Expansion
Three days after Sim Geum-a and Choi Eun-ji left, external resources began flowing steadily into our Shelter.
Along the secured routes, the people Sim Geum-a had dispatched scoured every location for the supplies we needed—steering clear of dangerous places like underground areas—and delivered them right to the Shelter's doorstep.
Two weeks later, the scavenging and resource gathering were still proceeding without a hitch. Not a single casualty.
"(Whoa…! Oppa? Did you just see that?)"
That day, Nam Jin-ju's excited voice crackled over the comms while she was out on perimeter duty in a Walker Suit. Following her line of sight, the support room's large display filled with an astonishing scene.
A Four-legged Mutant had appeared out of nowhere and was charging at a furious speed toward Sim Geum-a's subordinates, who had been dismantling an old streetlamp. Drones were already firing on it. In that same instant, other drones stationed nearby joined the assault, pouring concentrated fire onto the mutant.
Still at a full sprint, the creature tumbled and collapsed, shrieking as it took the drones' merciless barrage with its entire body—until its frame burst apart like a sack of blood.
"…Even watching through a screen is pretty disgusting. How are the people working out there holding up?"
"(They're fine! Everyone actually cheered when they saw the drones take down a mutant….)"
"Still, be careful. When you finish deploying the extra drones today, double-check the scouting teams' positions on your way back. Other kinds of mutants might be able to tank that drone fire."
"(Yes, sir! I'll look everything over one more time, carefully.)"
Nam Jin-ju was out installing two newly completed drones around Sim Geum-a's territory—additions to the original six we had built. One for day, one for night: a full twenty-four-hour perimeter watch covering Sim Geum-a's zone as well.
It was a decision I had made after consulting everyone in the Shelter, in response to Sim Geum-a's rather earnest plea: These were built with resources we gathered, so cut us a little slack just this once.
"(Huh? Oppa, I think I'm almost out of comms range. It's getting all staticky. Should I say hi to Geum-a Unni for you?)"
"Don't bother. I just saw her two days ago."
"(Hehe, okay. Then….)"
With a crackle of static, the connection cut out.
I stretched in my chair and glanced at the table beside me. Yang Jin-ju and Kang Po-gyeong were bent over a map, sketching out new plans.
"Rather than expanding from the zones already linked to the routes we've secured… wouldn't it be more efficient to turn this abandoned industrial complex into a Safety Zone first? What do you think, Unni?"
"Yang Jin-ju-nim has a point, but… I believe safety is something that must be expanded carefully, one step at a time. With the volume of resources we're currently receiving, we can maintain the present Safety Zone and gradually push the perimeter outward. We'll be able to move into the industrial complex soon enough. There's no need to rush."
"Ah… lately, every time I look at those drones, I get this impatient urge to build more of them…."
Yang Jin-ju grumbled like a child.
Just then, Yeong-ju set a steaming cup of coffee down in front of me with a soft thunk and settled into the seat beside mine.
"Nam Jin-ju? Sounds like she's handling her mission just fine."
I took a sip of coffee and answered.
"Yeah. She just left comms range, so… she should reach Sim Geum-a's territory in about thirty minutes."
"I see…."
She nodded—then, as naturally as breathing, pulled the coffee cup from in front of me over to herself and took a sip of her own.
"A bit much, right? I deliberately brewed enough for both of us."
Then, catching the look on my face, she let out a soft laugh.
That evening.
"I'm back!"
Having clearly changed out of her suit in the support room, Nam Jin-ju strode into the dining hall in a gray tracksuit, announcing her return in a bright, energetic voice.
"Wow! I made good time, right? On a special day like today, I couldn't possibly be late, so I hurried back as fast as I could!"
She said it with a grin and plopped herself down, full of excitement, into the empty seat at our table.
She was right—today was a very special day. For the first time since we had entered the Shelter, produce we had grown with our own hands sat before us: fresh, crisp lettuce.
The hydroponics facility had harvested the lettuce that morning, washed it clean, dried it thoroughly, and presented it to us in neat arrangement. A large platter heaped with those green, vibrant leaves sat at the center of the table, gleaming more brilliantly than any feast.
"Go on. Eat."
Yeong-ju slid the plate toward me.
"You have to take the first bite before the rest of us will. Right?"
I carefully picked up a single leaf, put it in my mouth, and chewed—the crisp snap of it filling the quiet. Only then did a deeply satisfied smile spread across her face.
That evening was warmer and more cheerful than any we had shared in a long time. We wrapped the meat and ham from our emergency ration kits in the fresh lettuce and marveled, again and again, at the taste of real food after so long.
"Come to think of it, the other crops are growing much faster than expected as well."
Kang Po-gyeong spoke up.
"With only about twenty days left until the projected harvest, it seems the round-the-clock optimal light and nutrients are making them grow far more quickly than they would in open soil."
"Oh! Then when the rice comes in, we should take some over there, right? By then, it'll probably be almost finished!"
The "there" Nam Jin-ju mentioned with sparkling eyes was the new supply depot Sim Geum-a's group was building at the midpoint between us and them.
To cut down on the hassle of departing from and returning to the Shelter every time, Sim Geum-a's scouts had proposed it: repair and fortify a relatively safe building sitting exactly halfway between our territory and hers, and turn it into a hub for barter.
It was also the clearest possible proof that they now fully trusted the Safety Zone we had created.
"Giving them whole sacks of rice might be a stretch, but cooking it into meals and bringing those over should be doable."
Yang Jin-ju agreed with Nam Jin-ju's suggestion.
"Yes. They still won't have stable access to water and electricity over there, so delivering it in a ready-to-eat form would be far more helpful."
Kang Po-gyeong nodded in agreement.
"We'll have to see the yield first before deciding… but yeah. Good idea."
When I gave my approval, all of us looked at one another and smiled with quiet satisfaction.
A dark night in the ruins of Jung-gu, Daegu.
In a damp, lightless basement, several shadows clustered beneath the faint glow of a lantern.
They were talking about a woman named Sim Geum-a—whose power had been swelling at a frightening pace lately—with eyes full of hatred and envy.
"That bitch is riding high these days, huh? Wherever she got them, she's hauling in piles of shiny metal gear and handing it out to her people!"
"Fucking right! Most of us are still walking around with steel pipes 'cause we don't have guns, and her subordinates are carrying gleaming spears now, I hear."
One man spoke through gritted teeth.
"That's not even the half of it. Somehow she's got clean water and food coming out her ears, and she's pulling in every ragtag survivor in the area…."
"We've got a water tank and we're still catching rainwater and running it through filters, and those bastards are taking showers with clean water. At this rate, the whole district falling into her hands is just a matter of time."
"Fuck… where the hell is she getting all that? Did she hit an entire military base or something?"
"You dumbass! You think a military base has spears?"
"What? You son of a bitch! Then you explain where she's getting them!"
Their conversation was thick with raw wariness and unease over Sim Geum-a's rise—and before long, they started turning their hostility on each other.
"Shut up and listen! It's not like we have no options."
A man sitting in the deepest corner of the dark finally opened his mouth.
"No matter how strong that bitch's faction gets, she's still a woman. And the source of her power is ultimately supplies. If we cut off the 'route' feeding her those supplies… or…."
He paused, smiling.
"…if we just take it for ourselves—that's also an option."
Every gaze in the basement locked onto him.
"What the hell is this 'route' you're talking about?"
"Shut your damn mouth, you idiot! What's the point of hearing it if you can't even understand?"
"…What? You little shit—!"
As the man's words trailed off and the room threatened to descend into chaos again, he looked around, sighed, and continued.
"A few days ago, our scouts spotted something. Sim Geum-a's people were carefully transporting something north. And on that road… strangely, there were almost no zombies. Like someone had already 'cleaned' the path for them."
A vicious smile spread across his face as he went on.
"Looks like whoever's clearing out the zombies is trading with Sim Geum-a… so what if we deal with those 'janitors' first and snatch the whole route for ourselves?"
At his sly proposal, a brief silence settled over the basement.
Then, one by one, greed and madness began to bloom across every face in the room.