The Formation of the Alliance
Choi Giseop sent them out one by one, in order of rank.
The guy who came out after the youngest was taken down by a single front kick, and the next one was knocked out with a punch to the solar plexus. There was no need to mix in any flashy techniques.
There was no reason to treat opponents who rushed in one by one—without even using weapons—with anything resembling sincerity.
By the time it reached the final person in line, I wasn't even slightly winded.
“Hm. It wasn't just empty talk. You had a reason to be so confident.”
Choi Giseop stepped forward and loosened up his muscles.
Even though his subordinates hadn't managed to lay a single finger on me, he still looked full of confidence.
I couldn't tell if he was just overflowing with spirit or if he was simply reckless.
“They say if your head is empty, your body suffers.”
Han Jiyoung sneered.
Choi Giseop glanced at her, but didn't retort, turning his gaze back to me.
The subordinates of the Gwangmyeong Faction also had their eyes sparkling, as if they were expecting something.
'So this is their boss, huh.'
The Gwangmyeong Faction had a very strong concept of hierarchy. It was so intense it felt ignorant.
I could have ended it in one blow if I wanted to, but that was the reason I intended to drag the duel out.
Even people who live with romance in their hearts have their pride.
Above all, the biggest reason was that I actually liked these guys.
“Hup!”
Choi Giseop threw a punch toward my face.
I blocked the fist with my palm and gripped it tight. Choi Giseop swung his other hand, but I blocked it the same way and began a test of strength.
“Oh!”
As I pretended to be evenly matched, the subordinates let out a collective gasp of admiration.
Choi Giseop looked at me with a strange expression and quickly tried to thrust his foot forward.
“Hmph!”
Before his foot could come out, I blocked his shin, preventing the attack from landing.
After repeating this a few times, Choi Giseop, getting irritated, squeezed out his remaining strength.
“Hraaaah!”
I intentionally let myself be pushed back.
To a third party, the balanced equilibrium of power would have looked like it was tipping in his favor.
When I reached the wall, I pushed off it with my foot to brace myself. Choi Giseop yanked his arm as if to snatch me, and as my center of gravity wavered, he attempted a knee strike.
'This...'
I had intended to take at least one hit, but my body reacted on its own.
I let go of his fist and crossed my arms to defend my face. Well, I had gotten close enough to a clean hit, so it didn't matter.
“Yeah!”
“As expected of our Big Brother!”
Before Choi Giseop could follow up, I grabbed his waist and took him down. As I pretended to mount him for a ground-and-pound, he tried to defend by lifting both legs. In that opening, I quickly hooked one of his legs to the side and locked in a heel hook.
“Ugh! Stop!”
I let go of his leg as soon as he tapped out repeatedly.
I figured this was enough to look like a draw. Seeing the subordinates looking disappointed, I felt I had acted my part well enough.
“…You’re fucking strong.”
Choi Giseop muttered to himself and stood up. When he looked at his subordinates, they immediately fell into a neat formation, as if it were a scheduled event.
Choi Giseop, on the other hand, looked relieved.
“I trust none of you have any complaints. From now on, this man is our new Big Brother. You got that?”
“Yes!”
“Then, let’s greet him!”
“We look forward to your leadership, Big Brother!”
All 18 members of the Gwangmyeong Faction bowed in unison.
Becoming the big brother of a gang of thugs was unexpected, but for some reason, it felt incredibly reassuring.
“Why did you go easy on him?”
“Just because. I like them.”
Han Jiyoung asked, and I answered.
Choi Giseop handed me a large key. It was the key to the gym’s storage room, which contained the food and weapons they had collected so far.
Calling it food was a stretch—it was just a few cans, and compared to the thirty-plus rifles, they had less than 100 rounds of ammunition.
“What do these people live on? Do they live day-to-day?”
I agreed with Han Jiyoung’s assessment. It was too meager for 18 people to have stockpiled.
What was even stranger was that they were all quite sturdy, not at all like people who were starving.
“What’s going on here?”
When I asked, looking at Choi Giseop, he answered like a bullet.
“Ah, we hunt.”
“Hunt?”
“We catch fish, and we also eat wild animals like stray dogs or water deer.”
Now that I thought about it, I had seen fishing rods and a traditional Korean bow. Could they have really been hunting with those?
“I guess the virus isn't a problem.”
“I was worried at first too, but the guys said it’s better to die than lose muscle mass, so they just ate it. But it turned out fine.”
In the middle of a zombie virus outbreak, to say they eat wild animals because they don't want to lose muscle mass...
Usually, people are too anxious to eat them. It’s because it’s better to scavenge for food than to hunt. Is it okay if you grill it?
Regardless, it was good information.
“It couldn't have been easy to hunt while avoiding zombies.”
“You get better at it the more you do it. We’re pros now. Canned food doesn't provide enough protein, after all.”
I realized once again that there are many strange people in this world. Choi Junseo, whom I thought was the strangest of them all, finally opened his mouth, which he had kept shut the whole time.
“But don't you have more family members?”
“Oh, how did you know? Are you a shaman?”
“More? What does that mean?”
“I was just about to tell you. This isn't all of the Gwangmyeong Faction.”
Choi Giseop continued his explanation, and my eyes widened.
“So you mean you have members south of the river as well?”
“Yes. We couldn't handle the food situation if we were all in one place, so we split into three teams. Our original territory was in the south, so I took the lead and crossed the river.”
“How many are there in total?”
“There should be over 50 now.”
“Ah...”
“You said you were forming an alliance, didn't you, Big Brother? Why don't you call the others too? If I contact them, they’ll all be here within 24 hours.”
“Call them immediately.”
“Yes, Big Brother!”
It was an unexpected harvest. I was desperate for even one person, and here were 50.
If I added the Amhyeon Shelter and the Underpass, which I hadn't made contact with yet, it would be close to 100 people.
It was twice as many as I had originally expected.
“Big Brother, things are going smoothly, aren't they?”
“Inbeom, call me 'Hyung' from now on. Calling me 'Big Brother' makes you sound like a gangster too.”
“Yes, Hyung. Now, the only thing left is the Underpass, right?”
“As far as we know, that’s the only one left.”
At that moment, Choi Giseop, who had been sending a radio transmission, whipped his head around.
“Did you just say Underpass, Hyung?”
“Do you know the place?”
“Ah! You can't go there. That’s Gusan’s 2nd Company.”
“Excuse me?”
“There’s an organization within Gusan called the Strike Force. The Underpass was taken over by them.”
Choi Giseop quickly brought over a map and began explaining, pointing to a marked location.
“This is the Underpass base. It wasn't far from us, so we interacted often. They’re the ones who taught us how to hunt.”
“And now they’re not?”
“It’s been about two weeks since the Strike Force took them over. Location-wise, it’s perfect because it’s south of Gusan and the roads are well-cleared.”
Hearing the explanation, it really was.
The Gusan Shelter was formerly the New Seoul Prison, so it was attached to the mountains, and the point that followed the main road south into the city center was the Underpass base. It was a perfect location for a 2nd Company base.
“This was originally a telecommunications building; it has a clear line of sight from the 5th floor and is fenced in. The site was so good that we were going to take it, but we agreed to let them have it in exchange for them teaching us how to hunt.”
So that’s what happened. It wasn't just a rumor; he was directly involved, so I could trust his words.
“What kind of organization is the Strike Force?”
“Honestly, I don't know how great Gusan is. But I know the Strike Force is fucking strong. I heard they were originally Gusan’s Operations Department.”
“Operations Department?”
“Their Operations Chief—the current Strike Force leader—is a monster. I watched him secretly through binoculars, and I thought he was a ghost.”
He said the Strike Force leader always wore a white mask. He said the blood-stained mask was terrifying.
“Even so, he wouldn't be a match for our Senior, would he?”
“Hmm...”
“What? You, don't tell me you think the Senior will lose?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure...”
“Ha! Earlier, the Senior was going easy on you! Didn't you know?”
“I know that too.”
“And you still think the Senior will lose?”
Choi Giseop kept his mouth shut. Well, it wasn't about the individual skill of the Strike Force leader, but whether we were at a level where we could attack the Strike Force. The Gusan bastards wouldn't be the romantic type to decide their leader through a fair one-on-one fight.
“Anyway, it means they have an outpost.”
“Is it their intention to expand their territory?”
“It doesn't matter. For now, we have to focus on what we can do.”
Gwangmyeong was resolved well. The Underpass was finished, so now all that was left was Amhyeon. I looked at Seo Jeongwoo, but he was trembling, biting his fingernails.
“Mr. Seo Jeongwoo?”
“Ah, ah...”
“Why are you like that? Is there a problem?”
“Th-that is... actually...”
Seo Jeongwoo’s pupils were shaking as if there were an earthquake. He had been perfectly fine until the conversation just now. Could Amhyeon also be related to the Underpass?
“O-our base is right here...”
The place Seo Jeongwoo pointed to was just 3km away from the Underpass. It was close, but not enough to make someone tremble. Was he just the cowardly type?
“The shelter location was exposed yesterday, so I told the members to go here...”
“Where? Don't tell me... the Underpass?”
“I-I didn't know there was another organization there. I just saw it from afar and the site looked good...”
“Are you saying you moved them without even checking?”
“I thought we had to move quickly because I was afraid those people would come looking for us again... I really didn't know.”
He had walked straight into the tiger’s mouth. Choi Giseop clicked his tongue as if he were pathetic.
“You, are you really a shelter manager? How did a guy like this survive?”
“I-I really didn't know. There was no one on guard nearby, and it looked perfectly fine from the outside...”
“Is that an excuse? Is it over just because you didn't know? Big Brother, can we really let a guy like this join the alliance?”
I was also dumbfounded. Incompetence and irresponsibility. Did he think that because a site looked good to his eyes, it wouldn't be visible to others? I shouldn't think this, but I realized why he was being pushed around.
If you look weak, you get bitten more. He must have been sure that even if he took the women, they wouldn't be able to throw a single punch. In reality, they must have been taken without any resistance. He had been looked down upon even by a low-level manager; he hadn't just crossed the line, he had gone way beyond it.
“P-please help me! You’re the one who proposed the alliance!”
“This bastard is fucking shameless, isn't he? Why should our Big Brother clean up the shit you made?”
“Fuck! You said we were allies earlier! It’s right to help if we’re allies!”
I remembered the look in Seo Jeongwoo’s eyes when he was furious at Gusan. Ironically, it was the same look he had now. Why was he showing the look he should show an enemy to an ally? I had misunderstood Seo Jeongwoo. He wasn't furious at Gusan; he was just a person who chose who to be furious at.
He was the type of person who would immediately lower his eyes and beg for his life if I pointed a gun at him. He wasn't ready to fight; his calculation was to cling to the strong and parasitize them.
“Senior. I agree with the gangster. You shouldn't help him.”
“Me too. There’s no reason for you to step in, and it’s highly likely they’ve already been hit.”
If Seo Jeongwoo hadn't been a cowardly person. If he had been to my liking, like the Gwangmyeong Faction members. If that were the case, would my choice have been different?
“The alliance will be formed only with some of the Osori members here and the Gwangmyeong Faction members.”
At my words, Seo Jeongwoo sobbed. Even so, strangely enough, my conscience didn't stir.
“Mr. Seo Jeongwoo. I’m sorry.”
As the leader of the alliance. As the representative of an organization. I believed this was the judgment I had to make.