Red Light, Green Light (1)
Click— Krrrrk—
"Mic check, one two."
I was testing a makeshift UHF transceiver I had cobbled together.
A short burst of static hissed through the speaker. Pressing my back flush against the perimeter wall of the locked-down Ilhwa Women's University campus, I felt the cold concrete seep straight through my work clothes, sending a sharp chill down my spine.
"Seo Hyun, do you copy?"
— Loud and clear.
"I'm starting the infiltration now."
— Please be careful. Security along that route is bound to be tight.
"Don't worry. I've already scaled the outer wall without a hitch."
— Thank goodness... Did you run into any students from the Bait Team?
"No, none in sight yet, though I can sense presence further out."
— Those students are completely innocent, so please steer clear of them if you can...
"Of course. My only target is the main base where that dictator bastard and his lackeys are holed up."
— Um... will this plan really work?
"Don't put your faith in me. Put your faith in my cursed penalty."
— Pfft! What kind of reasoning is that? Just be careful... and good luck!
I released the push-to-talk button and melted into the low, clinging shadows.
The campus interior was far more desolate than I had anticipated. Clumsily stacked barricades were strewn across the courtyards and pathways, standing as grim proof that this place had long ceased to be an ordinary university.
Beep—
"Seo Hyun, you there? Let's review the plan one more time."
— Go ahead, I'm listening.
"That sickening tactic the awakened thugs here run every night."
— Throwing the Bait Team out to the perimeter...
"Right. If we direct all the aggro straight into their main stronghold, there's a risk the unawakened students acting as bait might get swept up in the crossfire. I need to make sure our paths don't cross."
I methodically relayed the landmarks, terrain, and forks in the road as they came into view.
— Understood! Take the right path from where you are. Before night falls, they always force the unawakened students down the left path toward the campus perimeter.
"Stationing them under the guise of night watch just to use them as living meat shields."
— ...That's right. When darkness hits, the Abyss Species hunt the weakest prey, drawing the horde out toward the edges.
I gave a grim nod.
"Vile bastards. Surviving is one thing, but using human lives as disposable bait?"
— While that slaughter happens outside, the awakened huddle in the strongest, safest central building and wait.
"Taking turns resting and keeping watch until dawn, kicking back and living easy?"
— ...Horrible, isn't it?
"Well, their little reign of terror ends tonight. Time to break out the rod of discipline... Hm?"
My boots froze mid-stride. Around the far corner, the faint beam of a flashlight flickered against the cracked pavement, followed by the heavy, careless crunch of approaching footsteps.
"Seo Hyun, standby on comms."
— What happened? Did someone spot you?
"No. Patrol squad of awakened heading my way."
— What now? There's barely any room to skirt around that route, is there?
I glanced up at the timer hovering at the edge of my vision.
"No time. Detouring will make me miss the thirty-minute mark."
— Then what are you going to do? You're not thinking of forcing your way through, are you?
"I am."
— Excuse me?
"To hit my objective, I'm not above a little blunt-force trauma."
I slipped the transceiver into my pocket and unholstered the compact tacker gun at my hip. Instead of leveling the muzzle forward, I reversed my grip, fingers wrapped tight around the solid, heavy base of the handle.
Two patrolmen rounded the blind corner toward my hiding spot, bantering loudly.
"Man, the screaming from the Bait Team's gonna be brutal tonight, huh?"
"Who gives a shit? Those weak-ass bait losers dying outside is the whole reason we get to sleep in peace."
"I mean, sure, but hearing that crap every single night leaves a bad taste in my mouth."
"Quit whining before the boss hears you. Piss him off and you'll find your ass thrown out with the Bait Team before sunrise."
"Hey! We're part of the founding crew that raided this campus with him! We've got permanent immunity, bro."
"Shh! Keep your damn voice down! Just hold out a little longer. You think the boss picked a women's college by accident? Hehehe."
"Right? As a matter of fact, I've already got my eye on one of 'em! Gahaha!"
I wondered why there were men running around a women's college campus. Must've raided it from a nearby university. Now the whole picture makes sense.
Hearing their repulsive chatter made my eyes turn frostbite-cold. Total scum. Not worth a single second of hesitation.
The instant their silhouettes cleared the corner, I lunged.
Crack!
"Gah—!"
I brought the heavy handle of the tacker gun down hard onto the back of the lead thug's skull. He crumpled like an empty sack before he could even register the pain.
"W-What the—who the hell are you?!"
The second man recoiled in shock, frantically reaching for his sidearm, but my knuckles were already flying.
Thud!
I buried a heavy punch into his solar plexus, followed immediately by an upward knee that shattered into his jaw, knocking him out cold on his feet.
"Huff, huff..."
Did I awaken some kind of Superhuman Type trait without noticing? Did that look like an action hero or what?
"Ow, ow, wait a second...!"
Never mind. My fist throbbed with excruciating pain.
Now wasn't the time to admire myself; the clock was ticking, and I had to clean up and relocate. Grabbing the two limp bodies by their collars, I dragged them into a dark recess between two vending machines and dumped them unceremoniously out of sight.
"Whew. Seo Hyun, back on comms."
— You scared me half to death! Are you all right?
"Yeah. Just put two pieces of roadblock garbage to sleep."
— Are you hurt anywhere?
"Not a scratch. Knocked them out cold and clean."
— Thank goodness... Where are you now?
"Just reached the blind spot right in front of the target building."
Catching my breath, I peered carefully through the ground-floor window of the massive Student Hall. Bright light leaked through the seams of the heavy curtains. Inside, armed combatants crawled over every corner. While unawakened students trembled in terror out in the freezing dark, these bastards were lounging around, feasting, drinking, and trading dirty jokes.
"This is definitely their main base."
— It is. Right before sundown, all their combat-awakened gather there.
"Disgusting sight. Throwing themselves a cozy little party."
— How much time do you have left?
I glanced at the crimson system numbers ticking down in the corner of my vision.
"Almost thirty minutes until nightfall. About a minute left on the mark."
— Understood. The real operation begins now.
"You're safely in position, right?"
— Yes. I'm hidden right by the side entrance leading down to the basement cafeteria where my sister is being held.
"When I give the signal over the radio, you breach immediately."
— Understood. My heart is racing, but I trust you completely, Ido.
"Like I said, don't trust me—trust my penalty. Because this thing is..."
— Because it's what?
"A royal pain in the ass."
A wretched curse that had shackled me for an entire month.
— Pfft, haha! Once the penalty triggers, you have to get out of there immediately, Ido!
"Obviously. Once I paint the target, I'm sprinting straight to the sniper perch to provide fire support."
Slipping the transceiver back into my vest, I pressed flat against the exterior brickwork right beneath the windowsill. I watched the crimson digits tick away, shaving off the final seconds.
The moment the counter hit zero, a glaring red system warning flashed across my vision.
"The venue's about to change, but enjoy the party while you can, assholes."
I gave the scumbags on the other side of the glass a crisp, cheerful middle finger.
Tick—
Thirty minutes prior to nightfall, the Abyss Species have designated your current location as a Crimson Target.
A nauseating pulse rippled outward from my chest, sinking deep into the foundations of the Student Hall. It was an eerie, suffocating sensation—as if an invisible pillar of stench and fresh blood had erupted from the roof, piercing straight into the heavens.
Now, every single Abyss Species within a ten-kilometer radius would perceive this building as the most tantalizing feast on Earth.
"Good. Time to haul ass to Seo Hyun's position and set up the sniper nest."
Without a backward glance, I bolted from the wall and scrambled up the fire escape of the facing building I had scouted earlier. It was an ideal vantage point, offering a clean, unobstructed high-angle view directly overlooking the cafeteria entrance where Seo Hyun's sister was imprisoned.
Panting hard, I dropped flat onto the gravel-topped roof, unslung my heavy sniper-configured tacker gun, and locked the bipod into place.
"Whew... I'm in position. Sniper support ready."
— Understood! The sky is turning pitch black over here too.
"Keep your guard up. Pandemonium is about to break loose on their base."
Throughout the thirty-minute grace period, a suffocating hush descended over the entire campus. Out on the perimeter, the students shoved into the Bait Team were likely trembling in silent terror, holding their breath in the dark.
But tonight, the calamity bearing down on them wouldn't sweep across the fringes. It was headed straight for the living room of the pampered pigs.
Dong, dong.
With that indifferent system notification, the last fading ember of daylight was wiped from the earth.
"It's started."
— Are they coming?
"You wouldn't believe it. They're pouring in like an avalanche."
Through the high-magnification reticle of my scope, an apocalyptic nightmare came into focus. Towering silhouettes carved out of pitch-black shadows surged from the darkness, shaking the ground with thunderous strides as they breached the campus boundaries.
Fwhoooom— CRRRASH!
— What about the Bait Team?! They aren't attacking the students outside, are they?!
"They haven't spared them a single glance. They're charging in a dead sprint straight toward the main building I tagged."
— Thank heavens... Your plan worked, Ido!
Lured by the overwhelming beacon of my scent, dozens of Abyss Species tore right past the shivering students stationed at the perimeter. Their grotesque, crimson eyes burned with rabid hunger, fixated entirely on the Student Hall where the combat-awakened were holed up.
BOOOOOM!
With an ear-splitting roar of destruction, the reinforced glass facade and timber barricades of the Student Hall's ground floor shattered like brittle sugar. The shadow horde surged through the breach, and within seconds, screams tore through the night.
"Aaaagh!"
"W-What the hell?! What is this?!"
"A-Abyss Species! How the fuck did they breach the inner base all at once?!"
The thugs who had been lounging and drinking moments ago descended into absolute hysteria. Blinded by sudden panic, they couldn't comprehend how their foolproof meat-shield operation had collapsed in the blink of an eye.
"This is impossible! Where's the Bait Team?! Fuck! What the hell is that useless Bait Team doing outside for the monsters to charge straight in here?!"
"Block the doors! Seal the doors now!"
"The walls are caving in! R-Run!"
"Help me! My leg! Gaaah!"
"Grab your weapons! Fight back, you bastards!"
The interior of the Student Hall morphed into a slaughterhouse. Flashes of ignited mana flared against the darkness, instantly drowned out by the ferocious howls of beasts and the sickening crunch of bone. Stripped of their barricades, the awakened were torn apart limb from limb in a spectacle of sheer carnage.
Looking down through my scope, a cold smirk curled my lips.
"Seo Hyun, can you hear them screaming?"
— Yes... Even without the radio, their screams are echoing clearly down into the basement stairwell.
"They're getting utterly dismantled. Their base is completely ruined."
— Wonderful! Just as you promised, every single monster was drawn to the main building.
"All right. While they're upstairs fighting for their lives against the nightmare they created, we can clear the basement in peace."
I pulled the stock of the tacker gun firmly against my shoulder, swinging the crosshairs down to align precisely with the underground cafeteria entrance.
"Moving to phase two."
— Understood. It's my turn to breach.
Across the crackling line, I heard her draw a long, steady breath.