The Blade in the Reservoir
Of course, for them to reach this place—which Jun-ho had designated as a Safe Zone, including the main entrance—they had to cross a mountain pass that turned into an unpaved road halfway through. The reservoir, not to mention the summit of the pass, was barely maintained, making it difficult to find. Thus, aside from the natives who had lived in Gahyeon-ri for a long time, few people knew that one could drive from the reservoir at the top of the pass to the Safe Zone.
Still, the reason Jun-ho monitored that spot so intently with drones and CCTV installed in the high-rise safehouse was simple.
"Eoktens? Is that a name? What is it?"
As Jun-hyeok tilted his head in confusion, Yun Yeong-su clicked his tongue.
"Seriously, Jun-hyeok, you're younger than me and you don't know that? Just hearing it, it's obviously a name made by Gen Z high schoolers. Eokji-tension (Forced Tension). What’s the 'Z'? Is it a group?"
"It's Z. The Z from Zombie."
"Ah..."
As the two nodded, Jun-ho continued.
"I told you to categorize the development thugs into Caution Targets and Elimination Targets before, right? Well, these Eoktens bastards are Priority Elimination Targets."
"Whoa? What’s so special about them?"
"They’re the OB (Old Boy) club of the high school delinquent alliance for the entire Ga-eup district, including Mokuri, where the light rail station is."
"...?"
Receiving looks that suggested such a thing wasn't uncommon, Jun-ho spoke.
"Those bastards were already killing people and burying them in vacant lots before the apocalypse even started."
"...!!!"
"You know the spot I mentioned earlier?"
"The one between the apartment complex and the countryside villa village?"
"Yeah. They rented out an entire mansion or villa building nearby for a short-term lease, maybe for a summer retreat or something. Anyway, they were holding sex parties and drug parties in there when the apocalypse hit. They committed murder there, too, and buried the victims in a nearby vacant lot."
"That's insane..."
"Wow, they were really out of control."
In peaceful times, this would be a massive incident that would turn the world upside down. But as the world truly turned upside down, the things they had done were no longer crimes—they were just common, everyday occurrences in the apocalypse.
"Anyway. I know they're somewhere around there, but I don't know the exact location. That's why I'm telling you to watch them closely. Since the electricity and water are cut off, those bastards will start crawling out soon. They’ll probably take over all the mansions and villas in the area..."
Beep... Beep...
As the beep sounded, the three turned their heads toward the control room monitors simultaneously.
A vehicle is moving along Gahyeon-ro from the direction of the Gahyeon Hanbit Riverview Edu Town complex. Model: Kia EV9. Speed: approximately 40 km/h. Number of occupants is unconfirmed.
Along with Akina's voice, the CCTV for the apartment complex—which had the absurdly long name 'Gahyeon Hanbit Riverview Edu Town' and where Jun-ho had built a high-rise safehouse—followed the electric vehicle passing in front of the complex. Dozens of zombies were persistently following behind it. Even in the direction the electric vehicle was heading, the creatures on the roadside turned their bodies toward the car in unison.
"Are they crazy? No, how did they get here? Isn't Mokuri in the direction that car came from? There should be tons of zombies there, right?"
"Who knows. Anyway, let's ignore them and... huh?"
"No, why are they going in there?"
As Jun-ho narrowed his eyes, Yun Yeong-su flinched and quickly operated the keyboard and mouse. Soon, the drone that had been monitoring the thugs' territory—the countryside houses and townhouse complex—moved rapidly and began to follow the electric vehicle.
"They're entering the road that goes up to the reservoir?"
"It looks like they went that way because there are fewer people and zombies there."
"The main road is in the middle of Gahyeon-ri, so there are too many zombies. Since the navigation isn't working, they must have just turned onto the first road they saw. Tsk..."
At the two men's words, Jun-ho clicked his tongue. If that electric vehicle kept going up the mountain pass, it would eventually reach the top of the mountain where the reservoir was. And if that happened, there was a chance they might discover the path into the shelter's Safe Zone.
Of course, it wasn't easy to find, and he had already blocked it with obstacles like barricades so a car couldn't easily enter, but one never knew.
That was when it happened.
Drone Number 06 has detected multiple moving objects approaching the electric vehicle at high speed. Bikes and scooters. 4 units. Total of 7 occupants.
Akina's cold voice was heard again.
"...! Zoom in a bit more."
Zooming in. 1 female, 6 males. The vehicles are presumed to be electric scooters and electric bikes.
Jun-ho stared intently at the footage sent by the drone. The people on the scooters and bikes, wearing long sleeves and pants, safety helmets, and pads plastered all over them, were clearly chasing the electric vehicle. Moreover, those sitting in the back were all holding short spears made of kitchen knives taped together, fire axes, or machetes. And crucially, the faces of those wearing the helmets were...
"Are they even twenty years old? Ah! Hyung, could they be..."
"Eoktens... It's those bastards."
Jun-ho's gaze, having spotted some of his Priority Elimination Targets, turned cold.
"Jun-hyeok, get ready to go out. We're only taking the air rifles."
"Got it. But what about you, Hyung?"
Jun-ho stood up and began to walk, speaking nonchalantly.
"I'm only taking a knife this time."
Because he needed to 'deal' with them by butchering them as much as possible. That way, those human scum would either never set foot near the reservoir at the top of the pass again, or they would keep sending more, little by little. And that meant he could quietly eliminate the initial forces of Eoktens—who would become the biggest headache in taking over Gahyeon-ri later, and who would soon double in number—without anyone ever knowing.
* * *
Whirrr...
The multi-purpose electric vehicle carrying Jun-ho, Jun-hyeok, and Purdy sped along the cement-paved access road. The brothers' attire, especially Jun-ho's, was slightly different from before. He wore a tactical vest over dark Gore-Tex workwear, but what he had put inside were stab-proof panels, not bulletproof ones. And he had equipped protectors on his elbows, upper arms, forearms, knees, and thighs. Since they were made of light and sturdy reinforced plastic, they didn't hinder his movement. They could deflect not only sharp weapons like knives or axes, but also the impact of blunt weapons like iron pipes or baseball bats to some extent. Also, in the cargo bed where Purdy sat, there was a full-face defensive helmet with a wide field of view. It was personal equipment prepared for when he had to quietly dispose of hostile targets, including zombies, without using firearms.
"We're almost there. You go straight to the point and prepare to snipe. If you can, shoot the scooters and bikes. Don't let them run away."
"Yeah."
Jun-hyeok, who had been sitting in the passenger seat with his air rifle between his legs, nodded. Even though he was wearing specially made defensive gear, he wasn't worried at all that his brother was going to face several people alone without a firearm.
'He could wipe out those delinquent brats even without the stab-proof vest.'
The brothers had paid a hefty sum to students from a university's security department to practice fighting against multiple opponents several times. And unlike himself, who would get pinned down or attacked by several people in a matter of seconds, his brother Jun-ho, against the security students who were martial arts experts... 'He wasn't human. Back then, Hyung was...'
Just as Jun-hyeok was recalling that situation, Jun-ho spoke.
"We're here. Even though we're bringing Purdy, this isn't a place we scout with the drone often. Keep your ears open at all times."
"Okay."
If anything approached within a 300-meter radius, the AI would warn him as soon as the drone following him in follow-mode confirmed it. Moreover, with Purdy, the most reliable companion in such situations, Jun-hyeok wasn't worried at all.
"Let's go, Purdy."
Jun-hyeok, carrying his air rifle and with three spare air tanks strapped to his tactical belt, ran up the mountain path quickly with Purdy.
Whirrr...
Jun-ho drove the electric vehicle again and went up the unpaved mountain pass. The top speed was 30 km/h, but since the tires were for off-road use and it had good power, it was actually better than a regular car on this kind of unpaved pass.
Yun Yeong-su and Jun-hyeok's communications followed one after another. Soon, Jun-ho arrived at the place where the unpaved mountain pass was blocked with barricades and barbed wire. After taking out his helmet and his dedicated machete from the cargo bed, he ran quickly along the mountain pass.
"What's the situation?"
"I... can see them now."
Jun-ho, whose breathing hadn't even faltered despite running at full speed for over 300 meters up the steep mountain pass, could see the electric vehicle, which was in a mess and repeating forward and backward movements, and the thugs around twenty years old, who were circling the electric vehicle on electric scooters and bikes, stabbing and hitting it with various weapons, amidst a few rusted duck boats and piles of trash.
"You fucker! Are you not getting out? Huh!? You're still not getting out!?"
"Shit? She's pretty hot? Hey, the bitch in the passenger seat looks super hot!"
"You fucking bitch! Stop the car! Get out now!"
Due to the characteristic of zombies that they would give up after following for 1 to 2 minutes if the target moved too far away or was no longer visible, the zombies didn't come this far. At the reservoir, only the swearing of the thugs, who were clearly Eoktens, and the noise of them attacking the car could be heard. Thanks to that, Jun-ho quietly moved through the drainage ditch behind the piles of trash and old containers, positioned himself in the direction the electric vehicle and the thugs had come from, and then parted his lips.
"Now."
* * *
Clang!
"Oh, shit!?"
The guy who was riding an electric scooter alone was startled. The tungsten pellet Jun-hyeok had fired had hit the underside of the scooter's saddle. And that part was usually where the battery was located. Hiss... White smoke spewed out in an instant, and then—Boom!
"Whoa!"
With a heavy sound and an explosion of sparks, the thug got off, pushing the scooter away as if he were throwing it aside in a panic.
"Hey, what is it? Shit, did the battery explode?"
"Ah, that idiot."
The thugs, who hadn't heard the sound of the air rifle, couldn't grasp the situation at all and just giggled, mocking their colleague. Then, suddenly.
"Kim Seong-cheol is so funny! Hahaha... Huh?"
The female thug with a topknot, who had been laughing behind her boyfriend's bike, opened her eyes wide. From the direction of the mountain pass they had come up, a person with a very good physique, wearing pitch-black clothes and even a black helmet, was walking toward them holding something like a long stick in one hand.
"Oppa, Oppa... Ah, Oppa!"
"Ah, why?"
"Over there, over there."
The guy who was wearing a white bike helmet turned his face toward where the female thug with the topknot was pointing.
"Whoa? What is that?"
"What is it, what is it?"
"Ah, shit, you guys just keep smashing that car. Hey, you can just slash the tires!"
"Got it, got it."
At the white helmet's words, the rest of the thugs continued their actions of smashing the electric vehicle. That was when.
"Huh? That guy is crazy... Shit!?"
The person dressed entirely in black had run toward them at full speed, and only then did the two male and female thugs realize that what he was holding in his hand was a dark, menacing 'blade', and they were terrified.
"A, a knife! That guy, shit, he's got a knife!"
"Wha...t!?"
It was too fast. In a short time that felt like barely 10 seconds, the man, who had covered the 100-meter distance in one go, jumped up high, holding his machete up high.