The inside of Karmara Forum had become strangely peaceful now.
Outside, the end of the world was happening.
But inside…
The lights were still on.
The smell of coffee was coming from the food floor.
People were watching movies in the cinema section.
Some were cleaning.
Some were counting supplies.
And some were finally sleeping without fear for the first time.
And in the middle of all of this…
Karel was leaning against the glass ceiling on the upper floor, watching below.
There was an energy drink in his hand.
He was quiet.
Boran walked over beside him.
There was a bag of chips in his hand.
"Bro…" he said.
"The world's ending right now, but this is honestly the most relaxed I've ever felt in my life."
Karel smiled slightly.
"Your brain genuinely doesn't work."
"No seriously, man."
"There's electricity."
"The internet works sometimes."
"They're making burgers downstairs."
"There are no zombies."
"And on top of that, girls are here."
"I think I like the apocalypse."
At that exact moment, Riven arrived.
"The chips in your hand were mine, bastard."
"What is this, national property?"
"What do you mean yours?"
"I hid those."
"Bro, who respects hidden chips during the apocalypse?"
The moment Riven tried grabbing the bag, Boran ran.
"Don't touch it, idiot!"
"In the apocalypse, loot belongs to whoever finds it!"
The two of them started running around the hallway like children.
Even the people downstairs turned around to watch them.
Karel shook his head slowly.
"I'm really surviving the end of the world with these idiots…"
But he was smiling a little.
Because after a very long time…
for the first time, he was seeing an atmosphere like this.
People who could still act normal even in the middle of fear.
Then…
An alarm sound echoed.
Everyone instantly froze.
The smile on Karel's face disappeared immediately.
"It came from downstairs."
Riven instantly became serious.
"From the parking entrance?"
"No…"
"One of the outer doors."
Boran dropped the chips.
"Bro… is someone coming?"
Karel didn't answer at all and started walking.
The three of them went downstairs together.
When they reached the section with the heavy metal door…
Punching sounds were coming from outside.
Tak.
Tak.
TAK.
But it wasn't the sound of zombies hitting the door.
It was more controlled.
More human.
Some of the people inside started getting nervous.
"Is someone asking for help?"
"It could be survivors!"
"Should we open the door?"
Karel silenced everyone with his hand.
Silence filled the area.
Then…
A male voice came from outside the door.
"Whoever's inside…"
"Open the door."
"We're not alone."
Karel's eyes narrowed slightly.
We're not alone.
He never liked that sentence.
Because in this world…
Crowds usually meant trouble.
Boran slowly approached and whispered,
"What are we gonna do?"
Karel thought for a few seconds.
Then he spoke slowly.
"First, let's find out how many there are."
He stepped closer to the other side of the door and called out.
"How many are you?"
There was silence for a few seconds.
Then the answer came.
"Thirteen."
Riven raised an eyebrow.
"Thirteen?"
"How did that many people survive?"
Karel didn't answer.
But the feeling inside him…
was telling him something was wrong.
Because in real life…
It wasn't easy for that many people to survive together.
Especially with the outside world like this…
It was nearly impossible.
The man outside spoke again.
"There are children with us."
"And injured people."
"Open the door."
Some of the people inside couldn't take it anymore.
A woman stepped forward.
"We can't leave them outside…"
A man supported her too.
"If they're really human, we should help them."
Karel turned and looked at all of them.
His gaze was ice cold.
"In this world…"
"Not everything that looks human is human."
The place fell silent again.
Then Karel turned back toward the door.
"Do you have weapons?"
The man outside stayed silent for a few seconds.
"…Yes."
"How many?"
"Four."
When Karel heard that answer, he smiled slightly.
But that smile wasn't warm.
"An honest person."
"That's good."
Then he looked at Boran.
"Go upstairs."
"Take a sniper position."
"If the door opens, watch from above."
"Got it."
"Riven."
"Stand beside the door."
"If they make one wrong move, take them down immediately."
Riven spun his spear.
"I was already waiting for that."
The people inside were beginning to tense up.
Meanwhile, Karel slowly walked in front of the door.
He placed his hand on the metal surface.
And for the first time…
the expression on his face completely changed.
It turned cold.
Like death itself.
Because his instincts were screaming.
Behind this door…
there were no normal humans.