Chapter 98: Chapter 97

【Virtual VTuber Gallery】

[Broadcast] Isn’t Laura and Sina just too much?

(Hyperlink)

Why is it so delicious?

[Comments]

Ugh, that yellow dog..

Sina got completely wrecked in the promotion match, so she really hates Laura, haha!

ㄴ (Author) But in the end, she can’t refuse, can she?

ㄴ Crazy, haha!!!

ㄴ You’re making it so she can’t physically refuse, haha!

The main seat is fully booked, you fool.

ㄴ (Author) Being a concubine is enough.

ㄴ Wow, you’ve got some strong opinions, huh?

ㄴ Love is Sora, marriage is Rion, and infidelity is Sina.

ㄴ You don’t know anything about taste.

A way to save Sina.

It wasn’t that grand of a method. Apparently, there’s a vaccine at the SerenadeKR base.

"Oh my, did SerenadeKR get the vaccine?"

"Yes. Occasionally, you can find them while rummaging through medical institution buildings."

Noa explained that it seemed possible to eventually obtain the vaccine recipe. That was news to her. She had received good information.

'Honestly, I don’t have any obligation to save her.'

But since they had come this far, should she try to help Sina?

After all, it was uncertain how the game would progress from here.

It might be an extreme statement, but saving Sina could be beneficial, or killing her could be beneficial too.

It was difficult to judge which option would yield more benefits at this point.

If it’s hard to judge, then it would be better to proceed in a way that allows for reversal later.

What if problems arise after saving Sina? It wouldn’t be too late to kill her then.

On the other hand, if she let Sina die and problems arose, there’s currently no way to bring her back to life. Who knows how long it will take to unlock cloning technology?

'Maybe it’s good to do a favor in this situation.'

She was confident in bestowing a favor and reaping benefits later. After all, she was a villainess.

So she decided to specifically spare Sina’s life.

"Noa."

"Um… did you call me?"

"Oh, did my title offend you? I can call you something else if you prefer."

Calling her '~yang' was a habit from her days as a noble lady. When attending the academy, everyone around her were all some kind of noble ladies.

When referring to them, it was often '~yang' or '~young lady.' Sora yang, Rion yang, Anna young lady, Ainatsu young lady. Something like that.

It’s not a typical title, but she often unconsciously called people '~yang.'

"Oh, speaking of which, you were the exiled noble lady…."

Noa nodded in understanding. She likely thought it was part of the roleplay.

"You can drop the formalities. I debuted in the summer too."

"Really? Then, even if the companies are different, we can consider ourselves as peers?"

"Yes, that’s right. Let’s be close."

"Alright then. In that case, Noa, I’ll carry Sina, so please tie her up tightly."

"Wait! I didn’t give you permission to do that?! Why are you calling me by my name?!"

Sina exploded, but I didn’t pay her any mind.

"Laura, is that alright?"

"Can you run while carrying her?"

"That’s a bit…."

Sina shook her head.

In this game, each avatar has hidden stats and skills. That had been verified over the past three days of play.

For example, when she had Rion drive every day, her driving skill gradually improved.

When she made Sora create portable food or emergency rations, various cooking recipes had opened up. It seemed her ability to recognize ingredients improved as well.

Players couldn’t check their own stats or skills, but it seemed that depending on the activities they engaged in, stats could rise and skills could be acquired internally.

'As the time passes, the zombies' infection levels are likely rising too.'

So players had to continue to grow in some capacity, or the game balance would likely become skewed.

Especially since she was engaged in combat and survival activities in this world, it seemed like she had various bonuses related to stamina. Carrying Sina while running shouldn’t be a problem.

"Make sure to tie her tightly so she doesn’t fall off me. And just in case, put a gag in her mouth."

"Ugh… I have to be carried by Aurora…? I really don’t want to…."

"If you keep saying that, I’ll leave you behind, you know? Is that okay?"

"Ugh…."

Sina sighed heavily but eventually got on my back. She should’ve listened sooner.

After carrying Sina, I checked my equipment.

It seemed both Sina and Noa had each brought a gun. A shotgun and an assault rifle, respectively.

I decided to let Noa keep the assault rifle, while I would hold onto Sina's shotgun for now. There might be a timing when it could be useful.

Aside from that, I had a survival knife, a handgun, and one bomb.

I strapped the bomb to my waist and held the knife and handgun in each hand.

"I’ll clear the path, so follow me."

That’s what I said to Noa.

As I exited the staff lounge, I noticed zombies slowly approaching this way.

There weren’t that many of them. No need to use the gun. I quickly approached and decapitated the zombies.

As soon as the path opened, I entered the emergency staircase with Noa.

"Noa, keep an eye out for zombies coming down from above."

"Yes, four…."

"Take them all out as you see them. But make sure to keep track of the number of bullets you have. When you need to change the magazine, be sure to tell me. You can do these three things, right?"

If she couldn’t follow through, I’d leave her behind.

I said that with that meaning.

"I-I can do it…."

"Good. You’re a good kid. …Oh my."

After saying that, I realized. Had I treated her like a child too much? It was a habit I had when dealing with Ainatsu lately.

Given the urgent situation, the normal person cosplay wasn’t being maintained well. For me, the noble lady was my true self, and pretending to be an ordinary person felt more like roleplay.

In that sense, being a VTuber might mean freedom for me.

And perhaps this environment is also freedom.

I dashed down the stairs.

As I jumped down too hard, I heard Sina grumble about my body shaking, but I had no time to pay attention to that.

After all, I didn’t understand what she was saying since she had a gag in her mouth.

Moving while protecting someone is vastly different from moving alone. First and foremost, I had to clear out the zombies completely.

Honestly, escaping itself wasn’t that difficult. Jumping out of a window would be considered an escape.

But I would be fine, but Noa probably wouldn’t be. Plus, heading out of the window while carrying Sina would be a significant risk for me too.

In that sense, I had to eliminate all the zombies without harming Noa or Sina. That was quite a troublesome task.

"Be careful not to trip. Avoid stepping on the zombie corpses."

"Yes…."

Still, the situation on the stairs wasn’t particularly difficult. The stairs were narrower than the hallway. Plus, Noa was on guard behind me, so I only had to deal with the zombies in front of me.

Thus, I was able to reach the first floor quickly, and now the main part could begin.

'The distance to the exit is farther than I thought.'

If I were alone, I could force my way through, but considering Noa was following, it became a bit complex.

What can I do? I’ll just have to do what I’ve been doing.

"Noa, what’s Sina’s condition?"

"It’s just been 3 hours since she got infected. …She really has a blank look."

Since we reached the first floor, I set down Sina, who I had been carrying.

She definitely had a blank expression.

She seemed to want to say something to me, but perhaps her mouth wasn’t moving well. After three hours, they said she would start to lose her reason.

In any case, she didn’t seem aggressive, so it would be fine to leave her like this for now.

"Wait here with Sina."

Having said that, I dashed toward the central area of the first floor of the department store.

I pointed the handgun I was holding at the nearest zombie.

—Bang!

The gunshot echoed loudly.

All the zombies' attention turned here. That had been the intention from the start.

How many zombies are there here?

It seemed there had been quite a few customers in the department store even on the day the virus broke out. There seemed to be far more zombies here than in the bank or the fire department.

The points of fighting multiple enemies are twofold.

One is to avoid engaging several at the same time, and the other is the duration of the fight.

After all, a human only has two arms.

It means that the maximum number of enemies I can take down at once is only two.

Conversely, if three or more come at me, I will ultimately have to take damage. And that’s where the problem lies.

If it were a hundred thugs holding knives, I could just fight while taking a few hits. I could take the hits, dodge when necessary, and strike back.

But the opponent is a zombie. There’s a chance that even a small scratch could lead to infection.

To play a no-hit game, I can’t allow many enemies to surround me.

I pushed over a display case.

—Boom!

Several zombies were pinned under the fallen display case.

But that wasn’t the important fact. It meant that, at least temporarily, a space free of zombies had appeared.

I stepped on the fallen display case.

A few zombies tried to follow me and climb onto the display case, but of course, I wouldn’t let that happen. I kicked them away one by one as they approached, and I struck the head of the one coming from the side.

In any case, I had to ensure that the zombies couldn’t approach me simultaneously.

Even if it’s just for one second, if I can create a time difference in their approach, then I’ll only be fighting one enemy at a time. I would just be repeatedly dealing with a single enemy.

That’s why hallways and stairs are convenient. They’re one-way spaces, making it easy to create time differences.

In contrast, an open space like this is difficult to manage.

Zombies are swarming from all sides.

Left, right, front, back. There are times when they approach simultaneously from all directions.

It’s time to change the battlefield.

—Whoosh!

I leaped.

There was a height difference between me and the zombies due to the display case. If I secured some distance and took a running start, I could jump high enough to land on a person’s head.

And so, I stepped on a zombie’s head.

It wasn’t functioning, but it was surprisingly hard. Perhaps it wasn’t a typical death.

Because of that, even after stepping on its head, it didn’t fall immediately. That was a good thing for me. It meant my foothold wouldn’t easily collapse.

I moved by stepping on the heads and shoulders of zombies one by one.

Once I moved into a sufficiently open area, the fight would resume.

Ultimately, these are monsters that possess little intelligence.

In terms of tactics and skill, I have the advantage. The only problem is that they have a slightly greater number.

Now it’s just a matter of whether my stamina runs out first or all the zombies fall.

That’s all that’s left to conclude.

"Laura! Above!"

At that moment, Noa shouted.

I glanced up slightly and locked eyes with a zombie.

A mutated zombie was clinging to the ceiling.

It resembled a reptile, and for some reason, it had a tail.

A level 3 zombie.

It charged at me.

"I know, so you don’t need to shout."

—Click.

I was already shoving my shotgun into its wide-open mouth.

—Boom! Bang!

Flames erupted right in front of my eyes.

Chunks of flesh splattered everywhere.

"The aggro is bouncing around."

I said to Noa.

Isn’t it enough to have one mind craft for the aggro to bounce around?

"Thank you for your help!"

Choi Changyoung bowed his head to me.

This was the health center, the new base of SerenadeKR.

It looked somewhat less fortified compared to the (now mine) safe house, but it still had signs of being upgraded here and there.

CCTV cameras were installed everywhere, and there was said to be an emergency exit in the basement.

"I can’t believe I’m getting help from Aurora again…. I have no idea how to repay you."

"Oh my, I didn’t help to receive any thanks. Isn’t it natural for humans to help each other?"

—"What a joke, haha."

—"What is she going to demand next.."

—"Hey, it looks like this place is going to be taken away too."

—"Are the SerenadeKR kids going to be homeless again?"

—"The villainess can’t possibly be kind, haha."

That’s harsh.

This time I genuinely helped without wanting anything in return. In fact, I didn’t have anything specific to ask for.

First, if I did a favor, I could use it later on.

For now, that’s how it felt.

"Um… do we have to leave here again?"

But Changyoung also seemed to not believe my words. This is really too much.

Of course, I didn’t demand they leave. I’m a villainess, not a devil.

Anyway, it seemed I had spent more time here than expected, so perhaps it was time to head back to our base.

No, before that.

"Sina."

I called out to Sina.

Her once unfocused eyes had returned to normal, and the color in her face and her dazed expression had also reverted to normal. She had been given the vaccine shot as soon as she arrived here.@@novelbin@@

"…What is it now?"

"I might be mistaken, but I feel like I haven’t heard you say thank you yet. Or is it just my imagination?"

"That tone really annoys me, you know?"

"Oh my."

I smiled brightly.

"Annoyed, huh? Hmm? Are you really annoyed? At the benefactor who helped you?"

"You…."

"I’ve been living in a noble house for a long time, and Korean is quite difficult. Ungrateful...? Can you tell me what that means?"

"Ugh!"

Aka. Murasaki.

Sina screamed, but of course, it didn’t feel threatening at all.

"Now, Sina, repeat after me. Thank you for helping me."

"Ugh… thanks for helping me…."

"Oh my, your voice is so soft, I can hardly hear what you’re saying. Can you say it again?"

"Thanks for helping me!"

"Is that casual speech to the benefactor?"

"Thanks for helping me!"

"Say it louder."

"Thanks for helping me!!! I swear I’ll kill you!"

Ultimately, as Sina exploded, I returned to the base.

【'The Great Duke' Group Survivor Status (4/4)】

【Aurora】

【Nekozuka Rion (Infected)】

【Tanabe Ainatsu】

【Ayano Kouji Sora】