The Unexpected Ally at the Water Treatment Plant
Clearing out the zombies remaining in the station plaza and parking lot was not difficult. They were only individuals who had been very elderly at the time of the infection or those who had suffered severe injuries, making them unable to move properly. The combat team did not use firearms, dispatching the remaining zombies with knives alone. Although some zombies from around the station had been drawn in by the noise from the battle Jun-ho had initiated, Paldang Station was a place with no residential areas within a radius of about 200 meters, so it was easy to deal with the fewer than 30 of them.
Having finished off all the zombies in and around Paldang Station, the combat team burned all the zombie corpses under Paldang Bridge and even fetched water from the Han River to prepare a meal. The meal consisted of MREs that required no water, and the drinking water was filtered using a portable water purifier containing a filter layered with filter cloth, activated carbon, and coral sand. As they enjoyed the calorie- and nutrient-rich meal and clean water, the Han River breeze brushed against their faces, which were stained with blood and dust. Only then did the combat team truly realize that the fight was over. However, their gazes were repeatedly searching for the "human weapon" who had just performed an unbelievable battle.
"If it's always this level, it'll be really easy. The military will reclaim the capital area in no time."
"That's true. But I wonder where the ROK military is and what they're doing."
The combat team chatted while busily shoveling in their MREs. Then, Jun-ho, who had just finished a meal twice the size of anyone else's, swallowed a multivitamin with water and spoke to them.
"They are likely trying to reclaim the cities somehow. Especially the capital area cities adjacent to Seoul, which are important. Of course, they probably got absolutely crushed when they tried. They've likely given up halfway by now."
"Ah, i-is that so?"
The combat team members were all taken aback and immediately snapped into a rigid posture. Ever since witnessing Jun-ho's terrifying performance, which didn't seem human, they had been this tense whenever they spoke to him. However, this was a feeling of awe rather than fear.
"Please, eat comfortably. We're on the same side."
"Ah, yes, sir."
Even though they answered that way, the combat team kept glancing at Jun-ho. Seeing their reaction, Jun-ho could be certain that they now respected him from the bottom of their hearts. It was somewhat childish, but in the apocalypse, to earn someone's sincere respect, one had to clearly demonstrate "power" like this. After all, powerful force in the apocalypse was the same as wealth or social status in times of peace.
"And here at Paldang Station, the occupation was easy because the zombies were only in the station plaza and parking lot. There are also almost no houses around the station. The situation in the city center or Deokso Station will be completely different. You must never do what we did today in places like that. Thousands could swarm you in an instant."
"Ah..."
"Anyway, you really have to be careful with subway stations that are close to the city or in the middle of the city. The ROK military probably got complacent after successfully occupying a few remote areas or small cities a couple of times. Then they got hit hard."
"I-I see. I'm sorry. I didn't know any better..."
Jun-ho shook his head at the embarrassed combat team. It was natural for them not to know the situation well, as they had only been at Kangho Resort since the outbreak.
"It's fine. Anyway, we have to pass Doshim Station and get to Deokso within today, so everyone get some good rest. Enjoy your meal."
"Yes, sir."
"Understood."
Jun-ho waved his hand once to tell the combat team, who were jumping up like new recruits, not to do that, and passed through the ticket gate into the waiting room. There, Park Cheol-woo, who had finished his meal quickly, was talking to a Cops agent while looking at a tablet displaying an aerial map.
"Soundproof walls are installed here and there, but most of it is separated by barbed wire. If we move along the tracks during the day, zombies in the buildings around the tracks might see or hear us. How about we move after the sun goes down?"
"No. That's actually more dangerous."
As Park Cheol-woo shook his head, Jun-ho intervened.
"The manager is right. If we move at night, we have to turn on flashlights, which makes it easier for the zombies to spot us. It's also difficult to respond if we get ambushed. It's better to move quietly during the day."
"Ah, is that so?"
"Yes. If we rest a little more and move immediately, we should be able to reach Geumdaesan here before sunset."
Jun-ho pointed to a spot on the map and continued.
"The gangsters didn't use the Gyeongui-Jungang Line tracks for everything when they traveled between Guri and Namyangju. Some of them crossed the tracks in the middle and entered Wabu-eup through Geumdaesan, which is right before Doshim Station."
"...The mountain is low, so it's not difficult to move, and it connects to the highway in the middle. The villages are all formed narrowly with the mountain in between, so the population is small, too."
"Yes. They probably sent organization members to those villages, just like in Gwangju, to check if there were any Alphas."
They used the Gyeongchun Line and Gyeongui-Jungang Line tracks to travel, and in sections without residential areas, they would jump over the tracks and use mountain paths to check only the easy villages. Of course, they never used the tracks or stations in places like Mokuri, which were bustling and had at least thousands of zombies around the subway station.
"Anyway, the mountain is low, but if you go to the summit, you'll be able to see all of Deokso and Doshim."
"Good. Since we can't enter Deokso Station, let's first observe the situation from the mountain and make a plan."
"Yes. We can use a drone."
Jun-ho nodded at Park Cheol-woo's words. Because the gangsters had completely occupied Deokso Station, their members could freely enter and exit, making it possible to use the Gyeongui-Jungang Line tracks, but the combat team would be spotted by them the moment they entered. Also, according to the police who were brought to the resort after faking their deaths, the gangsters were running generators, so Deokso Station still had working CCTV, and they had blocked all entrances except for the tracks and kept dozens of personnel stationed there. In other words, Deokso Station was effectively the gangsters' forward base.
"Let's move for now. Let's fully grasp the situation on-site and make a plan."
The combat team took an additional 20 minutes of rest and began moving along the Gyeongui-Jungang Line tracks. Since the route to Doshim Station was almost entirely exposed on the surface, they sent a drone ahead to scout a radius of about 150 meters around the tracks before moving. Since it was a route the gangsters had used, there shouldn't have been any zombies, but Jun-ho did not neglect scouting because one never knew. Also, they did not pass through the tunnels in the middle; instead, they jumped over soundproof walls or wire fences at the entrances and continued moving over the mountains where the tunnels passed.
Because of this, although the distance was only about 5 kilometers, it took nearly 3 hours, exceeding 2 hours, to arrive in front of Geumdaesan, which separates Doshim and Deokso. They had heard from the police that Doshim Station was safe, but they had to be careful when passing through because several large apartment complexes and commercial districts were formed around the station. Because of this reason.
"You don't see them now, right?"
"Yes. Ugh, I thought I was going to die from the goosebumps."
At the words of the combat team member in charge of the drone, Jun-ho looked back toward Doshim Station, which they had just passed, and said.
"That apartment building just now is one the Alpha made its territory. Since the apartment is higher than the subway line, it watches everything from the rooftop."
That was it. One of the apartment complexes around Doshim Station, which they had just passed, was only about 50 meters away from the subway line. And dozens of zombies on the rooftop of Building 101 of that apartment were staring intently at Jun-ho and the combat team walking along the subway line, which was separated by a soundproof wall.
"Now you understand, right? How cunning the Alphas in cities or crowded places are. That Alpha bastard on the rooftop was just watching because there weren't many slave zombies. If there had been over a thousand, they might have made a zombie hill and jumped over the soundproof wall."
"I-I see."
Everyone swallowed dry saliva as the scene they had seen in a famous zombie blockbuster movie came to mind without them realizing it. Only then could they realize how dangerous the zombies in densely populated areas, which Jun-ho had warned them about several times, were.
"Alright, let's go up."
Jun-ho and the combat team crossed a small wire fence between the soundproof walls that stood high just before the tunnel entrance and entered the mountain. It was a neighborhood mountain that could be seen commonly anywhere, with a height of less than 100 meters, but the mountain, which had not been touched by human feet for over half a year, was quite rugged. However, using the aerial map and the drone, they were able to reach the highest point relatively easily.
"Since we have to spend the night here, let's start by scouting the surroundings."
While the combat team formed pairs to search the surroundings at Park Cheol-woo's words, Jun-ho assisted them using the drone while thoroughly scouting Geumdaesan.
"Hmm?"
Just then, something unusual was caught on the controller screen.
"Manager. Over here."
"Hm? Why?"
Park Cheol-woo approached and looked down at the drone controller screen.
"Right here. Doesn't it look like a public facility to you, too?"
"It certainly looks that way. Private warehouses aren't built with concrete like this."
On the controller screen, about five or six small buildings stood in an orderly fashion, centered around a fairly large building whose roof was completely covered with solar panels. Moreover, the location was a remote place halfway up the mountain with almost no houses nearby.
"I'll lower the flight altitude and zoom in."
As they lowered the drone to 100 meters and zoomed in to the maximum, the appearance of the place became clear. And Jun-ho and Park Cheol-woo, who checked the screen, looked up and stared at each other without realizing it.
"Soldiers at a water treatment plant?"
"It looks like Major Lee Seok-jin's unit, doesn't it?"
The faces of the two, who spoke almost simultaneously, brightened immediately. They had discovered a "powerful ally" in an unexpected place.
The soldiers at the water supply facility seemed almost certainly to be Major Lee Seok-jin's unit. But just in case, Jun-ho decided to approach the vicinity himself to grasp the situation thoroughly before making contact. Jun-ho and Park Cheol-woo carefully descended to the immediate vicinity of the water supply facility, a few hundred meters away from where the combat team was positioned. Then, they launched a mini-drone to confirm that the facility, which had even concertina wire installed on top of regular barbed wire, was the Dogok Water Treatment Plant. They also confirmed that the soldiers who were monitoring the area, including the guard posts made of sandbags at the entrance and other places, were indeed Major Lee Seok-jin's unit members.
"It is Major Lee Seok-jin's unit. I know that friend."
Jun-ho, who recognized that one of the two soldiers crouching at the guard post at the entrance of the water treatment plant was a Private First Class who had been farming with him in Yeongho-ri, continued.
"Still, just in case."
"Jun-ho, you're the only one who knows their faces, so you go, and I'll stand by for fire support here."
Park Cheol-woo, who understood Jun-ho's intention without needing to say it, like a pro in battle, grinned. Soon, Jun-ho walked slowly toward the entrance of the water treatment plant with his AR15 slung behind his back and both hands raised to shoulder height.
"Uh...?"
The two soldiers, who were monitoring the outside of the water treatment plant while being highly tense, soon discovered Jun-ho. They quickly took a firing stance at the guard post and shouted.
"Halt, halt! Don't move! If you move, we'll shoot!"
Jun-ho chuckled and raised his voice toward the guard post.
"It's Private First Class Kim Hae-cheol, right? It's me, Lee Jun-ho."
"What? Who is Lee Jun-ho... Ack!? J-Jun-ho hyung? Is it really Jun-ho hyung!?"
"Yeah. It's that Lee Jun-ho who hit the jackpot farming with you in Yeongho-ri."
"Ughhh!"
The young soldier, who was seeing Jun-ho again here, tens of kilometers away from Yeongho-ri, was astonished. That fact was quickly conveyed to the upper echelons, and officers, including Lee Seok-jin, came running out in a hurry in less than a minute.