Reunion (1)
Whirrr…! The drone climbed rapidly. It wasn't the industrial-grade model usually found in the shelter, but a smaller, faster unit capable of forty minutes of flight time. Once it reached a high altitude, it hovered at about 220 meters, locking its wide-angle camera lens onto the direction where the gunfire had originated.
“There.” Juno’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the controller screen held in his palm. Between the houses scattered along the rice paddies, he could see human figures moving in a line like ants toward the ridge of the nearby mountain.
It was roughly 600 meters in a straight line from the irrigation ditch where Juno and Park Deok-cheol were hiding. The humans, organized into two groups of about ten, were moving from different starting points, but their destination was the same.
Juno cranked the drone’s camera zoom to its maximum—7x magnification. The individual shapes became clear.
“Daeseonghoe….” The moment he saw the Chinese-made suppressed submachine guns recovered from the Cheongsan Building, Juno knew instantly that these men were gangsters.
The first group of gangsters was climbing up a sloped path, while the second group was engaged in a fierce firefight from a position slightly above them, using trees and rocks as cover.
Rat-tat-tat…! Bang…!
“Holy Crap. Are those gangsters insane? Even if the village is small, there should be plenty of zombies around here,” Park Deok-cheol said, scanning his surroundings with tense eyes. But Juno only replied while staring at the controller screen.
“They must have already cleared out the zombies in this vicinity.”
The village formed at the foot of the mountain would have a population of at most 300 to 400; a few dozen gangsters armed with firearms could clear that out without much trouble. Furthermore, the area around the village consisted only of fields and large vinyl greenhouses, and the other side of the river was also a greenhouse complex. If they had only cleared the zombies in the village, there wouldn't be any others coming to investigate the sound of gunfire.
“…Huh?” Juno’s eyes suddenly narrowed as he increased the drone’s altitude to move it further in that direction. He had thought there were only two groups, but another group of eight was stealthily climbing up through a narrow valley hidden in the mountain’s shadow.
‘Are they planning to flank them while the others keep them pinned down with gunfire?’
Realizing the gangsters’ intent, Juno moved the drone closer. He could now see the destination and the targets the three groups of gangsters were trying to attack.
“……!” Juno’s eyes widened. Because of the extreme distance, he couldn't see their faces, but he recognized a hat that looked strangely familiar.
Adjusting the drone’s height to match the mountain’s elevation, Juno double-tapped the screen.
‘Manager Yoon Seol-hee.’
The high-resolution footage confirmed his guess. In a pit that looked like a makeshift trench dug into the mountain peak, it was undoubtedly Yoon Seol-hee, one of Kang Baek-ho’s bodyguards, firing a Chinese-made bullpup rifle. About 20 to 30 meters away from her, two or three men who appeared to be staff members were hiding in similar pits, returning fire.
“…….” Though he was slightly surprised to see Yoon Seol-hee in such an unexpected place, Juno’s expression remained calm as he stared at the screen. He moved the drone around.
‘Just as I thought.’
Two drones were circling above the mountain where Yoon Seol-hee and her colleagues were hiding, watching them. He had thought it strange that the men climbing through the valley were moving so boldly. It seemed someone was using a drone to track their positions and movements, relaying the information. In contrast, Yoon Seol-hee wasn't operating a drone, and Juno thought he knew why.
‘They must have assigned them to Manager Park Chul-woo or Brother Baek-ho’s side.’
Or perhaps they hadn't launched them for fear of losing such valuable equipment.
Juno quickly steered the drone away from the mountain where Yoon Seol-hee and her team were, scanning the other nearby hills. There had to be others nearby controlling those two drones.
A moment later, Juno spotted them on the 6th and 7th ridges of the opposite mountain—men controlling drones and relaying the situation via radio. They were so focused on the mountain where the firefight was taking place that they couldn't detect Juno’s drone scouting them from high in the rear.
Having pinpointed their location, Juno hurriedly recalled his drone.
“Deok-cheol.”
“Yes sir?”
“See this? I want you to wait on the roof of this building.”
“Copy that.” Park Deok-cheol nodded after looking at the controller screen Juno pointed to.
“See the tree right next to the building? Climb onto the roof and hide under the branches. They won't be able to spot you even with their drones. Stay hidden there, and if you see anyone coming out onto this path, take the shot.”
The roof Juno had designated offered a great firing angle, and if he used the modified air rifle from there, they wouldn't even know where the shots were coming from.
“Understood. But what about you, boss?”
“I know someone at the mountain peak where the gunfire is coming from. She’s with the Kangho Resort staff….” Juno checked his firearms and gear quickly while relaying the situation.
“…Anyway, I’ll handle things over there, so you just wait on the roof and shoot anyone who comes out. Don't push yourself. If you think you’re about to be spotted, get down immediately and hide in the mountains.”
“Sir, Yes sir.” Park Deok-cheol answered with a determined face, adjusting his modified air rifle.
“Let’s move.”
Rat-tat-tat…! Bang…!
Listening to the continuous gunfire, the two slipped out of the irrigation ditch after hiding their backpacks in a nearby vinyl greenhouse.
“Set your radio to channel 6.”
After tuning their radios to a channel that provided stable communication up to 1 kilometer even in mountainous terrain, Juno and Park Deok-cheol ran toward the village and the mountain where the gunfire was growing increasingly intense.
* * *
“That bitch is pulling back. Yeah, she went further up to the mountain peak.”
“Sik, not that way. At 10 o’clock. Yeah, that’s it. She’s firing from that direction.”
Lee Woo-jung, one of the action leaders of the Daeseonghoe, watched with satisfaction as his subordinates relayed the situation via radio while operating the drones.
“Should’ve done this sooner. How many of our guys did we lose because of that one bitch? Fuck.”
Muttering under his breath, Lee Woo-jung lit a cigarette. He didn't know their exact identity yet, but based on their position, it was estimated that the ten or so people had come from the [Redacted] area, a few mountains over. The ‘bitch’ in the brown hat among them was truly vicious. That one woman had killed over ten of his men so far. And she’d done it with just an air rifle and a combat knife. Of course, today she was using a Chinese-made suppressed submachine gun they’d taken from the men she’d killed a few days ago.
“We’ve prepared for that, too.”
All the subordinates climbing up toward the woman were wearing bulletproof vests. Moreover, because they were tracking her location and movements via drone, they weren't falling helplessly to her gunfire like before. Considering the effective range of the firearm she’d stolen, the subordinates were keeping a strict distance, firing only suppressive shots—hitting her would be a bonus, but it wasn't the priority.
However, while she was alone, there were seven or eight of them taking turns firing, and because they were using drones to track her, it was clear she was feeling the pressure.
“You’re finished now, bitch. If you’re still alive when we catch you, I’m going to have a good time with you.”
Lee Woo-jung smiled thinly, opened his radio, and spoke with a scowl.
“Seok-ho. You fucker. Are you a turtle? She’s pulling back. Hurry up.”
- Yes, boss. *Huff, huff.* I’m climbing up now. *Huff….*
After berating the subordinates who were moving through the valley to attack the woman’s flank, Lee Woo-jung exhaled a long cloud of smoke and turned his head.
“Hey, don't just stand around, keep a sharp eye on the surroundings. You lazy bastards.”
“Yes.”
At that, the three men on guard duty, who had been leaning against trees with their air rifles, pretended to scan the mountain below.
That was when it happened.
Thwip…!
The moment Lee Woo-jung realized he’d heard a dull, muffled sound from somewhere, one of the guards holding an air rifle jerked violently and collapsed to the side.
“What? What are you doing, you bastard?”
Lee Woo-jung had no idea what was happening in the sudden chaos.
“Huh?”
Even the other guard who had been with the fallen man just stared with wide eyes.
Thwip…!
The same small, muffled sound rang out again. Thwack! A dull impact sounded, and the head of the subordinate who had been standing there, dazed and confused, exploded.
“Fuck! It’s a sniper!”
As Lee Woo-jung finally grasped the situation and reached for the Chinese-made pistol at his waist to duck, Zing! A bullet grazed the back of his head.
“Aaargh!”
Screaming in intense pain as his scalp burned, he lowered his body as much as he could. The last remaining guard and the drone operators, startled, scrambled to the ground.
“Drone! Get the drone over here! It’s down the mountain!”
“Y-yes, sir!”
The drone operators frantically manipulated their controllers. Since the opposite mountain was only a few hundred meters away in a straight line, Whirrr! The drone returned in an instant, flying at high speed toward the base of the mountain where the bullet was presumed to have come from.
Pop-pop…! Bang…!
The sound grew louder, and this time, it fired in rapid succession. Clang! The drone, which had been flying only a few dozen meters above the mountain, was shot down.
“H-huh!? B-boss! The drone is….”
“You fucker, keep your voice down.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
The drone operator, who had raised his voice in shock, hurriedly covered his mouth. In that brief moment—less than ten seconds while the drone was returning—Juno, who had sprinted up to where the gangsters were, suddenly appeared.
* * *
Juno lowered his body, using a tree stump as cover, caught his breath, and then rose up onto the ridge. In an instant, he mapped out the targets in his mind.
The first was the guard who had been crouching by a rock with an air rifle.
Bang!
The first shot rang out, and the subsonic round buried itself precisely in the forehead of the man holding the air rifle. Juno immediately twisted his upper body at a 30-degree angle and fired at the man who looked like a bandit, who was crouching with a pistol in his hand, mouth agape.
Bang!
“Argh!”
The man, hit in the right shoulder, fell backward onto his rear, screaming.
“A-ah!?”
The two men operating the drones jumped up in surprise at the sudden turn of events, but Juno used Recoil Control to stabilize his aim and pulled the trigger in rapid succession.
Bang! Bang!
A double tap, executed in 0.5 seconds, punched holes through the throats and chests of the two men.
“Gah!”
“Krk, krk-rk….”
Without being able to do anything, the two drone operators collapsed, clutching their chests and throats. Though all four gangsters had been neutralized, Juno didn't let his guard down; he kept his finger on the trigger and moved quickly toward them, aiming at the fallen men in turn.
“You fuck!”
Just then, the man who looked like a bandit rolled his body and reached his left hand toward the pistol that had fallen to the ground.
Bang!
“H-huuuuh…!”
Just before he could grab the pistol, the bones and tissue of his hand were blown away, and the man howled like a wounded beast as his hand was literally shredded.
“…….” Having perfectly neutralized the drone team that had been the biggest threat to Yoon Seol-hee and the staff,
“Huuuh, huuuuh… ugh!” Thwack!
“You’re not a kid, stop whining.”
Juno kicked the head of the man who was crying like a child—despite being a gangster—knocking him unconscious, and quickly bound him with a cable tie. He then found a suitable spot to lie prone, first checking the wind direction and speed with a portable weather meter.
The wind speed was 0.7 meters per second, a light southwesterly breeze.
“Hoo, hoo….”
Juno slowly steadied his breathing, adjusted the scope magnification to the maximum, and aimed at the gangsters who had already climbed the valley and were moving toward the flank where Yoon Seol-hee had retreated.
Roughly 270 meters—a difficult distance for a subsonic round. But fortunately, there was almost no wind.
“Hoo.”
Having completely steadied his breathing, Juno recalled the ballistic data he had stored in his mind, calculated the distance and the ballistic curve of the subsonic round, aligned his aim about 30 centimeters above the target’s head, and pulled the trigger.