Multivers, Leveling Up in the World I Created

We continued checking the rooms until we reached one where someone was sobbing.

"There's someone in there."

"What? An infected?"

"No, they're crying."

"Then a survivor?"

I knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock!

"The infected outside are all taken care of! It's safe now!"

But the response from inside was unexpected.

"Just leave me alone!"

Kenny, looking incredulous, knocked again.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Hey, it's okay! We've dealt with all the infected outside! You can't just stay holed up in there!"

After more knocking, the person inside finally opened the door.

It was a woman in her early thirties, with a large wound on her side.

"Oh no, you're hurt... wait... you've been bitten..."

Lee saw her condition and immediately realized she was bitten.

Kenny looked shocked too.

"That's why... I told you to leave me alone! I've been bitten. But you wouldn't leave me alone. I know what happens when you get bitten. My boyfriend was bitten too, he got sick, died, and then came back, trying to kill anything in sight!"

She knew what her fate would be and was clearly agitated.

"Calm down. There might be something we can do."

When Lee said that, she looked at the gun in his hand and made a request.

"You have a gun. Could I borrow it? Help me end this."

Lee was taken aback. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down."

"Please, I don't want to end up like my boyfriend! Those things are demons! Just give me the gun so I can end it."

Lee hesitated for a long time.

Kenny handed her his gun instead.

"I don't like it either, but there's no other choice."

"Kenny..."

Bang!

Thud!

Before Lee could say anything, she took the gun Kenny offered, aimed it at her own head, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

"Hah..."

Lee was clearly shaken, staring at her body for a long time before letting out a deep sigh.

Honestly, if I were in her shoes, I wasn't sure I could make a different choice either.

"Lee, there's no time. We need to move the bodies."

"Yeah."

We quickly moved the bodies out of the motel.

"Hey, this camper van is still usable. We could use it."

Aside from the cars, there was a camper van and some trucks in the motel lot.

Kenny looked it over and said that.

"Then Kenny's family can take the camper. We'll keep using my car."

"Alright."

Just then, Lee grabbed a pistol and a rifle and said, "I need to go somewhere for a bit."

People looked confused. "Where are you going at this hour?"

"Yeah. What do you mean?"

Lee calmed everyone down and explained.

"It's not far. There's a pharmacy and general store nearby that my family runs. I just want to check if they're okay. And don't worry, I know this neighborhood well."

I knew from the original that Lee would say this, so I'd expected it.

That's exactly why I'd come to this motel.

"Then I'll go with you. It's not safe to go alone. Clem, stay with Kenny's family for a while. We'll be back soon."

Clem's face immediately fell. "But..."

"Don't worry. You know I'm strong. It won't take long."

"Okay... then come back safely this time too."

I patted Clem's head and told Kenny, "Stay in the camper with your family and Clem. There might be more infected."

"Got it. But I don't really like this. We could just rest and go tomorrow..."

"It's a family matter. It can't be helped."

When I mentioned family, Kenny couldn't argue.

He himself would do anything for his family, so he understood Lee's feelings.

I grabbed my weapons and bag and followed Lee through the woods toward the city.

Lee knew the area well and led the way without hesitation.

"Thanks for coming with me."

"Don't mention it. I was worried too, but you said your family ran a general store and pharmacy. I figured I could stock up on supplies while we were at it, so don't worry about it."

Lee chuckled. "I hope there's enough supplies there. Then I won't feel as bad. By the way, do you have any family?"

"No. I'm an orphan."

"Sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"It's fine. It's been a long time. Anyway, you should be prepared for what you might find with your family."

"Phew... yeah... they might already be infected and turned."

We reached the general store.

There were a lot of zombies on the street in front of it.

"This way. There's a back entrance."

Lee gestured toward a fence that led behind the store, staying out of sight of the zombies.

I followed him around to the back.

When we opened the back door, we found several people already hiding inside.

They looked just as surprised to see us.

I quickly drew my gun and aimed it at them.

Lee stepped in. "Whoa, easy. They don't look infected."

I glanced around and put my gun away.

"Looks that way. But Lee, we need to be careful of people too now."

A woman with a kind face and short hair asked, "You're a soldier, aren't you? Shouldn't you be protecting civilians?"

"Normally yes, but look at the situation. Is that possible?"

She had no answer.

She was probably Carley, a TV news reporter.

Another woman asked, "You're Delta Force. I've seen that patch before. Do you know anything about this? You're special forces, you only take orders from the top."

"No. I was on leave when this started."

"Contact with your unit?"

"If I had contact, I wouldn't be here."

"I see..."

The sharp-eyed woman with long hair was probably Lilly.

She was also a supporting character in the Walking Dead game.

But I kept glancing at one Asian man among them.

He was a popular character in both the game and the show, so popular that his death caused a ratings drop.

And because he was Korean-American, he was especially beloved in Korea.

'Nice to see you again. Sebastian... no, Glenn Rhee.'

Glenn was a lean young man with short black hair, wearing a baseball cap pulled low.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Are you Korean?"

"How did you know... people usually think I'm Chinese."

"I know. I've been to Korea a lot. Samgyeopsal and soju are a great combo."

"Oh, you know samgyeopsal and soju, you've definitely spent time in Korea."

"Dwaeji-gukbap with kkakdugi was good too."

"Oh!"

Glenn lit up at the mention of Korea.

As expected, a Korean can't resist "Do you know kimchi?"

"By the way, is Girls' Generation still active?"

"Yeah. Who's your bias?"

"I'm a Yoona fan."

"Ah, too bad. Taeyeon is the best."

Just then, a large white-haired old man with a clearly irritable demeanor frowned and spoke up.

This was probably Larry, Lilly's father.

"You two, this isn't the time for that! We need to figure out how to escape... urgh!"

Thud!

Before he could finish, he clutched his chest and collapsed.

"Dad!"

Lilly rushed to him.

"Looks like a heart problem."

"He has a heart condition. We came here for his medicine, but the door was locked and we couldn't get in."

"Then he needs nitroglycerin. Lee, do you have a key to the pharmacy?"

Lee shook his head. "No. My family would have had it... I don't know where they are. I'll look around."

Lee started searching the store.

I gathered some useful items from the general store and checked outside.

There were still a lot of zombies, but I spotted a hardware store across the street.

"Hmm... if we could secure that hardware store, we could make all kinds of things."

A slightly chubby white man said, "That's impossible. There are too many infected."

He was probably Doug, the last of the survivors in the store.

"It might be possible. About 30 of them, a little effort and I could take them out."

Doug looked incredulous. "That's insane..."

Just then, Lee came over and shook his head.

"I found nothing. Just a family photo."

"Then what do we do? Just go back?"

"There's a man collapsed from a heart condition. I can't just leave him. We need to get that pharmacy open somehow."

Lee was a good man.

Doug suggested, "Why not just break in? Or shoot the lock off."

"That might be the best option."

Suddenly, Lee froze, staring at something.

"Lee, what's wrong?"

He composed himself and said, "My brother is outside. See that fallen utility pole? He's trapped under it."

Lee pointed toward the pole.

"The infected under it is my brother. He probably has the pharmacy key."

"Then there's no question. Wait here."

"What are you going to do?"

"Zombie hunting, of course. You all just watch."

Before anyone could stop me, I ran out the back door, drew my backpack and the Yukimura, and started quietly taking out the infected one by one.

Grrr...

Swoosh! Thud! Phut! Phut! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

I worked silently to reduce their numbers.

Through the store window, the others watched in awe.

Phut! Phut! Phut! Thud! Thud! Thud!

After a while, I'd taken out well over thirty infected.

The zombies near the front of the store were gone.

I gestured to the people inside that it was safe.

"Wow... I didn't know special forces were this capable. Taking out that many infected so quickly and quietly... I'm amazed."

Glenn said in admiration, and Lilly said matter-of-factly, "He's Delta Force. That's what they do. One of the most famous special forces in the U.S. They even got Saddam Hussein."

"I see..."

I called Lee over. "Lee, I didn't touch your brother. I thought you should handle it yourself."

"Thanks for being considerate."

"And you.. Glenn, right? Check if there are any usable vehicles nearby."

"Don't worry. I have my pizza delivery car."

"Great. Bring it around."

"Got it."

I went to the hardware store, broke the glass, and started gathering supplies.

Doug, who had experience in industrial work, helped me pick out useful tools.

"Why are you taking iron pipes?"

"To make spears. Ammo is precious, and guns are loud."

"Good idea. Let's grab some cutting tools too. It'll make it easier to build things."

"Yeah."

Just then, Glenn returned with his car.

We started loading the supplies from the hardware store into it.

But there were too many large items, so we filled the trunk and backseat, leaving only the driver's and passenger's seats free.

"Wow... can we fit all this? What about the people?"

"Our group is staying at a nearby motel. It's close enough to walk."

"I see."

Lee came over and showed me the key.

"I found it."

His expression was dark, he must have had to deal with his brother himself.

"I'm sorry about your brother..."

"Phew... it's the way of this world. Anyway, let's hurry and get the medicine."

"Yeah."

Lilly, Lee, and I went to the pharmacy.

But as soon as we opened the door, the burglar alarm went off.

Beeeeep—!!!

"Damn!"

"Lee! The noise might attract infected, get out of here and head to the motel with the others! I'll grab the medicine."

"Got it."

Lee hurried out, and Lilly followed with her father's medicine.

I stayed behind, grabbed as much medicine as I could, and stuffed it into my backpack.

With [Naked Eye], it was easy to find what I needed.

I filled the backpack in no time.

When I went outside, the others had already left, and the alarm had drawn zombies to the area.

They must have trusted my abilities and left as I'd told them.

'With no one around, this is easier.'

The zombies were no match for me.

I leisurely carved my way through them as I walked.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—!!!

Thump, thump, thump!

'That felt great. Any more?'

After cutting down zombies with enthusiasm, I looked around and realized there were none left moving.

Only scattered chunks of zombie remains lay around.

I might have enjoyed the slicing a bit too much.

'Oops... I went overboard. If I kill them all like this, there won't be any left to have fun with.'

So I stopped there and quickly headed back to the motel.

When I arrived, the group was unloading supplies and greeted me warmly.

"As expected, you made it back!"

"He's not the type to die easily."

"Right. We saw how he fights."

They seemed to take my safe return for granted.

Having more freedom of movement was certainly a good thing, but I couldn't be entirely happy about it.

Now that everyone knew how strong I was, I was worried I'd be hearing more and more "Can you do this for me?" requests in the future.

'I'll have to put a stop to that.'