Chapter 180
Chapter 180
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: Must Part to Survive - 5
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Killers had one trait that set them apart from other players.
They grew stronger with every kill.
All their stats rose in real time, and skills attached themselves in the process. The Chinese thugs didn't even get a chance to fight back before they started dropping.
Screams pierced the air, blood sprayed everywhere, and in the blink of an eye, flashes of light erupted.
Hyun-woo, watching from atop the warehouse, stared in dumbfounded disbelief.
'What the hell... like a lion charging into a flock of sheep...'
No, even sheep wouldn't go down so helplessly.
Did he acquire the most efficient skill for butchering humans?
Of course, Hyun-woo knew that wasn't the case.
'He's reading them and moving.'
Even as one head flew into the air, Sung-ho's sharp eyes were already scanning for the next target.
Someone charged at his back, but he slashed them apart with a swing without even looking.
'Does that guy have eyes in the back of his head?'
It was a sight too unbelievable to accept, even after seeing it.
'He's strong...'
Hyun-woo felt a wave of emptiness wash over him.
What he had struggled desperately to block, Sung-ho handled with ridiculous ease.
It had always been like that.
He vividly remembered the day Sung-ho was supposed to arrive.
The usually stern and disciplined president was overjoyed beyond belief...
Even when Lee Beom-seok sighed over what he'd have to offer as compensation, he couldn't wipe the smile off his face.
'Was he that happy...?'
Hyun-woo had worked hard to earn the president's favor.
Not to the point of breaking himself, but enough that an average person would call it excessive.
Yet Jang Won-taek's gaze was always fixed on Sung-ho.
Lee Beom-seok's explanation—that he clung harder because the fish slipped away—did nothing to fill the void in his heart.
'Maybe I...'
Perhaps he was jealous of him.
Ever since the team failed to hunt the ogre—no, even before that...
Hyun-woo had envied how Sung-ho commanded attention and led situations as he pleased.
'The president wants you so badly, and yet...'
He rejected it all as if the president's interest and overtures were beneath him.
He'd barely settled into the shelter before leaving again.
It made no sense whatsoever.
'If it were now...'
Hyun-woo slipped his finger onto the trigger, then yanked it away in a panic.
Pulling it would drop him.
The president's attention would shift to him instead...
Hyun-woo gritted his teeth, coming right to the brink of firing, but gave up.
It was his last shred of conscience.
He watched Sung-ho's rampage with a heavy heart.
Less than ten seconds passed.
A dozen corpses littered the ground around Sung-ho.
The floor was soaked with spilled entrails, severed limbs, and blood.
At this point, even the drugged-up Chinese hesitated.
No, without their leader, they looked ready to bolt any second.
Some had even pissed themselves, showing just how terrifying the scene was.
"Ugh..."
Ryu Wei averted his eyes from the carnage and backed away unsteadily.
That guy wasn't human.
He was some evil spirit in human form.
How else could he slaughter people like wheat?
Even scarier was how the heartbeat emanating from him grew louder.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
Everyone covered their ears and squeezed their eyes shut at the rhythmic pounding.
By this point, Sung-ho was nearly 1.5 times stronger than when the fight began.
Thanks to all the kills in such a short time.
Maintaining these stats and skills long-term was impossible, but for now, it was a huge boost.
Even after battling dozens, his body brimmed with vitality.
Then monsters swarmed in, drawn by the blood scent.
They ignored Sung-ho entirely, devouring the corpses before splitting in half.
"N-No...!"
"This can't be... something's wrong here...!"
The Chinese finally started fleeing one by one.
Sung-ho pursued, and Ryu Wei grew desperate.
The heartbeat sounded faster now—probably right nearby.
He grabbed one of the fleeing guys and tossed him backward.
"Gah!"
Something wet splattered onto his neck.
Ryu Wei wiped it off with his hand, then freaked out at the red stain.
"Hngh!"
He clutched the blade protruding from his chest and collapsed forward.
Sung-ho approached with heavy steps and gripped the hilt, twisting slowly.
"Kaaaaagh!"
The sharp blade tore through his back.
Sung-ho said lowly,
"I'll kill the rest soon. Wait for me."
"S-Spare...!"
That was the end.
As the mithril blade slid out his side, Ryu Wei breathed his last.
Sung-ho considered chasing the others but held off.
He might need their "cooperation" to clean up the nearby battlefield.
Of course, that cooperation would cost them their lives.
He wiped the blood from his blade on a corpse's clothes.
Hyun-woo stared down at him from the warehouse roof, face slack with defeat.
"You're here."
Near the last Chinese body Sung-ho had killed, he found a revival scroll and the face veil.
That wrapped up the Yeouido battlefield, but the battlefield chains remained.
Were there other conditions?
As he pondered, Hyun-woo staggered toward him.
The gruesome scene was one thing, but the metallic blood stench was nose-curling.
And that intense heartbeat...
Proof that the man before him was a killer.
He'd assumed there was a reason, but it was overwhelmingly visceral.
Hyun-woo swallowed dryly and asked,
"...The president?"
"He's alive. I contacted the chief of staff, so he should be fine. Tell him the battlefield here is cleared."
Sung-ho turned to leave.
From behind, Hyun-woo muttered lowly,
"I... hate you."
Sung-ho paused, then looked back.
"Yeah?"
"At first, I thought you were a decent guy. Someone who could judge situations fast and make decisions in this apocalypse... But not anymore."
"Think what you want."
As Sung-ho waved dismissively and walked away, Hyun-woo snapped.
It was an explosion of pent-up resentment from months.
"Why are you so arrogant? Why won't you serve the president? Do you think you can handle everything alone? You're delusional!"
Sung-ho turned back with a sigh at the outburst.
To him, Hyun-woo's rage was just childish whining.
"Don't cry. Explain step by step. I get that you don't like me—what exactly bothers you?"
"Everything."
"No need to care anymore, right? I'm leaving."
"You saved the president, and for some reason, you helped defend the Korean shelter. As long as you're alive, he'll keep obsessing over you."
Sung-ho's lips twisted at that.
This guy really was throwing a tantrum.
"What do you want me to do?"
"If you weren't here... if only you weren't!"
"The kid's lost it. I'm out."
As he turned, Hyun-woo itched to raise his gun and fire.
If he just vanished, the president would rely on him.
Hyun-woo thought that, closed his eyes—and jolted in shock.
Sung-ho was already aiming a silenced pistol at him.
The barrel loomed huge.
"Wha—"
Before he could speak, Sung-ho's finger moved.
Bang. Bang.
Two small holes punched into Hyun-woo's chest.
As he shot a look of disbelief, Sung-ho said flatly,
"Sorry, but I don't leave loose ends."
Hyun-woo's mind went white as he crumpled to the ground.
"Felt like you'd sell out to those guys if I let you live."
Like with the doctor and nurse.
Sung-ho holstered his pistol bitterly.
He believed death solved all problems, but he preferred avoiding these situations.
"No choice..."
Couldn't leave someone putting a finger on the trigger at his back, right?
He rationalized it that way.
Sung-ho mounted his bike and cleared nearby monsters.
But wiping them all out was impossible.
As he left, monsters that had been lurking from afar charged in.
Ryu Wei and his brothers heading to Yeouido were dead.
Some might have survived, scattered and unaccounted for.
Hearing the thunderbolt news, Hwa-cheong's boss Ri Ju-gang stormed into the Chinese hall in a rage.
"Care to explain yourself?"
"Explain what?"
Joo Seung-su retorted cockily from his chair.
A mithril knife spun on his finger.
"Why you sent my brothers to their deaths for supplies."
"Calm down. It's no big deal."
"Calm down? No big deal? Are my brothers' lives nothing to you?"
Joo Seung-su raised both hands and stood.
"Fine, I misjudged. That guy was way stronger than I thought."
He meant the Korean who crashed the Chinese hall's comments.
Circumstances pointed to his involvement.
"I opposed the plan from the start, but you still..."
"Why the attitude? Who was it that handed out drugs to your precious brothers?"
As the talk veered there, Ri Ju-gang faltered.
"...Just thought it'd help them unwind."
"And now your brothers are hooked. Weak effects, but the addiction's killer. Opium's better."
Ri Ju-gang clenched his fist at Joo Seung-su's smirk but held back.
He slumped into the opposite chair, and Joo Seung-su took position behind him.
"I get the pain of losing brothers, but look bigger. More are coming from other cities. Most will die in the chaos, but we have numbers. Tame them patiently—they'll help."
"..."
As Ri Ju-gang cradled his forehead, Joo Seung-su pointed outside.
"See that blue door? Koreans say it's a dimension gate to the Great Labyrinth."
"Great Labyrinth?"
"Not sure exactly, but it's impressive. Pitch black inside, tons of monsters. Sent a scouting party—they even caught animals."
Joo Seung-su omitted that most scouts died.
Or the man-sized rabbits spotted.
No point raising alarms.
He sat before Ri Ju-gang and slapped his knee.
"A path to survival's opened! But we're fighting like this—will that work? We need revenge for our brothers, right?"
The tension left Ri Ju-gang's fist.
He eyed the dimension gate outside.
Dungeon entrances were small, for one person. Why was this so huge?
"...It's connected to somewhere else, right?"
"On this Korean land... no, our land now. Anyway, gates like this are popping up. They lead to the dark Great Labyrinth. Intriguing, huh?"
"...Not sure about the rest, but animals living there sounds good."
"Pick some brothers. I'll handle the rest."
They stared at the gate through the window.
Food dwindled daily; everyone starved.
In this mess, the Great Labyrinth might be an opportunity.
Or the start of ruin.
"She's... probably dead."
"I see..."
Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok arrived at the Korean shelter and witnessed Kim So-ryeong's death.
She'd likely been defending the shelter, dragged out by Chinese, and lynched.
Those Chinese were all dead now.
Monsters had gnawed the bodies around the warehouse, leaving scraps.
Jang Won-taek set down his rifle and knelt before what he assumed was Kim So-ryeong's leg.
"I pushed you too hard and lost you like this. I'm truly sorry... so sorry..."
Meanwhile, Lee Beom-seok felt uneasy.
Kim So-ryeong had been alive right before Sung-ho left the backup shelter...
Even against dozens, her firepower should've given her good odds.
Yet she died leaving just a leg.
'Could it be...'
Lee Beom-seok entertained dark thoughts, then shook his head.
Even if they didn't get along, it wouldn't go that far.
Asking Sung-ho would just get him accused of suspicion and yelled at...
Mourning was brief.
Too many bodies; chaos reigned.
Word spread that the Korean shelter was safe, but people hesitated to move.
Stepping into another battlefield would chain them.
As everyone fretted, unexpected news hit the auction house.
Sung-ho had figured out how to break the battlefield chains.
He didn't mention killing fleeing Chinese for it.
Jang Won-taek commented upon hearing.
Battle royale wins gave minor stat boosts, but with limits.
Hiding might work, but living chained was impossible.
Good news: the land linking Yeouido and Gimpo Airport was fully cleared.
Some messaged Sung-ho.
No one argued.
Then shocking news:
People ignoring him entered the Great Labyrinth and spotted foreigners.
Everyone shrank back at Kimbap Lover's warning.
As he said, expanding range was priority.
Current safe movement area was less than 1/20th of before.
But clearing battlefields meant killing people.
Minds hardened.
Chinese roaming freely, ignoring battle royales, caught eyes.
Numerous and chaotic, battlefields turned into a mess.
Auction comments popped up.
People realized: to live, kill them.
Lure to uncleared battlefields if possible...
Meanwhile, Sung-ho fully escaped the battlefield chains and tore the face veil.
+ Acquired 1780 Points
+ Acquired Skill: Tenacity
+ Lv 40: Trait gains additional effect
⟨ Another Dimension Gate ⟩
Maybe because he'd racked up so many kills in Killer state—his level shot up.
Anyway, what was this?
Sung-ho summoned the dimension gate as usual and froze.
Two gates had appeared.
Must Part to Survive - 5 End