Antisocial Chapter 19

Chapter 19. Immunity

Bo-yeon caused them to gather, but Do-kyung took care of the cleanup.

“I’m sorry…” Bo-yeon mumbled softly, feeling drained.

“Why do you think it’s at the top?”

“Why…?”

Bo-yeon recalled the inside of the department store as seen through the drone.

“The department store felt like a monster’s fortress. The smaller ones seemed like worker bees, protecting the queen bee…”

“Why would they protect the big one?”

“Because it’s more important…?”

Ah….

Bo-yeon thought she understood why Do-kyung was asking her this question.

“I’ll just kill one, and it’s over. The smaller ones can’t move without the influence of the main body.”

Zombies were the enemy. They could win by eliminating what was crucial to the enemy. There was no need to hesitate when the enemy was clearly stalling for time.

“If I’m going to kill them, now’s the time. Before they turn into pupae.”

“Pupa…? Are you saying they’re butterflies?”

“Why else would they be like that, unless they’re trying to grow stronger?”

Do-kyung glanced down at Bo-yeon, who was frozen in place, then walked toward her with deliberate steps.

“You said they were like a bunch of zombified rats.”

He slowly released the poison into Bo-yeon’s mind.

“Whatever’s inside them will eventually escape and won’t stay in the department store. It will spread to Seoul.”

Even in apartments that had been thoroughly quarantined, mice still appeared. If zombies the size of fists were running around, humans wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully.

They could bite at any moment, spreading infection. It would be fatal for the survivors left in Seoul.

“Then I’ll lock you in the basement and not let you leave, not even once.”

“…….”

“You won’t even be able to take a walk whenever you feel like it.”

“…….”

“I’m okay with that too.”

“…….”

“What should I do?”

Do-kyung grabbed Bo-yeon’s chin, tilting his head with a smirk.

“Tell me what you want.”

With the slightest movement, a cool breath rippled from the distance where their lips were about to meet.

Bo-yeon’s soft eyelids fluttered as she averted her gaze. It was then that the devilish glint in Do-kyung’s eyes, as if testing humans for amusement, flashed.

“…Did you know I like taking walks?”

“What?”

Do-kyung’s brow furrowed slightly at the unexpected question.

“Is that why you took me out every day?”

“……”

“I don’t have to go for walks.”

“……”

“Don’t go.”

Her transparent eyes locked onto Do-kyung, filled with doubts that clouded his mind.

The eyes, now gradually crumbling, pierced Bo-yeon with irritation.

“Do you not want me to go?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t you understand what’s going to happen in the future?”

“People will be in more danger. I will be too.”

The sacrifice of one for the many. For that to be a noble death, the person being sacrificed had to willingly choose it. If someone dies because they were forced, it becomes nothing more than a sacrifice.

Bo-yeon struggled to fully understand Do-kyung, but she knew he lacked any sense of sacrifice. Still, she urged him to tell her what he wanted.

“Do you think I hate you? How could you even say such a thing? We’ve lived together, facing each other…”

Bo-yeon thought that if she let Do-kyung go like this, he would die, and panic began to grip her.

“I don’t have the courage or the will to hate you. I was scared, but I never hated you.”

“…….” 

“I, O-, I wish Oppa, you… didn’t die….” 

Bo-yeon lowered her head and talked nonsense somewhat, her mind in confusion. 

“And… there’s another way.” 

Oh, I should’ve said this first. 

“I’m going to blow them up with a drone. It has explosive power strong enough to take down a heavily armored vehicle, so it should work.”

Bo-yeon, a model citizen, had decided to carry out an attack on the department store. It would be fine. Her grandfather would have done this too.

“If this doesn’t work, don’t go! That’s pointless! How can a person defeat a heavily armored vehicle? You’ll just die in vain!”

Bo-yeon gripped Do-kyung’s hand tightly and lifted her head.

The next moment, she flinched.

His expression was completely indifferent.

Bo-yeon would never know what his eyes had looked like before the bomb story began.

***

In the end, they decided to drop the bomb first. Retrieving the drone with the bomb inside went smoothly, just like the first time.

“I-I’ll do it…!”

A bomb attack in the heart of Seoul? The drone confirmed that there were no people inside the department store.

Since it was still daytime, the survivors would likely be hiding, minimizing the risk of collateral damage. But it was still a bomb attack.

Ah. The idea that she would bomb… a department store was truly absurd. Bo-yeon, an ordinary citizen, began to tremble, and her vision blurred.

But the zombie situation right before her eyes seemed even more ridiculous. It was time to brace herself.

“I have to do it. I… I, have to do it…”

Bo-yeon’s hands trembled, but she gritted her teeth.

“…….”

Bo-yeon felt as though she was filming a disaster movie alone, while Do-kyung, sitting beside her, remained detached and indifferent.

He didn’t bother hiding his boredom with the situation. He simply stared at Bo-yeon, who kept muttering to herself.

“I-I’m going to blow them up! Right now…!”

“Do it.”

“Really, really… I’m going to do it!”

“Do it.”

“Haa, goodbye, drone… Thank you…!”

Three seconds later, Bo-yeon controlled the drone, piercing the center of the sphere perfectly, and detonated it. Zzzzzzz! The 3kg bomb, powerful enough to destroy even a heavily armored vehicle, exploded, and the screen went black.

“What happened…?”

“Hm.”

Do-kyung looked uninterested, while Bo-yeon moved quickly, busy with her next steps. She swiftly maneuvered another drone waiting on a nearby rooftop.

The drone entered the department store entrance, its propellers spinning.

“I can’t see clearly because of the smoke…”

Bo-yeon didn’t realize how fortunate it was that this was a military-grade drone. She switched the function to the infrared camera.

“Ah… I guess it’s alive…!”

A pitiful gasp escaped Bo-yeon’s lips. Small, blue light-emitting bodies were jumping up frantically.

Bo-yeon sent the drone up to the top floor. The infrared camera captured a mutant that seemed to have emerged from the sphere. Its upper body resembled a person, but the lower half was swollen like a bug’s abdomen, covered with numerous legs.

“Uh, what should I do? Should I detonate another one? I have two left…”

The mutant’s legs were broken, and it couldn’t move well because it had been struck by the bomb. It was probably weak due to the severe injuries.

However, the mutant was rapidly recovering by absorbing the small light-emitting bodies at an incredible speed.

“You go down.”

Do-kyung pushed Bo-yeon toward the bunker.

Bo-yeon couldn’t stop Do-kyung at that moment—he was too determined.

 

Do-kyung headed toward the department store. The building, where the bomb had exploded, was shrouded in thick smoke—an uncomfortable environment to breathe in.

If he wasn’t careful, he could collapse from carbon monoxide poisoning. The ventilation system was useless, and there was nothing he could do.

However, there was no need to venture deep into the store. The mutant, having recovered to some extent, was crawling down in search of more nutritious food.

“Kyaak!”

Upon spotting Do-kyung, the mutant let out a vicious roar and charged toward him. With sixteen legs, its speed was incredible—like being rammed by a train.

It was so terrifying that anyone lacking courage would’ve pissed themselves, but Do-kyung simply pulled the trigger with cold indifference.

Bangbangbangbang! The shell surrounding the mutant’s body was torn, but still remarkably strong. The bullet had lodged into it, but hadn’t penetrated deeply.

The skull, which resembled a helmet, was especially tough. If Bo-yeon hadn’t detonated the bomb, it would have been a far more challenging opponent.

Do-kyung waited until it was nearly upon him, then slid his body under the giant deer statue in the lobby.

Boom! The mutant followed, sticking its head under the statue. Its smaller head and upper body managed to slip through, but its swollen lower body got stuck.

Do-kyung calmly changed the magazine and began tearing off the mutant’s legs one by one.

Its legs were weaker than the rest of its body, so a single shot was enough to incapacitate them.

“Kyaaakk!”

In an instant, the mutant, having lost four of its right legs, screamed in fury. With brute strength, it contorted its body in a desperate attempt to free itself, while the statue held it fast by the waist.

Do-kyung remained focused, removing the remaining right legs without a flicker of emotion.

It was much easier to avoid the mutant now that it had lost its balance and drastically reduced its mobility. One by one, its legs continued to fall.

Sensing the danger, the mutant’s behavior shifted. Its back split open, and countless small, light-emitting bodies spilled out. They all surged toward Do-kyung.

The mutant curled into a ball and lunged at him, its movement relentless and fierce, as though fueled by sheer exhaustion.

If it had been small like an insect and capable of flying, Do-kyung would have been struck before he could reach the main body. However, despite its incredible jumping power, it lacked wings. That meant he could dodge.