028
028
Gyu-myeong's gang was trapped between the Safe Zone Barrier and the zombies.
They should have run away before the zombies entered the villa, but they couldn't because they were busy bickering with me.
They threatened and begged, but I didn't listen. In the end, they even hurled curses at me.
The gang was torn apart by the zombies one by one, and Gyu-myeong couldn't escape either.
Blood splattered everywhere.
It was a gruesome sight.
The gang resisted until the end, even as their raw flesh was being torn off.
It was a meaningless struggle.
Their movements gradually subsided.
I watched their end until the very last moment.
Even the twitching stopped.
How much time had passed?
Except for the two who were torn to the point of being unrecognizable, the other corpses suddenly moved.
Even the state of the corpses wasn't great.
It was amazing that they could even move.
Watching them become moving corpses, I felt inwardly relieved.
Because I had taken care of all the looters.
"Hmm...."
There was still a problem, though.
It's good that I took care of the looters, but how am I supposed to deal with the zombies?
Is this déjà vu? I feel like I saw this scene a few days ago.
The difference from back then was that Kang Mu-yeol and Im Do-young were in a different building.
I'm not worried about Kang Mu-yeol. He'll be able to survive well on his own.
I was worried about Im Do-young.
I went into my house and checked the CCTV.
There was also a CCTV camera pointing at the hardware store.
The hardware store door, which had been closed earlier, was now open.
Kang Mu-yeol was swinging his baseball bat with the Safe Zone Barrier in between.
It seemed Kang Mu-yeol had opened the hardware store door himself.
To take care of the zombies in front of the hardware store, even if just a little bit.
Im Do-young was looking around the hardware store with an intrigued expression.
He didn't seem particularly scared.
'That's a relief.'
Still, I need to rescue him before mealtime.
I can't let a tenant starve.
Of course, that didn't mean I was going to go rescue him myself.
'Because I've collected enough coins to upgrade.'
You can upgrade once you reach level 10, and it costs 100 coins to upgrade.
I caught zombies and looters, so I got quite a few coins.
It exceeded 100 coins.
「You can upgrade.」
「Would you like to upgrade?」
No need to hesitate.
I pressed the upgrade button immediately.
「Congratulations! 'Kang Mu-yeol' has upgraded to Berserker.」
「Stats will increase significantly.」
So far, so good.
「'First Upgrade' achieved!」
「Reward will be provided.」
Huh?
I didn't predict this.
To think there would be an achievement.
I checked the achievement reward right away.
The reward was a skill.
「Communication : 1」
Communication, huh? What kind of skill is that?
A Communication button I hadn't seen before was activated next to Kang Mu-yeol's name in the tenant list.
I pressed the Communication button.
There was no response.
"Hmm...?"
-Is it an auditory hallucination?
"Kang Mu-yeol-ssi?"
-That's strange. There's no one here?
"Can you hear me?"
-Why does it sound like I'm hearing the Boss's voice?
I went up to the rooftop and checked the hardware store.
I saw Kang Mu-yeol poking his head out of the hardware store, looking around.
It wasn't my imagination. It seemed he could hear my voice.
"Kang Mu-yeol-ssi. This is Kwon Min-jun. Can you hear my voice? If you can, please tell me."
-Are you really the Boss? Are you safe?
"Yes, well. I've taken care of all the looters."
-As expected of the Boss. By the way, what is this? And what is this upgrade thing? I saw a window saying I upgraded.
"I got a skill called Communication. It seems I can talk to you, Kang Mu-yeol-ssi, with this skill. But for now, it seems only you can communicate. I'm not sure if it's because you upgraded."
-That's truly wonderful. I feel like I've become someone special.
"You are special. You're my first tenant."
I've benefited a lot from Kang Mu-yeol so far.
Besides, isn't he the only combatant in our villa right now?
"Since you've upgraded, we should test out how it feels. Do you think you could clear a path to the 4th-floor Safe Zone? Don't push yourself, though."
-I'll go right away. Just thinking about testing it makes my blood boil. Hahahaha!
Looking outside, Kang Mu-yeol was just coming out of the hardware store.
The moment he struck the zombie right in front of him, I doubted my eyes.
'What is that?'
It looked like a red haze was rising from Kang Mu-yeol's body.
I rubbed my eyes and looked again. I hadn't seen wrong. A red haze was rising.
"Uwahahaha!"
His voice seemed to have gotten even louder.
Kang Mu-yeol jumped into the midst of the zombies.
It didn't seem like there was a dramatic change, actually...
A red haze rising from his body and his voice getting a bit louder?
From a combat power perspective, it's not a huge change.
But did he usually dive into the middle of zombies like that?
What is he going to do if he gets bitten?
Kang Mu-yeol broke through the villa entrance in an instant.
He was no longer visible from the rooftop.
I went down to the 4th floor.
Uwahahahahat!
Kang Mu-yeol's hearty laughter could be heard throughout the villa.
Kwak! Kwajik! Ppak! Ppeok!
I could also hear the sound of something being destroyed.
The interval between the sounds was very short.
A baseball bat is a fairly heavy blunt weapon, so there's a delay after swinging it.
The sounds I was hearing now seemed as if there was no delay.
He wouldn't be swinging two baseball bats, would he?
I soon found out the source of the sounds.
Through the gap in the stairs, I could see what was happening on the 3rd floor.
Kang Mu-yeol, with the red haze becoming even more vivid, was swinging his baseball bat with one hand while simultaneously punching through a zombie's head.
But... isn't that a bit dangerous?
What if he gets a scratch while punching?
Won't he turn into a zombie?
I was worried. Did I upgrade him for nothing?
No matter how I think about it, the job title 'Berserker' seems to play a part.
Was Berserker really the best choice?
"Watch your hands!"
"Hahahaha! What does my hand matter? I'm having so much fun!"
"If you get bitten even once, it's over!"
"Hahaha, I'll be up soon!"
I was anxious.
If I lose Kang Mu-yeol, there are no combatants left in the villa.
Naturally, I am excluded from the combatants.
Me going out to fight? Impossible.
I'm just suited for shooting my slingshot from the Safe Zone.
Anyway, at this moment when Kang Mu-yeol is the only combatant in this villa.
Kang Mu-yeol was diving into the middle of the zombies and fighting like there was no tomorrow.
"Kkieeeeeek!"
The Siren let out a scream.
Zombies surrounded Kang Mu-yeol on all sides.
"We've met before, haven't we? Wait a second."
Kang Mu-yeol started hunting the zombies blocking the path to the Siren.
The Siren called for more zombies with its scream, but it wasn't enough to fill the empty spots.
Kang Mu-yeol's speed at smashing zombie heads was faster.
He was just about to reach the Siren.
"Kang Mu-yeol-ssi, behind you!"
The Spider, which had been quiet for some reason, approached Kang Mu-yeol from behind by crawling on the wall.
Tak!
The Spider kicked off the wall and leaped.
Kang Mu-yeol swung his baseball bat without even looking back.
Ppeoeok!
It was a direct hit.
Has the Spider ever been hit this cleanly before?
The Spider, hit by the baseball bat, slammed into the wall. Debris fell down with a thud.
The Spider, which had been getting hit by falling debris while slammed on the floor, jumped up.
Even though it was hit quite hard, it recovered quickly.
The Spider didn't rush in immediately now.
It was wary of Kang Mu-yeol.
The Spider didn't rush in, but Kang Mu-yeol did.
Kang Mu-yeol, with bloodshot eyes, lunged at the Spider.
The Spider hurriedly dodged.
However, the villa was narrow. There wasn't much room to run away.
"Come on!"
Kang Mu-yeol swung his baseball bat.
It looked like he was swinging wildly, but the Spider couldn't move an inch.
The Spider crawled on the wall, looking for a way out.
It kept twitching, as if it couldn't find a suitable escape route.
I picked up my slingshot.
Since Kang Mu-yeol is handling one, I should handle one too.
The Siren kept catching my eye.
It would be a big problem if it kept screaming and calling zombies while Kang Mu-yeol and the Spider were facing off.
Shooting from the Safe Zone is my specialty.
From my position, I couldn't see the Siren.
I gauged the Siren's location by the sound.
'Is it around here?'
I pulled back the rubber band of the slingshot. And I twisted my wrist half a turn.
I fired the steel ball through the gap between the stair railings.
The steel ball curved.
Pu-hwak!
I heard the sound of something bursting.
Listening closely, I couldn't hear the Siren's sound anymore.
The Spider flinched and cast its gaze toward where the Siren had been.
"This isn't the time to be distracted."
Kang Mu-yeol swung his baseball bat.
The Spider reacted slightly late.
The baseball bat grazed the Spider's arm.
It was just a graze, but the flesh of the Spider's arm was torn off.
The Spider, having lost the strength to support its body, fell to the floor.
It was the perfect position for a downward strike with the baseball bat.
The Spider flailed its legs, trying to get away, but Kang Mu-yeol didn't let it.
He struck down on the Spider's back.
He kept striking down.
He struck it until it was unrecognizable.
He struck it while taking care of the approaching zombies at the same time.
"I think you can stop now? That's enough."
The special zombies were finished, but there were still regular zombies left.
The legacy left behind by the Siren.
Considering the sheer numbers, it was by no means an easy opponent.
Kwak! Kwajik! Ppak! Ppak! Ppak!
I thought wrong.
For Kang Mu-yeol, it was an easy opponent.
The regular zombies were no match for Kang Mu-yeol.
He hit and smashed them with the baseball bat, and grabbed and burst their heads and broke their noses with his fists.
As expected, it was a brutal fighting style.
What is he going to do if he actually gets injured?
He finished off all the zombies.
There were no living, moving zombies on the stairs.
"Ah, it feels like it's been a while since I've been here."
Kang Mu-yeol entered the Safe Zone.
His eyes were bloodshot and his whole body was covered in blood. The red haze was still rising.
"You weren't... bitten, were you?"
"Hahahaha! Who do you think I am? If I had been bitten, would I be standing here like this?"
"Right?"
Still, you never know. I scanned him with my eyes to see if there were any wounds on Kang Mu-yeol.
"...Huh?"
"Why, what's wrong?"
Kang Mu-yeol's physical condition was not good at all.
"You're scratched here... and bitten here..."
He said he was fine, but he's been torn apart without mercy?
Isn't he going to turn into a zombie?
"I'm fine. I don't feel like that."
It's not something that can be solved by how you feel, that's why...