Another Stranger

This made no sense.

I was clearly inside a webtoon world — so why the hell was my real-life friend standing right here?

But right now, questions could wait. The situation in front of me came first.

"KRAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!"

"KRAAAH!!!!"

"KRAAAAAAH!!!"

"KRAAAH!!!"

"KRAAAAAAAAH!!!"

"KRAAAH!!!"

"KRAAAAAH!!!!!"

The zombies Primitive Man had dragged in with the car. And more zombies pouring in from every direction, drawn by the crash.

If I ran, I lived.

If I ran, Primitive Man — who'd just scrambled back into the car — died. There was no way those cracked windows, already battered from the collision, would hold against that many zombies.

Then it appeared.

You absolute bastard…!!

A black quest.

Had that pervert of a god dragged my friend into this world just so he could suck my stats dry?!

"You fucking piece of shit!!!!!!!!!"

"KRAAAAAH!!!"

"KRAAAH!!!!"

"KRAAAAAAH!!!"

"KRAAAH!!!"

I screamed and sprinted toward the crash site.

Not because I was afraid of the stat drop.

Because he was my friend.

A real friend — family, practically — who'd been with me for twenty of my twenty-six years on this earth.

"KRAAAAAH!!!"

"Get the hell out of my way, you bastard!!"

I swung the entrenching tool with a Strength stat that had climbed all the way to 6.

THWACK!!!!

I couldn't be sure it was dead, but the distance it flew told me everything — this was nothing like before.

And the Agility that had been stuck at 3 was now up to 5.

I could see it.

"KRAAAAAH!!!"

"KRAH!!"

"KRAAAAAH!!"

"KRAAAH!!"

And I could move through it.

Through the gaps between the zombies.

Tap! Tak!!

Like peak Messi weaving past defenders, I slipped through four zombies in a blink.

Once I hit the open road, I bellowed again at the top of my lungs.

"Over here! You sons of bitches!!!!!"

"KRAAAAAAAH!!!"

"KRAAAH!!!"

"KRAAAAA!!!"

"KRAAAAAAH!!!!"

"KRAAAH!!!"

"KRAH!!"

"KRAAAAAAH!!"

"KRAAAAA!!"

"KRAAAAAAAAH!!!!"

Every zombie swarming the crash site — and every one already chasing me — locked onto my voice.

Thirty more meters and I'd reach one of the two mixed-use apartment towers.

But I spun around and ran the other way — toward the eight-lane road where the densest mass of zombies was pouring in.

Thud! Thud-thud!!

I smashed heads with the entrenching tool as I ran, then scrambled up onto the railing.

The railing along the stairs that led down toward Gongdeok Station.

"KRAAAAAH!!!"

"KRAH!!"

"KRAAA!!"

"KRAAAAAAH!!!"

"KRAAAAA!!!"

"Oh, for fuck's…!!"

I'd planned to jump down the stairs if there weren't many zombies. But the ones climbing up from the subway station were no joke either.

I abandoned the idea of leaping down. The second I turned, zombie hands shot toward me — and I threw myself clear.

Grab!

Twitch— twitch— twitch— twitch—

Fuck, that was close…!

"Yeah! Right here, right here! Come kill me! Come eat me!!!"

"KRAAAH!!"

"KRAAA!!"

"KRAAAAAAH!!!"

"KRAAAAA!!!"

The zombies that had lost their prey howled with rage, thrashing their arms madly toward me as I clung to the tree.

"Hoo… fucking hell…"

A roadside tree planted to beautify the city had just saved my life.

No — mine and Primitive Man's both.

The zombies that had been swarming the crash site were now packing the street around this tree instead.

So now what?

I couldn't hang here forever. Sooner or later my arms would give out.

But diving into a solid carpet of zombies with nowhere to land wasn't an option either.

Somewhere to perch…

"……"

I craned my neck higher. A Y-shaped fork in the branches came into view.

Surely I wouldn't fall climbing up there… and the zombies wouldn't snap the tree, right?

About two hours later, the zombies were gone.

Not because I'd just sat still and waited them out.

After I'd safely reached the Y-fork, I used the entrenching tool to hack off nearby twigs and camouflage myself.

The leafiest branches I spread under my ass like a peacock's fan, blocking the view from below. The ones with a decent amount of foliage I held in my hands, clenched in my teeth, and jammed into every available gap to hide my body.

Two hours of absolute silence later, the zombies had scattered.

That didn't mean the area was clear. A casual glance still counted more than fifty. And when the wandering ones bunched up, the number easily topped a hundred.

So how was I supposed to get out of here?

Throw a branch at a car, set off the alarm, draw them away?

Impossible. Every car that had just been sitting there was dead now — batteries drained. The fact that Primitive Man's crash hadn't triggered a single alarm was proof enough.

"Ah. Right. The phone."

Before heading out, I'd grabbed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lee Yeonghun's phone just in case.

Whoa… a ton of missed calls.

The lock screen was already unlocked and the sound was on silent, so the group chat was still lighting up with messages. I typed one in.

I explained my situation, got a read on Yang Jaeyeol's, and we started putting a joint operation together.

It was an absurdly simple plan.

"Born as a sturdy! Son of the na-tion!!!!!!!"

Whoa… chills…

Even in a webtoon world, the military songs were identical…

I was going to be sick…

Apparently most of the zombies — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nearly all of them veterans — felt the same way. Their reaction was especially violent.

"KRAAAAAAAH!!!"

"KRAAAH!!!"

"KRAAAAA!!!"

"KRAAAAAAH!!!!"

"KRAAAH!!!"

"KRAAAH!!"

"KRAAAAAAH!!"

"KRAAAAA!!"

"KRAAAAAAAAH!!!!"

"We!! Burn our youth! Together! Bloom and wither! Cleanly!!! We are the! Mu-gung-hwa flower!!!!!!"

Zombies responding to Yang Jaeyeol's military song started surging toward him in a mass.

And was it just me, or did the male zombies look especially deranged about it?

Anyway, it wasn't far — the lure worked perfectly.

Thud-thud-thud—

Tak—

Branches rained down as I dropped to the ground. The second my feet hit, I stayed low and sprinted for the car with the completely crumpled front bumper.

(Hey, Primitive Man…!)

(Kang Juhan…! What the hell is going on…)

(Shut up and get out. Now.)

(Those things outside…)

(I said get out…! Or I'm leaving without you?!)

(I-I'm coming out right now…!! But is it safe…)

(Good job.)

(Hey…! Hey…!!!)

Of course it wasn't perfectly safe.

But the city was working in my favor. No matter which way you went, a building you could duck into was never ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more than a short dash away.

"KRAAAH!!!"

"Ugh!!"

"Duck."

I shoved Primitive Man's head down and swung. The entrenching tool buried itself in the side of a zombie's skull.

Shunk—

I yanked the tool free, blood dripping from the blade, and thrust it forward in the same motion.

THUNK!!

I left the shovel planted in its chest, crushed Primitive Man's head down hard, and launched myself up.

CRACK!!!

The zombie I'd kicked in the face toppled backward, conveniently pulling the entrenching tool free as it went. In that window I hauled Primitive Man into the real estate office and locked the door.

"Ju-Juhan…!"

"Quiet."

"KRAAAAAH!!"

"You too. Quiet."

I finished off the one zombie inside, crouched on the floor, and sent a message to the group chat.

Glass door, glass walls. But the phone numbers and the real estate agency name were stuck on in opaque film, so as long as we stayed crouched, nobody outside could see us.

"Whew…. Is that enough?"

"Huh…?"

"Wasn't talking to you."

The answer came right away.

Not as sound — as a message.

I skipped the black box I had zero expectations for and checked my Status Window first.

The Points field that had always shown a zero now read 50.

That was going to be extremely useful later.

Not that fifty points would buy me anything real just yet.

"Hey…! Explain already…! What the hell is all this…!! And you…"

"What? Scared of me now 'cause I'm a murderer?"

"Th-that's not what I meant…!!"

"Then you first. Why the hell are you even here? And what's with the look? A suit? On you?"

"I was on my way to a job interview, okay…! But I still had a long way to go and I was so damn sleepy I closed my eyes for a second on the subway — and when I opened them I was holding a steering wheel?! Not even my car! I don't even own a car!"

"Did you fall asleep reading a webtoon? A zombie webtoon. Title's… Humanity of the Ruined World."

"What are you talking about? You know I don't read webtoons. Reading puts me to sleep."

"Ah…"

My friend Primitive Man — no, Won Gihun — didn't read webtoons.

And yet he was inside the same webtoon world as me.

"You ever leave a half-assed comment on a YouTube video?"

"What kind of bullshit is that…! Stop talking nonsense and just explain…!!!"

Pointless.

I'd already tried telling O Jihye, just in case.

That this was the world of a webtoon I'd been reading. That some pervert of a god had dragged me here out of pure bad luck.

But just like when I'd tried to talk about personal quests, my voice wouldn't come out and I couldn't write it down either.

So what was this?

"So you're saying this is a webtoon…?"

"You just heard what I said, right?"

"Yeah, I heard you! We got pulled into a webtoon! Because of some pervert god!"

"……"

What? Why could I say it to Gihun?

Because he was in the same position as me?

Then… were there more people like us who'd been dragged in?

If so, the story I knew could completely unravel.

I'd already kept Yang Jaeyeol from going dark when he was supposed to.

What if someone else ran into the protagonist's party?

No — what if they already had?

"Ah… my head…!"

"Why? Are you hurt?? Or w-wait, don't tell me…"

"KRAAAH!!"

"WAAAH!!!"

"Just kidding."

"You crazy bastard!!"

"Shh. Zombies incoming."

"You be quiet…!!"

I'd think about all that later.

Priorities first.

Back to the sauna.

Then take O ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Jihye and Yang Jaeyeol's group and move to that mixed-use apartment complex.

Ah, right.

The Random Box first.

Please don't be another cursed die.

If it is, I'll just throw it away.

Thud—

Well. That was unexpected.

"Wh-what is that…?"

"What does it look like? Exactly what it looks like."

Something I never saw coming had popped out of the black box.

And it looked like it was going to be seriously useful.

And come to think of it — that could work too.

Inside the tiny real estate office, a red object in the corner snagged my eye.

I picked up the phone and started typing a new operation into the group chat.

Does that guy only know military songs?

He'd been belting them out all day.

"This beau-tiful! Land we protect…! We are men! With spi-rit! We live to-day-!!!!"

While Yang Jaeyeol sang military songs from the roof of a delivery truck, luring zombies, I moved like hell.

And now the prep work was done.

Time for the final plan.

"Let's go."

"Yes."

"Ready."

"Let's move."

"Kids…! Young man…! Be careful out there!"

"Don't you dare die — make it there!"

"Don't forget about us here!!"

Under the aunties' fretting and cheers, we left the sauna.

I climbed the stairs, glanced left and right at Kim Jaemin and Lee Yeonghun crouched low on either side of me, and nodded.

They locked eyes with each other, nodded back, and vaulted up the stairs at the same time.

PWOOOOOOSH!!!

PWOOOOOOSH!!!

A hell of a racket, and white powder blasting in every direction.

That's right — fire extinguishers.

A whole stockpile of them, scavenged from the commercial building that housed the sauna and the real estate office.

The white powder blanketed everything like thick fog, blinding the zombies in an instant — but not my eyes. Not with Enhanced Vision.

Clang! Clang! Clang!!

Thwack!! Clang! Clatter-clang—

Of the two empty extinguishers Kim Jaemin and Lee Yeonghun hurled, one got lucky and smashed a zombie square in the face.

I reached toward that spot.

Grab!

I seized Yang Jaeyeol's wrist as he burst through the white powder, spun, and started running.

The path wasn't safe. But this much, we could handle.

"Single Blow!!"

"You really don't have to say it out loud."

"It looks cooler this way!"

"Kegh!! Kegh…!!"

"You too — snap out of it."

"Yes…!!"

"KRAAAAAH!!"

"KRAAAH!!"

"Go, Jaeyeolmon!"

"Go, Mingumon!"

While Yang Jaeyeol and Park Mingu swung their machete and hand axe at the charging zombies, I burst out between them and swung the entrenching tool myself.

CRACK!!!

As the zombie's skull split, Kim Jaemin and Lee Yeonghun shot past on either side, grabbed fire extinguishers from the real estate office they'd already reached, and started spraying in every direction.

PWOOOOOOSH!!!

PWOOOOOOSH!!!

Like smoke grenades, the powder bought us a few seconds of blindness — but sprinting blind was still suicide.

Unless, of course, you were carrying the right thing.

Thud!! Thud-thud!! CRACK!!!

Gihun charged through the white haze with the riot shield up front, bowling over every zombie he hit.

We followed in his wake. The emptied extinguishers were recharged by Han Nari almost as fast as we used them.

"Here!"

"Inventory…!"

"That's insane?!"

The second she pulled extinguishers from her Inventory and set them down, Kim Jaemin and Lee Yeonghun snatched them up and started spraying again.

I grabbed one too.

BOOM! Boom-boom!!

I stomped deliberately loud, climbed onto a car roof, and roared.

"OVER HERE!!!!!!!!!"

Every zombie immediately wheeled toward me.

The rest of the group was hidden behind the extinguisher powder — right now, the only visible prey was me.

But I was already moving.

While I ran across the tangled car roofs, yelling to keep the zombies locked on me, the others used the extinguisher powder to clear a path and started advancing.

With Gihun and the shield leading, even a chance encounter with zombies wasn't a problem.

Gihun knocked them down, Yang Jaeyeol or Park Mingu finished the ones on the ground, and everyone else just waddled along behind like ducklings.

And just like when I'd gone to rescue Gihun, the distance was short.

They were already crossing the four-lane road and entering the mixed-use apartment complex.

Alright. My turn.

PWOOOOOOSH!!!!!

I dumped the entire extinguisher and leapt off the car roof.

I didn't need a shield.

I could see just fine.

"KRAH!! KRAAAH!!"

"KRAAAAAH!!!"

While thrashing zombies collided and started tearing chunks out of each other, I slipped past them and entered the apartment complex from a different direction than the group.

And right then —

I had no choice but to look up.

A loud voice was ringing out across the grounds.

"Over here!! Come this way!!"

"……"