Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 124

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Player of the Ruined World – Episode 124
The occipital lobe of the Giant Zombie visible beyond the door.
It was in the state just before hurling the vehicle, a posture resembling a pitcher’s final motion.
Before the vehicle could fly forward, I pushed off toward the creature’s crown.
My timing for jumping away was slightly late, and I found myself falling toward its left forearm rather than its crown.
‘The modified vehicle…?!’
Even as I fell, I turned my head to confirm the location of my companions.
The mist cleared for an instant, and the modified vehicle shot forward like a bullet.
Actually, this was fortunate.
An impact of that magnitude would trigger the Hellhound’s effect.
Shing—
I hurriedly drew my curved blade and fixed my gaze on the Giant Zombie’s left forearm as my landing point approached.
Thud! Craaaaaack—!
I tried to embed the blade in its arm and hang on, but the curved blade was so sharp that it tore through muscle and continued sliding.
“Graaaaaahhh!!”
The Giant Zombie thrashed its left arm in panic.
Like someone frantically flailing when an insect crawls on them, its violent movements left me unable to maintain my senses.
My vision swayed relentlessly side to side, and my organs twisted within me.
I was experiencing what an insect must feel.
“Ugh…!”
Unable to overcome gravity, I finally lost my grip on the hilt.
Everything felt topsy-turvy, and I couldn’t even tell where I was being thrown.
Crash!!!
Along with the impact against my back, glass shards glinted beyond my swaying vision.
It seemed I had burst through the window of some unnamed building.
As I pressed my temples and blinked my eyes, my focus gradually returned.
Lifting my head and looking forward, the Giant Zombie’s temporal lobe came into view.
I clenched both fists and pushed off toward its temple.
Tap—!!
As I leaped from the broken window frame, the Giant Zombie heard the sound and turned its head.
I had aimed for its temple, but somehow its nasal bridge came into view instead.
‘Shockwave.’
I murmured inwardly and drove my fist forward.
Boom!!!
A deafening crack echoed as if striking an H-beam with all my might, and a sharp pain radiating from my right hand spread throughout my entire body.
The enhanced Giant Zombie’s skull was incomparably harder than an ordinary one.
My wrist twisted slightly, and I felt a throbbing pain.
But the Giant Zombie received an impact to match.
Its nasal bridge collapsed in a single blow, the intraocular pressure surged suddenly, and all the blood vessels in both eyes burst.
I could see its bloodshot eyes rolling back.
Whoooosh—!
The sharp whistle of wind cutting past my ears.
I was falling from a height of 10 meters, but such a distance posed no real threat to me.
Thud!!
The moment my feet touched the ground, I sprang upward like a coiled spring.
My intention was to strike the Giant Zombie’s face once more.
“Huh?”
But what was this?
Where the Giant Zombie’s head should have been, there was nothing, and I could see the massive creature toppling backward.
Even with Balhwa still active, the reinforced Giant Zombie had fallen in a single blow?
I rushed toward the fallen Giant Zombie as I landed.
The creature wasn’t moving at all.
Could it be…?
“Point alarm.”
Ding—!
[You have eliminated the Reinforced Giant Zombie.]
[15,000 points awarded.]
When I opened the point alarm I’d closed, the notification for defeating the Reinforced Giant Zombie appeared at the top.
It had died in a single strike.
It didn’t take long to understand why.
Thick liquid oozing from the dead Giant Zombie’s eyes, nose, and mouth.
It wasn’t just blood flowing out—pulverized brain matter was dripping down.
The interior of the skull had been completely shattered by the Shockwave.
The effect of Level 3 Shockwave was this devastating.
If I raised it to Level 5… I wouldn’t fear any Mutant that appeared.
‘This isn’t the time for that.’
I rushed in the direction my companions had been thrown.
The Giant Zombie must have hurled them with tremendous force—no matter how fast I ran, I couldn’t spot the Hunting Dog.
“Grrrrr… Kaaack!!!”
“Cackle!!”
Instead, the number of Zombies on the street only increased.
With no time to play with them, I gripped my curved blade and unleashed relentless slashes.
Thanks to Shockwave, it took less than thirty seconds to dispatch five hundred Zombies.
“Doyun!!”
Then Park Sangil’s voice echoed from above.
I looked around and spotted Park Sangil waving his right hand from a 4th Floor building directly ahead.
Though obscured by the mist, I recognized him instantly from his familiar gesture and voice.
“Are you alright, Sangil?”
“I’m fine! Come up—I’ll cover you!”
“What about the others?!”
“It’s here!”
It’s here?
On the 4th floor of the building?
Ah, did the Giant Zombie throw a Hunting Dog that crashed into the 4th floor?
With that, I bent my lower body and leaped up to the 4th floor where Park Sangil was.
Crash—!
The moment I reached the 4th floor with a single bound, Park Sangil’s expression shifted to one of surprise.
“Wow. Looks like I don’t need to provide cover.”
His offer to provide cover seemed utterly unnecessary now.
“Are you all right? Is anyone hurt?”
“Everyone’s fine. Only Bae Hyeonseok’s condition is a bit rough.”
Bae Hyeonseok’s condition is rough?
I glanced around the interior and spotted Bae Hyeonseok retching while Park Sanghun patted his back soothingly.
“Bae Hyeonseok?”
“I… I flew… the car… the car… I flew…”
Bae Hyeonseok repeated the same words like someone nearly losing their mind, vomiting as he spoke.
It seemed Bae Hyeonseok would have difficulty adapting to our combat methods.
“What about Sangha?”
“He’s handling the Zombies on the stairwell.”
The Park Brothers had reached a level where they could solo street-level Zombies without breaking a sweat.
Of course, it would be difficult in wide-open spaces, but blocking off a single stairwell seemed manageable.
I checked the Hunting Dog’s condition and asked.
“What about the vehicle?”
“Sangha already checked it. He said the car’s fine.”
“No, I mean how do we get it down from the 4th floor?”
“Just drive it out.”
“Out where, exactly?”
“Bungee jump with the car.”
A creative solution… that isn’t one at all!
“That won’t work. The impact will be too weak for the modification effect to activate.”
“Will the car survive falling from the 4th floor?”
A Hunting Dog would definitely withstand it. The issue is the effect likely won’t trigger.”
“The car’s too sturdy, which is inconvenient.”
“The real problem is the idea of bungee jumping with a car from the 4th floor in the first place.”
“It happens all the time in movies. I’ve always wanted to try it once.”
Park Sangil seemed genuinely disappointed.
We couldn’t carry the car out either…
With no other options, I opened the driver’s door and spoke.
“I’ll do the bungee jump first. If the vehicle’s intact, jump down onto the car.”
“You’re the only one having fun?”
Park Sangil climbed into the driver’s seat ahead of me and spoke.
“You take the passenger seat.”
“Hyung, this could be dangerous.”
“Hey, my physical abilities are beyond human limits, remember? I don’t suffer from whiplash or anything like that, so get in quick.”
With no choice, I climbed into the passenger seat and lowered the window to call out to Park Sanghun.
“Sanghun, when we jump out….”
“Yeah, I’ll bring Bae Hyeonseok.”
“Bring Sangha too.”
“Got it.”
After fastening my seatbelt and looking at Park Sangil, he grinned and started the engine.
His expression was so bright and childlike that I couldn’t help but think it was absurd.
“Hyung, you’re smiling at a time like this?”
“I’m thrilled. This is something you only see in movies.”
“….”
“Right now, I’m Park Torpedo!”
Vroooom—!!
The Hellhound accelerated straight toward the window.
My heart pounded as I stared ahead.
Crash!!!
The vehicle plummeted from the 4th floor, shattering through glass.
“Let’s go!!”
“Ugh?”
“Huh?”
Boom!!!!
I thought we’d land in a smooth arc, but that only happens in movies.
The Hellhound that crashed through the window dropped nearly vertically and came to a stop after one forward roll.
Grabbing my neck from the impact, Park Sangil groaned and spoke.
“Ugh… it’s not like the movies.”
“I told you it wouldn’t be!”
“But it was fun, wasn’t it?”
Park Sangil’s nose was bleeding—apparently he’d hit it on the steering wheel—yet he grinned widely.
They say cars are the last toy for men, and it seems that’s true.

* * *
About thirty minutes had passed since then.
Not a single living zombie remained in the area.
After confirming that all zombies and mutants had vanished, the group from Vehicle 1 climbed out and rubbed their sore lower backs and necks.
Vroom— screech—
Following behind, Vehicle 2 returned after finishing the cleanup of the zombies.
Elder Chulmin, stepping down from the passenger seat, wore a bewildered expression as he observed our condition.
“What’s going on with everyone? Are you hurt?”
Everyone was either gripping their nape or clutching their lower back while groaning, so he seemed startled.
Especially since Park Sangil had tissue stuffed in his nostrils and wore a dazed expression.
“E-Elder!!”
Bae Hyeonseok, who had been retching repeatedly, jolted up in alarm and grabbed Elder Chulmin’s sleeve while shouting.
“S-Switch me out!”
“…What?”
“Switch me out! I’m never riding in that vehicle again!”
Only then did Elder Chulmin, having grasped the situation, survey the surrounding area and asked.
“That building over there—don’t tell me you jumped out from there?”
“….”
“While in the vehicle?”
Seeing Elder Chulmin’s expression of disbelief, I offered a wry smile and explained.
“It could be dangerous, so only Sangil’s Hyung and I were aboard.”
At my matter-of-fact response, Elder Chulmin burst into hearty laughter.
“We’re told to catch zombies, but you two are having all the fun.”
“Uncle! Elder! Can I try it too?!”
Following that, Kim Suhan bounded out from the driver’s seat of Vehicle 2 with an excited expression.
Elder Chulmin looked at Kim Suhan and asked.
“If you want to try, we’d need to move the vehicle to the 4th Floor. How do you plan to do that?”
“Ah… right.”
“Next time we get the chance, we’ll give it a shot too.”
“Really?! We can do that?! Awesome!”
Kim Suhan grinned from ear to ear.
Watching these men, Hong Yeonhui let out a sigh.
“Are you all out of your minds? What if the vehicle gets damaged?”
At the conversation among the Hunting Dog Alliance members, Bae Hyeonseok’s expression became vacant.
“You jumped from the 4th Floor! Shouldn’t you be worried about people getting hurt first?”
“….”
“Worrying about the vehicle isn’t normal either!”
“It’s fine. We won’t die.”
As Hong Yeonhui shrugged, Bae Hyeonseok spoke with tears welling up.
“What I imagined… this isn’t what I pictured at all!”
“….”
“You spoke so confidently that I thought you knew something I didn’t!”
“….”
“I thought Baek Doyun would guide us through a secret passage. If I’d known you could carve a path like this… I wouldn’t have followed!”
Bae Hyeonseok’s legs gave out, and he collapsed right there, heaving with emotion.
An expression that was impossible to tell—was he angry or did he want to cry?
No, it was the expression of someone who felt wronged and hurt.
Hong Yeonhui scratched her head, then patted Bae Hyeonseok’s back as she spoke.
“It’s okay, it’s fine. Take a deep breath.”
“Sob….”
“I’ll take Car Number One, so you ride in Car Number Two from now on. That works, right?”
Instead of answering, Bae Hyeonseok nodded while wiping away tears.
Anyone who’s ridden in a friend’s car with aggressive driving would understand.
The threat to one’s life.
Especially when you’ve rammed into everything in sight and flown through the sky without wings….
Even if Bae Hyeonseok had information about modified vehicles, he’d never experienced combat like this before, so it must have been overwhelming.
Knowing information and experiencing it firsthand are worlds apart.
I approached the crying Bae Hyeonseok and patted his back as I spoke.
“Bae Hyeonseok, don’t cry.”
“….”
Bae Hyeonseok looked at me with tears glistening in his eyes.
I gave him a faint smile and spoke.
“We need to head to the research facility now.”
“Sob… I… I thought today was the end…!”
“It’s okay. You won’t die.”
I meant it as encouragement to keep moving forward, but it clearly wasn’t comforting at all.
Park Sangil, who’d been watching this, pulled out the tissue stuck in his nose and spoke.
“Doyun really… knows how to comfort people.”
You could tell from his expression alone that it was sarcasm.
Park Sanghun, standing beside Park Sangil, seemed to agree, raising the corners of his mouth and nodding.
“Doyun’s sweet, yeah.”
“Stop it.”
“You’ll think about this a lot before bed.”
“I said stop.”
Park Sangil and Park Sanghun had moved past worrying about me and now found amusement in teasing me instead.
Even their jokes felt familiar and fun, so before I knew it, my lips curved upward.
When I was with them… I could discover myself laughing without pretense.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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