The security guard quickly stood up and ran away from the door, leaving Cain to face whatever was coming through.
After all, the door was already cracked. Any moment now, it would split in two.
"Fuck," Cain gritted his teeth, but then the pressure suddenly lessened as Owen came to assist him.
"I told you not to be stupid," Owen said. He ran to help while Mikasa went outside to find anything useful.
"The world isn't the same anymore; in times like this, every person only looks after their own skin." Although Owen was bulky, who knew how many zombies were trying to get past the door?
During this moment, Cain felt disappointed in himself. A zombie seized the opportunity and smashed its head through the glass section of the door.
It didn't waste a single moment before its rotten teeth clamped onto Cain's arm.
"Rghaaaa!!" Cain yelled, loud enough to attract nearby zombies. Soon, they would be surrounded.
Owen's heart stopped for a moment; his best friend had already been bitten.
Cain felt his body giving in to the pain. His push against the door was beginning to weaken, but he knew that if he let go, Owen would die.
"Go," he said, groaning in agonizing pain. Even now, the zombie hadn't let go.
And all Owen could do was stare at the horrific sight of the zombie digging its teeth into Cain's arm.
"I said go!" Cain yelled.
Just as Owen was about to let go of the door, Mikasa finally arrived with a steel pole. She rotated it like an expert and stabbed through the zombie's head.
Even though the zombie's teeth were now out, Cain felt an enormous wave of pain. He fell to the floor while Owen supported the door with all his might.
"Get him out of here now!" Owen yelled. He was scared, and the way he perspired was evidence of that fear.
"N.. no, we can't leave him here," Cain said through clenched teeth.
However, the nearby zombies would soon flood their location, so Owen lowered his voice, even as he made his decision.
"Go, I'll be right behind you two," he said, smiling.
Mikasa nodded and quickly helped Cain up. She supported him with her shoulder while pushing back the approaching zombies with the other.
When Owen noticed his friends had climbed the exit stairs, he took a deep breath.
Zombies were coming at him from the front, and some were behind him.
In his moment of despair, he saw something floating in front of his eyes—a blue interface.
The type he usually saw in Cain's video games.
-[You have awakened]
Player: Owen Cave
Level: 1 (Exp: 0/100)
Battle Points: +0
QUEST RECEIVED:
-[Quest: Slay 5 zombies to get a C-rank weapon]
-[Progress: 0/5]
-[Reach lv 30 to select a class]
"What type of shit is going on?" Owen barely gave the strange interface any attention.
"Alright, you want to feed on something? Why don't you feed on each other?"
As he spoke, the nearby zombies circled him, nearly leaving no space to run. Owen quickly let go of the door.
And boom—the horde of zombies behind the door burst out like a spring that had been held back.
The momentum and force of their charge caused them to collide with the nearby zombies.
Owen, on the other hand, instantly ran left with countless zombies on his tail.
But when he reached the stairs leading out of the station, he paused.
"Fuck," Owen clenched his jaw.
At most, ten zombies were on the stairs, and more were running toward him. If he stood any longer, he'd be food.
"Owen!"
Once again, Mikasa came back. She drew some of their attention when she shouted and threw the pole at Owen, who effortlessly caught it.
"Alright, go!" Owen screamed. Instead of waiting for the zombies to latch onto him, he ran toward them from behind, since they had turned when Mikasa arrived.
"Rotten bastards, come at me!" He stabbed the pole through a zombie's head. When he pulled it out, a gush of blood splashed onto his face and uniform.
And then he saw the same interface again.
-[Ding]-
-[You have slain a zombie]
-[You have gained 20 experience points]
Progress: 1/5
Owen only spared it a glance before stabbing another zombie out of his way.
"What the fuck is actually happening?" he thought.
Because of his constant slaying, the exit staircase was now covered with blood, and each time he killed, he received a notification.
-[Congratulations: You have completed the quest]
Progress: 5/5
Battle Point: +1
Reward: Choose from any of the C-rank weapons.
Owen saw several weapon options, but he didn't have time to think things through and just chose one at random.
Before he knew it, the pole materialized into a steel baseball bat. When a zombie latched at him, one swift strike splintered its head.
Owen was surprised; the bat he held was clearly not an ordinary one. After clearing the exit staircase, he quickly ran outside.
---
Cain felt weaker with every passing second; his body was beginning to feel cold.
The whole city they once knew now resembled a catastrophic, apocalyptic world, like those seen in video games and movies.
Cars and houses were on fire, and the most striking thing was how quiet everything had become; not a single person was on the street.
They hid in the alleyway and barricaded themselves with several dumpster bins.
"Like those ones in my game?" Cain asked weakly.
Mikasa had told him about a strange interface instructing her to slay five zombies. She said it looked familiar to his games and appeared right in front of her.
Even though Cain's eyes were gradually closing, he was certain he couldn't see anything.
Still, he believed her, because just moments ago, he had been shocked when Mikasa suddenly pulled a chainsaw out of thin air.
If it hadn't been for that weapon, they'd be dead.
"Maybe it's only visible to you," he said again, sounding as if he were dying from the bite.
"And yours?" Mikasa asked. "What does yours say?"
No matter how Cain stared, nothing appeared in front of him. Maybe it was because of the bite—he hadn't been chosen.
"Shh!" Mikasa placed her hand on his lips; someone or something was coming.
Owen slightly pushed the dumpster bin aside and swung his abnormal bat. However, he quickly stopped when he saw his friends.
"Thank God," he sighed. "You're alright."
Cain coughed. "Guys," he said weakly. "Kill me."