Chapter 28
cpypnm7For a moment, I doubted what I had just heard.mQOC
lyeqZaLee Gaon’s sobbing voice continued.yPxk8nG
76ip“Sniff… Mr. Gunbam… Hic… I’ll wait for you in the laboratory…”uKM5KWF
jKuYThe transmission ended.XcH
nABbFor someone who had just said she had killed someone, she sounded relatively calm.gZIiW6
Qc1rIWdEven so, it was still shocking.3viLg
fnI9nWhat the hell had happened upstairs?Yq5L
ZIXIAI wouldn’t know until I saw it for myself, but the curiosity was killing me.WHRqe
hHWi8D1‘Was it Tak Jucheol… or Paeng Sangdo?’DdqT
9LUuPaeng Sangdo talked too much.cTbhK
KxmYfIt was possible that Lee Gaon had lost her temper and impulsively killed him.0ilUDMY
CO7Although Tak Jucheol wasn’t much better.giWxWY
vFK6iTEvery time he opened his mouth, he was just as unpleasant, so there was also a good chance he had been the victim.ifa
TOfOAs I wondered which one it had been, I discreetly shifted my gaze toward Kwak Hanmuk and Mo Haein.gVBn4
hdJcmHMo Haein barely reacted to the announcement.GVv
fl7U5KKwak Hanmuk, meanwhile, continued pinning the Chef Zombie beneath his boot as he remarked admiringly,lIs4Jw
q9tAd3Z“Wow, that researcher looked innocent, but she’s got guts.”7icW2e
QjgEven though the boss battle had already ended, the Chef Zombie continued writhing beneath his military boot.G2Cuo
vomlHe was desperately trying to gather the fragments of the gonggi stones scattered across the floor.d7pVA
UE7hQWcHis bloodstained fingers scraped repeatedly against the metal floor.0eoTCE
v54After the battle ended, his body had returned to its original form.foeGL
sCS0NBut if he kept using his hands like that, he’d eventually destroy them.pr5wvP
lRBECRyI hurriedly unclipped the carabiner and ran over to the Chef Zombie.mW4n84r
xsXVWith Kwak Hanmuk’s help, I tied him securely with the climbing rope and fastened him to a metal shelving unit in the generator room.045
GfCGg“What if he breaks the rope?”Aueh8SY
ACzc“I’m going to set up a very simple backup mechanism.”p2R
9BJ5USI climbed onto the metal shelving unit and tied a string to a pipe on the ceiling.YCkX
5Pr7EAAt the hanging end, I tied a gonggi stone.qdWVi
VP76vrnThe vibration from the generator’s engine caused the stone to sway slightly.2qaU
gbZFThe Chef Zombie couldn’t take his eyes off it.JtV
I29yJ“Even if he breaks the rope and manages to climb onto the shelving unit, with that injured leg, he won’t be able to reach it.”PF328J
zoLemSince all of his attention would be focused on the stone hanging just out of reach, he wouldn’t have time to do anything else.dTN8WzY
84DPKwak Hanmuk frowned at the precautions I was taking.8Ya
q2FxYOBBut perhaps because I had told him it was related to the True Ending, he decided not to argue any further.87gx
SILyHe took off his work gloves, which were soaked in oil and blood, and stretched with a long yawn.P66lxjS
X3utmwO“Huff… I’m exhausted. As soon as we get back to the laboratory, I’m going to scarf down a chocolate bar.”jO4QT
DgxiThen he started throwing punches into the air as he laughed.YL8R
MlK“I’m gonna beat the hell out of that chocolate bar!”iemTf
SD76n0Mo Haein looked at him with complete disapproval.CYs4U
F0oCLuI looked at the two of them before cautiously asking,jGmtJ
0gb7“Uh… aren’t you going to arrest me? Or will you do it after we finish the mission?”4pCIkX
KnW5I wanted to prepare myself mentally, so I took the opportunity to justify myself.PMxqlHG
K0cI“The truth is, I don’t know why my eyes turned like this either. And for some reason, the zombie infection disappeared, though I don’t know why that happened either…”D6y
slv“Did you forget already?”qt1qup
EO9U1Mo Haein interrupted me.gXl3X
zw6uzH6“That’s exactly why you’re still a recruit.”qIZ
ozp6GW“…Ah.”h51
wF3H5That’s right!1qo8
FLoI’d already been arrested!jCU
sPTexEdAll the worries I’d had up until that moment disappeared instantly.SgX
65wXJUOIt had already been confirmed that I was an anomaly.cwjFb2
AmOrv7And the only thing the Trial Response Agency wanted to verify was whether I could actually clear three Trials within one month, just as I had promised.2cz
S9PdcgThe fact that my eyes were now glowing as well was a trivial detail compared to the success or failure of clearing the Trial.AiiiH
792gjiI felt much more at ease.9598DEt
cS4xWXI smiled faintly and bowed my head.Nd9gqy
knj0“Thank you.”Ms3
g1WcO“You have nothing to thank me for.”1azZ5
SmYwBMo Haein answered firmly, clearly drawing a line.8h5
tE9Then she gestured with her chin toward the emergency generator, which was roaring once again.UE8AQ9
RHXXN“Why did it suddenly break down?”dJ3mrED
hKHS“I don’t know.”sTHpvg
BtiezShe stared at me.Eiv4Ftg
zDEHer expression seemed to say,0Sc
GJMSISo there are things you don’t know after all.XcWMtP
uYGm‘Of course there are plenty of things I don’t know.’FRe
Q38POIXI knew every detail related to the game I had played.iWzBDQ
bEgBut beyond that,WpnST
c6YLI knew nothing.RJg
E4WykPgOr rather, I couldn’t know.Ec1E
goGK2RSThe generator’s sudden malfunction was exactly what puzzled me the most.Ao3X
EU1CKMBMy eyes turning golden could more or less be explained by the fact that I had become the System.6ugcWe
3wDEVThe system windows themselves had hinted at something like that.z1v
0O3LDwE‘It would actually be stranger if becoming the System hadn’t caused any changes.’NXX8KU
1IxFDBut the generator.eXfv
T3zMNo matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find a single clue.KBCfv
mZYEd0Before entering his berserk state, the Chef Zombie didn’t possess enough destructive power.gNi
gl9NIt was impossible for the generator to have ended up in that condition without some outside factor.p0u
eZ8In fact, at first I had even wondered.lLbiNt
Kkih‘Could Lieutenant Colonel Je have come crashing into the generator instead of collecting the items I asked him to get?’MGI913t
UWdDoThe only hypothesis I could come up with was that changing the True Ending might have caused some kind of effect.786vLJD
LMfJlSc‘Although I’m not even sure about that.’QheJr
SiNFor the time being, my value to the Trial Response Agency depended on the knowledge I possessed about the Trials.RQjLF
rlxIf things kept diverging like this from now on,CxfZT
Af0deHI’d be in trouble.YYgptZt
lUn0aIf possible, I needed to figure out the cause.S43
ICQ“I’m fucking starving… enough already…”2eJzmsR
4tOVpPAt Kwak Hanmuk’s gloomy muttering, I immediately stopped thinking and started walking.vfg0d
Jh4rThe route back to the laboratory was completely different from before.VvGQi
SmHG3dLOnce the Chef Zombie had been defeated, part of the underground area became sealed off, but in exchange, the staircase became usable again.IIKmzRH
wYmH0pThe emergency stairs that had been blocked when we first entered the underground level were now open, but no one was surprised.f2Q0
0k8axvAlthough it mimicked reality with remarkable accuracy, the Trial was still a virtual space.uCz
IsPSince it operated according to the game’s rules, no matter how realistic Dead Zone Deal was, it was inevitable that it would contain unrealistic elements.nsPiBX
9u62OOn the way back, I picked up a couple of snacks and handed them to Kwak Hanmuk.hCBQlV4
HM0JCovered in grease and completely filthy, he tore open the wrapper of a Choco Pie with his teeth, without using his hands, and stuffed the entire thing into his mouth.w2sBUPj
VmB6As he chewed the cake, he crushed the zombies that lunged at him.snnL
YQJYy80All of this had happened because I had turned human again.5tvT
bBtFeeling somewhat guilty, I promised to get him even better snacks.y2J
qdgD8uSWhen we reached the sixth floor, the zombies that had respawned gave us a warm welcome.WRA
foCGWhile Kwak Hanmuk and Mo Haein dealt with them, I ran to the laboratory door and pounded on it.iZ0NfAp
dUMf6hQ“Lee Gaon! Lee Ga—!”ieKQJtg
yCIferI didn’t even get to call her name twice.v3B4q4K
CVkThe door opened.8CEExN
uvQXrQ“Mr. Gunbam!”tWtz1gT
wVG2iNXLee Gaon grabbed me and pulled me inside.oeg
lwGbHEfSince I was exhausted after fighting the Chef Zombie, I ended up letting her drag me.oVRDg
xzOsvMuThen, the next moment, she hugged me tightly.jZVg
Bb17rQ“Mr. Gunbam, Mr. Gunbam…! I knew you were still alive!”M4Dys
3OvtThe hug caught me off guard.WnyY
zrxBut I quickly recovered and awkwardly patted her on the back.RcNctp
zsdweThe part of my chest where she had buried her face was soon soaked with tears.4f6n
zJsmAfter crying her heart out for quite a while, she finally calmed down and lifted her head.88nYl
mXijcGently, I eased away from her a little and asked,GwXGqrF
pAGp“Are you hurt?”BzeRqj
Mkru“No. I only have a few bruises.”rOdjYlP
vfIvShe showed me her arm, which was completely covered in bruises.WIPW0
lyZuR1DIn a normal world, anyone would have been horrified to see such a bruise.81AjFsZ
j0JaaUBut in Dead Zone Deal, getting out alive while paying only that price was practically a bargain.dYLr
zqXI let out a sigh of relief and looked around the laboratory.P7fwh
iYCI searched for Tak Jucheol and Paeng Sangdo.JcMLWD
TbyqlBut they were nowhere to be seen.5PN6
S8oBc8Z“I’m glad to hear that. Could you tell me what happened?”Vgq
KSjlgR“Well… you see…”T6XY
lloBLee Gaon began recounting everything that had happened while we were in the underground area.fCYl6n6
GhIh73lShortly after we left, the announcement about the laboratory lockdown had sounded.3Jp63uC
CY2uTak Jucheol and Paeng Sangdo, who had been cooperating obediently with the vaccine’s development until then, completely lost their minds the moment they heard it.6yO8cEt
ShXamSWThey started shouting that they had to escape immediately and caused a huge commotion.GtOocN1
uxtCBut it was useless.D5F
XmKzUMThe blaring announcement woke every sleeping zombie, and they flooded the entire building.HoST6O0
bxXxU4Even the sixth floor, which we had completely cleared, filled with zombies again.bPY1v1
6oZ34lGiven the physical condition those researchers were in, escaping was completely impossible.D4nht
y5PqM9HThey realized it immediately as well.PuZVL
VLxx“We’re dead! We’re all going to die!”3Vmrw35
gSBHFWhile Tak Jucheol screamed in despair, Paeng Sangdo spoke with surprising calmness.j6mLW
pS9tr“Not necessarily.”karwhG7
RWbZJSTak Jucheol, who had survived time and again thanks to Paeng Sangdo’s cunning, looked at him full of hope.Zotb
laUp7OUThen Paeng Sangdo raised a finger and pointed at Lee Gaon.oDVZ8lA
jj1hTak Jucheol and Lee Gaon both immediately understood what that gesture meant.dfzaP
FhVZlmOHe wanted to use Lee Gaon as bait to escape.ri0Da
eeHab3Exactly as they had done with Lee Seon.uKKEBJk
wg2GNMk“…Ah, right. Gaon. We still have our Gaon.”ukhPVHx
rpYaiTak Jucheol grinned from ear to ear.voUncK
mKZXNN9“Gaon, I’m begging you. You’re the only one we can count on now. We’ll take care of developing the vaccine, so…”xDE6
mF8RL“Wasn’t turning my brother into a zombie enough? Now you want to do the same to me?”vBE1A
LiTlM“Come on, that’s not what I meant.”UciX
EIgZ“Isn’t it?! What you want is for me to go out there and die!”CsqF
wqPu11“How dare you talk back to me like that?!”qCcN
XcZcTak Jucheol shouted furiously as he pointed at her.1QHt
hUi36At the same time, Paeng Sangdo threw a punch at her.Qn8a86
KYsL3ZB“I got this bruise on my arm trying to stop him.”Lr5w5t
MqR11“That’s…”WBCfUAl
hDc1I couldn’t understand how anyone could bring themselves to hit Lee Gaon.oEj33
oNGF“So I got really angry… and I shot him.”vYmyP
Q62si1“…What?”p8Tq
Uo6MXjv“Oh, the zombie captain left me a pistol. The captain who turned into a zombie first.”cEWWQN
CTVT2That wasn’t actually the part that had surprised me.s8EbGL
VwPMisunderstanding my reaction, Lee Gaon blinked.SFsIIKU
h2t7dShe seemed to wonder what else she needed to explain.m4U
F2HcDxI decided that from now on, I needed to treat her even better, so I straightened my posture and listened to the rest.DqJSV
G3bIn short.pHk
ueoPaeng Sangdo, wounded by the gunshot, crawled out of the laboratory in tears.HkqEP
tUnwrmVTak Jucheol ran after him.LES9l
5gi“I never imagined so much blood could come out of a person’s body. I’m sure he died…”ETP
ggLRGsrEven though she had fired the shot, she seemed deeply shaken by having witnessed it with her own eyes.j43XJ
hO5tAfter being left alone, she trembled for quite a while.aZwXzum
w2sThen, taking advantage of the zombies chasing Paeng Sangdo and Tak Jucheol, she went down to the broadcasting room and made an announcement looking for me.QIivE
DCi4RO“Are you sure you don’t need a research assistant?”GTzYU
LRluIf necessary, I thought I could still find one of them and bring him back.S5dFE
VXm9But Lee Gaon immediately shook her head.22A3F
t3jZR“There’s no need!”SR6
o61Up6She grabbed my clothes tightly and said desperately,mFB4264
bF2gv0“Stay here, where it’s safe. I can do everything by myself.”o22ov
mSYGuHer eyes trembled with pure anxiety.Yd9
f0MQMaFor her sake, I lied.V6Q
osOK“Yes. There won’t be any more dangerous situations.”UiU
bihSThere was still one last problem left.MFANm
8VPrBut knowing about it in advance would only make her worry, so I chose to tell a white lie.hFs
zzXUU0Visibly relieved, she finally managed a small smile.jpp
VpWxLE“But…”BSIzl
hfop2As she looked at me, she suddenly seemed to realize something.S7rSY
rlzIKe“Mr. Gunbam… Didn’t a zombie bite you?”vD2cpBI
tGKvdV3She examined me over and over again.6xuJ
ovUSkTMAfter repeatedly confirming that there were no visible signs of zombification, I decided to answer honestly.TtO2
zCtL“I know you might not believe me, but the infection disappeared.”qgErg
AyI0tRAThe moment she heard my words, she froze completely.4c2
oeLQtxHer eyes and mouth opened wide as she stared at me in astonishment.ZXuriv
zVK‘It’s normal for her to have a hard time believing it.’EPBOQ
HjdAnyone would think I’d gone crazy.D1F
cDvI was prepared to understand whatever reaction she had.qYtIqeI
HiodJNBut suddenly, Lee Gaon grabbed my arm tightly.OSsNC
s3XQprAnd as if she had just received a revelation, she exclaimed,EerZwCJ
GdNxlPG“Mr. Gunbam!”Zo7fjV
sdDCThe strength with which she squeezed my forearm was surprising.Q5JS
rqOyuoI barely had time to flinch at the gesture before her next words left me even more bewildered.HOJZDB
iEHsy0“I’m going to draw your blood.”3ZHg8y
aTxsOrkWith her eyes shining with excitement, she declared,pQpA8
N7XsR“Right now.”88yv
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