NOVGO.NET Chapter 28 Leveling up her men.
Chapter 28: Chapter 28 Leveling up her men.
Luna lay comfortably on her newly purchased bed, one leg crossed over the other as she played a game on her iPhone while casually munching on a bag of ripe plantain chips she had torn open earlier.
She had intended to sleep.
Unfortunately...
Sleep refused to come.
So instead, she distracted herself with her game, hoping it would eventually tire her mind enough for her to drift off.
Crunch.
Crunch.
The quiet sound of the chips somehow contrasted with the horrifying growls echoing outside the bunker.
She didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.
Without taking her eyes off the screen, she spoke lazily.
"Aren’t you all supposed to be sleeping? Remember, we’re continuing the stockpiling tomorrow morning, so save your strength."
It sounded less like a suggestion...
And more like an order.
Almost like a mother scolding children who refused to go to bed.
Adrian, who had been absentmindedly tossing an empty carton into the air, noticed the pale expressions on Rowan and Kai’s faces.
Something was definitely wrong.
Even if Luna acted like she had no idea.
He frowned.
"What happened?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at the pair. "The two of you look like you’re only minutes away from shitting your pants."
The two immediately turned away from the window before hurrying toward Luna’s bed.
"Luna... we’ve got a problem."
Kai’s voice was unusually tense.
"The zombies..."
"They’re climbing up here."
His words finally made Adrian stop joking.
Out of every structure surrounding the bunker, this fortress was by far the strongest.
That was why countless survivors had desperately tried to force their way inside earlier.
Unfortunately for them...
Luna had locked everyone out.
Now it seemed the zombies had reached the exact same conclusion.
There were living humans inside this bunker.
And they intended to get in.
Luna’s fingers never stopped moving across her phone screen.
She continued playing as though she hadn’t heard a single word.
Rowan almost lost his patience.
"Say something!" he snapped. "We’re going to die if we don’t do something!"
Luna merely frowned at her game.
Her expression clearly said they were interrupting an important match.
Curiosity eventually got the better of Adrian.
The mindless horde he had seen earlier shouldn’t have been capable of climbing anything.
So he walked over to the reinforced window himself.
The second he looked outside...
He wished he hadn’t.
Just below the bunker...
An enormous pile of zombies had formed.
No...
They weren’t simply piling together.
They were climbing.
Each zombie stepped onto another’s shoulders with disturbing coordination.
Rotting hands reached upward one after another.
Those below willingly supported those above, creating a living tower of corpses that continued growing higher every minute.
It should have been impossible.
Mindless creatures shouldn’t possess teamwork.
Yet...
It was happening.
Even worse...
The zombie babies had joined them.
Tiny corpses crawled over the bodies of adults with terrifying speed.
Their small faces were crawling with wriggling maggots.
A strange black mist leaked continuously from their mouths and empty eye sockets as they climbed.
Thick saliva dripped from their lips.
They looked almost excited.
As though they could already taste the fresh meal waiting for them inside.
Adrian’s face darkened.
"What about the military?" he asked. "Where are all the soldiers? Why can’t I see anyone?"
Rowan’s breathing grew uneven.
"They’re dead."
His voice barely rose above a whisper.
"I don’t think ordinary weapons can kill these things."
Silence settled inside the bunker.
The realization hit all three men at once.
They were trapped.
Completely trapped.
Outside...
The zombies continued advancing.
Closer.
Higher.
Faster.
Then another sound echoed across the safe zone.
CRACK!!
A loud fracture rang through the night.
Everyone instinctively looked upward.
Far above the bunker, the massive protective shield surrounding the safe zone had begun breaking apart.
Thin glowing cracks spread across its surface like shattered glass.
Every second...
The fractures became larger.
Adrian’s face drained of color.
"If that thing collapses..."
He didn’t finish his sentence.
He didn’t need to.
Everyone already understood.
The shield wasn’t just blocking sunlight.
It was protecting what remained of humanity.
If it completely shattered...
Whatever horrors existed beyond it would flood into the safe zone.
Things could somehow become even worse.
After enduring several minutes of endless complaints from the others...
Luna finally sighed.
She paused her game.
Placed her phone on the bed.
Then slowly stood up.
"You people are disturbing my rest."
She stretched lazily before walking toward the window.
Even her footsteps looked elegant.
Completely unhurried.
The bunker lights had almost died.
Only a handful still flickered weakly across the walls as though struggling to stay alive.
Their dim light cast long shadows around the room.
Luna rested both hands on the reinforced window.
Her golden eyes calmly observed the towering mass of zombies.
She looked upward.
Then downward.
A faint smile appeared.
"They actually made it this high."
She sounded...
Impressed.
"What a shame."
"My sleep got interrupted."
"I guess they’ll have to pay for that."
The other three stared at her speechlessly.
How could someone remain this calm?
Luna suddenly turned around.
"Aren’t all of you awakened humans?" she asked. "Why aren’t you doing anything?"
The question stunned them.
Rowan blinked several times.
"It’s not that simple."
"There are too many of them."
"Our abilities aren’t strong enough to fight something like this."
Luna almost scoffed.
Weak.
That was all she heard.
She wasn’t planning to protect useless people forever.
If these three intended to stay beside her...
They needed to become stronger.
Much stronger.
Almost immediately...
A familiar blue System panel appeared beside her.
Just as though it had read her thoughts.
Her eyes brightened slightly.
"Oh..."
She hadn’t noticed this section before.
Displayed before her was an entirely new category.
[Special Ability Improvement Section]
"So there was something like this..."
She tapped it.
A long list instantly appeared before her.
Rare crystals.
Evolution potions.
Mystic plants.
Ancient herbs.
Countless enhancement materials filled the screen.
Beneath them appeared another notification.
[Daily intake of any listed item will increase Ability Value and accelerate Rank Advancement.]
Luna quickly understood.
Each item worked differently.
The plants were the slowest.
Potions were much faster.
But the crystals...
Those were by far the quickest.
Exactly what she needed.
She had no patience for slow growth.
Kai watched the floating panel with wide eyes.
Unlike Rowan and Adrian...
He could actually see it.
"What are you looking at?" Adrian shouted impatiently.
"They’re almost here!"
Without another word...
Luna selected three high-grade enhancement crystals.
The purchase button flashed.
Immediately...
Her Apocalypse Coins dropped dramatically.
900,000...
800,000...
700,000...
Finally stopping at...
600,000.
Three hundred thousand coins...
Gone in an instant.
Even Luna clicked her tongue.
"So expensive."
Still...
She considered it an investment.
Powerful companions meant better survival.
And better survival meant earning those coins back eventually.
Three glowing crystals materialized in her palms.
Each one shimmered with brilliant blue light.
Without hesitation, Luna handed one crystal to each man.
The moment Adrian and Rowan touched theirs...
Their expressions froze.
Blue panels suddenly appeared before their eyes.
"What..."
"So you can see it now?" Luna asked casually.
Neither of them answered.
They were too busy staring at the floating windows.
Luna folded her arms.
"Swallow them."
Silence.
"Right now."
The three men looked up simultaneously.
"What?"
"It’ll strengthen your abilities."
She glanced toward the window where several zombie hands had already begun smashing against the reinforced glass.
"But you’d better hurry."
"You’ve got less than ten minutes before you’re eaten alive."
Any questions they wanted to ask instantly disappeared.
The zombies had already reached the window.
Heavy fists repeatedly slammed against the reinforced glass.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Deep growls echoed throughout the bunker.
Without another second of hesitation...
The three swallowed the crystals.
The effect was immediate.
"AAAAARGHHHH!!"
Kai collapsed first.
Then Rowan.
Finally Adrian.
All three crashed onto the floor screaming.
Their bodies convulsed violently.
Veins bulged beneath their skin.
Their eyes rolled backward before turning an unnatural crimson red.
The power surging through them was far beyond anything they had ever experienced.
Bones cracked.
Muscles tightened.
Energy exploded throughout the room.
Luna calmly stepped aside.
Making sure none of them rolled onto her bed.
"I just bought that."
Outside...
The reinforced window finally gave way.
CRASH!!
Glass exploded inward.
The first zombie successfully climbed through.
Its mouth opened wide in triumph.
It probably thought dinner had finally arrived.
Unfortunately...
It had made a terrible mistake.
Kai suddenly opened his eyes.
Brilliant icy-blue light erupted from his body.
Cold air instantly spread across the bunker.
The temperature dropped so sharply that frost covered the nearby walls.
He slowly raised one trembling hand.
Ice burst from his palm.
Within seconds...
Dozens...
Then hundreds...
Of razor-sharp ice arrows formed in the air.
The zombie didn’t even have time to react.
The arrows shot forward like a storm.
SCHKK!
SCHKK!
SCHKK!
They pierced through skulls...
Eyes...
Necks...
Chests...
Lower jaws...
Every incoming zombie was instantly impaled before being hurled backward by the overwhelming force.
One after another, the corpses were thrown from the bunker’s walls.
Their broken bodies crashed onto the streets below like piles of disgusting garbage.
The zombies that had spent so long climbing upward now rained back down...
Dead for the second time.
Kai remained standing in the center of the room, icy mist swirling around him.
His breathing was heavy.
His crimson eyes slowly returned to normal.
The bunker had fallen silent once again.
Only the distant sound of corpses hitting the ground echoed through the night.