Chapter 13

Gwak Han-muk opened his mouth.

“…Wow.”

He dashed over in a single bound and threw an arm around my shoulders with a loud thump.

“I’ve been called a crazy bastard plenty of times, but I’ve never actually met one before.”

Grinning wide enough to reveal his sharp canine teeth, Gwak Han-muk praised me.

“Goyo, you’re a real lunatic.”

“Thank you.”

When I thanked him sincerely, he burst into loud laughter.

I also picked up a baseball bat and handed it to him as a gift.

Encouraged by his enthusiastic support, I explained my plan.

“A group has occupied the convenience store.”

The gang occupying the large convenience store had committed every crime imaginable in the zombie world—murder, arson, looting, everything.

There were about five or six of them.

If left alone, they’d keep sabotaging players all the way to the end of Dead Zone Delivery.

They were bad enough to make zombies seem preferable.

In an apocalypse where law and order had collapsed, vigilante justice had its place.

The fastest strategy was to deal with them early.

“Let’s go.”

After hearing only a rough explanation, Gwak Han-muk didn’t ask another question. He tucked the baseball bat under his arm.

With him strolling casually behind me, we reached our destination.

The name of the large convenience store was incredibly straightforward.

Dead Convenience Store

Its clean glass front made the interior completely visible.

The zombies in Dead Zone Delivery had deteriorated senses of sight and smell, reacting only to sound, so there was no need to cover the windows.

The moment I recognized the store, a system window appeared.

Main Quest: Drive out the gang occupying Dead Convenience Store.

For the sake of a faster clear, you have chosen a reckless approach.

The convenience store occupiers, always filled with rage, are formidable opponents who would love to feed you to the zombies.

However, you believe that with a strong companion, this adventure just might succeed.

The system wasn’t wrong.

If I’d been playing alone, I never would have attempted this.

But now…

I had someone I could rely on.

“Over there.”

The instant I pointed at the convenience store, Gwak Han-muk shot forward like an arrow.

Crash!

His baseball bat smashed straight through the storefront window.

Showering glass everywhere, he leapt inside.

The men lounging against the shelves jumped to their feet in panic, grabbing whatever weapons they had.

One of them even pulled out a gun.

It didn’t matter.

Not in front of Gwak Han-muk.

Bang!

Gunfire echoed throughout the store.

The only thing the bullet managed to hit was an innocent bag of potato chips.

The poor crisps exploded beyond recognition.

A heartbeat later—

Thud!

The baseball bat came crashing down onto the gunman’s head.

He collapsed instantly.

The pistol slipped from his hand.

Gwak Han-muk caught it effortlessly.

He tucked it into his waistband before swinging his bat toward the others, who had frozen in place.

One unlucky man was launched through the air like a baseball, smashing into a display shelf.

Spicy chicken-flavour instant noodles rained down over him.

Stepping onto the collapsed shelf, Gwak Han-muk vaulted into the air.

A clean military kick slammed into another thug who awkwardly clutched a knife.

The difference between a professionally trained soldier and a group of men barely out of their teens—who hadn’t even completed military service—was overwhelming.

The gap wasn’t even worth mentioning.

I watched comfortably from the back.

Whenever someone on the floor tried to get back up, I simply smacked them with my baseball bat and put them right back down.

The first man Gwak Han-muk had knocked out groaned painfully.

“Damn it… Who the hell are you people…?”

Ah!

I hurried over to him.

Then, just before his blood could soak it…

…I rescued the spicy chicken instant noodles lying beside him.

That had almost been a terrible waste of precious food.

After checking that the cup wasn’t damaged, I looked back at him.

“Why are you asking?”

The man stared up at me with bloodshot eyes.

Tilting my head, I answered calmly.

“Even if you learn who I am, it’s not going to extend your lifespan.”

“What…? Y-You…!”

Seeing him about to continue shouting, I hit him across the head with my bat.

He obediently lost consciousness.

No more pointless talking.

Meanwhile, Gwak Han-muk was still rampaging through the store.

As I organized the scattered food supplies, the fight eventually ended.

Before long, the only sounds left inside were the groans of unconscious men.

You have won the battle against the occupiers of Dead Convenience Store!

It couldn’t have gone any more cleanly.

Reading the victory notification, Gwak Han-muk smacked his lips.

“That’s it?”

Looking disappointed, he casually swung the baseball bat through the air.

“Captain Gwak, you’re amazing.”

I raised both thumbs toward him.

I’d really like to make frequent use of him in the future.

Apparently pleased by my wholehearted flattery, he grinned.

“This is damn fun. Goyo, let’s do this again sometime.”

I fully intended to.

There would be plenty of opportunities for him to shine in Dead Zone Delivery.

Punch zombies.

Smash zombies.

Send zombies flying.

He’d definitely found work suited to his talents.

Just then, another system window appeared.

You continue to hesitate over registering Mo Hae-in.

However, registration is essential for your growth as a System.

Perhaps accepting a small amount of risk and registering Gwak Han-muk first wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Register Gwak Han-muk?

Since I stubbornly refused to register Mo Hae-in, the system had started negotiating with itself.

Ignoring it, I picked up a backpack lying on the floor.

Backpack acquired. Carrying capacity increased.

Dead Zone Delivery didn’t have a default inventory.

Finding a backpack early was mandatory.

It was part of the game’s realism.

Annoying realism.

I stuffed the backpack full of food.

As I picked up another cup of spicy chicken noodles, something written on the packaging caught my eye.

Spicy Chicken Flavour, born from the Flaming Grave that burned ■■■!

It looked almost identical to Korean instant noodles.

But the description was bizarre.

In the game, item descriptions only briefly mentioned the flavour.

This was the first time I’d actually seen the package itself.

Curious, I checked other food items.

Tuna Mayo, caught from the boiling River of ■.

Salmon Mayo, fished from the bubbling River of ■.

Even the rice triangles had horrifying descriptions.

If this weren’t the zombie apocalypse…

I wouldn’t have wanted to touch them.

“Goyo?”

Gwak Han-muk asked while ripping open a packet of chocolate candies and dumping them into his mouth.

“What are you looking at?”

“The descriptions are strange.”

“They’re always like that in Trials.”

Fair enough.

Item descriptions were often weird.

While I packed the food, Gwak Han-muk tossed a few snacks into my backpack before neatly tying up all the convenience store occupiers and piling them into a corner.

After finishing, he cracked his knuckles.

“So… should we kill them?”

“You don’t have to trouble yourself, Captain.”

“They’re still useful.”

We had more than enough food for the three of us.

Shouldering my backpack, I looked outside.

“Grrraaah…”

Drawn by the gunshots, zombies were dragging themselves toward the store.

At a glance, there were dozens.

“Let’s feed the zombies before we leave.”

I simply returned the favour.

The convenience store gang had kidnapped survivors from the Green Zone.

Now…

They became the bait.

Gwak Han-muk and I slipped safely through the approaching horde.

Watching the zombies feast, he let out a small whistle.

“Then we’d better head to the Green Zone and meet up with Captain Mo.”

“Yup.”

He followed behind obediently before suddenly asking,

“So you’re twenty-four?”

“Yes.”

“Seven years younger than me.”

Click.

The sound of a gun being cocked.

I stopped walking.

Praying I was mistaken, I slowly turned around.

“This Trial may be nothing more than an endlessly repeating illusion…”

His pistol was aimed directly at me.

“But even trained Aptitude Users from the Bureau hesitate when they’re faced with this kind of situation.”

Pointing the gun, Gwak Han-muk made little bang bang noises with his mouth.

“You, Goyo… You fed people to zombies without blinking.”

He had a point.

But this was only because it was a Trial.

If it were reality…

…

I remembered Park Seong-gyeon exploding into golden fireworks.

I corrected myself.

“I suppose I’m a little cold-hearted.”

“A little?”

“Well… I have to survive too.”

Gwak Han-muk laughed out loud.

Apparently my answer wasn’t bad.

Whether it was enough to satisfy Captain Gwak was another matter.

He looked like the kind of man who’d laugh one moment…

…and pull the trigger the next.

“My priorities are simply very clear.”

Speaking slowly, I walked toward him.

Until I stood directly in front of the gun barrel.

“And you’re included among those priorities, Captain Gwak.”

He stared silently at me.

His eyes asked why.

“Because we’re a team.”

We’re on the same side.

So stop doubting me.

I couldn’t exactly say that outright.

But Gwak Han-muk wasn’t stupid.

He immediately burst into laughter and tucked the pistol back inside his jacket.

“I can’t win against you, Brother Goyo.”

I had no idea why he’d suddenly started calling me hyung.

Still, I immediately replied,

“Thank you for trusting me.”

If he’d kept pointing that gun at me…

Things would have become troublesome.

I’d rather not blow Gwak Han-muk’s head off.

Afterward, I took him to the gun shop.

Normally, its location and entrance were hidden until players completed a long chain of side quests.

But I led him there as casually as if it were my own house.

And Gwak Han-muk looted it like it was his.

Watching him follow me without asking a single question gave me a strange feeling.

I had never properly explained anything to the Bureau.

Only Samra knew I’d experienced the Trials—and the people within them—through a game.

Yet after the Special Mission Team was formed…

The Bureau never questioned me.

Gwak Han-muk didn’t either.

I was revealing walkthroughs…

Secret item locations…

And he simply accepted it.

As long as I can close the Trials, they don’t care what I am.

That attitude made it obvious.

To them…

I was simply a tool.

I already knew the Bureau valued practicality over everything else.

Still…

They felt surprisingly unlike a government agency.

By the time we’d finished looting the gun shop, the sun was setting.

Now carrying an additional duffel bag, I headed toward the Green Zone with the crimson sunset at my back.

During the day, zombies moved slowly.

At night…

They ran.

If we wanted to avoid being chased by sprinting zombies, we had to reach the Green Zone before dark.

Dead Zone Delivery was divided into four regions.

The Green Zone—a safe area where survivors lived.

Only a handful of zombies appeared there.

The Yellow Zone—where players started the game.

Few zombies appeared during the day.

At night, their numbers doubled.

The Red Zone—where zombies swarmed day and night.

And finally…

The Dead Zone.

Even in broad daylight, the entire region was treated as nighttime.

Special infected known as Dead Zombies appeared there.

Far stronger and faster than ordinary zombies.

The research laboratory—the delivery destination—was located inside the Dead Zone.

Normally…

Players had to spend a long time becoming stronger before attempting the delivery.

Naturally…

That didn’t apply to me.

Just before entering the Green Zone, I asked Gwak Han-muk to do one job.

A job he would excel at.

He accepted enthusiastically.

Sure enough, once inside the Green Zone, the number of wandering zombies dropped dramatically.

The survivors had gathered inside an elementary school.

The guards standing watch behind a barbed-wire gate looked at us with open suspicion.

Being confronted by two people pointing guns at me no longer bothered me.

I opened my backpack.

Their eyes widened at the sight of the food packed inside.

“I’ll tell you where I found these supplies. Please call a woman named Morae. She should have arrived here today.”

Suspicion became meaningless in the face of food.

One of the guards immediately ran inside.

Not long afterward, a man who looked to be in his fifties emerged with several subordinates.

“Where did you get all this food?”

Mo Hae-in wasn’t with them.

Gwak Han-muk and I exchanged glances.

There was no way a handful of weak survivors could prevent Mo Hae-in from coming outside.

She would have noticed the commotion.

The only explanation…

Was that she hadn’t reached the Green Zone.

Why?

There was absolutely no reason for that to happen.

Which made it all the more suspicious.

Gwak Han-muk frowned and quietly whispered,

“Captain Mo… I think she got bitten by a zombie.”