Surviving the Apocalypse as an All-Time Best Overpowered Necromancer - Chapter 25
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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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Episode 25
25. Wintering (6)
“Throw it.”
“Grrrraaagh!”
Whoosh—!
“Grraaak!”
Early that morning, Lee Gang-hyeok climbed to the 23rd Floor and, before the two women emerged, tossed the Zombies one by one toward the Adjacent Building’s rooftop, positioning them to stand watch.
Coming out into the hallway, Seo A-rin caught sight of this and asked, her tone wavering between bewilderment, exasperation, and concern for the Zombies themselves.
“Do you really have to throw them like that? At this rate, even the muscle they have left will fall right off.”
Her worry for the Zombies was surprising, but only for a moment.
Before Lee Gang-hyeok could even respond, Seo A-rin continued.
“If that happens, I won’t be able to work them anymore, so I’d really appreciate it if you could throw them as safely as possible, keeping their muscles intact!”
Ah!
Was that the real problem?
It seemed she was less worried about the Zombies than about losing workers.
“……Well, I suppose so.”
“Grrrrrawwwl.”
“Graaagh…….”
At Lee Gang-hyeok’s flustered scratching of the back of his head, the Zombies’ growls grew even louder.
Could it be because of what Seo A-rin had just said? The moment that thought crossed his mind, she spotted something, gestured urgently, and cried out.
“There! There are a lot of Zombies gathered over there!”
“Hmm?”
Following the direction of Seo A-rin’s fingertip, Lee Gang-hyeok quickly spotted the Zombies and, appearing to understand, reassured her.
“Based on the direction, it looks like the ones scattered after the Martial Artist died and Aggro dropped—they must have drifted in from over there.”
“Will it be alright? There are clearly a lot of them…….”
“Even though they look close, it would take at least two hours on foot for them to reach here from there, so we should still be safe.”
“Two hours? Then we’re fine!”
Two hours on foot.
For Zombies, slower than humans, it would take a full half day.
“I’m going to check on the fields for a moment!”
Reassured by the explanation, Seo A-rin smiled brightly and headed up to the Rooftop.
It appeared that checking the fields was the reason she’d come down before Seo Hwa-rin.
‘Well, diligence never hurt anyone.’
Fields improve with attention.
And the harvest increases accordingly.
“Hmm.”
Watching her head to the Rooftop out of habit, he felt quite satisfied, but soon Lee Gang-hyeok grew uneasy and troubled, stroking his chin as he gazed out the window.
‘The direction is toward us, which does worry me a bit, but the Parking Lot…….’
The moment that thought reached him, Seo Hwa-rin, who had quietly approached, asked with concern.
“Should we block off the Parking Lot entrance just to be safe?”
“Pardon?”
He’d heard the front door open and knew she’d stepped outside, but.
Speaking as if she’d read his mind, Lee Gang-hyeok spun around in surprise, and Seo Hwa-rin pointed toward the window with a smile.
“You kept staring intently at something, so I wondered what it was. When I looked, I noticed the Zombies’ direction seemed odd, and it seemed like you were having a similar thought, so I just asked.”
Seeing that even his surprised expression had been read, Lee Gang-hyeok shrugged and spoke.
“You really do read everything I’m thinking.”
“Just……. I figured you might be having a similar thought as me, so I asked. And it seems I guessed right, which is fortunate.”
“It’s rare for two people to think alike, and it’s rather reassuring. If you don’t mind, could you tell me why you had that thought?”
Would it be for the same reason?
When Lee Gang-hyeok asked, Seo Hwa-rin answered as if it were nothing difficult.
“Yes. We just cleaned everything, so it would be troublesome if Zombies from outside got in.”
Unable to suppress his laughter at her words, Lee Gang-hyeok laughed heartily and relayed the revised plan to her.
“Ha ha. That’s exactly what I was thinking too. Perfect. Then let’s quickly connect the Bridge, leave the rest to A-rin, and go block off the Parking Lot entrance.”
“Yes! I’ll go call her.”
With that, Seo Hwa-rin extended her hand out the window and shot a flare into the air.
“So that’s how you do it.”
“When we were at the Shelter, that’s how we called each other.”
Finding the method of signaling Seo A-rin using flares rather fascinating, Lee Gang-hyeok murmured in wonder.
Seo Hwa-rin answered casually, and Lee Gang-hyeok’s eyes gleamed as he asked further.
“Did you only use it to call each other?”
“Yes. At the Shelter, there was no other use for it except calling……. You’re asking because you’re thinking about us establishing our own Hand Signals, aren’t you?”
After answering the question, she seemed to grasp why he’d asked, and posed the question back to him.
It was truly comfortable.
Without needing to explain twice or three times, she understood immediately, and satisfied, Lee Gang-hyeok nodded with a smile.
“Did you call?”
Seo A-rin approached, having seen the signal and come down from the Rooftop.
“I figured you’d come right away if I called you up there—I wish I’d just told you to stay put.”
From Lee Gang-hyeok’s perspective, she seemed to have come right back down upon reaching the Rooftop, but Seo A-rin answered with a bright smile, unbothered.
“It’s fine. Just checking the condition is enough. So shall we get started?”
She was even eager to begin connecting the Bridge. Was it because of expanding the fields?
Liking her enthusiasm, Lee Gang-hyeok pointed directly to the Bridge.
“Excellent. We’ll go over the Hand Signals this evening, and let’s connect the Bridge first.”
“Hand Signals?”
At the sudden mention, Seo A-rin tilted her head in confusion, and Seo Hwa-rin explained from beside her.
Having heard everything from blocking the Parking Lot entrance to using flare signals, she nodded in agreement, and.
Afterward, the three used the Zombies they’d sent to the Adjacent Building to connect the Bridge.
Connecting the Bridge didn’t take long.
The first reason was that it had been designed to be progressively reinforced, making it light; the second was thanks to the superhuman physical capabilities of Seo Hwa-rin, whose Level was high.
‘What kind of strength…….’
Is that strong?
Though his body had Awakened, seeing Seo Hwa-rin’s strength surpass his own, Lee Gang-hyeok felt the pressing need to raise his Level.
Awakening wasn’t everything—there were clear differences in ability depending on Level…….
‘Who knows when another Electric Attribute Awakened Individual like that might show up. In a way, I’ve been lucky.’
In this world now, Awakened Individuals were as dangerous as Zombies.
In that sense, meeting Seo Hwa-rin and Seo A-rin had been truly fortunate.
With that thought, Lee Gang-hyeok pointed to the Bridge connected to the Adjacent Building and spoke.
“Then A-rin, please check the planter of the Adjacent Building and convert it into a field. If you need anything, we’ll discuss it over dinner this evening. We’re heading down.”
“Understood!”
“Got it! I’ll make sure to create a proper field. Just trust me and go!”
With the Bridge connected, it was time to block the Parking Lot.
The two hurried down the stairs, leaving Seo A-rin’s farewell behind.
They needed to move quickly to block the Parking Lot entrance before the Zombies arrived.
“We should probably use an Automobile to block it, right?”
“Yes. If we remove the battery and block it with the body, they won’t be able to lift it easily. However…….”
On the way down, as Seo Hwa-rin offered her opinion, Lee Gang-hyeok agreed but trailed off, and she laughed, seeming to understand even that.
“Awakened Individuals would get through it. Right?”
“Yes.”
Exactly!
Just like that.
Thinking once more how lucky he’d been, Lee Gang-hyeok soon descended to the Parking Lot and, seeing the entrance’s size, larger than expected, let out a sigh.
“It was good before the Zombies showed up, but looking at it now, the entrance is unnecessarily large.”
“But that also means it’s quite comfortable to live in, doesn’t it?”
“True enough.”
“Should we block it a bit lower, at an angle where Awakened Individuals wouldn’t be able to see it from the Road?”
“Yes.”
The two exchanged a bit of casual talk to shake off the tension, and before it was too late, they moved the Automobiles parked near the entrance.
Even though his strength was lacking, with the Zombies’ help, the entrance was quickly blocked.
“Is this sufficient?”
“At least it doesn’t look like the Zombies will get inside. Unless someone deliberately draws Aggro.”
“Then the location would already be exposed, so we’d have to fortify as much as possible from above.”
Though not airtight, the two were satisfied with how firmly they’d sealed the entrance and nodded in agreement.
For now, they needed to worry about the nearby Zombies invading, not about threats from Awakened Individuals who didn’t yet exist.
Deciding to wrap up here, Lee Gang-hyeok immediately outlined the next task.
“Then let’s go back up and check inside the house. Oh! Like in the Valve Room, there might be Mutant Zombies inside the house too, so let’s take our time and examine everything carefully. That would be best. The moment you feel safe is often the most dangerous.”
“Understood. We’ll be as careful as possible.”
Seo Hwa-rin, too, seemed to notice that tension had begun to fade, and agreed with his continued words.
And for good reason—she had experience losing a home to carelessness.
If only they’d been prepared against hordes of Zombies back then, they wouldn’t have lost the Shelter so pathetically…….
With such regret weighing heavily, she resolved this time to leave no room for second thoughts, clenching her fist with determination.
* * *
“He didn’t broadcast today either.”
The moment dawn broke, Kim Tae-shik, who had been waiting for Lee Gang-hyeok to broadcast, sighed in disappointment that he hadn’t.
The man who had been searching in various directions exhaled a quiet sigh in turn.
“Yes. If he’s alive, he may be too occupied with the Zombies scattered after the Martial Artist died and Aggro dropped. But whether he alone can hold them off……. I can’t say for certain either.”
Faced with yet another pessimistic opinion, Kim Tae-shik, after a moment’s deliberation, made his decision and issued an order.
“Assemble a team. We need to clear out the Zombies in the area he reported first. If we’re not too late, his chances of survival will be much higher. If we’re not too late, that is.”
Having decided to recruit him, Kim Tae-shik resolved to think of him as a future resident of the Shelter before hearing his opinion.
The man, a longtime fan of Lee Gang-hyeok and regular viewer of his Broadcasts, immediately nodded.
“Understood. I’ll begin preparations right away.”
With those words, the man dispatched fast-moving Awakened Individuals to each Shelter allied under Kim Tae-shik’s leadership, passing on orders for Zombie Subjugation.
* * *
As evening fell, Lee Gang-hyeok, as naturally as always, decided to have dinner at the two women’s house and, as ever, wrapped up the day with a Beer in hand.
“You’ve worked hard today.”
“Thank you for your hard work!”
“Phew, drinking Beer after a day’s work……. It’s been several days, and yet it still feels like a dream. I haven’t gotten used to it.”
“There’s nothing quite like Beer as a reward for finishing your day.”
Unlike Seo Hwa-rin, who spoke matter-of-factly, Seo A-rin grinned brightly as if she’d been waiting for this moment and reached for her Beer.
“That’s right! So here’s to it!”
Having taken them on as a team, it somehow felt like he’d gained younger sisters.
Which only spoke to Seo A-rin’s natural warmth.
Lee Gang-hyeok, raising his Beer in toast with them, broached a topic he hadn’t yet finished discussing.
“About those signals I mentioned earlier—what do you think about establishing Hand Signals as well, not just fire signals, to use in situations where we can’t do otherwise?”
“I like that!”
“Nothing wrong with it.”
After seeing the flare signals, having grasped the need for a means of communication in unavoidable situations, Lee Gang-hyeok offered his opinion, and both women seemed to agree, nodding readily.
“So for Hwa-rin’s flares, we’ll use the watchtower as our reference point—one flare for a call, two for enemy spotted, three for incoming attack. And for Hand Signals…….”
“One finger means…….”
Lee Gang-hyeok led the discussion of the signals and Hand Signals, explaining them to the two women.
Before the catastrophe, he had created his own Hand Signals for use in a novel he was writing.
Rather than create confusion by insisting on different opinions, the two simply learned the Hand Signals Lee Gang-hyeok proposed.
“Oh, that’s right!”
Then Seo A-rin, as if remembering something, raised her hand with an uneasy expression.
Wondering what the matter was, Lee Gang-hyeok and Seo Hwa-rin looked at her, and Seo A-rin pointed out the door as she spoke.
“You know the Bridge we connected to the Adjacent Building? Would it be difficult to keep it stored inside the hallway when not in use and push it out to connect only when needed? If we leave it like this, someone passing by might see it and come looking for us.”
Since they’d already worried about an Awakened Individual’s attack when blocking the Parking Lot entrance, Lee Gang-hyeok agreed the moment Seo A-rin finished speaking and asked Seo Hwa-rin.
“What do you think?”
“It wouldn’t be difficult if we install rails and wheels. We’ve already secured plenty of Refrigerators and Washing Machines, so we have enough wheels to attach to the Bridge.”
“Good. Then let’s reinforce it tomorrow.”
It seemed Seo Hwa-rin had been considering the same thing, for she explained without hesitation, and.
Trusting Seo Hwa-rin’s judgment entirely on the Bridge, Lee Gang-hyeok decided the next day’s task as soon as he heard her explanation.
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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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