Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: Mistletoe - 4
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We headed south along the coastal road.
After causing all that chaos, I wanted to settle into a decent spot and rest.
An old pension appeared just in time, and the ghouls scouted the surroundings.
Nothing dangerous in sight.
"Looks like it's just us around here."
Dajeong plopped down on a bench by the pension and patted the seat next to her.
As I sat beside her, her legs swung up onto my thighs.
"We're crashing here until noon, so get comfy."
"Whatever."
"Give my calves a rub. They ache like hell from all the running."
"Who told you to sprint around in high heels?"
"Excuse me? Who was I doing it for?"
"Well, you didn't have to go full Barbarian Man to lure those survivors."
She flinched and smacked my thigh with her foot.
"You saw?"
"Up until they ducked into the alley."
"No clue what went down inside, huh?"
"Nope."
"Truth is, I had some intense action with the Chinese guys..."
I knew better than to buy that.
No way it was sex—more like a brawl with curses flying.
"Anyway, thanks. We snagged all the fuel because of you."
As I slowly kneaded her calf, Dajeong cleared her throat and stretched out.
But it didn't last.
She bolted upright and crossed her legs tight.
"But... it's cold..."
Even I, with my cold resistance gear, felt the chill.
The fierce sea wind made it feel even worse.
I opened a dimension gate and handed her a long puffer coat and sneakers.
"Head inside the pension for now. I'll get a fire going."
"Okay."
She shrugged off her coat right in front of me, slipped on the puffer, and huddled up.
She looked like a little caterpillar like that.
"Ah... I'm starving. Got anything tasty?"
"When it's this cold, hot soup hits the spot, right?"
Dajeong jumped to her feet.
"I love anything with broth."
"Name one thing you don't like, you rice fiend."
"Hmm... monster meat? Topkong chowed down on that stuff—couldn't wrap my head around it."
She'd held back around me, but hanging with Dajeong had her old habits creeping back.
She muttered that Topkong was totally nuts.
"I mean, griffons look kinda bird-like, so no big aversion there. But goblins? Kobolds? Those scream humanoid. Who'd even think to eat 'em?"
"And they're poisoned to boot. Seok-hyun might handle it fine, but it'd wreck our stomachs."
"Me? Desperate times—I even ate that godawful shop bread."
"Still, wasn't traveling with Topkong kinda fun?"
She shook her head vigorously.
"Fun in small doses, sure. But every night? Nonstop chaos? I couldn't keep up. The guy's energy is endless—I just wanted to crash."
Guess there's a real gap between 100% chaos and 90%.
Dajeong propped her chin on her hand and sighed.
"He's a riot, but too much to handle long-term. You're the perfect fit for me, Sung-ho."
"You acted all prim around me."
Seok-hyun never pulled his crazy stunts when we teamed up.
Dajeong's eyes widened. "Oho, so you were being considerate? Aww, total gentleman. Treating me like an afterthought, huh?"
"Quiet. What do you wanna eat?"
"Hmm... jjambbong?"
"Can do."
"Tangsu-yuk too."
"Greedy much?"
"Oh, and tangsu-yuk with the sauce poured over, got it?"
What? Pour the sauce over the tangsu-yuk?
Couldn't let that slide.
"Tangsu-yuk is a dipping sauce food. That's canon."
I declared it solemnly, and she leaped off the sofa like a frog, tackling me.
"Heresy! This means war!"
Right on cue.
We tumbled across the living room floor.
Good atmosphere? Yeah, right.
Her sweat stench was so overpowering it was making my head spin.
I shoved her clinging face away with my hand.
"Let's wash up first. You reek."
"You say that to a lady?"
Wanted to snap back, Are you a lady?, but that crossed a line, so I zipped it.
There had to be a reason she stuck to uncomfortable clothes and heels in the apocalypse.
Anyway, she sniffed her armpit and gagged.
Then she slumped to the floor and gazed up at me wistfully.
"You wouldn't make a delicate maiden bathe in cold water in this freezing winter, right?"
Ghoul queen calling herself a delicate maiden?
"I'll boil some water for you. Hang tight."
"Aye aye!"
I dragged out a big round tub, and Dajeong whistled.
"Whoa. You prepped this too?"
"Good prep means less hassle."
Water boiled, I mixed in cold to get the temp right and poured it in.
Dajeong stripped buck-naked and slipped into the tub while I looked away.
It wasn't huge, but big enough for her to squat in.
"Ahh... my body's melting away..."
"Temp good?"
"Perfect. I'm in heaven right now. A bath in the apocalypse? Never dreamed of it."
"Enjoy. I'll whip up food."
"Come here a sec?"
She beckoned with her finger.
Wondered what, so I approached—and she yanked my neck in for a deep kiss.
Very deep.
I let her suck on my lips before pulling back.
She read my face and got pissed.
"What? Don't wanna kiss me?"
"No, it's not—"
"Then what?"
"Your... breath..."
Honest truth: rotten fish.
Dajeong clamped her mouth shut with a smack and splashed me.
"You got no filter with girls."
I handed her a toothbrush and toothpaste, then ducked into the cave.
Jjambbong and tangsu-yuk would burn through ingredients, but no regrets.
For a friend.
Plus, her ghouls had farmed a ton of food.
Not that I'm tallying.
Frying stuff in the wok, I spotted the beetles tinkering oddly.
Hit a switch—nails shot out, hammering metal bits fast.
The boss beetle inspected the marks and wiggled its claw.
...Was that mimicking a firing pin striker?
The other two had fully dismantled my real bullets, measuring specs.
Handling the tape measure like pros...
"How's it going? Any luck?"
The boss beetle approached and flashed three claws.
"Three weeks?"
Shake of the head.
"No way—three days?"
Nods all around.
Unreal.
I'd explained bullet-making, but applying it this quick? Nuts.
Boss beetle said current materials risked jamming the barrel, though.
I didn't have guns to spare—that'd be disastrous.
"Need brass casings or something similar, right?"
Nod nod.
"Hold up."
Remembered shiny loot from the hardware store...
Stepped out—no Dingo or Dingsuni. Probably hunting in the woods.
Rifled the hardware warehouse and found brass-looking parts.
"This it?"
Worth the sweaty summer grind.
Hauled in brass door handles and pipes, showed the beetles.
Yippee!
They leaped, clacking claws in high-five.
Guessing casing material had been a headache.
"Won't match real brass alloy perfectly..."
Can't demand 100%.
Shoots? Good enough.
Whistling happily, I poured broth and got the jjambbong bubbling.
Sliced cured wild boar and deep-fried it for tangsu-yuk.
Texture'd differ from a real Chinese joint, but whatever.
Headed out—bonfire roaring in the garden.
Ghouls must've fed it all the furniture.
Handed a bowl to Dajeong, toasting by the flames.
Slurrrp.
"Mmm... delicious."
Phew, suits her taste.
She scarfed the jjambbong and demolished the tangsu-yuk.
Watching her eat hearty was kinda cute.
Meal done, we leaned into each other, gazing at the sea over the fire.
Dajeong spoke up.
"Hey."
"Yeah."
"Man and woman, traveling alone right now."
"Yep."
"We like each other. Admit it?"
Eh, more or less.
I nodded, and she shoved me down, straddled me, and bellowed.
"In the apocalypse! Total isolation! And nothing happens? For real? What is this, fairy tale land? 'Happily ever after' kyahaha?!"
"Hold on, hold on."
I calmed her and explained.
"You're pretty, great body. Truth? Yeah, wanna hold you once. I'm a guy."
"So what's the holdup? Not... y'know, standing at attention?"
She snuck her hand down and grabbed.
"Whoa. Not just big-framed..."
"Dajeong."
I cupped her cheeks.
She pressed her body against mine.
"Spill it quick. I'm losing it here."
"It's Seok-hyun."
"Topkong? What about him? Wanna 3P? Bit early."
"No. He doesn't know about us. I hate things getting awkward."
"Told him already."
"Huh?"
What now?
I didn't follow.
She yanked off her shirt with a smirk.
"Already got his blessing to devour you. So strip nice and easy."
"W-wait."
"What kinda man only squeaks 'wait'? Thought I was bluffing about staking my claim? I do what I say."
She licked her lips slow, eyeing me like prey.
Gave me chills—like a predator sizing up dinner.
"Stay put, I'll handle it. Send ya straight to Hong Kong."
Not seriously talking strap-on, right?
Her face descended, lips crashing into mine.
I pulled her close.
.
.
.
Even after hooking up, nothing really changed.
Dajeong was still Dajeong. Same for me.
Adults who could handle their feelings.
We got up like nothing happened and prepped to hit the road.
Dajeong tried the dimension gate, went to step in—and bonked her head.
"Ow! Why won't it let me in?"
"No idea."
"It's the heart that matters, right? You weren't thinking of some other girl?"
I denied fast.
"Absolutely not."
"Then why? I wanna see Nugu-ri."
"Not Nugu-ri."
No helping it.
Into the cave, got the beetles' okay.
They nodded—important person, can't cut ties.
About time to introduce.
Brought 'em out and presented to Dajeong.
"...Pretty big for beetles?"
She knelt, poked a shell—and jolted back.
The big one nudged her hand away.
"These guys are off."
"Intelligent beetles. They've been a huge help."
"Intelligent? Beetles?"
Dajeong gawked, and the boss scratched a picture into the floorboards.
Beetles wielding swords and shields, battling monsters.
Dajeong stuttered, floored.
"B-beetles... drawing...?"
"Told ya, smart. Smarter than me, even making bullets."
"That's why you asked for the recipe... What are they? How'd you meet?"
I spilled the tale to Dajeong.
Listening intently, her face turned iffy.
"That skilled, and goblins had 'em locked up?"
No comeback—the four beetles looked glum.
I defended 'em.
"They're short on raw power. Goblins penned 'em up, barked orders, tossed scraps. What could they do?"
"Talk about false advertising."
Dajeong eyed the hero-beetle sketch.
Boss slyly scraped it away.
Once they left, Dajeong grabbed my collar.
"Buckle up—I'm driving the bus from here on. Got it?"
"To where?"
"Seoul. We'll smash monsters en route. I'll keep you breathing for the kill shots."
"Leveling me up?"
"Hit 30, you get two extra effects."
Tough cookie...
Scarier that she could pull it off.
But first, something here.
"Sorry, gotta do an event first."
"What event?"
"Battle Royale."
Dajeong scowled.
"The last-man-standing one?"
All weapons vanish, abilities crippled.
Losers get character deletion—players bailed hard.
Couldn't ditch chars for an event.
Only a few took it seriously, me included.
Died endless times perfecting farm routes and survival strats.
Explained it, but she couldn't hide her shaky voice.
"You die, it's over. Not like monster fights. Abilities nerfed—what good are they?"
"Traits probably exempt."
New since original game.
"Betting your life on that?"
"No one knows BR like me. And it's all Chinese here."
"Ah..."
Dajeong finally got it, staring at me.
"They suck at BR, so sweep in and solo it."
"How I've survived."
Seoul BR might force killing known faces.
Messy.
But her eyes lit up.
"Do it in Seoul, wipe out all the annoyances."
"Most'll sit out. Battlefield run-in with a buddy? Awkward."
I knew an escape glitch, but not foolproof—better no familiars.
"Chinese saw the oil grab. They know you."
"Grab? Ownership transferred. From gov to me."
"They won't see it that way. Spot you, they'll rage-rush."
"Their loss, not mine."
My real reason? The reward.
Tucked Dajeong in, checked footage in cave: character revival ticket.
Forgot cuz I died tons.
Topkong or Duck Down's antics dragged me down—deletions routine.
Restarted together, ticket rotted in storage.
Dajeong's eyes bugged out.
"Reward's a revive? Come back after deletion?"
"Seok-hyun's power, right? Probably single-use."
"No way."
We're living the impossible.
Win BR, whatever it takes.
Mandatory.
Mistletoe - 4 End