28. What They Want, What We Want. (2)

In the middle of the vegetable garden.

I stood there, trampling the soil.

I felt sorry for the grandmother and Ye-eun, So-eun, who put in so much effort to maintain this garden, but for now, I had to step on it.

I looked around.

Outside the garden.

People were gathered in a crowd.

Newcomers, both men and women, had joined after hearing the story, making the place quite bustling.

I drew my sword.

Shurur-

Han-tae was holding a box of Almond Choco Balls in the distance, and Soo-hyun was filming me with her phone.

I said,

“Throw it.”

“Yes, hyung!”

Han-tae threw the Choco Balls into the air.

The twelve Choco Balls flew towards me.

And I disappeared.

Almost to the point where my form was invisible.

My feet and hands were nowhere to be seen.

Only my black hair left a faint afterimage.

I didn’t move ostentatiously.

Just remained still, leaving only an afterimage.

The sword reflected the sunlight, causing the surroundings to sparkle like stars momentarily.

And I returned.

The Choco Balls, now increased in number, poured down into the garden.

I sheathed my sword.

Shurur- Thud.

“Did you film it?”

“Yes. It’s done now.”

Hmm…

Not bad.

Soo-hyun smiled and said,

“Should I send it? To that number?”

“Yes.”

“Alright.”

I nodded and looked around at the people.

If things go well with the government, I might have to leave here for a while.

I looked at the people and said,

“Everyone, we have work to do now.”

People looked at me.

The task was simple.

Fortifying the building.

The shutter work was mostly done, and some fortification was already in place, but we couldn’t ignore the possibility of unforeseen events.

First, we would reinforce the windows and glass walls from the 4th to the 10th floors using wood and other usable materials.

Since loud and bright welding wasn’t possible, we would use silicone and strong adhesives from the hardware section on the 2nd floor and the 3rd-floor warehouse.

Also, we would prepare to block the stairs. We would pile unused desks and chairs to create a barricade, completely blocking access to the stairs.

Desks and chairs have considerable gaps.

By piling them up, even a few skilled snipers on the barricade could headshot anyone who tried to climb over, stopping them all.

If bodies pile up and form a mound on the stairs, it would act as a wall.

Eun-seo was quite good at archery.

If she could use a gun, that would be great.

Finally, the rooftop entrance.

Using cutting tools and other equipment, we would create hand-sized holes and reinforce the door with additional supports.

From YouTube videos, I knew that the creatures could climb buildings by stepping on each other and even grab helicopters.

Thinking about them crawling up to the rooftop was chilling.

This was a precaution against that scenario.

With a sturdy iron door and additional reinforcements and supports, even a single sniper could defend the place.

Just shoot anyone whose face appears in the hole.

Or throw a hand grenade.

The reason for fortification was one.

To prepare for any unforeseen events that might occur while I’m away.

If they hold out until I return, I’ll handle it then.

I don’t know how much I’ll level up or how strong I’ll become, but one thing’s for sure-growth makes me stronger.

Zombie waves consist of tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of human beasts. If an unforeseen event occurs, even a million bullets would be insufficient.

By reinforcing the building and creating a pile of corpses at the entrance and stairs, we could gain sufficient defensive power.

All they need to do is hold out until I return.

Of course, it’s best if nothing happens, but it’s wise to be prepared.

To do this, we needed to move most of the items in the mart upstairs.

We decided to use the 7th and 8th floors as storage and mobilized all personnel for the task.

With the zombie wave outside, people’s motivation was already high without needing orders.

If you want to survive, you have to work.

People went to their tasks, and I was on the rooftop, sniping the zombie wave.

It had been over ten days since the zombie wave arrived.

Sniping every day had brought me to level 75.

A little more and the next specialization would unlock.

And that afternoon.

The government called.

“Yes.”

“Hello. This is Seong-gyu Hyeok, the head of the special task force team 2. Are you the one with the sword? The video you sent shows your name as Han Seong-hun.”

A firm voice.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

…Special task force?

“Is it the 707?”

The firm voice sighed deeply.

“The 707 is gone. All special task forces, including the 707 and UDT, have been annihilated. Haven’t you heard?”

Ah.

All the units had human beasts appear among them.

Comrades who were training or eating together suddenly transformed and attacked, and even elite warriors couldn’t withstand the initial onslaught.

Perhaps some warriors fought back.

But they’re not human.

Stabbing their necks or hearts won’t kill them.

Only a headshot will.

Could there have been a warrior capable of precisely headshotting all the human beasts rushing at them?

Warriors are human first.

Only a mad psychopath could instantly kill former comrades with headshots for no reason.

In other words, the military has been annihilated.

I nodded and said,

“I heard. And I also heard from the secretary that you’re organizing a special unit. Is that why you called?”

“Yes. We saw the video. Honestly, we still can’t believe it, but we also train with swords. There’s no one who can use a sword like that. Is it really not edited?”

I chuckled.

“No. I’ll show you sometime.”

“…Alright.”

Then, Jun-hyeok and Hwan-ajusshi came up to the rooftop.

“Seong-hun. First, about the rice…”

Seeing I was on the phone, they kept quiet.

It was obvious who would call at this time.

The two approached me.

I noticed their expressions and eyes and switched to speaker mode.

“- However, when can you join us?”

Hwan-ajusshi and Jun-hyeok’s expressions changed.

They quickly realized what it was about from the brief exchange.

I said,

“That’s the problem. The area we’re in is overrun by a zombie wave. We can’t move anywhere.”

“…Ah, you mean the zombie wave.”

Then, Jun-hyeok said,

“Why don’t we just set them all on fire?”

The special task force captain, Seong-gyu Hyeok, replied,

“Did you say to set fire? Do you have napalm or incendiary bullets?”

Jun-hyeok shook his head.

Obviously, they couldn’t see us.

“No, we don’t have napalm…”

“Then don’t set fire.”

Jun-hyeok looked at us in slight surprise.

Jun-hyeok asked,

“Why?”

Captain Seong-gyu Hyeok sighed deeply.

“Let me explain from the beginning since you don’t seem to understand. We’ve been observing Seoul with a surveillance plane. Most zombie waves occur naturally. But they can also occur artificially.”

…Artificially?

First time hearing that.

Never done any such observations.

Captain Seong-gyu Hyeok continued,

“According to our analysis, the zombie wave in your area is from the ones that were in Gangnam. Do you know how they originated?”

Jun-hyeok shook his head.

“No, we don’t.”

“Because the survivors in that area foolishly set fire to them.”

Jun-hyeok looked at the phone in surprise.

Captain Seong-gyu Hyeok said,

“First of all, they’re not human. They don’t die easily from fire. The only way to kill them is to completely burn their brains, but even with kerosene or flamethrowers, it’s insufficient.”

I muttered in frustration,

“…Napalm and incendiary bullets. So…”

“Yes. Their skin turning black from burning doesn’t mean their brains are burned. As long as their brains are intact, they keep moving. So, without napalm or incendiary bullets, setting fire is meaningless. And there’s more.”

A gulping sound was heard.

He must have taken a drink.

He said,

“When they catch fire, they scream and go berserk. It’s a different sound from usual. That noise attracts all the nearby monsters. The burning ones scream, go wild, and eventually set fire to a gas station, causing an explosion. As a result, a zombie wave occurred in Gangnam, and those are the ones now occupying your area.”

…Crazy, how dangerous.

They’re already dangerous, but if they catch fire, they go mad.

If they scream and rampage, setting fire to nearby shops could burn down entire buildings.

…If we had made and thrown firebombs unknowingly, it would have been disastrous.

Jun-hyeok’s eyes widened.

His lips stretched to the sides.

Jun-hyeok said,

“…We won’t set fire.”

Captain Seong-gyu Hyeok sighed.

“Yes. Don’t set fire.”