Chapter 25

Ding.

A system window appeared.

The mission had been updated.

◆ Ma… Main Quest?!: Repair the emergency generator within 15 minutes….

I didn’t even finish reading the first line before closing it.

I didn’t have time to waste reading a useless system window.

‘The emergency power shouldn’t have run out yet.’

Something was wrong.

I was worried about Lee Gaon, but I couldn’t go back upstairs to check on her.

If we didn’t repair the generator within the next fifteen minutes, it would be an immediate Game Over.

I had to trust that she was safe and focus on the repairs.

“So, this means we’re screwed, right?”

“I think we can still do something.”

Then I broke into a run as I shouted,

“First, let’s run!”

We sprinted across the cafeteria, weaving between overturned tables and chairs.

Our footsteps echoed loudly, but the zombies barely spared us a glance before returning their attention elsewhere.

All of them had their arms stretched toward the ceiling speakers, where the announcement continued to play.

Thank goodness the three of us were zombies.

Otherwise, finishing the repairs in fifteen minutes would have been practically impossible.

As I ran at full speed, I calculated the time in my head.

‘At least five minutes for the repairs.’

Six minutes to get from here to the generator room in Basement Level 2.

If there was a boss event scene, add another minute.

That would leave us with roughly two minutes to spare—but only if everything went perfectly, like a flawlessly synchronized machine.

Kwak Hanmuk’s role in holding off the boss was the most important.

I glanced back over my shoulder.

He was leaping over the overturned chairs with his long legs.

Noticing my gaze, he raised an eyebrow.

As I pushed open the cafeteria door and ran into the hallway, I shouted,

“Captain Kwak! How are you holding up?!”

“Better than usual! Maybe it’s because I’m turning into a zombie?!”

“Understood.”

As we ran down the long hallway, I checked the signs.

The layout was identical to the game’s, so we wouldn’t waste time exploring.

When I saw the sign for the break room, a sharp pain pierced my chest.

That room was where the researchers temporarily rested when they couldn’t go home.

Hidden there was an old diary that mentioned the cure.

I remembered its contents perfectly.

Paranoid Researcher’s Diary #1

Developing a cure for a virus requires a long and painful process to find a candidate compound.

Even so, humanity has always managed to find cures for viruses that threatened its survival.

But.

What happens if the virus comes from outer space?

Paranoid Researcher’s Diary #2

The conventional process for developing antivirals exists only within the tiny ecosystem known as “Earth.”

If a virus from beyond invades us,

humanity will never find a cure.

Only two choices will remain.

Adapt or perish.

No one understands my thoughts.

But the fear never leaves me.

Paranoid Researcher’s Diary #3

At last, I’ve found people who share my fears.

Paranoid Researcher’s Diary #4

Countless voices whisper inside my head.

Why was I so afraid of something as insignificant as a virus?

Before this absolute fear, it means nothing.

That’s right!

I’ve awakened!

Paranoid Researcher’s Diary #5

The throbbing heartbeat of dimensions!

The sublime vastness of the chaotic void!

The formless chaos!

Everything exists solely to entertain That One!

Being the diary of a paranoid man, it was filled with delusions.

But it still talked about a cure.

I wanted to check whether there was a hidden item near the diary, just like the portable cassette player that never appeared in the game.

But once the generator was repaired, part of the underground facility would be sealed off.

This was my last chance.

Even so, I had no choice but to look away.

We covered the long hallway in an instant and turned left.

The freight elevator came into view.

Its stainless steel doors gleamed ominously.

With the emergency power, it could only be used once.

After that, it would remain unusable until the generator was repaired.

I pressed the button to go down.

A moment later—

Ding.

The heavy doors began to slide open.

“Ugh…”

“Damn…”

Mo Haein let out a groan.

Kwak Hanmuk immediately covered his nose while cursing.

The elevator was already completely full.

Researchers and office workers, dressed in bloodstained, tattered lab coats, stood motionless in unnatural positions.

All of them turned their empty eyes toward the doorway at the same time.

“Can’t we lure them out by making some noise?”

Kwak Hanmuk asked, pinching his nose shut.

“I don’t think they’ll react.”

In the game, those zombies existed specifically to prevent the player from using the freight elevator.

No matter what you did, they never left it.

The only option was to ride down with them.

‘Unless the player became a zombie, using the freight elevator was impossible.’

Just as I expected, Kwak Hanmuk threw a huge rock to make a loud noise.

The zombies barely twitched.

Not a single one stepped out.

While he continued trying, Mo Haein asked,

“Another route?”

“If we don’t use the elevator, we’ll have to go through the ventilation ducts. We don’t have time, and I don’t think Captain Kwak would even fit inside.”

With his build, he’d get stuck at the shoulders.

Kwak Hanmuk closed his eyes in resignation.

“Let’s get in…”

I was the first to step into the elevator.

Squish.

Instead of the sound of metal beneath my feet, I stepped on detached flesh and pooled blood.

I squeezed through the narrow gap between the zombies.

The rotting flesh of the one beside me brushed sticky against my shoulder.

The stench of decaying corpses was unbearable.

I pressed myself as far back as I could and signaled Kwak Hanmuk and Mo Haein.

They stepped inside as well.

Just as Mo Haein was about to press the button for Basement Level 2, the siren sounded again.

The piercing noise caused the previously motionless zombies to snap their eyes open.

“Attention. All researchers must proceed immediately to the shelter.”

As the automatic announcement continued, the zombies went berserk.

“Graaah!”

Mo Haein, being the shortest of us, was immediately swallowed by the crowd of zombies.

The doors closed before she could press the button.

“…The isolation bulkheads will activate throughout all areas, and the facility will be completely sealed. We repeat. All researchers…”

The cramped elevator turned into a living hell.

All the interior lights went out.

Only the faint glow of the buttons dimly illuminated the inside.

The frenzied corpses crushed me against the wall.

“Ugh…”

It felt as though I were being compressed beneath a giant hammer.

The zombie pressing against me slowly raised its face with a growl.

I didn’t want to imagine what it had been eating.

Its teeth were completely stained red.

I wanted to shove it away.

But I couldn’t.

Becoming a zombie didn’t make you invincible.

It only meant zombies stopped attacking you first.

The moment the system judged that I had attacked a zombie, they would all attack me as well.

If a fight broke out in such a confined space, it would turn into a complete massacre.

Cold arms reached out from every direction, squeezing my chest tighter and tighter.

For a moment, my vision began to spin.

“Ghk!”

Fortunately, the zombies started shoving each other, and the ones crushing me were pushed away.

I nearly lost consciousness, but somehow managed to stay awake.

Amid the chaos, I felt a warm body.

“Captain Mo…!”

I caught her just as she was about to be crushed by the zombies.

While I held onto her, Kwak Hanmuk gritted his teeth and forced his arm through the crowd.

His fingertips brushed against the control panel.

He missed once.

Then again.

Until, on the final attempt, he managed to graze the button.

The B2 light came on.

With a loud rumble, the freight elevator began descending.

I tried to make a little space while holding my breath as long as I could.

Every time I inhaled, the stench of the corpses felt as though it were crushing my lungs.

Inside that sealed box, we did everything we could to avoid touching the zombies with even the tip of a finger.

The time it took to descend a single floor felt endless.

And since it was a freight elevator, it moved even slower than a normal one.

Ding!

At last, the arrival chime sounded.

The doors slowly slid open.

The roaring zombies poured out in a stampede.

“Hah!”

Mo Haein and I exhaled all at once, finally releasing the breath we’d been holding.

Kwak Hanmuk, who had somehow managed to remain standing without being swept away by the horde, immediately looked for us.

After confirming we were both alive, he helped Mo Haein out first.

Then the three of us collapsed in front of the elevator, gasping for air.

I truly thought I was going to die.

Being crushed had been awful.

But the worst part had been the contact with the rotten flesh and the unbearable smell of corpses.

I couldn’t help thinking that someone with mysophobia would have an absolutely miserable time if they became a zombie.

Mo Haein looked slightly dizzy, holding her head with one hand.

I wanted to stay there a little longer.

But every second counted.

We couldn’t afford to rest.

Zombification.

I closed the system window that had just appeared and got to my feet.

“Let’s keep moving.”

Basement Level 2 was where all the mechanical facilities were concentrated.

The electrical distribution room and the generator room were both located there.

The constant roar of engines filled the air.

That was why the zombies in this area never slept—they remained active at all times.

The only way to reach the generator room was by passing through the distribution room first.

That was our first destination.

The narrow hallway was filled with desperate traces left behind by people trying to escape.

Overturned objects were scattered everywhere, with zombies hidden among them.

We advanced as though we were running an obstacle course.

A zombie missing the lower half of its body crawled across the floor with one hand outstretched.

It wasn’t trying to attack us.

It was only reacting to sound.

Even so, it was annoying because we had to avoid tripping over it.

Others suddenly appeared from blind corners or emerged through side doors to block our path.

Everything here depended on me.

I didn’t need to worry about Mo Haein’s or Kwak Hanmuk’s physical abilities.

I only had to focus on avoiding the zombies.

Fortunately, I knew exactly what appeared and when.

That allowed me to avoid them without too much trouble.

System windows occasionally continued appearing, warning me about the progress of the zombification.

They unexpectedly blocked my vision, but I closed them immediately.

“Stop for a moment!”

The instant they heard my voice, Mo Haein and Kwak Hanmuk came to a sudden halt.

A television that had been caught atop a makeshift barricade fell right in front of us.

Thud!

The screen crackled and flickered to life.

“Waaaaaa!”

Amid recorded applause and cheers, we immediately started running again before the noise could attract more zombies.

After covering quite a distance, the sign finally came into view.

Electrical Distribution Room

The moment we stepped inside, I shut the door.

It was to keep the zombies outside from getting in.

Not even a few seconds had passed when—

Bang!

Something slammed against the door.

Then more impacts followed.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The zombies drawn by the noise kept crashing into it.

There was probably already a mountain of zombies piling up on the other side.

Kwak Hanmuk made a brief comment.

“Well getting out of here is going to be fun.”

“Looks that way…”

I kicked the removable panel beneath the massive control board that covered the entire wall.

It was the access hatch for the cable conduit.

Clack.

The panel popped open slightly.

Resting atop a thick bundle of dust-covered cables was a small key.

I picked it up and stood before the soundproof door on the right.

Generator Room

The roar of the engine that had accompanied us ever since entering Basement Level 2 was much louder on the other side of the door.

Amid the engine noise came irregular banging sounds.

Bang. Bang.

As though someone were repeatedly smashing something.

“We have seven minutes left. The moment I open the door, the boss fight will begin. Just as we discussed, Captain Kwak will handle the boss while Captain Mo and I repair the generator.”

I’d already explained the plan before entering the underground area.

“Perfect. Take these.”

Kwak Hanmuk pulled three pairs of work gloves and a can of rust remover spray from his shoulder bag.

They were some of the items I’d asked him to collect in Green Zone.

Work Gloves: Watch out for the rubber smell! Disposable.

Rust Remover Spray: Spray the surface and wait one minute before wiping it clean.

Mo Haein took the spray.

The three of us put on a pair of gloves.

I inserted the key into the lock.

“I’m opening it.”

As I opened the heavy soundproof door, a deafening roar slammed into my entire body.

In the deepest corner of Basement Level 2 stood a gigantic diesel generator.

Countless hydraulic hoses and fuel lines intertwined around the massive engine.

It felt strange seeing such outdated equipment inside a state-of-the-art laboratory.

It gave me the same feeling as the old jeep and the portable cassette player.

I looked toward the staggering figure standing before the engine.

It was the underground area’s boss.

The Chef Zombie.

It wore a chef’s uniform, complete with an apron and a chef’s hat.

The Chef Zombie swayed for a few moments before violently punching the generator.

Bang!

Then it began wandering around the room in spasms, tossing everything aside, only to return again and punch the generator once more.

Every punch made the machine sound increasingly unstable.

Ding.

A system window appeared.

It seemed to contain information about the Chef Zombie, so this time I decided to read it.

But something was wrong.

The zombification is disappearing. (Current Progress: 1%)

Another window immediately appeared.

The zombification is disappearing. (Current Progress: 0%)

You have fully recovered! You are human once again.

“Gruuu…”

The Chef Zombie and I locked eyes.