Reconstruction (1)
I grabbed the lifting belt and backpack and stood up. Then I said to Special Forces Captain Seong Gyu-hyuk,
"Round up the team. Empty out the duffel bags. We're hitting the mart."
"Got it."
Seong Gyu-hyuk smiled and rose to his feet. Chief of Staff An Jun-gyu looked shocked as he asked,
"R-right now? The second we arrive?"
"What's the point of waiting? We'll be back."
I made a quick stop at the bathroom, then stood at the motel entrance buckling on the lifting belt and backpack. By then, Special Forces Captain Seong Gyu-hyuk had assembled Teams 2, 3, 4, and 5. All told, fifteen men. Fifteen burly guys with hefty bags slung over their shoulders... all armed with rifles. The way they wore their belts in unison looked sharp as hell. They seemed thrilled to have weapons in hand—their faces radiated confidence.
I rubbed my chin and grinned.
"Let's move."
We left the motel and followed the path Seong Gyu-hyuk pointed out. The steady footfalls of fifteen elite soldiers behind me felt reassuring.
"That's a lot of teams. Five in total."
Seong Gyu-hyuk nodded and replied,
"Teams 3 and 4 handle refueling and fuel transport. Team 5 backs them up. Team 1 manages weapons procurement, Team 2 handles comms and recon."
...Whoa. Pretty organized.
"What we saw at the motel wasn't everyone, right? Total headcount?"
"Thirty-five... no, thirty-two now. Three KIA from Team 1, plus nine civilians we rescued."
I glanced back at him in mild surprise.
"You ran rescue ops?"
"Yes."
Special Forces Captain Seong Gyu-hyuk nodded with a wry smile.
"But once we secured the chopper and light aircraft, we couldn't do anymore. Over there."
Seong Gyu-hyuk guided us like he knew the street rules as well as I did. Walking down the center line, he kept his voice low enough that it wouldn't carry to the shops and buildings lining the road, all while scanning our surroundings. A faint echo drifted from somewhere far off—
Uwaaaah!
No one paid it any mind. With highly trained armed troops covering front, back, left, and right, it was easy to relax. This is what it feels like to have allies at your side.
Still... thirty-two people. Even ramen would burn through a box per meal. Surviving this mess couldn't have been easy. These guys must've farmed the area with their lives on the line, dragging survivors along by the scruff of the neck. Solid troops.
Next to a truck, Seong Gyu-hyuk raised his fist. We all dropped to a knee. I sidled up beside him and eyed the target he indicated.
A convenience store with its glass front completely shattered.
...A lot of them. At least twenty crammed into that tiny space. Normally impossible. Must be stragglers from the mini zombie wave kicked up by the chopper. Seong Gyu-hyuk wasn't kidding back on the bridge.
But...
"That's a convenience store. Where's the big mart?"
Seong Gyu-hyuk said,
"There are plenty of mid-sized ones like Every Day or Express. For a large mart, we'd have to head to Seocho. About an hour on foot down this road."
I nodded slowly. A quick glance back showed the team kneeling in formation, eyes sharp. But their faces were gaunt. One meal a day? And even that, who knows if it was substantial.
I nodded again and addressed Seong Gyu-hyuk and the team.
"We're gonna be busy tonight. Might have to pull an all-nighter—no sleep. You guys good?"
The team grinned. Seong Gyu-hyuk replied,
"No sleep's no issue."
Special forces through and through. I nodded and said,
"Same drill as before. I go in solo."
I drew my swords. Stats were nearly full from the bathroom check earlier. That 12-point-per-hour recovery was a game-changer.
[Auto-cast: Acceleration]
Shing! Dual swords in hand, I strode out from behind the truck. Bold steps, no hesitation. Look at me, I projected, marching straight for the convenience store.
Half the wall glass still clung on. The team rose one by one, watching me.
"Krraaak?!"
One spotted me. Soon, every human beast turned. And they howled.
"Kraaaang!"
I took a wide stance, body low.
"Kyaaaak!"
They screeched and charged. Glass shattered—crash!
Acceleration.
I whipped into motion. Blood sprayed everywhere. Heads pierced and sliced popped like corn kernels.
Splat. Blood flecked my eyelids, narrowing my vision slightly.
"Gurk!"
Thud crash! The charging horde tripped over their own momentum, tumbling forward.
"Hoo..."
Nice, leveled up. Inside the convenience store, under the bright lights, I caught my breath and lowered my head. Listened.
...Empty.
Stepping over corpses, I exited. Shook the blood from my blades.
Swish! Sheathed them.
Click. Looking up, I saw the special forces team's faces. Eyes wide, unblinking. Even Seong Gyu-hyuk, who'd seen it before, exhaled with a mix of grin and shock.
I smirked and beckoned. Come on in.
The team stood. Seong Gyu-hyuk approached, eyeing me. Already blood-soaked, now even more dripped from my hair.
He clapped my shoulder and entered. The others passed, giving nods or shoulder taps—some looked straight-up moved. I chuckled and nodded back.
Fifteen strong men stripped the place bare in two round trips, warehouse included. But that wasn't all. While they looted, I got locations for nearby pharmacies and hardware stores from Seong Gyu-hyuk and cleared them one by one. Leveled up once more. Now Level 15. Strength 60.
By the time we'd emptied the pharmacy and hardware store, it was well past 3 a.m. Time to recover stats.
To the special forces loaded with heavy metal in their bags, I said,
"Drop this off and rest. Few hours' break, then out again at sunrise."
One team member asked,
"What time should we stand by?"
Grinning. I grinned back.
"Five hours plenty. Motel front, 9 a.m."
The team nodded. On the way back, Seong Gyu-hyuk said,
"Efficient as hell. This how you gathered supplies back home?"
Hm. Similar, but not quite. We couldn't strip a whole store in two trips. Having beefy guys around sure makes it easier.
I glanced back and smirked.
"Something like that."
We'd been out till dawn, finally back at the motel. Unlocked the chain, opened the door.
People everywhere. Snacks, drinks, food piled in the lounge, more folks on the stairs and in between.
They looked at us and clapped softly.
Halmae, young women, ajummas, ajeossis, the chief of staff, two captains, mechanic, even the president. Everyone clapping, no exceptions. Couldn't hide their joy, but sensible enough not to make noise.
I smirked and headed in with the team. President Min Jeong-woo approached, grabbing my dripping hand.
"Not a single gunshot. And this much haul. Incredible."
I grinned and nodded.
"Thanks. But we're not done. Clear some space to sort and store."
Chief of Staff An Jun-gyu stepped up.
"We've already set aside five or six rooms as warehouses. Didn't expect this much action day one. Impressive, Sung-hoon."
...Praise. I smirked and nodded.
"No big deal."
Next to me, an energy bar box on the lounge sofa. Grabbed two.
"Team and I head out again morning. We're crashing briefly."
President Min Jeong-woo smiled.
"Of course. Rest up. Great work today. You earned it."
Chief of Staff An Jun-gyu gestured.
"Prepared a room next to the lounge on the first floor. This way, Sung-hoon."
The president finally released my hand. I passed him, weaving through the crowd following An Jun-gyu. Clapping echoed softly from beside, ahead, behind.
Halmae teary-eyed atop the stairs.
"Thank you, young man."
Halmae, the young woman beside her, the ajeossi. Family, probably. Blood dripping from my chin, but they didn't seem scared. Their eyes...
I smiled, bowed my head, and entered the room An Jun-gyu showed me.
"Sleep well. We'll bring clothes too."
"Clothes?"
His smile faded slightly.
"Yes. Early rescue ops turned up a few empty homes. Figured the owners wouldn't mind..."
I nodded. Empty house these days means no owner, no claim on stuff.
"Appreciate it."
An Jun-gyu bowed and left.
"Hoo..."
Standard motel room. Stripped off bloodied clothes, showered clean. The clothes he brought? Track pants—grateful. A bit loose on me, but nothing beats sweats for comfort. Loaded 45ACP rounds into mags one by one, filled 'em up, then crashed.