episode_0036

The entrance to the bunker was located really deep inside. Even in the engine room, the innermost part had a heavy iron door that was embedded in concrete.

And next to the door there was a huge acrylic plate installed.

‘This facility is a military facility and civilian entry is strictly prohibited during peacetime… Jurisdictional Unit: Unit 5476’

‘No abnormalities found in inspection results for the first half of XX22’

‘First half of the year, inspector, Lieutenant Kim Ik-ho (seal)’

‘Sergeant Chae Do-won (Seal), Inspector for the first half of the year’

‘Same year, Unit Chief Master Sergeant Koh Du-Hoon (Seal)’

‘Same year, Lieutenant Colonel Lee Won-sang (Seal)’

The sign-up sheet of the people who patrolled the bunker four years ago was located under the acrylic warning sign, and the old man started to open the bunker door by turning the handle without hesitation as if he knew it.

“Sir, civilians are not allowed to enter.”

“I told you not to come in or out during normal times. It’s okay now.”

“I know, I was just saying.”

The old man who had been forcibly turning the stiff handle looked at me with a dumbfounded expression, as if he had lost his motivation at my words.

“What.”

“No, that’s enough.”

After the old man had turned it a few times, the handle began to turn smoothly, and when it stopped turning, the old man took his hand off the handle and turned around to face me and Maria.

“Miss Maria, please stay here and make sure no one locks the door. The entrance has to be open. Can you do that?”

“Leave it to me. Church people don’t come to places like this anyway. You saw it on your way here, right? There’s a lot of dust on the floor. So don’t forget your promise.”

“Of course.”

The old man nodded readily and nodded to me. He seemed to be suggesting that we go in.

I had to go into a tunnel where I couldn’t see even an inch ahead and a zombie set might be waiting for me. I sighed inwardly, thinking that I had chosen the right person.

“If it’s a large bunker, the lights will come on if you turn on the switch at the entrance. I don’t know if it’s a corridor type or a communal type. If it’s not a corridor type, there shouldn’t be much of a problem shooting arrows.”

“I guess so. Stop talking nonsense and open the door.”

“Yeah.”

Unlike the handle that was a bit tricky at first, the door opened easily.

As the old man said, as soon as I passed the entrance, there was a switch attached to one wall, hanging from the field wire. As soon as I turned it on, the darkness that had engulfed the bunker disappeared in an instant.

“Kkiyaaah!”

Unlike us who welcomed the light, the monster that moved into this place seemed to have the exact opposite opinion, and its piercing scream pierced our eardrums.

“Ugh…!”

“Oh my…”

“You really won.”

The old man sighed deeply at the tremendous noise, and I let out a sense of deep emotion.

“Where on earth did that come from? It looks like it hasn’t been opened in 4 years.”

“Don’t ask me. You know better. Unlike you, I’m a 100% civilian.”

“Is it okay if I close the door?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Looking at Maria’s pale face, she seemed to be terrified, unlike us. It was certainly understandable, considering the volume of the sound was enough to make the surround speakers go that far.

“Open the door properly. If you run away, I’ll chase you to the end.”

“… Be careful on your way too, kid.”

“I’m not a brat. Auntie.”

I said, glaring at her. Maria snickered at my words, clenched her fist, shook it, and put her hand to the door.

Soon the bunker door closed and all we had to do was move forward.

The old man took the lead and I followed behind. The area ahead might be a public space, but the paths leading there were all corridors, so it was an inevitable choice.

“I told you earlier that I was reluctant to go in.”

“That’s right.”

“Why was it?”

“I think I’ll have a really hard time if things go wrong. Do you think Maria is okay?”

I thought he had grown a lot since he was worried about that kind of thing. He used to be a person who trusted people too much. Was it because he got hurt so badly by Lina last time?

I smiled with satisfaction at the fact that my partner had grown.

“Why, do you think I’m going to hit you in the back of the head?”

“No, I saw you earlier and your expression wasn’t good.”

Although the old man didn’t say anything else, I had a rough idea of what was going to happen next.

“It’s a cult. It looks fine on the outside, but it’s actually quite dirty. Because of that, I don’t think they’ll betray you.”

“I guess so.”

The old man nodded at my words. He must have vaguely noticed it, but because he was a man, he didn’t have the courage to ask directly.

“I have to get it out of here.”

I pinched the old man’s ribs. Because he was wearing so much clothing, it was more like I was grabbing and tearing with my hand rather than pinching him… but from my perspective, I was pinching him.

“Take care of the work in front of you first, and then think about it. And stop adding crazy words like ‘definitely’ to it. Where in the world is there anything unconditional? If it’s possible, do it, and if it’s not possible, just give up cleanly.”

The old man rolled his eyes at my words and then opened his mouth playfully.

“So, are you saying that you can be somewhat flexible in the promise you made with Danhwa if the situation is unavoidable?”

This guy…

“Try it. I wonder what will happen.”

I glanced at the old man while fiddling with the quiver hanging from my thigh. The old man turned his head in surprise.

“Just kidding, just kidding, let’s focus on work!”

As we neared the end of the corridor, a foul smell began to waft in. It was the unmistakable smell of rotting corpses. There were lights on the ceiling and walls of the bunker’s underground chamber, so we could identify the source of the smell.

“There are only female zombies. And Screamers too”

The old man’s face was frowning. Even to me, it seemed unnatural. If it were a mixed group of men and women, it would be different. Even in the city’s entertainment district, it was hard to find a gender ratio like that.

“It’s bad.”

It smelled. It could only be described as having been touched by an artificial hand.

“First, let’s solve the problem and find the cause. The screamer hasn’t transformed yet. It’s better to solve it while it’s easy to solve.”

“Who said what?”

For a Screamer, the number of zombies he was dragging around was noticeably small.

Excluding the Screamers, there were about 30 of them. Considering that they were dragging an average of 100 units per person outside, it was a number that could be called a hag.

Well, there’s no way zombies would increase in a bunker with nothing in it. Should I shoot the Screamers first, or take care of the zombies around them first?

I hesitated for a moment while pulling the trigger. Next to me was an old man fiddling with his equipment. Well, I guess the old man will take care of the miscellaneous stuff.

Because he is a trustworthy person when it comes to battle, I let go as soon as I made up my mind.

The arrow left the bow and cut through the air, cutting through the huddled mass of zombies and aiming squarely at the head of the Screamer at their center.

Before the arrow arrived, the next arrow paused for a moment in the bow and then flew after the previous arrow.

Thud! Thud!

“Keeek! Krrrp!”

“Uh-huh?”

With a dull thud, an arrow pierced the screamer’s head, completing the tang-hulu. The next arrow shot pierced the creature’s mouth and pierced a hole in its neck.

All that could be heard was the sound of air escaping, and the screams that seemed like they would burst my eardrums were no longer heard.

The other zombies began to move towards us, seemingly heartbroken that their leader could no longer show off his voice.

“Nice.”

“It’s basic?”

The man tapped me on the back and leapt forward.

If the number of zombies the Screamer was dragging around was large, it would have been nearly impossible to perform such a feat. It was truly a blessing in disguise.

I sealed the Screamer’s movements, and I slowly made the ones who were far enough away from the old man among the approaching zombie horde into dumplings, just like their leader.

The sound of the box popping was quite pleasant.

*

Do-Hoon felt relieved that things were going more smoothly than expected, but he also felt an inexplicable sense of uneasiness.

I instinctively swung my jungle club, and the head of a nearby zombie flew into the air.

The face of a woman who would have been considered quite pretty if she were alive rolled on the floor with a distorted expression.

Although Danhwa didn’t seem to care, Dohun’s eyes kept on the zombies’ condition.

There were many zombies wearing overly short skirts, light blouses, or one-piece dresses that were almost like a t-shirt, and what’s more, traces of makeup still remained on their half-rotted or messed-up faces.

‘These are not the clothes you would normally wear. Besides, there is no reason to wear makeup in this world.’

It was a very unusual situation, considering that even in the nearby survivor community of Purundel Apartments, which was considered quite wealthy, it was rare to see women wearing makeup.

‘Arcadia.’

The name of a store flashed in Do-Hoon’s mind.

A place I went to when I was in the military, pushed by my senior officers.

Although he just kept saying no to Danhwa, it wasn’t impossible to slow things down to that level if he put his mind to it.

Of course, at the time, Do-Hoon didn’t have any experience with women because of the harsh military environment and work stress.

Now that I think about it, it’s really a coincidence that the sign there was placed at the entrance to the road leading to Hanmaum Church.

Phew!

The day was still bright, but the grease and flesh were mixed together and made a sound like wood being chopped. It wasn’t like the zombie’s head was unharmed by that sound.

‘Staff Nari’

“…”

Just now, the corpse of a zombie with its head smashed in and stuck in the ground caught Do-Hoon’s eye. To be exact, it was the name tag the zombie was wearing that caught Do-Hoon’s eye.

It was my first time seeing that stage name, but the shape of the name tag looked very familiar.

“Ugh…”

“Keeeek!”

Plop!

“Mister, are you crazy!!”

“Sorry, thank you!”

Do-Hoon felt defeated.

‘If this continues, I’ll get scratched again.’

Right now, I had to focus on the situation in front of me, just like Danhwa said. Just because things seem like they’ll end easily, doesn’t mean my life is infinite.