Presidential Archives
When Kang Dohyun returned to the tent in the riverside park, his younger brother was working out hard nearby.
"Hyung, you're back."
"Yeah. I'm here."
After that brief exchange, Kang Dohun stepped inside the tent.
"Come in. Let's have a strategy meeting."
"Okay."
At his brother's mention of planning a strategy, Kang Dohun smiled and entered the tent.
As the two discussed the operation, the plan turned out to be surprisingly simple.
"As you know, we need to infiltrate during government hours, but fighting head-on with government-affiliated combatants carries too much risk."
His brother nodded at the obvious background explanation.
"So, we create a safe situation and then go in."
"But how do we create a safe situation?"
"Tomorrow morning, most of the soldiers and combatants in Sejong will be deployed. That's when we strike. You know the old saying—make a sound in the east, strike in the west. If chaos erupts somewhere else, our actions will draw less attention."
"Really? You... planned that already, hyung?"
"Yeah."
His brother's confident tone made Kang Dohun curious about the method, but—
"You'll see tomorrow. Got it."
"Right. Check it out tomorrow."
As Kang Dohyun explained the detailed operational content, the two debated for quite a while.
---
The next day.
North of Sejong City lay Oseong, home to a large KTX railway station.
Oseong Station had become a dungeon when the apocalypse began.
Like the Muan International Airport dungeon that Kang Dohyun and Kang Dohun had cleared, it was a dungeon formed by sacrificing the crowds of people who had gathered at the station, creating a massive horde of zombies.
This dungeon didn't feature any special undead, but it was packed with an enormous number of zombies.
Waiting in front of the Oseong Station dungeon were forty mercenaries from the Ghost Mercenary Group, led by Jin Taeseok.
Before giving the order, Jin Taeseok briefly recalled yesterday's conversation.
"Dungeon explosion? Is that even possible?"
"Yes, it's surprisingly simple. If more people than the limit keep entering, the dungeon explodes."
"Dungeon explosion... Isn't that dangerous?"
They had cleared a Green Barrier dungeon—a low-rank dungeon—in a joint operation with the government, and even that had been genuinely dangerous, causing no small number of casualties. A White Barrier dungeon would be even more perilous.
"It's dangerous if there are special undead, but the Oseong Station dungeon is expected to have mostly regular zombies. Even if it explodes, it won't be dangerous for the Ghost Mercenary Group."
Dungeons had an entry limit set.
If more people entered than the limit, a penalty would trigger. And if more people kept entering while ignoring that penalty—
The dungeon would vanish, and all the undead inside would emerge into the outside world in a frenzied state.
That was a dungeon explosion.
Finishing his recollection, Jin Taeseok organized his thoughts.
"So when the dungeon explodes, the situation will be manageable, right?"
First, this wasn't an action against the government. With zombie numbers around Sejong decreasing, dangerous large-scale battles were pushing zombie hunters into greater danger. If the Oseong dungeon exploded and zombies increased, it would actually benefit the zombie hunters in Sejong.
"Besides, if we lure these zombies toward Cheongju..."
It could also damage the damn lawless bandit gangs in Cheongju. The phrase "fishing while others fight" came to mind.
"And thinking about yesterday's client..."
Kang Dohyun, who had commissioned this job, was no ordinary person. He had opened his inventory right there and paid the commission fee of ninety-nine combat rations, demonstrating his special status.
Maintaining a good relationship with such a client was valuable in itself.
"Most importantly, we'll be fine either way."
He had deliberately brought only the fastest-moving mercenaries. If the dungeon exploded, the forty mercenaries present would be able to escape easily.
And if Kang Dohyun's prediction was wrong and the dungeon didn't explode, the remaining five hundred Ghost Mercenary Group members were scheduled to be deployed to this dungeon after a certain time to attack it together.
"Alright. Let's do it."
Jin Taeseok's conclusion: this was a mission worth attempting on multiple levels.
Having perfectly organized his thoughts, Jin Taeseok spoke up.
"Operation begins. Vanguard, enter the dungeon first."
At his order, the ten-man vanguard entered the Oseong Station dungeon first. And then—
"Main force, enter the dungeon."
At the next order, the twenty-man main force attempted to enter. But—
"Captain, a warning message is appearing."
The pattern Kang Dohyun had described was unfolding. A warning.
"Enter anyway."
"Yes, sir."
At the captain's order, the main force entered, and after that—
"Finally, we go in too."
Jin Taeseok and the remaining nine were about to enter the dungeon last. Then—
You have exceeded the dungeon entry limit. Entering may cause problems.
The message appeared, but Jin Taeseok ignored it and entered the dungeon.
More people than the limit have entered the dungeon.
All undead in the dungeon are now frenzied.
Due to abnormal attack progression, the dungeon is being dismantled. The dungeon barrier is disappearing.
Oh! The client was right! And we even got an achievement!
This achievement was something even Kang Dohyun hadn't known about, but regardless, Jin Taeseok considered it a considerable success.
However, there was no time to dwell on the situation.
As the Oseong Station dungeon exploded, the enormous number of zombies at the station began to howl.
"KUEEEEEK!!!"
The tremendous zombie screams, combined with their frenzied state, drove them toward the Ghost Mercenary Group at nearly running speed. All the mercenaries were panicked, but—
"We're faster! Everyone stay calm! Retreat toward Cheongju!"
Jin Taeseok immediately switched to command mode and, together with the Ghost Mercenary Group's mercenaries, lured as many zombies as possible toward Cheongju while retreating.
As the Oseong Station dungeon exploded, a large number of zombies emerged into the world in a frenzied state. Naturally, this news reached Sejong City as well.
"Zombie numbers have increased in the north."
"Find out the cause!"
The government wanted to understand the situation, and within just two hours, they had the full picture.
"The Oseong Station dungeon has disappeared?"
"Yes, the zombies that were there came out, and the north is in chaos."
The north was in chaos, but the more important fact was—
"So the Oseong Station dungeon is gone? Then that's our chance to occupy the Oseong area!"
Key government officials held an urgent meeting and made an immediate decision.
"Except for minimal guard forces! All special forces and all units move to Oseong!"
And so, the government deployed combatants including special forces to occupy Oseong.
At that same time, Kang Dohyun and Kang Dohun had finished all preparations and were eating at a small restaurant on the central street.
"Wow... this porridge tastes terrible."
Kang Dohun complained while eating the bland, watery porridge.
"This is edible enough."
He reminded him of reality.
"Right now, there are people starving because they can't even eat this."
"But it tastes bad."
As they complained, the two brothers ate their porridge. Then—
"Beep! Beep! Beep!"
"Emergency assembly! Emergency assembly!"
"All government-affiliated combatants and soldiers, return to your units immediately!"
The streets of Sejong began to grow noisy. The government had started assembling all combatants and soldiers.
"Wow... just like hyung said, huh?"
"Yeah."
The two brothers watched from the restaurant as soldiers and combatants ran through the streets. They were running urgently to return to their units.
The two brothers left the restaurant, summoned their drones in an empty area, and flew up to the rooftop of a tall building.
Using binoculars, they observed the movements of the combatants and soldiers.
"They're heading out gradually."
Through the binoculars, they watched the units that had been assembled first leaving Sejong City.
It took only one hour for most of the combatants and soldiers to deploy to Oseong.
"Now it's our turn to move."
This was the moment for the two brothers to act, with so many combatants and soldiers having departed.
Kang Dohyun and Kang Dohun boarded their drones again.
And flew toward the center of Sejong City. The place they arrived at was the Presidential Archives.
"There are soldiers at the entrance."
"They'd leave minimal guard forces, right? So if we intrude, soldiers will rush over immediately."
"Then it's Plan A, right?"
"Right."
After confirming Plan A, Kang Dohun began checking his equipment. He had a lot to do.
The temporary guard post set up at the entrance of the Presidential Archives.
Inside that post was a soldier wearing a sergeant's rank insignia.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck."
The apocalypse had occurred just before his discharge. Thanks to that, he hadn't been able to leave the military and had to keep serving.
In this shitty world, should I just kill myself?
As he was muttering, suddenly—
"Thwack!"
The sergeant lost consciousness. A mana bolt had struck his head, sending him to the afterlife.
To the sentries outside the post as well—
"Thwack, thwack!"
Mana bolts flew from high above and struck their necks, sending them to the afterlife.
After dealing with the guard soldiers, Kang Dohyun and Kang Dohun descended from their drones.
"Poor bastards, the soldiers."
"Can't be helped. Let's go in."
The two opened the Presidential Archives door and entered. At that moment—
"BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!!!"
The alarm began to sound. It was set to trigger if the pass button at the guard post wasn't pressed.
"Ugh..."
Kang Dohyun made a troubled expression, but his brother responded immediately.
"Hyung, quickly, as planned!"
"I'm counting on you."
The Plan A the two had devised: once inside the Presidential Archives, Kang Dohun would run around drawing the enemy's attention while Kang Dohyun searched for the items he wanted.
So Kang Dohyun entered the Presidential Archives, and Kang Dohun warmed up and stood at the entrance.
"Enemy!"
As soldiers who had responded to the alarm approached—
"Alright, let's have some fun!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
They fired guns as they charged.
"Oh... this is scary."
Kang Dohun began running desperately. And the soldiers pursued him.