The First Guest

As the timer counted down, a red pin appeared on its own across the status window's map.

Roughly 600 meters out — the strip of shops at the edge of the shantytown, near the apartment commercial block.

Yu Jin clutched her bow and started flailing. "What do we do, there's less than thirty minutes! Boss, shouldn't we hurry and get going?"

"Stay calm. Panicking doesn't make anything go faster."

Yu Hyeon studied the map and spoke in his usual measured tone. "Boss, that location is outside the shantytown. If Gang Cheol-u's men are holding the approaches, it will be dangerous."

A practical assessment. I nodded. "Probably. I'd love it if they'd given up, but if a chase starts, getting back here with an injured person won't be easy."

The injured party was one problem, but a non-combatant meant the guest was either a little kid or an old-timer. Nothing on earth was heavier luggage than that.

Granted, the 1,500 points and the "First Guest" title were tempting. But I had no intention of grinding my core members down just to clear one quest. Losing a guest was a shame; losing either of these two would be genuinely fatal.

Yu Jin pulled a face that was half sob. "But…… if we just sit here, those people are going to die!"

"I didn't say don't go. I said go escort them back."

I continued evenly. "I'm just saying don't overextend. You two matter more to me than any quest."

Without them, who exactly would be scrubbing the toilets, running the farming runs, and handling every last piece of grunt work? Rebuilding from the ground up on my own would take an eternity. This brother-and-sister pair were a genuinely, genuinely valuable asset. For now, anyway.

Yu Jin gave a quiet nod. "……Okay."

"If it turns ugly, ditch the guests without a second thought and the two of you bolt."

The hard edge around Yu Hyeon's eyes softened slightly. "……Understood."

"Thirty minutes is doable if you run it, right?"

"Yes, sir. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠It should be feasible, so long as no pursuit team latches onto us……"

"With the approaches sealed off, that'll be the hard part."

I talked a cool game, but I had zero desire to let a chance that had rolled right up to my door slip away. It was an urgent quest the status window itself had thrown at us — there had to be a reason for it.

Time to play the card I'd been saving. Yu Hyeon's job perk.

Her brother's class was in the Security & Defense line, so naturally his unlocked traits clustered around tactical equipment and base fortification.

[Personal Firearms/Weapons], [Tactical Drones/Equipment], [Defensive Installations/Emplacements] — three broad purchase categories, plus a class perk granting one free piece of basic equipment. Pick one item from any category, no charge.

Nobody with a functioning brain would burn that choice on a knife, a club, or a wooden barricade. A tier-E basic weapon with a couple of special effects bolted on was nothing to write home about.

So what should we take? Obviously the item that was either irreplaceable or the most expensive. The answer wrote itself. The drone.

Even the cheapest drone on the list cost a staggering 6,500 points — crushingly expensive next to the weapons hovering around 1,000.

I'd been sitting on it, half-expecting some other piece of special gear to become necessary — and the use case had arrived far sooner than I expected. I pressed the claim button, and a controller pad materialized above my palm.

Yu Jin stared blankly at my hand. "What's that?"

"A drone."

"Yeah, I can SEE that. Where do you keep pulling all this weird stuff from?"

Yu Hyeon, on the other hand, brightened. "Ah, the drone. Good."

We synced up quickly and locked the plan down. It took all of thirty seconds, but we covered every ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠essential cleanly.

"First, we confirm whether the entrance is actually sealed. After that, I'll call the shots based on the situation as it develops. Yu Jin, you got that?"

"Got it, Boss. Anything happens, I'll radio you right away."

"Good. So move it and get ready to head out."

Vrrreeeeeng—

The palm-sized drone lifted off with a soft whir. It looked like a freebie from a Chinese online shopping mall, but for someone who could only leave the hotel thirty minutes a week, it was the ultimate cheat item — a do-everything rig with reconnaissance, thermal imaging, and siren-based aggro all in one.

The siblings finished their launch prep. "We're off, Boss."

"I'll back you up with the drone. Go get 'em!"

I pushed the throttle up and the drone shot skyward.

Distance to target: 600 meters.

It sounded close, but factoring in the shantytown's maze of tangled alleys, the effective distance was more than double that. Worse, the shortest route ran straight through the scene of the last convenience store fight — eliminated.

What the drone camera showed from above was exactly as predicted. The streets were too narrow and convoluted for a massive horde, but a clump of zombies that hadn't figured out how to get out was milling aimlessly around the central supermarket.

Asking the two of them to smash through that was a nonstarter. Which left only the perimeter detour.

I contacted Yu Jin. "Tell your brother the center route is blocked, they'll have to circle around."

"Yep, Boss. He says okay — he says we just have to hop the wall by Deoksoon's grandpa's place!"

That [Local Resident Out for a Stroll] skill really was something. His command of the neighborhood's geography was phenomenal.

The pair slipped swiftly into a secluded alley at the shantytown's far corner. Beyond it, slate roofs and plastic tarps tangled together in a heap, and even the drone's line of sight gave out. From here on, it was on the two of them.

"Don't get careless, and it'll go fine."

"Got it, Boss."

The creak of Yu Jin's bowstring sounded through the channel. I decided not to micromanage and got on with my own job instead.

I wheeled the drone toward the shantytown's main-road exit. A little farther past it lay the eight-lane arterial road.

Vreeeeng.

The alley mouth came into view. No guards, but a slapdash barricade of wooden planks and barbed wire had been thrown across it. So the siblings really had made themselves hated.

I swept the thermal camera across the commercial building across the way. Sure enough — a silhouette on the third-floor windowsill, head poked out, watching the shantytown. They'd plugged the route and were simply waiting for the starving siblings to crawl out. The moment they were spotted, a strike team would roll.

Maximum efficiency with minimum manpower — a calculating, miserly method, but it wasn't going to work on us.

I raised Yu Jin again. "Yu Jin, the main-road exit is fenced off, and there's a spotter in the building across the street. We're going to Plan B."

"Copy that, Boss!"

The plan we'd hashed out before departure: a back way only born-and-bred locals knew, one that didn't touch the sealed approaches at all. Following the drainage channel meant a much longer route, but at a dead sprint the siblings could cover it in seven or eight minutes.

The problem was the return trip. Cross that eight-lane road carrying an injured man, and the surveillance team would spot them — and a bike pursuit crew would be on their tail in minutes. But doubling back down that long drainage route didn't fit inside the thirty-minute window either.

So: on the way back, my drone would draw aggro entirely on the shantytown's far side, yanking every biker's eyes away. In that gap, the siblings would cross the eight-lane road in a straight line and come straight home.

Here's hoping it goes the way I've drawn it up.

I tucked the drone into the shadow of a building and held it there while I waited for the pair to emerge from the back route.

Before long, Yu Jin's voice crackled through, urgent. "Boss, we're out of the drain hole. Heading into the commercial building now!"

"Good. Contact me the second you find the survivors."

They'd be making contact any minute now. I turned the adjustment dial and sent the drone moving.

My target: the shantytown's western entrance — on the precise opposite side from where the siblings would be popping out. If the enemy had sealed all four sides and was watching from the rooftops, then I intended to use that very diligence against them.

Vrrreeeeeeng—

I dropped the drone's altitude and flew it loud and low over the alley rooftops. Pleading, almost — please notice me. Flying as if someone, anyone, were about to burst through the shantytown and out onto the west road.

By my own judgment, a pretty convincing performance. I waved the drone about conspicuously, but at palm size it simply wasn't visible from any real distance. I had to get closer.

Only when I'd pushed it right up to the mouth of the western entrance did the spotter in the nearby window finally react. Through the drone's feed, I watched him lower his binoculars and grab his radio. The way he gestured toward somewhere else looked genuinely rattled.

I immediately tucked the drone back into the depths of the alley, then three seconds later eased it up again and set it hovering dead still, fixed in place directly before the western exit — while performing a nice little bit of theater: a scout, probing around just before someone was about to come bursting out.

Yu Jin's call ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠came in. "Boss, found them! One guy with a busted leg, and a kid — elementary schooler, maybe? The leg injury means he can't run, but I think he can walk fast enough."

"Good. That's more than enough."

I climbed the drone higher. Far off down the road, a cluster of bikes was converging.

Just a little longer.

"Boss, we're at the edge of the road now. The second we cross, they'll see us for sure……"

"Every single bike has been pulled west. Even if they head straight back there now, it'll take them two minutes minimum. Don't worry — cross right now."

Even as I told them to relax, my grip was crushing the controller. That's just the world we lived in now. If you wanted to survive, you couldn't afford to drop your guard until the very end.

The bikes that arrived ground to a swaggering halt across the shantytown entrance. The one who looked like the leader started bellowing. Curious what he was spouting, I eased the drone down a little, and his voice came through.

"Hey! Drone! That you, Yu Jin? Nice and cozy hiding in your little rat hole, huh? Starving to death yet? Crawl out here nice and quiet, get on your knees, and I'll let you keep your life!"

Trash talk that wasn't worth the bandwidth. Then someone from the rear came sprinting up to him clutching a walkie-talkie — apparently they'd clocked the siblings crossing the road from the other side.

Now.

I jammed my thumb down on the drone's siren button.

WeeeEEEEEooong—! WeeeEEEEEooong—!

On the heels of the siren, the glass windows of the commercial building shattered and zombies came raining down in clumps.

"……?!"

"What the— what the fuck!"

And right behind them, the men hiding in the surrounding alleys and building shadows started bursting out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all at once.

KRAAAAAAGH—! KIIIIEEEK!

Dozens of zombies hurled themselves at the bike gang like things possessed.

"Form up!"

VRRAAAANG—!

Engines roared. Were they running for it?

"Fuck, why are they coming THIS way!"

"Kill the engines and dismount! Weapons out!"

But the bikers weren't just rolling over, either — an organized group of humans was a genuinely dangerous force. They ringed their bikes up like a shield wall and locked backs together into a circle formation.

It unfolded completely differently from that supermarket skirmish.

KWAJIK—! THWAAAK!

Packed tight in their formation, swinging steel pipes and axes, they sent the attacking zombies sprawling in seconds. With that kind of firepower they'd mop the horde up without trouble — but cleaning up zombies wasn't my department.

Right on cue, Yu Jin radioed in. "Boss! We crossed!"

"Nice. You've got plenty of time left, so don't push it — take it easy coming back."

"Yep!"

Just then, a bright, bubbly child's voice barged rudely into the channel. "Whoa, miss! What's this? It's so cool. Are you the Boss? Hi, Mr. Boss!"

……What?

How was this kid talking to me directly?

Group comms were a premium feature that only unlocked after raising loyalty considerably.

A flustered Yu Jin asked, "What the heck, Boss? Was this thing always able to do speakerphone?"

"You think?"

That guileless little voice again. "Wow, Mr. Boss, your voice is SO nice! I bet you're super duper handsome!"

Beware the elderly, women, and children.

That was the oldest survival rule of the apocalypse, but…… every now and then, trusting in a child's pure little heart is an adult's virtue, isn't it?

"Ahem. Well then. Hello there."

To clock my extraordinary visuals off voice alone — this kid had discernment worth her weight in gold. Sharp eyes ran in the blood from the very first sprout.