Chapter 40: Playing Both Ends Against The Middle

Another bonus chapter! And no regular today. Next regular chapter will be posted on Tuesday! Thank you~

When I woke up on the morning of the 21st, snow was falling heavily from the cloudy sky above. “Why did it snow so much?”

I was born and raised in Busan, a place where there’s hardly any snow. So, when I first saw those white things fall from the sky, I was quite excited. But it immediately turned into irritation in just 2 seconds.

My supplies!

“Ah really!!” I forced my heavy body to move. I took everything I could fit in my hand and stored it in either the shelter or the cave. I had to do it several more times before the vacant lot truly became vacant once again. After that, I start to sort all of the supplies.

Meanwhile, Dingo excitedly ran around the vacant lot as it was his first time seeing snow.

“Uh-huh, it’s cold…” I rubbed my body with my hands. Yesterday, I felt like I was being cooked alive by the heat, but today, I am freezing to death. Just what kind of life is this…

After struggling all morning, I was finally able to sort all the things I looted. Edible things as well as tools went into the storage and the cave. Meanwhile, I parked the motorcycles next to the place where I parked the mini fork crane.

“Let’s see… now, what’s left…” First, I still had to finish digging the moat to complete the shelter defence. Then, I also had to loot the fireworks which are currently floating in the sea off Gwangalli. From the article I read, the boat used to transport the fireworks was made of plastic, so it should not have sunk.

“I also have to get rid of those predators…” If they’re alive, I would be in danger. Better get rid of them quickly and do something else more productive like looting. But not today… I was just too tired and in no condition to fight.

“Let’s just go do some fireworks looting today.” My medium-term plan includes the reconnaissance of Mr. Kwon’s bunker and attacking the goblin nest at the north of the cave. I also have to go out to sea and catch some fish as well as make a vegetable garden.

“I really have a lot to do.”

Well my long-term plan was… to meet other stagnant waters if possible. Now that I think about it, it was a pity that I didn’t say any word to whoever that was that I met during the Russian fishing boat event.

“I can’t help it.” Afterall, It was unreasonable to come into contact with someone with unknown intention and ability. It would be nice if I could talk to them through the Auction House first before deciding to meet them.

I put on my hat and boarded the mini forklift in order to complete the moat. The snow did not stop falling, so on top of the dirt, I also have to remove the snow piling up above the dirt. When the snow was dug up and thrown behind the barbed wire, it piled up and formed a wall of ice. At the sight, an eureka moment dawned on me. It was an unexpected harvest. I could use it to my advantage, using the wall of piled snow as a defense mechanism, at least until the winter ends.

After some time, I return to the cave to eat. Roasted sweet potatoes would be on my menu for today. As I was grilling it on top of the brazier, Dingo entered the cave running. It seems like he finally felt the cold after running around for hours.

Dingo barked loudly towards me with his eyes locked to the sweet potato.

Can I give this to a wolf?

When I gave it to him after cooling it down, he gulfed it down in mere seconds before looking at the remaining sweet potatoes on top of the brazier.

“Aigoo… I am losing weight, but you are turning into a pig.”

Woof!! Woof!!

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Around midnight, I return to my house on Earth. I came back because I was planning to loot the fireworks tonight. But first, I need to plan the route from my house to the sea of Gwangalli. As any kind of land transportation was unavailable, the only choice I had was to use the rubber boat in the river.

“Without the motor, I will have to use the oar.” My reason for going in the middle of the night like this was because these are the times when the zombies were resting. They were also living beings, so it was natural that they needed some sleep.

“But instead, the bone creepers and the keepers will pop out…” The memory of being brutally flung away by the bone creeper’s explosion at the entrance of the cave came to mind. But it didn’t deter me from doing it since there were plenty of places to hide in the city. Moreover, unlike before, I currently have the Terrain Detection skill and higher Perception stats. Which means, I could detect them in advance.

“And now, you are here too. Right?” I said as I ruffled Dingo’s fur. The guy answered my question with a silent bark.

So, let’s make a route. I looked over the map spread in front of me. With the exception of places where there are marts, supermarkets, and convenience stores, there would be almost no zombies around.

“I can pass through the riverside road here.” It would be full of debris from the crumbling skyscrapers, so it would be quite hard to pass through. But on the flipside, there would be less zombies there. However, I couldn’t keep using the road until I reached my destination, as the bridge which connects the road with my destination should be broken because of the corrosive disease.

“Yeah, let’s just use the rubber boat around the bridge to go across.” My mouth is watering at the thought of adding lots and lots of fireworks to my arsenal. Fireworks were very effective against most monsters. It has little to no lethal power, but it was an impactful weapon to completely distract the monster’s attention for a period of time. And in that short time, I could either run away or set up a surprise attack.

I concluded and packed my backpack. As I was about to go out to the wall, I saw something strange. Around the alley, three figures were slowly approaching my house.

What are these bastards doing, walking around at night? Is it because they think that it would be safer in the night since zombies are less active at night?

“I’m sure information about both bone creeper and keepers was written in the last broadcast and in the paper…” Well, it didn’t matter. Afterall, from the jerry can and molotov cocktail on their hand, I could easily conclude who they were and what they were here for. The bastards from the villa group. Seeing that even those guys managed to pass through the tutorial, the last patch must’ve made the tutorial extremely easier.

The three of them ran away and hid from the zombies which were roaming around before then gathered back at my house. I must admit, these guys were really energetic. The tutorial had just finished yesterday. And yet, they are already doing this kind of thing.

But there’s something they didn’t know. I’m level 11. Which means, scarier zombies would spawn around me. Will they be able to fight against it?

“Hmmm… this is an opportunity.” A plan popped out in my mind. If they were attacked by a keeper or a reinforced zombie, most likely they would run away. If I could predict their route and prepare in advance and then interfere… Then all of the supplies in the villa would be mine.

“Though, I must be careful so I wouldn’t be tagged as a murderer.” The murderer system in the game has a very vague deciding system. Direct stabbing another user to death would 100% turn that user into a murderer. However, there’s some act which wouldn’t turn users into one even though they had direct involvement in the case. However, we, stagnant waters, knew the criterion to some extent.

“I did a lot of stupid things to uncover those criterion…” Now was the time to receive the reward for my hard work. The thugs finally arrived in front of my house. They cheered for a bit before pouring the oil all over the first floor. At the same time, I saw something approaching fast in the distance.

Heh heh, heh heh, heh heh.

A strange cry rang out from that ‘something’.

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Reinforced zombies and keepers have a big difference in appearance. The former still retained its human appearance to some extent, but the latter didn’t. Its appearance was completely monstrous. Their muscles and bones intertwined with each other and bulged grossly. Their limbs position changed, making it suitable for crawling and running, and their neck was long. Long enough to give whoever saw it goosebumps as it shook grossly when it ran.

Anyway, it’s not as strong as a bone creeper, but it was still a very impressive monster.

“Now that I think of it, it does look like a brutra.” A creature that appeared just before the end of Survival Life. I was glad I didn’t have to fight against that monster now. Though, the possibility was still there.

“So what…” I ate the shadow grapes and shook my head. It was something that is still far away in the future. Let’s not think about it now, and just focus on the matter at hand.

Once my field of vision brightened, I could confirm that the guy was indeed a keeper. It limped its long limbs and ran quickly towards the 3 thugs.

I quickly went to the bathroom on the back of the house and jumped out through the window. Once I was in the alley, I could hear the thugs spraying gasoline and laughing.

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Did these guys’ parents never tell them to not play with fire at night?

I ran out of the alley just in time. Once one of them saw my figure, he shouted. “Hey! That’s him!”

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I smiled. Soon, they wouldn’t even have time to pay attention to me. Returning to the alley after my brief cameo, the heavy thud of the keeper could be heard echoing closer and closer.

“What, what!”

“Roooarrr!!!”

Even if they had a good unique ability, it wouldn’t matter if they’re panicking as they wouldn’t be able to properly use it. The thugs threw away the jerry can on their hand and started running away. The direction they went was exactly where I was at.

I opened the portal and went inside. Dingo was already waiting for me inside.

“Shh. Just go over there and rest.”

I did not close the portal. Afterall, in this narrow alleyway, if they want to avoid the wreckage of the vehicle, they must pass through this passageway, where I opened my portal. And since the portal can only be used by me, it didn’t allow other humans or monsters to pass through it. Which means, the man who was running at the front would crash into my invisible portal.

Roarrrr-!

“Eugh! Eugh!”

The keeper’s roar made the bastards terrified. The three of them ran without even thinking about where I had run away to. And as expected, the man in the lead collided with the portal. He collapsed to the ground with a groan.

“What, what?”

“Go sideways! sideways!”

Thinking of what was in the empty space, the hat-wearing man behind him hurriedly jumped over the wreckage of the car. The woman also follows suit, leaving the man who hit the portal alone. He staggered to his feet while holding his nose which was bleeding profusely. And when he looked back, the keeper lunged at him.

“Ackkkkk!” At that moment, I closed the portal and waited for a while. If I stopped the man directly, maybe by kicking him or punching him, I would’ve been tagged as a murderer by now. But as the one who blocked the man was the portal, I was fine. At first glance, there might not seem to be much difference between the two, but in Survival Life, this small difference was always important.

By the way, what should I use to kill the keeper? The ebony stick certainly lacked the power to kill the keeper, so it wouldn’t be usable. The other melee weapons and arrows were also out of question for various reasons. If so… I think I should use guns here. All objects recognized as my possession could enter and exit the portal. Which means, the bullet would pass through. Once it passed through, it would be affected by the corrosive disease, but it won’t be a problem since the bullet should’ve already planted itself deep into the keeper’s body as I plan on shooting it from a point-blank range.

When I came out, the thug had already become an unrecognizable lump of flesh and blood.

“Rest in peace.” I said as I walked away. I didn’t feel any shred of sympathy towards the guy. Afterall, If I hadn’t found them earlier, either me or my house would have been the ones that got burned. This world was just that kind of world, it’s a dog eat dog world. Only the strong will survive.

I followed the keeper who was chasing the woman in front of it. If she kept running like that, it would only be a matter of time before she got caught, no matter what kind of unique ability she possessed. Then suddenly, a scream was heard. When something white came out of the corner, the woman stopped in fright.

“Bo…bone creeper.” A bone creeper in the front, a keeper in the back. What an unlucky woman. The hat-wearing guy in front glanced back for a second, but he did not stop running.

A good decision I should say.

Boom!

Meanwhile, the bone creeper approached the woman before exploding itself. Countless fragments of bones were lodged in the woman’s body as she flung away to the distance. Without paying any attention to the woman, the keeper kept running towards the last thug standing. The hat-wearing man.

“GODDAMNITTTTT!”

The hat-wearing guy spit out curse words one after another. It seems like he’s beginning to feel tired. The keeper crouched down to all four before lunging towards him.

“Ugh!” The guy tried to avoid it by throwing his body to the side. However, the keeper already grabbed one of the man’s legs. But, it seems like the guy wouldn’t go down without a fight. He rolled over, took off his backpack and tossed it at the keeper. Then he ran and swung his club.

“Oh.” Surprisingly, the keeper’s head snapped to the side. Was he someone with a unique ability to amplify striking power? I know that no matter how strong someone is, It’s not easy to do something like that.

“AHHH.” As the keeper flinched and backed off, the man screamed, either because of his courage or fear, before swinging his ebony stick. By doing that, he also advertises his location to every monster around this area. Congratulations.

I hid in a corner and entered the portal. Thanks to the guy’s screaming uproar, the zombies start to flock around the area.

Growl-!!

Growl-!!

Despite the loud and numerous growling, he was still busy fighting the keeper. But to be honest, since the keeper has a huge vitality, it couldn’t even be called a fight. Unless he couldn’t keep dealing significant damage to the keeper, he wouldn’t be able to win.

After some time passed, the hat-wearing guy’s movement became slower and slower. At that moment, the keeper started to move.

“It’s over.” I murmured. The keeper delivered the final blow to the thug.

“Ackkkkk!” Almost at the same time, the thug let out his death cry.

I also aimed my K2 rifle towards the keeper. The iron sight of the gun had not been adjusted just yet, but as the distance was not that far, it would be fine.

Bang bang bang!

A loud roar echoed inside the cave as soon as my finger pressed the trigger. The keeper screamed and went mad at the bullet baptism.

“Is it dead?” It was dark so I couldn’t see well, but from that reaction, it looked like the bullets had indeed hit it. However, as it was affected by the corrosive disease, their penetrating power was terribly low. And due to the nature of the keeper, it was meaningless to inflict small wounds.

Clicking my tongue, I pulled the trigger again and fired two more bullets at its feet. And finally, the keeper collapsed.

「Level has risen to 12」

「You have earned 20 Points 」

「You have acquired ‘Terrain Detection’ skill」

「As you already have the same skill, the power of the skill will be increased」

“Tch.” I was quite disappointed that I had to use 5 bullets in order to kill the keeper. Even more so when I got the skill. It would have been nice if it was an entity detection or regeneration skill.

But I just have to come to terms with it. Afterall, it wasn’t that bad as it would enhance my senses in the night more.

I waited for the zombies to disappear then went outside. The corpses of the keeper and the hat-wearing guy were scattered across the narrow alley.

This is exactly what will happen if someone with no skill pretends to be a looter. Even if you kept hiding and ran away, it was difficult to guarantee that you would escape with your life.

Anyway, thanks to those guys’ foolish actions, I don’t have to bother killing them by invading their home base. I threw the bloody backpack of the thugs into the portal and headed for the villa at the foot of the hill.

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I hoped they had collected a lot of things.

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