Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: A Good Monster is a Dead Monster
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A person needs a home to survive.
I have a two-story house in Busan, but in the forest, I haven't set up anything decent.
30 days until the zombie outbreak.
By then, I need to secure a safe house no matter what it takes.
In the real world or the forest, what's the point of living if you're constantly chased by monsters?
"If only a cave would pop up."
How great would it be to find a bear den-like spot that's sealed on all sides and dry inside.
Of course, without the bear.
I entered the forest, placed markers as I went, and wandered around surveying the area.
This forest is incredibly dense.
The towering trees will become valuable resources in the future.
It'd be nice if there were ebony trees or something.
To process that hard wood, I'd need to bring in carpentry tools.
Everything comes down to money when it comes to preparations.
I was walking through the thick underbrush with an arrow half-nocked on my bow when it suddenly appeared.
A cave entrance.
"Lucky me."
I didn't rush right in.
A cave that size is bound to have something inside.
Plenty of monsters use caves as nests, but goblins and kobolds are the typical ones.
I circled the area looking for tracks.
In a place this overgrown, they'd make a burrow to come and go easily.
"Found you, you bastards."
There was a hole in the bushes near the entrance.
And right below it, footprints.
The disgusting footprints confirmed it—this was a kobold den.
I hid in the bushes.
Kobolds don't form large packs.
A leader male with two or three females, maxing out at seven or eight.
But even that was too much for me right now.
I'd bought capsaicin spray, but I wasn't sure how effective it'd be.
Set the entrance on fire and bash them as they come out?
"Wind direction..."
Luckily, it seemed I wouldn't end up choking on the smoke myself.
Wait, no... I have modern conveniences for that.
Why risk it without a gas mask?
Fire is lethal to monsters too, so they usually avoid smoke.
No one would come running even if there's a commotion.
"Am I really doing this?"
Just lighting the entrance won't turn it into a massive blaze.
Worst case, I can put it out with a fire extinguisher.
I spent two hours buying the necessary gear.
Thankfully, the kobold pack hadn't woken up.
They're nocturnal, after all.
"You lazy sleepers, time for a wake-up call."
The gear I'd brought: a fire-resistant gas mask, thick padded clothing, and a firefighter's axe.
Kobolds inhaling heavy smoke would be out of it for at least a few dozen seconds.
That's when I'd hack away with the axe.
I'd grabbed the pipe just in case.
A hefty one with a coupling at the end.
"Bow... damn, can't shoot."
The bushes blocked my line of sight.
Clearing them wasn't an option either, since I needed the cave.
Those bushes would serve as my first line of defense.
I hauled branches, kindling, and vines to the cave entrance.
After an hour, I was sweating buckets.
"Huff, huff! I'm gonna pass out first."
No choice—I stripped off my outer layer.
A bit chilly, but better for moving.
Alright, now douse the entrance with gasoline...
That's when eye contact happened with a kobold emerging from inside.
It looked like a large dog walking on two legs.
Its fur was a tangled mess like a dirty rag, and its yellow eyes glinted faintly.
Dazed from sleep, it staggered toward me.
"Hah!"
I smashed the axe straight into its skull.
Caught off guard, it let out a short screech and toppled backward.
Kyung!
Been a while since I heard kobold yips.
I chopped the fallen one's neck with the axe.
The key when facing monsters is to kill them thoroughly.
In Survival Life, there were countless cases of people thinking they'd killed one only to get attacked from behind.
No time to waste now.
Light a tissue with the lighter and toss it!
Whoosh. It caught fire.
Having stuffed in even solid wood, thick black smoke billowed up beautifully.
The smoke engulfed me too.
The gas mask kept major effects at bay, but my eyes and nose still stung.
Gasoline made the flames dance wildly.
Damn, shoulda used half.
The entrance was shrouded in smoke—couldn't see a thing.
Not sure if I could even hit kobolds rushing out like this.
"...Here they come."
I felt them yipping as they burst out.
They'd wake to a cave full of smoke, unable to breathe—total chaos.
The entrance was a firewall, so they couldn't escape easily.
Just die quietly, please.
But the kobolds defied expectations and charged out.
Enveloped in flames and smoke.
One, two, three, four, five!
"Die!"
I lunged at the biggest one.
Obviously the pack leader.
It was disoriented but barely lifted its head as I approached.
That was it.
Couldn't even open its eyes properly—much less fight back.
The fire axe smashed its skull, embedding deep into the crown.
"Huh?"
Big trouble.
Axe was stuck.
That's what the pipe was for.
I kicked its belly to shove it back and grabbed the pipe.
"Hah!"
The 1-meter pipe with its heavy coupling battered the kobold's head.
It yelped and collapsed.
Won't die, but won't get up soon.
The smoke was so bad, none were compos mentis even as I rampaged.
Maybe their keen noses amplified it.
I caught my breath and sprayed capsaicin on the downed ones.
Kyung! Kyung!
Works like a charm.
The rest clawed at their eyes and noses, thrashing wildly.
My job was simple: bash them with the pipe until they stopped moving.
Completely dead.
Kyung!
The last one let out a final screech and went limp.
The sturdy pipe was bent, covered in blood.
"Huff, huff... damn it all."
I finished the mercy kills and removed the gas mask.
My heart pounded like it would burst.
"Barely... barely managed to move..."
Clearly out of shape—not something fixed overnight.
"Status Window."
Exhaustion had tanked my stats.
Temporary, though—rest would fix it.
"Level 1 now..."
Killed the monsters and racked up 14 points.
Enough for a club from the shop.
Back when I played Survival Life hardcore, I never dipped below 10,000.
"This isn't a game."
It's real life, and I can die.
Lucky I found the kobold den in daylight—if I'd camped nearby...
Probably dragged alive into the cave, beaten with clubs, then eaten.
Don't forget.
A good monster is a dead monster.
I used the pipe as a cane to stand.
Dizziness made my head spin.
"Oof, my head..."
Anyway, dig another pit?
Monster corpses are hazardous—no choice.
Could just burn 'em.
Grab gasoline from a nearby station, and torching a few kobolds is nothing.
But... why's my back so hot?
Looking at the cave entrance, I froze in horror.
The fire I'd started had spread!
Fire!
.
.
.
...Gotta be careful.
I tossed the spent extinguisher to the ground.
Dumped every one from the store to finally put out the blaze.
Losing the bushes would make all my hard work for nothing.
"Exhausted, so exhausted."
I sat on a nearby rock and surveyed the cave entrance.
Kobold corpses, charred remains, debris—all a tangled mess.
Clearing this would take hours at least.
Tempting to flop into bed right now, but I resisted.
Do it now or suffer more tomorrow.
Took too much stamina to take down the kobolds.
Prep time mostly.
"If only I had a gun."
In America, I'd have hauled in all sorts by now.
Wonder if I could buy one there?
No way they'd license a tourist.
I chuckled at the thought of shady routes.
Lucky not to end up a corpse in a dark alley.
No passport anyway—dirt poor.
Time better spent elsewhere.
Still, a gun would make forest life way easier.
"Oh, right—air rifle."
I quickly opened the dimension gate, hopped in, and searched on the computer.
Damn.
Some idiot shot people with an air rifle?
Too many incidents—guns and ammo all impounded at the station minimum.
Private ranges? Eh.
Sneak in and avoid cuffs? Good luck.
Bottom line: near impossible to get firearms in Korea.
"Wait, wasn't there something before the zombie outbreak?"
I recalled an event.
Fragments of the Silver Spore meteor hurtling toward Earth got pulled by the sun's gravity and fell first.
A massive tsunami washed a Russian fishing boat onto land near Busan Port.
Ridiculous, but not impossible.
Meteor hits, tsunami follows, Russian boats frequent Busan.
Just backstory—I never experienced it.
"That's why Busan got pegged as ground zero for the zombies..."
Not true, of course.
Zombies came from Silver Spore meteor spores.
The contaminated Russian boat just happened to beach at Busan Port.
"Pretty sure there were gunshots mentioned..."
Police yelling or something?
I dug through my video list and found it.
Looking back, I was totally immersed in this game.
Hunting down trivia like this.
I paused at the illustration explanation.
Per the pic, it was perfectly positioned on land.
Ladders even deployed.
But it's a game.
Every little event matching perfectly? Nah.
Hit play—my voice explained the gunshots.
Gunshots confirmed the Russians had guns.
Probably the captain.
Back in the '90s, Russian sailors openly smuggled pistols into Busan pretty often.
"Gamcheon Port..."
Far from home, but worth the gamble.
In reality, Metal Plague prevents use, but in the forest, possible.
And Metal Plague eases over time.
Only if events play out like the game's lore.
If not, give up on guns.
With that thought, I stared at the cave entrance.
Before moving into my new home, one thing left.
Spring cleaning.
A Good Monster is a Dead Monster End