Episode 6.
* * *
“Huh? The stairs….”
“Oppa. Can we get through?”
“Wait. I think I can climb over them?”
“What about me? Shouldn’t we clear them?”
No. It would be better to clear them.
Why would they want to clear that?
‘Good grief….’
The couple, who had been overjoyed to arrive here alive, came to the stairs and, upon discovering the desks, were acting like this.
It bothered me too much to ignore them and keep hunting, so I eventually moved to the stairs and looked down at the couple below.
“Ah! There! Um! Thank you. We survived thanks to you!”
“Thank you!”
“……”
I stared blankly at the couple offering their thanks.
A young-looking couple in their twenties.
Perhaps they had lived without hardship until now, for there wasn’t a single wrinkle on either of their faces.
Perhaps that was why they seemed unaware that their very presence here was a nuisance.
‘Or maybe they have some other scheme.’
“Um… We were hoping we could come up there too.”
“We’ll be a great help to you!”
“……”
If you want to help, can’t you just leave?
Even the time I’m spending standing here is a waste.
I didn’t answer and just kept staring. Perhaps they weren’t completely oblivious, as they whispered to each other, retreated from the stairs, and moved toward the entrance.
‘Looks like they’re going to the owner.’
I decided to stop paying attention for now.
I had saved them, after all.
This much meant I’d done everything I could.
I stopped worrying about the couple, moved back to the railing facing the road, and started hunting.
Thud. Thud-thud.
But things didn’t flow the way I wanted.
Screech. Scrape.
Upon hearing the sound of desks moving from the stairway, I immediately ran toward the stairs.
“……”
It was probably the couple, but I ran thinking it might be zombies, and saw the homeowner and the couple’s man trying to move the desks.
“That’s him.”
“Yeah?”
When the couple’s man pointed at me, the homeowner looked up and opened his mouth.
“Hey, young man. What do you think you’re doing in someone else’s house?”
“……”
When he was one-on-one with me at the entrance, his voice had been drenched in fear, but now that he’s with the young man, he’s full of bravado.
But I couldn’t easily answer that because he’s the owner and I’m an intruder.
‘Well, I suppose ownership doesn’t mean much in this world, but it’s not like I’m trashy enough to just ignore it.’
So as I was staying silent, the young man started pointing up at me.
“See? I told you he doesn’t even answer when you talk to him.”
“Hmm… This won’t do.”
I didn’t know what exactly wouldn’t do, but the two men reached a conclusion and tried to move the desks again.
I had no choice but to open my mouth.
“What do you want?”
At my voice, the two looked up again.
“So you can talk?”
“Hey, young man. Let’s move these first and talk. Why did you pile these up here, huh?”
As the two tried to lift the desks again, I spoke once more.
“…Don’t touch them. If you have something to say, say it from there.”
At my words, both their faces stiffened slightly.
Then the homeowner opened his eyes wide and spoke.
“Don’t you think zombies will swarm because of our voices? That’s why I’m saying let’s go up and talk quietly.”
“……”
“Or why don’t you come down, young man?”
“……”
I silently looked down at the two men.
Those two were under two misconceptions right now.
First, that if they caused a commotion like this, they were in more danger than me.
I had the rooftop space blocked off by desks, and if it really got dangerous, I could just jump off the rooftop and run out through the escape route.
And the other was that they believed they could subdue me.
I could feel it from the way they were glancing back and forth between me and the gun with slightly tense eyes.
They were probably thinking one would restrain me while the other snatched the gun.
The woman also played a part in me noticing this.
‘The woman isn’t here.’
Since a scuffle would likely break out, the young man had probably told her to stay inside.
If they were coming up to ask for help, it would be normal for the woman to be here too.
Having grasped the situation, I started going down the stairs and putting the desks one by one into the shop window’s storage.
‘Let’s quickly finish this, whether it’s a scuffle or whatever. Even this time is a waste.’
As I began putting away the desks and coming down, the two men’s eyes went wide.
In front of the two frozen men, I aimed my gun.
“Speak.”
“Uh… well… put the gun away….”
“That’s right. Um… haha. Let’s talk. Actually… we need your help. It’s just that….”
The homeowner panicked greatly when the muzzle was pointed at him.
The young man, who had been winking at the homeowner, began dragging his words out while looking for a chance to pounce.
A deep sigh escaped.
‘Good grief… The young punk probably never served in the army, huh? No matter how fast your body is, a bullet is faster.’
The homeowner knew that, which was why he froze as soon as the gun was pointed at him.
And didn’t you see the desks disappearing just now? If you sense some mysterious power, shouldn’t you realize something’s wrong?
Anyway, the young punk was looking for an opening.
To make him jump, I gave my attention to the homeowner, and he immediately charged.
“Hyah!”
I didn’t want to waste a bullet, so I just struck the young man’s head with the rifle butt.
Crack.
Thud.
The young man collapsed right there.
With the situation turning out this way, the homeowner began trembling.
“So, what do you want? I’m busy. Speak quickly.”
“Ugh… th-that’s not it….”
“If you cause a commotion again, I won’t settle it with words.”
“Uh. U-uh. I won’t….”
I stared at the homeowner expressionlessly for a moment, then went back up the stairs while placing the desks.
And immediately moved toward the road side and started shooting.
Thud. Thud-thud.
‘This place won’t do. I need to move.’
It hadn’t been a threat, but a conflict had arisen.
I had to see this as a conflict premised on my sacrifice.
‘You’re strong, so protect us.’
The couple had approached me with that mindset.
But when I didn’t respond, they mistook it for weakness and immediately tried to snatch my gun.
Without even gauging their opponent.
‘Anyway, this place is finished.’
Even if it’s not here, it’s not like there are no places to hunt.
I’ll have to quickly move to the next place I have in mind.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
I planned to move at night, so for now I focused on hunting.
When night fell, the zombies’ movements decreased drastically. That’s why I too stopped hunting and slept.
‘Because zombies haven’t been flowing onto the road.’
Even if I move at night with limited vision, it doesn’t matter to me.
‘The gun has night vision, and I can see well through the hazmat suit’s face filter.’
Thud. Thud. Thud.
I continued hunting until night fell, and as it gradually grew dark, the zombies’ movements began slowing.
“I should start preparing now.”
There wasn’t really anything to prepare, but I went into the warehouse and put the shelter and sleeping bag into my storage.
And after retrieving the desks from the stairs too, I muffled my footsteps and walked toward the wall, glancing into a house window I caught sight of.
Two men and one woman had become beasts.
‘……’
I turned my head and kept walking.
I paused.
Standing still for a moment, I approached the entrance, bought several days’ worth of food, and poured it out.
Thud.
I knocked on the entrance once and turned to walk away.
I’m not trying to help them.
I’m just trying to shake off the lingering attachment remaining in my heart.
Arriving at the wall, I climbed over and aimed my gun at the zombies below that seemed to have stopped moving.
Thud.
Thwack.
“Grrrrr.”
“Eeeeee.”
Perhaps because it was night, the gunshot through the suppressor spread clearly, and the surrounding zombies all turned this way at once.
‘Guns won’t do.’
I immediately purchased the cold weapon I had intended to buy for such a time.
[PX Double-Bladed Axe] 5,000P
Anti-personnel axe.
Moderate length and weight. Minimized light reflection, boasted excellent corrosion resistance, and reduced fatigue during long hours of hunting with a stable handle.
[PX Round Shield] 5,000P
Diameter 90cm.
Upper body protection. Least fatigue during movement.
I had worried about what to use when a situation came where I had to hunt without generating noise.
At first I considered a crossbow or bow, but these were vulnerable in defense, and since I had to pierce the head accurately, the risk was too great if I missed, so I gave up.
After worrying about it, what came to mind was Sparta.
“I am Sparta.”
I excluded the spear. Piercing attacks aren’t good. The risk is the same as shooting a crossbow.
So what I added to the round shield was the double-bladed axe.
A 60cm axe with thick crescent-shaped blades on both sides.
‘Block with the shield, behead with the axe.’
First I should check if the hunt goes the way I think?
Looking down at the five zombies gathered near the fence, I raised my right arm above my head.
Whoosh.
Crack.
‘Oh. Split in one hit.’
The zombie’s skull split into two from the swing, and the zombie collapsed with a thud.
Whoosh. Swish.
Crack. Slice.
The remaining four zombies also had their heads split or their necks cut with horizontal swings.
‘Good. The attack is stable.’
As expected, it was an axe that stably cut through corpses compared to other blades. The blade didn’t get stuck in the corpses, so there was no need to worry about follow-ups.
Shall I test the shield now?
“Kkaeeek!”
After dealing with the surrounding zombies, I jumped off the wall and landed in the alley.
And I pushed back the remaining zombies running from the alley with the shield.
Thud.
Crash.
I had considered deflecting using their running momentum, but instead blocked head-on, and the moment we collided, I pushed, causing the zombie to fall right in front of me instead of bouncing far away.
I immediately ran up and slashed its neck with the axe.
‘The shield is stable too.’
A shield where the forearm is strapped in the center and you grip the handle at the edge.
It was firmly fixed to my arm as I thought, and perhaps because it was a round shield, there were no parts that felt unnatural in movement.
‘So this is why it causes the least fatigue.’
I swung my left arm widely to check if the shield got in the way, but rather, the shield felt more natural on my body than the axe.
Finishing the equipment check, I immediately began moving.
‘The target is an apartment complex.’
Passing through the residential area, I looked up at the corridor-style apartment building visible in the distance.
There were three reasons I targeted an apartment complex.
First was securing food.
Naturally, there would be food remaining in each household. Securing that would save points.
And if it’s an apartment complex, there would be a mart-type store within the complex.
‘I don’t know if food is still left, but I should stop by.’
And the second was that I could secure a stable hunting ground.
‘If I just block the entrance, I can hunt to my heart’s content on the 2nd floor.’
Hunting safely on the 2nd floor of a studio building is possible too, but studio buildings limit vision too much.
From the beginning, the hunting route I had in mind was to gather points where I could ensure safety at a house, then settle in an apartment complex that had a space that could be called somewhat open.
‘Even if the 2nd floor becomes dangerous, I can climb up to the 3rd floor through the window to avoid danger.’
The third reason was securing a field of view.
Presently, I don’t know exactly what is happening in the world.
‘And I don’t know what will happen from now on either.’
To find that out, I need a place where reconnaissance is easy, and for that, an apartment rooftop is optimal.
For these reasons, an apartment complex was the optimal hunting location in my mind.
Step. Step.
While muffling my footsteps and moving, I slashed the necks of only the zombies I couldn’t avoid at the corner of the road to the apartment, and before I knew it, I had arrived where the apartment entrance was visible in the distance.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
“……!!!”
And right before my eyes, I witnessed the reason why the zombies I had hunted at the house had disappeared.