61. Abomination (1)
61. Abomination (1)
April 11th.
I just said my goodbyes and returned to I-Pension.
It's not like I had anything else to do there, and today was just a support mission anyway.
In the end, the Bugang-myeon subjugation plan ended in failure.
We deployed 30 people, but 17 died, leaving only 13.
Now, there are only about 40 soldiers left at the logistics center, including the Second Lieutenant. And there are 200 civilians, mind you.
'......'
Can that place even function properly now?
I don't really know.
They say they're planning to move to another logistics center, though.
With the number of soldiers cut in half, will they even be able to push through to that side properly?
No, will they even be able to defend the logistics center properly in the first place?
They've been attacked by a Sentient Being cluster once before, after all.
And there are a lot of Infected over there, too.
'...Plus, there are a lot of civilians, and will they even be able to control those people properly?'
Well, they'll figure it out.
It's not like the soldiers are useless.
But the Infected weren't fucking around either. The Infected we discovered this time—the Second Lieutenant and his people said they decided to call them Stalkers, I think.
Stalker, a pursuer, huh.
I was thinking of something like Hooker or Snatcher.
Bastards with the ability to kill soldiers in an instant.
I don't know how many more fucking bastards are going to show up in the future.
===================================
Nexus Core : Metallokinesis lv4[5/100]
===================================
I brought up the Nexus Core. As expected, it didn't go up even though we caught the Stalkers.
'......'
I really did invest a lot of time in weird places.
Now I really have to go level it up.
Of course, it's not like I gained nothing, but the most important thing, the Nexus Core, has fallen behind.
'Maybe I might have to go to Sejong City.'
The Abomination isn't confirmed, but...
As I went out to the veranda, I saw a familiar face.
"Ah."
"......"
Seol-hwa.
The woman I brought back after beating her up.
She flinched when she saw me.
"Why are you trembling?"
"...Wouldn't I tremble after getting beaten like that?"
She didn't want to answer, but perhaps because I'd placed Submission on her, she answered.
Shame rose on her face.
"Is that so?"
When I approached her, she flinched.
Her body trembled violently.
"Ah..."
She bit her lip.
I ignored her and opened my mouth.
"How is it here?"
"...Ugh... It's fine. The people are all kind, though So-young and Min-ah are a bit... you know."
Submission.
Seo-yoon's contract cannot be avoided.
She sighed as if she had finally given up.
I asked.
"Why are they like that?"
"We weren't on very good terms there either. Didn't I tell you?"
"You didn't tell me."
"...Is that so?"
"Yeah."
I asked.
"More importantly, shall we have sex? How did it feel back then?"
"It was fucking awful, but it felt a little good... Ah, you son of a bitch..."
"Heh."
"D-don't laugh!"
Laughter came out naturally.
Submission. Can't lie and must answer honestly. This is fucking hilarious.
The fun of doing whatever I want with a woman who has a beauty mark under her eye and seems to have a shitty personality.
"If I told you to do it now, would you?"
"If you told me to, I'd have to, right? Ah. Seriously..."
"Because you're a slave, right?"
I grabbed her breasts.
"Ugh..."
She flinched.
The trembling continued to intensify.
I lowered my hand and touched Seol-hwa's pussy.
The sensation of flesh trembling.
A shameful face.
But she can't stop me.
ㅡSquelch
ㅡSquelch
Her pussy was already wet.
She looks at me with eyes half-filled with arousal and half-filled with fear.
'Should I?'
No.
"Forget it."
"...Huh?"
ㅡPop
My finger comes out of her pussy.
She looks slightly disappointed and puzzled.
"There's too much to do. You wouldn't know, though."
Detection ability.
Did she say 10m? She needs to raise her ability to lv.3, too.
Right now, it's a situation where I can't use her ability.
"W-what is it?"
"What do you mean what, it's my choice. Are you disappointed?"
"Yeah... Y-you..."
I ignored her and asked.
"What kind of work do you do these days?"
"Hoo... I'm learning smart farming. The people inside are teaching me. And I stand guard, and play some board games inside."
"Is that so?"
"...Yeah."
Seems like she's having fun.
"No one is standing guard strangely, right?"
"Yeah."
"Did So-young or Min-ah do anything regarding what I mentioned earlier?"
"No. It's just awkward between them."
"What are they doing these days?"
"...They're always sticking with those men. They've totally got them wrapped around their fingers. All of them."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah."
Seems like they're doing well, too.
"Let's do well. If you do well next time, I'll have sex with you."
I said that and turned around.
A small "Yeah" was heard from behind.
It's a truly fucking terrible ability. The mental ability, too. But since I have it, I guess that's why I can mingle with people here.
I headed inside.
#
I slept just like that.
The evening of April 11th.
The day had already turned dark.
There was a smell of food from outside. It seems they took out the meat Tae-jun had put in his Subspace and were grilling it.
As I was doing that, there was a knock on the door.
"Oppa!"
Someone called me from outside.
"Eat meat. Meat. Meat. There's beef and everything. It's a shame it's frozen, though."
"Got it."
That's how I had my meal.
The meal where we all gathered, the dinner where we all laughed without a care in the world, ended.
'It's delicious.'
Now, to eat meat like this, we'll have to raise pigs or cows. Once this meat runs out, we won't be able to get any more either.
I looked up at the sky while watching the kids cleaning up.
The sky was still dark.
Outside was just a normal pension night.
But if you go into the city, all sorts of monsters, Infected, and humans worse than them are roaming around.
ㅡThud
I leaned my body back.
I gained superpowers and came to wield magic-like powers, but I don't know if it's more comfortable.
Unlike my office life where I didn't have to worry about my life, roaming outside always comes with danger.
ㅡI'll do the dishes.
ㅡCan't we do it together?
ㅡThis meat doesn't tear well. Young-jun-ssi, you don't know that, do you?
ㅡOh. Is that so?
ㅡYeah, I worked part-time at a BBQ restaurant, so I know. And you shouldn't scrub frying pans like this with a scouring pad.
ㅡUh-huh...
ㅡA-rin-ssi, is that okay?
ㅡOh, it's fine...
ㅡIt's heavy. Give it here!
ㅡUgh. Seo-yoon-ssi. D-don't touch there. Ah, I got it. I said I got it.
I can't even trust people.
'Can I never return to life before civilization?'
I said I'd live however the fuck I wanted, but even though I'm living however I want right now, it's so inconvenient. I can't eat meat whenever I want, I can't play games whenever I want, I can't go anywhere I want,
And I can't watch fun videos.
'...It sure is inconvenient.'
Maybe I should rethink things.
It seems the Bugang-myeon market situation scratched my heart more than I thought.
'If the military gets hit like that, doesn't it mean we can't fight the monsters with the conveniences of civilization anymore...'
Of course, if we fired nukes or missiles, we'd win.
But is that winning?
'......'
That's why I have a thought.
The thought of gathering people aggressively and creating a group myself.
My ability, Metal Manipulation alone, might be difficult, but...
'Since I have Seo-yoon.'
Maybe it's possible.
And then I'll just set up a dictatorship.
With that, I'll just kill everyone in IN Company or whatever.
If I get fucking strong, there won't be any risk of assassination, right? As long as I protect Seo-yoon, I'll be fine against mental attacks, and biochemical attacks are the problem, but I'll figure that out if I look into it.
'Will it work?'
Still, wouldn't it be better than not trying?
Right now, the higher-ups at IN Company are experimenting to make their abilities better, after all.
What's stopping me?
Well, I'll have to take care of everything else before that, though.
'...And leveling up, too.'
It's not like this is an RPG game.
But it was true that I had to do it.
#
I rested for two days.
The evening of April 13th.
I came up to Cheongju to find traces of the Abomination.
While admiring the ruined landscape, I came to the 37th Division area. In front of the Sunshine Reef Hotel.
'......'
Above and to the left. The left probably looks like Cheongju City Hall.
Above is Jeungpyeong County.
'There's a high probability that the Abomination is on the left.'
There was a reason.
Because I saw it at the IN Company Cheongju Branch. That they caught Reserve Sergeant Baek Hanmin at Cheongju City Hall and experimented on him.
Then that means there were originally people at Cheongju City Hall.
People in the shelter. However, the IN Company units must have killed them.
But if you look at it that way, the timing doesn't match. If the Abomination had headed toward Cheongju City Hall, the IN Company personnel wouldn't have been able to catch Sergeant Baek Hanmin.
Because all the humans over there would have died.
'Of course, it might not be.'
Wouldn't it be better to go to the side with a higher probability?
I headed toward Cheongju City Hall.
#
'......'
Next to the hotel, to the place with the five-way intersection.
Watching the city gradually falling apart, I narrowed my eyes.
'That's it.'
Cheongju City Hall. I remember it being a temporary government building or something...
The building was intact.
There were only Walkers and Runners visible as Infected in the vicinity.
I thought it was a bust again, but I saw a huge shadow amidst the dark city at night.
A shadow like a building with bumpy lumps on it.
I thought it was a building at first, but since it was in the middle of the road, I could quickly figure out what it was.
'That is...'
It was definitely an Abomination.
It seems like it's a bit of a distance away now, but I'll be able to confirm it accurately if I go up to an apartment.
ㅡClatter
I quickly found an apartment.
I don't know about the nearby apartments, but I found a building and came up to the 22nd floor.
It was a building with a few Crawlers, but I just smashed them with bullets and came up to the 22nd floor.
I looked outside.
Then I saw something.
'That's it.'
A monster the size of a 6-7 story building, covered in humans and tumor-like things.
The Abomination, I could see dozens, hundreds of human faces on its body.