75. Cheonan Warlord (3)
75. Cheonan Warlord (3)
It's the Private First Class I saw back at the 32nd Division.
Yeah.
I remember. PFC Kim Jae-wook.
The private who was on guard duty with the Sergeant when I first arrived at the logistics center.
'......'
The fact that he's here means the remnants of the 32nd Division must have fled to Sejong and somehow drifted here.
And being on guard duty means he was somehow absorbed into this place.
I guess he has some value?
'Value?'
What kind of value does a conscripted soldier have?
Thinking about this is meaningless.
The fall of the 32nd Division logistics center.
Second Lieutenant Kim In-seop with a bullet hole in his forehead, and his dead aides.
Balloons, Sentient Beings, Walkers, Runners.
And that PFC Kim Jae-wook.
I stared quietly at the GP Biotech factory.
Soldiers moving around the factory grounds.
I can't even see what the INSS are doing. But since they said they were cooperating, they must be inside.
'......'
I moved quietly.
#
The dreary GP Biotech factory.
Kim Jae-wook was trudging along on patrol with tired eyes.
Accompanied by two other soldiers.
'A three-man squad, huh.'
A man with a rifle slung over his left shoulder, walking around the large factory grounds.
"Ugh... haaam."
The man yawned.
The other man blinked.
'I guess it's sleepy work if you sleep during the day and work at night.'
But that was their last moment.
The heads of the two men were pierced.
Following that,
metal quietly clung to Kim Jae-wook's body.
"!!!!!!"
He tried to open his mouth to say something, but there was no one to hear his voice.
Because the metal squeezed his lips and neck even tighter.
ㅡCrunch
Kim Jae-wook struggled, making suspicious sounds from his body.
His face washed over with terror.
ㅡThud
ㅡThud
But no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't escape.
It didn't seem like he had Strength Enhancement or Improved Arm Ability.
He was quietly dragged to a corner of the factory grounds.
Where there was nothing. Along with the two corpses.
The evidence had vanished perfectly.
ㅡSwoosh
Night. People were on guard duty, but no one saw him.
Because the factory was surrounded by high walls and barricades.
His body and the two men's corpses floated up into the sky.
ㅡClick
The car door opened.
Kim Jae-wook was shoved into the backseat of the car.
I greeted him with a rifle.
Kim Jae-wook's eyes widened.
#
"......"
"......"
I loosened his mouth.
It's not like he could do anything anyway.
I asked.
"The private who was on guard duty with that Sergeant back at the 32nd Division. You know me, right?"
"......"
There was no answer.
But the silence was an affirmation.
"Back then, you went inside and reported to the Second Lieutenant. I haven't seen you since."
"......"
Kim Jae-wook kept his mouth shut.
I asked again.
"I'm willing to listen to what happened, so talk. From the logistics center falling, to the Second Lieutenant dying."
The K2 rifle he had slung over his shoulder crumpled into a ball.
He kept his mouth shut.
"......"
"It would be better for you to open your mouth."
At the threat, the private opened his mouth.
"I, I have nothing to say."
"Why wouldn't you have anything to say?"
Then the private lashed out.
"That logistics center was hopeless! There was no future!"
"Future?"
Kim Jae-wook shouted.
"Why should we have to take care of civilians? Why should we have to die there? Why should we have to scavenge food for people, and why should we have to work for them? Yeah, isn't that right! Huh?! Fuck, did I do something wrong?"
"Then what about here?"
"At least it's better than there. They treat us well here. That fucker Kim Se-jin. If he was going to gather us, he should've come back alive. Fuck. Even here, we're just fighting those fucking Infected. Fuck! Fuck!"
Kim Jae-wook twisted his body around.
I asked.
"Well, that's enough of that, so tell me about this place."
"Do you think I would? If you were me?"
"You'll die if you don't."
"Then kill me! Fuck! You fucking piece of shit!"
Why are there always guys like this?
Suddenly, I'm annoyed.
I gagged him.
Is he like this by nature? Or did the world make him this way?
It's meaningless.
Rebar wrapped around his mouth.
The man couldn't make a sound.
Rebar drove into his arms and legs.
"...!!!!!!"
The man screamed.
He looked at me with desperate eyes. Well, he told me to kill him earlier.
Then I fixed his body in place and gathered the rebar into one piece.
And I slammed the rebar down onto his testicles.
ㅡSquish
"!!!!!!!!!!"
Kim Jae-wook foamed at the mouth.
ㅡSquish
ㅡThud
The backseat was stained with blood, foam came out of his mouth, and his breathing stopped.
"Idiot."
And I'm an idiot too.
I closed the car door and left the scene.
#
I need to find the next target.
But there were many problems.
'There's quite a lot of surveillance.'
Also, since I took out a patrol unit, there would be a commotion before long.
The disposal was clean so there was no evidence, but what if they have some kind of surveillance ability?
Like Seol-hwa's Detection or the Second Lieutenant's Area Surveillance superpower.
But it wasn't quite right to just blindly go in and kill everyone.
It's not about people dying, but because there's a high probability that Park Young-ho isn't here.
'Would the higher-ups be that careless?'
But I don't see any abducted civilians.
Waiting for that is a bit...
I kept watching the GP Biotech factory that I had crossed over into using a lump of metal.
First, I'll have to watch how they respond to Kim Jae-wook and his group disappearing.
However.
'No reaction.'
No, they did come out.
I saw soldiers swarming to the patrol route and chatting here and there.
But they said something and just went back.
Did they just treat it as desertion because there was no blood and no evidence?
'Maybe.'
Or maybe not.
The soldiers dispersed.
While I was doing that, this time, people swarmed out of the factory dormitory and headed toward the factory building.
'......'
I watched them quietly.
Somehow, they're all young people.
At most 30?
'Where is Park Young-ho.'
I guess he's really not here.
Higher-ups always cherish their own bodies.
Why, even that North Korean leader travels with multiple vehicles, doesn't he?
Even Qin Shi Huang in the old days prevented terrorism with multiple carriages.
Since Colonel Park Young-ho, the leader here, would likely do something similar.
I followed two men in their 30s who were slipping off to another side to smoke.
The men headed to the rooftop along the external iron stairs of the dormitory.
I entered the blind spot and eavesdropped on the men's conversation.
"It's not here, right?"
"Who would come all the way here? They wouldn't even hear us, man."
ㅡSizzle
The cigarette was lit.
"Anyway, this is fucked up."
"We have to walk on eggshells around the higher-ups, fuck."
"Non-commissioned officers are the easiest targets, aren't they."
"Fuck, even when things go wrong, they always bitch at us."
"What can we do? It's because of the Infected, goddamn Infected. Why are they holding such a long meeting because of that one that died to the Southern Hunter? Oh right, what did they say about that report that came in earlier?"
"They said some kids disappeared."
"Fuck, is it just a day or two that people disappear?"
"They said a patrol squad went out."
"They have reason to go out. They must have heard all the news this time."
ㅡHoo
White smoke cut through the night sky and flew away.
"It is fucked up. That Hunter bastard. Are you being dispatched there this time?"
"Yeah. Ah, damn, I don't know if I'm going to die like this. I'm jealous. You're on the factory side."
"What's there to be jealous of, fuck. It's fucked up here too."
"Still, it's better than having your life in danger."
"That's true, but ugh. Ah, seriously, why did I join the 37th Division?"
"You would've died if you went anywhere else, right? Plus, we don't leave here."
"That's true too. Should I be happy about this? Or not?"
"You should be happy. Unless you're going to the Hive, this place is sweet. Did you see Min-seok and Dong-hun's expressions earlier? They looked like they were dead when they heard they were going to the Hive."
"That's true."
What the fuck is a Hive?
Isn't it a Wave? What's a Hive?
While I was thinking that, the soldier opened his mouth.
"Ah, fuck."
"Why?"
"I need to take a shit."
"Ah, you dirty fuck, go take it. I'll be here smoking alone. You're not just going to smoke one, right? We're on standby from now on anyway."
"Okey."
A dirty opportunity arose.
The soldier went down with a serious expression, as if he really needed to take a shit.
I was about to follow him but stopped and targeted the man at the top.
"Keck...!"
I bound his neck and limbs with metal and dragged the man into the blind spot of the rooftop.
"If you scream, I'll kill you. If you agree, blink your eyes twice."
"......"
Blink blink
I loosened the metal around the man's neck.
A gun barrel was touching his forehead.
The man gulped.
"Th-that..."
"If you open your mouth first, I'll kill you. You know those kids disappeared earlier, right? What do you think happened to those bastards?"
"......."
The man had enough sense to stay quiet.
I asked what I had asked the previous men.
The locations of Park Young-ho, Park Si-woo, and Kim Sang-chul, and even the location of Park Young-ho at this GP Biotech factory.
Stories about the partner IN Company, and the Wave.
But he didn't know either. He said they disappeared after March.
"That is..."
It was correct for now.
"Well, it doesn't seem like you're lying. Then what is a Hive?"
"Th-that's the place where the Waves come out!"
"Lower your voice."
"......"
A place where Waves come out.
It seems they call the Infected that gives birth to other Infected, which the previous men mentioned, a Hive.
"Tell me more."
"It's a place that appeared suddenly. To be precise, it's a location estimated to have appeared between late March and early April, and Infected keep popping out of it."
A place where Infected keep popping out.
A place that appeared suddenly between late March and early April.
The information is the same, but details have emerged.
'The date is fucking suspicious.'
"Do you know why it appeared?"
"I, I don't know."
"Really?"
"I really don't know...!"
"Are you an officer?"
"Yes...! This, this building is for officers only, so..."
I suppose so.
Well, whatever.
"The head here is Park Young-ho, right?"
"Ye-yes. That's right."
"Where is he?"
"He's not here."
"Don't lie to me, you fucker."
I crumpled the iron he was carrying into a ball.
The man was terrified looking at me.
"It, it's the truth...! Didn't I say I haven't seen him since March? Colonel Park Young-ho always appears only through communication. I'm telling you he didn't come today either."
"Is that so?"
I suppose so.
Though I'll have to use Seo-yoon's ability.
"What are you?"
"Huh?"
"What's your position here?"
"Th-that, if you look here, that..."
I see he's a Sergeant First Class.
Seems like a non-commissioned officer.
"What's your ability?"
"It's Perception Enhancement...!"
What the hell is Perception?
Anyway.
'I'll just kidnap him and that other guy, and ask them.'
"Ugh, fuck. Why is it so cold? Isn't it May? Huh?"
Including the guy who came back from taking a shit back there.
I wrapped those two in metal and slipped out of the GP Biotech factory.
#
".....Mmph."
"......"
"Mmph!"
The man kept saying something.
I was about to send a piece of metal flying, but just in case, I opened his mouth.
"Who, who are you... fuck...! What are you doing right now!"
How can he be so oblivious?
"......"
A piece of metal flew and pierced the man's head.
The Sergeant First Class next to him was terrified.
"......"
"Do well."
"Yes...!"
There were no problems while heading to I-Pension.
This time, an officer.
I used Seo-yoon's ability.
Sergeant First Class Han Gyu-min.
Ability: Perception Enhancement. Same thing.
The information he told me earlier was the same.
Compatibility is 20%.
The man didn't lie, even about Colonel Park Young-ho not showing up.
And a huge harvest.
He had a phone, and he also had photos of Park Young-ho, Park Si-woo, and Kim Sang-chul.
"So this bastard is Park Young-ho."
"Yes... the one next to him is his son Park Si-woo, and this, this photo is that Kim Sang-chul."
"Yeah. But you don't know where he is?"
"Yes... he doesn't even come to meetings, and it's been months since he's been inside the GP Biotech factory. Same for Cheonan University and the Jeungpyeong side. At least Park Si-woo comes out a bit..."
As expected, he didn't come out.
It means it's a good thing I didn't flip the factory upside down.
More than that...
"Park Si-woo comes out?"
"Yes. He comes out to hang out sometimes. To Cheonan University. He also comes out when he works."
"Where does he come out from?"
"I don't know."
I suppose so.
"That's after he made contact with that partner, IN Company."
"That's right."
"Then aren't there any high-ranking guys there? I saw earlier that they were all young people."
"There were, but they all went somewhere else."
"Where?"
"I don't know."
Man, he doesn't know anything.
"Then who is the oldest person here?"
"It's Master Sergeant Seo Han-min, in his 40s."
"I see."
As expected, the higher-ups never get caught easily.
If I had gone into an all-out war, it would've been very annoying.
The fortunate thing is that there are no ability users related to detection?
"How many detection people are there? You know, like surveillance superpowers."
"There's one on the Jeungpyeong side."
"You mean Lieutenant Colonel Kim Sang-chul?"
"Yes..."
"The university is where Park Si-woo, Park Young-ho's son, is. Only Park Si-woo comes out occasionally, and Kim Sang-chul doesn't?"
"Yes."
"Then isn't there anyone who might know Park Young-ho's location?"
"There won't be anyone on the GP factory side."
"What about the IN Company guys?"
"I don't really know about those people. They only do operations together, but they act completely separately..."
Then should I keep messing with the Biotech factory where IN Company recruits ability users?
Or should I go to Cheonan University where Park Si-woo comes out?
"Let's just rob the factory."
Well, I could've just stormed in from the beginning.
ㅡBang!
I killed Sergeant First Class Han Gyu-min, loaded his corpse into the vehicle, and went outside.
#
Dawn of May 8th, as morning breaks.
GP Biotech factory.
Surveillance has become stronger.
The number is a bit high to treat as desertion, right?
But since there's no evidence, it'll be impossible to verify.
It's not like a monster came, after all.
Six patrol personnel.
Eight at the checkpoint.
Six in total, with about three at each guard post.
But avoiding them is easy.
They are only guarding the entrance and exit, after all.
It means they don't expect someone to just fly over the wall.
'Come to think of it, I've never seen a flight ability.'
Well, I'll look into that later.
The left is the building used by the INSS, and the right is the building used by the military.
The dormitory is also used by the soldiers.
I heard that the missing ability users came here when I caught the previous two soldiers, and when I caught one officer here, so there must be something inside the building that the IN Company was frequenting.
And that something is probably.
'Related to the disappearance of the ability users.'
I carefully headed to the left factory building without getting caught.
A side door with a slightly musty smell.
Dust scattered as the door opened.