Season 2: Chapter 53. Immunity (1)
The donation provided a long and detailed explanation.
[... picked up another one to kill a fleeing guy, and the last one I almost used to off myself with a 180-degree curve shot, but then I realized I shouldn’t die, so I caught it with my mouth and used it to hit Baek Joon-Soo in the head...]
— Crazy!
— It’s in factual chronological order, but somehow it sounds like a bizarre lie...
— Fact: Actually, this is a summary.
— Goodbye
The donation wasn’t particularly helpful, but Almond still expressed his gratitude.
"Ahem. Thank you, ExplainingOnYourBehalf. There was no need to explain everything in detail." Almond also added, "You get an automatic ban for using too many words. No hard feelings..."
— Haha!
— Fact: A donation of 100,000 won would have exempted you.
— Ruthless! Almond!
— Wait, was that a macro?
Using too many words in a chat message triggered a macro ban, which typically lasted about eight hours.
"It's not easy to hit the macro ban word limit. Impressive."
As Almond spoke to his viewers, someone shouted excitedly.
"Oh! Almond! Did you come for the arrows? They're not ready yet!"
Soo-Hyun approached with goggles in his hand and waved excitedly. He felt glad to see Almond, who was equally pleased to see him.
"Ah, right. Maybe Pizza Bread (Soo-Hyun) would understand better. He's smart, after all."
Almond grabbed Soo-Hyun to explain the situation.
***
"What?!" Soo-Hyun jumped in surprise.
He literally jumped.
— Haha!
— What kind of Doraemon-style scene is this?
— He really jumped!
"Ah, ah, but... you only had three arrows, right?"
"Yeah, but somehow, I managed to deal with all of them."
Almond vaguely brushed off the question.
"...?"
Soo-Hyun looked perplexed.
Ding!
[ExplainingOnYourBehalf has donated 10,000 Won.]
["So what happened was, I used one arrow to deflect a spear aimed at the class president and two arrows to..."]
— Haha!
— ??? I used to be a soldier, then I took an arrow to the knee... Anyway, Chikicha!
— He's back, the Explainer!
"Wait."
Fortunately, the class president finally recovered from his lag and stepped forward.
"I'll explain what happened. Everyone gather around."
"Ah... Okay."
Soo-Hyun and Hyun-Ah nodded in bewilderment. Shortly afterward, the other students stopped their work and also gathered around.
***
The students widened their eyes in amazement after listening to the explanation.
"Wow... that's insane. He did all that with just three arrows?"
"Whoa."
"... He's totally nuts."
The group, still seemingly in disbelief of Almond's feats, would probably have doubted it if not for the class president's confirmation.
Meanwhile, Hyun-Ah puffed up with pride for some reason and busily bragged.
"That's what I told you. I knew Almond could do it. He's really no joke."
"Um. Um. That's right. Absolutely," Soo-Hyun chimed in as well.
He also felt proud to be one of Almond's closest associates.
"Hey, hey, I believed it~~~!"
"Me, me too!"
Hyun-Ah and Soo-Hyun raised their thumbs and laughed.
— Weren’t they in doubt and lagging earlier?
— The likable duo
— Super likable
Their discussion moved on from Almond's hard-to-believe heroics.
"What should we do next?" Soo-Hyun asked about their future plans.
Of course, he looked to Almond for the answer. Not just Soo-Hyun, but everyone looked to Almond.
Naturally, Almond became the leader of this group. Even the ones who followed the class president now followed him because the class president chose to follow Almond.
"Yeah. Almond, you decide."
The class president now referred to him as Almond.
Ding!
[Responsibility]
[You feel responsible for leading the group. Your effectiveness in tasks for the group will increase by 12%. Your chance of persuading others with speech will increase by 25%.]
He gained a new emotional status from the system. Responsibility indicated that he was the group's leader.
"We need to turn this school into a livable place."
Almond's statement about transforming the school into a livable place had a dual meaning.
***
The students first advanced from the construction site to the annex. Their advancement was hardly anything noteworthy.
They had eradicated almost all the zombies between the annex and the construction site. Team members like Soo-Hyun and Hyun-Ah became adept at dispatching zombies. Plus, they were armed with real weapons.
Thrust!
"Krraaahh...!"
A properly aimed spear could pierce through the decaying skulls of zombies.
Bang!
The heavy impact of a sledgehammer crushed their heads.
This was a stark difference compared to their days of barely immobilizing zombies with wooden spears. Thus, moving from the construction site to the annex was more of a transfer than an advancement.
"Uh... The entrance is blocked. What now?"
"Right... forgot about that."
Upon reaching the annex, the students murmured among themselves. The entrance to the annex was blocked and sealed with all kinds of shutters to keep out the zombies.
"We moved through there earlier."
The class president pointed to a curtain rope connected to a second-floor window. Hyun-Ah and Soo-Hyun had made that rope.
"But... if all of us use that rope, won’t it come loose?"
"That’s right..."
It seemed impossible for a total of fifteen people to use that curtain rope. The most logical solution was for a few to enter first and open the annex door from the inside.
However, Soo-Hyun objected.
"It’s hard to open from the inside too. The shutters are bent... they won’t go up again."
The relentless pounding from hordes of zombies had warped the shutters that needed to perfectly align to rise back up into their frame.
"Lifting a shutter alone is tough enough, let alone crumpling it with sheer strength."
The class president agreed with Soo-Hyun.
"Let's just break one of the windows," Hyun-Ah proposed while holding a hammer.
"A window is easy for everyone to get through and easy to cover up again, maybe with some planks or something."
"Oh, that's a good idea."
— Once they took over with force, the nut rolled on its own. Is this the Nut universe...?
— Suddenly, it's Lazy Soldier, lol.
— Is this an auto game?
Even without Almond, the NPCs strategized and proceeded efficiently among themselves. He only needed to give major commands. This was possible because he had risen to the leader position in the group. None of the viewers, including Almond, knew this. The original nature of this game could only be understood by watching Bubblegum's stream.
"Here goes!"
Crash!
One of the students smashed a window with a sledgehammer and the loud noise echoed out.
"Grooaarrr!"
"Kaahhh!"
Zombies from afar all rushed toward them.
"Block them!"
Almond and the students quickly formed a line and rushed toward the window. Flurries of weapons swung around the window. They worked well together without needing specific instructions.
Thud!
After the last zombie fell, they moved inside the annex building.
"Phew. Let's go."
***
They moved to the annex for a simple reason: food.
"Haah... Haah... Can we finally eat?"
"I'm so hungry I could die."
"Ugh..."
While Soo-Hyun and Hyun-Ah felt fine, the class president's group hadn't properly eaten for a while.
'It's probably best to feed them first.'
Almond knew how debilitating the [Hunger] status could be.
"Ah... I can't even muster the strength anymore..."
The class president's group was definitely weaker compared to Soo-Hyun and Hyun-Ah. The situation could become dangerous if more zombies appeared in a bunch.
"Let's head to the snack bar."
Almond led the students to the snack bar.
***
Chomp. Chomp.
The microwave worked tirelessly as the students silently devoured the bread.
Gulp. Gulp.
They didn't forget to gulp down sodas and cider to avoid choking.
"Haah! I feel like I'll live," a student spoke with tears in his eyes after downing a cola in one shot.
The class president was no different.
"Huuuk... Huk... Is this what tear-soaked bread tastes like..."
With his glasses all fogged up, he avidly tore into the bread. Soo-Hyun, Hyun-Ah, and Almond didn't eat and prioritized the class president's starving group.
Did they view Almond's behavior as exemplary?
Ding!
[Your group members’ trust in you has increased!]
Their trust in Almond grew more and more.
"Eat while listening."
Almond took this moment to give them orders.
"The food isn't just in the snack bar."
The class president's group jolted at his words.
"More food?"
"It did seem a bit empty for a snack bar."
"Ah! They came down from the second floor earlier, right?"
Almond nodded.
"We have more bread we hid on the second floor. There's probably more in the infirmary that Baek Joon-Soo took over."
Almond divided them into three teams. Five to guard the snack bar, five to the second floor, and five to the infirmary. He placed Hyun-Ah at the snack bar and Soo-Hyun at the infirmary.
[PizzaBreadDateMe has donated 10,000 won!]
[Why not go together with Soo-Hyun and Hyun-Ah again]
A viewer longed to see Almond play with his original companions. Apparently, they grew attached to his initial companions. However, Almond couldn't comply with that.
"Thank you PizzaBread, but I can’t. I have to place the most trustworthy ones in each location in case anyone gets any ideas."
— PizzaBread, lol!
— Is this corporate distrust or something?
— Haha, trust issues much?
— He always stops right where it's most frustrating lol.
— Typical Almond Corporation personnel arrangement, kids tsk tsk.
The viewers seemed convinced even though they joked about it.
Almond didn’t fully trust the class president's group yet. Had he watched too many zombie movies? No, it was just years of corporate life.
***
The students split into three teams according to Almond’s order.
Hyun-Ah guarded the snack bar, Soo-Hyun watched over the infirmary, and the class president and Almond went to the second floor. The second floor still contained potential dangers, so Almond went there himself.
They decided to communicate via cell phones.
[Almond: Report here in this group chat. Send a message if anyone needs support.]
[Hyun-Ah: Ok]
[Soo-Hyun: Okay]
[Class President: Yes sir]
Only Soo-Hyun, Hyun-Ah, and the class president had phones considering the limited number of working phones available.
[Soo-Hyun: The infirmary has a lot. I'll move this stuff. Need some help though. Might encounter zombies on the way.]
[Hyun-Ah: Sending two from here.]
They efficiently shared real-time information and dynamically organized their manpower.
[Soo-Hyun: Did Baek Joon-Soo plan to make a base in the infirmary? So much bread here. Need one more person.]
[Hyun-Ah: We can't spare any more. What about the second floor? Can you support the infirmary?]
No reply ever came. Time passed with no signs of the class president or Almond even reading the message.
"Sniffle... Huk... Huuuuk..."
They were too occupied to respond.