59. Nest (1)
59. Nest (1)
I came to the 15th floor of Sarang Apartment and gauged the location once more.
The scene in front of the hotel visible in the distance.
It was past 3 AM.
'I wasted too much time because of Han Hae-il.'
A mental-type ability user.
No, should I consider it fortunate that I met him early?
'Because now I can deal with it.'
Come to think of it, I should tell the logistics center about this too.
Since the soldiers are currently too weak against mental-type ability users.
'...I should just take a look at the hotel side and get out.'
Because of that incident and a lot of time has passed.
The night is short.
Even if I come out around 8 PM when it gets dark, it's only about 9 hours.
They say it's okay to walk around Bugang-myeon or Nami-myeon when it's bright, but inside the city like this is quite dangerous.
It's a hopeless situation if guys like Hunters get mixed into the Infected hordes.
'And there are too many types of Infected.'
I'm trying to find an Abomination, but while looking for it, too many strange things keep popping up.
Right now, both Eunha University and the villa village are places I discovered while looking for an Abomination. Still, one thing I learned is that there are more survivors in the Cheongju area compared to the Sejong area.
Come to think of it, that tumor-like infected zone doesn't even appear in the Cheongju area.
Come to think of it, there are no Hunters either.
I wonder if more people will appear if I walk around more.
'Though I don't know if they'll be normal people.'
In a world where even soldiers are dying, are the survivors normal people?
Today, I'll just check the hotel, rest for a day, and then follow the traces of the Abomination one by one.
I came down and headed toward the hotel.
#
Sunshine Reef Hotel.
As I got closer, I could see the hotel's name.
Of course, the surroundings were a complete mess.
Things that let me guess what the situation was like back then were visible everywhere.
Asphalt that was completely crushed, and traces of skeletons visible on top of it. Vehicles that had been completely stepped on by an Abomination.
ㅡTak
ㅡTak
ㅡClatter
Only bones left.
I picked up a soldier's uniform.
I can see soldiers' and officers' uniforms too.
It's hard to distinguish, but I can tell them apart by the epaulets and rank badges on their chests, and for officers, by what's on their collars.
'......'
The outbreak happened in January, so the soldiers must have suffered heavy casualties.
They resolved that, barely reorganized their units, and went out for rescue missions to Daejeon and Cheongju, but in the end, they were wiped out here by an Abomination.
Men who were conscripted at a young age and died to monsters at barely twenty years old.
'......'
It's annoying for no reason.
An armored vehicle that was dented in the middle and blown up into a U-shape.
An overturned truck.
Numerous bullet marks and explosion traces in the surroundings.
The footprints of the Abomination I'm looking for were in three places. There was a path leading toward Eunha University, next was a path leading upward, and a path leading to the left.
I confirmed it wasn't in the direction of Eunha University, so I can assume the direction that bastard went is either left or up.
For now, the goal is finished.
April 10th, dawn.
I got in the car and returned to I-Pension.
#
The ones visible above were Young-jun and a woman. Was her name Han Min-ah?
They were sitting awkwardly with slightly awkward expressions, and I narrowed my eyes.
I just need to keep a good watch.
She must have known that, as she looked this way and avoided my gaze.
'It was Seol-hwa, Min-ah, and So-young.'
The women who were at Eunha University.
Since they were fucking bitches, I could cast Absolute Submission on them.
Their abilities weren't even Strength Enhancement, just Stamina and Vision, so it was easy to leave them to the three siblings.
'Now the problem is Seol-hwa, who has the detection ability.'
Because it'll be convenient if I get her to lv.3 when moving in a group later.
I'll have to think about how to use them after I sleep today.
'And if I can raise Seol-hwa's ability, I will.'
Like a ghost, Seo-yoon came waddling out from inside.
"You're back?"
"You didn't have to come out."
"Um, I had some business. Did that go well?"
"Yeah."
Though I don't know if killing them all counts as going well.
If there had been a good ability user, I might have agonized over it a little, but I didn't want to leave any loose ends.
"More than that, what's the business?"
Did Seol-hwa or the other women cause a fuss?
I thought, but Seo-yoon shook her head.
"Um, you know that radio you left behind? The military radio. They were looking for you on it. They hung up soon after since there was no answer, though."
"...They contacted me?"
From the logistics center?
The logistics center has never asked for help from this side, other than the Sejong side.
If they contacted me first, it means it's quite serious.
I went inside.
After washing up roughly and tidying up, I used the radio.
Then, not long after, a reply came.
ㅡYes. This is Kim In-seop.
"Ah, yes. Um, I heard you contacted me."
ㅡYes. I contacted you because it's a somewhat serious matter.
What could it be? Seriously.
Then the Second Lieutenant quickly got to the point.
ㅡCurrently, we cannot contact the platoon that went out to the Bugang-myeon area.
"You can't contact them?"
#
The Second Lieutenant explained.
A new Infected was discovered at the Bugang Traditional Market, and contact was lost early this morning while engaging in combat.
ㅡThey report every hour, but I can't reach them. Contact was lost after the 2 o'clock report.
A new Infected discovered by the unit moving up toward Bugang Station while engaging with an Infected cluster.
A traditional market where the buildings are filled with red tentacles.
They discovered a new Infected inside that was red all over and engaged in combat.
Since then, contact has been lost.
It is currently 4:20 AM. This means they haven't been reachable at 3:00 or 4:00 after the last contact at 2:00.
It's starting to get bright.
"Um, did they go in there? It's not a Crawler, but a new Infected?"
ㅡYes.
"No, why engage in combat with a new one? You have things like drones."
ㅡIt seems they judged it to be a Crawler and went in. The red Infected is similar to a Crawler, and they judged the red tentacles to be a Crawler base. They must have judged that it was possible with just soldiers.
"Ah."
I understood.
"Then are all the people there unreachable?"
ㅡNo. We divided the 30 people into two, organizing them into the 1st Platoon and 2nd Platoon. Currently, the one we can't contact is the 1st Platoon. The 2nd Platoon realized it was a different Infected than a Crawler and is currently checking the inside of the traditional market with a drone, but they can't even see a trace.
"Not even a trace..."
It meant they couldn't just throw the 2nd Platoon in there either.
They already lost half of the 30, so if they lose more, there's no answer.
"Then this ultimately means you want me to go check it out?"
ㅡ......
The Second Lieutenant shut his mouth.
He probably has nothing to say either.
However, the Second Lieutenant quickly opened his mouth.
ㅡThat is correct. We will unconditionally grant you one favor later, so could you please set out to search for the 1st Platoon with the 2nd Platoon?
"Really?"
ㅡYes. We will grant you any favor next time.
Any favor.
The problem is whether the Second Lieutenant has the power to do that.
'He must have it, which is why he's saying that.'
If worst comes to worst, I can just get a few night vision goggles or thermal imaging devices.
However, I could help out to this extent.
Seeing a group working for the public good like this, after seeing Eunha University, the villa village, and those fucking bastards, I was full of the desire to help.
Plus, if I make them owe me a debt like this, it becomes easier to send useless people away in the future.
And it's true that I need to check out the new Infected.
"Well, I got it for now. It'll be bright when I get there, is that okay?"
ㅡThere is a temporary base in Bugang-myeon that we set up. They will help you there.
"Got it. Wait. I'll be there right away."
ㅡ...Thank you.
After receiving the greeting, I packed my bags.
Sleeping is out of the question today.
"Hm? Where are you going, oppa?"
I explained to Seo-yoon.
"Eek..."
"Just go to sleep."
"Ugh, can't you just not go?"
"It's a bit serious."
Seo-yoon accepted it after I told her the story.
"Oppa is always the one moving."
"That's true."
Somehow, even though I say I live as I please, I just have lots of sex and my life is in danger every time.
'Should I really just make a group myself?'
Beat everyone up, catch them with my ability, and then just have Seo-yoon force her ability on them.
And raise Seo-yoon's ability to about lv.4.
No, raising my lv.5 is the priority.
I'm agonizing over it a lot.
"I'm going."
"Come back safely."
Listening to Seo-yoon's greeting, which I've gotten used to now, I headed toward the logistics center base.
#
The atmosphere was definitely not good.
That's why I had to move quickly, though.
It's around 4:40 AM, and the day is slowly starting to brighten. Since I stepped on the gas pedal hard to get here, time is tight.
'If it gets bright while searching there, there's no answer.'
That's why I plan to listen to the briefing quickly, talk a little about Han Hae-il, and leave.
"You've arrived."
"Yes."
The Second Lieutenant and I talked.
"According to the 2nd Platoon, they said they couldn't even contact them via radio from the middle."
"That's correct."
"Who is the field commander there?"
"It's Sergeant Park Jae-ho."
"What's his ability?"
"It's Arm Enhancement ability."
Arm Enhancement.
Same ability as Yun-ji.
That's a strong ability.
However, it's not a very good ability against Infected. Because it's literally just an ability that enhances the arms.
"What about the 1st Platoon?"
"The 1st Platoon is led by Sergeant Han Jun-seo. His ability is Hearing Enhancement."
Sergeant Han Jun-seo.
Hearing Enhancement.
"Where is the temporary base?"
"It's the Bugang-myeon Office."
"Got it."
There are about 35 soldiers inside here. They are in a state where they can't deploy any more.
'I hope they're alive.'
As I was thinking that, the Second Lieutenant handed me a military radio.
"You can connect directly to this. You can consider it as having contacted me. I've set the channel."
"Ah. Yes. Oh, and. I went toward the Cheongju Sarang Apartment complex, meaning above Eunha University, this time."
I explained.
The incident with Han Hae-il.
An ability user who can control minds just by hearing their voice.
"You mean a mental ability user?"
"Yes. So it would be good if you could make some kind of policy. I can't do it properly right now because I'm busy with that."
"I understand for now."
"I'll get going. If there's anything urgent, contact me. Communication works up to there, right?"
"That's correct."
I got in the car and moved.
#
I made contact.
ㅡStatic
ㅡThis is Sergeant Park Jae-ho.
"Yes. This is Kim Yu-seong. I heard you contacted me."
ㅡAh, yes. You can just come straight to the Myeon Office.
"Yes."
I headed to Bugang-myeon and went up along the road.
Inside Bugang-myeon.
This is a road I haven't been on.
Because it's not the road to Sejong, but the road to the downtown area where the Bugang-myeon Traditional Market and commercial buildings are.
ㅡClunk
ㅡClunk
'There are a lot of corpses.'
It was full of Walker and Runner corpses.
The stench of corpses wafting in.
Bullet marks embedded in the surroundings.
It definitely seems like a lot of battles took place.
'Is that... a Sentient Being?'
Certainly, Walkers, Runners, and Sentient Beings alone cannot deal with soldiers.
On top of that, since they entered after checking with drones, they probably entered while checking the Variants one by one.
'Looks similar to a Crawler, huh.'
I'll know when I get there.
That's how I arrived at the Myeon Office.
A temporary barricade was set up.
There were soldiers behind the barricade, and judging by the fact that there are no Infected around, it seems they cleared this area out completely.
ㅡClunk
As I headed the vehicle toward them, they welcomed me familiarly as if they had already been contacted.
"Um, the Second Lieutenant sent me."
"Ah. Yes."
That's how I entered the Myeon Office.
All the soldiers were on the 1st floor. It seems they remodeled a place like an office and are using it as a temporary base.
Men exhausted with fatigue. They're all young.
One of the soldiers looking at me opened his mouth.
A soldier with a youthful air remaining.
"Kim Yu-seong-nim? Is that you?"
"Ah. Yes."
"Um, if you go to that door, Sergeant Park will be inside. You can go right in."
"Yes."
That's how I headed inside.
ㅡKnock knock knock
A burly man inside welcomed me.
"Ah, you're here."
"Yes. Hello."
"I'm Sergeant Park Jae-ho. I'm in charge of the 2nd Platoon here. I heard about your ability. They said it's something like Psychokinesis? Ah, I..."
"Ah. Yes. The Second Lieutenant told me about yours."
Come to think of it, I haven't told the Second Lieutenant that it's Metal Manipulation.
"Yep. Then I look forward to working with you today."
"Likewise."
The Sergeant stood up abruptly.
We shook hands.
What should I say. He looks like a bear.
As I was thinking that, Sergeant Park Jae-ho stood up from his seat.
"Then, let's go."
"Yes?"
"Um, we have to rescue them. The 1st Platoon. They're all friends I've made since the outbreak, so it's not right to leave them like this. I'll give you the briefing on the way."
That's right.
Because time is passing even at this moment.
"That's right. Because it's better to do it quickly."
"Good."
The Sergeant said that and slammed the door open.
"Let's go! To save the guys!"
Then the soldiers stood up from their seats.
"Took a while."
"Let's go. Let's go."
"Fucking Infected, damn it."
"Alright, alright, we're all suffering with guns just the same, but we still have to save people. Right?"
People packing their bags while grumbling.
"Check all your gear, and we're moving by truck. Mr. Yu-seong, you get in too."
"Ah. Yes."
Something feels off.
Still, it wasn't bad.
ㅡVroom
The truck engine started.
