Chapter 19
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: The Devourer Emerges
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We began moving the supplies inside Houseplus to the underground parking lot. The plan was to load them onto the supply transport truck and haul everything at once.
The gloom from the power outage didn't last long. Zixuan excitedly swept up items from inside the mart, piling them into a mountain on the cart. As I watched her struggling with it, she grinned sheepishly and said,
"Isn't this every woman's dream? Are Korean women different?"
Well, I remember being thrilled with all the supplies when I first entered Houseplus. I shrugged and started filling my own cart just like her.
The power was out in Houseplus, but not completely. Solar panels on the roof allowed it to generate its own electricity.
Of course, the amount was ridiculously small—just enough to keep a few store lights on for a few hours, not the whole place. I grabbed clothes and bags.
The only things I could handle were metals. Fabric or leather items were beyond me—I couldn't manipulate or create them—so it made sense to stock up.
Rattle, rattle.
I had a bad feeling, and sure enough, Zixuan caused an accident. I'm not sure if I looked away for a second, but she lost control of the cart on the escalator. Well, the cart was pretty heavy.
The cart she dropped went careening down the incline like a roller coaster... then caught on the escalator's safety bumper, flipped forward, and all the contents spilled out onto the floor.
"Damn it!"
Zixuan let out a sharp curse. It was in Chinese, but to me, it just sounded like "damn it."
I smirked at the sight, left my own cart—which was moderately loaded, at least compared to hers—on the escalator, and started helping clean up.
All sorts of stuff came tumbling out. A baseball glove? Why'd she grab that? Planning to play ball? It might be better than work gloves for protecting your hands, though...
"You should've packed lighter."
Her face fell again.
"Sorry."
I shook my head.
"Ah, I wasn't scolding you. We've got plenty of time anyway."
Zombies weren't right on our heels, and we had time to spare, so her mishap was cute at worst. She was a 'noble' Healer, after all.
Once I'd repacked the cart, I set it on the escalator and placed my hand on it. The escalator started moving.
Rumble rumble rumble.
Zixuan watched in wonder from behind.
"You can do that too?"
"The store's electrical wiring is all connected anyway."
For a Mechanic, operating something like this was no big deal. She looked at me with admiring eyes for some reason, then started humming and pushing her cart again.
Even taking it easy, we filled the supply transport truck in half a day. Sure, plenty of supplies remained in Houseplus, but it was all junk.
She was wiped out after the hard cleanup, and so was I. It wasn't exactly repayment, but I headed to the theater and fired up the projector we'd gotten earlier to play a movie.
The equipment was ready; it just needed power, so it was easy.
"What movie should I put on?"
Her eyes sparkled at my question.
"Got any Chinese films? Something like Wong Fei-hung if possible."
A girl who loves wuxia. Unique taste. I wondered if Wong Fei-hung even existed in this world. Rifling through the computer, I found a familiar title.
Wong Fei-hyun.avi
One character changed, probably to dodge copyright. Whatever—Wong Fei-hung or Wong Fei-hyun, close enough.
I played Wong Fei-hyun for her. I poured her a lukewarm cola and sat beside her to watch.
Sipping soda in a theater watching a movie, it almost felt like the outside world was all a dream. Of course, zombies were probably swarming out there.
The movie played out much like the Wong Fei-hung series I'd seen. Identical, except the hero's name was Wong Fei-hyun.
Watching him pummel foes with hearty fists, I had a random thought. What if Wong Fei-hyun dropped into this world? Could he punch his way through the zombies?
Zixuan watched with sparkling eyes. By the end, she was even tearing up. I'd zoned out midway, so I wondered if it was really that moving.
"Enjoy it?"
"Watching a movie in this world... it's unbelievable."
She wiped her tears and stood.
"Let's go."
Since Zixuan loved movies, I should grab the projector and files too. I'm a Veteran, so I'm fine, but if I didn't properly care for this newbie's mental health and she got depressed, it'd be a problem.
The next day, I left Zixuan at Houseplus and set out to clear the path to Shelter D. Clearing was just a figure of speech—she worried about me, but she'd only be dead weight anyway.
It was just checking for obstacles along the way.
In the meantime, I took out the growing horde of regular zombies and shoved cars blocking the road aside so the truck could pass. I filled in broken road sections with Metal Transformation.
It was tough work, but with Aegis on, it was manageable.
While I labored, I felt someone's gaze.
I looked around. A survivor? No, more like thick killing intent—like a zombie's stare.
Definitely not a regular zombie. If it were, it'd charge me on sight.
*Variant zombie.*
I slowly raised my metal sword. The next instant, something dropped from above. Instinctively, I stepped back and dodged.
Thud.
A chunk of broken road crashed down on me. I checked what it was.
"Bro, hey."
Crustacean legs on its lower body, tentacles on its back like the Night Witch—a chimera. And it spoke human language?
I initially thought it was a Copy mimicking human voices, but it seemed to have extremely advanced intelligence.
*What kind of monster...*
Already showing up? Did it escape from the lab? But everything there was dead. I gripped my metal sword tighter and muttered,
"You..."
"Bro, you look delicious."
It opened its mouth, and another mouth emerged from inside.
Trusting Aegis's defenses, I charged first and swung. But even with enhanced strength, my blade failed to pierce its crustacean legs.
It was agile, but not beyond me. Its tentacles couldn't breach Aegis, and when I sliced them off, it yelped in shock.
"Ah, that hurts! Be good and be my nutrients."
Fluid dripped from the severed tentacles. Its eyes welled up. No sympathy here—it was a monster.
Its wounds healed in seconds. Looked like a Tyrant's powerful regeneration.
"What are you?"
I blasted the retreating thing with my shotgun. It hid behind its crustacean legs to block the bullets and said,
"How about putting that down first and talking?"
A high school boy's face spouting words—it was infuriating.
"Bullshit."
I closed in, and it used those legs to leap onto a second-story roof, bounding away fast. As I aimed my shotgun again...
"See you next time!"
It shouted a third-rate villain line and hopped away behind the building on those legs. Panting, I thought,
*Why's a monster like that showing up already?*
But before I could dwell, I had to sigh at the sight around me. Countless zombies on the street were closing in.
*Did it set this up?*
Too many for just gunshots. I charged the zombies.
Meanwhile, I stayed alert for its return. Luckily, it didn't show while I cleared them.
But it'd pulled a stunt. The motorcycle was gone from where it should be, replaced by bloody writing: 'Catch you later, bro.'
*Looks like I've got a troublesome one on my hands.*
Maybe pulling the main AI, Queen, from the lab caused a butterfly effect.
Crustacean legs. Back tentacles. Inner mouth. Excellent regeneration. Ability to control—or summon—regular zombies. And human-level intelligence.
Six tricky abilities, any one a handful.
Dodging hordes of zombies on the walk back to Houseplus, I suspected it was a Devourer.
A variant zombie that devours others to steal their abilities. Not just any variant—an elite among elites.
If it was a Devourer, those powers made sense.
*If I don't take it out fast...*
It gets stronger. If it devoured Team Apocalypse, it'd gain our abilities outright. Not level up like us, but still...
Facing something like that this early was a pain—no need to elaborate.
*Was the zombie wave a few days ago its doing?*
Gotta deal with it soon. Aegis saved me, but without it, I'd be in danger.
Other survivors wouldn't stand a chance.
*To kill it, I need...*
A weapon to pierce those crustacean legs. A plasma gun would be ideal, but I can't make high-tech stuff yet.
*Then a bomb trap.*
Exactly what it sounds: bombs rigged to blow when something enters.
Usually for Tyrant hunts, but necessary here.
With human intelligence, luring it in won't be easy—but I can use that against it.
I'm a Veteran; I know how.
Apocalypse All-Purpose Mechanic