Why Does Everyone Keep Punching Me in the Stomach?
I had ended up inside a zombie apocalypse novel. “You… fucking… moron… dumbass…!”
Thinking back on it, I was so stupid I could only sigh. Running into the building to hide had been a solid idea. But what the hell was I planning to do once I got inside? At this rate I couldn’t even leave. Especially with an intelligent variant herding the zombies around—the building was effectively surrounded. Instead of charging in, I should have crouched nearby and waited for the wave to pass, then made a break for Kang Siwoo’s location. Instead I’d stupidly decided to catch my breath indoors.
Yeah, Yeji. It happens. You can miss things. But if the outcome’s good, does the process really matter that much? So I figured I just had to get out without anyone’s help. That way I wouldn’t look completely useless. I could always explain later that the situation hadn’t given me better options.
“All right, first…”
I slowly opened the door, slipped into the hallway, and crouched low to peer out the window. My gut instinct hit immediately. Ah, fuck. Looks like I’m sleeping here tonight.
All kinds of zombies and variants had the campus entrance completely blocked. There were at least several dozen, and I didn’t have the firepower to break through those variants. It would’ve been different if I still had the sack Noh Changhun made for me, but that was sitting in my cart back at Seunghak Campus.
“Haa.”
Anyway, I had three days’ worth of food and water. Spending one night rough wouldn’t kill me. Wait—hadn’t my bag gotten crushed by those pullers earlier?
“…Shit!”
I yanked the bag off and frantically checked inside. If any water bottles had burst it would’ve been a disaster, but thankfully nothing had shattered. I’d have to open the snacks and energy bars to be sure, but surviving two crushings and still being mostly intact was a win.
“At least there’s that, but……”
I still had no real plan. Charging outside blindly was bad, but staying here indefinitely was worse. After a moment’s thought I decided to look for another exit. If I took the long way around I should be able to slip through without too much trouble. That was my prediction, anyway. With a bit of luck it might work.
Yeah. It’s not like I’ve ever been the sharpest tool. I only need my brain when it actually works; right now it was time to move my body. I repacked the bag, slung it over my shoulder, and crept forward in a low crouch, searching for another way out.
The silver lining was that the hallway ahead was clear. Nothing seemed to be moving, and as long as I stayed low the zombies outside shouldn’t spot me. Of course my body was still burning up. A faint rush of endorphins told me I was about to get hit again. Just because I couldn’t see anything didn’t mean I could stroll around—I’d get smacked for sure. So I crept carefully down the corridor, using windowless sections for cover.
“The exit… is that way? Back door.”
If I slipped out the back, took a wide careful detour, and sprinted straight to the building where Kang Siwoo had gone, it should be fine. I could figure out the rest once I got there. Once we linked up, he’d come up with a proper plan anyway.
With that thought I started running down the hallway—then heard a groan from the side. Sounded like a single zombie, and not a particularly dangerous variant. I grabbed Beopbong, planning to smash it once and be done, but the thing landed a perfect body blow.
“……Uweeegh.”
From the circumstances it was definitely a boxer. Normal zombies couldn’t pull off a body blow. But damn, it hurt more than I expected. Not enough to break bones or cough up organ bits, but it made me dry-heave on the spot. Normally I should’ve been able to counter immediately, yet this time I could barely stay upright.
When I finally lifted my head I saw it clearly. Hard, stone-like growths covered its body—a reinforced zombie. The kind with extra bumps and tougher skin. I was sure I’d seen one before, but the memory wouldn’t come. I definitely remembered fighting something with weird protrusions like that.
Anyway, now I knew why it hurt so much. Those rock-hard knobs were all over the back of its hand. Getting a body blow from that was bound to feel like getting hit by a brick. It would’ve hurt less if I’d been wearing something tight, but this outfit that showed off so much skin made it worse. In games a woman’s defense goes up the more skin she shows—why doesn’t that work in real life?
“Grr……”
“Don’t you laugh at me, you bastard. You’ve got the wrong—”
“Grr…!”
A sudden jab flew at my chin. I snapped my arm up to block it. That much was fine. But then something that shouldn’t have happened occurred. The boxer was measuring distance. Instead of closing in for a suicidal rush, it kept its guard up and circled from range.
“Wow, fuck. The evolution speed is insane.”
“Grr……?”
“Wow……”
Killing it wasn’t impossible. I could tank a few hits and go for the head. So I deliberately left my stomach open, gripping Beopbong tight. The moment the idiot swung at my belly I brought the weapon down. Its head exploded. I still had to fight dry heaves while staring at the mess, though.
I was getting really sick of this “take one, give one” pattern. When I met up with Kang Siwoo I’d have to ask him to teach me how to fight properly.
Anyway, now I could finally head for the back door. I rolled my shoulders, kept a death grip on Beopbong, and continued down the corridor. But it looked like something was standing right outside. Had to be a zombie. I wasn’t sure if the intelligent variant had posted guards, but either way—time for a surprise attack.
“Ha, clever girl.”
I’d kick the door open hard and smash whatever was there into paste. I set my stance, took a few steps back, then sprinted forward and booted the door open.
Nothing was there.
While I was scanning the area thinking there definitely should have been something, a burning heat exploded in my abdomen. I looked down.
“Ah.”
“Krrrk……”
Kim Yeonhua was snarling like a wild animal, already swinging a fist at me. I could have swung Beopbong first, but I didn’t. Simple math. I could eat food and recover no matter how badly I got beaten. I’d survived near-death blows from the General. Survived the Spider King. Survived Baron’s gut punch and the two-story fall. But if Kim Yeonhua’s skull cracked, she died. So taking the hit was the only way both of us survived.
Besides, she seemed to have the same idea. There’s something behind the door and it smells like a zombie—kill it. The fact that I’d kicked the door open instead of opening it quietly probably made the misunderstanding worse.
“Ha, fuck.”
I couldn’t block or dodge anymore, so I simply braced for the incoming pain. It wasn’t a normal punch. My breath locked up and something rose in my throat just like before, but this time I felt the fist drive deep and actually squeeze my organs. It hurt less than one of Noh Changhun’s gut punches, but not by much. The sheer power lifted me off my feet and sent me flying backward.
While I was coughing and spitting blood, trying to get up, the still-feral Kim Yeonhua immediately hammered another punch into my stomach. She grabbed my twitching body, threw me, then when I tried to stand she cracked me across the jaw, reset her distance, and stepped in for what looked like a finishing blow—only to let out a short groan like she’d realized something was wrong.
In my head I wanted to scream Are you finally back to your senses, you bitch? but I couldn’t speak. All I could do was curl up, clutch my stomach, and keep retching.
That fucking woman really beat me like she was trying to kill me. I knew it wasn’t on purpose, so I’d taken the hits, but it still hurt like hell.
“A-are you okay!? I—I distinguished by scent……”
“Uwek, weeegh……”
“B-blood!? You can’t die!”
I wasn’t going to die from this. I’d just need a long rest and a lot more food. Still, I couldn’t blame her. Her ability deliberately drove her into a frenzy to boost combat power. She fought like an enraged beast, but the downside was that she identified friend or foe by smell. She was supposed to slaughter zombies and protect humans. But that pouch was sitting right in my cleavage, so she must have thought I was the General and gone all-out.
No wonder it hurt so fucking much. When she saw a woman retching she seemed to snap back to her senses.
“Haa… huuu… If it wasn’t for me… everyone would’ve died… Just remember that……”
“Can you… talk?”
“I told you. I recover ridiculously well.”
“…Can you move?”
Kim Yeonhua asked carefully. She was probably saying we’d get completely cut off if we waited any longer, so we should run. I wanted to move too, but my body refused to listen. Limping in pain wouldn’t let me dodge zombies.
“There were plenty of empty rooms. Let’s rest in one for a bit……”
“Y-yes. I’ll support you.”
“It’s fine. Just carry this.”
“Ah, okay. It’s heavy…? I thought it was a normal baseball bat.”
Together we slipped into an empty room and barricaded the door with our bodies. While I caught my breath I could only think one thing.
Fuck, why does everyone keep caving my stomach in? It’s so unfair it actually brought tears to my eyes.