Crushing the Bugs (3)
Grunts and shrieks echoed from countless zombies. Having devoured every last bit of prey from the Liberation Army at the Southdong Office, they had moved on in search of fresh meat.
Rumble rumble rumble.
Far off, the fire at Benefit Mart still raged. Flames and thick black smoke billowed as the massive structure collapsed with deafening crashes.
Krunch krunch krunch!
It was probably my ice shield barrage that ignited the flammables inside, or maybe some other internal issue flared up. Either way, it was undoubtedly the result of what I'd done.
Whoosh.
The inferno spread, even reaching the parking lot. It wouldn't die down until everything was reduced to ash.
"......"
I watched it all in silence. Flames. Corpses. Blood. And blistering heat.
Ah.
The heat had reached me before I knew it. I cast Frost Blink again, teleporting to a taller building. A spring breeze blew once more, but now it carried the stench of burning flesh—something it hadn't before.
Whew.
The view had changed too. The ruined city looked even more desolate. Debris from my ice shield bombardment, countless human and zombie corpses, collapsed buildings, raging fires.
Screeeeech!
And hordes of zombies drawn by the noise. I closed my eyes, taking in the aftermath of my handiwork.
Massacre. I'd committed a massacre. Murder, arson, torture—three sins already under my belt.
But there was no regret, no guilt gnawing at me.
Feels good.
If anything, it was a relief. Like finally pulling a rotten tooth that had been blocking my plans.
Though it's still stifling.
Not for some bullshit moral reasons like "that's wrong" or "the shock of killing is too much." No, it was practical problems staring me down. Two of them.
Liberation Army remnants. And base relocation.
Yeah. The remnants were a big issue first off.
I definitely killed one stealth user and one lightning guy.
The leader and communicator Bae Sungkwan mentioned were probably still alive. And who knows what other ability users they had that I didn't know about.
Bae said four including himself...
Tap tap.
I tapped the rooftop wall, thinking it over. Sure, they might've died in my ice shield barrage. But...
I didn't see the bodies.
I'd clearly overheard something about a major or whatever earlier. Which meant Bae hadn't told me everything. There could be minor ability users, or squads outside the mart when I hit it. With skills like cognition reduction, they clearly had more numbers than I'd guessed.
Come to think of it, the leader probably isn't a gas user either.
His underlings had comms, stealth, lightning—gas for the boss? That felt off. And Bae's death. The Liberation Army's brutality. Was it all just remnant influence? What if they'd heard all my comms? Covered it up as "died to something at Rocket Mart"? Posed as a gas user?
Annoying as hell.
Plenty possible. No way to confirm now, of course. They might just be dead.
But multiple bases were the real problem. Southdong Office and Benefit Mart were trashed, so the group was crippled. Still, armed remnants hiding in other bases? Major threat.
Cleaning this up will take forever.
Which meant I'd have to sweep Southdong district repeatedly. And every time I entered those buildings, I'd have to assume they might be there. Humans are cunning and sly.
And that tied into the second problem: base relocation.
It was blatantly blocked by the Liberation Army now. To wipe them out, I'd wrecked everything from Benefit Mart—a potential base—to the downtown path to Yuseong University.
Sigh... a new base.
Rumble.
I gazed at the smoke rising in the distance, pondering.
Our current base, Our Love Church, was objectively solid. North side—front gate—was a zombie-free affluent area. South was blocked by flesh lumps in the old downtown, keeping Liberation Army out. Nearby blacks were handled by Jeong Suhyun and the vice chief, so no real threat. Nothing beat it right now: fully defensible on all sides, self-sustaining.
But we couldn't stay forever. Our goal was south to escape Seoul—we had to move.
Remnants and the wrecked Southdong downtown threw a wrench in that.
"......"
The blazing mart and streets? Unusable. Same for trashed Southdong Office.
Northdong Station as base?
I rubbed my temple.
Passing old downtown was fine. One cart could drag our remaining food and supplies.
But Northdong Station didn't fit our skills. Underground was the issue.
Sigh...
Jeong Suhyun's Eye of Insight wasn't true surveillance—it viewed status windows, useless underground.
Lee Yoon's too. Animal Taming borrowed animal senses for vision and waves—needed open space. Cramped underground limited it to bugs, and without Jeong Suhyun, it'd burden him.
Plus...
Too many corpses inside.
Moving them was a hassle, and no flesh lumps meant roaming zombies. Without Lee Euna's barriers, it was no-go.
Northdong Station out.
"......"
Northdong Station, Southdong Office, Benefit Mart—impossible. Left with Yuseong University.
Straight to the university?
Might work, but the people inside were the problem. I'd seen survivors there.
Take it by force?
Even if I'd grown numb to killing and recalibrated human life, slaughtering innocents who hadn't harmed me? Still too far.
No. Say we seize it forcibly. Problems after that.
I'd said it was possible assuming we ditched everything—sleeping bags, food, supplies—and just moved bodies. But...
No good.
I shook my head. No matter how I sliced it, nope. Jeong Suhyun's university pitch meant staging safe zones like Liberation Army did en route—not a straight dash.
Screeeeech!
Fire and explosions had swarmed zombies here.
There is a path below.
One-way road I mentioned, but my magic wrecked it—any aggro pull was risky. Ice shields could block, but mana had limits.
Other options: buildings, tall hospitals, mid-size marts in the district.
Locations suck.
All road-adjacent. Easy access meant easy enemy entry. Lights on at night? Instant aggro. No guard posts like Our Love Church's—night watch vulnerable to sniper remnants.
Sigh.
I leaned on the rooftop ledge, scanning. Dim buildings and shops everywhere. No base candidates.
No answers.
Sigh. Scout farther? Frost Blink to dodge heat left me with 4 mana—no go. Regen soon, but minutes to wait.
Thud.
I slumped against the wall. Afternoon sky turning twilight. Black smoke half-blocked it, zombie howls below. My head was full of bases and moves.
First, somewhere to preempt Liberation Army. Maximize Jeong Suhyun and Lee Yoon—needs decent land.
Hospitals, shops, buildings, villas, apartments, restaurants, senior centers. Schools. Everything swirled.
School... yeah.
Not Yuseong University. Elementary, middle, high schools.
Not bad.
Modern schools had tight security—unlike my day, 2023 fences and bars were adult-proof. Tall walls, impossible to climb.
Buildings big, but space was a plus. Block back gates with fields? Defense easy.
Wait.
Actually an advantage. Guard posts exist; cram people upstairs for wide sightlines. Day or night, perfect for Jeong Suhyun's skill and rifle.
Lee Yoon's taming too—animals at front/back gates for watch. Classrooms big, easy assignment. Clear desks for sleeping bags— instant rooms. Meeting spots predefined. Rooftops/fields for Frost Blink. And...
One-way sniping. Remnants might lurk, armed. But we'd spot and drop them first. One entrance, dozens of windows.
Sounds good.
Next base: school. Consult others, but nothing else fit.
Which one?
I knew Southdong schools well—visited often, years back, but schools don't change fast. Two elementaries, one middle, two highs. Dense pop justified it, apartments/downtown nearby. Buses from elsewhere too.
Skip elementaries. Too accessible—shops/apartments block sightlines.
Middle too—near Benefit Mart, likely collateral.
High schools left. Dilemma.
North: Hanmaum High near Shinsegae Apartments—easy move. But next leg tougher. Downtown-adjacent, apartments iffy—tight watches needed. Mountain behind good for farming/defense.
East edge: Gaeseong High, isolated. Tough trek—through wrecked Southdong, detour 1km past office. But once there, golden. Nothing but low shops; market/station abut field—irrelevant.
Both solid.
Safe transit or safe base? Pick one...
Whatever.
Ask the team. I had comrades.
Liberation Army might be there too.
A/F Points mentioned—possible. But weak if any left. They held Benefit Mart; survivors holed up inside. Scout, clear—easy base.
"Sigh..."
Plan roughly set. Time-killer really. Status window: mana regenerated.
Thud.
28, huh.
Exhaled, stood. Enough for today—head to Our Love Church. Body ached, headache from chaos.
"Frost Blink."
North via low rooftops, skirting Benefit Mart blaze. Hit Shinsegae Apartments, coast to Northdong Station. Burn all mana there. Dusk soon.
This is...
Then—two blinks in—I spotted a barricade road reeking of human hands.
I peered down.
'This the path they mentioned?'
Two-lane road, barricades smashed—debris impact. But purpose clear: block zombies. Intact route from clean Southdong Office to Yuseong University.
Wrecked now, alleys aplenty—but suspicious.
A passage...
Lightning guy led army through zombies. This road dodged them somehow...
Southdong Office here, downtown there, university that way.
Concrete-blocked, barricade gaps sealed—manmade.
Moved between bases via here?
Fresh work, human touch. Wheel marks—carts used.
Trade, kidnapping, transit here. Method... skills.
Cognition/safe zone guy—unclear. Felt like zombie cognition drop earlier, likely but fuzzy.
Fucking annoying.
Why do assholes get good skills? We'd loot freely with that.
Liberation Army just filled their guts.
Sigh.
No point envying. Key: how far this skill/road went.
Bothersome.
Skip confirmation? Regret later. Blinked to smashed barricade, followed south.
Tap tap.
Should head back.
Sky darkening, low mana—quick check. Confirm to Southdong apartment complexes. Leads to Yuseong U—if barricades reach there, trading with university confirmed.
Groooan.
Screeeeech!
"Ice Spear."
Splat!
Clearing scattered zombies, heading south—spotted collapsed overpass.
That...
Southdong south apartments—Yuseong Apartments area. Concrete chunk wedged something rare outdoors.
A cart?
Mart cart, yellow strap—Benefit Mart's. Distance: kilometers. Straight less, roads more.
Cart that far.
Liberation Army used it.
Remnants nearby?
Made sense—safe path, they'd flee here. No zombies visible.
Prime for base transit, hauling goods.
"Ice Spear."
Floated one overhead. Something inside? Sketchy vibe. Check quick, blink out.