Load, Aim, Fire (1)

Sergeant Lopez. That was the name given to the enhanced zombie that had appeared near Itaewon. It got the nickname because of the name tag reading "Lopez" on its US military uniform.

It would be a while before the thing became famous, but Ju Kang-rim remembered it crystal clear.

Because this lunatic enhanced zombie wielded firearms.

Just imagine it: an undying army that could probabilistically revive as long as a Gate stayed open—even after you blew their bodies and heads to bits—now firing guns. And the soldiers killed by those guns would turn into zombies wielding guns themselves. Despairing news reports flooded in, warning of the nightmarish hell that would unfold.

The media was all too eager to terrify an already petrified public even more.

"The good news ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is that zombies actually handling guns were extremely ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rare."

Ju Kang-rim said as he walked alongside Yoo Wol-ryeong.

"Sure, the first gun-wielding zombie caused some casualties, but it ended up hunted down by a lone hunter. But you're saying that thing might actually be an immortal?"

"The possibility is high. In fact, it's hard to distinguish between zombies that act intelligently and immortals. Using a gun requires complex steps—loading the magazine, chambering a round, aiming, firing. That's tough for a zombie."

Yoo Wol-ryeong replied calmly.

Ju Kang-rim thought that made a lot of sense. But Lopez's name wasn't on the VIP list he knew. A regular US Army sergeant zombie being part of an immortal organization? Hard to buy.

"Even if it's not an immortal, it could be a disposable pawn created and discarded by one. Immortals can make new immortals, after all."

That made Ju Kang-rim bitterly wonder if he himself wasn't even worth being a disposable pawn.

He'd find out what Lopez really was once they met, but for now, they were tracking its traces.

Evacuated Itaewon felt eerie. A deserted city had this weird mix of loneliness and chill that got under your skin. Only a few cats watched the passing humans indifferently.

Yoo Wol-ryeong spoke up as they wound through the twisting alleys.

"How do you plan to find Lopez here?"

She'd originally intended to track Lopez's traces, notify Ju Kang-rim, and then go hunt it. But he'd insisted he had a way to find it, so she'd let him take the lead.

"My memory's not that great, but I remember an interview with the hunter who took down Lopez."

Yoo Wol-ryeong glanced at Ju Kang-rim. Her black eyes, like surveillance cameras, made him a bit uneasy, but he knew now there was no malice behind it.

"Hunt it the moment you spot it?"

"Observe first, then strike if I can. Not like a few bullets will kill me anyway."

"If gunfire suppresses your body, zombies could tear into you while you're helpless. You might not die or live, just eternally feed their bellies until your soul wears out after about forty days."

"...You'll watch my back to make sure that doesn't happen, right?"

Yoo Wol-ryeong stared silently at Ju Kang-rim. He couldn't read what she meant. Naturally, he had no plans for reckless moves anyway.

According to the hunter's interview, Lopez was a problem only because it handled guns so well—not as dangerous as the enhanced zombies from the hospital.

Plus, a gun-user might actually be easier to deal with.

Enhanced zombies were scary due to infection and unpredictable abilities. But if it was shooting a gun? Just a hard-to-kill spray-and-pray shooter. And Ju Kang-rim had as much experience fighting humans as zombies.

That's when his Biman vibrated.

Ju Kang-rim read the alert and grinned chillingly.

But if it is an immortal... even easier than an enhanced zombie.

Heading toward central Itaewon, Ju Kang-rim dispatched zombies in every alley they passed. Even in an evacuated zone, the bustling area meant more zombies the closer they got. And being daytime, the zombies spotted and charged them easier.

"Getting thicker—stay sharp."

Ju Kang-rim warned out of habit, then met Yoo Wol-ryeong's eyes and made a sheepish face. Who was he warning? She was his senior Grim Reaper.

Turning a corner, Ju Kang-rim spotted a zombie right in front. Reflexively, he slashed its throat with his hatchet handle and crushed its skull.

Then he saw one approaching Yoo Wol-ryeong from behind.

"Watch—!"

He went to hurl his hatchet, but Yoo Wol-ryeong slipped past the zombie like a ghost and retreated. It spaced out as if it hadn't seen her, then turned to Ju Kang-rim.

He split its head with a swing.

"What the hell? Why do zombies ignore you, Reaper Yoo?"

"Same as zombies ignoring corpses."

"Huh?"

"My body isn't alive right now. I'm just wearing it. Minimize movement, and zombies see me as a plain corpse."

Ju Kang-rim wondered what that meant. Not a living body? By that logic, wasn't he already dead, just with his soul forcibly anchored? Shouldn't he count as dead?

But Yoo Wol-ryeong meant something else.

"Reaper Ju Kang-rim is alive with a soul held in place. I'm dead, but a puppet animated by a soul overlay."

"So you're ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠invisible to zombies?"

"If I stay still, yeah. Zombies vary, so some might still notice me."

With a cheat ability like that, she'd be top-tier as a zombie hunter. Comparing Grim Reapers to zombie hunters was silly, though.

"Can't I do that too, Reaper Yoo?"

With that power, zombies would be no issue.

But Yoo Wol-ryeong stared before replying.

"Reaper Ju Kang-rim has a living body. But that lets you do more varied things than me."

"Varied how?"

"I'm fully under the underworld's domain, bound by its laws. You're an exception, freer from them."

"Like what?"

"I can't harm living people unless they're flagrantly breaking laws like immortals."

In other words, anyone whose lifespan hadn't run out.

"But you can, since you're among the living. Our goal isn't hunting the living, but sometimes it's necessary."

Ju Kang-rim nodded after a moment's thought. Gerald alone was surrounded by hordes of soldiers and guards. Getting to him without bloodshed? Impossible.

Yoo Wol-ryeong glanced at the dead zombies and continued.

"Zombies are a type of immortal, so I can kill them. But no need to help you hunt them, right?"

"Yeah, of course."

Each zombie was XP and precious soul coins. No way he'd pass up growth opportunities.

Ju Kang-rim moved on. Itaewon's main street was close now.

A lone zombie stood at the mouth of the avenue. Ju Kang-rim hung back, waiting for it to spot and charge him.

As expected, it did.

Hold up?

Then he spotted something glinting between utility poles. Realizing what it was, he ducked behind the corner.

Boom.

The zombie tripped the tripwire, detonating the Claymore. Hundreds of steel balls ravaged the alley.

Ju Kang-rim's ears rang for a while, but he was unharmed.

"Booby trap."

Yoo Wol-ryeong said coolly, surveying the devastated alley without a flicker of disturbance. Safe inside the corner, she hadn't even needed to dive.

Ju Kang-rim gritted his teeth, scanning the shredded zombie.

"Who the fuck sets a street booby trap just to catch a zombie...?"

"Might not have been aimed at zombies."

Someone flashed in Ju Kang-rim's mind at her words. Unlikely, but given the guy's traits, possible.

"No way... Sergeant Lopez?"

"Plausible."

Too excessive for zombies. But against humans? Fair game.

Research said zombies moved on pre-death memories. Smart ones might handle complex orders. A booby trap wasn't a stretch.

At this point, it was less zombie, more unkillable armed deserter.

Ju Kang-rim searched for more traces. But time was short.

Footsteps thundered from the opposite alley.

He gripped his hatchet tensely, bracing.

From the other end burst an armed group, faces twisted viciously.

"Who the hell are you!"

They shoved swords, spears, axes at Ju Kang-rim.

He adjusted his grip, ready to fight. Tensions peaked—but then they sensed something familiar in each other.

The scent of kin. An awkward silence fell. The lead man gestured, and they lowered weapons hesitantly. Ju Kang-rim did too.

The leader spoke.

"Hunter?"

"Yeah."

Ju Kang-rim glanced back; Yoo Wol-ryeong handed over a business card. They nodded apologies upon seeing it.

"Ah, we don't have cards... Sorry. Evacuated zone, no other hunters assigned here, so..."

"Private contract."

The hunters nodded. Ju Kang-rim had pegged them as such from their gear: too well-armed for looters or holdouts, too mismatched for military. Hunters fit. And the leader was someone he knew.

Skinny, nervy-looking guy with hair tied back tight. A-rank awakener, hunter Han Min-seong. One of General Gerald's officers.

Why's Han Min-seong here?

Even by Ju Kang-rim's memories, or pure ability, this wasn't his scene. Gear and crew looked low-tier.

But then it clicked: Han Min-seong joined General Gerald way later.

So he hasn't awakened yet? Nah, with his power, he'd hide it.

Han Min-seong's ability was the type you couldn't flaunt without the right patron. Gerald had used it; any regular zombie hunter would've buried him.

Ju Kang-rim eyed him before speaking.

"Headed to Yongsan US base, by chance?"

Han Min-seong's face stiffened briefly. He wasn't great at masking expressions.

"...No. Just passing through."

Yoo Wol-ryeong tugged Ju Kang-rim's sleeve—drop the chit-chat, focus on the mission.

But instead of leaving, he smiled.

"Chasing someone, maybe?"

"Nosy. Let's go our ways."

"Nah, our goals might align."

"Goals?"

Han Min-seong's eyes narrowed. Ju Kang-rim pressed, noting the reaction.

"Tracking a soldier. J. Lopez, armed deserter. Super dangerous—my client's fine with kill or capture."

The hunters looked blank. One scowled to retort, but Han Min-seong stepped forward grimly.

"You know his name."

"Sergeant Lopez?"

"Didn't know the name. Just the look. That bastard's trap killed one of ours, injured three. Explains why we jumped at the blast."

The trap had targeted these hunters, not zombies or Ju Kang-rim.

Han Min-seong extended a hand.

"Han Min-seong."

"Ju Kang-rim."

"Wandering solo in a place like this—you must be damn good..."

He figured unarmed-suit Yoo Wol-ryeong wasn't combat-ready. Ju Kang-rim smirked inwardly. A plainclothes fighter was more likely the awakener. Meant Han Min-seong was still green.

But he had the eye to gauge Ju Kang-rim's skill: unfazed by the blast amid a crowd. Proof enough.

Then Han Min-seong asked something odd.

"You only after people, right?"