Communications Resumed (7)
Brother killing brother at the outpost base I'd discovered was just the beginning. But the engagements didn't play out like two sides charging at each other yelling battle cries. There was no justification for a war when the real enemy—the Infected—loomed larger than life.
Lee Man-cheol in Gohung mobilized his core loyalists, the ones firmly under his thumb, for guerrilla tactics. The plan was to clear key chokepoints, secure advance routes, then force-march the entire force for one or two decisive large-scale battles to end it quick. Dragging out this infighting risked subordinates turning on him, just like he'd shot his own superior. The rank-and-file had no will or motive to fight Yeosu's troops, so repeated skirmishes with them weren't feasible.
But the plan got doused in ice water from the start. They ran into reinforced armored troops at what seemed like a nothing outpost and suffered mutual heavy losses. Still, overall, Yeosu's outposts were falling one by one.
Yeosu was just a refugee camp among many stragglers. Gohung was the staging ground for evacuating to Jeju and relocating key industries—naturally, it had concentrated far more firepower.
Another outpost north of Yeosu. Disarmed Yeosu soldiers knelt with hands on heads. They were all terrified, mostly young guys in their early to mid-twenties. The fight ended in a flash. A sudden explosion rang out.
"Argh! My eyes! My eyes!"
Over half clutched their eyes and ears, rolling on the ground.
"Drop your weapons! All of you!"
Before they even knew what hit them, it was over. The Gohung infiltration team surrounding them— all officers—outclassed them in skill, experience, and grit.
"Urk!"
"Quit whining."
A captain squatted in front of a soldier writhing on the ground.
"I... I don't wanna die..."
"I know, kid. You wanna live. That's why I'm checking."
Blood seeped from a hole in the soldier's vest.
"Captain Woo, just put him out of his misery."
A smirking lieutenant aimed at the groaning soldier's head.
"Don't shoot! Please!"
"New army doesn't even teach buzzcuts anymore? Military life's gotten soft, huh?"
As the trigger pulled halfway—
"Hey."
Captain Woo grabbed the barrel and yanked it up.
"What the hell are you doing?"
His eyes were ice cold.
"You looked like you were working too hard, so I figured I'd help..."
"Unnecessary."
He shoved the barrel hard; the lieutenant stumbled back meters. Woo deftly pulled the ballistic panel from his gear, inspecting the bloodied abdomen.
"Sa... save..."
"You ain't dying, dumbass!"
Clang! He swung the panel, smacking the soldier's helmet with a clear ring. Woo shoved a shattered bullet fragment in his face.
"Bullet stopped in the vest. Just a shard nicked the skin. You're fine."
"Huuuuh..."
The soldier sighed in relief. Woo grinned.
"Now go kneel with the others. Hands on head."
"Y-yes sir!"
He scrambled to join the surrendered prisoners.
"No interrogation?"
Another team member asked.
"Interrogate who? These grunts? What do you think bottom-rung knows?"
Woo snorted.
"Still, rough 'em up a bit, might get something."
"Looks to me like you just wanna torture someone. When else you gonna get the chance?"
"What? No, sir—this is all to minimize our blood loss."
"Oh yeah? If you wanted real intel, you'd have kept that one alive."
Woo pointed to a dead Yeosu lieutenant in the corner. Disarmed, shot in the back of the head, fallen forward—knees bent at 90 degrees. They'd executed him after he knelt in surrender. He'd fought to the end while his men gave up—insolence.
"..."
The officer clammed up.
"Command post."
Woo keyed his radio.
"Team 3 has secured objective. Outpost commander KIA in combat. Troops captured alive. No friendly losses. Awaiting further orders."
Woo's eyebrow twitched.
"Say again?"
The order repeated.
"You're joking, right?"
A heated voice barked back.
"Is that really the colonel's order?"
The radio crackled loudly— even distant teams heard the final "You bastard!" before it cut off.
Woo tried hailing command post repeatedly. No response—they were ignoring him.
"Sergeant Major Kim Pil-jung here."
The stocky sergeant major's radio crackled instead.
"Yes, sir."
A long string of instructions followed.
"Understood. Yes, sir."
He nodded repeatedly, glancing slyly at Woo.
"Roger that. Loyalty!"
Command bypassing the op leader for a NCO? Woo stared incredulously at Kim.
"Captain Woo."
"What?"
Kim nodded at the prisoners.
"Command says execute the POWs. You heard it already, of course."
"..."
"Your call?"
Woo scanned the group—none would back him.
"You've defied orders plenty. Brass is losing patience."
Woo hated the mocking stares.
"So, we gun 'em all down?"
"That's the order."
"What'd they do? Just stood on the wrong line."
"That's war."
"War?"
Woo laughed bitterly.
"War's fighting outsiders. Shooting family? That's rebellion."
"You gonna follow or not?"
Woo eyed Kim's rifle—finger already on the trigger. One twitch and he'd eat it.
"Brass doesn't like your constant insubordination."
"Insubordination?"
Woo's face hardened as his hand drifted to his trigger. Others mirrored him.
"Enough. Hand over your weapon, Captain."
"What?"
"Drop the casual talk, asshole. Drop the gun."
Kim aimed.
"Lower yours, fucker?"
Woo aimed back. The team trained on him.
"This is fucked."
Woo scanned them.
"Lt. Park Shin-myeong, Sgt. Jeong Yong-min."
He called the ones he'd thought sympathetic. No dice—they stayed locked on him.
"Sorry."
"Captain, world's changed."
"..."
Kim smirked.
"Captain, 3 seconds. Drop it or die."
His face screamed don't drop it.
"3."
Some sidestepped to avoid friendly fire lanes.
"2."
Woo held steady on Kim's head.
"1."
Yeosu POWs squeezed eyes shut. The captain dies, we're next.
Thwack!
A lookout's head exploded on the perimeter.
"Enemy attack!"
Veterans scattered flawlessly, lightning-fast. Even outnumbered in a defended position against ambushers—plus they were all enhanced. No sweat.
Until they saw the unnatural movement.
Rat-tat-tat!
The first charger ate a hail of bullets.
"Screee."
Nearly 10 hits—no fall. No blood.
"What the hell?!"
"Prison bots?"
"Mutant Infected?"
Hybrid flesh-machine freak. Robotic? Too lifelike limbs. Organic? Too mechanical.
"Headshots!"
Face and neck shredded—it dropped. But now the real fun began.
"Open fire! Open fire!"
Enemies burst from brush at terrifying speed.
* * *
Video feeds from the Stalker robots streamed to me commanding from the rear. Brain implant sync for real-time ops was getting routine.
"No explosives. Prioritize POW survival."
Veterans, but brief panic. They couldn't use explosives freely either.
Boom! Kaboom!
Grenades countered the freakish bots' speed. No dodging area blasts.
Kabang!
One bot wrecked, two damaged within tolerance. Losses hurt, but live-fire data against humans? Worth it.
Painless, fearless machines. First bot hit the line.
"How's it that fa—"
Crack!
Chest kick caved ribs before he finished. He spewed blood chunks flying.
Rat-tat!
Frantic nearby shots—bot already blind-spotted away.
"Cover! They're inside!"
Soldiers ducked sandbags, walls. One flipped a car one-handed, hugging the engine block. Smart, swift—but wrong foe.
Boom-boom-boom!
Bots opened up—cannon thunder everywhere.
"Gahk!"
"Arrrgh!"
"Urk!"
Cover shredded. 12.7mm AP rounds tore sandbags, bricks, concrete, engine steel like paper.
"What the fuck! What're they shooting?!"
Realizing firepower, they went prone. Brief reprieve—prone shooters shredded next.
Grab! Thud!
Lucky sergeant snagged a bot's ankle passing, tripping it.
"Die!"
Aimed—but crunch! Bot backhand pulverized the gun's heat shield, flinging it away. Desperate, he grappled.
They rolled; bot mounted. Sergeant punched the jaw reflexively.
"Argh!"
Shattered fingers, no bot damage. It grabbed his throat.
"Gurk!"
He thrashed—immovable. Snap! Neck broken. Waste of time.
"Retreat! Fall back!"
"Monsters!"
No chance? They bolted—but trapped in their own defenses. Surrender? Fighting inhuman foes, no thought of it. Slaughtered fleeing or fighting.
Briefly even fight turned one-sided rout.
"Got it. Moving in."
Headed to the outpost. Ex-POWs aside, one Gohung survivor.
"I surrender."
A captain approached hands up. Isolated, guns on him from his own—he'd dropped weapon and prone at first shots. Thought Yeosu elites ambushing.
"Perfect timing. Need intel from someone who knows the inside..."
I froze staring at the surrendering captain. He gawked back.
"What're you doing here?"
"What're you doing here, boss?"
We said in unison.
* * *
"World's small. Never dreamed I'd see you here."
Woosungdae. My platoon leader for six months on overseas deployment. Back then, a fresh-faced lieutenant with acne.
"Guess they didn't have many officers like you. More Lee Man-cheol sympathizers than I thought."
"The strong ones stuck to the major general—no, colonel—like glue. Eat what they want, beat who they want. Law of the jungle."
He sighed.
"More guys than I figured found that appealing."
Gohung during the Infection War: bridgehead for relocating inland industry and talent to Jeju. Packed with enhanced elite defenders. But as shit hit the fan, gov ditched most under "inland defense" pretext. Too risky hauling all those super-soldiers. They fell for Man-cheol's pitch, reborn as strongman warlord army.
"Troops no complaints... nah, stupid question."
"Command's brutal enough, but Man-cheol's inner circle? Mostly enhanced. No need for pistols—disobedient grunts get skull-crushed barehanded anytime. They wield that primal fear masterfully."
Sungdae smiled bitterly.
"That's why you stayed."
"Over ten punishments on my call alone. Without me, half the troops'd be hanged. Obsessed with examples."
Corner robots treated wounded.
"Eek!"
Troops knew no threat, still flinched. Freakish looks plus fresh slaughter vibes.
"What the hell are those? Guard bots... right?"
Veteran, recognized pre-war old guardbots.
"Faces kinda match, but that combat? Insane. And those guns? Sound like 12.7mm. Never seen the model."
His tone: bafflement, awe.
"This metal's warm?"
Emboldened by old squadmate, he fondled the dark artificial muscle weave.
"Got it, no tantrum. Tin man."
Sungdae's nonchalant dodge—took me back to patrols bantering overseas.
"You haven't changed a bit."
I grinned. But explaining? My odyssey, raided pre-war sites, dissected Infected biotech, masterminded by Artemis. How to sell that?
"Long story. Anyway, heading to Yeosu. Gotta talk future with Commander Lee Seong-bong. You?"
"I'll tag along. Know Gohung inside out—useful."
"Appreciate it."
We headed to Yeosu with freed troops. Already in their zone—not far.