Editor’s Survival Guide - Chapter 33

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Editor’s Survival Rules Episode 33

ep7. The Corpse Runs (5)

Thud- Thud-!

The boy struck down on the man’s head.

But the man made no sound.

He only swayed like laundry hanging on a clothesline with each blow.

After a moment, the boy threw away the blood-soaked trophy.

Clang-

Then he collapsed weakly in that spot.

The smell of blood filled the space where sound had disappeared.

-Jae-gyeom, check the man’s condition.

At Cha Si-eon’s instruction, Kwak Jae-gyeom snapped to attention and moved.

“He’s dead.”

-Seal him immediately.

Cha Si-eon’s calm voice was driving me insane.

“Hyung, please help me.”

Jae-gyeom said as he spread out the foil blanket.

I helped Jae-gyeom seal the suddenly created corpse.

“Are you going to use this to get Ha Yu-ju out?”

-No. We cannot steal survival means that a civilian secured on their own.

“Then…”

“It’s fine.”

A tired voice cut into the conversation between me and Cha Si-eon.

“I can’t even move that bastard by myself. So do whatever you want.”

It was the boy who had killed the man who said that.

The kid was sitting carelessly on the pool of blood with his head hanging down.

A powerless appearance as if he didn’t want to do anything anymore.

-Jang Han-bin.

At Cha Si-eon’s call, the boy glanced this way.

-If you give up on escaping, your actions will become revenge killing.

The boy, Jang Han-bin, let out a bitter laugh.

A reaction that showed he didn’t care either way.

But Cha Si-eon spoke without concern.

-I’ll support your escape. In return, I hope you’ll share the corpse you secured so our agent can escape together.

He’s going to get both Ha Yu-ju and Jang Han-bin out together?

This man is quite heavy though.

But two people?

No, it might be possible.

I thought of the bag I’d left by the desk.

The black plastic bag containing parts of the first victim.

I brought it over and handed it to Jae-gyeom.

“About 10kg, I’d say.”

“What about that man?”

“At least 90kg.”

100kg total.

“I’m 46kg.”

Ha Yu-ju said in a cracked voice.

Then the remaining weight is 54kg.

It would be tough for me, but that Jang Han-bin kid seems like he could manage it.

Now the problem is the person’s will.

But this kid isn’t even saying yes or no.

“Your name’s Jang Han-bin, right?”

At my question, the kid looked at me quietly.

“How old are you?”

“Second year of high school.”

“Are you really not going to leave?”

“I said it’s fine, so if you want to use it, just use it.”

Jang Han-bin spoke as if he wasn’t interested.

We’d be grateful if he gave it up.

But I couldn’t just readily accept and take it, leaving behind a kid who’s still a high school student.

“What are you going to do here alone? Isn’t there anyone outside looking for you?”

“There isn’t.”

“Then come with me. I’ll buy you food.”

Jang Han-bin was answering cynically when he frowned.

What, were you expecting me to ask about your mom?

Sorry, but I’m an editor who’s experienced all kinds of ruined developments.

Your parents must be worried, I don’t have parents, the following silence, solemn atmosphere.

There’s no way I’d step on such a common landmine.

“Let’s go, I’ll buy you whatever you want to eat.”

Jang Han-bin hesitated at my coaxing.

Right, this kid wouldn’t want to stay here alone either.

I don’t know if he’s being stubborn now because he doesn’t trust us or because he’s too tired.

I was confident the kid was wavering and reached out my hand meaning for him to get up.

“Get away!”

But Jang Han-bin screamed in alarm.

I was startled and pulled back my hand, and Jang Han-bin also seemed flustered as he swallowed.

But that was only for a moment.

The kid started glaring at me as if trying to hide something.

“Don’t touch me…”

Eyes filled with killing intent beyond just being fierce.

That’s when I realized anew.

That this kid had just killed someone.

This wasn’t like a normal high schooler’s rebellious phase.

It was the wildness that a human who had crossed the line had regained in a pool of blood.

Feeling threatened, I tried to step back.

That’s when Jang Han-bin’s hands caught my eye.

Hands with dried blood stuck to them.

But they were trembling.

As if he was about to freeze to death.

…This is driving me crazy.

I licked my dry lips and looked around the floor.

The trophy Jang Han-bin had thrown earlier.

Fortunately, it was quite far away.

Jae-gyeom could hide behind me before Jang Han-bin picked that up, right?

Trusting in my reflexes, I spoke again.

“Okay, I won’t touch you. Anyway, hang in there a little. I know you’re tired right now, but it’d be a waste after you’ve endured this much.”

“I said it’s fine…!”

“The situation was fucked up, it’s not your fault.”

“…!”

“So let’s get out. There’s no need to stay in this mess any longer.”

Jang Han-bin’s eyes shook violently.

High school sophomore, 17 years old.

Still a young age.

Lacking the experience to properly interpret what he had gone through.

Of course, I’ve never directly killed anyone either.

I’ve never experienced criminal-level acts from others either.

So I don’t know how this high schooler is feeling right now.

But I can tell he’s overwhelmed.

That he’s still at an age where he needs help.

When Jang Han-bin’s agitation settled down, I asked again.

“Want to go out and eat something?”

Jang Han-bin looked at me with displeasure.

Even so, he muttered almost inaudibly.

“Hamburger.”

It was an excellent choice.

* * *

As I moved the luggage, I asked in a small voice so the other guys couldn’t hear.

“Did you know beforehand that Jang Han-bin was alive?”

-Why do you think that.

“Earlier, you said we couldn’t steal survival means secured by citizens.”

-That’s correct.

“It doesn’t add up. You said arrest targets also have their citizen rights guaranteed until a guilty verdict.”

At the very beginning, Cha Si-eon told us to use the corpse the man hid to help Ha Yu-ju escape.

Isn’t that stealing a citizen’s survival means?

But Cha Si-eon sent us without any concern and made me release Jang Han-bin.

Moreover, when Jang Han-bin went to kill the man, he told me.

To do nothing and just stay still.

The circumstances are overflowing like this.

But Cha Si-eon answered very calmly.

-I was momentarily confused. I’ll be careful from now on.

Oh my.

It’s a lie without even sincerity, but I decided to let it slide.

The other people are probably doing the same.

While chatting briefly, I came out to the outdoor area where the stadium was.

The light scattered by the lighting tower was dazzling.

That light only illuminated the stadium.

So I could see too clearly the appearance of the “Running Corpses” wandering above it.

Visuals that could appear in Korean zombie movies.

Clothing you could see anywhere.

Bodies missing parts here and there.

Opaque pupils.

And blood.

It was a painful sight.

I deliberately blurred my vision and approached the stadium.

The “Running Corpses” only wandered within the white lines of the stadium, and for some reason they seemed unable to even perceive outside the lines.

So there was no reaction even when we passed right next to them.

“Hama, Jang Han-bin. You two warm up. Back to back, watch the surroundings, and if anyone approaches or anything happens, shout immediately.”

Jae-gyeom instructed Ha Yu-ju and Jang Han-bin.

Both were in poor condition and needed to rest even briefly.

Instead, Jae-gyeom and I went around and dragged over all the wheeled player benches and portable goal posts.

Then we connected them like a train with nylon rope we found inside.

We roughly laid those out near the stadium.

Next thing to do was…

“Seo Do-un, fighting!”

At Kwak Jae-gyeom’s cheer, I nodded gloomily.

Gore is… really not my taste but…

I steeled myself and entered inside the stadium lines.

Hak-! Kaak-!

Simultaneously, the “Running Corpses” came charging toward me like mad.

My heart felt like it would freeze at the sight of bleeding zombies running toward me with thuds.

Moreover.

“Hey, those guys are damn fast!”

“It’s okay, hang in there, only the fast ones are fast!”

“The one that bites me is the fastest one…!”

“Hyung, hyung! Try using Sa-ra noona’s ring once!”

I held out my ringed hand toward the zombie charging at me.

10m, 5m, 3m, 1m…

Hwak-!

Kwak Jae-gyeom grabbed the back of my neck and pulled.

Thanks to that, I was able to get outside the line just before being bitten.

Then the zombies that had been charging with rolled-back eyes stopped as if by magic.

“No wonder people fail.”

At Jae-gyeom’s words, I clutched my pounding chest and nodded.

Wow, I properly experienced the first-person survivor perspective of a zombie movie.

My heart really almost fell out…

Moreover, those zombies ran incredibly well, true to their name “Running Corpses.”

Almost the same speed as living people.

And some were exceptionally fast at athlete level.

That aside.

“The ring doesn’t work.”

“Right, maybe because they’re ambiguous to be called Special Zone entities.”

The ring Baek Sa-ra gave me, supposedly a body part of some Named Dangerous Entity.

I had secretly hoped since it showed a Moses-like miracle effect before.

Unfortunately, this cheat key doesn’t seem to work here.

But it’s okay.

“8 in front there, right? The really fast zombies.”

Clatter- clack-

Jae-gyeom changed the gun’s magazine.

Then he just shot the 8 he had marked.

Bang bang bang bang-!

When the gun loaded with live ammunition burst with roars, the lower bodies of the particularly fast-running zombies also burst apart.

Right. It’s okay even if the cheat key doesn’t work.

Among my possessions, I have gun-bearer Kwak Jae-gyeom. Yeah.

“Okay, clear.”

-Save ammo.

“Old story.”

This stadium teeming with incredibly fast zombies is an international standard soccer field.

The shortest distance from outside the stadium to the center circle is about 35m.

The shortest distance from there to the goal post is another 50m.

This is the minimum distance Ha Yu-ju and Jang Han-bin have to run carrying 100kg of organic matter.

What if someone else carries it?

That won’t work.

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Precautions

4. The loser’s corpse must be transported directly by the person seeking victory judgment. If excessive help from others is involved, confusion and distortion may occur in the judgment.

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If the judgment goes wrong because of our involvement, it’s all for nothing.

But we can’t just tell Ha Yu-ju and Jang Han-bin to unconditionally push through either.

So we decided to adjust the environment.

Install cover in the stadium.

Herd the “Running Corpses” to one side.

And deal with the fast ones among them in advance.

We repeated this process about four or five times.

As a result, the “Running Corpses” were gathered on one side of the stadium, and the particularly fast ones among them had now become “Can’t Run Corpses.”

But there were still too many corpses to feel safe.

“Should we do more?”

“Got enough bullets?”

“It’s getting tight. Ah, I should’ve carried around a machete like Sara noona.”

Kwak Jae-gyeom was grumbling while focused on preparing the stadium, when Cha Si-eon interrupted.

-Jae-gyeom, stop now and start the operation.

“Now? I’m still worried though.”

-Yu-ju’s condition isn’t good.

Jae-gyeom immediately turned around at the mention of Yu-ju’s poor condition.

“Hama! We’re about to go, are you okay?”

Ha Yu-ju, who had been sitting on the ground, raised her head.

“Sorry. I don’t think I can move well.”

Despite her calm voice, Ha Yu-ju’s face was flushed red.

It had been an hour since she’d been holding out with her wrist severed.

Ha Yu-ju was burning with fever to the point where it was amazing she was still conscious.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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