No Room Left in Hell (2)

The message saying there was one hour and forty-seven minutes left until sunset caught my attention far less than what was written beneath it. Overachievement reward. Synthesis. Temporary skill. They were unfamiliar words, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away. Synthesis—what exactly was I supposed to combine? Skills? Stats? Or maybe it meant merging objects together. I wouldn’t know the details until I tried it myself. It wasn’t something to worry about right now.

I gripped the rope and dropped onto the veranda of room 708, aided by an eerily stable sense of balance. So this was what agility felt like.

The reason I’d chosen the risky descent via rope instead of scouting the eighth floor was entirely the backpack. It was packed to the absolute limit with food. That meant the remaining supplies and gear had almost certainly been left on the lower floors. There was also the reasonable assumption that room 808 had already cleared the immediate area, making it relatively safe.

So I landed in room 708 together with my sister.

The veranda of room 708 carried clear traces of trial and error. The space where someone could plant their feet after climbing down, the plywood sheets added to prevent slipping, and the heavy furniture wedged in place left a deep impression. The owner of room 808 might have been one of those wise people who sprang into action the moment the world ended. In the end he’d only died because he let his guard down; if he hadn’t, it could just as easily have been me or Kang Ahyeon who perished. Even if only one of us had survived, the outcome would have been the same.

I lowered myself carefully and gazed into the apartment from the veranda. The interior was dimly steeped in shadow, but the furniture was arranged with almost painful neatness. Bloodstains on the floor whispered of everything that had happened here.

This guy from 808 had worked harder than I expected.

The front door was locked and barricaded with furniture. I could clear it if I wanted, but it was smarter to check the inside first.

For some reason my sister—who normally had the athletic ability of a wet paper towel—descended the rope without issue. I helped her inside and began searching the apartment.

“...Is this it?”

What I found was a backpack. A modestly sized ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one with a long, expensive-looking wooden rod stained dark with blood jammed into its opening. I opened it. Inside was food. I pulled out the wooden piece that took up a good portion of the space and examined it.

“A bed leg?”

It was too long to be an ordinary bed leg. Long enough to grip comfortably, and the crusted blood told me this was what the man from 808 had used to kill zombies. I could guess why. The Chinese cleaver had been his weapon for dealing with his wife’s prey. This, then, was his dedicated anti-zombie tool.

After going through the backpack, I called out to my sister.

“Hey, Kang Ahyeon. This… wait, what are you doing?”

She simply pressed her face into my outstretched hand. The touch was soft. She must have washed the blood off in the bathroom; the skin of my palm met something cool and faintly damp that clung tightly.

“I’m acting cute.”

The sheer confidence. When our eyes met she gave me a smug little smile that left me speechless.

“You think this is it?”

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

“Of course not. Take the backpack.”

“Got it~”

She made that lisping little sound and slung the backpack over her shoulders. We explored the apartment together. The entrance showed no signs of struggle. The bed had been neatly washed, and the blood on the floor looked thoroughly cleaned. That wasn’t all. Between this veranda and the ones on either side, makeshift footholds had been fixed to the drainpipes—conspicuous and deliberate. One set led to 707, the other to 709.

It was still dangerous, but… better than the corridor. At the same time it told me something important. The man in 808 had clearly known about the giant monster climbing up from the underground parking lot. He’d done everything possible to avoid using the hallway. The furniture against the front door had to be part of that plan. After all, the thing could scale the outer walls.

The decision didn’t take long. I headed for the veranda with my sister.

“Oppa?”

“...I want to check which neighboring rooms still have zombies.”

“We have food. We could just stay here…”

“We could, but I’d rather secure the area first.”

It was an excuse. The truth was the quest, but I had zero confidence trying to explain the system to her. I worried I’d been too vague, yet my sister didn’t seem particularly against it.

“So you stay here—”

“I want to come too.”

She tried to follow instead. That was unexpected.

“You sure? You’re not exactly athletic. Your balance isn’t the best either.”

“Ah, um, well… it’s fine. The cup ramen gave me some energy… and there are footholds!”

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried, but having another pair of hands was a definite advantage. Still, the thought of her getting grabbed made my stomach twist. In a world this fucked, I couldn’t leave her behind as dead weight. She might even be useful in ways I didn’t expect. I’d just have to be careful.

With that thought I crossed to the next unit. My sister barely needed my help. The same girl who used to trip over her own feet reached room 707 without trouble.

“...Were you always this good at moving?”

“I’m not an idiot. Of course I can handle this much.”

She was right, but even so, she was moving far too well for my sister. Were my stats applying to her too? If that was the case, it was excellent news. If Kang Ahyeon could keep up with my level, it would be an enormous help. I still wasn’t sure, though.

We siblings reached the next apartment, checked inside, and immediately moved to its veranda. Room 707 had already been thoroughly looted—nothing but empty space and signs of frantic searching. Our next target was 706. We were about to cross when—

“...Oppa, don’t you hear that?”

She grabbed my sleeve just as I was stepping over. I paused.

“Hear what?”

“The sound. Something being dragged.”

I listened hard but heard nothing. My sister put a finger to her lips and whispered, “Shh.” What the hell was she planning?

She crept to the front door and quietly opened it. My blood ran cold. Crazy girl. After seeing that monster, she was going into the corridor?

When I tried to follow, she reached back, pressed her finger to her lips again, and gave another soft “Shh.” I understood what she was doing. I understood, but… she really was insane.

I held my breath, tense, and watched. She stepped into the corridor, looked around, then vanished from sight. While I waited, I stood by the foothold leading to the next veranda.

Ding-dong—

The doorbell rang. A chorus of guttural growls immediately turned toward the front door. I counted them as I crossed over, cleaver in my right hand and the club tucked between my backpack and spine.

Six zombies. Too many. The moment my body locked up, I steadied my breathing and tightened my grip on the cleaver.

I eased the veranda door open and approached the creatures bumping against the entrance.

What I needed was a perfect ambush. I twisted my torso fully and brought the cleaver down on the nearest zombie’s skull with all my strength.

Crunch. The skull split. My wrist vibrated along the cleaver, but the feeling passed quickly. Before the others could turn toward the noise, I left the cleaver buried and yanked the club from behind my back instead.

In my wide eyes I saw the zombies. All of them turning at once. One of them stumbling as its foot caught on its fallen comrade. I swung the club downward with everything I had.

Crack! The impact felt solid. The wooden rod made a sickening sound as it caved in the skull. But one hit wasn’t enough. The creature fell with its head split open, yet it still twitched. No time to finish it.

Krrraaaak! The rest charged.

I spun and sprinted back across to the veranda, slamming the door shut behind me. The corpse on the floor blocked any chance of a clean jump. I gripped the club and watched the zombies barrel toward me a heartbeat too late.

Crash—shatter! They smashed through the veranda door. Glass and plastic shards rained down. I raised the club high and brought it down hard on the first one to reach me.

Crack!

The zombie with the ruined head collapsed. Before the rest could rise I grabbed the window sill, vaulted over, and landed on the narrow foothold.

Only then did I truly understand agility. Balance, joint range, reaction speed—every aspect had risen. Agility had been the correct choice.

But I also needed the strength to end them in a single blow. The next point would go into strength.

The moment the zombies reached for their lost prey and leaned out over the railing, I swung the much longer club with both hands.

Crack. Crack. Crunch!

The unstable foothold and the need to cling to the pipe reduced my power, but even one-handed the club was lethal. The moment the fourth zombie fell, the status window flickered again.

It wasn’t a natural death. It was Kang Ahyeon. She had finished the zombie whose skull I’d split open but which still twitched, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and was now approaching. Only two remained.

Beyond the shattered veranda my sister appeared, kitchen knife and cleaver both dripping with blood. She took one glance at the situation, then walked toward the two zombies leaning as far as they could over the railing in their hunger for me.

Crunch!

She appeared from behind and drove the kitchen knife straight through one zombie’s throat. The creature tried to turn at the new presence, but I was faster. I tucked the club away and seized both its hands. The railing kept its teeth too far from me, and my grip stopped it from reaching my sister right behind it. The zombie thrashed, teeth clacking wildly.

From behind, Ahyeon aimed the cleaver and brought it down.

Thud! Even with the cleaver buried perfectly in its skull the zombie refused to die. She ripped it free and struck again and again until, at last, the creature went completely limp.

Under the setting sun, I looked at the new power I had gained.