Chapter 38

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 38

Chapter Title: Cleared the Path

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Marts stack dozens of shopping carts on top of each other for storage.

Pulling out one or two and pushing them along doesn't take much effort.

If you don't have a heavy load, you can easily steer them in any direction you want.

But when dozens of those carts are stacked together, pushing them or turning them becomes incredibly tough.

Why am I suddenly talking about shopping carts?

Because that's exactly my situation right now.

Parking cars on either side is no big deal.

You just stack them up vertically like building blocks and shove them aside.

At first, they moved smoothly, but once the space between vehicles vanished, they started resisting like a pile of locked carts.

You could cram them together or hurl them outward to make room.

That's what I started doing midway through since pushing took longer than expected, but even that wasn't easy.

With Offense/Defense maxed out, I wouldn't tire for 25 minutes no matter what.

But shoving cars or lifting them to toss aside took way more time than I'd thought.

Zombies occasionally slipped through the gaps.

Whenever that happened, I'd rip off a car door and smash their heads clean off.

Dealing with them wasn't hard, but it ate up time.

After shoving or throwing dozens of vehicles to clear space, I looked ahead to see how much was left—and there was no end in sight.

'Damn it, at this rate, when the hell am I gonna clear it?'

My impatience was growing.

To save time, I started shoving my hands under the cars and flinging them away.

It was faster than before, but the problem was there were just too damn many to toss like that.

'Was this too reckless? Should I use the skill again? Should've upped the usage count.'

If I used the skill again, I wouldn't have enough for the next blockage.

I could rush into sex or set up a barrier in a pinch, but no guarantee it'd increase the count even once more.

That's what the AI had told me.

My arousal was so uniquely intense it couldn't even be measured, and no one knew when it'd hit the threshold.

'Fuck, this makes it a total random game.'

I decided to focus on the task at hand instead of alternatives.

Better to speed up the repetitive grind in a flow state than slow down overthinking.

"Raaahhh—!!"

I hurled them like a madman, over and over, nonstop, until my hands turned to bone and dust.

Compact cars flying off the road, SUVs crashing into storefronts, trucks rolling over zombies—everywhere I passed turned into a hellscape.

'Just a bit more, faster, more... more... raaahhh...!!'

Blood trickled from scrapes all over my body from brushing against car frames.

A zombie crushed under a car stirred with a growl, so I stomped its head flat.

I deliberately flung the truck loaded with gas cans far away, and it erupted in a massive explosion.

Hearing the blaring horns, I turned to see two zombies heading for our car.

I swung a car door like a flyswatter, obliterating their upper bodies.

The end still wasn't in sight.

Could I clear all that in four minutes?

My body held up, but my mind was wearing thin.

Just seeing another car made me want to puke.

'Grab the center, throw... grab the center, throw...'

This must've been how Shinji felt riding Eva and pulling the switch.

Asphalt I'd never glimpsed before finally appeared far ahead.

One more intersection, and the path would be clear.

The problem? Less than three minutes left.

'I'll use that one to push.'

A one-ton truck loaded with fruit crates caught my eye.

I cleared the surrounding cars, then tipped the truck on its side.

Fruits spilled out, rolling everywhere in chaos.

I'd seen movies where cars in a chase scene bulldozed through a junkyard pileup at full speed.

No reason I couldn't do the same if I built up momentum like driving.

I backed the truck up to give it room to accelerate.

"Oppa, what are you doing?"

Yun-ji asked with a startled look as I dragged it over.

"Pull our car back further. Cars might bounce out from the front."

With enough distance secured from our ride, I gathered my strength for the final push.

Last chance.

'I can do it... I can... I can!!'

"Hah... hah... raaahhh!!"

A lion's roar is said to overwhelm with sheer terror.

If zombies had brains, they'd all flee hearing my voice now.

The echo stunned even me as it boomed everywhere.

I kicked off the ground and shoved the truck toward the roadblock.

Momentum built in seconds; the truck surged forward, sparks ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flying.

Boom!!

A massive impact slammed my body, but I gritted my teeth and held on.

The lead car flipped on collision and bounced outward.

Three or four more tumbled over nearby vehicles in an instant.

I kept the pressure on without slowing, barreling ahead.

Time to show Offense/Defense MAX and Agility MAX in action!

Glass shards and debris flew, grazing my shoulder and embedding in my arm.

A van flipped over the truck behind me but mercifully missed our car.

The counter ticked toward zero.

10 seconds... 9... 8...

When I bounced the last car aside, tumbling with the truck, four seconds remained.

"Ugh... it hurts..."

Only after the counter vanished did the gashes and scrapes start tormenting my body.

I lay spread-eagled on the asphalt, catching my breath, when an alarm blared in my head.

A warning from my Perception stat.

'No way these bastards wouldn't come.'

Zombies, catching the scent of living flesh, shambled toward us.

I sprang up and grabbed the fallen truck door from the ground.

My shoulder and arm wounds screamed, but that wasn't the issue now.

I swung at the nearest one—thwack! Its head vanished.

Compared to the 25-minute deathmatch clearing the path, these were nothing.

I swung the door mercilessly at the approaching horde.

Thirty-eight zombies lost their heads.

Confirming no more movers around, I collapsed in exhaustion.

"Oppa!!"

"Oppa."

"Master!"

The girls rushed over.

Tears welling in their eyes.

"B-blood... you're bleeding! What do we do? Does it hurt a lot? Sniff... waaah."

"Don't cry. Pull the glass out of my shoulder. Bo-ra, wipe the blood here. Check for shards."

"Yes, Master."

"Ji-eun, grab some water. It's in the trunk."

They bolted to the car at my words.

I opened the Point Shop and bought bandages.

Small bandages take 12 hours, medium 6, large 2.

Price triples each time, but with the girls earning points, money's no issue.

A bandage materialized in midair, but they didn't flinch anymore.

Living with me had normalized the supernatural.

"We have more bottled water—clean my arm and shoulder. Gotta wrap them."

Yun-ji and Bo-ra each took an arm, meticulously cleaning the wounds.

Ji-eun handled my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shoulder.

Her earlier pissed-off look was gone.

"Feeling better now?"

"I wasn't mad."

I ignored her and kept talking.

"The system set the order. Couldn't be helped. That's why—don't get mad."

"That's what I've been... saying. I wasn't mad."

A faint blush colored her cheeks.

She's probably anticipating what's next.

Once bandaged, the pain eased considerably.

I could handle zombies fine, but for the next blockage, I needed full recovery.

"This'll heal completely in two hours. We'll push to the next jam and rest till then. Bo-ra, you drive."

"Yes, Master."

I loaded the truck door into the trunk.

Perfect for zombie bashing.

Bo-ra skillfully weaved through the scattered vehicles.

True to her word, her driving was top-notch.

"You drive really well."

"I drive a lot. Bought a car as soon as I started working."

"Practice doesn't always mean skill. This is pure talent."

"Hehe, praise from Master feels good."

She picked up speed.

She could handle the camper later.

The next blockage was at the highway exit and interchange.

Cars trying to merge had tangled with incoming traffic into a mess.

Without trapped zombies, the numbers weren't overwhelming.

"Stay in the car for a bit."

I pulled the truck door from the trunk.

"Grrr..."

They sniffed us out like ghosts and approached.

Clear them all to rest easy.

I gripped the door and charged.

Decapitating 22 took under ten minutes.

Zombie slayer status unlocked.