Infected - Chapter 67



Only Noblemtl

Episode 66

Thud thud.

Soldiers lined up in a long line walked, brandishing the tips of their sharp daggers.

All I could hear was the sound of boots, swallowing, and hearts pounding.

Crackle! Crackle!

The lights on the wall start to spark and shake, and every time they do, the dark inside of the mart appears to be illuminated by psychedelic lights, then disappears.

Following the platoon leader’s signal, the platoon troops began to divide into squads.

Because the mart was too big.

Sergeant Choi took the lead and led the squad.

Kim Chan-yeol, the deputy leader, followed behind, directing the spacing between his squad members.

It was too dark.

For some reason the lights weren’t on and it was pitch dark.

As I went deeper, I felt like I was entering a cave.

Kim Chan-yeol, who was following Sergeant Choi, suddenly stopped.

A stench that tickles the tip of your nose.

A rotten smell was wafting from somewhere.

It wasn’t the smell of infected people or rotting corpses.

It smelled like food.

That too was terribly rotten.

Kim Chan-yeol shined a flashlight.

And one step.

Thousands of lumps scattered irregularly where the light hit.

“Ugh!”

Sergeant Choi, who was walking ahead, stopped in shock.

It was a cockroach.

Adding a little lie, thousands of cockroaches the size of a fist were scattering or flying around.

As I moved the flashlight, I saw signs for the butcher shop and fish shop.

I found the cause of the smell.

The surroundings were clean, except for the rotten food and bugs.

I couldn’t even hear the sound of the infected person.

‘It’s so clean?’

It was my first time going outside, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t believe it was this clean.

When I think back to the time when I first entered the safe zone, the world was hell itself.

It would not have been at all strange for corpses and pieces of flesh to be strewn all over the mart.

But there was something strange here.

It feels artificial, I guess.

Anyway, it was fortunate.

Just as I was about to ease the tension a little, the platoon leader approached me.

Where the platoon leader’s fingertips point.

It was a silver door leading to the inner workings of the butcher shop and fishery.

A door through which employees pass by wearing boots.

Kim Chan-yeol didn’t feel like it.

But I had to go.

Because I hated being demoted for disobeying orders more than anything.

Several men who caused trouble have already been demoted from corporal to private first class.

Although it was an excessive action, the reason was that it was unavoidable to maintain discipline in these times.

A person’s heart is revealed in their eyes.

Kim Chan-yeol’s eyes wavered as he swallowed dry saliva, clenching his jaw.

But the platoon leader’s face did not change.

– Come in.

It seemed as if the platoon leader’s voice was heard at the end of the signal pointing to Sergeant Choi and Chanyeol Kim.

The two men who had been looking around at their squadmates slowly opened the door, and everyone watched with tense faces.

When I opened the door, a narrow passageway several meters long was revealed.

In the middle, there was a blue foot that was commonly seen in the cold storage of a fish market.

Sergeant Choi nodded as their eyes met.

Kim Chan-yeol takes the lead, kicking his foot towards the end of the gun barrel.

The workshop was complete darkness, that is.

I couldn’t see anything.

Click!

Kim Chan-yeol turned on the flashlight.

Then the white tiles on the floor and walls began to appear clearly.

And… bloodstains.

Bloodstains?

“Ugh!”

Kim Chan-yeol, who was turning the flashlight, stepped back while covering his nose.

A human’s skeletal upper body was lying face down under a workbench in the center of the workshop.

There wasn’t a single bit of flesh.

Black lumps scattering again.

‘Did the bugs eat it?’

I couldn’t figure it out.

But… it was such a gruesome sight that I couldn’t look straight at it.

There was not a single bone left below the pelvis.

I quickly turned the flashlight around to check inside.

That was the end.

It was when Kim Chan-yeol, who had come out, was holding back the nausea that was about to come.

Sergeant Choi, who came out after him, frowned and swore.

“Ha… fuck, fuck.”

“what’s the matter?”

The platoon leader, who was gesturing toward the squad that had returned from searching the necessities corner, asked after seeing their reactions.

“There is a corpse inside, with only bones left.”

“Just the bones?”

The platoon leader’s eyes sparkled at Kim Chan-yeol’s answer.

‘This guy, here we go again.’

“Yes, that’s right.”

“What else? Something shiny, like that.”

“I didn’t see it in detail.”

“Then come and take a closer look.”

“Did I mishear you?”

Kim Chan-yeol’s face was distorted like a piece of paper.

But the platoon leader’s eyes were already filled with curiosity.

“Go and see. Whether it was eaten by a bug or a zombie, it wouldn’t have eaten what was on its body.”

“Hey, Captain, why are you doing that?”

Sergeant Jeong, who had been listening, intervened and tried to dissuade them.

But the timing was not good.

The platoon leader’s eyes turned fierce.

“Hey, Jung Min-ho. Are you crazy?”

“no.”

Sergeant Jeong quickly corrects his posture.

“You can’t control your shit and piss because I accept everything? Do it in front of the kids like you used to?”

“I will be careful.”

At the word “old days,” Sergeant Jeong’s shoulders hunched.

‘What on earth was it like in the past… … .’

It was around the time when question marks appeared on the heads of the squad members who were watching.

“I will go in.”

Kim Chan-yeol opened the door and went in boldly to divert the platoon leader’s attention.

If we leave it like this, only Sergeant Jeong will bleed.

Kim Chan-yeol once again faced a corpse reduced to nothing but bones.

I felt like I would never get used to this no matter how many times I saw it.

As I got closer, an unimaginably foul smell assaulted my nose.

All that remained on the floor was a pool of blood.

I crouched down in front of the corpse, watching the cockroaches quickly scatter down the drain.

‘미친 새끼, 개새끼.’

Even though I muttered all kinds of curses under my breath, I still couldn’t understand.

Is it mental illness or paranoia?

Or is it the aftereffects of the zombie apocalypse?

How long are you going to keep doing this?

I scanned her shoulders, elbows, and fingertips, past her ribs, which were clearly visible with the flashlight.

There was nothing.

There were only tiny bits of flesh attached to the bones, making it difficult to discern anything.

“Phew… … .”

I stood up, letting out a sigh of relief that I felt like I was going to vomit.

Once again, something sparkled in Kim Chan-yeol’s eyes as he turned around.

It was next to the sewer.

‘ring?’

The silver ring, which was not visible because its color was similar to the border of the tile, was reflecting in the flashlight.

I didn’t want to be inside anymore.

I quickly grabbed the ring and went outside.

‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry.’

When he stepped forward and apologized to the deceased, Kim Chan-yeol was looking into the eyes of a pig in human skin, not the platoon leader.

The platoon leader smiled with satisfaction as he saw the silver ring in his hand.

And he was delighted as he turned the ring around and recited the initials engraved inside.

I remembered the time when I left the unit, loaded up with supplies, and entered Yeouido.

I remembered the scene where they were tearing off the watch and necklace from the body of the infected person whose head had exploded.

Loot, that loot.

This kid wasn’t human.

It wasn’t an aftereffect.

This is the kind of person whose true nature is hidden.

That’s the conclusion I came to.

Right then.

thud!

All the platoon members’ gazes turned to the ceiling.

The same was true for the platoon leader.

thud!

Kim Chan-yeol’s flashlight reflexively illuminated the second floor guide posted next to the escalator.

The second floor guide only had clothing stores and offices.

Judging from the size of the map, the office seemed to occupy about a third of the second floor.

I didn’t want to go up.

Because I made sure it was quiet downstairs.

So, I wanted to pack only the necessities and get out of here quickly.

It also seemed like time had passed too quickly.

The platoon leader turned on the radio.

“There’s a noise upstairs.”

Chi-chik!

[There isn’t much time.]

The company commander’s voice came over the radio.

“Now that the first floor has been searched, how about we check upstairs while the second platoon carries out the necessities? It might be a good idea to thoroughly inspect the interior in case we come back again.”

There was no answer for several seconds.

‘Please, just tell him to come out.’

Chi-chik!

[The platoon leader will take care of it. Instead, he should come out at the appropriate time.]

“All right.”

The anticipation turned into a bubble in an instant, and Kim Chan-yeol closed his eyes.

The platoon leader’s finger pointed at Sergeant Choi.

“You guys go up with me, and the rest of the squad helps transport supplies. We’ll be down in ten minutes.”

“All right.”

The squad leaders of the other squads disappeared, answering with bright faces that were either relieved or happy.

Sergeant Choi and Chanyeol Kim walked up the stopped escalator with their squad members.

The escalator was littered with abandoned items.

When he reached the second floor, pushing them away with his feet, Kim Chan-yeol turned off the flashlight.

Because, unlike the first floor, there were many windows.

Of course, the fog prevented the sunlight from reaching us, but it was enough to brighten our view.

There was no need to search the open clothing store.

All I did was walk around and look around.

The problem was the office.

As I opened the firmly closed door, a passageway the size of a large hospital split to the left and right.

Now there was no more thumping sound.

This time, Sergeant Choi took the lead.

Sergeant Choi slung his rifle over his shoulder.

Then he pulled out the dagger he had been holding and held it in his hand.

Because I judged that a dagger would be more effective than a long rifle in the passage.

As expected… Jjamppong is Jjamppong.

Kim Chan-yeol, who was following behind, also followed Sergeant Choi and grabbed a dagger in his hand.

The platoon leader and Sergeant Jeong were entering the opposite hallway, holding daggers.

Eyes filled with anticipation and no fear.

Kim Chan-yeol turned his head away, not wanting to read those eyes anymore.

Light streamed in through the windows, illuminating every corner of the hallway.

Judging from the security and general affairs departments, it seemed like there was a good division of labor.

Well, it’s a multi-story mart.

“Sergeant Choi.”

“why?”

Sergeant Choi, who was walking ahead, answered softly without taking his eyes off the front.

Kim Chan-yeol suddenly became curious.

I wonder what lies at the end of this.

I was curious about the ending of the struggle for survival that was already starting to get tiresome.

“After we clean up Yeouido… what happens next?”

“I don’t know.”

It was a typical answer from Sergeant Choi, but Kim Chan-yeol continued talking as if he was venting his frustration.

“Then they’ll try to go back down to Gangnam. They’ll lift and move the outer wall, and search like they’re doing now… If they do that, they’ll eventually have to fortify the entire Seoul, but with the current population, it’s probably not enough. I don’t know how many survivors there are out there.”

“What are you trying to say?”

Sergeant Choi answered, turning at the end of the hallway.

“I just… I often wonder these days what might be at the end of this.”

“hey.”

“Private Kim Chan-yeol.”

Sergeant Choi looked back for the first time and lowered his dagger.

Then he put his hand on Kim Chanyeol’s shoulder and said.

“Whew, Chanyeol. I’ve been like that since you were the youngest. You think too much. You can’t do military life if you think too much. We just have to do what we’re told. You’ve done well so far, haven’t you?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Kim Chan-yeol nodded reluctantly.

“Just like you said, when that time comes, we will be able to enjoy things we can’t enjoy now, and we will have other pleasures. Of course, that’s not true. If we live thinking about when the electricity will be cut off, when the gas will be cut off, we won’t be able to live. For now, let’s just focus on the meaning of being alive.”

“Thank you. Now that I hear it, I guess I was thinking too deeply.”

“Yeah. Well, there’s nothing wrong with thinking deeply. It’s a fucking shitty world. It’s just natural. But there are good things about it, too.”

“What do you mean?”

“At least you don’t have to worry about getting lung cancer from smoking. You don’t know if you’ll be alive by then. You don’t know when you’ll die, so being able to enjoy yourself to your heart’s content, whether it’s good or bad for your health, is an advantage.”

It was a strangely positive response.

Anyway… it’s not wrong.

Kim Chan-yeol nodded.

and.

thud!

The two men turned their heads to the room next door.

It was the room right next door.

A handle that Sergeant Choi could reach with just an outstretched hand.

The two dispersed to the left and right, centering on the door, as if they had made a promise.

Raise the dagger upward.

“One, two, three.”

The door opened wide as Sergeant Choi’s breathy count ended.

And the two people who looked inward froze in place.

Inside the office, a giant monster with a bizarre shape, swollen enough to touch the ceiling and its sides to burst, was staring at the two.

That was when.

Kwaaak!

“Run away!”

“Ahh!”

“Don’t shoot!”

From the entrance of the office in front of the clothing store where the four had separated from their squad members, the roars and screams of countless infected people could be heard mixed together.

Infected people