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We left home as soon as it was light, each carrying a bag with a few changes of clothes and food.
Our destination was primarily a shopping mall in Jamsil, then a large commercial complex in Songpa, before heading down to Seongnam.
There was a reason for this.
"But if the Capital Defense Command collapsed, will the monster come here?"
"Analyzing the patterns of monster appearances so far, they tend to appear in places where a lot of zombies have died. This is just my unfounded speculation, but there might be some connection between the zombies' corpses dissolving into the fog and the appearance of monsters."
"So, the more zombies we kill, the stronger the zombies that appear?"
"That's what I'm guessing."
"...Then humanity is living on borrowed time?"
Even if we try not to kill zombies as much as possible, inevitable situations arise where we have to kill them. If Ji Wihan is right, then when that accumulates, it's only natural that humanity will lose its place.
"My guess isn't certain. Also, we don't know if the appearance of stronger zombies is a permanent or temporary change. It's too early to talk about the extinction of humanity."
"Ah, yes."
Fortunately, the future of humanity didn't seem that bleak. Assuming it wasn't the worst-case scenario.
"Anyway, we're avoiding this place because I killed too many zombies?"
"That's right. Killing just one or two thousand zombies won't make a monster appear, but if the monster from Yongsan moves, it's more likely to be here than anywhere else. We can't afford to be complacent when our lives are at stake."
The reason we left in such a hurry was because we heard the news that the Capital Defense Command had collapsed. And like the annihilated coastal unit, it was by a monster.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't the Capital Defense Command headquarters in Gwanak-gu that collapsed, but the US military base in Yongsan Park.
However, because high-ranking officials had taken refuge there since D-Day, the Capital Defense Command units in Seoul, including the air defense group in Yongsan, had gathered in Yongsan Park.
Since that place collapsed, it wasn't wrong to say that the Capital Defense Command had collapsed.
The main reason for this was that the scale had become too large.
Even though they didn't directly go out to clear the zombies in the city, they tried to block all the zombies in Yongsan Park, where they had stockpiled supplies, which inevitably led to a massive slaughter of zombies. As they killed the zombies, more zombies, drawn by the gunfire, would gather again, and they would have to kill them again, creating a vicious cycle.
As they continued to fend off the increasing number of zombies, they were eventually devastated by the final boss that came up from the Han River, a monster.
I don't care if the military unit is destroyed. What does it matter to me if those guys who holed up in the park to save their own skins die or not?
The problem is that we don't know where the monster that even the military unit couldn't stop will go.
That's why we're abandoning our home and running away.
We could go up towards Jungnang-gu, but we chose to leave Seoul. If the death of zombies really is a switch that calls forth stronger zombies, then it's better to head to an area with a slightly lower population density.
Of course, Seongnam, which also has a considerable population density, wasn't our final destination. We just planned to go to Seongnam for now, as we didn't know how the situation would change, and then decide on a new destination after assessing the surrounding situation.
With Ji Wihan behind me, I crossed Gangbyeonbuk-ro and entered Yeongdong Bridge.
As expected, there were cars abandoned and left on Yeongdong Bridge. And unlike Gangbyeonbuk-ro, which had been cleared once by auto-hunting, zombies were passing through the gaps.
"There are quite a few zombies. Let's hide and observe for a bit."
"Understood."
We hid behind a minibus and carefully observed how many zombies there were. We wanted to gauge whether we could just break through with force.
But suddenly, a zombie started running like crazy from the edge of our visibility. The other zombies were also drawn to that zombie and started running without knowing why.
It seemed like we had been caught, even though we thought we were hiding well.
"We've been spotted. Don't come out."
"Kang Woori, please be careful too."
Ji Wihan couldn't see the zombies rushing towards us, so he warned me first. After confirming that there were no zombies approaching from the rear, I also rushed towards the approaching zombies.
The effect of 「Special Iron Man (lv.6)」 is a 90% increase in physical abilities and a 3% reduction in damage taken. With these stats, I can now play with most zombies with a status window.
『★☆』
Traits: 「Deadly Fangs (lv.2)」/「Tough Bones (lv.7)」/「Kobold (lv.1)」
But the name of the zombie with the status window was strange. It had a black star that I had never seen before. Moreover, the level of the traits was the highest I had ever encountered.
The number of stars in the name of a zombie with a status window represents the total level of the traits the zombie possesses. And depending on the grade of the trait, an SR grade gets two stars, and an R grade gets one star.
Based on that, the black star meant at least nine white stars. It could be even higher depending on the grade of the traits.
We could only know more accurately after confirming the grade of the traits. So, for now, I decided to think about the stars later and gauge the opponent's strength first.
I don't know what trait 「Kobold (lv.1)」 is, but 「Tough Bones (lv.7)」 is a trait with an intuitive name, so I could tell at a glance that this guy had good durability. Getting bitten is screwed up whether you have 「Deadly Fangs (lv.2)」 or not, so I didn't need to worry about that.
Since I didn't know how good his durability was, I decided to fight slowly without giving him any distance, rather than aiming for the head in one shot.
'Why is this bastard like this?'
As I was drawing a battle plan to face the zombie, the appearance of the black star zombie that came closer was strange. He was running with his tongue sticking out and drooling, looking like a dog with rabies.
I slightly opened the door of an SUV left on the road and forcefully opened it, timing it to when the crazy zombie was coming. The crazy zombie, which was running fast, collided with the door while rushing towards me and rolled on the floor.
In that gap, I struck the back of the crazy zombie's head, who had fallen to the ground, and retreated.
If it were another ordinary zombie, its head would have been shattered immediately, but the crazy zombie got up without caring. As expected, he lived up to the name of having 「Tough Bones (lv.7)」.
But the crazy zombie, as if he really was crazy, didn't get up on two feet but crawled towards me on all fours, only half raising his body.
'Does he really think he's a dog?'
However, the low posture was quite difficult because there were many vehicles around. If I could kill him in one shot, it would be easier to end it quickly by slamming his head, but I couldn't be sure that I could kill the crazy zombie in one shot, so it was bound to become difficult.
So, instead of colliding, I dodged, using the vehicle as cover.
The crazy zombie tried to turn his body to the side to chase me, but he couldn't control his body and leaned forward. No matter how sturdy he was, it was felt that his body couldn't keep up with trying to walk on all fours with a physical structure similar to a human.
While his body was leaning forward, I quickly struck his leg with a crowbar. When I hit his head, he didn't care at all, but his leg seemed to convulse slightly, indicating that it wasn't completely unaffected. It seemed that only his bones had become tough, and I could still inflict damage on his muscles or ligaments.
Aiming for that, I continued a game of tag with the crazy zombie for a while. I was gradually accumulating damage each time his body leaned, but it inevitably took quite a bit of time. It was even more so because I had to deal with ordinary zombies that joined in from time to time.
However, trusting in my enhanced stamina and endlessly pounding his legs, both of the crazy zombie's legs eventually became unable to move due to the accumulated impact.
Even in that state, the crazy zombie, undeterred, crawled forward with his two arms, so I approached him and struck his head. He had a sickeningly tough skull, but after repeatedly smashing it as if pounding rice cakes, I was finally able to break it.
'That was damn hard.'
If this guy had a body optimized for crawling on all fours, I might have lost. He was that tenacious and fast. No zombie I've met so far has stimulated my sense of crisis as much as this guy.
「Deadly Fangs (lv.2)」[R]
☑ The higher the level, the longer and sharper the fangs become.
☐ Damage dealt with fangs +26%
▶Level Change: 4p
▶Transfer to Storage: 4p
「Kobold (lv.1)」[Race]
☑ Basic sense of smell/hearing/agility is enhanced to the upper level of the species.
☑ Crossbreeding becomes impossible.
☐ Olfactory Sensitivity +30%
☐ Heat resistance/cold resistance up to +15% in proportion to breathing volume
▶Transfer to Storage: 4p
"Huh? Where did one go?"
It was strange. When I opened the status window from the corpse of the crazy zombie, 「Tough Bones (lv.7)」 was nowhere to be seen, and only 「Deadly Fangs (lv.2)」 and 「Kobold (lv.1)」 were visible.
Besides, 「Kobold (lv.1)」 was also strange. It was a type of trait I had never seen before called a racial trait, and there was no 'Level Change', only 'Transfer to Storage'.
I examined 「Kobold (lv.1)」 in detail.
Even though the racial trait was only at level 1, its effects were quite outstanding. As far as I've seen, the increase or decrease value according to the grade of the trait was similar for each effect, but the racial trait's olfactory sensitivity increase value alone was about SSR grade. But there was another item with half that value.
That alone was good enough, but there were even basic effects attached to it. Even before the percentage was applied, the basic sense of smell/hearing/agility was enhanced to the upper level of the species.
In terms of performance alone, it should be considered at least one level above SSR grade.
'What the hell is crossbreeding being impossible? Creepy.'
However, there were also several unsettling aspects to acquiring the racial trait.
The explanation that crossbreeding was impossible, and the appearance of the crazy zombie running on all fours with his tongue sticking out.
'Does getting a racial trait mean you're not human at all? If the level gets higher, won't even your habits change?'
Thinking that way, it couldn't help but feel unsettling despite the excellent effects. I had a feeling that I would be screwed if I was tempted by the effects and acquired it.
"You've done well."
I was thinking about various things about the phenomena and traits I had never seen before when Ji Wihan approached. His hair was slightly disheveled, and there was blue blood on his club, as if he had fought with ordinary zombies while I was fighting.
"You've done well too, Ji Wihan."
"It's thanks to Kang Woori. Certainly, as the trait level rises, it has become easier to use my body."
Ji Wihan expressed satisfaction with the 「Leader (lv.2)」 that I had raised for him. I only used most of the points and gave him a small portion of the leftovers, but seeing how much he liked it, I thought I should raise it a few more levels.
Since it wasn't the time to leisurely worry about traits, I skipped the cores of the ordinary zombies and only took out the core of the crazy zombie. I wondered if there was anything different about this too.
"The core is different."
However, unlike the cores I had obtained so far, which were all gray with different saturation levels, the core of the crazy zombie was a pale blue like zombie blood, and a small dot was faintly shining in the middle of a translucent stone.
"It cannot be converted into points. It seems this is not a core after all."
Ji Wihan looked at the blue core from side to side and shook his head.
But I knew what it was.
『☆』
Trait: 「Tough Bones (lv.1)」
「Tough Bones (lv.1)」[N]
☐ Bone Durability +7.5%
▶Level Change: 1p
▶Transfer to Storage: 1p
Because a status window was floating above the blue core.
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