Season 2: Chapter 18. Battle (2)

Season 2: Chapter 18. Battle (2)

"It was tough just going to the bathroom once," Almond said as he staggered into the store.

His shirt was soaked in blood, and the mop handle in his hand was also stained bright red.

The store clerk involuntarily stepped back, "You... How did you survive? Those zombies, they were all..."

"Quickly close the door. They’re not dead."

"...?"

Not dead? They certainly looked dead.

The clerk peered over Almond's shoulder.

'They’re moving...?'

Almond was right. The zombies were still moving. Just very slowly, slower than they normally did.

"Close it."

"Oh, okay." Updated from novelbIn.(c)om

Slam!

The clerk obediently closed the door, not wanting to face the zombies again.

— What a good listener, LOL

— ??? (I’m older than him, so I need to be...) Oh! Okay!

— Now, if Almond says to close it, you close it! What's the big deal? LOL.

"How did this happen? Why are they like that? Can't they move at night?"

"... Night?"

Almond looked even more shocked by the clerk's words.

‘Night?’

"Yes, it's night now, 9 P.M."

"...?"

The clerk held out her cell phone that indeed read 9 P.M.

"Is that an error?"

"What are you talking about? All the news articles have the correct time."

In the same way that Almond persuaded her earlier, he was now the one being convinced.

He switched the microphone channel to ask the stream, "It's not night, right?"

— Yup.

— Not here, LOL.

— Time must pass quickly there! It's a game, after all!

"... Last time, time passed normally in class. Is this the theory of relativity?"

— Einstein: Were you sleeping during my lecture?

— That's just because you were bored.

— If this isn't the theory of relativity, what is!?

— Einstein and Almond are from the same family. Seriously, LOL.

It seemed that time hadn't passed much in reality according to the viewers' reactions, but it had quickly passed in the game. Most survival games adopted this mechanism, so it wasn't surprising. However, he found it unfair that time had flowed in real-time during the morning class.

"That's why I was so hungry."

Almond finally understood why his character felt so hungry. If he thought about the fast passage of time, it made sense.

— Oh, he must have realized that.

— He wondered why he was so close to dying from missing just one lunch. Hahaha.

— So it wasn't just because he was growing...

He seemed to understand more about the game.

The boy sitting quietly at the table spoke up, "What is that?" He pointed to the mop handle.

"That..."

Almond explained that he whittled down the mop handle to make a spear. He seemed quite proud while explaining, but...

'There's already something similar here.'

It looked like a metal pipe with a box cutter blade tied to it.

— Laughing at finding another spear. Hahaha

— Everyone can make that~!

— Almond's expression is cute.

— ??? Wasn't I the only one with a spear?

The viewers noticed his dramatic reaction and teased him.

Almond cleared his throat and tried to change the topic, "Why didn't you kill them? That weapon doesn't work?"

The big-headed guy seemed unwilling to end the conversation.

The cashier looked alarmed at this.

"Test?!"

The boy calmly looked back at her.

"The restroom will probably be most essential for you."

"But even if we kill the zombies here, won't more come from elsewhere? I saw on YouTube that zombies are most sensitive to sound rather than smell. They actually don't see that well."

It was odd that such content could be found on YouTube, but it made sense given that some networks were still active while the zombies roamed around.

"So, we’ll just attract more zombies from the upper floors every time we make some noise by smashing them with a hammer."

In short, every restroom visit would mean facing zombies. Such a life seemed chaotic.

"I have a plan."

Surprisingly, Almond came up with a strategic proposal.

'I saw it clearly on the minimap.'

He began to explain the tactic he had in mind.

"There are fire doors."

"Aha!"

The thick-haired boy immediately seemed to understand upon hearing this and clapped his hands in realization.

"There are mandatory installations at certain intervals in hallways, stairs, and passages in school facilities."

"... Oh, those metal doors!"

The employee seemed to understand now.

"The western staircase is right next to our store. We just need to step out and close it. The key is the eastern staircase."

"If we close the eastern staircase...?"

"We can use everything here in the basement: the music room, the bathrooms, and the indoor gym."

"!"

Indeed, all schools featured natural barriers called fire doors. Moreover, the school was overflowing with desks and heavy objects that could be piled in front of these fire doors to form barricades.

"In this manner, we can make and keep expanding quarantine zones in the school."

"Wow...! That's true!"

— Crazy spinning walnut.

— Honestly, are you Kim Ju-Hyeok?

— Almond, now it's time for you to get back into the capsule.

The plan sounded realistic and effective. If they could claim this entire basement corridor, including the restroom, they could solve their food and hygiene problems to some extent.

"So, how about we go to the northern staircase and close the door while the zombies are in a weakened state?" Almond suggested.

An opportunity arose with the zombies weakened.

"The zombies will make noise if we try to kill them, so we'll quietly head to the northern staircase without killing them."

This plan didn’t even require them to kill the zombies. The other two felt it was worth a try.

"Let's do it," the employee said with determination.

"I think I can handle the zombies in that state. No, I have to try. I've watched a lot on YouTube. I can do it," she repeated similar words to herself several times.

The big-headed guy nodded, "... We have to. We have to survive."

The word survival didn’t fully resonate with them yet, but that would change after today. By tomorrow, it would be too late to implement this plan.

"We should plan this carefully. There's a chance it might go wrong once we go out," the employee warned.

Almond agreed with her sentiment. There was no need to rush after using the restroom once already.

***

To clearly explain, Almond tore a piece of paper from a notebook and drew a diagram.

"We have to close these two fire doors in front of the stairs. Then, the zombies won't be able to come down anymore."

Only now did the employee and the big-headed guy seem to fully understand as they nodded.

"Ah..."

"Now I get it."

The three of them stood side by side in front of the store. All of them held their new weapons.

"Shall we open it?" Almond asked as he grabbed the door handle.

“Yes.”

“Alright.”

Thump. Thump.

The employee's heartbeat pounded.

They were understandably tense since they didn't know if the zombies were still in a weakened state. They could possibly have to fight the zombies as soon as they stepped out. Fear was natural, but it didn't matter. They had to do this.

Creak.

Almond opened the door.