Underground Again
Underground Again
"Are you seriously planning to keep your mouth shut forever?"
"....."
Silence.
I kept trying, but it was no use.
The nameless woman just stared blankly into empty space, completely gone.
She'd totally lost her mind.
"Hey, this is a problem for both of us if you keep this up. Can't we work something out here, nice and easy?"
"....."
...Rude fucking bitch.
I can let it slide once.
Twice, even three times, I can swallow it.
But after having my words ignored more than ten times, even I couldn't muster the patience of a saint.
"Hey, move. Interrogation, by its very nature, isn't done that way."
Just then, Ha Hui-ryeong nudged me aside and stepped forward.
I felt a sense of foreboding at her utterly confident demeanor.
When she gets like that, something's definitely not right.
"What are you going to do?"
"What do you think? Like I keep saying, some people only learn through a good beating. You have to use your fists to make them understand."
So, in other words...
"You're coming with me for a little chat. Come on, to the Room of Truth."
With that, Ha Hui-ryeong grabbed the woman roughly by the hair and dragged her off.
Her feet scraped along the floor, but surprisingly, the woman didn't let out a single whimper.
That is, until then.
Thud!
—KYAAAAAAARGH!!
The moment the door shut, a dolphin-like shriek echoed from the other side.
I had no idea what she was doing in there, but it definitely wasn't anything humane.
"She really doesn't hold back, huh."
As expected of our operations chief, Lady Ha.
In this particular field, there was no one more reliable.
'Alright, I'll leave her to Hui-ryeong for now.'
I turned around without a second thought and approached Kim Ha-yoon.
Angelica and Jeong Ji-min were off building camaraderie with the First Generation, weren't they?
For whatever reason, that meant only Kim Ha-yoon was on the sofa.
"....."
She seemed to be browsing the bulletin board, staring into space while wiggling her toes.
She always had pretty feet.
Those long, straight toes stirred my lust every time I saw them.
I naturally sat down beside her and brought my hand to her wiggling foot.
Just as I was savoring the soft texture of her skin, Kim Ha-yoon narrowed her eyes at me as if demanding to know what I was doing.
"What."
"Nothing. Just wondering if you found any useful info."
"Hard to say. There's not much about Gangnam, surprisingly."
Everyone's just spouting nonsense.
As she replied, Kim Ha-yoon stared blankly at the bulletin board again.
It was a little frustrating that I couldn't see what she was looking at so intently, since we couldn't view the same screen.
Couldn't the system add a feature like screen sharing while it's at it?
"So, nothing useful no matter how hard you look?"
"Nothing. But, uh, could you please stop touching my foot?"
"No can do. It's soft and strangely addictive."
"...You're a weird guy."
I kneaded her foot with one hand while operating the bulletin board with the other.
- Today's babe, rate? [30]
- Live updates from the National Assembly: absolutely insane... jpg [21]
- Northern front, all quiet today! [19]
- ???: I told you I thought it was real lol jpg [42]
As usual, the board was flooded with useless posts.
Just like Ha-yoon said, there was no information worth paying special attention to.
Most of it was just people posting provocative garbage in a crude, informal tone, like they were on some internet forum.
Creek Dragon - Today's babe, rate?
(A picture of a woman frantically getting pounded by multiple men)
The babe is my buddy's wife.
Just checked in on her and she's still alive and kicking lol
Got bored after fucking her a few times so I passed her around lmao
See that crazy bitch shaking her hips like she's having the time of her life?
At first she was crying and begging, saying no, but then at some point she started moving her hips first lol
Oh and that stamina enhancer stuff?
It definitely works for real.
Was kinda suspicious and put off at first, but after trying it, the effect is legit.
We all normally finished after a few rounds, but after taking just one of those, we went twice as long as usual lol
Is that bastard not selling it anymore?
These days he's only selling liquor and cigarettes.
Supreme Wizard : Hey... it's Ko-jeong.
Crocky : Buddy's wife, damn. That's messed up;;
Grooming : Youfuckingdisgustingpieceofshitkoreanmankurbastardhowthefuckcanyouevenbehumananymoreyourenotalivingthingjuststopbreathinganddieokaytheairissofilthythesedaysbecauseofpiecesofshitlikeyou....
└Creek Dragon : Hey, you interested in me or something? How come you post a reply every time I upload?
└Grooming : Quitbullshittingandfuckoffyouwhoresonofabitchbastardthesefuckerswithdicksforbrainsalwayshitheatandstrutaroundwithoutknowingtheirplace
└Creek Dragon : Cute though lol
└Creek Dragon : Ah but use some spaces, readability is total dogshit
└Grooming : ㅗ
Demon World Incheon : Stamina enhancers? I post one for sale every now and then when the mood strikes me?
└Creek Dragon : For real? Fucking total whim then.
└Demon World Incheon : If you buy in bulk, I sometimes just give 'em out for free.
└Creek Dragon : Damn... can't you just sell 'em like you did last time? Why the push-and-pull bullshit?
└Demon World Incheon : How would I know. It's up to the fucker selling 'em lol
-
This guy's as consistent as ever.
Judging by his tendencies alone, he's no different from us.
A plunder group that kills men and collects women.
It was a relief that their main activity zone was Mapo, so we rarely crossed paths.
These bastards were decently large in scale.
Honestly, it's less that I'm scared of them and more that they're just a pain in the ass.
If I was short on Points, I might have pursued a strategy of hunting them,
but that wasn't really the case, so ignoring them seemed best.
"Hey, but how are these guys uploading pictures? Don't tell me this thing links up with smartphones?"
A question suddenly occurred to me.
Kim Ha-yoon answered in a flat, toneless voice, as if I'd asked something completely obvious.
"No. The System has a recording function."
"...?"
There was such a thing?
"You didn't know?"
"I've been hustling sales every day, so I had no idea there was a function like that."
And I didn't have the luxury of paying attention to such trivial things anyway.
I scratched my cheek with a sheepish expression.
"So, where is it?"
"There, the gear-shaped icon. Before you enter the bulletin board."
"Ah... there it is."
Just as Ha-yoon said, it was sitting at the edge of the interface.
To only notice this now...
"Oh."
I tested it out immediately.
Sure enough, my vision shifted into a sort of camera mode.
Given that it included burst shooting and video recording, this could come in pretty handy going forward.
"...But, why are you taking a picture of me?"
"Because you're cute. Just because."
I chuckled as I exited camera mode and confirmed that the captured photo had been moved to a gallery section.
Aha, so you move it to the bulletin board and then upload it from there?
I got the gist of it.
'I'll save a proper test run of this for later.'
I then clicked on the next post.
AD*- ???: I told you I thought it was real lol jpg
A safe base?
Plenty of food?
(A photo of an elderly man tied up, wailing in distress)
None of that shit exists now, you get it? lol
You got tricked in Gangnam and still haven't come to your senses lmao
Why are there so many morons who fall for stupid-ass propaganda like that? lol
-
Hmm...? Gangnam?
Now that I think about it, there had been some propaganda going around, recruiting people by saying there was a bunker in Gangnam.
Of course, I didn't hear that directly myself, just second-hand from others.
Still, this was the first post to explicitly mention Gangnam.
So, I took a gamble on a stroke of luck and left a comment.
Yajeongkojeong : Hey, does anyone happen to know what the hell happened over there in Gangnam?
About five minutes later, an alarm sounded and a reply was posted.
AD* : Yes, I've informed you~
└Yajeongkojeong : Cut the crap, do you know anything or not?
└AD* : Yes sir~ I've sent you a whisper~ I hope your inquiry is resolved ^^
└Creek Dragon : Yo, quit babbling and throw out some more of that stamina enhancer.
└Hammer Goes : Speaking of which, found the Marlboros? Dude, answer me.
└Yajeongkojeong : ...What a fucking circus.
Ugh, these useless bastards.
As you'd expect, no whisper or anything ever came.
Yeah, figured as much.
As if these assholes would just tell me nicely.
"See? Everyone's just spouting nonsense."
Just then, Kim Ha-yoon, having seen my expression sour, made a sly, taunting remark.
I stared at her for a moment, then suddenly pounced on her.
"Kyaa! W-what are you doing! W-wait...! P-puhahaha!"
As I tickled her sides, Kim Ha-yoon thrashed around and burst into loud laughter.
A satisfying reaction.
I curled up the corners of my mouth and spoke.
"Yeah, you're right, there wasn't much helpful stuff. But there's a way around that."
"Ha, haha... phew.... Wh-what way?"
"If asking empty-handed doesn't work, you have to throw out some bait."
I left her there catching her breath and wrote a post on the bulletin board.
Yajeongkojeong - Giving away 5 packs of cigarettes and 10 bottles of soju.
First come, first served. 3 people.
If you know anything, literally anything about Gangnam, let me know.
I'll send it right over.
-
ㅁㅁ* : 1
Underbutt* : 1
Pablo* : 2222
Underbutt* : 2!
└Underbutt* : DAMMIT! What the hell!?
Zombie Observation* : 3
Underbutt* : 3
└Underbutt* : ARGH! Hey! You guys are too fast!!
└Yajeongkojeong : lolol that's it. Spots are all taken.
Underbutt* : Oh please, hyung-nim, could you not spare a single chance for your wretched younger brother? I'm begging you like this.
└Yajeongkojeong : We'll see.
Immediately, the replies started pouring in.
Taking a glance at the guys who'd snagged a number, they were the types who practically lived on the bulletin board all day.
'Seriously, they'll only open their mouths if you do this, won't they?'
I started with the first guy who raised his hand and began sending whispers in order.
Yajeongkojeong : You a survivor from Gangnam?
ㅁㅁ* : Nope. I just happen to know a few of the grunts who fled out of there.
Yajeongkojeong : Oh yeah? Hear anything from them? Like about that piano-playing mutant, or where the survivors from Gangnam headed?
ㅁㅁ* : Piano? Ah... that I wouldn't know. But I did hear that the survivors split up? They divided and went toward Seocho-gu and Seongdong-gu.
Hmm. Seongdong-gu, huh.
That could mean having to cross a bridge, then.
I really hoped Hui-ryeong's mom had fled toward Seocho-gu if possible.
If not, the whole route would get tangled up.
Yajeongkojeong : Don't know anything else?
ㅁㅁ* : Not really? That's about all I know.
Yajeongkojeong : Aight... I'll give you the stuff as promised.
ㅁㅁ* : Thanks! Overwhelming gratitude!
I sent the guy 10 bottles of soju and 5 packs of cigarettes and ended the chat.
The second applicant wasn't much different from the first.
Aside from the fact that both the surface and underground had been devastated because the piano-playing mutant and that giant centipede from last time had run amok, I didn't get any particularly meaty answers.
'A giant centipede... so there's another one of those bastards out there?'
I figured we'd need to be careful when traveling underground.
If a massive thing like that swept through the underground, even we'd have a hard time handling it.
Last time, its wide range of activity let us deal with it somehow, but facing a creature with overwhelming size head-on in the cramped underground was tricky.
Anyway, on to the highly anticipated third.
It was the turn of the guy from the Apocalypse Gallery who always coughed up useful information.
Yajeongkojeong : Besides the fact that the Gangnam refugees split into Seongdong-gu and Seocho-gu, do you know anything else?
Zombie Observation* : Don't know about Seongdong-gu, but I know a little about Seocho-gu.
Yajeongkojeong : Oh, for real?
Zombie Observation* : Yeah.
What's this, is this guy living in Seocho-gu too?
That's way too much of a coincidence...
As suspicion began to bloom, the guy's messages continued.
Zombie Observation* : Seocho-gu is dominated by a pseudo-religious cult. They've got a tight grip on the underground and surface at regular intervals to supply goods.
Yajeongkojeong : The underground?
Zombie Observation* : Yeah. They escaped through the subway lines, pushed out the people already there, and took over the place. They're pretty dangerous, so watch out.
Yajeongkojeong : Hmm....
Yajeongkojeong : Aight, thanks. I'll send the goods right away.
After finishing the conversation, I sent the liquor and cigarettes and switched off the bulletin board.
'The underground. Right. Before the giant centipede appeared, we'd been heading that way too.'
Since zombies generally don't go underground, it's a perfectly ideal place for a base.
At least, it was up until a few weeks ago.
The situation now is very different.
With the number of mutant entities exploding, the underground was no longer a safe place.
Especially the centipedes.
As I said earlier, they were the biggest threat.
'And yet they supposedly set up their base there.'
They must definitely have the power to back that up.
Though, seeing as they periodically come to the surface for supplies, they probably don't have the same kind of merchant-type ability that I do.
In terms of sheer military force, they were likely a significant threat.
'And on top of that, a cult. Religious fanatics?'
The army guys in Seongdong-gu.
And cultists in Seocho-gu.
'Seeing this, I guess Gangnam had a pretty brutal lineup too, huh?'
It was giving me a bit of a headache.
If we were to go underground to search for clues, we'd absolutely have to leave reserve combat personnel behind in the camper van.
We couldn't all go.
The camper couldn't fit through the narrow underground entrances, so some would have to stay on the surface to guard it.
But that creates another problem.
At this point, without knowing the enemy's capabilities, splitting our forces meant taking on that much more risk.
And what bothered me most was the lack of a proper place to run.
The moment we got cornered, it was as good as over.
Escape routes were limited.
And the enemy's capabilities were an unknown factor.
It was practically no different from gambling.
No wonder my head was spinning.
"Did you... get something useful?"
"Uh, yeah...? Ah... yeah, I did. But I'm kind of hesitating. I don't know what the best call is."
At my words, Kim Ha-yoon placed her hand on the back of mine.
She even interlocked her fingers with mine and spoke gently, as if coaxing a child.
"If you have worries, tell us. That's how we can help you."
"Yeah... so, here's the thing..."
I was just about to open my mouth.
But at that moment, the door suddenly burst open and Ha Hui-ryeong's gleeful voice rang out.
"Hey! We figured it out! She says those bastards are all underground! They came by subway, just like us! Anyway, let's head there right now!"
I heaved a deep sigh.
"...See, she just said it. The underground. To be exact, the Gangnam refugees have completely taken over the subway."
"So, are we going there?"
"Well, that's what I'm worrying about. Honestly, the risk is too high. It's hard to get away underground if things go south."
"That's... true, actually. But with unnie that excited, can we even stop her?"
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Because she wasn't wrong.
Ha Hui-ryeong had become totally fixated on the idea that she could find a clue about her mother.
She was so completely worked up that even if I told her to calm down, she most likely wouldn't listen.
'Guess there's no choice. I'll have to sneak up and plug her from behind.'
That should take the wind out of her sails a bit.
Our Lady Ha was my personal cheap, easy pussy, after all.
I swallowed my sigh and looked at Ha Hui-ryeong.
Ha Hui-ryeong was still holding the nameless woman by the hair.
"Uugh... please... n-no more... forgive me...."
If there was a difference from before, it was that her condition was absolutely terrible.
Her body intermittently shook, and pitiful moans leaked out.
She didn't have any visible injuries to speak of, but she was dragged along the floor, begging only for mercy.
"Yeesh, just how much did you torture her?"
"I didn't hit her that much. Oh, anyway, did you hear that? Underground, let's go underground. Is there a subway entrance nearby?"
Ha Hui-ryeong tossed the woman aside and strode toward the driver's seat where Kang Ha-rin was.
I looked at the woman left sprawled on the floor and clicked my tongue.
"Should've listened when I asked nicely. Then it wouldn't have come to this, you know."
"Hngh... sorry, I'm sorry... please don't hit me...."
"I'm not hitting you, so will you at least tell me your name?"
"...Da-hye. It's Lim Da-hye."
"I see, Da-hye. Do you happen to know anything else besides what you said earlier?"
"...I don't know. Hngh... I don't know...."
She's a real crybaby, contrary to her looks.
When we first met, she seemed to have a bold, fiery personality like Ha Hui-ryeong, but maybe that was just a self-defense mechanism.
I smacked my dry lips.
"Okay. That's enough then. Hey, Ha-yoon. Take care of her and toss her in with the First Generation."
"...Where's Jeong Ji-min?"
"She's not here right now. She's in the room playing cards with the others, so you'll have to do the hard work today."
"Haaah...."
Kim Ha-yoon let out a short sigh, then grabbed Lim Da-hye by the wrist and dragged her toward the room where the First Generation stayed.
Good, now all that's left is...
"Ohh, found it, right there. Hey, Kang Ha-rin! Stop!"
"Huh? You want me to stop now...?"
"Should I be the one driving? Hit the brakes, quick... kyaahk...!"
—Screeeech.
I crept up on tiptoe behind Ha Hui-ryeong and yanked her pants and panties down in one swift motion.
Then, without giving her any time to react, I shoved my cock deep into her flesh and whispered into her ear.
"Lady Ha, calm down first. I'm all for going, but let's make a plan first. Got it?"
"Y-you...!"
"That's a yes? Alright."
First things first, I had to tame this wild brat.
With that resolve, I snapped my hips forward with all my might.