79. Ghost Ships of the East Sea (1)
With that, trade with the United States began in earnest, and just half a year later, Pohang Port welcomed its first container ship from America.
Massive shipments from the US started flowing into Gyeongju through Pohang, while in return, Awakener magic weapons developed in Pohang began shipping out to America via the same route. For Pohang, which had become the vital midpoint in these two trade lanes, this was far from bad news.
"Missing persons who weren't on the administrative network are starting to trickle back, one by one."
"That's fortunate."
The enormous influx of goods from America brought benefits even to Pohang, which was just beginning its reconstruction. Some of those supplies bound for Gyeongju were diverted for local use. Especially for Pohang, embarking on economic rebuilding, America's prestige as a trading partner—combined with the Balhut Cult's consideration—allowed them to kickstart a currency-based economy. Private enterprise rapidly sprang to life as well.
Thanks to this, missing persons previously off the administrative grid slowly reappeared on it, enabling Pohang to swiftly restore its population and pour those recovered numbers straight into reconstruction efforts.
"There's also a strong request from the Americans. They want us to get the Pohang Steel Mill up and running quickly to produce steel there. No worries on iron ore—they say use as much as we need."
With a direct request from America no less, Pohang stood to gain handsomely from Gyeongju's initiatives. With Gyeongju's help, they fast-tracked operations at the key steel mill and created jobs for Pohang laborers left unemployed by the apocalypse.
"Haha. Looks like even America needs our Pohang steel."
Ha Jin-woo, hearing the order for the first time, beamed with pride, boasting that Pohang's steel had earned American recognition. But...
"No. They want it processed into coins by Bahamut-sama."
"Ah. Oh."
Seol-hwa dismissed it outright. America wanted the steel produced in Pohang transformed into Bahamut coins. Through Steven, the White House had gotten a precise read on the Awakener weapons used by the Balhut Cult, and they needed to study the core material: those Bahamut coins. To that end, Steven had pushed for large-scale imports of the coins, in exchange for...
"In exchange, we get their cutting-edge tech. So work hard."
"...Understood."
They could acquire portions of America's advanced technology and secure business interests. If the Balhut Cult obtained tech America had somehow preserved through the apocalypse, their growth would accelerate even further.
With this, Pohang is on its way to paradise. Heh heh. Baek Seol-hwa gazed at the massive container ships docking in Pohang Port, thinking that things were finally returning to normal.
Unfortunately, though, good news always seems to bring bad in its wake.
"Mayor Seol-hwa. The port's getting a flood of complaints."
"Is it about trade with America?"
"No, not at all. It's rebuilding and revitalizing Pohang—residents wouldn't protest that on their own. Apparently, strange phenomena are occurring in our East Sea fishing grounds."
Twenty days after proper trade with America kicked off, complaints poured in from Pohang residents. Seol-hwa first suspected discontent over the American trade, but it was Pohang's lifeline for reconstruction—no one would complain about that. Seo Un-jae asserted as much, then explained it was something else entirely: anomalies in the East Sea.
"Anomalies?"
"Ghost ships have appeared."
Seo Un-jae stated it matter-of-factly. Seol-hwa didn't find it odd. Instead, she looked at him puzzled and replied.
"Well, it's rare, but not unheard of, right? Ghost ships drifting from the ocean."
It was uncommon, but even Seol-hwa, a Pohang native, had heard tales of abandoned vessels with missing crews and captains. Eerie stories, sure, but pre-apocalypse seas had their share of ownerless ships adrift. And in this apocalypse? A few more ghost ships floating unmanned seemed par for the course. She understood the unease of witnesses filing complaints, but there was no reason to treat it seriously.
"Yes. Crews and captains vanishing from fishing boats mid-operation—surprisingly common even before the end times. Most complaints this time are about that sort."
"In the apocalypse, that's everyday stuff."
"Exactly. And the Balhut Cult Awakener we dispatched at our request checked the logbooks aboard. Most were boats that went out fishing right before the apocalypse hit."
Common enough. The dispatched Awakener had confirmed via onboard logs that they were pre-apocalypse fishing vessels. Tragic, brutal, but unavoidable in this world—so Seol-hwa figured they could brush it off. But...
"The issue is that real ghost ships started appearing after the Balhut Cult's investigation. Yes, literal ghost ships."
"Pardon?"
The real problem came next. After resolving the port fishers' reports, actual ghost ships showed up.
"More precisely, ghost ships operated by intelligent zombies."
Right—ghost ships crewed directly by zombies.
"What the heck? That's scary!"
Seol-hwa admitted it creeped her out. They'd identified variant zombies as intelligent, but could that intelligence handle navigation? She'd say no without hesitation. It barely exceeded a newborn's cognition.
"We're guessing the ghost ships sighted now are fishing boats that vanished post-apocalypse. From the reports, it seems the crews turned, everyone aboard became zombies, and then the captain or some crew evolved into variants, gained intelligence, and turned the vessel into a ghost ship. That explains it roughly."
Seo Un-jae summed up the situation based on reports so far. It made sense to Seol-hwa, and their experience made it all too plausible—which only heightened the horror.
"Straight out of a movie."
It really was the stuff of films. But horrifying or not, these were enemies disrupting the East Sea.
"Does headquarters know?"
"Jeong Dong-gun might. We only learned via Pohang complaints. If he's holding the coastline, he could've encountered them."
They needed to inform Gyeongju headquarters. Seo Un-jae speculated they might not know yet, but Jeong on-site probably did.
"Then I'll report to headquarters."
"Please do."
Even if Jeong knew, headquarters might not have word yet, so Seol-hwa immediately used the Oracle's Mirror to report to Choi Yu-na.
"Unni Yu-na. Ghost ships have appeared in the sea."
"Hmm. It's the apocalypse—unmanned ships are bound to show up, right?"
Yu-na initially brushed it off the same way Seol-hwa had, not paying much mind. Seol-hwa gave a wry smile at the familiar reaction, then delivered the point more forcefully with a serious look.
"No. I mean real ghost ships operated by ghosts."
"What the heck? That's scary!"
Yu-na's eyes widened in fear through the mirror. On Seol-hwa's report, Choi Yu-na promptly recalled Jeong Dong-gun—who was stabilizing Gyeongju's eastern front—to headquarters.
"We've spotted something like that from afar once. But it looked like a foreign vessel, not Republic of Korea registry, so we held off contact."
Summoned to Cult headquarters, Jeong Dong-gun reported he'd glimpsed a mysterious vessel presumed to be a ghost ship from a distance. To avoid potential risks, the Cult hadn't approached.
"How did it look?"
"Slow-moving, but the ship was definitely operational. That said, I doubt it's seaworthy for real duties."
Jeong Dong-gun confirmed the complaints: the ships were navigable to a degree. But from his distant view, unfit for proper maritime roles.
"Pohang's garrison patrol ships and speedboats could handle them easily."
At that level, Pohang's stationed Marines and patrol craft would suffice.
"The problem is Pohang's missing warships post-apocalypse. If any of those have become ghost ships like what we saw, it'll be trouble."
Pohang's navy wasn't fully intact. Some vessels had vanished amid the chaos, and if they'd ghosted out, the Balhut Cult would lose major sea control. Pre-apocalypse, guarding coastal zones and fishing grounds sufficed. Now, with American trade fueling vast wealth and revival, they couldn't ignore unidentified ghost ships at sea.
"Tricky. We need to inform Steven fast. Bring Special Envoy Steven from the temporary embassy to headquarters."
"Yes, ma'am."
Grasping the severity from Jeong Dong-gun's report, Yu-na summoned Steven David immediately. Despite the abrupt call, Steven arrived at headquarters leisurely, pleased with the thriving US-Balhut Cult trade. He assumed it was a formality to celebrate the exchange's success.
"Ghost ships have appeared in the East Sea."
"Rare pre-apocalypse, but common now. Tragic when fishing boats go missing at sea and drift ownerless—but it happens. My condolences."
But Yu-na's serious expression caught him off-guard. Steven dismissed it as apocalypse normalcy. Vast oceans claimed ships even in America, rarely but surely.
"Not those ghost ships. Literal ones."
"...Pardon?"
Steven blinked, as if he'd misheard. What was she saying? Exactly...
"You mean... ghost-operated ghost ships? Ghosts, bluntly put?"
"Yes. If our reports hold, actual ghosts—or more fittingly zombies, given East Asia's apocalypse—are running them."
Yu-na confirmed: if true, ghost ships crewed by the undead prowled the East Sea. Zombies fit the regional outbreak better than literal specters, but the concepts overlapped enough for explanation.
"What the heck? That's scary!"
Steven paled, echoing the dread.