Hanging by a Fingernail
I came to inside the zombie apocalypse novel. It looked like the zombies were more interested in Kim Yeonhua, who had landed first, than in me. So I tapped the end of my Beopbong against the ground to draw their attention. I couldn't roar like I was charging into battle since I had to stay stealthy, but fortunately the zombies came running at me soon enough. There were only a few normal ones, so I considered fighting them straight up before deciding against it.
"Ugh."
Instead I let out a short sigh and began circling, keeping just enough speed that the zombies couldn't grab me. As I kept spinning, I caught sight of Kim Yeonhua slipping away in a wide arc. Yeah, that's how you do it without getting noticed. But then—why the fuck were zombies sprinting that way?
"Goddammit, seriously. Heyyyyy!!!!"
Since it was urgent, I bellowed from the bottom of my lungs to yank their focus back. I never imagined they'd actually create variants specialized in pursuit just in case. And judging by the way my body was heating up, I was obviously about to get pounded. It was so unfair it made me want to scream. I'd come to save someone and gotten a vicious gut punch for my trouble. Now that I was trying to escape, they were smashing the whole board like they'd been waiting for it.
Still, I didn't really have any complaints. Something like this was bound to happen around now anyway. Whether someone got badly hurt or exhausted, trouble was coming. I was just glad it was me. Yeah, it hurt, but I recovered fast. In a way it was good. If I could lock in my role like this, at least I wouldn't get abandoned. That didn't mean I wanted to get beaten like a dog on a sweltering summer day, though.
Because I'd shouted to save Kim Yeonhua, other variants were converging here too. And I couldn't take them down quickly. I was a regeneration-stacked tank, so I wasn't exactly mad about it, but still. It sucked.
".........Ugh."
"Groaaaaah...!"
Getting a body blow while handling other zombies hurts like hell. The Boxer was giggling after landing one, so I smashed its head in whether it hit me again or not. I'd already resolved to draw their attention even if it meant getting surrounded. After confirming that Kim Yeonhua was escaping properly in the distance, I readjusted my grip on the Beopbong.
Getting bitten by zombies still hurt. Getting hit still hurt. But I had far more experience now.
"I don't even shed tears anymore just from getting my flesh bitten o—?!"
The moment I killed one zombie, a body blow slammed into my ribs. And that wasn't the end of it—the other zombies suddenly retreated all at once. I tried to limp away, but stones started raining down. Naturally I raised my arms and Beopbong to shield my head.
Then I heard a familiar sound from the side.
"Ah, fuck."
"Groaaaaaaaah!"
A Cannon Pusher I hadn't even noticed arriving was charging straight at me. I was supposed to dodge, but right on cue several normal zombies came in with tackles. No matter what I did, I was getting hit. If I avoided the tackling normals to dodge the Cannon Pusher, I'd eat the stones and my skull would crack. If I only protected my head, I'd get rammed properly by that massive body. It was basically asking me to choose between the worst and the second-worst option.
I'd experienced both, so I knew. A cracked head meant death. A broken body did not. So I sighed deeply, covered my head, and waited.
"........................!"
A tremendous impact shook my entire body. When I regained consciousness, I was slumped pathetically against a building wall, bleeding. Even though I'd tried to protect my head, blood was still streaming from my forehead. Still, I could move. If I died from something this minor, I couldn't call myself Ultimate Yeji.
The Cannon Pusher had finished its charge and would probably just watch now. I thought I only had to worry about the other variants, but then I heard the distinctive moan of a Witch. I frantically moved my body. It would be disastrous if my stomach got stabbed.
But then I realized there was no Witch here. Normal zombies. Boxer. Thrower. Cannon Pusher. A few Runners and maybe two Pointers. Yeah, the Witch definitely hadn't shown up. Plus the voice was coming from above.
"Kieeeee.... Kieeeeeee... Kie, Kieeeee....."
"Ah."
I finally understood. An intelligent variant on the rooftop. Probably an Officer or a Marker. It was mimicking the Witch's moan. And it was clearly laughing at me for panicking.
"You son of a bitch!!!!"
Kim Yeonhua and Kang Siwoo didn't matter anymore. I couldn't calm down until I'd smashed that bastard's skull. Whether I died or you died, let's settle this, you fucking prick.
I threw off my bag and charged forward. A few normal zombies tried to bite me. I dodged some, crushed the heads of others, and kicked the building door so hard it nearly shattered. The moment I burst inside, an ambushing Boxer swung at me.
".........Groan?"
"It doesn't hurt at all, dumbass!"
It looked at me like it had definitely landed a solid gut punch, so I finished it with two hits on purpose. One hit and it would die without feeling pain. I already knew they were all aiming for the stomach. But since I was slow, I couldn't block and counter like everyone else. I couldn't tighten my muscles like Noh Changhun to defend, either. Instead, I'd been beaten so many times that I was used to the pain, and my regeneration was high. If I braced myself to eat the gut punches and counterattacked, I could finish them quickly.
"Huuu...... ha."
Looking around, it seemed the variant had hidden zombies all over the building. Ambush attacks were lethal. Any normal survivor would have died from that Boxer's earlier gut punch. Only I could ignore them all and charge straight through.
So I did exactly that. The building wasn't that tall anyway—only about five stories. No reason to hesitate. I periodically checked that the bastard wasn't fleeing and climbed recklessly with my Beopbong in hand. Naturally I smashed the head of every ambusher along the way. Did it really think a few gut punches and some torn flesh would make me give up?
After brawling with the zombies that had gathered outside and climbing higher, I finally saw the rooftop door. As expected, it was half open. I could tell there was a zombie up there anyway. There was only one staircase in this building, and I'd come up it. Even a child could figure out the variant was here.
"There you are, you bastard!"
I kicked the door open like a proper tough guy and stepped onto the roof. But one of the zombies that saw me slowly pointed and let out a moan.
"Ah."
Only then did I remember there were tons of Throwers up here. I tried to retreat and hold the door shut, but I'd kicked it too hard and the thing was broken. To make things worse, I was half-surrounded, so every stone they threw was going to land. Still, there was one thing I could count on. After getting beaten so much on the way up, adrenaline—not endorphins—was pumping through me now. It was safe to say my strength had increased.
After all, I'd always wanted to be a hero, right?
"I'm Ultimate Yeji, you pathetic wretches!"
I swung the Beopbong and smashed the door hinges to pieces, then charged forward still holding it. The Throwers could do nothing. No matter how many stones they hurled, they couldn't pierce steel. If they'd been more enhanced variants, maybe, but right now all they could do was quietly get their heads crushed.
After killing every last one of them, I slowly walked toward the intelligent zombie with my blood-soaked Beopbong. I was going to start by crushing the finger it had pointed at me, then smash it in half.
"........What the hell are you doing?"
"Groan."
But the bastard suddenly stepped onto the railing and jumped backward. Thinking it might be trying to kill itself, I rushed to the edge and looked down.
"No, fuck!"
The zombie that had landed on top of the Cannon Pusher was grinning. Its body didn't look completely intact, but since it was a zombie it would probably survive. In the end I'd just done the equivalent of a country mutt fetching a thrown ball. I'd climbed all the way up here to kill that thing and now I couldn't? I couldn't accept something so ridiculous, so I climbed onto the railing and hurled the Beopbong downward.
The zombie stared blankly at the staff falling toward its head before its skull exploded. Seeing the chunks of meat splatter everywhere was so satisfying I couldn't help but laugh. Yeah, who told you to toy with people?
"Ha! How's that taste, you bastard? My insides feel so refreshed."
"Groan."
"....Ah?"
I thought it was over, but apparently not. Because someone had pushed me from behind. Fortunately I came to my senses still gripping the railing, but instinct told me the truth. If I fell from this position, I would die. No matter how fast my regeneration was, that only applied when my body still had some shape left. If my bones shattered and pierced through my flesh? I'd have to manually put them back before regeneration could even begin.
That zombie happened to possess intelligence. It laughed while mimicking the Witch's moan from earlier, then picked up a suitable rock and smashed one of my fingers with it. Not lightly—extremely hard. Hard enough that I reflexively yanked my hand away. That said everything.
"P-please spare me."
"Grr?"
"W-why me? No, seriously!"
The zombie grinned and smashed my finger again. Of course if I let go now I'd fall five stories and die, so I desperately clung to the railing. The moment I braced my arm and tried to get my other hand up, fresh agony exploded. I finally realized this bastard was toying with me. It wanted me to grovel more. If I begged nicely, maybe it would spare me. That kind of thing.
Honestly, I hesitated. There was such a thing as human dignity, you know? But fuck, you had to be alive to care about dignity.
"Master."
"Groooan?"
"Really, if you just spare me— No, please spare me! Ack! Hey!"
Even though I begged as pathetically as possible, it didn't seem interested. Pain kept hammering my left hand. Part of me wanted to bark like a bitch and shake my ass, but anger came first.
Yeah, whatever. You only die once.
"Hey."
"Grr?"
"You fucker, even if I fall to the ground I can still walk, right? I'll come back to catch you."
The zombie lightly tossed a stone at my face as if to say go ahead. So I immediately let go of the railing. It was five stories, but if I fell feet-first, maybe I could survive.