Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 142

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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 142
“Everyone’s seated, right?”
“Just a moment!”
Kim Heejoo checked one last time to ensure no child had forgotten their seatbelt before taking her own seat.
“You can depart now.”
“Everyone, stay calm. Everything will be fine.”
Lee Kwanghyun reassured the children and other survivors.
Lee Kwanghyun started the bus engine and verified several details.
Unlike a standard bus, there were several unfamiliar buttons, so he checked each one carefully and methodically.
Thud—thud!
In that instant, heavy footsteps echoed throughout the surrounding area, and the bus trembled noticeably.
-Brother, brother, can you hear me?!
Jo Yunhwan’s voice crackled through the radio.
“I hear you. What is it?”
-No! Not the radio—can you hear that sound from outside?!
Thud—! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The footsteps and vibrations drew closer with each passing second.
Lee Kwanghyun’s heart seized as he frantically peered out the window.
Something massive emerged from between the towering apartment buildings.
“Go! Yunhwan, now!”
Since Jo Yunhwan’s bus was ahead, he had to depart first for Lee Kwanghyun to follow.
Jo Yunhwan couldn’t see clearly through the fog, but Lee Kwanghyun could—and what he saw was unmistakable.
An Enhanced Giant Zombie had breached the Shelter.
Immediately after, Jo Yunhwan’s bus ahead lurched forward.
Crash—screech! Bang!!!
A single Enhanced Giant Zombie plowed through the towering apartment building, pushing it aside.
“Kyaaaah!”
“Hwaaaaang!”
The children on the bus screamed at the sight of the colossal creature’s massive legs and the building debris cascading from the sky.
Lee Kwanghyun thrust his head forward against the windshield, alternating his gaze up and down as he pressed the accelerator hard.
Thump!
He accidentally rammed the rear of Jo Yunhwan’s bus ahead.
-Brother! Which way, which way do I go?!
“Left! Push harder, damn it!”
-What, what is it?! What’s happening?!
“Don’t you see the debris falling from above?! It’s a Giant Zombie!”
-What?!
Jo Yunhwan’s class was Healing Factor.
He could only hear the sounds; confirming the Giant Zombie behind them was impossible.
Roooooaaaar—!!
As Jo Yunhwan accelerated, Lee Kwanghyun matched his pace and surged onto the main road.
-Kwanghyun, if we just keep going straight down this road, we’ll be fine, right?
“Keep driving straight until Costco comes into view!”
-Didn’t you say there was a barricade on the way?!
“That collapsed an hour ago!”
-Ah, understood!
Lee Kwanghyun continuously monitored the Giant Zombie’s position through the side mirror.
The Giant Zombie that had entered the Shelter was clutching an apartment building, shaking it violently while emitting bizarre, guttural cries.
It detected the scent of humans emanating from the structure, but with no visible prey in sight, its frustration mounted.
The Defense Team had escaped the crisis by the narrowest of margins.
While they could have used the bus’s abilities to eliminate the Giant Zombie, reaching the Brain Research Institute safely was the priority now.
-Brother, are the children okay?!
“They’re fine, keep going!”
Jo Yunhwan was anxious about his nephew aboard Lee Kwanghyun’s bus.
All the children had boarded Lee Kwanghyun’s bus.
Should an unexpected situation arise, Lee Kwanghyun’s vantage point would allow him to respond more effectively, making this the safest choice for the children.
‘Where did it come from? I never saw a Giant Zombie approaching the Shelter.’
Throughout the drive, Lee Kwanghyun kept checking the Giant Zombie’s position via the side mirror.
In fact, even after dealing with the Mutant, he had periodically monitored the direction of Costco.
He had watched the group that moved toward the Brain Research Institute emerge at the Costco Intersection and engage in combat, and he had also witnessed the barricade collapse under the overwhelming numbers of Zombies and Mutants.
With the barricade destroyed, there was no way to predict when the Mutants heading toward the Brain Research Institute might redirect their course here.
That’s why he had decided this was the final opportunity and loaded everyone onto the bus.
Yet in that brief window, a single enhanced Giant Zombie had approached the Shelter.
Had they been even slightly slower, they would have been buried along with the apartment.
“Grrraaaaaahhhhh…!”
“Kahahack!!”
“Screeeech… Kyaaahhh!”
The vocalizations of Zombies began echoing in their ears.
Lee Kwanghyun picked up the radio and spoke.
“Activate exterior plating reinforcement.”
-Exterior plating reinforced!
The bus possessed a reinforcement grade one tier higher than compact vehicles.
As a result, a newly added effect had been unlocked.
True to its name as a modified vehicle, the exterior plating reinforcement effect had emerged.
Upon activating the exterior plating reinforcement, the bus’s cargo compartment opened, and an additional exterior plating materialized.
The plating enveloped the entire front of the bus except for the windshield, protecting even the tires and wheels.
According to the description, defensive power increased threefold, but Lee Kwanghyun had no way of knowing which tier of Mutant attacks it could withstand.
But that wasn’t all.
Saw blades protruded from every direction except the front, rotating ceaselessly to repel the Zombies’ approach.
Whirrrrrrring!!!
As the external panel blocked the window, the children’s expressions grew noticeably calmer.
But it couldn’t muffle the grinding sound of the saw blade or the wet tearing of zombie limbs being severed.
Though the bus wasn’t moving at high speed, the saw blade allowed it to carve through hundreds, thousands of zombies with ease.
Mutants occasionally charged at them, but they too found their flesh shredded or their bodies rendered combat-ineffective by the relentless blade.
“Honey.”
Kim Miyeon’s voice reached Lee Kwanghyun from behind.
When Lee Kwanghyun glanced back slightly, Kim Miyeon was pressing her temple with a puzzled expression.
“Something feels off.”
“What now? What is it?”
“I told Sanghun we were heading to the Brain Research Institute too, but no matter how many times I call, he won’t answer.”
At Kim Miyeon’s words, Lee Kwanghyun stared ahead in silence for a long moment.
They’d already departed. There was no turning back.
More than that—if something had happened to the group that moved toward the Brain Research Institute, then there was nowhere safe left on the Korean Peninsula.
‘Please let us not be too late.’
Lee Kwanghyun thought this to himself and picked up the radio.
“Turn right 60 meters ahead. There are lots of mutants, so increase speed.”
-Roger!
Two buses advanced, pulverizing every zombie that rushed at them.
“Kieeeeeek!!”
A Mimicry Species charging at the bus entered Lee Kwanghyun’s field of vision.
By his estimate, it was a Tier-3 specimen.
Rather than evade, Lee Kwanghyun accelerated directly toward the Tier-3 Mimicry Species.
Vrrrroooom—!! Craaaaaash!!
The bus surged forward with a rough engine roar, trampling zombie corpses beneath its wheels.
Then.
Splat!!!
The Tier-3 Mimicry Species struck by the bus burst like a water balloon.
Mutant blood cascaded across the windshield, forcing him to work the wipers relentlessly.
“Kahahack!! Kraaaaah!!”
Zombies charged at the bus at full speed in succession.
Lee Kwanghyun didn’t blink, his eyes constantly scanning.
Even with zombies slamming into it, the bus would remain intact.
But unfamiliar with such situations.
Lacking experience.
A reflexive tensing was unavoidable.
-Hyung! Where do we go now?! Am I going the right way?!
“Keep going straight!”
Jo Yunhwan, gripping the steering wheel in near-zero visibility, appeared even more tense.
When they finally reached the Main Gate Plaza of the Brain Research Institute, they discovered a grotesque scene—zombies locked in brutal combat with one another.
Zombie killing zombie.
Lee Kwanghyun quickly grabbed the radio.
“Yunhwan! Do you see the zombies ahead?”
-Huh? Oh, yes!
“Don’t attack the zombies near the Brain Research Institute—avoid them! They’re probably Kim Hanna’s forces!”
-Hyung! We can’t get through! Corpses are piled up like a mountain—we won’t be able to enter through the main gate!
“Just follow the road around! There has to be a back entrance or side entrance!”
-Yes, sir!
Vroooom—!!
The two buses swerved around the mountain of zombie corpses.
What came into Lee Kwanghyun’s view next was… beyond shocking.
“What… what is that?”
Kim Heejoo, sitting directly behind the driver’s seat, stared at the half-collapsed outer wall of the Brain Research Institute, her mouth hanging open.
Building B—its wall had partially crumbled.
An endless stream of zombies poured through that opening.
And atop the irregularly stacked building ruins, I could see our companions desperately holding back the zombie horde.
Lee Kwanghyun grasped the gravity of the situation and urgently grabbed the radio.
“Yunhwan! I’m taking the lead—stay right on my tail!”
-Yes, sir!
Vroooom—!
As Lee Kwanghyun accelerated and moved to the front, Jo Yunhwan closed the distance until the buses were nearly touching.
Screech—! Screech!
The two buses then blocked the collapsed outer wall.
Hisssss—
As the bus doors opened, Kim Heejoo and Kim Miyeon descended first to secure the area.
“Kids! Stay close to the person in front—don’t fall behind!”
Children under ten hurried down from the bus and followed Kim Heejoo into the Brain Research Institute.
“Huh?! Heejoo!!”
Park Sangil, who had been clearing zombies atop the ruins, called out to his wife, and Kim Heejoo pointed toward the stairs and shouted.
“I’m sending the kids upstairs!”
“What is this place? Why did you bring the children here?!”
“The Shelter isn’t safe either! There’s no time to explain!”
As Kim Heejoo shouted, Park Sangil surveyed the surroundings with a troubled expression.
Hong Yeonhui, observing the situation, sighed and spoke.
“Go. I’ll handle things here.”
“…Thank you.”
Park Sangil lowered his gun and rushed toward the children.
“Dad!”
Kyeongeo, seeing Park Sangil, ran toward him with a terrified expression.
Since Park Sangil was drenched in zombie blood from head to toe, he kept her from embracing him and spoke.
“Kyeongeo, stay with your mother.”
“Dad….”
“Come on, sweetie. Go hold Mom’s hand.”
Kim Heejoo rushed over and cradled Kyeongeo in her arms, glancing back at the children following behind and Kim Miyeon as she spoke.
“Keep watch so the children don’t fall behind as you follow!”
Kim Miyeon, Siyun’s Father, and Jang Wooheok guided the children to ensure they stayed together.
Park Sangil ascended the stairs first, and the children followed in a single file line.
The middle school and high school students dealt with the zombies squeezing through the gaps in the bus, while Lee Kwanghyun and Park Youngsu rushed to Hong Yeonhui’s side to provide covering fire.
Jo Yunhwan, still dazed, looked around in confusion.
“Uncle Yunhwan!!”
A voice calling to him echoed from inside the Brain Research Institute.
It was Do Sohee.
Two men lay collapsed in front of Do Sohee.
Park Sangha and Park Sanghun.
Jo Yunhwan rushed to their side and helped with their treatment.
“What happened? Why are they both like this?”
“Please help with the treatment first.”
“Switch out. You rest for a bit.”
Do Sohee was drenched in sweat.
Using the Healing Factor wasn’t simply a matter of consuming points.
It required intense concentration, and the physical toll couldn’t be ignored.
While Jo Yunhwan treated the two men, Do Sohee sat on the floor, breathing heavily.
“Where is Baek Doyun? Where is he?”
“He went to face the Ninth-Tier Mutant. Didn’t you see the point message?”
“I saw it. Where is the Ninth-Tier Mutant? We should provide support too….”
“It’s pointless.”
As Do Sohee spoke with a troubled expression, Jo Yunhwan raised his eyebrows and asked.
“Pointless? What do you mean by that?”
“We can’t help at all.”
“The Shooters should at least try. Even covering fire from a distance….”
“You have to see it to hit it.”
“…What?”
“You can’t even follow it with your eyes! Its movement speed is faster than bullets.”
“F-faster than bullets?”
“It’s a complete monster. There’s nothing we can do.”
Do Sohee spoke with tears welling up in her eyes.
Jo Yunhwan swallowed hard and said nothing.
Lee Kwanghyun, who was dealing with the zombies, seemed to have overheard the conversation between Jo Yunhwan and Do Sohee, and asked Hong Yeonhui beside him.
“What does that mean, a monster?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. The mutants we’ve faced so far aren’t even in the same league.”
“….”
“I can’t even see it with my eyes unless the Ninth-Tier Mutant is standing still.”
“Are you saying it uses some kind of invisibility skill?”
“No. It’s just too fast to see.”
“….”
“Even if a bullet luckily hits it, its skin is so tough that it doesn’t take any damage.”
“Even using all Shooter skills?”
“Yes.”
The Shooter’s skills worked even against enhanced Giant Zombies.
But against the Ninth-Tier Mutant, they had no effect whatsoever.
Hong Yeonhui’s resolute answer laid bare the dire nature of their situation.
Lee Kwanghyun moistened his parched lips before asking.
“To think Baek Doyun is facing such a monster alone… that friend of his is….”
“An even greater monster.”

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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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