episode_0057

“Tsk, they built it in a high place.”

Sa Jae-hyuk looked up at Sanneungseong and frowned. Their surroundings were entirely surrounded by sheer cliffs, and a single road, barely wide enough for one person to pass through, stretched out through a distant valley.

And at the end, I saw an artificial wall rising high, clearly touched by civilization.

“Hehe… it’s hard… ”

Behind him, Chaewon, a woman with short hair, leaned on her knees and exhaled with difficulty.

“I have become weak. Well, I was old enough to do that. I’m all old now… ”

“… hey. Do you want to search? Because you’re only one year older than me?”

“Ugh… ”

At Yejin’s expressionless words, Chaewon immediately raised her head and growled viciously. Sehwa just sighed lightly and looked around as if it was already routine.

They had just arrived in the easternmost remote area of Eastern Sakju, the edge of human territory. It took longer than expected because the road broke off in the middle and we had to walk for a while.

Originally, this place was supposed to be a rear base, not the easternmost point. However, due to the outbreak of the five plagues, all plans for eastern expansion came to nothing, and the pioneer villages that had already advanced into the mountains hid in the mountains and barely survived.

Sa Jae-hyuk squinted and checked the identification code drawn on the front of the barrier. Although it was rusty and the paint was peeling in places, only the letters C-23A could be clearly seen.

Not long ago, a letter written in red was sent to a branch of the Eastern Security Bureau.

This information was soon delivered to the Masada branch of the General Intelligence Bureau, and was soon passed down to Sa Jae-hyeok by branch manager Mok Jin-woo.

“… ”

Sa Jae-hyuk sighed for a moment and then slowly walked towards the barrier.

C-23A Pioneer Village. This is the place where eyewitness accounts of reanimated corpses were reported.

As a final way to shake off his regrets, he was about to check out the rumors of strange ghouls that appeared in the spring.

***

“Huh, someone said it was soldiers. I am sorry about this.”

-thud!

The heavy sound of the front door closing behind me spread in all directions.

The resident who was guiding them inside the settlement burst into laughter. He was short and had a long beard that extended all the way to his sideburns. Even the exposed parts of his face were full of black grime.

“He had such a scary face that I thought he was a looter. Well, even if a looter was in his right mind, he wouldn’t have crawled into this corner of the village.”

The thick metal club was still rattling in the villager’s hand, as if to indicate the difficult process of entering the village that had just taken place.

“… Tsk.”

“Fuuhu.”

When Sa Jae-hyuk clicked his tongue as if he didn’t like it, Chae-won, who was walking next to him, let out a light sneer. Behind her, Yejin was constantly looking in all directions with a wary eye.

The landscape of the pioneer village was completely dark and lifeless. The residents I occasionally encountered also had scruffy faces, like the man guiding me.

On the other hand, I also felt the stinging gaze that ostracizes outsiders, which is characteristic of remote communities.

“But why did the soldiers go all this far? Are you trying to subdue the five plagues? There seem to be too few people for that. There is no choice with four people.”

“I just came because I had something to investigate. But how do the residents of this village make a living?”

“I make a living by mining the stellite mine at the bottom of the valley. The quality is not very good, so you can’t get a high price, and sometimes when peddlers come, you exchange daily necessities with them.”

Sa Jae-hyuk heard those words and looked in all directions. The faces of the residents were certainly full of dark grime. There were also boxes piled up nearby where minerals were sorted, processed, and stored.

However, contrary to the explanation just now, the boxes were completely empty.

“… ”

A slight sense of discomfort gradually began to seep into Sa Jae-hyuk’s senses.

“… But the old man. Do you by any chance remember how many years have passed since the last of the five plagues?”

In response to Sa Jae-hyuk’s question, the resident ahead of him tilted his head to the left and right.

“Let’s see… I think it’s been about 5 years. I remember it clearly. I know for sure because he burned down our village and ate all my friends.”

“… Is that so. I’m sorry.”

“Well, that’s enough. When I think about it now, it would be better to die early. To be stuck in a valley like this, living must feel like living. But why do you ask that?”

“No. Suddenly my memory is blurry.”

“Tsk tsk, I shouldn’t have done that already at such a young age.”

“… ”

I didn’t answer at all. Instead of shaking off the lingering regrets, doubts start to rise up in my heart from the very beginning.

Sa Jae-hyuk took a deep breath and calmed himself. Nothing is certain yet.

However, the faces of the group members who heard the old man’s words also turned cold. They all knew very well that the outbreak of the five plagues happened more than 10 years ago.

“Now, that is the mansion where the village head brother lives. I don’t know what business you have, but I hope you can resolve it well and return home.”

“… Thank you for your kind guidance.”

In response to Sa Jae-hyuk’s greeting, Jumin patted him on the shoulder with a friendly smile and turned around. A hard, rattling sensation permeates his shoulder and disappears in an instant. It is an unpleasant feeling that disturbs the composure that you worked so hard to regain.

They entered a shabby mansion in the center of town. As soon as they heard someone, an old man came out from inside the mansion and looked at them.

“Who are you?”

“This is the Armed Forces. Is this actually Ha Seok-gu, who you reported through the Public Security Bureau?”

“Ah, you’ve finally arrived. That’s right. It’s me. Come on in.”

The old man nodded, motioned to them, and disappeared back into the mansion. The group behind Sa Jae-hyuk exchanged reluctant glances, but in the end, they walked side by side behind him.

“It’s a miserable place, so I don’t have anything to offer. This is so embarrassing.”

The old man said as he brought simple refreshments and a small teacup to the narrow table where the group was sitting.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I understand that you clearly reported that the corpse was alive and moving. Is that true?”

Hearing Sa Jae-hyuk’s words, the old man’s expression immediately hardened. Then he went to the window, looked around, and quickly drew the curtains to block out the outside view.

After performing a similar operation a couple of times, the entire interior turned pitch black except for the area around the light that glowed faintly.

The old man soon returned to the table and whispered with an urgent look on his face.

“That’s right. Soldiers. You have to believe me. Even though I’m a humble little bookkeeper, I’ve never told a lie in my life. so… ”

“I believe it. Isn’t that why you came this far? Calm down and explain step by step.”

The old man sighed heavily at Sa Jae-hyuk’s words, and then opened his mouth again with a determined expression on his face.

“Do you remember the time when I guided you around earlier?”

A man who was short and covered in black stains, but with a friendly smile, came to mind reflexively.

“Of course I remember.”

“He is… A living corpse.”

Hearing the old man’s confident whispers, Sa Jae-hyuk unconsciously clenched his fists to the point where his skin turned white.

“That’s not all. Apparently, those who died and were buried in the cemetery have returned and are roaming our village. I can’t even count how many of them are like that.”

“… Old man. Can you take responsibility for what you just said?”

“It’s been a few years, but I clearly remember that my internal organs were crushed and all sticking out, so I picked them up with my own hands and buried them in the ground.”

In response to Sa Jae-hyeok’s question, the old man nodded, still confident.

“… Even if that is correct, why were they buried without cremation? Don’t you know that burial is a serious crime prohibited by law?”

“That’s… ”

The old man hesitated for the first time under pressure from Sa Jae-hyuk. Ryu Se-hwa, who stood next to him on his behalf, consoled and comforted the old man in a soft voice.

“If the law is strictly enforced, all the residents of this village may be dragged away. However, it seems like there are circumstances, so if you tell us honestly, we may be able to take extenuating circumstances.”

“… I understand. Actually, there was a therapist who traveled around the area and took care of the injured, but he didn’t show up for a while, so I thought he had died in an accident.”

At her words, the old man eventually showed a forward-looking attitude.

“But didn’t he come back about 3 years ago? Of course, the village residents welcomed him as always. however… From then on, strange and unbelievable things started happening.”

“A strange thing?”

“That’s right.”

“Can you explain in detail?”

The old man’s mouth hesitated again, but after some time, it slowly began to open again.

“For example… As soon as he sat down and stood up, a flower would bloom and fall in that spot in an instant.”

“What… ?”

Sa Jae-hyuk’s expression immediately hardened at the old man’s words.

“I’d like to ask you a moment… Is that healer a woman?”

“That’s right. He was a very young person. But why are you doing that?”

Before I knew it, a crackling sound naturally came out from my clenched teeth. Sa Jae-hyuk could only shake his head in response to the old man’s question.

“… it’s nothing. Please keep talking.”

“Hmm, that’s not all. Wouldn’t it be possible to help someone who was crippled after an accident walk again, or restore the sight of a blind person… Anyway, he showed off all kinds of miraculous things.”

“… ”

“It’s been a while since you stopped by the village and left. But before he left, there was something he left behind for the residents.”

“… What is that?”

The next moment, at the words that came out of the old man’s mouth, the expressions on the faces of those sitting in their seats completely froze.

“‘Don’t turn the dead into ashes, just return them to the dust. If so, he will become the first resident of the new heaven and proudly return to your embrace.’”