Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

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Poor Man was one of the viewers of my live stream. He watched my stream all the time, even when there was no one to watch. That’s why some people called him Gimbap’s loyalist. Moreover, every time he came to watch, he spared no support for me. He said that he had a physically hard part-time job, so he always looked forward to my streams to relieve his stress.

‘What kind of part-time job should I get this time?’

I laughed every time the Poor Man said so. I had always thought, since he could even sponsor people, his ID must be nothing but a gimmick, right?

“…” 

I had forgotten about him after the zombie apocalypse came. I had thought that there was no way he could be alive. But now, out of nowhere, I would meet him. No, to be precise, I had heard people claiming that he's alive. They coveted the unique skill Poor Man had, imprisoned him, and exploited him. Whining Series No. 5 claimed that he ran away even though he took care of him and was now trying to find him.

What should I do…

“… it’s been a while since I had fever.” I patted my cheek hard with my palm. When I woke up, my eyes were bloodshot. Didn’t they say his name is Jiman?

“If he gets caught this time, he will be in a tough situation…” 

Whining Series No. 5 had said several times that Poor Man had stabbed him in the back and run away. It doesn't matter if that's true or not. What was certain is that the relationship between the two was far from good. If Poor Man was caught this time, he would never be okay.

“Didn’t he say that he was very obsessive?” 

Whining Series No.5 was a human who could easily break someone's leg. When my thoughts reached that point, I decided on what I should do. Since talking was impossible, I must strike with force.

“Sorry, friends. I have to use this here.” 

I pulled the pardon scroll from the slot and held it in my hand. It was an item that clears all murder records. With this, people could commit murder without fearing the side effects.

Guilt? I have already killed several people. So, it was not something which would bother me this late in the game. After all, if I didn’t kill them, they would be the ones who would kill me later.

Wise men even said this: Death solves all problems. 

At least it was true in the apocalypse.

“Well, I’m not going to kill them all.”

.

.

.

“Hey, drive him that way!”

“Run run run!”

The members of JongSaMu, who were chasing Jiman, were half possessed by the hunter's spirit. They were all having the time of their lives. After all, their prey was like a rabbit without any proper means to attack them. In contrast, they were all armed with various kinds of offensive unique skill characteristics and weapons.

“He ran to the alley!”

“Don’t block the way, let him run!”

An important point in this hunt was to satisfy the sadism of their leader, Hong Ki-seop. They wanted to make sure that Poor Man, Eum Jiman, paid the price for stabbing him in the back and running away. He even instructed Jongsu to only chase him and not to catch him with his Blink ability. He had said that he would catch him himself.

People laughed menacingly when they thought of how Ki-seop would grab Jiman by the neck and beat him within an inch of his life. 

Before the apocalypse, they weren't actually vicious in nature. But, after living in a group called JongSaMu, they came to realize that violence was now the normal way to survive. 

There were no laws nor morals or public authority to stop them. 

And in the apocalypse, where unlimited freedom prevailed, it was only natural that the sadism which was sleeping deep within the human heart to emerge.

Well, it wasn't like there was absolutely no one who felt no pity for Jiman. This was especially the case with women In the group. But, they were also brainwashed by Ki-seop's logic, so in the end, they also turned their eyes away, pretending not to notice.

-Didn’t he run away after we protected him and fed him? This is betrayal, betrayal.

Not everyone in the group was a complete moron, but they simply couldn't object to Ki-seop's words. And they might have the underlying mentality of not forgiving those who betray the group either.

Jiman was running away as fast as he could in order to not be caught by the members of JongSaMu. His backpack full of supplies had also been ditched so that he could run faster. His stamina was above average, but unfortunately, there were too many people chasing him. On top of it, they also had an awakener with the blink ability in their midst, so it wasn't easy for him to run away.

He ran down a narrow alley, when a skinny man suddenly appeared before him. He jolted in fear.

"Ugh!"

“It’s useless to run away. Just surrender.”

“…”

Jiman slowly stepped backwards.

“Just give up. I'm sure Ki-seop hyung will not treat you that badly. At worst, maybe a cast on one of your legs?” Jongsu clicked his tongue.

“That means he’s going to break my leg!”

When Jiman shouted with tears running down his cheeks, Jongsu yelled back: “Isn’t that the only way to keep you from running away? We have protected you, but you still betray us!”

“I never betrayed you guys!”

“Never? Our group is one. We are family. Does it make sense for you to run away without your family's permission?”

“I never thought of you as family.” Jiman screamed as he escaped over the fence and went into one of the houses. But, to his surprise, there was already someone more terrifying waiting for him there. Moments later, Jongsu who had left the alley and entered the house's garden, saw Ki-Seop who had caught Jiman. He laughed at that sight as if he had found something funny.

“It’s been a while since we’ve met like this, right?”

"Uck…" Ki-seop, who Seongho knew as Whining Series No. 5, had grabbed Jiman by the neck and lifted him up. Then, he told Jongsu.

“Contact the others. Tell them we’ve caught Jiman.”

"Yes, hyung."

Ki-seop then turned his head and whispered softly. “Jiman.”

“…”

“Eum Jiman.”

“…”

However, there was no reply since Jiman had pursed his mouth shut and had turned his head away.

Ki-seop smirked at Jiman’s act and patted his cheek.

Pak-!!

“Hey, Eum Jiman.” He called his name as he slapped his cheeks.

But there was still no answer.

Ki-seop pulled Jiman's face closer to him and stared at him in anger. Rage had clouded his mind. 

“You bastard! You ran away without saying a word? You dare betray us who took care of you?"

“Hey, you didn’t even take care of me…”

“Didn’t take care of you!?!?! We fed you, put a roof over your head and gave you safety when you sleep! What more do you want?”

As he said that, Ki-seop clenched his neck, so that he couldn't answer any more.

“Ughhh!”

It was always like this. Ki-seop forced his thoughts onto others and instilled them with violence. To those who surrender and humble themselves before him, he treated them well. But if they didn’t accept him, he tormented them till they broke.

“Jiman ahhh… How am I supposed to listen to you? If you just be quiet, everyone will be comfortable, don't you think so. Is this leg the problem? If that is the case, let me cut one of it.”

While Ki-seop was babbling sadistic nonsense to Jiman, Hee-won, who was going to the house to see Jiman, stopped Seongho who suddenly appeared a few steps away from her.

“Go somewhere else.” She instructed.

“…” However, Seongho didn’t answer her.

His large body was moving slowly towards her, his eyes were bloodshot. When she saw this, Hee-won raised her voice.

“I said, go somewhere else. Why aren't you listening?"

“Slot three.”

"Ah really! What are you talking about?”

When she was annoyed with him and tried to unleash her powers, Seongho's hand stretched towards her. No, it was Hee-won's misunderstanding that it was stretching out. After all, what she saw wasn’t Seongho's body but a gray blade.

‘Too fast…' 

Before she could even think properly, the blade cut her throat. Blood gushed out of her neck as Heewon's head fell to the floor.

Then, Seongho's body disappeared.

.

.

.

Intense murderous intent assaulted my whole body. After I severed Heewon's neck, I instantly looked for my next prey. My fighting instinct was activated and my vision was instantly dyed red.

‘There it is…” I went up to the roof and saw a smiling man a few distance away from me. I jumped over the fence and went up to the second floor. When I did so, the smugness plastered on the man’s face was replaced by a terrified look.

“Wha-what?”

No matter how surprised someone was, when faced with either monsters or humans who attack them, it was an absolute must to react first rather than standing in daze.

I was already running towards him when he picked up the bow from the floor. When I hit him, the man fell from the second floor and hit his head to the ground as he landed. Then I followed suit and jumped straight towards his stomach.

“Euk!!” The man screamed like he was going to explode. I pressed the long knife deeper in his chest.

With only a slight resistance, it slid in. It crushed his ribs and pierced through his lung. As the guy let out his last breath, it felt as if the thumping of the heartbeat drummed all over the area.

Thump-!!

Thump-!!

Thump-!!

It's been a long time since I felt this way. It's not like I haven't been a murderer in the game before. All survivors of Survival Life had the experience of being a murderer. That's because you could have more fun in a deathmatch.

Anyway, by killing two people, I became a murderer. The unique skill which is only available to murderers appeared in front of me. At the same time, my stats exploded. The three stats which had already been boosted by fighting instinct were now approaching the 25 points mark.

Thump-!!

With another heartbeat, the murderer event started. I don't know how many people are trapped inside the zombie wall, but they will now be surrounded by zombies. I kicked the asphalt after checking the zombies rushing in. As I entered the street, two men found me.

“That’s the killer!”

“Fucking zombies are coming! Let's go to hyung first!"

Like hell I would let them run away. I turned the hook around and threw it at one of them. As the man slowly ascended to the sky, a rope wrapped around his body. Then, I pulled the rope down.

"Ugh!" The guy groaned and searched for a long knife tied on his waist. Unfortunately, he was a step too late. I was faster than him. I ran towards the rope and kicked him in the head with a soccer kick. With a popping sound, his head tilted back abnormally; he’s dead.

The heartbeat thumped louder. Everything around me was dyed in red. Infrared vision hadn't been activated yet, but it is not a problem since I have life tracking and death stigma on my skill list.

Survivors around the area began to appear all around me.

‘Over there.’ 

The other man who left the dead man and took advantage of the opportunity to run away was in the middle of climbing a fence. I quickly took an Elderwood Longbow from my slot and shot an arrow towards him. It pierced through his body and he fell to the ground. Probably dead.

‘Where are you…’ 

Where is Whining Series No. 5?

I roamed the streets almost like a beast before finally finding three men running away, chased by a wall of zombies. To be precise, it was two plus one since one of the man was being carried on Whining Series No. 5’s shoulder.

"Hyung! The murderer!”

“Dammit! We should have killed that bastard back then!”

Whining Series No. 5 looked at me and spat. I ran without a word and narrowed the distance. The two ran for a while and then fired an arrow at me.

Wooshhhh-!!

I moved my shoulders to dodge the arrow. Since my fighting instinct and the killer bonus were activated, my agility stat was close to 25. And because of this, seeing and dodging the flying arrows was as easy as hunting a goblin.

The two clenched their teeth and continued to fire. When I saw one particular arrow flying towards me, I grabbed it and broke it.

“He caught it?”

“Hyu… Hyung-nim!”

Whining Series No. 5 thought for a moment and then seemed to have come to some sort of determination since he looked grim and handed the man he was carrying to the man on his side.

‘Is that Poor Man?’

“Where are you hiding? Come out! I…”

There is no more reason to listen. I immediately opened the slot and threw the throwing knife at the skinny man. He used Blink and avoided it.

‘Let's see how long he can endure.’

When I threw the throwing knife at one spot, a scream could be heard instantly. Then, at that moment, I witnessed Whining Series No. 5 rushing at me from the corner of my eyes.

“Yaaaaaaaaa!” 

His hand had already zoomed towards my cheeks when I turned around, but I grabbed his wrist effortlessly with one hand. I also caught the other hand when he moved it. The fight instantly turned into a battle of power. No matter how powerful his physical stats were, he wouldn’t be able to beat me as I was currently buffed by numerous skills.

“Wha, what kind of power…” Whining Series No.5 whispered shakily. At the same time, his muscles twitched, as he was pushed back by me.

I twisted my arms as hard as I could.

Crack-!!

There was an ominous sound and Whining Series No. 5's wrist bent at an angle a human could never make.

“Ackkkk!” He plopped to his knee as he struggled to move his other hand. But, I bent his other wrist as well before releasing him. Then, I pulled out the long knife and pointed it at his chest.

“WHO ARE YOU!!! JUST WHO ARE YOU!!!” He shouted. His pain was apparent from his voice alone.

“Will you understand if I say I am I Love Gimbap?”

"WHA-WHAT?" His eyes widened. I could see his pupils moving wildly in shock and confusion. “No way! How could I Love Gimbap do something stupid like being a murdere-“

“I have this.” I cut his words short as I pulled the pardon scroll.

“Don’t tell me!!! YOUUU!!! YOOOUUUUUU!!!!” Whining Series No.5 screamed as he looked at me intently.

“They gave me this once the event was over. By the way, thank you for your concession.”

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” He even shed tears in anger. I exerted strength to the hand holding the long knife and pushed it forward. The blade pierced his chest easily.

"Please! Ahhh! Spare me! If you just let me live…"

“I’m not the type to do anything I know I will regret.” I jolted the long knife in. He struggled frantically, but very quickly, his movement stopped.

I stood up. The grey blade of the long knife was now dyed in red. The heartbeat had now increased to the point where it resembles a marching band's tempo from the series of murders I had committed.

‘Now it's done…’ With only a few deaths, all problems were gone. JongSaMu would soon disappear, and the remaining members of the group would not have the leeway to argue between themselves.

When I tore the pardon scroll, the surroundings turned calm once again and my red vision returned to normal. Stats and skills were also normalized. Waves of exhaustion instantly swept over my body. But, I forced my body to move. I wanted to see Poor Man.

The guy struggled to free himself from the rope as soon as he saw me.

‘Are you in your early 20s?’ 

Just by looking at his eyes, I knew that he was a very good man. When the ropes and tapes were cut, he tried to run away right away. Knowing that he was currently in front of a murderer, it was nothing but a natural course of action.

“Poor Man, when did I say you can go? Sit." I spoke in a playful manner.

"Oh."

Those words were the exact same words I had once told him in one of my streams.

The guy stopped and slowly turned his head to me.