23. Full of Confidence. (2)

I’m not exactly sure which creatures have become evil bodies and which ones are safe, but one thing is certain: no more birds are flying in the sky.

I turned my gaze from the setting sun, which had stopped raining and was now painting the sky with a beautiful sunset.

Once, the sunset was a comforting sight, a gentle reminder to rest after a day’s work, making one feel drowsy and content.

Now, it looks as if it’s stained with blood.

It’s common sense that wild animals are dangerous.

Stray dogs and wild boars are fierce beasts that can kill humans.

But this is on a different level.

What if the occasional deer, the magpies, crows, and pigeons that were so common in the city have become evil bodies?

What if they are causing waves of chaos somewhere, like the zombie wave in Gangnam?

This is no ordinary matter.

The fact that I haven’t heard birds chirping since the apocalypse began means either they have stopped chirping or they have disappeared.

Either way, it’s dangerous.

What kind of reaction would people have if I told them this?

While they are trying to regain a sense of normalcy and live like humans amidst the chaos of evil human beasts, should I tell them this?

The old lady who runs the boarding house.

So-eun, who has self-harm scars.

Han Seong-hun’s wife.

And the woman who was living in the building, trembling with fear.

Someone with a weak heart might not be able to handle the stress.

The old lady, who has just started to find joy in tending her garden, might lose her will to live if she learns that gardening is dangerous.

I nodded to myself after a moment of thought.

I picked up my things and walked towards the artificial waterfall.

Someone I can trust.

Someone who can take care of others.

Han Seong-hun… he’s a coward, but he has a family to protect.

Soo-hyeon and Jung Eun-seo.

Both are strong-willed.

I should subtly hint at this to them, rather than gathering everyone and making a bomb announcement. It would be better if they found out gradually.

I sighed and shook my head.

Would it help to tell people who are trapped in buildings that even breathing fresh air outside is dangerous?

If a pessimistic atmosphere spreads among our group and someone commits suicide, I can guarantee it would lead to a chain of suicides.

I’m certain of that.

If daily life collapses and we can’t even go outside, living trapped in a building for the rest of our lives, who could bear it?

What about the baby?

No kindergarten, no school, no friends.

This baby will grow up learning that the people around them are not human and will try to bite and kill them.

Instead of learning to write, the baby will learn to hold a knife and run first.

Could the mother endure that?

Everyone is trying to smile, but it’s a precarious life, walking a tightrope.

Ah, this stress is building up.

Just as I was starting to feel irritated, I saw our large mart building in the distance, and people.

…People?

I squinted and looked at the road.

The empty road lined with parked cars.

And the people packed between the cars.

…Most of them seem to be men?

I could faintly hear voices carried by the wind.

They seem to be shouting.

The men were pointing something at the mart, swinging it, and shouting.

From the second and third-floor windows of the mart, our women were shouting back.

The shutters were completely closed.

Without realizing it, my pace quickened.

As I walked, the men became more visible.

They noticed me too.

They slowly lowered the tools they were holding, which seemed to be hammers and baseball bats.

Then, they gathered and took positions.

…They are cockroaches.

I felt a sudden surge of nausea.

My lip curled, revealing my teeth.

I was already stressed from worrying about various things, and now these cockroaches appear and turn my stomach.

“Status.”

Acceleration can be used 12 times.

It seems to have recovered somewhat since I was practicing archery until sunset.

Health: 100.

Not bad.

I walked neither hurriedly nor leisurely, my eyes fixed on the men as I walked down the middle of the road.

The shouting stopped.

I couldn’t make out what they were saying to each other from a distance, just indistinct murmurs.

But I’m sure those cockroach bastards were saying something obscene, and our women were responding.

There’s no other explanation.

The cockroaches became more active.

Someone stepped forward from among them.

He’s quite large.

The cockroach I had stabbed in the chest.

The leader cockroach.

He gestured.

Two men carried a thick wooden board with four round legs.

A chessboard?

It looks like a chessboard.

Other men brought folding chairs, the kind you might find at a fishing spot, and set them up in the middle of the intersection, creating a makeshift table.

It almost looks like they’re inviting me to play a game of chess in the middle of the road.

The leader cockroach sat in one of the folding chairs.

I understand his intention.

Come and sit, right?

I walked towards them.

The large mart was getting closer.

Someone shouted from the second floor.

The inline girl.

What was her name again?

“Seong-hun! Seong-hun!”

Now I can hear her voice clearly.

I looked up.

The girl shouted.

“Those bastards have my boyfriend! My boyfriend, Tae-young, is over there!”

…Captured?

I looked at the cockroaches.

Damn, there are too many of them to see clearly.

Where are they?

“Seong-hun, please save Tae-young! Please!”

She pleaded, her voice breaking.

It was almost a scream.

“Seong-hun! Jun-hyuk is also over there!”

Who is Jun-hyuk?

…Oh.

The real estate agent from the inline area.

I remember hearing about him.

Looking up slightly, I saw the real estate agent and a woman standing by the window, who had been on the 10th floor of the mart.

“Seong-hun! Jun-hyuk, Jun-hyuk is over there!”

I nodded slightly to the woman.

Don’t worry.

I continued walking, my eyes scanning for Tae-young and Jun-hyuk.

…Found them.

Behind the leader cockroach.

They are held by large, thug-like cockroaches, their arms tied behind them.

…They’ve been beaten again.

Blood is streaming from their noses and mouths.

The real estate agent has a black eye.

From the blood on his head, it seems he put up quite a fight.

Why?

How did they end up in the hands of the cockroaches?

I walked around the men, taking in the scene.

…They were trying to get aluminum sheets.

They couldn’t escape when the cockroaches suddenly swarmed them.

I looked at the circular saw stuck in the hood of a new Sonata and the tools scattered around, and sighed softly.

Various thoughts raced through my mind.

My anger was boiling.

I couldn’t control my expression.

I closed my eyes tightly, took a deep breath, and then opened them.

I arrived in front of the men.

I placed a folding chair at my feet and looked down at the leader cockroach.

The leader cockroach was looking at me.

His expression was smug.

There were about a hundred of them.

Had they been gathering forces from a distance?

There were all kinds of men.

Large, small, thin, fat, young, and old.

Each one had a fierce expression.

They weren’t angry.

It was a look of deprivation.

Envy towards those who had plenty.

“Hey, sit down, you bastard. Why are you standing there with your head held high? Should I look up at a punk like you?”

The leader cockroach cursed.

I put down the bow and quiver I was carrying.

The leader cockroach laughed and said,

“Oh, did you bring those for me, you bastard? But what can I do? I can’t accept that.”

He snapped his fingers.

“Take off your sword, you shithead.”

I smirked.

The leader cockroach’s lips twisted.

“Smiling? Do you want to die, you dog? Smiling?”

I unbuckled the lifting belt from my waist.

Click.

“Seong-hun! Don’t! Don’t take it off!”

A large man swung his fist.

It hit Jun-hyuk’s face.

Smack!

“Shut up, you bastard!”

“Choke!”

I stopped in my tracks.

I slowly raised my eyes to look at the man who hit Jun-hyuk.

…He has a fucking tattoo on his arm.

…That’s why I hate tattooed people so much.

Ha…

I took a deep breath and slowly said,

“If you touch them again, you’ll die.”

“What? What did you say? Speak up, you bastard. I can’t hear you.”

Smack!

Jun-hyuk’s head snapped to the side.

The tattooed pig widened his eyes and exaggeratedly tilted his head.

“What? What did you say? What?”

Smack, Smack!

“Cough! Choke!”

The hand holding the lifting belt slowly tightened.

My nose wrinkled.

The leader cockroach raised his hand.

The tattooed pig stopped.

The leader cockroach said,

“Sit down, you shithead.”

I sat in the folding chair.

The leader cockroach said,

“Sword.”

I placed the lifting belt on the chessboard.

Clack.

The leader cockroach laughed.

“You felt good wielding that little sword, didn’t you? But now that there are so many of us, you’re scared shitless, right? You made a good decision. Even with that, you’d be beaten to death. Do you know how many of us are here? Just for you? Huh?!”

His hand shot up.

Then, it stopped.

The leader cockroach glared at me as if trying to restrain himself, then slowly lowered his hand.

“I’m giving you a chance to live. Tell them to open the door now. We’ll take over the building. Hand over the women, and we’ll spare your life. Got it?”

I didn’t answer.

Instead, I looked at the two men who were being held.

I gestured.

“Come here. Take this up.”

I pointed to the bow and the quiver.

“I brought a lot. Share them with the others.”

Tae-young and Jun-hyuk were breathing heavily, unable to respond or move.

The two of them had been beaten badly.

The leader cockroach made a face of disbelief and snorted.

“This kid…”

He gestured.

The men walked over and surrounded the leader cockroach and me.