Surviving the Apocalypse as an All-Time Best Overpowered Necromancer - Chapter 57

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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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Chapter 57
57. Food Storage (5)
“……We should withdraw for now.”
The moment Lee Gang-hyuk saw the pillar of flame following the explosion, he ordered an immediate retreat.
“Grrrraaaagh!”
“Graaaah.”
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
Thud-thud-thud.
At the same time, the ground trembled as zombies from the apartment complexes surrounding them let out guttural snarls.
How it happened didn’t matter.
What mattered was escaping this place safely without running into zombies stimulated by the blast.
So the three of them ran forward without so much as a backward glance.
The zombies fell behind, but since they wouldn’t attack unless attacked first, they kept running.
Still, if they got too far, control would slip away, so as they adjusted their distance and ran, they saw zombies that had been agitated by the blast rushing toward where the explosion had occurred, beyond an embankment.
Even at a glance, there were enormous numbers of them.
‘I wonder if those people will be alright.’
Only then did Lee Gang-hyuk worry about the members of Jungnang-gu Alliance, and he glanced back briefly, but since their own lives were the more immediate concern, he didn’t stop and kept running.
After a long sprint, arriving at a park near Bulamsan Station, Lee Gang-hyuk first checked the condition of Seo Hwa-rin and Seo A-rin.
“Are you alright?”
“Y-yes, we’re fine. Huff, huff.”
“Yes, we’re okay, but……. Will Jungnang-gu Alliance be alright?”
At Lee Gang-hyuk’s question, Seo Hwa-rin asked with worry in her voice.
“I was just about to send them a message. Rest for a moment in the meantime. It looks like this area is safe enough.”
“Okay! Then I’ll keep monitoring the zombies’ condition.”
“I appreciate that.”
Even though they had run while managing their distance, the constant sprint without rest had been devastating for the weak-muscled zombies.
So when Lee Gang-hyuk accessed the Community to check on the zombies’ status, the moment he logged in——
[Lee Gang-hyuk, are you alright?]
A message came flying in from Park Mu-jin.
‘Talk of the tiger and he appears…….’
From the fact that they were worried about him first, it seemed the Jungnang-gu Alliance members were safe.
Somehow relieved, Lee Gang-hyuk let out a sigh of relief and sent a reply.

[Good to hear.]
He replied in less than a second.
It was clear how much he was concerned for them.
But he didn’t share their situation.
Was he intentionally hiding it?
Was it because things were urgent?
Or did he simply not feel the need to share the damage they’d suffered?
Either way, it didn’t matter much to Lee Gang-hyuk, so he simply asked what was happening.

[It was the work of Chungmuro Alliance.]

[Yes. I’ll explain the details later when we meet. The situation isn’t good right now. I hope you understand.]

He continued sending replies, but given how bad things seemed on his end, urgency was evident in Park Mu-jin’s messages.
Continuing to message him when he was dealing with a crisis would be a burden, so Lee Gang-hyuk ended with an offer to help if needed, and Park Mu-jin stopped responding after that.
It seemed to suggest there was nothing Lee Gang-hyuk could do for them.
Or perhaps he was keeping quiet to protect them from Chungmuro Alliance?
‘Well, he’ll explain later when we meet.’
Either way, as long as they stayed safe, that was what mattered.
With that thought, Lee Gang-hyuk looked toward where the explosion had occurred, sighed, and then turned his gaze toward where Nowon Station was.
‘Dealing with Junggye Station will likely leave no time to check on Nowon Station…….’
The whole reason he’d asked Park Mu-jin to meet was to scout out potential bait hideouts when they raided the Driver’s License Test Facility at Nowon Station.
Of course, that meeting also served to exchange information about Dungeon strategies and improve their relationship.
But now that chaos had erupted around Junggye Station?
‘Raid it now.’
Raid the test facility and return to the hideout.
“What’s the condition of the zombies?”
“Two of them have severe leg muscle damage. They can barely walk, so if we run like we did before, they’ll fall behind.”
“What about Electric and Lim Jae-beom?”
“Both are fine. Their Awakened bodies seem more resilient than expected.”
As long as they were safe, that was enough.
Common zombies could be replaced by taming new ones along the way, but Electric and Lim Jae-beom couldn’t be replaced.
“Then that’s settled. We’ll leave the zombies with damaged muscles here, go to the Driver’s License Test Facility to secure food, and then return.”
“Understood.”
“……Yes.”
Unlike Seo Hwa-rin, who answered right away, Seo A-rin looked at the zombies with pitying eyes and nodded with difficulty.
But showing no sign of objection, she took the bags the zombies had been carrying and signaled that she was ready.
“We’ll head out now. We’ll move to Nowon Station via the railway, check the interior of the test facility, and then enter.”
“Yes!”
Though they’d surveyed the route once before, the explosion might have changed things.
The fortunate part was that Sanggye Station and Nowon Station were connected by an elevated railway, allowing them to move safely and avoid zombies drawn by the blast.
Furthermore, from the elevated railway, they could observe the interior of the test facility.
And so…….
Having safely arrived at Nowon Station via the railway, Lee Gang-hyuk smiled as he spotted the Vehicle Depot right next to the Driver’s License Test Facility while examining its interior from above.
With trolleys gathered there, it was spacious and open, making it ideal for detecting danger in advance.
Moreover, the distance to the interior building was considerable, making it well-suited for defending against surprise attacks.
‘So there was a reason he chose this as a hideout.’
Understanding why the man locked on the 30th floor had chosen this place, Lee Gang-hyuk nodded and extended his hand.
“We can circle around the depot, enter from inside, secure the food, and return via the railway.”
“Yes. But……. We couldn’t confirm if anyone’s inside. Will it really be okay?”
Was she worried because the distance was too great to see inside the building clearly?
When Seo Hwa-rin asked again, Lee Gang-hyuk pointed to a small open space next to the Vehicle Depot.
“We can scout the interior with zombies and the Water Snake before we enter the building. There’s no rush.”
“Don’t worry! I’ll check every nook and cranny!”
At Lee Gang-hyuk’s words, Seo A-rin created a Water Snake and laughed with confidence.
At the same time…….
As the Water Snake moved swiftly under Seo A-rin’s control, circling the area, Seo Hwa-rin smiled gently.
“Alright. I trust you.”
“That’s good. Then I’ll trust you too.”
“Of course! You can both rely on me. I even know where they stored the food. Though I suppose I should verify if that’s actually true. Shall we go!”
With that, Seo A-rin dismissed the Water Snake and walked forward with complete confidence.
* * *
“Status report?”
“Zombies keep increasing. It looks like those from nearby dungeons are all converging here.”
Grrr.
“Chungmuro, those goddamn bastards…….”
At the report, Park Mu-jin furrowed his brow in irritation and gritted his teeth.
Not satisfied with trying to kidnap Alliance members, they’d blown up the LPG Charging Station near Junggye Station.
The fortunate part was that the stored gas was minimal, so the explosion’s force was limited, but it had drawn zombies from the surrounding apartment complexes.
Honestly, Myeonmok-dong Shelter was far enough away that ignoring them wouldn’t cause any immediate problems.
But the reason they didn’t retreat and held the line was that if this route became impassable, they’d have to take a long detour to reach Lee Gang-hyuk’s hideout.
If…….
At a time like this, Chungmuro Alliance attacked Lee Gang-hyuk?
There would be no way to help him.
If there was one option, it would be to station support personnel in his area on standby…….
But that wasn’t his decision to make, and given the number of people Lee Gang-hyuk had stationed there, it could be misunderstood.
‘Let me go see him.’
Pondering here wouldn’t help.
It’d be better to return quickly. Judging so, Park Mu-jin asked his subordinate.
“Casualties?”
“None besides the four caught in the initial blast.”
Thank goodness.
It seemed Jang Man-ho’s recent clearing of nearby zombies had been a stroke of fortune.
That was enough.
“Withdraw!”
Pulling out before any more deaths occurred would make cleanup easier later.
“Understood!”
“Fall back!”
“Retreat! Everyone retreat!”
As the order to withdraw was given, his subordinates, as if waiting for it, scattered in different directions, relaying the command to everyone.
Meanwhile, Park Mu-jin looked out at Junggye Station, now overrun with zombies, and sighed.
“Of all times…….”
What had Lee Gang-hyuk wanted to say? Why had he asked him to meet?
Park Mu-jin, genuinely curious, considered accessing the Community and asking via message, but then shook his head.
‘It’s better not to ask now.’
Seeing each other face-to-face, even once more, was preferable to satisfying idle curiosity.
With that decision, Park Mu-jin hurried back to the Shelter, leading his men.
* * *
“……There’s no one inside. And the place where the food is stored is exactly as that person said. How should we proceed?”
“Hmm.”
At the news that no one was inside, Lee Gang-hyuk stroked his chin in thought.
Really no one at all?
Was it actually a gift of food rather than a trap?
But why would the people who’d locked him up do that?
The questions lingered only briefly.
“Surely there’s no one using Concealment Type hiding again?”
Seo Hwa-rin, too, hadn’t fully dispelled her suspicions of the man and showed signs of unease.
The probability of two Concealment Type users teaming up…….
“Concealment Type isn’t common, but it’s not so rare that we can rule it out either. Let’s examine more carefully.”
“Yes! This time I’ll check every single rat hole!”
Caution never hurt.
The two others, having absorbed Lee Gang-hyuk’s carefulness, didn’t rush in recklessly and examined the interior meticulously.
Only after a full hour of inspection did they confirm it wasn’t a trap and head toward the food storage.
And then…….
‘Huh? Not even a squirrel would hoard this much……. What a massive stash.’
Seeing the piled food, Lee Gang-hyuk shook his head in disbelief.
“For one person to have gathered all this……. I’m starting to understand why he told us to check.”
“That’s strange—I didn’t see this the last time we raided…….”
The two were equally shocked and trailed off, at a loss for words.
The amount was certainly immense for a single person to have collected.
But considering all the food in the surrounding area had vanished, it was plausible.
“With this much, we should be able to make it until the barley fully grows. Let’s gather it up. Just in case, Hwa-rin, can you keep watch?”
“Yes!”
“Everyone, gather over here!”
The moment he said that, Seo Hwa-rin moved toward the window where she had a clear view of the outside.
And Seo A-rin herded the zombies together, then ordered them to open the bags.
The natural way she issued commands was striking.
‘Well, isn’t that what being a team is?’
There could be confusion during combat, but in normal situations, they could do whatever without issue.
Perhaps that’s why.
Lee Gang-hyuk didn’t give separate orders but simply started loading food into the bags, letting Seo A-rin handle the zombies as she saw fit.

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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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