Season 2: Chapter 250: Each Person’s Role (3)
Bubblegum’s outcry had an unusual influence on the children, which was blatant enough for Almond to notice.
Almond decided to eliminate the source of the problem.
“Excuse me!”
Thump!
Bubblegum's head hit the sandy ground and he passed out instantly.
[Unconscious]
“… Huh?”
“What?”
“Uh? Bu-Bubblegum?”
The students, who had been trying to save Bubblegum, looked confused as if they had woken from a spell. One student even seemed to be lagging, moving back and forth in the same spot repeatedly.
— Another bug triggered by Almond lol
— The bug maker lol
— lol What is this? Lol
It wasn’t just the NPCs who were bugged. The unusual solution Almond employed also left the commentators speechless for a moment.
“…?”
The more talkative caster spoke up after a moment of silence, “Well, that’s one way to solve it!”
While the commentators were flustered, the chat turned into a sea of laughter.
— lol
— lol
— Newsflash: World Cup limited edition Soccer Ball IronBall released!
— Soccer kick what lol
— That’s how you handle trolls lol
The game company felt embarrassed by this bug since they paid the commentators to broadcast this. Viewers didn’t feel the same.
The commentators quickly tried to change the topic.
“Is it really okay to hit him like that?”
“Yes... well, it’s not like he really hit him, right? This must be the right way to handle it.”
“Such great freedom! That’s Zombie School!”
— Shockingly biased
— The package is torn!
While the commentators tried to repackage the situation, Tako took this chance to shout at the students.
“Hey, to the main building! Run to the main building! Do you all want to become zombies!?”
“Huh?”
The students reacted quite strangely and were completely different from when Bubblegum was shouting. They looked confused as if they couldn’t hear Tako’s shout.
Indeed, this was the normal reaction. With screaming everywhere and zombies rising around, who would listen to one student’s voice?
‘There must be individual character abilities.’
Tako was now certain.
The students had charged in as if enchanted by Bubblegum's cry. Bubblegum had the ability to command them.
In the early access, high command power could indeed make such things possible. Team mode seemed to grant abilities from the start to speed up the pace.
‘Almond’s power and speed was also unbelievable...’
While Almond was known for excellent control, he couldn’t ignore the set stats of his character. Still, he was much stronger and faster than the other kids.
When he kicked Bubblegum's head while sprinting past dozens of other students, it was clear that his stats weren’t ordinary. Moreover, he didn’t experience any fear even when facing the zombies head-on.
‘So, what about me?’
Tako naturally questioned what his ability was. So far, nothing had shown itself. He didn’t have any time to meditate and discover his hidden abilities either.
“Bro! Run!” Almond shouted while carrying Bubblegum as he ran toward Tako.
"Ah. You brought him on your back! This way!"
Tako immediately guided them toward the main building. Meanwhile, Bubblegum woke up from his unconscious state.
"What? Why did I suddenly pass out?!"
Almond had kicked him from behind, so Bubblegum didn’t know how he lost consciousness.
Almond spun an unbelievable excuse, "Ah, that... maybe the kids playing soccer kicked the ball wrong."
"?"
— lol
— This is Korean soccer haha
— Shaolin Soccer lol
"Soccer?"
"Bro! To the main building! Tell them to run to the main building!" Tako urged Bubblegum, indicating that there was no time for such nonsense.
"What?"
"You have to say it! That's your power! The kids are all scattered right now! We need to gather them again and take over the main building!"
"Power...?"
"Bro, if you hesitate, you might get hit by another soccer ball!"
"???"
— lol
— The look on Bubblegum's face lol
— ??? What are you talking about, kid…? cough
— Etiquette-implanting soccer ball lol
"Hurry! Tell everyone in Class 3 to move to the main building!"
After a brief hesitation, Bubblegum seemed to agree and shouted, "Class 3!!! To the main building!"
Then, something astonishing happened. All the students turned their heads toward the main building.
***
"Ah, Team 3. As the first team to face danger, they are also the first to recognize their abilities!"
"That's right. In Zombie School, a crisis is always an opportunity. If you survive a crisis, your stats increase."
"But I'm worried there might already be too many casualties...!"
While Team 3 successfully overcame the crisis, their losses couldn't be ignored.
"Right now, their number of survivors is... thirty! Only thirty!"
"Yes. To give you a clearer idea, let's compare with other teams."
The survivor chart appeared on the scoreboard.
"The team corresponds to a class, and each class was set to have forty-three members."
[Team 1 Survivors: 40]
[Team 2 Survivors: 36]
[Team 3 Survivors: 30]
[Team 4 Survivors: 35]
[Team 5 Survivors: 33]
— Wow 40 members, impressive
— Bubblegum's effort makes Team 3 last!
— Oh Team 1 is strong
— As expected of the challenge hunters?
— Bubblegum's great effort lol
Looking at the chart, Team 1 was the most impressive with forty surviving members still.
"They aren’t called challenge hunters for nothing!"
Team 1 was the favorite to win and managed to keep an overwhelming forty members alive. In contrast, Team 3 only had thirty members left with a significant difference of ten.
"But it's still too early to tell."
"Exactly!"
— Losing 13 isn't a problem? lol
— Unaware of it
— Bye team 3
— Poor Bubblegum
— If Almond hadn't used the soccer kick, probably five more would have died by now
"Moreover, not all teams faced the zombie crisis under the same conditions. Their positions and circumstances were naturally different."
"Right. Team 3 was in an unfavorable position."
"However, they seem to be the first to enter the main building! They were the quickest to realize their abilities!"
***
Based on Bubblegum's leadership, Class 3 rushed toward the main building.
"Main building! To the main building!"
Bang!
After the main building's gate opened, the students flooded in. Using Bubblegum’s leadership was a good move, but the noise drew all the zombies their way.
"Arghhhhh..."
The zombies slowly followed with their swaying arms. It would have been fine if it were just those zombies.
"Me, me too! Please let me in!"
It wasn’t just the slow zombies following them.
"What are those zombies?! How did they follow us?"
Bubblegum turned around and felt startled.
During the early access, zombies could never catch up if they ran at top speed. Zombies didn’t get tired, but they didn't know how to run. Therefore, situations like this where zombies only came from one direction rarely resulted in casualties.
They could simply run and create more distance. However, this officially released multiplayer version was different.
"It’s running zombies! Block the door!" Tako yelled desperately.
The students only rebuked him.
"You coward!"
"Go bald already!"
Tako felt bewildered.
"What, what?"
For some reason, they had no trust in Tako and wouldn't listen to him.
— They’re fired up lol
— Bald mom lol
— So many prophetic dreamers lol
— Poor Tako
There were always such kids in a class. Those who talked a lot but had little to say. Tako seemed like that in their eyes.
"We're all going to die!" Tako shouted in frustration, but the students ignored him.
Gradually, more students started pushing into the main building.
"Save them! Even just one more!"
"Don't close the door!"
Were the students that pure due to their overflowing sense of justice and trying to bring more kids in?
'Wait. Not all these kids are from our class.'
Tako realized that not all of them were from Class 3, especially those at the back from other classes who simply followed them.
"Save me!"
They couldn’t take in all those students.
The influx of kids began to slow down, but the zombies following them began to attack.
Crunch!
"Arghhhhh!"
One of the students caught in the crowd was bitten.
Tako coldly observed everything.
'That kid isn't from Class 3.'
The game's objective was to save as many classmates as possible. The number of survivors displayed on his side didn’t decrease.
'It’s only about saving Class 3.'
They didn’t need to save all the students.
"Damn, he got bit! Kim Seong-Hyun! Kim Seong-Hyun was bitten!"
"Hey, you fucker! If you say that... you're dead, you bastard!"
The student bitten by a zombie grabbed the student who outed him, dragging him down too.
"!"
"!?"
Thud.
One student, who had been advocating for saving as many as possible, collapsed in shock.
"What are you doing... to a friend?"
The quivering voice carried all their current emotions. They were getting betrayed by the one they were trying to save. Even if a spirit of heroism filled them, such an event would quickly douse those flames.
Tako thought this was his moment.
"Bro! Make a decision!"
"..."
Even the weak-hearted Bubblegum finally decided.
"... Class 3." He gestured downward with his hand and shouted, "Shut it down!!!"
Almond fiercely pulled down the fire shutter as if waiting for this command.
Ssssshhh!
Now, the students from Class 3 also joined in and pulled down the shutter with all their might.
"Arghhhhhhh!"
"We can't help the other classes! These bastards will betray us anyway! You saw Kim Seong-Hyun just now!" the class president cried out.
Almond desperately helped to lower the shutters and spat out while he worked, "Shut it, shut it!"
The class president was still alive. Almond felt a sense of relief since this character had been around since the early access. There was a sense of familiarity with him.
Contrary to the camaraderie Almond felt, another student felt tremendous betrayal toward the class president.
"An Kyung-Hoon! You son of a bitch, An Kyung-Hoon! You've been to my house. You know my mom, right? Huh?" a boy screamed desperately behind the shutter.
The class president hung his head low and muttered, "... Send her my regards."
"What...? What the hell are you—?"
Thud!
Finally, the shutter came down.
"Haah."
The students clinging to the shutter fell back as they sat down.
The catastrophe that unfolded because of their decision could be seen through the bars.
"Arghhhhhhhhh!"
"You crazy bastards! Class 3, you bastards. I'll bite you all to death..."
The deafening screams abruptly quieted down.
"..."
It quickly fell silent outside.
[Team 3 Survivors: 30]
All thirty of them had survived. After their first mistake, they didn’t lose a single person.
***
[Beginner's Tip: The real enemy might not be the zombies.]
Yenmazing's Thoughts
I've never attended high school in Korea, but because so many dramas, novels, and webtoons portray it, I've always wanted to attend it. Maybe when I'm reborn, I can experience it.