Episode 13 (Revised)
Episode 13 (Revised)
"It's human experimentation."
"....Human experimentation?"
"Because this place was a research complex under the foreign corporation, Elysium."
Elysium, huh.
I felt like I had heard of it before.
"Wasn't that the place that said they were making vaccines back then?"
"Right! I've heard of them too!"
I heard it was a global corporation.
I heard their technological prowess was so great that they made vaccines for various infectious diseases.
"But why isn't their logo anywhere in a place like this?"
"It is a secret laboratory, after all."
"This place?"
Well, I guess.
It's a place doing human experiments, so they'd have to keep it secret.
It's easier to deny everything if they get caught.
"Then those zombies on the first and second basement floors are...."
"Correct. They are the results of experiments conducted on living people."
"My god."
In a way, they were worse than cannibals.
Cannibalism ends in one go, but experiments cause suffering for a long time.
Since the topic came up, I recalled the basement again.
Those narrow isolation rooms.
What kind of things must have happened behind those iron bars.
"Is there any way to screw those bastards over?"
"There is one way."
Lee Hyeon-jae says confidently.
"This is a computer virus."
"Oho...."
"I can just say that I've been continuing research on the Variants and that I've stored it in here."
If that happens, surely.
The leadership would judge it to be valuable, and there was a high possibility they would use it as is.
"Nice."
The plan was made.
About a few days later.
Dudududu....
The sound of a helicopter was heard from the sky.
"Wow... they're even using a helicopter?"
Lee Su-ah and I were positioned outside the research complex.
I was watching Lee Hyeon-jae through shared vision to see what would happen.
"How's the situation?"
"It's fine. It looks like Lee Hyeon-jae said something."
At Lee Hyeon-jae's words, I saw a man wearing special forces gear urgently using a satellite phone to call somewhere.
It seemed he was reporting to the leadership.
Having received the USB, he immediately pulled a gun from his coat.
Bang!
And shot Lee Hyeon-jae right in the head.
At the same time.
The special forces agents who had gone in first boarded the helicopter one by one.
And left just like that.
"As expected."
"What assholes."
And.
A few minutes after they left.
Boom!
With a massive explosion, the research complex was smashed to pieces.
A pillar of dust soared into the sky.
"Huh...."
It was for real.
Those bastards were trying to erase the records of the research complex.
"What should we do?"
Lee Su-ah looked at me.
But the answer was obvious.
"Let's leave."
It seemed Daejeon wasn't a city that suited us.
Before finding a new hideout.
"How are those guys doing?"
"Who? Ah. The guys who exiled you?"
"Yeah."
It suddenly occurred to me.
Even though I awakened thanks to being kicked out of the crew.
I still can't forget it.
Those gazes that said they'd kill me if I didn't leave.
"Want to go check?"
When I asked Lee Su-ah casually,
"I'm fine with it."
She answered as if she actually preferred it.
I started to retrace the path I had come from.
After following the traces.
It was when we were taking a short break.
"What the?"
Lee Su-ah frowned.
"What's wrong?"
"Some bastards are watching us."
"Really?"
I looked around.
But I couldn't see anyone.
"I don't see anyone."
"There."
At the tip of Lee Su-ah's finger, there was a head.
As soon as it made eye contact with us, it hid instantly.
And.
Rustle!
The bastards started appearing one by one.
There were about 10 of them.
"What a windfall! It's a woman!"
"Hehehe! Jackpot!"
"Doesn't look like they have anything, though... tsk."
They were vagrants covered in grime and full of wounds.
Their eyes were dull.
They were the eyes of people who hadn't eaten or slept properly for a long time.
Yet, their eyes were filled with disgusting greed when looking at Lee Su-ah.
'Robbers, huh.'
They were common in the apocalypse.
People who steal from others.
"Hand over everything you've got, you bastard!"
They were slowly approaching us with knives in their hands.
In particular, they were drooling while sending disgusting gazes toward Lee Su-ah.
Lee Su-ah frowned and asked.
"Can I kill them all?"
"Do whatever you want."
"Got it."
As she said that.
"Kehehe! What? Can you kill us all?"
"Looks like she's got a mental illness. Tsk tsk, looks like she needs treatment."
The bastards approached, mocking Lee Su-ah.
However.
Shing....
At the same time as she drew her dagger.
Slash!
"...Uh?"
In an instant, the head of the guy in front was separated.
But at the same time.
Slash!
Another person's head was being sliced off too.
It was a speed that gave the feeling of them being sliced simultaneously.
'Wow.... No matter how many times I see it, that speed is truly...'
It was marvelous.
Lee Su-ah had an ability that was heavily skewed towards speed, even if her attack power and stamina were slightly lacking.
Just like that, in the blink of an eye.
"P-please spare me!"
Only one guy was left.
He was trembling in fear and bowing.
Lee Su-ah approached him.
But then.
"You fucking bitch!"
The guy stabbed at Lee Su-ah with a dagger he had hidden in his clothes.
However.
Slash!
He was sliced up the moment he attacked.
Splat!
Lee Su-ah shook the blood off her dagger.
"Terrifying."
However.
That aside.
"Why did guys like this come all the way here?"
"Exactly."
They were all guys.
The main age group was young guys.
They were manpower that other crews would have accepted.
But they're robbing people?
"Something's going on."
It seemed there was a situation we didn't know about.
At that moment, Lee Su-ah asked while wiping the blood off her dagger with a cloth.
"How much distance is left to your old crew?"
"Almost there."
"Really?"
"It's flat ground, so we'll get there soon."
"Got it for now."
Lee Su-ah started walking next to me again with a slightly uneasy expression.
How many minutes did we walk?
"Oh."
I showed interest at the familiar building.
Lee Su-ah also saw my expression and.
"Is that it?"
"Yeah."
"It's quite small, isn't it?"
"Ahem! It was made by ordinary people gathering, so it would be weird if it were big."
It looked like stone walls built up on a country road.
But inside, there was all sorts of stuff.
That was thanks to there being many people with engineering backgrounds in the crew back then.
Even though it was the crew that kicked me out, I felt a slight sense of familiarity.
Because they were people I had once lived with like family.
I headed to the main gate made of iron and knocked on it familiarly a few times.
Then.
Two figures appeared through the iron gate.
"Who is it?"
"Huh?"
I was momentarily flustered by the unfamiliar faces.
However.
"Uh, I used to be a member here. Can I see someone for a moment?"
At my words, the man looked at my face and.
Disappeared just like that.
And then, he appeared with someone.
"Huh?"
It was a man who pretended to know me as soon as he saw my face.
I knew him too.
One of the few people I was close with.
However.
'He's skinny... and has wounds.'
It was strange.
He was severely emaciated and covered in bruises, as if he'd been beaten somewhere.
He used to have a good physique.
I frowned slightly, but changed my expression when I saw the man in front of me.
"Han! How long has it been!"
"Long time no see, Chul-su-hyung."
Kim Chul-su looked at my appearance and was slightly envious.
My chubby appearance and neat clothes were a guarantee that said, "I'm living well."
But then.
"Hey, is that him?"
"Yes, it is. He used to be in the crew here."
"Hmm... is that so?"
One of the gatekeepers looked at Lee Su-ah and me alternately.
With a greedy gaze.
"Come in."
"T-that! No you can't!"
"This bastard..."
Kim Chul-su tried to stop them, but he was intimidated by the gatekeeper's gaze.
Then, Kim Chul-su was giving me intense signals with a cowed expression.
To run away.
"Don't mind this bastard and come in."
"Well, if you say so."
Ignoring Kim Chul-su's desperate gaze, we entered the small shelter.
"Wow... long time no see."
It was a shelter where about 50 to 60 people lived.
They cultivated a small field, and there was a stream next to it, so it was a good location.
"The entrance is the same."
Just as I was entering, lost in memories.
"What the?"
The memories of the past were cut off.
The field we used to cultivate was strangely dug up, and above all, the people were strange.
They were working while being whipped by a supervisor.
Most of those people were people I was familiar with.
Their eyes were lifeless, as if they were empty.
Perhaps they didn't even have the energy to look at me; they just kept their heads down and worked.
"What the...."
When I turned my gaze toward the gatekeeper, he shrugged.
"We're just doing what we're told from above. It's not like they're being forced to work, either. As it happens, the leader wants to see you."
"Hmm..."
Is the leader who kicked me out still there?
Or has it changed to a new leader?
Either way, I was angry.
Even though it was the place that kicked me out.
I had affection for it.
Because I had memories of crying and laughing while it grew into a shelter.
Besides, me getting kicked out was just political infighting, and it was the fault of the higher-ups.
I gritted my teeth and walked deeper into the shelter.
And finally.
I could see the leader who had settled in the shelter.
The best room in the inner building.
As soon as I opened the door, the smell of perfume hit me strongly.
Perfume in this situation.
However.
"Oho, so you're the one who used to work here?"
I've never seen him before.
Before I left, it was a middle-aged man.
But now....
A young man was welcoming me while wearing makeup.
He had makeup on his face and was wearing silk-like clothes.
It was an outfit that made it hard to believe it was the apocalypse.
An outfit that was luxury itself.
"Who are you?"
I was so flustered that the question came out on its own.