Phenomenon
Jun-ho moved quickly in the direction the bypassed zombie horde had fled. He had only three magazines left, and even including the Glock 17, he had fewer than 200 rounds remaining. The zombies he had bypassed, however, outnumbered him several times over. Yet, Jun-ho felt neither worry nor fear.
"Alphas, who usually don't leave their territory at night, moved all at once? That means they're running out of prey."
Just then, gunfire erupted for a prolonged, noisy duration from the direction of Golden Heights, about 800 meters away. Despite the pitch-black night, it was clear the Alphas had swarmed toward the sound. They, too, were pushing themselves. Moreover, this was an area no military unit had ever reached before Major Lee Seok-jin’s forces arrived. No matter how much of an Alpha they were, they were still cannibalistic monsters whose memories of being human had been erased. They had no idea what it meant for a firearm-equipped military unit to focus entirely on "defense."
Of course, Major Lee Seok-jin’s unit and the combat team led by Park Cheol-woo weren't exactly in a favorable position. There were still thousands of zombies left, and they were running low on ammunition. But.
"I just need to take out the Alphas quickly."
Then, the rest could be handled somehow.
Following Park Deok-cheol’s report, Jun-ho ran even faster. Through his night-vision goggles, the glowing heat signatures moving along the outer wall quickly drew near. The creatures were stacking themselves into a "living tower" to climb over the 5-to-6-meter-high retaining wall and the obstacles installed atop it.
Bang…! Bang…! Rat-tat-tat…!
Suddenly, gunfire—clearly from the combat team—began to ring out.
Park Deok-cheol’s voice came through the headset almost simultaneously, and Jun-ho immediately stopped running. In the distance, an Alpha was climbing the tower of slave zombies, using the regular zombies as a shield to avoid the gunfire. Jun-ho immediately aimed his AR15 at the head that glowed like an incandescent bulb. The creature had no idea he was behind it.
"Graaaargh…!"
Aiming was difficult because other zombies were mixed in, but Jun-ho waited patiently for the timing. Then, the moment the distinct white skull was fully exposed.
Thwip!
With a short 0.5-second delay, a subsonic round buried itself into the back of the Alpha’s head.
"Graaah…! Kyaaak…!"
A few seconds later, the slaves, having lost their master, began to twist and contort as usual, causing a portion of the tower made of stacked zombies to collapse.
"Tell them to aim and fire only at the ones trying to climb the wall now."
Jun-ho slung the AR15 onto his back and drew his commando dagger and an awl. With the Alpha giving orders eliminated, the creatures would likely try to climb the outer wall while staring up at the source of the gunfire and flashes. In the middle of the night, they couldn't perceive someone approaching from behind.
"Hoo…."
Jun-ho flipped his night-vision goggles up, steadied his breath, and walked slowly toward the spot where the zombies were clinging like a swarm of ants, a machete in one hand and the awl in the other.
Bang…! Bang…! Rat-tat-tat…!
"Graaaargh…!!! Gwoooor…!!!"
Amidst the growing gunfire and roars, the sight of the disheveled cannibal monsters reaching their hands up under the moonlight was grotesque. It was as if the hungry ghouls of hell had manifested in reality. Yet, Jun-ho walked quietly toward that horrific, terrifying scene as if he were merely out for a night stroll.
He reached the very end of the line, where a zombie was stuck to the back of its kin, and quickly drove the awl diagonally into its cervical spine. The zombie collapsed instantly from the silent attack. No one else noticed.
With an expressionless face, Jun-ho moved in a large semicircle, mechanically stabbing and pulling the awl from the backs of the zombies' heads—creatures completely unaware that the Grim Reaper was behind them. The sight of zombies dropping into eternal rest, one every second, created witnesses: the combat team on-site, and Park Deok-cheol and the drone operators controlling the cameras.
"Insane…"
Among them were a few brave survivors who, despite their fear of the gunfire, screams, and roars, were watching the situation from behind their curtains.
"Wo, wow. That’s insane. He’s truly insane."
And one of them lifted a trembling phone to record a video that, when leaked in the unknown future, would shock and horrify countless people. It was the moment Jun-ho, having stabbed over 100 zombies to death with just an awl, finally swapped it for his commando dagger and machete upon seeing another horde rushing to join the fray.
***
If you wore full-body protective gear or plate armor like medieval knights, wouldn't you be safe from zombies in the apocalypse? That thought, which everyone has had at least once, was half-right and half-wrong.
First, it was true that zombies couldn't pierce protective gear or plate armor with their teeth. But one thing people often overlooked was the mass—the sheer force—of zombies charging without thought. You might be able to stop one or two. A very strong person might even handle three or four. But what if dozens or hundreds of zombies rushed you? Even if you weren't bitten thanks to the armor, you would suffer severe injuries or be crushed to death by the weight and force of them trampling and tearing at you.
The second thing overlooked was human stamina. No matter how well-trained a person was, they couldn't engage in intense, non-stop combat while wearing such heavy gear. An average person might last 5 to 10 minutes, and an athlete perhaps twice that, but the result was the same: they would eventually become too exhausted to fight, or even stand.
That was why, even though he had prepared full-body bike suits for Hyeon-woo and his other acquaintances in Bucheon, he had told them to run without looking back the moment they encountered zombies.
Ultimately, agility and mobility were the most important factors when dealing with zombies. Running away was not just the best policy; it was the only way to survive. But.
Swish! Whoosh! Thwack! Thud! Thwack-thwack-thwack!
If you possessed steel-like stamina that didn't tire even after an hour of intense fighting, and overwhelming strength comparable to a large predator. If you added the dynamic vision of a bird of prey and reflexes as sharp as a cat’s. You could face hundreds of zombies alone, armed only with cold weapons.
"……!!!"
Park Cheol-woo, the resort combat team, Park Deok-cheol, the drone operators, and even the survivors watching in hiding—everyone could only watch with wide eyes as the cruel yet desperate battle unfolded under the moonlight.
The gunfire had stopped at some point. Because the Alpha that gave orders was gone, all the zombies perceived the "only" moving human as their sole target and prey. But at this moment, the predator and the prey had reversed.
Every time the machete and commando dagger flashed under the moonlight, zombies in the vicinity were split into two or three and fell. Because there were so many, some occasionally succeeded in grabbing Jun-ho and baring their teeth. But every time, a fist, knee, or elbow loaded with immense power would fly out, blowing their faces away entirely.
It didn't matter if five, six, or dozens pushed in from one direction. Thud…! With an explosive sound that seemed to shake the earth, the chest of the target hit by a fast, powerful shoulder strike would cave in, and the ones behind were swept away by the force, collapsing in a heap.
"Ugh!"
At the overwhelming sight, Park Cheol-woo clenched his fists and gritted his teeth without realizing it. He then shouted with a metallic rasp to the combat team, who were staring down at the scene in a daze.
"What are you doing? Keep firing! Are you just going to let Mr. Jun-ho fight alone like that!?"
"……!"
Startled back to their senses, the combat team hurriedly resumed firing.
"You can use up the remaining magazines! Damn it! Kill them all!"
Rat-tat! Bang!
Feeling their eyes grow hot for reasons they didn't understand, Park Cheol-woo and the combat team pulled their triggers.
***
The fierce battle ended. The resort combat team had exhausted all the live ammunition they had brought, and Major Lee Seok-jin’s unit had also fought so intensely that most had less than a magazine or even half a magazine left.
The zombies that had swarmed Golden Heights were almost all killed. Those that survived were merely those whose brains hadn't been destroyed; they were either left as torsos or were crawling on the ground with their thighs or knees shattered.
"Graaa…."
Thwack!
A soldier drove a bayonet into the crown of a gangster who had become a zombie just today, crawling on the ground with his hands reaching upward. Soldiers wearing gloves and masks walked among the countless zombie corpses, disposing of the ones that weren't dead yet. Thanks to dozens of lanterns provided in the apartment complex and the tactical lights Jun-ho had brought, the area in front of the main entrance and the outer walls was quite bright.
*Gag! Ugh-gag!*
"……."
Although a few people pulled down their masks to retch, Park Cheol-woo turned his head as he watched the soldiers silently doing their jobs. Jun-ho, having removed his helmet and tactical vest, poured bottled water over his head, and white steam rose from him.
"Bro, brother. Let me do that for you."
"Oh, yeah. Thanks."
As Park Deok-cheol hurriedly took the water bottle and poured it, Jun-ho washed his hands and face. Because he had been wearing goggles, a ballistic mask, and gloves, he didn't have a single scratch. However, his combat uniform and armor were soaked in blood and flesh, and his shoulder, elbow, and knee pads were half-crushed or partially broken. That alone proved how desperately Jun-ho had fought, and Park Cheol-woo couldn't help but shudder.
That wasn't all. Lee Seok-jin, who had come to his side at some point, was also looking at Jun-ho with eyes filled with a mixture of emotions, having forgotten the lingering excitement from the battle that had ended minutes ago. Sensing their gazes, Jun-ho swept his wet hair back over his forehead and approached them.
"Major, is the cleanup inside the apartment complex going well?"
"…Yes. Two platoons are going through each building to gather the survivors. That Inspector Kim Sun-woo? He’s also gathering police and firefighters to help."
"I see. Inspector Kim Sun-woo is a capable and good man. Thanks to him, it was easy to take over the penthouse and the central management office."
"I heard. Moreover, he was extremely cooperative. So, I’m thinking of entrusting him with some of the complex’s security starting tomorrow. By the way…."
Lee Seok-jin paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and spoke.
"Are you really alright, Mr. Lee Jun-ho? You aren't injured or anything, are you?"
"Not at all. I'm full of energy."
At Jun-ho's shrugging response, Lee Seok-jin’s shoulders gave a slight tremor.
Snap!
He immediately gave a perfect, sharp salute to Jun-ho.
"……!?"
To the flustered Jun-ho, Lee Seok-jin spoke while maintaining the salute.
"At this very moment, representing the Republic of Korea Armed Forces… I express my gratitude and respect to Mr. Lee Jun-ho. Thank you, Mr. Lee Jun-ho."
"I feel the same way."
Park Cheol-woo, who was standing nearby, also saluted as if he had returned to being an active-duty Special Forces soldier.
"…It was nothing."
Jun-ho returned the salute with an awkward expression. At that moment.
Snap! Thwack! Snap-snap!
Every soldier nearby, regardless of rank, saluted Jun-ho one after another, and that wave spread to all the soldiers in front of the main gate. To them, Jun-ho was a true warrior, a hero, and a Phenomenon itself.