120 Kilometers (3)
The Sheriff swung his hammer upward at an angle from below. Two zombies' necks snapped as they were hurled backward together.
Crack—! Crunch—!
The hammer slammed down in succession on the fallen zombies' skulls, producing dull, heavy thuds as their craniums shattered into pieces.
In that brief window, four more zombies charged straight at the Sheriff. As he took a sideways step to reset his stance, Mingu—left hand tucked behind his back—leaped directly into their midst.
"Don't stop! Keep moving! I'll handle the next batch!"
Crunch—!
The machete slashed down diagonally, severing more than half the neck of the zombie that had lunged from the far right. At the same time, Mingu spun smoothly and drew the kukri from the knife sheath on his back.
Slice—!
The face of the left-side zombie aiming for Mingu's shoulder split clean in half, its lower jaw dropping to the floor with a wet smack.
Thud—!
Mingu hooked the machete around the staggering zombie's nape, yanking it down, then immediately drew the kukri across the central zombie's throat.
Grrruuuurgh—!
With both windpipe and esophagus severed, the central zombie still let out a bizarre gurgle and tried to grab at Mingu. Of course, Mingu was far too sharp to be caught by such clumsy swipes.
Schlick—! Crack—!
He crossed the machete in his right hand and the kukri in his left into an X-shape. The central zombie's head, barely hanging on by a thread, tumbled to the floor and rolled away. While it was still airborne, Mingu drove the machete straight into the gaping maw of the fourth and final zombie.
Squelch—!
Yellowed teeth and chunks of lip meat sprayed in every direction. Though the machete's tip wasn't sharpened, the combined force of Mingu's thrust and the zombie's forward momentum drove the blade clean through to just before the creature's cervical spine.
Spin—!
Mingu shoved the impaled zombie against the wall, twisted the machete's grip, and pushed with all his strength. The blade, now anchored in the neck bone, slammed downward like a guillotine. A sickening crack rang out as the vertebrae snapped.
Graaaaaah—!
Even with more than half its cervical vertebrae pulverized, the zombie trapped on the machete thrashed wildly, trying to break free. When its clawed hand shot toward Mingu's face, he simply leaned back, letting the attack slip past, then pressed down on the machete once more with explosive force.
Crunch—!
The neck bone finally sheared completely. Nerves, muscle, and skin were all severed in one clean cut.
Thump—!
The fourth zombie, now missing everything above its shoulders, collapsed limply to the floor. The entire sequence had taken less than five seconds.
Swoosh—!
Mingu sheathed the machete as if nothing had happened and resumed running alongside Jinwoo and Samsuk-i. Up ahead, the Sheriff was already swinging his hammer like a madman against three more zombies.
"Get the hell out of my way, you bastards!"
With his Kevlar-gloved left hand clamped over one zombie's face, the Sheriff gripped the hammer short and smashed the female zombie on the right square in the face.
Smack—!
Her nose, lips, and cheekbones were crushed into a single pulpy mess. While she staggered backward, the Sheriff delivered a brutal safety-boot kick to the sleeveless zombie in the middle.
Crack—!
The steel-toed boot slammed into its knee, bending the leg backward at an unnatural angle. Seizing the opening, the Sheriff grabbed the left zombie's face with monstrous strength and hurled it sideways. Then he spun and swung the hammer at the side of its head.
Splat—!
The left zombie's skull caved in like a flattened can. It bounced off the wall once before collapsing in a heap.
Grrruuu…!
The knee-bent sleeveless zombie tried to push itself up from the floor.
"Not a chance, asshole."
The Sheriff kicked its supporting hand out from under it, smashing its face back into the ground, then delivered a full-power overhead swing straight into the exposed back of its skull.
Crunch—!
The sound of the rear skull fracturing into multiple pieces echoed. Its eyeballs burst out along with greenish brain matter. Though the toe of his safety boot was now completely stained green, the Sheriff didn't even flinch. He followed up with another full-power strike to the still-breathing female zombie's face.
Crack—!
With a short, light snap, her neck bent all the way backward. The instant the jagged edge of the broken cervical bone pierced through the skin, the female zombie froze like a robot whose power had been cut.
"The guy who fights like that is the one complaining he can't butcher a pig?"
Mingu tossed the light jab as he brushed past the Sheriff's side. His new target: five more zombies that had spotted them and were sprinting at full speed.
Graaaaaahk—! Gruuuuuuuahk—!
From the zombies' gaping maws came sounds so horrific they seemed impossible in this world. Jinwoo couldn't fathom how they could produce such long, loud howls while sprinting at full tilt.
"Damn it!"
Jinwoo spat a quiet curse and clenched his teeth. The noise had grown far too loud. There was no longer any chance of keeping their presence secret from the 120-kilometer zombies on the lower floors. Sure enough—
Graaaahk—! Graaaaaah—!
From outside came answering roars, just as fierce. Immediately after, the metallic clanging of feet pounding up the exterior iron stairs rang out. The volume and frequency were completely different from when only a few had climbed earlier.
They now had roughly forty seconds before the entire Jabeolle building was completely overrun. If they didn't reach the passageway connected to the subway station before the horde made it to the second floor, they would be caught in a pincer attack.
Crunch—! Slice—! Crack—!
Whether the zombies howled or not, Mingu continued swinging his machete and kukri with a faint smile, moving like the wind. Every time his machete struck, bones splintered. Every time his kukri cut through the air, rotten skin split open and thick black blood sprayed.
Even while engaged in continuous close-quarters combat at less than fifty centimeters, Mingu had not allowed a single zombie hand to touch his body. It was as if a faint magnetic field repelling the undead flowed across his entire form—he simply let the endless attacks slide off him like water.
They're both monsters… seriously…
Jinwoo, running behind the two, could only click his tongue in awe as he watched the ferocious melee. The Sheriff's raw power that crushed the zombies by brute force was incredible, but Mingu's razor-sharp precision as he danced between them like he was enjoying himself was on another level.
They were simply different—born with guts and physical ability that set them apart from ordinary people. Even as Jinwoo marveled, Mingu's zombie slaughter continued without pause.
Thud—!
The machete smashed through the temple bone and sank deep. The yellow-haired zombie that had lunged for Mingu's neck collapsed limply. Mingu immediately twisted the blade free from its skull, sliced off the fingers of the zombie on the left with his kukri, then used the momentum to slash diagonally across its throat.
Slice—!
With its neck half-severed, the left zombie's head lolled backward from its own weight and inertia. Mingu twisted sideways to dodge the outstretched hands and drove the machete straight down.
Crunch—!
Another powerful strike to the head dangling from the back of the neck shattered the jaw joint and snapped the cervical vertebrae. The head fell to the floor while the body, no longer under control, pitched forward and sprawled out.
Just as Mingu finished off another zombie, Yubin's voice came through the receiver in Jinwoo's ear.
—Chzzt—! Jinwoo! I'm… on my way! I'm coming, so just hold on a little longer! When I radio you, come out then! I'll draw their attention! Got it?
"You're coming?"
Jinwoo couldn't believe his ears and asked again. He had no idea how Yubin planned to reach them in this sea of zombies, much less how he intended to draw their attention and escape. Yubin wasn't a physical monster like the Sheriff or Mingu…
Even if he were, this was impossible. At least a thousand zombies were roaming around the Jabeolle building right now. The moment they spotted him, he'd be swallowed by a tidal wave of undead.
Yeah! Chzzt—! I'm on the duck boat! Just wait for my signal! I'll be there soon! Come out after those bastards pass by! Can you see me?
Yubin's voice sounded slightly out of breath.
"Ah…!"
Only then did Jinwoo feel a small measure of relief. At the same time, he was once again impressed.
The Han River! And a boat!
The two terrain features zombies could never utilize were the solution Yubin had pulled out in this overwhelmingly unfavorable situation. As expected, his friends hadn't survived this long purely by luck.
Now that he was listening for it, he could hear wind and water sounds mixed in with Yubin's voice. The splashing noise was probably from the duck boat cutting through the current. The problem was they didn't have the luxury of waiting for him.
I'm… chzzt—! going to set a fire with the cigarettes I brought… chzzt—! There's another small floating café right across from you…!
While Yubin eagerly explained his plan, zombies began pouring through the door connected to the exterior stairs in the distance.
Graaaahk—! Gaaahk—!
The zombies that couldn't squeeze through the doorway were immediately shoved by those behind them and fell over the railing.
Crash—! Thud—!
A living hell had unfolded around the stairs, but the creatures didn't care. The only desire left in them was to sink their teeth into living flesh and tear it apart.
"Firing! Move!"
Jinwoo finally shoved the other two aside and raised his rifle. With the horde surging up from below like this, there was no longer any point in trying to stay silent.
Bang bang bang—! Bang—! Bang bang—! Bang bang—!
Jinwoo pulled the trigger at the zombies rushing out the door. As green brain matter and clouds of blackened blood sprayed, corpses with neat holes drilled through their foreheads piled up in heaps.
Gaaaaahk—! Graaaaaah—!
Roars erupted from behind them as well. The sound signaled that more zombies had broken through the door they had just passed.
Bang—! Bang bang bang—! Bang bang—! Bang bang bang—!
Jinwoo emptied another burst into the heads of the zombies pouring through the front door, then quickly spun around.
Graaaaaaaaah—!
Zombies had already flooded the corridor, others clung to the doorway, and more were still charging up the stairs… Around the wide-open door behind them, dozens of zombies were tangled together in a nightmarish frenzy. The ones that had climbed first were already within twenty meters.
Rat-tat-tat-tat—! Rat-tat-tat—! Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!
Jinwoo switched his rifle to full-auto and began stitching the foreheads of the charging zombies, then raked the tangled mass near the door as well.
Thud—! Thump—! Crash—!
As corpses with exploded skulls were pushed out onto the narrow landing, the tangled legs of the others caught on each other. They staggered and tumbled down the stairs.
Click—!
Jinwoo twisted the rifle sideways, ejected the empty magazine, and slammed in a fresh one from his tactical vest with his left hand—all in about 1.5 seconds. He reacquired his sight picture and opened fire again.
Rat-tat-tat—! Rat-tat-tat—! Rat-tat-tat-tat—!
Every zombie that crossed the rear doorway immediately collapsed, scattering green brain matter. The narrow doorway that could barely fit three people was now piled with corpses up to thigh height. The zombies that had rolled down the stairs bought them a few precious seconds.
—Chziiiiii—!
The receiver in his ear only transmitted faint static. Ever since the gunfire started, Yubin had gone completely silent, holding his breath and waiting for Jinwoo to make first contact.
"Stop shooting and let's move! We need to break through ahead!"
The Sheriff approached and clapped Jinwoo on the shoulder. He was right. Jinwoo immediately turned toward the direction connected to the subway station. Up ahead, Mingu was surrounded by more than ten zombies, spinning both blades in a dazzling display of martial supremacy.
Crunch—! Thud—! Crack—!
Every time Mingu smoothly evaded snapping teeth and grasping fingers and delivered a savage strike, the number of moving zombies decreased by one. Black, sticky droplets of zombie blood covered Mingu's face, yet strangely, a faint smile still lingered on his lips. It was as if he was actually enjoying this desperate crisis…
"We're good here! It's narrow, so me and this big guy can hold them! Jinwoo, you punch through ahead! …Hey, you son of a bitch! I'm trying to talk here!"
While directing Jinwoo forward, the Sheriff smashed a charging zombie's head with his hammer and cursed. He then roughly shoved the next one's chest with his boot to create distance before delivering another full-power swing.
"Hold them off just enough and follow right behind us!"
Jinwoo quickly called back to the Sheriff's back, then raised his rifle and broke into a run again. The final staircase leading to the subway station exit was already swarming with zombies. All of them were 120-kilometer uninvited guests drawn by the roars of the others.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—! Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—! Rat-tat-tat-tat—!
Jinwoo mowed down over a dozen zombies in a single burst, swapped in his third magazine, and took the brief opening to press the transmit button on his radio.
"Don't worry, Yubin! We're heading to the subway station! I'll contact you again when we get a breather!"