Surviving the Apocalypse as an All-Time Best Overpowered Necromancer - Chapter 54

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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 54
54. Stockpiling Food (2)
“Clean.”
The moment I stepped outside the building, my mood lifted of its own accord.
There wasn’t a single zombie in sight.
It was a first.
Until now, whenever I’d moved the zombies from in front of the building elsewhere, they’d return the next day as if nothing had happened, but today there were none at all.
‘Did someone pass through here?’
The good feeling lasted only a moment, though.
Suddenly, I remembered the fighter who used to lure zombies.
Of course, he was dead.
But since the situation had been shared on the community, anyone could have replicated his approach if they wanted to.
Was that why?
Without realizing it, as I scanned my surroundings, the thought naturally crossed my mind: ‘Could there be someone from the Chungmuro Alliance nearby this time?’
‘Nah, couldn’t be.’
Even as I dismissed it as mere anxiety while glancing nervously around, something felt off.
Maybe it was the eerie quiet of the street devoid of zombies.
That unsettling sense of being watched drove me to sprint toward the building with the Laundromat.
As a result, the zombies fell behind. Even with the Command Domain Effect speeding up their movements, they were still far slower than a running person.
‘Electric and Jae-beom come in with me. The rest of you stay alert by the entrance. If zombies show up, leave them be. If people come, attack immediately.’
Since they were already falling behind, I positioned them near the entrance to monitor the area.
If there was even a remote chance someone was nearby, I needed to respond instantly.
At that moment…
“Grrr…”
“Gwoaaah…”
Electric and Jae-beom, who had moved to my side at my command, began to growl.
They’d detected the presence of zombies inside the building.
Startled by their reaction, I lowered my stance and furrowed my brow.
‘But there wasn’t anything there.’
Something was wrong.
The last time I’d searched this building thoroughly, there had been no zombies inside.
Before I’d awakened, a month had passed, but the doors were sealed, so there was no way zombies could have gotten in.
Yet there were zombies inside now…
‘Is someone there?’
Someone unknown must have entered.
Concluding this, I sent Electric and Jae-beom ahead, then summoned ten Water Snakes and scattered them in all directions.
Shwish-shwish-shwish.
Shwish.
“…”
Who could it be?
Who had come in?
Someone from Jungnang-gu?
Or from Chungmuro?
Could it be an associate of the person I’d locked on the 30th floor?
My questions deepened as I remained still, focusing on the scattered Water Snakes.
‘Search every inch.’
Since the building had three floors above ground and one below, I could check all areas. Without rushing, I systematically moved the Water Snakes from the basement upward, inspecting every section.
Basement Level 1.
Nothing.
First Floor.
Clear.
Second Floor.
Nothing again.
‘Only the third floor and the Rooftop left now?’
After searching the second floor, I furrowed my brow and let out a small sigh.
‘If they’re on the Rooftop, the Water Snakes would have detected something when they entered…’
The interior of the building has no lights, so the Water Snakes can move freely without issue. But the Rooftop is different.
If someone unknown were hiding up there, they might respond when they spot the searching Water Snakes.
Of course…
With the building filled with tamed zombies, I wouldn’t lose anyway.
‘Still, I should be careful just in case.’
I needed to make sure the unknown person couldn’t realize I was here.
For that reason, I sent Seo Hwa-rin a note asking her to check whether the Rooftop of my current building was visible from the Base.
‘Jae-beom, send the Water Snakes up to the third floor.’
Following that, I gathered all the Water Snakes scattered around and sent them up to the third floor.
[The Rooftop of the building you mentioned is empty. The same goes for the other buildings nearby. Are you sure you’re okay?]
Just as I issued the command to Jae-beom, a reply from Seo Hwa-rin arrived.
‘This fast?’
This meant she’d checked the Rooftop almost the moment she read the note.
Which meant…
‘Has she been watching from the Rooftop this whole time?’
It seemed that after sending me alone, she’d had Seo A-rin gather materials for making a bag and had been waiting on the Rooftop out of concern.
Reassured, I sent her a note saying everything was fine for now, then focused my mind on the Water Snakes that had entered the third floor.
If someone had indeed entered as I suspected, they would certainly be on the third floor…
‘Move as slowly as possible. And the rest of you—gather around me.’
To ensure whoever might be on the third floor wouldn’t detect the searching Water Snakes, I ordered them to move as slowly and discreetly as possible. Meanwhile, I called the zombies I’d positioned at the entrance back to my side.
Since Seo Hwa-rin was watching from the Rooftop and would send word if anyone approached, I called them in to focus on what was happening inside.
And so…
The zombies that gathered around me formed a defensive formation, and satisfied, I even closed my eyes to concentrate fully on the Water Snakes.
Soon, a sensation came through from the searching Water Snakes—they’d found something.
But…
What they’d discovered wasn’t a person.
If it had been, the Water Snakes would have attacked the moment they approached.
Since they’d only sent a signal that they’d found something, I grew curious and headed to the third floor with my zombies.
‘Please don’t tell me it’s another Mutant Zombie.’
As I climbed the stairs, while clearing out the zombies in the building, I suddenly remembered the smiling zombies I’d seen the day before.
If someone being chased by zombies had entered the building and ultimately been killed by them…
Then surely one of them would have successfully mutated.
“Tsk, this won’t do. You all go in first.”
“Gwoaaah.”
Was it because I’d been running into Mutant Zombies repeatedly lately?
Feeling uneasy, I sent half of my tamed zombies in first.
I also sent Electric and Jae-beom along, partly because I was worried the zombies might, like that child zombie hiding before, simply stand there stupidly without noticing anything.
‘Just attack everything, regardless.’
In case there was something hiding.
I ordered the zombies on the third floor to attack empty air, and as I heard Electric and Jae-beom using their skills, I stroked my chin and listened intently.
At that moment…
Boom-!
“!!”
The sound of something slamming into a wall reached me. The vibration from the impact felt strangely familiar.
‘Could it be…?’
Suddenly, I remembered the Bulldozer I’d encountered not long ago.
Without hesitation, I ordered Electric and Jae-beom to retreat and commanded the remaining zombies to protect them.
At the same time, I sent a note to Seo Hwa-rin.
If there were as many zombies as before, I could kill the Bulldozer alone easily enough.
But since I’d cleared out all the zombies in the building while climbing the stairs, I was at a critical disadvantage.
“Let’s fall back.”
So I called for reinforcements. Electric and Jae-beom, shielded by the zombies blocking the Bulldozer, retreated safely, and I led them down to the first floor.
It was to link up quickly with the two people who would rush to my aid.
“Electric, wear this.”
“Gruk.”
Descending to the first floor, I took out the smaller of the Twin Rings I’d crafted and slipped it onto Electric’s hand, then had an ordinary zombie wear the larger ring.
“This should keep you safer.”
Regardless of other concerns, winter was coming soon, and Electric’s safety was paramount.
However…
I couldn’t afford to take the damage meant for Electric, so after equipping the ordinary zombie with the ring, I was satisfied and used my skill on a nearby corpse.
“Tactical Processing!”
Flash-!
Creak-creak.
The Tactical Processing activated safely, thanks to the zombies holding back the Bulldozer upstairs.
“Khh.”
Moments later, a Spiked Barricade materialized in the exact form I’d envisioned, and my face involuntarily contorted.
I’d only made two barricades…
Yet nearly half my Mana had been consumed.
‘It’s fine.’
My expression had merely stiffened from so much Mana draining at once.
Looking at the barricades I’d created, I nodded in satisfaction.
‘As long as these stop that creature’s charge even once, that’s enough.’
Given the Bulldozer’s nature, it would charge blindly forward like an enraged bull.
Just like when I’d encountered it at the Bus Depot—whether there were walls or not, it charged ahead.
The question was whether the barricade could withstand its charge…
‘Should I spend more Mana to reinforce it?’
As I was debating whether to use more Mana to strengthen the barricade, I heard a voice.
“Gang-hyuk!”
The two people who’d received my request for support entered the building and approached.
Simultaneously, as if my dilemma had been resolved, my eyes snapped open and I shouted.
“A-rin! Aqua Field!”
“Huh? Oh, Aqua Field!”
Confused, Seo A-rin activated the Aqua Field as instructed.
She figured he must have a reason for asking, even if she didn’t understand it yet.
But spotting the Spiked Barricade, she understood the intent and repositioned the Aqua Field around it, nodding.
“You meant to slow down the Bulldozer’s charge?”
“Yes, exactly.”
Exactly right.
If I laid water around the barricade, it should reduce the Bulldozer’s charging speed, which is why I’d requested the Aqua Field.
“…Ugh.”
To her question, I was about to express my satisfaction when I suddenly sensed something and furrowed my brow, looking upward.
“It’s coming down now.”
The zombies I’d left on the third floor to block the Bulldozer—they were all dead.
They’d held it off far better than I’d expected.
“…”
Even though I’d given the order, they’d still given their lives for Electric and Jae-beom. I bowed my head briefly in silent tribute before issuing my command.
“When that thing comes down, hide behind this and attack until it dies.”
“Grrrrgh.”
“Gwaaak.”
“Gah…”
Whether it was the attack command,
the death of their comrades,
or an instinctive response to the Mutant Zombie,
the growls of the zombies—Bone Axes raised in combat stance—sounded noticeably more aggressive than usual.
‘Good.’
Surprised by their unusual ferocity, I watched them curiously, then nodded in satisfaction.
But…
For some reason, the creature wasn’t coming down.
Had the aggro been broken when the zombies died?
‘Given that thing’s intelligence, it’s certainly possible…’
The thought had barely crossed my mind when—!
Boom-!
An enormous crash echoed out, as if the Bulldozer had charged straight into a wall.
Fortunately, it seemed the aggro was still active, but it didn’t know how to get down the stairs.
“Ha, low intelligence has its drawbacks too.”
I was planning to use the barricade to its fullest and kill the creature once it came down after destroying the zombies.
But…
To think it was too stupid to even get down the stairs.
I let out a sigh of exasperation and looked upward when Seo Hwa-rin spoke.
“How… should we lure it down here?”
“We have no choice.”
The Base was right nearby.
If it had been an ordinary zombie, I’d have left it alone, but a strength-type Bulldozer couldn’t be left unchecked. So I decided to lure it.
Then Seo A-rin raised her hand eagerly.
“If we use zombies, our forces will weaken. Let me try luring it with Water Snakes!”
“Good idea.”
“Yes!”
I could lure the Bulldozer using Jae-beom’s Water Snakes, but there’s a two-second delay before commands reach them, so things could go wrong.
It would be better for Seo A-rin to control the Water Snakes directly.
With my approval, Seo A-rin immediately created six Water Snakes and sent them upward.
‘Her skills have improved.’
Until two days ago, she could only create five Water Snakes, but it seemed she’d gotten the hang of it through repeated practice and had already added one more.
I hadn’t seen her training, but realizing she was making quiet progress on her own, I nodded. Then Seo Hwa-rin came beside me and spoke proudly.
“She practiced every time she went up to the Rooftop.”
“I see.”
Now that I thought about it, once Seo A-rin had taken over field management, I hadn’t gone back to the Rooftop.
That’s probably why I hadn’t seen her practicing.
‘Come to think of it, I need to level up the Farming Category with the zombies before spring arrives too…’
Imagining Seo A-rin practicing in her spare time while managing the field, I remembered leaving the Farming Category that the zombies had acquired untouched.
‘Soon I’ll need to go up to the Rooftop to level up the Category and help with her training.’
The moment those thoughts settled, an enormous roar echoed out.

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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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