Free Web NovelKWOOOOOOOOR...!
The zombies’ shrieks echoing throughout the underground shopping district corridors gradually gathered toward several areas before eventually beginning to move farther away.
Already knowing the reason why, Junho calmly continued moving along the route Park Seeun had explained.
'Some peeled off toward the Sosa South Station underground shopping district, and some will keep circling through the North Station underground shopping district. And the rest will head toward D-Mart....'
Which meant the hunt was entering its final phase.
The zombies currently attacking the Bucheon Station underground shopping district were not ordinary infected.
They were slaves controlled by an Alpha.
Which was why, even when they succeeded in attacking humans, they did not immediately devour them on the spot.
If the victims became infected and transformed into their own kind, the zombies simply left them alone.
If they remained alive without being infected or died outright, they were “collected.”
In other words, unlike in movies or dramas, this was a thoroughly systematic “hunt.”
“Aaaaaaaah... Aaaaaaaah....”
For that reason, throughout the Bucheon Station underground shopping district—which had transformed into something resembling a ruined dark dungeon from a video game—the shrill screams of captured humans echoed endlessly.
Humans who had been attacked by zombies and rendered incapable of movement from horrific pain.
Most of them would die within as little as ten minutes or as long as several days.
Those unfortunate enough to survive severe injuries without dying would remain trapped inside the zombies’ nest for extended periods before eventually being consumed slowly as food.
The situation was enough to make anyone nauseous just imagining it.
But Junho did not feel even the slightest sympathy.
Compassion was a luxury for people who had murdered “their fellow humans” even more cruelly.
Click. Shhk.
Instead of the KP9, Junho drew his Glock 17 and machete.
Now, swinging a blade with his right hand while firing accurately with his left was no longer difficult for him at all.
Not only the Glock 17—
He barely even felt the recoil of the AR-15 anymore.
Holding pistol and blade, Junho began eliminating the <MZ Family faction> raiders hiding throughout the underground shopping district after barely escaping the zombie assault.
Why stop wasting precious subsonic rounds and only now switch to the blade?
“Ghk!”
“Ughhh....”
Because now that the zombies had moved away, a certain amount of screaming or groaning no longer mattered.
Pak! Pakpak!
Occasionally, some idiots tried turning on flashlights or smartphone lights and relying on them.
Those ones he dealt with using the Glock 17.
Even if the zombies had moved farther away, it would still be troublesome if someone spotted him and started screaming.
Whenever he occasionally discovered captives rather than raiders, he quietly told them to stay hidden where they were.
Ten months had already passed since the apocalypse began, and the world had formed a new hierarchy centered around violence.
And especially in isolated spaces cut off from the outside world like this—
For {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} a regressor living through the apocalypse for the second time, distinguishing between “family” and “slaves” among long-term survivors was not particularly difficult.
After spending several minutes selectively killing only the <MZ Family faction> raiders while following the route Park Seeun had described, Junho eventually arrived near the elevator connected to Bucheon Station D-Mart by using the secret route she had also told him about.
'Guess I didn’t even need to ask.'
The place had already completely collapsed, leaving behind nothing but rubble.
According to Park Seeun, they had piled obstacles there while leaving enough space for two or three people to pass through.
But against the overwhelming mass of zombies directed by an Alpha—
Apparently it had been completely useless.
***
KWOOOOOR...! KYAAAAK...! KAAAK...!
“Huaaah...! Kyaaah... save me....”
Amid the crashing sounds of things breaking and collapsing, zombie shrieks and desperate human screams echoed together.
Listening to that harmony of slaughter and death, Junho climbed the ladder installed inside the long-dead elevator shaft and arrived on the sixth floor of Bucheon Station D-Mart. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
This was the route the <MZ Family faction> had used to monopolize the mart for themselves while sealing off all the normal civilian pathways with barricades, allowing only themselves to move freely between the underground shopping district and the mart.
As Junho slowly raised his head above the ladder opening, the stench of rotten blood, grease, and melted plastic punched through his mask.
Unlike the underground shopping district below, lights throughout the mart illuminated the nearby area.
It looked like they had been using rechargeable LED lights and flashlights powered by solar panels installed on the rooftop.
“.......”
The inside of the mart was horrific.
Several corpses lay scattered around, impossible to tell whether they had once been human or zombie.
Bloodstains covered the walls and floors, while traces of dead humans littered the entire place, making it resemble a painting of hell itself.
And several zombies that appeared to have only recently completed mutation crawled across the floor, licking at the remains and stains.
Focused entirely on feeding, they failed to notice Junho.
After putting them down with the Glock 17, Junho stepped into the corridor.
Collapsed display shelves and shattered shopping carts blocked the way everywhere, while the floor had become slick with blood and rotten water.
Something like broken glass crunched beneath his boots, but Junho paid it no attention.
Because noise at that level no longer mattered.
The sixth floor was already overflowing with crashing sounds, screams, and roars of every kind.
Moving quickly toward the source, Junho concealed himself behind a display inside a sports-brand store stacked high with clothing.
And there—
Within a sea of bluish-green thermal signatures, he spotted the only heat source whose head shone brilliantly bright.
The Alpha.
The same creature that had felt fear toward him on the subway tracks and fled.
Since it had already sent hundreds of zombies throughout the entire Bucheon Station underground shopping district, the creature had only brought several dozen with it here.
But that did not mean it could be underestimated.
Just like back in Moku-ri, the zombies around the Alpha now were essentially bodyguards raised by feeding physically superior slave zombies well.
Grrrrrrr....
Ahead of the low growling zombies stood a massive barricade piled high with furniture and home appliances.
Most likely protection for the living area used by the <MZ Family faction> leadership occupying this place.
And directly in front of that barricade—
“J-Jinyeong oppa? I-it’s me, Jisoo. Th-the zombies are all gone. Hurry and let me in. Please....”
“Hhuuugh... hic... I-I’m telling you there’s really nobody out there anymore. They all went down to the underground shopping district. S-so please....”
Two women crawled desperately across the floor, sobbing in terror as they pleaded.
“......!”
The moment he saw the scene, Junho flinched slightly before his eyes quickly turned cold again.
He had seen scenes exactly like this before regression.
Alphas possessed intelligence.
And among those Alphas, creatures that controlled thousands of slave zombies and possessed extensive experience dealing with humans did not merely hunt by sending slave zombies charging forward.
Instead—
They used captured humans to lure in other prey.
Cognitive Flexibility.
Like rattlesnakes shaking their tails like worms to lure prey.
Like crows dropping pieces of bread into water to attract fish.
Like crocodiles balancing nesting materials on their snouts while waiting for birds to approach.
Like killer whales tossing fish into the water and devouring the seagulls that came after it.
The monsters hunted humans by using humans themselves.
And more experienced Alphas had even learned that “women and children” worked best.
“Sniff... p-please save meee....”
“Open it! Open the doorrr... ughhh!”
Just like now.
But why go this far?
Why not simply shove through using overwhelming force and mass with slave zombies?
“F-Fuck, shut the hell up, bitches. Stop lying!”
“You sluts got bitten, didn’t you? That’s why you’re acting like this.”
Rough curses erupted from behind the barricade.
“N-No! We didn’t get bitten! We’re serious! Please open it... it hurts. It hurts so bad....”
“Hey, don’t people usually turn within a minute? Maybe they really are okay?”
“Shut the fuck up too, asshole. Why the hell should we trust those bitches?”
“The fuck did you say? I’m older than you, motherfucker.”
“You washed-up BJ piece of shit thinks he’s our equal because I humored him? Hey, fucker. You think I don’t know you were screwing that bitch?”
“L-Like you didn’t kill Sangcheol last night, you pathetic thug bastard.”
The men inside began screaming at each other, completely ignoring the absolute rule about never making loud noise.
And the Alpha—
The Alpha watched all of it while smiling in satisfaction.
That was right.
Just like certain animals—
The creature was enjoying itself.
“.......”
Junho silently observed the entire scene with an emotionless face.
The <MZ Family faction> leaders who had hunted exhausted and desperate survivors had no idea a cunning Alpha was toying with them.
And that Alpha had no idea Junho had relentlessly pursued it all the way here and was already aiming for its skull.
In other words—
A miniature version of the apocalypse’s new ecosystem of predators and prey had unfolded inside D-Mart.
But the regressor standing at the very top of that small ecosystem merely waited expressionlessly for his “objective” to be fulfilled.
Then, shortly afterward—
Grrrk!
Apparently bored with its game, the Alpha issued an order to its slave zombies.
KYAAAAK! KRAAAAAAH!
Every zombie immediately began climbing and shoving against the barricade with their bodies.
BOOM! KRAAAASH!
“Kyaaaah!? Uwaaah! FUCK!?”
Furniture and appliances collapsed apart beneath the deafening impacts, followed by horrified screams.
And within only minutes, those sounds transformed into shrieks consumed entirely by agony and terror.
The Alpha, having discovered a nest of prey while fleeing, spread its jaws wide and roared triumphantly as if celebrating a successful hunt.
KWOOOOOOOOOOO...!!!
But its joy did not last long.
Pakpak!
Immediately after the Glock 17’s short double-tap—
A subsonic round punched into the back of the Alpha’s skull, and the creature collapsed face-first onto the floor with its jaws still spread open.
Its slave zombies abruptly froze in place while finishing their slaughter.
Then their entire bodies began twisting grotesquely.
“Thanks, you piece of shit monster.”
Using the zombies, he had opened a route through Bucheon Station.
And he had even effortlessly wiped out the <MZ Family faction> ruling the area.
Now—
The powerful apex predator of the apocalypse ecosystem began his final hunt here.
***
“How many minutes has it been?”
“Not quite thirty yet.”
At Shin Hocheol’s question, Kang Juyoung glanced at his digital watch before answering.
Shin Hocheol turned his anxious face toward Choi Hyunwoo.
“Hey, shouldn’t we go after him already?”
“No. If Junho told us to stay here, then we stay here no matter what.”
“Goddammit....”
At Choi Hyunwoo stubbornly shaking his head, Shin Hocheol let out a sigh mixed with irritation and concern before turning his gaze toward the side.
“Taeyoung, are you seriously saying this is fine? No matter how strong he is, going into the underground district alone is dangerous.”
“Exactly. Out here, both sides are blocked by soundproof walls, so we only have to watch the front and back. But down there it’s different. And Bucheon Station underground shopping district is huge. Maybe not as massive as Bupyeong, but still huge. Who knows what else is hiding in there.”
The words came from another reservist who said he had lived in Bupyeong, Incheon for several years.
But Choi Hyunwoo and Kim Taeyoung remained completely unwavering.
“True. But that’s because you guys don’t know Junho. He’s the kind of guy who’ll flat-out say he can’t do something if he really can’t. But if Junho says he can do it? Then it happens. No exceptions.”
“Exactly. Junho literally said to stay put if we didn’t want to get beaten to death, remember? If we don’t stay put, we might actually get beaten to death. Back when Junhyeok was a freshman in high school, he lied about going to the study room and got caught gaming at a PC café instead. Junho beat him so badly he stopped just short of killing him. I saw the whole thing standing right beside them.”
“...Jesus Christ. Forget I asked.”
Shaking his head repeatedly, Shin Hocheol sighed while Kang Juyoung spoke up.
“Still, the drone’s been hovering over Bucheon Station this whole time, so if anything happens, won’t they tell us immediately? Thermal imaging can distinguish between humans and zombies, so— huh?”
WHIIIIIIING!
At that moment, the A2 attack drone—its battery freshly replaced—flew rapidly toward them.
—Move toward Bucheon Station immediately.
—Lee Junho is exiting the area.
“......!?”
At Yoon Seolhee’s somewhat excited voice, everyone instantly whipped their heads toward the station.
And then—
Within the green-tinted vision of their night-vision goggles, they saw a large man slowly walking along the subway tracks.
Covered head to toe in blood and chunks of flesh, with a machete resting over his shoulder—
It was Junho.
He had successfully wiped out Bucheon Station and the underground shopping district completely.
