Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Why Did You Come to My House - 4
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In the apocalypse, arming yourself and attempting to farm under the cover of night is one viable option.
Visually, it's impossible to tell if the Chinese men approaching by boat are enemies or not.
Nevertheless, the reason I concluded they were enemies was the sound of their heartbeats.
Thump thump thump.
The irregular sounds came not from one or two people, but from a group.
A band of murderers landing ashore.
This isn't a joke.
Jang Won-taek must have heard it too, as he issued orders to someone.
"For now, let's relocate. And today's events are a secret to everyone."
I'm not one to blab, so rest easy.
After he left, I began my preparations.
I'd spouted off that nationality doesn't matter in front of the president, but in the end, I'm Korean too.
The Chinese men boating in felt just like those Chinese fishing boats sweeping up all the fish in the West Sea, stirring up disgust.
"They'll do the exact same thing."
If they were ordinary Chinese, there might have been room for compromise, but there were far too many murderers among them.
Having dabbled in murder myself briefly, I know how hard it is to suppress the urge to kill.
"In the end, I have no choice but to kill them all."
I prepared my weapons and slotted them in.
I've rarely experienced multi-deathmatches against multiple murderers.
Maybe once or twice at most, and even then, it was just two opponents.
Murderers are just that rare.
"At least three, probably more..."
Now they were close enough that their heartbeats thundered: thump thump thump.
The amusement park grounds grew noisy with footsteps, and people hid behind buildings.
One was the Chief of Staff, and that guy was Bae Geom-in.
He grumbled that he wasn't ready.
"Wait here, and respond if the situation turns bad."
"Got it."
The moment the Chief of Staff vanished with Blink, the grumbling turned to curses.
"Fuck, no Physical Enhancement—it's pissing me off. Can't Kindness trait do something... ah..."
Another Zombie Domination trait would definitely be a huge help.
But I doubted Kindness would copy traits for him.
As the boat neared the pier, he tore at his hair and Blinked away.
According to the Chief of Staff, this was his assigned area, yet he bolted.
"Now I get why Kindness hates him."
If you don't want responsibility, live alone like me—or running away? What's that about?
With Blink, he could at least support with arrows.
Kindness said there wasn't a single likable thing about him from head to toe, and I agreed.
Then suddenly, Seok-hyun—no, Earth Rabbit—appeared.
Where the hell did he get that bunny headband?
A guy in just underwear doing that felt like poison in my eyes.
"Ah, seriously."
I was about to head out when he placed hands on his hips and shouted at the boat's murderers.
"Taiwan number one!"
A dozen gazes snapped toward him in unison.
Taunt effect: flawless.
The people gathered at Wolmido Pier had all survived numerous battles.
They'd endured zombie raids and deathmatches, so little surprised them anymore.
But a chaotic mess of two crises unfolding simultaneously? That was a first.
And the fact that there were multiple murderers only amplified the problem.
With over ten murderers landing, people didn't know what to do.
Naturally, a deathmatch erupted, and zombies began swarming in.
Even in this pandemonium, some fulfilled their roles perfectly.
Duck Down Quack Choi Da-jeong and Bunny Duo Hwang Seok-hyun.
Ignoring the zombie wall, the two dove into the fray with the murderers, rampaging freely.
Da-jeong had kicked off her high heels and was driving back the murderers alongside her ghouls.
The murderers' strength was no joke; one ghoul was grabbed by the hair and flung away.
Other ghouls threw themselves in front to block.
"Kuhuhu..."
The murderer, his mind warped, grinned maniacally and charged in a body slam.
Having killed dozens, his combat power surpassed the ghouls.
But the moment he closed in on Da-jeong, the tide turned dramatically.
Her eyes blazed red as she activated Combat Instinct.
'She's strong.'
Bae Geom-in's attention was stolen by Da-jeong's prowess.
Drawing her long knife, Da-jeong slaughtered the murderer one-sidedly.
Even without her subordinate ghouls, she could've killed him 1v1 easily.
Especially huge was acquiring the werewolf's skill.
With Combat Instinct and Frenzy activated, her movements were like a haughty queen's.
She didn't fly around like Earth Rabbit, but each strike landed heavy.
Geom-in even squeezed his eyes shut at the sight of her foot slamming up into the murderer's groin.
"Kraaaak!"
Squashed flat, no doubt.
Meanwhile, Earth Rabbit tangled with multiple murderers in brutal close-quarters combat.
He'd grown remarkably stronger lately.
Especially his experience clashing with that veteran murderer in Changwon had been pivotal.
Most murderers fell short in stats, and his skills and combat sense overwhelmed them.
The result: three murderers massacred.
Before they hit the ground, Earth Rabbit used their shoulders as footholds to leap at another.
Covered head to toe in blood, he looked more the murderer than they did.
Meanwhile, Tang Zhao-long and Tang Shen-long, who brought the murderers, were dumbstruck.
Murderers who dominated northern Shandong Peninsula were falling like scarecrows.
Their plan to establish a beachhead for inland farming crumbled completely.
With murderers dropping like that, how could they drive people out?
As they rushed toward the boat to board, someone blocked their path.
"If you're visiting someone's home, you should at least take off your muddy shoes."
Brother Tang Zhao-long scowled.
"Is blindly attacking how Korean etiquette works?"
"Killing murderers is a given—does your etiquette differ?"
"Don't touch other people's things recklessly, big guy."
"Sorry, but I hate brainwashing traits."
Flat-out killing them would've been one thing, but brainwashing people into puppets? That was right up my alley of disgust.
Seeing his item was no ordinary gear, sister Tang Shen-long stepped forward.
"We knew you wouldn't welcome us, so let's withdraw. No one wants bloodshed, right?"
"Sorry, but the bloodshed's all on your side."
Zhao-long read the mood and sent a subordinate murderer forward.
Suddenly, a bolt shot from thin air, piercing the murderer's gut.
The aim was insane; the bolt dragged the murderer straight into the sea.
Zhao-long gaped at the spot where the murderer sank.
"Impossible..."
Then Sung-ho's eyes glowed red.
Had he somehow gained the ronin's ability?
Shen-long read it and flicked her sleeve.
A gust of wind rose, enveloping Sung-ho.
But the wind stream hit an invisible barrier and shot skyward.
Shen-long bit her lip and crossed her hands.
Wind whipped up at her will, lifting Sung-ho into the air.
Yet somehow, he spun midair and plummeted straight toward Shen-long.
"Wh-what?!"
Her sure-kill move blocked, she panicked hard.
How does one even spin in midair without footing?
Her savior was brother Zhao-long.
He body-slammed his sister out of the way.
"Aak!"
As the siblings rolled on the ground, the remaining murderer charged Sung-ho.
Papapap.
After a flurry of clashes, an arm and a head flew through the air.
Only then did the siblings realize.
This man was a monster.
The subordinate murderer had grown strong through multiple deathmatches.
Killing him in one go meant Sung-ho was absurdly powerful.
Locking eyes, the two bolted instantly.
Sung-ho pursued, but a water spout from the sea forced him to dodge.
He blocked with a dimension wall, but the deluge was hard to fully stop.
"Damn it."
Soaked through, he halted.
Should he fire the ballista? But they'd already rounded the corner and vanished.
"Wind manipulation, huh. Impressive."
He scratched his head and looked around.
Seok-hyun was yelling "Sex!" while pummeling murderers, and Da-jeong was hunting zombies with her ghouls.
Jang Won-taek had said to leave it to him, but there wasn't much left to do.
Just block the zombie raid, and it was over.
"Time for me to exit stage left."
High chance Bae Geom-in was here too—wandering recklessly was dangerous.
He vanished into the transparent dimension gate.
Meanwhile, Jang Won-taek watched the battle from a third-floor building, eyes closed.
Contrary to what people thought, his trait wasn't telepathy.
Commander.
The ability to grasp surrounding battlefield elements and issue directives.
He could oversee the entire Wolmido battlefield like an open palm.
If that young man knew his trait, he'd call it map hack.
On top of that, Jang could buff any elements he'd taken as subordinates.
Too bad he had only one subordinate here.
"No need to deploy forces after all..."
He'd expected Earth Rabbit and Da-jeong, but even Kimbap Lover was this strong?
One murderer died by his hand, and the siblings fled mid-fight.
Chinese trying to land on Wolmido weren't pushovers, yet it was astonishing.
His hiding space seemed no ordinary subspace.
Must be prepped with all sorts of setups inside.
That's how he toyed with people in the Yangjae Highway Dungeon and escaped.
"What a pity."
How useful that ability would be under his command.
In time, he'd hand over power, naturally taking the organization's helm.
He turned, and Chief of Staff Beom-seok arrived via Blink.
"President, Da-jeong and Earth Rabbit are holding off the zombie raid."
"Kimbap Lover? Can't see him, right?"
"Yes. No sign of where he went."
"Our Geom-in too?"
"Probably..."
Hiding like a turtle, apparently.
Should've switched to combat traits before coming.
No aides means no trait-copy targets either.
Jang Won-taek tried telepathy with Da-jeong and gave a wry smile.
"Once this is over, she says she'll leave even if the world collapses."
"Pardon? Then our defenses..."
"The rest will have to work hard. She'll probably tag along with Kimbap Lover—good thing. So flashy, we'll spot her position easily."
"Won't she disguise herself?"
"Her trait makes hiding tough. She'll reveal soon enough. More importantly, you have prep to do."
Jang scribbled a note and handed it to Beom-seok.
Reading it, Beom-seok tilted his head.
Ammo and gunpowder recipes.
"...Why do we need this?"
"No idea on my end. But Kimbap Lover definitely has a gun."
"A gun... Extremely dangerous individual."
"No. He's not an enemy. Could be our sturdiest ally. Our ultimate goal is the same, isn't it?"
Survival.
In the apocalypse, survival is everyone's final aim.
Just different paths.
"Understood. I'll prepare the gift."
"Don't hand it over too easily. Make it in English."
Can't read it? Excuse for another contact.
"And Yeongjongdo—checked why the Chinese came this far?"
"Inland's fully contaminated with chemicals and radiation—hellscape. Yeongjongdo Chinese are from Shandong Peninsula; heard inland cities are done for. No food in rural areas."
"I gave them fair warning."
"They didn't fully trust it. Or China being too vast prevented proper response."
Jang Won-taek sighed deeply.
"Monsters weren't enough; now fighting Chinese too."
Not just Yeongjongdo—might have to cede the entire West Coast cities.
If they behaved, great—but no such luck.
Incidents like today's would be routine...
Korea's silver lining: post-Metal Plague, foundations to rebuild civilization remained.
The president closed his eyes briefly, then opened them.
"Looks cleaned up. We should send off the Ghoul Queen properly before she leaves. Let's go."
"Yes."
"Um, so... Seok-hyun, you're the one going in?"
Nod nod.
After wrapping the zombie raid, I met Seok-hyun and Da-jeong and heard astonishing news.
I knew one was leaving, but one entering?
"Mind if I ask why?"
He replied:
"If they act up, I'll kill them all."
"...For real?"
"Yeah. Can't break out from outside the shelter. So I'll smash them from inside."
"Hold on, that shelter isn't an enemy yet."
"That's why—if they become one."
How to interpret this...
Seok-hyun planned to enter in Da-jeong's place and wreck if they turned hostile.
Problem: the government shelter isn't our enemy yet.
Da-jeong left without issue, and while I'm wary, I don't see them as foes.
"Think of it as insurance. Sung-ho, you'll be thrilled. Someone reliable taking out life insurance for you."
Da-jeong dragged a chair between us, plopped down, and draped hands on our shoulders.
"That old geezer approved it too."
"Jang Won-taek approved? Back in the day maybe, but now it'd make him suspicious."
He knows I'm with Seok-hyun.
"That's why I can't figure out what that old codger's thinking."
"I'll check it out from inside. Even the black-bellied ones."
Seok-hyun grinned brightly.
Truth is, he doesn't need to bother with the government shelter.
If conflict arises, die, revive, escape.
He's doing this for me.
"Thanks."
"Fun riding from Changwon to Seoul. Let's play like that again."
"Sure."
He stood and left immediately.
This time, Da-jeong sat beside me and swung her leg over my thigh.
"Now's stamping time."
"Huh? Wasn't that a joke?"
"Joke? Do I look like the joking type? Behave and let me stake my claim."
"W-wait."
As I shot up, she cackled and pulled a wad of paper from her chest.
"They said you'd love this."
Unfolded, it was all English.
"...That grandpa's screwing with me, right?"
Leaning on my shoulder to peek, she stuck out her tongue.
"All English. Translation's gonna suck."
"Not that I can't."
"Oho, Kang Sung-ho knows English too?"
"Just stumbling through translations."
Like parsing Mityube video English.
For the tricky parts, experiment with the dung beetles.
Da-jeong crossed her legs.
"Heard plenty in the government shelter. Be good to me."
"Was prepping to tuna-fish..."
"Right right. Forgot. The shelter-preppers aren't just one group. Joo Seung-chul spilled, I bet."
"Yeah?"
She peered into my face.
"You just made a 'gonna loot 'em all' face."
"Busted."
Chance comes, I'll snag—but I'm not attacking first.
Da-jeong licked her lips, tuna-craving evident.
"And our coast's blockaded, apparently."
"Blockaded? Doesn't make sense. The Chinese?"
"People are fine, but environmentally separated, they whispered. Like servers."
"...Game servers?"
What the hell does that mean?
Then the door burst open, someone yelling:
"Bae Geom-in, come out!"
Striding in confidently: none other than Seok-hyun.
We stared blankly.
He's a hopeless direction-dunce.
End of Why Did You Come to My House - 4