83. Turning Point (2)
83. Turning Point (2)
I actually thought about leaving Cheonan University alone.
Remove the head, install a new one, and send the surrounding survivors to that group.
It's similar to the 32nd Division Logistics Center, but the difference would be that the head would be my minion.
I thought about putting powerful ability users in the top positions and creating a new kind of group.
Fully controlled by contract,
a group that could be sufficiently suppressed even if betrayal or incidents occurred from within.
'Put things like "No Disclosure" and "Total Submission" on them, and use them like a puppet CEO.'
However, I realized that I had treated the people 5 months into the apocalypse like nothing.
Once the upper echelon disappeared, they immediately seized full authority and purged most of the unnecessary civilians.
Then, they communicated with Lieutenant Colonel Sang-chul Kim, who was alive in Jeungpyeong, and planned for future survival.
This took only a single day.
That's the kind of world it is,
and that's the kind of people who survive, I guess.
Therefore, to create the group I wanted, I had to find new humans.
Inside Cheonan University.
A warlord group with many civilian corpses.
ㅡ!!!!!!!
ㅡAaaaargh!
Screams are heard.
Chaos.
"Ugh, ugh..! The dor, dormitory."
"Which floor."
"4th floor..."
I found Min-hong Jo's location.
ㅡTatattatang!
Bullets are fired at the intruder.
The bullets turned back and hit their owners.
"Guaaaah!"
"Fuck..!"
The dormitory next to the Science Hall.
The place Si-woo Park used before.
I smashed the door.
ㅡJjeoeok!
ㅡPung!
"Heok...!"
I entered through the window.
A man with the same appearance.
The soldiers next to him aim at me.
Of course, this time too, the guns didn't fire but spun in the air and turned back to their owners.
ㅡTatattatang!
The soldiers fall, turned into honeycombs.
The man glares at me with eyes blazing.
"Min-hong Jo? Are you Min-hong Jo?"
"You young brat...!"
ㅡCheolkeok
The man raises his gun.
ㅡPik
Min-hong Jo collapsed.
The man falls with a hole in his head.
I headed back outside.
#
ㅡ$%$
ㅡ#$$%%
I took care of Cheonan University.
Well, they must have had a deep story too.
The conflict between soldiers and civilians.
The story between the four places: GP Biotech factory, Cheonan University, the bunker, and the Jeungpyeong County Office.
The system... things they had built since January.
But that has disappeared.
I killed most of the humans I could see, including Min-hong Jo.
There might be remnants, but they won't be able to survive with those numbers.
Because Cheonan isn't that safe of a city.
And it's not like I can go down, there's a Hunter in Jochiwon.
'That's it.'
This much is enough.
The Cheonan Warlords who collaborated with the IN Company Sejong Branch.
What's left are the communication ability user and surveillance ability user in Jeungpyeong.
I moved to a new location.
#
ㅡDeolkeong
ㅡDeolkeong
ㅡPpajik
The head of a Walker on the national road is smashed.
The distance between Cheonan and Jeungpyeong is quite far.
If you just count the distance, Cheongju is closer from Cheonan.
Since Jeungpyeong is above Cheongju in the first place.
That's why the road to the Jeungpyeong County Office took quite a while.
About two hours?
Since it was daytime, I didn't use my ability and just came by vehicle.
ㅡDeolkeong
ㅡDeolkeong
Jeungpyeong County.
Unlike Cheonan, it's incredibly quiet.
They faced the apocalypse, but there weren't many traces of it.
'And there are no traces of Hunters either.'
It seems there are no Abominations or dangerous Infected at all.
Well, that must be why Young-ho Park settled here.
A checkpoint is visible.
'......'
I wondered if there were people, but there aren't. I thought they would have people standing at the checkpoint like at the Cheonan GP Biotech factory, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Or maybe they knew they couldn't contact the bunker and went somewhere else.
Well, whether they left or not, it didn't matter.
I had a way.
I first looked for a nearby real estate agency.
"Kieeeek...!"
"Kieek!"
The road in Jeungpyeong following the path. I circled around it, went into a real estate agency, and gauged the location of the Jeungpyeong County Office. Then, I found a tall building where the Jeungpyeong County Office was visible.
'There's an apartment right next to it.'
I thought I could just watch from up there.
#
I moved immediately.
That's how I arrived at Jeungpyeong Dong-a Apartment.
There are no traces of Flowers, Nests, or Variants.
I go up to the 15th floor, the top floor.
To the side where the Jeungpyeong County Office is clearly visible.
The balcony.
The scenery of the ruined Jeungpyeong County.
The Jeungpyeong County Office is visible right there.
I narrowed my eyes while looking at the people moving in front of it.
'Something's strange.'
There are few of them.
Only a few soldiers are visible.
It doesn't look like there are any people either.
Isn't this the Jeungpyeong County Office?
Something was strange.
However, I was quickly able to understand what was going on.
A vehicle came from the front and swapped with the personnel inside.
'Ah.'
The Jeungpyeong County Office.
The location isn't that good.
Because it's stuck in the middle of the Jeungpyeong County city center.
Even if there are no dangerous Infected, it's not a very good place to defend.
Because it's a different place from the isolated GP Biotech factory or Cheonan University.
'I have to go.'
I followed those soldiers who were swapping shifts.
#
'They're going far.'
That's how I arrived at the upper left of Jeungpyeong County.
A corner with farmland.
Since I don't have a map here, I don't know what building it is.
It's a Hotel Village.
It was a place where hotels and various motels were lined up along the road and farmland, and I could see soldiers standing guard on the road.
And I don't know if it was an ability or what, but barricades were also lined up along the farmland.
And...
'It's Area Surveillance.'
Red lights were visible around the checkpoint, and I knew that wasn't just light, but the superpower Area Surveillance.
It means our Lieutenant Colonel Sang-chul Kim is alive here.
'Well, I found them for now.'
I can just comfortably wipe this place out too.
But I'm getting a little greedy.
I don't really want to take the Area Surveillance, but that communication ability user.
'Did they say her name was Ha-yoon Lee?'
That's why I planned to take a look around here.
Anyway, I already took the bunker where the head of the IN Company was, and I killed Young-ho Park too.
I smashed the factory building and all, and I completely took care of Cheonan University.
Then, I can take one communication ability user, right?
'Plus, she's a woman.'
If I beat her, she'll listen on her own.
I looked around.
Soldiers were standing guard among themselves, and civilians... I thought there weren't any, but there are.
'Should I watch for a day or two?'
I settled inside a hotel that looked about 10 stories high, which they weren't using, and observed the Hotel Village.
#
A day passed.
5 months into the apocalypse.
The Jeungpyeong Hotel Village was slightly different from Cheonan University.
It seems that because that side couldn't be self-sufficient, they eventually killed all the useless civilians, but this Jeungpyeong Hotel Village had few Infected around, and since there was a large plot of land available for farming, some civilians were still alive.
Also, they worked during the day.
It seems they are using them as labor.
Of course, most of them were soldiers.
'It's especially fascinating that they are farming.'
So far, no group has been farming properly.
Factories.
Including Cheonan University, the logistics center, Cheongju University, and other school groups.
So just watching that was fascinating.
The soldiers and civilians in front are farming.
Maybe they are farming staple crops like potatoes or sweet potatoes?
Or rice paddy farming?
No, rice paddy farming is a bit hard. No, maybe it's possible if there are many people?
Anyway, it doesn't seem to be a rice paddy. Because there are no waterways.
Then it's a field.
If it's a field, there's a possibility. Still, the fact that they are farming means they have a self-sufficient production system.
No, of course they would.
Logistics centers or marts will gradually disappear, so having a self-sufficient system is extremely important. Although it's impossible to be self-sufficient with just that for now, it means it's possible someday.
'......'
And there..
'Oh.'
That's a superpower.
I see a man in front doing something to the ground.
A white light surrounds it.
Just like Eun-bin healing.
Is he using that healing ability on the ground? It doesn't seem like it.
Is that a growth acceleration ability?
I'm curious.
Well, if I'm curious, I should go and ask.
But that wasn't right now.
ㅡ!@$!
ㅡ!@$!@$
As I was watching that,
in front of me, two soldiers were already mercilessly assaulting a middle-aged man.
ㅡ!@$!@$!
ㅡ!@$!@$
The men are saying something to the man with angry expressions.
The man covers his head with an expression of pain and blocks the kicks.
People presumed to be civilians nearby are watching the scene, terrified.
Someone tries to go and argue, but the people next to them stop them.
A soldier raises a gun.
However, the soldier next to him stops him, so he doesn't shoot.
'Well, it has been 5 months since the incident.'
Plus, soldiers have power.
The power called a gun.
If it's not an ability that is completely the hard counter to soldiers like mine, it's bound to be disadvantageous against soldiers.
Even if they reached lv.2, or even lv.3, they are much weaker than bullets.
And even if they reached lv.4, firearms are tricky. Also, this side is a warlord.
It means civilians can't do anything if soldiers act coercively like that.
Is it control by force?
It's not a bad method. It's not a good method either, though. Well, whatever. They are doing it themselves.
Then, how to deal with this place.
'Originally, I just wanted to kill everyone and take only that communication ability user.'
Farming personnel, huh.
Our Nam-i-myeon side has some rice paddies or fields, so can't I just take them there and tell them to farm?
If not, a place a bit further away is fine too.
Or, this Hotel Village itself looks quite good, so I could just leave them here.
'This is decent.'
To look at the future, it seems right to do that.
I'm making a front yard.
It seems there is also a farming-related superpower, so if it's to that extent, it seems they can build a self-sufficient system.
'......'
Then... just crashing in like smashing the factory or university is not right. This required detailed tailing and information gathering.