Rebate King: I fed them to rule the apocalypse

Chapter 4: The carrier's awakening

The blue light bleeding from Sarah’s eyes wasn't like the warm glow of the system interface. It was a cold, neon luminescence that seemed to fracture the darkness of the alleyway, casting long, jagged shadows against the wet brick walls.

"Sarah!" I shouted, ignoring the dull, throbbing ache in my left shoulder where her crowbar had clipped me.

She didn't hear me. Her fingers remained clawed deep into her scalp, her body arching off the wet asphalt in a rigid, unnatural spasm. The rhythmic, frantic clicking from the rooftops reached a deafening crescendo. The Lurkers—at least a dozen of them—were dropping down the sides of the high-rise buildings like overgrown, skinless spiders, their long, emaciated limbs scratching deep gouges into the concrete.

They were drawn by her scream, but as they hit the ground, they froze.

The monsters didn't lunge. Their distended, sightless jaws twitched violently, their pale torsos swaying from side to side as if they were suddenly blind to the very noise they had hunted. They were sniffing the air, their hairless heads tilting toward Sarah as she convulsed in the mud.

**[Warning: S-Rank Mutation Event in progress.]**

**[Carrier Sync Rate: 12%... 24%...]**

**[Current Situation: Unknown Variable. Survival Rate: Calculation Error.]**

*Calculation error?* The system had a definitive percentage when I was facing a literal killer blade, but now it was choking.

"Ethan..." Sarah’s voice tore from her throat again, but it didn't sound like her anymore. It was layered, a chorus of faint, static-laced whispers echoing behind her words. "They’re loud. They’re so loud inside my head. Make them stop. Please, make them stop..."

Despite the absolute terror dripping from her voice, the blue interface hovering over her head told a completely different story.

**[Target: Sarah Jenkins]**

**[Trust Level: -10% (Absolute Negative / System Override)]**

**[Carrier Status: Active Resonance]**

The system rules were simple: give items to women, get multiplied rewards. The lower the trust, the higher the payout. But what happened when the trust broke through the floor into a negative absolute?

I looked at the canvas backpack sitting in the puddle between us, packed tight with the MREs and the purified water. Technically, I had given it to her, but she had thrown it away when she panicked.

*If giving saves lives, then I need to double down,* my mind calculated with that new, icy precision. I didn't run toward her. I didn't try to pull her up. Instead, I grabbed the heavy tactical vest I had received from the previous rebate—the one packed with spare ammunition and armored plates—and threw it directly onto her trembling form.

"Take it!" I roared over the sound of the storm. "Put it on and protect yourself!"

The vest landed heavily across her torso. The heavy nylon and steel plates clicked against the wet ground.

**[Transaction validated. Host has gifted: Tactical Combat Vest (Grade B) x1.]**

**[Calculating Multiplier based on Negative Absolute Trust (-10%) and Carrier Resonance State...]**

**[System Error: Value Overflow. Hard Cap Enforced.]**

**[100x Platinum Rebate Triggered!]**

**[Reward granted: Passive Ability — 'Lurker Camouflage' (Permanent)]**

**[Reward granted: High-Frequency Combat Knife (Vibrational Blade)]**

A sudden, freezing wave of numbness washed over my skin. It felt like my pores were closing, my body temperature dropping a fraction of a degree until my very scent and biological signature vanished from the air.

At the same time, a sleek, tactical sheath materialized onto my belt. Inside was a knife with a dark, matte-gray blade that hummed with a microscopic, high-frequency vibration, cutting through the falling raindrops before they could even touch the metal.

The moment the rebate cleared, the Lurkers moved.

But they didn't move toward me. Thanks to the *Lurker Camouflage*, I had effectively become a ghost to them. Their blind heads snapped entirely toward Sarah. The faint blue light emitting from her eyes seemed to drive them into a frenzy. A massive Lurker, its torso thick with scarred, pale muscle, lunged forward with a sickening screech, its clawed hands extended to tear her open.

"Get away from her!"

I brought the shotgun up, my left shoulder screaming in protest as I braced the stock against my chest. I activated *Perception Acceleration*.

The world ground to a screeching halt. The lunging Lurker hung frozen in mid-air, its jagged teeth inches away from Sarah's face. The individual droplets of rain formed a glassy, suspended curtain around us.

I pulled the trigger.

*Boom!*

The orange flash of the Dragon's Breath shell illuminated the frozen alleyway. The roaring torrent of white-hot magnesium fire tore through the suspended rain, hitting the lead Lurker square in the flank. The high-explosive payload detonated on impact, blowing the creature into a cloud of burning ash and bone fragments that drifted lazily through the slowed air.

Without lowering the weapon, I racked the slide. *Clack-clack.* Another orange shell chambered.

I pivoted, tracking two more Lurkers that were mid-leap from the brick walls. *Boom! Boom!* Two more explosions of blinding fire ripped through the alley, turning the monsters into falling, igniting meteors.

My perception snapped back to normal speed. The sudden rush of real-time sound and gravity hit me like a physical blow. The concussive blasts echoed off the high-rises, shattering the remaining windows of the upper floors.

Three monsters were dead, burning in the mud, but four more were already taking their place, crawling over the charred remains of their pack. My shotgun only had two shells left in the tube.

"Ethan..."

A hand grabbed my ankle.

I flinched, looking down. It was Sarah. The blue light in her eyes had faded, replaced by a dull, dead gray. The rigid spasms had stopped, but her skin was deathly pale, and dark, violet veins were pulsing violently along her neck and jawline. She was breathing in ragged, shallow gasps, her fingers clutching my boot with a terrifying, unnatural strength.

"They aren't... they aren't trying to eat me," she whispered, her teeth chattering so hard a sliver of blood ran down her chin. "They're trying to fetch me. Like... like dogs."

The Remaining Lurkers stopped their advance again. They circled us, their pale bodies tense, their sightless faces fixed entirely on Sarah. They were waiting.

"Can you control them?" I asked, my voice dropping to a low, demanding whisper as I kept the shotgun leveled at the nearest beast.

"No," she wept, her eyes wide with horror as she looked at her own hands, where the dark veins were spreading beneath her nails. "But they're waiting for the one who commands them. He's coming, Ethan. He's coming across the rooftops."

A heavy, booming thud echoed from the roof of the Daewoo Labo van right behind us, denting the metal cabin with a loud, structural groan.

I didn't look back. I didn't need to. The system interface in front of my eyes turned a violent, weeping black.

**[Warning: District Boss Detected.]**

**[Identity: The Alpha Lurker (Gwanak-Mapo Broodmother).]**

**[Host Threat Level: Extreme Danger. Combat Survival Rate: 2%.]**

A long, skinless arm, ending in four jagged, scythe-like blades instead of fingers, slowly dropped down from the roof of the van, hovering right beside my ear.