Chapter 18.
Chapter 18.
After that, I continued hunting zombies while roaming the commercial street.
Between buildings, on the roads, inside alleys. I fired arrows at every zombie I saw, and Yerin retrieved them without rest.
By late afternoon, I had already reached 200.
That meant I'd caught nearly 150 just today.
In the process, I raided a few more restaurants and pharmacies. Canned food, ramen, bottled water, painkillers, disinfectant. My duffel bag and backpack were full.
Passing by a golf shop, a golf bag caught my eye. After a moment's thought, I grabbed one.
"Why are you taking that?"
"To hold arrows. I think I can fit a lot more if I put spare arrows in here."
I opened the golf bag and put the arrows in. It was quite spacious, the length was perfect, and it was comfortable to carry.
It could probably hold 100 to 200 shots or more.
"Yerin-ssi, you carry this."
"Pardon?"
I handed the golf bag to Yerin. She slung it over her shoulder. With her cap and the golf bag, she looked a bit like a caddy.
"It's good. It's not as heavy as I thought."
"The quiver I can carry while shooting only holds one or two. That means I'll run out after about 50 shots. If I need more arrows in succession, you have to quickly replenish them from my side."
"Yes, I understand."
Yerin nodded seriously and replied.
I gathered all the supplies and returned to where I'd parked the camper. Fortunately, the camper was still there. I loaded the supplies and started the engine.
I moved to the original quiet spot. I parked the camper as if hiding it between the trees and turned off the engine.
Before dinner, I taught Yerin how to use the crossbow.
It was a homemade crossbow I'd gotten from a looter. It was crude, but there were no issues with firing it.
"You load it like this, aim, and then pull the trigger."
"Okay."
Yerin held the crossbow and aimed. She fired at a wooden board set up 10 meters away.
Tak.
The arrow hit the wooden board, but didn't hit the circle drawn as the target.
"Again."
Tak. It missed again.
We practiced a few more times, but the results were similar.
Unfortunately, her shooting skills weren't particularly great.
Well, who's good at something from the start? She'll get better if she keeps practicing.
"It'll be hard to hit a zombie's head accurately, but it'll be helpful in a fight against people. You'll be able to hit their torso."
"I'll practice hard."
She nodded.
We had a simple dinner and launched the drone to scout the surroundings.
The area around the camper was quiet. A few zombies were visible in the distance, but none were coming close.
I flew the drone further out to check the city center.
Something was caught on the screen. It was people. A group of five or six, mixed men and women.
They were carrying simple weapons and wearing backpacks. They looked like survivors.
Out of curiosity, I watched them for a moment.
As they were moving, they encountered three or four zombies.
They started fighting with their weapons. But the fight didn't end easily. It took multiple strikes to take down one zombie, and in the meantime, other zombies rushed at them.
Noise occurred. Screams, the sound of steel pipes clashing, shouting.
More zombies from the surroundings started flocking in after hearing the noise.
About ten zombies swarmed them.
Screams erupted. One person fell, and another was bitten.
A terrified woman at the very back dropped her weapon and bag and ran off somewhere. That was the last I saw of them.
I turned off the screen and recalled the drone.
As expected, zombies are difficult for ordinary people. Survivors must be dying off like this continuously.
Yerin, who had been watching the screen with me, said a word.
"Even one zombie is dangerous for an ordinary person. They rush at you with full force, and it's over if you get bitten just once."
"That's right. That's why you need as many people as possible and proper equipment like protective gear."
She nodded. Her expression looked complicated. It seemed the scene we just saw was stuck in her head.
"Let's get some sleep. Tomorrow will be busy too."
Morning came.
As soon as I opened my eyes, I felt it. Something had changed.
Regeneration that surpasses humans. To what extent? Will wounds heal in an instant?
I wanted to test it.
I took out a small knife and lightly cut my finger.
"Ugh..."
It hurts. Of course it hurts. Blood welled up.
I watched the wound. I had expected it to heal in an instant...
Hmm...
It's not healing as fast as I thought.
About 10 minutes passed. The bleeding had stopped slightly, and I could see the wound had closed a little. It seemed faster than usual, but it was different from what I had expected.
Still, it must be true that it recovers faster. It will make a difference when I sustain a major injury.
The next goal was 500.
500 is a lot. Even if a bus is packed with 50 people, that's the number for 10 buses.
"What are you doing?"
I heard Yerin's voice coming out from showering behind me. She approached and looked at my hand.
"Huh? Why is your hand hurt?"
"Ah, this..."
I hesitated for a moment. There was something I hadn't told Yerin. I felt like I could tell her now.
"Yerin-ssi, actually... the more zombies I catch, the more abilities I gain."
"Pardon?"
"At first, it was Infection Immunity. Then, hyper-sensory eyes, physical enhancement, and now I've gained Regeneration too."
Yerin's eyes widened.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Well... I did think you were already beyond human. Your archery skills, the speed at which you catch zombies... and your body is ridiculously good too..."
Body? At her words, I glanced slightly at my forearms and abdomen.
It was an absurdly toned muscle that would only appear in movies or AI drawings.
It is fascinating that this body is maintained even though I don't do any special exercise or diet.
"Haha... Yerin-ssi, your body is pretty impressive too."
She peered at my hand.
"But... why isn't the wound on your hand healing quickly? You said it was Regeneration. The blood hasn't even stopped yet?"
"Haha. You're right. It doesn't regenerate in an instant."
I gave a bitter smile. Did I expect too much?
"Still, it seems faster than usual. It'll make a difference if I get a major injury."
"I hope so. Though it would be best not to get hurt at all."
Yerin wrapped a bandage around my hand. Her touch was gentle.
"Thank you."
"It's only natural. You're the one who saved me."
She smiled.
I fell into thought while brewing coffee.
It had now been 8 days since the zombies appeared.
The first few days were chaos. People hid inside their homes. They must have locked doors, blocked windows, and waited for rescue while only watching the news.
But rescue didn't come.
The military and the government are unable to do anything. Is it because the chain of command collapsed, starting from within the military?
The government broadcasts heard on the radio just keep repeating. There's no change in content at all.
The government might still be holding out somewhere, but they wouldn't have the capacity to come and save ordinary citizens.
A typical household only has about a week, or two weeks at most, of food. Things in the fridge, a few bags of ramen, a few cans. That's all.
Now is the time when that, too, is starting to run out.
People who had only been hiding inside their homes. People who had been trembling in fear while watching zombies outside the window. They, too, have to make a choice now.
Either starve to death slowly.
Or risk their lives and step outside.
The scene I saw on the drone yesterday came to mind. Survivors swarmed by three or four zombies and wiped out. The woman screaming and running away.
There will be more of that in the future.
Hungry people are coming out. But they aren't prepared to fight zombies. They have no weapons, no experience, and no stamina.
And they die.
A world where laws have disappeared. No police, no punishment. People's true natures will start to be revealed. Looting, violence, murder... like those corpses I saw yesterday. Lawless acts will happen more and more in many places.
It's clear that an even more desperate world will unfold.
"What are you thinking about?"
Yerin approached and asked.
"I'm thinking that things will get tougher from here on out."
"More?"
"Yes. Now is the time when people who were hiding at home are running out of food. And the military or government they were waiting for aren't helping either."
Yerin's expression darkened.
"Then... there will be more people outside."
"That's right. Zombies, looters, and hungry people. Because if they just stay still, they'll only starve to death."
"I guess so. Wouldn't the strong survive?"
"We need to be careful. Even more so."
Yerin nodded.
"I understand. I'll be careful."
It was a scene that looked peaceful. But that peace wouldn't last long.
The real hell is about to begin from now on.
I was making arrows in front of the camper, and Yerin was scouting the surroundings with the drone nearby.
"Boss!"
Yerin suddenly shouted. It was an urgent voice.
"What is it?"
"People are approaching!"
I quickly ran over and looked at the drone screen. A group of about ten people was coming this way.
"I think they're the subway people."
Yerin said.
"The leader we saw before... Kim Tae-ho. I don't see him."
I looked at the screen closely. Indeed, Kim Tae-ho was not there.
"Let's go out first. We need to deal with them beforehand."
"Okay."
I quickly gathered my equipment. I slung my bow and quiver, and Yerin picked up the crossbow.
We decided to face them far away from the camper. I didn't want to fight around the camper.
We ran in the direction they were in. And we revealed ourselves at the path.
They were flustered when they saw me. There were exactly ten of them. It was a mix of men and women, and they were holding simple weapons in their hands.
"Are you on your way to my camper?"
I asked. While aiming my bow.
"What's the matter?"
They glanced at each other. They looked nervous. One of the flustered people opened their mouth. It was a man in his thirties.
"W-we're not here to fight!"
"Then what?"
"Um... that guy Kim Tae-ho who was there before has been exiled."
"What?"
It was an unexpected statement. I asked while still aiming the bow.
"Why?"
The man hesitated for a moment before answering.
"It's... because of women issues."
"Women issues?"
"As Yerin-ssi knows..."
The man glanced at Yerin.
"It's true that he messed with the women in the shelter. The victims kept increasing... and the number of people harboring complaints grew. He even exercised violence against those who resisted."
The man sighed.
"People who couldn't take it anymore rose up and restrained him. We exiled him and a few of his cronies."
Yerin muttered quietly beside me.
"Then that guy is wandering around outside right now?"
"We don't know where he went."
I asked while still aiming the bow.
"So? Did you come to tell me that?"
"No. That's..."
The man looked back at the others. They all nodded.
"We came to ask for help."