Red Dot - 58

As planned in the conversation with Changmin, Junseong decided to lie down between the stairs leading from the first floor to the second floor. He lay with his head up on the angular stairs, watching Changmin’s back as he fully climbed the stairs to the second floor.
His shoulders twitched, and there was a deep sigh-like movement as Changmin’s back appeared.

Suddenly, Changmin swung the pipe and hit the wall at the entrance of the second floor.

Thunk! Crash!

A considerable noise resonated as the impact hit the pipe. Even without seeing it, Junseong could tell. The zombies on the second-floor corridor were all turning their heads towards the source of the noise, blinded.

Cryaah!

Crash, Kahak!

An unpleasant, eerie scream rapidly approached.

Having lured the zombies with the noise, Changmin swiftly turned around and climbed the stairs to the third floor. Junseong watched from below, waiting until all the zombies from the second floor followed Changmin up.

Thunk, thunk. From the third floor, the sound of vigorously hitting the wall with the pipe could be heard. Although the distance to the screams the zombies were making clearly increased, the thickness of the sound grew. Thinking about Changmin facing all those zombies, Junseong began to worry.

When the sound of tapping the pipe stopped, he finally got up from his lying position. Passing through the empty second floor, he leaped up the stairs to the third floor, two steps at a time.

Upon reaching the third floor, he could see the leading edge of the horde of zombies pouring into the house he knew was open. Next to the door was a crowbar that seemed to have been discarded by Changmin.

As Junseong approached the open door and stopped, Changmin, who had been chased by zombies, happened to be opening the balcony door. Thanks to Junseong informing him in advance that the balcony of this house was open.

Changmin, with both hands holding onto the balcony railings, threw his body out as if leaping. When Junseong saw that, he felt his chest tighten, wondering if Changmin had really fallen outside. For an ordinary person, a significant injury was inevitable when falling from the third floor.

Just as Changmin disappeared outside the balcony.

Cryaah!

Thunk, Cock!

Kwaaaah!

Not realizing that the balcony was open, the zombies jumped out without hesitation. More precisely, they were trying to catch Changmin, who had flown outside, without any hesitation.

The zombies that jumped in this way fell outside the balcony like sausages, one after another. The first floor balcony was now piled with the bodies of zombies like raindrops.

The zombies that had filled the living room to the brim were now almost gone. Only two zombies, who had relied on sound instead of sight while standing at the back, were wandering around, bumping into the balcony railing.

With a machete in his left hand and the pipe Changmin had used in his right hand, Junseong jumped in. The two zombies, having heard his footsteps, turned around, leaning against the railing.

Kuaah!

Kaak!

Ignoring the eerie screams of the two zombies, Junseong’s machete struck the left zombie first.

Then, while attempting to strike the zombie on the right with the pipe, a perfectly fine hand suddenly emerged from the air.

The familiar hand reached towards Junseong, grabbing the hair of the right zombie rushing towards him. Grasping it, the zombie slipped down the railing like sliding on ice, lifelessly falling to the first-floor ground.

Watching this, Junseong, relieved, lightly grabbed the balcony railing and jumped inside, witnessing Changmin jumping in after him. Changmin handed him the machete, replacing it with a soft smile.

“See, it went well?”

Junseong could only nod his head, accepting the machete from him. Originally, after luring the zombies and narrowly escaping as if on the verge of death, they had to close the door. After that, when they came down from the fourth floor with Hwang Gyeong-oh, the moment they passed through the third-floor stairs, the door that had been holding the weight would give in, and they would be chased by the zombies trapped and then released.

However, since the distance was quite far, Junseong knew from his dream experiences that if he came out to the entrance of the apartment and hid by turning to the side, the zombies would all run straight and miss them.

But by cleanly disposing of the majority of zombies outside the building like this, the element in the experience scenario of “being chased by zombies and hiding” itself became unnecessary.

Boldly throwing his body out of the balcony and holding onto the bottom pillar of the railing, Changmin, who supported himself, looked truly impressive to Junseong. Thanks to him, the zombies, with their limited and narrow vision, just followed Changmin without realizing the empty space in front of them and also leaped with their bodies.

“He really knows how to use his body.”

Not only was his body agile, but Changmin hung on the balcony without any safety measures until all the zombies fell. His strength was remarkable, and his ability to handle situations, along with his daring choices even when surrounded by zombies, made him genuinely impressive.

“He probably hasn’t experienced this multiple times in dreams like I have.”

The presence of Seo Changmin felt even more significant now.

Having seen that the zombies on the second and third floors were neatly organized thanks to Changmin, Junseong handed him back the pipe and headed for the fourth floor.

Upon reaching the fourth floor, he could see zombies scattered sporadically from the beginning of the corridor to Hwang Gyeong-oh’s door. It was not exactly sporadic; they were almost uniformly spaced. If he wanted to handle each one individually, it would take a considerable amount of time, and he would have to endure some risk.

“In dreams, the fourth floor was indeed the most challenging.”

But that was only if he hadn’t saved Hwang Gyeong-oh.

As Junseong, who had memories of saving Hwang Gyeong-oh, he knew how to handle this situation quickly and safely.

Junseong, along with Changmin, leaned against the wall in front of the stairs, speaking softly so that the zombies wouldn’t hear.

“Hyung, can you handle about three of them in front?”

“I can handle more than that.”

Perhaps due to the confidence gained from dealing with numerous zombies using the balcony earlier, Changmin nodded confidently.

“If it gets dangerous, retreat immediately, okay? Got it?”

“Got it.”

Although he responded that way, Junseong also knew that Changmin was not someone who would retreat alone because he thought it was dangerous.

“I have to act straight to avoid it becoming dangerous.”

Just do as he did in the dream. He remembers clearly how it “operates.”

With the machete in the holster at his lower back, Junseong confirmed the time passing almost identically to the day when he rescued Hwang Gyeong-oh. He signaled Changmin with a small sound.

“Now.”

As soon as the word dropped, Changmin rushed towards the fourth-floor corridor. He swiftly smashed the head of the zombie wandering at the entrance and, following that, charged towards the second zombie turning around to look at him.

Watching Changmin’s decisive movements, Junseong also jumped into the corridor.

“He’s fast.”

Changmin was surprisingly fast, making Junseong’s movements also quick.

Passing by the corpse of the first zombie, Junseong, who was now approaching the second zombie about to be struck by Changmin, aimed for the “fire extinguisher” on the corridor wall.

Although the building was currently without water, the fire extinguisher was installed as an emergency water supply system unrelated to the apartment’s water tank. Therefore, knowledgeable people sometimes use this fire extinguisher when the water is cut off to get emergency water.

Timing his rush towards the third zombie as Changmin assaulted it, Junseong opened the door of the fire extinguisher when he reached it. Inside, he quickly pulled out all the coiled white fire hose. At the end of the long hose was a head part called “sprinkler,” and Junseong, holding this part with one hand, quickly opened the red valve inside the fire extinguisher.

Normally, people would check it to see if it was well connected and perform a check before turning on the water. However, since it was evident that it would be well connected, just like in the dream, he didn’t bother checking.

As expected, the sound of water pouring out like a waterfall echoed. Observing the hose filling up with water, Junseong aimed the head part, the sprinkler, towards the corridor where the zombies were approaching.

“Hyung, retreat!”

Though he said it, Junseong also knew that Changmin wasn’t someone who would retreat alone because he thought it was dangerous.

“I have to behave straight to avoid it becoming dangerous.”

Just do as he did in the dream. He remembers clearly how it “operates.”

With the machete in the holster at his lower back, Junseong confirmed the time passing almost identically to the day when he rescued Hwang Gyeong-oh. He signaled Changmin with a small sound.

“Now.”

As soon as the word dropped, Changmin rushed towards the fourth-floor corridor. He swiftly smashed the head of the zombie wandering at the entrance and, following that, charged towards the second zombie turning around to look at him.

Watching Changmin’s decisive movements, Junseong also jumped into the corridor.

“He’s fast.”

Changmin was surprisingly fast, making Junseong’s movements also quick.

Passing by the corpse of the first zombie, Junseong, who was now approaching the second zombie about to be struck by Changmin, aimed for the “fire extinguisher” on the corridor wall.

Although the building was currently without water, the fire extinguisher was installed as an emergency water supply system unrelated to the apartment’s water tank. Therefore, knowledgeable people sometimes use this fire extinguisher when the water is cut off to get emergency water.

Timing his rush towards the third zombie as Changmin assaulted it, Junseong opened the door of the fire extinguisher when he reached it. Inside, he quickly pulled out all the coiled white fire hose. At the end of the long hose was a head part called “sprinkler,” and Junseong, holding this part with one hand, quickly opened the red valve inside the fire extinguisher.

Normally, people would check it to see if it was well connected and perform a check before turning on the water. However, since it was evident that it would be well connected, just like in the dream, he didn’t bother checking.

As expected, the sound of water pouring out like a waterfall echoed. Observing the hose filling up with water, Junseong aimed the head part, the sprinkler, towards the corridor where the zombies were approaching.

“Hyung, retreat!”

Just as Changmin threw the head of the third zombie down the corridor and quickly retreated, understanding instantly what Junseong intended, he slid the pipe onto his side and grabbed the hose together.

Kiak-!

Kyahak!

The zombies, screaming, gradually drew closer.

Junseong felt the water filling the hose up to the end he was holding, then turned the sprinkler to open the entrance.

Syoaaa-!

A powerful stream of water, incomparable to the pressure from a shower or a water park, gushed out. The straight and forceful stream pushed the front zombie almost to the point of flying, and it blocked the other zombies behind from advancing.

Not only that, but the strong water stream also played a significant role in obstructing the zombies’ vision. The accumulated crowd of zombies, due to the obscured vision and the loud surrounding water sound, stumbled without properly determining the direction. Moreover, the force of the water stream was so strong that instead of moving forward, they were forced to step back.

Junseong and Changmin continued to walk forward while shooting the water stream as forcefully as possible. Correspondingly, the zombies were gradually pushed backward.

403rd.

404th.

Finally, around passing 405th.

Kkiik-.

With the sound of a rusty latch, the door of 405 opened, and Hwang Gyeong-oh poked his head out neatly.