33. Variant
33. Variant
March 11th, night. The moon is up.
ㅡGgeuuuu
ㅡGgeuuuu
Cheongju South.
GP Apartment complex.
Outside the apartment, only Walkers and Runners are roaming about.
ㅡPp agak
ㅡPp agak
I cleared out the Infected with my hammer and kitchen knife while scanning my surroundings.
Just in case there was a Variant I didn't know about.
Thankfully, there wasn't.
'......'
Though, there were signs of human presence.
I could see lights on in Building 104. Looks like someone is holding out here, too.
Well, I couldn't care less.
I turned my gaze away.
'Building 102, huh.'
This Building 102, visible from the house we're staying in, is the only one that looks like it's been consumed by plants.
If it's a Flower, that's fine. Sergeant's notes did say they die if you shoot them.
The problem is, it could be something else.
'If it's something else, something strong, that's extremely dangerous.'
Sigh.
That Variant, the Crawler with white eyes—there's bound to be Variants out there that the Sergeant didn't mention.
Which means there's a possibility that what's inside isn't a Flower, which dies easily to bullets and is weak to fire.
'...That's why I brought the K7, at least.'
There's only one magazine left.
Since I used up the one I had left from the previous move.
This is, quite literally, for emergencies.
The K2 was left with the others, so I only have 33 bullets.
'......'
No, that's not right. The growth potential of the Nexus Core is immense. If I avoid everything just because it's dangerous, I'll never see the future.
In a world where this shitty thing from IN Company called the Nexus Core exists,
if you don't move because it's dangerous, you get culled.
Why, if we wanted to stay safe, we could have just stayed at Hope Villa, couldn't we?
We wouldn't have gone to the Green Fresh Market, and we could have just survived by looting apartments or villas, even if it took a long time.
'...Let's go.'
I carefully approached Building 102.
#
ㅡPpeoeok
ㅡPpugak
The heads of the Walkers and Runners caved in, and my knife embedded itself into their necks.
Quiet movement.
ㅡJabak
ㅡJabak
Building 102 entrance.
My feet stepped on something that felt like grass, tree branches, and flower stems.
Plants were covering the entire staircase.
I narrowed my eyes.
'......'
These aren't alive, are they?
In famous zombie games, these kinds of plants would move and attack people.
Doesn't seem to be the case, at least.
Still, I didn't even want to touch them with my hands.
I wrapped my whole body up tight and pushed the door open with my hammer.
ㅡTteudeudeuk
The main door didn't even open properly, probably because it hadn't been opened in a long time.
The main entrance, where the elevator is, was full of dark green stems and bizarre flowers with green mixed in.
ㅡPuuk
I stabbed it with my knife, but nothing came out.
Just some sap-like substance; it was cut just like any other plant.
A Variant, or a Flower, wasn't visible yet.
However, there was one major problem.
It was so dark I couldn't see a thing.
Plants growing everywhere.
Even though GP Apartment is a 10-story building, I can't afford to have such poor visibility while checking all 10 floors.
Even with both firearms and superpowers, what I'm lacking right now is close-quarters combat ability.
If something jumps out of a blind spot and attacks me here, I'm screwed.
But.
'......'
It didn't seem like that was necessary.
ㅡClick
When I shone my smartphone light,
I could see several things that looked like Flowers standing right in front of me.
'Why are they so tall?'
Exactly one second after I made eye contact with them.
ㅡTadadadadak
ㅡTadadadak
The Flowers rushed at me with insane speed.
Because of their size, the pressure was no joke.
The problem is, there were clearly over ten of them.
My abilities won't cut it for this.
"What the fucking hell."
ㅡTududududuk!
I unleashed a barrage of fire.
As if that wasn't enough, all my hammers and knives flew out and embedded themselves into their heads.
ㅡPuuk
ㅡChwaaaaak!
Do these things not have blood? Some strange sap sprayed onto the walls.
ㅡKkudeudeuk
ㅡKkudeuk
They look truly disgusting.
It's like a human corpse chopped up, with plant stems and unknown flowers growing in between.
'And they said these were total pushover flowers.'
How the hell is this a total pushover?
Yeah, I guess from a soldier's perspective, they're pushovers since they die when you shoot them.
I carefully approached the corpse in front of me.
It was an Infected that maintained a human form, but the face of a pretty woman in her 20s was split into four, with flowers and stems connected inside.
ㅡKkudeudeuk
ㅡTuduk
ㅡTteudeudeuk
When I poked it with my hammer, the human-like joints spread open, revealing the cross-section.
'Ugh...'
The others were at least somewhat bearable to look at.
The Crawler was shitty, but it was just a guy with his skin peeled off, so it wasn't this bad.
This thing is just purely unpleasant to look at.
ㅡSeogeok
Its durability seemed incredibly high, too.
Since there were stems and flowers instead of bones and flesh at the connecting parts, they looked flimsy, but there were some that didn't die even after taking two kitchen knife stabs and a hammer blow.
It didn't seem like a lie that I should use fire even if I can kill them with guns.
I scanned the first floor, relying on my smartphone light.
A corridor-style apartment with a long hallway.
If I didn't have firearms, I would have been in serious danger.
I stepped out toward the apartment entrance and, while hiding my body, pulled up my Nexus Core.
===================================
Nexus Core : Metallokinesis lv3[47/100]
===================================
It went up.
And by 16 points, at that.
Since it was 31 when I cleared the first floor of the Green Fresh Market and got the points.
'Then...'
ㅡSagak
ㅡSagak
I walked around, counting the number of dead Flowers.
It was impossible to distinguish them because their bodies looked so fucked up, but counting them roughly, there were about 15.
'Looks like it goes up by 1. Based on lv.3.'
I must have miscounted, so there were probably 16 in total.
A Crawler gives 2 by my standard, and a Flower gives 1. A Siren also gives 1, which means the Crawler is likely a higher-tier entity by the standards of this Nexus Core.
'I suppose so.'
The Flowers didn't seem to have intelligence.
The fact that they rushed at me like crazy just by reacting to the light proves that.
The Siren, too, doesn't do anything other than scream or react to stimuli.
On the other hand, Crawlers possessed intelligence among themselves and knew fear.
Of course, it wasn't human-level, but something on the level of a beast.
'Strength-wise, the Crawler would be stronger, too.'
It completely crushed a display stand, after all. Flowers and Sirens would be about as strong as an adult man, maybe a bit more.
If this continues... I started to think that later on, ones with immense strength and human-level intelligence might appear.
'......'
It's a bad thought, but it's not impossible.
No, from the moment the Crawler appeared, it's probably a certainty.
Well, that's a problem for future me.
ㅡClick
I took out the magazine.
I used almost 20 rounds out of the remaining 33. There are about 10 rounds left.
I have quite a few tools, but if they swarm me, there's no answer.
If a dozen or so Flowers rush at me all at once, the only answer is to run. Though, looking at that speed, I might not even be able to run.
If I run out of bullets, I have to fight by throwing my tools, but these guys are surprisingly sturdy, so I'd be dead before I could kill them all.
'.......'
Especially since the corridor-style layout is completely open, there's no way to hide or do anything.
'...Should I bring Yoon-ji? Or bring the K2?'
But I don't think Yoon-ji could withstand a swarm of Flowers.
If I bring the K2, I'd use 40 rounds, but then our house becomes too dangerous. Honestly, our defense is currently relying on that one K2 rifle.
And it's doubtful that using 40 rounds would even fill the gauge to 100.
This...
I shouldn't be greedy.
I shouldn't be greedy, and it would be better to secure firearms first.
Though, securing firearms won't be easy.
It seems the time to use the Extractor has come.
Where the Extractor rings, those IN Company bastards will be there.
It's the right move to go there, beat them up, and extract it.
'......'
I headed outside.
#
Of course, before that, I planned to check the place with the SOS first.
I climbed Building 101.
There didn't seem to be anyone. They might be pretending not to be there, but anyway, 10th floor.
'I'm getting a lot of exercise.'
I can see real-world muscles on my body.
A body different from my previous, scrawny office worker days.
I picked the lock of a door, entered the musty apartment, and headed to the veranda.
Since the community center isn't clearly visible from the house we moved to.
Community Center.
A building south of Cheongju Elementary School.
It's isolated, and while the traffic is convenient, it's not a building with good defense. However, seeing the SOS, it seems there were people.
Because it's in an isolated spot, there must have been fewer Infected.
I didn't see any sentries or surveillance.
However, at the entrance, I could see signs that a barricade, which wasn't visible from the house earlier, had been breached.
Desks, chairs, lockers, etc., were scattered everywhere.
'...Was it breached?'
I could see human shadows inside.
It didn't look like people.
If they were people, there's no way they wouldn't have set up sentries in a world like this.
That means I have to consider the possibility that the inside has already been looted by Infected. However.
'...Is there a way for Infected to loot that place?'
The ones I've seen.
So, could Walkers, Runners, Mirrors, Sirens, Crawlers, and Flowers loot a human stronghold?
It's possible. If they pull a troll move like at Cheongju Elementary School, that is.
I'll have to go and see.
ㅡTak
I got up from my seat and headed outside.
#
'There are few cars.'
On the way to the community center.
Surprisingly, there were no cars on the road. Well, it was 4 PM on a weekday. Plus, Cheongju South isn't a place with that much traffic.
Therefore, it was natural that there were few Infected.
Unlike the direction of the Green Fresh Market or IN Mart, there were definitely fewer of them here.
'Maybe I could move here by vehicle.'
If I go straight down here, I'll hit the countryside heading to Sejong City.
Well, I'll think about that after I'm done with everything in Cheongju.
ㅡPp agak
ㅡPpugak
I moved carefully, clearing out Infected from a distance.
Since there was no one beside me, and I had to assume everyone except me was an enemy, moving was definitely easier.
'.......'
The problem is the Variants, but other than Walkers and Runners, I didn't see any others. No Flowers, no Mirrors, no Sirens, and no Crawlers.
I was especially careful to look for Crawlers, but I didn't see them.
They aren't like Mirrors that stay in one place, but rather mixed in with Walkers and Runners like Sirens, so I moved with extra caution, but their characteristic claws or white eyes were nowhere to be seen.
ㅡTak
ㅡTak
That's how I arrived at the community center.
Up close, the situation was quite serious. There were traces of battle everywhere, and the front was full of Infected corpses.
And.
'...What is that.'
It's a human corpse.
I could see humans who had been torn apart and disappeared by the Infected. It was certain that the Infected had raided this place.
ㅡTak
ㅡTak
Still, there might be a Variant, so I carefully headed inside.
ㅡTeong
ㅡTeong
ㅡKkiiiiik
The main door opened.
The first floor of the community center was a narrow hallway full of doors. I don't know what kind of building this was, but anyway, the inside was full of trash and corpses.
'People, people, Infected.'
And.
Living Infected.
"Ggeuuuu..."
ㅡPp agak
There were quite a few. Faceless Walkers, and Runners with a single tentacle on their heads. As I carefully explored the interior with my firearm, there were plenty of traces of humans; it seemed this place, like Cheongju Elementary or Eunha-go, had been used as an evacuation center.
Blankets dropped on the floor, food waste, and a foul stench.
'......'
ㅡTeong
ㅡTeong
The strange thing was that I could hear a thumping sound coming from somewhere.
I thought it was auditory hallucination earlier, but it seemed like something was continuously knocking on something.
ㅡTak
ㅡTak
ㅡPp agak
ㅡPeoeok
I carefully cleared out the Infected and headed toward the sound.
And what I saw was.
A barricade blocking the stairs leading to the 2nd floor completely,
and numerous Walkers and Runners knocking on the barricade in front of it.
'What are they doing?'
Is there someone inside?
It was the moment I was about to deal with the Infected.
I discovered an Infected in the middle of them, different from the Walkers and Runners, one that possessed facial features.
'......?'
For a moment, I thought it was a person.
But since it was among the Walkers and Runners, it wasn't.
Plus, the thing had its neck torn out in one spot.
It just maintained the form of a human face.
'...Is it a new Variant?'
I don't know what it is, but I have to kill it first.
I threw my hammer and caved in its head.
ㅡPpeoeok
ㅡKudangtang!
Head caved in, body collapsing.
I watched it quietly. And I pulled up my Nexus Core.
And, I was taken aback.
===================================
Nexus Core : Metallokinesis lv3[51/100]
===================================
Because the core went up by 4.
Compared to the dangerous Crawler giving 2, the threatening Siren giving 1, and the disgusting Flower giving 1.
A thing that died so pathetically gave me a core value of 4.
'...What the hell is that bastard?'
However, not long after, I was able to understand what it was.
ㅡ......
The thumping sound that had been ringing continuously stopped.
And the Walkers and Runners changed into their familiar, usual forms.
Sleeping,
and staggering Walkers and Runners.
'This fucking...'
The Walkers and Runners had been continuously attacking that door.
However, as soon as I killed that Variant, they changed into their normal forms.
To put it another way.
'Is it a guy that controls normal Infected?'
Then, does the target of these guys exist beyond that wall? If there are people in there, then my guess is really correct.
I carefully raised my hammer.