From Now On, They Are On Our Side
'Strange.'
As he climbed back up toward the position of the drone operation team, Jun-ho tilted his head in thought. The last group of gangsters he was tracking—the ones who had feigned an attack on Yoon Seol-hee only to drive her toward the mountain peak—were different. They were unlike the ones who had retreated after being sniped by him during the firefight with the KW Cops, and they were unlike the ones who had been wiped out after attempting to flank the valley to ambush Yoon Seol-hee.
As if to prove the truth of Yoon Seol-hee's report, the moment the thugs realized their drone operation team might have been compromised, they stopped their assault on her and retreated to the opposite mountain. That wasn't all.
'They noticed our drone?'
Jun-ho was quite surprised, as such a thing had never happened before. The moment they realized something was wrong, they began checking the skies frequently while on the move. Eventually, they spotted Jun-ho's drone and opened fire on it. While he had quickly pulled it out of range to avoid being shot down, it was the closest he had come to losing a drone since the apocalypse began.
However, while Jun-ho was slightly surprised, he was not flustered.
"They wouldn't have seen this, though."
Jun-ho pulled a mini-drone from his tactical belt pouch. It was intended for stealthy reconnaissance inside buildings, but there was no rule saying he couldn't use it on a mountain.
Whirrr...
Accounting for the lower camera quality, Jun-ho hovered the mini-drone only four or five meters up and sent it forward. It was a black-and-white feed, not color, but it was perfectly fine for reconnaissance.
Soon, the mini-drone climbed the ridge and arrived at the spot where Jun-ho had taken out the drone operation team, sending back footage of the scene.
'Eight of them.'
The thugs were wearing bulletproof vests over old-style combat uniform tops, and every single one of them was wearing tactical goggles. Furthermore, their attitude of guarding all directions and their shooting stances were different from other gangsters. And crucially...
'A K1A? And an MP5 on top of that?'
Even the holster of the man who appeared to be the leader held a Glock 17. Unlike the others who used firearms smuggled from China, these men were armed with weapons used by the ROK military and police special forces.
'Who the hell are these guys?'
Jun-ho stared at the mini-drone controller's screen with sunken eyes. When the leader on the screen pointed at the dead gangsters and said something, his subordinates began gathering the firearms, ammunition, and drone controllers. But something was off. Even for trashy gangsters, their attitude toward their fallen comrades' bodies was too harsh. One of them even spat on a corpse and kicked it, and no one stopped him.
'This is really strange.'
They might have been in the same organization but from different lines, leading to bad blood or friction, but it didn't feel like that. Because the expressions of the leader and the rest of the subordinates were too rigid.
Jun-ho moved the mini-drone closer. He was behind a tree, so there was no risk of being spotted.
"Hmm?"
Jun-ho couldn't help but narrow his eyes. He had discovered something on the bulletproof vest of the leader, who was busy taking out a map to examine it closely.
Right in the center of the leader's vest was a black Taegeukgi patch and a 'POLICE' patch.
Because the mini-drone camera was black and white, and the vest and patches were dark, he hadn't noticed them until now.
"Police...?"
It was possible they had just acquired and were wearing police-issued bulletproof vests, but Jun-ho felt there was a high possibility they were real police. It wasn't just the leader; all of them were wearing the same vests, and above all, they hadn't bothered to remove the detachable patches. That meant they hadn't lost their 'identity' even in the apocalypse.
"So that was it. That's why they were like that."
It suddenly made sense why they showed tactical movements that surprised even Yoon Seol-hee, a former Special Forces NCO, and why they treated the gangsters' corpses so roughly.
At the same time, a thought crossed Jun-ho's mind.
"Perhaps..."
After a moment of deliberation, Jun-ho made a decision. This was well worth a try.
* * *
"......"
Kim Sun-woo examined the map with sharp eyes. Now that the plan had completely fallen apart, the originally determined route was dangerous. He had to find a different escape path.
"Lieutenant. Wouldn't it be better to just go with the original plan?"
To the words of the man standing nearby, guarding the perimeter, Kim Sun-woo replied while continuing to study the map.
"No. I don't know who they are, but these bastards are no joke. Besides, Lee Woo-jung is gone. He might have run away, but in my view, he was captured. That means our movement route is likely compromised."
"Haa... that idiot, causing trouble until the end. He should've just died quietly if he was going to die."
"That's what gangsters do. Anyway, Officer Oh, it's better to loop around this way and head toward Jeongji-ri. There's a weir here, so we can cross the river."
"Understood. And please, speak comfortably. You're a year older than me, sir."
"Yeah, later."
At Kim Sun-woo's reply, given without even looking at him, the man called Officer Oh just shrugged his shoulders. Kim Sun-woo, who had gone from a detective in the violent crimes unit to the riot police and then to the police special forces, was an elite police officer no matter what anyone said, yet he was incredibly humble. Furthermore, true to his career, his abilities were outstanding. Honestly, it was hard to understand why he was in this situation right now.
'They must be similar to us, of course...'
Officer Oh looked around at the others, who were clearly exhausted, with a heavy heart, then clapped his hands lightly.
"Alright, alright, let's move, everyone. It looks like the gangsters have all been taken care of anyway. Let's at least get out of here safely. No one's hurt, right?"
"Yes."
"I'm fine."
"Okay. Lieutenant Kim Sun-woo, let's go."
"Yes."
Kim Sun-woo, who had fully memorized the route, tucked the map into his chest, gripped his K1A submachine gun, and took the lead. That was when it happened.
"Freeze."
"......!!!"
The moment that cold voice was heard, everyone stopped in their tracks.
* * *
'How on earth did they get this close?'
Kim Sun-woo turned his head slowly toward the direction of the voice with his eyes narrowed.
"Turning your head is fine, but don't move your body. My friend and I are both jumpy, so we'll just shoot. Keep in mind that the gangsters here ignored our warning, and this is what happened to them."
"...Understood."
Feeling cold sweat running down his back, Kim Sun-woo replied calmly. The opponent was clearly a professional in combat. Not only had they approached without a sound, but if they had taken out not only the drone operation team lying dead here but also the other gangsters, they were no ordinary professionals. Those professionals might have at least four or five others hiding somewhere, aiming their guns at them, besides the man speaking now.
With that thought, Kim Sun-woo slowly looked back at his colleagues and said,
"Everyone, don't do anything stupid. Absolutely not."
At Kim Sun-woo's firmer-than-ever words, the men—all police or former police—swallowed hard and nodded. Then, the mysterious man's voice was heard again.
"You guys are police, right?"
"......!"
Kim Sun-woo, who had flinched, soon bit his lip. Lee Woo-jung had indeed been captured, and he must have confessed everything.
"Why is the police working with gangsters like Daeseonghoe? Because they feed and house you in this world? Do the thugs provide women, too?"
"No, what is that..."
Just as Officer Oh was about to say something with a frown, Kim Sun-woo quickly stopped him and said,
"No, that's not it. Everyone here has their family held hostage. We aren't doing this because we want to."
"How can I believe that?"
"Whether you believe it or not doesn't really matter. Because it's the truth. But who are you? Are you from Kangho Resort? Or the golf course side?"
Kim Sun-woo, true to his police background, threw out a question to gauge the opponent's identity and soften the atmosphere. It probably wouldn't work, but he had to buy time and look for an opportunity...
"Neither. I came from Namyangju."
"...What?"
"Do you happen to know the Cheongsan Building? Daeseonghoe sends their members there, and I took care of all of them."
"......!!!"
"Holy...!?"
At the unexpected answer, Kim Sun-woo and the police officers were all stunned. They had heard of the 'Cheongsan Building Incident' that occurred at the end of winter. It was a situation where not only the direct organization members, including the information chief, but also the local organization there had been wiped out. The story going around was that it happened due to an unknown zombie wave. But to think it was done by people—and the very people surrounding them right now?
'N-no. Before that, you came all the way here from Namyangju?'
They had been able to come across the river to Gwangju thanks to the power of the military unit that had taken control of the south of Guri and Deokso and Deoksim in Namyangju. But that was an impossible story for an ordinary survivor.
"...How can I believe that? Couldn't you have just heard it somewhere and be saying it?"
Kim Sun-woo asked, trying his best to hide his surprise and panic.
"Whether you believe it or not doesn't really matter. Because it's the truth."
"......"
At the reply that was not a single syllable different from what he had said earlier, Kim Sun-woo was left speechless.
"Well, it's not exactly evidence, but I can tell you one thing. I caught the guy who is the Daeseonghoe chief. His name is An Jun-tae. Oh, and I killed the Gukje-pa boss, Son Je-guk."
"......!"
Kim Sun-woo, stunned in succession, soon exchanged wavering glances with his fellow police officers. There was no room for doubt anymore. This mysterious man had definitely killed the guys at the Cheongsan Building, just as he had shot the gangsters here today.
"Anyway, if you guys are real police, and you had no choice but to follow Daeseonghoe's orders due to circumstances..."
Rustle.
Jun-ho stood up while aiming at Kim Sun-woo.
"I think it would be good for us to have a conversation. How about it?"
With his heavy armament that would put special forces to shame and a perfect shooting stance to match, Kim Sun-woo swallowed hard and nodded.
* * *
"What the..."
Park Deok-cheol, who had stopped firing, opened his eyes wide. Although he had been told by Jun-ho, the people from the other side were truly amazing. In the blink of an eye, they had struck the gangsters' rear and taken them all out.
"Is that the person?"
He saw a person wearing a brown hat walking slowly toward the building where he was, with both hands held high. However, the warning sound did not go off on the tablet linked to the drone. It meant that Jun-ho had designated that person as a 'friendly target.'
Park Deok-cheol slowly got up from the rooftop and waved at the person in the brown hat. Soon, the person who approached the front of the building took off their hat and said,
"Are you Mr. Park Deok-cheol, a colleague of Mr. Lee Jun-ho? My name is Yoon Seol-hee."
"Holy?"
Park Deok-cheol's eyes widened, as he hadn't heard that she was a young woman. But he soon nodded quickly.
"Yes. That's me. You're the people from Kangho Resort, right?"
"Yes. Mr. Lee Jun-ho told me to join up with you and wait. For now..."
"Ah, wait a second. I'm getting a transmission from the boss."
Park Deok-cheol, who had briefly communicated with Jun-ho, said to Yoon Seol-hee in a slightly excited voice,
"The boss says he's coming now. He says there are guests, too?"
"Guests...?"
Yoon Seol-hee's question was answered in less than ten minutes. Because Jun-ho appeared with the very people who, until just tens of minutes ago, had been tormenting her with their incredibly skilled shooting and tactical movements.
"Mr. Lee Jun-ho, these people..."
"Yes, I know. But from now on, they are on our side."
And not just simple allies. If Major Lee Seok-jin's unit was the hammer to strike down Daeseonghoe, Lieutenant Kim Sun-woo would be the sharp awl to pierce their organs from within.