Chapter 72
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Shelter C Under Siege
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When I arrived at Shelter C, it was in the thick of a fierce battle. Compared to the walls of Shelter Apocalypse, Shelter C's barriers were at least twice as tall and thick.
Even under relentless zombie assaults, they showed no signs of damage. And that made sense. After all, the walls weren't made of ordinary metal—they were mithril.
Of course, not solid mithril, but their hardness and sturdiness were on par with the arsenal factory where I was staying.
In any case, leveraging the advantage of their walls, Shelter C's residents held the upper hand against the zombies. From what I could glimpse, Johnson’s party was putting on a dazzling performance.
But their true enemy wasn’t the zombies—it was the Salvation Church.
There was no need to explain that this was a pointless war of attrition unless they eliminated the Salvation Church bishops at its core. And in a war of attrition, Shelter C was at a disadvantage.
Zombies were infinite, but their ammo and food supplies weren’t. The moment their bullets ran out, Shelter C would fall.
'Well, things will change now that I'm here.'
I watched the war from inside a nearby building, waiting for a chance to slip into Shelter C. But no opportunity came easily, and I ended up just spectating.
Then...
My experience points started rising. The zombies dying in the battle—their EXP flowed straight to me, even from afar. Of course, divided six ways since it was a six-man party.
「Job experience increased. (6-Man Party Bonus +200%) (Massacre Bonus +500%) (Chain Kill Bonus +500%)」
With zombies dropping everywhere—not just one or two—I maxed out the massacre and chain kill bonuses at 500%.
It felt a bit shameless, but I hadn’t planned it, and I couldn’t exactly ignore the battle. Thanks to it, by the time the sun set, I’d gained two whole levels.
「Job level increased to 36.」
「Metal Generation level increased to 5.」
「Job level increased to 37.」
「Metal Transformation level increased to 10.」
I still had a ways to go on Metal Decomposition and Metal Generation proficiency, but hitting level 10 on Metal Transformation was huge. Especially since I planned to tinker with their machines once inside—android robots above all.
Level 10 Metal Transformation would be a big help.
'That said...' The Salvation Church’s response was odd. If they had Goyle with them, they’d know he grows stronger the more zombies he kills. Handing out all this EXP to psychics like that.
They must have some trick up their sleeve. Like sneaking in through the sewers like in a game, or rigging zombies with bombs for suicide attacks or something.
But my guess missed the mark spectacularly. An unexpected variable appeared—one even I hadn’t anticipated.
Amid the horde of zombies stood a massive one that drew the eye like no other. The Tyrant had arrived.
Whether brainwashed or lured, it charged at the forefront, attacking Shelter C. With the unprecedented powerhouse zombie’s appearance, Shelter C began to buckle hard.
It shrugged off the residents’ bullets like they were nothing and lumbered toward the wall, smashing into it. The moment its fist swung out.
Crack-crack-crunch.
Debris started raining from the wall. Unlike the other sections, it didn’t shatter in one hit, but it was crumbling bit by bit. Johnson’s party hurriedly focused fire on it.
But even under the players’ combined assault, it casually kept demolishing the wall. It took damage, sure, but it regenerated instantly with its transcendent recovery.
A true monster. Of course, the Tyrant failed to breach the wall. The residents inside had shoved bombs at it. It retreated, badly wounded.
Less out of instinct and more due to a brainwashing command, probably.
Tyrants are low-intelligence berserkers. One would’ve kept charging regardless of wounds or the odds.
'If a Tyrant-level monster had human intelligence too...'
It’d be like witnessing a 1F scenario unfold right in front of me.
The moment the Tyrant withdrew, the Salvation Church followers pulled back too. The battle paused—for now. It’d resume tomorrow. The battlefield, cloaked in deep darkness, was littered with zombie corpses.
Tomorrow, countless more would pile up. Light leaked from the shelter, but in the blackness of the corpses, it felt so small.
'Time to move.'
I left the building and headed for the subway. It was sealed by a thick mithril door. To prevent unauthorized entry into Shelter C.
Unlike the surrounding walls, this was solid mithril—no variant zombie could punch through it. Of course, I was the exception.
I placed my hand on the mithril door.
It opened smoothly. No matter how they hyped it as the strongest metal, as long as it was metal, nothing could bar my path.
I closed the door behind me and walked along the subway.
After a while, a voice came from beyond the barricades piled in the tunnel.
"Halt!"
It was a sturdy old man with white hair, clutching a machine gun. Martel, the NPC in Shelter C’s subway. He must’ve spotted me on the surveillance cameras.
I raised my hands, signaling no hostility, and approached slowly.
"Halt! How the hell did you get in here?"
"I’m a friend of Johnson’s."
"Johnson? You mean that gun nut?"
He eyed me up and down carefully.
"How do I know that?"
"Could you call Johnson for me?"
He glared suspiciously, then muttered into his radio. I waited quietly. Johnson showed up soon after.
"Park Si-hyun!"
A flicker of gladness crossed his face when he saw me. It vanished quickly, though.
"You here to help us?"
"Yeah, something like that."
Honestly, it was awkward. Just months ago, we’d been pointing guns at each other, growling. But... it was time to bury old grudges.
I followed him up into Shelter C. His party members waited outside the subway entrance. Things were awkward with the others.
Well, aside from the early days, we’d never really talked. So their looks weren’t friendly—like dealing with an unwelcome stranger.
Not that I expected anything else.
Olivia was the only one who acknowledged me.
"Long time no see!"
"Long time, Olivia."
She beamed like she was genuinely happy, then asked about Zixuan.
"How’s Zixuan doing?"
"Oh, you know..."
Her face flashed in my mind—screaming 'You bastard!' with teary eyes—and I hesitated.
"She’s doing fine."
She probably was?
"That’s a relief."
True to her angelic healer nature, Olivia lit up like it was her own good news. Then Johnson cleared his throat.
"The leader of Shelter C wants to meet you."
He’d already told her about me, and she’d reacted positively, wanting to see me.
I nodded. I’d planned to meet Shelter C’s leader anyway. I intended to demand my condition: free access to Shelter C’s resources.
Shelter C was resource-rich. Not just food, water, or ammo—AI modules and combat androids too.
Of course, they couldn’t use them properly.
'Because of the encryption.'
Some were broken, but mostly the codes. I could crack them. Only I could.
Shelter C’s leader was Lee Seo-na, a Korean woman. She was near-perfect, combining the strengths of every shelter leader.
Of course, she had flaws. Per the game lore, pre-apocalypse, she was the granddaughter of the Green family head—a chaebol heiress.
Maybe because of that, she didn’t trust easily. I figured she wouldn’t accept my terms lightly, and I was right.
She eyed me suspiciously.
"How do I know you’re not a Salvation Church plant?"
"Seo-na."
Johnson called from behind, but she didn’t even glance his way.
"Sorry. I know it sounds ungrateful when you came to help, but I can’t help it. I still don’t know who you really are."
"Understood."
Lee Seo-na demanded I prove my worth. And proving it was easier than flipping my palm. I approached the damaged mithril wall.
Then I used Metal Transformation. The broken mithril wall began repairing itself slowly. I couldn’t fill it perfectly, but it was enough.
Man... how much mithril would I get if I decomposed all this? Enough for dozens of androids, easy.
"Good enough?"
Lee Seo-na, who’d been watching, nodded. Just like that, I earned the 'right' to use Shelter C’s resources freely. And I...
planned to exercise that right to turn this place into an impregnable fortress. A prolonged war? They wouldn’t even dream of it.
My first stop was the tech lab. I intended to awaken the dormant AI.
The tech lab, said to hold the essence of the Green conglomerate... but it was locked behind encryption.
"You can really open this? It’d help if you could, but a botched attempt might wreck the panel..."
I half-listened to Lee Seo-na, who’d tagged along because her late father was tied to this lab, and reached for the panel without hesitation.
[Beep-boop. Unauthorized user.]
Zzzap. Electricity surged from the panel, repelling me. But... I used Metal Transformation. At once, a picture puzzle appeared on the panel.
A minigame.
A higher-difficulty picture puzzle than the one in Cassiopeia Corporation’s arsenal factory control room.
Of course, after solving thousands in-game, it was child’s play. Click-click. As I worked quickly, the message popped up.
[Access granted.]
I stepped through the open door.