They Need to Suffer More
After the snakehead, Park Deok-cheol's fishing trip came to an end with about ten more catches, mostly crucian carp and Prussian carp. The carp were boiled into a spicy fish stew, and the snakehead—a massive monster measuring over eighty centimeters—was steamed whole. It yielded enough food to feed not only the shelter members but also the Park siblings and Jo Yu-na.
However, perhaps because seeing a live snakehead for the first time in his life had been too much of a shock, Deok-cheol refused to touch the steamed dish despite having caught it himself. Instead, Jo Yu-na, who was dead serious about her food, and Park Seon-hui, who also possessed a formidable appetite, devoured his portion.
"Don't ya think it's about time we bring those kids up to the shelter?"
Baek Ha-il, who had enjoyed the rare treat of wild snakehead thanks to Deok-cheol, spoke up. But Jun-ho shook his head.
"It's only been about a week. We need to watch them for a full month, just like we originally planned."
Though it varied case by case, it usually took three to four weeks for a person to adapt to a new environment. In Jun-ho's experience, both the military and corporate life were exactly like that. Within that timeframe, people usually finished adapting, and their true colors would show.
"Once they get used to living in the container homes with me, they'll start showing their true selves. As long as they don't cause any trouble until then, we're good."
"W-well, yeah... I reckon if you say so, you must be right."
Ha-il barely swallowed the urge to say, 'Living in the container homes is one thing, but how is anyone supposed to get used to you?' He simply nodded. Even for him, it seemed impossible to get used to a man who had hacked, slashed, and dismembered people right in front of them in just a few weeks.
"But what about their families? Even if they're abroad, not knowin' whether they're dead or alive... that's gotta be the biggest worry."
"Ah, about that."
Jo Yu-na's parents lived in one of Japan's wealthiest neighborhoods. A close neighbor they had known for years was a high-ranking police official. Thanks to the protection of the Japanese police, Yu-na's parents were safe for now.
"And the Park siblings' family is in an even safer situation."
Every year in mid-August, right before the kids went back to school, they would spend their vacation together doing farm work—maintaining agricultural machinery, managing the fields, and repairing fences for the upcoming season. This family "workation" had been a tradition since their grandfather's time.
Although their grandfather had passed away a few years ago, their grandmother was still hale and hearty. Most of all, the Park family shared incredibly tight bonds. When the apocalypse broke out, they were gathered at the family farm, just as they did every year.
Fortunately, none of them had turned into an Alpha.
Above all, the United States was hit by the apocalypse last, meaning they had some level of information about what was happening in other countries before it struck. Thus, the Park siblings' father and uncles—who were survivors of the 1992 LA Riots and original Rooftop Koreans—united immediately. Overnight, they turned the farm into a veritable fortress.
Over twenty family members, including the siblings' cousins and younger children, were living on the farm, which had an abundance of food and the capacity for agriculture.
"...That was the situation when they last made contact. Apparently, one of their uncles is a US Army veteran, and one of their cousins is a Marine who was out on leave."
Furthermore, their grandfather, traumatized by the LA Riots, had given his grandchildren early survival training and left behind a substantial—no, an astronomical—amount of firearms and ammunition. The nearest neighbor was over ten kilometers away, and the surrounding area was entirely forest and plains. They could fire without suppressors, and no zombies would ever gather from hearing the gunshots.
In a way, the farm where the Park siblings' parents and relatives resided was even safer than Our Shelter.
"If a civil war hadn't broken out, the US might have actually been fine. The cities are completely ruined, but because the land is so vast, a significant number of people survived."
In truth, the sheer, uncountable volume of firearms circulating in the country was the decisive reason the US collapsed.
—National Guard? Who cares? Bang!
That was the default reaction of American survivor groups outside the major cities.
"Anyway, we'll finish the barbed wire work by tomorrow. We'll build four more greenhouses, watch them for a few more days, and then bring them into the shelter. Anyone opposed?"
There was no way anyone would object. Jun-ho was the sole decision-maker to begin with, and the shelter members were already feeling the pinch of a labor shortage as they finalized their respective setups.
It wasn't a severe shortage, just a feeling that having two or three more hands would be nice. So, having the three idols from the container residence join them would be perfect.
"Alright, let's dismiss."
"Sounds good. Jung-woo, follow me. Let's go check on the solar panels and the power room."
"Yes, sir."
"Ha-yoon, Su-ho. You two come peel some chestnuts with me. We're havin' chestnut rice tomorrow mornin'. You kids like chestnut rice?"
"I absolutely love it!"
"Me too."
"Doctor, Head Nurse. Regarding the medicines in the medical room's refrigerator and freezer... the over-the-counter ones..."
"Hmm. That's a good idea. Then we should..."
"I'll print out a list for you later, Su-ah."
"Thank you, Head Nurse."
"Oh, just call me Auntie. Hoho..."
Watching the members disperse to their respective workplaces, Jun-ho nodded inwardly. This was exactly the daily life he had envisioned for Our Shelter. Not merely idling away in a safe haven, but everyone working hard at what they could do.
And so, Jun-ho also had to do what he could do.
"Jun-hyeok, Yeong-su."
With silent nods from the two, Jun-ho headed toward the control room on the second floor of the shelter.
"As of yesterday, the Han Chang Development thugs have completely taken over the townhouse complex," Yun Yeong-su explained, pointing at the red zone marked on the map displayed on the main monitor.
"The local residents of Gahyeon-ri's Jung-dong have secured Gahyeon Elementary School and its surrounding area. It seems they're having a hard time pushing into the center because of the sheer number of zombies there."
"Makes sense," Jun-ho replied. "Before the apartment complexes were built—actually, even now—it's the most densely populated area in Gahyeon-ri."
Even before the two apartment complexes went up, over five thousand residents lived there. Jung-dong was the heart of Gahyeon-ri, packed with everything from a fairly large grocery mart to five convenience stores, restaurants, pubs, pharmacies, and laundromats.
Now, nearly two months into the apocalypse, almost half of the population was either dead or turned. Although Jun-ho and Jun-hyeok had eliminated a significant number of zombies during various incidents, that was barely ten percent of the total infected in Gahyeon-ri.
In other words, thousands of zombies still swarmed the area, and nearly half of them were concentrated in Jung-dong, the residential heart of the locals.
"So, Boss, are you going to clear out the zombies there too?"
"No. Even for me, that would be difficult. Besides, those zombies are the only reason the Han Chang Development thugs and the locals haven't clashed yet. There's no need for us to make the first move. And..."
It was a delusion to think that only the thugs under the Han Chang-sik and Han Chang-oh brothers were evil, while the Jung-dong locals were pure and good. Though he couldn't be certain of the specifics, internal conflicts and issues were bound to start brewing among them by now. It was only a matter of time before something went wrong.
"They need to suffer more. If we help them now or drive out the Han Chang Development thugs for them, they'll just take it for granted. Eventually, they'll demand everything we have."
Having witnessed and experienced this countless times before his regression, Jun-ho was absolutely certain. If the Beoksagol Youth Association he met recently hadn't been so desperate for meat, or if Jun-ho had shown even a shred of weakness, their relationship would never have turned out like this. The Gahyeon-ri residents would be no different.
"We intervene when the Jung-dong locals and the Han Chang Development thugs enter a full-scale conflict. And..."
Before that, the thugs would expand their reach toward the mart located right between the Edu Town and The First apartment complexes.
When that happened, 'that man'—whose records Jun-ho had tried to find using every possible method before the apocalypse, yet failed to find any trace of, leaving him unsure which of the two complexes he lived in or if he was even an original resident—would be captured by the thugs.
Song Ki-jun...
Saving him—the man who would unite and lead Gahyeon-ri once the thugs were gone—and bringing him under his and the shelter's influence. That was the exact reason Jun-ho planned to keep a close watch on Gahyeon-ri until the end of November.
> November 20, 2024, 17:10
> Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province
"Ah-reum. The sun's setting. Switch the PTZ camera to thermal."
"On it."
At Choi Hyun-woo's words, Han Ah-reum operated the PC to change the camera's surveillance mode.
"Guys, let's eat."
Kim Tae-young, who had wrapped his head in a towel because his hair loss had worsened after months of being unable to take or apply medicine, brought over a table set with food.
Although the city gas had been cut off long ago, the three of them managed to eat one proper meal a day using the gas stove and butane canisters Jun-ho had left behind. Since the house was in such a secluded area, they didn't have to worry about the smell of food spreading.
"Wow! Kimchi stew! Thanks for the food!"
"Damn, this broth is insane. You could've opened a restaurant, Coach. Where'd you learn to cook like this?"
At Hyun-woo's exclamation, Tae-young's expression turned slightly somber.
"You try living alone until you're pushing forty. Even if you hate it, your cooking skills will improve."
"Ah..."
The brief moment of solemnity quickly passed. The three of them devoured the hot instant rice and the kimchi stew made with their oldest kimchi, Spam, and frozen meat in the blink of an eye.
For dessert, they drank instant coffee and green tea as they conversed.
"As you guys know, it's getting pretty cold. It dropped below freezing early yesterday morning. So..."
"You mean it's about time we head out?"
"Yeah. If we bundle up in thick clothes, we can take a few bites from zombies and be fine. Plus, Jun-ho left those behind."
Tae-young turned his head, and Hyun-woo and Ah-reum's eyes naturally followed.
There lay several full-body leather racing suits, along with five helmets boasting extremely wide fields of view.
"I tried biting into them as hard as I could, and I couldn't even leave a scratch. If we wear these, put on the helmets, and wear leather gloves, we can hold our own even if we get surrounded by zombies. Though... it'll still be terrifying, of course."
Even for a former professional MMA fighter, being surrounded by monsters that ate people alive was a horrifying prospect. Moreover, a single bite to bare skin meant the end. This wasn't a game with multiple lives; it was reality, and there were no retries.
"So what you're saying, Tae-young Oppa, is that we should wear those, mount night-vision goggles on the helmets, and head out? With weapons?"
"Yeah. According to Jun-ho's notebook, zombies retreat indoors when the temperature plummets. Plus... it says this is the time those Alphas will start active operations in earnest."
"Alphas..."
Hyun-woo and Ah-reum's expressions stiffened slightly. If not for Jun-ho's notebook, which they revered as their Golden Rule, they would have assumed Alphas were simply the very first people who turned into zombies. But the term 'Alpha' carried a far deeper meaning.
"I mean, how can a zombie control other zombies?"
"Beats me. But that's what's written in Jun-ho's notebook. An Alpha isn't just the first one to turn; it controls and dominates the other zombies."
Indeed, an Alpha was exactly what the term meant in behavioral biology. It formed packs, established territories, and could control or issue simple commands to its "kin."
"Still, we should be glad there aren't any monsters with elongated arms, super speed, or ones that crawl on ceilings like in zombie movies or webtoons."
"That's true. And even if they're Alphas, they aren't necessarily stronger. The notebook says they're basically just like schoolyard bullies among the zombies."
"But the fact that they can give orders is dangerous in itself. It says those bastards will use their subordinates as shields to escape if they're in danger."
If there was one major difference between a zombie Alpha and an Alpha in the animal kingdom, it was this: for the sake of its own survival, it would sacrifice its pack without hesitation and do whatever it took.
"Anyway, it says they can only control dozens, maybe a hundred at most right now. Let's move quietly at night and scout out places where an Alpha might be. We should also check if the survivors in Bucheon have formed any groups."
"Yes, sir. Staying safe is good, but we need to know how things are running around here to make plans. Besides... the Gym Director might head this way eventually, so we should scout out a route."
With that, the three of them donned black motorcycle suits equipped with reinforced plastic protectors on the arms, shoulders, and back, and slipped on stab-proof vests.
They put on helmets equipped with night-vision goggles and wore leather gloves.
For weapons, they strapped machetes to their backs for dealing with humans, and secured Bowie knives and long awls to their waists for dealing with zombies.
Finally, they firmly mounted 2,500-lumen tactical flashlights to the center of their vests to blind any hostile raiders they might encounter.
"Let's go. If there are more than ten zombies at once, or if there's even one more human than us, we run."
"Got it."
"Understood."
Since all of them trained intensely on a daily basis, moving around in this gear wasn't too difficult.
The former track prodigy, the former professional fighter, and the ex-Marine trained in Krav Maga and parkour.
Following Lee Jun-ho's Golden Rule, they stepped out of the back door of the house with extremely cautious and deliberate strides.