Season 2: Chapter 20. His Unique Play (1)
"Today's game is─"
Ping.
Before he could finish his sentence, the game immediately started.
"!?"
Bubblegum had never seen the start of Zombie School, so this already flustered him.
'What's going on, what's this!?'
He couldn’t see or hear anything.
'Am I, am I going crazy? Is the capsule malfunctioning!?'
His body felt pinned down by a heavyweight, and only his head could move.
"Uh... uh... uh... uh..."
He desperately tried to turn his head around.
Kwoong!
"!?"
With a heavy thud, his vision returned.
'What's happening?'
What he saw was... a cheap wooden floor. He could hear laughter. Yes, it was the laughter of students.
"Who are you?" a gruff voice asked him. "Why did you suddenly collapse?"
— Hahaha!
— Lol, that's insane!
— He fell over as soon as he started, crazy.
— This is the real fun lol.
Bubblegum blinked rapidly, trying to assess the situation. It seemed he fell over the desk while nodding off.
"Didn't you hear me?"
A math teacher who looked like he could kill a man with one hand kept asking why he fell over. If he admitted to nodding off, he was sure to face repercussions.
"I, I fainted. I have a weak body..."
"Fainted? Do you want me to make you faint for real?"
— Lol, he's claiming he fainted!
— Creative excuse!
"Yes... make me... faint!?" Bubblegum suddenly realized what he just agreed to with the monstrous man and was taken aback.
— Yes, please make me faint lol.
— Lol!
— Here it comes lol.
The large figure started to approach him.
"Ah, sir, teacher? That's not what I─"
Bubblegum stepped back in fear of the approaching teacher, missed his step, and...
Thud!
[Fainted]
He lay flat on the floor.
***
A moment later...
“Ahahahaha!”
Following the students’ laughter...
— Lol!
— That's epic!
— Fainted right from the start!
Bubblegum got up again and looked at the chat filled with laughter.
"Ah, this game sucks, doesn't it?" he mumbled with a look of disbelief and glanced around.
A male student stood right in front of him.
'Kim Woo-Jung'
The nametag read Kim Woo-Jung.
"Hey, Pinky."
He teased Bubblegum with a smirk.
"Pi-Pinky...?"
Pinky? Why such a name?
— Did the game auto-generate the name? Lol
— Pinky for pink piggy, lol.
— Oh, he must've fainted earlier and couldn’t choose a name.
"Yeah. Pinky, right? Don't you like the nickname I gave you?"
Kim Woo-Jung leaned in with an intimidating look.
"No, it's not that... I have another name."
"Hey, Pinky."
A girl from behind called out. Just as he turned to see who it was...
Slap—!
His head snapped back to its original position.
The girl spoke with cackling laughter, "It's the skull reset, isn't it? This is so hilarious."
"Pinky seems to feel pain pretty well."
"Ha, our So-Hee's touch~ She'll be a great cook someday."
The girl's name was Yoon So-Hee. Some viewers who switched over from Almond’s stream seemed to recognize Kim Woo-Jung and Yoon So-Hee.
— Ah, those bullies.
— They’ll finally be able to bully here, won’t they? Lol.
— 12 days of wishing they get wrecked in the Almond room.
— They’re pretty popular, huh? Lol.
— Wow, they got an industry award.
"Uh... Was that just a playful slap?" Bubblegum asked as he gingerly touched his swollen cheek.
The back door roughly opened and a well-built male student entered.
"...?!"
Bubblegum became speechless.
Ding!
[Fear]
He was afflicted with the fear status. Disbelief filled his face as he read the status explanation.
'What? I can't speak?'
Then, a question came out of the blue.
"Hey, Pinky. Did you slap So-Hee's hand?" the male student who just entered, Baek Joon-Soo, asked him.
“Bahahaha.”
Others laughed at the ridiculous assertion.
“How can you hit a girl?”
Baek Joon-Soo rolled up his sleeves and approached.
Bubblegum's eyes widened in alarm.
'I, I need to escape...'
Bubblegum had been gaming for ten years and instinctively knew how to dodge attacks, but...
[Fear]
[Hunger]
[Fatigue]
Due to these three debuffs, his movements felt sluggish.
Thump!
"Cough!"
Once again, he found himself staring at the ceiling.
[Fainted]
The screen went black.
***
After that, he opened his eyes in the nurse's office.
[Nurse's Office]
Faint letters briefly informed him of his location before vanishing.
“Ah... Everyone, I've figured out the style of this game. Now, I'll genuinely get it right,” he muttered his usual phrase as if reciting a mantra and got up.
— For real LOL
— I'll play it right through to my son's generation.
— Play it through generations.
“Hey, everyone. What’s with the generation talk? I can conquer this game in two days. I'm a pro at games like this.”
— Yes, master~ Master of mukbangs.
— Pro LOL
— Oh, here he goes again with this.
— Oh, did you lose all your memories? You've never been a pro.
— The real pro is Almond, lol.
“Everyone, my father once told me something.”
— ??
— ?
— Out of the blue?
— Through generations?
“My son, play your own game. You don't need to match others, so don't compare. I’ll show you my unique playstyle.”
— A visionary.
— Dad giving gaming advice LOL
— He must have been so frustrated LOL.
“Alright, analysis time. From my quick glance, this game seems like a hipster-style game with high freedom where it progresses as if it’s reality. They just toss us a little minimap and that’s it, right?”
— Yeah, yeah, we get it.
— Blah blah.
— Typical him.
“Ah... You guys. Just wait and see.”
Bubblegum looked around, determined to prove his viewers wrong.
“Oh, are you awake?”
The school nurse’s voice reached his ears. She looked to be in her late twenties, a traditional beauty. If not for her white coat, she could be mistaken for a news anchor.
“What exactly happened to you? Tell me the truth.”
“Ah... Well...”
[Fear]
He couldn't find the words and the nurse frowned.
“Ugh... PE teacher, why aren’t you handling them better?” she spoke over her shoulder and applied an ice pack to his face.
‘PE teacher?’
He felt puzzled about why a PE teacher would be here, but one suddenly appeared from behind with a clenched fist.
“Ah, why are you doing this to someone who just gave blood?”
The sturdy PE teacher scratched his head, his face turning red.
“I mean, there's blatant bullying among the students. How can you just stand by?”
“Discipline is the responsibility of the homeroom teacher these days. If corporal punishment was allowed, I would've used a golf club by now...” The PE teacher suddenly recalled something and spoke to the nurse, “I left my golf bag in the storage room. Wanna play a round next time?”
“After I see how well you behave~”
“Hey, why are you like this? Let me give those kids a piece of my mind, okay?”
“Goodness.”
Bubblegum listened to their conversation and turned to his microphone channel, “What are they doing?”
— LOL true
— Oh man...
— Die die die!
— I didn’t notice it when I was a child, but now I see it all!
— Smirk.
They were too obvious about being a teacher couple. Students were usually oblivious, but this was too obvious.
Bubblegum laughed and shouted, “Haha! Take a look at this school!”
The gym teacher and the nurse simultaneously stared at Bubblegum.
“...?”
An awkward silence followed.
— Mic! Mic!
— You need to turn off the mic!
— LOL
— Expressing his inner thoughts out of nowhere, LOL
Bubblegum’s voice mistakenly went from the streaming channel to the game channel.
A brief silence fell and the gym teacher asked, "What are you saying?"
"Oh, it wasn't that. I... I felt dizzy. Everything was spinning. School is so overwhelming!"
"Oh really? Haha. You, Pink Pig. Take care of yourself. After all, men overcome challenges on their own."
The gym teacher, possibly as a warning or to show off, flexed his thick biceps and left the infirmary.
— Wait, is his name really Pink Pig?
— His name is Pink Pig LOL
— Isn’t it an error??
— How can a person’s name be Pink Pig, LOL
"Pink Pig, I understand you may have grievances with school life... but you should maintain some manners, okay?"
The nurse didn’t seem to believe his feeling dizzy excuse.
"Oh, yes..."
"For now, eat this to calm down."
She offered him a Choco Pie and cola.
"We have plenty because of the blood donation event today. Don't refuse."
"Oh, haha... Yes..."
—LOL he’s blushing.
— What’s he going to do!?
— The nurse is an angel...
"I need to go oversee the blood donation car. Rest here a bit more. I'll handle your leave for today."
The nurse left with those words and loaded a cart full of Choco Pie boxes and colas. It looked too much for her to handle alone.
"Ma'am, let me help you."
"Oh? I thought you left."
"How can I leave with all this here?"
As expected, the gym teacher was still around.
— Is this a musical?
— I thought teachers were supposed to be honorable! How dare you guys date!?
— Wait, isn’t this important?
Bubblegum carefully changed to the streaming channel and said, "I feel like I should eat this, shouldn't I?"
Bubblegum claimed to be a survival expert and had been thinking about food as soon as he heard about the Choco Pie and cola.
"There's plenty of water inside and the infirmary door looks solid. This seems like a good place, but taking away all the Choco Pie and cola was a bit..."
Bubblegum checked around the infirmary.
"Oh, there's more here."
There was as much Choco Pie and cola left as she took. Half still remained.
"Hmm... There's also a golf club. Is this a good start?"
The gym teacher had mentioned the golf club earlier. It could be an excellent weapon in an emergency.
— It’s so different from Almond, LOL
— Lucky Gum!
— Isn’t this how it’s supposed to start?
— Almond got screwed because he screwed around with the bullies so much, LOL
Not only did Bubblegum have a golf club, but he also found a cell phone on the infirmary bed.
"Huh?"
He realized it was his own phone and could access it with his face ID.
"Oh, looks like they brought it to me in advance since I left early!"
It seemed like the school nurse thoughtfully brought it for him. However, he quickly forgot that act of kindness and sneakily left the infirmary, following behind the school nurse and the gym teacher.
"It seems all I need to figure out is the Choco Pie..."
The two chatted about something and looked quite friendly. They walked so slowly as they pushed the cart that he easily caught up.
“Is there any way I can snatch that away?”
Bubblebum got closer and even considered the possibility of stealing from them.
— Literally tailing them LOL
— What even is this? LOL
— If he gets caught, it'd be legendary LOL
— Trying to steal? LOL
— Is this some ancient assassin?
In an emergency, he genuinely considered stealing from them. However, there was no need to get his hands dirty yet.
"Urk!"
Suddenly, the school nurse oddly twisted and bit the gym teacher.
Thud!
"Hey, nurse. Already being this touchy... Huh?!"
Crunch!
He couldn't jest any longer when her teeth dug deeply into his shoulder. The look in her eyes wasn't the same as before.
"What... What's happening..."
"Aaaaaaah!"
"Ugh, come to your senses!"
The gym teacher managed to push the nurse off and carried her over his shoulder.
"Kraaaaaaah!"
The school nurse thrashed about and clearly wasn't in a normal state.
"What... What is this? We need to call 911. Call 911!"
He held his phone in one hand and sprinted toward the school gate while bleeding profusely.
— Damn, so that's what happened.
— WTF
— The nurse was the cause?
— What's with the blood donation?
— Gym teacher is a real man...
"Ah. Everyone, I got the Choco Pies and colas."
Meanwhile, Bubblegum smirked as he stealthily brought the cart back to the infirmary and locked the door.
Click.
— Cunning Gum...
— Proving there's a price for Gum...
— Give my tears back
Tears filled some of the chat messages.
"Now, let's check. Weapons, ample hygiene items, medicine, food..."
He started coldly calculating. Having played many games, he didn't immerse himself in the situation like Almond.
"Oh, but there's no bathroom. That's a pity."
— A pity? WTF LOL
— Greed
— Had so much from the start!?
— Compared to Almond, this is paradise.
Compared to Almond, Bubblegum started with an abundance of resources.
"It's like a game where you carry a golf club, beat up zombies, and must reach a bathroom."
The game had such a straightforward structure.
"There's a bed and everything you'd need!"
— Almond played weirdly LOL
— Even a bed LOL
— Given weapons and food from the start LOL
That was when Almond's viewers realized that Almond should've just set his pride aside and taken the hit.
— The store lady always said her back hurt... It was all because of the nut shake ...
— Because of pride, he didn't take that one hit and had to suffer through all those lessons? LOL Nut shake, serves him right.
— Almond... What kind of hardships did he...?