29. Green Fresh Market (1)
29. Green Fresh Market (1)
March 2nd, night.
The sky with a slender moon hanging in it.
We moved cautiously.
"...Should I go?"
"No."
Detouring around the GP Convenience Store.
Seeing two Walkers walking by, Yun-ji stepped up, offering to handle it, but I stopped her.
There was no need to waste energy this early on.
ㅡThwack
ㅡThwack
Two hammers flew out and smashed the Walkers' heads.
ㅡThud
I could see the caved-in Walkers collapsing.
It was a familiar sight of corpses now, not just for me, but for Seo-yoon and Yun-ji as well.
We had already fought plenty when leveling up to lv.2.
However, just because it was familiar didn't mean it wasn't horrific.
It meant that death was right beside us.
"......"
"......"
Moving with minimal noise.
We arrived at Eunha-go safely.
"Be careful from here on out. There's a Variant Mirror in the direction of the underground shopping center. Seo-yoon, if you feel like you can't handle it, just shoot."
"Yes."
"Yun-ji, stay by my side. You're for emergencies; you don't need to fight."
"Understood."
"This is different from when we were safely taking out Infected. You never know when or where they might ambush us, so you need to keep your wits about you."
""Yes.""
Moving through the vacant underground shopping center.
Seo-yoon and Yun-ji flinched when they saw the entrance to the underground shopping center, but I had no intention of coddling them for that.
To survive in a world like this, they had to adapt to things like this quickly.
If you don't, you get left behind.
Nothing major happened inside the underground shopping center.
Well, it was just Mirrors, so it wasn't a problem.
And
ㅡThwack!
Yun-ji's ability was stronger than I thought. The Mirror's head was completely smashed.
I said, retrieving the two hammers.
"Well done."
"......"
Yun-ji was panting.
Seo-yoon was slightly frozen.
ㅡTap
ㅡTap
Vacant.
We exited the dark and dingy underground shopping center.
Toward Green Fresh Market.
The two women took a deep breath once they were outside.
There weren't many Infected.
Because those special forces bastards had cleared them out earlier.
"Alright. Now we're going to that 7-story Aerobics Center building over there."
The direction where I had previously scouted the hospital.
We headed toward the 7-story building covered in bloodstains.
ㅡPant pant
Seo-yoon was struggling.
I asked.
"Want me to carry you?"
If it were other women, I would've given them a hard time, but Seo-yoon was special.
However, Seo-yoon shook her head instead.
"No. I, I can do it."
"Alright."
"......"
Seo-yoon struggling, and Yun-ji pushing forward while supporting herself with her arms.
That was how we arrived at the 7th floor.
Musty air.
The dusty Aerobics Center came into view as we opened the door.
Confirming that the ajumma's bag I had seen before was still there, I opened the window.
ㅡSlide
The air cleared up.
It was about time for the yellow dust to arrive, but since China was also fucked, the sky was clear.
A sky where stars were visible.
The same sky as before the apocalypse.
However, the city center, which would normally have people walking around, was different from before the apocalypse.
Cheongju Eunha General Hospital visible in the distance.
The same gloomy scenery.
Next, Green Fresh Market was visible right in front of the Aerobics Center. The corpses of the Infected that had died earlier were nowhere to be seen, likely devoured by other Infected.
'......'
Now, the question was how to break through this place.
I turned my eyes to the parking lot in front of Green Fresh Market.
#
"Wait here."
What I had in mind was the car alarm.
Even if a cat just jumps and bumps into it, the alarm goes off.
And it's incredibly loud.
On top of that, the place we were going to enter was the grocery store on the 1st floor of Green Fresh Market.
'The Siren just needs to react.'
We just need to draw the aggro of the things sleeping inside.
Then all the monsters inside the mart will swarm outside. Just like when I went inside before.
I'll set off the alarm of one of the vehicles parked in front.
And when it turns off, I'll set off the alarm on the other side to lure them.
We'll take care of the rest and go in.
ㅡCreak
I threw one of my hammers from here.
The hammer flew at high speed and smashed the mart's glass door.
ㅡ!!!!!!!
I could see the glass shattering.
Just like that, I smashed all the front glass windows.
Infected came pouring out toward the front door.
ㅡKieeeee!
Walkers, Runners.
Unfortunately, no Sirens were visible.
However, since the door was destroyed, the sound was transmitted directly inside.
I hit a vehicle stuck on the road in front of the mart.
ㅡBang!
It made a loud noise.
The surrounding Infected swarmed toward it.
However, the alarm didn't go off. It must have been broken, or the maintenance battery was dead, or something. If a vehicle is completely wrecked, the alarm won't work.
I hit another intact, parked vehicle with my hammer.
ㅡBang!
Then.
ㅡ!!!!!!!!
The car started blaring, making a fucking loud noise.
ㅡKieeeee!
Countless Infected started to swarm.
From around the city center, from the intersection, from the secondary intersection. And, from inside the mart.
And.
'It's a Siren.'
I raised my hammer and picked out only the Sirens, smashing their heads.
ㅡSquish
The head of the multi-mouthed Siren caving in.
===================================
Nexus Core : Metallokinesis lv3[6/100]
===================================
4 of them.
Wee-woo, wee-woo, wee-woo
The blaring car alarm.
I waited for the alarm to stop.
The Infected had come outside, drawn by the aggro, and were gathered together. This time, I went for the side opposite to the right door we were going to use, and hit the vehicles parked on the left.
ㅡBang!
ㅡBang!
ㅡ!!!!!!!!!
The blaring alarm.
The swarming Infected. We waited.
For as many of them to come out as possible.
#
How much time had passed like that?
I could see them gathered to the left of Green Fresh Market, swarming next to the vehicle with the blaring alarm.
ㅡWee-woo, wee-woo
The alarm was still blaring.
It seemed like all the ones that were going to come out had come out.
I pondered for a moment.
What if I used the remaining kitchen knives and hand hammers to kill them here?
That would be the surest way.
But I shook my head.
Kitchen knives have a high risk of getting dull or breaking, and there aren't many hand hammers.
Since we were planning to go around to the right anyway, it wouldn't be a problem.
So we waited.
Until the alarm disappeared.
#
It disappeared.
The quiet dawn of March 3rd.
ㅡTap
ㅡTap
"This way. Watch out for that one."
We went down and turned right. The path to the underground shopping center from before.
Most of the Infected had already moved toward the vehicle with the alarm.
On top of that, most of the ones that came were in a sleep state.
We abandoned the front parking lot side and headed for the side door we had used before.
ㅡSquish
ㅡCrack
We moved, quietly taking out Walkers and Runners from a distance.
Me, Seo-yoon, Yun-ji in that order.
Since the rear was important, Yun-ji was at the very back, and Seo-yoon was in the middle, supporting me with her gun. I was at the front.
The right mart door.
ㅡCreak
The interior opened quietly.
There was nothing at the entrance.
"Phew."
"......"
"......"
ㅡStatic
The interior was the same scene as before.
Showing the situation at the time exactly as it was.
A chaotic scene. Toppled display stands and goods scattered on the floor.
And, Infected that had turned immediately after coming to shop, wearing various things like bags on their bodies.
Infected staggering and sleeping.
Following that, remaining bones and flesh. There were many corpses of civilians who had been attacked by Infected inside.
Rotting entrails and broken bones.
Even bones in the shape of a young child.
"Ugh..."
Seo-yoon made a retching sound. Though she swallowed it immediately after.
Yun-ji wasn't in good shape either.
I ignored them and scanned the inside.
It was certain that most of the Infected bastards had moved outside.
Because it seemed like I could clear them out with this number.
ㅡSquish
ㅡCrack
I smashed the heads of the three Runners at the checkout counter ahead.
"Grrr! Grrr!"
A Runner wriggling because I didn't hit its neck right. I also smashed the heads of the two Walkers staggering next to it.
ㅡThwack
Clang
Clatter
One of them hit the display stand attached to the checkout counter and rolled on the floor.
Even so, no one came.
'Good.'
I signaled behind me.
"Keep your wits about you and follow me."
Seo-yoon, who looked like she was about to vomit, and Yun-ji, who was grimacing.
We entered Green Fresh Market.
ㅡTap
ㅡTap
The dark interior.
Infected staggering in the distance.
Checkout counter.
I saw jelly, gum, and chocolate.
I pointed at Yun-ji's bag and signaled to the two women, who were extremely tense.
"Ah...!"
Seo-yoon, whose face immediately brightened from looking like she was about to vomit, and Yun-ji, whose face brightened even though she tried to pretend otherwise.
Well, they hadn't had such luxury goods.
'People who are alive have to live.'
They carefully packed chocolate and jelly from the display stand. The funny thing was that they didn't pack the gum.
Well, even I wouldn't eat gum.
A bag stuffed to the brim.
However, I didn't stop them. If it was heavy, they'd take it out themselves.
I also stuffed some luxury goods into my bag and scanned the surroundings.
ㅡGrrr
ㅡGrrr
Infected that hadn't left yet were staggering in the fresh food and meat section. There was no need to go there.
It also looked hard to move around because the display stands were smashed.
The place we were going was the preserved food section.
The preserved food section was located to the right of the front door. It was on the opposite side of where I had herded the Infected.
"Let's find it. Keep your voices down."
"Yes."
We moved while taking out the Infected inside.
#
There were some Infected that hadn't swarmed away, but I took care of most of them with my ability.
Since the Sirens were also sleeping, I intercepted them from a distance.
That made five Sirens caught.
===================================
Nexus Core : Metallokinesis lv3[11/100]
===================================
ㅡThwack
ㅡThwack
I smashed the heads of the remaining Walkers and Runners near the corner.
ㅡTap tap
I moved while checking the corpses with my feet.
It was a movement I could do because their vision was completely reduced by the display stands.
We arrived at the seafood section.
"Oppa. How about... this?"
"Put it in. That should have a long shelf life."
"Ugh. Ugh, the smell is too strong."
"Don't vomit. They might come after smelling it. We'll be out soon, so just bear with it."
"Okay..."
In the place that smelled of rotten squid
dried squid, dried filefish, and the like went pouring into the bag.
These would have a pretty long shelf life.
ㅡTap
ㅡTap
ㅡTap
"Catch."
Next, next to the seafood section
I approached the canned food section display stand and swept up all the canned goods.
Canned goods filling up the large travel bag.
I tried lifting it.
"Tsk."
This won't do.
"Yun-ji. Try lifting this."
Then Yun-ji lifted it easily.
As expected.
It was a good choice to bring her.
But Yun-ji put it down on the floor with a thud and called me.
"Yu-seong-ssi."
"What."
"That, it's a bit strange."
The place her hand pointed to.
The snack section was overturned there. I could see a rotten corpse underneath it, it must have collapsed during the incident.
"Look at the corpse down there."
"The corpse is strange?"
I narrowed my eyes.
The snack section was in the center. I couldn't see it from here.
"There's a light underneath, it's a bit strange."
A corpse that maintained a human form.
But what was strange was that there was a small white light near it.
It looks like a smartphone...
"What's strang..."
It was that moment.
Something with white glowing eyes and skin peeled off its entire body jumped out from the snack section.
Something in the shape of a human crawling.
ㅡGrrrrrr
The thing, which crawled at a speed I could barely perceive, climbed over the display stand and approached in an instant.
The distance is too close.
ㅡThud
ㅡThud
ㅡThud
"Kieeeeeek!"
The thing whose mouth split into four.
I moved my hammer quickly.
I felt a burning sensation.
"Oppa!"
ㅡThwack!
My hammer caved in its head.
ㅡRat-tat-tat
Seo-yoon fired her suppressed submachine gun.
The dead thing's body staggered.
ㅡCrash
It knocked over the display stand next to it.
Something hot came up from my mouth.
"Ugh."
Blood is flowing.
Looking down, I could see a large wound on my stomach.
"My, my stomach."
It's not punctured.
"...Let's run. We've got everything we need."
Blood was streaming from my stomach.