Chain Reaction

The zombies' aggression and activity levels had definitely dropped, just like the quest reward promised.

It wasn't a dramatic, night-and-day shift, but even on a night when they should have been stronger and more ferocious, the change was noticeable enough that once the sun came up, everyone would feel it for sure.

Of course, actually sensing that difference right now still required a certain baseline of stats to back it up.

"KRAAAAGH!!!"

"Ugh..!"

"Jincheol!"

"No! Don't shoot!!"

"But..!"

Sigh... How the hell did people with stats like that even make it all the way to the hospital?

I had no choice but to turn back.

I wasn't obligated to help them, but they looked like they had some serious story behind them, and walking away just felt wrong.

More than that, though, I was interested in the guns they were carrying.

CRUNCH!!!!

I smashed the skull of the zombie that had been locked in a struggle over one of the guns, then grabbed the man who was glaring at me by the collar.

"Follow me."

"You...!"

"KRAAAAGH!!!"

"KRAAAGH!!!"

"KRAAAAAAGH!!!"

Even with their aggression and activity dialed down, this still wasn't the kind of street where you could casually stand around chatting.

Fortunately, most of the nearby zombies had already swarmed toward the hospital, and the ones chasing us weren't particularly persistent, so we managed to slip into a safe spot without too much trouble.

The problem was how these people reacted once we got there.

WHOOSH!

THUD!!!

The second we were clear, they slammed me hard against the wall and jammed a gun barrel in my face.

"Why did you do that?! Why the hell!!!!"

"......"

"What the hell is this?!"

"Put that gun down. Now."

Suho's spear and Jaeyeol's machete pressed in against either side of the screaming man's neck, and the rest of their group immediately swung their muzzles toward Suho and Jaeyeol in turn.

It was a powder keg of a situation—but if they were going to shoot, they would have done it already.

I'd been standing out in the open on top of a car right in front of the hospital with nowhere to dodge, after all.

CLANG! CLANG!!

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠let go of Mook. The heavy steel rod hit the ground with a racket that filled the tense space.

I slowly raised both hands and pushed Suho's spear and Jaeyeol's machete down. The guns pointed at us lowered in response.

The man in front of me, though, still had his barrel trained on my head.

"Jincheol.."

"Jincheol-ssi.."

"AAAAAAARGH!!!!!"

"......"

At his companions' voices, the man let out a raw, broken scream, dropped both arms holding the gun, and collapsed to his knees on the floor.

"Damn it..! Damn it...!!! Why the hell did you do that... Why!!!!!!"

"......"

A full-grown adult sobbed like a child, tears pouring down ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his face, and we held our breath and listened to their story.

That was how we learned it.

How a survivor group calling itself the resistance had come to form in the first place.

In the webtoon, almost everything was told from the protagonist and his party's point of view, so this was the first time even I was hearing any of it.

Right. There had to be a reason they'd ended up trading gunfire with the soldiers.

National Assembly Temporary Control Room.

The place that was supposed to calmly and steadily manage every situation was instead ringing with the furious shouts of angry people.

"We did everything you told us to!! My daughter can't hold on any longer!!!!!"

"Just give us a few days' worth!! Why are you making this so hard for everyone?!"

"When the hell is the rescue ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠operation even happening?! We've run out of food at home—we're surviving on water alone!!"

"Screaming in here won't change anything. Go back and wait. If you need medicine, go to the clinic and get it issued."

"That medicine isn't here!!! She needs a blood transfusion!! You said if we did what you told us, you'd secure the hospital safely!!"

"So why the hell do I need your permission to take the medicine I risked my life to bring back with a gun in my hand!! Give me my medicine!!! I brought it for my son, not so those pig bastards—congressmen or whatever the hell they are—could eat it!!!"

"What about my family?! Are you doing this because they're not your family?!!"

"Then handle it yourselves!! Why the hell are you coming here and throwing a fit?!!!"

Even the soldier who had been trying to stay calm finally snapped.

He didn't have any real authority—he was just following orders from above—and every single day people came in screaming and cursing him out.

"If any of you come back here and cause another scene, I'm locking every last one of you up. Anyone who wants that can stay. Everyone else, get the hell out. Please!"

"......"

"......"

"......"

"......"

With the soldiers inside and outside the temporary control room leveling their guns, the people who had been shouting had no choice but to turn around and leave.

They knew it too.

Coming here and yelling wouldn't change a thing.

Even so, they had to raise their voices somehow.

Because it was for their families.

"Jincheol.. How's Soyeong..?"

"It's really bad now. She can't hold on any longer."

"Huuu.... This is insane..!"

Kim Soyeong, the daughter of Kim Jincheol—one of the men who had been shouting—suffered from an extremely rare disease.

The exact name was transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia.

It was a genetic disorder that required lifelong blood transfusions to replenish red blood cells. Without them, hemochromatosis set in, complications followed, and eventually it killed you.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Stem cell transplants and somewhat proven treatments existed, but even the medicine alone cost over three billion won.

For an ordinary person, that price was unthinkable, so lifelong transfusion therapy to keep extending life was the only real option.

But the transfusion window had already passed, and she still hadn't received treatment. Kim Jincheol's daughter Kim Soyeong was now in critical condition.

On top of that, Lee Dongsu's son—who had been shouting alongside him—had congenital diabetes and needed insulin one way or another. Even insulin, which was relatively easy to obtain, was hard to get issued.

It was being prioritized for high-ranking officials who had developed diabetes from living too well, rather than for patients who actually needed it like Lee Dongsu's son.

And those weren't the only grievances people had.

In the end, they reached this conclusion.

"I'm going to save my daughter myself."

"What..? H-how?!"

"I'm going to the hospital myself and bringing back blood."

"Don't talk nonsense!"

"With a gun, there's nothing I can't do."

"That's the point—how do you get a gun?! You can't even look at one except during operations! And during operations the soldiers watch us more carefully than the zombies!"

"I know where they store the guns."

"Jincheol.. You..."

"If the soldiers won't do it, I was planning to do it myself. And we're out of time. If you want to stay here, hyung-nim, stay. No—please stay. It'll be better for Gyeongho and your wife that way. Outside is dangerous, after all."

"Wait! What are you talking about?! If you're going, we go together!"

"But...."

"Those pig bastards are going to eat all of Gyeongho's medicine eventually, and then he won't make it either. Better to get out and find a way to survive as soon as possible."

That night, the survivor group gathered around Kim Jincheol and Lee Dongsu took advantage of the lax security at dawn, seized firearms, and escaped the National Assembly.

In the original scenario that never appeared in the webtoon, Kim Jincheol's daughter Kim Soyeong, Lee Dongsu's wife and son, and many others would have been shot dead by soldiers during the escape.

That was how they were supposed to become the resistance opposing the military. But because of the story Kang Juhan had twisted that morning—and the church people who had joined as a result—not a single casualty occurred during the escape.

"Let us pray!!"

"What kind of prayer is this at this hour?! Everyone else is sleeping, so please keep it down!"

"Do not interrupt our dawn prayer!!"

"Do not interrupt!!"

"Just ignore them and pray!"

"If you don't disperse immediately, we will use force!"

"Aigoo! Soldiers pointing guns at civilians!"

"What did we even do wrong!!!"

"Look over here!! The soldiers are oppressing us so we can't even pray! Is this right?!!"

How the story that was cascading like dominoes would unfold from here was still unknown.

Whether the rage of the people who should have become the resistance would turn on Kang Juhan's group for burning down the hospital, or whether an entirely different tale would be written.

After hearing their story, the mood turned somber.

Especially toward Kim Jincheol, who had finished a call with his daughter in a weak, drained voice—everyone felt sorry.

"I'm so sorry... We really had no idea..."

"We thought that place was a zombie Spawning Ground.. and there was a quest to destroy it...."

"What do we do..."

"Ah! We brought some things with us! You might need something, so...."

"Do you have blood?"

"......"

Nari, who had been raising her voice like she was about to dump everything in her inventory right then and there, hung her head at Kim Jincheol's question.

Then Gihun's voice cut in.

At times like this, just stay quiet.

What kind of nonsense is he about to spout now...

"Are you and your daughter different blood types?"

"Huuu... Why are you asking that?"

"Well, in movies and dramas, people do direct transfusions in emergencies, right? I figured if you just give her blood that way, it might work."

"......"

"He's right! Jincheol, what's your blood type?! What about Soyeong's?!"

"It won't work."

"What??"

"I asked a doctor. He said that method is dangerous and not allowed."

"Ah...."

Not allowed?

Just because it's dangerous?

You've got to be kidding me.

"You have to take that level of risk."

"Don't say it so casually..! My daughter's life is—"

Honestly, I don't want to get any more involved than this.

I just want to take all those guns and go back to the shelter.

But watching a father give up because it was "dangerous" while his young daughter was dying made me angry.

"That's exactly why. You have to save her. You said she'll die without blood, right? And you're not going to do it just because it's dangerous?"

"Hey..! Kang Juhan...!!"

"......"

"You stole guns and broke out of the National Assembly, and you came all the way here—those were life-or-death risks. If you die, your daughter dies too. You took those risks, but you won't take the risk of giving her your blood? Do you actually want to save your daughter?!"

"Stop it, you bastard..!!"

"Let go! This is frustrating as hell!"

"R-right now...."

"......"

"......"

"Right now, even if I wanted to give her blood.. I can't...."

"What the hell does that mean?!"

"I don't know how.. to do it... You can't just draw it with a syringe and give it to her!"

That, at least, was true.

A father who had spent a lifetime watching his daughter receive transfusions would know roughly how to administer blood from a pack, but drawing blood and transfusing it was a completely different problem.

"Ah, this is driving me crazy..! I'm not even this kind of character normally..!!"

"Oppa..!"

"Please help!"

"She's only seven years old!"

"Hyung!!"

"Juhan!!"

If you all say it like that, I have no choice but to help!!

Even if it's just for the stat points.

But +1? Seriously?

How cheap can you get..!

A white quest—first one in a while—led me straight to the National Assembly.

But why was the security this tight?

Ah. Those guys stole guns and ran, so of course it would be.

Not that it could stop me.

THUD!!

"Who's there?!"

"Freeze! Hands up! Move and I shoot!"

At the heavy sound of something hitting the grass, the soldiers swung their flashlights and gun barrels toward it and began creeping forward. I used that opening to vault the wall in a flash.

THWACK!! THUD!!!

I brought the heel of my fist down on a helmet, then drove a punch deep into the solar plexus of the soldier spinning around behind me.

"Just take a little nap. I'll be right back."

I stripped the magazines from the two unconscious soldiers, packed them tight into a magazine pouch, and tossed the whole belt over the wall. Then I stripped them bare, bound their hands and feet with their own uniforms, and left them.

I considered putting one of the uniforms on myself, but figured that would only make me stand out more. So I just grabbed Mook from where I'd tossed it a short distance away and walked straight into the Members' Hall like I owned the place.

They wouldn't bother patrolling all the way over to where other sentries were posted, after all.

Sliiiide—

Just as I'd expected, no one was guarding the door.

"Medical office is Room 213.. Need to go up to the second floor."

Outside, security was airtight. Inside, it was dead silent.

Soldiers, congressmen, doctors, and a whole crowd of civilians were packed in here, yet it was this quiet because the gun theft had put everyone's movements under total lockdown.

No one was allowed out of their designated areas.

The only people free to move around were the sentries on duty and the patrol units.

I knew all this because I'd asked Suho's group, who had crossed over to the National Assembly that morning.

They'd sent me a text laying out the entire situation inside the Assembly, neat and clear.

Click—

There were soldiers patrolling the building interior, but they weren't searching the whole massive structure, so I just stayed reasonably hidden and made it to my destination: the medical office.

Sliiiide—

I opened the door and quickly scanned the interior.

The examination desk was empty. The few hospital beds were each fully enclosed by curtains on all sides.

The military doctor was behind one of those curtains.

But if I opened the wrong one and found someone else lying there, things could get messy fast.

I couldn't exactly choke out or knock unconscious someone who was already lying there sick.

Step— Step— Step—

Footsteps leaked into the quiet medical office, but I didn't pay them any mind.

A patrolling soldier wouldn't bother checking inside the medical office itself...

Click—

They were checking?!!

I dove into the nearest curtained bed as fast as I could.

Then I clamped a hand over the mouth of the person who bolted upright in shock and pushed them back down onto the bed.

I lay on top of them, body covering theirs.

Don't tell me this is another one of God's planned schemes too?!

"......"

"Ah, hey..?"

"......"

With their mouth covered, no answer was coming.

Instead, the murderous glare boring into me said everything.

I'm going to kill you for sure.

"Eunseol.. You awake..?"

What? It wasn't a soldier—it was you, Baek Sihyeon?!

And for the love of—take it easy, you perverted bastard!!!!!!