What the Hell Are You!
What the Hell Are You!
I have never seen a zombie spawning ground before.
Even so, I can be certain that this place is a zombie spawning ground.
Because elongated, oval-shaped cocoons just about the right size to hold a zombie are stuck all over the floor, the walls, and the ceiling.
However, is it a bit much to call them cocoons?
The cocoons I know bring to mind soft things like thread or cotton, but the cocoons right in front of my eyes look like glistening skin covered heavily in phlegm, so sticky and slick just by looking at them.
And skin covered all over with creepy, protruding veins.
Ah, this isn't the time to be standing around sightseeing like this.
"Get in!"
"I-In there??"
"What are you echoing me for?!"
"Aah!!!"
Pulling Minseo by the collar as she made a violently reluctant expression, I threw her into the hallway, and then threw Kwon Juha right beside her in the exact same way.
And as I tried to close the door, Juhyeok let out a shriek and threw his body into the hallway on his own.
Kung!!
Bang bang bang bang!!!
As soon as the hallway door closed, the zombies battered the door as if to break it down.
This door probably won't last long.
That's why we need to escape through the emergency stairs on the opposite side as quickly as possible.
Of course, if that place is also full of zombies, we'll have to use another method, but heading there is the top priority for now.
By the way, what are you all doing standing around like idiots?!
"What are you waiting for, why aren't you moving?! Kim Minseo! Are you going to drive me crazy too?! Do you want to drive a person crazy?!"
"O-Oppa..."
"Oppa or whatever, I said run already..."
As I tried to push past the three people sitting stupidly...
Fucking hell, this feeling is fucked up.
The feel of the cocoons touching my hands and arms is so filthy it's genuinely hard to put into words.
Should I call it the feeling of a sticky, slick tongue licking my body?
Not like a woman's tongue, but more like a cow dripping thick saliva licking my body with its tongue—that description would at least be somewhat similar.
Of course, unlike this feeling, something else was what actually stopped the three people's footsteps.
"Fucking hell, they really shat out a ton of these..."
The front door that should be positioned between the walls is lying on the floor, crushed under a cocoon, and even inside the house, which opens wide into the hallway, cocoons presumed to be zombie eggs are everywhere.
Just on this floor alone, there must be hundreds of zombie eggs, and if you look at this entire apartment building, a terrifyingly massive number of eggs must be waiting to hatch.
However, none of this matters.
Because escaping this place is the most important thing to me.
Chee-eok-
Jjjeok-eok-
I started walking forward, pushing aside the cocoons hanging from the ceiling and drooping downwards with my hands, followed by the three people behind me.
And at that exact moment.
"Aah!!!"
"Kkyaak!!!"
"Uowak!!!"
Fucking hell, you scared the shit out of me!
Screams from the three people erupted simultaneously from behind my back.
"What?! What is it?!!"
"Th-Th-That..."
"Th-Th..."
"Uh... Uh-uh..."
Seeing all three of them sit down on the floor without a second thought, staring at the same spot and stammering, I could feel my eyes gradually widening.
The place their gazes were directed towards was right past my right shoulder.
Gulp!
Along with the illusion of a horror movie BGM playing in the background, a dry swallow slid down my throat, and I very slowly turned my head to check behind me where the three people's gazes were fixed.
Dudoong!!
Dudoong is a sound effect fitting for this situation, but no such sound was actually heard.
Fucking hell, I thought it was something else.
What was past my right shoulder was one of the many cocoons stuck all over the place, and the slight difference from the other cocoons was that the epidermis was thin enough to see inside, and that there was a person inside it.
"I-It's a person!"
"I saw it too."
"We-We have to save them!"
"Aren't they already dead?"
"Why is a person like that..."
"How the hell would I know?"
After answering Minseo, Kwon Juha, and Juhyeok one by one as they chimed in, I snatched the knife from the hand of the sitting Minseo and sliced the cocoon containing the person vertically down the middle.
Thud-
The person dropped limply to the floor.
"A-Are they alive..?"
Kkuuk-
Jerk!
"Kkyaak!!"
Minseo, who had poked the person with the tip of her foot cautiously, screamed in surprise at the twitching body, and Juhyeok crawled across the floor, embraced the person covered in sticky liquid in his arms, and shouted.
"Hey! Pull yourself together! Hey!!"
"H-He's dead.. Juha-ya.."
"......"
Just like Juhyeok said, this person was already dead.
It's hard to explain scientifically why the body twitched when Minseo's toe touched it, but since I don't know much about science...
Smart people would probably know why there was a reaction like that.
Anyway, does this mean all these countless eggs contain people?
Are people really turning into zombies?
Chwaaaak!!!
I sliced open the adjacent cocoon vertically.
Thud-
"Gheor-eor-eor..."
"Not a person, though."
Pook!!
Unlike the dead person, I stabbed the head of the zombie flopping around on the floor and sliced open another cocoon.
This time, what dropped out of the cocoon was a real zombie.
"O-Oppa..! What were you going to do if there was a person inside?! How are you going to handle it if there's a person inside?!"
"Is this a person? It's a zombie."
"But..."
"And it's already dead. Can't you tell by looking?"
"Still, there might have been a living person inside..."
"They're bastards who'd die anyway, what difference does it make if I kill them? Stop talking nonsense, get up, and stab and kill all of these things."
"Pardon..? Why..?"
"These things give coins."
Before killing the zombie that had dropped from the cocoon, I opened the information window and checked the change in coins.
And I confirmed that it went up by exactly 7 coins.
What if I kill every single egg here?
Even assuming there are 1,000 of them, that's 7,000 coins.
Fucking hell, what a windfall this is!
Of course, I don't have the time to leisurely rack up coins since I don't know when that thumping emergency stairs door might break open and zombies will pour in.
Pueok!!!
Pook!!
Pook!!
Chee-eok!!
Not only me swinging my iron mace, but Minseo, Kwon Juha, and Juhyeok as well, began to move forward, swinging their respective weapons to drag out and kill the zombies inside the eggs or piercing straight through the eggs to kill the zombies within.
Aside from the cocoon containing the person we saw a moment ago, we didn't find anyone else.
That person was probably some unique case, and most of the cocoons seem to be just ordinary zombie eggs.
Just what on earth were they trying to create by doing that to a person, considering they're mere zombies?
Fucking hell, I can't predict even an inch ahead of what the hell is happening or what is going to happen.
Anyway, is escaping through the emergency stairs not going to work?
Thump thump thump thump!!!
We arrived at the emergency stairs on the opposite side, but zombies were bashing the door fiercely here as well.
"What do we do now..?"
"......"
Now there are only two ways to escape from this apartment.
One is to use the elevator shaft that is open all the way down to the bottom, or if you hate that, to go down through the window.
"A-A window?? This is the 20th floor, oppa!"
"How are you planning to go out through the window..."
"J-Just waiting until the zombies scatter..."
"I told you not to talk back, these bastards are talking back all day long. Then fucking stay here yourselves, you guys!"
"......"
"......"
"......"
Passing the three people who clamped their mouths shut at my words, I entered the house with its blown-open front door and began battering the cocoons inside the house with my iron mace.
Then, the three people who followed me inside also started stabbing, slicing, and poking the cocoons in the house, stealing my coins, and having finished the primary task, I tightly and securely blocked off the open front door space with heavy furniture like the refrigerator and sofa.
Then I went out to the balcony, checked the height from the ground, opened the shop to start shopping, and ended by glancing sideways at the otaku and throwing him a word.
Because even though I'm doing the shopping, he's the one paying for it.
"Hey, otaku. Buy a rope. The longest one."
"......"
"You don't want to? Do you want to do a rope bungee jump instead?"
"N-No, it's not! I'll buy it right now!"
While Juhyeok bought a rope from the shop, I tore off a door, brought it into the living room, and tightly wrapped the rope Juhyeok bought around the door, tying it securely.
Then, holding the rope, I came out to the balcony, closed the window as much as possible—since it wouldn't shut properly due to the jammed rope—and shoved the rope through the bars of the balcony railing.
Now the wide living room window will serve as the primary safety device, and even if it fails to bear the weight and breaks away, the balcony railing will act as the secondary safety device.
"I'll tie it for you myself."
"A-Am I going down first..?"
Retrieving the rope I had tossed through the railing back up to the top of the railing and tying it around Juhyeok's waist, I answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Yeah. Gotta check if it's safe, don't you?"
"Why do I have to be the one to..."
"Got a complaint?"
This time he doesn't answer, probably because his dissatisfaction is quite big.
Well, not that anything changes even if he does.
Squeeze-squeeze!!!
Finally tightening the knot firmly using Level 8 physical strength, I stood up, grabbed Juhyeok's shoulders, and turned him to face outward.
"Now jump down."
"......Are you really telling me to just jump like this..?"
"Do you want to shout battle cries towards the front for 3 seconds?"
"......"
Instead of shouting, Juhyeok turned his head and stared at me with resentful eyes.
Yeah, even when I think about it, this is a bit too irresponsible.
Because I'm telling him to bungee jump by just tying a rope around his waist without any cord to absorb the body's impact like a bungee cord or any separate shock-absorbing device.
"Oppa..."
"Juha-ya..."
The Kwon siblings looked at each other with plaintive eyes.
However, this time she isn't doing it.
"You're not going to offer to jump in his place?"
"......"
"......"
Kwon Juha didn't answer, and Juhyeok stared intently at her.
And after a brief silence, Juha's voice came out very softly.
"I-I have a fear of heights..."
Is a high place scarier than zombies?
Well, I suppose that can happen.
Everyone's afraid of different things, after all.
"Well, then it's time to jump. Good luck."
"A-Are you really just jumping down like this?! This is jumping to die!"
"Don't worry. The rope is short so it won't reach the ground."
"That's not the problem!"
"Sigh... Here, I'll explain. You stand outside the railing, jump down lightly, and then grab the railing of the floor below. You go down floor by floor like that. How is that? Simple, right?"
"......"
There's nothing difficult about it.
Anyone can do it as long as they have the arm strength to support their own body weight and a bit of agility.
Even if he somehow misses the railing and keeps falling, the two safety devices will catch Juhyeok's body.
Of course, up to this point, it was just a joke.
No matter how crazy of a bastard I am, I'm not crazy enough to tie a rope like this and tell someone to do a bungee jump.
No, I'm not stupid to that extent.
Whooooosh-!!!
The wind blowing even more fiercely than usual today.
Tremble-tremble-tremble-
Juhyeok's hands and feet, clinging to the railing while hanging outside rather than inside the balcony, tremble violently.
This punk is seriously a total coward.
"Let go of your hands."
"Oppa! Trust us and let go!"
"You can let go! We'll hold on tight!"
"A-Are you sure you won't let go..."
Thwack!!
Unable to hold back any longer, I chopped Juhyeok's Adam's apple with the edge of my hand.
"Gahack!!"
"Oppa!!!"
With Juhyeok letting go of the railing he was holding and falling backward into empty air as if lying down, Kwon Juha screaming, and Minseo pulling the taut rope with all her might.
Squeeze!!
"Juha-ssi, grab it too!"
"I-I've got it!"
"Sigh... Making such a fuss about how heavy that fat bastard is."
He's just a chunk of meat weighing a mere 88kg.
There's no need for two people to hold on like that; just one person could easily endure it.
Even Minseo, who has the weakest physical strength, has Level 5 physical strength.
So instead of grabbing that rope, I am calmly looking down below.
"U-Uwaaaah!!"
Grab!!
"Ugh..!"
"It's heavy..!"
Do they feel it's heavy even when two people with Level 5 and Level 6 strength are holding on?
As Juhyeok, hanging in midair, makes a fuss and struggles to grip the taut rope, Minseo and Juha's expressions contort as sounds of struggle escape them.
"Hey, otaku. Stay still. If you thrash around, we might drop the rope."
"Ah.. Yes! I won't move a muscle!! So please don't let go..."
"Think of lowering him by just about 30cm and loosen your grip slightly."
Ignoring Juhyeok's shouts coming from below, I gave instructions to Minseo and Juha who were holding the rope.
And then...
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!!
Grab!!!
Squeeze!!!
"Ah......"
With Juhyeok hanging dangling from the rope with wide eyes, and me hastily reaching out my right hand to grab the slipping rope, I distorted my face and shouted at the two women who had let go of not 30cm, but easily 80cm.
"What the hell are you doing?! What are you doing?!"
"S-S-Sorry.."
"When we loosened our grip on the rope, suddenly it..."
"You were supposed to loosen it just a little bit! Smoothly! What you two just did was literally dropping the rope!"
"......"
"‐Is our oppa okay..?"
"Shut up and just hold the rope."
"Yes..."
This is why I sent that otaku down first.
How could I trust these bitches and entrust my body to them?
And the biggest reason I sent that otaku down first was to check if the knot I tied was safe, and through this, its stability has been confirmed.
It's tied very securely and well.
Having thus sent Juhyeok down from the 20th floor to the 17th floor in one go, while he was holding on to the railing and enduring, I retrieved the slackened rope, tied Minseo and Juha together at the same time, and began lowering them down.
"Fucking hell... They sure are heavy..!"
Gripping the rope draped over my back tightly with both hands positioned on either side, I gradually released the line and safely lowered them down to the balcony railing where Juhyeok was hanging.
Now the only thing left is my turn.
"Oppa!! Come down carefully!!"
"Be careful!!"
"Please be careful!!!"
"Ha..."
A sigh inevitably leaks out at the three people's shouts coming from below.
"Why on earth am I wiping those guys' asses? Sigh...."
Shaking my head side to side, I tied the rope tightly around my waist, and right on cue, the furniture blocking the front door collapsed with a crash as zombies began rushing into the house.
"Krak!!"
"Kwraak!!"
"Krak!!'"
"Stay well. Follow me if you can."
Stepping outside the railing, just like I told Juhyeok, I dropped down and grabbed the railing of the floor below with my hand.
Grab!!
Then, zombies poured down from above like rain.
Now the balcony door is broken, so the primary safety device must be gone.
By the way, how many of those are there in total?
"Kwaaa..."
"K..."
"Krak..."
Zombies dropping straight to the ground along with fading screeches.
There have got to be at least 50 of them.
If I went down along with them while the zombies were dropping and got caught for no reason, I could end up looking like that too, so while closely pressing against the balcony railing and watching the zombies do rope-less bungee jumping, I used the brief moment when the falling zombies stopped to go down one more floor.
"Wow.. Oppa, you're like Tom Cruise!"
"You put Jackie Chan to shame!"
"Amazing..."
Making such a fuss over something that isn't even difficult.
At the voices coming from right below, my shoulders shrugged slightly as I tried to go down another floor, but...
"Fucking hell, what is that?!"
Something is running towards me from inside the closed balcony window.
It's not a person turned into a zombie, nor is it a real zombie.
A guy with a physique that looks a bit bigger and sturdier than those things is running towards me.
I hurriedly tried to let go of the railing I was holding and go down, but...
Crash-clatter-crash!!!
Grab!
Whoosh!!!
A hand that burst through the broken balcony window grabbed my falling collar and pulled me inside.
"Uar..."
Thud-thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!!!
My body, flying through the air and rolling across the living room floor, was pulled and stopped by the taut rope, and before I could even properly adjust my posture, a foot swung towards my face as I lay collapsed to the side.
Pueok!!!
"Kkukh..!!!"
I barely managed to block the kick by covering my face with both arms, but my body, sliding backward while spinning around like a top, collided with the wall and stopped, and at the same time, a fist came raining down.
What the hell is this bastard anyway?!
Koo-ung!!!