Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

Sponsored chapter 10/11

Once someone fell in doubt, it wouldn’t disappear easily. Especially so if that someone was cornered.

Kim Hyojong could not breathe properly. His mind was flirting with the idea that his subordinates had already read the letter and knew who he really was. The incident in which Kim Hyojong scammed some people in the awakened community by using a video as bait was quite famous. Even within the clan, there are some people who knew about it and had expressed their hate towards it.

If it were only that, there was room for consideration, but if his ID was known, it would be the end. After all, there were only very few people who have played Survival Life and had never got their character deleted because of some trolls. In this case, he was one of those trolls, who hunted newbies specifically.

“Anything’s wrong, Hyung-nim?” Even when his subordinates asked, Hyojong did not answer. His mouth was dry and cold sweat dripped down all over his body. In the end, Hyojong decided. It doesn't matter whether they knew or not. He needed a way to get out of this situation right away.

‘I can use this situation in reverse.’ In other words, he would just blame all of this on the bastard who shot the arrow. Because he just shot the arrow, he should still be close in this area, right? He could find him by tracking the trace he left behind. He's probably watching this from the outside right now. He'd love to see him panic because all his plans crumble.

“Offense is the best defense…” If he just killed him, things would return to normal. However, first of all, it was necessary to check whether the subordinates saw it or not.

Hyojong immediately tore the letter to shreds.

“It’s that bastard's doing.”

"Sorry? Who?”

“That bastard! The guy who won first place in the speedrun event!”

“You mean Gimbap? Are you saying that he was here?”

It looks like the guy in front of him really didn't look at it because his eyes were wide open and asked some questions about what Hyojong had just said. But there was no guarantee that the guy who shot the arrow had only fired a single arrow.

Unsurprisingly, one of his subordinates came to his room with a letter in his hands.

“Hyung-nim, what is this? I think I need an explanation.”

“What explanation?”

“This letter says that Hyung-nim’s name was Kim Hyojong. Help Me? Isn't that the ID of the person who scammed people in the community? What does it have to do with you, Hyung-nim?”

“What nonsense are you saying…” Hyojong said and glared at his subordinates. "You bastard, you believe in that letter? Do you believe in the words of someone you've never met rather than mine? Are you kidding me?”

“I'm just saying it because there was a time when Hyung-nim didn’t answer when I called your name! Hyojong and Hojun were similar names…”

Hyojong cursed himself. Apparently, there were a few times that he didn't answer when people called him Hojun. Well, it’s only natural since he wasn't really familiar with it. Well, let’s leave it like that now.

Hyojong acted like he was in shock. “Hey, I Love Gimbap, that bastard is causing internal strife within us, and I am also going crazy because he is so openly about it! And you guys just swallowed his whole shit just like that!”

“I Love Gimbap?”

“That’s right, that bastard! Do you think that bastard only sent letters to you? He sent it to me too, look at this!”

As he exaggeratedly stepped on the piece of letter he had shred on the floor, his subordinate's momentum softened slightly. Before his subordinates could become angry once again, Hyojong urged the two of them.

“Get out and get that bastard. He's definitely still nearby. Let’s catch him!”

“Ah… yes!”

“Just in case, you guys don’t know, that bastard, I Love Gimbap seems to have creation-type unique ability so be careful not to get caught by it, okay?”

"Yes, understood." Both of them answered, even though one of them still found him suspicious and left the room.

Hyojong let out a sigh of relief. But he knew that it wouldn't end here.

‘I have to catch that bastard and kill him.’

It doesn't matter whether he’s truly Gimbap or not. He could just pretend that it's a mistake and kill him to cover it up.

Meanwhile, Choi Dajeong, who was traveling south, finally arrived in Gimhae.

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Choi Dajeong arrived in Gimhae with Lee Kyunghoon and Kim Bora in tow. The two had given her some good information while guiding her.

In particular, a man that they said had briefly acted together with their group in Busan, caught her attention.

‘It's a man called Kang Seongho. He's tall… and he said that his ability is some kind of foresight, but it didn’t seem to be true.’

‘His knowledge about monsters was also very deep. We benefited from it a lot. If it wasn't for that incident, we'd still be together until now.’

When Dajeong asked what the incident was, Kyunghoon said he and the man had a confrontation.

‘Now that I think about it, I was wrong about a lot of things, while almost everything he said was correct. Things like monster's habits and countermeasures.’

‘Did he tell you whether he had ever played the game or not?’

‘Uh… He said he just watched the video from I Love Gimbap’s MyTube.’

‘Oh…’

Choi Dajeong smirked. It smells fishy. When She poked around more, she was finally able to get some more convincing information.

‘He wasn't originally a member of the gym, and he had a snack bar…’

Dajeong clenched her fist at that information. She finally found him. Combining the elements of ‘live in Busan', ‘has a snack bar', and ‘his knowledge of monsters', the man they were talking about is absolutely I Love Gimbap.

Kyunghoon and Bora asked.

‘Is he perhaps someone you know?’

She dismissed their question and quickly asked whether they knew where the man was now. Unfortunately, both of them didn’t know. However, they knew that it must be towards the west of Busan, either Gimhae or Changwon.

Well, she could take her time to find him anyway, so she didn’t worry much. Afterall, he wouldn't go all the way to Jeollanam-do.

Dajeong made an offer to both of them.

‘I'm going to Gimhae, how about you? Do you want to accompany me?’

The two quickly agreed, as it was a no-brainer offer. Dajeong could ensure their safety, so it was a win-win situation for them. However, if there were things that bothered Kyunghoon, it was the other survivors who followed Dajeong.

Occasionally, there was bickering rather than an argument between them and Dajeong.

‘Queen, why are you wearing white high heels today?’

‘Yeah! Red high heels are way sexier!’

After hearing such words, Dajeong raised her middle finger to them.

‘Should I dye it red with your blood?’

Of course, that didn't actually happen.

As they arrived on the national road, the number of people following her had drastically decreased. Apparently, it was because moving between cities in the apocalypse was burdensome. The few who followed to the end all fell behind when her subordinate zombies speeded up. Thanks to that, the three were able to arrive in Bukbu-dong, Gimhae without any problems.

“We should part here.”

“Oh, is that so?” Kyunghoon said. It seems like Dajeong would start to look for him here. Both him and Bora wondered if Seongho was really the one the Zombie Queen was looking for. He's definitely hiding something, but he doesn't seem like such a great person to garner the attention of the Zombie Queen.

Dajeong gave them a reward as promised. They were weapons that he wanted to buy at the store, but couldn't do so because he didn’t have enough points. After receiving it, the two of them went their separate ways.

Meanwhile, Dajeong slowly descended south and found some survivors. However, they didn't even bother trying to get close to her. The reason was, naturally, the dazzling appearance of Dajeong.

When someone lived in an apocalypse like this, it was not easy to invest in their appearance. The reason was simply because there's no reason to waste their time doing so. Therefore, naturally, the faces of the female survivors changed to resemble those of men. They didn’t wear any make-up, their skin darkened and they all cut off their hair because it was too cumbersome to manage long hair and it can get tangled among the rubbles or even their own weapons, which made the only difference between them and men was their physical difference.

Among those females, Dajeong's appearance was one-of-a-kind. She had always been protected by zombies, so she had a lot of leisure, and that was reflected in her appearance. The distinctive dress and high heels were also elements that stimulated the gloomy survivors. But they didn't dare to come forward to her.

It was all due to the fact that a rumour about her had circulated among the survivors. It said that the Zombie Queen had captured some men and made her zombies humiliated them. So all survivors who saw her thought, what if they tried to come closer to her, and by accident, provoked her? It would be a disaster.

However, thanks to that, Dajeong was able to go south without any hindrance. But she also realized that it won't be easy to get cooperation from the survivors here because of the same reason.

“Catch two from any of them.” Dajeong said. About 10 zombies dispersed quickly. Several minutes later, the zombies return to the side of their queen with two people on their arms, trembling. Dajeong, who was wearing a Chinese dress, placed her feet between their legs.

“Don’t worry, because they won’t hurt you. There is something I want to ask you.”

“Yes, yes…”

“Did you ever see a tall man walking around with a dog around this area?”

The two looked at each other and shook their heads.

“There is no such suspicious man around here.”

“That’s right. We knew this area well because this place is our homebase.”

“Hmm… Have you ever heard rumours about such a person?”

“I don’t think so… Though, I heard a loud noise from down the road.”

“We sent some of our people to fight.”

"Fight? Do you know the details of whom they are fighting with?"

“It’s our internal business, so…”

Dajeong smiled at both of them as one of them said that.

“If you just told me, then close your mouth right after, it means you didn’t tell anyone, right?” While doing so, Dajeong’s feet inching closer to the men's groin. Normally, by this point they would throw curses to her and flaunt about their clan. But the two didn’t do anything but try to close their legs. Afterall, they didn't want their dick to be hurt in this apocalypse when they didn’t even know when they would be able to use it!

“No, I will tell you! I will tell you!”

“Good.” Even while the three of them were busy doing this, Dajeong’s zombies were dealing with the monsters in the surroundings. 

Just how many points did she have? The two men had this thought on their minds, clearly envious of her capability.

“They were fighting against I Love Gimbap.”

“But there is no reason why I Love Gimbap should be here, right?” Dajeong said. However, in her mind, she didn’t really ask for confirmation. It doesn't matter whether it's true or not, because it means that someone had done something that could be mistaken for the act of Gimbap.

Dajeong smiled sullenly. “If it is false, I will come back here. You know what will happen then, right?”

As soon as Dajeong snapped her fingers, the zombie began to gather and made a hip thrusting motion. As the two of them nodded frantically, Dajeong smiled and walked away.

According to Kyunghoon and Bora, the man was tall and big. His face was expressionless and his hairstyle was a sports cut. In case the man brings his dog along, then it's confirmed.

Dajeong had come this far to meet him. At first, the reason was because she was bored, but now it has changed a bit. She wanted to meet someone with whom she could share her story with. The only ones who deserved it were only the stagnant waters who shared the same memories with her.

It's been a month since Rapwi and her promised to meet, but there’s no news from him yet. Moreover, there was still no news on whether Survivor 1 was alive or dead. All that's left is one, I Love Gimbap.

“I won't miss him this time! Boys Generation, GO!!!!”

The zombies, who are too strong for their moniker ‘Boys’, supported her body as they trudged forward.

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In the early evening, a fight broke out between the survivors in the residential area. At first, it was a passive fight where they only fired some arrows from a distance. However, it then changed when one side got reinforcement and began to pressure the other side in earnest.

Seongho, who had been facing them alone, had no choice but to retreat for a while.

‘It seems like they are desperate to drive me into a corner.’ However, Seongho had no intention of avoiding a fight even the slightest, He just wanted to get rid of anyone who he had marked as ‘evil'.

‘Other people hunt monsters, but here I am, killing humans.’ Seongho sighed as he found himself acting like a man-hunter. Even so, he didn't have any thought to stop this fight. If he had left them alone, something very messy and cruel would have happened. At the very least, Sooyeon and Mikyung would be dragged away by them and subjected to all sorts of things.

‘You shouldn’t have touched them.’ However, even if they kneel and regret, It's already too late. All that Seongho could give them was quick death and utter ruin.

He made up his mind to come out of the portal and hid in a place where there were many clan members. Thanks to his high perception stats and his various skills, he could roughly know where and how many people were there.

As soon as he hides, however, he hears a scream.

“It’s zombies!”

“Fuck! I saw that bastard here just now!”

The zombie raid has begun. The clan members ran away while swearing, and Seongho quietly hid in the portal. After going back and forth a few times, the clan members had become quite tired.

“Ask Klejang Hyung how long we have to do this!”

“Where the hell is that bastard hiding?”

At first, the clan members felt refreshed as they could finally go crazy. However, when they couldn’t get any results after several hours of running around like an idiot, they started to become agitated. Afterall, their enemy wasn’t that many, it was only one person.

Seeing the fleeing clan members, Seongho threw a pepper bomb and threw the emeras throwing knife towards one of the running clan members, which hit him in the thigh.

“Keuk!”

“Wha- Hey! Can you move?! Just pull it out!”

“What the fuck are you doing?! Run! Leave him be!”

“Kaaak!”

As expected, the one that got hit on the thigh died, eaten by the zombies. They're only dealing with one person, but they were the one who got hit instead. Turning around and attacking was useless. I Love Gimbap was able to get out of their attack zone with ease, as if he knew all their unique abilities in advance.

When such a commotion occurs, a zombie raid was to be expected. The clan members desperately ran away and gasped, but I Love Kimbap reappeared without any wounds. It was crazy how many times it was repeated, he’s still safe and sound.

“How did that bastard didn't look exhausted at all?”

Meanwhile, Kim Hyojong was quietly watching his clan members fight.

‘I thought his unique ability was a creation-type…' However, he didn’t think so anymore because he can't see him using his skill, or him fighting at all. It wasn't a blink-type or stealth-type either, but it seemed to be able to hide his existence completely.

Does his unique ability perhaps have something to do with space? But what was certain is that it was difficult to deal with him only with his subordinates alone. He had sent 10 people to fight against him, but one had already died and the rest had lost their will to fight.

‘I'll have to go in directly.' His unique skill was his voice. It was quite a strong ability and could inflict various effects to whoever heard it. Hence, it was not easy for people who heard it for the first time to respond to it. It was really funny to have such a unique ability when he’s originally an internet scammer.

“Hey, there! stop!"

Hyojong's voice gave strength to his voice, and Seongho's body stopped right away. He panicked for a moment, but then managed to snap out of it by mustering all strength in his body. But then, an arrow flew to where he was.

‘Damn it.' Seongho cursed. It's a very strange ability to have the power on their voice. Seongho thought, maybe ‘stop’ was the starting word, what should he do… It didn't seem like it would do much justice even if he used some earplugs. Because, since he must've reached level 15, his additional effects should nullify that.

If so, then for now it was best for him to figure out the exact effect of his additional effect as well as reduce the number of his subordinates.

Seongho screamed as he ran away from him. “Kim Hyojong is a scammer!

“His unique skill was derived from the fact that he’s an internet scammer! He uses his scamming skills by calling people and telling them lies!”

“You guys knew he had already scammed an awakened, and yet you guys are still serving such a bastard!”

Hearing that cry, the clan members murmured.

“Hyung’s name is Kim Hyojong? Isn't it Park Hojun?"

“There were times when he didn’t respond when I called him ‘Hojun Hyung’.”

“If that is so, then maybe…”

Hearing these words from one of their members, who already had doubts, was very disturbing. If what that bastard said was right, then they're utterly foolish. As the clan members started to hesitate to attack, Kim Hyojong became desperate.

Even alone, he had to kill that guy quickly and rectify the situation. If he makes a mistake, the clan members might attack him. He jumped into the sky and shouted, "Fly!"

‘Hehe, you must be surprised because I can fly.’ At first glance, it might look similar to the levitation skill, but it had a time limit. Also, there’s another disadvantage. If the other person, who was affected with his skill before, resists even the slightest, the effect would be gone. 

He came down without attacking and carefully went to Seongho's back. He also had to avoid monsters, so it was a really long journey. But when he arrived at where Seongho was supposed to be, he was no longer there. Hyojong hurriedly looked for him, but he couldn’t be seen anywhere. It was as if he had disappeared into thin air.

“Where did that bastard go?” He murmured. From the looks of things, it seems like he had hidden himself in a subspace. He hurriedly left the area. But soon, he found someone. It was a woman who wore such absurd attire in this apocalyptic world. White Chinese dress and high heels. There’s only one person who roams through the apocalyptic world in such absurd attire: Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek.

‘Don’t tell me… is she here to find I Love Gimbap?’ Hyojong smiled awkwardly and stepped back. It was better for him to run from her rather than to attack and worsen the situation. However, unfortunately for him, Duck raised her arms and posed like a model.

“Take him, Boys Generation!”

Her zombies quickly ran at him. Hyojong's eyes went wide at the spectacle. However, because of his moment of indecisiveness, he was too late to respond. When he shouted fly again and slowly flew to the air, the zombies had built a tower in an instant and managed to grab Hyojong's ankle.

“Kuahkkk!” He shouted as he was dragged back to the ground. Then seconds later, the sound of high-heels stepping the ground entered his ears. When he looked at the source, The woman was walking towards him while receiving a long knife from one of her zombies.

“Don’t tell me…”

“Are you the one who is fighting against I Love Gimbap?”

“Oh no! I’m just saying it was him! I really don't know who he truly is!"

“What do you mean by ‘no’?”

Someone's voice could be heard by both of them from behind. Dajeong then looked back slowly. A man with tall stature and quite a muscular body entered her view. He was also a man with an expressionless face and with sports cut hair. He had a backpack as well as a bow on his back and a long knife in his hand. He looks exactly like the man Kyunghoon and Bora described, minus the dog.

That instant, Dajeong swung the long knife in her hand. Hyojong, who was struggling to break free moments ago, became quiet.

At that sight, Seongho was perplexed. ‘She just killed someone like that?’

After Daejong flicked the blood on the long knife, she slowly took off her high heels. Meanwhile, Seongho unknowingly took one step away from her. He still had the thought of meeting her, but he couldn’t help but feel a little scared since she actually turned out to be more insane than he had imagined. Her Chinese dress and white high heels was one of the reasons, the other one was the fact that she commited murder without batting an eye.

“This is our first time meeting each other, right?” Daeong tilted her head and smiled.

"That’s right…" She used informal speech from the get-go, huh?

Looking at her, Seongho thought that he could understand why her ID was Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek.

In any case, she was just like Rapwi—had a few screws loose. Hence, when he saw her approaching him, he couldn’t help but feel that she’s trying to catch him.

"Hey! Why are you moving away from me?”

“Because you moved towards me first!”

"What! I even killed him for you!”

“Thank you for that! But let’s talk with some distance between us!"

"I don’t want to! You’ll just run away again if we do that! Boys Generation! GOOOO!”

"You crazy! Are you calling your zombies ‘Boys Generation’? Are you sane?”

As the zombies rushed in, Seongho was startled and started to run away.

Meanwhile, Dajeong followed him and smiled happily.

“It’s been a while since we did this! SEXXXXXXX!”