72. INSS Tracking (2)
72. INSS Tracking (2)
'Going up.'
The truck went upward.
Northern Sejong Special Self-Governing City.
In the quiet night, nothing could be seen of the black truck except for its high beams.
I followed them carefully from atop my motorcycle.
Since the motorcycle's engine wasn't running, the lack of lights was an advantage.
It's really convenient to be able to do stuff like this after reaching Lv. 5.
ㅡClunk
ㅡClunk
Anyway, they came all the way up to Jochiwon-eup.
Jochiwon-eup, a run-down place that took a direct hit from the apocalypse.
The apocalypse was inevitable, but this place couldn't dodge it either.
'Is it a Hunter?'
Traces of a Hunter were visible in the apartment complex visible in the distance.
Cracked concrete.
Shattered glass.
Knowing that, the black truck also steered clear of the area where the apartment was.
'......'
So that's why there were no traces of the IN Company in the southern Sejong Hunter zone.
They knew from the beginning.
Which Infected were dangerous and which ones weren't.
It was obvious, considering they were wandering around avoiding places where Hunters or Abominations were.
Even if that weren't the case, it meant they were aware of the danger posed by Hunters or Abominations right away.
Anyway, a prepared apocalypse.
That was the Vailon Virus 26 incident that occurred on January 7th.
'I wonder what kind of virus Vailon Virus 26 actually is.'
Now, curiosity about the virus is also welling up.
It's true that the virus is related to the Infected.
'Then it must be related to superpowers as well.'
But can modern technology really create something like a status window that displays viruses and superpowers?
Has the singularity arrived?
'That's why I'm following them, to find that out.'
The black truck heading upward, avoiding the Hunters.
They took a wide detour around Jochiwon Station and headed further up.
Upwards?
I have a place in mind, though.
'It's too far.'
Can I even follow them?
Well, there's no real problem with movement now.
If all else fails, I can just find a vehicle and fly there.
I'm tailing them like this now because I'm afraid of getting caught, but once I reach their destination, it'll be better to just fly around.
#
ㅡClunk
ㅡClunk
The truck keeps going up.
After passing through several nameless neighborhoods, they arrived near Cheonan.
'...I suppose so.'
The problem is that soldiers in military uniforms were visible here.
A functioning checkpoint.
Soldiers holding functional K2 rifles.
Barricades.
Soldiers communicating via radio.
If I hadn't heard about the 37th Division from Han Min-woo and Kim Min-jun before.
If I hadn't heard about the 37th Division and the 17th Fighter Wing from Seol-hwa's group and Han Hae-il before.
If I hadn't seen that truck coming this way, I would have thought they were remnants like the 32nd Division.
'I would have thought they were an army for the civilians, trying to rebuild the country.'
But they just let those IN Company bastards through.
They took a quick look inside, had some conversation with the guy in the driver's seat, and the truck passed through the checkpoint.
'They just look like young soldiers.'
Come to think of it, Kim Min-jun was a soldier.
Meaning he wasn't one of the military brass.
Thinking about it, I do remember Kim Min-jun saying he went down to Daejeon. Then those remnants might have come here.
Or maybe the 17th Fighter Wing is the main force, and only remnants of the 37th Division remain.
If they colluded with the IN Company, it makes sense.
Because effectively, the current military is all just warlords.
I quietly tracked the truck.
#
The truck kept moving.
The strange thing is that it didn't go toward the center of Cheonan but turned to the side?
I looked around.
The situation here wasn't very good either.
'That's a trace of an Abomination.'
I can see an apartment complex ahead that's been devastated.
Only an Abomination could completely collapse an apartment building like that.
In fact, traces of an Abomination, completely similar to the one in Cheongju, were visible here and there.
'Still, an Abomination is better.'
Come to think of it, I need to hunt down an Abomination, but things keep popping up, which is annoying.
I need to get some clues about Level 6.
'......'
I'll have to find an Abomination and attack it when I go down this time.
Anyway.
The black truck kept moving and headed toward a factory.
The truck was heading to a factory in the bottom-left area, not the center, i.e., not downtown Cheonan.
I thought they were going for an extraction, but that wasn't it.
Because I could see an army stationed inside the large factory.
'...GP Biotech.'
It was visible that the military and the IN Company were distinct.
The IN Company truck that entered went into the building on the left, while the soldiers were scurrying around the buildings on the right.
No civilians are visible nearby.
'Then what is this?'
The IN Company was hostile to civilians.
Didn't they start shooting at me right away at Eunha General Hospital and Mirae Girls' High School during the extraction?
But even if they weren't on good terms with the soldiers, they ignored each other.
'......'
Ah, fuck, I don't know.
The head of the military is cooperating with the IN Company.
Except for this one line, it's all my speculation.
Should I just crash in?
No.
I need to know where the black truck is going.
Plus, I need to know about the warlords here.
'Then I should go inside that GP Biotech factory right now.'
Is it right to kill everyone now?
Is the leader even here?
There's too little information.
Those bastards kill civilians and experiment on them, and they're cooperating with the military?
They're all the same bastards.
'......'
Let's watch a little longer.
Cheonan, maybe even a warlord group that extends to Jeungpyeong.
I moved to find an apartment with a good view of the factory.
#
There don't seem to be any people here.
But the Infected have already been cleared out.
'I said this was the city where Colonel Park Young-ho recruits ability users.'
Then I had to find that Colonel Park Young-ho.
And the way to find that Colonel is to find some soldiers somewhere.
It's not good to touch the factory side.
If I touch that place, I'd have to kill everyone, but Park Young-ho might not be there.
The important guys might actually run away.
Also, I haven't heard the reason why the military is cooperating with the IN Company yet.
As I was doing that, I saw a military truck heading outside.
Literally, a military truck.
'It's not the IN Company ones.'
Where is that going?
I'm curious. I wondered whether to wait or follow, and decided to follow.
ㅡClunk
ㅡClunk
Following the cleared road, ㅡBang! ㅡBang!
The military truck moving while clearing out the Infected blocking the road. Naturally, there are soldiers riding in the back.
It didn't look like it was going to downtown Cheonan. This is also curious.
'Is there an Abomination?'
The place they moved to was the southeastern part of Cheonan.
The southeastern and southwestern regions of Cheonan seem to have been cleared. Probably because the soldiers cleared out the weak Infected and opened the road.
This place probably has a separate name like some township or district, but anyway, I see a university campus.
And inside it, I saw an army.
ㅡClunk
ㅡClunk
ㅡScreech
The Cheonan University checkpoint that stops the military truck.
The soldiers said something, and the gate opened.
I looked around.
They made a fortress around a university.
On top of that, they piled up barricades.
'They're civilians.'
Civilians were also visible inside, and although they looked depressed and weak, seeing them working, it seems they did rescue civilians here.
'...The campus is big, after all.'
I heard Colonel Park Young-ho of the 37th Division and the 17th Fighter Wing recruits ability users.
In Jeungpyeong County and Cheonan City. Then this must be the space where the rescued ability users are.
Or is this where that Chief Researcher's family lives?
'It doesn't look like their lifestyle is that good for that to be the case.'
The situation doesn't look good enough to be taking dolls and celebrating anniversaries.
Most of the civilians were also dressed like beggars.
It might not be, but in the end, it's right to catch someone and ask.
No.
Not just catch. I have to catch and kidnap them, and have Seo-yoon use her ability on them.
The military and the IN Company.
Then let's search for a target now.
#
I came back to the GP Biotech factory and looked around.
The IN Company shows no sign of coming out.
Therefore, I set the target as the soldiers.
Plus, if I touch the factory, the information will definitely be passed elsewhere, so I set my target on the other side.
Therefore, the place I set as my target was the checkpoint I saw earlier.
There are a total of four checkpoints.
The northeast one going to downtown Cheonan, the southwest one, the southeast one, and the north one.
There are no checkpoints elsewhere.
'...There must be a lot of Infected.'
The situation at all checkpoints is not good.
They're checkpoints in name only, as traces of battle were constantly visible.
Especially the north and downtown directions looked soaked in blood and flesh.
The southeast and southwest are somewhat better, but they're not much different either.
'......'
Well, that aside.
The Cheonan southeast seems to be the road to Jeungpyeong County.
Because there's a road there.
Downtown is obviously blocked because of the Infected, and the north is the same.
The southwest is because of the IN Company vehicles coming up this way.
'Then the question is, which one should I target?'
Usually, the north and downtown directions where the Infected are would be good.
Because it would be easy to bluff that they died from being attacked by the Infected.
However, I had Metal Manipulation.
What if I staged it as a Hunter attack using Metal Manipulation?
'...That's good.'
Especially in the southern direction of the southern checkpoint, there's a Hunter.
Even though Hunters are said to be territorial creatures, they are guys that also track, like in the case of the 32nd Division.
They're the perfect guys to frame.
'Well, I might get caught, though.'
Then I'll just crash in.
This is something I'll try out.
Therefore, I headed to the southern checkpoint.
Several soldiers are visible.
Four inside the checkpoint. Four standing guard outside. It seems they rotate like this.
No other humans are visible.
No surveillance ability is visible either. No red light of Area Surveillance is visible.
'......'
ㅡSwish
A rebar flew.
The body of one of the soldiers standing guard in front was cut in half.
ㅡSplatter!
The soldier who lost his upper body collapses.
ㅡThud
ㅡGurgle
ㅡGurgle
Blood and entrails leaking out.
The soldier next to him looks at him with a blank expression, then his face turns pale and his eyes widen.
"Bi...!!!"
The mouth of the guy who was trying to say something was blocked by a rebar.
Then I collapsed the checkpoint building.
ㅡ....!!!
The bodies of the four people who were trying to come out from inside are crushed to death by the collapsing temporary checkpoint building.
ㅡCrunch
The sound of flesh and bone being crushed was heard.