Chapter 158: The Collapsing Building
A heavy sense of oppression pressed against his heart without pause.
The suppression did not have an obvious effect on his other attributes, but it heavily restricted Mental Power.
Whenever he used spider silk, there was always a brief moment of sluggishness.
If the Big Belly Zombie had specialized in Mental Power instead of physical durability, there would have been no possibility of kiting it around at all.
Through the spider web, Joo Joowon felt a sensation similar to a spring being stretched to its absolute limit.
The Big Belly Zombie raised both hands, clenched them into fists, and slammed them heavily into the ground.
The earth shook violently.
Massive cracks spread outward from the point where both fists had landed.
They multiplied and branched apart like wild tree roots, extending outward with the Big Belly Zombie as the center.
Across the floor.
Across the walls.
Everywhere.
"Not good!"
Joo Joowon instantly realized what was happening.
The building was about to collapse!
Instinctively, he fired spider silk to pull Byeol and Hwi toward him.
Just as he was about to move, however, the pressure radiating from the Big Belly Zombie suddenly intensified.
It descended upon him like dark clouds covering the sky and froze him in place.
The restriction lasted for only a single breath. Yet that single breath was enough to rob Joo Joowon of the chance to escape through the windows.
Huge chunks of stone from the ceiling crashed down toward the ground above him.
Boom!
"Meow!"
Joo Joowon’s vision suddenly went dark as a layer of snow white fur covered his Bone Helmet.
"No!"
Everything happened far too quickly.
Joo Joowon did not have time to react at all.
Even his voice was swallowed by the deafening noise of the collapsing building.
All he could feel was his body being wrapped inside something warm and soft.
Rumble...!
Joo Joowon felt himself falling downward.
His body slammed heavily against the ground, perhaps against computers or other equipment.
Even through his padded clothing, the impact sent a dull pain through his body.
Large chunks of reinforced concrete and steel crashed down around him as the building continued collapsing.
Dust filled the air and refused to settle.
Heavy thuds echoed endlessly as parts of the building smashed into flesh and rubble alike.
The pressure made it feel as though even breathing had become difficult.
Joo Joowon was fully equipped.
Even if he could not escape, he believed he would not die here.
After all, the damage caused by a collapsing building might not even compare to the destructive power of the Boss monster’s skills.
His equipment durability could block a fatal attack once.
He wore so many pieces of equipment that even if one broke, another would immediately take its place.
He truly had not been afraid.
The little cats obviously did not understand any of that.
Even so, they had thrown themselves in front of him without the slightest hesitation.
Hwi’s transformation could not be maintained for very long.
It had already reverted to its normal form during Joo Joowon’s prolonged battle of attrition against the Big Belly Zombie.
Now, after forcibly enlarging its body to shield him from the attack, it had completely exhausted its remaining strength.
Its body immediately shrank back into its original form.
Clatter!
The broken walls and collapsed debris that had been supported by other structures began shifting once again after those supports disappeared.
Dust and gravel rained down continuously from above.
Joo Joowon quickly gathered Hwi into his arms.
Without hesitation, he pulled out a Stamina Recovery Potion from his Spatial Waist Pendant and injected it into Hwi’s body.
At the same time, he used the normal grade Hemostatic Powder on Hwi as quickly as possible.
These items could either be consumed orally or injected directly.
The potion allowed the effects to take place much faster, while swallowing them required the body to "digest" the medicine first.
"Meow..."
The dim lighting made it impossible for Joo Joowon to clearly see the extent of Hwi’s injuries.
An ordinary adult only possessed around five points of Physique.
Considering that the Stamina Recovery Potion could instantly restore three points of Physique and normal grade Hemostasis Powder could immediately restore seven points of vitality, he believed that Hwi’s condition could at least be stabilized and that it would not die on the spot.
While holding both cats tightly in his arms, Joo Joowon used spider silk to clear a path ahead of himself and quickly crawled out from the pile of ruins, searching in every direction for the Big Belly Zombie Zombie’s whereabouts.
Although he had failed to stop the Big Belly Zombie from attacking, he had managed to maintain control of the spider web and detach it from the boss’s body.
Because of that, while Joo Joowon and the cats had undoubtedly suffered from the collapse, the Big Belly Zombie had not escaped unscathed either.
As for which side had come out in worse condition, that was impossible to say.
Joo Joowon suspected that the Big Belly Zombie had probably exhausted most of its energy reserves.
After all, it had used that massive area attack just moments earlier, an attack so indiscriminate that it had not even distinguished between friend and foe.
No matter how he thought about it, the attack should have drained nearly all of its remaining energy.
Furthermore, the spider web had prevented the boss from escaping.
Unlike him, the boss wore no equipment whatsoever.
Logically speaking, it should have suffered considerable damage from the collapse.
The only problem was that its defensive capabilities had been absurdly high from the very beginning.
Whether it had truly been injured remained uncertain.
After all, what kind of creature killed itself with its own skill?
Joo Joowon did not have to wait long for his answer.
Before the dust in the air had fully settled, he saw an enormous figure pushing aside chunks of rubble and slowly rising back to its feet.
Layers of fat trembled and shook with every movement, making it look as though countless worms were writhing beneath its skin.