Chapter 153: The Completion of a World Where No One Gets Hurt

Ｒｅａ​ｄ ｏ​ｎ ＫａｔＲｅａｄｉｎｇＣａｆｅ

The rescue helicopter was arriving southeast of Rosewood.

Meanwhile, we were on the northwestern outskirts.

It was practically a journey to the other side of the planet.

But holding onto the single hope of survival, we all got into the car and headed there.

In-game, it was a 24-hour trip, but in real time, we had barely an hour to make it, so time was tight.

Still, we somehow managed to arrive, and a massive bridge stretched across a long river came into view.

At its end, a faint green light flickered— seems the helicopter was set to land at the far side of the bridge.

[Groooan…]

Bang! Bang!

“Hey, hey! Right side! They’re coming from the right too!”

“Someone with a shotgun, cover the right!”

“I’m out of ammo! Should I just throw a grenade?”

“No! Save the grenades for the last stand!”

• Damn, there’s so many lololol
• Seriously, they’re swarming like crazy lol
• If there’s a zombie host, it’d be OP lol
• Yukiko-chan is my pick! No matter what happens, I won’t swap her out!

Since we had to be outside to board the helicopter, we naturally had to face the hordes of zombies bare-handed.

The one saving grace was that the bridge had only one entrance, so we could barricade and hold out— but against this endless swarm, we were running out of ammo first.

“Lucretia unnie! Take my gun! I’ll go up front with a dagger!”

“Are you sure? What if your stamina runs out…?”

“The dagger’s fine! I’ll just draw aggro!”

So I handed my gun and all my ammo to Ra-hee unnie and took the frontline, relying on my dagger’s traits.

Daggers aren’t the best weapon in Project Zomboid due to their low damage, but they have two rare advantages:

First, they drain less stamina compared to other weapons, making them great for endurance fights.

Second, they have an instant-kill trigger under certain conditions, excelling in assassinations and ambushes.

Of course, the latter was useless against this swarm but the former helped a lot.

Especially for someone like me, who’s lived a dagger-only life— with high enough proficiency, you can somewhat offset the low damage.

Stab!

“Huh, I think you gotta hit them diagonally from behind.”

• Yeah, that’s the vibe.
• Hard to trigger insta-kills, but she’s good.
• The Dagger Queen lol
• Her knife skills…
• At this point, she’s not a burger flipper but a yakuza.

Hey, what’s this about yakuza?

I’m strictly non-combat personnel.

Sure, my burger flipper build has dagger traits, but still—

“Lulu! Don’t go too far ahead! You might get overwhelmed!”

“Got it, unnie!”

Heeding Jia unnie’s warning, I stayed close to the group, slowly drawing aggro from zombies trying to pass the entrance, thinning their numbers.

Problem was, it didn’t feel like the horde was shrinking.

Project Zomboid has a set zombie spawn cycle, and they shouldn’t exceed a certain number, yet— Must be the escape mode’s effect.

In escape mode, right before the helicopter arrives, a loud sound blares from the coordinates, which draws massive aggro from zombies.

Plus, Yuna’s zombie host trait probably played a role too.

Either way, this was a dangerous situation.

Two in-game hours left— barely 10 minutes in real time to hold out, and I wasn’t even sure if we could make it.

“Ha-neul! How long till the heli?!”

“Two hours!”

“Ugh, it’s so damn slow! What’s the point if we’re all dead by then?!”

• FR lol
• So frustrating!
• Nyangtamon’s pissed lololol
• It feels painfully slow lol

Even Nyangtamon unnie, who’d been holding out, voiced her frustration.

The helicopter’s arrival was agonizingly slow, but as all things must end, the time finally came.

WEEEEENG— The helipad markings on the bridge’s end lit up, and a chaotic siren blared.

The escape helicopter was about to arrive.

“Huh?! The heli’s coming! Guys, hold on a little longer!”

“The boss says hold on a little longer!”

“I’m already holding on for dear life, boss…!”

“Tough it out! You wanna die here?!”

• LOL just endure
• The CEO’s leadership is legendary.
• Is it leadership or just insanity? …Shouldn’t say that, huh?
• Ahem, facts are banned ㅡㅡ

Following the CEO’s “orders”— more like scolding—everyone gritted their teeth for the final wave.

But there was a problem.

The deafening siren before the heli’s arrival had become a new aggro magnet, and the already overwhelming horde grew even larger.

“Lu—Lucretia! Behind you! Watch out!”

“Unnie! I’ll help!”

“If you’re out of ammo, just drop the gun! It’s useless now anyway!”

“Erin unnie, they’re coming from behind too! Someone cover her!”

“I’ll do it! I’ve got ammo left!”

The battlefield descended into pure chaos.

To make things worse, night fell, narrowing our vision and making it harder to cover blind spots.

Our formation crumbled, the frontline collapsed, and we had to slowly retreat from the entrance.

But we couldn’t fall back too far— holding this choke point was the only way to manage the horde.

If we retreated out of fear, we’d all be overrun.

We had to hold out as long as possible.

Just as everyone focused their will—

[This is Alpha, preparing to land at the extraction point.]

THUDTHUDTHUDTHUD— The blaring siren cut off, replaced by the sound of helicopter blades.

A message popped up on-screen as a bonus.

This sound meant landing was an hour away— less than five minutes in real time.

“Ha-neul! What do we do?! Just run for it?”

“No! There’s too many sprinters—we’ll all die if we rush!”

“Right, someone has to hold the entrance!”

Debates erupted among the team.

Some argued we should just sprint for it, while others insisted a rearguard was needed to thin the chase.

Eventually, the latter won out.

Project Zomboid has sprinters—zombies that run as fast as survivors, and unlike survivors, they don’t tire, chasing indefinitely.

With those things swarming in, and our stamina drained from the long fight, getting caught from behind was inevitable if we all ran.

So we agreed a few would stay behind— but then another problem arose.

“Ah, crap. I’m exhausted.”

“Same. What now?”

PuineaGig and Ina, our elite fighters, had both been hit with the Exhausted debuff.

Exhausted triggers when stamina bottoms out, slashing melee damage by over 90%, ruining aim so badly you can’t hit shots, and even preventing sprinting while cutting movement speed in half.

Effectively, it was a debuff that rendered combat nearly impossible.

Naturally, after fighting so intensely on the frontlines, Gig and Ina were the first to succumb to exhaustion.

What now?

Racking my brain, I rummaged through my bag for any sharp ideas—then my eyes widened as I spotted something.

There was one way.

A risky one, but a way for everyone to survive.

“CEO! What if someone stays behind to light an oil drum and then runs?”

“An oil drum?”

“Yes! The barricade’ll break, but this’ll buy us time!”

• Oh.
• Good idea.
• When you’re out of molotovs, this is the best lol.

Setting the entrance on fire.

Project Zomboid prides itself on realism, so lighting an oil drum with a lighter to start a blaze is totally doable.

It could act as a makeshift firebomb, creating a zone of flames.

Plus, it wouldn’t require multiple people to stay behind.

Just one person—light the drum, then sprint to the heli.

I pitched the idea, and the team (and Cherries) nodded in approval.

But there was a problem…

“Who stays, though? Everyone’s stamina’s shot.”

“Right, one wrong move and you’re toast.”

None of us had stamina left.

Not Exhausted like Gig or Ina, but close enough after this marathon fight.

And with the wind blowing our way, the last person standing risked getting swallowed by the flames.

…Guess it had to be me.

I suggested it, after all.

And since I’d been using a dagger, I had the most stamina left.

“It’s fine. I’ll—”

“No, I’ll do it.”

Just as I was about to volunteer, someone cut me off.

Yuna.

“I’m the host—my stamina doesn’t drain, and if I stay, less aggro follows the heli. I’m the best choice.”

• True.
• Host status has its perks, fr.
• Yukiko-chan, light it and run! Let’s go!

Her logic was airtight.

Everyone immediately agreed.

I did too, but… I didn’t like it.

This was dangerous, and we were dumping it on Yuna.

But then she shut me down with:

“Lulu-chan, remember what I said earlier?”

“Earlier…? Oh!”

It hit me.

Right before Yuna “died” the first time, when we were alone, she’d said:

“Lulu-chan… Yukiko will protect you.”

—Hahk.

So that callback was for this moment.

Goosebumps exploded down my arms.

“Lulu-chan, I’ll protect you. So don’t look back—just run. I’ll catch up.”

“Yukiko-chan…”

• Oh my god…
• This is where that line pays off? LMAO.
• This is peak fiction.
• I just got chills, wtf lol.

The Cherries’ reactions mirrored mine.

What started as roleplay—Yuna’s possessive “I’ll protect you”—had become a genuine vow in our darkest moment.

THUDTHUDTHUDTHUD—

[This is Alpha, arrived at extraction point.]

[Survivors located, commencing rescue.]

The helicopter’s blades roared as it landed, as if announcing: Time’s up.

“Lulu, no time! Run!”

“O-Okay…!”

The CEO’s shout snapped me back.

I handed Yuna the oil drum and lighter.

“Yukiko-chan… you have to follow us, okay?!”

“Hehe, obviously!”

She grinned, prepping to light the entrance—just as the zombies, briefly stunned by the heli noise, lurched forward again.

The climax was here.

• WHOOSH—RUN!!!!!!
• LULU-CHAN, GO!!!!!!
• DON’T WASTE YUKIKO-CHAN’S SACRIFICE!!!!!!

At the sound of ignition, we bolted for the heli.

Only Nyangtamon unnie and Wanggae stayed behind, firing to thin the chasing horde.

It felt less like a game and more like the final scene of a zombie apocalypse.

“Yukiko! That’s enough—run!”

“Got it, unnie!”

At Jia unnie’s frantic yell, Yuna—who’d lingered to spread the flames—finally turned to follow.

Bang! Bang!

From the heli, we shot at zombies chasing her.

But the real threat wasn’t the zombies.

The northwest wind, now a gale, spread the fire at terrifying speed—catching up to Yuna faster than she could sprint.

• HOLY SHIT SHE’S ON FIRE.
• She’s done for.
• YUKIKO-CHAN NO!!!!!!

Flames engulfed her.

Even with infinite stamina as the host, burning slowed movement to a crawl.

A death sentence.

Then—

“Everyone, douse me with water! I’ve got the most stamina left—I’ll get her!”

Chae-yoon unnie’s voice cut through the chaos.

No questions asked, we emptied our water bottles on her.

In PZ, you can use bottled water to douse yourself, buying a brief window where fire doesn’t slow you.

“Yukiko, I’M COMING—!”

Soaked, Chae-yoon unnie leapt from the heli, charged into the inferno, and hauled Yuna—now unconscious—over her shoulder.

5… 4… 3… 2…

As the heli’s departure timer hit 1—THUD—Two names appeared inside.

The heli lifted off.

“Wow, unnie. You came back for me? I might’ve fallen for you.”

“Phew. You saved my ass earlier—had to return the favor.”

The two bantered as the rest of us erupted into cheers.

“Lilith, that was SO COOL!”

“Agreed! Is this what a girl crush feels like?!”

“Who even thinks of dousing and charging into fire?!”

“I can’t believe we all made it…”

“My heart shrank to a raisin at the end.”

• That finale was insane LOLOL.
• They actually ALL survived?
• Felt like watching a movie LMAO.
• Edge-of-my-seat the whole time.

Yeah, it was spectacular till the end.

Chae-yoon unnie’s quick thinking was legendary.

I’d never have thought of the water trick.

Hehe, that’s my unnie for you!

“But wasn’t this collab legendary, guys?”

“Yeah. Peak entertainment.”

“Doubt we can top this next time.”

“The immersion was unreal. Felt like living in a zombie apocalypse.”

With zero casualties and a perfect happy ending, we basked in the afterglow of our first PZ collab.

“Did you all have fun?”

“SO MUCH FUN!”

“Let’s do it again!”

“Next time, I wanna try Yukiko’s farmer build instead of medic.”

“I’m going combat. Looks fun.”

At CEO’s question, the others answered eagerly, still riding the high.

Last to respond, I stared at the screen dazedly—then broke into a grin and nodded.

“Hehe, I had a blast too! How about you, Cherries?”

• All-time great collab, fr lol.
• Immersion was next level.
• Need a rerun.
• This’ll be talked about for ages LMAO.
• That finale was art.
• Lulu-chan, thanks for the fun!!!

The Cherries’ responses were unanimously glowing.

And so, Korea’s first landmark Project Zomboid collab came to a close—with a flawless happy ending.

…Though afterward, I was bedridden for a day with exhaustion.

Ugh, maybe I should start working out like Ra-hee unnie…