Chapter 74
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Second Outpost
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Except for that minor scuffle where the gorillas charged at me, the sixth day of the Zombie Wave passed by pretty boringly.
I'd been thinking of heading out farther to hunt some zombies, but those rat bastards had already wasted a ton of my time, and I was feeling too lazy anyway. So I decided to just take it easy today.
Anyway, the gorilla—now my new subordinate Ha Dong-seok—had handed over 3,109 coins to me. That was more than enough to call today's earnings good.
Ha Dong-seok and his crew hadn't decided yet whether to stick around inside my base or head back to their old spot. But if they crashed here until the Zombie Wave ended, they'd quickly see just how great this place was.
That would mean even more people settling in. Compared to just Miyeong and Sohee joining recently, having eight new guys barge in all at once—even if they stayed in another building—would make things feel a lot more crowded than expected.
I gathered Ha Dong-seok and all his men to brief them on the current situation.
Most of his crew had gotten wiped out, so his combat strength was pretty weak. I wondered if sending them out on the final seventh day was even smart. But surprisingly, they seemed confident as long as they had their guns.
"But what happens when you run out of bullets? Won't you all just be worthless bugs then?"
My one question shut them all up, heads hanging low. Aside from Ha Dong-seok, the rest were only around levels 7 to 8, with no skill enhancements. Without guns, they weren't much of a fighting force.
Ha Dong-seok was at least somewhat usable.
- Body Enhancement Lv 7
- Superhuman Strength Lv 1
Thanks to the Beast Warrior trait he got from killing that Smasher, his Strength was higher than a regular Awakener's. Pretty damn useful.
Purely comparing Strength stats, he even edged out Sohee. Looked like he could handle zombie hunting on his own just fine. I'd seen him take down a Smasher solo before, after all.
What I drilled into Ha Dong-seok was simple: no freeloaders under me.
I only liked him—the rest were just rice-gobbling trash. If they didn't shape up, I'd kick them out anytime. I made that crystal clear.
"I'll train them up somehow, no matter what. Guaranteed."
He showed real resolve when he said it, so I let it slide for now. If they didn't cut it, I'd just ditch them.
I was curious how far he'd get. If they were gonna live in my base, they'd pay 200 coins per person monthly as rent—plus hand over every coin they earned from zombie hunting.
That was the same setup from when Ha Dong-seok was their boss, so they didn't complain much. But I added a twist.
"I'll track how many coins you all bring in, rank you every two weeks, and the top earner? If they want, I'll hook them up with coins to upgrade a skill. Sound good?"
Ha Dong-seok's men looked shocked. They must've figured I'd hog every last coin without sharing.
Hey, I'm not that much of a bastard.
Then one of them raised his hand while I was explaining.
"Uh, question!"
"Go ahead."
"Is it just for one person? What if we compete with the boss..."
He glanced at his old leader Ha Dong-seok, then looked away.
They probably thought they'd never beat him.
"Nah, that's not fair. You're all way behind him—competing would be ridiculous. I've got some flexibility. Plus, I figured you'd ask this..."
The question I anticipated: after two weeks, the guy who got coins and powered up would dominate the next ranking too, right?
My answer was straightforward. Rankings wouldn't just be raw coins earned. When requesting skill upgrades, I'd factor in the coin cost.
The formula? Coins earned divided by coins needed for skill upgrades. That way, even if a powered-up guy earned more, the higher upgrade costs would keep them from easily topping the list unless they raked in a ton.
It'd spark natural competition, pushing them to earn more.
"I'll handle Ha Dong-seok's upgrades myself, so don't worry about competing with him. But you still need to rank at least top three against them."
"Got it."
With the basics covered, we wrapped up.
Once the Wave ended, I could have them clear zombies around the base while I hunted farther out.
The key was getting back home safely...
Too bad that wasn't an option.
I could burn Demonic Energy for teleportation to anywhere I wanted, but wasting it just to get home? Total loss.
At least the Instant Teleport from yesterday's base upgrade was handy—but only inside the base, to any spot I chose within it. Useless from outside.
If only it worked from anywhere.
Then it hit me like a bolt.
If it only works inside a base, that means...
What if I made a second base outside?
It'd still be my base, right? So another outpost a ways off should count as "inside the base" too. Teleport between them?
Worth testing right now.
Sun was setting, but better check ASAP. I bolted outside.
Picked a random nearby building, activated Base Designation.
[The base is already designated.]
[Would you like to create an additional sector?]
[Creating an additional sector requires 2,000 coins.]
Same system window as before.
If an additional sector counted as my base, perfect.
Burning 2,000 coins on a test made me hesitate a bit.
But if it let me hop between bases, better pick somewhere farther than nearby—not this close one.
Three spots came to mind.
First: the Haedong Faction building, basically my first subordinates' place.
Too close to my main base, though. Pass.
Next: Ha Dong-seok's old building.
If it worked like a base—barricades and all—and they could live there, it'd be solid.
Last: Guro Apartment.
Decent coin farm. Turning it into a defended outpost could work.
I picked Guro Apartment.
Ha Dong-seok's crew could bunk at my main base—no need for a distant outpost there. They could hunt and earn on their own now. But Guro? Without me, zombies could overrun it anytime. Perfect test run.
No benefits for them—just my personal teleport hub.
And if it worked, I could swoop in like a divine messenger when things got dicey there.
Decision made, I sprinted to Guro Apartment, designated it as an additional sector.
[Additional sector created.]
[Additional sectors can be developed into various facilities by the base administrator.]
[Insufficient facility list available for construction at this time.]
"Develop into various facilities" sounded intriguing, but later. No barricades yet—I slipped inside Guro Apartment to test teleporting back to my main base.
Opened the Base Management skill to figure out teleport. Found the settings.
Designated my main base rooftop—and in a flash, the scenery shifted. Landed right there.
If I can zip around like this by setting up multiple additional sectors, I could hunt far out and teleport home instantly?
Absolute game-changer!