Chapter 71: Yu-wol
Chapter 71: Yu-wol
16. June
"Operation D. I'm circling behind it. Keep it occupied."
"Be careful. Ga-yeong, prepare your Shields."
We'd encountered another Giant Zombie.
Having fought one before, we decided to trip it in the same manner and finish it on the ground.
"Shield!"
Tatatat—thunk
"Pressurized!"
Whoosh—smack
So-ra timed her attack with my sprint and blasted into the back of the Giant Zombie's skull.
I leaped above it and finished the creature by crushing its head.
"Hoo... Good work. Is anyone injured?"
"Nobody!"
This Giant Zombie hadn't come alone. Ordinary Zombies accompanied it.
By then, though, everyone could handle several zombies competently.
Once the Giant Zombie fell, we eliminated the remaining zombies without suffering a scratch.
"Let's head back."
"Tae-sik, you're inspecting the elementary school tomorrow, right?"
"We have to. We can't postpone it forever."
Zone C was almost completely cleared. Only the elementary school and neighboring middle school remained.
We had deliberately left them until the end, but now they needed to be cleared before we advanced into the next zone.
Woof, woof, woof.
Awoooooo.
"Feral Dog Pack approaching. Seven o'clock, forty meters. Approximately fifteen dogs. Moving fast."
We were returning home.
We had reached the midpoint of the four-lane road from which our apartment complex became visible.
Barking erupted behind us, and Su-jin immediately opened her eyes and delivered the warning.
"Forward. Get to Bunker Two."
We dropped the scavenged supplies and sprinted toward the bunker.
The pounding of paws and the pack's howls closed rapidly from behind.
Until then, the Feral Dog Pack had never attacked us.
Even when we spotted one another at the edge of sight, both sides had passed without reacting.
"Take positions and prepare to fight."
I issued the order, but in truth, I had no idea how we should fight them.
We'd never faced aggressive animals before.
Woof, woof, woof.
"Seventeen? Was the pack always this large?"
Seon-yeong spoke quietly.
The dogs surrounded the bunker.
Grrrrr...
The Alpha Dog stepped slightly ahead of the others and locked eyes with me.
It resembled a yellowish Korean mongrel, but bared its teeth with a savage expression.
Unlike an ordinary dog, its body was roughly the size of a large motorcycle.
"What do we do?"
"Shh... Don't panic."
The pack didn't charge immediately, and a tense standoff began.
The sheer size of the animals visibly frightened Seon-yeong and the others.
I had no brilliant plan, but showing weakness seemed dangerous.
Thud.
Holding my baseball bat in my left hand and a stone in my right, I climbed onto the hood of a car.
I squared my shoulders and raised the stone, ready to throw.
"If you intend to attack, then come."
The Alpha Dog probably could not understand my words, but I spoke in a low voice filled with fighting intent.
Woof, woof.
The Alpha Dog stared a moment longer, then began backing away slowly.
The encirclement dissolved. After putting some distance between us, the pack ran toward Zone C and disappeared.
"Hoo... Those things are terrifying. Why did they suddenly come after us?"
"They may be running short of food."
"We can discuss it later. Gather the supplies and let's return quickly."
The Feral Dog Pack appeared to have established territory near the neighborhood park.
Based on its patrol range and the direction in which it disappeared whenever we saw it, I had previously guessed that its den lay somewhere nearby.
As Eun-mi suggested, perhaps food had become scarce enough that the dogs were beginning to target people.
Or they might have been expanding their territory.
There was no way to know yet.
They might return, so we hurried home.
Thud.
"Good work. Get inside quickly."
Repeated reinforcement had raised the apartment-entrance barricade to three meters.
We still lacked a proper gate, so entering and leaving required physical effort every time.
I vaulted over first, shifted several pieces of furniture from inside to open a passage, and then helped the women enter.
"A gate would make this much easier. Do we have to repeat the whole process every time?"
"You're the one doing almost all the work each time."
"This is nothing. Go upstairs first."
The section used as an entrance consisted of wardrobes, beds, and similar furniture. Once moved aside, it left enough space for even the Bungeoppang Cart.
After everyone entered, we closed the passage again.
Finally, we threaded a steel pipe through the furniture and fixed it in place as a lock.
"Raid Leader! I acquired a new Sub-trait. Do you have time to discuss it today?"
"Whoa, congrats, Su-jin!"
"Congratulations. We'll review it before the afternoon schedule begins."
"Yes, thank you! Thanks, So-ra!"
I had been smoking with So-ra when Su-jin approached for advice.
The women who had joined us were accumulating Available Points, and one after another, they began acquiring Sub-traits.
Before investing any points, each of them consulted me about the proper allocation.
At first, I tried to understand every detail of each woman's Ability. The more I learned, though, the harder it became to track, and I considered keeping written records.
Once I began scavenging beside them, I realized that writing everything down was unnecessary. Somehow, I retained it all.
I didn't know when it began, but everyone now consulted me about her Ability.
They asked how to use it, how many points to save, how much to invest in each Sub-trait, and what strengths or weaknesses it possessed.
They reported even the smallest details.
In truth, even Ye-jin's Information Display couldn't reveal my own Ability with complete accuracy...
In this world, explaining one's Ability was almost like exposing every hidden part of oneself.
Realizing how heavily they relied on me made the burden on my shoulders grow each day.
"It's hot. Should we go upstairs too?"
So-ra waited beside me, wiping sweat from her face.
Body Enhancement II kept the heat from becoming dangerous, but I still felt it and hurried indoors.
#
"So? What does it mean?"
"Raid Leader... I can now move the map instead of keeping its center fixed on myself."
While lunch was being prepared, Su-jin and I stepped aside to examine her new Sub-trait.
"Previously, whenever I invested points in Range, the scan radius expanded outward from my position, right?"
"Right. Your radius is about fifty meters now, isn't it?"
"Yes. Now I can move the center of the map while my body remains still."
"Seriously? Then you can scout remotely."
Su-jin explained that the new Sub-trait was called Movement.
It sounded almost game-breaking. With only an act of will, she could safely explore the surrounding world.
As her Available Points increased, Mapping would cover a wider area and Movement would let her send the map's center farther away.
Yet increasing Available Points ultimately required killing zombies, so she couldn't simply use Mapping to avoid danger forever.
The contradiction was almost amusing.
"I hoped the sensory restriction would disappear. When you said Movement, I thought it might let your body move while the Ability was active."
"Hehe... Right? The system always chooses confusing names."
"Even so, it's an extraordinary Sub-trait for field work. You can scout ahead of us."
"Exactly. Should I prioritize Movement, then?"
"Yes. Raise Movement first. As usual, invest in five-point increments until the efficiency begins dropping."
"Yep! Thank you!"
By the time we finished planning her point investment and returned, lunch was almost ready.
"Su-jin! I heard you got a new Sub-trait. Congratulations!"
"Thanks, Ga-yeong. I think I can contribute more now. I always felt sorry for sitting alone every day."
"Why would you feel sorry? Your Ability is incredibly important. And whenever you use it, all your senses disappear and you're left alone staring at that map. That must be frightening."
Ga-yeong and Su-jin had become nearly inseparable.
I watched them chat and took my seat at the table.
"Thank you for the meal!"
Kongguksu—noodles in a broth made from beans we had ground ourselves—filled the bowls.
Sliced cucumber topped the noodles, with several large pieces of ice floating in the broth.
We lacked garnishes such as eggs, but the beans alone provided substantial nutrition.
"Sugar? Salt?"
"Yeah, salt for me."
I added some of the salt Seon-yeong handed me and seasoned the broth.
Slurp.
I drank the rich soybean broth first.
I'd always loved kongguksu, and eating it cold after struggling in the heat made it even better.
"Mmph... Tae-sik, what are we going to do about the Feral Dog Pack?"
"I haven't decided. Let's discuss it at tonight's meeting."
"All right. Everyone should think about possible responses too."
"Sure, but some of them looked like former pets."
"Right? Did you see the Shih Tzu? It looked cute from a distance, but up close it was enormous."
We called them feral dogs, but most had probably once been household pets.
Their origins did not matter. They had become a direct threat to our movement, and we needed a response.
They were fast enough that escaping from a head-on encounter would be difficult.
Could I outrun them at full speed?
"One more thing. Starting this afternoon, we'll inspect the electrical rooms building by building. Eun-mi and Ye-jin will accompany me, so be ready. We'll use the original apartment-guard rotation only in the evenings."
I had no idea when the electricity would fail.
While the internet still functioned, I searched for an answer but found nothing definite.
There were too many variables, and every source gave a different estimate.
Fortunately, the apartment complex had emergency generators, which I intended to inspect.
By combining Disassembly with Information Display, we might learn enough to prepare.
"Tae-sik, are we truly safe simply because we're inside the complex? What if those dogs come here?"
"Hoo... That's another concern. Would they really see us as attractive enough prey to track us all the way home?"
"Who knows? We still need a contingency plan."
"Raid Leader, should I accompany you as well? If I keep Mapping active..."
"How many uses do you have left? Can you maintain it continuously? That would place a severe strain on you."
"I can endure it. And with Movement, if I detect them early while I'm beside you, we should at least have time to prepare."
Would bringing Su-jin be safer?
If the situation became desperate, I could probably seize two women and flee.
I simulated several possible encounters in my head.
Without knowing the dogs' actual capabilities, determining the optimal choice was difficult.
As always, I had to choose the best survival strategy available from incomplete information.
One faulty assumption or decision could cost lives.
It was no longer only my life at stake. Every member of the Raid Party depended on my decisions.
The responsibility weighed on my shoulders, but the choice still had to be made.
When a decision became this difficult, I had one final method.
Trust my instincts.
Nothing was certain anyway.
Since the Zombie Outbreak, whether because of my Abilities or some other change, my instincts had become dramatically sharper.
I had already begun relying on those feelings heavily.
I pictured the encounter.
I had clearly seen the Feral Dog Pack lunging toward us earlier.
Could I outrun them while carrying two women?