episode_0122

This entire area is in a blackout.

Everything that uses electricity as a power source is unusable.

Before the zombie apocalypse, electricity was an indispensable energy source, to the point where it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was everything in daily life.

The absence of electricity lowered the standard of living beyond words.

It is resurfacing in the form of ‘inconvenience’ that everyone had forgotten.

Right now, I can clearly feel the presence of lights that have lost their glow and elevators that are no longer functional.

Dr. Jang’s internal medicine clinic, located on the 5th floor of the building.

Climbing stairs isn’t difficult, but it’s incredibly annoying.

Still, I calmly and leisurely began to ascend the stairs.

‘How many will there be?’

I recall the recent, battle-like encounter.

I moved and moved again, avoiding the hail of bullets.

My first impression of facing modern firearms was that they certainly have power.

I think it would be good if we could recover their guns and arm ourselves.

Then, couldn’t we at least have some self-defense…?

‘…Seriously.’

A hollow laugh escaped me at the sudden thought of my companions.

Preparing for danger with my companions is good, but now, the fight comes first.

It’s not exactly a “fight” per se, but I can’t ignore guns.

I am human, not some zombie or monster.

Naturally, if I get shot…

‘Will I die? Doesn’t feel like I’d kick the bucket…’

I wonder if getting shot would hurt a lot, but I tuck that curiosity away.

Instead, I’ll designate the thought of having the people upstairs confirm it for me as a secondary option.

Lost in relaxed thoughts, I reached the 5th floor.

Looking at the firmly closed steel security door, my lips curled into a smile without me realizing it.

I could feel a murderous intent similar to a warning, directed towards the entrance from beyond the door. Something like, “I’ll attack the moment you step foot inside!”

The guys upstairs must have seen me fighting; they’re preparing for a battle.

I had intentions of resolving it through conversation, but it’s a shame they want to fight.

Watching them waiting, acting like they’ve had some training, I scanned for presences beyond the door.

‘Directly in front of the door… to the right… seven?’

I was puzzled by the smaller number than expected, but it didn’t matter.

Unlike lifeless zombies, the presence of living humans is easy to discern.

Even more so in a close situation like this.

After grasping the approximate number and their positions, I moved without hesitation.

*Whoosh-*

The moment I grabbed the doorknob and turned it.

*Bang! Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!*

Simultaneous with the gunshots, a hail of bullets pounded the heavy steel door.

I immediately backed away from the door and pressed myself against the wall.

Seeing the opponent indiscriminately firing their gun without the slightest hesitation, I hardened my resolve.

‘…Alright. Shall we do this?’

I pulled out kitchen knives from my inventory. Two in each hand.

The continuous hail of bullets striking the steel plate soon stopped.

The sturdy-looking steel door was riddled with holes in places.

Bullets that hadn’t penetrated made bumpy marks.

So many.

To ruthlessly unleash something like this on people… The guys inside are—

“Don’t let your guard down! It’s fine to kill them! We just need to secure the mutant!”

“…These bastards….”

Being repeatedly treated like a zombie ruined my mood.

I immediately stood up and faced the door.

“Hup!”

I kicked the tattered steel door with all my might.

*CRASH—!!*

*THWACK!!*

With a deafening roar, the steel door ripped off as if torn, and fell.

And then, in quick succession, came the sound of something bursting open.

Before even confirming the targets, I lowered my stance and swiftly leaped inside.

*Glimpse-*

As soon as I confirmed the targets positioned on the right, I responded with a counterattack.

I sprang up from my crouch and swung both my arms.

As if drawing a large circle.

*Whoosh-*

*Thump-thump-thump!*

“Gahk!!”

I threw kitchen knives towards the faces of the guys hiding behind makeshift cover, but they only grazed one man’s ear; the rest were blocked by the cover.

As soon as I finished throwing, I immediately moved my legs to take cover.

When I instinctively took cover, I saw two guys sprawled out.

Those must have been the ones firing guns from directly in front of the door.

“…”

Perhaps a post-mortem reaction, their legs were still twitching despite being reduced to bloody messes.

Unfortunately, there was no time to appreciate the strange reactions displayed by the mysteries of the human body.

“You monster bastard!!! Die!!!”

*Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!*

Three of them relentlessly poured bullets towards the wall where I was hiding.

The wall, where the bullets embedded, slowly began to crumble and chip away.

The guns must be powerful, as a part of the wall even collapsed.

They don’t seem to be shooting indiscriminately.

Even in their excitement, they seem to be gauging my hidden position and concentrating their fire.

I wanted to throw a grenade at those madmen, but I couldn’t.

When I leaped inside, I confirmed that Dr. Jang was cowering in a corner, looking terrified.

Once again, I took a kitchen knife in each hand.

And then I gauged the timing.

If the gunfire stops for even a moment…

*Clack! Clatter-*

*Whoosh!*

As soon as I heard the sound of a magazine dropping, I sprang out like a coiled spring.

And I met the gaze of one guy who was still aiming.

‘Damn it. Was it a fake?’

At the same time, I saw a flash of fire from the gun he was aiming.

Twisting my body and running, I flung my hand out as if throwing a dart.

What flew was a glinting, mass-produced kitchen knife instead of a dart.

*Thwack!*

I heard the sound of a knife sinking into fresh meat.

The guy who had been slyly peeking his head out and firing.

The kitchen knife, deeply embedded in his eye, served its purpose faithfully.

His head jerked back, his body swayed, and then he slumped down against the wall, sliding to the floor.

At the same time, furious shouts erupted along with gunshots.

“You goddamn!! Monster bastard!!”

“…You’re dead.”

I quickly rolled my momentarily paused body across the floor.

There’s some distance between me and the guys firing guns while hiding behind cover.

It would be good if I could rush straight in, but chairs and such restrict the space to maneuver. And the destructive power of their guns is troublesome.

‘…If there’s no opening, I’ll make one.’

*Tap-tap! Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-*

“Wh-What the hell? What is that?!”

“Shut up and shoot! Keep shooting!”

I ran horizontally, dodging bullets, then ran up the wall.

I recalled how the enemies were greatly flustered when I ran along the side of the bus during the fight downstairs, so I recreated it once again.

And the effect was quite good.

Their eyes filled with horror, pupils shaking uncontrollably.

Their gun muzzles shook as much as their trembling eyeballs.

Accuracy plummeted as the users panicked.

Seizing that opportunity, I quickly closed the distance and grabbed whatever I could reach and threw it.

*Whoosh-!!*

*Thud!*

“Cough!!”

One guy, struck directly in the face by a large rectangular object, sprayed blood into the air and fell backward, as if offering the back of his head to the ground, extremely quickly.

With a loud *thump!* that made me wonder if the back of his head was intact, the fallen guy soon stopped moving.

‘Ugh….’

I had just thrown it without thinking, and it turned out to be a small monitor.

He was hit squarely in the face with that, so of course it would hurt…

Regardless, I stopped at the line of cover where the guys had been hiding.

Only one guy was standing.

Now that the cover was meaningless, he looked at me and swallowed hard.

Then he stood his shouldered rifle upright and tossed it aside.

He unholstered his pistol and threw that aside as well.

“…What are you doing?”

“As expected, you’re human.”

Ignoring my words, the guy pulled out a knife, his eyes gleaming.

“Amazing movements. How is that possible?”

“…”

“I’ve seen videos before. Of people setting fires and leaping over buildings. I thought it was a lie then, but now I understand.”

What he said went in one ear and out the other.

What I saw now was Dr. Jang, pale with fright, and a young male doctor.

It was the same doctor who had held ammonia nearby when I was educating Yeom-ssi.

He was now clutching his thigh, bleeding.

He must have bled a considerable amount, as the spot where he lay had become a pool of blood.

Dr. Jang was pressing down on the injured doctor’s wound with both hands.

“The Arson Villain or whatever. That’s you, isn’t it?”

“Did you do that?”

“Hmm… They kept resisting, you see. So I made an example. Thanks to that, people listened well.”

The guy, gently spinning the knife in his hand and warming up, was… how should I put it?

He seemed to have no hesitation in harming people.

These are the kinds of guys stirring up this chaos, so perhaps it’s natural.

‘…Is he a madman?’

He really seemed to have a screw loose, his mouth sneering and his eyes brimming with a fervent desire. A gaze similar to ecstasy.

I don’t know what he’s thinking, but he’s truly insolent.

“…You couldn’t catch me with a gun, so what are you going to do with a pathetic knife like that? I won’t say anything, just pick up your gun.”

“Hmph~ You’re quite kind. But don’t worry.”

The burly man, who seemed to have exercised quite a bit, crouched low.

Seeing him hold the knife upright and take a stance, he seemed to have trained a lot.

The burly man, sporting a deep smile, a peculiar glint in his eyes.

“I’m better with a knife than a gun.”

“…This guy’s ridiculous.”

It seems he wants to try his knife skills against me.

He seems quite confident, which I intensely dislike.

To think he’d try to catch me with a knife like that, when he couldn’t even manage with a gun.

It was then.

*Bang! Bang-bang!*

Gunshots were heard from outside the building.

A few shots rang out, then it quickly became quiet.

“It seems my subordinates waiting in the car weren’t seen.”

“…”

“If you want to help those people—”

*Thud! Whoosh-!*

I sprinted the short distance and threw a punch at his insolent mouth.

*Whack!*

From the punch that landed squarely on his face, I felt the sensation of his nose bone crumbling.

“Cough!!”

His body seemed to sway, but he held his ground.

I had regulated my strength because there were things I wanted to ask, but it was enough to knock a person unconscious. Yet, he stood firm.

Furthermore, the guy reflexively thrusting his knife hadn’t lost consciousness.

*Whoosh!!*

*Thud- Smack!*

A resounding impact echoed through the quiet hospital.

The knife aimed precisely at my neck.

I slapped him, batting away the hand holding the knife.

The guy’s slapped cheek was not just red, but bleeding.

His cheek, where flesh had burst, hung in tatters.

The guy, knees buckling and swaying, even had his eyes glazed over.

But he didn’t fall.

*Swish-! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Was this the result of ingrained training?

Even with his eyes unfocused, he swung the knife and charged at me.

Whether from anger at being struck so unpleasantly in the face or from pain, I couldn’t tell, but his face was thoroughly contorted.

‘They say ignorance is bliss.’

Did he not recognize his opponent, or was he just disregarding me?

His recklessness, no different from foolhardiness, was astounding.

I lightly dodged the knife swinging in the air.

His unrefined knife work showed large openings.

I extended my hand through that opening.

*SMACK—!!*

As I slapped his other, uninjured cheek, his knees buckled without hesitation.

The burly man, collapsed onto his knees on the floor, glared at me through gritted teeth.

Looking at his eyes, I roughly understood.

“You. You were the kind of guy who liked to mince people with a knife, weren’t you?”

“G-gh… G-ghh…”

“You thought you could hack away to your heart’s content if I was your opponent, didn’t you? Because I wouldn’t die easily.”

I looked down at the guy struggling to stay conscious.

At first, I wondered what the meaning behind this guy’s gaze was.

I thought he might want to test his knife skills, but it was a darker emotion than that.

A sturdy meat punching bag.

That’s exactly how this guy saw me.

“So, you should have picked up your gun when I told you to. So arrogant.”

“K-khuhuhu. Monster!”

The burly man, still not coming to his senses, kept thrusting his knife until the end.

*Thwack!*

I snatched the weakly thrusting knife directly with my hand.

*Snap- Crackle-pop!*

“G-Gaahhhk!!”

“Your stubbornness is somewhat tolerable.”

I crushed his hand and snatched the knife.

It feels quite long for a knife.

And it seems very well-made and well-maintained.

“It’s usable. I’ll make good use of it.”

“…”

“I have a lot I want to ask. So, I’ll let you live for now.”

“Khuh, khuhuhuhu.”

“Good?”

The guy, with his head bowed, shoulders shaking with laughter, even curled his body up.

“…Fuck you.”

*Click!*

The guy, raising his head and grinning, had gleaming eyes.

And then he spread open his uninjured left hand.

“!”

“Khahahahgkhk?”

As soon as I confirmed what was in his hand, I grabbed him by the collar.

*WHOOSH—!!*

*CRASH!!*

I grabbed him by the collar and flung him out the window.

More precisely, upwards, not downwards.

Startled, I moved with all my might for the first time in a while, without even realizing it.

It was the moment I threw him and then covered Dr. Jang and the young doctor with my body. And immediately after that.

*BOOM—!!*

A massive explosion mixed with the sound of breaking glass echoed in the air.

“…This crazy bastard….”

This madman really did have a few screws loose.

He had pulled the grenade pin while laughing and crouching.

I almost got dragged into his plan to die together.

‘I should have known from the moment he threw his gun and picked up a knife….’

I wonder what the meaning of such a blind self-detonation could be.

He’s not even a terrorist with misguided beliefs, so what is he doing?

Of course, considering the conversation time we might have had later, it might have been a wise choice.

Still, you never know, do you?

I might have let him live.

I clicked my tongue at his behavior, as if there were no tomorrow.

‘To think I’d experience a suicide bomb attack in Korea.’

I really almost bit the dust in a flash, just like that!

When I was the one throwing, I didn’t know, but being on the receiving end… how should I put it?

It simply sent chills down my spine.

I almost died without even getting married.

I gritted my teeth, recalling the heart-stopping, dizzying truth.

But at the same time, I reflected.

When dealing with humans, I must also be careful of suicide attacks.

I pondered on the valuable lesson I had learned the hard way.

Judging it safe, I slowly got up and checked on the two people.

Fortunately, there were no traces of injury from the explosion.

They seemed fine for now, so I immediately turned to go downstairs.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Se-Seonghan-ssi.”

The people downstairs are not armed.

I don’t know how many guys are downstairs, but I definitely heard gunshots.

There didn’t seem to be any hidden guys, but I don’t know where they popped out from.

I walked towards the hospital entrance.

…Just as my expression wrinkled in annoyance at my complacent thoughts.

*Thump! Thump! Thump!*

“Seonghan hyung!!!!”

“Huh?”

Rushing footsteps and an urgent voice calling out to me.

At the sudden burst of shouting, I let out a dazed sound.