Chapter 17

We almost didn’t recognize her.

And it seemed the same thing had happened to Kwak Hanmuk.

“Damn… I almost ran her over.”

He muttered a curse after stopping the jeep just in time, having mistaken her for a zombie.

Mo Haein slowly lowered the thumb she had raised.

It seemed she had only been bitten recently, so she still retained much of her human appearance.

But she was covered in blood from head to toe.

Under the headlights and in the darkness, she really did look like a zombie.

Kwak Hanmuk and I unfastened our seatbelts and hurried out of the vehicle.

Kwak Hanmuk looked at her with a face twisted by worry.

“Captain Mo…”

Her eyes widened slightly at Kwak Hanmuk’s trembling voice.

He whispered with complete seriousness.

“This is the first time I’ve met someone who turned into a zombie.”

‘Me too!’

I completely agreed inwardly.

“As if I’ve ever gone through something like this before.”

Mo Haein replied in disbelief.

Kwak Hanmuk hid behind me.

Then he started laughing while pretending to fire a machine gun at her with his hands.

I simply raised both hands in surrender.

Seeing us, Mo Haein let out a small, weary laugh.

Then she muttered bitterly.

“At least we found each other before I completely turned.”

Kwak Hanmuk stopped pretending to shoot.

“How are you?”

“The bite was on my left forearm. The fever started immediately after the infection. I don’t feel pain. The aggression is still manageable.”

Even in the darkness, her eyes glowed red.

Bloodshot eyes.

Bluish veins.

Pale skin.

They were all typical symptoms of zombification.

Within three days, she would become a complete zombie.

According to protocol, she should be executed.

But neither Kwak Hanmuk nor I pointed a weapon at her.

‘As long as we achieve the True Ending.’

Everyone could get out alive.

Kwak Hanmuk summarized what we had experienced.

When she heard about the atrocities committed by Lieutenant Colonel Je Hyuno, Mo Haein cursed under her breath.

“That damn sane psychopath…”

“And how did you end up becoming a zombie? Was it Lieutenant Colonel Je Hyuno’s fault?”

“Half his fault. Half not.”

Kwak Hanmuk, who had been convinced it was all Je Hyuno’s fault, raised an eyebrow.

Mo Haein hesitated for a moment before speaking.

Something very unusual for her.

“There are four researchers.”

That was impossible.

In Dead Zone Delivery, there was only supposed to be a single surviving researcher developing the vaccine.

Then she began explaining what had happened.

She had awakened near the border between Yellow Zone and Red Zone.

While trying to meet up with us, she found a survivor being chased by zombies.

The strange thing was that he was wearing a lab coat and an ID card.

He was a researcher.

Mo Haein rescued him.

And then she heard something surprising.

There were more researchers alive inside the laboratory.

She knew perfectly well that, according to the Trial guide, only one should have remained.

Unable to understand the situation, she decided to take the researcher with her.

But he desperately insisted on returning to the laboratory.

There was another injured researcher there.

And they urgently needed medicine.

Mo Haein had to make a difficult decision.

If the injured researcher was the one meant to develop the vaccine…

And died before she could reunite with us…

The True Ending would become impossible.

In fact, they might not even be able to complete the Trial.

That was why she ended up heading toward the laboratory armed only with the Black Moon Blade.

She managed to cross Red Zone without any problems.

But in Dead Zone, she was stopped by the laboratory’s boss zombie.

She managed to distract it so the researcher could enter safely.

However, she exhausted all her strength in the process.

And during her retreat, she was bitten by a zombie.

“And that’s how I ended up like this.”

She said with a bitter smile.

But there was no reason for her to belittle herself.

Quite the opposite.

‘That’s incredible.’

Knowing the game’s difficulty, that was absolute madness.

She had protected a survivor, reached the laboratory, and confronted the boss completely alone with minimal equipment.

Even with the Black Moon Blade, it was still absurd.

Only Mo Haein could have accomplished that.

“Captain Mo. That’s impressive.”

The admiration slipped from my lips without me realizing it.

At my sincere words, Mo Haein stepped back slightly.

Then she looked at Kwak Hanmuk.

“Goyo wasn’t bitten.”

“His brain is still functioning.”

He replied.

But she continued looking at me suspiciously.

Honestly, it was a little scary when she stared at you with those bloodshot eyes.

“And how did the researchers survive?”

Fortunately, Kwak Hanmuk’s question diverted her attention.

“The reason was Lieutenant Colonel Je Hyuno.”

Je Hyuno had entered Dead Zone Delivery ten days before us.

Normally, he would have followed the Trial’s standard route.

But this time, he started massacring zombies from the very moment he entered.

He wiped out Red Zone.

He wiped out Dead Zone.

He even cleared out the interior of the laboratory.

Because of that, four researchers survived instead of one.

And one of them managed to escape before the zombies reappeared, reaching Yellow Zone, where he met Mo Haein.

‘I knew Je Hyuno would be doing something strange…’

But I never imagined he would be causing a disaster on that scale.

If he was going to unleash chaos, he might as well have continued and eliminated every zombie in the world.

Why stop halfway and leave things in such an ambiguous state?

The worst part was something else.

He might have destroyed the conditions necessary to achieve the True Ending.

Mo Haein looked at me with obvious concern.

Kwak Hanmuk also looked at me in silence.

Under their gazes, I spoke slowly.

“I think we need to check the laboratory. As soon as possible.”

We needed to confirm that the researcher responsible for the vaccine was still alive.

And we also needed to verify that the True Ending conditions were still intact.

The problem was how to get there.

With our current condition and equipment, it wasn’t even safe to cross Yellow Zone.

And even if we managed to cross Yellow Zone and Red Zone, Dead Zone would stop us.

All of us seemed to be thinking the same thing.

The atmosphere grew gloomy.

However.

There was a solution.

At least in theory.

It was perfect.

“I have a good… well, a terrible plan.”

I explained my idea to them.

After hearing it, Mo Haein reacted with complete honesty.

“Recruit, are you insane?”

It was probably the same spontaneous reaction I had received before.

It was the second time someone had called me crazy.

I tried to appear as sane as possible while calmly replying.

“We don’t have another choice. I want to try it.”

Kwak Hanmuk nodded as if he completely understood.

And then he said something entirely different.

“Captain Mo. From now on, we should call him Crazy Chestnut.”

“Haaaa…”

Mo Haein let out an extremely long sigh.

But she knew it too.

There was no better alternative.

And if we kept wasting time, there was a real possibility that all of us would end up becoming zombies.

“Alright. Let’s do it.”

In the end, they accepted my proposal.

***

I only dared to do this because I had something to rely on.

Of course, since I couldn’t tell Mo Haein and Kwak Hanmuk everything, the plan looked completely insane.

‘But as long as the result is good, that’s all that matters.’

I stood in the middle of an eight-lane intersection.

Pieces of newspaper and trash swirled through the air.

The wind blew between the collapsed buildings.

The night breeze was quite cold, and my body shivered on its own.

It was because my stamina was at its limit.

If I lost even a little more energy, I would probably start hearing my heartbeat and my vision would darken.

Even so, since no critical condition warning had appeared, it seemed I could still hold on.

‘I also need to manage my hunger and thirst.’

In Dead Zone Delivery, if you went too long without eating or drinking, you died.

It was something I had to monitor carefully.

After this was over, I would need to shove anything edible into my mouth.

I took a deep breath.

And shouted at the top of my lungs.

“Lieutenant Colonel Je Hyuno!!!”

My voice echoed through the silent street.

One or two remaining zombies staggered toward me, but before they could even get close, shining spear blades separated their heads from their bodies.

Shortly afterward, I felt a chill.

A killing intent so intense that my skin burned.

I gripped the prayer beads wrapped around my waist tightly as if they were my only lifeline.

In the silent night street, a metallic sound suddenly echoed.

The cold noise of metal parts gently clinking together.

I focused my hearing.

The sound moved slowly.

Closer and closer.

Closer.

And even closer.

Just as the sound abruptly stopped, a gust of wind struck my face.

The beads around my waist trembled.

I closed my eyes instinctively.

And when I opened them, I flinched.

A pair of black goggles was right in front of my nose.

o O

The emoticon of a wide-open eye filled my field of vision.

Instinctively, I felt my neck.

Fortunately, it was still attached to my body.

Judging by the fact that Kwak Hanmuk’s beads had not dragged me away, it seemed he had no intention of killing me.

I shifted my gaze slightly to the side of the goggles.

The sharpened tips of every metallic feather were pointed at me.

Just one of his six wings would be enough to tear off my arms and legs in a single strike.

“I called you because I wanted to talk for a bit.”

‘Message.’

While saying whatever came to mind out loud, I frantically wrote a message in my head.

A system window appeared in front of Je Hyuno.

Special Event: Protect ‘Han Goyo’

It was a Message disguised as a quest window.

I sent the title first to ensure my survival.

Then I quickly added the contents.

You have demonstrated extraordinary power.

Perhaps you are capable of putting an end to this horrible zombie-infested world.

‘Han Goyo’ is the only hope capable of creating the True Ending alongside you.

You must protect him and achieve the True Ending.

“I think you may have some misunderstanding about me, Lieutenant Colonel. If there’s anything wrong, please tell me. I’ll correct it immediately.”

Reward: True Ending of Dead Zone Delivery.

Special Condition: If ‘Han Goyo’ dies, the Bad Ending will be triggered.

I tried to make it sound like a typical system window and sent the Message.

Perhaps, if I truly was a System, I should be able to create real quests…

‘I’m still lacking abilities.’

So I fabricated a fake window.

And honestly.

What did it matter whether it was fake or real?

When a system window pops up in front of your eyes with a ding, no Compatible is going to stop and question its authenticity.

I discreetly observed Je Hyuno.

The lights on his goggles were off.

He seemed to be deeply contemplating something.

After a long silence, question marks appeared on his goggles.

? ?

I stood frozen, unable to understand what they meant.

Then I heard a voice.

An incredibly deep voice.

So low and rough that it was hard to believe it belonged to a human being.

It sounded more like the growl of a beast.

It took me several seconds to realize that he was actually speaking.

While I stood paralyzed by the chill running down my spine, Je Hyuno said,

“Was it you?”

And continued,

“You were the one who told me to stay still.”