Season 2: Chapter 18. Battle (2)
"It was tough just going to the bathroom once," Almond said as he staggered into the store.
His shirt was soaked in blood, and the mop handle in his hand was also stained bright red.
The store clerk involuntarily stepped back, "You... How did you survive? Those zombies, they were all..."
"Quickly close the door. They’re not dead."
"...?"
Not dead? They certainly looked dead.
The clerk peered over Almond's shoulder.
'They’re moving...?'
Almond was right. The zombies were still moving. Just very slowly, slower than they normally did.
"Close it."
"Oh, okay."
Slam!
The clerk obediently closed the door, not wanting to face the zombies again.
— What a good listener, LOL
— ??? (I’m older than him, so I need to be...) Oh! Okay!
— Now, if Almond says to close it, you close it! What's the big deal? LOL.
"How did this happen? Why are they like that? Can't they move at night?"
"... Night?"
Almond looked even more shocked by the clerk's words.
‘Night?’
"Yes, it's night now, 9 P.M."
"...?"
The clerk held out her cell phone that indeed read 9 P.M.
"Is that an error?"
"What are you talking about? All the news articles have the correct time."
In the same way that Almond persuaded her earlier, he was now the one being convinced.
He switched the microphone channel to ask the stream, "It's not night, right?"
— Yup.
— Not here, LOL.
— Time must pass quickly there! It's a game, after all!
"... Last time, time passed normally in class. Is this the theory of relativity?"
— Einstein: Were you sleeping during my lecture?
— That's just because you were bored.
— If this isn't the theory of relativity, what is!?
— Einstein and Almond are from the same family. Seriously, LOL.
It seemed that time hadn't passed much in reality according to the viewers' reactions, but it had quickly passed in the game. Most survival games adopted this mechanism, so it wasn't surprising. However, he found it unfair that time had flowed in real-time during the morning class.
"That's why I was so hungry."
Almond finally understood why his character felt so hungry. If he thought about the fast passage of time, it made sense.
— Oh, he must have realized that.
— He wondered why he was so close to dying from missing just one lunch. Hahaha.
— So it wasn't just because he was growing...
He seemed to understand more about the game.
The boy sitting quietly at the table spoke up, "What is that?" He pointed to the mop handle.
"That..."
Almond explained that he whittled down the mop handle to make a spear. He seemed quite proud while explaining, but...
'There's already something similar here.'
It looked like a metal pipe with a box cutter blade tied to it.
— Laughing at finding another spear. Hahaha
— Everyone can make that~!
— Almond's expression is cute.
— ??? Wasn't I the only one with a spear?
The viewers noticed his dramatic reaction and teased him.
Almond cleared his throat and tried to change the topic, "Why didn't you kill them? That weapon doesn't work?"
The big-headed guy seemed unwilling to end the conversation.
"... Yes."
Almond felt the need to explain and shared what he learned while fighting the zombies.
"Killing the zombies isn't as easy as you might think."
***
The big-headed guy took his time to digest what Almond said.
"So, you think those zombies don't die unless their heads are crushed?"
"Yes, specifically their brains."
"I tried piercing their hearts too, but they still moved just fine... Those zombies lying over there are the result of you severing all their arm, leg, and back muscles?"
"Yes."
"Who are you?" the big-headed guy looked at Almond with disbelief.
The store clerk did the same.
"Wow. Are you some kind of special forces? I’ve never seen anyone like you..."
Being in the special forces seemed far-fetched since Almond’s character hadn't even graduated high school. He didn’t know how to respond, but the big-headed guy thankfully moved on.
"So, to summarize, we need a weapon capable of crushing their heads?"
"Yes.”
The big-headed guy scratched his head and muttered to himself, "A hammer... might do the trick...”
“Do you think a bow would work?"
The big-headed guy blinked, caught off guard by the sudden question.
"... A bow?"
It wasn't a common weapon, so it took a moment for the big-headed guy to process it.
"Yes, a bow. The kind you shoot with."
Almond demonstrated with a motion and the big-headed guy shook his head.
"How am I supposed to make that?"
Almond made a disappointed look.
— Why does he look so down? Hahaha.
— Did he hope that guy would make it?
— Hey! I'm just a regular high school student, okay?!
— ??? Turns out he's useless
— Guess he thought that guy would be a blacksmith or something. Too bad he's not. Hahaha.
"You might not know, but you need to be highly skilled to accurately shoot through someone’s head with a bow. There's a reason guns became popular after their invention, you know?"
"I'm skilled."
"...?"
— Stop making the NPC glitch, LOL
— I feel like I’m seeing Han Min-Gu’s expression again, LOL
Amused by Almond's comment, the big-headed guy took a moment to size him up.
"Who are you? Were you in the archery club or something?"
Archery club? Was it the school setting, their familiar uniforms, or the overall nostalgic surroundings that made him realize? Suddenly, Almond's heart raced at the thought.
‘Does that mean there’s an archery club?’
It wasn't common in a Korean school. If there was an archery club, it would be another potential source of weapons.
"The archery practice area in the gym has bows, but... as far as I know, they shoot arrows without arrowheads..."
The thick-haired boy thoughtfully scratched his chin, "We might be able to make and replace the arrowheads."
This was valuable information. It meant they could obtain a bow if they made it to the gym.
"But isn't it too risky to go to the gym right now? There are so many zombies here too!" the snack bar cashier interjected with a warning.
"... That might be true," the thick-haired boy agreed.
Almond also concurred. They couldn't even defeat all the zombies present here and the gym was quite far away across the sports field.
'For now, crafting a spear seems to be the best option.'
Close combat seemed the wisest at the moment.
"So, breaking their heads is the answer?"
The thick-haired boy picked up a hammer.
"This... might be a bit more effective."
With practiced ease, he wrapped the hammer to a metal pipe with box tape.
"Here."
He finished crafting the long blunt weapon with a hammer attached to the end of a metal pipe.
"Let's test it."
The cashier looked alarmed at this.
"Test?!"
The boy calmly looked back at her.
"The restroom will probably be most essential for you."
"But even if we kill the zombies here, won't more come from elsewhere? I saw on YouTube that zombies are most sensitive to sound rather than smell. They actually don't see that well."
It was odd that such content could be found on YouTube, but it made sense given that some networks were still active while the zombies roamed around.
"So, we’ll just attract more zombies from the upper floors every time we make some noise by smashing them with a hammer."
In short, every restroom visit would mean facing zombies. Such a life seemed chaotic.
"I have a plan."
Surprisingly, Almond came up with a strategic proposal.
'I saw it clearly on the minimap.'
He began to explain the tactic he had in mind.
"There are fire doors."
"Aha!"
The thick-haired boy immediately seemed to understand upon hearing this and clapped his hands in realization.
"There are mandatory installations at certain intervals in hallways, stairs, and passages in school facilities."
"... Oh, those metal doors!"
The employee seemed to understand now.
"The western staircase is right next to our store. We just need to step out and close it. The key is the eastern staircase."
"If we close the eastern staircase...?"
"We can use everything here in the basement: the music room, the bathrooms, and the indoor gym."
"!"
Indeed, all schools featured natural barriers called fire doors. Moreover, the school was overflowing with desks and heavy objects that could be piled in front of these fire doors to form barricades.
"In this manner, we can make and keep expanding quarantine zones in the school."
"Wow...! That's true!"
— Crazy spinning walnut.
— Honestly, are you Kim Ju-Hyeok?
— Almond, now it's time for you to get back into the capsule.
The plan sounded realistic and effective. If they could claim this entire basement corridor, including the restroom, they could solve their food and hygiene problems to some extent.
"So, how about we go to the northern staircase and close the door while the zombies are in a weakened state?" Almond suggested.
An opportunity arose with the zombies weakened.
"The zombies will make noise if we try to kill them, so we'll quietly head to the northern staircase without killing them."
This plan didn’t even require them to kill the zombies. The other two felt it was worth a try.
"Let's do it," the employee said with determination.
"I think I can handle the zombies in that state. No, I have to try. I've watched a lot on YouTube. I can do it," she repeated similar words to herself several times.
The big-headed guy nodded, "... We have to. We have to survive."
The word survival didn’t fully resonate with them yet, but that would change after today. By tomorrow, it would be too late to implement this plan.
"We should plan this carefully. There's a chance it might go wrong once we go out," the employee warned.
Almond agreed with her sentiment. There was no need to rush after using the restroom once already.
***
To clearly explain, Almond tore a piece of paper from a notebook and drew a diagram.
"We have to close these two fire doors in front of the stairs. Then, the zombies won't be able to come down anymore."
Only now did the employee and the big-headed guy seem to fully understand as they nodded.
"Ah..."
"Now I get it."
The three of them stood side by side in front of the store. All of them held their new weapons.
"Shall we open it?" Almond asked as he grabbed the door handle.
“Yes.”
“Alright.”
Thump. Thump.
The employee's heartbeat pounded.
They were understandably tense since they didn't know if the zombies were still in a weakened state. They could possibly have to fight the zombies as soon as they stepped out. Fear was natural, but it didn't matter. They had to do this.
Creak.
Almond opened the door.