I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 807

The past me in the memory shown at the charnel house.

Carrying the ashes of the subordinate I had grown fond of, I had set off to find his sister.

The subordinate’s name was Do Jun-hyeok, and his sister’s name was Do Jin-ah.

My memory had ended with me leisurely driving the car, relying solely on those names.

However, those memories were only accessible because I had made contact with the World Tree.

Therefore, I never expected to see my lost memories again unless I touched the World Tree once more.

"Fuel? Sure, we have fuel. But that depends on what you can give us in return, doesn’t it?"

A thug, looking as though he had gone through rough times due to the Mana Apocalypse, spoke in a casual, insolent tone.

Seeing how he subtly showed off the assault rifle securely slung over his shoulder, anyone could tell he was making a threat.

Yet, the past me sitting in the car spoke in an indifferent voice, completely unfazed.

"Is that so? Then what do you want? Just say the word."

"What do we want, you ask?"

Cheolkeok—

Sure enough, the thug pointed his gun and threatened me.

Not a pistol, but a heavily battered assault rifle plundered from the military.

The past me in the memory didn’t look surprised at all, even with a gun barrel pointed right at my face.

I merely let out a deep sigh, as if I had expected this.

"Hand over everything you have. Otherwise, you’ll get a hole in your head."

"And if I don’t have anything?"

"Don’t give me that. That urn resting so carefully in the back seat. Looks pretty suspicious, doesn’t it?"

"..."

At that reply, my expression turned menacing for a split second before quickly relaxing.

It lasted less than a single second, but it was clear as day to my eyes.

Kkigigik—

The past me in the memory quietly turned off the ignition and immediately stepped out of the car.

The thug, thinking he was about to get a handsome share, didn’t hide his despicable smirk.

"Hey! How’s the guy we reeled in this time? Is he plump?!"

"He’s a bit thin, but he’s tall, so he’s plenty plump!"

"Looks like we’re putting some grease in our mouths today! Hahaha!"

The voices of other raiders echoed from behind.

Judging by how they appraised a human being like meat, it was instantly clear how vile they were.

The past me in the memory, perhaps reminded of the ambush at the charnel house, spoke in an incredulous voice.

"What? You guys eat humans too?"

"Too? What, are you one of us? Do you know which part tastes the best?"

"The rump. You have to boil the bones thoroughly to settle your stomach."

Was it because of my past experience working as an agent?

I talked my way through with an incredibly shameless expression.

"Master. Don’t tell me..."

"Absolutely not."

Just to be clear, I have never practiced cannibalism.

That was likely just an answer I came up with by racking my brain to the limit.

"He’s the real deal! Hey! This guy is one of us!"

"One of us? What did he say?"

Perhaps because I had talked so smoothly, the raider who had been threatening me with his gun turned his back.

And I approached without making a sound, immediately drawing a knife.

"Huh? Hey! Watch out...!"

A raider on the roof noticed and shouted a warning, but it was too late.

Seogeok!

Because my knife slashing the raider’s throat came first.

As the knife slit his throat, blood gushed out in torrents.

The ambushed raider hurriedly clutched his neck with both hands, but it was pointless since his artery had already been severed.

"You bastard!"

"Hey! Don’t shoot him right away! If the carcass gets shredded, it won’t taste good!"

Truly amazing.

To be obsessing over taste even when their own comrade had just died.

Well, thanks to that, the firing of the rooftop turret—the most dangerous threat—was delayed.

Moreover, perhaps because the incident had occurred so suddenly, their response was rather slow.

Cheolkeok!

In the meantime, I cut the sling with my knife and grabbed the rifle the raider had been carrying.

Just in case, before they could fire, I ran toward the cars scattered all over the parking lot and quickly took cover.

"What are you doing, you idiots! He’s all by himself!"

"Those with pistols and rifles, move in first, hurry!"

The raider group opted for a swift resolution simply because I was alone.

While they approached, the past me in the memory first checked the seized firearm.

"At least they lubricated it well, despite their looks."

After muttering that, I glanced over.

The raiders were swarming in, and their numbers were quite substantial.

But since ancient times, defending has always been much easier than attacking.

Normally, they should have been the ones defending, but a single moment of poor judgment had completely flipped the tables.

Tadang! Tang!This chapter is updated first at novel⁠ping.com.

When the raiders were almost upon me, I pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Since this country was the Republic of Korea, there was a very high probability that the raiders were military veterans.

However, their experience was likely limited to firing from behind cover during training; shooting while on the move was a completely different story.

Peok! Peoeok! Peok!

One shot, one kill. And every single bullet hit their heads or vital spots with absolute precision.

With every hit, the raiders collapsed like logs, and their numbers steadily dwindled.

"Damn it. This isn’t working. Throw a grenade!"

"But if we throw a grenade and his body gets blown apart...!"

"More of our own guys are dead anyway!"

The mindset of cannibals was truly incomprehensible.

The past me in the memory let out a hollow laugh, seemingly sharing the same thought.

Still, thanks to that, I had obtained the information that a grenade was coming, so I just needed to prepare.

"Count to three and throw it. Got it?"

"Who do you think you’re talking to? Just shoot straight."

A moment later, a few of the raiders brought over a grenade.

Perhaps a brief lull had occurred in that short interval, as the sound of gunfire had almost completely ceased.

"Uh... what was it? How do you do this again?"

"You dumbass! Didn’t you learn this in boot camp?!"

"The guy in the class right before mine died throwing a grenade, so I skipped it!"

"Ugh! You’re so frustrating. Give it here!"

In the end, another raider decided to throw the grenade.

The past me in the memory quietly waited, hiding behind the thick engine bay of a car.

Of course, I wasn’t just staying still; I was actively pinpointing their locations through their conversation.

Meanwhile, if I spotted a raider in the side mirror, I immediately fired my rifle to counterattack.

"One, two... three!"

The moment the raider shouted "three," he leaned out and took a throwing stance.

Taang! The past me in the memory also immediately popped out and fired.

Pusyuk!

The bullet pierced his head, and the raider collapsed in his throwing posture.

Naturally, the grenade he had been holding rolled onto the ground.

"Ah, you dumbsh—"

Kwagagang!!!

With a ground-shaking roar, the grenade exploded right there.

As those in the know would tell you, the power of a hand grenade is far greater than what is shown in movies or games.

It literally shakes the earth and can turn several people into chunks of meat in an instant.

The car took a direct hit from the grenade, but it didn’t explode immediately.

Unless fuel leaked and caused a fire, for now, the windows were shattered and the chassis was just reduced to a wreck.

"Damn it! Just shoot! Keep firing!"

Deureureureuk!

Unable to watch any longer, the rooftop turret—the machine gun—unleashed a noisy barrage.

It was a machine gun that would easily shred any ordinary car, but—

Tik! Tik!

"Fuck. Jammed!"

"This piece of trash gun!"

It was a weapon notorious for its frequent malfunctions.

I didn’t know where they had sold off the M60 we found earlier, but now was my chance.

The past me in the memory fought while constantly changing positions until the machine gun could be operated again.

As I waged a mole-like guerrilla war, the raiders’ numbers began to drop sharply.

"You really fight dirty, but you’re good at it."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?"

"To the point where I’m just glad you’re on our side?"

Leaving Elia’s praise behind, I had somehow managed to infiltrate the inside of the rest stop.

It seemed they hadn’t been able to fully fix the jammed gun yet.

Once inside, the rest was incredibly easy.

Because I eliminated them all with absolute precision, one shot for each bastard.

Even when my ammunition ran out halfway through, I simply seized another raider’s gun and kept fighting.

Taang! Tang!

"Aaaah!"

Finally, I concluded the subjugation by putting a bullet through the knee of the guy presumed to be the leader.

Just in case, I thoroughly searched the rest stop, eventually checking even the freezer.

"...Now that the world has truly ended, the lunatics are running wild."

The past me in the memory muttered with a deep frown.

Not only inside the freezer, but there was even a place where a literally butchered ’human’ hung from a hook.

Unwilling to inspect any further, I immediately headed outside.

"Uuuugh... gurgle..."

Surprisingly, when I stepped outside, the raider leader was dragging himself along the ground.

He was struggling with all his might, desperate to escape this place.

The past me in the memory let out a hollow laugh at the sight and spoke to him.

"A guy who used to eat humans actually wants to live, despite his pathetic state?"Read the latest chapters at novеlping.com.

"P-please spare me! You’ve already done everything you wanted...!"

"What are you talking about? I’m not done yet."

"Kuaaaak!"

I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him away.

The place we eventually arrived at was none other than the gas station, and I said to him:

"Wait right here."

"Y-yes...!"

After saying that, I began to do my work.

Without even clearing the corpses, I loaded all the ammunition and guns into the car’s trunk.

"Let’s... throw this away."

Naturally, I didn’t spare a single glance for the trashy guns, let alone the K3.

I also left the M60 machine gun behind for various reasons.

What remained was the fuel, and since they had used the rest stop as a base, there were quite a few fuel canisters.

"How did you guys run the generator here? You’re using a mana generator, right?"

"Y-yes! In this day and age, as long as you have a mana generator, everything works!"

"Alright, alright. Shut up."

With a bullet lodged in his knee, the raider leader was destined never to walk again.

Furthermore, if he wasn’t treated in time, he was doomed to die from excessive bleeding.

Giiiiing—

The past me in the memory leisurely fueled up the car.

Meanwhile, I didn’t forget to ask the leader several questions.

"By the way, where did you guys come from? Did you come from Daejeon?"

"D-Daejeon? No. We were operating independently."

"I suppose no one would want to associate with cannibals like you. Do you know anything about Daejeon?"

"I hear that place is where people can at least live somewhat normally."

"Normally? I heard they treat people like slaves."

"In an era where it’s hard to even get a meal, they at least feed you properly..."

At that answer, the past me in the memory nodded.

When the government has completely collapsed and the world has ended like this, securing food is extremely difficult.

It was fine as long as there were stockpiled rations, but the real crisis would begin once those were completely depleted.

"What on earth do they do there? Do they farm?"

"There are rumors of that... but there are also rumors that their goal is to reclaim Seoul."

"Seoul? Ah, the place that got nuked?"

"Yes."

If reclaiming Seoul was their goal, it made perfect sense.

Since the major institutions of the Republic of Korea were concentrated there to the point of being called the ’Republic of Seoul.’

However, considering it had been nuked, those institutions had likely been completely obliterated.

"Do they really need to reclaim it? Is there some treasure buried there?"

"I-I think it’s because of the symbolism."

"Symbolism, my ass."

Having filled up the tank, I replied cynically and pulled out the nozzle.

Next, I picked up a fuel canister, walked around, and began pouring it all over the rest stop.

"Hey. Open your mouth."

"Huh? Mmph! Mmph!"

I wasn’t just pouring fuel on the rest stop.

I shoved the nozzle right into the mouth of the trembling raider leader and poured the fuel directly in.

Swallowing even a single gulp of fuel would normally require a stomach pump, and I was pouring it down his throat.

Naturally, the raider leader struggled, but it was futile since he was already completely subdued.

"Uweeeeek! Ugh!"

The raider leader retched repeatedly, throwing up fuel and losing his senses.

The past me in the memory looked at him indifferently and got into the car.

Bureung— After starting the engine, I even pulled out a cigarette I had found somewhere and put it in my mouth.

Interestingly, I lit it with a match rather than a lighter, which I had probably picked up at the rest stop.

"Well, take care. Give my regards to your comrades who went ahead."

Hwik!

From a distance, I tossed the burning match out of the window.

Naturally, the match flew straight toward the retching raider leader, and—

Hwareureureuk!

"Huaaaaak!!!"

The raider leader experienced the vivid agony of burning from both the outside and the inside.

Regardless, the past me in the memory leisurely stepped on the gas pedal and drove away from the rest stop.

A moment later, when I had gained some distance.

Kwagagang!!!

The fire must have spread to the entire gas station, triggering a massive explosion.

Shyaaaa—

As soon as the explosion ended, the surrounding scenery began to vanish like dispersing mist.

Soon, the illusion cleared completely, returning us to the original, ruined gas station.

After briefly looking around the actual gas station, a question arose in my mind.

’...What on earth was that mist?’

I felt that something was seriously amiss.