Operation Reset
The shelter, now that the surveillance team had vanished, felt as quiet as ever, yet a strange, palpable tension hung in the air. Everyone was relieved that the meddling outsiders were gone and thanked me, but their expressions remained guarded.
Oh Jeong-hwan was no different; he simply told me he would leave everything in my hands.
"Welcome back."
Kang Jin-ho arrived early in the morning. His face was etched with impatience, but I didn't say a word, leading him straight to the incinerator behind the main auditorium.
"What is this?"
"The surveillance team is dead."
"Those guys? They aren't the type to die easily. Why?"
"I killed them."
"Uh...?"
Kang Jin-ho stared at me, dumbfounded. He wore the expression of someone looking at a complete lunatic. I began a brief explanation of the situation. I left out the parts about the actress, the hip-hop singer, and the high-rise building, simply telling him that Yoon Tae-sik had acted like a dog in heat, so I killed him out of sheer annoyance.
Once I finished, Kang Jin-ho looked at the pile of ashes inside the incinerator and spat out a curse.
"...Fuck. So you burned them?"
"They were trash. And burning is the surest way to destroy evidence, isn't it? I learned that from you."
"Ha... What are you going to do now? Are you always this reckless? Do you think Cha Dohyun will just sit still? This is practically a declaration of war against Gusan."
"That’s why we have to make sure they never find out."
"No, the people are gone! How can they not find out?"
Kang Jin-ho pounded his chest in frustration. Well, I had already thought this part through. Isn't there a saying that you cover up an issue with an even bigger issue? I intended to intentionally create a massive incident to bury this one. Not just to smooth things over, but to steer the situation in a direction that would benefit us.
"Is Cha Dohyun the one these guys were reporting to?"
"Yoon Tae-sik was someone Cha Dohyun cherished... He’ll get suspicious the moment he stops receiving radio contact."
"So, we’re short on time."
I had already swiped the radio Yoon Tae-sik used. It was a military-grade walkie-talkie, a model designed to prevent third-party eavesdropping by having users gather in one spot to open a channel. Communication protocols, secure frequencies, channel interference blocking—it was equipment unfamiliar to the average survivor, but I had been well-versed in how such radios worked since my school days.
"So, what’s the plan? You didn't call me here without one, did you?"
At Kang Jin-ho's question, I handed him a noise generator. It was the very same device Hwang Gyunam had built and used in the university underpass.
"It’s a noise device. It’s tuned to a frequency that zombies react to quite sensitively."
"So? Why are you giving this to me?"
"Install it near Gusan. Somewhere it won't be easily found, but where it won't reach the zombies directly. Up in a tree would be best."
"Wait, hold on. You said zombies react to it? Are you telling me to lure a horde of zombies? Have you lost your mind?"
"They’re inside a prison, what’s the problem? Are you worried the walls will break?"
"You’re asking me to commit an act of sabotage against a shelter!"
"Weren't you already doing that? Don't forget, we’re in the same boat."
Kang Jin-ho bit his lip hard. He had the face of a man who realized he’d been caught in a trap he couldn't escape. As long as I had the recorder, Kang Jin-ho had no choice.
"Ha...! Just how long are you going to keep this up? How much longer do you intend to use me?"
"Let’s say this is the last time."
"Fine. Then I have a condition. Once this is over, give me the recorder."
"That’s difficult. You might stab me in the back, you know."
"Fuck! Isn't it the same for me? How am I supposed to believe you when you say this is the last time?"
Kang Jin-ho’s ears turned red as he heated up. He didn't know. He didn't know that this conversation was also being recorded. The previous recordings were slightly insufficient to fully implicate Kang Jin-ho, but this was now irrefutable evidence. When I pulled out the recorder and shook it in front of him, his face flushed as if it were about to burst.
"Wow, you’re just as much of a piece of trash as those guys."
"You won't be the one suffering. Honestly, I need you."
"Didn't you just say this was the last time?"
"People’s plans change."
"...You son of a bitch."
Kang Jin-ho glared at me for a long time before turning away. Naturally, I felt no pangs of conscience.
The night passed. The military radio remained silent.
However, there was no way to know if Kang Jin-ho had installed the noise generator properly. Even if he had, it was questionable whether enough zombies would gather to distract Gusan. Still, I could be certain of two things: Cha Dohyun was distracted by other matters, and I had bought enough time for the next operation.
"It will be resolved well, right?"
Han Jiyoung asked cautiously. It seemed she was worried, as the survival of Osori depended on this.
I replied nonchalantly, "Don't worry about it too much. I told you I’d handle it."
"I know, but... Gusan isn't exactly an easy opponent."
"From what I’ve seen, they have plenty of gaps."
"Gusan, you mean?"
"No matter who the opponent is, they have weaknesses. If you get scared before you even fight, you’ve already lost."
"That’s something the Bishop used to say."
"It’s one of the few truths that exist."
If they hadn't had gaps, I wouldn't have been able to recruit Kang Jin-ho, and the surveillance team wouldn't have died so easily. Gusan’s many weaknesses were being covered up by the prestige of being a large-scale shelter. Because everyone was terrified of them and bowed down the moment Gusan was mentioned, no one even thought to oppose them. They easily succumbed to all sorts of humiliation and abuse under the grand premise of survival. But I was different.
"It’s not for right now, but someday, that place has to be brought down."
"Oof. Just hearing that gives me goosebumps."
"If they left us alone, that would be one thing, but if they keep meddling, what choice do we have?"
"That’s true."
"You need to steel your heart, too. You said Gusan has a lot of Hunters, right? How am I supposed to handle them all by myself?"
"Oh, so you finally need me?!"
"I always have."
"Excuse me...?"
I walked past a blushing Han Jiyoung and entered the main auditorium. Oh Jeong-hwan and Hwang Gyunam were standing by the blackboard. They waved at me as if they had been waiting.
"Welcome. You’re a bit late?"
"A junior was being a nuisance."
"You two seem to have gotten quite close lately? I heard you’ve met up privately a few times?"
"We’ve always been like that."
Hwang Gyunam chuckled and showed me what he had prepared. He brought out an upgraded noise generator and a crude explosive device made of five grenades tied together in a row.
"This will be three times more powerful than the one we used in the underpass. And this explosive is designed so that even if you pull the safety pin, the clamp acts as a lever, holding the trigger in place."
"So, if I pull the pin and release the clamp, it explodes instantly?"
"Exactly. I made it just like you asked."
What I had Kang Jin-ho do was merely to buy time; the real operation started now. Right on cue, Oh Jeong-hwan spread out a map for exploration.
"The road leading east and west here is the exploration route to the hospital. The lanes are wide, and there are many large buildings nearby. Naturally, there will be many zombies. Are you really sure about this?"
"You know my skills. And we need to recover the time we lost because of Gusan."
My real plan was to use the noise generator to lure the zombies on the exploration route and then unleash them near Gusan. When a shelter site is selected, the first task is to clear the surroundings. By moving a large number of stagnant zombies, Gusan would be forced to restart their clearing operations. In a word: a reset. If that happened, their surveillance and interference with small and medium shelters would inevitably be pushed to the back burner. This operation was only possible because I had coincidentally found a sensitive frequency. And there was one last card left to be the finishing touch of this operation.
"Cheon-il, follow me for a second."
The place Hwang Gyunam headed to was a car repair shop near the shelter. It was his base of operations and secret hideout from before the catastrophe. I had seen him slipping in and out of here before, so I had already guessed.
"It’s a bit small, isn't it?"
"Not at all. You must have had a lot of customers."
"I did work 11 hours a day. In the summer, there were many times I worked late into the night."
As he unlocked the padlock and rolled up the shutter, the interior was revealed. The first thing that caught my eye was a heavily modified mid-sized bus.
"Wow. What is this...?"
"Heh heh. My secret weapon for exploration missions. You could call it a mobile shelter."
The bus was extremely alien in appearance. The front windshield was densely covered with steel protective mesh, and sharp spikes made of steel frames protruded from above the headlights. The side windows were replaced with welded steel plates and bulletproof acrylic panels, and arrow-shaped firing ports were cut into various places. The interior seats had all been removed, and axes, crowbars, small cutters, and various tools hung along the sides. Above all, the highlight of this bus was the roof. The original roof had been cut into a circle, and a steel railing and armored cover were placed over it. A roof-gun space where a gunner could stand and fire. This wasn't a transport bus; it was a mobile fortress.
"Did you make all of this, Boss Hwang...?"
"I worked on it in my spare time, but there’s still a lot to do. I need to increase the engine output and reinforce the tires."
"I knew you were talented, but your handiwork is incredible. No, I should call this engineering."
"Well, everyone has their own specialty."
"I thought it was just luck."
"That’s my passive skill."
It was an amazing piece of work, but the protagonist of today wasn't this guy. As we went to the back of the bus, I saw a stylish motorcycle painted in black and red.
"This is 'Fredom'."
"Excuse me?"
I wondered what he was talking about, but the spelling 'fredom' was engraved on the footrest. They said Oh Jeong-hwan had a habit of giving childish names to every operation, and it seemed Hwang Gyunam was no different. Maybe it was just an old guy thing.
"But shouldn't there be another 'e'?"
"Someday, my dream is to ride this thing and race to my heart's content. In a world where I can go anywhere freely."
"...Ah, I see."
"The performance will be solid. It was originally 600cc, but I boosted it a bit. I’ve also thoroughly maintained the parts of this model that tend to break down."
Bikes and sports cars have a way of turning men into little boys. Hwang Gyunam couldn't take his eyes off the motorcycle, stroking it here and there.
"Please take good care of our Fredom."
"That’s a lot of pressure."
"You can handle it gently, right? Someday, in a free world, with this guy—"
"Ah, yes, I understand."
I quickly sat on the seat and turned the ignition. The magnificent roar of the engine filled the car shop. As the fuel gauge filled to the max, I felt my own blood running hot. In that moment, I, too, had become a little boy no different from Hwang Gyunam.
"You have to take this, too. It’s a set with Fredom."
"Thank you."
Once I put on the goggles and mask, my face was completely covered. Even if someone saw me, they wouldn't be able to identify me.
"Make sure you come back alive! I’ll be waiting!"
As I left the car shop, Hwang Gyunam’s voice faded into the distance. I didn't know if he was hoping for me or Fredom to return, but it would go exactly as he wished. The tips of my fingers gripping the handlebars trembled slightly. A tremor I couldn't distinguish as excitement or tension. While racing through the wind, all thoughts were pushed to the other side. No matter how heavy reality was, it was easy to forget for a moment if the speed was fast enough.