Chapter 12
The player had to avoid zombies in an apocalyptic world and deliver supplies to a research facility.
The objective was to help the lone surviving researcher stay alive by supplying food, then procure the required research materials and complete a vaccine for the zombie virus.
“The Trial Rank is four stars. Captain Mo Haein and Captain Kwak Hanmuk will both be entering this Trial for the first time, and they have familiarized themselves with its walkthrough.”
The Trial Response Agency ranked Trials much as the Republic of Korea Armed Forces used alert stages such as Jindogae or WATCHCON.
Unlike ordinary military alerts, however, the Trial Response Agency’s rank rose with the number.
Ranks ran from one to six stars and were assigned after considering several factors.
HSF, which we had closed earlier, had been a three-star Trial.
Its boss monsters were powerful, but its walkthrough was well established, and both useful items and extra lives were available.
“Will you be all right, Mr. Han Goyo?”
Truthfully, throwing a Recruit into a four-star Trial for his first mission wasn’t normal.
But a Special Mission Team would be meaningless if it couldn’t naturally handle something worth four stars.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Then before the detailed briefing, are you familiar with the Trial Response Agency’s organizational structure?”
“…Hmm, please explain it.”
In truth, I already knew it all, but pretending otherwise in front of Kwak Hanmuk and Mo Haein didn’t seem wise.
‘It would only make me look more suspicious.’
So I decided to listen again as a refresher. The screen projected in the air changed.
“The Trial Response Agency operates with four Headquarters and ten teams. It is a remarkably practical structure for a government institution. Though it has become eleven teams now.”
On the vertically arranged organizational chart, one team protruded alone to the side.
It was the Special Mission Team, connected directly to the Director.
“The first Headquarters, Field Response Headquarters, consists of three teams in total.”
Mo Haein led Field Response Team 2, while Kwak Hanmuk led Field Response Team 3.
Kwak Hanmuk’s Field Response Team 3 was also responsible for pursuing the Compatible when they committed crimes.
Samra had been the one to dispatch Kwak Hanmuk on the day Mo Haein and I cleared HSF.
Predicting the possibility that Park Seonggyeon would commit a crime, he had sent Kwak Hanmuk as reinforcement.
“As you have likely noticed, Mr. Han Goyo, our Special Mission Team is currently missing one person.”
Field Response Team 1 expanded on the screen.
“He is the Division Head of Field Response Headquarters, the Team Leader of Field Response Team 1, and the person who will lead our Special Mission Team.”
The display changed, showing a photograph of the Team Leader alongside a brief note.
Lieutenant Colonel Je Hyuno (BT-Z Virus Infected)
Extreme aggression caused by infection.
The man in the photograph was covered from head to toe in pitch-black equipment, like a crow.
Only a sliver of dark-purple hair could be seen beneath the hood pulled low over his head.
Equipped with goggles and even a gas mask, he was an infected being whose body had been mutated by a Trial virus.
“He is currently inside .”
I looked steadily at the words ‘Extreme aggression caused by infection.’
The letters slowly shuffled about, and more text was added.
Extreme aggression toward Trials caused by infection.
Smiling, Samra said,
“He is docile with civilians.”
Had I known nothing about Je Hyuno, those words would have reassured me.
I looked at Samra in silence.
Samra’s smile deepened, and his eyes flashed. Then, pretending to have forgotten, he added,
“Though he is somewhat ferocious with the Compatible.”
An AI pretending to forget.
Unlike me, who found it absurd, Samra seemed seized by intense fascination.
It was because I possessed information about Je Hyuno.
That information was classified by the Trial Response Agency—something an outsider could never know and should never be permitted to know.
Samra’s interest in me was important to maintaining our transactional relationship.
Therefore, at least with Samra, I had no intention of needlessly pretending ignorance about the knowledge I possessed.
“I think Samra has an error.”
Kwak Hanmuk asked whether hitting Samra once would fix the beams shooting from his eyes.
“Such a primitive method cannot affect me.”
Samra answered calmly and continued the explanation.
“ is the Trial assigned exclusively to Lieutenant Colonel Je Hyuno, with a typical Clear time of roughly two days. This time, however, ten days have passed without a Clear.”
Kwak Hanmuk used too much strength opening a bag of snacks, and it burst with a pop. The contents showered onto the table.
Mo Haein casually picked up and ate the fallen snacks as though accustomed to this. I invoked the three-second rule only once.
“The Special Mission Team’s objectives are to clear the True Ending and rescue Lieutenant Colonel Je Hyuno.”
But no one thought of it as a rescue. There was no chance Je Hyuno had become trapped inside the Trial.
He was clearly refusing to come out of his own accord. We simply didn’t know why he had remained there for ten days.
Therefore, everyone seemed to interpret the mission as pursuit and capture rather than rescue.
I felt nervous for a different reason.
Of course, I wouldn’t know until we went inside, but…
‘The conditions for the True Ending might no longer be achievable.’
It was a reasonable concern, considering I knew what Je Hyuno did inside Trials.
I had to close three Trials within one month, and our schedule was too tight to enter DZD again.
I could only hope Je Hyuno had behaved himself.
“For Mr. Han Goyo’s benefit, I will explain the BT viruses.”
Samra explained despite believing that I already knew. Playing along, I nodded.
“The viruses created within Trials are presently known collectively as Beyond Trial Viruses, or BT viruses. Their names are further classified according to each Trial Code.”
For example, HSF was designated BT-HSF, and DZD was BT-DZD.
“Through joint research between myself and Director Ham Jiwol of the Research & Analysis Headquarters, the Trial Response Agency has developed vaccines capable of preventing certain BT-virus infections.”
Samra added that because every Trial’s virus had different properties, each vaccine had to be developed separately.
At present, there were more Trials without a vaccine than with one, and treatments had been successfully developed for only a tiny number.
“For this reason, you must take every precaution against BT-virus infection.”
Five entries appeared on Samra’s screen.
“The circumstances that cause an individual to become infected are as follows.”
To confirm that my memory was correct, I read them one at a time.
- Completing a Quest or using an item
- Contact with an NPC
- Failure to achieve a Clear
- Explosion of a Trial
- Infection by an infected being
“About number five.”
Having finished the snacks, Kwak Hanmuk dusted the crumbs from his hands and offered a simple explanation.
“It’s easiest to think of it as being similar to a zombie virus, like the one in this run of DZD.”
I considered it a fitting analogy. BT viruses definitely resembled zombie viruses.
Infection occurred when the blood or bodily fluids of an infected being directly entered a person’s body, and those infected displayed aggression toward humans with high probability.
There were, of course, rare infected beings that remained docile.
Je Hyuno was an unusual case: neither docile nor indiscriminately aggressive.
“The Trial Response Agency quarantines infected beings who cannot be treated. Those who cannot be controlled are killed to prevent further infection.”
Having nearly been shot full of holes myself, I couldn’t regard it as someone else’s problem.
After calmly uttering those frightening words, Samra met the eyes of every Special Mission Team member in turn.
“We are devoting every resource to developing vaccines and treatments, but we cannot keep pace with the rate at which Trials hatch. That is why achieving True Ending Clears is more important than anything else.”
Mo Haein, who had remained silent until now, spoke for the first time.
“Because it’s the only way to restore infected beings without a treatment.”
When a Trial permanently closed, every infected being whose body had been mutated by that Trial returned to normal.
That was why the people who had worked in HSF’s toy factory emerged with ordinary arms and legs instead of toy limbs.
“DZD has no vaccine. Naturally, it has no treatment either. Since it’s a zombie virus, the infected are also extremely aggressive, so infection means immediate termination. Do you understand?”
Mo Haein looked at me sharply.
“I’m asking whether you’re prepared to risk your life, Recruit.”
For a moment, I couldn’t speak.
Not because I was frightened or afraid.
I had come face-to-face with the reason I liked the character Mo Haein while playing the Archive games.
Someone who had always existed beyond the screen had become real and was speaking to me.
She offered a few words of concern as I prepared to walk into a place where I could die, and a smile rose to my face without my realizing it.
“Thank you for worrying about me.”
When I expressed my gratitude honestly, Mo Haein stared at me in disbelief.
Kwak Hanmuk also looked at me as though I were an error-ridden Samra.
I added awkwardly,
“I’ll work hard.”
Mo Haein’s lips moved, but in the end, she gave only a short answer.
“…All right.”
Then she turned her head away.
Read only on MUGEX
DZD had hatched at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases.
Osong Station was nearby, so I expected us to take the KTX, but we traveled by helicopter.
It was my first time riding in one.
Thanks to an official cooperation request sent in advance by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, entering the institute was easy.
- Mr. Han Goyo.
Samra called me through my headset.
Real-world objects couldn’t be carried into a Trial, so the headset could only be used until we entered.
- You do not need to respond. Simply listen.
Realizing the communication had been sent only to me rather than the team, I checked on Mo Haein and Kwak Hanmuk walking ahead.
They were speaking with the institute director.
- Captain Mo Haein and Captain Kwak Hanmuk will take responsibility for Lieutenant Colonel Je Hyuno. If a confrontation occurs, avoid it.
A red light blinked on the corridor’s CCTV camera. Samra was watching me through the institute’s surveillance system.
Using someone else’s institute equipment as though it naturally belonged to him, he continued.
- At this point in time, Mr. Han Goyo, you are an entirely unique existence.
He meant that I should survive the Trial by any means necessary, even if that required using Mo Haein and Kwak Hanmuk as bait.
‘But I’m a happy-ending devotee.’
I didn’t want to clear a Trial that way.
Without giving Samra any sign of agreement or disagreement, I continued walking in silence.
The institute director stopped before an enormous steel door.
“This is the place.”
Since apartments and schools stood near the site where DZD hatched, it was quarantined far more thoroughly than HSF had been.
“I wish you success.”
The director who had guided us vanished as though fleeing. Mo Haein scanned an access card and opened the steel door.
In the center of a spacious room rested a cracked meteorite.
About the size of an ostrich egg, the meteorite bore an enormous fracture, and a deep green glow shimmered between the cracks.
I had heard that every Trial’s meteorite possessed a different shape and color of light. This shade suited DZD perfectly.
“Special Mission Team entering.”
Mo Haein delivered the final report, short and concise, then placed a hand on the meteorite.
Everything around us became stained in fluorescent colors and melted away.
I awoke in the back alley of an abandoned city.
Rising unsteadily, I first walked toward the main road.
‘Han Goyo (Gunbam)’ has entered !
◆ Main Quest: Clear the world of frenzied zombies with the True Ending.
You successfully closed your first Trial.
You must upgrade your abilities as the System by achieving a second True Ending Clear.
Quest success means survival!
Quest failure means….
The System Window, which had been appearing just fine, suddenly stuttered.
Failure means…………….
Perhaps the connection was poor, because it displayed nothing but ellipses for a long time.
Failure means………………………….
Un?known??
After making me wait so patiently, all it had to say was ‘unknown.’
I stared at the System Window with utter contempt, then examined my clothes.
I wore a short-sleeved shirt and military trousers, and dog tags hung around my neck.
I checked the identification tag dangling from the chain.
ARMY
20XX0229
GUNBAM
AB (RH-)
Instead of a service number, the tag bore only my date of birth.
I hadn’t been able to inspect the dog tags when playing the game. Seeing my exact birth date and blood type written there gave me subtle chills.
“Goyo!”
Kwak Hanmuk, who had landed not far from me, approached while waving like a neighborhood delinquent.
He was already wearing a battered varsity jacket he had found somewhere.
“It doesn’t look like Captain Mo landed around here. Should we head toward the Green Zone?”
The survivors’ camp was located in the Green Zone. It was also a natural attempt to probe whether I knew DZD.
“No.”
Kwak Hanmuk tilted his head, both hands buried in the pockets of his varsity jacket.
Players beginning DZD ordinarily used the Green Zone as their initial base.
It was the safest and most conventional strategy, but I needed to achieve the True Ending Clear as quickly as possible.
‘I only have a month. I need to gain extra time for the other Trials.’
For that reason, I picked up the bloodstained baseball bat lying on the ground.
“Before that, first….”
Then I turned toward Kwak Hanmuk and made a suggestion.
“Shall we kill a few people before we begin?”