Chapter 96
Translator: uly
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: The Immortal Vampire Girl Rosen (4)
The severed young man's abdomen spilled out a long trail of blood-soaked intestines, stretched like a clothesline all the way to the sedan he'd arrived in.
He must have leaned out the open car window, only for his lower half to get sliced off, leaving the rest trapped inside.
At that moment, the pursuing zombies closed in, nearly within arm's reach.
In this state, his plan to make it into the convenience store seemed impossible.
"Damn it, I'll think while I run."
Judging that standing still was too dangerous, Dong-jin leaped over the young man's guts blocking his path.
He cleared it easily and planted his right foot on the asphalt—but the pain from twisting his ankle when he'd jumped down from the car roof hit him like a wave.
"Ow! Damn... I should've led with my left."
Despite his words, the intense pain threw off his balance, and he face-planted onto the asphalt.
Thud!
A sharp pain exploded across his face as blood gushed from his nose and mouth, soaking the pavement.
Fortunately, his nose bone hadn't broken, and he hadn't lost any teeth.
"Ugh! My nose... Feels like my teeth are loose too."
"Mister!"
Rosen called out to him from where she was plastered against the convenience store's glass.
"I'm fine! Stay inside!"
With his face still smashed into the asphalt, he ran his tongue over his teeth to check them as he tried to push himself up. That's when the lead zombie lunged at him, throwing itself on top.
The zombie kicked through the taut, clothesline-stretched intestines as it flew at him.
"Argh! Get off! Get off me!"
Dong-jin kicked back with his heels at the man pinning him down, then scrambled away on all fours.
Bang!
A single gunshot rang out, followed by the screech of tires braking hard.
It was muffled, like it had a silencer.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Dong-jin glanced back to see the zombie that had tackled him sprawled on the ground.
All that remained of the ghoul was a headless torso, drenching the pavement in blood.
A van had pulled up where the shots came from.
Men in black suits matching the van's color were firing relentlessly at the people who'd been chasing Dong-jin.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The silencers kept the shots from being too loud.
* * *
"Sir, what should we do with this guy?"
Manager Kim, who'd been driving the black van, called out to the bespectacled man as "Vice Director," awaiting orders.
In the National Intelligence Service's hierarchy, "Vice Director" was second only to the Director himself, on par with the head of the Strategy Room.
The NIS had three Vice Directors, from First to Third, with the Second overseeing domestic operations.
These positions weren't filled by career NIS veterans. They were almost always political appointees from outside.
Only the Second Vice Director was a pure NIS lifer, appointed for his proven field skills—a true operative.
Manager Kim pinned Dong-jin's head to the asphalt with his shoe, aiming his gun at the back of his skull.
With his head crushed down, Dong-jin flailed his arms helplessly.
"He's bitten. Just shoot him."
The bespectacled Vice Director spoke without even glancing at Dong-jin.
His eyes were fixed on the other zombies stumbling out of the van as his men gunned them down.
"Hey! Process him quick! The cops are coming soon. Let's wrap this up before it gets noisy, hand off cleanup to them, and grab some blood sausage soup. Haha."
At the bespectacled man's words, his men efficiently eliminated their targets.
"Vice Director, you really want me to shoot him? He still looks human."
Manager Kim double-checked with the bespectacled man.
He seemed reluctant to put a bullet in Dong-jin's skull.
"Hey! Look at his face. Nose and mouth covered in blood! He's been bitten by a zombie."
"N-no, I haven't!"
"They all say that. He might not be now, but soon he'll turn and start rampaging. Better end it here."
Despite Dong-jin's protests, the bespectacled man was resolute.
"Manager Kim, give him a clean shot. Hey! Park! Control the apartments—keep residents inside! No one out the complex entrance!"
He barked the order without looking back.
Manager Kim pressed the gun barrel tight against Dong-jin's skull to follow through.
"P-please! I'm not a zombie! Never been bitten! Spare me!"
Dong-jin begged desperately, face ground into the asphalt.
Only then did the bespectacled man finally look down, his expression icy—he clearly didn't buy it.
"I get your feelings, sir, but what if we let you go and you turn? We'd just make more innocent victims. For the public good, for the nation—let's do this cleanly."
"P-please, spare me. I haven't been bitten."
"Nah, we're starving here—haven't even had dinner. Gotta finish quick and down some soju with blood sausage soup, right? Hey! Manager Kim! What's the holdup? I'm hungry. Hurry up."
Urged by the bespectacled man, Manager Kim pressed harder with his foot and finger on the trigger.
Boom! Crash!
In that instant, Rosen burst through the convenience store's glass window, launching herself into the air.
"Leave my mister alone!"
Rosen shouted mid-leap, hurtling toward Manager Kim who had Dong-jin in his sights.
Bang!
The bespectacled man's pistol roared, slamming a bullet into Rosen's head as she dove.
* * *
Thud!
Rosen hit the asphalt headfirst after the shot to her skull.
Blood from her head wound stained the pavement red, trickling down to Dong-jin's face under Manager Kim's heel.
"Rosen! You bastards shot a kid..."
"Hey, sir—kid or not, floating in the air ain't normal. Could be a mutant zombie."
"You... murderers..."
"Call us what you want, but we're crisis-managing here. Gotta clean up before crowds form. You're next anyway. Manager Kim, what're you waiting for?"
The bespectacled man's order came again.
Manager Kim aimed at Dong-jin's skull and said,
"I'll send you off too. Can't have you turning and bothering folks... Sorry. Rest in peace."
Unable to contain his rage, Dong-jin tried to lift his head—Manager Kim stomped it down harder.
Smacking his lips, Manager Kim squeezed the trigger against Dong-jin's straining skull.
Click, click.
Empty magazine—no bullet fired.
Sweat dripped from Dong-jin's forehead into the pooled blood on the asphalt.
"Out of ammo? Here, use mine."
The bespectacled man handed over his pistol to Manager Kim.
He could've done it himself but passed the buck.
"Y-yes, Vice Director."
Manager Kim took the gun and re-aimed at Dong-jin.
"Leave my mister alone!"
Manager Kim's eyes widened as he targeted Dong-jin's head.
The blood that had flowed to his feet was reversing course, sucked back into Rosen's head.
As the pavement blood vanished in seconds, Rosen's head slowly lifted from the asphalt.
"If you don't scram now, you guys are in big trouble."
Rosen's golden hair gleamed brighter as she rose slowly.
The bullet hole in her forehead was flawless, not a trace left.
"What the...? Wasn't she shot in the head? Manager Kim, gimme my gun."
Sensing something off, the bespectacled man snatched it back.
Manager Kim pulled a fresh magazine from his pocket too.
As Rosen fully stood and stepped toward Manager Kim—who still pinned Dong-jin's head—the bespectacled man's pistol flashed.
Bang!
The bullet struck Rosen's small head dead-on.
"Rosen! Stay back!"
At Dong-jin's cry, Rosen staggered, her left leg buckling until her knee hit the asphalt.
Bang! Bang!
Manager Kim, fresh mag loaded, fired too—bullets slamming into her head.
Two shots buckled her right knee to the pavement as well.
"She's just a kid! Stop shooting!"
Despite Dong-jin's pleas, another bullet pierced Rosen's forehead.
Dark red blood leaked from the hole, trickling down her tiny face and staining her pretty dress.
"You demon bastards! She's a child—stop!"
Bang!
Even as Dong-jin yelled, the bespectacled man's pistol fired at the still-standing Rosen.
Her limp left arm snapped up, catching the incoming bullet between thumb and forefinger.
The spinning round halted in her grasp, thin white smoke curling up.
"Huh? What is this? Did it hit?"
Clueless, the bespectacled man fired again.
Bang! Bang!
The bullets flew straight for Rosen's head.
This time, her right arm flashed out, snatching both midair with her tiny hand.
"What? That kid—that kid ain't a regular zombie!"
Finally grasping it, the bespectacled man yelled at Manager Kim.
Manager Kim, unnerved by the shift, called to his subordinates clearing zombies nearby.
"Hey! Finish the zombies and get over here!"
His urgent shout brought three scattered NIS agents running back.
No moving zombies left—they'd finished cleanup.
"Ow... It hurts... Really hurts..."
By now, the hole in Rosen's forehead had closed, blood no longer flowing.
She straightened her knees, groaning in pain.
"Ah... Hurts..."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three more shots rang out, jolting her slender frame.
Bullets tore into her red dress, darkening it further with blood.
Rosen swayed weakly.
"Hurts... Hurts..."
She moaned softly but refused to fall.
The three NIS agents now clustered around the bespectacled man began to panic at the sight.
"Why isn't she dropping?"
One muttered under his breath.
The bespectacled man turned and issued orders.
"Don't know what she is, but let's blow her head off. Everyone, aim carefully..."
Before he finished, their guns erupted in unison.
Rat-tat-tat-bang.
A dozen bullets riddled Rosen's tiny head, spraying blood.