Chapter 69
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Warren Jones
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Warren Jones.
The cult leader of the Salvation Church and their object of worship, the "Living God."
Of course, in reality, he was nothing more than a fraudulent cult leader who had gained powerful superpowers, but according to the game's lore, the negative impact he had on the entire city was beyond imagination.
This old man, who claimed to have escaped from the Salvation Church, introduced himself as that very Warren Jones. A namesake? No, it was hard to dismiss it as just a coincidence, given what the old man had said.
-The zombies didn't even glance at me.
If this old man truly was Warren Jones and possessed the "Zombie Domination" trait, that would make perfect sense. Zombies recognized zombie dominators as kin.
'No way it's really Warren Jones.'
For starters, it was a religion that revered Warren Jones as a divine apostle or god himself. There was no way a coup could have taken place.
The guy was probably still parked in the Salvation Church's main cathedral in Scenario 3, plotting his new world order. Just like in the game.
So, there was only one possibility.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Right on cue, a zombie came shambling toward us. I gave the old man an order.
"Give the zombie a command."
"How?"
"Tell it to back off."
"Are you out of your mind?"
As I subtly raised my gun, the old man's head nodded vigorously.
"Hahaha, alright, alright. I'll do it.
Back off! Back off!"
But the zombie showed no reaction whatsoever. If it were the real Warren Jones, the zombie probably would've licked his boots. I hoisted the old man up and thrust him toward the zombie.
"Y-You're insane!?"
The old man flailed about, but even with its face right in front of him, the zombie paid him no mind. Not only that, it shuffled right past me too. Even though it had clearly seen me.
It was as if it recognized me—and the old man—as kin...
'No, it really does recognize us as kin.'
It was the Kin Recognition (Squad) trait.
Only then was I able to confirm the identity of the old man I'd suspected.
This old man...
Wasn't he the bootleg Warren Jones from the April Fool's event?
Team Apocalypse was a game with a high degree of freedom. You could recruit main NPCs in shelters as companions, lure in villains, or even enlist Salvation Church bishops.
But there were villains you could never recruit. Warren Jones being a prime example.
Dissatisfied with this, some players had repeatedly petitioned the developers to make Warren Jones recruitable.
-Warren Jones Companion Prayer Day 333.
And... on April Fool's Day, the developers responded by releasing a companion-exclusive NPC version of Warren Jones.
He wasn't the same individual as the Salvation Church leader. Lore-wise, he was a clone of the Salvation Church leader, Warren Jones, created in a secret Salvation Church lab.
He possessed superpowers similar to Warren Jones, but his personality was the complete opposite. Like the two sides of a coin, perhaps?
Players took to calling this Warren Jones the "bootleg Warren Jones."
"W-What? Why did the zombie just walk past you? Are you...?"
He seemed unaware of his own abilities. Makes sense—he probably hadn't had a chance to test them until now.
"No, nothing like that."
The bootleg Warren Jones's superpowers couldn't compare to the cult leader's. But he was one of the rare growth-type NPCs who grew stronger the more you developed him.
In fact, later on, he could even hold his own against the real deal to some extent.
'I have to recruit him.'
It'd be a waste not to.
If raised well, he'd definitely be a huge help down the line. Sensing my gaze, Warren Jones looked at me with uneasy eyes.
"Get on."
"Where are you taking me? You could just let me go here..."
But when I stared at him silently, he sighed and nodded.
With Warren Jones riding behind me, I resumed patrolling the subway station. There was no reason to head back to the shelter just because I'd recruited him.
Besides, thanks to Kin Recognition, he didn't have to worry about dying to zombies.
I ignored Warren Jones and sprayed the zombies with my assault rifle. Bang bang bang! The approaching zombies toppled amid the flashes of gunfire.
"Watch your back!"
I turned to see a Chaser standing there with a dazed, un-Chaser-like expression. It seemed the zombie domination command had activated without him even realizing.
"Nice support."
I muttered as I shoved the rifle barrel into the Chaser's mouth. Only then did its vacant pupils refocus. But it was too late.
Bang!
「Occupation experience gained. (Solo party bonus +150%) (Massacre bonus +250%) (Chain kill bonus 400%)」
「Occupation level increased to 33.」
「Metal Decomposition level increased to 6.」
Thanks to the nonstop grind, the chain kill bonus had reached 400%, netting me a ton of experience. At this rate, I'd hit 34 before the day was out.
A few more grind sessions, and 40 would come quick.
"By the way, are you a superhuman or something?"
I nodded in affirmation.
"Impressive. So you're in Team Apocalypse or whatever? I've always been interested in superpowers... But wait, where are we going now?"
I kept trudging forward as I replied.
"You can't get tired already."
"...Aren't you the one wearing me out?"
His tone shifted, and his bushy beard quivered. But I just shrugged. Honestly, there was no physical strain.
All he had to do was sit on the bike.
"Just till I hit 34."
For a split second, he looked confused, but once he realized it meant the march would continue, he spat curses at me.
"Damn it, planning to kill this old man?"
"He won't die from this."
Warren Jones stomped and ranted, but I ignored him and pulled the trigger on the zombies ahead. I had to raise my NPC strong.
True to my word, I returned to the shelter only after hitting level 34.
"Who's this old man?"
At Zixuan's question, I smirked and said.
"The bootleg Warren Jones."
"Why do you keep calling me bootleg Warren Jones? I don't know what 'bootleg' means, but it pisses me off."
At the irritated Warren Jones's words, Zixuan tilted her head and asked.
"Why bootleg?"
"Better than the real thing. The Salvation Church leader's named Warren Jones too."
"How did you..."
This time, Warren Jones's pupils shook like there was an earthquake. Of course—he knew he was a clone of the Salvation Church leader. Ah, was this the truth he'd been hiding?
"I'm a superhuman too."
"...I don't know how you figured it out, but are you going to kill me?"
He asked with an anxious expression. He must've thought that since I knew he was the cult leader's clone, I might kill him.
I shook my head.
"No, you're different from Warren Jones. Bootleg Warren Jones."
"...Call me whatever you want. I didn't expect anything from you anyway. M-Miss, I'm not a bad person..."
Zixuan beamed at him with the purest, most innocent smile.
"I know, bootleg Warren Jones."
Warren Jones slumped powerlessly. Zixuan let out a chuckle. Of course, we couldn't keep calling him bootleg Warren Jones forever, so we decided to use the alias he chose.
His chosen alias... was coincidentally Bunny.
Bunny was the name of the creator who made bootleg Warren Jones.
* * *
「Bunny - Warren Jones is a clone of the Salvation Church leader. High potential to become a threat.」
Queen thought that since Bunny was the Salvation Church leader's clone, he could pose a threat to the shelter or to Park Si-hyun. But Park Si-hyun shook his head.
"No, that won't happen."
「How can Master be so certain? If it's just intuition...」
Soon, Park Si-hyun provided the reasoning.
"I've played the game with him before."
「Game play?」
Queen tilted her head. Did he see this world as a game? So typical of her master. She admired it inwardly.
As she gazed at him with eyes full of respect, Park Si-hyun shook his head and said.
"Ah, forget I said that. Anyway... he's trustworthy."
「Understood. I respect Master's decision. But I will monitor him continuously.」
"You won't find anything no matter how much you dig. Do as you please."
As Park Si-hyun turned away indifferently, Queen spoke in a slightly stiff voice.
「I understand M02 production has begun. A higher-performance computer is required.」
Using the mithril secured from the subway cars, production of work android M02 had started. Soon, the android robots would multiply exponentially.
To control them, they needed a high-performance computer beyond Unit 1.
"I was planning to get one anyway."
Park Si-hyun smirked to himself. The Tyrant at Hansol University was gone. Which meant he could retrieve the supercomputer there.
'I can boost Queen's performance.'
「Looking forward to it.」
Queen's eyes sparkled at his positive response.
Countless zombies swarmed Shelter C. But with its sturdy mithril barriers, repelling them was no trouble at all.
Johnson's party—and especially Johnson's performance—was dazzling.
Every time his machine gun roared, not only regular zombies but even the variant zombies scaling the shelter walls fell like autumn leaves.
'Now that's a gun I like.'
Johnson gazed lovingly at the MJ machine gun before opening fire again.
"Boss, they're coming endlessly. Won't we get surrounded and die if we stay here?"
Cheonghan, who had descended to swing his sword like a beast, climbed back up and asked. Johnson smirked and replied.
"Cheonghan, look on the bright side. Experience is coming to us on its own."
"You're such an optimist, Boss. By the way... this has to be the Salvation Church's doing, right?"
"Probably retaliation for last time. Tsk, idiots."
In his common sense, breaching a mithril barrier and getting inside was impossible.
That was when it happened. A "monster" entered his view. It was a monster of enormous size. One he'd never seen before. Doubting his eyes, he muttered.
"What the hell is that monster doing?"
Apocalypse All-Purpose Machine