14. Underground Mall (2)
14. Underground Mall (2)
The underground mall was dark.
No, it was actually brighter than outside, but perhaps because a month had already passed, I could see places where the lights had gone out here and there.
ㅡTak
ㅡTak
Plus, even where they were on, whether it was due to the infection or a power supply issue, they flickered and created an even more eerie atmosphere.
'...I heard it was screwed, but still.'
Right now, it looked like something straight out of a horror game.
ㅡTak
ㅡTak
I peeked my head out.
Inside the underground mall.
ㅡChijijik
ㅡChijik
The flickering underground mall at night.
There were surprisingly few Infected.
However, there were a lot of corpses.
Seriously, to the point where "a lot" couldn't even begin to describe it. I was tripping over them.
'These bastards aren't alive, are they?'
It was winter so there were no bugs, but the stench of blood and rot wafting around wasn't exactly pleasant.
'This is a gunshot wound, and this one... looks like their head was caved in by a hammer.'
Looks like there was quite a battle here.
ㅡTak
ㅡTak
ㅡChijijik
ㅡJalgeurak
ㅡJalgeurak
Avoiding the corpses, I first entered what used to be a convenience store inside the underground mall, which was a total mess.
Four Infected corpses on the floor.
ㅡJalgeurak
ㅡJalgeurak
'......'
Scattered glass shards.
However, seeing as the convenience store door was intact, it didn't seem like this glass came from inside the store.
Plus, the fallen Infected seemed a bit different, too.
Then it must be one thing.
'Is it a Mirror?'
One of the Infected I saw in a previous community post. Mirror.
'They said the Siren was the one with countless mouths on its face. And the Mirror was the one with limbs attached to a mirror.'
If Walkers and Runners were standard Infected, I could consider Mirrors and Sirens as Variants. Because they would look different from the start compared to the Walkers, who had no face but only a mouth, and the Runners, which were just Walkers with a single tentacle on their head.
However, even if they were the same Mirror, it seemed there were several types.
Because the shapes of the corpses were all different.
I approached the corpses, turned on my smartphone light, and examined them.
'This one only has a mirror for a head, and this one has a mirror for its entire torso.'
To be precise, it looked like a mirror, but it didn't seem to actually be one. When I poked it with my gun, there were tentacles sprouting here and there on a surface that seemed to be made of bone.
Perhaps the face itself, or the torso itself, mutated, turning the bone into something like a mirror, and then tentacles grew out of it.
'......'
That means I have to hunt these guys.
'About 120 rounds.'
The problem is the possibility that the looters killed everything on the way to the Green Fresh Market.
I sighed and first searched the inside of the convenience store.
Four corpses.
Empty rooms with nothing in them.
I felt like I needed to find a living one.
#
It didn't take long to find a Mirror.
ㅡDalkak
ㅡDalkak
ㅡTak
ㅡTak
I see a staggering Infected.
A fat Infected whose entire face had mutated into something like a mirror. A Mirror.
It was staggering as if it were sleeping, and its location was a clothing store just around the corner.
The problem was that there was only one.
'The looters must have caught them all.'
Infected hadn't entered the back area yet.
The Mirror staggering in the direction of the clothing store.
According to the Sergeant from the community post I had bookmarked earlier, he said I could kill them with firearms.
Plus, when he said the looters pushed through, he also mentioned they pushed through with tools.
'Then I should be able to kill it with a crowbar.'
If I only had about 30 rounds, I wouldn't have shot here. There would have been nowhere to run.
However, since I had 4 magazines worth of spare ammo, I decided to experiment from the direction of the underground mall entrance.
I raised my rifle and aimed at the Infected.
ㅡBang!
The sound of the gunshot rang out.
ㅡPagak
ㅡKudangtang
The Mirror's head shattered, and it collapsed into the empty clothing store next to it.
ㅡDalkak
ㅡDalkak
Strangely, the Mirror didn't scream or anything.
Well, since its face was something like a mirror, unlike Walkers and Runners, it didn't have a mouth.
ㅡDalkak
ㅡDalkak
A Mirror that had been hiding nearby came out and headed toward where the sound came from.
Quite fast.
About half the speed of a Walker or Runner?
I hid my body inside the convenience store.
ㅡDalkak
ㅡDalkak
Perhaps its intelligence was low, as the Mirror entered the clothing store where the dead Mirror was.
It didn't seem to have discovered me yet.
ㅡChijijik
ㅡChijik
I held my breath and looked back.
I couldn't hear any sounds coming from outside either.
It seemed that due to the nature of the underground, outside sounds were dampened a bit, and since Infected were dull at night, it stopped on its way.
'Then that means I can use firearms for now.'
There was one thing I needed to check first.
Whether the Nexus Core would increase as I thought it would or not.
ㅡKkudeudeuk
The Nexus Core rose.
===================================
Nexus Core : Metallokinesis lv.2[2/100]
===================================
'It's going up.'
And by 2, at that.
If this is the case... I had to make hunting Mirrors my top priority. Even if it meant using all 120 rounds, I had to fill up to 50.
I leaned out of the convenience store.
'......'
Seeing nothing inside, the Mirror came back out and started staggering.
It started to stand still as if sleeping.
I raised my rifle.
ㅡBang!
The sound of the gunshot rang out in the underground mall once again.
#
===================================
Nexus Core : Metallokinesis lv.2[4/100]
===================================
ㅡJilpeok
ㅡJilpeok
I walked, stepping on the corpses of the recently killed Infected.
In front of the clothing store.
I narrowed my eyes, looking inside.
'......'
Same as the other places.
I looked ahead. The underground mall lined with a bookstore, a kids' play area, former restaurants, and so on.
It looked like the Infected had been cleared out recently, as I only saw corpses.
It didn't look like any had wandered in either.
I moved on.
#
I arrived at the burger joint.
On the way, I killed four Mirrors that were in a lottery shop.
They were trapped inside the glass interior, so the looters probably didn't bother killing them.
Well, they couldn't get out, so there was no need to kill them.
===================================
Nexus Core : Metallokinesis lv.2[12/100]
===================================
That brought the core up to 12.
ㅡJilpeok
ㅡJilpeok
My shoes were already a total mess.
ㅡSak-sak
I roughly rubbed them against the wall and moved again.
The stench of rot, the smell of corpses.
I don't know if it's okay to be breathing this in, but as long as I don't die, it should be fine.
Inside the burger joint.
Inside the burger joint, which reeked of rot, I could see something like a makeshift barricade; it seemed like the looters or other people had dealt with the Infected here.
'There are too few.'
Well, that's probably why they used the word "cleared."
I continued to move.
ㅡTak
ㅡTak
ㅡTak
I saw a four-way intersection.
I saw a few familiar signs too.
'This is it.'
If I go straight ahead, I'll reach the Green Fresh Market.
The other two paths lead to other underground malls.
The looters probably went down this path ahead.
The path with the corpses.
If I follow this path, I'll reach the Fresh Market.
The other two... are probably the south and north of Cheongju.
First, the left.
There were many Infected.
Plus, there were many corpses too.
Corpses with their heads cut off. Corpses with their limbs chewed off, exposing bone, corpses with their guts spilled out, rotting away with only skin left.
It seemed like this situation happened because there were more corpses than Infected.
Usually, Infected chew people up and pick them clean, but when there are few of them, corpses like that are left behind.
'This is an empty space, so there shouldn't be any people here.'
Perhaps, during the outbreak, they came in from outside, got stuck, and all died.
The right side was too dark, perhaps because the power supply was cut off. I think that was the path that leads out to the Cheongju City Hall in the north, and it didn't seem like it would be any different inside there.
If I go there and get ambushed, I'll definitely die.
Because I could see something walking around as a silhouette inside.
'It must have come from here.'
Seeing that two Mirrors appeared on the path that was cleared earlier, it seems these are the entry routes.
'Then that means there are Mirrors here.'
It seems the Infected that were moderately present on the path Eunha-go cleared all came from these places.
Therefore, the path that was at least better was the one straight ahead.
The path where traces of people could be seen.
As if they had cleared it, there were more Infected corpses on the floor than human corpses.
'Once I go there, it's certain that Sirens and Mirrors will appear.'
The problem is... it's too far to get there.
'Is there a reason to go to the Green Fresh Market right now?'
I pondered.
I've come quite far today already.
I have 3 magazines worth of ammo left, but, hmm...
'Still, I have to go.'
I had to sacrifice bullets to quickly level up my superpower.
It was the moment I was about to head toward the Green Fresh Market.
ㅡAaaaaah!
ㅡSeong-min!
From the left, the underground mall passage leading to the south of Cheongju, I heard a human voice.
ㅡKudangtang
ㅡDie! Die!
ㅡGuaaaaaah!
The commotion that followed.
I narrowed my eyes.
'People, huh.'