Surviving the Apocalypse as an All-Time Best Overpowered Necromancer - Chapter 66

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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 66
66. The Zombie Swarm from the West (2)
“It’s great! I can’t hear any sound at all.”
“Really?”
After the meal ended, Lee Gang-hyuk’s words about testing the performance of the Earmuffs that Seo A-rin had made brightened her expression.
Of course…….
It was less that she’d made them well and more thanks to the finished Earmuffs themselves, but without the Ear Collar that Seo A-rin had added, the performance wouldn’t have been this good.
“Yes. You did very well. It’s excellent.”
“Phew, I’m glad I picked up the Earmuffs from the convenience store at Bulamsan Station. I grabbed them thinking I might need them someday, but I never expected to use them right away like this.”
When Lee Gang-hyuk praised her for doing well, Seo A-rin let out a relieved sigh.
“It’s always good to have things prepared. You did well.”
“Yes!”
With another round of praise, a warm atmosphere settled over the group, but then Seo Hwa-rin raised a concern.
“But if we can’t hear anything at all, we won’t be able to communicate with each other. What do we do?”
“We’ll have to rely on hand signals as much as possible……. But I’ll admit that’s not without problems. We should try to simplify our hand signals or find a way we can communicate while our ears are covered.”
“Hmm.”
With their ears blocked, there was no choice but to communicate through hand signals, but that didn’t mean they could watch only someone else’s hands during combat.
As Lee Gang-hyuk was pondering what solution might work, Seo A-rin clapped her hands.
“How about this? I sometimes see in soccer that players execute a Coordinated Strategy with each other, right? What if one person takes a specific action and the others move accordingly?”
“A Coordinated Strategy? There’s something like that?”
Seo Hwa-rin looked bewildered, as if she knew nothing about soccer.
Meanwhile, Lee Gang-hyuk looked surprised that Seo A-rin—who didn’t seem like the type to watch soccer—would say something like that, and he asked curiously.
“You watch soccer often?”
“Huh? Oh, well…….”
At his question, Seo A-rin glanced at Seo Hwa-rin before laughing awkwardly.
“My ex-boyfriend was a soccer player.”
“Ah…….”
“Huh?”
At her words, Lee Gang-hyuk nodded in understanding, but Seo Hwa-rin, apparently unaware, frowned and looked at her.
Whether it was because she’d had a boyfriend or because the soccer player was her ex, he couldn’t tell.
Thinking it was a matter between the two of them, Lee Gang-hyuk tried to slip away, but Seo A-rin hurriedly continued.
“Anyway, what do you think?”
“It sounds good! It’s a great idea!”
“You really…….”
Seeing Seo A-rin use Lee Gang-hyuk as a shield, Seo Hwa-rin sighed and shook her head.
But hunting Cricket was more important than that issue for now, so Seo Hwa-rin held her tongue and asked Lee Gang-hyuk.
“Exactly what do you mean? I don’t know much about soccer.”
“It’s simple—you decide on actions in advance. For example, have you seen the movie Tazza?”
“Yes. I’ve seen it. Oh! I think I understand!”
Now that she grasped it, Seo Hwa-rin nodded, and Lee Gang-hyuk continued.
“Then let’s decide today how to act in different situations, and tomorrow we’ll practice once it gets light.”
“Yes!”
* * *
Two days later.
Before heading out to Jangam Station, Lee Gang-hyuk went up to the thirtieth floor to bring food to the man he’d locked away there, in Seo A-rin’s place.
At the same time…….
The man, seeing the Skeleton Summons at Lee Gang-hyuk’s side, suddenly spoke to him.
“Skeletons, then.”
“That’s right.”
When Lee Gang-hyuk answered curtly, the man seemed to recall something and stared at the skeletons.
Normally he would’ve complained the moment he saw Lee Gang-hyuk, but now he stayed quiet and docile.
Was that why?
“What? What is it?”
Lee Gang-hyuk, puzzled, asked, and the man shook his head with a bitter expression.
“Nothing in particular……. Just looking.”
“I see.”
Lee Gang-hyuk understood the reason from his expression alone, but had nothing to say about it, so he gave the man his meal as he usually did.
“Off somewhere again, are you?”
“Hunting.”
When Lee Gang-hyuk answered truthfully to the man’s question, the man looked at him in surprise before shrugging and speaking.
“Then I’ll give you a tip about the skeletons. Preserve them as much as you can.”
“Preserve them?”
When Lee Gang-hyuk asked the reason, the man snorted.
“You’ll have to figure out the rest yourself.”
Having said that, he turned away, then suddenly sighed and continued.
“Whether you live or die doesn’t matter to me. But Seo A-rin—keep that girl alive no matter what. That’s why I gave you the tip.”
Was it because he’d grown close to Seo A-rin?
Seeing his concern for her, Lee Gang-hyuk smiled and nodded.
“You don’t have to tell me—I’m going to do that regardless.”
“Good. Don’t be late coming back. You should think about the feelings of those waiting for you at home.”
It struck Lee Gang-hyuk as absurd that the man, despite being locked up, called this place home. He snorted.
“Why? Once you eat, sleep, and defecate somewhere, that’s your home, isn’t it?”
“That’s ridiculous.”
Lee Gang-hyuk turned to leave at the absurd claim, but the man spoke again.
“I mean it. Be careful out there.”
“……I will.”
Hearing someone he’d imprisoned tell him to be careful felt strange. Lee Gang-hyuk headed downstairs.
“Hmph.”
Without thinking, he looked back, then sighed and shook his head.
‘I need to make a decision one way or another.’
Keeping him locked up like this forever wasn’t right.
The prisoner was perfectly fine, but the one doing the imprisoning was the one getting stressed—an odd situation.
Deciding he’d have to choose soon whether to send the man far away or kill him, Lee Gang-hyuk moved on to the twenty-third floor.
“You’re here? We’ve finished all our preparations. We can leave whenever you’re ready.”
“Great. Let’s head out right now then.”
“Yes!”
“Let’s go! Just trust me today too!”
Thanks to the Coordinated Strategy they’d promised the day before, both their faces were filled with confidence.
Satisfied, Lee Gang-hyuk was smiling when a note flew in from Park Mu-jin.
[We plan to capture Banghak Station today.]
The Chungmuro Alliance had drawn together zombies through their schemes, and having dealt with a fair number of them, Park Mu-jin’s message said they’d capture Banghak Station as promised. Lee Gang-hyuk sent back a reply of acknowledgment.
It seemed they wanted to clear it first in case there were any Mutated Zombies near the Base.
“I just received a message—it looks like the Jungnang-gu Alliance is also planning to capture Banghak Station today.”
After relaying the situation to both women, Seo Hwa-rin scratched her cheek and asked.
“Is that so? Then what about Cricket? Should we wait until they’re done?”
“Hmm.”
Since members of the Jungnang-gu Alliance would be nearby, she was apparently worried they might learn about the Core of the Mutated Zombie if they caught Cricket carelessly.
Lee Gang-hyuk hesitated for a moment, but soon shook his head, thinking it would be fine.
“Regardless of how many the Jungnang-gu Alliance deploys, the distance is great enough that they won’t notice immediately. Let’s hunt on our own, and once they withdraw, we’ll head to Banghak Station.”
“Understood!”
If they caught Cricket and got the corpse of the mysterious Mutated Zombie at Banghak Station, they’d have two Cores.
A chance to grow stronger than they were now.
Lee Gang-hyuk, unwilling to give up this opportunity, decided to move more boldly than when he’d passed through the dark tunnel two days ago, and they set out.
Perhaps because they’d made the trip several times in recent days? The path from the Base to Jangam Station was clean, with no zombies in sight.
Shortly after they safely passed Bulamsan Station, Lee Gang-hyuk recalled the scene he’d witnessed on the Highway two days ago and pointed to the Railroad Tracks.
“There were many zombies around Jangam Station, so let’s move along the Railroad Tracks from here on.”
When Cricket had screamed and lured them, there had been quite a few zombies in the area.
The two women seemed to recall that scene as well, nodding naturally before climbing onto the tracks.
Then, as they headed toward Jangam Station, Seo A-rin looked around and spoke.
“I’ve had this thought before when we passed here—there are a lot of fields nearby……. What if we cleared this area for farming?”
At her words, looking around revealed traces of abandoned farming scattered about.
Certainly…….
If they planted crops here instead of on the rooftop, they wouldn’t have to worry about food, but it was too far from the Base, so Lee Gang-hyuk opposed the suggestion.
“It’s not a bad idea. But we don’t know what might happen on the way out here, so let’s put that on hold for now.”
“I understand. Still, it feels like a waste to leave all this land unused like this.”
“Spring is still a long way off, so let’s think about it slowly. Maybe we’ll find a way to use it someday.”
“Yes!”
Seo A-rin had been disappointed at his rejection of her suggestion, but her expression brightened at his follow-up words.
Then, at that moment…….
“KIIIAAAAAAAAGH!!”
As if sensing their presence, Cricket screamed just as it had on the Highway.
The three stopped in their tracks and looked toward the source of the cry.
“KIIIAGH!”
At the second scream, having pinpointed its location, Lee Gang-hyuk spoke to the two.
“It seems like the creature is near the Vehicle Base.”
“The building-looking place we saw from the Driving License Test Center, right?”
“Yes.”
When Lee Gang-hyuk confirmed Seo Hwa-rin’s question, she pointed to the opposite side of the Vehicle Base.
“In that case, I think it would be safer to deal with the nearby zombies first before moving in that direction. What do you think?”
“That’s definitely safer. Let’s clear the area around Jangam Station first, then move to the Vehicle Base.”
“Yes!”
As safely as possible.
Even with full preparations to hunt Cricket, if too many zombies came rushing, they’d have trouble dealing with them.
So the three of them, having decided to handle as many nearby zombies as possible before hunting Cricket, headed toward Jangam Station.
Entering Jangam Station moments later, the zombies on the platform greeted them.
“GRUUUAAGH!”
“GRAAGH!”
“Hold formation!”
As the creatures charged, Lee Gang-hyuk hastily retreated, putting the zombies and skeletons in front.
Then…….
Just as Seo Hwa-rin and Seo A-rin were about to use their skills, Lee Gang-hyuk frantically stopped them.
“Not yet! Both of you—conserve your Mana.”
“Yes!”
They needed to save both women’s Mana for when they fought Cricket.
The two seemed to understand this and stopped their incantations, instead watching the zombies fight.
“Huh?”
Then, spotting the Bone Assassins splitting into two groups to approach the zombies, they sparkled with wonder.
“They’re so faint……?”
“Yes. They’re not completely invisible, but they’re still pretty useful.”
“That’s fascinating.”
Though they’d heard about the Bone Assassins before, this was the first time they’d seen them in combat, and both women couldn’t take their eyes off them.
In the meantime, the Bone Assassins moved to the rear unseen by the zombies and attacked, ending the battle in an instant.
“Gang-hyuk, you said a skeleton’s Job Class changes depending on the weapon, right?”
“Yes.”
“So what if we used armor instead of a weapon? Especially a Shield?”
“That’s right! Now that you mention it, you can make Shields too, can’t you?”
“Hmm.”
Lee Gang-hyuk stroked his chin at their words. To be honest, he had considered using armor before.
But when he first created the skeletons, there had been bone armor right beside him, yet it hadn’t responded, so he’d assumed armor couldn’t be used as material. But what if the Job Class was determined by what you held in your hand when you created it?
In that case, wouldn’t a Shield work?
‘It should work.’
At their question about what would happen if they used a Shield, Lee Gang-hyuk smiled with certainty.
“Thank you! I should try making one.”
Lee Gang-hyuk thanked the two and immediately used his skill.
While Seo Hwa-rin and Seo A-rin kept watch around Lee Gang-hyuk to protect him, after a brief wait, a skeleton wielding a Shield appeared, and they gasped in admiration before approaching him.

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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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