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Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: First Kill
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The system must not care about my intentions when it comes to rescuing that celebrity.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Remaining Time] Virginity Loss: 23:48 Death: 29:48
Already twelve minutes had passed.
If I do nothing, I'll die in 29 hours and 48 minutes. Fuck.
I replayed the zombies I'd seen in the game while searching for anything that could serve as a weapon.
The early-game zombies were low-level, slower than humans, and couldn't climb stairs.
Then came ones that could go up and down stairs and even run.
Some could even scale walls like parkour experts or leap across rooftops.
The most terrifying were the variants, but I decided not to think about those since I didn't know if they existed in this job.
Hunters started with a shotgun.
Farmers got a pickaxe, perfect for bashing zombies.
But the Celebrity Manager... nothing.
No matter how much I rummaged through the apartment, I couldn't find anything usable as a weapon.
Looking around in despair, my eyes landed on the clothes drying rack on the balcony, standing there all alone.
The thin aluminum pipes weren't sturdy, but if I layered a few and taped them together, it'd be better than a frying pan.
The plastic joints would be hard to disassemble, but now wasn't the time to be picky about hot or cold rice.
Time kept ticking away while I hesitated.
Crunch!
'Huh?'
The solid plastic joint crumbled like tofu.
A little more force, and the aluminum pipe dented easily.
'Was it... always this fragile?'
The sense of euphoria was insane.
I'd invested all 4 points into Offense/Defense, and it felt worlds apart from before.
My gaze shifted to the iron frame enclosing the balcony.
I grabbed the wall-mounted joint and pulled—it came out in an instant.
An exclamation escaped my lips before I knew it.
I felt like a goddamn superhero.
I layered a few frames to make a thick club.
Once I wrapped it tightly with tape, it looked decent enough.
*
In preparation for close-quarters combat with looters, I tucked a jackknife in my pocket and slotted a utility knife into my belt loop.
Gripping my makeshift iron club, I cautiously opened the front door.
I planned to clear the third floor—where my one-room apartment was—before heading out.
Even if I rescued the celebrity at the media center, downtown would be crawling with zombies.
My strength might be boosted now, but I couldn't survive there with this shitty club, let alone protect a woman.
'Gotta bring her back here somehow.'
For that, at least the third floor needed to be zombie-free.
Six households per floor, and since they're one-rooms, at most two people each.
As long as they didn't swarm me at once, I could handle them.
I readjusted my grip on the club for an easy swing and charged at the zombie at the end of the hallway.
In a fight, landing the first blow meant you'd already won half the battle.
"Grrr... Kyaaak!"
It turned at the sound of my footsteps, so I swung the club straight at its head.
Splat!
'Huh?'
I'd been shocked so many times today.
I'd hit its head to knock it down, then planned to smash it with the club.
But the moment it connected, its neck tore clean off, and the head flew out into the hallway.
The zombie's body couldn't withstand the force from the club.
'Whoa, this is insane...'
While I marveled, the headless body collapsed.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Obtained 1 point!
I immediately invested it into Offense/Defense and charged at the zombie wandering near the elevator.
*
There were eight zombies on the third floor.
I took them out so easily it almost felt wrong, then distributed the points I'd earned.
⚔ STATUS ⚔⚡ Offense/Defense: 7💨 Agility: 7✨ Perception: 5Available Points: 0pt
I paced the third-floor hallway several times, and my body felt even lighter than before.
In the game, you could only gauge levels from hit feedback and sound effects, but feeling it in my own body was pure dopamine explosion.
'Whoa, this is straight-up addictive.'
I enjoyed thrills and often put guys in their place quickly, but I'd never gone this far.
Even zombies—getting a rush from watching heads explode.
Seemed like the 'Dominant' trait was influencing my personality.
Dominance and destruction were two sides of the same coin.
I found an aluminum bat in the apartment at the end of the hall.
It was leagues sturdier than my makeshift iron club.
There was plenty more to loot, but rescuing the woman took priority right now.
I took the elevator down to the first floor.
Zombies lacked the intelligence to open doors or use elevators.
No need to fight ones on other floors unless looting.
As I stepped outside, I spotted two zombies across the street, tearing into a corpse.
One noticed me and bared its teeth.
"Grrrr..."
Guided by first-strike-wins mentality, I raised the bat and charged.
Whoosh~
Splat!
The headless ones crumpled limply.
Now, no zombies scared me unless they came in a horde.
I surveyed the intersection in front of the building.
Right led to an eight-lane boulevard; left to a walking path up the back mountain.
The media center was a fifteen-minute drive from here.
I had my crappy commuter car, so that'd be fastest.
'But no way I'm risking a car.'
Forget zombies—even escaping vehicles would have clogged everything up.
I ditched the car idea and decided to go on foot.
Cross the mountain via the walking path, hit the overpass to the main road.
Keep heading up from the intersection there, and I'd reach the media center.
How'd I know so well?
I'd walked it a few times.
Lots of cheap, tasty spots near the media center.
After drinks, walking home saved on cab fare with the cool night breeze.
An hour on foot for me.
'What the...?'
Heading toward the back mountain, chills crawled up my spine.
I turned and saw the convenience store entrance.
The only one nearby—I shopped there often.
My Perception, leveled to 5, was sending warnings.
Someone inside. Not a zombie—a person.
*
I carefully stepped over the shattered glass on the floor and moved deeper inside.
A uniformed clerk lay slumped in front of the counter.
Wounds all over her body, pants and panties yanked off and tossed aside.
Her lower belly and groin were smeared with white fluid.
Not a zombie attack.
Zombies ate people—they didn't rape them.
A looter had raped her and strangled her to death.
Focusing, I sensed faint movement from the storeroom.
Like a bat using echolocation to detect prey or obstacles.
I raised the aluminum bat and crept toward the storeroom door.
"Come out. I know you're there."
"Fuck, if you'd come a little later, I could've gone another round."
The thug who emerged grinned sleazily.
Muscle-pig with tattoos covering his arms like canvas.
He clutched a cleaver he'd scavenged somewhere.
"That woman—your handiwork?"
"Yeah, what else is there to do in this shithole world? Gotta fuck bitches like her."
He spun the knife skillfully—not his first time.
"Hand over that bat, and I'll let you have a go. She's still warm."
"Not into corpses."
"Then you die. Heh heh heh."
He readjusted his grip and thrust at my throat.
He thought it was a sneak attack, but with Agility at 7, it looked like flailing to me.
Clang!
I blocked the blade tip with the bat; he looked shocked.
I drew the utility knife from my belt and stabbed his throat.
"Guh... guhk!"
The blade pierced through, tip protruding the other side. He collapsed without a proper scream.
Proved I could handle looters just as well as zombies.
'No points, though.'
Worse than zombies.
Luckily, the store hadn't been looted much.
I grabbed a cart and boxes, loading up on bottled water, drinks, and processed foods.
Once I brought the woman back, we'd need to hole up in the one-room for at least a day or two.
'This should last two days.'
Back at the one-room, I crammed all the food into the fridge.
Power was still on, but who knew for how long.
I needed to grind more points fast and buy the rest of the Life Kit items.
I returned to the convenience store entrance and opened the status window.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Remaining Time] Virginity Loss: 18:22 Death: 24:22
Plenty of time, but the number of zombies I'd face was the wildcard.
Hoping there weren't too many at the media center, I headed up the back mountain.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
tvM Media Center—
The zombies visible through the door gap were a good distance away.
They'd moved toward the lobby without sensing any presence.
Couldn't go that way, but the break room opposite seemed accessible.
"I'll go first, so grab anything that can be a weapon and follow. Watch for zombies from behind the door."
"Yes, Team Leader."
If they couldn't escape on their own, they'd have to wait for rescuers or the military.
To hold out that long, they needed water and food.
Luckily, the pantry in the back of the break room was stocked with bottled water and snacks.
While the Team Leader looted inside, the Manager guarded the break room door.
Heo Yun-ji helped by half-peeking from across the way on lookout.
Her long legs stretching from under the miniskirt and her snowy-white thighs were a work of art.
The Manager swallowed hard without realizing it.
Even in a crumbling world, a man's lust never faded.