Chapter 23
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Escort to the Haedong Faction
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"This is too much of a waste."
After turning Bio Lure Trap No. 1 into a Mutant Zombie Lacer with Black Magic Shadow Pierce, I checked the rest of the traps in sequence. Just like with No. 1, all the zombies drawn in by the traps had been drained dry with Mana Drain, then the person inside was turned into a zombie to see if they'd become a Mutant Zombie.
And here's what I found: while Awakeners have a high chance of becoming Mutant Zombies when infected, it's not guaranteed. If it had always turned them into Lacers, I could've cleared an achievement. What a shame.
Mutation 2-2
Defeat 5 Mutant Zombie Lacers.
Reward: 100 Coins
Current Kills: 4/5
From Traps 2 through 5, only three more guys turned into Lacers after being bitten by zombies. Just one more, and I'd have cleared that achievement.
Now the only one left in the Bio Lure Traps is the guy who promised to guide me to the Haedong Faction, so using this method feels iffy. I'll clear it whenever another Lacer shows up later.
I headed to the last remaining Bio Lure Trap.
Looking at the zombies gathered around it, I couldn't help but think this was a brilliant creation. Just going around the traps each morning lets me take out nearly 400 zombies. And starting today, draining them with Mana Drain not only gives me Demonic Energy but also counts as me killing them for achievements. Plus, I get Coins. It's a shame it didn't recognize Black Magic kills before now.
How much Coins and Demonic Energy have I wasted so far...
Well, I'll just hustle harder from now on.
I approached the zombies around the final Bio Lure Trap. The moment they spotted me—the fresh prey—they all charged like mad, and I cleaned them out neatly.
But I'm starting to think I need a better way to absorb Demonic Energy with Mana Drain. Grabbing dozens of zombies one by one by hand is way too inefficient, especially since I can only handle two at a time.
I need to figure out a weapon or something to wipe them out en masse while sucking up the Demonic Energy. During a Zombie Wave, way more will swarm than this, and I can't just grab them by hand one at a time.
After dealing with all the zombies, I slowly walked up to the guy in the trap and dispelled the transparent wall.
"Hey, still alive in there?"
"Mu... muuuh..."
"Oh, right. Guess I should give you some water and food."
I'd only given him a little yesterday before leaving. I pulled a simple snack and 500ml of water from my Subspace and tossed them to the guy on the ground.
The man spotted the food and water and crawled desperately to shove them in his mouth. He must've been starving.
"Hey, eat up. Yesterday you said join your Haedong Faction or whatever, right? I thought about it, and yeah, seems like a good idea. Can you guide me there?"
"R-Really?! Y-You'd be more than welcome! If you join Haedong Faction, we could probably take over all of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province!"
"We'll see about that once I get there... But can you even walk? I wrecked your leg pretty bad, and guiding me like that won't work."
His leg had been twisted at a weird angle and left like that for over a day. Not sure if it's even fixable now. Carrying the bastard on my back? No thanks.
The guy heard me and couldn't respond. His glare screamed 'This is your fault,' making me want to gouge his eyes out.
"B-Bro!!"
Right then, another man's voice came from nearby. I looked up to see a group of guys rushing over.
No one else around here but me and the guy on the ground. Calling out 'Bro' toward us means...
"Those guys Haedong Faction, right?"
"Y-Yeah. So please don't lay a hand on them."
Haedong Faction it was. No one else would call this punk 'Bro' unless they knew me. About six of them came running, wedging between me and the guy on the ground, eyeing me warily.
"Bro, what the... You bastard! Did you do this to our bro?!"
One of them grabbed my collar and yelled right in my face.
"Yeah, that was me."
"What? You son of a—!"
Not wrong, is it? No need to lie, so I smirked back. The guy grabbing me got pissed, clenched his right fist, and swung at my face.
"Stop! Jo Kangsu, that's enough!"
"B-Bro?"
I was ready to snap his neck if that fist got close, but the voice made Jo Kangsu freeze. He turned back with a confused look.
"That guy's a very important person joining Haedong Faction. Treat him with respect!"
"But he broke your leg..."
"Idiot! Didn't you hear me? With that guy, we can rule this dog-eat-dog world. Quit screwing around and let go!"
"Tch... Got it, Bro."
The guy released my collar, glaring daggers but backing off.
"Guess we skipped introductions. I'm Lee Kangjin."
"...I'm Kim Jaehwan."
"Jaehwan, huh. Nice to meet you. Let's survive together with Haedong Faction from now on. A leg's a small price if you join us."
The guy's face lit up like he really believed I was joining. Considering the performance I showed him, maybe having me in Haedong Faction would be good for them? I'd massacred zombies in front of him twice.
Most people couldn't even dream of that, but I did it casually, so I get why he'd want me as an ally.
"Alright, have your guys carry you then. I'll follow. How long to Haedong Faction from here?"
"Sounds good. Walking... probably under 20 minutes."
"Cool. Lead the way."
Twenty minutes on foot—not too close, not too far. At full speed, maybe five for me? Time to scope out Haedong Faction and decide how to handle this place. If they're useless, I'll loot their stuff and wipe them out. Best to turn them into zombies first, then absorb the Demonic Energy—more efficient than just killing them by hand.
If they're useful somehow, I'll think it over.
Kangjin's men hoisted him up and headed back while I followed slowly. Even though I'd cleared zombies with the traps, a couple stragglers remained. I took them out myself. Can't let anyone else steal my Demonic Energy honey pots.
His men gawked at how I wiped them out in one go. Especially the collar-grabber, who couldn't meet my eyes and kept his head down—hilarious.
About 20 minutes later, as Kangjin said, a big building came into view. Barricades at the entrance kept zombies out, guarded by two guys. That must be Haedong Faction's base.
"Oh, Brother Kangjin! You're back!"
The guards spotted us, saw Kangjin being carried, and ran over joyfully. Guess this Kangjin guy's higher up in Haedong Faction than I thought.
"Hmm, so this is Haedong Faction. Got the location memorized. I'll head home and come back tomorrow morning."
"What? What do you—"
He'd assumed I'd go in with them, judging by his shocked face.
"I'll come for sure tomorrow, so don't worry. If I didn't plan to, I could've killed you back there, right? See ya~"
Lee Kangjin stared blankly as Kim Jaehwan waved and walked off.
"Bro, we just letting him go like that?"
Jo Kangsu whispered cautiously beside him.
"What do you want me to do, follow and jump him? Didn't you see how he handled those zombies? That guy's a monster. Nothing we can do."
Lee Kangjin quietly recalled everything he'd seen of Kim Jaehwan. Charging into massive zombie hordes and wiping them out—nothing else to call it but monstrous.
Not just that, he'd smashed his own men's legs without hesitation. Most people feel instinctive revulsion at harming someone like that, let alone shattering bones. They're not used to it.
But Kim Jaehwan had crushed bodies without a second thought. The memory gave Lee Kangjin chills.
Plus, when he'd asked about the other men from that day midway, Jaehwan casually said they'd died. No idea what happened, but it felt like Jaehwan killed them. Lee Kangjin didn't press it. Pointless here.
At least Jaehwan agreed to join, which was a relief—until he said he'd return tomorrow, which shocked him.
His men carried him inside, where their boss, Lee Younggil, waited.
"Brother Younggil!"
"Kangjin! You're back. But your leg..."
"Yeah... something happened."
Lee Kangjin explained everything to Lee Younggil—from meeting Kim Jaehwan to getting here.
"For real? That sounds insane. Massacring that many zombies alone? And pulling stuff out of thin air?"
"It's true, Brother Younggil. That guy's got some power we don't. How else could I survive two days surrounded by zombies—with this leg? Probably that Awakener stuff."
Lee Younggil had no choice but to buy it, seeing Kangjin's mangled leg.
"So you want him to join Haedong Faction and help us dominate the country?"
"Yes. With his power, no faction could stand against us. Even those annoying Chilsung bastards—he could sweep them alone."
"Hmph... Alright, got it. If he shows tomorrow, we'll talk."
After splitting from the Haedong Faction guys, I looked around and cleared the remaining zombies.
Not really hunting them, though—other goals.
"Ah, here it is. Spotted it while wandering earlier, heh heh."
On the way following them, I'd seen a shop too good to leave. Slipped in and Subspace'd everything inside.
And while at it, figured I'd grab some cookbooks like Yejin mentioned, so I hit a bookstore too.
"Oh, Oppa. You're back early today?"
Got everything and headed home, where Yejin was doing yoga alone and greeted me happily, standing up.
"Yeah, wrapped up quicker than expected. Oh, and I got what you mentioned."
"Huh? Oh, the cookbooks?"
"Yep, here."
"Whoa, thanks! I'll make you something delicious with these!"
She beamed at the cookbooks, which put me in a good mood too. But that's not all I brought.
"Got more for you."
"Huh? More?"
"Here!"
I pulled an item from the shop out of my Subspace and tossed it to Yejin.
"Th-This is..."
Yejin stared in shock at the thick, sturdy rod—a dildo—in her hand.
"Saw it while passing by. Adult toys. Cleaned out the whole stock."