A Plant Zombie and Bicycle Trauma
Scouting wasn't all that difficult. It was so easy that it made Noh Changhun's face harden as he muttered that this couldn't be right. Normally, a few zombies would show up and you'd have to take them out. You'd end up sweating buckets fighting them before you'd even gone a few meters, and that would be it. Forget scouting—you'd be too busy crawling back behind the defense line without accomplishing anything. But they still conducted scouts because they were necessary. When I asked why they didn't just use vehicles, the answer was a firm no. The reason was that the zombies in this world weren't dumb. They'd watch for people using transportation and then assassinate them with variants. Things like Gibbons dangling their long arms across the road or Fowlers dropping from nearby buildings. No wonder so many buildings remained uncleared. I hadn't realized the zombies would ambush if they ventured even a little ways out. Besides, they had guns here and a decent number of ability users, so I hadn't been worried. Still, I could understand it to some extent. In a high-pressure situation, only a handful of people could shoot properly. Without sniping from a stable position, the hit rate would be abysmal. And even with many ability users, there were vastly more places to defend. Naturally, the personnel were spread thin, with no energy left to monitor beyond the guarded perimeters.
"Guess I came at the right time!"
It meant I could make myself useful here too. For starters, I had the General's Secretion Pouch, which could repel all the mediocre zombies. While there were various zombie variants, the main force consisted of normal zombies and weaker ones. Just being able to spot that force from a distance was incredibly valuable. On top of that, my value had skyrocketed from all the surviving I'd done so far. The side effects that would come later would probably be severe, but for the role of zombie repellent, I was perfect. Plus, I never got tired. As long as I had something to eat, I'd revive even if my bones were shattered and my guts were torn apart. I was basically a machine. If it was just regeneration, that'd be one thing, but when I was on the brink of death, I unleashed monstrous strength that could even overpower a Monster. So it was safe to say there was practically no one in this place who could beat me. As long as they didn't have a blade or a gun in hand, I'd win against anyone, right?
"Good for you."
"Of course it's good! Why wouldn't it be? Everyone needs me."
"Don't act like you've never had friends. Is it really that great when everyone needs you in a situation like this?"
"..."
"...Sorry."
No words came out. I mean, I thought I could just gloss over it without issue. But getting hit with that fact made my chest ache so badly I could barely stand it. Yeah, well... not having any friends... that was true...
I... I made the entire world ostracize me...
"Impressive."
"Don't pity me! Just call me a fucking idiot! That'd make me feel better..."
"..."
If he'd just cursed me out, it would've cleared the air. I'd deliberately said something stupid, but his pity only made me feel dirtier. And naturally, anger started bubbling up. I chose to be a loner! Tough it out with sheer spite! That's what it was, but still. I needed something to smash. I needed a zombie to pulverize with my Beopbong.
"Grrrrrr..."
And luckily, a zombie appeared. I had no idea why plants were growing all over its body, but it didn't matter. Killing it would be the end of it anyway!
"Take this, you bastard!"
"Graaah!"
I swung the Beopbong at full speed while riding Jeokto, and the zombie's head spun off into the sky. Seeing that lifted my mood a bit, and I was about to keep going when I noticed Noh Changhun was nowhere in sight and slowed down. His bicycle was flipped over, wheels spinning in the air. For a moment, it felt like my brain shut down. I wondered what the hell had happened to that guy to cause an accident. Thoughts raced through my mind—from whether I'd missed a zombie to all sorts of worst-case scenarios. Then, at the very end, I saw Noh Changhun's expression. He was beaming. Noh Changhun was busy collecting the body of the plant-covered zombie. The question of why he was collecting it only lasted a second. I'd read about this in the novel.
"That's it!"
"Yeah, that's the one!"
"That thing!?"
"That's exactly why I'm doing this!"
The plants growing from zombie corpses were useful. But to cultivate them, you needed the zombie body. Zombies, lacking the technology to plant seeds in pots like humans, had gotten creative. The resulting variant was this one. It was called a Plant, and its combat capabilities were even weaker than a normal zombie's. But it was valuable because it served as a living planter.
"What kind of plant is it!?"
"I don't know either, but it looks edible from the outside."
"If it's edible...?"
"It's not the fruit type we ate last time. It's a root vegetable."
"Like potatoes or sweet potatoes?"
"Yeah. Jackpot. Let's take this back and drop it off."
"What about the scouting?"
"Is that important?"
Noh Changhun laughed. Looking now, despite throwing himself onto the asphalt, he didn't have a single scratch. Yeah, with a body like that, of course he'd dive in headfirst. The fact that I'd gone white with worry earlier felt like a waste, so I couldn't give him a friendly look. Noh Changhun must have noticed because he smiled awkwardly and picked up his bike.
"Aish, dammit."
"Pfft."
The bicycle was a total wreck. Makes sense—that massive guy had hurled himself at it full force. Noh Changhun might be fine, but there was no way the bike would be. The frame didn't seem broken at least, but the chain had come off, rendering it useless.
"Guess we'll have to ditch it."
"I thought you'd be able to fix and reuse it, Changhun."
"There are plenty of bikes. It's a pain, but a little more modification and it'll be good as new."
"Suit yourself. So what are you going to do now?"
"You fucking bitch."
I asked but didn't wait for an answer. I pedaled hard, and Noh Changhun's face receded into the distance in an instant. Yeah, run all the way to the defense line on your own two feet. Honestly, if he asked nicely, I would've stopped. I was planning to give him a ride while subtly rubbing it in. But Noh Changhun seemed seriously pissed. He started running with the corpse clutched in his arms. Yep. He was actually running. On his own feet.
"Ah."
"If I catch you, you're dead meat."
And at an insane speed, a full-power sprint. Jeokto wasn't super fast, but it wasn't a speed a normal person could keep up with. Now I saw that all the stress he'd built up because of me was exploding. Otherwise, there was no way he'd be chasing me with murder in his eyes like this. It seemed like he was taking the chance to properly vent his anger. Naturally, I had no intention of letting him catch me easily.
"Inertia driiiiiiift!"
I didn't know how to actually do it, but I felt like messing with him. It wasn't even a curve that would allow for drifting anyway. That only made him angrier, and Noh Changhun sped up. We raced like that for a while until the defense line came into view. I could see the soldiers I'd roughly memorized names for, like Kwang-il or Su-hyeok. I thought he'd stop here, but Noh Changhun seemed thoroughly enraged. He hurled the corpse he'd been carrying and, leaving only instructions to store it properly, swung his arms hard and accelerated. By this point, I was genuinely getting scared. I thought he'd let off steam moderately. I didn't expect him to come at me like he was trying to kill me. But I had Jeokto. He had two legs. Logically, I had to win. This was a modified bicycle designed to make round trips between Seoul and Busan. Whether it was actually designed for that or not, I wasn't sure. Anyway, since things had come to this. I figured I'd just do a few laps until Noh Changhun got tired. People can't stay mad when they're exhausted. Maybe we'd just laugh it off? So I looked back and taunted him.
"Catch me if you can!"
"...Hey!"
"Huh?"
Ah, I've seen this before. This is that flashback thing.
"...!?"
An abandoned car suddenly appeared in front of me. And it was already too late to avoid it. I might have been able to swerve sharply, but I didn't have the reflexes for that. Naturally, Jeokto, having missed the critical moment, charged straight forward. Since I was holding the handlebar with one arm, my body lifted into the air. Plus, the fact that I'd sped up to escape Noh Changhun contributed, so it wasn't just a short distance.
"Probably around three to four meters."
I was so used to it by now that I wasn't even that surprised. The thought that falling would hurt like hell? That was about it. So I was able to take it relatively calmly. Of course, losing consciousness was inevitable. No, honestly—falling from three to four meters? And then scraping along the asphalt? It would be a miracle to stay conscious.
"Huh!?"
"You crazy bitch!"
My eyes flew open without warning. My body was aching all over, but there didn't seem to be any serious injuries. Maybe because I'd already regenerated. And from Noh Changhun's expression, it didn't seem like much time had passed since I blacked out. There was no unfamiliar ceiling, and no other people around.
"I thought you were dead..."
"Why would I die?"
"This guy... You don't remember?"
Noh Changhun pressed me. Hadn't I said this would be my second time dying? It definitely seemed like that's what I'd said. That the sensation of dying was the second time.
"The reason I started writing this novel was the condition of dying once and coming back alive."
"Ah, right. You said you died in an accident."
"That accident was a bicycle accident. I swerved to avoid a motorcycle, fell, and died."
"How?"
"I slammed into a rice paddy bank and cracked the back of my head open."
"Ah."
Jangyu. Noh Changhun. Bicycle. Back of the head. Putting it all together, I couldn't help but laugh. No, how could a person... But the situation was serious, so I suppressed the laughter first. In the end, though, I couldn't hold it in.
"How could a person..."
"..."
Noh Changhun made an expression like he regretted worrying about me. Complaining that he should've just ignored me if he'd known this would happen was extra. But I could tell instinctively. Even if I hadn't laughed earlier, this bastard wouldn't have ignored me. If I hadn't been able to regenerate, he probably would've fussed over treating me instead. Thinking that he was a guy who couldn't lie to save his life, I lay down for a moment. No matter how tough I was, moving right away was difficult.