The commoners held their weapons tightly.
Their hands clenched around the objects they had.
It was so tight that their veins were bulging from stress.
They were ordinary people before all of this.
Then suddenly, they had to fight their way out of their homes or workplaces because of their former coworkers and even friends.
They had a certain degree of blood on their hands.
But that was for the zombies.
The zombies were never registered as humans.
But this time, they were about to face human beings.
So they couldn't help but feel terrified at it.
"Do you really think you're going to survive without fighting?" Han Seojin said loudly.
His voice was loud in the silence before the battle.
That's right, the commoners thought.
They looked at the sinister smiles on the opposing team's faces.
And realized that this wasn't a matter of choice.
They couldn't run away from this just because they were inherently against it or because they were scared.
They could see it.
It's either they fight or die.
Surrender?
No, that's impossible.
They knew the temper of these nobles very well.
They would make sure to torture them if they dared to surrender.
Their lives would forever be full of misery and humiliation.
What about their families?
Their mothers, wives, sisters, and children who were hiding in the classroom, waiting for their victory.
This wasn't just about them.
It was about their family.
And for the sake of that family—
They needed to kill these nobles.
Slaughter them completely until they couldn't threaten their families anymore.
Grind their bones into dust for all the humiliation they had suffered.
They felt their blood pumping.
The memories they had buried deep inside to escape from the situation—because they couldn't do anything—began to resurface.
Every direct and indirect bullying that they had gone through.
Or worse, that they had to watch their families go through.
It was like a dam was broken, and all their resentment that was locked away—
Rushed out and spread like roots into the soil of their hearts.
Slowly, their eyes became bloodshot and they felt anticipation.
They were excited to finally teach these nobles a lesson.
Jae-Hyun noticed that something was wrong with them.
His system didn't alert him to anything just yet, but he could sense that something had shifted.
Immediately he noticed it, someone made a move.
Han Seojin, with bloodshot eyes and a kitchen knife, led the charge.
The commoners let out a battle cry and joined him.
Weapons clashed and blood was spilt.
The commoners, though enthusiastic, were still amateurs.
But they were at least experienced to a degree from fighting zombies.
Plus, the crazed state they were in made them have double the normal adrenaline rush they would have experienced.
Blood pumping and arms swinging—
They exchanged blows with the gangsters and nobles.
The gangsters had the advantage of being pros at fighting dirty.
And the commoners made up for it with their tenacity.
The gangsters would aim for the eyes and swing a punch to the jaw.
The commoners would swing their knives around, then stab into any part of the body within reach.
The commoner would end up dizzy from the punch, but their arms never stopped swinging the knife.
The gangster would try to either tank or dodge it, but the commoner would recover and go for a stab once again.
The fight would continue until one person was dead.
Just as the winner was about to catch their breath—
Someone else would come from behind and stab them to death.
Such was the art of war.
Soon, Jae-Hyun, who was watching, noticed them becoming more and more crazed.
To the point that even if you stabbed someone in the chest, they would still try to bite the culprit as they were dying.
They were no longer tenacious, but crazy.
They looked like they wanted to tear each other apart.
As long as the enemy was dead, then nothing else mattered.
At the center of this battle was Han Seojin.
He was the only person who was still calm.
But his face was twisted into a ferocious expression.
He was covered in blood, and a wide smile was plastered on his face.
He would stab into an enemy without hesitation, then use the fresh corpse as a shield.
Then he would even punch the person, causing their head to explode.
Soon, he stopped swinging the knife.
Instead, he would stab one person, then grab the next person's head and squeeze until it burst.
Or he would chop a person's head off and throw it with so much force that it knocked another person's head off.
Everywhere he passed led to a rain of brutality.
He was covered in blood and looked more like a monster than a human.
Soon, he clashed fists with the punk noble.
The punk noble was also in a berserk state.
The two of them smiled at each other.
"Hehe," they both let out a creepy laugh.
Then they began to exchange fists.
They were brutal with it too, and wanted to tear each other apart.
Their actions left no room for mercy as both put their full strength into it.
But unfortunately, they were evenly matched.
And also had sturdy bodies.
As they exchanged blows, a third party stepped into the battle.
It was the survivors that camped outside the base.
They too were infected with the blood-pumping feeling.
Their adrenaline was high, and all they could think about was fighting.
It was like the blood was roaring in their hearts to let them out.
They joined into the frenzy with no plan or arrangements.
Just the need to fight.
Soon, it turned into a battle royale.
There were three different sides.
It was inevitable for them to get confused in the heat of the moment.
After all, neither of them actually made a logo or mark to identify their comrades.
So they got confused by those who had just joined the battle.
Everyone wore normal clothes, and the nobles wore more expensive clothes.
But it was still normal clothes.
So they couldn't even check by uniform.
Eventually, it turned into a complete massacre.
They lost all reasoning.
Only the will to fight.
To kill… to slaughter.
Everyone who wasn't me is an enemy.
No one here is my ally or friend.
After all, only one person can be the director.
He never said anything about switching the rest of the people in charge.
That must be why he was the only one who left.
To give us a hint that there's actually only one winner.
Yes… yes… I understand now.
What I need to do—
Is kill everyone here… hehe.
Those words were whispered into their heads with their own voices.
Fight… fight… fight.
Kill… kill… blood.
Just keep fighting until they're all dead.
Those words were like chants replaying in their heads.
Zhao Feng completely let loose at this time, and he killed them all.
The voices in his head had never been so excited.
Kim Ji-Hoon would also agree with him.
He let out a small chuckle and began to slaughter those around him.
Jae-Hyun looked at this scene in panic.
He didn't understand how it had turned out like this.
He had thought of everything.
There was no way these people, who were living a normal life just a month ago, would want to kill everyone.
He thought it would just be enough for them to win by severely injuring another side.
So why? Why? Why?
Why did this happen?
How did this happen?
I did everything correctly.
I tried to dissuade them from carrying out this battle.
But they were set on it, and using force would backfire.
In fact, they might have seen me as an enemy.
An enemy they would have to kill first before continuing with their fight.
So… so I let them fight.
I was so sure that they would stop once it went too far.
After all, there's a limit to the amount of courage a normal person can show.
So what is this?
What happened?
Where did I go wrong?
Think, think, think—
Jae-Hyun trembled while watching them slaughter each other.
His thoughts running wildly.
What should I do?
How do I stop them?
I don't think they would be able to hear me, much less listen to what I say.
Is there really nothing I can do to stop them?
Jae-Hyun looked at the battle blankly, feeling hopeless.
Just then, he remembered something.
Yes, hope is not lost.
There are still women and children hidden in the classroom, waiting to escape if anything went wrong.
I still have a shot.
If I take them away, then the base would survive through them.
Then I could still have changed something from that horrible future I saw.
I can still do it.
Jae-Hyun's dazed look became firm, and he turned away from the battle.
He knew that all hope was lost in saving them.
But he could still save those they left behind—
Those people they wished to protect.
Jae-Hyun steadied himself, then began to dash to the classroom building.
....
Ming Jun felt his heart inexplicably beating very loudly.
He felt his blood pumping, and a madness began to seep into his bones.
He tried to resist it.
But his face kept twitching.
As if he was about to break into a smile the next moment.
His body trembled as he tried to concentrate.
He instinctively knew that something bad was going to happen if he let himself fall into madness.
The other four were also in the same situation.
They even began to convulse in excitement.
Their irises moved around frantically, and their faces kept twitching.
"He…" they would let out the beginning of a chuckle, then suppress it.
Shae Harris was desperately trying not to open the latch.
Noi Karn was on the ground, twitching.
His eyes were already bloodshot, and the smile on his face was growing bit by bit.
Yi Zheng, on the other hand, didn't dare to breathe too loudly.
His instincts were screaming at him not to get caught.
He knew that something very bad had occurred.
But that wasn't all.
...
Suddenly, Jae-Hyun felt his sixth sense ringing wildly.
[ Attention! ]
[ Zombie horde approaching at maximum speed ]
[ Total number of zombies in the horde – 1000 ]
Jae-Hyun ran as fast as possible to the school roof.
He hurriedly went to the ledge and gazed down.
What he saw made his scalp tingle.
There were a large number of zombies approaching.
And they were coming from all sides.
He hadn't realized it before, but the school had a gate on all sides.
It was just that it was only one that they passed through on the first day.
The others were placed at the far back, a few meters behind the school buildings.
Usually, a person would never see them because they were hidden behind the huge tall buildings.
And even if someone did look through the window to find the gate—
It would only show the outside world.
That was because the gate was placed in such a way that it was hidden unless you knew where it was specifically.
And it could never be seen from inside the building covering it—
Due to it being placed in its blind spot.
A blind spot that was now exploited by the zombies rushing in.
They ran in from five different gates.
The bulk of them ran in the direction of the classroom building.
The others split into four groups.
Some ran to the battle happening on the field.
Some ran to the cafeteria.
Some ran to the inventory.
And some ran to the garbage dump.
Jae-Hyun watched all of this, frozen in place.
His eyes never leaving the director, who was a worker in Ming Technology.
He was walking behind these zombies with a smile.
A smile so insane that it would be a crime not to call him mad.
His eyes were a bloody red, obvious against the white of his eyes.
His lips spread to both his ears as he chuckled eerily.
Jae-Hyun suddenly remembered the words of the director:
"And there will be two points deducted daily to stay in the base."
He forced us to have this sense of fear towards never getting enough points.
"Honestly, with points you can do anything."
"All you need is to use your points to fulfill your desire."
He seduced us with all the dark sides that we try to keep hidden and stimulated them.
"There have been casualties among the survivors outside."
"I don't have the responsibility to take care of people outside."
"But don't worry, the base is 100% safe."
"The nobles will now have an annual pay of 2000 points daily."
First, he made sure to remind us that the base is the only safe place around here and reminded us that if we leave, then we'll die.
Next, he increased the nobles' standing.
Effectively ensuring that we stay here, while also creating reliable people that will cause our suffering.
"As a preacher of fairness, I don't interfere with disputes."
He told us that we could fight as much as we wanted.
Encouraging the flames of anger and violence.
Lastly, he sent out that notice so that he would have the exact time and place of the battle.
"I had an epiphany to build this base on the day of the apocalypse"
From the beginning, he was always guiding us to this day.
Every step of the way contained his shadow.
He even let the chaotic humans kill freely just to fan the flames of violence.
I was played from the beginning.
Jae-Hyun thought of fighting all the zombies off, but he was only one human.
His companions were also not strong enough and neither did they have enough manpower to kill all these zombies.
Not to mention also saving people.
He examined every direction, but he found nothing.
He lost the game from the moment he didn't suspect the director.
Now… now it's too late.
Jae-Hyun felt it deep in his soul that there was nothing he could do.
For a second—
Jae-Hyun despaired.
And at that moment of his despair—
The blood that was on the field from the battle began to spread out.
It was like someone used a pen and began to draw on a paper.
The paper was filled entirely with a picture of the entire school.
The imaginary pen drew a symbol that covered the entire school.
Every crack and corner, including inside the buildings.
The symbol wasn't drawn in a way human beings could understand.
And the blood was glowing in an odd way.
It looked alive and vibrant.
The director began to laugh.
It resonated through the school and into the hearts of all.
That loud, sick laughter that could only be made by someone sunken into depravity.