Train Station (1)
“Yeah, follow our car and choke on the exhaust all you want! You look like you don’t even deserve fresh air anyway, huh? Look at that skin all flipped out, ugh!”
Jo Yong-jin couldn’t hide his bewilderment at Go Cheon-su’s antics.
“Wh-what the hell are you doing? Have you lost your mind?”
They had to navigate an impossible curve up ahead anyway. He’d tried drifting once or twice on a junker with friends at an empty lot, but Jo Yong-jin had no confidence in making it out of here. And now Go Cheon-su was taunting the crawler on top of it.
“You got a death wish or what?!”
“Uwaaaah! Yeah, I’m dying to die! Come on, kill me if you can, you filthy monster bastard!”
Go Cheon-su kept yelling at the crawler regardless.
Please… work…!
This had to do the trick. Or else…
Kraaaaaah!
Finally, the crawler exploded in rage. As its ear-splitting roar echoed around them, a notification popped up in front of Go Cheon-su’s eyes.
Mission completed.
Granting effect.
“Everyone, hold on tight!”
The sharp curve. Jo Yong-jin finally cranked the wheel. The rear tires immediately slid outward while the fronts pointed inward. Oversteer.
If he stopped there, they’d smash through the guardrail and get flung off the edge.
“Uwaaaah!”
Countersteer. Jo Yong-jin whipped the wheel back, balancing the car. It slid through the curve like it was on ice.
Kraaaaaah!
Did the crawler manage it too? No, it didn’t.
Kwang!
The crawler slammed straight into the guardrail, its massive body toppling toward the cliff.
Kraaa…
It tried to right itself, but too late. Unable to overcome its momentum, the crawler plummeted into the bottomless abyss below.
Screeech!
At the same time, their car skidded to a halt, leaving black marks on the road.
“……”
“……”
“……Hah.”
The first to exhale was the driver, Jo Yong-jin.
“W-we… we’re alive…?”
His face was full of disbelief. And why not? It had been an angle doomed to failure. They should’ve plunged off the cliff before the crawler even could.
He glanced at the two in the back through the rearview mirror.
“Hoo… haa…”
Yang Min-cheol slumped in his seat, tension draining away as he let out a long breath. Go Cheon-su sat primly, as if he’d never poked his head out the window.
“E-everyone okay?”
At Jo Yong-jin’s question, Yang Min-cheol nodded. Go Cheon-su didn’t respond.
Jo Yong-jin looked puzzled, but in truth, Go Cheon-su was staring at the chat window right now.
“Han Do-choe.”
Go Cheon-su wiped his sweaty palms and spoke.
“Thanks.”
That had been really close. Surviving that reckless plan was mostly thanks to the viewer mission. It had also helped him figure out the new mission system in the process.
The username wasn’t listed, but this had to be Han Do-choe’s reply.
“Now… let’s head to the train station.”
Go Cheon-su finally said to the group after a long moment.
“About ten more minutes.”
On the way to the train station, thankfully no major threats appeared. Just the occasional zombie here and there.
Go Cheon-su glanced at Jo Yong-jin, who’d announced the remaining time, then turned his gaze back out the window.
Will there be a train when we get there?
It had guided them here because of a train, but something still nagged at him.
Doesn’t seem like it’ll be easy to board…
Considering what he’d heard on the radio, there was a good chance others had flocked there too—not just his group. Monsters aside, clashing with people made him uneasy deep down.
“Hyung, where are we headed next?”
Yang Min-cheol asked Go Cheon-su.
“To Daejeon nearby, right?”
“Who knows. That’s my plan, anyway…”
Once they reached the station, they might each find their own way. Keeping the group together felt like a burden to Go Cheon-su.
Not really my style anyway.
He’d been a shut-in; fixed parties didn’t appeal much. Still, after these events, a bit of trust had formed—that much was true.
“We’ll see when we get there. Who knows what’ll happen.”
Yang Min-cheol tilted his head at Go Cheon-su’s vague response.
How much time passed in silence like that?
“Alright, everyone.”
Jo Yong-jin announced.
“Train station.”
The station was in a remote area. It boasted a massive scale like a shopping mall, expecting heavy foot traffic, but the surrounding commercial district was tiny.
The car passed the small shops and stopped in front of the station.
“We made it in one piece.”
Yang Min-cheol said, hopping out first.
“Hyung, come on. Looks clear around here for now.”
“Yeah.”
Go Cheon-su followed, scanning the area.
“Really nothing here.”
This place hadn’t been fully developed commercially yet. The city had planned to finish the station and then coordinate with merchants to spruce up the district, but friction had stalled it.
“Weird, though.”
Even so, no people at all wasn’t normal. The radio chatter had been all about boarding a train here. He’d expected a crowd—totally unexpected.
“Hyung.”
Yang Min-cheol approached with a worried look.
“This okay?”
“Dunno. Doesn’t seem like a big problem…”
It was too quiet, that bugged him, but they had to move.
Info can’t be wrong.
They’d said a train here would get them out of the city. No way to jump regions without it, so boarding was certain.
“Leave the car here?”
Jo Yong-jin asked from the driver’s seat, window down.
Go Cheon-su scanned around again and countered.
“What about parking behind that shop over there?”
“There?”
“Don’t want anyone stealing it. Gotta hide it good.”
Might need the car again. Close but out of sight was best.
Jo Yong-jin nodded in understanding, then asked.
“But you want me to go alone and come back?”
“Oh.”
It wasn’t a sigh because Jo Yong-jin had caught him trying to ditch him. Go Cheon-su had just briefly forgotten about the guy’s broken leg.
“Yeah, let’s go together.”
Go Cheon-su climbed back in casually. Yang Min-cheol scrambled after him.
“Hoo. Hyung, don’t leave me behind after I guided you.”
What’s my image like anyway?
As Go Cheon-su groaned inwardly, Jo Yong-jin eased on the accelerator. The car rolled slowly onto the road with minimal noise.
“Too quiet. Makes me uneasy.”
Jo Yong-jin muttered with a sigh, parking behind the designated shop.
Go Cheon-su was about to agree when he peered out the window and widened his eyes.
“Don’t let your guard down. Look outside.”
Jo Yong-jin turned.
“That’s…”
Zombies. Three that looked like former shopkeepers shuffled around.
“Only a few.”
“Still, stay sharp. Forgot about your leg, Yong-jin?”
Zombies were weaker than other monsters, but not to be ignored.
Go Cheon-su gripped the door handle.
“I’ll get out and draw them. You two slip out and move.”
“Hyung, you okay alone?”
Yang Min-cheol asked worriedly.
Go Cheon-su shrugged.
“I’m fine solo.”
He stepped out and yelled at the zombies.
“You bastards!”
Kreuh?
“Over here!”
They immediately chased as he bolted.
Gotta level this up properly sometime.
Go Cheon-su’s body was enhanced to 1.4 times base via Record Accumulation. If 1 was his original self, that was like half an extra person’s growth.
Plus, Aggro’s current effect boosted that enhanced body by 130% output.
A few like these…
He twisted suddenly, weaving between the zombies.
Kraaaah!
The nearest one lunged with teeth first, but Go Cheon-su was faster. Dagger already drawn, he slashed deep into its neck.
“Next.”
He ignored the staggering one and faced the second. It thrust an arm out—longer reach. He kicked its chest, toppling it backward.
Kraaaah!
No openings. The third targeted his back. He spun, dodging, and it lost balance, sprawling on the ground.
Stab!
Go Cheon-su jammed his dagger into the second’s jaw as it tried to rise.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t forget.”
He stabbed the third’s nape before it could stand. The groans ceased, and Go Cheon-su finally exhaled.
“Hyungs, why bring up my dark history?”
He still had far to go to maximize Aggro and Record Accumulation. But as the last fight proved, kicking zombies down was easy now—solid strength and reflexes.
Based on past monster fights, he figured four or five would be manageable with some margin.
And the sponsorship system’s improved too.
Still lacking, but with structured mission rewards, it was fine. He could coast without big growth for a bit.
“Uwaaaah!”
As Go Cheon-su headed for the station, a sudden scream rang out. He ducked behind a shop building and peeked out.
What the—
A suited man was spinning in circles, sleeve grabbed by a single zombie—like some desperate survival dance.
“Uwaaaah! Help! That fucker Jeong Chan-guk!”
Go Cheon-su blinked in stupefaction at the cursing man.
“Jeong Chan-guk?”
It sounded like cursing a hated boss on death’s door. But Go Cheon-su couldn’t take it at face value.
“That’s the mayor’s name.”
As a city resident, he knew that much. Puzzled by the mystery man naming the mayor, he scanned around.
A black sedan, probably the man’s. No one else in sight—unlucky or lucky.
“Hm…”
No sign of Yang Min-cheol or Jo Yong-jin either. All he knew was the man was about to get zombie’d.
“Hyungs, help him?”
The chat filled instantly at his question.
“Alright, let’s save him.”
Go Cheon-su stepped out and walked toward the man.
“Hah, seriously. Hyungs, use the sponsorship window for those opinions next time, got it?”
No more complaints thanks to the Zen reminder. Go Cheon-su stretched as he approached the man.
“Alright, let’s see who this guy is.”