The White Porter and the Wizard's Gun
“Another car…… There’s another one?”
Staring at it yet unable to believe his eyes, Second Lieutenant Seong rubbed them hard. So many people were boldly driving cars through this hellish city of death…… He had no idea how to process the situation.
Ever since the helicopter support had been cut off that afternoon, he and his squad had burned through an enormous amount of ammunition just to retreat half a block……
Vroooooom—!
As if to prove it was no illusion, the truck rumbled closer, its heavy exhaust note growing louder.
“Whoaaaa!”
A cheer erupted from the soldiers who had been slumped in despair. The dazzling glare of the headlights was so beautiful it made their chests tighten. Second Lieutenant Seong clenched his fists and raised both arms.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
He knew this wasn’t the time to get carried away, but he still wanted to shout at the top of his lungs. His heart pounded violently, and for some reason tears kept welling up.
“Over here! Right hereeee!”
The soldiers pounded the railing and waved their flashlights, screaming with desperate hope. If this truck passed them by as well, it would truly be the end…… Their instincts told them so. They had to get on that truck and escape, or they wouldn’t survive.
“How many people are in it? What’s the size of their force?”
The soldiers guarding the door from behind asked in anxious voices. Someone shining a flashlight at the truck answered.
“It’s too dark to see clearly, but I think there are two…… people!”
“Huh? Two? That’s all?”
The replying soldier’s voice darkened with fear and despair in an instant.
“Look again! There must be people in the cargo bed!”
“There aren’t any!”
The soldiers shook their heads while trying to get a better look with their flashlights. The truck had already passed the intersection and was slowing down within 150 meters of the billiard hall building. There was no chance they were mistaken.
“Aaaagh……!”
Sighs once again blanketed the rooftop. Only two people…… They had vaguely hoped that at least a squad’s worth of soldiers would be aboard, but……
Grwaaaaaah—!
The zombies gathered around the building let out a collective roar, as if mocking them for daring to dream. Infuriating as it was, the creatures were right. Two people couldn’t possibly gun down hundreds of zombies, and with the undead blocking the way, even if the truck waited, escape was impossible.
“Don’t give up! Hold your positions! Keep the door secure! We can still be rescued!”
Second Lieutenant Seong bit down hard on his lip and rallied his men, even as he tried to hypnotize himself with words he didn’t believe. His legs, frozen with fear, felt ready to collapse at any moment, and he wanted nothing more than to sit down and sob, but he couldn’t afford to abandon his role as commander.
Kwaaaak—!
A handful of zombies, drawn by the heat, broke away from the horde and charged toward the truck. If those things forced the truck to flee, only the stench of death would remain on this street.
‘What if they tell us to jump down and run for the truck? Should we follow that order?’
Pointless worries swirled through the soldiers’ minds. Staying behind meant certain death…… yet none of them had the confidence to leap ten meters down into a swarm of zombies and fight their way through. Just as everyone’s elation was about to collapse back into crushing despair, bang—!
The first gunshot from the Porter split the air and rattled their eardrums. At almost the same instant, the head of a zombie sprinting toward the headlights burst open with a wet pop.
“Whoa……!”
A collective gasp escaped the soldiers’ mouths as they stared blankly at the truck. The scene had unfolded so vividly and dramatically under the high beams. Before their astonishment could even fade, two more shots rang out in quick succession. Bang—! Bang—!
Thud—! Thud—!
Two more zombies that had been running at full speed crumpled to the ground. The marksmanship that had seemed almost supernatural when Jinwoo first arrived—hidden behind thousands of zombies—was now displayed in all its glory on the open road for the soldiers to witness.
“……What the hell?”
The soldiers’ eyes widened. After today’s bitter experience, they knew exactly how difficult it was to drop a sprinting zombie with a single shot. This sight was even more shocking and awe-inspiring.
Three shots…… With just three bullets, he’d blown the heads off three zombies running at full speed? And from inside a moving vehicle?
Though too stunned to voice it, every soldier who witnessed it thought the same thing. Yet the truly astonishing part had only just begun.
Bang—! Bang-bang—! Bang-bang—! Bang—!
Six more shots followed in rapid succession, fired at a speed that rivaled unaimed point shooting. Yet six more zombies dropped, their heads pierced. Even more unbelievable was how widely spread out they had been in a fan formation. In that brief moment, the shooter had tracked each fast-moving target, acquired them, fired, and moved on to the next.
Bang—! Bang-bang—! Bang—!
Before the soldiers could even finish processing what they were seeing, more muzzle flashes erupted from the truck. Four more zombies sprayed brain matter as they flew backward. At last, a genuine cheer rose from the rooftop of the billiard hall.
“Whoaaaa!”
Even though rescue wasn’t guaranteed, the soldiers shouted with wild excitement, their bodies trembling with exhilaration.
A miracle like this was unfolding right before their eyes!
Only about ten zombies had been eliminated so far, but the dying spark of hope flared back to life, dancing wildly in their chests. If the shooter in the passenger seat possessed such magical skill…… maybe they really could pull off something incredible.
Grwaaaaaah—! Grwaaaak—!
Even as the soldiers on the roof cheered, a far greater number of zombies below surged toward the truck with horrifying roars. Over a hundred undead charging as one was enough to freeze the hearts of the watching soldiers.
“Whoa! Th-that……! That……!”
The soldiers covered their mouths without realizing it, their voices filled with dread. The situation was so precarious they could barely keep their eyes open. Yet the driver simply maintained distance, slowly reversing as though afraid the zombies might lose interest.
Vroooom—!
The truck, hugging the left lane, fishtailed into a U-turn while the passenger-side “wizard” continued firing without pause.
Bang—! Bang—! Bang-bang—! Bang-bang—! Bang-bang-bang—!
With every thunderous report, another zombie fell. By the time the truck had completed its 180-degree turn, dozens of corpses littered the road.
So it was these people!
Watching the two men’s incredible performance, the soldiers finally understood who had been responsible for the countless zombie bodies piled inside the Nadelmok at Ttukseom Park.
Thud—! Fwoosh—!
Occasionally, something burning was tossed from the driver’s side onto the road. Whenever that happened, a cluster of zombies chasing the truck would swarm the flaming object, frantically rubbing against it.
Screech—! Vroooom—!
The truck, which had been creeping along while weaving, suddenly accelerated just before reaching the intersection. After putting enough distance between itself and the zombies, it came to a sharp stop at an angle.
“What are they doing? Why did they stop? Isn’t that dangerous?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected move, the soldiers clenched their fists and blinked. The zombies were rapidly closing the gap, yet the truck showed no sign of moving.
“They must have a plan!”
Someone shouted, and the others quickly agreed. They didn’t know what the two men were thinking, but a strong sense of trust had taken root. If it was these people…… they could wipe out every zombie here and save them. Surely they could!
“Goddamn it! Why the hell is the engine dying here, you piece of shit!”
Sheriff cursed at the innocent vehicle while frantically working the pedals and ignition to restart it. Even in his frustration, he couldn’t resist slamming a fist against the steering wheel.
“You’re the one who threw a tantrum doing that 180, so why blame the car, you bastard!”
Jinwoo scolded Sheriff and quickly swapped out his magazine.
Click—!
The moment the fresh magazine locked in, Jinwoo leaned out the window and pulled the trigger again.
Bang—! Bang-bang—! Bang—! Bang—! Bang-bang-bang—!
Zombies charging toward the light and heat had their heads blown apart and flew backward. But no matter how many he dropped, the next wave kept coming, howling savagely with their comrades’ brain matter splattered across them.
Grwaaaaaak—!
An overwhelming pressure radiated from the road—enough to make most people give up in terror. But Jinwoo was used to this. And at his side stood Sheriff, always ready to detonate whatever needed exploding. No matter how many there seemed to be, there was always an end. And no zombie, no matter how fast, could dodge a bullet.
“Got it!”
By the time Sheriff finally restarted the engine and shifted gears, several zombies had already overtaken the truck and were leaping toward it like long-jump athletes.
Grwaak—!
Jinwoo switched to full-auto and sprayed 5.56mm rounds at the zombies trying to board.
Tatatata—! Tatata—! Tatata—! Tatatatang—!
From the school-uniform high-schooler zombie aiming for Sheriff to the curly-haired one that looked freshly permed, five heads burst open in midair. The Porter, now accelerating, charged straight through the center of the flying brain matter.
Thud—!
A zombie corpse bounced off the bumper, spinning wildly before tumbling to the side of the road.
“Puhah—! Ptui! Goddamn it!”
Sheriff spat in disgust, his face covered in zombie brain matter. Even so, his eyes stayed locked on the road as he swerved around corpses and sped up. It was lucky he was wearing goggles—otherwise that filthy liquid might have blinded him.
“Shit, I almost died trying to lure those bastards.”
Sheriff shook his head while wiping the sticky green mess off his goggles.
The plan hadn’t been bad. Lure the zombies along, suddenly U-turn and accelerate to pull ahead, then pick them off at leisure from a safe distance. But the Porter’s manual transmission—something he hadn’t driven in a long time—had betrayed his expectations and left him sweating.
Crunch—! Thud—!
The tires rolled over the leg of a zombie Jinwoo had just killed, sending an unpleasant jolt through the truck. He knew running over something like that risked a rollover, but there was nothing he could do. The road was already littered with far too many corpses.
Bang—! Bang—! Bang-bang—! Bang—!
After gunning down the zombies blocking the front, Jinwoo pointed ahead.
“There! Throw another one over there!”
Before too many zombies converged at once, it was crucial to split them up. Yubin had emphasized it multiple times over the radio: the first keyword of this operation was dispersion.
If they could peel the zombies off in groups of ten or so and spread them along the roadside, they could deal with them without worrying about clearing corpses. Otherwise the road would become so clogged with bodies that the truck wouldn’t be able to move at all.
“Wait a damn second, you bastard! I only have two hands!”
Grumbling, Sheriff opened the glovebox and pulled out a pack of cigarettes whose plastic wrap had already been removed.
Flick—!
Holding the wheel and the cigarettes in one hand, he lit the lighter. Flames immediately shot up from the section he had pre-soaked in oil. It was a trick only possible while wearing Kevlar gloves.
“Eat this, you bastards!”
Sheriff hurled the burning pack toward the left side of the road. About a dozen zombies immediately swarmed it, desperately trying to grab the acrid smoke and heat. A single pack of cigarettes wouldn’t last long, but if it bought them enough space until they reversed down this road again, that would be enough.
Crunch! Thud—!
When the truck jolted again after rolling over another corpse, Jinwoo flinched and looked back.
“Something’s hanging on!”
“……Hanging on? Shoot it off!”
Sheriff shouted. He was curious too, but he couldn’t afford to take his eyes off the road for even a second. Lose focus for a moment and they’d slam head-on into the zombies, turning this precarious stunt into a tragedy.
Bang-bang—! Bang—! Bang-bang—!
After clearing the zombies in front first, Jinwoo wore a troubled expression.
“No, the angle…… I can’t get a shot!”
He could clearly see fingertips clinging to the right side of the cargo bed, but aiming the muzzle in that direction was difficult. To properly target the zombie, he would have to lean his entire body out the window, twist around backward, and fire one-handed—an act that would take forever and was also completely insane. They would be surrounded by zombies long before he managed it. Besides, there was no lighting in the back, so he could barely see anyway.
“Then clear the bastards in front first, damn it!”
Sheriff yelled while turning the wheel and pointing ahead. If they didn’t take out the thirty-odd zombies rushing them from thirty meters away, their path would be blocked in no time.
Bang—! Bang-bang—! Bang-bang—! Bang—! Bang—! Bang—!
The moment the order left Sheriff’s mouth, Jinwoo acquired his targets and fired. He started with the ones on the right so Sheriff would have a clear path without running over bodies.
Vroooom—! Screech—!
Sheriff accelerated and steered the truck into the gap Jinwoo had created.
Crunch—!
The sound of a zombie’s ankle being crushed was unpleasant, but it was manageable. What they really had to avoid was running over solid, high obstacles like torsos or heads in succession—that was what caused rollovers.
Thud—!
The truck’s tail swung, and the zombie clinging to the back was flung into the air for a moment before hitting the ground.
“Agh!”
Jinwoo frowned as the flashlight illuminated the zombie’s foot dragging along the road. Its shoe had been torn off by friction and sent flying, and the skin on its toes and the top of its foot was being ground away like an eraser against the asphalt, exposing bone in seconds. Even so, the zombie refused to let go of the cargo bed—until thud—!
The instant Sheriff changed direction again, the zombie, whose ankle had already been ground down, couldn’t overcome the inertia and finally lost its grip. While its body bounced several times across the road, faintly visible in the side mirror, Jinwoo kept firing at the zombies blocking their path.
Tatatang—! Bang-bang—! Bang-bang—! Bang—!
After driving like madmen and pulling the trigger nonstop, the two men finally reached the area directly beneath the billiard hall building. Plenty of zombies still remained to be dealt with, but even so, this was tremendous progress.
Screeeeeech—!
After completing the fastest U-turn possible, Sheriff leaned out the driver’s window and shouted.
“Heyyyyy! We’re gonna save you for sure! Just hang on a little longer!”
Was there any more beautiful or heartwarming sentence in the world? Something hot surged up inside the soldiers’ chests.
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
The soldiers answered in unison, their voices thick with emotion. Curious about who was performing such a kindness, they all aimed their flashlights at the driver’s side of the truck. The moment the white Porter was bathed in light, the man who had just spoken the warmest words in the world immediately erupted in curses.
“Shit! My eyes! You crazy bastards! Turn those flashlights off! Flashlights! I can’t see a damn thing!”