Expansion 2
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The familiar metallic clang that announced the morning.
Just as they always did, Sim Geum-a's subordinates were busily loading scrap materials onto the truck—materials bound for that mysterious northern “trading partner.”
On their faces, the old, grinding fatigue had given way to a faint but unmistakable spark of life.
“Hey, taking a shower yesterday actually felt like living like a real person again. Even after three days, I’m grateful as hell.”
“Same. Lately the rice has a bit more stuff in it. Used to be nothing but thin gruel.”
They traded those small, ordinary scraps of conversation while preparing, once more, to head north.
That was when it happened.
Their eyes caught a crowd gathering and murmuring in front of the fortress’s massive gate. At the center of it stood Dima, the daytime security chief.
“Huh? That’s Dimitri-nim. What’s going on?”
Curiosity pulled them away from their work; they drifted over.
Seeing the approaching scavengers, Dima raised his voice so that every person present could hear.
“The resource transport scheduled for the north today is postponed—all of it!
Every last person is to stand by at their posts until further orders!”
At the sudden command, unease and muttering swelled among the scavengers until it could no longer be contained.
“What? Why all of a sudden?”
“Did something happen?”
“Everything was fine until yesterday.”
Their quiet daily routine shattered in an instant.
“Ah, fuck!”
For the first time in a long while, Sim Geum-a had a pistol holstered at her waist. She stuck a cigarette between her lips, crushed the empty pack without mercy, flung it to the floor, and ground it under her heel.
“These bastards… so me doing a little too well pisses them off enough to form a fucking alliance, is that it?”
She lit the cigarette and stared down at the restless scene outside the window, voice thick with rage.
Behind her, Choi Eun-ji delivered the report in her usual dry, professional tone.
“…Our side lost two from the recon team. Their side… looks like total wipeout.”
“Ha… fuck….”
Sim Geum-a clutched her head and let out a long, heavy breath.
“Did I trust the drones too much? Or did I just get too soft about how those pieces of trash operate?”
Choi Eun-ji considered for a moment before answering.
“We got complacent, a little. But….”
She continued.
“There’s a problem with the drones too. From the second those guys hit our recon team—whether they registered them as ‘enemies’ or not—when the target is human instead of zombie, there seems to be a slight delay before the attack command actually fires.”
Her cold analysis made Sim Geum-a’s face harden further.
“Shit… if those bastards mass up and come for us, can one drone even hold them? The damage is gonna be huge, right?”
The absolute “safety” they had believed in might have been far flimsier—and far more dangerous—than any of them had realized.
“Seo Yeong-chan, look at this!”
Yeong-ju’s urgent call from the support-room console made me lift my head. I followed her pointing finger to the screen.
Drone No. 5 — lower section damage detected. Initiating automatic repairs. Estimated time: 02:51
Crimson letters floated dead-center on the display.
“What the hell is this? Why now?”
I shot up from my seat and sprinted for the mechanic bay where the drones were stored. Yeong-ju was right on my heels.
When we arrived, Drone No. 5 hung in mid-air, the words [UNDER REPAIR] glowing above it. Clear signs of external attack—dented plating, scorched metal—marred its underside.
“…Mutants?”
Yeong-ju murmured beside me.
I shook my head the moment I spotted something specific in the damage.
“No. Look here.”
Wedged deep inside a tiny hole between the crumpled armor plates sat a bullet of a shape I knew all too well.
“…Humans. Someone shot it.”
“This is the one that was on rotation for the safe-route patrol, right?”
“Yeah…. Whether it’s Sim Geum-a’s people or some other group we don’t even know about—someone attacked our drone.”
Just then Yang Jin-ju hurried over, anxiety plain on her face.
“Oh—Unni, Oppa. Perfect timing.”
“It’s just… the people who were supposed to bring resources from Geum-a Unni’s side this morning still haven’t shown up. I figured they were only running late, but the ones scheduled for lunch haven’t contacted us either.”
I locked eyes with Yeong-ju. The same thought hit us both at once.
Whoever they were, we were under attack right now.
I didn’t waste another second; I bolted for the support room to suit up.
“Wait! Just hold on!”
Yeong-ju caught up and seized my arm.
“You’re going out yourself while we’re being attacked? Are you insane? It’s way too dangerous—it could be a trap!”
“That’s exactly why I’m putting the suit on—because it’s dangerous!”
When I tried to move again she released my arm, stared at me, and exhaled a long, weary sigh.
“…Even if I tell you not to go, you’re going anyway, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. I need to check it out.”
“…Worried about that bitch Sim Geum-a?”
“…I can’t say I’m not. She’s an important partner to us right now.”
Yeong-ju studied me for a moment, then strode out into the corridor, grabbed Kang Po-gyeong—who was sweeping with a thoroughly clueless expression—and dragged her straight back.
“Take her with you.”
“M-me? Where are we going, ma’am?”
Yeong-ju yanked the broom out of Kang Po-gyeong’s hands and tossed it aside.
“Our drone just got hit and the resource shipment never arrived. In the middle of all that, this idiot insists on going out himself….”
She sighed again, then continued.
“Since he’s determined to leave, I’ll stay and hold the Shelter. And rather than the Jin-jus, someone like you—who actually came from a survivor group—will be more useful for reading the whole situation.”
“Huh? But… I thought I couldn’t use this suit….”
Kang Po-gyeong looked panicked. Yeong-ju turned to me.
“Her name’s already floating under Companions, right?”
In truth, after more than a month living here, Kang Po-gyeong’s name had quietly appeared on my Companion list. Because of how she had arrived—and her past as a captive—we had never registered her as a resident; it had remained a secret only Yeong-ju and I shared.
“Convert her to Shelter resident and take her.”
I nodded without a word and pressed the floating system button. A soft blue light bloomed around Kang Po-gyeong’s body amid her startled “Huh? Huh!”
She looked at me, then at Yeong-ju, then back again.
“Th-there’s something floating in front of my eyes! Master… Slu… rpSlurp… Boob? ies?”
…Even in a situation this serious, that username still hit like a truck.
“That guy right there.”
Yeong-ju snickered and pointed at me. Kang Po-gyeong’s face went blank with disbelief.
“This person is… Boobies…-nim?”
Yeong-ju shoved her firmly in front of a Foundation Suit.
“Both of you—be careful. Don’t get hurt, no matter what. Come back safe.”
With Yeong-ju’s final warning hanging in the air, Kang Po-gyeong and I prepared for another sortie into unknown danger.
“I never imagined I’d end up wearing something like this….”
Kang Po-gyeong, now sealed inside a Foundation Suit and running stride-for-stride beside me, kept glancing at the status window floating before her eyes with open wonder.
“And the fact that technology like this actually exists is… incredible.”
“You can gawk later. Right now, eyes on the surroundings. We have no idea when or where something might jump us.”
She straightened her posture at once.
“Yes, sir! Understood, Seo Yeong-chan-nim!”
She stuck close to my side, voice crisp and military-sharp.
A short while later we reached the patrol zone where Drone No. 5 had been flying.
“…Definitely humans.”
Roughly ten corpses lay scattered across the ground, heads or torsos blown apart in grotesque fashion. A little farther off, two more bodies sprawled with clear gunshot wounds.
“Fuck… these two are Sim Geum-a’s people.”
I pointed at the pair whose faces I half-recognized from a few days earlier.
“Then this survivor group must be the ones who tried the raid.”
Kang Po-gyeong crouched and began examining the corpses with methodical care.
“…Strange.”
“What is?”
She indicated their clothes and gear.
“Survivor groups usually mark themselves somehow for friend-or-foe ID. But these ones… every single one looks like they came from a different group. Outfits, equipment—all mismatched.”
She kept going.
“And the ones who were clearly carrying guns are a bit better fed than the rest. Looks like several separate groups only recently got mashed together.”
“Damn… you can actually read that?”
“I’m not living that life anymore, but until not long ago I was one of them.”
A bitter little smile colored her voice.
“Putting it all together… someone gathered multiple groups, hit Sim Geum-a-nim’s people and our drone at the same time, then got counter-attacked by the drone and wiped out.”
She stood and met my eyes.
“For now… I think we should head to Sim Geum-a-nim’s fortress first.”