Crimson Flesh Veins
The cleanup of the dark red flesh masses proceeded quickly. Night watches, meal duties, church defenses, and inspections—all handled.
Thwack. Thwack. "Urgh, is it really okay to do it like this?"
"Yeah."
First, I had Jeong Dojin drill a small hole in the back door's ice shield. After an hour of swinging the pickaxe nonstop, a hole big enough for a person to pass through appeared.
"From now on, just watch this spot."
I assigned night watches in pairs of two. The main gate was excluded for now—one at the back door guard room, and one on the second floor with a clear view of it. If anything happened, the one upstairs could yell and trigger an immediate response.
As I watched Jeong Dojin raise the pickaxe again, Jeong Suhyun sighed and grumbled.
"Two shifts. Even back at the factory, we never did two shifts. Sigh..."
"No choice. We're short on people. Better safe than sorry, right?"
"True, but I wonder if it'll actually work."
The six-hour night watches were paired man/woman, man/woman: Jeong Suhyun with Choi Yuri, Jeong Dojin with Kim Yunjin. Humans being humans, no one could really stay alert for a full six hours, so we planned to do visible work during the day in open sightlines. But that was just the basics—the real watches would happen at night under Jeong Suhyun's orders, so pairing them up was mostly for show.
Kim Yunjin, who'd been watching the back door hole being made, raised a question.
"...Boss. Wouldn't it be better to pair Yuri and Dojin? They're a couple."
"No."
I added that couples might slack on watch, and she nodded immediately.
"Ah..."
Choi Yuri and Jeong Dojin nodded in understanding too. Jeong Suhyun... well, he looked indifferent no matter who he was paired with.
"I'll try to bring back people as soon as possible. Ideally, a base too. Might not be back for a few days," I said, immediately preparing to head out.
My target: Northdong Station. Supplies: two days' emergency rations, pickaxe, and map. That's it.
As I packed, Jeong Suhyun spoke up.
"Isn't that dangerous?"
"What could go wrong? Even those tattooed bastards haven't shown up."
Two days had passed with no remnants, so something must've gone wrong with the tattooed guys' crew. This outing had multiple purposes, but mainly checking what happened on the road to Northdong Station and southward. Rescuing survivors was secondary.
"Besides, you'll handle the church fine, right, Suhyun?"
"What am I, some big shot..."
As I'd said before, I delegated all the chores like meals and cleaning to Jeong Suhyun. I handled external ops, he handled internal, so he had plenty to do. Plus, with his abilities, he'd basically run domestic affairs from now on.
In fact, he's basically the big boss inside.
His All-Seeing Eye was perfect for coordinating people indoors. Surveillance for the outside and status window viewing would be key for any base, so him taking charge inside was smart.
And with infrastructure sorted, his workload's even lighter now.
Really, just surveillance and internal cleanup. Sorting food and supplies, fetching water, wall repairs—that's it.
"Get along with everyone."
No need to tell him; he'd manage. He'd bonded with the new survivors in just a day, so two-shift life would be fine under him.
I headed for the hole. Kim Yunjin hurried over from beside it.
"Ah, leaving right now?"
"Yeah."
"Be careful, boss."
Every time she called me boss, it felt a bit off. But coming from her, it was kinda nice.
I'd even suspected her at first.
Two peaceful days proved she was fine. She cursed a lot, but got along with everyone, had good affinity. Carefree personality, avoided past talk—sharp instincts, rare traits.
I smiled at her. "Yeah. You too, Yunjin. Sorry to burden you if it's tough."
"Sure... Hey, why don't you go casual like with Suhyun?"
"Well..."
Casual speech. But it didn't fit my style. I hadn't even gone casual with Suhyun, my age peer after days together. Felt weird with others.
Plus, who knows when we'll part ways.
Honestly, getting close scared me. Too much attachment, and if they died... it'd hurt too much.
"Later, when we're closer."
"Aw... Fine. We'll handle watches and chores."
"Got it."
Least I could say that much. Once safety's secured, I could loosen up.
"Hm..."
Jeong Suhyun and Jeong Dojin's stares from the side were getting annoying.
"Hey, what're you looking at?"
"Nothing, just watching Yunjin-noona hit on the boss... Ow."
"When the hell did I?"
"No, Suhyun-hyung, you saw it."
Jeong Dojin whined to Jeong Suhyun after Kim Yunjin smacked him. Jeong Suhyun sighed.
"Dojin, look behind you at Yuri."
"Gah!"
But he just pointed as Choi Yuri's sharp glare hit him too.
I chuckled at their camaraderie and turned.
"I'm off. When I return, I'll always have two Ice Spears floating overhead—confirm by that."
"Got it."
"Take care!"
Amid their send-off, I sidled to Jeong Suhyun.
"Suhyun. They look fine on the surface, but take good care."
"I know. I'll manage."
"Good."
"Yeah. More important things anyway."
He knew about the trio's states too. Lost parents, friends, suffered here. Acting cheerful now, but time bombs ready to blow. "Fine" could rot inside...
Sorry to burden him with their mental health, but he'd handle it better than me.
"I'm going."
"Yeah."
I nodded to him and stepped out the back door.
Thud!
Immediately summoned a new ice shield to seal it.
"!!!!!"
Commotion inside, but I'd be gone up to a week—safety first. Leaving a person-sized hole? Asking for trouble. If I brought survivors back to dead insiders, pointless.
If they come early, just pierce with Ice Spear.
I could break it anytime. Glancing back, people on the second floor waved.
Whoosh.
I waved back and turned. Worried, but not their parent—my limit reached. My job: bases, food, safety—external stuff.
Or not.
Truth: too lazy even if I could. Sink-or-swim attitude. Selfish as I was, couldn't micromanage everything.
Lost in thoughts, I followed the road behind Our Love Church. Sealed rich villas lined it.
Step step.
One-way street or good security—unlike Northdong's chaotic downtown, damage was light. They'd evacuated fast post-apocalypse or hunkered inside.
Few cars, little blood... no bodies.
Even zombies scarce. My Happiness Villa was apocalypse hell; people with means fared better.
Maybe more survivors than expected.
Good—rally them for Seoul escape, snag more able survivors for our base.
But crossing the rich zone changed everything.
Swoosh.
What the...
Arriving at Northdong's south edge—mixed-use complexes near the station, old downtown—the city's vibe flipped 180 degrees.
Hell...
I rubbed my eyes. Unbelievable sight.
Whiiiish.
Chilly wind through downtown. Roads dyed dark red like apocalypse direct hit. Collapsed buildings same hue, cars buried in flesh clumps as wreckage.
And.
This is...
Squelch.
Ground covered in vein-like flesh masses. Like human remnants lasered in some space war, skinned husks. Touching one burst it like a balloon—spread everywhere like grass. Even daytime, dark red evoked hell on earth.
Damn.
Looking up: flesh clung to second-floor-plus walls, writhing like thousands of red worms.
I grimaced, approached a nearby building.
What happened here.
Pop. Pop.
Stepping crushed stuck flesh, splattering blood.
Unsettled, I scanned around.
.....
Another oddity: zombies common above church? None here. No human or zombie corpses at all. Like absorbed into the flesh.
Squelch.
Closer to building, traces clear. Fishy stench from flesh clumps I'd smelled before.
Scraaaape.
I scraped flesh off a storefront door with the pickaxe. Wanted to see how this happened, what became of people and zombies.
Graaate.
Flesh peeled easily. Revealed "Yu Dong Supermarket" sign. Small mart then...
Graaate.
Blood obscured it. Kept scraping.
Exposed the door. Peering in: trashed interior, white skeleton slumped at counter.
Skeleton? Hold up.
I froze, scanned inside.
Those remnants?
Not seventh fragment—no moisture. That one was territorial beast, huge. Not city-center scale.
Then flesh-strippers who dump human meat outside.
High odds, but no sub-quest update on fragment spotted.
Damn it.
Creeeak. Squelch.
Grimacing, slowly pried door with pickaxe. In this world, unknown meant check yourself—fight or ignore. Ignore wasn't an option. This road essential for Seoul escape.
Supermarket surprisingly intact. Fresh meats, veggies, dairy spoiled—but vacuum snacks, cans, fridge drinks like cola, frozen foods sat untouched.
But oddities galore.
Flesh completely stripped.
Walked to skeleton counter. Ripped clothes, bones pure white like meat meticulously carved off. Impossible naturally.
So these flesh masses are human meat?
Pristine unrotted bones. Gooey dark red flesh plastered everywhere.
Owner lost all skin and flesh somehow.
Meats untouched.
Perps ate only human flesh, or formed these masses from it.
Crack.
Like old convenience store and cafe, scraped wall with pickaxe. Noise echoed in quiet store.
Nothing?
No zombie or monster reaction. Thwack! Slammed display hard—same.
Already cleared out?
Squelch.
Plowed through floor flesh, circled inside. Maybe tactile or visual hunters.
Small neighborhood mart—done in under five minutes. No monsters, zombies, humans.
Four skeletons.
Just more like the counter one.
...I sighed, exited.
"Hoo..."
Thorough search yielded zilch. Monster attack? Easy conclusion. But too little info.
Couldn't scour entire flesh-infested downtown—too vast.
Clear boundary at rich zone edge.
Looking back: church road to old downtown divided sharply. Like territorial beast border, or Alaska/Scagengrennen seas—flesh didn't invade villas.
Limited options: scout spread like supermarket, pinpoint cause.
Unfolded map, plotted shortcut to Northdong Station.
This alley, or that one.
About 2km. No zombies—faster than villa/office. Under 30 minutes.
Hope something shows.
With that, stepped deeper into flesh-choked downtown.
Nothing emerged.
Squelch.
Every path flesh-covered. Dark red goo clung disgustingly to shoes, slippery—had to pry off with pickaxe each step.
Damn.
Map mismatches too: signs/walls flesh-eaten, lost bearings despite known routes.
Shit.
Veered right off one-way target.
Tch... Northhyang Hospital, there.
After wandering, spotted massive building—Northdong's biggest hospital. I'd visited for vaccines, issues. Huge, recognizable even flesh-coated.
What a mess...
Shape remained, but no different: parking lot, ambulances, entrance to sixth floor—all flesh-wrapped.
......
Squish.
Hospital had extra flesh. Patients, families, staff zombified and hit hard, probably.
Or something ate them all.
Hooo.
Eerie hospital in cold wind. Not my goal, no value lingering. Meds maybe later, but with Healer Kim Yunjin, no random pill-popping for non-docs.
Hope I never need to.
Circled Northhyang Hospital, gauged distance on map, back to Northdong Station road.
Squelch. Squelch.
Lapped around, back to target one-way: high apartment walls both sides, led straight to station—my and Suhyun's goal road.
Perfect ambush spot.
Scoured surroundings. Low ground unlike church villas—overhead attacks risky.
These damn flesh lumps.
Just filthy dark red flesh. No zombies, new monsters, or ability users as expected.
Squelch.
Only flesh-bursting underfoot. Alert everywhere, ready for Ice Spears—walked long without attack.
After 30 minutes down, crossed some line—flesh vanished cleanly.
Like beyond their turf: gone past one apartment wall.
And "Grraaaaaah."
Familiar zombie face soon after.
Zombies start here.
Zombies meant hiders nearby—clear methodically.
Thwack!
Raised pickaxe, smashed wrecked car body nearby. Loud clang—distant hidden zombies reacted.
"Kreeeeeeek!"
Unknown spots, zombies charged madly.
Over ten.
Decent numbers. But not villa-era me flinching at a few.
"Ice Spear."
Boom! Splaaash!
Two summoned spears exploded nearest zombies' torsos.
Backpedaled slowly, cast more.
"Ice Shield."
Thud! Crunch!
Six zombies flattened and burst on shield.
Four left.
"Ice Spear."
Boom! "Kieeeek!"
Two leaping car—heads gone.
Rolling bodies.
"Ice Spear."
Miss—next zombie used corpses as shield, spear glanced off.
Tch...
Long time no fight—sloppy. Raised pickaxe to widen gap; female zombie weaker, space for spear follow-up.
"Kieeek!"
Huh?
"Ki-ek?"
Zombie charged, halted at 2m like realizing something. Froze robotically.
What?
Patpatpat!
Then bypassed me like unseen, fled into alley. Vanished behind car.
Huh.
Turned instantly. Why flee? Nothing predatory or zombie-chasing behind.
What then.
Zombie scared of me? No—these brainless idiots charge any human.
Wait...
Scanned around. Realized one fact.
Looked at ground, walls.
My spot: dark red flesh territory.
Zombie fled to: flesh-free zone.
"Something to it."
Lifted flesh with pickaxe. Zombie avoided like forbidden zone, death trap.
Why am I fine?
Turned back. Flesh-dyed blood world.
Passed through unscathed—hour without zombies, humans, monsters.
Weird.
Frowned. Dark red flesh and zombies—connected somehow?