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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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The man sobbed, and the woman stared blankly ahead. They didn’t say anything else, but their silent pleas for help were palpable.
Sigh…
A college student had committed suicide next door. What about upstairs?
I went up the stairs to the second floor. The door was open. I stepped inside, and the stench of a rotting corpse hit me. I grimaced and looked around. An elderly man lay dead in the corner of the living room, and the door to a smaller room was smashed. I could only see feet, but they probably belonged to the grandson. Early to mid-twenties? He seemed to have put up a fight.
It looked like the forty- and fifty-something-year-old thugs had split up and slept in the larger room and the college student’s room downstairs.
…I got the picture.
I went back downstairs, and the man was comforting his wife. He was patting her shoulder, but she just swayed slightly, unresponsive.
…If I left her like this, she’d probably kill herself too.
I sighed deeply and said, “Come on. Let’s go.”
The man stared at me, his eyes wide. “S… Sir?”
“Sir, my ass, just come on. How can you live here? Let’s go.”
This was frustrating. Damn it. Were the other houses like this too? …Hmm. The other houses must have been in bad shape too. In some houses, the father had gone out and not returned; in others, it was the mother. The remaining family members were either wasting away or… like this.
…In that case, our boarding house was actually pretty decent.
The man said, “Yes, okay,” and started gathering his things. He tried to pack some clothes and his bank book, and I rubbed my forehead. Seriously?
“Just come. Just your body. You don’t need blankets. Let’s go.”
“O… Okay, sir. Honey, let’s go.”
He helped his wife up, and I added, “What about the axe? Take it.”
“Oh, yes, yes, sir.”
He grabbed the axe from the kitchen and helped his wife out, axe in one hand, wife in the other.
…Seriously…
“Let’s go.”
I brought them back to the boarding house. The women were surprised. Well, of course they were. We already had five mouths to feed, and now there were three more, including a baby. The women seemed sympathetic towards the woman holding the baby, but Grandma looked displeased.
“I’ll work hard! Please, ma’am, just let us stay!” The large man pleaded with Grandma. Seriously…
“Can you… do you have any strength?” I asked.
I doubted he had any fighting ability, but judging by his size, he was definitely strong. The man straightened his back and looked up at me. “Yes, sir! I used to deliver bottled water. I’m quite strong.”
…A pack mule, then. I could go in and kill them all, and he could carry the loot. At least he had some use. I would have preferred someone with fighting ability, but with his personality, that was out of the question.
Grandma still looked apprehensive.
I said, “Ma’am, having another man around would definitely be helpful. There’s an empty room downstairs, right? Let them have it.”
“…Alright. If you say so.”
Soo-hyun, Ye-eun, and So-eun took the woman and her baby downstairs. “Come on, let’s go. We’ll bring you some blankets.”
“We had to use the wardrobe for the barricades, but the hot water works, so it’s not too bad.”
I said to Grandma, “I’ll be back.”
“Alright, be careful.”
I left the main house and stopped the large man as he was going down the stairs.
“Mister, wait a second.”
“Yes? Oh, yes, sir.”
“Stop calling me ‘sir.’ My name is Sung-hoon. Han Sung-hoon.”
“Ah… yes, s… sir… Sung-hoon.”
Ugh… He smelled.
“Go wash up. You need clothes, right? That short girl with glasses, her name is Soo-hyun. If you tell her I asked her to draw you a map, she will. There’s a clothing store over there. Go get some clothes, underwear, whatever you need. And there’s a pharmacy down the street; it’s empty. You can take whatever you need from there.”
The man stared at me, surprised. “…E… Empty?”
I nodded. “I killed them all. Just go in and take what you need. Be careful on the streets. Got it?”
“Ah… y… yes, sir. I understand.”
…He was still calling me “sir.” Damn it. I couldn’t get used to it.
As I went down the stairs, I turned around and said, “If you have time, go to that supermarket where I killed those thugs and grab some food. Bring some back for the main house, and eat some yourself.”
“Yes, sir. I understand.”
The man followed me and asked, “S… Sir… wh… where are you going?”
…Hmm.
What should I say? My next target was the mid-sized supermarket. “You said you needed diapers. I’m going to get some.” Or rather, I was going to level up. The man’s eyes widened, and he took a step closer. Stay back, damn it. You smell. “S-Sir, I’ll go with you.” …Seriously… It was a mid-sized supermarket. At least twenty human beasts, probably more. This guy wouldn’t stand a chance if he ran into a horde. I didn’t care if he died, but what about his wife and baby? They would become another burden. Damn it. Grandma and the women wouldn’t be happy about that. I glared at him and said, “…Mister, you’ll die if you go there.”
The man flinched and gasped.
I continued, “…Got it? Just go where I tell you to go. The convenience store nearby, the clothing store over there, the pharmacy down the street, and that supermarket. Those places are safe. Go get what you need. And take the axe with you.” Earn your keep.
“…O-Okay, sir.” …Ugh, damn it.
“Good. I’ll see you later.”
“S-Sir!” …Keep your voice down, damn it. I turned around, and the man was bowing at a 90-degree angle. “Thank you, sir! Thank you for helping us! Thank you so much, sir!” …Seriously… …I focused my attention outside; I couldn’t hear any growls. That was a relief. …This was infuriating… “…Keep your voice down.” The man’s face fell. …This was frustrating. I left the house and headed towards the supermarket where the bodies of the old thugs were lying. Damn it. I had agreed to the supermarket raid because I thought this guy could be a meat shield, but he was only good as a pack mule. He said he was strong, so I’d let him handle the supply runs while I focused on leveling up. According to the map, I had to go one block past the supermarket and then turn right onto the main road. The mid-sized supermarket was right there. I could also go via the pharmacy street, but that street was lined with stores, and I’d have to clear each one individually. This way was faster. The residential street was fairly deserted. I heard growls coming from inside a few houses, but they wouldn’t come out unless I went in and provoked them. And I wasn’t going to waste Accelerate charges on that.
The residential area ended, and a parking lot appeared. It was quite large—probably the supermarket parking lot. The supermarket next to it was a single-story, warehouse-like structure. A decent-sized supermarket. Grrrr… Grrrr… …I could hear growls even from this distance. There were a lot of them. I stopped and glanced at the parking lot. …It seemed quiet. I needed a place to hide after raiding the supermarket and using Accelerate to escape. I crouched down, my hand on the hilt of my sword, and cautiously entered the parking lot. Gravel crunched under my feet. Inside the parking lot… there were a few parked cars scattered around, but they didn’t offer much cover. What about the parking attendant’s booth? It was small, about the size of a portable toilet. A metal door and a small window. …Not bad. I scanned my surroundings and pressed my ear against the metal door. …Quiet? Was anyone there? I tried the door; it was locked. Damn it. I sighed and slowly walked further into the parking lot. The crunching of gravel under my feet was surprisingly loud. Crunch… crunch… I hugged the wall of the parking attendant’s booth, took a few deep breaths, and looked around. I saw a man standing between two cars. He was wearing a uniform. …A parking attendant. What the hell was he doing…? …Ah, he must have been bitten while guiding cars. …Then the one who bit him might also be here. I cautiously walked towards the opposite wall, keeping my steps slow and quiet. Crunch… crunch… I pressed myself against the left wall. I could see the inside of a black Accent’s headlights. It seemed empty for now. I slowly walked towards the Accent, drawing my sword as I went. Shing— The parking attendant hadn’t noticed me yet. I reached the Accent and peered through the gap between the cars. I had to be careful. There could be something hiding between the vehicles. This was different from the street. I slowly walked between the cars, checking each parking space. The rest of the parking lot was empty, except for the parking attendant and another figure lying face down in front of him. Just two, as expected. I walked back between the cars, facing the parking attendant’s back, and slowly approached him. Directly behind him. All I had to do was walk in a straight line.
“Hoo…”
Crunch… crunch…
…About five meters away. The parking attendant was swaying slightly.
…Should I just lunge and stab him?
…No. I’d play it safe. No need to be greedy.
Accelerate.
[Auto-cast: Accelerate]
“Hah!”
I took two quick steps and thrust the sword into the back of the parking attendant’s head.
Thwack!
About half the blade went through.
“Ha!” I yanked it out with a grunt and took a large step past the parking attendant.
Tha—aa—
A woman. Lying face down near me. I slammed the sword down.
Crack!
“Gah?!”
Thwack!
The moment the woman twitched, The moment Accelerate wore off, The sword pierced through the back of her head.
Thud! The parking attendant’s body bumped against my shoulder and fell on top of the woman.
“Hoo… ha…”
[Leveled up 2 times.]
…I had wasted one Accelerate charge. I searched the parking attendant’s body and found his keys. I unlocked the door to the parking attendant’s booth and stepped inside. The stench of stale sweat hit me. Ugh, seriously? I hated the smell of blood, but why did all these other smells have to assault my nostrils too?
Still, it looked sturdy enough. It would make a decent hiding spot. It was right next to the supermarket, and it would be a good place to hold out if necessary. I sat down on a chair in front of the small window and sighed.
“Hoo…”
…I didn’t know how many were inside the supermarket. Judging by the sound, there were a lot. I had to take this slowly. I wiped the sword with a towel hanging on the wall as I thought: Hit and run. Recover, Accelerate, then hit and run again.
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