120 Kilometers (6)
“Sniff sniff……!”
Sheriff twitched his nose and asked.
“Doesn’t it smell?”
“Ah, now that you mention it…….”
Only then did Jinwoo notice the change and nodded. Although it was very faint, the smell of cigarettes was wafting from the direction of the Han River.
Whoosh-!
A moment later, as the wind shifted to blow directly toward them, the acrid smell grew stronger. It was far more intense than when Mingu had lit a pack inside Jabeolle earlier, meaning a massive amount of smoke was continuously pouring out from somewhere. That meant…….
“Ah……!”
Having finally found the cause of the oddity, Jinwoo opened his mouth in relief and admiration. Now he understood why so few zombies had blocked their path on the way here, and why the subway interior had been completely empty.
“……So Yubin did something.”
When Jinwoo first started shooting inside the Jabeolle building, Yubin was pedaling the duck boat like crazy on the Han River. Next to him were dozens of cartons of cigarettes he’d grabbed from the convenience store, a metal trash can, and a standard backpack.
Squeak-! Squeak-! Squeak-! Splash-!
It sounded impressive, but the duck boat barely moved forward. His thighs felt like they were about to burst from pedaling, yet the motorboat dock in the distance showed no signs of getting closer.
It was only about 200 meters away, yet it was taking this long! An impatient person might have already jumped into the water and started swimming. However…… even if he arrived a bit faster without cigarettes, there was nothing he could do.
“Damn it, did I pick the wrong one……?”
Yubin bit his lip, drenched in sweat. Since the speed was so slow, he suddenly worried if he’d chosen a defective one. But he knew well that there was nothing wrong with the duck boat. It wasn’t designed to cut through the water quickly in the first place.
The one saving grace in this situation was that the target was in the direction the river was flowing. A force much greater than Yubin’s thigh strength was naturally helping the duck boat drift that way.
“Am I going the right way?”
Yubin looked back with a worried expression. The water cafe, now quite distant, proved how hard he’d been pedaling the duck boat. Just then, Bang bang bang-! Bang-! Bang bang-! Bang bang-!
Loud gunshots erupted from the Jabeolle building. Yubin’s face turned even paler upon hearing them.
Kroaaak-! Gaaak-! Groaaaar-!
The zombies filling the plaza around Jabeolle began charging madly. They too had reacted to the gunshots.
“Don’t go! Don’t go, you bastards!”
In a hurry, Yubin yelled at the 120-kilometer zombies on land while pounding the cigarettes piled up beside him.
“There’s a shit ton of stuff you like here! Come this way!”
All the while, his legs kept pedaling without rest.
Squeak-! Squeak-! Creak-! Splash-! Squeak-!
But the boat remained frustratingly slow, and the zombies kept running toward Jabeolle. Seeing the swarm of zombies writhing like ants to climb the stairs faster, Yubin felt like his soul was leaving his body.
Even if Jinwoo was an incredible marksman, he couldn’t kill that many zombies. There weren’t nearly enough bullets to begin with. Once they started biting, they’d collapse from the pain, and there’d be no time to inject Terra’s serum. Before that happened, he had to do something…….
Bang-! Bang bang bang-! Bang bang-! Bang bang bang-! Tutututut-! Tutut-! Tututututut-!
More gunshots rang out from inside the building, followed by automatic fire. It meant he was already surrounded by countless zombies.
“Aaaah…… Shit! Come here, you fucking bastards!”
Yubin cursed as he lit a fire in the metal trash can.
Whoosh-!
Flames immediately shot up from the trash can sprayed with gasoline, and gray smoke billowed out. It was smoke from over ten packs of cigarettes burning along with their filters and packaging.
With this, those bastards……
When Yubin stretched his arm as far toward the shore as possible to lure the zombies, the wind reversed direction and a massive amount of cigarette smoke and ash engulfed him.
“Uweeek-! Cough! Cough!”
A cough mixed with nausea burst out, and tears and snot streamed down. It was so spicy! He couldn’t breathe.
“Ow……! Why do people pay to smoke this, cough! cough!”
Yubin wiped his tears with his prosthetic left hand but didn’t stop pedaling. He knew well that if he stopped here, his friends would be in big trouble. As Yubin desperately propelled the duck boat forward while covered in smoke, Groaaar-!
A few zombies on shore turned to look at him, tilting their heads. It was the characteristic movement they made when briefly considering between two prey. When he’d moved across the wire mesh with Jenny before, Yubin had faced that behavior head-on.
“Yeah! Yeah! Come this way! You like this stuff, don’t you! There’s a ton here!”
Having finally gotten a reaction from a zombie, Yubin raised the trash can high and shouted.
Whoosh-!
Right on cue, the wind shifted back toward the shore and grew slightly stronger. The hazy cigarette smoke, carried by the harsh November river wind, quickly flew over and reached the noses of the zombies on the promenade.
Groaaaar-! Kraaa-!
Finally, the zombies that caught the spicy, toxic smell began twisting their bodies grotesquely and roaring. Moments later, more and more zombies in a wider area reacted to the cigarette smoke, like ripples spreading across water.
Groaaaar-! Grrrrr-! Gaaak-!
Though the zombies’ cries were chilling, to Yubin in that moment, they sounded like music. Yubin shook the burning metal trash can at them and screamed until his throat was raw.
“It’s here, you bastards! Come smell this! Don’t go that way, come here! Here!”
Worried the flames might die down, Yubin tossed another carton of cigarettes into the trash can.
Whoosh-!
With new fuel added, the fire burned more fiercely, and the amount of smoke noticeably increased. As heat and smell far more prominent than anything else in the cold Han River area spread from the trash can, the zombies could no longer resist and charged toward the riverbank.
Grook-! Splash-! Splash-! Plop-!
In an instant, dozens of zombies threw themselves into the river. There was not a trace of fear in their powerful dives as they sprinted with all their might. Ironically, it was Yubin who felt a chill of fear.
“……Hey! It’s too early, you bastards!”
Watching the zombies dog-paddling toward him, Yubin wore a troubled expression. His plan had been to lure them with the cigarette smoke like the Pied Piper of Hamelin and lead them all the way to the motorboat dock……. But these impatient zombies had already jumped in without hesitation before he even reached his destination.
Splash-! Splash-!
The zombies flailed their limbs while floating in the water, desperately closing the distance. Though it was just dog-paddling, the problem was that it wasn’t slow compared to the duck boat.
If they catch me, I’m fucked!
A short but very clear and logical warning flashed through Yubin’s mind. The boat’s open structure had many places to grab, and it would be hard to shake them off.
At this already slow speed, adding their weight would make moving forward impossible. If dozens clung on at once, it could even sink. Of course, that was assuming he could prevent them from climbing aboard.
“Uwaaaah!”
Yubin’s face turned pale as he channeled all his strength into his thighs and pedaled like mad.
Tututut-! Tututut-! Tutututut-!
Jinwoo’s automatic fire from inside Jabeolle also warned him to hurry. When the boat reached Cheongdam Bridge, he felt the current speed up because of the bridge piers. The motorboat dock was now right in front of him!
Splash-! Splash-! Plop-!
Even as Yubin raced desperately against the zombies in the water, new ones kept jumping into the Han River. The number of zombies swimming with their heads above water was approaching a hundred, and those running toward the riverbank were more than six times that.
“Damn……. This is gonna be a problem when we retreat too…….”
Yubin frowned with worry but tossed another carton of cigarettes into the trash can and lit it. He was afraid the smoke might stop and the zombies would lose interest. If he hesitated here, his friends would face too great a crisis.
-Hiss!
The earphone he’d plugged in crackled with static, and Jinwoo’s voice came through.
- Hiss……! Don’t worry, Yubin! We’re—hiss……! heading to the subway station! I’ll contact you again when we have time!
“Be careful and use cigarettes! Use cigarettes! There are cigarettes in the backpack!”
Though he himself wasn’t in a safe situation, Yubin tried to keep his voice as calm as possible.
-Hiss!
There was no reply from Jinwoo. Instead, gunshots echoed from inside Jabeolle, signaling that he was still alive.
Tututut-! Tututututut-! Tutututut-!
That was enough. Jinwoo wasn’t the type to go down easily. Yubin decided to trust his friend and focus on his own task. His current mission was to reach the dock as quickly as possible and set a large amount of cigarettes on fire.
Thud-!
Just as Yubin’s duck boat was about to reach the motorboat dock, the hull suddenly tilted backward, and he felt strong resistance.
Groaaar-!
A zombie that had caught up to the rear had grabbed the right back seat with both hands and was struggling to climb aboard. Swimming zombies were also rapidly approaching, only 5 meters away.
“Haaah……! Haaah……!”
Yubin took a deep breath and spun his brain as fast as possible. What could he do here to save both himself and his friends? His backpack’s front pocket contained a loaded Glock pistol and two spare magazines, but it would be a waste of time to shoot them with that. Besides, his right arm was outside the boat holding the trash can, and he didn’t think he could do all that with one hand.
Grook! Kwaaak-!
Without even giving him time to think, the zombie gripping the back seat diligently climbed further into the boat.
“Eat this, you bastard!”
Yubin turned the boat so its right rear would hit the dock and pedaled desperately.
Thud-!
As the rear of the duck boat collided with the dock, the discarded tire attached to cushion the impact struck the zombie’s side. Even so, the zombie didn’t give up on boarding.
Screeech-! Scraaape-!
The zombie’s ribs and the tire rubbed together, making an unpleasant sound. Ignoring it, Yubin continued pushing the boat forward with all his strength.
Crack-!
Finally, unable to withstand the weight, the zombie’s elbow bent backward and broke, and its body was sucked into the water.
Thud-!
Yubin pressed the pedal once more with force, and the zombie’s neck, caught between the tire and the boat, bent backward. After drowning the zombie, Yubin threw the burning metal trash can onto the dock and pulled the boat as close as possible.
Thud-!
While the trash can bounced and rolled on the dock floor, spilling cigarette ash, Yubin hooked the mooring line along the dock. Though it was unbearably slow, without even this boat, he’d have no way to retreat.
Thud-!
After confirming the hook was securely fastened by pulling it, Yubin threw the cigarettes piled high beside him onto the motorboat dock. Then, grabbing his backpack and gasoline, he got off the duck boat.
Groaaaar-! Groaaaar-!
Over a hundred zombies were charging madly from the plaza and promenade. The terrifying sight alone made his stomach churn, but Yubin forced himself to stay calm, sprayed gasoline on the cigarettes, and lit his lighter. A hundred wasn’t enough. He needed to create a much larger fire to draw over a thousand this way to buy his friends time to escape.
Whoosh-!
The gasoline burned first, sending flames high into the air, and soon over twenty cartons of cigarettes caught fire as well. As smoke far larger and stronger than what had come from the trash can spread on the wind, the zombies still gathered around Jabeolle finally reacted.
Grook-! Grrr-!
As the zombies turned their white eyes toward the dock and growled softly, Yubin moved once more to throw all the remaining cigarettes from the boat into the fire.
Fwoosh-!
With the expensive fuel added, the flames burned even higher, and the smoke grew thicker. Even standing in the opposite direction of the wind, the acrid air made Yubin feel like he couldn’t breathe.
Groaaaar-!
Finally…… nearly two thousand zombies filling the plaza around Jabeolle roared in unison and began charging toward the dock. Watching them run beyond the heat haze created by the flames, Yubin let out a sigh of relief.
“Alright!”
Yubin tossed the last carton into the still-burning trash can, then smashed a window and placed it inside the dock building. This way, even if the zombies that flooded in caused a ruckus and kicked the burning cigarettes into the water, it would hold their attention for a few more minutes.
Rumble rumble-!
Even as Yubin worked, thousands of zombies poured in from the shore, making an enormous stomping sound as if a frenzied festival had begun.
“Uwaah!”
Seeing the frontmost zombies already passing the promenade, Yubin gasped and backed away. In about ten seconds, those zombies would reach the dock.
“……Run, run!”
As Yubin quickly ran to the boat, untied the hook, and put his foot inside, thud-!
A rotten arm stretched out from the water and grabbed his calf.