The Monster's Trap
I really had ended up inside a zombie apocalypse novel. Seriously. For real. If Jeokro screwed me over three more times, I was fully planning to punch every student I could find—no matter what Kang Siwoo said. If it weren’t for me, the last person who rode this thing would’ve died ages ago, and I’d been itching to rant about it. Of course, I couldn’t exactly punch Noh Changhun, the one who’d modified it first. Hit him and my own back would end up hunched. Grumbling inwardly about how unfair the whole situation was, I clenched my teeth.
“Ugh…!”
Still, regeneration seemed to be working steadily. My arms and legs, shredded raw from scraping across asphalt, were already knitting back together. Bruises and crushed spots from impacts had vanished without me even noticing. Pain still pressed down on my entire body like a slow, heavy weight… but enduring pain was something I’d long since gotten used to.
“More importantly…”
Running away was one thing, but in my frantic pedaling I’d completely lost my sense of direction. Mountains loomed in the distance, yet I had no idea if I was actually heading the right way. If I kept pedaling blindly while fleeing, I might end up somewhere completely unknown. Going east or south would at least be better. The church faction was still made up of actual believers, so I could probably find shelter there. Heading straight east would eventually bring me to Haeundae, where I could rely on Noh Changhun. West was the campus, so that was obvious. “As long as it’s not north…”
For now, I turned the handlebars toward the mountains and kept pedaling. I didn’t know why a mountain had appeared right in front of me, but at least I could see it. Circling it once would let me safely return to campus. I’d originally been chased by zombies from the west, so I must have been running east this whole time. Running east with the mountain on my right… and now the mountain was directly ahead of me.
“That means I’m heading south.”
If I kept pedaling straight and then turned left, that should work. Keep the mountain on my right, loop around the roads, and keep going… I’d probably reach Seunghak Campus before the day was over.
Then a sudden realization hit me. I’d been carrying a bag and wearing a headset, right? So there should’ve been another sensation I was missing. Some kind of… weight?
“Ah, shit.”
I instinctively tried to shove Beopbong back into the bag, only to feel it smack against my back. Which meant I’d left the bag somewhere behind. Yet when I glanced at my shoulder, the straps were still dangling there…? I must’ve lost both the bag and the headset during one of the collisions. Otherwise my hair wouldn’t be whipping around freely like this—the headset should’ve been pinning it down.
Part of me wanted to sit there and sob about how these things always happened to me. If I’d known it would turn out like this, I should’ve just stayed holed up on campus. But crying could wait.
“I can cry after this is all over.”
Things had always gone this way. Just when everything seemed to be going smoothly, some ridiculous trial would crash down on me. And every single time, no matter how ugly it got, I’d clawed my way through. So maybe this time too… I’d overcome it and come out stronger. I offered the thought up like a cautious prayer, but nothing changed.
“Damn it…”
On top of everything, the number of zombies had exploded. They’d split into three distinct groups now. Fast Hunters in the lead, followed by Runners, Markers, and Pointers. Bringing up the rear were ordinary zombies and other relatively normal variants that had appeared from somewhere. Easily several hundred—maybe even pushing a thousand if I was unlucky.
…Zombies in this world were surprisingly few in number overall. Because the outbreak had happened simultaneously worldwide, survivors hadn’t had much time to flee. Plenty of people had turned inside their homes or buildings. Excluding those trapped indoors, not many zombies had actually made it out onto the streets. For easy math, picture an apartment complex with roughly five hundred households. Three people per household meant about fifteen hundred residents. Even ignoring survival rates, that was over a thousand zombies sealed inside buildings alone. So seeing this many zombies gathered in one place was rare. Usually they were either stuck indoors, had their heads smashed in by survivors, or had been used up as resources and soldiers by smarter variants.
But when I glanced back again, the zombies now filled the road like a living wall.
“Shit…”
My head was starting to ache. Killing that many was one problem. Dealing with the bodies afterward would be another nightmare. A thousand corpses—how the hell was I supposed to burn all of them? I always carried a lighter, sure, but…
“There’s just too many.”
Calling in help would solve the disposal issue, but if I left to fetch people, other variants would definitely show up to claim the corpses. They’d use them to create even stronger monsters. The situation was absurd. I couldn’t just run, but I couldn’t fight on pure emotion either.
Then again, when had I ever cared about that?
“Just give me a decent spot and I’ll kill them all…”
A narrow, long alley would’ve been perfect. I could pile up zombie corpses, set them on fire, and hold the line. As long as there weren’t any intelligent variants, even burning ones would still try to grab me. I was mulling over how to use that when a sudden vibration started rumbling through the ground—like heavy footsteps from the floor above. It wasn’t enough to interfere with riding, but an ominous feeling crept over me.
And the feeling was right.
From the shopping complex up ahead, a massive dark-green head suddenly rose into view. Its height matched the rooftops of nearby buildings. Definitely a Monster. Its body was grotesquely muscular, its face slack and stupid-looking.
“Ah.”
“GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!”
Heat flooded my body so fast it felt like it was boiling over. Yeah, I’d read about this in the novel. Unlike some variants that could grow endlessly, certain ones were born strong. They couldn’t grow any further, but they were already powerful enough to slaughter survivors. I’d mentally classified this thing as on the same level as the Baron from the airport incident. If I messed up, I’d be turned into paste—painfully and obviously. And it wasn’t alone. Other variants were visible on the rooftops too.
“Aaaahhh…!”
Poisoners and Throwers waited on the building tops like they’d been expecting me. Intelligent variants had clearly set a trap. The Monster itself stood directly across from me, already poised to catch me. Instinct screamed that this could kill me—like someone was pressing a blade to my throat, nicking skin and drawing blood. But the fear didn’t last long.
My heart suddenly pounded violently, and strength surged through my limbs. The thought of dying was shoved aside by a new, overwhelming certainty: I can do this. It felt like someone had jammed a funnel into my skull and was pouring raw confidence straight into my brain.
Logically I should’ve swerved hard and run. But by the time I came back to myself, I was already pedaling straight toward it with an expression that was neither crying nor laughing.
“No way!”
“GRRRRR!”
At the last second, clarity returned. Colliding at this speed would be like surviving another car crash. My body was tough and healed fast, but it couldn’t nullify impact. If I slammed into the Monster like this, I had no idea what state I’d wake up in. I needed to get off Jeokro first and fight while tanking its attacks head-on.
“But… I can’t stop now!”
“GRRR…!”
“Jeokro!”
With every blink, the Monster’s enormous hand got closer. Charging straight into its grasp while still on Jeokro was suicide. I’d just get hammered while stunned and defenseless. So the only option left was to accelerate and break through. Praying this time the damn vehicle wouldn’t betray me, I gritted my teeth and stomped down hard on the pedals.
“GRRR…?”
When I next became aware of my surroundings, I’d already shot between the Monster’s legs. Part of me wanted to keep running, but once I’d encountered it, escape was impossible. If it sprinted at full speed, it would catch me easily. Getting kicked into the air would mean waking up to a stomach full of pain. So I grabbed the brakes, pressing my body flat against Jeokro to bleed off as much speed as possible.
“Ah. Augh. Hoo.”
Luckily, Jeokro didn’t flip from the sudden deceleration. It left a clean tire mark as it slid, then shuddered to a stop between my legs. Yeah. Naming it had been the right call. Now only one thing remained.
I spat on the ground to build some intimidation, then gripped Beopbong tightly. It was time to fight.