episode_0150

There was an impressive video I saw on Neotube.

It was a campaign about mass shootings in America, aimed at public awareness.

Despite it being a short video, I remember being struck by its storytelling and the twist at the end.

Out of curiosity, I looked up related articles and videos.

And I found one commonality.

An unprovoked, preemptive strike without questions or reasons.

These bastards all burst into peaceful daily lives and started firing their guns indiscriminately.

I don’t know the detailed stories of the mass shooters.

I don’t particularly want to know, but I understand they expressed their anger because they were struggling.

However, it’s undeniable that it was a cowardly act.

I am different.

Even when it was hellishly difficult, I gritted my teeth, endured, and survived.

Unlike mass shooters, I’m giving a chance to those who are about to die.

Before I struck first, I drew attention with a meaningless hum.

The humming truly had no meaning.

If I had to specify, it was simply that I didn’t want to exchange words with these filthy, smelly bastards.

They wouldn’t know what I was thinking, but my intention succeeded.

The gaze of many people was fixed directly on me.

“…Is he crazy?”

At Geundwae’s words, I raised the gun that had been slung over my shoulder forward.

Clank-

Bang!! Rat-a-tat-a-tat-tat-bang!

I slowly sprayed bullets at the front row as if drawing a line.

A few men fell, accompanied by the squelching impact sounds often heard in action movies.

Certainly, reality and fiction are different.

Unlike descriptions where people writhe dramatically and fall tragically in slow motion after being shot, they simply rolled on the floor as they were hit.

Surprisingly, some parts were historically accurate; people startled by the gunshot, clutching their heads and slumping to the ground, were common sights. The same applied to them hastily trying to get away.

Screams mixed with cursing were a bonus.

‘So this is why they spray bullets.’

The current situation, where they were practically subdued by just a few gunshots.

Their murderous glares were replaced with bewilderment.

Big or small, Geundwae or skinny.

They lay prostrate on the floor, clutching their matted hair and cowering.

A magnificent spectacle of men, once full of pathetic bravado, rolling on the floor.

It was like watching insects struggling to survive, trying to escape insecticide.

And among the insects, there was Geundwae, who had been swaggering and reeking.

Despite his large size, it seemed the bullets had miraculously missed him.

Anyway, their hostile gazes towards me had died, and seeing them squirming with bewilderment and fear filled my chest with a refreshing sensation.

This situation, created with just a few shots, wasn’t bad.

This must be why gangs or other armed groups carry guns.

The strange pleasure a single rifle offered.

What ruined my mood were the ragged breaths of those gripped by fear.

I calmed the sensation lingering in my fingertips and looked at those who had completely cowered before me.

As a little time passed, humans one by one tentatively raised their heads.

But that was it.

Not a single one of them made a move.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to attack?”

“……”

“The ones outside attacked like their lives depended on it, though.”

Despite the blatant taunts, they only exchanged glances, not daring to charge.

Even Geundwae, who had been overflowing with confidence, only swallowed hard.

I raised my gun and aimed at one of them who was just glancing around.

Bang!

Thud-

Without a moment of hesitation, I pulled the trigger.

Perhaps because of the close range, one man collapsed limply, a hole blown through his head.

“If you don’t attack, you’ll all die anyway…”

Whoosh- Thwack!

Bang!

The guy who had been stealthily trying to slip away from the rear also got a hole in his head.

“And if you run, you’ll be the first to die.”

Gasp! Gasp!

The assailants grasped the reality and gasped for breath.

But they still couldn’t bring themselves to move.

Fucking weaklings.

“Well… then you can all just die together peacefully.”

As I aimed the gun at those still just exchanging glances, Geundwae roared.

“Damn it! Why are you doing this?!”

“You’re a funny bastard. Why did you do that to us, then?”

“Th-that was! Just to survive!”

“Oh really? So am I.”

I scoffed deeply and aimed the gun at Geundwae, who took a deep breath and raised both hands. It wasn’t a sign of surrender, but a gesture to calm down.

Geundwae slowly rose, his expression tense, and opened his mouth.

“Look. I’m sorry we upset you. As an apology, we’ll share our food. If you want, I’ll even hand over a decent looking mature woman. How about you calm down?”

“…There are women?”

“Of course. Do you prefer young ones? Or a mature woman style? Just say the word.”

Did he think I was amenable to reason?

Geundwae cleared his throat and, despite his foul mouth, began to speak eloquently.

His words were long, but the gist was to spare his life just this once.

And he added the condition of throwing in women who had nothing to do with it.

His passionate tongue-lashing, accompanied by over-packaging, made me chuckle.

“When you all die, it’ll all be mine anyway, so why would I need that?”

My lips were smiling, but my words were utterly dry.

At my reaction, Geundwae swallowed hard, a difficult, dry gulp.

“…You seem very angry, so I apologize again. We only did what we did to survive. There was nothing personal about it.”

…He shouldn’t have said that.

“Too bad for you. My feelings are very personal.”

“……”

“There’s only one way for you to live. Attack me. And kill me.”

At my overt hostility, their expressions soured.

Perhaps the gun was indeed scary, as Geundwae only glared at me and gritted his teeth.

“Cowardly bastards. The ones outside were better than you.”

One of the things that makes people feel like shit is being compared to others.

And that seemed to apply to these guys.

“…That son of a bitch. If only he didn’t have a gun…”

“Whoa! Who said that just now?!”

I looked for the brave soul who dared to show courage under conditions, but everyone clamped their mouths shut.

Seeing that, I nodded slightly.

“So, the gun is the problem, right?”

I lowered the gun I was holding.

And then, openly, I put the gun into my inventory.

“?!?!”

“There. Is that enough?”

As the gun vanished into thin air, the men began to murmur, and I smiled, spreading my hands wide.

“Wh-what just… You, what are you?!”

“Hmm… Is this still not enough? Then… how about this?”

I also put the backpack and vest I was wearing into my inventory.

Then, I slowly turned around once, showing off my unburdened body.

“See? Nothing at all, right? Is this enough now?”

“…Th-this is…”

Geundwae, with wide eyes, seemed quite shocked.

The remaining thugs still didn’t dare to attack.

It seemed they still needed more provocation.

I slowly knelt on both knees on the floor.

And, as if to show off, I spread my palms open.

Instantly, the murmuring completely subsided.

“Even now, you won’t—”

“You son of a bitch!”

Right. This should be enough to make them attack.

Someone charged forward, swinging a baseball bat with a resounding yell.

The bat, which seemed to have been used quite a bit, had unwashed bloodstains and dried bits that looked like flesh and hair.

And it was swung down precisely towards my head, from top to bottom.

Whoosh- Thud!

Maintaining my posture, I deflected the bat and grabbed the arm of the attacker.

In an instant, I climbed onto the back of the man who had been thrown prostrate onto the floor.

Crack!

“Aaaaargh!!”

I twisted the arm I held beyond the limit of its joint, breaking it.

Pressing down on the man struggling beneath me, I picked up the dropped bat.

“Alright. Who’s nex…”

Humans rushed at me while my back was momentarily turned.

With my low, awkward posture and my back exposed, they sensed an opportunity.

Even now, men were expertly bringing down Chinese cleavers on me.

Crack!

I swung the wooden baseball bat, striking the hand holding the knife.

Then, I exploited the opening and struck his head.

Thwack!

Although I swung from an awkward position, the impact was not lacking.

The struck man rolled on the floor as if he’d taken a full swing.

I slowly stood up and brought the bat down.

Crunch-

The man pinned beneath me fell silent as his skull caved in.

“Tsk.”

The wooden bat was shattered.

I tossed the handle-only remains of the bat behind me and gestured with a beckoning finger.

Wiggle-wiggle-

The universally understood taunting pose worked perfectly.

“What are you just standing there for?! He’s unarmed! Kill him!”

I thought Geundwae was just spouting ridiculous nonsense, but he knew how to time things too.

At Geundwae’s revealing yell, the assailants began to charge forward in a group.

He said there were no personal feelings involved, but he was wrong.

Instead of battle cries, their blatant curses and half-inverted eyeballs were anything but ordinary.

It was quite a different feeling from zombies.

The murderous aura glinting in their eyes felt different, but the intent to kill me was unmistakably conveyed.

‘…….’

The raw emotions of living beings.

As I realized that I was the target where all those feelings converged, a rush of adrenaline surged through my head.

As proof, my body heated up and felt lighter.

My body shot forward as if propelled, like a sprinter reacting to the starting signal.

Faster than those approaching with primal malice.

I charged in roughly, like rushing into a beautiful woman’s embrace.

Thump! Whack! Crunch!

Slightly different, but impact sounds from human bodies erupted one after another.

My eyes darted mercilessly, seeking openings, and my body moved like water in response.

I punched jaws, crushed faces, and deflected weapons swung at me.

“Aaaah!”

“It’s our side! Our side!”

“D-damn it! Watch out!”

Even as I exploited openings, I found ways to make them work to my advantage.

Deflected weapons flew towards other assailants.

If I struck the hand holding a weapon, it too flew towards another assailant.

Whether swung this way or that, it was always the assailants who suffered.

Whether struck this way or that, it was always them who felt the pain.

I was merely moving swiftly, but for them, it led to cruel results.

Bats embedded with nails, wooden planks, iron pipes, hammers, knives, and so on.

Various kinds of tools rained down on me.

I dodged attacks and retaliated with faster, more accurate blows.

Amidst their emotion-laden attacks, my movements gradually became faster and smoother.

A dance of survival, perhaps.

I was merely struggling to survive amidst acts brimming with malice.

Except, my hands and feet weren’t staying still.

As time passed, the dull impact sounds became clearer.

And the groans of the assailants added to the chaotic violence of the scene.

The more it went on, the more people lost their reason and wielded ruthless force without hesitation.

As the fight continued, I felt my body growing lighter.

The number of standing enemies dwindled, but my hands and feet showed no weakness.

I struck out faster, harder, and more accurately.

These bastards were the ones who used D-Mart as bait to ambush people who approached or passed by.

They reinforced a defenseless building and held out inside, fishing for victims.

Excellent bait and successful fishing.

As a result, these bastards were alive, and their weapons bore the marks of their victims.

There was clear evidence remaining on the various noticeable tools.

And those marks were definitely not from zombies.

It seemed they had given up resisting zombies, and simultaneously, given up being human.

These guys weren’t just smelly and dirty things.

I saw those facts with my eyes and felt them on my skin, suppressing the rising disgust.

I put no soft feelings into my actions.

The assailants steadily fell one by one.

But the cruelty of these maddened humans didn’t fade.

Their determination to see it through to the end was close to madness.

I didn’t dodge; I took all their attacks.

My strength and speed showed no sign of decreasing, and with each successive attack, they fell.

The fierce and desperate fight soon came to an end.

Thud! Splat!

The last man standing was taken down while trying to bring a fire axe down from behind.

I snatched the axe in mid-air and brought it straight down.

Crunch-

With the corpse split precisely in half from crown to nose, there was no one left standing.

“Ah. You were still here.”

“……”

Geundwae, drenched in blood, was half-dazed.

He was gasping for breath among the corpses, whether they were his subordinates or friends, it was impossible to tell.

Thump- Draggggg

I slowly approached Geundwae, dragging the fire axe on the floor.

The leisurely footsteps of the victor.

When fighting zombies, I missed this aspect.

But now, it wasn’t bad.

Seeing them lose their will to fight and tremble made me feel good.

Humans who knew the outside was dangerous and chose the easy path.

It seemed they had hoped to survive by fishing for victims inside.

Now, I had openly castrated that hope.

I proudly puffed out my chest and faced Geundwae.

Geundwae, trembling, still managed to utter a word.

“…You monste—”

Crunch!

“This pig bastard, trying to die…”

The corpse that was Geundwae toppled backward, an axe embedded in its head.

I looked down at the corpse, falling into a complex mood.

‘This tool wasn’t made for this…’

It pained me that I had defiled a tool belonging to real-life heroes, firefighters.

At that thought, my heated body slowly cooled down.

I sighed and slowly looked around.

Around fifty people lay sprawled on the ground.

I hadn’t killed all of them, for now.

Among the corpses, there were definitely a few still alive.

The problem was that they had been hit by me, and had weapons swung by their own side embedded in their bodies.

They couldn’t call 911 for help, and they couldn’t go to a hospital.

Sooner or later, they would die.

No one had a chance of getting up and escaping.

‘…….’

I’m not a psychopath or a maniac…

But I had a thought while looking at the piles of meat sprawled on the floor.

Was my hand too heavy, or did these guys deserve to die?

I don’t know, but if society were normal, I probably would have been the one in prison.

Wouldn’t I have been punished for excessive self-defense, not justifiable self-defense?

Even though it was me, unarmed, against about 50 people with weapons.

But not now.

There are no police officers who do their jobs like shit.

There are no judges or prosecutors who arbitrarily judge and forgive as they please.

There are no reporters who cling like bedbugs either.

…And no humans to condemn me as a murderer.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

The current reality where that legendary saying applies.

‘…The apocalypse has its advantages, too.’

I chuckled foolishly at such a crazy thought.

I took out my vest from inventory, pulled out a cigarette, and put it in my mouth.

Indeed, after work, there’s nothing like a cigarette.

I exhaled.

I moved my feet, leaving behind the faint groans and ragged breaths.

This was enough to account for their attacking us with tools and the blood shed from Incheol’s head.

Now it was time to collect compensation for the assault.

Exhaling cigarette smoke, I leisurely began to search D-Mart.