Duo Leveling LITRPG | Post Apocalyptic | SYSTEM-Chapter 216 - 292 +293

One of the survivors, trembling uncontrollably, cried out.

"W-What the hell do you want?!"

"…"

"If you want something—say it! What's the reason you're doing this to us?!"

The intruder, who had momentarily paused, curled her lips into a slow, wicked smile and raised her gun.

A single shot rang out. Another life was erased without hesitation.

Then she spoke.

"A while back… You killed a player from New Capital, didn't you?"

"T-That was just…"

"That's the reason."

Bang.

The massacre had repeated itself countless times.

And at the end of it, there were only bloodstained corpses strewn across the ground.

She shook the smoke from her pistol, exhaled a long sigh, and let the silence settle.

That's when a man appeared beside her, stepping out of a shimmer in space.

"Miss Millie. You went on ahead?"

"You're the one who's late."

"I told you I had to use the bathroom."

"That's your problem, not mine."

Lutz let out a low sigh as he surveyed the scene.

Not a single survivor in sight. A massacre.

"What happened here?"

"…A den of scum."

Lutz frowned, checking the bodies.

Most of them hadn't even powerged to fight back.

"I doubt Miss Millie would carry out a slaughter like this for no reason. So—what was it this time?"

"Hm… let's see."

She tilted her head, as if giving it some thought.

"Just annoyed, maybe?"

"…What?"

"I just killed them. Couldn't stand the way these worthless nobodies were strutting around."

Lutz stared at her.

He didn't say anything, but his skin prickled with the sort of fear one instinctively suppresses.

A thousand words ran through his mind, but in the end, all he could say was—

"…Anyway. We found Jhin."

"Really?"

"According to Luke, he's alive and well. We traced some unknown individuals heading to the shopping center."

Millie tilted her head.

"The shopping center?"

"Yes. It's about a 20-minute walk from Whitevalley Station…"

"Are you sure it's a shopping center?"

Lutz noticed the corners of her lips curling upward.

It chilled him to the bone.

From experience, he knew that smile. That smile never meant anything good.

Millie grinned wider.

"Hey, Lutz. I heard a really funny story."

"…A funny story?"

"Yep. Apparently, someone in Whitevalley's been impersonating me."

A cold gleam danced in her eyes.

"They're holed up in that shopping center, apparently."

"What a coincidence."

"Isn't it? Interesting, right?"

In the next instant, she moved like lightning, pointing her pistol at one of the bodies on the ground.

A man, who'd been playing dead, flinched visibly.

Shaking his head slowly, he begged.

"P-Please… don't…"

She gave a lazy shrug.

"Give me one reason I shouldn't kill you."

"B-Because…"

"If the situation were reversed—would you have spared me?"

The gun barrel pressed directly between his brows.

Fear consumed his eyes, but her hand never wavered.

She spoke, cold and flat.

"That's why you die."

The man suddenly grit his teeth and lunged upward, a dagger clutched in his hand.

"Crazy bitch—!"

Bang!

Blood sprayed across her face—but she didn't even flinch.

Staring blankly down at the man's lifeless body, she stretched her arms above her head and stood.

Lutz, who had been silently watching, bit his lip and finally spoke.

"I tried to let it slide… but I can't anymore. Miss Millie, don't you think you're being too cruel?"

"What?"

"You kill everyone you meet. Even these people—was it really necessary?"

His eyes blazed. But she only smiled softly.

She nudged the dead man's head with her foot and spoke casually.

"No, it wasn't necessary."

"Then why…"

Millie lazily wiped some blood off her sleeve with her tongue. Like she was savoring it.

Then she smiled—wide, dangerous.

"There was no reason not to kill them."

Lutz was speechless.

But then again, he'd known what she would say.

Pressing his fingers to his temple, he watched her calmly reload her pistol.

He asked carefully,

"What about the Clarke at the shopping center?"

"You mean the imposter?"

If Jhin really was at that shopping center… then there was a chance.

A small chance she might act differently.

Because something had changed in her since they raided the Meteor of Calamity.

'If she sees Jhin again…'

But as Millie climbed over a staircase littered with bodies, her expression didn't change.

Her voice was disinterested.

"Dunno. I was planning to start by putting a bullet between their eyes."

"…"

"Or maybe slice their limbs off first?"

That chill crept up Lutz's spine again.

Still, he followed behind her, hurrying as she left the blood-soaked mall behind.

All that remained in the underground market was the cold wind slipping between the corpses, carrying the stench of death.

And for a long while, Lutz said nothing.

Then—his fists clenched.

He quickened his pace to catch up to her again.

This wasn't going to end well.

If they found Jhin, maybe something would change…

But as he looked at her icy silhouette walking ahead of him, all he could think was:

She was dangerous.

'I need to convince her… about the fake Clarke…'

But at that moment—

BOOOOOOM!

An explosion erupted in the direction of the shopping center.

BOOM! CRASH!

A thunderous blast pounded the eardrums.

The steel door shook violently, as if it might be ripped from its hinges.

Magic poured in behind it—spell after spell, raining down one after another.

It was an ambush launched the moment the snowstorm ended, aimed squarely at the shopping center.

The residents inside, though caught off guard, didn't seem particularly afraid. Instead, they chatted among themselves.

"Whitevalley Station's Flowerpod, Lotus Station's Lilac gang, and even the Mart crew showed up."

"And they've got the guts to challenge Clarke? Don't they value their lives?"

"Tch. Ignore them. They'll quit once they realize what they're dealing with."

Territory skirmishes among survivor groups were a regular occurrence.

Especially around here—this was the only warm zone in Whitevalley, a golden piece of real estate by anyone's standards.

They had only stayed away because it was said Clarke lived here.

KWAANG!

But things weren't going the way they'd expected.

Instead of weakening, the attacks on the steel door grew stronger. Even the hinges were starting to fly off.

"Fake Clarke! Come out!"

"You think you can hog this prime spot all to yourself?"

"Don't make me laugh! Get out here, bastard!"

Inside, Danny listened to the roars and chaos from beyond the barricade and let out a low breath.

It was clear now—things were serious.

'If they're attacking with that much confidence, then they must already know. Everything's been exposed.'

To be honest, Danny had always anticipated this day.

Power phones had begun to spread rapidly. Now, even just reaching the outer edge of Whitevalley allowed you to reconnect to the network.

'At least our residents rarely go to the outskirts, so they couldn't find out. But those other survivor groups? It's no wonder they figured it out by now.'

Everything had been laid bare.

'Maybe I should've moved the base closer to the dungeon earlier…'

After all, the closer to the B-rank dungeon, the better Felix's condition became.

But giving up the shopping center and relocating to the dungeon area would've meant dealing with numerous risks—

rival survivor groups, and a ruined ecosystem near the dungeon that made finding food almost impossible.

"Bet you enjoyed screwing us over all this time!"

"Come out! Fight fair, damn it!"

Outside, the attacks showed no signs of stopping. They were growing fiercer.

Even the residents began to sense something wasn't right.

They kept hearing things like "fake Clarke," or "knock-off."

And then a thought began to spread.

'Why isn't he doing anything?'

Why wasn't Clarke responding to any of this? Why was he letting them spew that nonsense?

Anxiety exploded among the residents.

Doubt snowballed.

And then—

"Clarke?"

Danny turned from the battered steel door and bowed deeply to the players gathered inside the shopping center.

He had something to say.

'If the truth's already out, better they hear it from me than from outsiders.'

He had always resolved to do this.

Prepared his heart for it.

And so, there was no hesitation.

He was ready.

"I'm sorry for deceiving you all."

"...Huh?"

"I'm not Clarke. I'm not some top-ranked player like you believed."

The abrupt confession left the residents confused.

They could only stare at him in disbelief.

"You're joking… right? You're joking, at a time like this?"

"Seriously, Clarke. That's not funny."

But he didn't raise his head. He only repeated himself.

"I'm sorry."

"Why… why are you apologizing…?"

The atmosphere turned heavy.

Between the silence of the man who couldn't lift his head and the disbelieving stares of the residents, something bloomed.

Despair.

"If you're not Clarke… then what the hell do we do?"

"...It's over. We're finished."

"We're really gonna die, aren't we?"

After all, the only reason they had survived here was because they had a warm shelter—

and because Clarke had their backs.

Why else would they cling to this frozen hellscape of Whitevalley?

Why live holed up in a shopping center?

Because hiding from monsters was easier than fighting the blizzards.

Because being trapped for life was better than stepping into chaos.

They were the forsaken of the apocalypse.

Though not everyone felt the same.

"Clarke. It doesn't matter who you really are. We survived thanks to you—and that's what matters."

"...Faith…"

"So please. Help us again. You must have some plan, right?"

Danny met the eyes turned to him—eyes full of fear and desperate hope.

What could he do now, now that his identity had been stripped away?

THOOM!

The massive steel door—once their guardian—shattered under the force of another attack.

Beyond it, the scene was clear.

Players had surrounded the shopping center.

Weapons drawn. Faces grim.

And yet, at the center of that crowd—one man stood, back turned.

Danny let out a bitter smile.

"I have no plan. But I can promise this—

You're still safe."

The mask called Clarke had been a lie.

But the man out there now?

He was real.

The real deal.

The one at the pinnacle of Whitevalley—

The one who had reached Rank 1.

'Kyle.'

Blue light began to gather around Jhin.

Jhin slowly raised the [Meteorblade of Calamity], pointing it at the enemies ahead.

Behind him, he could feel the blazing gazes of the shopping center residents.

'I didn't think Danny's identity would be exposed this quickly.'

But he wasn't worried.

He didn't believe they had survived all this time just because of a name like Clarke.

'There'll be pushback. But it won't last.'

The atmosphere here in the shopping center was better than expected.

Even though Whitevalley was encased in ice, these people were tightly knit. Solid.

To survive the apocalypse without descending into chaos…

To retain their humanity…

Could that really be faked?

Could a fake name pull that off?