episode_0042

A staggering 18 people had been added.

I had heard the saying, “Go in one, come out three.” But now, not only was it the opposite, the number had increased sixfold. I swear, I never imagined such a situation would arise.

Unlike when I was alone, having to take responsibility for someone, even just a little, weighed on me. My original plan was to do a speedrun alone anyway. With everything twisted now, I had no thoughts.

‘…It’ll work out somehow.’

I briefly escaped reality, but my eyes sharply scanned straight ahead.

The military truck, affectionately nicknamed ‘O-don’. Even as I felt the real-time combination of its terrible ride, mercilessly bothering my rear, and its overflowing power, I prepared for any potential zombie attacks.

The soldier driving, Sergeant Kang, and me. Though our positions were different in the same space, tension was our common factor right now.

The soldier in charge of driving showed considerable skill, matching his confidence. He navigated the chaotic road with bold and extremely sharp driving.

*Crunch!* *Screech!*

Rough driving, ramming, pushing, and passing without hesitation. If someone unfamiliar saw it, they might think, ‘It’s not my car anyway~’. But as a result of such rough driving, the truck carrying us was pushing forward without hindrance.

Sergeant Kang, caught in the middle, fidgeted with his gun, extremely tense. Even though it was too dark to see properly, his eyes constantly scanned the front.

Sitting on the edge, I glanced at the two of them and realized something. The reason I failed to shoot.

‘Damn it… Was it the selector switch!’

Watching Sergeant Kang carefully handle his gun, I noticed. The word ‘safety’ visible between single-shot and automatic fire. That was it. Because of that, I suffered such humiliation. My face burned at such a stupid mistake.

Fortunately, the people next to me didn’t notice my change in expression. There would be no second mistake.

‘I need to find an opportunity to practice shooting.’ I’d acquired a bow but hadn’t even test-driven it yet. I couldn’t just let the hard-won firearms rot, so I’d have to practice soon.

While lost in thought, we soon reached the end of Seouls Bridge. Despite the various adverse conditions, our progress was faster than expected.

Now is when it gets important. If we recklessly pushed through, ignoring zombies or anything else, we didn’t know what consequences we might face. Earlier, I had personally witnessed a dump truck’s bold charge end in failure. That failure ended with just the driver’s demise, but not this time. 18 people were with me. Failure was not an option.

I quietly spoke to the soldier concentrating on his driving. “There might be more zombies than we expect.” “……” “Don’t worry about it, just keep going.”

The soldier, who had momentarily wavered at the mention of many zombies, nodded at my subsequent words. The brave dump truck driver’s attempt had clearly failed. The situation was similar now, but there was a difference.

‘Because I’m here.’

I felt sorry for the two people who were clearly worried, but I felt like I could do it. No, I was confident.

Inside, where only the vehicle’s engine sound had been heard, the wails of zombies began to echo. Soon, we entered Yeongdeungpo Rotary. The number of zombies was greater than when we had passed through during the day.

The zombies’ attention was drawn by the vehicle’s headlights and engine noise. Dozens, hundreds of pairs of eyes, looking more dangerous than a predator’s gleaming eyes in the dark, recognized us. Madness? Killing intent? They were definitely not normal eyes.

My mind screamed at me to turn around and run right now. But the choice was already made.

“Step on it!” “Aaaargh-!!”

With a short shout, the O-don’s engine began to roar.

*Roooaar-!!* *Screeeech-!!*

In some sense, the sight of zombies rushing towards the vehicle, whose attention had been drawn, was a spectacle. The concentration of killing intent, aimed at our lives, was truly enough to leave one speechless. But there were also people on this side who had crossed the line of death to get here. Though they feared the killing intent choking them, they did not stop. To avoid being crushed by fear, the living roared. A display of will that they would never lose.

Riding on the momentum, they pushed and crushed the zombies, clearing a path. Though the speed had somewhat decreased, they were still moving forward. During this process, the vehicle shook violently. It was as if the car was about to flip over.

Zombies began relentlessly clinging to the sides. The closed windows precariously blocked the zombies, but they couldn’t block the repulsive killing intent visible through the clear glass.

The soldier gritted his teeth, doing his utmost to break through. Sergeant Kang was fully prepared to fire at any moment. Even amidst the danger, the vehicle was precariously moving forward.

But I couldn’t stay like this any longer. “Keep stepping on it like this. Sergeant Kang, prepare for engagement.” “Wha- what are you going to do?”

The two of them asked me in confusion as I rustled, preparing to move. The front car was doing well, drawing the zombies’ attention, but not the car behind. The Yookgong, visible in the side mirror, was swaying precariously, with zombies rushing at its driver’s seat and windshield.

“I’ll be back in a moment. Don’t spare the bullets.” “He- Hey! Wait a-”

With the car door slightly open, I kicked the edge. *Bang!*

With a loud crash, the door swung open with full force then returned to its original position. It didn’t quite fall off, but the door was broken. Instead, the zombies clinging to the door were thrown off. In that gap, I quickly pulled my body out of the door and climbed onto the car roof.

My body swayed on the unstable surface, but it was fine. I immediately swung my crowbar and knocked off the zombie clinging to the driver’s seat. As a gap appeared, I didn’t hesitate to pull out grenades from my inventory.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

I quickly hurled three grenades towards the direction we were advancing. Giving them ample distance so the zombies would be hit.

*Boom! Boom! Crasshh!*

The grenades, exploding consecutively with a time difference, did their job. With the explosions, the zombies’ monstrous screams abruptly ceased. At the same time, a slight path opened up in the O-don’s direction of travel, and the driver didn’t miss the opportunity. We steadily pushed through the rising gunpowder smoke and zombie fragments.

As soon as I confirmed that, I turned and ran towards the imperiled Yookgong. *Thud-!!*

“Aaaagh?! Wh- what the hell!!”

It seemed they were startled when the car roof dented the moment I jumped. Ignoring the screams from inside, I safely landed on the roof of the moving Yookgong. At the same time, gunfire began to erupt from the rear of the O-don ahead and the Yookgong.

‘Their attention is drawn anyway. We just need to break through!’

I immediately began to shake off the zombies clinging to the driver’s seat and the front. Unlike the O-don, which was fully loaded, there were people in the rear of the Yookgong. As if the zombies had realized this, they howled and charged relentlessly. They started engaging with firearms, and the rear was precariously shaking off the zombies.

“Private Kang! The slingshot won’t work anymore! Get your gun!”

An urgent shout came from beyond the tarpaulin covering the rear. It seemed Private Kang had been fending off zombies with a slingshot until now.

‘…That’s impressive?’

Admiring Private Kang’s struggle, I quickly pulled out a grenade and threw it. Adjusting the distance so the people in the back wouldn’t get hurt—

“Grenade out~!!” “W- what?! Everyone duckkk!!”

After an urgent shout and a slight delay, the grenades began to explode. From the swaying car roof, I threw grenades without reservation.

*Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!*

If not now, when else would I be able to handle firearms like this? I began to pull out grenades from my inventory and throw them without hesitation. Thanks to not holding back, I was able to cover the Yookgong’s driver’s seat and its rear.

The driver was still driving straight amidst the explosions. He must have been very startled, but his mental fortitude seemed remarkable.

As the Yookgong regained some breathing room, I checked on the O-don. Perhaps thanks to the gap created, it was fortunately breaking through without difficulty. It had only been less than 5 minutes, but it felt like 50 minutes had passed.

The reward for overcoming the short crisis came immediately. After passing the rotary, the number of zombies began to decrease. Eventually, we even outran the zombies that were chasing us.

As if hit during that brief moment, the vehicle began to rattle. Even the engine, which had been powerful, now sounded somewhat weak. But it was okay. We were almost there.

After confirming safety, I jumped back to the O-don. *Thump-*

“Aaaargh! Aaaargh! Damnit!!!” “What?! What now?!” “Sergeant Kang! Up! Up! Shoot him!”

“No! Don’t shoot!”

I shouted urgently and lowered my head into the passenger seat. “Don’t sh-” “Kuaaaargh!” “Kyaaaaargh!”

Putting my face in first in my haste was a mistake. Seeing my face suddenly appear upside down, the two soldiers shrieked. I quickly opened the creaking passenger door, got in, and sat down.

The two soldiers stared at me with pale faces, as if they had seen a ghost. But I didn’t really have anything to say. “We’re almost there. There’s a space to the right, starting from there. The car can pass through if we go that way.” “……Phew.”

The two of them let out a deep sigh, their faces drained. I felt a little sorry for startling them, but they would be fine soon.

“Slowly. It’s right there in front.”

Finally, the girls’ high school began to appear. As their destination became visible to the naked eye, the soldiers began to get excited.

“We made it! We did it! Damn it! We’re here!” “Sergeant Kang! We’re alive!” “Yes! We’re alive now! We did it!!”

I could hear something from the Yookgong following close behind. It felt like shouts of joyful exultation.

Amidst the somewhat boisterous fuss, the vehicle we were in safely reached the school’s main gate. Perhaps startled by our sudden appearance, the atmosphere among the soldiers on guard became chaotic. In that chaos, I saw Lieutenant Kim, frozen with wide eyes. I thought he was just a rigid person, but it seemed he could make such expressions too. It was surprisingly amusing to watch.

Those guarding had harbored a small hope. Those who had crossed the line of death trembled with a sense of accomplishment and relief. The sight before my eyes made me realize that today had ended safely. I exhaled the lump of tension and fatigue in my chest with a sigh.

Everyone’s excitement, caught in fervor, showed no signs of cooling down. I and the 18 survivors safely arrived, receiving such an enthusiastic welcome.