The Trap
The first step toward taking over the university had begun.
Operation name: "Drizzle."
They said it was Oh Junghwan’s stubborn insistence to give every operation such childish names.
"Check your assigned sectors and follow your team leaders' instructions closely."
I was appointed leader of Team A.
The team was composed of three people: my members were Jang Youngmin and Hwang Gyunam.
I heard through the grapevine that Jang Youngmin had thrown a fit, swearing he wouldn't go unless he was on my team...
"Jang-hyung, why did you switch to the search team? I heard others were doing things the old way."
"I just like being with the teacher. Plus, I want to catch at least one more zombie."
The rotation between the guard duty teams and the search teams had concluded.
Apparently, the search team members had complained that they were too restless to stand guard duty.
Hwang Gyunam approached with his signature smirk.
"Jang-hyung? Didn't you come here because of my luck? That's what I heard, anyway."
"Yeah, no."
"Aha. You haven't seen it yet, Jang-hyung?"
"If you put your hand in your pants, you're dead."
Han Jiyoung was the leader of Team B, and the bald Choi Hyunho led Team C.
It was essentially pairing one high-combat-power individual with two others. Oh Junghwan’s careful deliberation was evident in the team composition.
"Everyone, be careful. Especially you, Han Jiyoung."
"Do you have a grudge against me lately?"
"You're the most unstable. If anything happens, radio Cheonsa."
In terms of raw power, Team B was the strongest, as it included both Han Jiyoung and Kim Inbeom.
Kim Inbeom had returned from his injury just in time for Operation Drizzle.
"I heard about it. Anyway, let's do our best."
"Sorry about the hole in your shoulder."
"……."
Kim Inbeom didn't seem particularly fond of me.
Still, like a true son of the land of courtesy, he was the type to follow his elders' words well.
Unlike someone else.
"Why are we assigned to the back gate? That's the most complicated area and the furthest away!"
"That’s why I gave you Inbeom. Let’s just get through this quietly."
"Be honest. Do you hate me, Captain?"
"Then should I give it to Team A?"
"Ah, no—why is Team A coming up here? There’s Team C, Team C!"
"Team C is the weakest in terms of power, so that’s not an option."
"Damn it..."
My troublesome junior was draining my energy before we even started.
If no one stopped him, he’d be like that all day.
Sure enough, Oh Junghwan signaled me to help.
"Hey, Han Jiyoung."
"Yes! Did you call?"
"There are only two people here from the school, and if you don't go, are you saying you want me to go instead?"
"That’s not it at all... You’ve misunderstood."
"Are you trying to dump your work on your senior? Should I go?"
"Ah, no! I’ll go! Loyalty!"
Han Jiyoung bolted like a bullet.
Thanks to that, we were able to finish the meeting in a much quieter atmosphere.
"Then, let's pack our gear and head out in 10 minutes."
"Sounds good."
"Okay."
Our assigned sector was the front gate of the university.
I had thought there would be fewer zombies than at the back gate, which was a commercial area, but they were already swarming near the entrance.
"That’s about thirty of them, isn't it?"
"Teacher, what should we do?"
I hid behind a car and surveyed the situation.
As long as there were no runners, it didn't seem like a big problem.
It was better for me to handle it myself than to rely on Hwang Gyunam and Jang Youngmin.
Tap. Tap.
Grak!
I got close and tapped the barrel cover of my rifle a couple of times to create noise.
The zombies reacted immediately.
Fortunately, no runners were visible.
"Ch-Cheonsa? What are you doing calling them all at once? We should draw their aggro little by little and whittle them down! Don't you know what 'drizzle' means?"
"What are you doing?! Hurry and help the teacher!"
My team members tried to approach, but I stopped them with a hand gesture.
What did these people take a high-ranking Hunter for?
Being nearby would only get in the way.
I put down my rifle and drew the two logging knives I had brought.
"How long would it take to whittle them down? Just watch from there."
"What on earth are you trying to do...!?"
The revolver was just a weapon I was particularly good with; I could handle other weapons just as well.
There’s a reason I’m the only one who scored over 900 points.
Kuaaaagh!
Crack!
I drove a logging knife into the forehead of the one in front.
With a flick of my wrist, I pulled it out and buried the other knife into the side of the next one's head.
"Oh!"
"Incredible. He’s relentless."
I dealt with them row by row.
With precise and swift strikes, they toppled over like dry straw.
If they were runners, it might be different, but this many walkers were no threat to me.
"It's over. Let's move."
"Uh, uh... Right. Let's."
They were perfect for a light warm-up.
Just as Hwang Gyunam and Jang Youngmin were tentatively following me, Han Jiyoung’s voice came over the radio.
- Everyone okay? I thought there would be a lot of zombies here, but there are only a few. Did someone come through here already?
"But Jiyoung, we’re from the same school, so why are we so different?"
- What does that mean? Are you saying that for me to hear?
"Exactly that. Turns out not all Hunters are on the same level."
- Excuse me? Are you guys picking a fight with me?
"But what’s a 'cut-line' generation? What is that?"
- ...So annoying.
That was the last of the radio contact with Han Jiyoung.
***
"Ugh, seriously. I told you I’m not a 'cut-line' generation!"
Team B, assigned to the back gate of the university.
Han Jiyoung was fuming, her face turning red.
Kim Inbeom, who was walking in front, turned his head slightly.
"That person, Lee Cheonsa."
"Why are you bringing him up, Senior?"
"I heard a bit about him, but is he really that great?"
Kim Inbeom, who had been resting due to his injury, didn't know about what had happened.
Honestly, he was still suspicious.
After all, this Lee Cheonsa guy was the one who had attacked him and Hwang Gyunam.
He wasn't thrilled that Lee Cheonsa had become the center of the shelter in such a short time.
"Tsk! How many times do I have to tell this story?"
Han Jiyoung replied in a bored tone.
Even though they were the same age, Han Jiyoung was higher in the hierarchy.
They had fought seriously once, and Kim Inbeom had lost.
Since Kim Inbeom was a former special forces soldier with a knack for fighting, it had been quite a shocking event at the time.
"Are you no match for him either? Even if you go all out?"
"Is that even a question?"
"How big is the gap? Honestly, if you have a bit of luck, isn't it doable? That’s how fights usually go."
"Bullshit. You’d need ten guys like you to even land a single hit."
"...No way."
He thought she was just exaggerating.
He knew Han Jiyoung wasn't that kind of person, but he wanted to believe it was an exaggeration.
"Why do you keep asking, Senior? Are you planning to get revenge?"
"Ah, no... I’m just curious."
"I’m warning you, don't mess with him. Next time, it won't be your shoulder that gets pierced—it’ll be your throat."
"......"
Kim Inbeom remembered that day with Lee Cheonsa clearly.
He had definitely intended to kill.
It was only by sheer luck that he had dodged it; he had aimed precisely for the throat from the start.
Looking back, it was a miracle he survived.
'His eyes were full of murderous intent. He didn't hesitate to kill a person.'
That meant he hadn't just killed once or twice.
Kim Inbeom swallowed hard.
'Is he really a person we can trust?'
The world was stained with corpses.
He couldn't even count how many zombies he had killed.
But killing a person was a different story.
Kim Inbeom had killed zombies to survive, but he had never killed a human.
'If things had gone just a little differently, President Hwang and I wouldn't be in this world anymore.'
Recalling that day, an alarm went off in his head.
The people in the shelter trusted Lee Cheonsa, but in Kim Inbeom’s eyes, that looked even more dangerous.
Could everyone be getting fooled by that vicious man?
That was the reason Kim Inbeom’s questions kept dragging on.
"Did you ever see him when you were at school?"
"No. You barely see people from other generations."
"Then why do you trust someone you've never even seen? That’s not like you."
"Hey."
Unable to take it anymore, Han Jiyoung stopped walking and looked at him sternly.
"You keep beating around the bush. What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Sigh... never mind."
"Look, you know how suspicious the Captain is, right? Even that guy was so paranoid he couldn't trust him for a long time. But look at him now."
"Yeah..."
"Let me tell you one thing. He isn't the type of person for you to decide whether to trust or not. If he had gone to a different shelter, our territory would have been taken away, and if by any chance he had entered Gusan, we would be living under even worse tyranny than we are now."
Kim Inbeom just listened, speechless.
Fundamentally, a shelter's power comes from its manpower.
Whether it's vaccines or supplies.
What meaning would they have if there was no power to protect them?
Most of all, if he was more capable than Han Jiyoung, he was top-tier talent even by Gusan's standards.
Gusan had been desperate to scout Han Jiyoung until recently.
"Don't think stupid thoughts and watch where you're going. I’m warning you, don't make it obvious. He has eyes like a hawk."
"Alright. Let's stop talking about it."
Kim Inbeom took a step back.
He still felt uneasy, but he knew focusing on the operation was the right thing to do.
"Don't worry too much. From what I can see, he seems like a decent person."
"Yeah, well."
The other team member whispered, and Kim Inbeom smiled bitterly.
Could they say that if they had seen those eyes filled with murderous intent?
Those eyes that were no different from a beast’s.
'Sigh, I don't know anymore.'
Before they knew it, they had passed the back gate and arrived at the department building.
"There will be a huge crowd inside the building. Let’s all be careful."
Han Jiyoung warned them as they entered.
But when one has too many thoughts, their field of vision narrows.
Kim Inbeom failed to spot the booby trap set at the entrance.
BEEEEEEEP—!
"Huh?"
"Damn it, what is that!"
An acoustic obstacle someone had installed.
It was an alarm triggered by a tripwire, and he had touched the wire, flipping the switch.
"Ah...!"
The faces of everyone turned pale at the ear-piercing noise.
In the chaos, Han Jiyoung hurriedly stepped on the alarm, crushing it.
The noise stopped, but she couldn't stop the sound of footsteps approaching from the darkness.
"Run!"
Han Jiyoung made a quick decision, as a leader should.
The footsteps she heard were not normal.
They were much faster than the usual rhythm.
"Why are those things...?"
"Don't look back, just run!"
What was chasing them were runners.
Even at a glance, there were more than ten.
She had heard there were running specimens, but this was her first time seeing them in reality.
"Drop your backpacks too!"
Han Jiyoung was just as flustered.
The blind, desperate rush of the monsters toward their prey was faster than she had imagined.
"Jiyoung! We’re going to get caught at this rate!"
"I know that!"
The monsters showed no signs of fatigue.
The distance was closing in.
If they kept going like this, they would become lunch.
"Damn it!"
"Han Jiyoung! What are you doing?!"
"Don't worry about me and run! I’ll buy us some time!"
"Are you crazy? Hurry up and come!"
"Forget it. Just call for support from the senior."
Han Jiyoung drew her sword from the scabbard on her back.
The beautiful blade glinted, reflecting the light.
"I’m from the school too, you know?"
She stepped forward with her right foot, forming an '11' stance.
She held the hilt at her dantian and slightly raised the blade, aiming for the enemy's solar plexus.
The middle stance of Gyeokgeom-do.
In an instant, a strange light flickered in Han Jiyoung's eyes.