School Trip
We headed toward DC Mart after passing through Isan-dong. It was a bit of a detour, but since the area had been cleared out, this route was faster. As we passed by, I spotted signs that someone had visited the DC Mart. 'Scavengers?' Scavengers were the bastards who picked up the scraps left behind by raid parties. Since we'd already taken everything we needed, it didn't matter.
"Commander, the first lane is clear." The radio update came from the lead position.
'Why is the road open?'
As we continued, I saw that the first lane had been neatly emptied.
"Commander, this is Lee Jungwoo. It appears the first lane was cleared due to fire truck deployment."
So it was because of the fire trucks. Well, other raid parties wouldn't have cleared the road for us.
"It seems the dispatched vehicles were so numerous that they temporarily restricted traffic all the way to the shoulder lane."
"Does it look like they were dispatched for a fire?"
It seemed to be the situation before the apocalypse started, at least. If it had been because of zombies, they wouldn't have stopped the vehicles. The wave must have begun during the lockdown.
"Yes. But it probably didn't reach the second stage of response. Otherwise we would have been dispatched as well."
"Good information."
Anyway, it was a good situation for us. The roads were cleared, making movement easier.
But that comfortable drive didn't last long.
"Everyone dismount and clear the road while maintaining perimeter security."
"Yes!"
The raid members focused on emptying the vehicles. At this point, even a small number of zombies was no match for the towers.
"I'll go ahead and clear out any mutants and swarms first, so set up a defensive perimeter and clear the road."
"Yes!"
My tower reconnaissance had detected a mutant.
"Hana, let's go."
"Okay."
Chaei followed along, still clinging to my arm.
"Want to try fighting the mutant one-on-one?"
At my serious question, she seemed to ponder it for a moment.
"Okay, I'll try."
She nodded as if she'd made up her mind.
This was finally Hana's first solo raid. Of course, safety wasn't an issue. With not only my towers but also Hana's Flash, there was no way she'd get hurt.
"I'll only pull aggro."
"Okay."
Swish! Thud—
The sound of air being sliced. Thunk!
The humanoid mutant barely reacted after the arrow had already pierced the ground.
"Grwaaak?!"
And it immediately charged straight at us.
The distance was quite far. But with its physical stats, it would arrive in five seconds.
"Hoo."
I heard Hana exhale. Now three seconds. The half-second it took for Hana to raise her rapier and assume a stance. The 0.1 seconds to lower her posture for the dash.
With a sharp "Pat!" sound, the rapier had already pierced through the mutant's head.
Tap. Tap.
Hana lightly retreated from the creature and shook the blood off her rapier.
"Suhyuk!"
Hana waved her hand from afar.
"The cure came out!"
"Well done!"
She smiled brightly as if it was nothing. Whoever raised her did a damn good job.
I found myself smiling without realizing it. Her returning steps were filled with her good mood.
Clap!
I high-fived her in congratulations.
"Hana is the best after all!"
"Hehehe. Now I can pull my own weight too, right?"
"What?"
Is this pulling your own weight? Is this the 'one person's portion' for mukbang influencers?
"Hana, you shouldn't say that anywhere. The old-timers will cough up blood if they hear it."
"Huh? Really? Why?"
Acting so innocently with those pure eyes. You've got talent.
"When did the standard for 'one person's portion' get this high?"
"If we consider Suhyuk as two portions—no, three portions—wouldn't that work?"
"Hmm, let's go with that."
"No! Four portions?"
Was the standard getting weird because of me? Honestly, it's hard to say with my own mouth, but it's difficult to measure in those units. Since each tower does several portions' worth.
Random Tower Summon is one hell of an overpowered skill.
Zombies started gathering slowly.
"Fire."
Papapapapak! Whoooosh!
The tier 4 towers no longer needed to be summoned on rooftops. It was better to summon them on the ground like now.
Pewpewpewpewpew! Thudthudthudthudthud!
The swarms charging in straight, honest lines were penetrated by the arrow barrage and fell like dominoes.
"This is crazy! How is this possible?!"
Hana grabbed my arm and shook it.
"This is ten portions, no, over thirty portions!"
"Hana, stop increasing it or my stomach's gonna burst."
Whoooong— Thump!
Boulders fell from the rooftop, cutting through the swarm's waist.
Bwoong— Crack! Shooook— Thunk!
The few zombies that broke through the diagonal were handled by the Warhammer and Javelin towers.
The Siege Ballista Tower's performance stood out in particular. It was because the cooldown for firing was short. The bolts, close to short spears, not only burst the zombies but also knocked down those in the back rows.
The Reinforced Warbow Tower was no less. Until now, the longbow had taken out one per shot. Of course, with high accuracy, it was quite efficient. But now it penetrated four or five at a time, making them fall in droves. It was beyond comparison. It was like watching a shooting game.
The swarms were ground up without mercy. When thinking about the early stages of the wave, the scene didn't feel realistic at all.
Hana stared at me blankly. She mouthed 'You cheater!'
For some reason, it made me laugh.
We continued moving, silently clearing the vehicles and zombies on the road. Along the way, we encountered people in buildings shouting for us to take them with us. When I told them to follow if they were prepared to fight zombies, they just hid again.
'Tsk tsk. How long do they plan on hiding?'
Their future was obvious. Zombies were stupid so they might be fine for now, but after that...
I ignored them and urged the road clearing.
Eventually, around five o'clock, we reached a place where the department store was visible.
I gathered the team leaders and relayed the plan.
"Let's stay the night in that apartment over there today."
"Wouldn't that be dangerous?"
The first team leader expressed concern.
"We have our usual method, don't we?"
"Don't tell me it's that again?!"
"Of course."
The team leaders made grim faces.
"Don't worry. The towers will take care of everything."
"Ah, yes!"
"Whew...."
Their expression changes were really fast.
"Enter the underground parking lot."
"Yes!!"
The residents hiding in this apartment would probably find it noisy, but bear with it. I'll clean up the zombies for you.
Weeeeeeeng— Weeeeeeeng—
The siren sound shook the apartment complex.
And the battle ended in a one-sided massacre as expected.
"Open the doors by team and get some good rest."
"Yes! Thank you for your hard work."
"Thank you for your hard work, Commander!"
"We'll head in now!"
After witnessing the tier 4 towers handling large swarms, the team leaders were highly motivated.
"Hana, good work today. Go get some rest."
"You too, Suhyuk."
Hana and I walked side by side on the first floor. But she kept following me. When was she going to leave?
"Should we take this house?"
"Yeah."
"Huh?"
"Why?"
"You're coming in too?"
"Yeah."
Hana stood in front of the house I was entering and answered.
"What about your brother?"
"He'll sleep with the team members."
"And you?"
"I have to go in with you and Chaei."
"Why?"
"What if I leave you and Chaei alone? Who knows what you'll do?"
Damn, did she notice? My happy time!
"To not trust me like that."
"How can I trust you? When you like it so much."
How can I not like it when Chaei is rubbing her body against me like that?!
"Ha! I get it now. Hana, are you jealous? Do you like me that much?"
I desperately struggled to defend my happy time.
"...No?!"
My heart sank for a moment. It seemed like a delayed reaction, but probably not, right?
I quietly opened the door. Asking more felt too uneasy.
We entered the house in an awkward atmosphere.
"I'm going to wash with Chaei, so you stay in the room."
This apartment probably had gravity-fed water supply, so water should come out.
"Uh, um...."
"Uuung!"
Chaei struggled as she was separated from me, but she was overpowered by Hana's strength.
Chaei looked at me with misty eyes.
'I don't want to be separated either.'
Leaving the two of them going to wash, I entered the room.
Summon.... I need to summon.
I thought about secretly summoning but folded the idea immediately. I wouldn't be able to handle it if I got caught.
The best option was to just press my ear to the door.
Like Pavlov's dog, I got hard.
Every day at this time, I used to do it with noona.
'Fuck....'
I had to create an opportunity somehow.
"Sleep well."
"Yeah. Sleep well."
What sleep well—we immediately separated into different rooms.
Like during a school trip, we should lie down together and chat softly. There's no romance at all, damn!
Knock knock.
"Huh? Why?"
"Open the door for a sec."
I hurriedly got up and opened the door.
"It felt like you were avoiding us.... Shall we all sleep together?"
"S-sure, why not!"
Lucky! I used all my strength to control my expression and act like 'it can't be helped.'
"Ha. Ha. Ha. This feels like a school trip. It's nice."
"Right. A school trip would be fun. I've never been on one."
"You haven't?"
"But I've been to lots of training camps, hehe."
That made sense. Since she went all the way to being a national representative, she probably didn't have time for school trips.
"Want some snacks?"
I took out a bunch of snacks from my inventory.
"Suddenly?"
"School trips are all about secretly eating snacks."
"Okay, I'll eat!"
Hana's tension suddenly shot up.
"Alcohol too?"
"It's a school trip!"
"No, we're adults."
"Not today. We have a schedule tomorrow too. Let's drink when we get home."
"Fine."
I wasn't a big fan of alcohol either, so I wasn't disappointed.
We opened the snacks, piled them in one place, and ate.
Even the smallest things felt good and exciting.
"It's really amazing."
"What is?"
"The world is ruined, but we're living more enjoyably than expected."
So far, there hadn't been a single boring day.
"In a world like this, we need to find more enjoyable things. That's how we can live with more motivation."
"From what I see, you, Suhyuk, seem to enjoy life the most."
I'd enjoyed it in many ways. If it weren't for the expeditions, I would've enjoyed it more, damn it. Why did I suggest going on the expedition?
"That's true. Every day is fun for me."
"You really have incredible mental strength, hehe."
Experiencing the game in reality was much more fun than expected. How could it not be fun to act like a munchkin with an overpowered skill? Of course, without proper judgment and experience, I would've died long before getting here.
"Chaei, try this."
"Uuung."
Chaei didn't seem interested in the snacks.
"Should I give it to her?"
"How?"
"By sucking on it?"
"Ugh!"
Slap.
I had hesitated because I knew this would happen. In the end, I got hit on the back. Hit me more! Getting hit by Hana might feel good. Because it's the touch of a pretty woman.
Our eyes met, and I quickly turned my gaze to the snacks.
I realized anew how beautiful Hana was. She was prettier than the actresses in videos. Of course, they had the talent of acting, so it wasn't just about being pretty. But the same went for Hana. Olympic gold medalist. Zombie extermination authority. She even easily won a one-on-one title match against a mutant.
For such a pretty girl to be so capable too. The world is unfair.
"Ah."
I was lost in thought when I turned my head and our eyes met. When Hana quickly looked away, it became even more awkward.
"The snacks are delicious, huh?"
"Y-yeah. Chaei, you should try some snacks too."
I picked up a long chocolate snack and put it in her mouth.
"Uum."
Chaei just chewed as if something was missing.
"I'll go to the bathroom for a bit."
"Okay."
Hana left her seat for a moment.
This is so awkward I could die. Why is she acting like this all of a sudden?
When I turned my head, Chaei was staring at me piercingly.
Chaei was just holding the snack I'd put in her mouth.
"Is this what you wanted?"
She was biting the other end of the stick snack.
"Uum."
Chaei approached while chewing the snack.
This works.
Chu.
She didn't stop there and kissed me.
Slurp, smack, chuup.
As soon as our tongues intertwined, it tasted like chocolate.
"Swallow it all first."
"Uuung!"
Even while making a dissatisfied sound, she swallowed all the snack in her mouth.
After giving her water mouth-to-mouth so she could rinse,
Chuup, slurp, smooch, slurp.
I sucked on her tongue again.
"Stop now."
Hana is coming.
I summoned a tower to check.
Click.
As Hana entered,
"What were you two doing?"
She asked.
How did she know?