Apocalypse Forecast

He couldn't bear to watch any longer. With a snap of his fingers, he activated the ancient castle and sent over a dozen zombies their way, giving them a swift end.

In the midst of the chaos, moans of zombies arose from the various intersections. Stumbling footsteps approached as more than a dozen undead rushed forward like unleashed wild dogs, their dark green drool flinging from their mouths and landing on the ground, instantly sprouting green grass.

"No good, run!"

The color drained from Cui JaeSung's face. After seeing Park Jiseong's condition, he knew full well the potency of these zombie dogs' bites. He dared not linger and risk getting bitten. Death was one thing, but what if he started spewing curry too!

In an instant, the trio took off at a sprint, leaving Park Jiseong alone to vomit and suffer from diarrhea atop a puddle of blood plasma, desperately shouting, "Director, save me!!!"

The next moment, he was swallowed up by the zombie horde.

The great doors slammed shut in an instant, barring the horde outside.

Inside the corridor, the few people, caught unprepared, looked at each other as they all began to cough violently, feeling a chilling shudder throughout their bodies, as if they were coming down with a cold.

A cold? How could Sublimators catch a cold?

By the time they realized something was amiss, it was already too late. Even calling upon their Stigmata and struggling with all their might, they could barely fend off the invasive virus that gnawed at their bones like maggots.

Having just been splattered with the virus-laden dog's blood by that zombie, how could they possibly remain unaffected?

Huai Shi had finally figured out a bit about how to use the Plague Halo. With the power of the Mountain Ghost Stigma, he was endlessly transporting various viruses into the plants parasitizing the ancient castle for transformation. In no time, countless toxic sprouts germinated under the Stigma's influence, steadily transforming this place into a barren wasteland.

At this point, almost the entire castle had turned into a toxic pool. It teemed with countless Source Substance viruses throwing a party and mutating nonstop. Every minute, dozens of new subtypes would emerge.

He could well afford to play the long game with these people. The longer it went on, the greater his advantage. However, just as he was deep in thought, he had a sudden realization: the number of zombies under his command within the castle had, surprisingly, increased by one...

So that's how it is?

Remembering something Little Cat had once said to him, Huai Shi finally understood and couldn't help but crack a smile. This truly was the perfect place for him...

On his system panel, the progress bar had advanced slightly, but the road to completion was still far off.

His job was simply to deal with the challengers and ensure he wasn't defeated. But now it seemed that to achieve a higher completion rate, he would have to work harder.

So, let's pick up the pace a bit!

He smiled as he dragged his Axe, its Axe Blade scraping noisily against the floor of the secret passage as he headed straight towards them.

Meanwhile, back where they had been, with the realization they were poisoned, two of the men began to panic.

But Cui JaeSung's expression remained as steady as a rock. He simply gestured, "Come here."

Catalyzing Source Substance and awakening his Stigma, a vague Sun emerged above his head, tirelessly purifying the viruses and negative Source Substance within him.

Fire Dog.

This was the Stigma that, within the Shinra Mythology Origin, had once stolen the Sun; naturally, it possessed some of the Sun's mighty power. In an instant, the viruses invading their bodies were destroyed, unable to withstand the assault.

However, right after that, the three of them began to feel awkward, hearing noises from within each other's stomachs...

Although the viruses and the infection had been purified, the Fire Dog could only kill the parts corrupted by the negative Source Substance. Limited by its Ability, it couldn't vaporize them out of existence. As their Stigmata operated rapidly, these harmful parts were quickly expelled from their bodies, and the simplest way out was...

After a brief silence, Director Cui spoke up, his voice strained, "...is there a bathroom nearby?"

Desperate times called for desperate measures. They couldn't all worry about finding a proper toilet in such a rough place, right? The other two men could easily find a corner to relieve themselves, but as their leader, Cui JaeSung couldn't bring himself to do something so undignified in front of his subordinates.

Under the awkward gaze of the two subordinates, Cui JaeSung glanced at a door beside him and after a moment's hesitation said, "You two, guard the door. Stay alert, don't come in, and don't go far."

The two men promptly agreed. Cui JaeSung pushed the door open and entered. Once he had closed the door and turned around, his brows knitted together suspiciously as he eyed a corner of the room.

Something seemed to be hidden beneath a pile of tattered cloth and broken furniture.

But as he cautiously approached and took a closer look, he couldn't help but sharply inhale. SSSS!!!

What was that! That cute, square shape, and that gleaming dark gold glow that seemed to promise happiness! Wasn't that the Dark Gold Treasure Box he had missed out on?

Instant joy surged in his heart, making him forget even the churning in his stomach. He almost held his breath, incredulous!

Who would have thought that a Dark Gold Treasure Box would be hidden in such a remote corner of the castle!

This unexpected surprise almost made him want to dance with joy. Yet, even in the midst of chaos, he maintained his restraint, fearing it was some trap set by the host. After using various methods to examine it, he finally confirmed it: this was indeed a treasure chest, no doubt about it!

A weight was lifted from his mind, and he couldn't suppress the smile on his face—securing this treasure would not only give him more than enough to eliminate the host, but it would also allow him to completely overshadow Executive Li!

Promotion and wealth were just around the corner!

With this thought, he reached out and opened the treasure chest. Immediately, a bright white light assaulted his face, and a bold voice boomed out of nowhere.

"Wow! A golden common!!!"

Indeed, it's a golden legen... wait, golden what the hell?!

Just as he was astounded, he saw a young boy holding a flashlight abruptly leap up from the disappearing chest, raise an Axe, and bring it down in a jumping cleave!

Then, he knew nothing more.

BANG!

Through the door, they heard a dull thud from inside the room.

An YongShun and Li Eun exchanged puzzled glances, then clicked their tongues in admiration. "Just like Director Cui to make such an impact! Even taking a dump sounds so commanding!"

For some reason though, Director Cui's... business this time was unusually long. He didn't come out for ages. The two of them waited and waited, growing increasingly anxious, almost unable to hold it in any longer.

After looking at each other and confirming that everyone was in a desperate situation, they decided to play rock-paper-scissors to determine who would go to a corner to take care of business.

In the end, Li Eun, being one step ahead in strategy, left the ashen-faced An YongShun behind and proudly scampered to a corner of the wall to relieve himself.

An YongShun waited for what felt like forever. He couldn't stand it anymore and shouted, "Hey, are you done yet!"

"Damn it... what's your rush? Wait a bit longer!" Li Eun was straining, his face turning red.

But then, he heard a faint, crisp sound that seemed to come from underneath the floor... Before he could react, a familiar roar echoed:

"I want a hot dog!!"

Immediately after, accompanied by a hoarse shout, a figure smeared with curry burst from the broken floorboards below. It was none other than Park Jiseong, whom they had abandoned to be ravaged by the zombie horde...

Now transformed into a zombie, Park Jiseong was consumed by an almost eternal hunger. He lunged and bit down on the nearest piece of flesh, chewing it ferociously.

Li Eun, attacked in a vital spot, instantly screamed in agony. He struggled desperately, calling for help from his teammate. But An YongShun, seeing more than a dozen zombies crawling out from beneath the floor, was so frightened he felt his soul about to leave his body. He began frantically pounding on the door behind him. "Director Cui, Director Cui..."

In his panic, he even forgot to call him 'Boss'.

The next moment, with a thunderous CRASH, the room door was split open by an Axe Blade. Immediately after, a ferocious eye appeared through the crack, gazing at An YongShun's pale face, and a grin spread across unseen lips.

"You were looking for him?" Huai Shi asked. "He says he's not in..."

Just being watched by that Abyss-like eye made An YongShun feel as though endless madness and pain were spreading from within it.

An YongShun stood frozen on the spot, then let out a high-pitched scream and took off running...

Huai Shi, on the other hand, was the one left stunned.

Seriously, too weak! Bro, you're supposed to be a Second Stage Sublimator. How can you be so useless? I haven't even finished my horror movie scenario, and you're already running away. Don't I deserve some face?

As he pondered this, he was completely oblivious to the fact that the Fear Aura he had spread throughout the castle via the various plants was continually increasing in density.

Fueled by the near-infinite gloomy atmosphere here, the fog formed by the Apocalypse was spreading constantly, covering every inch of land, and joining the virus's frenzy...

First splashed in the face with Park Jiseong's curry, then watching helplessly as his teammate had his 'hot dog' devoured, and finally realizing that the backbone of their team had been quietly taken down—An YongShun was now utterly plunged into panic.

He ran and screamed all the way, completely disoriented, only sensing the moans of zombies constantly sounding behind him. At last, he saw a large door.

In an instant, he was nearly moved to tears.

He threw himself at it, yanked the door open, and slammed it shut, barring his nightmarish pursuers outside.

Gasping for breath, An YongShun had no strength left. He leaned against the door and slowly slid to the ground. Then, he saw the generator next to him...

The generator! As long as I fix the three generators, I can escape from here!

His eyes lit up, a ray of hope found amidst his despair.

And then, he finally noticed the strange shadow behind him.

In the darkness, behind a dusty table, a faint black aura surged upwards, enveloping an eerie and ancient Evil Spirit...

It seemed engrossed in reading some evil texts and grimoires, focused and serious.

Sensing his presence, it slowly raised its head. Its rotting face split into a grin, revealing a bloodthirsty smile.

It was like the last straw that broke the camel's back.

An YongShun stammered, wanting to say something, but in the end, he could only let out a squeak before he passed out.

Before slipping into unconsciousness, a final, desperate thought emerged from his mind.

From now on... for the rest of my life... I'm never eating curry again...