17. The End of Hope
17. The End of Hope
Well, it was just a school with high walls.
The unique thing was that people were stationed at the rooftop, the main gate, and the back gate, along with fairly high barricades.
'They set up surveillance and night watches.'
A smart move. It's only natural for a group, anyway.
Eunha-go, well, they had unusually few people, so it couldn't be helped.
However, these guys didn't seem like the reckless types like Eunha-go.
'At the back gate, there's a middle-aged... no, someone old enough to be called an elderly person. At the main gate, a woman. On the rooftop, an ajumma.'
One man, one woman, standing guard in a balanced way. It seemed like they were completely blocking movement between the outside and the inside.
'...Everyone's expressions look good.'
Since they said rescue was coming today, it's understandable that their expressions are good.
Of course, they didn't look that great.
Everyone's faces were weary.
Plus, they looked full of tension.
I can see one woman coughing continuously because of the cold.
The man next to her is trying to stop her.
Well, coughing is loud, after all.
I turned my eyes away.
Beyond the main gate barricade.
In the playground between the main buildings, there were people who had packed their bags and come out.
It means the news that rescue is coming is certain.
I could see people moving inside the school, too; it seems the inside is chaotic because of the rescue.
'.......'
Rescue, huh.
Where and how would they come?
I wondered, but it wasn't entirely impossible.
There's a long road below the school, a 4-lane road.
If you go down one block below that, you could see a long 8-lane road.
If this were Seoul, the roads would be a total mess, but apart from a few vehicles that had stopped and been wrecked, there was nothing. At this rate, the rescue vehicles could definitely make it.
Since it's Cheongju City, where the floating population is relatively low, and the incident broke out around 4 o'clock, which is an ambiguous time and not rush hour, that's probably why the road is clear.
If you follow the road here, you pass a tunnel and hit the highway.
You could go the other way, too, though.
'Is that IN Mart?'
The Green Fresh Market to the north.
And IN Mart, slightly far from Cheongju Elementary School.
Seeing the human shadows swarming in the distance, that area is crawling with Infected, so I don't think they'll come that way...
The path is also rough.
I just took note of it for now.
If the military comes, they might just wipe everything out and come through.
I opened my watch.
It was just a little before 10:30.
I thought it would be good to wait inside this apartment until the rescue came.
ㅡClick
Since I'd see the lights or hear the sound if vehicles were moving anyway, I searched the house.
'A 4-person household?'
A happy family photo.
Dad, mom, son, daughter.
A textbook 4-person family.
Were the children in their mid-20s?
They were wearing suits in the picture.
'People who just entered society.'
They're similar to me.
'......'
It seemed like they tried to evacuate quickly.
Or maybe they went out and couldn't come back.
Maybe because it was a 4-person household.
There was quite a lot of food inside.
'Most of the refrigerated stuff is probably inedible.'
However, I felt like I could survive for months just by looting apartments for frozen food.
I could probably eat for months just on the rice or the kimchi in the kimchi refrigerator.
'......'
There's a reason why the guys from Eunha-go looted the apartments.
ㅡWhirrr
Since electricity and water were still working, I heated up a few frozen foods and ate them.
There were also new toothbrushes and toothpaste in the drawer, so I packed those into my bag, too.
There were some pretty good kitchen knives, so I took those as well.
I thought I could just pick a day and loot the apartments later.
Of course, I wouldn't be able to do this if the country returned to normal.
'Normalcy, huh.'
I looked outside.
Watching Cheongju Elementary School moving busily, I thought.
'If civilization is restored...'
Will society return to normal?
No, will the whole world even return to normal?
One thing is for sure: it will definitely be different from before.
Superpowers.
Infected.
IN Company.
A future I can't even predict.
I'll know when it happens.
I sat on the balcony of an unnamed 15th-floor house and closed my eyes.
#
Cheongju Elementary School is becoming chaotic.
People are going in and out.
I can see silhouettes moving here and there.
A quiet dawn.
I can even hear the sound of people's voices rising.
ㅡKkieeeee
I can also see Infected who kindly come out to the front of the barricade after hearing that.
ㅡ!@$!@$
ㅡ!@$!@$!
The noise is audible even from the Imedi Apartment, which is quite far away.
The reason was, well, one thing.
I turned on my smartphone.
05:00
Because the rescue hadn't come even though it was already five o'clock.
The date is February 13th.
No, a day has passed, so it's February 14th now.
The day the military said they would attempt a rescue.
The day the rescue was coming, which I heard from Park Jin-cheol's group and from Han Min-woo, was today.
'.......'
They said they'd come at night, but the rescue didn't come.
Naturally, the people who were waiting fell into a panic.
The people gathered on the playground swarmed a man and demanded answers.
The man made a troubled expression and tried to calm the people down.
Of course, that didn't mean the people would calm down.
32nd Division.
As far as I know, they're over there in Sejong, so did a problem occur on the way? Or did something else happen?
I'm curious, but... this wasn't information I could get even if I went there.
"......"
Well, the important thing now is that since the rescue didn't come, I'm currently left hanging.
But going back was also awkward.
It's daytime, too.
'I told Seo-yoon to wait up to three days.'
It's a dilemma.
I don't know the situation at Cheongju Elementary School, so it's awkward to just watch stupidly like this.
They probably already know my information, too.
A man with a gun at a point when the rescue isn't coming.
It was obvious it would become fucking annoying.
And.
'...I should assume the rescue isn't coming.'
It's the military.
The date is delayed?
This is impossible.
Of course, the current world is one where those impossible things happen.
'So I should wait for about two days.'
At least until tonight.
If so.
'...Should I kill some time here today?'
First, Building 110, Unit 1101.
I'll make this my temporary base.
I'll check once more to see if the rescue comes tonight and tomorrow at dawn.
And, if people happen to come out from that side at night, it wouldn't be bad to try making contact with them.
'If the rescue doesn't come, their food will have run out.'
I wonder what will happen to Cheongju Elementary School when the rescue doesn't come.
#
There's nothing to do during the day.
12 hours.
It's a whopping 17 hours until nightfall.
Since there's nothing to do, I thought about looting apartments, but since the amount I can carry is limited, I gave up.
Therefore, I decided to test today whether I could break through the Infected during the day.
I went down to about the 3rd floor and came out to the balcony.
ㅡKkeuuuu
ㅡKkeuu
Moving Infected.
There are dozens of them.
I decided to lure them and try catching them once.
I could go out, but there might be survivors inside the apartment.
I didn't want to show myself.
ㅡHuu.
Shall I go?
I came down from inside the 3rd-floor apartment house.
ㅡTak
ㅡTak
I didn't go out the front door and waited.
Walkers and Runners wandering around the playground in front and the parking lot lined with broken vehicles.
I floated the kitchen knives and hammer I had prioritized packing.
There were 7 in total.
First, I lifted one hammer and made a loud noise.
ㅡTuk!
An ambiguous sound.
But it was enough to draw the aggro of the Infected in the parking lot in front.
"Kkieeeeeek!"
Once by the sound.
And once by sight.
Runners and Walkers seeing me and running like crazy.
As expected, unlike at night, the reaction speed itself is different.
I quickly went up to the 3rd floor.
Since I confirmed that there were no Infected on the line 1 stairs overnight, nothing will come from above.
I plan to intercept them on the stairs.
ㅡTuk
"Kkieeeek!"
"Kkieek!"
Infected coming up like crazy.
I threw the hammer from above the stair line.
ㅡPpeok!
ㅡKudangtang!
A Runner whose head is crushed.
The falling Runner rides the stairs, pushing the guys behind it, making them tumble.
Following that, I floated two kitchen knives and stabbed them into the necks of one Walker and one Runner trying to climb up while struggling from behind.
ㅡPuchwaak!
Blood splattering on the stairs and walls.
"Kkieeeek!"
"Kkieeeeeek!"
Runners and Walkers coming up like crazy.
However, I still have three of my tools left.
Also, I can reuse the ones that are pulled out.
ㅡPeok!
ㅡPeoeok!
I killed the guys coming up with the kitchen knives and hammer.
Pull out and stab.
Throw and retrieve.
ㅡKkulleok
ㅡKkulleok
The number of guys I killed like that was exactly eleven.
There were no more guys coming up.
A thick smell of blood.
Corpses of things that aren't human.
"......"
I looked at them and thought.
'...It's doable.'
Metal manipulation was more flexible than I thought.
It means it's possible to kill an Infected with a kitchen knife or hammer, and immediately retrieve it to attack.
If I could do this much when I intentionally drew aggro.
I felt like I could move sufficiently if I were to launch a surprise attack.
'......'
However...
'...Still, places with many Infected would be dangerous.'
I could walk around the underground shopping mall with few people or the Hope Villa area where I am.
But places like markets, schools, or city centers could surround me in an instant.
Unless I become like an esper in movies or games who can lift cars, that is.
Plus, if I move during the day, the possibility of hiding humans seeing me from inside buildings increases.
'Then...'
It seemed better to watch tonight and head back again in time for tomorrow's dawn.
Since it doesn't go up even if I catch a Mirror at lv.3, I should go to the end of the underground shopping mall, find a Siren, and check if it goes up if I catch that.
'If it doesn't go up, it means I have to catch even more dangerous guys.'
If it's a dangerous guy, what should I catch?
If it's what Sergeant wrote down, there are only Siren, Flower, and Abomination.
'Catch something the size of a building? With a kitchen knife and hammer?'
I sighed and went back up to the 15th floor.
It was time to rest, check today, and move again.
From the night of February 14th, when I woke up after a nap, until 4 AM on the 15th.
'......'
The rescue didn't come to Cheongju Elementary School.
It could come after 4 o'clock, but the possibility is low.
'Should I go back?'
That was the moment I was about to get up from my seat.
ㅡAaaaaak!
From far away, in the direction of Cheongju Elementary School, a scream was heard.