46. The Watchers. (1)

The sun had already set, and the sky was painted a deep red.

The way back to the power plant.

A faint helicopter sound could be heard.

It was a Chinook. The sound was thick and heavy.

There were no clouds, but the helicopter was too far to see.

I just walked, gazing at the red sunset.

We had only walked for a few dozen minutes, but our pace was slow. The women and the old man had been trapped in the basement for too long, and their bodies were in poor condition.

I stopped walking when I couldn’t bear the heavy breathing sounds from behind.

“Let’s take a break.”

Walking like this, they might die.

“I’m sorry. We… huff, huff. It’s been so long since we saw the sun.”

I nodded and gently laid the man I was carrying on the ground.

The auntie with the child approached to give her husband a Gatorade can, but her fingers were too weak to open it.

I opened the can and handed it to her, then looked around at the women.

…They were all exhausted.

Normally, seeing the sun should have given them energy, but it seemed to be a burden. It was a sign of how much their strength had waned.

…Even if we get back, they won’t be able to work right away.

They can barely walk.

These people need to rest and recover for a while.

As I watched the women collapse one by one, I said:

“Eat some of what we brought and rest. You need to regain your strength to get to the power plant.”

A young woman approached with a can of cola from the plastic bag.

“Excuse me, this…?”

Hmm?

Ah, she wants me to open it.

They have no strength left in their bodies.

I took the can, opened it, and handed it back to her. She looked awkward and smiled, saying:

“No, I meant for you to drink it… You must be tired from carrying that man.”

Ah, that’s what she meant.

I chuckled and handed the cola back to her.

“I’m fine. It’s not tiring at all, so don’t worry. Drink it and regain your strength. Everything will be okay.”

She listened to me and immediately started crying, bowing her head.

“Thank you. We thought we were all going to die. We thought it was all over.”

I smiled and asked:

“Is there a pharmacy around here? We need some medicine.”

An auntie who was sitting hunched over, trembling as she tried to open a 500ml PET bottle, looked up.

“There… our pharmacy is over there…”

…She can’t even open a PET bottle.

Their bodies were emaciated, their eyes red and bloodshot from malnutrition.

I knelt down and opened the bottle for her, then asked:

“Where is it? If you tell me the location, I can go and get the medicine.”

The women’s expressions changed.

Their eyes drooped, and their lips parted in a look of despair.

“…A… are you going now…?”

…They don’t want to be left behind.

I shook my head and pulled out my phone, opening Google Maps and showing it to the auntie.

“No, we need to get to the power plant first. Where is the pharmacy?”

The auntie looked relieved, zoomed in on the map, and pointed it out.

It wasn’t far.

Just a bit further into the old apartment complex, and the pharmacy was right there.

Maybe some of the beasts I killed were hiding in the pharmacy.

“It’s close.”

“Yes, right there. We… walked a bit, but…”

She glanced at me.

…It would be quick if I rode the Wind Scooter…

Should I go and come back?

The man has severe diarrhea, so even some painkillers, antipyretics, and vitamins would help…

As I thought about it, I looked up.

Then I heard a sound.

It was faint and small, but I definitely heard it.

I turned my gaze in the direction of the sound.

The sound disappeared.

…It’s the mountains.

The small trees and sparse bushes on the distant hills.

The sound came from there.

But it was quiet.

No sound could be heard.

I narrowed my eyes and looked around the bushes.

…Did I mishear it?

The auntie next to me asked:

“Um, you said you’re from the government. What do you do? Are you a police officer?”

I chuckled and shook my head.

“No, I’m just…”

What should I say?

I chuckled and said:

“I’m not a police officer. I’m working with the government forces now.”

The old man, having caught his breath, approached me.

“Sir, what’s happening with the government? Are they rescuing people?”

His pronunciation is terrible.

It sounds like “seonsaengnim” (teacher) is pronounced as “seonsaengneun” (teacher).

It’s probably because he has no teeth.

I barely understood him and said:

“The government forces are not that large. As you all know, this has happened not only in our country but around the world. We’re trying to gather and rescue people.”

“Is it… safe there? There was chaos in Seoul too, right…?”

I nodded.

“Yes, it’s safe. We’re even flying helicopters. Did you hear the helicopter earlier? That’s ours. The Special Forces came in that helicopter.”

The women’s eyes widened.

They must have been too tired and distracted to notice.

They whispered to each other, “Did you hear the helicopter? Yes, I did. What about…?”

A young woman approached me.

“So, um…”

Sssshh-

It was a sound.

I immediately turned my head.

Bushes.

The woman stopped speaking as I turned my head.

The women who were whispering looked at me with startled eyes.

The old man asked, tense:

“S, sir, why are you doing that?”

Without answering, I drew my bow from the quiver on my waist.

Swish.

The bow was pulled out.

I drew an arrow and aimed it at the bushes.

I definitely heard it.

It wasn’t the sound of the wind.

I slowly drew the string.

Whiiii-

A transparent, circular shape formed at the end of the bow.

…There they are.

Burning red things.

About the size of a computer case.

They had sharp snouts and long tails.

…Rats.

About twenty of them.

They were all huddled in the bushes, not moving.

“Why, why are you doing that…? Is there something, something in there…?”

The pharmacy auntie, trembling, hid behind me and asked.

I whispered:

“Yes, there are some wild beasts.”

“B, beasts. Beasts can bite people, so… what… what do we do? What do we do?”

I whispered:

“It’s fine. Just stay still.”

Then, I released the string.

Thwip.

Whoosh-

The arrow, released from the bow, instantly pierced the head of a rat.

It was embedded in the bushes, invisible to others but visible to me. The red light had gone out.

I immediately grabbed a few more arrows and nocked them.

The rats flinched.

I shot the rats one after another without stopping.

Although I had only been using the bow for a few months, I had fired thousands of arrows, so the series of actions-drawing, nocking, and shooting-were seamless.

I could feel myself naturally shooting arrows in rapid succession.

Thwip, thwip, thwip, thwip!

After killing a few, the rats started to scatter in panic.

Sssshh-

The bushes shook wildly as they scattered in all directions.

Squeak! Squeak!

The sound of rats squealing could be heard.

A few of the women let out frightened sounds at the noise.

Ignoring them, I aimed and shot arrows, regardless of the distance.

Thwip, thwip, thwip, thwip!

A dozen or so rats were killed in one go.

Thud!

The last arrow I shot embedded itself in a tree.

While the skill ensures a headshot, there are limits to how much the trajectory can bend. If there’s a clear obstacle, it will block the arrow.

“…Tsk.”

I should have used Acceleration before shooting.

I hesitated to use the skill on just a few dozen rats, and now a few have escaped.

I lowered my bow and put it back in the quiver.

“They’re gone now.”

The old man marveled:

“My, how can you shoot a bow so fast? You have a sword on your waist and a gun on your thigh. What did you do before?”

…Hmm.

This is really awkward.

If you just let me fudge it a few times, you’d stop asking.

I smiled slightly and said:

“…A swordmaster who uses a bow.”

The young women caught on.

That I was making a pun.

A few young women covered their mouths and giggled, while the older aunts nodded as if they believed me completely.

And the old man was impressed.

“Swordmaster, a swordsman, right? You were a martial artist, then.”

Swordsman…

Alright, let’s go with that.

“Ah, yes.”

I nodded and looked back at the mountains and bushes.

There was no movement.

No sound.

The rats had definitely fled the area.

…But something about them was strange.

They didn’t seem like ordinary beasts…

Then something came to mind.

The man in the white coat.

He said they seemed to be observing, right?

Watching, he said.

Right.

The rats just now.

That’s how they felt.

It felt like they were watching us, observing us.

…They’re not just beasts.

I looked at the distant mountains.

The wild boar I killed in Pyeongtaek wasn’t just an ordinary beast either.

If that boar was in the middle of a power struggle between packs of dogs and bats, the wild boar in these mountains might have taken control of all the nearby beasts.

We should hurry back to the power plant.

I looked around at the women sitting on the ground.

They were all looking at me.

There’s no need to scare them.

I smiled and said:

“It’s safe, so there’s no need to look so scared. But it’s not good to be out here for too long, so let’s try to get there as quickly as possible, okay?”

The women nodded and said “Yes.”

I nodded and approached the man.

He was now able to open his eyes properly.

The ion drink seemed to have helped a bit.

“Are you feeling better?”

The man slowly blinked and looked at me.

“Where… are we…? Who… are you…?”

It was more like a whisper than a voice.

His voice wasn’t coming out properly.

I placed a hand on his shoulder and said:

“Let’s talk once we get there. I’ll lift you up, so bear with it.”

I lifted the man and stood up.

The women also stood up.

I smiled at them and said:

“Let’s go.”

As the women answered “Yes,” I turned and started walking towards the power plant.

My mind was filled with thoughts of the rat swarm.

If the man in the white coat’s feeling and my guess are correct, the beast has taken control of the mountain beasts.

…The operation to cut the power might be quite intense.

I need to talk to the Special Forces Commander when we get back.