novelburst-info
Chapter 265
Chapter 265
2.
As Cha Ji-yeon headed up the emergency staircase toward the roof, the sound of zombies running along the metal railings echoed again. She thought it was over.
“How am I supposed to get past them...?”
The zombies were fast—so fast that if she had thought of Usain Bolt as a sprinter before, now she’d think of the highest-level zombies.
These rough monsters, a dozen or more, were occupying the external emergency stairs between the ground and the roof.
- Wow, amazing.
- She’s just brushing them aside with martial arts.
- So cool, for real.
- This could be a scene in an action movie.
- Is she going to die or what?
Cha Ji-yeon, who didn’t believe anyone would come to help, felt a glimmer of hope with the sound of footsteps climbing the stairs after all the noise and screams had died down.
“Guild Master?”
“No, it’s not the Guild Master.”
“A-Young Unnie? How did you get here... Wait, did you just do that?!”
Clunk, clunk.
“Damn it. Why won’t the door open again? Hey, did you lock it?”
“I locked it, but I can’t open it. The zombies kept banging on it, and the lock must’ve broken.”
“Unbelievable. Hey, stay away from the door.”
Her voice was full of exhaustion.
The sound of steps, deliberate and heavy.
What was she trying to do?
Was she really going to leave her behind like this?
Cha Ji-yeon wanted to rush to the door and beg not to be abandoned, but someone who had come this far wouldn’t just leave her.
This rational judgment stopped her from running to the door.
In hindsight, it was a wise decision.
Bang—!
“Oh my god!”
Every time the door was struck, the marks from fists and palms were left on the metal.
It wasn’t breaking through easily, and it seemed the hits were becoming faster and harder, as if heated by frustration.
The metal door, crumpling and tearing like paper, made Cha Ji-yeon and even the viewers gasp.
- The metal door, it’s torn!
- Survival tip > If the door won’t open, just break it down with the Buddha’s palm! Easy, right?
- The vicious host is hiding her strength!
- Why is every manager so strong?
- The second manager, Ju A-young, the master of martial arts, follows in the footsteps of the whip master, Lee So-hye.
- The metal door is bending!
- Is this even possible?
- Even boxers could break through metal doors if they hit hard enough.
- This is insane.
It really was insane.
Ju A-young, after tearing through the door and kicking it, created a hole large enough for a person to get out.
After smashing it completely, she made her way out, and with a screech, the door tilted inward and crashed down.
Ju A-young looked at it with an expression of disbelief.
“Come on. If we wait any longer, even Unnie won’t be able to help.”
“Yes, Unnie!”
Some zombies began to rush toward them, drawn by the noise of the door being broken, but Ju A-young moved without fear.
Cha Ji-yeon could see for herself how she had made it here.
[You have selected Real Mode.]
[Investment in physical abilities and unlocking traits are not possible.]
[Real-world physical specifications are fully reflected.]
Clearly, there was no investment in physical abilities or unlocking of traits.
She was fighting with her real-world stats.
Yet, every zombie that rushed at her had their arms twisted and flipped 180 degrees, their shoulders broken as they crashed headfirst into nearby windows, or they were sent flying down the stairs.
BAM!
A slightly tougher zombie tried to hold its ground with its weight, but Ju A-young swiftly twisted its arm and broke its jaw, delivering a lightning-fast triple-hit to its neck and head.
Slurp!
With blood dripping from its ears and signs of a concussion, the zombie’s head was kicked up with a clean shot.
Thud!
Without even looking back at the zombie that fell, Ju A-young dusted her hands off.
“Let’s go.”
It wasn’t just Cha Ji-yeon who felt admiration for this scene.
- So cool.
- “Let’s go,” I’m in love.
- She’s really the perfect disciple.
Below, a fire truck was parked in the emergency parking lot.
Cha Ji-yeon, startled, shouted.
“Unnie, did you catch a firefighter?!”
“No? I opened my eyes, and I was having a blind date at a café.”
“Whaat?! What kind of man was he?”
With a bewildered expression, Ju A-young hopped into the driver’s seat of the truck.
“If he were a good man, do you think I would be here alone?”
“Ah...”
“Never mind. I was just annoyed. Don’t worry about it. But... where’s your bag?”
“My bag? Ah!!”
“You left it behind?”
“I think I left it under my seat in the theater...”
“Ugh. Don’t you know that without that bag, you don’t have any starter items or survival tools?”
“I’m sorry! I got so caught up in watching the opera...”
- LOL.
- How could you not watch an opera when it’s right there?!
- If I were her, I’d definitely finish watching the opera first.
- And then all of us would turn into zombies inside the theater.
- ??
- At least she got out.
- Agreed.
- Among all the random seed players, Cha Ji-yeon had the worst luck.
Ju A-young might not be an expert in virtual reality games, but she knew enough to realize Cha Ji-yeon had terrible luck.
She never considered that something as simple as turning off the phone in the theater would lead to such chaos, cutting off the ability to contact others.
“Forget it. We’ve escaped, so we’ve bought some time. Now we just need to reunite with the others.”
“What about Hanna and Ji-su? They’re both okay, right?”
“Right. You wouldn’t know. Let me quickly update you.”
Ju A-young recalled the hectic 30 minutes right after the game started.
[Virtual Mega City, Republic of Korea]
[xx-dong Cafe, 2nd Floor Outdoor Terrace]
“A-Young, if you’re okay, should we finish this and then go to a cat café?”
“Huh?”
“This is an after-date request. Normally, the girl should accept, but I’m really into you. Is it too fast, too overwhelming?”
Through the blurred vision, the slimy voice of the man sitting across from her made her ears cringe.
Blinking a few times as the glare subsided, Ju A-young’s sharp hearing picked up the sounds of zombies growling and people screaming in the distance.
“Can you do something about this?!”
“That guy must be crazy.”
It was the early stages of the zombie outbreak.
It looked like she had just woken up in the heart of the chaos.
‘Wow... Unnie. She really started with that setting.’
The good things set to the minimum, the bad things to the maximum.
A setup that extremes the gauge at both ends.
That brutal setting made her head throb just by thinking about it.
“I’ll pass. I’m not here for a blind date.”
Her vision cleared.
The man sitting across from her wasn’t bad-looking, but he wasn’t her type.
She rummaged through her backpack beside her and grabbed the items she had prepared in advance.
Clatter!
[Opening survival map.]
[Your survival class is Seeker.]
[The locations of your fellow players are displayed.]
[Player List (5/5)]
- Silent Swordsman
- A-Young, The Jumping Rabbit
- Supreme Idol Kim Hanna
- Prisoner #115 Ye Ji-su
- Cha Ji-yeon
[Due to the difficulty level, all players’ starting points are scattered within a 10 km radius.]
- Wow, the distance is messed up.
- Wasn’t it originally within 10m?
- Looks like we’re playing the “Coward’s Rest <Safety>” difficulty.
- Nah, nothing’s safe here.
- It’s a game that got even crazier after 3 months. Can’t wait.
Ju A-young pushed aside the viewer’s chat for a moment to assess the situation.
The higher the difficulty, the more bonus points she received.
Since they were all going to die anyway, it felt like the game was encouraging them to give it their all, offering plenty of support.
Ju A-young used all the benefits to function as the leader and help everyone survive, using tools and unlocking traits.
One of the tools they had all purchased, thanks to her suggestion before the game, was the phone.
With Hanna and Ye Ji-su scattered far apart, it was necessary to bring them together first.
“Damn it. Why are there so many numbers?”
It was a variable.
The phonebook was filled with a mix of the players' phone numbers and the additional ones created through the game’s relationships.
After searching for Hanna’s name, she was finally able to connect the call.
“Hanna, are you at the police station? Ji-su’s in the building next door, go get her! The zombie outbreak has already started.”
“Ugh, I can’t go. Please come get me.”
“Aren’t you a cop?”
“I’m public service.”
“......”
Click.
- Public service opener, LOL
- LOL
- This is so ridiculous.
- Cutting her off for real?
- Hanna crying, LOL
- Breaking news > Hanna is getting yelled at by a detective for slacking off at work.
It was a good decision to cut her off.
After hanging up, Ju A-young immediately called Ye Ji-su.
-
Is this guy even thinking?
“Hello?” -
Isn’t the call not ending?!
“Unnie, can you do something about this?!”
“…Why again?”
“I opened my eyes and found myself in the office, being scolded by my boss for no reason!” -
LOL
-
Are these the starting situations for the members?
-
Why are they all getting scolded together?
-
Legends, LOL
-
With the difficulty this high, it’s already chaos from the start.
-
Is this a joke game?
-
Random seed starting jobs are hilarious.
-
Why is no one sharing the Silent Swordsman’s updates?
-
Probably because no one is coming out once they go in.
She was lucky to start with a blind date.
Now, the only ones left were her Unnie and Cha Ji-yeon.
Her Unnie could handle herself, so she tried to check on Cha Ji-yeon first, but the call wouldn’t connect.
“Damn it, why won’t she pick up?”
- Breaking news > Cha Ji-yeon is still watching the opera in the theater.
- LOL
- Why is she watching that?
- Opera is fun, okay?
- It’s actually fun watching it together.
- Why are you guys watching it together?
- A-Young is the only one playing the game properly.
- Summary > Police officer, public service worker, opera-goer Cha Ji-yeon.
- The hopeless trio, LOL.
“Seriously, what a hopeless case...”
“Excuse me. Isn’t this a bit much?”
“Yeah? Still not gone?”
“This isn’t right during a blind date. If you didn’t want to, you should have said no from the start. Ignoring me in front of me is a bit much, don’t you think?”
“Ah, sorry… I was in a hurry. I’ll pay, let’s go.”
The man grabbed her hand roughly as she tried to leave.
Ju A-young’s expression darkened at the harsh grip.
She lowered her voice and spoke coldly.
“Let go.”
“Ugh, seriously. Just because you’re pretty, does that mean you can treat me like this? Is it just you who’s important?”
“This is your last warning. Let go.”
“What, did you work out? Are you gonna hit me? What are you gonna do if I don’t let go—”
Crash!
Ju A-young quickly flipped the man over with a martial arts move.
As the other café customers stared in shock, a bloodied person burst through the door.
“Help… please…”
“Ahhh!”
“Oh my gosh, look at that person. Did they get into a car accident?”
Was the accident only there?
No negotiations, pay the price.
The man, gritting his teeth, stood up.
“Hey? Where’d she go?”
The man looked around and saw Ju A-young stepping onto the 2nd floor terrace.
“Eh?”
With a leap, Ju A-young jumped, and the man froze in horror, rushing toward the terrace.
Instead of finding a corpse, he saw Ju A-young landing gracefully on a passing fire truck.
- Wow, Jumping Rabbit!
- She’s using her jumping ability to escape!
- LOL
The viewers’ chat, invisible to the man’s eyes, was full of excitement.
While the man stared, zombies poured into the café.
It was a one-minute difference before Ju A-young managed to escape the café.
“What happened there?”
“Unnie, you’re the best.”
Respect filled Cha Ji-yeon’s eyes.
“But where did the firefighters go?”
“They got out of the truck to catch the zombies, and I just swiped the keys and drove off.”
“……”
That’s pretty awesome.
The respect faded from Cha Ji-yeon’s eyes.