Infected - Chapter 12



Only Noblemtl

Episode 11

Beomsik walked out slowly.

At that moment, it seemed as if electricity was coming back to the building that had been out of power, but soon it started to slowly get dark.

The power seemed to be fluctuating.

Watching Beomsik standing there in his black shirt and suit pants under the dim fluorescent lights, it felt like a scene from a movie.

Beomsik didn’t come closer and just stood there blankly, staring at the two people.

His gaze was directed at the two people, but his pupils were not focused properly.

As if someone was thinking about something.

“Inspiration, let me ask you one thing.”

“As much as you want.”

Young-man nodded.

It didn’t matter what Beomsik called himself.

Because I didn’t feel any ill will.

There are far more spoiled guys in the world.

“That’s what happened just now, that’s how the world is.”

“Did I do that?”

Young-man frowned.

I don’t know if it’s because of my age, but sometimes I forget.

“So what does that mean anyway?”

“I met him at the hospital. I ran away from there and came here. So I don’t know the situation outside. I don’t know if it’s just this neighborhood, Seoul, or Korea. Likewise, my grandfather said he came from a gun shop run by a friend. But how do you know? What’s your basis for assuming that the whole world has changed like this?”

Beomsik listed them one by one.

“I’ve never made a decision.”

“That’s the way you spoke. Anyone who heard that would have the same question. Except that bear of a bastard.”

“Ahem… … .”

Jaejae, who had been listening, tried to ask a question, but Yeongman groaned first.

“Okay. Then let me ask you. Have you ever seen anything like this in your lives?”

“I’ve seen it in movies.”

Beomsik answered, recalling the numerous zombie movies he had seen in passing on movie channels.

“Yeah, that’s a movie. Have you ever actually seen anything like this? Probably not. No, definitely not. Do you know what that means?”

Jae-Jae and Beom-Sik were like mutes who had eaten honey, waiting for the next words.

“There’s no manual. There’s no manual for this kind of work. It wasn’t like this on a battlefield, where bullets were flying and swords were tearing flesh and bone apart. This isn’t something we can handle.”

“Hey, those guys aren’t immortal or anything… What do you mean, the military, are they playing around? In a world where they even make nuclear weapons, you think they can’t handle things like that? From what I’ve heard, you seem like a soldier, but you’re so negative.”

As Jae-jae spoke with a hollow laugh, Yeong-man shook his head.

“I know better because I’m a soldier. I know. Do you know how many special forces and suppression units there are in our country? If the system to control them is still alive, why are we still leaving this city like this? This isn’t just a city, it’s the capital of the Republic of Korea. What good is there for the country to leave it until it becomes a ruin? It’ll only increase the damage as time goes by. If this is happening only to us, and only to Seoul, as you say, then it would be impossible not to clean it up without being crazy.”

“No… Well, isn’t that a virus or something? Then we could make a vaccine for it.”

“You’re so naive, despite your appearance. Do you know how long it takes to develop a vaccine against a virus you’ve never encountered before without any information? It could take at least six months, and up to several years. If everyone dies in the meantime, who are you going to do the clinical trials on? And they’re already dead. Haven’t you seen the news? You’re resurrecting those corpses with their entire bodies rotting away with just one vaccine? Everyone’s like Jesus.”

Young-man clicked his tongue as if he was frustrated.

Then, this time, Beomsik, who had been listening silently, asked.

“If it’s as the old man said, wouldn’t it be the same even if I go to the repair shop? Since it’s all over anyway, why hold out or have the government rescue it?”

“I can have a glimmer of hope, that much. I also sincerely hope that I am wrong. You don’t have children, so you don’t know. If the world my child will live in becomes a better world, I wouldn’t be afraid of what will happen to me. That’s what children are. So please don’t look at me like I’m a doomsday theorist.”

“So… since that glimmer of hope might become reality, let’s go to Yeong-gang’s garage and observe the situation.”

Yeong-man nodded at Beom-sik’s words.

“Okay. Now, do you have any more questions or concerns? If so, let’s put them off until later. More than anything, I need to wash up. I’ve been sweating so much… I’d better hurry before they come swarming again.”

“Okay, let’s do that. And from now on… … .”

Jae-jae got on the elevator and put his hand out the door.

In the hallway, Beomsik was standing blankly, looking down at his hands.

“It’s a team. You know?”

Beomsik blinked for a moment, then grabbed her rough, large hand and got on the elevator.

Soon the elevator doors closed, and the three people stared at the numbers on the electronic board in silence.

3rd floor, 2nd floor, 1st floor.

He lifted the hammer and put the twisted protective gear back into place.

Then Beomsik also picked up a wrench and prepared to fight.

Even if the majority of the infected followed the helicopter, there might still be a few left.

Slurp-

The door opened.

The first thing I felt was a stench that hit my nose.

Finance and Beomsik reflexively covered their noses.

Since I was only on the rooftop, I had no idea what the smell was like on the ground.

On the other hand, Young-man had a calm expression on his face.

The smell of rotting human flesh and the nauseating smell of blood seemed to be nothing to him.

Human flesh and torn body parts were lying openly on both sides of the long corridor leading out of the building.

The sight was so horrific that even Jaejae, who had seen countless corpses while working on murder cases, felt sick to his stomach.

The three of them said nothing.

No, to be exact, I couldn’t say anything.

A silence as terrible as the smell.

An incredible silence fell over them, enveloping the entire city.

The absence of the noise of civilization and the sounds made by humans, which we took for granted, was so great.

Finance swallowed dry saliva.

It really felt like the world was ending.

As I came completely out of the building, the cool morning breeze swept over my entire body.

The group that had stepped on the pavement blocks looked around for a while and did not even think about moving.

A city landscape with no monsters, no people, and no sign of life whatsoever.

Torn pieces of flesh and body parts are as common as the cars that fill the roads.

The world just beginning to dawn was clearly different from what I had seen from above, as if it were someone else’s business.

I now understand why Young-man is so pessimistic and why he says the world is like this.

“Once you’re done watching, let’s go. If you waste your time, you’ll most likely end up like that.”

Young-man said as he passed by the two people standing there blankly.

Instead of answering, Jae-Jae and Beom-Sik chose to take a step back.

It didn’t seem like saying anything would mean much.

“See that scoreboard at the end? There’s a hill just behind that building. Let’s pick up the pace a little.”

Young-man pointed to a certain spot along the endless street and hurried his steps.

The group kept looking around nonstop as if they were experiencing VR.

Signs that are still lit even after the sun has risen, and cars that have lost their owners and are left stranded everywhere.

Shoes and hats that I don’t know who they belong to.

Even the bloody handprints clearly convey the urgency of the situation at the time of the outbreak.

It was half a day.

It didn’t even take half a day for the entire city to change like this.

There was no way to explain it other than to say that it was a powerful virus, unprecedented in history.

“Hah… What the fuck, does this make sense?”

The back of the head of the infected person, who had lowered his head, was lodged in the broken bars of the security window.

When Beom-sik swore at the guy stuck between the car and the building, Jae-jae frowned and asked.

“what?”

“But I thought that if we went out on the street, at least one living person would come down after seeing us.”

Finance did not answer.

In fact, Beomsik wasn’t the only one who had such thoughts.

Finance also had similar thoughts.

But contrary to my thoughts, the surroundings were very quiet.

If survivors were spread out everywhere, there should have been at least the sound of windows opening.

Finance looked around slowly.

There were thousands of windows alone.

“There must be a living person hiding somewhere out there.”

That was all he answered.

It was a situation where I had to talk about the possibility that someone might be alive as if it were an invisible hope.

That was when.

Everyone stopped in their tracks at the faint sound of raindrops coming from somewhere.

Was it because it was a noise that tore through the terrible silence?

The sound felt surprisingly loud.

Young-man frowned.

The sound of bells in the terrible silence could not have sounded so ominous.

A familiar feeling.

Youngman knew that this feeling was a warning sign before misfortune struck.

It was the wisdom of life learned through going back and forth between life and death for decades.

The protagonist of the sound began to emerge from the dark shadows of the building, standing with his back to the sunlight.

It was a puppy.

Its pure white fur was still fluffy, indicating that it had not been long since it lost its owner.

It was worth going up to them and petting them, but no one waved or made a sound.

The sight of a fluffy puppy in a ruined city couldn’t have been more out of place.

What should I say?

Should we say that it is a piece of everyday life that destroys an unrealistic reality?

But the impact that one small, cute puppy had on the group was more than they could have imagined.

The dog suddenly started barking after discovering three people.

Woof woof! Woof woof!

The sound of dogs barking echoed through the quiet street.

The sound echoed endlessly, through the floor and walls and hitting the buildings across the street.

Has the barking of a single dog ever been this loud?

Then came a strange howling sound mixed with the sound of a puppy.

All around are tall buildings.

Under the eerily clear sky, a roar of unknown origin began to resonate.

The three people felt a chill in their hearts.

When I looked to the left, it seemed to come from the right, and when I looked behind, it seemed to come from the front.

As if someone was shouting into a microphone that was heavily echo-filled.

From beyond the buildings, from between the buildings.

It was ringing endlessly.

Since I didn’t know the direction, I couldn’t just run away.

Youngman, who was holding the machete, showed no signs of moving.

He said calmly.

“Don’t look around. The sounds overlap and you can’t tell where they’re coming from. You just need to stay calm and look in one direction.”

Youngman’s deep voice pierced my ears.

Thanks to this, the two were able to focus on the sound without being flustered.

Finance tilted its head slightly.

Then he pointed to the left with his fingertips.

What he was pointing to was a building entirely made of glass.

Beomsik pointed to the building right in front of where the puppy appeared.

So the two of them looked in the direction he pointed and focused.

At that moment, the dog that had been barking madly heard the screams of the infected and tucked its tail and disappeared.

“빌어먹을 개새끼가 볼일만 보고 가 버리는군.”

It was when Young-man let out an annoyed curse.

A human figure appeared at the end of the building where the puppy had appeared.

It seemed as if he was turning a corner, but he failed to turn in time and crashed into a car parked on the side of the road.

The impact was so strong that the door dented.

But the figure stood up as if nothing had happened and ran towards the three people.

Even in the shadows of the buildings on the street, its horrific appearance was clearly visible.

A face that has turned black and decayed, and eyes that have turned red.

And the saliva flowing from your mouth.

It was the perfect sight of an infected person, nothing more to see.

Infected people