Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

< Survivor and Murderer (3) >

All stagnant waters, including me, had always secretly wished for a deathmatch against a murderer. It was stemming from the fact that in addition to a large number of points one will get from defeating them, there’s also a chance that one would acquire special skills that only murderers would have once we defeat them.

The skill all stagnant waters wanted was undoubtedly ‘Friendliness’. A wonderful skill which would prevent all monsters from being hostile to its user. However, it was quite difficult to actually get it because the condition to get it was to keep killing other users.

“Though, there’s someone who did it for a year straight.” And when the stagnant waters hunted them down and was lucky enough to get the Friendliness skill, they would use it to do a cossack dance amongst the zombies. That's the only useful thing the skill can give us, after all.

However, as Survival Life didn’t have many users, naturally the number of murderers were also low. So whenever one appeared, all four of us would come to them and fight them in hope of getting the ‘Friendliness’ skill.

However, we also made an agreement that if the murderer was talented enough, we wouldn't hunt them. After all, someone like that was rare and exotic, like an endangered species. And endangered species need to be preserved.

“By the way, where’s this guy…” I walked around the mall and listened to the heartbeat sound. As the sound would get louder the closer you are to them, it was something that can be used to track the location of the murderer. Only for the ones who were brave enough, though.

After several more minutes sweeping through the building, with a thump, the zombies outside the mall started to gather, creating a wall of living rotten flesh. It was the sign that the deathmatch event had been activated. Which means, aside from the murderer and me, there are 2 other survivors around here since the deathmatch event wouldn’t be triggered unless there's more than 3 users around the vicinity of the murderer.

“Since the murderer is Kwon’s subordinate, the event wouldn’t be triggered by someone from his camp.” I continued my sweep with Dingo in tow. And at one moment, a familiar presence creeped into my senses from the floor below. I checked it by looking below through the railings, and what I saw was indeed Sooyeon. However, she was not alone, as there’s a man next to her.

For a moment, I thought that the man was some kind of stalker. However, when both of them started to talk, I realized it wasn't the case. 

Unlike her usual calm and cool demeanour, the current Sooyeon looks angry as she starts shouting towards the man while both of them are climbing to the second floor.

Is it perhaps a lover's quarrel?

I quickly opened the portal and hid inside with Dingo.

“Sooyeon, hey, Sooyeon!” The man who chased after her urgently grabbed Sooyeon's shoulder as soon as I crossed the portal.

“Why are you doing this?” Sooyeon said while brushing his grip away. A hint of frustration was apparent in her voice.

“Wait, please calm down and let’s talk. We can’t have a conversation If you keep being angry like this.”

“You know there is a murderer around us right now, right? Do we really have to do this now?”

“Don’t be like that…” The man pleaded.

After listening to their argument. I realized that it wasn’t a lover's quarrel. It seems that the man was one of the three Sooyeon mentioned a few days ago. And just like how Sooyeon described them, the man didn’t feel reliable at all. His physique was quite small and thin. Since even after awakening he still has that kind of body, I doubt his unique ability is a combat-related one.

Sooyeon crossed her arms and said. "Really! Tell me, what do you want?!”

“I just hope that the relationship between me and Sooyeon will develop further. I will take responsibility for you.”

At his words, a chuckle leaked out from my mouth. It was funny and outrageous to say that kind of thing in this apocalyptic world. Even the purest person on Earth would know what a man wants from a woman in this kind of world.

“It’s not all you want, isn’t it? You're just saying something like that, hoping I will bite it so you can put me on your bed." Sooyeon said with a smirk.

“I don’t know about the other two, but I harbour no such feelings.”

“Then, answer this. Why are you following me like this? And why are you screaming in front of my house that day?”

It seems that the man was the reason why Sooyeon acted cautious when I knocked on her door when I visited her. And to think he even followed Sooyeon around to this kind of place, he was really brave, or maybe foolish. Love is truly blinding.

As the man fumbled on his words, probably trying to make some excuses, Sooyeon spitted another barrage of words. “What are you going to do by following me all the way here? If a murderer appears, can you handle them? Why do you keep saying sweet things when you can’t even do anything?”

“Sooyeon…”

“People need to match each other well to date, isn’t that right, Dingo?” The guy didn’t even show any reaction to my words. He just yawned while laying on the ground.

Anyway, should I intervene right now or just protect Sooyeon from the dark? Judging by the man's actions, he didn't seem to be a man who would give up easily. Although there’s no special connection between me and Sooyeon, I wanted to at least take care of her so that she didn't die.

She’s someone who had cleared the tutorial, had a quite good unique ability, had a strong will to survive, and was kind to me. Those reasons were enough for me to protect her.

Sooyeon interrupted the man's words before quickly turning around and walking away. The moment the man tried to chase her again, Sooyeon's steps came to a halt.

"Huh? Wha…what?" Sooyeon's expression hardened. The man also lost all his words as he looked at the zombie wall in the distance. “It’s a deathmatch event…”

Anyone who entered the event always had the same expression as them. I quickly took a peek at the vicinity of the portal and returned to the mall after confirming there’s no one around. As soon as my body crossed through the portal, a loud thump of heartbeat entered my ears. It was loud, as if I was listening to a heartbeat using a stethoscope. It's proof that the murderer was very close to my location.

I checked my whole equipment for one last time. Even if there’s no corrosive disease, guns wouldn’t be useful to kill a murderer. After all, their health regeneration and durability were off the charts, so one or two bullets wouldn't be enough to kill them. But just because a deathmatch event must be triggered if there’s 3 people or more around the murderer, there’s no rule that states all of the survivors need to team up in order to kill the murderer.

"Isn’t that right, Kwon?"

.

.

.

Murderer would chase the survivors. While the survivors must avoid the zombie wall and escape from the killer. This was how the deathmatch event works. It would only end when one of the two camps were obliterated. But, what if the survivors keep running away from the murderer, avoiding a fight? The chase would continue, until at one point, where the zombie wall finally blocks all kinds of escape routes the survivors can use, forcing them to fight against the murderer, while the murderer will be plunged into a state called ‘Enraged’. Murderers in this state were really strong, so strong even stagnant waters would find it difficult to fight against them. 

“There was a time when we met a murderer who was strong enough to tore a werewolf to death barehanded.” I put the flame can and rope in my backpack as I reminiscences the past before returning to the mall again. This time, the heartbeat had become much louder than earlier, but the murderer still couldn’t be seen anywhere.

“Are they within 50m?” If it is so, staying in one place would only make me a sitting duck, so I would have to move around. Then, once I met the murderer, it would be better to stop their movement using the glowstone and run away.

While I was moving around the mall carefully, I finally met Sooyeon and the man directly.

“Mr. Seongho!”

"Shhhhh. Can you hear that?”

"Yes Yes." Her head moved up and down as she answered. Meanwhile, the man next to her looked at me with a very ambiguous expression plastered on his face. He probably thought something like ‘Who is this bastard?’. But well, it’s not like he is directly harming me so I don’t have to confront him about it.

“It’s the murderer. They are very close. They may have already found us. If you don't want to die, run away now!” As Sooyeon was a wise woman, she nodded her head without saying yes or questioned my words and started to dash away.

However, as it turns out, we are late. From the stairs at the end of the hallway, a man walked casually towards us. He was wearing black suit just like Kwon and his subordinates back when they tried to capture me. His build wasn't that big, but because of the pressure he emanated, he looked like a giant. His face was expressionless while his right hand was gripping a blood-stained knife.

Is that a ceramic knife? I clicked my tongue. As I was looking at him, Sooyeon, whose face turned whiter and whiter with every passing second, stuttered in a very low voice.

“He…he’s here.”

Thump-!! Thump-!!

The heartbeat became even louder as he stepped closer and closer. If the one from earlier felt like listening through a stethoscope, the current one felt as if the heartbeat was being amplified by a large concert speaker. At the same time, the murderer's eyes glowed red. It was a murderer's bread and butter skill, Life Tracking. With that skill activated, hiding in the portal wouldn’t help much.

I tapped Sooyeon's shoulder as she stepped backwards. “Sooyeon, follow me. Hopefully we will be able to survive this.”

“O…okay, I'll just run, so please save me."

“I can’t promise you that.” I said to Sooyeon while ignoring the man. “Run, now!!!”

We went up the stairs at once. However, suddenly, zombies from all directions gathered and formed a wall in front of us. It was much thicker than the one from the tutorial, so it was virtually impossible to break through it. But in a building like this, there’s exactly one way to get through. It was something which most users didn’t know. Even MyDream wouldn’t know about it.

As I ran, I glanced behind me to see the man and the murderer. I took the brightest glowstone I had prepared beforehand and threw it towards the murderer.

“Keaaaakkkkkk.” The murderer screamed in pain and rubbed his eyes. It wouldn’t be able to move for at least a few seconds

Looking at that, Sooyeon said admiringly. “How did you know about that trick?”

“I learned it from the internet. Looks like I found a real information from there for once.” I said as we kept running away. However, I felt the man following me suddenly stop. Was he perhaps trying to imitate my action? Don’t tell me he's doing it because he wants to look cool in front of Sooyeonl.

He rummaged through his backpack, pulled out his glowstone, and threw it towards the murderer. Just like what I did a few moments earlier.

However, instead of stopping like before, the murderer staggered towards him.

"Uh? Hey, why did it not work?” The man said in panic.

I guess he didn't know that the attack would only work once every few minutes. Oh well…

Thump-!! Thump-!!

The murderer's steps accelerated. It seems like he is already entering the ‘Enraged’ state, albeit not yet fully. He didn’t even run, maybe just power walking. Nevertheless, he was still quite fast, so if someone stumbled, it would be the end of them.

The man did not know what to do and started running again. Meanwhile, Sooyeon kept looking back with worried expression.

I warned her. “Don’t look back. Just run!”

"O…okay!"

Running while looking behind was only possible if someone had something like Terrain Detection skill. Anyway, looking at the situation, the man wouldn’t survive much longer. Every single one of the murderer's attacks was deadly. I didn’t have any doubt that the man might die in just one hit.

Once he died, the murderer would fully focus on both Sooyeon and me. If I want to save Sooyeon, we have to break through the wall of the zombies.

“Ah… Ah… Sa-save me, save me!”

The man reached out his hand towards me. It was an earnest gesture that contained the will to survive. But it was too late. The murderer was already one swing away from him. In the blink of an eye, the killer swung his arm. The man could not resist and his body was pierced by the murderer’s knife.

“AHHHHHHHH!” The man screamed for one last time before dropping to the floor, lifeless. Without sparing any glance to his newest prey, the murderer's reddened gaze turned towards us.

You are itching to kill us, huh? Just wait a little bit longer.

.

.

.

Rabbit Pwincess, or Seokhyun, thought about going to Busan, but for some reason he couldn’t find the way at all since all road signs were destroyed by the corrosive disease. He knew that he could just run through the highway to do it because he would be able to know the area name through one way or another. But he lacked patience, as he only wanted to run in the right direction from the start.

After much deliberation, he decided to join a group of survivors to get the info he wanted. However, his definition of joining was different from normal people. He simply appeared in front of the said group and started talking. Afterall, real men didn’t need permission from others.

When Seokhyun appeared, the survivors did their best to drive him out, but after realizing the difference in power between them, they surrendered.

“Ta…take whatever you want! But please spare my life!”

“I don’t need your life. Just tell me the way to Busan.”

The leader's expression changed strangely at Seokhyun’s words. In his mind, he thought, what is wrong with this bastard?

"Do you know or not? Do you want me to beat you up until you know?”

“So, uh… are you really asking about the direction to Busan?”

"Yes."

“…” The leader of the group was confused beyond belief. But simultaneously he felt a desire to take revenge on the man in front of him. He wanted to screw him out by pointing in the wrong direction, but his mind was able to put a stop on that stupid plan, afraid of his revenge. Who knows what a man with a perverted outfit like him would do if someone angered him.

The leader pointed in the direction of Busan. On top of it, he also told Seokhyun that if he runs along the Gyeongbu Line from Yongsan Station, he could go straight to Busan.

“Gyeongbu Line? Okay, thank you.”

Seokhyun rummaged through his backpack and threw one of his items towards the leader. He then left the hideout and started to run.

The other survivors, who had been beaten up by Seokhyun, rose to their feet and asked the leader.

“What did you tell him just now?”

“It’s how to get to Busan through Yongsan Station.”

“But why is that bastard running in the opposite direction?”

“I don’t know…”

Meanwhile, Seokhyun ran as fast as he could. This time he felt outrageously light as he knew he was on the correct path. Although it will take some time to get to Busan, he had no doubt that he would be able to endure it. After all, he’s going to meet his friend!

“I am gooooooooinggggg!” Seokhyun shouted, attracting all the zombies around him. After arriving at the place he thought to be Yongsan Station, Seokhyun ran along the railroad tracks. Every time a zombie appears in his path, he would smash them. He only rested once when he arrived at the next station.

Due to his high level, reinforced zombies would also appear along with the normal one, but it did not hinder his progress at all. Every night, when the zombies were asleep, he ran. And when morning came, he stopped and slept before running again once he woke up. And after a few days, he finally arrived in a rather big city.

“I don’t think this is Busan… Ah… This is Pyeongtaek!” Seokhyun nodded his head in satisfaction. Never had he thought that he was in the wrong place. But after walking away from the station, he felt something was odd. From what he knew, the area around Pyeongtaek Station was normally quite jam-packed by people. But, right now, he couldn’t see any zombies around.

And when he crossed the road, he was surprised. After all, there was a large lake right in front of it. At that moment, Seokhyun decided to walk the opposite way from the lake. After wandering frantically, Seokhyun found out that this city was Chuncheon, not Pyeongtaek. He should have ran along the Gyeongbu Line, while in reality, he had ran along the Gyeongchun Line.

“DAAAAMMIITTTTTTT.” Seokhyun roared. He was crestfallen and had lost all of his motivation. Meanwhile, a lot of zombies rushed towards him because of his roar. However, Seokhyun didn’t do anything to them, he just crouched down while hugging his knees. A sob could be heard every now and then amidst the growl of the zombies.

However, even though numerous zombies were clawing, punching and biting at him, no wounds could be seen on his body. It was simply because his skin and muscles had become too thick for a mere zombie to inflict damage upon.

After a while, Seokhyun rose to his feet and walked into the city centre. Behind him, a horde of zombies follow suit. The survivors who were hiding were frightened at the display. All of them thought that it was a horde led by a reinforced zombie which only wore a panty underneath its rag-like coat.

“Seeeeeeeexxxxxxxx!” As the reinforced zombie roared, one survivor grabbed his head and desperately forced his hand to write in his diary.

-After a few weeks, a zombie which didn’t growl but screamed ‘sex’ appeared. Has he turned into a zombie while bearing a grudge for sex? In the future, they may even pretend to be human… I will call them New Humans. I am leaving this record as a person from the last generation… Hopefully future generations will discover it…