Chapter 93. The National Assembly Speaker.

I kept watching. Like a little kid watching ants to see what they were up to.

As expected of trash like him, he survived by throwing his followers to the zombies as bait. Then he muttered to himself about his plans for revenge, and at some point—whatever he was imagining—his crotch bulged all on its own. I lost interest in just watching, so I revealed myself to the bastard.

"Well, I don't think you'll be getting that revenge."

At the sudden voice from behind, the bastard spun around in a panic and stared at me.

"Y-You... How did you...!"

"Strange, isn't it? How those zombies managed to follow you. It's not like they had a navigation system."

I snickered, rubbing it in right to his face.

"Th-This was all your doing...?"

"I'm starting to get bored, so I came to wrap things up."

"Y-You said you'd at least spare my life!! Why?!"

"I never said I'd spare you. I only told you to run."

I didn't even bother to answer him properly. I just said what I wanted to say, as if talking to myself for him to hear.

"Human potential is limitless. Especially when a person is driven by sheer venom—sometimes that kind of potential can even create miracles. I'm not the kind of person to leave even a speck of a possibility like that lying around."

Even a massive elephant can die from being bitten by a tiny venomous snake. Of course, the gap between me and that bastard isn't even comparable, but still.

"There's no way a piece of shit like you could cause me any harm, but you never know."

— Slice.

When I finally cut his throat, the look on his face was one of serene acceptance, as if he'd realized it was all over.

"Anyway, where am I?"

I hadn't even figured out where I was—I'd been too absorbed in watching him—so I had no idea where this place was. Looking around the building the bastard had gone into, there was barely any sign of corpses or bloodstains, to the point I wondered if anyone had been there at all.

"Looks like an office building... No one's here."

I went up to the top floor, which looked like the CEO's office. A small note had been left there.

- Father is thinking of heading to Busan. An acquaintance of his apparently works there. If you happen to see this note, come here.

Alongside the note, a detailed address was written.

"If this address is right... it would be a military base..."

Whether by coincidence or not, it seemed I had yet another link to Busan. Still, heading there from here just because an acquaintance lives in Busan seemed a bit odd. With the apocalypse breaking out, the roads were paralyzed and traffic was completely jammed due to the zombies flooding the streets; I wasn't sure if it was even possible to get to Busan.

I casually crumpled the note ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'd been reading and shoved it in my pocket, then headed back to the village. Things had apparently been sorted out to some degree—people had gone back to their own tasks, and the rest of the group was waiting for me.

"Representative, if by any chance they try anything funny..."

"I guarantee you, there's absolutely no chance they'll try anything funny against our village."

I cut him off mid-sentence and made it clear there was nothing to worry about. The ones who might have caused trouble were already dead, so it wasn't a lie. He seemed to sense as much, and didn't ask any more questions.

"Anyway, what's the status on the East Sea?"

"Ah, don't worry. We've already spoken with the Chief of Staff, and they said they'll send a helicopter soon."

"Right, speaking of which..."

I handed over the note I'd put in my pocket and said:

"While I was watching those bastards and checking out the building they went into, I happened to see this note."

He looked at the note, then muttered to himself, "Busan, huh..."

"It's a coincidence, but it's kind of amazing how we keep getting tied up with Busan, isn't it?"

"In movies or novels, when things get tangled up like this, something always seems to happen..."

"You read novels, Mr. President?"

"Heh, I'm only human. When I'm bored, I watch dramas to kill time."

While we were chatting about nothing in particular, I heard a call coming in for the President. Since I was standing right next to him, I naturally listened in.

"They're sending a helicopter soon; would you like to come along, Representative?"

I didn't have anything else to do, so I nodded in agreement. Over there, a few special forces members who were going along as escorts were checking their weapons, just in case.

"You'll be back soon, then?"

"Yes, we'll be back before late afternoon. There's nothing else to do, and we're just going there and back to pick people up."

I told them to contact me when the commander arrived, and then headed home.

In the yard, Chaeyeon, Jia, and my mother-in-law were playing with Kkamangi using a leather ball they'd made so he wouldn't get bored.

'Good grief, they've completely shredded the leather...'

Come to think of it, considering that, Kkamangi must have been playing relatively carefully. He's got the strength to crush a human body with his claws, so it's a relief that only the leather got torn.

The moment he saw me open the gate and walk in, Kkamangi flew over and landed on my shoulder.

"Are you a little ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠heavier...?"

— Skreee!!

Maybe upset at being called heavier, he was chewing on my earlobe, chomping down over and over. Watching that, the others must have found it funny, because they all smiled slightly.

"Heehee, Sihu, you can't just go asking if someone's gained weight!"

"Hm..."

I scooped him up, slid my hand under his belly, and kneaded the flab there. He flapped his wings and squirmed in my arms.

— Skreeeeech!! Chomp!

"Whoa, that bite was pretty serious."

I set Kkamangi back down on the ground, and since I'd actually spent the previous night out, I went inside the house, took a shower, and passed the time.

After resting, the sun was blazing high in the afternoon when I got word that they'd arrived. At my word, the girls changed clothes and we headed to the makeshift helicopter landing pad.

— Whup-whup-whup-whup!!!

The helicopter landed and the door opened; the people inside disembarked one by one. Looking at those who got off, they were dressed in somewhat neater uniforms than before.

"Attention! Salute!"

"Phil... Seung...!"

The President, as commander-in-chief, returned the salute and shook hands with each of them, commending their hard work. Then we took them to the village assembly hall.

"Heh heh... Given the circumstances, we're using the assembly hall as our meeting place. Please understand, Commander."

"Not at all!"

Perhaps because they were all former military, a few people quickly set up things like a beam projector. And a few quick-witted ones prepared tea and coffee.

"First of all, since you already know about the Busan situation, I'll brief you on other matters."

Just like when we first met, the Chief Advisor came forward and started the briefing.

"Right now, they are trying to elect their own representative through an internal vote. They've already been rescuing many Busan citizens, and their approval rating..."

"Wait, this isn't the old military junta days. A self-organized vote—is that even possible right now?"

"With facilities already destroyed, they have no way of getting news, and they've already accepted it as fact that the President is dead."

"I don't know the details, but if something like that happens, isn't the Prime Minister supposed to act as substitute? How could a mere general do that..."

"The Prime Minister is already dead, and they have the Speaker of the National Assembly with them."

"Wait, the National Assembly isn't even in Busan. Why is he there?"

Additionally, I was told that the Speaker had been in Busan to help with an election campaign. Furthermore, we haven't yet determined whether ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Speaker is voluntarily helping the Busan faction or is being detained and used as a figurehead. If it's the latter, it wouldn't matter, but if it's the former, it's a real headache. And as far as I know, the Speaker is clearly...

"Isn't the Speaker supposed to be neutral in party activities during their term?"

"Ahem... It's a case of turning a blind eye to it..."

'Well, it's not like this is anything new...'

"Our scenario is that at first they might have opposed it, but after calculating the overall benefits for themselves, they may have turned their backs on us."

"The world changed, and they switched lines to the side that benefits them..."

"Yes..."

"We can't just leave the fleet behind and come with only our bodies."

If they have any brains at all, they'll do some reconnaissance, and if they confirm the fleet is unmanned, they'll think it's a free buffet and snatch up the weapons.

"Yes... That would only boost their own military strength."

"So then, it's either negotiation or all-out war..."

"Negotiation with the President at the forefront is impossible. The internet isn't as active as before, and if they just eliminate us when we come to negotiate and then claim, 'The helicopter was hijacked by terrorists and we ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠destroyed it to prevent danger,' we'd have no recourse."

Naturally, all-out war is out of the question because there are too many innocent civilians there. If they have any sense, they wouldn't leave their battleships floating out in the middle of the sea where they'd be easy to strike.

"Another option is to just take the ships and sail right past them. But even then, if they spin it as 'North Korea came down and attacked,' and bury the evidence, we'd have no answer..."

"Wait, if they've already accepted it as fact that the President is dead, do they actually believe he's dead? Or do they know he's alive but are just pretending he's dead?"

"Given the situation, they likely concluded on their own that he had died."

I decided. We would just board the ships and brazenly sail right past Busan. In the first place, bullets wouldn't do much damage to the warships anyway, and I could handle anything like missiles myself. If they launched a preemptive strike despite our radio communication, I'd actually welcome it. That would give us a justification to storm in.

Once we go in and show them the President, they'll be in absolute checkmate. If they've been propping up the Speaker in place of a dead president, how would they react if the President turned out to be alive?

"Th-That's incredibly reckless, isn't it?"

I understood their concern. A flesh-and-blood human alone, going up against multiple battleships? It sounded insane. That's when the President spoke up.

"I trust the Representative. I will personally board the lead battleship as well."