episode_0128

I slowly stepped inside the supermarket.

Though it was still daytime, the interior, with its power cut, was dim.

The heavily overcast weather also played a part.

Inside, I moved slowly, taking in everything that met my gaze.

And I felt a sense of grimness.

It was a feeling that struck me the moment I took in the full view of the interior.

It’s usually a word likened to the bleak, chilly weather of early winter.

But sometimes, it’s used with a different meaning.

Grotesque, repulsive, and terrifying.

I think it’s a fitting word for the sight I was seeing.

The wide hall was filled with scattered corpses.

The bodies of the dead were haphazardly piled and intermingled.

Among the corpses immediately visible, few were intact.

Heads, burst open as if trampled, or torn-off limbs lay rolling on the floor.

There were bite marks, as if flesh had been ripped off, regardless of whether it was the neck, shoulder, hand, or limbs.

Some bodies had their torsos forcibly torn open, exposing their insides without reservation.

What used to be people had become handfuls of blood and chunks of flesh.

It was as if a beast… no, a monster had rampaged through here.

The grotesque sight made me doubt my eyes.

The mixed, fishy, and repulsive stench created an unpleasant sensation, as if my stomach was churning.

A chaotic tangle of flesh, a veritable feast.

It was a bizarre spectacle that felt detached from reality, just as it appeared.

Until now, I had seen countless zombie corpses and human bodies.

However, a scene like this, where the killings hadn’t happened long ago, was my first since returning to modern times.

It displayed a miserable savagery entirely different from the piles of corpses I had encountered on the rooftop of the Red Hospital.

A horrific space where dread could not escape.

As my eyes grew accustomed to the dim space, I began to scan my surroundings.

The scene before me was so chaotic that it was difficult to discern anything.

I merely registered what met my gaze.

First, amidst the mingled flesh, blood, and putrid brain matter, there were shell casings.

A considerable number of shell casings were scattered everywhere.

It seemed bullets had been rained down from all directions, indiscriminately.

I could tell this because there were bullet marks on the corpses, both zombie and human alike.

Grenade explosion marks were also visible, suggesting they were used without hesitation.

Large gaps existed between the fallen corpses, leaving hardly any space to step.

Various traces were visible here and there; by observing them, I could tell.

‘…It wasn’t just the entrance that was breached.’

After a quick look around the first floor, I could vaguely discern that the attack had started not only from the entrance but also from within.

Pushing through the corpses, I walked and arrived at the parking lot entrance beyond the hall.

It appeared the parking lot entrance was in the process of being barricaded with cover.

Beyond that point, it was clean, without any bloodstains.

…It seemed the attack and killings inside the supermarket began from this point.

I suspect the problem erupted simultaneously at both the entrance and inside.

Perhaps that’s why they unleashed firepower without discrimination.

The high schooler said there were about a hundred people.

But the number I saw right away seemed to far exceed that.

And all of them seemed to be dead.

I don’t know how many armed personnel there were.

Whether they were the Daehan gang or soldiers, I don’t know what happened to them.

I don’t know if they couldn’t save the people, or if they chose not to.

But based on the traces I’ve gathered so far, I lean towards the latter.

They must have drawn a line before everyone got amicably bitten by zombies.

Those who could live, and those who couldn’t.

It seems even the living struggled desperately to survive.

Those who were mixed with zombies, shot, and torn apart by grenades seemed to have resulted from that.

Overwhelmed.

It must have been a snap judgment made upon confronting reality.

Humans are, after all, said to be selfish animals.

Furthermore, it’s unlikely the Daehan gang stepped forward to protect civilians.

‘What were they thinking?’

If they couldn’t take responsibility, they shouldn’t have taken them in.

Without unwavering resolve, it only amounts to offering false hope to those who depend on you.

…At least, that’s what I think.

After a rough look around, I slowly turned my body.

‘…Nothing here.’

There were no moving zombies.

No disturbing roars reached my eardrums.

There were no survivors either.

There was no faint breathing or subtle sign of life.

It seems none of the Daehan gang survived either.

I knew this by seeing the chunks of flesh wearing the same uniform, mixed among the corpses.

At least on the first floor, there was nothing moving.

Only traces of fierce resistance and corpses remained.

The interior of the supermarket was nothing short of a fresh hellscape.

The fishy, repulsive smell of blood and the lingering scent of gunpowder.

A feeling as if my rationality was dulling, intoxicated by these smells, prickled my spine.

I collected my emotions to maintain my composure.

The strangely sticky sensation, as if I might become intoxicated, slowly subsided.

“Is this a human? How could this happen…”

“Hmm…”

Stopped, I shook my head vigorously.

I bit my lip for a moment, but then relaxed my jaw.

And then I slowly took a deep breath.

Low, and deep.

It wasn’t a suitable environment to breathe in, but…

A moment later.

Though nothing touched my mouth, a foul taste emerged, and my esophagus squirmed.

“Normal. All clear.”

I took out a water bottle from my inventory, rinsed my mouth, and drank deeply.

The inexplicable bitterness and dryness were swallowed along with the water.

Perhaps because my stomach was empty, I could distinctly feel the cold water flowing down my esophagus.

After emptying the water bottle completely, my mind felt a bit clearer.

Wiping my mouth, I started walking back towards the entrance.

This time, I moved while observing things a little more closely.

First, I tried to pick up any visible weapons from the Daehan gang or soldiers.

In movies, don’t people usually scavenge for usable weapons?

I too had that thought, and reluctantly, I searched the corpses.

However, movies and reality were different.

I checked every one I saw, but there was no salvage.

Barrels were bent or warped, or shattered into pieces as if broken.

Some even had their bodies crumpled.

“Is it all useless….”

Unbelievably, there wasn’t a single intact weapon.

It was a great pity that there was nothing I could salvage.

I don’t know much about guns.

But even to me, an amateur, they looked like good items.

At least they looked more sophisticated than the rifles I picked up in Yeongdeungpo.

I clicked my tongue in regret.

I stopped rummaging and stood up.

Heading back to the entrance, I looked around but found nothing else of note.

I merely realized that people had tried to survive.

It seemed the people here had been preparing for defense in their own way.

I knew this by seeing the scattered materials and fixtures everywhere.

Even small doors leading outside, like the main entrance and the parking lot entrance, were all barricaded.

Though the main entrance seemed to have been breached helplessly.

They did their best in their own way.

But conversely, that choked them.

When the entrance was breached and shooting began from within, there was nowhere to escape.

Since all paths to the outside were blocked…

‘They were like rats in a trap.’

Unable to escape, they flailed about and died.

That might be why the corpses were particularly more jumbled.

With such thoughts, I returned near the entrance.

And I looked at the blood-soaked sign in front of me.

[B1 Food Court, Deli Corner…]

I alternated glances between the stopped moving walkway next to me and my shoes.

My shoes were heavily stained with blood, and my trouser cuffs were also dirty.

The moving walkway leading underground was just as dirty.

Sticky, solidifying streaks of mixed blood and something foul.

The walls and the handrail of the moving walkway were also thoroughly soiled.

Without hesitation, I started to descend on the moving walkway.

Thump- thump- thump-

With every step, the sound of stepping on metal plates echoed.

Given the pervasive silence, it seemed to resonate especially loudly.

Stepping down a little cautiously, it grew darker as I descended.

Thud-

The food court I descended into was dark.

Naturally, nothing was visible in front of me in this underground area.

It felt like I had entered an underground parking lot where the power had gone out.

It was a different feeling from when I first arrived at the Hollysale Food Court.

Back then, I admired the high ceilings and felt impressed by its grandeur.

But now…

‘…It’s not like I’ve entered some demon’s lair.’

Unlike that time, filled with hope and emotion, it was merely grim.

Even as my eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, nothing was visible.

My hand felt annoyed, but I had no choice but to take out my flashlight.

As I opened my inventory and rustled about,

Grroooan…

Groaaan…

Gurgle. Gurgle.

At the small, faint, familiar groans, I flinched.

‘So they were here after all.’

I had wondered, but indeed, there were people who had fled this way.

And a considerable number of zombies seemed to have followed them.

‘…What should I do?’

I hesitated for a moment.

My original purpose was to meet the Daehan gang.

And to gather supplies while I was at it.

But looking at the situation, it seems they all died.

I came down following traces, but there are moving zombies.

That means there are no living people.

My first objective was out of reach.

And aiming for supplies felt a bit ambiguous.

I figured many people would have already touched them, and in this chaotic mess, I wondered if anything intact would be left.

Judging by the faint groans of the zombies, there seemed to be many of them.

Their growling sounded as if it echoed in surround sound.

Moreover, it was in a very dim space.

What if the supplies I found were all unusable?

‘Ugh….’

A shiver ran down my spine as I recalled the meat I had given up on before.

‘…Should I go back?’

Having lost my objective, I wavered in the ambiguous situation.

As I pondered over the zombies hidden in the darkness before me,

Bang!

Aaaaaarrrgggh!

Beyond the darkness, the resistance of a living human manifested as a sound.

Immediately, I drew my sword from my inventory.

“Damn it… Here I come! Go!”

The answer was decided.

I plunged into the darkness towards the direction of the gunshot.

With my sword in my right hand, and a flashlight in my left.