Chapter 140
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: Outpost Defense System
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Before the electricity and water supplies got cut off, I'd diligently upgraded the Outpost Reinforcement skill to secure a steady water source.
Going from level 11 all the way to 14 in one go had burned through 3,600 coins in a flash, but I was satisfied since I'd unlocked the water source designation feature.
Back then, my focus was entirely on water supply, so the level 14 water source feature was all I noticed. But after setting the Han River as my water source and taking a closer look, I realized some pretty nice extras had been added.
Among the features from levels 12 and 13, the one from level 13 was the ability to automatically restore the stamina of Awakeners inside the outpost.
I haven't tested it thoroughly yet, so I don't know the exact mechanics, but I figure the "stamina" it mentions refers to an Awakener's Stamina stat.
After unlocking this, I vaguely recall hearing from people in the outpost that their fatigue melted away after just one night of sleep.
It would be amazing if it could heal wounds too, but sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case.
With Medical Specialists around, it feels like the system's intent is to keep Awakeners with other traits from handling healing duties.
Still, just having this function to wash away the daily grind of fatigue is a huge boon for survival.
In the zombie apocalypse—unlike back in modern society where things were stable—zombies and raiders could pop up anywhere, anytime, threatening your life. You can't ever let your guard down.
That constant tension builds up physical and mental fatigue inevitably.
Someone might say, "Just take a day off to recover," but if you're scraping by day-to-day just to eat, that's not easy.
If you have to keep moving every day while fatigue piles up, there's no guarantee you won't screw up at a critical moment someday.
In a world where your life hangs by a thread, being able to operate at peak condition all the time is a massive blessing, right?
That's why even this seemingly minor feature is actually pretty useful. But the one from level 12? That's even more promising.
It's the Outpost Defense System.
Up until now, we'd been safe by barricading the place to keep outside zombies out.
With my skill level so high, even the powerful mutant zombie the system called a "Taker" couldn't scratch the barricade's durability at all.
That makes my outpost the safest spot in the world from zombies, hands down. The one downside? Defense against intruders.
If I'm there, I can wipe out any number of intruders no problem. But I'm not always around, so that's the issue.
My outpost is barricaded against zombies right now, but if armed raiders come charging in, I'm not sure the barricade alone could hold them off.
The barricade itself probably won't break under raider strength, but hopping over it is a different story.
Zombies without brains try to pile up and climb over, but the barricade automatically shoves them back, preventing a zombie wall from forming.
But an Awakener boosted by Body Reinforcement with superhuman strength, or raiders gliding down from the sky somehow? The barricade alone would have limits against those.
Luckily, no one's crazy enough to try that yet, so no one's broken in.
It's not the right time for Awakeners strong enough to leap a 5-meter barricade in one go, and there aren't great ways to descend from above either.
Plus, my outpost hasn't gained a reputation as some prime spot yet.
But as time passes and word about me spreads, I can't guarantee no lunatics will come knocking.
Ha Dong-seok and his crew here tried to storm my place at first, after all.
Though with their power, breaking in would've been impossible anyway.
I could set up a defense system with black magic, but it guzzles too much demonic energy—total inefficiency—so I scrapped that idea long ago.
Anyway, I needed a way to defend the outpost safely even when I'm away, and now it's added to the Outpost Reinforcement skill. Time to check it out.
Wonder how this defense thing works, exactly~
I opened Outpost Management and tapped the new Outpost Defense System tab amid the options.
A bunch of items popped up before my eyes.
From simple pitfall traps to tripwire-activated arrow launchers.
But the numbers listed under them made me frown.
"What the hell? You have to buy these with coins?"
I'd assumed the new defense features meant I could customize freely, but nope—even this required spending my coins to purchase and install.
"Goddamn it, figures. Nothing's ever free in this system."
I wish expanding the outpost radius automatically extended the barricade too, but nope—even that costs coins. No free rides anywhere.
Frustrating as hell since I can't do anything about it, but what can you do? Suck it up and keep going.
So I was browsing the installable items when I spotted one I liked.
"Ooh... this one's pretty badass."
It was a machine gun made of silver metal, with multiple long barrels linked together to rotate and unleash bullets.
It stayed hidden underground normally, popping up to fire the moment an intruder appeared.
The catch? One unit cost a whopping 3,000 coins to install.
And the bullets weren't free either—1 coin per shot.
Specs said it could fire 4,000 rounds per minute, so a full minute of shooting at intruders would vaporize 4,000 coins...
Talk about a coin-devouring monster.
But it's not totally worthless either.
For the price, it packs way more punch than a regular gun—strong enough to shred mutant zombies and most Awakeners.
So yeah, it sucks coins dry, but it delivers performance worth every penny.
Do I install it or not? Tough call.
The other options lack firepower and don't auto-target intruders like this one.
Plus, they're one-use deals—you have to repurchase and reinstall after they trigger.
So maybe splurging on the machine gun that can sweep away most threats is the smart play. Yeah, rationalizing it already.
Aw, screw it—go big or go home, right? Won't regret it later.
Penny-pinching now and messing up big time would hurt way more.
Imagine raiders getting in and kidnapping or killing non-combatants like Yejin or Miyoung in the outpost...
Ugh, no way that's happening.
Time to burn those hoarded coins.
Coins can be earned back, but people? Can't replace them.
Better to overprepare now than regret it later.
I bought the outpost defense machine gun right away, and a system window popped up asking where to install it.
A top-down map of my outpost appeared, prompting me to pick spots.
After some thought, I went all-in and bought three more, placing them to cover the interior evenly.
Now, anyone hopping the barricade should wander into machine gun range, barring miracles.
12,000 coins down the drain.
Today's spending alone has been insane.
Guess I'll have to grind coins hard again today.
But first, a performance test on the machine guns?
Perfect—Ha Dong-seok's walking by.
"Hey, come here a sec."
"Yes, Jaehwan-ssi? What's up?"
"Got something to test. Stand right there for a bit."
Ha Dong-seok tilted his head in confusion but stood still as asked.
I removed him from the resident list, and it immediately flagged him as an intruder.
An unregistered human is present within the outpost.
Please check via Outpost Management.
As the system said, I opened Outpost Management and found a button to attack Ha Dong-seok via the defense functions.
"Don't move a muscle from that spot starting now. Just stand still."
To keep Ha Dong-seok from getting hurt while he puzzled over my words, I threw up a barrier around him and hit the attack button. The freshly installed machine gun rose from the ground.
"Wh-what?"
Ignoring Ha Dong-seok's startled face at the sudden machine gun, it spun up with a deafening roar and opened fire.
Pa-ba-ba-ba-ba-bang!
The barrels whirred at blinding speed, hurling a storm of bullets at him. I hurriedly stopped the attack.
Each bullet was 1 coin—no way I'd let it waste more just for a test.
Even that brief burst fired over 50 rounds.
Of course, my barrier kept Ha Dong-seok and anyone behind him unscathed.
They just got a shock from the machine gun popping out of nowhere.
One thing's clear: it's way stronger than a regular gun. I could feel it through the barrier.
Regular steel plates? It'd shred them like paper.
At this power, most intruders won't get a chance to do anything before getting mulched.