The Alpha's Downfall
"What are you talking about? Outside? Just out there? Are you trying to commit suicide? Absolutely not."
"Mr. Lee Jun-ho. I know your skills well, but..."
"Both of you, please, just listen."
To Lee Seok-jin, who was vehemently opposing the idea, and Park Cheol-woo, who was looking at him with concern, Jun-ho calmly explained his plan. As he spoke, the expressions of the two men, who had been staring at him as if he were a madman, began to change bit by bit.
"...In short, the current situation concludes with a high probability that a hungry Alpha has recklessly initiated this."
The Alpha is the key.
"Ultimately, to save ammunition and resolve this as quickly and surely as possible, this is the best method. You both confirmed that when the Alpha is eliminated, the Slave Zombies remain defenseless for about five to ten seconds, didn't you?"
Jun-ho’s plan was to target the Slave Zombies during that window of vulnerability. In reality, this method was highly effective for groups of survivors—including military and police units—to defend specific areas from zombies. Just as offense and defense are completely different in human warfare, the same applied to combat against the undead. The primary reason the military had been so brutally decimated until now was their reckless attempts to retake cities dominated by hundreds or thousands of Alphas.
"Even so, it’s impossible. There’s no need for you to do something that dangerous all by yourself, Mr. Lee Jun-ho."
To Lee Seok-jin, who was still objecting, Jun-ho replied calmly.
"Major. It’s not that there’s no need for me to do it alone—it’s that no one else can do it."
Lee Seok-jin stiffened, having heard reports of what Jun-ho had done alone today and how he had fought at Paldang Station.
"Manager Park, you saw how I fight with your own eyes, didn't you? Do you still think my plan is impossible? Besides, it’s night right now. Those zombie bastards already have terrible eyesight; they can’t even see me properly."
Following Lee Seok-jin, Park Cheol-woo also fell silent. When he added the environmental factor of nighttime to the battle that had taken place at the Paldang Station plaza a few days ago—a fight so incredible that it was hard to believe even in retrospect—it didn't seem entirely impossible.
"We don't have time, both of you. If we keep Deok-cheol as my dedicated operator, this will absolutely work."
"...If it gets dangerous, you must retreat to the back gate immediately, understood?"
Jun-ho nodded at the words of Park Cheol-woo, who had already witnessed running speed that would make a sprinter look like an amateur.
"Of course. I don't want to die either. Major?"
"...I’m still not entirely convinced. But since Manager Park here is vouching for you this much, I have no choice. Do as you wish."
"Yes. Just make sure to time your shots well. I’m off."
Without waiting for a response, Jun-ho sprinted away. Lee Seok-jin, who was putting on his ballistic helmet to follow him outside, said bitterly, "Hoo, I feel like we’re relying too much on Mr. Lee Jun-ho."
"We’ve done that several times already. Still, don't worry too much. He isn't the type to act like this if he isn't certain. The results have been good every time, too."
"That’s true for us as well. It would be absurd for anyone else, but since it’s Mr. Lee Jun-ho, I can’t even find the words to argue."
"That is that man’s charm and his greatest strength."
His actions were swift and bold, but they were always underpinned by meticulous calculation. Knowing this through several experiences, the former Special Forces Master Sergeant and the active-duty Army Major could at least find some peace of mind in this dire situation.
"Distance?"
"- About 600 meters. They’re still moving through the mountains, so they’re a bit slow. But they’ll reach the road soon, so I think they’ll be here in three or four minutes, brother."
Jun-ho ran through the darkness, listening to the report from Park Deok-cheol, who had moved to the rooftop of the building closest to the main gate of the complex with the soldiers. On the tablet screen linked to the drone, countless light points were moving rapidly toward Golden Heights. It was certainly a different situation from Gahyeon-ri, which had a large elderly population; most of the incoming zombies were young, and their running speed was on a different level.
"Did the resort combat team and the military unit launch their drones too?"
"- Yes sir. But the flight time is short, so they have a limit of about 15 minutes."
"That’s enough. Anyway, once the zombies enter within 300 meters of the main gate, hover and scout around me. Watch the colors, zoom in and out. Then, identify the Alpha. Can you do it?"
"- Leave it to me, brother!"
Hearing the tension and resolve in Park Deok-cheol’s voice, Jun-ho arrived at the pre-scouted location. It was a low, wooded hill about 200 meters away from the Golden Heights apartment complex, which stood isolated like a desert island due to various shortcuts and corruption. It was also about 200 meters from the asphalt country road where thousands of zombies that had crossed the highway were certain to enter. It was a point outside the effective range of an AR-15 equipped with a suppressor and firing Subsonic Ammunition. Of course, with Jun-ho’s marksmanship, there was no law saying he couldn't hit them from this distance, but the AR-15 was unsuitable because he had to ensure a kill in a single shot.
Click. Click.
Setting down the AR-15, Jun-ho assembled something with quick, practiced movements. It was the Modified Air Rifle he had pulled from his backpack. After quickly finishing the assembly of the air rifle—which had immense power but could only fire about ten rounds with a standard air tank—Jun-ho lowered his night-vision goggles and aimed at the asphalt road with an infrared laser sight.
"- They’re arriving soon! They’re just coming over the hill and running down toward the forest!"
Seconds after Park Deok-cheol’s voice, countless lights began to twinkle in the gently sloping forest seen through the night-vision goggles. The wave of light points, appearing as if hundreds or thousands of fireflies had appeared in the forest simultaneously, was a phenomenon caused by the body heat emitted by the zombies being obscured and revealed by the trees and bushes. And among them, unlike the other entities, points shining like white light were visible here and there. They were the Alphas, whose brains had a higher temperature than regular zombies.
'You're first.'
Amidst the dizzying wave of light points, Jun-ho focused his eyes on just one.
"- 300 meters! They’re passing right in front of you soon!"
Guaaaaa...!!! Keueeee...! Kraaaaa...!!!
Even though they were far away, the screams and roars of thousands of zombies filled his ears. The large-scale zombie horde running toward the Golden Heights apartments looked disorderly at a glance. But Jun-ho, who had seen a Wave of zombies several times larger than this before his regression, knew that wasn't the case. The ones leading the other zombies while screaming at the front were the Slave Zombies under the control of an Alpha. Even if it varied slightly by individual, if they didn't see prey—that is, moving people—for a few minutes, zombies would stop what they were doing and return to their original spots. However, if the slaves controlled by an Alpha kept screaming and moving, the others would follow suit, whether due to inertia or other reasons. Of course, it didn't last forever, usually only about 10 minutes, but this was how some Alphas utilized zombies that were otherwise outside their range of control.
And the Alpha capable of that was—
'At least 400 or 500. Maybe controlling nearly 1,000.'
In a region with a population of a few tens of thousands, it could be considered one of the strongest, and it was an entity that required extreme caution even in densely populated urban centers.
"- They’re passing you completely now! 300 meters from the apartment gate! 290, 280, 270..."
They were already well within the effective range of machine guns and rifles, but the soldiers waiting at the main gate and on the rooftop made no move. Furthermore, as they approached the apartment complex, some zombies began to move to the side rather than toward the main gate. Even the few hundred running at the very back stopped running simultaneously and stood like statues. And in the center of the dozens, or sometimes over a hundred, that had stopped, there was, without exception, a white light source: an Alpha. It was an action intended to observe the situation from the rear now that they had reached the target point. Or rather, since they couldn't see the apartment properly from that distance, it would be more accurate to say they were sensing it by sound. Even if the moonlight was quite bright, it was still night.
'Cunning bastards.'
But tonight, that cunning would lead you to your deaths.
"- 230, 220, 210, 200...!"
At that moment, Park Deok-cheol’s distance report, which had been continuing, stopped. Aiming at the white head of the Alpha he had been focusing on since it appeared, Jun-ho said quietly.
"Now."
Paaang!
A Tungsten Pellet flew and embedded itself in the back of the Alpha’s head, and the light that had been burning like an incandescent bulb inside the night-vision goggles flared up and vanished.
"Damn it! Let go! Let go!"
"P-please spare me! Please, I beg you!"
The gang members who had been caught by the search team while hiding, and those who had collaborated with them, shouted or pleaded.
"Ugh! Ughhh!"
"Huuu... Huuu!"
With their hands tied and eyes covered, they wailed and struggled, trying not to be dragged away. But they were no match for the strength of three or four soldiers grabbing and dragging them one by one.
Thwack! Thwack-thwack!
Beaten as they were dragged, they were soon dumped onto the cold ground all at once.
"Argh!?"
If there was any consolation, it was that their blindfolds were removed just before they were kicked, so they scrambled to their feet, frantically scanning their surroundings.
"Huuu!?"
But it didn't take long for them to realize that being able to see was no consolation at all.
Keueeeeee...!!!
Across the road connected to the apartments, an uncountable number of zombies were rushing toward them like madmen from just a few hundred meters away.
"Wha-!? Arghhh!"
"Open it! Open the gate!"
From those who screamed and collapsed on the spot to those who pounded on the already-closed outer wall of the complex, screaming at the top of their lungs—the people who had murdered, oppressed, and trampled on countless others as members or collaborators of the organization wailed in terror. Meanwhile, the zombies, made even more terrifying by their disheveled hair, closed the distance rapidly. Eventually, some began to run frantically along the outer wall of the apartment.
"Huuuaaa! Argh!"
"W-wait for me! Wait for me!"
While most followed their comrades in flight, "Hehehe... Ihihihi!" some, perhaps having lost their minds or sensing the end, simply stared at the wave of zombies crashing toward them like a giant tide, letting out bizarre laughter. But then, magic happened. The leading zombies, having approached within dozens of meters of the main gate, changed their running direction the moment they saw "moving prey." It happened because zombies have poor eyesight.
Guaaaaaa...!!!
And at the same time, a volley of fire was unleashed from the apartment rooftop.
"Now is the time!"
Park Deok-cheol’s scream echoed on the rooftop. But the soldiers, their backs soaked with sweat from the tension of facing thousands of zombies, couldn't tell what had changed. Keuwoooo...!!! The zombies were still rushing toward them like madmen, and it seemed they would crash into the main gate in 30 or 40 seconds. Just then.
"Three o'clock! Three o'clock!"
At the sudden shout of the drone operator, "Th-three o'clooock!" the K15 machine gunner, who was wearing one of the few available night-vision goggles, shouted loudly and fired his weapon. Following the trajectory of the tracer rounds flying to one side, the soldiers on the rooftop also opened fire in the same direction.
Rat-tat-tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat!
Thanks to the power supplied by Golden Heights, a few streetlights were on, and the moonlight was also shining down, so even if it was faint, they could clearly see with their own eyes that something was continuously falling.
"Twelve o'clock!"
When the shout erupted again and the sniper and the K15 gunner fired tracer rounds in that direction, the soldiers shifted their fire in perfect unison.
Rat-tat-tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat! Rat-tat! Rat-tat-tat!
The direction where hundreds of bullets poured down at once was where the Slave Zombies controlled by the Alpha Jun-ho had killed were located. When an Alpha dies, the Slave Zombies stop moving completely for about 5 to 10 seconds, bending their bodies in grotesque ways; Jun-ho had ordered the Lee Seok-jin unit to concentrate their fire on that very brief moment. Furthermore, he had made the zombies rushing toward the main gate from the front be lured by using the gangsters, who deserved to die for their past sins, as "bait."
Ultimately, nearly half of the large-scale zombie horde rushing toward Golden Heights either changed their target dozens of meters in front of the main gate or were left stranded and slaughtered after losing the master who controlled them from the rear.
"Moving out."
"- Yes sir!!!"
Listening to the reply of Park Deok-cheol, who couldn't hide his excitement, gripped by shock and thrill, Jun-ho—who had accurately killed four Alphas in just two minutes amidst this chaotic situation, rendering over 1,000 zombies immobile—threw the Modified Air Rifle aside and picked up his AR-15 once again.