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Translator: penny
Chapter: 002
Chapter Title: Return to That Day One Year Ago
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When I opened my eyes, my back was resting on something soft.
No way.
I touched my chin, and it was smooth.
"What the hell!"
I bolted upright and peered out the glass window at the sea beyond.
Silver waves were gently rolling along.
This was a cabin bed.
I'd definitely put the gun to my chin on the rooftop of a building on Teheran Road and pulled the trigger.
Why?
I quickly checked my smartphone.
June 30, 2029.
What?
Why had I gone back a year?
I'd clearly killed myself with a pistol before turning into a zombie.
That day was my birthday—I remembered it clearly.
June 30, 2030.
Cheong Kang and I had encountered zombies on the rooftop of a Teheran Road building.
That was supposed to be the end.
Cheong Kang's final words were still vivid.
- Baek Kang, happy birthday. See you in hell.
What had happened?
I pinched my cheek hard. It hurt.
This was real.
Then...
I checked the time.
17:34.
"Damn it!"
I dashed out of the cabin.
One year ago.
I'd been tailing a Zainichi Korean suspected of dealing a lethal virus.
They called him Crane.
Back then, zombies had overrun the ship, forcing me to jump into the sea and lose him.
It seemed like the outbreak started around this time.
I had to find Crane and see what he was carrying.
Was he in the restaurant?
I raced up the stairs to the seventh-floor restaurant.
"This is an announcement: The Escruze will arrive at Busan Port in approximately 30 minutes."
The announcement continued immediately in English and Japanese.
I remembered this.
Not exactly, but zombies had appeared within about ten minutes after this broadcast.
I'd jumped into the sea near Busan Port.
I scanned the tables for Crane.
Then I spotted a man sitting alone by the window, slicing into a steak.
That was Crane.
He wasn't carrying the 007 bag he'd had when he boarded.
I sat down in front of him.
"Hello. Have we met somewhere before?"
He eyed me warily.
This guy was just a deliveryman—nothing threatening about him.
Before he could speak, I cut in.
"I never imagined the Nankai Earthquake would lead to Mount Fuji erupting. So many Japanese fleeing to Korea that I almost couldn't board."
"What do you want?"
"Good thing you speak Korean."
I pulled a business card from my pocket.
A fake trading company card made by the National Intelligence Service.
My title was executive director.
The man stayed silent.
"I went to Japan on business and thought I'd never make it back. I was in Shizuoka when Fuji blew. Volcanic ash rolling in—man, I really thought I was done for."
"And?"
"Most people on this ship are Japanese. You seemed Korean, so I just wanted to say hi."
I gently lifted my cheek and flashed a warm smile.
The man chewed his meat halfheartedly before setting down his knife and fork.
"You're interrupting my meal."
"Sorry. I was just excited to see a fellow countryman."
"How did you know I'm Zainichi Korean?"
"Koreans have distinctive features. I can read faces."
The moment he looked at me puzzled,
I noticed the woman sitting behind him.
Her steak sat untouched; she couldn't properly cut it.
Her hands began to tremble more and more.
Was she in pain somewhere?
The woman slowly shook her head side to side, then suddenly jerked her chin upward.
Veins bulging purple on her neck.
Her irises rolled up, flashing whites, fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly, arm twisting like a corkscrew, until finally her neck snapped around.
- Grrr!
A grating screech like nails on a chalkboard.
It wasn't human.
Was this where the zombies started?
A female restaurant staff member approached her.
I stood to stop it—
"Is something wrong?"
- Kraaaah!
With a roar, the woman lunged and tore into the staff member's stomach in an instant.
The staff member froze, seemingly unable to feel the pain.
Her eyes and mouth wide open, she could only watch her intestines spill from the hole.
- Gulp!
The woman bit through the entrails with her teeth, chewing them as her whites flashed.
The man turned, saw it, and screamed.
Japanese burst out reflexively.
"Tasukete kudasai!"
But the problem wasn't just here.
At the far end and diagonally across the restaurant, zombies with twisted limbs were biting into people's necks, chests, and thighs.
"Tasukete kudasai!"
Mostly Japanese, their cries for help in Japanese filled the air nonstop.
Someone tried resisting with fork and knife.
But the monster withstood the attack and charged.
"Aaaagh!"
"Kaaaagh!"
Then a zombie lunged at the man from behind.
"Watch out!"
I leaped onto the table and stabbed my knife deep into the zombie's shoulder.
Even deeply embedded, the zombie didn't flinch, opening its mouth to bare fangs.
At the same time, long claws headed for my neck.
I quickly retreated.
In that moment, an unbelievable sight unfolded.
The staff member who'd been bitten in the stomach rose, her spilling intestines dangling like a fringe from her side.
Her glossy cornea looked like a quail egg.
- Kuaang! Kruwaaang!
The man was frozen, unable to move.
I had to save him.
"Run!"
I grabbed his arm and bolted forward.
Eerie roars and human screams turned the place into hell.
An urgent announcement blared.
"Emergency! Emergency! We're under attack by monsters. Passengers, please return to your cabins and lock the doors!"
So frantic, it skipped English and went straight to Japanese.
"Where's your cabin?"
"Huh?"
"Monsters are coming. We need to get out of here now!"
"Fifth floor, E425."
"Let's go!"
As we raced for the emergency exit, a zombie came charging with limbs bent unnaturally.
I slashed its throat clean in one motion with my knife.
"Hup."
The startled man stared blankly at me.
"Snap out of it!"
I dragged him through the emergency door and inside.
- Kwaaang!
An eerie roar from behind.
I turned to see a zombie charging with fangs bared.
Spinning back kick.
The heel, empowered by rotation, struck its jaw dead-on.
Paaak— Aak!
Bones crunching, but the zombie peeled its torn lips up to its cheekbones.
Paak!
Front kick to the gut, then an uppercut that split its jaw.
The zombie tumbled backward.
"What are you doing? Hurry down!"
"In front... in front."
Two zombies at the bottom of the stairs, mouths open, glaring up.
I gripped my knife and stared them down.
Takak— Takak—
The two zombies climbing the stairs.
These ones moved purely on instinct, no intelligence.
Of course, the zombies from China were different.
- Kraaaah!
They bared fangs and closed in.
As they lunged wide-mouthed for my legs, two upward kicks.
The two zombies hit in the jaws tumbled down the stairs.
I raced down fast and slit their throats before they could rise.
- Kwak
Blood gushing from their necks like sticky sludge.
I turned back and said,
"We need to get to your cabin quick!"
The man followed close behind.
Fortunately, no more zombies in sight.
We reached the fifth floor and entered E425.
Queen-size bed, sofa, balcony.
"What the hell were those things?"
The man's face flushed red with panic.
"Zombies."
"Zombies?"
"You just saw them."
"Bloodshot eyes, cracked skin, twisted limbs, fangs, long claws. How can a person turn into that?"
He seemed to know nothing.
I scanned the room.
The 007 bag sat by the sofa.
That must hold the documents.
"Listen carefully, sir. The Mount Fuji eruption released a virus. It turns people into zombies, and you get infected by bites or scratches. Know anything about it?"
I was certain the papers he carried related to the virus.
If they connected to Junko Ganetchi, we could stop the world's end.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Where were you supposed to deliver those documents?"
"Why should I tell you? I'm just a normal guy doing honest work."
"Can I see that bag?"
He glanced at me cautiously.
"I work for a government agency. I need to verify critical intel. We have to know what you're taking to Korea."
"Go through proper channels. Are you the police? I haven't done anything wrong."
"Didn't you just see those monsters? We don't have time."
Suddenly, a fist flew at my face.
I lightly slapped his wrist with my hand blade, then pressed my fingers to his throat.
"Guhk."
Grip like it could crush his windpipe.
Veins bulged in his eyes, fingers trembling.
"Listen when I'm being civil. I could toss you to the zombies."
"Kek."
Terror fully subdued him.
I released my hand.
"Want to live? Do what I say."
"...Who are you?"
"I told you. I work for South Korea. Cooperate."
I placed the 007 bag in front of him.
"Open it. No time."
"Please spare me."
"Not planning to kill you now. Open the bag, and I won't later either."
He eyed me, then opened it.
A document envelope inside.
"What's in it?"
"No idea. I was just the delivery guy."
"To where?"
"Just hand the bag over in the Busan Station parking lot. That's it. I really don't know."
As I reached to tear it open, he blocked me.
"If you open that, I'm dead."
"The world's ending anyway. This paper's nothing."
"Huh?"
I nearly fainted reading the documents.
[Classification: RNA Virus Size: 60~100 nanometers (nm) Discovery Date: October 2028 Discovery Location: Mount Fuji Lava Cave ⋯ Name: ZV-17 (provisional) Unique Structure: Potential to bind to nerve cells, muscle destruction Origin: Suspected ancient virus group ⋯]
I read on, then froze at the final page.
[Document No: HK-RPT-032 Level: Top Secret Research: Third Virus Research Lab (Fujiyoshi) Reference: Hanlight Hospital Infection Control Center]
Hanlight Hospital.
The international hospital run by Hanlight Group in Yongsan.
Had they known in advance?
If so...
Hanlight Group had anticipated the virus spreading and covered it up.
One of the questions I'd had before returning was answered.
I rolled up the documents, wrapped them in plastic, pocketed them, and zipped up.
- Kraaaah!
"Aaaagh! Aaaaagh!"
Zombie roars and human screams grew closer.
The man's limbs shook violently.
"Please save me."
"Jump."
"Huh?"
Thud— Thud thud thud!
Pounding on the door.
"Help! Please open the door! Please!"
Soon, desperate people would break it down.
"Want to live? Jump!"
Without hesitation, I hurled myself off the balcony.
Splash!
About 200 meters ahead.
The pier came into view.