13. Underground Mall (1)
13. Underground Mall (1)
I dumped Han Min-woo's corpse out, just like I did with Kim Min-jun's before.
I left it somewhere visible on the hillside, so the Infected that catch the scent during the day will come and chew it up.
Hic
I calmed Seo-yoon, who was still hiccuping, and explained what had happened.
The 6 looters and 2 women at Eunha High School.
And the 12 men who headed for the Underground Mall—Green Fresh Market.
Han Min-woo and the information he brought. Plus, the information that came from the women.
"...So there's a shelter. At Cheongju Elementary School."
"That's right. And there's some kind of superpower or magic there, too. Well, that much is certain now. Since that guy developed an ability."
"That eating the blood of the Infected gives you superpowers."
"Exactly."
"But I didn't. And, um, oppa didn't either."
"That's true."
I was covered in some weird substance.
Seo-yoon was just at home when it suddenly happened.
But there was evidence.
"He's the proof. It seems like if you get infected, you develop a superpower."
There was nothing else it could be.
If I had to guess, that was the only answer.
"But then, what about the people who turned into Infected?"
"They must have mutated because they weren't compatible. The Nexus Core displayed a compatibility rating, remember?"
It feels like some kind of biological weapon from a movie.
Those who aren't compatible beyond a certain threshold all turn into zombies, and those above that get a new power? That kind of feeling?
"...Isn't that a bit too movie-like?"
"But it makes sense, doesn't it? If you get infected, you get a superpower; if you can't develop a superpower, you become a monster. Sounds plausible, right?"
"I guess so, but... ugh."
"Well, like you said, it's not certain. We'll need to get more information to be sure. Of course, even if we find out, there's nothing we can really change."
Lee Seo-yoon makes a tearful face as she looks at the blood flowing in a stream.
Because the blood and brain matter that flowed from Han Min-woo's head had soaked the floor.
"Then is the world of ability users coming now?"
"I suppose so."
Even if it's slow, it'll come eventually.
No matter how much the Infected fly and crawl, they're bound to die in front of modern firearms.
Of course, it won't be the civilization we knew.
I don't know.
It'll probably sort itself out on its own.
"Um..."
"Why? Did someone come?"
"No. Nothing, other than being startled by the gun."
"Okay. Then why?"
"Then what should we do now?"
'We,' huh.
It hasn't even been three days since we met, and it's already come to this.
There are three places to go.
Green Fresh Market, where there's a Variant Infected.
Mirae Middle School, which is connected to the underground mall leading to Green Fresh Market, where the women were taken from.
And finally, Cheongju Elementary School, where there's information about superpowers and a Healing ability user.
"Those women... you said they came from Mirae Middle School, right?"
"Yeah."
And that place isn't exactly a good spot. A place where men have drastically decreased and only women have increased.
I don't know what the situation is, but seeing them send women, who are less efficient, out as a search party, it's safe to say it's not a normal group.
"What are you going to do about the women?"
"What do you mean, what am I going to do? Just leave them be. They'll figure it out."
As for me, I'll just stop by there and grab some food for us to eat.
We still need food.
"Um, shouldn't we also... make a group or something?"
"What about food? Should we loot like Eunha High? Or do you know how to farm?"
"...I guess that's true."
"Let's say we tell them how to get abilities. Would they believe it? Even if they did, is there any guarantee those people would follow us?"
"But you're the one who saved them. Wouldn't they follow you?"
"This is a world where people get killed for no reason just because they're ugly, or because they don't listen. Well, I guess it's possible. If we threatened them with your ability. You wouldn't like that, right?"
But the answer was different.
"...If it's possible, shouldn't we do it?"
"Well. That's a good idea, but it's on hold for now. You said it only lasts an hour, right? Well, if there was an ability user who could spit out food on command, that'd be different. For now, let's just leave them to live there and scavenge whatever food they have. If that place gets raided, we'll track them down."
It's using them as a kind of bait.
"Okay. Then, are you going to that place that's doing the rescue?"
"No."
But that didn't mean I was going straight to Cheongju Elementary either.
I know right now that Kim Min-jun's 37th Division is wrecked.
Over 90% died, and the remaining personnel were disbanded in Cheongju and Daejeon respectively.
Seoul fell on the first day, and Seongnam was breached too. They say there's still some military left... but it's highly likely they're in another region.
And they're already clearing out Infected and doing rescue operations?
"...Now that I think about it, that doesn't make sense."
"Exactly. But I have to verify it."
Of course, the details will only be resolved once I go to Cheongju Elementary.
Therefore.
"First, I'm going to level this up. The Nexus Core."
"...Your superpower?"
"Yeah."
"...It's too much like a game. That it goes up when you kill Infected..."
"Yeah, it's fucked up."
What on earth does IN Company want?
Or did they not know about this either?
Maybe if I go to IN Company's headquarters or a branch later, I'll be able to find out. That'll be a long way off, though.
Anyway, with what I have right now, what I can do is... go through the underground mall and check out Green Fresh Market.
"While I'm at it, I'll get some information about Mirae Middle School too."
"...Okay."
"You can stay alone, right?"
"Yes."
"If you want to go, just tell me anytime."
I can protect her, but I can't protect her from the Infected.
I tossed her a magazine.
"Use this to shoot anyone if they show up."
"...Are you leaving right away?"
"No."
"What is that?"
"I have to watch for a day before I go."
#
February 9th, daytime.
I opened the window on the 4th floor of the villa.
Kkii-ik.
What I saw were Walkers and Runners passing by at quite a high speed, wondering when they had crawled over.
The ones tearing into the corpses of Kim Min-jun's gang down the hill, the ones gathered in front, mindlessly banging their heads against the wall.
And even the ones heading somewhere.
However.
'It's definitely different from the night.'
Unlike at night, they are much more active.
Unlike the ones at night, which you can avoid if you don't provoke them, the daytime Infected are unavoidable.
It's like they're wild animals constantly hunting for food.
'Are they living organisms?'
Do they perform life functions then?
They say they eat organic matter. Do they poop or pee too?
Then reproduction. Do they have sex too? How do they mate, and if there's no food, do they starve to death too?
'I am curious, though.'
"...Why are you like that?"
"Just wondering how they move."
"...You're right. They're similar to zombies, but what they do is different. The types are different, too."
"More importantly, why did you wake up?"
"Just because. I can't sleep. Maybe because I used to sleep at night back home."
"Get ready to change that. It's different when someone comes while you're sleeping versus when you're awake."
"Okayyy..."
Lee Seo-yoon acting cute.
Still, she's cute, so I let it slide.
"Then shall we do it once?"
"...Why does the conversation suddenly turn into that?"
Still, Lee Seo-yoon doesn't refuse.
Well, this was the condition of the deal, after all.
"No, just... take off my clothes."
"I'll take them off."
She shyly took off her clothes. I immediately approached her and bit her nipple with my tongue.
"Ugh."
Then, I lowered my face and smelled her pussy.
Immediately after that, I licked her pussy with my tongue.
Chup.
"Ugh. Ugh."
Now, she's a woman who feels it.
"You smell good. Is it because you washed well?"
"..Can you stop talking about that?"
"Why? It's fun."
I immediately took out my cock and fucked her from behind.
Pa-ang.
Pa-ang.
"Ugh. Ugh."
A woman who feels it well now after her first time.
"Ugh...!"
We continued to have sex throughout the day.
#
Night fell.
"You know how to shoot a gun now, right?"
"Yes."
"Good."
Seo-yoon also needs to kill Infected someday.
But that time wasn't now.
When my ability reaches level 3, I planned to take Seo-yoon with me then.
'At first, I couldn't even lift anything. Just enough to lift iron powder.'
When I reached level 2, I could block bullets.
Then what about level 3?
Wouldn't it achieve an even greater improvement?
'It would have been nice if human hunting worked.'
It was a shame.
If the core went up even when killing people, human hunting would have been easier than hunting Infected.
But it couldn't be helped.
What can I do if it doesn't work?
That's why today's target was the one called a Mirror.
'They said there were Mirrors inside the underground mall.'
Those looters couldn't have killed them all.
Even if they did, they probably kept crawling out from somewhere.
From the mart or some other passageway.
Tak.
Tak.
I arrived at Eunha High School.
When moving alone, I could definitely move while avoiding the Infected.
Of course, even so, I wouldn't be able to move through areas with many Infected like Green Fresh Market.
But a neighborhood a bit away from the city center like this was enough to move around in.
Looking at the 4th floor, the lights are on, and I can see two women moving inside.
'Still alive.'
Well, there's plenty of food on the 2nd floor, so it shouldn't matter.
Honestly, I think I've done everything I needed to do by saving them.
I entered Eunha High School and headed for the back gate.
This is my first time going this way.
Seeing as the looters were walking around just fine, it should be no problem.
I know the geography around here roughly, so there was no problem.
'Let's go.'
I started walking.
#
As I walked down the road from the back gate of Eunha High School, I could see the financial district.
A street lined with financial buildings.
And in the middle of it, I could see a long intersection.
'......'
I could see countless Walkers and Runners moving unsteadily.
And the scenery of ruin was visible too.
The intersection was a total mess, with vehicles crashed here and there. Countless corpses were rolling on the ground, and some Infected were picking at the rotting corpses.
The rest of the Infected were swaying as if they were sleeping.
Hwi-i-ing.
A dark night.
Burned-out vehicles, smashed traffic lights, and broken financial buildings.
That area was so packed I couldn't even move, just like the shopping district I saw before.
Fortunately, I don't have to go above.
Because the place I'm going is the underground mall. I found the passageway to the underground mall, which I had confirmed while driving around in a vehicle sometimes.
'There it is.'
A crosswalk next to the road before the intersection.
The building that looked like a shelter next to it was the way to go.
'......'
I could see here too that the looters had cleared a path.
Because I could see a few Infected corpses lying around.
I checked the stairs following the path they had made.
Wii-ing.
What I saw were flickering LED lights.
And whether it was because the people who evacuated here died, or the Infected died, there was a trail of blood stretching down the stairs, and corpses rolling down there.
Still, I couldn't not go.
I sighed and carefully headed down.
To the point where not even the sound of my footsteps could be heard.