CTLI — Chapter 4
by Brie“Why only ten shots?”
“Looks like it’s a bit damaged.”
He lightly attached the suppressor to his gun and glanced around. I examined the slightly worn suppressor and quickly understood. It wouldn’t hold up for long under fire.
“Where do we go now?”
Maybe it hadn’t hit him yet that we’d left the safe zone. Choi Dohyun kept glancing around as he asked. I readjusted my grip on my weapon and started walking down the road. He quickly fell into step beside me, his tone more insistent.
“Hey? Hyung, where are we going?”
“…There’s a military base nearby. That’s where we’re headed first.”
“Is it far?”
“About three hours.”
“Three hours? That’s not bad.”
He grinned and shrugged. His careless attitude made me sigh, but I didn’t bother warning him. Once again, I thought—so long as he doesn’t cause trouble, it’s better than being paralyzed with fear.
The walk to the military base was quieter than expected, and it left me feeling slightly unsettled. Sure, there were occasional zombies that we had to shoot in the head, but that was all. I checked the terrain several times, worried we’d taken a wrong turn, but we were definitely headed toward Zone 5, where the base was located.
I knew better than anyone that no operations had been launched in Zones 4 or 5. Even if another unit had been deployed after our Team 2 collapsed, they would’ve checked Zone 3 first—but I hadn’t seen any sign of that while I was there.
And yet, Zones 4 and 5 were so clear of zombies you could almost call them clean. Not a single one of those troublesome mutants, and we could even take breaks if we wanted.
“This feels like one of those long-distance hikes.”
“…”
“I did one years ago. I was twenty? Or maybe twenty-one? I suddenly wanted to go to a villa, but it felt boring to just drive there. So I brought my bike instead. But it broke down somewhere near Daejeon. I thought about buying a new one, but ended up walking the rest of the way to the port.”
“…”
“Really reminds me of that time.”
He was loud and endlessly talkative. How could someone chatter all day without rest like that? Thanks to him, I now knew far more about Choi Dohyun than I ever cared to.
For example, he was the youngest in his family, with one older sister and one older brother. He wanted to live simply, maybe open a small flower shop, but the elders in his family disapproved. He also hated eggplant and cucumber and preferred pork over beef.
“Oh, right. When all of this is over, you should come with me to the villa. The scenery there is really beautiful.”
Even though I didn’t respond or so much as glance at him, he just kept talking without pause. There might not have been many zombies around, but we’d still been walking nonstop—and he had more energy than ever. If I gave even the smallest reply, I’d probably be stuck in conversation until we made it back to the safe zone. For now, I had to avoid unnecessary conversation as much as possible…
“What about you, hyung? What’s your family like?”
The moment I made that resolution, he hit me with a question I couldn’t brush off so easily. I clamped my mouth shut and turned to look at him. Contrary to what I expected, he wasn’t being careful—he was grinning like a child.
“What? You’ve been listening to me talk this whole time.”
“You were the one talking. I wasn’t curious.”
“Still, you listened.”
“Don’t you think that’s kind of a sensitive question?”
If he had apologized right then, I probably would’ve let it go. But instead, Choi Dohyun laughed out loud. I frowned and pulled out my water bottle, taking a swig to calm the queasiness rising in my stomach.
I reminded myself—this guy’s crazy.
“Come on. In a world overrun with zombies, is there really anyone without a tragic backstory?”
And besides, once we got to the safe zone, I’d probably never see him again anyway.
“I had a younger sister.”
“Just one?”
He tilted his head, puzzled for a moment, then nodded to himself. I glanced at him sideways. He looked like he was waiting eagerly for me to continue.
“She was a little younger than you…”
“Yeah?”
“She liked animals. Always wanted a dog.”
“But you didn’t have one?”
“No, well… She wasn’t old enough to take responsibility, and our situation didn’t allow for it either…”
Now that I think about it, it was probably for the best we never got a dog. If I had one now—whether it was alive or dead—the stress and anxiety I felt would’ve been unbearable. I wouldn’t have been able to handle it. I truly felt relieved that we hadn’t.
“How did your sister die?”
“That’s a bit…”
I was about to say it was a rude question when a sudden headache split my skull. Ugh—my eyes felt like they were going to pop out, and a stiff pain pulled sharply at the back of my neck. The ground tilted violently beneath me, and I collapsed.
Startled, Choi Dohyun rushed over to me, but I couldn’t form any words.
“Are you okay?”
“Ugh!”
It hurt. It hurt so much. The pain was far beyond anything I could’ve imagined—even worse than the time a bullet pierced through my head. Not even jumping from a height and having my entire body crushed had hurt this badly. It felt like some massive hand was pressing down hard on my chest and throat, crushing the breath out of me. Damn it, why all of a sudden…?
“Hyung!”
My vision blurred intensely—then snapped back into focus. Gasping, I jerked my head up. Choi Dohyun, clearly alarmed, gripped my shoulders and looked at me with anxious eyes.
“What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”
My head felt foggy. I shook it instinctively, only then realizing I’d collapsed to the ground. I forced myself up and brushed the dirt from my clothes. Cold sweat ran down my back. Just now…
“I’m fine. Must’ve just gotten a little dizzy.”
That’s right, Choi Dohyun had been talking about his villa.
I swallowed my sigh and walked past him, starting forward again. When he asked if I needed a break, I simply shook my head. I must’ve spaced out, unable to endure his endless chatter. There was no other explanation for why I’d fallen over on flat ground.
“You really should rest…”
“I’m fine.”
When I answered firmly, Dohyun didn’t insist. He nodded and fell into step beside me, though he kept glancing at me like he was trying to figure out if I was actually okay. The constant surveillance was a little annoying, but at least he’d stopped talking.
Thanks to the silence and steady pace, we ended up arriving at the military base much earlier than expected.
There, behind the tightly shut gate, zombies reached through the bars, drooling as they groaned. Without a word, Choi Dohyun raised his gun and fired. The shots rang out beside me—quieter than usual thanks to the suppressor. The three zombies clinging to the gate convulsed and went limp instantly.
Without hesitation, I climbed the gate and unlocked the sealed entrance. With a creak, the door swung open and Dohyun quickly stepped inside, nudging the fallen zombies with his foot as he spoke.
“If all the soldiers here turned into zombies, there could be a lot of them, right?”
“If they’re regular zombies, at least half of them should have rotted leg muscles by now. They probably can’t walk properly.”
“Yeah, I guess…”
“It’s still the tutorial, so it shouldn’t be that hard,” he added casually.
Tutorial?
I was scanning the area when I paused and turned to look at Choi Dohyun. He was still staring at the zombies he’d just shot, his gaze dull and detached—like he was looking at slabs of butchered meat. Even though zombies looked human on the outside, I sometimes struggled to stomach the sight. But he didn’t seem fazed at all.
No—more importantly, he called this the tutorial…
“There’s a map over here.”
“…”
“Hyung?”
“…Yeah?”
“What’s wrong?”
Blinking at his question, I brought a hand to my forehead. It felt like someone had slammed a hammer against my skull. I grimaced and shut my eyes tightly as pain throbbed through my head. Dohyun rushed over in a panic and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“No, it’s fine.”
I lifted my hand to gently brush his away and forced my eyes open. I’d seen countless zombies in military uniforms—so why was I reacting like this now? I pressed my fingers against my brow and turned away from the corpses. I felt strangely dazed.
“…What did you just say?”
“Ah… I said I found a map.”
“…”
“Should we head toward the command center?”
He unfolded the map and held it out to me. It had a few bloodstains—probably pulled from a body—but it was still readable. I nodded, and he handed the map over, then turned and headed toward the nearby guard post.
Choi Dohyun moved without hesitation. As he opened the door and stepped boldly inside, I frowned and quickly followed after him. What if there were more zombies in there? How could he be so reckless?
“Choi Dohyun.”
I hurried after him, calling his name. Inside the guard post, a zombie with its head blown open sat slumped in a chair. Blood was splattered all over the walls and ceiling.
“I’d appreciate it if you refrained from acting on your own. If you keep moving around however you like, it’ll be hard for me to protect you.”
“Sorry, hyung.”
With a pitiful expression, Dohyun lowered his eyebrows. He glanced at my stiff face, then quietly turned and walked toward a corner as if trying to slip out of sight. Even after being told not to act alone, he did whatever he wanted again, and I could feel irritation rising up in me.
“Choi Dohyun.”
“It’s fine. It’s safe here.”
Noticing my expression, he gestured downward as if trying to calm me down. I clicked my tongue and moved past him to check the corners of the guard post. Only after thoroughly inspecting behind the locked cabinets and large crates did I let out a sigh and turn back to Dohyun. What was he basing that ‘it’s safe’ comment on? He hadn’t even looked around properly.
Even now, he was staring down at a blank A4 paper, completely white. Where did he even find that? The whole thing felt out of place. I averted my gaze from the odd sight, fiddling with a soldier’s corpse I had already checked or picking up some useless item from the floor—anything to keep myself from looking at him. It just felt like I had to.
After a short while, I left the guard post, still feeling uneasy. Dohyun opened his mouth as if to say something, lips parting slightly, but he only made a faint groan without actually speaking.
Was he feeling guilty about wandering off on his own? The thought cooled my irritation somewhat. He was still only twenty-five—just a kid. As the older one, I figured I should be a little more patient and kept walking.
Just as expected, zombies barely appeared as we entered the building. Most of them had decaying muscles and were stuck crawling on the floor, drooling. Dohyun and I easily put bullets into their heads as we made our way inside.
“Wait.”
As soon as we entered, I raised my hand to stop him. Holding our breaths, we listened closely. The sound of gurgling phlegm echoed, followed by something being dragged across the floor. A zombie with intact leg muscles, maybe… possibly someone who had only recently turned—like the ones we encountered at the front gate.
“To the right.”
What?