I pierced the zombie’s eye in one swift motion and turned to check on the group behind me.

Seol Yeo-won was handling a zombie that had jumped out from an alley, while Jeon Wan-soo and Choi Hyun were taking care of the ones that had appeared from the rear.

I approached them, organizing our formation to keep it intact, and worked with Seol Yeo-won to clear the path.

“Four meters to the left, behind the trash bin.”

Following Seol Yeo-won’s briefing, I pinpointed the zombies’ location and took them out swiftly before they could gather.

Seol Yeo-won, while managing the right side, kept an eye on the zombies on the left and in front.

“Five meters ahead, four of them. By the vent.”

Kicking off the ground, I rushed forward and found the four zombies clustered near the vent, just as Seol Yeo-won described.

Groooarrr!

I grabbed the mouth of the zombie on the left with my left arm and shoved it against the wall.

Thud!

Its jaw shattered, and the vibrations from its head smashing into the wall traveled down to my forearm.

Simultaneously, I drove my hunting knife into the eye of the zombie on the right, then kicked the one rushing at me from the front.

The kick landed with a pop, its abdomen bursting like a balloon as it stumbled forward.

The zombie trailing behind tripped over the fallen one, collapsing to the ground.

I grabbed the hair of the zombie with the crushed jaw and snapped its neck, then plunged the hunting knife into the skull of the one sprawled on the ground.

Having taken care of the four zombies in an instant, I turned around to see Seol Yeo-won approaching me.

“What was that just now?” she asked.

“What was what?”

“That sound. I’ve never heard anything like it before. Did that zombie’s organs burst?”

To be honest, I was surprised too.

I could still feel the odd sensation of its abdomen caving in under my foot.

I’d felt stronger since enhancing my strength, but this was the first time I’d experienced it so tangibly.

I clenched and unclenched my hands as I thought.

At this rate… I felt like I could destroy anything.

And with the added protection of the gear, switching between offense and defense had become much easier.

If I got even stronger, I might not even need the hunting knife anymore.

But there was no time for idle thoughts.

I looked up and said to Seol Yeo-won, “Keep the briefings coming.”

Reorganizing the formation, we proceeded down a narrow alley.

---

After relentlessly cutting through zombies and forging a path, we finally reached the large supermarket.

Perhaps because of the distance from the zombie-infested incineration site, there weren’t any zombies around the supermarket.

Jeon Wan-soo scanned the surroundings and came over to me.

“You didn’t hear any echoes while we were moving, did you?”

“Nope, we took them out before they could make any noise. We shouldn’t have been noticed.”

“Good job keeping things sharp.”

“Don’t let your guard down yet. We still need to check inside the market.”

Everyone nodded in agreement and headed toward the front entrance.

The area near the entrance was littered with overturned carts, trampled vegetables, fruit, and flyers.

The shutter was partially down, with boxes and panels messily scattered around—evidence that the survivors who had been here had built defenses and then moved on.

Seol Yeo-won frowned and remarked, “Looks like this place has been picked clean too.”

“We won’t know until we check.”

As before, I struck the counter with the handle of my knife.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

We held our breath, waiting, but no signs of zombies could be detected.

After carefully surveying the sides, Seol Yeo-won and Jeon Wan-soo signaled for us to enter.

Creeak—clatter.

The sound of wheels startled me, and I instinctively raised my hunting knife.

It was just Choi Hyun, who was pushing a cart and giving a sheepish smile.

“Carrying everything by hand would’ve been too much,” he explained.

I let out a sigh of relief and muttered, “I thought it was a mutant.”

“If it were a mutant, I’d have been screaming already.”

“Jeez, you’re unbelievable.”

I swatted his back in mock irritation and turned to check the counter.

There were lighters, cigarettes, gum, and trash bags.

We’d need trash bags to carry supplies, so I grabbed all the ones in sight.

Lighters would also be handy, so I took several of those too. Gum? Why not.

As for the cigarettes…

Should I just grab some for Jung Woo hyung?

Jung Woo, who had avoided smoking and drinking his entire life, had started smoking after the mist rolled in.

I could still vividly recall the melancholic expression he had while smoking on the rooftop.

I decided to take a few packs for him.

“Jae-hyung!”

Seol Yeo-won’s voice called out, prompting me to run toward her. She was pointing at a display shelf with an excited expression.

“This is amazing.”

A variety of food items were still untouched—plenty of drinks and snacks.

In the hot, humid weather, I’d often craved sports drinks, and here, there was an abundance of them.

Calling over Choi Hyun, we loaded the cart with food and then transferred everything into the trash bags at the counter.

Although I wanted to push the cart back, its noisy wheels would inevitably attract zombies.

While we were busy packing supplies, Choi Hyun looked around and asked, “Hey, where’s Wan-soo?”

Now that he mentioned it, Jeon Wan-soo was nowhere to be seen.

I ventured deeper into the market to find him crouched in front of a kitchenware display.

“Wan-soo, what are you doing there?”

Hearing me, Jeon Wan-soo picked up a long stick from the floor and turned to face me, looking strangely uneasy.

When I saw what he was holding, my eyes instinctively narrowed.

That… was an arrow.

“Where did you find that?”

“Look at this.”

Following the direction he pointed, I saw countless arrows neatly stocked on the display shelf.

These weren’t ordinary arrows for bows.

They were short, with stubby fletching—arrows meant for a crossbow.

I vaguely remembered watching a documentary once.

While Koreans are often referred to as a “nation of archers,” they had also frequently used crossbows.

The arrows on the display resembled those I’d seen in that documentary.

Jeon Wan-soo put down the arrow he was holding and spoke in a serious tone.

“This place… it doesn’t feel like an ordinary supermarket.”

I agreed.

This place was practically an armory.

If someone left behind this many arrows, along with so much food, they’d surely come back for it.

“Wan-soo, put that down and let’s go.”

“Put it down? Really?”

“What’s the point of just having arrows without a crossbow?”

“Hold on. If there are arrows, there’s probably a crossbow somewhere too.”

As Jeon Wan-soo started heading toward the storage room to check, I urgently grabbed his shoulder.

“We didn’t come here looking for a crossbow.”

“But still…”

“Our goal is food. Don’t get greedy.”

We didn’t know when the survivors here might return.

There were no zombies in the vicinity, so it was possible they’d just gone out to scout and we’d entered in the meantime.

If those survivors were armed with crossbows and had additional arrows, we’d be at a clear disadvantage.

And in the mist, with limited visibility, it was entirely plausible they might mistake us for zombies and attack on sight.

After explaining this possibility to Jeon Wan-soo, he reluctantly walked back to the checkout counter.

Static—chirp—beep.

“Jae-hyung, Jae-hyung, can you hear me?”

Just then, Jung Jin-woo’s voice came through the radio.

I picked it up and brought it to my lips.

“Yes, hyung. What’s going on?”

“I see the power’s on, so there must not be any zombies around.”

“That’s right. It’s safe here. What’s the matter?”

“It’s not urgent, but Jae-woo found a diary.”

“A diary?”

“Yeah. Come back quickly. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

“Got it. Heading back now.”

After ending the call, I looked at the group. They were all preparing to leave, their hands full with trash bags stuffed with supplies.

Meanwhile, Seol Yeo-won was holding a pen, writing something on the counter.

Curious about what she was doing, I peeked over and saw a note she had written:

“The remaining food is under the counter.”

We couldn’t pack all the food into the trash bags, so we’d only taken what we could carry.

Seol Yeo-won hoisted one of the heavy trash bags onto her shoulder and said, “Wan-soo and I will carry the supplies. Jae-hyung and Hyun, watch out for zombies in front and back.”

Drawing my hunting knife from the leg holster, I nodded.

“Let’s move.”

---

Some zombies from the incineration site had started wandering into the alleys.

Following Seol Yeo-won’s briefings, I took care of any approaching zombies while guiding the group toward a nearby villa rooftop.

Just like on the way in, we moved across rooftops on the way back.

Although I wanted to cut straight through diagonally, Seol Yeo-won and Jeon Wan-soo, carrying the heavy trash bags, couldn’t participate in combat, so we had no choice but to rely on evasive maneuvers.

Whenever Seol Yeo-won and Jeon Wan-soo began showing signs of exhaustion, Choi Hyun and I took turns carrying the bags.

By the end, I was the one carrying all the food as I dashed across rooftops.

Finally, we reached the parking lot where the zombie-proof car was parked. Seol Yeo-won approached and grabbed the radio clipped to my side.

“Hello? Jung-woo oppa, can you hear me?”

“Yeah, Yeo-won. What’s up?”

“We’re back. Could you clear the barricades?”

“On my way.”

When we reached the villa where the barricades were set up, hazy figures began descending the stairs.

It was Jung Jin-woo and Hwang Deok-rok.

Seeing the dark, bloodstained patches on my clothes, Hwang Deok-rok looked tense as he asked, “Were there a lot of zombies on the way?”

“Avoid the alleys if you can. If you take a wrong turn, you won’t make it out.”

After scanning the recon team, Hwang Deok-rok swallowed hard and turned back to me.

“I… I want to learn to fight too.”

“Huh?”

“I… teach me how to fight,” he said hesitantly, though his expression was firm.

There was a clear determination in his face—a desire not to be a burden to the team.

That determination made me smile faintly as I handed him one of the heavy trash bags I was carrying.

“Start by carrying this.”

“Ah, got it.”

We followed Jung Jin-woo into the study cafe, where the others were gathered around a table, discussing the diary they’d found.

Yoon Hye-ri and Kim Hee-yeon rushed over to relieve Seol Yeo-won and Jeon Wan-soo of their loads, while Jung Jin-young handed over bottles of water, thanking them for their hard work.

Seol Yeo-won broke the silence.

“So, that’s the diary?”

“Yeah, come take a look,” Jung Jin-woo replied, handing it over.

Along with the recon team, I began reading the diary carefully.

---

[June 15]
The whole world was suddenly engulfed in mist overnight. This neighborhood often sees thick fog in the early mornings, but this time, it’s different. There’s a sour smell. My head feels dizzy.

The diary chronicled events from the onset of the mist, with daily entries that left no gaps.

Though not lengthy, the content provided enough detail to understand the situation.

---

[June 16]
Mom changed. Like those monsters outside… Mom, my mom, changed. I couldn’t do anything. All I did was cry helplessly as I watched my bitten mom turn into one of those creatures… I couldn’t do anything.

---

[June 20]
I hear strange cries coming from the bathroom. Every single day, without fail, at any hour. It’s not my mom’s voice anymore.

---

[June 21]
Dad told me not to leave my room. I tried to stop him, begged him to wait for 911 to come, but Dad only said, “It’ll be okay,” as he locked me in my room. If it’s okay, why did he lock me in? If it’s okay, why is he holding a baseball bat? If it’s okay… why…?

I wanted to stop Dad, but I didn’t have the courage. All I could do was curl up in a corner, covering my ears and crying.

Thud, thud, thud…

From beyond the door… I could hear Dad beating Mom to death.

---

[June 23]
I haven’t spoken a word to Dad for two days. He just sits at the dining table, staring at the sink. For two days, he hasn’t moved. He stares, crying and laughing, crying and laughing. I think Dad’s gone crazy. I’m scared of Dad.

---

[June 24]
Yesterday and today, I haven’t moved from my blanket. I’m terrified of the world outside the window, terrified of the bloodstains in the living room, and terrified of Dad.

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