Lucia said in fear, "What is that thing?"
Ren said, "Be quiet, or that thing might hear us."
The mutated Zomdog slowly passed by without noticing them.
Lucia was still trembling from fear. "Just… what was that?" she whispered.
Ren let out a relieved breath. "I thought we were gone for real."
Ren added with a small smile, "It's not like a normal Zomdog. It's mutated… and big too."
He thought to himself, This might be some kind of variation among those creatures infected under certain conditions.
He looked at her and said, "But… we're safe for now."
She said in relief, "Anything… but we should keep our distance from that thing."
He said with a big, bright smile, "Nope. Not possible."
She grabbed him and shook him violently. "What!!! Are you joking? Just say you are!"
She added, still flustered, "You're crazy… I mean, you are, but still—"
He said, holding her arms as she shook him, a nervous, awkward smile on his face, "Can you stop? At least first, listen to me!"
He said, "While we were running, I noticed something. The Zomdogs are scattered all around, like this is their territory, and most of them are around the exit leading out of this slum. So I think that's the main territory, and that big Zomdog—or whatever it is—was heading there. We can assume he's the leader, or something like that—like how dogs in a pack have one.
"So… if we want to get out of here, we'll have to bypass that area."
She said, "Then… can't we take another route?"
She thought, Please say yes… please say yes… yes, yes…
He put both hands on her shoulders with a bright smile. "Of course…"
Pause.
"…Nope."
She looked like she was about to cry. I knew it… he was going to say that.
"But why?" she asked.
He replied, "Because it's the shortest route to our destination. The other roads and paths are filled with hordes of zombies too. This is our best option right now."
She swallowed. "But how are we going to bypass that area?"
He blinked at her. "Oh? Did I say bypass?" His expression shifted to mild surprise.
"Let me correct myself."
He smiled brightly—too brightly.
"I meant we're going to make our way through them. By destroying everything in our path."
She stared at him.
How can he say that with that face…?
A worried thought crept into her mind.
Don't tell me… he's planning to fight that thing, she thought.
He nodded casually. "Yup! We're going to eliminate that damn ugly big chunk of rotten flesh."
She stared at him. "Did you just read my mind?"
He frowned slightly, confused. "What do you mean by that?"
She shook her head quickly. "But how are we going to take down that thing?"
He gave her a bright, innocent smile. "Oh, about that…"
---
Granting reward for clearing the task…
---
A card appeared out of nowhere.
Oh… I got the reward, it seems, he thought.
He looked at the bronze card floating before him.
Lucia frowned. "What are you staring at?"
What? …Looks like only I can see it, he thought.
He quickly replied, "Nothing."
He reached out and touched the bronze card.
The moment his fingers brushed against it—
A screen popped up before his eyes.
---
Item – Low Grade Sticky Bomb
Description – A low-grade sticky bomb with bit below average explosive power. It can be attached to surfaces and will detonate once the timer runs out.
Use
Store
---
He thought, This might be exactly what I needed.
Then his expression shifted.
A pure, almost evil smile formed on his lips.
"I've got the perfect plan."
She felt a chill run down her spine.
I can't decide… who should I fear more? The zombies and Zomdogs… or him?
He said, "But first… we need to do something."
He tapped on "Use."
As he pulled his hand back, the bronze card dissolved into particles of light.
Shimmer…
The light gathered in his palm—
And materialized into a sticky bomb.
He handed her the sticky bomb.
"Can you do me a favor? Take this and stick it where I tell you to. And set the timer to exactly one hour and twenty-three minutes."
She stared at the object in her hand. "What is this?"
He replied casually, "Nothing. Just a sticky bomb."
Her eyes widened. "What?!"
"Where did you even get that? Don't tell me you're some kind of mafia or something!"
He raised a hand. "Hold your horses. I got it from my skill."
She blinked. "Just how many skills do you even have? I'm starting to envy you."
He gave an awkward smile.
You wouldn't say that if you knew what my skill actually is, he thought.
She sighed. "Fine. Where do I need to stick it?"
He leaned closer and explained in a low voice—
Whisper… whisper…
Chatter… chatter…
She nodded slowly. "Alright, I understand… but I don't get why that place."
He smiled brightly. "You'll know soon."
---
Ren was running all over the place, attracting the Zomdogs through the narrow slum alleys.
Broken roofs. Hanging wires. Rusted fences. Tight corners.
Perfect.
He kicked a metal can while sprinting.
CLANG—!!
Heads turned.
Growls echoed.
"Hey you little wittle puppies! Wanna play with me? Come, you damn shitty heads!" Ren shouted, waving at them.
GRRRRR—
One leaped from a broken shack roof.
He slid under it.
Whoosh—
"Sorry, but I don't play with stinky, rotten pieces of trash—hard pass!"
Another lunged from the side.
Snap—
He twisted his body and it barely missed his arm.
"Careful! If you scratch me, I'll charge you hospital fees!"
More of them poured in from different corners of the slum.
Just as I thought, he thought with a smile, sweat rolling down his face.
They're scattered all around like guards… but once provoked, they chase together.
A Zomdog tried to cut him off from the front.
He jumped onto a wooden crate—
Crack—
It broke under his weight, but he used the momentum to flip over the creature.
"Oops! Wrong direction, puppy!"
Behind him, the pack grew larger.
Their claws scraped against concrete.
Their howls echoed between the cramped houses.
And then—
Ren's smile widened slightly despite the sweat on his face.
Just as I thought…
Just a little longer and—