Chapter 94
Chapter 94
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Yuseong Group (10)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Hoo. You guys are all lucky. I was planning to make an example out of one of you if anyone got on my bad side."
The survivors immediately backed away from Park Min-ji the moment they heard that.
"B-Boss...! Everyone, it's not like that...!"
I cleanly ignored Park Min-ji's whining and continued with what I had to say.
"From now on, everything here is mine. If anyone has a problem or doesn't like it, speak up now."
"......"
No one answered. The survivors just stared at me with eyes full of terror.
"Good. I'll take that as everyone agreeing."
I threatened them with my gun and herded them into one spot, then ordered my team to thoroughly search the break room.
Since the enemy had attacked first, none of my team showed any sympathy.
The search turned up some food and water. Everything else was just useless junk.
Not for Park Min-ji, though.
"Ah! Found it."
Park Min-ji shoved aside a small office desk in the corner of the break room. A hidden space revealed a red button.
"Pressing this opens the door to the emergency stairs leading to the 21st floor!"
When Park Min-ji pressed the button, the lamp above the emergency exit door at the end of the hall changed from red to green. Followed by a small click as the lock disengaged.
"And look what I found here!"
In Park Min-ji's hand was a terminal device with an unknown slot for inserting and ejecting cards.
"What's that?"
Sera voiced her curiosity.
"This is a terminal that can copy employee card keys."
Park Min-ji inserted a card key and hit the copy button. With a low whirr, a new card key popped out.
"I'll make one for everyone. That way, if something happens on the upper floors, you can use the elevator to escape to a lower floor in an emergency."
"Oh? What's that! Awesome!"
This gave us a limited but usable escape route for emergencies.
She operated it a few times to produce enough card keys for our squad. I eyed the card key copier closely as I took mine.
'This looks pretty useful. Could come in handy later.'
"Hey, I'm taking this."
"Ah, no! That's important company equipment...!"
The guy whose thigh got wrecked in that unfortunate accident earlier shouted desperately.
"No my ass. Wanna die, punk?"
I growled with a fierce glare, and the guy immediately backed off with his tail between his legs.
'Worthless punk talks big.'
I grinned in satisfaction and surveyed the survivors left in the break room. Seven guys, four women. Perfect number.
"Hey, you lot. We've cleaned up most of the zombies here, so from now on, you handle clearing all the corpses on this floor and sorting the supplies. Got it?"
"W-Why should we...?"
A woman who looked like a guest mustered her courage to ask. I couldn't believe it.
"So we bust our asses while you sit around sucking it up? We saved your lives—shouldn't you at least handle that shit yourselves?"
'I don't mind sucking it up while others work, but the other way around? Hell no.'
I cackled inwardly and added,
"We'll be back later. If it's not spotless by then, you're all dead."
The survivors nodded meekly under my threat, without a hint of resistance. Then one of them cautiously spoke up.
"Um. What about zombies in the guest rooms...?"
"Fuck! Figure that shit out yourselves. Those heads on your shoulders ain't for show, right?"
"Th-Then at least give us a gun..."
"In your dreams. Just smash their heads with a chair like before. Aim for the head. The head."
"......"
The survivors shut their mouths and watched my mood under my unreasonable orders. A beautiful sight.
"Carlson. Preparations to head to the 21st floor are complete."
"I couldn't understand the Korean, but your ability to seize control of the situation was top-notch, Joo-hyuk. Have you had a lot of experience like this before?"
"You're embarrassing me. I'm usually a law-abiding, polite young man."
Sera and Lea, standing side by side, shot me looks like I was spouting nonsense.
"...I see."
Carlson nodded. It was clear he was okaying what I'd done in the break room.
Fine by me.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ We exited the break room and headed straight for the emergency stairs to the 21st floor.
The stairs were mostly clean overall. Not a single drop of blood in sight. So we could climb while relaxed for once, without much tension.
While climbing, Sera panted and asked Park Min-ji a question. Of course, I still had to translate everything.
"But can we go from the 21st floor to the 40th? Didn't you say earlier that security makes it hard without the elevator?"
Park Min-ji thought for a moment before cautiously replying.
"I can't say for sure about everywhere, but it should be possible. From the 21st to the 40th is a dedicated space for VIP guests. For their convenience, there are definitely internal passages like landings or escalators connecting the floors, even without the emergency stairs. The design is completely different from the regular staff areas."
"Internal passages?"
Carlson asked back.
"Yes. For example, lounges or restaurants with different themes on each floor, connected by dedicated corridors. VIPs hate climbing stairs uncomfortably."
'Hmm. Sounds plausible.'
Park Min-ji's explanation was pretty convincing.
No matter how security-conscious Yuseong Group was, they wouldn't turn the entire massive building into a maze.
Especially a space for rich elites—convenience would be as important as security.
'This girl's got brains to match her body. Surprisingly useful.'
Finally, we reached the thick fire door to the 21st floor. Thanks to unlocking it from the 20th, the lamp glowed green.
Carlson gripped the handle and signaled us. We readied our weapons, bracing for whatever threat might come when the door opened.
Kiiiek—
It sounded like it hadn't been used in ages. The door creaked open slowly on rusty hinges. We peered inside tensely.
"What... the hell is this?"
Disbelief colored Sera's voice.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The scene beyond the door completely defied our expectations.
If the 20th floor was packed with zombies and splattered with blood that'd be a bitch to clean later, the 21st was a mess in an entirely different way.
The hallway walls were gouged as if something massive had barreled through. The luxurious marble floor was shattered and cracked in places.
Like someone had gone at it with a giant drill and hammer on purpose.
The chandelier on the ceiling was half-smashed and swaying precariously. Paintings on the walls were shredded beyond recognition.
"What the... what happened here?"
Carlson muttered lowly, staying alert.
Lea crouched silently, examining the traces on the floor. She touched debris carefully with gloved hands, then shook her head.
"Not gunfire. No explosion traces either. This... it's pure physical force."
Sera asked incredulously at Lea's analysis.
"Physical force? So what, the Hulk suddenly showed up and went on a rampage?"
"......Maybe."
"What?"
"Take it with a grain of salt—it's just a possibility. Every infected we've met so far has kept a human form. And they don't die unless you smash their heads."
"So?"
"That's already different from normal creatures. Meaning, if the virus mutates, it could evolve into something we know nothing about."
"No, fuck. You're just trying to scare me, right?"
"Enough chit-chat, everyone. Stay alert. Lea, don't spread uncertain info and stir up anxiety."
"...Understood."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Silence.
The word that best described the 21st floor.
"Damn. No zombies is good, but why does it feel so creepy?"
Sera muttered, readjusting her gun.
We advanced cautiously down the ruined hall. Marble shards crunched underfoot with every step.
I was at the front of the line. I watched Park Min-ji, who was guiding us while glancing nervously left and right, a bit scared.
"Hey. Park Min-ji."
Her shoulders twitched at my call.
"Y-Yes?"
"Are there fewer guests from the 21st up? It's way too quiet compared to the 1st or 20th."
"Uh... yes, fewer than regular guests, but not zero. From the 21st, it's dedicated VIP space, mostly suites instead of standard rooms. Still, our hotel boasts about 50% occupancy on average, so there were probably quite a few guests here when the outbreak hit."
"Then what's this?"
I jerked my chin at the destroyed hall. By her logic, it should be crawling with zombies like the 20th.
But there wasn't a single corpse in sight.