Chapter 53

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Translator: Ace

Chapter: 53

Chapter Title: School Bell Trap

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Something felt a bit unsatisfying about wrapping things up after holding back just one round, but I couldn't forget that today was day three of the Zombie Wave.

Outside, zombies—coins by another name—were pouring out like crazy. Skipping hunts for sex whenever the mood struck would be downright idiotic.

All the power I'd gained, aside from black magic, pretty much came from coins. So I needed to stockpile them steadily while the opportunity lasted.

After getting cleaned up orally by Yejin, I dressed and headed to the door.

"Oppa, take care~"

Turning at the sound of her voice, I saw Yejin walking over with a translucent liquid dripping between her legs. The sight made me want to jump her right then and there.

"See you tonight. Put on what I prepared earlier and wait for me."

"Yes~"

Yejin, who had been so shy just before, now flashed a pleased smile as she replied. She hated showing off to others, but with me, she didn't mind a bit.

She came closer, planted a light kiss on my cheek, then stepped back and waved goodbye.

If it weren't for the damn Zombie Wave, I'd have fucked her again on the spot.

I opened the door and stepped into the hallway. Sohee—the girl who'd bolted out earlier—was leaning against the wall.

"Haa... So you're that close with her?"

"That close?"

"Y'know... like lovers or something."

Ah, she must've overheard me banging Yejin and jumped to conclusions.

"Nah, nothing like that."

"What?"

"Pure business. Fuck buddies, I guess. More precisely, she gives me her body in exchange for my protection."

Honestly, having her around was nice, but calling it love? That was ambiguous at best.

Still, imagining her with another guy made my blood boil, that much was true.

"What the hell kind of relationship is that..."

"Whatever. You said you came for food, right? I'm heading out, so ask Yejin. She's handling all the warehouse stuff now."

Whenever I brought back loot from outside, Yejin would sort it into storage rooms while I was gone.

"Oh, and I was wondering—is your mom an Awakener too?"

"Yeah, she is. Why?"

"What trait did she pick?"

"Mom went with Farmer. She ran a flower shop before the zombies showed up, so it was the closest match out of the five options."

A Farmer, huh.

I could definitely use someone with that trait. Later, I'd look into Farmer skills and put her to work producing food.

"Okay, take care."

After parting with Sohee, I headed outside.

What I really wanted was to cram as many zombies as possible into one spot and wipe them out with a single spell. I'd done it before by running around pulling aggro until I had a decent crowd, then unleashing black magic—but that took time and meant constant running, which was a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hassle.

Wouldn't it be better to just sit tight somewhere and let the horde come to me?

So I'd come up with a plan: create a dedicated zombie lure spot.

Like last time, when I'd used people as bait to draw them in. Now for mass quantities.

First, I drew my sword and sliced through the zombies around the base, then bolted toward the elementary school where I'd run into Sohee earlier.

I arrived quickly. No sign of people or zombies anywhere.

For what I had in mind, an empty area was ideal.

I slipped into the deserted school and found what looked like the broadcast room, heading inside. This must be where the bell had rung, pulling in hordes from all around.

Alright, time to ring it again and gather a massive swarm?

I spotted a button that screamed "start" and pressed it firmly with my index finger.

A loud bell toll—set to echo everywhere in the school—began ringing out far and wide. Just like the one I'd heard that morning.

Perfect. Once they swarmed in, I'd wipe them with black magic. I poked around the controls and found a volume dial.

Cranking it to max made the sound so deafening it was hard to stay in the building. At this level, it should drag in the biggest numbers possible.

No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than the ground trembled. In the distance, zombie hordes charged this way—not from one road, but every path leading to the school.

"Whoa, that's a lot. Even too many. Sweet enough to rot my teeth."

The sight of the oncoming horde brought a smile to my face. Staring contentedly at the swarm, I cast a simple barrier to guard the broadcast room.

Magic and black magic were different, but at their core, they shared basics like this barrier.

A transparent wall sprang up, fully enclosing the room. The charging zombies slammed into it, unable to advance.

Ignoring the first wave that hit, the ones behind piled on, tailgating until they completely wrapped the barrier. Peering through the gaps, I figured we had thousands already—easily over 1,000 or 2,000.

If just this school bell could draw this many, next time I'd make an even louder noise in an open area without sound barriers to pull in way more.

How great would 10,000 at once be?

A few minutes passed, and I was getting bored watching the zombies mill around outside the barrier. Time for a thorough cleanup?

Maintaining the barrier, I cast Black Out once more in the center of the field.

One difference from before: it wasn't just sucking in zombies.

Every building around the school got pulled in by the immense gravitational force too.

If I was luring with sound, I didn't need high-rises blocking the noise anyway.

The stronger pull consumed a ton of demonic energy, but with so many zombies getting vacuumed up, it should cover the cost.

Once I confirmed everything except the school was gone, I dispersed the black sphere. It shrank gradually, the suction weakening until it vanished like nothing had happened.

"Whoa... talk about spotless."

Centered on my school, everything within a 300-meter radius had vanished, leaving a barren lot.

Just the one school standing, nothing else around. I'd set it not to suck in living people, and there were no screams from collapsing buildings, so no survivors nearby.

If anyone had been in that radius, it would've been hell.

"Eh, no one was, so whatever. Let's check the kill count."

Whoa, over 6,000 coins? That's a ridiculous haul.

No way anyone else has racked up as many zombie kills as me. At this point, is the Zombie Wave just a special event designed to shower me with coins?

Everyone else is dodging enhanced zombies and scrambling for survival, while I'm living easy with coins overflowing.

Now, what to spend them on...

Right on cue, a system window popped up.

Looks like the Black Out snagged a bunch of those lured Smashers too.

Nice bonus 500 coins.

Oh yeah, the regular zombie achievements should be cleared too.

I hadn't checked since last time, but I was curious how many I'd bagged since.

Holy shit, that's a filthy amount.

Based on current kills, clearing from 6 to 13 in one go netted a bunch.

Regular zombie achievements ramped up by 200 kills and 50 coins per tier.

The rewards felt stingy compared to the kill counts, honestly.

Wish they'd give more, but I can't change it, so bonus is bonus.

Adding the 2,450 from achievements to my stash brought me to 9,305 coins.

Coin billionaire status.

Dump them all into skill upgrades? Or hold out for the shop to buy points and snag better traits?

Shop refreshes monthly, and I bought everything worthwhile last time, so probably slim pickings for now.

After mulling it over, I decided to pump up my skills.

Coins would keep rolling in steadily, and the Zombie Wave—my golden goose—wasn't over. Days 5 and 7 should yield similar hauls.

So better to upgrade now and stock up on goodies early.

First up: Base Fortification, my current favorite.

Couldn't wait to see what each upgrade added anymore.

800 coins later, it added base expansion—10m per 100 coins.

The more I spent, the bigger the base grew.

Not sure if barricades scaled with size, but it felt like they would.

Issue: Expanding from my officetel might pull in other buildings. Would they join the base? I'd check when I got back.

Current radius was a measly 10m around the building. Room to grow big.

Alright, one more upgrade?

This one benefited residents—nice.

Yejin's healing fixed wounds but didn't mention curing illnesses. This seemed to prevent sickness inside the base.

Immunity boost now; higher levels might grant full immunity.

And slower infection gave them time to reach a cure.

Not as flashy as power or water, but useful enough.

With Base Fortification at 10, I was about to dump coins into Equipment Crafting when something small caught my eye in the barren wasteland.

Curious, I approached. It was an orb like the one from the shop when I bought Base Manager.

Inspecting it up close triggered a system window.

A new trait?

Why here? Probably dropped from a Smasher swept up in the horde.

But only Farmers can use it—neither Yejin nor I qualify.

Wait, Sohee's mom picked Farmer.

Letting her whip up buffed food sounds good.

Or trade it for coins? That could work too.