FRAP 03

Chapter 03

Clank, clank

“Wait….”

Anyone who has heard the scream of a dying person knows the truth:

It is fundamentally different from the screams you make on a roller coaster, from surprise, or while watching a horror movie.

And Daesik was someone more familiar with that kind of scream than anyone else.

“Aish…”

No matter what, one can’t just sit there eating soup while someone is dying.

Reluctantly, Daesik popped a piece of blood sausage and some boiled pork head meat into his mouth and got to his feet.

For 200 years, he had been entangled with monsters day and night. Handling a drunken man causing a scene? That was nothing.

Even if his physical ability was normal, 200 years of accumulated experience doesn’t just disappear.

But the moment he saw what was happening in front of him…

“W-what the hell is this?”

His body froze on the spot.

A table overturned, and two middle-aged men tumbled to the floor, entangled in a struggle.

“What the f*ck!”

Cold sweat ran down Daesik’s spine.

“AAAAAAAH!”

The man on the floor let out another horrifying scream.

The middle-aged man on top shrieked like he was having a seizure and clawed at his opponent.

“Someone stop him!”
“Call the police!”
“Th-this guy’s crazy!”

The people in the restaurant screamed and backed away, and someone pulled out their phone.

“Y-yes, is this the police station? There’s a crazy person causing a ruckus… Please hurry!”

The cacophony buzzed in Daesik’s ears.

The twitching, jerking movements. Eyes bloodshot and bulging.

Attacking the living, biting into raw flesh.

Clear signs of an infected person.

“Why…? Here? On Earth?”

Daesik panicked for a moment.

“What is this, a hidden camera? Filming a movie?”

No way.

Even if it was someone else, he couldn’t mistake an infected person.

He would have noticed immediately if it were fake.

The eerie aura unique to the infected cannot be faked.

At that moment, a woman in the crowd shouted urgently.

“Hey, young man! Run! That person’s crazy! Do something!”

But Daesik didn’t run.

Instead, with a solemn expression like a soldier heading into battle, he grabbed his spoon and sat back down.

What came next left everyone in the restaurant horrified.

Chop, chop, slurp!

While a human was gnawing on another human’s flesh in front of them, Daesik began devouring his blood sausage soup with alarming speed.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

Before him, a system message flashed rapidly.

[ Satiety increased. ]
[ Current satiety: 30… ]

Though it looked bizarre, his actions had a perfectly logical reason.

‘Even if I run, if the infection spreads, I’ll die. I need to fill my satiety first.’

Without satiety, he couldn’t use his abilities.

Without abilities, he couldn’t fight back against them.

So he had to eat first.

His spoon moved faster and faster, and the steaming pot of special blood sausage soup was devoured at incredible speed.

Haah…

As Daesik finished his frenzied eating and got to his feet, the infected person with bloodied mouth raised their head.

The eyes of the monster and the former monster hunter met.

Grrr…

The infected croaked and slowly got up.

Daesik held the empty pot, not a drop of soup remaining.

GAAAH!

The infected shrieked and charged at Daesik.

“Take this!”

At the same time, Daesik swung the pot.

Clang!

The sound of metal hitting metal echoed through the restaurant.

The infected, hit by the reinforced pot, staggered back, head shaking in shock.

Like being hit with a hammer.

The pot, reinforced with Daesik’s crafting ability, was powerful enough to damage even an infected with the strength and durability of an ordinary human.

“Damn!”

Even though the attack connected, a deep frown formed on Daesik’s brow.

‘Not strong enough.’

He had procured a weapon, but it wasn’t enough to smash the infected’s head in one blow.

Then—

“What are you doing? Hands up!”

Two police officers burst into the restaurant, shouting.

They carried tasers.

The infected ignored them and charged at Daesik.

GAAAH!

Its claws slashed through the air.

Thunk!

Grr?

At that moment, the taser struck the infected.

But a taser alone couldn’t stop it.

“Not enough! Get a gun, a gun!”

Daesik shouted while swinging his pot.

GAAAH!

The infected’s attention shifted from Daesik to the police officer, and the officer hit the ground screaming.

Thunk!

The infected tried to bite the officer’s neck, but

Clang!

A reinforced pot smashed into the back of its head.

Wham!

Daesik shoved the infected away with his body.

“Shoot it with the gun!”

The young officer beside the fallen colleague hastily drew his pistol.

Bang!

The loud gunshot rang through the restaurant.

The infected didn’t flinch.

The first shot was a warning round.

In the chaos, they forgot that simple fact.

“You idiot!”

Daesik snatched the pistol from the young officer.

Bang!

Another shot rang out.

Grrk…

The infected’s head exploded, and it collapsed to the floor.

The two officers were completely stunned by Daesik’s unhesitating use of the trigger.

“Y-you…”

Ignoring them, Daesik trudged toward the fallen middle-aged man who had been attacked by the infected.

The sight that awaited the officers froze them completely.

Grrr…

The man who had seemed dead a moment ago was… moving.

Or rather, it was more accurate to say he was moving while technically “dead.”

His pupils were gray, his windpipe half severed. It was a miracle he was still “alive” in that state.

Grrrr…

As the zombie turned its head toward Daesik,

Bang!

Its head also exploded.

Yet Daesik’s expression didn’t soften at all.

‘I need to level up my traits quickly…’

Fortunately, there was still food here.

First, fill up satiety. Then get a weapon.

If he raised his stats quickly, even his lack of physical ability could be overcome.

‘I need to eat first.’

Just then—

“You are under arrest as a murder suspect! You have the right to remain silent…”

One of the officers aimed a gun at Daesik.

“What?”
“We’re arresting you as a murder suspect!”
“You insane bastard… Haven’t you seen what’s happening?”

Outrage surged in Daesik.

Even after seeing the infected and zombies appear, they were talking like this.

But Daesik’s common sense was different from the peaceful Earth standard.

And when common sense differs, the way one interprets a situation also changes.

From the officers’ perspective, Daesik had taken their gun and committed murder. Regardless of the circumstances, they couldn’t let him go.

Maybe it was just the inflexible thinking typical of bureaucrats.

“If you had done nothing, you all would have died too, got it?”
“Lower your guns!”
“Damn it…”

After thinking for a moment, Daesik lowered the gun.

After all, they were aiming at him.

With a normal human body, it would be impossible to dodge and counter before they pulled the trigger.

“What are you doing, Joohoon! Cuff him!”

Lieutenant Hwang, aiming his gun at Daesik, ordered his junior, Joohoon.

Still dazed, Joohoon rushed over and handcuffed Daesik.

Rumble…

Even in the police car, Daesik’s eyes stayed fixed outside.

‘I need to get some food no matter what.’

With the infected on the loose, the situation would escalate uncontrollably. The apocalypse would begin within minutes.

There was no time to leisurely go to the station for questioning.

“But Lieutenant Hwang… what exactly was that?”

The young officer in the passenger seat asked.

“Probably some kind of druggie.”
“I don’t think so… one of them clearly died and came back.”
“Like a zombie?”
“Yes!”
“Ha… a zombie?”
“A zombie, indeed.”

Daesik joined the conversation.

“What?”
“Listen carefully. Crazy people like what you saw earlier will start appearing all over the country. Maybe they already have.”

Crackle, crackle.

As if on cue, the radio crackled.

A simple message: a murder had occurred nearby.

Silence fell in the car.

“See? Let me go. This is just the beginning.”
“What the hell is this guy saying!”

Angry, Lieutenant Hwang shouted.

But Daesik continued explaining, almost like talking to himself.

“The infected look human before symptoms manifest. Once symptoms appear, they become several times stronger and tougher than humans. They lose rationality, attack humans, and bite raw flesh. We need to stop the spread immediately.”

Sigh…

Lieutenant Hwang ignored him and started the car.

He had dealt with all kinds of crazy people and criminals, but never this type of crazy.

Yet no matter the type, the approach was the same: ignore them and put them in jail.

“Those infected by the infected turn into zombies. They’re weaker than the infected, about human level. But getting bitten or scratched still infects you. You need to kill all wounded.”

Daesik ignored Hwang and continued.

“To kill, aim for the head. Gun, knife, anything… crush the head.”

He wasn’t talking to Hwang. He was giving information to Joohoon, who might still be thinking something was off.

His eyes scanned constantly.

The opportunity to escape would come soon.

But even if he escaped now, it would be meaningless.

He didn’t know the surrounding geography. Running blindly would make him zombie food.

‘I need to find somewhere to hide.’

His satiety was also too low.

Even if he left, he needed to eat first.

‘Damn it, I need food.’

Then, a familiar smell hit his nose.

“Hey, do you have any food…”

Before he could finish, Lieutenant Hwang screamed and slammed the brakes.

Screech!

“Ah!”

Thud!

The car jolted, and a young man was thrown to the floor.

“D-damn!”

Hwang’s face was full of panic as he opened the door and ran out.