Chapter 46
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: The Eve of War
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Huh? Castaway. Why'd you stop?”
Rubyel asked, looking puzzled since my hand was just resting against her bare chest without moving.
The sensation of her bare skin directly against my palm had me frozen in place without realizing it.
“Ah, well... Truth is, this is my first time touching a girl's breasts.”
And not just any girl's—these were the incredibly beautiful Elisicia and Rubyel. Until now, I'd only dreamed about something like this.
Rubyel blinked a few times at my answer, her face saying that's it?, but she soon nodded.
“That's all? Go ahead and grope away. It's fine.”
“Got it.”
At her words, I slowly started moving my palm.
I began by gently caressing her breast, then gradually added pressure with my fingers, rubbing more firmly.
Shh—
At that moment, Elisicia slipped my hand under her dress as well, letting me touch her bare chest.
Now fondling both Elisicia's and Rubyel's breasts the same way, my hands transmitted two different kinds of softness.
“Mm. Maybe it's because it's someone else touching... I feel something, kinda.”
“Should I stop here?”
Rubyel shook her head slightly.
“No, it's okay. Touch as much as you want.”
As she said, I kept fondling their breasts.
I figured it'd be enough after a bit, but the more I touched, the harder it was to stop.
“Castaway, how is it?”
Elisicia asked, fully entrusting her breast to my hand.
Normally, I might've overthought her intentions, but right now, my mind was elsewhere.
“Ah... It feels amazing.”
At my straightforward answer, Elisicia beamed innocently, looking relieved.
“I'm glad. If there's anything else you want, just say so.”
“Anything else?”
“Yes. I'll do whatever I can for you.”
All sorts of thoughts flooded my mind.
Half of them—or more—she'd probably agree to.
“Ngh.”
A small moan escaped Rubyel.
Probably because I'd pinched the prominent tip between my fingers and squeezed a bit hard.
“...”
I also felt their breasts getting sticky from the sweat on my palms.
For some reason, that snapped me back to reality, and I slowly withdrew my hands from both.
“Huh? Not gonna touch more?”
“This is enough for now. It's not like I can only do it today.”
Rubyel looked a little disappointed at my response, but she didn't object further and just nodded.
Which was a relief for me.
If I'd kept going...
I might've lost control and gone further.
Even thinking about it now, that wasn't right, so I swallowed my surging regret and stopped.
“Anyway, thanks so much for going this far for me.”
“It's just breasts. Whatever. But you seem to like it, so it's fine.”
Rubyel focused on my satisfaction.
Elisicia seemed to feel the same.
“If this satisfies you, Castaway, you can touch them anytime.”
I realized Elisicia was saying the same thing as Rubyel.
Rubyel said anytime in the tent before, too.
So, in this tent, could I really touch their breasts whenever I wanted?
“Or would you like to touch them while you sleep?”
“Pardon?”
“I bet you'd like that.”
It was incredibly tempting.
“Is that okay?”
Tempting enough that refusing didn't even cross my mind.
At the same time, Rubyel chimed in with the same sentiment.
“You can sleep while touching mine too. I already said anytime in the tent.”
“Won't that wake you up?”
“Might wake me a little, but it's fine. I can fall back asleep.”
Her labyrinth-hardened body let her sleep through anything, it seemed.
“Anyway, I'm going back to sleep. Goodnight, Castaway.”
“Ah, yeah.”
Elisicia and Rubyel lay down comfortably as usual and fell asleep.
But after what just happened, their sleeping forms felt completely different.
Breasts I can touch whenever I want...
I could stretch out my hand right now and freely enjoy that unbelievable softness.
That thought alone kept my excitement from fading, so I forced myself to look away and focus on the gallery.
“...”
The problem was, my excitement wouldn't settle, and the gallery posts weren't registering either.
Feels like I won't sleep tonight.
And sure enough, my prediction was spot on.
Channel 3.
Incheon Union's leader, Lee Geon-woo, had called in one person separately.
It was Kim I-seo, the Assault Captain whose nickname came from awakening the ‘Infinite Ammo’ ability.
“Kim I-seo, how'd it go?”
Kim I-seo answered with his usual aggressive expression and vibe.
“I repaired one weapon from Channel 4 that I had. And talking to the merchant Han Soo-yeon trades with counts as progress too, I guess.”
“As expected, you could repair Channel 4 weapons. What'd you offer as payment?”
“A thousand bloodstones. Tried to get all six at once half-assed like, but no dice.”
Lee Geon-woo frowned slightly at the mention of a thousand bloodstones.
That was enough to level up even a high-level awakener over level 40 by at least two levels.
“A thousand is outrageous. That's enough to get you to level 40.”
“I paid the 304 bloodstones I had on me for the repair.”
304?
“So the remaining 696 are to be paid later?”
“Yeah. But I wanted to hand them over myself—told her to pass them to Han Soo-yeon instead.”
Lee Geon-woo said incredulously,
“She's got you whipped hard under her skirt. Going through Han Soo-yeon just to collect bloodstones?”
“...”
Though he said that, Kim I-seo couldn't easily respond.
“Anyway, did you get any idea who the merchant is?”
“No clue. And even if I did, it wouldn't matter.”
“What do you mean it wouldn't matter?”
“Nickname's Castaway. He's from Channel 2.”
Lee Geon-woo blanked out for a moment at the revelation that the merchant was from Channel 2, then asked again.
“From Channel 2?”
“Yep. Different channel, but we could communicate.”
Kim I-seo had given up trying to uncover Castaway's identity the moment he confirmed he was from Channel 2.
Instead, he focused on gauging his personality—judging that getting friendly was the only way.
Besides, someone else from Incheon Union could cozy up to him.
“Ha.”
Separately, Lee Geon-woo solved one lingering question in his mind.
“So that's why food, weapons, and beer showed up on Channel 2 before.”
“Probably posted through someone else.”
“Makes sense. Still, someone from Channel 2...”
With the merchant from Channel 2, no chance of meeting no matter what.
Plus, channels were blocked, so no way to reach out first.
“Means we have to go through Han Soo-yeon, but she's already got her hooks in you. Won't be easy.”
At this point, Lee Geon-woo wondered how the hell someone from Channel 2 got roped in.
Even video calls stripping naked to seduce probably wouldn't work.
Mainly because they couldn't meet in person.
No way someone would fall for temptation through a screen alone, he thought.
“Anyway, from what I saw, Castaway might be one of the good ones.”
“Good guy?”
“Yeah. Let me pay upfront even from the customer's position, and didn't snap once when I asked to repair all weapons.”
“But demanding a thousand bloodstones makes it hard to swallow.”
Kim I-seo shook his head.
“That thousand probably had Han Soo-yeon's influence.”
“You think the merchant jacked it up to a thousand because of what Han Soo-yeon said?”
“That's my take.”
It was plausible.
Han Soo-yeon would've talked to the merchant before Kim I-seo did.
“So, what's your advice on how to handle this?”
“Best would be to rack up debt like Han Soo-yeon and get buddy-buddy, but that's tough now. Trading the Zombie Queen's essence is probably the way.”
“Zombie Queen's essence... Back to square one, huh.”
Lee Geon-woo had planned to trade it with the merchant if needed anyway.
Bang bang bang—
Someone knocked roughly on the door.
Lee Geon-woo scowled at the sound but responded.
“Come in.”
Clank!—
The moment he spoke, a member of Incheon Union burst in urgently.
His expression and actions screamed emergency.
“What is it?”
“Uh, well. The Zombie Queen has started moving.”
The Zombie Queen, who had been gathering zombies diligently in Daejeon, was on the move.
Lee Geon-woo had expected this timing, so he nodded and asked about preparations.
“How's the defensive line in Anyang City?”
“Almost complete. But elsewhere, it's 60-70%.”
“Focus laborers on the secondary line. And summon each group's representatives.”
“Yes, sir.”
After issuing quick orders, Lee Geon-woo calculated his current points and bloodstones.
“Kim I-seo, how's the Channel 4 weapon?”
“Awesome. If we had 38 more like this, 10,000 zombies would be a breeze.”
The machine gun he'd used before was an M60 seized from a military unit.
But this Channel 4 weapon outperformed the M60 in every way.
Plus, at level 39 with three ability specializations, Kim I-seo's Infinite Ammo let him fire nonstop during its duration.
【Kim I-seo's Ability Specialization】
【1. Gun power increases by 20%.】
【2. No gun overheating or malfunctions. Duration decreases by 5 minutes.】
【3. Applies ‘Infinite Ammo’ to selected squad members. Duration decreases by 5 minutes.】
As a result, Kim I-seo's Infinite Ammo lasted 29 minutes.
He could apply it to 39 squad members proportional to his level.
“...Gotta talk to Han Soo-yeon about borrowing Channel 4 weapons.”
Obviously, simply defeating the second Zombie Queen wouldn't cut it.
They needed an overwhelming win with minimal casualties to fight the next war.
“And we need a broadcasting team.”
“Broadcasting?”
“Yeah. If he's a good guy like you say, showing the war's horrors might work too.”
Good thing I'm not too tired.
Normally, sleeplessness leads to fatigue forcing your eyes shut.
But now, after eating the heart of the Reistal from Channel 7's Yu Hyun-min, my body felt too healthy.
Staying up all night like it's nothing.
I didn't sleep because the excitement lingered even after hours.
Maybe because yesterday I'd unconsciously crossed a psychological line I'd set.
Meanwhile, Elisicia and Rubyel slept great.
Anyway, no fatigue meant no schedule issues.
I silently thanked Yu Hyun-min from Channel 7 and checked the gallery as usual.
Huh?
Channel 3 was blowing up with nonstop posts.
What's going on?
Focusing on one post explained it.
[The Zombie Queen is moving!!]