Five minutes after starting the psychological test and escaping the zombies…
"Watch your head."
"Hoo."
We were crawling through the vent shaft.
Seeing that there were pre-installed cameras in the middle, I think this route was correct.
'The route is fine.'
The remaining crew deliberately covered the vents to give them a hard-to-find effect.
But in fact, finding the production team in an unexpected situation was a natural flow, so the story connection was good.
'The atmosphere is fine.'
It was a cliché, but it was good to focus on because the air vents were dark and the atmosphere was eerie.
Keuuuuuuu-
Keureureuk! Geeeek!
I could hear this through the wall.
"Oh my."
"Wow, the sounds."
"I'm sure this is a zombie!"
'There's no one who can't immerse himself.'
After checking the nervous guys, I nodded inwardly and continued crawling.
And after some time…
After turning the corner, the road forked on both sides. Ryu Chungwoo, who was in the front, stopped.
"Should we split up…"
"Shh."
And he pressed his ear against the wall, making the others stick to the back.
"Heob."
At the unusual gesture, the other guys were also pressed against the wall.
That moment.
"Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeak!"
"Uh-hyeop."
Kim Raebin hurriedly covered Keun Sejin's mouth.
A zombie was clinging to another vent on the other side, screaming.
The suit was quite bloody with blood and scar makeup.
'They're acting passionately.'
It seemed that the production team invested a certain amount and hired more actors. It felt quite real… Wait a second.
An ominous sound was heard.
Tuduk.
"… !"
And a ventilation fan with a zombie hanging from it… fell off.
Ting, ting, Tididididing…
Before the parts popped out and touched our feet…
"To the right! Side! Side!"
"Whoa!"
Cha Eugene jumped out into the passage in the other direction like lightning. And pulled and pushed the members with his hands and head.
'Is he herding sheep?'
But the effect was certain. In an instant, we sprinted through the side aisle on all fours and reached the vent on the other side.
But at that very moment, the zombies in the back smashed through the obstacles and tried to jump out, shaking the aisle loudly.
Kwagwagwang!!
"Aaaagh!"
"I-I'll open it right away!"
Beside Kim Raebin, who was screaming, Seon Ahyeon reached out and pulled the side of the vent.
It came off easily. Everything ahead was darkness. It was connected to an unlit space.
I immediately opened my mouth.
"I can't hear any zombies here."
Ryu Chungwoo immediately responded.
"Let's go in. Be careful of the person in front!"
"Yes!"
One by one, we exited the vents.
Relying on the dim light from the vents, I made sure that those who went down first supported the others, and then came out almost at the same time as Ryu Chungwoo.
And closed the vent.
Bang!
However, it came off again. Keun Sejin calmly exclaimed.
"This cannot be fixed! Check if there is anything we can use to fix it!"
"Wait, wait! If we push this…"
Bae Sejin pointed to something dark around where he was standing. Kim Raebin ran and shouted.
"It's a cabinet!"
"Move!"
And just in case, the personnel were immediately divided into three holding the vent closed and four moving the cabinets.
But there was no free time.
Thud.
… Vibrations were transmitted to the hands holding the vent.
"It's open."
Zombies had smashed the vents and entered the passage. I turned the corner and checked the zombies that appeared.
"Right there…"
"Hey, it's coming!"
The atmosphere created was enough to make me sweat.
'They must be controlling the speed, right?'
It was being done in a research institute, so it was unlikely that they wouldn't give us even the minimum amount of time to find a solution.
However, the zombies who came from the end of the vent passage, twisting their whole bodies, were quite… No, they were fucking fast.
'Damn it.'
They were already right in front of us.
Just in case, I put my weight on the two hands holding the side of the vent.
I was grateful for the enthusiastic performance during filming, but they should adjust a little…
"Get out of the way!!"
I reflexively turned my body to the side. Iron furniture kicked in at the spot where Ryu Chungwoo retreated in the same direction.
Bang!
It was the cabinet. Huge furniture covered more than half of the vents and shielded us.
And at that moment, the zombie slammed into the vent.
"Kyaaaagh!"
Thud!
The cabinet, which was only moved by four adult men, was quite full, but the zombies couldn't penetrate it.
"Ah!"
However, Cha Eugene, who was at the front, almost collided with a zombie in the vent due to the force of his push.
"…!"
"Kyaaak!"
Ryu Chungwoo and I reflexively pulled Cha Eugene. The guy jumped up and backed away.
"Are you okay?"
"No problem. I avoided it!"
Cha Eugene smiled with a normal face. It looked like blood didn't get on him.
"Huh, you have good luck. I thought we would have to tie Eugene up~"
"Haha!"
It was only then that a few people laughed at Keun Sejin's joke. It seemed that the excessive immersion in the bloody situation had been relieved.
And, of course, as soon as I came to my senses, there was a flood of anger.
It was even worse than when they said they would let us travel but then made us work part-time at a hotteok business.
"Wow, but really… I never thought this would happen! The producers, really!"
"I really didn't expect…"
"… Somehow, when we came in, we signed a consent form. I thought it was because of the inspection."
"Shh!"
In the meantime, Cha Eugene seriously put a finger on top of his mouth.
"There's another zombie out there! Let's see here first!"
He was excited.
It was obvious from the twinkle in his eyes that he found this amusing.
"Yes, Eugene is right. Let's start by checking where this is. It's dark, so let's make groups of two… I will go alone."
"All right. Leader!"
Realizing that we were filming again, we quickly resumed our search.
'They're going to edit it anyway, so it would have been fun to talk about it a bit more.'
I shrugged and started looking around, relying on the dim light coming from the vents and past the zombies.
"Hyung, although my vision is narrow due to my eyesight since it is dark, can always move as directed, so just tell me…"
"Okay. Don't worry, I'll tell you if there's a problem."
"Yes!"
'I don't think any zombie actors can get in here. It's an enclosed room…'
I quickly moved to the wall with Kim Raebin who was nearby. And the moment my hand finally touched the wall…
"… … !"
It was a unique texture.
… Wood.
I stopped my hand.
'Dark, closed, unfamiliar wooden space…'
A little, I was feeling down.
"Hyung? If there's a suspicious liquid on the wall over there…"
I moved my hand again.
"No, it's clean. I slowed down because I was careful."
"Okay! You are smart. We never know where the zombies will appear!"
Okay. This was an overreaction.
'It's a shoot.'
It was already entertainment enough at the point of setting like a zombie virus.
It was obvious that they were all dressed up anyway, so it didn't matter if it was sealed or not…
"Wait, this."
"Yes?"
My hand, mechanically touching the wall, found something colder than wood.
"On the wall… It has something like a metal box on it, but it's rather big."
"… !"
It was a suspicious box.
"Moondae, what did you find?"
"Oh, hold on."
"I will check this way!"
Kim Raebin, who passed by and checked the other side of the metal box, shouted.
"There's like a lock on the other side! Shall we open it?"
"Uh? Wait a minute! Guys, wait!"
Not long after, Keun Sejin and Seon Ahyeon approached with flashlights. I wasn't sure where they got them.
"Is this okay?"
"Excellent!"
And the moment we relied on the flashlights to unlock the metal box…
Gying!
The box opened by itself.
And a blue laser shot up from the box.
"What?"
"Avoid it!"
Even Bae Sejin and Cha Eugene, who were keeping watch, screamed.
"Get down!"
I grabbed the guy next to me and lowered my head.
But right after…
Click.
My vision was clear.
"…. ??"
As I raised my head, I felt a light sting my eyes. A light came on in the room.
I was at a loss for words.
"Okay."
"Yes, yes?"
I patted the guy next to me on the back and got up.
Then, I checked where the box in front of me was hanging.
It was a huge maroon cabinet. Beyond that was a neatly painted wall.
'Was it furniture?'
What I touched was not the wall, but the wooden furniture.
… This wasn't a wooden villa, it was just an office space.
"Ha."
Laughter ensued.
And the other side was bursting with laughter in a different sense.
"The light was turned on…"
"We must have been so funny?"
"T-the sense of the composition is amazing."
"… What is the point of this?"
Bae Sejin touched the box. Keun Sejin laughed out loud and rubbed his hand.
"Ah, the lights are connected with lasers… Aaackk!"
"What?"
I turned my gaze toward what Keun Sejin was staring at… In the corner lay what appeared to be a human corpse.
What the fuck was this!
"Oh my gosh!"
"Uhhh!"
"Guys, it's a mannequin."
… I will correct myself. It was a mannequin that looked like a corpse.
"What is this?"
The mannequin was dressed in a uniform that appeared to be that of a security officer, and in his hand was a strange object that looked like a combination of a gun and a stun gun.
And the gun was pointed at his head.
'The mannequin is a corpse, and the pistol…'
I immediately twisted it and carefully pulled it out. And I looked.
'Hmm.'
The muzzle was blocked with glass. This…
"It looks like a laser gun."
"Yes?"
I remembered the metal box from which the blue laser had just come out.
"The shape of this end was similar to the one I saw on the box earlier, and the pattern is similar."
"Oh, you're smart~"
"Wait a minute. S-sorry…"
"… Ahyeon is brave~"
In the meantime, Seon Ahyeon turned over the mannequin and found a box and instruction manual in the mannequin's arms.
What was in the box was a gun identical to the one I was carrying, and… Four purple cylinders that looked like they might contain live ammunition.
"Ah, here's an article that seems to have been written on this mannequin."
Keun Sejin read the instruction manual in an instant and drew a summary.
A zombie virus that was brought into this laboratory by mistake was leaked out, and the only thing that worked against zombies was this weapon that came along with the virus.
And since it had already been infected with the virus and couldn't escape, it used a laser gun… The contents were organized as followed.
"Hey, it says you can catch zombies with this?"
"Oh."
Keun Sejin pointed at the purple cylinder with his hand.
"Hey, that's a rechargeable battery… You can use it 3 times on a single charge!"
"Hmm. Is that so?"
Ryu Chungwoo picked up a laser gun and aimed it at the zombie hanging from the vent.
To be precise, at one of the arms of the zombie that was seen next to the cabinet.
It was a quick one.
Gying!
"Keyyak!"
When the laser was fired, one arm of the zombie became stiff as if paralyzed, but it did not move anymore.
"Oh, oh!"
"Mhm, it's good."
Ryu Chungwoo shrugged and lowered the gun.
And spoke calmly.
"Excuse me, could you pull the cabinet away a little bit? I'll shoot it in the head."
"… Yes."
From now on, it seemed that the genre would be changed to zombie shooters rather than zombie escape.
• * *
The prediction was only half right.
Giying- Bang!
I saw a zombie sprinting down the hallway hit by a laser gun and falling over.
It was the workmanship of Ryu Chungwoo. For reference, I saw a similar scene seven more times.
"Wow."
"Hyung is awesome!"
"Haha."
This was the eighth nation of admiration I could bet my
"Haha."
This was the eighth notion of admiration. I could bet my hair color on the bundled and edited cuts that would come from this.
However, Ryu Chungwoo looked at the cylinder and shrugged.
"Now there are only two rounds left… Well, I hope we can escape soon."
"Ugh, we will."
We had been saving it too.
Surprisingly, he only used the laser gun for a one-shot, one-kill. However, with only 10 rounds left in the first place, we couldn't afford to waste it.
'He shouldn't have shot that vent guy in the beginning.'
Still, there was no choice. I pressed my forehead.
In the first place, the lab would have put guns as a factor of conflict between group members.
This was because the movement was mainly based on secret movement through cooperation.
On the contrary, it took more time to shoot and kill, so there shouldn't be a big problem with two shots left.
'It's well made.'
From the bathroom where zombies were trapped in each compartment to the private counseling room, from the BGM creepy playroom to the hallway… It was a fairly well-made course, but there were problems.
"Phew!"
"Wow, 2 hours is hard, right?"
When we finished it, time flew by.
According to the map obtained from the desk earlier, the back door was at the end of this hallway, and we felt like that would be the end.
'And there must be a trick there too.'
However, checking Bae Sejin's watch, the remaining time was less than 10 minutes.
'We have to escape to create a good image.'
It would be a perfect finish if we came close.
"Let's go."
"Let's look ahead and go. If there are zombies, just hit my shoulder."
"Yes!"
We cautiously made our way through the dark, flickering hallway to the back door, but… an event didn't happen.
"Oh, oh."
"I guess this is the end."
"Great! It's our success!"
'This is boring.'
I clicked my tongue inwardly, but I did not stop Cha Eugene from pulling the back door.
But… The door did not open.
Beep.
Instead, a red light flashed on the doorbell's screen.
[Please give me your pass.]
"Oh, my."
The final trick had been revealed.
"A pass?"
The members looked at the back door with bewildered expressions for a moment, but a quick discussion immediately followed.
"What about the staff?"
"No, they never received or submitted anything like that."
"Wow."
"Should we go to the desk?"
With less than 10 minutes remaining, when a trick that was too vague came out, the members started to think about it.
It was worth worrying about. I shut my mouth and tilted my head.
'… There must be a hint.'
Since this was the last escape, there would be a decisive hint from what we experienced on our way here.
That way, the composition was neat and it'd feel refreshing when we escaped.
'I'm sure there's something…'
-The fact that you often come up with surprising ideas seems like an essential idea bank for the group.
"… !"
Wait a minute.
I restored my head to its original state.
'…I get it.'
And I started running in reverse along the hallway we had been advancing so far.
"What is it, Moondae?"
"Wait!"
There was no time to explain.
'Nine minutes.'
It was close.
I ran and calculated in my head.
If I thought of it as a straight line, the path was shorter than I thought.
'There are no zombies on the route to that room, so if we go on like this…'
We can escape!
I ran faster through the hallway.
It was then.
-Ududuk.
A strange noise came from across the corridor.
The sound of something collapsing.
- Peeeeek.
And dark smoke began to rise from the cracks and corners of the walls.
The flashing lights turned off in the hallway which showed the smoke coming out in a row. It was now dark.
'A state of darkness…'
I ran and reached the end of the hallway.
The smoke hit me.
'The smell of something burning…'
Standing alone in a dark, smoky confined space.
"… …"
I stopped.
Cold sweat ran down my neck.