Chapter 1 Part 2
4 a.m.
A time when everyone was deep asleep.
The first and second floors were covered in thick fog, and there were no proper weapons around.
Even if I had a weapon, could I really attack the floor manager in the hallway?
What if he wasn’t some zombie-like thing but just sick?
You can’t beat a sick person to death for no reason, right?
I kept getting frustrated and I sighed over and over again.
After scratching my head and trying to untangle the mess in my head, I looked at Jang Byungcheol and said.
“For now, Hyung, you stay here.”
“Why? What do you want to do?”
“I’ll go out and try to talk to him.”
“Didn’t you see it? You don’t believe me even after seeing it with your own eyes? That guy out there is not human anymore, I swear.”
Jang Byungcheol spoke in a low tone and frowned.
Maybe he was right, but I hadn’t experienced it myself so I wanted to confirm.
“He’s still moving. How can a dead person move?”
“Didn’t you see the floor manager’s clothes? Do you think a human being can move around like that after throwing up all that blood? And come on, his voice sounds fucked up.”
“…”
“If someone coughs up that much blood, it means their lungs are already wasted. There’s no way they can move around like that.”
I was used to Jang Byungcheol always keeping his cool, but now he was frowning and snapping at me.
For someone who never acts like this to say something like that, I wondered if I really should just stay here.
But for how long?
There was no food or drinking water in this room.
Waiting for rescue might be one option.
But what if no one came?
He called 119 an hour ago, and they still hadn’t arrived.
Doesn’t that mean that 119 couldn’t come?
And didn’t that mean that other people might have turned just like the floor manager out there?
Maybe now, when everyone was still asleep, and the dorm hadn’t descended into chaos yet, was our last chance to gather some food.
The first floor was covered in fog, so it was off-limits, which meant we had to get water from the bathroom and grab whatever snacks or hot bars were stocked in the breakroom…
‘Oh right, he said he pushed that guy into the break room.’
The guy from the next room got bitten by the floor manager and Jang Byungcheol said he shoved that guy into the break room.
I looked around the room for anything I could use as a weapon.
I spotted a broom in the corner and tore off the bottom part, turning it into a club.
A wooden club, about 1m(~3ft) long.
I gripped the handle tightly and spoke to Jang Byungcheol.
“You stay here, Hyung.”
“Are you really going out there?”
“Do you plan to hold out in here without eating anything? We should at least get some water from the bathroom.”
Huu, I let out a breath and placed my hand on the doorknob.
I looked back at Jang Byungcheol and he was also looking around the room, searching for a useful weapon.
There was a pile of newspapers on one wall that our 3rd year roommate had brought in for his assignment.
Jang Byungcheol rolled up the newspapers into a club and held it out.
“Are you calling that a weapon…”
“Has anyone ever hit you with a newspaper?”
“…”
“Get hit once. You’ll change your mind.”
He said it with such confidence that I couldn’t even argue.
I guess it’s better to have something than nothing.
I gave a nod and opened the door.
Squeak—.
Krrrrrrrrrrr…
I stuck my head out and looked at the floor manager’s location.
The floor leader, who had been sitting on the ground in the distance, twisted his head around and looked straight at us.
The distance between us and the floor manager was about 5m (~16ft).
The way his back, shoulders, and head twisted was eerily similar to zombies you see in movies.
Wait a minute. I’ve seen something like this before…
Didn’t the zombies in Last Ark look like this?
Bloodshot eyes, staggering limbs, bluish-gray skin.
His fingernails were also dangling loosely, like he had been clawing at something.
I reflexively swallowed the moment I saw him.
Was this really a human being?
Even drugs wouldn’t make someone change this much.
‘Is he reacting to sound?’
The floor manager turned his head when he heard the door.
Which meant his hearing was still intact.
As I swallowed dryly and stared at the floor manager, his eyes opened wide, then he roared and started charging towards me.
Krraaaaaaagh!!
Startled, I slammed the door shut without thinking.
Jang Byungcheol, who was behind me, crashed into my shoulder and scolded.
“Dude! Why’d you close it all of a sudden?!”
“Th-that thing looks crazy, Hyung!”
“I told you it’s not human, the heck!”
Bang! Bang! Crack, bang!
The floor leader rammed his head against the door of room 401, punching and thrashing, like a wild beat in a frenzy.
Soon, one of his loose fingernails got caught on the door and ripped off with a sickening scrape.
I couldn’t hide my shock.
Shock?
No, this was a terror. The kind of terror you might only feel once or twice in your whole life.
The murderous intent in those bloodshot eyes sent shivers down my spine, and every scrape against the door made my hair stand on end.
Could he not feel pain?
What if the glass on the door breaks?
He can’t get in here, right?
My mind was spinning, and my body froze like a statue.
I knew we had to deal with the floor manager, but how?
My strength began to drain as fear and terror filled my whole body.
Then suddenly, my eyes fell on the doorknob which was at my waist height.
Obviously, the doorknob would open if he just turned it, but something like that seemed impossible.
The floor manager seemed to have lost his reason, only filled with madness and violence.
Right at that moment, the door of the room across from me opened.
A guy stuck out his head, rubbing his eyes groggily, and looked at the floor leader’s back.
“Hey.”
Krrrrrrrr!
“Hey! Do you know what time it is that you’re…Huh?”
He probably just noticed the blood on the floor manager’s clothes and surprise flashed through his face.
I frantically gestured for him to close the door through the upper glass of our door.
Krrrrrr…
The moment the floor manager turned around, the guy on the other side quickly closed the door.
Bang!
Krrrrrragh!!!
The floor leader howled and began smashing himself against both doors. Ours, Room 401, and the door across from it, Room 410.
“F-F*ck! What’s with this crazy bastard!”
The guy in Room 410 yelled at the top of his lungs.
His roommates, who had been sleeping woke up, and four guys appeared through the glass of room 410.
They were cursing and fear was written all over their face.
They looked as panicked as I was.
Some started fumbling with their phones, trying to make calls and I could see them shouting that there was no signal.
Clank—Clank—Clank—.
“Ugh, what the hell, seriously.”
“Hey! Can you keep it down over there?!”
“If you’re drunk, go back inside and sleep!”
People from other rooms woke up after hearing the commotion and doors flung open one by one and they yelled at the floor leader.
Krrrrrragh!!!
However, the moment the floor manager roared, everyone went silent and hurriedly ran inside and shut the door.
Then, people started swearing from all directions.
I knew the walls weren’t soundproof, but I never thought you could hear everything so clearly.
They were all swearing out of fear.
Then Jang Byungcheol, who was behind me, frowned and shouted.
“What now?!”
“Huh?”
“Everyone’s awake now!”
I didn’t know what to do either.
Maybe this was better? Or not?
I don’t know if it was a good thing that people were awake or whether they should have stayed asleep.
Either way, nothing was getting solved until we dealt with the floor leader.
“Hey!”
Just then, a voice rang out from the hallway.
I rushed to the glass pane to see who was talking and it was the infamous gym rat from Room 407, standing in nothing but his underwear, barking at the floor leader.
- Emilone’s Temptation Labyrinth – Chapter 118 - July 15, 2025
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- Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapter 2 - July 14, 2025