I Became a Game Character in the Apocalypse - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Yoon Hye-ri bit her lip and spoke with a worried look in her eyes.

“It’s the Department of Social Sciences. That’s our building.”

It was located near the back gate.

Seeing the thick smoke billowing from the roof raised my suspicions.

The smoke was black.

“I think there are people over there,” I said, frowning. Lee Jung-woo tilted his head and asked me, “Can you see that far?”

“No, it’s just that the smoke is black.”

“And so?”

“When something burns, it produces black smoke; white smoke rises only after everything has been incinerated. So… someone must have intentionally set the fire.”

“Maybe a gas line exploded.”

“There was no loud bang, and there’s no flame visible on the building’s exterior. The scale of the fire seems small.”

Zombies wouldn’t start a fire, so it meant there were survivors.

Seol Ye-won cleaned her glasses and squinted at the building.

“There are people.”

At Seol Ye-won’s words, the group frowned, staring intently at the Department of Social Sciences.

As we focused on the roof, we noticed something moving beyond the railing.

It looked like a small dot, making it difficult to identify.

Yoon Hye-ri anxiously asked me, “Could it be a distress signal?”

“……”

I couldn’t respond at all.

Isn’t it strange?

There aren’t any helicopters in the sky, so there’s no reason to light a fire.

The size of the smoke was just about the scale of a campfire.

If that’s the case, it means they are cooking something…

Suddenly, a sinister thought crossed my mind.

I looked back at the group and asked, “Are there any buildings around the Department of Social Sciences that could supply food? There aren’t any restaurants nearby, right?”

“Since the Department of Social Sciences is close to the back gate… there could be shops supplying food from that side?”

Shops in front of the back gate?

I shook my head and continued, “No, there’s nothing right in front of the back gate except for the district office. You have to go quite far down to find a few places.”

No matter how positively I tried to think, only the worst scenarios crossed my mind.

I bit my lower lip and glanced at Lee Jung-woo.

Seeing his troubled expression as he sighed, I wondered if he was thinking along similar lines.

Lee Jung-woo’s voice broke the silence. “It’s highly likely that… it’s cannibalism.”

“Hey, isn’t that too much imagination? I mean, cannibalism is crossing the line,” Jung Jin-young countered. I interrupted him, supporting Lee Jung-woo’s opinion.

“Hyung Jung-woo is right. It’s definitely possible.”

No matter how hard I tried to think positively, my thoughts did not shift in that direction.

I had heard stories about people drifting at sea; they say rationality doesn’t last for even a month.

As silence fell in the club room, Jeon Wan-soo, who had been observing the mood, forced a smile and spoke up.

“No matter what, cannibalism is….”

“If they’re isolated in the building without food, it’s entirely plausible. There’s a saying that after just three days without food, you can identify the house in the neighborhood that cooks the best rice.”

“……”

“They say that hunger transcends human morality.”

When I said this firmly, no one dared to argue further.

It would be wise to split the team as Lee Jung-woo suggested.

I didn’t know if the people in the Department of Social Sciences were aware of our location, but we needed a defensive force to protect the club room.

With a bitter sigh, I spoke. “Team A will stay here and guard the club room. Team B will take care of moving to the practice room.”

At the very least, Lee Jung-woo had to stay here.

Like it or not, he was the mental support for this place and the person who made the most rational judgments.

Lee Jung-woo nodded, agreeing that my suggestion was the best course of action.

Then Seol Ye-won, who was nearby, tilted her head and asked, “How about we go to the Department of Social Sciences instead?”

“Really?”

I frowned at her question, and she replied nonchalantly, “If we hesitate, we might end up in danger. Isn’t it better if we strike first?”

“Have you ever killed someone?”

I asked directly, causing Seol Ye-won to look flustered and avert her gaze.

I turned to the group with a cold expression and asked, “If those people in the Department of Social Sciences really ate human flesh, do you think they would see us as humans? Or would they think food just happens to come their way?”

“……”

“This is clearly a different issue than dealing with zombies. Besides, we have no idea how many people are in the Department of Social Sciences or what weapons they might have.”

“What should we do then? Are we just hoping the people in the Department of Social Sciences won’t come?”

“It’s true that it’s unsettling, but there’s no need for us to leap into the worst-case scenario.”

Seol Ye-won looked displeased.

Perhaps her opinion could be the right choice.

But not in the current state.

Just looking at everyone’s faces revealed the turmoil they felt, and when faced with actual people, it was clear they would hesitate.

That moment of hesitation could lead us to our deaths.

If even one person in our group gets hurt or killed, the fragile sense of stability we had found would crumble.

Moreover, if we ended up provoking those people in the Department of Social Sciences and a quest was generated to deal with them… then we wouldn’t be able to avoid a bloodbath.

I might be overreacting, but shouldn’t there be someone meticulous in our team?

Lee Jung-woo nodded and spoke. “Let’s go with what Jae-hyung said for now. That seems to be the best course of action.”

Hearing Lee Jung-woo’s words, I nodded and said, “Team B, let’s set out for the practice room before it gets any later. Team A, please set traps on each floor so that no one, be it a person or a zombie, can come up.”

“Traps? What kind?”

“That’s something Team A needs to figure out.”

“……Alright.”

As I checked the bag containing our supplies, I suggested we move, and everyone nodded, getting ready to leave.

I protected my arms and calves with books 1.5 cm thick and checked the condition of my hunting knife.

Just before we stepped out of the club room, I turned to Lee Jung-woo and said, “Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“You must not hesitate.”

Hearing that, Lee Jung-woo swallowed hard and nodded in response instead of answering.

It was a precautionary statement, but Lee Jung-woo’s position would be different upon receiving it.

If the people in the Department of Social Sciences truly did eat human flesh, even if he felt discomfort at first, they must not hesitate.

Humans are adaptable creatures and can rationalize their actions.

If hunger fills the void of discomfort, they might commit any act.

So if the people in the Department of Social Sciences attack the student union, Lee Jung-woo must be the first to draw his blade.

That’s because he is their leader, their pillar.

***

In front of the iron bars that separate the first and second floors of the circular stairs, we arranged ourselves in formation.

I positioned Jeon Wan-soo, who possessed Gabriel’s abilities, and Seol Ye-won in front and behind me.

Jeon Wan-soo and I would take the front, while Jeong Jin-young and Seol Ye-won would handle the rear.

“Did everyone wrap the tape properly?”

I asked one last time, and my group nodded while checking their arms and calves.

“We’re going.”

As we opened the iron bars and iron door to step outside, a thick fog enveloped the world.

The tension felt different when fighting outside the fog versus fighting inside it.

The pressure of being in a situation where visibility is blocked was indescribable.

‘I need to understand the zombies’ habits.’

I also needed to conduct research on zombies during this opportunity.

Since there are differences between what I know from Last Ark and reality, I couldn’t neglect my research on zombies to prepare for the future.

I moved silently, recalling the terrain in my mind.

We had confirmed our route through the map in the clubroom, so if we followed that path, we could move through less populated areas.

As soon as I exited the back door, I headed straight for the alley.

Jeon Wan-soo quickly scanned left and right to assess the presence of zombies.

The zombies that had gone out after seeing the grenade earlier were nowhere to be found.

In the fog, they appeared to be wandering aimlessly, drawn by the sounds of the wind, insects, and sparrows.

I didn’t sense any zombies’ presence when passing by the back door of the library.

With a tense expression, Jeon Wan-soo swallowed hard, grabbed my shoulder, and asked,

“Should we keep moving?”

“Are there zombies ahead?”

“No, there aren’t any, but… I feel uneasy.”

“What’s making you uneasy?”

“I’m uneasy because there are no zombies.”

He seemed overly tense.

I left a word of calm for Jeon Wan-soo and massaged his shoulder.

He rubbed his stiff neck, took a deep breath, and continued to walk while licking his dry lips.

I began to see the outlines of the tennis court, badminton court, and foot volleyball court to the left of the alley.

The weather was muggy, and breathing was difficult due to the fog.

Having only moved about 400 meters, I could distinctly hear the breathing of my companions behind me.

Grrr…

Voices of zombies echoed from beyond the tennis court’s fence.

The distance between the tennis court and the alley was approximately 30 meters.

Could their sense of smell reach this far?

Grrr… Koooor…

Grah! Kahaah…

As the zombies in the tennis court howled, Jeon Wan-soo swallowed again and asked me,

“I think they caught our scent?”

“How many are there?”

“Eighteen.”

Had their sense of smell increased compared to before?

To shake off the encroaching fear, I splashed cold water on my face and asked Jeon Wan-soo,

“Are they looking this way?”

“No one is staring, but it seems like they’re sniffing around. They keep sniffing.”

Since they hadn’t clearly identified our location yet, we needed to escape as quickly as possible.

I turned to Jeong Jin-young and Seol Ye-won, who were following behind, and said,

“I’ll increase our speed.”

In my anxious state, I quickened my pace down the alley.

As we reached the end of the alley, I heard a loud banging on the fence.

Kuuuuuh!!

Kahaahh!!

At the same time, a wet wailing began to sound.

The zombies from the tennis and badminton courts had identified our location.

If they caused such a commotion, nearby zombies would start gathering as well…

I looked at Jeon Wan-soo and asked,

“Are there no buildings taller than two stories nearby?”

“They’re all single-story buildings. You’d have to go to the engineering building to find a five-story one.”

“How far to the engineering building? About 200 meters?”

“Not 200 meters; it’s at least 400.”

What a waste to have such a large campus.

We mustn’t lead the zombies to the engineering building.

If we start modifying vehicles in the practice room, noise would definitely occur, and if there are zombies around, they would come rushing.

Thud, thud, thud…

Then I heard many footsteps coming from the left street.

Zombies from the main street were gathering after hearing the commotion from the tennis court.

The area around the practice room must remain clean at all costs.

I drew my hunting knife and said to my group,

“Everyone, run to the engineering building.”

“What are you going to do?”

“We need a decoy.”

“What?”

Jeong Jin-young’s eyes widened in surprise, and he strongly opposed it.

We didn’t have time to argue here.

With no other options, I dashed towards the left fence and shouted,

“If you don’t want to die, run to the engineering building!”

I plunged my hunting knife into the eyes of the zombies clinging to the fence and struck the handle against the iron bars to create a ruckus.

Then I could feel the footsteps approaching from the main street towards the tennis court.

As Jeong Jin-young was trying to run to my side, Jeon Wan-soo and Seol Ye-won grabbed his arm and started running towards the engineering building.

I hoped there would be no zombies at the engineering building.

Kuuuuuh!!

The zombies from the tennis and badminton courts all clung to the iron fence, causing it to bend as if it would collapse at any moment.

I was only planning to be a decoy; I didn’t intend to die here.

Now that I had sufficiently drawn their attention, I needed to find a way to survive.

The closest high-rise building here would be…

‘The library.’

The downside was that I would have to return the way I came, and it was at least 200 meters away.

Since it was still early enough that fog hadn’t filled the second floor, if I ran with all my might and went straight to the second floor, I could escape their detection range.

Without looking back, I sprinted towards the library.

Kuuuuuh!!

Along with the chilling sounds of zombies on my right, I heard numerous footsteps.

Thud! Thunk! Bang!

Then came the sound of the fence collapsing, and the zombies from the tennis court started pouring out.

Taking a quick glance back, I saw dozens of shadowy figures rushing toward me through the thick fog.

Zombies, driven by hunger.

They were fast.

Were they always this fast?

Grah!!

As I sprinted with all my might, I had no energy left to discern the zombies’ positions one by one.

I swiftly swung my hunting knife at a zombie reaching for me from the right.

I couldn’t even blink.

I had to rely on my instincts for everything.

Was that why my stats included reflexes and dynamic vision?

I couldn’t hesitate or falter.

A moment’s hesitation would lead to death.

Feeling the presence of death behind me, my hairs stood on end, and every cell in my body reacted sensitively.

After running without breathing, the exterior wall of the library finally came into view.