Chapter 35
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Shelter D's Warning
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After the emergence of variant zombies, countless shelters within the city had vanished.
Variant zombies possessed strength and agility incomparable to regular zombies, and they sometimes displayed cunning on par with humans.
Of course, Shelter A was the exception. It was partly because Park Si-hyun had built this massive wall, but more than anything, it was due to the presence of Team Apocalypse inside Shelter A.
They grew stronger with every level up, and by now, they could massacre regular zombies without breaking a sweat.
Bang!
A variant zombie approaching the wall collapsed with a thud. One bullet was all it took—no need for a second shot. Johnson, who received the level-up message, lowered his sniper rifle.
Next to the variant zombie's corpse lay a pile of regular zombie bodies—the ones he and his party members had taken down. They exchanged glances and nodded.
"All dead."
"Same here."
One of the party members, a pot-bellied middle-aged man, shouted.
"Damn zombie bastards, take that!"
His belly jiggled as he yelled. Johnson felt an urge to poke it.
"By the way, Johnson, what are we gonna do now?"
Qing Han, a Chinese Blader and one of the party members, asked Johnson. He didn't answer right away and lit a cigarette instead. Pfft. The ember began to glow.
After taking a drag, he exhaled slowly. The smoke rose toward the sky. It was a clear blue, nothing like the overcast sky from a few days ago.
*If only my life could clear up like that,* Johnson muttered inwardly before finally speaking.
"What do you mean, what? Just keep doing what we're doing."
"No matter how many zombies we kill like this, it doesn't seem like the Shelter A folks appreciate it much."
During the variant zombie assault on that rainy day a few days ago, Team Apocalypse had performed spectacularly, yet the survivors hadn't cheered them on—instead, they'd grown wary.
It was only natural, since the real leadership—Emily and James—were wary of them.
Johnson and his party had every reason to feel aggrieved. Regardless of their true intentions, the fact was they'd risked their lives to defend Shelter A.
"Why not just go to another shelter? We could probably make it now."
"I'm thinking about it."
Johnson had plenty of gaming experience. He vaguely knew the location of the next shelter. Even so, the reason he hesitated was lingering attachment.
The chance to become the ruler of Shelter A. It was a tantalizing fruit, just out of reach. As he imagined the sweet moment of seizing it, he shook his head.
*Gotta think rationally.*
*As long as that bastard James is around, it'll be tough.*
To be precise, the problem was Alicia's gang backing James.
Alicia matched his own feats, and that Korean guy, Kim Hoon, had a motor mouth, constantly blabbing about his flaws to everyone.
*If only those guys disappeared, if only...* He'd repeated it to himself countless times, but making them vanish was impossible. So, was it better to leave now?
"Let's go. Any shelter would welcome us at this point. No need to stick around this shitty place anymore."
Johnson looked around at his party members. Though they hadn't spoken, they seemed to share Qing Han's thoughts. Not that Qing Han was the type to speak first anyway.
People must have egged them on.
"We can decide in a few days. It's not too late."
"We still haven't found Goyle."
"That guy's not even necessary... And if he were alive, we'd have found him by now."
After Park Si-hyun took down the Devourer, they'd scoured the area around Shelter A for Goyle. But he was nowhere to be found. Not even a trace.
He'd vanished like he'd respawned. Of course, no one thought he was alive. They firmly believed he was in the belly of some variant zombie.
Johnson smacked his lips. Sure, Goyle's aggression had been unwelcome, but his action-oriented nature was the real deal.
Facing Qing Han's persistent urging, he replied as usual.
"Wait for now."
* * *
The Heavy Shotgun—a weapon with over twice the attack power of a standard shotgun. Sure, the recoil was insane, but with Aegis on, I could handle it.
Well, my joints were creaking, so maybe "handle" was generous. As I thought that, a female zombie charged at me barefoot.
Bang. I pulled the trigger, and my body jerked back violently. The flying slug shredded the zombie like a balloon. Flesh sprayed everywhere, blood pooling thickly.
That should be the last one. If there were more, my senses would've picked them up, or I'd have heard them coming.
I set down the Heavy Shotgun and began searching the building. This place was the district office. Simple reason—I knew there was a hidden item here.
Though which class's hidden item it was, was random. I'd come to farm anyway, so two birds with one stone.
Rifling through stacks of papers stained with dried blood, I found a gleaming golden item. This was...
「You have acquired Hybrid Z Part XI.」
A Blader hidden item. One of the high-performance parts for assembling a Blader weapon. Of course, as just a part, it was useless to me.
*A dud, huh.*
Still, if I met a Blader later, I'd give it to them. I stashed the part in my backpack and cleared out the district office before heading outside.
Aside from the zombies I'd killed earlier, there wasn't a zombie—or even a trace—in sight. Proof that the zombies in the industrial zone had noticeably thinned out.
Sure, more kept trickling in from beyond the industrial zone, but the decrease was striking.
Once I got crop seeds from Hanasol University soon, I could expand the shelter's range.
"Hey."
Then, someone called from behind. I aimed my shotgun. A group of survivors aimed back at me. I lowered mine first.
The one who'd called was none other than Sophia, Shelter D's scouting captain.
"We were scavenging too. Why not share if you find something good?"
I silently raised my gun again. The survivors flinched—even Sophia—but she quickly played it cool.
"Just kidding, kidding. Don't you Easterners get jokes?"
"Not really."
"Lighten up. Anyway, heard you're messing around with those scavenger scum. Building a shelter or something? Our boss wanted me to pass this on: cut the crap."
"Crap?"
"You don't know what those scavengers are like? Or do you, and you're still doing it?"
"They're no different from you guys."
"Quit snapping back. Take the advice."
Sophia turned as if she'd delivered her message. The survivors glared murderously but followed suit.
I watched their backs, then turned away myself. I knew Shelter D wouldn't take kindly, but was this a declaration of war?
Even if we fought Shelter D now, I was confident we'd win. With the Sentry Gun, no reason to fear their survivors.
But did we need to fight? Did we...
Something welled up emotionally, but I suppressed it and resumed scavenging buildings as before.
By the time I finished, it was evening. The sun dipped low, streetlights flickering on. We'd wired them to the munitions factory for power.
I relayed Shelter D's words verbatim to Shelter Apocalypse's people. One of the scavengers—like a platoon leader—paced furiously.
"Those bastards are always like that.
They kicked us out, and now they're telling us to fuck off..."
"What will the boss do?"
(Note: "Boss" referred to me.) I scanned the group before speaking.
"We'll watch for now. They haven't declared war first."
They nodded.
I was about to wish them good night when autocannon fire rang out. A variant zombie must've finally breached the wall.
Rat-tat-tat.
I headed toward the noise. Piles of zombie corpses in front of the Sentry Gun. Variants among them, but also what looked like regular zombies.
*How the hell did these get in?*
Did they climb over the variants?
I called Queen. She'd know, linked to cameras everywhere.
「They came through underground.」
Unexpected.
"Underground?"
「Via the sewers, it seems.」
I'd checked thoroughly, but there must've been a gap. I entered the building she indicated and found the sewer entrance—a dark, reeking hole.
Right on cue, a zombie climbed up. I bashed it back with a nearby plank, then sealed the sewer with Metal Transformation.
No more zombies through there.
"No other breaches?"
「None.」
Queen replied curtly and offered a handkerchief. Mimicking Zixuan's gesture from days ago when she'd handed me one after a job well done.
Of course, hers dissolved on contact—hologram limits. I caught a flicker of regret on her face.
Like that bio-android robot she'd mentioned before, she seemed to yearn to be human.
Makes sense—game lore had AIs envying humans. Queen was one of them.
*Gotta make one for her someday.*
Thinking that, I tossed the zombie corpses over the wall and entered the munitions factory. Maria was tilling the ground out front.
The industrial soil was barren, so she had to turn it for crops or whatever. I pulled a soda from my backpack—from a vending machine in a building.
"Thanks!"
Her eyes lit up at the bottle.
"Not asleep yet?"
"Just couldn't sleep."
She sipped it, then resumed digging. I watched, then joined in.
"I-I got this!"
"It's fine."
No special skills, but my superhuman strength made it better than her doing it.
Still, I thought:
*Gotta make farming tools too.*