The Age of Chaos
The city was dark.
With power output drastically reduced, it looked as though they had shut off every streetlight in an effort to minimize consumption.
On top of that, houses with their lights on were rare, so there was no way the streets could have looked bright.
Most people had also flocked to Gimpo Airport.
The Dark Cover could arrive at any time, and in order to avoid it, tens of thousands—sometimes even hundreds of thousands—of people were said to gather at the airport every day.
I’d like to get them somewhere more comfortable, but...
He had briefly considered finding better housing just for Jeyca’s parents.
But he had no choice but to dismiss the thought at once.
When the Dark Cover came, it would overwrite whatever location they happened to be in. And if an Infector happened to be passing through there at the time, then what?
They’d die the instant they met.
I don’t have the manpower to post bodyguards either.
For that reason, Jeyca’s parents were living in the temporary residential area at Gimpo Airport, packed in among the masses.
There were millions of civilians gathered at the airport, and as a result, controlling them was apparently proving to be a considerable challenge.
Even with police and soldiers deployed under the promise that they would be treated well after the Dark Cover, it was still the same.
When the number of people swarming in was several times greater than the number of people trying to hold the line, it couldn’t be helped.
Still, the bunker was too small to accept everyone.
Resources were limited, and so was space, which meant they had no choice but to turn people away.
Choi Hyun-seok is probably handling it well through Congressman Lim Tae-oh.
Even so, he couldn’t stop worrying.
The bunker was, to Yoo Sung-jun, little different from a second home.
He had no desire to see a place like that thrown into confusion because of civilians.
Even less did he want to waste time and energy dealing with incidents and accidents caused by them.
And if his comrades—if he himself—ended up getting hurt because of it?
Then I don’t think I’d be able to take that.
National reconstruction could only go smoothly if they accepted people at a controllable level.
Was building a nation really going to proceed smoothly just because they took in everyone indiscriminately? Absolutely not.
I’ve got a feeling something big is going to blow up soon.
People were already accustomed to the conveniences of civilization; if they could enjoy them again, they would stop at nothing.
And if that civilization could only be regained in one way, how would people act?
They would make it happen somehow. No matter what.
They would force their way into Gimpo Airport, into the bunker.
Even if they had to kill their competitors to do it.
Still...
Yoo Sung-jun pursed his lips, watching the occasional military vehicle roll through the empty street.
It had been a very long time since he’d driven around in the streets of the real world like this.
He could prepare for missions at home by eating the food he’d stockpiled, so there was rarely any reason to go out, which made this feel even more unfamiliar.
And so, seeing the outside world directly instead of only through a window now and then felt strangely new.
Near Hwagok Station, there wasn’t a single light to be seen, just like any ordinary city.
Maybe that was why the stars above seemed brighter than usual.
The little fragments of everyday life he could never see when he was only charging straight ahead.
For some reason, this moment felt peaceful.
When would he ever get to feel this kind of peace again?
Thanks to Jeyca, I’m even getting to savor a feeling like this. Not bad.
He had been about to hum a song, but he couldn’t.
Because a group of soldiers was blocking his way.
They were waving red signal batons as they directed the cars.
Yoo Sung-jun did as they asked.
If he just played along, showed them his ID, and moved on, that would be enough.
Knock, knock. As they approached, they rapped on the window.
He lowered it and saluted them.
"Thanks for your work. Has something happened?"
"At ease. Are you perhaps on your way to Gimpo Airport?"
"Yes. Has something gone wrong there?"
"There are several problems. People have been vandalizing cars, stealing, and even committing assaults along the roads, so be careful."
"Sounds like control is getting difficult."
"There are simply more and more people flooding in... so that’s how it’s turned out. Even the protests inside the temporary residential area at Gimpo Airport are hard to control, so please be careful."
"Protests?"
That was the first he’d heard of it.
It was obvious it would escalate into something violent, so why hadn’t Jeyca said anything?
There must have been protests even while she was staying with her parents. She never let it show.
Could it be that the protests had only started today?
He asked just in case, and the soldier answered that no, that wasn’t so.
"It’s been a while. They’re demanding guarantees for the people’s right to safety, and they’ve been moving under the lead of one protest group head for about two weeks now."
"Then wouldn’t it be solved if you just arrested the leader?"
The soldier glanced behind him for a moment.
He was checking whether another vehicle was coming up behind Yoo Sung-jun.
After confirming that no one was approaching, he continued.
"Apparently they’re hiding the group head cleverly and moving around that way, so arresting him is difficult. The higher-ups must be tearing their hair out over it."
So that was how it was.
Yoo Sung-jun studied the soldier’s rank as he spoke around the military authorities’ incompetence.
Staff sergeant. The highest rank among the soldiers here.
If I keep my mouth shut, no one’s going to spread rumors that I said something I shouldn’t have.
That must be why he’d spoken that way.
"Ah, I’ve rambled on too much. Could I see your ID? If everything checks out, I’ll let you through right away."
"Here."
He handed it over without a word and took out his phone.
Loki. Sync my in-ear piece with my smartphone.
Yes, I’ll connect it right away. ^_^
He was planning to call Jeyca.
When he powered the phone on, he found a long text from Chef.
Since he had requested a full-course meal, the ingredients and tools required for it had been considerable.
And at the end of the message, Chef had added a note of concern.
The VIP residential district was a small area Choi Hyun-seok had set aside.
It was the section where clan members’ families, officials involved in national reconstruction, and other core personnel were granted at least a somewhat comfortable living space.
That was where Jeyca and her parents were living.
And people were dissatisfied with that area?
This is the first I’m hearing of all this.
That probably just meant he had been too indifferent to the incidents unfolding in the real world.
Yoo Sung-jun sent Chef a quick reply saying it was fine, then called Jeyca. But she didn’t answer.
A vague sense of unease began to rise in him.
Yoo Sung-jun looked at the soldier still checking his identity.
The verification was taking too long. Irritation was beginning to build.
He forced it down and waited a little longer.
Fortunately, the ID check seemed to finish in that brief span.
"Atten-tion! Standeeer!"
And quite loudly, too.
As Yoo Sung-jun frowned and glared at the staff sergeant, the man shouted,
"We’re in the presence of the bunker’s overall commander!"
Overall commander? For something like this, rather than tilting his head, it’d be faster to just call Choi Hyun-seok.
While the call was going through to Choi Hyun-seok, Yoo Sung-jun took back the ID the staff sergeant had handed over so politely.
He’d accepted it with only his index and middle fingers before, but now that he knew who he was, he was offering it back with both hands, carefully.
Yoo Sung-jun’s tightly furrowed brow showed no signs of loosening.
"Thanks for your work."
He greeted him in a voice as cold as the weather, then pressed the accelerator.
Fortunately, Choi Hyun-seok picked up in time.
There was a strangely urgent note in his voice as it struck Yoo Sung-jun’s ear.
"Where are you right now?"
"Let me ask you first. Overall commander of the bunker? Why the hell did you put me in a ridiculous position like that?"
"Huh? Ahh, so the soldiers’ ID check exposed it. It’s nothing. You’re not exactly someone who belongs among ordinary civilians, are you? So I just gave you some ghost title. You’re basically in the same position as me."
"Don’t even think about dumping work on me. I’m absolutely not doing it."
"Yeah, yeah, got it. But where are you? On your way to the airport?"
"Still en route. What happened? Why are you so hurried?"
"Hey, there’s a protest at the airport right now. That’s why I’m asking in a panic. Haa... good thing you haven’t arrived yet. For now, cancel the dinner appointment and get Jeyca and her parents out first. They’ve gone into JZ now, so things should calm down by tomorrow."
The more you tried to accept everyone, the more trouble was bound to follow.
He rubbed his forehead and let out a sigh.
"I’ll cancel it for now. But I still need to go to the airport. Jeyca isn’t answering her phone."
"What? Then you’re planning to take Jeyca and her parents and hide out with them?"
"I’ll see when I get there. I’m hanging up."
"Hey, wait! Just in case, don’t lay a hand on the civilians. If rumors start spreading that a user affiliated with the bunker assaulted people, it’ll only fuel the anger—!"
Yoo Sung-jun cut the call off irritably.
Jeyca not answering the phone made him uneasy.
It infuriated him to think people were protesting over some supposed right of theirs.
And the thought that they might have hurt his people...
That made him angry.
He had just started to enjoy a little peace, too.
"This damn world really knows how to go to hell."
The hand gripping the steering wheel tightened.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Unlike the dark city, Gimpo Airport was bright.
Fences had been installed around the runway and the military police were surely supposed to be all over the place, watching carefully in case the civilians slipped out of control—
but that was no longer the case.
"It’s a total mess."
The traffic was so bad he had left the car several kilometers away and run the rest of the way.
Yoo Sung-jun grimaced as he took in the scene before him.
Burning tents, people sprawled all over the place like trash.
This wasn’t a protest. It was a riot.
Yoo Sung-jun picked up a cardboard sheet lying on the ground.
Red letters, scrawled messily in a marker, caught his eye.
What the hell do you mean by breeding pens and detention camps in the 21st century! The government must guarantee at least the minimum living conditions!
Among the crowd waiting for entry, Yoo Sung-jun dropped the sheet back down.
He could roughly picture the situation in his head.
So that’s how it is.
Even with advance preparation, the land and supplies were nowhere near enough to accommodate so many people.
So they must have had no choice but to cut the ration amounts and the designated living space down to an extreme degree.
The discrimination between the VIP district and the ordinary district, the constantly hungry and thirsty rations, the suffocating living conditions, and finally the extreme terror of never knowing when an Infector might appear.
All of it had piled up until people could no longer take it and burst.
And they had no idea that this was the “safe” place where they were waiting for the Dark Cover at the cost of all sorts of sacrifices.
"Bastards."
Yoo Sung-jun turned his smart watch.
In an instant, the Omega Suit wrapped around his body, and the people nearby began to murmur.
"Hey, look at that. Is that the Omega Suit?"
"Yeah, it is. Wow... this is the first time I’ve seen it this close in person. Did he come to help put down the riot?"
Ignoring their words, he pushed forward.
If anyone blocked his way, he shoved them aside and kept moving.
Even when they spat out complaints and curses, he didn’t stop.
"Stop! Identify yourself!"
When a soldier blocked him at the entrance to the temporary residential area, Yoo Sung-jun held out his ID.
It was the ghost title Choi Hyun-seok had shoved on him without asking.
Still, the position seemed solid enough, so he intended to make use of it properly.
"Attention! It’s the bunker’s overall commander! Open the gate!"
At the staff sergeant’s shout as he slammed on the fence, the entrance that had been opening at a disgustingly slow pace suddenly swung wide with unprecedented speed.
Ignoring their salutes, Yoo Sung-jun stepped inside the temporary residential area and looked around.
They had sealed off every entrance in case the rioters managed to escape.
Because of that, the people who hadn’t managed to get out in time were now being swept up in the aftermath.
"Waaah! Noona! Open your eyes! Noona!"
A child was crying as he clutched a girl who looked to be in middle school.
Blood soaked the girl’s head.
Yoo Sung-jun opened the pouch at his waist and took out a healing foam spray.
He didn’t have time to treat her properly or assess her condition.
He shoved it into the crying child’s hands and said flatly, as if tossing it away.
"Spray it on the wound. It’ll heal it."
The child stopped crying when the rainbow glow of the Omega Suit illuminated him.
He stared at Yoo Sung-jun in a daze, hiccupping.
"H-Hey, mister, who are you?"
What was the easiest word he could use to describe himself in a way this kid would understand?
Right. Yoo Sung-jun smiled faintly.
"The owner of this land."
He had personally wiped out the Muaz that had occupied this place in the first place.
Thinking it wasn’t wrong, he roughened up the child’s hair once and stood.
Then a deafening blast rang out.
Kwaaaang!
It had come from the VIP residential district.
The place where Jeyca and her parents were living.
Yoo Sung-jun drew on his breathing and hurled himself in that direction.