Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

Chapter 45

Sooyeon and I successfully escaped to the third floor of the mall. However, even at this moment, we still hear the sound of a thumping heartbeat echoed in our ears. I looked out through the broken window to check at the zombies swarming below. Wow, a lot of those guys had come.

“Seongho, wh… what are you looking at?” Sooyeon asked while stuttering a bit, probably because of her rough breathing.

“Look over there. A lot of zombies had come for us.”

“Oh my god!!” Her eyes instantly went round as soon as she saw the pack of zombies below. It was a natural reaction since the zombie wall at the tutorial wasn’t as big as this. The zombies found us and growled, but they didn’t approach us. It was because some kind of power was holding them back.

I tapped Sooyeon at her shoulder. “Sooyeon, are you a fast runner?”

“I think I’m a little faster than normal people. Why are you asking?”

“Good. From now on, all we have to do is run away. But, once the murderer’s eyes turn completely red, you have to break through the zombie wall at once.”

“Is that even possible? Look at them, they look impenetrable.” She said as she cast a skeptical look at me. It was a fair concern. They indeed look impenetrable.. However, not in the current situation. Inside a building like this, there’s a gap we could take advantage of in order to run away.

Thump-!! Thump-!!

The heartbeat becomes louder once again. Sooyeon quickly moved her hand to her mouth and muffled her own voice. I took one of her hands and ran away towards the first floor before entering the bathroom to hide. Our location wouldn’t be left unexposed for long. Just like us, who could roughly guess where the murderer is, he could also detect us with his skill. But nevertheless, there is still some time left before he comes.

I said hastily. “Earlier, on the 3rd floor, did you see the building which was connected to this building by an overpass?”

“Ah, that building? Yes, I see it.”

“Then… Go there. Once the murderer’s eyes turn red, and the zombie wall shrinks, a gap will be opened. Use that timing to climb down to the road with a rope, okay?”

“When the zombie wall shrinks? Okay.” Sooyeon nodded.

The reason I asked her to do so was because, aside from the time when the zombie wall was shrinking, the vision of the murderer was akin to an infrared vision. Therefore, it was impossible to escape or hide from them.

Sooyeon rolled her eyes and asked. “But… Do you have a rope?”

“Yes, I have it.” I said as I took a bundle of rope from my backpack and put it in her hand. “I will lure the murderer to buy you some time. When that happens, Miss Sooyeon has to tie the rope to a strong base, and observe the zombie wall. Try to find a gap among them.”

“I understand, I will do so.” It’s very convenient because she didn’t ask any questions and decided to just do what I told her to. The moment I was about to stand up, goosebumps grew all over my body as the sound of heartbeat echoed. Moments later, the murderer broke through the bathroom wall and went inside. 3 minutes and 50 seconds had passed since I blinded his eyes earlier. I could only use the same trick once again after 10 seconds.

“Sooyeon! Run!” I shouted out.

“Okay!”

The moment she ran out, the murderer’s eyes gleamed red. I pulled a shield I stored in the dimensional slot and lifted it. I could kill him here, but if I do so, Kwon would be upset.

Clang! Tang!

The murderer walked over to me and brandished his knife into me. I followed his movement and put the shield between me and his attack. I successfully blocked it, but everytime it hit, I could feel a rather strong impact pushing me back. It looked like If I did it wrongly, my bone will be dislocated.

His attack was simple, devoid of any fancy technique. But the power behind it was not at the level where normal humans could withstand. I rubbed my wrists and stepped back. The moment he approached, I threw another glowstone towards his gleaming eyes.

“Keaaakkk.” His reaction was weaker than earlier. It couldn’t be helped since this method could only be done three times to a murderer in a deathmatch event. The stun time was also reduced with every instance.

I ran and counted in my head. Now, I had no choice but to hold on until Sooyeon tied the rope. Meanwhile, the zombies outside looked at me and growled. They already moved closer than earlier. In a while, there will be nowhere for me to run to. The murderer’s footsteps behind me began to accelerate. At the same time, the heartbeat started to become even louder and frantic.

A little more, a little more…

And when I went up to the second floor, Sooyeon’s voice greets me,

“Mr. Seongho! There are zombies down there!”

“Tell me when the zombies are gone!” The timing of the moment when the zombie wall moved closer and the moment when the killer’s Enraged state was at its peak had to match perfectly.

I continued to play chase with the murderer. Though, no matter how much I ran, it was hard to lose him. His speed in the Enraged state was much faster than normal, equal to the speed at which I was running. On top of it, the narrowing zombie wall as well as the murderer’s infrared sight make things even more difficult. I’m glad his infrared sight skill has a cooldown. if it could be used continuously, like Mikyung’s blink, it would have been a disaster.

“Kuaaahkkkk!” Suddenly the murderer fell to his knees in pain. A bright red light passed through the opening of his hands which covered his head. It’s finally starting.

Sooyeon shouted hastily from above. “Mr. Seongho! The zombies…!”

“Climb down as soon as they disappear!” I answered and changed my gloves. If I use the Dex +2 gloves when climbing down the rope, it will undoubtedly become tattered. Before I get a stronger item to replace it, I need to take good care of it as much as I can.

Finally, the heartbeat echoed once again. This time it was not frantic, it was on-beat.

Thump-!! Thump-!! Thump-!!

I immediately went up to the third floor. But the murderer was already waiting for me in front of the overpass. Did he pierced through the ceiling?

By the way, Sooyeon is probably already going down by now. I don’t have to fight him directly anymore. In front of the approaching murderer, I opened the portal and went in. The murderer promptly stopped. He must be thinking about my whereabouts now.

Eat this.

Bang!!! Bang!!!

The Tokarev spewed fire as soon as I squeezed the trigger. The murderer gripped his face which was hit by the bullets

“AGGHHHHHHH!”

He won’t die because of it, but he shouldn’t be able to move for at least 10 seconds. I ran out of the portal and hit him in the neck with my ebony stick. His body rocked before crumbling to the ground once my hit connected. As I passed by the overpass, I saw zombies had completely surrounded the building. If so, it means that there were no zombies under the building where Sooyeon came down from. I kept running, then immediately went down using the rope.

As soon as I arrived at the ground, Sooyeon opened her eyes and looked at me. “Mr Seongho, how did you do that? I know you…”

“Let’s keep the question for later and run first. It’s not over yet.”

She shut her mouth and ran ahead. From our back, I could hear zombies screaming loudly. As the last zombie wall disappeared, another one was forming. At the same time, all of the negative effects on the murderer will disappear.

Kwon, you must be in front of the time shelter right now, right?

I’m on my way, so sit tight.

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I ran out with Sooyeon while pulling out a firecracker from my backpack.

“Go into the alley on the right! Never look back!” I shouted to Sooyeon.

“Yes!”

Both of us were very tired from the chase under the hot weather. But it was simply impossible to stop since the murderer was behind us. And then, with the sound of a thumping heartbeat, the deathmatch event was triggered once again.

Realizing the situation, Kwon and his subordinates, who were at the entrance of the time shelter, jumped to their feet.

“What, what? How did you get out?” Kwon said as he looked at me. Without answering, I lit the firecracker wick and threw it at them.

“Don’t look back!”

Papapang!

Because sodium was mixed in the mixture, a yellow flame bloomed fiercely. It was impossible to look beyond it for a second as it was too bright.

“Ahh!”

“I can’t see!”

I can’t see in front either, but I didn’t think too much of it as it exploded closer to where Kwon and his cronies were than where I was. I ran towards the alleyway where Sooyeon went into. From behind, Kwon was saying something, but I couldn’t hear it clearly.

And then.

Thump-!!

With the deathmatch event triggered once again, all harmful effects on him were removed and he’s reborn. Of course, Kwon’s brainwashing is also released. As I hid behind Sooyeon and the building, I heard the killer approaching.

“Hey, just stand there. You bastard can’t even do your job proper- Hey, can’t you hear me? Stay there!” Kwon tried to control the murderer. It seems like he thinks the murderer is still under his control. I went up to the second floor of another building with Sooyeon. The messy entrance of the underground parking lot was there for us to see.

“Stop there! Hey bastard! Stop!

“The arrow doesn’t work!”

“Ouch! That bastard tried to attack me!”

The sound of Kwon’s subordinates being hacked to pieces by the murderer could be heard. If they didn’t use their molotov cocktail, they would have a hard time fighting him. Kwon seemed to think so too, so he shouted.

“What are you doing? We have a molotov cocktail left. Throw it!”

When someone threw a molotov cocktail, the asphalt caught fire.

“AGHHHHH!” The murderer was instantly engulfed in flames and shouted in pain. Nevertheless, he didn’t stop attacking. Two people have already died, falling victim to the murderer’s emotionless knife. Now, only Kwon and his two men left.

The three of them ran into the same alley where both me and Sooyeon went into earlier, it seems like they were tired fighting against the murderer even though he was engulfed in fire.

Are you planning to join the rest of your subordinates?

I whispered to Sooyeon, “Watch out for anyone coming. The rest of his men will come.”

“I see.” She turned and nodded her head.

I notched an arrow to my bow and aimed it towards Kwon who was running. Unfortunately, when I let it loose, the arrow didn’t find its target. Kwon then looked at me.

“You bastard, I don’t know who you are but-“

Without being able to finish his words, Kwon’s body wobbled. He hit debris scattered on the road. In this ruined world, one always had to check for obstacles wherever they were going. I fired arrows one after another, but nothing hit the target. I found it extremely difficult to hit moving targets.

Then, Sooyeon whispered urgently from behind. “I think his subordinates are coming.”

Shit, they came earlier than I thought. At the same time as my thoughts, a hail of arrows flew over my head. I ducked down and hid behind the wall. Looking out through the broken window, Kwon had successfully joined his men. One of his men ran to the murderer. It seems like he was trying to run away using his subordinates as a shield. When the two met each other, his subordinate screamed and died instantly.

I took a plastic flame can from my backpack and tossed it towards them with all my might. When it landed and exploded, the two were engulfed in flames in an instant. The murderer struggled, but since the fire was made to be sticky, it wouldn’t come off. Then, I fired three arrows in succession at the murderer. When the last arrows dug deep to his body, The murderer’s upper body twitched and he slowly fell to his knees, immobilized. It seems that the damage from the previous flame can was great. At that time, a message popped up in front of my eyes.

“This…” Kwon stared blankly at his subordinate who died together with the murderer.

Do you have that much leeway?

I also fired arrows at Kwon, but it didn’t hit him as his remaining subordinates blocked it with their body. In retaliation, they shot arrows at me simultaneously. One of the arrows brushed my shoulder, leaving a stinging sensation.

“Keukk.” When I ducked down to take cover again, Kwon’s furious voice echoed.

“You are that guy! I will definitely catch you and kill you!”

I wrapped my arms around my shoulders to stop the bleeding. Sooyeon, who was hiding in the hallway, came out and covered my shoulder with her hand.

“Don’t move. I will treat you.” A bright light emanated from her hand. I marveled at the sight. It was my first time seeing a healing unique ability. The bleeding stopped instantly and the open wound closed. As the light disappeared, she let go of her hand, looking a little sad.

“Sorry. I’m still not good enough, so that’s all I can do.”

“No, this is enough.” The wound wasn’t completely healed, but the pain was already gone. When I listened to the sound outside, I could hear Kwon’s terrified voice. It was only natural, now that the deathmatch event was finished, the zombie wall would crumble, and I wonder who will the zombies hunt? Of course, the group with the most people.

“Run, run!” I peeked out and watched them run with their tail between their legs.

“He has a lot of subordinates.”

“That’s why the zombies rushed towards them. Let’s run away too.”

“Yes.”

If I use the guns here, I would be able to kill several of Kwon’s men, but I decided to not do it. It was not worth the bullets. We went down to the first floor, lured zombies with firecrackers, and checked the entrance to the time shelter.

“I think it’s still fine.” Even though it was a bit tattered because of all sorts of crazy things Kwon’s men did to it, the door was still strong. Seems like more firepower was needed to open the door. A good information was acquired. Both of us walked away from the entrance and headed to Eden Villa.

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Once we returned to Eden Villa, Sooyeon didn’t ask me anything. She’s a smart woman so there’s no way she couldn’t have analyzed what happened earlier. So, it seems like she decided not to ask, in consideration of me.

She put an ointment on my wounds and wrapped it in bandages. Then, said. “Now, what should I do, Mr Seongho? A lot of people have died… I don’t think I can live in this area anymore.”

“That’s right. It’s indeed dangerous to have that guy around. Even though he still didn’t know about this place, I think it will be better for Ms Sooyeon to move out.”

“To Mr Seongho’s house?”

“No. That’s not it. But around.”

Sooyeon smiled and she sat down next to me. “I think so too. It’s annoying to have men living with me. And I also want to go with people I know well. Haha, how did this happen?”

Well, the answer was probably because of the zombie apocalypse. I grabbed my backpack without saying a word.

“Are you leaving already?” She asked me.

“Yes. Even if you want to take a break, you should go home first.”

“Well, that’s true… Please wait a bit.” She went to one side of her room and returned with an umbrella stand full of carbon arrows. “I have only this to give you. Thank you very much. If it wasn’t for Seongho, I would be…”

“I wonder what will happen.” I said before she could finish her words.

“No. I knew very well what would happen. Earlier, I really didn’t know what to do. After all, what you know in your head and reality are two different things.”

“The compensation for saving ms Sooyeon’s life, I will receive it well” I put the arrow in my backpack.

“Mr Seongho, you are a person who has a lot of secrets. I personally guessed it, but I thought it would be better not to say anything.”

“To say it was a secret is a bit… It’s not even that great.”

“Let’s leave it like that then. I thought if you decided to stay a little bit longer, I was going to serve you a meal…”

“I don’t think I can, Dingo is waiting at home.”

“Then you should leave quickly. To think he can be left alone at home, he’s a truly smart dog.”

“Well, if he wasn’t that smart, I won’t take him in in this kind of apocalyptic world.” I nodded at her and walked towards the door.

“Be well, Mr Seongho… Let’s meet again later.” She waved her hand helplessly. She seems to be thinking about the dead man that she went with from her group.

As soon as I left Eden Villa, I went into one of the buildings. When I opened the portal, Dingo quickly ran and jumped towards me. It seems like he was bored out of his mind waiting for me. If he’s just a little bit bigger, I would’ve brought him.

I checked the message I ignored earlier.

“1 Level up and 200 points…” It wasn’t quite what I expected, but it was still a good result. The skill I got by killing the murderer is Life Tracking. It was a skill which would give the user the ability to track the traces of any living being, if they managed to lock their eyes towards the target for more than a certain amount of time.

“Good for hunting and good for running away…” Anyway, it was a good skill which would give my survivability a big boost. It’s a pity that an item didn’t come out, but it can be supplemented through other ways.

“Auction House.” I closed my eyes shut as soon as I saw a panty being auctioned. Why did he put what he wore on the Auction House, seriously?

As soon as I checked it, I was left speechless.

“What are you doing in North Korea? No, how did you even get there in the first place?” I couldn’t imagine how did Rabbit Pwincess managed to go to North Korea. Is it because he found a labyrinth, wandered inside and ended up there?

“That’s probably the case.” No matter how stupid someone is, there’s no way that they will end up in North Korea by taking the wrong road, right?

-Seeeexxxxx!! There’re so many zombies here in North Korea!! But there’s nothing to be eaten here, I’m famished! Come here if you want to farm!

Hmm… I was tempted to do so for a moment, but I quickly close the Auction House while shaking the stupid thoughts away. Moreover, with his unique skill, it can be said that he’s immortal, so even without me, he’ll be fine.

I took Dingo and returned to Earth. It’s time to go home. Once I arrive, I’ll try to buy a good item with the points I’ve accumulated.