Chapter 9

### Chapter 9: I Became a Game Character in the Apocalypse

The flames that started on the side road formed a wall.

"What the—"

Did someone pour oil?

Who?

Though I didn't know why, the sudden flames made the zombies, who had rushed from the art school, hesitate.

They were hesitating, having never seen such flames before.

Thump!

I felt a hand grab my shoulder.

Thinking it was a zombie, I was about to swing the steel pipe when the hand on my shoulder grabbed my elbow.

Thinking it might bite me, I was about to strike with the monkey wrench in my left hand.

"…Huh?"

The skin wasn't as pale as a zombie's.

Round eyes peeking out from under a deeply pressed hat.

It was a woman I didn't know.

The monkey wrench stopped right in front of the woman's eyes.

She looked at the monkey wrench with wide eyes, swallowed hard, and then pulled my arm.

My mind froze, and I followed her in a daze.

She headed for the building of the Flower Design Department.

As soon as we entered, she sealed the entrance and covered the windows with black cloth.

"Wait on the fourth floor."

I didn't sense any hostility from the woman.

We climbed to the fourth floor without a word and found a barricade made of desks and chairs.

Looking around for the entrance to the barricade, the woman, who had followed me, tapped my back and pointed to a small opening.

Following her, I entered through the small opening and found a tent set up in Room 407.

As I was about to enter Room 407, the woman grabbed my collar and pushed me into Room 408.

My body was at its limit, and I couldn't resist the sudden force, falling to the floor of Room 408.

Turning to look at her, she locked the classroom door without hesitation.

I looked at her with wide eyes and asked, "What are you doing? Aren't you going to unlock it?"

"I don't know."

Don't know?

What?

Looking at me with a puzzled expression, she bit her lower lip and continued, "You might have been bitten."

"I wasn't bitten."

"I don't believe you."

"Should I take off my clothes here?"

"I'll open it in 30 minutes. Wait."

When a human is bitten by a zombie, their sanity lasts for at most 20 minutes.

She was going to confine me for her own safety?

Though I felt wronged, I could understand her position.

There were no zombies in Room 408, and it didn't seem like she had any companions.

There was only one tent in Room 407, and I didn't sense anyone else.

I sat cross-legged and said, "Let's talk again in 30 minutes."

"..."

* * *

As zombies gathered in front of the dormitory convenience store, the men inside watched them with tense expressions.

The zombies in front of the store just stared blankly at the two men, not making any immediate move to attack.

As if waiting for an order.

Thud, thud.

As footsteps were heard among the zombies, the zombies in front of the store parted to the sides.

A leader zombie walked out from among the zombies.

A man hiding in the store's warehouse swallowed hard when he saw the leader zombie.

The leader zombie stared at the two men and wrote on the glass door with his finger.

-Survivor.

"That... was here just a moment ago..."

When the leader zombie didn't write anything, the man in the warehouse hurriedly made an excuse.

"We, we had no choice, that guy had a steel pipe! Besides, he wouldn't listen at all, what could we do?"

-Where did he go?

"That way, towards the art school."

The leader zombie stared at the direction Park Jae-hyung had fled, swept his bangs back, and closed his eyes tightly.

He then took a deep breath and a grating, uncomfortable voice was heard.

"Lee Ha-jin... you... I... told you... to... capture the survivor..."

"Joo Sung-hoon, you can talk now?"

"Last time... we lost the girl too..."

Joo Sung-hoon frowned, and Lee Ha-jin raised his hands as if to calm him down.

"There are still many survivors in the dormitory. I'll find them, so calm down."

"Bring... a human brain."

Lee Ha-jin nodded vigorously.

Joo Sung-hoon then frowned and clenched his teeth as if suffering from a headache.

"Find them quickly... or we'll all... die."

"Don't worry. No matter what happens, you won't change like Hyuk-jin. I'm here."

Joo Sung-hoon swallowed and pressed his temples, suppressing the zombie instincts boiling inside him.

Lee Ha-jin swallowed and quickly changed the subject.

"How did it go with Min-hyung?"

"Min-hyung... hasn't... made a choice yet."

"What do we do? If he keeps refusing to eat people, he'll change like Hyuk-jin, right?"

"For now... let's observe him."

"Make a decision as soon as possible. Otherwise, we might all die."

Bang!

Joo Sung-hoon punched the glass door and trembled all over.

Saliva dripped from his mouth, and veins bulged on his forehead.

"Can't... do it... anymore..."

Lee Ha-jin took a step back, frightened by Joo Sung-hoon's appearance.

The man at the cash register looked back and forth between Lee Ha-jin and Joo Sung-hoon and asked, "Hey, what's wrong with your friend? Why is he like that!"

Lee Ha-jin licked his dry lips, hesitated, and then opened the tightly closed convenience store door.

He then shouted at the man at the cash register, "Quickly, grab Sung-hoon's arm! I'll bring the syringe!"

"Huh? Oh, okay."

The man at the cash register quickly grabbed Joo Sung-hoon's arm and asked the man behind him, "Got it! What now?"

Click.

Lee Ha-jin locked the glass door as if he had been waiting for it.

The man who was suddenly chased out of the convenience store looked at Lee Ha-jin with a confused expression and asked awkwardly, "Hey, don't joke around. Quickly, go get the syringe..."

"Idiot. This isn't a cold. Where's the medicine?"

"...What?"

"Just let you die, moron."

Realizing the situation, the man's face turned red, and he shouted, "You f***ing...!"

Thump! Crunch!

Before the man could finish his sentence, Joo Sung-hoon, who had been trembling like a leaf, bit his neck.

Instead of finishing his sentence, the sound of bones breaking was heard for a long time.

Lee Ha-jin swallowed and watched the scene.

After Joo Sung-hoon chewed on the man's brain, the terrifying sound finally stopped.

Seeing Joo Sung-hoon calm down, Lee Ha-jin swallowed and called out to him.

"S-Sung-hoon?"

Joo Sung-hoon's lips curled up slightly.

He looked at Lee Ha-jin more relaxed, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and said, "Find the survivor quickly. Next is you."

Lee Ha-jin nodded vigorously.

* * *

How much time had passed?

Footsteps were heard in the hallway.

Opening my eyes and looking up at the glass on the top of the classroom, I saw the woman who had pushed me in here.

She looked me up and down, unlocked the lock, and said, "Sorry. I had no choice from my perspective."

"It's fine. I owe you my life, so I should be grateful."

Getting up and stepping into the hallway, the faint smell of ramen stimulated my nose.

Rubbing my stomach to suppress my hunger, I asked, "Are you... hungry?"

She was about 170 cm tall.

She led me to Room 407 and, with an awkward smile, handed me a silver pot.

There was no noodles, only red broth left.

"If you look carefully, there might be a little noodles left..."

Slurp.

Before she could finish, I lifted the silver pot and poured it into my mouth.

Even just the broth was good.

I wanted to drink something to quench my burning thirst.

The sweet taste and heavenly aroma stimulated my tongue.

It was a taste that made me feel alive.

After swallowing all the broth in the pot without breathing, I wiped my mouth with my sleeve and said, "Thank you."

"Uh-huh..."

An awkward silence fell.

Just a moment ago, I was on the brink of life and death.

The sudden change in atmosphere was awkward, and my limbs were still trembling, so I didn't know how to react.

As I ate the remaining bits and watched her, she asked, "You... did you come from the dormitory?"

At the mention of the dormitory, I raised my eyebrows and looked at her.

She smiled awkwardly and asked, "Did you see any strange men there?"

Strange men... the guys in the convenience store?

How does this woman know about the guys in the convenience store?

There's something I need to clarify first.

I looked at her and asked, "One question."

"Answer my question first..."

"How did you know?"

I asked in a calm voice, and she raised her eyebrows and asked, "What?"

"How did you know I was outside?"

She looked flustered, avoided my gaze, and answered, "I heard the sound..."

"Did you set the fire? How did you find my location so quickly?"

She didn't answer.

With the fog, it was hard to see even 5 meters ahead, so finding my location so quickly didn't make sense.

Moreover, blocking the zombies with the fire was an incredible timing.

I looked at her face and asked, "Are you a Last Ark player?"

She stared at me with wide eyes, licked her dry lips, and asked, "How do you know about Last Ark? Could you be one too?"

I nodded, and she looked surprised and couldn't hide her smile.

Such a different reaction?

She then extended her right hand and said, "Nice to meet you, I'm Seol Yewon."

"Park Jae-hyung."

"Wow, you're really a player."

"Are you Gabriel?"

Seol Yewon nodded vigorously and sighed in relief.

By the way, if you're a player, why ask if I'm a real player?

Confused, I looked at Seol Yewon and asked, "Have you met other players besides me?"

"No, but I've met guys who lied about being players."

"Lied?"

In this crazy world, it's unlikely that a regular person would know it's based on Last Ark.

So, how could they lie about being players?

It didn't make sense logically.

Suddenly, I remembered the question Seol Yewon had asked me earlier.

-Did you see any strange men there?

The guys in the convenience store.

I looked at Seol Yewon with a calm expression.

She then asked awkwardly, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Did you also meet the men in the dormitory convenience store?"

"..."

She seems like someone who can't lie.

Even though she didn't answer, her expression revealed everything.

I'm not sure if I should call her pure or naturally good.

She saved my life and gave me ramen broth because she cared about people.

But through experience, she developed a distrust of people and, being meticulous, confined me in Room 408.

I sighed and said, "I almost got caught too. I ended up here while trying to escape."

"They didn't follow you, did they?"

"If they had, I wouldn't be here alone."

"Oh... right."

Seol Yewon scratched her forehead and hesitated, then slowly explained her experiences.

When the fog spread and a week had passed, Seol Yewon, running out of food, came out to survive.

I could somewhat understand her situation.

I had also decided to do something when the food prepared by Jang Byung-chul ran out.

"Leaving the dormitory, a hologram appeared in front of me."

"Quest?"

"Yes, a main quest and an S-rank quest to check on my parents at home."

So, she left the dormitory for her parents?

Of course, in such a situation, family would be the first concern.

I also received an S-rank quest to check on my parents.

You can only have one S-rank quest, and it's considered a main quest.

Seol Yewon's home was in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province.

When I said my hometown was Jamsil, she widened her eyes and muttered, "Wow, really."

The tension in Room 407 eased.

We lived in neighboring areas.

Living nearby, we somehow met in Gyeongsan.

After this brief introduction, I asked how she had survived so far.

Seol Yewon said she had searched for a safe house after leaving the dormitory.

"I wanted to find a safe house and then look for other players."

Gabriel's advantage was the ability to see through the fog, allowing her to avoid zombie threats in advance.

She searched the dormitory to see if there were any survivors and gathered necessary items in the process.

The current tent, burner, lighter, steel pipe, and food were all obtained then.

My weapon was a steel pipe, and Seol Yewon's was also a steel pipe.

Her steel pipe, unlike mine, was about 3 cm in diameter with a sharp end.

When I asked where she got it, she said she took it from the fountain in the dormitory pond.

Seol Yewon looked at me with curious eyes and asked, "We were both in the dormitory, so why didn't we meet before?"

"Our schedules were different."

Seol Yewon had left the dormitory complex a week before me.

I had waited for rescue for two weeks, rationing the food in my room, so it was a natural result.

I felt a bit embarrassed.

Seol Yewon... had accepted the collapsed world a week before me and moved to survive.