Red Dot - 48

“How…?”

The words didn’t come out properly.

It was a situation where anyone could see he was about to be torn apart by zombies. The faces of the zombies surrounding him were pressed tightly together, eagerly awaiting their turn to tear him apart. Their red eyes were unmistakably fixed on Junseong.

Crack…

Groan…

It wasn’t exactly a roar, nor was it a vague sound like a whimper. Toward Hanseo, there were subdued whimpers and dribbles of fear, while toward Junseong, there were sounds that seemed to say, ‘Should I bite this one or not?’

The zombies that had been growling and wavering around Junseong, still encircling him, hesitated and retreated when Hanseo approached them closely. When Hanseo reached Junseong’s side, the zombie trap designed for them to collectively devour the prey completely fell apart.

The zombies, growling as they looked at Junseong, didn’t come any closer than a certain distance. While Hanseo’s influence was considerable, it was evident that Junseong himself had also played a role.

Junseong looked at Hanseo with a tense expression.

“Because of your blood?”

“About 5 minutes. Depending on the quantity, a syringe bottle’s worth should last about that much.”

“5 minutes…”

It was a rather specific time frame.

“How do you know that? You haven’t even been tested for it.”

Dohanseo, considering the zombies’ aversion and the fact that injecting one’s own blood into oneself would likely have no special effect, wondered how the clinical trial had been conducted.

Hanseo’s smile twisted oddly.

“Do you want to know?”

With a contemplative expression accompanied by a sound of hesitation, she eventually said firmly.

“But you can’t.”

Hanseo never intended to tell Junseong from the beginning. Over her resolute expression, sharp eyes that carried a meaning of ‘don’t ask any more’ were shot like a sharp blade.

“I’m just telling you one more ‘way to use me.’ Whether you believe it and use it or ignore it, the decision is yours.”

He felt that delving any deeper would be inappropriate. If he became too insistent, he might end up being uncovered instead.

Junseong silently gazed at his ‘vaccine.’

Junseong decided to trust the newfound ability of Dohanseo.

Crack, growl!

As one zombie that was about to thrust its teeth into him hesitated, Junseong forcefully swung down the machete, smashing its head. As he pulled out the embedded machete, a splash of vivid red blood splattered before his eyes.

Dohanseo’s blood was clearly demonstrating its effect as a ‘vaccine.’

Although the zombies, as usual, didn’t necessarily avoid Junseong from the start, their proximity to his face seemed to halt suddenly when it was less than a foot away.

A living, perfect vaccine.

Dohanseo’s blood had effects beyond just receiving an actual vaccine injection.

“Only 5 minutes, but…”

Even so, this was extraordinary.

Knowing they wouldn’t bite him, Junseong wielded his weapon without hesitation. Despite the pain in his arm, he rushed forward. There wasn’t much time left—within five minutes, he had to save Seo Changmin and the girl beside him.

As they got closer, Seo Changmin was conscious of Junseong while exerting all his strength to protect Lee Jeean. With a terrified Jeean clinging to his back, Changmin skillfully pushed the zombies away with considerable body movements. It was impressive that defense was possible only through physical attacks, especially without any real weapons.

When they were almost within reach, Junseong, checking the time on his watch, raised his head and shouted to Changmin.

“Enter the alley on the right now and run to the end! There’s a pipe halfway!”

Hearing Junseong’s words, Changmin immediately sprang forward without a moment’s hesitation. Grabbing Jeean’s hand, they rushed into the narrow shopping district alley Junseong had mentioned. As they entered the alley, waist-high iron pipes lay horizontally, blocking the path like a barricade in front of windows on both sides of the adjacent shops.

Bending over with Jeean, Changmin swiftly passed the pipe as instructed by Junseong and ran quickly to the end of the alley. During this time, there was a sound as if the roar from behind was being blocked.

Clang! Crack! Cock!

Aargh!

As the sounds quickly faded, looking back, unintelligent zombies were entangled in the pipe, stumbling awkwardly. They seemed to only know how to rush forward, not considering alternatives like bending down to pass or stepping back.

The front row of the zombie horde hit the waist-high pipe, flinching, and the rest continued to rush forward like a stack of blocks. Thanks to this, they bought some time.

Following Junseong’s instructions to the end, there was only a right turn ahead, so they ran again. There was another right turn in front, so they ran blindly again.

Kheheak!

Suddenly, a zombie without arms appeared in front of Changmin. It violently shook its shoulders and body, tearing its mouth open wide as if it were about to devour him. Swiftly removing his black cap, Changmin stuffed it into the zombie’s mouth. The horizontally inserted cap brim served as a makeshift gag.

During the moment when he kicked the zombie away.

Cock!

The zombie briefly screamed as its blood-covered eyes opened wide. A black machete from the dark side of his face was embedded in its forehead. The zombie’s body, impaled by the machete, fell lifelessly to the side.

“Are you okay? Did you get bitten?”

Changmin, who had been startled by the sudden appearance of the machete that swiftly felled the zombie, was even more astonished by the fact that the person who helped him looked so fragile. If Junseong had heard his inner thoughts, he might have responded with a cold expression, but there was no time for such a conversation now.

Junseong checked Changmin with an absent-minded nod and looked down at his watch.

The alley could turn around the central square of the shopping district, forming a square belt-like shape. In other words, if Changmin continued running into the alley he entered and alternated between right and left turns, he could come out on the other side, behind the zombies, or in other words, toward Junseong. Coming out deliberately from the alley where zombies blocked the view and running to join Changmin on Junseong’s side was the plan.

Junseong silently counted seconds in his mind while looking at his watch. Not long after, a distant ringing sound could be heard. The sound was so loud that everyone instinctively covered one ear.

The roaring sound of the zombies, which had been audible at close range, changed significantly. They roared even louder in response to the distant music, rushing towards that direction.

With his ears ringing, Junseong raised his hand to Changmin and Jeean as if to signal them to wait, then slowly walked out of the alley. The zombies at the entrance of the alley, blocked by the pipe, had disappeared.

Although he kept an eye on Changmin and Jeean, while fumbling with the pipe, he had missed seeing the two of them during the commotion. Even though his field of vision was sufficient, once they went to the end of the alley and turned into the alley, they were no longer visible, so naturally, they were missed.

At that moment, a loud noise was heard.

“Run!”

Junseong suddenly signaled and grabbed Changmin’s wrist, running with them. Following Junseong’s signal, Changmin, now running as directed, grabbed Jeean’s wrist as well.

Looking at his watch and running, Junseong could reach the stairs leading to the underground of the shopping district.

“22 seconds forward…!”

Junseong sent Changmin and Jeean ahead without going down himself.

“As soon as you go down, there should be a ‘warehouse’ on the left. Get inside there.”

“What about you?”

As he was about to release his held hand to send them off, Changmin, on the contrary, grabbed Junseong’s arm.

“Aren’t you going that way?”

“I have someone to take. I’ll be there soon.”

“Someone to take…?”

For Changmin, who had secretly explored the interior of the shopping mall building this morning and fetched water, it was unbelievable that there could be someone else, a ‘person’ they could take from this zombie-filled building. Even if such a person were still there, wouldn’t they have died on the way here?

“It’s okay, go inside quickly.”

Junseong reassured Changmin with those words and gestured toward Jeean. After a brief hesitation, Changmin had no choice but to go down to the basement because of Jeean.

Upon descending to the basement, they found a metal door immediately on the left. Opening the door with the clear label ‘Warehouse,’ the handle turned smoothly.

‘Was he a mall employee?’

Puzzled, Changmin opened the door to reveal a narrow space filled with various items. It was a chilly, concrete room with no wallpaper.

Changmin pushed Jeean inside and was about to go out to bring Junseong when he appeared just in time.

Junseong’s face showed a momentary unease.

Following him was a tall man with unnaturally cold eyes, giving off an eerie atmosphere. Wondering about the man’s identity, Junseong opened the door, revealing a cramped interior filled with various items. It was a chilly, concrete room without any wallpaper.

Changmin tried to go out to bring Junseong in, but luckily, Junseong appeared just in time.

Changmin’s expression momentarily turned pale.

Before he could question, Junseong swiftly pushed him inside and, as the tall man followed, immediately closed the door with a loud thud.

The deafening noise that followed the closing of the metal door was more significant than the sound of the door itself. At that moment, as Junseong looked down at his watch, his lips trembled.