Chapter 6
Chapter 6
“This is insane!”
After sending the mutant zombies out hunting, the amount of experience pouring in became completely different from before.
It was like a dam had burst open.
And on top of that—
[Level Up!]
Without hesitation, I invested the point into the Gallery.
【Name】 : Choi Han Lv.4
【Stats】 : F
【Unique Ability】 : Trade Gallery Lv.4
【Unique Skill】 : Zombie Control Lv.4
【Points】 : 0
Then the status window changed.
Trade Cooldown: 12 Hours
“Oho.”
Twelve hours.
That basically meant I could trade whenever I wanted now.
Thinking back to how absurdly long the cooldown had been at first, it almost felt unreal.
And besides—
“The cost increased to 8.”
I could now control eight normal zombies or up to four mutant zombies.
My combat power had nearly doubled.
“Nice.”
But then—
“My experience stopped increasing.”
It was as if I had hit a wall.
The numbers rose for a while, then completely stopped moving.
“Looks like it’s time to start hunting mutant zombies directly.”
Otherwise there was no reason for the growth to stall.
Either I had to kill thousands of regular zombies—
Or start targeting mutants.
And honestly—
“The second option is way easier.”
I already had powerful mutant zombies under my command.
No point letting them sit around unused.
“It’s time to head out.”
“Already? We’ve only rested for a week.”
Lee Sua grumbled from the sofa while chewing gum lazily.
She sank deeper into the cushions, clearly not wanting to move.
“It’s time we establish a proper base.”
The time had come.
A shelter of our own.
We couldn’t keep postponing it.
“But honestly, isn’t this place fine for just the two of us?”
Sua asked casually while pointing at the ceiling as if this apartment was good enough.
“No. This place is too vulnerable.”
“Mm… true.”
We were relatively safe from zombies here.
But humans were a different story.
And mutant zombies could break in anytime if they really wanted to.
That was why we desperately needed a proper shelter.
A place with actual defenses.
“Let’s look around first.”
We needed to scout outside and search for a suitable location.
Meeting other survivors wouldn’t be a bad idea either.
With Sua’s abilities, she’d probably notice anything suspicious immediately.
We descended the apartment stairs and stepped outside.
The ruined city air seeped into my lungs.
Dust.
Rot.
And an unnatural silence that clung to everything.
After walking for several minutes, signs of survivors slowly started appearing.
“Hmm? A police station?”
The first survivor group we found had taken over a police station.
The entrance was tightly barricaded, and a large man stood guard outside.
He crossed his arms and glared at us with openly hostile eyes.
“Excuse me?”
Knock. Knock.
I carefully knocked on the door.
The man silently scanned us from head to toe, then pointed toward the back of the building.
A signal telling us to come around.
Just as I was about to follow—
“Stop.”
Lee Sua stepped in front of me.
“These bastards have tasted human flesh.”
“…Huh? How can you tell?”
“I can smell it.”
Her voice was low and calm.
“You can’t hide the smell of human meat, blood, and bones. Doesn’t matter if it’s cooked or raw.”
“…..”
Hearing that completely changed the way I looked at the police station.
Why had they told us to go behind the building instead of inside?
It felt like they were trying to lure us into a blind spot.
Sua stared toward the station with naked disgust in her eyes.
I whispered quietly.
“Should we send zombies in there?”
She kept staring for a moment before slowly shaking her head.
“Later. Let’s find a shelter location first.”
“…Let’s move on.”
That first encounter had been complete garbage.
At least we hadn’t been the ones hunted.
We resumed walking through the streets.
Not long after, we found another survivor group.
This time it was a large underground supermarket.
It looked like they had successfully defended against zombies.
The entrance was heavily fortified with thick barricades.
Shelves, refrigerators, even cement blocks had been stacked together to create a defensive line.
Several people watched us from behind the barricades with wary eyes.
“Excuse us, we’d like to ask something.”
I slowly raised both hands and spoke as politely as possible.
Heavy footsteps approached from inside.
Then five men appeared.
All armed.
Baseball bats.
Steel pipes.
And what looked like a hunting rifle.
“What do you want?”
The man in front glared between me and Sua while keeping one hand near his weapon.
Yeah.
This was normal.
The police station people had definitely been the weird ones.
“Do you know of any buildings nearby suitable for a shelter?”
At my question, the men exchanged blank looks with one another.
Then—
“Puhahaha!”
“Ahahaha!”
“Hehehehe!”
They burst out laughing.
“……What’s so funny?”
Sua’s voice turned sharp enough to cut through the laughter immediately.
“Ahem… sorry about that.”
The leader cleared his throat awkwardly.
“You’re talking about building a shelter around here? With just two people? The nearby shelters won’t leave you alone. Territorial disputes are brutal around here.”
“They should leave us alone though, shouldn’t they?”
“Huh? Unless you happen to be one of those rare awakened people? Hahaha!”
Right then—
Tap. Tap.
Sua suddenly appeared behind the man and tapped his shoulder.
The atmosphere froze instantly.
Just moments ago she had clearly been standing beside me.
Now she was behind him before anyone could even blink.
The man turned around with wide eyes.
The other four forgot to even hold their weapons properly.
“Y-You’re… awakened?”
His tone softened immediately.
The loud arrogance from before vanished completely.
“So. Is there a suitable shelter nearby or not?”
“Of course there is! Please follow me!”
The man hurriedly began guiding us.
His attitude had changed completely.
A very quick learner.
Eventually, he pointed toward a distant area.
“That place used to be a military research complex! It’s got military-grade facilities too, so it’d make a perfect defensive base!”
I looked where he pointed.
Beyond the thick forest stood a series of orderly gray research buildings.
Tall fences surrounded the entire complex.
At first glance, it looked like the perfect fortress.
But it was too quiet.
Unnaturally quiet.
Like something inside was holding its breath and waiting.
“Then why haven’t you guys settled there?”
At my question, the man swallowed nervously.
“A lot of people have entered that research complex before…”
He paused briefly.
“But not a single one has ever come back out.”
“Because of mutant zombies?”
“We don’t know. But…”
He glanced toward the complex before continuing.
“Some of the crews that went in were strong enough to handle mutant zombies. But even they never came back.”
So mutant zombies alone couldn’t explain it.
I nodded slowly.
Then I pulled out a box of snacks from my backpack and handed it over.
“Oh! Thank you! You’re very generous people!”
The man accepted the snacks and quickly backed away.
He clearly wanted to leave before we made our decision.
His instincts were sharp.
Anyway.
I turned toward Sua.
“What do you think? Want to check it out?”
“There’s definitely some risk.”
She stared at the research complex while speaking.
But despite her caution, I could tell she was interested too.
“Still feels worth trying.”
No awakened individuals had entered yet.
The crews mentioned earlier were probably made up of ordinary survivors.
But we were different.
We had two awakened people.
Sua stared at the facility for a moment longer before nodding.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
“But first let’s add two more mutant zombies.”
The Armored Type and Skeletal Type were already waiting quietly inside a nearby building under standby orders.
Easy enough to control.
“I found two more nearby. We’ll tame them first, then move.”
“Sounds good.”
A small smile appeared at the corner of Sua’s lips.
Excitement and tension mixed together.
Honestly, I probably looked the same.
The research complex waited for us in silence.
A little later—
We successfully tamed two more mutant zombies.
That brought the total under my command to four.
Armored Type.
Skeletal Type.
Distortion Type.
Tentacle Type.
The newly acquired Distortion Type possessed abnormally elongated claws.
It specialized in slashing attacks.
As for the Tentacle Type—
It was exactly what the name suggested.
Three massive tentacles wriggled from its back.
All four mutant zombies stood silently under my command.
Anyway—
“Crew complete.”
Technically speaking, our combat power now equaled six awakened individuals.
Me.
Lee Sua.
And four mutant zombies.
How many forces around here could actually stop a lineup like this?
Seriously.
Who could even handle this?
I turned my gaze toward the research complex.
Beyond the fences, the gray buildings stood silently.
Still far too quiet.
“Shall we go?”
“Yeah.”
Sua answered shortly as she stepped forward.
The four mutant zombies followed soundlessly behind her.