Chapter 124
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: April Vengeance (13)
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Sorry. A single word of apology and a bit of time. That was all it took to convince the FBI agent. She quickly let go of her lingering doubts. As if nothing had happened, she calmly guided Winter to the center of the management section.
Was it because this was a crew-only area? Encounters with mutants were less frequent than expected.
Winter slid down the vertical passage to the floor below.
"We've sealed off the rear and forward passages on Deck 5, but this is as far as I can help you."
The guide's voice was at the lowest volume. It sounded like a whisper.
"Exit through the door toward the bow. Cross the boulevard, and you'll reach the casino entrance. From there, the central staircase is the shortest route down. If you can't use that path, head toward the grand theater. Contact me via the intercom before passing the atrium, and I'll open the forward passage for you."
The boulevard she directed him to was literally a wide thoroughfare. Unlike the upper decks packed with cabins, this deck, concentrated with various entertainment facilities, had open spaces in all directions.
Joanna Gibson hadn't warned him for nothing. Open spaces had few bulkheads. The few that existed could only seal off up to the rear lounge, forward atrium, and grand theater. This held from Deck 5 to Deck 3. It was better to loop around before full penetration.
"I wish you the best of luck."
Winter opened the exit door.
It led inside a circular bar. An infected bartender was frozen facing forward. His unmoving back, shoulders not rising or falling. Winter realized it had entered metabolic suppression. No need to kill it immediately, but no reason to leave it alive either. Crunch! He drove the greatsword into the back of its skull. He gently laid down the twitching body.
He hopped over the tables. Then scanned the surroundings. A club lit sporadically by emergency lights. Black stains everywhere under the ominous red lighting. Clack clack clatter clack. The sound of teeth chattering from somewhere.
The boulevard leading to the casino felt like the ship's logbook. Moving corpses and stationary ones. A quick glance revealed glimpses of onboard life before death. Insight automatically gathered information. It would surface whenever needed.
Most mutants stood like mannequins. With many clustered by the windows, they must have awakened once to the helicopter noise.
Conveniently, no engine sound now. The shift change must not have aligned perfectly. It was a sudden operation, after all—hard to expect clockwork handovers. Plus, the admiral had mentioned cumulative casualties and fatigue.
It worked in Winter's favor. Even with armor-piercing rounds from the minigun, penetrating the hull to support internals was tough.
The quiet now was better.
But some mutants were still active. Their role was obvious. Sentries, in their own way. Had they even set rotations? Animal intelligence made it possible. Even a lone wolf stuck to role division. Let alone monsters born from humans.
‘Better to take these out here…….’
One deck below, Deck 4, had lifeboats stacked port and starboard. It was also open to the sides and bow. The best spot to lead survivors.
Winter's plan: Silently eliminate the sentries. Then slaughter the unawakened ones one by one.
Walking among awake and asleep mutants felt eerie. He used frozen mutants as cover to evade the active ones' sightlines. Crouching low, he spotted a half-eaten woman. Pearl necklace on a blood-soaked dress. Elegant watch on her wrist. Handbag gleaming under red light. In a group of eaters and eaten, she'd been an eater.
What caught Winter's attention wasn't her decay, but the scent. Beyond rotten meat, a peculiar fragrance lingered. Overwhelmingly chemical jasmine. Intense. Not typical usage. Had washing been impossible?
Carrying food as provisions…… They'd need lots of water to keep it alive until eating.
As expected, rummaging the bag yielded a perfume bottle.
Winter sprayed it continuously on the carpeted floor. Then stepped back a few paces, crouching behind the wide skirt of a female mutant with her hair in an updo. He silently set down the backpack to lighten his load. His now lighter body would fully unleash superhuman agility.
The heavily scented floor became a path for the prowling active mutants. Pairs were a bit tricky. He'd need to act fast.
Sure enough, they took the bait. Sniff sniff. A pair approached, noses twitching. One male, one female about Winter's age. No new host yet—no howling. They just poked around the scent, then leaned toward the floor. Hands probing for the source.
Crack. Crunch crunch.
Winter, positioned behind, swiftly twisted both necks. Superhuman strength. A short snap misaligned their cervical vertebrae. He grabbed their napes before they fell. The two limp corpses dangled from his grip. Like with the bartender, he gently set them down.
The girl mutant stared at Winter. Her thin neck twisted a full one-and-a-half turns. Blood flowed from torn flesh. Her dull eyes filled with loathsome craving as she stuck out her tongue. A dying mutant's feeble breeding instinct. The dead girl shed tears. Hard to call it emotion.
Setting down the bodies, Winter counted the rest.
If done right, he could clear them without wasting a bullet.
After taking out five more pairs of sentries. What followed was quiet, monotonous repetition. Still, he hurried. The helicopter lull wouldn't last. Agent Gibson could only stall so long.
There was a monstrous man.
“……?!”
Winter startled. No sensory correction warning. Three breaths at average mutant speed to close the gap. Huddled in a dark corner, methodically chewing his fingers while watching the laborious killings.
Why hadn't he noticed? Winter didn't rely solely on corrections. He knew the system's limits. When certain, the system reflected that certainty.
Aura blocking? No way. That required deep survival and combat lines simultaneously. Even current Winter couldn't dream of it.
Remaining possibility: The man had been there from the start. Non-hostile and immobile—no reason for Survival Instinct or Combat Sense to ping. But this hypothesis felt incomplete. Why would the mutants leave him alone?
The bearded man approached. Facing Winter's fierce aim, he raised hands fearfully.
“P-Please... I kn-know you. Ha-Ha-Han Gyeowol, L-Lieutenant. Yeah!”
Loud voice. Unkilled ones reacted. Many of them. Crack, crack crunch. Joints of the frozen snapped sharply.
Seemed not a monster, so Winter grabbed his nape. Tossed him into a kiosk-like convenience stand. Eeeeng! The man wailed. Winter shoved the gun in his face again.
“Quiet!”
The low growl worked. The man clamped his own mouth. Sobbing leaked through fingers. Rough footsteps outside. Movement inside the display case too. Winter vaulted the counter. Landed square in front of a freshly awakened mutant—before eyes met, he uppercut its jaw.
Bam! Rifle butt shattered bone. It crumpled. Grabbed collar before impact, yanked down, kneed hard. Crack! Second jaw hit flipped its eyes. Limp body. Laid out the unconscious one, stomped the neck to finish. Gently pressing boot ground flesh and blood. Snap, drip, snap.
Winter whipped around at the chill. The man watched with teary eyes. Hungry footsteps overlapped outside, yet he stood blankly, no危機 sense.
“Crouch down!”
Bewildered look. Had to yank him down forcibly again. Thud. Forced to knees inside counter, Winter hugged the shadows to watch outside.
‘What the hell is this guy?’
Up close, rotten stench hit. Grip hand slick with pus. Soaked clothes weren't sweat—filthier secretions. What did his clothes hide inside?
Huff, huff. Each breath made Winter's fingers twitch reflexively.
Habit. Mutant-killing habit. Scent too similar—habitual response.
Watching outside, Winter sidelong-glanced repeatedly. Nothing normal. Patchy hair. Bald spots soft, rotting flesh. Remaining strands matted with oil and pus, like glued.
Plague patient? Heavy unease surged. No leeway for Disease Resistance. As a prerequisite for Plague Immunity, it consumed more than Insight.
Thud thud thud thud. Rotor blades. Distance shrank fast. New helicopter arriving. Searchlight-equipped—harsh beams poured through windows. Swept from bow to stern.
Winter signaled the man to stay put, pressed against the kiosk entrance. Broken mirror shard handy for peeking.
Mutant group had learned helicopters. Reacted to light and noise but didn't swarm blindly toward sound. Just peered from windows, monitoring.
Interest in this direction vanished.
Stay still. This place must have an intercom. Obvious for staffed convenience spots. Winter planned to use it via the agent to divert the chopper. Once mutants re-entered suppression, he could try again like before……
Crunch. Gnaw. Slurp.
Starved sounds from behind the counter. What was this guy eating amid this? Turning, Winter scowled deeply.
The filthy man tore into a dead mutant. Ripped flesh barehanded, stuffed cheeks bulging. Munched. Crunch crunch. Tougher, denser than normal human meat grinding.
The one Winter neck-stomped was butchered worse than a pig. Man ripped off clinging leg, bit into thigh.
“What are you eating?”
Hostile question widened the man's eyes. Gauging, he pulled the leg apart. Joint popped clean. Pure arm strength. Superhuman.
The neither-human-nor-mutant man offered Winter goodwill.
“W-Want some? Tasty…….”
Extended: dangling cartilage knee and foot below.
Winter narrowed his eyes.
============================ Author's Note ============================
#Illegal Sharing
Talking about it won't help. Heh heh.
#Q&A
Q. RGZ95: @ Just different continent, but variants are so bizarre; landing on mainland would be horrific.
A. Among mentioned so far, the most horrific is China's anthrax-resistant variant. Anthrax is truly scary. If it appears, we'd have to abandon contaminated zones.
Q. 잘되기를: @Um.. I know some hate it, but as a fan of audience comments, no audience lately ㅠㅠ It eases tension too, can't you bring them back? ㅠㅠ.
A. Appears within 3 chapters. Really divisive, huh. ㅠㅠ
Q. 비누좀주워주세요: @Receive my love! No refusals!
A. I'll take it if you pick up that soap there? :)
Q. Guaaaaak: @Sending 27 fresh manuscript fee coupons filled with gratitude, love, respect, and innocence toward author-nim!
A. Yes, thank you.
Q. 반가운미소: @What's Korea doing now? Considering higher-ups' competence, probably botched early response, lost national function entirely... Plus population density—even good response would've opened hellgate. Explosive pop on tiny land.
A. Will Korea appear in this novel or not?