A Desperate Fall and a Timely Rescue
Just my luck, ending up inside a zombie apocalypse novel. At least there was a cannon fodder zombie down below. If I played this right, I could use it as a cushion—no, wait. While I was still falling, a zombie's face poked out over the railing. It pointed a finger at the cannon fodder zombie below. The thing slowly backed away. At this rate, I'd just smash straight into the ground.
"Shit, fuck!"
"Grk, grk, grk."
The zombie opened its mouth and laughed. The sound pissed me off even more. I clenched my teeth. If I landed feet-first, I might survive. Or maybe I'd get caught on a tree. But there was nothing down there. No matter how tough my body was, I couldn't regenerate right now. There was a real chance I'd die on impact.
Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, I heard a voice.
"Yeji-ssi!"
"Ah."
Kang Siwoo had sheathed his sword and was walking through the air. Well, not actually walking. He'd heard Kim Yeonhua's shout and rushed out, pushing his physical abilities to the absolute limit. He'd probably cut down the cannon fodder zombie and used its body as a stepping stone. That kind of power really was protagonist-tier. Even Noh Changhun couldn't pull that off.
"Ughhh......!"
"Got you!"
I worried he might drop me, but Kang Siwoo caught me safely from about two stories up. He kicked off the wall to slow our descent and threw himself onto the cannon fodder zombie's corpse. Everything was fine until the landing. Maybe he couldn't control his strength properly. Being held gently by him felt like my body was about to break apart. I didn't have the chance to complain, so I just stayed quietly in his arms. I was exhausted anyway.
Kang Siwoo carefully checked if I was okay, then smiled and spoke.
"That was quick thinking. You spotted the variant and went inside the building."
"Ugh......"
"Ah, this won't do."
"Ow, ow......"
He set me down as gently as possible, but my body was already wrecked. Especially since I couldn't regenerate right now. In the end, I couldn't move and could only groan. At least most of my skin was exposed. If I'd been wearing more clothes, I'd probably be cooked through by now.
"You can't move at all?"
"Yeah. Seriously. I can't move."
It wasn't a joke. I couldn't even twitch a finger. I'd need at least a few more minutes, but we didn't have that kind of time. Neither of us did. We'd both pushed our abilities to the limit, and the backlash was hitting us hard.
"Please wait a moment."
"Huh?"
Kang Siwoo glanced around like it was obvious, then picked up the bag I'd taken off. Come to think of it, he'd come here completely unarmed except for his sword. Just to save me. It felt nice knowing I mattered that much to him, but something about it felt ominous. I only went after that bastard because he was mocking me. It wasn't because it was an intelligent variant or anything. The original plan was to run away with Kim Yeonhua. We weren't supposed to waste time like this, but... well, if the result was good, maybe it was fine.
While I was thinking that, Kang Siwoo hooked my Beopbong onto the ring at his waist.
"Yeji-ssi."
"......Yes?"
"I'll have to be a bit rough with you."
"Wait, what do you mean—!?"
He was going to carry me like a sack of rice and he couldn't afford to be gentle. That was probably what he meant by shortening it like that. Still, saying it that way felt a little off, didn't it? But I couldn't protest. Partly because I was slung over his shoulder like luggage, and partly because every time I tried to speak, I felt like I'd bite my tongue. On top of that, every jolt made me feel like I was going to die. At least my condition was gradually improving the longer we moved, but still.
By the time we safely escaped back inside the building, all I could do was sprawl out on the floor like a starfish and catch my breath. I didn't care about the stares from the survivors. I just stuck my tongue out like a dog and panted, trying to shed the heat from my body.
While I was lying there, someone walked over and placed something lukewarm on my forehead. It helped so much that I was about to thank them when my body went rigid.
I remembered the description from the novel. A woman with a large chest who looked good in white clothes, with hair as black as ebony. If she'd had angel wings, people might've mistaken her for an actual angel. I remembered her clearly. She was the one the cult had worshipped as their Saintess.
She used a scythe. No doubt about it.
Still, I pretended not to know and sat up to thank her. The woman covered her mouth and laughed, then slowly returned the greeting. I accepted the courtesy, but my head was spinning. When Yahweh's Paradise had properly appeared in the novel, it was about three months after the outbreak. The churches in Nam-gu, Busan, had banded together around two months in. Unlike the usual fanatics, the churches in Nam-gu were made up of decent people. They rescued survivors, protected the elderly and weak, and even welcomed people of other faiths. That's how they'd grown. Then, just as they were about to form a proper community, an elder with brainwashing abilities staged a coup. The entire faction had turned into a pseudo-religious cult calling itself Yahweh's Paradise.
Lee Ayoung. This female college student had apparently attended church in Nam-gu. Given the circumstances, she'd probably tried one last escape when the campus collapsed and succeeded. Then she'd gone to Nam-gu alone, gotten brainwashed, and been made into their Saintess. Honestly, I was flustered. This wasn't something I'd expected.
Still, now that I'd met her, I couldn't just leave her alone. Apparently this friend of mine was ridiculously good with spears and scythes. I already knew everything about Lee Ayoung's interests. That shut-in who used to spam reviews on pirate sites had analyzed her obsessively. Lee Ayoung liked books, especially waves in the ocean. She was also a normal Christian who loved her hometown of Nam-gu, Busan. So if I steered the conversation toward the cross on her chest or things like that, I could probably talk to her like a normal person.
Once we got familiar, the walking plot device Kang Siwoo would handle the rest. He was handsome enough to make even a guy like me feel tempted. If he just went over and talked to her a few times, she'd probably fall for him. He'd unconsciously charm her and somehow bring her all the way to Seunghak Campus. If I was going to be inside the novel, I might as well make use of my original work knowledge.
So I chatted with her normally, and before I knew it, the two of us were sitting side by side, gossiping. Kim Yeonhua, who came to check on my condition, even joined in. After a while, when Kang Siwoo arrived at a good time, I introduced Lee Ayoung to him.
"Ah........?"
"Huh? Yeonhua, why?"
"It's nothing."
Fortunately, Kang Siwoo seemed to have made a good impression on Lee Ayoung. Since they'd left a positive first impression on each other, maybe we could bring her to Seunghak Campus later.
After watching the two of them talk for a bit, I asked once their conversation seemed to wind down.
"Siwoo-ssi. Did you hear how many survivors are in this campus?"
"Hm? I was just about to mention that. We must be on the same wavelength."
"Well, we've got time. If we can help, we should."
"Apparently there are about twenty-seven survivors."
"Are they all here?"
"Yes. They're all gathered in this building."
Ah. Then things should go pretty smoothly. This campus wasn't a place they could keep surviving in anyway. Unlike our campus, there was literally nothing here. Plus, the inside hadn't even been cleared. So Kang Siwoo would probably suggest they migrate, carefully. Even if it was to Seunghak Campus, it was only a two-hour trip, so it was a manageable distance for a round trip.
My guess was right. Kang Siwoo brought it up directly.
"We'll probably need to make a round trip to Seunghak Campus. I came to ask what you think, Yeji-ssi."
"Not much choice. The distance isn't that far, so we should do it properly. But......"
Bumin Campus was fine since we'd already come here. But Gudeok Campus was bothering me. There were probably survivors there too, and since we were already out, I wanted to wrap things up. After all, it was only about thirty minutes away from here.
From what I could see, this campus wasn't completely without fighters either. Everyone was holding some kind of weapon. So...
"It's only two hours from Seunghak Campus to Bumin Campus, right, Siwoo-ssi?"
"Yes. Only two hours. Even with complications, we can manage it in three."
"But leaving Gudeok Campus alone for at least four hours—maybe even six—would be...... right?"
"That is true. There could be survivors there as well."
"So, here's what we'll do."
Two people would quickly go to Gudeok Campus and come back. If there were survivors, they could bring them to Bumin Campus and pick them up later. If not, they'd just return. Since it was only thirty minutes away, it was more than doable. Two reasonably strong survivors could handle it.
Personally, I thought Kim Yeonhua and Kang Siwoo going together would be ideal, but...
Kang Siwoo nodded after hearing the plan.
"Then, once you recover, we'll clear out those zombies and make a path."
"Right, right."
"After that, you and I will go to Gudeok Campus together."
"..........What?"
No, I just wanted to rest. More than that, I could feel Kim Yeonhua's glare burning into my back.