Headhunting (6)

The North Island was once vast farmland before the national disaster struck. Nearly eighty percent of its 113 hectares consisted of cultivated fields.

We stood inside the president’s penthouse—a sprawling space that doubled as his office—listening to him speak. Several days had passed since our little vacation at the theme park. It wasn’t preparation time. Quite the opposite, actually. We had simply eaten, slept, and rested.

Ever since the quest first appeared back in Building 2 of Sion Mountain Fortress, the truth was that we had spent far more time killing, fighting, or staying on guard than actually resting. So my sister and I had rested with genuine care. Jacuzzis, swimming pools, billiards and bowling—things I had never tried before—right up to golf. The president readily agreed, probably because those activities consumed less power than the theme park rides. And it wasn’t just that. He even played golf with us. It had been a surprisingly enjoyable time.

But nothing lasts forever. In the end, we still had to deal with that thing—whether it was a variant or a human.

Before that, the information the president provided was as follows.

“It wasn’t connected to the mainland, and there were no separate docks. You could swim across from Exodus Arcadia, but the distance is considerable.”

A single bridge connected the islands. The conditions were perfect for farming. Water was nearby, and there were no enemies. With such vast land and little need for heavy security, it must have been ideal for agriculture. Especially in times like these. Staying in one place was safer, but food would eventually run out—especially with many mouths to feed.

Of course, none of that was my or Kang Ahyeon’s problem. All this information was simply useful for sketching out the location’s layout.

“That’s why it was difficult for infected to reach it, and the massive farmland had been carefully maintained since before the disaster, with harvest just around the corner. This island has little arable land… It wouldn’t be strange to say that the fate of Exodus Arcadia depended on the development of the North Island.”

As I listened, I glanced at my sister. She wore an obedient, gentle expression. Her face looked so pure and kind, but that was far from the truth. She was a complete Lucifer. With that smiling face, she could act innocent one moment and then suddenly draw a pistol and fire, or drive a knife into someone’s throat.

“How big is 113 hectares?”

But to me, she was basically a question-answering machine and a beloved comfort pillow. My sister rolled her eyes at my question.

“About 340,000 pyeong.”

The units were ridiculously different.

“What about our house?”

“Our house? You mean…”

“Yeah, the one we blew up. Specifically, Unit 807—our actual home.”

“11 pyeong?”

“Holy shit.”

More than thirty thousand times the difference? That island was insanely huge. If eighty percent of it was farmland…

“Ugh, my brain…!”

My genius brain—capable of perfect movement in battle, brilliant tactics, and instantly calculating the surest way to win any fight—simply wasn’t built for calculations. In other words, it wasn’t a human brain. It was more like a beast’s. Asking a predator that confuses humans and devours even the most experienced hunters to do math was pointless.

In short, it didn’t work. My head cramped up.

I gave up and looked at my sister.

“Eighty percent of 113 hectares is how much?”

“90.4 hectares?”

I clutched my head and ignored the president.

“In pyeong?”

“Um… approximately 273,416 pyeong. Excluding decimals.”

Yeah. Calculations should be left to my sister. Studying was for the weak. Someone as strong as me didn’t need it.

“Since I figured you’d ask, I’ll tell you… it’s about 24,856 times larger than our house.”

“Fucking hell.”

All that land was farmland?

“Want me to run any other calculations? I can estimate its carrying capacity if you’d like. Just say the word.”

What was with that tone? It sounded strangely mechanical. When I turned to look at her, my sister simply stared back at me with those innocent eyes. What the hell?

The president flinched, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but I had no idea what was going on and just blinked.

“Never mind, the calculations are enough…”

I could roughly imagine it. Even if the only crop was lettuce, we’d never have to worry about three meals a day. Of course, eating only that would ruin our nutrition and destroy our bodies, but still.

Now I understood why the president was staking everything on this. I didn’t know exactly how many people it could support, but this was just the beginning. Once stable food production became possible, daily life would gain some breathing room.

“Do you understand now why I’m making this request?”

“Yeah, I understand it fucking perfectly…”

If I were the president, I would have done the same. It wasn’t some special idea—it was basically common sense. Leaving such farmland idle would be criminal. Even if it wasn’t used for farming, it could house far more people as a residential area. Simply using it as a shelter would be valuable. The potential uses were endless.

That was why my sister and I were fully armed. We had packed ammunition into our backpacks, put on body armor, attached magazine pouches, and loaded our rifles, swords, and the gun-bayonet. Pistols were holstered within easy reach as we sat before the president.

My job was simple. Cross over to the North Island, kill what needed killing, handle what needed handling, and scout the area. In exchange, everything else would be taken care of here. We had received medical checkups, meals, lodging, drinking water, and entertainment. Spent ammunition would be replenished, and additional rewards were promised upon completion.

So I had to work hard. At the very least, I wanted to be able to say I’d earned my keep.

“Then you’ll begin today?”

“That’s the plan.”

“We’ll arrange a few vehicles for you. It would be better if they had keys, right?”

“Yeah, and the more options the better.”

“Understood. Then…”

The president stood and escorted us to the elevator. Our tasks were clear. Reconnaissance and extermination. If we encountered anything, the first move would be to fire Holy Lance—

“Ah, and one more thing.”

After everyone had entered the elevator, the president spoke.

“I asked you to kill him, but… if possible, I’d prefer you didn’t.”

“…What?”

Was this bastard out of his mind?

“You told us to kill him before. Now you’re saying the opposite…”

The president smiled enigmatically. I didn’t like that smile one bit.

“Let’s hear the reason. Why shouldn’t we kill him?”

With a faint smile in his eyes, the president pressed two buttons at once. The first floor where we would get off, and… Basement Level 3? Was he sending a car to the parking garage?

He paid it no mind and continued.

“The last time I saw him, he appeared to still possess reason.”

“Reason?”

“Yes. We were able to hold a conversation. After long discussion… I thought he might be persuadable.”

“Persuadable?”

“Yes. So I would appreciate it if you could bring him back alive if possible.”

“Weren’t you the one who called him an infected?”

“Even so, I believe he could be useful talent. Of course, the final judgment will be yours, Mr. Kang Hyun.”

I had once told my sister: The most convincing lie is one that contains truth.

“His abilities would be quite useful. If it proves impossible, then you may eliminate him.”

And the president was lying to me. A lie wrapped in truth.

“Honey, let’s go home now.”

Even as the old man, completely naked, kneaded the zombie’s buttocks ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and turned to leave— even as I watched the zombie somehow obey his words—I remained frozen, staring at the two lines of the system message. The smile vanished from my face. My expression hardened.

I stared at it blankly for a long time. Only after the man had walked quite far away did I whisper to my sister.

“Let’s follow him.”

There was now something I needed to find out.

“What’s in the basement?”

After the president left, we siblings stepped out on the first floor and headed toward the northern part of the island. The island’s roads split into two branches leading north, and like those two paths, there were two bridges. To the east was a long bridge connecting to the mainland. To the north was a bridge leading to another island.

We stood before the short northern bridge.

“You mean the basement?”

It was Lee Chae-rin, the presidential security agent whose face had become familiar by now. Come to think of it, the other agents were nowhere to be seen, and there were no black bulletproof vests like the one she wore in the armory either. That suddenly struck me as odd. Maybe she kept hers in her personal room?

“There’s a parking garage underground. About three levels.”

Exactly what I had seen on the elevator.

“Why do you ask?”

“Hm? Oh, just… curious?”

“It’s all explained in the pamphlet. His Excellency also mentioned that if more citizens arrive later, he plans to expand residential space into that area.”

Turning a parking garage into living quarters. It wasn’t strange. But… something felt off. This was an enormous resort. Had they really left the basement as nothing but a parking garage? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to build a movie theater or a gym? There should have been more facilities, yet they had only made a three-level parking structure.

Now that I thought about it, something was definitely weird.

“But there’s already a massive parking lot outside. Wouldn’t that be enough?”

It looked bigger than the combined parking lots of all of Gucheon Village. So why bother building an underground garage?

Lee Chae-rin remained silent for a long moment before answering.

“I don’t know either. Perhaps they anticipated even more visitors.”

“Really?”

Exodus Arcadia was turning out very differently from what I had expected. I had thought that when I made eye contact with the captured cultists, they would recognize my sister and everything would go to hell. But after days of playing around, wandering, and using the resort’s various facilities, I hadn’t seen a single one. I’d expected at least one, yet there were none.

Had they been killed after their information was extracted because they no longer had any use? If it was Kim Chae-hyun with his Nanggojisang trait, that was certainly possible.

…No, even so, the cultists weren’t completely useless. Just looking at the skill lineup I had plundered so far, the cult leader had gathered talent with real sincerity. Athletics, climbing, parkour, stealth, tracking, driving, swimming—skills useful far beyond combat. The escaped shooting team could have been used as designated marksmen with rifles alone. The MMA team that trained fighters would have made excellent warriors. They already had solid basic fitness.

Yet he had killed them all? Or were they locked up somewhere?

I imagined a prison on Basement Level 3, but it didn’t seem rational, so I tilted my head. The president was a rational man. He would know that locking them up offered no benefit.

No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t figure it out. I’d have to ask later.

I had accepted the request, but the quest hadn’t said anything about keeping him alive. I would kill him.

I lowered my rifle and watched my sister running toward me from a distance.

“Oppa! Let’s go!”

Together with my sister, who was smiling brightly, I crossed the bridge.

The North Island was enormous. Thirty thousand times the size of our house? It certainly felt that way. The wide island was covered in dense trees, and fields appeared here and there. But aside from the greenhouses, the fields were barren. Maybe because winter had just ended. Or maybe because the madman occupying the island had let them go to waste. It didn’t really matter.

There was only one thing that mattered right now.

Finding the madman—Pastor Oh Jin-uk—and killing him.

I moved in sync with my sister. When I aimed my gun and covered the blind spots, she moved, then covered me. There were only two of us, but our marksmanship had already reached a high level. I had essentially reached master level in CQB thanks to my hand-to-hand combat skills. And my sister seemed able to detect enemies through some unknown means. With Nanggojisang, I could also maintain a wider field of vigilance. So we advanced steadily with no blind spots.

We emerged from the forest, and that was when the houses, greenhouses, and fields came into full view.

My sister suddenly stopped, aiming Holy Lance down the path ahead. Was there something there? Had she already spotted it? Why wasn’t she shooting? Why the hesitation?

I moved to her side.

“Hup, hup, hup, hup!”

And at the sight before me, I froze.

Quite far away, beyond the bushes, there was a man. Completely naked, his unwashed body so filthy that grime flowed down his skin. He was violently thrusting his hips, his grotesquely sagging belly jiggling with every motion. In front of him, bent over with her hips pushed out, was a woman.

No. It wasn’t a woman. It was a zombie. A naked zombie. And he was shoving himself into it.

What the fuck? What the hell was he doing?

Confused, I looked at my sister. She looked just as bewildered as I was. My sister—who almost never lost her composure no matter how fucked up the world became—was visibly shaken! Something was seriously wrong here.

I watched in confusion.

…Where the hell did Insight go? Are you confused too?

The moment I mentally scolded it, a new window appeared in the corner of my vision. It was something familiar—very familiar—and it said this to me.

The bastard’s strength was comparable to mine, and his agility was considerable. His intelligence was locked, and his perception was low. He had ten remaining stat points. If I killed him, could I steal those points? That would be nice.

His skills weren’t bad either. Advanced heavy swordsmanship. Fittingly, though he was naked, he held a machete in one hand. If I combined my advanced heavy swordsmanship with his, it would reach master level. If I used the Holy Sword, it would probably be judged as expert rank, and even without that I could pick a special perk. My mouth was watering.

Plus exclusive skills. Just like how I had taken the cult leader’s Shop, maybe I could steal Regeneration or Immunity as temporary skills? Could I only choose one?

I had been gleefully rubbing my hands together when two lines of system messages made me freeze. The laughter disappeared. My face hardened.

I stared at it blankly for a long time.

“Honey, let’s go home now.”

Even as the old man, completely naked, kneaded the zombie’s buttocks and turned to leave— even while watching the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠zombie somehow obey his command—I only whispered to my sister after he had walked quite far away.

“Let’s follow him.”

There was now something I needed to find out.