episode_0134

A retainer who witnessed the king’s ears, which ought to have been majestic, turn into donkey ears, was ordered to keep silent. But it’s human nature to want to do something more when forbidden.

As days passed where his mouth itched so much he felt he couldn’t live a natural life, the retainer decided.

Even if he were to go, he’d go with a satisfying shout.

Right now, I deeply empathize with that retainer’s feelings.

I want to answer the question of what my identity is, exactly as it is.

My mouth is itching so much.

So, I followed my heart’s command.

“A regular returnee from another world.”

“Regular… what?”

“Deputy-nim. I’m just teasing you….”

“…”

Investigator Park quietly said, as if reading a novel.

At my honest answer, the bulky Kim clenched his teeth.

No, it’s true. They don’t believe it.

Thinking they’d been mocked, everyone’s expression was grim.

Seeing them unable to accept the truth, my heart aches.

I smiled bitterly, looking at these people who reflected the unfortunate state of society.

And then, I continued the conversation.

“My identity isn’t what’s important. More to the point, is that all there is to know about Gangnam?”

At my question, Investigator Park nodded slightly and spoke.

“We couldn’t get any closer even if we wanted to know more. We couldn’t even stay nearby.”

“Investigator Park, were you nearby?”

“Yes. At the time, I was at the rear with the medical team for quarantine and support. But I soon left the site, following them.”

“Were the troops who charged in then annihilated?”

“…I believe so.”

Seeing his somber expression, I casually accepted it.

He’s someone who survived a veritable hell.

Given that he’s lived through this chaos until now, I gather Investigator Park is also a resilient person.

Even so, it remains an undeniable fact that he’s a member of the administration that abandoned its citizens and fled in panic.

“What do you know about Gangwon Province?”

“…Our team in charge of that area lost contact. So, there’s no shared information.”

Looking into Investigator Park’s eyes as he spoke briefly, it didn’t seem like a lie.

Either he truly knows nothing, or he can’t speak about it.

Was it because of his lost comrades?

I turned my gaze from him, whose face had darkened, to look at the team leader.

“Investigator Park interrupted and derailed the conversation, so let me ask again. Why were the doctors dragged away?”

“Not dragged away, but…”

“Answer.”

“…It was to establish and reinforce the quarantine system.”

“You or the soldiers could have done that.”

“You might not know this, but the core needed to be specialized medical personnel. Soldiers were just there to cooperate.”

“There are things that can only be seen and heard on-site.”

Investigator Park and the team leader, chiming in from the side, explained voluminously, but it was worthless.

The key point was that there was an extreme shortage of specialized personnel.

‘Is it for the future…?’

I don’t know if it’s for the future, or for their own safety.

But I vaguely got the impression that they were securing and protecting specialized personnel.

Still, it seems there wasn’t any significant gain.

Because the Gangnam operation failed, and everyone was wiped out.

From what I heard, all the conscripted doctors seemed to have been deployed to Gangnam.

Yet, they were gathering doctors and wanted Director Jang.

“Then where were you planning to send Director Jang and the newly brought-in doctors?”

“The Konkuk University Shelter.”

“Huh? There’s a shelter?”

“…You didn’t know? We kept broadcasting it on the radio and informing people….”

“Because I’m not interested in broadcasts.”

“Even so, shouldn’t you at least have a radio during an emergency?”

I chuckled and replied to the team leader, who spoke in a flustered tone, seemingly forgetting he was tied up.

“You expect me to trust broadcasts made by the bastards who abandoned their citizens and ran away?”

“Ah…”

The reason I didn’t bother looking for a radio while scavenging for supplies.

I can’t trust them.

The government has already abandoned and sacrificed its citizens once.

Still, maybe there are truly proper broadcasts.

Or perhaps there really are evacuation broadcasts for survivors.

But conversely, they might also be targeting people and luring them in.

Water and food have become precious, and morality has hit rock bottom.

In this situation, is there anyone trustworthy?

I felt bad for my companions, but I hadn’t even mentioned radio broadcasts, fearing they might get unnecessarily agitated if they heard one.

And…

“Even if you go to the shelter, do you think you can protect everyone?”

“If everyone works together!”

“You worked together and everyone died.”

“…”

“Don’t talk back, just keep explaining.”

At my chiding words, the team leader pouted his lips.

I guess I shouldn’t have given him vodka.

“…They said they would rescue people at the shelter and research the samples collected in conjunction with Konkuk University Hospital.”

“Wow… they’re really busy.”

“Because we need to know the enemy’s true nature to defeat them.”

“So, was there any progress?”

At my words, the expressions of those kneeling darkened.

Their tightly shut mouths showed no sign of opening.

“The personnel we sent to the Konkuk University Shelter… there are none….”

“Why?”

“Originally, we had established a base at the Hygiene Hospital. From there, we managed to gather doctors by contacting local medical associations.”

“And then?”

“All we had to do was airlift them by helicopter, but the base… c-collapsed. So…”

“At that time, we lost most of the survivors, doctors, and our team members….”

“I also managed to save my life thanks to these people then.”

“Huh…”

Hearing their story, I roughly understood.

They had grandly set things up, and just when they were about to rally and push forward, everything fell apart.

I clicked my tongue at the notion that despite all that chaos, there had been no progress.

No, it was absurd from the start that a private organization was undertaking an operation that soldiers should have done.

I silently watched the team leader, who continued to speak softly.

According to her explanation, the Hygiene Hospital isn’t far from here.

They said they faced one deadly crisis after another just to get here.

They were able to come here after encountering the sub-team leaders who had gone on patrol and other team members, and they chose Holy Sale for both securing supplies and defense.

And then the story connected back to the beginning.

“We got in touch with our superiors, and the mission changed. So we were holding out here and sent the sub-team leader to Sagajeong…”

“How did you make contact?”

“There’s a satellite phone. But we lost it upstairs because of the zombies.”

“…So clumsy.”

“Ugh! Do you even know how dangerous it was to say something like that?!”

“It was mine to begin with, you know?”

I was about to retort to the indignant team leader, but decided against it.

It seemed the satellite phone belonged to Investigator Park.

‘Do they even provide things like that?’

I don’t know much about expensive equipment.

Anyway, the team leader had lost his fear.

Seeing his face flush, it seemed he was getting tipsy from just one sip of vodka.

I quietly marveled at the power of vodka, which could make courage well up from nothing.

‘Konkuk University Shelter, huh…’

The fact that there are survivors is good news in itself.

But I see the aftermath as negative.

From what I heard, its scale is completely different from our shelter in Yongmasan.

How will they protect such a huge place, and how will they feed so many people? While it might be possible in the short term, anything beyond that seems absolutely impossible.

The external threat of zombies, the physiological hardships of food, clothing, and shelter.

What if a fading sense of ethics collides with rising selfishness?

Difficult situations will follow one after another in every aspect.

‘It might collapse from within…’

Fear clouds reason, and hunger makes people blind.

Having seen and experienced such sights firsthand, I know.

You don’t even need to look far; what happened at the girls’ high school is enough to tell.

Humans are selfish beings.

Without extraordinary measures, the Konkuk University Shelter won’t last long.

If they can even get through this winter, that might be a relief.

“Excuse me…”

I snapped out of my thoughts at the team leader’s voice calling me.

“Is that all your mission is?”

“For now… yes. That’s right.”

‘Is this all that someone at the lowest rung can find out…?’

They grandly call themselves Daehan Security, but in the end, they’re just a contracting service.

Doing the dirty work, acting as Tae Sung’s hands and feet for a fee.

If they were real bodyguards, they wouldn’t be rolling around here but would be guarding Tae Sung’s key personnel.

Just as I was wondering what to do with them, the team leader made a proposal.

“Won’t you help us?”

“…What?”

“It’s difficult to say this, but your abilities are amazing. No, ‘amazing’ isn’t enough. If you were with us, you could help many people.”

“I’ll report to our superiors and make a formal request.”

“If I can contact the higher-ups, I’ll also offer compensation accordingly…”

‘He’s definitely drunk.’

He’s offering to join forces just moments after I crushed the leg of one of his companions.

The funny thing is, once the team leader broke the ice, the men to his left and right also started eagerly talking.

They even forgot their grim situation and their eyes sparkled.

After listening to their enthusiastic appeals for a moment, I raised my hand to calm them down.

“Before that, there’s something I want to ask.”

“Yes. Anything.”

“Who sent supplies and people to Yeom Seongjin?”

“Huh? Who is that person?”

The team leader, blinking and asking back, reacted as if it was a name he’d never heard.

“Yeom… Yeom… Hmm? Are you perhaps referring to Yeom Seongjin, the Baekho-pa executive?”

At the bulky Kim’s words, I quietly nodded.

“We know who he is, but we have no direct connection to him. But what do you mean? Sent supplies and people?”

Kim asked, but I didn’t answer.

I only asked what I was curious about.

“Yeom-ssi said so. He said Tae Sung sent supplies and people to support him. He was really bragging about it.”

“Well… we have no connection to that… It’s baffling.”

“You don’t know at all? No guesses either?”

At my words, the team leader merely shook his head repeatedly.

It really seems they don’t know.

“The person Tae Sung sent used dual blades…”

“…Dual blades? If it’s dual blades…”

“…You know?”

“Before that, let me ask. Why are you asking about that?”

Kim, perhaps sensing my hardened expression, asked me back seriously.

Perhaps realizing he was unpleasantly involved, a drop of cold sweat trickled down the side of his head.

Watching him begin to tense up, I murmured lowly.

“Answer first.”

At my subdued voice, the bulky Kim swallowed dryly.

“…Are you sure the person you’re talking about is from Tae Sung?”

“Yes. So tell me.”

“…Do you really need to know?”

I slowly reached my hand towards the table.

“Someone from Tae Sung who handles rough work and uses dual blades as a tool… I only know of Executive Director Choi’s subordinates.”

“Executive Director Choi?”

“Well… I don’t know the details, but…”

“Just tell me what you know.”

Kim, who had hesitated for a moment, uncharacteristic of his large build, slowly opened his mouth.

“To put it simply, he’s like Tae Sung’s servant.”

“If he’s a servant, he’s a servant. What’s ‘like a servant’?”

“…He’s directly under Chairman Lee of the Tae Sung Group.”

“…”

“The person you mentioned is likely one of Executive Director Choi’s subordinates. I know he’s famous for being skilled with a sword.”

“So that’s it…”

An unexpected big shot had surfaced.

For such a person to send a guy like that to a place no different from a rural village…

“O-Of course, it’s not certain. I don’t even know his face, I just heard there was such a person—”

“No, that’s enough. So, what’s the name of this Executive Director Choi guy?”

“…Choi Seonhong.”

Listening to the woman, the team leader, and Kim, it seemed they weren’t involved.

Nor did it seem like they were trying to obscure things with lies.

I repeated the name, Executive Director Choi, to myself and then subtly asked.

“It seems there were many civilians here. What’s the reason?”

“They were rescued, and also people who joined.”

“Not forcibly dragged here?”

“…No. We didn’t treat them roughly. We all tried to work together.”

“Everyone worked hard to safely defend this place. It’s true.”

“Of course, not everyone was like that, but… everyone was cooperative.”

After that, they continued to recount the situations they had experienced in detail.

I couldn’t know for sure just by hearing their story, but it didn’t seem like a lie.

They had tried to live in their own moderate way.

Except for that sub-team leader guy and a few others who followed him.

It turns out the guy whose leg I crushed was also one of that sub-team leader’s lackeys.

No wonder his way of speaking was so annoying.

‘…’

My initial purpose for coming here was to eliminate everyone.

But as I asked what I was curious about, the situation became ambiguous.

From their words, I got the feeling they weren’t bad people.

I even deliberately pressed them on the Yeom-ssi story, but it became clear.

It’s not them.

‘…I should’ve just killed them all when I was shooting.’

Now that I’ve confirmed their true nature, my reason to kill them has weakened.

…I’m conflicted.

I stared down at the team leader, seriously contemplating whether to kill him or not.

“We tried our best, but it was all useless…”

The team leader’s voice, as he lowered his eyes and blamed himself, was tinged with moisture.

Ignoring that, I probed them about various things.

Such as Tae Sung’s headquarters, the government’s movements, and so on.

I asked about miscellaneous things, but there was no gain.

Or rather, it was worthless information.

Once they lost their means of contact, they were like a kite with a broken string.

They too are in a situation where they must look out for themselves.

The only somewhat noteworthy information was Investigator Park’s explanation that Tae Sung, Jincheon, and Daesan Group had joined forces to establish the Konkuk University Shelter, and had actively stepped forward to help the government resolve the situation.

Of course, I couldn’t take all of that at face value.

‘…Is this all I can get from someone at the bottom?’

Even if I shook them down, it didn’t seem like anything more would come out.

If there had been any hint that they were trying to scheme their way out of the situation, I wouldn’t have hesitated.

My wavering dilemma continued, and I asked again.

“Where did you hide all the supplies that were here?”

“W-Why do you ask that?”

“…”

“We made a booth on one side of the first basement floor and gathered and organized them there… Are you planning to take them?”

“…”

I silently stood up and stared intently at the team leader.

“I refuse your offer.”

“Ah…”

Kim, who had been listening quietly, cautiously spoke up.

“Are you going to kill us?”

“I’m still thinking about it.”

People were surprised by my short exchange with Kim.

“Why, why, why?”

“…”

“I-Is it because you shot at us? I’ll apologize for that! We thought you were zombies!”

“We truly thought you were a mutant. Can’t you forgive us?”

“…”

Terrified, they repeatedly apologized to me.

Kim was somewhat calmer, but the team leader’s eyes welled up with tears.

Investigator Park seemed to have lost his words, his eyes wide open.

People fidgeting and desperately trying to speak.

Watching them, I continued to ponder.

‘Should I kill them? Or not?’

The second hand in my mind continued to swing left and right without stopping.

Tick-tock- tick-tock-

The deliberation didn’t stop.