52. Corporate Destruction (2)

The raw, sticky stench of blood and the rancid odor of spilled entrails mixed with all sorts of bodily fluids enveloped the HP Bio headquarters building.

Some might describe this as the foul stench of death, while others might call it the lingering aftertaste of a gut-wrenching festival from a massacre scene.

Either description would suffice.

People were dying.

There was no elaborate story behind these deaths.

It was simply a one-sided slaughter, a mere venting of rage.

Yes, perhaps someone might even call this a “harvest.”

Isn’t that right?

Killing one person yields 15 points.

Killing an Awakened yields 30 points.

Killing a veteran Hunter at their peak granted 300 points.

Moreover, their lives were directly converted to increase Elena’s own life force.

Kill people, gain points and lives.

If this isn’t a harvest, then what is?

Let me reiterate-this banquet of death has no grand justification or compelling narrative.

It’s nothing more than a simple point-mining operation.

Though I used the pretense of revenge for destroying my home, even without that excuse, she would have reduced this place to this state regardless.

From the very beginning, the only thought was to kill them all.

Because she firmly believed that was the path to survival.

Her thinking wasn’t wrong. It was just a bit extreme.

“Hehehe. Hunters aren’t all that, huh?”

Standing alone at the center of this destructive massacre, the woman laughed brightly with a voice that could enchant anyone.

She looked down at the decapitated Hunter and smiled.

Drenched in blood from head to toe, she cheerfully stabbed fleeing figures in the back and split the skulls of approaching enemies with her axe.

The laughter never stopped.

The sight of blood, flesh, and all manner of things spraying into the air felt almost like an unreal hallucination.

The way so many people bled until the floor beneath my feet grew damp with puddles could easily be mistaken for an extension of some surreal dream.

Regardless, none of the witnesses could fully accept this as reality.

In this abyss of madness where no one could bring themselves to truly comprehend what was happening, only the blood-soaked woman remained hopeful.

From the start, she never considered the people of this world as fellow humans.

That’s why she could stay perfectly sane while smashing nearly 200 people to pieces, laughing all the while.

All she cared about were the quests she’d accepted and the points steadily accumulating. The cries, screams, and agonized shouts of others never reached her ears.

Stripped of sexual desire, forced into a changed gender, and subjected to the malicious whims of a god that demanded she arbitrarily reject others-perhaps she had deliberately closed off her heart.

Starting off broken from the very beginning, she drove herself to the extreme, becoming the terror of all.

So that no one could ever get close.

That way, she wouldn’t have to give them any affection.

The traits thrust upon her by chance forced her to stand alone-there was no other choice.

‘Yeah, to claim the title of the strongest in this world, I have to go this far.’

Her rival was the true protagonist of the novel she had been possessed into.

‘Jang Yi-sang.’

Elena, unjustly designated as the main villain and half-forced into this possession, laughed.

The target had always been singular: Kill Jang Yi-sang. Steal his place and become the protagonist.

Elena laughed.

******

Trampling over the frenzied mob, I descended further and further down.

The goal was the deepest part where the researchers were.

I would carve my way down, reclaim everything I had lost, and slaughter every last person associated with this rotten pharmaceutical company that had dared to mock me.

‘Most importantly, I obtained the Book of Immortality.’

A ridiculously expensive book costing a full 10,000 points per volume.

Considering that all the skill books up until now hadn’t even exceeded 1,000 points, this was an exorbitant price.

But in my opinion, this book should have cost around 100,000 points.

No, seriously-

‘I don’t fucking die!’

My lives keep duplicating. This is insane.

Every time those bastards kill me once, I kill three of those motherfuckers in return.

What does that mean? I gain two extra lives in the exchange.

I don’t die. My lives keep increasing.

I am invincible. I have conquered death.

The world is in the palm of my hand.

“Haa. Haa. Fuckkkk. One, two, three… Wow. 150.”

Seeing the total number of lives increasing made me feel like my eyes were rolling back in my head.

‘Kill humans. Destroy this filthy world.’

And in return, I gain life.

Ah, I finally understand.

The most obvious law of nature-to continue living, you must devour another life.

Yeah, this is it. There’s no way a human life is worth a measly 15 points.

Human lives are precious.

I cursed myself for treating them as equal to a Goblin Shaman just because they were only worth 15 points.

A human life is worth exactly one human life.

“Fuuuuuuuuuck!!!!”

“That crazy bitch!!! She won’t fucking die!!!!”

“Run!!! Run downstairs!!!”

“The door’s blocked! They sealed it from below!!!”

“You fucking piece of shiiiiiiit!!!!”

Another head exploded. I gained yet another life.

Someone died spilling their guts. Again, life was replenished.

Those hiding among the corpses, holding their breath, could only wait helplessly for the disaster to pass.

Of course, I killed them all too. Their lives were too delicious to pass up.

This was a matter beyond points.

Killing one person meant I could live one more time.

How could I just let that slide when lives could be farmed like coins?

I steal their souls. Take everything.

Walk the lonely path of the outcast.

It’s better to kill them all and live alone.

This might be my chance to break free from all the noise pollution, urban disturbances, and every other nuisance.

Sure, the infrastructure being completely wrecked might be inconvenient, but who cares?

I’ve already lived for days without water or electricity-it was more bearable than I thought. I could manage.

No more insufferable neighbors, no more brats from upstairs disturbing my sleep-this life felt pretty good.

Moreover, wiping out the people in this city means my base won’t be threatened by filthy outsiders.

No one will take away the pet slaves I’ve raised.

‘Yeah, for a supposedly ruined world, there were way too many humans left.’

If the world’s going to end anyway, might as well wipe out the infrastructure along with it.

Too many worthless bastards are still around.

Like HP Bio. Or The Gatekeeper. These assholes are still out there, tormenting those just trying to survive quietly.

‘I’ll clean them up myself. No choice but to destroy them. Otherwise, they’ll just cause more trouble. They were destined to be crushed by the protagonist Jang Yi-sang anyway. The worldline won’t twist just because I kill them first. And if I steal all of Jang Yi-sang’s destined opportunities, that’s two birds with one stone.’

There’s no need to keep hostile factions that won’t submit to me lingering in Seoul’s territory.

Starting now, I begin “Corporate Destruction.”

After HP Bio comes Pax Company. Next will be Osung Group.

Crush them all and bring peace to Seoul.

I want to take it easy now, cultivate my base, and properly enjoy the apocalypse.

KABOOOM-!!!!

“Guhhhk!!!!”

In an instant, one of the corridor walls exploded outward, revealing two massive abominations.

‘Mutants…’

HP Bio’s creations-their magnum opus of sin.

‘Monsters crafted from ground-up humans, designed to hunt Hunters.’

I checked the mutants’ levels.

’50 and 48 respectively.’

High. Not impossibly so, but strong enough to rival B-rank Hunters.

“Graaaah!!!”

More of them crawled out.

Two wasn’t the end. Of course.

“How much are you worth?”

“Kieeee!!!!”

The one at the forefront charged at me.

The annoying thing about these bastards is not knowing what abilities they have. Assume they each possess three to four skills.

Not to mention their absurd physical prowess-most Awakened would be crushed to death before landing a single proper punch.

CRASH-!!!

“Uh, wha-?”

“Huu…”

I caught its fist. Strong. But that’s all.

Dumb as rocks, with nothing but numbers to throw at me.

And this corridor is narrow enough that I can manage even if they push forward.

‘If I keep my back to the wall, I won’t have to fight too many at once.’

This is practically them delivering points to me on a platter.

I already knew they’d send these things out. Might as well enjoy it.

“Kyaaaaaa!!!!”

The moment I decided to have fun, dozens of mutants swarmed in.

I maxed out Stun Fist. Ignited Fire Meditation. Rendel’s Crimson Orb reacted.

The flames grew fiercer.

WHOOSH!!!!!

The first mutant to stick its head in had its skull blown apart.

What are you gonna do?

I revive in three seconds even if my head gets chopped off-and you think a dozen second-rate mutants at B-rank Hunter level can take me down?

Not a chance. These low-grade trash should’ve been left in storage while they brought out something closer to S-rank.

[300 Points Acquired]

Actually, B-rank is fine too.

Maybe I got too full of myself. 300 points per kill? These things were worth that much?

The heat in my head suddenly cooled.

I sobered up fast. 300 points per kill is insane. Jackpot.

‘Just bring out everything you’ve got.’

I was drowning in delusions of being an overpowered protagonist destroying corporations, but this really snapped me back to reality.

I should stall for time, see if they’ll send out more.

If they think B-rank can handle me, they’ll probably deploy the rest, right?

I hope so. Hunting them down myself would be a pain.

‘Hehe. Points…’

Corporate Destruction is on hold for now. If I leave these guys alive, they might mass-produce 300-point mutants.

Sacrifice three worthless Awakened worth only 30 points to create one worth 300? That’s insane.

My mouth’s already watering.