hope
A moment of silence passed.
Alex, who pursed his lips as if to say something, sighed openly.
In response to a completely different reaction than expected, Yooseong asked in a questionable voice.
“Don’t you know who Dr. Choi is?”
“There is no way anyone in this generation doesn’t know about him. Doctor Choi Hyeon-seong. The savior of mankind who eradicated all kinds of mutant viruses, including the Omega virus. The best intelligence of the 21st century. I know.”
“Then why are you making that face?”
“Mr. Choi. Do you think this is a pandemic caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites?”
People in this world did not know about the existence of zombies, but they did not lack common sense.
If only the classic walking or jumping zombies had appeared, they would have somehow understood and dismissed this situation as something like a biological disaster, but the reality was not so.
“Even a few days ago, I thought this situation was caused by an infectious disease. I said something like a mutant rabies virus above, so I said yes. However, I changed my mind after seeing them that started showing up a few days ago. What virus in the world turns people into monsters that can deflect bullets or climb walls?”
“… … .”
“Other guys are weird too. You haven’t eaten, drank, or slept for over ten days, yet you’re alive and can move vigorously? It’s not like an epidemic at all.”
“Then, what do you think is the cause of this situation, Sergeant Alex?”
“I do not know. Wouldn’t it be something like a divine punishment from God who is angry at the prodigal mankind, or an alien invasion?”
Alex concluded that this situation was caused by something supernatural, incomprehensible to human common sense.
I didn’t mean it was wrong.
Even in Yoosung’s opinion, this wasn’t something that could happen with an ordinary virus.
‘But I can’t agree with that speculation.’
A situation where you don’t know how many zombies and mutants there will be in the subway.
It was necessary to increase the number of colleagues at any cost.
Not much more to say if it was a trained soldier, not a civilian.
– No matter what, deceiving people is a bit… … .
‘Isn’t that rather good? It’s not because it’s my goal, but looking at it objectively, it looks like your father is the only one who has the ability to solve this situation.
It wasn’t meant that way, but it wasn’t completely wrong either.
Yuseong looked at Alex, who was making a resigned expression, and said in a confident voice.
“no. This is a pandemic situation caused by a virus.”
“Mr. Choi. I understand the heart, but see the reality. If this was caused by a real virus… … .”
“There is a vaccine.”
“… … What did you say just now?”
“A few months ago, Dr. Choi succeeded in discovering the unknown virus responsible for the current outbreak and creating a new vaccine against it.”
“Stop talking nonsense! If there is a vaccine, why is the world the way it is?”
“Because of clinical trials. The virus spread while secretly completing the 1st and 2nd tests and leaving only the 3rd test.”
Yooseong rolled up the hem of his pants and lowered his socks.
I couldn’t find it because I checked it from a distance when I checked earlier, but when I looked closely like this, I could see faint teeth marks on my ankle.
To calm Alex, who was startled, Yooseong raised both hands and continued talking.
“I was bitten ten days ago. Vaccines prevented me from becoming a zombie.”
“I saw people stepping on signs and jumping up buildings. When bitten by a zombie, there are people who gain superhuman strength instead of becoming a zombie. Isn’t that the case with Mr. Choi?”
“The reason I didn’t become a zombie was not because I was a special case, but because of the vaccine. If you really don’t believe me, I’m here to prove that there is a vaccine.”
“proof?”
“I have a vaccine sample brought in just in case. Wouldn’t it be possible to know whether the vaccine is effective or not if it is used on a zombie?”
“… … Please follow me.”
There were a considerable number of people, including civilians as well as soldiers, in the eight-story shopping mall.
Meteor, who passed by the person who was looking at him with wary eyes and reached the end of the shopping mall, was able to face a zombie tied up in a corner store.
aaa!
“I am a fool who was bitten by a climber while dozing off during a vigilance mission. It lasted for quite a while, so I thought it was a special case and left it alone, but in the end it turned into a zombie. Can you really cure it?”
To be honest, I’m not sure I can cure it.
It was before becoming a zombie that the status recovery potion had an effect.
‘Zombification’, which is in the middle of turning into a zombie, can be seen as a state abnormality, but ‘zombie’, which is a completely transformed state, is not considered a state abnormality, so there is a possibility that the potion may not be effective.
But since I came this far, I couldn’t leave.
[Pay 300,000 Karma Points to bring out the Archon Homemade Superlative Status Recovery Potion (B-).]
Pretending to find something in her backpack, Yooseong took out a condition recovery potion from the subspace, grabbed the zombie’s chin, and forced it to open its mouth.
The silvery liquid disappeared into the zombie’s mouth with a refreshing scent.
“It takes time to recover. For the time being… … uh?”
The status recovery potion was also effective for zombies.
It wasn’t even a slow recovery for a long time.
More at noblemtl com
Just as humans became zombies, zombies were reverting back to human form fast enough to be recognized by the naked eye.
The reddish retina turned white, and the blue blood vessels protruding throughout the body slowly subsided in sync with the heartbeat.
‘what? Is it much easier to turn a fully zombified person back into a human than to restore a person who is in the process of being zombified?’
It was absurd for Meteor, who had been wandering between death and death for 10 days, but the effect came out quickly, so there was nothing bad about it.
After a cup of tea had passed, there was only one soldier who was wheezing with a calm expression instead of a zombie.
Alex, who witnessed the entire process, shook the soldier’s shoulder with a trembling hand.
“Mmm.”
The soldier, who opened his eyes with a faint moan, met Alex’s gaze, who was looking at him, and froze.
“Lord, Lord, Sergeant? I wasn’t trying to sleep, I was just too tired… … . Wait, but I was definitely on the lookout? No, more than that, why am I tied up?”
“Ha, ha ha, ha ha ha… … .”
Alex let out a devastated laugh at the reaction, as if he had been secretly sleeping.
The dejected laughter soon turned into laughter that could be heard throughout the floor, and Alex, who had been giggling for a while, got up from his seat wiping his tears.
A bright smile and proud shoulders.
The pessimistic atmosphere of the moment before was completely undetectable.
“Really, really, is this all because of a virus?”
“That’s right.”
“Then, if we find Dr. Choi, we might be able to return the world to normal.”
“That part is ambiguous. Not only is it unclear if Dr. Choi is safe, but even if he is rescued, it will be very difficult to mass-produce a vaccine and return the world to normal.”
“It is important to have hope. You know what? Even until this morning, I pondered for a long time whether to bite the muzzle and pull the trigger. I thought it would be much better to die as a human than to live and become such a monster.”
Alex held out his hand towards the meteor, saying he was good at not pulling the trigger.
“Can you share the glory to save mankind?”
* * *
Yuseong had to consume two more bottles of recovery potion to gather people to help.
This was because everyone except Alex, who witnessed the zombie revert back to human, thought the soldier was a special case of immunity.
People believed in the existence of a vaccine only after catching zombies roaming around the back door and seeing the process of turning them into humans.
However, things after that did not go as smoothly as Yooseong had thought.
“Nonsense! If the soldiers are gone, what are we to do?”
“If you want to go, go! Don’t bring food or drinking water instead! And leave your weapons!”
“… … I’m sorry, sergeant. I don’t want to leave here.”
“To be honest, it’s scary. You can’t even guess how many of them are underground, can you?”
Civilians as well as soldiers opposed leaving the mall.
It wasn’t that I couldn’t understand their thoughts.
No matter how lofty the purpose, everyone instinctively had no choice but to prioritize their own lives.
Few would step out of the cradle of the mall and into the monster-infested tomb.
“The reason we’ve been able to hold on so far is because they’ve gathered in the city center! If the guys who hunted all the humans in the building or apartment start spreading out everywhere, this place will be dangerous too!”
“The city is so large, isn’t there a guarantee that you will definitely come here?”
“Even if that were the case, we would eventually run out of food. If you calculate the number of people and food that are currently left in this shopping mall, the limit is 10 days, or even 15 days!”
“Then, is there any guarantee that we will be able to find food if we go out? Contrary to what you said, if you stay here, you can hold out for at least 15 days and wait for rescue, but there is no reason to leave!”
There were far more people on the side of not going out, but the enthusiasm of the people on the side of going out overwhelmed them.
After a long debate, the two sides eventually reached two points of agreement.
Only those who made the decision by their own will and not by order should leave.
You may take weapons, but you must not take food.
In the end, six people, including Alex, decided to follow the meteor.
“… … You have no face. Only six people volunteered for an important mission on which the fate of mankind depended.”
“No, thanks. I was left alone, and in a daunting car, I had six colleagues, and I should consider myself fortunate.”
It was a little disappointing, but forcibly taking someone who didn’t like it would only get in the way.
‘It’s far better to just take volunteers than to see them whining about going back and causing infighting.’
Although the number was small, in the eyes of the volunteers, I could feel the will to die.
Although it is a creature called a human being that considers their own life the most important, there are also humans who consider other things more important than their own life.
And such people can accomplish feats that ordinary people cannot.
People gathered in the hope that they could restore the world and heal people.
It was clear that they would not be afraid and would fight back no matter how many zombies swarmed and bizarre mutants appeared.
“Here.”
The passageway down to the basement was blocked with tons of junk, including furniture, beds, and trash.
Yooseong, who listened to the sound across the passage with his eyes half-open, drew a circle with his thumb and forefinger.
It was difficult when zombies entered the shopping mall after recklessly removing things.
People including Yuseong carefully removed the objects under the watchful eyes of the soldiers and civilians who aimed their weapons, taking care not to make noise as much as possible.
Took.
A corner of the cluttered mountain collapsed, revealing the landscape beyond.
this is not a game
