Chapter 126. Kaesong Special City.
Chapter 126. Kaesong Special City.
The three days flew by in the blink of an eye, and the day of departure arrived. A mountain of luggage sat piled in front of the helicopter, and people were standing by.
"But if we're crossing the Military Demarcation Line, aren't there landmines and such?"
"Don't worry. There's a road paved all the way to Kaesong. In the past, we wouldn't have been able to use it, but now it's different."
I checked the map and found that the road was paved not only to Kaesong but all the way to Pyongyang.
"Most of the residents are living in North Pyongan, South Pyongan, and Pyongyang. And since those three are located close together, you only need to be cautious there."
"Yes, understood. Now, everyone, let's get ready!"
We loaded all the supplies into the subspace and boarded the helicopter one by one. The people remaining in the village saw us off, telling us to take care.
— Thwump-thwump-thwump-thwump!!!
The helicopter lifted off toward Paju with a deafening propeller noise. Suddenly, the Special Forces Commander, who had been seated, let out a dry chuckle and said:
"To think the day would come when I'd be infiltrating North Korea... It feels like I'm living in a completely different time."
The others must have felt the same way, because they burst out laughing at the Special Forces Commander's words.
"Is that so?"
"Yes, after all, special operations units don't usually handle that kind of mission."
Not long into the conversation, we soon arrived at Paju, and Mr. Chu's voice came through the helmet headset.
"We'll be landing at Panmunjom shortly."
We landed in a suitable clearing, and everyone got off to do a final check. The helicopter would be leaving soon, and since we had a long journey ahead, we examined everything more carefully than usual.
After the helicopter left, I took in the scene I had only ever seen on TV.
"So, back in the day, North Korean soldiers and South Korean soldiers were standing face-to-face right here, correct?"
"Yes, that's right. If you step over the concrete ledge right under your feet, you're in North Korea."
"Then let's go."
Every member of the party took exactly one step forward and entered North Korea. This must have been the spot where the apocalypse erupted into chaos and carnage while North and South stood staring each other down. On the South Korean side, there were corpses wearing North Korean uniforms, and on the North Korean side, corpses wearing South Korean uniforms.
"If we follow this road all the way on foot, it will take about five hours to reach Kaesong."
"Hmm... Is there any vehicle in decent shape around here?"
The weather was sweltering, so I thought about finding a vehicle. It didn't matter to me, but for them, the heat was a major factor that would drain their stamina.
'After all, finding a car in North Korea would be difficult...'
"If we look around, there might be vehicles belonging to military officers or military-use vehicles, but since they haven't been driven in a long time, the batteries could be dead."
"But we need to go all the way to Pyongyang, and walking there won't be easy."
"We'll try to find one first."
Perhaps because it's a border area with an extremely small civilian population, the number of zombies and corpses was very low.
Fortunately, there was a garage and a parking lot nearby. We needed a vehicle that could carry everyone at once, so we ignored the parking lot and headed straight for the garage.
"Found it!"
At that, everyone headed over and found a two-and-a-half-ton truck that could fit the entire group. In the driver's seat was a soldier who hadn't managed to escape, turned into a zombie with his seatbelt still fastened. Concerned about the interior getting dirty, we opened the door, pulled the zombie out, and safely dispatched it.
Examining the corpse, we saw bite marks on the forearm. He'd likely gotten into the vehicle to escape while bitten, then turned into a zombie.
"But is there anyone here who knows how to drive this thing?"
"Don't worry. I know how to drive it."
"Mr. Chu, can you drive something like this too?"
"I got my heavy-vehicle license back in the day. I actually drove something like this during my military service."
"Great. Then we'll drive as far as the fuel lasts and then continue on foot from there."
The key was in the ignition, and after confirming that the engine started up normally, we set off.
"There really is nothing here..."
Driving along the road, the scenery was vastly different from South Korea — there were no large buildings. In less than an hour, we arrived at Kaesong Special City. Naturally, here too, there were extremely few zombies.
"By the way, in the old days, wasn't there the Kaesong Industrial Complex and all that? Weren't there quite a few people?"
"It's been quite a long time since the Kaesong Industrial Complex ceased operations."
— Psssshhh...
"Damn... As expected, after not being inspected for so long, the truck looks like it can't go any further."
There's still some fuel, but it seems like something internally — either the battery or the engine — has developed a problem. We hadn't planned to use a vehicle in the first place, so we didn't bring any proper repair tools.
"Still, unlike what we saw on the way here, there are quite a few buildings in this area, aren't there?"
Most of the buildings were factories, but because operations had halted and maintenance hadn't been done properly, they were heavily dilapidated and damaged.
However, as we moved further into North Korea, I noticed something slightly odd about the sights we were seeing.
"How is it that there's not a single zombie?"
The others, upon hearing my muttering, spoke up as if they too found something strange.
"I know, right... How...?"
"No matter how much operations have stopped and the place has been shut down, isn't it weird that there's not a single zombie?"
"..."
It was definitely strange. Looking around, there even seemed to be a school here, but there wasn't a single trace of people.
Even if the soldiers had wiped out all the zombies on orders from the North Korean command, there should have been signs of damage somewhere from the gunfire that would have occurred in the process.
'Aside from the facilities being run-down, there's no trace like that...?'
Of course, it's not that there are no corpses at all. But apart from a few that had been dead for a long time and were already decaying, there were none.
"We don't know the situation outside this area yet, but we should proceed under the assumption that all North Korean military forces are concentrated in Pyongyang."
"In that case, it will take far less time than we initially expected."
"If we walked from here, the simple travel time alone would be about thirty hours."
"Then, if we assume walking eight hours a day, three to four days should be enough."
Walking eight hours a day wasn't hard for us, all Awakened Ones, but there was no reason to rush when the total travel time had already been drastically reduced.
— Fweet!
I whistled to call Kkamangi. Wherever I went, Kkamangi always kept a moderate distance and flew high above, never straying far.
— Screeee!
"Good."
Even though I always pet him at home until my hand went numb, he never got tired of it — whenever I called him, he'd rub his beak against my cheek.
"Kkamangi, don't go too far. Can you check and see if there are any zombies around here?"
— Scree!
Perched on my arm, he let out a loud, confident cry and flapped his wings.
— Shwaaaaaaa!!!
With a sound of air being sliced apart, he shot up into the sky at incredible speed.
"We'll probably know soon enough."
He always looked like a cute, affectionate eagle, but when he used mana and flew at full speed, he was a creature that exceeded the velocity of a fighter jet.
"While we wait, let's get ready to eat."
It was hard to believe we were having a meal in the middle of an operation, but we pulled out folding chairs and a table and got the food ready. Just about when the meal preparation was finished, Kkamangi returned.
"Kkamangi, were there any zombies or people around?"
— Chirp! Chirp!
He shook his head to indicate no. The 'surroundings' I mentioned were quite a long distance by Kkamangi's standards. But he was saying there was no one in that range.
"No one...?"
— Chirp!
This time, he nodded up and down as if to confirm I was right. I praised him for his hard work by petting his head, and we started our meal.
"If it's like this, it could be a fairly powerful Awakened One, or perhaps a being from Titan."
"Representative, is it unusual that there's nothing around?"
"Yes, think about it. Not just zombies — there are no corpses, and no signs of destruction. Isn't that strange?"
"Indeed... just as you said, there are no traces of battle."
"Then it's either an Awakened One so strong that there was no need to leave combat traces, or something that came from Titan."
I was almost 100 percent certain it was the latter. In the first place, awakening required something like an Origin Essence, and there was no way anyone in North Korea could have accomplished a feat worthy of that.
"What about a dictator of a nation or someone with considerable power — wouldn't that be possible?"
"That's also true. But I doubt the dictator here has achieved anything greater than that."
The guy we captured clearly mentioned that Comrade Chairman had a teacher.
"If it's a being from Titan, do you have someone in mind, Representative?"
"If there's a being capable of this, regardless of combat strength..."
"..."
"...Something like a Celestial or a Demon, beings that can overturn human ideology and beliefs in an instant...?"
"You mean like those demon-like bastards that appeared last time?"
"I'm leaning more toward the possibility of a Celestial."
Demons do use strategy and tactics, but they aren't the type to scheme behind a dictator's back like this. Rather, this is the Celestials' way of doing things.
"Of course, there are also peculiar Demons and Celestials who live like humans and are treated as oddities by their own kind."
"If it's Celestials, then why are they doing this...?"
"Celestials grow stronger the more worship they receive. Simply put, the more people believe in their religion, the more powerful they become."
"..."
I actually think Demons are better than Celestials. Real Celestials are insane. They're steeped in bizarre beliefs and are extremely fanatical. They're so mad that it's almost an insult to compare them to Earth's cultists.
"To give an example, there are those who, claiming enlightenment, burn a child to death in front of its parents."
"Huh..."
They subtly gaslight humans. No matter how high a person's self-esteem or how solid their identity, they slowly dye them by weaving mana into their words. The initial doubts gradually fade, and before long, the person stops questioning their words and simply accepts them.
"So the moment you meet them, if they start spouting bullshit, pull the trigger on their skulls without hesitation."
Because by the time you start to question their words and grow suspicious, it'll already be too late.