47. Internal Appointment
47. Internal Appointment
ㅡCough cough
Underground parking lot.
Outdoor parking lot.
I came just in case, but it really seems like the INSS members pulled out to Sejong City. The familiar trucks weren't there.
The INSS members from the Cheongju Branch, who were extracting from various places, must have realized this place was screwed and moved everything to the Sejong Branch.
'......'
I came outside and headed for the vehicle.
The vehicle I got after beating up Walkers and Runners for a while.
ㅡScreech
ㅡClack
I turned off the lights, and without even starting the engine, I leaned my body against the seat.
Then I turned on my smartphone.
ㅡClick
I checked all the videos and photos.
IN Company, experiments, mutations, infection, infected, Baek Hanmin.
Then, even the documents I put in my bag.
After checking everything, I started the engine and stepped on the accelerator.
ㅡVroom
The vehicle left the quiet financial district.
#
March 22nd, I just returned to the pension and slept.
"Are you awake?"
So, around 4 PM on the 22nd.
I was spacing out, looking outside.
The time when the sun was setting.
I think I slept for over 10 hours.
Seo-yoon asked in a slightly worried tone.
"Are you okay? You kept sleeping."
I felt stiff, but I was fine.
I asked her.
"What about you?"
"What do you mean what did I do? I just stayed here. Oh right, everyone is curious."
Seo-yoon said.
True, I only told them briefly while coming back yesterday.
"Who's on surveillance right now?"
"Yu-rim-ssi and Young-jun-ssi right now."
"Let's just tell them to come here too."
"Ah. Okay."
Seo-yoon scurried outside.
People gathered.
I told them everything. About what happened at the IN Company Cheongju Branch.
"So... it's true that IN Company is doing weird stuff."
"Right."
While we were at it, Eun-bin opened her mouth.
"Isn't this really something out of a movie? Seriously. Catching civilians to experiment with superpowers and side effects. Then, is everything IN Company did before related to this too?"
Yun-ji answered.
"Not all of it, but wouldn't some of it be related?"
"...It's a total confirmation. Seriously. That they intentionally spread the infection. Why are they so greedy?"
Young-jun spat out a word.
"Honestly, you can't resist superpowers."
"Young-jun-ah."
Tae-jun stopped him.
Of course, Young-jun went further.
"Why, Tae-jun-hyung. It's true, isn't it? Huh? High-ranking officials are people too, they'd want to control people, shoot fire from their hands, and stuff like that. Don't you think so?"
"......"
Yeah, it is true. They say human greed has no end.
Seeing the board of directors and branch talk come up immediately, it seems correct.
On top of that.
It also seems true what Eun-bin said about them doing something even before the apocalypse.
They were trying to do something without spreading the infection, then realized it wouldn't work during the experiment and just spread it.
Why.
Didn't they say in an old community post that something happened after going to clinical trials?
Maybe there are people who went there and couldn't come back.
"So that's why they get caught and turn into monsters like that Baek Hanmin guy. If orders are coming down to every branch, doesn't that mean there's something like that in every city in Korea? There are also those special forces, INRS and INSS."
The atmosphere becomes quiet.
True, the scale is just too big.
It's not like that place is some small company; it was a global multinational corporation, to the point where there was a branch in every city in Korea.
"Then, what should we do?"
Eun-bin asked.
I answered.
"That's the question."
"...Yes?"
Well, is there anything we can do?
"There are only 8 of us, so there's nothing we can do. Honestly, if they get serious and invade here, is there a way for us to stop them? Or is there a way to stop them from experimenting at every branch?"
There isn't.
"......"
"...If we cooperate with the military..."
A-rin offered an opinion.
"With the 2nd Platoon at Bugang-myeon? What are you going to do with 70 people? On top of that, IN Company is operating special forces too. What are you going to do if they use drones or something to come here?"
"......"
"Of course, A-rin's words aren't wrong. It would be better if we cooperated with the military. It would be safer. That's true."
"Yeah."
But that requires a military that can operate a real battalion, regiment, or division, not just a military with only 70 people like that.
However.
Even if we join hands with the military and wipe out one branch, it's just one branch.
It would rather end up telling them our location.
On top of that.
"We also have to consider the possibility that the branches are already destroyed, like this Cheongju Branch. It means we have to consider the probability that there are only infected creatures there."
......
"So, there's nothing we can do against them right now."
They must be doing something not just in Korea, but globally.
What on earth are the US and other countries doing?
"Anyway, we're in a situation where it's hard for us to make a living right now. The urgent thing is this; food is constantly running out, and we can't live off this for years or decades. Anyone here who knows how to farm?"
"......."
The members shut their mouths.
True, how would modern people living in the city know how to farm?
"We have too much to do right now. So, I want you to give your opinions. Like, let's supply food first, let's recruit people first, let's level up our superpowers first, etc. For now, A-rin's opinion was to cooperate with the military. It's not a bad opinion. It's a long-term view."
"Uh. Uh. Uh..."
"Why are you like that?"
"That, it wasn't necessarily an opinion to do that first right now."
"Is that so? Anyway, give me your opinions."
Silence flows.
However, as always, one by one, people started to speak.
.
.
.
.
"Well, that's settled. This much is enough."
The conclusion was reached quickly.
We put off vague goals and decided to strengthen our I-Pension base.
True.
'I think so too.'
To do that, we need abilities, but that's a bit pushed back.
'As expected, modern times will win.'
Or it's people.
Seo-yoon is insurance. Eun-bin is a healer.
The rest are workers. No, wait, A-rin also has Taming ability.
lv.4 seems a bit hard. To go up to lv.4, we have to catch Flowers, Sirens, Crawlers, etc., but it's a bit too hard to deal with them with just guns.
Therefore, only up to lv.3.
From there, it's better to create a defense zone with claymores, drones, and CCTVs.
'To get this, I'll have to get some help from the military in Bugang-myeon.'
And get more people too.
And there was another reason why this story came up first.
"There was a blackout for a moment."
"Yes. The electricity was cut off for about an hour. That, Oppa was sleeping too deeply, so I didn't want to wake you."
"Right. Anyway, if the electricity is cut off... is it okay here?"
Seo-yoon mumbled.
Eun-bin next to her answered instead.
"I think it'll be okay here. First of all, we have quite a few lighters and butane gas. We can just cook by lighting a fire, and we can get water from the stream down there."
"Right. That's a relief."
I heard the news that there was a blackout.
True, it doesn't make sense that the electricity has lasted until now.
'It seems like IN Company, the government, or the military is protecting places like nuclear power plants.'
Since electricity might not be properly supplied to such a remote place.
It seems like there was a problem with the electricity. I'll have to check this out too.
Still.
If we were inside Cheongju, something big would have happened, but this is a village. It means we can survive somehow even without electricity.
Because we have water for now.
'There will be a problem with food storage, though.'
We had another ability user.
"Tae-jun, does time not flow inside that ability of yours?"
"Ah. Yes. Hyung."
Time doesn't flow inside the 1x1x1m space. Tae-jun said while taking ice out of his Subspace.
Then there's no problem with food storage for now. If we put a lot of meat or things with short expiration dates inside, we can keep using them as long as Tae-jun doesn't die.
'Then I have to level up Tae-jun's ability first.'
"A-rin, did you test the other kids yet?"
"Ah. Yes. That, I tried it on birds, and it works."
"Is this pigeon that?"
"Yup."
I can see three pigeons dancing.
I don't know why she keeps making animals dance.
Even last time, a mouse was dancing.
"Can you make them breed too?"
"Uh... I haven't tried that, but wouldn't it work? Since I can control them completely."
"Is that so?"
"Yeees..."
No, first, let's get everyone up to 3.
Or not.
I have to go to Bugang-myeon too.
I have to level up my own superpower too.
A-rin needs to find animals too.
I need to fill up more food.
In case of a blackout or water outage, I think I should also get solar generators and power banks.
Or I should try to find a related ability user.
I think I need to defend the area around I-Pension a bit more.
'......'
There's so much to do.
My head is a bit complicated. Let's do it one by one.
#
The first goal is to level up my superpower.
lv.4, where the strength and speed limits seem to be lifted. If I become lv.5 here, I think the weight limit will probably be lifted.
Even if it's not lifted, I'll be able to manipulate heavier objects to my heart's content.
'And I'll be able to oppose IN Company only after leveling this up.'
Therefore, I came up to Cheongju alone,
and tried to find and kill Crawlers, Flowers, Sirens, and Sentient Beings.
'Do they not give it even if it's a Sentient Being?'
Since a Sentient Being gave 4 on the gauge at lv.3, I thought it would give 2, or at least 1 at lv.4, but it didn't.
Naturally, the same goes for Crawlers, Flowers, and Sirens.
If this is the case...
It means I have to try finding a Hunter, Balloon, or Abomination.
'...Where was it, I have to go to Eunha University. And Sejong Special Self-Governing City.'
I know the place where the Abomination is.
Kim Min-jun told me about it before.
That the 37th Division was coming down towards Eunha University and the officers were wiped out.
I wonder what it would be like to attack from a distance with my current ability.
However, there was one thing that was more urgent than this.
I had to check around the I-Pension.
In fact, I couldn't check the inside well because I was running around outside.
If the kids here at I-Pension disappear right now, there's no answer. And it's a bit much to entrust the surrounding exploration to the women and kids.
'I need to clean up the nearby village.'
Why, because we were living happily here, and if some super strong infected creature was nearby and stabbed us in the back, it would be really annoying.
And now, I'll go to Bugang-myeon and talk to the lieutenant.
After that, level up the kids' abilities, go to the empty Cheongju City and catch the Abomination.
'Good.'
Since the order is roughly decided, I have to move quickly.
#
Me, Seo-yoon, Yun-ji, A-rin, Tae-jun.
The five of us, with A-rin and Tae-jun added to the previous Green Fresh Market team, were the exploration team today.
Because Seo-yoon shoots guns well.
Because Yun-ji's Arm Enhancement is a higher compatibility of strength enhancement.
A-rin came out to use it if there were any animals.
Tae-jun is the porter.
Eun-bin also made a fuss about wanting to go, but I shook my head.
Honestly, Eun-bin had no talent for combat. Guns were one thing, but she couldn't even kill a single infected creature properly in close quarters.
And, Eun-bin is a healer.
If the healer dies, how will the rest of the people be saved? I'll have to make her shoot guns or something later when we go to the underground shopping center.
The siblings were also left for base defense. I promised to go together when we strengthen their superpowers later.
It's good that they listen so well.
While I was at it, Seo-yoon tackled me.
"Wouldn't it be because they're discouraged?"
"Why are they discouraged?"
"I think it's because they're self-conscious."
"Self-conscious? Why?"
"......"
"......"
Seo-yoon shuts her mouth.
I turned my eyes to Yun-ji and A-rin too, but they also avoided my eyes.
I turned my eyes to Tae-jun.
He said.
"Because of the ability."
Is that so? Because the ability is a 10% range ability.
It's funny. That value is determined by superpowers, not human ability.
However.
They are humans I've already brought.
I have to be responsible for the humans I brought until the end.
"Tell them not to worry."
"...Yes, Hyung."
Anyway, we arrived at the village above I-Pension.
A small village that appeared after passing the residential area I visited briefly before. I don't know the name. Even on the satellite map, only buildings were visible.
However, the place I cleared before only had normal infected creatures, but this place might be different.
"Be careful, there might be variants. Seo-yoon, shoot immediately if you see one."
"Yes."
We picked the lock of the house door and started searching inside.
We entered, excluding the places we saw before.
Me, Seo-yoon, A-rin, Yun-ji, in order of Tae-jun.
ㅡCreak
I tore off the locked door with metal manipulation.
Since it's the countryside, it seems like there might be a security bell or something, but it doesn't look like it.
First house.
The priority is to eliminate infected creatures first.
However, was it my groundless fear? The inside of the village was full of only Walkers and Runners.
A small village without even a Mirror.
"There's... rice, should we take this?"
Because of that, our goal changed to farming.
"Yeah. Let's put it in first. Tae-jun, is it possible?"
"Yes."
Subspace.
Cheat-like.
The rice went in with a pop.
And there were miscellaneous canned goods, so we took everything.
"That, Hyung. This looks good, should we take it?"
While I was at it, Tae-jun asked.
What he's holding is butane gas and a burner.
"Let's take everything. Just in case."
"Yes."
"That, that Yu-seong-ssi."
A-rin approaching closely.
"Uh."
"W, wouldn't it be good to take these?"
"Which ones?"
"That, ah, what do you call this. That, it's like an earthenware pot."
What's an earthenware pot again.
"Jangdokdae (Earthenware jars)?"
Seo-yoon next to me told me.
"Yes... yes."
Jangdokdae.
That's nice.
We can put fermented foods like soy sauce, salted seafood, red pepper paste, and kimchi that need to be stored for a long time.
Normally, it would be hard to take, so I wouldn't have taken it, but we had Tae-jun.
"Tae-jun-ah, let's put all of that in. They were spread all over the outside, and we'll carry the burners and stuff."
"Ah, yep."
After that, we took a few sickles and things like that.
Tax-free oil, so things like diesel, I just left them inside the house just in case, it seems like I can bring them later when needed.
"It doesn't go in. I really have to expand the Subspace. Right."
"Yes. It is, a bit small."
"Right."
It's something to be thankful for that it exists, but it was slightly lacking when farming somewhere.
The earthenware jars didn't fit well either.
"Let's decide to take them later, we came here today to clean up the infected creatures."
"Yes."
Even if they are Walkers and Runners, it's annoying if they are there, so I thought I could just wipe them all out today and go.
"And, go and clean up a bit."
#
It took three days to clean up.
Surprisingly, the houses were wide, so it took a long time to search thoroughly.
On top of that, it also took some time to move and organize them to I-Pension.
'Still, there was nothing but Walkers and Runners.'
Should I say that was fortunate.
No one else came either.
"After going there, I'm going to go level up your abilities. Be prepared."
"Yes. Come back safely. Oppa."
Dawn of the 25th.
I drove the car to the logistics center base.
ㅡVroom
I thought it would be good to talk a bit about IN Company.
Talk a bit about the Sejong Branch and related matters. Still, it's a decent group that is alive and well right now.
After talking about this side, I can go to Cheongju, see the Abomination, level up the kids' superpowers, and try to find people.
However.
'...What is this.'
The distance where the checkpoint gets closer.
I noticed the anomaly that happened at the logistics center.