New Family Member and New Zombies

"Argh, seriously! That bastard snuck into my room last night trying to rape me!"

"What the hell are you talking about? I let you stay in my room and shared my food with you!"

Last night. Catherine, exposing Lee Chang-seop's attempted rape—which she'd caught him in the act of—to the gathered crowd. And Lee Chang-seop, countering with a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠look of utter disbelief on his face.

Their stories clashed completely, creating an atmosphere thick with tension, like they might throw punches at any moment.

But as the saying goes, crabs back each other up. The residents, whom he'd expected to condemn the crime alongside him, started siding with Lee Chang-seop instead.

"Their stories don't match, and there's no 'evidence'..."

"That hand definitely groped my breast, so there should be DNA on his clothes..."

In a world that had already gone to hell, DNA from clothes? Even she realized how absurd it sounded, and Catherine faltered. That's when the leader-like ajumma among the women delivered her not-quite-verdict.

"But if Catherine's telling the truth, the victim can't keep staying in the perpetrator's house, right? So she should leave Lee Chang-seop's place for now. Don't you all agree?"

"Yeah, yeah."

No one except Lee Chang-seop offered to take her in. Telling her to leave his house in that situation—it was essentially an indirect eviction order. The woman spoke, and the others nodded along in agreement.

Watching the scene unfold, Catherine's face drained of color.

And so, on the morning of the third day of the zombie apocalypse, Catherine Smith climbed the stairs with nothing but a fire axe in hand, just like when she'd first entered Pu-reum Apartment.

It was her own choice—she wanted nothing more to do with those filthy humans.

Sneering voices trailed after her retreating back.

"But thinking about it again, this could be it."

"What?"

"That foreign chick seduces the 403 guy on purpose, gets him to pounce, then accuses him like this to kick him out and take over the whole place."

"Who knows, hehe."

'Fucking... bitches without a mom around...'

****

"Holy shit... those weren't even human..."

"Oh dear... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠poor Catherine. You're safe here, so relax."

"Sniff... Thank you..."

The shocking truth from Catherine's lips. A curse slipped out of my mouth automatically, while Aunt Hye-yeon gripped her hand and comforted her.

Catherine, who'd been holding it all in, finally broke down sobbing into Aunt Hye-yeon's embrace.

No wonder. Considering what she'd endured downstairs.

The awkward smile she flashed when she spotted me was impressive in itself—the lower-floor survivors had treated her like trash.

You couldn't blame them too much for only venturing out late when their lives were at stake in the apocalypse. But their attitudes and actions afterward? Pure human filth.

'If Catherine's telling the truth, it's a miracle she doesn't hate all humans now...'

. . .

For now, I let ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Catherine rest in the empty 704. Back home, Aunt Hye-yeon and I discussed her.

"Doesn't seem like Catherine's lying to me. What do you think, Minwoo?"

"Yeah... same here. But just in case, let's stay cautious until we're sure."

"Okay."

We agreed to keep the slim possibility of her lying in mind, even if it seemed unlikely.

Right then, as we moved to whip up some belated sandwiches for lunch, a cautious knock echoed from the front door.

Knock knock knock.

With barricades on the 6th and 8th floors now, the only one who could knock was Catherine... but still.

I rested my hand on the knife belted at my waist and approached the door.

"Who is it?"

"It's Catherine. I have something to show you..."

"Okay, one sec."

Shing...

For safety—even though I was holding her axe—I half-drew my knife before opening the door.

There stood Catherine, phone in hand.

She showed me a paused video screen.

"Here, NewTube this..."

"Catherine, what's this?"

"Zombie... uh... um... va, variant?"

At her mention of "variant," I snatched the phone. The video looked shot from an apartment right by the Han River.

As the play button in the center was hit, the screen showing the Han River bank started moving... and soon enough, a zombie unlike any I'd seen appeared, living up to the title.

Its body was human-like, no different from other zombies. But weirdly, its head was blank. No hair, no eyes, nose, mouth, or ears—just a smooth curve.

It almost looked like a vase or a flower bud. Then, the thing stopped dead at the water's edge.

The next instant.

The smooth zombie head split wide open from the crown in four directions—front, back, left, right—with a massive crack.

Revealing what was inside.

What the hell? Tadpoles?

Instead of a brain, its skull brimmed with milky fluid and tadpole-like... things.

The grotesque sight drew a horrified curse from the cameraman. Meanwhile, the zombie—with its head wide open—slowly bent forward at the waist.

Unknown liquid sloshed out, along with wriggling tadpole-esque creatures pouring into the Han River.

Moments later, the now-empty-headed zombie toppled into the river and floated away, ending the video.

Tap tap...

I closed the full screen, opened the comments right away. After a brief load, over 300 comments flooded in.

Fragmented guesses, eyewitness accounts, and useless crap filled the comments. Skimming them, my mind raced: upgrade water supply ASAP.

But then it hit me—this video was a massive opportunity for a jackpot.

'Now 'water contamination' is seared into everyone's minds. Demand for clean water skyrockets. Which means... nail the Exchange, and we're golden.'

. . .

I thanked Catherine for the intel, handed her off to Aunt Hye-yeon, and stepped away to upgrade Water Supply immediately.

'Tap water's treated from the source, but better safe.'

Since she was already here, the three of us shared an early dinner, chatting heavy on scouting vibes. We settled on clearing up to the 20th over the next two days.

Then my quiet phone buzzed.

Vrrr...