Chapter 22: Backstab Crisis (III)

The hidden ending of Bio Crisis had never been seen before, so the chat window was filled with excitement and anticipation.

–Wow! First-time reveal!

–Has there ever been anything NOT first-time revealed? LOL

–Agreed.

As the screen brightened, it became flooded with question marks and laughter emojis due to John holding a rocket launcher in the cutscene.

“To avoid any confusion, let me clarify that finding the rocket launcher is indeed correct. I just…did something extra.”

Lee Kyungbok’s explanation only made viewers laugh harder.

–Just (only Purple can do it)

–Work hard on your Purple homework LOL

–Watch out for spoilers ^^

–Ah-ha. You need a ro.cket.launch.er?

–I thought you said there wasn’t one?

–There clearly was one, right?

Meanwhile, John set down the rocket launcher and rushed to Sandra, who lay collapsed on the ground. Her body bore injuries consistent with being caught in an explosion.

“Sandra, are you okay?”

“I’m fi—ugh…ne.” Her face clearly showed she was enduring pain.

Naturally, viewers expressed their dissatisfaction.

Liar;;

This is kinda messed up…

Anyone watching would think it’s Purple’s mistake.

LOL LOL LOL Suddenly woke up to reality

Fortunately, the audience’s attention quickly shifted elsewhere as a loud roar echoed from below. The monstrous bio weapon had begun climbing the wall while zombies swarmed toward the building.

-Wasn’t that supposed to be the end?

-Are there more coming?!

-Backstabbing crisis unfolding;;;!

-Let John and Sandra have some happiness already!

John hurriedly helped Sandra to her feet.

“How could this be…?”

“We need to request rescue again first.”

He laid Sandra down on the couch and urgently tried contacting the army.

“We’re glad you’re safe. We’ll send out a rescue team right away, so please wait.”

“How long will it take? Zombies are swarming toward us now.”

“We’ll get there as fast as we can.”

John gritted his teeth. Hurrying them wouldn’t change anything.

“…Understood.”

With a complicated expression on his face, John’s vision faded to black.

-It doesn’t look like they’ll make it in time.

-Seriously, this overused cliché is getting old.

-Why don’t they just arrive already?!

-They’re gonna save them, though, right?

-Of course…

Despite trying to appear nonchalant, the chat was filled with worried messages. The scene changed once more.

John and Sandra were back atop the helipad, but things didn’t seem promising. John was holding off the bio weapons climbing up from below by firing at the guardrail, but their numbers were overwhelming.

“Sandra!”

“John…! We’re almost out of ammo…!”

He whipped around to see Sandra’s desperate face. But that wasn’t all. The thumping noise drew his attention toward the barricaded entrance to the rooftop.

“Oh no…”

It was clear zombies had breached the building and were now closing in on them. Surrounded with dwindling ammunition, they felt helpless.

Lame! Seriously, how cliché can you get?!

-The protagonists dying just to subvert expectations? Right?!

-Just let them escape already! I feel sick!

-Crap game or great game? Crap game or great game? Crap game! Great game?!

-They need to fire whoever approved this storyline

–If they keep getting blindsided, shouldn’t they also expect frontal attacks?

The chat window trembled with anxiety.

The noise and screams coming from below grew louder. John’s and Sandra’s expressions turned grim.

“John…”

At that moment, Sandra handed her last magazine to him. He swiftly reloaded his gun, but what she truly intended wasn’t shooting zombies.

“I don’t want you to see me transformed into a monster.”

Sandra grabbed the muzzle of the gun and pointed it at her forehead.

-Ah, please…

-Sandra, no! Why?!

-Crying? Am I really crying?

-I failed. Failed. Failed. Failed.

John’s reaction mirrored that of many viewers, but Sandra spoke before he could.

“I’ve already heard it all. Before you arrived, Jessica told me…”

“What did she say?”

“She said even if I escaped from here, there was no guarantee I wouldn’t mutate…because I had been with you…”

Her words seemed to imply blame toward John, yet…

“But for even a moment,” Sandra smiled as she looked at him, “I never regretted being with you.”

The close-up shot captured her tear-filled eyes contrasting sharply with her smile. Naturally, the chat exploded.

-Sandra punch! Sandra punch!

-Stop the death flag! Stop the death flag! Stop the death flag!

-Please save our Sandra ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ---

-How much?! How much will it take to change this ending?!

-I-I’m gonna be a dog now! Woof woof!!

However, their pleas fell on deaf ears. John inserted his trembling finger onto the trigger.

“Thank you.”

Sandra closed her eyes. The gunshot rang out as her view tilted upward toward the sky.

Time seemed to stand still, freezing the chat window momentarily. But soon, the camera angle shifted downward, revealing the falling bio weapon with a hole in its head.

“Sandra…! Look!”

Hope returned to John’s face. There was then a close-up of Sandra’s body, and her wounds slowly began healing—just like John’s earlier.

-Wowwwwwwwwww!

-Looks like Sandra’s back!

-It worked with both the elixir and synergy factor! Hehehehehe

-Oh hehe, I knew this would happen…or not.

-Hehe, enough with these dramatics already (picking up dropped heart).

-Adorable noobs! Hehehehehee

But their relief was short-lived. With a loud crash, the barricade finally gave way, allowing zombies to pour through.

-Dammit! Can’t ever relax here, huh? Hehe

-I guess we’re screwed again (setting down the recovered heart).

-Seriously, why’d you put it down? Hehe

-At least they’ll live longer thanks to the elixir, right?

John and Sandra hastily began firing, but it seemed impossible to stem the tide of zombies flooding toward them.

Just then…

They heard the buzzing sound of wings above them. The two looked up as something unexpected caught their attention.

Someone leaped from a drone flying overhead and landed with a heavy thud. Fully equipped with protective gear and a helmet, he immediately started mowing down zombies.

“Huh?”

“Looks like there’s still hope.”

“Ha-ha-ha, finally some relief!”

“But he doesn’t seem to be part of the military?”

“Or Lifenem?”

“Who could it be?”

As viewers puzzled over his identity, the scene continued unfolding on their screens.

“Are you okay?!”

“We’re fine!” John urgently replied.

The newcomer nodded, tossed a grenade, then ducked as it exploded, sending zombies flying everywhere. Amidst the chaos, he quickly fired flares toward the sky.

Soon after, a helicopter descended, but it wasn’t a military one.

“I’ll cover you, so hurry up!” he yelled as soon as the ladder was lowered.

John sent Sandra up first and followed right behind her. Even though bio weapons had joined the fray along with regular zombies, they were no match for their savior. He adeptly dealt with the threats while keeping hold of the ladder. As soon as everyone was on board, the helicopter began its ascent.

“Thank you for saving us!”

“My pleasure. By the way…who are you?” Sandra remained cautious.

The man sitting across from them took off his helmet.

R-R-R-Ryan Kim?!

W-W-W-W-W-W-W

OMG, I’m thrilled to see him again!

A-A-Ah, totally unexpected!

As soon as his identity was revealed, the chat window exploded with excitement. Lee Kyungbok knew something like this might happen.

“I’m Ryan Kim. I used to be a police officer but…now I’m doing this kind of work.”

-God game! God game! God game! God game!

-Ryan appeared here ᄏᄏᄏ

-Info: Ryan Kim is the protagonist of Bark on console version.

-Cheers for the great treatment ᄏᄏᄏᄏ

Seeing the continuous chat, Lee Kyungbok immediately understood the situation.

“I have much to tell you both, but…it would be better if you rest now,” Ryan said, and John and Sandra nodded. Soon after, they firmly grasped each other’s hands.

The view widened, revealing the cityscape. The scene ended with the helicopter flying away from the zombie-infested city as the screen gradually faded to black.

[Chapter 5. ‘EXIT’ End]

The end credits rolled, followed by the Bio Crisis logo.

—Wow, I feel so high right now!

—LOL, that was epic

—Did you get it? Did you get it? Did you get it? Did you get it?

—That can’t be real LOL

Viewers were ecstatic.

Lee Kyungbok’s contentment turned to surprise as the screen brightened again.

“Huh? There’s more?”

It wasn’t over yet. His comment filled the chat with question marks.

“Is this an Easter egg clip? Seems like some time has passed already. Let’s keep watching.”

A military helicopter arrived at the rooftop of Lifenem Corp., reduced to ruins.

“All clear.”

“All clear!”

Escorted by soldiers, a man disembarked and headed straight for the director’s office.

Inside, chaos reigned. The soldiers quickly checked for safety and began tidying up. Meanwhile, the man gazed at a torn photograph of the director before speaking.

“So, Jessica ultimately failed?”

This revelation prompted countless question marks to flood the chat.

-WTF???

-LOL? No way?!

-Jessica wasn’t related to the director’s family LMAO

“Wow… Looks like Jessica was the director herself.”

Lee Kyungbok’s comment triggered another flurry of messages.

-Yeah, she tricked us till the end LOL

-She maintained her youth with that elixir.

-The Cica Clan is in mourning LOL

-I should’ve jumped on the Honey Bandwagon when it started LOL

-I thought Cica Coins were worthless, but turns out they were a scam LOL

Meanwhile, the soldiers completed their tasks. The man turned around and powered on a computer. Lee Kyungbok had been unable to open the encrypted files, but this newcomer effortlessly accessed them for inspection.

Soon, the monitor displayed various graphs, numbers, and images depicting cell mutations.

[Project Eternal.]

The man smiled as he read the title at the top of the document. He and his soldiers gathered all the materials before exiting the director’s office, the screen fading to black.

[Thank You for Playing!]

A message appeared confirming that it was indeed over.

–Oh…looks like there’s more to come.

–Ha…it really ended.

–There seems to have been a mole within the army?

–I bet the next one will be even bigger in scale.

–Wow, finally everything is revealed!

–Loved it! LOLLL

–Glad it had a happy ending…

Viewers finally accepted the end of the broadcast with relief.

“Wow…the sequel should be amazing.” Lee Kyungbok chimed in, genuinely excited after enjoying this bio-crisis stream so much.

–Ah, haha! I wanna see Purple toy with the military.

–With those physical abilities, anything would be entertaining, lol

—Just take down Overlord too~

[‘Promise?’ has sponsored you 10,000 won.]

[Hyung! You did Bark twice! I recorded it.]

[‘Thank you’ has sponsored you 5,000 won.]

[Hyung! Thanks for being awesome! This is all I can afford as a student.]

[‘ThisResonatesWithMe’ has sponsored you 30,000 won.]

[“I don’t regret spending this time with you.”]

Sponsorships poured in like a tidal wave. It seemed Choi Byunghoon had reopened donations again.

“Thank you for your support. I genuinely enjoyed myself. It’s great to play such wonderful games with everyone here.”

-LMAO, it’s late-night gaming time!

-LOL, no regrets here.

-Haha, tomorrow can be tiring for future me!

-The date has changed, but it’s still today! LOLLL

-I’ll keep watching your live broadcasts going forward!

Although Lee Kyungbok felt tired from staying up so late,

This is what makes broadcasting worthwhile.

The genuine reactions of his viewers filled him with happiness.

“Well then, thank you all for joining me tonight. I’ll see you next stream!”

-Bro! Great job!

-TTYL~

-Cya~

-Miss u already

-You’re always amazing, and tonight was no exception!

Lee Kyungbok wore his usual big smile as he said:

“Have a good night, TTYL!”