episode_0009

“It’s quiet…?”

Those were Hyeji’s first words as soon as she arrived at the engine room.

Isn’t it natural to be quiet?

I looked at Hyeji with a face that said, “What on earth are you talking about?”

Who would come to the engine room when the hospital is full of people-eating monsters?

At that time, do not try to escape through a window, doorway, or emergency exit.

If this engine room were located in a ship or something, it would be a different story, but unfortunately, this is a hospital.

The people who were there had a sense of calling in caring for the patients, and it was a far cry from guarding the engine room.

Well, Hyeji didn’t necessarily want an answer, but she clung to the generator as if possessed and started to wiggle.

“Let’s see… Of course, the fuel is all used up… Let’s check the combustion system first…? The pump and piston condition…”

Knock, knock!

I heard the sound of a bolt being unscrewed by an electric screwdriver. It was an electric screwdriver sticking out of a handbag that I thought was just held in place with a foam strap.

What the heck, why is that thing popping out of there?

“As expected, Dad. It’s in good condition for having been left for so long. It’s sealed well. It seems to have worked without a problem until the fuel ran out!”

“…?”

Hyeji kept talking for a long time about things that only she knew.

I didn’t feel bad when I discovered an unexpected side to someone I thought was a useless burden, because it seemed to prove that my efforts had not been in vain.

“Coil… If I just want to take out the coil… Do I have to completely remove this part…?”

Watching from the side wouldn’t be of much help and it seemed like they would just do it themselves, so I walked over to check if the engine room was really safe.

Even if it is an apocalyptic situation, isn’t it just an extension of modern society?

It was necessary to faithfully implement the optimal process created by mankind, division of labor.

When I came out to the opposite side of where Hyeji was stuck, I saw that there was a number 1 attached to the generator.

I can tell just by looking at it. It’s Unit 1.

The number of coils commissioned was three in total, and there were three more identical generators standing next to Unit 1.

Well, if there are no special problems, this matter will be resolved well.

*

After looking around the engine room, I couldn’t see any zombies or even a single ant.

It was a natural result, as the exit leading outside was firmly shut.

I opened the door leading outside just in case, but the situation outside wasn’t much different from the inside.

It felt strange to see a world where street art was displayed with blood that had turned dark red or black wherever you went, but it still had its original color, just covered in dust.

“Brother, is there anything like a cart nearby?”

“What is a guruma?”

“It’s a tow truck, or a bogie. An engine room of this size would definitely have one, at least for its own maintenance.”

“Ha…”

Now, I feel like I’m being treated more like an assistant than just a younger sibling.

But what can I do? This is why I brought you here.

Hyeji diligently ran around the engine room, thinking that the faster she could get the coil, the faster the withdrawal would be, and finally, she was able to find a wheeled tow truck.

“Okay! Unit 1 is finished. Units 2 and 3 can be removed from the coil without checking their status.”

“And then it explodes?”

“Looking at the condition of Unit 1, the rest seem to be in good condition as well! There doesn’t seem to be any external problems with the naked eye! Judging from the fact that the fuel gauges are all stuck on the floor, it looks like it went into emergency operation after losing power and then ran out of fuel and went into hibernation.”

“Oh, okay.”

Hyeji started rambling on and on about information that I wasn’t even curious about.

I thought I might have to talk to him for no reason, so I gave a vague answer and dragged the cart carrying the coil towards Unit 2.

“The reason TRX-6900 is a luxury product is not only its maintainability but also its excellent stability and output. Originally, the diesel generator…”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“It seems like both you and your younger brother are able to communicate well. If you’re interested, I can teach you a few simple things…”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Whenever Hyeji spoke, I would nod my head mechanically like a parrot and repeat the same words.

Anyway, Hyeji seemed to be lost in her own world, and no matter what I said, she was just busy chattering excitedly.

Now that I think about it, a lot of time has passed, why haven’t you come?

I glanced at my watch and saw that three hours had already passed since I jumped out of the manhole cover.

No matter how many zombies there were to lure, someone with the old man’s skills could easily shake them off and reach the engine room, but since they didn’t arrive, a slight sense of unease began to creep up on him.

The walkie-talkie didn’t have any special emergency lights, so there’s probably nothing wrong with the old man, but isn’t there a separate issue between not having a personal injury and not being able to join the meeting on time?

Beep beep beep.

I pressed the button on my walkie-talkie three times. It was the button I had promised to press when I needed to communicate for special reasons.

After a while, the walkie-talkie started crackling. It seemed like they weren’t trying to communicate in a place with such good reception.

“Why aren’t you coming.”

-Mi**. Things are a little messed up. Soon***.

The content that was delivered wasn’t in perfect condition, but it wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t understand it.

I knew this would happen. I knew it the moment you dragged a bunch of zombies with you.

Wasn’t he a stupid, sloppy, and naive old man who ran wild only because of his strong body and petty tricks?

It was only natural that a man as big as me, who was not good at archery and had a useless body, would get into trouble.

“Don’t come quickly and get hurt. Be tactful and come safely. If you come hurt, no one will pick you up, so you will be left behind.”

He blurted out the words as if he was giving a notice and then turned off the voice communication channel on the walkie-talkie.

“Is Mr. Do-Hoon okay?”

“Someone was squirming around in the manhole cover, so things got a little messy. Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of it.”

“If you say it like that, I’m more worried…”

It was funny to see him talking like that with soot all over his face, hands, and shirt.

It seemed like the awareness itself was a bit vague as to who was worried about whom, and that if something happened here, Hyeji would be the first one to get hurt.

“If you’re that worried, just finish that quickly.”

“Oh, yeah!”

Hyeji, whose hands had been slow for a moment at my words, started moving busily again.

*

“The end!”

The tractor that Hyeji had been pulling along now had three generator coils loaded on it.

Perhaps because it was such a large generator, each coil seemed quite large and heavy.

“But how are you going to take this? I was wondering how you were going to take it since Dohoon is here, but right now it’s just us…?”

“If I thought I had to work so stupidly, I would have refused when you asked me to bring the coils. At first glance, they look like they easily weigh over 20kg each, so I wouldn’t have thought of carrying them on my back and going back.”

“?”

There was a plan. A plan that was easy to carry.

“Okay. Can you tie these three together so I can take them all at once?”

“It’s not that difficult…?”

“Then do it. Tell me when you’re done. Since I’ve decided to meet up with you here anyway, I’ll have to wait.”

I headed towards the entrance. Given the ignorant old man’s personality, there was a high chance he would come this way.

“But this is a little strange…?”

While waiting for the late old man to join, Hyeji’s puzzled voice was heard.

“What’s weird?”

“Units 1, 2, and 3 seem to have stopped operating a while ago. This one seems to have been in operation until recently. Let’s see… Is it connected to Annex 3?”

I felt something cheap.

“You said there was no fuel earlier? Then why are you suddenly saying it seems to have been working until recently?”

“Since these are all done at once during maintenance, there are not many cases where only one has different settings or only one is in poor condition…? But this applies to both! If you look here, there is a little bit of oil leakage!”

“Take the coil back to where we came in.”

“Isn’t it hard to carry this on your back and go up…?”

“Don’t worry about that. Just do as I say.”

I put my arrow straight into the bow and prepared to pull it at any moment.

At the same time, the sound of someone running could be heard from the hallway beyond the doorway.

At first I thought it was an old man, but since there were two footsteps instead of one, I hid in a corner and pulled back the bowstring.

‘Get out of here quickly.’

He moved his lips to urge Hyeji, who was still hesitating. Hyeji, who had finally realized that the situation was serious, pulled the cart and headed toward the ventilation shaft.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

My heart was pounding and adrenaline was racing through my body.

Killing zombies was a boring and familiar task, but killing people was neither easy nor familiar.

The thought that I might get hit crossed my mind, adding to the tension.

‘I hope they aren’t all lawbreakers.’

I counted the numbers in my head, reciting my wishes in my mind.

Even if I was in a position to launch a surprise attack, I wasn’t confident that I could completely win if a bullet flew in a narrow space.

thud!

The sound of footsteps was loud. It meant that the other person was close by.

If you show up like this, there will be an opponent right in front of you.

“Short story!”

Hey, man.

Seriously… I didn’t like any of it, whether it was shouting from afar or sending signals with a walkie-talkie.

“Sigh…!”

The moment he fired the arrow, he relaxed his foot and slightly changed direction. The sudden turn caused his center of gravity to collapse, and the load went straight to his arm muscles.

I thought it would probably torment me and make me groan when I went back to the shelter and tried to fall asleep.

Still, I didn’t take my eyes off the arrow. The arrow flew through the air with a bloody sound and lodged itself in the left wall of the hallway.

“Sigh…”

I felt relieved.