Shall I Kill Them? (2)
Two men holding air rifles were surveying the relay station and barking orders. At their command, the other men paired off and fanned out toward the surrounding buildings.
— Hey. Do you see that pile of stuff in the center?
“Yeah. I’m looking at it right now.”
— Are those people... are they looting that place?
“It would seem so...”
It was absurd, but it appeared to be the truth. In front of the gray building the men had just exited, various equipment and facilities, including computers, were being neatly stacked.
“······”
Jun-ho narrowed his eyes as he watched the feed from the drone. He couldn't wrap his head around the situation. He never imagined that people would be looting communication relay stations on the very first day of the apocalypse. On the first day, over 90 percent of survivors were huddled in their homes, trembling and waiting for rescue, or merely trying to grasp the situation through news and the internet. Of course, a small number of brave and farsighted individuals did try to secure things they lacked or would need in the future—like food and water—even in the midst of the chaos. But even those few, unless they were insane, wouldn't climb up to a communication relay station on a high mountain. And certainly not in such large, organized numbers...
“······!”
Suddenly, Jun-ho’s eyes widened. His expression turned so terrifying that Choi Jung-woo, who had been watching him nervously from the side, flinched. Jun-ho immediately adjusted the drone’s position. The camera view dipped slightly, moving closer to the relay station before stopping at an altitude of 110 meters and beginning to move slowly to the right. As he zoomed in, the appearances of the men looting the station became clearer.
Then, at one moment.
“Han Chang-oh...”
“······!?”
Jun-ho muttered the name in a voice so chilling that even Choi Jung-woo shuddered. Jun-ho continued, “Do you see that guy?”
— Yeah, Hyung. Is he someone you know?
“...I’ll tell you later. For now, Team Leader, mark the guy among those with air rifles who’s wearing the white short-sleeved golf shirt.”
Yun Yeong-su’s voice, who was in the control room with Jun-hyeok, immediately came through the headset.
— Yes, Boss!
“Excluding us, from now on, any external survivors clearly captured on video will be classified into three categories.”
— Understood, one moment. ...Okay, go ahead.
“First, Consideration Target. Second, Caution Target. And third... Elimination Target. Put the white short-sleeved golf shirt as an Elimination Target.”
— ......Yes, I’ve just done as instructed.
While Yun Yeong-su’s voice continued, Jun-ho stared intensely at the drone controller’s display. On the screen was Han Chang-oh, a man in his mid-to-late 30s, playfully aiming his air rifle at someone else. For a moment, memories of ‘events’ from before his regression surfaced.
‘Should I kill him now...?’
A murderous intent surged up. But Jun-ho steadied his heart. The unexpected situation with Choi Jung-woo’s group was enough of a variable.
“For now, get clear images and characteristics of all those guys on screen and register them as Caution Targets.”
— Got it.
— Hyung, who are those people? Do you know them?
As Jun-hyeok’s worried voice followed, Jun-ho said in a low voice, “That’s for later. I’m cutting the comms for a bit. Looks like they’re coming down soon.”
— Understood.
The communication via headset ended. Jun-ho turned to Choi Jung-woo, who was standing nearby, looking terrified and restless. “We’ll have to wait here for a moment. Follow me.”
“Y-yes, Teacher.”
Following Jun-ho as he moved quickly, Choi Jung-woo swallowed hard. He had found Jun-ho both amazing and frightening when he took down zombies without blinking, but the man who had been relatively ‘normal’ toward him and his daughter felt like an entirely different person just now. Thinking that this Han Chang-oh—or whatever his name was—probably wouldn’t live a peaceful life, Choi Jung-woo let out a ragged breath and stepped behind a darker patch of grass.
About ten minutes later, the men came down, their electric SUV and a small electric truck—the most popular model in Korea—loaded with the equipment and facilities stripped from the relay station. Jun-ho and Choi Jung-woo watched from their hiding spot as the vehicles followed the narrow, unpaved mountain road and turned onto a side path leading directly to Gahyeon-ri.
“Huh? If they go that way, they’ll hit the townhouse village...”
At Choi Jung-woo’s tense voice, Jun-ho nodded. “Do they look like people from there to you, too, Mr. Choi?”
“Yes. But... I think I’ve seen one or two of them before.”
“Really?”
“Yes, yes. The company I work for installs solar panels and boilers in Gahyeon-ri, too. We have a few partner companies there... I think I saw them there. No, I’m sure of it. I’m certain.”
“That partner company, have they been in Gahyeon-ri for a while? About 10 years or so...”
“Y-yes, that’s right. I know it’s been over 10 years. I believe it’s a company that started when they were building a lot of detached houses and townhouses in Gahyeon-ri.”
Jun-ho nodded silently. That made sense. Gahyeon-ri used to be a backwater village with nothing but rice paddies, ordinary houses, villas, and about ten small factories. But starting in the early 2010s, it transformed into a decent place with a population nearing 10,000. This was because the Gyeongchun Line of the metropolitan subway opened around that time, and Mokuri, located about 3 kilometers away, developed at an explosive rate centered around the station. Gahyeon-ri benefited from this, developing alongside it with two apartment complexes, a detached house village, and luxury townhouse complexes.
However, whenever money and people suddenly flock to such a backwater, there’s always a certain type of person that follows. The kind called thugs or gangsters. The men Jun-ho had just seen were exactly that. To be precise, they were ‘half-gangsters’ who wore the mask of real estate developers while involving themselves in anything that could make money.
‘Han Chang-sik, Han Chang-oh...’
Jun-ho knew Han Chang-oh, whom he had just seen, and his older brother and leader, Han Chang-sik, very, very, extremely well.
“Let’s go up.”
“Pardon? I-is it okay, Teacher? If those people come back...”
“They won’t. They’ve already taken everything they needed.”
“Ah...”
Though still anxious, Choi Jung-woo had no choice but to nod, given Jun-ho’s absolute confidence and their current situation.
* * *
Just as Jun-ho said, the ‘half-gangsters’ who went down to the townhouse village did not return. It took over two hours to walk, but only about ten minutes by car; if there had been anything left to strip, they would have had plenty of time to return, yet the drone picked up nothing.
Jun-ho drove the armored vehicle up to the relay station. He retrieved the drone, which was nearly out of battery, and simultaneously launched two fully charged drones from the vehicle. He assigned one to focus on monitoring the side path and the other to thoroughly search the relay station.
There was no one at the relay station headquarters or the auxiliary buildings. Well, such relay stations usually didn’t have resident staff, and since it was a holiday, it made sense that no one was there.
“At least I’m grateful for one thing...”
Jun-ho muttered, thinking of Han Chang-oh and his gang. The guys who had arrived before him and dismantled everything from solar panels to generators had smashed all the CCTV cameras in the station. Jun-ho had been worried about how to work without leaving traces, but they had solved that problem for him.
“Then let’s begin. The drones are monitoring this place and that side path, so you can work with peace of mind.”
“Yes, Teacher.”
Now fully trusting Jun-ho’s combat prowess and the high-tech equipment he possessed, Choi Jung-woo began working diligently with the equipment and facilities moved from the armored vehicle. Jun-ho, who had acquired some knowledge of repeaters and amplifiers from Baek Ha-il and the professional staff while building the shelter, also helped Choi Jung-woo. They kept the monitoring going in rotation, alternating the four drones between the rapid charger installed in the armored vehicle.
Choi Jung-woo and Jun-ho installed a 3-meter-tall, wind-resistant aluminum pole on the empty steel structure next to the relay tower, fixing the RF repeater, antenna, and high-performance surveillance camera to it. After placing the router and amplifier in a waterproof housing, they connected a 3.5kW low-noise diesel generator to the ESS-integrated charger battery pack. It took about three hours to finish the work up to this point.
“Phew... I think that’s everything, Teacher.”
Whirrr... The diesel generator, equipped with a fuel tank containing about 4–5 days’ worth of fuel, began to charge the ESS battery while supplying power to each facility with suppressed noise.
“I’ll start the network settings.”
— Yes, Boss. You just have to follow what I say. First...
Jun-ho began configuring the router according to Yun Yeong-su’s instructions while operating the laptop via communication. He finished the task of separating the ports into VLANs and connecting one to the headquarters’ internal network IP for forwarding. A short while later, the repeater activated, and wireless packets began to be transmitted to the shelter. It seemed to take about 30 minutes.
— Boss, the VPN tunneling is confirmed. SNR is over 42, minus 47dBm, very stable. Packet loss is zero, AES encryption...
“In short, it’s working well?”
— Yes.
“Then I’ll transfer control of the CCTV cameras and drones to your side. Check it once.”
A moment later.
— Drone control transfer complete. Real-time video feed is up. Video latency is 0.3 seconds, it’s clear.
“Okay.”
Jun-ho let out a sigh of relief and turned to Choi Jung-woo. “Mr. Choi, you’ve worked really hard.”
With this, they could now place the entire Gahyeon-ri area—which had previously only had partial wireless communication and drone flight capabilities in the west and east, with the most important center left empty—under drone surveillance and wireless communication coverage. Moreover, they could now fly drones to observe even parts of Mokuri, the most bustling area in the region with the Gyeongchun Line subway station.
“N-no, it’s nothing. You helped me so much, Teacher... I really thought you were someone who had worked on our side for years... No, a person like you wouldn’t be doing that, but anyway...”
Jun-ho cut off Choi Jung-woo’s rambling. “The certain thing is that I could never have done this alone. It’s thanks to you, Mr. Choi. In that sense...”
Jun-ho stood up and thrust his hand out toward Choi Jung-woo.
“······?”
As the flustered man slowly reached out to take it, Jun-ho finally offered a faint smile and said, “Mr. Choi and your children will be able to live safely now.”
“Ah...”
In an instant, Choi Jung-woo’s widened eyes slowly filled with moisture. “Th-thank you, Teacher. Thank you so much. I will never forget this grace. Really, I will work so hard...”
Relieved that he had saved his young daughter from this hell, the young head of the household wept.
* * *
Just as Jun-ho said, the ‘half-gangsters’ who had gone down to the townhouse village did not return. It was a distance that took over two hours to walk but only ten minutes by car, so if there had been anything left to take, they would have had plenty of time to return, yet the drones caught nothing.
The armored vehicle returned with the support of the new drones sent from the shelter. As a sign of trust, Jun-ho did not blindfold Choi Jung-woo. Even if he did, Choi Jung-woo would only know a portion of the information about the container housing area and would have no way to guess anything about the shelter itself.
They didn’t encounter any more zombies on the way back. Thinking of the Bucheon of the same day before his regression, it was nothing short of a miracle. Jun-ho felt grateful for the population density near ‘Our Shelter,’ and as the sun began to set, he returned to the container residential area, listening to the faint sounds of gunfire, artillery, and explosions in the distance.
Choi Jung-woo was first shocked that the old iron gate connected to the road below the mountain was actually incredibly sturdy and operated by a cutting-edge security system. Upon arriving at the residential area, he couldn’t hide his shock at seeing the container doors opening and closing automatically. But because he and his children were now almost perfectly safe from the hell outside, he was finally able to feel completely at ease.
After sending Choi Jung-woo into the container where his children were sprawled out, perhaps having fallen asleep while enjoying games and animation, Jun-ho went up to the shelter, loaded up enough food for four people for three or four days, and four supply bags, and came back down. Of course, he didn’t forget to drag out the time for about an hour, as he still intended to observe Choi Jung-woo for a few more days.
As for the clothes and shoes in the supply bags, they had sizes for Choi Jung-woo and Kim Ha-yun, but they had no choice but to give the two little ones the smallest sizes available. Since it was a hot summer, he decided they would make do for now by folding the smallest women’s sizes a few times so they would be breathable and wearable. They could keep wearing the shoes they already had.
“I don’t know about the kids, but you and student Ha-yun need to wake up at six. And...”
Jun-ho informed them of the precautions aligned with the shelter’s schedule, and the two nodded diligently, not missing a single word.
“...And student Ha-yun.”
“Y-yes!”
“Since we installed the repeater, I’m going to start checking the Hanalreum Nursing Home area with the drones starting tonight.”
“Ah...!”
“But I can’t see inside completely right away. The drone flight noise is loud, so if I get too close, I’ll get caught. So, I might not be able to confirm what happened to your grandmother.”
“Ah...”
Watching Kim Ha-yun, who had been full of anticipation only to instantly look tearful, Jun-ho continued, “But I will keep checking with the CCTV and drones. If your grandmother comes out of the nursing home building, I’ll know immediately. Anyway...”
Jun-ho spoke of a part of an ‘operation’ he never thought he would be involved with these two, but one that he absolutely had to carry out within a month of the apocalypse breaking out according to his plan.
“There are people I need to bring back from Hanalreum Nursing Home. If your grandmother is there and safe, I’ll bring her back with them.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much, Mister. I will really, really work hard at whatever you tell me to do.”
“Right.”
Since there wasn’t much difference between saving two people or three, Jun-ho made a promise to Kim Ha-yun. Above all, it was the same in that he had to proceed by ‘eliminating’ a large number of targets, whether zombies or people.