The SerenadeKR VTuber, Elenoa.
Noa gasped for breath.
"Hah... Hah..."
Sweat continued to drip from her forehead, making her uncomfortable. Along with that, a sensation similar to dizziness overwhelmed her. â¦Why does this game feel so real?
Of course, she knew. This game, "Surviving Somehow in the Apocalypse World," is characterized by its realism.
It feels as if sheâs fallen into a real zombie world.
Noa sometimes imagines. What if a zombie virus suddenly spread after she woke up?
She lives with her parents; would she be able to survive if they turned into zombies in the middle of the night?
What if her family became zombies while she was asleep and broke down the door...?
If the outside was filled with zombies⦠could she survive?
Noa often had such negative daydreams.
Am I just imaginative? Or am I sensitive?
She didnât know for sure, but she thought it was similar to feeling scared after watching a horror movie.
In that sense, this game, Aseorasal, was quite meaningful for Noa.
Itâs a sort of simulation that makes her think, "Maybe I could survive if a zombie virus spread in the real worldâ¦"
In that regard, it seemed that even though the game is in early access, it had gained popularity among some Western players. They might be saying, "Letâs prep for a zombie virus before it happens."
Thatâs why it had to be realistic.
But at this moment, she wished it were a bit more fantastical.
"Ughâ¦!"
Noa exhaled sharply and moved the sofa.
It was far too heavy for a single person to move.
But she had to do it.
Somehow, she moved the sofa to block the entrance.
Is this enough?
Or should I be more thorough?
While she couldnât completely erase her anxiety, Noa exhaled again.
"Noa⦠are you there�"
A faint voice came from afar.
Noa steadied her breath and headed toward where the voice was coming from.
"Yes, Iâm here."
"Ugh, seriously⦠isnât this game too much? I canât see because I got bitten by a zombieâ¦."
Sina muttered in frustration.
Sina was currently tied up.
Noa had tied her up herself.
They were in a department store.
Specifically, in the staff lounge inside the department store.
Sina and Noa were isolated.
"â¦Iâm sorry for suggesting we come here."
Noa sighed.
After the last advertising broadcast, SerenadeKR continued to play Aseorasal.
Sina and Changyoung had applied for the Fantasy League.
Aseorasal is a game created by Dead Rows.
And for Dead Rows to provide an advertisement is somewhat significant. It means that they trust that person and also want to support them.
In any case, just having a good relationship with Dead Rows was a positive point.
Isnât it better to have at least one more line on your career when submitting applications to companies? Just like that, giving Sina and Changyoung one more line on their career was the goal of the four members of SerenadeKR.
"I should have waited for Jeongseok oppa and Changyoung oppa⦠but I asked to gather suppliesâ¦."
"Why is that your fault?"
Hah.
Sina sighed.
"No, why is there a level 3 infected in a department store?!"
â"The world level goes up over time."
â"Zombies' infection stages increase over time."
â"Itâs about time the zombie levels go up, haha."
"Who wouldnât know that?! Could you show me some sympathy? Just empathize with me! I want you to curse together with me!!"
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ãNot a chance.ã
"Argh!!!"
Sina threw another fit, but everyone just accepted it. Sinaâs viewers enjoyed watching her suffer.
Noa felt a bit uncomfortable about it. It seemed like she was intentionally making herself a punching bag.
"This is all Aurora's fault! Aurora took our house!"
"No, thatâs not itâ¦."
"Why do you become so calm only at times like this?!"
Sina yelled.
Bang! Bang! Boom!
At that moment, there was a knocking sound on the lounge door.
"Eekâ¦."
Noa swallowed.
The sound of knocking on the wall and door, and the groans of zombies.
With each knock on the door, even the sofa piled up as a barricade shook slightly. Unknowingly, Noa moved closer to the sofa and pushed against it with her back.
Vibrations transmitted from her back.
What should I do? Should I have piled the sofa higher?
"Damnâ¦. I shouldnât have screamedâ¦."
Although Sina couldnât see, she regretted it. She should have just waited quietly for Jeongseok and Changyoung to rescue them.
As she sighed heavily, at some point, the sound stopped.
"â¦Noa?"
Feeling suddenly anxious, Sina called out to Noa.
But perhaps it was because she called in a small voice. Or maybe Noa couldnât open her mouth. There was no response from Noa.
Without thinking, Sina tried to move closer, but Noa had tied her up tightly, so she couldnât budge.
"No, what on earth is happening� Noa? Elenoa?"
Boom!
A massive roar erupted from afar, cutting off Sina's words.
Graaah! Grraah!
Kraaaah!
The screams of zombies.
At the same time, the sound of flesh being sliced echoed continuously.
What is it?
What on earth is happening?
Could it be the level 3 zombie I saw earlier coming down?
Tap.
Tap.
In response to Sinaâs question, footsteps echoed particularly loudly.
Click.
Click.
The sound of a doorknob turning.
But it was locked, so the doorknob wouldnât turn all the way.
Tap.
Tap.
Then the footsteps faded away.
Soon after,
Boom!!!
An explosion was heard.
The door shattered, and the sofa flew away.
Noa was swept up in it as well.
"Ahh!"
Noa tumbled to the floor.
Fortunately, due to the considerable barricade she had built, the explosion damage wasnât too severe. She only had a few scrapes. Thankfully, she wasnât seriously hurt.
As Noa got her bearings, she quickly grabbed the gun she had placed on the floor.
"Um⦠Aurora�"
"Oh my, here you are?"
Laura smiled brightly when her eyes met Noa's.
In her right hand was a knife.
In her left hand was a small bomb.
"Lauraâ¦! You didnât come to rescue us, did you?"
"No."
"What�"
Noa was taken aback by Lauraâs unexpected answer.
Laura elegantly raised a fallen chair.
Then, she naturally crossed her legs and sat down.
"Sina, itâs been a while."
"â¦Aurora?"
"Yes, itâs Aurora. I see you canât see?"
"How did you get here�"
"I was able to track survivors from the fire department. I thought Sina might be isolated in the department store, so I came to check."
Came to checkâ¦
The way she spoke as if she were just out for a stroll left Sina completely dumbfounded.
"So you really came to rescue us! Weâve been stuck here! You have no idea how frustrating itâs beenâ¦!"
"Oh my, you seem to be misunderstanding. I didnât come to rescue you."
"What� Then why are you here�"
"How long has it been since Sina got infected?"
"About 2 hours in game time⦠I think."
"I see."
Laura nodded at Noa's response.
Then she gazed at Sina slowly.
Endlessly.
Continuously.
â¦â¦
â¦â¦â¦â¦
"â¦Um, Laura?"
"Yes, what is it?"
"Um, why are you just standing there�"
"Pretty soon, itâll be 3 hours since the infection started, right? Thatâs why I tied up Sina like this."
One hour after the infection starts, thereâs a rash.
Three hours later, thereâs a loss of reason.
Five hours later, aggression appears.
After 24 hours, thereâs no hope.
Laura knew that information only 'intellectually.'
This was the first time she actually witnessed how zombification occurs.
"Wait a minute⦠Aurora, did you come to see me become a zombie?"
"I want to revert you to human, but I donât know how. So now that itâs come to this, I came to see how the infection works."
"You wickedâ¦! Ugh!"
Sina tried to rush at Laura, but the ropes binding her blocked her movement.
Of course, even without the ropes, Sina wouldnât have been able to do anything to Laura. She was a woman who could climb walls with her bare hands.
"Iâm really curious. After 3 hours, will the player be unable to control themselves? Will they act according to the predetermined AI?"
"Did you come to scratch people? Save me now! Save me this instant!!!"
"Why not sacrifice yourself since youâve been bitten, Sina? What can we do? Those who survive should survive, and those who go should go, right?"
"Just wait! If I become a zombie, Iâll bite you first! Iâll bite you first!!!"
"By the way, what would happen if I pulled out all your teeth? If you donât have teeth, would you still get infected if you bite?"
"You, seriously!!"
"Um, Lauraâ¦."
While the two were bantering, Noa cautiously raised her hand.
"I have a way to save Sina."
"Laura is late."
Sora muttered absently.
They had finished all their preparations, yet Laura hadnât shown up at all.
She felt like she might really become a grandmother at this rate.
"Rion, isnât Laura coming?"
"Sora unni⦠um, yeah. She hasnât shown up at all."
Rion, who was about to call Sora, cleared her throat once.
Just now, she had been about to call her 'Sora unni.'
'Is she deliberately being mindful of the titles since theyâre on air?'
Rion's position was quite complicated.
Nekozuka Rion was a 4th-year student. A VTuber two years ahead of Sora.
However, she hadnât switched to being a staff member and was still a VTuber.
So, while she was working as a manager, Rion used to speak to Sora with formal language.
But the VTuber Nekozuka Rion is actually a casual character.
It was rather strange for her to speak formally with that concept where she adds 'nyan' to the end of her sentences.
Since Laura was blood-related, there would be no problem calling her 'sister' on air, but it seemed she didnât want the viewers to hear her calling Sora that.
Perhaps she thought it contradicted her concept.
'This is complicated.'
Iâll probably have to just start calling her by name soon. If I can just treat them all as friends without the sister-brother or senior-junior relationships, Rionâs worries will lessen.
Honestly, as a junior, itâs not very comfortable to be called 'sister' by a senior repeatedly.
"How about checking on unni's stream?"
Rion suggested that.
Surprisingly, this game doesnât allow for Discord calls. It seems they designed it that way on purpose.
In the game, there were various communication items including walkie-talkies.
And if Discord calls were always possible, the value of communication items like walkie-talkies would naturally decrease. Perhaps this was a measure taken to maintain realism.
However, since the walkie-talkies have distance limitations, they canât find out Laura's situation through them.
'Thereâs no way but to eavesdrop on the broadcast.'
In fact, it wasnât a good method. Not knowing what each other was doing would be just right in this game. There would probably be viewers who would say that it breaks immersion.
But the person who was supposed to come hadnât shown up at all.
It felt a bit strange to keep waiting without reason.
In any case, it made her worried.
'I know nothing will happen, butâ¦'
Worrying about Laura would only be detrimental to her side.
She had learned that through her experiences, but she couldnât erase her concerns from Soraâs heart. It really took a lot of effort.
With a slight sigh, Sora pulled up Lauraâs stream on the screen.
Third-person perspective.
Laura was walking inside the department store.
Carrying Masina on her back.
"�"
Who is that woman?
Sora blinked.
What is this?
What kind of situation is this?
To understand the situation, Sora silently watched Lauraâs broadcast.
The woman named Masina was slung across Lauraâs back.
No, to be precise, it would be more accurate to say she was tied up.
Her arms and legs were tightly bound so she couldnât use them, and a gag was stuffed in her mouth.
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ãThis isnât some pork belly, haha.ã
Someone left a donation chat like that.@@novelbin@@