The Forced Awakening
"I'm heading out now. Tell Jun-hyeok and the others to stay in the shelter, fully armed and on standby."
"Wait, sir? All by yourself?" Yun Yeong-su asked, startled. Jun-ho, who had just risen from his seat, answered calmly.
"It’s going to be a chaotic melee. A lot of zombies will be drawn in, too. In situations like this, being alone is much better. Also, get in touch with the Hanalreum Nursing Home and The First Apartments. Tell them something big is about to go down today."
"Understood."
In the timeline before his regression, the Hanalreum Nursing Home had already been destroyed long ago, and The First Apartments were on the verge of collapse as gangsters looted their mart, killing or dragging away the people who tried to defend it. But now, they were all safe and sound.
"Yeongsu, tell Song Ki-jun to gather everyone who can move right now and stand by."
Because the residents of The First Apartments were all safe—having avoided being trampled by the survivors of Edu Town Buildings 1 and 2 after the mart was looted—he could now mobilize Song Ki-jun, a 'leader' already proven in his past life, much more actively.
"When I give the signal, tell them to move along the back road of the mart toward the townhouse complex and the detached houses without asking any questions. Tell them if they don't, there won't be any support in the future."
Today, he would become the 'Liberator' of Gahyeon-ri alongside them.
Jun-ho, who could no longer feel the effects of alcohol even after drinking the same amount of soju as he had beer, quickly changed clothes in his room and geared up. Because it was the dead of winter, he wore the same matte black Bike Suit he had left at the Bucheon House. The suit, reinforced with hardened plastic on the joints—knees, shins, and elbows—as well as the back, shoulders, and chest, guaranteed safety against zombie bites. Once he pulled on his leather tactical gloves and donned the helmet modified to mount night-vision goggles, he had almost nothing to fear from the zombies. Of course, if he were surrounded and pinned down by dozens of them, it would be the end, but that was a risk he was prepared for.
Wearing a tactical vest with ballistic panels over his bike suit, Jun-ho picked up his AR-15 for the first time in a while. He packed seven magazines in total, including the one loaded in the rifle, and holstered his Glock 17 with four 9mm magazines onto his tactical belt. After meticulously checking his drawing knife, Commando Dagger, and machete, Jun-ho pulled his helmet down, descended the stairs, and exited the main building.
"Ferdy!"
Woof! Ferdy, who had been waiting outside the kennel since hearing Jun-ho’s footsteps on the stairs, quickly followed behind him. The dog, already wearing a ballistic vest for the winter, hopped into the back seat of the Bionic 5 armored vehicle. Jun-ho hitched a small trailer to the back of the vehicle and sent a transmission to Yun Yeong-su.
"Let's take two G1s."
Soon, two G1 Drones from the workshop scurried over, and Jun-ho loaded them and a rapid charger into the trailer.
Whirrr...! The armored vehicle, which hadn't been out much lately due to the multipurpose electric car, let out a motor hum as it cut across the snowy hiking trail behind the shelter.
> We're taking a wide detour, bypassing the villa village and the factory area.
> Whoa, so that's why you cleared out the zombies there earlier.
> We should reach the national highway in 5 minutes. Near the crosswalk with the butcher shop and convenience store. The zombies that were on the road and in the area have mostly moved into the buildings; there are hardly any left.
"There were three confirmed Alpha groups in that area, right?"
The number of Alphas estimated to have emerged in Gahyeon-ri was roughly 10 to 20. After long hours of monitoring the 4-lane national highway cutting through Gahyeon-ri, Yun Yeong-su and the AI Akina had identified the 'territories' of four of them and the approximate size of their hordes.
> Yes. The territories of Alphas B, C, and D are in Jung-dong.
"And C and D have the largest numbers, and their territories are quite close to the elementary school."
> That's right. Both are within 200 meters.
The territories of Alphas C and D, each estimated to be controlling at least 200 'slaves' by now, were situated right next to the area containing Gahyeon Elementary School—which the largest survivor group in Gahyeon-ri had secured recently—along with several nearby houses and shops.
Kee-ing... Jun-ho, having just passed the secret tunnel’s iron gate and entered the industrial road, turned the steering wheel and continued the communication.
"Send the drone following me 200 meters ahead of the vehicle. And let me know as soon as you find a suitable spot to hide the vehicle in Hadong."
> Understood. Since it's nighttime and snowing heavily, the drone is flying at a low altitude of 100 meters. With the wind blowing, no one without exceptional hearing would be able to detect the drone's noise at that height.
> No threats detected. There's a house with a blue gate 300 meters ahead. I'll mark it on your map now. The thicket with several large trees next to it is perfect.
As Jun-ho slowly moved the armored vehicle to the spot Yun Yeong-su indicated, he found it was indeed perfect for hiding a car, thanks to the three large trees and brush that had grown over a meter high. Jun-ho parked, stepped out with Ferdy, and unloaded the G1 Drones from the trailer.
Whirrr... Soon, the two drones received the wireless signal and aligned themselves beside Jun-ho, escorting him with a low hum.
"Move to 30 meters ahead of me on both sides of the lane."
Whirrr. As if they understood his words, the drones began to move. Soon, the drones reached the edges of the 4-lane national highway and advanced at a speed similar to a human walking.
> Sir, Akina has linked the flight drone with the G1s.
When the flight drone first spots a threat with its camera, that information is transmitted to Jun-ho's earpiece, tablet, and the G1s. Then, Jun-ho and the G1s prepare to respond simultaneously; once the camera mounted on Jun-ho's helmet and the G1's camera both recognize the target, they launch an attack.
"Moving out. Maintain distance."
One flight drone, two ground attack drones, and one man with his dog began their move toward the heart of Gahyeon-ri.
"Ah, goddamn it. We've killed so many, yet they're still here."
Han Chang-oh, who had been firing his air rifle for a long time, muttered a curse while switching air tanks. In the last few months, he had killed nearly 300 zombies while patrolling this area. But like cockroaches that kept appearing no matter how many you crushed, four or five—sometimes up to a dozen—zombies would pop out from factories, houses, and villas, as if they had been hiding in the cracks.
Kyahhh! Kack!
"Block them! The ones in the back, stab!"
Even though it was winter, the vanguard, wearing thick clothing and holding shields made of planks or aluminum, blocked the monsters. Then, the personnel right behind them would finish them off by stabbing their heads with pipe spears wrapped tightly with awls or kitchen knives.
"Ughhh!?"
"Ugh, that idiot..."
Occasionally, someone would fall, unable to withstand the mindless force of the zombies' charge.
"Stab! Stab!"
"I wasn't bitten!"
The combat squad of over 30 people calmly took down the zombies and saved their comrades. However, the combat that had continued for over 30 minutes while moving had exhausted the people, who were already wearing thick, heavy clothing.
"Hey, tell them to take a break."
"Yes. Alright, 10-minute break."
At Han Chang-oh's command, the men slumped to the ground. As white puffs of breath rose from their heavy panting, 10 people who hadn't participated in the fighting formed pairs to stand guard. Once the break was over, they would be the ones to take up shields or spears and move to the front. This was the method by which they had been able to clear out the zombies around the detached houses and townhouse complex without much sacrifice.
"Damn, even this backwater village is like this, so Mokuri or the new cities must be a total mess."
"You idiot. You can't use our method in places like that. Hundreds or thousands would jump out at once; how would you deal with them?"
"Ha, I guess you're right. Hehe."
The employee laughed awkwardly at Han Chang-oh's words.
"It's only possible here, in a backwater like this. Besides, I don't know what would happen if we even went into the middle of Jung-dong."
Han Chang-oh pointed toward the busiest part of Gahyeon-ri, where 30 or 40 large and small buildings lined the national highway, and continued.
"It's a relief that the zombie bastards crawled into the buildings because it got cold. A couple of months ago, I wouldn't have even thought about going there. Anyway, once the break is over, rotate the personnel and move out immediately. From here on, keep the noise to a minimum."
"Yes."
"But damn, why is everyone so weak? Are they sick chickens or something?"
When Han Chang-oh expressed his annoyance at the sight of the people slumped on the ground with their shoulders drooping, the employee said cautiously,
"That's because... for the past few days, we've only been giving them one proper meal a day and potatoes for the other. They say if this continues, the food will run out within a month."
"Ha... damn it."
They had planted potatoes and sweet potatoes in the greenhouses or small vinyl greenhouses of the detached houses and townhouses, but they would have to wait another three or four months to harvest them. Moreover, since they couldn't guarantee that would feed over 80 people, they had to secure food somehow.
That was why Han Chang-sik had decided to raid the settlement of the Jung-dong natives today. Some of the natives who had lived in Gahyeon-ri for a long time still farmed their fields, and their houses almost always had low-temperature storage units. Most of all, there was the Nonghyup Mart on the national highway, which was usually stocked with rice, as well as three or four fairly large convenience stores and supermarkets. Even if the convenience stores and supermarkets were already looted, they had clearly seen the residents occupying the elementary school moving rice bags to and from the Nonghyup Mart, which was only 50 meters away from the school.
It meant that, if nothing else, there was definitely rice.
"Tell them to hang in there a little longer. If we succeed today, everyone can eat their fill. Besides... if we work those village bastards to the bone, we can secure other food even faster."
"That's true. Hehe."
The people they had captured or recruited while touring the detached houses and townhouse complex were already divided into classes. Therefore, the residents of Jung-dong—those village people—were 'slaves' for sure. They would get food and slaves; it was killing two birds with one stone.
"Let's get moving. Ugh! Damn, it stings even more because it's cold."
Han Chang-oh, who was dusting himself off as he stood up, rubbed his shoulder. The wound from the sword and arrow he had taken a couple of months ago had almost healed, but sometimes it would ache like this. However, Han Chang-oh only spat out curses; he didn't mention the name of the person who had done this to him.
'Was he from special forces? He was definitely someone who had been professionally trained to kill people. Damn it...'"
Even Han Chang-oh, who prided himself on having lived a long life as a 'half-gangster' closer to a thug, still felt a chill whenever he thought of the man known as the 'Mansion Slayer'.
"Fucking hell... Ptooey."
Han Chang-oh spat out phlegm as if to shake off the fear and followed the others. Soon, they passed through a narrow alley where small factories were clustered, reached the national highway, and after crossing the road quickly but quietly in groups of five or six, they arrived at a spot where the elementary school gate was visible. And a drone hovering 120 meters above was watching all of them—Han Chang-oh and the 30 armed people.
Jun-ho, who was walking while monitoring their movement path on his tablet, parted his lips.
"G1 Unit 1, have you reached your position?"
> Yes. Just arrived.
"Then fire."
> Roger.
One G1 drone, which had already moved near Gahyeon Elementary School, fired at the school's windows.
Clatter! Crash!
The sound of the windows shattering from the tungsten rounds rang out loudly. As the windows of the main building's first floor, which the survivors used as a warehouse, and the cafeteria building next to it were broken, light began to leak out from between the curtains in various places on the second floor, where the living quarters were. The people residing in the elementary school had been woken up instantly.
> Forced awakening.
"Yeah. The problem is, it wasn't just the people who were forcibly awakened."
G1 Unit 1 hadn't just shot at the elementary school. Crash! Clatter! The windows of nearby houses and buildings, which surveillance had confirmed were unoccupied, were continuously shattered. Because those places were extremely close to the territories of Alphas C and D,
> They're coming out! You see the tutoring academy building occupied by Alpha C? There are dozens... no, over a hundred of them. Oh, Alpha C is coming out too!
> They're coming out of the villa village in Alpha D's territory too... Si, sir, there are too many!
"I know. I'm watching it too."
The Jung-dong national highway seen through the night-vision goggles. A significant number of zombies burst out from the first floor of the commercial building where the academy occupied the second and third floors, and began running toward the elementary school. And other zombies, who didn't receive instructions from an Alpha but had followed their instincts to enter the buildings as soon as the temperature dropped, also heard the noise and began running outside one by one.