The Devouring Genius of a Destroyed World-Chapter 42

"This is just like mom and dad," Kang Yoo remarked.

"Could be seen that way."

They exchanged a few trivial words when suddenly, the evolutionary zombie’s shell quivered again, cracking even more.

The awakened individuals, who had been gossiping in groups, grew suddenly silent.

Seongho glanced sideways to check the Pioneer’s Cradle.

"00:23:32"

As the timer that only Seongho could see ticked down, the tension in the air thickened.

Seongho closed his eyes, absorbing the palpable tension and sharp energy around him.

Tick, tick.

The silence was so profound that even the sound of someone’s wristwatch ticking could be heard. How long had this quiet waiting lasted?

Boom.

The sound of a heavy impact echoed from a distance, and Seongho snapped his eyes open.

Everyone’s gaze shifted toward the source of the sound, but the area was already engulfed in darkness.

There was no way to confirm what had happened from so far away.

"Management building, management building, what’s going on?"

Oh Jonghyuk held up the radio and tried to communicate.

Static crackled over the radio a few times, and finally:

"We’re on our way to check! We’ll let you know as soon as we assess the situation!"

All eyes were on the radio in Oh Jonghyuk’s hand.

How much time had passed under the suffocating tension?

Piiing!

A flare shot up from the campus grounds.

It was a red flare, signaling the zombies’ invasion.

Almost immediately, the radio crackled again.

"The defense wall! The elementary school defense wall has been breached!"

"AAAAH!"

"Zombies!"

The loud shouts from the radio were abruptly cut off, followed by a suffocating silence, and then more crackling.

"Support at the Slave Management! Support! The slaves are rebelling... Aaagh!"

The radio went silent after the scream, and this time, the silence didn’t last long.

"Did zombies get in?"

"Why did the wall collapse?"

"Did the slaves really rebel?"

"Did I hear that correctly?"

The awakened individuals, having grasped the situation, muttered their thoughts.

Among them, Jang Hyungsu hurriedly searched for Kang Seongbae.

"Seongbae!"

"It wasn’t me!! The rocks I created don’t disappear unless you deliberately destroy them!" Kang Seongbae snapped back.

"I’m not blaming you. I mean we need to repair the breach," Jang Hyungsu clarified.

"Then… what about the items that were supposed to drop today…?"

Kang Seongbae glanced nervously, and Kang Yoo snapped at him.

"Are you seriously worried about that now? If we don’t fix it, zombies will keep pouring in! Get to it!"

Kang Seongbae hesitated, looking between the campus and the evolutionary zombie.

It was then that Oh Jonghyuk, who had been watching the direction of the sound, spoke up.

"Seongbae, you take care of the next evolutionary zombie. This time, give way for the camp. That should be enough, right?"

Kang Seongbae, though clearly irritated, nodded.

It seemed he had come to realize the danger of the situation.

As soon as it was decided that Kang Seongbae would leave, Oh Jonghyuk turned to Kang Yoo.

"I’ll go with Seongbae. You and your wife handle the hunting."

"Professor!" Kang Yoo exclaimed in surprise, grabbing his arm.

But Oh Jonghyuk was resolute.

Seongho quietly observed their exchange.

The explosion and zombie invasion were orchestrated to remove Kang Seongbae from this fight.

His ability was just too useful to protect the group.

But Oh Jonghyuk was going along?

‘This is not good.’

If they only needed to deal with zombies, sending a few physical transformation awakened ones would suffice.

But the fact that Oh Jonghyuk was going himself meant there was something else at play.

As expected, Oh Jonghyuk murmured, his eyes cold as he looked toward the campus.

"Those slave bastards are biting back at their masters. This time, I’ll give them a proper lesson in discipline."

If he was heading for the Humanities and Social Sciences Building, the people inside — including Im Chan — would be in danger.

"I’ll leave my spot to Seongho. He can handle it. This one’s pretty strong too. You can count on him, right?"

"...If you ask, Professor, I guess."

Since there was no immediate way to stop him, Seongho forced a response.

Oh Jonghyuk, satisfied, pulled Kang Seongbae and left.

Seongho watched their retreating backs, and in his ear, a small voice kept buzzing.

"We’ve entered the campus and immediately hid."

"Im Chan went in right after setting off a grenade, and the door was just sealed tight."

"Because of the explosion, zombies are swarming in."

"I think over a hundred have already gotten inside… Is this alright?"

Through the earpiece pressed to his ear, Jo Gyu-hyun was relaying the situation to Seongho.

His voice trembled slightly.

Meanwhile, Seongho whispered calmly, without a hint of agitation.

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"Oh Jonghyuk moved out. He’s likely heading to the Humanities building, and if he does, we can’t guarantee the safety of the civilians. Do you think you can lure them towards you two?"

After a lengthy silence, Seo Minhee responded with a shaky voice.

"...I think we can manage if Gyu-hyun lends us his power. I’ll try."

Since Seongho was stuck at this location, all he could do was trust her words.

He let out a shallow sigh and added one more thing.

"Just lure them; avoid direct confrontation as much as possible."

Considering the characteristics of Beast-Transformation awakened individuals, there was no benefit in provoking them unnecessarily.

So, buy time until he could arrive.

Just as Seongho was about to add more advice, Kang Yoo turned to him.

"What are you mumbling about?"

"...Just talking to myself."

"How boring."

Kang Yoo turned his attention back to the evolutionary zombie.

Just then, the evolutionary zombie began to stir again.

"The cracks are worsening!"

"00:01:00"

At the sight of the timer nearing zero, it seemed as if the evolutionary zombie was waiting for that exact moment.

Suddenly, something burst from the shell.

Whoosh!

A long, large hand, tipped with sharp claws, emerged.

Hot steam billowed from the hole.

Someone gulped loudly.

The sharp claws began tearing through the shell.

Just as everyone had frozen in place, feeling the approach of danger...

"Forward, prepare yourselves."

Jang Hyungsu’s calm voice broke the deadly silence.

Only then did the awakened individuals snap back to attention.

Two of them stepped forward first.

One could turn their body into metal, and the other could accelerate explosively in an instant.

After the two stepped forward, Jang Hyungsu turned to Seongho.

"Seongho?"

Seongho had just decided to take the vacant spot left by Oh Jonghyuk.

So, he was supposed to be with those two.

But Seongho remained standing still, arms crossed, not moving.

"Hey, Han Seongho."

Kang Yoo came forward, urging Seongho, but he remained unmoved.

The fact that Oh Jonghyuk had moved was still troubling him.

He had warned Seo Minhee and Jo Gyu-hyun to be careful, but his gut told him to finish this quickly and pursue them.

To do that, he couldn’t let the others here get too united.

"How about hunting separately?"

"What?"

Jang Hyungsu couldn’t hide his surprise at the sudden proposal.

But Seongho, with a completely indifferent expression, continued.

"I can handle it alone. I don’t want to complicate things by sharing the item ownership."

"Let each of us try hunting and whoever succeeds gets to monopolize the item."

Jang Hyungsu’s lips twitched at the bold suggestion.

The absence of experienced individuals before this battle had created a great deal of anxiety, concern, and tension.

Jang Hyungsu couldn’t make a quick decision and hesitated.

Meanwhile, Kang Yoo, who had been stunned, snapped back to reality.

"What are you doing?!"

Kang Yoo grabbed Seongho by the collar, raising his voice.

Seongho stared at him calmly, then pulled at the corners of his mouth, smiling as he said,

"You want the item too, don’t you?"

Kang Yoo couldn’t even deny it.

As Kang Yoo stood there, searching for words, Seongho patted him on the shoulder.

"I promise this time, the item is yours."

Surprised by the sudden offer, Kang Yoo’s eyes widened.

Then, his gaze shifted downward.

Jang Hyungsu also looked at where Kang Yoo was looking.

Seongho’s military sword, with its sheath, was neatly strapped to his thigh.

The greed that blossomed as the blade glistened in the light began to creep up.

'If I succeed...'

The simple and dangerous proposition shook off all feelings of anxiety and doubt.

"...Individual hunting sounds good."

"Jang Hyungsu!"

Kang Yoo shouted, but that was all.

He didn’t oppose the idea or try to stop it.

The others were eyeing the new items, too.

Jang Hyungsu quickly started thinking.

Although the first move carried risks due to their lack of knowledge about the evolutionary zombie, if he gave up his turn and Seongho succeeded, he would be the one left behind.

So, with risks in mind, he decided to keep his first-move advantage.

"Can we take the first try?" Jang Hyungsu asked.

Seongho smiled and gestured toward the evolutionary zombie.

"Go ahead."

With that, Jang Hyungsu turned, and five of the awakened ones followed him.

At the same time, the evolutionary zombie’s shell, torn by sharp claws, crumbled, and from the debris, a massive shadow stood tall.

Roar!

The explosive roar shook the area.

The fully evolved evolutionary zombie had finally revealed itself.

About 2 meters tall, with shiny reptilian scales and cross-shaped gray eyes.

Its frog-like mouth was slit wide, and its claws were as long as its arms.

The evolutionized zombie’s presence was immense, steaming in the cold winter night.

The strange sight of dark red lumps falling from its body made it all the more eerie.

The awakened ones froze in shock.

In the meantime, the evolutionary zombie looked around as if scanning its surroundings.

A suffocating silence passed without any immediate clash.

"Move, it’s moving!"

Whoosh!

The sound of air being sliced cut through, and everything happened in an instant.