Witch of Ruin (3)
Yubin blinked, utterly dumbfounded.
“So what you’re saying is…”
“While running a top-secret operation, you brought along someone disguised as a soldier—just in case it went south and you needed to call for rescue? You didn’t leave them in Busan?”
It was so absurd he wondered if he’d misheard. Good god… how could a commander be this stupid?
“I didn’t expect it to turn out like this! But it’s okay! It’s okay! My daddy will figure it out soon and take care of the bad guys! You people just need to take good care of me, that’s all! It’s an easy deal.”
The Witch kept up her forced casual act, spouting nonsense. The story was so illogical that even she couldn’t believe it. Easy deal? What part of this was easy? The whole situation had gone completely off the rails.
‘Wait a second. Maybe this woman…’
Yubin’s eyes narrowed as the realization finally hit him.
‘She’s the one who ruins everything she touches? The Witch of Ruin?’
Once he framed it that way, every ridiculous thing that had happened today suddenly made sense. The fact that she’d shown up in person at a dangerous negotiation when she wasn’t even a soldier, her complete obliviousness to the plot to kill her, and that childish tantrum she’d thrown—worse than even Newbie’s.
He’d inwardly denied it because of her position as the Taeyang Group’s number two, but this woman really was a stubborn, self-centered idiot. The type who acted clever in all the wrong ways and ended up causing massive losses.
‘Come to think of it… her brother, the Little Chairman, was apparently a massive blockhead too. Sigh…’
Yubin rubbed his face and let out a long breath. He was starting to question the reliability of every statement she’d made so far, right down to the fundamentals.
Even so, he had no choice but to work with the Witch. If he couldn’t coax the truth out of her about who had tried to kill her, future hostage negotiations with the Taeyang Group would become nearly impossible.
‘Fine. It’s gotten a bit uncomfortable, but I’ll endure it. No—let’s think of it as a blessing. This is our chance to save thousands of lives.’
Yubin calmed the anger rising in his chest. If the Witch hadn’t ruined the negotiation today, the countless hostages trapped somewhere in the southern region would have ended up as zombie food or lab experiments. But now they could demand their release from the Taeyang Group. All of it was possible because they had secured this massive bargaining chip called the Witch.
“If you’re done smoking, head down. I’ll give you the lighter and cigarettes.”
Yubin pointed at the stairs after watching her drop her second butt into the bottle.
“What about you? You’re not coming down? You’re just going to stay here?”
The Witch asked with a frightened expression. The thought of being left alone downstairs with Jack the Ripper sent a jolt of terror through her. She wanted absolutely nothing to do with that knife-wielding maniac.
“I need to keep watch.”
Yubin shook his head and zipped his Gore-Tex jacket up again. Standing on the rooftop of a high-rise building and constantly exposed to the strong November wind was starting to get bitterly cold.
“It’s so windy and freezing. Wouldn’t it be better if we both went down? And wouldn’t it be safer to have two people watching me? What if I… escape? That would be trouble for you too.”
The Witch attempted a ridiculous threat. Yubin let out a short laugh.
“Where exactly would you run to? The streets are crawling with zombies.”
A woman who fainted at the mere sight of a zombie up close couldn’t possibly be imagining surviving out on the streets. Of course, if she were willing to risk death it might be different, but that didn’t apply to someone as self-obsessed as the Witch.
“And if you’re thinking about slipping away to the thirteenth floor or somewhere to cause trouble, let me warn you in advance—don’t open those doors. It’s… visually unpleasant in there.”
Yubin warned the Witch as she reluctantly descended the first step. The thirteenth-floor waiting room was full of the men Mingu had dealt with; every single one had been decapitated. The Witch’s eyes widened in fear as she looked back at him, snapping irritably.
“Stop threatening me! You think I’ll get scared? I’ve seen plenty of headless zombie bodies! I even observed autopsies at the lab!”
“Well, since you’re saying that… there’s one in the very last stall of the women’s bathroom too.”
“Why didn’t you clean it up? It’s not like zombie bodies are decoration. What’s the reason for leaving it there?”
At the news that there was a zombie corpse in the bathroom, the Witch wrinkled her nose and spoke in a shrill voice. Yubin shrugged as if it were obvious.
“We didn’t have time to clean it. Securing food and keeping watch were higher priorities.”
“Damn…”
The Witch muttered a small curse, looking miserable. She couldn’t even wash her face, the toilet obviously wouldn’t flush, and on top of that she had to endure an extreme environment where a zombie corpse was left rotting in the farthest stall…
Just thinking about it felt like a heavy weight pressing down on her chest. It was a different kind of fear from having to spend the night with four men. How much longer would she have to endure this discomfort…?
“You keep talking about food supplies. How many days exactly do we have to stay in this uncomfortable place?”
The Witch asked. Her expression was practically begging him to say it would only be until tomorrow, that they’d move to a comfortable environment by then.
“How much should we take if it’s enough for four days?”
Sheriff asked once they reached an open stretch of road.
Just a little farther and they would arrive at the building where Jinwoo had killed Lieutenant Park. Their spare food bag was stored there. Truth be told, the first floor of that building was a supermarket, so there was no real need to touch the emergency bag.
“Five people, no—twelve meals total, so…”
Jinwoo did the math for a moment before answering.
“Even if we only eat instant rice with no side dishes, that’s sixty packs. We’ll need water and cans for him too.”
Jinwoo jerked his chin toward Samsuk-i, who was walking beside him.
“That’s gonna be fucking heavy, damn it…”
Sheriff shook his head. They had brought an empty duffel bag, but the thought of carrying sixty instant rice packs plus a bunch of cans made his head spin. The straight-line distance from the theater wasn’t that far, but every time a zombie horde appeared they had to duck into a random building to hide, which would massively increase both the actual distance and the time.
“Should we… find a car and drive?”
Jinwoo said, looking around. This was the final section where the Konkuk University shelter workers had pushed all the vehicles to one side, so the road here was a clear four-lane stretch. If they could get their hands on a car, they could travel comfortably in a short time. Of course, that was just a vague hope. The chances of finding a decent car with keys still in the ignition on the roadside were extremely low.
“Forget a car—even a shopping cart would make carrying all this gear way easier. Let’s look for a cart instead. Oh, right… it’s been a while since I last drove.”
Sheriff replied. Big Island was cozy and safe, but it had neither cars nor roads worth driving on.
“When we were staying at the welfare center, I used to go for drives with Jenny. Out on the grassy plains… Hey, Jinwoo. There’s more up ahead.”
Sheriff had been muttering nostalgically with his head tilted back when he pointed forward. By then, Jinwoo had already finished aiming.
Bang—!Bang, bang—!Bang bang—!Bang bang—!
As Jinwoo pulled the trigger, seven zombies that had been wandering more than sixty meters away collapsed one after another.
“Haah, more corpses to clean up.”
Sheriff grumbled, frowning. It hadn’t even been ten minutes since they’d thrown five bodies into the truck bed, and now there were seven more.
It was incredibly annoying to have to hide every single zombie corpse after killing them, but there was no helping it. Once the helicopters started searching, zombie bodies left out in the open on clear roads would draw far too much attention.
Thud—!
Sheriff walked over to where the zombie corpses lay, set down his hammer, and grabbed one by both shoulders.
Splat—!
As the head fell away from the ground, green brain matter poured out from the gaping hole in the back of its skull.
“Ugh, fuck, seriously…”
Sheriff grimaced in disgust. He had seen plenty of horrific sights, but having someone else’s brain fragments land on his foot still made him want to vomit.
“Hey, grab the arms. Not the shoulders. I’ll take this side, Sheriff.”
When Jinwoo tried to help by lifting the corpse’s legs, Sheriff waved him off.
“It’s fine. I’ll clean them up. You just stand guard with your gun. Keep an eye out for zombies.”
It would be too infuriating to get bitten while both of them were distracted carrying corpses. They’d already learned that lesson once at the Jabeolle building.
Drag—!Scrape—!Thump—!
With practiced skill, Sheriff dragged the zombie corpses over and stuffed them into a shuttle bus parked by the roadside. At this rate, they would be hard to spot unless someone got out and searched the area thoroughly.
“By the way…”
Jinwoo tilted his head after staring at the corpses for a moment.
“I don’t see any of the zombies you guys painted before. Sheriff, you haven’t seen them lately either, right?”
“Yeah. Did those bastards all head over to Gangnam? They were always moving south whenever we saw them. They wandered in circles, but still.”
“Even though they keep heading south, there are still so many zombies around here…”
Jinwoo trailed off as he gazed northward. If Sheriff’s theory was correct, the zombies wandering this area had probably come down from Gyeonggi Province. In other words… it meant that large-scale zombie hordes originating from Seoul and Gyeonggi would eventually reach both Chungju and Busan. Would Chungju and Busan be able to stop the onslaught when that fatal moment arrived?
“Wow, seriously… there’s no safe place anywhere.”
Jinwoo let out a small sigh, feeling dizzy. After thinking about the zombies’ migration routes, his worries about whether the people in Chungju could survive this winter grew even heavier.
“No safe places at all. Maybe Big Island is the only decent one. …Let’s go. All cleaned up.”
Sheriff said as he shoved the last corpse into the driver’s seat of the van and brushed the filth off his jacket sleeve. Having been drenched all day in blood, zombie brains, and rotting corpse fluids, his Gore-Tex jacket had become so filthy it was sickening to look at.
“It’s over there.”
After changing direction and walking a bit farther, Jinwoo pointed ahead. On the sidewalk in front of the supermarket lay the remains of Lieutenant Park, whom Jinwoo had killed last summer. The body was still in the same position like a signpost. Of course, wild dogs, rats, and insects had feasted on it, so almost no flesh remained, but the helmet and torn military uniform were still there.
“Want to go up? Or should we just grab stuff from the supermarket?”
Jinwoo asked at the building entrance. After looking up at the six-story structure, Sheriff chose the lower option.
“Let’s do the supermarket. There are carts here too.”
“Yeah, sure. We can use whatever we hid up there later anyway. Then we’ll just grab ammo and guns from the sixth floor. But who’s keeping watch? Looks like this is a path zombies use.”
Jinwoo asked, pointing at the hood of a car parked by the roadside. Countless footprints and handprints were visible on the dust-covered hood. It meant that if they both went into the supermarket together again, they could end up surrounded by zombies once more.
“I’ll go. I’m better at fighting in tight spaces anyway.”
Sheriff answered immediately, pulling out a cart and tossing his hammer inside. They couldn’t sense any zombies nearby right now, but no one could predict when or where something might jump out. And inside the narrow supermarket aisles divided into multiple sections, close-quarters combat would be easier than a gunfight. Assuming, of course, that the number of hidden zombies wasn’t too large.
“So, what should I get?”
Sheriff asked as he pushed the cart into the supermarket. Jinwoo answered without much thought.
“I already told you. Our food, Samsuk-i’s food, and water. Oh, and Yubin said to bring more batteries.”
“No, I’m asking what you want to eat for food, you idiot.”
“Instant rice is enough to keep us from starving, so just get that. Or a few boxes of cereal would work too.”
“We’re supposed to live on nothing but instant rice and cereal for four days? Without any side dishes?”
Sheriff asked incredulously. He’d heard the guy had suffered terribly in Gangwon Province, but now he understood just how pathetically he must have survived. Even after hearing that, the pragmatic Jinwoo replied calmly without the slightest hesitation.
“It’s only four days. And in times like these, anything in your stomach is a blessing. If you really need side dishes, just grab a bottle of soy sauce or something.”
“Forget it. I’ll just pick stuff myself.”
Realizing it was pointless to argue further, Sheriff waved him off and headed deeper into the supermarket. Jinwoo, standing guard at the entrance, shouted after him.
“If you hear gunshots, come running out immediately! It means it’s dangerous!”
“Okay!”
Sheriff gave a thumbs-up before passing the checkout counter where blood had dried pitch-black.
“This place got wrecked too…”
Sheriff clicked his tongue at the countless bloodstains splattered across the floor and even the ceiling. It was easy to imagine how many people had fallen to zombies here. What stood out most was the area near the entrance, where blood-soaked items were scattered everywhere. It was a record of survivors who had made it this far only to be caught by zombies because they couldn’t handle the weight of the food they were carrying.
“Batteries, water, rice, Samsuk-i’s food…”
Sheriff muttered the list quietly as he slowly pushed the cart forward. They had invested so much effort and time into this expedition; it would be too frustrating to forget something.
“Samsuk-i’s food, batteries, water, rice… Oh, Spam!”
Spotting a pile of Spam cans stacked on a shelf, Sheriff’s face lit up as he swept them into the cart. Jinwoo might say they didn’t need side dishes, but it felt wrong to eat plain rice when they could secure some.
Rattle—! Clunk—!
He also grabbed a bunch of kimchi cans from the shelf right next to it. The weight he would have to carry increased rapidly from throwing in all the metal cans, but Sheriff figured it was worth it to complete the holy trinity of rice, Spam, and kimchi.
“Oh, right. We need chopsticks too.”
Sheriff, who had been about to turn toward the instant rice, smacked his own forehead. He had almost been ready to eat kimchi with his bare hands.
“Oh, batteries are here too.”
When Sheriff moved to the household goods section, bent down, and picked up a bundle of wooden chopsticks along with battery packs, he felt a shadow flicker on his left. Immediately afterward came the sound of the rear glass door connected to the opposite side of the road shattering.
Crash—!