Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: Rest and Reinforcement - 3 (+Bunny Duo Fanart)
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A burly man in black protective gear and a woman commanding ghouls appeared.
Anyone who wasn't an idiot could tell who they were.
Rumors from Gwangju and elsewhere had already shaken the auction house.
Duck Down Quack was famous to begin with, and lately, Kimbap Lover had been the talk of the town.
Rumor had it he was a dangerous figure who could wield violence without batting an eye.
Of course, plenty of people in the apocalypse saw violence as no big deal.
Still, the fact that he could beat people senseless without changing his expression set him apart.
There were even wild rumors that he'd committed murder multiple times, and people believed them.
The stories spread by Gwangju folks were just that vicious.
Strawberry Princess Park Hyun-seung had heard these rumors too.
But she wasn't scared at all, because she had some acquaintance with them.
From the game, sure, but in a situation like this, even a shallow connection could help.
So when they showed up on that dark evening, she felt oddly glad to see them.
Acting friendly could help keep her clan in line and boost her influence...
Park Hyun-seung thought that far, but she couldn't bring herself to step forward.
Their combat prowess was way beyond what she'd expected.
Duck Down Quack's leaping ghouls were impressive enough, but the real star was Kimbap Lover.
Park Hyun-seung never imagined someone could change direction mid-air.
And so sharply, at that.
"How the hell is he doing that?"
"I-I don't know."
"Looks like he's pushing off something..."
"Pushing off what? There's nothing there."
Her clan members could see his movements but couldn't quite figure them out.
It was dark, and he moved too fast.
Against the black backdrop, only his glowing red eyes and blade were visible—like a rampaging werewolf.
Kuooooh!
Suddenly, a troll with one arm severed let out a massive howl.
Was it really that easy?
Park Hyun-seung had to revise her thinking that even veterans would struggle with trolls.
Kyaak!
The nearby ghoul went wild too.
Since their attacks alone couldn't take down a troll with its regeneration, Duck Down Quack delivered the finishing blow.
Points must be overflowing for them—both wielded the newly updated mithril blades.
No one in the entire auction house could've afforded those.
"Jealous..."
Park Hyun-seung watched their fight with envy.
She'd bragged about her Survival Life experience to her underlings, but it meant nothing in front of them.
Soon, the area plunged into total darkness.
The two trolls were cleared, and a tank lumbered into view with heavy thuds.
Sung-ho and Da-jeong sized it up from fairly close range.
"Seems on the smaller side for a tank."
"Ah... I was hoping for a bigger one."
"Too big and it won't fit through the door."
"Just smash through. What's the worry?"
"The dimension gate."
"Oh."
Sung-ho fell back, and Da-jeong wagged her finger at the tank.
"Come on. Time for num-nums~."
"You're not the one feeding it, right?"
"I wanna, but no milk coming out. You know."
"No idea."
"Wow, playing dumb."
"Hey, hey, it's coming."
The tank was already scraping the ground with its fist.
Its pre-charge wind-up.
The two locked eyes and dodged to the side.
Kroooar!
The tank charged furiously, slamming into the Time Shelter entrance.
The second seal took a huge hit and shattered completely under the tank's rage-filled punches.
Not satisfied, it rammed the final seal with all its might.
Thud!
The shock rippled out, kicking up dust.
Sung-ho clicked his tongue.
"Its strength is no joke."
The game didn't convey these fine details.
Da-jeong snapped her fingers, and locusts swarmed in.
But the tank twisted its body, sending them flying off harmlessly.
The power gap was just too wide.
They were quick, but useless in this situation.
Da-jeong gathered the locusts and had them pile on all at once before shouting.
"Kimbap! Help!"
"Got it."
Sung-ho overtook her.
One of his skills was Fatal Strike.
It dealt bonus damage on top of the hit.
Not huge against a tank, but enough to make it flinch.
That was exactly what Sung-ho and Da-jeong were aiming for.
Kroooh!
The tank, covered in locusts, thrashed wildly as it lumbered forward.
It grabbed one and hurled it into a building; it went limp.
Not dead, but badly hurt.
Da-jeong anxiously watched Sung-ho charge in.
She'd called for help in a panic, but now worry took over.
Don't get hurt...
Regardless of her concern, Sung-ho leaped toward the tank like he was diving into its arms.
From behind, it looked reckless.
"Kimbap!"
Suddenly, Sung-ho vanished.
The tank, shaking off locusts and swinging its fist, looked around in confusion.
He was just there...
Then one locust covered its face completely, clawing wildly.
Vision fully blocked.
That's when Sung-ho opened a dimension gate and reappeared.
He leaped like a frog, slamming his fist into the tank's lower belly.
Krook!
The tank's massive body staggered.
Da-jeong seized the moment, rushing in and touching its arm.
Light enveloped the contact point, and the tank's shoulder went limp.
"Good boy, good boy..."
She petted its arm like soothing a child.
The locusts backed off, and the tank fully submitted, bowing its head to Da-jeong.
Totally dominated.
Sung-ho dusted off his fist and muttered.
"Fists won't cut it anymore."
Hard to rely purely on physical strength now.
In Survival Life, veterans danced through enhanced ghouls and beat ogres for fun because it was a game.
Almost no one did that in real life-or-death stakes.
Maybe Bunny Duo, whose brain had fully checked out.
Da-jeong smiled in satisfaction now that she had the tank.
"Way sturdier than ten ghouls."
"Your minions might get jealous. Anyway... let's bail here."
"Why?"
"That Time Shelter."
She peeked out at the entrance Sung-ho pointed to.
Oh no.
The door was wide open.
The tank had smashed right through.
They had no interest in the Time Shelter, but Daejeon's survivors would.
Why else crowd around despite the zombie raid risk?
"Bail from here? That'll cause a riot."
"No reason to stick around."
The shelter was overflowing with supplies already.
More wouldn't matter with similar expiration dates.
But Da-jeong approached it differently.
"This is our chance to fix your image a bit."
"What's wrong with my image?"
"People slayer, anger management therapist, psycho, greedy pig who hogs it all..."
Stuff floating around the auction house.
Not outright insults, just roundabout jabs, so Sung-ho let it slide.
Couldn't hunt down every source.
As he trailed off and stared at the black sky, Da-jeong soothed him.
"Of course, bailing is efficient. I won't deny that."
"But?"
"Help out just a tiny bit, and your image improves. It'll pay back double later. See those people eyeing us?"
They were drooling over the open entrance.
Not rushing in because they feared the duo.
Who'd challenge the ones who slaughtered two trolls in seconds and tamed a tank?
Da-jeong stepped in front of Sung-ho, hand on his shoulder.
"No need for heroics. Just sit there, and they'll take what they want quietly. They've all heard the Gwangju stories."
"...Fine, whatever."
Sung-ho plopped down near the entrance and stabbed his mithril blade into the ground.
As Da-jeong fully engaged the zombie and ghoul horde, nothing got close.
People swallowed hard.
Could they go in and take stuff?
A weird atmosphere formed.
Park Hyun-seung gathered her clan and gave orders.
"Don't piss them off, no matter what. Go in quiet, come out quiet, got it?"
"Won't he stab us with that sword if we try?"
"Him just sitting there silent is scarier..."
Truth was, Park Hyun-seung felt the same worry.
Not knowing the details made even his stillness intimidating.
But fortune favors the bold.
She bet Kimbap Lover was crazy but not a total maniac.
Gwangju events backed her resolve.
"Let's go. Again, don't do anything to set him off."
As her clan stepped out, Sung-ho glanced at them briefly.
Their faces screamed tension.
"What're you all so scared of..."
He's not gonna eat you—just come take it.
His silence gave them courage, and Park Hyun-seung led the clan brass over.
"H-Hi. Nice to see you."
"Who were you again?"
"Uh... Strawberry Princess. We partied in the game before..."
Park Hyun-seung hoped he'd remember her.
Playing dumb here would trash her cred.
Thankfully, he acknowledged her.
"Oh, that double princess from back then."
The moment "double princess" left his mouth, Hyun-seung sighed in relief.
Her clan members saw her in a new light.
Our boss really does know a veteran.
But acting too buddy-buddy would sour the mood.
Hyun-seung had that much sense.
She bowed her head and led her people inside.
As a few went in, the auction house chatterers' eyes went wide.
The vibe was cautious, lest they irk Kimbap Lover.
People poured out from various buildings.
How much they grabbed didn't matter to Sung-ho.
One thing was clear, though.
Kimbap Lover's image among Daejeon's survivors had improved a ton.
Survivors loaded up heavy and came out one by one, bowing to Sung-ho before leaving.
"Th-thank you..."
"Thanks to you, we got good stuff."
"..."
Meanwhile, Da-jeong was busy fending off the zombie raid on the outskirts.
But her mood wasn't bad.
.
.
.
We left Daejeon for Incheon.
Auction houses everywhere had requests piling up, but we ignored them all.
Rumors swirled about a "sniffler" appearing in a reserve shelter at an Incheon subway station.
Not a Survival Life monster, so details were scarce.
But its insane strength confirmed its existence.
Government shelters sent teams, making the reserve shelter a hotbed of activity.
Long-time looters there, on edge, attacked incoming crowds.
To them, any outsider movement was a threat—unavoidable.
First of February.
We arrived in Bucheon and settled in.
Inside the dimension gate, the scarabs made a request.
"Dirt? Special dirt?"
Nod nod.
They needed special soil to make a proper furnace.
I thought they could just extract metal orally like usual, but no.
"Gotta make real furnaces for quality metal, huh..."
Since I asked, I had to oblige most requests.
Before leaving Daejeon, I'd told them the metal plague was fading, so make tools.
Not weapons—everyday stuff like knives, shovels, pickaxes.
Shelters had stockpiles, but I wanted the scarabs' help too.
No point slacking; time to work.
They weren't slacking—produced over 100 live rounds, working hard.
But I wanted more.
"Got it. Da-jeong'll handle it."
"Huh?"
She looked up from her drama, startled.
"Don't play dumb. Go fetch the dirt. Two days tops."
"Nooo."
"Build the cabin or walk the ghouls?"
"..."
Da-jeong agonized.
Truth was, while we traveled here, she'd lounged without working.
Occasionally dominated ghouls to boost numbers, but the cabin made zero progress.
I forced the choice.
"Decide quick. Metal plague's lifting, so we gotta prep."
Once gone, we could sell our metal tools.
Why grind points so hard? For the Tier 4 shop.
Game never had it originally, but with the Unknown Monsters expansion half-updated, maybe.
"C-can't we go together?"
"Scary, but suck it up. No one's messing with you."
I reminded her of her tasks.
Finish the cabin for livability; others might come too.
After prodding, she teared up and stood.
"I'll check when I get back. Gonna have fun."
"Sorry, no time for fun. Gotta hit that reserve shelter."
All those guns there.
Da-jeong packed glumly.
"My luxurious, celeb-style off-grid life..."
"Watermelons'll ripen tasty by then. Toss 'em in the valley; we'll eat."
"Beer too."
"Obviously."
Stag beetles who'd grown the otherworld crops might rage, but gotta eat to live.
I saw Da-jeong off, stripped down, and hauled timber.
The full-summer forest was hellishly hot.