Chapter 1199: Danger? A Show of Snow’s True Ability
Day 381 - 6:58 PM - Nam District, Busan, South Korea
The group of survivors Kang Ye-Jun led traversed the road home with their guests. It was then that their sharp-witted members noticed the danger, prompting them to group up.
Among the ruins of buildings before them, silhouettes of people appeared. In the dark night where only the moon lit the surroundings, they were only vaguely visible. Only the [Mutators] and [Evolvers] would be able to see them clearly in this situation.
Choi Seo-Yeon immediately gathered everyone at the first sign of danger. Without question, everyone followed the order before looking at their leader and vice leader atop the electric truck’s roof. However, the two’s eyes were locked in front of them. It was then that everyone realized the danger lay among those ruins.
Then, a man came out, walking in the middle of the broken road, approaching the group and stopping at a distance.
"Looks like you guys got quite a haul. We mind sharing some?"
The man spoke loudly and arrogantly.
This man, who looked heavy-bodied but with no speck of muscle and was wearing a loose leather vest over his green shirt, army fatigue pants, and a tight triangular bandana, was no stranger to Kang Ye-Jun’s group.
"This looks sketchy."
Choi Seo-Yeon whispered to Kang Ye-Jun.
There, Kang Ye-Jun stood tall and yelled back.
"Cut the crap, Wang Dae-ji!" A plethora of muffled giggles erupted not just from Kang Ye-Jun’s group, but also from the silhouettes hiding in the ruins as Kang Ye-Jun continued. "Just how useless are you and your cronies? Even cripples can work their ass off to eat, and this is all you lazy asses can do?"
The insult stopped the giggles from the other side as the fatty roared with a red face.
"IT’S TAE-HOON! WANG TAE-HOON! YOU BASTARD! TO ANGER ME LIKE THIS, CAN YOU NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT SITUATION YOU ARE IN?"
"Of course we do. We’re not useless and need to be spoonfed," Kang Ye-Jun said in a ridiculing tone. "You want to deal with us here, right? But do you really think we’ll just stand and let it happen?"
With Kang Ye-Jun repeatedly calling them useless, even the ones hiding were getting rattled and angry. Of course, the more they reacted to the insults, the more it showed how pretty much true it was.
And while Kang Ye-Jun was riling up the enemies, his team was already getting ready to fight.
"Heh," Wang Tae-Hoon let out a laugh. "You really think this is all we prepared?"
It was clear that the fight was about to start. Once one group began to move, the other would respond in kind.
However...
"Wait!"
A cloaked person suddenly jumped out from Kang Ye-Jun’s group and stood between them and the fatty.
"My group and I aren’t part of this mess. Can we leave first?"
The cloaked man spoke to Wang Tae-Hoon.
Of course, those words from the man, from Mark, surprised everyone. Still, while his words were not wrong, Kang Ye-Jun and his members still felt betrayed. Nonetheless, they really were outsiders. There was no need for them to be dragged into this.
But within Kang Ye-Jun’s group, the members of Mark’s group were confused. After all, it was definitely out of character. In this situation, it would be no surprise if Mark suddenly rushed to deal with the enemies himself. Just what was he up to?
On the other hand, Wang Tae-Hoon was surprised. He sure was not familiar with this man. Was he a survivor from another place? The fatty looked at the man and Kang Ye-Jun’s group, where several people wearing the same cloak as the man stood. But this fatty was not just someone. It had been his behavior to leer at women even before the apocalypse began. He immediately realized that all those cloaked people, aside from the man in front, were all girls. With that discovery, lecherous thoughts began to roll through his mind.
Still, Wang Tae-Hoon was not that stupid. Unfamiliar people meant unfamiliar abilities. They prepared to deal with Kang Ye-Jun’s group, but not with strangers.
That was why...
"One, Two, Three. Kang Ye-Jun, Amaya Ran, and the cloaked man in front," Wang Tae-Hoon whispered. "Shoot."
The fatty did not answer Mark’s question, but decided to preemptively strike.
It was then that Wang Tae-Hoon saw the smile under the man’s cloak while suddenly jumping back, lining himself with Amaya Ran.
CLANG! WHIZ!
The sound of metal clashing was heard with wind wizzing past the group.
TANG! TANG!
BANG!
Followed by the two sounds of something getting hit and a gunshot from afar.
It made everyone flinch, only to find the source of the sound was Mark, who protected Amaya Ran from a sniper by slicing the bullet in two.
"What?"
Wang Tae-Hoon was flabbergasted by the scene. He saw it entirely when the cloaked man drew a sword and hit the incoming bullet. He even saw the two parts of the sliced bullet hit the ground in different locations after whizzing through the entire group of people without hitting anyone!
But most importantly, why was there only one shot?
"F*CK! Get ready!"
Wang Tae-Hoon cursed loudly as he immediately retreated. Something was wrong!
They prepared three snipers for this event! Sniper rifles were extremely hard and expensive to get! They wanted to prepare more, but they could only manage to prepare three in time! But this should be enough! The primary threat in Kang Ye-Jun’s group was Amaya Ran, who was an [Esper] that could shoot electricity. The next two would be the leader and vice leader, Kang Ye-Jun and Choi Seo-Yeon. Once the leaders were gone, the rest of the group should be like headless chickens, unable to fight. While Wang Tae-Hoon had to shift one of the targets, the result should be the same!
But not only was there only one gunshot, but it was also blocked by that cloaked man!
’Retreat and continue with the ambush! We still outnumber them, and they have no place to hide!’
It was what Wang Tae-Hoon thought. Once the gunfight started, they still had the numerical and strategic advantage.
But while he hid to take cover and prepare to start the gunfight, Wang Tae-Hoon failed to notice what his subordinates saw.
One of the cloaked people rushed in front of Kang Ye-Jun’s group, even past the man who blocked the bullet. As the person skipped forward, her hood fell. It was a beautiful foreign woman with pale skin.
On the other side, before they could recover from their surprise because of the gunshot, they saw Snow rushing forward. A [Monarch Type’s] body was strong and fast. No one could stop her abrupt actions, not even Mark.
And facing the enemies, Snow opened her mouth.
SCREACH!!!!!!!!!!!!
A deafening screech echoed through the surroundings. Everyone could not help but cover their ears. Well, only the ones behind Snow were able to do so.
Wang Tae-Hoon and his subordinates, being the targets of Snow’s attack, tried to cover their ears, only to fail. Their bodies felt stiff, not responding to their thoughts.
PUFF!
One after another, Wang Tae-Hoon’s group began coughing up blood. Their ears, eyes, and noses began to bleed. And weirder, they began sweating profusely as if their bodies were desperately trying to get rid of liquids inside their bodies. But the sweat was strange. Their sweat smelled like a mix of chemicals. It was an odor so foul that vomit began mixing with the blood they were coughing out.
And worse of it all, Wang Tae-Hoon felt his pants getting drenched both front and back.
’What in the world is this?!’
Wang Tae-Hoon wanted to scream those thoughts but only vomit and blood came out of his mouth. His body began convulsing on the spot. He wanted to move, but every attempt was met with excruciating pain.
Still, Wang Tae-Hoon did his hardest to endure just to deliver one order.
"Shoot... Shoot..."
Wang Tae-Hoon weakly ordered to the comminication device hidden on his collar. But to his dismay, not a single gunshot echoed. In the end, he lay behind the cover he ran into, cursing loudly in his mind.
Snow’s long screech ended. It was unbelievable that she could let out such a screech. The people behind her began to recover and their brief deafness, but there was no signs of the enemies.
It was then that a foul smell began to spread out, forcing everyone to cover their noses. The smell was strong and unbearable.
"It smells bad!"
A small shout of complaint was heard as a fairy-like creature flew out of Mark’s cloak. Of course, it surprised the Korean group of survivors. And before they knew it, the fairy did something, and the smell faded. Or rather, the smell spread in other directions instead of theirs.
"There! Better!"
Amihan said as she landed and sat on Mark’s shoulder.
Seeing that, Kang Ye-Jun’s group could not help wonder how many secrets did Mark’s group have.
The enemies still showed no signs of getting up. However, everyone now realized the foul smell was coming from their direction and did not want to approach to check.
Mark, on the other hand, stepped forward to call Snow back. But before he could say anything, Snow turned around.
"Quick. Leave."
Snow unexpectedly spoke.
Mark scanned Snow’s emotions. She was feeling urgent and serious as she said those words.
"Kang Ye-Jun," Mark called out to the leader of the Korean group. "We should leave this place immediately. Something bad is about to happen. Let’s run that direction and circle around."
Kang Ye-Jun was surprised at first, but nodded.
"Everyone! We’re leaving! Move faster! We will rest when we are safe!"
Everyone followed the orders and even followed the direction Mark pointed to.
ROOOAR!!!
Loud roars began to enter their ears as they rushed to leave the area.
"AHHH! NO!NO!NO!"
It seemed that the enemies were already recovering from their state, but not enough to fend against the incoming danger.
Kang Ye-Jun’s group still heard the cries as they left the area. They now understood what the incoming danger was.
"A horde at 11 o’clock!" Choi Seo-Yeon shouted. "There are more than twenty of them!"
But before Choi Seo-Yeon’s voice faded, a shout from different members echoed,
"10 at 8!"
"2 at 12! Incoming!"
"A giant mutant at 6! It’s rushing in a different direction!"
Reports from [Infected] sightings sounded one after another. And all of them seemed to come from the outer area of the circular route the group planned to take.
Only stupid idiots would not realize what was happening.
Whatever Snow did to the enemies began attracting the [Infected] from all over the place to their location!
"Tsk! Another horde at 9! It’s a large one! They’re rushing at us! There are several mutants!"
Choi Seo-Yeon cried out. The horde she spotted earlier had yet to clash with them, but another one was already coming in the distance.
"Don’t skimp on bullets! Use them if needed!"
Kang Ye-Jun ordered.
Then...
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Several [Infected] from the nearer horde began to fall. Each fall was followed by the sound of a gunshot. When everyone looked at where the shots were coming from, they saw a cloaked woman atop a ruined building. She carried three sniper rifles with her, and an open backpack filled with magazines and bullets was at her feet.
Wait, that woman should be with Mark’s group. Now that they realized it, Mark’s group was missing one person. When did she...
The woman turned to the group and shouted.
"Sorry, Boss! One managed to fire a shot!"
"It’s fine," Mark replied. "Three snipers at once is just too much."
It became clear what the farce earlier was about. Mark was not trying to ditch Kang Ye-Jun’s group. He was just buying time so she could eliminate the snipers!
BANG!
Kang Ye-Jun also fired a shot. An incoming [Mutated Infected] fell not far from them.
"I guess there’s no time to chat, Boss!" Sayuri shouted. "You should join the fight already! I can see a lot from here, and there are already hundreds of them coming!"
"Hundreds..."
A member of Kang Ye-Jun’s group could not help but mutter after hearing Sayuri. Just a small horde was already dangerous. Yet, hundreds of them were coming?
"I guess there’s no choice, huh?" Mark shrugged. "Snow’s with us, so it’s also our responsibility."
Mark then faced Kang Ye-Jun.
"Focus on moving. Leave the fighting to us."
"Are you sure?"
Kang Ye-Jun asked.
"Yep," Mark nodded and turned to his members. "You girls ready?"
Everyone gave different answers, but they all affirmed. In fact, they were already itching to fight since the enemies appeared earlier. It had been quite a while since they had a decent fight, after all.
And with that, Mark’s group took the role of the main defense, fending against the incoming hordes of [Infected].
