episode_0096

A building with a gentle, eye-pleasing white color.

Not long after leaving Home Plus.

He was looking at a clean hospital that felt brand new, as if it hadn’t been completed long ago.

『New Light Hospital』

The name, which somehow seemed to inspire hope, suited the building’s color scheme well.

With the electricity cut off and the streets dark, for some reason, only the hospital building was brightly lit, with light spilling out.

It felt like looking at a lighthouse guiding the way in the night sea.

The building, uniquely shining alone, quickly caught his eye and was easy to find.

The hospital, approached in this way, looked clean overall.

However, the hospital entrance on the first floor and the nearby road were not.

Everywhere the faint light from the hospital reached was dirty.

Black, crusted bloodstains and bits of flesh were visible here and there.

The hospital entrance was full of footprints, tire tracks, and drag marks.

Still, it was better than other places.

At least there were no abandoned corpses.

There were no zombies roaming the streets, nor abandoned cars.

Considering the buildings and streets he had passed so far, it was relatively clean.

‘They must be here.’

It was amusing to talk about gangsters having hygiene, but if it was where the leader commanding over 200 people resided, it was a different story.

The gangsters he had met and interviewed a few times.

He didn’t know much, but it seemed they hadn’t lied.

He thought about rushing, figuring he’d meet Yeom soon, but instead, he pulled out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it.

Even when doing manual labor, he always smoked a cigarette before starting work.

Click-!

“Hoo~~ Hmm~”

He liked the feeling of his mind settling down calmly.

He didn’t think he could quit something this good.

He savored the acrid cigarette smoke and surveyed the dim street.

‘…….’

All the lights around the hospital building were off.

There seemed to be no signs of human life in the building.

No traces of people remained on the sidewalk either.

However, traces of cars remained on the road leading to the hospital parking lot.

He guessed all the gangsters were inside.

Thanks to that, he figured the job could be wrapped up easily.

Thanks to the uncleaned, dirty streets, he was able to discern the traces.

He suddenly felt grateful for the hidden efforts of the sanitation workers.

He flicked the cigarette, which had burned down to the filter, towards the hospital entrance.

At the same time, a strong cold wind blew, striking his entire body.

The felt temperature was so low that an ordinary person would shrink their neck.

‘…Should I eat ramen after I finish this job?’

He craved hot broth and chewy noodles.

He wanted to eat it lavishly, with three eggs and plenty of chopped green onions.

He smacked his lips and rose from the rooftop railing he had been squatting on.

Whoosh- Thud!

His body, possessing excellent durability, felt useful at times like this.

He gently rotated his neck and wrists, loosening any stiffness.

His feet didn’t stop either as he walked towards the hospital entrance.

Like any other building, the entire first floor used solid glass panels instead of walls.

Beyond the glass, something was set up to create a barricade.

Large furniture and fixtures covered the glass wall.

Still, it was commendable that they had established basic defenses.

‘But I’ll just destroy everything.’

It didn’t matter what they had prepared inside or what their intentions were.

He wanted to ruin everything.

With the heart of a mischievous child stomping on a sandcastle built by a toddler.

Anyway, if they died, it would all be meaningless.

As he approached the entrance with slightly wicked thoughts, he found it blocked.

They had erected some kind of iron plate, presumably obtained from somewhere, to block the entrance instead of a door.

And he could feel many presences inside.

The number was quite high.

It seemed true that the gangster group had gathered over 200 people.

Admiring the honesty of the gangsters he’d conversed with, he took his stance in front of the iron plate.

Thump thump!

‘A bit thick, isn’t it?’

They must have gone to a junkyard or something, getting a sturdy iron plate.

As he raised his foot, intending to kick with all his might, a voice came from inside.

“Password!”

The sharp voice made him burst out laughing.

Gangster bastards using a password like soldiers, it was just ridiculous.

But it seemed they interpreted his laughter differently inside.

“Who are you? We have orders not to open the door carelessly.”

He stopped laughing at those words and spoke.

“Yeom Seongjin is inside, right?”

“Who the hell are you?… What are you?”

He was here. He had a feeling.

Hearing the wary voice from inside, he knew.

He slowly drew up power, tensing his body.

Focusing a little more on his right leg…

“Delivery~.”

“What the he—”

As soon as the words ended, he pushed and kicked the iron plate.

Thud-!! Crash-!

The iron plate, flying with a destructive roar, slammed into the wall.

The impact from the kick must have been considerable, as the glass around the entrance shattered.

Stepping inside, he felt stale air mixed with cold air.

A long trail of blood was splattered on the floor in the direction the iron plate had flown.

‘….’

Unlike the building’s exterior, the inside was quite messy.

Dirt and dust were flying everywhere, as if it hadn’t been cleaned at all.

And several large figures were sprawled on the dirty corridor floor.

Their sight, covering their heads with both hands and burying their faces, was unsightly.

He kicked the ass of the guy closest to him, who was cursing repeatedly.

Thwack-!

“Squeal!”

The guy, kicked in the ass, let out a pig-like squeal and slammed into the wall.

‘Ugh… it’s like throwing a tomato at a wall.’

That was the thought that came to him as he watched the mass of flesh slide down, spilling blood and internal organs. He averted his gaze from the sight, which was not good for his eyes.

The gangsters, still sprawled, cautiously raised their heads.

They seemed unable to grasp the situation, just rolling their eyes around.

His eyes met with one of the guys nearby.

“??”

He kicked the face of the bewildered gangster.

Wham-! Bang-!!

The sensation of the kicked jaw shattering vibrated thrillingly through his toes.

A clean hit.

The guy must be dead already.

However, the guy whose upper body was stuck through the ceiling duct showed no signs of coming down, so he couldn’t confirm.

The dazed men’s eyes now filled with horror.

He personally sought out those gazes and, with his own hands, caressed them.

If their heads were low, he stomped on them with his foot, making them burst.

For a suitable position, there was no skill as satisfying to hit with as a soccer kick.

If they were in an awkwardly high position, he slammed them into the floor with a chopping punch.

The entrance instantly turned as if a bucket of red paint had been spilled.

Puddles of blood appeared everywhere in a short time.

“Mo-monster….”

A terrified voice came from under the iron plate embedded in the wall.

When he looked, he saw a gangster chattering his teeth and trembling with fear.

It seemed he had been lucky enough to save his life, but now he had made a mistake.

He quickly bent down, grabbed the gangster by the hair, and pulled him out.

As he slowly lifted him in that state, the gangster’s eyes widened, and he screamed.

“Aaaargh!! Let go! Let go!”

He twisted and struggled, but it was the wrong move.

He would suffer more the more he struggled, but he wouldn’t tell him that.

As he watched the man scream until his throat tore, he began to hear the sound of footsteps approaching in a group.

‘Oh….’

Soon, the gangsters appeared in a group.

A considerable number of gangsters appeared from the stairwell entrance, rushing out.

Every single one of them looked ragged.

There were no black suits like in movies or dramas.

He felt pity for the gangsters who displayed such destructive fashion sense.

Contrary to their shabby appearance, the weapons in their hands were menacing.

Every single one held a well-sharpened sashimi knife.

And he could feel the strong smell of blood mixed with their unpleasant body odor from not washing.

Eyes gleaming with murderous intent.

It was inferior to that of zombies, but it was not something normal people would emit.

‘These are the guys who’ve discovered the pleasure of slaughter.’

The crazy kind who felt pleasure in crushing life.

Such individuals were now abundant here.

It was manufactured, fake madness, but they had clearly given up on being human.

Whether their madness excluded fear, their gazes towards him were full of murderous intent.

A thick human emotion he felt after a long time.

‘…Disgusting….’

Just as his stomach began to churn.

One guy walked out from the group.

“Who are you?”

“…….”

“Why are you here, causing trouble for us who are quietly resting?”

“…….”

He seemed to be asking calmly, but he couldn’t control his facial expression. When he didn’t answer out of annoyance, the gangster chuckled.

“Looks like you don’t want to talk… fine.”

The gangster, shrugging his shoulders and trying to look cool, lowered his voice.

“Since our guys have bled… abandon any thoughts of escaping alive.”

“Heh…”

He couldn’t help but let out a snicker.

His reaction seemed to greatly offend the gangster, who frowned.

“This bastard—”

Thwack-!!

Feeling no need to answer, he took action.

First, he burst the head of the gangster he had been holding with his fist.

Warm blood spurted out, wetting his face and flowing onto the floor.

The coppery smell of blood felt like it had clung to his neck warmer.

The gangsters’ eyes widened at the sudden, destructive sight.

The expression on the gangster who had been acting arrogant in front was quite a sight to behold.

He threw the twitching corpse with a hole in its face at the gangster who had stepped forward. Seeing their great agitation, he walked towards the empty hospital entrance.

“Escape, you say….”

In the chilling atmosphere, he opened his inventory.

Thump thump thump-

He could feel the gangsters behind him jump in surprise.

He didn’t need to look to know.

Their agitated, ragged breaths.

Their reaction felt very satisfying.

Having taken out all the contents, he slowly turned around.

“You guys, don’t even think about running away and leaving your friends behind.”

He pointed behind him, giving a polite warning.

The gangsters’ eyes were shaking as if experiencing an earthquake [a Korean idiom indicating extreme shock or disbelief].

Their gaze was directed not at him, but behind him.

Over 50 corpses blocking the hospital exit.

The corpses, dropped from the air and piled up layer upon layer, formed a cold, flesh wall, perfectly blocking the entrance.

The corpses of gangsters, who were otherwise irredeemable vermin, were at least now being used usefully.

The gangsters faltered at the absurd sight that made them doubt their eyes.

The gangster who had stepped forward seemed to have some sense.

“W-what is this… What, you! What are you?!”

In the quiet, desolate hospital corridor, where everyone held their breath, the gangster’s trembling shout echoed. Thanks to this, the other guys looked slightly terrified.

Pleased with the good reaction, he clenched and unclenched his hands, loosening his muscles.

Crack! Crack!

The rough sound of his joints loosening was clearly audible.

“If you’re curious, find out yourself. Where is Yeom Seongjin?”

“S-suddenly, the boss! What—”

“I’ll spare anyone who tells me where he is.”

He emphasized again in the quietly stunned atmosphere.

“First come, first served. Got it?”

“…Crazy bastard.”

“I’m really telling you I’ll spare you.”

“You bastards! Why are you just standing there stupidly watching?!”

The guys snapped out of it at the shouting of the blabbering gangster in front.

Over 100 gangsters were being consumed by murderous intent.

The quiet corridor became filled with the thick murderous intent of the many.

The air subtly grew heavy and chilling.

Individually, they were insignificant, but gathered together, they became somewhat formidable.

While he was thinking that, the gangster was spouting terrifying words.

“It doesn’t matter if you cut off their limbs. Just keep them alive!”

‘…So that was his preference….’

He didn’t understand, but he thought preferences should be respected.

The gangster, oblivious to his consideration, shouted resentfully.

“Kill him!”

Waaaaaah!!

The gangsters, not fearing the one who had built a wall of over 50 of their comrades’ corpses, rushed forward. He admired their courage in failing to grasp the situation and welcomed them all.

“Welcome. You bastards.”

Immediately, terrible screams began to echo inside the hospital, where silence should have been maintained in the dead of night.