Chapter 154
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: Faraway Bridge (2), Allermider
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The death rattle was a double-layered scream. A raw shout belted out in the flesh. And a shrill static crackling over the radio. The bone-conduction receiver made his skull hum. Countless voices tangled together. It felt like every radio signal the monster had ever picked up was now blasting out in random chaos.
'At least it doesn't seem to be transmitting any information.'
Probably because its brain was destroyed. Three bullets with the same trajectory had shattered the eyeball and burrowed inside.
Still, hoping the silent one remained oblivious to this situation was a stretch. They likely shared intel under normal circumstances. If they ever faced something like this again, they'd be wise not to repeat the same actions.
Variants had higher blood pressure than humans. The spurting blood was visible even through night-vision goggles. The Trickster's prolonged wail had sown unexpected turmoil. Winter was now certain that late-stage variants possessed radio reception abilities. So if you shot them in the head and they didn't drop immediately, this was what happened. Valuable intel to remember. The bullets must have passed clean through the skull. Given the thicker caliber he'd fired, it made sense.
Inspiration struck like lightning. Winter bolted upright and started running. There were no variants piercing the darkness anyway. Amid his acceleration, he zeroed in on the sprinkler above the variant cluster. Crack! A single shot. The round shattered the glass tube inside the nozzle.
Roooosh. A burst of water erupted. It was fierce but brief. It quickly tapered off, reduced to mere drips.
Good. Pressure sensors. Winter picked up speed without hesitation.
The stench of rotten water filled the air. The lesser mutants, catching the scent, floundered in confusion. A Grumble smashed around in impotent rage. Winter slid under its swinging forearm like a whisper, then punched the ground to right himself. Superhuman strength made it possible. The vibration rattled his body, but he ignored it. At least while the Grumble was wrecking its surroundings. The massive monster hurled a chunk of broken wall. Right toward where Winter had been. Its rampage swept up a few variants in the process. The Trickster's traffic control was gone.
Now Winter stood among the variants. Spotting the Stalkers was easy. They looked much like Ghouls, making visual differences hard to discern with night-vision goggles... but this one was diligently wiping its own neutralized nose. Not that it helped. Their hands reeked of rotten eggs too.
Four in total. Good thing he hadn't fired when the first three showed. With their sight and smell crippled, they wouldn't notice even if he shoved past. He could see a few enraged ones biting into their kin. Winter slipped behind one Stalker. Grabbed the back of its head and jaw, then twisted hard in one motion.
Crack. Its tongue lolled out. Writhing as if tasting the air. Thud. He let it crumple and moved to the next target. The greatsword plunged under its jaw. He snapped it free. Blood gushed. It ran hot down his wrist. Next. This one was biting a fellow variant. Its keen nose must have driven it mad from the stench. It was hunched over, easy pickings. Winter stomped the nape of its neck with his combat boot. Crack. The sound of death climbed his shinbone. A crunching vibration.
One left. A clever one. It had torn cloth from another variant to wipe its nose. Not perfect, but smell was returning. It twitched its nostrils, sniffing. It had caught Winter's scent. So what? Winter kicked up a puddle. Just a handful would do. The liquid arced from his toe across its face. Quaaak! It had its mouth open and swallowed a bit, retching violently. Hunched over, spewing saliva—it almost looked human. Winter reversed his grip on the greatsword.
Crunch! The titanium-edged blade sank into the nape and burst out through its teeth. Somehow the angle severed the tongue, which dropped. The final hound thrashed wildly. Nerves disrupted, limbs flailing. He yanked the sword free, and the body collapsed, splashing rotten water. Winter dodged deftly. The dying hound's convulsions snagged kin, letting him stomp a few more easily.
His combat sense warned of a wide arc. A massive forearm whistled past with 0.3 seconds to spare. The Grumble. Not a deliberate strike. Leftover momentum from its throws, swinging in a circle. Winter felt the strain. From his split-second greatsword swing. The blade had grazed a crack in the carapace.
Raaaaagh—!
The Grumble's tendon severed, its arm drooped.
Higher reinforcement grades didn't mean stronger in every way. Tougher skin meant less flexibility. No cracks, no movement. Weak points emerged when it moved.
The colossal beast bellowed, smashing kin in its frenzy. But blind roars conveyed no meaning. It alone knew an enemy lurked behind. In the dark, raw strength alone was impotent. The other variants simply got shredded, clueless.
Amid the chaos, Winter's steps grew dizzying. Reflexive dodges. When no space to evade, he thrust. Thunk. The blade pierced between ribs. Pffft. Little blood sprayed. More like escaping air. A collapsing lung. The dying one flailed in the air. One lung left meant a slower death. Winter shoved it aside. Spun into its place. One step back, then forward. Confined indoor space. Variants turned on each other. Darkness and stench fueled fratricide. Heat rose. Noise levels spiked. Now the monsters attacked anything they felt.
Krrgh, krrgh, KRAAAAAH!
Second roar pattern. An overwhelming bellow that made vision quiver faintly. This time Winter lobbed a grenade. Pin flew. Whirring spin. The explosive smacked the largest monster's throat. Gack! A gulping slurp. Throat bulged, then boom! Chest cavity expanded. The Grumble arched its back. Ceiling crumbled in a roar. Ceiling tiles avalanched. Staggering like a drunk, it crushed smaller ones underfoot.
Sloppy openings. Winter crouched low, agile. Slipped inside the armpit. Its kneeling legs were pillars. As it tried to rise, he slashed the inner knee. Snap! Ligament severed by the keen edge. Blood splattered his night-vision lens. Mid-rise, the weakened Grumble toppled full-body. Boom! Crushed flesh and blood oozed thickly.
Clear of the aftermath, Winter rubbed his boots in a blood puddle. He'd stepped in sprinkler water, so this masked the stench. He backpedaled through the sparse variant maze, then punched the wall. Glass shattered. Button depressed. Fire alarm blared.
Time to return to his charge. The Grumble, stumbling on one leg then the other, was becoming an avatar of fury. He vaulted its sweeping arm three times.
Major Tan Guosheng stood like a awkward statue. Clutching an emptied bleach bottle, staring blankly. His head tracked Winter. Half his face obscured by night-vision, the rest by gas mask, but his expression was plain. Winter said,
"Let's go. That Grumble will tie up the ones coming after."
He'd spared it deliberately. Could've killed it instantly by stabbing the neck crack. It was down anyway, couldn't rise.
'The conditions were perfect.'
In light, it'd be risky. Beta Grumbles had devastating close patterns too. Even with level 15 「Movement」, perfect evasion wasn't guaranteed. Death chance: about 40%. Too high to ignore. Winter's world had no 「Death Return」. Dead was dead.
Dragging his charge while replaying the fight.
The Trickster's death throes had an unexpected hive effect. Wouldn't happen if it died sane. Could exploit deliberately. Suggest it, and it'd enter doctrine. Of course, not just anyone could pull off what Winter did in an encounter. Still.
'Snipers could target it.'
Induce area chaos with precision shots, then assault. Could drastically cut friendly losses.
What about EMP? Winter pondered.
The final EMP burst was risky up close like that. Invisible shockwave left static on conductors. Worst case, it'd set off live rounds or grenade fuzes.
Worrying over hypotheticals. Trickster suicide was deliberate attack. Had to ramp voltage pre-death. Impossible in that scenario.
This was 「Combat Sense」 yielding 「Insight」. More hunts on the same variant built odds of uncovering unknowns.
"How in the world did you do that?"
Panting query mid-jog. Winter fired straight ahead. Now heading for the roof. Building-dwellers drawn by noise descending. He leaped corpses. Not max speed. Mindful of his charge.
"What do you mean, sir?"
"Just now! Didn't you charge right into those plague ghosts?"
In Chinese, Morgellons was shi-yi (corpse plague), variants yi-gui (plague devils). Reflected their view of the pestilence. Calling Grumbles "Do-ol" too—raw fear beyond reason. To them, it was a dark mythic age.
Winter replied evenly, breath steady despite the run.
"Old automatic sprinkler drainpipes corrode from digestive juices. Produces hydrogen sulfide. You smelled the rotten eggs too, Major. I figured it'd neutralize the hounds' noses. In darkness and stench, more numbers just mean more weakness."
Friendly fire always hurt crowds hardest.
"No, not that..."
Crack crack! Three more corpses on the landing. Sprinting to the roof, Winter cleared the path with superior reflexes. Swapped a mag and emptied it before Tan fired once. The major just wheezed, speechless.
Roof door locked. Bang bang bang. Frantic pounding. Winter kicked it flying. Door buckled, lock twisted. Body-slam toppled what lurked behind. They'd gathered hearing indoor noise, raging at the stuck door.
Crack! Pop! Pop!
Multiple foreheads holed. Blood and brains sprayed. Too many clustered. Mag empty, Winter swapped. Rifle slung, pistol drawn.
But more poured in from lower searches. Too many to kill all. He thinned them, securing space. Space was key against mobs. Swapped weapons again.
"Major! Cover me!"
Now he wielded a steel prybar for door breaching. Solid iron, 20 inches but near 1kg.
No prying.
Clang! Metal on bone. Even rounded edge concussed. Corrected half-swing shattered skull. Quak! Ghoul's eyes reddened with hemorrhage. Nose gushing, it fell.
Major's fire helped little. Skill unknown. But excitement, fear, ragged breaths ruined his aim.
Suppressive effect worked though. Gap they couldn't close easily gave Winter room to divide and conquer. He wove firing lanes freely. Trusting sense-correction warnings. And Chinese elite training.
'No general's son lacks talent.'
Dynastic military clans were rarer than thought in the PLA.
Clang, clang! Metal rang repeatedly. Mostly one-shots. One missed. Beta Ghoul's nimble miracle. Arm overshot by inertia—too late to recover. Plague bared greedy teeth. Winter added force to momentum. Spinning body. Kick struck from behind cover. Thud body-shake. Recoil this bad meant devastation. Ribcage pulverized, monster trailed thin blood in air.
That cleared the area.
Beyond the open door, thunderous rush from stairs below.
Winter spun the prybar, approached rooftop AC condenser. Store-sized. Bolted below, but joints rusted from years. Pry twisted it loose instantly. Three more times. Now superhuman pull.
Tan, aiming at door, hesitated then rushed over. Braced behind, shoving full-body.
"Nngh!"
Officer's straining grunt beast-like. Condenser accelerated. Heavy weight peeled tiles. Not earthquake level.
Boom. Door barricaded.
============================ Works Afterword ============================
#Fleeting Glory
This novel is fading in many ways. Inevitable, I suppose.
#Q&A
Q. Plum Concentrate2: @Winter's parents seem to be splashing money again, but if they need cash, can they just withdraw from his stars without his consent? Or does Winter agree (pointlessly nicely)?
A. Details will emerge, but roughly... No loans without consent per terms. Winter half-knew and let it slide. No lingering attachment to posthumous continuity by then.
Q. True Value: @Aah, so heartwarming! Writer, do you like military dumplings?
A. What writer doesn't? :)
Q. FrozenMaster: @Any online games for posthumous insurance users?
A. Will be mentioned later, but limited yes. S-rank subscribers only.
Q. CurryRice: Question! Can viewers see BJ's real age? Like death age or posthumous years... Ad showed grandma young in VR... So unless BJ or friends say, age unknown?? Or names too...
A. Like Matsuming controlled info, if broadcaster doesn't reveal, viewers can't know.
Winter revealed his to counter xenophobia toward foreign workers. In-story Korea has rampant xenophobia. Unrevealed broadcasters get default suspicion.
Light spoiler maybe, but uncertain if it'll come up in-story, so answered.