We Must Change the Future

"Oh, thank you so much, really. Thank you." Kim Yong-cheol, the president of the Boksagol Youth Association, expressed his gratitude to Jun-ho repeatedly. It was no wonder; the bag he was clutching so tightly was filled with pain relievers, arthritis medication, and antibiotics synthesized by Baek Su-ah.

"Ah, with the world in this state, medicine is truly essential. Plus, there are so many elderly folks in our village that there are more than a few who wouldn't last a week without their meds."

"They must be quite ill, then?" Jun-ho asked, wondering if there were any seniors on the brink of death. One of the young men who had come with Kim Yong-cheol chuckled.

"They're just playing the victim. You know, that... what is it? The flashback effect? Anyway, they feel like they're hurting if they don't take their pills, but they're all perfectly fine."

"Ah, you mean the placebo effect."

"Yeah, that. Still, we're really grateful for the antibiotics and arthritis medicine. They work quite well."

That was to be expected. The medicine Baek Su-ah made using public recipes with the help of the AI was almost indistinguishable from store-bought brands. Furthermore, with the dedicated medical refrigerators and freezers packed with finished products and plenty of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) still on hand, they could keep using a mix of the stockpiled items and Baek Su-ah’s own creations for four or five years—even if they supplied the residents of Boksagol and Gahyeon-ri as well.

"The medicine is great, but this is even better. We'll put it to good use, Jun-ho," a man said, grinning broadly as he pointed to the items ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠loaded onto three A-frame carriers. They were six 20-liter jerry cans full of gasoline and diesel, a small generator, and a 5kW power tank.

"It's nothing. We have about ten more drums of fuel, and two extra generators and power tanks, so we have plenty to spare. Don't worry about it; we're just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠giving you what we don't need."

In reality, they had dozens of times more than that, but Jun-ho, who had to play the role of an "ordinary" survivor who had been lucky enough to succeed in large-scale looting early on, spoke without batting an eye.

"Anyway, thank you for this."

Jun-ho wasn't just giving things away to Boksagol blindly. Fortunately, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the residents of Boksagol were easy to trade with, as they understood courtesy and shame. In exchange for the medicine, fuel, and generators Jun-ho provided, they brought over 10 kilograms of jerky and braised meat made from the wild boars and water deer they had recently caught. Not only that, they brought large jars of homemade gochujang and doenjang, along with a significant amount of handmade food items common in the countryside, such as Namyangju specialty greenhouse strawberries, pears, Shine Muscat grapes, dried deodeok, and pickled vegetables.

Of course, most of these were already in the shelter's cold storage and ultra-low-temperature freezers, but since these had the authentic touch of the countryside and were more than enough to help the shelter family get through the winter, it was all for the better.

"Oh my, will you be able to carry all this back?"

"It's fine. I'm strong, and these guys are good at heavy lifting, too."

Where Jun-ho’s gaze landed, Jun-hyeok and Park Deok-cheol were carefully loading the items received from the Boksagol Youth Association onto the A-frame carriers.

"You young people are certainly reliable. By the way, Jun-ho, any new news from Gahyeon-ri or Mokuri?"

When Kim Yong-cheol asked, Jun-ho mixed the facts he already knew with the information the shelter had gathered.

"It looks like the gangsters and the original residents in Gahyeon-ri are about to have a showdown soon. As for Mokuri, they say it's just a battlefield. As you know, the population there is huge. There are an incredible number of apartment complexes."

Mokuri was home to nearly 20 apartment complexes, each with a minimum of 400 to 500 households, and some larger ones exceeding 800, all centered around the metropolitan light rail station. Moreover, while Gahyeon-ri had a population of less than 10,000, Mokuri had over 100,000, and if you included Gangheon-ri, which shared the metropolitan subway station, it was nearly 150,000. Of course, it couldn't compare to a city like Bucheon, where 800,000 people were packed together, but having 150,000 people living in an area one-third the size of Bucheon meant the population density was quite high.

"Besides, Mokuri is part of the old downtown of Namyangju, along with Hwado-eup, right?"

"That's right. There used to be movie theaters and nightclubs there."

"There are still plenty of karaoke bars and hostess clubs there now. And coffee shops, too."

As expected of people who were older and had lived in Namyangju almost their entire lives, they were well-versed in those matters.

"Yes. That must be why there were gangsters there. They say it's chaos between those gangsters, the factory workers in Mokuri, and the apartment complexes."

"Oh my. Now that the world has turned out this way, having too many people is actually the problem."

"Yes. That's why Boksagol is truly fortunate. There are only two roads in and out, right?"

"Of course. We blocked the main road a long time ago, and we only use the back mountain path. We've also laid barbed wire all over the rice paddies and fields."

This was why, while the cities were completely devastated, most of the rural villages had seen more than half of their populations survive.

"But is there any other new news from Yeongho-ri or other neighborhoods?"

At Jun-ho's question, Kim Yong-cheol thought hard for a moment before snapping his fingers.

"Ah! About a week ago, you know Jugumsan Mountain in Naebang-ri? I could faintly hear the sounds of gunfire and cannons from that direction."

"Jugumsan in Naebang-ri... isn't that toward Gapyeong and Pocheon?"

"That's right. If you take the highway, it's Pocheon, and if you take the national road, it's Gapyeong."

Both were locations where main units of the ROK military were stationed. In particular, Pocheon was where the units Jun-ho and Jun-hyeok had been discharged from were located, and Gapyeong also had a mechanized infantry division, and the locations were very close to Namyangju.

'The main forces must have headed to northern Seoul as soon as the outbreak started. Are they remnant units? Or stragglers?'

Either way, it wasn't good news. There was a high probability that their supply lines had been cut, which meant the soldiers' morale would be low and their dissatisfaction high. Above all, there was a very high possibility that such units would occupy an easy target of a village and live there like kings.

'They won't come to our shelter's safe zone, but I'll have to be careful.'

Before the regression, no such military units had stayed in our shelter or Gahyeon-ri. However, just because they hadn't stayed didn't mean they hadn't "passed through" the area. Therefore, if military units were spotted, they had to keep their heads down as much as possible.

"Thank you for letting me know. Anyway, as I said before, you really have to be careful with soldiers. You never know when they'll turn on you after acting like they're going to help. So, if you come into contact with soldiers, give them what they want and send them away quickly. They'll just ask for food anyway."

"Yeah. That's why we hid all the food we secured in a cave on the back mountain. We only put about two or three weeks' worth in the cold storage."

"You did well. Then, I'll see you next time."

"Yeah. Take care on your way. Ah, have a happy New Year, and in the new year, may you receive many blessings and survive no matter what."

"Yes. I hope you all do the same."

Jun-ho, who had agreed to meet the Boksagol Youth Association again in fifteen days, parted ways with them after exchanging New Year's greetings that felt fitting for the apocalypse. Although the amount of food he received was heavy, it wasn't too difficult since the three of them divided the load onto their A-frame carriers. The three of them hiked up the mountain for about 30 minutes with the carriers on their backs, loaded the goods onto a multi-purpose electric vehicle hidden on a narrow mountain path connected to a newly pioneered outpost, and returned to the shelter while being pelted by sleet from the now-cloudy sky.

* * *

The Christmas party, which doubled as a birthday celebration for Choi Ji-woo and Baek Su-ah, ended in great success. Young Choi Ji-woo received far more gifts and congratulations than she had for the birthdays she spent before the world changed, and her father, Choi Jeong-woo, even shed tears. Baek Su-ah was also very shy, but she didn't seem to dislike it. And just like the two guests of honor, everyone in the shelter enjoyed themselves.

The party, which started in the cafeteria, continued into the lounge. After the children fell asleep, it concluded in the "shelter karaoke room" built in the basement of the main building, which Jun-ho had strongly pushed for. Although they knew what the outside world was like, the shelter members acted as if they had forgotten it and enjoyed themselves. And they were grateful for the fact that they were alive, and living in an environment of abundance that others couldn't even dare to imagine. And that gratitude and appreciation naturally turned toward Jun-ho, who had devoted everything to building this shelter for over two years.

However, Jun-ho, knowing that some people in the shelter still felt very intimidated by him, joined them only in the lounge before slipping away and heading to the workshop.

* * *

"Not bad." Jun-ho nodded as he inspected the G1 ground drones equipped with bulletproof plates. The G1 drones, which had gained some weight, now barely resembled children's electric cars. Not only was the structure changed, but they were covered with camouflage tarps suited for the season, so anyone would see them as "weapons" designed in this form from the start.

Moreover, depending on the situation, the G1 drones showed better capabilities than humans, even skilled combat troops. They were fearless, could maneuver faster, and had higher shooting accuracy than people. Of course, they had the weakness of lacking quick and immediate response capabilities and having an operating time of less than an hour.

"With this many..." Jun-ho looked at the 12 G1 drones with a satisfied expression. Of course, he couldn't deploy all 12 into battle at once. Unfortunately, the AI Akina, who operated these drones, was doing countless other tasks, and that remained true ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠during combat. Normally, simultaneous deployment was recommended for up to 4 units, and even if some systems were set to idle, 8 units were the limit.

Still, that was enough. He expected that even against regular troops or groups of looters using firearms, 3 or 4 units would show strong deterrent power. Especially against zombies, it was certain to be very effective in an environment like Gahyeon-ri. This was possible because they could infer the approximate locations and movement paths of the zombies, and above all, their numbers were much smaller than in the city.

"I'm counting on you from now on." Jun-ho muttered as he took a final look at the G1 drones, which had finished charging and were lined up in two rows, before leaving the workshop. Others were still at the party, but Jun-ho had to check on the bastards he had been intensively monitoring for two weeks today as well.

* * *

"How's the situation? But... what's with that look?"

"You're here? Ah, this?"

Yoon Young-su, who was wearing a red pointed hat for some unknown reason, had socks hanging next to his monitor, and was drinking non-alcoholic fruit wine with potato chips as a snack, took his feet off the desk.

"I've spent every Christmas like this. It's just fun. Hehe."

"...Right. Anyway, how's the development going?"

"I don't think there's any particular movement."

Yoon Young-su spoke while splitting the PTZ camera footage from the communication relay station, the Han-areum Nursing Home, and the newly created outpost near the reservoir onto the main monitor.

"It's snowing so much that it's hard to see beyond the thermal imaging range of the PTZ cameras. Should I launch a drone?"

"Stand by for now. If they move, we'll mobilize a large number of personnel, so they'll definitely be caught on the PTZ cameras."

The place Jun-ho cared about most and Yoon Young-su was intensively monitoring as soon as December arrived was the area of the Jung-dong natives that the bastards were targeting. The First Apartment side, led by Song Ki-jun, also seemed like something might explode between them and the Edutown Apartment survivors, but since they were all ordinary people and the weather had turned sharply cold, they weren't leaving their apartment buildings or the mart, so it seemed unlikely that anything would happen for the time being.

However, the Jung-dong natives were different. Above all, Jun-ho knew that although he didn't know the exact date, the two forces had clashed significantly between December 2024 and January 2025.

Beep... Beep... Beep....

At that moment, a low buff sound rang out.

"......!?"

Jun-ho and Yoon Young-su's heads turned to the main monitor at the same time.

"Young-su, drone."

"Yes, sir."

Tap-tap-tap! Tap! Following the crisp sound of the keyboard.

The two drones, which had been waiting after a full charge, left the drone airfield at the same time. It took about 20 minutes by car, but the drones, cruising along the closest flight path, arrived above the target point in about 5 minutes, and soon filmed the ground with a thermal imaging camera from an altitude of about 100 meters.

Listening to the cold, businesslike voice of the AI Akina, Jun-ho had a premonition. That today was the very day they would ascend to become the rulers of Gahyeon-ri. But he would go beyond stopping them; he would change the future of Gahyeon-ri.