Stagnant Water of Apocalypse-Chapter 174: The Eroded World (5)

At that moment, Yeowool jumped out of the portal and slapped Seokhyun on the back.

Without doing anything to stop her, he just snorted. “AH~~ hit me more.”

“Seriously, this Ahjussi!!!’

When I asked the usually-gentle girl why she was so angry, she told me that Seokhyun had done perverted things to the Elderwood.

“How can you rub your naked body against its roots? Did you know it was a holy tree that the stag beetles considered sacred?”

“But, in the end, isn’t it just a tree?”

“Don’t you think there’s something special about a tree when you see a tree that huge?”

Well, yeah… That tree was indeed big. The roots alone were at the same size of a house. I wondered just how big the trunk would be.

“The animals around us ran wild and the atmosphere became scary because of that Ahjussi! The Elderwood roots turned upside down, so it looks like we can’t harvest it for a while.”

“Rapwi, you are in the wrong.”

When Da-jeong kicked Seokhyun’s ass, he just fell to the ground and pretended to be dead. It’s a funny sight, considering his unique ability is basically immortality.

“Yeowool, calm down and tell me in detail.”

As I listened to the story, I realized that the situation was quite serious.

Just why in the world did Seokhyun do such a thing?

When I asked him regarding the matter, the answer he gave me was something which I couldn’t comprehend.

“Because I feel like it’s something I should do.”

“Your reasoning is strange. Why do you think you should do it?”

“Because it looked pitiful; It was hurt and weak.”

“But hugging it while naked is a bit too much.”

“It’s a treatment.”

“Treatment my foot. That’s a molestation.”

As Yeowool continued to protest, he squatted and turned pale.

Well, there must be a reason why Seokhyun did it. The problem was that the Elderwood didn’t exactly see it the same way Seokhyun did. However, there’s a possibility that the Elderwood was actually hurt because Seokhyun felt that way. After all, this guy’s instinct is at the level of a beast. It’s only about 0.0001% chance though.

Yeowool went inside the portal while grumbling about the fact that she used 100 points for nothing, and Seokhyun jumped up to his feet.

Da-jeong slapped Seokhyun’s ass at that moment.

“Because of you, we couldn’t access the Elderwood anymore.”

“There will come a day when we will be called. I can feel it.”

“And you’re saying we have to trust that feeling? The fu…”

Still, it’s a relief that Seokhyun did the pervert thing after he acquired some sap, not before. I pointed to the ghoul flower outside the window.

“I need your help. There were too many whips for me to take on alone.”

“You will go down and remove the core once we drag the aggro from above, won’t you?”

“Yeah. Mikyung will help both of you.”

She nodded her head. Perhaps due to the several rough battlefields she had fought with us, she was calm even in a situation where the whips of the vine and the monsters ran wild. If it hadn’t been for her before, I would have suffered a lot of damage.

Let’s thank her later. For now, I need to focus on dealing with the ghoul flower.

Da-jeong gently wrapped her arms around me at that moment.

“Seongho. There is something I want to ask you…”

“No.”

“I haven’t told you what, though?”

“You’re trying to ask me to get some of those drugs, aren’t you?”

“The smallest fruit will be fine. Let’s just test it, yeah? I am very curious about how it feels.”

As expected.

“Nope.”

As I made my stance clear, her lips puckered.

“You’re so stubborn. What is the difference between the drugs and Solar Apples? Both give us a buff!”

“The Solar Apples gave us no side effects. But the drug didn’t work that way, didn’t it? I know what side effects will come later.”

Da-jeong threw her arms to the air in my stubbornness and gave up. “Haaahhh, okay, okay! Instead, once it’s over… you know right?”

“No, I don’t know.”

As I turned my back while responding, I could feel her angry gaze in my back. Even if the drugs would make us feel good, it was nothing but an illusion. Well, there’s the fact that we’re basically superhumans now, so the aftereffects might not even affect us at all. However, just because we couldn’t feel it, doesn’t mean it wasn’t there. If the drugs were used again and again, the aftereffect would start to surface.

“Let’s go.”

Mikyung took Seokhyun and moved to the flower bud first. The vine whips swept around them, before one of them hit Seokhyun. Unfortunately for the whip, since Seokhyun’s body was strong, he’s able to stop it.

“This is not enough! Bring a bigger one!”

Equipped with the kgre gloves, Seokhyun’s power was terrifying. After the clash, an unpleasant sound was heard. The whip was pulled out of its trunk and the sap splashed out all over the place.

“Wow, Rabbit ahjussi is really strong.”

“It’s our turn now.” When Mikyung returned, she disappeared once again with Da-jeong in tow. Meanwhile, the werewolves waged a fierce battle with the monsters on the street.

Now, it’s my turn to go.

I looked down and jumped down. Not only the two of them, Mikyung also attracted the vines’ aggro, so the area around the main body was relatively quiet.

When I ran into the lobby, I could see someone, or should I say, something, was trapped inside the large hump.

“Seong Sang-geun…”

Signs of struggle could be seen on the hump. But all I could see right now was him pressing what appeared to be a mithril knife towards his chest. He must have thought that suicide would be better than suffering from burns caused by drowning in venom.

In fact, it was impossible to think about it. It was closer to an instinctive action.

“Have a good journey to the afterlife…” I sent my last regards to him, opened the dimension slot and took out the flamethrower. It looks like it’s made for the US military, but it’s old and looks pretty worn out.

“This is the injection tube… this is the injection lever…”

Because it was a dangerous weapon, there was a safety device on both the burner tank and the fuel tank. After loosening both of them and opening the valve, I was ready to spray some fire.

I pulled the lever towards the four humps from a distance. A stream of water with a sour smell spewed out first, then it turned into a stream of flames.

“It’s just… Amazing!” The firepower of the flames was so great that the lumps and thick stems of the flowers burned and began to emit black smoke. The four humps squirmed and broke, gushing out venom to the concrete below.

“Yikes.” As I stepped back and continued to spray, the flame-engulfed stem fell down. After a few more seconds passed, nothing came out from the muzzle anymore and the spraying was over.

The fire engulfed the entire flower and burned bright. The three, who were dragging the aggro of the whip vines, saw that the vines had stopped moving, and the monsters ran away screaming.

For the finisher, I threw two grenades deep into the lobby.

BOOM-!!

With the feeling of the ground sinking, the upper part of the ghoul flower, which was supporting the building, crumbled. Eventually, the building began to collapse.

“Oppa!”

Mikyung suddenly grabbed my arm.

“Let’s go.”

We ran to a nearby building.

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The fire in the museum burned everything around before it went out. Monsters were burned to death, animals ran away, and the damage to the area was considerable, but no one cared. After all, it was an ecosystem of another world, not of this world.

After the fire was over, Seongho searched the rubble to find the ghould flower’s core. The core was practically useless, but the fire mushroom grows very well on it. Seokhyun said that he felt a strong energy there.

-It’s not that it’s useless, but maybe we just don’t know how to use it? Afterall, it is the core that makes that huge flower bloom and moves the whip…

-It’s a reasonable guess, but let’s just use it to grow fire mushrooms for now.

Seongho handed the core over to Jiman. Now that he had finished what he set out for, he was going to the shelter to rest. However, the people from Hannam-dong came to him just before he entered.

Oh Jung-min who stood in the very front of the people, opened a large case and showed it to him.

“This is the Dragunov sniper rifle I promised you. The accessories are also inside. There are also 200 special bullets. It will be useful for you.”

“It’s a good piece.”

Of course, Seongho didn’t know anything about snipers, so for him, it was just slightly better than a rifle. But since he felt that someday it would be useful, he received it with a grateful heart.

Oh Jung-min rubbed his hands.

“By the way, would you like to come to our shelter? Let’s have a meal and talk about the world a little bit.”

“Our kids don’t know much about the world. They want to hear your story, is that okay?”

“I don’t know…”

Even Soye went out to invite him, but Seongho had an unwilling expression on his face. However, when he saw the case that Oh Jung-min showed him, he swallowed his saliva.

Radiation protective clothing and detectors. If he had that, he could go around Busan. His hometown and a place he will return to someday.

“It’s made in Russia. Pretty reliable.”

There was no such thing in government shelters. It must not have been the case that there were none. It was more like Jang Won-taek kept it somewhere else. Seongho could have just asked him about it, but he was afraid of what he would be asked to do in exchange for the information.

“How did you know I was from Busan?”

As Seongho’s voice became low, Oh Jeong-min hurriedly waved his hand.

“I heard about it from the announcement that the Korean shelter made. It should be still there in the Auction House.”

When Seongho looked at the Auction House, he saw that the Korean shelter was really promoting it.

-The Reaper of All Monsters!

-The Butcher of Ogre and The Giant Ghoul Flower!

-But he has a warm heart for people!!

-Meet I Love Gimbap from Busan!

-He is in the Korean shelter now!

“The Gimbap is here.”

Seokhyun spoke while Da-jeong stabbed Seongho in the side.

“You are warm to people?”

“The dead guys that you killed wouldn’t think so.”

Anyway, Seongho found the to be problematic. They were making a profit by telling lies that he cared about people. From the outside, Jang Won-taek looked like nothing but a kind-hearted grandfather, but he still had a politician’s wit inside of him.

As Seongho held out his hand without saying a word, Oh Jung-min quickly turned the case over.

“It’s not a big meal, but let’s eat together.”

The faces of the people of Hannam-dong brightened. The shelter they visited was, of course, Oh Jung-min’s villa.

When the corrosive disease disappeared, everyone got out of the bunker, moved supplies, and settled down. As the luxury villa cost 10 billion won per house, the building was incredibly strong and spacious. The elevator, of course, was broken, and a vertical staircase was installed in the passage.

“You have prepared a lot.”

“Haha, it’s because we have an abundance of goods.” Oh Jung-min bragged. But Seongho was not very impressed. Perhaps, if the world finds out about the materials he had, there will be an uproar.

In Oh Jung-min’s office, where Seongho was invited to, there were several people who he seemed to have seen somewhere apart from Lee Min-soo and Park Kyung-hoo who he had met before.

Soye smiled and introduced the people towards him.

“This man is Ryujin from Zero-One-Hundred. His real name is Jun-goo.”

“Hey, didn’t I tell you not to tell my name?.”

The stocky man grumbled.

“Zero-one-hundred? Are you talking about the male idol group Zero-One-Hundred?”

“Yeah…”

When Seongho asked, the man bowed his head.

Da-jeong said she couldn’t believe it, and kept repeating the word.

“You are fat.”

As Seokhyun said, Ryujin, who was the lead vocalist of Zero-One-Hundred and the main idol of the group, had turned into a pig. Although he was short in stature in the first place, he was a passionate singer who covered his shortcomings with his powerful voice and energy. However, he had gained weight and looked like nothing but an ordinary man.

The guy grinned and scratched his beard.

“I become like this after living in the bunker for a few months.”

Others had a similar situation. Seongho couldn’t help but get surprised every time he was introduced. With no makeup and no stage clothes, they were all just normal…

Of course, their small face and physique typical of celebrities did not go anywhere. But the barren environment made them rough. And as time goes by, they would look even more common.

Seongho, Seokhyun and Da-jeong got a proper meal and left. The people of Hannam-dong seemed to want them to sit down. They showed them a variety of weapons and supplies and tempted them to use the luxury villa, but Seongho and the others were not interested.

After all, they have the best shelter in the entire world.

“Now, let’s go home.”

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“Seongho, well done!” As soon as they met Jang Won-taek, he started to smile at us.

Meanwhile, Seongho asked him about the .

“Did you really have to do that? People who don’t know will know me as someone who was warm-hearted.”

“I believe that was the case. I can see passion in Seongho’s heart. It speaks of humanity.”

“Ha… let’s just forget it.”

By the way, why is Hyunwoo Here?

Seongho didn’t get along very well with him. They didn’t even talk after the subway chaos.

Hyunwoo flipped the situation board to reveal the map of Seoul and said, “We have cleared 20 ghoul flowers near Yeouido. The next area will be around Bangbae-dong. To note, people are supporting us.”

“Well, things are going smoothly.”

However, unlike the impressed Jang Won-taek, Seongho was unamused.

Do they know how many ghoul flowers bloomed as of now? Organizing them one by one was just mad…

As Hyunwoo continued to list his plan of action, Seongho could not bear it any longer and said his cent.

“What is the population of Korea?”

“…fifty million.”

“Do you know how many of them became zombies?”

Hyunwoo looked at Jang Won-taek for a moment and said,

“It must be close to fifty million people. Why?”

“How many of them do you think have evolved into ghouls? And then, how much do you think had become a ghoul flower?”

“Just tell me the point.”

“It’s useless. I mean, your plan.”

“Useless?”

“There are going to be millions of ghoul flowers across the country. Yet, you’re going to remove them one by one? Do you have enough time?”

“Um, there seems to be a misunderstanding here.”

Jang Won-taek came forward and explained.

In summary, removing the ghoul flowers near Yeouido was not for that purpose.

“A lot of people are still reluctant to join our shelter. Because there is a perception that crowded places are dangerous because of the plants. It was a necessary measure to break that perception.”

“Didn’t you use me as your face to promote as well?”

“Well, for now, you are our staff. are you not?”

Seongho sighed, and Hyunwoo bluntly continued the report.

“About the new member, Lee Sang-shin… he has very good fighting skills. He seemed to have a lot of experience in the game.”

Seongho showed interest in his words.

“How many hours did he play?”

“Not that much, but he said that he watched the live broadcast.”

“Live broadcast? I was the only one who did that.”

In the beginning, there were many streamers who rushed to it because it was a fresh survival game, but they all fold because of the insane difficulty. In fact, it was no exaggeration to say that Seongho was the only proper streamer of the game.

“Then he must be your viewer.”

Hyunwoo spit it out casually, but it was different for Seongho. There were only a few viewers who followed him until the end, including the poor man.

Could he be one of them?

“His name is Lee Sang-shin? I need to meet him.”

“He’s currently not here.”

“Where is he?”

“Why do I have to tell you that?”

Jang Won-taek laughed internally as the two had a nerve battle. In his opinion, It’s better for them to fight like this, even if it’s childish, he wants to pretend he doesn’t know. After all, there’s a saying that love would bloom after a passionate fight, right?

He spoke in a passing tone.

“Sang-shin really liked rice soup. All the notes he left in the suggestion box were notes asking if we could provide rice soup.”

A soup addict?

Seongho clenched his fist. The viewer who converts all the values into soup had finally arrived.

He jumped up, but sat down again as he heard Jang Won-taek’s next words.

“It is not yet in Seoul, but I heard that owlbear has appeared in Gangwon-do. A giant green snake also appeared. Why don’t you tell us about what will happen next?”

Battle Royale. The brutal event was about to begin once again. But this time, the battlefield would be in the real world.