Registering the Calamity

The system window, which had been acting glitched for a while, finally displayed a normal message. It felt like a broken TV that had started working again after being smacked. But now was not the time to leisurely watch the system function properly.

Why is Je Hyeon-o here?

The Je Hyeon-o I knew should have been slaughtering zombies in the Yellow Zone at the very least, or the Dead Zone at most. He had absolutely no reason to set foot in a peaceful place like the Green Zone.

I stared at Je Hyeon-o, my body tense with anxiety. He was dressed in pitch-black from head to toe—a well-fitted combat uniform and a deeply pulled-down hooded jacket. His face was completely obscured by goggles and a gas mask.

Standing beneath a night sky thick with stars, Je Hyeon-o was looking up at the heavens. Because he was so heavily covered, I couldn't read his expression, let alone his gaze, but a strange thought crossed my mind as I watched his profile. He seemed to be waiting for something. For a very long time...

Is he waiting for a meteor shower?

The thought that slipped into my mind was absurd. To be having such idle thoughts with Je Hyeon-o right in front of me—I clearly hadn't panicked enough yet. Suddenly, a system window popped up, blocking my view.

I tried to ignore it out of habit. In response, the system window generated again, its text slightly larger.

There were too many redacted blocks to understand what it was trying to say. Sending a message like this defeats the whole purpose. Besides, no matter how much of a fuss it kicked up, I had absolutely no intention of registering him so easily. If anything, it only made me more resistant.

As I was dismissing the system windows that repeatedly popped up to block my vision, a sudden chill washed over me. Our eyes met. Actually, I wasn't sure if "met" was the right word. Since his face was covered by goggles, it wasn't even certain if he was looking at me. To be precise, it was more like "I felt as if our eyes had met." An LED lit up on his sleek black goggles.

Creeeeak. An ominous sound echoed from the transmission tower beneath his combat boots. A chill crawled down my spine. And I... ran. Like mad, with every ounce of strength I had.

I practically tumbled down the emergency stairs. I nearly tripped several times, but I didn't slow down. If I fell down the stairs, I at least had a chance of surviving, but if Je Hyeon-o caught me, it was instant death. However, it wasn't long before taking the emergency stairs became pointless.

A black line was drawn from the wall to the floor. Seeing the line slice the floor number indicator exactly in half, I barely swallowed the curse rising in my throat. The black line slowly widened. The building was splitting in two.

The internal steel frames tore apart, letting out a horrific, scream-like screech. Along with a waterfall of shattering window glass, I plummeted, tangled in all kinds of debris. In Dead Zone Delivery, there were no extra lives like in Haze Pack. Dying from anything other than zombification meant permanent death. But I absolutely did not want to die like this.

Dozens of thoughts flashed through my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mind and vanished in an instant. Just as I felt a burning sensation in my eyes, something wrapped tightly around my waist. A thunderous shout boomed. "Han Goyo!!"

The Lightning-struck Jujube Wood Rosary pulled me back. I barely managed to escape from the falling debris. My vision cleared, and the surrounding situation came into full view. The broadcasting station building was splitting vertically and collapsing to both sides. Je Hyeon-o stood with a sharp crescent moon at his back. Looking down, I saw Kwak Han-muk riding a vintage motorcycle.

From his expression, I could tell exactly how screwed we were. Though, of course, I didn't need to look at Kwak Han-muk's face to know that. Ruuuumble! The building collapsed completely. The ground shook with a heavy thud, and a thick cloud of dirt and concrete dust billowed upward, obscuring our vision.

Meanwhile, the rosary was reeled back to its owner, and I landed safely in front of Kwak Han-muk. "Shit! Goyo-hyeongnim, I thought you were a goner." He welcomed me with a harsh curse. Since I was just as glad to see him, I didn't bother correcting him for calling me "hyeongnim."

The atmosphere was almost ripe for a tearful embrace, but Kwak Han-muk's face suddenly stiffened. "Goyo, your eyes..." "Pardon?" "...Never mind. Let's get the hell out of here first."

I quickly hopped onto the back of Kwak Han-muk's motorcycle. But he didn't set off immediately. Narrowing his eyes, he glared into the settling dust. The motorcycle let out a unique idling exhaust note that sounded like galloping hooves. *Thud, thud, thud.* Slow footsteps echoed through the dust and the rumble of the engine.

"Lieutenant Colonel Je Hyeon-o," Kwak Han-muk called out, his voice laced with the wariness of someone facing a wild beast. There was no answer. Instead, a series of metallic clangs rang out. Then, Je Hyeon-o emerged from the dust cloud.

His black arm was fully revealed under the moonlight. It was an arm mutated by the BT-Z Virus, made of a metal that did not exist on Earth. Where fingers should have been, there were metallic claws like those of a beast. Letting both arms hang loose, Je Hyeon-o stopped and stared silently in our direction.

Kwak Han-muk spoke, ready to bolt at any second. "Lieutenant Colonel Je, what the hell is your problem? You've already smashed the building to pieces, so shouldn't your sanity have returned by now?" As he politely hurled abuse, the lights on Je Hyeon-o's goggles flickered to life.

Displaying a crying emoticon, Je Hyeon-o raised his hand. His fingertip pointed steadily at something. It was me. Kwak Han-muk let out a dry laugh. "To be giving him a rookie hazing, Goyo is..." The loud roar of the exhaust exploded as the motorcycle shot forward. "...still a raw chestnut!"

What did a raw chestnut have to do with rookie hazing? I had no idea what the connection was, but either way, Kwak Han-muk and I distanced ourselves from the building's ruins in an instant. Yet, neither of us felt relieved. "Goyo, did you happen to provoke Lieutenant Colonel Je?" "No way..."

I told him everything I did after encountering Je Hyeon-o. Actually, there wasn't much to tell. I ran the moment I saw him. Knowing how dangerous he was, I had bolted faster than anyone. Yet, Je Hyeon-o had still targeted me. "Do you think the infection spread to his brain?" "That guy is perfectly sane." "Pardon?" "Lieutenant Colonel Je's goggles lit up, didn't they? He's not crazy; he's just acting out because he wants to cause a ruckus right now."

Kwak Han-muk cursed, calling him a "sane psycho." So, if his goggles light up, it means he's rational. I made sure to store this newly acquired piece of information in my mind. "It's not the first time he's attacked Adaptors, but this is the first time he's gone this wild." Kwak Han-muk muttered that Je Hyeon-o had been acting strange ever since he spent ten days stuck alone in Dead Zone Delivery. "Shit," Kwak Han-muk suddenly spat.

Every zombie in the Green Zone had gathered and was chasing the roaring motorcycle. The massive collapse of the building had echoed across the entire Green Zone. The zombies of Dead Zone Delivery, whose sight and smell had degenerated to leave only their hearing, were all swarming toward us. Although the zombies' physical abilities had enhanced because it was night, they weren't Dead Zombies, so the motorcycle was more than enough to outrun them.

The problem was the bridge. Crossing the bridge would take us to the Yellow Zone, but the bridge itself was classified as a neutral zone, meaning zombies from the Yellow Zone could cross over. Drawn by the sound of the collapse, Yellow Zone zombies were now swarming all over the bridge we needed to cross. Zombies ahead, zombies and Je Hyeon-o behind. Both were terrible options, but if I had to choose, it was definitely the former.

Even so, the sight right in front of us was so overwhelming that cold sweat drenched my back. The moonlight was exceptionally bright tonight, illuminating the bridge. Hundreds of rotting corpses scraped against the asphalt, panting heavily. The zombies covering the bridge sprinted toward the only sound with their grotesquely twisted bodies. Toward Kwak Han-muk and me.

Clack, clack. The sound of small beads echoed. Dozens of strands from Kwak Han-muk's Byeokjomok Beads whipped out in all directions. The zombies were instantly crushed under the lashing beads. Even those that seemed a bit sturdier were blown away by the force of the rosary, plunging into the river below. It seemed we could handle the zombies without much trouble. ...The zombies, that is.

As my surroundings suddenly darkened, I looked up at the sky. It wasn't because the moon was hidden by clouds. Six wings made of black metallic feathers were blocking out the moonlight. Je Hyeon-o flew leisurely with his wings spread wide, as if enjoying the chaotic battle on the bridge.

Once again, our ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes met. I couldn't see them clearly, but I was certain. His gaze was so intense it made my skin prickle. Je Hyeon-o pulled one arm back and swung it in a wide arc. Several pitch-black crescents shot forward, slicing through the asphalt. Black lines were drawn across the bridge like chaotic scribbles.

"Lieutenant Colonel Je, you crazy bastard...!" Kwak Han-muk twisted the throttle to its absolute limit. The tachometer redlined. I held onto Kwak Han-muk with all my might. A violent vibration rumbled from below. The cracks starting from the black lines spread rapidly, and the asphalt split wide open. The fractured sections began to collapse layer by layer.

"Kreeeeeh!" The zombies shrieked in bizarre screams as they fell. Soon after, a massive chunk of the bridge plunged into the river. *Splash!* A colossal pillar of water shot up, drenching everything around us. Kwak Han-muk and I sped across the bridge, completely soaked. The spreading cracks chased right behind us. The motorcycle barely managed to outrun the rapidly approaching collapse.

But there was no way Je Hyeon-o would just quietly watch us escape. Folding his metallic wings all at once, he dove straight down. *Thud!* Je Hyeon-o landed at the end of the bridge. Slowly straightening his body, he let his arms hang loose and waited for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠us.

The motorcycle had already accelerated too much to slow down. Our only option was to ram straight through. But the moment we collided, Je Hyeon-o would rip us in half. The veins on the back of Kwak Han-muk's hands bulged and twitched. The scattered prayer beads gathered back together at their master's call. He was preparing to fight Je Hyeon-o.

Only a few seconds remained until impact. Either Kwak Han-muk or Je Hyeon-o would end up severely injured. It would be to the point where they wouldn't be able to carry out the special task force's missions for the next month, let alone achieve the True Ending of Dead Zone Delivery. Or perhaps, both of them would be ruined.

A sharp pain throbbed in my eyes, which had been aching for a while. The system ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠window blocked my vision.

Time, though only a split second, seemed to slow down. My burning eyes now felt as if they were on fire.

For once, I thought it might be fine to listen to it. No, that wasn't right. I wasn't listening to it. This was because I was ■■■ing my ■■.

"Register Je Hyeon-o."