Hit and Run

Thud!

“Argh!”

“Mathers! Everyone gather around Mathers!”

The soldier named Mathers who suddenly collided with the charging Raider was thrown backward with a heavy meaty sound.

No matter how fast Raiders were, they weren’t faster than bullets.

When everyone stood back-to-back and fired in all directions, the Raiders hid behind pillars.

“I-I can’t breathe!”

“Damn it!”

Though the bulletproof vest prevented external wounds, the impact was fully transmitted.

Seeing his subordinate with a pale face and blood trickling from his mouth, Alex gritted his teeth.

He wanted to provide some first aid, but while he might know about external wounds, he knew nothing about internal injuries.

As Alex gritted his teeth, a hand suddenly extended before him.

“Mr. Choi?”

Without saying anything, Yuseong took out a glass bottle containing red liquid and poured its contents into Mathers’ mouth.

Alex, who had been blankly watching this, widened his eyes as Mathers’ complexion immediately improved and his breathing stabilized.

“W-what kind of potion is that?”

Yuseong said nothing and stood up.

It was awkward to explain the concept of healing potions, and there wasn’t time anyway.

[Spending 10,000 karma points to withdraw Brant Republic Research Lab #53 Close Combat Armament Prototype(C+)]

The plasma axe he hadn’t used in a while.

Feeling the cold sensation rising in his palm, Yuseong twisted his lips and then dashed out from among the soldiers toward the pillars where the Raiders were hiding.

“Hello?”

Keek?

After greeting the Raider who was wearing a blank expression, Yuseong pressed the switch on the handle and brought the axe down toward its crown.

Ziiing!

The purple plasma split the Raider in half as easily as cutting through tofu.

Only then did the other Raiders realize what was happening and charged in with screams, but unfortunately, the matchup was too poor.

Raiders were certainly fast.

However, Yuseong had Asura Perception Way which could extend his perceived time and break down moments into instants. Also, he had the plasma axe with its extreme cutting power.

Swoosh!

He didn’t even need to get close to swing his weapon.

Just expose an opening, barely slip his body out of their charging trajectory, and place the plasma axe where the Raiders would pass through – that was enough.

Just with that, the Raiders who boasted terrifying speed turned into lumps of meat rolling on the floor without even being able to scream.

Keeeng!

When the number of fallen Raiders exceeded twenty and the smell of burning meat became thick enough to sting the nose, just like the Climbers before, the Raiders began fleeing without any particular signal.

If they had fled backward, he might have felt somewhat relieved, but they unfortunately chose to flee forward.

Meaning they could encounter them several more times ahead.

It was already burdensome enough just fleeing from the zombies pursuing from behind, but if they added variants hiding in darkness and blind spots launching surprise attacks, there would clearly be considerable casualties.

Clicking his tongue softly, Yuseong emerged from behind the pillar and approached Alex and Mathers, passing by the soldiers who wore blank expressions.

“M-Mr. Choi. What was that just…”

“How is his condition?”

Alex, who had been opening and closing his mouth, gathered his wits at Yuseong’s words.

What was important now wasn’t the potion that instantly healed wounds or the weapon that took down dozens of variants, but his subordinate’s condition.

“Can you stand?”

“Ugh!”

Mathers stood up with Alex’s support but collapsed after taking just a few steps and shook his head.

“I-I think my ribs are broken. The pain surges whenever I move, I absolutely can’t walk.”

“Emil! Drop one bag and carry Mathers. With your strength…”

Graaaaaah!

The howls now audible from nearby.

Mathers, who had been watching the numerous shadows flickering on the tunnel walls, leaned against a nearby pillar and pointed his gun toward where the zombies were coming while saying.

“I’ll stay here.”

“What?”

“Right now I’ll just be a burden. Rather than that, I’ll stay here and buy even a little time. Just give me some ammunition and grenades.”

Alex was about to shout but barely swallowed back the words that had risen to his throat when he saw Mathers’ eyes.

Eyes filled with firm resolve, showing no trace of fear of death.

One person’s life versus all of humanity’s fate.

Which to choose was all too clear.

“…I’ll definitely find the vaccine and turn you back to normal.”

“Haha, better not let them bite too much of me.”

They didn’t engage in pointless acts like coming forward one by one to exchange meaningful words or saying they couldn’t leave a comrade behind.

To not waste the time Mathers was buying them, the group immediately ran off in the opposite direction.

Gunfire erupted from behind before they had taken even a few steps.

And shortly after, the tunnel shook with an enormous boom incomparable to the gunfire.

“……”

Everyone just silently ran forward, no one looking back.

Yuseong frowned while changing magazines, taking out a new gun from subspace without letting others notice.

They had barely entered the subway tracks but had already lost one comrade.

Behind them were who knew how many zombies in pursuit, while ahead various variants lay hidden in darkness waiting for prey.

‘If zombies and variants mixed together when attacking, I could handle them without much difficulty, but unfortunately they’re perfectly divided on both sides…’

The situation wasn’t very good.

While dealing with the Raiders, the distance with the zombies pursuing from behind had considerably shortened.

If in this situation they were delayed again by variants appearing, what would follow was clear as day.

‘We need a turning point that can reverse the situation.’

That turning point came by chance.

Or in some sense, it could be called inevitable.

The place where Yuseong’s group was currently located was subway tracks.

Naturally, subway tracks weren’t made for humans to walk on.

“A train!”

A train was visible beyond the dim lights.

Somehow finding such strength, the group increased their speed even further, and before long they could reach the train stopped in the middle of the tracks.

The broken windows and pools of blood visible beyond them spoke of what tragedy had occurred here, but rather than frowning, the group smiled brightly.

Though some city functions including communications were paralyzed, electricity hadn’t been cut off yet.

Which meant the train that used electricity as its power source would still work too.

“Clear!”

Reaching the control cabin while suppressing zombies that jumped out, Yuseong put a bullet in what appeared to be the zombie conductor’s crown and sat in the chair.

“Mr. Choi, do you know how to operate a train?”

“No. But if I mess around with various things it should move.”

It was an irresponsible statement but there was no other option anyway.

After wrestling for quite a while randomly pressing buttons and pushing and pulling levers, the train began moving forward with a faint vibration.

“It worked!”

Alex cheered at the sight of the zombies growing distant, but Yuseong shook his head with a cold expression.

“It’s still too early to feel relieved.”

“No matter how good their stamina is, catching up to a train…”

Thump!

Everyone’s gaze turned upward.

Normal zombies couldn’t catch up to a moving train, but variants were different.

Climbers could stick to the ceiling and drop down when the train passed below, while Raiders could use their superior speed to throw themselves through broken windows.

Of course, not many could enter the train using such methods, but it definitely wasn’t zero either.

“Shit! A Shadow!”

“It’s a straight corridor anyway! Don’t bother aiming, just spray!”

“Aaaaah!”

Not a few zombies must have entered as gunfire continuously rang out from behind.

But Yuseong didn’t participate in the battle and focused all his attention forward.

There was a limit to the firepower that could be concentrated in such a narrow train anyway.

With five soldiers including the machine gunner firing nonstop, him helping would be like pouring a cup of water in the ocean.

Now was the time to pay attention to the front rather than the back.

‘Pitcher!’

Though there was quite some distance, he could recognize those abnormally developed arms at a glance.

The moment the Pitcher’s arm swung, Yuseong instinctively ducked.

Bang!

With a sound like a bomb exploding, the control cabin’s windshield shattered explosively.

Roughly brushing off the glass shards covering his body, Yuseong grabbed the gun he had set aside while feeling the cold air hitting his whole body.

“Let’s try this, shall we?”

As flames spewed from the muzzle, the Pitcher who had been raising its arm to launch a second attack staggered while spurting blood from its body.

When the Pitcher regained its senses, the train had approached right up to its nose.

Crunch!

Showing a faint bloody smile at the meaty sound heard distantly, Yuseong aimed his gun forward again and kept pulling the trigger.

It was impossible to take down a variant with one bullet, but he could buy a moment of time.

And that moment was more than enough time for the train to pass by the variant.

‘How many more stations?’

-Three! No, now just two!

It was a distance that would have taken at least half a day walking, but not long by train.

Yuseong, who had been newly impressed by the convenience of modern civilization, tilted his head at the sight visible in the distance.

An unidentified massive obstacle blocking the tunnel.

Yuseong who had initially thought it was traces of a ceiling collapse widened his eyes upon realizing the obstacle was a variant.

‘A Heavy!’

A variant with a huge body and tremendous durability.

Moreover, it wasn’t just one.

Though he couldn’t tell exactly due to being blocked by the one in front, judging from what he could glimpse, there seemed to be quite a number of Heavies.

Yuseong who was about to pull the lever immediately hesitated at the ominous feeling he suddenly got.

‘If we stop the train here and get off, can we handle the Heavies?’

If only one or two charged at a time, he could somehow deal with them.

Though they had durability that could withstand rifle-level firepower, grenades or the plasma axe would be enough to take them down.

But the ones visible now numbered at least ten, maybe even dozens.

No matter how many they took down, if the remaining ones just charged in, they would inevitably die crushed under those massive bodies.

Finishing all calculations in an instant, Yuseong pushed the lever all the way up instead of pulling it down.

“Huh? Huuuuh?”

“Wait! What’s happening?!”

“Everyone sit in chairs and fasten seatbelts!”

The soldiers who had been bewildered by the madly accelerating train smoothly retreated back and chose intact chairs to sit in at Yuseong’s urgent voice.

And the moment Yuseong, who arrived last, fastened his seatbelt, an enormous impact shook the train.

A momentary feeling of floating.

Looking at the scenery beyond the windows illuminating the ceiling, Yuseong squeezed his eyes shut.