Hunter × 2
It wasn't as if he was completely out of options. Right. That was still on the table. He could climb straight to the second floor.
Hongje Station had two gates in all. One was an escape exit. The other was the entrance that led up to the next floor. But going up to the second floor is far too dangerous. Zombie density rose in proportion to how crowded a place had been, and the second floor was the heart of a packed downtown. The danger would be several times worse.
And I'd heard the second-floor zones rotate on a regular cycle. If he got lucky and linked up with other hunters the moment he entered, that would be one thing. I might get surrounded and die before that ever happens.
No need to decide in a rush. He was dropping late into a zone that was already active. Farm a little more first. Even if he was leaving, farming came first. He still didn't have proper armor, and there was plenty he needed. More than anything, he still had one thing left to lean on.
Three hours after the start, the zombies respawned. Maybe the escape exit's capacity would reset then, too. It was worth checking at least once.
He slipped quietly into a convenience store near the station.
"Grrk."
He smashed the sleeping zombie's skull first—a wet crack—then dug through shelves far emptier than the ones he was used to.
◈ Snacks
◈ Soda×2
◈ Chocolate
◈ Cup Ramen
◈ Cigarettes
Not bad. The food and drinks he'd been looking for had turned up. The chocolate, especially, was a stroke of luck—it could give him a short burst of a boost. The cigarettes were worth pocketing, too. Smokes from inside the Tower burned without producing any harmful substances besides nicotine, so they sold for a decent price. Hmm. Couldn't you just smoke an e-cigarette? He also grabbed three empty beer bottles.
They're starting to respawn.
He broke off searching a restaurant and checked outside. Zombies didn't pop out of thin air. They crept from the dark alleys between buildings, wandered for a while, then hung their heads and fell asleep. He watched them carefully as he gathered his stew pot and frying pan.
Twenty minutes of holding out inside the restaurant. I can head out now.
The next stop was the residential streets. The roadside shops are better for farming itself. But there were too many zombies now for him to handle alone. He chose safety over the risk. Time was the one thing he had to spare.
Crunch. Crack. Crunch-crunch. He deliberately stepped on broken glass to make noise.
"Krrk?"
Just the zombies he could see nearby numbered more than seven. He couldn't take them all at once, so he'd have to lure them in one by one.
Slap. Slap. A zombie stepped barefoot into the restaurant. He'd been hiding under the counter. He slipped out, and the pot came down.
Whack—thud.
The noise of the body folding over woke the others.
"Krrk?"
"Kwoh."
Hurry up and get over here. Deal with these, then get outside and finish the rest fast. Four left. Sneaking around and picking them off while he watched his step was getting tedious.
He crept in behind one of them.
Whack—
A blow to the back of the head, then a dash—
"Krrk?!"
Whack—
Next.
"Kwooooh!"
"Kuweeehk!"
He knocked aside the arm swinging for him with the axe and brought it down again. Crunch. Crack. He finished the one that showed up late.
Hoo. This was already starting to feel familiar, and he hadn't even been in the Tower that long.
Stealth Strike
Oh!? No way! He hadn't thought he'd pick up another skill. You can get two from a single entry? Not as far as he knew. Most people didn't get even one, let alone two.
Description first. Stealth Strike reduced the sound of the impact and made the stagger last longer whenever you attacked an unguarded target from behind.
Is today actually my day? All the better. Getting dragged in because he'd been talking in his sleep was already a raw deal. He might as well take whatever profit he could.
He was heading toward the houses with that thought when—
What?!
Out of the far dark, a figure came toward him in a low crouch. A person. A fully armed hunter, at that. A bike helmet much like his own. A black full-body leather suit, sturdy work boots, a sizable pack on the back, a one-handed hammer, and a carbon shield besides.
The other hunter noticed him and stopped. Don't tell me nobody used the personal escape exits. Strangely, that was a relief. So he wasn't the only one left behind.
Glad to see a face, he waved. The hunter didn't react at all, and a moment later started walking this way.
Huh? A bad feeling brushed the nape of his neck. No way. They're not about to attack, are they? Right now he was no better than a golden goblin. Had they figured that out?
Contrary to his fear, the hunter slid past him at a distance.
Shit, that scared me. If you're just going your way, at least wave back. Walking up with zero reaction like that... Still, they didn't seem to mean him any harm.
"Excuse me."
The hunter turned only their head to look at him.
"Hello? Could we talk for a moment?"
Instead of answering, the hunter dropped their head, stared at him long and level, and at last nodded.
"Want to sit here for now?"
He wiped the dust-caked chair with clothes he'd set aside.
"Make it quick."
Huh? That voice? Cold as the attitude was, the voice was pretty. A woman? The thick black suit had made it hard to tell.
"Uh... oh! Did you know the escape exit is already full?"
He led with the information. Nothing.
Just as the silence was turning awkward—
"So?"
"I was wondering what you plan to do from here...."
If anyone who looked this much like a veteran hunter knew a way out, it would be her.
"Haa.... Which entry is this for you?"
This time he was the one who went quiet. Say it was his first and she might go, A newbie walking around in gear like that? and shake him down. Then what?
"If you don't want to answer, fine. I'm going to the second floor."
"Th-then, want to go up together?"
"No."
Shot down on the spot. That stung.
"The second floor is dangerous, isn't it? So going together would—"
Raise their odds of surviving, even a little. Wouldn't it?
"Second-floor experience?"
"Uh, I don't have any."
She sighed again.
"Exactly. Why didn't you get out earlier?"
As if he'd known it would turn out like this. He hadn't thought the cap would fill.
"And I went to the trouble of clearing the place."
So she was the one who'd cleared the zombies along the road. No wonder no one had used the personal escape exits. Normally the runners around the exit would have pushed at least a few people into using them.
"I could have escaped. I gave my spot to a beginner who'd come looking for medicine for his mother."
If he leaned on her sympathy, maybe she'd help. He'd embellished it a little. It wasn't that far from the truth, was it?
"Haa. Fine. We'll go up together."
"Oh! Thank you."
He'd taken her for someone prickly, but maybe she was warmer than she let on.
"Oh, right. I'm Yoon Jaeha."
"Ah. Okay."
She nodded and walked straight out the door. Hey—you're supposed to tell me your name. He hurried after her.
They were walking toward Hongje Station when she spoke.
"Farming. You done?"
"Uh... more would be better, but..."
He was the one getting a free ride. He could hardly say let's farm a little longer and then go.
"Then we farm first, then we go."
"Is that really okay?"
"I was going to farm before I left anyway."
"Thank you."
She walked with her eyes on the road ahead, as if he weren't there at all. Then—
"Take your time."
She broke into a run. Footfalls hammered the pavement.
"What?!"
The sound tore through the silence lying over the city and raced along the building walls.
"Krrk?!"
"Kwoooehk."
"Kwoooo."
"Krrrrrk."
Even the runners wandering around Hongje Station reacted.
"W-wait—?"
Leave her like this and the companion he'd barely managed to get—
Crack!!
A skull burst in a single blow, and then it didn't stop. Thud. Crack. Crunch. Snap. Every zombie that charged lost its head. Runners and walkers alike, she didn't care which.
"Whoa...."
He'd watched footage of countless hunters, and he had never once seen a fight like this.
"So damn cool."
The blood of a hunter fanboy came to a boil in him. He was about to become a fan.
They went into the biggest supermarket in the neighborhood.
"Search. Fast."
"Yes, ma'am!"
This felt like a scene he'd seen somewhere before.
"Don't call me that."
"Yes, noona."
The hunter shook her head.
To be able to farm this freely... Talking to her back then had been the right call.
This time, while he was looting the shops on the side opposite KC Bank, something useful turned up.
◈ Zip-Up Hoodie
◈ Black Jeans
◈ Trail Running Shoes
Three pieces of armor. The zip hoodie isn't bad either. The leather jacket alone hadn't been enough, so this worked out. The black jeans went without saying. The trail runners were sturdier than what he'd been wearing, and quieter underfoot.
And if he reinforced them with junk on top of that?
First he padded his legs with magazines and wrapped them in duct tape. Creak, creak—he pulled the wire out of a fan's safety grille, then laid it over the magazines for another layer of reinforcement.
"What are you doing?"
"Reinforcing my armor."
He answered like it was nothing, but he felt self-conscious anyway. Don't laugh. This was how a newbie stayed alive. A monster like her probably didn't need it.
Mm. It was a little embarrassing, wasn't it? No. A moment of embarrassment, that was all. Better than getting bitten to death.
He finished reinforcing his arms the same way. That stare is burning a hole in me.
She watched for a long while, then went off to farm her own share.
The torso's going to be hard to reinforce. Wrap it in magazines and the weight would make moving miserable. Running when it counted would get harder, too. Maybe just grab a little more food.
He'd already collected plenty of useful junk. All that was left was food for boosts. He didn't know how long he'd be stuck on the second floor, but farming at his leisure like this would be impossible up there. Second-floor zombies were stronger and quicker than the ones on the first, and even the stagger after they woke was cut down to two minutes.
He was still farming hard when she came back.
"Are you done farming now?"
"Yes, ma'am... huh? Huuuh?"
Strange things were strapped to her arms and legs. She had her face turned away, as if she were embarrassed.