Immortals vs. Grim Reapers - chapter 7
Chapter 7: An Experienced Rookie (Part 4)
Thud.
Gangrim leapt over the stair railing, avoiding the zombies’ line of sight, and landed on the basement stairs.
Han Min-ah, who had been illuminating the lower area with the Goblin Lantern from the second floor, made eye contact with Gangrim and nodded.
Gangrim cleared his throat loudly and then kicked the basement door with a bang.
“Giiiiik…”
“Grrrk.”
Gangrim kicked the door several times, loud enough for the zombies to not ignore, and even turned on Bimang’s flashlight to illuminate himself.
“Over here! You half-rotten things.”
The zombies, upon spotting Gangrim, let out horrific cries and rushed down the stairs, vying to be first.
Gangrim made eye contact with Han Min-ah before leaping inside. Then he pulled out a new Goblin Lantern from his pocket.
It was the Goblin Lantern he had just purchased.
‘I spent an extra 20 nyang, but it’s better than earning 50 nyang.’
This strategy was possible because Han Min-ah had spiritual perception.
After he lured the zombies away, Han Min-ah, with her spiritual perception, would use the other Goblin Lantern to lead the patients out.
Society hadn’t completely collapsed yet, so there shouldn’t be zombies on the first floor.
Gangrim was certain of at least that much.
‘Even if there are any, I told them to wait and not go out, so all that’s left is for me to escape through this underground corridor to the parking lot.’
No matter how many zombies he might encounter in the underground corridor, he was confident he could take care of himself alone.
Fortunately, there weren’t many zombies in the underground corridor. Only three or four as far as the Goblin Lantern’s light could reach.
“This way, over here!”
Gangrim shouted, waving the flashlight to ensure the zombies from the first floor followed completely. The zombies in the underground corridor started to react as well.
The moment Gangrim was certain almost all the zombies had come down, he turned off Bimang’s flashlight.
Suddenly losing their target, the zombies floundered and wandered around.
‘As much as I’d like to take them all out…’
Escaping was the priority. After all, 70 nyang soul pay was waiting.
‘What should I buy when I surpass 100 nyang soul pay? I should ask Yeomna for recommendations.’
Suddenly, Gangrim felt a chill.
He was just passing the last zombie on the opposite side of the corridor.
It seemed to have come out of a freezer, its entire body frozen solid. Its movements were bizarrely jerky, twisting its joints.
‘This looks familiar…’
At that moment, Gangrim’s eyes met the zombie’s. With an eerie feeling, Gangrim quickly ducked his head.
Kagagagak!
With an ear-splitting sound, the wall where Gangrim’s neck had been was sharply sliced.
Feeling a chill down his spine, Gangrim rolled and looked at the frozen zombie.
“Gik. Giik.”
The zombie stared at Gangrim, twisting its body grotesquely. Its joints bent in unpredictable directions. Even in the darkness, it was staring straight at Gangrim.
Gangrim bit his trembling lip.
‘An enhanced zombie.’
Gangrim readjusted his grip on the hand axe. The first thing that came to his mind was, oddly enough, his own profit.
‘I wonder if I’ll get a bonus for taking that down too?’
Gangrim chuckled at his own thought.
Unlike ordinary zombies that even an average adult man could handle, enhanced zombies were feared even by zombie hunters.
‘While combat ability varies depending on the awakened ability, the regulations state that even well-trained zombie hunters should face these in groups of at least two.’
Of course, if one understands the characteristics and nature of enhanced zombies, they can be taken down alone. But the problem is that each enhanced zombie’s traits differ greatly.
Therefore, it’s prohibited to face them alone until their abilities and behavior patterns are clearly confirmed.
‘Well, I could take it down alone, but…’
Enhanced zombies, being powerful, contain more black matter. That’s why zombie hunters often target them for a big score.
And Gangrim had experience taking down hundreds of such enhanced zombies.
‘If it’s the type that twists its body bizarrely like this…’
“Gik.”
Bang. With a thunderous noise, it charged at a ferocious speed.
The distance between Gangrim and the enhanced zombie was over 10m, but that gap closed in the blink of an eye.
Gangrim quickly twisted his body.
‘It’s a speed type.’
Bang bang bang, crack!
With a terrible sound, Gangrim felt a searing pain in his shoulder. Blood was seeping from three claw marks on his right shoulder.
If he had been a moment slower in dodging, his neck would have been sliced.
“Gyaa…!”
Crack.
A zombie that collided with the enhanced one collapsed in a crumpled state. It twisted its waist 180 degrees to look behind itself.
Its expression seemed to convey confusion as to why Gangrim’s neck hadn’t been cut.
Speed types are easier to predict in their actions. Especially those that have recently become enhanced zombies have simpler movements.
Gangrim had read its movements, but his dynamic vision and body’s reaction speed couldn’t keep up.
To avoid it, he needed to dodge based on prediction rather than sight.
‘Ah… I remember this one. It was named the Horsefly Zombie.’
A zombie that appeared at the hospital and massacred a nearby family.
He hadn’t recognized it well due to the bluish Goblin Lantern light and only having seen it on news screens before, but it was undoubtedly the one named the Horsefly Zombie.
Two B-class awakened ones had been deployed to catch it.
‘It doesn’t seem that bad… maybe because it hasn’t been a zombie for long.’
Unlike corpses that decay over time, zombies get stronger as time passes.
Those that used to walk start running, and those whose necks would break easily develop tough muscles. This tendency was especially strong in enhanced zombies.
It didn’t make sense for corpses to get stronger, but since it actually happened, they could only speculate it was due to the power flowing from the gates.
Fortunately, it wasn’t yet strong enough to require B-class awakened ones to intervene.
Judging by its frozen skin, it seemed to have just crawled out of a freezer.
“Yeomna: That’s an expensive one.”
As Bimang rang, Gangrim again thought about the bonus.
“Gangrim: How much is it worth?”
“Yeomna: It’s quite lucrative.”
Looks like he won’t tell.
It means try catching it if you can.
But even without further explanation, he could tell the reward for it wouldn’t be small.
Gangrim’s heart leaned towards catching it again.
‘At least it’s intuitive, which is fortunate.’
By the time the world was collapsing due to the zombie plague, all sorts of nasty ones had appeared.
‘The world is still livable, I guess. No, that’s not the issue right now.’
How on earth does he hunt this thing?
Even though it had just become an enhanced zombie, it was difficult to handle in Gangrim’s current state.
If he turned his back now, he’d be hunted down.
The zombie, true to its nature, didn’t show pain or confusion at losing an arm. It just stared at Gangrim with a grotesque expression.
Suddenly, Gangrim noticed its gaze wandering slightly.
‘Its field of vision… isn’t wide.’
It can’t see the Goblin Lantern. If it could, it would have aimed at him precisely.
Instead, it was finding his position through hearing, smell, or exceptionally good night vision.
‘Ha, damn. I might be able to do this.’
If not now, he won’t get another chance to catch an enhanced zombie.
Gangrim knew its characteristics and weaknesses well, and had figured out its eyes were still dim. It was dangerous, but he was increasingly thinking it was worth a try.
Gangrim set down the Goblin Lantern and gradually closed the distance with it.
Naturally, fighting with both hands was more advantageous than with one.
‘Let’s do this.’
Thud.
Gangrim first struck the wall with his hand axe. The enhanced zombie immediately turned its head but didn’t charge.
‘Sensitive to sound, but doesn’t use it like eyes.’
That means it has good night vision.
Gangrim simultaneously ran in the opposite direction of the wall he had hit while making noise.
The zombie swung its arm like a whip as soon as it heard footsteps. But by then, Gangrim had predicted its action and was rotating his body, swinging the hand axe upwards.
Kagagak.
The sound of tough skin being cut and bones breaking echoed.
Due to his awkward posture, Gangrim tumbled and rolled. One arm of the enhanced zombie was severed above the elbow thanks to Gangrim’s earlier swing of the hand axe.
Though its skin was tough, its own strength made it easier to cut.
‘The hand axe, or should I say Death Sword? It’s much sharper than expected.’
“Gaaaaaah!”
Bang. The enhanced zombie with its arm cut off was screaming in frenzy.
It was wildly swinging its arm, trying to find Gangrim. Gangrim carefully stood up, keeping his body low.
Thud.
Something touched his back. A zombie had noticed Gangrim’s presence and tried to bite his shoulder.
But Gangrim instantly uppercut its jaw and calmly stood up, facing the enhanced zombie.
He was now in the middle of a zombie horde.
Everything was as predicted.
“Gaaaak!”
“Krgh!”
Thud.
Finally, the last zombie fell.
Gangrim stood covered in blood amidst countless corpses.
His breath was ragged, and he no longer had the strength to lift the hand axe.
The wounds and injuries all over his body were constantly pushing him towards giving up.
‘But the same goes for you, doesn’t it?’
The enhanced zombie was covered in wounds.
One arm was cut off, and one hand was missing its wrist. Its leg limped due to severed tendons, but its explosive jumping speed was still threatening.
No other zombies remained. They had served as Gangrim’s shield.
‘A creature with only speed lacks body control.’
Just as a horse can’t run fast in a dense forest, the numerous zombie bodies were nothing but obstacles to the enhanced zombie.
Of course, if Gangrim let his guard down for a moment, he’d be torn apart, but thankfully, the darkness hid his body well.
Not that his condition was perfect either; he was covered in wounds all over.
It was a small consolation that he hadn’t been bitten.
‘…I’ve been drenched in zombie blood over my wounds, is that okay?’
Usually, zombie infection occurs through saliva, but cases of blood transmission aren’t unheard of.
However, right now, the zombie’s teeth in front of him were more worrying than the zombie plague.
“Gak, gak, gagak.”
The enhanced zombie was grinding its teeth, trying to find Gangrim.
One of the frightening aspects of zombies is that they never tire.
As long as they’re certain there’s something to bite nearby, they never give up.
On the other hand, Gangrim, exhausted to his limits, was starting to feel like giving up.
Gangrim glanced behind him.
After all the rolling and chaos, the exit was right behind him.
‘Come to think of it, Nurse Han Min-ah and the patients must be waiting for me. If I quietly leave now, it might not be able to find me…’
Just then, Bimang vibrated.
“Yeomna: Patient escape successful.”
“Yeomna: In the end, you’re just taking a gamble and reaping the benefits~”
Before getting angry at the comment about reaping benefits, Gangrim focused on another point first.
‘So they escaped safely.’
Gangrim felt relieved. Then he flinched, realizing his own emotion.
‘Did I just feel relieved? That I could save those people?’
The original Gangrim would have calculated profits and losses, then concluded it was better to stay and left the patients behind.
Like the countless choices he had made to rise to the position of colonel.
Gangrim thought it was just to complete the mission, but he couldn’t help feeling oddly relieved.
Just then, another notification rang out.
“Mission ‘Hospital Escape’ completed”
“Objective: Escape the hospital with the patients”
“Reward 1: Futile lives”
“Reward 2: Self-imposed hardship”
“Reward 3: 10 nyang soul pay per patient”