Chapter 23

Before leaving the second floor, Lee Gaon stopped in front of the laboratory director’s office.

Lee Seon could no longer be seen, hidden behind the barricades.

Even if she could see him, nothing would change anymore.

The dim emergency lights faintly illuminated her face.

In a barely audible voice, she whispered,

“I’ll come back.”

Hearing a human voice, the zombie let out a growl.

Lee Gaon no longer hesitated and turned around.

To reunite with Mo Haein and Kwak Hanmuk, they headed toward the laboratory’s fifth floor.

They didn’t use the stairs.

They used a method of transportation similar to before.

However, since Lee Gaon was with them this time, they carefully opened the window instead of breaking the glass.

Je Hyuno spread the metallic wings he had kept folded.

The moment she saw them, Lee Gaon was completely dumbfounded.

She could more or less accept the goggles and the metallic arm as some kind of experimental military equipment.

But the wings completely exceeded everything she thought was possible.

Since she was trying to accept all of this, it would have been ideal if she had accepted the wings as well.

But seeing that she wasn’t, I decided to give her a very serious explanation.

“It’s a new secret weapon the military developed in secret.”

Lee Gaon still didn’t seem entirely convinced, but she awkwardly nodded anyway.

“I-I see…”

After all, they lived in a world where zombies walked the streets.

A pair of wings on someone’s back shouldn’t be that surprising either.

With a few more hours, she’d probably get used to them.

“Excuse me.”

I picked her up in my arms.

Lee Gaon rested her hands on my shoulders with obvious discomfort.

Je Hyuno watched me in silence.

‘He’s not going to throw us again, is he…’

Since I still didn’t trust him, I quickly sent a Message.

Right now, I’m carrying the vaccine and the cure.

Je Hyuno clicked his metallic hand.

Judging by the way he moved his fingers, he almost seemed disappointed that he couldn’t throw me.

Fortunately, he simply picked up both Lee Gaon and me and calmly carried us to the rooftop.

Once there, I set her down.

Lee Gaon’s legs were still trembling.

I checked the ventilation system once again.

It was an essential device that prevented the laboratory’s viruses from escaping outside.

If the ventilation system stopped working, all the viruses would immediately spread, resulting in a Bad Ending.

That was why almost all of the emergency power supply was dedicated to keeping it operational.

Additional power was needed to develop the vaccine.

At that moment, the laboratory’s emergency generator was damaged and operating at barely twenty percent of its capacity.

It had to be repaired.

I had already gathered almost all the items needed for the deliveries.

Only a few items from Yellow Zone, Red Zone, and Dead Zone were still missing.

I could leave that to Je Hyuno.

‘He’ll get them in no time by flying.’

Besides, dealing with zombies wasn’t a problem for him at all.

Repairing the generator was still the most urgent priority.

As I wondered how to do it, Lee Gaon let out a small sound.

“Ah…”

When I turned toward her, she smiled shyly.

“It’s dawn.”

The sky was beginning to brighten.

An entire day had passed.

While Lee Gaon watched the sunrise for the first time in a long time, I only grew more anxious.

The second day since we entered.

One day had passed since Mo Haein’s infection.

Her aggression had surely increased even further.

I escorted Lee Gaon to the fifth floor.

I also didn’t forget to hold the door open for Je Hyuno.

Since he wasn’t wearing the Crow Gloves, the only way he could open doors at that moment was by destroying them.

When we reached the fifth floor, we found the place littered with zombie corpses.

Every single one had its head completely smashed.

Without a doubt, it was Kwak Hanmuk’s work.

‘As expected what incredible strength.’

Thinking that as I walked alongside Lee Gaon, I arrived in front of the laboratory’s sealed door.

It was a sliding security door that could only be opened with an ID card.

Lee Gaon looked at me.

I nodded.

With trembling hands, she took out her ID card and swiped it through the reader.

As soon as the door began to open, the researchers inside hurried out in alarm.

When they saw her, they were just about to let out nervous laughs, thinking they had been frightened for nothing.

But.

“……”

The moment they saw Je Hyuno and me, they immediately fell silent.

I looked at the names on their ID cards.

Tak Jucheol.

Paeng Sangdo.

I knew both names.

They died fairly early in the game.

I was surprised they were still alive.

Perhaps because of my expression, Paeng Sangdo spoke cautiously.

“Uh… Are you… soldiers? Are you with the ones from before…? I mean… are you part of the same team?”

“Yes.”

I had no intention of wasting time talking to them.

I got straight to the point.

“Help Lee Gaon develop the vaccine.”

Deliberately, I didn’t mention the cure.

The moment I gave that order to the researchers, a system window appeared.

◆ Ma?n Qu!st: Develop the vaccine and the cure.

Once again, you have decided to challenge an impossible feat!

A vaccine alone is not enough to turn this zombie world into a happy place.

That is why you also wish to develop a cure and move toward a new new! completely new world!

Daring to challenge the impossible is, in itself, something admirable.

However, sometimes choosing the safer path isn’t such a bad thing either.

In fact, perhaps that is true courage.

You still believe it isn’t too late to change your mind.

The system window was practically insulting me to my face, telling me to give up.

I closed it and looked at the researchers.

Tak Jucheol and Paeng Sangdo were the typical villains of any zombie story.

People who cared only about their own survival and never hesitated to sacrifice others to achieve it.

In the game, both of them died early.

They threw Lee Seon to the zombies as bait and escaped, only to end up encountering the zombie boss.

‘This time they survived.’

Since they were still alive, I intended to make the most of them.

I was going to squeeze every last drop of usefulness out of them to help the world of Dead Zone Delivery.

Perhaps that intention showed in my eyes.

Paeng Sangdo’s expression gradually worsened as he looked at me.

I brought out the best bait I could offer them.

“I know the location of a survivor shelter.”

“…!”

Tak Jucheol and Paeng Sangdo held their breath.

“There is plenty of food there, and zombies rarely appear. But it’s quite far from the laboratory.”

Researchers with no combat ability would never be able to reach Green Zone’s shelter on their own.

Just leaving the laboratory was dangerous.

They knew that perfectly well.

“If this research is completed successfully, we’ll escort you to the shelter.”

Threats alone weren’t enough to secure sincere cooperation.

Besides, I was going to leave them working alongside Lee Gaon.

I needed to make sure they didn’t get any foolish ideas.

They were men obsessed with surviving.

If I offered them a safe shelter, they would work with all their strength.

Just as I expected, the change was immediate.

Only seconds ago, they had seemed reluctant to cooperate.

Now, even the look in their eyes had changed.

Paeng Sangdo let out several heavy breaths as he exchanged glances with Tak Jucheol.

Then he spoke cautiously.

“We also want to develop the vaccine, of course. Who wouldn’t? But the main material…”

“We have the meteorite.”

Hearing me say that, Lee Gaon flinched and instinctively placed a hand over the pocket of her lab coat.

‘So that’s where she kept it.’

After confirming where the meteorite was, I looked back at the researchers.

In a hoarse voice, Tak Jucheol asked,

“Do you know about Pandora?”

The virus in Dead Zone Delivery had begun when a meteor shower fell to Earth.

Inside one of the meteorites, they discovered a completely new virus.

The researchers named it Pandora.

Pandora was a zoonotic virus capable of infecting both humans and animals.

Since it appeared to be weak against high temperatures, they hastily concluded that mammals were not at risk.

That conclusion was the result of rushed research.

The meteorite had fallen in an urban development area, and the political and corporate pressure was enormous.

In the end, the laboratory was never able to warn anyone about the virus’s true danger.

They simply submitted the report the corporations wanted.

Construction continued.

Meanwhile, Pandora evolved at an astonishing speed and eventually adapted even to high temperatures.

The disaster began when a construction worker was bitten by an infected stray dog.

Lee Seon had been the researcher who insisted the most on warning everyone about Pandora’s danger.

Before the meteorite was destroyed, he secretly stole a fragment and hid it in his home.

That was the very meteorite Lee Gaon had gone to retrieve in Yellow Zone while trying to save her brother.

And it was also the primary ingredient needed to create the vaccine.

“How do you know that?”

Before I could answer Tak Jucheol, Lee Gaon interrupted.

She was trembling even more than she had when she first saw Je Hyuno.

“How do you know the meteorite was the source of the virus…? And that my brother and I had it…?”

Before the trust I had built collapsed, I answered calmly.

“The truth is, I’m not an ordinary soldier. I belong to a secret government agency.”

“Ah…!”

Lee Gaon let out an exclamation.

Now she seemed to understand everything.

“Like… the National Intelligence Service, right? I understand now.”

‘Well, more or less.’

I hadn’t lied at all.

Everything I had just said was true.

While Lee Gaon reached her own conclusions, Tak Jucheol and Paeng Sangdo began whispering to each other.

Tak Jucheol stood with his hands behind his back while Paeng Sangdo spoke.

“We’ll cooperate, but we have one condition. If you can obtain the materials we need for our research…”

There was no point in listening any further.

Basically, he wanted to live in complete comfort while working.

I looked at my reliable superior.

Je Hyuno solved the problem immediately.

“AAAAAH!!”

“UUUAAAGH!!”

He grabbed both researchers by the backs of their necks, one in each hand, and lifted them off the ground.

Their lab coats were pierced by his metallic claws and began to tear apart.

“Riiip…”

As they screamed and drooled from sheer terror, Je Hyuno dropped them one after the other.

Thud!

Thud!

With their backs completely torn open, both of them ended up sprawled on the floor.

Just as they were about to swear loyalty like slaves assigned to manufacture the vaccine.

The two captains arrived.

“Well, Hyung Goyo. You’re having fun without me.”

Kwak Hanmuk quickly approached with shining eyes.

He looked like he wanted to join in, but there was nothing left to do.

If we kept intimidating them, they’d become so terrified they wouldn’t even be able to conduct research.

I calmed Kwak Hanmuk down and walked over to Lee Gaon.

“Will you be able to do it, Miss Lee Gaon?”

As she looked around the laboratory, she seemed to remember Lee Seon.

Her eyes grew moist, but she didn’t cry.

She simply answered with determination.

“I have to.”

Holding the pocket where she had stored the meteorite, she slowly raised her head.

“I’ll need several things for the research…”

“We’ll get everything today. We’ll also repair the emergency generator before the day is over. And you won’t have to worry about food.”

She hadn’t even had time to say what she needed before I had already answered.

Lee Gaon stood motionless.

Then she seemed to understand everything all over again.

It was as if I could see the words National Intelligence Service passing through her mind.

“Thank you so much! The generator was exactly what we were most worried about. Really, thank you.”

After thanking me several times, she suddenly grabbed my arm.

We left the laboratory and walked far enough away from Tak Jucheol and Paeng Sangdo before she spoke quietly.

“About the vaccine… My brother already completed the design. If we obtain the materials and restore the electricity, we can finish it in three days. We won’t use cultivation—we’ll use molecular synthesis. As soon as the power comes back, we’ll extract the material from the meteorite and immediately run the sequence. Of course… we’ll have to skip the clinical trials.”

Lee Gaon looked at me with some concern.

She seemed to feel guilty for having lied earlier when she said she knew nothing about the vaccine.

But I already knew.

In the game, Lee Seon had also left the vaccine almost complete before meeting the player.

The two siblings were alike.

Just as Lee Gaon couldn’t find a reason to continue while believing her brother was dead.

Lee Seon also couldn’t bring himself to finish the vaccine while believing his sister had died.

Only after the player rescued Lee Gaon did he finally complete the vaccine.

“Focus on the vaccine first. I’ll find the candidate compound for the cure.”

Lee Gaon looked at me as if she couldn’t believe it.

This time, I really did lie.

“I have some information related to it. I can’t guarantee it’s correct, but it’s worth checking.”

In reality, I didn’t know the candidate compound.

I only remembered a few hidden clues that appeared as Easter eggs in the game.

I intended to follow that trail.

After staring at me for a long moment, Lee Gaon whispered,

“I’ll trust you.”

I sent her back into the laboratory together with Tak Jucheol and Paeng Sangdo.

Then I stepped out into the hallway with Je Hyuno and the two captains.

“From this point on, vaccine development will begin. Lieutenant Colonel Je, please collect the remaining items. Captains, I’d like you to help me repair the emergency generator.”

After hearing the plan, they both answered.

“Recruit, I’ve never repaired a machine.”

“I only know how to fix cars. I don’t know anything about generators.”

“I know how to repair it.”

Just like in the game, the process wasn’t particularly complicated.

“The real problem is the boss zombie guarding the underground area where the generator is.”

Two people would be needed to repair the generator, while another would have to hold off the boss.

In the game, Lee Seon and Lee Gaon repaired the generator while I fought the boss.

But now Lee Seon was a zombie.

And Lee Gaon had to develop both the vaccine and the cure.

If we excluded Je Hyuno, who had to gather materials, that left only Kwak Hanmuk, Mo Haein, and me.

The problem was Mo Haein’s aggression.

The zombification was still progressing, and she could attack us at any moment during the mission.

When I finished explaining the plan, they both seemed to have reached the same conclusion.

Mo Haein’s expression darkened.

She was already making enormous efforts to suppress the aggressive impulses rising within her.

“There is one strategy we could use.”

I didn’t speak immediately.

I paused for a moment.

I could perfectly imagine the expression Mo Haein would wear when she called me crazy again.

In fact, she was already looking at me exactly like that.

‘Captain Kwak, I’m counting on you.’

Hoping he would support my plan, I opened my mouth.

“Captain Mo.”

“Go on.”

“I want you to bite me.”