My Woman Kim Min-jung Spoils Me with Premium Care Again — And a Force Threatening My Women Has Appeared
"Haha, don't worry, Ajumma! I ranked up to D-level, remember? I was already strong before — now I'm even stronger!"
Geum Tae-yang, suited up in his combat gear, stood at the bunker's front entrance ready to head out. He was doing his best to put Kim Min-jung's worries to rest as she fretted over him.
Two days had passed since the Special Quest had abruptly appeared. Tae-yang intended to leave the bunker and complete it.
"I understand that well enough, but… from what I've heard, the zombie numbers have only grown, and by now there must be plenty of other Awakened out there too…"
Even if he'd still been nothing more than her precious daughter's boy-next-door, Kim Min-jung would have fretted herself sick. But now he was her husband. After forty-two years, she had finally found her destined match — the thought of losing him so pointlessly only made her heart clench tighter.
"And look at this suit, Ajumma. It's not just for show. It can stop blades as a baseline, and it'll even tank rifle fire. You think I'm gonna run into any real danger wearing this? Even if zombies come at me in a swarm, I won't break a sweat!"
Tae-yang laid it on thick, fully aware of her anxiety. He talked up not only his own strength but the sheer quality of the brand-new combat suit — which was exactly why he hadn't rushed out the day the Special Quest dropped. He'd spent two full days getting used to the gear, and a big part of that delay had been for Min-jung's peace of mind.
"He's right, Mom. At this point it's basically just a stroll around the neighborhood. Trust me."
"A-all right…"
With her precious daughter Park A-young chiming in as well, Kim Min-jung finally gave in.
"Hell yeah! This functional gear is insane! I'm not even hot!"
Outside, Tae-yang took stock. It was late July — high summer had begun. Yet even under the blazing sun, the ten-billion-won combat suit kept him completely cool, and he shuddered with pure delight at its performance.
The full set came with boots, gloves, and a helmet. Tae-yang had only brought the boots and gloves. The helmet was unnecessary — more of a hassle than anything.
Might as well try projecting it out here…
His new special skill, Enhanced Suit, could cover that gap just fine.
Projection!!
Projection
Tae-yang focused, channeling energy into the Enhanced Suit projection.
"Oooooohhhhhh!!!"
A soft hiss of power washed over him. Blue mana energy enveloped his body while he still wore the Enhanced Suit.
Okay… I can feel it. The projection's taking hold — the reinforcement is kicking in…
He clenched both fists, savoring the projected state. Even after testing it several times over the past two days, the spectacular mana effects still had his mouth curling into a grin he couldn't suppress.
Projection complete, Tae-yang turned toward the side wall of the compound — then sprinted straight at it.
Using that momentum, he drove his head into the wall with a thunderous crash.
Any normal person would have flinched and pulled the punch. But with the Combat Mental Master trait active, Tae-yang slammed into it for real.
"Hahahahaha! See? Completely fine!!!"
He was unharmed — barely a scratch of damage.
So thanks to the projection, the Enhanced Suit's durability applies to my head too…
The primary function of Projected Enhanced Suit was to reinforce the suit's own durability. But Tae-yang's stats pushed it further. The combat suit A-young had given him had forged a deep bond with him, and that bond let the garment's durability extend even to unprotected parts of his body. He'd wanted to test just how rock-hard his reinforced skull had become this way — but he'd held off inside the bunker, not wanting to give Min-jung a heart attack.
As long as I'm wearing this suit, no zombie's ever going to bite me and fuck me over!
Performance check done, Tae-yang strode out with a swagger in his step. Zombie teeth couldn't pierce a ten-billion-won combat suit. With that durability projected onto his face as well, there was simply nowhere left on his body for a zombie's fangs to sink in.
Looking at the nature of this mission, it's pretty clearly meant to train the special skill I got from ranking up…
He scanned his surroundings, hunting for zombies. The Special Quest had dropped the moment he put on the combat suit: use his Awakened abilities to kill zombies and fill the quest gauge to 150. Hit 150, and he'd receive 150 growth points as Special Quest points.
"Grrrrrrrrrr…!"
"Karrrrrrrr…!"
"Kieh…! Kreh… kieeee…!"
Before long, Tae-yang spotted five zombies shambling through an alley. They weren't clustered together — just milling about at spaced intervals.
Oh… there's even a cop mixed in. Guess that mass police mobilization three days ago was real.
Among the zombies was one still wearing a police uniform. Three days earlier, a large-scale, tightly coordinated police operation had gone down across several major cities. Operations like that hadn't been rare since the apocalypse started — but this one had been unofficial, and that was the problem. It hadn't been about containing zombies. If it had, the government would have issued some kind of statement beforehand, or at least after the fact. Instead it had erupted out of nowhere, and to this day there still hadn't been a single official word about it.
Everyone figured the higher-ups had finally started their real escape. People decided public authority had basically collapsed, so more and more of them started forming packs and looting.
The prevailing interpretation was that the inevitable had finally arrived. Lately the government and public broadcasters had been putting out a lot of talk with the vibe that the zombie crisis was entering a suppression phase. Nobody bought it. Anyone who wasn't locked in a room waiting the whole thing out could see the chaos outside getting worse by the day. So when this happened, the public read it as the government putting on a reassuring front — then stabbing everyone in the back the moment the timing was right.
Which means people could start flooding into this area too. If I want to stop that, I need to grind hard while I still can!
At this point, the distinction between quarantine zones and regular zones barely meant anything. A Special Mission dropping at a critical juncture like this had Tae-yang's eyes gleaming with the will to clear it.
He gripped his projected iron pipe tight and walked straight toward the zombies ahead — making no effort to quiet his footsteps.
"—Kieeeeee???"
"—Kreeeeeh??"
The zombies registered his approach almost immediately.
"—Khaaaaaaaaah!!!"
"—Kieeeeeeeek!!"
"—Kraaaaaaaah!!!"
All five charged him at once.
No backstepping…
Watching them barrel toward him, Tae-yang's eyes flashed again — then he drove forward with Transcendent Forward Step.
You first!!
He factored in the zombie's charge speed, the 3.5-meter range of Transcendent Forward Step, and the combined reach of his iron pipe plus his arm — another 1.5 meters. With his Acute Senses trait, he calculated it all precisely and brought the first overhead strike crashing down.
The lead zombie's skull exploded. Dark crimson blood jetted from the shattered head — but the second zombie was already lunging in right behind it, jaws wide open.
With the first zombie's corpse still serving as a makeshift barrier, the old play would have been to backstep and reestablish safe distance. But Tae-yang held to his declaration: no backstepping. His body flowed sideways with the spinning feel of a revolving door — Transcendent Lateral Step.
Holy shit, that feels incredible!!!!!
First time using Transcendent Lateral Step in real combat, and the catharsis was unreal. One clean movement, and the second zombie's blind spot at the back of its head was wide open.
Riding that rush, Tae-yang smashed the projected iron pipe into the second zombie's skull and caved it in.
You get a diagonal slash!!
You get an overhead smash!
And you — special treatment. I'm finishing you with a thrust!!
Tae-yang worked through a dazzling variety of footwork as he finished off the remaining three — diagonal steps, side steps, even a half-turn step. Officially, the heavy skill usage was about meeting the Special Quest conditions. In reality, he just wanted to fully savor how absurdly good the new gear felt and how strong he'd become.
Zombies have multiplied, but I barely sense any people. Early on there were still traces of folks coming and going. Guess even the ones holing up at home are mostly gone now?
Tae-yang hadn't been outside for roughly five days. The zombies had piled up far more than expected, so he advanced almost without pause, killing as he went. Most of the neighborhood's residents had either turned or, if they'd survived, headed for the shelters. Power was out across most of the quarantine zone. From their perspective, the shelters were the better short-term bet for energy and food.
After checking a stretch of empty houses, Tae-yang stopped at a small road.
That barricade… I don't remember that one.
A barricade he had never seen before had been thrown up across the way.
Doesn't look like police work. Survivors built this.
As far as Tae-yang knew, Pyeonghwa-dong hadn't been part of that sudden police mobilization a few days back. That meant the barricade ahead had been set up by survivors who'd moved in recently.
He studied the barricaded zone carefully, using Acute Senses to check for traps or anyone lying in wait.
Nothing. Okay… then let's clean up the zombies clustered there.
A dozen zombies were gathered at the barricade. Without them, he wouldn't have bothered approaching this carefully — he would have just walked past.
Oh man, this is free real estate!! Don't know who set this barricade up, but I'm gonna enjoy the meal!!
With the zombies packed on the far side of the barricade, Tae-yang took them apart almost casually — practically free kills. Even so, he deliberately worked Transcendent Side Step into the fight to keep meeting the Special Quest conditions.
"Huh?"
Something interesting caught his eye, and his eyes went round.
That zombie's head is punched clean through… looks like an arrow did that.
Around the barricade lay several zombies already downed by someone else's attacks. A few of the skulls showed clear signs of arrow penetration.
Most reasonable read is that whoever built this killed them with arrows. Take them out with arrows at the time of construction, then a few days later this many zombies pile back up — the timeline roughly checks out.
Which means there are at least two of them. No way one person pulls this off alone in a situation like this.
Hmm… a group that shows up armed and builds barricades… yeah, these have to be outsiders.
It was a distinctly aggressive response. If local residents had done it, Tae-yang figured it would have felt more defensive. Outsiders who'd realized the neighborhood was empty had probably set this up to claim the area as a base.
Should I at least take some photos? A-young might be able to pull a more detailed analysis from them.
Tae-yang reached into a pocket of the combat suit and pulled out his phone to document the scene.
Oh? Ajumma sent a text.
The moment the screen lit up, Kim Min-jung's message was waiting for him — sent right after he'd left the house.
With Park A-young right there beside her, Min-jung hadn't been able to pour out all her worry in person — so she'd sent it by text instead.
Damn… is Ajumma allowed to be this adorable…
The image of a forty-two-year-old voluptuous beauty fretting and sending tearful heart texts hit him like a tidal wave of affection.
I have to text her back right now. No way I'm just walking past this.
They were practically newlyweds, after all. Zombies might be roaming outside, but Tae-yang couldn't hold back the love he felt for his wife. He squared up to type a reply—
His eyes snapped wide open.
He backstepped hard and fast — and something incredibly swift slammed into the wall where he'd just been standing.
A crossbow bolt!!!
It was a crossbow bolt.