Chapter 98
Chapter 98
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: The Trio's Reunion - 2
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As Da-jeong had said, a little lubrication was needed to get the info they wanted.
In the apocalypse, that usually meant food, so Sung-ho laid out a proper drinking spread.
Of course, only after checking the surroundings for threats and posting Da-jeong's ghouls as ironclad guards.
Night was dangerous, but with three veterans together, there was nothing to fear.
"Just drink until you're nicely buzzed, got it?"
Even Sung-ho didn't really expect them to stick to that.
He just hoped their drunken antics wouldn't get too out of hand.
Anyway, the two cheered and dove into the spread.
But...
"What the hell is all this?"
The spread was seriously, seriously impressive.
Smoked fish, green onion pancakes, tteokbokki, clam soup—the kind of feast that made you wonder if this was even allowed in the apocalypse.
Da-jeong gazed at it in rapture until a sound from beside her made her jump.
Already chowing down, huh.
Not one to be outdone, she shouted "thanks for the food" and jabbed her wooden chopsticks toward a tteokbokki egg.
But why is this egg so damn big?
"I've been wondering for a while now... that chicken dish you made, Sung-ho—what the hell was it? And these huge eggs? Doesn't taste like chicken either."
"It's just food. Don't make it complicated."
Sung-ho vanished into thin air, and the two giggled.
That was his charm—grumbling about the hassle but doing it anyway.
But when he returned with a monstrous bird in hand, their laughter died.
Squawk!
The firebird thrashed wildly, neck gripped tight.
Seok-hyeon quickly hunched over the table and muttered,
"One feather flies, and you're taking its place on the menu."
Meanwhile, Da-jeong gawked at the firebird—three, four times bigger than a chicken.
"Y-you made it from that?"
"Name shows up for you guys too, right? Firebird."
Nods all around.
"Picked 'em up from that goblin nest raid. Breed like rabbits—even after eating a few, their numbers bounced back."
"So you're growing veggies and raising chickens in there? Fishing too?"
"Pretty much."
"Your trait is straight-up broken."
"Don't say that—you've got one too."
Sung-ho stowed the firebird away, and Da-jeong chewed her tteokbokki noisily.
"Mmm... this is legit good. But stuff like tteok doesn't keep long. You make it fresh in there?"
"Vacuum-seal it and bury it in the ground. Acts like a fridge."
That had been true until now.
With the weather warming up, it was getting risky.
He'd probably need to dump a ton of food at the auction house soon.
Better to score points than let it rot.
Seok-hyeon swallowed a mouthful of smoked fish.
"I figured once you hit level 20, others might access your dimension gate too. Guess not."
"Around 30 maybe?"
"Dunno... it says 'exclusive' trait. Specifically, Exclusive Dimension Gate Open."
Da-jeong scowled at that.
"What the hell. Total selfish trait."
"Would've been a nightmare if others could enter. Whole Korean population would've swarmed me."
"..."
Da-jeong glared at the ceiling, imagining if the gate wasn't exclusive.
From what she'd heard, the world inside was pretty vast.
Forest, valley, even ocean.
Could support a huge population.
When the end hit hard, Sung-ho would face impossible demands.
And national spotlight.
Jealousy, envy—not to mention he could get killed.
Government protection only went so far.
Da-jeong realized why he'd hidden his identity and power all this time.
Dimension Gate Open was an amazing trait, but it painted a huge target.
Sure, no one else could enter, but that didn't stop them coveting it.
Stick by my side and help us out...
She shuddered at the thought of randoms reaching for her.
"...No wonder you've been playing it low-key."
"Fate's a bitch. Quit whining—let's set some goals."
Seok-hyeon perked up at "goals."
"You mean hunting that brute?"
"Yeah. You logged off before seeing it."
"What does it look like?"
Instead of answering, Sung-ho ducked into the cave, screenshotted the brute emergence, and sketched lines over it.
Back outside, their faces went weird.
"That's a keeper."
"Bigger than a keeper. The head—whatever—reaches the third floor."
"This thing shows up later, huh. Can the three of us take it?"
Sung-ho nodded at Seok-hyeon's question.
"Assuming we max out specs before it spawns."
"What's next after?"
Da-jeong pointed at the ops notice Sung-ho copied verbatim.
"'We might cross paths again someday'... Sounds prophetic now."
"Could be the devs pulling strings behind it all. Whole Survival Life team."
"Why?"
"If I knew, I wouldn't be here."
"Fair..."
Da-jeong spilled on the shadiest guy in the government shelter: Joo Seung-chul.
"He even mentioned his shelter before? Turns out it's massive."
"Prepped ahead? Game ID?"
"Dunno, but President's grandpa said he invested in Survival Life corp."
"Huh."
Even quiet Seok-hyeon leaned in.
Joo Seung-chul reeked of fish.
Da-jeong tapped the table.
"Anyway, those government shelter folks are all shady as hell, hiding something. President's dodging his trait too while prying into ours."
"That's why we need eyes inside. And you're the only one for it."
"Send him."
Her finger jabbed Seok-hyeon; he grinned.
"Me?"
Sung-ho shot it down without thinking.
"Hell no. They'd nuke the shelter."
"Hold up."
Da-jeong cut in, staring him down.
"Need to know your real goal. Just monitor? Or get that gun you mentioned?"
"Precisely: stop guns going to threats like Geom-in."
"Him? Total nerd."
"Besides that?"
She rattled off her impressions.
"Bit of a show-off, pushes group hugs. Problem is, people avoid him. Weird rumors."
"Like?"
"Get close, lose your trait or whatever."
"Thought he had multiples. Steals them?"
"Not sure, but slimy rumors. That's why folks steer clear."
Might steal and make 'em his own.
But he'd need isolation...
She said he had two direct underlings.
"Traits probably Blink and Body Enhancement."
"Coincidence."
"Huh? What?"
"Saw Geom-in Blink during griffon hunt. Punched a tree—caved right in. Body Enhancement too."
Da-jeong gnashed her teeth.
"Hid it from me, that bastard."
Sung-ho summed up.
"All signs point to... Geom-in having multiple traits. Question is how. Looks like copying."
"How? No 'register subordinate' system."
"Heart. It's the heart."
Seok-hyeon patted his chest.
Told Sung-ho to open the gate, then poked thin air with chopsticks.
Of course, nothing.
"You do it, goes in. What's the diff?"
"...You think it's yours, so it works?"
Seok-hyeon nodded.
"Geom-in's the same. Give your heart, he copies the trait."
System judging emotions? Felt off.
Da-jeong's face twisted.
"Give your heart, lose your trait. Dodged a bullet."
"You crushing on Geom-in?"
"As if. But the possibility... Ugh, hate his smug face now."
She stress-devoured tteokbokki, grumbling about no cheese.
Sung-ho pulled stored cheese and topped it.
"Women love tteokbokki."
Mi-kyung had too.
The trio reminisced and drank till dawn.
Sung-ho laid out goals.
"One: monitor threats in government shelter. Two: prep for post-Metal Plague. Three: gear up for brute. Objections?"
"...None."
"Agreed."
"Specs are on us... I'll handle post-Plague prep. Got the cave set. Da-jeong, you take shelter threats."
"Sigh... Fine. But what if they're not as bad as you think?"
"Assuming normal goals? Like rebuilding civilization."
"Yeah."
No justification to intervene then.
But Sung-ho didn't care about justifications in the apocalypse.
Make one up.
"Even then, I'll push for the gun. Partial's fine."
"Just straight robbery."
"Transfer of ownership."
"Psycho."
"Now you get it?"
Anything for survival.
Villainous, but a valid path.
Da-jeong mock-punched him.
"You look dangerous as fuck, but you're not the enemy, so I'll let it slide. Betray me? This goes up your ass, got it?"
"Industry reward..."
"Not a reward."
Sung-ho backpedaled; Seok-hyeon smirked knowingly.
Trio united, they'd handle whatever.
Final question from Sung-ho:
"Just occurred—who showed during fishing event? Not you by build, Da-jeong."
"Not me."
"Geom-in?"
"Dunno. Says he's never been to Busan."
Lie, probably.
Not important anyway.
Sung-ho pondered, then downed Da-jeong's poured shot.
Da-jeong took Seok-hyeon and left.
She'd gotten a mission—too much for solo, so borrowing him briefly.
I was alone again after so long.
Like when the wife takes the kids to her parents'...
"Not bad."
No Seok-hyeon, so time for postponed stuff.
I flew drones from the forest, scouting the beetle duo's marked zone.
Near the northern mountains.
Weather had warmed, but peaks still blanketed in white.
"Lemme see... Emperor honey from emperor honeybees..."
And they favored certain flower colonies, nesting nearby.
Scanning foothills, spotted a massive lake.
Cliff at one end, waterfall pouring down.
"Whoa..."
Drone cam, but stunning.
Build a house there? Paradise.
But monsters everywhere—tough to defend.
Just sightsee.
Swapped drones, finally found the flower colony.
Deep golden blooms blanketing the lakeside.
"Bees too?"
Dropped low—buzzing confirmed.
Tiny, but emperor honeybees for sure.
Mapped the route there.
Moto-friendly?
Mostly flat on return check.
Exit forest: classic grassland, low bushes swaying.
"Let's go..."
First, clear monster nests around.
Grabbed backpack, exited cave—beetles polishing ballistas.
Dingo crashed in firebird pen.
Woke him, pitched to beetles:
"Found your bees. Riders wanted?"
What nonsense.
Anyway, boss beetle stepped up.
Crew set; now cleanup.
Cleanup tool: lone long knife.
Plan: Spot nest, Dingo barks chaos. Then I charge with knife—brute force.
Lost Terrain Sense, Survival Thirst—but gains more than compensated.
High stats + skills? Kobold packs no sweat in melee.
Used every trick before.
"Get lost!"
Soccer kick caved kobold skull—no scream, just crumpled.
Way stronger, but no complacency.
Stayed sharp, smashed 'em all.
By lunch, shelter perimeter nests obliterated.
"Hoo..."
Fierce action, but breath steady.
Proof of growth.
I summoned status, pleased.
Level: 22 | Points: 6,610
Trait: Exclusive Dimension Gate Open
Skills: Creature Tracking, Paralysis Poison Resistance 2, Combat Instinct, Light Steps, Truth-Seeing Eye, Mark of Death, Hard Skin 2, Griffon's Eye, Resolute Strike, Critical Strike Effect: -
"Solid."
Not even full—Combat Instinct adds 20% on activation.
Skill slots capped at 10 sucked.
Hated dropping Creature Tracking or Paralysis Resist for new ones.
"No skill expansion scrolls from the sky..."
Pray for battle royale event.
ATV fired up weakly despite maintenance.
Throttle: sputter, smoke belch.
Loaded Dingo and beetles in the bed, tore through forest.
The Trio's Reunion - 2 End