Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Project Z (2)
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1.
In Necropolis, no one looks after your life for you—not even your ancestors.
You have to guard your own life.
Less than a minute after the sirens and street broadcasts started blaring.
The crowds that were always packed in like rush-hour subways scattered like cockroaches.
Stores rolled down their heavy iron shutters and drew curtains over their foggy, worn-out glass windows.
Beyond that, all you could see were fixers in coats hurrying off somewhere, or the occasional ordinary citizens trying to pry open shop doors with crowbars.
It was all good for me.
The road to E-9 District, which should have been a madhouse, was wide open.
-Vwooooooom!
The limousine sliced through green smog and steam leaking from manholes, charging forward fiercely.
My head was a mess, despite the smooth driving conditions.
"Can't we take it a bit easier?"
My head hurt.
Arbel was a full-leasing Ferrari-level money pit, gobbling up 200,000 BIOS every week in medical bills.
I was Arbel-poor.
To fully cure her, I'd need Universal Currency, but whenever I touched it, Samurai Beach would pop up and kill everyone.
And in the meantime, my E Sector bachelor pad?
Project Z.
Estimated deaths: 250,000. Biochemical weapon dispersal within Necropolis.
Holy shit, you kidding me?
"You're really doing this? You fucking Nazi bastards..."
There were so many points that didn't make sense.
Ceres had already leaked the info, but they were still going ahead with it?
If Ceres, a member of the 11-person board, passed info to Overnus Pharmaceuticals, it wouldn't have been some half-assed intel.
And yet Overnus Pharmaceuticals just sat on their hands?
Or were they in on it from the start?
That alone was complicated enough, but then came even more headache-inducing developments.
The moment I got in the limousine, a notification popped up.
:::Challenge (New!):::
- Ingest Intangible Poison. +1pt
What the hell was this?
At first, I thought the Intangible Poison was part of Project Z, but no.
A tough stomach can digest any poison that's been "eaten."
Plus, the broadcast said the "riot" hit E Sector Districts 1, 9, 11, and 13.
Meanwhile, Ceres's rowhouse was in D Sector.
I'd been with Ceres the whole time until just now.
"So then..."
Did Ceres poison me?
And my tough stomach neutralized it with a delay?
It didn't add up.
I'm weak to shit like that.
"Focus!!!"
I shoved the stray thoughts aside.
I ingested Intangible Poison and I'm still alive, right?
Right now, saving Arbel comes first.
As we got closer to E Sector, people started appearing here and there.
Not ordinary citizens—fixers armed to the teeth.
Some looked like high-rankers dispatched from major fixer agencies.
The sharp sirens wailed once more, and the street broadcast changed.
'This is an announcement from the City Security Maintenance Bureau. Riot forces in E Sector have spread beyond controllable levels.'
'As of this moment, all areas of E Sector are designated as free-fire zones.'
'All personnel outside buildings in E Sector will be deemed riot participants and shot on sight without warning.'
'Repeating. All identifiable personnel outside will be executed regardless of reason. All law-abiding citizens of E Sector, remain indoors.'
'Furthermore, as of now, movement in and out of all E Sector areas is strictly controlled. Any personnel crossing boundaries without permission will be treated as riot participants and executed immediately.'
"Fuck!!!"
Can't even get in?
Sure enough, when we reached the E-D boundary, fixers had set up temporary barricades and dug in.
"Don't care, just punch through."
In Necropolis, cars outrank people.
I was prepping to floor it for a breakthrough when.
The fixers spotted the limousine and smartly cleared a path, moving the barricades aside.
'...I'll lend you the car. Go easy.'
So that's what Ceres meant, you old hag!
Of course—no fixer wouldn't recognize Ceres's black limousine with its freakishly high ceiling.
"Then why the hell did she poison me?"
To make us together forever... or some shit?
But she let me go without a fuss when I mentioned family at home.
Maybe the Intangible Poison wasn't from Ceres after all?
-Thunk!
"Fuck, you scared me!"
Something slammed onto the passenger window with a huge bang.
A slum-dweller pressed cheek-first against the glass, staring at us with bloodshot eyes.
Looked like he was trying to hitch a ride.
Want a lift too?
But how the hell did he do it while we're moving?
Is this what it takes to be an E Sector slum resident?
-Kyaaak! Kyaaaak! Kyaaaak!
I flinched.
Something was off about the citizen plastered to the car like a suction-cup shark.
"Human... right?"
Eyes where every blood vessel in the whites had burst, turned blood-red.
Bloody tears streaming down the window.
Teeth chattering like a nutcracker doll, drool pouring out.
And... eyes that saw human-me as prey.
-Kwachik!
"Call an Uber, you piece of shit!"
I was so startled I swerved hard, crushing the hitchhiker between the building wall and the car body.
The sound of bones crunching echoed through the frame.
A glance in the rearview.
The half-crushed citizen jerked upright then flopped back down.
Déjà vu hit hard.
"Ha, no way... this is that, isn't it?"
The answer came less than a minute later.
"Kraaaagh!!!"
"Kyaaaagh!!!"
"Gruk, grrrr...."
The slums turned into a hellroad of pandemonium.
The slums were where the weak devoured the weaker.
Show a gap, and a knife slips into your side, a steel pipe into your skull.
Now that food chain was unfolding in its most primal form.
"Kraaaagh! My arm! Don't eat my arm!"
"Get off! Get off! Get off!!!"
"Help! Somebody! Somebody help!"
Humans eating humans.
"Grurrruk!!!"
"Eek! Get away!"
An infected with bloodshot eyes like the hitchhiker tackled a screaming citizen.
Speed more beast than human.
And in mere seconds.
"Gruk... grurrruk!"
The bitten citizen's eyes flipped blood-red too, lunging at another.
"Project Z's Z is from World War Z? Fuck, stop mixing genres!!!!"
This was insane.
Zombies now, after all this?
Slums are already cramped, dense, overpopulated.
Even hiding indoors, the doors are flimsy as hell.
Spray zombie virus there and lock it down? 250,000 dead by morning easy.
"Door! Block the door! Hurry! Don't let them in!"
"I-I got bit too!"
"Krrruk! Krrruk!"
Slum roads were shit condition.
Narrow streets, tons of alleys, packed with frozen mud.
With zombies rampaging everywhere, normal breakthrough was impossible.
-Vroooooom!!!
I shifted gears with flashy handwork and floored it.
Brakes? Never heard of 'em.
Vehicle punch = mass × speed × mana.
Don't underestimate a 2.5-ton limousine.
Don't hit head-on or you'll get stuck—graze 'em!
"Don't stand before the king!"
-Thud! Thud! Thuuud! Thud!
Roadkill zombies tumbled over the bumper, splattering blood and guts on the windows.
The chassis bounced as we crushed whatever-the-hell they were.
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:::Challenge (NEW!):::
- Eliminate infected citizens. +2pt
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-Screeeech!
Riding the momentum, I blasted through to E-9 at top speed.
No wide roads for the limo from here, so I ditched it and dove into the alleys.
"Krruk?"
"Kyaa! Kyaaa!!"
"Kyaaaaa!!!"
The moment I stepped out, a warm neighborly welcome poured in.
"Even here is fucked."
I threw myself into the flock charging like seagulls at shrimp crackers.
"Kyaaaaa!"
Dodged a grabbing hand with a slip, raised the muzzle to its jaw.
"Slow."
-Bang!
A close-range Magnum packs over 3,000J of impact.
Like a bowling ball at 100km/h.
Human skulls? Just fireworks spraying brains.
I spun the flopping body aside, arm extended sideways.
-Bang! Bang! Bang!
Side-shot in that stance.
Three shots overlapping in one layer of thunder.
Hammers striking primers, blood mist blooming beyond muzzle flash.
Dull thwacks as leather grips slammed down—three headless corpses hit the dirt almost simultaneously.
"Hoo."
This the power of Augmentation?
Target acquisition, aim, fire, hit—in under 0.1 seconds.
Acrobatic shooting stances with pinpoint control.
Relic 'Laplace's Eye' plus level 1 Augmentation—standard Sandevistan combo.
To my focused eyes, their feral moves crawled in slow-mo.
Matching reaction speed, strength to handle S&W 500 recoil one-handed.
"Worth the cash!"
Isis sis knows her stuff.
-Click.
"Reloading!!!"
Brain and body overclocked in sync.
Dumping shells and reloading five rounds? Done in 1.5 seconds flat.
Right now, I was... Acard incarnate.
Zombie hordes charging mindlessly at No-Life King? Just slow-moving targets.
-Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ear drums quivering with each shot, pleasure and thrill tickling my heart.
One hand shooting, shoving zombies aside, heading for my pad.
Killed every follower.
"Arbel!"
Kicked the door open—there she was.
Arbel huddled on the bed, knees hugged to chest.
"You're awake!"
Perfect timing!
No need to haul dead weight through zombie apocalypse!
As Arbel slowly raised her head.
I saw her eyes, dyed red.
"Oh no..."
Her tiny huddled body lunged like a beast.
Not the speed of a little brother happily hugging.
Threat level beyond the wandering undead outside.
Time dilates.
-Kachunk.
The instant I registered the threat, my hand moved on autopilot.
Muzzle trained on Arbel, finger on trigger.
All that, and intuition screamed.
Too slow.
Her lips were already on my neck.
-Bang!
As she tackled me and we tumbled back, I aimed center-mass and fired without hesitation.
Delayed shot.
Flash-bang in the cramped room.
Gunpowder smoke thickening in my arms.
Something pattering down.
Thick blood scent flooding my numb nose.
Arbel's body slumped atop me as I hit the floor.
"...Sedric."
She peeled her lips from my neck, whispering hoarsely.
"I hate you.... Someone like you..."
Arbel's body crumbled.
Hot fluids gushed over me.
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:::Challenge (New!):::
- Kill family. +15pt
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I shoved Arbel's body off and stood.
Trembling hand to my neck.
Bitten? What happens if bit?
Infected? Does completing the challenge cure it?
Probed my neck a while—realized something.
"Fuck..."
In that split-second clash.
I was definitely the late one.
But no wound, no pain on my neck.
Not even faint teeth marks.
Arbel hadn't bitten me.
Had ample time, yet died spilling blood and guts.
"Why do something I didn't order..."
Stared at Arbel a while, then pressed pistol to my temple.
Why do carpoors dump most pay into their rides?
That's life for carpoors.
Arbel dies in front of Arbel-poor me?
This run's a fail.
Hot barrel searing my temple.
"Huff... huff..."
One trigger pull shatters the primer.
Painless exit.
"...No."
Lowered the gun.
Lit a cigarette instead.
Purple haze stung my eyes.
This run ain't over yet.
"Still got shit to do."
My life's precious.
If I'm tossing it anyway, go back to Ceres, squeeze every drop of info, then die there.
Need more intel.
Ceres holds the key to this mess.
Decision made, stepped out my door.
"Gruk...?"
Dozens of red eyes snapped to me like warning lights.
At least five times the number I killed coming in.
"You fuckers. Made friends on Tinder?"
And that wasn't all.
The starving undead howls from every direction were several times louder now.
Chainsaws and heavy metal BGM begging for it.
"Ha, fuck this livable Necropolis."
Just when the run was going smooth, a deluge of bullshit.
Endless inexplicable misfortune.
Climax forced to smash my own dream.
All this cursed fate screaming at me.
Give up.
"Give up? Me?"
Flicked the butt away.
Sparks arcing slow as beasts charged—I raised my muzzle.
"If I gave up this easy..."
Facing the dogpile of zombies, I think I.
Was smiling.
"I couldn't even clear twelve regressions!!! You one-hit KO shits!!!"
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Choking gunsmoke.
Beasts' howls.
One man dancing grotesque with half-dead corpses.
Wait for me, Arbel.
I'll dress you as a bunny girl yet.