Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

Chapter 52

Zombies didn’t disappear just because goblins appeared. It would only make the already hellish and chaotic situation even worse. The street which used to be quite safe if people were careful on treading it would become more dangerous. It was because, unlike zombies, who could be easily avoided, goblins would chase humans for a long time, and with the paralyzing darts on their arsenal, they were a very ferocious predator.

If someone gets hit by one of those paralyzing darts, they would get immobilized and fall down on the spot. If they had no companions that could protect them at that situation, they would certainly be dead. Of course, even if they have companions, there’s no guarantee that they would be safe.

“Ahh!” A man’s scream echoed through the dark city. Goblins had no regard for human suffering. Therefore, they did not hesitate to slam the man’s head down with a club and thrusting a wooden spear into his eye. The man was unable to move, uttering only scream and ragged breath. After another few minutes passed, the man died. Alone, in a dark night. His comrades had already fled long ago.

“Fuck!” Cheol-jung and Kyunghoon along with the others in the group hid in an alley and watched the scene. Yeon-hwa, who was about to recklessly enter the goblin’s den a few hours ago, was completely nervous. Her whole body was drenched in sweat as she saw the scene. Never in her wildest imagination she ever thought that goblins would be that cruel.

“You should never come close to them just because they look easy. There is no immediate cure for those darts.” Kyunghoon snorted.

“But it’s not really dangerous.” Cheol-jung said. His opinion was different from Kyunghoon. “We can fight them from a distance. Their shooting range isn’t further than a bow, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but, they will certainly try another way to attack us if we did that. Those bastards use their heads well…”

“From whom did you learn that from?” Cheol-jung laughed,

Kyunghoon bit his lips. He couldn’t say that it was from Seongho. His pride simply didn’t allow him to. Seongho had told the gym member about a lot of things. And when Kyunghoon learned it from Yoohyeon, he realized that there were things which were not in the walkthrough given by the government. The prime example was about the tendency of goblins. They were cunning creatures who knew how to dig traps. However, they were also foolish at the same time since they could fall into the trap they made themselves. They are also quite timid, but when they have the upper hand, they turn to be cruel instantly, etc…

At that time, Kyunghoon refused to believe anything he said out of a sense of rivalry. but when the goblins appeared, he instantly realized that his words were the truth.

“Then what should we do? Are we just going to hide like a fool like this?” The other man in the group said. At his question, Kyunghoon bit his mouth. It’s problematic to be too cautious like people at the gym, but it’s also problematic to be as aggressive as this group. Anyway, since the leader of this group was Cheol-jung, he was the one who should make the decision.

“High-risk, high-return, you know? The more dangerous it is, the more we could get if we clear it. While hunting goblins, we also have to find portals to wait for that bastard.” Cheol-jung said.

It was reckless. High-risk, high-return was something worth doing when it was sure that your life would be preserved. A man who gambled with his life was nothing but a mere idiot. However, Kyunghoon and Bora had to follow that same idiot.

Cheol-jung instructed. “Let’s all use the bow. When those guys look away, we strike.”

“I can’t see anything because it’s dark…”

“Just shoot it towards where you think they are. If we shoot together, there must be at least one which hits.”

After several minutes passed, everyone had a bow on their hands, ready to hunt. At that moment, Yeon-hwa, who looked around for the last time, whispered urgently.

“Oppa, look over there.”

“What?”

“There, that’s a hobgoblin, isn’t it?”

The two men looked in the direction she was pointing and swallowed. A hobgoblin which no matter how they saw was extremely weakened passed by. Its movement was somehow unnatural, but it didn’t matter. After all, If they kill a hobgoblin, they would get 10 points and there’s also a possibility of getting items or skills.

Cheol-jung’s eyes instantly lit up. When the hobgoblin disappeared into the alleyways, he jolted to his feet. “Change of plan. Let’s go kill that bastard.”

At the sudden appearance of a hobgoblin, Kyunghoon felt something strange. Currently, it was dark, so why did that hobgoblin look so vivid? Then why did it limp alone without any goblin subordinate in tow? However, since it was only his suspicion, he couldn’t object to the plan. He knew that once he did it, he would receive scornful glances from the others.

“Are you going to object again?” Cheol-jung asked.

“No, let’s go.”

“That’s the right attitude! Let’s not go through there, let’s go over there.” After Cheol-jung said that, the party carefully headed towards the alley where the hobgoblins disappeared into. It was late at night and nothing was visible. They wanted to take out a glowstone to light the way, but they knew, If they did that, the zombies around or even goblins would flock towards them. Thanks to that, the group had no choice but to walk around without being able to see a thing in the darkness, as a blind person would.

At that moment, Kyunghoon remembered what Yoohyeon said about Seongho.

?Seongho hyung is really strange, isn’t he? Even at night, he can move as if he can see everything around him.

In this apocalypse, every survivor had memories of tripping over something while farming at night without exception. It was because the night in the apocalyptic world was extremely dark. On top of it, hubris was scattered all over the place. However, he said that Seongho moves naturally at night as if he was moving at daytime.

Why did that thought come to mind now? Kyunghoon shook off his thoughts and focused on chasing the hobgoblin. Not long after, the group could finally see the hobgoblin they were after. However, it was not standing anymore but lying in the garden of a luxury house.

At the scene, Cheol-jung got frustrated and ran straight away to the hobgoblin. “You must not die yet.”

“But oppa, doesn’t the hobgoblin seem to be shining for some reason?”

“Oh fuck! This guy is dead.” Cheol-jung spat as he took the mop-like pouch off the hobgoblin’s head. The moment he took it, a bright light spread in all directions. Everyone froze on their feet. When such bright light spreads out in the middle of the night like this…

“Hurry up and cover that!” Yeon-hwa screamed out. However, it was a grave mistake. Because of the combo of the bright light and her scream, the surrounding zombies began to flock towards them. The group who saw numerous zombies shuffling towards them shook, as sweat started to drip all over their body. They quickly scanned their surroundings and looked for a way to escape.

At that moment, Cheol-jung remembered that zombies couldn’t climb high fences.

“Fence, climb up the fence!” He shouted.

He’s indeed correct. Zombies couldn’t climb the high fence. The guys would just scream and clamour from below. But there was something the party overlooked. Currently, zombies aren’t the only ones that are coming towards them, as the goblins can be seen slowly coming towards where they are.

Once they climbed up the fence, the man in the lead suddenly flinched and fell down the fence. Zombies attacked him in an instant, and a terrifying scream rang out.

“HUPPP!” Bora shut her mouth, and Kyunghoon, who was the last to climb the fence, jumped right off.

“Jump! Jump!”

“Oppa!”

“If you stay there, you’ll die! That’s the paralyzing dart! The goblins are here!”

The rest of the group jumped off and quickly dispersed.

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“…it turned out better than I expected.” I murmured. Through the whole ordeal the group suffered, I was hiding in the portal while watching them. All of the suffering I went through by dragging that huge hobgoblin corpse paid off. It seems like they truly couldn’t see me dragging it around thanks to my full jet-black equipment.

“By the way, why did they even climb up the fence? That’ll only make them an easier target for the goblins.” Well, they probably forgot about the existence of goblins because they were taken aback by the fact that zombies were flocking towards them. Anyway, it’s better for me that way.

I came out of the portal and followed Cheol-jung who was running away. The guy almost tripped over an obstacle, but was able to keep his balance and keep running away from the zombies. By the way, what kind of unique ability did this guy have, I wonder…

However, moments later, the answer to my question came. As he ran, he put both of his hands together. Then, the two zombies which were blocking his way were engulfed in a light and stood still.

Is it binding?

For a moment I thought that his unique ability would be unrivalled in a 1:1 situation. But I was wrong. His power only lasted for a few seconds: at most it was only around 3 to 4 seconds. Moreover, if there was an obstacle like a wall between him and the target, it wouldn’t get activated.

“It’s enough.” I murmured as Cheol-jung beat the zombies up and continued to run away. I have no need to watch him any longer to get information about his unique ability. After all, additional effects did not modify the nature of the unique ability itself. It would only give additional effects such as increasing the total number of targets that can be affected, or increasing the range of the ability itself.

I followed him closely. But I still kept a good distance from him, enough not to be attacked by the zombies. Cheol-jung suddenly shouted. It seems like he had noticed me.

“It’s you who are behind all of this, aren’t you! You motherfucker!”

“That’s right.” The guy got angrier at my calm tone. He stopped on the spot, turned back and rushed into me. With a relaxed smile, I opened the portal in front of me. Like this, even if he swung his weapon at me, I would be fine. On top of it, his unique ability wouldn’t be activated as it would be blocked by the portal.

“Are you okay?”

“This, this!”

The guy came over to me and clapped his hand. I purposely stopped moving. At that moment, Joy spread across Cheol-jung’s face.

“Die, you bastard.” The guy then ran towards me with a knife. However, without being able to reach me, he crashed head-on to the portal.

“Keuk!” How does it feel to run into a wall? The zombies approached us from every direction. But I quickly hid inside the portal. “Close portal.”

Inside the cave couldn’t be more peaceful. Dingo was sleeping and while the scarab leader was busy pushing firewood into the furnace. It seems like he did it in order to keep the warmth in case I suddenly come in.

“Thank you for your hard work, but…” It would be better if it’s a little bit cold since it’s extremely hot on Earth right now. I brew some coffee while waiting for the commotion outside the portal to end. All my tension instantly melts away as soon as the hot coffee wet my throat and traces along my stomach.

“Fuhhh…”

Once I finished the coffee, I stood up. It’s now time to return to Earth. When I opened the portal and walked out from it, the first thing that greets me was a corpse which had been torn into several pieces. I quietly put the backpack Cheol-jung was carrying into the portal and walked away, trying my best to not attract any zombies.

It is already deep into the night. I need to return to my house quickly before the keepers and bone creepers start to pop out.

By the way, should I take the risk and kill the other three, or just go straight home?

The moment I pondered about that, I scoffed. “Why am I even thinking about this?”

The answer was a no-brainer, of course I would just return home. Why should I risk my well-being for those guys? With Cheol-jung and the other man dead, the office team could be said to be finished. Judging from the conversation content of the remaining three, their aggressiveness was weak. In particular, Kyunghoon and Bora were only the victims of this situation.

“He only needs to be careful about things that he says from now on.”

When I reached the crossroads, after walking for a few minutes. I could see members of the gym group were engaged in a siege battle. Their enemy was, of course, goblins. I quickly took the adamant arrow I just got, notched it into the bow and let it fly. The adamant arrow pierced the goblin’s body easily, it even took the body with its momentum and lodged it to the barricade. That’s really a great penetrating power.

Mikyung, who was shooting arrows from the second floor, shouted as soon as she saw me.

“Ahjussi!”

Following her shout, the others who looked extremely exhausted also looked at me.

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Hwang Seokhyun, or Rabbit Pwincess, had somehow arrived in Seoul. It was a miracle in itself since he just walked aimlessly from North Korea. He’s currently emaciated. It was because there was really nothing except zombies in North Korea. Whether it was building or food, there was none.

“I’m hungry…” He wanted to go somewhere to find food, but in doing so, he knew he would get lost again. He was barely able to arrive in Seoul, so it would be really, really, sad if he somehow ended up in North Korea again.

Suddenly, someone came out and walked towards him from the opposite side. He was a middle-aged man in a neat shirt and suit pants. He looked at Seokhyun and greeted him politely.

“Are you Rabbit Pwincess? Nice to meet you.”

For a moment, Seokhyun wondered how did the man know that he’s Rabbit Pwincess. However, now that he thinks about it, it must be rare to see a man wander through the apocalypse with only a coat and panties. It’s been a long time since he put his underwear at the Auction House and now people already knew that particular panty was his.

“I think I’ve seen your face somewhere before…” Seokhyun pondered for a moment. Then he flicked his fingers. He remembered that the man in front of him was a man who was often seen on the side of the president.

The man then introduced himself. “My name is Lee Beom-seok. I serve the presid-no, the title of president itself is gone now. Anyway, I serve Jang Wontaek. The person who appeared on TV on the last day.”

Seokhyun nodded his head at his introduction.

“Hm… Thank you for your hard work. But what are you doing here?”

“I’m here to meet Rabbit Princess-nim.”

“Me? I think it will be difficult for you.”

As Seokhyun’s eyes narrowed, Beom-seok hurriedly waved his hands and gave him an explanation.

“I have no desire to take you by force! I don’t even have the ability to do that. I just want to meet you. By the way, do you remember Survivor 1?”

“Ah…” Did Survivor 1 stayed with them? Seokhyun thought. If so, it makes sense how the government has managed to get their hands on all of the information they spread just before the end.

Beom-seok picked up a pile of stones and killed several zombies running towards them in the distance. From the scene, Seokhyun could easily figure out what his unique ability was. It was telekinesis. Seokhyun then sat on the sidewalk and suggested Beom-seok do the same.

“Let’s hear your story first.” Seokhyun spoke. Then, Beom-seok told him the rough story. The president himself and a few others had managed to survive. The ex-government was also able to recruit several users from Survival Life, including Survivor 1. And currently, they are forming a force.

“What we want is a shelter that is safe from the threat of monsters, including zombies. It’s not just a small shelter that can fit a few people. It’s way bigger than that.”

Seokhyun tilted his head at his words.

“If there are more than five people in a shelter, a raid will come.”

“How long can we live in groups with such a small scale? Our goal is to build a strong force that can defeat any monsters even if they come, Rabbit Princess-nim.”

“It’s Pwi. Rabbit Pwincess.”

“Ah, I’m sorry, I can’t pronounce it.” Beom-seok tried to pronounce Pwi a few times but to no avail. He then cautiously suggested. “How about joining us, Rapwi-nim? If you join, our power will really increase. We have an undisclosed underground shelter. And inside, we have a lot of supplies.”

“Wow, that’s tempting.”

“Of course, there are also quite a few women who are interested in Rapwi-nim. We’re not going to do anything about it…but there’s no denying it’s a great opportunity. How about it?” Beom-seok said. From what he knew from Survivor 1 and the Auction House, Rabbit Pwincess had always shouted sex wherever he go, so it should be very tempting for him. However, unfortunately for him, Seokhyun’s heart is already somewhere else.

“I won’t buy it.” He got up and started walking again. At that moment, Beom-seok’s eyes opened wide.

“No, why did you reject my offer?”

“It’s because someone is waiting for me.”

“Who might that be?”

“A friend.” Seokhyun said. It’s not like they had met each other, but for him, friends in Survival Life and in reality weren’t so different.

Beom-seok started walking next to Seokhyun. “Are you going to see I Love Gimbap or Duck Buttock?”

“Hey, please go away! I have to go south.”

“But if you walk in that direction, it’s Uijeongbu…”

Seokhyun quickly stopped walking in embarrassment. Then Beom-seok suggested it again. “How about this… Why don’t you come to our shelter for a while and talk with Survivor 1? After that, we will give you a guide that can guide you wherever you want to go.”

“Really?”

“I never lie. Also, it is not a ploy to forcefully arrest Rapwi-nim. I just want you to meet Survivor 1.”

“After that, can I do whatever I want?”

“Like I said, I’ll even give you a guide.”

If the guy is really going to give him that, there’s no reason for him to refuse, Seokhyun thought.

When Seokhyun nodded, Beom-seok took the lead and guided him. In his mind, he’s smiling. So far, things have gone quite smoothly. However… he looked at Rabbit Pwincess with the corner of his eyes. His half-ripped cloak was fine, but his holey panty…

Beom-seok closed his eyes as Rabbit Pwincess started to put his finger inside his panty.