Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Yuseong Group (9)
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After a series of twists and turns, Park Min-ji was dragged into the elevator. She pressed the button for the 20th floor with an anxious look on her face and held her employee card key up to the terminal.
Beep-
With a cheerful sound, the elevator, which had been completely still, began slowly ascending.
"Um, is it really safe up there?"
"Who knows. We'll find out soon enough."
I pulled a tactical headset from my inventory—one with military-grade noise cancellation that blocked out surrounding sounds—and slipped it over Park Min-ji's ears, picking up on the faint hostility through Threat Detection.
A moment later.
Ding-
With a clear arrival chime, the doors smoothly slid open to either side. What unfolded before us wasn't a glamorous hotel lobby, but a blood-soaked corridor. And patrolling it were zombies, as a bonus.
"……!"
Park Min-ji spotted the zombies and desperately clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle a scream.
"Sigh, figures."
Sera let out a sigh, as if she hadn't expected anything else.
The corridor and carpet were stained with unidentifiable fluids, and the walls and ceiling were so splattered with blood that finding a clean spot was harder than spotting a dirty one.
In the midst of that crimson scene stood figures who had once been hotel staff or guests, now wandering the hall with vacant eyes. A few zombies stared at us blankly.
Kreaaaa?
The nearest zombie spotted us, twisted its head at an unnatural angle, let out a creepy groan, and shambled toward us.
That action was the signal.
"Everyone hold your positions and open fire. Joo-hyuk, keep an eye on Min-ji's safety as much as possible. Without her, finding our way will be tough."
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Carlson's assault rifle spat fire first. The head of the lead zombie exploded like a watermelon, signaling the start of battle.
No sooner had the shots rang out than Lea and Sera stepped out of the elevator, taking the left and right corridors respectively.
Sure enough, zombies poured out from the rooms ahead and to either side, smashing through doors at the sound of gunfire.
Park Min-ji trembled at the sight of the swarm converging like a disturbed wasp nest, but unlike her, we weren't tense at all.
Compared to the endless horde outside, the zombies here were limited in number. Plus, the narrow corridor terrain favored a small team against many.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
We opened fire without needing orders. Lea cleanly picked off incoming enemies with single shots, while Sera burst-fired zombie heads.
The Titan Security members were pros. Their perfect fire net kept the zombies from closing in.
"Joo-hyuk, reloading!"
While Sera swapped magazines, I took her position and handled the zombies that had crept close during the brief lull.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Done!"
"Reloading here too!"
My role was to support the team. During those short reload windows, I'd cover from the center position. The key was never letting the gunfire stop.
Thanks to Tactical Marksmanship, not a single bullet was wasted—each one pierced a zombie skull. We alternated firing and reloading, trusting each other's backs.
The battle, which lasted a few minutes, finally ended.
Our coordination was flawless. The zombies couldn't breach our fire net and all met their end.
'Easy.'
Of course, it felt easy for a simple reason. Every team member had performed their role perfectly.
"Left clear."
"Right clear."
"Front clear too. All clear. Check your spare ammo."
"Hm... Shame we can't use explosives."
The narrow passage had its advantages, but clear drawbacks too. Enemies didn't swarm all at once; they trickled in slowly from multiple waves, limiting grenade effectiveness.
And fighting inside a building was another issue.
'A structure like this won't collapse easily from a few blasts inside...'
The real problem was the smoke and dust from explosions.
In a situation where headshots were the most efficient way to deal with zombies, obscuring your team's vision was never welcome.
'Besides, it's not like they're pouring in enough to justify grenades.'
No need to take risks just to save a bit of ammo.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ We crossed the zombie corpses and headed where Park Min-ji directed. According to her, there was a staff break room near the emergency stairs on the 20th floor.
If Manager Seo Ji-soo was on this floor, that was the most likely spot.
"Right there."
Park Min-ji pointed to a plain steel door at the end of the hall—unlike the others, it had no decorations. A small card reader was mounted beside it.
The thick steel door was firmly shut, but faint signs of life came from beyond.
"Seems like someone's inside."
At Park Min-ji's whisper, Carlson nodded and signaled us. Sera and I took positions on either side of the door, while Lea watched our rear.
"Min-ji. Open it."
At Carlson's order, Park Min-ji nervously held her employee card to the reader.
Ding-
With a cheerful electronic beep, the sound of the lock disengaging echoed. But the moment the door cracked open, a man inside charged out swinging a chair at Park Min-ji.
"Kyaaak!?"
Park Min-ji screamed.
Of course, the man's attack never reached her. I grabbed and stopped it, snatched the chair, hurled it aside, and kicked him square in the gut.
"Gahk!"
The man flew back with a yelp.
I clicked my tongue softly and stepped into the break room. Inside, tense survivors—staff and guests by their looks—glared at us, clutching chair legs, broken bottles, even a fire extinguisher.
"No bullshit. Drop your weapons and back off. Or I shoot."
I aimed my assault rifle at them, ready to fire without hesitation if they talked crap or twitched wrong.
Carlson and the others followed, entering and training their weapons, leaving the survivors visibly rattled.
"A-Are you rescue...?"
"Think so?"
I sneered back.
"We'll grab a few things and go. Stay put and behave. Act up, and I'll put a hole in your head."
Despite the polite threat, they didn't back down easily.
"Everything here's ours! We're not giving shit! You looters!"
The guy I'd kicked staggered up and yelled.
Emboldened by his shout, the others gripped their weapons tighter, baring hostility.
'Haa. Are their eyes just for show?'
I sighed inwardly, swiftly ejecting the live-round magazine and swapping in the rubber-bullet one from my belt.
Then I squeezed the trigger at both his thighs. The whole motion took less than a second.
"Gaaaaah!"
He collapsed screaming. Rubber bullets might sound harmless, but point-blank, they crack bone.
"Huh?"
But looking closer, blood seeped from his left thigh.
'Oh, forgot the one in the chamber.'
Just call it a freebie. His life wasn't my problem anyway.
The others, seeing his state, dropped their weapons in terror and backed away.
I promptly fired two rubber rounds into each of them.
"Gaaaaah! W-We dropped 'em! Why...!?"
"Don't you idiots know collective responsibility?"
It had absolutely nothing to do with them leering at my women like pervs.
"Urgh..."
Muffled groans and cries erupted everywhere. Only then did I lower my barrel, satisfied.
'Wanted to just kill all the cocky bastards, but gotta mind the team's rep.'
I gave the fallen ones a pitiful look and swapped back to live rounds.
"Now we can talk. Is Manager Seo Ji-soo here?"
The survivors just exchanged glances, none answering.
"Tch. Who's up for round two? Eenie, meenie... miny... moe..."
"N-No, she's not!"
"For real? If I find her and she's here, you're all done."
"……."
"Hey, Park Min-ji. Is Seo Ji-soo here or not?"
She shook her head at my question.
"No."
"Then anyone I don't like?"
"Uh... none."
"Too bad. Next time there is, tell me. I'll kill 'em no questions asked."
"Uh, um. Okay."
She took it as a joke, answering awkwardly.