Chapter 74
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Salvation Cult's Attrition Warfare
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That was more than enough. The bishops wouldn't dare step forward anymore.
The Salvation Cult's war of attrition hadn't been entirely meaningless.
The ones defending Shelter C were just the residents. Ordinary humans who had been fighting nonstop against swarms of monsters for days on end—there was no way their minds could hold up.
Their mental stress had long since reached its breaking point.
Some were even starting to take their own lives, unable to bear the anxiety. And when rumors spread that there might be spies inside the shelter, people's unease hit its peak.
That was when the "real" spies began to move.
'We will win this war.'
Standing atop Shelter C's thick walls, the man smiled faintly. His name was David, a resident who had transferred to Shelter C about two months ago.
The others thought he was from Shelter D, but in truth, he was a Salvation Cult spy. The cult had infiltrated him to monitor Shelter C.
David stared piercingly into the darkness, then pulled something from his pocket. He tossed it down toward the base of the wall. He watched it plummet straight down endlessly.
But before it could even hit the ground, the sentry gun beside him roared to life. Boom! It exploded in a fierce blast. David stared at it in stunned horror.
"What were you gonna do with a flare? Oh, trying to send a signal? No doubt about it now. Grab that bastard."
At Lee Seo-na's icy command, the residents behind her seized David. He resisted, but he couldn't overcome the numbers and ended up a prisoner.
As a steel pipe struck his head and he lost consciousness, he thought:
-How the hell did they know I was a spy?
This scene played out all across Shelter C. Every single Salvation Cult spy was rooted out, tortured for information, and ultimately killed.
The reason was simple.
[We already knew.]
If the spies had known that, they would've felt incredibly wronged.
"How the hell did you memorize all those faces and names?"
Johnson asked in awe, and Park Si-hyun just shrugged. Beside him, the hologram of the young boy—Loki—was sulking, clearly displeased about something.
"That's just basic Veteran stuff."
Johnson shook his head. He hadn't believed it when Park Si-hyun called himself a Veteran... but this guy was way more Veteran than he'd imagined.
"...Even if you said you'd played the game for ten years, I'd believe it now."
"I did play for ten real years."
"...The game's only been out for a year. How could you play for ten?"
Hearing that, Park Si-hyun realized Johnson's "timeline" was nine years ago. Zixuan was eight years ago, Johnson nine. Was there some connection between those timelines...?
Lost in thought, he soon smirked and spoke up.
"Believe it or not."
"...You're something else. Anyway, what do you think the Salvation Cult will do next?"
"They'll probably throw everything they've got at us. Retreat isn't an option for them."
Johnson looked uneasy as he asked back.
"What about us?"
"Oh, that's simple."
As Johnson gave him a puzzled look, he continued calmly.
"We let them break through on purpose."
"We lure the Tyrant inside the shelter and hunt it down."
"You think we can take it down?"
Johnson asked doubtfully. He'd grown tremendously in the past few days, but even so, he couldn't imagine killing that thing.
Compared to all the zombies he'd faced so far, it was a monster among monsters.
"We'll definitely hunt it."
Park Si-hyun said with utter conviction.
With Heracles and the combat androids, plus their support, they could absolutely take down the Tyrant.
-Of course, Johnson had no idea about that, so the plan just made him anxious.
* * *
During the war, I'd leveled up like a storm. The bishops' deaths had lowered the zombies' quality, but they made up for it with sheer numbers.
It was the Salvation Cult's worst blunder—and our greatest boon.
「Your job level has risen to 38.」
「Metal Decomposition level has risen to 7.」
「Machine Repair level has risen to 2.」
「Your job level has risen to 39.」
「Metal Generation level has risen to 6.」
Going up 2 levels in the dreaded late-30s range was impressive enough. No need to mention how much other players had gained.
Anyway...
I was just 1 level away from the Mechanic's first ultimate at level 40—Living Machine. Maybe because the war was still raging, but I didn't feel much excitement.
'Time to end this war.' I looked at my laptop. It was playing footage from a recon drone I'd built using the tech lab blueprint.
In the video, a man presumed to be a bishop was issuing orders to fanatics.
「At dawn tomorrow, we'll launch a full assault. Brothers, in the name of our great Leader, we will surely triumph! My Leader! Your Leader!」
Oblivious that I was listening, he blabbed innocently about their plans. I eavesdropped in real-time and crafted countermeasures tailored to them.
A plan to kill the Tyrant—the Salvation Cult's greatest asset.
"Park Si-hyun, hate to say it, but you're totally nuts."
"Thanks for the compliment."
I'd explained the plan—letting them breach the shelter on purpose—and Johnson praised it to the skies...
"You're not right in the head, I knew that... but yeah, you're insane..."
Even Lee Seo-na, Shelter C's leader, gave it rave reviews. But despite the praise, neither opposed it, so the plan went ahead as is.
Dawn that day.
Hordes of zombies swarmed Shelter C's walls.
"Shoot only the other zombies, not the Tyrant."
「Roger.」
"Bit curt, aren't we?"
「Roger that, sir.」
'Cheeky brat.' I chuckled, picturing Loki's hologram's smug face, then checked the live camera feeds. The Tyrant was starting to tear down the wall.
With no interference, it carved a hole big enough for itself in just fifteen minutes. It pushed through into the shelter.
Roaring ferociously like it was venting all its rage, it smashed every building in sight. And then...
「Heracles activating.」
The combat androids activated too. Loki's AI was too basic to run more than about ten at once.
Heracles plus nine security drones. Watching them charge the Tyrant, I muttered softly.
"Time to die."
I'd run into that thing endlessly, like it was made of chicken stock. Now it was time to send it off nicely.
Heracles's Heavenly Punishment fired. Ignore-defense firepower—perfect for high-defense zombies like the Tyrant.
Bullet holes started riddling the Tyrant, which hadn't even flinched from grenade launchers. It charged Heracles.
It swung a fist, smashing hard into Heracles's head. But Heracles barely budged and blasted it point-blank with multi-round grenades.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The blasts hurled the Tyrant back roughly. Undeterred, it charged again aggressively.
Of course, a prolonged fight would favor the Tyrant.
Even Heracles couldn't keep up with its physical prowess forever. But this stage wasn't just androids.
Team Apocalypse joined in, biding their time.
"Time to die."
The Chinese Blader—Qing Han—hurled his sword at the Tyrant. Blade Throw, the Blader's sole ranged skill.
Sacrificing your weapon for 400% sword damage. Astonishingly, it pierced the Tyrant's wrist.
Roooar!
Roaring in pain, the Tyrant swung at the now-defenseless Qing Han. But green energy—psychokinesis—blocked it.
The psychokinesis held for just one second, but that let Qing Han retreat, and Johnson's bullets riddled the Tyrant.
Rrrat-tat-tat.
Bullets tore into its already ragged body. Heracles kept firing Heavenly Punishment nonstop.
Even as it landed occasional counters, it proved the Tyrant was a true monster—but I knew it couldn't last.
It even smartly targeted the healer putting up shields from behind... but my barricades blocked it.
In the end...
Overwhelmed by damage, the Tyrant's body tilted forward. Thud.
「Job experience gained. (6-man party bonus +200%) (Massacre bonus +500%) (Chain kill bonus +500%) (First elite zombie kill bonus +300%)」
「Your job level has risen to 40.」
「You have learned Living Machine (Lv.1).」
「Your job level has risen to 41.」
「Metal Decomposition level has risen to 8.」
Even split six ways, jumping 2 levels showed how monstrous it was. I saw the Tyrant's corpse shimmer.
Johnson gave me a look. I nodded and touched the glowing body. The items it dropped appeared.
It wasn't just one or two items.
From Katana Fragment—Hybrid Z Parts—to Sci-Fi Notebook, skill book...
'Jackpot... I guess?' It was a jackpot, sure, but after seeing its monster-truck toughness, it felt more like fair compensation.
Skimming the items, I...
'What's this...'
Picked up what looked like a map.
「Acquired Mysterious Map x1.」
'A treasure map?'
Treasure Map. An item that let you go places the scenario didn't allow. Deleted about nine years ago. Why?
'Because Mechanics getting it broke balance.' Specifically, the one to 'Bahara Mine' was OP. It supplied mithril and adamantium freely.
It enabled hour clears even on high difficulties.
'Wonder which one this is...'
With trembling hands, I checked the treasure map.