Exodus (5): Silent Infiltration
The pension at Exodus Arcadia had excellent facilities. There were a few zombies scattered around, but not enough to cause any real trouble. We handled them without much effort. There was no need to waste bullets. I kept the protective gear on my left arm forward to draw them in, and when they bit down, I brought my machete crashing into their skulls. Sometimes I didn't even need the blade. A solid punch to the head or a quick block followed by a judo throw that slammed them into the ground was enough to finish them cleanly. I gathered up the corpses and dragged them a little farther away from where we'd be sleeping.
After that we found a bathtub, breathed a sigh of relief at the water that was still running, and washed together. We ate instant rice mixed with the ramen we'd taken from the car.
“We'll have to find a proper pot later.”
“A pot? Isn't that kind of big?”
“Yeah, but if we want to boil anything we'll need one. Something decent-sized.”
A kettle was useful, but it wasn't exactly a miracle tool. After the meal we brushed our teeth with the toothbrushes and toothpaste we'd picked up at the mart, then went to bed. Well, not immediately. I suppose it was more like an extension of our usual routine.
“Mmph, pwaah… it's so sticky.”
“Then spit it out. Why the hell are you swallowing?”
“Protein!”
“What are you even talking about?”
We fooled around with each other for a while before falling asleep. As usual I started to pin her beneath me, but changed my mind, pulled her into my arms, and lay on our sides instead. We had eaten well, cleaned ourselves, taken a shit, and slept.
“…Ugh. What time is it?”
I woke up feeling incredibly refreshed. I hadn't set an alarm, but my eyes opened on their own.
“Oppa~… I need the bathroom…”
I released my whining sister and we naturally washed up together again.
“Ugh, gulp, swallow.”
“Why are you swallowing it again? I told you to spit it out.”
“Don't wanna.”
Only after that did we get dressed. We looked neat and presentable—the right state for what we were about to do.
“Oppa, we're leaving everything behind, right?”
“We have to.”
“I'm a little worried someone might steal our stuff.”
“Then we just won't leave it in the car.”
“Huh?”
The car was too noticeable. We couldn't hide it behind any bushes, either. Of course, it was unlikely anyone would come all the way out here, but there was no point in taking chances. We only loaded what could fit in the rubber boat—the usual gear we carried and a modest amount of shared ammunition. On our bodies we kept only what we could conceal and carry. The rest we hid deep in the nearby forest where it wouldn't be easily spotted.
The weapons we brought were minimal. Easy to hide. For me: a carbon-steel machete, a .22 caliber powder pistol, and an automatic pistol. For my sister: that stainless-steel kitchen knife and sashimi blade she still insisted on carrying for some reason, plus a bayonet, a revolver, and a compact automatic pistol. Just in case, I also grabbed a box of fifty .22 rounds. Magazines came to the usual six plus four more for the automatic. My sister carried seventeen revolver rounds and two magazines for her compact pistol. It was nowhere near enough to wipe out a military unit. The amount loaded onto the boat was equally limited.
The Crusader's Sword, the Crusader's Doubt, two assault rifles. A side-by-side shotgun, a semi-automatic shotgun. Between us we had eighteen rifle magazines. For ammunition we took 1,140 rounds of 5.56—enough to load 540 into the magazines—plus 160 rounds of 000 buckshot. Seven days of food and water, and enough medicine for roughly ten uses. That was our limit. We still had to leave room for hiding spots, after all. But I figured it would be enough to make a quick escape if things went south. If not, we'd improvise.
Because of that, our plan had nothing to do with a frontal assault.
“All right. Who are we?”
“Completely innocent, kind-hearted survivors?”
“Exactly. We're people who were already here. Understand?”
The cult managed its personnel with terrifying thoroughness, easily weeding out any reporters or YouTubers who tried to slip inside. But that level of control only worked because of their obsessive oversight, mutual surveillance, and meticulous list-keeping. Most groups couldn't pull that off. Of course, from what I'd heard these bastards even conscripted people, so they probably kept some kind of roster. Still—
“What if we get caught?”
“We won't. Updating and distributing a roster is a pain in the ass, and real-time updates would be impossible anyway.”
With my genius-level intelligence of 6(1), it was obvious there were holes. They guarded the entrances rigorously, so anyone coming or going would be logged. If you never passed through an entrance, you were never entered into the list. Catching people already on the roster was one thing, but spotting brand-new faces not on it would be difficult. Especially in an era where the internet no longer functioned properly. Real-time updates were out of the question.
That was exactly the gap I intended to exploit. We would act as citizens who existed yet didn't exist—ghosts slipping in to observe.
“And if we do get caught?”
“If it's not a crowd that sees us… we kill them.”
“Eh? We can do that?”
“Of course. I give you permission.”
Kang Ahyeon lit up with joy at the murder license her oppa had just granted her. I boarded the rubber boat with that same delighted sister. I took the oars and propelled us forward using nothing but raw strength—no motor, no fancy technique. It wasn't exactly smooth, of course.
“Ahahaha!” Kang Ahyeon burst out laughing. The boat spun in circles with her laughter, often heading in the exact opposite direction I intended.
“Tch. Not as easy as it looks.”
“Oppa, you're terrible at this!”
“If someone's too perfect, they lose their human touch. Even a flawless man like me has things he can't do.”
“What are you even saying? You're so cute.”
“That grates on my nerves.”
“Ah, your ears are red! Your whole face too! So cute!”
To think she'd dare call a tattooed bastard like me cute. I fought down the urge to give her a solid knuckle to the head and kept rowing. The beginning had been rough, but I was a superhuman whose strength and agility had already begun to transcend human limits. Once I got the feel for it, mistakes disappeared. The rubber boat glided up the quiet river toward our destination.
We floated lazily along the riverside and played as we went.
“Haa… this is nice.”
“That good, huh?”
“Yeah! Floating on the water like this… it feels amazing.”
Kang Ahyeon had loved water ever since she was little. Drinking it, bathing in it—she liked everything about it. She hadn't had many chances to swim, but she probably wouldn't mind cold water either. It was surprising for a girl who loved tight spaces, being squeezed, and being held, but a faint connection occurred to me.
“Want to look for a yacht later?”
“A yacht?”
“Sailing around the ocean in one sounds fun.”
“Mmm… Ah-hyun wants to try sea bathing more than a yacht!”
“Sea bathing is nice too.”
Maybe because it didn't feel as direct as actually getting in the water. Surprisingly, yachts didn't appeal to her much. Still, the rubber boat itself earned high marks.
“Oppa, can you hug me really tight right now?”
“I'm rowing.”
“Just a short break! You look tired, oppa!”
“I'm not tired.”
“Uiiing… Ah-hyun's gonna cry…”
“What kind of twenty-one-year-old cries because she didn't get a hug…”
Even while clicking my tongue, I pulled her into my arms and lay back. Together we gazed up at the blue sky. It was spring. The cold was finally beginning to loosen its grip. Feeling the early-spring breeze that was neither warm nor chilly, I floated down the river with my sister and thought that maybe staying in Gucheon Village wouldn't have been so bad after all. Moments of leisure like this had value in themselves.
“Oppa, ah—”
We ate and drank at our leisure. We watched the forests sliding past on either side of the boat, took short naps lying down, and let time drift by.
“Oppa. We're here.”
“…Mm.”
“Wake up. If you don't wake up, I'll kiss you…”
“Crazy girl…”
When I opened my eyes, the island was clearly visible.
“It's flatter than I expected.”
I couldn't see the whole thing, but it didn't look like a bad place to sneak onto. The flat ground would let the rubber boat slide up easily. Scattered vinyl greenhouses—apparently abandoned—dotted the area, with thick clusters of trees growing between them.
“It's an ecological park. Says so right here on the pamphlet.”
She really came prepared. I skimmed the pamphlet she handed me. An ecological park, with a resort and theme park above it. A vast plot of 1,300 square meters filled with every attraction imaginable. The ecological park sat at the southernmost tip of the island. Farther up were the parking lot, dock, attractions, and resort. The terrain rose gradually. For a second I worried that a lookout on the resort roof might spot us, but that seemed unlikely. The trees in between were far too dense. Even so, I saw no guards on duty. Was there a checkpoint below? I hoped not.
I handed the pamphlet back and brought the boat closer to the ecological park. Thick reeds blocked our path but also concealed us from view.
“We're lucky.”
Not luck—skill. I'd known everything and steered us here on purpose. There was a dock farther ahead, but it was only common sense that boats would head there. The odds of it being guarded were high. They probably never imagined someone would row a rubber boat in.
I parted the reeds and docked beside a suitable walking trail.
“Watch your step when you get out.”
“Mmm.”
Hiding the boat was easy. We still had plenty of tarps. Covering our gear and pushing it deep into the reeds made it completely invisible. People rarely came this far anyway. The world was far too dangerous to wander around without worrying about zombies. So of course…
“Ah.”
“Uh.”
“Huk.”
The moment we stepped out of the bushes, voices reached us. A man and woman tangled together were staring at us, blinking dumbly. What the hell were they doing? The man's zipper was down, the woman's skirt hiked up. I wasn't sure exactly what they'd been up to, but… it didn't matter.
I looked at them. They looked at us. I read the panic on their faces. Because I was on guard, my senses were sharpened. I took in every detail of the surroundings. My sister stood quietly at my side. The couple still hadn't moved. They hadn't screamed. They clearly hadn't expected anyone to appear here, so they were frozen in shock, unable to react. But they wouldn't stay that way forever. Sooner or later they'd scream, and then we'd be exposed. We had to kill them before that happened.
The instant I made the call, my hand moved naturally toward my waist—
“Ah, s-sorry…! We didn't think anyone else would be using this spot…”
My sister stepped forward, so I stopped. She smiled awkwardly and tugged my arm. The signal was clear: don't kill them.
“Ah, um, we didn't expect there to be anyone here first, either…”
The man let out an awkward laugh and exchanged glances with the woman. Even while awkwardly reading each other's expressions, neither of them screamed. What was going on? It would have been simpler to just kill them. To any observer we were obviously intruders.
“How about… we both pretend we didn't see each other?”
My sister seemed to have a different idea. The couple apparently assumed we were fellow citizens too. They agreed with silence. Without fully understanding what was happening, I ended up walking up the trail together with them. No one spoke. In that heavy silence we reached the parking lot.
“Um, we'll be going now…”
They hurried off, clearly uncomfortable. I had no idea what the hell had just happened, but… whatever. Exodus Arcadia— infiltration successful.
“Oppa, what now?”
At my sister's question, I gazed toward the resort.
“We're going to raid the armory.”
We boldly walked straight toward the resort.