Chapter 69
The Capital Area Survivors Gallery had truly exploded.
Title : Breaking News!!!! (Seriously) Speedrun Has Started a Suicide Speedrun!!!!
Are they fucking crazy? Seriouslyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
They're going to the Black Zone, not even the Red Zone???
It was fun while it lasted, Speedy ㅇㅇ
ㄴ We weren't together
ㄴ Speedrun always goes around alone
ㄴ ㅇㅋㅋㅋㅋ
No, fuck, Speedy, did you really want to kill yourself that badly?
ㄴ Don't say the mean thing about trading your IQ for speed ㄴㄴ
ㄴ Hey, hey, hey
Uh-oh, don't go there
ㄴ Don't go, please;;
There was one reason the Gallery was ablaze.
Our Speedy had suddenly gone completely off the rails and officially declared they were coming here.
“No, fuck, why are you coming here!!!!”
I started seriously thinking about it too.
“Should I stop them?”
Should I send a VIP inquiry telling Speedrun not to come?
Because...
“Speedrun can't end here!!”
Then the fun of living alone would disappear!
That's not the reason at all.
“Because if they come, they'll be killed instantly.”
I'm worried Speedy will die. Why would Speedy come to a place like this?
If not for my ability, I'd already have been torn limb from limb and become Jomssaem's 166th mouthful (I counted).
Wasn't Speedrun from the Red Zone?
ㄴ Yup
ㄴ Is Speedrun aiming to reawaken in the Black Zone?
ㄴ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ What is this, a second class advancementㅋㅋㅋㅋ
But does reawakening really exist?
ㄴ You think?
ㄴ Fuck, then I would've come from the Red Zone too
Speedy, I won't go far...
ㄴ Let's play a funeral montage ㅇㅇ
ㄴ Do we even have electronics to play a montage?
ㄴ Ah
ㄴ Ah
[Head Mod] ? Why are you going there?
ㄴ Even the Head Mod didn't know
ㄴ Stop them;;
ㄴ [Head Mod] Don't order me around
ㄴ Yep
ㄴ Sorry
While the Gallery collectively held Speedrun's funeral at superspeed,
the person in question finally appeared.
[Speedrun] SorryIwasn'tbaitingyoujusttoshowthiseverybodycalmdownI'mnotgoinginrightnowIknowI'ddieifIwentnow
ㄴ [Healer Union] “I don't think they know.”
ㄴ [Speedrun] “I know.”
ㄴ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ What are these bastards doingㅋㅋㅋㅋ
No, fuck, I'm not joking!!
ㄴ Why announce your suicide out of nowhere when the mood is good!!!
ㄴ Rage-quitting the Gallery right in the middle of the post-apocalypse boom
ㄴ Seriously, this is impossible to understand
[Speedrun] Eventually we must reclaim the Black Zone
ㄴ [Speedrun] I'm going to start scouting slowly to lay the groundwork for that process
ㄴ Ahhh, so that's what it was...?
ㄴ Fuck, I thought they were charging in right now
ㄴ I seriously thought they'd lost it...
[Speedrun] I'm making a strategy guide right now, so I'll add strategies while fighting mutants
ㄴ [Speedrun] If I detect any strange signs, I'll share them with you
ㄴ Ah
ㄴ Have to respect that
“What the fuck.”
So they were going to scout and add mutant strategies?
No, this Speedy bastard.
They keep jerking people around.
“No, I thought you meant you were coming here for me.”
[Speedrun] And there are a few people I need to find in the Black Zone... Anyway, it's a multipurpose visit
ㄴ ㅇ?
ㄴ Was your family in Seoul?
[Speedrun] And statistically, the odds are pretty good right now. It's a ‘great-value’ probability
ㄴ ?
ㄴ What does that mean?
ㄴ Fuck, what probability are you talking about?
ㄴ I can't even comprehend how crazy this is
“No, fuck, this is about me.”
The scouting is a smokescreen. Judging from the circumstances, I'm the real objective.
“What do you take me for?! Why come all this way!”
I'm doing just fine here with Jomssaem. There's no need to come all the way here.
“Right, Jomssaem?”
Grrr-!
Clang-!
“Yeah, Jomssaem likes having me around too.”
There really is no reason to come all the way here. Things are good as they are, so why come?
“And who am I supposed to put to work if you come here!”
You all have to handle security in the Capital Area!
Anyway, back to the comments.
[Speedrun] You don't need to know
ㄴ Well... everyone has personal matters...
ㄴ Anyway, you're not charging in right now, right?
Let's all power up while System-nim showers us with supplies, then raid as a group!
ㄴ Yeah, now's a little early!
[Speedrun] For now, I'll stay in the Red Zone, power myself up, and scout the situation around the Black Zone entrance
ㄴ [Speedrun] If I find any useful information, I'll pass it on to you
ㄴ Yeah, let's do this, Speedrun
ㄴ Yeah, let's do this
ㄴ Thanks
[Healer Union] If you've been feeling really depressed lately or taking a pessimistic view of life, don't suffer alone
ㄴ [Healer Union] The suicide prevention hotline 1393 doesn't answer because the apocalypse wiped it out, so message me and I'll counsel you
ㄴ Heyㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
But if it's really hard, call them ㅇㅇ
ㄴ I tried before the apocalypse, and they answered well
ㄴ “But we don't have phones in the first place”
ㄴ “Ah.”
Anyway, after Speedrun promised not to go overboard, the comment section returned to normal,
and the Gallery's topic started shifting back to bugs.
Anyway, Speedrun
ㄴ What did you mean when you said insects explode after sucking another creature's blood?
ㄴ Exactly, that's what we're curious about ㅇㅇ
ㄴ [Speedrun] Literally. Insects cannot suck the blood of living higher-tier mutants
ㄴ [Speedrun] At most, they can handle a Heavy Spitter's blood
ㄴ [Speedrun] But almost all of them explode too, and only a few survive
[Speedrun] All the mosquitoes that sucked blood from Red Zone entities are exploding
ㄴ [Speedrun] (A rough proof video)
ㄴ Huh?
ㄴ They really do explode...?
ㄴ They do;;
No way, Red Zone mutants are fucking creepy
ㄴ Those are the bastards from the wave last time.
ㄴ What's that zombie in the back that's the size of a storefront?
ㄴ Ah, don't worry, it's a Red Zone zombie.
ㄴ Phew
So Speedrun is... running through there, surviving, and filming proof videos too...?
ㄴ Speedrun <<< not human...
“Oh... they're really doing it...?”
Watching the video, I saw that the insects which had sucked the blood of living mutants really were popping like Pop Rocks.
“What the hell!!”
I also ran over to the window to check.
“Where did they go!!!”
But the insects that had covered my window in black during Patch 2 had disappeared before I knew it.
“Did they all really explode?”
What the...
“Jomssaem? Did Jomssaem take care of all of them?”
Grrr-! Clang-!
“Is it true?
Jomssaem's spiritual pressure...! Incredible!
To sum up: insects that suck the blood of living higher-tier mutants >>> explode
ㄴ At most, they can survive the blood of creatures one tier above them, like Heavy Spitters
Then why did a Shadow Walker appear last time?
ㄴ Seriously, what was that??
”I mean, then what was that.“
Then it couldn't have been either a Shadow Walker or an Allen Walker.
As everyone was grasping at straws, the Survivors Gallery's official brainiac, the Wiki guy, appeared.
[Shop Wiki] ..!!!! I know now!!!!
ㄴ Oh, what is it?
ㄴ How did you figure this out....?
ㄴ Seriously, no idea
[Shop Wiki] We already know the answer... even if I don't say it...
ㄴ Then fuck, stop eating up chapter space and say it already
ㄴ Even a heaping bowl of rice gets old after a day or two; this is getting tiring now
ㄴ Seriouslyㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ [Shop Wiki] ;;
[Shop Wiki] What if the Shadow Walker wasn't alive....? What if it was dead?
ㄴ ㅇ?
ㄴ What are you talking about now?
ㄴ It'd be hard to find a dead Shadow Walker;;
[Shop Wiki] Do you remember when Jinhyeok bro came last time?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ The protagonist
ㄴ How could we forget?
[Shop Wiki] When System-nim ejected Jinhyeok bro from the Black Zone, he was ejected into reality together with the Shadow Walker
ㄴ Huh?
ㄴ No way!!
[Shop Wiki] That's right... The mosquito that sucked the blood of that dead Shadow Walker and survived
ㄴ [Shop Wiki] happened to bite an Ares guild member during Patch 2, turning that person into a Shadow Walker...!
ㄴ !!!!!
ㄴ ??!!!
“Wow, fuck, so that's what it was?”
Eureka!
“So that's how it happened.”
Wow, so that's what it was
ㄴ It was
ㄴ Jinhyeok, this fucking bastard, kept spreading shit even after dying;;
ㄴ How many victims has this bastard caused, seriously
Fuck... Is it you again... Jinhyeok bro...
ㄴ Seriously, JOAT...
ㄴ It's not like anyone misses him...
ㄴ Die twice over;;
A miracle that happened after beating the worst possible odds;;
ㄴ The real miracle is that System-nim is sending us diapers right now
ㄴ Then it's a miracle diaper
ㄴ ㅗ
ㄴ ㄴㄱㅁ
“Jinhyeok's influence is insane...”
No wonder he called himself the protagonist.
“His influence is fucking insane—in the worst way.”
[Shop Wiki] Anyway, I don't think we need to worry about Red Zone or Black Zone mutants appearing again...
ㄴ Ahh, so that's what it was
ㄴ The quarantine sweeps have already been done several times anyway ㅇㅇ
Damn, I'm a fire mage
ㄴ The Ares branch burned the dead Shadow Walker and everything nearby ㅇㅇ
ㄴ But Speedrun already disinfected the area, so there aren't any insects inside the Capital Area ㅇㅇ
ㄴ Still, just in case
[Speedrun] I'll spray preventive vaccine around the Red Zone too
ㄴ Ohhh
ㄴ Yeah, Kim Speedrun-tler, exterminate all the bugs
Quarantine +1
ㄴ Contamination –1
ㄴ Bug Exterminator title GET!
ㄴ Oh, for fuck's sake, stat guys
ㄴ Look at those numbers going upㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Anyway, the bug thread and the Speedrun-going-straight-to-the-Black-Zone thread that had suddenly swept through the Gallery died down.
“Phew. That scared the shit out of me.”
Then another breaking-news post appeared in the Gallery.
Title : Breaking News!!! (Really true again) It's here!! It's finally hereee!!!
(A rough proof)
The Survivors Gallery's current concurrent users have surpassed 110,000!!!!
System-nim!! System-nim did it!!!!
??
ㄴ ?!!
ㄴ Kkiyoooooh!!!
ㄴ Huh?
110,000?!!
ㄴ The Survivors Gallery finally hit 110,000 ㅠㅠㅠ
No, 110,000?
ㄴ Is that number even possible after the apocalypse?
ㄴ That's insane...
ㄴ Seriously fucking insane;;
That's right.
We'd been giving out daily quests all along. Their effects were finally beginning to show.
But then.
“It hit 110,000?”
After seeing the post, I checked the number of users.
“!!!!”
[Capital Area Survivors Gallery (Current users: 110,740) ▲ 15,000]
The Survivors Gallery really had skyrocketed.
“Fuck... this is it!”
This is it!!
The policies I'd rolled out free of charge had really worked.
“Kkiyoooooh!!! To the moon!!!!!!!”
Holy shit, the effects are showing immediately.
“Our sales skyrocketing is practically guaranteed!!!”
With growth this explosive, future momentum was practically secured.
And today's the day the mentorship event closes, too!!
ㄴ Oh, right!!!
Who could've taken first place!!!
ㄴ Who could it be...!!
ㄴ Thump-thump-thump
ㄴ Biceps
ㄴ Glutes
ㄴ Uh
Besides, today was also the day the mentorship event ended.
The newbies had probably succeeded in Awakening to a level comparable to the existing Awakeners.
Could it be Mythos!!!
ㄴ White Night!!!
ㄴ Ares!!!
ㄴ Which guild took first place!!
[Mythos] We raised the newbies organically, giving it our all!!!!
ㄴ [White Night] We taught them romance
ㄴ Kyaa, the candidates are formidable
[God of War] We taught them control
ㄴ [Ironclad Corps] We taught them control
ㄴ [God of War] ?! You're that rude bastard from back then??
ㄴ [Ironclad Corps] You're that obnoxious bastard from back then?!!
ㄴ What are these bastards doingㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Fuck, they're doing a skitㅋㅋ
[Ga-bung-i] I pointed them toward justice
ㄴ Didn't you teach them?
ㄴ Which direction is justice in?
[Mythos] We'll verify in the comments!
ㄴ [White Night] I'll verify too
"The long-awaited first place is!!!"
Along with the Gallery atmosphere heating up once more,
“All right...! Let's check.”
Tariri tariri dararidarara.
I checked the rankings.