Season 3: Chapter 8: Sandwich (2)


    Around twenty minutes ago, ss 5 was still stuck inside the ssroom.


    "Don''t you dare look at us, you brats."


    "..."


    Under the gang’s threat, Bubblegum hung his head as if guilty. Even so, he observed each member of ss 5 one by one while plotting a rebellion somehow.


    <em>''Those three seem like the yers.''</em>


    Bubblegum, trying his best not to look like a yer himself, kept his head down and observed the three yers from ss 5.


    "So, it''s good to take over the bathroom here."


    "First, we need to search for food and weapons to arm ourselves. You can find useful things if you search the ssroom well."


    "The desks themselves could be used like riot shields.""The legs might be good too. There should be a screwdriver in the teacher''s drawer."


    The yers in ss 5 intensely discussed their strategies. Whoever these people were, they were serious about this challenge. That was probably why they hardly paid any attention to Bubblegum.


    <em>p!</em>


    One of the yers from ss 5 pped and approached.


    "Guys. We can''t just keep running from the zombies forever. We need to arm ourselves here. I''ll tell you what to find."


    Even the students pretending to be bullies readily followed hismand.


    "<em>Ugh.</em> What now?"


    "It''s annoying, but we have to do it to survive~"


    They seemed annoyed, but still got up and started looking for what the yer had asked for. They were looking for a Phillips screwdriver, a box cutter, and rubber bands. These were items likely to be found in a ssroom.


    <em>''That guy seems to be the leader here.''</em>


    Bubblegum carefully noted the name of the yer currently leading ss 5.


    <em>''Kim Mango...''</em>


    That yer was called Kim Mango. Bubblegum wasn''t sure if he was a streamer or something, but neutralizing him could cause ss 5 to be a disorganized mess.


    Jin-Hyeok''s gang had highbat ability, but no organizational skills. If any others led the group other than Mango, ss 5 could be demoralized until a rebellion due to depression broke out.


    <em>''I was going to start a rebellion anyway.''</em>


    Bubblegum chuckled with a nerdy grin while dreaming of a delightful revenge.


    <em>— Nerd acting like a master LOL.</em>


    <em>— Position makes the person......</em>


    <em>— Bro LOL don''tugh LOL you''ll get caught LOL.</em>


    <em>— His dreams, LOL.</em>


    "Hey. You there. The chubby one."


    Bubblegum was startled at being called out again.


    "Huh, yeah?"


    "Are you just going to stand there? Are you a sack of rice? You little minion... huh?"


    "No, no! We, we''ll look too!"


    Bubblegum hurriedly got up and pretended to search for things along with the kids from ss 3.


    <em>[ss 3''s morale has decreased.]</em>


    <em>— LOL another drop?</em>


    <em>— The fate of a ss with the wrong leader.</em>


    <em>— The humiliation of "ss 3" LOL LOL LOL!</em>


    Bubblegumined via the streaming channel as if it was unfair.


    "<em>Ha. </em>Why is their morale dropping again? Huh? I''ll show you a cheerful rebellion soon, okay?"


    <em>— Cheerful rebellion LOL LOL LOL.</em>


    <em>— It''s not up to you, bro...</em>


    <em>— Who believes in Bubblegum''s cheerful rebellion LOL LOL LOL.</em>


    <em>— Only pretending to be cheerful after getting trashed.</em>


    <em>— LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL.</em>


    ***


    Kim Mango from ss 5 seemed like a strategically capable yer.


    "There''s a textbook in this drawer, right? Cut it to a suitable thickness with this cutter."


    He used thick textbooks as armor.


    "And wrap these papers around your arms and legs. Tie them with rubber bands."


    <em>Ping...!</em>


    They felt quite protected after wrapping the textbook armor around vulnerable spots like their shins and wrists and securing them with rubber bands.


    <em>''Wow. This is actually good!''</em>


    Even Bubblegum, who was practically an enemy, felt this way.


    <em>— Bubblegum’s POV: should I not betray them?</em>


    <em>— ??? Should I join here?</em>


    <em>— Kim Mango is kinda awesome!</em>


    "Now that we''ve almost dismantled the desks with the screwdriver, the guys with good builds will hold the desks and stand in front as shields like riot police."


    <em>Snap.</em>


    Kim Mango demonstrated by lifting a desk.


    "And, behind us, we''ll stab with these bup sack spears or hit the zombies with desk legs."


    "Ah, Mango. You should also mention that if you stick a desk leg in their mouth, it immobilizes them."


    "Oh, right. This desk leg size is perfect for blocking the zombies'' mouths."


    <em>‘Oh…’</em>


    Bubblegum unknowingly nodded as he bit a desk leg.


    <em>ng. ng.</em>


    Certainly, it would be hard to spit out once a zombie bit it. They couldn’t chew through this material.


    "Wow. Are these kids going to win?"


    <em>— LOL for real!</em>


    <em>— Just join here, bro.</em>


    <em>— They''ll make you win if you stick with them LOL only 25 can escape</em>


    <em>— LOL LOL he’s born to be a traitor.</em>


    "No. What do you mean I’m a traitor? It''s just a game."


    <em>— Suddenly pulling the "it''s just a game"</em>


    <em>— That one person taking the game too seriously.</em>


    <em>— LOL he really wants to betray them LOL.</em>


    <em>"Ahem..."</em>


    As Bubblegum continued his internal debate as a double spy, ss 5 methodically armed themselves.


    "Huh?"


    Whether it was heaven-sent or something else, the zombies suddenly started running somewhere else while they armed themselves.


    A loud noise rang out in the distance.


    <em>ng...!</em>


    "What''s that noise?"


    <em>ng...!</em>


    <em>ng...!</em>


    The loud noise continued to echo out. It was Almond breaking down the basement door.


    "For real? Did all the zombies go over there?" one student pressed his face against the window and spoke.


    "The running ones are already far away, but... they’re going toward the bathroom of all ces."


    Fortunately, the zombies moved somewhere else. However, it was toward the bathroom that ss 5 wanted to take control over.


    "It''s okay. Even if they went toward the bathroom, dealing with the zombies that turned back due to the aggro is not hard. It''s much better than a frontal battle," said Kim Mango.


    He judged that this was sufficient. There was a big difference between fighting zombies faced forward and fighting those turned away.


    "We''re armed to fight, right?"


    "That... that''s right."


    Yes, this wasn''t a game where they could keep avoiding fights with zombies. They wouldn''t have armed themselves so diligently if they weren''t going to fight.


    <em>''We need to gain experience.''</em>


    Frequent battles improvedbat-rted stats. Conversely, avoidingbat continuously weakened a yer.


    <em>''Even if a few die in the process... it doesn''t matter.''</em>


    Of course, there would be casualties. That didn''t matter though. Rather, it was better. After all, only twenty-five could leave the school.


    "Let''s go," Kim Mango simply stated as he gave them the sign.


    The ssroom door opened.


    <em>Snap. Snap.</em>


    The kids holding desks as shields advanced.


    "<em>Phew...</em> It''s terrifying."


    Bubblegum took deep breaths because those at the front were from ss 3.


    "Go, go."


    "Move forward!"


    Impatience prompted immediate criticism from behind. ss 3 had no choice but to exit the ssroom and gradually advance toward the zombies.


    <em>"Kyaaaaah?!"</em>


    Around five or six zombies noticed ss 5.


    "Kill them!"


    <em>Bang!</em>


    After pushing the zombies with desks, the students incessantly stabbed their heads with the spears.


    <em>Thud!</em>


    "Good. Advance."


    This was incredible. Bubblegum swallowed dryly. It felt like watching Roman soldiers in a medieval war. Everything was systematic, disciplined, safe, and yet destructive.


    <em>"Kraaaaaah!"</em>


    <em>"Kyaaaaak!"</em>


    "More areing!"


    More zombies started approaching.


    <em>Thud! Thud!</em>


    They were simply good experience points.


    Bubblegum wore a bitter expression.


    <em>''If it goes on like this...''</em>


    The folks from ss 5 would gainbat experience and grow stronger.


    "<em>Uhahahaha!</em> Zombies, you''re nothing~."


    "Aren’t we like movie heroes? Alright, everyone get ready~"


    "yers entering~"


    "Zombie bros~ messing around and getting your heads busted~"


    The alreadybat-specialized bully forces felt even more rxed. They became more ruthless and noisy.


    <em>— yers entering LOL LOL.</em>


    <em>— Typical cool kids LOL.</em>


    <em>— LOL LOL LOL.</em>


    "<em>Ha. </em>Can this... lead to a rebellion?"


    Bubblegum sweated profusely.


    <em>— Just go with ss 5...</em>


    <em>— Those warriors are kind of scary LOL.</em>


    <em>— Ditch ss 3? Ditch ss 3?</em>


    <em>— Are you going to suffer another humiliation with ss 3?</em>


    Someone nudged him from the side. It was Oh Ji-Hoon.


    "Bubblegum... ah, I mean RoyalMan." He asked the same question, "Will this work? These guys seem crazy?"


    He was worried about the sess of their rebellion too. Hearing it from someone else snapped Bubblegum back to reality.


    "Wait. I''ll watch for the right timing."


    ***


    While Almond fought in front of the line, ss 5 steadily advanced.


    "Here. The bathroom is not far."


    "Just like before! Don''t be scared!"


    "Rx!"


    As they approached the bathroom, the number of zombies clearly increased and was iparable to what they had been dealing with in the hallways.


    <em>"Krrr?!"</em>


    Among the many zombies, one turned around. It had noticed ss 5. Then─


    Almost half of the visible zombies turned around.


    <em>"Kyaaaaah!"</em>


    "Sweep them!!!"


    With Kim Mango''s shout, the shield-bearers pushed in with the desks.


    <em>"Kraaaaaah!"</em>


    "Stab! Stab!"


    The running zombies also started being suppressed by the desk shield-bearers. There were no exceptions.


    <em>"Kraaaaak!"</em>


    <em>Thud! Thud!</em>


    The zombies died under the onught of bup sack spears from behind.


    "Desk legs! Stick them in!"


    <em>"Kaaaaak… ak!?"</em>


    <em>Ping...! </em>


    The zombies that hadn''t been dealt with yet had desk legs shoved in their mouths like gags.


    <em>Crack...!</em>


    Human jaws couldn''t chew through the desk legs, so the zombies instantly became useless fools.


    "Stab them!"


    <em>Thud!</em>


    Following that, the spear-bearers started killing the gagged zombies if they had a free hand.


    Finally...


    "The bathroom! Defend the door!"


    ss 5 had reached their destination, the bathroom.


    <em>Rustle.</em>


    They immediately opened the door.


    "Hey, minions! Get in!"


    They pushed ss 3 in.


    "Go check all the bathroom stalls!"


    They confidently opened the door because they nned to have the zombies inside dealt with by theckeys from ss 3.


    <em>— Bomb disposal unit, huh LOL.</em>


    <em>— There''s no hope here for real LOL.</em>


    <em>— When''s the cheerful rebellion happening? LOL.</em>


    "Hey! Aren''t you guys going in!? Huh? Fuck, while we''re blocking, hurry up and check!"


    Kim Jin-Hyeok''s threat made Bubblegum reluctantly take a step forward since he didn''t know when the spear stabbing the zombies would turn toward him.


    "<em>Sigh.</em> Guys. Don’t open the stalls at the same time. Let''s open them slowly, one at a time."


    "Right..."


    The ss 3 kids sounded drained as they began to open each bathroom stall.


    "<em>Hmm. </em>Not here."


    <em>Creak.</em>


    The first stall they opened turned out empty.


    "Next."


    The next stall also didn''t have a zombie, but another problem appeared.


    <em>"Wo, wooooook!"</em>


    "Ah, shit... what the fuck is this?"


    It was an unflushed toilet by their chubby friend, Dae-Hyeok.


    "Damn, did a person do this?"


    "Flush the damn shit..."


    "Wait."


    Bubblegum suddenly stopped the kids.


    "... Why? Don’t you want to flush it?"


    "It seems like someone was just here?"


    "Oh... now that you mention it..."


    Bubblegum recalled that a team from ss 3 had headed this way.


    <em>''Could it be…?''</em>


    There was no guarantee that they were still here, but the reason why the zombies swarmed to this dark basement staircase seemed somehow rted.


    He slowly approached the bathroom entrance and tiptoed to see beyond the zombies.


    "Damn."


    Although covered in blood, familiar faces appeared among the swarming zombies.


    "... Uh, isn''t that Dae-Hyeok?"


    "Is that ss 3?"


    "Wow. It''s them. Dae-Hyeok and Yeon-Ji..."


    "Shh!"


    Dae-Hyeok was distinguishable even a hundred meters away by his size. He struggled to climb the stairs and appeared surprised to see ss 5. He probably felt shocked seeing ss 5 take over the bathroom.


    Bubblegum was also in shock because of the person on Dae-Hyeok’s back, who was clearly a heartthrob even from one hundred meters away.


    "Ah... Almond."


    It was Almond. BubbleGum squeezed his eyes, trying to make sense of it all.


    "Wait… so... ss 5 is turned away from us right now… They’re busy blocking the zombies... ss 3 is right in front... This is a perfect sandwich..."


    <em>Snap.</em>


    Bubblegum grabbed Oh Ji-Hoon''s shoulder.


    "Yo, Oh Ji-Hoon."


    "Yes, RoyalMan."


    "Call me Bubblegum from now on."


    "... Why?"


    "Because now’s the time for a cheerful rebellion."