episode_0033

My father and I walked around the orchard nervously. There were rows of fruit trees, and the wire that supported and secured the branches of the trees covered the entire orchard like iron bars.

Even as we toured the orchard, we continued to hear strange noises, but we were unable to find the creature that was supposedly making the noises.

It would have been different if he had just popped out, but the fact that he was hiding like this was proof that he was outside of my control and the old man’s, so I couldn’t let go of the tension that was building up.

“There are too many obstacles…”

I frowned.

If I had been as good at close combat as you, I wouldn’t know. With the line of fire blocked like this, it would be difficult to show off my skills.

“Shorts, you’d better be a little careful.”

The old man added in a calm voice, as if he agreed with my opinion.

“Be careful, always. Sir, concentrate properly.”

The old man chuckled at my words and opened his mouth.

“Yes, yes, since you said so, I will come to my senses and make sure not to harm a single hair.”

This old man… can’t help but concentrate when I tell him to, and he’s messing around again.

I nervously kicked the old man in the shin. The old man pretended to be in pain, but still looked around busily, assessing the situation.

“What the hell is that noise? It scared me too because it made both of us look serious.”

When nothing came out after going around once, the pharmacist let out a loud noise, perhaps relieved.

“It’s a bit dangerous to talk about something that hasn’t even appeared yet.”

“Let’s throw away the irrelevant cautiousness. I’m the same, but you’re also convinced inside, right? On such a topic, you always say that to others.”

I opened my mouth to speak on behalf of the man who had kept his mouth shut.

“Screamer.”

“Screamer…?”

The pharmacist tilted his head at my unfamiliar name and repeated the name of the beggarly, annoying, and extremely dangerous monster.

The identity of the thing making this sound, which was difficult to determine whether it was a woman’s or a man’s, or even an animal’s or a human’s, was a monster called a Screamer.

‘Kkiyaaah’

I heard that familiar voice, as if to further strengthen my conviction.

Neither I nor the old man knew why such monsters existed or how they came into being.

In the first place, it is unknown why zombies existed, so it is only natural that there would be more monstrous monsters than Screamers.

“The reason I didn’t think it could be a screamer when I first received the request was because it was hard to believe that a screamer was simply screaming for months.”

The old man squatted down on the ground, sweeping away the snow that had piled up on the orchard floor. He picked something up and rustled it, so he seemed to be checking something.

“The screamer’s cries attract the surrounding zombies. Eventually, they form a colony. I saw one in the hospital.”

“What? You didn’t say anything like that.”

No, what am I supposed to do if this old man leaves out such an important story?

“There was no need to do that. The goal wasn’t to wipe them out.”

“It’s not that it doesn’t have to be done, it’s that it has to be done? Without saying anything to me…”

“Haha, sorry. Anyway, the Screamers who formed a group like that control the zombies. I don’t know to what extent they can do it, but the zombies that are in the hands of the Screamers and the zombies that are not have different spheres of activity.”

“Of course they’re just zombies. The important thing is the Screamers themselves. Those bastards eat the zombies under their command.”

I added that to what the old man said.

“Zombies eat zombies?”

“Mister, is that a zombie?”

“It’s hard to call it a zombie since it moves well even if its head is cut off. It’s better to think of it as a separate monster from a zombie.”

“If the Screamers eat zombies, isn’t that a good thing…? The more of them there are, the fewer zombies there will be.”

The old man laughed at the pharmacist’s words.

“It’s a horrible sound to hear. Unfortunately, the zombies won’t be reduced that much. They won’t completely eat the zombies, and they’ll just grow bigger.”

“It’s getting bigger…?”

The pharmacist was terrified.

“Sometimes an extra head is created, and in some cases, limbs are extended to resemble a spider.”

“What?”

“Ugh…”

That was a sound I had never heard before. The guy I witnessed with my uncle was just screaming and dragging a huge group of zombies around, not crawling on the ground like a spider.

Come to think of it, her belly was also incredibly swollen. It was so swollen that it seemed like there was another person inside her, not just a pregnant woman.

“Then who was that guy I saw last time…?”

“After a few months there, the stomach splits open and legs grow out.”

“Skip the useless details!”

I screamed. The scene came to mind without me realizing it after hearing the old man’s words. I was so disgusted that I felt like the fruit I had just eaten was coming back up.

“Then… isn’t Hanmaum Church in great danger right now…?”

“That’s the question. Why Screamer hasn’t shown up yet hasn’t been explained yet.”

‘Uu …

A creepy scream echoed through the orchard. The old man sitting on the ground nodded his head several times and slowly got up.

“It seems to be below.”

“?”

What are you talking about? What, it’s somewhere down the mountain? And the sound is coming from the orchard?

“What, where is that echo coming from down there?”

“No. It’s literally like it’s underneath. Under our feet.”

“Huh…?”

I slowly lowered my head and looked into the pure white snow.

No, if the sound was coming from the ground, then I wouldn’t know. But it’s not like that at all, so you’re saying it’s underground?

‘Kkeueeek’

A sound came from somewhere in the orchard. It certainly wasn’t from beneath our feet.

“Public institutions, schools, gyms, and such often have underground bunkers. The military is often in charge of bunker management. Underground bunkers built on mountains are designed to allow air to easily escape to the outside in case of chemical, biological, or radiological attacks. Plus, it’s easy to build here because it’s on a mountain. It’s also a strategic location because you can overlook the city at a glance.”

Well, it was definitely a professional explanation, worthy of a former soldier. Just hearing it made me groan, and just thinking about it made me sweat profusely.

“The Hanmaum Church is the owner of the building? But you say you didn’t even know there was such a facility?”

“That’s definitely the issue. Maybe you don’t know? You called me to help you with the problem.”

Something felt fishy. The old man must have felt something similar. But for what? For what gain?

Why would you have to raise a Screamer in an underground bunker? Who would raise such a crazy monster in the first place?

“Let’s go down.”

“Huh…?”

The old man suddenly said that. No, we came here to solve our problems. We have to deal with the Screamer, whether it’s someone’s pet monster or a parasite that has taken over someone’s basement.

“What, you’re going to go ask that pastor or whatever guy?”

“Yeah, it’s hard to make a judgment based on just our guesses. I guess we’ll have to try it out.”

It didn’t seem like a very good idea. What if it was a pet monster?

‘You’re raising a monster in an underground bunker. What do you plan to do with it?’

‘Ah, did I get caught? This is difficult… I thought that Mr. Do-Hoon would understand my intentions and finish the job well. Ah, this too must be God’s will…’

‘You’re crazy.’

‘Butler Malza, open the bunker door. We are going into the rapture.’

The old man must have forgotten that these people are all cults. According to the simulation I just conducted, it was revealed with a 100% probability that this was a conspiracy by a cult.

Not only was the old man’s safety a concern, but my life was also in danger.

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea.”

“Stop it. It’s not my style to just make assumptions and proceed with things.”

The old man smiled softly. His hand reached out to my shoulder and tapped it a couple of times.

What the heck, are you telling me to be calm? Are you out of your mind? Am I some kind of puppy? Do you think I’ll wag my tail and be carefree if you pat me?

“Style and all. I feel really bad.”

“Is that so?”

The hand that had been patting my shoulder moved towards the top of my head. Before I could react, the man’s hand began to caress and tangle my hair.

“Is it still like that?”

“Uh.”

Suddenly, my face heated up and I felt very annoyed. I felt really bad. It was because I felt like I was being treated like a pet and not a person.

The old man stood there defenseless, staring at me with his vulnerable spot exposed, as if he was wondering how to appease this child.

I untied the snowshoes that were attached to my shoes with a blank expression on my face. The old man stared blankly at me doing this.

“Ouch!”

I kicked the old man in the chest. The reaction was immediate. I turned my back on the old man who was crouching in place and called the pharmacist.

“Go down.”

“Uh…uh.”

The hermit obediently responded to my call. We started down the mountain without hesitation.

“Ugh… Short-sleeved shirt… Huh! Let’s go together… Ugh…”

“Get out.”

Since there are Screamers in the underground bunker anyway, there’s no need for the old man to accompany us on our way down the mountain.