Breathing Life into Real Dolls

1.

“Do you know where Baek Jihun went? Even just roughly.”

“I, I don’t know. My hyung said that if he ran outside, he would eventually die to the zombies, so he told us to just leave him be……”

“Hmm.”

Finding Baek Jihun immediately seemed difficult.

Not only was it unclear whether he was alive or dead, but we would have to follow his trail and search the entire city to find him.

It was clear that this would be a very arduous task, and even if we succeeded, it was highly likely to take a long time.

Baek Seona seemed to realize this as well. Her face hardened, but soon, noticing my concern, she softly smiled.

“Don’t worry about me. We have to save the people in the shelter as soon as possible.”

It was a calm smile.

Despite not knowing whether her entire family was alive or dead, she was worried about the strangers in the shelter.

“…Alright.”

I nodded and continued the interrogation.

“How many people are in the shelter?”

According to what Baek Seona had told me beforehand, the building currently used as a shelter was the largest supermarket in the area, D-Mart.

D-Mart was a large, five-story supermarket that sold various types of food, clothing, bedding, appliances like refrigerators and rice cookers, and outdoor products like tents and burners.

In other words, it was an excellent supply depot in a disaster like this.

Originally, a nearby high school served as a temporary shelter building, so people gathered there, but they moved to D-Mart in search of food and supplies.

As a result, a massive number of people had gathered there.

“Ah, there are just over 1,000 people. Yes.”

“What? From what I heard, it was nearly 1,500?”

“Ah, ah……”

Park Sangcheol began to sweat coldly. As I raised the hammer again, his mouth started moving like a motor.

“That, that! Cheolnam said it! He said to kick out all the useless people……!”

“Kick them out? Outside, where the zombies are roaming? That’s basically killing them, isn’t it?”

“…Yes.”

“… That’s unbelievable.”

Baek Seona muttered as if she was dumbfounded.

I frowned.

“They’re worse than I thought. So, how many ability users are currently controlling the shelter?”

“About 20 in total.”

“Not all the ability users would have agreed with you. What happened to those who disagreed? Did you kill them all?”

“…Yes.”

“I see.”

I continued the interrogation.

The detailed structure of the mart, the current layout of people, specific abilities and ranks of the ability users, and even the state of their defense.

After getting a nail hammered once into his hand, Park Sangcheol would hesitate, but as soon as he saw the hammer, he would spill everything.

After that, the interrogation was over.

“…What do we do, Doha oppa?”

Baek Seona spoke with a serious expression.

“In order to rescue the people in the shelter, we need to subdue about 20 ability users. But to charge in leading the zombies like this time……”

They had filled the first floor with civilians without any abilities and monopolized the second to fifth floors among themselves.

In other words, if we were to charge in with zombies in tow, the first to be harmed would be the innocent civilians.

Even if we managed to suppress them, it would defeat the purpose.

“There are only two ability users on our side, you and Rena. No matter how strong the two of you are, this time… it seems difficult. Let’s look for more people who can help us.”

“Hmm… I’m not sure.”

People who could help us. Where were we supposed to find them?

In a world like this, finding ability users willing to risk their lives for a cause with no compensation would be no easy task.

Even if we managed to find another group of survivors, there was a possibility they could be in a similar situation. Actually, I considered the likelihood to be quite high.

But…

“We should try it ourselves.”

“…What?”

I was confident.

Even if there were 20 ability users on their side and we only had two,

It was just repeating 2 against 1, 20 times.

2.

Baek Seona held her breath silently. She was hiding in the restroom on the first floor of the D-Mart.

As part of Doha’s plan, Rena carried her stealthily into the first floor.

‘The power of an ability user is truly amazing.’

Rena jumped over all sorts of obstacles without making a sound, as if she were a cat, not a human.

Being carried on Rena’s back was more thrilling than any ride she had ever been on.

‘I want to awaken my ability and help people too…!’

After taking a moment to calm her breathing, Baek Seona checked the time on her smartphone.

[01:59]

The current time was 1:59 AM.

It was almost time to start the operation.

An operation to eliminate the 20 ability users in the shelter, with just the three of them - Doha, Rena, and her, who had no abilities.

The operation that Doha came up with seemed to have a fairly high chance of success, even in Baek Seona’s estimation.

That’s why Baek Seona came here.

‘Doha really…is a person we must not turn into an enemy.’

Baek Seona swallowed hard and kept her eyes on her smartphone screen.

[02:00]

The operation would now begin.

She ran out of the restroom with a can of gasoline and a megaphone in her hands.

Upon exiting, she saw people lying down, covered with blankets all over the first floor of the mart. There must be hundreds of them.

There were no ability users here. They were just ordinary citizens with no abilities. This was concluded from Doha’s rigorous interrogation of Park Sangcheol.

Baek Seona took a deep breath and lifted the megaphone.

“Excuse me…… everyone, waaaake uppp———!!”

With the ear-splitting roar pouring from the megaphone, people began to startle and wake.

“What, what is it!?”

“What’s happening?”

“What is it this time….”

“Aaaaah—!”

“Oh, it’s okay, it’s okay.”

The once quiet first floor of the D-Mart instantly turned into complete chaos.

Baek Seona examined the faces of the people who had woken up in a daze.

It had only been three days.

It had only been three days since the zombie virus broke out. It was just the dawn of the fourth day.

But the faces of the people who had risen showed terrible fatigue and resignation, as if they had been living as refugees for three months.

‘How did the world end up like this…!’

Baek Seona felt a surge of emotion for a moment but immediately suppressed it and maintained her composure.

No, now was not the time to get angry.

The operation was just beginning.

Cold sweat trickled down her palm.

‘Can I really pull this off?’

No. It was not about whether she could pull this off. She had to pull this off.

She steeled her resolve and began to appeal to the people.

“Ladies and gentlemen—! I am Baek Seona, the older sister of pro-gamer Baek Jihun, who was here until a few days ago—!”

“Uh….?”

People’s attention instantly focused on Baek Seona.

“Pro-gamer Baek Jihun?”

“Jihun was certainly… he was resisting those guys……”

“…She really does look like him. She’s very pretty.”

Everyone was looking at her.

Hundreds of pairs of eyes were fixed on her.

She had to make the most of this moment.

“Right now, on the upper floor, dozens of ability users who came to rescue you from the shelter I was at are struggling—!”

“What, what did she say?”

“Is that really true?”

“Oh my, how wonderful!”

“In order for our ability users to win, we need your help—! Of course, I’m not asking you to fight directly—!”

Baek Seona raised the can of gasoline in her hand high.

“We have to set a fire—! Please don’t doubt and just follow my instructions—! Please gather the blankets you were using over here—!”

People’s reactions varied greatly.

Some were so taken aback that they pinched their cheeks, some doubted Baek Seona, and some glanced at the escalator leading to the second floor out of fear.

However…

“The fight has already started! Are you going to sit and wait to die—!?”

“……”

In the end, they followed Baek Seona’s words.

At that moment, she was exuding an irresistible leader’s charisma.

3.

Ring—

Whoosh—!

The fire alarm rang loudly.

Sprinklers installed all over the ceiling of the D-Mart began to rain water.

“I was worried, but it seems to have worked out well.”

“It’s Seona, after all! I knew we could trust her!”

The start of the operation was to light a fire.

By starting a large fire at the passages between the first and second floors, the smoke infiltrated through all the floors, causing all the fire alarms to go off.

At the same time, the flames blocking the passage prevented the ability users on the upper floors from descending to the first floor.

Baek Seona performed her role splendidly.

Now it was my and Serena’s turn.

We were now inside the electrical room of the D-Mart.

These guys were really stupid. They kept watch for fires and guarded the roof but left the most critical facility, the electrical room, completely empty.

I pulled down all the levers that supplied power to the entire store.

Thud- Thud- Thud-

The entire D-Mart was plunged into a blackout in an instant.

I had already cut off the power to the temporary generator in the basement, which was designed to operate in emergencies.

As a result, intense darkness that made it impossible to see even an inch ahead took over the entire Mart.

I put on the night vision goggles I had been carrying.

They were cheap products found in the outdoor corner of the Mart, but having something was infinitely better than having nothing.

The darkness was no longer my enemy. It was my ally.

“Shall we go, Serena?”

“Yes, Master!”

I was excited.

How much could they resist in the deadly darkness, where it was hard to distinguish the person right next to them amidst the relentless streams of water from the sprinklers and the loudly ringing fire alarm?

It was hunting time.

4.

The ones who first realized the situation were not the guards but the ability users who were sleeping on the second floor.

The guards, all keeping watch from the roof of the Mart, knew nothing about the commotion that had broken out on the first floor.

“Ugh… Damn it. It’s loud. What’s this noise?”

The sleepy-headed man woke up rubbing his eyes.

Then the bald man lying beside him dived under his blanket and answered.

“Umm… I don’t know. I’m sleepy.”

“Stop sleeping and get up. Can’t you hear some noise from the first floor? If we can hear it all the way up here, it must be quite loud?”

“Haah…”

The bald man got up. They both listened carefully.

“…Everyone quickly… We need to start more fires… Even with the remaining clothes…”

It sounded like a woman’s voice amplified through a speaker.

The expression on the sleepy-headed man’s face gradually hardened.

“Damn it. What are those bastards doing! Wake everyone up!”

“Hey, you idiots, wake up! There’s a rebellion on the first floor!”

With the noisy commotion, the other ability users who had been sleeping on the second floor started to wake up one by one.

“Hoo, my head hurts from the hangover…”

“Huh…what, a rebellion?”

Leaving the task of waking the others to the bald man, the sleepy-headed man ran towards the escalator leading to the first floor.

As he got closer, the woman’s voice became clearer. And then he began to smell something.

That smell was…

“Ugh, it smells like something burning. Is that the smell of oil?”

Smoke was rising from the first floor. As soon as he noticed it, fire alarms started ringing throughout the D-Mart.

Ring-ring-ring-ring—

Immediately, the sprinklers attached to the ceiling were activated.

Whoosh!

“Ugh, damn it!”

“What, what is it? Rain?”

“You idiot, it’s the sprinklers!”

“Damn it, stop this noise! My head’s about to split! Is there a fire?”

The sleepy-headed man’s expression became serious.

Those on the first floor had started a fire, activating the fire alarms and sprinklers. Unless they all suddenly went crazy, it was clear that they were plotting something.

Even though he didn’t know what the plot was, he knew it wouldn’t end with this. They had to be prepared.

The sleepy-headed man was about to issue a warning.

“Everyone, stay alert……!!”

Thunk- Thunk- Thunk-

In an instant, the entire mart was shrouded in darkness.

It was a blackout.

At that moment, the sleepy-headed man sensed it.

‘We’re screwed…!’

He didn’t know who the enemies were, but it seemed they had come prepared.

In this noisy and blind state, it was impossible to coordinate with allies.

To survive, he had to stay alert.

“Hoo……”

The sleepy-headed man went into a state of high alert.

He lowered his posture and remained vigilant in all directions.

If there was any luck, it was that he was near the escalator leading to the first floor.

The fire they had set on the first floor didn’t seem to go out despite the stream of water from the sprinklers, probably because they had used oil. That light was dimly illuminating the second floor.

Of course, it was a really faint light, but it was better than nothing.

At that moment, while he was on guard,

Thump. Thump.

A man appeared in front of him.

“…!?”

The man almost didn’t give off any presence.

He was wearing all-black stealth clothing that didn’t reflect any light, and in his hand, he held a sashimi cutting knife that didn’t shine because it was coated with black ink.

And most importantly, he was wearing night vision goggles on his head.

He was an assailant!

“D-Damn it, bring it on……!!”

The sleepy-headed man tried to activate his ability immediately.

However, in the next moment, the man in stealth clothing vanished from his sight, and a woman in stealth clothing appeared in front of him.

“…?”

‘What?’

That was the last thought of the sleepy-headed man.

He died by having his neck twisted 180 degrees by Serena, who stood behind him, without even realizing how he died.

Kim Doha pointed toward the other ability users with a hand signal.

Serena nodded her head, and the two disappeared back into the darkness again.

“…”

Kim Doha thought to himself.

One down.

Nineteen more to go.