Let's Run a Field Test

"I picked some wild grapes and chestnuts."

"You didn't just pick them, you practically scavenged the whole forest. Anyway, that's the harvest done for this year. Phew."

Park Deok-cheol, no longer in his poop-colored work clothes and rubber boots but decked out in camouflage Gore-Tex hiking gear and mid-top outdoor shoes, hopped off the utility vehicle and let out a long, satisfying stretch.

"You worked hard. Oh my, chestnuts too. Were there any left on the trees?" Choi Ha-neul asked, rummaging through the sacks of chestnuts and wild grapes piled in the cargo bed. Jo Yu-na linked her arm with hers and replied.

"Yes. Just like you said, Auntie Ha-neul, we left a few for the crows."

"It's 'magpie food,' not 'crow food.' Though in this neighborhood, the crows end up eating it all anyway. Regardless, you did well."

"Hehe, thanks…." Jo Yu-na giggled as Choi Ha-neul patted her on the back.

In the month since they had become official members of the shelter, the siblings Park Deok-cheol and Park Seon-hui, along with Jo Yu-na, had grown quite close to the original members. But the person they had bonded with most was Choi Ha-neul, whose bright, cheerful nature made her impossible not to like. Jo Yu-na, who loved both cooking and eating delicious food, followed Choi Ha-neul around like a favorite aunt.

"You worked hard, big sister, big brother."

"No problem. Ah! And where are our little angels?"

"…The kids are watching cartoons and playing with Kkamsuni. And Deok-cheol, can you stop with the 'little angel' thing? It’s so cringey."

"Why? Are you jealous? Ha-yun, my little ang…."

"Ack! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Ack! Ack! Ack!"

Kim Ha-yun, carrying a sack of chestnuts, shrieked and scrambled away from Park Deok-cheol as if he were a plague. As a middle schooler, she had known about Park Deok-cheol’s group, 'Junix,' from the start, which had initially delighted him. However, she also knew that Junix was a 'flop' group, and since she only knew of them rather than actually liking them, she quickly deflated his ego. Furthermore, Kim Ha-yun was much more familiar with and fond of Park Seon-hui and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Jo Yu-na’s group, 'Psyche Flare.' Even though they were rookies, she thought the girls were just so pretty. The same went for Kim Ha-yun’s younger brother, Kim Jun-seo, and the shelter’s only preschooler, Choi Ji-woo. Even the little ones had taken a liking to Park Seon-hui and Jo Yu-na the moment they saw them.

"Then I’ll go with my little angels…."

"Deok-cheol, where do you think you're going? You need to move the rice, flour, and pasta from the cold storage. We have to make kimchi, too. No time to play with the kids. Get moving."

"…Yes."

Park Deok-cheol, who had adored his cousins and nieces back in the States, would light up the moment he saw Kim Jun-seo and Choi Ji-woo. Whenever he finished his tasks, he’d always seek them out to play. Since he’d grown up in a large family and was great with kids, Jun-ho and the others were generally satisfied with the arrangement, but….

"From now on, playtime with the kids is limited to one hour a day. And why do you keep feeding them so much? Jun-seo and Ji-woo are already so well-fed their bellies are bursting. Because of you, they’re going to start rolling around like balls soon."

The problem was that he was a bit too attentive and prone to over-pampering them.

"After we finish the kimchi today, let’s roast some chestnuts and sweet potatoes. Do you know how good it tastes to put a piece of freshly made kimchi on top of a roasted sweet potato?"

"Roasted sweet potatoes with kimchi!"

"Gulp…." Jo Yu-na’s eyes sparkled immediately, and Park Deok-cheol swallowed hard. Choi Ha-neul smiled at the sight, as she always did.

"At first, I didn't understand why there were two heaters in the cafeteria. But that was Jun-ho’s doing. You kids should be really grateful to him."

"I always am, Auntie Ha-neul."

"Me too. I love it here. I love you and everyone else, too."

Jo Yu-na, Park Deok-cheol, and even Park Seon-hui—who wasn't present—were all sincere. The three idols still vividly remembered the day in mid-October when they left the container housing and first entered the shelter grounds. They had never dreamed that the automatic door of the container, which they used every morning to head out to work, would open in such a way. And the sheer majesty of the gray building, reached after a three-minute ride along a winding concrete road, had left them speechless. The double-layered barbed wire fences, the CCTV cameras installed everywhere, and the air-rifle turrets standing guard had made them feel both fear and relief at the same time. The room they were assigned in the main residential building—with two single beds, a decent-sized personal closet, and a desk each—was a massive upgrade from the container housing they had grown fond of.

Moreover, unlike the container where the three of them had lived together, this place was set up for two people per room. No matter how close they were as siblings or friends, living together as men and women had been incredibly inconvenient. Park Seon-hui and Jo Yu-na were overjoyed to finally have a room to themselves. And that wasn't all. They were each provided with a backpack containing basic daily necessities, including 'skincare' products—mostly oil-based, considering long-term storage. They could only use them while living inside the shelter, and they were strictly forbidden from taking them outside the 'Safe Zone.' But since they hadn't left the Safe Zone even once since becoming shelter members, their skin had already returned to its former state.

"We need to finish winter preparations by next week, so Deok-cheol and Yu-na, let’s work a little harder. Ha-yun, you shouldn't keep the kids outside too much… oh, wait, Kkamsuni is always with them, so it should be fine. Anyway, let’s get these inside."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Understood."

Carrying the final harvest gathered from the mountain behind the shelter, the four of them entered the main building's front door.

Beep. Whoosh….

It had been awkward at first, but now they understood how perfect this place was, both physically and in terms of quarantine. They listened to the sound of the ultraviolet full-body sterilizer, followed by the voice of the AI, Akina.

Though the voice was cold and professional, it brought them a sense of security. The four of them were once again convinced that, at least in South Korea, 'Our Shelter' was the safest place on earth.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Hey, it was just getting good… what now? A wild boar? A water deer?"

Yun Yeong-su, who had been munching on his favorite potato chips while flipping through a comic book brought from the shelter library, looked up at the beeping sound.

"Zone A? The side with the Hanchang Development thugs?"

Soon, the main monitor displayed zoomed-in feeds from two PTZ cameras and a map of Gahyeon-ri, showing the direction the group was heading. "Whoa? That’s… Akina! Send a drone immediately to follow them. One—no, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠two. And call the Boss right now."

The black reinforced glass door on the ceiling of the small drone hangar built right next to the control room opened, and two high-performance industrial drones that had been waiting fully charged rose into the air one after another.

"Those thugs are heavily armed. Is this finally it? Are they trying to smash up The First Apartments and become the real 'First' of Gahyeon-ri?"

Narrowing his eyes at the individuals walking along the mountain path toward the complex as indicated by the predicted route, Yun Yeong-su crunched on a potato chip. A moment later, the control room door opened, and Jun-ho, who had been training in the underground gym, entered in his workout clothes.

"The Hanchang Development thugs are moving toward The First Apartments?"

Jun-ho, who had been listening to a rough report from AI Akina through his wireless earbuds, stared intently at the main monitor.

"Yes. It looks like Han Chang-oh, five thugs, and the rest are people they dragged in while taking over the villas and townhouses. Sixteen people in total."

With Akina’s dry voice, a split-screen view appeared on the left side of the main monitor, showing a 300-meter aerial view of Han Chang-oh and his group moving along the mountain path.

"Zoom in to max."

Jun-ho stared with sunken eyes at the individuals moving quickly along the mountain path with their bodies slightly hunched. It had been over three months since the apocalypse began. Even for a timid survivor who had stayed holed up at home, it was enough time to grasp the characteristics of zombies. Not to mention those who had been killing both people and zombies since the moment the apocalypse started. As if to prove it, the thugs led by Han Chang-oh were all wearing tough work clothes with boards, thin metal, or even magazines wrapped around their torsos and limbs with duct tape. However, the men from the villas and townhouses accompanying them were only wearing slightly thicker clothes and gloves.

"So they’re showing off their numbers and planning to use them as human shields. Those people probably joined without knowing that."

"Can you expect anything else from thugs? Even if they don't kill people often, thugs are still thugs."

Jun-ho nodded at Yun Yeong-su’s cynicism, turned around, and said as he left the control room.

"I’m heading out. Tell Jun-hyeok to get ready. And let’s test 'that' today."

"For real?" Yun Yeong-su’s eyes widened at the mention of 'that.'

"Yeah. The signal reaches that far, right? If it’s difficult from here, I or Jun-hyeok can handle it."

"No! I installed a repeater at the reservoir guard post, so it’ll work fine. Leave it to me."

"Good. The goal is to incapacitate them with injuries, not to kill. Be careful and do it well."

"Yes. Well, it’s not me doing it, but the machine. Don’t worry. Hehe."

Yun Yeong-su pushed up his glasses and gave his signature villainous laugh, pointing toward the AI computing server room, which had its own separate door inside the control room.

Whirrr….

The multi-purpose utility vehicle, covered in a camouflage tarp, climbed the mountain pass. Jun-ho was in the driver’s seat, Jun-hyeok in the passenger seat, and as always, Purdy was in the cargo bed. But today, something else was occupying the space.

Clunk!

Before reaching the reservoir, Jun-ho stopped the vehicle below the mountain pass, concealed it among the bushes, and opened the rear support of the cargo bed. He carefully lowered a 1.2-meter-long, 80-centimeter-wide, 25-kilogram children’s electric car. It was a ground attack drone equipped with a modified air rifle with an effective range of 220 meters and a high-pressure air tank capable of firing over 200 tungsten rounds. With a top speed of 15 km/h, AI Akina was in charge of its piloting and fire control.

The ground drone, modified from a children’s ride-on car, was relatively light since it didn't have armor plates attached yet, allowing for nearly an hour of operation. Furthermore, the battery capacity had been increased, and a portable repeater was installed inside. While the shelter’s AI system managed autonomous movement and firing by default, a person could also pilot it directly using a controller if necessary. When operated manually, the control range was limited to about 200 meters due to the short signal range of the portable wireless controller. However, even if it were sent inside a building, wireless control was possible within 200 meters. Since it used triangular crawler wheels, it could even climb most stairs, which would be a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠huge help to Jun-ho and Jun-hyeok.

And today, that very ground attack drone, G1, was being deployed for its first real-world test.