Chapter 21
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: The Trap Springs
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Three days later, when I stopped by Shelter A, Emily said to me in a pleading tone.
"Some survivors have gone missing."
"By choice? Or against their will?"
"Of course it was against their will. There's no way five experienced survivors would just leave without a word."
Emily suspected it was the work of the Devourer, and I thought the same—high likelihood.
It made far more sense than imagining five rifle-armed, veteran survivor NPCs getting taken out by regular zombies.
I nodded and told her,
"For now, please ban anyone from leaving Shelter A."
The bastard had gotten a taste for human flesh. He'd be prowling aggressively for more humans from here on. But what if there were no more humans to attack?
Given the Devourer's traits, without more human meat, withdrawal symptoms would kick in.
And when those symptoms peaked, the odds were high it'd launch a night raid on Shelter A.
It was a matter of probability, but if I had to bet between a raid or no raid, I'd put my money on the former.
If things went as expected, we'd repel the raider and chase it off. Letting its withdrawal hit the max. Until it couldn't maintain any rationality.
And then.
'I'll catch it with a bomb trap.'
"Got it."
Emily said she'd check with James. Shelter A had a leader on paper, but he was treated like a has-been, and James held the real power.
Maybe because some of James's men were among the missing, he approved the restriction without hassle. Entry and exit to Shelter A were now strictly forbidden.
No one could leave Shelter A. The silver lining: with its abundant supplies, they wouldn't suffer shortages even if farming halted for a while.
Johnson's party was no exception.
Unable to go out, they mingled with survivors, promising to handle any variant zombies that showed up—buying favor, it seemed.
We crossed paths a few times amid it all, but mindful of the crowd, Johnson didn't pick a fight. Instead, the one showing interest was the other healer in his party, Olivia.
"Is Zixuan doing well?"
"I'll bring her over shortly."
I planned to bring Zixuan and the female zombie inside Shelter A. The sentry gun was set up, but leaving Zixuan alone still felt off.
"Take good care of her."
She greeted me so politely it was almost burdensome. True to her noble healer vibe, she even came equipped with manners. If only Johnson or Goyle had half of that?
'Wonder what happened to Goyle after I kicked him out of Shelter A?'
I recalled Goyle, banished from the place.
Had the Devourer eaten him already? Sure, as a Psycho, he wasn't pushover for the Devourer either.
Shaking off thoughts of Goyle, I glanced at Johnson. His eyes were glaring fiercely my way. Yeah, I could guess what was on his mind.
Worried I'd poach Olivia too after taking Zixuan. Or maybe pissed at me.
No reason for me to care about his stare, though. I bowed exaggeratedly, like he was watching, and said,
"I'll leave her in your good hands instead."
One healer was fine, but two were better. No reason to stop her if she wanted to join my party.
I hopped in the car and headed for Houseplus. That's when something thudded onto the roof. The car shook violently. The body dented inward.
Guessing it was the Devourer, I reached up to the roof. Using Metal Transformation, I reshaped the car body into sharp metal spikes that pierced whatever was up there.
"Ow, that hurts!?"
When I got out, it was the same guy from before, screaming. But his appearance had changed since last time. Had he eaten some new variant zombies in the interim?
His head sprouted small tentacles like snakes instead of hair. And his crustacean legs were covered in stark white fur.
He was getting less human by the day. Well, he never was all that human to begin with.
Calmly, I drew my rifle and aimed at him.
"Bro, been a while. How've you been?"
I pulled the trigger at his beaming smile. Bang! The bullet hit his leg and ricocheted off. I grabbed a rolling steel pipe. It morphed into a pickaxe shape.
"Neat trick you've got."
He grinned and charged. His massive legs clashed with my pickaxe. Too bad—the pickaxe snapped, and the huge impact sent me flying back.
Good thing I had the Aegis on, or I'd have been smashed flat in one hit. Forcing my numb body up, I backpedaled.
"Running away? Bro? You're way different from last time."
No, you psycho. You've gotten stronger.
No weapons came to mind that could handle him. Bombs it was, then? If I could plant one on him somehow... I was seriously pondering when—
A beam of light streaked in and nailed him. Thunk! It punched through his leg.
"Gaaah!"
He screamed. No mystery who the sniper was: Emily's anti-materiel rifle.
"You sneaky bastard!"
Says the ambusher. Anyway, his eyes, fine moments ago, were now bloodshot red.
As if mirroring his rage, bizarre tentacles erupted from his back, doubling his size.
But all that did was make him a bigger target.
Thunk!
Another bullet pierced him. He let out a scream unfit for his bulk, then,
"Y-you wait! I-I won't let you or that b-bastard off!?"
Stammering like a druggie, he backpedaled and vanished. I bowed gratefully toward Emily's position, gripped the car body, and sighed.
My whole body tingled like I'd been shocked. Last time, I'd thought him manageable, but he'd turned full monster in the meantime.
Without Emily's help, I'd probably be swimming in his guts by now. Aegis or not, I wasn't planning to go down easy.
After a moment, I got back in the car. The dented roof was annoying, but drivable.
I worried he might attack again, but with his injuries and Emily's sniper to consider, he wouldn't tonight.
As expected, he didn't show.
"A-are you okay?"
Zixuan looked flustered at my wounds. I nodded.
"He showed up."
Her face filled with anxiety.
"What then?"
"I chased him off."
Technically Emily did, but close enough.
Zixuan placed her hand on my forehead. It glowed brightly, and my wounds vanished without a trace. Noble healer for the win!
"But we'll have to hole up in Shelter A for a bit."
"Johnson won't cause trouble, right?"
She seemed worried he'd pull something. Word was, he'd thrown a fit when she said she was leaving. Sane or not, he wouldn't mess with her.
I'd have her back. Plus Emily and James.
Supplies could wait till we moved to Shelter D. I loaded the female zombie and sentry gun into the van, and we headed to Shelter A.
* * *
Jo Jae-hwan burned with rage toward the humans who'd wounded him. But the anger faded quick—he hunkered down in his hideout. Stepping out might mean bullets, and that terrified him.
But like the anger, the fear was fleeting. He recalled the taste of human flesh. Heaven compared to the orgasm of his first jerk-off.
'I want it. I want it.'
He licked his lips.
Then he resumed the hunt. His wounds had already healed without a scar. Shame there was no prey.
He prowled Shelter A endlessly, but no humans—just zombies everywhere. Starving, he ate a zombie, but after human meat, zombie flesh tasted like nothing.
If he had to describe it, like chowing down on spoiled meat.
Still, he waited. Fully three days.
Yet no humans showed so much as a nose.
'I want it. I want it.'
Ironically, he knew where they were. He eyed the metal walls. Tons of humans inside. Sneak in?
Nah, risk getting sniped...
Wait, at night, no sniper threat. Debating with his inner self, Jo Jae-hwan decided: he'd go in.
He waited till night in feverish excitement. Then he scaled the metal wall effortlessly and overlooked Shelter A.
Euphoria hit. All those humans in Shelter A—mine now. Jo Jae-hwan leaped down.
Sniffing out human scent, he followed his nose. It led to a group of humans.
Heavily armed ones, like they knew he'd come. Park Si-hyun stood in the center.
"B-bro?"
"I've been waiting, little bro."
His eyes were hollow, but he smiled brightly. Like a fisherman hauling in his catch. Genuinely thrilled Jo Jae-hwan had shown.
In that instant, the shotgun in his hand roared. Metal-reinforced, point-blank—it packed punch he couldn't ignore.
Realizing his leg was cracking, Jo Jae-hwan fled backward. But a barrage rained down. Johnson's party and Alicia's were mixed in.
Gunners' shots maximized firearm lethality—each one deadly. The Psycho's telekinesis, the Blader's sword up close: same story.
Riddled with wounds in seconds, Jo Jae-hwan bolted. Emily's sniper burrowed into his fleeing head. Yet he didn't drop.
He somehow cleared the metal wall and escaped into the dark.
Watching him go, Park Si-hyun knew they'd entered the final phase. Best to finish him tonight, but if not—no biggie.
The bomb trap would take care of him.