6. Black Wolf’s Den

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The fluorescent lamps on the ceiling flickered as Kwang Hwi and his subordinates entered the warehouse. They split off into two groups so that they could more efficiently search the building. Additionally, they wouldn’t be clumped together in one big group.

The warehouse was in disarray, a clear indicator that chaos had swept through the building. Red blood painted the floor like it was a canvas. Items that had been neatly organized were ruthlessly torn from their packaging and strewn all over the floor.

It was fortunate that the layout of the warehouse was not complicated. Each aisle was neatly divided and evenly spaced, making navigation a breeze for anyone.

“Team 1? How’s the search going?” Kwang Hwi asked into his walkie-talkie.

— “Aisles 1 to 10 clear.” Each of the aisles were numbered accordingly, allowing the men to systematically report their progress.

Despite how smoothly everything was going, Kwang Hwi couldn’t help but feel uneasy. There were massive bloodstains all over the warehouse—and yet, not a single body could be found. But they disregarded these oddities; the men were not here to search for survivors. They were simply here to fulfill their objective of gathering supplies before leaving.

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— “Copy. Team 2 will transfer the supplies into the box truck,” instructed Kwang Hwi.

While Team 1 was responsible for checking their immediate surroundings of any dangers, Team 2 was in charge of moving the supplies into the box truck. As one of the men turned on the forklift, the loud rumble of the engine echoed throughout the warehouse. It was quickly overshadowed by the loud, high pitched warning beeps as they reversed the forklift.

Team 2 then quickly and efficiently maneuvered the forklift into lifting pallets of supplies, most of which contained canned food and bottled waters, into the box truck.

While wandering around the surroundings, checking to see if monsters would appear, Kwang Hwi stopped in front of a hinged door that separated the warehouse from the supermarket. Looking down, he could see a long line of smeared blood that led into the supermarket side.

That by itself wasn’t anything significant. After all, such bloodstains could be seen all over the warehouse.

However, unlike the other areas, these bloodstains were still wet.

Kwang Hwi carefully crept towards the door. As he approached, the foul stench of blood wafted heavily towards him. When he opened the door, his brows furrowed slightly as flies brushed past his face and a low buzzing sound whined in his ear.

Swarms of flies flitted about the display stands. On it, instead of having fruits displayed, were corpses piled grotesquely on top of each other. The dripping blood formed a small puddle underneath the stand that steadily grew larger.

Even for Kwang Hwi, who had previously seen many grotesque things in his years as a mercenary, frowned at the sight before him. He finally understood why there were only bloodstains in the warehouse. All of the corpses had been brought here.

‘The question is, by whom?’

The question was quickly answered by a black shadow that appeared on the other side of the supermarket.

It looked like a wolf. Well, it was difficult to say that it looked like one, because the creature was much larger than any wolf that Kwang Hwi knew of. It was probably at least twice the size of a normal wolf. Its fur was pitch black, as if it had been dyed by black paint. It blended into the darkness, making it difficult to spot.

To top it all off, there wasn’t just one wolf. There were probably more than a dozen of them dispersed throughout the supermarket. And they were all headed towards the pile of human corpses.

Soon the sound of crunching bones and tearing flesh filled the air as the wolves ripped apart the corpses. Devouring the limbs and heads in a single bite. Their teeth and fur were stained with blood as they made quick work of the pile of corpses. As if that wasn’t enough, they licked up the blood that had pooled under the corpses, leaving nothing behind.

‘It seems like there are around 40 to 50 of them.’ Kwang Hwi quietly backed away. Even for him, it was reckless to fight against 50 wolves alone. He could kill a lot of them with his gun, but in the time that took, the rest would’ve already pounced on him. To finish them off, he needed backup from his subordinates.

Kwang Hwi slowly backed away towards the door. He very gently pushed open the door without making any sound. At least, that’s what he thought would happen.

Instead, a creaking noise echoed across the room as the door opened.

‘Fuck.’

The wolves who had been eating the corpses, whipped their heads towards Kwang Hwi. Upon making eye contact, they bared their fangs, snarling at him. The large one was scratching at the floor getting ready to pounce at any moment. Kwang Hwi grabbed the hand grenade that was attached to his vest. Pulling the safety pin out from the grenade, he flung it onto the floor. As the floor was drenched in blood, the grenade easily slid along the floor towards the approaching wolves. Kwang Hwi immediately turned and dashed out of the supermarket.

The wolves simply stared at the grenade, not knowing what it was.

The force of the resulting explosion shook the entire building.

『You are the first person in the world to defeat a ‘Black Wolf.’』 『You have obtained 500 MP.』

— “Boss! What was that explosion …”

“Come to Aisle 15!” said Kwang Hwi.

Kwang Hwi pointed his gun towards the door and backed away, widening the gap between him and the wolves. After a few minutes, he felt the presence of his subordinates drawing closer to his position. They hurriedly stood in formation on both sides of Kwang Hwi.

“They are about twice the size of a typical wolf. There’s at least 50 of them.” he warned.

Nodding, the men aimed their guns towards the door. A haunting howl suddenly pierced through the air. A chill ran down their spines. Proving that they were not normal wolves, their cries caused Kwang Hwi and his subordinates to stiffen in surprise. Before they could relax, the doors sprung open and a black shadow sprung forth. Its white teeth contrasted sharply against its pitch black fur. Its eyes were oozing bloodlust.

Kwang Hwi was the first to react to the sudden appearance of the Black Wolf. He pulled the trigger and shots rang out in quick succession. After a split second, the rest of his men followed suit, pressing down hard on their triggers with their index fingers.

The Black Wolves were quick, but even they couldn’t avoid a bullet. More than 10 of them rushed out quickly and collapsed almost immediately, unable to take a few steps beyond the door. They were very different from the Keku that were able to take up to 5 shots before dying. While the wolves were bigger and faster, their skin and flesh were more vulnerable than a Keku’s. They were unable to resist the bullets at all.

“It’s not over.” Kwang Hwi warned.

“Roger.”

Kwang Hwi did not let down his guard. Even though he had just thrown a hand grenade at them, they had not been grouped. Most likely, only a few had died upon impact. Although they had just killed 10 of them, there were still a lot of wolves left.

All of a sudden, gunshots rang through the air from behind. Kwang Hwi quickly turned and looked behind.

— “Boss! There are multiple Keku approaching the warehouse!”

The situation was not looking good. Despite being in an ostensibly secluded location, roughly 200 Keku had appeared around his house. There was no way such a populated area would have only 200. Plus, Kwang Hwi still had to deal with these large wolves.

“Are the supplies loaded?” Kwang Hwi asked.

— “We have fully loaded two box trucks!”

“Start the engine! We’re retreating. Hurry!” ordered Kwang Hwi.

The men started to dash towards the other side of the warehouse. Kwang Hwi took out his last hand grenade. Thankfully, the door had been slightly open by the now dead Black Wolves. He pulled the pin and threw the grenade into the supermarket.

Another explosion rocked the building.

『You have defeated 10 Black Wolves faster than anybody else in the world.』 『You have obtained 1000 MP.』

By the time Kwang Hwi arrived at the entrance of the warehouse, the box trucks that were filled with supplies were already leaving the driveway.

The trucks rumbled towards the approaching Keku without any hesitation. The Keku wisely jumped out of the way. Clearly, they were at least intelligent enough to recognize the futility of trying to stop a truck. An SUV followed the trucks. Bullets rained from the vehicle.

The Keku, who had been too busy avoiding the box truck, were unable to avoid the bullets that were fired at them. Meanwhile, the last sedan was waiting for Kwang Hwi.

“Boss! Over here!”

Kwang Hwi hurried towards the car. After getting into the sedan, they departed in haste. Some of the Keku tried to block the road, perhaps thinking that due to the vehicle’s relatively small size, they would be able to do so. But the sedan just ran over them at full speed.

With a loud slam, the Keku were knocked away. The hood and the bumper of the car were damaged from the hit, but other than the newly acquired dents, the car was fine. Except the driver, everyone in the car was busy shooting at the Keku.

The sedan quickly turned and left the supermarket. The subordinate who had been focused on driving glanced back.

“Boss?”

“What is it?” asked Kwang Hwi.

“The monsters are still chasing us from behind.”

Kwang Hwi turned. Behind them was a pack of Black Wolves chasing them.

“Aren’t those… Keku on top of the Black Wolves?” asked one of the subordinates in disbelief.

It was truly an unusual sight: a Keku riding on top of a Black Wolf. It was as if he was looking at a monsterfied version of a cavalry unit. Not only that, the Black Wolves were actually slowly catching up to the car.

Kwang Hwi knew just how heavy the Keku were. And yet, these Black Wolves were able to catch up to a sedan operating at full speed while carrying them. He was amused by the Black Wolves’ raw speed. Kwang Hwi pointed his gun towards the rear. His subordinates mirrored his actions.

They tapped their guns against the rear glass. Although it didn’t break off cleanly, the hole was just wide enough stick the gun muzzle out to fire at them. Sticking out the muzzle of his gun and looking through the 4x ACOG scope, Kwang Hwi could clearly see the monsters.

Despite the considerable distance between the two, it felt as if they were right in front of him. Taking in a breath, he calmly exhaled as he pulled the trigger.

At the sound of the gunshot, the Black Wolf closest to him immediately collapsed onto the road dead. The Keku that had been riding on top of the Black Wolf wasn’t safe either. Its head hit the floor, instantly breaking its neck.

Kwang Hwi immediately took aim at the next monster. Gunshots rang through the air in quick succession. Whenever he mechanically pulled the trigger, the number of Black Wolves chasing the sedan declined one by one.

As the number of Black Wolves that had their heads blown up increased to the double digits, the wolf furthest from the car stopped chasing. With its massive body and eyes dyed blood red, it looked to be the leader of the pack.

A blood-curdling howl echoed through the air. The other wolves stopped. Of course, this did not mean that Kwang Hwi had any obligation to stop firing at them. Gunshots continued to echo in quick succession. They even managed to kill three more wolves before they were out of range.

Despite the distance between them increasing, Kwang Hwi could feel the heavy gaze coming from the pack leader. It was a gaze filled with bloodlust. Had it been a weak willed person who was subjected to such a gaze, they would have fainted on the spot. Naturally, this had no effect on Kwang Hwi. After all, he had been exposed to much stronger bloodlust in the past.