Chapter 52: Muscle Hell and the Assassin’s Strike

“Enhanced Human, not bad.”

The streamer, Yudok, was playing at a relaxed pace.

—[Enhanced Human pupper is good.]

—[That’s totally just doping, lol.]

—[Overdosing on drugs!]

“Right? I told you it’s not bad.”

The Enhanced Human was a class that used drugs to push the human body to its absolute limit.

If a Cyborg relied on machines, this class relied on drugs.

It was the difference between equipment boosts and drug boosts.

“Enhanced Human is great. Health, defense, attack power, and movement speed are all pretty solid. Perfect for beginners.”

—[Yeah. From what I know, it’s the most average across all classes.]

—[True.]

—[But still, the fighting style is kinda dumb.]

—[Since they don’t use equipment, they can’t do ranged attacks. Only melee. Lol.]

The Enhanced Human didn’t use equipment.

They solved everything purely with their body.

They had balanced stats overall, but also came with a handicap.

And that handicap was… they had no ranged attacks.

—[That’s why you really struggled with the Assassin Zombie.]

—[Yeah, lol, still cracks me up.]

—[When the Assassin Zombie climbed up the roof, you had no way to hit it. So you had to climb up after it, lol.]

—[That was hilarious, lol. You finally got up there, then it jumped down and you had to climb down again, lol.]

“Haah, don’t bring that up. Just thinking about it gives me a headache.”

Yudok had been thoroughly toyed with by the Assassin Zombie.

While he was busy focusing on it, zombies broke into the command center and cut the crystal’s durability by half.

“But still, I managed to kill the Assassin Zombie and bring in an Enhanced Human, so it worked out in the end…”

—[Second player eliminated~]

—[Honestly, Mihuku getting wiped that fast was unexpected.]

—[I thought Yudok would be the first to go.]

“Tch, I thought so too. To be honest, I’m not really good at games like this.”

When he first got invited to the collaboration stream, he hesitated for a long time.

It was because he wasn’t confident in this genre of game.

But after Dogry persuaded him and he discussed it with his viewers, he decided to join.

“I wonder if I’m really doing well…”

—[You are doing well.]

—[Everyone struggles at the beginning!]

—[Boss~ don’t worry, you’ve got employees here to help you~!!]

—[Cheer up, Boss!]

“Haha. With you all cheering me on, I guess I’ll have to keep pushing forward.”

He smiled faintly.

“Alright then, let’s do some Mind Sharing and take a look around.”

Yudok activated Mind Sharing.

The map already gave plenty of information, but Yudok preferred to see things with his own eyes.

“Hmm…”

With Mind Sharing, he transferred into the body of the Enhanced Human and looked down at himself.

The abs sculpted into his stomach were rock-solid, and his arms and legs were thick with muscle.

His physique put professional bodybuilders to shame.

“It’s always overwhelming to look at this.”

—[Agreed.]

—[Can’t deny that.]

The Enhanced Human’s body itself was a weapon.

It was so thoroughly trained that one might exaggerate and say it was tougher than steel.

And being that well-trained meant…

“All this muscle…”

…that his whole body was pure muscle.

By combining drugs with heavy strength training, his physique had been pushed to its peak.

As a result, there wasn’t a single spot on his body without muscle.

Look around.

Bulging everywhere!

“Huff! Huff!!”

“My biceps and triceps are telling me to slaughter zombies today.”

“My quads are screaming at me to run right now.”

“Fuhuhut! Can’t you hear my pectorals crying out? They’re telling me to crush zombie skulls immediately!”

The Enhanced Humans all flexed and struck poses like bodybuilders, showing off their muscles.

“Ugh, this is suffocating.”

—[Oh wow…]

—[Muscles here, muscles there… it’s getting hot. Even with the air conditioner on, I’m sweating…]

—[But aren’t muscles beautiful? Look at those twitching pecs… huff huff… so cool…]

—[Nope, we’ve got a pervert here. Someone report them.]

“H-hahaha. Well, everyone has their own preferences. It’s fine to like muscles. I respect other people’s tastes.”

Yudok replied with an awkward laugh.

He had no intention of criticizing anyone’s tastes.

Preferences should be respected.

Of course, only within the bounds of common sense.

—[By the way, Boss, where’s the Special Unit?]

“Oh, the Special Unit? It’s nearby.”

Yudok turned his head.

And then he spotted a man.

‘Was he around three meters tall?’

He was massive.

And not just tall—he was wide as well.

“Wow… incredible…”

—[Those muscles are insane.]

—[His forearm is as thick as my waist?!]

—[For real. Not even joking, if that thigh hit me once, I’d die instantly.]

—[Wait, is that actually a Giant Zombie? Looks almost the same.]

“No. I’ve seen webtoons where some Enhanced Humans were at least a little lean… but here, every Enhanced Human is this muscular…”

And every time they struck a pose, their muscles writhed.

It was unsettling.

Just look at those veins bulging out.

So sharp they looked ready to pop.

Why.

“Huff, huff, huff! Look at those veins! Wow, it’s art! Absolute art!!! I love it so much!! Oppa~ I’m here! Oppa!!!”

“Pervert… stay back…”

“E…”

“A muscle fetish… really…?”

“Oto…”

“H-ha… hahaha…”

Yudok turned his head away.

‘If he kept looking, how should he put it?’

It was honestly unbearable.

He couldn’t even look directly anymore.

“Ah, come to think of it, there was something like this too.”

Yudok released the shared mind and returned to the command room.

When a special unit is summoned, a new enhancement ability is unlocked.

Like unlocking firearms for the Cyborgs.

“This is…”

The name felt ominous.

[Muscle Enhancement]

That’s what it said.

‘Why muscle enhancement?’

If it had been called strength enhancement, at least that would have made sense, but muscle enhancement?

“This feels bad.”

“I’ve got a hunch.”

“Something’s off…”

“The name itself is…”

“Still, let’s try it anyway.”

He had unlocked it by summoning a special unit.

There was no way that could be a bad thing.

Yudok activated Muscle Enhancement.

Then once again, he used shared mind to enter the body of the Enhanced Human.

And that’s when he saw it.

Hell itself.

“Hrrghhh!! Look! My pectorals have doubled in size!”

“Do you see these biceps and triceps? With this much, even the Giant Zombie can’t stand against me!”

“Where is the Assassin Zombie? Those claws of his can no longer pierce my muscles!! Wahahahahaha!!”

[This is hell…]

[Nigero (Run)…]

Hell had unfolded before his eyes.

A muscle hell.

***

While Yudok was being tormented by muscles, the stage continued to progress.

Stage 15 had begun.

Zombies surged in like a flood.

“They’re coming.”

[Wow, that’s a lot.]

[Unbelievable.]

More than 4,000 zombies were swarming in.

From here on, the level was different.

As the stage increased, zombies’ health, defense, attack power, and movement speed all improved, and their AI rose slightly overall.

On top of that, ranged zombies appeared, and depending on probability, Assassin Zombies and other aggro zombies would also show up during the waves.

“We’ll need to be careful with this wave.”

[But you’ve got five special units and about 120 Cyborgs, right?]

[Do you even need to be careful?]

“Well, yes, but you never know.”

There was always that “what if.”

It was something you should never let your guard down about.

But then—

Tututututuk!

Tututututuk!

[Whoa…]

[Uuugh…]

The zombies began collapsing like paper dolls.

‘Was it because there were so many special units?’

The speed at which they were being wiped out was overwhelming.

[Is this a vacuum cleaner?]

[The red dots are disappearing at crazy speed.]

[Fast! And powerful!]

In Zombie Survival, the M16 was a god-tier weapon, and it showed terrifying firepower here.

Because Exitra had enhanced it well, the zombies were falling with ease.

Even the Assassin Zombie…

“Chwaaaak!!”

The moment it leaped, it was riddled with bullets, landing only as a cold corpse.

A perfect one-point burst.

—[He was alive when he came, but dead by the time he landed.]

—[Is this just what happens when you give a gun? The Assassin Zombie just dies??]

—[No way. I’ve tried Cyborgs before—this isn’t normal.]

—[Then what is it?? Someone explain this…]

—[User ExplanationMaster has donated 10,000 won.]

〈After Stage 10, special zombies gain partial resistance to ranged attacks. Normally, they don’t die so easily to bullets. The only reason the Assassin Zombie died so fast here is because Exitra hit its weak points with precise bursts. That’s all from me.〉

—[Ugh, ExplanationMaster lol]

—[Oh wow, you really studied this, nice summary~]

—[Got it! All clear!]

—[Perfect timing, you’re awesome.]

The viewers nodded in understanding.

As the game progressed, it was only natural that ranged dealers—soldiers, archers, and Cyborgs—became more advantageous.

That’s why the balance was maintained by giving zombies resistance to ranged attacks in the later stages.

“Still, I’m relaxed.”

Unlike others, Exitra was incredibly laid back.

The special units were strong, so there wasn’t much he needed to touch.

It had been a while since he could play in peace.

Exitra enjoyed the rare leisure.

But complacency was dangerous.

‘Who was he?’

The number one streamer of misfortune.

The streamer blessed by the God of Broadcasting.

‘Leisure? Relaxation?’

There was no way such things would be allowed for him.

***

—[U… Uuuuugh…]

A pot-bellied zombie, with a stomach swollen like Namsan Mountain, appeared.

It wandered leisurely among the other zombies, searching for a target.

Its target was none other than a special unit.

‘Was it because the AI had improved?’

The zombie didn’t rush recklessly.

Instead, it bided its time, circling around to the unit’s back.

That was the moment it struck.

“Uweeeegh!!”

Green liquid spewed from its mouth!

A sudden attack from behind!

Without prior knowledge, it was impossible to dodge.

But its opponent was the worst possible choice.

Anyone else would have been hit for sure.

‘But against Exitra?’

“I knew it.”

Exitra reacted instantly.

Though he lacked physical ability, he had overwhelming knowledge and the god-tier multitasking skill to cover it.

And now, because he was inside a special unit’s body, even his lacking physical stats were perfectly reinforced.

His reaction speed was faster, and the body he controlled could keep up with his commands.

Thanks to that, dodging the aggro zombie’s attack was easy.

‘Aggro zombies always prioritize special units. Good thing I was inside one.’

“As long as you know, you won’t get hit.”

Since it wasn’t possible to predict which special unit would be targeted, Exitra always kept close to them.

Even if he couldn’t block the attack, he could respond in time.

—[Wow! He dodged that!]

—[Wait, wasn’t that an aggro zombie??]

—[Didn’t it attack from behind?]

—[Does he have eyes in the back of his head…?]

—[He sees with his heart…]

“There you are.”

Exitra looked back, spotting the aggro zombie.

It looked—though impossible, of course—genuinely flustered that its attack had failed.

“Push the aggro zombie back. All nearby units, retreat and increase distance. Then…”

Exitra widened the gap and aimed his rifle at the aggro zombie.

“I’ll finish this myself.”

He was about to fire the M4 mounted on his arm.

But then—

“Shweeeek!!”

Another attack came from behind.

This time, it was the Assassin Zombie.

It too had been waiting for the right moment.

The viewers shouted in alarm.

—[Ahhh!!]

—[He’s dead this time!!]