Chapter 12
The player must deliver supplies to a research laboratory while avoiding zombies in an apocalyptic world.
The goal is to help a lone researcher survive by supplying food while they develop a vaccine for the zombie virus, gather the necessary research materials, and ultimately complete the cure.
“The Trial has been classified as Four-Star Difficulty. Captain Mo Hae-in and Captain Gwak Han-muk are entering this Trial for the first time, but they have already studied the strategy.”
Much like the Korean military’s alert levels, the Trial Response Administration also ranked Trials according to difficulty.
Unlike the military’s warning system, however, the Administration assigned higher danger as the number of stars increased.
Trials ranged from one to six stars, with ratings determined by various overall factors.
The Happy Smile Factory that they had sealed earlier had been rated three stars.
Although its boss monster was powerful, its mechanics were well understood, and it contained useful items along with extra lives.
“Mr. Han Goyo, are you certain you’ll be alright?”
Giving a four-star Trial as a trainee’s first mission was far from normal.
But if one was to serve on the Special Operations Team, clearing four-star Trials was simply expected.
“I’ll be fine.”
“In that case, before we begin the detailed briefing… are you familiar with the organisational structure of the Trial Response Administration?”
“…Please explain it.”
In truth, he already knew everything.
But pretending to know in front of Gwak Han-muk and Mo Hae-in would only make him seem more suspicious.
I’d just end up looking even more suspicious.
So he decided to treat it as a review.
The holographic display floating in the air changed.
“The Trial Response Administration consists of four headquarters and ten teams. Rather practical for a government agency. Though now, it has become eleven teams.”
A single team branched off from the otherwise vertical organisational chart.
It was the Special Operations Team, reporting directly to the Commissioner.
“The Field Response Headquarters, our First Headquarters, consists of three teams.”
Mo Hae-in commanded Field Team 2.
Gwak Han-muk commanded Field Team 3.
Han-muk’s team also handled the pursuit of Adapted individuals who committed crimes.
The person who had dispatched Han-muk on the day Han Goyo cleared Happy Smile Factory with Mo Hae-in…
…had been Samra.
Having predicted the possibility that Park Seong-gyeon might commit a crime, Samra had sent Han-muk as reinforcement.
“As Mr. Han Goyo is already aware, the Special Operations Team is currently missing one member.”
The display zoomed in on Field Team 1.
“This individual serves as the commander of the Field Response Headquarters, the leader of Field Team 1… and will also be the captain of our Special Operations Team.”
The screen changed.
A photograph appeared alongside a brief profile.
Lieutenant Colonel Je Hyeon-oh
(BT-Z Virus Infected Individual)
Extreme aggression caused by infection.
The man in the photograph was wrapped from head to toe in black equipment, like a crow.
Only a few strands of dark purple hair peeked out beneath the hood pulled low over his head.
With goggles and a gas mask concealing his face, he had become one of the infected—his body transformed by a Trial virus.
“He is currently inside Dead Zone Delivery.”
Han Goyo stared silently at the words:
Extreme aggression caused by infection.
The text suddenly shifted.
More words appeared.
Extreme aggression… directed toward Trials as a result of infection.
Samra smiled pleasantly.
“He’s quite gentle with civilians.”
Had Han Goyo known nothing about Je Hyeon-oh, those words might have reassured him.
Instead, he simply stared at Samra.
Samra’s smile widened.
His eyes gleamed brightly.
Then, pretending he had just remembered something, he added,
“Though he’s a little rough with Adapted individuals.”
An AI… pretending it forgot something?
While Han Goyo found the act ridiculous, Samra seemed genuinely fascinated.
Because Han Goyo knew information about Je Hyeon-oh.
Information no outsider should ever possess.
Classified information belonging to the Trial Response Administration.
Maintaining Samra’s curiosity toward him was essential if he wanted to continue their partnership.
For that reason, Han Goyo decided he wouldn’t bother pretending ignorance whenever Samra was involved.
“I think Samra’s malfunctioning.”
Gwak Han-muk glanced at the AI.
“His eyes are shooting lasers. Think smacking him would fix it?”
“Such primitive methods have no effect on me.”
Samra answered calmly before continuing.
“Dead Zone Delivery is Lieutenant Colonel Je Hyeon-oh’s designated Trial. Under normal circumstances, it is cleared in approximately two days. However… ten days have now passed without completion.”
Han-muk accidentally squeezed a bag of snacks too hard while opening it.
Pop!
The packet burst open, scattering crisps across the table.
Mo Hae-in casually picked one up and ate it.
Han Goyo managed to grab exactly one before stopping himself.
“The Special Operations Team’s mission is to achieve the True Ending… and rescue Lieutenant Colonel Je Hyeon-oh.”
No one actually believed they were rescuing him.
There was no chance Je Hyeon-oh was trapped inside.
He simply refused to come out.
Why he had stayed inside for ten days remained a mystery.
Everyone silently interpreted the mission as capture rather than rescue.
Han Goyo, however, felt nervous for an entirely different reason.
I’ll only know once we’re inside…
…but I have a bad feeling the True Ending conditions might no longer be possible.
Considering what Je Hyeon-oh tended to do inside Trials…
…it was a perfectly reasonable concern.
He had to clear three Trials within a month.
He didn’t have the luxury of re-entering Dead Zone Delivery later.
Please… just behave yourself for once.
“To help Mr. Han Goyo understand, allow me to explain the BT Virus.”
Although Samra assumed Han Goyo already knew, he explained anyway.
Han Goyo simply nodded along.
“The viruses generated by Trials are collectively designated Beyond Trial Viruses, or BT Viruses. Individual strains are classified according to each Trial’s code.”
Happy Smile Factory was designated BT-HSF.
Dead Zone Delivery became BT-DZD.
“Through joint research conducted by myself and Director Ham Ji-wol of the Research & Analysis Headquarters, the Administration has successfully developed vaccines against several BT Viruses.”
Each Trial’s virus possessed unique properties.
Every vaccine therefore had to be developed independently.
Unfortunately…
there were still far more Trials without vaccines than with them.
Successful treatments existed for only a tiny handful.
“For that reason, BT Virus infection must be avoided at all costs.”
Five items appeared on Samra’s screen.
“The following circumstances result in infection.”
Han Goyo read through them one by one, checking whether they matched what he remembered.
- Completing specific quests or using certain items.
- Contact with NPCs.
- Failing to clear the Trial.
- Trial explosion.
- Infection from another infected individual.
“About number five.”
Having finished his snacks, Han-muk brushed the crumbs from his hands.
“For this Trial, just think of it as a regular zombie virus.”
Han Goyo agreed.
BT Viruses really were similar to zombie viruses.
If infected blood or bodily fluids entered a person’s body…
…infection occurred.
Furthermore, infected individuals became highly aggressive toward humans.
There were rare exceptions who remained calm.
Je Hyeon-oh was one of those unusual cases.
Neither gentle…
…nor blindly violent.
“The Administration quarantines infected individuals who cannot be cured. Those beyond control are executed to prevent further spread.”
Having nearly been riddled with bullets himself…
Han Goyo found the statement a little too relatable.
After calmly uttering those terrifying words, Samra looked at each member of the Special Operations Team.
“We are doing everything possible to develop vaccines and treatments. However, the rate at which new Trials hatch exceeds our progress. That is precisely why achieving True Endings is so important.”
Mo Hae-in finally spoke.
“It’s the only way to restore infected individuals without a cure.”
When a Trial was permanently sealed…
everyone whose body had been transformed by that Trial returned to normal.
That was why the workers from Happy Smile Factory had emerged with all four limbs intact instead of toy replacements.
“Dead Zone Delivery has no vaccine.”
“And naturally… no treatment.”
“It’s a zombie virus. The infected are extremely aggressive.”
“If you’re infected…”
“…you’ll be executed immediately.”
“Understood?”
Mo Hae-in fixed Han Goyo with a sharp gaze.
“I’m asking whether you’re prepared to stake your life on this, trainee.”
Han Goyo couldn’t answer immediately.
Not because he was frightened.
But because he had suddenly remembered exactly why he had always liked Mo Hae-in as a character while playing Archive.
Someone who had always existed only beyond a screen…
…was now standing before him.
A real person.
Someone worrying about him before he walked into a place where he might die.
A smile escaped him before he realised it.
“Thank you for your concern.”
His sincere gratitude caught Mo Hae-in completely off guard.
Han-muk stared at him the same way he stared at a malfunctioning Samra.
Feeling embarrassed, Han Goyo added,
“I’ll do my best.”
Mo Hae-in opened her mouth…
then simply replied,
“…Good.”
She turned her head away.
*
Dead Zone Delivery had hatched inside the National Institute of Infectious Diseases.
Since Osong Station was nearby, Han Goyo had assumed they would take the KTX.
Instead…
they travelled by helicopter.
It was his first helicopter ride.
Thanks to advance coordination with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, entering the laboratory itself proved surprisingly easy.
Han Goyo.
Samra’s voice sounded through his earpiece.
The devices couldn’t be brought into a Trial.
They only functioned beforehand.
You don’t need to reply. Simply listen.
Realising the transmission was directed solely at him, Han Goyo glanced ahead.
Mo Hae-in and Gwak Han-muk were speaking with the laboratory director.
Lieutenant Colonel Je Hyeon-oh will be handled by Captains Mo Hae-in and Gwak Han-muk.
If conflict occurs…
Stay away from him.
A red light blinked from one of the corridor’s CCTV cameras.
Samra was watching him through the laboratory’s security system.
He used someone else’s equipment as naturally as breathing.
At this point in time…
…you are one of a kind.
In other words—
Survive the Trial.
By any means necessary.
Even if that meant using Mo Hae-in and Han-muk as bait.
Sorry…
I’m an all-happy-endings kind of player.
He had no intention of clearing a Trial that way.
Without showing agreement or disagreement, Han Goyo silently continued walking.
The laboratory director stopped before a massive steel door.
“This is the place.”
Unlike Happy Smile Factory…
Dead Zone Delivery had been sealed under far stricter security.
Residential apartments and schools surrounded the area.
“We wish you good luck.”
The director practically fled.
Mo Hae-in scanned her access card.
The heavy steel door opened.
At the centre of the spacious chamber rested a shattered meteorite.
It was roughly the size of an ostrich egg.
A large crack split its surface.
An eerie emerald light leaked from within.
Every Trial’s meteorite looked different.
Each glowed with its own colour.
Green suited Dead Zone Delivery perfectly.
“Special Operations Team entering.”
Mo Hae-in delivered one final report before placing her hand upon the meteorite.
Fluorescent light flooded everything.
The world melted away.
*
Han Goyo awoke in a deserted alleyway within an abandoned city.
Unsteadily climbing to his feet, he headed toward the main street.
Player Han Goyo (Gunbam) has entered <Dead Zone Delivery>!
Main Quest:
Clear the zombie-infested world with the True Ending.
You have successfully sealed your first Trial.
Upgrade your abilities as a System by achieving your second True Ending.
Success: Survival!
Failure: …
The familiar system window suddenly lagged.
Failure…
It remained frozen.
Nothing but endless dots.
After waiting patiently…
it finally responded.
Failure………………………………
Un…? Known??
Han Goyo stared blankly at it.
After all that waiting…
“Unknown?”
Seriously?
He sighed at the utterly useless system before looking down at his clothing.
A short-sleeved shirt.
Military trousers.
Dog tags hung around his neck.
He picked up the identification tag.
Republic of Korea Army
20XX0229
Gunbam
AB (Rh−)
Instead of a service number…
only his birth date had been engraved.
When he had played the game…
the dog tag had never been visible.
Seeing his birthday and blood type accurately engraved now sent an unpleasant chill down his spine.
“Goyo!”
Not far away, Gwak Han-muk waved enthusiastically like some neighbourhood delinquent while walking over.
At some point, he had found an old baseball jacket and thrown it on.
“Looks like Captain Mo didn’t spawn near us.”
“Should we head to the Green Zone?”
The Green Zone contained the survivors’ camp.
The question also served as a subtle test to see how much Han Goyo knew about Dead Zone Delivery.
“No.”
Han-muk tilted his head.
Normally…
every player established the Green Zone as their first base.
It was the safest and most conventional strategy.
But Han Goyo needed to reach the True Ending as quickly as possible.
I’ve only got a month.
I need to save time for the other Trials.
He picked up a bloodstained baseball bat lying on the ground.
“Before that…”
Turning toward Han-muk…
he made a suggestion.
“How about we kill a few people first?”
