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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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He wasn’t sure exactly which creatures had become Malignant Entities and which were still normal.
But one thing was certain: birds no longer flew in the sky.
The rain had stopped, and he tore his gaze away from the sunset sky.
Once, this scenery, with its hues that seemed to console him for his hard work during the day and tell him it was time to rest, would have made him feel drowsy.
Now, this pleasant scenery seemed stained with blood.
It was common sense that wild animals were dangerous.
Packs of wild dogs and boars were ferocious beasts capable of killing humans.
But this was different.
Water deer he might encounter occasionally, magpies, crows, pigeons, all so common in the city.
If such animals had become Malignant Entities…
And if they were creating waves somewhere, like the zombie wave in Gangnam…
It was a serious matter.
The absence of birdsong meant that they had either stopped singing or disappeared altogether.
Either way, it was dangerous.
How would people react if he told them this?
To the people who had finally found peace and were living like humans again amidst the human beast Malignant Entities swarming everywhere?
The grandmother from the boarding house.
So-eun with her self-harm scars.
Hoon’s wife.
And the terrified woman who had lived in the building.
Those with weak minds wouldn’t be able to handle the stress.
For the grandmother, who had regained her vitality by tending the garden, the very fact that gardening was dangerous might make her lose her will to live.
He thought for a moment and nodded.
Then he picked up his things and walked towards the artificial waterfall.
People he could trust.
People who could look after the others.
Hoon… he was a coward, but he had a family to protect.
Soo-hyun. And Jung Eun-seo.
Both were strong-willed.
It would be best to subtly inform just these few.
It would be less shocking to let them know indirectly rather than making a sudden announcement to everyone. If possible, it was best if nothing happened at all.
He sighed and shook his head.
Would it be helpful to tell people trapped inside a building, unable to go outside, that even getting some fresh air was dangerous?
If a pessimistic atmosphere developed among his group and someone committed suicide, he guaranteed it would lead to a chain of suicides.
He was certain.
If their daily lives were destroyed, if they survived only to be trapped inside a building, unable to go outside for the rest of their lives, who could endure it?
The baby?
No kindergarten, no school, no friends.
When the baby grew old enough to understand, the first thing it would learn was that the humans around it weren’t human, that they were creatures that would bite and kill.
It would learn to wield a knife and run before it learned to read.
Could the mother bear that?
Even though everyone was getting along and smiling, they were walking a tightrope.
Ah, this was stressful.
Just as his irritation began to rise, he saw their supermarket building in the distance.
And people.
…People?
He narrowed his eyes and looked at the road.
Cars lined the empty road.
And people filled the spaces between the cars.
…Most of them seemed to be men.
He could faintly hear…
Voices carried by the wind.
They seemed to be shouting.
They were pointing, swinging, and yelling something towards the supermarket.
The women from their group were shouting from the second and third-floor windows of the supermarket.
The shutters were completely down.
He unconsciously quickened his pace.
The closer he got, the clearer they became.
They noticed him too.
They gradually lowered whatever they had been brandishing and waving.
Probably tools and baseball bats.
They gathered and took their positions.
…They were the Cockroaches.
He suddenly felt nauseous.
One side of his mouth twisted into a snarl, revealing his teeth.
He was already stressed from all the things he’d been worrying about, and now these Cockroaches had to show up and irritate him further.
“Status.”
He could use Accelerate 12 times.
It seemed to have recovered somewhat after he spent the sunset practicing archery.
100 HP.
Not bad.
He walked at a pace that was neither too hurried nor too slow.
Glaring at them, he walked down the middle of the road.
Their shouting subsided.
He didn’t know what they had been yelling about.
He could only hear muffled sounds from afar.
But those Cockroach bastards must have been spewing some bullshit, and the women from his group must have responded.
There was no other explanation.
The Cockroaches became agitated.
Someone stepped out from among them.
He was quite large.
The Cockroach he’d stabbed in the chest.
The Cockroach Leader.
He gestured.
Two of them came forward carrying a thick wooden board.
It had four round legs.
A Go board?
It looked like a Go board.
Others brought out folding chairs, the kind you might use at a fishing spot.
They placed them in the middle of the intersection, creating a makeshift table.
It looked like they were about to have a leisurely game of Go in the middle of the road.
The Cockroach Leader sat down on one of the folding chairs.
He understood their intention.
Come and sit, that was it.
He walked towards them.
The supermarket drew closer.
Someone shouted from the second floor.
It was one of the inline skaters, a woman.
What was her name again?
“Sung-hoon! Sung-hoon!”
He could hear her voice now.
He looked up.
The woman shouted,
“Those bastards! My boyfriend! My boyfriend, Tae-young, is being held captive there!”
…Captive?
He looked at the Cockroaches.
Damn, there were too many of them to distinguish individuals.
Where was he?
“Sung-hoon, please save Tae-young! Please!”
She cried out, her voice choked with sobs.
It was almost a scream.
“Sung-hoon! Jun-hyuk is also being held captive there!”
Who was Jun-hyuk again?
…Ah.
The real estate inline skater.
He definitely remembered hearing the name.
He glanced upwards and saw the woman who had been with the real estate agent by the window, the one who lived on the 10th floor of the supermarket, leaning out of the window.
“Sung-hoon! Jun-hyuk, Jun-hyuk is!”
He looked at the woman and nodded slightly.
Don’t worry.
He continued walking.
Scanning the Cockroaches with his eyes, searching for Tae-young and Jun-hyuk.
…He found them.
Behind the Cockroach Leader.
They were being held by large, thuggish-looking Cockroaches.
Their arms were pinned behind their backs.
…They had been beaten again.
Blood streamed from their noses and mouths.
The real estate agent had a black eye.
He was also bleeding from his head, which meant he had put up quite a fight.
Why?
How did they get captured by the Cockroaches?
He walked closer, looking around them.
…They had been tearing apart a car.
They had been trying to salvage aluminum panels and hadn’t been able to escape when the Cockroaches suddenly swarmed them.
He saw a cutting tool stuck in the hood of a new Sonata and tools scattered around, and he sighed quietly.
All sorts of thoughts raced through his mind.
Rage boiled within him.
He couldn’t control his expression.
He squeezed his eyes shut, opened them, and took a deep breath.
And then he arrived in front of them.
He placed the folding chair at his feet and looked down at the Cockroach Leader.
The Cockroach Leader was looking at him.
He had a smug look on his face.
He looked around; there were about a hundred of them.
Was this why they had been quiet lately?
They had been gathering their forces from afar.
There were all sorts of people.
Big ones, small ones, skinny ones, fat ones, nerdy kids with glasses, older men with gray hair.
Every single one of them had a fierce look.
Not angry faces.
Those were faces of deprivation.
Faces filled with hatred towards those who had plenty.
“Hey, sit down, you son of a bitch. What are you trying to do, standing there with your head held high, you little shit? Do you think I should be looking up at a piece of shit like you?”
The Cockroach Leader sneered.
He put down his bow and the quiver full of arrows.
The Cockroach Leader laughed and said,
“Oh, you brought that for me, you son of a bitch? But what are you going to do? That’s not going to be enough, is it?”
He flicked his finger downwards.
“Take off your sword too, you little punk.”
He chuckled.
The Cockroach Leader grimaced.
“Laughing? You want to die, you little shit? Laughing?”
He unbuckled his lifting belt.
Click.
“Sung-hoon! Don’t! Don’t take it off!”
One of the large men swung his fist.
It connected squarely with Jun-hyuk’s face.
Thwack!
“Shut up, you son of a bitch!”
“Ugh!”
He froze.
He slowly raised his eyes and looked at the man who had hit Jun-hyuk.
…He had a fucking tattoo on his arm.
…This was why he hated fucking tattoo freaks.
Haa…
He took a deep breath and said slowly,
“Touch him again, and you die.”
“What? What the fuck did you say? Speak clearly, you son of a bitch. I can’t hear you.”
Thwack!
Jun-hyuk’s head snapped to the side.
The tattooed pig widened his eyes and tilted his head exaggeratedly.
“What did you say? Huh? What did you say? Huh?”
Thwack! Thwack!
“Ugh! Gah!”
He slowly tightened his grip on the lifting belt.
His nose began to wrinkle.
The Cockroach Leader raised his hand.
The tattooed pig stopped.
The Cockroach Leader said,
“Sit down, you little shit.”
He sat down on the folding chair.
The Cockroach Leader said,
“Sword.”
He placed the lifting belt on the Go board.
Clatter.
The Cockroach Leader laughed.
“You were so cocky with that pathetic little sword, weren’t you? But now that there are so many of us, you’re scared shitless? Good thinking. You’d be beaten to death even if you kept it. Do you know how many people are here? Because of you? Huh?!”
A hand shot up.
And then stopped.
The Cockroach Leader glared at him, seemingly holding back, then slowly lowered his hand.
“I’ll give you a chance to live. Tell them to open that door right now. We’re taking over the building. Hand over the women too. Then I’ll spare your life. Understand?”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he looked at the two men being held captive behind him.
He gestured.
“Come here. Take this upstairs.”
He pointed at the bow and the quiver filled with arrows.
“I brought a lot. Distribute them to everyone.”
Tae-young and Jun-hyuk, still captive, gasped for breath but didn’t answer or move.
They had been beaten too badly.
The Cockroach Leader looked dumbfounded and scoffed.
“This bastard…”
He gestured.
The men swarmed forward and surrounded him and the Cockroach Leader.
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Bruh you better cut of their limbs😭
Thanks for the chappie!
Can’t wait to see their faces when sung-hoon retaliate against them