Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Survivors
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"Whew... What kind of day is this?"
"Byung-chul, this girl..."
Despite being filthy from all the hardship, Jang-woo cautiously asked Byung-chul as he gazed at the cute bob-cut girl with cat-like charm they had just captured.
She looked like she could clean up nice with a proper wash.
The girl was tightly bound at her hands, feet, and mouth, glaring at them with eyes full of fury.
She seemed feisty; taming her would probably take some time.
"...Fine, she's yours."
It stung a little. No, quite a bit... but Byung-chul figured a leader had to show generosity now and then.
He'd never have done it under normal circumstances, but thanks to Ji-ah, Byung-chul was overflowing with mercy right now.
"B-Byung-chul, thank you so much."
Jang-woo, who usually only got Byung-chul's leftovers, looked genuinely moved.
"Heh... That's what friends are for."
"Come on! Let's hurry!"
Jang-woo urged Won-sang excitedly.
"Okey-dokey~"
Won-sang was thrilled about the new prize tied up alongside the girl, and Shi-na was there too.
"Huh? Another person?"
A burly man was walking along with a small child cradled in one arm.
"Huh? What's this, market day? Looks like a guy though? Lucky bastard. Let's just go."
Byung-chul's current mood was overflowing with mercy due to his urgency.
"Ah! No way, there's a little girl!"
"Fuck... You damn lolicon."
"P-Please, Byung-chul. Just this once..."
The guy had a kid trailing behind him and still had the gall to be greedy.
Unlike Jang-woo, though, he never overlapped with Byung-chul's picks.
With a leader's broad magnanimity, Byung-chul decided to indulge him just this once.
...
As they left Daejeon, I tested my enhanced physical abilities against the charging zombies.
The heads of three lunging zombies exploded almost simultaneously on the spear in my hand.
There used to be a game where you massacred zombies just like this...
Honestly, zombies weren't a proper test.
I'd need at least Corrupted Beings for that.
Instead of this, it was better to try out the new sense.
It was the ability to detect mana.
The range wasn't that wide.
But when I focused, I could even sense zombies that scans missed.
Honestly, zombies weren't worth that much focus.
Can other Awakeners detect mana like this too?
I was curious about the differences between me and other Awakeners.
The sensation of feeling mana was so novel that I scanned everything around me.
Concentrating, I could feel the mana flowing through the zombies' bodies.
The zombies' mana was concentrated in their heads.
A thin thread of mana flowed through their bodies.
The kid had more mana around the head, but it was more evenly distributed throughout compared to zombies.
Is this how normal human mana flows?
I wondered how Corrupted Beings compared.
My goal for now was Sejong City.
Part of me wanted to set up base near Daejeon and farm it as a hunting ground, but that giant wild boar was a concern.
I scrapped the idea of heading to Seoul after seeing it.
Sejong City should have some population left, so plenty of prey, right?
Barring any surprises, I'd make a hunting ground there.
If I built a decent base and set up a save point, then hunted, it could work.
I walked along the road following signs pointing to Sejong City.
As buildings grew shorter and sparser, I figured I was leaving the city.
Zombie numbers dropped sharply.
Smashed cars were scattered sporadically along the road.
There were still zombies on the road, but the area was so deserted that only one or two wandered aimlessly.
Small houses, greenhouses, and fields appeared along the roadside.
It had been a while since I'd enjoyed such a quiet, peaceful time.
-Vroom.
A car engine broke the silence on the quiet road.
A large van approached from the Daejeon direction we'd come from.
The number of survivors we unexpectedly encountered was more than I'd expected.
The large van stopped in front of us, and three men stepped out.
First survivors I'd seen since the kid.
One had a K2 rifle, one a revolver pistol, and one was empty-handed.
The men grinned with their grimy faces, but it didn't feel friendly.
"Fuck! That guy's huge! What the hell does he eat to get that big?"
Starting off with curses was refreshingly novel after so long.
"Heh heh. Weird clothes and some strange badge. What is that, some otaku shit?"
Fuck. Combat Suit.
They'd noticed the Hero SD character on my chest.
It felt like a sucker punch out of nowhere.
In the original world, everyone knew about Combat Suits.
They'd know how expensive they were and wouldn't spout such nonsense.
But I couldn't be bothered explaining to these idiots.
"Mister. Is that kid your daughter?"
"......"
Should I answer?
My mood was already soured.
I didn't feel the need.
"What, you mute? Answer when someone's talking to you."
I pondered how to deal with these guys.
"Hey! Cut the crap and let's go. We're in a hurry."
"Got it. Our Byung-chul's really horny today. Heh heh."
What the hell?
The pistol guy's hand rose, and he pulled the trigger.
It was absurd that he'd shoot right off the bat.
Crazy bastards?
That was my thought.
Every survivor I met seemed deranged.
I saw the bullet flying toward my head.
I wouldn't die if it hit, but it'd piss me off.
I tilted my head slightly to dodge it.
"Huh?"
He hadn't expected me to dodge, and a dumbfounded sound escaped him.
I summoned my spear from inventory and smashed the shooter's head.
-Splash!
His head burst like a watermelon, blood spraying everywhere.
-Thud.
I crushed the head of the K2 guy standing there stupidly next.
The one watching from a bit back thrust both hands forward in terror.
His mana surged actively, a small flame sparking in front of his hands.
Flame-type Awakener?
"F-Fuck!!! You're dead!!"
-Crunch!
Before his ability fully manifested, my spear shot forward and shattered his head.
-Thump!
The headless Awakener's body collapsed.
Unlike Body Enhancement Awakeners, those who can manifest mana right after awakening are lumped together as Elemental Awakeners or Manifestation Awakeners.
And among Elemental Awakeners, ones who handle fire like that guy are called Flame-type Awakeners.
Clearly a fresh Awakener.
He didn't seem that dangerous, but with the kid here, no need to wait for his power-up.
Three headless corpses now.
Killing zombies had ingrained the habit of targeting heads.
I felt experience flowing in.
Focusing on the sensation, I could sense some of their mana dispersing upon death, while some flowed into me.
And the amount was decent.
More than an F-Rank monster from the original world, for sure.
Awakeners gave way more experience.
So that's how it works?
It's not really experience; it's absorbing dispersed mana.
And this kid...
Comparing, her mana flow was definitely different from a normal human's.
It resembled the recent Awakener's distribution.
Not that I planned to do anything with the kid.
I wasn't so incompetent that I needed a child's power.
Anyway, now I had a nice ride to Sejong City. Profitable.
What about the three inside?
Six humans had been detected.
Curious, I opened the heavily tinted van door, and a woman suddenly burst out.
"P-Please, spare me!!"
The woman dropped to her knees, clasped her hands, and bowed her head repeatedly.
She wore a tight black long-sleeved polo dress.
Model-like figure around 170cm tall.
Long straight hair, face that was alluring yet innocently charming in a bewitching way.
Up close, her skin was clean, with light makeup.
What kind of woman is she?
Her head-to-toe pristine appearance almost made me forget this was a zombie apocalypse.
She'd fit right in even in the original world.
I glanced at her briefly, then peered inside the van.
Inside, a grubby bob-cut girl and an even younger girl were tightly bound.
"Mmph!! Mmph!!"
Looked like kidnappings.
I untied the two.
The bob-cut girl flinched at the headless trio, then thanked me with fearful eyes.
"Th-Thank you. For saving us."
She knew I'd smashed their heads, so it made sense.
"Thank you~"
The kid beside her bowed deeply too, mimicking her sister.
Their similar faces suggested sisters.