Chapter 36: Seongsu-dong Police Box (★)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 36: Seongsu-dong Police Box (★)
The inside of the dungeon was a space completely cut off from the outside world.
Although the outside was visible, the zombies didn't follow. It was a space that felt like an entirely different world, even though there wasn't any physical wall blocking it.
There was no time to marvel at it.
Dodging two Level 1 zombies lunging from both sides, I quickly stab one in the neck, shove it into the other to restrict its movement, and finish them off.
[Acquired 1 Coin]
[Acquired 1 Coin]
Level 1 zombies are easy to handle because of the stat difference and my excellent weapon.
The problem is when Level 2 zombies are mixed in among them.
In that sense, fighting inside a narrow building like this can actually be decent when your stats are higher than the zombies', but it can also be dangerous.
If you only have to cover one direction, it's easy. But with doors on both sides of a hallway or windows around, you have to watch in all directions, and you have to react to them at point-blank range.
So, I carefully choose one side and begin my search from there.
The police station.
Having received a quest, it's an excellent place to earn points, but the biggest reason I came to this dungeon is that, along with points, I can farm guns here.
Even if I don't use them myself, just having them makes them incredibly valuable weapons in a zombie apocalypse, especially on a multi-server.
If someone else gets their hands on them, I'd have to prepare accordingly. Therefore, even if I can't keep a threatening weapon for myself, it's crucial to ensure others can't have it either.
"I wonder if other people get quests too."
The other quests, of course, only appear for me.
In the first place, those quests only pop up because I have the modes.
But the quest that appeared when entering the dungeon felt different.
Since points are on the line, this dungeon quest is indeed exclusive to me, but I get the feeling that the rewards other users get for clearing the dungeon wouldn't be much different.
I want to ask someone, but there's no one to ask. What a shame.
Creeeak.
I open the closed doors here and there, searching for zombies.
This small, two-story police box has a total of six rooms on the first floor, including the civil service office, but it doesn't look like there are any guns on the first floor.
Still, I can't just head straight to the second floor without searching.
Leaving zombies behind your back is practically a death wish.
Krrryaaah!
I dispatch the lunging zombies one by one.
19 / 25
Being able to check the number of remaining zombies through the quest window makes things incredibly convenient.
The suspense of not knowing where a zombie might pop out still lingers, but as the number steadily decreases, it means I don't have to worry about whether one might still be hiding somewhere at the very end.
Since it is a police station, even though I haven't found any guns yet, some pretty decent items have dropped.
I thoroughly packed the cigarettes found in various drawers around the station into my backpack, along with a starred expandable police baton and handcuffs.
Then, as I killed a zombie wearing a police uniform...
11 / 25
It dropped when I killed what seemed to be the last zombie on the first floor.
"Holy shit."
[SWAT Bulletproof Vest (★★)]
– Lightweight (★★) (50%)
– Bulletproof (★★)
– Durability (★★) (10 / 10)
– Coins can be used to restore durability. (5 Coins per 1 Durability)
At a glance, it was a vest-style bulletproof vest made of thin, lightweight material.
The kind of vest that was perfect to wear over thin clothes, and if you wore slightly thicker clothes over it, you couldn't even tell you were wearing it.
There were several pockets on the front of the vest, making it look perfect for holding magazines, and it even had a sheath to slot a dagger into.
The color was matte black, and although the "SWAT" written on the back was a bit tacky, it was an extremely satisfying bulletproof vest otherwise.
"Why did something like this drop from a Level 1 zombie...?"
An item that would make me dance with joy even if it dropped from a Level 2 zombie had just plopped out of a guy who was a cop in name only.
Even for Level 2 equipment, having three options that are all Level 2 is insane.
In RPG terms, this is a top-tier Level 2 item with maxed-out rolls on every single option.
On top of that, the options attached to it are absolutely essential for this kind of item.
But more than these great options...
It was the "Rare" option attached at the end that drove me crazy.
"Getting a repair option on Level 2 gear is like winning the lottery... fuck..."
Of course, my chances of winning the lottery are millions of times higher than others.
Since my "Rare" item farming rate as a Level 3 Hunting Expert is a whopping 5%.
Since the Zombie Rush ended, I hadn't had to kill zombies by the hundreds, so I hadn't really felt the effects of this probability even after leveling it up. But seeing it drop right here, and from a regular zombie at that, made me laugh in disbelief.
"I'd be satisfied even if I didn't get any other rewards."
Instead of putting something like this in my backpack, I put it on immediately.
Unless a zombie shoots a gun, the performance of a bulletproof vest is just protecting my torso anyway, but it's still better than nothing.
Still, I thoroughly checked up to the very last room before heading up to the second floor.
From here on, I tensed up a bit.
Unlike the first floor, where lights flickered on and off, the second floor was pitch black except for the faint light filtering in from outside.
What's more, I hadn't encountered a single Level 2 zombie on the first floor yet.
Considering there are three of them on the second floor, this is a truly dangerous floor.
Grrr...
Remaining zombies: Level 1: 11, Level 2: 3.
Since there were at least five visible in the hallway alone, I had to make a decision here.
Should I slowly lure the ones in the hallway down to the first floor, taking them out to thin their numbers?
Or should I push myself a bit and charge through quickly?
The standard play was the former.
Overexerting yourself is something you only do when you have no other choice.
If you can hunt safely without taking damage even if it takes a bit longer, that's obviously the right way to go. Pushing yourself just to show off when no one is even watching is the behavior of a dopamine addict who could die at any moment.
However, I chose the latter.
Not because I'm a dopamine addict, but because I'm out of time.
"I have to finish this before those guys get in."
If the concept of a dungeon meant that when different users entered, they were split into entirely different maps—instanced like in other RPGs—I wouldn't have to worry.
But would a zombie apocalypse ever be that generous?
No matter how much of a dungeon it is, it's a place where rewards exist.
Since there are pretty good rewards, the zombies are numerous and strong, and those rewards are highly likely to be a one-time deal.
So, if I'm slowly picking off the zombies on the second floor after clearing the first, only to run into dozens of users coming from the direction of that noise earlier, all my hard work would go to waste.
And if I die, I'll end up handing over all my farmed loot as well.
I can't let that happen.
Choosing a frontal breakthrough here is something I can pull off with a bit of focus, especially now that I've raised my Strength and Stamina by one level each through my Predation stats. But facing dozens of humans who can think and follow orders is a daunting task even if I risk my life.
The bastards who can fight their way through a horde of zombies are different from the rabble who tremble in fear and lose their will to fight once you beat down one or two of them, even if they have the same numbers.
They might each have a Combat Mode, or perhaps possess magical abilities I know nothing about.
There's no need to confront the unknown.
Therefore, I strike first while making as little noise as possible.
Krrryaaah!
But because it's a narrow space, it makes noise.
Even if the sound of a zombie is familiar to other zombies, the sound of combat is foreign to them.
Looking toward the source of the noise, the zombies spot me and rush forward.
Even as I watch them, I quickly shift my gaze elsewhere.
The zombies I can see are actually the safe ones.
I have to worry about the ones that will leap out from where I can't see.
A rattling sound comes from a side door.
I step back to secure some space.
The door splinters open, and two more zombies burst out.
Two Level 2s.
This was actually better.
Leaving behind the one that had fallen—likely pushed from behind as the door collapsed—I slam my open palm over the mouth of the one that emerged and plunge my dagger in.
Level 2 zombies are fast.
Even in that split second, it chose to swing its hand to claw at me instead of defending. Unfortunately for it, that was the wrong choice.
Even if it had chosen to block, it wouldn't have been able to avoid getting stabbed in the neck, but the zombie's claws couldn't reach my skin, which was protected by my gear.
Even as blood spurted, it showed a fierce determination to attack me.
It made a final, desperate struggle to bite my palm, but my leather gloves blocked its frantic efforts.
While one collapsed, the other, still on the ground, reached out to grab my leg.
Level 2 zombies are definitely twice as fast as Level 1s, and their decisions are much sharper.
Since all of their actions are simple, aggressive behaviors aimed at killing and infecting humans, they can actually be more dangerous and powerful because of that simplicity.
I lift my leg to dodge, then kick it straight in the head.
Zombies don't feel pain.
Level 2 zombies, in particular, will only pause briefly even if their arms are broken or legs are severed; instead, they burn through their remaining life force to struggle even harder.
The kick was meant to block its vision.
Instead of my dagger, I pull out a 3kg single-hand dumbbell that I had grabbed from the first floor and tucked into the side of my bulletproof vest.
I wondered why the hell something like this was even there, but perhaps it was used by cops who worked out in their spare time in the first-floor breakroom.
Regardless, there is no better weapon than this right now.
I smash the dumbbell straight down onto the head of the zombie, which is pinned flat on the ground beneath its dead companion.
Zombies are hard to kill, but they aren't persistent enough to keep moving after their skulls are crushed.
Right after killing it, I clean up the Level 1 zombies floundering behind it, their path blocked.
The difference is so stark that going from fighting Level 2s to Level 1s can actually make you let your guard down due to the sudden drop in difficulty.
Though that might also be because my stats are currently higher than even a Level 2's.
The remaining zombies must be at the end of the hallway, in the room labeled "Weapon Storage."
Quite some time has passed since I entered the dungeon.
I ran to wrap things up quickly.