Shelter (1)
Shelter (1)
Dududududu!!!
With the noisy propeller sound and the rope pulling me upward, my body, dangling in midair, finally rose up toward the helicopter.
Of course, Kwon Juhyeok, whom I had been holding onto while being pulled up, came up with me.
"Oppa!!"
"Oppa!!"
Minseo and Kwon Juha both cried out "oppa" as they rushed toward me.
But I waved my arm, pushing Minseo's cheek aside as she approached, and glared at the soldier in uniform.
He could be called my lifesaver, but these bastards were currently pointing their gun barrels at me.
To be precise, they were aimed at Kwon Juhyeok, not me, but no one knows when those barrels might turn toward me.
Of course, soldiers wouldn't threaten innocent civilians, but in a world like this, you can't rule out the possibility entirely.
But whether he read the alertness in my eyes—ready to fight at any moment—a captain who looked to be in his late twenties or at most early thirties gave orders to his subordinate soldiers, who seemed around my age.
"Everyone, lower your weapons."
"But the injured person..."
"That's an order."
"..."
"He won't turn into a zombie! Our oppa got the vaccine!!"
The young soldiers, who had hesitated to lower their guns, finally responded to Juha's shouts and reluctantly lowered their barrels, though they didn't take their hands off their weapons.
At most it'd be one human zombie turning, aren't they being too scared?
And if they're soldiers, shouldn't they have bought the vaccine and jabbed it in before pointing guns?
Sigh... The military boys supposed to protect the citizens are freaking cowards.
As I clicked my tongue quietly and shook my head, the captain extended his hand toward me.
"I'm Captain Kim Hyunjun of the 1st Special Forces Brigade."
"Kang Hajin."
After exchanging a brief handshake with me, Kim Hyunjun also gave simple greetings to the other three people before beginning his explanation.
"From now on, you will be taken to the Yongsan Emergency Shelter. After arrival, various inspection procedures will be conducted, and following a three-day quarantine, you will be moved to the shelter if deemed safe. Please follow instructions until then."
"What kind of inspection? An inspection to see if we turn into zombies or not?"
"Yes, along with stat and trait confirmation, a few additional simple tests will be conducted. Please inquire with the examiner for details."
"Well, fine. But just one more thing. When you say three-day quarantine, does that mean we have to stay locked up somewhere doing nothing?"
"Yes, you will be staying at the quarantine facility on the outskirts of the shelter."
"What about hunting during that time?"
"Hunting?"
"I need to earn coins and raise my stats. Three days is too much wasted time. And I don't want to show my information."
"..."
Captain Kim Hyunjun stared intently at my face.
So what?
I don't like the idea of being quarantined for three days, nor do I like having to reveal my information.
Of course, I understand.
A shelter needs to be a safe place without zombies, so it has to be strict and thorough.
But since I know I won't turn into a zombie and that I'm a safe person, I don't like having those procedures applied to me too.
Just like the psychology of most ordinary, selfish people.
"If you don't comply with control, you cannot enter the shelter."
"I suppose so."
"Oppa..."
Afraid that I might refuse to enter the shelter, Minseo looked at me with worried eyes and tugged at my clothes.
No need to make that face, young lady.
I'll be entering the shelter anyway.
Though I'll have to negotiate to be allowed to hunt during the three-day quarantine.
If they absolutely refuse... I'll just stay put, I guess.
"Two minutes until arrival!"
At the voice from the cockpit, Minseo and Juha, along with myself, pressed against the closed helicopter door and looked outside.
"A shelter..."
Dreureureuk!!!
Dudududududu!!!!
As the closed door opened, the propeller sound grew louder and dust blew in.
"Keep your heads down and disembark!"
"It's dangerous, don't raise your heads!!"
"Yes!"
"Got it! But what about our oppa..!"
"We'll make sure your oppa gets down safely! It's dangerous, keep your head down!"
"...Am I invisible?"
Just like you'd expect from military boys, as soon as the helicopter landed, the soldiers only looked after Minseo and Juha.
I'm completely out of their minds.
Captain Kim Hyunjun, who might have shown some concern, was the first to get off as soon as the helicopter landed, and the remaining young military boys didn't even glance at me.
"Oppa! Hurry up and get off!!"
"Hajin-ssi!"
"Tch... At least I've got you two."
Following Minseo and Juha, who were bent over outside the helicopter with their hair blowing in the wind, gesturing for me to come quickly, I got off and glanced at Captain Kim Hyunjun talking with some older soldiers, then followed the soldiers surrounding us as we moved somewhere.
But is this place nothing but military boys?
All I see are military uniforms everywhere.
Maybe everyone has become a soldier in this situation, which is no different from wartime—no matter how much I look around, I only see uniformed soldiers.
No wonder those military boys were drooling over Minseo and Juha earlier.
And there are tons of foreign soldiers too.
Those must all be U.S. military personnel, right?
"How much further?"
"We're here. Over there."
In response to Minseo's question, a soldier pointed to a long, two-story building.
A moment later, we entered the building and were inspected separately—women with women, men with men.
Of course, Kwon Juhyeok, who could barely move, was separated from me and taken somewhere else.
"Please remove all your clothes."
"What, is this prison or something? Why go this far?"
"It's a procedure to check if there are any wounds on your body."
"Ugh... I'm going crazy..."
Taking off clothes is my specialty, but having to undress on someone's orders pisses me off.
Still, I took off my clothes, got checked for wounds, and if there were any, they verified when and how I got them, drew blood, and went through all sorts of nonsense before the basic inspection was finally over.
Then I moved to another place, changed into the clean clothes they provided, gave my name and resident registration number, and waited again.
Fuck, living without laws or order, then coming into this structured framework already feels suffocating enough to drive me crazy.
I feel like killing everyone and becoming king of this place, but there are soldiers holding guns everywhere, so I can't act recklessly.
I'm getting the feeling I shouldn't have come here?
Of course, if I didn't want to die from zombies, there was no other option but to get on that helicopter.
Beolkeok-
Just as frustration was building up, an older woman who looked to be in her early-to-mid forties opened the door and entered where I was.
Then she walked over to the opposite side of the long table where I was sitting and sat down.
What's this person's deal?
"Kang Hajin-ssi, you've worked hard going through the inspection."
"Yes, I worked hard."
"Haha~ Well then, could you tell us how you've survived so far?"
"Do I have to talk about that? It's personal."
"You need to tell us. This shelter protects the people, and this is to prevent any incidents that might occur from dangerous individuals sneaking in."
"..."
Fuck, this sounds exactly like they're trying to weed me out.
If I tell them how I've lived so far, I'll probably get shot by the armed soldier at the door or get kicked out.
And even if I lie here, Minseo, Juha, or Juhyeok could reveal what I've done with just one word, so I can't lie either.
So there's only one way.
I'll just have to fudge it.
"Zombies appeared on the subway during my commute, and somehow I survived and somehow made it here."
"...In that 'somehow' process, have you ever committed murder?"
Wow, straight for the jugular, huh.
I guess there's no helping it now?
"Yes. I killed quite a few."
"What was the purpose of the murder?"
The woman didn't seem flustered at all by my admission of killing many people, simply asking about the purpose.
Is she a soldier too?
No, more than that—the fact that she's not surprised suggests there are plenty of other people here who've committed murder besides me?
"You don't seem surprised?"
"Because it's not that surprising."
"I suppose so. Hmm... The purpose of murder... Well, I killed people who perceived me as an enemy."
"Have you ever committed murder for the purpose of taking coins, traits, food, or women?"
"That was a bonus."
"Understood. Then after one final information confirmation, you can move to the quarantine facility."
"I refuse."
"What?!"
"I don't want to show my information. I'm probably going to be rejected anyway."
"Why do you think that?"
"If I were you, I wouldn't want a murderer staying in the shelter."
"Heot.."
The woman laughed as if mocking me, then extended her hand forward for information confirmation and spoke.
"There are exceptions. It's a world where you can be forgiven for anything as long as you're strong enough. Of course, you'll need to follow control properly."
"..."
This woman is no ordinary person.
Anyway, what should I do?
Should I take this hand extended toward me? Or not?
After thinking for a moment, I grabbed the woman's hand extended right in front of me.
"Information Sharing."
Name: Kang Hajin (27)
Height: 183cm Weight: 77kg
Traits: Strong Mental Fortitude (D), Agile Movement (E), Strong Muscles (E)
Coins: 257
[Strength Lv.8] [Agility Lv.11] [Stamina Lv.6] [Luck Lv.3]
What the?
Since we were sharing info, I checked my own stats too, and there were traits I'd never seen before and a huge amount of coins.
The coins made sense since I killed all those zombies in the eggs, but when did I get those traits...
Ah! So that exclamation mark that flashed when I killed that monster was telling me I'd acquired those traits.
I still hadn't checked that.
But the names are straightforward and cheesy.
Strong Muscles (E) - Strength +10%
First I got stamina, then speed, and now strength...
Does that mean I'll get something that boosts luck next?
Anyway, why is this woman's face like that?
The woman, who had been looking very relaxed until now, had her expression harden slightly.
No, should I say she looked stunned?
Is it because my stats are too high? Or too low compared to what she expected?
"Excuse me, Kang Hajin-ssi..."
"Yes."
"How many people have you killed..?"
"I didn't kill that many."
The number of people I've killed isn't that high.
It increased a lot when I killed Jung Woobin and his group, but that's about twenty people?
Even if it's a bit more, it's under thirty.
Well, depending on the person, that might seem like a lot.
But by my standards, it's not much.
"Hoo... For now, Kang Hajin-ssi is..."
Just as the woman was about to say something with a sigh that had unclear meaning, urgent footsteps followed as the closed door burst open.
"Doctor! We have a big problem!"
"What's the matter?"
"The test subjects have escaped!"
"What?!"
"We'll escort you. Let's get out of here for now!"
"Test subjects? Are there zombies here?"
"Yes, that's right. Underground in this building..."
"There's no time!!"
"Let's talk while we get out."
"..."
The woman jumped up and followed the armed soldiers out the door, and I followed behind her, then glanced to the left and turned my body.
"Hajin-ssi! It's this way!"
"I'm going this way."
"What are you doing..!"
Following that woman and the soldiers would lead to an exit, but I need to go this way first.
Because without weapons, Minseo and Juha become utterly useless women.
Both are terrible at bare-handed fighting.
Of course, those military boys obsessed with women probably evacuated them safely, but you never know.
Tadadadat-
Kkeueeeek!!!
As I ran down the hallway, I pressed my sneakers flat against the floor and stopped urgently.
Then I peeked inside an open door, where Kwon Juhyeok, left alone, was groaning and tossing on a white hospital bed.
"Ueuk..!"
"Hey, otaku. What are you doing here?"
"Oh, you're here..? I'm getting treatment and resting.."
"Oh yeah? It's dangerous here."
"Yes..?"
"There were zombies here, and apparently they escaped."
"...Then why didn't anyone tell me?"
"They're probably busy. Well, I'm busy too, so I'll be going."
"W-Wait a moment!!"
As I left Juhyeok behind and ran busily again, the woman's voice, who I didn't know why she was following me, echoed from behind.
"If it's because of the women who came with you, they've already been evacuated safely! So..."
Tadadatdang!!!
Tadang!!Tangtang!!
"Doesn't seem like it."
Gunfire echoed through the building.
If it were just normal zombies that escaped, they wouldn't waste precious bullets unless there were a huge number.
That means the escaped test subject is likely not an ordinary zombie but one of those monster bastards I killed.
Or an even stronger monster.
That'd be enough to make soldiers with guns nervous.
Running a bit further down the hallway, I saw Minseo and Juha mixed in with a group of soldiers running from the opposite direction.
"Oppa!!! Save us!!"
"Hajin-ssi! What about my oppa?!"
"You'll find the otaku along the way. Anyway, why do I always have to save you?"
"Kyaaak!!!"
"Shoot! At least stop it from chasing us!!"
Tadadadadang!!!
Tadadadang!!
Tatatatang!!!
The soldiers turned while running and fired wildly behind them.
And a monster with a much thicker body than the one I killed—like the Hulk—was covering its face with its thick crossed arms, frantically chasing the soldiers.
Whoa, where did they catch a monster like that?
No, how did they even catch it?
"Haa..! Haa..! Now that we've confirmed those people are safe, we need to get out of here quickly..."
"No, are you a stalker or what? Why do you keep following me?! You get out, ahjumma!"
Leaving the annoyingly chattering woman behind, I ran forward and reached out toward the soldiers running toward me.
"Let me borrow this."
"Wooak!!"
"Oh, sorry."
Not realizing the shoulder strap was caught, I yanked the gun, sending a young soldier tumbling across the floor, but in the process, I grabbed the barrel and for the first time since my reserve forces days, I held a gun as I ran straight toward the Hulk-like monster.
To save people, you ask?
No, since I can't hunt for three days, I need to at least catch that thing to earn some coins.
Besides, it's slower than the one I fought, making it easier to deal with.
"Oppa!!"
"Hajin-ssi!!"
"What are you doing?! It's dangerous!!"
"Come back!!"
"Quit your bullshit. What's so dangerous about this cute little guy? Right?"
"Kureoooo!!!!"
The monster spotted me, raised its two arms that had been crossed over its face, and slammed a massive fist down toward me.
Kuuuung!!!
The floor flipped up as broken fragments scattered everywhere.
Wow, that's some serious power.
So it's slow but insanely strong, huh.
"You're just like the otaku, aren't you?"
"Kureooooo!!!"
As it lifted its fist from the floor and swung its right fist at me, who had stepped back slightly, I dodged sideways, kicked off the hallway wall, leaped into the air, and shoved the gun barrel forward.
"Eat this."
Hwaak!!
The moment it saw the gun barrel aimed at it, the monster covered its face with its left arm.
"You're smart for how you look."
With a light compliment, I swung my tightly clenched left fist down on the monster's left arm that was covering its face, then shoved the gun barrel into the snout of the monster, which looked somehow flustered.
"Kureo..."
"Whatever."
Tadadadadang!!!!
The monster's head exploded along with the blazing gun barrel.
Wow, clean kill this time.