Surviving the Apocalypse as an All-Time Best Overpowered Necromancer - Chapter 80

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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 80
80. The Giant Zombie (1)
The next day.
“What do you think of it?”
Before Lee Gang-hyuk had even finished breakfast, Seo A-rin showed him the improved Bone Armor, and he nodded in surprise.
“It’s excellent, really. It feels so much more comfortable than just wearing the Bone Armor alone!”
“Really?”
As the praise continued, Seo A-rin’s expression, which had been full of anxiety, softened considerably.
“Yes. And it looks good to other people too, it’s much warmer now, and it’s honestly the best.”
“That’s right. You really did a great job. Best work.”
There was no change in performance, but simply hiding the bones—the Bone Armor’s greatest drawback—was a success in itself.
And with the added warmth, both Lee Gang-hyuk and Seo Hwa-rin expressed their satisfaction repeatedly.
Thanks to this, Seo A-rin’s expression brightened even more, and as her tension completely eased, she spoke more during breakfast.
Perhaps because of that.
The three of them, who had forgotten all the world’s worries for a brief moment and shared a pleasant time together, had decided to rest today and were about to sleep after drinking just one can of beer when—
Boom-boom-boom-boom.
“!!”
As the building suddenly shook as if an earthquake had struck, the three startled figures grabbed their armor and rushed outside.
They were trying to get out of the building just in case it really was an earthquake, but—
The moment they stepped outside, the shaking stopped.
“What on earth—”
“There could be aftershocks, so let’s go downstairs for now.”
“Right!”
Earthquakes don’t stop with just one. So the three decided to stay on a lower floor in case of emergency and quickly descended the stairs.
At that moment—
The building began to shake again.
They thought it was an aftershock, but—
An enormous roar echoed from somewhere.
“Cuoooooooooooock!!”
“!!”
The moment they heard the roar, the three went rigid.
This sound was—
Unmistakably the cry of that massive creature they’d encountered on the Highway recently. And the sound was far louder than when they’d first spotted it there.
Which meant—
“It seems like the shaking wasn’t an earthquake, but that creature passing nearby.”
“How is that possible—”
“We were sure it went somewhere else, so why—”
At the confused words that followed, the two startled figures trailed off and unconsciously looked downward.
At the same time—
The same thought surfaced in all three minds.
‘If we go down like this, we’re dead.’
For some reason, it felt as though the creature was directly below them.
No—they were certain of it.
Was it the instinct of an Awakener? Or had a sixth sense sent them a warning?
Whatever the reason, the three stopped in their tracks and, as if it were the obvious choice, headed for the rooftop.
From the rooftop, they could observe the situation without being detected by the creature.
The moment they climbed onto the rooftop to confirm how close it was, the three went ashen.
A massive creature was passing right in front of their hideout.
If—
They hadn’t heard that roar and gone downstairs—
Or worse, if they hadn’t known about the creature at all—they would have been caught without warning.
“Phew.”
Lucky.
Their instinct had saved them.
Lee Gang-hyuk let out a relieved sigh the moment he grasped the situation, shaking his head slowly.
“Ah—”
Behind him, Seo Hwa-rin and Seo A-rin’s legs gave out, and they sank to the rooftop floor.
“Is it the same one we saw before? We thought it went beyond the Tunnel, but was it in this area all along?”
At Seo Hwa-rin’s question, Lee Gang-hyuk stood by the rooftop railing and observed the creature carefully.
At the same time—
He recalled the creature from the Highway, then shook his head as if he had no idea.
“I’m not sure. Without more information, I can’t be certain, but I hope it’s the same one we saw before.”
“…”
If there were more creatures like that, it would be a catastrophe.
Lee Gang-hyuk, hoping as Seo Hwa-rin had suggested that it was the one they’d discovered before, watched silently until he noticed its direction remained consistent, then furrowed his brow.
‘What is this?’
If it were simply wandering the area, it should avoid the vehicles left on the road and move in a different direction—
But it continued moving in a single direction, as if chasing someone.
Could there be another creature like that martial artist who led around hordes of Zombies?
‘What the hell—’
Concerned, Lee Gang-hyuk checked what lay ahead of the massive creature, but strangely, there was no one there.
Strange. The creature clearly seemed to be pursuing something, yet nothing was visible ahead of it.
Was it simply walking forward, looking straight ahead?
The confusion was brief.
“Cuoooooooooooock!!”
The massive creature, having reached Dobong Station, let out another roar and naturally moved inside.
‘My hunch was right.’
Through this, Lee Gang-hyuk could confirm that the creature was indeed pursuing someone.
At that moment—
The massive creature’s roar sounded again, and a heavy crash echoed.
Crash—!
“Cuoooooooock!!”
Boom-crash!
Bang!
It sounded like the creature was fighting someone.
The distance was too great, and since the commotion was inside the station, they couldn’t see what was happening.
They could only guess from the sounds that a battle was underway.
But then a Vending Machine suddenly burst through a window, and the three’s expressions turned grave.
Though they said nothing, the memory of those who had been killed by Yetis, infected, and transformed into Yetis themselves came to mind.
If—
The person inside became infected and transformed into the same form as that creature—
The situation would become far more serious.
But what difference would it make to go rescue them now that combat had already begun?
The people attacked by the Yetis were already dead before they could even attempt a rescue.
And it wasn’t even directly beneath their hideout—they’d have to reach Dobong Station—
Could that person hold out until then?
And if they encountered a Yeti on the way, they would take damage as well.
Burdened by the guilt of not being able to save those attacked by the Yetis, Lee Gang-hyuk wrestled with the conflict, but ultimately shook his head, considering the realistic aspects.
“…”
“Mm.”
Seo Hwa-rin and Seo A-rin, having reached the same conclusion, let out small groans and turned their heads away.
It was uncomfortable to keep watching.
Lee Gang-hyuk felt no different from them, honestly.
But he had to confirm whether, when the battle ended, another Giant Zombie would be created, and if so, which direction they would move—so he kept his gaze fixed and continued to observe the situation.
As the team’s leader, he bore the heavy responsibility of preparing for any contingency.
While he kept watch over the situation at Dobong Station—
The massive creature inside emerged from the station, chewing on what had become a mass of blood.
The distance was too great to see clearly, but from the circumstances, it appeared to be the corpse of the person who had just fought the creature.
‘Did it devour them before they could become infected and transform?’
At first, he considered it fortunate.
If the creature consumed its victim, there would be almost no chance of a new Giant Zombie being created.
But immediately after, the sense of relief vanished, and an inexplicable sense of guilt began to set in.
What if—
He and the others had acted without hesitation the moment they discovered those killed by the Giant Zombie and the Yetis, couldn’t they have saved at least one person?
“…”
A moment of silence.
‘No.’
The instant guilt made him regret his past actions, Lee Gang-hyuk furrowed his brow and rejected the thought.
‘They were strangers to begin with. I can’t save everyone.’
He was not a hero.
It was something he had repeatedly reminded himself of while surviving alone after the catastrophe.
Survival Rule 11: I am not a hero. Prioritize my own life.
In any situation, my survival comes first.
Though now that two others had joined him, the standard had shifted from “I” to “we,” he was not righteous enough to risk his life fighting for strangers.
‘In a world like this, altruism is unnecessary.’
Recalling the survival rules he’d created to steel his resolve against belated regret, Lee Gang-hyuk turned and explained the situation.
“Fortunately, it’s heading toward Banghak Station. We don’t need to worry about Infection. It seems the Giant Zombie is a similar specimen to the Grolla Bear.”
“Similar? You don’t mean the Grolla Bear itself became a Giant Zombie, do you? That thing we saw in the Underground Parking Lot was huge too.”
Hearing Lee Gang-hyuk’s words, Seo Hwa-rin’s eyes widened with alarm as she recalled the Grolla Bear she’d seen in the Underground Parking Lot.
Certainly—
The Grolla Bear in the Underground Parking Lot had been far larger than expected.
And according to the Mutated Zombie strategy guide on the community forum, the Grolla Bear grows larger the more it consumes, so the possibility wasn’t entirely out of the question.
If even ordinary Zombies had grown stronger in this changed world, Mutated Zombies wouldn’t be the same as they were before.
At Seo Hwa-rin’s question, Lee Gang-hyuk habitually stroked his chin and exhaled heavily.
“It’s unknowable. Without information, I can’t say for certain, but if it’s as you suggest and the Grolla Bear has transformed—then the others likely have too.”
“…”
Seo Hwa-rin, who had asked initially out of mere curiosity about a possible connection, now went rigid at his words.
A secondary mutation of a Mutated Zombie.
If Lee Gang-hyuk was mentioning it, the probability it had occurred was very high.
At the same time—
As surprise hardened her expression, the traces they’d found in the Tunnel resurfaced in Seo Hwa-rin’s mind.
Lee Gang-hyuk had said the mutated creature discovered right after the accident might be a Grolla Bear—so if that was the case—
“Could the traces we found in the Tunnel have been—”
“Possibly.”
“…”
The hypothesis that the Grolla Bear, which had vanished without a trace, devoured all the Zombies around it before transforming into a Giant Zombie gradually took clearer shape.
The gazes of the three rigid figures naturally turned toward Banghak Station.
“We should inform the Jungnang-gu Alliance. Though it’s far, the creature is heading in their direction, so at least we should give them a heads-up.”
He didn’t know the exact location of the Shelter belonging to the Jungnang-gu Alliance.
But the direction the Giant Zombie was heading was, in any case, their territory.
So Lee Gang-hyuk sent a note to Park Mu-jin, partly to reciprocate the report about the Yetis.
‘At this level, they’ll prepare their defenses on their own.’
He had initially thought to share only the Giant Zombie’s movement path, but ended up transmitting the possibility of a secondary mutation of the Mutated Zombie as well, then looked up at the sky with a bitter expression.
‘Damn it, so damn dark.’
Staring at the sky filled with dark clouds, he felt his mood dimming for no reason, and shook his head, exhaling another heavy sigh.
* * *
“A Mutated Zombie can mutate again?”
Park Mu-jin, who had rushed out after receiving a report of multiple Yetis appearing near the Myeongmok-dong Shelter, stiffened the moment he received Lee Gang-hyuk’s note.
Similar talk had emerged from within his own ranks.
But since it was only speculation without evidence or specimens, he had dismissed it as overreaching—
Now that Lee Gang-hyuk was saying the same thing, Park Mu-jin realized this wasn’t mere conjecture to be brushed aside, and hastily sent a note to Kim Tae-sik.
At that moment—
His brow creased.
A strange sensation, which he hadn’t felt during the advance, came over him.
Something was present in the surroundings.
“…”
Sensing that someone was lurking nearby, watching him, Park Mu-jin opened his Mana and scattered it in all directions to search them out.
It was the same technique Kim Tae-sik had used to see through Lee Gang-hyuk’s trap not long ago.
And simultaneously—
The Yetis hiding in the snow, threatened by the Mana he’d scattered, shrieked and revealed themselves.
“Annihilation.”
“Yes!”
Park Mu-jin then issued orders to his subordinates.
Looking at the note Lee Gang-hyuk had sent, he let out a dry chuckle.
‘Luck was on my side.’
If he hadn’t stopped his advance upon receiving the note, he would have fallen into their ambush.
Of course, since he had personally selected these people, he would have counterattacked and taken them down somehow even if ambushed, but there would have been casualties.
‘I owe him one.’
Grateful that Lee Gang-hyuk’s warning had allowed him to see through the Yetis’ ambush, Park Mu-jin drew his Crescent Moon Blade and charged forward.

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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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