Chapter 50 : Zombie(1)

The government officials watching the interrogation process through the CCTV outside all clicked

their tongues.

They had entrusted the task, being told the situation could be resolved solely through ‘interrogation,’

not torture.

But whatever methods were used, the person was broken to an extent that made actual torture seem

mild.

Still, it was fortunate that all crucial information was extracted before the person completely lost

their mind.

However, the content of that information itself was so shocking it was hard to bear.

“An infectious disease? And it turns people into undead?”

The man’s story—that a single zombie with infectivity reminiscent of those in an apocalypse story

had been secretly infiltrated into a secret government-funded research facility—put various

government departments on high alert.

“Zombies? Does that even make sense? The lack of realism…”

“Are phenomena like people flying and using magic realistic in the first place? This world is already

filled with occurrences that are difficult to explain with our scientific knowledge alone.”

“As a former user myself, I think it might be possible. Based on the testimony that the man freely

used the ‘Inventory’ ability, it’s plausible. In fact, most ‘Necromancer’ classes could easily create

such diseases if they had the consumables used in the game. Such infectious disease magic was

actually used tactically in large-scale wars within the game.”

At the elf user’s added comment, the key government figures hastily gathered for this matter fell

silent.

By the time they realized the true nature of the disease, which possessed infectivity and lethality on a

different scale from existing epidemics, it had already spread outside the research facility.

Fortunately, since it was a secretly operated facility, it was far from densely populated urban areas,

resulting in few casualties and no media leaks.

However, it was clear that chaos would ensue the moment the families of the infected began to

notice something strange and the whole truth was revealed to the media.

“…What about those rankers?”

The fact that the top three rankers were living together had already been secretly uncovered.

During the process of apprehending that Necromancer, they no longer seemed intent on hiding their

identities.

“Isn’t this something that can be resolved if we mobilize those rankers again? Didn’t they solve the

recent Necromancer massacre incident and the previous Helbando situation?” (TL Note: Helbando

is likely the name of a rebellious group/guild.)

The suggestion stemmed from the thought that if those three rankers, or even just one of them,

could be mobilized, this situation could naturally be resolved as well.

“That sounds good. The public’s attention is currently focused on those three anyway, and since they

have a track record of resolving various situations, public opinion is known to be favorable. If we

show that they are on the government’s side, it could help in the next presidential election…”

Another minister clapped his hands and began to agree with the opinion.

However, watching this unfold, one figure smiled bitterly—the elf user who had just offered advice

to the speakers in this meeting.

‘If we become too dependent on just those three, our country will eventually collapse. Just look at

the US or Western countries; they are already drooling at the prospect of recruiting those three.

What happens if other nations, currently struggling with chaos caused by users, enter a period of

stability?’

The answer was simple.

Although South Korea was a developed nation and had established a respectable position in the

international community, the reality was that it was vaguely inferior to traditional superpowers in

terms of capital or other aspects.

What if those superpowers promised Winter better treatment and induced her to naturalize?

It was unlikely that she, with her love for treasures, wouldn’t be swayed.

And if Winter moved, the other two rankers living with her would naturally follow.

To prevent such an occurrence, they had provided not only capital in the hundreds of billions,

housing, and jewels, but also a mine containing approximately 100 million tons of amethyst.

However, the value of the 2nd, 3rd, and a top-20 ranker would only increase over time.

Their value had long been proven just by looking at their recent activities in this country.

They had accomplished the feat of subduing a Necromancer—who could easily kill thousands if she

wished and actually had such a history—alive, and wiping out the entire guild named [Helbando], a

rebel group that threatened the nation single-handedly.

They were individuals capable of achieving things nearly impossible throughout all of human history

on their own.

Figuratively speaking, they were like delicate strategic weapons, superhumans akin to cheat keys

like nukes that destroy only what is desired.

It was unlikely that assets in the hundreds of billions would be enough to keep them tied to this

country.

‘Therefore, if one could see the future, efforts should be made not only to retain them but also to

prepare for the possibility of them leaving for another country… Yet they keep assigning them tasks.

They should be receiving the highest level of courtesy as a baseline…’

These people, supposedly representatives of the nation and its people, brought up those rankers

whenever any incident occurred.

Rather than handling things themselves, they tried to pass the work onto those rankers who handled

things well and cleaned up neatly afterward.

He was speechless at their attitude of trying to palm off such troublesome tasks—tasks related to

citizen safety, no less—when they should have been receiving the best treatment, staying in the

country’s top hotels.

He wanted to get angry and flip the table right then and there, but if he, a mere ordinary user and

not a ranker, spoke up at this timing, it would be like jumping in for a swim where whales were

cruising.

It was obvious he’d get smacked dead by a fin, so he had no intention of opening his mouth first and

suffering a loss.

Thus, the meeting ended quickly.

Having reached the simple conclusion of mobilizing the users.

---

Leaving Sia, who was tossing and turning, dead asleep at home, I flew to a peculiar area clustered

with unfamiliar white buildings.

According to the explanation, it was a normally operating research facility until the Necromancer’s

zombie infiltrated it.

Of course, I didn’t know why a research facility of this scale wasn’t known to the outside world, but I

wasn’t interested in needless curiosity.

Trying to find out would obviously just become troublesome.

“They keep giving me work. How annoying.”

As I grumbled and kicked at the gravel path, Yerim, who had come along, spoke up.

“You received a mine worth 100 million tons, didn’t you? They say it has one of the world’s largest

reserves. Do you know how envious commoners like us are, unlike you, Oppa?” (TL Note: Oppa is a

term used by females to address older males, indicating Yerim sees the narrator as male or is using

it informally/habitually. Given the narrator’s internal thoughts about being Winter/’she’, this might

be a character dynamic point or inconsistency in Yerim’s perception.)

“Yes, it’s true I agreed to help out occasionally after receiving that… but it hasn’t even been three

hours since I caught the Necromancer and helped with the interrogation. And now they’re giving me

another troublesome job like this?”

As a member of the great dragon kin, I felt it was best not to break a promise once made, but

anyway, if they kept bothering me like this, fleeing abroad was always an option.

The exact content of the promise was to provide help ‘occasionally.’

If I interpreted the duration of ‘occasionally’ as roughly 100 years, I could simply help once every

100 years and technically claim I had kept the promise.

Of course, my patience hadn’t reached its limit yet, but if things continued like this, I’d have to resort

to such loopholes.

Or maybe leave this country altogether, or kill all the humans I made the promise with and pretend

it never happened.

Ah, maybe that went a bit too far.

Anyway, shaking off the stray thoughts, my two companions and I arrived at what looked like the

dark main entrance of the research facility.

The power seemed to have been cut already, as not a single area was lit.

“Anyway, they said the initial outbreak was right here in this lab, right?”

“Yes. They said the inside is probably already crawling with zombies… After we deal with all the

undead inside, we also need to track down and capture the zombies that got outside.”

“Then you two handle the zombies that went outside. It’ll get annoying if it spreads further out and

infects ordinary people.”

Zombies are, at best, level 10 monsters.

Whatever disease effects their bodies carry pose no threat to us at our level.

“It’s bothersome…”

“I’ll give you each 100kg of amethyst after this is over. High-purity ones.”

“…I will work hard!”

Capital treatment truly is the best.

The driving force that makes even people dragged here forcibly work happily.

Lately, perhaps because my assimilation rate has increased slightly, I’ve started to feel reluctant

about such spending, but the hassle of handling every single task myself was greater.

Added to that was the drowsiness already washing over me.

My need for sleep has drastically increased compared to before, requiring me to spend half the day

just sleeping.

To secure my sleeping time, I planned to finish everything as quickly as possible.