New York, New York
It wasn't exactly a concrete plan at first.
But as I kept farming, a blueprint started forming in my head about how to put the items to optimal use.
First, I cut up the cables I'd farmed from the villa and connected them together.
I also pulled out a mannequin I'd dressed in clothes.
Then I used wire to secure a bucket hat on its head.
The face needed to be covered so it would be easier to mistake for a person.
I wrapped the cable around the mannequin's torso to hold it in place.
Next, I installed Christmas tree lights all over the mannequin's body.
Finally, I put batteries into the light casing. Done.
Next up was assembling the toy car.
I inserted the batteries.
Then I attached a noisy toy on top of the miniature car.
'Whew. Preparations complete.'
After leaving the store, I grabbed a mini-car track and a chair from the stationery shop on my way out.
My target was the KC Bank.
My first and last act of patriotism.
The plan was to rob the bank, farm as much cash as possible, and escape.
That was my final objective.
The problem was that important locations like banks had Stage 2 zombies.
'That's why I prepared all this.'
First, I threw a cable with a rock tied to the end toward the traffic light on the road above.
Whoosh—
Success on the first try.
On the other end, a dazzlingly bright mannequin was tied up.
The part with the rock was secured to a wooden pole on the sidewalk.
First phase of preparations complete.
Next was the makeshift convenience store set up on the sidewalk in front of KC Bank.
I stepped on the chair I'd brought, climbed onto the store, and installed the mini-car track.
Second phase complete.
Last was the bus stop shelter in the middle of the road.
I brought a table from a nearby store.
Then I stacked a chair on top of the table and climbed onto the bus stop shelter.
I placed the LP player I'd set up on top of the shelter.
Third phase complete.
"Hoo..."
Now all that was left was execution.
Would it really go the way I'd imagined?
Whether from nerves or excitement, my arms and legs were trembling.
I moved back to the mini-car track.
I turned on the noisy toy attached to the car and the car's power.
Beep-beep, beep-beep, boop.
Vrrrrrr!
The noise spread the moment I flipped the switch.
I placed the mini-car on the track, kicked the chair away, and ran.
"Hoo, hoo."
I grabbed the cable attached to the mannequin hanging from the traffic light.
Then I pushed it hard so it would spin around using centrifugal force.
Grruk?!
Grrrrraaaah!
Gweeeeh!
Grrrk!
The sound of a zombie horde came from the direction of the bank.
"Hoo, huup!"
Finally, I kicked off the table I'd placed at the bus stop and jumped up.
The moment I lowered the needle onto the LP player, jazz music filled the air.
Bam bam ba-bam! Bam bam ba-bam!
Graaaaaaaaah!!
Keeeeeeeh!
Kuwooooooooor!!
A spine-chilling chorus!
It was as if the entire city had come alive, with responses echoing from every direction.
Crash!
The bank's large glass wall, unable to hold any longer, shattered.
"Graaaaah!!"
"Kweeeeh!"
"Gwooooooor!"
Stage 1 zombies immediately poured out in a swarm.
Some of the horde headed toward the mini-car.
But an even larger group swarmed toward the glowing mannequin spinning in the air.
It looked like a school of piranhas.
'Holy shit.'
What if I'd been the one hanging there?
Just imagining it made my legs go weak.
"Gwoooooor!!"
"Keheuk!"
"Grrruuuuk!!"
Zombies that had been hiding all over the city rushed toward the LP player.
But none of them could reach the mini-car, the mannequin, or the LP player.
In that gap, I melted into the shadows and moved behind a store a short distance from the bank.
Right on cue, a Stage 2 zombie burst out of the bank.
A massive, muscular zombie wearing a bank security guard uniform.
'Holy fucking shit!'
Seeing it in person was even more intimidating.
Was there even a Hunter who could fight something like that?
No matter what kind of armor you wore, one punch would crumple you like an aluminum can.
Of course, I had zero intention of facing it head-on.
This whole setup had been to lure it away from the start.
Thud thud thud thud thud!
The ground-shaking footsteps.
The creature charged toward the mini-car.
It pulled back its fist and threw a punch.
Boom—!!!
The makeshift convenience store exploded as if a truck had slammed into it.
Gwoooooor!!
Even so, there were still plenty of devices left to lure it.
'No matter how strong it is, it probably can't pull the mannequin down.'
Even a Stage 2 zombie was still a zombie.
It wouldn't know how to bring it down.
Grrk?!
Just as I'd predicted, it simply stood on the sidewalk and stared up blankly.
Normally, Stage 2 zombies would lose aggro in this kind of situation and return to the bank.
But.
Bam bam ba-bam! Bam bam ba-bam!
The jazz performance wasn't over yet.
On top of that, a huge crowd of spectators had gathered, raising their hands and singing along.
New York~ New York~
That kept the security zombie's aggro firmly locked in place.
While the lyrics of "New York" echoed through the heart of Seoul.
'As fast as possible!'
I, who had been hiding beside the bank, slipped inside.
I'd planned to quickly loot the ATMs and get out.
'I can't just smash this, can I?'
Now that I was standing in front of an ATM, smashing it didn't seem feasible.
More importantly, the noise might bring the security zombie back.
'What's this?'
Upon closer inspection, I saw a keyhole.
'A key! I need to find the key first.'
Where would the key be?
It couldn't possibly be in the security zombie's inner pocket, right?
I went further inside.
The bank interior was a complete mess.
Probably because the zombie horde had torn through it on their way out.
I searched the teller counters first.
'Damn it, where is it?'
In my haste, I turned on my flashlight.
The beam cut across the interior.
And in that light, I spotted something.
'The office! It might be in there!'
The moment I entered the office, I saw it.
A security key cabinet!
But it was locked, so I smashed it with my axe.
Crack! Crunch!
I grabbed the bundle of keys that fell out with the debris and dashed out!
The instant I got outside, I inserted a key into the ATM and turned it.
'Damn, next one!'
The first key didn't fit.
Clack, clatter!
'Got it!'
Luckily, the second key worked.
I yanked the door open.
'What the...?'
There was another metal box inside, with another keyhole.
I pulled out the box and tried the second key, but it didn't fit.
I tried the first key again.
Click!
'Yes!'
When I opened it, bundles of bills were neatly lined up inside the cartridge.
I didn't even need to count them. I swept them all into my spatial backpack.
'Three more to go!'
I inserted the key into the next ATM.
"Haa, haa, haa, hoo."
My arms and legs were shaking like I was holding an electric drill.
'Ha, you crazy bastard. You actually pulled this off.'
I'd successfully robbed the place.
I even had more time than I'd expected.
The security zombie, which had been enjoying the performance for a full thirty minutes, finally ran to the bus stop shelter in the middle of the road.
Boom—!!!
It smashed the bus stop shelter to pieces.
The zombies then swarmed the fallen LP player.
The crushed LP player broke apart.
And so the performance came to an end.
'You idiot.'
In the end, the security zombie hadn't protected anything.
'And I've become rich!'
At least until I escaped the tower.
I entered an empty store and dumped the bills onto a table.
'How much is all this?'
It was too much to even count.
One thing was certain.
It was more cash than I'd ever see in my entire life.
After the security zombie returned to the bank and the audience had gone home.
I also walked along the edge of the road to head back.
Like a petty thief—no, like a legendary phantom thief, striding confidently!
It was all thanks to the Hunter hyungs who'd neatly cleared the roadside earlier.
'Still, I should get out soon.'
In three hours, the zombies would respawn.
I needed to leave before then.
After walking for about ten minutes.
'Finally.'
I arrived at Hongje Station.
'What's that?'
I heard footsteps coming from below the station.
It wasn't the shambling sound of zombies.
'Is someone there?'
I walked down and came face to face with a person at the ticket gate.
"Hello."
"Ah."
She seemed startled by the sudden presence.
"Yes, hello."
A woman who looked to be in her twenties stood in front of the ticket gate with an anxious expression.
'I never thought I'd run into a woman inside the tower.'
I'd barely heard any stories about female Hunters.
She didn't even look like a Hunter.
"Um, I'm sorry, but..."
"Yes?"
"Could I go in first?"
"Ah, yes. Of course."
The anxious-looking woman hesitated for a moment before stepping into the ticket gate.
The public escape gate could be used by multiple people.
It didn't matter who went first.
You just had to wait thirty seconds after entering.
But then.
[19/18]
[Capacity has been exceeded.]
"Huh?"
When I got closer, a blue hologram appeared.
"Um, that is... the escape capacity is full."
"What?!"
'I've never heard of this before?'
Well, I think I'd heard about it once in passing.
But it had seemed completely irrelevant.
The public escape gate did have a capacity limit, but quite a few people used personal escape gates.
It was extremely rare for the public gate to reach full capacity!
But somehow, this time, it seemed only one person had used a personal escape gate.
Then why not just use a personal escape gate?
Personal escape gates closed after thirty minutes.
They could no longer be used!
"I-I'm sorry. Please don't attack me…."
If I attacked this woman, the timer would reset.
"Ah, no. Why would I…"
"My mom is really sick and I came in to get medicine for her, please!"
She was holding various medicine bottles in her arms with no bag.
It was true that medicine found inside the tower was more effective.
"I-I'm not going to attack you, okay."
"Ah, thank goodness. I'm sorry."
The woman kept bowing her head repeatedly, expressing her apology.
'Then what happens to me?'
Damn it, damn it, damn it.
I should have come just a little faster.
But if I had, this person wouldn't have been able to escape.
That wouldn't have been right.
Flash!
Not long after, the woman was enveloped in light and disappeared.
"Ah, shit."
Even though the lights were on inside the station, everything before my eyes went pitch black.