Chapter 162

Leone and the students were speechless for a moment. Their minds hadn’t caught up with the situation. Who would have thought, in the midst of a near-death experience, someone would show up and shoot a minigun at them.
“Hmm.”
The man’s gaze swept over the students, then lingered on Leone’s face. Leone shuddered, then opened her mouth cautiously.
“Hey, there. Who are you?”
“I’m Yi Hyun Kim from Dustborn Corporation.”
Dustborn. I recognized the name from somewhere, but I couldn’t place it. As I wrinkled my brow and tried to remember, a man named Kim filled in the blanks.
“I’ve been called in to rescue students, and, uh, wait.”
He tapped his in-ear.
“We found survivors. Support, well. I don’t think we’ll need it.”
“Now, wait a minute!”
A boy came out from behind Leone and grabbed Kim’s sleeve.
“What? Do you have something to say?”
“Call someone. Uh, I don’t know how you got here, but… there’s monsters out there, and they’re going to keep coming, and you’re not going to be able to handle them on your own.”
“You’re what.”
For a moment, Leone shook her head. Kim seemed subtly amused.
“I see what you’re saying.”
“Oh, good, then…….”
“I didn’t say I’d listen. We’re already short-handed. Unless it’s a really dire situation, we have no choice but to split up.”
He gently pulled the boy’s hand away.
“It’s not that bad here.”
The words spoken coldly struck a nerve.
“What do you mean, what the hell. It’s not serious?”
“Doesn’t mean you guys had it easy. I told you, it was hard.”
The minigun disappeared from Kim’s hand without a trace. Then a full-sized pistol appeared. As the students gasped at the unreal sight, he pointed it in the direction of the stairs.
Bang, bang!
The parasites ascending the stairs deteriorated one by one with each trigger pull. Frustration aside, Leone was impressed.
“Will that work?
Guns are not an effective weapon against parasites. I’ve heard that the only way to subdue a Parasite with a gun is with a single shot to the brain.
This meant that every shot I had just fired had gone straight through the head. It was like shooting by feel, but with absurdly high aiming precision.
“I don’t mean to disparage your hardships, but the risk of the operation is relatively low. I apologize if my tone was offensive. But please don’t bring it up again.”
Leone flinched at the cold glare I returned.
“You, what’s your name?”
“…Leone Laien.”
“So. You’re in charge of a group of survivors?”
“I’m not bossing you around….”
“At least you seem to have the most say in this.”
The students exchanged glances and nodded.
“Any other survivors? Are you the only ones?”
“No, we’re not the only ones.”
“But you guys were the only ones fighting….”
Kim gulped.
“I see.”
He strode briskly to the classroom. He flung the door open and the students, who had been holding their breath, shivered like small animals. Some had their weapons drawn, as if preparing for an attack.
“There’s about 30 people, and it smells terrible.”
After scanning the room, Kim said.
“Claire Dennis. Is she here?”
“It’s me, it’s me!”
Claire stirred from her corner. Her grim face instantly lit up. She rushed over and grabbed Kim’s arm.
“Your father sent you, huh? Why are you here now!”
“What was your father’s name?”
“This is Jim Dennis.”
“Jim Dennis. Ekidna, check it out.”
After a brief silence, a tiny sound emanated from his in-ear. Kim clicked her tongue and let the message sink in.
“He’s dead.”
“Is that ……?”
“He fled as soon as it happened, but was reportedly rear-ended on the way. His injuries were serious and he passed away shortly after being taken to the hospital.”
“No, no, no.”
The smile on Claire’s face twitched.
“You’re lying, that can’t be true, who would have called you if my father had died, you’re here to save me.”
“The client is Andrew Dennis. He wants me to help him find his brother.”
“My brother is….”
Claire shook her head in disbelief. But only for a moment. She glanced at Leone, then clung to Kim with both arms.
“Well, then get me out of here right now, I don’t want to be here for another minute.”
“We’ll rescue you, but first, calm down. We’re outnumbered, so proceed with caution-”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
He squeals and rolls his eyes.
“You said you were here to save me, so what do you know about all that stuff?”
“Claire, what kind of crazy thing is that?”
“You shut the fuck up, you slutty bitch!”
After shoving Leone away, Claire jabbed her index finger into Kim’s chest.
“Do your job, I don’t want to get bogged down, so dump all that stuff, do you understand?”
“Hmm.”
“If I got hurt, you’d be in trouble, too. Who doesn’t know that?”
The glares were venomous. The students’ faces showed the contempt that comes from seeing the bottom of a person. At the same time, they couldn’t hide their concern.
It sounded promising enough.
I wouldn’t abandon them all, but I would selectively take them with me, as it would be difficult to escape with everyone on my own.
Rank.
The invisible hierarchy that existed before schools went to shit would come into play again. Those born into better families would survive. The students were a mixed bag.
Kim’s lips parted at the attention.
“You’re full of shit.”
Kukuk.
The muzzle of the gun pressed against Claire’s brow.
“Heh, heh!”
He jerks his hips in surprise. But the barrel of the gun never left her head. Kim squatted down and pointed the gun at Claire.
“I’ll tell you exactly what I’ve been asked to do. Determine if Claire Dennis is alive, and if so, attempt to rescue her. Do you understand what that means?”
“Yes, sir?”
“I don’t care if I don’t take you with me, just report back and that’s it.” Unfortunately, Claire Dennis had already been killed by the Parasite. Her body was never recovered…. A few artifacts from your locker should be enough to convince you.”
Poof, poof.
I tapped myself on the forehead with the pistol.
“I’m going to try to keep you alive as long as I can. So you should try to help. I know it’s important to put food on my plate, but there’s a fine line.”
When I saw his jaw drop, I stopped threatening him. I resumed my stance and scanned the students, all of whom looked terrified. At this point, he’s not going to get in trouble for a while.
– Good for the kids, good for you.
“If it were you, I’d hang one as an example.”
– I wouldn’t go so far as to say… bitter, I wouldn’t say no.
Whatever, you’re a mafia boss.
Kim snorted and looked away.
“I need someone to control the student when I’m engaged.”
My eyes naturally fell on Leone. She looked much younger than the illustration I remembered. The name of the school was familiar, so I thought I’d run into her.
I was happily mistaken.
“Leone Laien. Do you think you could take over?”
“Me? Why would you send me….”
“I think you’ll do well.”
Her beige eyes narrowed. Leone nodded vigorously.
“I see.”
“Okay. Take this if you can.”
He handed over the blade and said.
“We’re exiting now. Take care of the wounded and follow me.”
* * *
Bam!
The Parasites die without a scream. One with each swing of the alloy axe. No, more than one has been seen falling at a time.
The battle ended quietly and quickly.
Wiping the blood from his axe, Kim pulls his mask up to his nose. When he was sure there were none left in the hallway, he swept his hand in the direction of the stairs.
On cue, the students cautiously descended the stairs. Leone glanced at the corpse for a moment, then at Kim, whose breathing was steady despite the battle he’d just been through.
“Do you have any questions?”
“No, that.”
“If you have something to say, say it comfortably. Keep the volume down.”
Leone felt unnecessarily nervous whenever she was stared at. For a different reason than the students who were afraid of Kim because they were afraid of Claire. The scene was actually cathartic for her.
It was just the vibe of the people themselves that was edgy.
Unlike themselves, who had lived in peace for so long. A man who had made it his business to wield guns and knives, to confront things. Even his eyes seemed to have an edge to them.
‘It’s a bit of a pain, but….’
It wasn’t just negative emotions.
Leone had been watching Kim’s every move for a while now. How he handled his weapon, how he walked, how he centered his weight.
“Isn’t it bad to leave blood like this, they’ll smell it.”
“Sure. They have good noses, and bright eyes and ears.”
It’s like how Kim’s senses became heightened when she took helixivir – not as extreme, but definitely more pronounced than the average person.
“It’s a precaution. With this many people hanging around, combat is inevitable, and no matter how careful you are, you’re bound to attract attention.”
“Oh, because they can come from the rear in the middle of a battle….”
“Besides, it’s a big open space out there, and we need to reduce the risk.”
He was strangely kind for his stern, cold tone.
Maybe he’s not as difficult to deal with as you think.
“Where should I go?”
“We’ll take the mountain road. It’s relatively safe that way.”
“Aren’t animal mutants more dangerous?”
“Every species is different, and there’s no such thing as a big beast in the mountains behind the school.”
Kim snorted lightly.
“It’s great that you’re curious, but before you ask questions, get your head out of your ass.”
“It’s …….”
Instead of the main entrance, which leads directly to the playground, I headed to the back entrance. The center of the outside area leading up to the gate was a parking lot, and the two sides were dumping grounds, which were also littered with parasites.
While the students held their breath, Leone kept her eyes on Kim. Facing an opponent well over thirty years his junior, he remained calm.
“I’ll lead them in, and on my signal, we move forward. Be ready.”
I didn’t even bother to ask how.
Kim lowered his stance and a ground-based drone appeared at his feet. He strapped additional generated tin cans to the drone’s body, and as he manipulated the display, the drone took off.
Cheers!
Puffing smoke, he raced to the parking lot. The heads of the Parasites whipped around. Their attention was quickly drawn to the drone’s mysterious movements across the parking lot.
Soon the drone veered to the left. It was a clean drift. The Parasites blindly pursued the drone as it ran through the smoke.
The parking lot quickly filled up.
“Now is the time. I’ll take care of the rest while you do the good deed.”
“What? Oh, I see!”
Leone felt like she was possessed.