15. Survivors
15. Survivors
I turned left.
A shopping arcade, littered with corpses.
In the distance.
Four men are visible.
Four men fighting against Mirrors.
"Aaaack! Aack!"
"Drag him in!"
"My arm! My arm! Gyaaaack!"
"Shut up and just get in here!"
The place they were fighting in was an empty snack bar.
The men were facing off against the Mirrors, using the snack bar's broken front door and something resembling a ruined desk as a barricade.
A young man with a chunk of flesh torn from his arm.
A middle-aged man struggling to hold the line with a table inside.
A young man rushing to help the middle-aged man, looking terrified.
A young man trying to help the injured man.
One middle-aged man, three young men.
Four in total.
There were six Mirrors. The bastards huddled together in front of the snack bar, silent, simply spewing tentacles from their mirrors, trying to snatch the men.
ㅡVwoong
ㅡBang!
ㅡBang!
ㅡBang!
ㅡKwaaang!
"Geuuuk!"
"Jin-woo! Drag Seong-min in! Dae-ho, help me out, keu-euk...!"
ㅡThud!
ㅡThud!
"Yes!"
"Aaaack!"
They had no firearms.
Two baseball bats, and two things that looked like modified mops.
And only two of them were actually fighting properly.
They were outnumbered, had an injured person, and were in an isolated location. Their fate was sealed.
'But, didn't they say Mirrors are stronger than Runners?'
It was a bit strange that two men were holding off six Mirrors.
Hmm. Should I save these people? Or not?
I can kill the six Mirrors even after those humans are dead.
'If there are four men, it probably isn't Mirae Middle School.'
According to what those two women said, that group moves with two men and four women without guns.
Then it's either Cheongju Elementary School or another group.
They aren't a group of looters. If they were remnants of the 37th Division, they would have guns. So that means they're survivors struggling to stay alive.
I am curious, though.
'If they're assholes, I can just kill them.'
It was the moment the desk used as a barricade was folded in half by a Mirror's tentacle.
I aimed my rifle.
ㅡBang!
The sound of gunfire rang out once again in the quiet underground shopping arcade.
#
The Mirrors died.
However, perhaps because of the gunshot, Mirrors came swarming from far away, clicking.
ㅡTadadak
ㅡTadadadadak
The Mirrors came running bizarrely, without making a sound from their mouths.
ㅡBang!
ㅡBang!
ㅡBang!
I aimed and took down the incoming bastards with single shots.
Considering the ones I missed, I used up an entire magazine.
'The looters really did a thorough job of clearing things out.'
===================================
Nexus Core : Metallokinesis lv.2[38/100]
===================================
Earlier, I had only caught 6, but I had already caught 13 just in front of this narrow snack bar.
'Is this a Mirror den?'
Especially since there were no Runners or Walkers here, I was able to fill up to 38 with just Mirrors.
'I'll level up soon.'
I'll probably be able to max it out if I go around the shops in this line.
"W-what is that? A gun?"
"Keu...eu...i-it hurts so much."
"First, let's look at Seong-min. His arm, do you think Eun-bin can heal this?"
"Uh, seeing as she healed that baby last time, I think it might work, but w-we need to stop the bleeding first."
"Give me the bandage. It won't tie if you do it like this."
"We need to go back right now, Mr. Jin-cheol."
As I was doing that, voices came from the snack bar in front. The voices of exhausted men.
I approached carefully, holding my rifle.
ㅡTak
ㅡTak
The men went quiet as they heard my footsteps.
"Ugh."
Only the painful groans of the injured man could be heard in the underground snack bar.
"Who's there?"
A tense middle-aged man's voice came from inside.
He must be around my dad's age.
"I shot to save you, but seeing as you talk like that, I guess I shouldn't have helped."
"...You're walking around? Here?"
A reaction of disbelief.
That makes sense.
"I have to find food."
I didn't mention superpowers or leveling up. These people might know, but just in case.
The middle-aged man spoke.
A polite voice, different from before.
"I apologize. Given the current situation..."
I guess he's not a shameless person.
I revealed myself, keeping some distance from them.
The men were wary of me.
I could also see them gripping their weapons tightly.
ㅡClick
"......"
"Gasp..."
The men were surprised to see the rifle.
And they looked at me, slightly tense.
One of the young men asked me.
"Are you... a soldier?"
He's polite.
Then I should be polite too.
"No. Besides, I'm not going to shoot, so don't worry too much."
I lowered my gun and shrugged.
"I have a few things I want to ask. That's okay, right?"
"...Yes. Sure."
"Ugh. Ugh."
The sound of painful groans rang out at that moment.
"You guys look like you're in big trouble. Let's talk while we walk."
#
Of course, the men didn't move right away.
There was an injured person, and they hadn't properly stopped the bleeding yet.
In the meantime, I exchanged names with the other men.
"I'm Kim Yu-seong."
"Oh, I'm Lee Jin-woo. This is Yoon Dae-ho. Kim Seong-min, and that gentleman is Mr. Park Cheol-jin."
Middle-aged man. Park Cheol-jin.
Injured man. Kim Seong-min.
The other two, Yoon Dae-ho and Lee Jin-woo.
"Phew, all done. Seong-min, are you okay?"
"Y-yes..."
"Still, I'm glad you didn't die. If you had been bitten on the neck or something, there would have been no answer."
The man put the first-aid kit into his bag.
As that happened, the man with the arm injury bowed his head to me.
"U-uh, thank you."
"Yeah. Well, we have to help each other to live."
I said something I didn't mean. I didn't know there were still people like this in a world like this.
As I was thinking that, Lee Jin-woo next to me asked.
"Uh, you said you weren't a soldier... then..."
"The gun?"
"Ah. Yes. Are you a reservist?"
"Yes."
I didn't bother saying more.
I just need to ask what I need to ask and get out.
"Come to think of it, you said you were going back earlier, where did you come from?"
Lee Jin-woo opened his mouth.
"Ah, we came from, uh, Cheongju Elementary School."
Cheongju Elementary School.
It's the radio broadcast I didn't hear.
Information I only vaguely heard from Han Min-woo.
"They mentioned it on the radio, right?"
"Ah, yes. I guess you heard that."
"So, they say they're going to rescue people."
"That's right. Still, there aren't many radios these days..."
I lied.
"I heard it here in the underground shopping arcade. But if it's a shelter, how many people are there?"
"Uh... it keeps growing, so I'm not sure. But I think there are at least 100 people."
I narrowed my eyes.
"Really? How do you stop the Infected..."
"We all have abilities too. I have the superpower to get stronger. And... Ack! Why, why are you doing that, Mr. Jin-cheol?"
"Don't talk too much."
"I told you, that's Jin-woo's problem."
"It's fine. I have a superpower too. The one that makes you stronger."
I lied again.
Then the middle-aged man, Park Cheol-jin, cut off the conversation.
"Ahem. Anyway, we all have those, uh, strange superpowers. And we are waiting for rescue."
"Why are you here if you're waiting for rescue?"
"...Well, there are a lot of people, you see. Food is a bit scarce. We come out through here and raid the small shops nearby."
I took a peek and saw the men's bags were packed full.
"Did you kill the Infected too?"
"Yes. There were only Walkers or Runners over there, but suddenly this guy appeared."
"It wouldn't have been a problem with our abilities, but suddenly..."
I see.
Abilities.
It seems they all have superpowers too.
"What about guns?"
"...Where would we get guns?"
"You said it was a gathering place for reservists. Cheongju Elementary School."
"The reservists couldn't come. To be precise, the reservists came, but... the soldiers couldn't."
Is that why they came this far?
"Then what about food? You said there are over 100 people there."
"There is food inside the elementary school. There's a week's worth of school lunches."
"Ah. And the people who gained superpowers bring it in?"
"Yes. That's right."
I paused here.
It wouldn't be good to ask too much.
"Yes. Then, Yu-seong-ssi, what's your superpower level?"
"2. It does go up when I catch these guys."
"That's right. It didn't go up with Walkers and Runners."
"Right. I wish it was a better ability. It's not that great. Muscle strength."
I lied again.
"That's how it is for most people."
"Right. It says aptitude 11 or something."
"Exactly."
People believe me when I recite Han Min-woo's information.
"Then, Yu-seong-ssi, where are you staying right now? It seems you're in a different neighborhood."
"I'm at a villa next to that, Eunha High School."
"Wasn't Eunha High School a shelter too?"
"It was, but..."
"Are there people there like at Cheongju Elementary?"
"There were."
"......"
"They're all dead."
"Ah... so... you're staying in a villa."
"Yes."
I cut him off.
"More than that, can you tell me about the rescue coming? Like, where and how is it coming?"
#
It seems they relaxed a bit as we talked.
Well, I was holding a gun, and I was the one who saved them. The middle-aged man Park Cheol-jin, who had been tense, was now at ease.
I listened to the explanation from the talkative Lee Jin-woo.
"You know that Amusement Park, right? They said the 32nd Division is sending a helicopter there."
"...The 32nd Division?"
It wouldn't be the 37th Division, obviously.
The 32nd Division.
Isn't that where the 37th Division was ordered to join up?
"Yes. It's 3 days from now, and they say they're sending several armored vehicles to Cheongju Elementary School. From there, we go to the Amusement Park to take the helicopter."
"That's right. The division commander contacted us directly and told us to load 12 people at a time. Into the trucks."
"......"
"Phew, it's tough, but if we just get rescued... we'll go back to how things were, right? A month was too long."
Lee Jin-woo rambling on.
"Who received that contact?"
"Eun-bin-ssi and... the situation room personnel and us..."
ㅡTak
Park Jin-cheol stopping Lee Jin-woo.
"Jin-woo."
"Ah, I'm sorry."
"Don't talk too much. I'm sorry, Yu-seong-ssi."
"No, it's only natural. I asked something strange."
I heard everything I needed to hear.
That person named Eun-bin.
Seeing as they mentioned healing earlier, she must be the healer.
"So, are you going back now?"
"Ah. Yes. We managed to get quite a bit of food here this time... I think we can last 3 days with this. If we eat sparingly."
I saw the bulging bags.
As I was doing that, Lee Jin-woo asked.
"Uh, wouldn't it be better to go together? You should get rescued."
"No."
I shook my head.
Then, I stood up.
"Uh-uh? Are you leaving?"
"I have to go back. I only came to talk. Also, I have this, so I don't think I'll get a good reception."
Eyes turning to the rifle.
The men seemed to understand.
"Wouldn't it be okay?"
Lee Jin-woo, the only one among them to ask back.
I shook my head.
"It's not just this, I also have people I'm living with. I can't abandon them."
"Ah..."
"I'll get going. Well, you said 3 days from now, so we'll try to go if we can. There will be soldiers there then, anyway."
"Ah, yes. Thank you for today."
"Yes."
"Don't die."
"Don't die, huh."
"You guys too."
I should check it out alone within 3 days.
Either Cheongju Elementary School, or that rescue.