Chapter 152
Chapter 152
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 152
Chapter Title: I Won't Let Go of Your Hand!
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Who would've thought Yuna would show up.
I was thrilled and immediately went to open the door to welcome her.
But right then...
"Lulu, don't open it!"
"Huh? Why, why not, unnie?"
Chae-yoon unnie rushed over and urgently tried to stop me.
D-Don't open it? What did she mean?
Zombies were swarming outside...
We had to open the door quick so Yuna could survive.
"Something's fishy right now. I just talked to the President, and the timing of Yuki showing up lines up way too perfectly with the zombies mobbing us."
"Lines up...? What does that mean?"
"I don't know. But maybe Yuki led the zombies here..."
"Eek...?!"
I was shocked by Chae-yoon unnie's words.
But like the Cherries said, I was skeptical of that idea too.
It was possible to kite zombies around, sure.
But you'd agro them yourself and usually die before anything.
And what would you even gain from it?
If it were real zombies, maybe, but Project Zomboid doesn't have a mode like that.
Survivors have to escape just like everyone else.
Why would Yuna do something like that on purpose?
"Yukki, is it true? Did you lead the zombies here?"
"No, believe me, Lulu. I'm innocent."
Yuna answered my question, but the Cherries all said it sounded off.
The situation did feel suspicious.
The zombies mobbing us at the exact time Yuna shows up?
And how could Yuna stand outside that long with zombies everywhere?
"You're lying! I heard from Luke unnie. You tried to kidnap the maknae earlier and failed, right?! You're here to try again!"
"No...! I just came because I missed Lulu!"
"Not to see her—you came to grab her!"
"Tch...! What do you know, unnie!"
A childish argument broke out between Chae-yoon unnie and Yuna.
In the end, I was the one who had to make the call.
After agonizing over it...
I nodded firmly and clicked on the door.
The 'Unlock' text popped up, and without hesitation, I clicked it.
"Yukki, come in quick! We gotta run!"
"Maknae...?!"
I opened the door and welcomed Yuna in.
Chae-yoon unnie and the Cherries watching freaked out.
Yeah, there were good reasons to suspect Yuna.
No one would've blamed me for abandoning her here.
But even so!
I'm going with my gut—I'm trusting Yuna!
Even if she did something like that to me, she's still my precious friend!
And I believe it!
That Yuna's turned over a new leaf!
That she won't pull any more pranks on me!
"Guys, over here!"
"Hop in quick! We gotta go!"
So Chae-yoon unnie, Yuna, and I...
Slipped out the back door and piled into the car waiting nearby.
Sadly, we had to abandon this base and find a new one.
Thankfully, this game has an escape mode.
If we hold out a bit longer, the chopper will come.
Let's all survive until then.
We made it to a new base.
It was a three-story warehouse-style building.
Not bad compared to our last place.
Best of all, the rooftop had space for crops.
Perfect for the current situation with power and water outages.
Plenty of room for generators and rain barrels too.
Thanks to our packed items, we set up nicely in no time.
And in somewhat surprising but welcome news...
"Whoa, thought I was done for..."
"Why'd the zombies spike like that all of a sudden?"
"'Cause Gig nim accidentally triggered a noise maker!"
Gig nim, Wanggae nim, and Ina nim—who'd scattered earlier—joined us.
Now everyone on the server was together.
Streamers usually split into groups for Project Zomboid.
Sticking together makes it too safe and boring for viewers.
But with escape so close, their joining was a huge plus.
Yeah, better to escape as a group.
We cozied up in the three-story building.
Enjoying a brief healing break.
After days of pure chaos, this simple daily life felt fun.
Chatting, eating good food.
Like that moment of peace in a zombie apocalypse novel.
The Cherries seemed to be enjoying the scene too.
Good, glad to hear it.
"Yukki, you here?"
I'd whipped up a tasty lunch as the cook.
Then headed to the roof to find Yuna, who hadn't shown for the meal.
Sure enough, she was tending the field alone.
She's the only farmer among us, so naturally, fields were her job.
"Yeah, found me?"
"Aren't you hungry? I made lunch..."
"Oh, lunch already? Sorry, lost track of time. Heh."
Huh, yeah.
Come to think of it, I hadn't seen Yuna eat.
Did she sneak some when I wasn't looking?
Otherwise, no hunger debuff this long is weird.
"Yukki, aren't you getting tired yet? Wanna switch?"
Hunger aside, she'd gone nearly two days without sleep.
Figured fatigue had to be up, so I offered to take over.
"I'm good! Feeling totally fresh!"
"R-Really? Glad to hear it, but..."
Her peppy reply surprised me a bit.
Hunger's easy to dodge with a can or two.
But fatigue? Only sleep fixes that...
And as far as I knew, Yuna hadn't slept these two days.
We shared a room since space was tight.
Yet no fatigue debuff?
Even max stamina couldn't pull that off.
What was going on?
I tabled the question and headed down to the second floor with her.
Just then, the foraging team arrived, hollering as they climbed up.
"Whoa! We scored tons of food! Feasting today!"
"Got loads of fuel too. Generator's good for a while."
"Grabbed water from the lake just in case."
Gig nim, Wanggae nim, and Ina nim proudly showed off their hauls.
Just the stuff dumped on the floor was a mountain.
Wow, this'll last till escape easy.
Food was running low too—perfect timing.
Now just wait for the chopper.
"Hey, foraging team—report to Ellin for checkups first. Just in case."
"Yessir!"
"I got a little scrape. Hope it's not infected."
"What? Gig nim got scratched? Told ya to be careful!"
At the President's order, the three headed straight to Ji-ah unnie, our doctor.
Doctors are key in Project Zomboid.
High skill lets them diagnose illnesses and conditions.
Like distinguishing zombie infection nausea from food poisoning.
Only doctors can tell.
"All clear, everyone."
"Phew, good."
"Gets me every foraging run."
Checkups done—some scrapes, but no infections.
Bandages sufficed.
Good thing, with escape so close—no room for infected inside.
"While we're at it, everyone line up for Ellin to check. Final sweep before chopper."
"Roger, me first."
"I'll go next!"
The President gathered us all.
And had Ji-ah unnie examine everyone.
Nyangta unnie went first, then Yuna.
Perfect—I'd been worried about Yuna anyway.
I lined up behind with Ra-hee unnie.
As we waited...
"...Huh? Y-Yuki?"
"Yeah, unnie. What's up?"
Ji-ah unnie suddenly sounded off.
She cautiously called to Yuna.
Yuna answered innocently, then silence...
"W-What's this? Your status says 'Zombie Host'..."
Ji-ah unnie's shocked voice rang out.
I wasn't the only one stunned—the Cherries were too.
Zombie Host.
Exactly what it sounds like: the zombies' leader.
In Project Zomboid, ~0.1% chance when you die to zombies.
Worst troll debuff.
Draws zombies, threatens survivors.
But biggest issue: the host can't detect it themselves.
Only way: level 7+ doctor exam.
Super rare—maybe once every 100 games.
Treated as a dev prank event debuff.
Events can be fun, so some servers boost the odds.
Ours didn't, yet here we were.
That explained no hunger or fatigue for Yuna.
Zombie Hosts act like survivors but count as zombies.
No need for food or sleep.
Problem is, a host here means...
Crash!
"Shit! Zombies incoming!"
"Everyone grab guns and head to the first floor! Into the cars—go go go!"
Zombies will swarm eventually.
Probably quiet till now 'cause our old base was far.
Took time for them to reach here.
Local spawns? Manageable, unnoticeable.
No way we'd suspect a host among us.
"S-So the zombie horde that hit the President's base earlier..."
Just like Yuna imagined.
She probably just came looking for me or the others.
But as host, unintentionally led an army.
"Guys, pack up! Chopper's soon anyway— we'll make it if we bail!"
"Got it!"
The base turned to pandemonium in seconds.
Team scrambled at the President's urgent orders.
I quickly packed too.
And moved to escape to the first floor with Yuna.
That's when Yuna yelled at me.
"Lulu, ditch me and run!"
"Ditch you? We're going together!"
"If I'm here, more zombies come! Leave me—if it's just me, they'll agro on me, so escape while you can!"
Cold, logical analysis—spot on.
With a host, even new bases might not hold till escape.
We're on the city outskirts—no more running room.
Survive to chopper as President said: best bet.
"No way!"
But I flat-out refused Yuna's plea.
And stuffed her stuff into my bag too.
So full it slowed me down.
"I can't abandon Yukki twice! Better to die with my friend than live without her!"
I convinced the hesitant Yuna.
And we bolted from the building together, out into the open.
Right then, the response to our escape request finally came.
Be at the marked coordinates on the map in exactly 24 hours.
Way sooner than expected.
Fueled by renewed hope, we headed to this server's final destination.