Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Raid and Counter-Raid
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Oh.
Today's morning felt pretty good?
My body was a bit stiff, but not to the point of being burdensome.
Looking at myself in the mirror felt strangely unfamiliar.
"Who might you be?"
I'd lost a lot of weight, so my clothes hung loose.
If things kept going like this, I'd be nimble enough on the day the zombie outbreak hit.
I hummed a tune as I turned on the TV and had breakfast.
The mundane news flowed on, same as always.
And then.
"Huh? What's this now."
The announcer suddenly looked flustered, and someone off-screen handed her a note.
A breaking news ticker scrolled at the bottom of the screen.
―Shooting incident erupts in Seoul.
"What the hell does that mean."
Was our country actually one that allowed guns all along?
A shootout in Seoul, of all places?
I stared in disbelief as the announcer stammered through the report.
―Um... Viewers, a shooting incident caused by deserters has occurred in Seoul. Yeouido is currently sealed off by military and police. Those watching this broadcast, please stay tuned to this channel. We'll update you as soon as more details come in...
"That's weird..."
Were we in the '80s or something? Soldiers deserting and starting a firefight in the city?
To get more details, I scoured the internet and SNS.
In a world where everyone stares at their smartphones, info spreads fast—even if it's not always accurate.
Sure enough, people near Yeouido started posting.
―I'm nearby right now, but that doesn't sound like K2 rifles?
―Hearing machine guns too. This ain't normal.
―Fuck, is civil war breaking out?
Then something even more shocking happened.
All the posts about the shootout vanished in an instant.
A fresh search turned up nothing.
"What the hell's going on."
Glancing back at the TV, the announcer was calmly reading the regular news in her usual tone.
The breaking news ticker was gone, and no more mentions of the shootout.
As if it had never happened, they were playing it cool.
"This is straight-up ghostly..."
I dug deeper online, but nothing came up.
Wonder if it's some turf war between awakeners or something?
I installed spare infrared sensors on the stairs.
Don't worry about this—go do what you need to.
The sandwich panels and woodworking tools I'd ordered ages ago arrived.
I grunted as I hauled the materials through the dimension gate.
"Assembly instructions..."
I pieced the panels together one by one on the cave floor where I'd laid the mortar.
Hmm, so that's how it works.
The reason for setting up the panels was long-term food storage.
Caves are damp, after all.
Plus, building a warehouse with them would make it easy to find stuff later.
Thwack thwack thwack.
After dozens of hammer swings, a decent-looking storage shed took shape.
I was stacking spam and ramen on a metal tray when I paused.
"No... spam goes in the back. Ramen's got a shorter shelf life."
Canned spam's edible even after a decade.
But ramen starts reeking of rancid oil after a few months.
I loaded a handcart with bottled water and stashed it in the warehouse.
Gonna spend all day hauling stuff like this.
"Phew..."
By afternoon, I'd mostly finished organizing.
But there was still a ton of supplies left.
"Maybe turn the area around the woodworking bench into a workshop?"
The cave was too cramped for that.
Expanding it would be tough—how to handle this?
"I'll just make a basement."
The floor's soft enough; it should work.
Conveniently, I hadn't mortared the end of the cave.
The spot where I'd mined the glowstones and ignition stones.
"Dig out the floor, install supports, then mortar..."
This could work.
I could even dig a separate bolt-hole underground.
I had the dimension gate, but more escape routes were always better.
I searched Mityube for videos of people building basements.
Hmm, oho.
Soft soil can lead to ceiling collapses.
Moisture is the biggest enemy—gotta do proper waterproofing.
"For now, just move the materials over."
Too much to do right now to start digging.
The cave was still usable anyway.
I had a light meal and slung on my backpack.
Time to check out that swamp I'd spotted with the drone yesterday.
But suddenly, the infrared sensor beeped.
I dashed behind my gear and hid.
"..."
Monster? Or just a lost animal?
Tense minutes dragged on.
Thankfully, nothing entered the cave.
After about 30 minutes, I quietly slipped outside.
In the brush beyond the Yun Hyung-chul barbed wire and fence.
Goblin footprints were scattered everywhere.
"These bastards made it all the way here."
Definitely the pack that chased out the old goblins from the valley.
They'd come this far already.
Judging by the tracks, not too many...
"One, two, three... eight."
A total of eight had passed right by my hideout.
Should I let them go?
"No can do."
The cave was hidden in the brush, but not completely concealed.
Push through a few meters of foliage, and they'd spot the unnatural fence and barbed wire.
Then they'd know I was here.
"Gotta ambush them before they know about me and wipe them out clean."
Right now.
I launched the drone.
Following the goblin tracks, I found them fighting over a rabbit they'd hunted.
Not far from the cave at all.
"Look at these punks, having a good time?"
Goblin behavior matched what I knew.
Brutal and sneaky.
They played politics—sucking up to the boss, shunning the weak.
Then one goblin spotted the drone and unleashed a barrage of paralyzing darts.
Something flew into view on the camera.
"Shoot all you want; you ain't hitting shit."
I pulled the drone up into the sky.
Thinking it'd fled, the goblins cheered briefly before pulling out crude nets.
"Planning to snag it if it comes back, huh."
Losing one drone wouldn't hurt much, but no need to gift them anything.
What I gave goblins was violence and death.
I fetched fireworks through the dimension gate.
Regulations had nerfed them hard these days.
But for startling goblins, they'd more than do.
"Got all my gear on... good."
Add a motorcycle helmet, and the raider look was complete.
Strike before you get struck.
That was survival in the apocalypse.
Goblins were crafty monsters.
But they often missed traps closing in—especially when distracted.
Right now, they were mesmerized by the drone hovering 10 meters up.
Dying to catch it, but their darts couldn't reach—must be driving them mad.
I set the drone to hover remotely and snuck up behind the pack.
Screeech! Kik kik!
They even pulled out javelins and chucked them.
Too weak to reach the drone anyway.
"Nailed the height perfectly."
Just close enough to taunt, but out of reach.
Goblins must be losing their minds.
Almost there if they just tried a bit harder!
The boss goblin thought so too, barking orders at his minions.
While he couldn't reach it himself.
"Boss first—he's the prize."
I nocked an arrow, carefully aiming at the excitedly hopping leader's nape.
My mind was already mapping every move after the shot.
Good.
I released the string lightly. The arrow hit the back, not the head.
No time for regret—second arrow nocked fast.
The others ignored their boss getting hit.
One more shot.
This one nailed the skull clean.
As the boss toppled, the goblins bared teeth and roared.
Kyaargh!
The final arrow sank into one's gut.
I slung the bow on my pack and drew the machete.
"Six left."
The goblins spotted me.
My response depended on theirs.
Pull blowpipes or charge?
Kikyak!
One shrieked, and they all drew crude daggers from pouches, rushing me.
Figured one guy was doable.
"You picked the wrong target."
I backpedaled, pulling fireworks from my cracker pouch.
Calmly lit two, then hurled them into the pack.
Pop pop pop!
The bangs, flashes, and smoke threw the goblins into chaos.
Kiaaagh!
I charged without missing a beat.
"Die!"
The sharpened machete sheared through a goblin's shoulder joint.
I kicked its gut and yanked the fire axe with my other hand, slamming it down.
The rest still hadn't recovered.
Five now.
I leaped into their midst, swinging the machete mercilessly.
One's arm flew; another's belly split, guts spilling.
I turned one to rags, but it gave them time.
One finally blinked clear, saw me, and blew from its blowpipe.
But the paralyzing dart bounced off my vest and plate.
"You little shit."
Point-blank, my reaction was swift.
The machete pierced its gut.
I twisted and shoved; it screamed bloody murder impaled on the blade.
The last three froze at the noise.
"Come on, you fucks."
The goblins panicked, showing signs of flight.
But I wasn't letting them go.
I pursued and smashed them to pieces.
"Huff, huff..."
My breath heaved; the helmet shield fogged up.
Too soon to ditch the helmet.
I prowled with the fire axe, mercy-killing each one.
Flipping up the shield released a thick stench of blood.
"Hoo..."
Energy drained from my body.
All that tension left my limbs aching.
I'd smashed eight goblins.
Ambush, drone, fireworks helped, but a win's a win.
"No time to rest..."
Blood scent draws other monsters.
I looted all their pouches and dug scattered pits.
Eight bodies meant backbreaking work to erase the traces.
Exhaustion hit, triggering the Survival Thirst skill—and oddly, it eased things.
Survival Thirst
Exhaustion Relief Effect
Time to head home and lie down.
I recovered the drone and returned to the cave.
"...One more time like that, and I'd be dead."
Still, pulling that rotten tooth felt damn good.
Wonder what's in the pouches?
Excited, I rummaged—and a big frog suddenly leaped out.
Why the hell carry a frog around?
Looking closer, its back glistened with faint liquid.
This yellowish stuff...
"You wouldn't be a poison dart frog, would you?"
Maybe the goblins harvested paralyzing venom from these.
The color, the funky smell. Definitely.
"So that's it..."
A great idea hit me.
No law saying only goblins get to use paralyzing darts, right?
Raid and Counter-Raid End