Chapter 39

Mo Yeonhoo grimaced, rejected the incoming call again, and tapped open the DM window.

K ><img alt="." src="https://webview-cache.ridibooks.com/3302046710/epub/images/Images/phone.png"/>. <img alt="." src="https://webview-cache.ridibooks.com/3302046710/epub/images/Images/video.png"/>.

rnjsaldjs47

What is it

hey

?? ℴ

????

Why aren’t you answering?

???

In the meantime, the messages had already piled up this high. It was like he had separation anxiety or something.

K ><img alt="." src="https://webview-cache.ridibooks.com/3302046710/epub/images/Images/phone.png"/>. <img alt="." src="https://webview-cache.ridibooks.com/3302046710/epub/images/Images/video.png"/>.

rnjsaldjs47

Oh

what

The moment he read the messages that had been pouring in like machine-gun fire, another string of DMs came flying in at the bottom.

K ><img alt="." src="https://webview-cache.ridibooks.com/3302046710/epub/images/Images/phone.png"/>. <img alt="." src="https://webview-cache.ridibooks.com/3302046710/epub/images/Images/video.png"/>.

rnjsaldjs47

You read them

lol

lol what are you doing?

Mo Yeonhoo’s expression went blank at how instantly his tone had turned gentle again, as if he hadn’t been causing a full-blown scene a second ago.

Do people who do drugs... normally swing back and forth like this?

This was exactly why Mom and Dad had always threatened to cut off his allowance if he ever started hanging around drug users. Once again, Mo Yeonhoo was learning that listening to adults was never a bad idea. He typed back.

K ><img alt="." src="https://webview-cache.ridibooks.com/3302046710/epub/images/Images/phone.png"/>. <img alt="." src="https://webview-cache.ridibooks.com/3302046710/epub/images/Images/video.png"/>.

rnjsaldjs47

I’m in a taxi ;;

Ah lol so you’re still on the way home

You could’ve just said that lol

Anyway get home safe and I’ll see you Saturday okay?

The speed of that attitude change was unreal.

K ><img alt="." src="https://webview-cache.ridibooks.com/3302046710/epub/images/Images/phone.png"/>. <img alt="." src="https://webview-cache.ridibooks.com/3302046710/epub/images/Images/video.png"/>.

rnjsaldjs47

Then I’ll go to work now!

(emoticon)

A cute dog emoticon wagged its tail.

At this point, he was honestly starting to feel afraid of what exactly Kwon Mieon was planning to do on Saturday, but—

“We’re here.”

“Oh, thank you. Have a good one!”

The instant he stepped out of the car, Kwon Mieon vanished from his head. Yeonhoo darted inside, went straight to his computer, and turned it on.

What happened?

He’d seen people log in, but there was only so much he could check on <Mobile>.

Siege War!

Everybody in the YouTube videos never shut up about Siege Wars, but when would Mo Yeonhoo ever have had the chance to properly experience one?

In Zombie Village, Siege Wars and looting were even more central than raids. And on top of that, he belonged to a large alliance like <47>, so the fighting had to be even more intense.

Since Ms. Miyoung isn’t there, it might be even worse.

It was a shame Miu was absent. If she had been there, the spectacle would have been even more incredible.

Did they say two?

And it hadn’t even been one alliance earlier. If he remembered right, two alliances had attacked at once.

His heart pounding, Mo Yeonhoo waited for the loading to finish.

Welcome back, Survivor!

The loading ended, and a system notification popped up congratulating him on logging in. He hurriedly closed it.

When Mo Yeonhoo opened his eyes in the middle of the alliance territory, his face was full of confusion.

Which was understandable, because...

“...Huh?”

It was far too quiet, completely unlike the battlefield he’d been expecting.

There’s no fire, no noise. Why is it this quiet?

Thinking back to when his own base had burned, the stillness now felt deeply strange.

Maybe I read the alert wrong.

But no. He’d definitely seen a window saying they were under attack.

Wearing a baffled expression, he clicked the alliance member login status. Naturally, Ms. Miyoung wasn’t on the list since she was at the café, but there were more <47> members online than usual.

That’s weird. Did they all go outside?

Wasn’t a Siege War supposed to be a fight centered around the alliance territory? Especially when they were the ones being invaded.

It was strange, but he started heading up toward the watchtower on top of the outer wall.

Maybe the fighting was happening outside, he thought. If so, he’d need a higher vantage point to see it.

(Notification) ‘MyApologyLetterIsInEnglishGlobal’ has used the ‘Pulling’ interaction on ‘0momo0’!

The instant he started climbing the ladder to get up on the outer wall, his vision flipped.

Then an alliance member named MyApologyLetterIsInEnglishGlobal—a green tree-man thing that looked like it was armored head to toe in bushes—grabbed him around the body.

(Alliance) 0momo0: Wh?at???

Eyes wide in shock, Mo Yeonhoo hurriedly typed into chat.

That was when a loud burst of noise came from his left. Startled, he whipped his head around—and his jaw dropped.

Toward the outer wall he’d been about to climb onto—

Pishhhk... bang! bang! clang!! bang bang!!

“What the hell?”

As if they’d been waiting for him, bullets started flying at it like crazy. At the same time, another notification popped up.

You have learned Interaction (Pulling)!

A skill that can sometimes save an ally’s life in a crisis!

(*Cooldown: 3m / Activation condition: Alliance)

“...Huh?”

So that meant he’d almost just died, and this alliance member he’d never seen before had saved him...

Still dazed, he stared at the green character when a chat message appeared.

(Alliance) MyApologyLetterIsInEnglishGlobal: HEY!!!!

(Alliance) MyApologyLetterIsInEnglishGlobal: WHY AREN’T YOU ON VOICE CHAT!!!!!

Voice chat?

(Alliance) MyApologyLetterIsInEnglishGlobal: VOICE ON ASAP!!!!

At that, Mo Yeonhoo fumbled into the settings window. The moment he switched the voice chat option from inactive to active, voices burst from the speakers so loudly it felt like they might explode.

—How many percent is the outermost defense wall down? Can we repair it right now?

—I’ll go check!

—Even if we check durability, repairs are impossible~ If you go out there you turn into a hedgehog~ Let’s just assume the outside is already wrecked and hold the D4 outer wall~

—Ah, really? Then how far along are we on our cannon stock?!

—Factory went to get it just now!

—Where’d Factory go?

—I’m right here. This thing’s heavy, so I’m still on my way.... Sob. The road is too cold and lonely. When’s our leader logging in?

—Sounds like you’re making good progress. BBQ, what about the food?

—Heh heh heh. I cooked and passed it all out to the wounded. Don’t worry.

—One on the northwest side of E7, one hit through the window....

—Okay~ once it’s confirmed I’ll send my baby~ Ah, hid. Shit. Two on the second floor of the E7 watchtower are looping around the south railing and running. Looks like they’re healing.

—E7 aimed and ready. If even a sliver shows, I’m going for the confirmed kill....

—Okay. I’ll send my baby over slow!

The silence had been nothing but Mo Yeonhoo’s misconception.

Only a few seconds had passed since he’d turned on voice chat, but noise and information instantly flooded his ears. At the same time, the movements of the alliance members finally came into focus.

So they were all hiding like that!

Most of them were plastered flat against the walls, silent as corpses. When he stole a glance toward the watchtower installed in the E7 direction beyond the wall, that place too looked empty and quiet.

They’re hiding and sniping each other.

That was right. It only looked quiet on the surface. In reality, this place was already no different from a battlefield.

—Tower at E7 hasn’t changed position. Factory, move the resources nice and slow!

—Tori goes thump-thump, today too, thump-thump....

—I’ve gotta keep an eye on the equipment~ so help me out, Tori~ You’re handsome anyway~

—Not wrong.

—Joking around is nice and all, but I think <HamHidden> is starting to refill their numbers, so if you see any supply boxes or a helicopter, shoot them all down.

—Yeees.

—Yep!

They tossed little jokes back and forth, but everyone moved without the slightest gap in their coordination.

ShinJadu was pressed up against the outer wall with binoculars, constantly watching the movements of <HamHidden> in the E7 direction and continuing to issue orders.

—I’ll set out food for the people recovering HP. Heh heh. Come eat.

—If possible, I’d rather have a lunchbox~

—I want some too! Leave Factory’s share too!

—Talking in the third person is kind of gross.

—Kind of? I fucking hate it.

BBQ was cooking like mad, and despite the playful chatter, 1Poop1 and FUNK kept their eyes on the other side of the wall and fired steadily.

KimFactory, meanwhile, looked busy carrying something somewhere.

—Two hits. Confirm....

—The confirmed kill is mine, ah! Oh my! There’s another one over there! One hit!

—I landed two hits. They’re almost dead....

—Then the last one is... ah, hid. Oh my! Judging by the debuff I landed, are they a villain type too?

—Probably the same Carnival as me....

—Ah! Then they’re perfect for me! Just show me one ear~

There were characters he’d never seen before, too. dude, who silently kept firing, and YoureGettingSued, who was lying flat against another wall in the distance with their face covered by a veil marked with a cross, squealing as they shot over and over.

—But babies. This person... ZeroMomoZero? Who are they? I saved them just now.

That was MyApologyLetterIsInEnglishGlobal, finally pointing at Mo Yeonhoo after all the frenzied movement, as if they’d only just remembered him.

—Ah, he’s the new member in our alliance....

The moment ShinJadu said that, all the alliance members’ eyes turned toward Mo Yeonhoo.

The problem was, they didn’t look the way they usually did.

Zombie Village had something called contamination. If you rolled around on the ground or spent too long gathering things, your clothes would get grimy...

—Oh, newbie?

—A newbie? Ah!

—A newbie, huh....

Alliance members who looked like they’d spent quite a while rolling around in the dirt—dressed like absolute beggars—were all staring at Mo Yeonhoo.

For one brief moment, a thought crossed his mind.

This is our alliance, right...?

Standing there alone in perfectly normal condition, Mo Yeonhoo looked less like one of them than like the kingpin presiding over a gang of beggars.