Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 12

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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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Player of the Ruined World – Episode 012
‘There it is.’
I broke through the lightweight partition and checked inside—the structure connected to the apartment below, not the neighboring unit.
I should be able to escape through here…
“What the hell is that?”
The words spilled out reflexively.
Whatever they’d done in the apartment below, the entrance was blocked.
Did they install a built-in closet or something?
It looked like they’d put up a separate partition wall.
Why would they install something like that in an emergency exit meant for urgent situations?
Damn bastards, they deserve fines for obstructing the emergency exit.
“Doyun! These guys are insane!”
Hearing Park Sangha’s voice, I glanced toward the entrance—the sound of the door hinges twisting reached my ears.
It should be impossible to break under normal circumstances.
For that sound to come from there?
Even grinding a person into paste shouldn’t bend the hinges like that.
Then suddenly, I noticed completely mangled toes protruding from the bottom of the entrance.
I thought the door was properly closed, but it seemed a zombie had wedged its foot inside.
So that sound wasn’t from the hinges twisting—it was…
“Get back, hyung!”
Gripping my hwarang, I bolted toward the entrance like an arrow.
This sound wasn’t coming from the hinges.
It was the sound of the latch breaking.
Crack!!
The moment I arrived, the latch shattered and a zombie stumbled into the shoe cabinet.
Thud!
Without hesitation, I drove my blade through its larynx.
As I pierced the first zombie’s vocal cords with my hwarang, I felt the blade cleanly puncture through to its cervical spine.
I didn’t stop there—I kept pushing forward.
Squelch! Thud! Thud!
Zombies impaled one after another.
There’s no choice now.
It’s either kill or be killed.
“Sangha hyung! Hold the entrance door shut!”
“How am I supposed to do this alone?! Damn it!”
Park Sangha gripped the entrance with both hands, straining to keep the zombies from entering.
Zombies trying to squeeze through the cramped entrance against Park Sangha desperately trying to close the door.
“Gaaaah! Kraaaagh!”
Zombies poured in sequentially through the gap in the open door.
I cut off their breath without hesitation.
“Hold on!!”
“Aaaah!! It’s so heavy!”
The door was cracked open just enough for a person to squeeze through.
Park Sangha gritted his teeth and gripped the door as the relentless pressure of zombies trying to force their way inside threatened to overwhelm him.
“Just a little longer!”
“Ugh…!”
“A bit more!”
Squelch—! Thud! Splurt! Thud!
Thrust and pull, thrust and pull, swing and slash and pierce.
I methodically dispatched the zombies flowing in one after another.
[Remaining Zombies: 865/1,000]
[Remaining Zombies: 864/1,000]
[Remaining Zombies: 863/1,000]
[Remaining Zombies: 862/1,000]
…
….
A grueling, visceral battle, but we had to survive by any means necessary.
“Aaaaah!!”
Park Sangha began screaming and thrashing as the mounting pressure from the zombies became unbearable.
As zombie corpses piled up at the entrance, the entrance door gradually swung wider open.
When the entrance finally opened completely, he found himself wedged between the door and the wall.
“Brother, you can come out now.”
“I’m stuck, hey, I’m stuck. Aaah! My arm, my arm!”
Park Sangha groaned and writhed, trapped between the entrance door and the wall.
I shoved the zombie corpses piled on the shoe cabinet outside, then pulled Park Sangha free from the gap.
A total of thirty-two.
Using a simple but effective method, I had eliminated thirty-two zombies in a single location.

* * *
A rushing sound tore through the air—
The moment I finished clearing out Building 115, I stepped outside.
Supporting Park Sangha, who had injured his shoulder and knee, I made my way toward Building 105 with difficulty.
I opened the common entrance door and stood before Apartment 106, where Kim Heejoo and Park Kyeongeo were waiting.
Knock, knock, knock—
I rapped on the entrance three times at regular intervals, and footsteps sounded from within.
“W-who is it?”
Kim Heejoo’s voice came from inside.
“It’s me. Sangha and Doyun.”
The door opened as if she’d been waiting, and Kim Heejoo stared at Park Sangha with an expression of shock.
“What?! Young master?!”
“He wasn’t bitten. He injured his shoulder and knee.”
“Come in quickly.”
The moment we entered the living room, I laid Park Sangha down on the floor.
Kim Heejoo’s ability was Healing Factor.
She was the only healer in No Way Home.
Kim Heejoo placed her hands over Park Sangha’s shoulder and knee, closed her eyes, and began to concentrate.
A low hum resonated—
Then a soft golden aura rippled from Kim Heejoo’s hands, and Park Sangha’s expression, which had been twisted in pain, gradually grew peaceful.
“What about the others? Sangil and Sanghun haven’t arrived yet?”
When I asked Kim Heejoo, she shook her head.
We were supposed to gather here again in two hours, so why…?
Could they have been caught by zombies?
“Please focus on treating Sangha, Heejoo.”
“Where are you going?”
“I need to go get them.”
“Alone? No matter what, you can’t go out alone…”
“It’s fine.”
I smiled thinly and grabbed my hwarang sword.
Bang, bang!
A knocking sound came from the entrance.
“It’s me!”
Park Sangil’s voice came from beyond the door.
I unlocked the bolt and opened the door, and Park Sangil and Park Sanghun stumbled into the entrance.
And following them came other people.
I reflexively drew my hwarang sword and became wary of them.
Then the people who had followed them inside raised both hands in a gesture of surrender.
“W-we’re also survivors, survivors.”
Survivors or not, there were far too many of them.
A headcount revealed a staggering thirty-two people.
Where did so many suddenly come from?
Park Sanghun remained crouched on the floor, breathing heavily as he spoke.
“Lower your blade. I’ve confirmed no one was bitten.”
“….”
There was no time for lengthy explanations.
I addressed the thirty-two survivors before me.
“It’s impossible to fit everyone in here. The upper floors are secure, so please move upstairs.”
The survivors wore bewildered expressions, though they surely understood.
Apartment 106 was simply too cramped to accommodate so many.
“Are there… no zombies upstairs?”
When an anxious voice emerged from among the survivors, all eyes turned toward me.
“Building 105 is safe. If you don’t trust me, I’ll escort you myself.”
“Can we go anywhere we want?”
“It’s best if you all stay close together. Please use the 5 and 6 apartment line.”
The thirty-two survivors naturally divided into several groups.
Those who knew each other, those who felt comfortable together—they clustered instinctively.
Park Sangil’s family and I remained in Apartment 106.
The others dispersed into Apartments 205, 206, 305, and 306.
Everyone seemed to avoid Apartment 105.
Apparently, the first floor felt daunting to them.
After confirming the survivors had settled into their respective rooms, I returned to Apartment 106 and observed Park Sangil and Park Sanghun.
Park Sangil sat in a kitchen chair, his expression heavy with concern.
Meanwhile, Park Sanghun dried the moisture from his head and face with a towel while checking on Park Sangha’s condition.
After confirming Park Sangha was unharmed, he looked at me and asked.
“Doyun, were there many zombies near the Central Complex?”
“Where did you bring all these people from?”
“Huh?”
When I asked him directly, Park Sanghun wore an embarrassed expression before responding.
“There’s an Apartment Rear Entrance between Building 101 and Building 202. I ran into them on my way back after clearing the Western Complex.”
“You can’t just bring them back without warning.”
“What other means of contact do I have?”
“….”
“You don’t need to be cautious. These people were with us at the Elementary School. The older brother knows them, the younger brother knows them. You all know them, right?”
When Park Sanghun asked, Park Sangil and Park Sangha nodded instead of answering.
Sensing my expression was unusual, Park Sanghun offered a bitter smile and asked.
“What’s wrong? Is it too sudden?”
“….”
“Don’t worry. They’re all people with sufficient will to fight zombies.”
“….”
“They’re the people who went out with us to forage for supplies. They’re different from those who were playing politics inside.”
It wasn’t just one or two people—the sudden influx made me feel uneasy first.
As I turned away with a bitter expression, Park Sangil’s face caught my attention.
He looked deeply troubled.
Since Park Sangil, who was usually honest with his emotions, wore such a cautious expression, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.
Park Sanghun shrugged and asked.
“What, you’re troubled?”
“I am troubled.”
“But… those people have nowhere to go. There are so many children that if I hadn’t brought them…”
“That’s the problem. They’re not suited for combat.”
The 32 survivors who found their way here were mostly minors or elderly people in their sixties and beyond.
At a glance, there didn’t seem to be anyone in their twenties or thirties, and there were only two who appeared to be in their forties.
Park Sanghun scratched his forehead, then raised his eyes and asked.
“Are you saying we can’t accept them?”
“I’m saying we should think carefully. We don’t know if they’ll be helpful or a burden.”
“Hey, no matter what, you can’t call people a burden.”
Park Sanghun smiled bitterly and watched my reaction.
His expression tried to smile, but he seemed flustered by my unexpected response.
Then Park Sangil, who had been lost in thought, stood up from his seat.
“I agree. Doyun is right.”
“…Hyung, are you serious?”
“There’s nothing wrong with thinking carefully.”
“Are you in your right mind?! These are people we were with back at elementary school.”
As Park Sanghun spoke in disbelief, Park Sangil replied with a complicated expression.
“Honestly… if this turns into a prolonged conflict, it won’t be easy. You heard what Doyun said. The deeper we go, the more absurd monsters appear.”
“They’re people who walked through the rain to get here. They’re people who can fight.”
“…”
As Park Sanghun spoke as if he couldn’t accept it, Park Sangil made a complicated expression and moved his lips.
“Sanghun, the situation then and now is different.”
“What’s different? What could possibly be different!”
As Park Sanghun shouted, Park Sangil looked at my face instead of answering.
Park Sangil, not even blinking.
He asked in a low, subdued voice.
“Don’t you remember what Doyun said?”
“…What?”
“About the second episode. What are you going to do if those people ask to come along?”
“…”
“Are you confident you can take all of them with you?”
“That doesn’t mean I can just abandon them. I don’t know about others, but the people here…”
“If you’re not confident you can take responsibility, it’s better not to start in the first place.”
Park Sangil’s heart wouldn’t be at ease either.
Just by looking at his troubled expression, I could sense how much he was conflicted.
Park Sanghun, unable to accept the situation, scoffed as he spoke.
“Wow, this is ridiculous. These are people who shared their own rations when we had nothing. So what, back then was back then and now is now? No matter what, hyung, this isn’t right.”
“….”
“These are people who gave their own share to Kyeongeo when she couldn’t even drink water all day and had no energy.”
Park Sangil, who showed emotional reactions to others, displayed caution when conversing with his brothers.
Was it his nature not to get angry with people he could trust?
Or did his heart agree with Park Sanghun’s words, but his mind opposed them?
Either way, Park Sanghun furrowed his brow and continued.
“If you were going to do this, why did you agree when I suggested bringing those people here?! When you were just going to abandon them anyway!”
“They could rest for a while at least.”
“What?”
“They were all exhausted. I also felt gratitude toward them from the Elementary School… I wanted to at least let them rest for a bit.”
“No, what, phew! Really, I, no, hyung, seriously….”
“Because of those people, even Kyeongeo could be put in danger.”
At Park Sangil’s words, the Living Room fell silent as a tomb.
Park Sangil stroked Kyeongeo’s head sitting beside him, a bitter smile playing on his lips.
Whoever he was before, Park Sangil’s top priority now was Park Kyeongeo—his own son.
Knowing this, Park Sanghun bit his lower lip firmly and offered no further objection.
Kyeongeo sensed the atmosphere was unusual and pouted his lower lip.
His expression looked like he might cry at any moment.
“Is it right for us to decide that?”
At that moment, Park Sangha, who was lying on the Living Room floor receiving treatment, opened his mouth.
Looking at Park Sangha, he spoke with a faint smile.
“We can give them a chance.”
“….”
“Why should we judge whether those people above have the strength to fight for themselves or not?”
No one objected.
Rather, they couldn’t.
For us to judge the survival of those people above.
That would be an arrogant choice.
Park Sangha continued matter-of-factly.
“By that logic, we’re not exactly a favorable party in the eyes of a third party either, keeping Kyeongeo with us.”
Every word rang true.
Park Sangha looked at Kim Heejoo beside him and continued.
“What do you think, ma’am?”

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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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