Apocalypse's Teacher - Chapter 67

Chapter 67

The Harsh Season (6)

***

Thud-!

The Artist tumbled across the floor with a loud crash after being kicked.

Quickly adjusting my stance, I rushed to Ki-hyun to check her condition.

“Are you okay?!”

“Yeah….”

Her face was dazed, and her body was trembling.

She seemed very shaken.

Her gaze turned to the Artist.

Every encounter with him was unpleasant, and considering what had just happened, I wanted to punch him in the face as he laughed.

“Wow, long time no see, uncle.”

He grinned widely, showing all his teeth, completely unperturbed.

Feeling my blood boil, I replied,

“Why are you laughing?”

“Was that girl your kid? Ah, no wonder she acted so familiarly.”

The Artist giggled.
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Even while lying on the floor, he laughed like a madman.

“Oh, come on. What if I had been bitten by a zombie and died?”

“Wouldn’t that be great? You always preached that everyone should die.”

“Not just yet.”

The Artist rubbed his belly.

Then, rolling his eyes, he looked at Ki-hyun.

“…Not yet.”

There was something mechanical yet obsessive in his gaze.

Unfathomable actions and emotions.

Suppressing my rising chills, I glared at him.

Suddenly,

“Ki-hyun!”

Hearing the gunshot, Jinwoo and the old man came running.

Both looked shocked, which only made the Artist smile more broadly.

“The old man too? What, are you trying to make a shelter? Didn’t you hate those?”

“…Shut up before I rip your mouth open.”

“Wow, scary.”

The Artist pushed himself up from the floor and, still smiling, looked at Ki-hyun while addressing me.

“So, what brings you all here? Don’t try to dodge the question. I know you came looking for me. How can someone be so persistent?”

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Ki-hyun and Jinwoo flinched.

I gritted my teeth, frowning.

‘Damn bastard….’

The situation was bad.

Ki-hyun was in shock.

Jinwoo and the old man weren’t reliable fighters.

And what about that gunshot?

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‘The zombies will soon swarm here.’

Even if they were slow, they were still zombies.

If more than a dozen blocked the entrance, escaping the building would be impossible.

‘My objective…’

It didn’t matter anymore.

No, it wasn’t important now.

For some reason, the Artist seemed interested in Ki-hyun.

He’d likely use her as a bargaining chip.

I growled at the Artist.

“Let’s never meet again, you bastard.”

“I doubt it. I think we’ll meet again.”

His sly response irked me.

I picked up the still-dazed Ki-hyun, grabbed the fallen gun, and shouted to Jinwoo and the old man.

“Run!”

We sprinted down the stairs.

“Grrr….”

Through the window of the emergency stairs, I could hear zombies moaning.

Peeking outside, I saw about ten zombies already shuffling towards us.

We had to escape quickly.

“…Put me down.”

Ki-hyun spoke.

I turned to see she had regained some color and was looking at me.

“Ki-hyun! Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I can walk now.”

Ki-hyun freed herself from my grip and took a deep breath.

She looked out the window.

“We need to move quickly.”

“Are you sure…?”

“I’m fine.”

Turning her back to me, Ki-hyun gripped her pipe wrench tightly.

“…Sorry, because of me.”

Her voice was tinged with frustration.

She seemed to think that her firing the gun had caused the current situation.

She was her usual self—proud and unwilling to lose.

Feeling relieved, I patted Ki-hyun’s shoulder.

“It’s okay. You did well. We can avoid zombies, but not people.”

Ki-hyun didn’t respond.

Biting her lip in frustration, she ran down the stairs.

Watching her, I followed quickly.

On the first floor, more than twenty zombies were already heading towards the building.

“Uncle, what do we do?”

Jinwoo asked anxiously.

I quickly searched for an escape route.

‘Not towards the hotel.’

Going that way would attract zombies.

They might not invade the hotel, but having many zombies around wasn’t a good thing.

‘If we take a detour….’
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It would take at least 30 minutes of running.

Better to clear the immediate path and lose the rest.

I quickly assessed the situation.

“Follow me!”
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I shouted and ran in the opposite direction of the hotel.

It was the direction with the fewest zombies and fewer obstacles.

Leading the way, I swung a monkey wrench at a zombie blocking our path.

Splat-!

Its head came off in one hit.

The rest could be avoided.
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‘Sprinting in the dead of winter…!’

I thought, somewhat amused, as I kept running.

***

It was hot.

Even though it was midwinter, running so hard made me sweat.

Finally, after losing the zombies, I panted and looked at the kids and the old man.

They were also out of breath, but seemed otherwise fine.

Relieved, I grinned at the old man.

“Old man, are your joints okay?”

“I’m dying. You brat!”

The old man’s head glistened with sweat, reflecting the sunlight.

“Why do I have to suffer like this at my age….”

The old man tapped his knees, grumbling but looking quite spry.

Well, it would be funny if someone who survived the apocalypse as a wanderer fell down from fatigue.
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“Are we heading back now?”

“Yeah, we have to. We didn’t get as much as we wanted, but we can’t go back there.”

“What about the supplies?”

“I’ll check other hospitals.”

I stretched, cooling off in the cold wind, and asked.

“Did you find anything useful at that hospital?”

“Three bottles of anti-inflammatory drugs, and a box of bandages.”

“I got two bottles of painkillers.”

The old man and Jinwoo reported, while Ki-hyun shook her head.

She hadn’t had the chance to gather anything after encountering the Artist.

“Sigh….”

I sighed deeply, then nodded firmly and spoke to the kids and the old man.

“Let’s head back. It’ll be dark soon.”

In a world without electricity or proper lighting, navigating by dim moonlight was too dangerous.

We carried backpacks filled with unsatisfactory supplies and headed home.

***

In the building Seokho and the kids had left behind, the Artist, Woojin, lay sprawled on the floor, reflecting on the day’s events.

“Grrr….”
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Zombies’ groans provided a background as he hummed a tune.

It was odd.

Despite Woojin’s humming, the zombies didn’t attack him.

They simply walked past him as if he were a mere stone.

“That was nice.”

Snap.

Snap.

His words, clearly meant for the zombies, were spoken as he snapped his fingers.

Smiling deeply, Woojin thought of Ki-hyun, the girl he had met earlier.

“Hmm, I didn’t expect there to be another one like me.”

“Grrr….”

The zombies staggered away.

With their keen hearing, they should have heard his words, but they acted as if they hadn’t.

“Oh… it’s such a waste for the uncle.”

Suddenly, Woojin moved his hand to his stomach.

Unbuttoning his shirt, a circular scab was revealed on his bare skin.

A gunshot wound.

Ki-hyun’s bullet had hit him directly.

A normal person would have been bleeding profusely and in pain, but Woojin casually inserted his finger into the wound.

Squish.
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His finger dug into his stomach, stirring the wound.

Bright red blood gushed out.

Zombies sniffed and approached Woojin, licking the blood he had spilled.

“Ah, found it.”

Woojin said with a smile, pulling his finger out.

A tiny bullet was hooked on his finger.

“What should I do….”

Woojin thought.

He needed to bring that girl.

Though she didn’t seem aware, her reaction indicated she was an ‘immune.’

“Biting her would confirm it, but that might be too difficult.”

Woojin petted a zombie’s head.

As usual, it showed no reaction.

“The uncle wouldn’t like it, right?”

Survivors called him the Bomberman.

If he didn’t like something, he’d blow it up, perhaps even more dangerous than the Priest.

Though he seemed thoughtless, his instincts were animalistic.

If Woojin targeted the girl, the uncle would come to blow his head off.

“Hmm….”

A deep smile spread across Woojin’s face.

It had been a while since he felt such excitement.

He began to laugh like a child who had found a new toy.
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End of Chapter