Chapter 159
Chapter 159
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 159
Chapter Title: Swarming Survivors - 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jo Soo-yeon's trait was healing.
Given the nature of her trait, she naturally ended up positioned in the rear during battles.
When party members got injured fighting up front, they rushed straight to her.
Her healing trait sealed even serious wounds on the spot.
Despite having such a powerful ability, it didn't do much for her own combat prowess.
The additional effects were things like faster healing or remote healing, nothing more.
Thanks to that, Soo-yeon's level was 19, the lowest among the island crew alongside Ji-man.
Surprisingly, Mi-kyung had the highest level, thanks to her Blink trait being so combat-friendly.
The ability to swap positions could turn the tide of battle in an instant.
Anyway, even though her level was low, Soo-yeon was content with her situation.
Being a healer turned out to be surprisingly fun.
She told people this:
"Sometimes I do feel the urge to shine in battle... but healing gives me a real sense of fulfillment. They thank me, say I saved their lives."
The kind-hearted former doctor turned current healer was none other than Soo-yeon.
The government shelter wouldn't let such a precious resource venture outside.
So Soo-yeon mostly stayed cooped up inside the shelter.
There was plenty to do—treating the sick, patching up the wounded returning from outings—but it was inevitably boring.
Her stagnating level made her quietly anxious too.
It was Sung-ho who finally dragged her out into the world.
He believed everyone needed a baseline level of combat ability.
"That includes you, Soo-yeon. At minimum, you have to be able to defend yourself."
Sung-ho stressed that simple leveling wasn't enough; she needed constant combat experience.
Lee Beom-seok was reluctant to let her go but couldn't stop someone determined to take her out.
And so, Soo-yeon headed out hunting alone with Sung-ho.
The thrill bubbling up inside her wasn't because she was immature.
'When you think about it, a total badass is giving me a ride.'
Not many knew the name Kang Sung-ho, but everyone knew Kimbap Lover.
If they didn't, they were either clueless shut-ins or foreigners.
The strongest veteran player and leader of the veterans.
Sung-ho was just a chubby snack shop owner in Soo-yeon's memory—when did he change like this?
'People change when opportunity knocks...'
He fastened an orichalcum long knife—complete with sheath—to her waist.
"Even healers have to fight if things get dicey. Hopefully it never comes to that."
"This thing's expensive."
To Soo-yeon, who rarely scraped together points, 300 was a stretch.
Sung-ho grinned and whispered,
"Truth is, I've looted so much."
Looting... Soo-yeon recalled he'd killed a lot of people.
Auction house folks said nearly 20 died in the swamp labyrinth alone, with indirect deaths several times that.
Yet she wasn't afraid of him. Probably because he treated those close to him well.
As long as you didn't cross the line, he wouldn't snap... That's what Soo-yeon believed.
"If the long knife won't cut it, run. Most monsters lose their edge if you climb high."
Sung-ho demonstrated by tying a rope to a metal hook and scaling to the fourth floor of a studio apartment building.
Soo-yeon followed his moves like a good student.
Afterward, they gazed from the rooftop at the building across the way.
"You can only use this when I'm with you. If I call your name and say jump, just leap."
"O-over... here?"
The gap was at least 15 meters.
She knew about the dimension wall add-on, but imagining the drop made her knees weak.
Sung-ho took her hand and guided her into the air.
"Right now, there's a dimension wall under our feet. Think of it as an invisible floor."
"Oh my god..."
Soo-yeon stepped onto the unseen surface and floated midair.
Dizziness hit her, like she might plummet any second.
Sung-ho gently tugged her arm.
"Act natural and jump forward."
"W-wait... Mom!"
She leaped instinctively, crossing to the opposite rooftop before she knew it.
So that's how it's done.
Sung-ho kept helping her after that.
She was riding shotgun, basically.
Thanks to him, Soo-yeon hit level 20 in less than half a day.
They claimed a suitable building, ate, and chatted about add-on effects.
"I got... Ability Enhancement."
"Hard to tell what it does from the name."
"Mind if I touch your arm for a sec?"
Soo-yeon placed her hand on Sung-ho's arm.
Feeling a man's thick forearm after so long made her heart race inexplicably.
'I'm such a mess...'
Getting butterflies for a taken guy would just make her look dumb during hunts.
She'd given up after learning he was with Da-jeong...
"Soo-yeon?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry."
Startled, she activated her ability on his arm.
A golden glow poured out, unlike usual.
Sung-ho seemed pretty shocked, flexing his arm.
"Whoa, this is nuts. Stats just ballooned."
When he said 1.2x boost, she covered her mouth.
"Stats went up 1.2 times?"
No downsides? Near cheat territory.
"Activate two skills and it'd be nearly +30 stats... Hold on."
He cracked his neck and headed downstairs.
An orc bellowed, then he returned moments later, knuckles bloody.
He'd smashed a passing orc barehanded.
Sung-ho blinked his bloodshot eyes back to normal.
"Insane ability. Can you check if it stacks?"
"Uh... no dice."
Seemed limited to one target.
"Let's test duration over food."
They resumed eating. Main dish: swordfish.
She confessed she'd turned down Geom-in.
"The age gap... Early 20s feels off. Personality aside."
Geom-in got shot down, huh.
A former doctor and ex-streamer? Weird combo even if they clicked.
Good she wasn't moping.
Soo-yeon set down her bowl.
"He kept calling me noona and clinging. Felt less like a man, more like a puppy."
Endlessly yapping about games didn't help.
Sung-ho asked her,
"You're older than me, right? Should I call you noona too?"
Soo-yeon widened her eyes and waved frantically.
"No, no! This is fine as is."
Hearing "noona" from Sung-ho's massive frame? Intimidating.
But flipping perspective, maybe kinda nice.
Sung-ho finished cleaning and brewed coffee.
They sipped while surveying the ruined landscape.
A goblin pack led by hobgoblins fled into an alley, pursued by orcs.
They'd been around a while, but few ignored them.
One paralyzing poison needle and even the strong went down hard.
Watching monsters fight, Soo-yeon suddenly asked,
"How long do we have to live like this?"
"Forever. Strong monsters keep spawning."
"So we're stuck in the apocalypse."
"All we can do is struggle to survive. One sure thing: we're way better off than most."
Thanks to the dimension gate.
Soo-yeon leaned her head on Sung-ho's shoulder without thinking.
Could she find another guy this solid?
'Should've been braver back then...'
After the Busan killer deathmatch, he'd crashed at her villa briefly.
If she'd manned up then, Da-jeong wouldn't be by his side now—it'd be her.
Da-jeong might bulldoze past that, though...
Soo-yeon blushed recalling Da-jeong's temptation.
'A threesome? How do you even say that...'
As she crumpled her paper cup in turmoil, Sung-ho scanned the auction house and asked,
"Ever hear of Kim Ho-je, second son of Jeil Group?"
"...Yeah. All over the news, bad stuff."
"I don't watch much TV, so..."
Time for backstory.
Soo-yeon spilled on Kim Ho-je.
"Drug and girl scandals nonstop since his study abroad days. Remember when he got busted importing drugs?"
"No ordinary guy."
"Tons of incidents. At a room salon, didn't like the staff, called in gangsters to beat them."
"Daddy must've shelled out big."
"That's mild. Sent to US branch to straighten up, groped a stewardess mid-flight, got banned."
"Total punk."
"That punk's at the shelter now. Let's go see."
"Huh?"
Soo-yeon pictured Sung-ho pummeling Kim Ho-je.
What balls to show up here?
.
.
.
"One more time: no violence."
"Got it."
I brushed it off and opened the door.
Inside sat Jang Won-taek and a man and woman.
Kim Ho-je was skinny as an anchovy boss.
Thick clothes couldn't hide his neck or cheekbones.
Sunglasses to mask his face?
Guy's got all kinds of tricks.
The woman beside him looked more put-together.
Black body armor, neat bob haircut, stubborn gaze fixed on me.
No way she's brainwashed...
Standing in the doorway, Jang Won-taek invited me to sit.
"Have a seat. These folks want to join our shelter. Let's talk. This is Sung-ho, aka Kimbap Lover. Heard of him?"
"Ah."
The woman startled briefly; Kim Ho-je lowered his sunglasses halfway and fawned dramatically.
"Whoa, Kimbap Lover? You're crazy strong! Nice to meet you!"
He even approached and offered his gloved hand.
What the hell?
As I clenched my fist, the woman yanked him back down.
"No handshakes, I said."
He clamped his mouth shut and growled; Kim Ho-je shrank like a scolded kid.
I sat before Jang Won-taek, eyeing him.
Irregular heartbeat and breathing.
Sunken eyes under shades screamed drugs.
Makes sense—a junkie holed up has no hobbies.
The woman bowed politely.
"Sorry about that. I'm Lee Hye-jin, the president's secretary."
Secretary... Yeah, right.
I listened silently as Jang Won-taek and Hye-jin talked.
Summary: Kim Ho-je felt threatened and wanted government shelter protection.
"People with brainwash traits make enemies. You know many prepped shelters in Hannam-dong. Some don't like the president."
Made sense for a brainwasher, but something felt off.
Jang Won-taek glanced at me and continued.
"So you want to entrust yourselves to our shelter. But there's concern. People hate brainwash traits."
"No worries there. Big level gaps resist it. He'll wear gloves, and I'll assist."
"Gloves on always!"
Kim Ho-je pledged like a child.
New info.
Level gap weakens brainwash...
Jang Won-taek asked how many he'd brainwashed.
"Th-three."
"Wasted talent turned puppets. Think people will stand for it? Obvious avoidance."
Hye-jin jumped in.
"Victims won't enter the shelter."
"Then?"
"We'll place them elsewhere. President's reflecting too. Will cooperate if debuff removal appears."
Kim Ho-je bowed.
Didn't feel sincere.
"Threatened" but stash puppets elsewhere? Means backup.
Unimpressed, Hye-jin added,
"If accepted, he'll donate all stockpiles here."
"We have plenty... Heavy weapons?"
"Lots of Russian gear. Imported via arms dealer."
"I signed the airport shutdown..."
"Apologies, but via Russian fishing boats from East Sea."
Jang Won-taek wryly smiled.
"Heh, clever."
"Heh heh."
Laughing like that? Screws loose.
Jang Won-taek eyed me. Step out?
In the lounge, he asked,
"Your thoughts?"
"Someone's backing them."
"Felt that... Evidence?"
I recalled old intel from raiding Joo Seung-cheol's bunker.
Kim President and Lee Executive linked to Joo.
"Kim President's trait is brainwash. Lee Executive's probably Hye-jin."
"You had that intel... Impressive."
Jang Won-taek was genuinely awed.
Clear he wasn't here innocently.
Gov shelter intel, or scouting me.
Decision time.
Pretend to buy it, or...
"Agree with whatever I say. Want to gauge reactions."
"Got it."
Back in the room.
I asked Lee Executive—no, Hye-jin,
"Can I see the stockpiles?"
"...Pardon?"
"Go to the bunker together."
"Th-that..."
Composed Hye-jin panicked.
Jang Won-taek pressed,
"Accept, and we process your request."
"Uh..."
Speechless.
Needs approval from someone.
Kim Ho-je beamed like a kid at bunker visitors.
Sunglasses off: hollow sockets.
Won't last.
Hye-jin glared at him, exhaled, and replied,
"Need time to think."
Not thinking—getting auction house approval.
They left. I cracked the door, focusing.
Super senses caught her faint voice.