Chapter 1. Non-Human Reserves (1)

I used to watch an idol performance from the front seat at a university festival.

It was much prettier than what I saw on monitors and smartphone screens. It was not wrong to say that the real thing is better than the screen. While she was sweating on the stage, she ran around excitedly, and it was clearly visible that she was delighted with the cheers and singing of the students.

It wasn’t until ‘Legend Direct Cam’, but it wouldn’t be hard to find it since it’s just a short video. The atmosphere on stage was so good.

Even so, I was dizzy. It didn’t seem like it was because she sang along with excitement like the others, or because she swayed along with the judo.

But it was late and I couldn’t go to the hospital because I was sick. Instead, at the club bar I stopped by, I was given alcohol instead of medicine, and I was able to fall asleep only after helping clean up after paying for it.

I realized why I was dizzy the next day. It was for an odd reason.

I still thought of them only as people on the screen, but I was shocked to see them dancing in front of me.

The girls I knew either laughed brightly in a short 30-second video, or laughed and enjoyed the whole hour. I’m in the room they are on the screen.

But when they suddenly performed in front of my eyes, not for 30 seconds or an hour, but for two hours. The common sense I knew was shaken at the time when we were so close that we could even hold hands with just 15 steps further.

‘Why are idols in front of me?’

Of course, I also know that idols are people.

But that’s what you ‘know’ in your head. I’m not saying that I accepted them ‘like real people’. Such common people as study members who are late on fictional days or homeowners who often walk around wearing ugly jeans.

Actually, that is natural. Because an idol is someone who puts her feet into reality and fills her fantasies. I just saw the gap between fantasy and reality as a headache.

The exact opposite of zombies.

Zombies are backwards. When stepping into reality from fantasy, words such as “Goosebumps” And “Full of realism” Come out.

Besides, it is common sense that there are no zombies in the world. The string of common sense is very strong, so isn’t it to find the thrill of ‘wow, it looks like real’ while dangling from the edge of the edge falling into fiction as much as you want? It’s like being actively deceived.

However, that common sense died like that zombie whose head was blown off by an old axe, and I fell straight to the precipice of fiction.

That’s how I fell into the game I usually like and enjoy. A game where the final goal is to overcome mistakes and survive as long as people die and kill each other while the zombie virus is spreading.

In other words, since dying is inevitable, it’s not about ‘how well you live’, but about ‘well-dying simulator to experience how well you die’, into 『Erysictone Protocol』.

“Does this make sense?”

My head is throbbing to the point of irritation.

The sensory organs of the whole body say, ‘Hey, it’s real. Are you sure?’, But the brain refuses to judge. I am not doing what I have to do as much as my boss who pays the bill only after work hours are over.

It’s not because I don’t know what the situation is, it’s because I know what will happen if I accept it, so I’m terrified.

“When does common sense win?”

The motion sickness hits her and she sits down in her chair. She looks around the kitchen to catch her breath.

‘Look at this. That’s right.’

Hwatu. Long time. Board game. Poker… All entertainment starts with ‘learning the rules’. How to win, when to lose, and what to do.

This house is, so to speak, a place to learn the rules. Basic operation. How to pick up a weapon. Rules of the game. Attack, etc. So, when you install the game and click ‘new game’, it will definitely start in the kitchen of this house.

A separate help window will teach you how to move forward, backward, left and right at first.

After that, pick up an old hatchet and throw it at the zombies in the living room. Puck. The trigger is designed to kill in one hit. After all, it’s a tutorial.

So even I, the only ax I ever touched when cleaning in the army warehouse, accurately smashed the zombie head with a throwing hatchet. Even though I didn’t wake up, skillfully like folding a blanket.

Looking here and there, there is no doubt.

“Why me?”

What did I do? What did you do? No matter how much I go back in memory, nothing comes to mind.

I came to my room after working part-time at night as usual, and I just felt sorry for myself but was too tired to do anything. Filling in the documents and preparing for the interview. I was so busy that I didn’t have time to do one round.

“Ah.”

Of course, there was a major update. That too a week ago. It felt good that the developer was paying for it after a long time, but it seemed like it would take quite a while to install because the capacity was so large. There were so many things that changed almost to the level of cataclysm, so I gave up reading it.

Well, I decided to think positively. Maybe it’s been a while since it was updated, but user-created mods were also posted here and there. I put a bunch of things that looked interesting.

Most of them were things that raised the level of difficulty, such as changing zombie patterns, but there were also modes with their own quests. ‘This mod seems to conflict with the one I installed earlier, and I think it will be more fun if I install this….’ Some were versioned from things I knew before, but most were new to me.

When I finally finished the installation, it was close to 1:00 in the morning. I don’t know how I did it, but there were no conflicts between mods.

‘I’ll try it tomorrow after I’m done with my business.’

I just fell asleep with such high expectations.

And I just threw an old hatchet and smashed the zombie head.

* * * * *

It was the same as I saw in the tutorial. A man with a majestic build with an ax stuck in his head said, “Keep, turn it off.” He made a noise and fell backwards.

There was a boom, not a rumble. The man was really fat. Her hardwood floor was smashed and the impact shook the walls and roof so that old dust fell in chunks.

“You should lose some weight.”

Since it was so absurd, I started talking to myself. Creak. Creak! Sounds familiar to the ear. Zombies next door

Probably by now, the tutorial help says, ‘Zombies hear a lot, but don’t care if they do. However, it responds to unusual sounds, such as gunshots, screams, and helicopters.”

Of course, ‘I don’t care as long as it’s easy’ is for beginners. I’ve never seen a mindless zombie. Especially when the smell is mixed with the sound.

Thump…

That’s the sound of pushing against a wooden fence with my body. Maybe not now, but sooner or later the fence will come down, the zombies will learn to climb over the fence, or the door will be swung open by coincidence.

It’s the same play I’ve played dozens of times. No matter how many times I upgraded and installed mods, this didn’t change. If so, there is still a way.

In fact, if you follow the tutorial, you will surely die.

If you learn how to control your character, throw an ax to kill zombies, leisurely walk around the house, pick up items, and go out to the living room, you’ll be surrounded by six zombies before you know it.

My precious character, carefully named and decorated, is bitten alive by a zombie, and the help window reads, “You know? Always search for equipment after ensuring the safety of the surroundings! Don’t forget it in the next life.” Now I laugh while talking about the ‘Newbie Reporting Ceremony’, but I can’t describe the displeasure I felt when I first saw it.

However, after experiencing the same situation dozens of times and even looking for a strategy video, the situation is completely different. At least for the tutorial house, the situations that happen are the same, so if you cope well, you can survive.

“Good.”

About 10 minutes until those zombies cross the threshold. Turn everything in this house in at least 6 minutes. 4 Minutes is enough to deal with.

First of all, check the water supply and electricity. If both are well supplied, it means that a minimal social system is in operation.

I opened the faucet, but only a drop or two of water came out. When I lifted the drain pipe, it was not long ago that the supply had been cut off, as it was still moist and did not smell bad.

In fact, there is not much to look at for gas. This is a small rural village. Uses LPG gas cylinders. When you turn the knob of the gas stove, the gas spurts out with a hissing sound. But the fire did not ignite.

Tutorial The gas stove in the house is an oven-integrated type, and the spark plug works only when electricity is passed through. As the sparks do not fly, the electricity in this house is cut off. I left the gas on for a while.

Next is the refrigerator. There was no motor sound. It means that it is disconnected. However, seeing a faint chill coming out, it wasn’t long before the electricity was also cut off.

Maybe only this house or village is out of supply, and it may still be in the vicinity of the city.

By the way.

“… Uh?”

There is a problem.

“It can’t be like this?”

No. Neither the freezer nor the refrigerator, nothing. Originally, there should be a plastic water bottle here.

Just as zombies were killed by forcibly throwing an axe, this place also tells you to ‘open the furniture and take care of the items inside’, so there must be a drink inside.

But now, nothing. This is the first time ever. There was nothing like this in the bug report. If the installation was messed up and all the items disappeared… ?

I was imagining something terrible, but just in time the morning sunlight shone in the living room. The red rusted, broken ax blade was still terrifying.

‘No. If there was a real problem, I wouldn’t have had that axe. There must be something. Clearly… ‘

It calms the mind. Quickly open the cupboard. Does not exist. Does not exist. Does not exist. There is.

One can of condensed milk.

When you hear ‘condensed milk’, you shouldn’t think of milk that is highly nutritious and quenches your throat. This is the milk that is heated and boiled down and put in a can. It’s closer to cream, so if you just eat it, you’ll be more thirsty.

Even looking at the description on the wrapping paper, it was boiled down with sugar. When you’re feeling weak, why don’t you eat it with water, milk, or at least shaved ice? If you eat it as it is…

No, I can’t even open it more than that.

“You don’t have to give me a can opener.”

Let alone chopsticks, there are no spoons, forks, or even common cutlery.

I opened all the cupboards in the kitchen. Look around the room and bathroom. The door here has already fallen off and I can see through, but all that is there is a pile of garbage.

Only the torn and stretched wallpaper flicked like medicine. I did get one though. A backpack that can be carried by middle school students. It is a character product with a Barbie doll drawn in dark pink.

It is in good condition, with only two candy wrappers inside. The way the doll smiles makes me feel strangely uncomfortable, so I think I know why I didn’t take it.

Now there is only one place left. Under the living room television stand. The reason why it was left there is because it is quite close to the zombie corpse.

Thump… Thud… !

This is the sound of a wooden door being pushed. Zombies who came out wanting something from the thud and vibration reacted to the smell that spread from this house. Unlike before, it is a precise and strong movement.

They found food.

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