Season 3: Chapter 8: Sandwich (2)
Around twenty minutes ago, Class 5 was still stuck inside the classroom.
"Don't you dare look at us, you brats."
"..."
Under the gang’s threat, Bubblegum hung his head as if guilty. Even so, he observed each member of Class 5 one by one while plotting a rebellion somehow.
'Those three seem like the players.'
Bubblegum, trying his best not to look like a player himself, kept his head down and observed the three players from Class 5.
"So, it's good to take over the bathroom here."
"First, we need to search for food and weapons to arm ourselves. You can find useful things if you search the classroom well."
"The desks themselves could be used like riot shields."
"The legs might be good too. There should be a screwdriver in the teacher's drawer."
The players in Class 5 intensely discussed their strategies. Whoever these people were, they were serious about this challenge. That was probably why they hardly paid any attention to Bubblegum.
Clap!
One of the players from Class 5 clapped and approached.
"Guys. We can't just keep running from the zombies forever. We need to arm ourselves here. I'll tell you what to find."
Even the students pretending to be bullies readily followed his command.
"Ugh. What now?"
"It's annoying, but we have to do it to survive~"
They seemed annoyed, but still got up and started looking for what the player had asked for. They were looking for a Phillips screwdriver, a box cutter, and rubber bands. These were items likely to be found in a classroom.
'That guy seems to be the leader here.'
Bubblegum carefully noted the name of the player currently leading Class 5.
'Kim Mango...'
That player was called Kim Mango. Bubblegum wasn't sure if he was a streamer or something, but neutralizing him could cause Class 5 to become a disorganized mess.
Jin-Hyeok's gang had high combat ability, but no organizational skills. If any others led the group other than Mango, Class 5 could become demoralized until a rebellion due to depression broke out.
'I was going to start a rebellion anyway.'
Bubblegum chuckled with a nerdy grin while dreaming of a delightful revenge.
— Nerd acting like a master LOL.
— Position makes the person......
— Bro LOL don't laugh LOL you'll get caught LOL.
— His dreams, LOL.
"Hey. You there. The chubby one."
Bubblegum was startled at being called out again.
"Huh, yeah?"
"Are you just going to stand there? Are you a sack of rice? You little minion... huh?"
"No, no! We, we'll look too!"
Bubblegum hurriedly got up and pretended to search for things along with the kids from Class 3.
[Class 3's morale has decreased.]
— LOL another drop?
— The fate of a class with the wrong leader.
— The humiliation of "Class 3" LOL LOL LOL!
Bubblegum complained via the streaming channel as if it was unfair.
"Ha. Why is their morale dropping again? Huh? I'll show you a cheerful rebellion soon, okay?"
— Cheerful rebellion LOL LOL LOL.
— It's not up to you, bro...
— Who believes in Bubblegum's cheerful rebellion LOL LOL LOL.
— Only pretending to be cheerful after getting trashed.
— LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL.
***
Kim Mango from Class 5 seemed like a strategically capable player.
"There's a textbook in this drawer, right? Cut it to a suitable thickness with this cutter."
He used thick textbooks as armor.
"And wrap these papers around your arms and legs. Tie them with rubber bands."
Ping...!
They felt quite protected after wrapping the textbook armor around vulnerable spots like their shins and wrists and securing them with rubber bands.
'Wow. This is actually good!'
Even Bubblegum, who was practically an enemy, felt this way.
— Bubblegum’s POV: should I not betray them?
— ??? Should I join here?
— Kim Mango is kinda awesome!
"Now that we've almost dismantled the desks with the screwdriver, the guys with good builds will hold the desks and stand in front as shields like riot police."
Snap.
Kim Mango demonstrated by lifting a desk.
"And, behind us, we'll stab with these burlap sack spears or hit the zombies with desk legs."
"Ah, Mango. You should also mention that if you stick a desk leg in their mouth, it immobilizes them."
"Oh, right. This desk leg size is perfect for blocking the zombies' mouths."
‘Oh…’
Bubblegum unknowingly nodded as he bit a desk leg.
Clang. Clang.
Certainly, it would be hard to spit out once a zombie bit it. They couldn’t chew through this material.
"Wow. Are these kids going to win?"
— LOL for real!
— Just join here, bro.
— They'll make you win if you stick with them LOL only 25 can escape
— LOL LOL he’s born to be a traitor.
"No. What do you mean I’m a traitor? It's just a game."
— Suddenly pulling the "it's just a game"
— That one person taking the game too seriously.
— LOL he really wants to betray them LOL.
"Ahem..."
As Bubblegum continued his internal debate as a double spy, Class 5 methodically armed themselves.
"Huh?"
Whether it was heaven-sent or something else, the zombies suddenly started running somewhere else while they armed themselves.
A loud noise rang out in the distance.
Clang...!
"What's that noise?"
Clang...!
Klang...!
The loud noise continued to echo out. It was Almond breaking down the basement door.
"For real? Did all the zombies go over there?" one student pressed his face against the window and spoke.
"The running ones are already far away, but... they’re going toward the bathroom of all places."
Fortunately, the zombies moved somewhere else. However, it was toward the bathroom that Class 5 wanted to take control over.
"It's okay. Even if they went toward the bathroom, dealing with the zombies that turned back due to the aggro is not hard. It's much better than a frontal battle," said Kim Mango.
He judged that this was sufficient. There was a big difference between fighting zombies faced forward and fighting those turned away.
"We're armed to fight, right?"
"That... that's right."
Yes, this wasn't a game where they could keep avoiding fights with zombies. They wouldn't have armed themselves so diligently if they weren't going to fight.
'We need to gain experience.'
Frequent battles improved combat-related stats. Conversely, avoiding combat continuously weakened a player.
'Even if a few die in the process... it doesn't matter.'
Of course, there would be casualties. That didn't matter though. Rather, it was better. After all, only twenty-five could leave the school.
"Let's go," Kim Mango simply stated as he gave them the sign.
The classroom door opened.
Snap. Snap.
The kids holding desks as shields advanced.
"Phew... It's terrifying."
Bubblegum took deep breaths because those at the front were from Class 3.
"Go, go."
"Move forward!"
Impatience prompted immediate criticism from behind. Class 3 had no choice but to exit the classroom and gradually advance toward the zombies.
"Kyaaaaah?!"
Around five or six zombies noticed Class 5.
"Kill them!"
Bang!
After pushing the zombies with desks, the students incessantly stabbed their heads with the spears.
Thud!
"Good. Advance."
This was incredible. Bubblegum swallowed dryly. It felt like watching Roman soldiers in a medieval war. Everything was systematic, disciplined, safe, and yet destructive.
"Kraaaaaah!"
"Kyaaaaak!"
"More are coming!"
More zombies started approaching.
Thud! Thud!
They were simply good experience points.
Bubblegum wore a bitter expression.
'If it goes on like this...'
The folks from Class 5 would gain combat experience and grow stronger.
"Uhahahaha! Zombies, you're nothing~."
"Aren’t we like movie heroes? Alright, everyone get ready~"
"Players entering~"
"Zombie bros~ messing around and getting your heads busted~"
The already combat-specialized bully forces felt even more relaxed. They became more ruthless and noisy.
— Players entering LOL LOL.
— Typical cool kids LOL.
— LOL LOL LOL.
"Ha. Can this... lead to a rebellion?"
Bubblegum sweated profusely.
— Just go with Class 5...
— Those warriors are kind of scary LOL.
— Ditch Class 3? Ditch Class 3?
— Are you going to suffer another humiliation with Class 3?
Someone nudged him from the side. It was Oh Ji-Hoon.
"Bubblegum... ah, I mean RoyalMan." He asked the same question, "Will this work? These guys seem crazy?"
He was worried about the success of their rebellion too. Hearing it from someone else snapped Bubblegum back to reality.
"Wait. I'll watch for the right timing."
***
While Almond fought in front of the line, Class 5 steadily advanced.
"Here. The bathroom is not far."
"Just like before! Don't be scared!"
"Relax!"
As they approached the bathroom, the number of zombies clearly increased and was incomparable to what they had been dealing with in the hallways.
"Krrr?!"
Among the many zombies, one turned around. It had noticed Class 5. Then─
Almost half of the visible zombies turned around.
"Kyaaaaah!"
"Sweep them!!!"
With Kim Mango's shout, the shield-bearers pushed in with the desks.
"Kraaaaaah!"
"Stab! Stab!"
The running zombies also started being suppressed by the desk shield-bearers. There were no exceptions.
"Kraaaaak!"
Thud! Thud!
The zombies died under the onslaught of burlap sack spears from behind.
"Desk legs! Stick them in!"
"Kaaaaak… ak!?"
Ping...!
The zombies that hadn't been dealt with yet had desk legs shoved in their mouths like gags.
Crack...!
Human jaws couldn't chew through the desk legs, so the zombies instantly became useless fools.
"Stab them!"
Thud!
Following that, the spear-bearers started killing the gagged zombies if they had a free hand.
Finally...
"The bathroom! Defend the door!"
Class 5 had reached their destination, the bathroom.
Rustle.
They immediately opened the door.
"Hey, minions! Get in!"
They pushed Class 3 in.
"Go check all the bathroom stalls!"
They confidently opened the door because they planned to have the zombies inside dealt with by the lackeys from Class 3.
— Bomb disposal unit, huh LOL.
— There's no hope here for real LOL.
— When's the cheerful rebellion happening? LOL.
"Hey! Aren't you guys going in!? Huh? Fuck, while we're blocking, hurry up and check!"
Kim Jin-Hyeok's threat made Bubblegum reluctantly take a step forward since he didn't know when the spear stabbing the zombies would turn toward him.
"Sigh. Guys. Don’t open the stalls at the same time. Let's open them slowly, one at a time."
"Right..."
The Class 3 kids sounded drained as they began to open each bathroom stall.
"Hmm. Not here."
Creak.
The first stall they opened turned out empty.
"Next."
The next stall also didn't have a zombie, but another problem appeared.
"Wo, wooooook!"
"Ah, shit... what the fuck is this?"
It was an unflushed toilet by their chubby friend, Dae-Hyeok.
"Damn, did a person do this?"
"Flush the damn shit..."
"Wait."
Bubblegum suddenly stopped the kids.
"... Why? Don’t you want to flush it?"
"It seems like someone was just here?"
"Oh... now that you mention it..."
Bubblegum recalled that a team from Class 3 had headed this way.
'Could it be…?'
There was no guarantee that they were still here, but the reason why the zombies swarmed to this dark basement staircase seemed somehow related.
He slowly approached the bathroom entrance and tiptoed to see beyond the zombies.
"Damn."
Although covered in blood, familiar faces appeared among the swarming zombies.
"... Uh, isn't that Dae-Hyeok?"
"Is that Class 3?"
"Wow. It's them. Dae-Hyeok and Yeon-Ji..."
"Shh!"
Dae-Hyeok was distinguishable even a hundred meters away by his size. He struggled to climb the stairs and appeared surprised to see Class 5. He probably felt shocked seeing Class 5 take over the bathroom.
Bubblegum was also in shock because of the person on Dae-Hyeok’s back, who was clearly a heartthrob even from one hundred meters away.
"Ah... Almond."
It was Almond. BubbleGum squeezed his eyes, trying to make sense of it all.
"Wait… so... Class 5 is turned away from us right now… They’re busy blocking the zombies... Class 3 is right in front... This is a perfect sandwich..."
Snap.
Bubblegum grabbed Oh Ji-Hoon's shoulder.
"Yo, Oh Ji-Hoon."
"Yes, RoyalMan."
"Call me Bubblegum from now on."
"... Why?"
"Because now’s the time for a cheerful rebellion."