Chapter 133: The Enemy of My Enemy is My Enemy
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 133: The Enemy of My Enemy is My Enemy
Let's assume dozens of armed thugs are aiming and shooting at me and me alone.
What are the chances I could dodge all those attacks and even launch a counterattack?
Of course, if I used my abilities to their absolute limit, it would likely play out similarly to what happened at Dong Seoul Terminal.
Unless I'm an idiot, I wouldn't just charge in head-on trying to dodge every single bullet. I'd exploit their blind spots from the flanks, weaving between the gunmen as I fought.
But even that isn't a foolproof method.
While I could exploit their hesitation to avoid shooting their own allies, these guys are a drug cartel. I have to assume they'd eventually spray bullets indiscriminately, not giving a damn about their comrades as long as they hit me.
"Time Acceleration" and "Time Deceleration" aren't invincibility skills.
A higher Agility stat just lets me manipulate time more quickly. It doesn't mean I can casually watch and dodge a bullet flying at 600 meters per second, even if it slows down to 200 or 100 meters per second.
In the end, what I'm dodging isn't the fired "bullet" itself, but the "trajectory" of the gun aimed at me before the red line turns blue.
Dodging a bullet that's already flying toward me is next to impossible. However, the time it takes for a human to perceive me, aim, and pull the trigger is more than enough time for me to dodge using my skills.
That means stray bullets are still dangerous.
It's never a good idea to put myself in a situation where there's even a slight chance of taking a hit that could be fatal.
Of course, I do have a safety net.
If I take a fatal blow, my health is restored to 100%, and the cooldown is now incredibly short at just three days. Still, it's always best to avoid triggering my spare life in the first place.
If it does trigger, I'd have to spend those three days of cooldown cooped up inside my truly safe mansion.
Well, anyway.
That's why the method I chose to take down the drug cartel at the Yongsan US Military Base was to utilize the Zombie Rush.
During a Zombie Rush, the zombies are practically limitless.
Once the cartel bastards have their attention divided trying to hold them off, I won't have to fear them, whether they have dozens or hundreds of guns.
They won't be aiming solely at me, and I won't have to weave through dozens of gun barrels.
Having a massive base has its advantages, like being spacious and accommodating a lot of people, but on the flip side, it also means there's a massive perimeter to defend.
Granted, most of the surrounding areas are mountainous and blocked off by barbed wire, so they're unlikely to be breached under normal circumstances. But in this world, there is no such thing as "absolute."
Especially not in a zombie apocalypse.
Zombies will suddenly pop out of places that make you wonder, How the hell did they get here? Or they'll swarm in massive numbers to areas with no sound, no smell, and no people, leaving you baffled as to why they were even aggroed there in the first place.
That's exactly why I surrounded even the parts of my base bordering the river with high walls.
Even though a two-to-three-meter outer wall is technically enough to keep zombies from climbing over, I spent a shitload of coins to build them over ten meters high for that very reason.
If there is even the slightest gap in any space, zombies will squeeze and crawl their way through.
Yet, these guys have made no such preparations.
They've simply set up barricades in areas where humans can enter and are holding off the oncoming horde there.
Since most of the loud noises come from those spots, the majority of the zombies gather there. However, even if I don't actively lure them, the swarming zombies will instinctively find other ways to ambush the pests grating on their nerves rather than just sticking to the narrow paths.
I merely gave them a little nudge.
I pointed out the final destination to the zombies wandering around the outskirts of Yongsan Park, rather than just the entrance.
The zombies would flock toward the red flare fired high into the sky.
From all directions.
The vast grounds of Yongsan Park might soon be crawling with zombies, turning it into a dungeon-level Demonic Lair.
Of course, the cartel bastards might actually survive this ordeal.
The stockpile of guns and ammo here was massive enough to wipe out even the buffed zombies.
The weapons and ammunition they had sent to their various branches amounted to the contents of one or two armories at most.
If this place were a real dungeon, it would easily be at least Level 4, given the sheer volume of guns and ammo, not to mention the warehouses packed with specialized weapons like mortars.
I helped myself to them generously.
"Huh? What the? Where did the stuff that was here go?"
The warehouses at the far end didn't have much left to begin with, so no one had come by while I was cleaning out the scraps.
But as I worked my way from the back toward the entrance, looting them one by one, I eventually started bumping into people.
They weren't administrators, just laborers moving cargo, so I easily brushed them off.
"What the fuck are you talking about, dumbass? This is the last of it here. Go to another warehouse."
"Uh... Uh, yes, sir..."
I raised a fist, pretending to be one of the cartel thugs, and the guy scurried away in a panic.
Honestly, in the dead of night with everyone frantically moving supplies, who could possibly keep track of who was who?
By the time the cargo-movers realized something was off, it was already too late.
"What the fuck? Why are you coming out empty-handed? Move it, fast!"
"Huh? But there's nothing left in the warehouse..."
"What kind of bullshit is that? Wait... What the fuck? Why is the warehouse completely empty?"
"Maybe they already moved everything?"
"Are you fucking kidding me? Do you know how many warehouses we have? Those motherfuckers... Which piece of shit did this?!"
By then, I had already pocketed everything worth taking and was heading toward the ongoing battle.
"The drugs! Why the fuck is the drug warehouse door open?!"
Why else?
Because I opened it and cleaned it out.
Well, calling it "opening" is almost embarrassing. They probably didn't have time to distinguish between the drug warehouse and the armory when they threw all the doors open, so they had closed it again and locked it. But did they really think a padlock would stop someone with a Strength stat over Level 20?
I just applied a bit of pressure, and the lock snapped with a satisfying crunch. I left it wide open and helped myself to the contents.
Meanwhile, the defensive line at the entrance had been pushed back quite a bit.
No matter how many supplies they kept funneling in, the sheer volume of the swarming zombies made it impossible for just a few dozen men to hold them all off.
On top of that, it was currently Blood Hour.
With their stats debuffed while the zombies' stats were buffed, even guns would barely be enough to keep the horde at bay.
If it were just one or two, they could easily suppress them with gunfire.
But these zombies didn't just drop from a single shot. Even when shot in vital spots, they kept pushing forward for several seconds, with an endless stream of more zombies rushing in behind them. Under such pressure, the multi-layered barricades they had set up quickly became useless.
"Fall back while firing!"
Ultimately, the front line collapsed and retreated.
Before long, zombies began flanking them from the sides, plunging the battlefield into absolute chaos.
"Resupply! Ammo!"
Even in the midst of this, the cartel bastards fought surprisingly well.
Their performance in this battle made it clear that they hadn't taken over the Yongsan US Military Base purely through luck and drugs.
Aside from the gunners, the melee fighters did a solid job of intercepting the zombies rushing toward the shooters from the flanks.
Even though Level 1 zombies currently possessed stats comparable to Level 2s—making them incredibly tough to handle—they were holding them off without much trouble. It was honestly worthy of applause.
Honestly, with this kind of military power, if it weren't for me, the cartel probably would have taken over this entire region and left everyone drowning in drugs.
A quick glance showed that despite their stats being reduced by one level due to Blood Hour, some of these guys still had stats like 3/2/3/2. Their average stats were definitely higher than those of your typical faction.
Not that it mattered against me, though.
I blended into their ranks and pulled out the rifle I had brought along.
I aimed and fired.
Bang!
A zombie in the distance.
Right next to it, a cartel thug fighting the zombie took a bullet straight to the skull and collapsed.
I quickly slipped away, blended in with another group, and fired again.
Bang! Bang!
Amidst the chaotic clash with the zombies, cartel members kept dropping.
As they fell one by one, the delicate balance of the stalemate began to crumble.
"Fuck! They're breaking through!"
"Who the fuck is shooting our own guys?! Get your shit together!"
"You motherfuckers! Who shot Suhwan?!"
If it were just one or two guys dropping in the chaos, they might have assumed they were killed by zombies. But once the body count rose beyond that, you'd have to be an idiot not to notice people getting shot.
Unless the zombies had learned how to use firearms, getting shot from behind could only mean one thing: some idiot on our side was griefing. It was only natural for them to lose their minds.
The shooters looked at each other, their faces filled with confusion and frustration.
"Fuck, I was shooting just fine."
"Who was it?"
"Watch your aim, will you?"
I chimed in with a comment of my own as I fired another shot.
This time, it was a guy aiming his gun up ahead.
By the time they turned their heads toward the sound of the gunshot, I was already gone.
Who was the culprit?
Already struggling to deal with the zombies, the cartel members now had to hunt down a traitor in their midst. A chilling realization began to settle over them.
"I'm... out of ammo..."
"Resupply! Where the fuck is the resupply?!"
"Goddammit... Friendly fire has already taken out over ten of our guys."
This was more than enough.
It seemed they hadn't even considered the possibility of an outsider causing this chaos to destroy them. Watching them run around like headless chickens was highly entertaining, but I decided to slip away before pushing my luck.
It would be fun enough just watching the show from here.
The cartel bastards turned tail and began to run.
The genre had officially shifted from zombie defense to Running Man.