43. Uljin Nuclear Power Plant. (1)

This was definitely different from Pyeongtaek, which was less than an hour away.

The Chinook had been flying for quite some time without any sign of reaching our destination.

Eleven people, including Seong Ga-yeon, Sergeant Song, and myself, were seated side by side near the cockpit.

At the rear, there were square lumps covered with military tarps stacked up.

I tapped Sergeant Song’s shoulder and asked loudly:

“What are those boxes? Bombs?”

They’re not planning to blow up the power plant, are they?

Sergeant Song said something to me.

I couldn’t hear him.

The interior of this military transport helicopter, used by the U.S. military, is not exactly quiet. With two propellers, it’s quite noisy.

I tapped my helmet’s earpiece.

Sergeant Song then shouted:

“Fuel, fuel! We can’t make a round trip to Uljin in one go! All of that is aviation fuel!”

…Uljin?

I nodded and gave him a thumbs up.

Then, I took out my phone and searched for Uljin.

Where is Uljin?

Gangwon?

Ah, it’s in Gyeongbuk.

After checking the distribution of nuclear power plants in Korea, Uljin seemed to be the closest.

The others were located in Jeonnam and Gyeongnam, which are in the far south.

They must have chosen the closest target.

I looked at the map of nuclear power plant locations and clenched my teeth.

“…Phew.”

When will I return to my hometown?

Looking at the Korean Peninsula map makes me feel uneasy.

I put my phone back in my jacket pocket and looked out the window.

Below, I could see fields, farms, mountains, and cities passing by.

The Chinook flew for about three hours before slowing down near the coast.

Below the window, I could see a strangely shaped breakwater.

A peculiar breakwater, resembling a cross between a ‘ㄱ’ and a ‘ㄴ’, surrounded a coastline with large buildings and domes arranged in a regular pattern.

Captain Kim’s voice came through the helmet headset.

“We have arrived at the Hanul Nuclear Power Plant in Uljin. We will land on the breakwater. Please stand by.”

On the breakwater?

I looked at Special Forces Commander Seong Gyu-hyuk, who was sitting next to Seong Ga-yeon.

Special Forces Commander Seong Gyu-hyuk shouted:

“There’s a mountain right next to it.”

…Ah.

…A mountain.

Not good.

Who knows what might crawl out of the mountain?

If something like a wild boar appears and starts charging like it did at the U.S. base, even the Chinook wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

I nodded and waited for the landing.

Tatatata!

With the roar of the engines behind us, we disembarked from the Chinook. Just a few meters ahead was a cliff with waves crashing below.

Sergeant Song got off with his helmet still on.

I tapped his shoulder and pointed to his head.

Sergeant Song then realized and threw his helmet back into the Chinook.

Turning around, I saw Special Forces Commander Seong Gyu-hyuk gesturing. Behind him, the special forces members were following with their weapons drawn.

I followed them, walking along the breakwater, bracing against the strong wind created by the propellers.

After a short walk, the wind and propeller noise faded away.

“Phew.”

Seong Gyu-hyuk, who had been walking ahead, approached me and said:

“This time, the Chinook will wait. No one will return until we fully secure the power plant and ensure safety.”

“Got it.”

I smiled and patted Seong Gyu-hyuk’s back.

“Let’s do our best.”

Seong Ga-yeon, who had been walking a bit behind, glanced at me.

Our eyes met.

She frowned and quickly turned away.

I chuckled.

She’s an amusing woman.

As we walked along the breakwater, the nuclear power plant site gradually came into view.

A wide construction site and the buildings beyond it.

And what appeared to be the nuclear power plant, with its regular rows of domed structures.

We walked along the road leading to the construction site, away from the breakwater.

It was quiet.

But it wasn’t really quiet.

The ground was dotted with blackened, hardened blood and scattered limbs, creating a chilling scene.

The special forces members fell silent.

Especially Sergeant Song, who seemed to have been in a relatively light mood, now had a stony expression.

We passed an exhibition hall and a promotional building with blue glass decor.

Both were in ruins, with debris scattered everywhere.

And among the debris, dead bodies were rotting and emitting a foul odor.

As we passed these, we reached a square building, the education center, and stopped.

From the education center to the nuclear power plant, a makeshift fence of barbed wire was stretched out.

The metal poles supporting the fence were embedded in the concrete, but they were not set firmly, causing the fence to sag in places.

It was a hastily constructed fence.

However, the extensive coverage of the fence around the entire power plant suggested a significant amount of manpower was involved.

Survivors must have built it after the apocalypse began.

Sergeant Song approached the fence.

Special Forces Commander Seong Gyu-hyuk blocked him with his arm.

Then, he tore a handful of grass from the ground and scattered it on the fence.

Crackle! Crackle!

Seong Gyu-hyuk clicked his tongue and looked at me.

“It’s a high-voltage fence. We can’t just go through it.”

Sergeant Song stuck out his tongue and looked at Seong Gyu-hyuk.

“How did you know?”

Seong Gyu-hyuk pointed to the fence on the mountain side.

Blackened bodies were stuck to the fence in various places.

Some were beasts, some were humans.

Their blackened state indicated they had been there for some time.

Despite the distance and their small size, the special forces commander had noticed them.

He has quite an eye for detail.

I was impressed and slowly approached the fence.

It looked like a regular fence.

Getting closer didn’t make my hair stand on end or anything.

Seong Gyu-hyuk approached and said:

“The fact that they set this up means there are people inside.”

“Or there were. They might be dead by now.”

Seong Gyu-hyuk nodded at my words.

“Cutting the fence isn’t a problem, but if we cut it, the power to the area on the other side will be cut off. This is definitely to prevent something from the mountain or outside from getting in. Cutting it might not be a good idea.”

I nodded and looked at the fence.

It was about 2 meters high.

…I can jump over it.

I murmured to myself:

“…Should I go in once?”

To check if there are people, human beasts, or just dead bodies inside.

I slowly raised my hand.

Then, a window in the education center opened.

I stopped my hand.

The figure behind the window was clearly a person.

Not a human beast. Opening a window and looking outside is something they wouldn’t do.

The window closed.

And the figure disappeared.

What is it?

Should we storm in, or wait?

…We can storm in anytime.

I looked at Seong Gyu-hyuk and the team and gestured for them to wait.

After a moment, the main door of the education center opened, and a man in a white coat appeared.

A middle-aged man with black hair, though it seemed he was struggling to maintain it.

His face was gaunt and wrinkled, and he was looking at us.

He looked at us, and we looked at him.

No one moved.

Sergeant Song, looking impatient, tilted his head and took a step forward, shouting:

“Hey! Over there! Can you open this thing?”

The man in the white coat didn’t move.

He must have heard us.

Sergeant Song shouted again:

“Are you deaf, really! Hey! Power! Power! Turn it off!”

Then, a faint sound carried by the wind reached us.

Rumble-

Special Forces Commander Seong Gyu-hyuk grabbed Sergeant Song’s shoulder.

“Stop shouting.”

Sergeant Song, who seemed to have heard the faint sound from the mountain, looked startled but then jabbed the fence with his finger.

“It’s frustrating. He clearly heard me, and he’s just standing there.”

“I get it. Now shut up.”

Special Forces Commander Seong Gyu-hyuk grabbed Sergeant Song by the collar and pushed him back, barking at him.

Sergeant Song grumbled quietly but didn’t shout again.

I was looking at the mountain.

They’re there.

On that mountain.

The beasts stuck to the fence are probably just wanderers who got caught. The leader of those beasts is definitely on that mountain.

What kind of beast is it?

Probably a wild boar.

It could be a bat.

The common beasts in Korea are pretty obvious.

The team was also on high alert, aiming their guns at the mountain.

Seong Ga-yeon whispered:

“We should have brought the minigun.”

“Could you even carry it?”

Seong Gyu-hyuk scolded his sister and then turned to me.

“Seong Hoon, what do we do? Cut the fence?”

I turned my gaze to the man in the white coat standing in front of the education center.

“…Let’s wait a bit longer, and if nothing happens, we’ll cut it.”

As I spoke, I drew my sword from my waist.

Swoosh-

The man in the white coat was still just standing there, looking at us.

His face was very dark.

He looked like he hadn’t eaten for ten days.

He had no expression.

Looking at the eerie man, I pointed my sword at the fence.

Then, I slowly made a slicing motion from top to bottom.

The handle of my sword is wooden.

It doesn’t conduct electricity.

I’m going to cut this.

The man in the white coat, seeing my gesture, finally moved.

One step, one step at a time.

He started walking towards us.

The team, still aiming their guns at the mountain, watched him.

I gripped my sword and waited for the man in the white coat to approach.

In the silence, the soft sound of his footsteps was the only thing I could hear.