Preferred Prey
Even while in pain, his voice stayed sharp, though it had shifted into polite honorifics at some point.
“Still, you must have something in that head of yours.”
Dokyung spoke as if inviting them to explain what they knew.
“…The infectious agent ZB0 is neither a virus nor a bacterium, but an entirely new type of microorganism humanity has never encountered before. When a person is bitten by a zombie, the microbe exits the venom gland in the teeth and travels through the new host’s bloodstream to the brain. Once it settles completely, the host becomes the zombie we all know. They say if the host’s brain is damaged, the microorganism dies as well.”
“A-and among those who received blood transfusions from Immunes, some still turned into zombies.”
“They deliberately allow bites, then draw blood during the immune response and transfuse it directly. Most Immunes succeed in blocking the microbe’s invasion through macrophages—one of the innate immune responses—so it looked like they were experimenting to study white blood cell reactions.”
“They even cut open brains!”
“Yes… That fear is exactly why we escaped with everything we had.”
The doctor and Ji-won tripped over each other to spill every piece of information they possessed.
“At the very least, the government still holds the southern regions. But we suspected that insane group might actually be government-affiliated. Their equipment was impossibly advanced. Even if not the government, some colossal power had to be involved. That’s why we fled to Seoul. There are far fewer people here, so supplies are abundant…”
“In Seoul, Immunes can live like kings, and keeping a few slaves is nothing—that perverted old man bragged like he was hot shit.”
Ji-won stuck his tongue out in disgust at the doctor and made dry-heaving noises.
“Lee Ji-won!”
“Don’t listen to him. Choi Seong-sik is garbage. The rest of them are just as bad!”
“Why are you dragging us into this when we stayed quiet!”
It seemed the high fever had clouded Ji-won’s judgment. Or perhaps it was simply the sting of betrayal at being abandoned. He jerked his chin toward each of them in turn, exposing their sins.
“Gu Yeong-cheol is a perverted fuck who bragged in the refugee tents that he could get his dick wet for a single meal ticket, and Kim Jeong-ung is the son of a bitch who said since Seoul’s a lawless zone anyway, we should all gang-rape one woman together.”
“You fucking bastard! You were the one cackling along, saying you’d fuck for a can of tuna!”
“I was just playing along! At least I said I’d pay her!”
The sudden infighting left Boyeon dizzy. They all looked like ordinary men, yet here they were spewing this filth. Had they really come to Seoul for those reasons? To commit crimes in the middle of this apocalypse? And yet, listening to them, her own position didn’t feel all that different. Their reactions suggested they weren’t making it up.
When society collapsed, the weak—elderly, children, women—were always the first victims. In any disaster, humans turned to murder and rape far more easily than expected, even while believing infrastructure would soon return. But the zombie outbreak was neither temporary nor showing any sign of resolution.
South Korea, with a grain self-sufficiency rate below twenty percent, had already been a food-crisis nation. The outbreak had struck simultaneously across the globe; food imports were impossible. With survival resources finite, competition was inevitable.
“……”
Boyeon felt her throat swelling from stress. She silently pulled out her inhaler and took a puff. If this counted as payment, then so be it. It struck her that she hadn’t used it in quite some time. The realization that she had felt less stress living with Dokyung than when trapped alone in the bunker was genuinely shocking. When their literal lifeline’s face crumpled in despair, the men tactfully changed the subject.
“The… refugee conditions are indeed terrible, but the military recently succeeded in raiding Incheon. With all the logistics centers there, the situation should have improved somewhat.”
“Idiotic talk. The military resorting to looting means the situation is at its absolute worst! It proves how cornered the government has become. Imagine the soldiers’ exhaustion from fighting zombies every single day. How many died in Incheon? I heard desertions are happening left and right!”
Emotions already raw from their earlier fight, they bickered and nitpicked at every word.
“If there are places where refugees gather… could we possibly find family members we were separated from?”
She hated even speaking to them, yet Boyeon couldn’t abandon that sliver of hope. She didn’t notice Dokyung watching her with quiet intensity.
With so many zombies in Seoul, maybe her family had been unable to return home and had turned back. Even after more than five months of silence, she couldn’t bring herself to give up on them completely.
“There is a system for that, but refugee management is so poor it’s nearly impossible to find anyone. And even if you do locate them, movement between camps is usually forbidden.”
“Ah…”
It wasn’t going to be easy. Boyeon lowered her head bitterly.
“Ha, fine… I’ve told you everything I know, so untie me already. I was the most cooperative, wasn’t I? I didn’t even try to run.”
In truth he simply hadn’t been able to, but Ji-won spoke with shameless confidence.
“It’s night. You really think you can survive alone in that condition?”
Irritated, Yeong-cheol immediately picked a fight.
“Just avoid the Mutants. What’s the problem? You said there aren’t many people in Seoul, so there can’t be that many Mutants either.”
“Humans are scarier than zombies, you moron. A survivor who’s lasted this long in Seoul outside any refugee camp isn’t going to be normal.”
Yeong-cheol glanced at Dokyung as he spoke.
“Do Mutants follow humans when they move?”
Dokyung showed interest for the first time at the mention of Mutants.
“I will explain, sir.”
The doctor, Choi Seong-sik, quickly inserted himself into the conversation.
“This is recent information, so if you’ve remained in Seoul the entire time you might not have heard it. Haha.”
Seong-sik laughed amiably, but Dokyung’s cold expression made it clear he expected a proper explanation. Looking slightly awkward, Seong-sik continued.
“Ahem. The laboratory where we were held also conducted zombie research… As you know, zombies recover their bodies by consuming humans, correct? While Mutants do hunt both zombies and humans, they show a clear preference for the latter. They regenerate far faster after eating humans. It means humans are a higher-efficiency energy source for them than zombies.”
Humans as a high-efficiency energy source. The words signaled a fundamental shift in an ecosystem where humans had once stood at the top of the food chain.
“Some theories suggest Mutants require this human energy source to maintain or evolve their destructive bodies. Humans continue to be devoured even now, and the number of Mutants keeps growing.”
Ordinary zombies were already strong, but Mutants were literal monsters. The thought that their numbers were only increasing made Boyeon feel a genuine chill of fear—this truly was a crisis of human extinction.
“Recently the defensive line of a large refugee camp collapsed. Multiple powerful Mutants appeared. The frequency of Mutant sightings near densely populated defense lines is increasing steadily. The crucial point is that Mutants appear to possess the ability to locate areas with high human concentrations.”
Humans and zombies alike had begun playing out survival of the fittest.
“The government gives preferential treatment to those skilled at hunting zombies. Someone like you, sir, would undoubtedly be received with great respect even if you headed south. This country has always worked that way, hasn’t it? Refugee camps are perfectly livable places if you have ability—comfortable enough that daily life would hold no inconvenience whatsoever.”
Seong-sik spoke to Dokyung—who looked far younger than himself—with extreme politeness and smiled in a peculiar way. The gentlemanly impression he had worn until now twisted into something snake-like and sinister.