Chapter 130
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: The Three Shittiest Evolved Zombies
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'First things first among the theory stuff..., the ones most threatening to our lives..., starting with the most dangerous.'
After mulling it over a bit, I recalled the things that were the most dangerous and absolutely had to be known.
"You all have some things you must know to survive in this world. It's evolved zombies. I call them 'e-zoms' for short."
"...Evolved zombies? E-zoms?"
"Yeah. They'll start showing up in decent numbers pretty soon. That's 1% of the total zombie population. I already spotted one on the way to Hye-yeon's place the other day. Honestly, we've seen fewer than expected up to now."
I taught the pussy slaves all about e-zoms, telling them to commit it to memory.
"There's this asshole called a stealth zombie. It's one of the three shittiest zombies. Also known as a stealth zombie—it's semi-transparent, so at night, you really can't fucking see it. That's why militaries and armed groups got wiped out hard early on when they slacked on night watch."
"...M-Master. If, if the zombie's transparent..., h-how do you kill it?"
Seo-yeon raised her hand with a question.
I decided to kindly answer her doubt.
"It's not fully transparent, just semi-transparent. During the day when the sun's up, it looks kinda like..., you know that semi-transparent jellyfish vibe? It's like that. Not dangerous in daylight. Just kill it. At night, shine a light or something and it's pretty visible, so just take it out."
"...Aha."
"Except for tankers, e-zoms are still zombies at the end of the day. Pop 'em in the head with a bullet, same as regulars. This stealth fucker shows up fine even with night vision goggles. It's just that people get careless, get bit, and turn into another shitty one..., or it ambushes—not really ambushes, but loiters around dumbly—and you unluckily pass by and get chomped."
"I-I see."
"Then there's sensory zombies. Not one of the three shittiest, but still pretty fucking annoying. They sniff out human hideouts even when groups fortify and hunker down. Usually, that's what fucks over people who've built nice shelters and are hiding well."
"“...!””"
The pussy slaves flinched with fear.
They must've thought it was about us.
'It's not about us..., we're running an open shelter that says "come at us zombies, we'll mow you down"..., is it even a shelter? It's just an apartment.'
"Sensory zombies come in a few types. There's ones with huge ears—they're super sensitive to sound. They pick up human voices from far away and track 'em down. Ones with massive eyes, ones with huge noses. Anyway, they're the worst for survivors trying to hole up quietly and outlast everything."
"...You're right."
"But the problem isn't just one sensory zombie. Even if they find you, you can just kill the one or two. Most survivors past the very early or early stages can handle a single zombie, right?"
"““......””"
The pussy slaves looked crestfallen.
They didn't have those skills themselves, apparently.
"Don't worry about it, you all. I'll make sure you can from now on."
"“...Yes, Master.””"
"Anyway, back to e-zoms—there's a real fucking piece of shit that uses these sensory zombies. It's the number one of the three shittiest. I call it the 'zombie lord.' People call it leader-type zombie, zombie captain, boss zombie, whatever. Point is, there's leader zombies."
"...L-Leader-type zombie?"
"Yeah. This guy forms zombie packs. And leads 'em around. From dozens to hundreds, even thousands in the worst case..., though that'll probably never happen. Some claim tens of thousands."
"...That many?"
"But it's not the numbers that are the real issue. The problem is this fucker's got a brain and uses sensory zombies when it spots 'em. To hunt humans. Even if there are tons, you could just avoid that area—but it makes that impossible. They come charging with thousands of zombies at once."
"“...!!!””"
"I told you sensory zombies have hearing, but also sight, smell, and more, right? Big-eyed sensory zombies spot humans and their traces from super far away. Huge-nosed ones smell humans from kilometers off. Zombie lords are the shitty assholes who know how to use these evolved zombies' traits."
"Th-That's..., so what do we do...?"
"What do you mean what? When they show up, put a bullet in their skull. Zombie lords have the same toughness as regular zombies. Shoot the head, they drop."
"...I see."
"Still the biggest pain in the ass. If it seems like it's not working, it slips back alone and survives. Looks just like the other zombies, so you can't tell. Then it bides its time for another shot. Exploits gaps and carelessness. They have some intelligence—about the level of a crafty elementary school kid."
"““......””"
"Besides that, some views split sensory zombies into two types: scouts and trackers. One specialized in scouting, the other in pursuit. But it's all the same shit, right? That's how I see it. And then there are tankers, flyers, and ranged ones."
"Tankers, flyers, ranged?"
"Yeah. Tankers—also called tanks. This one's just a tank. Fucking huge. Regular bullets don't work well, so keep that in mind. Need machine guns, recoilless rifles, or anti-tank weapons to take 'em down."
"...B-Bullets don't work?!"
"They don't work well. They do penetrate. They just don't die easy. No need to freak out, though. Scout ahead and avoid areas with 'em. Tunneler zombies are more annoying than that. Also called infiltrators.... That's number two of the three shittiest. 1st zombie lord, 2nd tunneler zombie, 3rd stealth zombie."
"...It digs tunnels? The tunneler zombie?"
"Yeah. Unlucky ones can cause sinkholes or whatever..., looks kinda like a mole rat? Digs through the ground, weakens the earth, pops up where you least expect it..., total asshole. People think their underground shelter's safe, then everyone dies."
"That's..."
"So if you're building an underground shelter, surround the basement with alloy steel plates thick and tough enough to stop infiltrators, or dig a moat around it to kill 'em."
"Please explain flyers and ranged too, Master."
"Flyers fly around with wings, literally. If you just expect zombies in the sky, not much to fear. These fuckers are super weak. Bones hollowed out for flight or something..., total shit. Just watch for dive attacks from above. Shoot 'em, and they drop like flies."
"What about ranged?"
"Ranged come in two types: ones that spit phlegm really far, and ones that shoot teeth or whatever. Obviously, tooth-shooters are scarier. But they take longer to charge up."
I roughly mimicked a ranged zombie firing from its mouth with my hand, to make it easy for the pussy slaves to get.
"Think of it like shooting arrow bolts. You know darts? For dartboards. Kinda like that. Shoots teeth like that. Not as fast as bullets, more like arrows? If it hits and wounds you..., infection."
"““...!””"
"Dodge or don't get hit. Or use cover from the start. Wear armor. They're slow and weak from specializing in ranged, charge-up's slow too. Phlegm-spitters take about 10 seconds a shot, tooth-shooters 15. Know about 'em, and they're chump change."
"...S-Still pretty scary..."
"Of course. They're e-zoms. About time 1% of the population shows up. Gotta be careful. They don't rampage much early on, though. They'll get more active as time goes."
"““......””"
The pussy slaves looked dead serious.
Up till now, they figured they could just stick by me, eat what I gave 'em, spread their legs, and survive. Learning about e-zoms woke 'em up.
Then Seo-yeon raised her hand with a question.
"Master, um..., I..., I have a question."
"What?"
"...H-How do you know all this, Master?"
"It's a thing. I just..., anyway, I know."
"Seo-yeon, Master knew the zombie outbreak might happen. I told you. He's got superpowers."
"...You know 'cause you're awakened...?"
Seo-yeon, Hye-jeong, and Hye-yeon started whispering, about to dive into girl talk, so I clapped to refocus 'em on me.
Class wasn't over yet.
"Alright, question for you all. ...The three shittiest zombies I just told you about. What's their common point?"
"“...?””"
"Think and tell me. This is important."
About a minute later, Seo-yeon raised her hand.
"Yeah, go ahead."
"Uncertainty."
"Uncertainty?"
"Yes..., like, they exploit carelessness? Stealth, infiltration, and zombie lords using sensory ones—all three feel like they target uncertainty. The unexpected stuff? Gaps from being careless? Humans can block 'em if prepared, but these neutralize that?"
"Correct. Nailed it. Smart cookie."
It wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but Seo-yeon hit on something straight out of real-world internet analysis posts, so it was the answer.