Apocalypse’s Billionaire - Chapter 3

Kangmin ran straight towards the place where he heard the sound, but he stopped shortly after.

“Strange.”

Kangmin looked around and only then he realized that this wasn’t the large road anymore but two lane road of cars.

Cars that would normally drive around in this busy road are parked. They were even damaged cars.

“Was there an earthquake?”’

There were ten cars collided to each other. Some vehicles even entered the pedestrian lane and crashed into the fast food restaurants.

“Oh, my. Did a war occured when I was sleeping?”

Kangmin never thought that as soon as he woke up, he would find himself in a war-like situation.

He turned on his cell phone, but there was no signal. The only thing that worked were those offline applications that he installed before.

Kangmin looked forward.

“Wouldn’t that person know the reason why everything became like this?”

Kangmin hurried his steps towards the location where the person should be.Then, he stopped again about 5 meters away. His instincts was telling him that something was out of the ordinary.

“What’s wrong with that person?”

As Kangmin approached him, the other party should have heard him. However, the person seemed to haven’t noticed him. He has moving little by little with weird movements.

He stumbled and moved forward. At first glance, he looked like a drunk person, but he was strangely different from that.

Kangmin looked around and picked up an iron pipe on the road.

“Let’s be careful just in case.”

Kangmin carefully approached the person, hiding the iron pipe behind him.

“Huh?”

As he got closer, he could see the person more accurately.

The person in front of him was wearing a suit, but it there were many scratches. In addition, there was blood all over his body.

“Is he homeless? No. Homeless people aren’t this miserable.”

He had a bad feeling. He even thought about going back to his house and hide there.

‘No, I don’t know when I’ll meet another person again if it’s not him now.’

As he hold the iron pipe hidden behind his back tightly with his right hand, Kangmin carefully spoke.

“Excuse me.”

The person in front of Kangmin stopped. But he didn’t look back at him.

Kangmin spoke a little louder, wondering if he didn’t hear it.

“I… Can I ask you something?”

It was only then that the person in front began to move, perhaps because he heard Kangmin’s loud voice. The man slowly turned around awkwardly.

‘What is this?’

Kangmin’s eyes got bigger as if they were about to pop out.

The first thing that caught his eye was the man’s face. The man had the skin around his mouth and his cheek all torn apart. He could even see all his bones inside.

As he took a step back, he noticed  something dangling below of the man. As he looked down, he saw his stomach completely empty with his intestine completely out. His body was rotten with flies flying around him, only now did Kangmin smell a stench from him.

“What? What?”

Surprised Kangmin stepped back one more step. Then the man approached him with strength, unlike before. And…

“Arghhh!”

He shouted with his teeth wide open, stretching his arm to catch Kangmin.

Kangmin’s hair in his whole body stood up with fear.

“Oh, my!”

Kangmin hit the person in front with the iron pipe. He used all his strength with the survival in mind.

-Smack!

The head of the person in front was smashed. He stopped for a moment, but even if his eyes are already pop out, he continued to chase Kangmin.

Kangmin stepped back. However, there was a bus behind him, so he couldn’t step back any more.

“Is he really a person?”’

It couldn’t have been a person. His face was torn, empty stomach and rotten stench. He should’ve have been a dead person already.

“Zombie?”

This didn’t make sense at all, but this was the only explanation Kangmin could think of.

“Oh my god!”

Before he knew it, the zombie came running and attacked him. Kangmin did not hesitate to hit him with the iron pipe again.

– Bam!

The head was smashed even more. However, that didn’t stop the zombie at all.

When the zombie opened his mouth, Kangmin stab the iron pipe into the zombie’s mouth.

“Ugh!”

Kangmin screamed and pushed the iron pipe deep inside the throat of the zombie. The zombie couldn’t beat Kang Min’s strength and was pushed back.

“Die!”

Kangmin pushed the zombie till his leaned against the SUV. The iron pipe pierced the zombie’s neck and it even broke the glass window of the SUV.

“Gasp…Gasp…

Kangmin catch up his breath and quickly stepped back.

The zombie tried to reached out to Kangmin for a last time before all it’s movements stopped.

“Gasp, gasp… Is he dead?”

He wanted to check, but Kangmin didn’t dare and only observed it from a distance, fearing it might come at him again.

“It’s probably dead, right?”

The zombie didn’t move. Instead, smoke came out of the zombie’s body and was sucked into Kangmin’s left arm.

“Argh!”

The tattoo engraved on the left hand shone and Kangmin could feel pain through his whole body. He felt like his bones were breaking.

After a while, the pain subsided. However, a blue window appeared in front of him with a message.

<Congratulations!

You killed a zombie for the first time.

You got 1 point.

You have achieved the qualifications for awakening. Awaken.>

Kangmin’s whole body shone. No one else would see it, because it was only visible to Kangmin.

“What? Qualifications? Awakening?”

Kangmin felt like he was going crazy.

When the pain disappeared, words such as zombies, message windows, qualifications, and awakening was continuously lingering on his mind.

‘Am I still dreaming?’

This would be a terrible nightmare if it was a dream. He really wanted to wake up from his dream quickly.

-Slap.

Kangmin slapped himself on the cheek. It hurt to the point he wanted to tear.

“Oh, my. Is this reality? I woke up and it suddenly became a world with zombies? Is this an American movie?”

This was the worst if it was really like a zombie movie. He really wanted to cry not knowing how he would live in the future.

At that time, a new message appeared again as if someone had read Kangmin’s heart.

<There is a message that the awakener has not yet read. Do you want to read it?

YES, NO>

His mind was still processing all of this happening and it took some time to notice the window.

When Kangmin pressed the YES button, messages appeared.

<First message.>

– We’re going to start moving to a parallel world.

<Second message.>

– We have completed the move to the ‘parallel’ world.

– You can go back to your “original world” in seven days.

– It’s the first parallel world travel. You will be going back within 7 hours because of shock. From then on, the 7 days will be applied normally.

<3rd message>

– You have obtained the Language (S) skill as your first awakening reward.

<4th message>

– You can now use the status window.

When Kangmin saw all the messages, he stood blankly with his mouth wide open.

* * *

It was about 20 minutes after Kangmin came to his senses.

Kangmin opened his hand. He didn’t know noticed it when he killed the zombie, but his skin was a little peeled off.

That’s how much he was holding on the Iron Pipe.

“It hurts.”

A drop of blood from the peeled skin fell into the ground.

As expected, this wasn’t a dream.

“I wish it was a dream.”’

Kangmin looked at the back of his left hand. There was a red tattoo in a shape of a red flower.

“What happened to me? I just fell asleep wearing the ring.”

Looking at the his hand, the tattoo began on his middle finger. It was the place where he put the ring on.

“Is it because of that ring?”

Kangmin’s head recalled the history of the ring that his father told him.

“Really? Was this really a ring that God gave you?”

The truth was unknown, but he strongly believed that this phenomenon was related to the ring.

‘Let’s think slowly and calmly. They say that even if you go into the tiger cave, you will live if you are clever. If you solve it one by one, there will be a way. Should I see the status window first, right?’

Kangmin said, “Status Window.” Then a blue window appeared in front of him again.

<Status window>

Name: Choi Kangmin.

Skill (1/3).

– Language (S) (LV.1)

Unique Skill:

– Parallel World Movement (SSS) (LV.1)

– Weight limit: 10kg.

– Cool Time: 5 hours and 48 minutes (temporary)

Points in possession: 1.

The status window was simple. Only his name and skill appeared.

Anyone who has played games could recognize it right away.

However, there was a tab of ‘More information’ below it. It seemed that he would be able to read more information.

Kangmin took a closer look at what appeared in the status window. Like a game, when he pressed the message for a few seconds, a more detailed explanation window appeared.

The first thing he looked at was the ‘Parallel World Movement’.

“So I can move around between the worlds every 7 days, and there is a limit of 10kg that I can bring when I travel? In addition, I can raise its level by gaining points?”

It was easy to understand because its mechanics was like a game. It was just hard to believe.

Kangmin shook his head and looked at the next skill.

– Language (S): You can interpret and speak all existing languages.

If it was still general society, it would have been a ridiculous ability. However, in a world full of zombies, it would be a useless ability.

“Are my skill nothing important at all?”

Even though he said it like that, a smile can’t help but form on his mouth.

“If I can really go back to the world I lived in, this is not a loss, but a tremendous ability.”

Only then did Kangmin realize that he had a huge opportunity now.

‘If only I could go back home.’

Kangmin took out the wallet he picked up earlier from his pocket.

“If the person that I killed was a zombie earlier, then I understand everything. About how the cars are ruined and people can’t be seen on street.

Kangmin took out a bill from the wallet.

“If so, all the money and jewelry on this street have no owners. It means that the one who picks it up is the owner.”

All of this would be his goods once he return to his own world.

Kangmin stuffed the bill into his pocket and threw away the wallet.

“Is there about 5 hours and 40 minutes left of the cooling time?”

When he learned every information, he suddenly felt impatient. In the meantime, he had to pick money as much as he could.

There might be zombies, but he couldn’t miss this opportunity if he had a debt to pay in his own world.

“If I go back to reality and lose my house, I would become homeless. I really need to take this risk, so when I go back I will have enough money to pay the debt.”

Kangmin approached the dead zombie and took out the iron pipe. The dead zombie fell to the floor.

Kangmin held on to the iron pipe tightly and vowed.

“I will never miss this opportunity!”’

Kangmin left the location. And about three hours later, some people appeared.

* * *

All the people that had arrived were holding iron pipes, knives, and axes on their hands.

Among them, the one with the ax was very big and robust. He approached the zombie who fell on the floor.

“The team leader, this zombie, seems to have just died.”

After about 24 hours of death, the zombie would turn into dust. It would become dust without even leaving a bone.

The bones left on the street were eaten and killed by zombies.

“When?”

The person wearing a motorcycle helmet on his head asked. His voice sounded mechanic, so they couldn’t tell whether he was a man or a woman.

“Looking at the degree of dusting, about 2-3 hours ago.”

The zombie’s face has already split and some of it has turned into dust and disappeared.

The team leader approached the zombie and turned the zombie over with his feet. The group leader who saw the hole in the back of his neck said.

“The person pierced the back of its neck from its mouth. With this much of power it must be man or awakened with strength. The weapon should be an iron pipe.….”

Everyone looked serious at the leader’s words.

Sammy, a woman whose height reaches the shoulder of the leader, approached and asked.

“Is it the one that the watchman mentioned?”

“It could be or might not be.”

“What are you going to do?”

At Sammy’s words, the team leader looked at Kangmin’s path and said.

“Let’s go. This is our land. We can’t let go of any risk factors!”

When the team leader decided, everyone grabbed the weapons they were holding tightly.

“Sammy, where?”

At the leader’s words, Sammy saw the blood on the floor, touched it with her hand and closed her eyes.

Sammy opened her eyes a moment later and pointed one hand.

“Over there.”

It was in the direction of Kangmin. They moved in that direction.

Five minutes after they left, a person appeared. It was a man with yellow hair.

“Wow, there must be someone else who joined besides me. Hahaha. Sounds fun! The more food, the better!”

* * *

Kangmin first picked up bills from a wallet off the side of the road. He also went stores such as restaurants and convenience stores. He opened their cash boxes, and got cash.

After doing so for about two hours, Kangmin realized that he had done something silly.

“I could spare more space if I only take gold.”

The bills were bulky and difficult to carry in large quantities. Instead, gold was different. Even a penny of gold was valuable.

Kangmin took a bag from a sports store, carried it on his back, and headed to the gold and silver store with all the bills he earned.

“This is a Treasure Trove!”

The cabinets and the floor were full of all kinds of precious metals.

He hasn’t met any zombie, so his worries has subsided since then.

Kangmin swept all the gold and silver. He didn’t even put half of it in, but the bag is already full.

Kangmin put precious metals in his pants pocket and wore an expensive-looking watch on his wrist.

“This can’t be over 10kg, right?”’

He lifted his backpack, and the weight didn’t seem to go over it.

“Hehehehe.”

The heavy weight of the bag excited Kangmin. He felt like he was going to fly.

Kangmin left the gold and silver store, holding his bag tightly. But then, he heard a human voice from somewhere.

“Human? Was it a zombie?”’

Kangmin quickly hid and looked at the voices. He saw people with knives, axes, and iron pipes.

“They are not a zombie.”

They were talking to each other so they aren’t zombies.

Finally, he met someone he wanted to meet so badly, but he was reluctant to approach them for some reason.

Their surrounding atmosphere was brutal.

‘Let’s stay quiet and wait till I go back to my original world. I don’t have to meet them now.’

Nothing else was important. What was important was the cash and precious metals in his bag.

‘Please go somewhere else.’

Kangmin didn’t want to bump into them, so he hid still. But they were coming exactly where Kangmin was.

“I can’t help it. I’m running away.”

Kangmin left the gold and silver store and started running.

Hd don’t know anything else, but this was the neighborhood where Kangmin lived his whole life. In addition, he jog every day and knew the side road better than anyone else.

“There he is. Catch him!”

“You little rat!”

He heard people calling him with names from behind.

“Stop!”

Kangmin began to run faster.

“If you were me, would you stop running when someone was after you with a knife?”

Kangmin ran away faster. He also threw an iron pipe because it was in his way when running.

Kangmin entered an alley, he jumped between the houses through a shortcut he only knew.

At this rate, ordinary people could not follow. But they were different.

“Why there are still following me?”’

These enemies chased him like ghosts. It seemed like as if a tracker was attached to his body.

“But it’s over now!”

He saw his own house. If he went inside the house, they would be unable to him.

Looking back, he couldn’t see them anymore.

“Goodbye!”

Kangmin carefully opened the door and entered the house.

“It’ll be okay now, right?”’

However, his confidence in his safety soon collapsed.

“This is a house.”

Along with the woman’s voice, he could hear people’s footsteps behind the gate.

“How did they find it?”’

He locked the gate, but Kangmin didn’t think it would last long.

“The door is locked!”

“Come out, I’ll do it!”

– Bam!

The gate shook and made a loud noise.

“Crazy! What’s wrong with him?”

The man with the ax shouted at Kangmin’s sound.

“You know that better! He is a spy.”

– Boom!

Again, the gate shook and there was a cracking sound.

“I’m not a spy!”

“Everyone says that.”

As he thought, the gate didn’t last long.

“!!!”

Kangmin ran into the master bedroom. Although it was closed, it was all traditional hanok (traditional korean house) windows, so they would not last long either.

“Hurry, hurry, hurry!”

Kangmin grabbed the jewelry in his pocket tightly.

“I have a way to live now, but will I die like this? I’ll leave this cash and jewelry behind!”

Kangmin threw all the jewels and cash hidden on his pockets, so he could run faster. The amount that she had taken out could pay his overdue interest and at that thought, his heart was beeling, but nothing is more important than his safety.

– Crash!

The gate was broken.

“Where are you?”

“Kill him!”

He heard the sound of them. In a few minutes, once they will arrive into the master bedroom and he will be done.

“I shouldn’t have thrown away that iron pipe! At least I would be able to put up a fight!”

He never thought that he would be dying at hands of humans, than the zombie that he was mostly worried about.

-Bam!

Kangmin heard them coming up to the living room and he became more impatient.

“Even if I enter a tiger’s cave, I still have a chance to survive. There must be a way! There must be a way!”

Kangmin thought about many ways in his head.

“What method? There’s no way!”

Kangmin was now despair.

It was then, a message window appeared in front of Kangmin.

<Would you like to return to “Real World”?

YES, NO>