Nikke, something’s seriously wrong with this evacuation point! Chapter 48 48: Perfect Apartment

The mont he put on the uniform, the mannequins that had been "drinking coffee" or "reading newspapers" all moved at once.

Their necks cracked in unison, click, as they turned their heads and stared straight at him.

This was no longer the sa feeling of being watched.

This ti, Charon could clearly feel intense malice coming from those faceless mannequins.

Then, they started moving.

Like a horde of zombies from Resident Evil, they advanced toward him–slow, but without stopping.

Carefully protecting the box, Charon swung the crowbar at the nearest mannequin.

Thankfully, their defense was extrely low–one hit shattered them. This was thanks to the crowbar's green rarity. If it had been white, durability would have been a problem.

He kept a close eye on the durability of his only weapon.

After killing three mannequins, it dropped from 100 to 99.

In total, he had killed five.

Which ant, before it broke, he could kill around 500 mannequins.

That sounded good… but in reality, there were far more than 500 on this street.

And even if he could, he didn't have the stamina. Not to ntion he still had to deliver the package.

Without firearms or any large-scale weapons, if he got stuck here, the mission would fail. He might even die, and lose the 500,000 reward.

He couldn't stay here.

Making a quick decision, he stepped forward, knocked down a mannequin with his elbow, and slipped through the crowd like a slippery eel.

If he ran, these slow "zombies" couldn't stop him.

The only thing slowing him down was the package in his left arm.

After the fight, it had already lost 1 durability. He didn't even know what had touched it.

That was another reason not to keep fighting.

He rushed out of the shopping street.

The mannequins along the road also started moving, but since they were "simulating city life," none of them stood in the middle of the road.

So Charon easily ran straight down the center.

"Strange… why are there so many puddles?"

This was another anomaly.

The sun was out, the road was smooth, yet there were puddles everywhere.

Looking closely, they were perfectly flat, like sothing painted onto the asphalt.

There were too many of them.

He only noticed because he stepped on one–

and there was no splash at all.

Then he noticed sothing else.

The mannequins chasing him stepped onto the sa puddle–

and imdiately fell straight through.

Like a bottomless pit.

One after another, they dropped in, like beans pouring into a sack.

None ca back out.

At that mont, Charon felt his scalp go numb.

"What the hell is this place?!"

Even though he himself didn't fall in, he instinctively avoided all puddles afterward.

They functioned perfectly as traps, swallowing mannequins whole.

But even so…

for a city's "population," this was nothing.

From the mont he put on the uniform, the city's malice had been activated.

The city had truly co alive.

And Charon was the one it wanted to digest.

He ran while observing his surroundings.

Their slow speed was his only advantage.

But there were simply too many.

He didn't even have ti to stop and think.

That was why vehicles were disabled.

Even a bicycle would have been enough to escape them.

And he still had to protect the package.

The minimap showed the target getting closer.

In the distance, behind a building, he saw a beige structure–

that should be Zone A.

To get there…

His eyes locked onto an overpass.

There was a direct path from it into Zone A, and very few mannequins on it.

He sprinted toward it.

Taking the stairs was too risky, he could get surrounded.

So he jumped, hooked the crowbar onto the protective net, flipped over, and rolled inside.

[Package Durability: 96/100]

He didn't know what would happen if it dropped to zero, but keeping it above 95 seed safest.

Holding the box tightly, he ran for his life.

Every mannequin in his way was smashed apart by the crowbar.

The passage into Zone A was narrow.

A dozen mannequins blocked the path ahead.

He looked at the building beyond him… then raised the package.

And realized—

all of them were drawn to it.

He threw the package high into the air.

In that instant, all mannequins reached upward–

And Charon dashed straight through them.

Sprint–dive–roll–

He caught the package cleanly.

[Durability: 95/100]

Ahead was only a wide residential plaza.

But—

"What the hell?! Why are there three two-ter-tall guards at the gate?!"

Luckily, they were still slow.

A group would be a problem. Three? Not really.

Ignoring them, he climbed over the gate and ran across the plaza.

Then suddenly–

the footsteps behind him beca overwhelming.

He turned—

And saw the mannequins speed up.

From slow walkers–

to sothing like World War Z.

"Shit!"

Now he had no choice but to run.

At least he had the crowbar, he could block the door.

"Damn it! More guards?!"

At the entrance, 4–5 guards blocked the doorway completely.

But Charon noticed sothing crucial.

"This is my way out!"

He didn't slow down—

He sped up…

and perford a slide.

Their long legs actually helped him.

He slid right between them

and burst into the revolving door.

The mont he got inside—

it was like soone hit mute on the world.

Everything outside went silent.

Charon lay on the ground, breathing heavily.

Looking back–

he saw countless plastic faces and hands pressed against the glass.

But they had completely stopped moving.

They blocked the door entirely.

"Damn… hah… this second zone… really wants dead…"

His gaze shifted to the wall near the entrance.

Golden letters were embedded into the white surface:

...

Perfect Apartnt

"No noise. No running. No external lifeforms allowed.

Once inside, this place is both your shelter… and your prison."