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Chapter 15: Performance Pressure (5)
A student without form.
A swarm of burning zombies.
Friends screaming, their spirits broken.
Even the members of Team 3, who were on the brink of being erased, paused momentarily amidst the ruthless slaughter.
And then...
[Performance tally completed.]
[The team selected for the 2nd round of restructuring is Team 3. Proceeding with restructuring.]
“There were no zombies! None left, I swear!”
“It’s us? No way, right?!”
“No, no, please! Don’t!”
They could feel the flicker of death creeping over their bodies.
“That murderer...!”
“A curse...!”
The broken curses of those disappearing poured onto the homeless man.
Of course, he didn’t care, and neither did the system, it seemed.
[To all survivors in the Seoul Station area, here is an additional notice.]
[A special reward will be given to the top-performing team.]
The emotionless voice of the system discussing "outstanding performance" sent shivers down people’s spines, steeped in the horrors of performance-oriented cruelty.Nôv(el)B\\jnn
“This is insane...”
“What’s this about special rewards now? That wasn’t mentioned before!”
Some people trembled in fear, while others voiced complaints about the sudden added incentives.
Among them were a few, including Yeji Lee from the Accounting Team.
[The 2nd-round special reward is 2 points, and for the 3rd round, it will be 3 points.]
It’s worth complaining about.
Giving extra rewards to already high-performing teams only widens the gap between Task Forces.
‘And the top team this round is...’
For some reason, a sensation of heat rose within my body.
Whether it was due to the tension or the terrifying blaze burning in the distance, I couldn’t tell.
What was certain was that I wasn’t the only one feeling this intense heat here.
Everyone’s fearful gazes turned toward a single point.
[The top team for the 2nd round is...]
“Heuh-heuh-heuh...”
[Team 5.]
[Eliminate enemies and prove your outstanding performance!]
* * *
“Sk-skill enhancement!”
Flames ignited in the man’s palm as soon as those words were spoken.
Red and yellow flames, with a blue hue flickering at their center.
“That fire... its temperature has risen.”
“And its size seems bigger too.”
Once wavering in his palm, the flame grew to the size of a person’s head.
The larger the flame, the easier it becomes to ignite things without direct contact.
“This is definitely an attack-focused ability.”
“Don’t worry too much. If we stick to the plan, it’ll be fine.”
Jieun, who had been nervously fiddling with her fingers, looked up.
“I’m worried because of Eunho’s plan.”
“...”
[Round 3 begins.]
‘Sorry, Jieun.’
I felt a bit sorry for her concern, but there was no other choice.
This was the most efficient method.
“Everyone, back to your positions!”
“H-Hyung! Are you sure this is the only way?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Please!”
The only way for everyone to survive.
And...
‘The way to take that guy down.’
[Eliminate the enemy and achieve your objective within the time limit!]
“Ugh...”
As soon as the mission started, the sluggish zombies charged en masse.
Starting with two of them—just to test the waters.
So, though it might feel a bit sorry to do this...
“Eeek!”
Instead of dodging or attacking, I pulled Jaehyuk into their path.
Clang!
The sound of zombies crashing into Jaehyuk’s armor echoed loudly.
“Ugh...”
I extracted two silver bugs from the zombies that had collided with him and threw them to Jieun.
Then one more, two more, three more...
I sped up, extracting more bugs instead of wasting time killing them.
“Jieun! Here!”
“Yes!”
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Jieun’s dagger moved quickly, slicing the incoming bugs into halves, quarters, and smaller pieces before passing them to the foul-mouthed guy.
“All done slicing!”
“Got it!”
Whoosh!
Armed with a spray-type insecticide in his left hand and a lighter in his right, the foul-mouthed guy sprayed fire with gusto.
“Die, you filthy bugs!”
Each person performed their assigned tasks mechanically and swiftly, maximizing output through a meticulous division of labor.
If this were a real Task Force in a company, the office walls might display a slogan like “Division of Labor is the Way to Survival!”—a strategy driven purely by efficiency.
But the core of this strategy was...
[‘Split Needle Beetle defeated!]
“It worked! Our performance really went up!”
▶ Performance Status: Round 3
Team 1: 2 / 100p
The plan was to "cut up" the Split Needle Beetle to kill it.
Killing a whole Split Needle Beetle earned 5 points.
If you halved it, you got 3 points.
"Flare—"
"Accelerate!"
There was a scenario planned.
The one that gave me the best chance of victory.
But I dashed forward without thinking when I saw the kids struggling in the man’s grasp.
‘Plans can be remade.’
— Tap-tap!
I sprinted like it was a short-distance race, stopping right in front of the man and prying his fingers off the kids.
The smaller student was freed, and next was the one with long hair—
“Yaaaaaaaargh—!”
— Fwoosh!
The moment I saved the two and turned away—
Flames burst from the man’s palm, catching my elbow and spreading.
“Argh...!”
The scorching heat made it feel like every cell was melting, forcing a scream out of me that I quickly swallowed back down.
Clenching my teeth tightly, I barely managed to run and put the students down.
Tick-tock.
Time returned to its normal flow.
“Aaaah! Eunho!”
— Smack! Smack! Smack!
Jieun quickly took off her jacket and smothered the flames on my arm.
“Hyuuung! Your arm!”
“Ugh...”
It felt less like my skin was burning and more like the bone itself was melting away.
“That bastard... hurt our hyung...!”
“Eunho! Do you have any mission rewards left? Use them to heal, quickly!”
“Move aside!”
Jieun’s frantic words were interrupted by the long-haired girl, who approached us.
Rubbing her chin, likely sore from being grabbed by the man earlier, she ignored Jieun completely and stared at me intently.
Her gaze was pure, unfiltered rage.
It sent a chill down my spine.
“I’ll heal you, so kill that bastard.”
“Heal me?”
Wait.
Now that I think about it, this girl... when she rushed in to save her burning friend earlier...
‘She got bitten on the ankle by a zombie, didn’t she?’
I quickly looked down to see her completely unscathed ankle.
Now that I think about it, even when she charged at the homeless guy, she wasn’t limping.
“Your ankle... it’s fine.”
“You can kill him, right?”
Her determined eyes left no room for doubt.
She meant it.
“Please.”
The girl nodded silently and knelt beside me.
She placed her hand over my charred, crumbling arm and whispered softly.
“Heal.”
[You are being healed by the influence of the Healer ‘Yoon Sola.’]
[Burn recovery rate: 90%.]
“Hyung! Your wound...!”
My skin, once darkened and collapsing, regenerated from within.
Before long, it looked no different than the surrounding areas, save for a faint reddish hue and lingering warmth.
“It should’ve been 100%...”
The girl bit her lip as she spoke.
Was she upset that she couldn’t fully heal me, despite her bold words?
Or was she worried I wouldn’t fulfill her request?
“My skill level is still too low...”
“This is plenty.”
“But...”
“I’ll have you finish it later. You can, right?”
She nodded, and as she did, I pushed myself up, ignoring the shocked stares around me.
As soon as I stood, my eyes met those of the man who had attacked us.
Step. Step. Step.
I approached him, maintaining eye contact.
The man with disheveled hair parted his dry lips to speak.
“You... have a skill too...”
“You’re left-handed, right?”
Flinch.
While he’d used both hands to snap the necks of zombies and people alike, I’d noticed the fire only came from his left hand.
A show-off like him wouldn’t have hidden his powers if he’d had them from the start.
His eyebrows rose in irritation through the mess of tangled hair and beard.
“W-what?”
“Your skill—you only use your left hand.”
“So what if I do—”
“Petrification.”
— Crack!
The plan was simple.
The mission reward points I earned during the third loop?
I’d poured all three into enhancing my right hand.
‘Whether it’s fire or water, it’s still just a human hand.’
And this hand of mine?
It could punch through walls.
— Crunch!
“Flare—”
“Accelerate.”
“Yaaaaaaaargh!”
Tap-tap.
The man’s face twisted noticeably as he frantically tried to activate his flame skill, but he was too late.
My petrified right hand already had his flaming fist tightly gripped, the fire only heating the surface.
“If it hurts this much, you’re not gonna like what’s coming.”
Beyond the man’s shoulder, the long-haired girl was staring daggers at me, her eyes almost shooting lasers.
“Our client is watching.”
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