The Reconstruction
Jun-ho met the gaze of the five pairs of eyes fixed on him, one by one, and continued. "We need to establish a defensive line centered around this elementary school, connecting the houses and buildings immediately adjacent to it. Like this."
At Jun-ho's signal, Jun-hyeok pulled out a tablet and placed it on the table. On the screen was a satellite map of Gahyeon-ri, with a radius of about 300 meters centered on Gahyeon Elementary School marked in green.
"Excluding single-family homes, there are 21 villa and apartment buildings. Within this range, we have a Nonghyup Mart, a pharmacy, a car repair shop, an industrial workshop, and a hardware store. There are also factories for mold injection, furniture manufacturing, and press processing. We have companies specializing in mechanical equipment, construction facilities, and electricity. There’s even a computer shop and a gas station."
"Whoa…."
Everyone’s mouths hung open. It was as if he knew this place better than they did—the natives who had lived in Gahyeon-ri for decades.
"Furthermore, there are six vacant lots or fields the size of this school playground. Across the national highway, there are tennis and soccer courts. Do you understand what this means?"
The survivor representatives were too stunned to speak, but the only woman who hadn't taken her eyes off Jun-ho since he entered the principal's office raised her hand and spoke cautiously.
"Um… doesn't it mean we can produce the things necessary for people to live properly? Like farming on the empty land?"
"Correct. If you don't mind, what is your name?"
"I'm Jeong Seon-mi. I'm a teacher at the kindergarten attached to this elementary school."
"Yes, Ms. Jeong Seon-mi. Anyway, it's exactly as you said. In short."
To the survivor representatives—some still in shock, others like Kim Seok-hwan lost in thought while staring at the tablet screen—Jun-ho spoke with conviction.
"Starting from the points marked on this map, you all must rebuild Gahyeon-ri."
"Rebuild… us?"
"Yes. First, please look at the map. Jun-hyeok."
As Jun-hyeok placed two more tablets down, Kim Seok-hwan looked at one alone, while the other four shared the remaining two.
"Within the green marked area, you will see several zones drawn with red lines."
"Oh, I see. Wait… this is…."
As Kim Seok-hwan looked up, having realized something, Jun-ho nodded.
"Yes. They are all roads or alleys leading to this elementary school. And the length of each red line is actually about 100 meters."
"Is there some significance to that?"
"Yes, there is. That’s roughly the distance at which a zombie cannot perceive a person, even if it sees them."
"Excuse me?"
"W-what does that…."
To the bewildered representatives, Jun-ho continued his explanation.
"It varies by individual, but it's usually 100 to 120 meters. Unless they make a loud noise or see a person moving first, if you stay still, the zombie won't perceive you at that distance."
"Is that true?"
"Yes. It is a proven fact."
Even before his regression, the fact that zombies wouldn't attack a person standing perfectly still at a distance of 100 to 120 meters was discovered surprisingly late. This was because, realistically, it was extremely rare in South Korea to find a place where there were no people within a 100-meter radius of a residence. Especially in the metropolitan area or even in provincial 'cities,' it was virtually impossible. Of course, survivors in rural areas figured this out relatively quickly, but by then, communications were cut off and movement was impossible. Therefore, this fact only became known to urban survivors nearly half a year after the apocalypse began. At this point in time, only a tiny fraction of survivors living in sparsely populated rural areas would have roughly caught on.
"Zombie eyes are grayish-white, right? That’s probably why their vision is poor. It’s not for nothing that they don't move well at night. However, their hearing is the same as when they were human. So, you must be careful with sound."
"Ah…."
"Anyway, you need to pile obstacles along the red lines marked on the map. Containers are best, but since that's difficult in reality, cars or large furniture would be good."
"A-and then, pile obstacles again at 100-meter intervals?"
"Yes. Then they won't be able to see you, and unless you make a very loud noise, it's difficult for them to hear you either. Naturally, the people living inside the double defensive line will be safe. Of course…."
Jun-ho looked around at the survivor representatives with a slightly hardened face.
"Alphas are different."
"Alphas…?"
"Yes. The very first ones, the ones who turned into zombies without even being bitten."
"Ah…!"
They knew about them from broadcasts and YouTube videos before power and communications were cut off. People who became zombies after being infected by an airborne virus due to unknown genetic factors.
"In foreign countries, they called them 'Novi,' right? Is that correct?"
"Non-Organic Bio-Infestation. In the US, they took the first letters and called them Novi. Anyway, these Alphas have intelligence and know how to express emotions. You can think of them as cunning beasts. They know how to open doors and can climb over walls. The most dangerous thing is that these Alphas can give orders to other zombies."
"Huh!?"
"C-crazy…!"
To the horrified people, Jun-ho calmly continued.
"If you watch animal documentaries, you see leaders of predator packs like wolves or lions, right? You can think of it as almost the same. But these zombie Alphas get stronger the more people they eat, so the number of zombies they can control increases."
"Ah…."
The faces of the survivor representatives turned pale. They finally realized that the target they had to fight and overcome to survive was not simply a monster that ran and chased people to eat them.
"However, in a place like Gahyeon-ri, the population is small, so the Alphas haven't eaten that many people. So, the zombies they control right now are at most a few hundred."
Of course, Alphas who had survived in the city for a long time were different. He didn't know where their limits were, but Jun-ho had seen and experienced Alphas controlling 2,000 to 3,000 people before his regression. But there was no need to worry about such real monsters right now.
"Anyway, I took care of many of those Alphas yesterday, but you never know. That’s why the defensive lines must be installed with metal like barbed wire or sharpened steel pipes. The height must be at least 4 or 5 meters."
"W-will we be safe then?"
"Yes. It will be even safer if you station guards armed with guns or bows at the secondary defensive line. So."
Jun-ho pointed his finger at the red line on the tablet Kim Seok-hwan was looking at and said firmly.
"It will be tough for everyone, but starting this work right now is important. Of course, before that, we should first conduct a census of the population capable of working. Then, while doing the defensive line work, we will search the houses within this range one by one to find survivors and deal with the trapped zombies."
"Ah…."
At Jun-ho's words, the survivor representatives were flustered. But no one said they didn't want to or couldn't do it. Unless they were fools, they knew that doing as Jun-ho said was the best, and effectively the only, way for them to 'survive' safely.
"I want you to investigate right now how many people survived, how many are capable of working, and how many can fight zombies or people if equipped with gear. You can tell Mr. Song Ki-jun here."
At Jun-ho's words, Song Ki-jun, who had been wearing an open-face motorcycle helmet and a mask, pulled down his mask and stepped forward.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Song Ki-jun. I'm a resident of The First Apartments over there. Like you all, I survived thanks to Mr. Lee Jun-ho's help. Since then, I've cleared out a lot of zombies while patrolling our apartment complex and the Jung-dong area here. Yesterday, we fought against the thugs from the detached houses. I look forward to working with you."
Seeing Song Ki-jun, a fellow Gahyeon-ri resident, bowing his head, the expressions of the survivor representatives brightened a little.
"For reference, Mr. Song Ki-jun is the representative of the residents who survived at The First Apartments. We will clear out Edu Town soon, and Mr. Song Ki-jun will be the representative there as well. He has great trust from the residents, and he is the only person who has fought alongside me and is easy to communicate with."
At Jun-ho's words, Kim Seok-hwan nodded slightly. With the experience of having been a village head for over 10 years, he realized from Jun-ho's words that he considered Song Ki-jun the 'overall representative' of Gahyeon-ri.
"I'm Kim Seok-hwan. You're a young man, but you're spirited and full of drive. So, have you lived here for a long time?"
"Yes. I moved in as soon as the apartments were built, so it's been 8 years already. My child was born here, too."
"Oh my, then you're a local. Nice to meet you, nice to meet you."
"Did many people survive at The First, too? Oh, by the way, I run a pork cutlet shop in the Sang-dong commercial district."
"E-excuse me."
Just then, Jeong Seon-mi, who had been quiet, stepped forward.
"Yes. Ms. Jeong Seon-mi, is there something you'd like to say?"
"It's nothing else, but I was wondering if our children are safe… there are some children who live at The First Apartments."
At her words, everyone became solemn. It wasn't just her thoughtfulness in caring for young children in this chaos, but because there was no way children could be safe in a world where even adults found it hard to survive. However, Jun-ho and Song Ki-jun were different.
"The children are likely safe."
"Oh? That's right. Children of kindergarten or daycare age are better off than adults."
"Huh?"
"What does that…?"
It was an expected reaction, as it was a rural area with an older population and few children, and since it was vacation season, they wouldn't have seen the children often. Jun-ho immediately added.
"I didn't explain that part. Zombies don't see children with small bodies and less developed intelligence as food… or rather, as people."
"W-what!?"
"Have you ever seen zombies catching and eating animals like dogs or cats?"
"I don't think I have?"
"Oh, now that you mention it…?"
"I haven't seen it either."
At Jun-ho's question, the representatives flinched and tilted their heads.
"Yes. You won't see it. Because zombies only attack people. And among the little children who haven't reached elementary school age, they don't even see those up to about five or six years old as people."
That was the reason why Choi Jeong-woo, who had fled with his daughter Choi Ji-woo before the regression, had died alone inside the tunnel.
"The reason many children died is because they didn't have guardians. Because it's hard for young children to live alone."
"Ah…."
Therefore, although he didn't know about the Kim Ha-yun siblings who were together, Jun-ho could guarantee that Choi Ji-woo wouldn't have died or become a zombie at that scene. Of course, now that her father had passed away, it would have been difficult for that little child to survive alone, but still.
"There are some children here, too, right?"
"Yes! Including elementary school students, there are about twenty of them."
At Jeong Seon-mi's answer, who seemed to have gained a bit of strength, Jun-ho turned his head.
"What about The First Apartments? Aren't there quite a few children like Dae-woo?"
"That's right. Including our Dae-woo, there are about five or six in our building alone, and if you include the other buildings, I think there are over twenty."
"Hmm…."
Lost in thought for a moment, Jun-ho soon made a decision and said.
"The work of building the defensive lines will be done mainly by women and those over 50, and the men will go from house to house to rescue survivors first. Even if the parents have become zombies in the house, if they are about five or six years old, they might have survived by finding food on their own."
"Let's do that. We have to save people first."
"That's right. They're just children, too…."
Watching the reaction of the representatives, Jun-ho was inwardly satisfied. Not only had they not lost their humanity yet, but above all, there wasn't a single 'villain' among them. Jun-ho knew all too well how much of a headache a single selfish villain could be in an apocalypse and what kind of negative impact they could have on the entire group.
Therefore.
'Glad I didn't have to see blood.'
Thinking that he might have to send one person to the afterlife if things went wrong, Jun-ho finally comfortably lifted his hand, which he had kept near the handle of his machete.
* * *
There were a total of 163 survivors in Jung-dong who had been staying at Gahyeon Elementary School and nearby villas. Since there was a Nonghyup Mart and, due to the nature of this region, most households held at least two months' worth of food, they could at least survive without major problems regarding food.
Out of the 163 people, excluding the sick and the elderly, about 120 were capable of labor. Although there were many in their 60s, most were as healthy as those in their 50s, and their health condition wasn't bad either. Above all, because their will to 'work' was great, they were deployed to build defensive lines with the women and to create waterways to draw water from the stream flowing along the national highway.
And most of the men aged 18 and over who were still in the civil defense age range were mobilized for 'search and extermination.' Since it was winter, the clothes they wore were thick, and after wrapping their faces with scarves or torn jeans, they were armed with weapons and armor made from things found in hardware stores, workshops, and various factories within the 'defensive line range.' If they moved in groups of five, they were fully capable of dealing with three or four zombies.
Above all, because drones were constantly flying and monitoring, and Jun-ho and the members of Our Shelter had wiped out about 80 percent of the zombies in Jung-dong, the possibility of being attacked by zombies on the street was significantly lowered.
So, the search and extermination squad members used a method of checking for the presence of zombies by making loud noises before entering a house or building, and then entering with shields made of wood, reinforced plastic, or aluminum to kill the zombies. As Jun-ho had guaranteed, having experienced firsthand before his regression that this method worked extremely well in rural areas, they performed the feat of searching all houses and buildings within 100 meters of the elementary school in just three days, rescuing over 200 survivors and workers for the Gahyeon-ri reconstruction project.
And in the meantime, Jun-ho went back and forth between the shelter and Gahyeon Elementary School, occasionally participating in zombie search and extermination, and also became somewhat accustomed to his 'advanced' body.
It was questionable whether he should still be called a human, considering he could run 100 meters in 8 seconds, had a combined strength of 700 kilograms, a grip strength of 90 kilograms, and a kick power that easily exceeded 1 ton.