordinates you sent to the airport and someone who killed a woman called Shen Long in the past.


    -Leader! It¡¯s that bastard!


    Chinese people started to comment at that moment. However, not long after Ju Seung Su said a word, everyone became quiet.


    -Seeing you easily silence other Koreans with your words alone, it seems like you have a pretty high status among Koreans.


    -Actually, I don¡¯t have any status. I am just someone who is always trying his best to survive in this apocalypse.


    -Seeing that you are not trying to boast or something, I believe you are a capable person. Okay then, what did you come here for?


    -I¡¯m curious as to why you guys are just going around that recklessly.


    -It¡¯s to live.


    -You send people to their graves in order to live? The words don¡¯t match.


    -Didn¡¯t you see what I said before? I said there are many, many other people that can replace them. Do you know what that means?


    For a moment, I thought that he had a brainwashing unique ability, but it shouldn¡¯t be. It¡¯s simply impossible to brainwash so many people at once.


    If so, maybe?


    -Did you scam them?


    -What?


    -Are you fooling your subordinates by saying that they can be resurrected after they die?


    -Please refrain from calling them my subordinates. They are my brothers.


    -Funny. Are there any brothers out there who would push their brothers to die?


    -Hahaha¡­ Maybe there is? Who knows?


    -What if I reveal the truth?


    -There is no one who will believe you, Korean.


    That¡¯s right. If I told the other Chinese that they were being deceived by someone in their ranks, I would be treated like an idiot. The guys who were in this auction comment could be said as Ju Seung Su¡¯s closest aides, so it doesn¡¯t matter if they know. And even if I told them the conversation, he could simply take down the auction item; erasing all the evidence.


    -Now that you¡¯ve figured it out, you surely know our ultimate goal, right? I heard that there are a lot of supplies there.


    Is he talking about the Korean Shelter?


    In fact, that information was widespread, so it was unfitting to call it a secret now.


    -If you people go there, you will all be killed. There¡¯s a scary old man armed with a gun there.


    -Doesn¡¯t matter. If he kills 10 people, 100 people will take their place. If we see a slight gap, he will die. That event could only have one winner, right?


    This is a pain in the ass. As he said, it would be difficult for even Hyunwoo to stop the enemies from all directions alone. After all, his stats and skills were limited. Even if he already won, it¡¯s a high hurdle to kill 100 people alone. A simple slip up and he would be sent into the afterlife.


    Should I just leave him alone? I am also contracted to the Korean Shelter now. But the problem is, If I try to come and help, he wouldn¡¯t look at it kindly and would only lash towards me.


    -Do whatever you feel like. Whether you die or not, I don¡¯t care.


    However, Ju Seung Su¡¯s reaction was strange. It was as if he was trying to provoke me.


    -Are you scared? Yes, you should be afraid. Our brothers believe that Koreans caused this incident. Look at you guys, knowing that the world would be destroyed, yet did nothing but silently prepare by yourself¡­Why didn¡¯t you tell us if you knew beforehand?


    -Funny. Our government did tell yours, and a lot others about it. But it looked like your government just ignored it.


    -What I said earlier was a bit misleading. Our purpose is not to drive you out. It¡¯s killing you all.


    It seems that Ju Seung Su decided not to listen to me and speak only for himself.


    -Aren¡¯t you guys trying to survive the Battle Royale?


    -We don¡¯t have to kill each other, right?


    Come to think of it, Most of the Chinese survivors were low-level. Even if the stats were sealed and the skills were blocked, their current power wouldn¡¯t differ much from how it normally is. In other words, they accidentally became a beneficiary of a Battle Royale. But if they didn¡¯t finish the battlefield, they won¡¯t get anything. Even if new monsters and items appear, they cannot use it.


    -The monsters will stop the Chinese.


    When I spoke in a sarcastic tone, Ju Seung Su made an unexpected statement.


    -I know what you¡¯re talking about. But there is a way to work around it. We just have to pick a few of the useless volunteers, and kill them later¡­ There are a lot of people who are willing to die for us anyway.


    After that comment, the auction item went down.


    Woah, that bastard is smarter than I thought?


    Outraged Koreans went to other auctions and poured out their anger there. Meanwhile, I carefully organized my thoughts. No matter how I talked to them, It seemed that I wouldn¡¯t be able to stop them. However, I hoped not all Chinese were like that.


    Then there¡¯s only one thing I should do.


    ¡°I need to kill a lot of them. But not all.¡±


    .


    .


    .


    Just because the Battle Royale event occurred, monsters did not just disappear. Therefore, the survivors had to deal with monsters on top of fighting each other.


    ¡°It will be difficult.¡± I said, before taking a motorcycle out of the portal. If someone moved to another area right after finishing their battlefield just like me, there¡¯s a risk that they would be caught up in an on-going Battle Royale event. For them, it would be as if they were struck by a lightning bolt on a sunny day. There¡¯s only one way to avoid that. It was by turning oneself into a murderer.


    Murder wouldn¡¯t be judgedas one if it was done on a battlefield where the Battle Royale event takes place. No matter how many people you kill, you won¡¯t become a murderer. However, when the event was over, the battlefield would be returned to normal. If I kill someone near the airport, I would become a murderer, and I would be able to move without affecting other battlefields.


    ¡°I¡¯m not 100% sure about it, but it¡¯s worth a try.¡± This was some kind of bug, so I had only tried it once. At that time, I accidentally discovered it while fighting a national treasure. So, it was unclear whether it would work or not. (P/n national treasure in game refers to players who plays as a murderer. They¡¯re so rare, that¡¯s why the stagnant waters called them national treasure, because they¡¯re rare and had to be preserved.)


    ¡°Let¡¯s see, where are the Chinese¡­¡±


    When I put a note inside the portal, two paper planes flew to the sky. It seems that Yoohyeon had returned to the shelter. Thanks to that, I was able to quickly find out where the Chinese were.


    -There are Chinese people in the paddy fields above the runway. Their numbers are about 10 people.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I opened the Auction House again and contacted Seokhyun and Dajeong.


    -People aren¡¯t coming there?


    -Yeah.


    -Seriously¡­. Seongho, can you please do something?


    -Just stay there. I¡¯ll be going there.


    -What? If you move now, you¡¯ll have to play Battle Royale again.


    -I¡¯m going to be a murderer, so it¡¯s okay.


    I managed to convince them both.


    Da-jeong asked.


    -Are you using that bug?


    -Yeah


    -You really know everything¡­ Even the strange things.


    -Anyway, just keep staying there, because the Chinese are not going to get close to you guys. Also, don¡¯t be alarmed if you hear the heartbeat.


    -Seongho, fighting!


    It¡¯s a bit strange to say ¡®fighting¡¯ as encouragement when I was about to kill people, but oh well. When I pulled the throttle hard, the motorcycle jumped out.


    Vroooom~!!


    As I raced down the highway in the spring breeze, I saw Chinese people pointing at me. I stopped the motorcycle, pulled out my rifle and aimed it at them.


    Bang-!!


    The moment I got the notification about how many points I got, my vision turned red.


    Thump-!!


    When the deathmatch started, the Chinese were stunned and quickly scattered. However, it¡¯s useless. After all, there¡¯s no need for me to wait for the zombie wall to kill them.


    I chased after them on a motorcycle and hunted them one by one. As I got murderer¡¯s unique tracking skill and stats buff, I killed all 10 of them before the zombie wall even formed. To be honest, my current state was ridiculously inferior compared to my original stats. However, it was still a league higher than any other people.


    Surprisingly, the 10th person netted me a friendliness skill.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± I took a deep breath and suppressed the growing desire to kill. It¡¯s good to have a murderer-only skill, but the Eye of Truth and the Stigma of Death skill were now gone.


    I finally called the Auction House and entered a comment in the most crowded Auction Item.


    -This is I Love Gimbap. Currently, there is a portal leading to The Great Labyrinth in front of the shopping street in front of Gimpo Airport¡­ Once you enter, you will not be affected by the Battle Royale event.


    -Seriously?


    -Is that portal the very same big portal that appeared in front of Yatap Station?


    -Oh my god! Then, doesn¡¯t it mean that we don¡¯t have to do Battle Royale?


    -Correct. The event didn¡¯t happen inside because it was some place in a different dimension from Earth. Well, those who want to get a resurrection scroll should still aim for the win, though.


    There¡¯s some more things I need to tell them here.


    -The area around the Airport should be fine as I already finished the event there. However, you should never go anywhere else. There are many places where Battle Royale is not over yet.


    ¨C Then what should we do next?


    -When crossing a river, how do you cross it? You can cross by checking which stone is not a slippery one, right? You just need to do that. Try to share some information for others too.


    In other words, they should check the area where the battlefield had ended and share it amongst them.


    -There should be more portals in other areas, so make sure the battlefield is over before moving.


    -If 100 people rush to enter the portal without knowing, will 100 people get entangled in the Battle Royale?


    -You¡¯re right. By the way, don¡¯t be alarmed if you hear a murderer¡¯s heartbeat. because it¡¯s mine.


    -Huh, did you become a murderer, I Love Gimbap?


    -Yeah. But don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t touch anyone other than the Chinese.


    -Wow, if it wasn¡¯t for you, a lot of people would have died.


    -If you know something like that, you should¡¯ve told us in advance¡­


    To think there¡¯s still someone who said such things¡­


    However, before I could say anything, they were crushed by other people¡¯s barrage of censored words. Some of them said things that were confusing whether they were serious or joking.


    -I Love Gimbab-nim, you can see my name, right? If you come to my location now, you can have a good time.


    -Are you a woman?


    -If it¡¯s a good time, then, is it sex?


    -Wow, I¡¯m fucking jealous.


    -Let¡¯s not talk about that.


    I¡¯m sorry, but the Eye of Truth skill was temporarily disabled from my arsenal, so I can¡¯t see your name.


    -Stop saying such nonsense and just focus on surviving.


    There¡¯s nothing more I can do. I closed the Auction House and drove my motorcycle. My destination was Sincheon.

 Chapter 178

    After crossing the Han River by boat, Seongho raced along the riverside road on top of his motorcycle. Since people were busy fighting or escaping to the Great Labyrinth portal, no one bothered him.


    But what about the monsters? Of course, they didn¡¯t even care about him, since he had the Friendliness skill. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Seongho was enjoying the greatest freedom one can get on Earth at this moment.


    Vrooom-!!


    The low exhaust sound of the motorcycle echoed through the empty riverside road. While breezing through, he pulled out a mithril blade and blew off an orc¡¯s neck, which was standing in the way.


    Slash~!!


    Green blood spurted to the air and the orc¡¯s head floated into the air. The goblins, who were escorting it, could not respond to the death of their boss and just stood in daze.


    ¡°This is the power of Friendliness skill.¡± A skill that only murderer could acquire. However, the skill was not all good; It¡¯s a difficult skill to maintain. If the user doesn¡¯t keep killing, the skill will disappear.


    ¡°Should I say it¡¯s fortunate that there are Chinese people¡­¡± It wasn¡¯t the ending he wanted, but he had no intention of avoiding it, since the situation had spiraled down so much like this.


    Seongho ran down the Seongsan road and entered the place he had set as the meeting place beforehand with Da-jeong. After walking a while, he could see Da-jeong fighting monsters at the back gate intersection. The werewolves and ghouls were left behind in the forest beyond the shelter, so she was currently fighting by herself with shotguns in hand.


    bang-!! bang-!!


    The orc zombie collapsed into the ground from the pouring shotgun bullets. However, the battle was not over just yet, as there were quite a lot of monsters surrounding her.


    ¡°Da-jeong!¡±


    When she saw who called her, she smirked and ran over to Seongho, leaving all the monsters behind.


    ¡°Hubby!!!¡±


    When she get close to the motorcycle, she jumped and landed right on the fuel tank. She hugged Seongho while her lips attacked Seongho¡¯s lips and her hands groping Seongho¡¯s back.


    ¡°Uhhhh¡­¡± In her eyes, Seongho, who was appearing on a motorcycle, looked like a handsome knight with a wild vibe riding on a black horse. The sound of heartbeats could be heard over and over again, but she didn¡¯t pay any attention to it and just kept clinging to him. Thanks to that, the motorcycle was slanted to one side. The only thing that kept it standing was Seongho¡¯s feet.


    ¡®Why is she suddenly being like this?¡¯ Seongho said to himself before pulling away from her and asked.


    ¡°Are you hurt anywhere?¡±


    Da-jeong couldn¡¯t muster any words and stared blankly at him as soon as she heard those words.


    ¡®Is there a kinder man than him in this world?¡¯ He might be branded as a murderer or a psychopath by others, but he was nothing but a warm-hearted, kind, loveable man to her.


    ¡°I can¡¯t hold it anymore¡­ Let¡¯s do it here.¡± She clung to him like a cat pouncing at its prey, but Seongho answered by simply shaking his head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have time. I have to send you inside before taking Seokhyun to the Great Labyrinth.¡±


    ¡°Why Seokhyun?¡±


    ¡°The people who entered the Great Labyrinth must be fighting right now. If Seokhyun¡¯s there, they will listen to him.¡±


    Da-jeong looked up at Seongho at that moment. She thought that maybe his caring side was influenced by Jang Won-taek. Well, that¡¯s not too bad¡­


    ¡°What about you?¡± Da-jeong asked.


    ¡°I should go to the Korean Shelter and kill all the Chinese that went there.¡±


    Seongho¡¯s eyes gleamed red and fierce as he said that. He was in a murderer state and was right in front of her, so she could hear his heart beating violently. But all of that didn¡¯t scare her. It only made him look more alluring to her eyes.


    ¡°Kiss me and touch me.¡± Seongho nodded and did what she wanted. A brief moan followed right after before the two pulled away from each other a few seconds later.


    ¡°Ha¡­¡± She sighed.


    Before long, Seongho opened the portal and tapped her on the butt.


    ¡°Go in and rest. I will call you after I finish.¡±


    ¡°¡­it¡¯s a pity that I can¡¯t get a Resurrection Scroll.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped since no one came to your area. Everyone must be afraid of you.¡±


    ¡°By the way, why aren¡¯t they running?¡±


    The ¡®they¡¯ in her words referred to monsters roaming around them.


    ¡°I got the Friendliness skill. I have to kill someone before the end of the day to keep it going, though.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I pity those Chinese¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be, they deserved it.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, see you later.¡±


    She shot out the remaining bullets in the shotgun at the monsters before heading into the portal. After she entered, Seongho reached out towards the ground beyond the portal to find his backpack.


    ¡°There you are.¡± After pulling it back to Earth, he got on the motorcycle and headed straight for Y University. As soon as he arrived there, he could see Seokhyun sleeping on the grass field in front of a building, which purpose was unknown thanks to how dilapidated it was.


    ¡°Seokhyun!¡± Seongho shouted. Since his stats were currently low, he kept sleeping as he seemed to be unable to hear the heartbeat.


    ¡°Ah¡­ You¡¯ve arrived?¡± Seokhyun opened his eyes and jumped to his feet.


    ¡°Come on, I have something for you to do.¡±


    Seokhyun got on the tandem seat without asking what it was.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Duck?¡±


    ¡°I have nothing planned for her right now, so I sent her to the shelter.¡±


    ¡°Seemed like she¡¯ll have something to do later.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. But for now, come inside for a second.¡±


    As soon as the portal opened, Seokhyun went inside. Then, Seongho drove back to the airport. On the way, he saw people running into the direction of the airport. They were all scared witless after hearing the heartbeat.


    ¡°A-a murderer!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that I Love Gimbap?¡±


    Seongho ignored them and drove by at maximum speed in order to prevent a deathmatch event from happening. He drove down a deserted road and finally parked his motorcycle on the border of the airport battlefield. ¡°Take this.¡±


    Seokhyun, who was handed the backpack, asked.


    ¡°What should I do inside?¡±


    ¡°The people inside are probably debating about a lot of things right now. Just calm them down for now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m good at.¡±


    He raised his hands wrapped with the ogre gloves. Since the Great Labyrinth was somewhere in a different dimension, the effect of the ¡®Shackles of War¡¯ debuff would disappear. Therefore, no matter how talented they were, they wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat Seokhyun¡¯s monstrous power.


    ¡°You can go to that police station. The entrance was close to there. By the way, please refrain from exploring the first floor if possible. Bye.¡±


    Seongho disappeared and Seokhyun ran towards the police station in front of him.


    ¡°O-oops! That¡¯s close.¡± Just after a few steps, Seokhyun stopped and double-checked the direction of the police station. ¡°I almost ran to a different place.¡±


    In the end, Seokhyun successfully found a large portal in front of the police station. The eyes of those who saw him widened.


    ¡°It¡¯s Rapwi¡­¡±


    ¡°My god! It¡¯s true, he really only wears panties¡­¡±


    ¡°But he did wear a rabbit headband¡­¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t count as clothes though? So why?¡±


    Seokhyun instantly became a hot topic to people around the entrance of the Great Labyrinth as soon as he arrived.


    ¡°Hey, I already cleared my battlefield, so why does the ¡®Shackles of War¡¯ debuff still apply to me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He entered the portal, leaving a chic statement behind. Inside, several people were fighting while spitting insults at each other. Seokhyun clenched his fist and jumped. After a while, three people were thrown to the ground outside the portal.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±


    Each of them let out a deep moan as if they had been beaten harshly. Seokhyun came out of the portal and raised his fists to everyone.


    ¡°Who wants to fight again?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Everyone was silent at his question.


    .


    .


    .


    On my way to Yeouido, I stopped by a collapsed apartment building and checked on my status window.


    ¡¸Level: ¨C Points: 900


    Vitality: 24 Strength:18 Agility:24 Dexterity:18 Perception:18


    Unique Skill: Dedicated Dimension Door.


    Skill: Friendliness, Secret Pursuit, Toughness, Hard Skin 2, Pain Tolerance


    Active Buffs: Shackles of War, Strong Murderer¡¹


    ¡°It¡¯s surprisingly quite high¡­¡± The points would be added to the amount I originally have later, so it doesn¡¯t matter. The important thing was the stats and skills.


    He had received buffs from Moon Tangerine, Royal Honey, and Fire Mushroom grown by Ji-man. On top of that, he also had the Strong Murderer buff on him, increasing his stats even more. However, it still hasn¡¯t managed to reach the same height as his original stats with Berserk skill activated.


    ¡°When will this fucking shackle got lifted¡­¡± I had only experienced Battle Royale once in the game, so I don¡¯t know the exact time for it. Looking at the video, it seemed like it would be released soon, but I wasn¡¯t sure because back in the game, I died after fighting the national treasure.


    Looking at the Auction House, the people at the airport were surprisingly quiet. The only thing they were complaining about was why the Shackles of War debuff hadn¡¯t gotten lifted yet.


    ¡°Do I have to clear the surrounding battlefield as well?¡± If that was indeed the case, the Chinese were needed. After all, I couldn¡¯t fight any Korean now after declaring that I won¡¯t attack any of them.


    I looked at other auctions and went to the Korean Shelter¡¯s item. Looking at the comment section, I found out that an unexpected situation was unfolding.


    -President! President! I will go there now! Please wait a little longer!


    -You don¡¯t have to¡­ Don¡¯t you have work to do? For those who will return¡­ to keep the shelter¡­


    The atmosphere was weird. When I looked up the comments, it seemed that Jang Won-taek had been attacked by someone. He is currently hiding in a reserve shelter, but several people came and started a gunfight against him. He was currently injured, and Hyuwnoo was unable to go to rescue him as he was busy defending the Shelter.


    Lee Beom-seok¡¯s comments, which came every few minutes or so, was evident that he¡¯s currently participating in the event.


    ¡°The President, huh¡­¡± I didn¡¯t have any particular feelings for him, but he was definitely a person who shouldn¡¯t die like this. He was an altruistic person who thought of others more than himself. His efforts on minimizing the damage of the apocalypse, gathering people, and preserving Korea¡¯s cultural heritage were something which had to be held highly.


    ¡°¡­you have to live a little longer.¡±


    I asked Hyun-woo .


    -Where is the President?


    -You really think I¡¯m gonna tell you? You might as well say that you want to kill him yourself.


    -It doesn¡¯t matter what you think, but at this point, shouldn¡¯t you just take any chances possible for the President to survive?


    His hesitation was brief. Hyun-woo quickly gave me the location of the shelter.


    -If anything happens to the President, I will not leave you alone.


    -Don¡¯t be nosy and just take good care of the Chinese.


    -Damn it!


    Seeing his violent reaction, it seemed like the situation at the Korean Shelter wasn¡¯t good. But, If I want to help the defense, I would just be an uninvited guest.


    I drove the motorcycle and headed to the reserve shelter where Jang Won-taek was hiding. The entrance was open and I could see traces of two people. This was the effect of the Secret Pursuit skill.


    ¡°One is Jang Won-taek¡¯s and the other belongs to the raider¡¯s.¡±


    I entered the reserve shelter, ignored the supplies, and followed the trail. The shelter was dark, but thanks to the murderer¡¯s unique vision, I could see shadows moving in the dark.


    ¡°Huh!¡±


    Surprised by the heartbeat, the raider started to run. I blocked his escape route and approached him. Surprisingly, he tried to escape using his levitating unique skill. I waited for him to climb to the ceiling and fired the pistol.


    ¡°Uh-huh!¡±


    The assailant struggled after being hit by a bullet and fell to the floor. His leg was bent at an odd angle, clearly broken. I approached him and slammed a spear I looted nearby into his heart. Once I saw him stop moving, I looked for the President and found him gasping for breath in one particular corner.


    ¡°Kuh¡­ Your heartbeat is unusual¡­¡±


    ¡°I became a murderer so that I can move around in an easier way.¡±


    His gaze turned to me. His unfocused eyes looked like it could go at any moment. He was pressing his stomach with his handkerchief, and red blood was dripping to the floor.


    Were there no potions in this place?


    Upon closer inspection, I saw two corpses and a backpack lying around him. It made it clear that there were originally three intruders, and they had stolen his backpacks.


    I searched around the guy with levitation ability and found a resurrection scroll and a skill extension right on him.


    Jang Won-taek tossed his body towards me and let out a stuffy moan.


    ¡°You became a murderer just so you can move around easily? What does that mean, Seongho?¡±


    ¡°Once you clear your battlefield and become a murderer, the surrounding battlefield wouldn¡¯t be affected, nor does a new battlefield would be triggered by your presence. It¡¯s as if I have become non-existent.¡±


    ¡°I-I see¡­ Cough!¡± Every time he coughed, blood spattered between his fingers. It looks like his internal organs were damaged. Even if we have a potion, we wouldn¡¯t be able to heal him completely.


    I opened the portal and called Sooyeon.


    ¡°Sooyeon, Can you come here? Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s safe. There is someone that needs your ability.¡±


    When she stepped out, she was quite surprised by her patient.


    ¡°Mi-mister President?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Is that you, Miss Sooyeon? Heh heh, the doctor has come¡­ I¡¯m alive.¡±


    She immediately touched Jang Won-taek¡¯s wounds. The golden color enveloped the wound, and Jang Won-taek¡¯s condition improved noticeably. I rummaged through my backpack, found a potion, and poured it into his mouth.


    ¡°Cough Cough Cough!¡±


    Jang Won-taek coughed loudly and his eyes twitched.


    ¡°Uh-huh, I¡¯m good now.¡±


    He stood up with Sooyeon¡¯s support. Then he bowed to us.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that, Mister President.¡± Sooyeon shook her hand and let out a long sigh.


    ¡°Thanks to you, I survived. When those three came for me, I really thought I was going to die¡­¡±


    ¡°But you have dealt with two of them, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simply because I have a pistol with me¡­¡±


    When I offered the Resurrection Scroll and the skill extension right I looted from the guy I killed, Jang Won-taek shook his head.


    ¡°You can have it, Seongho. You got the last hit, after all.¡±


    This guy even know a game term?


    I put the Resurrection Scroll in his hand and forced him to have it. Before long, he laughed.


    ¡°Anyway, thank you. I need to contact Beom-seok for a moment¡­¡±


    He disappeared into the dark after saying those words. Then, I handed the skill expansion scroll to Sooyeon.


    ¡°You gave me a buff and treated him, so I hope you can have it¡­¡±


    She waved her hand.


    ¡°No. I only have 4 skills now. Seongho is the one who needs it more.¡±


    To think she didn¡¯t even have 5 skills¡­ Well, that should be the norm for a lot of survivors.


    When I tore the skill slot extension scroll, Sooyeon hesitated and said,


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know if it¡¯s okay to say something like this in the current situation, but I think you¡¯re so cool at this moment. My heart can¡¯t stop beating after seeing you.¡±


    Uhh, I think that¡¯s the effect of the Murderer¡¯s Mark, though?


    ¡°¡­that¡¯s probably because I¡¯m currently a murderer. If you move away from me, the heartbeat will be less audible.¡±


    She listened to my words and moved away from me. She hurriedly covered her mouth with her hand. She didn¡¯t say anything else and just ran back into the portal. She must have been embarrassed.


    As soon as the portal was closed, Jang Won-taek hurriedly came and said,


    ¡°Seongho, do you have any spare time?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t. I have other things to do.¡±


    ¡°Aigoo¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to Yeouido to kill the Chinese survivors. I¡¯m going to make sure they will never get arrogant again.¡± It would be easier for us later if I put them in their place now.


    Jang Won-taek opened his eyes and looked at me. Then, he took my hand. ¡°Thank you for going to such lengths for us.¡±


    ¡°If you are thankful, just give me some of your supplies.¡± Saying that, I left the reserve shelter.


    .


    .


    .


    In the Korean Shelter, a lot of people had gathered. However, amongst the countless people gathering around the shelter, there was only one Korean standing. It was Major Kim Hyun-woo. He had climbed to the top of a warehouse and shot his gun at anyone who came close to him. His opponent was dozens of Chinese people.


    Tatatang!


    When the burst fire was over, a few Chinese people collapsed on the floor. The others fled in surprise, but did not run away. After all, they believed that they would have a gap to attack him.


    ¡°Go back! Attract attention!¡±


    ¡°Those who have nothing to do, throw some stones at that guy!¡±


    Against modern firearms, they had nothing but bare bodies and clumsy tactics. However, their sheer numbers had done wonders.


    Seeing the guys climbing up the warehouse, Major Hyun-woo was stunned. Meanwhile, Liu Wei, who commanded the raid, was ecstatic. He believed that soon, the large warehouse would fall into his hands. Of course, it wouldn¡¯t be his alone, but that¡¯s something which he didn¡¯t have any problem with.


    ¡°What are you doing! Fill the blank space left by your fallen brothers! Don¡¯t give him time to attack!¡± There was no focus in the eyes of the Chinese which attacked powerlessly. After all, a lot of them were high because of the ghoul flower powder. Many people were sacrificed in the process of proving his loyalty to Ju Seung Su, but there were still many people.


    Liu Wei exclaimed a little more inwardly. He felt more and more convinced that the warehouse would soon be in his hands.


    However at that moment, he could hear a rough exhaust sound and a heartbeat. When the Chinese turned their eyes to the source of the sounds, there was a motorcycle racing towards them. When it got closer, he could see a large man holding a mithril blade.


    Liu Wei¡¯s face contorted in shock.


    Who the hell is that guy?


    He remembered that someone had an argument with their general in the Auction House, but before he could recall more details regarding it, he woke up from his thoughts. The motorcycle squeaked to a halt and a man started walking into his direction.


    It was only when Liu Wei see the man¡¯s red eyes and felt his intimidating presence pricking on his skin that he realized that the guy was a murderer. In haste, he tried to instruct his mindless underlings. Unfortunately, before he could even give an order, the man moved. He was holding a mithril blade in one hand and a rifle in the other.


    ¡°Kill him!¡± At his words, the drugged and insane Chinese underlings of Liu Wei rushed in.


    But no one did achieve the purpose. Their heads flew to the air and blood spilled to the ground as the man swung the mithril blade.


    Crazy guy¡­


    Liu Wei twisted his lips and shouted at the man.


    ¡°Stop!¡±


    His voice contains the power to block the movement of the opponent. When the man stopped, the Chinese rushed in.


    Meanwhile, Hyun-woo, who was breathing heavily on the roof, witnessed a terrifying sight: Limbs and heads flew without end.


    The culprit, Seongho, only silently passed between them. It wasn¡¯t a battle or anything like that. It was a one-sided massacre.


    When several people fell to the ground, the Chinese realized. The one man who they should have never angered had arrived.

 Chapter 179

    Murderers has a particular characteristic that distinguish them from other users. It was the fact that the more they kill, the stronger they become. Thanks to that, Seongho¡¯s stats were far above all other survivors, and he starts killing the Chinese without giving them time to react.


    Hyun-woo, who was watching from the roof of the warehouse, couldn¡¯t utter a single word and just stared blankly.


    ¡®A lion that jumped into a flock of sheep¡­¡¯ No, even sheeps would not be so helpless in front of a lion.


    Has he perhaps acquired a skill that specifically enhanced his ability to kill survivors?


    Of course, Hyun-wooknew that wasn¡¯t the case.


    ¡®He overpowered them with his instinct and movement alone.¡¯


    Even as one of the Chinese¡¯s heads flew into the air, Seongho¡¯s sharp eyes didn¡¯t falter in the slightest as it was immediately aimed at his next prey. However, at that moment, someone tried to hit him from behind. But to Hyun-woo¡¯s surprise, the guy was cut by Seongho¡¯s sword without him even having to look at the guy.


    ¡®Does that guy have eyes on the back of his head?¡¯ It was truly an unbelievable sight for him.


    ¡®He¡¯s strong¡­¡± Hyun-woo was filled with despair at the sight. Seongho was doing what he desperately tried to do effortlessly. It was always like that. He suddenly remembered the day Seongho joined the Korean Shelter. That day, he witnessed a new side of the President, who normally lived a solemn and modest life. Even when Lee Beom-seok opposed his decision of giving so much, too much even, to Seongho, the President didn¡¯t heed his opinion and just kept smiling.


    Hyun-woo coveted that smile. Thus, he always tried to please the President. He didn¡¯t go as far as killing everyone who opposed him, but he was still cutthroat enough to make anyone who saw him tremble in fear. Nevertheless, Jang Won-taek¡¯s gaze was always pointed towards Seongho. In Lee Beom-seok¡¯s words, the President was more attached to the fish he couldn¡¯t catch rather than the fish he already had.


    ¡®Maybe I¡­¡¯ He might be jealous of him. It probably started when his assault team failed to hunt the ogre, or even way before that. He was jealous of him for getting people¡¯s attention by being at the frontline of humanity.


    ¡®The President wants him very much¡­¡¯ However, he rejected the President¡¯s interest as if it was nothing but a mere clan invitation. As of now, he was a member of the Korean Shelter, but that too, was not without any price. Even after all of those things he had received, he was still stuck on being only a temporary member, and would leave any time he wanted. It was absolutely absurd.


    ¡®If it¡¯s now¡­¡¯ Hyun-woo put his finger in the trigger cage and then hurriedly pulled the gun out of the holster. If he took him down here, the President would definitely give all the attention that Seongho had to him.


    Hyun-woo clenched his teeth and moved his finger to the trigger. But before long, he shook his head and threw the thoughts away. His conscience didn¡¯t allow him to do it.


    He focused on the battlefield once again and watched Seongho¡¯s performance. Less than 10 seconds had passed. However, even more corpses, spilled intestines, limbs, and blood were scattered around Seongho. He could also see the Chinese, who were high on drugs, faltering. If it wasn¡¯t for their leader, he bet that they would¡¯ve run away from long ago.


    ¡°Eugh¡­¡± Liu Wei turned away from the devastation in front of his eyes and staggered backwards. In his mind, the man who was responsible for the slaughter of his brothers wasn¡¯t human. He¡¯s nothing but a demon-like being in human skin.


    If not, how can he kill people this ruthlessly?


    What was more frightening was that the heartbeat he heard from him continued to grow louder.


    Thump, Thump, Thump, Thump.


    Everyone covered their ears and closed their eyes to the regular heartbeat. At this point, Seongho was almost 1.5 times stronger than when he entered the battle. It¡¯s almost impossible to maintain these stats and skills for longer, but it¡¯s a very huge help at this moment. Thanks to his stats, even though he had fought dozens of men, his body was still overflowing with vigor.


    Then, the monsters near the area flocked to the smell of the blood. They ate the scattered corpses without even paying attention to him.


    ¡°Oh, no¡­¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t it¡­ something¡¯s wrong with this¡­¡±


    Eventually, the Chinese started running away one by one. Seongho followed closely behind, and Liu Wei became desperate. No matter how far he was from Seongho, he kept feeling like he was right next to him thanks to the loud heartbeat. In his effort to run away, he grabbed one of his brothers and threw him to the chaser.


    ¡°Keuk!¡± Unfortunately for him, his action was pointless. Soon after his brother fell to the ground headless, he could feel something wet on his chest. When Liu Wei wiped it with his hands, he was horrified by how red his hands were.


    ¡°Huuuh¡­¡± When he grabbed the blade protruding from his chest, he crumbled to the ground.


    Seongho approached him in a hurry and grabbed the sword¡¯s handle and put his strength on it.


    ¡°Aaaaaaah!¡± Liu Wie shouted as sharp blade cut through his left rib and exited his body,


    Then, Seongho whispered to his ear.


    ¡°Just wait, I will send your brothers to meet you soon.¡±


    ¡°S-s-spare me¡­¡± That was Liu Wei¡¯s last words. Seongho stopped and gave up on the idea of tracking down the other Chinese. After all, the Koreans might need their cooperation to finish the battlefields formed nearby. Of course, the price of that cooperation was death.


    He wiped the blood from his sword with Liu Wei¡¯s clothes. Above the warehouse, Hyun-woo was looking at him with a bitter expression.


    ¡°Here you are.¡± Seongho found a resurrection scroll and a Crime Pardon Scroll near the corpse of the last Chinese he killed. Now, the battlefield in Yeouido has ended as well. But, the ¡®Shackles of War¡¯ debuff was still there in his status window.


    Are there any other conditions?


    At that moment, Hyun-woo staggered towards him. He swallowed dried saliva and asked.


    ¡°The President?¡±


    ¡°He survived. I¡¯ve contacted the Chief of Staff, so it¡¯ll be fine. You can tell them this battlefield has ended.¡±


    Seongho said so and turned around.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like you.¡± Hyun-woo suddenly said in low volume.


    Seongho paused for a moment and then turned his head towards him.


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°At first I thought you were going to be a good friend. After all, in this apocalypse, you are someone who can quickly judge situations and make decisions¡­ but I no longer thought so.¡±


    ¡°Think whatever you want.¡± Seongho waved his hand and left, However, Hyun-woo didn¡¯t just let him walk away and shouted. It was an outburst of anger that he had been suppressing for months.


    ¡°Why are you so arrogant! Why don¡¯t you try to follow the President? Do you believe that you can solve everything on your own? That is an illusion!¡±


    Seongho turned his body at his cries and creased his brows. In his eyes, Hyun-woo¡¯s anger was nothing but foolishness.


    ¡°Don¡¯t shout and speak slowly. I know you don¡¯t like me, but what specifically do you dislike about me?¡±


    ¡°Everything.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that anymore, since I¡¯ll be leaving soon.¡±


    ¡°You saved the President, and for some reason, you helped in the construction of the Korean shelter. As long as you are alive, the President will always think of you.¡±


    Hearing that, Seongho¡¯s face darkened.


    ¡°Then, what do you want me to do?¡±


    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for you¡­ if it wasn¡¯t for you!¡±


    ¡°You are not normal. I¡¯ll just leave.¡±


    As he turned around, Hyun-woo felt the desire to kill Seongho resurfaced. He thought that if he stopped him from coming back from this battlefield, the President would depend on him.


    Hyun-woo thought so and closed his eyes, but when he heard a familiar metallic sound, he opened his eyes. To his surprise, Seongho was aiming a pistol equipped with a silencer at him.


    ¡°Wha-¡±


    Before he could finish his sentence, Seongho¡¯s finger moved.


    Bang-!! Bang-!!


    At an instant, there were two small holes in Hyun-woo¡¯s chest. When he cast a look of disbelief, Seongho opened his mouth humbly.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m someone who leaves no loose ends.¡±


    Hyun-woo¡¯s mind turned white and he collapsed to the floor.


    ¡°If I let you go, I feel like you are going to fall to their temptation.¡± The ¡®they¡¯ in his words refer to the doctors and nurses. Seongho bitterly shoved the pistol back to the holster on his waist. He believed that death solves all problems, but he wanted to avoid situations like this if possible.


    ¡°This is unavoidable¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t just let a man who put his finger on the muzzle right behind him alone.


    Seongho returned to his motorcycle and cleaned the surrounding monsters. But it was simply impossible to kill them all. As he disappeared, the monsters that had only been watching from afar rushed in towards the carnage he had left behind.


    .


    .


    .


    Their brother, Liu Wei, who headed to Yeouido to finish their great mission, had died. Some of the other brothers seemed to have survived, but they were scattered all over the place, making it unclear whether they were alive or dead.


    Li Jugang, the head of Hwacheong, who heard the news, went all the way to Ju Seung Su¡¯s room and started shouting.


    ¡°Tell me, what are your excuses now!?!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Ju Seung Su asked sternly as he sat in his chair. A mithril knife was spinning on his finger.


    ¡°What is your reason to drive my brothers to their death?¡±


    ¡°Calm down. It¡¯s not that big of a deal.¡±


    ¡°Calm down? Are you serious? Are you saying that the lives of our brothers are nothing to you?¡±


    Ju Seung Su stood up, raising both his hands.


    ¡°I admit I was wrong. He was a lot stronger than I expected.¡± He¡¯s referring to a Korean who suddenly broke into the comment section of the Chinese chat room. It was clear that he had intervened.


    ¡°At first I was against the plan, but you¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you serious? Who gave the drugs to our dear brothers in the first place?¡±


    As the story flowed there, Li Jugang faltered.


    ¡°I was just wondering if it would help change their mood.¡±


    ¡°Thanks to you, our brothers are now addicted. It¡¯s not potent, but it¡¯s addictive. Opium is much better.¡±


    Li Jugang clenched his fists as he saw Ju Seung Su smiling and was unable to channel his rage into action. He sat down helplessly in the chair across him, and Ju Seung Su sat back down.


    ¡°I understand the pain of losing brothers, but let¡¯s see the brighter side. More brothers are coming from our land. Although most will die in the storm, thus who survived would be more than enough. They will certainly help us if we tame them.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    As Li Jugang wrapped his hand around his forehead, Ju Seung Su pointed out.


    ¡°See the blue door over there? According to Koreans, it seems to be a portal to the Great Labyrinth.¡±


    ¡°The Great Labyrinth? What is that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure, but it looks like a great place. It is very dark inside and there are many monsters. I¡¯ve sent an expedition inside, and to my surprise, they reported that they had caught the sight of an animal.¡±


    However, what Ju Seung Su did not say was that most of the expedition members were dead. He also hid the fact that the animal they had witnessed was a human-sized rabbit.


    He patted his knee and said. ¡°The opportunity for us to survive is now wide open! So, should we really fight over such small matters? Shouldn¡¯t we just focus on getting revenge for our fallen brothers?¡±


    Li Jugang unclenched his fist at Ju Seung Su¡¯s words. Then, he looked out at the portal. The entrance to a normal dungeon was only enough for a single person to enter and exit, so why was this portal different?


    ¡°¡­the inside is connected to another place, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Not in this Korean land¡­ No, It¡¯s our land now. So, it seems like there are doors like that in many places. In there is a dark place called the Great Labyrinth. How about it, isn¡¯t it interesting?¡±


    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t know anything else, but I like the fact that animals live there.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s send our brothers in.¡± The two looked at the portal outside the window. With every passing day, food was becoming scarcer and everyone was starving. The emergence of the Great Labyrinth in this situation may be an opportunity.


    Or the beginning of ruin.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°It appears that Major Kim Hyun-woo has died.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok, who had arrived at the Korean Shelter, found out that Major Kim Hyun-woo had passed. It looked like he was dragged down by the Chinese and lynched while defending the shelter. However, all the Chinese who did that were also dead. The corpses left behind by monsters were lined up around the warehouse.


    Jang Won-taek put down his rifle and knelt in front of a corpse that was supposed to be Kim Hyun-woo.


    ¡°To think that all I can do for you is this when you¡¯ve done so much for me¡­. I¡¯m sorry¡­. I¡¯m really sorry¡­¡±


    Meanwhile, Lee Beom-seok felt something odd. From what he remembered, he knew that Major Hyun-woo was still alive when Seongho left the reserve shelter. No matter how many dozens of people rushed in, considering the firepower he possessed, the odds of him being defeated was small. However, he still died, leaving only one leg behind.


    ¡®Maybe¡­¡¯ Lee Beom-seok shook his head and erased the creeping suspicion. Even if the two didn¡¯t get along well, their relationship wasn¡¯t bad enough to the point of killing each other.


    The time for the two to mourn the death was short. It was because there were so many corpses to be cleaned. The news that the Korean Shelter was safe was spread to the Auction House, but people still hadn¡¯t dared to come yet. After all, if they step into another battlefield, they would be forced to fight.


    While everyone was racking their brains, unexpected news came from the Auction House. Seongho had figured out a way to break the ¡®Shackles of War¡¯ debuff.


    -The debuff wouldn¡¯t be lifted just because you win your battlefield. The nearby battlefield must also be completed.


    Though, he did not say that the info he had gained was the result of him annihilating all of the Chinese who escaped from the Korean Shelter raid.


    Jang Won-taek, who heard the news, left a comment.


    -So in the end, a lot of people still need to die.


    -There is nothing we can do. It is necessary to do it. If not, their growth will stagnate.


    When someone wins their Battle Royale, their stats would rise slightly, but there¡¯s a limit to that. Since it was impossible to live with the ¡®Shackles of War¡¯ debuff constantly holding them back, people had no other option than to kill others in order to get rid of it.


    The fortunate thing was that, the land connecting Yeouido and Gimpo Airport was completely free from any kind of battlefield as of now, as the path has been cleared by Seongho.


    Some people inquired about something towards Seongho after he finished explaining about the shackle.


    -I Love Gimbap-nim, do you know why Rapwi-nim is blocking the entrance to the Great Labyrinth?


    ¨C I told him to do so. If you go in there now, you will die.


    No one said anything on Seongho¡¯s words. But unexpected news came. Some people who ignored his words and entered the Great Labyrinth unexpectedly discovered foreigners inside.


    -Huh, is this place connected to another country?


    -Who did you see?


    -It was dark, so I couldn¡¯t see well, but it seemed to be someone from Russia. The guy was just screaming and running away.


    -I think the whole world is connected to the Great Labyrinth.


    -Then, shouldn¡¯t we go in sooner? Whoever gets it first is the owner.


    -I bet my life that, if you go in now, 90% of you will die.


    At I Love Gimbap¡¯s warning, everyone shuddered and decided to just follow his advice.


    -Ah also, You guys should clear the battlefield around you.


    As he said, broadening the scope of their activities would be the priority. Currently, the area where people can move freely is less than 1/20 of what it used to be. But to break the battlefield, people must die. Therefore, a lot of Koreans start to have deeper grudges towards the Chinese. Those Chinese people were wandering in their land without any regards to the event. Thanks to that, more and more battlefields were made.


    In one of the Auction House item, someone wrote:


    -Their level is low, and they don¡¯t know much about the current situation¡­ Let¡¯s just kill them.


    -No one can say anything. For now, let¡¯s focus on surviving.


    People realized that in order to live, they had to kill them. If possible, lure them to a place where the battlefield hadn¡¯t ended yet¡­ and kill them. If they did it like that, they would kill 2 birds in one stone.


    Meanwhile, Seongho, who had been completely freed from the debuff, tore the Crime Pardon scroll.


    ¡¸Level has risen to 40¡¹


    ¡¸You have earned 1780 points¡¹


    ¡¸You Have Acquired ¡®Toughness¡¯ Skill¡¹


    ¡¸As you have reached level 40, another additional effect will be added to your Unique Skill¡¹


    ¡¸Another Portal¡¹


    Because he had killed so many people in his Murderer state, his level rose. And then, when he tested the new additional effect, he couldn¡¯t be more confused.


    After all, a pair of portals opened in front of him.

 Chapter 180

    Two portals appeared before me. The first one appeared right in front of me, while the other one was to my right. Both of their surfaces were the same. It was also the case for the gently waving surface.


    ¡°Just where¡­¡± When I put my arm in the new portal, it went in without any problem. I felt a considerably colder temperature inside compared to Earth. When I pushed my head in, the shelter on the beach entered my view. The place it leads to was around my hut. When I moved my gaze towards the center of the shelter, several people were there. They seemed to be talking to each other.


    ¡°Considering the new portal leads to this place¡­¡± I pulled my head back to Earth and leaned towards the old portal. When I crossed over, Mi-kyung saw me and waved her hand.


    ¡°Oppa, are you done?¡±


    When all the gathered people turned their heads at me, I could feel blood rushing towards my face.


    ¡°Ah, no. Wait a bit.¡± I replied roughly and shook my head before returning to Earth.


    ¡°Close portal.¡± When I said so, only the portal closest to me¨Cthe one in front of me¨Cslammed shut.


    What if I approach the portal on the right and order the portals to close?


    ¡°Close portal.¡± Just as expected, the portal on the right vanished.


    In summary: I have one more portal that leads to another world.


    Usually, having an extra door in a room would be considered useless. But the portal was different from a normal door. After all, it wasn¡¯t a stationary one, but a mobile one. If I put the second portal in a suitable place, I would be able to travel from one point to another in an instant.


    ¡°This is like the warp gate magic from a fantasy game¡­¡± The only downside was that I had to go to the target place first to put the portal before I could use this cheat-like ability.


    After doing some experiments, I figured out how to control the second portal. The method to open it was the same as the old one. The difference was that now I had to approach one of them first in order to close it.


    ¡°I think the conditions for the other portal to open would be different too.¡± I had to experiment with that later.


    When I looked at my skill list, I noticed that the Toughness skill had been listed on it.


    ¡°This is a great skill.¡± In the past, there¡¯s almost no chance for me to be a murderer with a lot of killcounts, so it felt amazing to get this skill.


    Is it because I was using a bug?


    Anyway, the effect of Toughness was quite good. It reduces the effect of any status ailments by a whopping 70%. It includes exhaustion, weakness, and many others. Though, it couldn¡¯t prevent any status abnormalities granted by the system, such as the Shackles of War.


    ¡°It would make the Berserk skill even more dangerous.¡± Everytime I activated that skill, I would suffer from exhaustion after the effect waned. But with the Toughness skill, I would still be able to move properly.


    When I wore all my item, my status window looks like this:


    ¡¸Level: 40 Points: 26840


    Vitality: 12 (+6) Strength: 14 (+4) Agility: 10 (+4) Dexterity: 12 (+2) Perception: 10 (+6)


    Attribute: Dedicated Dimensional Door


    Skills: Hard Skin 2, Griffon¡¯s Eye, Resolute Strike, Ferocity, Water Breathing, Stamina Regeneration, Elemental Resistance 2, Super Sense, Primal Life, Fatal Strike, Toughness


    Buff: Mental Tolerance¡¹


    However, that¡¯s not all. If I receive a buff from Sooyeon and activate Primal Life and Berserk, my stats will increase by 1.7 times. I could also increase the stats with the Moon Tangerines, Royal Honey, and Fire Mushrooms.


    ¡°Then my stats will be¡­¡±


    Vitality 41, Strength 34, Agility 34, Dexterity 27, and Perception 31¡­


    ¡°Monstrous.¡± It felt like the ceiling was getting closer. But in reality, there was still room for improvement. It was through tier 3 skill and buff-embed items.


    ¡°Finally, I can get to level 40.¡±


    By the way, two skill slots on my status window were empty. Since I became a murderer for quite a long time, I acquired a unique skill given to a murderer, so my Eye of Truth and the Stigma of Death skill disappeared. And even though I had returned to the state of a normal survivor after using the Crime Pardon Scroll, the two skills didn¡¯t return.


    ¡°Can¡¯t be helped. I should just acquire new skills.¡± Which also means, I could grow even more. But since the current spawning monsters are owlbears, and coupled with the fact that they wouldn¡¯t drop anything since its level was low compared to my level, I think it would be best to just wait until griffins or other monsters appear. Or maybe, I should just go to the Great Labyrinth.


    ¡°The level of monsters inside was quite high, though¡­¡±


    Unless someone was a pervert who was obsessed with the settings of a game like me, they wouldn¡¯t know. The Great Labyrinth surely had a lot of ordinary monsters inside, but its level was quite high compared to its counterpart that you usually meet. So, even though I had surpassed the level zone of the lizardmen, it wouldn¡¯t be a surprise if I managed to obtain their skills in the Great Labyrinth.


    Though, I wouldn¡¯t do it now. Now that a lot of Battle Royale battlefield has been cleaned up, I need to look for Hyung-jun Hyung. From what I know, he had cleared the battlefield by fighting other Chinese. Sister-in-law was hiding, so I should quickly bring him to a safe place.


    ¡°I should also get Seokhyun.¡±


    Surprisingly, there¡¯s still a lot of work to do.


    I got on the motorcycle and turned the machine on.


    .


    .


    .


    When I finished everything I needed to do, it was already night. A normal person would be exhausted after moving frantically the whole day, but for me, who was under the influence of stats and skills, it was nothing but a light exercise. But just because my body was fine doesn¡¯t mean my mind was also fine.


    ¡°I expected it, but it¡¯s really dark out here¡­¡± The area where survivors could freely travel had shrunk compared to the time before the Battle Royale event took place. Even though the Korean Shelter actively collected information and gave instructions to all survivors, the recovery was far from over. There¡¯s also a possibility that some land would not be able to be recovered forever.


    ¡°If the ghoul flower explodes the energy it has gathered, it would be a complete mess¡­¡± Traces of civilization would disappear and Earth would become a complete fantasy world. A sturdy structure would still remain, but it would be nothing but a structure without any real use.


    ¡°Our situation is better than most.¡± After all, we have a comfortable shelter. Considering the upcoming patches and expansion packs, other survivors would probably die in droves. Especially in the last expansion pack¡­


    ¡°For now, let¡¯s just focus on the Great Labyrinth.¡±


    I scratched my head and entered the portal. People flocked to me wondering what was going on.


    ¡°¡­that¡¯s what happened. So, in the future, you shouldn¡¯t go anywhere alone. Yeowool, make me a large map of the Seoul area¡­¡±


    ¡°Here, Ahjussi.¡± She held out a large map to me in an instant as if she had prepared it in advance. When I asked how, she said she made it after looking at information provided by the Korean Shelter.


    Ah, so it¡¯s because she¡¯s quick-witted rather than her ability to read the bigger picture.


    ¡°These places are the only land we can travel through, right?¡± Her finger traced the route from Yeouido to Gimpo Airport.


    I nodded at her question. Then, I drew a circle under Gyeongbuk Palace in Gangbuk. ¡°This place too. The area is currently growing, but it¡¯s still dangerous for the time being. It¡¯s definitely these two places, so it¡¯s best not to leave.¡±


    Mi-kyung, who was looking at the map carefully, whined.


    ¡°Are we going to die if we go out here?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that you will die instantly, but the Shackles of War debuff will get you and mess up your ability. To solve it, you have to kill someone else.¡±


    ¡°Scary¡­¡±


    Everyone had a sad face at my revelation. Da-jeong patted Yoohyeon and Mi-kyung, who were sitting next to each other, on the back.


    ¡°No worries. The invincible Gimbap ahjussi will recover the area soon.¡±


    ¡°By sacrificing the Chinese¡­¡± Jiman added.


    ¡°There is nothing we can do about it because it is necessary to do so if we want to live. Let¡¯s get this sorted out.¡± I said as I nodded.


    I took a highlighter pen out of my backpack and painted the map.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened in the province, so let¡¯s make an exception of it. We should call the area we could travel as a safe zone, while the rest is the danger zone.¡±


    ¡°Survivors scattered all over Seoul are certainly rushed to the safe zone right now. They must be sensitive after fighting a lot because of the Battle Royale event.¡±


    ¡°Looking at the Auction House, it was no joke. A lot of people were spreading false information so that more people would die; there are also some who decided it would be best to just search for other survivors and hunt them down¡­¡±


    Everyone sighed at Sooyeon¡¯s words. The real horror of the Battle Royale event came after it¡¯s over. All kinds of information and the overly sensitive emotion turned every relationship into a bad one and would create a bloodshed. Thanks to that, the Korean Shelter, where a lot of people were now gathering, was in a state of chaos.


    ¡°We are at a much better position because everyone is alive and safe. We just need to be more careful from now on.¡±


    After saying a few more words, I revealed the new additional effect I just got. When two portals appeared, they were all surprised.


    ¡°Huh? There¡¯s two now?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that one a bit different from the usual one?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go in.¡±


    Seokhyun entered the second portal and came out again.


    ¡°This one didn¡¯t need any payment to enter.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s good¡­¡±


    When I heard it, I felt the burden in my heart disappear. The 100 points needed to enter and exit the portal was a burden to me and others. Even though it looked cheap, the only person who have no hesitation to spend it was Da-jeong. Everyone else was in a situation where they were saving points, which indirectly meant that they were dedicating their point to me. Thanks to that, my points broke through 2.7 million mark.


    I looked around everyone and said.


    ¡°Anyway, an additional portal has been created. It¡¯s completely separate from the existing portal, so I think it¡¯d be better to have it fixed somewhere. Any thoughts?¡±


    Geom-in, who was only listening up until now, opened his mouth.


    ¡°How about making a shelter inside the Great Labyrinth?¡±


    ¡°In the Great Labyrinth?¡± My brows furrowed. Everyone was also puzzled, but Geom-in offered no further explanation, went and brought over a laptop, and played a video.


    Uh, yeah. I know I should be used to it by now, but my voice actually sounds very annoying when I was streaming back then.


    ¡°I kept reviewing the video of Seongho¡¯s attack on the Great Labyrinth, and I found a place where we can make a shelter. It was a cave accessible only after we dive from a specific lake on the second floor.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I remember that place.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s where we played with the lizardman, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that time when Rapwi came with a group of lizardmen when we were resting.¡±


    As Da-jeong grinds her teeth, Seokhyun tilted his head.


    ¡°Did I really do that?¡±


    ¡°Did I really do that, my ass! It¡¯s always the assailant who never remembers the case!¡±


    While they bickered, Geom-in and I kept searching through the videos.


    ¡°But this place is much more dangerous than the first floor. Though, it didn¡¯t really matter to us¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the case. There is a passage leading to the first floor in an area close to the cave. We can hunt there.¡±


    ¡°You have a very good memory.¡±


    ¡°Actually, back in the game, after you guys went further down to the Great Labyrinth, I went back and made a shelter in that cave¡­¡±


    Ah, this shelter fanatic¡­


    Nevertheless, Geom-in¡¯s idea was pretty good. There were a lot of people around the entrance of the Great Labyrinth. But it wouldn¡¯t be too much trouble for us to break through them. However, to turn that place into a shelter, I would have to go and open the second portal there first.


    We will also need a lot of supplies¡­


    I said to Jiman, ¡°Jiman, do we have enough Shadow Grape to attack the Great Labyrinth?¡±


    Darkness inside the Great Labyrinth was very different from the city night. It was no exaggeration to say that it was pitch black compared to the night in a city where moonlight still existed. Of course, there were some wild plants that emit light inside, but the effect of Shadow Grapes was desperately needed.


    Jiman smiled and said, ¡°They are growing well. Not only Shadow Grapes, other things are also growing effectively. It will be usable for the raid.¡±


    ¡°Great. Then I will put the portal in that cave. I¡¯ll open the portal later, so let¡¯s set up our living arrangements appropriately.¡±


    I rummaged through my backpack and laid out Resurrection Scrolls. In addition to the previous two, there were a total of four scrolls now.


    ¡°I used the Skill Slot Extension Scroll, the Item Extension Scroll, and The Crime Pardon Scroll.¡±


    Even though I said that, no one said anything. It¡¯s actually me who struggled, so it seemed like they didn¡¯t have an argument regarding the distribution of the items.


    I gave one to Da-jeong and took one for myself. ¡°The two of us travel a lot outside, so we need to have one each. As everyone knows, Seokhyun doesn¡¯t need it, so there are two left. I¡¯ll keep the two for common use.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of it¡­¡± I spoke again. ¡°Whenever you go out, you must take one other person with you. And then, you will have to be accompanied by either me, Da-jeong, Seokhyun¡­ or Geom-in.¡±


    Geom-in looked slightly excited. Seems like he was happy that I called him. Seokhyun, who was watching quietly, opened his mouth.


    ¡°Is it okay for me to go to the Great Labyrinth now? Some of the survivors have already entered.¡±


    Even though Seokhyun and I had done everything to warn the survivors, we couldn¡¯t stop people¡¯s curiosity. Thanks to that, the Auction House was overflowing with people reporting things like finding a foreigner or falling into a trap and dying in real time.


    The Great Labyrinth was a very dangerous place, but it also gives an equal amount of loot in comparison to the dangers hidden within. Therefore, it¡¯s simply impossible to stop people from being greedy.


    I held up two fingers and said, ¡°You can¡¯t go alone, you have to go with at least two people.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°The others just have to do what you¡¯ve been doing. It is a pain in the ass to get lost in the Great Labyrinth.¡± Aside from how massive it was, the pathway of the Great Labyrinth had many traps. That is without counting the fact that the monsters inside were also strengthened.


    Da-jeong got up and came over and stuck to my back.


    ¡°Are you done talking?¡±


    I knew what she wanted without having to ask. When I stood up while coughing, Da-jeong¡¯s feet left the ground.


    ¡°Well then¡­ let¡¯s do what we have to do until evening.¡±


    Having said that, I was trying to leave to go to my hut. However, Yoohyeon came and said cautiously.


    ¡°Hyung, here¡¯s the summary of the most discussed things in the Auction House¡­¡±


    The information written in the notebook was surprising even for me. It looked like when the shelter personnel were free, they wrote any notable rumors they stumbled upon in the Auction House.


    -I saw some Chinese people on the first floor of the Great Labyrinth. Be careful.


    -Skeletons are found in the Great Labyrinth. The difference from the Bone Creepers is that they are carrying old weapons.


    -Hannam-dong Clan are gathering people for the Great Labyrinth raid.


    It was easy to see because it was written in such a concise way. Though, there¡¯s no very important information written.


    I returned the note back as soon as I finished reading it.


    ¡°Look good. It will be helpful if you keep doing this in the future.¡±


    ¡°Yes I will. After all, it¡¯s the most I can do to help you, who are active on Earth.¡± Yoohyeon smiled. However, when he saw Da-jeong, he immediately ran away.


    I pinched her thigh saddled on my hips.


    ¡°Ouch.¡±


    ¡°You scared him¡­¡±


    ¡°I did not do anything, though?¡±


    Yeah, whatever.


    Upon entering her cabin, Da-jeong leaned against the table and poked her ass towards me.


    ¡°Hurry up!¡±


    What¡¯s with all this sudden rush?


    When I saw the short hot pants she wore and her posture, a desire crept over me. Then, I did what she wanted.


    .


    .


    .


    The Battle Royale event carved a huge scar on the mind of the survivors. Fights broke out everywhere, and the result was always the death of someone. Since the survivors were only looking for the safe area, the monsters in the dangerous area multiplied at a rapid pace. All kinds of monsters roared, and eventually the environment began to change. The city with dilapidated gray buildings could no longer be seen, replaced by forests with tall trees and creeping plants.


    Meanwhile, the appearance of the Great Labyrinth became an opportunity for people. According to the testimony of some people who entered, it was a risky place, but the reward was worth it.


    -I thought it would be an underground space because it was called a labyrinth, but there are forests and lakes inside.


    -Has anyone caught any animals inside?


    -We caught a mouse and roasted it, and it was surprisingly delicious.


    -Ewwww, you ate a mouse?


    -It¡¯s a mouse the size of a head, it was pretty meaty.


    -The monsters here seem to be quite strong¡­ Has anyone killed them yet?


    -I bet there isn¡¯t.


    -It¡¯s so dark here¡­ it¡¯s hard to get around¡­


    Glowstone was available to be used as a lighting source, but it¡¯s not bright enough to make the path ahead visible. Therefore, it¡¯s hard for people to see whether they would fall into a pit or get impaled by a trap.


    Due to the information, a lot of people from all over the country gathered at the entrance of the Great Labyrinth. Some clans even set up a tent and formed a force.


    Amidst the anticipation, the four stagnant waters appeared together in one of the entrances. When people found them, murmurs could be heard everywhere and they cleared the way for them.


    ¡°They all look amazing¡­¡±


    ¡°Who said Duck Butt was ugly? Look at her!!!¡±


    ¡°Wow, we¡¯re in an apocalypse, but their skin is so shiny¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m envious of her for having a werewolf¡­¡±


    ¡°This is my first time seeing Rabbit Pwincess¡­ Is he a rabbit or a princess?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you feel like they are not human for some reason?¡±


    ¡°That person is I Love Gimbap¡­¡±


    ¡°Look at his body. I think the name I Love Protein fits better than I Love Gimbap.¡±


    People admired the stagnant waters. However, they were disappointed when they laid their eyes on Geom-in.


    ¡°Is that Survivor 1?¡±


    ¡°He looked like nothing but a college student?¡±


    ¡°If I fight him, I bet I¡¯ll win.¡±


    The swordsman walked proudly without regard to the harsh evaluations given by the public. After all, he was someone who, unlike the people who can only watch and whisper to each other, could stand shoulder to shoulder with the other three.


    The four passed through the crowd and entered the Great Labyrinth portal. People tried to enter after them, but they were startled by Rabbit Pwincess¡¯s face that suddenly appeared from the inside of the portal.


    ¡°If anyone follows us, I¡¯ll beat you up.¡± After he said that, his head entered the portal once again.


    Meanwhile, no one dared to go against Rabbit Pwincess¡¯ words. After all, he¡¯s known to be someone who wouldn¡¯t hesitate to beat people up just to stop them from entering.


    People waited patiently, but they did not come out.


    Even after so many hours passed.

 Chapter 181

    2 more chaps for this week quota.


    The Great Labyrinth was dangerous in many ways. It consists of every single thing that can make people¡¯s mind go crazy, such as the darkness that dampens people¡¯s vision, the dampness which makes it hard for people to breathe, and the little space available inside which would greatly increase someone¡¯s stress level. It also boasts an enormous size, so big to the point even us the stagnant waters did not know everything about the first floor of the Great Labyrinth.


    The monsters inside were also another big problem that survivors had to face. They had higher levels and stronger overall power than the monsters that you can meet on the surface. There¡¯s also a lot of monsters who are capable of using tools and equipment. Goblins, orcs, and many other bipedal monsters can be found wearing armor and wielding iron swords. There are also skeleton monsters in every nook and cranny of the labyrinth, of course, wielding the same weapon.


    There¡¯s also traps scattered all over the place, so if people weren¡¯t careful, they would have to face monsters while having a risk of triggering traps. Of course, the ones found in the early floor were nothing but a very rudimentary trap. But the deeper they got, the more dangerous the traps would become.


    However, no matter how dangerous the Great Labyrinth was, in my opinion, Seokhyun was the more dangerous one. After receiving all kinds of buffs from the fruit that Jiman had grown, as well the buff granted from the ogre gloves, one punch was all he needed to kill his opponent. So when Seokhyun just ran in blindly, even though it¡¯s the Great Labyrinth, the monsters in his way couldn¡¯t even do anything and just exploded here and there from his punches.


    ¡°That skeleton is wielding an iron sword.¡± Seokhyun said. However, that¡¯s about it. Right after that, the skeleton shattered into bits by one punch. Seokhyun continued to punch while blocking the attacks from the incoming horde of skeletons with his body.


    Bam-!! Bam-!! Bam-!!


    Bone fragments scattered in all directions. Since Seokhyun did all the work, we just stared blankly at him from behind.


    By the way, I wonder what level Geom-in is?


    ¡°Geom-in, what level are you now?¡±


    ¡°Le-level 28¡­¡±


    ¡°You need to raise your level to 30 sooner rather than later.¡± I said.


    Da-jeong, who squatted next to the Geom-in, chimed in. ¡°When you reach level 30, a different additional effect will be added to your unique skill. Seongho¡¯s portal becomes available to people he permitted, I can took control of monster, and Seokhyun¡¯s body evolved.¡±


    ¡°Well, I will be satisfied as long as I get one more slot for the copied unique abilities.¡± He said sheepishly. Currently, Geom-in has copied body strengthening, binding, and healing unique abilities. He threw away the blink ability as it wasn¡¯t useful in the lower floors of the Great Labyrinth. By the way, it was still a mystery why he couldn¡¯t copy our unique skills. If it¡¯s because of the ¡®trust¡¯ requirement, it was even more confusing, since he¡¯s definitely good on that part, considering he¡¯s able to enter my portal, which would deny anyone with even a sliver of negative emotion for me.


    ¡°Seokhyun! Let Geom-in level up a bit.¡± I called Seokhyun, who was literally slaughtering the incoming skeletons.


    ¡°Good idea.¡± Seokhyun stopped and turned around, disregarding the attack of his opponents. He then walked towards me, took a mace from my hand and put it in Geom-in¡¯s hand.


    And he threw him into the horde skeletons.


    ¡°UAAAAAAAAHHHHH!¡±


    ¡°You crazy XXXXXXXX.¡±


    Da-jeong kicked his ass in anger, but the only expression that could be seen on Seokhyun¡¯s face was smugness.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this way faster?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not about that¡­¡±


    Well, considering Geom-in¡¯s ability, the skeletons should possess little to no danger for him, so It¡¯s okay. The reason he didn¡¯t fight often even though he got the ability to do so was probably because he¡¯s surrounded by people like us.


    After a while, Geom-in returned while rubbing his eyes. A weak light emanated from his hand.


    ¡°Ayah, I got hit by a shield strike.¡±


    ¡°After a long time, you finally feel how it feels to play outside, instead of playing your build-a-shelter game everyday¡­¡±


    Geom-in only laughed at Da-jeong¡¯s words.


    Is he the type of person who likes doing things the right way?


    ¡°Geom-in, here, use this.¡± I handed him an iron mace. Against skeletons, it¡¯s better to use a blunt weapon to break their skull.


    He took the mace and swung it several times before opening his mouth. ¡°Certainly, it was far cruder than what the scarabs make.¡±


    Currently, the scarabs were extracting metals from ores and turning it into weapons using the blast furnaces. Just looking at the arrowheads they made, it was clear that it was far more dangerous than the arrows that the Store was selling. However, it was still a low level arrow nonetheless. If the scarabs make it with better tools in the right environment, they would surely make something even better. But that requires more materials and blueprints. Currently, Yoohyeon and Yeowool were scouting around, so results would surely come sooner rather than later.


    Da-jeong placed her hand on Geom-in¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°How about letting him kill all the monsters we found until we arrive at the underwater cave?¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡± I said. However, in the next moment, I grabbed Seokhyun¡¯s hand. ¡°He¡¯s not a ball, stop throwing him like that.¡±


    ¡°Why? It saves time.¡±


    ¡°You should just give him some support from the back.¡±


    Seokhyun thought for a moment, and then he borrowed the Adamant Spear from my dimension slot. Then, he stabbed the spear on the ground and performed a pole dance on the spot. His body rotated around the rod, and his legs stretched out.


    Should I call it sensual?


    Da-jeong, who couldn¡¯t even dare to see it, jumped and kicked him with her two legs.


    ¡°That¡¯s not a support, that¡¯s a disgusting assault to the eyes!¡±


    I wholeheartedly agree.


    .


    .


    .


    Without spending much time, we broke through the first floor. Of course, the main character of this breakthrough was Geom-in. With all the buffs he got from the fruits, as well as Sooyeon¡¯s buff, his strength was more than enough to pierce through the skeleton horde by himself. Perhaps because he was surprised by his fighting power, he always clenched and unclenched his fists every time the fight was over.


    ¡°You are stronger than you think. Be a little more confident.¡±


    ¡°¡­Okay.¡±


    As we were wandering around the first floor, we heard an unexpected sound from behind the wall. To be precise, I was the only one who heard it, thanks to my Super Sense skill.


    ¡°There are some Chinese over there.¡± I told the party.


    ¡°Chinese? Did you hear them?¡±


    ¡°They are talking to each other about their hometowns, but in a loud voice.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a well known fact that they have a very noisy voice.¡±


    ¡°So, are you saying that the Chinese had entered this place?¡±


    ¡°Probably¡­¡±


    Da-jeong furrowed her eyebrows as if she didn¡¯t like something.


    ¡°They didn¡¯t even know what kind of place this is. Looks like they just came in without knowing the dangers in it.¡±


    ¡°The fact they didn¡¯t know anything is probably why they can act this bravely.¡±


    Everyone shook their heads at Geom-in¡¯s words.


    A large portal appeared in their territory, so they must have entered out of curiosity. Of course, Incheon and Bucheon were not truly their territory, but they were the ones who occupied those areas for the time being.


    ¡°The walls here are very hard. Your fist will break.¡± I said quickly when I saw Seokhyun raising his fist.


    ¡°Is there any magic embedded in it?¡± He cocked his eyebrows.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that.¡± If one has an ogre¡¯s strength, the wall would break without a doubt. However, Seokhyun¡¯s fists wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the clash of two powers.


    I told the party to just focus on getting to our destination and just hunt the Chinese later. Everyone agreed and we continued our journey. After some time, we found a passage leading to the second floor while Geom-in was cleaning the group of skeletons.


    We called the dark and narrow passage a ¡®dog hole¡¯. Once we went down the narrow path, we could hear the sound of dripping water. The ground in this dog hole was brittle, so when Seokhyun hit the floor with his fist, debris flew and a hole was created on the ground.


    Da5jeong shined a flash onto the hole.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s a lake.¡±


    ¡°Can you see any lizardman?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. Seongho, do you have a rope? I¡¯ll go down and see.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute.¡±


    I opened the dimensional warehouse, took out a rope, tied it to a pole, and dropped it into the hole. Da-jeong went down on the rope and landed on the shore of the lake. After that, she moved the flash all over the place to illuminate the area.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing here. You guys can come down.¡±


    We went down to the lakeshore. The lake in the middle of a large cavity was so dark that nothing could be seen. But, when I lifted the water with my hand, it was clear and cold water. Meanwhile, Seokhyun immediately jumped straight down to the lake while doing some acrobats while he¡¯s in the air like some kind of gymnastic athlete


    He¡¯s really a fearless guy.


    After a while, he floated to the surface with a bizarre fish in his mouth.


    ¡°What a monster-like fish.¡±


    Da-jeong took the fish and threw it on the floor. It had no eyes and had a very large mouth, reminiscent of a deep-sea fish. Judging from how boney it was, it looked like it had nothing to eat inside the waters.


    Seokhyun opened his mouth and bit into the fish. But, right after, he spat it back out.


    ¡°It tastes awful.¡± He grimaced.


    If Seokhyun, the man who is capable of eating goblin meat raw, said it tastes disgusting, just how horrible is it, I wonder?


    Anyway, that¡¯s not what¡¯s important.


    ¡°Wait a moment.¡± I tied a rope around Seokhyun¡¯s waist, ate a winter strawberry, and equipped the scarf with the cold resistance option. By doing this, the cold resistance buff would be stacked, and I would be able to block more cold.


    As I plunged into the lake, I saw that Seokhyun had also jumped in. Our goal was to swim quite deep to find the underwater cave.


    The lake was terribly calm and peaceful, except for the occasional monstrous fish. I used the dimension wall as a step for me to push myself even deeper. Thanks to underwater breathing skill, I was able to dive for quite a long time.


    When we finally reached the bottom of the lake, I groped the ground and found a rock at the exact same spot as the place in my memory. When I moved my sight to the side of the rock, I could see a big hole drilling into the wall. There was nothing in the hole, but I trusted my memory and entered. And after swimming through the long passage, some light began to infiltrate into the dark water.


    ¡°Pooh!¡± I blew the air in my lungs and took a breath as soon as I reached the surface. Once I climbed out of the water, I could see an open space beyond a narrow passageway.


    ¡°About 15 pyeong or so¡­¡± It¡¯s not big enough to make a full-fledged shelter, but it should be good enough for a temporary stay.


    (P/n 1 pyeong is about 3.3m.)


    ¡°Well, this place will just act as the gateway.¡± In other words, it will act as an outpost for people who wanted to attack the Great Labyrinth. I opened the second portal and summoned the members. Everyone went out one by one, but even after the last person, Jiman didn¡¯t appear.


    ¡°Jiman said he wanted to stay and protect the shelter.¡±


    At Yoohyeon¡¯s words, I nodded my head. Of course, there must be one to take that role.


    Sooyeon asked me as she looked around the cave.


    ¡°Seongho, are we going to turn this place into a shelter?¡±


    ¡°Rather than a shelter, we¡¯ll turn this place into an outpost.¡±


    ¡°Aha!¡±


    Eventually, the rope tied into my waist was loosened bit by bit. Before long, Seokhyun, Da-jeong, and Geom-in surfaced. Now there are eight people in a small space, so it was quite noisy.


    I told Yoohyeon.


    ¡°Can you bring the power cord here?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps? But hyung, aren¡¯t you going to close this portal?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t close it unless I go further down.¡±


    ¡°Oh, then I¡¯ll install it right away.¡±


    After all, If we go down to the 5th floor or lower, there might be another good place we can use to make another outpost.


    ¡°You need to be able to breathe underwater to get in and out of here. By any chance, is there someone who doesn¡¯t have the skill yet?¡±


    Sooyeon raised her hand while looking at me.


    Then, Mikyung quickly added. ¡°The last time we went to the Black Forest, Sooyeon Unnie was going to go to kill a lizardman. But since Rapwi ahjussi did that ¡®thing¡¯ to the Elderwood¡­¡±


    His behavior was really the root of all evil.


    I tapped Geom-in on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll leave it up to you to figure out how to make this place.¡±


    At that moment, Da-jeong stepped between the two of us. ¡°No! Geom-in have to level up first. Does it make sense that he¡¯s still level 28? We are over level 30 and you are already level 40.¡±


    Making shelter or leveling up? That¡¯s the problem.


    Geom-in looked at me with desperate eyes. But before I could say anything, Seokhyun grabbed his wrist.


    ¡°We won¡¯t come back until he reaches level 30.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Hey, wait, wait.¡±


    ¡°There are plenty of things to eat out there, so we don¡¯t need a backpack. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    I hope he wasn¡¯t thinking about eating the monster fish.


    ¡°Seongho¡­SEONGHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!¡±


    I pretended not to hear his ¡®save me¡¯ signal and just looked at the other people.


    .


    .


    .


    While Seongho and his group were busy building an outpost in the underwater cave on the second floor, there was a commotion on the first floor. People who entered through several entrances started to bump into each other.


    Among them, the Chinese were the dominant force. There were so many of them to the point where they just threw themselves into every fight, disregarding their safety. So it was impossible to fight them.


    If it had been on the surface world, they would have been taken down by the Korean side since they were superior in terms of ability. But in an unfamiliar Great Labyrinth, superior ability alone was not enough.


    People couldn¡¯t see even an inch ahead, so the only way to fight was with a glowstone in one hand. Moreover, if there¡¯s a lot of monsters attacking from behind, the difficulty would increase even more.


    Then suddenly, the existence of the base area was revealed. It was a mysterious place where monsters would not approach, and those areas could be found in several places on the first floor.


    It was a very good place to get food as the animals passing by would surely stop to drink some water. Thus, the survivors couldn¡¯t help but think about taking over the base area. The Chinese also noticed it, and quickly made a move before everyone else.


    The Koreans, who were lacking in terms of numbers, struggled and tried to preserve, but eventually had to retreat. As people died day after day, the Auction House exploded.


    -Those fucking bastards just keep pushing forward! I¡¯m really annoyed!


    -They have no abilities, but since the labyrinth is narrow, I can¡¯t do anything.


    -I am really impressed by the number of Chinese who entered the Great Labyrinth.


    Everyone seemed to hope that the Korean Shelter would provide them with information again. However, no matter how long they waited, there was no sign of that happening. After all, the Korean Shelter was currently going through an internal chaos. A battle ensued as the personnel who had spread all over the place returned to Yeouido.


    -You! You killed my brother!


    -The choice is either me or him! What do you suppose I should do?


    Moreover, since the number of personnel was also reduced to less than half, it couldn¡¯t be helped that the atmosphere in the Korean Shelter was bad. Jang Won-taek, of course, had taken actions and intervened. But the raging people didn¡¯t even pay heed to his words. So, the government decided to lock all of their warehouses and the distribution of guns halted.


    Because of the undergoing situation, the Korean Shelter couldn¡¯t cope with the series of incidents taking place in the Great Labyrinth.


    Then the Hannam-dong Clan decided to come out. They actually have an official name, but everyone just decided to call them the Hannam-dong Clan. They were lucky enough to recover their shelter without taking much damage in the Battle Royale event. One of the Great Labyrinth portals had also opened near their shelter, so it was pretty easy for them to hunt inside using guns.


    Even the Chinese, who boasted superior numbers, ran away when they saw them. After all, a narrow place was just the right place for a gun to shine against many. Thus, the Hannam-dong Clan quickly grew in size.


    In particular, Soye, who was now called Gundol, was very popular. But she did not even look at anyone and just focused on searching for one particular person. (T/n Gundol¡­ Gun + Idol if it¡¯s not clear enough.)


    -Has anyone seen Seongho? I heard he went into the Great Labyrinth.


    -Indeed, no one saw him coming out, though.


    ¡®Where the hell are you?¡¯ Soye bit her lips. Back in the front of the art gallery, she had been warned by a woman who seemed to be his lover. But that alone couldn¡¯t make her give up. No matter how much she thought about it, she had no other man who suited her except him. Firearms and supplies were not enough to get through this tough apocalypse. She decided that, in order to survive, she had to be standing next to a strong and influential man.


    Or if that is not possible, then she had to do anything to bring him to her side.


    The Hannam-dong Clan members, including Soye, swept through the first floor, but they couldn¡¯t find him there.


    Unbeknownst to the other survivors, Seongho was busy helping the shelter members to level up and was already breaking through the third floor. The only thing stopping him from his grind was the fact that Jiman had found two large eggs in the jungle. He said that he found it inside an owlbear¡¯s nest.


    ¡°What kind of egg is this, why is it so big?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯m seeing it for the first time.¡±


    Everyone was amazed and rolled the eggs. Then, Seokhyun suddenly said, ¡°It looks like it¡¯s delicious. Let¡¯s eat it.¡±


    Seokhyun¡¯s fist pierced the shell without anyone managing to stopping him. Inside the shell was a strange-looking young bird with its eyes closed. It was a bird with horns on its head.

 Chapter 182

    ¡°It looks strange.¡±


    ¡°Is it dead?¡±


    ¡°No, I think it¡¯s alive.¡±


    At that moment, the baby bird¡¯s eyelids trembled. Perhaps it heard our voices as it started to open its eyes.


    Kieek-!!


    With the appearance and cute squeaking of the bird, Seokhyun¡¯s remark about eating the egg suddenly became even more of a nonsense.


    ¡°Look at how cute that is! You¡¯re saying you wanted to eat that?¡±


    ¡°Cute¡­¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s its parents, I wonder?¡±


    Jiman held the broken egg carefully as if it was precious and wrapped a cloth around the broken shell.


    ¡°I will raise him.¡±


    ¡°Why are you trying to raise a little bird like this? Raising wild boar cubs is more logical to me since they¡¯re our main source of meat.¡± Seokhyun asked.


    I also agreed with his sentiment. Even though we raised wild boars in our base these days, they remained as nothing but a food source. In other words, to us, either wild boars and birds are basically the same thing, just a food source.


    However, Jiman¡¯s opinion was different.


    ¡°If we raise it well, it will definitely be a great help for us. It¡¯s several times better than just using it as a simple food source.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Seongho, what are your thoughts?¡±


    ¡°Me? Hmm¡­¡±


    Seeing everyone staring at me, it seemed like they¡¯re putting the burden of making the decision on my shoulder. If I told them to just eat it here, surely I would be treated like garbage by the others. After all, there¡¯s no reason for us to eat it when there¡¯s a whole lot of other foods here¡­


    But more than anything else, I was interested in seeing Jiman¡¯s dazzling eyes. He¡¯s a guy who always followed what I wanted to do without even telling me his opinion. I wonder what would happen if I reject him here.


    ¡°Let¡¯s grow it then.¡± Of course, in the end, I decided to not follow my curiosity and just give in to the pressure of the shelter members.


    ¡°Ah, thank you, Hyung.¡±


    Seeing that Jiman was visibly fond of the bird also relieved my heart.


    Da-jeong stroked the egg.


    ¡°If we want to raise it, we have to name it, right? What should we name it?¡±


    ¡°Since it¡¯s a bird that has horns¡­ Hornbi?¡±


    Why are these guys looking at me with those eyes all of a sudden?


    Seokhyun sighed. ¡°So, there¡¯s a reason you named a wolf Dingo.¡±


    I don¡¯t want to hear you, of all people, to be the one say that!


    Anyway, we hunted the animals in the jungle and gathered all of the things that can be considered as a necessity and returned to the shelter. The stag beetles were working in gardens and orchards as usual. They¡¯re really hard working guys. However, when Jiman came, they halted all of their work and ran towards the egg.


    ¡°We decided to call it Hornbi. It¡¯s cute, isn¡¯t it?¡± he said.


    Why are you looking at me while saying that?


    Anyway, the appearance of Hornbi became a hot issue not only for the stag beetles, but also for the scarabs. The two camps, which were always fighting each other whenever they met, have decided to agree on a temporary truce as they watched the eggs.


    The Chief Scarab tapped my shoe and started drawing on the ground with a branch.


    ¡°Hmm? oh? OH¡­¡± A bird larger than an ostrich was drawn in the ground. With how big it was, I calculated that two people would be able to ride.


    ¡°Is that its adult form?¡±


    Nod nod.


    I¡¯m sure these guys know something.


    ¡°Looking at the size, I think there would be a lot of meat.¡± As soon as I said that, the stag beetles that were petting the eggs looked at me with contempt in their eyes. The scarabs didn¡¯t do anything as much as that, but they all shook their heads.


    ¡°Huh? It doesn¡¯t taste good?¡±


    Nod nod.


    From the drawing the scarab drew after nodding, it looks like the taste was so disgusting, to the point that if two people eat it, three people will die.


    It seemed like scarabs have a good sense of humor too.


    Anyway, according to them, the Hornbi is a fast-growing, strong, useful animal that can carry up to two humans. On top of it, they can also hunt food on their own, and, decidedly, they were calm around humans. The scarabs said that even a wild one would approach humans and let them pet them.


    Anyway, Jiman then made a dedicated nest made out of the feathers he had collected for the Hornbi on the site next to the Hwajo barn. Once he finished, he laid the eggs on it, and covered it with a blanket.


    What a sincere guy.


    At that moment, I turned my attention to the Hwajo barn. Their number had increased tremendously. Even when we¡¯re continuously eating it, there¡¯s still around 50 of them that I see in the barn. It was only possible because of Jiman¡¯s unique skill. The vegetable garden and orchard next to it were also full of so many things. The amount alone made even me wonder if we could eat them all.


    In conclusion, as long as we have Jiman, hunger just won¡¯t happen.


    ¡°Are you guys good?¡± I said when I saw Dingo, Dingsoon, and their sixtuplets. These days, Dingo and Dingsoon spend most of their time taking care of their babies. Since there were 6 of them in total, when they all wandered around the nest, a cute chaos would ensue. However, since their mother would be the first one to take care of them, no one touched them. They all just looked at them with smiles plastered on their faces.


    Since there were so many different creatures in the shelter, it was always crowded. It looks peaceful, but if a monster were to attack the shelter, everyone¡¯s carefree attitude would disappear as if it was nothing more but an illusion, and everyone would immediately be ready for any kind of engagement.


    I sat on the bench for a while and watched the shelter. It was obvious from the members¡¯ movement that everyone was busy doing their own thing. Geom-in who got up late, turned on the faucet to get water in the middle of the shelter. It¡¯s only possible because a motor was installed in the valley to draw water. It¡¯s very comfortable thanks to Yoohyeon¡¯s genius brain. Everything was perfect except for the bathroom issue.


    ¡°It is indeed fine to live alone, but¡­¡± Living with other people like this wasn¡¯t that bad.


    I laid down on the bench and watched the setting sun dye the forest red. Just a few hours ago, I was wandering around the Great Labyrinth. But now, I was here, sitting comfortably witnessing such luxurious scenery.


    It¡¯s really good.


    .


    .


    .


    The first floor of the Great Labyrinth was still crowded with many people. So, following the rule, a lot of monsters also appeared here. On top of it, the occasional Deathmatch event added even more chaos into the already-hectic scene.


    Many survivors complained about it to the Auction House.


    -What in the world is happening! They said that Battle Royale won¡¯t be triggered here, so why isn¡¯t that the case for Deathmatch?


    -If we kill someone here, will we become a murderer?


    -Of course!


    -That¡¯s not what¡¯s important! Will the murderer event be triggered or not?


    -It will.


    -It¡¯s really absurd.


    -It makes sense though. Battle Royale is applied to the event battlefield itself, and Deathmatch is a system that applies to people.


    -Is that the setting in Survival Life?


    -No, it¡¯s my deduction.


    -You fucker. Do you want to die?


    -When the Deathmatch event happened, what would replace the zombie wall? Monster wall?


    -Some times ago, I met a murderer who is getting hunted by some clan. I couldn¡¯t get too close, but I did see some monsters gathering and arranging themselves into a straight line.


    -Shit¡­


    -I heard some rumors that a Chinese clan had been continuously triggering the Deathmatch event.


    -Why!!! Are they crazy?


    -Those bastards are drugged and drunk.


    People couldn¡¯t just dismiss those stupid behavior as a joke anymore. After all, all the Chinese they had met so far in the Great Labyrinth seemed to have lost their minds because of drugs. It was also rumored that the Chinese have a lot of people with brainwashing ability. A lot of Koreans believed that the rumor wasn¡¯t far from the truth as they had seen the Chinese leaders use their compatriots as meat shields first hand.


    Someone ranted:


    -In a time like this, it would be perfect if Seongho was here¡­


    -Who the hell is Seongho?


    -It¡¯s I Love Gimbap¡¯s real name. You know, that large man who came in with the other stagnant waters.


    -Oh, I saw him too. He seemed to love protein more than gimbap.


    -I used to live with Seongho for a while.


    -Really?


    -Are you I Love Gimbap¡¯s friend?


    -Probably not a friend¡­ just an old colleague?


    -Will I Love Gimbap know you if he saw your face?


    -I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll know if we meet¡­


    -Then, you are just like us you fucker! Nothing but a stranger to him!


    -Guys, rumor has it that I Love Gimbap killed all Chinese who broke into the Korean Shelter.


    -How many Chinese attacked?


    -The rumor said that there¡¯s at least several dozen.


    -If I have a gun, I can do that too.


    -I call BS! No matter how low-leveled they are, there are dozens of people. It wouldn¡¯t be that simple.


    -Yeah. If there¡¯s even one person with stealth ability, you are dead.


    -You know Major Kim Hyun-woo of Korean Shelter right? The leader of the Korean Shelter Assault Team. He¡¯s the one who defended the Korean Shelter at first. However, he couldn¡¯t do it alone and was having a hard time. But it was said that I Love Gimbap appeared on a motorcycle and took care of everything with his mithril blade¡­


    -Fucking cool!


    -I saw I Love Gimbap and Duck Butt roaming around on a motorcycle. As they drive by, he cuts off an orc¡¯s head with a sword¡­


    -Now that we are talking about I Love Gimbap, I crave some good gimbap¡­


    -By the way, where is that guy?


    -That guy? You should address him as Sir I Love Gimbap! Show some respect man!


    -Whatever¡­ Just where is he?


    -No one knows. He might have passed through the 3rd floor by now..


    -Damn, a lot of people can¡¯t even get to the 2nd floor, and yet he¡¯s already that far?


    -Hey, it¡¯s not a certainty. Just a guess.


    At that time, news broke out that an unidentified group had stolen some guns from the Hannam-dong Clan. Not just one, but five guns. They also lost an ammunition box on top of that.


    When the news reached the Auction House, there was an uproar.


    -Sigh¡­ Those crazy people¡­ They can¡¯t even properly manage their guns, can¡¯t they?


    -All but a few people from the Hannam-dong Clan had really served in the military.


    -Well, they are celebrities¡­


    -What does it have to do with their guns being stolen?


    -After hearing about it, it was said that guys from Hannam-dong Clan just roughly threw the guns in some random places when they were taking a break. It¡¯s evident that they didn¡¯t get proper training on how to handle a gun!


    -They didn¡¯t give it to us even after we asked, and now, they gave it away for free!


    -Damn it. Now the Chinese are even more dangerous!


    As always, another fight broke out at the Auction House. But this time it was different than usual. Some Chinese people came into the comment section and started mocking the Koreans. At first, many doubted they were really Chinese, but then, it was clear that they were Chinese because they were mocking Koreans by bringing out the history.


    -You know that the Qing dynasty brought your king to his knees, right? Now it¡¯s your turn to do the same.


    -What is the Qing Dynasty?


    -They are talking about the Qing Dynasty?


    -Thank you for the gun. We¡¯ll count it as a tribute. Though, you guys can¡¯t stay forever with us.


    -What a fucking bastards.


    -Bastard who sweeps the fish every day in our West Sea.


    -The Yellow Sea is our sea, isn¡¯t it?


    -I really want to kill them all.


    -Try it if you can. Joseon.


    -If I Love Gimbap is here, you guys are done!


    -You mean the guy who slaughtered our brothers in Yeouido before?


    -You guys are really crazy¡­ Do you call people you used as a meat shield as your brother?


    -Where is that bastard?


    -These bastards are crazy¡­ To think they are looking for I Love Gimbap¡­


    -What can he do against guns?


    -Do you think he¡¯ll die if you shoot him? Have you seen the art gallery fight?


    The comment section descended into chaos as arguments between Koreans and Chinese intensified. The extreme conditions of the Great Labyrinth and the apocalypse have pushed people into their current state. Until now, the atmosphere of the Chinese was not bad. However, it became a problem as they started to brag about finding something on the second floor, which they accidentally found on the way down.


    -Isn¡¯t that a Nightberry ? It is a fruit with a mental tolerance effect, it also tastes good.


    -You guys who can¡¯t even fight on the first floor correctly can¡¯t even dream of having it.


    Although it was a short comment, people at Seongho¡¯s shelter still found it and wrote it down in a notebook. Seongho, heard about it when the others told him so, said.


    ¡°To think it appeared on the second floor.¡±


    ¡°What floor did it usually appear on?¡±


    ¡°The 5th floor.¡±


    Da-jeong frowned. On the 5th floor, people really need mental tolerance stats, but to think it also appears on the 5th floor?


    ¡°What kind of bullshit is that?¡±


    ¡°Well, what did you expect from a shitty game like Survival Live? By the way, this is problematic¡­ what should we do?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do what you are ridiculously good at!¡±


    ¡°Stealing?¡± The second floor was so wide that it was impossible to explore all of them. Therefore, it would be much more efficient to just steal other people¡¯s loot.


    Seongho entered the comment section where the Chinese were busy bragging.


    -You guys, do take care of those Nightberry well, yeah?


    -Do you know what¡¯s the function of this Nightberry ?


    -You don¡¯t need to know.


    -Looking at your words, are you the famed I Love Gimbap?


    -That¡¯s right.


    -Tell us what¡¯s the function of this fruit. In exchange, we will give you some.


    -I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m the type of person who prefers to take it forcefully rather than receive it peacefully.


    -Do you think you¡¯ll be fine against bullets?


    -You can check it by yourself later.


    After that, there was no more comment from I Love Gimbap.


    ¡®What the hell is this guy?¡¯ Ju Seung Su grinded his teeth and instructed his subordinates. ¡°If he showed up, shoot him and kill him, okay?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    However, unlike Ju Seung Su, who was raging, his subordinates answered without any emotion.


    .


    .


    .


    In the Great Labyrinth, Koreans stayed together. It was such a strange sight for those who know what they were normally like in the Auction House.


    When someone mentioned it, everyone humbly said,


    -Since aliens have invaded, we have to work together.


    The word ¡®aliens¡¯ obviously referred to the Chinese who entered the Great Labyrinth. It was impossible to block them because their entrance point was different from the Koreans. On top of it, inside the labyrinth, Koreans were often pushed by the Chinese¡¯s numbers and had to give up their bases.


    Meanwhile, the Chinese swept through the Great Labyrinth with their body count as their weapon. Therefore, a lot of deaths happened inside, so there were corpses all over the place. Many corpses spawned a lot of bone creepers. And since it was dark inside, it became the best place for this monster to work. Thus, the first floor of the Great Labyrinth never had a day without a scream.


    -If the first floor is like this, how difficult is the deeper floor?


    In the meantime, five people were dispatched from the Korean Shelter. It was Oh Hyung-jun, Yoo Ji-hye, Lee Sangshin, Moon Daeho, and Moon Soyoon. They came as a team, but they were not given any special instructions. Jang Won-taek just wanted to hear real information since he was tired of the fake and distrustful information spreading around the Auction House.


    ¡°That¡¯s why we came, but¡­¡± Hyung-jun pulled the leather gloves on his hand tight and looked around. He and the rest of the team were bewildered because it was much darker than they expected.


    ¡°I can¡¯t really see anything. How can we fight in this condition?¡±


    ¡°They say your eyes will get used to it after a few hours.¡±


    ¡°For now, let¡¯s take out the glowstones first.¡±


    When Lee Sang-shin took out the glowstone, the surroundings barely lit up. It was still dark a few meters ahead of them.


    Lee Sang-shin pointed to his ear. ¡°You don¡¯t see with your eyes here, you hear with your ears.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You have to listen to everything. The sound of skeletons running, the rattling of bones, the sound of old iron swords and shields clashing¡­¡±


    ¡°Can you hear that?¡± Soyoon couldn¡¯t understand his words at all.


    The Great Labyrinth appeared to be quiet for them, but in reality, it¡¯s very noisy. Even at the moment, a soft scream and the sound of the wind could be heard.


    Hyung-jun said,


    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s all focus and go. We need to figure something out first.¡±


    When they carefully explored the inside of the Great Labyrinth, someone suddenly appeared. Yoo Ji-hye was startled and screamed. But unlike her, Hyung-jun¡¯s expression brightened.


    It was because the man they stumbled upon was Seongho.

 Chapter 183

    Seongho and the group from Korean Shelter exchanged an awkward greeting as soon as they met. Seongho knew every single one of them and had talked with all of them.


    Except for one: Lee Sang-shin.


    The man slouched and bowed his head to Seongho.


    ¡°My unique ability is telekinesis. And as many others, I lived with as little as I have.¡±


    ¡°I heard that you are pretty strong.¡±


    ¡°Compared to Seongho-ssi, I am nothing.¡±


    Lee Sang-shin was 30 years old, the same age as Seongho. Therefore, Moon Soyoon was frustrated when the two people of the same age were conversing awkwardly. On top of it, Lee Sang-shin still hasn¡¯t told Seongho that he was one of his live stream¡¯s viewers.


    ¡°You know what? Apparently, this oppa was a viewer of your stream, Seongho oppa.¡±


    ¡°¡­you were my viewer? What¡¯s your ID?¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t know even if I tell you, probably.¡±


    ¡°Just tell me.¡±


    Sang-shin¡¯s eyes went wide as Seongho pushed forwards on the matter.


    ¡°It¡¯s Gukbap Addict.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Are you really him? The guy who changed all values ??into gukbap?¡±


    Everyone burst out laughing at Seongho¡¯s words. In fact, Sang-shin kept talking about gukbap while traveling with the party. He always said that gukbap was Korea¡¯s best invention, and it was a food that crushed all other foods with cost-effectiveness. When he¡¯s not preaching about gukbap, he¡¯s always down and keeps murmuring that he would never eat gukbap ever again because of the apocalypse.


    ¡°I am. I often watch your stream together with Poor Man and Passing Dog.¡±


    ¡°That Poor Man is Jiman, the boy I¡¯ve told you about before. He¡¯s someone who was loved by nature.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Sang-shin belatedly realized Hyung-jun¡¯s words.


    ¡°By the way, haven¡¯t we met each other before? I mean, on the day you first entered the Korean Shelter.¡±


    ¡°I-is that so?¡± Sang-shin lied. He indeed saw Seongho that day. Seongho had even introduced himself as I Love Gimbap. It was just that he was afraid to tell him in case he didn¡¯t know him.


    Hyung-jun put his hand on Seongho¡¯s shoulder. ¡°By the way, Seongho. Did everyone get along well with each other? Is the place worth living?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s been fine so far.¡±


    The truth is, everyone was getting along so well to the point where asking for more was nothing but greed. If there were no monsters attacking every few hours, it was safe to call the shelter a paradise. However, Seongho didn¡¯t tell Hyung-jun that, as there¡¯s a lot of ears paying attention to him currently.


    Meanwhile, the others who did not know much about Seongho¡¯s ability squinted their eyes.


    What kind of place is he living in?


    Hearing Seongho¡¯s words, Hyung-jun felt conflicted. In fact, he wanted to enter the portal too. However, since Ji-hye was uncomfortable with Seongho, he couldn¡¯t show any signs of that.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re doing well. Say hello to them for me. By the way, you guys are currently hunting in the deeper level, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. But it¡¯s not that far deep. They are currently hunting on the third floor. Of course, with the help of Seokhyun and Da-jeong.¡±


    ¡°You are already on the third floor?¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­¡±


    Everyone was shocked at the reveal. Even the Chinese, who had occupied the majority of the bases and had great numbers, were still unable to hunt effectively on the second floor.


    Sang-shin smiled at that moment. ¡°Gimbap¡­ Ah, it was Seongho-ssi, wasn¡¯t it? Anyway, since you know a lot about the Great Labyrinth, it should be natural that you have already progressed that far.¡±


    ¡°By any chance, do you know about the last floor of the Great Labyrinth too?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the case. Even back in the game, I couldn¡¯t go to the deepest floor.¡±


    The difficulty increased as you went deeper into the Great Labyrinth. The first floor, which is causing problems to almost all survivors right now, could be said as nothing but a child¡¯s play compared to the deeper floor.


    ¡°By the way, were you sent here by Jang Won-taek? All of you didn¡¯t look that ready for a floor exploration.¡± Seongho looked around at the group and asked. His gaze then landed on the glowstone that Yoo Ji-hye was holding. If it was the Jang Won-taek he knew, he would have at the very least armed them with a flashlight. Just what in the world is this¡­


    The people who came all the way here without asking for it were also at fault though. They were way too naive.


    Maybe it¡¯s because they don¡¯t know what kind of place the Great Labyrinth is?


    ¡°The President said it¡¯s hard to get real information thanks to a lot of misleading information. That¡¯s why they sent us here; to get some information.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Seongho bit his lips. Normally, Kim Hyun-woo would have been the one who was tasked with this kind of thing. However, he¡¯s no longer with the living.


    When the atmosphere became strange, So-yoon spoke up.


    ¡°Uh, Seongho ssi, would you like to go with us?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I have something to do.¡± Seongho calmed down and answered. He took a plastic bag out of his backpack and handed it to Hyung-jun. ¡°For now, take this.¡±


    What¡¯s inside was grapes with a dark color darker than any grapes Hyung-jun has ever seen in his entire life.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°These grapes will give you a buff called night vision. As the name implied, you will be able to see in the dark if you eat it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, to think such a thing exists¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fascinating.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat one each.¡±


    Everyone ate one and slowly opened their eyes. Their vision, which had been so dark, lit up. Of course, it wasn¡¯t as clear as the day, but it was still bright enough for them to distinguish one object from another.


    ¡°Those things are amazing. Jiman grew them.¡±


    ¡°Jiman, huh? It seemed like as soon as he went with you, his ability fully blossomed.¡±


    ¡°It just happened.¡± Seongho shrugged. ¡°Then, Hyung-nim, I will go first.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay. Keep up the good work.¡±


    Seongho bowed his head to Hyung-jun. When his upper body straightened once again, he looked at Sang-shin and said, ¡°I¡¯ll see you later, Sang-shin-ssi.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    I¡¯ll see you later, what does that mean? Sang-shin felt fear for the upcoming future.


    Meanwhile, Moon Dae-ho and Moon So-yoon were talking to each other while admiring the effect of the Shadow Grapes.


    ¡°The impression of that person has changed quite a bit. When we first met, he looked completely ruthless and cold.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that because you attacked in the first place? Who would like it when they were randomly attacked?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the point!¡±


    While the two bickered, Hyung-jun spoke. ¡°Seongho is not that bad.¡±


    ¡°I know he¡¯s not really a bad guy, it¡¯s just the rumors¡­¡±


    As Daeho was about to finish his words, Hyung-jun raised his voice.


    ¡°In the apocalypse, there¡¯s many things that had to be done. And Seongho doesn¡¯t treat people he¡¯s close with badly. Look at me. He still treated me like an older brother even though I¡¯m basically nothing to him now.¡±


    ¡°Th-that¡¯s right¡­ Ah, I¡¯m talking about Seongho-ssi. I¡¯m not saying that Hyung-jun-ssi is really nothing, okay.¡±


    Everyone agreed. However, Sang-shin suddenly said,


    ¡°But, where is he going?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ it looks like he came to hunt something.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t the Auction House say that it¡¯s chaotic around here because of the Chinese? Did he perhaps come here to take care of them?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    Everyone looked at each other¡¯s faces. If it was indeed the case, the chance for them to get the right information finally appeared. It¡¯s risky, but if they didn¡¯t take the risk, they won¡¯t be able to get anything. On top of it, there¡¯s a pretty big reward at stake this time.


    Through their eyes alone, they knew each other¡¯s mind. However, Hyung-jun objected.


    ¡°If we follow Seongho, we would not be able to find the most important thing. It is better to just do what we should do.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°If you really want to do that, we should act separately. I don¡¯t want to get caught up in his fight and die.¡±


    Hyung-jun knows Seongho¡¯s personality well, the last thing he wanted to do in this dangerous place was chase after him and ended up getting in his way. Eventually, the other members of the group had no choice but to follow his decision.


    ¡°He walked around alone every day.¡± Moon So-yoon said while pouting.


    ¡°Well, he¡¯s confident he can fight most of the danger out there after all.¡± Moon Dae-ho shrugged.


    ¡°Since he can even kill an ogre, the Chinese will be in trouble, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Hyung-jun looked at the pocket of Shadow Grapes. Until this day, he kept receiving help from Seongho in various ways. However, he felt more miserable today compared to any other day.


    ¡®Should I have joined them as well¡­¡¯


    However, with his body strengthening-type unique skill, it was difficult to achieve a great result comparable to the other members of Seongho¡¯s group. On top of it, in front of the stagnant waters, his ability was basically useless. With one punch from Seokhyun the Rabbit Pwincess, Hyung-jun believed that he would wander around the river Styx immediately.


    He knew if he told Seongho he wanted to join now, he would gladly let him in. However, his pride as an older man couldn¡¯t allow it. He¡¯s aware it¡¯s useless. But without it, he felt like he wouldn¡¯t be able to keep surviving.


    ¡®Now that the situation has become like this, I can¡¯t go back. I¡¯m a normal person after all.¡¯ A normal person must live a life that fits them.


    Hyung-jun made up his mind.


    .


    .


    .


    It was difficult to get the right directions in the Great Labyrinth. Afterall, there¡¯s nothing which could be used as a landmark. On top of it, various sounds from all over the hallway would also interfere with the senses. However, since I have extrasensory skills in my arsenal, I could clearly hear many sounds even if they were ringing together with other sounds.


    The one sound I was currently pinpointing was the conversation between a few Chinese. If I followed the sound and combined it with what I had learned while wandering the Great Labyrinth back in the game, a shorter way towards them would surely open up.


    When I was finally sure that the Chinese were just around the corner, I carefully took a peek at them. I could see seven of them sitting around in clothes which could be mistaken as rags while grilling a few labyrinth rats. The place they were occupying was where water sprouted..


    ¡°¡­¡±


    As I watched silently, I could see some of them started to touch the two women amongst them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡±


    ¡°Try it! and you¡¯ll see what I¡¯ll do!


    ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t we enjoying it together right now¡­¡±


    ¡°Seriously. Why are you acting so high and mighty with that looks!¡±


    Seemed like even in the current situation, they couldn¡¯t throw away their sexual desire.


    Should I praise them for not forcing their way?


    After that, the Chinese started to talk once again. However, even after I listened to it for a few minutes, nothing important came up; it was just idle chatter.


    Seemed like this was it. When I was going to leave the place, I heard the sound of several footsteps coming.


    ¡°Did you find it?¡±


    ¡°N-no¡­ We are still looking.¡±


    ¡°Sigh¡­ I just can¡¯t understand why that guy told us to get more Nightberry.¡±


    ¡°It looks like they¡¯re trying to sell it to the higher ups.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, if we come back empty-handed again this time, they won¡¯t leave us alone, so let¡¯s do our best.¡±


    ¡°Sigh¡­ I wish I could just kill those bastards.¡±


    ¡°Shush! That¡¯s a dangerous thing to say out loud!¡±


    Among the chatter, I caught some important information. The seven people from earlier seemed to be the one who managed Nightberry. They were not at the top of the hierarchy, but more like middle management.


    I followed the new group quietly.


    However, as they were sober and vigilant, when I made one mistake, they quickly found something was amiss.


    ¡°Did you just hear something?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the use of you telling me that! Go check it out.¡±


    That¡¯s a very typical manager response.


    By the time they approached, I was already hiding inside the portal. However, as the situation continued several times, one person could not stand it any longer and took out his gun.


    ¡°Come out! Come out! I know you¡¯re somewhere around us, so come out!¡±


    Well, shit¡­


    But don¡¯t you think you shouted too loudly?


    After a while, cave goblins appeared in the hallway with a squeak. Although it¡¯s size was smaller than a normal goblin, it¡¯s quite strong and agile because of its high level. They also didn¡¯t use paralyzing poison, but a poison that grows in the labyrinth applied to their short spear.


    The moment a goblin threw the spear like a javelin, one Chinese fell to the ground with a scream. As the battle began, I left my hiding place and quietly proceeded to where they were headed.


    ¡°Now, where is that smell¡­¡± Back in the game, it had a pretty sour smell, turns out I was correct. Upon activating the Super Sense skill, a sour scent clung to my nose. While searching for the source of the smell, I found a stronghold full of old things.


    When I entered and rummaged through it, I found the pouch that contained the Nightberry they had gathered and put it into the portal. Just then, I heard a lot of hurried footsteps outside. It¡¯s not from the guys who fought the cave goblins before, meaning it¡¯s a new party.


    As I hid inside the portal, a man with a strong impression ran inside.


    ¡°Where did the Nightberry go?¡±


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°I kept telling you, increase the surveillance! Find it!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s find it!¡±


    The subordinates left, and the hard-headed man began to swear at someone while chewing his lips.


    ¡°That fucking Military General! Why did he do such a useless thing¡­¡±


    Military General? Is he talking about Ju Seung Su?


    I don¡¯t know exactly how the relationship went between them, but it didn¡¯t seem to be an amiable relationship. The man continued to complain about Ju Seung Su for a long time.


    He seemed quite dissatisfied?


    At one moment, a flame started to appear on the man¡¯s palm.


    Pyrokinesis¡­


    It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve actually seen it. Until now, I¡¯ve only heard about it. He must have passed level 15, so he should be able to spray flames from a distance.


    I rechecked my goals. Having secured the Nightberry, the next thing to do was to kill the leader. The other Chinese would naturally scatter away when the head is defeated.


    But first, I would have to get that guy¡¯s gun first.


    I checked the gear and placed a small stone on the slingshot to shoot.


    ¡°What is that? A mouse¡±


    At the sound, he turned towards me. Then, I threw a pepper bomb at him. It flew and exploded right on his nose. Because he let his guard down and got surprised, he inhaled a bunch of powder down his throat.


    ¡°Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!¡± He screamed. Because of it, the sound of panting could be heard moving closer to this place. It came from the cave goblins.


    The guys threw their spear from a few meters away towards the guy. He would have avoided it if he was fine, but the man was currently in a state of half-fainting. Therefore, the spear found its target and pierced through several places of his body.


    ¡°AHHHHHHH!!!!¡± He screamed and pulled out the rifle strapped on his back. However, just before he managed to get a shot, I threw emeras throwing knives towards his forearms.


    ¡°Keuk!¡±


    That was the end of him, as several more spears thrown by the cave goblin pierced his chest. The man trembled and crumbled to the ground.


    The goblins danced and cheered. My time is now. I jumped out of the portal, retrieved the rifle, and turned the gun at the cave goblins.


    Kiek?


    Babababang-!!


    A hole appeared in the goblins¡¯ head. They died without even knowing what happened to them. Then I hid in the portal again.


    ¡°It¡¯s about time for Ju Seung Su to come¡­¡±


    After waiting for a while, bullets suddenly rained on the base. The corpse of the fallen man shook, and dust rose all over the base. After a while, several people came and checked the man¡¯s body.


    ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡±


    ¡°That I Love Gimbap or whoever that bastard is definitely around here. Be careful!¡± It was clear that everyone was nervous by how fidgety they were. By the fact that the man knew my ID, I was certain he¡¯s Ju Seung Su.


    To be honest, it was a waste to use my last Crime Pardon just to kill these guys. So first of all, I need to summon all of the monsters that might be around. I took out a firecracker and lit it.


    It¡¯s said that the Chinese really like firecrackers¡­ Let¡¯s see if it¡¯s true or not.


    When I threw it out of the portal, the complexions of the Chinese people, including Ju Seung Su, changed abruptly.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bomb!¡±

 Chapter 184

    After losing a few of their guns, the Hannam-dong Clan fell under scrutiny and ridicule. Hundreds of mocking comments addressing their sloppy attitude was posted on the Auction House. Some people even said that it would be better for them to give all of their guns to the other survivors rather than letting the guns fall to the hands of the Chinese again.


    Of course, the Hannam-dong Clan did not accept their request, but the comment still left a scratch on their pride. Soye, in particular, was very angry at the whole situation.


    Does it make sense that they had managed to sneak in and steal when everyone was resting?


    ¡°This is really annoying¡­¡± When she lamented like that, several people came to her, bearing news from the Auction House.


    ¡°Soye-ssi. The Auction House in going crazy right now¡±


    ¡°It seemed like a gunfight happened inside the Great Labyrinth.¡±


    However, aside from those facts, it¡¯s unclear what really happened inside. At the same time, someone posted a comment saying that they had seen Seongho. The meaning behind the appearances of the very guy who had not shown his nose even once after he entered the Great Labyrinth until now was probably¡­


    Soye rose to her feet and ran towards her boss. Currently, the Hannam-dong Clan is dispatching several personnel to the Great Labyrinth. Of course, Oh Jung-min was the leader.


    He frowned when he saw Soye running in a hurry.


    ¡°My answer is no.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t even try to listen to my words first before saying no!¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you trying to ask for my permission to go see Seongho-ssi¡¯s battle?¡±


    Wait, how did he know?


    Oh Jung-min sighed and adjusted the gun in his hand.


    ¡°The atmosphere down there is very bad. Whatever happens, I believe that Seongho alone will be enough. If we try to help, we will be nothing but hindrance to him.¡±


    ¡°How can you be sure of that?¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you seen his fight?¡± Oh Jung-min sighed. ¡°I tell you this since it was you, but don¡¯t even think about interfering. I would hate to take care of your corpse.¡±


    ¡°Tch.¡± Soye clicked her tongue and backed away.


    At that moment, the alarm of their base went off. The meaning was clear: monsters had invaded their base.


    Soye hurriedly picked up a gun and went into battle. Her Unique Skill was Terrain Mastery. A skill which enabled her to run on the wall and boost her flexibility to do a lot of acrobatic moves. Although she was an idol singer, the reason why she had such Unique Skill was probably because she was more of a dancer than a singer.


    ¡°Aaaaah!¡± Soye fired the gun squeezed in her hand at the flocking skeletons. She was told that bullets were ineffective against skeletons, but it still killed them in the end. After killing several skeletons, she was still not satisfied yet. So, she moved forward towards the dark corridor.


    ¡°Die, die, die!¡± Soye felt her stress melt away after killing a few more skeletons and she was finally satisfied.


    But¡­ where is this? She looked around her. It seemed that she had gone somewhere unknown because she was too excited.


    ¡°Calm down¡­¡± There should be some gunshot sounds that she can use to lead the way back. She just needs to follow it to make her way to the base.


    As she expected, she heard gunshots from afar and proceeded to follow it. However, the place she arrived wasn¡¯t the base where her comrades were staying. Instead, it was a place where crimson red blood painted the dark stone wall, while corpses of monsters and humans could be scattered all over the ground.


    ¡°What the¡­¡± She covered her nose as the smell of blood invaded her olfactory sense. Then, she started to hear a thumping sound from somewhere nearby.


    Soye turned her gaze towards the sound and opened her eyes wide. Through the light of the flashlight in her hand, she could see a familiar figure pushing away people¨Cwho, from what she knows, were Chinese.


    Bang-!!


    Someone amongst the Chinese pointed their gun towards Seongho and opened fire. But for whatever reason, Seongho was fine. The only one who got hit was another Chinese.


    ¡°Keuk!¡± As soon as the victim collapsed, a heartbeat sound could be heard thumping loudly. The Chinese who just shot the pistol had became a murderer. However, before the Deathmatch event could start, Soye witnessed Seongho approaching the man by leaping towards him using the walls.


    What the¡­


    Wasn¡¯t his Unique Skill something about controlling space?


    Does it make sense that he could jump from one wall to another with a better movement than her, who has Terrain Mastery type as her Unique Skill?


    While Soye was still blankly staring at his fight, Seongho was already right in front of the Chinese. In a speed Soye¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t follow, Seongho swung his sword. The neck of the murderer flew to the air while his blood splattered to the wall right after that.


    ¡°Uwaaaah!¡± Some Chinese around Seongho screamed and tried to run away after witnessing the death of their comrade. But they were stopped by a heavy punch to the stomach by Seongho.


    Soye closed her eyes tightly at the terrible sight. Had the target of that punch been her, she was sure that she would say goodbye to the world instantly.


    When the surroundings became quiet, Soye opened her eyes. Then she saw it: A pair of red, emotionless eyes were staring directly at her.


    ¡°Why did you come here?¡± Seongho questioned in a heavy and subdued voice.


    ¡°I-I-I got lost while fighting¡­¡± Soye stuttered.


    ¡°¡­I can hear gunshots coming from that way.¡± Seongho pointed. ¡°I believe it¡¯s from the Hannam-dong Clan¡¯s base. Go.¡±


    Huh? He¡¯s surprisingly friendly?


    Soye looked in the direction he was pointing for a few seconds before turning her back at him. A man ruthless to his enemies, but kind to others¡­


    Unknowingly, she took a step towards him. But he raised her hand and stopped her.


    ¡°Go that way. Don¡¯t waste any more time.¡±


    To Soye, it sounded like he had no time to worry about her. She groaned and looked straight at him.


    ¡°Am I not good enough?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Seongho tilted his head ever so slightly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest. I like you because you are strong.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Soye swallowed at his words. Even though she was showing so much sincerity, his face did not change much. She felt that he would show a lot more expression when he stepped on an ant passing by.


    ¡°I felt it at some point. Hunting with those people doesn¡¯t guarantee my future. Please protect me. I¡¯ll give you something else in exchange.¡±


    The meaning behind the word ¡®exchange¡¯ was obvious in this kind of world. However, Seongho only smiled and turned his head.


    ¡°If Da-jeong knew about this, she would be pissed.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s Da-jeong, she¡¯s the one who¡­¡±


    ¡°She is a very ferocious woman. I¡¯m sorry, but I have my hands full with her alone. So please stop this.¡±


    ¡°Why? Isn¡¯t there a saying that men can¡¯t be satisfied even after having 10 women? Don¡¯t you want to take me?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Seongho closed his mouth and walked away from her. However at that moment, Soye screamed.


    ¡°Hey! Kang Seongho! If you don¡¯t answer now, you¡¯ll regret it for the rest of your life! Do you know who I am? I¡¯m Violet Soye! Do you know how much money men spent trying to just hold my hand? I know you also jerked off while watching my fancam!¡±


    Seongho stopped in place after she finished. He then unsheathed the mithril blade strapped on his waist and walked towards her.


    ¡°Wha-what are you-¡±


    At that moment, the back of the sword touched her chin.


    ¡°I warn you, don¡¯t cross the line. If I don¡¯t like you, then that¡¯s it.¡± Seongho said softly.


    Soye couldn¡¯t even breathe properly, because for some reason, she¡¯s feeling a sensation that a blade was stabbing her whole body. It was only after the sword was removed that she could finally breathe. His piercing gaze also shifted away from her.


    ¡°And although I had seen a fancam before, it was not yours. I¡¯ve never seen your fancam.¡±


    ¡°Wh-whose?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to know. If you bother me again next time, you will die. Do be careful.¡±


    His voice was low, but the sincerity was sufficiently conveyed. When Soye bowed her head, Seongho disappeared somewhere.


    ¡°¡­I am a strong woman, Seongho.¡± She muttered very quietly.


    .


    .


    .


    The Chinese were like a flock of sheep. They were helplessly pushed by one man. Some of them had guns, and there were even a handful of those whose level was beyond level 15. However, it was still not enough for them to stop the attacking predator.


    ¡°There¡¯s a monster behind you! Monster!¡±


    ¡°Ackkkkk!¡±


    Whenever they fought him, monsters always appeared as if the man had made a cooperative relationship with them. It was really confusing for the Chinese.


    Why don¡¯t those monsters attack the guy?


    In fact, they didn¡¯t even have time to think about it. After all, they were killed one after another by Seongho¡¯s attack. It was really strange that he didn¡¯t become a murderer despite killing so many Chinese.


    Woof-!! Woof-!!


    A certain Chinese unleashed a big dog to attack Seongho. Even though he hadn¡¯t heard such Unique Skill existed, it was clear that it had something to do with her working as a dog trainer in the pre-apocalyptic time.


    Without looking at him, Seongho opened the portal and summoned Dingo. At the same time, he did not forget to knock back the guys in front of him, sending them to the bunch of skeletons.


    ¡°Dingo, kill them.¡±


    The silver wolf, who had grown bigger than any cow, if not even a bull, rushed to the dogs. He hit one of the dogs with his paws and bit the neck of the other and threw it away.


    Awoooo-!!


    The howl of a canine animal was always the same.


    ¡°NOOOO!¡± The Chinese cried at the death of her dogs.


    ¡°Please, please! Spare us¡± She begged. However, moments later, she was surprised when someone appeared near her.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Seongho swung his mithril blade at her, cutting one of her legs from her body. Being unable to move in the Great Labyrinth was synonymous to death. She was attacked by goblins that appeared from somewhere and met a tragic death.


    The thing that happened to her was also happening all over the Chinese base. But the main culprit for the whole tragedy, Ju Seung Su, was busy throwing his men away and fleeing for his life.


    ¡°Huff¡­ Huff¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t forget what had happened. All of a sudden, fireworks went off and his men¡¯s arms were cut off. As if it wasn¡¯t chaotic enough, the big man who did it also reflected the bullets that were fired towards him. The reflected bullet then killed his other men, causing a Deathmatch event to occur. The man used the event to kill his men one by one.


    ¡°You fucker!!!¡± Ju Seung Su ran while cursing. He felt like if he ran a little bit more, he would be able to leave this place. It was difficult to deal with the attacker in such a narrow and dark place like the Great Labyrinth, but there¡¯s a chance that he might be able to do so if it was on the outside.


    In anger, he pushed his men and ran. But a strange thought came to his mind at that moment.


    ¡®He¡­ it was as if he was letting me go on purpose¡­¡¯


    When he and his men panicked as the firecrackers exploded, he could have killed as many as he could. However, he didn¡¯t do so, allowing Ju Seung Su to run away. Ju Seung Su hurriedly shook his head to blow away his thoughts.


    ¡®No, he just doesn¡¯t know who I am.¡¯ Thinking about it that way made him feel a little better. If he reached the entrance and joined his men outside, he would be able to deal with the bastard somehow.


    He remembered a particular scene from a movie he watched when the mainland was fine. It was an amazing scene where hundreds or thousands of arrows were thrown at one person.


    ¡®We don¡¯t have that much, but we still have a few dozen.¡¯ A smile was finally engraved on Ju Seung Su¡¯s lips. He passed his men and ran to the entrance. When he finally stepped out of the portal, his men were waiting for him.


    ¡°Huh? what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Prepare to welcome a guest! He will be out soon.¡±


    ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s that bastard! Prepare the arrows!¡±


    The men hurriedly scattered around at his order. Ju Seung Su accompanied his men and stood in front of the portal. He¡¯s sure that with enough arrows, he would be able to kill the man.


    However, even after waiting for a while, the man who appeared first from the portal was not the Korean guy. Instead, it was one of their comrades, who had lost one of his legs.


    ¡°Sa, save me¡­ save me¡­¡±


    Ju Seung Su squeezed the gun in his hands tightened as tension filled his body. In that state, he waited for a long time, but the man still did not appear.


    Is he afraid to come out?


    ¡°Liu Xiaohu, go ahead.¡±


    ¡°I understand¡­¡±


    One of his subordinates trembled as he approached the portal. Suddenly, an arm popped out of the portal and grabbed Liu Xiaohu¡¯s neck before pulling him in.


    ¡°Come out! Come out, you bastard!¡± Ju Seung Su screamed.


    Seongho slowly walked out of the portal at that moment. As he had expected, the Battle Royale event had not come to an end yet, and the battlefield was still active. In other words, even if he kill people here, he wouldn¡¯t become a murderer.


    ¡°You ran well.¡± When Seongho praised him, Ju Seung Su¡¯s lips twisted.


    ¡°Ran well?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Do you think I just let you go because I don¡¯t have a plan?¡±


    ¡°Then what¡­¡±


    Ju Seung Su racked his brain to try to find his motive. After a while, he came to a conclusion that he let him go to find the Chinese¡¯s point of entrance.


    However, that thought instantly crumbled down.


    ¡°The Battle Royale event here has not ended yet, I see.¡± Seongho said. ¡°That means, even if I kill every single one of you here, I will not become a murderer.¡±


    ¡°You, do you think you can do that on your own!?!?¡±


    As Ju Seung Su snapped his gun and screamed, Seongho spread his arms out.


    ¡°Shoot.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°I said, shoot.¡±


    Even after the taunting, Ju Seung Su still didn¡¯t give the order to shoot. After all, he had witnessed how the man deflect the bullets before. He didn¡¯t know that it was only possible because of the additional effect called the dimensional wall, which was now temporarily disabled because of the battlefield.


    While Ju Seung Su was hesitating, a blue portal suddenly appeared in the air.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Everyone freezed on their place when a portal similar to the entrance of the Great Labyrinth appeared. Right after that, a large bolt came out and pierced Ju Seung-Su¡¯s chest. Only after his consciousness waned that he realized that he had been attacked.


    ¡°This¡­¡± There was no intense pain whatsoever. Ju Seung Su looked at his abdomen with bloodshot eyes and died on the spot. With the death of the caster, the brainwash casted on his subordinates was released, and they all fell into confusion.


    ¡°What, what?¡±


    ¡°Where is this?¡±


    ¡°You are all in a Battle Royale battlefield.¡±


    BABABABABANG-!!


    Seongho told them and shot the bewildered Chinese.


    ¡°Shoot! Shoot him!¡±


    When someone shouted, dozens of arrows fell towards Seongho. However, Seongho was no longer there; he had escaped through the portal. From the inside, he used the sniper rifle to take out the enemies outside the portal one by one.

 Chapter 185

    While a genocide happened to the Chinese inside the Great Labyrinth, a smaller incident but with the same impact happened inside the Yeouido Shelter. A bloodshed happened in the restaurant inside the establishment.


    The incident kicked off with a dispute related to the Battle Royale. The problem was that the one who started the quarrel did it while the other party was eating. A fierce reaction ensued immediately, and the two fought, overturning the restaurant into chaos. Fortunately, no one died. But it was still something that would bring down people¡¯s mentality..


    When Jang Won-taek heard the news, he stepped forward to mediate the situation. He sighed when the restaurant came to his view. The incident once again reminded him that the Battle Royale event had not ended yet. The fight in the restaurant was just one of the results of the conflicts brought by the evil and cruel event. Currently, inside the shelter, large and small fights continued to happen.


    Even worse, factions began to form. Those who felt threatened because of the growing violence began to form a circle with others to fight against it. Little did they know, what they did would only make things worse.


    Of course, Jang Won-taek did not stop their action. After all, he¡¯s a believer of the saying ¡®Human actions are inevitably political¡¯. It rings even truer especially in extreme situations like this. On top of it, it was natural for factions to form in a place where many people gathered.


    Jang Won-taek believed that a large group without factions was more dangerous than a large group with one. It means that a lot of people hold some power to steer him to the clear. However, it would be difficult to smoke out the grudge and anger with all the things that happened in the Shelter. The current Korean Shelter was no different than the old National Assembly, a place where fights happen every single day.


    At the end of the day, Jang Won-taek decided to take a special measure.


    -The restaurant will be closed starting from today.


    -Then where will we eat?


    -The ingredients will be distributed to all of you, so please eat at your own accommodation.


    -What is this¡­ This isn¡¯t the medieval era, so why¡­


    Although sarcasm continued to pour on the announcement, it was an unavoidable measure to curb the violence immediately.


    As Jang Won-taek sat in his office while reading the comment, Lee Beom-seok approached him and brought up something surprising to him.


    ¡°The Chinese have disappeared from the Great Labyrinth. Many appear to be dead and a lot more appear to have run away.¡±


    ¡°Who¡­ no, the answer to that question is very clear. What did Seongho do? He¡¯s been hiding well these days.¡±


    ¡°I heard that Hyung-jun-ssi¡¯s team met Seongho on the first floor of the labyrinth.¡±


    ¡°So, it¡¯s really his doing. So, what¡¯s the situation in the Great Labyrinth currently?¡±


    ¡°There are a lot of corpses in the bases which used to be occupied by the Chinese¡­ Now, Hyung-jun-ssi¡¯s team has joined the Hannam-dong Clan and is looking into it.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Jang Won-taek buried himself in the chair. It¡¯s unfortunate that people died, but in the current case, it was not necessarily true. After all, it was simply impossible to avoid a collision between the two sides. The Chinese immigrants who came to this land started from the west coast and had continued to spread their influence inland. Therefore, it was natural for Koreans to protest.


    There was a fire at the Auction House, and they had reached the point of denigrating each other¡¯s history. Anyone with a brain could easily predict that the hate and despise that people had kept inside their heart would burst in the Great Labyrinth. Though, he himself never thought that Seongho would join the fray.


    ¡°I remember what the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries reported to me during a typhoon in early summer last year. Do you remember it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it was an incident where the Chinese came to an island to avoid a typhoon.¡±


    ¡°When the army said they were going to investigate them for illegal fishing, they threatened them¡­ Now that I think about it, I don¡¯t think the current situation was any different from back then.¡±


    ¡°To tell you my honest feelings, what Seongho did was refreshing.¡±


    ¡°People died, such a word was inappropriate.¡±


    Jang Won-taek said so, but he also had a comfortable expression on his face. After all, what happened to the Chinese wasn¡¯t a meaningless massacre.


    Jang Won-taek leaned over and asked. ¡°So, what is he doing right now? Is he done?¡±


    ¡°Seong-ho-ssi seems to have gone all the way to Bucheon after driving the Chinese out of the Great Labyrinth. I think their entrance was located there.¡±


    Lee Beom-seok drew a few circles on a map of the Seoul area. ¡°According to Seung-yeon¡¯s reconnaissance, a battle between Seongho and the Chinese took place here a few hours ago.¡±


    ¡°Is he clearing the battlefield while doing it? The land we can set our feet on has increased again.¡±


    ¡°Currently, Seung-yeon is watching him with a paper airplane. Shall we contact him?¡±


    Jang Won-taek shook his head.


    ¡°Do you think we should use him to solve the current situation?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t everyone afraid of Seongho?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly the problem.¡±


    Jang Won-taek stood up and Lee Beom-seok looked at his back. He was once called the greatest Korean political giant. But now his wide and dependable back seemed utterly shabby.


    ¡°Kang Seongho is a person with great abilities. Then he might be able to solve this situation. But if we rely on him alone, he¡¯ll lose his coping ability. I don¡¯t know about anyone else, but we shouldn¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t we pretend not to know?¡±


    ¡°Well, he had done good things. So, we have to give him some gifts we promised him. So try contacting him. However, do not disclose the situation inside the shelter.¡±


    At that moment, some shouts could be heard through the window of the office.


    ¡°Hey, Jang Won-taek! Do you think you are something? You don¡¯t even give us some alcohol, so we¡¯ll have to make it and eat it!¡±


    ¡°Jang Won-taek! Lee Beom-seok! Kim Hyun-woo too! Come all out! Oh right, Kim Hyun-woo is dead.¡±


    Jang Won-taek¡¯s eyebrows twitched for a moment, but he closed his eyes without saying a word.


    Lee Beom-seok closed the window and advised.


    ¡°Please rest a little. I will mediate the restaurant case.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    .


    .


    .


    The Chinese disappeared from the Great Labyrinth. Their corpses that were lined up were eaten by the monsters, and they became bone creepers or skeletons and walked through the dark hallways.


    People cheered at the Auction House.


    -You bastards deserved it!


    -You threaten to kill us every day, look who¡¯s laughing now!


    -I¡¯m in a good mood right now, so I¡¯ll look after everyone today.


    -But, what the hell are these bastards? There is nothing at their base.


    -It¡¯s just water and shop bread. How can they live with this shit?


    -They must¡¯ve been eating rats too.


    -They should¡¯ve hunted wild boar¡­ Eating rats is a bit¡­


    -Wouldn¡¯t they die trying to catch a wild boar?


    People¡¯s subject of discussion shifted to I Love Gimbap, who killed the Chinese.


    -But where did I Love Gimbap-nim go?


    -Dunno. One of our guys who has stealth ability tried to find him, but he said he couldn¡¯t see him.


    -DId he die?


    -Bro¡­ Would an elephant die fighting a mouse?


    -If I Love Gimbap-nim is an elephant, what are we?


    -Rabbit?


    -Rabbit is a little¡­


    -Rabbit and hamster are perfect for us.


    When such talk was happening at the Auction House, Seongho was fighting in the last Battle Royale battlefield in Bucheon. The battlefield would never end until the last player remains. Naturally, Seongho had no choice but to be ferocious. Even though countless lives were lost, his eyes didn¡¯t waver in the slightest as he kept swinging his sword.


    ¡°If I kill them all, the problem should be gone.¡± It was the conclusion he had learned from meeting and killing various people so far. Conflicts that would normally end in a light quarrel were often amplified out of control in the apocalypse. It would then breed hatred and eventually lead to the death of someone. Seongho thought he was only taking a shortcut to nip the problem in the bud.


    ¡®Since the Chinese came to this land, clashes were inevitable.¡¯


    In a certain street in Bucheon, a lot of screaming keeps happening. Seongho¡¯s slaughter ended only when the sun perched in the middle of the sky. His backpack was now heavier than when he set out, as three resurrection scrolls, a skill expansion ticket, a weapon enhancement ticket, and a few other items were added.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The Battle Royale battlefield ended and his stats returned to its original state. Seongho looked back at the path he had walked. It was stained with blood and flesh.


    ¡®I am the one who did it.¡¯ He looked straight at the tragedy without turning his head. However, in the next moment, he already moved to hunt the monsters that had gathered.


    No fear nor regrets bloomed in his heart. He just silently wielded his sword.


    ¡®It¡¯s what I need to do.¡¯¡¯


    In order to live.


    .


    .


    .


    I returned to our outpost on the second floor of the Great Labyrinth. In the dim light, Da-jeong was dazzling. I guess she was waiting.


    ¡°Are things going well?¡±


    ¡°It will be quiet for a while.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, well done. Come here. I¡¯ll give you a hug.¡±


    I rested in her arms. I thought that now I had done what I should do, I could take a short break. However, when I opened my eyes, I was already in my hut. It seemed like I slept like a baby.


    I washed my face in cold water and went out to see people watching TV. A generator was placed in the center of the shelter and a large TV was connected to it. It doesn¡¯t happen often, as we only use it when everyone has something to check.


    ¡°Oh, Oppa, you are here?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Mikyung greeted me happily, and I answered roughly before sitting down next to Da-jeong. I wondered what they were watching, but it was none other than our raid video on the 5th floor of The Great Labyrinth.


    In the video, Seokhyun, Da-jeong, and I were constantly talking while doing stuff which I swear I wouldn¡¯t do in the real world. For example, grabbing a ghost, putting it on our head, and rushing to a monster in that state.


    -BOOOOOO~ BOOOOO~


    -I have become a Ghost!


    The sight of the three of us running through the labyrinth wearing only white loin cloth was truly a spectacle. Everyone was speechless and looked at me.


    Why are these guys looking at me? The person who thought of that crap was Seokhyun!


    In particular, Yeowool¡¯s eyes looked at me as if I were a weirdo.


    ¡°Ahjussi. Is that your way of having fun in the game?¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah¡­.¡± I answered. The thing shown on the video was only possible because our mental tolerance was sky high. If it¡¯s as high as normal people, they wouldn¡¯t even be able to touch the ghost or even walk close to it.


    Seokhyun looked at me and smiled. ¡°Should we do that again once we go down to the fifth floor? It looks fun!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not¡­ Currently we don¡¯t have a lot of mental resistance items.¡±


    ¡°I think the Nightberry and the ring would suffice, though?¡±


    ¡°What about the doppelgangers? With those items alone, it would be a pain in the ass.¡±


    ¡°If we die, we¡¯ll just have to do it again! Ah, right¡­ You guys can¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°Well, I did collect a lot of Resurrection Scrolls.¡±


    When I took out the scrolls and items from my backpack, everyone¡¯s attention was focused.


    ¡°Look at all those Resurrection Scrolls¡­¡±


    ¡°You have collected three more.¡±


    ¡°Where did you get this?¡±


    ¡°In Bucheon, where Chinese people gather.¡±


    At that moment, the atmosphere became heavy. Everyone knew what I meant. After all, Resurrection Scrolls only appeared in Battle Royale events.


    ¡°Seokhyun, use this.¡± I handed the Skill Expansion Scroll to Seokhyun to relieve the atmosphere.


    ¡°I have one empty slot left, though?¡±


    ¡°Hey, just use it when he gives it to you. Once he changed his mind, you won¡¯t be able to get it anymore even if you begged.¡± Da-jeong said so and shoved the item into Seokhyun¡¯s hand.


    Since we don¡¯t have to use the Crime Pardon Scroll as well as the Weapon Enchantment Scroll, we decided to keep it in the common warehouse. I also put several Resurrection Scrolls at the same place. With the newly acquired Resurrection Scroll, we have a total of 7 Resurrection Scrolls that we can use.


    ¡°Da-jeong, have you broken through the 5th floor yet?¡±


    ¡°Yep, you just need to enter. By the way, he also has reached level 30.¡± She shrugged her shoulders and pointed towards Geom-in.


    ¡°If it¡¯s level 30, wouldn¡¯t you get a great additional effect?¡±


    The swordsman who caught my gaze answered.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that great, I can now copy the minor version of your skill. In Seokhyun¡¯s case, the skill that comes is something called Death Queller, while in Da-jeong¡¯s, it¡¯s monster training. And as for your unique skill¡­ Look at this backpack.¡±


    Geom-in did something and a portal appeared in my backpack. I should call that a dimensional backpack from now on.


    ¡°What is that¡­ Seongho¡¯s one is huge.¡± Da-jeong said, seemingly disappointed with the size of his backpack.


    ¡°It¡¯s a minor version, so there¡¯s nothing I can do about it. Still, I¡¯m satisfied because I got all three skills at once.¡±


    Of course, they were all minor versions. Compared to Seokhyun¡¯s original Unique Skill which enabled him to resurrect infinitely as long as he has points, Death Queller was a skill that can only be used once a day. While in Da-jeong¡¯s case, Geom-in could only train one monster. And for my skill¡¯s minor version it¡¯s that small inventory.


    Even so, seeing Geom-in smiling made me feel better too.


    ¡°So, can you fight alone now?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ In my opinion, wouldn¡¯t it be better for me to stay in the shelter? After all, defense is also important.¡±


    Look at this shelter maniac¡­ Well, there were three people who were anxious because we can¡¯t fight, so it¡¯s better for Geom-in to stay in the shelter.


    ¡°Do whatever is comfortable for you.¡±


    As the day was getting dark, we got together for dinner. It was good up to that point, but it was a little bit uncomfortable for me as everyone was watching the video I was broadcasting.


    Everyone was curious about what would come next, and Yoohyeon operated the remote control. As always, Poor Man came to the comment, and the Soup Maniac began to convert all the values ??into soup.


    -Isn¡¯t it a waste to throw away the bones of the griffon? If you boil it and turn it into soup, it will be magnificent.


    ¡°That soup lover guy is in the Great Labyrinth right now. He¡¯s a man, his name is Lee Sangshin.¡± I said as I looked at the TV screen.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you bring him in?¡±


    ¡°He had a party. Also, that idol¡­ Soye from the Hannam-dong Clan¡­¡±


    ¡°Look at you! You even remember her name. What did she say?¡±


    It might not be my imagination that Da-jeong¡¯s voice was full of malice.


    I kept my composure as much as possible under her pressure. ¡°I had some trouble with her. She said she wanted to take the bus.¡±


    ¡°Then?¡±


    ¡°I told her to go away. You alone are enough for me.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Do you think I will lie about something like that?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Da-jeong made a cat-like sound, then turned her head to kiss me. The people around us stood up in embarrassment, and in the end, it was just the two of us present.


    As the night progressed, I could hear her whisper clearly.


    ¡°I¡¯m not telling you to look only at me. But no outside b*tches allowed, okay?¡±


    What the hell is she talking about?


    As I was about to ask her, Da-jeong rose to her feet and brushed her ass.


    ¡°Do you know that Sooyeon unnie¡¯s glasses are broken? When the griffon comes out, you need to give her some of its skills.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t she have several glasses?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all broken. If she got the Griffon¡¯s Eye skill, she can see far away.¡± I don¡¯t know if that skill can even replace glasses. Anyway, the next monster to appear were the flying type monsters, including the griffon, so I have no choice but to get her the skill.


    We stayed overnight and rushed to get ready to enter the 5th floor.

 Chapter 186

    There¡¯s a lot of monsters inside the Great Labyrinth that normally cannot be found in the outside world. One of them was the ethereal-type monsters that appeared starting from the 5th floor. It includes strange monsters such as ghosts, wraiths, and screamers which are difficult to deal against.


    In order to lower the effectiveness of their attacks, the survivors need to wear an item with a mental resistance option. If it was neglected, it¡¯s safe to say that the fight couldn¡¯t possibly be won from the survivor¡¯s side. After all, no normal people would be able to attack ghosts that had changed their appearances to their allies.


    Immunity was, of course, better than mere resistance. However, it¡¯s simply a pie in the sky, as even I, someone who had played the game the longest, had never seen an item with such an option until now.


    Another thing to note was that, in order to attack the ethereal-type monsters, something called an ¡®ectoplasm coating¡¯ was required. And the very item required to make it can only be found starting from the 5th floor. In other words, people would have to explore the 5th floor first without being able to do anything to the monsters that exist inside, before they would be able to start properly attacking the 5th floor.


    ¡°Just what kind of game is that¡­¡± Mikyung, who heard about it, grumbled.


    ¡°A really shitty one.¡±


    ¡°I know, right.¡±


    We hid inside the portal a few steps away from the entrance to the 5th floor. As soon as we got down to the 5th floor, what greeted us was the screams of a screamer. When I heard it in the game, my vision would be blurred a little bit and my movement would be a bit slower, but when I actually heard it in real life, it was a huge blow.


    Anyway, the reason we came here was to gather ectoplasm. If Mikyung can take me to where it was located with her blink, I would quickly put the ectoplasm and throw it inside the portal. To ensure our visibility, several flashes were tied together to make sure the lighting was strong enough. On top of it, Mikyung is also wearing an earplug to make sure she wouldn¡¯t be affected by the screams of the monsters.


    However, even though I already have a mental resistance item, my head became dizzy when I heard their literally-ear-piercing screams.


    Mikyung grabbed my arm.


    ¡°Oppa, what should we do to beat those monsters?¡±


    ¡°We have to hit them before they can even scream. Of course, using weapons with ectoplasm coating.¡±


    ¡°What will happen if those monsters get out?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ Normal survivors will hallucinate when they are attacked by a ghost.¡±


    ¡°So, it¡¯s like when people use ecstasy, huh?¡±


    ¡°Have you tried it?¡± I know ecstasy was sold in the Auction House these days.


    Mikyung shook his head desperately. ¡°No, no. I will never do something like that. I mean, I know it since the reviews about ecstasy were up on the Auction House¡­¡±


    I turned my head and looked at the portal.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing that you¡¯re thinking that way. After all, if your mind were to be tampered and confused even for a little bit in this kind of world, it¡¯s basically the same as suicide. There are no exceptions to that rule, even me.¡±


    ¡°I think Rapwi ahjussi wouldn¡¯t die though¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not count that guy in.¡± I shrugged. That guy was a monstrous human being. He won¡¯t die no matter how much he messes around because of how high his resistances and strength are. Even if he somehow died, he would return to life thanks to the effect of his unique skill. Thankfully, the guy held his craziness at bay while living in the shelter. It¡¯s dangerous to imitate him, but thankfully no one in our shelter was crazy enough to imitate him in the first place.


    By the way¡­ I was worried about Mikyung, who kept holding my arm. I tried to pull my arm out, but she held her ground.


    ¡°Are you not feeling uncomfortable?¡±


    ¡°Nope. But oppa, since we¡¯re doing this, aren¡¯t we like lovers?¡±


    ¡°Probably more like siblings.¡±


    ¡°Hiing¡­ I wore pretty clothes to look good to you today though.¡±


    Wearing shorts in the apocalypse are a little bit¡­ but well, it should not be a big problem since she¡¯s mostly staying inside the shelter anyway.


    I replied bluntly.


    ¡°Why are you doing something like this for a psycho like me? You know I was someone who had killed a lot of people.¡±


    ¡°I know that even though you are a scary person on the outside, you are a big softy on the inside. You never yelled at us even once, you know?¡±


    ¡°I believe I have, though.¡±


    ¡°Well, that was far back in the past¡­¡±


    What did she mean by far back in the past¡­ It¡¯s only been a few months since they failed to defend the island. Still, seeing Mikyung whimpering while clinging to my arm calmed my heart a bit. Somehow, even for someone like me, who had killed countless people and went around doing a lot of bad things, fate decided to set me up in a relationship with a lot of good people. It might not be a strong relationship as strong as a lover or family bonds, but at least it¡¯s not an empty relationship. Mikyung was standing at that vague borderline.


    At that time, the ghosts that had roamed around like a piece of cloth controlled through a string disappeared. I quickly tapped Mikyung on the shoulder as we quickly moved to where it was seconds ago. On the wall in front of us, there was something that looked like thin plastic with the texture of a jellyfish.


    The thing was the very thing we look for: Ectoplasm.


    According to the Survival Life background story, ectoplasm was said to be the shell of a ethereal-typemonster. But whatever it was, the only important thing I knew was the fact that I could inflict damage to ethereal-type monsters with it.


    I took out a bucket from the dimension slot and filled it with the ectoplasm. Mikyung patted her arms and shuddered as the slime-like ectoplasm stretched when I pulled it.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ that looks really weird¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll find it weirder when you use it.¡±


    I picked up a few more ectoplasms and put them in the bucket. At that time, several ghosts approached us. Mikyung panicked and hid behind me as the white sackcloth-like creature fluttered in the air.


    ¡°Open portal!¡±


    Shortly after we fled to the shelter, an ominous light shot from the ghost struck the portal.


    ¡°You can¡¯t hit me!!!!¡± Mikyung sticks out her tongue and laughs.


    .


    .


    .


    Coating weapons with ectoplasm was not hard. You can just put the weapon into the bucket full of ectoplasm. If we leave the weapon in it for a day or two, the weapon would soon have a white luster covering it, and if you check its stats, you¡¯ll see an additional effect added to it.


    ¡¸Mithril Blade: Permanent, Reduced Regeneration, Ethereal hit¡¹


    Just like this.


    Sooyeon asked while squatting beside me.


    ¡°I was just thinking¡­ can¡¯t we use this ectoplasm on bullets too?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. There were no guns back in the game.¡±


    ¡°Can I try it?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    With my permission, Sooyeon giggled and brought a heavy ammunition box. Normally she wouldn¡¯t have been able to lift it. The reason she was able to do so was because she was currently wearing an item. I was staring at her and only then found out that her glasses were broken. She attached it with tape and some adhesive, but it couldn¡¯t hide the fact that it would break again soon.


    ¡°How did your glasses break?¡±


    She smiled sheepishly and brushed her hair behind her ear. ¡°We were hunting, then this and that happened¡­¡±


    That was precisely the problem for people who¡¯s wearing glasses in the apocalypse. After all, they had to run and roll around constantly to survive, so would there be any case the glasses would stay fine?


    She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes with her fingers.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to do Lasik surgery before. I regret it a lot now.¡±


    ¡°If you get Eye Of Gryphon skill, you will be fine.¡±


    ¡°Really? But I¡¯m nearsighted¡­¡±


    ¡°That skill makes things that are far away clearly visible.¡± I explained.


    Sooyeon¡¯s expression softened, but then she stiffened a little.


    ¡°If I get that skill, other people would need to wait longer for their turn. I¡¯ve heard that a gryphon is not a monster that appears often¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. There must be a gryphon somewhere in this place. I¡¯ve hunted wyvern before, so there must be a gryphon too.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ Thank you.¡± She said before ripping open the bullets package and carefully placing them in one of the ectoplasm buckets. If things went well, it meant that we wouldn¡¯t have to fight directly against the ethereal-type monsters, which is a huge advantage.


    Sooyeon turned on the faucet and washed her hands with it. She then said, ¡°Seongho, have you heard about the situation in the Korean Shelter?¡±


    ¡°I have. The atmosphere is bad there these days.¡±


    It was to the extent that I thought they got lucky when it ended only with the atmosphere getting worse. If the aftermath of the Battle Royale event was greater, it was possible that the Korean Shelter would no longer be a safe place where people would be able to use it as a gathering point.


    Sooyeon said as she wiped her glasses with the hem of her clothes. ¡°I also hear that a lot of bad things happened inside. Fighting and stealing are common things, even sexual assault¡­¡±


    ¡°Since factions have been formed, they will regard each other as enemies. It is indeed unfortunate.¡±


    As there were so many people in the Korean Shelter, there were many stories and things happening. I came to know about it after listening to Sooyeon¡¯s story that at least seven people had tried to kill each other.


    ¡°I thought about it from the perspective of those people, and it makes sense. If the person who killed your friend or family is staying in the same building with you¡­¡±


    ¡°I will hate it.¡±


    That was precisely the aftermath of the Battle Royale event. People who were friendly up until they said temporary goodbye before the event became enemies when they got back. The fight in the restaurant was nothing more than a trickle of blood from an open wound. If the conflict erupts in earnest, even pus will leak out.


    I wondered what Jang Won-taek was thinking right now¡­ Using this event as a measuring stick, will he select new personnel or will he choose to lead the current personnel personally?


    While I was thinking about it, Sooyeon rested her head on my shoulder.


    ¡°I feel lucky again. If I had been in a shelter in Korea, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to live in this comfortable environment.¡±


    ¡°Sooyeon, you¡¯re a doctor, and your unique skill is something related to healing. You¡¯ll definitely be treated well anywhere you go.¡±


    But her expression was pitiful.


    ¡°Is that so? It¡¯s obvious what will happen to someone like me in this apocalypse. If I hadn¡¯t met Seongho back then¡­¡±


    Well¡­ She would find herself in a very bad situation. Following that train of thoughts, I became worried about Hyung-jun hyung¡¯s situation right now. Right now, he should be fine, because he¡¯s currently inside the Great Labyrinth. But once he returned to the shelter¡­


    When the shelter was still fine, there were a lot of men who were aiming at Hyung-jun hyung¡¯s girlfriend, because she was one of the few women in the shelter. At that time, they wouldn¡¯t even dare to do it, but there¡¯s no doubt that now there will be some people who would try to do something.


    I have something to receive from the President, so when I go to claim that¡­


    When I was thinking about such things, Seokhyun suddenly jumped out of the open portal. A half-dead ghost was draped over his head.


    ¡°HOOOOOOOOOOOOO~¡±


    ¡°Kyaaaaaa¡±


    ¡°What the-!¡±


    As a pervert with a white rag-like creature in his head ran around, the shelter became noisy.


    ¡°Why is this madman bringing a ghost here?¡±


    Da-jeong knocked Seokhyun down with a flying kick, but he didn¡¯t stop. Sooyeon was frightened and then secretly hid behind me.


    ¡°I-it¡¯s a ghost. Will it be fine?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s half dead, so¡­ it¡¯ll be fine. Though, if you get too close, you will get hallucinations.¡±


    By the way, the time has come to break through the 5th floor slowly.


    It¡¯s hard to get into the deepest part right now, but we have to break through to the 8th floor.


    I brushed my knees and stood up.


    .


    .


    .


    Sooyeon¡¯s suggestion was unexpectedly useful. The coated bullets pierced through the ghost¡¯s body when I shot it. However, it was difficult to see whether the effect was good or not, because it was just a hole in their body.


    I indiscriminately hunted monsters on the 5th floor while wearing a mental resistance ring. I also took out several normal rings on purpose with me while hunting in order to turn the rings into items. I must get at least one mental resistance item in order for another person to enter.


    After hunting hard for two days, the item finally piled up.


    ¡°It¡¯s fortunate that the drop rate is high.¡± If the drop rate had been low, I would have been hunting in this hell hole for a few days more.


    After giving the ring to the others, the stagnant team finally shined. We swept the 5th floor like crazy and found the boss room. There¡¯s no need to worry about the boss up to the 4th floor, but the difficulty increases from the 5th floor. The boss room was not located in a specific place, it was just an area where the strongest monsters wander.


    I hid in the portal and waited for the boss to appear. However, even after half an hour, no sight of it could be seen.


    ¡°Where did this bastard go?¡±


    ¡°Why? Is it not here yet?¡± Seokhyun, wearing a ghost in his head, asked.


    ¡°It should have been around here, but¡­ it¡¯s not.¡±


    The entrance to the 6th floor was on the opposite side of our current location, so the boss should have wandered around here.


    Maybe someone came and killed it¡­ or did the monster despawned or something?


    When the two of us decided to leave, someone suddenly appeared in front of us from the darkness.


    Before Seokhyun launched himself like always, I blocked his way.


    ¡°Who are you¡­ No, I guess I shouldn¡¯t have asked. After doctors and nurses, is it a programmer this time?¡±


    The man who appeared in front of us had a very ordinary impression. If you walk around the downtown area, you can see several people similar to him every 10 minutes.


    The man looked strange because he was wearing a shirt, slacks, and glasses that didn¡¯t fit the situation.


    ¡°Nice to meet you. Are you Kang Seongho or Hwang Seokhyun? I¡¯ve been waiting for you. Choi Da-jeong and Bae Geom-in are probably in the subspace.¡± He smiled at us.


    ¡°¡­you know a lot.¡±


    When I clenched my fist, Seokhyun jumped out. However, when the man waved his hand lightly, Seokhyun¡¯s figure disappeared through the wall.


    What, is this a hallucination?


    But wasn¡¯t I wearing a mental resistance ring?


    I pulled out the mithril blade and shotgun at the same time and aimed it at him.


    ¡°Is he dead?¡±


    He spread his arms.


    ¡°Of course not. I don¡¯t have that kind of powerful ability. I can only change things a little.¡±


    It seems to be true that he was also caught up in an apocalypse because I heard something similar from the nurse. They both said that they didn¡¯t have absolute power.


    ¡°Are you really a programmer?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I am the main programmer of Survival Life.¡±


    You finally showed up, huh?

 Chapter 187

    ¡°The main programmer, huh? I don¡¯t know how high that position is, but its role should be pretty important, right?¡±


    The man shrugged. ¡°With my position, I can approximately answer seven out of ten questions that Seongho wants to know.¡±


    ¡°What about the other three?¡±


    ¡°Things I don¡¯t know. Make no mistake, I¡¯m not omniscient.¡±


    Now, this is odd. The doctor and nurse from back then seemed to be half crazy. But this programmer was able to communicate well.


    To my surprise, the man protruded a part of the wall and morphed it into a seat and sat down. The floor on which I was standing also protruded and turned into a chair. I guess that¡¯s what he means by him being able to change some things.


    He opened his mouth once again. ¡°Sit down. Seokhyun will be back in a little while. Let¡¯s talk quietly.¡±


    ¡°¡­what is your name?¡±


    ¡°Even though I think names are no longer important, you would still need something that you can use to call me, right? Since I don¡¯t want to be called Programmer-ssi, please call me Ahn Geun-seok.¡±


    ¡°You speak as if you have transcended over humanity or something.¡±


    ¡°Are you not as well, Seongho-ssi?¡±


    I looked down at my body. It was muscular, rough and quite big. Something which normally could only be seen on athletes or military soldiers. What sets my body apart from theirs was the fact that mine had superhuman power. It regenerates even after being shot; It also has enough power to smash concrete walls.


    Can you call someone with this kind of power a human?


    If I look purely at my stats, I have already surpassed my stats from the game. Though, it would only reach that level If I add the buffs of several consumables as well as Sooyeon¡¯s buffs.


    Ahn Geun-seok looked at me and smiled softly.


    ¡°We are on the same side. To show you a favor, I¡¯ll answer three of your questions. I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t ask anything useless. Seongho-ssi is a stagnant water, after all.¡±


    ¡°You are very kind.¡±


    ¡°I have to put in some effort to get what I want.¡±


    The thing he wanted was probably me. No, to be exact, my portal ability. Killing this guy here seemed to mean nothing much.


    Where did the resurrection scroll given to Jo Seung-cheol come from?


    Or, should I ask a key question?


    I didn¡¯t think this guy would give me the right answer.


    He said three questions, so let¡¯s ask him one to test the water.


    ¡°Since you said you¡¯re a programmer, I¡¯d like to ask you one thing¡­ What¡¯s coming out after the Unknown Monsters expansion pack? Brutra isn¡¯t the end, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s two questions.¡±


    ¡°What a strict guy. Then tell me what the final boss of Survival Life is.¡±


    ¡°He is in the deepest part of the Great Labyrinth.¡±


    Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s finger pointed to the floor. However, I was more surprised that Ahn Geun-seok used ¡®him¡¯ rather than ¡®it¡¯ to refer to the final boss.


    ¡°Are you acquainted with that monster by any chance?¡±


    ¡°Is that the second question?¡±


    No. No¡­ I shook my head and organized my thoughts. Even if I asked him what his purpose was, this guy would just act ignorant again. He probably would answer by saying ¡®we just want to survive, like many of you.¡¯


    So instead of asking such a comprehensive question, it¡¯s better to ask what I wanted to know.


    ¡°When will the tier 4 system come out?¡± It didn¡¯t exist in the original game. But if he said it doesn¡¯t exist, I¡¯d be a little sad.


    Ahn Geun-seok frowned.


    ¡°Are you talking about skills or equipment?¡±


    ¡°Both. Tier 3 skill equipment is also bundled together.¡±


    ¡°We actually meant to make that separately though. But¡­ let me answer that. Defeat Brutra and it will come out.¡±


    So it really exists. It would be safe to say that Brutra was just the first boss of the Unknown Monsters expansion.


    That strong monster¡­


    Ahn Geun-seok looked at my face and had a smug knowing expression.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be tough. That feeling, we understand it very well. That¡¯s why we chose this route. Co-existing with them.¡±


    ¡°You mean living together with them? Seriously?¡±


    ¡°There is no other way.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t want to do that. The doctor and the nurse¡­ Can you call them human?¡±


    ¡°I get asked about that repeatedly, but what would people from a year ago say when they see you today?¡±


    Superpower¡­ Monsters¡­


    I clenched my teeth.


    ¡°I am not like you.¡±


    He let out a long sigh, as if pitying me.


    ¡°It seems you still haven¡¯t figured it out. Well, that¡¯s fine I guess. What¡¯s the last question?¡±


    ¡°Who made this system?¡± It was what I was most curious about. After all, except for the unique skills, the system and the status window were present in Survival Life. It was certain that the main programmer made those, but if that¡¯s the case, then Ahn Geun-seok was the creator.


    However, that point was denied since he clearly said he didn¡¯t know everything.


    Ahn Geun-seok had a complicated face at my question.


    Did I hit the correct spot with my question?


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I didn¡¯t want to tell you this, but I have no choice but to tell you. The one who created the system¡­ is magic itself.¡±


    ¡°Magic?¡±


    ¡°How many etherstones have you gathered so far? That¡¯s the magic energy source. The superhuman abilities you¡¯re able to use casually¡­ Those are all magic. Magic has overlaid our world.¡±


    Adding the fact that the setting of Survival Life was also covering Earth leads to this conclusion.


    ¡°Did the magic of another world¡­ swept your company?¡±


    Ahn Geun-seok smiled bitterly.


    ¡°The reason we said we are also a victim, you know now. We too are just survivors struggling to survive the apocalypse. That is, we and you . . .¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Why? Why are you rejecting us?¡±


    His voice rose.


    I stood up with my mithril blade on the floor.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly what your purpose is, but I don¡¯t want to be a monster like the doctor I met before.¡±


    ¡°What if that was the only way?¡±


    ¡°No one knows for sure, right? You don¡¯t even know what exactly my power is, do you?¡± If they knew, he would have brought out the word portal right away. However, the doctor, the nurse, and him only called it subspace.


    Ahn Geun-seok picked it up and smiled.


    ¡°That is a big misunderstanding. We are the ones who made Survival Life. I know that your unique skill leads to another world, The world of Lotus.¡±


    Lotus, huh? I guess that¡¯s the official name of the dimension where my shelter was located. However, I¡¯m not really sure they truly know. After all, Lotus was a dimension that existed in the past. But, they said that Lotus was just the setting they made?


    Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s face hardened for the first time when I pointed it out.


    He looked around him, brushed his ass and stood up.


    ¡°Now that I have answered three questions, you must also answer three of mine.¡±


    ¡°When will Seokhyun return?¡±


    ¡°If you answer, I will bring him right away.¡±


    ¡°Ask away.¡±


    ¡°Are there any intellectual creatures in Lotus?¡±


    Did he mean the scarabs and stag beetles?


    I answered calmly.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a human-like creature.¡±


    Scarabs and stag beetles were not human-like creatures, so it¡¯s not a lie. And even though we found someone¡¯s backpack, it¡¯s just a thing, not the survivors themselves.


    He looked into my eyes.


    ¡°I believe it is not a lie. Then second¡­ Where have your colleagues gone?¡±


    ¡°They are in my shelter, why?¡±


    He seemed shocked by my words.


    Was it that surprising?


    ¡°If there is no next question, please bring Seokhyun quickly.¡±


    He calmed down and asked.


    ¡°I will ask you one last time. Are you really unwilling to join hands with us?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I don¡¯t want myself to be forced to change into something so monstrous like that.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be that way. Jeon Ji-hoon and Seong Hyo-jin changed like that because of some side effects. Even at this moment, we are making progress.¡±


    The doctor was dead, so it doesn¡¯t matter. And turns out, the nurse¡¯s name was Seong Hyo-jin.


    ¡°You mean progress to become one with the monster? I don¡¯t need that.¡±


    ¡°Really frustrating¡­ I told you that time is medicine, so let¡¯s wait a little longer. As a side note, the longer you decide, the lower your worth. Maybe one day, I will not need you at all.¡±


    ¡°I wish for that day to come sooner.¡±


    Ahn Geun-seok glanced back, passed his last words, and walked into the wall.


    ¡°If you go down to the eighth floor, you will die.¡±


    Thanks for the advice.


    His body faded and he seeped into the wall.


    That guy looks like an ethereal-type monster, doesn¡¯t he?


    Soon after, Seokhyun jumped out of the wall.


    ¡°SSEEEEGGGGSSS!¡±


    I dodged his fists, barely calmed him down and explained the situation. After hearing everything, Seokhyun scratched his bald head.


    ¡°Does that mean the final boss is here?¡±


    ¡°Maybe?¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll have to delve right through to the deepest part. If we kill the final boss, that Ahn Geun-seok won¡¯t be able to fight you.¡±


    Well, I wasn¡¯t sure if things would turn out that easily. There¡¯s also his warning regarding the eight floor. So let¡¯s be more careful.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the shelter and have a meeting with everyone.¡±


    Just like that, we went back to the shelter.


    .


    .


    .


    The shelter members¡¯ reactions to my explanation varied greatly. There were surprises, fears, and subtle expectations. The last expression belongs to Sooyeon and Yoohyeon.


    ¡°The fact that there is a final boss means that there is also an ending, right? We might be able to end the apocalypse!¡±


    Some agreed with Sooyeon¡¯s words, but the stagnant waters, including myself, were skeptical about it. It was simply hard to believe that all these monsters would someday suddenly disappear.


    That¡¯s not what¡¯s important, though. It had been confirmed that new monsters would appear after Brutra. There¡¯s also the tier 4 system, so we had to prepare in advance.


    I put my thoughts together and called Captain Scarab and Chief Stag Beetle. As they arrived, they climbed on Jiman¡¯s body and sat on his shoulder.


    ¡°These guys only like Poor Man. How much did they owe you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that, Noona. It¡¯s because of the nature of my unique skill. Don¡¯t hate them too much.¡±


    When their talk ended, I shot straight to the point. They were both surprised to hear the word ¡®Lotus¡¯ coming out from my mouth.


    Their eyes look as if they ask how did you know that?


    ¡°There was someone who told me about it. This place is Lotus right?¡±


    The two leaned away from Jiman¡¯s neck and looked at each other. Then they nodded their heads.


    Now it¡¯s time for these guys to reveal their identities. Up until now, they were trying so hard to conceal it, so I didn¡¯t pry deeper. But now the situation has changed. We must know the secret.


    ¡°Lotus dimension¡­or should I call it Lotus continent? Please draw me a map of it.¡±


    Captain Scarab and The Chief Stag Beetle, who were watching me, came down from Jiman¡¯s shoulder. I took out a large sketchbook from the slot and gave it to them along with a pen.


    ¡°Draw the whole thing. Up to where we are.¡± These guys obviously know about it. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to go to the volcano with Da-jeong.


    The two insects took the pen and started drawing a map. When the overall appearance of the continent was revealed, everyone was at loss for words.


    ¡°Big¡­¡±


    ¡°Were we here? on this peninsula?¡±


    ¡°This mountain is in the middle of the peninsula¡­¡±


    When we stepped out of the forest, we could see the snowy mountains along with the grasslands. The mountain stood tall in the middle of a peninsula just like Florida in the United States.


    The overall appearance of the Lotus continent was much larger than I had imagined. The peninsula we are on looks like a small dot. If we head further north from the Black Forest in the north, we will find another sea.


    The two insects drew the overall figure and raised their heads.


    Need more? They seemed to ask.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t make any sense to draw more right now. We don¡¯t know anything other than the fact that this place is Lotus.¡±


    nod nod.


    But one thing was certain. The two insects were the natives of Lotus. Now is the time to reveal their identities.


    Da-jeong looked into my eyes and urged me.


    ¡°Since we¡¯ve come all the way to this point, can you please draw the real you?¡±


    The two pondered for a long time. Looking back at them, they seemed to be arguing with each other. How could these guys who used to fight because they had a really bad relationship put their heads together like this?


    Jiman looked into my eyes. I could read his intentions without saying anything. He seemed to be concerned whether we would be able to keep the current relationship if I were to force them to reveal their identity.


    It¡¯s a little too cheesy for my taste, but oh well¡­


    I said to the two insects.


    ¡°Whatever you are, we won¡¯t kick you out. If you¡¯ve been cursed so you become like this, I¡¯m willing to help you guys. Though, it¡¯s on the premise that you told us everything.¡±


    The two finished worrying and turned over the sketchbook to draw a new picture. Meanwhile, Geom-in concentrated on the picture drawn by the stag beetle.


    Will the Forest Elves come out just as he said?


    When the long ears were finally drawn, he silently raised his arms and cheered.


    Do you like it that much?


    Geom-in smiled broadly as his eyes met mine.


    ¡°They have a tattoo on their forehead! A tattoo!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t their hair a little long?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s because they are women isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°That is prejudice.¡±


    Without paying any regard to the talking, the two continued to work in silence. The work speed of the stag beetle was much faster than the rather relaxed Scarab. Eventually, what was revealed was the figure of a female warrior with rabbit-like long ears. The drawing was looking at me in a leather comfy-looking garment. In the skin which was not covered, various patterns could be seen adorning them. Around her waist, a quiver full of arrows was drawn. She also looked taller and had a fairly solid body.


    And what the scarab drew was the figure of a stocky dwarf with a bushy beard.


    ¡°Wow, were you really a dwarf?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t the Scarab Ahjussi, but Scarab Harabeoji¡­¡± (P/n Harabeoji = how they call grandfather or just a very old man in Korea)


    ¡°It makes sense, their taste is a very old man¡¯s taste.¡±


    The guy finished drawing their own picture without caring about people¡¯s evaluations. In summary, the stag beetle was a warrior working in the forest, and the scarab was an engineer living underground.


    I can understand their bad relationship now.


    The two finished painting and looked at me.


    ¡°It¡¯s what I expected.¡±


    I asked the guys.


    ¡°Did you get cursed and become like this?¡±


    Both of their eyes widened. It¡¯s a look that contains so many stories¡­ Let¡¯s take a look at it slowly. We didn¡¯t need to find out right away, after all, there¡¯s no way we can find a solution right now. The important thing was to plan for the future.


    I coughed to get people¡¯s attention.


    ¡°We¡¯ve only been defending, but let¡¯s do it differently from now on. Let¡¯s actively defeat monsters and secure our territory.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to expand the shelter even more?¡± Geom-in asked.


    ¡°Yeah. We need to expand our territory by hunting and securing supplies much more aggressively than we are now. Especially the Black Forest in the north.¡± I nodded.


    Monsters were not infinite. Since we are on a peninsula, it was my judgment that we could build a safe zone by blocking the road. To do that, it was important to first completely occupy the dangerous Black Forest.


    Seokhyun shrugged and muttered. ¡°I want to go back to that wounded Elderwood.¡±


    I don¡¯t know if it was really wounded, but if we secure the Black Forest, the roots of the Elderwood would also be under our influence.


    Da-jeong asked while fighting the Chief Stag Beetle with her fingers.


    ¡°What about us?¡±


    ¡°I told you that that programmer told me that if we go down to the 8th floor, we will die, so we have to postpone it for now. Let¡¯s just prepare to fight the flying monsters that will soon be spawning in the real world.¡±


    The time also had come for the ghoul flower to release the energy that they had slowly accumulated.


    I said to Jiman. ¡°I want you to keep doing what you¡¯ve been doing. However, I want the scale to be a little bigger. I will need a lot of points soon.¡±


    ¡°Is it because of the tier 4 system?¡±


    ¡°Ahn Geun-seok may have lied, but there is a good chance what he said was true. So, I need to start collecting points.¡±


    The price of tier 3 equipment had skyrocketed from what we know from back in the game. So, it¡¯s an easy calculation that the price of tier 4 items would be hellish.


    ¡°I understand. I will sell a lot of the product and collect the points you need.¡±


    With his unique skill, he¡¯ll be able to collect a huge amount of points. Even right now, if he goes to the sea right away and throws a few pots, seafood would flock to it as if asking to be eaten.


    If we sell it to survivors, they get food and we get points. A symbiotic business model.


    I emphasized to the group.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to live peacefully like this, but I think we need to be on our toes more than ever as of now. Since bullets are limited, avoid using it as much as possible by using different weapons. We need to build strength. The monsters and enemies that will appear in the future are no joke, and there are insanely strong monsters hiding in the Great Labyrinth.¡±


    Gulp.


    At that moment, there was tension among the people.


    This is enough. There is no need to make them too anxious. They just need to be prepared.

 Chapter 188

    ¡°¡­¡± It¡¯s heavy. Even without opening my eyes, I was 100% sure what is currently pressuring my body: Da-jeong¡¯s legs. When I opened my eyes, I could see Da-jeong¡¯s calf pressed on my chest. She¡¯s really the woman with the worst sleeping habit in the entire world.


    I carefully pushed her leg out and stood up. When I opened the door, the horizon beyond the sea near the shelter was slightly red.


    ¡°It¡¯s been awhile since I¡¯ve seen a dawn sky like this¡­¡±


    These days, I spend most of my time in the Great Labyrinth, so I don¡¯t have much time to look at the sky. At most, I could only see it when I returned to the shelter. Even then, it was not for a long time, since mostly I went directly to bed after eating due to how tired I was.


    I watched the calm morning sea from the cliff behind the hut.


    ¡°There¡¯s another land somewhere beyond the sea, huh?¡±


    The place where our shelter was located was in a peninsula protruding sharply to the southeast from the southern part of the Lotus continent. To the east, lies the sea and to the west, lies the land.


    Referring to the map drawn by the Scarab Captain and Chief Stag Beetle, it was said that the land was about 60 km away from shore. It was an impossible distance to cover if we were to rely on rowing only. Well, I doubted that it would be possible even with a motor boat.


    The reason I had this thought early this morning was simple. That place was the hometown of the scarabs.


    ¡°An unknown underground city¡­¡± They wanted to go there, but we couldn¡¯t afford to do it right now. Occupying the Black Forest and blocking the way to the peninsula was our priority.


    This peninsula was connected to the continent by a very narrow land. It was located near the volcano that Da-jeong went to. In other words, the area where the monsters passed through to get here was quite narrow. At most it would only be 2km. If we occupy and fortify it, we would be able to live more comfortably in the future.


    ¡°Though, once the gryphon appears, we will have to consider going there first.¡±


    If Da-jeong manages to dominate a gryphon, two people would be able to ride it. With its flying ability, traveling 60km would be nothing but a breeze.


    ¡°Sooyeon also needs to kill one.¡± If possible, it would be good for other people to kill it too. Especially Mikyung. After all, with her field of view expanding, she would be able to use her Blink more daringly.


    ¡°Ugh.¡± I stretched out and walked through the silent shelter. After passing through the hut where Sooyeon and Mikyung were staying, a vegetable garden, a flower cage, and a hornbill cage came to my view. But, what caught my attention the most was a man who was already there this early in the morning.


    ¡°What are you doing here this early?¡±


    ¡°Oh! Hyung-nim!¡± Jiman said with a smile as soon as he turned towards me. My eyes then darted towards something his arms were hugging: The hornbill. Though, it¡¯s not just one, but two.


    ¡°They already hatched, huh?¡±


    ¡°I had a strange feeling last night, so I came here and found them quaking when I arrived. They are now sleeping after I fed them.¡±


    ¡°By the way, do you know what they are? I mean, what species or something?¡±


    ¡°Few months from now, they are going to grow really, really big, to the point that we would be able to ride them around.¡±


    ¡°But they can¡¯t replace motorbikes, can they?¡±


    Jimin¡¯s eyes squinted as if my words were nothing but gibberish.


    ¡°I heard from Gorgos that they are really quick, though?¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s Gorgos?¡±


    ¡°The Chief Scarab¡¯s name.¡±


    Ah¡­ Now that I know that he¡¯s from a dwarf-like race, that name suits him well.


    Anyway, the hornbill was quite widely used in Lotus Continent. It was said that they were also used for farming, so they were the equivalent to both horse and cattle in our world. But unlike them, hornbills can¡¯t be used as a food source thanks to its meat¡¯s terrible taste.


    Jiman put the two hornbills into its nest and stood up.


    ¡°I need to release the wild boar, would you like to tag along?¡±


    I was surprised at his words.


    Why is he releasing it?


    ¡°Are you going to release the guys you¡¯ve caught?¡±


    ¡°Yes. If we release them in the morning, they will find their own food and return in the evening.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­¡± That¡¯s very strange. However, Jiman told me that it was possible because of his unique skill.


    ¡°Thanks to the additional effect I got, I was able to give instructions to animals. Though, it couldn¡¯t be a complicated one.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, I want to see.¡±


    ¡°Follow me.¡± Jiman smiled.


    We were keeping a herd of wild boar in a dedicated cage. The purpose was obvious: To obtain a stable meat supply. Thanks to Jiman¡¯s unique skill, the wild boar cub grew up quickly and did not run away. Management was a problem, but the diligent Jiman took care of it. According to Geom-in, Jiman¡¯s daily life started with working and ended with working. Even when he told him to take a break, he said he¡¯s fine and just keeps working.


    The cage door creaked open and all of the wild boar turned towards Jiman. He walked inside and carefully brushed each one of them. I think they really like that brushing since their squeaking sound was getting louder the longer Jiman brushed them.


    ¡°Go out and eat well. Do be careful because there are many maned wolves in the forest these days.¡±


    OIINKKKK~~~~!


    It was really strange to see the wild boars answering him in unison. When the barbed wire and the barriers were opened, the guys stampeded out. They would spend all day in the forest and return in the evening.


    After closing the barrier, Dingo and Dingsoon came running towards us while panting. Behind the two guys were the chaotic sixtuplets. They looked extremely cute because they were smaller than the size of Dingo when I first found him.


    Jiman turned around and sported a warm smile at the family. He went down to his knees and let the sixtuplets jump into his arms.


    ¡°Hey buddy, hey buddy¡­ Is that so? Aigoo stop waving your tail, you¡¯ll fly.¡±


    It couldn¡¯t be more peaceful than this.


    I went around the garden and harvested some ready buff crops.


    ¡°Today¡¯s work¡­¡±


    When I checked the wooden bulletin board, I saw the schedules of others. Seokhyun and Da-jeong were on the 6th floor of the Great Labyrinth, Geom-in and Jiman were doing some shelter management, and the rest were monster hunting.


    The schedule wasn¡¯t something that was set as a rule by someone. Everyone just decided what they were going to do everyday.


    I wrote that I¡¯m going to visit the Korean Shelter in my name column. I was going there because I had something to receive from Jang Won-taek. But I was worried about some of the bulletin board comments.


    -I looked at the Auction House and it seems that there has been an infighting in the Korea Shelter these days. Be careful. -Yoohyeon.


    -There¡¯s a lot of factions created, and they were somehow at odds with the President. -Yeowool


    -Someone brought ecstasy to the Korean Shelter. But what does it taste like, really? ¨C Mikyung


    ¨C They say it feels awesome when you¡¯re having sex. ¨C A cool older sister.


    That fucking ectasy. I¡¯ve told them several times not to even pay the slightest attention to it, but it seemed like I couldn¡¯t stop their curiosity. I picked up the pen beside me and wrote the contents under Da-jeong¡¯s comment.


    -Those who use ecstasy will be kicked out of the shelter, so don¡¯t even think about it. -Seongho.


    Drugs make society sick. It was not for nothing that many countries designated drugs as illegal goods. The moment we think that it will be okay because our body is strong, drugs will lead us to ruin. It¡¯s best to just not even care.


    ¡°Well, even if I say it like this, it¡¯s a bit difficult to just expel them like that.¡±


    Everyone was in a good relationship with each other, so if one of them were to be kicked out, the atmosphere would definitely change for the worse. For me, I had no choice but to hope that everyone made the right choice.


    They¡¯re not kids, so I hope they will do just fine.


    As I was about to go to the workshop and watch the scarabs and stag beetles come out of the house, the sun suddenly shone on the shelter.


    More and more people are waking up.


    .


    .


    .


    Breakfast at the shelter begins as soon as everyone gets together. Of course, each person had a different morning habit, but no one actually skipped it. After all, the shelter job was quite arduous. Even just walking around leisurely consumes quite a few calories, so if they want to tend the garden or even hunt, breakfast is a must. Even the one with the smallest body, Yeowool, ate three meals a day, and two bowls of food were common at each meal. Yet, she is still not gaining weight.


    The ones who were on today¡¯s dinner duty were Sooyeon and Yoohyeon. They rolled up their sleeves and started trimming the ingredients while I sneakily helped out.


    Normally, the three stagnant water, including myself, were exempt from dinner preparation duty. But since I was free today, I thought I should help. Without waiting too long, seaweed soup simmered in a pot stuck in the brazier, and hot steam puffed out from the other pot.


    When the meal was ready, we all sat down together. Seokhyun¡¯s head was fuzzy as it had not been 10 seconds since he woke up. Meanwhile, Da-jeong blankly pressed his chin to my shoulder while occasionally pinching my thighs.


    It seemed like he¡¯s asking ¡®why did you run away in the morning?¡¯


    Well, men didn¡¯t always want to do the deed.


    I handed out the dishes and asked the two of them.


    ¡°How far did you guys go on the 6th floor? You didn¡¯t write it on the bulletin board.¡±


    Da-jeong took the bowl and said, ¡°There was a doppelganger room on the way to the 7th floor.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It feels disgusting to see 2 RaPwi. So I just left.¡±


    Well, seeing two humans who were neither rabbits nor princesses naked was indeed unpleasant. It even makes me shiver when I only imagine it.


    Seokhyun said cheerfully, ¡°Actually, we ran away. He¡¯s very strong.¡±


    ¡°He has the same abilities as him.¡±


    Well, that was the trademark of doppelgangers. They copy the appearance and abilities of other beings that approach them. They copy it to the point of almost identical, you can¡¯t tell the difference until they begin to talk.


    Anyway, listening to the two of them, it seemed that Seokhyun had traded a few hits with his doppelganger.


    ¡°Because the stats are the same, the fight is quite good.¡±


    ¡°Have you tried using firearms?¡±


    Da-jeong sighed and opened her mouth. ¡°I tried using the grenade launcher you gave me, but the fake rapwi just swatted the bullets away.¡±


    Rapwi¡¯s stats have increased tremendously due to the additional effect of body reconstruction. It¡¯s even higher than me with all kinds of buffs activated. With that kind of stats, swatting grenades should not be the limit. He is probably able to dodge rockets too.


    What a monstrous pervert.


    The swordsman who had been listening asked.


    ¡°Can¡¯t Seongho go alone and open the portal there?¡±


    If it¡¯s that easy, we don¡¯t have to worry like this.


    ¡°On the 7th floor, there¡¯s a containment layer.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    On the 7th floor, all abilities except our raw stats were blocked. It means that we have to break through the floor with pure physical strength. The same goes for monsters, but it was especially a disadvantage for me who uses the portal as means for defending and attacking.


    That layer would be the first one among various layers scattered all the way down.


    ¡°Next time, use a rocket. You can kill Da-jeong first and then kill him.¡±


    Da-jeong chewed her chopsticks at my remarks.


    ¡°Why did I feel like you¡¯re referring to me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m talking about the fake one.¡±


    ¡°Why do I feel the urge to hold you in a cage, I wonder?¡±


    ¡°Just what kind of cage can contain me?¡±


    ¡°Right?¡± she smiled broadly.


    ¡°Anyway, you two have worked hard. Since we can¡¯t go to the 8th floor, the 7th floor will be the last.¡±


    ¡°How about you? What will you do?¡±


    ¡°I will go to the Korean Shelter. Let¡¯s go together, Mikyung.¡±


    From the rumor, it seemed like the Korean Shelter is a dangerous place these days, so it would be nice to have her blink to shorten the distance.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    The talk ends here.


    The meal started, and I scooped out the rice and soup and plunged it into my mouth. We are the only ones in the world who can afford such luxury.


    Seaweed soup was indeed delicious.


    .


    .


    .


    Leaving the Great Labyrinth requires considerable effort. After all, there were so many people at the entrance. It would not be an exaggeration to say that all the surrounding buildings were filled with people. However, since there¡¯s a totem erected around the entrance, no monster raid happened,


    Seongho came out of the Great Labyrinth and instantly made everyone turn their head towards him. Then, he unexpectedly met two people. It was the very same people who split off from the gym group back in Busan. Their names were now vague to him, though.


    ¡°Seongho, how are you? Did you¡­¡±


    Seongho only remembered the names of the two then. It was Lee Kyunghoon and Kim Bora.


    ¡°Ah¡­ yes. Long time no see. Looks like you two also came to Seoul.¡±


    Seongho¡¯s words were devoid of any sincerity. It was because he had argued with them a few months ago, and now he had no feelings left regarding them.


    Kyunghoon and Bora were also not expecting much. Once they returned to their camp after the brief greeting, the way people looked at the two of them changed. Just being an acquaintance with I Love Gimbap changed the power structure of the refugee camp.


    When people proposed a party to the two of them, Seongho went somewhere else and took out his motorcycle.


    ¡°Mikyung.¡±


    Seongho opened the portal and called her. In a second, she jumped out.


    ¡°It¡¯s a motorcycle¡­ Are you going to ride it?¡±


    ¡°You said you wanted to ride it, did you not? Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Owkeeeeyyy.¡±


    She quickly got onto the back seat and wrapped her arms around Seongho¡¯s waist. At that moment, she felt the Seongho¡¯s fat-free waist and admired it.


    ¡°Oppa, you have lost a lot of weight.¡±


    ¡°Well, the past me can be considered fat, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that much¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still fat.¡±


    Compared to me, Mikyung¡¯s body hadn¡¯t changed at all. Her signature short hair was the same, and her white milky skin was also still the same. When Seongho pulled the rev, the 650cc motorcycle vigorously ran down the airport road.


    ¡°Aaaaah!¡±


    Mikyung smiled pleasantly as her short hair was blown in the wind. The monster saw the two and started running with a roar. Meanwhile, they could see there¡¯s a ghoul flower with holes in its body right in the middle of the road.


    The world had totally turned into a magical world, and the smiles on people¡¯s faces were gone. But Mikyung was still able to laugh. After all, there¡¯s someone as strong as Seongho in front of her.


    She clings to Seongho¡¯s back and suddenly shouts.


    ¡°Oppa, should I grow my hair?¡±


    ¡°Why all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°Just because!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty as it is now, so why!¡±


    Mikyung, who heard Seongho¡¯s answer, tightened her grip on his waist without replying back.


    Then suddenly, something casted a shadow at them from the sky. The moment Mikyung looked to the sky above, her face hardened.


    ¡°Op-oppa!! It¡¯s a gryphon! A gryphon!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I saw it.¡± When the shadow turned to another direction, Seongho also entered a different path.


    Gryphons had appeared. It probably had nested on the high place nearby. Now they were scouting around to find places with plenty of prey.


    Seongho deliberately followed the shadow of the gryphon and pulled the accelerator.


    ¡°Oppa, the shadow is getting bigger! It¡¯s coming!¡± Mikyung said, voice trembling.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    Then, there was a sound of wind. Seongho sharply bent the motorcycle handle to dodge the attack.


    Giggig-!


    The motorcycle slid and a giant Gryphon struck the place they were at just a moment ago. The guy sticks out his thick claws and then sprints back to the sky.


    Kiaaaaaaak-!!


    Seongho opened a dimension slot and pulled out a gun.


    ¡°Follow me, you bastard!¡±


    bang!


    The gryphon, which was on its way back to the sky, was not seriously injured by the shot. However, it was enraged.

 Chapter 189

    With the appearance of the gryphon, the shopping streets around Yeouido become messies than ever. Even the trolls howled in fear as the mighty flying monster glided in the sky.


    Of course, the humans were no different from the monster. gryphons were the apex predators of the ecosystem at this point. Therefore, humans had little to no way to kill him, except by pouring bullets or shooting rockets at it.


    However, right now, there are two humans who are hunting it in a primitive way.


    Seongho put his motorcycle in the dimensional warehouse and went up to the roof of the building with Mikyung. Looking down, the gryphon was trying to attack the monsters on the ground.


    ¡°Wow¡­ they all run away¡­¡±


    ¡°If you get caught in its claw, your bones will break.¡±


    ¡°What will happen next?¡±


    ¡°You will be taken to its nest and eaten. It¡¯ll eat your intestines first, so they will probably rip open your stomach first, right?¡±


    As Seongho formed a beak hsing his hand and pecked on Mikyung¡¯s stomach, her face became contemplative.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to eat on me, though.¡±


    It looked like that too in Seongho¡¯s eyes.


    He turned his head.


    ¡°I mean, that¡¯s what¡¯s going to happen if you don¡¯t stay sharp.. From now on, we¡¯re going to jump on that guy, okay?¡±


    ¡°The gryphon¡¯s back?¡±


    ¡°I have to get a skill for Sooyeon, so I can¡¯t help it.¡±


    Sooyeon¡¯s fighting ability was weaker than Yeowool. Of course, when she got a gun in her hands, her combat power would rise. However, firearms were ill suited for hunting gryphons. The reason was because a gryphon¡¯s feathers provide some shock protection and its skin was quite thick.


    Though, if you come close to it and make a very loud sound right beside its ears, it would instantly die. But such an opportunity was rare.


    Seongho tapped Mikyung on the back.


    ¡°It only takes one blink. Once we get on that guy¡¯s back, I¡¯ll take care of the rest. Can you do it?¡±


    ¡°I-I can.¡± Mikyung stuttered.


    ¡°Alright. Once we are there¡­¡±


    As Seongho told her the next step, she muttered, frowning.


    ¡°That is absolutely crazy.¡±


    ¡°We did that countless times back in the game. And I will do that now.¡±


    Mikyung looked down at the gryphon flapping its wings with her teary eyes.


    ¡°Should we go now?¡±


    ¡°No, wait a minute.¡±


    Seongho opened the Auction House and left a comment.


    -Sooyeon, prepare yourself. Come out when I open the portal.


    -Ah¡­ did gryphons finally come out?


    -We are looking straight at it right now. But, I don¡¯t know if it will go well. So, I¡¯ll call you later.


    -Yes, I will prepare. Thank you.


    When Seongho closed the Auction House, Mikyung leaned on Seongho¡¯s back.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°I-I-I¡¯m not confident ¡­ I think it¡¯d be better to hang on your back, oppa¡­¡±


    ¡°But a gryphon¡¯s feather sticks to its skin very strongly.¡±


    ¡°The feathers might accidentally get plucked.¡±


    Seongho couldn¡¯t understand it, but he still let her do what she wanted. After all, what¡¯s important was not where she would hang on, but the usage of her blink ability.


    Seongho pulled out a mithril sword and stabbed himself in the side. Mikyung who saw it instantly shut her mouth from uttering any words with her both hands.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it hurt, oppa?¡±


    ¡°It hurts a little, but it¡¯s still okay.¡± After all, the wound would heal rapidly with the power of the Super Regeneration skill.


    Seongho pointed at his back and bowed down. Taking the cue, Mikyung climbed onto his back. Now that all preparations were complete, he only had one thing to do. It was aiming for the moment when the gryphon grabbed its prey with its claws.


    Flap-!!


    His Super Sense skill caught the sound of wings flapping. He immediately jumped off the railing without any hesitation. On his back, Mikyung really wanted to scream. But, she forced herself to stay composed. After all, if she failed to blink, she would surely have no courage to face Seongho ever again.


    The moment she closed her eyes slightly and then opened them, the two of them had landed on the gryphon¡¯s back. To be exact, right behind the nape of the gryphon.


    ¡°Well done!¡± Seongho said.


    Before the gryphon could even turn around in surprise, Seongho stuck two long knives in its back. It¡¯s the only way to penetrate its defense.


    Roaaaar-!!


    The gryphon felt intense pain on its flesh and hurriedly flew into the sky. Thanks to that, a scream that Mikyung had been holding back erupted.


    ¡°MOOOMYYY!!!!!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay! Just hold on!¡±


    Seongho did what he had to do while Mikyung hung behind him. Putting on his gloves, Seongho shoved his fist into the griffon¡¯s back. Unable to overcome the follow up pain, the gryphon twisted its body.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we need you to give us some of your skills.¡±


    Of course, the gryphon didn¡¯t just nod its head and agreed to his demand.


    Kieeeeeek-!!


    It twisted its body more, attempting to throw Seongho off its back. However, it¡¯s simply impossible for it to do that. After all, Seongho was holding on to the mithril knives which were buried deep into the gryphon¡¯s flesh.


    The gryphon, who had been wounded in several places, began to fall helplessly.


    ¡°Of all places, why are you falling towards that place!¡±


    Seongho tried to control the direction but to no avail.


    Yeouido, the place where the Korean Shelter was located, was getting bigger and bigger with every second passed.


    .


    .


    .


    While Seongho was wrestling for a consent from the gryphon, an accident broke out in the Korean Shelter.


    Murder.


    It¡¯s a common occurrence in the apocalypse, but it¡¯s a different story when it happened inside a shelter. The perpetrator and victim of the murder were two people who fought in the shelter¡¯s restaurant once Battle Royale event was over.


    The two shouldn¡¯t have met in the first place, but thanks to the incitement and nerves within the faction, both of them met in a dark alley. Long story short, a fight broke out and a winner was decided.


    However, the loss of life wasn¡¯t the end. The faction which the victim belonged to raised a fuss. They demanded an apology from the perpetrator¡¯s faction and also demanded compensation from Jang Won-taek.


    After hearing the request, Jang Won-taek called the leaders of the two factions and heard the story from both sides. In the end of the meeting, Jang Won-taes sensed something: An elaborated agenda.


    The grudges and murders were nothing but excuses. What the two factions really wanted was the guns and motorcycles in the shelter¡¯s warehouse. In other words, the two incited the perpetrator and the victim in order to gain more power and control.


    Of course, Jang Won-taek rejected the demands of both leaders.


    -I can¡¯t accept your demand. Go back.


    The two immediately reacted violently.


    -Wait, so you call us all the way here for nothing? No solution whatsoever?


    -It¡¯s really ridiculous¡­ Someone died, And what? Are you going to keep letting people kill others?


    -Countermeasures are currently under review.


    -Again, again! Politician habits are not going anywhere.


    -Just keep doing that until there¡¯s no one left alive!


    The two went back, and Jang Won-taek sighed. He then said to Lee Beom-seok, who was staring at the door.


    -I guess¡­ my method was wrong.


    -That¡¯s not it. The method is not wrong. We are just lacking personnel.


    -If only that person didn¡¯t go like that¡­


    If Major Kim was still walking among the living, things would not have gone this way. Since there¡¯s no armed group that is on the shelter¡¯s side, they keep being stepped on.


    Jang Won-taek felt sorry for Seongho once again. He also felt powerless at himself for not having made a good line of personnel. He had tried so hard, but in the end, he was only an old man with no one left by his side.


    Lee Beom-seok hinted that he had read his mind.


    -I will contact Sangshin.


    Even though Sangshin¡¯s name was the only one which was said, Lee Beom-seok is actually referring to his whole group. The Moon siblings, Lee Sangshin, Hyung-jun, and even Ji-hye, had returned to the shelter after obtaining some information from The Great Labyrinth. However, since the power struggle between factions intensified, the group was currently hiding.


    Lee Beom-seok and Jang Won-taek believed that anyone in the group wouldn¡¯t be pushed around by the factions. Especially Lee Sangshin. At this point, it could be said that he was the strongest telekinesis-type unique ability wielder. After all, he¡¯s a man who was even able to fight against werewolves alone.


    After hearing Lee Beom-seok¡¯s words, Jang Won-taek was skeptical.


    -Will they come, though?


    -We don¡¯t have any more options, Mister President. As long as we convince Sangshin-ssi, the rest will follow him


    -It will be hard to convince him, won¡¯t it?


    Lee Sangshin had a rather strange personality. After all, at first, Jan Won-taek thought that his only goal was to live moderately. However, when the talk about soup came out, he was ready to do anything.


    However, it was difficult to make soup due to shelter circumstances. He could have done it if he set his mind to it, but he decided not to.


    Jang Won-taek made a conclusion.


    -Please ask him, then.


    -I will bring you good news.


    .


    .


    .


    After Lee Beom-seok gave them the invitation and left, Sangshin and the group had a talk. The reaction was mostly negative. After all, the atmosphere in the shelter was very bad. No one knows when the friction will turn into an explosion. It could be long in the future or even at any moment. So, if they attached themselves to Jang Won-taek, they would have to take the brunt of the explosion.


    In particular, Soyeon was opposed to it.


    ¡°That guy is really funny. He wants you to stand against people who are out looking for blood.¡±


    ¡°You will have a big target on your back.¡± Her brother added.


    ¡°You have to reject it, Sangshin oppa. They are asking us to become a shield for them, right? I mean, how can we stand against those people!¡±


    ¡°¡­Is that so?¡±


    However, Hyung-jun¡¯s opinion was a little different.


    ¡°Maybe this is the opportunity for us to become the center of the shelter. If you take advantage of this opportunity¡­¡±


    ¡°No, we can¡¯t be the center. Not right now when the atmosphere was this bad.¡±


    ¡°Are you talking about the warehouse situation?¡±


    ¡°Yesterday, there was a lot of noise in front of the office. People said the government should open the warehouse and arm them.¡±


    Hyung-jun said in disappointment.


    ¡°It¡¯s not even Wild Wild West, why are people so hellbent on arming themselves¡­¡±


    Sangshin made a sudden noise while crossing his arms.


    ¡°All I need is soup. I will stick to the forces that can provide me with some soup.¡±


    ¡°There are a lot of warthogs roaming outside, should we go and catch them?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not over by just catching it. It needs to be butchered too. Who will do it?¡±


    ¡°The smell of blood would be no joke. A lot of monsters would come.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the problem¡­¡±


    Hyung-jun asked him.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just go to Seongho? He seems to be interested in recruiting you.¡±


    ¡°That is a little bit¡­¡±


    ¡°Why? Did something bad happen between you two?¡±


    ¡°No, there isn¡¯t. I just feel burdensome.¡±


    ¡°Burdensome?¡±


    ¡°I mean, If I join him, I will have to move around constantly and participate in a lot of fights, right? I don¡¯t want that.¡±


    Only then did the group understand his words. Lee Sanghsin was lazy. He¡¯s the type of person who lies under an apple tree and wants the apples to fall rather than climbing it. If the apples didn¡¯t fall, he¡¯d just starve. His high level was probably thanks to a lot of knowledge he had after watching I Love Gimbap¡¯s live stream rather than his effort.


    Sangshin plopped down to the floor and crossed his legs.


    ¡°No matter what the world becomes, I will stay like this until the day I die.¡±


    ¡°If you keep sitting down like that, you will become a sloth.¡±


    Soyeon, who saw this side of Sangshin for the first time, said a word, but he only smiled.


    ¡°I would rather be sloth than to tryharding things.¡±


    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have wasted my breath.¡±


    Even when he said that, he¡¯s a person who will take action when necessary. It was him who slaughtered the monsters when the party was in danger in the Great Labyrinth. Each of the five long blades that he moved using his telekinetic power was nothing to scoff at.


    Yoo Ji-hye, who had been quiet at that time, opened her mouth with difficulty.


    ¡°Th-there¡¯s someone coming this way.¡±


    ¡°Who? Did they have ill intentions?¡±


    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s angry and feels betrayed¡­¡±


    ¡°I know who it is.¡±


    ¡°Oh, those annoying people.¡±


    Moon Daeho and Moon Soyeon¡¯s siblings felt fed up after they heard the words. These days, they were faced with demands to join a certain faction. The person who made the request was a man named Shin Il-hwan, who was the leader of the victim faction of the murder case. The name of the faction was Yeouido Coalition.


    Rumor said he¡¯s a former gangster. He had a very rough personality to the point he could not speak without swearing. They have recently been gathering people indiscriminately to expand their influence in the Korean Shelter. Of course, threats and violence were also sometimes used in the process.


    Sangshin¡¯s party also received an offer mixed with intimidation, but they turned it down. Even then, they did not dare to do anything with Sangshin and had to retreat.


    Anyway, it was not unusual for them to come. After all, it¡¯s said that he was monitoring Lee Beom-seok¡¯s movement.


    Sangshin, while lying down, pointed his fingers and threw five long blades into the door. The members of the Yeouido Coalition, who had just climbed the stairs, flinched.


    ¡°H-Hyung nim. I don¡¯t think we should¡¯ve come here.¡±


    ¡°Lee Sang-shin¡­ That guy¡­ He won¡¯t see me until the end.¡±


    Shin Il-hwan, who had a large body, grinds his teeth. In all honesty, he wanted to just break through the door, but he couldn¡¯t. After all, he knew it would be difficult to overcome his power even with the strength of several members of the organization.


    But since he had come this far, he felt he couldn¡¯t go back quietly. Shin Il-hwan looked at the door and blinked at his subordinates.


    ¡°Go in.¡±


    ¡°Sorry? Are you talking to us, Hyung-nim?¡±


    ¡°Who else is here besides you?¡±


    As his men fumbled, someone looked out the window and let out an amazed voice.


    ¡°Woah, to think there¡¯s a bird that big around!¡±


    Shin Il-hwan, who was squinting, widened his eyes.


    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that bird coming this way?¡±


    ¡°It looks like a bird, but isn¡¯t it too big?¡±


    ¡°You bastard! Did that look like a bird to you?¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a gryphon!¡±


    His men¡¯s movements suddenly stopped. A gryphon the size of a house was rushing into the building carrying someone on its back.


    In the end, a swear word erupted from Shin Il-hwan¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Damn it all!!!!¡±

 Chapter 190

    Bang-!!!


    The gryphon collided with a building¡¯s wall and broke it down. The window frame, which had barely maintained its shape, was crushed, and the windows were shattered. It hadn¡¯t crossed the Styx river just yet, but it was in a state of fainting thanks to the impact.


    After the dust settled, Shin Il-hwan and his group, who were quick on their feet to run away, found the gryphon.


    ¡°What the fuck is this?¡±


    ¡°I heard that gryphon¡¯s meat is edible¡­¡±


    When someone said that, everyone looked at him.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes. If we boil it for a few hours, it will be edible. Though the meat of the cubs tastes better than the adults.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Shin Il-hwan said, with an excited expression painting his face. After all, he just saw the gryphon¡¯s eyes blink.


    ¡°It¡¯s still alive. Do you know what it means?¡±


    ¡°If you kill them, you will get skill and experience¡­?¡±


    ¡°Did you just talk to me informally?¡±


    ¡°No, no, Hyung-nim!¡±


    Shin Il-hwan smiled. Looking at the gryphon, he felt like a cake just rolled to his mouth when he¡¯s sleeping. Of course, a gryphon was a dangerous monster, but it wasn¡¯t moving. Wouldn¡¯t killing it be an easy thing to do? He just needed to sneak up to it and stab it in its eye.


    He stood on the steps, staring intently at the gryphon¡¯s head, and extended his arm towards his subordinates.


    ¡°Long knife.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Hyung-nim!¡±


    A familiar feeling came to his hand. He stretched his neck to both sides and climbed to the floor.


    ¡®What skill will this gryphon give me, I wonder?¡¯ Shin Il-hwan smirked. Actually, that didn¡¯t matter at all. He was more pleased by the fact that if he killed the gryphon, his name would be widely known.


    ¡°The title ¡®Ogre Slayer¡¯ is so yesterday. Now, everyone shall know the name ¡®Gryphon Slayer¡¯¡­¡±


    The tip of the long knife touched the gryphon¡¯s eyes and the smile on Shin Il-hwan¡¯s mouth widened.


    But he didn¡¯t know. The ¡®Ogre Slayer¡¯ he mocked who fell together with the gryphon was currently climbing the stairs he just climbed on a few seconds ago. It also means that he could hear Shin Il-hwan¡¯s words very clearly, thanks to his Super Sense skill.


    All of a sudden, his subordinates began to let out a moan. Shin Il-hwan thought nothing of it, but when he turned around, he was startled. Someone was beating his men!


    ¡°KEUK!!!!¡±


    ¡°Agh!¡±


    Shin Il-hwan and Seongho¡¯s eyes met at that moment.


    ¡°I prepared the meal, but that meal is not for you.¡±


    ¡°Prepared? Meal?¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to die, lower your sword now.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Shin Il-hwan clenched his teeth and clenched the long knife tight. It didn¡¯t matter who the man in front of him was. After all, his pride, as someone who had formed and led a large faction inside the Korean shelter, didn¡¯t let him be commanded by anyone.


    His lips twitched. ¡°Sorry, finders keepers.¡±


    The long knife dug into the gryphon¡¯s eyes. No, to be exact, it was stopped only inches away from the eyes by something invisible.


    Shin Il-hwan was taken aback, but still gave more strength to his hands. But he could not break through whatever it was.


    Seongho clenched his fist at that moment.


    ¡°Oh ho, so that means you want to die, right?¡±


    It was then that Shin Il-hwan realized who the big man in front of him was. A giant with short hair in a black body armor¡­ He¡¯s none other than I Love Gimbap. He, who had left the Korean Shelter, had come all the way here.


    But how did he make the gryphon fall here?


    While such thoughts run through his mind, Seongho¡¯s fist hits his stomach. He couldn¡¯t even scream and grabbed his stomach. His legs shook as he was forced by his own body to take a step back. Although he was someone with a physical strengthening unique skill while also having the Pain Tolerance skill, he could not stand the blow.


    As the second punch went deep into his stomach, Shin Il-hwan¡¯s consciousness started to fade.


    ¡°Keeeuu¡­¡± Something resembling the cries of a ghost escaped from his twisted lips.


    Seongho patted his cheek while showing no expression on his face. For him, killing and beating people up was already a daily routine, so there wasn¡¯t much feeling coming up to his heart while doing so. He just wanted to get this thing out of the way quickly.


    After a few more punches, Shin Il-hwan became completely silent. Seongho grabbed his limp neck with one hand and lifted it up.


    ¡°I warn you, do not appear before me again. If you do so, that day will be the day you die.¡± Seongho said, as he flung his limp body out of the building. His body would be tattered at best. But, he wouldn¡¯t die. The members of his faction, who already stood back up, were frightened and ran away when they saw their leader flying away through the window.


    Seongho sighed. In fact, the reason he didn¡¯t kill the guy who touched the gryphon was because this place was inside the Korean Shelter. He ended up entering the shelter without permission, so he felt it would be too much if he also commit a murder.


    In addition, he would have to use the Crime Pardon scroll to make his murder stack back to 0. If he just keeps killing everyone who annoyed him thoughtlessly, he might run out of the scrolls, and when the situation calls for an inevitable choice, he might not be able to return at all from being a murderer.


    ¡°You are not dead yet, aren¡¯t you?¡± Seongho patted the gryphon¡¯s head.


    At that moment, Lee Sangshin and Hyung-jun appeared from upstairs. There were also Moon Daeho and Moon Soyoon, and Yoo Ji-hye who is still looking at him with fearful eyes.


    ¡°I was wondering what the hell fell here¡­¡±


    ¡°Seongho, is that your doing?¡±


    ¡°I heard that Sooyeon¡¯s glasses were broken.¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­ you fought a gryphon just because of that?¡±


    ¡°Just that? Do you know how uncomfortable it is to wear glasses in the apocalypse?¡± Seongho glanced at Soyoon. The latter quickly coughed and turned her head away.


    ¡°There should be some shady guys here. Where did they go?¡±


    ¡°They left.¡±


    ¡°They aren¡¯t the type to leave when just being told, though?¡±


    ¡°I made them.¡±


    ¡°Aha.¡± Sangshin nodded and stepped back.


    Seongho looked around at the people and opened his mouth. ¡°I want you to stay away for a moment. I have work to do.¡±


    This place was their dormitory, so he thought he had to be polite even when asking them to leave. When Hyung-jun disappeared with the people, Seongho opened the portal and summoned Sooyeon.


    Mikyung, who was on the roof of the building across the street, also came.


    ¡°Sooyeon, you just need to kill it. Just close your eyes and stab the eyes with a long knife.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    She looked at Seongho for a moment before accepting the long knife into her hand. She then pressed it hard against the gryphon¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Sooyeon let out such a sound as soon as her status window was updated. On her skill list, a new entry with the name Gryphon¡¯s Eye was there.


    As Sooyeon slowly took off her half-broken glasses, Mikyung trembled.


    ¡°Wow, unnie¡­ you¡¯re so pretty.¡±


    Without paying the compliment any attention, Sooyeon admired the view. Even without glasses, her vision was crisp and incredibly clear. Something which she had long lost. She naturally dropped her glasses, but Seongho picked them up.


    ¡°Even though you already have the skill, you should not throw it away. There will be cases where your skills are blocked later.¡±


    Sooyeon looked at him without saying a word, then approached him slightly and hugged him.


    ¡°Thank you¡­ Seongho, thank you very much¡­ I¡¯m just nothing, but to think you will take care of me like this¡­¡±


    Seongho patted her shoulder.


    ¡°There are so many things Sooyeon has done in the past and will do much more in the future, so how can you say you are nothing? Your eyes are fine now, right?


    ¡°Yeah¡­ it¡¯s great.¡±


    Sooyeon smiled broadly and Seongho was captivated by her beauty for a moment. She was already pretty when she was wearing ugly medical glasses, yet now, her beauty was compounded even more. It¡¯s a different kind of feeling from Da-jeong¡¯s beauty.


    Seongho sighed and pushed her away.


    ¡°Please go back to our shelter for now. I didn¡¯t come here with permission.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean there is still work to be done? If it¡¯s so, okay then.¡±


    After she went into the portal, Mikyung stood around Seongho without doing anything else.


    ¡°She¡¯s really pretty.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. When she took off her glasses, I was surprised. By the way, you go inside too. If you lack points for future use, just tell Jiman.¡±


    People need 100 points to enter the portal. Since Mikyung¡¯s blink ability is often needed, she often walks in and out of the portal.


    Jiman was in charge of supplementing the points. There were so many things which could be sold at the shelter, thus his points had already surpassed Da-jeong¡¯s total point. Though, he would give things to sell to those who needed points without greed.


    Seongho pulled her arm and hugged her as Mikyung tried to enter the portal.


    ¡°You did a good job earlier. If it wasn¡¯t for you, I¡¯d be in trouble.¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡±


    She hugged him back and laughed. As the two of us were doing this, the surroundings became noisy. The people who discovered the gryphon had come to see it with their own eyes. Mikyung quickly hid inside the portal, and Seongho went upstairs.


    ¡®Why is it so noisy outside?¡¯ He took a peek and saw that even Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok were looking at the gryphon.


    Jang Won-taek¡¯s gaze reached Seongho at that moment.


    In his eyes, his gaze was as if saying:


    ¡®Help me.¡¯


    .


    .


    .


    The plan for not staying for too long in the shelter went awry because Jang Won-taek said he had something to say and asked for a talk. I knew it was going to be very troublesome and boring, so I refused.


    However, the more we talked, the more I felt pricked in my conscience. After all, I was the one who cut off his right arm. If I hadn¡¯t killed Hyun-woo, Jang Won-taek wouldn¡¯t have found himself in this predicament.


    I don¡¯t regret it, but it seemed like I needed to lend him a hand.


    ¡°¡­the Yeouido Coalition and the Han River Faction are the two biggest factions as they are actively gathering people. Both of them keep demanding us to give out supplies. But, what they ultimately want is guns to rule the shelter.¡±


    Lee Beom-seok¡¯s explanations continued one after another, and I suddenly wanted to run away. The most annoying thing in the world was faction fights. If it happened in my shelter, I¡¯d rather kick everyone out and live on my own.


    Looking at Jang Won-taek¡¯s face, it wasn¡¯t far-fetched to say that he had become 10 years older. An evident on just how much the trouble bugging him.


    I looked out and asked.


    ¡°Just a few minutes ago, I beat up this big man and several others¡­¡±


    ¡°That is Shin Il-Hwan and his members from the Yeouido Coalition. We found out after he came here that he worked as a gangster back in the normal world.¡±


    ¡°A gangster in this shelter¡­ What a funny thing.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, what can we do? It just happened.¡±


    ¡°Do you still think this shelter should always be open for everyone now?¡±


    Jang Won-taek shook his head and spoke in a slightly embarrassed tone. ¡°No¡­ but even after closing the door, things still didn¡¯t work out the way I thought it would. It seems that I lack the ability.¡±


    Someone who had reached the peak of Korea¡¯s political ladder? Lacking ability?


    ¡°Well, in my opinion, it¡¯s not your ability which is lacking, but the way you¡¯re solving it.¡±


    ¡°Do you mean I need to start using force?¡±


    Indeed. It was the prescription the shelter needed now.


    ¡°If they don¡¯t want to die, they should just run away. Should I tell you another way?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    I reached out to Jang Won-taek.


    ¡°Hand over the shelter to me. Then I will take care of everything.¡±


    ¡°Mister President, that¡¯s¡­¡±


    Lee Beom-seok tried to step out, but Jang Won-taek stopped him with his eyes.


    ¡°Let¡¯s continue to hear it now. What are you going to do after you drive them out or kill them?¡±


    ¡°Unlike before, I will only let some selected people to enter the shelter.¡±


    ¡°Will you use your standard as the measuring method?¡±


    ¡°It may not be the universally valid standard that you politicians often talk about. It¡¯s my way.¡±


    ¡°What about the rest of them?¡±


    ¡°They will have to live on their own.¡±


    Jang Won-taek laughed for a moment at the simple ignorant remark.


    ¡°It seems like it¡¯s true that some people just can¡¯t understand each other.¡±


    ¡°You have seen enough evidence, haven¡¯t you? Your old ways are not working. How much more ¡®evidence¡¯ do you want to see until you change your mind?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ no.¡±


    Jang Won-taek leaned against the window.


    ¡°After I entered Yeouido, I went through a lot of people and fought against a lot of powers. There are people who accept me and there are people who don¡¯t. It was fine, though. I had hoped that one day they would understand me. It was all blown away thanks to the apocalypse, though.¡±


    ¡°According to my dog-??shit philosophy, no matter where they are, what situation they¡¯re in, in the end, people will end up living as they please. Correcting it is a fool¡¯s errand. It is best to crush them thoroughly, whether it¡¯s by using the law, or violence.¡±


    He looked at me bitterly.


    ¡°Maybe Seongho is right¡­ At least at this point, Seongho¡¯s way is working well.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll decide on my payment myself.¡±


    I would take what I want with me when my work is done.


    ¡°As of now, Seongho-ssi is the leader of the Korean Sheler. I will leave it up to you.¡± Jang Won-taek bowed his head to me.


    Now, all the supplies in the spare shelter and bunker were in my hands. My stint would be short. But it should be enough.


    .


    .


    .


    After Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok left, I met Hyung-jun hyung and his group again. They were astonished to hear that I had become the shelter¡¯s leader.


    ¡°Just what in the world happened?¡±


    ¡°Long story short, I¡¯m just a janitor. I¡¯m just going to clean up for a while.¡±


    Lee Sangshin snapped his fingers.


    ¡°Oh, I see. Are you here to clean up the faction? Thank god! I was fed up with them.¡±


    ¡°But Sangshin, don¡¯t you have something to say to me?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing, though?¡±


    I looked straight at him.


    ¡°I will be direct with you. Do you want to hunt with me?¡±


    ¡°Your offer is tempting, but I felt burdensome. I¡¯m not a great person.¡±


    ¡°If someone like you, who has watched my broadcast from start to finish, is not great, then who dares to say that they¡¯re great?¡±


    Despite my repeated persuasion, he persevered. Even when I told him that Poor Man is now with me, waiting for him, he only flinched for a moment.


    He sighed and confessed his true feelings.


    ¡°I mean, I¡¯m not a great person. What should such a person do if they want to live a long life? Staying clear from the way of the real ¡®great people¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Am I great?¡±


    ¡°More like dangerous, to be honest.¡±


    It¡¯s sad that I couldn¡¯t deny it.


    I delivered an ultimatum. ¡°If you join my shelter, you will get free soup for the rest of your life.¡±


    ¡°PARDON!?!!!??¡±


    ¡°We will make it whenever you want to eat soup. Instead, you just have to be patient as making it will take some time.¡±


    ¡°No, how¡­ Isn¡¯t your unique skill something related to subspace?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask for details. How is it? This is my last offer. If you refuse, that¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°Will we have pork gukbap?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely.¡±


    ¡°Can I eat a lot?¡±


    ¡°You can eat as many as you want.¡±


    ¡°I will be loyal forever.¡±


    He¡¯s such an easy man.


    The other people who were watching also had expressions on their faces when they heard it.


    ¡°Sangshin oppa, how can you give in that easily?¡±


    Sangshin shrugged his shoulders when she asked the question.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do in front of pork gukbap.¡±

 Chapter 191

    In the end, Sangshin accepted my offer. However, he did not enter the shelter immediately and decided to stay with Hyung-jun hyung for the time being. After all, the only person he¡¯s close with was Jiman, and even then, they had never actually met each other.


    -If everyone gets along well inside, won¡¯t it be hard for me, since I¡¯m basically just a stranger who went in later than anyone else?


    Well, that¡¯s right.


    After greeting people, I went out and suddenly saw my sister-in-law¡¯s belly. It¡¯s quite noticeable now¡­ well, they would surely sort it out soon. It would be rude of me if I suddenly decided to just give them help without them asking for one.


    When I went to the office, there was no other staff inside, but Lee Beom-seok was there; He was busy organizing documents. It seemed like it contained information that would be reported to me.


    Since Jang Won-taek had entrusted me with everything about the Korean Shelter, I would have to take care of it. Looking at the amount of paperwork, I felt a bit of regret, as my hunch is saying that this might be a bad call. But let¡¯s not worry too much. After all, most problems in the apocalypse could be solved with violence.


    Isn¡¯t there a saying that there will be no problem without people?


    Lee Beom-seok glanced at me and handed me some sheets of paper.


    ¡°This is the list of shelter personnel. And this is the list of people who have applied for entry.¡±


    I quickly tore up the list of entry applicants.


    Lee Beom-seok¡¯s bewildered eyes could be seen through the torn paper.


    ¡°Why all of a sudden¡­¡±


    ¡°For the time being, no one will be accepted into the shelter. It will resume only after the shelter has been thoroughly cleaned.¡±


    ¡°People are dying out there right now. Are you going to pretend you didn¡¯t see them?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡±


    His bewildered eyes turned to anger.


    ¡°¡­The President seems to have made a mistake in delegating authority to you¡­¡±


    ¡°How much more should you suffer before you stop saying such things? Until those guys finally start a civil war?¡±


    Considering we were talking about the bad guys, it¡¯s a bit odd that I¨Cwho could be said as the worst of the worst¨Csaid something like this.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that and this a different matter?¡±


    ¡°Listen well.¡± I raised my voice. ¡°The Battle Royale event has just ended. There are plenty of guys who are holding their grudge against another out there. Accepting them will only result in them fulfilling their grudges here. Why should we do that? We should just ask them to solve it outside.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that we will only accept the surviving one?¡±


    ¡°I am not saying that I will not accept them. We will accept them once all is sorted out in a few months. Do we have to take risks when we can just wait?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Lee Beom-seok did not speak for a long time. It¡¯s clear that he wanted to rebut my statement. However, he couldn¡¯t seem to come up with any ideas.


    I flipped the papers.


    ¡°Bring the list of bunkers that the military worked on. If you can, look for some anti-tank mines.¡±


    This time, Lee Beom-seok¡¯s eyes were stained with suspicion.


    ¡°Why are you asking for anti-tank mines suddenly¡­¡±


    ¡°It is necessary to break through the Great Labyrinth. The monsters inside were just too much.¡±


    Seokhyun and Da-jeong were working hard to clear the floor, but since the doppelgangers had the same abilities as them, things didn¡¯t progress as smoothly as I wanted. Da-jeong wants me to participate in the fight, but it¡¯s dangerous. If it copies the portal ability, only God knows what will happen next.


    At that moment, I heard the sound of paper being flipped. Moments later, a few were placed on the desk.


    ¡°Here it is.¡±


    An anti-tank mine¡­ it was in an American bunker. With this, we would be able to break through the doppelganger area and enter the 7th floor. At that floor, all abilities except one¡¯s raw stats were blocked, but the rewards were very sweet. Minotaurs, which should be appearing there, would be a problem, but we could just turn it into a beehive with guns.


    Lee Beom-seok asked as I was organizing the documents.


    ¡°Is there anything else I need to do?¡±


    ¡°Get me the name of the people who joined the Yeouido Coalition and the Han River Coalition.¡±


    Lee Beom-seok¡¯s surprise was palpable on his face as soon as he heard my words.


    Was it because it was obvious what I was going to do with them?


    But then, he quickly responded as if he had given up on everything.


    ¡°I¡¯ll bring it soon.¡±


    ¡°And¡­ Contact the Hannam-dong Clan. Asked them about the possibility of them joining our side.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the possibility close to none??¡±


    ¡°They will seriously consider it. After all, they were also in a pinch.¡±


    They were also suffering the aftereffects of Battle Royale. It¡¯s much milder compared to what happened here, but the important thing was that they don¡¯t have the power to subdue it. If we reach our hand towards them right now, they would surely consider it even if they decide to not grab it in the end.


    ¡°Can we trust them?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t trust anyone but a few people. However, we can hold hands with them.¡±


    It was easy to tell by looking at what they had done so far. They¡¯re a little clumsy and weak. But they aren¡¯t people who have the tendency to betray others.


    ¡°We can use that large warehouse for supplies.¡±


    ¡°The business is over.¡±


    Lee Beom-seok was about to leave the office when he stopped and looked at me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like you.¡±


    I know.


    To Lee Beom-seok, Jang Won-taek¡¯s ardent followers, my very existence must have been a thorn in his eyes. However, right now, I was the one who was holding the key.


    ¡°I said that you have to like me. Just treat me like a business partner.¡±


    There¡¯s no need to be liked by everyone. No matter what I do, the person who hates me wouldn¡¯t change their attitude. Rather, I wanted to give them more reasons to hate me.


    I looked at him and said slowly.


    ¡°I just hope you won¡¯t cross the line. That¡¯s all I want.¡±


    ¡°¡­I understand.¡±


    The bleak conversation was over and I was left alone in the office.


    ¡°I am sure he was hiding something¡­¡±


    .


    .


    .


    I picked up a suitable building in the Korean Shelter and summoned a portal there. As a result, the Korean Shelter, my shelter, and the outpost are now connected.


    Right after I opened it, Seokhyun and Da-jeong appeared as if they were waiting. The two of them looked exhausted, an evident that they failed to break through the doppelganger room yet again.


    Seokhyun said to me.


    ¡°Gimbap, you must come with us.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t. We can¡¯t let them copy my portal.¡±


    Da-jeong sat on the chair and crossed her legs.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t I told you before? The doppelganger might open the portal and enter the shelter. It will be annihilation.¡±


    ¡°I found a good plan.¡±


    Both eyes focused on me when I said so. Once I finished telling them about the plan, Da-jeong looked at me with disgusted expression.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to blow it up with an anti-tank mine?¡±


    ¡°A good plan, right?¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute. Who will set it? since it¡¯s an anti-tank mine, the explosion will be huge.¡±


    ¡°The Soup Addict will do it. His unique skill is telekinesis.¡±


    ¡°He agreed to join?¡±


    ¡°I tempted him using pork gukbap.¡±


    ¡°What an easy guy¡­¡±


    Seokhyun opened his eyes and asked. ¡°Is he strong?¡±


    ¡°Compared to us? No. But, his strength should be around Geom-in¡¯s level.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s pretty strong, then.¡±


    ¡°Since he used to watch my livestream a lot, he must have remembered the monster¡¯s weakness. He exploited it while wielding five flying long knives.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s basically just a flying sword technique.¡±


    (P/n a famous martial art that focuses one¡¯s qi to fly your sword, and it is possible to ride on it. A lot of cultivation-themed novels used them.)


    ¡°What the hell is that?¡±


    Da-jeong doesn¡¯t seem to know what a flying sword technique is. Probably because she hadn¡¯t read martial arts novels before.


    I explained my plans for the future to both of them.


    ¡°Since I have to stay here for a while, we will make this place our hideout for the time being. The President had given his control over the shelter to me.¡±


    As soon as they heard it, their expressions changed drastically.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Simply put, I am currently the leader of the Korean Shelter. Jang Won-taek is tired. He¡¯s resting right now.¡±


    ¡°Seongho, what the hell happened to you¡­ Why does someone like you, who doesn¡¯t like bothersome things, accept that role¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, I can get so many things by accepting the request. So I did. I looked at the list of supplies stored in the US bunkers, and it¡¯s no joke.¡±


    ¡°So what should both of us do?¡±


    ¡°Just go around the shelter in moderation and set the mood. It doesn¡¯t matter what Seokhyun will do, though. His existence itself is dangerous.¡±


    Survivors knew that when a man wearing only panties and a bunny headband roamed around, things wouldn¡¯t be as peaceful as before.


    ¡°Da-jeong, you should tame some gryphons. Another one of them will surely come out soon.¡±


    Then Da-jeong stood up, came behind me and hugged my neck. It wasn¡¯t as soft as usual.


    ¡°I know that Sooyeon unnie took her glasses off. When I asked how she got the skill, she said she was spoon-fed.¡±


    ¡°Until now, she¡¯d been wearing broken glasses, how uncomfortable it must be. I just want her to be comfortable.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but I should have the first, shouldn¡¯t I? Who am I to you?¡±


    ¡°My wife?¡±


    ¡°Left that question mark at the back! Anyway, next time the gryphon comes out, I¡¯ll eat it.¡± Da-jeong¡¯s voice became softer.


    Seokhyun, who was staring at me, said.


    ¡°Now we also need mobility. Tame a few more gryphons, please.¡±


    ¡°You said it like that because you want to play around with it.¡±


    Seokhyun smiled brightly.


    ¡°You know me too well¡­¡±


    ¡°But gryphons are hard to find.¡±


    Most flying monsters were like that.


    Seokhyun then snapped his fingers.


    ¡°We can just go to another country. After all, the Great Labyrinth is connected to all parts of the world.¡±


    Da-jeong smiled and added. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. I heard that some Japanese also entered the Great Labyrinth.¡±


    ¡°Are you talking about Kenji and Yuzuka?¡±


    ¡°No, not them. I heard that the Japanese who were in Japan entered the Great Labyrinth too. The Hannam-dong Clan said so. Though, I¡¯m not really sure what else they know.¡±


    If it¡¯s true, then it would not be strange to hear that someone meet some Russians soon.


    The first floor of the Great Labyrinth was vast and connected all over the world. If there were about five entrances in Korea alone, other countries should have as many as Korea, or maybe even more.


    Everyone was still in a state of confusion right now, but I bet they would figure it out soon enough. When they become aware that the situation in Korea was relatively good, they would surely want to come.


    It¡¯s like having multiple families living under one roof¡­


    For now, let¡¯s think only about the gryphons. Even if we only have two, our range of activities would expand tremendously. It seemed like I would have to make an announcement on the bulletin board regarding the entrance to Japan later.


    Da-jeong sat back down on the chair and opened her mouth.


    ¡°So, we are really going to stay here for a while?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We have a lot of things to do. We have to cook some soup, we have to kick out bad guys, and we have to negotiate.¡±


    ¡°Rapwi.¡± Da-jeong called Seokhyun, and the two exchanged glances.


    Just before I could stop them, the two of them jumped out the window. Leaving only their words behind.


    ¡°Off we gooooooooo~!¡±


    ¡°You figure it out yourself~!!¡±


    Sorry to say this, but we have to share the work equally.


    .


    .


    .


    Since there¡¯s a saying that says even ghosts that die after eating have a good color, human beings naturally must eat to live.


    Seongho built a few braziers on the road in the shopping district inside the shelter and hung a few large pots on top of each one of them. He stored it in case something like this would happen, and the time for it to shine finally arrived.


    ¡°Geom-in! Bring the butchered meat here.¡±


    ¡°O-okay!!¡±


    The shelter members carried the ingredients to make the soup from the building the portal was located at. The wild boar¡¯s meat and bones were boiled to make a broth. Chicken stock and seasonings were also generously poured into the mixture to enhance the deep taste.


    Seongho also made kkakdugi with radish grown in the vegetable garden. Of course he shredded some leek¨Cwhich was also grown in the vegetable garden¨Cto complete it.


    Suyeon nodded her head after tasting a little of the broth. ¡°It¡¯s good. It¡¯s not gamey at all.¡±


    Wild boar meat would give off a bad smell if treated incorrectly.


    Seongho was not satisfied with her evaluation and called Sangshin. Since the two were about the same age, they decided to stop talking formally.


    ¡°You are from Seoul, right? How¡¯s the broth?¡±


    He put his face close to the pot and sniffed it.


    ¡°Hmmmm¡­ This is it.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t even tasted it, though?¡±


    ¡°I am someone who know the taste just by looking at the colour.¡± Sangshin said proudly.


    Just how often did he eat pork gukbap to have such ability?


    If you analyze the composition of a human named Lee Sangshin, maybe 20% of his body contained pork gukbap.


    The smell of the bubbling broth spread from the pot, and people naturally flocked to it as if they were bewitched.


    ¡°What did they cook, I wonder?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s pork broth.¡±


    ¡°Just where did they find a pig¡­ ah, they caught a wild boar!¡±


    ¡°They actually do what we can only imagine.¡±


    Everyone envied Seongho and his group, saying that they never thought someone would be able to make pork gukbap in this apocalypse. Some people even subtly interfered with the people preparing the food. They said that the kkakdugi was a little undercooked.


    Seongho watched all of them.


    The number of survivors who flocked to the location keep increasing as time passed. They all hoped that the group would share the gukbap with them. Unfortunately for them, Seongho had no intention of doing so.


    ¡°Can the members of the Yeouido Coalition and the Han River Coalition step to the front? By the way, don¡¯t even think to lie, I know very well who¡¯s in which faction.¡± The Eye of Truth skill had long since disappeared, but people still misunderstood that Seongho knew their name because of his unique skill.


    The members of the organization, including Shin Il-hwan, who had suffered in the past, glanced around worriedly.


    Can we get out of this predicament unscatched?


    At that time, Seokhyun, who had been sitting in the back, raised his fist.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t move right now, I¡¯ll shave your hair to make it look like mine.¡±


    ¡°Ugh.¡±


    No one could stand the threat.


    When fifteen men finished walking towards the front of the masses, Seongho opened his mouth.


    ¡°I know some of you were forced to join the organization. So I¡¯ll give you one last chance. Those who want to live a quiet life may return to the back.¡±


    At the same time, Seokhyun counted backwards from 10.


    ¡°Ten, eight, six . . .¡±


    A few people looked around for a few seconds. But when the number which Seokhyun said was getting closer to zero, they quickly jumped out from among the gang members.


    At that moment, the leaders of the two organizations were raging. And one of them opened their mouths.


    ¡°Hey, what are you doing? Do you have the right to do this?¡±


    Seongho looked straight at the man. He¡¯s none other than Kim Young-soo, the leader of the Han River Coalition. He had a skinny build and a dreadful look which was hard to forget.


    He and Shin Il-hwan have similar tendencies. They were people who were greedy to secure the firearms of the Korean Shelter to exert more influence.


    Seongho scooped out some oil from the broth and flicked it to the ground.


    ¡°Of course I have. Jang Won-taek has given me the power to do whatever I want in this shelter.¡±


    ¡°Hah! That old man has the guts to say that this shelter is being run democratically¡­ Look at this! Isn¡¯t this dictatorship?¡±


    ¡°Democratic in the apocalypse? Did you believe such a thing was possible?¡±


    Kim Young-soo clenched his teeth at Seongho¡¯s words. At that moment, Shin Il-hwan stepped forward. There was a time when he was hit hard until he fainted by the man in front of him, so he couldn¡¯t look straight at the man. The reason he still walked forwards was because he wanted to keep his pride at the very least.


    ¡°Wh-what do you want?¡±


    ¡°I want you all to leave. Leave and don¡¯t ever come back. Do so, and I will provide you with adequate supplies.¡±


    ¡°Was that a joke? Can the shelter¡¯s policies change so quickly like that?¡±


    Instead of answering, Seongho took out a mithril blade from the dimension slot and put it on the floor. As his long sword pierced the sidewalk block, the two men flinched and backpedalled.


    ¡°I have nothing more to say. This is my shelter, and I don¡¯t feel like leaving guys like you alone. Leave now.¡±


    ¡°What if we don¡¯t want to?¡±


    ¡°Then, everyone will die.¡±


    ¡°What have we done wrong?¡±


    ¡°The very same people who made this shelter into such a mess dared to ask such things?¡±


    ¡°As someone who has caused the most trouble to everyone, you don¡¯t deserve to say such a thing!¡±


    Kim Young-soo exploded.


    ¡°He can.¡± Before Seongho could utter any words. Seokhyun beat him to it. Then, he rushed forward and began to beat Kim Young-soo up.


    Bam-!!


    Bam-!!


    Bam-!!


    Each blow was a fatal blow. Kim Young-soo, who was just now acting like a bigshot, was now trembling on the ground like a frog that had been burned by electricity.


    Seokhyun raised his head and looked at the other group members, eyes dyed red.


    ¡°Anyone want to get hit too?¡±


    No one answered.


    When Seongho pointed out, they left one by one and walked outside. They couldn¡¯t even hide, as Da-jeong¡¯s monsters were escorting them.


    Now, the infertile seeds from Korean Shelter were wiped out.


    Seongho then erased the harsh expression on his face and told the people.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat.¡±

 Chapter 192

    On a certain night in April, far away from the place where Lee Sang-shin devoured his favorite pork gukbap, the members of the two factions which were expelled from the Korean Shelter were shaking in anger. They felt it was unfair that they had to be kicked out, but what made them angrier was the fact that they could not eat the pork gukbap.


    ¡°Can¡¯t he just kick us out after giving us some of the gukbap first?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s really an ill mannered bastard.¡±


    ¡°That gukbap smells so good¡­ What a waste¡­¡± Sighs could be heard from all over the shabby building.


    Meanwhile, the leaders of both factions were sitting across from each other in a certain room, discussing their future plans. The animosity between them could no longer be seen. After all, their main goal of instigating the two people that had a grudge for each other was the same. It¡¯s to make the Korean Shelter fork out some supplies to them.


    Now that Kang Seongho jumped into the fray, no matter how much they hated each other, they had no choice but to hold hands. However, even after ransacking their brains, they found no proper way to fight their common enemy.


    ¡°Three stagnant waters and guns¡­ Isn¡¯t that too much for us to fight?¡±


    ¡°A head-on collision is suicidal. I hate being beaten twice.¡±


    ¡°Is he really strong?¡±


    ¡°He is. With one punch, the sky turned yellow. When his second punch hits me, I feel like my soul just escaped my body.¡± Shin Il-hwan rubbed his throbbing stomach as he explained.


    While a sigh was flowing between the two, Kim Young-soo secretly looked around. He¡¯s checking whether someone was listening to them.


    ¡°There¡¯s something I was working on¡­ would you like to do it together?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°As you know, our warehouse is a little big, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    The warehouse they talked about was the very same place where the materials belonging to the Korean Shelter were stored. It was located on the side of the half-collapsed National Assembly building. Everyone coveted the warehouse, but since Jang Won-taek was the only one who had the key, no one dared to touch it.


    ¡°What if¡­ There¡¯s a dog hole leading inside from the second floor?¡±


    ¡°If I knew about such a thing, I would have taken action far earlier than planned.¡±


    Shin Il-hwan had a sad expression on his face, but Kim Young-soo was very serious.


    ¡°You? Know about that? Impossible. This is something that only I know.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Even though Shin Il-hwan liked the idea, he still felt they couldn¡¯t do it. If they get caught by the stagnant waters, forget eating porridge for the rest of their lives, they wouldn¡¯t even be alive to eat anymore.


    Kim Young-soo bluntly said not to worry about that.


    ¡°We can test by sending someone with stealth ability first, can¡¯t we? Didn¡¯t you see those bastards partying while eating gukbap earlier? They definitely consumed some alcohol too. They wouldn¡¯t be able to resist the combo of alcohol and pork gukbap. Most likely, they are already deep asleep right now because of that.¡±


    Only then did Shin Il-hwan straighten his posture.


    ¡°If you knew about something like that, why haven¡¯t you taken action yet after all these times?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because I know how that old man operates. If he realized that something went missing inside, he would strengthen the security even more. Better to just wait for a good opportunity to take everything inside at once.¡±


    Shin Il-hwan rolled his eyes and snapped his finger.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then. We have nothing to lose. It¡¯s either we die out here helplessly, or we die after getting beaten to death.¡±


    ¡°Everything will be fine. Let¡¯s send someone first.¡±


    After a while, someone with stealth ability secretly went into the Korean Shelter. The shelter personnel were not vigilant, and only faint light of glowstones could be seen here and there. That too, was not aimed at the streets, but it was put inside the building. The man then found a werewolf roaming the streets and was terrified, but gained confidence right after due to the fact that they didn¡¯t notice him.


    After approaching the warehouse, he installed a rope in the opening and climbed down. And after he checked the inside, he returned to the hideout in ecstasy.


    Upon hearing the news, the leaders immediately mobilized their members. They were already thinking what they should do once the weapons and supplies were in their hands. They thought that no matter how strong someone was, in front of guns and grenades, they would be nothing.


    They approached the warehouse via the furthest street from the Korean Shelter. On top of it, they also went to the warehouse one by one.


    But there was something they didn¡¯t know.


    It was the fact that a troll and a werewolf were waiting for them inside the warehouse.


    ROOOOAAARRRR-!!


    ¡°He-he-hey, it¡¯s a troll!¡±


    The troll and the werewolf who were beaten before being dragged in, were excited to see the humans in front of them. As a scream echoed through the warehouse, Kim Young-soo, who had just come down from the dog hole, was startled.


    ¡°What is this!¡±


    He hurriedly tried to climb the rope once again, but before he could hold the rope again, his body hit something; something invisible.


    The werewolf that slaughtered his subordinates turned to him at that moment. Kim Young-soo ignored the flesh on its teeth and closed his eyes.


    ¡°Fuck¡­¡±


    While scream of terror resound from the warehouse, Lee Beom-seok, who was watching from the outside, said something.


    ¡°You could just fight them off using guns.¡±


    ¡°It would be a waste of ammo.¡± Seongho said lightly while sitting on a building debris a few distance away from Lee Beom-seok.


    This operation was planned by him. He had found the dog hole in the second floor of the warehouse when he went to receive 30% of the material in the past and used it to his advantage.


    Lee Beom-seok trembled as he imagined the situation inside.


    The person in front of him was someone who threw people at the two monsters without batting an eye.


    ¡°Did you make the pork gukbap both in order to distract the shelter personnel and to bait them?¡±


    Seongho threw a gun magazine to the air before catching it again. He then opened his mouth.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. After all, gukbap¡¯s number one pair is alcohol. In fact, everyone did drink until they nearly passed out.¡±


    ¡°But you look fine?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because my stat is high. No matter how much I drink, I won¡¯t be drunk.¡±


    Lee Beom-seok turned his eyes to the warehouse in despair. The shriek of people that got shredded to pieces had subsided. Unlike him, Seongho kept his Super Sense skill up until the end, and only stopped after confirming that they were all dead.


    ¡°It¡¯s done. I¡¯ll clean it up myself, so go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Are you satisfied with this?¡±


    Seongho frowned and looked at Lee Beom-seok, who turned his back against ghim.


    ¡°What are you so dissatisfied with?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like the fact that you killed everyone.¡±


    ¡°Did I not make myself clear? I never leave loose ends. I don¡¯t want to get backstabbed just because I¡¯m too kind.¡±


    ¡°The thing they did is not a mortal sin, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°That mindset of yours is the cause that changed this shelter into this giant mess.¡±


    ¡°I beg your pardon?¡±


    Lee Beom-seok¡¯s breathing became rough. He turned towards Seongho with his fist clenched as if he would swing it towards him at any moment.


    ¡°What do you think those bastards will do after getting the guns? Thanking you, then go out to make this world a better place?¡± Seongho sighed.


    ¡°If that happened, we would think of countermeasures.¡±


    ¡°Countermeasure? Why don¡¯t you do it until now? Why wait for things to happen first? Aren¡¯t you Jang Won-taek¡¯s secretary? What are you doing letting the person you need to assist take on every single thing? You should¡¯ve gotten rid of them before they became a problem for him.¡±


    Lee Beom-seok did not know what to do with the rising anger and resentment within his heart at Seongho¡¯s sermon. However, he knew. The man in front of him was a man who let his actions speak louder than his words. Without him, the Korean Shelter would end up with a lot more problems they couldn¡¯t handle.


    He was supposedly the President¡¯s trusted right hand man. But just like Seongho said, he had let the situation deteriorate into this mess. So, there was a high probability that Jang Won-taek¡¯s gaze would not be the same as before when looking at him.


    Lee Beom-seok licked his lips and didn¡¯t say anything more. He only looked at Seongho¡¯s back, while he silently entered the tragedy he had created.


    .


    .


    .


    Yoo Ji-hye was someone who rarely spoke. She¡¯s not handicapped, it¡¯s just that her unique skill has changed how she sees people a lot. The ability to read people¡¯s emotions. Far from a gift, It was like a curse to her.


    Anger, hate, jealousy, sometimes greed¡­


    Some of the men she had met until now wanted to own her. With almost no fighting ability and decent appearances, such men often drift towards her.


    Although she had suffered terrible things until now, Oh Hyung-jun saved her. Although his appearance was far from her ideal type and his personality was on the blunt side, he was a good man. He didn¡¯t jump to her like any other man and protected her. The two got closer little by little and finally became a couple.


    However, Yoo Ji-hye could never bring herself to get acquainted with his boyfriend¡¯s younger brother, Seongho. The emotion she read from him was more intense than any other emotion she felt so far. On top of it, she was also intimidated by the rumors circulating among the people about him.


    That Bastard, Butcherer, Betrayer, Human Garbage, Psychopath, and many others. He wears all kinds of dangerous moniker, so it¡¯s a matter of course that she was terrified of him.


    But somehow, the way she saw him recently become very different from before. The key turning point was the fact that he hung out with people she¡¯s close with without any shred of awkwardness.


    Well, they¡¯re close friends in the first place, but¡­


    It was also shocking that he was quite good at cooking. From his build alone, he was a person who¡¯s suited to wield a weapon rather than a kitchen knife.


    ¡°Maybe I misunderstood him.¡±


    She was looking down to the street below from her own room in their group¡¯s dwelling. Several cauldrons were placed there, and it was crowded with people. It looked like the menu was going to be samgye-tang.


    (P/n Samgyetang = ginseng chicken soup, mainly consists of a whole chicken in a soup filled with garlic, rice, jujube, and ginseng.)


    To think there would be someone who could cook samgye-tang in the apocalypse¡­


    Ji-hye looked blankly at Seongho¡¯s back. He was sitting on a plastic chair while his hands were busy cleaning an animal which looked like a big chicken. Where did so many chickens come from was a mystery for Jihye. After all, judging by its size, it was an animal which would definitely be monsters¡¯ favorite prey.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Hyung-jun asked as he came over to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯m just watching.¡±


    ¡°Are you watching Seongho? Don¡¯t tell me you have feelings for my brother¡­¡± He said jokingly.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that¡­¡± Ji-hye ruffled his hair as a retaliation.


    It was very impressive to see several people in their early 20s clinging to Seongho. They laughed and talked with him playfully¡­ The group was no different from any normal group in her eyes.


    Am I the only one who saw him differently?


    Hyung-jun lowered his voice.


    ¡°I know it¡¯s maybe far too late to tell you this, but Seongho used to run a snack bar.¡±


    ¡°A snack bar?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Back in Busan, he used to sell tteokbokki, oden, and many other snacks to the kids and students. The reviews weren¡¯t bad. He gave the kids a bigger portion than normal.¡±


    ¡®Why did such a person turn into a human butcher?¡¯ Yoo Ji-hye seemed to understand the reason a little. In order to survive, she had even brainwashed herself. She justified everything she did by saying it¡¯s a must for her survival.


    The emotions she felt from him right now were not as bleak as it used to be. He emits a warm and relaxed atmosphere¡­and surprisingly, she could see a glimpse of love.


    She looked at Seongho without saying a word and then pulled herself away from the window sill.


    ¡°Are you going to go there?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I must have misunderstood Seongho. I have to go down and apologize.¡±


    ¡°Alright. If you get to know him, you¡¯ll know that he¡¯s actually a pretty good kid.¡±


    Ji-hye went down to the street with Hyung-jun and greeted Seongho.


    ¡°Hello, Seongho-ssi.¡±


    Seongho turned to her and felt a little bit lost at her sudden greeting. Only after a while did he regain his composure and bowed his head to her.


    ¡°You are here, Ji-hye-ssi. Can I call you sister-in-law from now on?¡±


    ¡°Of course. By the way, give me a knife. Poultry has a lot of fat in the tail. If you don¡¯t take it off, the soup will taste bad.¡±


    ¡°Ah, is that so¡­¡± Seongho nodded. The two quickly get close to each other as if there was never any awkwardness between them. Perhaps it was possible because there¡¯s something in common between the two of them: cooking.


    Hyung-jun stood still while beaming with smiles, but after being pointed out by the shelter members, he joined the work by setting up some tableware.


    On this one day in April, the smell of samgye-tang spread around the Korean Shelter.


    .


    .


    .


    A big problem has come up!


    There¡¯s no more gryphon in Korea!


    From the information we gathered from the Auction House, the gryphon that I hunted for Sooyeon was the first and the last of its kind in the entire Korean Peninsula.


    While I was browsing the Auction House to make sure and try to find any glimpse of hope, I heard unexpected news from Lee Beom-seok. Two Japanese survivors, who identified themselves as Kenji and Yuzuka, were standing outside the shelter.


    Looking at the paper on which they wrote their circumstances, Yuzuka said that they had lost a lot of their colleagues because they were caught up in a battle royale while on the island. It¡¯s also written that they met Japanese people at the entrance to the Great Labyrinth formed near Changwon before coming here.


    Looking at how crooked the hangul she used, I could guess how hard she had studied.


    -I hope you are having a good spring these days. This is Shiraishi. How are you doing? I am eternally grateful for what you did for us in the past. It was sudden, but we were forced to leave the island, and we were really in trouble¡­


    ¡°What a long introduction.¡±


    Is it because he¡¯s a former noble?


    To summarize, they fucked up. They had no place to live and nothing to eat, so they asked for help.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± It was the truth that we know each other. But it¡¯s just that. There¡¯s nothing wrong with having friendly forces on Dot Island, so I gave it to them. But to think they also came all the way up here.


    Should I help them?


    ¡°People wouldn¡¯t look at it kindly¡­¡± It should be fine things to do when the shelter was still peaceful. But I did not want to bring in outsiders as much as possible because of the current situation.


    ¡°If I remembered correctly, they said they were from Tokyo¡­¡± The Japanese who joined the Shiraishi siblings were said to be from Tokyo. As it was a city that boasts a larger size than Seoul, there¡¯s a possibility that some gryphons might have appeared there.


    I¡¯ve been wanting to go, but I don¡¯t know anything about Japan.


    ¡°I hope they can give me some guidance.¡± The Japanese should go back and check if there were any gryphons in Tokyo.


    I went outside the shelter and met the two of them. They seemed to be quite exhausted. Probably because they had suffered a lot.


    ¡°Long time no see. There is something I would like to suggest outright. If you do one thing, you can stay here. We can¡¯t take you to the shelter, but we can help.¡±


    The two faces become rigid at Seongho¡¯s sudden words.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Did you say that one of the entrances to the Great Labyrinth was connected to Tokyo? Send someone to check whether there¡¯s a gryphon there or not. And you can take care of becoming my guide if I go there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but Yuzuka has never heard anything related to gryphons from the others¡­ What should we do now¡­¡±


    What should I do with her awkward tone of voice?


    I told her.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since the people who joined you roamed the Great Labyrinth. In the meantime, a gryphon might have appeared.¡±


    ¡°What if there¡¯s no gryphon¡­¡±


    ¡°Even if there isn¡¯t, I will keep my promise. I just need you to guide me. I want to visit Tokyo once. It¡¯s not radioactively contaminated, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Kenji was ecstatic and straightened his posture.


    ¡°There are no nuclear power plants near Tokyo. The Tokai Power Plant has been shut down for a long time¡­¡±


    ¡°Anyway, I want you to do that. Can you send someone now?¡±


    ¡°I will send them right away.¡±


    Kenji stood up. I noticed something strange while talking to Yuzuka.


    It¡¯s been a long time since she arrived in Korea, why did she feel reluctant to go back to her hometown?


    Of course, I know that her hometown was not Tokyo, but Japan would be more comfortable than Korea for them.


    When I asked that question, her expression turned depressed.


    ¡°Yuzuka thought it was better here. Yuzuka did not want to live in a city where murderers and human hunters roam around freely.¡±


    Ah¡­ It seemed like the supposed ¡®safest city in the entire world¡¯ had become a bloody mess now. Well, in fact, all cities in the world, even this one, have become like that now.


    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ll help you, so prepare yourself to become my guide.¡±


    ¡°Wi-will it be okay? In Yuzuka¡¯s eyes, Tokyo is a very dangerous city. A dozen or so murderers roam around¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but those murderers will have to quit their business when I arrived. Or else, I¡¯ll make them.¡±


    Her eyes were tinged with suspicion at my words.


    Well, showing is always better than telling, isn¡¯t it?


    (P/n traveling arc, begin!)

 Chapter 193

    The Hannam-dong Clan finally sent their answer in regard to Seongho¡¯s proposition through Kim Ji-eun. All in all, they were mostly leaning to welcome Seongho¡¯s offer, while at the same time, inquiring how Seongho could figure out their circumstances.


    But there were two problems standing in the way of a smooth merge between them. Although they felt it was nothing but ideal for them to join the Korean Shelter, the amount of supplies they had to leave behind to join them in Yeouido was a big problem. In addition, the newly joined personnel also emerged as a problem. It would have been fine if they just stayed quiet, but they were all busy trying to get a position above others.


    For the problems, Seongho offered a way to smoothen the process.


    -Just leave the supplies there. Regarding personnel, when you guys meet me before, few people come to meet me, right? Just take care of them and leave the rest.


    -But, how about the supplies?


    -Just go, those supplies will probably arrive in the Korean Shelter¡¯s warehouse before you anyway.


    -How is that possible¡­


    She seemed to be curious about how the supplies would be moved. But Seongho didn¡¯t tell her anything. His unique skill has become something of a public secret, but it¡¯s still better to keep its details a secret.


    When he said that he would take care of the supplies, the Hannam-dong Clan leaders made a decision. However, it seems that the ruckus caused by their newly accepted personnel was still too much to handle.


    Soye¡¯s rant continued one after another.


    -Those guys¡­ What gave them so much courage to ask me to dance for them? Seongho, do I look like an easy girl?


    She¡¯s not. But she¡¯s definitely a girl that¡¯s easy to fall in love with. If it wasn¡¯t for Da-jeong and the other girls in the shelter, he could say that he also would fall in love with her.


    -I don¡¯t think that¡¯s necessarily the case.


    -Riiiigghhhtt? Ah¡­ I¡¯m so relieved that Seongho offers us a way to distance ourselves from them. How should I repay you?


    -I didn¡¯t do it to get anything in return, so just come to the shelter and be quiet. Otherwise, I¡¯ll kick you out.


    -Seongho is currently the leader, right? Where did that grandfather from before go?


    -He¡¯s taking a break. When he returns, I will also return the leadership role to him.


    -Wait a minute, then that means Seongho will leave the Korean Shelter, right?


    Not necessarily.


    Seongho planned to keep his name as a member of the Korean Shelter even after the situation returned to normal. However, he wouldn¡¯t act for them; he would act freely without being bound by the rules. This was an agreement he reached with Jang Won-taek.


    When he explained that point, Soye was skeptical.


    -If Seongho would be leaving the shelter, there is no reason for us to go there¡­


    -I won¡¯t officially leave the shelter. It¡¯s just that I won¡¯t stay there for a long period of time, as I would be busy going around.


    After all, if he couldn¡¯t do that, he would miss a lot of things which were necessary for his growth. Moreover, the amount of supplies stored in spare shelters and bunkers located around Seoul alone was no joke. So far, less than 10% have been unearthed. With that in mind, it was better to keep his name written on the shelter personnel¡¯s list even when he transferred the leadership back to Jang Won-taek.


    -Are you saying you¡¯re going to stay in the shelter?


    -Of course.


    -Then we will move. All agreements have been made. There are some people who just don¡¯t like it, but¡­


    -Just seal the bunker and move. I¡¯ll take care of the rest.


    Seongho really took care of it. No one knew what he was going to do when he stopped by the Hannam-dong Clan¡¯s shelter. But soon after, a series of screams continued around the luxury villa. A few days passed and Seongho returned to the Korean Shelter as the Hannam-dong Clan members adjusted to their new dwelling.


    Soye was happy to see him and promptly ran towards him. However, just a few meters away from him, her steps come to a sudden halt. After all, a thick smell of blood was permeating from his body.


    Even though he acted casually as if he did nothing, Soye could feel it. Seongho was a type of person who took care of any dangerous and repulsive work which people would shy away from.


    It was around that time that Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok met and greeted the members of the Hannam-dong Clan. The former leader admired the changed atmosphere in the shelter.


    ¡°It had changed a lot in just a very short time.¡±


    ¡°Are you talking about the atmosphere?¡±


    ¡°People say the new leader is very coercive. But, they also said he¡¯s down to earth and caring. Do you understand why there are such conflicting evaluations?¡±


    Lee Beom Seok hesitated before opening his mouth.


    ¡°He utilized the ¡®carrots and sticks¡¯ method very skillfully¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ He used to rule with an iron fist using the other stagnant water people, but when he decided to do something different, he managed to throw away the act very quickly. Even for someone like me, I know that someone who gives you pork Gukbap, samgye-tang, and sashimi won¡¯t ever betray me, hahahaha.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t he just use the food to coax his way in? It won¡¯t last long.¡±


    Jang Won-taek was surprised by his subordinate¡¯s poor evaluation. It seemed like the guy was jealous of Seongho¡¯s achievement.


    He looked out the window and saw people eating. Even without Seongho around, they brought the chair and the table out and ate in peace. The reason why everyone was quiet was probably because they knew what would happen if they acted otherwise.


    Jang Won-taek suddenly asked.


    ¡°¡­How long have you been following me?


    ¡°It should be around 21 years and 3 months now.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been such a long time, huh? I remember the first time we entered Yeouido. Weren¡¯t you my attendant at that time? We didn¡¯t even know the way and parked the car in the wrong place.¡±


    ¡°I am ashamed¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Seongho is teaching us things we didn¡¯t know even with our 21 years of experience in the political world. We should be ashamed.¡±


    ¡°Mister President¡­¡±


    Jang Won-taek smiled vaguely.


    ¡°It was said that the water behind the Yangtze River pushes the water in front¡­ In this apocalypse, every affair was decided by the strong. We have to work hard not to be culled.¡±


    Lee Beom-seok did not dare to refute the words of his esteemed superior. He must have known that he and Seongho had an argument.


    ¡°Then what should we do next?¡±


    ¡°We have to admit and accept that there are other ways other than our own way. It shouldn¡¯t be a means to an evil end though¡­¡±


    ¡°Mister President, please, lead us once again.¡±


    ¡°This guy¡­ Seongho is the current leader of the shelter. Not me.¡±


    The mentor spoke, and the disciple accepted.


    ¡°I will keep that in mind.¡±


    .


    .


    .


    Lee Sangshin, the soup addict, finally entered Seongho¡¯s shelter. Oh Hyung-jun and Yoo Ji-Hye also decided to enter the shelter, but it wouldn¡¯t be anytime soon.


    Yoo Ji-hye¡¯s fighting power was lower than even Yeowool and Sooyeon. Thus, Seongho couldn¡¯t be sure if she would successfully pass the entrance test even if he armed her with guns, and had Dingo and a scarab accompany her. Thankfully, Hyung-jun was aware of it and said that they would level up for a while before attempting the test.


    Meanwhile, Lee Sang-shin, who just entered the shelter, was at a loss for words.


    ¡°What is this¡­ It¡¯s a completely different world¡­¡±


    ¡°Welcome to Seongho¡¯s World!¡± Said a bald guy with a rabbit headband that jumped up and down.


    Sangshin ignored him and looked around before finding that his hut was being built. Jiman and Geom-in were the ones who were in charge of it.


    ¡°All the huts were occupied, so we have to build a new one.¡±


    ¡°Can I do anything to help?¡± Sangshin said.


    ¡°Nope. You are going to go to the 6th floor of the Great Labyrinth with us.¡± Seongho said nonchalantly.


    Right at that moment, he was dragged by three stagnant water. The moment he regained his calm, he found himself in front of a room with bizarre patterned walls.


    Seongho said softly.


    ¡°Do you know about the doppelganger room? If we go there, monster with an ability to copy our skill will come out.¡±


    ¡°They will copy our ability?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s very dangerous because it can even copy unique skills. Seokhyun and Da-jeong fired a rocket at them, but they avoided it.¡±


    Lee Sangshin opened his mouth wide.


    Just how high were these guys¡¯ stats?


    ¡°¡­so what should I do?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll be putting some anti-tank mines there. The press trigger would be around over 100kg, can you do it?¡± Seongho took 3 anti-tank mines from the dimensional warehouse as he said it. As he felt that one would not be enough, he wanted to just blow all three together.


    Lee Sang-shin showed his telekinetic power by lifting Seongho and the backpack at the same time.


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing¡­ Does your ability apply to humans as well?¡± Admired Da-jeong.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t use my power on Seongho but the backpack. If I could use it on people too, it would be a complete scam. I can just squeeze their heart.¡±


    ¡°Ahh.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s start.¡±


    Lee Sangshin concentrated his mind and moved three anti-tank mines to the doppelganger room. Now when four people approach the room, four doppelgangers will pop out. Aside from the stats, it would also copy Seongho¡¯s unique skill, so they had to get rid of it as soon as possible.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    As soon as the four approached, the floor of the room wobbled and something which looked like a lump of mud spurted out. It was at that time that more than 100 kg of pressure was applied to the three anti-tank mines.


    Boom-!!


    A deafening noise and vibrations swept through the dimensional wall. Seongho saw that the dimension wall was about to break, so he hurriedly opened the portal. The four quietly hid behind Seongho, and as the dust settled, they poked their heads out.


    ¡°Is it dead?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t jinx it!¡± Da-jeong complained.


    ¡°No, it won¡¯t come out again. Look, the loot has already dropped.¡±


    ¡°Oh ho. Items.¡±


    The three went into the messy room and picked up the items. Sangshin, who triggered the anti-tank mine, was excited.


    ¡°My level has gone up by two¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, they copy everything including our level. So it makes sense.¡±


    ¡°You are lucky to have killed us.¡±


    As a prize for reaching level 30, Sangsin got a flame shield¨Cwhich was his newly acquired additional effect. A bright curtain unfolded in front of him, and Seokhyun, who just picked up the item from his monster counterpart, tilted his head at the sight.


    ¡°Can I hit it?¡±


    Sangshin nodded confidently.


    ¡°Sure. With this, I became complete. Noone¡­¡±


    ¡°Falcon Punch!


    Seokhyun rushed in and threw a punch. When his fist hit the bright shield, it disappeared without a trace. That¡¯s not all, the impact also threw Sangshin rolling over the floor as if he was a dumped trash bag.


    Da-jeong saw it and kicked Seokhyun¡¯s ass.


    ¡°Why did you do it to that kid!!!!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think the shield would be that weak.¡±


    Seongho opened the portal again and slid Sangshin inside. He believed that the shelter members would take care of him.


    ¡°Now let¡¯s delve to the seventh floor.¡±


    The three of them entered the stairway and descended. However, the closer they go to the end, the stranger the atmosphere becomes.


    Seokhyun, who was in the lead, touched the wall and tilted his head.


    ¡°Is this¡­ mucus?¡±


    ¡°Just keep moving forwards. We¡¯ll check once we are there.¡±


    ¡°When we arrive, don¡¯t rush to enter. It¡¯s a floor with a containment layer.¡±


    ¡°We have guns!¡±


    However, the three of them who arrived on the 7th floor were at a loss for words. After all, the 7th floor they remember from back in the game was nowhere to be seen.


    ¡°What the hell is this¡­¡±


    ¡°What is this wobbly wall¡­¡±


    The wall shook as if it were alive. When Seongho shined it with the flashlight, the part which the light touched moved intensively. The stifling feeling of being inside a living creature and the unpleasant air was also added as a bonus.


    Seongho was surprised even more when he activated his Super Sense skill.


    ¡°I can hear some screams.¡±


    ¡°Can you figure out what kind of monster it is?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever heard something like this. It¡¯s like¡­ a devil from hell¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s troubling. The fact that that guy said we will die if we go to the 8th floor makes it even more so.¡± Da-jeong sighed.


    ¡°It seems like whatever that guy said could kill us on the 8th floor made it all the way to the 7th floor.¡±


    ¡°A mid boss, huh?¡± Seokhyun summed it up neatly.


    Anyway, it seemed to be difficult to break through the floor with their current power. After all, they didn¡¯t know what kind of monster would pop out.


    Seongho heard the rustling around him and spoke quickly.


    ¡°I think something is coming here. Let¡¯s leave and ask Yoohyeon or Yeowool to scout ahead later.¡±


    ¡°Agree.¡±


    ¡°I am against¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up and follow me.¡± Da-jeong grabbed Seokhyun¡¯s ear and dragged him away. At that moment, he saw something in a human form, standing in the middle of the dark passage.


    He raised his middle finger to the monster.


    ¡°It¡¯s smiling?¡±


    The guy was smiling.


    .


    .


    .


    Geom-in had a happy day recently. He finally succeeded in copying the unique skill of his three friends. Although there¡¯s a downside of being a minor version, he still felt satisfied nonetheless.


    He was able to interchangeably use 3 of the 7 copied unique skills once a day, including the shelter enforcement unique skill. He divided it into combat, exploration, and everyday use, so it was very convenient. Although he didn¡¯t get any additional effects, it wasn¡¯t a big deal. After all, as he leveled up, he would probably get one.


    As night fell, he turned on his laptop and enjoyed the game. His three stagnant water friends went to Yeouido for some reason, and the others were sleeping.


    ¡°Woohoo¡­ What a good game¡­¡±


    While enjoying the game, a scarab came into the hut and looked up at him.


    The guy¡¯s eyes were as if saying:


    -You goddamn laptop addict!


    Geom-in turned off the game and closed the laptop.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    The scarab made a sighing gesture and scratched the floor to draw a gryphon.


    ¡°A gryphon appeared? Wait, then we have to wake people up.¡±


    That¡¯s not it¡­ The scarab seemed to say. It was just flying past the shelter. But, whatever the case, Geom-in could not just ignore it.


    Waking up Yoohyeon or Yeowool was a bit too much, so he decided to just use a drone with a night vision function.


    Shortly after the drone took off, a blurry video was sent to the laptop.


    ¡°What is that guy doing here?¡±


    The most logical reason why the gryphon came around the shelter was because of the corpses of monsters scattered around the shelter. It was their basic policy to clean it as much as possible, but they might have skipped some.


    Geom-in watched the video with the scarab and remembered that he could control a single monster by courtesy of Da-jeong¡¯s copied unique skill.


    ¡°It should work against gryphons, right?¡±


    He tried to contact Da-jeong, but quickly gave up since he knew that she had a lot of work to do outside. Monsters could pass through the portal. But it was questionable whether a gryphon would be able to do so or not. After all, their size was quite big.


    ¡°I have to get it.¡± When Seongho found out about the situation, he would surely understand.


    He made up his mind and stood up. When he changed his unique skills to blink and monster taming, his confidence surged.


    After all, what he needed to do was simply blink towards it and put his hands on it.


    ¡°Okay.¡± The scarab, who told Geom-in about the gryphon, climbed towards Geom-in¡¯s shoulder.


    In the dark of the night, the gryphon, which was busy devouring an orc¡¯s corpse, was startled by the sudden appearance of a human and spits out the meat it was eating.


    Roaaar-!!


    The guy hurriedly spread his wings, but Geom-in got on its back first. A golden light spread briefly from the contact area, and the gryphon¡¯s wild eyes changed into a docile one.


    ¡°HA HA HA HA!¡± Geom-in trembled with joy as he got on the griffon¡¯s back. It ended too easily, even to his liking.


    However, just a few seconds later, fierceness returned to the Gryphon¡¯s eyes. As it felt a foreign object on its back, it started to twist violently.


    ¡°Wh-what the¡­ WHY!!!!¡±


    Was it because the unique skill was a minor one?


    Geom-in was terrified and just grabbed onto its feathers tightly. In the meantime, the view of the whole forest spread out underneath him. The gryphon had flown to the sky!


    ¡°Wa-wait, wait a minute!¡±


    His blink¡¯s distance was quite short, so it looked like he would fall and die if he used it. He could just go back to life thanks to the resurrection scroll, but since he knew what Seongho went through to acquire it, he felt sorry to use it for such a silly reason.


    Without knowing the hundreds of thoughts running through Geom-in¡¯s mind, the gryphon flew away with its big wings towards the distant sea.

 Chapter 194

    The day became bright, as the inhabitants of the shelter slowly awoke one by one. Soon after, they realized that Geom-in had disappeared. His footprints were found outside the shelter, along with some feathers which belonged to a gryphon.


    ¡°Looks like a gryphon came here last night and that guy went to see it.¡± Everyone nodded at Da-jeong¡¯s opinion.


    The incident happened while we were in the Korean Shelter. Geom-in most likely felt a sense of responsibility as a stagnant water, and went to check it out. He should have had the copy of Da-jeong¡¯s dominator unique skill, So why¡­


    ¡°Against a gryphon, what he needs is to just quickly move closer to it using blink and dominate it.¡±


    Geom-in had a whopping 7 unique skills, including the shelter reinforcement skill. He could interchange three of them once a day, so even if there¡¯s no additional effect included in the skill, he should still be able to dominate it using the method I just said.


    But Da-jeong¡¯s opinion was a little different from mine.


    ¡°Since the skill he has is the minor version of mine, it wouldn¡¯t have a 100% chance of success.¡±


    ¡°Is it really like that?¡±


    ¡°My bet is he¡¯s being dragged away while trying to dominate it.¡±


    There is no need to know where¡­ If he was alive, he would have informed us through the Auction House.


    Just then, Yoohyeon opened his mouth.


    ¡°Geom-in just posted in the Auction House. Looks like he¡¯s crossed the sea.¡±


    When I checked the comment section, there were dozens of seemingly urgent comments.


    -Seongho, I¡¯m being dragged by a gryphon!!!!


    -As for the situation, uh¡­ A gryphon appeared in the middle of the night and I tried to dominate it, but it failed.


    -So the gryphon flew into the sky, and I was taken by it because I didn¡¯t have the physical strengthening unique skill on the active skill slot.


    Seokhyun tilted his head. ¡°Couldn¡¯t he just use the blink to get away?¡±


    ¡°Looks like it went up too fast. His blink has no additional effect, so its range is very short.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a resurrection scroll as well. He should just kill himself.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ here¡¯s his excuse. He didn¡¯t use it because he didn¡¯t want to waste something Seongho got with great difficulty¡­¡±


    Seokhyun and Da-jeong looked at me at the same time.


    I said helplessly.


    ¡°Am I such a petty bastard in his eyes? Do I look like the kind of person who won¡¯t use a consumable item in order to save his friend?¡±


    ¡°Eung.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    I have nothing to say since both of them looked like that.


    Anyway, with the comment, we have made sure that Geom-in was still alive and kicking. But, just where in the world he is right now¡­ From what he wrote, he was accompanied by a scarab. So it should be easy to determine his current location.


    Yoohyeon brought the map of the Lotus Continent that was drawn by Captain Scarab.


    ¡°He should be somewhere around here.¡± Yoohyeon pointed at the land across the sea. That¡¯s the very Island that I thought was about 60 km from this place.


    Captain Scarab turned over the sketchbook and drew a new picture. It seemed that he¡¯s a bit embarrassed, considering everyone had gathered to watch what he¡¯s doing.


    ¡°Are you drawing a ruin?¡±


    ¡°Is it the scarab¡¯s house?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not scarab¡¯s, it¡¯s a dwarf¡¯s, a dwarf that lives underground.¡±


    What Captain Scarab drew was an entrance to a huge ruin nestled on a cliff on the shore. According to the guy¡¯s gesture, they didn¡¯t make it themselves, but they just used it.


    From their previous information, it was said that there were such settlements all over the Lotus Continent. Now that one of its locations had been confirmed, the first thing to do was to inform Geom-in.


    -Geom-in, do you see an entrance to a ruin around there?


    As soon as my comment entered the comment section, a comment was posted.


    -Who is it? Is that you, Seongho?


    -Yeah. By the way, why didn¡¯t you use the resurrection scroll?


    -It was a bit difficult for me to use that. After all, you had worked very hard just to obtain one.


    This guy just makes my heart warm¡­


    Anyway, I wanted to rescue him right away, but there was no way for me to do so. Though, If it¡¯s really needed, we can go with Mi-kyung¡¯s Blink.


    At that time, Captain Scarab painted what looked like a bunch of treasures inside the ruin.


    ¡°There¡¯s treasures in there?¡± I asked.


    nod nod.


    It was once used as a residence, so there must be many household items, ore, and items used by the dwarves lying there. Now that the owner is gone, they say we could take them all.


    ¡°I just saw his eyes glistened with greed¡­¡± Da-jeong smirked.


    ¡°At that moment, Seongho decided. He will drive Geom-in to the dangerous ruin, even with a heavy heart, for the prize was far too worth jr.¡± Seokhyun added.


    Don¡¯t use such weird narration!


    I ignored Seokhyun and Da-jeong and entered another comment.


    -Geom-in. What you need to know is, we can¡¯t go get you right now. Dajeong doesn¡¯t have a gryphon under her control just yet.


    -I know.


    -For now, I¡¯ll pack the things you need in your dimensional backpack, so buy it when I put it up. If you have time, do some exploration on the ruins. There are many good things scattered in there.


    -Uh, is that so? I think I can explore the ruins if I have a gun.


    -I¡¯ll send you some. In the meantime, we will go to Japan and look for a gryphon. hold on until then.


    -Okay. I¡¯ll be exploring the ruins, then. I came all the way here, so I need to bring something with me, at the very least.


    It seems that the situation was not that bad when you look at his words. People were relieved, and I packed some tents, blankets, sleeping bags, food and any other items necessary for his survival into Geom-in¡¯s dimensional backpack.


    The size of the dimensional backpack was quite large, around the size of an SUV. But since the entry point was small, nothing too large could be put inside. Only after I packed a few guns and live ammunition, nothing could enter anymore. Food and water were packed to make him last for at least two weeks, so there should be no problem.


    ¡°I also have to pack something for the scarab.¡±


    As soon as I put the backpack on the Auction House, it disappeared.


    -Thank you. I¡¯ll use it well.


    -If you need anything, just tell me. I will check this comment section often.


    -I think this is enough.


    Geom-in went to explore dangerous ruins with the scarab. Although not alone, the scarab wasn¡¯t someone whose combat prowess could be counted on, so he would have to actually get through all the hurdles he found alone.


    I¡¯m a little worried¡­ but he should be fine.


    After all, that guy was also one of the four original stagnant waters.


    .


    .


    .


    Me, Seokhyun, and Yuzuka decided to go to Tokyo through the first floor of the Great Labyrinth. Da-jeong decided to just stay in the Shelter and come out only when we found a gryphon.


    According to Yuzuka¡¯s explanation, there were tens of thousands of zombies and ghouls at Ikebukuro Station in the northwestern part of Tokyo. And that place was the very place we were going to arrive using our current path.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t a zombie raid happen if we went there? Yuzuka is worried.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine with this.¡±


    I held out the totem and she touched it in amazement.


    ¡°This is?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a raid totem. With this, there will be no zombie raids around.¡±


    ¡°I see. It¡¯s amazing stuff.¡±


    It seemed that she wanted it because her eyes were sparkling. But, realizing her own weakness, she bowed her head. After all, if she tried to steal it from me, she¡¯ll be able to chase away zombies and monsters, but something far more horrifying would be hunting her.


    Anyway, we continue to head towards the entrance leading to Tokyo. There were several battles along the way, but all were resolved by Seokhyun. In front of his stamina and strength, the monsters on the first floor fall like autumn leaves hit by a gale.


    Yuzuka saw it and she said to me, ¡°It¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve witnessed a fight, but he fights like something inhuman¡­¡±


    ¡°Even if he looked like that, he¡¯s still a human.¡±


    ¡°is that so¡­¡±


    Actually, I also couldn¡¯t tell for sure.


    Anyway, thanks to Seokhyun, we were able to comfortably roam the first floor. Occasionally, the survivors we encountered ran away in panic at the sight of his rabbit headband.


    But the problem was outside, not inside. It was because most of the battle royale battlefields in Japan were not finished yet, unlike in Korea. When I asked Yuzuka about the matter, she only shook her head.


    ¡°The information about Japan coming through the Great Labyrinth was so vague that Yuzuka can¡¯t be sure. The only thing Yuzuka know is that there are a lot of murderers roaming around. Sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°No, no. It¡¯s okay.¡±


    It¡¯s natural that you don¡¯t know, so what are you sorry for?


    Seokhyun, who was at the forefront of destroying monsters, changed his gloves at that moment.


    ¡°Then the moment we crossed over, the ¡®Shackles of War¡¯ debuff will be applied to us?¡±


    ¡°Maybe? After all, Ikebukuro is said to be the second busiest street in Japan. On top of that, they don¡¯t know much about the Battle Royale event, so they shouldn¡¯t have made any preparations for it.¡±


    The most headache-inducing thing was the fact that we can¡¯t use items, unique skill, and skills that we have. Well, in my case, a portal and a gun was enough. So, it didn¡¯t really bother me.


    I told both of them.


    ¡°As soon as we go outside, our abilities will be blocked. But we can just come back here, so there¡¯s no need to clear it. All we need to do is find a couple gryphons and we¡¯re done.¡±


    ¡°That means we really need the gryphon to be there¡­¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s not in Japan. The entrance to Russia was also found just recently.¡±


    Even at this moment, the survivors of the Seoul area were scouring through the first floor of the Great Labyrinth to find more entrance.


    My shelter member had gone down to the 7th floor, but the first floor was difficult enough for most people. On top of it, it was extremely chaotic, as a lot of foreigners came in and clashed with each other.


    Well, I don¡¯t have to worry about that, as Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok would surely take care of it.


    We started looking for the entrance to Tokyo. A few people in ragged clothings saw us and were startled before disappearing.


    Yuzuka whispered to me.


    ¡°They are Japanese.¡±


    ¡°It means the entrance is getting closer. Perhaps the people there know that it is okay to enter the Great Labyrinth.¡±


    But before we go, there¡¯s something to check.


    ¡°Seokhyun, bring just one person here if you can. And don¡¯t hit them, please.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Seeing something white in the dark, Seokhyun immediately ran out. A moment later, a young man was dragged towards us, screaming.


    ¡°Sa-save me! I-It¡¯s a Monster! I won¡¯t do it anymore!!! PLEASE!¡±


    ¡°You speak like a Japanese person.¡±


    ¡°But¡­I am?¡±


    ¡°Is that so? I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m not a monster.¡±


    ¡°T-then¡­?¡±


    ¡°I am the loveable Rabbit Pwincess!¡±


    Yuzuka asked me whether Seokhyun was serious with his words with her eyes. I pretended not to know her gaze and told the man.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that we caught you all of a sudden. Eat this first¡­¡±


    His eyes widened as I pulled out a canned food and a water bottle from my backpack.


    ¡°You just have to eat and talk. Ike¡­¡±


    ¡°I would like to know the detailed situation of Ikebukuro Station.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The man took turns looking at me and Yuzuka, then picked the canned food and ate it in haste. The spam disappeared in an instant, and the man burped only after gulping a lot of the water.


    ¡°Haha, I lived¡­ Are you really curious about the situation at Ikebukuro Station? It¡¯s hell there. No one survives.¡±


    ¡°What exactly is the situation?¡±


    He swallowed dry saliva.


    ¡°Thousands of monsters gathered in front of the entrance. There was also a mix of people and Monsters there. Heartbeat¡­ I can hear a lot of heartbeats there.¡±


    It seemed like in Japan, they called murderer a Monster. In fact, with the terror-inducing heartbeat sounds around, it could be said that a murderer gives a more threatening feeling than a real monster.


    What¡¯s strange was the fact that the murderers had come together.


    ¡°The Monster Alliance¡­ They are wandering around. Ikebukuro and all the neighboring areas were their territory.¡±


    Well¡­ Soon they would lose that so-called ¡®Territory¡¯.


    After we let the man go, we finally found the entrance. I wanted to leave right away, but I felt a little reluctant to be attacked. So, I thought it would be better to use a paper airplane here.


    I asked Yeowool to bring a paper airplane.


    ¡°What is that cute plane?¡±


    ¡°It will be our eyes and ears.¡±


    When the plane flew, Yeowool informed the situation in Tokyo in the comment. It¡¯s more chaotic than what I¡¯d been told.


    If so, there¡¯s only one way to do this.


    .


    .


    .


    The front of Parco Department Store at Ikebukuro Station was one of the most popular shopping areas in Tokyo. However, at the present, this area was crowded with many zombies, ghouls, and Monsters.


    The Battle Royale event started, but no one knew why it happened or how it ended. Thus, a very small number of survivors survived day by day by hiding and avoiding.


    Even if they tried to hunt properly, there were too many monsters, so they couldn¡¯t get their hands on it. As a result, the survivors around Ikebukuro Station were living off the Store bread and rainwater.


    But suddenly, a ray of light came down from the sky. There was a huge blue portal on the road right in front of Parco Department Store. A few people made a sacrifice by entering, and the news they brought was astonishing: The ¡®Shackles of War¡¯ debuff were not applied inside.


    Many survivors jumped into the blue gate, but they faced new challenges. It was too dark to move around. When the reinforced monsters and traps were added on top of it, a lot of people died helplessly.


    In other words, whether in reality or inside the portal, the danger was the same.


    Still, people did not hesitate to enter the door. The high level of experience given by monsters and the large number of item drops was one of the reasons. But being able to meet people from other countries was the biggest reason.


    Among them, there were many Koreans. Some survivors who met them posted on the Auction House.


    -The Koreans said this place was called The Great Labyrinth. It was unknown how many floors there are, but the one we entered is the first floor. Its difficulty is also said to be the lowest.


    -Bullshit. It¡¯s the characteristic of that country.


    -It looked like they were too well prepared for it to be a lie¡­ Their clothes and weapons are great.


    -They prepared for the end by themselves, after all. Of course they would be prepared.


    -They also use guns, so they must have known about the end in advance.


    -Anyway, those Joseon bastards are the root of evil.


    -Don¡¯t be like that. They are still kind enough to give us something to eat.


    -What the? Are you throwing your patriotism for mere food!?!?


    Being anonymous in the Auction House, all kinds of hate speech were flung around. Amidst that, some people were wary of the Koreans¡¯ power.


    -They are quite strong¡­ Most of them seemed to be over level 20.


    -It should be a lie, right? We don¡¯t even have someone over level 15.


    -Rumor has it that someone even has achieved level 40.


    -Do you believe that? Are you an idiot?


    -I heard that a guy named I Love Gimbap is particularly strong.


    -No matter how strong he is, if he gets caught by the Monster Alliance in Tokyo, it¡¯s over.


    -They¡¯re pretty strong, but they are evil.


    -Yeah, they are playing with other people¡¯s lives.


    -Emergency! An incident occurred in front of PARCO!


    -People who are nearby, go check it out. Though, I bet it was just the usual things.


    While most people did not take it seriously, Seongho used firecrackers to attract the attention of all the monsters around and quietly moved to a nearby building.


    Of course, his path was not completely hidden. A few Monsters who were watching the door moved quietly. And the hunters chasing after them moved with them.

 Chapter 195

    ¡®Let¡¯s do this¡­¡¯ Geom-in grabbed the gun tight and pointed it at his front. A scarab was sitting on his head, and the entrance to the underground ruins was revealed before his eyes. Now he just needs to enter, but fear begins creeping out from the deep of his mind, filling his heart. Maybe it¡¯s because he¡¯s alone.


    ¡®No, I¡¯m not alone. I have this scarab with me¡­¡¯ Though, it was the same as being alone, since it wouldn¡¯t be of much help in combat.


    ¡®Calm down, Bae Geom-in! If you just cower after saying all that stuff to Seongho, you¡¯ll just embarrass yourself.¡¯


    Even though he was basically the weakest among the four original stagnant waters, he was still a pillar that people could rely on. In the absence of Seongho, Seokhyun, and Da-jeong, he would be the one who should lead the others. Though, these days, his duty had become easier ever since that Soup Lov- No, Lee Sang-shin entered the shelter.


    ¡®I can do it.¡¯ Geom-in said as he chewed and swallowed the consumables sent by Seongho. It was really reassuring to see his stats go up in an instant. He then checked the active copied unique skill slot and nodded. Written there were Blink, Physical Strengthening, and Healing. The reason he did not choose restraint was because there¡¯s a possibility that he would have to deal with multiple enemies inside. Meanwhile, the other unique skills he had copied were just useless for exploration.


    ¡®I just have to win.¡¯ There¡¯s even the glowstone as his light source, so why should he be so concerned? If a monster appears, he can just spray it with bullets until it dies. Though, it wouldn¡¯t be a random spray, as he would need to reserve bullets.


    He took one step towards the entrance, but still hesitated in the end. After all, he was still too scared.


    At that moment, the scarab sitting on his head pulled his hair taut.


    -Why are we still here! Let¡¯s go in now!


    Geom-in felt that was what the scarab was saying.


    After taking a deep breath, Geom-in entered the cave entrance. When the scenery inside finally registered to his eyes, his words and breath were taken away from him. A huge hallway built with smooth carved stones was stretched to the depths of darkness. Above, the ceiling was not visible at all, with only darkness hanging there.


    ¡°Is this really made out of stone?¡±


    nod nod.


    He felt the scarab nodded proudly. It seemed like they were proud of their residence.


    But isn¡¯t this too big for a home?


    Geom-in walked down the hallway with many thoughts running through his head. At one point, a bright light suddenly appeared from the ceiling, and the entire hallway became slightly brighter.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡±


    Is that a light source with a motion sensor?


    Once again, he admired the skills of the scarabs, no, the dwarves.


    ¡°You guys weren¡¯t just a race that loves rocks, huh? Ah, Ah, AAAHHH!. Sorry. I didn¡¯t mean it like that!¡±


    That¡¯s the feeling their image gave off, but it must have been something they didn¡¯t like. After hearing the explanation from the scarab, Geom-in came to know that It turns out that ¡®a race that loves rocks¡¯ were something that was used by other races to mock the dwarves. In other words, it was a racial slur.


    ¡®Other races, huh?¡¯


    Geom-in always had this thought, but now he was sure that there¡¯s a lot of races living in the Lotus Continent, even though the only races that he and his group knew so far were only the humans, the elves, and the dwarves.


    They didn¡¯t tell them everything, but it seemed like a great disaster had happened on the Lotus Continent. From his estimation, it was huge enough to the extent that the entire civilization that existed on the continent was destroyed.


    It could be that the Lotus Continent was swept away by magic similar to what happened on Earth, or it could be the work of a monster that exists in the depths of the Great Labyrinth.


    ¡®What is certain is that there are definitely survivors.¡¯ They were either cursed like the scarabs and the stag beetles, or were currently living in secluded places.


    While Geom-in was walking while thinking about that stuff, the hair on his arms suddenly stood up straight. His highly-developed Perception stat told him that there¡¯s several enemies nearby.


    Well, it is a very big ruin, so it¡¯d be weird if there weren¡¯t any monsters at all.


    Geom-in put the gun in his hands away, then pulled out a long knife from the depth of his dimensional backpack.


    ¡®I won¡¯t grow If I keep relying on guns.¡¯


    Guns were a terrifying and effective weapon, but unfortunately, they weren¡¯t meant to be used continuously. When the bullets run out, they would turn into a useless piece of metal. Totally unfit to fight against monsters which could demolish buildings in one punch. To prevent that from happening, the scarabs were working hard on bullet production everyday. However, the quantity they produced was not a lot by any kind of measurement. Which means, they have to use it sparingly.


    ¡®If possible, let¡¯s end this by just using a long knife.¡¯


    As Geom-in¡¯s fist clenched the long knife¡¯s handle tight, monsters came out from the collapsed wall a few distance away on his right.


    Kiek-!!


    Karuruk-!!


    About twenty green skinned monsters and two orcs snarled at him. Geom-in took a step back from them, but soon after, he opened his chest proudly.


    ¡°I¡¯ve defeated a werewolf before. You bastards are no match for me.¡± Of course, he had received some support, but it was still a fact that he won the battle.


    Geom-in activated his Fighting Instinct skill and his overall stats increased even more.


    Bang-!!


    Noticing his momentum, the two orcs smashed their clubs to the floor and urged their subordinates. As the goblins giggled, veins appeared on the swordsman¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°You bastards! Do I look like a pushover to you?¡±


    Geom-in ran his long knife against the wall.


    Kiekkk-!!


    Thanks to the deafening high-pitched sounds, the goblins withdrew. It was also at that moment that Geom-in rushed towards the goblins with Blink. While a few of them were puzzled, he swung his long knife.


    ¡°Die!¡±


    One goblin¡¯s head flew off, and the curtain for Geom-in¡¯s first battle inside the cave rose.


    ¡°Huh, huh¡­¡± Geom-in hunched and breathed haphazardly. The fight was finally over. The monsters weren¡¯t that difficult to defeat, but the problem was that his Domination unique ability had once again failed to work. It was all fine up to the moment where he approached one of the orcs who was shouting, ordering the goblins around from behind and putting his hand on its body, but the guy suddenly had a seizure and swung his fist at him.


    ¡°My head is still shaking¡­ ah¡­¡± At the time with the gryphon, he thought that the difference between their level was the problem, but why did it fail against the orc too? It seemed like he had to tie up the monsters and use the ability more than once in order to tame it completely.


    Geom-in straightened his back and admired his work. Goblins were just mobs. However, there were only a handful of survivors who could fight against two orcs single handedly in a hand-to-hand battle.


    ¡°For a stagnant water, this is the least of what we should be able to do.¡± Excitedly, he shrugged his shoulders. However, his happiness was short-lived as the scarab began pulling his hair.


    He seemed to be saying why is Geom-in so slow in defeating the monsters.


    Turns out the scarab had often gone out with Seokhyun. Every time the scarab saw Seokhyun fight, the area around the battle would become wasted to the point that it¡¯s original view would no longer be recognizable, and as the scarab had become used to Seokhyun¡¯s battle, he naturally compared Geom-in¡¯s fight with Seokhyun¡¯s.


    ¡°You can¡¯t compare me with him.¡±


    By the way, where is this¡­


    While fighting the monsters, Geom-in moved a lot without paying attention to where he went. Only now did he realize that he had come to a different path from the path he walked before.


    Fortunately for him, the scarab showed him the way by pulling his hair to the direction they should go. As they walked, the ceiling brightened. Geom-in stuttered and found a space inside a collapsed door.


    ¡°What kind of place is this?¡± A lot of tools, crafting tables covered in dust, and extinguished braziers lay around inside the room. The scarab quickly went down to the floor and ran around. Then he pointed to a chest placed under a shelf.


    As Geom-in thought that it should be something important, he opened it.


    ¡°Wow, what is all this?¡±


    It was filled with magic metal ore, black coal, and ignition stones. This place must have been a workshop where the scarab worked before they were cursed into their current state.


    When Geom-in put his hand in and rummaged through it, to his surprise, several etherstones came out.


    ¡°This is it!¡±


    He was worried in case he went back to the shelter empty-handed. But to think that something this good had appeared¡­


    Geom-in was ecstatic, as he immediately started putting the ores and etherstones into his backpack.


    ¡°This place is better than I expected?¡±


    Then, the scarab started drawing a picture. He told Geom-in that if they keep going deeper, there would be a lot of better things inside. However, he also warned him that the deeper they went, the more dangerous it would be, as a lot of stronger monsters would also appear.


    Geom-in just shrugged his shoulders at the scarab¡¯s warning.


    ¡°Well, no pain no gain, right?¡±


    The scarab looked at him with a little admiration.


    The two remembered the location of the workshop and started going down.


    .


    .


    .


    We hid in the building next to the Parco Department Store. There was no problem getting out of the entrance thanks to the use of the firecrackers, but a few ghouls chased after us. There were even a couple grasshoppers in the mix, so it was quite chaotic. But thanks to Seokhyun, it all went well.


    Yuzuka looked down at the ground and murmured. ¡°It¡¯s so messy here¡­ When will people finally be able to gather in Japan again¡­¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be any time soon, maybe.¡± It¡¯s a pessimistic speculation on my part, but it was highly likely that this situation would remain for a long time. After all, there¡¯s no center ¡®pillar¡¯ for the survivors to gather around here, unlike in Korea.


    The Japanese government must have heard about the apocalypse from the Korean government, but it seemed like they decided not to take any action, and everything went up in flames. Thanks to that, the remaining Japanese survivors were making a lot of noise at the Auction House.


    By the way, in this area, the Monsters Alliance was the main power. According to the information gathered from the Auction House, monsters didn¡¯t attack them. In other words, there was a high probability of them having the Friendliness skill.


    Seokhyun looked out the window and said, ¡°I just noticed that a few guys followed us.¡±


    ¡°It must be people from the Monsters Alliance or something.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t they just murderers?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. They are just making it cooler by using a concept. They didn¡¯t fear death from the monsters as they have Friendliness skill, and they seem to find joy in working together to harass the survivors.¡±


    Yuzuka, who was listening, was startled. ¡°Friendliness? Such a skill exists?¡±


    ¡°It exists. The chances of getting it are very low, though. Moreover, you have to keep killing to keep it in your skill list. That means that the guy who has the Friendliness skill had at least killed a total of a hundred people.¡±


    ¡°I-is that so¡­¡±


    ¡°He will be strong.¡±


    ¡°He will be much stronger than that murderer we met in Changwon.¡±


    ¡°If I fight him now, I will be beaten to pulp, won¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°We should never meet him. At least for now.¡±


    The keyword is ¡®for now¡¯. After all, the Battle Royale battlefield was still active.


    I pulled out a map of the Tokyo neighborhood that Yuzuka had given me.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the size of the battlefield, but that¡¯s roughly the range.¡±


    After drawing dozens of circles in Tokyo Prefecture, Yuzuka sat down in dogeza and said, ¡°Battle Royale means people have to kill each other, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It will stay active until only one person left.¡±


    ¡°If they just hide without killing each other¡­¡±


    ¡°Then the ¡®Shackles of War¡¯ debuff would remain in effect, and people wouldn¡¯t be able to level up. Meanwhile, more monsters would keep spawning every night, so it would be very dangerous.¡±


    She said ah, and bit her mouth. To be honest, our goal was not to defeat the Monster Alliance. We went here to get two gryphons. There were rumors that it had been seen somewhere in Tokyo, but it rarely appeared. So we need to wait here for a while.


    ¡°For now, let¡¯s rest here for a while. Once we recover, we should go to this place.¡± Yuzuka was startled when I pointed to a part of the map.


    ¡°That¡¯s the Royal Palace.¡±


    ¡°There is a lot of green space around it. There will be few people too, so we definitely can end the battlefield there.¡±


    There would be people who were sacrificed in the process, but it was unavoidable.


    I thought Yuzuka was reluctant to kill people because of her bitter face, but that wasn¡¯t the case.


    ¡°Royal Palace, huh¡­¡± Just as she was about to say something, a voice came from the stairs outside.


    No heartbeat can be heard, so it¡¯s not a murderer¡­


    These guys were the type of guys who always moved around in groups.


    Seokhyun was about to leave but I stopped him.


    ¡°Yuzuka, let¡¯s work together.¡±


    ¡°What are we going to do?¡±


    ¡°I want you to become a bait to lure those guys.¡±


    ¡°After that?¡±


    ¡°I will paralyze him and dig up some information. It looks like they are following us on purpose.¡± I said as I brought out a paralyzing stinger from the backpack.


    Jiman had caught some poisonous frogs from somewhere and raised them. Perhaps because of his unique skill, the frogs were producing their poison at a faster rate compared to the time I did it alone.


    Yuzuka tilted her head, but her face hardened when I told her that this stinger was the very same stinger the goblin shoots.


    ¡°That paralyzing poison¡­¡±


    ¡°If it hits you, you will end up lying down without being able to move for around 20 to 30 minutes. Then we can just have some lunch while we¡¯re waiting for the effect to run out.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to Yuzuka.¡±


    Yuzuka rolled up her sleeves and grabbed her bow. Her unique skill was Archery. It came from the fact that she¡¯s well versed in archery, and the fact that she¡¯s so talented that she has won several competitions.


    Of course, that information was something that I got from his brother, Kenji.


    She walked towards the door cautiously while inhaling a deep breath. She saw someone appeared from the hallway and attacked her.


    ¡°Get away!¡±


    While they were facing each other, I put a paralyzing stinger in the rod and carefully aimed at the man before blowing it and letting it fly.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    The attacker made a suffocating sound and collapsed to the ground in an instant. Seokhyun jumped towards the man and dragged him inside.


    ¡°His hair is so long. I¡¯m offended.¡±


    ¡°I know right? He looks like a supporting character from some Japanese RPG game.¡±


    A pretty handsome man was lying on the floor with his eyes wide open. Believe it or not, men in Japan only wear shaggy cuts because barbers are expensive here.


    Yuzuka asked carefully.


    ¡°Now what?¡±


    ¡°We just have to wait. Let¡¯s just eat while we wait.¡±


    I took a snack from my backpack and ate with the two of them. The collapsed man¡¯s breathing became heavy and a rumble was heard from his stomach.


    I told him.


    ¡°If you behave and cooperate with us, I will feed you.¡±


    When we finished eating, the man¡¯s hands trembled. Seokhyun tied the man¡¯s whole body with a rope, and Yuzuka panicked.


    ¡°Is-is it really necessary to tie him up like that¡­¡±


    Indeed. He looked like someone you would see in an SM club.


    (T/N For those of you who don¡¯t know what SM club is¡­ Don¡¯t google it if you are not ready¡­)


    The man coughed and grinded his teeth.


    ¡°You guys¡­ who the hell are you?¡±


    ¡°I told you to behave, Didn¡¯t I? You know that even if I kill you here, I won¡¯t be considered as murderer, right?¡±


    He narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°You know quite a bit, huh?¡±


    ¡°I am.¡± To be exact, no one knows better than me, except for a few exceptions, such as the programmer I met in the Great Labyrinth. However, it wasn¡¯t something I should reveal here.


    ¡°Forget it, tell me your name. If you don¡¯t want to do it, I¡¯ll throw you outside in that state.¡±


    ¡°¡­Shintaro. Others called me Vengeful Shintaro.¡±


    Seokhyun muttered into Yuzuka¡¯s ear as soon as he heard his name.


    ¡°I think he got chuunibyou.¡± (P/n Ch¨±niby¨­ (Öжþ²¡) is a Japanese colloquial term typically used to describe early teens who have grandiose delusions, who desperately want to stand out, and who have convinced themselves that they have hidden knowledge or secret powers. Sometimes also called eight-grade syndrome. Sc : Wikipedia)


    ¡°Yuzuka thinks so too¡­¡¤¡±


    As the two of them said that, Shintaro¡¯s face turned red. But looking at how violent his heart is beating right now, I think he¡¯s really angry.


    ¡°Chuunibyou? What do you guys know! I lost everything to the Monster Alliance! I don¡¯t want to be under the same sky as them!¡±


    ¡°The Monster Alliance, huh? Then, you should know a little bit about them, right?¡±


    ¡°No one knows better than me.¡±


    ¡°Tell me. Then I¡¯ll give you a full meal. Moreover, I will release you.¡±


    Shintaro smirked.


    ¡°Do you think I will surrender to such an offer?.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good deal? You give information, I release you.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°You guys are very suspicious because you don¡¯t know much about the Monster Alliance. Judging from your looks, even though one of you is definitely a complete pervert, are you guys from Korea?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Then I have nothing to say.¡±


    As soon as he heard those words, Seokhyun pulled out a shotgun from my backpack and aimed it at him.


    ¡°Really? Just because we are from Korea? How about now?¡±


    Sweat dripped down Shintaro¡¯s temple as Seokhyun cocked the gun.


    ¡°Ask away. I¡¯ll answer everything you want to know.¡±

 Chapter 196

    So, my country is currently in a music Festival season. There¡¯s 3 or 4 music fest in a single week. That¡¯s the reason I can¡¯t translate much this month, have to play at stage again~ Tho, my schedule is calming down in 1 or 2 weeks¡­


    Shintaro Koyama, 25 years old. It was not an exaggeration to say that as an office worker from Gunma, he was lucky to survive the D-day. Then he came to Tokyo, thinking that in order to get food, he had to go to the city.


    There he met a woman. He became very close with her and even promised her that they would live together.


    Yuzuka¡¯s expression contorted as if she couldn¡¯t understand it.


    ¡°Why did you use your name? You shouldn¡¯t be called Vengeful Shintaro, but Vengeful Koyama instead¡­¡±


    Right¡­


    Japanese people rarely use their own name. They were more comfortable using their family name. Kenji also identified himself as Shiraishi in the letter.


    ¡°Well, I just want to be called that way.¡±


    As Seokhyun said, it seemed like he had a severe case of chuunibyou. Anyway, according to Shintaro¡¯s words, his story became a tragedy-tagged story; His lover was killed by the boss of the Monster Association.


    However, the way he said it was weird.


    Yuzuka continued to hurl one question after another, proof that she is feeling something strange about him. In the end, it was revealed that his lover, or should I say ex-lover, was still alive.


    Seokhyun, who was grooming his alter ego¨Cthe rabbit ears¨Csmiled.


    ¡°You mean you got NTR¡¯d?¡±


    ¡°AHHHHH! Don¡¯t say it like that!¡±


    ¡°Shuuush. Don¡¯t be too noisy unless you want to attract all the surrounding monsters.¡±


    When I threatened him softly, Shintaro shut his mouth and rolled his eyes. In summary, the boss of the Monster Alliance had taken Shintaro¡¯s lover and turned her into a Monster.


    Shintaro told us that he forced her to kill others before bringing her anywhere he goes. When a man and a woman are always together, it is impossible for them to have a pure relationship. Which means, at least, they would have been involved in a sexual relationship.


    Shintaro finally started to shed his tears.


    ¡°I, I worked hard to change Yoko back¡­ but it wasn¡¯t enough¡­ She¡¯s already turned into a Monster¡­¡±


    When someone become a murderer, they wouldn¡¯t feel anything at first. But the more they kill, the more difficult it is to control the urge. Later on, they would find ecstasy in killing, but their ending was always disastrous. They would be caught by a guy like me, got a reality check, and got killed.


    ¡°Do you know who Monster Alliance¡¯s boss is?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know his name, but I heard the Monsters called him Murayama-sama¡­¡±


    ¡°What is the size of the Monster Alliance?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I think they are a group of five or six¡­ about three of them aren¡¯t Monsters¡­¡±


    ¡°How strong is the boss?¡±


    Seokhyun asked while feeling excited, probably because he wants to fight a strong opponent, and Shintaro made an ambiguous expression.


    ¡°There are rumors that Murayama has surpassed level 25.¡±


    ¡°Forget it¡­¡± Seokhyun sighed.


    ¡°Hey. I guess because you came from Korea you don¡¯t know the situation well¡­¡±


    Yuzuka looked at me. I told her with my eyes that she didn¡¯t have to tell the guy about us. After all, as long as we managed to acquire the gryphons, it¡¯s all good.


    I asked a few more questions, and he answered obediently. Turns out, Monster Alliance wasn¡¯t as great as their name. They were just bunch of murderers who went under the umbrella of one particular murderer who had the Friendliness skill.


    I untied the rope that tied him up.


    ¡°I warned you, be quiet. Then I¡¯ll give you some food.¡±


    ¡°I know you guys are stronger than me¡­¡±


    I pulled out a couple of canned eggs from my backpack and instant side dishes from the backpack and put it in front of us. As it was a rarity, Yuzuka said she wanted to eat more, but she didn¡¯t eat it in the end.


    Shintaro¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Where did you get this canned food?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re surprised by this, but stayed unfazed seeing guns? Anyway, you¡¯ll only get hurt if you know, so just eat. If it¡¯s not enough, tell me.¡±


    ¡°The more I look at you, the weirder you are. Well, it¡¯s not as weird as that guy¡¯s attire though.¡±


    It seemed like even for the eyes of a chuunibyou like him, Seokhyun¡¯s over the top attire was quite shocking. He glanced at us and devoured the instant side dish and canned food.


    Only after he finished eating, he asked Yuzuka carefully.


    ¡°You look like a Japanese person.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°How did you end up with these dangerous Koreans?¡±


    She glanced at us and said.


    ¡°Yuzuka knows it¡¯s dangerous, but it¡¯s still better since there¡¯s a good chance that we¡¯ll survive.¡±


    ¡°Who the hell are they? What level are they?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure. All I know is that both of them are the strongest in Korea.¡±


    ¡°In Korea? So they should at least be level 20, right?¡±


    ¡°Yuzuka, let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    When Shintaro heard her name, he was surprised.


    ¡°Yuzuka? Is it possible that you are Shiraishi Yuzuka from Fukuoka?¡±


    It seemed like it was a name he recognized. Yuzuka felt bashful when her name was called. Meanwhile, Shintaro started talking to himself.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t those two a great combination? The strongest man in Korea and descendant of the royal family¡­¡±


    ¡°It is not like that. Yuzuka is just following him as payment. Moreover, the royal family is no more.¡±


    I had heard that Kenji and Yuzuka were noble descendants, but I didn¡¯t know they were part of the royal family.


    But she didn¡¯t seem to care. Seriously, what help would it be in this situation to say that you are a descendant of the royal family?


    I told her.


    ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t care who Yuzuka is. What¡¯s important is that we can help each other.¡±


    She smiled lightly.


    ¡°Yuzuka thinks that¡¯s good too.¡±


    But Shintaro had an ambiguous face at that moment.


    ¡°But you guys better not show Shiraishi-san to Murayama.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s looking for a member of the royal family. He seemed to be trying to influence people by making himself the focal point.¡±


    Seokhyun tilted her head as if strangely.


    ¡°Is that even possible for a murderer? He¡¯s going to become a problem for many people just by being close to them.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s definitely someone backing him up.¡±


    At my words, Shintaro said ah, and opened his mouth.


    ¡°Come to think of it, I heard Murayama often called him ¡®Mister¡¯. I don¡¯t know exactly who he¡¯s referring to, though.¡±


    The story just got complicated. We¡¯re here just to look for a few gryphons. However, as long as they were looking for Shiraishi, it was difficult to ignore them.


    The answer is simple.


    ¡°For now, we¡¯ll just do what we have to do. But if they decide to come, we¡¯ll answer accordingly.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s scold him with our fists.¡±


    Hearing our words, Shintaro smiled bitterly and shook his head.


    ¡°You guys are really clueless¡­¡±


    ¡°You talk too much¡­ Just leave.¡±


    When I told Shintaro so, he was taken aback.


    ¡°Leave? Can¡¯t I¡­ follow you?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t guarantee your safety.¡±


    After all, it¡¯s a Battle Royale battlefield. Which means, killing would not turn someone into a murderer.


    When Seokhyun made a terrifying expression on his face, Shintaro disappeared in a panic.


    Look at him¡­


    He ran through the wall. Looked like him knowing a lot of information was due to that unique skill. That was the best ability for running away in the apocalypse.


    I told both Yuzuka and Seokhyun.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go too. But since Yuzuka hates the Royal Palace¡­ Let¡¯s just find another battlefield.¡±


    She bowed her head to express her gratitude.


    ¡°Yuzuka is grateful. In my opinion, Odaiba would be good¡­ How about it?¡±


    Not bad.


    Like that, the battlefield to be cleared was decided. As we were all leaving the building, we heard a very weak heartbeat. It seemed to make fun of us as when we looked at its direction it instantly disappeared before coming back again when we decided to walk again.


    You want to do this, huh?


    Let¡¯s see who will outlast who.


    .


    .


    .


    Murayama of Monster Alliance heard an interesting report from his subordinates who roamed through Ikebukuro.


    ¡°Koreans? Is that true?¡±


    ¡°Yes. This is a fact that was confirmed through the paper airplane that Sakaguchi-sama sent.¡±


    Ozawa, who replied that way, was a difficult person for even Murayama to deal with. It was due to the fact that he¡¯s not his subordinate, but someone from the Sakaguchi Federation which was active in Roppongi.


    It was not a stretch to say that he¡¯s dispatched from a higher organization to his organization. But surprisingly, Ozawa was kind to Murayama. And that made Murayama happy.


    ¡°Koreans, huh? There is no reason for them to come here, so why?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps they want to see the situation here.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s the girl they are with?¡±


    ¡°It seems to be¡­ No, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s Japanese.¡±


    ¡°Should we treat her as a defector because she¡¯s hanging out with Koreans?¡±


    ¡°Sakaguchi-sama also expressed concern about that.¡±


    ¡°Then that¡¯s good. Our group had no choice but to step out.¡±


    The Monster Alliance, which exerts influence in the Ikebukuro area, consisted of a total of about 10 people. Its leader was, of course, Murayama. He¡¯s known as the strongest and worst Monster. His monstrous ability made him famous even to the other murderer.


    Murayama gathered more additional information. His original style was to act immediately. But since the other party was Korean, he wanted to prepare more thoroughly.


    ¡°Since they had passed through that dangerous passage, I¡¯m sure they aren¡¯t weak.¡±


    The dangerous passage he said refers to the Great Labyrinth. There were quite a few Koreans who played Survival Life, so a lot of them knew about the Great Labyrinth, but it couldn¡¯t be said the same for the Japanese.


    Ozawa bowed his head.


    ¡°Of course that¡¯s the case. But I believe Murayama-sama won¡¯t lose against them.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s only natural. First of all, I want to see some of their skills¡­ but the question is where they¡¯re going.¡±


    Ozawa said after contacting someone through the Auction House.


    ¡°Looks like they are going to Odaiba. They just crossed the bridge.¡±


    ¡°Follow them till the end.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    After a while, the two Monsters headed for Odaiba. But the news about the Koreans disappeared without a trace. It was also said that the paper planes launched by the Sakaguchi Federation were destroyed.


    When this happened, Murayama¡¯s eyes lit up with blood. He was fine with most things, but the thing he hated the most was causing trouble for the Sakaguchi Federation.


    He grinded his teeth in front of two of his men.


    ¡°Are you going to embarrass me for letting those guys go? I can¡¯t stand it any longer. I will go on my own.¡±


    But he couldn¡¯t¡­.


    Recognizing the seriousness of the case, Sakaguchi came to visit him personally.


    Sakaguchi Yosuke. He¡¯s someone who even Murayama¨Cwho is famous for being the most monstrous amongst Monsters¨C did not dare to be reckless against.


    The vertical slash scars across his face spoke enough volume about the man¡¯s past.


    ¡°You looked bad, Murayama-kun.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Because of those guys, I was in a bit of a hurry¡­¡±


    ¡°So, have you found them?¡±


    ¡°Not yet¡­¡±


    Sakaguchi, who was in his fifties, put his hand on his pocket and clicked his tongue.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll leave the matter to you, Murayama-kun. More than that, did you know who the woman who was with the two Koreans is?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s Shiraishi from Fukuoka. Heir to the blood of the old royal family.¡±


    ¡°Shiraishi, huh?¡±


    Sakaguchi pulled his hand out of pocket and opened it.


    ¡°To create a new Japan, we need a central point. Shiraishi is perfect for that role. Bring her to me. Alive, of course.¡±


    ¡°I will keep that in mind.¡±


    ¡°By the way, can I take a look this time? I want to see you fight.¡±


    Murayama could only laugh at that moment. The man was trying to show the prowess of their group to the other executives of Sakaguchi Federation.


    Sakaguchi brought his face closer to Murayama.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let your guard down. Those two Koreans¡­ They accurately shot down a paper airplane that flew 100 meters in the air with a bow. They are not normal.¡±


    Murayama couldn¡¯t believe it.


    Shooting something so small that flew 100 meter above them? Is that really possible?


    However, since Sakaguchi was someone he dared not to disobey, he just nodded.


    ¡°I will go on my own.¡±


    ¡°If Murayama-kun comes forward, I will be reassured. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Even though Murayama was the strongest and worst Monster, there was a reason why he treated Sakaguchi like that.


    Firearms.


    The Sakaguchi Federation was one of the few groups who had guns. They obtained information from Korea two weeks before the end of the world and completed the preparations. It was a remarkable act of action compared to the government¡¯s.


    Rumor has it that they hired a producer with experience in gun making from foreign country. Thanks to that, the Sakaguchi Federation had recently succeeded in securing several firearms.


    Even though it¡¯s a clumsy handmade gun, it didn¡¯t have any problems doing its job to kill people.


    Murayama was afraid of that.


    .


    .


    .


    Odaiba was an area with fewer monsters. All the people who worked on the artificial island before the end of the world fled to Bedtown. There was no way monsters would stay in such a commercial area where there¡¯s a little to none to eat.


    But it¡¯s weird¡­


    Even though it has fewer monsters, how can it be so empty?


    In addition, as they approached Odaiba Beach, the effect of the Shackles of War disappeared.


    Sakaguchi walked through Nozomi Bridge with Murayama and his men.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange¡­ the battlefield¡¯s shackles effect is gone.¡±


    ¡°It is already weird that there are no monsters at all¡­ It¡¯s also so quiet.¡±


    ¡°It sounds pretty loud to me, though.¡±


    What Sakaguchi talked about was the heartbeats of Monsters.


    Murayama hurriedly bowed his head.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Sakaguchi-sama.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. More importantly, are you confident in subduing the two Koreans?¡±


    ¡°Subduing?¡±


    ¡°I wanted to hear their story.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to say this, but I¡¯m sure they are in a worse situation than we are.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s precisely what I want to hear. Murayama-kun, please.¡±


    Murayama stared at him without saying a word. Rumors that Sakaguchi was Japanese-Korean have existed for a long time. He was supposed to be ruthless as someone who always followed a yakuza who had a big pachinko business, so it felt strange when he was told to subdue them.


    Did he want to hear news from his hometown?


    On the subject of Japanese-Korean,


    Murayama¡¯s lips twisted, but Sakaguchi couldn¡¯t see it. All of a sudden, his men start reporting that they¡¯d found someone on the beach in Odaiba.


    ¡°It¡¯s a woman and two guys who look Korean.¡±


    ¡°They must have been waiting. Then it would be wise to say hello. Go.¡±


    Sakaguchi, who took the lead, was followed by his men. Some of them were carrying backpacks with guns.


    Sakaguchi went down to Odaiba Beach and opened his mouth.


    ¡°The smell here is really unbearable.¡±


    Seongho, who was waiting for them, smiled.


    ¡°It¡¯s also unbearable for us who have been waiting, Sakaguchi.¡±


    The faces of Sakaguchi and Murayama contorted.


    How did he know their name?


    They didn¡¯t know that since the battlefield had been cleared. The effect of the ¡®Shackles of War¡¯ had disappeared, and Seongho as well as Seokhyun regained their original strength.


    Murayama stepped forward at that moment. It was a move he made to put pressure on the two of them through the intense heartbeat.


    But it turned out to be a complete failure.


    When the man who wore only panties and a rabbit headband pressed the switch on the boombox, a violent beat echoed on the beach.


    Thump, Thump, Thump, Thump, Thump, Thump!


    ¡°Yea!!!! SEEEEGGGGGSSS!!!!¡±


    The Japanese were mesmerized by the dazzling stick dance of the rabbit man. Meanwhile, Yuzuka couldn¡¯t help but close her eyes.

 Chapter 197

    As soon as the music stopped playing, Seokhyun put an end to his performance and pulled out the pole he used to do his pole dance from the ground. At around the same time, the people who were staring blankly at him jerked to their senses.


    ¡°Wh-what the hell?


    ¡°The heartbeats were so intense to the point I wanted to give myself in to the music.¡±


    Everyone looked at Seokhyun, taken aback. In particular, Murayama¡¯s shock was severe. When he was told that there¡¯s a man wearing a rabbit headband among the group, he¡¯s already feeling lost, but to think the very man was also doing something like this¡­


    ¡°Are you¡­ a Monster?¡±


    Yuzuka, who was standing next to Seongho, covered her mouth with her sleeve and suppressed a smirk. Meanwhile, Seongho laughed bitterly.


    ¡°If by Monster, you mean a murderer, then no.¡±


    ¡°Then, who are you?¡±


    ¡°Just¡­ a Monster Hunter with a rabbit headband?¡±


    ¡°What a joke. I want to hear your name.¡± Murayama pulled out a long knife and held it forward.


    Reciprocating, Seongho took out a mithril blade from his dimension slot.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that weapon the one which was sold in the shop for 8,000 points?¡± Murayama¡¯s men broke into a whisper as soon as they saw the mithril blade.


    ¡°There¡¯s really people who were able to afford it, huh?¡±


    The mithril blade was definitely longer than the long knife. On top of it, it also looked a league fancier than the long knife. Even Murayama couldn¡¯t hide his greed when he saw it.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t suit a guy like you.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying it suits you more? The Monster Murayama?¡±


    Murayama took a step forward and opened his chest.


    ¡°If you just give it to me, I will answer in kind. I will accept you as one of us, even though you are Korean.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°Please, just give up. Or else¡­¡±


    ¡°Do whatever you like.¡± Seongho shrugged his shoulders.


    Actually, he was wondering how great these guys were. However, after seeing them in person, he realized that his curiosity was nothing but a waste of time.


    As Seongho stood up, Seokhyun tightened his gloves.


    ¡°Should we start the seggs¡­ No, the game now?¡±


    Then from within the crowd, Sakaguchi came forward.


    ¡°Wait a minute, Murayama-kun, and you too, Korean. You, the girl back there¡­ Are you perhaps a Shiraishi?¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    ¡°And your full name is?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Shiraishi Yuzuka.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good¡­ That¡¯s good¡­.¡±


    Sakaguchi put his hand on his sleeve, seemingly in a good mood.


    Yuzuka shook her head violently. ¡°Yuzuka is indeed a member of the Shiraishi family. But it means nothing now. Yuzuka is just someone who is struggling to live.¡±


    Sakaguchi opened his eyes and took his hand out from his sleeve.


    ¡°It would be difficult to travel around with those Koreans. How about entrusting yourself to us? No, this is a must-do. We need you.¡±


    ¡°Yuzuka don¡¯t need you.¡±


    ¡°Looks like you have been stained by them.¡±


    When Sakaguchi was about to say something more, Seongho stepped up in front of Yuzuka.


    ¡°This is the end of your Q&A session.¡±


    ¡°Then what will start?¡±


    ¡°A skill demonstration event. This is the first and last warning I will give you. If you guys just go back, I won¡¯t bother chasing you. Because it¡¯s annoying.¡±


    Murayama laughed.


    ¡°Haha, you¡¯re talking as if you have a different purpose for coming here. I wonder what your great purpose is¡­¡±


    Seongho didn¡¯t want to tell him, but he decided to throw in the bait first.


    ¡°I came here for the gryphon. It¡¯s a giant flying monster, have you ever seen it?¡±


    At that moment, one of Sakaguchi¡¯s subordinates whispered into Sakaguchi¡¯s ears.


    ¡°He seems to be referring to the owner of the large nest in the Mori Tower.¡±


    He said it in a very low volume, but Seongho, who has extra-sensory skills, heard it as if it was said in a conversational volume.


    ¡°Oh, there was a nest there? Thank you.¡±


    The Japanese were stunned at that moment.


    How the hell was he able to hear that?


    Sakaguchi smiled faintly.


    ¡°Looks like you are quite capable. Let me make one last suggestion. Come under me.¡±


    ¡°I refuse.¡±


    ¡°Will you still refuse after seeing this I wonder¡­¡± Sakaguchi winked to his men after saying his bits. Taking it as a signal, all his men pulled out their guns.


    Seongho almost laughed out loud at their actions. After all, the guns they pulled were laughably shabby.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that just an iron stick? Can it shoot something out?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s something that can be used to kill people.¡±


    ¡°I still refuse.¡±


    ¡°Looks like you want to die. Then, Murayama-kun, please.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me.¡±


    The Monsters, including Murayama, smirked.


    ¡°Let me ask you one thing. My underlings who should be here. Where are they?¡± Murayama asked as he walked over.


    Seokhyun turned his head towards the sea.


    ¡°You mean those things?¡±


    When Murayama followed Seokhyun¡¯s gaze, he could see something floating in the water off Odaiba Shore. It didn¡¯t take him long to realize that it was floating dead bodies, scattered around the sea.


    Quite instantly, blood seeped into the eyes of the Monsters, including Murayama.


    ¡°You fucker!!!¡±


    ¡°Come.¡±


    When Seokhyun cracked his fist, Murayama, unable to bear it, rushed in. The Japanese who saw it were sure that the bald rabbit man would be pierced by the long knife wielded by Murayama, the strongest and most evil Monster.


    But betraying their confidence, it was Murayama who spewed blood from his mouth as soon as the two clashed against each other.


    ¡°Keuk!¡±


    One punch that Seokhyun roughly threw left Murayama out cold. Moreover, the long knife he swung was caught in Seokhyun¡¯s hand without even leaving a scratch on it.


    Sakaguchi couldn¡¯t believe the scene in front of him.


    How could a human being catch a long knife with their bare hand?


    Oblivious to Sakaguchi¡¯s thoughts, Seokhyun grabbed Murayama¡¯s neck with one hand and lifted his body up.


    ¡°What should I do with him?¡±


    ¡°Kill him.¡±


    ¡°What about those guys?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of them.¡±


    As soon as those words were finished, Seokhyun threw Murayama¡¯s body at the other Monsters. The one-sided violence continued at that moment. They were quite strong Monsters, but they were far from being able to stand against Seokhyun¡¯s onslaught. One blow from his fist broke the ribs and crushed the chest of a lot of Monsters. Meanwhile, some Monsters who were hit in the skull were killed instantly. Thanks to that, the amount of pounding heartbeat was reduced in real time.


    At this point, Sakaguchi was terrified.


    ¡°Shoot, shoot!¡±


    ¡°U-Uh, I can¡¯t see him! I can¡¯t shoot!¡±


    According to his subordinates, Seokhyun¡¯s movements were so fast that it was impossible to take an aim at him.


    ¡°Shoot the other guy, then!¡±


    But no one shot Seongho. After all, just before they squeezed the trigger, emeras throwing knives flew through the air.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    ¡°Kuaaak!¡±


    When the throwing knives stabbed onto their arms, Sakaguchi¡¯s subordinates dropped their guns at once.


    Seongho rushed in at that moment, without missing a gap.


    Puck-!! Puck-!! Puck-!!


    The stats of Seongho and the Japanese, who were close to a normal human being due to the stalled growth, was incomparable. It only takes one of his light fists to leave their body in a tattered state.


    Sakaguchi also counterattacked, but he had to witness his attack finding nothing but air.


    ¡®How? How is he moving so fast?¡¯


    In his eyes, Seongho¡¯s movements were only seen as afterimages. On top of it, his fists were also greatly enlarged. It was as if it was a giant boulder rolling at him after rolling through a long and very steep slope.


    Crack!!


    When Seongho¡¯s fist landed on Sakaguchi¡¯s body, he could hear an ominous sound of something breaking from his body. His waist bent strangely and foam spurted out of his mouth.


    On the other hand, Yuzuka, who had completely become a spectator, was shocked.


    ¡®Even though I know that they are strong, I never thought they would be this strong¡­¡¯


    According to the information from the Auction House, Murayama and Sakaguchi were the strongest in Tokyo. However, Seongho and Seokhyun crushed them in the blink of an eye. She couldn¡¯t help but to compliment her old self who decided to cooperate with Seongho. She would also make sure that this cooperation continues for long. Although there¡¯s not much that she could give to him, she was confident that she would be able to find something that she can do for him.


    All the Monsters died at Seokhyun¡¯s hand, while Sakaguchi and the several survivors were tied with ropes. The two began to drag the three tied up like that towards somewhere.


    Yuzuka hurriedly followed them.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡±


    ¡°We are going to the ghoul flower. We have to deal with them.¡±


    The reason there were no monsters in Odaiba was precisely because of the existence of a huge ghoul flower. It was smaller than the one in front of the museum, but it was still much bigger than normal. Seongho was going to feed the guys into it before killing it.


    Seokhyun, who was pulling the rope, looked towards Yuzuka and asked.


    ¡°Are you feeling sorry for your dead countrymen?¡±


    Yuzuka shook her head.


    ¡°Such a thing as nationalism is meaningless in this situation. There are only allies, or enemies.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a great mindset. I like it.¡± Seokhyun put her thumb up towards her and she smiled awkwardly.


    As Sakaguchi was dragged behind the three, he began to tremble.


    ¡°I, I have the same blood as you! I am a Korean!¡±


    But Seongho¡¯s reaction was cold at best at the sudden revelation.


    ¡°So what?¡±


    ¡°I-if you spare me, I will give you the Sakaguchi Federation! Please!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll take care of it even if you don¡¯t give it to us.¡±


    ¡°You are wrong from the very first step you know. How can you step on the tail of the demon?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about, you bunny monster?¡± Seongho chided.


    As the two quarreled, Sakaguchi was flabbergasted.


    ¡°Are you ignoring the Sakaguchi Federation? Do you know how many guns my men had-¡±


    However, when Seongho took out a heavy machine gun from the dimension slot, he could not continue to speak.


    ¡°Aside from this gun, I also have a heavy machine gun that fires hundreds of 12.7mm AP rounds per minute.¡±


    ¡°Th-that gun was for military use only¡­ how can you have that?¡±


    ¡°You can think about it on the way to the afterlife.¡±


    Seongho put the heavy machine gun back into the dimension slot and hastened his steps. Soon, he saw a ghoul flower in the half-collapsed building. Because there was nothing to eat around, the whips of this particular plant were extremely long.


    Whack-!!


    Sound of air being ripped could be heard at that moment. Right after that, a whip struck right in front of the group. The floor cracked and the concrete was scattered in all directions.


    Sakaguchi was now paler than ever. He then screamed. ¡°Please! Please! Spare my life!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ve never spared anyone in a situation like this. I like to keep things neat.¡±


    Seongho said so and blinked at Seokhyun. The three tied to the ropes were torn apart by the power of the ghoul flower¡¯s whip, and the ghoul flower pulled them.


    ¡°ACKKKKKKKKK!¡±


    Sakaguchi¡¯s screams rang out loudly, and the whip slashed through the three of them. With an ominous sound, Sakaguchi dropped to the ground. The whip took the three carefully and began to move them to its core.


    After they disappeared, Seongho broke into the lobby with a flamethrower and burned the core.


    .


    .


    .


    After wrapping the business in Odaiba, I went back to Roppongi using the motorbike. However, since a lot of Battle Royale battlefields were still active, the journey was harder than I¡¯d like it to be. Of course, that alone couldn¡¯t stop my plan to rob the Sakaguchi Federation.


    There¡¯s a good way to do this. I opened the Auction House. If I tell them the truth, a lot of people would be confused.


    -Murayama and Sakaguchi died in Odaiba.


    Unsurprisingly, a few people started to hurl colorful words at my statement. It seemed like there¡¯s a lot of Auction House addicts too here as well.


    -Who are you?


    -I am a Korean who comes from the Great Labyrinth. I took Murayama and Sakaguchi into Odaiba and killed them.


    -Wow, you¡¯re so good at lying!


    -Where¡¯s the evidence? Of course you don¡¯t have it!


    -The others may not know, but the Sakaguchi Federation members will know. Listen carefully. I¡¯ll be coming for you guys, so best prepare.


    -Heyy, Korean. Let me ask you one thing. If you met Sakaguchi, you would know what his gun looks like, right?


    -It looked like an iron stick. It didn¡¯t look like a gun.


    -You are telling the truth, huh?


    The person who asked me was probably a member of the Sakaguchi Federation. When things got weird, the comments suddenly increased. Most of them were of course words written to provoke me. However, there were also a lot of comments that highly evaluated Murayama. After all, he¡¯s someone who was famous for occupying Ikebukuro, the center of Tokyo.


    -Murayama is the strongest and worst Monster¡­ He¡¯s probably over level 25 right now. You said you killed such a guy?


    -What level are you?


    -40.


    When I revealed my level, the Auction House was instantly filled with mocking.


    -What a funny comedian!


    -Low intelligent joseon bastard. Even if it¡¯s a lie, you should do it in moderation.


    -Whether you believe it or not, my level will stay at 40. I also have one thing to tell you. See the big flowers all over the place? They¡¯re called ghoul flowers. Sooner or later, it will explode and start overturning the ground. A new world will open up in front of your eyes.


    -It¡¯s only going to destroy the ground, so what¡¯s the problem?


    -The ghoul flower is spreading its roots underground even at this moment. If it flips over at once, it would be a mess. Wouldn¡¯t it be more comfortable to walk and run on flat ground rather than walk and run in the mountains?


    The comments that made fun of me immediately stopped.


    Then someone asked.


    -Just who are you!


    -You don¡¯t need to know. After all, you all will be dead soon. I predict in a year or so, 90% of those giggling here will die since the environment will get worse and stronger monsters will start coming out.


    ¨C I know who you are. Are you the I Love Gimbap, who was famous there?


    It seemed like not everyone here was oblivious to what¡¯s happening in the other place.


    -Hey¡­ Then what should we do?


    -This battlefield shackles or something is so annoying.


    -It says that we need to kill people, but what the hell are we really supposed to do?


    -You¡¯ll have to find out what to do by yourself. Why asking me?


    When I posted a comment like that, swear words came up one after another.


    At that moment, I gave them an ultimatum.


    -I will take good care of everyone who wants to meet me, so come to Roppongi. There is a tall building there, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯ll wait for you there.


    -Wait there. I will kill you.


    -Everyone, let¡¯s go hunt that joseon bastard!


    Come quickly!


    I waited for them.


    .


    .


    .


    There was a great commotion around Roppongi. The place was occupied by the Sakaguchi Federation, but a lot of survivors suddenly came. Since the more people, the more monsters was the setting of Survival Life, the noisy Roppongi area was now more chaotic than ever.


    ¡°Now I can move actively.¡±


    Seongho took advantage of the confusion of the Sakaguchi Federation and stormed into their base. The Shackles of War debuff was still influencing him, but since he had a lot of guns, no one could stop him.


    He killed the gang members and scoured the Mori Tower for supplies.


    ¡°These guys had collected quite a lot¡­¡± Medical supplies, groceries, and all of his favourite items were piled up. Meanwhile, heat surged from the crude blast furnace installed in the corner. It seemed like they made a gun using that thing.


    Seongho opened the portal and took all the supplies. Then someone grabbed his hand and pulled him closer just before he walked out once again. When he was about to say something to whoever it was, he realized it was Da-jeong who pulled him.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing in Tokyo? I can¡¯t go out.¡± She said angrily,


    The Shackle of War also blocked all additional effects except for the very first one. Thanks to that, no one except Seongho could use the portal as of now.


    ¡°Hang in there. I¡¯m working on it right now.¡±


    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t the gryphon more important than supplies?¡± She said as she kicked a cardboard box lying on the floor.


    That¡¯s not wrong¡­


    But Seongho also had something to say.


    ¡°I¡¯m in the middle of hunting it. My next stop is Roppongi Mori Tower. There¡¯s a nest on top of it. I¡¯m going to lure the guy to Odaiba. The battlefield there is already closed, so you would be able to go out.¡±


    Odaiba was currently the only place in Tokyo where he could use his original abilities.


    Da-jeong¡¯s eyes became friendly when she knew Seongho¡¯s plan.


    ¡°Okay then¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait just a little bit longer, I¡¯ll let you fly on a gryphon soon.¡±


    ¡°If I dominate it here, how can I take it to Korea?¡±


    ¡°You can put it in my dimensional warehouse and take it out once we are back in Korea.¡±


    Da-jeong, who understood, poured a deep kiss on Seongho at that moment.


    ¡°Well! Ummm, sorry for the misunderstanding. I thought you were having an affair with Yuzuka.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s in a good mood with Seokhyun, though?¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Of course not¡­. It was unlikely that there would be a person who could communicate with that person.


    As Seongho moved to the Roppongi Mori Tower and explored the upper floors, he heard the sound of footsteps from the floor below.


    ¡°Above! The Joseon bastard is upstairs!¡±


    ¡°Kill him!!!¡±


    Seongho deliberately made loud footsteps and started going up the stairs. After climbing another floor, a large nest nestled between two collapsed roofs greets Seongho.


    ¡°It really is a gryphon¡¯s nest.¡±


    Seongho hurriedly ran and tried to take the gryphon egg laying on the nest away. Unfortunately, he was lacking strength.


    ¡°Dammit. Why is it so heavy?¡±


    It was only natural that he¡¯s too weak to lift it, as a gryphon¡¯s newborn cub was bigger than a human.


    Seongho called the portal at that moment and started pushing the big egg towards it with his body. The wind blew as the eggs began to be pushed out of the nest little by little.


    Seongho looked up at the sky and grinned. It was due to the fact that the parent of the egg he was about to steal was hovering there.


    ¡°Hello?¡±


    The gryphon¡¯s eyes widened as it found the egg thief.


    KIAAAAAAAAK-!!

 Chapter 198

    In the Lotus continent, a dimension away from Tokyo, Geom-in was still in his journey to dive deeper into the ruins. As he walked down the dark hallway, he felt the thought of wanting to go home grew stronger than ever. He longed for the shelter that had everything, from food, convenience, safety, and entertainment. However, he knew that everyone would be disappointed if he returned without gaining much.


    Of course, what he had gained so far was already considerable, but¡­


    Geom-in stopped and unpacked his dimensional backpack. It was full of resources he obtained here, such as ore, items, and crops. They were all things that would make the shelter and the members richer than ever. In particular, the Earth Chestnut impressed him the most.


    ¡¸Earth Chestnut¡¹


    ¡¸Effect: Strength +2 for 3 minutes¡¹


    Although the duration was short, it¡¯s not a big problem as it would increase significantly if it was raised correctly.


    ¡°Good good.¡±


    Geom-in closed his backpack and continued his journey. He was following the scarab¡¯s lead, but after some time, he couldn¡¯t help but get suspicious. After all, there¡¯s several occasions where he would have to crawl to get somewhere when there¡¯s a big road next to it.


    However, he couldn¡¯t say anything about it. The scarab, who at the start of this delve was still considerably playful, was now unexpectedly solemn.


    ¡®Just what¡¯s going on¡­¡¯


    The scarabs have a pretty pleasant personality. This was a fact known only to Jiman and Geom-in, who often hung out with them. They did body gags among themselves when they were not working, which was quite funny. It was really strange that that jolly guy was just quietly sitting on his head while telling him the way using his hair.


    ¡®It¡¯s already been 3 days since I came here¡­ I¡¯m slowly getting used to it.¡¯


    He¡¯d become quite proficient in living alone and hunting for food. Compared to his former self, he could say that he had become more mature now..


    ¡®I grew up.¡¯


    He wanted to show it to the members of the shelter, but there was no way back right now. Seongho said that he would come up with a way when he finished his work, so he had no choice but to explore while waiting for him.


    Geom-in proceeded carefully as the scarab kept telling him with the way. The air was thick down here so it was quite difficult to breathe. According to the scarab, there was originally an air conditioner down here, but it was no longer working.


    ¡°You guys are incredible. How did you guys even get cursed?¡±


    Instead of explaining, the scarab just pulled some of his hair taut. Geom-in stopped in place and pointed the flash in his hand into the stone wall. Just then, a huge mural painted on top of the dark wall was revealed.


    ¡°What is this¡­¡±


    The mural was expressing the appearance of a certain monster and everything under the sun¡­ It probably refers to the race and civilization of Lotus. The monster in the mural was covering the sun and trying to swallow it all with its tentacles.


    Geom-in looked silently and realized that its looks were similar to the characteristics of the nurse that Seongho spoke of.


    ¡°Ghoul flowers, too, have a lot of tentacles. Ouch.¡±


    The scarab pulled his hair again. He then did what it wanted; lighting the corner with a flash. In that part of the mural, some people were reaching out to the monster.


    ¡°Are they¡­ worshiping it? Ah, they were mentally manipulated by the monster¡­¡±


    The scarab seemed to be very angry by his interpretation, so he slid down to the ground before starting to paint on the floor. According to the guy, this mural was the depiction of the destruction of the Lotus civilization. The identity of the monster was probably the same one as the monster which was said to be in the depths of the Great Labyrinth.


    ¡°The people who are praising it are people like programmer Ahn Geun-seok¡­¡±


    Seeing people praising them to such an extent, it was clear that the monster had the ability to reach the spiritual realm.


    ¡°It¡¯s a monster that destroyed a civilization¡­ It will be hard to fight it.¡±


    Then the scarab pounded Geom-in shoe with its front leg. It felt like it was telling him not to worry. Then he painted a new picture. It was a certain place in the southern part of the Lotus continent.


    ¡°Where is this?¡±


    The scarab staggered while holding its head at that moment before standing once again and making an X with his hands.


    ¡°Oh, you mean to defend against mental attacks? Is there such an item here?¡±


    Seongho also has a ring with a mental resistance option, but that would be different from the thing the scarab drew.


    It¡¯s not finished yet¡­ A monster attacked the researchers while they were researching¡­ So he didn¡¯t know the details¡­


    The picture seemed to say so.


    Probably because it was the humans of the Lotus continent who did the research, the scarabs didn¡¯t know about it.


    Geom-in scratched his head.


    ¡°There are really humans in the Lotus continent? I have never seen it.¡± The owner of the leather bag that Seongho found was supposed to be a human, but they had never actually seen one.


    The scarab pointed to Geom-in with its forelegs.


    -Same as you.


    The guy seemed to be saying that.


    Geom-in suddenly came to his senses. They were very smart, so wouldn¡¯t it be much easier to communicate if he taught them Hangul?


    ¡°Do you have any plans to learn Korean?¡±


    The scarab clumsily drew Seongho¡¯s face. He told Geom-in that at first he had planned to teach them to read it, but Seongho was so busy that he forgot.


    ¡°He must have forgotten because he was busy running around in Busan. Don¡¯t worry, there are a lot of other people who can help now, and I will also teach you.¡±


    Nod nod.


    The scarab climbed again after that into his head. Geom-in took a picture of the mural with the smartphone that the shelter members handed over through the Auction House before leaving.


    When he returned to the shelter, there¡¯s a printer there, so he would be able to print it out.


    By the way¡­


    ¡°I want to go home¡­¡±


    The scarab tapped him on the head as if telling him to get stronger right away.


    With a sigh, Geom-in forced his body to move forward.


    .


    .


    .


    Most living things had an instinct to protect their younglings. Gryphons¨Cwhich was an apex predator¨Cwas no exception. It was furious when it saw a human dared to try to steal its egg.


    Kiaaaaaaakkk-!!


    The gryphon descended straight down, trying to grab the human with its claws. However, the human used its own egg as a shield and jumped here and there to dodge.


    It really couldn¡¯t be more angry.


    Hiding behind my precious egg!


    As the gryphon was about to land on the roof, the human began to push the egg.


    ¡°Kiaaak!!!¡±


    When the gryphon tried to approach the human, oddly enough, the egg and the human disappeared. The gryphon tilted its head without knowing what to do.


    Meanwhile, Seongho, who entered the portal, lost his strength and fell to the ground. The eggs started rolling and commotion instantly broke out in the shelter.


    ¡°What is that!¡±


    ¡°UWAAAAH! Something is rolling!¡±


    With Mikyung¡¯s scream as a cue, people rushed out and stopped the egg. Only when the rolling egg was stopped did everyone realized that Seongho was also there.


    ¡°Hyung, what is this?¡± Yoohyeon asked.


    ¡°Just what are you doing outside?¡± Said Sooyeon while sighing.


    ¡°That¡¯s a gryphon¡¯s egg.¡± Seongho dusted the dirt on his ass and got up. He then called Jiman. ¡°Take care of this. Even in the shelter, I must have a mount.¡±


    ¡°But I can¡¯t control monsters, though?¡±


    ¡°Da-jeong will take care of that part.¡±


    ¡°You kept giving him more work. Jiman is busy gardening, catching fish and raising animals.¡±


    They live together, but the workload was particularly concentrated on Jiman. He went to bed late and woke up early as he had a lot of work to do, but Seongho couldn¡¯t help it. After all, Jiman himself said he was enjoying it.


    Seongho patted Jiman on the shoulder.


    ¡°Can you do it?¡±


    ¡°Of course. More importantly, Hyung. Look at the hornbills.¡±


    As Jiman whistled, two small ostrich-like birds ran towards them. Seongho couldn¡¯t keep his mouth open as he looked at them.


    Aren¡¯t these hornbills born only a few days ago?


    ¡°How can they grow so fast?¡±


    ¡°I guess it was their species¡¯ traits. Look at them, their fit is good. They are so cute, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°Their name?¡±


    ¡°This guy here is Beaky and this one is Leggy.¡±


    ¡°Your naming sense is just as bad as mine¡­¡±


    Anyway, the shelter was running without any problems.


    Seongho opened the portal again and looked outside. The Japanese who followed him up to the roof were being harassed by the gryphon.


    ¡°ACKKKK!¡±


    ¡°H-help me! Keuukk-¡±


    The sight could only be seen by him at the moment, so no one in the shelter knows what¡¯s happening.


    Seongho took advantage of the gryphon¡¯s killing spree and went out of the portal. But as soon as the gryphon found him, it roared angrily.


    Kiaaaaaak-!!


    It was a roar that felt like it vowed to chase him even if he ran away to hell.


    Seongho went down to the ground and took out his motorcycle. When he started the engine, the gryphon was jumping to the sky with its eyes on him.


    Vrrrrooommmm-!!


    As the motorcycle ran, the gryphon began to follow it.


    .


    .


    .


    Seokhyun and Yuzuka were waiting for someone in front of the Frontier Building. In fact, Yuzuka had never seen a gryphon before, so she was quite looking forward to it.


    ¡°How do you catch a gryphon? Yuzuka is curious.¡±


    ¡°We will jump on top of it and tame it, though, not really killing it.¡±


    ¡°Is that possible?¡±


    ¡°There is this very scary woman called the Queen of Monsters. She will do the taming part.¡±


    ¡°I have heard about her, but I didn¡¯t know it was possible to tame such a big monster.¡±


    Seokhyun just shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I¡¯m not sure either. Gryphon is a high level monster, after all.¡±


    ¡°Yuzuka is¡­¡±


    When she was about to say something, Seokhyun suddenly put one of his arms in front of her.


    ¡°He¡¯s here.¡±


    ¡°Where¡­ ah!¡±


    The two found a motorcycle and a giant gryphon running down the Ariake Bridge. The guy on the sky was clearly angry, judging by the fact it intermittently folded its wings in an attempt to attack Seongho. However, the motorcycle dodged the attack skillfully. When its attack missed, the gryphon turned over and flew back into the sky.


    Yuzuka was mesmerized at the scene.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡±


    It was like a scene from a movie.


    ¡°Get ready!¡±


    When Seongho shouted, Seokhyun started to spin the rope he had tied beforehand.


    What are you trying to do?


    While Yuzuka was curious, a motorcycle passed the two of them.


    Kiaaaakkk-!!


    It was at that time that the gryphon attempted a dive. Seokhyun threw the rope around the gryphon¡¯s neck at that moment. When the gryphon went back to the sky, Seokhyun¡¯s body was swept away by the power.


    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous!¡±


    Seokhyun pulled the rope and got on the gryphon¡¯s neck using the recoil without listening to Yuzuka¡¯s concerned scream. He then smashed his fist into the back of its head.


    ¡°Fall!¡±


    Kiaaaaakk-!!


    The gryphon, who was beaten on top of being ridden by a human out of nowhere, lost its mind. However, before it could retaliate in anger, the gryphon lost its strength from several more punches and fell to the ground.


    For Yuzuka, what she was currently seeing felt like a dream. She couldn¡¯t figure out what had happened or how it¡¯s going to go.


    ¡°Yuzuka!¡±


    Seongho, who passed her with a motorcycle a few moments ago, returned and extended her arms to her. The moment Yuzuka stretched out her arms, he effortlessly pulled her and swung her into the passenger seat. They then drove to the stunned gryphon.


    ¡°I think you hit it too hard?¡±


    When Seongho said so, Seokhyun scratched his head.


    ¡°I mean, it¡¯s not dead.¡±


    ¡°Well, we should feed it some potions or we are doomed.¡±


    Seongho opened the portal and summoned Da-jeong. Yuzuka already knew everything, so he didn¡¯t feel the need to hide it. She must have a lot of questions, but seeing that she endured to not ask until the end, she¡¯s indeed a very wise person.


    The moment Da-jeong walked out and saw the gryphon, she screamed.


    ¡°My gryphon! WHO DID THIS TO YOU! IT MUST BE YOU!!¡±


    ¡°I failed to control my power.¡±


    Surprisingly, Da-jeong did not kick his ass this time around.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let it slide since you have worked hard this time.¡±


    Da-jeong placed her hand on the gryphon¡¯s beak, and a golden glow covered her hand and the beak. After that, she took a potion and fed it to the gryphon.


    ¡°Good boy~ Drink this and cheer up.¡±


    The gryphon¡¯s eyes widened as if it heard her wish. It then stood up and spread its wings wide. The eyes that were staring at Seongho as if to kill him had also disappeared.


    Da-jeong, who was excited, climbed onto the gryphon¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Hop on!¡±


    As the three of them climbed onto its back, the guy flapped its wings vigorously and flew away. Although it had been hit by Seokhyun¡¯s fist, it recovered quickly due to Da-jeong¡¯s unique skill, as well as its additional effects. Moreover, its physical abilities were also greatly strengthened.


    The four watched the sky over Tokyo from the back of the gryphon.


    Yuzuka was blown away by the wind and couldn¡¯t open her eyes, but at some point she opened her eyes wide. The reason was because the road began to collapse. It wasn¡¯t just a part of it, it was happening all over Tokyo. Monsters and people alike were screaming on top of their lungs as they were caught up in the collapse.


    In the end, the Midtown Tower, which had stood firm in the face of an earthquake with a magnitude of 8, the huge tower that had even survived the corrosive disease, fell to the ground. When the entire 54-story building collapsed, the ground shook.


    ¡°Tokyo is¡­!¡±


    Seongho silently watched Tokyo being destroyed. He had expected it to happen, but he never thought it would happen this fast. However, it happened not only in Tokyo, but in all places with ghoul flowers.


    The ground was turned over, buildings were collapsing, and traces of humanity gradually disappeared. Soon, there would be no more trace of modern civilization, as the ecosystem of the Lotus Continent would take its place.


    The only safe place from this disaster was the part of Seoul where ghoul flowers were actively culled.


    Seongho said to Da-jeong.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the entrance of the Great Labyrinth.¡±


    ¡°Are we going home already? Okay.¡±


    She turned the gryphon¡¯s head. Upon receiving her command, the gryphon flapped its wings vigorously.


    .


    .


    .


    Before leaving Japan. I went through their Auction House and bought all the elderwood sold there. The Japanese didn¡¯t know about the totem, so they don¡¯t know what those are used for. Some cite the elderwood longbow as an example and say that the price would rise later, but few have shown interest.


    Therefore, the ¡®useless¡¯ elderwood was sold at a not-so-expensive price.


    ¡°Only four ¡­¡±


    I put the elderwood stick into my backpack. The area in front of the Great Labyrinth portal was now open. It was because the nearby building collapsed, and both humans and monsters had to evacuate themselves. Thanks to that, we were able to return to Korea without any trouble.


    ¡°Nowz let¡¯s go home.¡±


    Da-jeong, who had been crouching, got up.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t the Auction House kids funny? It¡¯s not our fault that things become like this.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about them, they¡¯re all going to die anyway.¡±


    ¡°Someone persuaded a lot of them to go to Korea just now.¡±


    ¡°They have to enter the Great Labyrinth first if they want to go to Korea. With that kind of mindset, the monsters will kill all of them. Don¡¯t mind them.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry. It¡¯s a waste of time to stay here any longer.¡±


    Seokhyun was right.


    We entered the Great Labyrinth portal one after another. After going out in Seoul and breathing in the air, I felt reassured that I was finally home. However, the explosion of the ghoul flower also happened here. Cracks could be seen in the remaining building as well in the ground.


    Da-jeong looked at me and sighed.


    ¡°I came to see someone else¡¯s house being destroyed, yet my house is suffering the same fate¡­¡±


    ¡°I know, right.¡±


    But what can we do? We just have to adapt.


    We moved to an empty lot close to the portal and took the gryphon out of the dimensional warehouse. The guy came to his senses and looked around.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go home!¡±


    After a while, we were already flying in the sky above Seoul. Seeing from the sky like this, the trace of the tragedy was crystal clear. The whole city was boiling, like water boiling in a pot. Though, the confusion was not out of hand. Perhaps thanks to the information provided by the Korean Shelter.


    We flew over the overturned city and headed to the Korean Shelter.

 Chapter 199

    People fell into despair.


    After the apocalypse came, there were many who thought that nothing could¡¯ve gone for the worse. After all, what in the world could be worse than the end of human civilization?


    But they were wrong. The earthquake caused by the ghoul flower completely shattered their lives. They could no longer ride a motorcycle on the road. It became impossible to walk on the road while feeling the apocalypse really had come as the ground was also destroyed.


    Millions of ghoul flowers were dormant throughout the city, and yet, in one single stroke, they exploded all the energy they had collected. The ground was upturned, and in some places, had created sinkholes. A lot of buildings that were still standing collapsed, spilling huge pieces of debris.


    When the apocalypse destroyed human civilization, this event was as if a cleanup event that destroyed human civilization with a broom.


    The Auction House was overflowing with anguish from the people who had lost their hideout. After all, until now, the buildings were always the safest place around. So when all of it completely collapses, the feeling that left on their heart was nothing but despair.


    -What should we do now¡­


    -It looks like we were forced to move. It¡¯s crazy¡­


    -Aww, do I have to go to the Korean Shelter now?


    -I don¡¯t like it either, but I¡¯m thinking of going there. At least there¡¯s still a roof there.


    -I think you guys are misunderstanding something. The policy of the Korean Shelter has changed. They no longer accept anyone.


    -Why the fuck are they doing that all of a sudden?


    -I heard that I Love Gimbap was doing it to clean the shelter from the inside. But after that, the President said that he would also not accept anyone for a while.


    -Didn¡¯t they merge with the Hannam-dong Clan?


    -They must have built trust by communicating consistently. The time has come when it is difficult to live without connections.


    -Actually, society was always like that¡­


    -Anyway, if you are trying to start something with I Love Gimbap, just give up. Otherwise, you¡¯ll die.


    -A lot of people don¡¯t die, though? I Love Gimbap only attacks people who offended him first.


    -By the way, how can I live now¡­ Food is running out, so I have to hunt¡­


    -Isn¡¯t it okay to hunt the wild boar?


    -Have you spent all your time hiding in your shelter or something? If you try to hunt the wild boar, the chance you are going to be killed by monsters is higher than the chance you can catch it.


    In the end, that was the problem. The number of humans was miles short compared to the numbers of monsters. No matter what they did, they would be chased by monsters, making even meeting the requirement of living a basic lifestyle difficult.


    A small number of capable people would be able to survive on their own, but most of the survivors would have difficulty to find food. That fact too, was considered after putting the fact that there¡¯s only two and a half months left before the time shelters were fully opened. Therefore, it was not surprising that there were complaints among the survivors.


    The good news was that animals hunted by a small number of talented people were now being put up for auction. The meat of various animals, such as wild boar, valley deer, and birds called hwajos came up. It was quite expensive, but in order to eat, the survivors had no choice but to buy it.


    ¡®As expected, I have to help the people.¡¯


    Eum Jiman was a good person. No one who knew him ever said otherwise. He¡¯d never been angry, and he¡¯s always happy when someone asked him for something. He was the exact opposite of Seongho, the leader of the shelter. However, the two were unexpectedly close. Seongho had no intention of letting Jiman go, and Jiman too had no intention of leaving the shelter.


    Da-jeong used to say:


    -Really, this guy, if he were a woman, Seongho would definitely choose him over me. Rather, he wouldn¡¯t ever look at another girl in his lifetime, and would only focus on him.


    When Jiman heard it, he felt he was lucky to be born as a man. It¡¯s not because he hates Seongho, rather it was because he couldn¡¯t stay still seeing people in trouble.


    In the past, the things he could do for the troubled survivors could easily be counted in one hand, but now it¡¯s different. The shelter was actively expanded, so more and more crops could be grown. In other words, they decided to sell the crops grown in the shelter at the Auction House.


    At a low price to boot.


    ¡°Will that be okay, Hyung?¡± When Jiman asked that question, Seongho trembled a little. In fact, he had sold fish and potatoes before.


    ¡°I know I told you to take care of it by yourself, but do you really have to sell it like that? It¡¯s too cheap.¡±


    The price that Jiman put for 10 fist-sized potatoes was a meager 10 points. Compared to the store bread, which was disgusting, it was a no-brainer-must-buy item.


    Seongho thought even if they put a 30 points tag on it, it would be flying off the shelves, so he was quite surprised at the price Jiman put for it.


    Jiman said, ¡°I¡¯m trying to help people who are starving. It doesn¡¯t make sense if it¡¯s expensive.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s true, but¡­¡±


    ¡°And don¡¯t worry, you are collecting points well. It¡¯s already over 50,000.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ whatever then. Take care of it yourself.¡±


    Seongho was planning to cross over to the ruins, so he didn¡¯t care about the details. The most important thing for him now was to bring Geom-in back.


    With Seongho¡¯s permission, Jiman put the farm tools on his shoulders and went into the garden.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°We¡¯ll be back as soon as possible, so take good care of the shelter! Understand?¡±


    ¡°They will be fine.¡± Da-jeong patted Seongho¡¯s shoulder.


    After that, both of them set off on a long journey with the gryphon. Their destination was the archaeological site on the other side of the sea. Even though it¡¯s far, there¡¯s no need for them to worry about getting lost, as Captain Scarab was there with them.


    After seeing them off, each of the shelter members started to do their own thing. Seokhyun, the only stagnant waters left in the shelter, went with a few others to secure the vicinity of Elderwood Forest. After all, the shelter expansion had just begun.


    Of course, all of that had nothing to do with Jiman. He would also go to fight if there¡¯s a need, but his main job was to take care of the shelter. Originally, the task was divided between him and Geom-in, but now that he¡¯s gone, he has to take charge of everything. Fortunately, Jiman did not consider the task entrusted to him a burden. Rather, he was enjoying it.


    ¡°Leggy, Beaky.¡±


    When the hornbills were called, sounds of rapid footsteps approaching Jiman¡¯s location could be heard. The two guys regarded Jiman as their mother. Even though it hasn¡¯t been long since they were born, they already boasted incredible physical abilities. Even the shelter member who had a fairly high stats couldn¡¯t catch them.


    Following the two, Yeowool walked towards him while grumbling.


    ¡°I was feeding them! How can you call them that?¡±


    ¡°If you just let them go, they will eat well by themselves.¡±


    ¡°I still wanted them to listen to me.¡±


    ¡°Everyone likes these guys, huh?¡±


    According to the description of the scarabs and the beetle, hornbills differ from other animals in many ways. The first difference was that their meat was terribly tasteless. Their growth rate was also incredibly fast compared to other animals, and even if they got injured, they would not lose their athletic ability once they recovered. To define it in one sentence, hornbills were animals which were created to be ridden. In just 4 or 5 more months, they would become large enough for 2 people to ride it.


    Yeo-wool gave up and sat down next to Jiman. Everyone else had gone out and they were the only two people in the shelter now. However, there was no fear of being attacked by monsters in their heart at all since they had swept away all the monsters around the shelter. And if there¡¯s an emergency, all they had to do was call Sangshin, who was at the Korean Shelter at the moment.


    Yeowool put her chin on her hand then said.


    ¡°Oppa, you are very diligent, you know? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen you take a break.¡±


    ¡°I rest often, though?¡±


    ¡°Lies. You always wake up the earliest and sleep the latest.¡±


    ¡°The air here is really nice. Even if I sleep a little, my fatigue always disappears the moment I wake up.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ It¡¯s not like that for me, though?¡±


    The nature of Lotus was rich. And Jiman was more than willing to share the things that came out of that nature with people.


    After talking for a few more minutes, the two left the shelter and went to the beach to retrieve the fish trap. When the rope was pulled, a huge amount of seafood was filling the trap.


    ¡°Whoaaaa! That¡¯s a lot!¡± Yeowool exclaimed.


    ¡°We will only eat some of it and sell the rest.¡± Jiman calmly said.


    ¡°Oppa, you will truly become a rich man!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s us, not just me.¡±


    That was what Jiman always emphasized. In fact, he used most of the points he earned by himself for the shelter. Thanks to that, the shelter became even more prosperous. The amount of weapons stored also increased thanks to it. Now, 5 people would have one of those expensive Elderwood Long Warbows if the situation called for it.


    The two carried the trap and returned to the shelter. When Yeowool took a seat, turned the trap upside down, and roughly trimmed the seafood, Jiman put it on a leaf plate so that he could sort it out into the ones they would eat and the one to be put in the auction.


    When Jiman finally put it up, naturally there was a riot at the Auction House.


    -What is this? How did flounder sashimi come up here?


    -Who caught it in the sea?


    -Did the seller catch it in the West Sea? Are there flounders there?


    -The fact that there are flounders is not a problem, the West Sea is off-limits. The oil pollution on the water is no joke.


    -Those Chinese bastards are really root of all evil.


    Recently, the fact that the West Sea was polluted came to light through the Auction House. The situation that led into it was like this: Before the apocalypse, the Chinese government heard the information and called in large numbers of oil tankers. However, the tankers were staying on the shore rather than docking on land. Therefore, they were crushed by the corrosive disease, and the oil the tankers contained poured into the sea.


    At first, only the Chinese coast was polluted, but after a few months, the oil also reached the Korean sea. Thanks to that, the Chinese who were fishing on the shores couldn¡¯t help but starve, and they blamed Korea for all of it.


    -If Korea had informed us a little sooner, the ship wouldn¡¯t be there! It¡¯s all your responsibility.


    The guy posted a comment on an auction item frequented by Koreans and attracted aggro, but the reaction he got was cold.


    -So, what do you want us to do, you bastard?


    -If there is nothing to eat, you should starve! What else can you do?


    -We are human too. We also live in Korea.


    -Look at this bastard. Did we fucking invite you guys? You are the one who has invaded and occupied our West Coast!


    -I really want to kill all these Chinese bastards.


    The relationship between the two factions, which was far from good in the first place, worsened as the food shortage hit. However, due to the Battle Royale battlefield, there was no direct contact between them. They just keep sharpening their hatred for each other and hate each other endlessly.


    Amidst that, the Japanese forces that emerged through the Great Labyrinth settled in Gangbuk. The Hannam-dong Clan, who was managing the portal, had migrated, so there was no one stopping them. On top of it, the Russians and Americans went to Seoul through Yatap Station. They even used guns just to get some space for them, and the survivors around them were terrified and had to open the way.


    ¡°These bastards, they¡¯re shooting us!¡±


    ¡°Where did they get the guns?¡±


    Although it wasn¡¯t a real gun, it was enough to scare the normal survivors away.


    .


    .


    .


    Me and Da-jeong went down to the ruins to meet Geom-in. Although he had been alone for a few days, he didn¡¯t look shabby. Rather, he had become more mature than ever.


    His eyes were full of confidence, and as he roughly rubbed the blood from his cheeks with his clothes, the atmosphere of a veteran explorer could be felt from him.


    It was so contrasting from his usual self to the point Da-jeong was admiring it.


    ¡°Geom-in, you¡¯ve changed a lot!¡±


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s because I struggled alone. Sit down. I found a lot of good things here.¡±


    We sat around a bonfire in the basement of the ruins and talked. Geom-in told us about the story of the monster that destroyed the Lotus civilization and the forces that worship it.


    ¡°At first, I thought there were only humans who worshiped the monster, but turns out, there¡¯s also traitors among the scarabs and stag beetles.¡±


    Our eyes turned to the two scarabs. After arguing a few times, they decided to reveal everything, so they drew something on the sandy floor.


    Even if we are of the same race, we have a lot of camps.


    The drawing seemed to say.


    Da-jeong clenched her chin and asked.


    ¡°Then why did they betray you?¡±


    Captain Scarab painted a horizontal figure of 8 next to the traitor at her question.


    Did it promise them an eternal life?


    Geom-in elaborate further at that moment.


    ¡°The monster in the depths of the Great Labyrinth is not a god, but it appears to have considerable powers. On top of it, it also has the intelligence to take advantage of the disaster that has come to Lotus.¡±


    ¡°That programmer Ahn Geun-seok must have followed him. He must have had a glimpse of its abilities.¡±


    ¡°You mean he surrendered to the monster because he wanted to live forever?¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡± Geom-in shrugged.


    I remembered the men who acted as the nurse¡¯s subordinates. I had killed them in the wetland labyrinth, but they came back alive. Judging from that, it was clear that the monster had the ability to bring the dead back to life. It¡¯s surprising that it could do such a thing without the resurrection scroll, but it becomes not so strange when I think of it as the monster twisting the system.


    After all, that¡¯s what programmers do.


    I said after organizing my thoughts.


    ¡°We can¡¯t stand against that monster right now. After all, it¡¯s a monster that turned the entire continent upside down. But still, shouldn¡¯t we at least try to hit back? There must be a clue somewhere in Lotus.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, there¡¯s that! Was it around here?¡± Geom-in drew a rough map of the Lotus and pointed to the area on the south part of the continent. Surprisingly, the scarab that was with him began to write in Korean beside it.


    Ruat.


    It seems to be the name of the kingdom that occupied part of the southern part of Lotos.


    ¡°If we go there, there might be some leftovers of what they studied. Most of them should have been destroyed by the monster attack, but some will remain.¡±


    ¡°It seemed to be quite far from here.¡±


    At my words, Captain Scarab calculated on the spot and wrote down the numbers. It was almost a thousand kilometers away from this place, so it was difficult to go right away.


    ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t know. Now that we¡¯ve come this far, let¡¯s take a break. Geom-in, do you get anything here?¡± Da-jeong laid on her side and asked.


    ¡°This.¡±


    When he opened the backpack, Da-jeong went back to sitting position and smiled broadly.


    ¡°You¡¯re starting to resemble Seongho, too.¡±


    Is that a compliment or an insult?


    Anyway, the amount of items Geom-in collected was no joke. It seemed like the item drop rate was high when it comes to these kinds of ruins.


    After viewing the items, we headed to the deepest part of the ruins under the guidance of the scarabs. What waited for us there was¡­


    Shocking.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­all of them are dead.¡±


    Dozens of stocky skeletons were waiting for us.


    It was probably the dwarves who were killed by the monster during the last fight in this ruin.


    The scarabs stared at the skull without moving. But in their small, black eyes, a tinge of sorrow could be seen. There¡¯s also a desire for revenge. A burning one.

 Chapter 200

    200 BABYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY~~~


    Just because all the Ghoul Flowers exploded in one stroke doesn¡¯t mean the monsters¡¯ situation became better. Afterall, from the remains of the flowers, enhanced ghouls would rise. Among them, there¡¯s this one type of enhanced ghoul, which we called a crying ghoul.


    These guys take on a human form just like any other ghouls. However, the most striking difference between them was that the crying ghoul was impossible to tell apart from normal humans. In most cases, they would pretend to be a naked, crying women. And when someone took it to their hideout out of pity, that¡¯s when their nightmares begin.


    ¡°There was nothing like this back in the game. Because it¡¯s easy to tell which ones are players, and which ones are the crying ghouls¡­¡± On top of it, as there are so few players in the game, it was rare for players to get confused.


    ¡°But in reality, it would be hard to tell them apart.¡±


    ¡°It is able to mimic human speech, albeit just a little. However, it¡¯s still hard for people to get suspicious of them, as basic human instinct would just think that they have a mental disorder or something.¡±


    Surprised by the information, Jang Won-taek, Lee Beom-seok, and Lee Sang-shin showed troubled expressions as they heard my words.


    Wait, Soup Lover, why are you surprised too?


    ¡°You watched a lot of my livestream, didn¡¯t you?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°Well, you know¡­ I often sleep with your stream on. Your voice is moderately heavy and you don¡¯t make a lot of annoyingly loud noises, so it acts as a lullaby that helps me sleep very effectively.¡±


    His words hurt me a bit. But in fact, I know that a lot of my viewers were like him. Poor Man was the only person who faithfully watched my livestream from the start to the end.


    ¡°Anyway, the crying ghouls do not imitate women all the time. They also imitate injured men and children. They take their clothes and pretend that they are also a survivor. From now on, no outsiders should be allowed to enter. Especially an outsider who is alone.¡±


    Jang Won-taek looked at the draft made by Geom-in and shook his head. ¡°There is a lot of content that is not in the strategy book.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because Geom-in can¡¯t write down every situation. Moreover, it¡¯s not important in the game, so he probably didn¡¯t care.¡±


    Other than crying ghouls, there¡¯s a lot of other enhanced ghoul types, such as the screamers that¡­ Well, screams and gather all the nearby zombies and ghouls towards it. Then, there¡¯s the ambushers, whose hunting modus was for it to jump its prey suddenly after stalking it with its stealth ability. There¡¯s also those who have the ability that resemble doppelgangers from myths.


    Amidst the diversity, however, all of these enhanced ghouls have one countermeasure. It was to just completely reject outsiders that want to get into your shelter. In terms of attack power, they weren¡¯t that great. The strength of a level 20 survivor was enough to deal with them. Though they were still dangerous for a non-combatant, it could be easily solved by getting help from people around them.


    Jang Won-taek folded his arms and fell into thought.


    ¡°By the way, Seongho-ssi¡­ did you hear? Americans had appeared in Gangnam and Songpa areas.¡±


    ¡°I know that they appear from the portal of Yatap Station.¡± He took the paper from Lee Beom-seok and handed it to me. He knew that we weren¡¯t on good terms, so it was certain that he did that on purpose.


    When I looked at the paper, the contents were quite serious. They were a bunch of crazy rednecks armed with guns.


    Jang Won-taek gave an ambiguous explanation. ¡°Most Americans who came to Korea this time are from Phoenix, Texas. The group consisted of mostly survivalists and preppers, who were actively preparing for the apocalypse. They built their own personal blast furnace, made their own guns and also made their own bullets as soon as the apocalypse happened thanks to the guidance of that ¡®person¡¯.¡±


    (E/n Preppers = people who believe in the survivalism mindset, who proactively prepares for all kinds of emergencies that might happen within their lifetime (ex. Apocalypse, economic crises, virus outbreak, etc.))


    ¡°That person? Who?¡±


    ¡°We do not know. At first, I thought it might be just some random survivor, but their story is a bit¡­ They say if you believe in it, it will give you eternal life or something¡­¡±


    He seemed to be talking about the monster that was buried in the deepest part of the Great Labyrinth. Their modus operandi matched with what I heard. Which means, it confirmed that programmer Ahn Geun-seok could go to the other servers.


    If we want to go to other servers, we have to go through the first floor of the Great Labyrinth, but it seemed like he had another way.


    Jang Won-taek hesitated and asked. ¡°I think Seongho knows something¡­ Am I right?¡±


    ¡°I have a guess. But it wasn¡¯t something that I can talk about here.¡±


    ¡°Looks like we need to gather more information. Do you have anything we need to work on?¡±


    It¡¯s convenient that he came out like this. Jang Won-taek seems to have decided to fully help me after going through the last predicament.


    ¡°First of all, we need detailed information about the Americans in Gangnam-gu and Songpa-gu. Their size, firepower, and even the Battle Royale battlefield information around the area. Moreover, Sangshin¡­¡±


    Sangshin, who had been sleeping soundly, suddenly woke up.


    ¡°What, what? What about me?¡±


    ¡°Go around the area and get some information.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just use the drone or a paper airplane to do that?¡± He asked.


    ¡°There are things we can¡¯t get with that since our opponents are humans. Just slightly probe them and see their reaction.¡±


    Sangshin was the only person here except for me who has the ability to fly. Which meant, a messed up road was no hindrance to him. Now that I think about it, telekinesis was a really good unique skill.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ that¡¯s a pain in the ass.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been feeding you a lot of soup, so shouldn¡¯t you finally pay the tab?¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay¡­ but I want to eat beef head soup next time.¡±


    ¡°Just where can we find cows in the current world?¡±


    ¡°If you go to Hoengseong, wouldn¡¯t there be wild cows there?¡±


    ¡°Do you think the monsters would be stupid enough to just let some free food wander around?¡±


    Sangshin grunted and tried to get out. However, I grabbed him and handed him some items.


    Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok¡¯s eyes widened at that moment.


    ¡°The options are awesome¡­ Where did you get this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not me, but Geom-in who got it. You know that he went through a hard time lately.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s where he got it, huh? This is my first time seeing all-stat items.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my first time too.¡± The number of times I saw an all-stats option from an item could be counted in one hand while playing for 5,500 hours.


    ¡°It¡¯s a great item, the stats are also good. I¡¯ll go say my thanks to Geom-in later.¡± Sangshin blushed and wore the bracelet.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    As he disappeared, Jang Won-taek said cautiously.


    ¡°It seems that many things are still happening inside Seongho¡¯s portal. Haha.¡±


    ¡°Well, yes. By the way, this is the lunch box Jiman packed for you¡­¡±


    I took out two lunch boxes from the dimension slot and placed them on the table. Jang Won-taek quickly opened the lid and his expression quickly changed.


    ¡°Th-th-this¡­¡±


    ¡°Jiman carefully prepared it for you. He said it was especially made for you who are having a hard time.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha¡­¡± A delightful laugh escaped his lips. He probably didn¡¯t expect that there would be people who think about him like that. I bet that my thoughts were correct as I could see the edge of his eyes become red.


    His wrinkled hands wrapped around the lunch box.


    ¡°Tell him that I will eat it well. This looks like a flatfish¡­ it¡¯s been a long time¡­¡±


    ¡°It is a species called sand flounder. It tastes much better than flatfish from our sea.¡±


    It was also bigger than the normal flatfish. The one served in Jang Won-taek¡¯s lunch box easily surpassed 5kg.


    Once all things were done, I said goodbye to both of them and left the meeting room.


    .


    .


    .


    As commanded, Lee Sangshin trod around the shopping street in Jamsil. Although numerous buildings were swallowed by the ground due to the massive earthquake, quite a lot of them had remained standing. Those very buildings were where the rednecks stationed themselves.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t they just nothing but lunatics?¡± Lee Sangshin muttered at the sight of the Americans. After all, they all carried guns that looked like they were handmade, and often just fired it into the air for no reason. It¡¯s questionable whether their act was driven by the ecstasy from the ghoul flowers or if it¡¯s the influence of something else.


    ¡®It¡¯s strange¡­ Why are there no monsters here?¡¯ It was common sense that the more people concentrated in one area, the more monsters would flocked into them. However, there were no monsters around the shopping street at all. He thought that there¡¯s a possibility that they were using the totem. However, he quickly denied it, as even the improved version could only repel zombies and normal ghouls.


    ¡®They are really suspicious.¡¯


    Rumors from the Auction House said that the Americans came here through a portal opened in Texas. Though, it was a mystery why they came to Korea, instead of staying in their home country in the first place.


    ¡®SInce some of them are prepper, wouldn¡¯t they have a good chunk of supplies at their place?¡¯


    Prepper. They were people who thoroughly prepared for their survival in case something happened. Although their presence was weak in Korea, they were a well-known group in the United States. There were quite a lot of people who turned their basements into shelters and seriously studied food preservation.


    (E/n oh they explained it here)


    ¡®Now that I think about it, Seongho also can be considered as a Prepper.¡¯


    Back to the Americans, Sangshin thought It was natural for them to come to Korea if something happened in their country. But he still couldn¡¯t understand what makes them able to feel so carefree, making a lot of noises, running around like idiots, without being afraid of monsters or sorts.


    Did they want to attract all the surrounding monsters?


    ¡®Maybe they have some strange special abilities¡­¡¯ After all, the amount of strange abilities out there was as many as stars in the universe.


    Then a paper plane flew over the shopping mall. Sangshin was currently pretty close with all the shelter members, so he could easily tell if it¡¯s Yoohyeon or Yeowool who piloted it. If the movement is drastic, it was Yeowool who piloted it.


    ¡®She should have been born as a man.¡¯


    While observing from close range was important, it was still uncomparable to scanning through a paper airplane. After all, it¡¯s a drone with an infinite battery that never breaks down.


    When Sangshin kept observing from a roof, his surroundings suddenly became noisy. He noticed that a few rednecks had come up to the roof of the building across from him and shot their guns at the paper airplane.


    Tatatang!


    Black smoke coming out from the muzzle. The paper plane hurriedly ascended into the sky to avoid the gunfire, but it crashed before long.


    ¡°They really have a bad personality.¡± In fact, it was only natural for them to do so since they knew that someone was spying on their shelter.


    Sangshin glanced through a telescope at a man who was making a loud noise and giving instructions.


    ¡®Is he the leader? Wow, that guy¡¯s big.¡¯


    The man was more muscular than Seongho. He was wearing sunglasses and a cowboy hat, and he was constantly chanting something nervously.


    Then he looked exactly where Sangshin was.


    Keuk-!!


    Sangshin was frightened and took his eyes off the telescope, but unfortunately, things didn¡¯t end there.


    ¡°A rat! Shoot him!¡±


    Immediately, bullets started raining on the roof where Sangshin was. Since it was shot from a handmade gun, the accuracy was far from perfect. However, it still did its job to scare Sangshin away.


    Sangshin immediately jumped down. Splinters of concrete around him flew to the air.. Sangshin¡¯s eyes widened as he glanced back. From a distance, someone held a rocket-like thing on his shoulder and aimed at him.


    ¡°Those crazy yankees!¡±


    Without paying his scream any heed, the rockets flew and blitzed towards him.


    Sangshin hurriedly jumped down.


    Boom-!!


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    Even though his body was unharmed, some of the shards hit his foot. Hurriedly, he hid in his alley, and gunfire from the rednecks poured out.


    It didn¡¯t seem like things would be resolved easily.


    .


    .


    .


    Strange rumors circulated around the Auction House. It was a dark rumor that said that if someone go to Gangnam and Songpa, they could have sex for free.


    Everyone thought it was bullshit, but one or two people who had nothing to do actually bought it and went there.


    -That white woman¡¯s ass is no joke!


    -Did you really do it with the white people? How did you become friends?


    -They said it was their first time in Korea, so they asked where they were and I got to know them that way. After that we do it right away!


    -Good God!


    All sorts of gossip went around. In the apocalypse, men had no risk whatsoever to sex. But it was different for women. Avoiding the worst risk of pregnancy, most women were very conservative about sex. Of course, there were exceptions like Seongho and Da-jeong.


    Thanks to that, most male survivors were dying to do it. So, when an open-minded white woman appeared, a lot of men thought that she was an angel of salvation. Some people were excited and eager to go to the Gangnam area immediately.


    This is iffy¡­ If it¡¯s in the Songpa area of ??Gangnam, it¡¯s the area where Sangshin was attacked. It was a place where more than 100 rednecks were stationed, so it was concerning that a woman appeared there alone.


    ¡°This sounds like a sex propaganda¡­¡± I muttered. Sex could be said to be a very effective weapon for male survivors. After all, in the apocalypse, women were a rarity, which made a lot of men couldn¡¯t find a mate. Of course, the relationship between men and women was not only made up of sex, but it cannot be denied that was one of the most important reason.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a bait for now, and I¡¯m sure they have a way to attract them all at once¡­¡±


    From what I¡¯ve heard, the rednecks also have quite a bit of food. So, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if the survivors who eat shop bread everyday and drink purified river water fell into that temptation.


    I concluded.


    ¡°There¡¯s a guy called Ahn Geun-seok behind him.¡± And behind him was probably the monster dwelling on the deepest part of the Great Labyrinth. I don¡¯t know what their ultimate purpose was, but one thing was certain. It was to seduce people.


    At first, it was just hiding somewhere and experimenting with humans and monsters, but now they have decided to come to the light and do their activities openly.


    ¡°They are a tough enemy.¡± It¡¯s a conclusion I drew since I still couldn¡¯t see the end of their ability. Bringing more than 100 American rednecks to Korea was a hard endeavor if done in a normal way.


    On the Americans¡¯ side, they were nothing but a rag-tag bunch in my eyes, but their guns and rockets were concerning. The battlefield around them were also still present, so if he approached them prematurely, one of the resurrection spells he got would be used in vain.


    ¡°But if I do nothing like this, they will attract more and more people who are hungry for sex.¡± If you think about it rationally, you know it¡¯s dangerous, but men were creatures who most of the time let their instinct talk.


    What should I do here¡­


    The stats and unique skill would be limited if I go there, so infiltrating inside was as hard as picking a star in the sky.


    I rummaged through the backpack Geom-in gave me and pulled out my cloak.


    ¡¸Leather cloak: motionless movement, stealth¡¹


    With this, I would be able to move freely without leaving any traces. I couldn¡¯t use it in various ways because there was no additional effect, but this was enough for me.


    I put the cloak on and looked up to see only the wallpaper in the mirror. No matter how much I moved, I couldn¡¯t even feel my presence.


    ¡°I just have to be careful.¡±


    I put the gear in my backpack and got ready.


    It¡¯s time to infiltrate the redneck shelter.

 Chapter 201

    By the way, how¡¯s your world cup favourite team faring?


    One day, in the middle of April, Da-jeong was flying over the West Sea on top of her gryphon, not knowing about the earthquake that is currently happening. As she had read on the Auction House, black oil floated on top of the water.


    ¡°Damn¡­ There¡¯s too much of it¡­¡± There was so much oil to the point that the entire West Sea looked black instead of blue. But after thinking about it more, Da-jeong realized that it was only a matter of course. After all, dozens of oil tankers, which China hurriedly prepared, have been destroyed by the corrosive disease, resulting in its insides spilling all over the sea.


    Since there was no manpower nor equipment to carry out the clean-up work, it was more than possible that the sea would remain contaminated for at least several more years.


    ¡®And that is an optimistic calculation¡­¡¯ Which means, there¡¯s a possibility that the sea would remain black for a few decades, or even forever.


    Looking at the dark sea, Da-jeong¡¯s mood worsened. At the same time, her hatred against the Chinese government for creating the situation grew further.


    ¡®All in all. those guys really don¡¯t help at all.¡¯


    The strange thing was that the sea within the range of 10 to 20 meters away from the coast had still maintained its blue color.


    ¡®Was the rumor about server separation between nations real?¡¯


    She did not believe Jang Won-taek¡¯s when he said that their nation was cut off from the rest of the world because of something he dubbed as a ¡®server¡¯. However, now that she had witnessed it first hand, she realized that maybe his word was the truth.


    After all, if it¡¯s nothing but gibberish, why did that wide strip of oil not pollute the beach?


    When she took her gryphon to descend closer to the sea, the smell of oil struck her nose. In the current state, It was simply impossible to fish there.


    At that moment, she saw that few people were staring blankly at the sea from the beach. Da-jeong judged from their clothes that there¡¯s no way that they would be Korean. Which can only mean one thing. They were Chinese.


    Since her opinion about them was currently at an all-time-low, she nearly flew towards them in a fit of rage. Thankfully, she realized that the battlefield around the area where the Chinese stood had not been cleared yet, so she stopped. If she decides to follow her emotion here, her domination towards the gryphon would be untangled, and it would take time to find another gryphon for her to tame. And in the worst case, she would be forced to fight against the gryphon and the Chinese at the same time, while being debuffed by the battlefield.


    ¡®If I touch a poop, I¡¯ll just smell like one.¡¯


    The gryphon flew farther towards the West Sea under Da-jeong¡¯s orders. To her surprise, she saw dozens of boats rushing through the oil sea towards Korea. She could only stare blankly at them before bursting into anger.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like someone is pouring honey all over Korea!!! Why did you guys keep coming here!!!!!¡±


    In her eyes, the Chinese looked like swarms of ants lured by honey. On the other hand, she realized that the situation in mainland China was so miserable to the point that those people are regarding Korea as a far better place than their own hometown.


    The gryphon flew over the West Sea for a few minutes, but the scenery did not change. The color of the sea was still black and she could still see boats here and there.


    Just what are they trying to do, coming to Korea in hordes like that?


    Da-jeong recalled what Seongho said: numbers are a weapon.


    -Even though a lot of Chinese are low leveled, they cannot be ignored. A number over a thousand is a huge threat. Aren¡¯t they holding out in Korea right now? It will take a little more time for them to adapt. When the time comes, they will surely come further inland.


    The reason he left it unattended was because he knew that they were difficult to touch.


    ¡°They¡¯re really troublesome guys¡­¡± It was a heartbreaking piece of news. Da-jeong lamented about what sin she had committed in her previous life to become involved with such people.


    While thinking so, she turned the gryphon¡¯s head and headed to Seoul. As the way back was long and eventful, she opened the Auction House to curb her boredom. Just moments after she opened it, a quarrel between Seongho and someone piqued her interest.


    ¨C So you¡¯re saying you won¡¯t help? Even after we beg like this?


    -Why should I help? How many Chinese do you think I have killed? You guys are my enemy.


    -I know that there was a misunderstanding between you and them. But I am different from them. I am willing to cooperate with you.


    -I¡¯m the one who¡¯s unwilling to do so. So go away from Korean soil.


    ¡®Good boy!¡¯ Da-jeong did not intervene in the comment section and just cheered for him inside her heart. But to be honest, she too found it difficult to cooperate with the Chinese after things went this far.


    Seongho and the Chinese commented a few more times, but nothing changed. They just confirmed each other¡¯s differences of opinion.


    The Chinese¨CZhao Ziwei¨Cintroduced himself in the process. He said he was different from the previous leader of the Chinese group but Seongho did not believe it.


    -Is it that difficult to slightly lower the price of potatoes? Judging from the fact that you¡¯re selling a lot of them, your situation seems to be good enough.


    -For your information, 10 points is the lowest price we can put up for an item on the Auction House.


    -Then just increase the number of potatoes.


    -As I said earlier, why should I?


    Apparently, Zhao Ziwei noticed that the person selling potatoes was Seongho. If he kept asking at the Auction House, Seongho or Jiman would have to come out. It was because the shelter members always remained wary and watched the Auction House daily for the most recent information, and would quickly write the information they found on the bulletin board of the shelter.


    Anyway, Zhao Ziwei kept begging him to lower the price of potatoes, and Seongho kept refusing him.


    -If you kill 5 zombies or goblins, you can buy 10 potatoes. If you eat sparingly, you will have enough calories for two days. You can¡¯t even do that?


    Potatoes grown by Jiman were larger and sweeter than normal potatoes. On top of it, they were also quite high in calories. Shelter members used to complain that they would get fat while eating steamed potatoes because they were so delicious.


    Well, that only consists of mainly the women.


    -There are many people who can¡¯t even do that. Can¡¯t you take a look at the situation?


    -I have no desire to take care of your situation.


    -I thought you can be reasoned with. I must have misjudged you..


    Seongho didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of changing his mind until the very end.


    Then, Zhao Ziwei made an unexpected statement.


    -I have no choice but to get help from someone else.


    It was meant to make Seongho curious, but he wasn¡¯t interested at all.


    -You can do whatever you want, but please leave Korea. Wouldn¡¯t it be more comfortable for you to live in your own hometown?


    -He offered us¡­ a better life. I wanted to coexist with Koreans as much as possible, but looking at you, I have no choice but to accept the offer.


    -Do whatever you want.


    -I will make you regret it. I¡¯ll make you regret refusing us.


    -Do as you like. You are planning on holding hands with that Ahn Geun-seok guy, aren¡¯t you?


    Ahn Geun-seok was the programmer who appeared in the Great Labyrinth. He¡¯s a very suspicious guy, and although he takes on human form while meeting Seongho, he¡¯s nothing but a monster.


    Zhao Ziwei did not leave a comment for a long time, probably because the question hits home.


    Seongho posted another comment.


    -If you join hands with those non-humans, you will only suffer further, so you better stay away from them.


    -You dare give us advice when you¡¯re not even trying to help us?


    -This is not an advice, but a warning. Even though you guys are bothering us now, I would still leave you guys alone. But if you hold hands with that guy Ahn Geun-seok, I won¡¯t stay idle any longer. Whether you have hundreds or thousands of people, I will kill every single one of you.


    -I have heard that you are strong. It might be better to die fighting you than to die of starvation.


    -You are free to choose. But don¡¯t say I haven¡¯t warned you later.


    The debate ended there. In fact, the situation wouldn¡¯t differ much even if it wasn¡¯t Seongho who was in the position of seller. After all, food was a limited resource.


    Da-jeong was about to close the Auction House, but saw that Seongho had called her with the coded language.


    -You are there, aren¡¯t you, Da-jeong?


    -How did you know?


    -It¡¯s obvious that you will get bored, going around doing nothing like that.


    -You¡¯re really sharp¡­


    -Anyway, come to the Korean Shelter quickly. We have work to do.


    -You want to drag me into bed during the day? Isn¡¯t it too spicy?


    Da-jeong said quietly, but Seongho didn¡¯t seem interested.


    -Stop talking nonsense and be ready to go to Luat.


    Luat was the kingdom mentioned in the ruins. It was located in the southern part of the Lotus Continent, and there¡¯s a high probability that there were remains related to the end of the world there.


    -Oh my gosh. Sending your wife a thousand kilometers away?


    -Seokhyun and Geom-in will also go with you.


    -I should have a threesome with the two of them.


    Even though she said so, everyone knows that she only wanted to do it if Seongho was involved. That too, with other women¡­


    Seongho ignored her grumbling.


    -I will also get a scarab and a stag beetle to go with you, so go there and find out about that monster.


    -I want to go with you.


    -I have a lot of work to do here. You¡¯re the only one with a gryphon.


    -Tsk, I¡¯ll take a look. But when I come back, you will give me one full day of attention.


    -Okay.


    Da-jeong was excited and turned the gryphon¡¯s head towards the Korean Shelter.


    .


    .


    .


    Seokhyun, Da-jeong, Geom-in and the two insects; a total of five people were put on the back of a single gryphon. The reason I sent the three stagnant waters was because the journey seemed like it would be quite difficult. According to the explanations of the insects, the southern part of the continent was a dangerous terrain with a mixture of volcanoes and jungles. The destination, the Luat Kingdom, was in no way harder than that, but the road leading to it was treacherous. The only people I could trust to break through such difficulty were the stagnant waters.


    The rest of the members were busy expanding the shelter. They had reached a point where they could hunt without me and do the construction on their own with a fork crane.


    While everyone worked hard, I didn¡¯t think to sit still either. I was thinking of infiltrating the base of the Americans. However, before I could even pack my bags, I got a call from Jang Won-taek. He said that they had hired an American man who came to Korea. He¡¯s from Texas, and he had been with the rednecks for a while.


    When I arrived at Jang Won-taek¡¯s office, he and a white man were already waiting for me. From his gray hair, beard, and wrinkles, he¡¯s probably around 50 years old.


    He looked at me with anxious eyes.


    ¡°This man is¡­¡±


    Jang Won-taek introduced me.


    ¡°He is the strongest man in this shelter. He is a trustworthy person, so you can rest assured.¡±


    ¡°The strongest, huh? May I ask what level you are? Even though it might sound funny, I¡¯m used to this kind of situation.¡±


    ¡°Level 40.¡±


    The American shook his head in disbelief.


    ¡°No, it can¡¯t be. Even Terrence hasn¡¯t passed level 25¡­¡±


    Instead of answering, I gently grabbed the corner of the table with my fingers and released it. The American¡¯s and Jang Won-taek¡¯s expressions were distorted at the same time at my show. The American looked down at the table, and his face turned into disbelief. After all, the frame was crumpled with just a single hand.


    ¡°¡­that¡¯s a lot of power. Terrence isn¡¯t like that.¡± He mumbled. ¡°My name is James Allen Ray. You can call me James.¡±


    ¡°My name is Kang Seongho. First of all, I want to ask you¡­ Were you with the crowd who made Gangnam their base?¡±


    James sighed and nodded his head.


    ¡°I was with them until a few days ago. As you can see, those guys are nuts.¡±


    ¡°Are they always like that? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s normal to shoot into the air recklessly like that.¡±


    ¡°They used to be just ordinary preppers. Until that day comes¡­ Uh, Can I ask for some water?¡±


    ¡°Here you go.¡±


    As Jang Won-taek took out a water bottle, James¡¯ eyes became dim.


    ¡°Clean water¡­ It is a very difficult thing to find in the world these days. We thought it would be easy to get water.¡±


    ¡°Monsters love water. And of course, zombies too.¡±


    He nodded vigorously at my words.


    ¡°When the apocalypse comes, everyone wants to take over the supermarket, right? We wanted to do that too, but we couldn¡¯t because of the zombies! A lot of them flocked to that supermarket!¡±


    In any media that has some zombie elements inside it, whether it¡¯s novels, movies, or anything else, zombies were often portrayed as monsters that do not require an energy supply. But the real zombies we fought currently definitely needed energy. That was why the mart was robbed, leaving nothing for the survivors. Over time, the zombies evolved into ghouls and eventually became ghoul flowers, shaking the ground. It once again destroyed humanity¡¯s home.


    Of course, there are still many buildings remaining, but since a lot of roads were destroyed, there¡¯s basically no room for movement. I couldn¡¯t even ride a motorcycle any longer, which meant I would have to rely on the hornbill. Given the mobility of the guy described by the scarab, I bet in the current terrain, they were better than any vehicle.


    James continued.


    ¡°Anyway, Terrence and others worked on my ranch as ground control since there were too many wild boars around.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s a ranch¡­¡±


    ¡°I raised about 2,000 cows, but now they have all escaped.¡±


    Jang Won-taek and I were amazed at the scale. And since we suddenly talked about cows, I suddenly wanted to raise them. Currently, the only animals raised in the shelter were wild boars and the hwajos. Other animals had been removed either due to their tasteless meat or the difficulty to raise them. If only I could procure some cows, Jiman would be able to raise them well¡­


    Even while I was imagining such things, James was filled with anger and told the story.


    ¡°As the apocalypse came, Terrence and the ground support team told me this: ¡®Now that we are all in a position to survive together, why not join forces?¡¯ Since our relationship wasn¡¯t the usual boss and subordinates relationship, but an equal relationship ¡­ It¡¯s hard to say no.


    ¡°I needed their help too, so I had no choice. But¡­ What I didn¡¯t know was the fact that Terrence was doing it to lure in my daughter!¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, but how old is your daughter?¡±


    ¡°She should be going to college this year. But, she hasn¡¯t studied since she fell in love with horse riding. Her name is Paige.¡±


    She¡¯s a cowgirl, not a cowboy, huh?


    Anyway, James says Terrence often took her out to hunt. He knew roughly what the relationship between the two was. And that¡¯s when the incident happened.


    It was said that a certain Asian appeared in a town in Texas.


    ¡°At first, I thought it was a strange thing, and I thought he was an international student. But he wasn¡¯t. He showed off his amazing abilities and made Terrence his subordinate.¡±


    ¡°What kind of amazing power is it?¡±


    ¡°He brought the dead back to life. Terrence had a friend who died while wandering around, and he brought him back to life. When I asked what he did, he said it was the power of the god he worshiped. Terrence and a few others are starting to believe him.¡±


    Looks like it¡¯s not the power of God, but the power of the resurrection scroll¡­


    Anyway, Terrence and the others, who didn¡¯t know about it, seemed to have completely fallen for Ahn Geun-seok. Their faith cemented after receiving a piece of strange wood, which prevented a zombie raid to occur.


    ¡°I know it a little now, but at the time I really thought I was seeing a prophet. Because even my faith was shaken.¡±


    ¡°Did they also realize that?¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t trust outsiders¡­ They just misunderstand it as a God-given power.¡±


    After that¡­ is just history. Terrence gathered the people around him to form an organization, followed Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s words and came to Korea through the Great Labyrinth. But James says he doesn¡¯t know what their purpose is.


    I had no choice but to find out for myself.


    This left me with more things to do. Infiltrating the redneck¡¯s stronghold and digging for information, and maybe I should try going to Texas to catch some cows.


    There were many cows in Korea, but most of them were raised in barns, so it had been a long time since they were eaten by zombies. Let¡¯s eat some beef this time.


    As I stood up, James¡¯ eyes lit up.


    ¡°I want to save my daughter from them. Can you help me?¡±


    This guy is misunderstanding something. However, since our purpose was similar, I thought it would be okay to help.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go at once. We¡¯ll see and then decide what to do.¡±

 Chapter 202

    Together with Sangshin and James, I headed towards where the Americans were staying. Sangshin was reluctant to guide me at first, as he was a fine line away from death the last time he scouted the place. However, after I promised to make him a cow head soup later, he changed his mind.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to cook it for me later.¡±


    ¡°But don¡¯t all soups taste kind of similar?¡±


    ¡°What are you saying? Each one of them has their own special taste!¡±


    I like soup too, but I like it to be cooked more than as a simple gukbap. But his tastes should be respected.


    Sangshin asked softly.


    ¡°If we kill a cow, can you dismantle it properly?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­ I haven¡¯t tried it before.¡±


    Even though I often butchered hwajos and wild boars, a cow was a different story altogether. After all, it was too big compared to the size of humans.


    Sangshin slid closer to my shoulder at that moment.


    ¡°There is Uncle James, isn¡¯t there? Since he¡¯s a rancher, don¡¯t you think he¡¯ll be able to butcher cows well?¡±


    Hmm, that might just be the case.


    After some more time passed, the three of us finally arrived at the area. We decided to hide in a nearby building and had a quick bite. While chewing a biscuit, James opened his mouth.


    ¡°Please be careful, I know it¡¯s a bit weird for me to say something like this but those guys aren¡¯t normal. They are different from your ordinary rednecks.¡±


    Sangshin hesitated and spoke up.


    ¡°Uh, is it okay for you to call them like that?¡±


    James laughed bitterly.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m just stating the facts. Even other Americans often call those who came from Texas ¡®rednecks¡¯.¡±


    ¡°By the way, James, How many cows were you growing before the apocalypse happened?¡±


    ¡°2 million or so? I¡¯m not sure what the exact number is.¡±


    Hearing that, me and Sangshin could only open our mouths. In any case, James was pretty cheerful for someone who had lost their daughter to the rednecks. When we said that we were interested in Texas, he boasted that he would show us a taste of an authentic American barbecue sometime.


    ¡°Though, I will only do that after we save my daughter.¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to take her out, but¡­¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid Paige wouldn¡¯t want to leave. After hearing your story, it seems like she chose to follow him willingly.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ Paige likes him too. After all, he got a lot of power, and got a gun to boot. His group¡¯s food situation will be much better than mine¡­¡± James¡¯ complexion darkened. He had confessed to Jang Won-taek that he had decided to trust us. And looking at how he spilled his story like this, it seemed like what he told Jang Won-taek was genuine.


    ¡°I just said they were not normal, and anyone can see that. But what most people don¡¯t know is the fact that they have a strange woman in their group.¡±


    ¡°A strange woman?¡±


    ¡°That woman didn¡¯t look human. I have to say she was more like a doll¡­ she doesn¡¯t feel alive.¡±


    What a strange story¡­ But, as strange as it was, it correlates well with the story about the rednecks that are floating around in the Auction House. They said that there¡¯s a crazy woman which agreed to have sex with any Korean who come only for a cheap price of answering some questions.


    James stammered, seemingly shocked by his own recollection.


    ¡°Actually, Terrence and others weren¡¯t that crazy from the start. They were a typical kind of gangsters who hunted, drank, and sometimes did strange things. But¡­ the mood of the group changed when a certain asian male and the woman came.¡±


    ¡°To what degree?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like what you think: they aren¡¯t fighting over the woman. At some point, they suddenly decided to make a blast furnace and started producing guns. Isn¡¯t that funny? They suddenly decided to gather iron powder to make guns out of nowhere.¡±


    No matter how much Americans love guns, it¡¯s impossible without some kind of facility. I was certain that Ahn Geun-seok had a hand in the process.


    ¡°What happened after that?¡±


    James let out a long sigh before answering.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what the Asian and the woman told the group, but suddenly the competition between the personnel intensified. Those who said they only needed to hunt in moderation suddenly started hunting monsters like crazy. And Terrence, that guy, was no exception.¡±


    ¡°The woman must have been very pretty?¡±


    At my question, James put on an ambiguous expression on his face.


    ¡°Well, she indeed has a strange charm¡­ I talked to her a couple of times, and I felt like I was captivated even though I am already this old.¡±


    It seemed lika the woman were actually the person who did the sex propaganda.


    But why? Sex should not be that important to Ahn Geun-seok.


    I grabbed my backpack and left the building. The battlefield was still active near the American¡¯s hideout, but my stats decrease wasn¡¯t that bad because of Sooyeon¡¯s buff. Since I also received several buffs from the crops Jiman grew, I had enough stats to run around.


    As I approached the road right in front of the redneck¡¯s hideout with my cloak on, two people with a tattoo on their thick forearm and a cloth tied around their head walked towards my direction. The two held a pipe-like gun and talked loudly.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t they say people here aren¡¯t that high-leveled?¡±


    ¡°There aren¡¯t that many people who are over level 30. However, they still have a higher level than Terrence.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why they ask us to find a higher-level man.¡±


    One of the men threw a cigarette into the ground. After stepping on it, the two of them walked away.


    I approached the center of the residence cautiously. Without all my stats, it was hard to feel the presence around me, so whenever I thought something might be happening, I stopped right away. Thankfully, it seemed no one had noticed my presence yet.


    A few people passed by and I got more information. They were in need of a high-level man. Even my name came out in their conversation. It¡¯s really strange that the white people know my name.


    Did Ahn Geun-seok tell them?


    While I was waiting inside the cloak, a woman appeared. She was a woman with a doll-like graceful face and a slim body. To be honest, she was the most beautiful woman I¡¯ve ever seen to date. But compared to her body, her eyes looked dead and there was no life beaming from her face. If I had my Super Sense skill active, I would be able to determine whether she¡¯s alive or not through her heartbeat, what a pity¡­


    She stroked her belly and suddenly lifted her head. The space in front of her suddenly opened and Ahn Geun-seok appeared.


    ¡°How¡¯s the seed?¡±


    ¡°None survived.¡±


    The woman¡¯s voice sounded robotic since there was no emotion in it. Looking at her mouth, her pronunciation was strangely inconsistent, it was as if she was doing a ventriloquism.


    I had a lot of questions, but I showed patience and just stood still.


    Ahn Geun-seok touched the woman¡¯s belly at that moment. ¡°It looks like the level 20 man was too weak. We need a higher level man.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve asked the Americans to look around, but it¡¯s hard to find someone over level 30.¡±


    ¡°Well, there is someone that is already level 40.¡±


    That¡¯s me he talked about.


    The woman raised her head provocatively.


    ¡°If you tell me his location, I will pick up his seeds.¡±


    What they called ¡®seed¡¯ is probably what I imagined it to be.


    Ahn Geun-seok smiled bitterly.


    ¡°Are you saying that you, a ghoul, will deal with that man? What nonsense.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± The woman¡¯s head plopped down at Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s words.


    Now, I knew what she was. She was a damn ghoul! Not just a normal ghoul, but most probably a crying ghoul that has the ability to mimic humans!


    However, the crying ghouls I remembered did not resemble a human to the extent of that woman. Their speech was worse than the words of people under influence and their facial features were not that neat.


    Maybe she¡¯s a remodeled ghoul?


    It wasn¡¯t an impossible conjecture since the doctor and the nurse I¡¯d met before was probably also one of the remodeled ghouls.


    Ahn Geun-seok grabbed the ghoul¡¯s chin with his hand. ¡°Other than this condition, you have to find out if there are any other conditions¡­ Today, gather your other sisters and hold a ceremony. See if there are any surviving seeds.¡±


    ¡°All right.¡±


    ¡°I will see if you can conceive human seed with your unclean body.¡±


    Ahn Geun-seok left behind those words and disappeared, while the ghoul couldn¡¯t even raise her head.


    By the way, I feel like the ghoul had some emotions¡­ Maybe someone¡¯s memories were put into the ghoul¡¯s body?


    As I prepared to withdraw, the ghoul began to tremble.


    Kyaak-!! Kyaak-!!


    After making a strange noise, mens came out of the surrounding buildings. Their pupils were empty, and none of them had any expression on their faces.


    She didn¡¯t notice me, did she?


    I was thinking of opening the portal and jumping in, but all of a sudden, the ghoul started to tear her clothes off. I looked at the ghoul¡¯s naked body and closed my eyes out of disgust. There¡¯s a lot of stitches all over her body. It Is evident that her body was made from different parts of different humans.


    Just how can people do ¡®that¡¯ with that thing without puking?


    After a while, I could hear a squeaking sound. It was obvious what was happening without even seeing it. Disgusting guys¡­


    I wanted to shoot them all, but Ahn Geun-seok seemed to be nearby, so I decided to put up with it. I don¡¯t know what kind of ability he had, so I don¡¯t want to move hastily.


    I cautiously walked away from the place. Now I need to find Paige.


    .


    .


    .


    The sights I¡¯d seen in the last few hours were nothing but shocking. If someone said that the most disgusting thing the rednecks could do was having an orgy with the ghoul, they were wrong.


    They hunted animals and ate them raw!


    Other than that, I had witnessed a number of incidents that I couldn¡¯t bear to say.


    Fortunately, Paige, which I managed to find after wandering around the hideout, was not one of those crazy guys. She¡¯s crying alone in a room far away from anyone.


    She has white skin, red hair, and freckles. All in all, she¡¯s nothing but dazzling.


    Paige cursed Terrence.


    ¡°Damn bastard! How could you treat me like that? Are you doing this because you met the Koreans?¡±


    After that, more and more swearing poured out for a long time. She¡¯s better at cursing than most men. Anyway, it was clear that Paige was dissatisfied.


    As I watched her a little longer, she buried her face between her knees and began to cry.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Dad¡­ I want to go home¡­¡±


    But this is Korea, far away from your home, young miss¡­If you want to return to your ranch in Texas, you would have to go through one of the entrance portals and go through the Great Labyrinth.


    Now that I already confirmed what she wanted, I only need to take him to James. However, it was easier said than done. This area was a Battle Royale battlefield. In other words, there were a lot of things to sort out before I could do so.


    First, let¡¯s send a note to Paige. I jolted down some words on a piece of paper and sent it to her. She was crying when she found the note and she was terribly surprised.


    ¡°What, what? Who is it? Who is there?¡±


    ¡­


    When she heard nothing, Paige carefully picked up the note. And then she frowned.


    ¡°What are these strange letters? Japanese?¡±


    Oops¡­ I forgot the written words were not translated by the system. I jolted some more words before sending it out of the cloak once again.


    Paige, who picked up the note, grinned.


    ¡°You spelled it wrong.¡±


    I just wrote some simple words in English, and yet it was still wrong¡­ it¡¯s so embarrassing¡­


    Anyway, she seemed to have relaxed. Her eyes widened and she looked around her room.


    ¡°You know that I¡¯m no longer within the age that believes in tooth fairy, right? Who is it? I won¡¯t scream, so come out.¡±


    What a direct woman. Well, if I decide to show myself and get caught, I could just run away through the portal, so there¡¯s no need to worry about it.


    As I lowered the cloak, Paige looked at me and covered her mouth with her hand.


    ¡°Shh. I¡¯m here to get you out of here.¡± I said as I put my index finger right in front of my lips.


    ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen your face, do you know me?¡± She asked while sporting a suspicious expression.


    ¡°Your father, James Allen Ray sent me.¡±


    ¡°I-Is that so? Where is he now?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too long to explain. First of all, rest assured that your father is fine. Can you move?¡±


    ¡°I hurt my leg¡­¡± She said as she showed her bare legs to me. There was a big wound there, and it seemed to be quite painful because it was tied up with a dirty cloth.


    If I summon Sooyeon here, she will be healed immediately, but she cannot come out. Which means, I had no choice but to provide first aid to her. I rummaged through my backpack and pulled out the first aid kit Sooyeon gave me.


    Paige looked at the stuff and asked cautiously.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you are a doctor¡­¡±


    Well yeah, I was a former snack store owner, who currently works as a psychopath.


    I said bluntly.


    ¡°You need to eat this, apply this one to the wound, and drink this one. Then you will be able to move.¡±


    She looked into my eyes and did what she was told. After a while, the wound healed quickly.


    I took my eyes off her wounds.


    ¡°I want to ask you one thing. Why didn¡¯t you come with your dad?¡±


    Paige¡¯s expression darkened.


    ¡°Because I love Terrence.¡±


    ¡°You mean you love muscular men, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but he cheated on me. He said he found another girl! Bad guy!¡±


    Her voice rose and I comforted her.


    ¡°The woman you¡¯re cursing at, she is no ordinary human. She¡¯s closer to a monster.¡±


    ¡°I beg your pardon? Does that make sense? A monster?¡±


    ¡°You know that the world has changed, don¡¯t you? Things about superpowers and monsters.¡±


    Paige barely nodded her head. It¡¯s been several months and it seemed like she was still unable to figure out the situation.


    ¡°The woman that Terrence chose is a modified ghoul. She¡¯s using other ghouls to seduce people.¡±


    ¡°A gh-ghoul?¡± She gasped as the thought of ghouls that she saw on the street passed on her head.


    Actually, a crying ghoul doesn¡¯t look that disgusting from the outside, but it¡¯s still a monster nonetheless. No matter how lustful I am, I don¡¯t think I would jump at it even if it¡¯s the last woman on Earth.


    ¡°I want to ask you¡­ are you planning to run away from here? Or are you going to wait for that guy, Terrence, to change his mind?¡±


    If she chooses the latter, there¡¯s nothing I can do for her. After doing my job, I would let James know of her choice and let them deal with their own problem.


    But thankfully, she chose the former.


    ¡°I want to go out¡­ I¡¯ve seen the men here for a long time¡­ They are not normal. They are crazy.¡±


    ¡°What exactly have you seen?¡±


    ¡°Th-they kill people¡­¡±


    Not that different from me, then.


    ¡°I-I think they are experimenting with corpses again¡­ I really regret following Terrence¡­¡±


    Then I heard a noise from outside the room. I quickly put the cloak on my body and hid in the corner.


    A muscular man appeared with a creaking sound of the door.


    So that¡¯s Terrence, huh?

 Chapter 203

    Terrence M. Iode. He was a stereotypical white American. His large size, muscular body, and the slanted hat he uses revealed his identity. Unlike me, who was covered with body armor all over, he was wearing nothing but a T-shirt, letting his muscles clearly visible.


    I know that there¡¯s some people who are proud of their muscles after working out a lot, but isn¡¯t looking like that a bit too dangerous in an apocalypse like this?


    Terrence walked over to Paige regardless of my concerns, making the freckled lady curled up.


    ¡°Baby, what are you doing here? Everyone is waiting.¡±


    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t want to go.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t do that in community life. There¡¯s a time when you have to do it even if you don¡¯t want to.¡±


    Surely he didn¡¯t mean doing an orgy?


    Paige glared at him while clenching her legs.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like it, I don¡¯t want it! I don¡¯t like the other uncles touching me!¡±


    ¡°Look at that temper¡­ You are sexier now, Paige.¡±


    As Terrence approached, she shook her head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel like doing it right now.¡±


    ¡°So what? There¡¯s no one here right now¡­ meaning there¡¯s no one to stop me. Not even James with his shotgun can.¡±


    She bit her lips at his smirk.


    ¡°Dad should have shot you back then.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha¡­ Even if he did that, I¡¯d still be alive since Priest Ahn would have saved me.¡±


    ¡°That man is a scammer.¡±


    Terrence sighed at her reproach.


    ¡°That was what people always said about the prophet. But he¡¯s here to help us¡­ isn¡¯t it true that we haven¡¯t lost a single person from our community thanks to him?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not because of the power of gods! It¡¯s just the power of the resurrection scroll! I know that there are people who are resurrected like them here in Korea sometimes.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t believe that nonsense, Paige.¡±


    ¡°And about that girl! I know she¡¯s a ghoul! How could you even have a thought of having sex with a monster like that?¡±


    I could see Terrence¡¯s muscles stiffened at those words.


    ¡°Where did you¡­ hear that?¡±


    ¡°At first you called me baby, then Paige, now it¡¯s you? Fuck you, you idiot.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it that way¡­¡±


    I have learned something from their conversation so far. Terrence was a useless idiot. He¡¯d been completely brainwashed by Ahn Geun-seok, leaving him no room to think for himself.


    He finally grabbed Paige¡¯s knee and tried to force it apart. I hurriedly wrote a word on a piece of paper and showed it to her.


    NEED HELP?


    Paige glanced at me and slightly nodded her head. I quickly asked her to pretend to hug him and asked him to go through his pockets. After all, If he had a resurrection scroll, all the work I was about to do would be in vain.


    Terrence smiled contentedly as Paige¡¯s face drew closer to him.


    ¡°Yeah, sometimes it¡¯s not bad to give up everything and just enjoy the flow.¡±


    Terrence hurriedly took off her pants and poked her stick towards Paige. She accepted his kiss and rummaged through his pockets to find the scroll.


    Now!


    I blew the paralyzing stinger I had prepared in advance at that moment. Surprisingly, Terrence survived the poison. He just slowly turned around to where I was.


    ¡°I had a strange feeling from the beginning, but to think there was a mouse hiding there¡­¡±


    Before he moved, I took off my cloak and opened the portal.


    ¡°Dingo! Bite him!¡±


    A silver wolf¡¯s upper body came out of the portal and bit Terrence¡¯s leg.


    ¡°Keeeukkk!¡±


    Terrence groaned, but he did not let Paige go.


    ¡°Pull him!¡±


    Crack!


    Paige¡¯s eyes widened when she belatedly laid her eyes on the big silver wolf. She must have been terrified to see a monstrous wolf coming out from the blue portal.


    As Dingo pulled Terrence relentlessly, his large arms couldn¡¯t hold towards Paige any longer as he finally got dragged away by Dingo. I tried to give a soccer kick to his face, but to my surprise, he was able to grab my ankle.


    ¡°Kuahahahahaha! You¡¯re the only one whose abilities are blocked, idiot.¡±


    As he put strength in his hand, I felt a pain which I rarely felt.


    This bastard is not affected by the battlefield!


    Dingo growled and bit his leg harder, but he just tightened the grip on my ankle more.


    ¡°Pain only fueled my will! Hahahaha, I bet you didn¡¯t know this!¡±


    Isn¡¯t that a typical villain¡¯s remark?


    I put my hand into the portal and snapped it. A bolt popped out of the blue portal and pierced Terrence¡¯s side without mercy.


    ¡°AAAAHHHHH!¡±


    Even if you have the Pain Tolerance skill, surely you wouldn¡¯t be able to stand that kind of pain.


    The grip on my ankle was released at that moment. I quickly groped the bottom of the portal to find the shotgun. The moment the gun was turned into him, Terrence laughed at me.


    ¡°Even if I die, I will come back to life! Priest Ahm will save me!¡±


    ¡°Will it be possible without this?¡± Paige interjected with a scroll in her hand. Instantly, Terrence¡¯s complexion turned grim.


    ¡°Nooooooooo!¡±


    Bang-!!


    Fire came out from the muzzle, slinging a round of ammo towards Terrence. After the ammo pierced his shoulders and head, the guy shook and blood burst from the gaping wound.


    Paige bit her mouth all the way through the shocking scene without screaming. It seemed like being a cowgirl played a vital role in nurturing her strong mentality.


    I lifted her up and put her on Dingo¡¯s back.


    ¡°Hold on to him so you don¡¯t fall. Dingo, run!¡±


    It was about 500 meters to where Sangshin and James were. As long as they went away from the area, she wouldn¡¯t be affected by the Shackles of War debuff any longer.


    Dingo, who was slightly smaller than a bull, smashed the door with force and ran out. Paige, who had been keeping her mouth shut when she saw a human being shot with a shotgun, finally screamed.


    After making sure that they had gone away, I went to confirm the kill. The points had come in, but the stats and skills remained the same, proof that he got nothing to do with the Battle Royale battlefield. It is probably the effect of Ahn Geun-Seok¡¯s meddling.


    ¡°The bastard is a priest now? He¡¯s been working hard, huh?¡±


    I ran into the opposite direction of where Dingo and Paige disappeared to.


    And at that moment, the redneck¡¯s hideout broke into commotion.


    .


    .


    .


    Dingo ran with Paige hanging on his back. Gunshots rang out all around them, but the clumsy firepower could not completely penetrate the fur of the adult silverwolf.


    Even though there were bloodstains on his silver fur, Dingo didn¡¯t stop running. When a few rednecks blocked their way, Dingo simply jumped up above the human wall and landed on the roof of the building.


    ¡°C-crazy!¡±


    Leaving the flabbergasted rednecks, Dingo quickly left the hideout. After running for some more, he finally found the place that smelled like his master¡¯s friend.


    The smell of pork!


    The man would deny it, but Dingo definitely sniffed it. In other words, it¡¯s the smell of his mouth.


    Paige hugged his thick neck tightly.


    ¡°My dear wolf, where are you going to take me?¡±


    Kung!


    Even though it might sound like nothing but howl, it was pretty short and full of temper. In other words, Dingo was scolding the girl. What made it feasible for him to do something like that was because he had lived with the shelter members for quite some time, thus he had gotten used to their communication method.


    ¡°Okay, sorry.¡±


    When Paige shut her mouth, Dingo stepped on the window sill and ran to the roof of the building. There, James and Sangshin were waiting for him.


    ¡°Paige! My daughter!¡±


    ¡°Dad!¡±


    Sangshin scratched the back of his head while the father and daughter duo were having a reunion. Then, he shifted his gaze towards the people below.


    ¡°Look at those guys¡­ They looked mad.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go¡±


    As Sangshin gestured, the concrete shards flew up.


    ¡°Stand still.¡±


    ¡°What will you do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll clean up those bastards first.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, several rednecks came up to the roof with amazing movements. Sangshin remembered Soye had made that kind of move before.


    Was it the Terrain Mastery unique skill?


    ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡±


    The rednecks pointed the pipe guns at them, but Sangshin just yawned at it. When the rednecks pulled the trigger, a thin barrier formed around Sangshin.


    Babababababang-!!


    Black smoke rose out of the muzzle, but the shield remained firm. At that moment, four long knives slid out from the bag on Sangshin¡¯s back. The long knives, which took everyone¡¯s attention, spread like a fan and flew in a straight line towards the rednecks.


    With the sound of the air being ripped, the rednecks¡¯ clothes were torn here and there, and blood was splattered to the ground. As their joints were ripped, the rednecks screamed and collapsed. The four long knives continue moving like a swimming fish, and sometimes like a hail of bullets.


    ¡°AGHHHHHH!¡±


    One of the rednecks, who came up late, had his whole body pierced by a long knife and instantly covered by his own blood. As they were about to fall to the street below, a shard of concrete flew towards them and supported their backs thanks to the gesture of Sangshin.


    ¡°If you die now, I will become a murderer.¡±


    Although he¡¯s not as good as Seongho, Sangshin still knew a lot about the murderer system. After all, the live broadcast of the man who had made exploiting the system his hobby was his everyday lullaby.


    As Sangshin released his telekinesis, the rednecks, together with the pieces of concrete holding them, fell to the ground.


    ¡°AAAAHHHHHH!¡±


    After the dull sound, the surroundings became quiet. Sangshin then lifted a few concrete shards and supported himself and Dingo. After that, he said to James,


    ¡°We are going to hunt some cows later, right?¡±


    James couldn¡¯t answer right away since he was still shaken from the battle that had just taken place. He thought that Seongho was the only one who was strong, but the man in front of him also transcends his common sense.


    ¡°W-we will¡­ But where did Mister Kang go?¡±


    ¡°Good. Now, we should get out of here. You don¡¯t need to worry about him.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he your comrade?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, but I have to say that my standing is lower than him¡­ Let¡¯s just leave. He¡¯ll do fine by himself.¡± To be honest, when Seongho starts to fight properly, Sansghin would become nothing but a burden. Sangshin was also quite strong compared to the average survivors, but his power was still far from enough to join the fight between stagnant water-level individuals.


    ¡°Is that so¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go before the annoying guys come.¡± The ones Sangshin talked about were the crying ghoul and Ahn Geun-seok.


    Sangshin beckoned, and four concrete shards quickly moved them away.


    .


    .


    .


    I put on my cloak and wandered around the hideout. Thankfully, after running around, I found something interesting. It was a totem towering inside the mall. However, it was different from what I knew.


    I tried to pull the totem from the ground, but I was caught up in an ominous sense of incongruity before doing it. I felt like something very bad was going to happen if I got closer.


    ¡°Just what are those bastards doing?¡±


    ¡°Are you curious?¡±


    As soon as I heard a sound from behind my back, I opened the portal and hid in the shelter. Ahn Geun-seok suddenly appeared and looked into the air with strange eyes.


    ¡°This is your subspace, huh? I wanted to see what it looked like, what a pity.¡±


    Ahn Geun-seok made a chair appear by shaping the floor before sitting down right in front of the portal.


    It seemed like he knew a little bit about the portal.


    I jolted down some words on a piece of paper and sent it to him.


    The guy read it all and laughed.


    ¡°You found me rude for standing in front of your door? Then what about you? You, who had come to my house uninvited, and had made a mess everywhere?.¡±


    -Keep waiting there. I¡¯ll do something else, something better than this.


    ¡°Are you going to have some fun inside? The portal won¡¯t move, so I¡¯ll wait here until you come out.¡±


    Look at this guy¡­


    Looked like he didn¡¯t just know a bit about the portal but a lot.


    As a programmer, he might have looked at the Auction House¡¯s comment log. For him, tampering with the system would be easy.


    As I was keeping my silence, Ahn Geun-seok spoke to me.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it frustrating to be inside? Let¡¯s talk.¡±


    -I have nothing to say.


    The shelter members looked at me while they were working, but they soon turned away. It seemed like they knew I was doing something and decided to leave me to my own device.


    Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s voice was once again heard inside the portal.


    ¡°You must have had a good look at her. How about it, I¡¯m willing to give her to you.¡±


    -I have no need for a ghoul.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t she pretty? Our designers made her with her appearance as the top priority. Her current look was something that already went through several revisions. The designers had a hard time.¡±


    The face of the ghoul girl was prettier than Da-jeong, Sooyeon, or even Soye. But I don¡¯t like doll-like girls. It¡¯s better to have someone who was a little bubbly and feral on some occasions.


    (P/n sad Mikyung didn¡¯t even got mentioned)


    As the silence grew longer, Ahn Geun-seok made an additional suggestion.


    ¡°If her skin bothers you, we will get rid of them. You will have a doll that is absolutely loyal to you.¡±


    -I don¡¯t need it, just take her for yourself.


    ¡°Fufu, I knew you were going to say that. Unless you¡¯re like us, there¡¯s no way you¡¯ll accept the offer.¡±


    -Why do you keep asking me if you know?


    ¡°To buy time.¡±


    Suddenly, several rednecks came and scattered around the portal. There was also the crying ghoul and a skinny man in a suit that I had never seen before. The suited man suddenly pulled out a notebook from his pocket and ripped out a page from it. Then a monster suddenly popped out of the air.


    What the hell is this¡­


    Ahn Geun-seok laughed in a low tone.


    ¡°This is the power of our designer. As you can see, his ability is monster summoning. No matter what weapon you use, you won¡¯t be able to kill them all.¡±


    It seemed like he¡¯s the reason why Hyun-woo couldn¡¯t find the Monster Lab.


    This is bad¡­ Rocket cannons and anti-tank mines wouldn¡¯t kill them until they explode. The latter might even kill me if I got completely caught up in the detonation.


    But there¡¯s one thing Ahn Geun-suk didn¡¯t know. I pretended to be in trouble and sent a note.


    Ahn Geun-seok smiled and stood behind the monster, Sniffles.


    ¡°Hahaha¡­ It seemed like the strongest stagnant water sometimes gets in a hurry too. But you can rest assured. I¡¯m not going to kill you.¡±


    -What do you mean?


    ¡°To be precise, I will not kill you and Da-jeong. I need high level people.¡±


    Why are you suddenly involving Da-jeong?


    I mean, Seokhyun is also quite high-level, Geom-in too.


    -If you tell us your purpose, we can cooperate.


    He and the designer snorted.


    ¡°Are you taking us for fools? We know better that Seongho has no intention of doing that.¡±


    Tsk¡­


    I closed the portal and headed towards the second portal. This portal connected to the dormitory of the Korean shelter.


    ¡°Yoohyeon, come here for a sec. I need your help.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Hyung!¡±


    Yoohyeon¡¯s paper airplane flew through the sky and scouted over the redneck¡¯s hideout. It was flying so high in order not to get detected, in exchange, we could only see the rough shape of the people below.


    ¡°They are still waiting there?¡±


    Jokes on you, that portal isn¡¯t the only portal I have.

 Chapter 204

    Anti-tank mines were not the only things I took from the bunker prepared by the American Military. I also brought a few military drones from there. As it was specialized for military purposes, its size and performance were way above normal drones. Moreover, the drone was ready-made to carry several different weapons and tools.


    One of the things that it can carry was bombs. If a target was specified, the drone would automatically lock it in and drop a bomb on it. In other words, it was a mini smart missile.


    However, as it, in the end, was nothing but a drone, the power it carried was pretty weak. But it should be enough to knock Ahn Geun-seok back. Of course, the best case scenario would be him dying to it, but I doubt it would happen.


    The problem is, the drone was quite noisy. Although it had a noise reduction module installed in it, the sound it made was only small for its size. I have no doubt that Ahn Geun-seok would notice right away when it flew closer to them.


    ¡°I need a distraction.¡±


    I called Sooyeon and Yeowool.


    ¡°Yeowool, you will be responding to Ahn Geun-seok. See that portal over there? When you hear a voice, you can write it in a paper and send it to me.¡±


    After hearing my words, Yeowool ran right to the portal and listened.


    ¡°There¡¯s no sound right now, right?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s none. By the way, you need to be careful, there are strong monsters outside the portal, so never put your hands out. Just fold the note and throw it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to look at your writing, ahjussi.¡±


    She opened the note I was about to throw.


    ¡°It¡¯s normal writing huh? But I don¡¯t know much about information like that.¡±


    ¡°For that, Sooyeon, please help her. Buy me some time. If you don¡¯t know, just ignore it. And please record Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s words.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    While Ahn Geun-seok was dealing with Sooyeon and Yeowool, I planned to drop the bombs. To do that, it was also necessary to mask the roar of the drone.


    I pulled out some grenades from my bag and put them in Sooyeon¡¯s hand.


    ¡°When you see my signal at the Auction House, throw them one at a time with delay in between. We are trying to mask the sound of the drone, so you should never use them all at once.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ve been throwing a lot of these things lately, so don¡¯t worry.¡± Sooyeon nodded. Although her fighting ability was a little inferior to the other members, she was always calm and decisive. That was the reason she was trusted by me and the others.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡±


    Around the same time, the shelter members gathered in front of the portal and began to look around. They were nothing but shocked at the spectacle. After all, humans and monsters were peacefully waiting together with the portal in between.


    ¡°Jiman, don¡¯t let Dingo¡¯s cubs and the hornbills near the portal.¡± With two hornbills and the sixtuplets, the shelter reminded me of some kind of animal farm. When the gryphon cub finally hatches, I bet it would get even more noisy.


    I went to the Korean Shelter with Mi-kyung to prepare for the raid. Then, when we arrived, I said to her, ¡°Mi-kyung, let¡¯s go there.¡±


    As I pointed to a point on the map, Mi-kyung took me there by blinking several times.


    ¡°Stay low.¡± I whispered as we arrived. As we were trying to hide ourselves on the railing, I saw Ahn Geun-seok, crossing his legs and yawning in front of the portal. It seemed like the thought that I had left the shelter never crossed his mind.


    ¡°But Oppa, if you kill him, wouldn¡¯t you become a murderer?¡± Mi-kyung asked as she clenched my arms tight.


    ¡°I already reset my kill count. One kill is fine. And as far as I know, he is no longer a human.¡±


    ¡°He isn¡¯t human?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s closer to a ghoul. Just consider him as a ghoul that has the form of a human.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    In all honesty, I was not so sure. But based on the cases I¡¯d been through so far, the probability that he¡¯s a human was low. It¡¯s not a big deal if my guess was wrong though, as my kill count is zero right now.


    I said softly into Mi-kyung¡¯s ear.


    ¡°After the bombing, there¡¯s a chance that he might survive. No, he¡¯ll definitely survive. So, keep an eye on him.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    In this battle, the cooperation between each other was very important, so everyone must keep an eye on the Auction House.


    I contacted Yoohyeon.


    -Yoohyeon, fly the drone. Raise the altitude so you won¡¯t be noticed. And everyone, please pay attention. You shouldn¡¯t write anything with plain words just because it is urgent.


    We can¡¯t have them figure out our plan.


    After a while, a drone and a paper plane flew at the same time from the Korean Shelter.


    -Sooyeon, prepare the hand grenade. How are you doing, Yeowool?


    -This guy is so pushy. He says he can give anything to you, Ahjussi.


    -Say that I want his life.


    Anyway, the preparations for the raid proceeded without any setbacks. At my signal, a large drone flew over the redneck¡¯s residence. A grenade popped out of the portal and exploded, but the Sniffles that had the form of a shield absorbed most of it. Ahn Geun-seok and the designer can be seen laughing next to each other.


    -Sooyeon, one more thing before the explosions subside, please.


    Another grenade popped out, and this time Ahn Geun-seok kicked it.


    Bang!


    The grenade soared into the sky and exploded, scattering fragments to all directions.


    I immediately gave the signal.


    -Yoohyeon, now!


    The hovering drone dropped the smart bomb at that moment. The drop point was exactly where Ahn Geun-seok was.


    His head turned to the sky, seemingly noticed something was falling, but the bomb had already reached his head.


    Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s mouth widened at that moment.


    BOOOM-!!!


    The surroundings shook as if an earthquake had occurred.


    .


    .


    .


    Ahn Geun-seok was satisfied. It was because Seongho¡¯s nervousness was palpable in the note he wrote. His prediction that blocking the portal would prevent him from leaving was correct since messages asking them to go away keep coming out.


    ¡°The monsters will not disappear unless you declare surrender.¡± Ahn Geun-seok said in a relaxed manner.


    -Then, I will not leave either.


    ¡°How long are you planning on staying there? Of course, you can do your own activities inside, but you won¡¯t be able to do the things you need to do here.¡±


    -So what do you want?


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve been telling you a few times already¡­ I need your body. Cooperation is no longer required. I will make you mine.¡±


    -It feels disgusting to hear a man say that to me.


    The note that Yeowool wrote was almost the same as that of Seongho. Ahn Geun-seok did not notice at all and only smiled happily.


    ¡°Haha¡­ Becoming a ghoul will make you feel better. Your skin will be tightened, and your body¡¯s durability will be greatly improved. You¡¯ll lose a little bit of agility, but you¡¯ll be able to overcome it. Come on, come out quickly.¡±


    -I will not.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see how long you can continue like this.¡±


    Ahn Geun-seok glanced at designer Song Hyun-soo. Then, a few trolls came out together with some Sniffles. They wrapped tightly around the portal. Now, if Seongho was to appear, he would have to kill 20 monsters at once which was almost impossible in his opinion.


    Then something rolled out of the portal.


    It¡¯s a grenade.


    Ahn Geun-seok grinned, and a shield Sniffle stepped up between him and the grenade to cover for him.


    Loud noises and vibrations reverberated all around.


    As the vibrations escalated, another grenade rolled out. Ahn Geun-seok kicked it, and the grenade floated into the air and exploded.


    ¡°Pointless things¡­¡±


    But something was strange.


    Why does Seongho waste his grenades on useless things?


    After all, grenades were one of many weapons which couldn¡¯t be manufactured anymore.


    At that time, Ahn Geun-seok heard a strange sound from the sky. It was the same sound which was created by tens of thousands of bees flying around. At the same time, he could also hear something falling.


    He looked up at the sky and saw that something was actually falling. On top of it, it was falling straight to his head.


    ¡°What the¡­¡±


    The moment his mouth opened, a smart bomb which was now only 2m from the ground exploded.


    Boom-!!!!


    Ahn Geun-seok and Song Hyun-soo¡¯s bodies were swept away by the explosion. The shockwave blew away the monsters and dust at the same time. Louder noises and vibrations reverberated all around.


    The site was a mess when the dust settled. Song Hyun-soo lost his head and died instantly, but moments later, light shone around his body as it disappeared alongside the shining light. The same thing also happened with Ahn Geun-seok.


    The difference between them was that he got up in front of a nearby building.


    ¡°THAT BASTARD DARE!!!!¡±


    He never thought that a bomb would suddenly fall from the sky. He also never thought that Seongho had more than one dimension gate.


    He sharply sharpened his teeth.


    ¡°You dared to play a prank on me¡­ I won¡¯t kill you¡­ I¡¯ll tear you apart again and again!¡±


    When he got angry, vertigo came. That was the aftermath of the resurrection scroll, so he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. As he leaned against the wall for a moment, he heard an ominous sound from his back.


    Ahn Geun-seok tried to run into the Great Labyrinth, but the speed of the flying object was too fast.


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    Bang-!!


    The anti-tank missile swept the wall and Ahn Geun-seok at the same time. His body became ragged to the point of being almost unrecognizable. The light disappeared from his only remaining eyeball.


    Then¡­


    ¡°Bye¡­¡±


    When Seongho pulled the trigger of the sniper rifle, a hole was punched into Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s head and his surroundings began to change.


    ¡°O-Oppa, what is that?¡±


    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t know either.¡±


    The ground around Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s changed. Then suddenly several tentacles sprang up. The tentacles wrapped around Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s body, which had become a mop, and pulled him into the ground.


    Bang! Bang!


    Seongho, who was not able to see his body, fired a shot, but it didn¡¯t seem to cause much damage. Finally, Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s body disappeared.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Seongho stared at the collapsed wall for a moment.


    ¡°I definitely killed him.¡±


    As Ahn Geun-Seok was treated as a ghoul by the system, killing him netted Seongho a significant amount of points and experience. It was enough to make his level rise tol 41.


    Above all else, the skills he possessed also came.


    ¡¸Ability Analysis¡¹


    ¡¸Checking your opponent¡¯s abilities. Also applicable to monsters. Consumes 100 points.¡¹


    There was nothing like this in Survival Life. The monster¡¯s level, stats, and skills can only be guessed by a player¡¯s experience, so users couldn¡¯t see their status window.


    If it was as explained, it means that Ahn Geun-seok had looked into Seongho¡¯s status window.


    Seongho grabbed Mi-kyung¡¯s shoulder and looked straight at her. The girl pouted her lips in embarrassment.


    ¡°I¡¯m not ready yet¡­ but if it¡¯s you, Oppa¡­¡±


    However, contrary to her wishes, Seongho is only reading her status window.


    ¡°Where did you spend all your points?¡±


    Mi-kyung was startled.


    ¡°How did you know about that, oppa?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking at your status window with a skill I just got.¡±


    ¡°My¡­ status window?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s odd isn¡¯t it? I also didn¡¯t even know there was such a thing.¡±


    Mi-kyung pouted her lips.


    ¡°I can¡¯t help it because Oppa called me out every day!¡±


    That¡¯s right. A fee was required for other people to enter the portal. That meant that every time Seongho called out, Mi-kyung had to spend 100 points.


    ¡°Ask Jiman for points later.¡± The guy was a millionaire at this point, so he could freely give it to others.


    When Seongho frowned, Mi-kyung smiled and took his arm.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay though. I wish I could help you more.¡±


    Unlike Mi-kyung, who was all smiles, Seongho couldn¡¯t do that. Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s ending was very bland.


    And what are those mysterious tentacles?


    ¡®I saw something similar on the 7th floor of the Great Labyrinth.¡¯


    Perhaps it was the monster in the deepest part of the Great Labyrinth that dragged Ahn Geun-seok.


    ¡®In order to project power on the ground, he must meet certain conditions ¡­¡¯


    Perhaps the totem he found fulfilled that role. There¡¯s no rule that a totem can only have one function, after all.


    Seongho grabbed his item and stood up. Ahn Geun-seok was dead, but it¡¯s not over. There were still a lot of things to do, as the designer that escaped previously is still alive, and that he has to keep track of the totem.


    More than anything else, he had to deal with the monsters summoned by him. Currently, the brainwashed rednecks are running away from the monsters. A lot of monsters were summoned in a very narrow place, so there was a lot of damage.


    Seongho opened the first dimension door.


    The members came out one after another with their weapons.


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain later, so let¡¯s clean it up first.¡±


    Everyone nodded with determination.


    .


    .


    .


    The rednecks¡¯ residence had been cleaned up.


    Seongho led his members to hunt and fed them with experience and skills. Everyone was full of will to fight and moved quickly, probably because they had been fighting monsters in the forest. Their change even made Seongho wonder whether they were really those clumsy bunch in the past.


    Finally, the cleaning was finished, but there was no trace of the designer. Meanwhile, the rednecks were in chaos. They formed a separate faction and escaped, and Seongho met James and his daughter at the Korean Shelter.


    ¡°Thank you! Thank you so much!¡±


    A large white man hugged Seongho and expressed his gratitude.


    Seongho removed him and asked. ¡°The three leaders are dead. What do you plan to do now?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I got permission from President Jang to stay here for the time being. I can¡¯t come back to Texas now.¡±


    Paige¡¯s eyes widened at his words.


    ¡°I am not going. There are only horses and cows there.¡±


    Where people were present, monsters were also present. That also means that if there were no people, there were no monsters.


    In a normal apocalypse, people could consume the stockpiled supplies and get along just fine. However, in the current situation, if they spend such a daily life, they are likely to be eliminated. The thing they needed was fighting skills that are necessary to level up so they can secure more skills and items.


    Jang Won-taek said.


    ¡°I heard you were planning to go to Texas to get some cattles¡­¡±


    ¡°I plan to bring them all. If there are other animals, we should also take them.¡±


    Paige drew a large circle with her arms.


    ¡°There were so many animals on our ranch! But they must all have run away by now.¡±


    ¡°We just have to find it.¡±


    In response to Seongho¡¯s words, James asked curiously.


    ¡°Do you have a Border Collie? When a herd of cattle goes out, it is difficult to gather them unless you have those guys.¡±


    (P/n A Border Collie is a dog breed from Britain that is often used to herd cattles in farms. They¡¯re also considered as one of the smartest dog breeds in the world.)


    ¡°Uh¡­ I don¡¯t have a shepherd dog, but I have a guy who¡¯s even better.¡±


    When it comes to the combination of Jiman and Dingo, driving a herd of cows would be a piece of cake.


    Page¡¯s eyes twinkled.


    ¡°Can you show the wolf again to me?¡±


    Somehow, she still looked young and innocent.


    Seongho told her.


    ¡°He¡¯s taking a break today. By the way, I¡¯m leaving for Texas tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    When Seongho returned to the Great Labyrinth, the stagnant waters, including Da-jeong, flew a long way and finally arrived at the Ruat Kingdom. The ruins revealed in the middle of the dense jungle were very eerie.


    However, Seokhyun got off the gryphon without any hesitation and stretched his muscles out. It was at that time that he felt a gaze staring at him in the jungle.


    It wasn¡¯t just one or two pairs of eyes either.


    He confidently stretched his chest and lowered his panties.


    It seems to be a threat to pull them out of their hiding spots.


    Sasasak-


    The suspicious glances disappeared right away.


    Seokhyun rubbed the tip of his nose with his finger as she felt it.


    ¡°I think they are shy.¡±


    ¡°How did you even get to that conclusion? Did you ever think that it might just be your fault that they ran away?¡±


    Da-jeong pulled the half-stunned Geom-in from the gryphon. The stag beetle rushed through the grass and painted on the floor.


    There are their kin here.

 Chapter 205

    Ahn Geun-seok opened his eyes. He couldn¡¯t breathe, but thanks to his body modification which enabled him to breathe through his skin, he felt okay.


    ¡°Dammit.¡± Ahn Geun-seok cursed while he struggled to get up. His body, which was attacked by an anti-tank missile, had not fully recovered. His skin didn¡¯t form yet, revealing the muscles and rattling bones in his elbows and knees.


    But he was alive. In exchange for fusing with a monster that boasts tremendous vitality, he had transcended human limits. It was by no means voluntary, but it was an unavoidable thing since he had come this far.


    He got out of the bathtub and snatched the clothes from the waiting secretary¡¯s hand. He had already become something beyond a normal human, but clothes still held some sentiment to him. After all, it was the only thing that made him feel humane after throwing away his humanity.


    He glanced at his secretary, Go Ho-kyung.


    ¡°Are you angry?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not. Rather, I felt it was a waste. Didn¡¯t you tell me we could proceed a little more leisurely, before?¡±


    Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s lips twisted strangely.


    ¡®Worships the God.¡¯ they said.


    However, the existence he saw in the Labyrinth¡¯s deepest part was absolutely not a God. It was nothing more than a monster with an uncontrollable greed.


    ¡°..,I don¡¯t have time. That guy has already acquired a griffon. Any time soon, he will explore the Lotus Continent.¡±


    ¡°Even if he searches all over the Lotus Continent, he won¡¯t be able to find a way to deal with ¡®Him¡¯.¡±


    ¡°There is nothing absolute in the world¡­ By the way, has Hyunsu returned yet?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a little hurt, so he¡¯s currently resting.¡±


    ¡°Tell him to come in here. Even if he doesn¡¯t feel good because I already used it, tell him that it works great.¡±


    ¡°I will tell him.¡±


    Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s gaze turned to the root in the corner of the room. It was unbelievably thick for a root of a tree. From it, a sap was flowing and seeped into the spring. It was similar to the spring near Seongho¡¯s base. The difference was, the one here was forcibly made. Thanks to that, Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s subordinates all enjoyed the privilege of being resurrected without a resurrection scroll.


    As Ahn Geun-seok went out into the hallway, Go Ho-kyung followed closely behind him. The 14th floor of the Great Labyrinth where they were located was a very mysterious place, as it was covered with living tissue and mucus. The two, who were once human, never got used to this atmosphere.


    Ahn Geun-seok, who was taking the lead, opened his mouth.


    ¡°By the way, that guy¡­ He has more than one portal. He, at the very least, has two.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying he could have three? ¡®That person¡¯ will be very delighted to hear that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m finding out their abilities one by one, but it¡¯s not enough¡­ I want to find out about it all at once, is there any way?¡±


    ¡°How about using those who are on the 13th floor?¡±


    Ahn Geun-seok stopped walking at his secretary¡¯s words. On the 13th floor, there were beings which were raised by the owner of the Great Labyrinth with great care. They were once human, but now they had become something between a human and a monster. They were burning with endless hatred and anger towards the owner and Ahn Geun-seok who had brought them here.


    Ahn Geun-seok shook his head.


    ¡°It won¡¯t be hard to beat that bastard using them¡­ But can we control them?¡±


    Instead of answering, Go Ho-kyung pulled something out of her pocket. It was a ring with an aether stone embedded in its center.


    ¡°The domination unique skill is imprinted on this ring. The effect is absolute as ¡®that person¡¯ made it himself.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Forget it. It¡¯s too early to use them.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you don¡¯t have time?¡±


    ¡°I mean, even with that in mind, if we send out an incomplete guy and it goes berserk, Seongho will be the only one who benefits from it.¡±


    Thanks to the fusion with monsters, if someone died, their skill could be taken away. This system was absolute that even the monster in the deepest layer of the labyrinth could not resist.


    Then, Go Ho-kyung said,


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you try to take the Chinese under you? Their level is not very high, but their sheer numbers are outstanding.¡±


    At last, color returned to Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s face.


    ¡°They didn¡¯t get along with Seongho, didn¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°More than 300 Chinese died in his hands. They promised that if they caught him, they would gut him alive.¡±


    Ahn Geun-seok laughed at the statement, but it was clear that they held immense hatred and anger towards Seongho. Which means, they were good material.


    ¡°Test them before you use them. Who is their leader?¡±


    ¡°His name is Zhao Ziwei. A 33-year-old former gymnast. His unique skill is assumed to be acceleration.¡±


    ¡°Tell him that we will give him strength. If we also make some of his subordinates stronger, they¡¯ll take care of him for us.¡±


    ¡°I will proceed with that plan, then.¡±


    Go Ho-kyung disappeared after saying those words, and Ahn Geun-seok ignited his anger against Seongho.


    ¡°Not only did he make me consume a resurrection scroll, he also made me use the Spring¡­.¡±


    He wanted to see what Seongho looked like after he finished turning him.


    He really wanted to see it.


    .


    .


    .


    I don¡¯t know much about Texas. All I knew was a vague image of a vast land where cowboys herd their hundreds of cattle.


    But James laughed out loud when I told him so.


    ¡°Everything in Texas is big. Land, guns, food, and women¡¯s breasts.¡±


    ¡°I like the last one the most.¡±


    ¡°There is a saying that there is no such thing as too big for breasts. The bigger, the better.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a bit¡­¡±


    James and Sangshin were constantly chatting with each other while we broke through the Great Labyrinth.


    Paige looked at his dad.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to believe half of what the Texans say. But even better if you don¡¯t believe it at all.¡±


    From what she said, I realized that Texans have a tendency to brag.


    As we broke through the Great Labyrinth, I couldn¡¯t help but want to say something because I was bored.


    ¡°By the way, when we came here before, the Great Labyrinth wasn¡¯t this quiet¡­ Why is it like this, now?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it is because of him.¡± Sangshin pointed at me.


    ¡°Why? Are you saying that monsters are afraid of Mr. Kang?¡±


    ¡°All monsters around here have been smashed by him, so they won¡¯t regenerate for the time being. Though, once we arrive at the open entrance in Texas, it will be crowded.¡±


    ¡°Oh my gosh¡­¡±


    Paige looked shocked. It seemed that as her stay in Korea was a short one, she hadn¡¯t heard of my notoriety just yet.


    James nodded his head.


    ¡°Mr. Kang is a real man compared to Terrence, whose brain is full of muscle.¡±


    He said it, of course, for Paige to hear.


    To my surprise, she raised her middle finger towards her dad.


    ¡°I decide on my man. Terrence was an idiot, but he has great muscle.¡±


    ¡°So where is he now?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    Paige glanced at me and folded her arms.


    ¡°I think Mr. Kang is okay too. His muscles are great too.¡±


    It became clear to me that she was the kind of girl who will fall for others easily. James looked back and grinned.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that Mr. Kang already has an owner.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ do you really have an owner?¡±


    ¡°Choi Da-jeong is a very nice woman.¡±


    ¡°Are her breasts big?¡±


    Don¡¯t people usually ask whether she¡¯s pretty or not first?


    When Lee Sangshin intervened and told her that she was a very scary woman, she shuddered and left. Then, she crossed her arms.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯m fine with you.¡±


    ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t have much muscle¡­¡±


    ¡°You can just build it in the future. Though, I don¡¯t care because you are strong.¡±


    ¡°Shh, we have arrived.¡±


    We approached the portal as we dealt with the monsters coming in. When we went outside, I saw a street encroached on by the ecosystem of Lotus.


    ¡°This is Crosby County, in the northeast of Houston. Our ranch is about 30 kilometers to the east from here.¡±


    We had to go 30 kilometers from here? In this state of situation?


    As I looked around, the area called Crosby reflected my preconceived notions of Texas. I mean, how can there be no mountains at all? At the end of my field of view, there was a horizon, which was a very hard sight to find in Korea. Dilapidated wooden houses and grass rolling in the wind added to the desolateness.


    We entered a nearby wooden house and hid. The first thing to do was to scout the surroundings. When I opened the dimensional warehouse, James and Paige opened their mouths wide.


    ¡°Wow. What kind of door is that big?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a little bigger than Texas!¡±


    To bring a herd of cattle, the cooperation of James and Paige were essential. Therefore, I needed to open up to them about my abilities.


    James stroked his beard and opened her mouth.


    ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever seen a psyker with a spatial ability. Everyone around me mostly had shooting ability or horse riding ability.¡±


    ¡°Do you call superhumans a psyker?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the title that we used since they can use superpowers.¡±


    Paige asked me.


    ¡°Can anyone enter this portal?¡±


    ¡°No one else can get in except me.¡±


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s incredibly selfish.¡±


    This girl was so straightforward.


    Anyway, the daughter hovered around the portal for quite some time, but she didn¡¯t show more interest. Probably because she didn¡¯t know what¡¯s inside.


    I went inside and got my drone and my laptop out. After a while, the drone flew and showed us the surroundings on the laptop screen.


    We got together and watched the video.


    ¡°Looking from the sky, this is a real mess. I can¡¯t tell if that place is a forest or a city.¡±


    ¡°Where is your house?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t see it with this drone. It¡¯s too far away.¡±


    Paige said with a disappointed face, and I continued to move the drone to look around. Before long, we found a group of humans and a huge herd of cattle.


    James urged.


    ¡°Take the drone down. If we get close, we can know whether it¡¯s mine or not.¡±


    As I lowered the drone, he shouted loudly, ¡°My cow!¡±


    ¡°Angus! That¡¯s Angus, the leader of the pack! He was still alive!¡±


    He seemed to be referring to a large black cow running away at the front. A herd of at least 200 cows were running behind it.


    From the herd¡¯s back, people were shooting arrows, but they missed every time.


    ¡°Ah¡­ this won¡¯t do!¡± James lamented. ¡°That¡¯s my cattle!¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s been a few months, hasn¡¯t your ownership been revoked? There is nothing that you can use to prove it.¡±


    ¡°I can prove it by force, can¡¯t I?¡±


    James glanced at me.


    But there was no need to fight the group of humans since there were 200 cows. We should just divide it evenly.


    I told James.


    ¡°Before we get the cows, I want to set the allocation in advance.¡±


    ¡°My portion is 4, and Mr. Kang is 6. How about it?¡±


    Not a bad suggestion.


    ¡°By the way, can I donate some of your cattle to the Korea shelter?¡±


    ¡°Of course. We have nowhere to put it anyway.¡±


    It seemed that the father and daughter duo had decided to settle down in Korea, not Texas.


    ¡°Good. So let¡¯s catch them. Please wait here.¡±


    I opened the portal and entered the shelter. Jiman instantly greeted me with twinkling eyes as soon as I crossed over.


    ¡°Hyung, didn¡¯t you say there were cows?¡±


    ¡°I just checked it, and there were probably 200 out there. I decided to take six.¡±


    ¡°If we raise them in this forest, they will be fine. There aren¡¯t many monsters here anymore.¡±


    The number of monsters around our area had decreased significantly thanks to the hard work of the shelter members. It¡¯s a bit difficult to leave them completely in the forest for the time being, but it should be okay to just raise them inside the shelter fence.


    I took Jiman and moved to the site on the forest side


    ¡°For the time being, I will use this place as their barn. With your ability, they can look for food themselves, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I can instruct them to go out in the morning, fill their stomach, and come back in the evening.¡±


    There¡¯s also a lot of grain for their food in the dimensional warehouse, so we could use it if it was really necessary.


    Putting an end to the discussion, I took two motorcycles and Jiman with me. Before we went out, I stopped by the bulletin board to check the status of Seokhyun¡¯s team.


    Jiman stood next to me and explained.


    ¡°They have now arrived in the Ruat Kingdom. They said that the landscape was similar to that Chich¨¦n Itz¨¢.¡±


    ¡°Chicken what?¡±


    ¡°It is a relic of the Mayan civilization. They are Pyramids, but they lie in the jungle.¡±


    Ah that¡­ If I remember correctly, I saw it in a textbook once. Anyway, Jiman also told me that the nickname Chichen Itza was given by Seokhyun. Just like in the museum before, he seemed to know a lot about history.


    ¡°They also said that they met stag beetles¡¯ kin there.¡±


    Those temperamental and cold stag beetles¡¯ kin?


    However, Jiman explained that their kin didn¡¯t look like stag beetles at all.


    ¡°The stag beetle that came with them drew a forest warrior with a stag beetle tattooed on their body. Those are the people who showed up.¡±


    ¡°¡­Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes. You can check it out at the Auction House, Hyung.¡±


    I opened the Auction House and checked the comments.


    -Hey idiot, stop hitting people out of nowhere like that!


    -Fists are a great way to communicate.


    -I mean, when I throw a fist at the wary elves, doesn¡¯t that mean we¡¯re having a conversation?


    -Shit¡­ Seongho, if you see this, call us! Just now, Seokhyun hit an elf and caused a big accident!


    Well damn!


    They had arrived at the ruins, but a clash with the elves who were stationed there happened. It was said that the elves fired some arrows at them, but Seokhyun ignored them all and knocked them down.


    I typed a comment hastily.


    -Where did the elves go?


    After a while, the Geom-in¡¯s comment came up.


    -It¡¯s Geom-in. The elves ran away.


    -Is that possible? Last time I checked, Seokhyun¡¯s Perception stat was high¡­


    -Don¡¯t be surprised. The stag beetle told us that the elves have a great stealth ability. They are just like a chameleon.


    -All of them?


    -Yeah. That¡¯s the nature of the elves living in the forest. Elves living in desert areas are different.


    Anyway, the disaster was entirely Seokhyun¡¯s fault. Those elves were people who could be helpful to us, but since he had thrown his fists at them, it would be difficult to procure their help.


    At that time, Seokhyun broke into the comment section.


    -I didn¡¯t do anything wrong.


    -Didn¡¯t you hit them?


    -Their stares are annoying. They keep staring at us with hostile gazes. Should I really leave those kinds of people alone?


    If that¡¯s the case, the story was a bit different. There¡¯s no reason to not attack first when the other party is openly expressing their hatred. Had I been there, I would have attacked first too.


    -If that¡¯s the case, then well done. So, have you checked their location?


    -Yeah. They live in a big tree in the forest. We are trying to go there now.


    -Wait a minute, wait a minute. Let me organize my thoughts first.


    I took my eyes off the Auction House and organized my thoughts. There¡¯s no need to further escalate the accident. I wanted to put an end to it now if possible, but I didn¡¯t know what the other side would think.


    Should we send stag beetles as goodwill ambassadors there?


    I called Da-jeong at that moment.


    -What¡¯s Chief Stag Beetle doing now?


    -He¡¯s currently biting Seokhyun¡¯s ear.


    Looked like he¡¯s furious. Well, it¡¯s natural to be angry when you see someone punch your kin.


    -Calm him and ask him to let his ear go. If there¡¯s something the elves like, please let me know.


    -Are you trying to reconcile with them?


    -I think it¡¯s probably a misunderstanding. There¡¯s no reason for them to hate us the first time they saw us, right?


    -After listening to the stag beetle, it is clear that something bad happened with the Ruat Kingdom in the past.


    -So, let¡¯s find out a little bit about that. Conflicts should be avoided as much as possible.


    -It¡¯s so weird to hear you saying something like that.


    -You go there to get information. What should we do if our only prospective source of information refuses to talk?


    -Okay, Okay. I¡¯ll talk to the stag beetle, so wait.


    -I¡¯m in Texas, America right now. I¡¯m pretty busy with cattle. So, take care of the work there well.


    -BEEF!!!!! I like beef!


    -It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve eaten beef.


    -That¡¯s why¡­ Let¡¯s do it well.


    -Okay!


    The three of them answered simultaneously with beef as the bait.


    Taking care of them was like taking care of a little child.


    Truly.

 Chapter 206

    Wood Elves.


    It was the true identity of the stag beetles hidden under the veil of their curse. It was a race that currently occupied the forest of the Ruat Kingdom. Their appearance was quite different from what Geom-in originally imagined. They had dark skin, strangely long ears, slit eyes, and tattoos all over the body. Their warlike attitude also disappointed Geom-in deeply.


    At any rate, the stagnant waters team recognized the need to reach out to them. All that was needed was a flag; a white flag, symbolizing peace.


    However, after hearing the explanation from the Chief Stag Beetle that came with them, Seokhyun insisted that they shouldn¡¯t do it.


    ¡°We won, so why are we the ones waving the white flag? I don¡¯t wanna.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that we won, it¡¯s just that they were beaten up during a confrontation. They ran away.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a win in my dictionary. Anyway, I don¡¯t want to do it.¡±


    ¡°You tell Seongho that.¡±


    ¡°What should we use as the flagpole?¡± Seokhyun¡¯s attitude took a turn as soon as Seongho¡¯s name was mentioned.


    Da-jeong rubbed her temple and sighed as she watched Seokhyun ask the Chief Stag Beetle. Although he¡¯s madman, it was fortunate that Seongho was able to control him.


    The Chief made a flower shape by taking a large leaf with Geom-in.


    ¡°Even the flagpoles shouldn¡¯t be made of wood, and it looks like we can only use branches that have fallen to the ground.¡±


    The swordsman completed the flag and the two grumbled.


    ¡°Is this a Wood Elf who loves nature?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the point of loving nature when they make a big tree as their home? What kind of concept are they using?¡±


    ¡°That tree is an Elderwood Tree? Huh? They live in the empty space in the middle of it?¡± Geom-in asked as he looked at the drawing that the Chief Stag Beetle made.


    ¡°There are only roots in our forest¡­ What racism.¡±


    ¡°Think about what you did to it last time. If it were me, I would have thrown you to hell after spanking you a thousand times with my roots.¡± Da-jeong scoffed.


    ¡°But I would love that, though?¡±


    Da-jeong sighed at Seokhyun¡¯s kickback. She forgot that the man was a big pervert. She shut her mouth and the party entered the forest with the flag ahead of them. A stag beetle rested on Seokhyun¡¯s head, who was in the lead, and a scarab sat on Geom-in¡¯s head.


    Da-jeong, who was following her from behind, looked up at the forest with leisure.


    ¡®Wow¡­¡¯


    It was a very dense forest. Even so, the sunlight still penetrated through the foliage making the forest far from the word ¡®gloomy¡¯. It was a warm and cozy forest with little to no monsters at all. From what the Chief Stag Beetle told them, it was the Wood Elves who chased them away.


    ¡®Of course, if they become too arrogant, they¡¯ll fall over.¡¯


    Currently, Seokhyun was in charge of the scouting and tanking, and Da-jeong was in the position of restraining and supporting. So, if a battle suddenly happened, they would be ready.


    ¡°Hey, Rapwi!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I need to buy a fruit basket. Let¡¯s stop for a moment.¡±


    ¡°They are just elves, why bother¡­ AGH¡­.¡±


    The Chief Stag Beetle sitting on Seokhyun¡¯s head bit his ear right after he said that. From his point of view, it must have felt like a direct insult to him and their race.


    Anyway, Geom-in posted a request on the Auction House, and the shelter members sent a fruit basket to them without delay.


    The stag beetle¡¯s eyes gleamed at it.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that too luxurious?¡±


    ¡°Jiman made it. If it¡¯s someone else who did it, It wouldn¡¯t be this pretty.¡± The fruit basket was decorated with various fruits as well as pretty flowers. Just getting close to it gives off a nice scent that makes people feel better.


    Geom-in picked up the basket.


    ¡°This should be enough as an apology.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Geom-in, are you trying to seduce a Wood Elf?¡±


    ¡°Huh? No! I¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°So what¡¯s with your face? Your desire to date an elf is all over it.¡±


    Geom-in looked at the other members and shook his head, face flushed. He has grown up a lot, but when he¡¯s with the other stagnant waters, he often shows his immature appearance.


    Da-jeong giggled and teased him.


    ¡°Did you give up chasing Sooyeon unnie?¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t fit each other¡­ Her preferences are too grown up.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why you don¡¯t talk about games with the girl you like, you fool! So, are you changing course to an elf now? But have you thought about it properly? Don¡¯t elves usually have a long lifespan? What if you dated a 200-year-old grandmother?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Geom-in was shocked as soon as he heard Da-jeong¡¯s words. Until now, he hadn¡¯t thought about the age of the Wood Elves at all.


    ¡°Really? How long is your lifespan on average?¡± He cautiously approached the stag beetle, but he quickly hid behind Seokhyun¡¯s rabbit ears. He doesn¡¯t seem to want to talk.


    Da-jeong clapped her hands.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s stop flirting and work. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    The group plunged deeper into a deep forest.


    .


    .


    .


    I left the shelter with the motorcycle together with Jiman. We only did that right after the shelter members returned from hunting. When I told them what I was about to do, everyone was excited. But, Jiman¡¯s excitement was different from the other¡¯s. Seemed like he felt more excited about the prospect of raising the cows more than the thought of eating it.


    Dingo and Dingsoon walked behind us as we crossed back to Texas. When I introduced them to James and Paige, they were both surprised.


    ¡°I thought you only have one?¡±


    ¡°Her name is Dingsoon. She¡¯s Dingo¡¯s partner.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s big. For once, you have something that I couldn¡¯t compare to.¡±


    Of course he should be unparalleled in this world. After all, he¡¯s a wolf who grows up in a fantasy world.


    ¡°Their fur is so pretty¡­¡± Paige said, admiring the silver wolf pair.


    At that moment, Sangshin turned his head away from the laptop screen.


    ¡°If they chase a herd like that, the cattle will run away. After all, there¡¯s only one group that is currently chasing after it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good for us if that happens. How¡¯s the herd?¡±


    ¡°They went a little bit towards the south. But these people will be problematic¡­¡±


    Those people were a group who chased the herd ahead of us. Judging from the fact that James didn¡¯t know about them, they didn¡¯t seem to be from the ranch.


    In any case, they were constantly chasing the herd as if their precious treasure had been stolen by the herd. Even now, they were resting 2 or 3 km away from the herd.


    James stroked his beard and checked the laptop screen.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if we take about 20 or so¡­ They can find another cow, can¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°Correct. But I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll just quietly accept it.¡± After all, there was no end to a man¡¯s greed.


    James pondered, and he made the offer.


    ¡°I will write a note. If we explain enough, they should understand.¡±


    He seemed to think of claiming it and taking some away, but it won¡¯t work. Moments later, the drone dropped a note and we witnessed a cowboy who seemed to be the leader raising his middle finger at us.


    Paige was angry at the sight.


    ¡°Foolish bastard! Do you think all those cows belong to you?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ve been chasing them until now, it¡¯s clear that those guys want them so badly. Let¡¯s begin our preparation, then. Jiman, go ride Dingo and go towards their rear.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    It¡¯s a fact I didn¡¯t know until recently, but the shelter members had often rode Dingo and Dingsoon around. Everyone was light in weight, so they said they would not be a burden for them. I don¡¯t know if the wolf thought that way too, but seeing how Dingo¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change even after Jiman sat on top of him, it seemed to be true.


    ¡°James, take this bike.¡±


    ¡°Wow, this is a good bike.¡±


    When I saw James let Paige sit in the back and started the engine, he looked like a ruthless biker. He grinned at me and put his thumb up.


    ¡°I¡¯m feeling lucky to get to ride a bike like this in this apocalypse! Let¡¯s go! Hee-ho!¡±


    Vrooom-!!


    Two bikes rushed through the meadow. Dingo and Dingsoon, along with Jiman, ran after us before changing direction. We were about to arrive at the front of the herd. It was truly spectacular to see a herd of over 200 cows with my own eyes.


    But soon after, the hunters start to be seen at our back. They seemed to be very angry from the fact that their leader raised his weapon.


    ¡°Keep running! Keep going!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    We don¡¯t have to stop and give them a chance. But the cattles were the problem. Tired of being chased, the leading cow, Angus, stopped. Of course all the cows behind it follow suit.


    Even though Jiman and Dingo approached it to try to herd it, it only stood still. Then out of nowhere, bubbles came out of Angus¡¯s mouth. Looked like it didn¡¯t listen because it was too tired.


    ¡°James!¡±


    We stopped in front of the herd. If the plan went smoothly, we were going to rest for a while and run again, but the hunters followed us more persistently than I thought.


    I took a pistol out of my backpack. After all, I couldn¡¯t fight with all my power here since this place was still a battle royale battlefield.


    After a while, the hunters appeared. They were startled by the pistol in my hand, but they did not back down.


    They are this desperate?


    Two of the hunters stepped forward.


    ¡°Those cows, it¡¯s ours.¡±


    ¡°Too bad, son. They are mine. Look at those marks on the ear.¡±


    James pointed to Angus¡¯ fluttering ears, but the two men only snorted.


    ¡°What does pre-apocalyptic ownership matter now? The strong prevails, old man.¡±


    ¡°You spoke well.¡±


    I pointed the gun at the scruffy man.


    ¡°You said the strong prevails, so that should mean that those cows belonged to us, then?¡±


    The man in a cowboy hat and vest grinned and turned his head.


    ¡°With that scrawny gun? This is what a true gun looks like.¡± Then they both pointed something like a pipe at me. I wanted to do something right away, but I saw James¡¯ face turn stiff.


    ¡°Are those¡­ Hand cannons? You point at people with those?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t help it! We have to eat too.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Kang, that is a dangerous weapon. They are putting things like glass and stone in a pipe as ammunition. The lethality is great.¡±


    It seemed it was the truth that Americans were good at making things by themselves.


    Anyway, they seemed to have gained courage from seeing that I only have 1 gun. After all, I didn¡¯t give James or Jiman a gun. I mean, at the end of the day, they wouldn¡¯t need it since I would take care of all the things. If the worst were to happen, I would need Sangshin¡¯s help, but that¡¯s it. And I doubt this situation would boil down to that.


    By the way, the cows were slowly recovering their energy. At the same time, the hunters started chattering, thinking I had shrunk away because of their threat.


    ¡°Hey! Isn¡¯t the breasts of the girl in the back amazing?¡±


    ¡°Is she your lover? She¡¯s fine. Give her to us, we¡¯ll treat her well.¡±


    James clenched his fist at the words.


    ¡°So, you guys are not just cow hunters but man hunters as well, huh?¡±


    The cowboy hat men smirk.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a common thing? In a situation like this¡­ Wouldn¡¯t it be better for you to eat together with us rather than with those two Asians?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Look at his eyes¡­ They were like this, like a shrimp!¡± A man behind the cowboy guy stretches the skin near his eyes, pretending to have the same eyes as Asian. What a common racist gesture.


    People who did it seem to do it without much thought, but people who saw it would be offended.


    I pulled out an emeras throwing knife and threw it right into his eyes.


    ¡°AKKKKKKKKKGGGGHHHH!¡±


    The man screamed as the knives grazed the side of his head.


    ¡°Your eyes look better now.¡± I snickered.


    The hunters around me quickly moved.


    ¡°Fuck! Do you want to die? Shall I tear you apart?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s you who are going to die.¡±


    The reason why I¡¯d been holding back until now was because the cows are tired. Now that they seem to have recovered, there¡¯s no need to be quiet.


    As I pointed the pistol in my hand towards them, the hand cannon focused on me.


    ¡°Shoot! Shoot!¡±


    ¡°Kill that bastard!¡±


    Bang-!!


    There was an explosion from the hand cannon. But I had already opened the portal before the cannons hit me. The transparent wall stopped the clutter from the hand cannon.


    I pointed my pistol over the portal and pulled the trigger.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Series of gunshots rang out, but to my surprise, the two of them clenched their teeth and held out.


    Are they wearing bulletproof vests?


    ¡°Behind the motorcycle!¡±


    James and Paige hid behind the motorcycle as soon as I shouted. Arrows flew at us, and I hid behind the portal and pulled out a long knife.


    ¡°Dingo!¡±


    The hunters were terrified when Dingo and Dingsoon rushed in.


    ¡°What the f*ck?!? Is that a wolf?!¡±


    ¡°Load it quickly!¡±


    Looked like they were unable to see them since they were obstructed by the cows. I rushed over to the cowboy who was hastily pouring shards of glass into the pipe and swung my long knife.


    The hand cannon together with his hand floated into the air.


    ¡°AHHHHHHHH! My hand!¡±


    ¡°G-go away.¡±


    When I kicked his chest, I could see the guy behind me was pointing a bow at me. Without thinking, I bowed my head. The arrow flew away and narrowly passed over my head.


    Woof-!!


    Finally, the two wolves attacked the hunters. Not only that, Arrows also flew from my back. James, Paige, and Jiman are giving me a supporting fire. Their accuracy was not great, but it did enough to break the momentum of the hunters.


    I rushed to the group of hunters, which was still embroidered in chaos. Not long after that, only the hunter who was knocked down with an emeras throwing knife in his eye from before still remains. Even though one of his eyes was still left, he couldn¡¯t see and struggled.


    ¡°Pl-please¡­ spare me¡­¡±


    I put my feet on his back and gave strength to it. The man fell down like a frog and struggled.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you mock my eyes again?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to¡­ that was a mistake¡­¡±


    ¡°I see. Then, let¡¯s make it fair. I¡¯m going to make a mistake as well.¡± I put a long knife around the man¡¯s neck and slashed it at once. As his head rolled over, Paige closed his eyes and turned her head away.


    ¡°What a pain¡­¡± I was going to give about 20 cows to them, but things went awry. But I had regrets. If I didn¡¯t have the strength, I would have died.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the ranch and eat some beef.¡±

 Chapter 207

    ¡°Oh~ so this place is called the Velrond Forest?¡±


    ¡°What the? The elves used the name of the region of their dwelling on their name? So, in my case, it will be like Da-jeong Velrond?¡±


    ¡°What if they moved out? You don¡¯t? You have to live in the forest where you were born until you die?¡±


    The stagnant waters keep hurling what¡¯s on their mind to the stag beetle while walking through the forest. But unlike their normal attitude, the stag beetle readily answered their questions, because they were in a good mood after meeting their kin. Well, everyone¡¯s questions except for Seokhyun¡¯s.


    However, even the stag beetle didn¡¯t know everything. Apparently, the elves were scattered across the continent and lived a secular life, so it was said that there was no communication between one group and another.


    Geom-in¡¯s voice, which had been vocal until now, changed to a tone of disappointment.


    ¡°They don¡¯t leave their birthplace¡­ Then that means there¡¯s no mixed race between elves and humans¡­¡±


    The stag beetle made an ¡®of course¡¯ gesture, but the scarab was different. The guy said that there were exceptions everywhere.


    -It may have been like that 500 years ago, but elves aren¡¯t like that these days. They don¡¯t know how to keep tradition.


    -You ground digger!!! Have you finished talking?


    -Should I tell you the story of how the elves used fire and burned the forest?


    -It¡¯s not the elves of our tribe!


    -Oh, of course! You only say it¡¯s your tribe¡¯s doing when it comes to good deeds, aren¡¯t you?


    The two started fighting on top of Geom-in¡¯s head.


    ¡°We will side with the one who wins!¡± Da-jeong cheered. However, as soon as her words ended, Seokhyun stretched out his arms.


    ¡°Shh. There¡¯s a monster nearby.¡±


    ¡°What monster?¡±


    ¡°A zizektree.¡±


    Zizektree was a tree monster. Even though it looked like nothing but a normal tree at a glance, once they started using their roots, it¡¯s an entirely different story. Its attack power was quite high and, above all, its defense was strong, making it a challenging foe to fight against.


    However, to the stagnant waters, zizektrees were nothing but firewood. After all, once they throw a flame can at them, it won¡¯t be able to do anything but scream and burn until it dies.


    ¡°There it is.¡± Only then did Da-jeong find out the location of zizektree. It was standing still between two normal trees.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t weapons meaningless against those guys?¡±


    As Geom-in said, cold weapons did not work well against a zizektree; Arrows and swords would only cause scratches to their bark.


    ¡°But we have earthwork. Go! Earthwork!¡± Da-jeong picked Seokhyun up and threw him.


    The moment Zizektree opened its eyes and was about to pull its roots out of the ground, Seokhyun clenched his fists as he took a stance.


    Bam-!!


    When Seokhyun¡¯s fist hit the zizektree¡¯s bark, its body together with the roots were dug out and fell to the floor. Seokhyun ran to the guy and grabbed its head with his two arms.


    ¡°Taste this!! Earthquake Hug!¡±


    After a little bit of effort from Seokhyun, the strong zizektree shattered and died.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t your hug of love too strong?¡± Geom-in murmured.


    At that moment, the bushes in the opposite direction of the group moved and elves of Velrond Forest appeared. They had gray skin, a balanced physique and long ears covered by their hair.


    The person who stood in front of the group of elves was the same elf that was beaten by Seokhyun. However, unlike before, they had no malice painted on their faces. Rather, they wore a surprised expression on their face.


    Was a zizektree a monster that could die that easily?


    The answer is no; It was a formidable foe for everything inside the forest. The fact was especially true for the wood elves, who cannot use fire in the forest.


    Yet, the man in front of them killed it by exploding its head with such ease¡­


    ¡°You¡­ Just who are you?¡± The elf at the forefront asked.


    ¡°Me? I¡¯m the one who had beaten you down earlier.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that you¡¯ll do it again here?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Seokhyun smirked provocatively. In his mind, Seongho¡¯s request had already disappeared without a trace.


    ¡°Really, humans are¡­ you guys are the guests in this forest! Don¡¯t you understand that guests must show courtesy to the host?¡± Gryondel Velrond, the patrol leader of the elves, criticized him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. So, you guys should make me understand.¡± There was an ominous sound from his fists as he said that, making the wood elves nervous. The elves felt even more nervous thinking that the human in front of them is not something they can do anything about after his fight against the zizektree.


    ¡°So it¡¯s only a farce that you guys brought flags of peace and fruit baskets as gifts.¡±


    As Gryondel grinded his teeth harder, Geom-in quickly spoke.


    ¡°It¡¯s a misunderstanding. We didn¡¯t come to fight.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t come here to fight? How can we believe your-¡±


    ¡°Take this.¡±


    A fruit basket flew to Gryondel.


    The elves around him cautiously opened the basket and were surprised with what¡¯s inside.


    ¡°It¡¯s a sun apple!¡±


    ¡°This is a winter strawberry¡­ it¡¯s hard to find!¡±


    Gryondel pretended not to see the basket, but he couldn¡¯t ignore the good scent. The moment his gaze landed on the basket, Da-jeong raised her hand.


    ¡°I want to say again that what that guy did earlier was just an accident. I don¡¯t think we need to fight, right? But, if you still want to fight, then we¡¯ll just do that.¡±


    ¡®It¡¯s strange¡­¡¯ Gryondel could sense that the woman in front of him was not normal either.


    After the destruction, no humans had ever appeared in this forest. The Ruat Kingdom, which had been in a nerve war with the elves of Velrond, disappeared, leaving only a few of their buildings behind.


    So, what does it mean to have three of the disappeared humans suddenly appear?


    Then a bird flew and sat on Gryondel¡¯s shoulder. It was a very pretty parrot with blue feathers. It whispered something in his ear, and Gryondel¡¯s taut muscle loosened.


    ¡°Lower your bows.¡±


    ¡°Did you get a call from the Tree?¡± asked an elf.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You guys, follow me. I will guide you to the Tree.¡±


    ¡°That change of attitude¡­ Did your superior ask you to bring us?¡±


    ¡®She¡¯s a quick-witted woman.¡¯ Gryondel thought before nodding his head. ¡°The Chieftain wants to see you. So, do not do anything useless.¡±


    The party promptly followed the elves. Griyondel only walked silently, and two of his men occasionally looked back and giggled. It was only then that the tension was relieved and he could see Seokhyun¡¯s attire.


    ¡°Hey, why are you dressed like that?¡±


    ¡°This is convenient.¡±


    ¡°There are no humans of Ruat who dress like that. Where do you guys come from?¡±


    ¡°Korea.¡±


    ¡°Where is that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s on Earth.¡±


    Da-jeong covered Seokhyun¡¯s mouth, preventing him from divulging their secret even more.


    ¡°If you talk more, I¡¯ll hit you on the ass.¡±


    ¡°I would love that.¡±


    ¡°I would not use my fist through. Instead, it would be one of my lovely tank¡¯s fists.¡±


    ¡°You are too much, Duck.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, then.¡±


    A cold sweat ran down Gryondel¡¯s forehead. It should be a mistake to take these goddamn humans to the Tree. However, he knew that he must follow the instructions of his Chieftain: Amelia.


    After a while, the forest landscape opened up and a large tree appeared. Instead of a single pillar, it was divided into several branches to form a house.


    Elderwood.


    The party, who had only seen Elderwood roots until now, was busy looking around with admiration. Seeing that, Gryondel felt a subtle pride bubbled in his heart.


    ¡°Elderwood is the mother of us elves. We would be born, grow, and die in her bosom.¡±


    ¡°But it looks like it¡¯s hurting.¡±


    When Seokhyun spoke, his eyes widened.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a human communicating with an Elderwood.¡±


    ¡°I only sympathized. It was obvious it felt hurt.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m tired of listening to your bullshit. Amelia is over there. Be polite.¡±


    The party received the fervent gaze of the elves. There were different reactions from people who looked at them. While some have curious eyes, some of the elves whispered and laughed while pointing at Seokhyun. Meanwhile, at the terrace of the largest wooden pillar, an elf was waiting for the party.


    ¡°Welcome to Velrond. My name is Amelia Velrond, the first keeper of this forest.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say anything strange.¡± Da-jeong gave a firm warning towards Seokhyun and then put the stag beetle on her hand and handed it to her.


    Amelia¡¯s expression hardened a little when she saw the stag beetle. ¡°She was influenced by dark magic,¡± she said. ¡°I think it¡¯s a curse¡­ But now that I think about it, I feel a familiar ether from it¡­¡±


    ¡°The guy said she was an elf. And that she was cursed.¡±


    When Da-jeong spoke, Amelia seemed to be in great shock. Then, she quickly regained her composure before opening her mouth. ¡°¡­it doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s a conversation we can have here. Please come inside.¡±


    The party entered the Elderwood under her guidance. Gryondel furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at their backs and suddenly felt something.


    ¡°What the¡­¡±


    Surprisingly, several branches of the Elderwood moved as the group of humans entered. Gryondel, who had a good sense, clearly felt it. But he denied it.


    ¡°There is no reason for Elderwood to keep an eye on humans.¡±


    But he couldn¡¯t help but feel anxious. Gryondel quietly looked at the Elderwood. There was no wind, but the branches were swaying. As if she was welcoming someone.


    .


    .


    .


    We drove the cattle to James¡¯ ranch. The country houses lying on the grassland were neglected for a long time, and it looked ugly. Of course, there were no monsters around. However, since we¡¯re here now, surely quite a lot of monsters would soon spawn.


    James gently stroked the exterior wall of the house and opened his mouth.


    ¡°Ah¡­ this place makes me comfortable.¡±


    ¡°Well, home is just that kind of place. It¡¯s a place we¡¯ll have to go back to someday¡­¡±


    I also had a house like that once. It was in Busan. Since I had work and couldn¡¯t go because of the radiation threat, it was still a place I had to go back to someday.


    James looked at me and smiled.


    ¡°It makes me want to live here again. But it will be difficult to survive here, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes. After all, your level would definitely stagnate. If you do not clear the Battle Royale battlefield, it is difficult to grow.¡±


    ¡°As expected, it would be difficult to stay here. If it¡¯s possible, my heart wants to go to Korea. Paige, Paige!¡±


    She was playing with the wolf with Jiman. She said she liked Sangshin once, but now she seemed to be curious about Jiman. Indeed, she¡¯s a girl who falls in love too easily¡­


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°There should be a duck cage nearby. Go and take a look!¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ Let¡¯s go together.¡± Jiman was dragged by Paige right away.


    Meanwhile, Sangshin yawned as he laid himself down on a pile of straw.


    ¡°It¡¯s a really cool place. There are no monsters, so peaceful.¡±


    ¡°You want to live here?¡±


    He covered his face with a straw hat lying on the floor and answered. ¡°Well¡­ it¡¯s a boring place to stay. First of all, there is no soup.¡±


    As expected¡­


    I ignored him and followed James. It was to learn how to butcher a game. Catching a weeping, struggling cow has never been easier with him beside me.


    James said as he looked at my hands separating the leather from the meat.


    ¡°Have you done anything similar before?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve done it with some pigs, not cows. Do you know about wild boars?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ that¡¯s a pretty big game too. Anyway, I see many aspects of Mr. Kang now. I thought you were only good at fighting.¡±


    ¡°If you want to survive, you have to know how to do a lot of things, even if you don¡¯t like it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a very good mindset. I wish Paige could learn that¡­¡±


    She¡¯s only at the young age of twenty. But in order to live in the apocalypse, age is not a reason not to try.


    After a while, Jiman and Paige ran into the backyard with a bunch of ducks.


    ¡°They were alive! The number has not decreased much either!¡±


    ¡°Looks like there was plenty of food around. Mr. Kang, you can take the ducks as well.¡±


    Thank you so much. The hwajo meat was delicious, but it has a far too big body, making the flesh a little bit tough for my liking. The duck¡¯s meat was softer by a mile compared to it, to the point it was enough to be labeled as delicacy.


    ¡°Jiman! Help me a bit!¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    We pushed the cows into the portal. As soon as we crossed over, the members waiting in front of it were visibly surprised.


    ¡°Oppa! Where did you get these cows?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you I was going to Texas? I caught them there.¡±


    Moooooo-!!


    As the cows continued to enter the shelter, everyone flinched and backed away.


    Yeowool looked at me and said. ¡°You didn¡¯t say there were so many¡­¡±


    ¡°40% of them will go to the Korean Shelter, so don¡¯t expect us to get so much.¡±


    ¡°How do we butcher them, though? I don¡¯t know how to¡­¡±


    Sooyeon learned how to butcher the hwajo from me. She¡¯s still unable to butcher a wild boar, but since she¡¯s a good cook, it¡¯s fine.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will do the slaughter. Normally, this kind of difficult work is done by men.¡±


    Instead, the women should do their share too.


    Anyway, the shelter members didn¡¯t seem to have any major complaints about the roles they were given. Soon after, Jiman also drove in the ducks and provided plenty of food to them.


    When we finally finished, I felt that the spacious shelter was full. It seemed that it was true that the heart would feel abundant only when your treasurel is abundant.


    .


    .


    .


    I got unexpected news from the Auction House in America. Flying monsters that they had never seen before appeared in several large cities. I thought it would be either a gryphon or wyvern, but I was wrong. It was a dragon-like monster with blue scales.


    Sangshin and I gathered more information and discussed it.


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely a drake.¡±


    ¡°A drake is the strongest amongst flying-type monsters, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s not a tier 3 weapon, you won¡¯t be able to leave even a scratch on its scale.¡±


    Although it¡¯s not comparable to an ogre, a drake was still a terrifying monster since it boasts a bigger size than a gryphon, and its scales had great defense. To be honest, I was skeptical whether machine gun bullets would work against it. With its different habits from other flying monsters, it was difficult to respond against it. While gryphons and wyverns love attacking by diving from the air, this one fights very well on land as well.


    Sangshin turned the video back and found the point where a drake was emitting flames.


    ¡°This¡­ I had watched this live stream before.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    I scratched my head and watched the drake shoot the breath over and over again. It¡¯s not an overpowered attack, but very few people could stand it at this point. After all, elemental resistance skills were still quite rare.


    Seokhyun had it as an additional effect, and I got it through hunting wyverns.


    Other than us, no one else had it.


    Even if there¡¯s elemental resistance, it would be foolish to just believe in it to endure against that. After all, who was crazy enough to stand in front of an incoming attack when you can simply avoid it?


    Anyway, the big cities of America were overflowing with brave men trying to catch these drakes. Some people said it was suicidal of them, but no one believed it.


    -You¡¯d better not try to hunt those things. You will all die.


    -It certainly feels different from the monsters that had appeared up until now. Look at the dark blue scales¡­


    -That¡¯s why we need to hunt it! If we kill it, we will be the king of the world!


    Confidence was surely the thickest thing in the blood of Americans.


    Sangshin and I spent a while at the Auction House, collecting information. There was also quite surprising information. The most shocking of all of them was the fact that the supply of food in America was good.


    ¡°Some people here have the quality to be a farmer.¡±


    ¡°Since the land is large and there are many people¡­ There must be some people who collect points just by farming.¡± (T/n literal farming¡­ This is my nightmare¡­ When Farming (Game terms) are also used in this story¡­)


    In any case, the two of them had no choice but to acknowledge the power of the United States.


    I scoured Houston¡¯s comments section to get information about the Drake that had appeared. Some clans tried to hunt it, but there were reviews saying that they failed miserably.


    -That bastard is a monster, both literally and figuratively. No weapons can scratch it.


    -Trolls are much easier to kill than this bastard! How many people do we need to kill it?


    -Don¡¯t try it because it doesn¡¯t matter how many people there are.


    I politely gave advice, but they didn¡¯t heed it at all.


    It can¡¯t end here.


    -Don¡¯t aggro the drake and just stay still. ¡®Cause I¡¯ll kill it.


    -What? Killing the drake? Are you kidding me?


    -The Houston Braves didn¡¯t even bother to try hunting it, but you want to kill it?


    -I¡¯ve killed it a few times before, so don¡¯t worry.


    The comment section quickly became noisy.


    However, someone¡¯s comment stood out.


    -Are you perhaps a Survival Life player?


    -I am.


    -It wasn¡¯t even available in the US, what a bullshit.


    -Since I left a comment here, you guys are probably mistaken that I¡¯m American.


    -What are you talking about? So are you Korean? What is your identity?


    -Will you know even if I tell you, though?


    But surprisingly there was someone who knew me.


    -I know who you are. You are probably one of the three. I Love Gimbap, Rabbit Pwincess, or Duck Butt Goes Quack Quack.


    But it seems that this guy forgot about Geom-in¡­

 Chapter 208

    Merry Christmas YOHOOHOHOOHOOHOO~


    The elves of Velrond Forest had a custom of providing simple refreshments to their guests. With it, refreshing herbal tea and a pie made from fruits gathered from the forest were also provided to the stagnant waters party.


    However, unlike its appetizing appearances, the taste was sub-par. The herbal tea smelled like toothpaste, while the pie tasted bland. Nevertheless, Da-jeong and Geom-in still said that it was delicious out of consideration of Amelia as the houseowner.


    But just like usual, the fool of the group had different opinions.


    ¡°It tastes awful.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t taste good? It seems the taste is less stimulating for you.¡± Amelia looked at Seokhyun with her curious eyes. Even though the questioning time had passed, it was still a mystery why the person in front of her was dressed like that.


    According to the report she received, the man had killed a zizektree by hugging it from behind. He was so powerful to the point it made her think that he was a lovechild of human and ogre, even though she knew that there¡¯s no such thing as a mixed-blood ogre.


    Her curiosity didn¡¯t only stop at the strange man. She¡¯s also curious about other people. From their physique, clothes, and weapons, she could tell that they were not citizens of the Ruat Kingdom. Amelia had lived a long time in the apocalyptic world, but she had never seen humans like them.


    She put down her teacup and looked at the stag beetle and the scarab who was busy drinking the sap.


    ¡°I heard the story,¡± she said. ¡°You guys are looking for a way to the capital of the Ruat Kingdom, correct?¡±


    ¡°We want to know the shortest way if possible.¡±


    At Da-jeong¡¯s words, Amelia shook her head.


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible. Between Velrond Forest and the capital of Ruat Kingdom, there is a vast sea of ??trees. I know you guys have great skills, but¡­¡±


    ¡°It would be okay if you can just tell us the general direction of the capital. We can just fly there with our gryphon.¡±


    Amelia¡¯s eyes widened at the statement.


    ¡°Gryphon? You¡¯re not saying that you¡¯ve tamed one, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Well, you could say I¡¯ve tamed it. I can prove it right now.¡±


    When Da-jeong whistled, Amelia hurriedly shook her hand. If she called a monster here, there would be an uproar.


    As the story progressed, Amelia sensed that they all had unusual powers.


    ¡®Moreover, the Elderwood acted strangely¡­¡¯


    With no wind blowing, her branches had randomly shook. It was a phenomenon that hadn¡¯t happened before. With all the evidence present to her, Amelia concluded that the party in front of her was far from normal people and decided to ask directly.


    ¡°You guys, you aren¡¯t from this world, are you?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Seokhyun quickly tried to say something, but Da-jeong beat him by pinching his thigh and gave him a deadly gaze.


    ¡°Uh, by ¡®this world¡¯, are you referring to Lotus?¡±


    ¡°Lotus¡­ It¡¯s a name given by humans. But since you all look human too, it doesn¡¯t matter. Anyway, in my opinion, you are very different from the humans of Lotus.¡±


    ¡®How should I take care of this¡­¡¯ Da-jeong contemplated. She still hadn¡¯t discussed with Seongho how far she should inform the indigenous people of Lotus. But, as long as there is no major problem caused, it should be okay to let them know in moderation, right?


    At that time, Seokhyun beat her to the punch.


    ¡°We¡¯re from Earth.¡±


    ¡°Earth?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the name of the planet where we came from. It¡¯s a world with several huge continents. There were over 200 countries in it. Though, there are none now.¡±


    Amelia opened her eyes wide at that point.


    ¡°Even though I don¡¯t know about it, it seemed to be located in a different dimension that I¡¯ve only heard about¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve heard of different dimensions?¡±


    ¡°A little bit. The humans mentioned it when they were fighting Giudecca. I don¡¯t know if it was the effect of his curse magic or not.¡±


    ¡°Just what is Giudecca? Are you talking about the monster trapped in the Great Labyrinth?¡±


    ¡°Seeing that you don¡¯t know who Giudecca is, I¡¯m sure now. You are not from here.¡±


    Da-jeong decided to reveal quite a bit of information at this point. The reason being she¡¯s afraid that Amelia would not give them proper information if they kept hiding the information they have.


    ¡°As for what happened¡­ the story will be a bit long, is that okay?¡± A smile crept across Amelia¡¯s lips.


    After a long time, she finally realized the full extent of the situation that happened. The two worlds, Lotus and Earth, were destroyed.


    ¡°It¡¯s fair to say that the destruction process of the two worlds are almost the same. Though, the appearance of monsters in your world was replaced by the rampage of monsters in Lotus.¡±


    ¡°Did a meteorite fall before that happened? In our world, the zombie spores came from a meteorite that fell from the sky.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know that far. After all, we are a tribe of the forest.¡±


    It can also be said that the world went dark. The war against Giudecca was led by humans, so it was reasonable to say that only they know the process and outcome. Because the war was so intense, there were many areas that could not be reached even after a long time had passed.


    But if it¡¯s them¡­


    The stag beetle that was drinking the sap next to it raised its head. She was speaking with her eyes.


    ¡®These people are trustworthy.¡¯


    Amelia made her decision.


    ¡°I think I should hold hands with you guys.¡±


    How does it work?


    It was good to know the way to Ruat, but the direction of the story was changing.


    Seokhyun tried to raise his thumb, but Da-jeong stopped him.


    ¡°Wait a minute. What does ¡®holding hands¡¯ mean specifically?¡±


    ¡°It means cooperating. We can provide you with the information you need. And vice versa.¡±


    Geom-in hit his palm lightly with his fist.


    ¡°So the elven warchief is giving out quests?¡±


    Amelia smiled lightly.


    ¡°I¡¯m not the warchief, and I¡¯m not the kind of person to give someone a quest. It¡¯s all about helping people who are going through hard times.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡± Seokhyun expressed his intention first, and Da-jeong nodded. She got the feeling that they would be able to achieve a lot by working together. Even if Seongho was here, he wouldn¡¯t have objected; Da-jeong was sure about that.


    Throughout the talk, Geom-in seemed to be completely absorbed in Amelia. It¡¯s all apparent by how wide his mouth was open.


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Yes? You need my opinion for this?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? The three of us should come to a conclusion first before answering anything. If even one of us objects, we will refuse.¡±


    Geom-in thought for a second or two before also expressing his intention to consent. However, to Da-jeong, she felt like he was so engrossed in Amelia that he couldn¡¯t keep his mind straight.


    ¡°Calm down a little, wouldn¡¯t you? She might be 200 years old.¡±


    ¡°Who is 200 years old?¡±


    ¡°No, nothing. Anyway, um¡­ What do you guys do when an agreement is reached? We used to hold hands and shake hands, but we don¡¯t do that anymore.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because there¡¯s a possibility that the other party has the ability to brainwash others. If you hold hands with them, you become their puppet right away, so the custom of shaking hands has disappeared.¡±


    The smile disappeared from Amelia¡¯s lips.


    ¡°That¡¯s really similar to black magic. However, all of the curse magic users met a miserable end.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s people who use that kind of power here too?¡±


    ¡°Not in the current times. However, before the end came, there were a lot of them.¡±


    ¡°Huuuaaaamm.¡± Perhaps bored, Seokhyun yawned.


    Amelia looked around the three of them slowly.


    ¡°There are many things I want to say and many things I want to hear, but you guys must be busy too. We will tell you the way to the Ruat Kingdom. The distance is over a month if you walk, but with a gryphon¡­¡±


    Da-jeong received an old map from Amelia. It was a gift from a merchant who visited Velrond Forest in the past. Then, the chief said an unexpected word.


    ¡°I¡¯m just asking this just in case, but¡­ Do you have any relationship with the Elderwood?¡±


    Da-jeong and Geom-in looked at Seokhyun in an instant. If they told her what the madman did before, they were sure that the gentle Amelia would be angry.


    So, when Da-jeong told her the story minus all the crazy things he did, Amelia let out a gasp.


    ¡°You got the feeling that she needs help?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but it seemed like she was hurt.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡±


    No matter how ignorant Seokhyun was, she couldn¡¯t let it go. Amelia looked serious and she let out a small whistle. A blue parrot appeared from the window and sat on her shoulder. Amelia then whispered to it in a volume which the three could hardly hear.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ that¡¯s right. okay. Go back now.¡±


    After the parrot flew away, Amelia took something out from behind her.


    ¡°It¡¯s a rope made from the stems of elderwood. It will never break.¡±


    ¡°You say it would never break? I will be the judge of that.¡±


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t I tell you to do it in moderation?¡±


    While Seokhyun and Da-jeong quarreled, Amelia handed over the rope to them.


    ¡°Please confirm it. It will never break.¡±


    ¡¸Elderwood Rope: Indestructible¡¹


    It¡¯s real¡­


    However, this option only aroused Seokhyun¡¯s desire for a challenge.


    A human-like monster with the power of an ogre grabbed the rope and used all his power to pull it.


    ¡°Whoaa¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really strong.¡±


    Once he was done, the rope did not suffer any damage whatsoever. Amelia, watching the sight nervously, let out a sigh of relief at that moment.


    Da-jeong was happy and took the rope.


    ¡°Let¡¯s give this to Seongho.¡±


    ¡°Who is Seongho?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s, umm¡­my husband. He¡¯s seriously strong. Now that we¡¯ve mentioned him, I advise you to tell¡­ Who is that elf we met for the first time?¡±


    ¡°Gryondel. He¡¯s the patrol captain of this tribe.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if they¡¯ll ever meet, but tell that guy that if he ever meets a tall and big man with black hair, he must do his best not to aggravate him. This is pure advice. Even for us, it¡¯s hard to stop him.¡±


    Judging from the fact that Seokhyun nodded without saying a word, Amelia was convinced that the guy was truly strong. Well, in the first place, there¡¯s no need for them to collide for nothing, so she needs to tell all the elves.


    After sorting her thoughts. Amelia opened her mouth. ¡°Since you told me that the Elderwood was hurt, I can¡¯t stand still. With this rope, you will be able to enter the forest where Elderwood¡¯s main body is located.¡±


    ¡°Where is it located?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s in the forest north of Ruat Kingdom¡­ It¡¯s a large forest where humans and even us are not allowed to enter. Please go there and examine the main body of the Elderwood.¡±


    ¡°How can we contact you to report the situation?¡±


    It¡¯s apparent from the Elderwood¡¯s ropes case, the elves didn¡¯t seem to be able to use the system. In other words, communication through the Auction House was impossible.


    ¡°You can do that with this¡­¡± Amelia pulled something else out of her box. They were two aether stones of the same size. ¡°It¡¯s called the whisper jewels, and as you can see, it¡¯s made of aether stone. Merchants who visited this forest said that the only place that could process these stones was the Ezekium Empire.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a walkie-talkie.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    ¡°The way to use it is passing the other stone to the other person. Then, you can just hold the jewel and think.¡±


    Geom-in took the Whispers Jewels and Amelia cupped her hands against her chest.


    ¡°You must have a reason for coming here and there must be a reason for our meeting. I want to expect little things from meeting you. That will change us.¡±


    Even though both parties didn¡¯t know exactly what the change was, it was clear that each of them had what the other needed.


    The group refused Amelia¡¯s request to take a rest for a day or so. Only Geom-in seemed to agree.


    ¡°We have a long way to go, you know?¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s right¡­¡±


    ¡°I think we¡¯ll get along with the elves here, so you can just flirt with Amelia later.¡±


    ¡°I-it¡¯s not like that.¡±


    ¡°You know, your eyes were dripping with honey.¡±


    Da-jeong laughed and called her Gryphon. After a while, the branches of the Elderwood parted and the gryphon descended.


    The party left the forest with the elves seeing them off.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Looks like the talk went well.¡± I said as I bought the Elderwood rope the three put from the Auction House.


    As I read Geom-in¡¯s report, I couldn¡¯t help but sigh when I read that they told the elves that they come from a different world.


    ¡°Did they really need to say that¡­¡±


    Well, I guess it was the conclusion they reached. I don¡¯t know about others, but I can trust Geom-in if he was together with Da-jeong and Seokhyun.


    ¡°Investigating the main body of Elderwood, huh?¡±


    Da-jeong said that Geom-in was excited by the quest. From his point of view, who enjoys playing games, it would be like becoming a hero and receiving a quest from the chief of an elf tribe in another world.


    Anyway, the three were currently heading to the capital of Ruat Kingdom. There, they would have to find an item to block the mental attack of the guy named Giudecca.


    Investigating the Elderwood was nothing but a side job.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s fine because I was worried anyway¡­¡±


    It¡¯s not bad to do both at once.


    I fiddled with the Elderwood rope. It is said that even with Seokhyun¡¯s ignorant power, it didn¡¯t snap, so it must be useful.


    ¡°Where should I use this¡­¡± Suddenly, something came to mind. The habits of a drake. It has a habit of actively coming down to the ground and hunting. A cow would suffice to lure it.


    ¡°If I take advantage of that gap and put this rope on it, I can stop it from moving once¡­¡±


    It was terrifying to see something as large as a drake moving wildly on the ground. In addition, it was very agile, so it was difficult to dodge its attacks. However, It would be easy to deal with it if I tie it with this rope.


    ¡°If I tie it up and set a bomb on the bolt and shoot it¡­¡±


    Even with ballista bolts, a drake¡¯s scales would be hard to pierce. But detonating a bomb will make things better. Anti-tank rockets were limited in quantity, so I wanted to save them as much as possible. Overly relying on such weapons can be dangerous.


    I continued the simulation in my head while watching the video of me hunting the drake. Fortunately, the Battle Royale battlefield no longer exists in areas where the drake often appears.


    When I looked at the Auction House before, there was no such information regarding the end of the battle royale. But someone had sorted it out. He was the head of the Houston Braves clan.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t he say he respects me¡­¡± It should be nothing but a lip service, but it was clear that he had seen a video from Survival Life. He added that he regretted that it didn¡¯t launch in the US.


    ¡°They really love things like survival, hunting, and exploring.¡±


    In any case, the image of Korea, who led public opinion at the Auction House, was not bad at all. There is only a lot of swearing at the federal government for not responding properly.


    -They definitely heard the Korean government¡¯s warning. It¡¯s just that the stupid president and federal officials ignored it!


    -So, when will our Korean friends come? Is he really trying to hunt the drake?


    -I honestly can¡¯t believe he¡¯s a game changer. Doing something alone that 10 people can¡¯t do? Ridiculous!


    -He will have a friend who helps him.


    -I really want to see them¡­ It must be fantastic¡­


    -Hey, guys¡­it¡¯s Huxley, what if we fully cooperate? Whatever the outcome, it won¡¯t be bad for us.


    -If our Korean friend catches it, we will become a witness to an amazing sight, and even if he fails, we will gain a know-how.


    -That¡¯s right. The Houston Braves will help him. Anybody interested?


    -Me! Shall we go sight-seeing?


    -Shouldn¡¯t he prove it before he comes? It¡¯s more dangerous if he just makes the drake angry instead.


    -Right. You have to catch at least one troll to be worthy!


    -I¡¯m against him coming. It¡¯s not good for others to intervene when we have good enough skills.


    The resident of Houston started fighting at that moment.


    It seemed like it¡¯s time for me to intervene.


    -Is catching an ogre enough for a proof?


    As soon as I wrote that comment, dozens of comments went up.


    -Surely people like you should have killed an ogre back in the game!


    -You don¡¯t mean in real life, fo you?


    -No, I actually caught it.


    -In Korea?


    -Yeah.


    -Do not joke around about that.


    I¡¯m sorry, but it¡¯s real.


    Although heavy weapons were mobilized and there were many casualties, it was an unshakable truth that I had killed an ogre.


    When they heard that I had even obtained the ogre gloves, some of them suddenly got excited.


    -Hey, buddy, show it to me quickly.


    -If you come downtown, you can meet the Houston Braves!


    -Is there anyone against it? No, right? Friend, come downtown. let¡¯s meet there.


    Just like that, it was decided.


    I rode my motorcycle through the middle of Houston with Sangshin.

 Chapter 209

    Quite a lot of survivors gathered near downtown Houston. Of course, thanks to that, zombie raids kept happening, but they all didn¡¯t seem to care. They said that surviving and thriving in such an extreme situation was the real ¡®Texas way¡¯.


    Truly, these guys held too much pride about Texas¡­


    In any case, the downtown was dominated by a clan called the Houston Braves. Judging from the conversation at the auction house, Houston Braves was the largest clan in Houston. Their combat power was rather high, and they also seemed quite relaxed amidst the situation they were in. Though, it was questionable whether they could keep their cool if the situation worsened to the extreme.


    (P/n no longer capitalizing ¡°auction house¡± since it kinda works as a feature within the system instead of the name of a place)


    Me and Sangshin walked into the downtown back alley downtown to meet them. When we arrived, a muscular black man who appeared to be the leader came out, accompanied by two men.


    ¡°It¡¯s me, Huxley.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you.¡±


    Huxley was the embodiment of what black people would look like in my head. He was taller than me and his shiny muscles were intimidating. He reminded me of Hyung-jun hyung¡¯s words that no matter how hard Asians work out, they would never be able to compare with the muscles of black people.


    The two white people behind Huxley were the same as him. Even the woman looked like she had stronger muscles than Sangshin.


    Were they like that originally, or was it because of the apocalypse?


    The eyes of the three lingered on Sangshin for a moment before reaching towards me.


    ¡°You look a lot better than I thought. I think the name I Love Protein is more apt than I Love Gimbap.¡± Huxley smiled, showing his white teeth.


    ¡°Well¡­ I never exercised when the world was still normal.¡±


    Moving around in the forest and hunting monsters. That was how I lost my weight and built up my muscles.


    Huxley¡¯s colleague introduced themselves next. The young white guy introduced himself as Oliver while the woman introduced herself as Natalie.


    ¡°Our full name is a bit long, so as you know, quick communication is important in the apocalypse.¡±


    So it¡¯s kind of a codename¡­


    In any case, the three of them showed great interest in me. Oliver held out his hand, then shyly retrieved it.


    ¡°Oh, I forgot that shaking hands is a thing of the past now. But can¡¯t I even do that even though my unique ability was physical enhancement?¡±


    Well, it should be fine since I was wearing a mental-resistance ring.


    I held out my hand to Oliver and he grabbed it with a smile. Judging from how he secretly gave strength to it, it seemed that he wanted to find out about my strength.


    But you picked the wrong opponent, my friend. After all, the ogre gloves were still wrapped around my hands.


    Veins popped out on Oliver¡¯s forearm, but I still didn¡¯t feel much of his strength.


    ¡°Hm¡­ With this much strength and the fact that your unique skill is physical enhancement, your strength stat should be quite high, right?¡±


    Oliver finally started to sweat.


    ¡°It¡¯s about 2¡­6¡­¡±


    It¡¯s a great stat that even beats my normal strength stats. However, when my bread and butter skills were activated, my strength would be far superior than his. Even without it, I¡¯m still wearing the ogre gloves right now, so that was more than enough.


    ¡°Keuh¡­ What kind of strength is this? Are you, are you a monster?¡± Oliver sighed.


    ¡°What I¡¯m wearing on my hands right now is a set of ogre gloves. It lets me use an ogre¡¯s strength. Even if I just lightly squeeze your hand, your bones will break.¡±


    Huxley, who was watching with interest, shook his head.


    ¡°Of course, you wouldn¡¯t go that far¡­¡±


    ¡°Correct. There is no reason to do it at all.¡± I loosened my hands. Oliver withdrew his hands and massaged it, face flushed.


    ¡°Wow! I thought my hand would be smashed!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know already that he has the ogre gloves? Why did you challenge him?¡± Natalie sighed. She had dark-brown hair tied in a ponytail and had a well-sculpt chin.


    Huxley looked at his colleague with bewildered eyes and said, ¡°Are you guys done now? Has he proven himself?¡±


    ¡°I was an idiot. There was no need for a proof to begin with.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really stupid to realize that just now. Do you think that a human who came all the way here from Korea would be weak?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know he would have this much power.¡±


    ¡°You know that killing a single werewolf will give you a skill that raises the stats significantly. I bet Seongho has a lot of skills with the same effect.¡±


    Sorry to break it to you, but I have no such things. Instead what I have was a skill called Primal Life. It was way better than any normal stats-increasing skill.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s just say that¡¯s the case.¡± I said to the three ¡°By the way, which area does the drake visit often? I want to go hunt the guy right away.¡±


    ¡°Wait just a minute. I want to know the abilities of that skinny guy who comes with you first.¡±


    Sangshin was standing blankly behind me. To the three in front of me, it might seem that he looked too weak.


    ¡°His ability is telekinesis. Even if the three of you attack him at the same time, it won¡¯t work. So don¡¯t even try.¡±


    Huxley¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°I have experienced telekinesis before, but is it really that strong? I can¡¯t believe it.¡±


    ¡°Even though he looks like that, he¡¯s over level 30.¡±


    ¡°That ¡®Even though he looks like that¡¯ is unnecessary¡­¡± Sangshin finally joined the conversation.


    When his level was revealed, Natalie took an interest in him.


    ¡°Hey. What additional effect telekinesis gets when you are that high leveled? Is it possible to make people float like a magic carpet?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ Don¡¯t pay attention to me¡­ It¡¯s annoying¡­¡± And he left the conversation soon after joining. He¡¯s originally such a person.


    I urged Huxley to lighten the mood. ¡°I¡¯m here to kill the drake. If you keep wasting our time like this, I have no choice but to go alone.¡±


    Huxley raised both hands.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I will guide you immediately.¡±


    .


    .


    .


    We were directed to the Eastex Freeway. It was a road which used to be the main road of the city. However, it now had nothing traversing through it as it had collapsed in the aftermath of the ghoul flower invasion. Huxley said that the drake often visits this wide road.


    ¡°That monster catches other monsters, plays with them, and eats them. Watching it from here is absolutely awesome.¡±


    ¡°Monsters are tough, so it probably don¡¯t like them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why the guy often catches wild boars instead. I don¡¯t know if it will be enticed by cows, though.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it will like it very much.¡±


    Sangshin, Huxley, and I were hiding on a pillar under the overpass. On the road above, a cow that I took from the shelter cried. Now, what I needed to do was tie it down with the elderwood rope and attack it when it found the cow and came down.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity there¡¯s no cover around.¡±


    ¡°Even without it, you can still stand against its breath, can you?¡±


    I should be able to do that. The elemental resistance skill will reduce the breath¡¯s damage, and the elderwood sap will relieve me of the pain that went through. If my skin was burnt because of it, Super Regeneration would quickly restore it.


    However, even if my body could endure with the skills I have, the hair on my whole body will definitely die.


    ¡°If it burns my hair, it will take a long time to grow a new one.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ that¡¯s a bit¡­¡±


    Sangshin kept his mouth shut at that revelation. Meanwhile, I informed the shelter members that I was currently hunting a drake through the auction house. Comments asking me to be careful were the majority. The only differing comment was Da-jeong¡¯s.


    -Drake!!!!! I want a pet drake!!!!


    -This one will be mine.


    It would be even sweeter if the Blue Scale skill came out. It can be said that Blue Scale skill was the source of the drake¡¯s defensive power. But it¡¯s still inferior to the ogre¡¯s Stone Skin skill. After all, Stone Skin was a great skill that reduces all damage taken by 50%.


    Still, Blue Scale skill was definitely better than the Hard Skin skill, even though I already got Hard Skin to level 2.


    Da-jeong continued to grumble, saying that I better join them soon. On top of that, she also showed her inner fangirl towards drakes.


    -Drakes are really cool. It can use Breath and its scale is really hard. Gryphon is a complete chicken compared to it.


    -Chicky will cry if he hears you.


    Chicky was the name Da-jeong gave to her griffon. The reason for that name was as simple as it could be. It was because gryphon meat tasted like chicken meat. If she ever got her hands on a drake, Chicky would probably be forgotten.


    -I¡¯ll catch one for you later, so just drive safely for now.


    -Do you know how many times you said ¡®I would do it later¡¯ to me until now?


    To be honest, I don¡¯t remember. When I failed to answer her question, Da-jeong left an outraged comment. However, soon enough the topic went back to the drake. A drake was usually called a mini-dragon, but to be fair, there¡¯s no dragon at all in the game.


    -Well¡­ I didn¡¯t see it in the settings.


    -Still, wouldn¡¯t a dragon really exist since it¡¯s a fantasy world?


    -Since you guys are in Lotus, check it out. Don¡¯t you have that thing? Whispering jewel or something?


    -Hmm¡­ I can just ask her later. By the way, you¡¯re not just trying to give me more work to distract me, are you?


    She¡¯s uselessly fast when it comes to me¡­


    To be honest, while she was walking around Lotos, I felt quite liberated. After all, Da-jeong tried to stick around me at any time, so it¡¯s quite burdensome.


    She had a pretty face, a great body, and an even more outstanding ability. She¡¯s really nice so far, but her personality was a bit fiery and obsessive. It¡¯s not that it¡¯s bad, but sometimes it¡¯s necessary to stay apart like this.


    Whoosh-!!


    I heard a sound and swiped the auction house window away. The sound I just heard is the sound that the wind makes as the drake¡¯s wings flap. When the guy appeared, the cow made a more pitiful noise.


    After asking Huxley and Sangshin for their understanding, I moved to another pillar and opened the portal.


    -Mi-kyung. Can you help me for a second?


    I put the note inside the portal and she came out in less than five seconds.


    ¡°Why did you come out so quickly?¡±


    ¡°Hehe, I knew you would call me. So I was waiting.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad. There are no shackles here. When the drake attacks the cow, send me up, okay?¡±


    ¡°What should I do after that?¡±


    ¡°Just get me to the drake¡¯s head and I¡¯ll take care of the rest. I¡¯ll leave this dimensional door open, so go in after that, okay?¡±


    Then the cow suddenly roared. A nervous Huxley looked in my direction, and after a while, the cow started mooing madly.


    At that moment, my extrasensory skill alerted me of the drake¡¯s location.


    ¡°Mi-kyung.¡± The moment I said that, I landed on the overpass. Mi-kyung put me on top with just two blinks. I looked at the other end of the road and saw the drake crushing the cow¡¯s back with his claws.


    ¡°Wh-why is it so big?¡±


    ¡°Of course it is. It is the largest among flying monsters.¡±


    ¡°It would be fun to fly around on that¡­¡±


    We can¡¯t because Da-jeong is currently wandering around Lotus¡­


    After hesitating for a moment, the drake landed on the ground.


    Thud-!!


    Debris and dust rose from the road as the drake¡¯s massive body landed. When the guy bit the cow¡¯s neck and threw it to the ground, the cow died instantly. I was told that it usually played with its prey, but I guess it was currently hungry.


    I tapped Mi-kyung on the shoulder.


    ¡°Get me to its head and get out right away, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Mi-kyung took my hand and moved with her blink. As the afterimage of her disappeared, the drake¡¯s nose appeared in front of me.


    The guy was puzzled by my sudden appearance.


    Where are you from? It might have had this question in its head.


    ¡°Hi.¡± I hit the drake on the bridge of the nose with my fist.


    Kiaaaaak-!!


    His scaly head fell to the floor.


    .


    .


    .


    When the drake appeared over the overpass, Houston Braves clan members were hiding in the building across the street, watching. Some bluffed that they had to witness the greatest show on Earth from a close distance and stood outside, but when the drake appeared, they quickly entered the building.


    ¡°Damn, why is it so big?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you lot saying you want to watch it closer, earlier?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not the greatest show on earth, but it¡¯s definitely a show worth watching. The highlight would be the Korean catching the drake.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I bet he can¡¯t catch it.¡±


    The clan members made a bet on whether Seongho could catch the drake. On the other hand, Oliver, who had experienced his power firsthand, was cautious.


    ¡°He might be able to hunt it.¡±


    ¡°Oliver, aren¡¯t you too depressed about losing a hand power struggle?¡±


    ¡°Your true value shows in a real fight. He will be surprised when you fight him!¡±


    ¡°That definitely wouldn¡¯t be the case.¡± Oliver shook his head. In fact, he, along with Huxley and Natalie, tried to help him. But only Huxley was allowed to help. Afterall, Seongho judged that the other two were not very helpful.


    He said:


    -Physical stats don¡¯t matter. Whether you can help me or not depends on your unique skill.


    Oliver muttered inwardly ¡®how great he is, for him to be saying such a thing¡¯ at that time, but now, he was feeling relieved, by a lot.


    How the hell are you going to catch that monster?


    ¡°You¡¯ll know if you keep watching.¡±


    Natalie muttered and everyone watched the drake descend.


    When the cow cried loudly, a groan broke out.


    ¡°Why of all things, he gave the cow to a monster.¡±


    ¡°It means that to catch a drake, a good bait is necessary.¡±


    ¡°By the way, does anyone know where we can get a cow?¡±


    Texas has a lot of cattle, but driving them downtown is another matter.


    ¡°Anyway, he¡¯s a strange man.¡±


    Oliver asked at Natalie¡¯s words.


    ¡°Are you interested in him?¡±


    ¡°I am very interested. I¡¯m wondering if I¡¯ll become stronger if I follow that man.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a member of the Houston Braves.¡±


    She opened her eyes wide and looked at him.


    ¡°I¡¯m the decision maker of my own fate. No one can stop me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying I¡¯m going to stop you¡­¡± Oliver took a step back.


    When it comes to the Houston Braves, Huxley was the leader, while others perceive him as the number two. However, he knows that the true number two within the clan was Natalie. Her unique skill was acceleration, which made her boast tremendous speed. If she made her mind up and moved properly, it was not easy to even capture her movements with naked eyes.


    ¡°I am just saying just in case. After all, he needs to satisfy the power level I want him to be.¡±


    ¡°What if he meets your expectations?¡±


    ¡°¡­That¡¯s not going to happen, but in case it happens, I would have to ask him to accept me as a disciple.¡±


    ¡°Oh. That¡¯s a bad idea.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my decision.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Okay¡­¡± Oliver raised his hand and backed away. At that moment, the drake finally pounced on the cow.


    The clan members sat close to the window and watched.


    ¡°That¡¯s it!!!!¡±


    ¡°Kill that cow at once!!!¡±


    When the drake bit the cow¡¯s neck and threw it away, cheers erupted. But that¡¯s only for a while.


    The Korean in question, dressed in black, suddenly appeared in front of the drake¡¯s head, accompanied by a small woman next to him.


    The clan members narrowed their eyes at the sight.


    ¡°What the fuck.¡±


    ¡°Is that a blink ability? Wait, where did that woman come from to begin with?¡±


    Then Seongho hit the drake on the head with his fist. The road vibrated as the head fell to the floor with a thud.


    Oliver involuntarily raised his arms.


    ¡°What the fuck is that..!¡±


    ¡°Did you see it? My panties are wet!!!!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m proud of you, you asshole.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate Texas!¡±


    It was unknown what Seongho¡¯s punches have to do with Texas, but his fists sent excitement to all spectators regardless.


    The drake lost its senses, and a rope crept up from under the overpass. The clan members groaned at the sight.


    ¡°Is he trying to tie it up with that?¡±


    ¡°It comes up like a snake.¡±


    Seongho climbed towards the drake¡¯s neck and tied it up around it.


    Everyone laughed at his actions.


    ¡°He¡¯s indeed brave. But if he thinks that a drake will be tied up with just that, he¡¯s very mistaken.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll cut it off in one blow.¡±


    But even after some time passed, the scene that they predicted didn¡¯t happen. The drake, barely awake, felt a foreign thing on its body and moved his neck, but at some point, it was pulled tight.


    Then, the rope was tied to a pole on the overpass.


    Kuaaaak-!!


    As the drake exerted its strength, the overpass swayed slightly, but did not collapse. The clan members now pulled out their hair in amazement. The sight in front of them was shocking no matter how they looked at it.


    ¡°What the hell is that rope made of?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like a dog on a leash!¡±


    ¡°Hey-hey, the guy opened its mouth!¡±


    At long last, the drake opened its mouth at Seongho. The clan members closed their eyes, assuming that Seongho¡¯s body would be consumed by the flames.


    But Natalie was different. Her eyes were looking straight at Sungho.


    Hwaaak-


    When the drake released its breath, Seongho¡¯s body was completely engulfed in flames.


    However,


    The flame was split into two as if it had collided with something. And something came out through the flames.


    bang!


    With a heavy sound, the drake raised its head to the sky and let out a cry. It was not a howl of pride that the clan members usually heard, but more like a scream of pain. When it opened its mouth again, there was something akin to a pole stuck inside it.


    Natalie clenched her fists as she watched Seongho take out a knife and lunged at the drake.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s a real battle, isn¡¯t it!?¡±


    The viewers realized that what they¡¯d been doing up until now wasn¡¯t even child¡¯s play.


    The clan members, including Oliver, stood in a daze and nodded.


    They couldn¡¯t think of anything to refute.

 Chapter 210

    The drake was angry. It just went down to the ground to enjoy a delicious meal. However, out of its expectation, he was suddenly beaten. On top of it, something sharp was stuck in its mouth after it released its Breath.


    The drake barely came to its senses and shook its head.


    ¡°Hup!¡±


    Lifting its head, it saw a small creature descending with something shining on his hand. It didn¡¯t know exactly what the thing was, but it knew that if the thing hit its body, nothing good would come out of it.


    The drake quickly twisted its body and tried to get out of the human¡¯s range. However, Seongho spread the dimensional wall around it, nailing it in place, and leaped into the air. His target was the drake¡¯s eye.


    The guy freaked out and turned its body in order to avoid the silver object. Then it closed its eyes and started pushing Seongho with its head. The amount of impact was similar to that of an armored personnel carrier ramming into a wall.


    ¡°You push too hard!¡±


    Blocked by a dimensional wall, The drake spun around and lashed its tail. A drake¡¯s strength doesn¡¯t reach that of an ogre, but it still has an attack that has a similar level of power. It¡¯s the tailwhip.


    As its tail pounded the dimensional wall, it cracked and slackness disappeared from Seongho¡¯s face.


    ¡°Knocking someone¡¯s door should be done gently, you bastard!!!¡±


    A hand-to-hand battle between a human and a drake continued. No matter how high the stats of a human was, having a close combat with a drake was beyond unreasonable. A drake had unimaginable agility for its size, and its toughness and attack power were no joke.


    The wounds inflicted in the scale of the drake from the mithril blade increased one by one, but from the drake¡¯s point of view, it was only a scratch.


    At that time, Sangshin finally started to assist Seongho with his telekinesis. Five mithril blades soared into the air from under the road. The swords cut through the air like salmon swimming upstream, interrupting the drake¡¯s attacks. The five mithril blades were the result of Jiman¡¯s hard work in the shelter.


    Pa-pa-pat!!


    When the drake looked like he was going to charge, some of the swords moved towards its front, obstructing his vision, while the other swords attacked its joints, causing it to stagger.


    Kuooookkk-!!


    Finally, the drake roared loudly. It spread its wings wide, and soared into the sky. The rope was pulled tight, but right after, a mithril blade flew into its wing.


    ¡°Stop!¡±


    As if brakes were applied to the mithril blade, it stopped in the air. At that moment, the drake¡¯s muzzle snapped open, and flames poured out from within.


    Whoosh-!!


    Flames hit the road and spread around. Meanwhile, Seongho went under the drake. As his hand entered the portal, a bolt leaped out of the portal and stabbed the drake in its tender belly.


    Bang-!!


    Kiyaaaaak-!!


    An unimaginable pain ran through the drake¡¯s body to the point it stopped firing its breath and closed its mouth. It was only natural that the huge body stumbled and then fell to the floor the next moment.


    As the mithril blades stuck on its back turned sideways, the drake couldn¡¯t stand the pain and screamed.


    ¡°Aim for its eyes and mouth!¡±


    Seongho shouted and threw the adamantium spear into the guy¡¯s mouth. However, the drake snaps its mouth closed again, neutralizing the attack. In the same second, the drake gave strength to its body. Its scales trembled, and the mithril blades embedded in the body bounced off in an instant.


    ¡°You are really hard to deal with.¡± Seongho was dumbfounded and glared at the dragon-like monster. Just like the saying goes, the drake was also staring at him. If he could speak, he would have said exactly the same thing as Seongho.


    It was Huxley who came onto the road that broke the tension between the two.


    ¡°Good god¡­ you¡¯re telling me to attract the aggro of that thing?¡± He was asked to pull its aggro, which should be nothing but an easy task with his unique skill. However, now that he saw the drake standing right in front of him, he realized that what seemed to be an easy task was a very daunting task. But since he¡¯d come this far, he had to do something.


    Huxley used to be an aspiring track and field athlete. However, his ankle injury put an end to his premature sport dream. However, that long forgotten dream was something that gained him the accelerometer unique skill. In the present time, no one in Houston was faster than him.


    ¡°Hey! You chicken!¡± As he started running, his voice dissipated. However, the drake did not turn its head to him. Its eyes were still fixed on Seongho.


    It was because he felt that the small creature in front of him was dangerous.


    The five silver skewers were intrusive but not very lethal. However, it was clear to it that if it let the guy go, it would get in trouble.


    Kuoooh-!!


    The drake lunged towards him, after pretending to open its mouth. Seongho, who was about to open the dimensional wall and call the bolt, had to retreat in a hurry at the guy¡¯s charge.


    The thick concrete floor cracked open as the drake swung its forepaw mercilessly. It was also at that time that the mithril blades were arranged neatly on the floor. Sangshin started moving concrete fragments instead of weapons.


    Puck-!! Puck-!! Puck-!!


    Debris weighing more than tens of kilograms hit the drake one after another. It was a blow that even the strong monster could not ignore. The shrapnels were heavy and hit the drake with great precision. Amongst numerous shrapnel, one sharp shard succeeded in stabbing the drake around the eye.


    Kuoooh-!!


    The drake was in agony as his eyes were bleeding profusely. Seongho, who had been running away, hurriedly changed direction. Then he glanced behind him and made a dimensional wall as a support and jumped away.


    Sensing his movement, the drake spread its wings to create wind pressure, but Seongho was not pushed away.


    Seongho jumped over the drake¡¯s head and fixed the mithril blade underneath. The monster tried to avoid it by turning its head, but its response was too slow as Huxley harassed his tail from behind.


    The mithril blade, loaded with the weight of a human and the power of an ogre, dug deep into the drake¡¯s eyes. A pop could be heard at that moment, and then the drake opened its mouth and trembled.


    Seongho twisted the mithril blade and opened his dimensional door. Right away, a bolt popped out and poked the drake¡¯s disfigured eye.


    Thud-!!


    The explosion slightly raised the dust up, and the drake raised its head and let out a roar of pain. Part of its head was blown off, but it wasn¡¯t dead yet.


    Seongho paid homage to the guy¡¯s vitality and dealt the final blow.


    ¡°Bye.¡±


    The mithril blade finally pierced its brain. The drake¡¯s head trembled and limped soon after as if he had been struck directly by lightning.


    A message appeared in Seongho¡¯s field of vision at that moment.


    ¡¸Your level has risen to 42¡¹


    ¡¸You have acquired 250 points¡¹


    ¡¸You have acquired ¡®Blue Scale¡¯ skill¡¹


    ¡°Whoa¡­¡±


    Seongho sat down on the drake¡¯s snout and caught his breath. The Hard Skin skill was gone from his status window, but it wasn¡¯t a problem because the Blue Scale skill was definitely an upgrade compared to it.


    When he checked his item, an option was attached to the body armor he was wearing.


    ¡¸Bulletproof Clothing: Health +2, Strength +2, Fire Resistance¡¹


    Does it give me the fire resistance option because of the drake?


    Anyway, Seongho now has considerable resistance to cold and fire.


    ¡°If you add up the elemental resistance¡­¡± With a little MSG, he could say that he was able to walk around a burning fire.


    As he was about to stand up, Huxley came and saw the drake and stuck out his tongue.


    ¡°It was really a terrible monster. I salute you who killed this guy, my friend.¡±


    ¡°It was only possible because of your help.¡±


    Huxley shrugged his shoulders as he raised his arm.


    ¡°What did I do? I was just running around it for a little bit.¡±


    Soon after, Sangshin also came up and saw the drake. He then opened his mouth.


    ¡°It¡¯s really a monstrous monster. Is there anything to loot, though?¡±


    ¡°Why do you think there isn¡¯t?¡±


    Drake¡¯s claws make excellent material for weapons. It was hard to process because it¡¯s strong, but the performance was guaranteed.


    Seongho pointed at the drake¡¯s claw with a mithril blade.


    ¡°Huxley. Take three of those.¡±


    ¡°Can I really have that?¡± Huxley asked, surprised.


    ¡°You helped me, so I have to repay you. You can use that as a weapon.¡±


    It¡¯s insanely hard to process, but it¡¯s not impossible.


    Seongho cut the tissue connecting the claws to the leg. Sixteen toenails the size of a human forearm were laid one after another on the floor.


    ¡°Take three of these.¡±


    Huxley smiled brightly at the words. Houston¡¯s survivors now have quite a variety of weapons. It was no exaggeration to say that the long knife was a basic thing for them. However, no one had ever used a drake¡¯s claws as weapons.


    Meanwhile, Sangshin tried to get the scales off the drake with a knife, but he ultimately failed.


    ¡°It won¡¯t come out.¡±


    ¡°It did not drop in the game. It must be attached to the muscles.¡±


    ¡°Damn¡­¡± His ambitious plan to make armor out of scales came to naught.


    After a while, the clan members came to see the fallen drake.


    ¡°God, did a human really kill this monster?¡±


    ¡°Damn, it was so fast I didn¡¯t see it properly.¡±


    ¡°Hey, your body smells.¡±


    ¡°This idiot really wet his pants!¡±


    During the commotion, Natalie looked at Seongho as he wiped the blood off his sword. Even though he had done an incredible job, his expression was expressionless. It was as if he felt that the feat he just did, which was an epic event for her and her clanmates, was merely an everyday affair for him.


    She walked over to him and got down on one knee. The clan members were audibly gasping, and so was Seongho.


    ¡°Whoa! Natalie, don¡¯t be weird.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that. It¡¯s just¡­¡±


    ¡°Just?¡± Seongho asked and she lowered her eyes.


    ¡°Accept me as your disciple.¡±


    ¡°Disciple?¡±


    He thought that it would be another request, but it¡¯s a mentorship request.


    Seongho said while scratching his cheek. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t teach you how to fight. I also don¡¯t have the skills or the leeway to teach you.¡±


    His strength was the combination of his unique skill and know-hows from his game experience. On top of that, he also had so much to do that he couldn¡¯t afford to spare some time just to teach someone.


    Natalie thought for a moment and then asked again.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really have to be a disciple. It¡¯s just, if you have something to hunt, I want you to call me anytime and let me help you. It doesn¡¯t matter if you use me like a tool.¡±


    ¡°Why are you trying to get stronger so quickly?¡±


    ¡°Revenge. There¡¯s a murderer in Dallas who killed my brother.¡±


    At those words, words of ¡®Is he the Texas chainsaw killer?¡¯ was about to come out of his mouth. Thankfully, he barely held it in.


    ¡°I am no different from that killer. I had killed a lot of people. I even became a murderer several times already.¡±


    Only a handful of people around the globe had committed as many murders as Seongho. Of course, the world was wide, so there¡¯s a slight possibility that there will be a murderer whose body count had surpassed him.


    Natalie shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t care. All I need is the power to kill him. I believe that only you can give it to me.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­¡±


    Seongho sighed and looked at her.


    ¡°I can¡¯t accept you as a disciple. I have a lot of work to do.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    ¡°Come to Korea. If you fight hard there, you might find your own way.¡±


    ¡°To Korea? Why? What kind of place is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that different from here. Originally, there were only Koreans there, but these days people from various countries have flocked there and it has become a mess.¡±


    Seoul, the capital city of Korea, was an amazing place with many people. However, there¡¯s also a lot of monsters there. Without the Korean Shelter as a rallying point, deathmatch would occur several times a day and it would be taken as an everyday thing. Compared to that, it¡¯s no exaggeration to say that Houston was a quiet place.


    Natalie stood up with a faint smile on her lips.


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll do as you say.¡±


    Her clanmates regretted it, but they couldn¡¯t stop her. After all, the individual¡¯s will should be respected.


    Huxley put a hand on her shoulder, and asked. ¡°Will you come back to Texas someday?¡±


    ¡°Of course, Chief. I will definitely come back to kill him.¡±


    ¡°After that, let¡¯s play together like before.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I might meet a strong man in Korea and settle down with him.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s gonna be able to handle Natalie¡¯s huge ass?¡±


    Someone called out and she raised her middle finger vigorously.


    ¡°Shut up.¡±


    The clan members giggled as Sangshin untied the rope and took care of it.


    Seongho said to Natalie. ¡°There is a ranch a short distance from Crosby County. My colleagues are there, so let¡¯s go there first.¡±


    ¡°It is difficult to get there. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to tell them to come this way? The labyrinth is also here.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not very difficult.¡±


    Seongho jumped off the overpass and took out two motorcycles. The clan members who looked down at her direction were startled, and Natalie was also startled.


    Where does that motorcycle come from?


    ¡°Sangshin!¡±


    ¡°Okay! Natalie¡­ uh¡­ get on, let¡¯s go.¡±


    A piece of concrete floated up and the two descended on it. Moments later, a motorcycle exhaust sound was heard and the three left.


    Huxley and other clan members who were left behind looked at them and soothed their regrets.


    ¡°It seems like a lot of interesting things are happening in Korea.¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡¤¡¤¡¤¡±


    ¡°Captain, but how do we process this? We don¡¯t even have a blacksmith here.¡±


    The object in question was the drake¡¯s claw.


    How do I process this¡­


    After thinking about it, Huxley said to his clanmates.


    ¡°I guess we have no choice but to go to Korea.¡±


    ¡°Whoa, I heard it¡¯s a real mess there.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t they say that compared to Koreans, we are complete beginners?¡±


    ¡°I heard that the average level of people over there was over 25.¡±


    There were a small number of Koreans who came to the United States through the Great Labyrinth. They informed the situation in Korea with a little exaggeration, of course. Thanks to that, at the auction house, Korea was known as the master zone.


    ¡°Chief, is that okay? This place is our hometown.¡± As Oliver said, Houston was the hometown and life of the clan members.


    But he was Huxley, the adamant leader of the Houston Braves.


    ¡°A hometown is called a hometown when there is something left. Right now, there¡¯s nothing but fucking monsters. What is the difference between Korean cities and this city?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡±


    ¡°The Chief is right.¡±


    Many buildings and roads were destroyed by the ghoul flowers, making it difficult to tell which one was where.


    Huxley looked back at his clanmates and notified them. ¡°I want to go to Korea. I heard that there are other masters besides Seongho.¡±


    Who he meant was Rapwi and Duck Butt. After all, Survivor 1 was not well known due to his lack of presence.


    Huxley wanted to see them. To be precise, he wanted to see their power with his own eyes.


    ¡°By the way, Captain. Wouldn¡¯t there be some shortage of food there? There are still some cows and horses here, but Korea is barren.¡± Someone objected.


    ¡°What¡¯s the problem with that? We can just hunt some animals and eat them! There is also the Great Labyrinth! We can do it as long as we work together!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±


    ¡°Texas is strong!¡±


    Consensus was reached at that point. The clan members immediately returned to their hideouts and began to pack their belongings.


    Oliver muttered blankly. ¡°I wish I had followed them.¡±


    Clan Leader Huxley belatedly inquired through the auction house. And as if he had heard good news, he smiled, showing his white teeth.


    ¡°Nice. Let¡¯s gather in front of the Great Labyrinth. We will go together with Seongho and his party.¡±


    ¡°Whee, I¡¯m glad. I¡¯m afraid to go into the Great Labyrinth.¡±


    The entrance to the Great Labyrinth was open all over the United States, but the survivors¡¯ interest towards it had waned considerably lately. A lot of people died inside, so it was inevitable. One had to risk their life to pass through the Great Labyrinth, and only a few people, including Seongho, could do it with a light heart.


    The Braves clan members waited in front of the entrance to the Great Labyrinth and joined Seongho and his party.


    While they were on their way to Korea, The Lotus Exploration party finally arrived at the capital of Ruat Kingdom.


    Da-jeong, who was looking down from the top of the gryphon, stabbed Seokhyun on his side with her elbow.


    ¡°Rapwi, Geom-in.¡±


    However, the two of them gave her no reply whatsoever.


    Da-jeong was angry and pulled the two of them by the ears.


    ¡°Are you guys sleeping? What do you take me for? Bus tour guide?¡±


    ¡°Uh? Wuh-What?¡±


    Geomin immediately stood up and talked nonsense, and Seokhyun stretched.


    ¡°Huh¡­ what is it?¡±


    ¡°Look over there.¡±


    As she pointed her finger at what appeared to be the royal palace, she left a comment.


    ¡°We¡¯re so screwed.¡±

 Chapter 211

    Something felt empty¡­


    I stretched my arm to the side and looked for Da-jeong, but she was nowhere to be found.


    Ah right, she went to Ruat Kingdom¡­


    Even though I always found it absurd that Da-jeong never failed to put her legs on my belly every night, I was secretly disappointed that I couldn¡¯t feel her presence right now.


    ¡°I want it because I¡¯m so used to it.¡± I sighed and made my beddings. After washing up, I left the hut. The sky was still dark, but I could already see Jiman and Sangshin sitting beside the brazier.


    ¡°Is gukbap on the menu today?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Hyung. I¡¯ve been boiling it since yesterday evening. It should be ready soon.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve been preparing it since yesterday?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m on night duty last night, so it¡¯s just something that helps keep me up. Nothing I can¡¯t handle.¡±


    However, even though Jiman said that, some fatigue can still be clearly seen on his face. His stats were quite high, but no matter how high it was, it still couldn¡¯t render fatigue useless.


    I sighed and pushed him away from the pot. ¡°I¡¯ll be looking for it from now on, so go over to my cabin and get a good night¡¯s sleep.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m not that tired.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, go to sleep.¡±


    After Jimani left, Sangshin let out a sullen laugh.


    ¡°Hehe¡­ I didn¡¯t expect that I¡¯ll get to eat some gukbap in the apocalypse¡­¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you prepare some side dishes instead of just waiting idly?¡±


    At my word, he waved his finger.


    ¡°I¡¯m not on duty for today¡¯s breakfast.¡±


    Well, it¡¯s just as expected. In the shelter, there were quite a lot of good cooks. However, Sangshin was not one of them. He couldn¡¯t control the fire temperature at all, so he often burned the pot. Despite that, the only food he liked was gukbap¨Cwhich is something that is really hard to cook. Therefore, a lot of shelter members were complaining about it.


    Sangshin rubbed his eyes and yawned.


    ¡°Did you wait since dawn to eat this?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll even conquer the world if it means I can enjoy gukbap.¡±


    What a dedicated guy¡­


    Sangshin¡¯s love for gukbap was famous not only among the shelter¡¯s members, but also at the auction house. Not everyone was aware of the name Lee Sanghin, but everyone knew the name of Gukbap Addict. Wherever he went, he always compared the price of food at the auction house with the price of gukbap.


    For example, If someone caught a hwajo and put it up for auction, he would argue:


    -Huh? 100 points? With that much, you can eat 5 servings of grilled meat.


    -With that much money, you can buy warthog bones and meat and make gukbap with it. You can feed one platoon that way.


    -Did your ancestors buy you the food? Do not interfere with my business and get lost.


    Like that.


    However, even when people were criticized like that by Sangshin, they didn¡¯t have any bad blood with him. Rather, they have good reviews about him. After all, he was known as the strongest telekinesis user whose level was over 30. It was known that he had hunted a drake with me in Texas, so his stock price was currently sky-high.


    The man in question was currently sitting in front of the pot. When I opened the lid of the pot and saw him sniffing the smell, my good feelings about him vanished.


    In the end, he rubbed his cheeks in a hurry, as if his face had been burned by the hot steam.


    ¡°Ah, hot.¡±


    His personality really didn¡¯t match his strength.


    ¡°This should be ready, right?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too impatient.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve prepared a bowl, so I¡¯m going to eat and go to sleep right after.¡±


    Saying that, he took out a bowl from the drawer, and it was truly spectacular.


    ¡°¡­Isn¡¯t that a stainless dishwasher?¡± (T/N Google ???? if you want the know the pic.)


    ¡°It has never been used, so it¡¯s clean.¡±


    Is that the problem?


    With a happy expression on his face, Sangshin watched as steam spewed out of the lid of the pot. If he had poured that passion into hunting, the highest level survivor might have been him, not me.


    Well, whatever. Let¡¯s just eat.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ it seems like it¡¯s ready.¡±


    Scooping a little of the soup with a ladle and bringing it to my mouth, I felt a fairly light taste.


    I might be able to sell this.


    ¡°Can I eat it? I¡¯ll scoop some now.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t eat too much.¡±


    Sangshin put a lot of soup in the dishwasher. And when he put three packs of instant rice, I almost burst out cursing. He¡¯s crossing the line!


    The only thing that stopped me from screaming at him was the fact that he helped me well during the drake hunt.


    ¡°Kkakdugi is a must for gukbap.¡±


    (P/n Kkakdugi = cubed radish kimchi, literally just radish that is cut into cubed and made into kimchi)


    slurp-


    He hurriedly inhaled the soup and chewed a lot of kkakdugi. The sound of him eating was really alluring for some reason.


    I laid halfway down in my chair and surveyed the auction house. I didn¡¯t know about it last night, but there was information that the stagnant waters team had arrived in Ruat Kingdom. However, the content is not trivial.


    -Seongho, we¡¯re screwed!


    -This is no joke! There¡¯s fire and it¡¯s a mess!


    I wanted to find out what was so crazy, and I found out that flames were surrounding the palace. It was absolutely not a natural phenomenon.


    -Rapwi went close and got hit by a fire fist and passed out! What should we do?


    -Everyone seems to be asleep.


    -For now, let¡¯s retreat.


    There have been no comments ever since. The last comment must have been posted at least a few hours ago. The time difference shouldn¡¯t be that big, so I should be able to hear the details when the day gets brighter.


    While he was distracted for a moment, Sangshin finished eating so many soups and was tapping his stomach.


    ¡°Ugh. The gukbap went smoothly down my throat.¡±


    ¡°Do it in moderation and get some sleep.¡±


    ¡°Even if you don¡¯t tell me, I¡¯ll have a good sleep. After all, I haven¡¯t been getting enough sleep lately.¡±


    He quietly tidied up after himself and crawled into the cabin. After a while, the day dawned and people got up one by one.


    It seemed Sooyeon and Yoohyeon were the members on breakfast duty today. The two sighed as they looked at the still steaming pot.


    ¡°It¡¯s gukbap all day again today.¡±


    .


    .


    .


    Two days have passed since I returned to Korea. The survivors from Texas settled well in the Korean Shelter thanks to James and Paige. After all, even Jang Won-taek would not refuse some free cows.


    There were 300 cows living in my shelter, which I collected on two occasions. No matter how greatly the shelter was expanded, 300 cows were a number that could not be handled by us. Even though several people, including Jiman, worked on it together all day, the work was not finished.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I need to send the cows there quickly¡­¡±


    But before that, I need to know whether Seokhyun had come to his senses or not.


    -Are you alive? What happened?


    -Seongho is here!


    Since they know if they all write a comment at the same time makes me dizzy, Da-jeong stepped forward as the representative.


    -Did you read what we posted?


    -Yea. What kind of flames engulfed the palace? Is the situation still the same?


    -I¡¯m not kidding, it¡¯s still the same as when we arrived. The palace, no, the entire capital seems to be on fire.


    The flames were not ordinary flames, but rather a large-scale one.


    -I heard Seokhyun passed out after being hit by a fire fist? What exactly does that mean?


    -Literally. Fists made out of fire came out of the flames and struck him.


    Such an absurd thing¡­


    -Is Seokhyun okay?


    -He¡¯s not dead. I told him not to go, but this bald pervert¡­


    ¡®Even if I die, it¡¯s okay.¡¯ He probably said that.


    It wasn¡¯t a baseless confidence. After all, Seokhyun¡¯s unique skill was infinite resurrection, and he even brought a resurrection scroll with him. It¡¯s pointless to worry about him.


    -Anyway! There is fire magic spreading around the palace where we have to enter. It¡¯s impossible to get in.


    Why did a magical flame spread over a wide area in the first place?


    When I asked about it, Da-jeong gave an unexpected answer.


    -I asked Amelia yesterday using the whispering gem. She said it was the result of some kind of experiment.


    -What kind of experiment?


    -Listen well. When you think of magic, usually a fireball will come out of a wizard¡¯s hand or wand or something, right?


    -Yeah.


    -The people of the Lotus Continent thought of using magic a little differently. I don¡¯t know exactly how different, but they thought of using a lot of aether stones to create magic on a large scale.


    -Are you saying they are trying to amplify magic?


    -Amelia said something similar. Anyway, thanks to that series of experiments, humans benefited greatly. There is a country called the Ezekium Empire above Ruat, and it has been victorious in the war using that kind of magic.


    -What is the relationship between the Ezekium Empire and the Ruat Kingdom?


    -Ezekium must have helped Ruat a lot because it was in a situation similar to that vessel nation.


    -Aha.


    ¨DBut¡­it seems that something went wrong with that experiment and the flow of the nearby ether was messed up. It was said that the magic applied near the royal palace was called a Fire Fists spell.


    The spell¡¯s name is Fire Fist.


    Anyway, currently the party was resting in a place around the palace.


    -What should we do? Just believe in Seokhyun¡¯s resurrection and go in?


    The solution was simple. The drake had given me a fire resistance item. If Seokhyun wore it, he should be able to move around.


    I packed my body armor and ogre gloves.


    -I will send you two items.


    -What is it? I know that one is definitely the ogre gloves.


    -The other one was a gift from Mr. Drake. It¡¯s a fire resistance item.


    -Wow, did you really kill it?


    -Have you not heard?


    It turns out that the shelter members didn¡¯t talk about it.


    Da-jeong wanted to hear the battle with the drake in great detail.


    -What are the details? I just made up my mind and caught it. That person also helped.


    -You love towards me has cooled!


    -I woke up this morning and felt empty because you weren¡¯t by my side.


    ¨C Really?


    -Yeah. It¡¯s strangely empty and I find it a bit regrettable.


    -Are you missing my body too?


    -That too. But that¡¯s not all.


    I continued to say it without saying that I need you. She whined that she wanted to go back quickly.


    -The three of us will quickly finish up here.


    I sent Da-jeong two items and a bunch of beef.


    -By the way, Geom-in said that some survivors lived here until recently.


    -Is that so? Were there any traces?


    -If a person stays in one place, there are many traces left, right? Geom-in said they were here until a few months ago.


    Then there¡¯s a good chance that they were alive.


    I asked her.


    -Handle the work well and return safely, okay?


    After getting an answer from Da-jeong, I turned off the auction house and went out of the cabin. Now it¡¯s time to deliver the cow.


    When I looked for Jiman, he was already in the cow pen, brushing the cows one by one.


    ¡°You should be fine there.¡±


    Moo~


    Judging by the fact that the cow¡¯s cry was different from normal, Jiman definitely has the ability to communicate with it.


    ¡°Jiman, let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    We led the cattle and headed to the Korean Shelter. When the cows came out of the dimension gate in a straight line, Jan Wontaek and Lee Beom-seok¡¯s jaws fell to the ground.


    ¡°Heh heh¡­ I never thought he¡¯d bring a real cow from Texas¡­¡±


    ¡°Mr. President¡­ Will it be possible for us to raise those cows?¡±


    ¡°If there¡¯s a will, there will be a way. There is a lot of grass near Yeouido, so we can use the area to feed them. Of course, the monsters are a problem¡­¡±


    Many roads and buildings have been overturned and the unique ecosystem of Lotus has taken its place. That ecosystem was hostile to both humans and monsters. No, to be exact, the ecosystem itself was like a huge enemy.


    Vines that wrap around buildings, trees with only bare branches without leaves, and grotesquely large flowers were all monsters. Therefore, the common sense of walking alone on the street had long left the thoughts of the survivors.


    In order to not die, being fully armed was the bare minimum. On top of that, everyone must always travel together. That way, even if someone died, their corpse could be recovered.


    Anyway, 100 cows came into the Korean Shelter. The guys were still quite calm under the influence of Jiman.


    ¡°The delivery has been completed. For a few days, Jiman will come and help you take care of them. So don¡¯t worry about them running away.¡±


    After that, of course, it¡¯s up to them. Raising cows in Seoul, which was overflowing with monsters, would be a very difficult task. However, they still had to do it.


    Jang Wontaek talked with James and I returned to the shelter.


    Now I want to start doing business in earnest.


    .


    .


    .


    As the apocalypse entered its 10th month, there was still something that the survivors lacked.


    It was water.


    For those who are willing to hunt outside, food is not exactly a problem for them. For those who were unwilling, they could just buy the store bread even when it¡¯s as tasty as sand.


    However, water, especially drinking water, was difficult to find. The monsters had already drunk all the bottled water, and the water tanks in the residential area had already been contaminated.


    The only saving grace for the survivors was the water of the Han River. However, only a handful of people drink it after purifying it. After all, it was known how dirty the water of the Han River is. That¡¯s why when bottled water was put up on the auction house, it was often sold out immediately.


    Everyone wants clean water.


    In that kind of situation, the people in my shelter had access to clean water.


    It is because of the creek flowing nearby. It might not be as good as bottled water, but as long as we boil it a little, there¡¯s no problem with drinking it.


    Anyway, Jiman was planning to sell that very water to people. That¡¯s just speculation on my part, so I couldn¡¯t help but get surprised when he said he wanted to give it for free.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit wasteful to give it away for free¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Hyung¡­ It¡¯s just water.¡±


    My heart was shaken by his earnest eyes. Yes, it¡¯s good if you give them clean water so they can live with it. However, that would make us go under in the long run.


    ¡°Tell me how are you going to do it.¡±


    Jiman filled the plastic bottle with purified water.


    ¡°I¡¯m selling this for 10 points.¡±


    ¡°Plastic bottles are not infinite.¡±


    There are a lot of different things in our shelter, and there were hundreds of empty plastic bottles. It was something that can¡¯t be made, so we just decided to store it in case we ever needed it.


    Jimani said he could get it back.


    ¡°I can buy an empty plastic bottle for 10 points.¡±


    ¡°How about the fees?¡±


    He let out an ¡®Oh!¡¯ sound and shut his mouth. 10% of the auction house¡¯s winning bid disappeared as a commission. No one knew where these points disappeared to, including me.


    It means, 2 points would be lost in the process of selling and collecting plastic bottles. Both the seller and the buyer would lose 1 point equally.


    ¡°Sell the water for 20 points. And buy the empty plastic bottle for 10. They should at the very least pay about 10 points for clean water.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be too expensive?¡±


    ¡°You know that the store bread was sold for 20 points, don¡¯t you? 2 liters of water for 10 points is basically free.¡±


    ¡°Um, um¡­ that¡¯s right.¡±


    In the apocalypse, clean water was more precious than anything else.


    Jiman laughed awkwardly, probably remembering the existence of store bread.


    ¡°Now that we¡¯re talking about it, the bread sold at the store tastes really bad. Just who was making it and selling it there, I wonder.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. The monster in the deepest part of the Great Labyrinth is probably the one who made it.¡±


    ¡°Ewww¡­..¡±


    Anyway, Jiman started the water business. The reaction was, of course, explosive. Everyone at the auction house complied with Jiman¡¯s request.


    -Even though I sell the water for 20 points, please sell the plastic bottles back to me at 10 points.


    -But who are you? Are you I Love Gimbap?


    -Of course he¡¯s not. If it was him, the water would have been sold at 50 points instead of 20 points.


    -And he would tell us to tie up 10 plastic bottles and sell them for 10 points.


    -If someone goes against the law, he will find them and kill them.


    These guys¡­ But well, I might just do that if I were the one selling, so they¡¯re not that wrong.


    Even if it wasn¡¯t 50 points, it would have definitely sold at a more expensive price than this.


    While looking at the reaction at the auction house, unexpected news came. When Jiman put up a bottle of water, someone broke the rules and bought it at a higher price.


    As the situation continued, people expressed their uncomfortable feelings.


    -Yo, why did you do that you bastard!!!


    -I Love Gimbap will record your ID and go find you if you keep doing this, you hear me? Aren¡¯t you afraid?


    I¡¯m sorry, but that skill had already disappeared, so it¡¯s impossible to confirm who it was.


    The culprit appeared once again. But now, the guy increased the price to 40 points.


    -Just take it all, you bastard!


    -Looked like it¡¯s the Chinese¡¯s doing. I¡¯m really fed up!


    -Hey you, you said you want to eat and live together, but why are you doing that? Wouldn¡¯t you be bothered too if the price of water goes up?


    -It¡¯s all you guys fault.


    What kind of bullshit are you talking about all of a sudden?


    It wasn¡¯t just me who was stunned, dozens of people cursed at the guy. However, the guy remained silent and bought another water bottle for 30 points. As people also raised their bid, the price soared by 30 points, sometimes even 40 points.


    Jiman¡¯s plan to supply clean water at an affordable price crumbled as soon as it started.


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be like this¡­¡±


    I comforted the depressed man and called the shelter people.


    Let¡¯s see how many points the guy has to be ballsy enough to pull this kind of act.

 Chapter 212

    Reselling. It was an act which was heavily criticized by many people. After all, what the reseller did was monopolize certain goods by buying them at their fixed price, and sell them at a higher price. Back when the society was still standing, monopolizing daily necessities, such as water, was nothing but impossible. Even if it were possible, the culprit would be punished severely by the law since the result they caused would be immense.


    However, common sense did not work for those who were buying the bottled water from the auction house. They bought it for 30 to 40 points which was far higher than the normal price. That act became the trigger for people at the auction house who wanted to drink clean water to lash out their anger.


    -Are you happy now that you successfully became a reseller?


    -At least, you shouldn¡¯t do it with drinking water!


    -A bastard like this should really be torn limb to limb.


    The cause of the current situation was drought. It hadn¡¯t rained for the past two months in Korea, so everyone was out of drinking water.


    Some even complained that they hadn¡¯t even washed for 15 days.


    -There is a limit to wiping our body with wet tissue. Please let us use soap too.


    -Can¡¯t you just wash yours with river water?


    -The water in the fucking Han River is dirty! You want me to wash using it? Are you nuts?


    -You can just go to the mountain and wash with the valley water.


    -If it were that easy, everyone would go to the mountains, you assholes. Now tell me, is it really that easy to go to the mountains just to wash yourself?


    Unless someone had a vast amount of experience, moving around in the apocalypse was something people had to be prepared to lose their life in. There were still a lot of places where the battle royale battlefield was active, so the stats and ability of people were drastically reduced there. If they tried to deal with powerful monsters with such poor stats, they would only revisit the taste of gloom they had desperately tried to escape from in the early days of the apocalypse.


    By the way, the guys who always say ¡®Why don¡¯t you do this¡¯ Or ¡® Why don¡¯t you do that¡¯ in the auction house strangely emphasize Koreans. When Koreans talk with each other, there¡¯s no need to emphasize nationality between them. However, these friends continued to refer to Koreans and Korea.


    -Seemed like it¡¯s not just the country that is small, but the people¡¯s brain living on it too. It¡¯s our freedom to bid no matter how high. If you want it, why don¡¯t you pay a lot?


    -You guys have always bragged about how skillful you guys are, but it looks like you¡¯re actually just poor people who just can talk!


    -Living in this cramped place is like a curse. Koreans should just give us their place quickly!


    The last comment was decisive. Someone accidentally uploaded it and blew up the auction item, but I saw it clearly.


    ¡°These bastards were Chinese.¡±


    They occupied cities in the west coast even at this moment. I asked why they decided to be a reseller, but the answer came back saying they just did what they were told.


    ¡°If I killed half of them, they wouldn¡¯t be able to do this shit.¡±


    However, the number of Chinese currently in Korea was so large to the point it was almost impossible to actually kill half of them. Though, messing with them was a wide open option.


    I called for the members who had little to nothing to do in the shelter.


    ¡°Put purified water into a bottle and sell it for 20 points. But don¡¯t sell it too quickly. Give it enough time for people to buy in moderation. Keep in mind to continue buying empty bottles to stock up on.¡±


    Just with those instructions, Yeowool noticed my intentions.


    ¡°You¡¯re trying to get them to stock up on water and get rid of them later, right, Ahjussi?¡±


    ¡°Their points won¡¯t be infinite, so their cute little acts will definitely end in one way or another.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Since we can¡¯t reduce demand, we can just increase the supply.¡±


    The important thing was to sell the bottled water bit by bit until the Chinese ran out of points. If they took notice of the amount we have, they would stop buying, so we have to be careful.


    ¡°Yeowool, you take control of the whole operation. Keep your eyes open for information regarding the Chinese¡¯s movement. If their buying spree starts to slow down and they start to sell the water at a high price, kill them.¡±


    ¡°Ahjussi, you¡¯re evil.¡±


    ¡°They started it first.¡±


    This time, Yoohyeon came forward.


    ¡°But Hyung, we have to stop other people from buying it too. Looking at it now, there are many people who want to buy it even if it is expensive¡­ What should we do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to spread our plan to the people through the Great Labyrinth.¡±


    Currently, the first floor of the Great Labyrinth was a hub for people from all over the world. If the information was distributed directly there, the Chinese would have no way to know. There might be trolls leaking the information to them, but the odds that the Chinese would believe them were too low to count.


    The demand was another problem, but I was thinking of using the Great Labyrinth to quench it moderately. I would use a large basin, place it in the Great Labyrinth shelter, and put a hose which was directed to the valley in it to fill it with water. Since the taste of the valley water was quite good, it could be considered as a sample for future customers.


    Of course, with this plan in mind, survivors who live in small cities or rural areas and had made their base there wouldn¡¯t be able to enjoy it, as they wouldn¡¯t be able to enter the Great Labyrinth. But I have no choice; There is no perfect plan that could satisfy everyone.


    I stressed to the members. ¡°It¡¯s not about earning points, so there¡¯s no need to sell the water too fast. The important thing is to get them to buy our water.¡±


    ¡°What should I do once I know their points are exhausted? Keep selling the water for 20 points?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. By the way, Mi-kyung should help me a little too. No, No, not now, later.¡±


    Whenever I need to go somewhere, Mi-kyung ¡®s the best choice out of everyone I know.


    Mi-kyung smiled and put her arms around my arm.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve been going out a lot these days.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you normally go to the Korean Shelter?¡±


    Since the second dimension door was open, the members could go to the Korean Shelter at any time without spending points.


    ¡°I did go there a lot, but that doesn¡¯t count as ¡®going out¡¯ per se. After all, that place is like our second house.¡±


    Well, she had a point¡­


    Anyway, I finished my preparations and borrowed a basin from the Korean Shelter.


    ¡°The source of the commotion was you, Seongho?¡± Jang Won-taek asked.


    ¡°There is no one other than me who can sell out drinking water in bulk like that. Please keep it under wraps for the time being.¡±


    ¡°Seeing that you wanted to borrow a large basin, are you trying to bring water to the Great Labyrinth?¡±


    Sometimes, I just feel that this guy is just so sharp¡­ too sharp, even¡­


    When I didn¡¯t answer, Jang Won-taek chuckled, seemingly convinced.


    ¡°It seemed like that was indeed your plan. Okay. I¡¯ll try to block the information from going out. But how long should I do it?¡±


    ¡°Until they lose. In other words, until they run out of points.¡±


    ¡°All right. By the way, is Seongho really planning to sell bottled water for 20 points?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of talk about water shortage these days.¡±


    Jang Won-taek made a satisfied expression at my answer.


    ¡°There are two months left until the time shelters across the country opens. We just have to hold out until then.¡±


    Even if the time shelters were opened, every problematic thing would not be solved instantly. The amount of materials it had would still be limited, but a human¡¯s need for water was boundless. 3 to 4 liters of water a day was needed, half of which must be clean enough to be drinkable.


    Of all the survivors, I was the only one who had the ability to supply it.


    I left Jang Won-taek¡¯s office and went to Hyung-jun hyung¡¯s dorm. The bulge in sister-in-law¡¯s belly grew even bigger than the last time I saw her. It was really fortunate that she could still move.


    ¡°Sister-in-law, can you go inside the dimensional door and do the quest now?¡±


    Of course Hyung-jun hyung was worried. He was concerned whether she, who had less fighting power than Yeowool, would be able to do well.


    ¡°I have to give it my all.¡± She smiled faintly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you two resurrection scrolls, so if things go south, you should come out right away.¡±


    Then Hyung-jun hyung intervened.


    ¡°But Seongho¡­ Does that mean that the baby in her belly can also be resurrected?¡±


    I hadn¡¯t even thought about it until now¡­ Well, I should make sure that the worst case scenario didn¡¯t happen.


    I went into the shelter and brought a bunch of guns, items, and crops that gave buffs. On top of it, I also asked Dingo, Dingsoon, a scarab and a beetle to accompany her.


    My sister-in-law took my hand.


    ¡°I hated Seongho at first, but for you to go this far for me¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all in the past, so don¡¯t worry. Let¡¯s just get it done today.¡±


    If we delay her quest any longer, she wouldn¡¯t be able to do it until she gives birth to the baby. Once she reached that point, she wouldn¡¯t be able to do it at all, because it means that she and their baby would be counted as two separate humans, and the baby wouldn¡¯t be able to enter the shelter. After all, it¡¯s impossible to ask a baby to do such a quest.


    Hyung-jun hyung lowered his head at that moment.


    ¡°I should have been patient¡­ I¡¯m sorry, Seongho.¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t worry too much, hyung. then¡­¡±


    When I opened the portal, sister-in-law chewed on the crop and opened her eyes wide.


    ¡°Wha-what are these stats? It¡¯s almost twice as much as my original stats.¡±


    ¡°You have to become a monster to fight monsters. Put your hand here, please.¡± After a while, the quest dimension door opened. Now she had to bring 3 aether stones by herself to pass the quest. Her stats have improved and the equipment I gave her was anything but weak. However, amidst that, she was still trembling. It was something she couldn¡¯t stop even when she knew she would be okay.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about. I know you will do well. You fought well.¡±


    Hyung-jun hyung comforted her.


    ¡°¡­¡± She nodded her head and went inside the portal without hesitation, closely followed by the 4 bodyguards.


    Now, we just need to wait for her to come out.


    ¡°Will it be okay¡­?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps.¡±


    ¡°Jihye really wanted to go into the shelter since the others said it was nice there.¡±


    Well, as expected from the good-hearted members of my shelter. Seokhyun and Da-jeong might be far from the definition of normal, but they did not behave recklessly to someone like sister-in-law. In particular, Seokhyun was unexpectedly polite to her. Sister-in-law would have fainted if he suddenly took off his panties.


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ll have to smoke.¡±


    My brother took out a cigarette and a match and lit it. He almost quit smoking these days as the supply of cigarettes was nowhere near as abundant as before, but it seemed that it was difficult to completely quit smoking.


    As I was browsing through the auction house, both to waste time while waiting and to gather more information, something unexpected happened.


    -Seongho, how is Jihye noona here?


    It¡¯s a comment written by Geom-in.


    Just what the hell is he talking about?


    -Da-jeong found her while we were flying.


    -Is she with you now?


    -Don¡¯t worry! I picked all of them up on the gryphon!


    There¡¯s no doubt that the last comment was from Da-jeong.


    When I told Hyung-Jun hyung about it, he collapsed as if his leg had loosened.


    ¡°Ha¡­ what is happening¡­¡±


    The quest location was completely random. Never in my wildest imagination have I thought that she would appear on Ruat Kingdom. She¡¯s lucky that Da-jeong was on a scouting mission.


    In any case, she was now together with the stagnant waters party. The chance of her dying had become 0. Seokhyun even handed her an aether stone the three had found before.


    Just like that, sister-in-law¡¯s quest was completed in just two hours. After her, Hyung-jun hyung also finished the quest and the two of them entered my shelter.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡±


    ¡°To think there¡¯s a place like this in here¡­¡±


    While the two admired the scenery of the shelter, I took Mi-kyung out.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go now.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s gooooo~¡±


    That dragging voice, where have I heard it before?


    We moved to the vicinity of the Great Labyrinth in an instant.


    .


    .


    .


    Recently, the Chinese in Incheon have been carrying out a certain order. It was to earn points by spending their points on items put up in the auction house.


    To put it simply, it was a resale tactic. However, unlike the normal resale tactic, there were limits to the items they could use. The reason was because there were only a few items that were essential for humans to live and relatively stable in supply in this apocalyptic era.


    Zhao Ziwei, who had become the ruler of Incheon, paid his undivided attention to the bottled water.


    ¡°The demand is high, but the supply is sorely lacking¡­ If we monopolize it, we will surely make a lot of money.¡±


    The auction house was a completely anonymous space, so there¡¯s no risk whatsoever. On top of it, there¡¯s even a comment function, which was a great help in provoking the other party.


    ¡°Buy everything that comes out. Don¡¯t let those joseon bastards buy it.¡±


    Zhao Ziwei ordered his men to buy all the bottled water that was put up in the auction house.


    They laughed at the Koreans participating in the auction in a fit of fuss.


    Do you have as many points as us, though?


    After all, close to a thousand people give points to a small number of people to proceed with the plan. The Chinese in Incheon and the west coast united around Zhao Ziwei. It was caused by their fear of the Koreans. In particular, a large Korean man wearing black outfit and wielding a mithril blade was a problem. Hundreds of their people had lost their lives to him.


    Zhao Ziwei tried to propose peace to him, but he didn¡¯t even entertain the thoughts. He said that he would not cease hostilities until all the Chinese on the west coast were gone.


    So Zhao Ziwei tried to use a different method.


    ¡°Give the points to a few people. If we buy and stock up on a lot of water, those joseon bastards will have no choice but to bow their heads to us.¡±


    His plan stemmed from the fact that it¡¯s difficult to get clean water in the world these days. He assumed that the bottled water that was coming out now was one of the very few items left.


    Even though the Koreans almost gave up, the monopoly continued smoothly. There were still Koreans who participated in the auction, but when the people on his side raised the bid, they quickly gave up.


    One of his men asked Zhao Ziwei.


    ¡°The price keeps going up¡­ can we still buy it for 50 points?¡±


    ¡°What about the supply?¡±


    ¡°There are still a few bottles coming out. Although the quantity has decreased a lot compared to before.¡±


    Zhao Ziwei smiled, it was evidence that their stocks were running out.


    ¡°Keep buying. We can resell it at a higher price later.¡±


    However, the plan soon met a hurdle. Even when there¡¯s 1,000 people gathered, the points accumulated for the plan was only slightly over 120,000. Zhao Zhiwei was somewhat reluctant to keep buying the water with the dwindling numbers.


    He shook his head and looked at the bottled waters stored in the corner of his office.


    ¡®I already have over 500 bottles¡­¡¯


    The unit price was quite high because they raised the bid in order to defeat his competitor. More than 20,000 points had already been used, and complaints started to come out from his people.


    I need to buy a weapon and bread now, why are you taking my points?


    It made sense, so Zhao Ziwei had to make a big promise.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pay you back twice as much later!¡±


    There was a fee in the process, but it was unavoidable.


    Zhao Zhiwei continued to encourage people to buy bottled water. The number of bottles in their stock quickly increased to 1,000, 1,500, and finally surpassed 2,000. Even though one corner of his office was full, he had no intention to drink even one of it. After all, the unit price was close to 60 points each, a hefty sum for mere water.


    One day, someone secretly stole a bottle. When he was found out, the guy was brutally beaten by Zhao Ziwei.


    ¡°The traitor is here! You are our enemy! Let¡¯s all hit him!¡±


    The man who stole a bottle of water was tied to a pole and became a target of countless stones. Everyone got carried away and threw stones at him until he was covered in blood. The man died a violent death not long after.


    Zhao Ziwei couldn¡¯t hide his anxiety when he saw the man¡¯s corpse. If things went wrong, he would be the one to be tied to the pole.


    ¡®I¡¯m barely controlling them with the few subordinates I have. I don¡¯t know when these guys will rebel.¡¯


    Dictators tend to be cowards, and Zhao Ziwei was much worse. He did not trust his compatriots at all. Even his subordinates suffer the same fate, as he only trusts those who were closest to him.


    Zhao Ziwei ignored the voices of the people and kept doing what he planned.


    ¡°I¡¯m doing it for us! If you don¡¯t like it, do you want to become like that guy?¡±


    ¡°N-n, no. I apologize.¡±


    People were surprised by Zhao Ziwei¡¯s threats and retreated. However, as the number of such people increased, Zhao Ziwei became more and more afraid.


    ¡°When will you give our points back? We are hungry too.¡±


    ¡°Or just give us some water.¡±


    Zhao Zhiwei snapped at that point.


    ¡°Do you know how much it cost? Don¡¯t talk nonsense.¡±


    ¡°Then, why did you buy it?¡±


    ¡°There is an opportunity to sell it at higher prices.¡±


    ¡°¡­that opportunity should come soon, then.¡±


    ¡°You dare to threaten me?¡±


    Zhao Ziwei growled, but the people did not flinch.


    ¡°Do you think you will be safe if you keep doing this to us?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s think and act well.¡±


    After they left, Zhao Ziwei suffered from a feeling of helplessness for a while. As a result of spending all of their combined points on buying bottled waters, his image plummeted.


    If he produced good results, he would become a hero.


    However,


    What if he fails?


    ¡®I might be the one hanging on the pole¡­¡¯ For now, the only things he could do was to hope.


    When the number of water stocked in his office exceeded 2,200, the points finally ran out. If he squeezed the people out, he would be able to continue buying for a while, but in the current situation, that act was synonimous to suicide.


    Zhao Ziwei gave instructions to his men, hiding his nervousness.


    ¡°Now we can sell it expensively. Those who want to drink clean water would have no choice but to buy our products.¡±


    But a problem that made Zhao Ziwei¡¯s heart sink arose at that moment. Hundreds of bottled water set on sale suddenly appeared in the auction house.


    Where the hell did something like that come from?


    They should have ran out of stock!


    ¡°This can¡¯t be¡­ that¡¯s an empty bottle!¡±


    One of his men bought the newly put up bottled water, tried it, and spoke cautiously.


    ¡°It¡¯s the same as what we have¡­ It¡¯s drinkable water¡­¡±


    Zhao Zhiwei glared viciously at the plastic bottle filled with water. That bottled water only cost 20 points. On the other hand, the unit price of the stocked water bottle on their side was close to 60 points. It was obvious which one people would prefer to buy.


    ¡®I¡¯ve been had!¡¯


    120,000 points shrank to 40,000 in an instant. If he informed the people about it, it was obvious he would not die easily.


    Zhao Ziwei couldn¡¯t overcome his dejection and fell to his knees. The thought that his life was completely over dominated his mind.

 Chapter 213

    ¡°AH! He only bought one bottle.¡±


    ¡°Looks like he wants to check whether it is truly clean water inside that bottle.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°To put it simply, he was in a mental breakdown. How would you feel if you had a lot of money, chose to invest it in some business, and as it turns out, the business was a flop?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I might be devastated, but I don¡¯t think I would feel that much despair. I can just collect them again.¡±


    ¡°Well, that might be the case if all of that money is yours. But what if most of them come from loan sharks?¡±


    Mi-kyung, who understood my meaning, suddenly started to hiccup.


    ¡°Oh¡­ He¡¯s so dead¡­¡±


    ¡°Now Zhao Ziwei only has two options left. Either explain it to people and take their anger head on, or run away.¡±


    ¡°Uh, this is my opinion, but I don¡¯t think the person who instigated and robbed the hard-gathered points from people will choose to lie down and die quietly¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we are here.¡± Currently, me and Mi-kyung were on the first floor of the Great Labyrinth. The exact location was right next to the Chinese settlement.


    Zhao Ziwei, who had blown all the points he had, would have no choice but to come here to escape. I could capture him alive and try to negotiate, but it was far from my taste. I prefer killing him here with my own hands to ease my mind.


    Anyway, it¡¯s pretty dark here. The first floor of the Great Labyrinth was gradually being occupied by people. Shelter members dug up and sold lighting moss from the second and third floors, making many areas on the first floor quite bright. The reason it¡¯s dark around here is because it¡¯s near the Chinese settlements, and none of them had bought the moss from us.


    What they had going for themselves was only quantity. They didn¡¯t have any know-hows, and their level was really low compared to us. All they have was power in numbers, but then they¡¯ll still get beaten up, then they¡¯ll whine at the auction house.


    Mi-kyung chattered beside me for a while. It was mainly a personal change that occurred in the shelter. I called the auction house while entertaining her lightly. Seeing that the water bottles were still there, the time to act was now.


    Yoohyeon and Yeowool flew their paper airplanes around the area, so news would come in soon.


    At that moment, the Ruat exploration party suddenly called me.


    -Seongho! We found something great!


    -You will be surprised when you see this.


    After failing a couple times, the party was finally able to enter the Ruat Kingdom¡¯s Royal Palace. They took turns wearing my body armor and rushed in, and found two great items inside.


    Here¡¯s a summary of the long-winded comments:


    ¡¸Leather Cloak of Protection: Indestructible, Physical Resistance, Elemental Resistance¡¹


    ¡¸Transformation Bracelet: Abomination Polymorph¡¹


    Physical resistance and elemental resistance finally came out. That item was a perfect fit for Seokhyun. He used to wear a cloak before, but it was torn into nothing but rags so he had no choice but to take it off. Now he finally got its replacement. On top of it, with all the options. Seokhyun would become even harder to kill.


    But there was something more surprising than the cloak.


    -Seongho, do you know what kind of monster an Abomination is?


    -I don¡¯t know. What kind of monster is it?


    It¡¯s a monster that did not exist in Survival Life, and a bracelet that allows you to transform into one.


    Maybe it was included in that last monster expansion patch?


    -Geom-in here, I¡¯ll send you a journal of someone who had been researching the monster.


    After a while, the old research journal came to my hand. I couldn¡¯t recognize the letters, but the overwhelming size of the monster caught my eye.


    Mi-kyung, who was watching from the side, spoke out.


    ¡°This is a complete monster¡­ Just how big is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit smaller than an ogre.¡±


    Overall, it was a miniature version of an ogre. According to Seokhyun¡¯s comment, the bracelet would allow its wearer to transform into an Abomination.


    -It¡¯s totally dope. I used it and I turned into a real monster. I¡¯m not joking.


    So, like a hulk?


    It would be all good if that¡¯s the only thing that it does. However, there¡¯s no way that side effects wouldn¡¯t kick in after transforming into such a huge monster.


    -What about the side effects?


    -First of all, the transformation time is a bit short. Was it about 3 minutes? And after it was over, I was in a state of severe exhaustion. It was hard.


    Huh, it seems that this item was the perfect fit for me. After all, I have the Toughness skill, which greatly mitigates debuffs, including exhaustion.


    When I told them that, Da-jeong made a fuss.


    -Toughness? That¡¯s a murderer¡¯s skill, one you cannot get no matter how many murderers you kill. How did you get it?


    -I used a bug in the battle royale battlefield the other day, and it was still there.


    -Then, Seokhyun should get the cloak, and Seongho should get the bracelet.


    -Hey, What about me!!!!!!


    -So do you want the bracelet?


    -Don¡¯t wanna. I don¡¯t want my clothes to be torn!


    Wait, you told me about such a critical problem now?


    In fact, Da-jeong had dressed like a barbarian once in the past when our base was still on Ganghwa Island. I thought it was because she was a pervert, but it seemed like she had changed.


    Geom-in gave an additional explanation at that moment.


    -To be precise, even when the clothes were torn apart, they didn¡¯t come loose. Probably because Abomination¡¯s body isn¡¯t big enough to rip them apart completely.


    Surely it won¡¯t disappear completely?


    Anyway, I bought the bracelet they put up. It was a wide-brimmed bracelet, and it looks like something an Egyptian monarch might have worn.


    When I gave it to Mi-kyung, she freaked out and ran away.


    ¡°I will never use it. My clothes will all be torn.¡±


    Yeah, with that problem alone, the number of women willing to use the item would go down considerably. In fact, I didn¡¯t really want to use it either. However, it¡¯s my creed to do anything if it helps me increase my fighting power.


    All in order to survive.


    -It wouldn¡¯t turn me into a lunatic, would it?


    -I don¡¯t feel anything like that. I just feel like I¡¯ve gotten bigger and stronger?


    -Seongho, don¡¯t be fooled! That guy is originally half crazy, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to tell the difference!


    Well, since I also have the mental resistance ring, there shouldn¡¯t be much of a problem¡­ Wait, since my body grows larger, what would happen to all the items I¡¯m wearing?


    ¡°Mi-kyung, can you close your eyes for a moment?¡±


    She covered her eyes with her hands and I laughed as I undressed. I know that if she had the chance, she¡¯s going to open her fingers and see.


    When I took off all my clothes and unequipped all of my items, Mi-kyung¡¯s fingers were really spread, it wasn¡¯t even covering anything. Her mouth fell open as well.


    When I put on the bracelet and used it, a message flashed in my vision.


    ¡¸Abomination Polymorph¡¹


    ¡¸Time limit 4 minutes¡¹


    I became a monster.


    Literally.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°¡­everyone get out.¡±


    After sending his men away, Zhao Ziwei thought about the problem in hand. There were only two options left for him.


    Do I tell the truth and get beaten to death, or run away and look for another opportunity?


    ¡®I can¡¯t tell them the truth.¡¯ That¡¯s the same as committing suicide. His compatriots would never forgive him for wasting their points.


    ¡®I have to run away¡­ Maybe the road for my future will open.¡±


    But the problem was, there¡¯s absolutely nowhere to go. The east was the territory of the Koreans, and even if he wanted to go there, he had to go through the south first, which was also a place occupied by the Koreans. North also wasn¡¯t an option. After all, it had been concluded a long time ago that there¡¯s nothing there.


    ¡®If I can gather my subordinates and go to another country¡­¡¯ If they were able to penetrate through the entrance to the Great Labyrinth, there¡¯s a good chance they would survive.


    Zhao Ziwei recalled information that Koreans were talking about. It was said that the Great Labyrinth was connected to various places in each country. For him, anywhere was fine as long as this predicament could be avoided.


    Zhao Ziwei summoned his men, but two were nowhere to be seen. Of course, they were the two that held the most points.


    ¡°Where are they?¡±


    ¡°Th-they had run away.¡±


    ¡°They ran away to the entrance of the Great Labyrinth!¡±


    Zhao Ziwei gritted his teeth and looked at the portal outside. Along with his bright future, 30,000 points had also disappeared. Now, if he gets caught by his angry compatriots, it won¡¯t end with just hanging on a pole.


    ¡°We are also going to the Great Labyrinth.¡±


    ¡°I-is that okay? The guards¡­¡±


    ¡°They will definitely ask why.¡±


    ¡°We can just break through. Pour oil all over the place, set fire with flame cans, and shoot some arrows to add to the chaos!¡±


    Two of his subordinates were terrified at their captain¡¯s words. Not only had he lost the accumulated points of his compatriot, he was also about to create chaos and destroy a lot of things in order to run away.


    The two thought for a moment about turning away from their captain and joined the mass. However, after exchanging glances, the subordinates realized that there was no other way. Even if they said that they have been deceived, no one would listen.


    ¡°We will be with you.¡±


    When they said so, Zhao Ziwei nodded.


    ¡°Now that this has happened, the only way for us to survive is to enter the Great Labyrinth. Since we can speak the language, we can go and live in another country!¡±


    Why didn¡¯t they do that sooner? After all, It would have been better to go to a place like America than to cause friction with Koreans in this small land. In a way, the Chinese¡¯s hatred for Koreans might have been the reason why they found themselves in the current predicament.


    At that moment, they heard a muffled sound from just outside their office.


    ¡°Why did Liangfan and Zhou Daoming run away?¡±


    ¡°What happened in the office?¡±


    People had noticed the strange atmosphere.


    Zhao Ziwei hastily packed up.


    ¡°Quickly pack your things, come on!¡±


    ¡°Sir, can you just explain? Just tell them they ran away with the points¡­¡±


    Zhao Ziwei laughed at the guy. ¡°Will those guys listen to the explanation? We will be lucky if they don¡¯t tear us to pieces instead.¡±


    ¡°But, it¡¯s not exactly our fault. We aren¡¯t the ones who did it.¡±


    ¡°Just try it. They won¡¯t even try to hear you.¡±


    Zhao Ziwei smirked, and his subordinate¡¯s lips twitched.


    ¡°You know, I trusted you¡­ I trusted you and kept buying the bottled water, but you ruined it! Everything is over!¡±


    ¡°So what? Do you want to fight me here and get captured by those people?¡±


    ¡°If we gave you to them, we might be spared¡­ After all, we didn¡¯t do it, did we? You are the one who¡¯s responsible.¡±


    ¡°The one who will even sell his ancestor¡­¡±


    The atmosphere deteriorated quickly. At first, his men only watched Zhao Ziwei and the other subordinates spat on each other. But it was clear whose side they were on. With a quick movement, they stabbed their comrade in anger. The subordinates who threatened to turn Zhaou Ziwei to the mass collapsed with curses and moans.


    Zhao Ziwei took a deep breath and looked around at his men.


    ¡°Whoa¡­ Thank you for choosing me.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go all the way, no matter what happens.¡±


    ¡°If we go to another country, we will be able to do anything.¡±


    However, going to another country through the Great Labyrinth itself was a hard task itself. If they entered, the shackles of the battlefield would indeed get released. But those who had neglected their hunt wouldn¡¯t be able to hunt properly inside.


    But not all hope was lost. One of his men suddenly said something.


    ¡°These days, Koreans are occupying the first floor of the Great Labyrinth and have made it their hunting ground, so there shouldn¡¯t be a lot of monsters there. All we have to do is dress like a Korean.¡±


    ¡°Then, we need to get some clothes first. Let¡¯s hurry.¡±


    In the meantime, the number of people who were approaching the office increased. If they delay any longer, they won¡¯t be able to even dream of running away.


    The men drilled a hole in the oil barrel they had barely saved and threw it out. People were startled when the oil suddenly poured.


    ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s oil!¡±


    As the flame cans flew in, the fire suddenly grew large. People were shocked and quickly scattered. At that time, Zhao Ziwei and his men shot arrows towards the mass, creating a great uproar in the Chinese settlement.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°Cough¡­ Cough¡­¡± Zhao Ziwei gasped for breath and hid in the Great Labyrinth.


    Causing chaos and breaking through a lot of people to enter the Great Labyrinth wasn¡¯t an easy feat. However, he still pulled through in the end. But then there was a problem: His compatriots were not as stupid as he thought. Knowing that there¡¯s a chance that he might escape through the Great Labyrinth, they built a human wall at the entrance. Zhao Ziwei was only able to enter thanks to the sacrifice of his men.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± There was no sign of regret on his face as he muttered that. All he thought was to run away to another country.


    At that time, several skeletons appeared with a rattling sound from their skeletons. Normally, they wouldn¡¯t be a big deal, but as Zhao Ziwei was currently injured and his stamina was at an all-time low, the puny skeletons looked like grim reapers.


    He bit his lip until it bled.


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m going to die here! After all I¡¯ve gone through¡± Long knives don¡¯t work well against skeletons. However, Zhao Ziwei was still able to deal with the three skeletons after a bloody battle. In return, he suffered major cuts to his shoulder and stomach.


    ¡°Damn it¡­ Damn it!¡±


    Blood dripped between his legs. He gave it first aid with healing ointment, but still couldn¡¯t close it. Soon after, his vision began to shake, as the result of too much blood leaving his body. Resting well was the only answer, but he continued to hasten his steps. After all, his compatriots were tracking him down to catch and kill him.


    ¡°Just a little bit, a little bit more¡­¡±


    On the first floor of the Great Labyrinth, there were several signs installed by Koreans. It¡¯s a signpost that tells travelers who were lost where the entrance to which country was located.


    Zhao Ziwei did not know Korean well, but he memorized a few words.


    ¡¸America, Texas¡¹


    ¡°Here you are¡­¡±


    A smile finally appeared on his lips. But before he could laugh, a young woman appeared in front of him. To his surprise, she dressed up in a formal suit while holding a book. He was dumbfounded after looking at the well-groomed skirt and the high heels she wore.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to know. What you need to know is the fact that I can help you.¡±


    ¡°What nonsense are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you being chased? You will need help.¡±


    ¡°Ha, ha ha¡­ you¡¯re talking nonsense. I just need to kill you.¡±


    But he couldn¡¯t actually kill her. His current kill count was one after killing someone to rise to the highest seat of power amongst the Chinese in Korea.


    The young woman, Go Ho-kyung, narrowed her eyes and smiled.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even dream about it, it¡¯s futile.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll know if it works or not¡­¡±


    He lifted the long knife with difficulty.


    ¡°Looks like I have no choice but to inject it by force.¡±


    The book Go Ho-kyung was holding fell over and hundreds of pages of paper came out.


    ¡°What, what?¡±


    When Zhao Ziwei opened his eyes, hundreds of sheets of paper bound him.


    ¡°What kind of paper is this!¡±


    He tried to break free, but the paper wouldn¡¯t budge. Go Ho-Kyung smiled and took something out of her bag. It was a wriggling flesh.


    ¡°Open your mouth wide. Otherwise, I will poke you in the eye.¡±


    A piece of paper curled into a sharp point and pressed against Zhao Ziwei¡¯s wide eyes. In terror, he opened his mouth.


    ¡°Wh-what do you want?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a simple experiment, so don¡¯t be afraid. Isn¡¯t it better for you, though? It will make you stronger.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Surprised, Go Ho-kyung threw the flesh into Zhao Ziwei¡¯s open mouth. He vomited and tried to spit it out, but the flesh went down his throat.


    ¡°Euk¡­¡±


    At that moment, hundreds of papers that bound Zhao Ziwei returned to the book. Go Ho-kyung then proceeded to watch as Zhao Ziwei trembled.


    ¡°Aaaagh!¡±


    ¡°Level up and stats rise. So far so good.¡±


    ¡°AAAAGHHHHHH!!!!¡±


    Zhao Ziwei trembled before finally coming to his senses once again. The pain that tormented him was now gone.


    Go Ho-kyung looked at him with twinkling eyes behind her glasses.


    ¡°It¡¯s great. You have grown more than I thought.¡±


    ¡°What have you done to me?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get mad and just open your status window. You have now reached a realm that you¡¯ve never even dared to imagine.¡±


    Zhao Ziwei called his status window and was startled. His level had changed to 50! Both his stats and skills were no joke either.


    He could feel the power overflowing from his whole body. He thought that he could tear all of the Koreans to pieces now.


    ¡°Huh¡­should I say thank you for making me like this?¡±


    Go Ho-kyung pushed up his glasses and replied coldly.


    ¡°There is absolutely no need for that. After all, you are just an experiment to find out about the extent of his abilities.¡±


    ¡°By him, are you talking about the highest level joseon bastard?¡±


    Instead of answering, she only put a sneer on her lips.


    ¡°Work hard.¡±


    ¡°This bitch¡­¡±


    When Zhao Ziwei was about to pounce on her, Go Ho-kyung wrapped herself in thousands of pieces of paper and disappeared.


    Zhao Ziwei looked around him and spat.


    ¡°With this power¡­ I will kill them all.¡±


    A bloody wind blew through the first floor of the Great Labyrinth. Zhao Ziwei roamed the Great Labyrinth and killed everything in sight. No one could withstand his blows. He wandered around in the dark, drunk with victory.


    Until¡­


    He met someone sitting on top of a rock.


    ¡°Zhao Ziwei, right?¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Probably the person you were desperately looking for.¡±


    The two laughed at the same time.

 Chapter 214

    Thump-!!


    Thump-!!


    Thump-!!


    Seongho heard the distinctive heartbeat of a murderer echoing around him. Normally, a deathmatch would start immediately. However, since there were no zombies nor ghouls to act as the wall in the Great Labyrinth, the deathmatch event did not start.


    Zhao Ziwei, who was glaring at Seongho, loosened his facial muscles and let out a relaxed laugh.


    ¡°Now that I have become strong, I suddenly feel relaxed. You are the same, aren¡¯t you? I mean, the words and actions you take for your fellow countrymen.¡±


    Seongho shook his head.


    ¡°Not at all. I can¡¯t afford to relax. I¡¯m always in a hurry.¡±


    ¡°Looks like your power isn¡¯t so omnipotent, huh?¡±


    ¡°Well, you can think whatever you like.¡±


    ¡°Haha¡­ That¡¯s right. Whatever I want. Everything is up to me as long as I have this power!¡±


    Zhao Ziwei clenched his fists and concentrated. An additional effect called ¡®Bullet Time¡¯ was given to him for reaching level 50. For a moment, he could see the man in front of him blinking at a snail¡¯s pace.


    ¡°You are so slow.¡± He chuckled.


    Seongho made a strange face as he realized something.


    ¡°You¡¯ve gotten stronger.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a matter of course! I didn¡¯t endure that extreme pain from that weird thing for nothing!¡±


    ¡°Weird thing?¡±


    ¡°A dead man like you has no need to know!¡±


    Zhao Ziwei¡¯s explanation was vague at best, but Seongho was sure that Ahn Geun-seok had intervened.


    Seongho checked Zhao Ziwei¡¯s status window using his Ability Analysis skill. The amount of points he had were insignificant, but his level was shocking. It was a whopping 50!


    It was absurd that the guy who barely exceeded level 20 had now become level 50.


    ¡°Amazing¡­ You might be the strongest among the survivors.¡± Of course, that is if he and the other three stagnant waters were not included.


    Zhao Ziwei felt full at the admiration-like tone of Seongho.


    ¡°Do you know why I¡­ feel so relaxed?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it because leisure was the luxury only the strong can have?¡±


    ¡°Puhuh¡­ I like that answer, but it¡¯s wrong. I just want to make you feel it too¡­ Despair.¡±


    ¡°What sort of despair have you suffered?¡±


    When Seongho pretended not to know, anger suddenly burst out of Zhao Ziwei.


    ¡°Potatoes! Those potatoes you sold for 10 points! Had you granted my request, I would not have been ridiculed by my countrymen!¡±


    However, Seongho had something to say about that.


    ¡°10 points is the best price I could give. Killing just a few zombies can give you two days¡¯ worth of calories¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡±


    ¡°And speaking of the bottled water, it was too reckless for you to jump in without knowing how much I have.¡±


    Zhao Ziwei gnashed his teeth and stepped towards Seongho. His gait was like a predator oppressing its prey.


    ¡°120,000¡­ a whopping 120,000 points! Gone! Because of you!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s only tell the truth, shall we? I was just selling bottled water. It¡¯s you guys who were too blinded by greed.¡±


    As Seongho said that, he felt something odd. The points that the shelter earned by selling water bottles were only slightly over 80,000.


    Then where did the other 40,000 go?


    ¡®He wouldn¡¯t have bought and sold it all alone¡­ Did his subordinates notice something amiss and run away with them?¡¯


    If that was really the case, then there was a possibility that their level had also risen just like Zhao Ziwei. He had to be careful.


    Seongho put his hand inside his chest pocket and took out the transformation bracelet.


    A smile escaped Zhao Ziwei¡¯s mouth at that moment.


    ¡°What the hell is that? It looks like a bracelet an Egyptian monarch would wear.¡±


    ¡°Did you feel that way too? Actually, it¡¯s a bit embarrassing for me to use this kind of thing.¡±


    ¡°A last-ditch effort¡­ it doesn¡¯t matter. I will break your limbs and make you crawl on the floor.¡±


    Seongho stood up and put his bracelet in place.


    ¡°And then?¡±


    The fact that Seongho¡¯s expression did not change even after hearing the threat made Zhao Ziwei angrier.


    ¡°I will not let you go easily¡­ I¡¯ll have to vent my anger on you for at least a few months.¡±


    ¡°A pity. I really don¡¯t want to waste months playing with you.¡± Seongho shrugged.


    As Seongho used the bracelet, his eyes flashed red for an instant.


    However, Zhao Ziwei didn¡¯t see it. He¡¯s still focusing on the thoughts of crushing the man in front of him.


    ¡®First of all, I¡¯ll kick you in the face!¡¯


    Before he could finish his thoughts, his body burst through the air. He felt that the time flow around him slowed considerably.


    However, Seongho¡¯s gaze followed him without fail.


    You can still see me at this speed?


    ¡®It can¡¯t be!¡¯


    He stretched out his fist, but was caught by Seongho¡¯s hand, which sprang out at about the same speed as him.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    Zhao Ziwei¡¯s heart sank. He never thought that his opponent could move as fast as him. But there was something else that was even more shocking. It was the fact that the man¡¯s whole body swelled greatly, and he began to transform into something else. Something inhuman.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Zhao Ziwei couldn¡¯t even use his ability properly and just watched the scene in front of him unfold. It was as unrealistic as a scene in a fantasy movie, so he couldn¡¯t help but to gawk at it.


    Isn¡¯t it ridiculous that a human being is capable of turning into a gray-skinned monster? But it actually happened.


    After completing the polymorph, Seongho took a deep breath.


    Krukreuk-


    ¡°Wh-what are you¡­¡±


    Zhao Ziwei trembled, not even thinking of removing his hand from Seongho¡¯s hand. After all, the monster in front of him boasted a truly overwhelming size and huge sense of intimidation.


    Only then did Zhao Ziwei notice its red eyes. It was dark red, as if it were filled with blood. On top of it, it looked eerie.


    Then, Seongho put strength into his hand.


    Crunch-!!


    Zhao Ziwei¡¯s sturdy wrists, which had been coated with all sorts of buffs, were crushed at once.


    ¡°AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!¡±


    Zhao Ziwei couldn¡¯t stand the pain and screamed.


    Then, out of nowhere, two shadows appeared behind Seongho.


    .


    .


    .


    A heartbeat that suddenly rang in the Great Labyrinth, throwing many people into confusion.


    ¡°Just who is it!!¡±


    ¡°Everyone check the number of your people!¡±


    Fortunately, no stampede happened because of people desperately trying to run away. After all, everyone who gathered in the Great Labyrinth had quite a lot of experience in handling these kinds of things.


    They quickly tried to figure out who had become a murderer by communicating through the auction house. At the same time, a lot of Koreans gathered at the shelter installed at the key point on the first floor. Of course, amongst them, there¡¯s also some foreigners in the mix. Especially those who were brought to the Korean Shelter by Seongho.


    They were just about to advance to the second floor before Jang Won-taek intervened. Although they had guns, they were saving it for an emergency. Most of them used cold weapons with different types, switching according to the situation. For example, they would use a mace to deal with a skeleton in close quarter combat, and would change to bow and arrows when fighting against an orc while keeping some distance.


    The monsters in the Great Labyrinth were quite strong compared to those on the ground, but somehow, with teamwork, the hunt got far easier.


    Lee Beom-seok, who is leading the survivors, hastily posted a comment to the auction house.


    -I checked the number of people, but it¡¯s not someone from our group.


    -There is nothing wrong here either!


    -Seriously! Just who is the guy! Did he come from Changwon?


    Even though it was said that Koreans were occupying the key points around the Great Labyrinth, there were still a lot of places they couldn¡¯t reach. After all, the area which the survivors called ¡°The Pasture¡± was only a small part of the first floor of the Great Labyrinth. Therefore, it wasn¡¯t strange if an unknown murderer suddenly appeared from somewhere.


    Still, shouldn¡¯t there be at least news about it coming in?


    Except for the fact that a murderer had appeared, everything seemed to be shrouded in fog.


    Then, Jang Won-taek posted a comment.


    -There is only one possibility. The murderer was stronger than expected, and no one had survived.


    -Is such a thing possible? It must be difficult to obtain a pardon scroll.


    The reality was that even Seongho had almost no spare of pardon scrolls. If someone stayed in the murderer state, they would attract the aggro of the survivors around them. It was questionable whether people could really kill them if it were last year, but now, most survivors were ready. So even the murderer had to worry about dying.


    -What if the murderer didn¡¯t feel burdensome being one?


    -No way¡­ No matter how brave they are, there¡¯s no way they haven¡¯t heard Seongho¡¯s name.


    -What if they are stronger than him?


    Could such a guy exist?


    However, Lee Beom-seok did not ignore the words of his respected superior.


    -I will scout the surrounding area and check.


    -You can look around yourself. It seems that something unexpected is happening.


    Lee Beom-seok gathered people and asked them to scout around.


    ¡°Be vigilant and do not leave the shelter for the time being. If something happens that you can¡¯t handle¡­ Hyung-jun-ssi.¡±


    ¡°Use the gun.¡±


    The use of firearms was supposed to be refrained as much as possible, especially within the vicinity of the shelter, but in this situation, it can¡¯t be helped.


    At that moment, a roar rang out from somewhere. It was a tremendous roar that seemed to shake the entire Great Labyrinth.


    ¡°What, what is that?¡±


    ¡°It sounds like a monster howling¡­¡±


    Hyung-jun quickly searched the auction house and went to the Lotus Shelter¡¯s main item. There, he found out that Seongho had entered the Great Labyrinth.


    Urgent comments from shelter members were posted one after another.


    -Ah oppa, you shouldn¡¯t close the dimensional door.


    -If I turn into an Abomination, the surroundings will be completely devastated. Better to close it.


    -Isn¡¯t the place where you are now on the first floor of the Great Labyrinth? There should be a lot of people there.


    -Should I go to the office and inform them?


    Then Hyung-jun intervened and the members explained the situation to him.


    ¡°Abomination? Transforming into such a monster?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about all of a sudden?¡±


    Hyung-jun told people exactly what he had read. A conflict with the Chinese over bottled waters, a bracelet that could turn Seongho into a 2.5-meter tall monster, and more.


    The people who heard the full story had expressions that said that they did not want to believe it.


    ¡°You are saying that Seongho-ssi had turned into such a monster, and now he is fighting against the Chinese?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just nonsense?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to say that there can¡¯t be such a thing, but¡­¡±


    The world had been destroyed and monsters had appeared. So, there was really nothing unusual about a human transforming into a monster. Even if a dragon were to fly in the sky of Seoul as soon as tomorrow, people would think that it was only a natural course of event.


    People were buzzing, and Lee Beom-seok was concerned that Seongho was fighting against the Chinese. Their level shouldn¡¯t even be close to his level, so how can people call it a fight?


    When he asked Hyung-jun about it, he looked at the comment section and told him:


    ¡°Three of them are level 50.¡±


    ¡°Level 50? The Chinese? Is that even possible?¡±


    ¡°After hearing the story, there is this guy called Ahn Geun-seok who appeared in the Redneck settlement before. I think he did something to them.¡±


    Lee Beom Seok¡¯s mouth fell open.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t level 50 much higher than Seongho¡¯s level?¡±


    ¡°Seongho is about level 41 or 42 right now¡­ it¡¯s not that big of a difference, but it¡¯s still true that the three Chinese are strong.¡±


    Higher levels did not automatically make them stronger. The total combat power of a survivor was determined by the type of items, skills, and additional effects they had. However, the Chinese were a group that rarely went to the Great Labyrinth, so it didn¡¯t seem like they had raised their level organically.


    If so, what should I do?


    ¡°We¡­¡± When Lee Beomseok was about to say something, the roar shook the Great Labyrinth again.


    ¡°Wa- wasn¡¯t it closer than before?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s coming from there¡­¡± People fixed their eyes on the hallway.


    Hyung-jun, who has good eyes, saw something before everyone else could.


    ¡°Orcs are coming!¡±


    ¡°Should we shoot them?¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute! There¡¯s someone behind it!¡±


    Monsters were actually not a big problem because the number of people gathered in the place. On top of it, they also had guns. What they feared were the three level 50 Chinese and Seongho.


    ¡°Gather behind the fountain!¡±


    At Lee Beom-seok¡¯s signal, people hurriedly gathered on the wall behind the fountain where water gushed out. Before long, several orcs appeared. People looked at their faces and hesitated whether to laugh or cry. After all, it was clear by their faces that the orcs were frightened by something.


    Just what in the world scared them?


    The answer came soon. A shadow fell in the hallway and something crashed into the floor with a groaning sound.


    ¡°Keuk!¡±


    ¡°Uuuk!¡±


    After rolling on the floor, the two tried to stand up, but their bodies couldn¡¯t muster the strength it needed.


    Their identities were Liangfan and Zhou Daoming, the two subordinates who had fled ahead of Zhou Ziwei.


    Thump-!! Thump-!! Thump-!!


    The entire cavity shook and a large monster appeared in the hallway soon after. The Koreans were, of course, shocked to see it.


    Just what kind of muscular mass is that?


    It looked like something which could make a tank and enhanced ghoul look like nothing but a kid next to it.


    ¡°A-a¡­.¡± People lost their fighting spirit when they saw the gray monster.


    Seongho came in slowly and swept around the area with his eyes. His consciousness was clear, but since his oral structure had changed, he cannot speak. Instead, he tapped himself lightly on the chest in order to reassure them.


    But it backfired.


    ¡°Hee!¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me, esteemed Sir!¡±


    People were scared and Seongho stopped communicating with them and threw something he was holding.


    It was Zhao Ziwei. He wasn¡¯t completely dead yet, but his arms and face were mangled in a mess. The intermittent wriggling of the body aroused fear in the people. In a sense, the guy had half of his body in the grave already.


    Liangfan and Zhou Daoming quickly met their eyes.


    Since they had come this far, there¡¯s only one way that they could use to win. Taking hostages.


    Liangfan¡¯s eyes flashed and he appeared behind the people, and Zhou Daoming controlled the orcs.


    The eyes of the frightened orcs turned red.


    Kuaaa-!!


    The orcs rushed to Seongho. Even though he was surrounded by five tall monsters which were over two meters in height, his presence did not change.


    Khuong!


    With a roar, an orc flew into the wall and turned into paste. The fate of the other four orcs was similar. The one who hung on Seongho¡¯s leg was stepped on by his large foot and died instantly, and the one who bit his arm had its teeth broken. The orc chief, who had glowing eyes, was caught in Seongho¡¯s large hand, and a strange sound was heard.


    Crunch-!!


    Seongho, who lightly cracked its skull, looked at Liangfan, who appeared behind the crowd.


    (P/n ¡®lightly cracked its skull¡¯ lol)


    The guy met Seongho¡¯s eye straight and had thrusted a long knife into Yuzuka¡¯s throat.


    ¡°Do-don¡¯t move¡­¡±


    But Seongho approached him nonetheless. When the sound of his heavy footsteps resounded, people opened the way in fright. Inevitably, Yuzuka, who became a hostage, bit her lip.


    I¡¯d rather die than be a nuisance for him here¡­


    ¡°I told you not to move! Can¡¯t you see this?¡±


    Liangfan strained the hand holding the long knife, but the blade could not pierce Yuzuka¡¯s skin.


    Could it be that her skin is actually made of steel?


    Of course not.


    A small dimensional wall appeared in the direction Seongho was looking at, blocking the tip of the sword. Liangfan then trembled at the overwhelming size of Seongho, who had approached him.


    ¡°Shit!¡± As he cursed, his body was gone. He hid with his unique skill, stealth. However, Seongho, who activated his Super Sense skill, was able to follow his movements as if he was seeing them with his own eyes.


    It was also at that time that Zhou Daoming rushed at him.


    ¡°Keuk.¡±


    The movement of a person with stats over level 50 was no joke. The wind blew up, and before he knew it, two long knives were pointed at his chest. People imagined that the long knives would be stabbed into Seongho¡¯s chest, so they closed their eyes tight.


    However, the sound they heard next was not the sound of flesh being torn. Rather, it was the sound of metal clashing against each other.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± The two of them threw their long knives out and hurriedly retreated while grabbing their wrists.


    Surprisingly, the swords did not pierce Seongho¡¯s skin.


    ¡°Oh my gosh¡­¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t pierce through?¡±


    People¡¯s eyes were stained with astonishment.


    At this moment, an unknown monster had appeared.

 Chapter 215

    I had always been wondering about the reason why monsters roared in front of their enemies. I thought that if they had time and leisure to do that, it would be better for them to attack quicker. But after changing into Abomination, my thoughts changed. Power was overflowing in my body. I wanted to explode this energy out, and the simplest way was to roar it out.


    Kuoohhh-!!


    It wasn¡¯t as strong as an ogre¡¯s roar, but it was still strong enough to shake the entire cave system. After doing it, I felt relieved for some reason, but it only made the people even more frightened.


    Well, it would be stranger if they¡¯re not afraid of a monster whose skin can¡¯t even be pierced with knives.


    I took advantage of the moment when the two guys hesitated after having their attack blocked and shoo-ed people.


    Noticing the meaning of my gesture, Hyung-jun hyung shouted to the people.


    ¡°Everyone leave! Go into the hallway!¡±


    ¡°N-now?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll only get in his way by staying here!¡±


    If it wasn¡¯t for the dimensional wall, Yuzuka¡¯s head would have been separated from her body. People didn¡¯t know about that fact, but they were aware that it could¡¯ve been them that was in that situation and started to leave.


    Meanwhile, the two Chinese grabbed their wrists and just stared at me.


    You guys are shocked, huh?


    I once again let out a roar and ran towards them. As the cave shook, the two became clots of blood under my knuckles. But it was never my intention to kill them. After all, rather than getting the partial sum of points the system gave you after each kill, getting all of their points was far better.


    The two of them couldn¡¯t stand my strikes and ended up crawling on the floor. Even with their level, stats, and unique ability, they would have to wait for someone to rescue them. Unless, of course, they had recovery abilities like me.


    After a while, the 4-minute time limit expired.


    ¡¸Polymorph is ending¡¹


    My eye level suddenly dropped, and a tremendous pain and sense of helplessness hit my whole body. I gritted my teeth and arched my body frontwards. The after effect wasn¡¯t just a normal exhaustion. Even though the effect was reduced to 30% thanks to the effect of my skills, it was still this severe.


    Just how bad is the 100% that Seokhyun suffered?


    ¡°Whoa¡­¡± I come to my senses after feeling the cold air. My vision was still shaky, but it was still at the degree that I could tolerate. If it was someone else, they would already be rolling on the floor by now.


    ¡°16,000 points. 15,000 points.¡± When I told the amount of points they each have, both of them flinched and shuddered. I took out two mithril blades and stuck them between their legs.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have time, so I¡¯ll be brief. Give your points to me, and I¡¯ll spare your lives. If you refuse, of course, you would die. Choose.¡±


    I pulled out the mithril blade and stuck it into the ground near their groin.


    ¡°Heup!¡±


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    Terrified, the two tried to move away from the blade, but were unable to because they were bound by the elderwood ropes.


    One of the Chinese swallowed his saliva and asked.


    ¡°Are you really going to spare us¡­?¡±


    Instead of answering, I put up two crappy items at the auction house. It¡¯s ridiculously expensive at a grand total of 31,000 points, but it doesn¡¯t matter at all because there were already customers who would definitely buy it.


    ¡°I hate waiting. If you don¡¯t buy it in 10 seconds, I¡¯ll cut off each of your limbs one by one, starting with your dick.¡±


    As my eyes met theirs while threatening them, the two trembled in fear.


    ¡°Sp-spare me!¡±


    ¡°As for the dick, please¡­¡±


    ¡°Buy it now, then.¡±


    The two of them fumbled and opened the auction house. Right after, the items disappeared from the list and my total point count became 60,000 points. Even though I haven¡¯t eaten yet, I feel full for some reason.


    I opened the dimensional prison at that moment. After punching the two guys in the face, I pushed them in with my foot.


    ¡°Khuck!¡±


    When I untied the rope binding them, their bodies rolled around and entered the dimensional prison. I don¡¯t know what kind of environment was waiting for them inside, but I know for sure that it wouldn¡¯t be easy for the two of them to survive.


    The dimensional prison disappeared soon after, leaving only Zhao Ziwei, who was barely conscious. I put the elderwood rope into the dimensional slot and aimed the mithril blade at his neck.


    ¡°Let me ask you one thing. Who helped you, and what did they do to you?¡±


    A faint smile crept across his lips.


    ¡°Do you think I will¡­ tell¡­ you¡­?¡±


    ¡°Then die.¡±


    I don¡¯t have to raise my kill count just to kill him. The plan was to put him in the dimensional prison when its cooldown is done. And in case he didn¡¯t die at that time, I would call the monsters around the Great Labyrinth to deal with him.


    After a while, the dimensional prison appeared once again, but there was no trace of the two who entered it. Now it¡¯s time to deal with Zhao Ziwei.


    I was just about to put him in the dimensional prison, but suddenly, white things came pouring out of the hallway. I raised a dimensional wall to block it, but I couldn¡¯t do so for Zhao Ziwei.


    The white paper turned into a spear and pierced the guy¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Keuk!¡±


    The guy immediately died. Right after, the paper turned into a rake shape and tore something off from his body. At first, I thought it was the heart that was taken out, but it wasn¡¯t. It was some sort of flesh, which was wriggling in vigor.


    The sound of high heels started to echo at that moment. Then, a mysterious woman wearing a suit and glasses slowly walked out of the darkness.


    At her attire, I couldn¡¯t help but look at her with bewildered eyes.


    ¡°Wearing high heels in this kind of world?¡±


    ¡°Well, I never have to run in the first place.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Nice to meet you. My name is Go Ho-kyung. I am Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s secretary. As you can see, I am a paper magician.¡±


    ¡°A game developer that has a secretary? That¡¯s new.¡±


    ¡°Albeit that¡¯s my current position, I originally worked at the production company¡¯s front desk.¡±


    She moved the paper on Zhao Ziwei¡¯s body, brought the flesh to her mouth, and swallowed it whole.


    Wow¡­


    She¡¯s gutsy, alright¡­


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°¡­it doesn¡¯t taste good.¡±


    ¡°So you are a monster too.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we all?¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t lump me with you guys.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I saw you turn into an Abomination. It left quite a lot of impression.¡±


    ¡°By the way, is Abomination a monster which was included in the unknown monsters expansion?¡±


    ¡°It can be said that it was the weakest monster in the patch. Even the Brutra that you saw back in the game is stronger.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for telling me.¡± I glared at her and opened the dimensional slot.


    Shaking her head, she gathered hundreds of sheets of paper and fashioned them into a shield.


    ¡°These papers are quite strong, so they won¡¯t tear even under immense attack. Of course, you can try..¡±


    ¡°Are you telling me it¡¯s vain to attack you? You are kind.¡±


    ¡°I am giving you this advice because I feel sorry for you.¡±


    ¡°I have a question.¡±


    ¡°It is my role to answer those questions. What are you curious about?¡±


    ¡°What do you want from me? What are you going to do with me?¡±


    She traced my body from the head to toes with her finger.


    I was honestly embarrassed with my naked state.


    ¡°I need your body. Your high level is also important.¡±


    ¡°If you need a strong body and a high level, can¡¯t you just use that disgusting piece of flesh?¡±


    After all, those flesh could make the level of those three Chinese to level 50 in an instant. It should be possible to even make their level higher, so why would they need me anyway?


    Go Ho-kyung pointed at her chest and grinned.


    Has it already gone down there?


    ¡°This flesh is just a temporary measure. It couldn¡¯t make people as good as someone who leveled organically like you.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s good about someone like me?¡±


    ¡°You guys have a high potential. You don¡¯t know, but Survival Life has hidden stats.¡±


    Hidden stats, huh? It¡¯s the first time I heard about that information.


    ¡°Stop talking in a roundabout way, get to the point.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but my life will be in danger if I tell you about that¡­¡±


    ¡°Does that guy in the deepest part of the Great Labyrinth even attack you guys with its tentacle?¡±


    ¡°Even though you called him so, I¡¯m sure you will change your mind and will accept him soon enough.¡±


    Even if that were to happen, I¡¯m sure it would only be possible using that thing¡¯s brainwashing skill.


    In any case, Go Ho-kyung seemed to be unwilling to answer any more questions. Then, I would have no choice but to fight.


    When I took off the transformation bracelet and put it back on, a different message appeared.


    ¡¸Abomination Polymorph¡¹


    ¡¸Time limit: 3 minutes¡¹


    ¡¸Warning: The aftereffects will become stronger¡¹


    Shit¡­


    The transformation duration had become even more limited and the aftereffect became even more severe.


    As I began to transform, Go Ho-kyung slowly took off her glasses.


    ¡°With great power comes great price. You must have felt quite a bit of pain when the polymorph was over.¡±


    I¡¯m sorry to say this, but I have the strength to endure it.


    She took out another book out of nowhere and opened it. Hundreds of sheets of paper scattered at that moment.


    After I completely transformed, the energy inside my body exploded and I roared.


    Go Ho-kyung whistled in response.


    ¡°Seems like you didn¡¯t use all of your strengths before. As expected from a purebred.¡±


    I rushed at her while activating Super Sense. In an instant, the wall of paper spread wide. I shook my fist to try to tear it apart. But, surprisingly, the paper stuck.


    Then, an explosion happened.


    The shock was strong enough to make my arms tingle. But right after, my Pain Tolerance skill quickly relieved the pain I felt and Super Regeneration began to restore the flesh and skin I lost.


    However, even after trying more, I still couldn¡¯t reach her. After all, the wall of paper keeps appearing endlessly.


    ¡°You will never be able to touch me.¡±


    Let us see if that¡¯s true.


    I leaned forward and clawed through the paper wall even fiercer than before. Go Ho-kyung¡¯s figure could be seen behind all the paper momentarily, but she soon disappeared once again.


    ¡°I have hundreds of books. You will soon get tired of tearing and your transformation will end. And what will you do after that?¡± She laughed.


    Instead of answering, I burst out with all my strength and tore the paper again. And the moment her whole body was revealed to my eyes, I adjusted my line of sight and opened a dimensional wall between the book and the papers.


    She was taken aback when the page failed to return.


    ¡°Why is this¡­¡±


    It¡¯s called dimensional wall, paper girl.


    Without giving her any time to react, I rushed at her. Once our body collided, we rolled on the floor together. Tentacles wrapped around my body as if it were there in the first place.


    This woman was a monster too.


    I grabbed her head, pulling out the tentacles clinging to her limbs.


    ¡°Even if you kill me¡­¡±


    There is a resurrection scroll, right?


    Searching through hundreds of sheets of paper for a resurrection scroll is a waste of time.


    But how about this?


    This place was the Great Labyrinth. In this place, respawn spots were limited. if she died, she can only respawn on the 1st floor. Therefore, I just need to find her and kill her again.


    As soon as I tightened my grip on her, she began to struggle violently. But before she broke free, a strange noise could be heard from her body. Her body went limp, and at the same time, golden light enveloped her.


    I quickly shifted my attention and tried to find her respawn location with my Super Sense.


    There you are¡­


    As I stepped on the ground hard and blitzed towards her location, Go Ho-kyung¡¯s figure soon appeared in my line of sight from the darkness. On her face, fear was palpable for me to see.


    ¡°Monster¡­¡±


    Talking about calling the kettle black¡­.


    I kicked her with my foot as I ran. Her body flew from the impact like a kite with its string cut. When she crashed to the wall, her body, which was bent at an odd angle, was bathed in golden light once again.


    At the same time her body vanished, my transformation met its limit. Feeling extremely helpless and in pain, I fell to my knees. Excruciating pain, like being stabbed in the intestines with a heated needle, ran through all over my body. Moreover, my sight wasn¡¯t only shaking, I could see that the world was getting darker and darker this time.


    ¡°Shit¡­¡± Seemed like transforming twice was the limit of my current body.


    As I held back the rising acid threatening to go out from my throat, I saw someone getting up from the other side of the hallway.


    ¡°I will kill you! I will tear you to shreds!¡±


    She¡¯s mad alright¡­


    .


    .


    .


    While Seongho was fighting Go Ho-kyung in the Great Labyrinth, the stagnant water party, who searched the royal palace of Ruat, finally found a mental immunity item.


    Da-jeong and Geom-in tilted their heads when they saw the options for the ring.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t we be safe to attack monsters in the lower levels of the Great Labyrinth if we wore this?¡±


    ¡°Maybe? But why did they make this?¡±


    Seokhyun looked around the lab and said,


    ¡°The people of Ruat were also trying to fight against the monsters in the Great Labyrinth.¡±


    ¡°But still they lost. Doesn¡¯t that mean it was useless, after all?¡±


    ¡°Seemed like these guys didn¡¯t think so.¡±


    Seokhyun placed Captain Scarab and Chief Stag Beetle in the journal on the desk. The two eagerly opened the journal and wrote something in Korean on the desk.


    -Giudecca


    ¡°What is Giudecca?¡±


    Tentacles were drawn beside the words ¡¯15th floor of the Great Labyrinth¡¯ and Da-jeong snapped her fingers.


    ¡°It must be the name of that monster.¡±


    After looking through the journal more, Captain Scarab diligently wrote in Korean.


    -Very dangerous. Mental attack, monster control, space division¡­


    Incredible abilities were listed one after another.


    ¡°Can we win against it?¡¯


    As the swordsman scratched his cheek nervously, Da-jeong placed her hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°We now have the mental immunity ring.¡±


    ¡°We only have one ring, though¡­¡±


    At that time, Captain Scarab wrote again.


    -Can copy items, this facility is needed. More aether stones too.


    ¡°If we want to take all the devices here, we need Seongho to come here.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just tell him to come? What is he doing right now, by the way?¡±


    ¡°I have asked about it and the members said he¡¯s fighting in the Great Labyrinth.¡±


    ¡°Against who?¡±


    ¡°The Chinese who tried to manipulate the market for bottled water.¡±


    Da-jeong, as if not liking the news, stomped the ground.


    ¡°He¡¯s fighting against bastards who are a little over level 20 at most?¡±


    With his power, it wouldn¡¯t be a surprise for a massacre to take place, not a fight.


    ¡°They say the Chinese are over level 50. So, their fighting power was not a joke.¡±


    Noticing that the situation was quite serious, the three tried to gather information. When Geom-in saw Yoohyeon¡¯s comment, he¡¯s flabbergasted.


    ¡°Wow¡­ He¡¯s winning against 3 guys who are over level 50?¡±


    ¡°Can he take care of the aftereffects, though?¡± Da-jeong said to no one in particular, her words full of worry. ¡°He-hey, Rapwi! Don¡¯t take off your panties! Not here!¡±


    ¡°Ah, my bad.¡±


    Trying to take off his pants because he felt too excited, Seokhyun scratched his head. He wanted to go and fight with him right away, but no one knew where the entrance to the Great Labyrinth on this continent was located.


    However, a new comment came up.


    -Unnie, unnie, are you in the auction house right now?


    -Who is it?


    -This is me, not Albino¡­ but Mi-kyung.


    -Where are you now? Are you next to Seongho? Are you wearing the stealth cloak?


    -Oppa closed the dimensional door. So, I entered the Great Labyrinth through Seoul.


    Seokhyun raised his thumb at those words.


    -As expected of Mi-kyung. After hanging out with Seongho often, your guts become stronger.


    -It¡¯s not quite like that. Anyway, right now Oppa is fighting against a woman.


    -There¡¯s a woman among the three Chinese?


    -No. I think the woman was the one who made them level 50. Papers are flying around and it¡¯s a mess.


    -Seongho has the transformation ring with him, right? If he transforms into Abomination, he would be able to beat her.


    However, Seokhyun¡¯s expression became quite serious.


    -The aftereffects wouldn¡¯t be a joke, though.


    -It¡¯s Seongho, though. He should be able to endure it.


    -Even if he endured the first time, it will be very difficult the second time. It¡¯s difficult even for me.


    -Oppa has transformed for the third time now!


    -He¡¯s crazy, alright¡­


    When Seokhyun called someone crazy, it meant that the person was truly crazy.


    Meanwhile, Geom-in was restless, and Da-jeong could only bite her lips hard.


    What should we do?

 Chapter 216

    Up until now, all the fights I had been involved in were anything but hard. I had always scouted and compiled all the information I needed in advance, creating an environment to tip the odds towards me, and fought with the best strategy. As a result, I never got seriously injured except for that time at the beginning of the apocalypse.


    But today was a lot different; I was obviously fighting an uphill battle against Go Ho-kyung. Thousands of sheets of paper squeezed me as she unleashed her full force. Each of them turned into a weapon, a shield, and sometimes a bomb.


    The dimensional wall that I had been using as my primary means of protection was rendered useless. The attack was far too numerous for it to block. If I block the front, dozens of papers turn into sharp knives and rush towards my back. Overtime, the growl I let out turned into a scream and echoed through the hallway.


    In order to kill Go Ho-kyung, I risked the aftereffects of the transformation skill and transformed for the third time, but now, almost 2 minutes had passed.


    Will the fourth transformation duration become one minute?


    No, I don¡¯t think my body could stand the fourth transformation. After this transformation ended, I would be in a state that is no different from a corpse.


    ¡°Die! Die! Die!¡±


    As Go Ho-Kyung shouted desperately, dozens of pieces of paper flew into the sky.


    Boom-!!


    My vision flickered, and I couldn¡¯t stand the explosion and banged my head against the wall. If things continue like this, I wouldn¡¯t be able to win. The Abomination¡¯s body was certainly powerful, but it was vulnerable to ranged attacks. I can¡¯t even use my weapon properly.


    I opened the dimensional door while pretending to jump into Go Ho-kyung right before the transformation was released. My vision was turned upside down and the cold dirt greeted me as my body turned back into its human shape.


    ¡°Eughh¡­¡± I let out a moan as I prepared myself for the inevitable pain to come. But surprisingly, the pain I felt was far below my expectation.


    What is this warm feeling?


    When I finally raised my head, I could see Sooyeon looking at me with worried eyes as golden light emanated from her hand.


    ¡°Seongho, are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I-i¡¯m fine¡­ But¡­ what is this?¡±


    ¡°I finally reached level 25. I thought the additional effect I got from it that says that I would be able to cure abnormal conditions wouldn¡¯t be that useful, but it looks like I was wrong.¡±


    ¡°Level 25¡­ you¡¯ve worked hard.¡± It¡¯s really hard to level up with a trait that doesn¡¯t help much in combat. Especially so when the usage of guns was restricted.


    She stroked my arm at that moment. The taut muscles quickly loosened up and the pain gradually subsided.


    This effect is really good.


    ¡°I live comfortably in the shelter thanks to you, so I should pay you back by being able to do this much.¡±


    As I tried to close my eyes for a while, the aftereffects disappeared and Super Regeneration restored my physical strength. I quickly jumped up and gave a nod to her.


    ¡°Thanks to you, I lived¡­ Phew¡­¡±


    ¡°No, no. More than that, some clothes¡­¡±


    ¡°Cough¡­ Cough¡­¡± This is one of the side effects of Abomination Polymorph: Nude show.


    I quickly put on the clothes she bought for me. For some reason, the nape of Sooyeon¡¯s neck looked red.


    ¡°B-by the way¡­ How¡¯s the situation outside? I heard you are fighting against some girl¡­¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s stronger than I thought, that¡¯s why I ran away like this.¡±


    ¡°If Seongho said so, she¡¯s a really formidable enemy¡­¡±


    It¡¯s not to that extent, but I¡¯d say that our matchup was just bad. Her power was the worst matchup that the Abomination form could get.


    Scratching my head, I looked out the portal.


    -Kuuuuaaaaaakkkk-!!


    Go Ho-gyeong was vomiting with her hand on the wall. Blood and mucus poured out of her mouth. As expected, she¡¯s not completely unscratched either. She must have suffered the price of exerting all her might.


    ¡°And here I thought that her limit-breaking skill was fraudulent.¡± I whispered.


    She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and looked right in my direction.


    -You can¡¯t beat me. I¡¯ve seen what kind of ability you have.


    Oh right¡­


    By making three Chinese climbs to level 50, she was able to get the information she wanted. The effect of both dimensional wall and the dimensional prison was out in the open now.


    Go Ho-Kyung brushed back her messy hair. It was messy and even stained with her blood, making her look even more like a ghost.


    -You won¡¯t be able to trick me again. There is no sky here. Shall we see if you can go in and out well even if I block this dog hole?


    Suddenly, a piece of paper flew into the portal, blocking it off completely.


    -Hehehe. It¡¯s blocked well, right?


    Go Ho-kyung¡¯s gloomy voice was still there, but I couldn¡¯t see her since my vision was blocked by the papers. This is a disaster.


    Soo-yeon poked the portal with her finger and looked depressed.


    ¡°It¡¯s blocked¡­ I¡¯m sure we can break through it, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­¡±


    A rocket launcher would surely blow the paper away, but It would just stick again.


    Anyway, is everybody here?


    When I looked around the shelter, I couldn¡¯t see Mi-kyung at all.


    Sooyeon hesitated and said, ¡°She is in the Great Labyrinth right now. She should be wearing a cloak and hiding behind her¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh? She¡¯s out there?¡±


    I obviously saw her going into the shelter¡­ When did she get out?


    It turned out that since I didn¡¯t open the dimensional gate, she went to the Great Labyrinth through the Korean Shelter.


    When I called the auction house, there were signs that she was making a fuss with the stagnant water team.


    -He¡¯s crazy, alright¡­


    -If Rapwi said someone is crazy, they are really crazy!


    -What if Seongho dies?


    -Everyone in the shelter will be kicked out.


    -Don¡¯t make a fuss, I¡¯m not dead.


    -Is that you, Seongho?


    -Yea¡­ it hurts so bad, by the way.


    -The third transformation? You crazy bastard¡­


    -I felt like I was going to die, but thanks to Sooyeon noona, I feel better.


    Sooyeon¡¯s expression changed while looking at the comment section.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you decide not to call me noona before?¡±


    Ah, yeah¡­


    I weaseled my way out of the conversation and called for Mi-kyung.


    -Mi-kyung, are you there?


    -Uh¡­ You won¡¯t scold me, will you?


    -I won¡¯t scold you, so tell me the situation.


    -I can¡¯t see very well because a lot of papers are flying, but I think oppa¡¯s dimension door is completely blocked. She keeps wrapping it in paper.


    -You are behind her right now?


    -Yes.


    This could turn the situation around.


    No matter how strong a person was, if their concentration was broken, their control would be lost for a moment. In the case of Go Ho-kyung, which handles hundreds and thousands of sheets of paper, the gaps will be even greater.


    If we use flashbangs and flame cans¡­


    After making a plan, I opened the dimensional warehouse and took out the supplies. I even pulled the flamethrower, making Sooyeon¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Are you really going to use all of that?¡±


    ¡°We only get one chance. If we can¡¯t kill her here, it will become even more difficult.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t confirm if she had any resurrection scrolls left. However, there must be a reason why she squeezed her strength to the limit.


    I put the things on the auction house.


    -Mikyung, listen carefully. Buy these things and quickly throw them in turn.


    -Me, me?


    -The only one who can attack right now is you. Could it be that the woman is blocking her back too?


    -Her back is completely open¡­


    -I¡¯ll tell you how to do it. Throw the flashbang in front of that woman, she will be taken aback for sure. Then throw a flame can and destroy the papers with the flamethrower. Can you do it?


    If she said she couldn¡¯t do it, I planned to use a somewhat irrational measure. Thankfully, she posted a comment without giving it much thought.


    -I can do it. Leave it to me.


    -I¡¯ll believe in you.


    After a while, the item was sold.


    I turned towards Sooyeon at that moment. ¡°Looking at it, if I am in danger, please treat me.¡±


    She took my hand and nodded her head eagerly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about treatment. As long as you didn¡¯t die, I¡¯ll bring you back to life for sure.¡±


    In fact, even if I died, there would be no big problem. However, since the aftereffects were severe, such situations should be avoided if possible.


    After receiving the buffs and finishing my preparations, someone¡¯s scream was heard outside.


    -AHHHHH!!!!


    The wall of paper collapsed and I saw Go Ho-kyung staggering inside a raging flames. I stuck the mithril knife into my thigh, and almost instantly, the Primal Life skill was activated, and all my stats rose significantly.


    Let¡¯s go!


    I pulled out the mithril blade and ran outside.


    .


    .


    .


    Because of her pale skin, Jeong Mi-kyung was called albino by Da-jeong. Moreover, because of her petite physique and her cute face, everyone treated her comfortably. However, her fighting power should never be compromised.


    She was a skilled person who often went out of the shelter alone and hunted all by herself. After she reached level 25 and got the ¡®after-image¡¯ additional effect, her confidence increased. Quite a few monsters were fooled by the ¡®after-image¡¯ created by her blink and had no idea where she really was.


    ¡®You can do it, Jeong Mi-kyung.¡¯


    She took her chance with the cloak of stealth wrapped on her body. As confirmed in Seongho¡¯s fight, the monster in front of her had sensitive senses. If she approached her by blindly trusting in her Blink , there was a risk that she would be the one that got surprised instead.


    ¡®Let¡¯s just do as I was told.¡¯


    It¡¯s obviously not difficult, but why is her heart beating so fast?


    The monster coughed from time to time as if it was not feeling well. Judging by the blood dripping on the floor, she believed that it was absolutely the case.


    ¡®Now!¡¯


    Mi-kyung took off her cloak and threw the flash can. The glowstone dust generated friction and created a white spark in the dark hallway. The location was right in front of Go Ho-kyung.


    She immediately stopped coughing, as a blinding flash enlightened her whole face.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    When she suddenly lost her sense of sight, Mi-kyung moved with Blink. With some distance between them, she threw a flame can and she immediately pulled the lever on the flamethrower.


    Whosshhhh-!!


    Dark red flames filled the entire narrow hallway. Go Ho-kyung, who was floundering due to loss of sight, was engulfed in flying flames.


    ¡°Aagh!¡±


    The paper that sealed the dimension door crumbled and Seongho came out. His speed with all his skills activated was no joke. For a second, Mi-kyung thought that he¡¯s using Blink.


    In that brief moment, the eyes of the two met with Go Ho-kyung in between. Seongho said with his eyes. He told her to run away. Without wasting any time, Mi-kyung quickly stepped away from her. And tentacles rose from Go Ho-kyung¡¯s body.


    ¡°I will kill you all!¡±


    She no longer had her human form as she stretched out her tentacles, engulfed in her flames. Seongho blocked the tentacles that stretched out with the dimensional wall. Then, he kicked the wall and used that momentum to approach Go Ho-kyung in an instant.


    The tentacles stretched out again, but Seongho was already wielding a mithril blade.


    Fwoosh-!!


    A strange sound was heard, and the tentacles and Go Ho-kyung¡¯s left arm were cut off.


    ¡°Aaaagh!¡±


    Dark red blood and bodily fluids gushed out from the cutted surface. In that short time, Seongho checked Go Ho-kyung¡¯s stats. Perhaps it was due to the aftereffects of using Limit Break, but it was in a state of great deterioration.


    As expected, you were also limited.


    Seongho grabbed one of her tentacles and pulled it. Then he stretched out his mithril blade straight ahead and pierced her stomach.


    ¡°Huh¡­ Ugh¡­¡±


    Then, their eyes met each other. Go Ho-kyung was bleeding from the corner of his mouth while Seongho¡¯s was still fine. Her ambiguous face distorted into something which was hard to tell whether she was laughing or crying.


    Then, the mithril blade mercilessly ran from her belly to her chest.


    That was it.


    No matter how monstrous she was, it was difficult to endure when their internal organs were smashed. Focus disappeared from her eyes, but Seongho didn¡¯t let his guard down and drew the knife before striking her in the neck for one more time. Her head was wrapped around her long hair and rolled across her floor soon after.


    ¡°Euugghhh¡­¡± Seeing the terrible sight, Mi-kyung closed her eyes.


    Meanwhile, Seongho kept his vigilance and looked around Go Ho-Kyung. If she had a resurrection scroll, the corpse would be engulfed in light and disappear.


    However, the corpse did not disappear even after he waited. Instead an old scene was recreated. The ground around her corpse becomes mushy and sets of tentacles spring up.


    ¡°Go away!¡±


    Seongho attacked it with the mithril blade, but the tentacles wrapped around her corpse without even stopping. Then, all of it disappeared into the ground. All that remained was her thick blood, bodily fluids, and message in his field of vision.


    ¡¸Your level has risen to 43¡¹


    ¡¸You have acquired 200 points¡¹


    ¡¸You have acquire ¡®Limit Break¡¯ skill¡¹


    ¡¸Limit Break: Greatly raises the limits of the body. Duration: 10 minutes¡¹


    She also turned one of the items I wore into an item, but my eyes were glued on the skill. I will try to figure out the effect later.


    Mi-kyung approached me with Blink at that moment.


    ¡°Oppa!¡±


    ¡°Nice job, Mikyung. I lived, thanks to you.¡±


    She jumped into my arms and laughed.


    ¡°Even if it weren¡¯t for me, I believe you will be fine!¡±


    Then the space shook and someone appeared. I quickly hid Mi-kyung behind me and extended my mithril blade.


    The man who appeared was Ahn Geun-seok. He looked at me with a dejected face.


    ¡°She told me to be patient, but to think that not only she failed to kill you, she even gave a skill to you¡­¡±


    ¡°Can you see my status window too?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you have the Ability Analysis skill?¡±


    ¡°Your stats are unexpectedly insignificant.¡±


    When I smirked, he touched his forehead.


    ¡°Oops. The troublesome person has become even more troublesome.¡±


    ¡°Your face is surprisingly relaxed for someone who said that kind of thing, though.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s still within our estimation. Your growth is certainly great¡­ but it¡¯s still on the palm of my hand.¡±


    ¡°Most of the guys who say that always beg when they die and tell me to give them another chance.¡±


    Mi-kyung giggled behind me, and Ahn Geun-seok was also embarrassed.


    ¡°There are definitely cliches like that. But this is not a movie or a game. If I make up my mind right away, you will die within an hour.¡±


    ¡°Try it.¡±


    He shook his head.


    ¡°I will refrain. After all, if the monsters on the 13th floor come out, it will be a mess¡­ Anyway, where did you get the Abomination Polymorph skill?¡±


    The 13th floor he talked about must be the Great Labyrinth floor.


    I roughly answered his question.


    ¡°I got it while hunting.¡±


    His expression changed to a mocking one.


    ¡°Stop joking. An item with that option will not drop. Did you get it from Lotus, by any chance?¡±


    ¡°If you tell me the real identity of the tentacle that took your and Go Ho-kyung¡¯s corpse, I¡¯ll tell you.¡±


    Ahn Geun-seok twitched his cheek and let out a sigh.


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s not really a bad trade for me anyway. Thanks to you, I¡¯ve figured out a lot of your additional effects. Those tentacles are the roots of the corrupted Elderwood. Go Ho-kyung is currently being resurrected with the power of the Elderwood. She¡¯s grinding her teeth at you, so you can look forward to it.¡±


    ¡°AH! In the spring?¡±


    At my words, Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°How do you know that¡­ Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m using it a lot, too. But it felt like the Elderwood was hurt. I thought it was because of me, but it looks like I was wrong.¡±


    ¡°You know quite a lot. I have a few questions I want to ask you.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t tell you, even if you use force to make me.¡±


    ¡°Sigh¡­ I will really use them.¡±


    ¡°From your words, it seems there is a scary monster living on the 13th floor?¡±


    ¡°I assure you, when they show up, you won¡¯t be able to relax any longer. It¡¯s a monster raised by Giudecca herself.¡±


    ¡°Bring it on. I will kill them like I kill you and Go Ho-kyung.¡±


    In an instant, the mask of courtesy was removed from Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s face and a ferocious face was revealed.


    ¡°Okay! Do as you wish! I will make you pay for killing my secretary!¡±


    ¡°You sure are noisy¡­¡±


    Then something amazing happened.


    Seokhyun and Da-jeong appeared in front of them, wrapped in golden light.


    Ahn Geun-seok panicked and tried to run away, but Seokhyun grabbed his hand.


    ¡°Gotchu~¡±


    Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s face contorted.

 Chapter 217

    If you compare me and Seokhyun in terms of combat power, I¡¯m a little bit stronger than him. It¡¯s an assessment based on the fact that I had dimensional wall and dimensional prison in my arsenal.


    But, that combat power was nothing but a prepared strength. In order to maximize my performance, it was necessary for me to prepare various things such as buffs from Sooyeon, buff from the crops, and activating all the active skills I have.


    On the other hand, Seokhyun didn¡¯t have to prepare anything to reach the peak of his power. Even if he just woke up or after doing number 2, he could display 100% of his fighting power.


    Just like right now.


    Seokhyun held Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s hand and spoke innocently.


    ¡°Gotchu~¡±


    But his hand, which was wrapped in the Ogre Gloves, was not so innocent.


    Before Ahn Geun-seok could even react, a fist was thrusted into his face.


    Bam-!!


    In my opinion, the saying that the palms must meet in order for sound to be produced was wrong. After all, even when Ahn Geun-seok didn¡¯t have any desire to fight, there was still a loud sound echoing.


    Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s face, which was hit by Seokhyun¡¯s first, was completely turned into mochi batter. But soon after, the momentum behind Seokhyun¡¯s fist waned as he adjusted his strength. After all, he knew that they couldn¡¯t just kill him since he would just revive.


    ¡°Keukk¨C!¡±


    Ahn Geun-seok did not even think of running away, and only made faint pained moans.


    It looks like he¡¯s missing some teeth.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it once more.¡± Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s back bent before his voice disappeared.


    I didn¡¯t want to see a man¡¯s back bend like a bow like that.


    Anyway, with just two punches, Ahn Geun-seok was completely unconscious.


    Up to this point, Ahn Geun-seok was a human. But now, the monster Ahn Geun-seok would enter the fray.


    After making eye contact with Da-jeong, I stepped back.


    ¡°Get back! The tentacles will come!¡±


    Clearly imagining something, Da-jeong cupped her cheeks with her hands.


    ¡°But I like tentacle play!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that kind of tentacle!¡±


    As soon as I finished my words, thick tentacles wriggled from Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s mouth. Those things were much more disgusting than I thought.


    But unlike me, Seokhyun didn¡¯t care at all and put his hand on the tentacle. When he pulled his hand away, a grotesque sound echoed as bodily fluids and tentacles were ripped apart.


    Now Ahn Geun-seok tilted his head back and began to stagger.


    ¡°Bring me another squid leg, please~¡± Seokhyun said as he squeezed the tentacle. ¡°By the way? Will the tentacles still come out?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t answer because I don¡¯t know. But one thing is clear, we need to kill him.¡± But rather than reaping his lives, there¡¯s something I want to try this time. It¡¯s impossible to do it alone, but things might be different if I cooperate with Seokhyun.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to go into serious mode.¡± Seokhyun took off his panties.


    I wanted to nag, but it was kind of hard to do so because I was the reason why he took off his panties.


    Da-jeong ran to me and cheered him on.


    ¡°Rapwi! You can use your full power today!¡±


    ¡°SEEEEGGGGSSSSS!¡± Seok-hyun rushed at the fallen Ahn Geun-seok with his fists raised.


    His body, which was covered in tentacles, wriggled violently. Then, countless tentacles finally came out of Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s mouth again. They were so fast to the point they wrapped around Seokhyun¡¯s limbs in an instant.


    ¡°Hmm!¡±


    However, Seokhyun¡¯s power with the Ogre Gloves was anything but a joke. When he grabbed the tentacles using a little force, Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s body floated into the air.


    ¡°Eulachacha!¡±


    Seokhyun slammed Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s body into the ceiling, walls, and floor. However, the momentum of the tentacles did not diminish at all.


    Just where on earth did the tentacles come from?


    I checked Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s status window at that moment.


    In the buff column, Giudecca¡¯s protection was written. As expected, those tentacles belonged to Giudecca, not Ahn Geun-seok. If so, it¡¯s necessary to block the passage of that power.


    I opened the dimensional warehouse and threw a mithril blade at Seokhyun.


    ¡°Cut his throat and throw him right at me!¡±


    Seokhyun grasped the flying blade without looking and said, ¡°Leave it to me!¡±


    The tentacles were certainly strong, but not strong enough to withstand Seokhyun¡¯s power coupled with a mithril blade. In an instant, several tentacles flew into the air, before Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s head followed suit.


    Seokhyun grabbed the body by the leg and threw it in front of me. At that moment, the phenomenon of transformation happened again. The area around Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s body changed into something like muscle tissue before a large tentacle protruded out.


    Without a delay, I grabbed Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s ankle and threw him into the dimensional warehouse. The tentacles searched for Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s body, but could only find his head, not his body, which went into the dimensional warehouse.


    All that remained now were tentacles which were still wriggling and traces of bodily fluids.


    Da-jung asked shyly.


    ¡°¡­Did you put the body in the dimensional warehouse?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t really want to do it. But, it¡¯s the only way I can think of.¡±


    If I¡¯m going to kill anyway, doing it as clean as possible was my preference. However, the case of Ahn Geun-seok was a little different. He wanted my body for some reason, and he was ready to do anything for it. Therefore, I should pay him back.


    Now, his resurrection was impossible as long as his body was still inside the dimensional warehouse.


    ¡°By the way, it¡¯s strange that he didn¡¯t even have a resurrection scroll with him.¡±


    ¡°Maybe he never expects us to come here?¡±


    Well, that¡¯s also something I never expected.


    How the hell did they get here?


    I held my curiosity back and opened the dimensional door.


    ¡°Mikyung-ah, go inside first.¡±


    Mi-kyung, who was standing still like a scarecrow, was about to go inside, but Da-jeong grabbed her wrist.


    ¡°How are you, albino? Did you help Seongho a lot?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I worked very hard.¡±


    ¡°Then, did you sleep with him?¡±


    ¡°D-don¡¯t say things like that¡­¡±


    ¡°WHAT! I deliberately left the shelter to help you! What is this! With that face and body, huh? What a waste. You said you like Seongho too.¡±


    ¡°Unnie!¡±


    ¡°Now that I think about it, Sooyeon unnie must have done nothing too. Rapwi-ah. What should I do to these people?¡±


    ¡°Just push them right away!¡±


    ¡°Should I?¡±


    As soon as Mi-kyung joined, she was embarrassed by the two who suddenly rushed forward. It had been peaceful and quiet for some time now, but it seemed that the shelter would become noisy once again.


    Shaking my head, I entered the dimensional warehouse. The rentacles did not come out of the wounds in the body. After all, inside this place, everything was suspended except me.


    ¡°Even the Great Demon King is not strong enough to oppose the system.¡± It also meant that there was hope of killing him someday.


    I put Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s body inside a duffle bag. It didn¡¯t smell, so it was no different from normal luggage.


    ¡°It¡¯s a little bit iffy to keep holding him like this¡­ I have to compromise in moderation.¡± But, I would only part ways with him if the other side paid a heavy price.


    I came out and put my arms around Seokhyun and Da-jeong¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°Now tell me. How did you guys get here?¡±


    Da-jeong quickly showed me a scroll which was torn in half.


    ¡°Can you tell what this is?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a scroll. But it¡¯s the first time I see those characters.¡±


    Scroll-type items show options when it was intact, but when it was torn, only the original characters it was written in were shown.


    Da-jeong moved the scroll up and down, and made a fuss.


    ¡°This is a teleportation scroll! We found it when we looked around the lab.¡±


    ¡°Teleport? Well, there¡¯s Blink, so it¡¯s not surprising that teleportation exists¡­ But why are you the only ones here? Where¡¯s Geom-in?¡±


    Seokhyun hit his forehead. ¡°He was playing with some kind of doll. That¡¯s why the two of us ripped it to test it.¡±


    ¡°What doll? Mi-kyung, let¡¯s go inside.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡¤¡±


    We went inside the portal and talked in detail. The shelter members who also listened to the story were amazed to hear what they had experienced in Lotus.


    The flames that completely covered the Elfni Royal Palace were actually strange to me as well.


    ¡°I searched the lab and found this. It¡¯s a teleportation scroll, but Geom-in was separated from us because he was touching some doll.¡±


    ¡°Well, what happened to Ahn Geun-seok?¡±


    Sooyeon asked and I opened the dimensional warehouse.


    ¡°He¡¯s inside. Neither dead nor alive.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    Guessing his condition, she covered her mouth with the palm of her hand, clearly nauseous. She¡¯s quite used to the apocalypse, but probably not immune to this messy situation.


    But I was different.


    To deal with monsters, you have to become a monster.


    Da-jeong¡¯s story continued at that moment.


    ¡°By the way, Geom-in is alone now. He must have a hard time since there¡¯s only my monsters around.¡±


    ¡°Geom-in is always alone anyway.¡±


    ¡°So pitiful¡­¡±


    Spending time with a friendly monster in a lonely place without a single person¡­ It wouldn¡¯t be a very good feeling.


    By the way, the time has come to make a decision. I made up my mind and said, ¡°There is something I would like to tell all of you. I want to move the shelter to the mainland.¡±


    Yeowool was surprised and asked.


    ¡°Moving to Lotus? The whole shelter?¡±


    ¡°This place is also Lotus, you know? Well, it¡¯s inconvenient to work here because of how far this place is. We have to go right now, but there is no way to do so.¡±


    Both Seokhyun and Da-jeong still have work to do. It was to find the main body of Elderwood and check its condition. There would be many other things to do in the future, but it would be difficult to respond if we were stuck in boonies like this place.


    Yoohyeon and Jiman completely agreed with what I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice that this place is close to the sea, but it¡¯s indeed too far away from the mainland.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we move near the Wood Elves¡¯ forest?¡±


    Well, they definitely won¡¯t feel that happy. Being treated as a guest for a while and being an immigrant were two different things.


    Sangshin scratched his cheek.


    ¡°They won¡¯t like us. No one likes strangers.¡±


    ¡°I heard that nomads like guests¡­¡±


    Mi-kyung raised her voice, but Seokhyun shot her opinion down.


    ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s only a couple guests staying for a few days. To nomads, guests are precious beings who deliver news from the outside. But if you say you want to live with them, the story will be different.¡±


    Right¡­ Seokhyun is right. Immigrants were not treated well anywhere. It¡¯s best to just stick together and live together with familiar people.


    I unfolded the map of the Lotus continent. Looking around the Velond Forest where the elves live and the Ruat Kingdom, I saw a lake. It was a size that would not be strange even if it was the sea.


    ¡°This place looks good.¡±


    Da-jeong chimed in as soon as she saw the place I pointed at.


    ¡°Actually, we took a short break around this lake as we headed north. There are a lot of fish there and the scenery is really good! However, there is one problem¡­¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of monsters around?¡±


    ¡°How did you know?¡±


    ¡°There should be many animals around the lake. So, it¡¯s natural that there will be a lot of monsters around.¡±


    ¡°I guess so.¡±


    An environment that was good for us to live in was also a haven for monsters. According to Seokhyun, even in an area a little away from the lakeside, it was still hell. We don¡¯t have the power to change the environment, but we can do enough to build.


    People who saw the map added a couple comments.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to have a mountain behind us. It¡¯s like dividend payment.¡±


    ¡°If the lake was this big, the ecosystem would have settled in pretty nicely. I agree.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care where I go.¡±


    Everyone expressed their approval.


    I looked through the shelter and told people.


    ¡°Moving is a very difficult and burdensome task, but what can we do? There is no moving center, so we have to do it. The first thing to do is¡­¡± To dismantle all the huts and live in tents. It¡¯s better to put all the pretty things in the dimensional warehouse.


    Yoohyeon pulled out his hair, saying that the waterwheels, pumps, and water pipes installed in the valley had to be dismantled as well.


    ¡°You have to work hard. I will help install it again when we arrive there.¡±


    ¡°Ahaha¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it together. I will help you.¡±


    Sooyeon patted the drooping guy on the shoulder.


    ¡°I want to say let¡¯s move right away, but since these guys just came, let¡¯s take a break for now. I have to talk with Geom-in too.¡±


    I talked to Geom-in through the auction house.


    -It¡¯s blazing hot here, but it¡¯s manageable.


    It¡¯s like being inside a bonfire, so how can you be fine?


    I decided to send the body armor with fire resistance and Seokhyun¡¯s cape to him. With those two items, he should be able to sleep with a smile even in the flames.


    Geom-in said thank you and brought up an unusual story.


    -This doll I found is very pretty. It seemed like they were experimenting with something, but I don¡¯t know the details yet.


    -The scarab and stag beetle know hangul, right? Can you ask them to translate?


    -Yeah. We are currently interpreting things we found in the palace, like research journals and people diaries.


    -It won¡¯t be boring. I¡¯ll be there soon, so wait for me.


    -Come slowly. I¡¯ll be looking for something useful in the palace in the meantime.


    Geom-in didn¡¯t seem to care much, perhaps because him being alone was a daily occurrence.


    As I turned off the auction house, Da-jeong was sitting on a bench and looking at me with a smile on her face.


    ¡°Do you have anything to say to me?¡±


    ¡°There is a lot to do. The hut has to be dismantled¡­ and supplies have to be moved.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you promise me something before?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we do it later?¡±


    I tried to sneak past her, but she instantly turned to a hawk that was hungry for prey.


    ¡°What about me? Do you know how many days I starved? I can¡¯t stand it anymore. Come here.¡±


    .


    .


    .


    Go Ho-kyung opened her eyes and got up from the bathtub. As usual, she touched her neck. The tip of her finger touched the wound surface. At the same time, she recalled her end.


    She thought she was really done when a mithril blade pierced her belly and hit her neck.


    She gnashed her teeth at the thought of Seongho. She had fought until she broke through her limits, but she still lost in the end.


    But in the future, the story will be different.


    ¡®If only that person comes back¡­¡¯


    Once Ahn Geun-seok returned, she was going to start planning to kill him again. However, he didn¡¯t come back. She put her clothes on, thinking that he was still fighting, but there was no news no matter how much she waited.


    ¡®It¡¯s strange.¡¯


    The shadows of Giudecca were united in spirit. Telepathy was a basic means of communication for them.


    Why didn¡¯t he mention the follow-up measures when he just needs to concentrate a little bit?


    Go Ho-kyung continued to try contacting Ahn Geun-seok and was surprised to see tentacles protruding from the hallway. It¡¯s a sight she sees every day, but today was a little different.


    Giudecca was calling.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be there soon, master.¡±


    The tentacles disappeared into the wall and Go Ho-kyung took off her clothes. The 15th floor of the Great Labyrinth was where the main body of Giudecca was located. Everything on the 15th floor looked as if it had been arranged for the wounded King of All Beasts.


    The wriggling muscular tentacle swallowed Go Ho-kyung in one breath.


    ¡®No¡­¡¯


    Since she was still a human, she hated closed and small spaces. The muscles twitched and sent her somewhere. And after a while, Go Ho-kyung fell on the mucous membrane.


    As she barely raised her upper body, a gust of hot wind blew in. Something was lurking within the myriad tentacles and muscle tissue.


    Giudecca.


    The King of All Beasts, the Harbinger of The End, and the Illegitimate Son of an Unfortunate Experiment.


    Although he was wounded and sealed in the Great Labyrinth, he still possessed immense power. His consciousness inspected Go Ho-kyung¡¯s brain.


    She trembled at the illusion that countless insects were crawling on her body.


    -My right arm has disappeared from surveillance, it seems.


    The right arm it talked about was Ahn Geun-seok. Although Giudecca was not a human, it was fond of him for taking its side.


    ¡°I¡­It won¡¯t be long before he¡¯s found.¡±


    -If he¡¯s alive, he will be healed through me. And if he¡¯s dead, he would have entered me.


    ¡°No healing was sent to me either¡­¡±


    -Then there is only one answer. Someone took his body.


    ¡°That¡­¡±


    Go Ho-kyung recalled Seongho¡¯s ability. It¡¯s an ability to spread space to block attacks and twist space to enter Lotus. It wouldn¡¯t be strange to say that he also had the ability to create space which blocks out outside influences.


    -Among the idiots in Lotus, there was someone with such an ability. It was a really nasty ability.


    ¡°Tell me what to do.¡±


    -Go find that person and negotiate. Bring me my right arm.


    Go Ho-kyung swallowed dry saliva while lying on his stomach.


    Go directly to the Korean shelter?


    It was impossible without mobilizing the monsters on the 13th floor.


    Tentacles stretched out in front of Go Ho-kyung¡¯s frightened face at that moment.


    -Rough means will not be tolerated. Bring him back by all means.


    Go Ho-kyung hesitated.


    ¡°You will have to give up a lot¡­¡±


    -Does not matter. After all, he¡¯s precious to me


    She felt something rise from deep within her chest.


    This is it.


    That¡¯s why she bowed her head to Giudecca and became a monster.


    ¡°I will definitely bring him back.¡±

 Chapter 218

    2 members of the Korea Shelter, Lee Beomseok and Oh Seung-yeon were currently at the Han River. Their purpose was to investigate the pollution of the Han River. It was due to the fact that rumors had circulated at the auction house about the fact that the water in the river smelled a lot because of the powdered remains of metals that got hit by the corrosive disease.


    In fact, the two were able to know that the water condition in the Han River had truly become worse than before just by looking at the color of the river through Oh Seung-yeon¡¯s paper airplane.


    ¡°¡­it felt sticky.¡±


    The Han River in winter looked fine because it froze, but when everything had thawed, it revealed its true colors. After collecting the water, Lee Beomseok fiddled with it with his fingers. It had a strangely sandy texture, probably due to the metal powders that it contained.


    ¡°We can¡¯t drink this, can we?¡± Seung-yeon asked in a worried tone.


    ¡°Considering the amount of metal powder contained in it¡­ drinking it would kill us faster than having to fight monsters.¡±


    ¡°But can¡¯t we still drink it if we did something to it, like filtering or distilling it?¡±


    ¡°There are more than 100 people in the shelter. Even if we did do that and it succeeded, we can¡¯t get that much drinking water for everyone.¡±


    The biggest problem for all survivors was, of course, water. The Chinese who settled in the west got hit by Seongho while trying to monopolize the bottled waters he sold. The Koreans didn¡¯t go that far, but they still felt the lack of water.


    The amount of drinking water was quite good, but the amount of water for daily necessities was nowhere near enough. Normally, humans need about 3 to 4 liters of water to survive a day. But for the survivors who had to fight bloody battles with monsters, even 4 liters was not enough. The problem was that there¡¯s no way to increase the amount of water they could get.


    The water in the river was polluted to the point it was unusable, and rain hadn¡¯t come to visit the land of Korea for several months now. Thanks to those two situations, bad odor could be smelled from any survivor¡¯s body.


    ¡®That side has enough water, though¡­¡¯


    Lee Beomseok shook his hands and stood up. He knew that Seongho had supplied a lot of water to the Great Labyrinth. He had borrowed some large basins from Korea Shelter, which he poured water generously into. Thanks to that, the people on the first floor of the Great Labyrinth enjoyed the windfall of taking a bath for the very first time in a long time. No, you can¡¯t even call it taking a bath, they were just wiping their body with water. However, that alone was a luxury in the apocalypse.


    Unfortunately, it was clear that Seongho had no intention whatsoever to supply them with water in the long term.


    ¡®Is selling water at the auction house his final objective?¡¯


    From the circumstances they knew so far, they assumed that Seongho¡¯s shelter was flooded with water. Lee Beomseok was frustrated by the fact that he didn¡¯t use it to help people.


    If he had that much water, shouldn¡¯t he use it by selling it or distributing it?


    When Lee Beomseok returned to the Shelter and reported his findings, Jang Won-taek said:


    ¡°Do you know that line from a certain movie that said ¡®If the favor continues, people will take it for granted¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I understand what you mean, but shouldn¡¯t we help each other in the apocalypse?¡±


    ¡°Seongho is still helping us. I heard rumors that Hyung-jun and Ji-Hye went into his shelter recently.¡±


    ¡°The rest of us means nothing to him¡­ Is that what you mean?¡±


    When Jang Won-taek heard Lee Beomseok¡¯s response, he let out a dejected smile. Even though the man had been in politics for decades, he still doesn¡¯t know how to judge people properly.


    ¡°Listen¡­ Good will cannot be forced. In the case of Seongho, he is a ball that rebounds harder the more he is pressed. It¡¯s best to just let him do what he wants.¡±


    ¡°But he¡¯s the co-leader of this shelter, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°He is only a nominal leader. Except for that one time, he never interfered at all.¡±


    ¡°¡­I am worried about what to do with the water situation in the future.¡±


    ¡°If all of the time shelter opens in July, we would be able to take a breather. Let¡¯s just think about what happens after that.¡±


    Lee Beomseok was surprised that his boss spoke so irresponsibly. Normally, he would have made plans for a few years later in advance.


    When he asked about it, the old man smiled and stroked his white hair.


    ¡°The environment changes too fast for my aging brain to keep up. At times like these, the best thing to do is to pick up the crumbs that Seongho left behind. Oh, by the way, the other members of his shelter have been here lately.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ they say they are moving. I heard about it by chance through Seung-yeon.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not saying that they are leaving this place, are you?¡± Jang Won-taek was startled and leaned his upper body toward him.


    Seongho and his party had their own lodging in the Korea Shelter. But truth to be told, they rarely used the place as their set base at all. After all, they would prefer to stay at their shelter in the other dimension, except for the time they had business to do on Earth.


    ¡°No, sir. They said they are moving their shelter inside the portal. They also said that the people of his shelter can stay on Earth while he¡¯s doing the moving. Maybe he¡¯ll use the gryphon to move things around.¡±


    ¡°Ah, the materials will be stored in his dimensional warehouse, right? The people in the moving center business are going to cry.¡±


    The conversation between the two continued and the conversation finally reached the topic about the battle that happened in the Great Labyrinth. They knew it was a battle between Seongho and the very same Chinese that tried to monopolize the bottled water that Seongho put to sell. But no one knew what happened after that.


    The other shelter members kept their mouths shut as if they had promised to when being asked. Jang Wontaek wanted Seongho to tell him, but he was still busy preparing for the move.


    At that moment, the two of them suddenly got a call from the front office. Lee Beomseok looked at the paper airplane that had flown in through the window and doubted his eyes.


    ¡°¡­this doesn¡¯t make sense.¡±


    ¡°We live in a world that makes no sense in the first place. What is it?¡±


    ¡°A woman named Go Ho-kyung came to visit. They say she¡¯s in front of the southern barricade¡­¡±


    ¡°Go Ho-kyung? That¡¯s a name I¡¯ve never heard of.¡±


    ¡°She is the woman who fought with Seongho in the Great Labyrinth. They said she¡¯s Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s subordinate.¡±


    Jang Won-taek¡¯s expression hardened.


    ¡°Can It be- No way. If she came here to destroy this place, there would have been a better way rather than coming through the front door.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been told that she has no intention of fighting at all. She wants to meet Seongho.¡±


    Jang Won-taek pondered and asked.


    ¡°Is she alone? What about subordinates or monsters accompanying her? What¡¯s the current situation?¡±


    ¡°Looks like she came alone. She¡¯s surrounded by the border troops now and she¡¯s pretty calm.¡±


    ¡°Meaning, she wants to tell us that we don¡¯t have to worry about her¡­ Let her in.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    Lee Beomseok wrote the instructions on the paper airplane and flew it back. After a while, with the reply that they would do as they were told, a mysterious woman in a suit entered the shelter.


    After Lee Beomseok saw her from her window, he was struck dumbfounded.


    ¡°Wearing a suit and high heels in the apocalypse¡­ Is she sane?¡±


    ¡°She must have absolute confidence¡­¡±


    Anyway, whatever the situation was, the home-owner must treat their guests.


    Jang Wontaek turned his back and said, ¡°Contact Seongho.¡±


    .


    .


    .


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you would come like this. Aren¡¯t you scared?¡±


    ¡°I had died once because of you, what else could I be afraid of?¡± She said before stroking her neck. It seemed like she suddenly remembered the mithril blade that had separated her head from her body, but she decided to put up with it for now.


    I sat in the chair opposite her. Jang Wontaek crossed his arms and closed his eyes as if he would only listen.


    ¡°So what is your purpose for coming here?¡±


    ¡°There is no need to waste time. I¡¯m here to pick up my boss.¡±


    As expected, she came to pick up Ahn Geun-seok.


    Did she know that the corpse is still in the dimension warehouse?


    ¡°He is dead.¡±


    At my response, she only laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense. If he¡¯s really dead, we will know. Currently, the boss is neither dead nor alive.¡±


    It¡¯s hard to see this as Go Ho-kyung¡¯s ability. Perhaps, that monster called Giudecca who was behind her pushed her forward. Perhaps, Giudecca and the executives were mentally connected. If he interpreted it that way, it makes sense that she came.


    Taking Ahn Geun-seok as a hostage was a good move, but my ability was revealed in exchange. It would be futile to deny it now, so it would be better to take as much as possible from her¡­


    After organizing my thoughts, I said.


    ¡°What will you pay me in return?¡±


    ¡°Tell me what you want.¡±


    In an instant, Jang Wontaek¡¯s eyebrows twitched.


    Could it be that Giudecca¡¯s true identity was a fairy who made people¡¯s wishes come true?


    ¡°Immortality, is it possible?¡±


    ¡°It is not impossible. But it would be impossible for you.¡± She smiled and slowly crossed her legs. Her legs were so long that she gave off a very sensual vibe.


    But to me, it was funny. After all, how dare a tentacle monster acting so sexy?


    ¡°Do I have to turn into a monster, first?¡±


    ¡°You know very well. Immortality is possible only when you accept everything from the master.¡±


    ¡°By master, you mean Giudecca, huh? By following it, it could be considered as a relief if even one tentacle didn¡¯t pop out from my eyes.¡±


    Go Ho-kyung¡¯s eyes widened, then slightly relaxed.


    ¡°I see that you also know about that. Well, it will be strange if you don¡¯t know about it after walking around Lotus.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be entering the Elderwood Forest soon, so look forward to it. I¡¯m going to stop that damn master of you from using its tentacle.¡±


    ¡°If it was that easy to do, then the world wouldn¡¯t have ended that easily, right?¡±


    Is that so? Well, I¡¯ll see once I go there personally.


    Anyway, what should I ask, I wonder¡­


    Ahn Geun-seok was a very high-priced bargaining chip, so I didn¡¯t want to give it away at a slashed price. Skills and items wouldn¡¯t be good enough, so it¡¯s better to ask for information.


    ¡°You have the unknown monsters expansion patch data, don¡¯t you?¡±


    This time, Go Ho-kyung¡¯s eyebrows twitched.


    ¡°You mean all the data?¡±


    ¡°Everything. Give me all the data, starting with the data about the Brutra until the tier 4 Store.¡±


    ¡°I have no objection to giving it to you, but how can I know that you will keep your promise?¡±


    ¡°When I receive the data, I will definitely hand him over. Well, if you are doubtful, you can just go back.¡±


    She looked at the ceiling for a moment and then said.


    ¡°Fine, then. I¡¯ll pass all the data. But you¡¯d better give up the misconception that you¡¯ll be free from the hands of my master with that.¡±


    ¡°Free from it? Don¡¯t misunderstand. I¡¯m not trying to free myself from that master of yours. I¡¯m going to kill it.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, do your best then. Regarding the exchange¡­ I¡¯ll meet you at Yeongdeungpo Park at this time tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Why there? Are you feeling burdened by coming here?¡±


    Go Ho-kyung had a ferocious face at my question.


    ¡°More like disgust. How can they who know nothing dare to drool over my body!¡±


    It seemed that she received a lot of attention as walked through the shelter. Some would have been afraid of her thanks to her overly-relaxed clothing, while others would have drooled over her body.


    ¡°There¡¯s something I¡¯d like to ask personally¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°What if, of course, there¡¯s no chance of it happening, but what if¡­ what are you going to do if I were to somehow¡­ Join you?¡±


    ¡°You? Hmm¡­ You alone won¡¯t be enough, so I¡¯ll first find a woman with a high level.¡±


    It¡¯s not because I¡¯m deeply into her but suddenly she reminded me of Da-jeong.


    I asked hurriedly.


    ¡°And? What are you planning to do with two purebreds?¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be obvious what a man and a woman would do together?¡±


    Go Ho-kyung¡¯s eyes slit upwards as she smiled, and a cough sound quickly came from beside her.


    ¡°Was ¡®Love and Peace¡¯ the theme of your plan?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. I¡¯ll tell you more details if you join us. It won¡¯t be bad for you either.¡±


    ¡°I absolutely loathe the thought of being a monster like you.¡±


    She bit her lip and looked at me.


    ¡°For now¡­ No-forget it..¡±


    ¡°There are tentacles pouring out of your wounds. Doesn¡¯t that mean you are nothing but a monster? It would have been worth watching if it appeared in the Unknown Monsters expansion pack back in the game, not reality.¡±


    ¡°My mind is still the same as when I was still working in the front desk, so stop talking nonsense.¡±


    Oddly enough, she emphasized that she¡¯s human. In other words, even though she could turn into a monster, she still wanted to be treated as human, right?


    It might be for that reason that she insisted on wearing high heels and a suit.


    Let¡¯s argue a little bit here.


    ¡°So, how can the very woman who worked at the front desk at a company accept Giudecca¡¯s power? Did Ahn Geun-seok trick you?¡±


    ¡°¡­You don¡¯t need to know.¡±


    Go Ho-kyung, as if she didn¡¯t like the interrogation-like atmosphere, got up and brushed her butt.


    She even warned us.


    ¡°Until now, you¡¯ve been living your life just fine. But in the future, it will be far more difficult. Monsters that come after Brutra are no joke.¡±


    Well, I was prepared for it, so I have no major complaints. If the future were to come anyway, we would just have to prepare for it step by step. Giving up while whining wasn¡¯t really my style.


    ¡°Thanks for the advice. Should I kill you here?¡± I said.


    ¡°¡­You know that even if I die, I will be resurrected, right?¡± A little bit of time passed before she answered. Palpable that she¡¯s hesitating.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a joke. Goodbye.¡± I waved. There was a creak as she disappeared out of the door.


    Jang Wontaek, who had been silently listening to our conversation, let out a long sigh.


    ¡°A lot of things are happening at once.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that much¡­ Are you curious?¡±


    ¡°I would love to hear from you if possible.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s really nothing.¡±


    I told him the story of Giudecca, who was hiding in the Great Labyrinth and what it did to Lotus.


    His expression changed by every passing second.


    .


    .


    .


    At Yeongdeungpo Park, I ran into a golden goblin. No, it¡¯s not Go Ho-kyung, mind you. It was a literal golden goblin.


    The guy looked at me and squealed, not knowing why. But, the small pocket it cherished was pitiful compared to its bearer¡¯s moniker.


    ¡°To think the data will be given like this.¡± I caught the guy trying to run away and searched his pocket. The content was only one hard disk.


    Compared to the lengths she took to send it to me, I don¡¯t even have to deliver Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s corpse because I just need to take it out of the dimensional warehouse.


    I went into the shelter and showed Yoohyeon the hard disk.


    ¡°Can you check this?¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­ I guess I can check it by putting it in an external case.¡±


    He immediately connected it to his laptop and showed me the contents. Oh, um¡­ Something¡¯s a little strange. There were fewer videos than I expected, and most of the data were in text format.


    Yoohyeon knocked on the keyboard and looked back at me.


    ¡°I guess this is all.¡±


    ¡°It looks like these bastards didn¡¯t develop the patch and were just just fucking around.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it was swept away by magic while they were still in the middle of developing it?¡±


    Given the circumstances, it was highly likely. Still, there¡¯s enough data regarding monsters and shop data. I came out after telling Yoohyeon to copy the data.


    Only after I kicked the golden goblin¡¯s ass did I open the dimensional warehouse and bring out a bag.


    ¡°See you again later. Though, when that day comes, you¡¯ll definitely die for real.¡±


    After a while, the golden goblin was enveloped in light and collapsed. Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s body also disappeared. I wondered what kind of expression he would make after he woke up. But I bet all my wealth that it wouldn¡¯t be a smiling face.


    I went into the shelter and carried all the luggage while Yoohyeon organized the data. The dimension warehouse was a very convenient function, but only I can use it. I used to say that it was something that was created to put me through hardships, but now since my stats have gone up, it wasn¡¯t that hard.


    ¡°Now, they are the real problem.¡±


    What should I do with the 200 cows? Since there is food on Bam Island, I thought I could ask Ji-man to take them there for a while along with the wild boars and the hwajos.


    I called the members and explained the plan.


    ¡°After moving there, I will open the dimensional door, so you can come out at that time.¡±


    Da-jeong crossed her arms and asked me.


    ¡°But how are you going to get there? We don¡¯t have the gryphon now.¡±


    ¡°Is it too far for you to call it back?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. The guy should be flying around the palace by now. It¡¯s too great of a distance.¡±


    The teleport scroll is a one-time use, and it was difficult to use an ATV to traverse.


    ¡°Then the only way left is to use the boat, huh?¡±


    ¡°Eh? You are going to ride on a boat?¡±


    ¡°I got something like that from the Korea Shelter. It¡¯s a plastic boat, but it¡¯s pretty big.¡±


    I was worried about the sea monsters, but since I plan to follow the coastline, there shouldn¡¯t be any major problems.


    I clapped my hands to get their attention.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. I just want to say that you guys can just stay in Korea Shelter before entering again to build a new shelter at our new location.¡±


    The people dispersed, and with the help of Hyung-Jun, I pulled out the boat and put it into the sea.


    It¡¯s time to go on an unprecedented voyage.

 Chapter 219

    Even though I confidently went sailing, all I knew about the sea was that the water was salty. So, it was entirely up to the scarabs on board to decide where to steer the boat. The three scarabs consulted with each other and combined all related factors, such as ocean currents and winds in order to decide the correct direction to go. I was literally just here to act as a machine that turned the steering wheel.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, though¡­¡±


    The voyage was not that bad, perhaps because of the safety net that gives me a certain feeling of safety, the safety net called the dimension gate. No fear of death crept into me, so everything felt romantic and relaxing. The wind that was mixed with a fishy smell, the occasional waves that seemed to be able to swallow the boat, and the sea monsters chasing after me seemed okay in my head.


    ¡°What the hell is that? It looks like a turtle¡­¡±


    It¡¯s the first time I see a sea monster. It¡¯s called Dragon Turtle, and it looked like a mixture of a turtle and a drake.


    The guy spotted the boat and quickly chased after it. It spewed strong water streams from its snout that pierced even the huge and strong waves. Fortunately, the range wasn¡¯t that long. With only a quick spin of the boat wheel, I could avoid it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand, you fuck. I¡¯m not running away because I¡¯m afraid of you!¡± Well, the truth is, I did run away because I was afraid. After all, fighting a monster that boasts the same size as a boat in the middle of the sea was equivalent to seeking death.


    Suddenly, I received an unexpected note. Written on it was a notice that told me Ahn Geun-seok was calling me at the auction house. I went in to see what he was up to, and left a comment.


    -What is this? Do you want to have an open audience?


    -I¡¯m a developer. Making this auction item only visible to you is nothing hard. The most I need to do is tweak the system a little bit.


    I wondered if what he said was real, so I asked someone regarding the auctioned item, and they said they couldn¡¯t see it. So it was some kind of a secret room.


    Anyway, I wondered why Ahn Geun-seok wanted to talk. I bet it wouldn¡¯t be about him surrendering.


    -How do you feel about being alive after being in a state of neither dying nor living?


    -It¡¯s not too bad. I mean, at the end of the day, I survived, didn¡¯t I?


    Oh? This guy is surprisingly gentle?


    Could it be that he had a change of heart after his death?


    -For reference, I let you go not because you are pretty.


    -It¡¯s probably because of the conversation, isn¡¯t it?


    He¡¯s pretty quick-witted.


    -I¡¯m just afraid that Giudecca, that bastard, would make something even worse If it lost you.


    -Haha¡­that¡¯s right. My master loves me very much.


    -Your self-praise really knows no bounds.


    -It¡¯s not self-praise¡­ I¡¯ll correct it. He doesn¡¯t care about me, he just loves us. Our humanity.


    -Has Giudecca suddenly awakened the feeling of love for humanity? Stop talking nonsense.


    -Have you heard of the word ¡®purebred¡¯?


    -Go Ho-kyung had mentioned it several times. But what exactly does it mean?


    -It means pure blood that has not been affected by ether. The Lotus continental people can be said to be hybrids in that aspect.


    -Aren¡¯t you a pure breed too?


    -No. Purebred refers to you guys, the four stagnant water. Among them, you are the best. After all, you have been playing the game the longest.


    -To think I would be treated as special just by playing games for a long time¡­


    -Oh, you should feel far more special. Giudecca wants you.


    -I should have just kept you in the dimensional warehouse forever.


    Despite my sarcasm, Ahn Geun-seok¡¯s attitude remained the same.


    -Someday you will find out too. Our future-no, this world¡¯s future¡­ It depends on Giudecca. Look at what happened on Lotus¡­ All that was left was ashes.


    -When I looked it up, there were quite a lot for a heap of ashes on Earth too, right?


    -Of course, 0.1 is not zero. But you¡¯ll find that it doesn¡¯t make any sense.


    -You pretend to know something, but if you know so well, then how did you die to us anyways?


    -I was just a little confused.


    Well, the appearance of Seokhyun and Da-jeong at that time was an unexpected situation even for me, let alone for him. Therefore, he had no choice but to be beaten one-sidedly by Seokhyun.


    Anyway, our conversation was parallel. We were both looking in different directions, so compromise was impossible.


    -Burn to ashes, or whatever. I just want you to stay away from me. Since I already let you go, can I expect that much in return?


    -In return for sending me back¡­ I¡¯ll send you a totem. Korea shelters will not be attacked by monsters for the time being.


    -Thank you very much for that. I wish it wouldn¡¯t be attacked forever, though.


    -I¡¯m sorry, but that¡¯s above my paygrade.


    -Let me ask you one last thing. I think I¡¯ve asked you this several times¡­ Why does Giudecca want me?


    -I can¡¯t tell you about it, but I can assure you that it is not a bad thing for you at all. I knew a lot of things about you, and it is definitely not a bad deal for you.


    -If you knew, you should¡¯ve calculated that I would never respond to it no matter what, right?


    Silence came.


    At that point, Ahn Geun-seok took his auction items down and I was kicked out. Thinking about what that Giudecca bastard could do by using me reminded me of something unpleasant.


    Body¡­ Level¡­ Bloodline¡­


    Hopefully my conjecture was wrong.


    .


    .


    .


    In May, Seoul turned into a dense forest. All the remnants of civilization began to be covered by any greenery ranging from the smallest to the biggest. Asphalt and concrete roads which were familiar to people have disappeared. It was the unique ecosystem of Lotus that took its place. Because of that, people were reluctant to go outside.


    At the auction house, there was a constant cry from the survivors regarding the situation they were in.


    -Why! Just Why!!! It¡¯s fine if only the forest appears. Why are plant monsters coming too?


    -It¡¯s really stressful to think we can get ambushed while hunting¡­


    -Have you guys seen zizektree? It¡¯s a fucking tree monster, so be careful. No one knows it¡¯s there until it moves.


    -I heard that zizektree is very weak against flame cans.


    -Is it because it¡¯s made of wood?


    -Is it that easy to get a flame can? On top of that, you shouldn¡¯t use them carelessly in the forest just to kill a single zizektree.


    -If the fire burns all the forest, we are all doomed.


    That was the problem. Plant type monsters were usually vulnerable to fire. However, humans were also vulnerable to fire. Since all remnants of civilization were covered in vines, if something went wrong, their hideout would also be up in flames.


    In that respect, the safest place in Korea was currently the Korea Shelter. It was one of the few places in Seoul where the ecosystem of Lotos didn¡¯t encroach. They were also well-equipped, and there was a perception that everyone could survive peacefully just by entering.


    However, Korea Shelter was still accepting no one after suffering a major internal dispute. Instead, in place of the old recruitment system, several hideouts in Yeongdeungpo-gu were selected as district 2 and people were sent there. Of course, most of the survivors from other countries also settled there.


    ¡°Let¡¯s call the old Korea Shelter area as District 1 and that new area as District 2. District 2 can only survive if it looks good in District 1.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because they depend on District 1 for supplies.¡±


    ¡°What if that situation continues? The people of District 1 will consider themselves superior.¡±


    ¡°There may be complaints about why we have to provide supplies.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we need to be very selective in our recruitment. The reason I agreed to do this was because there is no other choice right now. But it shouldn¡¯t last long.¡±


    The so-called power of connection was gradually becoming a problem. The number of people pretending to be close to Seokhyun and Da-jeong increased exponentially while they were in Korea Shelter. Up to that point, there wouldn¡¯t have been any problems, but there were people who tried to profit from that meager connection.


    Jang Won-taek read the trend report and frowned.


    ¡°This guy approached a woman by claiming he¡¯s Seokhyun¡¯s friend? It can turn into a problem real fast.¡±


    ¡°If we think about it, his so-called connection with Seokhyun probably starts and ends with a simple ¡®hello¡¯.¡±


    ¡°And the woman gave her heart and body to him without knowing whether his words were true or not. So she wants us to punish the man?¡±


    ¡°Is the liar the problem, or is it the one who gets lied to, I wonder?¡±


    Jang Won-taek laughed bitterly and scolded his subordinate.


    ¡°It is a bad thing to blame the victim for being tricked. But it¡¯s a bit sad. She could find out just by going to Seokhyun and asking.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ Seokhyun¡¯s personality is a bit¡­¡±


    ¡°To be exact, that¡¯s how people know him. To me, he looked like a shy young man.¡±


    ¡°A shy young man?¡±


    In any case, it was difficult for him to deal with the problem of connection as it is now, so he put the problem back for now and focused on the task at hand.


    ¡°These cracks are so minor that it¡¯s easy to ignore them even if we find it right after it happened. But we shouldn¡¯t do that. Call them over.¡±


    While there was a serious discussion regarding the operation of the shelter in Jang Won-taek¡¯s office, some members of Seongho¡¯s shelter, including Seokhyun and Da-jeong, were playing in the forest in Yeongdeungpo-gu. But they were not alone. They were also accompanied by the six young wolf pups and the hornbills.


    ¡°Hey, look at him! Leggy is fast!¡±


    ¡°How can something so small jump so well?¡±


    The two hornbills, Leggy and Beaky, excitedly ran through the forest, catching people¡¯s attention. Despite their small size, they were incredibly fast.


    Seokhyun, who was mesmerized by their speed, appealed to Jiman, the owner of the hornbills, if he could ride them.


    ¡°Hyung, if you ride them, the hornbill will grow up having a hunched back. You can¡¯t ride them yet.¡±


    ¡°Should I go on a diet? If I starve for a month, I can ride it, right?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that will work, though¡­¡± Although the growth rate of the two hornbills was terrifying, it¡¯s still nowhere near enough to take anyone on a ride.


    Da-jeong was also charmed by the hornbill that ran through the forest at great speed.


    ¡°You guys like more fun than my guys¡­¡± At first, Da-jeong admired the gryphon a lot. However, as time passed, the regality of its flying speed dropped to zero. On the other hand, the hornbill looked to be quite interesting.


    ¡°H-how about me? C-can I ride it?¡±


    She pushed her face towards Jiman in excitement. But the answer she got was the same as Seokhyun.


    ¡°Noona can¡¯t ride it too because you are too heavy.¡±


    ¡°No, I am a woman! I don¡¯t have much weight!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s clear you are heavier than Poor Man. You should go out more often.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to die!¡±


    Seokhyun got a kick in the butt by Da-jeong in return for talking nonsense. At that time, Yoohyeon and Yeowool, who were scouting the sky, delivered happy news for them.


    ¡°Everyone! There¡¯s a gryphon flying over here.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go right away!¡±


    Da-jeong climbed the tree and saw the gryphon that flew nearby. The guy was interested in the people huddled in the forest, but he didn¡¯t come down.


    ¡°I am delicious! Come down quickly!¡±


    Da-jeong screamed loudly, but the guy just pretended to see her.


    ¡°Looks like he¡¯s not hungry!¡±


    When Seokhyun screamed from below, Da-jeong gnashed her teeth and came down.


    ¡°I have to catch that. Where is the albino now?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s hunting in the Great Labyrinth with the foreigners.¡±


    Da-jeong grumbled at that answer.


    ¡°Our albino¡¯s skills have improved a lot. She¡¯s even hunting with the others now.¡±


    In fact, the skills of all the shelter members were higher than average. They would instantly be recognized as a leader if they go to Seoul. It¡¯s just that they haven¡¯t had the chance to show off their skills because they were often by the side of the stagnant waters or Sangshin.


    Da-jeong¡¯s shoulders drooped.


    ¡°Since Seongho and Sangshin aren¡¯t here too, there is no way to catch that.¡±


    Then, Jiman pointed at a tall tree.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you play the catapult game a lot back in the game? How about using it to attract the gryphon¡¯s aggro?¡±


    Seokhyun and Da-jeong looked at the tree and their eyes lit up.


    ¡°Ah, yeah! Give me the gloves quickly.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the one riding it?¡± Seokhyun¡¯s face was as bright as a child as he said that.


    After a while, the tree which was tied to the elderwood rope began to bend thanks to Da-jeong¡¯s pulling.


    ¡°Yoohyeon! Yeowool! Check the direction of the gryphon!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that will work.¡±


    ¡°It will! The gryphon will be interested when Rapwi¡¯s flying!¡±


    ¡°Unnie! Turn right a little!¡±


    After a while, Seokhyun climbed the tree like a monkey. And Da-jeong continued to control the direction of the tree with a rope.


    ¡°Is it still far away?¡±


    Yeowool exclaimed urgently.


    ¡°Now! now!¡±


    When Da-jeong let go of the rope, the bent tree returned to its original position and sent Seokhyun flying.


    ¡°Aaaaaaaaah!!!¡±


    The gryphon was startled when a human suddenly emerged from the forest. It tried to escape by flapping its wings, but Seokhyun was already close.


    Bam-!!


    There was a dull sound echoing and both Seokhyun and the gryphon crashed into the forest at the same time.


    ¡°YES!!!!!¡± People watched in amazement as Da-jeong raised her arms and ran towards the direction of the falling pair.


    .


    .


    .


    A few days after starting my journey, I finally arrived at the southern coast of the continent.


    ¡°Velond Forest should be around the north of this area.¡± It¡¯s been a long time since civilization had been destroyed, so there were no traces of humans at all in the area. The only trace left was a dilapidated building site which I saw here and there.


    ¡°I won¡¯t have to go to Velond Forest¡­¡±


    They had to go to Ruat Kingdom, where Griffin was waiting for them, but there was no way. According to the scarabs¡¯ guess, if we go a little further from here, we would be able to see a continental road. By the way, looking at the fact that they had well paved roads, it looked like their civilization level was higher than Earth¡¯s middle-earth civilization.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be possible for me to ride a motorcycle here?¡±


    Two scarabs raised their claws at my question. It seemed that these guys often wandered around the forest with Seokhyun.


    After wandering in the woods for hours, I finally found the road.


    ¡°With this width, shouldn¡¯t it be fine?¡±


    According to the scarab, these roads were designed to be able to accomodate a carrier that was pulled by two hornbills.


    ¡°The hornbill sets the standards of the road, huh?¡±


    I took the motorcycle out and started driving. I replenished gas whenever it ran out, and when I was tired, I slept in the Korea Shelter. In the meantime, I found out that Da-jeong got a gryphon. It was something they got after a ¡®Seokhyun¡¯ missile shot it down.


    ¡°You are lucky that you got it in one try.¡± I laughed.


    Seokhyun asked me.


    ¡°Where are you now?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m passing through the southern part of Ruat Kingdom as of now.¡±


    ¡°You are almost there. I think the lake should be that way¡­¡±


    Of course, his finger pointed in the wrong direction.


    I moved his finger and moved it closer to the lake¡¯s direction.


    ¡°If I keep driving at the current speed, it will take about 3 or 4 hours. Tell it to Da-jeong when she comes later.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    I entered the portal once again and rode alone on a deserted road. The closer I got to the capital of Ruat Kingdom, the more intact the buildings were. Now, I could clearly see that there used to be a village there.


    ¡°Are they all dead¡­¡± I stopped nearby for a while to look around, but no one was there. Well, there¡¯s no way they survived when monsters were swarming around.


    ¡°Is there anything left?¡± I roughly searched around the village, but only found old furnishings. I was a little disappointed and drove the motorcycle again.


    And when I went up near the lake, I found an unexpected village which was inhabited by people. It was located beyond the hills to the north of the lake.


    Looking through the telescope, I saw several people in old clothes leaving the village. What they arrived at was a cave at the foot of the mountain.


    One of the men unpacked a piece of meat and placed it on a rock.


    ¡°Why did he do that?¡±


    He seemed to be offering a tribute.


    After a while, the people backed away in fear. What appeared from the cave was a surprisingly small ogre. He sniffed the chunks of meat that the people had offered up, chewed them in a few bites, and swallowed them.


    ¡°Even if you make an offering, do you have to do it for a monster?¡±


    To me, ogres were just monsters possessed by killing instinct. I watched as there seemed to be circumstances, but to my surprise, the ogre and the people started talking.


    It was a typical vertical relationship conversation, with people nodding their heads whenever the ogre opened his mouth.


    ¡°It¡¯s really crazy.¡± I said as I took my eyes off the telescope.

 Chapter 220

    Will I win?


    I couldnt see the ogres stats because it was too far, but for some reason I felt that way. I thought about how it would be worth trying if I received a full buff and polymorphed to Abomination.


    It would be impossible for me to defeat a normal ogre, but that guy who came out of the cave was smaller than an average ogre. Being big doesnt necessarily mean being strong, but in the world of monsters, its usually the norm.


    I opened the dimensional door and borrowed Yoohyeons paper airplane.


    -There are people there?


    -Yeah. They are talking to the ogre right now, so go listen.


    -What? Are you sure youre not mistaken?


    -Even though Ahjussi sometimes did crazy stuff, he is not a person to lie, oppa.


    Thislooks like its Yeowools words.


    Anyway, the two of them sent the paper airplanes through the portal at about the same time. And they told me the contents of the conversation.


    -Hmm People from the Ezekium side come to the village and ask where the ogre are hiding.


    -The ogre talks very briefly, and only speaks singular words with no clear meaning, such as scary, me, a little strong.


    It seems to have intelligence, but not very high. Or maybe its just that it doesnt know how to speak.


    Anyway, to summarize the information:


    -The village of those people is receiving a lot of help from the Ezekium Military Post.


    -The Ezekium Military Post was very interested in the intelligent ogre and set out to find it.


    -The people of the villages are hiding its location, but they dont think itll last long.


    In response to their request, the ogre cried, touched by the people who thought of him kindly.


    An ogre is crying Such absurdity


    The reason for the ogres intelligence wasnt being brought up in the conversation, but one thing was certain. Theres someone with enough power in the Ezekium Military Post to capture an ogre alive.


    Well, its only natural since Ezekium was the very empire that made the Kingdom of Ruat its de facto vassal state.


    -Be careful. The Transcendence Knights are looking for you.


    -Thank you. Me, afraid


    -I think you should move now Do you have a suitable place in mind?


    -Its nice to live here. Food, a lot. You guys are nice too.


    -What should we do about this


    -The Transcendence Knights are suspicious of us. They are asking whether we are stopping the monsters around here with the help of that ogre.


    -Those guys, until they get what they want, they wont back down.


    Now I know a little bit about the situation.


    The Transcendence Knights dispatched from the Ezekium Military Post seemed to be suspicious of the village. However, the villagers seemed to have no intention of exposing the ogre.


    No matter how I thought about it, its a perfect premise for a bad ending. I could picture a future where the ogre was caught and the villagers were massacred.


    As there was no proper countermeasure, people just asked the ogre to stay hidden in the end. The ogre nodded his head eagerly with its frightened face. It was an unbelievable sight which stayed there even after I rubbed my eyes.


    After a while the people went back and the ogre went into the cave while scratching its head.


    -Yoohyeon-ah, follow those guys. And Yeowool, watch over the cave.


    -Then the dimensional door should remain open


    -Dont worry, I wont close right now.


    I planned to close it and reopen it after meeting Geom-in in Ruat capital. But now that I need to use one door here, I could use the second dimension door there, but it was difficult to give up the location where it was currently since it was close to the sea. There might be fish in the lake that I can use as a food source, but it was incomparable to the number and taste of the fishes in the sea.


    In other words, with the current arrangement, the forest shelter, Korea Shelter, and the seaside shelter were connected.


    After making a decision, I called Geom-in.


    -Im going to be a little late because I have something to look into here, okay?


    -From the ogre, you mean?


    -That guy is very timid. Hell surely tell me what I want at the slightest threat.


    -Uh well, take your time.


    -Anyway, I really cant believe that a cowardly ogre exists.


    -Could it be that its another monster wearing an ogres mask?


    Just like me, people found it hard to believe too. Da-jeong even told me to quickly go to the cave and open the dimensional door. She really wanted to meet a talking ogre.


    -If you come out, it will be a mess. So wait a bit.


    -Che


    I received a full buff like always and approached the ogres cave. When I looked inside the cave, I could see a mess of furniture. And the ogre who found me in the dark revealed its teeth and warned me.


    Grrrrr.


    But I ignored its warning and went inside.


    Suddenly, a heavy, thick voice was heard.


    Do-dont come!


    This guy hes really not fit to be an ogre.


    .


    .


    .


    The ogre, Little Fist, glared at Seongho warily. For a second, he thought that the Transcendence Knights the Ruat people had been talking about had come. Turns out, the man wasnt one. After all, the mans armament was poor.


    Transcendence Knights were always heavily armed with armor and weapons. On top of it, the Transcendence Knights he remembered never travels alone. In many ways, it was clear that the dark-haired man in front of him was not one of the Transcendence Knights.


    You, knight, no.


    Seongho was surprised by his unexpected words. He certainly wasnt a knight. The important thing was that the ogre had the eyes that knew how to judge a knight.


    Even though his tone is slurred, his thoughts are fine.


    Then the story speeds up.


    He raised both hands and stepped back.


    As you said, I am not a knight.


    Cave, purpose, speak.


    I came here out of curiosity. Ive never seen a talking ogre before.


    The ogre shrugged his shoulders, quickly getting smug.


    I, a special, being.


    You are definitely special. Were you always this special?


    Magic, Human, Magic.


    Humans used magic on you, you mean?


    The ogre shook his head vigorously. It seemed like he didnt know how he got his intelligence.


    Instead, he warned Seong-ho.


    Here, danger, humans, seek.


    But do you know why they are looking for you


    I dont know, humans, strength, like.


    For strength I dont think they looked for it since you are not strong.


    I am strong.


    A bit strong.


    You, eavesdrop, offended.


    Seongho was taken aback when the ogre suddenly snorted. However, if he thinks about it carefully, this cave was indeed his territory. It doesnt make sense for someone to come and just ask questions.


    For housewarming, a gift is needed.


    Wait a minute.


    Seongho went outside and opened the dimensional warehouse. He quickly walked towards the hind leg of a cow that had been butchered in Texas. Even that big friend will be satisfied with it.


    The ogre was startled when he lifted the hind legs.


    That, gift?


    If someone needs to ask something, they need to give up something first.


    You, good, human.


    The ogre was very happy to receive the hind legs. Then, he looked at it and asked if he could eat it.


    If I eat, human, surprised.


    You mean I shouldnt be surprised if you eat it raw?


    Friends, know, me. You dont know.


    Im confident that I wont be surprised, so just eat it.


    Seongho had seen all kinds of bad things while going through the apocalypse. Not only that, he was aware that he even made those bad things happen by himself. Since that was the case, there was no reason to be surprised after seeing a talking ogre eating raw meat.


    The guy chewed the meat and looked at his eyes.


    I eat. You starving.


    Did he feel sorry for eating alone?


    Seongho took out beef jerky from his backpack. It was something he prepared to eat in situations where it was difficult to reveal ones abilities. Since he had dimensional gates and dimensional warehouses, it was rare for him to eat such emergency food.


    Im okay. I can eat this.


    Too small.


    It seemed like he wanted to share some of the meat with Seongho, but Seongho politely declined.


    Thank you, but its okay. By the way, talking about the people earlier Where did they come from? Rest assured, I wont harm them.


    Town, nearby, lake.


    Are they from the Ruat Kingdom?


    Yes. They, me, you, friends.


    Is he using the principle of friends of a friend is also a friend?


    Okay. From now on we are friends. So whats your name?


    Little Fist. Good friends, give me.


    It seems that the name Little Fist was given to him because of his small size.


    I Just when Little Fist opened his mouth, a paper airplane suddenly flew into the cave. At the same time, Seongho felt something approaching them outside. In terms of movement, one is a human and the other is an animal.


    This footsteps sound Hornbill? It was clear that someone had come riding a hornbill.


    The ogre wondered and Seongho put a finger to his mouth.


    Shhh theres someone out there.


    Friends, looking for me.


    I dont think your friends rode hornbills though.


    Little Fists impression became grim.


    Not friend.


    Then it should be someone from Ezekium. Transcendence Knight was after your friends.


    It was the lies of the Transcendence knights that they were suspicious. They didnt trust the villagers from the beginning.


    The suspicious movement quickly disappeared, but Seongho was able to guess. The Transcendence Knights would soon arrive.


    Those Transcendence knights will come looking for you. Can you handle them?


    Little Fist, weak.


    I thought you said that youre a bit strong before.


    Special, humans, strong.


    Have you ever fought before?


    Long ago.


    Seongho looked into Little Fists stats by analyzing his abilities. Even though he didnt know the stats of ordinary ogres, he certainly didnt think the stats of Little Fist was on par with it. It was so low to the point that he thought Seokhyun would be able to win against Little Fist in an one-on-one battle if he polymorphed into an Abomination.


    On top of it, the skills that defined an ogre, a roar and the Stone Skin skill were nowhere to be seen.


    Just where did it go?


    Seongho said with strength in his voice. Soon they will come. If you cant kick them out, theres only one way for you to survive. You will have to run away right now.


    Here, my home.


    There are scoundrels coming to that house right now.


    House, precious.


    Its just a cave, isnt it? You can find it again.


    This cave, my house.


    It was really a weird thing. Ordinary ogres had no concept of a home whatsoever. They had such a strong body to the point they could live anywhere undisturbed. However, Little Fist had an attachment to this cave. Well, in the first place, it was not easy to find a cave like this.


    Seongho had a lot of questions about him, but he couldnt help it if he was stubborn like this.


    Then, I will go first.


    Friend, see you tomorrow.


    If they come, they will fight you matter what, so can we really meet again?


    Little Fist deliberately knocked on his chest.


    I, humans, kick out.


    Even if you kick them out, they wont give up easily, wont they? If the current group doesnt have enough people, theyll come back with more reinforcements.


    The guys shoulders slumped, as if he had nothing to say.


    Seongho looked at him for a while and said, There is only one way for you to live as peacefully as you are now. It was running away. If you dont like that, you have to raise your fist and fight.


    In life someone had to take care of themselves. He might be able to get help from others, but in the end, the only thing he could trust was himself. Little Fist pushed his chest out intentionally and blew out his nose.


    Humans, meet. talk.


    I dont think conversation will be possible though but do as you like.


    Leaving those words behind, Seongho went out of the cave. Of course, he didnt leave completely. He entered the dimensional door and spoke to Yoohyeon.


    The guy from earlier, is he running away?


    Yes, the hornbill is really fast. I can barely follow him even now.


    Explode your paper airplane near him. I will go there.


    Wi-will you kill him?


    No, I will capture him alive. Can you do it?


    In the past, I couldnt entrust this kind of task to Yoohyeon because he couldnt control it delicately. But its different now. He could control the paper plane expertly and control the intensity of the explosion as well.


    I can.


    Seongho patted him on the shoulder with a happy face. These days, whenever he asked the shelter members to do something, the answer he got was always they can do it right away. It was evidence of their growth.


    Do it now, please.


    Okay.


    At that time, two intruders quietly appeared. Amongst the two, Seokhyuns face told him that he wanted to leave right away.


    Im sorry, but Ill take care of this. Do you know the details?


    I even heard that the Transcendence Knights or something is coming to catch the ogre.


    I think of stopping him first before contacting you.


    And? Do you want me to dig up any information?


    Since hes from the Ezekium side, he must know a lot.


    He wouldnt say it easily.


    The scarab sitting on Da-jeongs head handed Seongho a note at that moment.


    They are called Transcendence Knights because they truly have transcended humans? They are not only strong but also use various items They will surely be a hard opponent.


    They even use an ether blade. What it is Isnt it a lightsaber? It even cuts rocks.


    Arent they a complete monster?


    Seongho stuck his tongue out at the specs of the Transcendence Knights. Of course, not all Transcendence Knights would have ether blades, only some.


    Seokhyun clenched his fists.


    I want to fight him.


    We havent even stopped him, yet you want to fight already?


    If hes stopped already, wont he be unable to fight anymore?


    Ah, yeah


    Anyway, Seongho asked the scarab.


    You guys are still interpreting the journal that Geom-in found in the palace, right?


    Nod.


    Even now, he was living alone in the palace. I dont know whether hes struggling or sipping honey leisurely, but the point still stands.


    Continue the interpretation, especially learn a little about the Ezekium Empire and the Transcendence Knights. There must be a reason they want to find the talking ogre.


    After requesting that, Yoohyeon hurriedly opened her mouth.


    Hyung, I succeed! The guy passed out!


    Judging from the fact that the man fainted from a mere explosion, it seemed that he was not a Transcendence Knight, but just a scout.


    What about the hornbill?


    They fell down together, but the hornbill got up right away!


    Okay.


    Seongho hurriedly drove out of the motorcycle. Soon after, he could see a collapsed man on the floor and an adult hornbill. It poked its master with its beak, before seeing Seongho and welcomed him with its little wings.


    It seems like these guys like all humans.


    Seongho immediately ran to the man and tied him up with a rope. Then he put him on the seat of his motorcycle, driving back, and set him down near the cave.


    Now, the hornbill displayed even more affection to Seongho by rubbing its beak at him.


    If anyone sees it, they will think that I am your owner.


    Seongho opened the dimensional door and let the guy in. Then he went back to where the man was located and covered the mans eyes with a piece of cloth he got from the shelter before waking him up.


    Hey, wake up.


    Uh what, what is it? Ugh!


    Im the one who will do the asking. All you need to do is give me the answer. Got it?


    Huh To think the Ruat guys who said they didnt know anything had friends With this, their deaths have been decided.


    Im sorry, but I have nothing to do with those Ruat or something people.


    Then there is no reason for you to do this, isnt there? I am a scout of the Transcendence Knights, the sword of Great Ezekium. And I know you arent someone from the empire either.


    Didnt I tell you I have nothing to do with them?


    There can be no such guy!


    He suddenly started to get angry. Judging from the shameless attitude, it seemed that this was common sense on this continent.


    Seongho lowered his voice.


    Stop talking nonsense and answer my questions. Why did you come to see the ogre?


    Answer me.


    Seongho asked several times, but he kept his silent.


    Seongho put his fist on his cheek.


    Im not a very nice guy, so Im willing to use violence. Give me the answer I want unless you want to be thrown into a monster nest with broken limbs.


    Huh Ive heard countless low-quality threats like that. You cant be a scout if you dont have a warriors heart.


    Why did a mere scout talk about a warriors heart?


    Are you insulting me?


    He trembled with rage.


    Seongho scratched his head and called Seokhyun. Then he undid the mans blindfold.


    What what are you?


    The man was greatly taken aback by the appearance of a monster wearing only something similar to underwear.


    I am Rabbit Pwincess.


    Wh-where are you looking at?


    Um I just need to get information from this guy, right?


    Nod.


    Then, their eyes met.


    No matter what kind of torture you guys do


    As Seokhyun silently lowered his pants, the man suddenly began to break out in a cold sweat.


    What, what do you want to know?


    * * * * *


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 Chapter 221

    C.221: The Natives of Lotus (4)


    Of course, Seokhyun would not commit an act of violating a man wont he?


    Please, please let it be the case


    However, without knowing about my anguish, Seokhyun kept shaking his hips.


    SEEEGGGSSS!!!


    The reason Seokhyun acted like that was to let the man know that he had entered serious mode. However, since its the first time the man had ever met Seokhyun, he interpreted it differently.


    Ill tell you Ill tell you everything, so please The man cried and begged


    I calmed down and asked the man. Name?


    Va-Vargo Raffles.


    Affiliation?


    First scouting party under the Transcendence Knights


    Post location.


    Th-that


    Before I could say anything, Seokhyun turned to him. It seemed like he guessed my intent right.


    Wha-what are you trying to do?


    Slap!


    Seokhyun slapped Vargo on the butt.


    Now this is a good butt!


    S-stop please stop!


    Post location.


    When I said it in a slower tone in order to emphasize it, he quickly spewed out the answer.


    Th-thirty kilometers south of the Allegris Plains!


    Tell me the location using the capital of the Ruat Kingdom as its base.


    Are you from Ruat? Once the military knows that you treated me like this


    They will probably order an extermination order for me, right?


    I pulled out the mithril blade and stuck it between his legs.


    If you hesitate or try to return my question with another question once again, I will make that thing between your legs unusable.


    Then Seokhyun whispered in his ear.


    You also wont be able to use the back one anymore~


    Ugh.


    As soon as he heard those words, Vargos body became tense.


    We both know you dont want that to happen, so cooperate. Post location.


    Uh based on the capital of Ruat its 65 km northwest.


    Its that close?


    Considering a hornbills speed, the people there could reach this place in just a couple hours.


    The institution, what of its size? Tell me starting with the highest level institution.


    You.. Soldiers of the Ruat Kingdom Ugh! So, sorry! Its my fault!


    After Seokhyun lightly patted him on the back, Vargo shuddered and trembled.


    You are free to think whatever you want, but youd better not say it out loud. Or, as promised, I will cut off your dick.


    When he heard the sound of a knife being drawn, he shouted quickly.


    Th-theres the Transcendence Knights, the Royal Guard, the Order, and the Mage Tower under the General Headquarters!


    What is the total number of people living there?


    Including the civilians?


    Everyone.


    Slightly over seven thousand


    How come they had that many people?


    Both me and Seokhyun stuck out our tongues at the number of survivors. They seemed to be well organized on top of having a big scale.


    Can their state even be considered as have been destroyed by Giudecca?


    Good. Next, tell me the number of Transcendence Knights.


    I-I dont know that much What a scout can know is limited


    It would mean the knowledge regarding the number of Transcendence Knights wasnt widespread.


    Well, I cant really do anything about it


    I inquired more about this and that, but surprisingly, Vargo didnt know much. Its proof that the Ezekium Military controls the troops under its command strictly.


    Lastly, I asked him about the talking ogre.


    There were rumors of a talking ogre going around. I was sent here to capture the ogre alive and bring it back He answered meekly.


    What are you planning to do with him?


    I dont know, but it looks like the Magic Tower was trying to do some kind of experiment with it


    To uncover the reason behind why that ogre has intelligence?


    I think there was another reason, but I dont know what. Really.


    As a mere scout, the information he possessed was limited. For more accurate information, I should ask a Transcendence Knight after capturing one. Though, its highly doubtful whether its possible to do it with our own strength.


    When we inquired about the Transcendence Knights combat power, Vargos slumped shoulders rose up.


    Their strength? Even ten ordinary knights are no match against just a single one of them. They are true to their name, they have transcended humanity.


    Thats kind of scary.


    When I deliberately lowered my head, he immediately became elated.


    If you release me, I can tell the knights to let it pass.


    Are they this strong? Seokhyun uprooted the tree in front of him as he asked.


    Vargos mouth fell open at the sight.


    No-Nonsense


    It seemed like the Transcendence Knights werent as strong as that. In other words, if I were to use the Abomination transformation, I would have the upper hand in a one on one fight. However, they have the numbers advantage, so it would be disadvantageous for us to fight a long battle against them.


    By the way, what should we do


    No matter what we do with this scout, the Transcendence Knights would surely come. In the end, the only way was to make the ogre move from this place.


    I made a plan and covered Vargos head with a bag.


    I already told you everything you wanted!


    If I send you back like this, you will definitely be reprimanded, right?


    Hang on a tree for a while. Then you will live.


    W-what if a monster comes?


    Theres an ogre nearby, so monsters will not dare to come. Well, if one still comes, I guess thats just your luck.


    HEY!


    Vargo tried to break free at that moment, but Seokhyun pounded him with his fists and slammed him into the ground.


    Its quiet now.


    I proceed to tell Seokhyun my plan to convince Little Fist to move.


    Transform into Bomi and kick him out? Thats a good plan.


    What the hell is Bomi?


    I mean, Abomination is too long for a name, so lets just shorten it and call it Bomi.


    I sighed and handed Seokhyun the bracelet. He put it on and walked into the cave. After a while, a roar was heard from the cave and the ogre came out running.


    A monster had appeared!


    You are the monster, you cowardly ogre.


    .


    .


    .


    Little Fist ran away from his home as we had planned. Befitting his cowardly nature, he was utterly terrified when he saw the Abomination, which was smaller than himself, and ran away. To follow up with our plan, I led him to a cave near the lake which was not far from the new location of our shelter.


    Things have been going according to the plan up until that point.


    However, I couldnt help but agree that the abilities of Transcendence Knights were no joke. After all, using means unknown to us, they were able to immediately follow us.


    I hid inside the portal with Seokhyun and watched them. The Transcendence Knights truly carry different air from Vargo. They all wore light leather armor and carried a sword as well as several axes around their waist. On top of it, their eyes were really no joke.


    Should I say that they had the same air as a war veteran?


    The three wandered around the lakeside and encountered a group of monsters; It was a group of goblins led by an orc.


    The Transcendence Knight, who seemed to be the captain of the party, frowned.


    Its a waste of time. Get rid of them quickly.


    Understood.


    As one of them unsheathed their sword, the dozen or so monsters were cleared instantly. When their light footwork was combined with their swordsmanship, the monsters attack could not even touch them. Even the orcs couldnt resist properly.


    To be honest, I was really amazed. Compared to their way of fighting, all Id done so far was nothing more than childs play.


    When I told Seokhyun about it, he answered as he stroked his thin beard.


    Those who bear the title of knight are those who have devoted their entire lives to swordsmanship. Its only natural that they would be that strong.


    At that time, Yoohyeon, who stood next to me while piloting the paper airplane, spoke cautiously.


    H-hyung The scout that you hung in front of the cave I think hes dead.


    Dead? They didnt free him?


    Blood was dripping from the bag I can see the knife marks.


    Damn it.


    I thought they would keep him alive, but to think that they killed him


    I tried to use ability analysis on one of the knights. However, a message I hadnt seen before popped up.


    The skill cant be used on this object


    What is this?


    The skill worked fine against Ahn Geun-seok and Go Ho Kyung. So why didnt it work on these people?


    I thought it was strange, but before I could even arrive at an answer, I was forced to put the thoughts away as I saw the captain of the Transcendence Knight party looking directly at the dimension gate. Then he slashed the ax resting at his side in an incredibly quick motion.


    When the ax blade hit the dimensional door and made a sound, the rest of the Transcendence Knights immediately rushed at it.


    Without waiting any longer, I immediately closed the dimensional door.


    They are complete madmen.


    In what aspect?


    After hearing the story, Seokhyun smiled.


    If they can react that fast, it might be fun fighting against them. Open it again.


    No, wait. I have something to think about.


    It was really suspicious that the Transcendence Knights could follow us all the way here. I was not arrogant enough to think that we leave no trace behind, but even so, they were able to follow us without even considering any other path, which was really strange. It was as if they knew exactly where we were. Moreover, they also have the ability to recognize the dimensional door.


    No matter how much I think about it, I think they are able to sense ether.


    We cant do that, cant we?


    Thats right. Our senses were only able to catch movement, not the ether itself.


    I called a scarab at that moment and asked about it. He then guided me to his studio. It was a place where the work of interpreting the journal which was looted by Geom-in was being carried out.


    One of the guys handed me an interpretation.


    Your Excellency, Count Pistel of the Great Ezekium Empire.


    The knights ether heart formation experiment was successful.


    Up to 85% of the knights have ether hearts in their bodies, which will make them superior to any other knights in terms of combat power, endurance, and tracking power.


    However, the side effects are as strong as the effects. Up to 95% of knights suffered ether poisoning, which made their health worsened every passing day.


    Its believed that more etherstone and funds support are needed to overcome the side effects.


    The translation ended there. All I could know from those translations was the fact that the Transcendence Knights had ether hearts in their bodies and that they were made through many experiments. Its a possibility that their ether tracking ability was also created in a series of experiments.


    Then, it means that it would be dangerous to leave the portal open.


    Furthermore, there could have been a human who had the ability to block other peoples ability by interfering with the ether directly. Just like Joo Seung-cheol.


    This world is filled with ether, isnt it? Its only natural that there are monsters that would be far ahead of us here. So, lets go ahead and find out more information.


    Seokhyun opened his mouth.


    No, wait. I need to find out more about their abilities.


    He sighed at my answer.


    Sometimes its easier to just fight rather than thinking about it.


    By the way, what are the others doing?


    Well, I havent seen them since before.


    The place where we were right now was at our dorm in Korea Shelter. However, in the repurposed large office, only Seokhyun and Yoohyeon were present.


    Looking at the bulletin board, I found out that they had gone to the Great Labyrinth. It seems that the Chinese were at it again.


    -Uh, I heard the Chinese are coming this way There are so many of them.


    -They again What did they want now?


    -You remember the guy called Zhao Ziwei who tried to manipulate the bottled water sale and got killed by Seongho, right? I think they want those points back.


    -Are they crazy? He died because of his own hubris.


    -I dont know the reason, they just say that if they dont get it back, theyll die.


    -Tell them to get lost. If we return the points, theyll definitely ask for more.


    -Uh, our president called. Anyone have time?


    -Ahjussi is talking to an ogre right now, isnt it? Lets just go without him.


    Looking at the auction house, it was said that confrontation was continuing in the labyrinth of Gimpo Airport. A significant number of Korea Shelters members were dispatched there.


    In other words, its basically a war.


    The justification the Chinese had was the points that they lost, but in fact, what the Chinese covet was the supplies the Korean had. Rather than starve to death as it is, it seemed that they wanted at least try once more rather than dying while doing nothing.


    Seokhyun


    I got it. I should go there, shouldnt I? Be sure to tell me how strong the Transcendence Knights were later, okay?


    As I nodded my head, He jumped out of the window and started running somewhere.


    I called out to him urgently.


    The way you are going right now is eastward! Go westward!


    Hyung, Ill guide him using the paper airplane.


    Can you please?


    I left the task to Yoohyeon and opened the dimensional door. All that was left now were the three Transcendence Knights who were still looking at the dimensional door.


    Those eyes really give me goosebumps.


    I felt the ether again just now. Looks like his ability is related to space.


    It seems that he is a person with the ability to open a sub-space Is he perhaps someone from Ruat?


    Do you think those timid bastards dare to think of disobeying? Arent they people who tremble badly even when only one squad is dispatched against them?


    Anyone with the ability to use that level of ether should be someone that has made a name for themselves.


    Well have to ask the Magic Tower.


    The captain said so and crossed his arms in front of the dimension door. Then, he said as if to warn me.


    Let me warn you, you lurking rat. We already know that you lead the ogre to run away. If you reveal everything, Im willing to give you a lenient punishment. As for time 10 minutes should be enough.


    The Transcendence Knights next to him giggled.


    Our captain is too lenient.


    If you dont come out quickly, we will forcefully open the space. That will definitely not end well.


    What the They seemed to have some means of revealing my portal.


    The dimension gate itself was strong, but it was not immune to damage. One blow from an ogres fist cracked the dimensional wall. I dont know what would happen if they used the ether blade against it.


    Sooyeons buff I still have it.


    Lets do it, then.


    Outside, the knights were talking about their headquarters. It seemed that they were trying to contact their headquarters with the whispering jewel. But the captain clicked his tongue, clearly not liking the idea.


    It means our big chested vice-captain, Pistel, will definitely listen to the report as well.


    That womanwill definitely try to take our credit.


    Thats the problem. So lets just solve it by ourselves. Lets contact the Magic Tower directly and get some help from them.


    Its not a really good idea to contact other departments because you dont trust your boss


    What Im going to do has been decided. I had to subdue them before they could pull out the whispering jewel. If they successfully called the Magic Tower, the situation would definitely escalate.


    I lit the flash can and threw it out of the portal. As a roar erupted and dazzling light scattered everywhere, the Transcendence Knights groaned and retreated.


    Ugh!


    As I walked through the dimensional door and wore the Abomination Bracelet, I transformed into a monster.


    The captains eyes widened as he regained his sight.


    Th-the test subject!


    What the heck is he talking about?


    I hit him with all I got.


    The captain of the Transcendence Knights party flew back as if he had been hit by a car.


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