41. Logistics Center Base (1)
41. Logistics Center Base (1)
The dawn transitioning from the 21st to the 22nd.
I was driving alone down the quiet street.
Clunk
Clunk
The car is definitely fast.
Even though I was moving slowly at only about 40km/h, it was several times faster than moving on foot.
'Of course, the fact that I reached lv.4 probably played a part in that too.'
Whoosh
Thwack
Thwack
The flying bullets pierced the Walkers' heads.
Thud-thud-thud
The Walkers collapsed.
Like in a movie.
I thought about spreading metal under my feet to move, but it was still too much.
It's possible, but it feels a bit... creaky, I guess?
Well, it's not impossible, so I'll just use it when I need to later.
Especially since I'll get stronger here once I reach lv.5.
'......'
I need stronger Infected, so I'll have to keep that in mind too. For now, since relocation and contacting the military were the priorities, that's why I'm driving down this country road.
Clunk
Clunk
The unpaved country roads were definitely hard to drive on.
They were narrow, too.
Even when I hit a paved road, there was a lot of stuff around.
'...It is a bit weird that I don't see any people, though.'
I understood it, though.
In a world like this, they'd know Infected are out there, so it wouldn't be smart to just run out and yell "Excuse me!" the moment they hear a car.
However,
Grrrr
It doesn't seem like that's the only reason, though.
I narrowed my eyes, looking at the place ahead where houses that looked like old tile-roofed houses were.
I saw familiar white lights.
Screech
Click
As I opened the car door and got out, I confirmed the white lights moving here and there.
And the sharp claws they possessed, too.
'...They're Crawlers.'
If those things were here, I could assume the civilians were all dead.
The guys who gave me a pretty deep wound when I raided the Green Fresh Market—the ones with mouths that split into four, who are super fast and also have intelligence.
I thought they were territorial creatures... but it doesn't seem like it.
'Then again, it is weird for Infected to have territory.'
They just happened to spawn there and settled down; it's weird to think they only operate in that area.
'Or, conversely, they might have made everywhere outside here their territory.'
Well, territorial or not, the danger remains the same.
They hid among the rural houses and approached me.
Patter-patter-patter
Incredible speed.
"Kieeeeek...!"
An attack relying on numbers.
Thud-thud-thud
But they're slower than bullets.
Pfft
Pfft
Crash
"Kieeee..!"
The ones whose heads were pierced by bullets fell to the ground in droves.
Seeing this, the others scurried away.
Games and reality are definitely different. Once the intelligent Infected realized they were at a disadvantage, they scurried away.
I caught and intercepted a few with my eyes, but because it was a complicated country road, I couldn't kill them all.
'......'
Even in the countryside, there are dangerous guys like this, so I can only imagine what other places are like.
According to the three siblings, the Bugang-myeon I'm heading to also seemed to have given up on rescue attempts.
'Will it be okay?'
I'll know when I get there.
I got back in the vehicle and moved on.
#
'Is this some kind of industrial complex?'
After turning around the bottom left of Nami-myeon, a place like an industrial complex appeared.
The blue building had lights on, but taking a quick peek, it was swarming with Infected, Walkers, and Runners.
I ignored it and kept going.
On the way down.
I stopped the car for a moment and turned on the satellite map on my laptop.
'Hmm...'
There were quite a few places on the satellite map that looked like logistics centers. A few in Nami-myeon, a few in Bugang-myeon. I couldn't check them all, so I ignored the Nami-myeon ones and came to the Bugang-myeon side.
'Looking at these blue vinyl greenhouses, this must be Bugang-myeon.'
Now I can just check them one by one.
I drove the car and moved.
'I don't know if it's a logistics center or a warehouse.'
Anyway, I arrived at the logistics center.
Clunk
Clunk
It was a bust.
There wasn't anything there. It was that kind of feeling where all the employees had turned into Walkers and Runners, and there were skeletons on the floor.
It seemed like there were other Variants inside, but since it wasn't the right time to go in, I ignored it and moved on.
The next logistics center didn't have anything either.
The entrance to the logistics center was completely smashed.
Crack!
After smashing the head of a staggering Walker at the checkpoint and entering, the tragic scene was clearly visible.
This place was also swarming with Infected, and maybe because some bad cargo inside had rotted, the smell of decay was rampant.
It seemed like there were other Variants inside too, and perhaps because logistics centers operate on 24-hour, 8-hour, 3-shift schedules with no clocking out, the numbers seemed high.
'If I set a date and raid a place like that, I'd get a lot of stuff.'
It would be dangerous, though.
But that's exactly why it was tempting.
Places like cold storage warehouses would be packed full of frozen food.
That must be why the 32nd Division troops the three siblings mentioned set up camp there.
'......'
On the way to the third logistics center.
Vroom
The vehicle drove down the narrow road.
Vehicles are definitely good. The problem is... vehicles have a maintenance period, too.
Maintenance aside, fuel like gasoline or diesel must have an expiration date.
'I think it's about a few months.'
I have to manage well before then. Or find an Ability User somehow.
'I don't know if I can find one, or if they even exist.'
How long did I go like that?
I narrowed my eyes, looking at the white light ahead.
'......'
White light. That usually means Crawlers, but that light was quite bright to be a Crawler's light.
On top of that.
'There's red light mixed in, too.'
Red light and white light.
When I zoomed in with my smartphone, I saw that the soldiers ahead had set up barricades.
Barbed barricades.
In other words, they had installed barbed wire here and there, and behind that, they had installed a wooden barricade once more.
Behind that, I could see two soldiers holding rifles, keeping watch.
Behind them was the logistics center.
The logistics center was surrounded by a high white concrete wall, enough to block most Infected.
'It is the best place, indeed.'
I carefully drove the car toward that place.
#
I could see the two soldiers panicking.
I don't know why.
Clunk
Clunk
The soldiers raised their hands and signaled me.
One Private First Class, one Sergeant.
Screech
The car stopped.
Whirrr
The window went down.
"......"
"......"
An awkward air flowed between us.
A feeling like neither side knew what to say?
So, I opened my mouth first.
"Hello."
Then the Private First Class opened his mouth.
"Ah. Yes. Yes. Hello. Uh... how did you come here?"
"...How?"
"No, uh..."
"Wait a second. Sir, may I ask the purpose of your visit?"
Then the Sergeant next to him interrupted the Private First Class and said.
"Purpose. Hmm, I heard there was a 32nd Division military unit here. From Cheongju."
"...From Cheongju?"
"Yes."
"Th-then, did you come to join us?"
"That's not exactly it, though."
"Then..."
"I was curious about what happened to the country, and what happened to the military."
"Ah."
"Yes. Well, you don't do forced conscription or anything, right?"
Then the soldiers stiffened.
"Th-that's right. In the first place... honestly, we are a unit that has been cut off now."
"Yes. There won't be any trouble."
The Private First Class and the Sergeant exchanged glances.
The Private First Class said quickly.
"Uh, I'll go report this. I'll mention that, too."
The Private First Class ran back.
The Sergeant said to me.
"Uh. Ah, could you come this way? It's okay to leave the vehicle here, right?"
"Yes."
"You just have to wait a moment."
"Yes."
Conversations passing by quickly.
I waited, following him.
The quiet night street. A crudely installed checkpoint and chair inside the barricade.
"Uh, is it okay if I do a quick inspection?"
"Yes."
Since I left most things behind when I got out of the car, there wasn't much.
Just a few pieces of metal?
"Confirmed. Uh, you can wait here."
"Yes."
A moment of silence passed.
I opened my mouth first.
"Uh."
"Ah, yes."
"If you're soldiers, which division are you from? 32nd Division, right?"
"Ah, yes. It's the 32nd Division."
"The one from Sejong, right?"
"Uh. Yes. That's right. Uh, are you from Cheongju?"
"Yes. I was working in Cheongju when the incident happened. I came from there. I heard they even did rescues there."
"That's correct. The situation deteriorated rapidly, so the rescue operation was canceled, though."
"Why?"
"Uh, Variants kept swarming in, so we rescued people from four shelters and came here. Currently, we are only defending."
"Four places."
Variants swarmed in.
Certainly, Variants are dangerous.
But if it's to the extent that it threatens the military...
"Yes. More than that, regarding what you just said, is that area in Cheongju okay?"
Listening to the conversation about whether that side is okay, it seems the 32nd Division side is ruined too.
"No. Everyone died. Deserters from the 37th Division were killing people, and it was chaos."
"Really?"
"Why would I lie?"
"......"
"Is it okay here?"
The Sergeant, who was dazed for a moment, wakes up.
"Ah, ah yes. Here, for now, it's okay. However, it's been quite a while since we lost contact with the main unit, so we are currently discussing what to do inside."
"How many people are there?"
"There are about 300 people."
300, huh.
"I think food will be scarce."
"For now... we are holding out by rationing the food inside the logistics center. Of course... I don't know how it will turn out, though."
"I see."
Hmm, is there anything to ask?
"Were there people like criminals, too? Seeing as how absurd superpowers and such have appeared, I'd think there would be."
"Uh, hmm. I haven't seen any yet."
I asked about superpowers subtly, but given this reaction, it seems they do exist. I got quite a bit of information. They said the 32nd Division rescued people from four places, too.
Should I ask a little more?
"Uh, Sergeant Park Jun-ho. They said to bring the outsider inside. They said you don't need to worry about what you mentioned."
But before I could ask, one of the soldiers who had returned earlier approached with another soldier.
No need to worry, huh. I'll have to see about that.
It's meaningless, though.
If something happens, I can just wipe them out.
"Oh, okay. You can go in now. You can follow Corporal Kim Yoon-ho, who is next to Private First Class Kim Jae-wook over there."
"Yes. Please follow me."
"Ah. Yes."
Young soldier. Seeing them call each other Corporal Kim and Sergeant Park, they seem to be active duty...
'I'll know when I follow them.'
#
The place I followed them into was another checkpoint.
It seems the outside was the 1st checkpoint, and this is the 2nd checkpoint.
There were about four people inside, and they all looked like young soldiers.
"Salute. Corporal Kim Yoon-ho. Is this an outsider?"
"Uh. Where is Second Lieutenant Kim?"
...Second Lieutenant?
"He is inside. He said to bring him."
"Alright, I got it. Uh, please continue following me."
"Ah. Yes."
"Oh, right. Please write down your personal information here."
"Yes."
Looking at it. It's just name and age, I guess. I wrote that down and headed inside.
Corporal Kim leading me.
Screech
The checkpoint door opened.
#
What I see are soldiers gathered in groups of three or five.
And, civilians inside the logistics center.
As expected, they had no interest in me.
I took a quick look inside the logistics center.
A structure where all the rails were cleared out and changed into a place for people to live.
Tents, blankets, and quilts were visible.
The places where logistics were stacked still had items piled up, but it seemed like they had mixed personal belongings with the items here.
Outside.
The soldiers had set up barracks.
Large barracks were installed in several places, and seeing us head that way, it seems that's where the key figures are now.
We headed toward the barracks.
"Uh, that's it."
"Ah. Yes."
"I would appreciate it if you could wait a moment."
Since there was no door, Corporal Kim opened his mouth outside the barracks.
"Platoon Leader! I've brought the outsider!"
Uh, tell him to come in.
What I hear is a young man's voice.
The door opened.