Chapter 22
Yi Ga-on’s eyes went wide.
"A cure?"
She’d expected the vaccine request, sure. But asking her to develop a treatment? That caught her completely off guard.
And she wasn’t the only one whose eyes went wide.
O O
Je Hyun-oh.
Yi Ga-on flinched and stumbled back at the new emoticon floating above his goggles.
I was a little embarrassed, but I pretended not to notice and kept going.
"Actually, my colleague’s zombie transformation is progressing too."
"Ah..."
Yi Ga-on’s eyes welled with sympathy in an instant.
"So that’s why. I thought you seemed a bit strange, but I guess it really is because of the infection."
She said this while turning to look at Je Hyun-oh.
"But your colleague isn’t very aggressive, is he? Is it because of the equipment he’s wearing? Or—"
"It’s not him. It’s a different colleague."
"R-Right."
Yi Ga-on fidgeted, sneaking glances at Je Hyun-oh.
ㅠ ㅜ
She trembled when Je Hyun-oh put up a crying emoticon on his goggles, but her reaction was a little better than before.
Anyway, it seemed like I’d managed to build some common ground.
Yi Ga-on edged closer to me, putting a bit more distance between herself and Je Hyun-oh, then spoke.
"I want to make a cure, but... I’m not confident. Vaccines and treatments are completely different, and if my oppa were here, maybe, but alone..."
Yi Ga-on bit her lip. She was the one who needed a cure more than anyone. If she was saying this, she really didn’t have confidence.
It was true — it wasn’t something one person could pull off in a short time.
But does she really have to struggle through the research alone?
There were perfectly useful tools lying around. I made a suggestion to Yi Ga-on, who’d fallen back into gloom.
"What if we recycled the trash?"
"Trash?"
"Yes."
I clarified for her sake.
"The human trash."
It was just a matter of going down the emergency stairs from the rooftop to the fifth floor.
But that wasn’t easy.
Mo Haein breathed in deep, then let it out. Her breath came out hot from the fever that had started up again.
She’d been on edge ever since, afraid that if she lost focus for even a second, she’d lunge at Kwak Hanmuk and bite him.
She could feel deep in her bones why DeZonDeal’s principle was execution upon infection.
Her teeth itched. Mo Haein gasped roughly, her face scrunching and relaxing in cycles.
"Major Mo. Hanging in there?"
"Yeah."
"Want me to put you down?"
"...I’m taking you with me before I get put down."
At her vow of mutual zombification, Kwak Hanmuk cackled. He was so infuriating that for a moment, even the pain of transformation was forgotten.
Mo Haein glared at him with eyes that said she wanted to take just one bite, then muttered.
"Still, I’m glad you’re my teammate. For this operation."
"Brother Goyo’s on the team too."
"..."
Mo Haein said nothing. But in her head, she was already picturing Han Goyo.
Director Jang Seokyun had made Han Goyo’s purpose clear.
Right now, Han Goyo was neither a TRA soldier nor a colleague. He was just a tool for closing the Trial.
He was dangerous, so they’d confirm his usefulness over a month, and if he wasn’t helpful, he’d be disposed of — discarded for research.
Mo Haein had tried to approach Han Goyo with that same mindset.
But it was harder than she’d expected.
The moment she’d seen Han Goyo locked in the isolation room came to mind.
It was one of the better rooms in TRA’s isolation wing, but it was still a prison. The structure wouldn’t even let him open the door from inside.
He’d been waiting for someone to open it from outside, and when Kwak Hanmuk swung the iron door open, he’d bowed politely. The sight had left her speechless.
Dressed neatly in his uniform, slightly tense, Han Goyo’s eyes as he looked at Mo Haein had been clear.
There wasn’t a trace of resentment for being treated this way.
When she returned his greeting, he’d even smiled faintly.
There was no way she could treat him like a tool or a monster after seeing that.
But in the Trial, he’s the craziest bastard I’ve ever seen.
The polite, respectful demeanor that didn’t fit someone his age was gone without a trace.
He couldn’t live up to his name and ran wild like a mad dog — a lunatic so brazen he’d shocked even Mo Haein, who’d seen all kinds of people since joining TRA.
She never thought she’d meet another bastard like Kwak Hanmuk in her lifetime.
Thinking about Han Goyo brought all kinds of complicated feelings, but one thing was clear.
He’s not a bad kid. Suspicious as hell and weird, but still.
Even now.
When she’d become a zombie, Han Goyo could have easily argued for her execution. But he didn’t.
Could he pull off the True Ending this time too?
She was trying not to think about the uncertain future, but she couldn’t help hoping.
She didn’t want to die yet.
No — she couldn’t die yet.
"Hanmuk."
Kwak Hanmuk stopped in front of the fifth-floor door and looked back.
The steel pipe Han Goyo had picked up from the rooftop was slung over his shoulder. He looked like a total thug.
Mo Haein asked, one step left on the last stair.
"You okay?"
Kwak Hanmuk looked down at her, his expression asking why she’d even bother.
"Fucking fine."
"No... haah, forget it."
She’d wanted to hear his thoughts on Han Goyo, but it was pointless.
Clearing DeZonDeal with a True Ending was the priority.
Kwak Hanmuk whistled as he pushed open the emergency door.
Mo Haein frowned involuntarily.
Maybe it was the zombie transformation progressing, but her hearing was sharper than usual.
On the other hand, her vision was narrowing. It felt like she was seeing less than half her normal sight.
The sensation of her body changing in real time wasn’t pleasant.
If anything, the discomfort seemed to be driving her aggression even higher.
She’d have to bite down on a wad of cloth soon, she thought, following Kwak Hanmuk into the fifth floor.
Kwak Hanmuk cracked his neck.
"Feels like the researchers are here."
Before she could ask how he knew —
"ANY SURVIVORS IN HERE!! COME ON OUT!!!"
Kwak Hanmuk bellowed so loud the whole corridor rang.
A beat late, Mo Haein clamped her hands over her ears and swallowed a curse.
Of course, no survivors came out. Only the zombies that had been sleeping stirred, growling as they lunged.
Mo Haein suppressed the urge to join the zombies and attack Kwak Hanmuk together, and drew the Black Moon Blade.
"..."
A sharp pain shot through her palm. The Black Moon Blade was starting to reject its owner.
She could still use it. But by tomorrow, she probably wouldn’t be able to hold it.
Feeling the Black Moon Blade’s displeasure at her growing zombification, Mo Haein smiled bitterly.
Luckily, the Dead Zombies on the fifth floor weren’t that numerous, so they were dealt with quickly.
Just as she finished off the last one.
The quiet corridor was suddenly filled with the sound of a sealed door opening, and two men appeared.
A ding sounded as a system window popped up.
◆Main Quest: Explore the Laboratory.
Search for survivors and find the vaccine developer. (3/4)
They were surviving researchers.
Counting the female researcher they’d met earlier, that made three. One more to go.
The researchers who’d just appeared looked to be in their early fifties and mid-forties, respectively.
Doesn’t match the age of the vaccine researcher.
She’d have to go down to the third floor, Mo Haein thought, sheathing the Black Moon Blade.
The researchers trembled as they surveyed the zombie-filled corridor, then their faces lit up when they saw Kwak Hanmuk.
"F-Finally!"
They must have thought he was a soldier who’d come to rescue them, because they darted out like startled mice.
Kwak Hanmuk held up a hand to stop them.
"Whoa, whoa, uncles. Hold up."
Then he tilted his head back.
"I’ll check your ID cards first. Hand ’em over."
The men fumbled for their ID cards.
Tak Jucheol
Paeng Sangdo
The older one was Tak, the younger one Paeng.
Beaming as if they were saved, the two researchers stood before Kwak Hanmuk, who narrowed his eyes with a "Hmm."
He studied the ID cards carefully, then turned to Mo Haein.
"No vaccine researcher here."
"Did you need to check the names for that? She was supposed to be in her mid-twenties."
"Hey, could be a baby face."
Kwak Hanmuk’s impeccable logic made Mo Haein take a deep breath. She felt like her zombie transformation was speeding up from sheer irritation.
"A vaccine! Are you talking about the vaccine!"
Paeng Sangdo, who’d been gauging the atmosphere, quickly cut in. He seemed to have realized the soldiers weren’t here to rescue survivors.
"The team leader here and I were researching the vaccine together. We can develop it, but we’re short on supplies..."
He rapidly established his usefulness. Kwak Hanmuk nodded along, then asked.
"What about the other researchers?"
"We’re the only survivors."
"There’s two more, uncles."
Kwak Hanmuk slammed the steel pipe against the wall in warning.
"Don’t make this difficult."
The pipe was so stained with blood you couldn’t even see its original color.
Paeng Sangdo and Tak Jucheol looked at each other. Tak Jucheol cleared his throat and stepped forward.
"There were two more, like you said. But those people..."
"Cutting it short?"
"...There were two more."
Tak Jucheol corrected himself, face red.
Mo Haein felt a flicker of satisfaction watching Kwak Hanmuk’s rotten personality turn on someone else, and waited for what came next.
"But they disagreed with us, so they left the lab."
"We can develop the vaccine with just the two of us! We can even show you our research data."
Paeng Sangdo was struggling to persuade Kwak Hanmuk when —
Tak Jucheol finally noticed Mo Haein standing behind him and screamed.
"AAAGH! A zombie, a zombie!"
At Tak Jucheol’s scream, Paeng Sangdo also freaked out. They fell on their asses, causing a commotion, so Mo Haein calmly spoke up.
"I’m a soldier too."
But it was useless. Tak Jucheol pointed and spat.
"You’re turning into a zombie! You’ll be one in a day or two! We’re researching a vaccine, not a cure!!"
After shouting that, the two scrambled back into the lab.
The lab door was a sealed type that required an ID card to open, and since it was designed to block viruses, they couldn’t just break it down.
Kwak Hanmuk clicked his tongue and reached a clear conclusion.
"Let’s go to the third floor."
But things didn’t go as well as hoped.
They entered the third floor, cleared the zombies, and searched — but they couldn’t find the last researcher.
"Don’t tell me he’s dead..."
As Mo Haein spoke, unable to hide her anxiety, Kwak Hanmuk — who’d been opening the last door — clicked his tongue too.
"Wanna head back to the fifth floor? Might be with Goyo and the Lieutenant Colonel."
A fair amount of time had passed, so it seemed better to regroup first.
When they returned to the fifth floor with Kwak Hanmuk —
Mo Haein witnessed an unbelievable sight.
"WAAAAAH!"
"EUUUUGH!"
It was Tak Jucheol and Paeng Sangdo, struggling in Je Hyun-oh’s grip, drool streaming from their mouths.