Red Dot - 7

Chapter 007

So far, the reactions of people, the words they uttered, and even the actions of the zombies had all been exactly as he knew them, allowing him to remain calm. He could simply think of this as dreaming another realistic dream.

“It has changed.”

A change in just about three minutes.

Though it was a very brief period, short enough to add the word “only,” the future had clearly shifted.

“Why? How? For what reason?”

Junseong had been trying to follow the successful route that had already reached a solution. So, even such a minor change left him confused. If it were because he had done something different, that would be fine, but he was behaving as similarly as possible, and yet this unexpected variable had emerged. Furthermore, on the very first day, he had to be extra cautious.

“Is it my fault?”

Because of the frustrating sense of reality, the delay in moving more swiftly caused a delay in entering the building. It was just a matter of a few minutes, but that slight error might have caused the change in the future.

Faced with a different fear than encountering zombies, he was extremely bewildered. It was torturous to think that even a very minor action could alter the future in this way.

He could remain calm and composed, knowing what lay ahead. Even if fear came rushing in, he could easily suppress it by comparing it to a game or a dream.

Knowing the future granted him such power.

However, if variables like this began to appear so early and alter the future, he might end up going down a completely different path. An unpredictable route that he had not experienced in his two months of dreams.

Suddenly, overwhelmed by extreme anxiety, Junseong dropped the machete and hugged his arms tightly.

“Calm down. You’re okay.”

As if putting himself into a trance, he repeated only two short, stout sentences.

About one minute passed like that.

Junseong opened his eyes with a face that had grown even calmer.

“Even with some variables, it won’t have a significant impact. I can do this.”

Thanks to the delayed alarm, he was able to survive, and it was difficult to believe that these minor variables would have a substantial effect in the future.

“Either way, my task remains the same.”

With or without variables, he had to save his little sister.

By the time he had gathered his thoughts, there was no longer any sound coming from outside. Faint screams could still be heard, but they came from the direction of the lecture hall where the loud alarm was still blaring. Thus, it was not very close.

Junseong, holding the machete he had dropped to the floor, placed his hand on the door handle.

While he had been momentarily focused on the sounds from outside, Junseong slowly opened the door.

He checked the situation in the corridor through the slightly opened door. It was exactly the same as in his dreams, except for an error of about three minutes. There was no one around. He extended his head out of the door and looked in the direction where the alarm was still ringing.

At the far end of the corridor.

In the large lecture hall where the door was wide open, the alarm was ringing loudly, and numerous zombies were making terrifying screams. This level of noise would have surely attracted some zombies from the first, second, and third floors as well.

Junseong knew there would be no zombies on the third floor when he reached it, but he still moved carefully and quietly. Fortunately, he could climb the stairs to the third floor without encountering any zombies.

Then, at that moment.

Someone from the lecture hall where the alarm was still ringing slowly extended their head out of the door and silently gazed at the partially open door of the professor’s office where Junseong had hidden.

The alarm sound that spread from the second floor was heard not only by Junseong and the zombies.

“What’s… happening all of a sudden?!”

Jiwoo, who was pushing the zombie away with a plastic mop head, was taken aback by the alarm sound and took a step back. This caused Soyeon, who was holding a long broom horizontally and blocking the zombies together with Jiwoo, to wobble for a moment.

“Hey…!”

Just as Soyeon was about to scold Jiwoo, a zombie, whose teeth had turned into blood-soaked fangs, made a sharp sound right in front of her.

Thud!

A sound like a watermelon being crushed echoed.

Chaeyi rushed towards the zombie that had been pushed back, aiming at its eyes with the pointed end of the stick.

Kyah!

The zombie, whose eyes were pierced, groaned and twitched along with a scream. It seemed like its brain had been touched, but it wasn’t completely damaged, as it was still moving.

Chaeyi didn’t miss the opportunity and brought down the zombie. She aimed for its head, delivering powerful blows from top to bottom.

If she had just stabbed it while standing, it would have been difficult to pierce the hard skull. However, by putting the zombie on the ground and applying pressure from above, the dull thud was accompanied by the stick’s tip penetrating deeply. Thanks to this, the zombie that had been moaning stopped moving.

Soyeon, who was too shocked by the zombie to even scream, looked at Chaeyi, who was now a corpse with a stick lodged in her head, instead of the unmoving body. Chaeyi had put the stick in her head without hesitation.

Chaeyi gave a stern warning to Soyeon and Jiwoo, “Stay focused. One wrong move, and we’re all dead.”

“Uh…”

While Chaeyi exerted strength to pull the stick out of the zombie’s head, Soyeon took off her glasses and asked, concerned about the alarm sound that had been going on since earlier. She had been worrying about it the whole time.

“What’s that sound?”

“I don’t know. But thanks to it, all the zombies in front of the TA’s office have gone away.”

Except for the zombie that had been charging at them when the alarm went off.

The three people, their bodies covered in zombie blood, suddenly heard the alarm and were surprised, but they all had the same thought: now was the chance.

As Chaeyi struggled to pull the stick out of the zombie’s head, which seemed to be stuck, Jiwoo pulled the stick together. Although she could have just left it and gone, Jiwoo unexpectedly helped Chaeyi.

“Let’s go quickly. We don’t know when the music will stop. If it stops, won’t they all chase us here again?”

Jiwoo couldn’t ignore Chaeyi’s weapon. This weapon was much better than the blunt and useless mop or broom. Of course, it was thanks to Chaeyi, who calmly faced the zombies.

With an urgent look, Jiwoo put in extra effort to help Chaeyi pull the stick out. Amidst this, Jiwoo, who looked pleased with herself, also held the mop handle and stood right behind Chaeyi. Soyeon, wiping the blood off her glasses and holding a long broom in her hand, was ready to swing it at any moment.

The three of them walked down the empty corridor, not letting their guard down.

Hoo… Crreeeaaak…

The three people, who had been walking quickly with stern faces toward the TA’s office, suddenly came to a halt simultaneously.

Groaning and moaning, similar to agonizing cries, reached their ears from just beyond the lecture hall door they had passed.

Chaeyi, who swallowed dry saliva, gazed at the lecture hall door. The person who made the groaning noise wasn’t visible from the other side of the door, which was so covered in blood that it was impossible to tell if it was ivory or crimson.

Pointing her finger towards the floor of the door, Soyeon, who was trembling so much from fear that she couldn’t even scream, asked, “What’s… that?”

“Uh, that…!”

While pointing with her finger, Jiwoo trembled and then hesitated, and it was Jiwoo who tried to push Chaeyi forward with her fingertips.

“Let’s go quickly. We don’t know when the music will stop. If it stops, won’t they all chase us here again?”

Jiwoo couldn’t ignore Chaeyi’s weapon. This weapon was much better than the blunt and useless mop or broom. Of course, it was thanks to Chaeyi, who calmly faced the zombies.

With an urgent look, Jiwoo put in extra effort to help Chaeyi pull the stick out. Amidst this, Jiwoo, who looked pleased with herself, also held the mop handle and stood right behind Chaeyi. Soyeon, wiping the blood off her glasses and holding a long broom in her hand, was ready to swing it at any moment.

The three of them walked down the empty corridor, not letting their guard down.

Hoo… Crreeeaaak…

The three people, who had been walking quickly with stern faces toward the TA’s office, suddenly came to a halt simultaneously.

Groaning and moaning, similar to agonizing cries, reached their ears from just beyond the lecture hall door they had passed.

Chaeyi, who swallowed dry saliva, gazed at the lecture hall door. The person who made the groaning noise wasn’t visible from the other side of the door, which was so covered in blood that it was impossible to tell if it was ivory or crimson.

Pointing her finger towards the floor of the door, Soyeon, who was trembling so much from fear that she couldn’t even scream, asked, “What’s… that?”

Chaeyi and Soyeon, who were looking at the spot Jiwoo had pointed to with her finger, stopped breathing.

A zombie that had only its upper body left, as if it had been torn to shreds as if it had been torn to shreds, crawled on the floor with its two arms, and was moving towards them. Below the waist, some internal organs and a part of the spine, which seemed to have been roughly torn, protruded by about an inch, and wherever it had gone, there was enough fresh blood and flesh to make the path easily recognizable.

The zombie that had lost its lower body didn’t move quickly, despite hearing the alarm sound.

The three of them had gained some understanding from their encounters with zombies so far. Zombies were evidently sensitive to sound, but once they were within the limited field of vision, surrounded by their crimson-covered world, they didn’t care about noise and would relentlessly charge at their target. In these situations, it seemed that attacking humans in their line of sight became their top priority, regardless of any other noises around.

As proof of this, the upper-body zombie that had just crawled out of the lecture hall finally saw the three of them and let out a much louder and more terrifying scream.

Kiaaah!

“Uwaaaah!”

Jiwoo, who shouted together with a sense of urgency, ran towards the TA’s office not far away. His frantic footsteps, screams, and the zombie’s shriek echoed loudly in the corridor.

Chaeyi tried to strike the zombie’s head with the stick, but the zombie’s frantic head movement caused the tip of the stick to repeatedly stab the floor.

Furthermore, the zombie’s strength was unusual as it crawled on its arms, powerful enough to push Chaeyi’s ankles with terrifying force.

“Chaeyi!”

Soyeon, who didn’t know what to do, struck the zombie’s head with the broom, but it didn’t seem to have much effect.

Chaeyi watched the zombie trying to bite her ankle, and with her other leg, the one the zombie hadn’t grabbed, she kicked the zombie’s head like a soccer ball. Despite a dull thud from somewhere in the neck, the zombie continued to move violently.

Thud, thud – thadathud!

The horrible sound, as if it were shattering teeth, heightened Chaeyi’s fear.