ZFS Chapter 11

It wasn’t perfect, but as the visible bloodstains started to fade, Tae Yujun felt a small sense of relief. Letting out a deep sigh, he turned to look at Won Hyuk, who was browsing the shelves as if on a casual shopping trip, picking out a large kitchen knife, scissors, and a paring knife.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

In response to Tae Yujun’s question, Won Hyuk answered with actions instead of words. He tossed the packaged paring knife, scissors, and kitchen knife into Tae Yujun’s arms.

 

“You… you’re telling me to carry these?”

 

“If you don’t like it, grab your cutting board or something. I saw you earlier—you’re good at killing with it. I already told you we don’t have many bullets left. That’s why we need to grab anything useful when we can.”

 

Tae Yujun had no comeback. Quietly, he accepted the weapons and walked toward the entrance. There, the backpack he had left when they entered the store earlier lay on the ground. After stuffing the weapons into the bag, he began gathering several small bottles of water.

 

Next, he went to the shelf with ready-to-eat meals he had been eyeing earlier. He grabbed five-minute curry packs, black bean sauce meals, dried porridge that only needed water, and hardtack, stuffing them into his bag. Then he took six or seven small cans of tuna. Before long, his once-slim backpack was bulging.

 

Now it was time to gather food for the others. True to its nature as a food mart, there were several large, folded cardboard boxes shoved into a corner. From his military experience, Tae Yujun knew how to fold the bottoms without tape to make them sturdy.

 

The bunker held nearly a hundred people. To help them last even a few days, he figured it was best to fold and fill as many boxes as possible to load onto the truck.

 

Tae Yujun quickly began folding boxes. He planned to make a loop around the ready-to-eat meal section, then head to the smoked duck, dried squid and jerky, nuts, and puffed rice snacks. A glance at the clock on the store wall showed it was already 5 a.m.

 

How had it gotten so late? I need to hurry.

 

Standing up from his crouched position, a thought struck him.

 

Ah, I need to grab disposable chopsticks and spoons too. The more, the better.

 

With that thought, he decided to head toward the disposable items section. To reach it, he needed to circle past the ready-to-eat meal shelves and head left, passing the store’s entrance. As he walked briskly past the entrance, he saw it.

 

“…!”

 

The faint dawn light revealed a chilling sight. Through the glass window, he saw dozens of zombies shambling through the marketplace alley.

 

Not just one or two—but dozens. Tae Yujun’s heart raced as if it would burst. Perhaps because of his extreme tension, he dropped the box he was holding.

 

The noise caught the attention of a zombie near the store’s front entrance. Its neck twisted unnaturally as it turned to look at Tae Yujun. Though its eye sockets were hollow, it felt as though they locked gazes.

 

“Gasp.”

 

Tae Yujun took a step back. From behind him, Won Hyuk, who was loading knives and paring tools into his military backpack, asked,

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“Z-Zombies… outside the window… they’re moving. Dozens of them!”

 

“What?!”

 

As soon as he finished speaking, the store’s door burst open. Zombies smashed through, pouring inside. Their neck joints cracked ominously, and their noses flared as though sniffing out human prey. Immediately, they started moving toward Tae Yujun and Won Hyuk.

 

“Graaaah!”

 

The zombie horde swarmed in. Tae Yujun and Won Hyuk spun around to flee, but they were trapped in a dead end.

 

“Damn it.”

 

Won Hyuk charged forward, brandishing a kitchen knife. He bellowed loudly, gripping a large, rectangular knife often used in Chinese cuisine that gleamed menacingly.

 

“Find an escape route! There has to be a back door!”

 

At those words, Tae Yujun sprinted like crazy. Circling past shelves, he dashed back to where he had been folding boxes, scanning left and right. His heart pounded, and sweat poured from his forehead like rain.

 

I had to survive. To escape the zombies crawling through the open door, I had to find an exit. This was a large mart—there had to be more than one entrance…!

 

“Ah.”

 

He spotted a large metal door in the corner, likely used by store employees or delivery personnel to come and go.

 

“Here! Next to the cardboard boxes, there’s a door!”

 

Tae Yujun shouted at the top of his lungs. Meanwhile, Won Hyuk was slicing through zombies’ faces and stabbing their necks with his Chinese knife. He then kicked one zombie hard in the stomach, sending it crashing into others behind it.

 

The falling zombies disrupted the horde’s formation, tumbling like dominoes. Some of the zombies trying to enter through the door were bounced back without even getting the chance to enter the store.

 

“Graaaah!”

 

A zombie pinned beneath the pile shrieked piercingly. Tae Yujun noticed others stepping on the heads and backs of fallen zombies to close the distance. Won Hyuk, while running, had to fight mere inches away from the zombies.

 

“Hurry!”

 

Won Hyuk boldly leaped through the door. A zombie’s hand thrust inside, but Won Hyuk mercilessly slammed the metal door shut.

 

“Graaaah! Crack!”

 

The zombie screamed as the door crushed its hand, its howl deafening. Won Hyuk opened the door slightly, then slammed it shut again, completely mangling the hand. The zombie’s hand broke, and the door slammed shut.

 

“Screeech!”

 

“We need to lock the door!”

 

Tae Yujun gritted his teeth and secured the latch. Thankfully, it was an analog lock, making it easier to manage. Bang, bang—zombies were pounding on the door from the other side. The sound of their bodies slamming against the door, trying to break through, echoed.

 

“Let’s get out of here.”

 

Once outside, the two found they didn’t have many options. A few more zombies were visible on the distant road. They exchanged quick glances.

 

At this point, finding a perfectly safe place seemed impossible. It was time to take risks—better to grasp at straws than die here.

 

Won Hyuk pointed to the entrance of a nearby building. Tae Yujun nodded. Won Hyuk held up his fingers—three, two, one. Together, they sprinted toward the building entrance in unison.

 

“Thank goodness, looks like no one followed us in. But just in case, let’s head to the second floor.”

 

The building they entered was an old, low-rise commercial property. To ensure their safety, they decided to get a quick sense of the building’s layout.

 

“Let’s check if there’s anyone inside.”

 

“Alright.”

 

The building wasn’t very large, so the two split up and quickly checked from the first to the third floor. Judging by the interior, it seemed to be an adult TOEIC academy.

 

There were a few small classrooms with blackboards, a room that looked like a lounge, and a restroom. Tae Yujun returned to the central hallway and spoke to Won Hyuk.

 

“There’s no one here.”

 

“Then we need to seal off the building.”

 

Aside from the emergency exit on the first floor, the building only had one main entrance. Won Hyuk took a chain from his backpack and wrapped it tightly around the door handle.

 

“The emergency exit is the problem. We need to block the way leading up from there.”

 

“Tell me what to do. I’ll help.”

 

Won Hyuk motioned for him to follow. Tae Yujun hurriedly trailed behind him, almost running. The two descended to the first floor via the emergency stairs and carefully surveyed the area.

 

“Looks like we need to lock this down as well.”

 

Won Hyuk pulled out another chain from his backpack and secured the handle tightly so no one could open the door.

 

“…Why do you even have something like this?”

 

“I know, right?”

 

“Do you always carry this with you?”

 

“I just borrowed it earlier.”

 

“From whom?”

 

“An ownerless hardware store.”

 

With a shrug, Won Hyuk started slowly climbing the stairs back to the second floor.

 

---

 

The two decided to use the lounge as a makeshift camp. With two folding beds and a water dispenser, it was a convenient spot. While the tension hadn’t yet eased enough for them to fully relax, they could at least take off their backpacks and catch their breath.

 

“Our truck is across the street.”

 

Won Hyuk slightly pulled back the curtains and pointed to a sweet potato truck parked among the passenger cars.

 

“But until we bring food from the mart, the truck won’t be much use.”

 

“You’re right. Haah…”

 

“For now, let’s rest and recover. We’re not in any condition to move just yet.”

 

Tae Yujun, dazed for a moment, pulled out his phone. The time was 7 a.m. Communication services were still up, with data and call signals working smoothly. He tried accessing a popular portal site and found a news article.

 

Ah, even in this situation, I can still get updates from the outside.

 

It was a relief—and something to be grateful for—that journalists were still on the frontlines, reporting. Silently expressing his thanks, Tae Yujun began reading the article.

 

 

 

[Zombie Unrest Continues… Government Promises Rescue, but Timeline Unclear]

 

 

 

Clicking on the article revealed a flood of angry comments.

 

Commenter 1: How can we trust the government like this? I’m stuck in a bunker, and it’s complete chaos here. No food, no water. Are they just telling us all to die together?

 

Commenter 2: Why so worked up, commenter above? I’m waiting it out at home, hoping for a swift rescue.

 

Commenter 3: Visit my blog for information on certification courses.

 

Commenter 4: It’s the end of the world already. How can advertisers even show up on articles like this? Government, rescue the stranded immediately!

 

Commenter 5: At least the internet and phone lines are still up, which is a relief. Truly, Korea is a telecommunications powerhouse.

 

 

 

Tae Yujun closed the browser window and stood up from his seat. There wasn’t much useful information to be found. Like Won Hyuk earlier, Tae Yujun glanced out the window. The view outside had grown much brighter, allowing him to see more clearly.

 

In front of the shopping center, dozens of zombies roamed. With no prey in sight, they weren’t moving wildly. Some shuffled barefoot through the streets, while others climbed tall trees, scanning their surroundings as if searching for something to hunt.

 

Going out like this would be as good as advertising themselves as food. As expected, it seemed best to wait until nightfall.