Kang Jinsu
"A thousand...?"
Kang Jinsu dropped his legs from the desk.
Yesterday's wave had been exactly one thousand. This time, once you added the zombies bound for the neighboring sector, the count came to two thousand.
If they shove them onto us again, this is going to get seriously dangerous...
Brrring—
The phone of the man who had come to propose the deal went off.
"Yes, Commander. I'm in the middle of explaining it now. Ah—yes, they've agreed on this end."
The man gave Kang Jinsu a slight bow and went on.
"Yes. I'll head back right away. ...What? One moment."
He crossed to the window and looked out over the rear of the base.
"Yes, I can see it. You mean back that way, correct? Understood. I'll pass it along."
Kang Jinsu waited until the call ended, then asked.
"Pass what along?"
"The zombie spawn point. You see that low hill back there? He says they'll come from beyond it."
"...And how the hell would you people know that?"
"He said to consider it thanks for agreeing to the alliance."
Kang Jinsu got up and went to stand beside the man.
A single low hill showed through the trees.
So all we have to do is wait there and lead them off. That it?
Kang Jinsu studied the hill, then let out a short laugh.
"Well, that's some useful intel. Tell him I said thanks."
"Yes, sir. Then I'll be on my way."
Once the man was gone, Kang Jinsu crooked a finger at Junhyeok.
"Hey. Get over here."
Junhyeok came.
"You're going over there. You drag the zombies and take them to that neighboring base."
"...Sir? Me?"
"When the zombies show up, you lead them and you run. To that base you went to earlier. Do that, and I'll give your girlfriend back."
Junhyeok turned to look at him.
"..."
"Don't want to? Your girlfriend's getting used like that, and your own neck still matters more?"
Junhyeok shut his mouth.
Jiyeon, curled in the corner, lifted her head.
"...Will you really give her back?"
"Yeah. Leave together, stay here and live—do whatever you want."
Junhyeok looked at Jiyeon.
She gave a small shake of her head.
"Oppa, don't..."
Kang Jinsu saw it and scowled.
"Do it or don't, I don't care, but make up your mind. You in, or you out?"
"I... I'll do it!"
Junhyeok answered at once.
"Just—please keep your promise."
Kang Jinsu grinned.
Idiot.
He could have stayed over there and lived, same as the guy sent along with him. Instead he'd come crawling back. And now he was going to swallow a lie like this and burn the last of his life on it?
One hell of a magnificent dumbass.
Kang Jinsu shot him a thumbs-up.
"Good. But do it right. Don't get near the base and just run for it. Drag them all the way to the door."
"...Understood."
"You saw that old bastard yesterday, right? Do it like him. Slam them in, then climb the building and wait. That's all there is to it, isn't it? Just make sure you ram them in hard."
Junhyeok started toward Jiyeon.
Kang Jinsu threw an arm out and blocked him.
"We're busy enough to die over here. What do you think you're doing?"
"Just for a moment..."
"Do it when you get back. I'll even clear out of the room for you then."
Junhyeok stood frozen a second, then turned away.
Kang Jinsu flung the door open and shouted after him.
"Run! If those zombie bastards come at us, your girlfriend dies too!"
Once he was well clear of the command building, Junhyeok slowed.
...Fuck.
He'd said he would do it. He had no idea whether that was the right call.
Lead the zombies back to Kang Jinsu, and Jiyeon died with him. Take them to the neighboring base instead, and he'd be dumping a load of shit on the man who had offered to help.
And if that man dies too...
What the hell was he supposed to do?
Despair. That was the only word that fit.
Brrring—
A name lit up on his phone: Kang Taehyun.
Junhyeok snatched the call.
"Hello?"
"Junhyeok. You've made it outside, yes?"
"Yes. I... the thing is..."
Junhyeok dragged a hand across his mouth.
"That bastard told me to drag the zombies over to your side..."
"Yes. I imagine he did."
"I said I'd do it, because he promised to give Jiyeon back... Fuck, I'm sorry. I..."
"No. You did the right thing. This is inside the scenario I expected."
"R... really...?"
Junhyeok kept his head bowed and waited for Taehyun to go on.
"We'll attach our zombies to the horde as well. All you have to do is drag the whole mass and run it straight at that bastard's base."
"Yes...? Then what about Jiyeon?"
"Call him before you arrive and threaten him. Tell him that if he lets Jiyeon out right now, you'll come to our side instead."
"W... will a threat like that even work...?"
"Junhyeok. We don't have time, so forgive me for getting straight to the point. Please hear me without misunderstanding."
"Yes...? Yes, sir!"
Junhyeok tightened his grip on the phone.
"I'll be honest. There is no perfectly clean answer to the situation you're in. Which means the method I just gave you can still fail. But it's the surest answer we have right now, so that's why I offered it first."
"Th... then what do I...?"
"There is another plan. If I lay it out now, though, it might tangle things. So for the moment, will you try the method I just described?"
"Haaah... Yes. Understood. I... I'll trust you. Then if that bastard actually lets Jiyeon go, what do we do after that?"
"Send Jiyeon toward our base. We can control the Natural Flora Zombies regardless."
"Yes...? How is something like that even possible?"
A sigh came through the phone.
"Haaah... I'm sorry. There isn't time to explain all of it. In any case, send Jiyeon our way, and you slam the zombies straight into that bastard's base. After that, climb the outer wall of the command building, get up on the roof, and hold out. With a body like yours, you should manage it easily enough."
Junhyeok swallowed.
"Ah... I understand what you mean. Jiyeon... please look after her, Commander..."
Wind stirred the leaves.
For a while Junhyeok only stared at the ground under his feet.
"Isn't it a little early to be giving up already? Hold on, and we'll send reinforcements."
"Ah...? I... thank you."
"And contact the people who mean to get out. They have to clear the area before the zombies arrive."
"Ah, yes. I'll do it right now."
Junhyeok hung up and opened his messages.
He sent the same text to everyone he had spent last night persuading to flee for the neighboring base.
He pocketed the phone and climbed the hill.
By the time he reached the top, he was properly out of breath.
Hah... Life really is a heavy thing...
Junhyeok braced his hands on his knees and caught his breath.
Then a blue light spread at the foot of the hill.
Zombies, appearing one after another.
Junhyeok straightened—and froze where he stood.
They were behind the trees. Behind those, and farther back still.
Hah... All right. Let's do this.
Junhyeok turned and ran.
Uwaaaaaah—
Hundreds of them howled at his back all at once.
On the way down he missed a step. He ducked, barely caught his balance, and kept running without a stop.
Fall and I die. I die, and Jiyeon dies with me, and I go out as some pathetic bastard who couldn't even protect his girlfriend and just got NTR'd. I have to keep my head. I have to.
Brrring—
His phone rang. Junhyeok jammed a hand into his pocket.
"Hah, hah... Hello!"
"Do you see the horde coming in from the left?"
Junhyeok turned his head.
Zombies were pouring out between the trees.
"I—I see them!"
"That's my wave. Run across their front. I'll stick them onto you."
Junhyeok stared that way with his mouth open.
It was bizarre. As if one swarm had become the shell of a Dubai chocolate cookie, it wrapped itself around the other horde and was hauling it this way.
...What the hell is that?
He was gaping at the sight, hollowed out, when a voice came through the phone.
"Don't look back. Run. If you fall, even I can't save you... You have to keep your head and run."
"Yes... yes, sir!"
Junhyeok ran with his eyes on nothing but the ground ahead. A little later curiosity got the better of him and he glanced back once, then snapped his head forward again.
Zombies packed the forest path from edge to edge, coming after him.
Brrring—
Kang Jinsu picked up the call from Junhyeok.
"Yeah. Going well?"
"Hah... Yes. I'm headed that way now."
"Good. All the way to the door, you make sure—"
"No. I'm coming to where you are, you piece of shit."
Kang Jinsu pulled the phone from his ear and looked at the screen.
What? Did somebody else call me?
He woke the display.
It was Lee Junhyeok's number.
"Let Jiyeon go. Then I'll head for the neighboring base. Otherwise we all die together."
"...What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"What does it look like? Decide. Fast. There isn't much time left."
"Have you lost your mind? Did you forget your girlfriend is right here?"
"I know exactly where she is, you fucker."
Kang Jinsu looked at Jiyeon.
She was sitting with her knees pulled to her chest, and now she raised her head.
"And if I kill her, then what?"
"Then we all just die, you worthless piece of shit. Hope you're empty-handed down in hell. I'll tear you apart there too, you son of a bitch."
The call cut.
Has this bastard actually gone insane?
Kang Jinsu walked to the window.
Junhyeok was bursting out of the forest. And behind him, following, an innumerable tide of zombies.
"Fuck..."
The whole of his view filled with the horde.
It was, in a word, a spectacle.
Faced with a headcount of two thousand—something he was seeing with his own eyes for the first time—Kang Jinsu froze solid.
I'm... I'm fucked...
He lowered the phone and threw the window open.
"Hey! Shut the gate! Zombies incoming!"
No answer came back.
Kang Jinsu leaned his body out the window.
"What are you doing, goddammit! Everybody get inside the headquarters!"
Again, nothing.
He shut the window and went to the door of the commander's office.
"Nobody out there? Get the guys in here, now!"
Same as before.
Did these bastards all go die somewhere? Situation's like this and they're sprawled out asleep?
Kang Jinsu flung the office door open.
"Can't you hear me? You all want to die that badly? The zombies are coming!"
There was no one.
"Fuck, where did everybody go? Where did you go?!"
Kang Jinsu tore through every corner and found nobody. Not by the turrets. Not in front of the warehouse.
...They all ran and left me? Where? Don't tell me every last one of them went over to those bastards.
He stood there blankly, muttering.
Uwaaaaaah—
Only when he saw the zombies that had closed to within arm's reach did his mind snap back, and he retreated into the command building.
"Hey!"
Kang Jinsu called to Jiyeon.
She stared at him with a vacant, shattered look.
"Get out! Get out of here right now and disappear somewhere else with your boyfriend, you fucking bitch!"
Jiyeon backed off until she was beyond his reach, then turned and ran outside.
Kang Jinsu followed her as far as the entrance.
"Hey! I sent her! Take her and get lost!"
Junhyeok caught Jiyeon as she came running. Kang Jinsu flapped a hand at the two of them.
"I said get lost! A man makes a promise, he's supposed to keep it, isn't he?!"
Junhyeok shoved at Jiyeon's back.
"Run for that forest over there! I'll follow you!"
"Oppa..."
"Go!"
Jiyeon took off to the side.
Junhyeok kept running straight at Kang Jinsu.
"Hey, you fucker! Why are you coming this way? I said get lost! Get lost, goddammit—what kind of place do you think this is, walking in here?!"
Junhyeok ran right up, slapped himself against the headquarters wall, planted a foot on the window frame, and launched himself upward. Only when he saw Junhyeok haul on the eaves and swing one leg over did Kang Jinsu start screaming.
"You son of a bitch! I let her go! Why the fuck are you spitting on a promise you made?!"
"Because I feel like it, you fucker. Promise my ass. Die well, you bastard. I hope they crunch every last bone of yours. You piece of shit."
Junhyeok poured the curses out without mercy.
This fucking bastard...?
Did he think climbing up there meant he couldn't be killed?
Kang Jinsu drew his pistol and aimed at the ceiling.
Bang!
Bang—bang—bang!
Only after he had emptied the magazine did he realize it.
The zombies had been coming this way.
Boom! Boom, boom!
Kang Jinsu backed away from the door.
The zombies hammered and clawed at it, shoving to get in.
"F... fuck... Bullets... where are the bullets...?"
He dug through his pockets, trying to get more rounds out.
And in that instant, the zombies drove the door down and came through.
Uwaaaaaah—
"Gyaaah! Fuck! It hurts! I said it hurts, you bastards!"
The zombie in front threw itself on Kang Jinsu and tore into his shoulder with its teeth. He twisted, trying to rip it off, and still thrust the hand holding the gun upward.
"Lee Junhyeok! You fu—!"
Another zombie latched onto his neck and hung there.
Kang Jinsu never got the trigger pulled. He went down on the floor, and the zombies piled onto him.
Flat on the roof, Junhyeok pulled out his phone.
Below, the turrets kept firing.
"Commander... I'm up."
"Good. Hold a little longer. The turrets need to thin them a bit more before we can finish this."
"I'm fine, but... Jiyeon?"
"She's arrived at our base. We're checking her for injuries first."
Junhyeok pressed his forehead to the roof.
"Ah... thank you..."
"Don't mention it. Start getting ready to come down."
He looked below.
Zombies crowded in, trying to force their way into the headquarters, and dropped as the turrets hit them. He waited, and before long the corpses were heaped high in front of the entrance. Junhyeok watched the ones still moving in the gaps and wiped the sweat from his palm on his pants.
"All right. I'm calling them in now."
Zombies came pouring out of the forest.
They looked older somehow, and as if they were under someone's orders, they showed no interest in people at all. They ringed the headquarters and drove the zombies still outside inward, shoving them in. The ground beneath the wall Junhyeok had climbed emptied out.
"Now. Come down and head for the forest."
Junhyeok gripped the eaves and lowered himself. He found the window frame with his toes, set his weight, and dropped to the ground. Right beside him, zombies were holding back the ones inside the headquarters. He couldn't tear his eyes off them until the voice on the phone urged him on, and then he ran.
"Keep going. We're bringing the building down now."
Junhyeok made the treeline and looked back.
The worn-looking zombies plastered themselves to the headquarters walls. They tore at the walls and shoved the pillars over. Once one side gave way, the zombies around it swarmed in as well and pushed on the building. The zombies trapped inside thrashed to get out, and it did them no good. There were more zombies plugging the entrance, and they were sealing off every exit with something that looked uncomfortably like intelligence.
KRAAANG!
The zombies toppled more pillars, and the roof itself came down.
Junhyeok stared blankly at the spot where he had been lying only moments ago.
"That's it. You can head back to our base at your own pace now."
"Th-thank you, Commander... I... I really didn't think you'd save us... From now on I'll do whatever you tell me. I really mean it. Thank you."
Wave Complete
Huh? They hand out achievements for this sort of thing?
I opened the achievement notice.
Savage. So they want me to dunk everybody else too, is that it. Which means the hidden perk this time is...?
I opened the perk window.