Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

No survivors liked the unique ability of brainwashing. Of course It includes me. The ability to turn humans into puppets was dangerous in a different sense than violence. Thus, I had killed everyone with such ability whenever I met them. There’s only two people so far, though.

“They told me that they want to visit our shelter..”

Lee Hyejin whispered in a very low voice for fear that anyone might hear it. Unfortunately for her, I could hear it all.

“I think we should reveal our heavy weapons. It looks like it could entice him.”

Look at that? She wants to lure me in?

Probably she’s going to pull me into their bunker and then use her brainwashing on me. As the corner of my lips arched upwards, Jang Won-taek showed great interest, but did not open his mouth.

By the way, the woman, Lee Hye-Jin, was clearly in the dark about the current world. There were quite a few people out there who are not as good as me, but with great sense. It seemed like she spent all her time in the bunker, so she didn’t know how diverse Unique Ability truly is. The information which could be obtained through the Auction House was limited. And amongst those which were available, a lot of them were nonsense. It was better to not look at it at all.

Then I heard Ho-Je Kim muttering. “I’m bored…what should I do?”

It was clear that his intelligence had deteriorated because he was not a kid yet still whined when coming to a place like this. The guy should have drinks in moderation.

“Be quiet.”

“I’m sorry…”

There was a dull sound as the conversation took place. It was a subtle sound that she would have never been able to catch if I had no extra sense. From the sound, it seems like Lee Hyejin had slapped Kim Ho-Je in the head.

A subordinate beating the boss… Then, we need to revise our information about Kim Ho-Je. It was safe to say that he’s not the one with brainwashing unique ability. What if the one with the brainwashing unique skill is Lee Hyejin?

I remembered Kim Ho-je unconsciously reaching out his hand towards me. SInce now I know that he’s not someone with a brainwashing unique ability, it should be an unconscious action. Lee Hyejin must have stopped him at that moment to make us believe that the information we got was the correct one.

Now that I look at it this way, Lee Hyejin, who was flustered back then, should’ve felt quite happy inside. I thought she was a pretty nice lady, but turns out she knows how to deceive people quite well.

Then the two returned to the room. Lee Hyejin entered with her lips slightly raised.

“After consulting with the manager, we decided to agree to your demand.”

“It’s a good choice. Then… When will be the best time for us to visit?”

“Tomorrow is good. The two of us are tired from moving today.”

“I’ll give you a room, so you can rest and leave tomorrow.”

There’s one thing I need to do before I go.

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I took Yoohyeon and went out of the shelter. He was happy the moment I took him out as lately all he did was studying. I feel so sorry to hear about it.

“Yoohyun-ah, can you fly your paper airplane to Hannam-dong?”

“I can hyung. Where should I look?”

“In the rich neighborhood.”

“Leave it to me.”

Yoohyeon folded a sturdy paper into the shape of an airplane and flew it. In truth, I could use my drone rather than asking Yoohyeon. But the control distance was short. Only around 3km. However, in exchange, I would get a clear image, so there were pros and cons.

After a while, Yoohyeon opened his mouth.

“Hyung, I’ve arrived. You are talking about the area around the vicinity of the Grand Hotel, right?”

“Yeah, it’s exactly there.” I unfurled a map in front of Yoohyeon and showed him the location of Joo Seungcheol’s bunker.

“Do a round around this area. If there’s anything strange, let me know.”

“Uh… I’m flying low right now and I see a gun. That… Isn’t that an anti-aircraft machine gun?”

Anti-aircraft machine gun? I shuddered as goosebumps enveloped my forearm. When I asked him for the details, he frowned and controlled the paper airplane.

“There are quite a few guns on the wall… Look at these bastards, their wall is no joke.”

Looks like they had prepared a lot. Though, it wasn’t as much as me. After what had happened back when I fought Joo Seung-cheol, it became difficult to work through the ventilation holes. But there is no perfect security in the world.

Yoohyeon tapped my arm.

“Hyung, there’s a drone flying in front of me. What should I do?”

“Did it notice you?”

“It is at the same altitude as my plane, so it probably hadn’t noticed me yet. The camera is also underneath…”

Well then, that’s good.

“For now, follow it.”

After moving the paper airplane for a while, Yoohyeon finally opened his eyes.

“Wow, it’s difficult to move the airplane because of the distance. Anyway, I’ll mark the bunker with the guns.”

After a while, a few bunkers were displayed on the map of the Hannam-dong area in front of me. There were 7 in total, and they were all close to each other. I guess they decided to build it like that so they could help each other in times of need.

When I attacked Joo Seung-cheol’s bunker, there was a high possibility that they didn’t help because they judged that they stood no chance against me. I looked at the map and asked Yoohyeon.

“Where is the bunker the drone landed at?”

“This one.”

Yoohyeon’s finger touched a certain bunker. It was previously designated as the bunker of President Kim. Its location was almost adjacent to Joo Seung-cheol’s bunker, so it would be safe to assume that he witnessed his death.

This fact made it clear that they were trying to lure me for some purpose. It wouldn’t be for something as petty as revenge. They probably want to make a puppet out of me to steal information. Moreover, if they had a guy as strong as me as a slave, they could worry about their life less. I’m starting to get mad at this.

As I stayed silent, Yoohyeon looked at me. “Uh… Hyung What did I do wrong?”

“Yes? Nothing. It’s just that there’s something on my mind.”

Yoohyeon put his hand on his chest and sighed. “What a relief… I actually felt it a bit. I wonder if something might have changed while hyung was away from us…”

“What has changed?”

“Well you know hyung, something like the mind becomes distant when the bodies are apart?”

Doesn’t that apply only to lovers? Well, I can’t say that it’s not related to me at all because dating someone was a human relationship in the end.

I put my arm on Yoohyeon’s shoulder. “Why would I leave you and live alone? Do you know how many things you can do once you are inside?”

“Do I have a lot of work to do?”

“A lot. We need to build a motor-powered pump, install a solar generator, build an alarm system, fix a motorcycle…”

As soon as I listed the task he would need to do in the future, his countenance softened.

“I’m glad… I hope I have a lot of work to do.”

“I also have to build a house. You should also build a house for your newlywed life with Yeowool, right?”

“Hy-hyung, it’s not like that…”

“Are you sure? I’ve heard everything.”

Seeing him being shy made me want to tease him more. But if he flips the table on me and starts talking about Da-jeong, I would only get tired, so let’s stop here.

“I’ll take care of the rest. You just need to study and work hard.” I ruffled Yoohyeon’s hair.

“You’re saying the same thing as what Jiman said last time.”

“What did Jiman say last time?”

“Yes. He told us that if we work hard, hyung will take care of us…”

That’s not wrong. After all, snacks would only be tastier after working hard.

I went out and found a suitable seat and sat down. Scouting was over, now all that was left was to enter the bunker and act. There’s a way to break it from the outside without going in, but It would be too difficult. Moreover, breaking into a bunker armed with drones, machine guns and a lot of bastards would be expensive.

“I have to tear it down from the inside.”

There’s paralysis poison, pepper bombs, tasers, etc., in my arsenal. So I could use them according to the situation. After organizing my thoughts and entering the portal, Captain Scarab approached me with something in his puncher.

“What is this?” I asked, mouth wide opened. It’s a ring. On top of that, It looked like it had been processed and also given an option.

「Mithril Ring: Permanent, Mental Tolerance」

“…” Does mental tolerance protect against mental attacks? But there was no room for it in the skill space… Let’s see… I can take off the gloves…

I had to give up three stats and lethal blows for a while, but the temptation for mental resistance was too great. I took the ring and put it on my finger, and a message came to mind. Originally, I would have to figure out the effect of an item by trying it out myself, but at some point this message started popping up. It’s probably the newly-implemented system on the new patch or something.

「MentalTolerance: Offer resistance to all mental attacks」

“It’s vague…” At one time, I had Paralysis Poison Resistance as a skill. What is the difference between tolerance and resistance? In terms of language, resistance felt like it was a higher level. But what do I know?

When I asked Captain Scarab, he only pointed to Blast Furnace.

“If you make it with that, you say there will be additional options?”

The guy drew the number 20. The probability was very low though. Permanent immutability would always be attached to items made with mithril material, so it could be said that having mental tolerance attached to this one item was nothing but a stroke of luck.

Now that I had the skill in my skill list, even if it couldn’t completely defend against brainwashing, it would at least make me able to withstand it to some extent.

“Well done.” I stroked the guys who were waiting for compliments once in a while. As I turned around, the chief stag beetle said something to the chief beetle.

Why is he mad again?

I put on the ring and packed my gear in my backpack. When I went out, the people who had gone out to secure a ground shelter site came back and it was noisy.

“Where is my husband!” Da-jeong shouted as she looked at me. What the hell is she doing with so many people around? She ran at me and tried to hug me, however, she stopped abruptly. Her eyes were stuck on the mithril ring on my hand.

“Which bitch dared!!!”

“Huh? Oh! This ring?” I closed her mouth with my palm as I saw her eyes were filled with anger. “Listen. Not a bitch, but a scarab.”

“Hmph!”

“Can’t you see the mental tolerance option? It is made in the ether blast furnace. It’s amazing stuff.”

After I finished my explanation, I moved my hands away from her mouth. She sighed, and then looked at me with her dissatisfied face.

“You should cover my lips with kisses, not with your palm like that! Give me your lips!”

“People are coming, hold on.”

I greeted those who returned and invited Seokhyun. “Listen, The bunker we’ll be going to next has a good number of people. You remembered the bunker Seungcheol went to before? It’s near there.”

Seokhyun got bored with the explanations one after another.

“So what am I going to do?”

“You can hide in the portal, then run out and beat them once I’m inside.”

Seokhyun had a pretty happy expression on his face.

“It’s a great plan.”

“Go in and rest for now. I will call you later.”

While we were talking like that, Yoohyeon rushed over to me. However, before he could arrive in front of me, Da-jeong hugged him tightly from behind and stopped him.

“Our cutie pie, where are you going?”

“Seo-Seongho hyung. By the way, Noona… Please let me go…”

I thought it would make me jealous looking at Da-jeong near another man. But turns out, I don’t really think about it.

When Da-jeong smiled and let go, Yoohyeon came to me and said, “Hyung, after you left, I looked around Hannam-dong again. And… I found a dungeon.”

“Dungeon? Where is it?”

“Do you know where the art gallery is located, hyung? The dungeon entrance was right in front of it.

A variable suddenly appeared. Even the chaebols locked in bunkers would not want to miss such an opportunity. They would drive out all the survivors who have flocked to them and try to monopolize the dungeon. If we do this well, we could eat pheasants and eggs. (T/n proverrrbbb.)

Da-jeong looked into my eyes and giggled. “It has begun, it has begun. Let’s go quickly..”

“Would you like some fish?” Da-jeong’s expression changed in an instant as I asked.

“No.”

“It’s not good to be picky. You should eat well.”

“I don’t want to hear that from you, who only likes meat.”

Seokhyun tilted his head as if he didn’t understand. “Listen. We eat mostly herbivores, right?”

“And?”

“What do those herbivores eat?”

“Grass…fruit…grain… Why”

“It means that we who eat them are also eating those things. Understand?”

Da-jeong had a dumbfounded face at his answer. Then she kicked Seokhyun’s ass and pushed him towards the portal.

“Good words usually sound bitter.”

“You are noisy! Just get in.”

The two just disappeared. Anyway, they’re really noisy guys.

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I followed Kim Ho-je and Lee Hyejin to Hannam-dong. The man was noisy and immature, while Lee Hyejin was blunt, so it was a completely boring journey.

Some monsters appeared. But Lee Hyejin killed them all with a rifle equipped with a silencer. She blew the smoke equipped with a silencer.

“Now that I look at it, monsters are no big deal.”

“Is that so?”

“I felt that way when I saw them couldn’t keep up with the power of modern machines. They are nothing.”

“More powerful monsters will come out later.”

“We have more firepower.”

You have great confidence…

After a while, we crossed the Han River and arrived at Hannam-dong. As expected, the area was quite noisy.

“Why has it become noisy all of a sudden?”

“I do not know.”

I guess she didn’t know that a dungeon had appeared in a nearby art gallery. After arriving at the bunker, a woman opened the door.

“Welcome.”

When I pretended to be flustered because there was no expression on her face, Lee Hyejin lowered her head as if she was sorry.

“He is a brainwashed person. I didn’t want to show them if possible, but I had no choice but to…”

Funny. I’d met a lot of brainwashed people, so I know that their eyes weren’t supposed to be like that. In other words, the woman was acting.

As soon as I followed them into the bunker, I felt the presence of another person. Someone was hiding from us. As I concentrated, I heard breathing and heartbeats at the same time. Whoever they were, they were inside the sealing room.

“It’s down there.” Lee Hyejin guided me to the sealing room. Now all that was left was to let her try to brainwash me and we’ll attack.

“Get out for a while.” Kim Ho-je was only standing still, but he was kicked out by her cold tone. They are revealing their true colors too quickly.

I sat down in the chair and opened the portal with a small voice. Lee Hyejin took off her hood and sunglasses. Her elegant impression really makes her an attractive beauty.

“Should I show you the weapon first?”

“Is there anything else to see?”

“Of course there is..” Lee Hyejin smiled without hiding her intent to seduce me and moved her chair to in front of me. She then pulled her knees up and rested her chin on top of it.

“Again, I have nothing to say, but I’ve heard a lot of rumors about Mr. Seongho. You are the strongest.”

“Not very much. I am the same as everyone, I’ll die in one shot.”

She smiled and took off her top even though it wasn’t hot. While she was still wearing her clothes, I thought she was skinny, but she has quite a bit of volume.

“I want to ask, is the Government Shelter worth living?”

“It’s okay except for the meals which are not tasty.”

“Aigoo… How can we live without the pleasure of eating in the apocalypse?”

“They said it would be improved soon, so we have to wait.”

“You are very patient. They say that wasn’t the case in the wetland labyrinth…”

She leaned towards me and looked me straight in the eyes. All of her facade had disappeared. Even her tone of voice changed completely.

“It’s because it was two different things.”

Then, suddenly, Lee Hyejin opened her shirt and let it drop to the floor. Her bare skin was exposed in front of my nose. As I blinked, Hyejin smiled contentedly and came over to me and laid her body on my thigh.

“If this suddenly happens…”

“Shh.”

Her lips covered mine. Then she slowly pulled out the glove she was wearing. This is it. I purposely let out a ‘huh’ and stopped moving.

Hyejin wiped the smile from her face and she pulled away from me.

“It’s done. But why is the message not showing up?”

That’s because I have a mental tolerance. I signaled towards the portal as I watched Lee Hyejin stand to her feet. Da-jeong, who was full of anger, rushed out and kicked the woman’s ass.

“KEUK!!!”

“Who is this bitch rubbing her mouth at my husband? I’ll kill you!!”