Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 315
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Genius Archer’s Streaming Season 2 Episode 35
12. Brain vs. Hodu (2)
From my experience navigating social situations, the bathroom excuse typically buys me around thirty minutes.
Even accounting for travel time, anything beyond thirty minutes usually raises eyebrows.
Of course, suspicion alone wouldn’t immediately send them searching for me.
On top of that, I’m currently in a position to keep making excuses using Jang Seong-su’s phone.
Considering all that, I’ve effectively bought myself an hour.
“I’ve got an hour.”
I muttered that to myself and moved forward with the next operation.
“Bring the boxes with the bread.”
At my words, Hyeon-a loaded the cart full of boxes and pulled it out.
Since the boxes contained mostly bread, they weren’t particularly heavy.
“Toward the west stairwell.”
I redirected the cart toward the west stairwell, the one closest to the convenience store.
The three of us lined up in front of the west stairwell.
We took a moment to breathe deeply.
“…Now we open it.”
At my words, everyone nodded quietly. The tension was palpable.
Click.
This was the first time we were opening the fire door leading to the first floor.
This was the first time setting foot on the first floor since this crisis began.
* * *
The annex, first floor.
As befitted the ground level, it housed the administrative offices responsible for the school’s overall operations: the faculty office, the infirmary, and the administrative department.
Of these, the infirmary was naturally the most valuable.
Golf clubs and a bed, modest provisions, and countless medical supplies.
It was a place equipped with everything essential to survive in this era.
But the problem was that this location had fallen under the control of Baek Jun-su’s gang.
The character I was playing as Almond—Juhyeok Kim—simply couldn’t stand against that thug Baek Jun-su.
If I faced him directly, I’d be afflicted with fear and unable to do anything properly.
So I needed to find a way to seize that infirmary without confronting him.
Creak.
To find that method, three of us were heading to the first floor right now.
Almond, Hyeon-a, and Suhyeon.
They were nervously transporting boxes filled with bread.
Their goal was to carry them all the way up to the second floor.
The first problem they faced was that the cart couldn’t climb the stairs.
But that problem was solved quickly.
“Suhyeon.”
“Yeah.”
When Hyeon-a gave the signal, Suhyeon quickly brought over a board he’d placed nearby. It wasn’t an actual board, but rather several layers of cardboard stacked together to make it sturdy.
He laid it across the stairs to create a ramp.
Thunk. Thunk.
As they were assembled and placed one by one, a path was created that the cart could traverse entirely.
They had already prepared this much.
Suhyeon placed his hands on the bread boxes and helped pull the cart along with them.
“Careful.”
The boxes were tied down with rope, but it was still an unreliable method. Hyeon-a climbed as carefully as possible to prevent the cart from tipping over.
Hyeon-a pushed from behind while Suhyeon pulled from the front.
Almond’s role here was that of a scout.
He went ahead first to assess the situation.
By the time Hyeon-a had climbed halfway between the first and second floors, Almond had reached the first floor and checked both sides of the corridor.
‘Nothing.’
There was no sign of zombies on the first floor.
Since this was an area where Baek Jun-su’s gang operated, it would be difficult for zombies to survive here.
Perhaps that’s why he could only send one sentry.
Baek Jun-su had severely underestimated this place. The enemy wasn’t just zombies.
He had let his guard down.
Now that carelessness would come back to haunt him.
Almond extended his hand backward and gave the signal.
“Come on up.”
Creak.
Hyeon-a and Suhyeon pushed the cart up the stairs.
Squeak. Squeak.
A faint squeaking sound echoed, but it wasn’t as loud as I’d expected.
Since the cart was filled entirely with bread, it had volume but little weight.
-This is the true bread conspiracy lol
-Seriously how much longer are you gonna be the Bread Shuttle!?
Hahaha, are you seriously a bread shuttle? Lol
-At this point he’s a bread overlord.
-Move over Mosol! Now I’m the real Bread Shuttle!
The chat was busy joking about Almond actually transporting bread.
But the situation in the game was filled with tension.
From the basement to the first floor—what if one of Baek Jun-su’s group had gone to the bathroom? What if we’d run into them?
Then the entire plan would fall apart.
That’s why Almond was constantly monitoring the enemy’s group chat in real-time.
They reported their movements to the chat without fail whenever they went anywhere.
Almond watched their reports carefully, trying to minimize the probability of running into anyone.
He pointed upward.
“Let’s go.”
Now we head to the 2nd floor.
* * *
The 2nd floor was uncharted territory that even Baek Jun-su’s group avoided.
The 2nd floor had classrooms where students used to stay.
In other words, it was a place that had been packed with people.
Which meant there were plenty of zombies.
However, zombies weren’t a problem for Almond. At least, not based on what I’d learned so far.
This character Juhyeok Kim felt no emotion whatsoever toward zombies.
So Almond thought differently.
‘A place with many zombies is an advantageous place.’
More zombies meant a favorable environment for Juhyeok.
That’s why I planned to move my temporary base to the 2nd floor.
While Baek Jun-su attacked the convenience store, I needed a place to hide, and the 2nd floor was perfect.
“I’ll go first.”
Almond took his weapon and climbed to the 2nd floor first.
Suhyeon retrieved the wooden boards I’d laid in the basement and began placing them on the 2nd floor.
Thud. Thud.
The sound of cardboard boards being placed. Just the faint sound of paper scraping against marble, but Suhyeon swallowed hard.
If the sound reached the infirmary, it would be over.
This thought wouldn’t leave my mind.
First, regardless of circumstances, the plan must be executed. I walked forward, keeping my eyes on Almond’s back of the head.
Then, Almond’s back of the head came to a halt.
I thought Almond had stopped momentarily for vigilance, but that wasn’t it.
“A fire door….”
The fire door was closed, blocking the passage to the 2nd Floor.
We couldn’t proceed any further.
-Wow, it’s closed??
-What do we do now
The operation failed ㅠㅠ
I tried pulling the handle just in case, but it was locked as expected.
Fire doors typically open from the 1st Floor as a reference point.
People trying to descend from the 2nd Floor to the 1st Floor can open the fire door, but the reverse is impossible.
People ascending from Basement 1 to the 1st Floor can open it, but again, the reverse is impossible.
This is because during a fire, the fire door closes automatically. It’s designed to account for situations where people who must escape to ground level become trapped inside.
However, there are ways to open it from outside in emergencies.
For example, someone like Wujung Kim can easily open it just by striking the handle with a crowbar.
Since firefighters sometimes need to enter, it must have been designed that way.
In other words, opening it isn’t the problem.
However….
‘If I strike this, the noise will be too loud.’
Striking the handle with a crowbar would create a loud noise.
The sound of metal striking metal echoes very far.
The infirmary on the 1st Floor isn’t that far away, so they’d definitely hear it.
“What do I do.”
Then suddenly, I grabbed Hyeon-a’s hair.
“Hey, what are you doing!?”
Hyeon-a let out a silent scream, unable to actually cry out.
But I subdued her gently and pulled out her hairpin.
“I know how to open this with this.”
I climbed up to the fire door, holding the hairpin.
Hyeon-a blinked, her hair now disheveled.
“Are you some kind of thief?”
Opening a door with a hairpin—I’d only seen that in comics or movies.
How often would you actually witness something like that?
“Life has had its ups and downs.”
I put the hairpin in my mouth and swept my long shaggy hair back, then examined the fire door’s lock mechanism carefully.
“Good. It’s so old-fashioned that something like this will work.”
As I said, this annex building is quite aged. So these ancient techniques actually work here.
Click. Click.
I furrowed my brow, inserted the hairpin, and twisted it back and forth.
“Oh.”
With that sound, I spun the lockpick sharply.
Clang!
-Thief class lol
This bastard lol, was the Maple thug hairstyle actually a thug hairstyle?!
-What’s going on?
The 2nd floor firewall door opened almost silently thanks to Suhyeon’s skillful work.
However, they had overlooked something crucial in that moment.
The 2nd floor was, quite literally, uncharted territory.
“…But who closed this firewall door?”
Suhyeon suddenly felt a sense of unease and asked.
It was probably Baek Jun-su’s gang who closed it.
“Not Baek Jun-su? Pizza Bread, just come here for a moment and help me push this cart.”
“No… Why would Baek Jun-su’s guys close this? If it’s closed, they can’t go up either.”
“…?”
A moment of silence.
The fact that they deliberately closed this door meant there were definitely zombies inside.
However, even a decent number of zombies couldn’t pose a real threat to Baek Jun-su’s gang. Armed humans could easily dispose of a few zombies.
They had even killed all the zombies when ambushed from behind, losing only two or three people.
“Are there so many zombies in here that they couldn’t handle them?”
Almond muttered that to himself and headed upward.
Suhyeon didn’t even have time to stop him.
ㅋㅋㅋㅋ (lol/haha)
-Why does he just go like that lol
-Ah is this place really dangerous? (walking toward it)
I’m dying laughing hahahahaha
-???: Anyway, you’re no match for me
Suhyeon and Hyeon-a were flustered by how casually he went up.
In Almond’s mind, zombies posed no threat regardless of their numbers.
‘It’s what I expected anyway.’
He had even deliberately chosen a place with many zombies.
The only real threats to him right now were Baek Jun-su and Sohee Yun.
The reason he was in high alert when coming up to the 2nd floor was the probability of encountering Baek Jun-su’s gang, not because of the zombies.
Thud.
Almond stepped confidently onto the 2nd floor.
He was taken aback.
“….”
There was no sign of anything—it felt desolate.
‘What’s this?’
There were no zombies.
“There’s no one here. Come up.”
“…?”
“Really?”
Almond nodded again to confirm.
There truly was no one here.
If there had been zombies, I would have definitely heard their distinctive guttural growls.
But I heard nothing at all in this place.
‘What’s going on?’
It was strange.
Screeeech.
Hyeon-a and Suhyeon pulled the supply cart up.
It was a bit louder than the sounds we’d heard so far. Almond continued scanning the surroundings, but.
Still, I felt no sign of zombies appearing.
“We’re here.”
“Hah.”
Hyeon-a and Suhyeon exhaled softly and placed the supply cart on the 2nd floor corridor.
The foundation of our plan was now in place.
“With this much food, we should be able to stretch it for about a week.”
Hyeon-a said so, recalling her experience working at the school store.
“Good. Now let’s head to the classroom closest to the construction site.”
Clang.
Almond closed the fire door again as he spoke.
“It’s actually good that it was closed. They won’t notice for much longer because of it.”
Suhyeon muttered while looking at the fire door.
“…But why was it closed in the first place? There are no zombies here.”
With no zombies around, why would anyone seal off this entire space with a fire door?
The classrooms don’t have much useful stuff, sure, but we could at least use books as firewood, and the children’s gym clothes could be worn.
“It’s 1st Grade Class 8. That’s the closest one.”
Almond took the lead while checking the minimap.
Buzzzzz.
Buzzz.
Meanwhile, vibrations began emanating from the two phones he had brought with him.
* * *
“…You’re not picking up the phone?”
Sohee Yun asks with an irritated expression.
“What? You said you were texting.”
“Yeah, well… I did text.”
[I’m in the bathroom, I told you;]
Another message comes through right now.
Sohee Yun snatches his phone from his hand.
“This is insane.”
[Hey. How long are you actually going to be in the bathroom? It’s Sohee Yun. Why aren’t you picking up?]
[Phone? I didn’t get a call….]
[What?]
She pauses, about to unleash a torrent of curses.
Given the current situation, it’s possible the call didn’t go through. There were reports that even during the earthquake before, only the messenger app worked properly while calls were completely down.
[When will you be done]
[Ugh, I don’t know, constipation. Why? Do you need something from me?]
There wasn’t really anything urgent.
[Just wondering what kind of shit takes an hour to pass.]
[OK just get some sleep. We’re raiding at dawn]
[OK]
Sohee Yun tosses the phone back and sits on the bed again.
“….”
Something feels off.
“Why do you look so sharp?”
Baek Jun-su, lying down, asks.
“…It’s nothing.”
She said it wasn’t anything, but.
In her mind, this strange sense of discord gradually took on a concrete form.
“But….”
She picks up the phone again and goes to the group chat.
She starts scrolling upward.
“Did this bastard always talk like this?”
Jang Seong-su’s speech pattern was strange.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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