Chapter 76
The place he was looking at was the den filled with infected.
———!
As always, the infected screamed eerily in a frenzy. Their distorted cries faded away meaninglessly, reaching no one.
So I looked at the infected indifferently, but Im Do-hyeon did not. He gazed at them with an expression as if looking at something endearing.
“There are things to be gained.”
Do-hyeon spoke while still watching the infected.
“I believe those infected are the first beings, the only ones, to defy the natural order of this world. Humans always, inevitably, die. Yes, death is fair to all! No matter how rich, no matter how good the deeds!”
His mouth gradually began to twitch, and even from the side, it was clear he was muttering in a crazed state.
“But, the infected beings don’t die. Yes. Our great pioneers never die! It’s defying destiny. They have denied the very essence of life itself!”
His words meant that the infected were born, defying the inevitable providence of death. And that made them profoundly great.
“So, I dare say.”
He placed a hand on his chest.
“For us, the benefit is observing those evolved beings. That alone is enough.”
Upon hearing that, I could no longer hold back the laughter I had been restraining.
“Pfahahaha!”
Wow, I thought he was just crazy, but he’s absolutely insane! I love laughing at these kinds of lunatics.
After a good laugh, I peeled myself off the railing and approached Do-hyeon. His expression was slightly scrunched, probably thinking I was mocking him. Which was true, so without further ado, I got to the point.
“Simply observing is enough for you.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“But you don’t want to become one of the infected.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to. I am still unworthy of receiving salvation.”
“Hmm. No, I think you’re perfect just the way you are. The best.”
“Pardon?”
Before he could protest, I firmly grabbed the back of his neck and swept his legs out from under him.
“Perfect for becoming a zombie.”
“Ughh!”
And I threw him over the railing.
“Aaahh!”
Fortunately for his misfortune, Do-hyeon managed to grab onto the end of a chandelier. However, unfortunately, the infected noticed him.
“Min Ahyeon-nim! What is the meaning of this! Pull me up at once!”
Im Do-hyeon precariously dangled from the large, ornate chandelier while the infected below opened their jaws wide, baring their rotten teeth. Quite a sight to behold.
I leaned against the railing, propping my chin on my hand as I mused.
“I’ve met so many religious fanatic bastards like you. It’s led me to some thoughts of my own. Want to hear them?”
“Min Ahyeon! You crazy bitch!”
“Are you scared? Yeah, I know. That thing you’re feeling right now, fear. Yeah. Using fear.”
I continued.
“Fear is the most primal emotion hardwired into human instinct, I think. So humans unconsciously feel all sorts of fears, gradually getting consumed by them. Want some examples? Sure. In the past, people feared poverty, loneliness, being disliked by others, aging.”
“Min Ahyeon! Pull me up!”
“Sayings like ‘investment is a gamble’ emerged as people obsessed over investing. People desperately tried to expand their social circles. Books saying ‘that jerk who dislikes me’ became popular. Anti-aging became a trend. Well, all products of the past.”
But I continued my rant, ignored his shouts.
“But now, people fear death itself. Yes, that ‘death’ you mentioned. Death is fair to all? Hmm, no. I think differently. Death is one of the most unfair things. Money, education, connections… nothing else matters in life and can avert death. But now? Everyone is in the same predicament. No matter who I am, death is all around, this is the reality.”
“You f…ucking…hey!”
“So people want someone to protect them. They’re so scared they feel like they’re going crazy, so scared they feel like they’ll die. They want someone to help them, to save them. Because they’re afraid.”
I aimed my gun at the dangling Do-hyeon.
“That fear, that terror, that weakness—you’ve exploited them to sway vulnerable people to your side. My shitty theory about cults. That’s it.”
“Ugh, okay. Okay, I get it. So pull me up already!”
“Hmm, no. You don’t get it at all. If you did, you wouldn’t act like such a pathetic fool.”
I held my breath and listened carefully. Beyond the infected’s roars, I heard a very faint sound of sobbing. Different from the prayers I’d heard earlier. The sound of someone truly crying.
“You exploit humans.”
I didn’t know for sure, but I guessed that they were somehow using the infected to do something. And what they were doing seemed to involve living humans.
“Sacrificing humans to the infected to survive. Trying to use the infected too.”
I keep saying this, but the most terrifying thing in this world isn’t the infected or wild animals. It’s humans.
“Whether you’re called the Savior or whatever, you’re goddamn bastards. No blood, no tears.”
As I criticized them, Do-hyeon began to scream wildly, his eyes rolling back.
“You crazy bastard! Min Ahyeon! Are you that righteous?”
Oh, if he keeps thrashing like that, he’s going to fall.
But he seemed quite strong, as he kept screeching without falling.
“Fuck, you’ve killed hundreds of people! You joined the military to kill people and then deserted to kill the infected, you bitch… Didn’t you also just kill someone recently? Huh? What were you thinking watching their head get crushed? Was it fun? Enjoyable? And you have the nerve to talk like that!”
I slowly blinked my eyes. Enjoyable. Fun. A small laugh escaped my lips involuntarily.
The humans running rampant in this destroyed world, to be honest, what should I say? They’re not the people who lived coolly before the destruction. The truly cool ones are probably dead by now or have become infected. It’s the cowardly ones who hid, the shameless ones who exploited others to survive, the ones without an ounce of dignity who remain and act arrogant.
In that context, these types actually enjoyed the world’s destruction. Why? Because only in utter ruin could they erase their pathetic pasts and truly reset to live anew.
It seems Do-hyeon was one of those types.
“So you enjoyed killing people.”
Click. I lowered the gun, looking at Do-hyeon.
“You’re so fucked up.”
I wouldn’t kill Do-hyeon. Instead, I planned to turn him into one of those ‘evolved beings’ he talked about. I aimed at the screw part of the chandelier.
It seemed like Do-hyeon realized my intentions as his face turned pale. He started to gasp for breath, changing his tune.
“Min Ahyeon-nim. Please, calm down. Didn’t you want to join us earlier? You said you wanted to be saved!”
Hmm.
I nodded slowly.
“Well, sure. Salvation, I’ll take it.”
“Yes, so…!”
I do want salvation. Because I’m human too. A pitiful creature unable to overcome the primal instinct of fear.
But.
“You know what?”
I’ve already chosen my own salvation.
“I have someone else who will save me.”
If I can get Woo-joo back, I can become a true saint who has received complete salvation.
With one eye narrowed, I aimed at the chandelier screw and placed my finger on the trigger.
“The moment you mentioned my brother, your fate was sealed. Viola.”
“Aaah! Hey! Min Ahyeon!”
And, bang!
But it wasn’t Do-hyeon who fell. It was me who collapsed, shot in the shoulder from behind.
I nearly fell over the railing, barely gripping it with my other shoulder. Ugh, gravity was pulling me down viciously.
“What the…?”
Before I could grasp the situation, the dangling Do-hyeon shouted.
“Soojin-nim!”
He smiled brightly and looked in my direction, and I followed his gaze. There she was, a tiny, adorable woman who could be half my size. But the gun she was holding was anything but cute.
“Is this Min Ahyeon?”
“Yes, yes! That’s her!”
“And persuasion?”
“I tried but failed!”
The woman blinked at me and then clicked her gun.
“Then she has to die.”
Bang!
The sound of the gunshot rang out again.
🕂
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