Chapter 7.
Chapter 7.
The first house had its front door open. I checked inside, but there was no sign of life.
I carefully went inside. There were bloodstains in the living room, and broken dishes were scattered across the kitchen floor.
It was a sign that something had happened while they were fleeing in a hurry. But there were no corpses. Had they turned into zombies and left, or had they escaped?
I opened the fridge, and it seemed the electricity hadn't been cut off yet. There were drinks and side dishes inside, but I didn't bother taking fresh food that would be hard to preserve.
A few bags of ramen, canned goods, instant rice. I packed the useful items into my backpack.
As I was about to move to the second house, I saw a zombie standing in the alley. It was standing with its back turned, doing photosynthesis facing the sun.
'Why is it naked?'
It was a middle-aged female zombie, and her upper body was completely bare.
Was she naked to begin with? Looking closely, most of the zombie's upper body was covered in dark green stains.
'Is it doing photosynthesis through its skin or something?'
Maybe it really is doing plant-like photosynthesis through its skin. If so, exposing as much skin as possible would be the reason.
I muffled my footsteps and approached slowly. It didn't seem to notice me coming.
I raised my bow, aimed at the back of its head, and fired. The arrow pierced its head, and the thing collapsed without a sound. There was no sign of other zombies reacting nearby.
If I can just approach quietly from behind, killing it by piercing its head at close range is the easiest and quietest method. I just need to muffle my footsteps.
I gathered food from the second house, too. It seemed an elderly person had lived here.
There was a medicine box and a walker for the elderly, and in the cupboard, there were things like misutgaru, scorched rice, and hardtack. Since these were things that could be stored for a long time, I took them all.
On the way to the third house, two zombies were standing side by side. Both had their backs turned.
I quietly shot and took down the first one, and before the second one could react, I nocked another arrow and fired. Both shots hit the head.
Perhaps because the sound they made when falling was quiet, other zombies nearby didn't react.
I looted four houses and dealt with five zombies. My backpack was full. Ramen, canned goods, instant rice, bottled water, snacks, dried food. It was enough to last me comfortably for a week.
I hopped on my kickboard and headed for the camper.
I've killed over 20 now, I wonder what kind of ability I'll receive.
When I reached a distance where I could see the camper, I saw something strange.
There was a crowd of people. Four of them in total. Young men and women.
Three men and one woman. They were loitering around the camper, peering inside.
They were holding makeshift weapons in their hands. Wooden spears with sharpened tips, baseball bats, hammers. They might have been armed to survive, but lurking around someone else's car like that couldn't have good intentions.
Maybe they came to rob or steal the camper.
I got off the kickboard and stood at a distance. With my bow raised and an arrow nocked.
"Hey."
At my voice, the four of them turned around with surprised expressions simultaneously. Seeing the bow I was holding, they looked flustered.
"Don't come any closer to the camper."
One of the men among them raised his hand and spoke. He looked to be in his mid-twenties.
"Oh, are you the owner of the camper? We didn't think there was an owner."
"There is an owner, so be on your way."
"Ah, well... alright. You're prickly..."
The man nodded and signaled to his companions. The four of them began to back away slowly. But as they walked, they kept glancing back. It was a look to check where I was going and if I was alone.
I watched them until they completely disappeared before going inside the camper.
I locked the door and checked outside through the window. The bastards weren't visible from inside the camper.
But that look in their eyes was definitely not the look of someone who had given up.
"Hey, are we just going to give up like this?"
The Spear Man opened his mouth as if frustrated. Since he was the tallest and largest, he seemed to be the leader of the group.
"Oppa, it's dangerous. He was holding a bow, too."
The only woman in the group spoke up.
"Fuck, what if he's an unlucky former archery athlete or something?"
It was the man holding the baseball bat.
"No, if he were an archery athlete, he would have had a recurve bow. That didn't look like an archery bow, just a hobby bow. Let's go around the back. Then we can approach without being noticed."
"It looked like he'd shoot immediately if caught, though?"
"It's actually extremely difficult to hit a moving target with a bow. And if you dodge just one shot, you can just rush in and stab him. If we move diagonally and charge in, it won't be hard."
"Ha... this isn't a game... if we get hit by even one shot, we're fucked..."
The man holding the baseball bat hesitated, and the man holding the hammer next to him was in favor.
"Let's try it. We risked our lives to kill zombies, too. It's the same everywhere—you have to risk your life. We have the numbers advantage, and if we succeed, that large camper is ours. It looked brand new. Plus, we'll get a bow as a bonus."
The men who had been hesitating eventually gathered their opinions and started walking toward the camper.
The woman grumbled at the very back, but her say in this group was the lowest anyway.
I took out the drone and flew it high. At this altitude, the drone's noise is barely audible, and it's not easily spotted.
Their figures were captured on the controller screen.
They walked to a place where they couldn't be seen from the camper, then stopped and talked among themselves.
They were putting their heads together and discussing something. They were also gesturing and pointing toward the camper.
A while later, they started moving. Sure enough, they were approaching the camper again, weapons in hand.
This time, they were bypassing to the back of the camper, not the direction from before. Did they think they could sneak up? That they wouldn't be seen because of the trees and bushes?
Did they covet my bow? Or the camper and food? Why fight someone who has a weapon? Foolish bastards.
I landed the drone and waited, holding my breath. I could see enough of the outside from inside the camper. There were cameras installed on all sides by Hyung-nim, and I could also check through the rearview mirrors.
They appeared on the rear camera screen. They were approaching carefully through the bushes. The Spear Man was in the lead, and the others were following.
50 meters, 40 meters, 30 meters...
I opened the window slightly and raised my bow. I aimed at the guy in the front. It was the Spear Man.
As soon as the bastard realized I had aimed with the bow, he started running toward the camper. He was running in a diagonal direction, not a straight line.
Did he think he could dodge an arrow like that?
Swish.
I released the string, and the arrow flew and embedded itself in the man's stomach.
"Argh!"
A scream erupted. The man dropped his spear and collapsed, clutching his stomach. The other three stared at the camper with frozen expressions.
"Why, why did you shoot!"
The woman shouted. Her voice was filled with terror. A tattoo was visible on her exposed shoulder. She had a pretty appearance, but her eyes were fierce.
"Cut the bullshit and get lost if you don't want to die."
I was already nocking the second arrow. The next target was the guy holding the baseball bat.
The bastards hesitated and showed signs of backing away. Their eyes were wavering.
"Put down all the backpacks you're carrying."
"What? Th-that's..."
The man holding the hammer stammered.
I pulled the bowstring, aiming the arrow without a word. The tip of the arrow was aimed precisely at the chest of the man holding the baseball bat.
"Ah, okay! Don't shoot!"
The man hurriedly took off his backpack and put it on the ground. The woman and the man with the bat also put down their backpacks. The guy who got shot in the stomach was lying on the ground, groaning.
"Pull out the arrow and leave it, too."
The bastards had to pull out the arrow stuck in his stomach. Since the tip wasn't a hunting broadhead but a shape like an awl, pulling it out wouldn't be difficult.
One of the companions pulled out the arrow from the fallen man. Blood flowed out, but it didn't seem like a fatal wound.
The bastards started to run away, supporting their fallen companion. They ran desperately, even while staggering. They didn't even look back.
I watched for a long time before lowering my bow. I flew the drone again to confirm they had completely disappeared. Only after they had run far away did I return the drone.
I picked up the backpacks that had fallen on the ground. Inside were a few cans, snacks, and bottles of water. And a small knife. They probably looted these from somewhere.
The bag the woman was carrying also contained sanitary pads and a large number of condoms.
'Why so many condoms...'
I had no intention of pitying the bastards. If those guys had succeeded, I would have died or lost everything.
If anything, didn't I show mercy by letting them all live and sending them away?
I went inside the camper and locked the door. My hands were shaking slightly. I shot a person, not a zombie. Even if I didn't kill him. To survive in this world, I must not hesitate to shoot people.
I looked out the window. The sun was setting.
I turned on my phone while preparing dinner. The internet was still connected. It was slow, but the page loaded.
How long will the internet last? I think it will probably cut off when the electricity goes out.
I browsed social media while heating up instant rice in the microwave. The timeline was even more chaotic than yesterday.
The update speed had slowed down, but many posts were still being uploaded.
While scrolling down, one post with an unusually high number of comments caught my eye. There were thousands of comments. I clicked on it, wondering what it was.
It was a video.
At first, I didn't know what it was. But after a few seconds, I realized what the content was.
It was a young woman. Her clothes were torn, and she was surrounded by several men. She was screaming, but the men were laughing.
The bastard holding the camera was playfully repeating zoom-in and zoom-out. It was a video of a gang rape. They had proudly uploaded it.
I browsed the comments. It was full of condemning posts.
[ These bastards need to be killed. ]
[ What is the admin doing? Not deleting this trash. ]
But in between them, there were other types of comments.
[ LOL, the world is ruined, so we can do whatever we want now ]
[ I'm jealous, tell me the location. Let me join in, too. ]
[ Upload the next video too, lol ]
Judging by the fact that such videos remained, it seemed server management wasn't being done properly.
The police must have already lost their function, and who knows if the platform operators were even alive.
I put down my phone and looked out the window.
Darkness was falling. Out there somewhere, such things were happening. The world was becoming a place where humans were scarier than zombies.
The law is collapsing. No, maybe it has already collapsed.
If the police, the government, and social order all collapse, all that remains is the law of the jungle. A world where the powerful do as they please.
I thought of those four people I met earlier today.
If I didn't have a bow... if I hadn't attacked proactively, what would have happened?
They rushed at me even after seeing me holding a bow. If I had hesitated even a little and had the bow taken away, I would have died or been severely injured and chased away after having everything taken.
As night deepened, I flew the drone. It was to check the surroundings one last time. I slowly scanned a 500-meter radius around the camper.
I could see two or three zombies standing far away, but none were approaching the camper. No people were visible either.
I returned the drone and checked the camper door once more. It was locked. All the windows were closed, too. I drew the curtains and turned off the lights.
I lay down on the bed. The video I saw earlier wouldn't leave my mind. The sound of that woman's scream lingered in my ears.
Has this world ended? Or has a new world begun?
Won't zombies swarm while I'm sleeping? Won't the guys who ran away earlier come back for revenge?
I'm worried, but I have to sleep. I checked the hammer and bow placed right next to where I was lying down again.
I must wake up immediately at even the slightest noise.
Come to think of it, I remember sleeping sensitively. It was when it was my turn for night watch in the military. I remember getting scolded to death for not waking up immediately at the sound of someone calling my name softly, and I let out a wry laugh.
I tossed and turned for a long time before falling asleep.