Duo Leveling LITRPG | Post Apocalyptic | SYSTEM-Chapter 72 - The Only Way

Chapter 72 - The Only Way

In the chaos of the auction hall —

this place was also a casino after all — fights were a common occurrence.

Walt spoke with a fierce tone:

"You think we can afford to hesitate? You want to just sit back and watch everyone starve to death?"

Because of the lizardmen army that had surged through the illumination gate, all ground routes had been completely cut off.

Even today, tens of thousands in Ark were on the verge of dying.

It had already reached the point where cannibalism was happening.

The moment you ate human flesh, you became a ’demon’ — yet even then, there was no other choice.

"If we establish a friendly relationship with Neon, we might be able to save hundreds of thousands of lives by tomorrow."

"...."

"But if we rob the warehouse—at least today, those starving masses will survive."

Using the Ghost Train to create a supply line had been the NIS’s desperate hidden card to break the famine.

But it depended on Neon cooperating.

And after observing the auction firsthand, Walt was convinced:

Neon was not the kind of man who cared about humanity.

The odds of persuading him were nearly nonexistent.

Hearing this, the panda-masked agent trembled and finally muttered:

"...I understand, Chief. Please, just calm down."

Walt released his grip on the agent’s collar, shot him a sharp glare, and exited the auction hall without hesitation.

As he moved through a side passage, he spotted a few of his agents keeping a wary eye on the goblins.

One agent hurried up to him and said,

"Chief, there’s something strange about the goblins."

"What do you mean?"

"They... show no will to fight. It’s like they’re not even fully conscious."

Narrowing his eyes, Walt observed carefully.

Sure enough, some goblins were banging their heads against the walls, wailing pathetically.

It was as if they’d all collectively lost their minds. freewёbnoνel.com

"...Forget them. Ignore the goblins and focus on the mission."

It was an opportunity.

If the goblins were out of their minds, perhaps they could accomplish their goal without Neon even realizing.

Not the worst outcome.

"Chief! You need to see this—!"

"What is it?"

"...Humans. Sir, it’s humans."

Following the agent, Walt entered a room where dozens of humans were tied together like dried fish.

Inside, there were children, elders, people of every age, bound and standing helplessly.

Walt stepped closer, noticing the numbers tattooed onto their necks.

"They’re being treated like merchandise," he muttered.

His assumption was correct.

Among the merchants here, the highlight of the auction was likely human trafficking.

Checking the state of a nearby captive, Walt gave his cold order:

"Postpone the rescue."

"Sir?!"

"Can’t you see? These people have already lost their rationality.

We can’t afford to protect unstable patients while trying to escape to Ark."

Items could be stashed in inventories.

Supplies could be packed into bundles.

But humans?

Trying to move this many unstable people through New Capital — overrun with monsters — would be suicidal.

Carrying them would be like carrying ticking time bombs through a battlefield.

’Sometimes the best way to help... is to not interfere.’

It was the harsh logic of survival.

"Focus on the supplies."

Turning his back on the human captives, Walt and his agents focused entirely on looting the warehouse.

Among the rare items, the thing they took the most was food.

"This much should last at least a week," one agent estimated.

"Good."

Even so—

They knew it was just buying time.

Humanity’s situation was getting worse by the day.

Failing to wipe out even a single horde of lizardmen had brought them to the brink.

’We have no key players left.’

Fighting basic lizardmen wasn’t hard.

The problem was that Ark lacked players strong enough to take down the lizardmen’s elite forces.

And right now—

There was only one surviving Heavenly Ranker in Ark.

’And there’s been no word from Millie either.’

Of course, there was no concrete proof Millie was really "Clark" either.

Even the NIS’s intelligence had only hinted at it.

The idea that an idol singer could secretly be a top gamer—

It sounded like something out of a cheap web novel.

’The only tiny hope left... is that some high-level player from Mertzia got our rescue signal.’

But there was no guarantee he would come.

And even if he did, there was no guarantee Ark would survive that long.

’And Kyle—who escaped the Trial nexuss—there’s been no sign of him either.’

In the end—

Walt had to make the hard decision.

This is the best option left.

He hardened his resolve.

"Time to retreat."

But then—

BOOM!!

The entire train shook violently, as if struck by an earthquake.

Walt stumbled, barely managing to stay upright.

His sharp eyes caught a chilling sight:

Several goblins—

Those who had been banging their heads—

were now dead, their skulls smashed open.

And then—

He spotted a goblin, trembling, bowing repeatedly in a single direction, weeping desperately.

What the hell is going on?

Walt turned—

And finally understood.

KRRRRAAAACK!

The ceiling above them tore apart effortlessly.

From that gaping wound—

A monster larger than anything he had ever seen stared down at them with burning, furious eyes.

A goblin so massive—

It defied all reason.

"This... this is...."

"Chief!!"

BOOOOOOM!!

The sound of something colossal crashing down thundered through the train.

Carefully tailing the giant Lykan, Jhin spoke with certainty:

"He’s headed for D-5 District."

He narrowed his eyes.

"He’s definitely become... a Grid."

"A Grid...?" Caleb asked, still not fully grasping the situation.

"He evolved, but he lost his mind.

Now he’s just moving based on pure instinct."

Lykan had devoured his own comrades without hesitation.

Now—

He was moving to devour even more life.

Jhin could guess what the monster wanted.

’You want to become stronger, huh.’

And there was only one way for Lykan to grow stronger now:

Consume countless souls to evolve into a higher being.

The evolved goblin monster—

The C-rank Peculiar—

had been created exactly that way.

Even Millie looked at Lykan with a slightly disgusted expression.

Jhin clenched the Goblin Crown tightly and said:

"The Goblin Crown doesn’t work anymore.

Now that he’s C-rank, he’s completely beyond control."

"...Then what do we do?" Caleb asked, pale.

"There’s only one way."

Jhin ’s eyes turned hard.

"We kill him."