Red Dot - 70

“I feel like I might end up killing you someday.”

Because he enjoyed it too much to be satisfied with just confining and tying up.

Junseong injected a sinister laughter into Hanseo’s ear with a sardonic voice.

“If you can, give it a try. I’ll kill you too.”

Hanseo’s body twitched as if his nerve endings were being touched.

Even though he behaved as if he could do anything to protect himself, he pushed back like this, not yielding but confronting head-on. Junseong clearly had an insatiable desire for conquest that provoked Hanseo’s inability to resist.

“Sigh….”

A heated breath escaped his lips.

His formerly well-managed relaxed expression seemed to be gradually crumbling in front of Junseong.

As they emerged from the now quiet outside and headed towards the escalator, they saw a few zombies gathered nearby. They were staring blankly at the escalator going down.

As Junseong and Hanseo approached the zombies, they moved slowly, making way for them.

As they walked down the stopped escalator, they noticed three zombies blocking the path, which they hadn’t seen when they came up.

Instead of walking down the stairs, these three zombies extended their bodies outside the open spaces on either side of the escalator. Hanging on the railing, their bodies twisted and contorted, their heads detached and hanging limply, the zombies made groaning sounds and soon stopped moving.

Junseong, who had come down the escalator, turned his gaze towards a faint moan nearby.

There was a man sitting with his back against the side wall of the escalator. When Junseong shone the flashlight on him, the man, whose shoulders were twitching, lifted his head.

The man’s face, covered in blood from being torn apart all over his body, was as bloody as his body. His eyes, still covered in a layer of red, were shedding tears of blood, and his lips were so red from the blood he had spat out several times that it was impossible to count.

As the man opened his mouth as if to say something, he only made a hoarse groan, as he had already turned into a zombie and could not speak except for a dull groan.

Junseong silently stared at the man.

Even assuming an extreme level of compassion, there was no way to save the man.

Even if they moved as fast as they could from the 7th to the 6th floor, they couldn’t save the man during the short time of screams and screams. Even though it was a distance, the increasing number of screams as the man fled indicated the presence of dozens of zombies, requiring adequate preparation.

Finding this department store on the 5th day was something Junseong hadn’t even attempted in his dreams, so even Junseong couldn’t predict what would happen inside today. Trying to save a survivor who suddenly appeared in such an anxious time would be suicide. Even if he used Hanseo’s abilities, it was absolutely impossible for Junseong to save the man.

But he couldn’t help it, and his mind couldn’t be at ease.

Junseong took out the machete from the scabbard on his back. Then, he lowered his arm that was wrapped around Hanseo’s waist and handed him the flashlight. Understanding Junseong’s intention, Hanseo took two flashlights and stepped back about half a step.

Then the face of the man, who had just become a zombie, began to contort.

In an instant, as the man, leaning on the wall for support, staggered to his feet with his mouth wide open, it was as if he was rushing towards Junseong even before his hands, stained with blood, grabbed him.

With a sound, the machete was driven into the man’s forehead. Junseong, who struck with both hands to properly insert it, had a few drops of the still-unhardened man’s blood splatter on his face.

With a click and a gulp, the man, who had been groaning with his mouth blocked, collapsed as Junseong retrieved the machete from his head.

Junseong, who swung the machete into the air to shake off the warm blood, made a bitter expression.

Junseong’s cheek, splattered with blood, felt the touch of Hanseo’s fingers. His fingers neatly wiped away the warm blood.

“That should be enough.”

Nodding at Hanseo’s words, Junseong tucked the machete away.

He thought that giving the man a complete death like this was the least he could do, rather than letting him wander around attacking people with his decaying body. In a world like this, the best he could do for the victims was this.

Relieving his heavy heart, Junseong and Hanseo resumed their steps and entered the sports equipment store Junseong had noticed.

The first thing Junseong grabbed was a set of protective gear containing thick pads. Designed for knees and elbows, they were suitable for defense when facing zombies at close range.

After putting a few sets into his backpack, Junseong headed towards the display stand where various balls were gathered.

Hanseo expressed his curiosity as he observed Junseong, who was unexpectedly looking at the balls.

“Why here? Are you preparing to throw some balls?”

“Something similar.”

Hanseo thought Junseong might grab tennis balls or baseballs. While those balls would be helpful if accuracy was ensured, they couldn’t obtain many considering the weight, so Hanseo felt puzzled.

As Hanseo watched Junseong with curious eyes, Junseong was already in the middle of putting five packs containing ten small orange table tennis balls each into his backpack. Interestingly, he showed no interest in the harder white plastic table tennis balls.

Hanseo vaguely noticed Junseong’s behavior.

“Is there something about the material?”

“Yes.”

Junseong, who had already put all the orange table tennis balls from the display shelf into his backpack, heaved a sigh of relief.

“Actually, I came here because this is as important as a battery pack.”

Junseong, who secretly admired the backpack, grabbed Hanseo’s waist.

“This will help us a lot in the future.”

—

“Junseong! Junseong!”

He called out loudly, but there was no response.

After landing the helicopter at Inhan Hospital and quickly descending to the 7th floor, Nam Ki-hyuk frantically opened each hospital room, searching for Junseong, but all he found was a chilling silence. His colleagues, who had searched the 5th and 6th floors according to his instructions, also brought back news that they had found nothing.

Nam Ki-hyuk’s hopeful face quickly turned into frustration as he muttered to himself.

“I thought he would be here by now.”

As he expressed his regret with a short tongue click, a muscular man approached him.

“It seems like it’s been a few days since he left. Could he have used another place as a hideout?”

“That might be possible.”

Nam Ki-hyuk furrowed his brow nervously and scratched his head.

‘I wish I could remember every episode like Junseong does.’

As he thought so, his irritation grew even stronger.

“It’s unfair! It’s unfair!”

Kicking the chair in frustration, he glanced at his colleagues, who froze with tense faces. Knowing that a wrong move could result in one part of the body being instantly severed, all they could do was wait until he calmed down.

However, Nam Ki-hyuk’s right-hand man, a muscular guy, was one of the few who could initiate conversation even in such moments.

“We’ll meet him soon anyway. Isn’t there something more important right now?”

“What could be as important to me as Junseong…!”

With a burst, Ki-hyuk pulled out a military dagger from his bosom as if it were a habit. As if knowing it in advance, the man who grabbed Ki-hyuk’s hand holding the knife said with a stern face,

“If as your brother predicted, ‘that item’ falls into Kang Junseong’s hands, it can’t be allowed. As you know, opportunities come once, and if we miss this, we’ll eventually miss the important Kang Junseong as well.”

“…”

Ki-hyuk’s face, covered with irritation, gradually calmed down.

Soon, a bitter smile appeared on his face.

“Seems like you’re getting better at handling me as time goes by.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“You damn bastard.”

Ki-hyuk cursed under his breath and finally lowered the knife. The surrounding people, who had been frozen, finally relaxed their tense expressions.

“If you’re leaving, you should leave a gift behind.”

Thinking of Junseong, Ki-hyuk chuckled and extended his hand towards the man. On his palm lay a small gift box adorned with a pretty ribbon.

“It should be something Junseong would like.”

Ki-hyuk imagined how Junseong’s face would change upon seeing the contents of the gift box, savoring the thought with a strange satisfaction.