Chapter 18 - It Wasn't There? It Was There (1)

The zombies that Gyeongbok encountered in the sewer were not just rats but various other types as well. Unlike what Jessica said, they might be the experimental subjects that survived and were not disposed of.

Zombies with the forms of various animals blocked his path. However, they couldn't stop him completely.

- So refreshing! Haha

- Monkey Out!

- Living Points) If you have two heads, you can shoot two legs.

- If this is the case, why not just run a zoo?

A zombie with a monkey's body and a kangaroo's legs fell. It seemed to be the last one, and Gyeongbok felt the control slipping away.

“John!”

As the cutscene began, Sandra pointed in a direction. A ladder was visible in the light of the flashlight.

John immediately turned on the radio.

“Jessica, are you there?”

- Yes, yes! I'm here!

“L-21 corridor, I found a ladder. Is this the right place?”

- Ah! Yes, yes! Just a moment, I'll open it right away!

The radio abruptly cut off.

However, John and Sandra did not lower their guard. Soon, a creaking sound was heard, and light came from above the ladder.

“John!”

“Go up first. I'll follow.”

There might be zombies. John sent Sandra up first.

- Haha, finally!

- Is Jessica going to appear?

- If you look closely, you might get dizzy.

- Ah, the tension is building up!

- This is their first meeting, isn't it? Haha

- It doesn't seem like there will be a power struggle.

The viewers were eagerly anticipating the meeting of the two heroines. Just as Sandra climbed the ladder completely,

“Squeal!”

A short scream made John turn his head sharply.

“Sandra?!”

He quickly climbed the ladder.

- What?

- Is it a trap?

- Jrln

- Did Jessica get caught on the way?

The chat window was filled with speculation and questions during this short time. However, the scene John saw when he climbed the ladder was something no one had expected.

“...Sandra?”

The room was completely white, an isolation chamber. In the center, Sandra was restraining a woman in a white gown and searching her body, holding a gun in one hand.

- Oh my!

- Ah, this is Sandra.

- She's definitely taking control. Haha

- This combination might not be bad...

- They're already forming a team. Haha

Sandra, who was conducting the search, looked displeased and glared at Jessica's head before standing up.

“There doesn't seem to be any dangerous items. I apologize for the intrusion.”

“Ugh... You could have just said it...”

Jessica turned around, her voice weak. Her face came into view.

If Sandra was a cat, Jessica was more like a dog.

Her long hair had a slight blue tinge, large eyes, and porcelain-white skin. The glasses, even larger than her eyes, left a deep impression of her innocence on the viewers.

- Uh...? I like Jessica?

- Beagle hdd

- Even the dog treat fans know the characters well.

- But the Honey team won't waver!

- Honey coin crisis! Everyone to the dome!

- Weak fans, why only one?

- Let's go for polygamy! Haha

- Even the Confucian dragon has its limits.

The viewers welcomed the new heroine enthusiastically, but the player, Gyeongbok, couldn't do the same.

‘What is this?’

The uneasy feeling he had when he first met Jessica was similar to when he met Logan.

‘It's like the feeling when you see a dead animal’s body.’

Gyeongbok had seen a roadkill cat when he was young. The car owner had left it there, and the body was abandoned. The discomfort and shivers he felt then came back to him.

‘Is she like Logan, pretending to be a good person but actually a villain?’

Gyeongbok decided to keep quiet for now.

From the chat window's reactions, it seemed this was not revealed in the original route. He couldn't spoil it, so he could only watch.

“Ugh, let me introduce myself properly. I'm Jessica...”

“Given the urgency, let's skip the details.”

As Jessica tried to fix her clothes and introduce herself, Sandra abruptly interrupted.

- Sandra, taking control! The pressure is on!

- Our Sandra is at it again!

- She must be embarrassed. Haha

- One, two, three! Jessica, fight!

- She's already under pressure.

Jessica's mouth moved awkwardly, and she gave an uneasy laugh.

“Ahaha... You're right. But I still need to explain.”

She opened the pendant around her neck, and a small USB drive came out.

“What is that?”

“It's evidence. It contains data on RegenFarm's illegal experiments and bio-weapon development.”

“...Bio-weapon?!”

John and Sandra's eyes widened. Jessica, adjusting her glasses, continued seriously.

“Yes. To transmit this information externally, we need to go to the top floor, the director's office. That's the only place we can contact the outside world.”

“But we're underground, right?”

“Yes. The regular elevators are too risky. We need to use the freight elevator. I used it as well.”

“Freight? Does it go to the top floor?”

Sandra looked at her skeptically. Jessica shook her head.

“No. But it can go to the second-to-top floor, the R&D lab. From there, we need to go up manually.”

“...If it's not that difficult, why don't you do it alone?”

The sharp dialogue made the viewers even more excited.

- Ah, Sandra, taking control! She won't let it go!

- Sharp! She'll get it!

- Jessica, keep it up!

- In the original route, there was no goalkeeper?

- That's right! It's not easy now!

- But you have to take the shot!

- The fans' concepts are solid!

Jessica frowned slightly.

“I was going to explain anyway. I wish you would listen to me completely.”

“Then continue.”

“The director's office and the drug development lab have high security levels. I can't access them.”

“Can we?”

“You two will go up first, and I'll go to the control room. I'll cut the power temporarily to disable the security, and then you two can enter.”

Jessica handed the USB to John.

- It's the same as the original route, just a different location.

- Is the hidden route leading to a similar ending?

- Will it come down to choosing between Jessica and Sandra?

- The spoilers are on the edge?

- Don't forget that GodPaco is watching!

Some viewers complained that it was similar to the original route, but the cutscene wasn't over yet.

“Understood.”

“Yes, let's hurry.”

“Jessica.”

As Jessica was about to leave, John called her back.

- Huh?

- This is different?

- Shh!

John picked up a knife and cut his hand in front of Jessica.

The wound healing.

Jessica's pupils dilated when she saw this.

“Perhaps...”

“Since when has this been happening?”

Before John could ask, Jessica grabbed his hand.

“Wait!”

Surprised, Sandra tried to stop her, but Jessica pushed her hand away.

She glared at Sandra with a fierce look and then turned back to John.

“Have you ever taken a recovery drug? Have you ever been bitten by a zombie?”

“Jessica?”

“Ah! What about your memory? Is it unclear?”

“How do you know...?”

John's surprised expression mirrored the chat window's sudden change in mood.

- What? What's happening?

- Jessica...?

- Uh... Something's off?

- This isn't the Jessica I know?

- No...;; This isn't how you relieve pressure.

Even the viewers who were new to Jessica and her fans felt something was off.

“Something seems strange.”

Gyeongbok added a comment.

Jessica, startled, let go of his hand.

“Ah! I'm sorry. I sometimes get too focused and don't notice my surroundings...”

She looked similar to when they first met, but John and Sandra's eyes remained wary.

“What do you know? What did RegenFarm do to me...”

“Elixir.”

Jessica smiled faintly and looked directly at John.

“You are definitely one of the clinical trial subjects for Elixir.”

“...Elixir?”

“It's the ultimate treatment RegenFarm is researching. It can heal any damage and even grant eternal life.”

She looked at John as if entranced.

“The current situation is a side effect of Elixir. But more importantly, this is not the time for that. If you're here, the situation changes.”

“What do you mean? What changes?”

“We need to go deeper, to the lab. With you, we can create a perfect vaccine!”

She quickly tried to grab John, but Sandra blocked her.

“Don't be ridiculous.”

She glared at Jessica and pointed her gun at her.

“Do you think I'll send John to your suspicious experiments?”

Sandra's intervention made the chat window explode again.

- Of course, it's our Sandra!

- I trusted you, Sandra!

- She speaks her mind! Sandra cola!

- Why is Jessica so off?

- Her eyes are rolling. Haha

- I'm leaving the Jessica team.

But Jessica didn't back down.

“We don't have time for this. You know we need the vaccine to get out of here, right? Don't you, John!?”

The close-up of the two women's faces. Suddenly, the view changed, and warning lights appeared.

A loud noise, and the lights went out, replaced by red warning lights. A loud siren followed.

<Emergency! Emergency! Isolated experimental subjects have escaped!>

<All personnel, evacuate immediately!>

<Research building lockdown in progress!>

The voice from the speakers was mixed with shouts and gunshots.

“Oh my...”

Jessica looked around urgently.

“The elevators won't work now.”

“What?”

“Don't believe me? Check for yourself, but it will be too late by then!”

She glared at Sandra and then spoke to John.

“The only way left is to escape with the vaccine. Please, trust me.”

John, with a serious expression, held Sandra's hand.

“John...”

“Sandra, it's okay. I'll get us out of here with you.”

“Hurry!”

Jessica led the way, and John and Sandra followed as the view went dark.

- Wow! That's a man!

- John and