Home
"Haa…."
Jun-ho, having woken up early in the dawn, gazed from the apartment rooftop toward the Han River. The riverside, shrouded in a light mist, looked no different from a time of peace. It felt as if, should he head down there right now, he would see diligent people out for their morning jogs.
But as he shifted his gaze toward the apartment complex and the main gate, reality set in. While the thousands of zombie corpses had been cleared away, the traces—the bloodstains and bits of flesh—remained. Especially near the main gate and the outer walls surrounding the complex, the floor was stained with thick, dark bands of dried blood and bodily fluids.
"Looks like they finished burning them."
In a vacant lot about 100 meters from the 'Golden Heights' apartment complex, a pile of thousands of corpses, now reduced to smoldering embers, sat like a low hill, guarded by a dozen soldiers with rifles slung over their backs. The apartment survivors were scheduled to clear the rest once the sun rose.
Gurgle.
"Again? Good grief…."
At the sound of his stomach demanding food, Jun-ho pulled a high-calorie energy bar from his pocket and chewed it ravenously. Even though he had consumed a staggering 3,000 kilocalories after finishing the battle last night, it seemed his body had reset after a night's sleep.
"Is this even normal?"
Jun-ho, who had devoured the 1,000-kilocalorie energy bar in a flash, smacked his lips. While it was great that his physical abilities increased slightly every time he took down an Alpha, his body was demanding more and more calories. When the apocalypse first broke out, he had only needed about 3,000 kilocalories a day, but at some point, 5,000 kilocalories had become his baseline. On days when he used his body as intensely as he did yesterday, he needed at least 2,000 more.
In the past, this would have been three times the intake of an average adult male; in this world, it meant Jun-ho was eating the daily rations of four or five survivors all by himself.
"Well, I suppose the fuel efficiency is good, so it's fine."
It was obvious that even five, or even ten, average survivors couldn't accomplish what he did, so Jun-ho simply shrugged.
"Oh? Hyung-nim, you're up?"
Just then, Park Deok-cheol, who had been climbing the stairs to the roof while yawning, hurried over. "Did you sleep well, Hyung-nim?"
"Yeah. Did you get some good rest?"
"Yes sir. I don't even know how long it's been since I slept this comfortably."
That was true. Since leaving the shelter, they had barely slept more than 5 to 6 hours a day, and that was on top of essentially living on the streets. Moreover, after experiencing such an intense battle yesterday that pushed both body and mind to the limit, it must have been quite exhausting for Deok-cheol, who had grown accustomed to the 7 to 8-hour sleep cycle of their shelter.
"You're taking the vitamins and supplements I brought from the shelter every day, right?"
"Yes. I took them all with a glass of water as soon as I woke up."
"Good."
Jun-ho had brought a full month's supply of multivitamins and various supplements when they set out on the expedition. Since they had to rely primarily on combat rations and energy bars for a while, the intake of essential minerals and vitamins was mandatory.
"Um, by the way, Hyung-nim."
"Yeah?"
With his hair sticking up in a bird's nest, Deok-cheol asked cautiously. "I was thinking about it carefully before I went to sleep. About those zombies yesterday. I was wondering if it was really necessary for you to kill them all. I mean… if you just kill the Alphas and don't provoke the rest, don't they just return to where they came from?"
It was a valid point. In fact, Jun-ho had initially considered sniping only the Alphas and leaving the rest alone. But he had changed his mind and decided to kill them all, even if it meant pushing himself.
"Do you know where those zombies came from yesterday?"
"I heard they came from the apartment complex closest to here. About 800 meters away?"
"Right. They came from there and another apartment complex across the street. All three are within a kilometer of here; one complex has over 1,500 households, and the other two have about 700 each."
"……?"
"If you add those three complexes and the nearby office buildings, you have to assume there are over 3,000 households. But office buildings aside, large apartment complexes built in areas like this don't have many single-person households. So, if you combine all the apartment complexes the zombies came from, the population is around 10,000. But how many zombies did we kill yesterday?"
"Uh… I heard it was a little over 3,000."
"Exactly. Now, do the math. How many zombies do you think are left there now?"
"……!"
Watching Park Deok-cheol finally realize something and widen his eyes, Jun-ho nodded.
"That's right. Except for the very few trapped inside their homes, all three apartment complexes are completely empty. There probably aren't many survivors left there either."
"Ah! So you're planning to Take over that area?"
"Yeah. It's good for the soldiers and good for me. Because now, the area around this apartment is truly safe."
The 'Golden Heights' apartment complex stood alone like a deserted island, with a radius of 300 to 400 meters consisting entirely of mountains or wasteland. That was because the land, which used to be a rural village, had been bought up and cleared entirely. Furthermore, the direction toward Guri and Seoul from the complex consisted of small villages with populations of only a few hundred, which the gangsters had already cleared out long ago. In other words, if you expanded the radius to 1 kilometer around 'Golden Heights,' the only densely populated areas were the apartment complexes in Deokso, located upstream along the Han River following the Gyeongui-Jungang Line. Since he had dealt with the zombies coming from that direction just yesterday, this place was effectively completely safe for the time being.
"Wow! But Hyung-nim. I get that it's good for the soldiers and the people here, but what about us? Is there anything in it for us?"
"Of course. We can install repeaters and amplifiers along the Han River and the Gyeongui-Jungang Line, connecting this place to the Deokso apartment complexes."
"Oh? Then, Hyung-nim, can we communicate from home to here and fly drones too?"
"Probably."
Jun-ho smiled faintly and nodded at Park Deok-cheol, who had started calling their shelter 'home' at some point. It was entirely possible if they installed repeaters and amplifiers every 2 to 3 kilometers along the North Han River, the Han River, and the Gyeongui-Jungang Line. Of course, the work would be incredibly difficult, and there were many issues to consider, such as power supply, link separation, repeater design considering latency, frequency hopping (FHSS), and encryption. But those were trivial problems compared to risking their lives to secure the 'path' between the shelter and this place.
"If we install them from Paldang Lake along the Gyeongan Stream, we'll be able to communicate not just here, but all the way to Kangho Resort. And besides that."
"……?"
"Along the communication line route, people and supplies will be able to move relatively freely now. In this world, we're probably the only ones capable of doing something like this over such a wide area."
"Ohh, Shhhh… A-ah, no, Wow!"
Park Deok-cheol, who had been about to let out an exclamation mixed with profanity like a hood despite being born and raised in Texas, hurriedly corrected himself.
* * *
By the time the sun was up, while the 'Golden Heights' survivors were sweating alongside the soldiers to clean and organize the inside and outside of the complex, Jun-ho went with Park Cheol-woo to the central management center that Lee Seok-jin had turned into a situation room and living quarters.
"Just requisition them! I'm telling you to bring everything that can carry people and goods up to here, whether it's a pedal boat or whatever. If they keep acting like assholes, suppress them and detain them. Do you understand?"
Lee Seok-jin, who had barked a cold command into the radio, turned to look at Jun-ho and Park Cheol-woo.
"Whew, I'm sorry. I'd rather fight zombies; dealing with civilians is truly a thankless job."
"Why? Is something wrong?"
"Jun-ho's boat is good, but there's an issue with charging the electric motor, so we're trying to use other boats, but it seems there's some trouble with the owners. Lieutenant Jeong will handle it. Now, please, have a seat."
As the supreme commander here, Lee Seok-jin looked extremely exhausted, having not slept properly. However, his eyes were still sharp with his characteristic fortitude and sense of responsibility.
"So, you're going to pioneer a movement route and communication line from Namyangju to here? We're obviously all for it. It will make it possible to stay in constant contact with the guys we left at Yeongho-ri."
"Yes. We'll provide the repeaters. You just need to support us with a bit of manpower for the installation. One squad should be enough."
"Understood. That's no problem at all. If it's for you, Jun-ho, I can even support you with a platoon."
"Save the platoon for when we raid the reserve forces' depot later. Oh, by the way, aren't you almost out of ammunition?"
"Yes. We only have about 3,000 rounds of 5.56mm left. About one magazine per person? Even the light machine gun would be finished after one battle."
"Hmm."
The faces of Jun-ho and Park Cheol-woo darkened slightly. Even if they had become a veteran unit that had experienced real combat many times, it would all be for nothing without ammunition. However, Lee Seok-jin, the commander himself, was just tired and didn't look particularly worried. Jun-ho, having realized the reason, spoke hurriedly.
"By any chance, did the gangsters leave behind a lot of ammunition?"
At that, Lee Seok-jin grinned.
"Yes. These bastards had over 80,000 rounds of 5.56mm alone. There are also over 5,000 rounds of 9mm, and a few hundred 2.5-inch shells for 12-gauge shotguns. Even though most of the firearms are Chinese-made, there are about 70 more of them."
"Ah…!"
To the surprised Jun-ho and Park Cheol-woo, Lee Seok-jin continued.
"Since we also need a lot of 5.56mm, we'll take 60,000 rounds. You two take the rest. We don't have much use for the 9mm and shotgun shells, so you can take most of those."
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it. Come to think of it, it's all thanks to you and the manager's personnel, Jun-ho. I'm actually sorry I can't give you more."
"No, no. We have enough with just a few thousand rounds. Since Jun-ho is providing air rifles and tungsten pellets anyway, not many people use rifles. Jun-ho, you take more."
"Then, if I may be so bold, I'll take 5.56mm and 9mm each…"
Just then, Lee Seok-jin cut Jun-ho off.
"I have another gift for Lee Jun-ho."
"…Excuse me?"
As Jun-ho looked bewildered, Lee Seok-jin sent him a mischievous smile, the first he had shown since they met, and continued.
"Here. There were subsonic rounds too. Both 5.56 and 9mm."
"……!!!"
* * *
Lee Seok-jin handed over all the subsonic ammunition he had obtained from the armory to Jun-ho. There were nearly 8,000 rounds of 5.56mm subsonic ammunition and over 5,000 rounds of 9mm subsonic ammunition. While it couldn't be called a massive amount, it was enough for Jun-ho, as well as Yoon Seol-hee and the three resort combat personnel who would soon join the shelter, to use for the time being.
"Hyung-nim, these guys' equipment is incredible. There are over 30 drones of various types. And they have tens of thousands of liters of diesel and gasoline—I don't know which gas stations they raided."
The maintenance sergeant who had helped move the ammo boxes, and who had gone farming with Jun-ho back at Yeongho-ri, was extremely excited. The gangsters also possessed mountains of things other than firearms and equipment. Daily necessities were overflowing, and in particular, they had stockpiled enough rice and various side dishes for hundreds of people to survive for over a year. As for drinking water, the Han River was right in front of them, and as it was a luxury apartment, the water purification facilities within the complex were perfect, so there were no problems at all.
"It would be perfect to farm in the zones divided for building schools and commercial districts. Since the gangster bastards already cleared out the nearby villages, it'll be easy to get fertilizer or farming tools."
"Are you short on people?"
"Oh, come on, Hyung-nim. There are over 700 people with resident registrations in this complex alone. Plus, there are still some people alive in that apartment complex over there that you personally! cleared out!"
Jun-ho chuckled at the sergeant, who put emphasis on specific words.
"Yeah. Anyway, think of this place as home now and do your best. If you endure and live well here, won't things work out somehow?"
"Of course. Actually, me and the guys… we all have families, so we wanted to go meet them somehow. But after seeing you fight, Hyung-nim, I changed my mind."
"…What does that mean?"
To the puzzled Jun-ho, the sergeant wiped his nose and said.
"You risked your life fighting to save people who had nothing to do with you, Hyung-nim, and we're even soldiers."
"……"
"Besides, a man has his pride. It makes no sense to whine like a kid after seeing something so incredible. Hehe. And like you said, Hyung-nim, if we think of this place as home and endure, won't a path open up?"
"Yeah. It definitely will."
Although he had fought more for his own and the shelter's benefit than to save anyone, Jun-ho didn't bother to correct him. Just as he had, they were now ready to live as survivors of the apocalypse and proud warriors, and for now, that was enough. Regardless, it was time for Jun-ho to return 'home' with his numerous spoils of war.