Chapter 27

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 27

Chapter Title: Set the Fire

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Before heading to the main street, I spotted a zombie shambling around, so I grabbed it and ripped off its limbs.

"Aim for the head and swing down. You've got enough strength for it."

"B-But... what if it bites me?"

She stared at the thrashing zombie with a look of utter disgust.

"I've already chopped off all its limbs—how's it gonna bite? Once you become my slave, you get stronger. Trust me and just swing down. Come on!"

"O-Okay."

With a frustrated Eeit!, she brought the aluminum bat down on the zombie's head.

'As expected.'

It was a clumsy swing without much power behind it.

Even so, the zombie's head exploded.

Status buffs were kicking in.

"Huh?"

Bo-ra's eyes went wide.

She looked like she couldn't believe she'd done it herself.

"See? I told you. Slaves get stronger."

"It's real... I killed a zombie!"

"But you're not scared? Even if it's a zombie, it still looks human."

"I've seen way worse. I watched people get torn apart right in front of me. They turned into monsters and ate their own comrades alive. Compared to that, this is nothing."

This was the result of a bubbly girl who loved to play witnessing hell for days on end.

In a world like this, you couldn't survive without getting used to horrors like that.

"Now I've got you, Master. You're stronger than any superhero in the movies. What do I have to fear when you're protecting me? As long as you don't abandon me, I'm fine."

"If I was gonna abandon you, I wouldn't have made you my slave in the first place. Don't worry about that."

"Hehe, having you by my side makes me so happy."

Against my better judgment, she cozied up to me as we headed for the mart.

We ran into some zombies in the alleys and crossing the main street, but we handled them without much trouble.

Unless they came at me in a horde, low-level zombies were no match for me anymore.

While smashing zombie heads to rack up points, resting in empty buildings to fill my stomach and keep my condition peak, I arrived near the gang-infested mart just four hours after setting out.

The mart sat between a shopping district and a residential complex.

Plenty of big and small buildings nearby made it easy to hide and scout the area.

"How are we supposed to get to the rooftop? We've gotta move these drums too."

When my Agility hit 29, I could jump to the second-floor height of an overpass.

Now at 39, I figured I could leap even higher, but four stories up the mart was still a stretch.

'Especially carrying these drums.'

I ran through the tasks in my head.

Haul the drums to the rooftop, smash the rooftop floor, dump all the black liquid, light it up, then bolt for the church.

'If I activate the skill right before moving the drums...'

Level 1 lasted 5 minutes, Level 2 was 10.

Level 3 should be 15.

I had to turn the mart into an inferno and reach the church basement within those 15 minutes.

To shave off even a little time, I moved the drums to the rooftop of the building next to the mart.

The heights were similar enough that I could transfer them rooftop to rooftop.

No zombies around the mart.

The gang must've cleared them out to make it their base.

Thanks to that, I slipped into the adjacent building without interference.

I positioned the drums on the spot perfect for jumping to the mart rooftop.

From ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up high, the Eternal Spirit Church next to the mart came into clear view.

Close enough that if fire broke out at the mart, they'd spot it immediately.

A gang thug armed with a steel pipe guarded the church entrance.

Hiding behind the rooftop railing, I scanned the mart when one of them climbed up.

Seemed they sent someone up at set times to watch the surroundings.

Focusing my mind on the mart.

My sharpened 'Perception' ability let me scan the entire building.

Faint sensory fragments leaked from the mart.

At low levels, I only picked up on hostility, but now all sorts of emotions flooded my mind.

Fear and terror from the first and second floors, laced with anger in between.

Emotions from male survivors enslaved by the gang.

From the third floor: shame and despair.

Where the female survivors, turned into the gang's playthings, were locked up.

Up to the fourth floor, raw malice hit me—pure loathing mixed with murderous intent.

The gang was definitely using the fourth floor as their hideout.

The lookout yawned and headed back downstairs.

With no one around, now was the time to launch the rescue op.

"Hide by the church. Might need your shield."

"Got it."

If a fight broke out after rescuing the two, I'd have her deploy her shield to protect the women.

That was why I'd brought Bo-ra along.

I sent her down first, then activated Celebrity Buff.

As expected, the skill duration extended to 15 minutes.

I had to torch the mart and rescue the two trapped in the church within that window.

The max-level high felt amazing, as always.

Shouldering a drum, I leaped toward the mart rooftop.

Filled to the brim, it had to weigh at least 200kg, but it felt as light as an empty can.

I went back and forth, moving all three drums, then grabbed the sledgehammer on the last trip.

[Remaining Time 12:28]

'This skill's the best. Took less than three minutes.'

Gripping the sledgehammer, I gauged the spot.

Middle of the rooftop for maximum spread.

I raised it high and brought it down.

A deafening roar echoed as cracks spiderwebbed outward.

This much noise had to have caused chaos below.

I had to smash through and pour the liquid before bolting.

Three more swings, and the floor cratered like a meteor impact.

One more... another... on the fifth, the cracked section twisted badly.

I dashed to the opposite side and hammered that spot—it collapsed downward.

"Kuuaaaak!!"

The guy below got crushed by the falling debris.

Never imagined the ceiling caving in, huh?

Quickly tilting the first drum, I dumped its contents below.

One drum... two... the third, I hurled straight at the fourth-floor surface.

It burst on impact, liquid splattering everywhere.

[Remaining Time 10:06]

Footsteps pounded from the rooftop stairs.

A few had snapped out of it amid the chaos.

I flung the sledgehammer at the first one to burst out.

"Uwaaaak!!"

His body exploded on impact, and the followers screamed.

Seeing that, no one else dared step up—until one shoved through the gap.

His scowl and build marked him as no ordinary thug.

"You must be the Chinatown Gang boss."

"Who the hell are you?"

"What's the point telling a dead man your name?"

"What?"

I lit a wad of paper and dropped it below.

Like last time, the zombie-melting liquid caught fire like nobody's business.

Flames started mid-floor and engulfed the entire fourth in seconds, acrid smoke billowing up to the rooftop.

[Remaining Time 09:15]

The rest scrambled downstairs to escape to lower floors.

Jeon Gwang-tae glared at me before following last.

A few might flee outside, but I could deal with the stragglers later.

Plenty were already burning alive on the fourth floor.

I sprinted to the railing and leaped down.

The church was probably in uproar by now.

Nine minutes was plenty to grab the two and get out.

As long as nothing got in the way.

The Eternal Spirit Church basement had several rooms.

The most important were the saintesses' private chambers deep inside and the special room right by the stairs where the cult leader bestowed "blessings" on his devotees.

"Haut... haang, heut... Lord... there, more..."

For Seo Hee-won, who'd suffered erectile dysfunction, the translucent window was a beam of light.

He'd wept uncontrollably when he found this miracle in the window.

'I can get it up! I can too!!'

The day he thrust his rock-hard dick into the woman offered by Elder Jeon Gwang-tae, Seo Hee-won shivered in ecstasy.

A joy he'd been denied for over ten years had descended upon him.

Even now, he pistoned away atop his favorite devotee.

Trembling with building pleasure, adjusting his angle for release—

"Lord! Big trouble!!"

A believer guarding the basement burst in.

Unthinkable insolence under normal circumstances.

"What is it?"

"The mart... it's on fire!"

"What?!"

The believers and slaves offered points to sustain this life.

Assets he absolutely couldn't lose.

Seo Hee-won hurriedly rushed outside.