It was disorienting to see such a different side of Choi Hyun, whose usual personality leaned toward the quirky.

Yun Hye-ri seemed as stunned as I was, staring blankly at Choi Hyun with her mouth agape.

After confirming no more zombies were coming up, Choi Hyun pointed upward with his finger.

As if under a spell, Yun Hye-ri and I nodded and moved toward the fourth floor.

On the fourth floor, I saw Lee Jung-woo, Jung Jin-young, and Jeon Wan-soo wiping bloodstains from their faces.

Lee Jung-woo, breathing heavily, asked me, “How are the stairs?”

“They’re clear up to the entrance of the third floor. What about the fourth?”

“We took some time clearing up to the club room here. Are you okay with heading down right away?”

I nodded, and Lee Jung-woo brushed his hands off lightly and headed for the stairs.

These were people who had never once killed anything before.

Even if they were zombies, their human-like appearance made it hard to ignore the discomfort.

The strange sensation of cutting through their flesh with every stab lingered unpleasantly in my mind.

Although Lee Jung-woo pretended to remain composed, the spear he held trembled slightly in his hands.

The situation was painful, and he probably wanted nothing more than to escape from it.

But as the group’s emotional anchor, he masked his feelings.

If Lee Jung-woo wavered, the rest of the group would fall apart.

While descending to the third floor, Lee Jung-woo thrust his spear once more into the temples of already lifeless zombies to confirm the kills.

Once we had secured the area, the group entered the third floor and cleared out the remaining zombies in the hallway.

Unlike other floors, the third-floor hallway was shorter, leading into a large gymnasium.

It was a training hall used by the Yeobonggak martial arts club.

On either side of the hall, large glass windows showcased gym equipment, with a shower room tucked into the corner.

Unlike the fourth floor, the open layout made it easy to spot the zombies.

Kraaaahhh!

Zombies hidden in the gym let out guttural cries and charged toward us.

Four? No, five.

I tracked their movements calmly, cutting at their throats one by one.

The zombies in the gym were manageable, but the ones in the fitness area posed a greater threat.

They pounded furiously against the glass until it shattered, rushing toward us.

Muscular zombies.

They were on another level strength-wise.

Crunch!

“Gahh!”

The crushing force of its jaws on my forearm and the unyielding grip around my waist sent waves of excruciating pain through my body.

The tape and books protecting my arm tore apart, leaving me defenseless in an instant.

I wanted to swing the hunting knife, but its raw strength tossed me back and forth, disorienting me.

The searing pain in my back made it feel as if my spine would snap.

Slash!

Jeon Wan-soo rushed over and cleanly severed the zombie’s arm.

In one swift motion, he twisted the creature’s body and decapitated it.

I collapsed to the ground, coughing violently.

Jeon Wan-soo scanned me anxiously and asked, “You okay? Did it bite you?”

“I’m fine.”

“I saw it bite your arm earlier.”

“The tape came off.”

Kraaaaahhh!

Not even a moment to rest—another zombie charged at us from the right.

Jeon Wan-soo swiftly twisted its leg and torso, beheading it in one clean stroke.

It was no exaggeration to say Jeon Wan-soo’s swordsmanship was exceptional. As someone who had trained in kendo alongside Choi Hyun, his skill shone clearly in his movements.

Once we had cleared all the zombies on the third floor, I glanced back toward the stairs and spotted Choi Hyun and Seol Yeo-won holding their positions, guarding against more zombies coming up from below.

Jung Jin-young approached me and asked, “What’s the next step?”

I wanted nothing more than to take a breather, but we needed to finish this before the alarm stopped ringing.

The alarm had been set to go off five times at three-minute intervals. We needed to secure the second floor during the next one.

“You and Jung-woo hyung, head up to the fifth floor and move to the back stairwell.”

“And after that?”

“Secure the second-floor iron door with the mic cord. Once it’s secure, bang on the door to lure the zombies into the hallway.”

“And you’ll head down the front stairs?”

“Exactly. You need to draw as many zombies to the back as possible so we can push through the front stairs to get into the cafeteria.”

A shadow passed over Jung Jin-young’s face.

I couldn’t blame him.

Blocking the narrow staircase with only Lee Jung-woo and himself would be no small task.

If the mic cord loosened or broke, it would spell certain death for them.

But heading down the front stairs was no less dangerous.

We would have to deal with zombies coming up from the first floor while clearing the remaining ones on the second floor to reach the cafeteria.

Jung Jin-young let out a resigned sigh and nodded, knowing full well the stakes.

Without further discussion, he and Lee Jung-woo moved out.

Jeon Wan-soo, who had been quietly observing, turned to me and asked, “When do we move?”

“When we hear the banging on the iron door. That’s when we go to the second floor.”

Jeon Wan-soo nodded firmly and ran to join Choi Hyun and Seol Yeo-won, who were visibly exhausted from holding off the zombies.

“Switch out.”

Gripping my hunting knife tighter, I called out to them.

Choi Hyun and Seol Yeo-won retreated almost immediately, giving way for Jeon Wan-soo and me to take their place while we waited for Lee Jung-woo and Jung Jin-young’s signal.

---

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

About three minutes later, the sound of banging came from the iron door on the opposite staircase of the second floor.

Zombie cries echoed from the second-floor hallway, and the flow of zombies coming up the stairs began to dwindle.

Sweat poured down like rain.

If I, with double the stamina, was feeling this tired, I could only imagine how the others were holding up.

But there was no time to rest.

“Move.”

I called out to the group, and they began descending the stairs, their legs trembling like leaves in the wind.

Everyone was exhausted beyond belief, relying on sheer willpower to keep moving.

We knew that delaying any longer would put Lee Jung-woo and Jung Jin-young’s lives in jeopardy.

Despite their fatigue, no one complained.

Choi Hyun and Seol Yeo-won led the way, descending the stairs first. As soon as they stopped, their faces turned pale.

The second floor came into view in my line of sight shortly after.

I thought the zombies might have thinned out after hearing the sound of the flare, but the hallway was still teeming with them.

Easily more than forty.

Were the zombies’ hearing really this poor?

How far could they see? How well could they hear?

Approaching the stairwell’s railing, I peered down to where the flare had gone off. About a dozen zombies had gathered there.

Could the zombies on the first floor have stamped out the flare?

The zombies filling the second-floor hallway hadn’t noticed us yet, still distracted by the sound of banging on the iron door from the other side.

Choi Hyun licked his dry lips and spoke in a low voice.

“This is impossible. How are we supposed to handle all that? Let’s just get the hyungs out of here while we can.”

“No. If we give up now, everything will have been for nothing.”

“Then what are we supposed to do? You know they can’t hold out forever.”

I needed to think.

I had to find the best solution.

How long could Lee Jung-woo and Jung Jin-young hold their ground on the other side?

Even at this moment, they were likely hanging on by the skin of their teeth.

We lacked enough research on the zombies.

We needed a more precise understanding of the limits of their vision, hearing, and smell.

Then, as if struck by inspiration, a final option occurred to me.

If the zombies’ hearing isn’t sharp enough… maybe we can make noise here without alerting the ones outside.

Without giving myself more time to second-guess, I shared my plan with the others.

“Go to the third floor and bring the gym equipment.”

“What?”

“We don’t need to storm into the second floor. We’ll use the advantage of the stairs.”

“And what are we going to do with it?”

“Anything that can roll—bring it down.”

Choi Hyun’s expression was one of disbelief, but Seol Yeo-won took the initiative and headed to the third floor.

Shortly after, she returned carrying a long barbell with 10kg weights attached on each side.

“What, are the guys just going to sit around watching?”

Seol Yeo-won glared, and without hesitation, Choi Hyun and Jeon Wan-soo followed her up to the third floor.

Carefully, I set the barbell she had brought down onto the floor and stared intently at the zombies.

How likely was it that noise from rolling heavy objects down the stairs would draw in the zombies outside?

Since the zombies on the second floor hadn’t reacted to the alarm sounds, the ones outside were likely oblivious to whatever was happening in here.

I silently hoped my judgment was correct as I methodically laid out the equipment we were preparing.

Once we had closed all the stairwell windows and completed the setup, I took a deep breath, turned toward the second-floor zombies, and yelled.

“Hey, you bastards!”

Grrrrr…

The zombies in the hallway turned toward the sound.

Kraaaah! Kaaah!

With a frenzy akin to wild animals, they began rushing up the stairs.

When they were about halfway up, I heaved the 30kg barbell down with all my might.

Thud! Thud-thud!

The zombies on the stairs tumbled forward, crashing into each other, some falling backward in a heap.

Those who quickly scrambled to their feet and attempted to climb further were met with Choi Hyun and Jeon Wan-soo slicing their necks without hesitation.

Before they could regroup, we rolled more gym equipment down the stairs.

Clang! Thud! Bang! Clatter!

The second-floor staircase became an utter chaos of zombies and gym equipment.

Whenever a fallen zombie managed to stand, we sent another weight or chair hurtling down, effectively blocking their advance.

The thudding noise echoed loudly, drawing the attention of the zombies on the second floor and even some on the first floor, as they began rushing toward the commotion.

“Bring more!”

I shouted to Seol Yeo-won and Yun Hye-ri, who immediately dashed back to the third floor to grab anything they could find.

Heavy dumbbells, chairs from the training hall, desks—anything with weight was brought down.

While tossing weights and scanning outside the windows, I noticed the zombies outside appeared unaware of the ruckus inside due to the thick fog.

Good.

We relentlessly threw dumbbells and chairs at the zombies climbing the stairs. If a group began to swarm, we shoved an entire table down toward them.

The second-floor stairwell became a makeshift landfill.

Entangled zombies were breaking limbs, snapping necks, and fracturing spines, but they didn’t stop. Their guttural cries echoed as they clawed their way up, undeterred by their injuries.

When the stairs were packed so tightly with debris and bodies that nothing could move, Choi Hyun and Jeon Wan-soo carefully descended, slashing at the heads of zombies trapped underneath.

With nothing left to roll down, I drew my hunting knife and joined them, methodically stabbing through the temples and eye sockets of the writhing zombies beneath us.

We had to stay vigilant.

Even if they were pinned under debris, letting our guard down could mean getting grabbed by the ankle.

With careful precision, we worked our way through the piled zombies, stepping over the waist-high mound of trash to finally reach the second floor.

Glancing toward the stairwell leading to the first floor, I confirmed there were no more zombies coming up.

I turned to the group and gave instructions.

“Hyun and Wan-soo, check the cafeteria. Hye-ri, go with them. Yeo-won, you’re with me to help the hyungs.”

Everyone nodded, moving efficiently.

With Seol Yeo-won at my side, I sprinted down the hallway, checking both sides of the club rooms.

There were two club rooms on the second floor.

Both doors were locked, and there were no signs anyone had entered.

The lounge area opposite the cafeteria was also empty and untouched.

Rounding the corner at the end of the hallway, I turned left, and the iron door to the spiral staircase came into view.

Zombies clawed and pounded on the door, letting out guttural shrieks.

A pile of corpses was heaped in front of the door.

It was obvious how fiercely Lee Jung-woo and Jung Jin-young had fought to hold their ground.

Without needing an explanation, their desperation was palpable.

Fixing my gaze on the zombies at the door, I charged forward.

Hearing my footsteps, the zombies turned toward me.

There couldn’t have been more than eight left.

Back when I escaped the dorms, even three zombies had felt overwhelming. But with the experience I had gained, eight now seemed manageable.

Gripping the handle of my knife tightly, I slashed furiously, cutting them down one by one.

With Seol Yeo-won joining the fray, the iron door creaked open, swinging wide like a floodgate.

From behind it, Lee Jung-woo and Jung Jin-young stumbled out, drenched in sweat and wide-eyed.

Their bodies had reached their limits, but they were standing purely on willpower.

Even in this state, their focus remained sharp.

Jung Jin-young gripped his hand axe tightly, smashing it into zombie skulls.

The eight zombies crumpled under our coordinated attacks like autumn leaves.

When the final zombie fell, only the sound of heavy breathing filled the hallway.

My ears rang, my head throbbed, and my heart pounded violently against my ribs.

My limbs trembled, my mouth felt parched, and my sweat-soaked eyelids drooped heavily.

My lungs expanded and contracted in rapid succession, gasping for air.

But in everyone’s eyes, there was a spark.

The fierce determination to survive.

After eliminating dozens of zombies, I felt something ignite deep within—a searing heat that refused to be extinguished.

Confidence that we could do this, euphoria at having survived, and an indescribable sense of accomplishment.

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