Hope

A moment of silence passed.

Alex’s lips quivered as if trying to say something, before letting out an obvious sigh.

Puzzled by this completely unexpected reaction, Yuseong asked in a perplexed voice.

“Do you not know who Dr. Choi is?”

“There’s no way anyone from our generation wouldn’t know about him. Dr. Choi Hyunseong. Humanity’s savior who eradicated the Omega virus and various other mutant viruses. The greatest intellect of the 21st century. I know him well.”^[1]

“Then why are you making that expression?”

“Mr. Choi. Does this situation look like a pandemic caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites to you?”

While the people of this world didn’t know about zombies, they weren’t completely devoid of common sense.

If only classic walking zombies or even running zombies had appeared, they might have somehow understood this situation as some kind of biological disaster, but reality wasn’t so simple.

“Until a few days ago, I also thought this was caused by an epidemic. When they said it was some mutant rabies virus or whatever up top, I just went along with it. But after seeing those things that started appearing a few days ago, my thoughts changed. What kind of virus in the world can turn people into monsters that can deflect bullets or climb walls?”

“……”

“The others are just as strange. Being able to live and move energetically without eating, drinking, or sleeping for over ten days? This is absolutely not something like an epidemic.”

“Then what do you think is causing this situation, Sergeant Alex?”

“Well. Maybe it’s divine punishment from God who’s angry at humanity’s depravity, or an alien invasion, something like that?”

Alex concluded that this situation was caused by something supernatural that couldn’t be understood by human common sense.

He wasn’t exactly wrong.

Even Yuseong thought this wasn’t something that could happen due to an ordinary virus.

‘But I can’t agree with that speculation.’

Not knowing how many zombies and mutants might be in the subway.

He needed to increase allies by any means necessary.

Moreover, if they were trained soldiers rather than civilians, there was no question.

-Even so, deceiving people is a bit…

‘Isn’t this actually good? Not just for my goal, but objectively speaking, your father seems to be the only person capable of resolving this situation right now. There’s that saying that the ends justify the means, right?’

Though that wasn’t how the saying was meant to be used, it wasn’t completely wrong either.

Looking at Alex who wore a resigned expression, Yuseong spoke in a confident voice.

“No. This is indeed a pandemic caused by a virus.”

“Mr. Choi. I understand how you feel, but look at reality. If this was really caused by a virus…”

“There’s a vaccine.”

“…What did you just say?”

“Several months ago, Dr. Choi discovered the unknown virus causing this current situation and succeeded in creating a new vaccine against it.”

“Don’t talk nonsense! If there’s a vaccine, why has the world become like this?”

“It was because of clinical trials. After secretly completing phase 1 and 2 trials, the virus spread while we were about to begin phase 3.”

Yuseong rolled up his pant leg and pulled down his sock.

Though they hadn’t noticed during the earlier inspection from a distance, looking closely now revealed faint teeth marks on his ankle.

Seeing Alex startle, Yuseong raised both hands and continued speaking.

“I was bitten ten days ago. Thanks to the vaccine, I was able to avoid becoming a zombie.”

“I saw you jumping between buildings using signboards. There are people who gain superhuman strength instead of becoming zombies when bitten by zombies – aren’t you one of those cases?”

“I didn’t become a zombie not because I’m a special case, but because of the vaccine. If you really can’t believe it, I’ll prove right here that the vaccine exists.”

“Prove it?”

“I brought vaccine samples just in case. If we use it on someone who’s become a zombie, we can see whether the vaccine works or not, right?”

“…Follow me.”

The eight-story shopping mall contained not just soldiers but also a considerable number of civilians.

Passing by people who watched him with wary eyes, Yuseong reached the end of the mall and encountered a zombie tied up in a corner store.

GRAAHHH!

“This idiot dozed off during guard duty and got bitten by a Climber. We left him alone thinking he might be a special case since he held out for quite a while, but he ended up becoming a zombie. Can you really cure him?”

To be honest, he wasn’t confident about being able to cure them.

The status recovery potion had only worked before becoming a zombie.

While ‘zombification’ in progress could be considered a status effect, ‘zombie’ as a completed state might not be considered a status effect, meaning the potion might not work.

However, having come this far, he couldn’t back down either.

[Spending 300,000 karma points to withdraw Arkon Handcrafted Supreme Status Recovery Potion(B-)]

Pretending to search his backpack while taking out the status recovery potion from subspace, Yuseong grabbed the zombie’s jaw and forcefully opened its mouth.

The silver liquid disappeared into the zombie’s mouth along with a refreshing scent.

“Recovery will take time. For now, let’s observe the progress… Huh?”

The status recovery potion worked on zombies too.

And not even gradually recovering over a long time.

Just like how humans became zombies, the zombie was returning to human form at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The red-stained retinas turned white and the blue veins bulging across the body gradually subsided with each heartbeat.

‘What’s this? Is it actually easier to turn a complete zombie back into a human than to cure someone in the process of zombification?’

It was absurd to Yuseong who had struggled on the brink of death for ten days, but having the effect work quickly wasn’t a bad thing.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, instead of a zombie, there remained only one soldier breathing heavily with a peaceful expression.

Having witnessed the entire process, Alex shook the soldier’s shoulder with trembling hands.

“Urgh.”

With a faint groan, the soldier opened his eyes and froze upon meeting Alex’s gaze.

“Se-Se-Sergeant? I wasn’t trying to sleep, I was just too tired… Wait, wasn’t I on guard duty? No, more importantly, why am I tied up?”

“Ha, haha, hahaha…”

Alex burst into bitter laughter at the reaction that seemed like someone caught secretly sleeping.

The bitter laughter soon turned into roaring laughter loud enough to be heard across the floor, and after choking for a while, Alex wiped his tears and stood up.

A bright smile and confidently squared shoulders.

He showed an energetic appearance with no trace of the pessimistic atmosphere from just moments ago.

“Really, really this was all because of a virus?”

“Yes.”

“Then if we find Dr. Choi, we might be able to return the world to normal.”

“That part is unclear. We’re not certain if Dr. Choi is safe, and even if we rescue him, mass-producing the vaccine and returning the world to normal would be very difficult.”

“Having hope is what’s important. You know what? Until this morning, I spent a long time contemplating whether to put a gun in my mouth and pull the trigger. I thought dying as a human would be much better than living to become one of those monsters.”

Alex said he was glad he didn’t pull the trigger and extended his hand toward Yuseong.

“Would you share the glory of saving humanity with me?”

* * *

Yuseong had to use two more status recovery potions to gather people willing to help.

This was because everyone except Alex, who had directly witnessed zombies returning to human form, thought that soldier was just a special case with immunity.

People only believed in the vaccine’s existence after watching the process of a zombie caught lurking near the back entrance turning human.

However, what followed didn’t go as smoothly as Yuseong had thought.

“This is absurd! What are we supposed to do if the soldiers leave?”

“Go if you want to go! But you can’t take any food or water! And leave the weapons too!”

“…I’m sorry, Sergeant. I’d rather not leave here.”

“To be honest, I’m scared. We can’t even guess how many of those things are down there, can we?”

Not just civilians but even soldiers opposed leaving the shopping mall.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand their thinking.

No matter how noble the purpose, people instinctively prioritized their own lives.

Not many people would leave the cradle of the shopping mall to enter a tomb crawling with monsters.

“The only reason we’ve been able to hold out until now is because they were gathered in the city center! Once those things finish hunting humans in the buildings and apartments and start spreading out, this place will be in danger too!”

“The city is so big, there’s no guarantee they’ll come here specifically.”

“Even if that’s true, we’ll eventually run out of food. Given the number of people remaining in this mall and our food supplies, we have ten days, fifteen at most if we really stretch it!”

“Is there any guarantee we can find food if we go outside? Using your logic in reverse, if we stay here we can hold out for at least two weeks while waiting for rescue, which gives us even less reason to leave!”

Though there were far more people on the side arguing they shouldn’t leave, the passion of those saying they should leave overwhelmed them.

After much argument, both sides finally reached two points of agreement.

Only those who decided of their own will, not by order, would go.

They could take weapons but no food supplies.

In the end, only six people including Alex decided to follow Yuseong.

“…This is shameful. Only six people volunteered for this crucial mission with humanity’s fate at stake.”

“No, it’s fine. I was feeling hopeless being alone, so I should be grateful to have six companions.”

It was slightly disappointing, but forcing unwilling people to come would only cause trouble.

‘Better to just take volunteers than watch them cause internal strife by whining about wanting to go back.’

Though few in number, determination to face even death could be felt in the volunteers’ eyes.

While humans as creatures valued their own lives most, there were also humans who considered other things more important than their own lives.

And such humans sometimes achieved feats that ordinary people could not.

People gathered under the hope of returning the world to normal and curing people.

These people would surely fight without fear no matter how many zombies swarmed or what grotesque mutations appeared.

“It’s here.”

The passage leading underground was blocked by countless pieces of junk including furniture, beds, and garbage.

With half-closed eyes listening to sounds beyond the passage, Yuseong made a circle with his thumb and index finger.

Carelessly clearing away the objects would be troublesome if zombies entered the mall.

Under the watch of soldiers and civilians aiming weapons, Yuseong and the others carefully cleared away objects while trying to minimize noise.

Thud.

As part of the mountain of junk collapsed, the scene beyond was revealed.