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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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Only after I watched them shuffle away, disappearing around the corner, did I sheathe my sword.
Whoosh!
I swung the sword in the air, and the clinging blood droplets scattered.
A bloodstain appeared on the stone wall.
I sheathed the sword and turned around.
Shing-
The residents of both houses had come out and
were watching me from the balconies and stair railings.
Their faces…
…some women were smiling slightly, some wore relieved expressions. So-eun still seemed scared.
None of them appeared injured.
I walked towards the house and said, “I’m hungry. I only had crumbs yesterday. Anything to eat?”
Soo-hyun, who had been smiling, said, “Should I make some ramen?”
“Ramen sounds good. I’ll wash up first.”
I entered the house and went upstairs. Soo-hyun patted my back.
I chuckled. “You’ll get blood on you.”
“It’s fine. I can wash it off. Let’s go, oppa.”
Soo-hyun followed me to my room.
Hmm.
Even with the women watching.
There were no reservations anymore.
We undressed and went into the shower together.
After washing off the blood, Soo-hyun knelt down and gave me oral sex. She was strangely enthusiastic.
She must have been impressed by what happened earlier.
After we finished washing up, I went downstairs, and Ye-eun quickly got up and went to the kitchen. “I’ll make you some ramen.”
“Ah, thanks.”
Several people were gathered in the main house.
Grandma, So-eun, Hoon and his wife, the inline skating women, and Grandma 2, the nurse.
Everyone was looking at me.
The atmosphere felt a bit strange.
Their eyes held trust.
…It was a bit overwhelming.
Grandma took my hand, patted my arm, and pulled me towards her. “Sit down, young man. Goodness, you’ve worked hard. Mmm?”
“Ah, yes.”
“My, my, those awful people, coming to someone else’s house and making a fuss. How can people be like that? Mmm? What would we have done without you, young man?”
Hoon smiled and said, “Mother. That’s why we need to move. Let’s go without hesitation when Mr. Han gives the word. Okay?”
Grandma clicked her tongue. “Mmm… tsk. We’ll move, but… this house… I’ve lived here with my husband for a long time. People are so cruel these days. There’s nothing more frightening than people. Mmm.”
Jung Eun-seo said, “Thank you for what you did earlier. We were really scared.”
I nodded and asked, “How are the men? Are they okay?”
“Yes. They’re much better than yesterday. It seems like no bones were broken.”
“Hmm. That’s good.”
I nodded and looked around at everyone. “About moving, I’m clearing the upper floors first. It will probably take a few days.”
I looked at Hoon and Jung Eun-seo and said, “I was hoping we could gather and burn the bodies outside. If we leave them, they might cause a disease outbreak.”
Grandma 2 nodded. “That’s a good idea. Not just disease outbreaks, bacteria and mold are dangerous too. We can’t go to the hospital now, so prevention is key.”
…Oh.
Grandma 2 was getting her act together.
Definitely.
She was the type who gained energy from helping others, like the inline skaters.
Taking care of the injured must have revitalized her.
I nodded. “Then let’s take care of the bodies together later.”
Hoon raised his hand. “Sir, what about stripping the cars? Should we continue?”
I looked at Soo-hyun, who was sitting next to me. “We should, right?”
Soo-hyun nodded. “Yes, aluminum is useful for a lot of things. I actually wanted to talk about that.”
Everyone looked at Soo-hyun.
Soo-hyun said, “Since we’re moving anyway, reinforcing this house doesn’t make much sense. I’d like to collect the aluminum panels and use them to reinforce the shutters and the glass walls and entrance of the supermarket when we move. What do you all think?”
Hoon nodded. “Hmm, Soo-hyun has a good point. We can close the shutters, but that alone might not be enough to stop someone from breaking in.”
Soo-hyun nodded and said, “Yes, so I think it would be better to reinforce the shutters with aluminum and silicone.” She looked at me.
Everyone looked at me.
…What did they want me to do?
I didn’t know about those things.
I turned down the corners of my mouth and nodded. “Do whatever you think is best. I’ll just clear out the building, and I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Okay.”
Soo-hyun smiled and patted my butt.
Jung Eun-seo said, “We’ll help with collecting the bodies.”
Hoon smiled and said, “Oh, thank you. Sir, we’ll take care of the bodies and the cars, so you can rest. You were out all night… working so hard…”
He glanced at my body, probably referring to how I appeared, covered in blood.
I smiled. “We’re short-handed, how can I rest? Let’s do it together. We need to take care of the bodies; the smell is coming in through the windows.”
Hoon smiled awkwardly and didn’t respond.
After lunch, we rested for a bit and then went out to collect the bodies. There was no one at the gas station. I didn’t know why, but judging by the wide-open office door, they must have run off as soon as it all started.
We piled the bodies on the road in front of the coffee shop I’d cleared out earlier, a fair distance from the house, and set them on fire. Black smoke billowed up. It was pretty far from the house, but if the wind changed, the house could get covered in ash. Still, better than eating meals while smelling rotting corpses.
We cleared the entire neighborhood except for the underground parking lot. We decided to deal with the 100+ bodies crammed inside the underground parking lot gradually and returned home around sunset.
Evening. Just before 8 p.m. After dinner, I left the house and headed back to the hypermarket. I’d cleared up to the 6th-floor PC room. Now only the 7th and 8th floors were left. I used Accelerate at the hypermarket’s side entrance and ran upstairs. I was getting used to this. “Hoo…” I stopped on the 5th floor. Carrying bodies and climbing stairs all day was tiring. I should rest for a bit. I sat down on the stairs, catching my breath, and lit a cigarette. Flick. “Phew…” The smoke curled upwards. It tasted good. I took out my phone and opened my messages.
[I might be late tonight. Go to sleep without me.]
I sent the message, and Soo-hyun replied, [Be careful. Okay? Don’t get hurt.]
[Okay. I’ll contact you later.]
My bag contained energy bars, hot bars, and 500ml water bottles – snacks that the women had stocked the rooftop room refrigerator with. It was easier to just carry my swords, but after yesterday, I figured it was best to have emergency rations.
Speaking of which, I wondered if everything would be alright. I hoped those Cockroaches wouldn’t show up at the boarding house and cause trouble again while I was gone. I warned them once; if they tried anything again, I wouldn’t go easy on them.
The moment they touched anyone, they would be annihilated. Honestly, it felt like a waste to use Accelerate, which I needed for leveling up, on killing Cockroaches, but if they were going to piss me off, there would be consequences. “Hoo…” I think I rested for about five minutes. Enough. I flicked the cigarette butt away and stood up, climbing the stairs.
7th floor. I leaned against the metal door and listened. Rrrr- rrrr- …They were there. I didn’t know how many or where they were. What was on the 7th floor again? I couldn’t remember. I drew my sword. Shing- I slightly opened the metal door.
Grrrr… grrrr…
…There seemed to be quite a few. The growls were louder on the left. High-pitched. …Female human beasts. What was over there?
…Ah, the cooking academy. And on the right…
…the calligraphy academy. Calligraphy wasn’t very popular, it seemed; the growls from that side were faint. Frosted glass and wooden walls.
I couldn’t see inside either of them.
…I’d clear the one with fewer first and then deal with the cooking academy. I carefully walked inside, trying to be quiet. I drew my other sword. Shing- With a sword in each hand, I slowly approached the calligraphy academy entrance.
Grrrr… grrrr… The calligraphy academy.
There were definitely a few inside. Not many. Mostly women, it seemed.
“…Hoo… inhale.”
I took a breath and pushed the glass door open with my shoulder.
“Kyaa?!” I froze. My mind went blank. The human beasts all looked up at me.
…They were elementary school students. “Kyaaagh! Kyaaagh!”
Accelerate.
[Auto-casting: Accelerate]
The calligraphy academy…
…elementary school students…
Six or seven children, probably around eight or nine years old, were charging towards me. A child with its eyes gouged out, a child with a chunk of flesh missing from its arm, a child with its neck bitten.
…I gritted my teeth. And thrust the swords.
Crack!
I used Accelerate and eliminated all the human beasts in the calligraphy academy. There was only one adult, a rather old woman. I was still clumsy. Even though I knew they weren’t human or alive, seeing children made me freeze. I would hesitate for a moment.
Damn it. I had to get used to it. Why were children here in the middle of a weekday…? What about school…?
…Ah… It was summer break.
10 in total. I’d used four Accelerate charges to kill just 10. Hesitating at first was a big factor.
“Hoo…” Shit, I needed a break.
This felt awful. I went into the empty office and slumped into the director’s chair. Shing- The sound of sheathing my swords was refreshingly clear.
…8 Accelerate charges left. There seemed to be quite a few students in the cooking academy. …I wasn’t going back home tonight.
[Soo-hyun. I can’t go back tonight either. I’ll be back in the morning.]
[ㅜㅜ…]
[Is everything okay at home? How are the others?]
[It’s fine. Just come back safely. Stop worrying me.]
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I put down my phone and rested my chin in my hand. Blood splatters covered my body. I closed my eyes and tried to calm down.
“…Hmm…” I would have to keep on killing. I shouldn’t let it bother me. They weren’t children. They weren’t human.
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