The Third Party's Perspective
Honestly speaking, the feeling of running while equipped with various things strapped to your body is completely different from being naked.
No matter how much stamina I had built through hard labor, jumping over walls while carrying a bow, arrows, a bat, a dagger, and armor wasn’t easy at all.
After barely crossing the wall, I saw the desolate, empty grass that would normally be described as withered.
These days, schools are all like this—places that have been neglected, starting to show signs of decay with bald heads scattered about. In front of me stood the auditorium, with one main building and a separate structure in the center.
“What’s making all the noise?”
Was it a zombie? I glanced toward the schoolyard, and students in school uniforms suddenly came sprinting out from somewhere.
And one girl was staggering, covered in blood.
“What?”
The students looked like they were fleeing for their lives. It had to be a zombie outbreak and they were evacuating…
The students were running toward the auditorium, and the staggering girl soon began to roar.
It wasn’t the scream of a regular zombie. This roar came from deep within her chest.
Suddenly, it went mad, pursuing the students with single-minded fury.
“Wow, even from a distance it’s no joke.”
I had felt like a beast during the fight, but the female high school student zombie charging toward me now was literally insane.
She grabbed one of the fleeing male students and bit him wildly, causing absolute chaos.
Fast.
Anyway, since it was a school, there were people. What did I need here?
Information. And women.
Food or clothes held no interest for me.
My final goal was to remove the cause by accepting the predecessor’s will. Within that framework, I could do whatever I wanted and go wild.
So, after Lee Soyeon, where was the next woman to target?
While pondering this, I walked forward, and I saw the girl who had turned into that zombie earlier causing a ruckus.
It wasn’t some escaped lunatic; why was she throwing a tantrum alone?
She wandered around by herself, shaking her head wildly, and stared blankly at her surroundings.
“…”
And she spotted me standing on the school wall.
“Hey, but I’m not your type? You’re out.”
“Groaaar!”
I answered the crazy zombie with my bow.
First, I waited for it to reach the wall. This girl jumped and collided head-on with it.
“Really extreme. So extreme.”
I shot the zombie’s head that was trembling under my sight.
“Done.”
The zombie fell silent and lightly jumped over it.
This schoolyard, where I finally set foot on the zombie as a cushion. My hunting ground, and I hoped for new entertainment.
While slowly observing the school, my gaze fell on the auditorium and main building that had looked familiar earlier, and the separate building on the side.
“Will they accept me like this?”
If the conditions were right, I could pass without hostility, but if not?
For me, I might have to commit the first murder here.
Until now, it had been easy because they were zombies, but facing living humans for the first time was different.
No matter how much I had decided to do bad things, I wouldn’t enjoy killing.
But I entered with resolve.
Where to start? The main building rather than the auditorium? There should be teachers or adults there?
The next thing I asked was… My destination was Seocho-gu and Yongsan. I needed to open roads to these two places.
Seocho-gu, as you know, was the place where that bastard had disappeared, and Yongsan was the place the predecessor had said had problems.
These two places were the ones I should visit first.
It was good to know information about there, or if not, I could just enjoy women and move on.
Now entering the school, broken glass was visible.
Was it the aftermath of the recent battle?
“Excuse me!”
At this moment, a man’s voice came from above my head.
I looked up, and a bespectacled man with a dark beard appeared.
“Are you a police officer? A soldier?”
A gaze expecting something… pity.
“No. Unfortunately, I’m just a person walking alone.”
“I, is that so? Why did you come here?”
“Because there are people, I wanted to find out various things. Since it’s not a good place to talk here, is it okay to come inside?”
Actually, whether they allowed it or not, I was going to come in. Fortunately, the other side didn’t say anything?
Was there no trap inside?
The broken glass and broken walls showed signs of battle.
Was that man on the 4th floor? Like Lee Soyeon, she was on the 4th floor too.
Anyway, while going up, footsteps were heard from the upper floor.
“Wait a minute. Who exactly are you?”
“Just a person wandering around while hunting zombies.”
In my sight, that bespectacled man and others sent cautious glances.
Of course.
“Don’t worry. I have no interest in your family’s food at all.”
“…”
The words were like that, but the eyes didn’t believe it at all. Amid the cautious gaze, I approached a bit.
“How many are there here?”
“Why…”
“I have something to ask. I’m not here long.”
“Why, why, why are you doing that?”
What else. It was to check if there were useful people.
But these people blocked my way.
“Just have to see the face directly.”
“Even if you don’t know the intention, you can’t. How can we trust you?”
Tsk. It seemed like they were going in the worst direction.
But at this moment, someone screamed from the opposite side.
“A zombie is coming up! Aaaah!”
A middle-aged woman urgently shouted, and right behind her, a zombie in school uniform climbed up quickly.
“Aaaah!”
I prepared the bow while the scene of being torn apart and screaming was behind me. Suddenly, this thought came to mind.
Why me?
Did I have to help these guys for free? There was no free help.
After putting away the bow and stepping back, the bespectacled man shouted.
“Don’t, don’t shoot?”
“Then let’s make a deal.”
“You, help people at times like this!”
“Otherwise, I’ll just go.”
When I said this, the bespectacled man nodded.
“Got it. I’ll do anything, so first catch the zombies for me!”
“You should have come out like that from the beginning.”
After eating, the zombie bleeding hot blood started running madly.
Now familiar with the bow.
Calmly, before the timing of the guy jumping, the bow pierced the head instantly.
“Not the end…”
A girl bitten in front of me was convulsing. The sight of trembling while covered in blood was a terrifying sight worthy of a horror movie.
Instead of reloading the bow, I threw the head with the bat.
With a single swing, like a watermelon shattering, fragments scattered everywhere.
“No cleaning up?”
In the space that became quiet again, I declared to them.
*
The transaction conditions were simple. Gather these people, listen to various information. And search for women.
“More than I thought? 38 people?”
“It’s continuously decreasing.”
The bespectacled man who introduced himself as Gang Haseong was the person in charge here.
“Somehow, I ended up in charge of this place, and since my age is appropriate, I’m being exploited.”
“Is there any other story or news beyond this place?”
“Of course, they said there are evacuation shelters or bomb shelters. In the beginning, it was said that celebrities and the wealthy entered places where they could self-sufficient.”
This was true. Same as what my predecessor said.
In our country’s civil defense situation, subways, schools, gyms, etc. were evacuation places.
Here, I was asking if there was anything special.
I shouldn’t have to go easily to Seocho-gu and Yongsan-gu.
To go to Seocho-gu from here, I had to pass Ttukseom.
Crossing the bridge to Seocho-gu, or going straight in one direction without crossing the bridge led to Yongsan-gu.
“There was a military base in Gwangjin-gu, and there was an incident?”
“Yes. That was our last report too.”
If it was an incident… the military base was attacked by zombies or an accident inside.
I had to be careful.
If I went without detouring, I had to pass through there, and if there were people with guns, even more.
Look. Getting information like this was convenient.
“My friend was at Ttukseom subway, and when zombies came, he said it’s over. Maybe… he died.”
“It was said that a line was set up around the bridge, but whether it still works is unknown.”
“But I don’t know exactly, but there’s a rumor that some psycho appeared on the northern side and has been killing people.”
Psycho? When confused, all kinds of weird things came out.
“About two months ago, near Gangnam, there was a fight between those in a shelter and looters.”
“Yes! There are people who band together and loot. There were here too.”
I was writing down this information one by one on my phone. It was important for the future.
While doing that, I started my original purpose: searching for women.
There were about 10 women here.
But, because I had set my expectations too high for Lee Soyeon, there were no appealing ones.
Middle-aged aunties or too young or completely different tastes.
Unfortunately, this time it was a miss.
Here, I had to just get information and leave.
“Anyway, thank you for the good information. Then I’ll go…”
No women, got information, so I could go.
But at this moment, Gang Haseong blocked my way in front.
“Why? We made a good deal with each other.”
“Can I ask for one favor?”
“Favor? What are you going to give?”
When I asked, Gang Haseong was looking at the people and their eyes.
“We have nothing.”
“Then?”
“But I can tell you about the people who are a threat to you.”
Threat to me?
“What are you talking about?”
“There are looters in this school too. If it’s those guys, they can threaten you.”
“Looters? No way?”
In my mind, the students who had run away earlier came to mind.
“Those guys? Looters in the same school?”
“They rebel against our system and attack anytime. It was the same case earlier. Moreover, they’re constantly taking our members out. And they forcibly took Seol-hwa.”
“Seol-hwa?”
“Yes. A really kind girl, but she fell for their scheme and was taken away. I want to save that kind girl.”
What was there to understand. It was their business, but if they attacked me?
If they became looters, they’d be more troublesome than zombies. Because they had human intelligence.
“You mean it’s a threat to me too?”
“Yes. So, perhaps I want you to handle it…”
“Even if they’re students, aren’t they my students?”
“Th, but because of them, several have already died. I’m heartbroken too, but I have no choice!”
Hmm. So that was what it meant?
But rather than blindly believing this guy’s words, it might be better to check the other side too.
No matter who looked, this side was the good one, taking responsibility for many people, but being cautious, there would be no bad.
But before that, since I had come all this way today, I needed rest as much as I had worked.
I had gotten information, and I could come back later to handle it.
“I heard the story. But we also worked hard to come this far? I’ll rest and then handle it.”
“Is it not possible now?”
“Before that, try to persuade them at least. You’re a teacher and they’re students. And you can hold out for about a day.”
Go to reality and remodel the interior first and supplement weapons more diversely.
Now, when I was leaving the school and walking.
Thud.
I felt a small impact in my armor. Something hit the armor and fell.
“Rock?”
It was a pebble-sized rock fragment. The moment I raised my head, a sound came from the opposite auditorium.
“Uncle, are you a police officer?”
Again the same question. From the auditorium side, the kids were staring at me one by one.
“No.”
“Then who are you?”
“Just a passing person.”
I barely answered and turned my body, and they shouted.
“If you’re not on the side of those damn teachers, can you help us a bit?”
Ho. This time from the auditorium side? Perfect timing.
I could check if there was any woman on the looter side.
Waggling my tongue, I headed toward the auditorium this time.