Shootout (2)
The sharp cracks of gunfire split the frozen air.
Thud—! Thwack—!
Desperate figures who had rushed forward with their heads poking over their shields tumbled off the pontoon bridge in sprays of bloody mist. Only three enemies remained.
“Shoot! Shoot! Over there!”
The three surviving black-uniformed soldiers turned toward Jinwoo’s hiding spot. He could see their mouths moving as they shouted.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—! Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!
They abandoned the fake Major General Park they had been using as a human shield, hunkered behind their ballistic shields, and thrust their gun barrels out to unleash indiscriminate fire in the direction the shots had come from. But their firepower and the number of shields had been drastically reduced.
Jinwoo remained perfectly calm, hidden behind his camouflage netting, waiting for an opening. After all, their weapons were MP5s chambered in 9mm. At a distance of five hundred meters, with no clear fix on his position, their wild spraying wasn’t much of a threat.
“I told you I’m not letting you go.”
The moment the enemies began crab-walking forward with their shields, Jinwoo spat coldly and squeezed the trigger again.
Bang—!
Blood exploded from the rightmost soldier’s exposed flank. As the man pitched forward, Jinwoo fired once more.
Bang—!
The rightmost soldier took a round straight through the face and flew backward. The brief moment the other two shields wavered gave Jinwoo his chance. His muzzle flashed again.
Bang—! Crack—!
One bullet punched through a left thigh, the next through a shoulder. He hadn’t gone for instant kills because he still had questions he wanted answered through these men. All eight of the black-uniformed soldiers had now been rendered combat ineffective.
“Aaaargh! Uuuugh!”
Though the sound couldn’t reach Jinwoo’s hidden sniper nest, the sight of their wide-open mouths made it feel like their screams were ringing in his ears.
“Haa… Haa…!”
The fake Major General Park, who had somehow survived the ferocious gunfight without a single scratch, slowly rose to his feet and looked around. Panting heavily, he glanced back and forth between the floating café and Ttukseom Park Plaza. He still seemed unable to decide which way to run.
Heading back to the floating café would make him a hostage again. Running toward the park plaza, on the other hand, meant being thrown alone into a world of zombies. Naturally, he was torn.
“…Don’t pick it up. Don’t even think about it. Just surrender quietly.”
When he saw the man’s gaze drift toward one of the fallen MP5s, Jinwoo muttered under his breath while keeping his eye glued to the scope. The fight was already decided, but the instant the fake general grabbed the submachine gun and turned toward Yubin’s position, Jinwoo’s finger would tighten on the trigger.
“Huuu…”
After a brief hesitation, the fake Major General Park finally raised both hands high and began sprinting toward the floating café.
“…Smart choice.”
Jinwoo gave a small nod, his finger still hovering near the trigger. But then—
Thud—! Thwack—! Crack—!
Suddenly the fake general’s body jerked sideways, spraying blood.
“…What? There were more?”
Startled, Jinwoo swung his muzzle toward the opposite direction the man had fallen. A moment later, the delayed report of the shots reached him.
Rat-tat-tat—! Rat-tat-tat—! Rat-tat-tang—!
“About two seconds lag?”
While still searching for the enemy’s position, Jinwoo quickly ran the numbers in his head. Considering the time it took for the sound to travel and the bullet’s flight time, the shooter who had just hit the fake general was roughly one kilometer from his own sniper nest. Relative to the general, that put the shooter about four hundred meters away. At the very least, it meant they weren’t using a submachine gun.
Rat-tat-tat-tat—! Rat-tat-tat-tang—! Rat-tat-tat-tat—!
The gunfire continued without pause.
Thud-thud—! Thud-thud-thud—!
Stray rounds slammed into the corpses of the black-uniformed soldiers, splattering blood and flesh in every direction.
“Yubin! Rotate the ballistic table! East side!”
Jinwoo immediately radioed Yubin. Securing the safety of the floating café team took priority over figuring out how the enemy had reached that position. The fourth-floor chicken restaurant would block some of the line of sight, but it wasn’t made of bulletproof material.
- Chk…! East? Gangnam east?
“No, Gangbuk side.”
- Sheriff, turn the table! Get over here! But… what the hell is this? Where did they come from? Chk…!
The bewilderment in Yubin’s voice was unmistakable. It was illogical. All eight men who had just rappelled from the helicopter were dead, yet enemies were still in the area. Jinwoo swept his eyes across the suspicious sectors and answered.
“I’m looking for them! Just stay low and wait!”
Jinwoo glanced sideways to check on his friends. The Sheriff had quickly rotated the ballistic table, and Mingu had moved the cooler to a safer spot. That alone drastically lowered the chance of anyone taking a direct hit and dying or being wounded.
“…Good.”
With the floating café secured, Jinwoo pressed his eye back to the scope and scanned the area again.
“There you are.”
A moment later, Jinwoo narrowed his eyes and muttered. He had finally located a single squad concealed between Jangmi Park and the walking path, sporadically pouring fire toward the floating café.
“…They crossed the bridge.”
As he pieced together how they had gotten there, Jinwoo reached a reasonable conclusion. If they had landed their helicopter on the south side of the river and advanced across the Jamsil Bridge, their sudden seizure of the flank made sense. They would have used suppressors while breaching the bridge. However…
‘Those aren’t black uniforms…?’
Looking at their weapons and gear, a question still lingered in Jinwoo’s mind. No matter how he looked at it, they were clearly Army soldiers. Why would the Army get involved in an operation to kill the Taeyang Group chairman’s daughter?
Regardless, at this point it was kill or be killed. Jinwoo chose the same path he had taken until now: killing.
Clack—!
He pulled back the bolt handle of the PGM338, chambering a round, then held his breath and slipped his finger inside the trigger guard. The crosshairs in the scope had been locked on a perfect spot for some time.
Booom—!
The heavy report of the Lapua Magnum slammed against his eardrums. Two seconds later, the face of the enemy squad leader in his scope exploded, his head snapping backward.
Clack—!
Jinwoo immediately reloaded and shifted the muzzle slightly before firing the second round.
Bang—!
Once again, his bullet found its mark. The second victim, whose cheek had been blown apart, sprayed blood across his comrades and collapsed violently.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—! Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—! Rat-tat-tat—!
The enemy squad that had lost two men in the blink of an eye began hasty suppressive fire as they retreated. The shock and panic in their widened eyes were unmistakable. Unfortunately for them, Jinwoo was in no position to let them withdraw and wait for another opportunity.
Bang! Thud—! Clack—! Bang—!
After firing one more shot, Jinwoo swapped magazines and continued pulling the trigger with a mechanical, emotionless expression. If he let these K-2-armed soldiers escape or even just stall for time, his friends would be trapped with nowhere to go.
Clack—! Bang—!
After putting a round through the head of the last man trying to hide behind a streetlamp, Jinwoo kept his eye on the scope and pressed the transmit button on his radio.
“I got them all, Yubin. How much time until the next zombie wave arrives?”
- Chk, seventeen minutes. No… about sixteen minutes and fifteen seconds. Chk…!
Yubin answered. Jinwoo quickly ran the numbers in his head.
Five minutes for Yubin’s group to pack up at the floating café and get moving. Another five minutes to run to the subway station with all that heavy gear. No matter how fast they moved, it would take at least ten minutes. That was assuming nothing serious went wrong.
But the zombie horde that would soon swarm the entire area was both a variable and an extremely valuable defensive wall. Those black-uniformed bastards had no idea when or from which direction the zombies would appear, or where they were headed.
“Leave for the station no later than five minutes from now. Only take what’s absolutely necessary.”
Having organized his thoughts in an instant, Jinwoo gave the order. If the Black Hawk that had disappeared south of the Han River finished regrouping and returned, even the PGM338 would be useless against it. He knew the only reason he had been able to kill the helicopter’s gunner earlier was because they had let their guard down while hovering.
They possessed at least three high-speed helicopters and could mobilize Army infantry. The only way to survive was to evacuate as quickly as possible. Before releasing the transmit button, he added one more thing.
“We’re not coming back here.”
Seeing one squad meant a much larger force was waiting somewhere. Army officers wouldn’t have deployed only a single squad. Therefore, this floating café—Point Alpha, where they had planned to meet Grandpa Paul—could no longer be used. Returning to a location where an ambush was obviously waiting would be nothing short of suicidal stupidity.
- Chk! Got it! Haaa…! I’ll pack right now! Chk…!
Yubin answered, breathing hard with tension. Jinwoo checked his watch once more and said,
“You must reach the subway station within ten minutes. If you don’t, we’ll be trapped here.”
“He says we have to reach the subway station in ten minutes! Hurry up and pack! Dump anything we don’t need! You too, bro!”
The moment he finished the radio exchange with Jinwoo, Yubin grabbed the cooler first and began issuing rapid orders to the Sheriff and Mingu.
Rip—! Rip—!
Yubin tore off blue tape and hurriedly sealed the cooler. It was a precaution to prevent the lid from flying open and spilling its contents if they had to run while carrying it.
‘Four more days… will it last that long?’
Staring at the cooler wrapped tightly in blue tape, Yubin bit his lip. He had packed it full of ice that morning, and the late November weather was quite cold, but he wasn’t sure the internal temperature would stay this low four days from now. If all the ice melted… Terra’s precious blood would spoil.
“Where are we even going?”
The Sheriff asked with a bewildered expression as he grabbed a duffel bag.
“That’s…”
Yubin’s words caught in his throat for a moment. Point Bravo that he and Grandpa Paul had agreed on was the Costco in Sangbong-dong, but they couldn’t bring the Witch there. That place was a paradise, an oasis for his four friends. It was the only safe and comfortable shelter left in Seoul. He didn’t want to expose their insurance policy to the Witch.
“For now, let’s head toward Konkuk University Station.”
Yubin quickly came up with a plan and opened the zippers on two duffel bags. With one person needing to carry an MP5, and now having to bring the Witch of Ruin along, they had to reduce their load. The cooler was non-negotiable, and magazines were life itself, so the only things they could cut were food and miscellaneous convenience items.
“Throw out all the food!”
Yubin spoke as if making a vow to himself, then packed only the MP5 and magazines into one bag. He stuffed all the food and other equipment into the second bag, then hurled it over the railing.
Splash—!
The moment the bag hit the surface of the Han River and sank, the Sheriff spun around in shock.
“Hey! We could’ve at least hidden it somewhere! What a waste!”
“No. We’re never coming back here. I don’t feel bad at all.”
Yubin shook his head. Leaving behind equipment that could link them to JL would be dangerous. The reason Big Island and the Tetis could enjoy such peaceful days was precisely because no one knew they existed.
“Get up! We have to go down!”
The Sheriff shouted as he dragged the Witch along.
“Huu…”
With two black tear-streaks running down her cheeks, the Witch staggered to her feet with a dazed expression. But her legs still had no strength.
“Snap out of it!”
The Sheriff slapped her cheek with his fingertips and yelled.
“We have to run over there right now, and no one’s going to carry you! If you don’t want to die, you’d better run your ass off! Got it?”
“…Huk!”
The Witch, her cheek now bright red, trembled all over. It looked like her mind, which had briefly fled elsewhere, had finally returned completely.
“…What did you say? Where are we going?”
“I said we’re going to the subway station! Pay attention the first time, you stupid girl!”
The Sheriff pointed toward the subway station once more, then slung the heavily loaded duffel bag full of firearms and magazines diagonally across his body.
“Run!”
Mingu, carrying the machete duffel bag, took the lead and sprinted down the stairs.
Clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter—!
They dashed down the spiral staircase in an instant and sprinted at full speed across the pontoon bridge. The Witch ran desperately without too much trouble. She knew very well that being left behind here meant death.
“Huuuuu…!”
As the blood-soaked pontoon bridge drew near, the Witch’s face turned deathly pale with fear.
“I… I, I, I can’t cross… That place… that place…”
Her teeth chattered as she shook violently. No matter where she looked, the bridge was a scene of utter slaughter. Anyone thrown into this environment for the first time would naturally be unable to endure it. This wasn’t something you could just watch from upstairs and feel superior about. They had to step directly through the blood and flesh.
“Bullshit! Who the hell are you pretending to be innocent? You’re the bitch who threw people to the zombies as food!”
The Sheriff mercilessly grabbed her wrist and dragged her forward.
“Kyaaaaah!”
The Witch squeezed her eyes shut and screamed as she was hauled across the bridge by the Sheriff’s brutal strength. For different reasons, both Yubin and Mingu also paused briefly in front of the bridge.
“Magazines!”
Yubin knelt in front of a blood-soaked black-uniformed corpse and shouted while rummaging through the tactical vest’s front pockets.
“We have to take the magazines! Sheriff, go first!”
Even though they were 9mm Parabellum rounds, live ammunition was still a precious asset. After expending over three hundred rounds at the Jabeolle building three days ago and dozens more today, every single magazine could mean the difference between life and death. As Yubin opened his bag’s zipper and tossed in every magazine he could grab, a hand suddenly seized his wrist.
Grab—!
It was the dying fake Major General Park’s blood-covered hand.
“Grr… Grr…”
The fake general stared into empty space with unfocused eyes and squeezed Yubin’s wrist with what little strength he had left. Of course, it wasn’t even as strong as a child’s grip.
Gurgle—! Gurgle—!
When the major general barely opened his mouth, bright red blood poured out in waves. It was clear he wanted to say something, but in this state he wouldn’t be able to form a single proper word. He didn’t have much time left. At most a few minutes. He would likely die from shock and blood loss before then.
“I can’t help you.”
Yubin forced the words out, then shook off the hand and pulled a magazine from the corpse beside him. He deliberately avoided meeting the man’s eyes…
Looking into the eyes of a dying person, those desperate eyes begging to be saved, consumed an enormous amount of emotion. And it was something that stayed burned in your memory for a very long time. Even if the person didn’t deserve any sympathy.
“Let’s go!”
When Yubin stood up after collecting all the magazines and slinging the blood-soaked MP5 over his shoulder, Mingu approached and grabbed the fake major general’s left hand, draping it at an angle over another corpse.
Shing—!
Then he raised his machete high and said,
“It would’ve been convenient if we’d asked his blood type beforehand…”