episode_0166

Grab! Whoosh!

Lieutenant Lee froze upon seeing the zombie rushing forward, half its body hanging. I grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and lifted her straight up. I yelled at Lieutenant Lee, who couldn’t collect herself due to the sudden turn of events.

“Snap out of it!”

“Gasp!”

Lieutenant Lee flinched at my shout. Still, a soldier is a soldier. She moved reflexively, extending her hand along with mine.

‘This is…’

I realized it upon seeing Lieutenant Lee, her eyes half unfocused. She wasn’t scared of the zombie; these were symptoms of physical shock. She seemed to have taken a significant impact from the unstable landing. Even though she couldn’t keep her wits about her, she struggled to save her comrade. With Lieutenant Lee gritting her teeth, I immediately pulled out Sergeant Park. I extended my hand repeatedly, but there was no hand to grab.

“Wait! Lieutenant Jo is!”

Captain Lee, leaving behind a frantic cry, crawled into the cockpit. Though not easily visible from outside, he was struggling and grunting inside. At the time-consuming action, I poked my head in and checked the interior. Captain Lee was wrestling with Lieutenant Jo, who couldn’t control her body. Sergeant Kim was conscious but in considerable pain. Despite that, he forced his body to move, helping Captain Lee. It was textbook, true camaraderie, but there was no time to spare.

Even now, the zombies were closing the distance. Their horrifying shrieks were growing clearer. The thudding sound of their feet hitting the ground was getting closer. The distance to the tirelessly rushing zombies was only a few tens of meters. Where on earth had they been hiding? A long line of rushing zombies was extending. It seemed the helicopter’s rotor sound had properly attracted their attention.

‘Is it fortunate that they’re only swarming from one direction?’

Assessing the situation, I took off my backpack and duffel bag. I pulled my neck warmer over the bridge of my nose and spoke to the two female soldiers.

“Finish pulling them up and move immediately.”

“Huh? What are you going to do…”

“Just take good care of my gear.”

“W-what?”

I leapt down in the direction the zombies were rushing from.

“I’ll follow right after, so hurry!”

Leaving behind what was more than just a command, I lowered my stance significantly.

Whoosh-!

I immediately charged towards the front of the zombie horde.

“Screech!”

With fresh meat appearing before them, the zombies went wild. Their disgustingly glistening, rotten, dead eyes turned towards me. Following that, a cool, sticky bundle of killing intent was felt. I approached within spitting distance of the zombies.

Tap-tap-! Jump-!

I lightly jumped up, maintaining my running speed. I spun my body like a top in the air. And then, my leg naturally extended at the perfect timing.

Thwack-!

My foot landed directly on the torso of the undefended rushing zombie. It was the perfect distance, timing, and added speed. The aerial spinning kick, performed with maintained flow, landed cleanly. The struck zombie’s torso burst open, sending it flying back in the direction it came from. As a secondary effect, it knocked down and pushed back the zombies following behind. The zombies toppled down in a rush, like falling dominoes. Normally, they would have recoiled in horror, but the opponents were zombies. Their attention seemed to be drawn, as they instead struggled and rushed forward. Exactly towards me.

‘Their attention is drawn.’

I stood firm at my landing spot. And I met the zombies with my entire body.

Rip-! Thud!

I threw a punch at the zombie that entered my range. The target was the head. It didn’t matter if it was the face, jaw, or temple. If it was within punching distance, I reflexively launched a strike.

Thump-thump-thump-thump!

Every time I extended my hand, a zombie’s head burst. Bodily fluids and melted brain matter scattered in the air. But the zombies weren’t scared. They bared their teeth and exuded killing intent, undeterred. Their rotten, decaying hands tried to ensnare my body. But they couldn’t reach.

‘As if.’

The ceaseless zombies gradually closed the distance. My rapidly extending fists gradually gained speed. My straight and fast punches became so quick they began to leave afterimages. My supporting legs began to move subtly with the flow. My waist and torso, which conveyed power to my limbs, began to sway slightly. At some point, I began to ride the rhythm. My fists not only delivered impactful blows but also felt like they were slicing through the wind. My body moved like flowing water, feeling an unseen current. Like a butterfly fluttering lightly.

Thump-thump-thump! Splat-! Splat-!

Heads that merely burst now began to explode as if pierced through. Dark blue blood and brain matter began to splatter away from me. I moved fluidly among the fiends trying to bite, tear, and swallow me whole. The zombies’ outstretched hands almost reached, but never quite did. Discolored, foul-smelling teeth approached, only to be smashed.

Smash-!

If they clustered, I kicked them away with all my might.

Thwack-!

If they tried to cling, I struck their abdomens. When struck, they invariably burst apart, pushing back other zombies. I controlled the distance, striking without pause.

‘…….’

My body felt light. This gently rising heat. As my body loosened, power surged. Unconsciously, I advanced little by little. I wanted to move more. I wanted to fight more. I wanted to break more. A strangely stimulating sensation, as my body grew hot while my insides remained cold. Soon, my body began to move as it desired, rather than my head…

Grab! Whoosh-!

I grabbed a zombie whose head had been smashed and was collapsing, and threw it backwards.

Thwack-!

It struck a zombie that had ignored me and was running towards the helicopter. I immediately closed the distance and rushed in. I delivered a soccer kick to the struggling zombie trapped under its own kind.

Crunch-!

Its neck was torn off, flying in a distant arc like a soccer ball. Without a moment to admire that beautiful arc, I turned my body.

“What.”

There weren’t many zombies left rushing at me. Only three or four remained. I felt something suddenly cool down. An unfulfilled feeling, as if excitement was about to boil over but didn’t quite. I handled the remaining zombies a little more calmly. Easily and surely, as they came, one after another.

‘…….’

I still hadn’t relaxed my guard, scanning my surroundings. A considerable number of zombie corpses were piled up in front of me. A heap of bodies, like sandbags stacked in layers. Roughly, there were dozens, maybe more. I seemed to have handled quite a lot in a short time.

I lifted my head and scanned the direction the zombies had come from. There was no sign of anything moving. Nor were the irritating groans of zombies heard. All that was visible were the corpses that used to be zombies. Only after realizing that did I relax the tension in my hands. I let out a small breath, slowly straightening my back.

“Ugh… damn it…”

I realized my mistake. Both of my hands were covered in bits of zombie skin. Dark blue liquid, whether blood or bodily fluid, dripped stickily. My safety boots, new this morning, were already soaked with putrid blood. As my excitement subsided, the stench became distinct.

“Ughhh~”

I shook my hands and feet in the air, frowning. Conversely, perhaps because I had moved so intensely after a long time, I felt refreshed. Not completely, as it was interrupted halfway. Still shaking my hands, I turned my body.

Captain Lee and all the soldiers had escaped and were out. They were watching me from a spot a little distance from the helicopter. Brushing off the clinging flesh bits from my body, I slowly approached the soldiers.

Squish-squish-

The sticky sensation on the soles of my shoes was utterly unpleasant. I couldn’t help but frown. Even if a zombie died twice, it was still nothing but a nuisance.

Halt-

Muttering to myself, I turned around.

‘…….’

A strange sensation, like something stroking the back of my neck, bothered me. Nothing was moving on the mostly dried, yellow lawn. However, a sense of unease seemed to subtly creep in from beyond the clear view.

…There’s nothing good to gain by dawdling here.

I quickened my pace. The soldiers I approached were in a terrible state. Fortunately, nothing seemed broken. However, they felt sluggish, likely from the impact of the landing. Still, their eyes were clear, showing they had come to their senses. I spoke to Captain Lee, who was staring at me foolishly with those clear eyes.

“Is that person alright?”

“…I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like a major injury, but…”

Captain Lee was supporting Lieutenant Jo, who was bleeding from the head. Lieutenant Jo, unconscious and almost slung over him, didn’t stir. Her breathing was faint, like someone asleep, but seemed normal.

“They just received some impact to their body; there are no other injured.”

“Can you move?”

To my question, Captain Lee replied that they had to move immediately.

“I’d like to check Lieutenant Jo’s condition and take a breather, but it’s difficult here.”

“…Which way do we need to go?”

“First, we need to get over that wall.”

He pointed with his chin, and a wall stood in that direction. The outer wall marking the boundary between the park grounds and the base. Even at a glance, a long, winding wall awaited us.

“Seonghan… are you alright?”

“Yes. I’m perfectly fine.”

“Then we’ll move immediately.”

“Ah, my backpack is…”

“We’ll take care of it for now.”

The two female soldiers were each carrying one of my belongings. I was about to say it was fine, but then I closed my mouth. Since I was in such a terrible state, I didn’t want to needlessly dirty my backpack.

“…I’m sorry.”

I entrusted my gear to the two female soldiers who volunteered as porters. Sergeant Kim, the “balloon man,” also took over Lieutenant Jo and carefully supported her. Captain Lee, now lighter, and I naturally stepped forward. The distance to the Yongsan Base outer wall seemed quite far. All around was just open park grounds, nothing but a lawn. The faces of the soldiers walking together were stiff with tension. The impact of the near-crash landing seemed to have worn off. However, the situation was one challenge after another. There were no cover or buildings to hide behind. A clear blue sky and a yellow lawn capturing the essence of winter. In contrast, the soldiers walking on the ground were directly exposed to danger. Everyone seemed to be on edge. The flowing cold sweat and slightly unstable breathing showed that fact. Even the rustling sound of dry grass underfoot seemed to bother them, as they constantly checked beneath their feet. They were all overly tense. This reaction wasn’t unreasonable, but they’d probably exhaust themselves from the start. I quietly spoke to Captain Lee, who had stiff shoulders next to me.

“For now, it seems fine around here.”

“?”

“There’s nothing visible nearby, and you don’t hear any cries, do you?”

“…Indeed…”

“As long as you don’t do anything to attract attention, it should be fine.”

“Hoo…”

At my words, Captain Lee scanned the surroundings one more time. Confirming there were no anomalies, she let out a small sigh. And from behind, sounds of deep breathing were heard. With short breaths, the soldiers composed themselves and seemed a little calmer. Indeed, trained soldiers have a different side to them. Would they normally have been able to move calmly in a situation like a moment ago? It seems remarkable that they managed to care for others and move without falling into a panic. Even now, the soldiers silently struggled to compose themselves. Thus, diligently walking, we arrived at the outer wall. The park was unexpectedly large and wide.

“Hmm…”

Captain Lee swallowed a groan, looking at the outer wall.

“There used to be a gate nearby, but it seems they’ve blocked it.”

She had been looking around continuously a moment ago, seemingly searching for a gate. But as Captain Lee said, perhaps it was blocked, as nothing like that was visible. The outer wall was built with easily recognizable hollow cement bricks. Wrapped around the top of the approximately 2-meter-high outer wall was coiled barbed wire. It looked as if it had endured a long time, its color having turned black.

‘…Nothing special.’

I was disappointed, as I had imagined something sturdy for a USFK base. While I made a brief observation, Captain Lee was pondering with the soldiers. They were probably thinking about how to get inside.

“What about removing the barbed wire and climbing over?”

“That’s the only way if we want to get over right away, but…”

In the end, they decided to move a little further along the outer wall before climbing over. Captain Lee led us, beginning to walk right along the wall. The intention was to minimize the distance to our destination even if we climbed the wall. The intention was good, and it wasn’t my place to comment. However…

‘Getting closer to the city?’

Even from afar, tall buildings and various structures were visible. There were no zombies visible in our walking direction. However, I had the illusion of an unpleasant monster groan, “Grrr~,” echoing. It felt as if it was carried by the wind blowing from the city into the park. For that reason, I really didn’t like our direction of travel.

How much time passed while maintaining careful steps? Suddenly, Captain Lee stopped, braced herself against the outer wall, and leapt up. Captain Lee poked her head out to check beyond the wall, then quietly came down.

“Just beyond this wall, there’s staff housing.”

“Are we going over?”

“Yes. Sergeant Kim.”

At Captain Lee’s designation, Sergeant Kim carefully tried to lay Lieutenant Jo down.

“Will you be alright for a moment, Seonghan?”

“Yes, Seonghan. Speak.”

“Do we really need to climb the wall to get over?”

“Huh? What do you mean…”

“It seems there aren’t any zombies beyond the wall for now…”

“…That’s right. There were none visible.”

“Then come out for a moment.”

I passed the puzzled Captain Lee and stood pressed against the wall. There definitely seemed to be no sign of zombies beyond the wall. Captain Lee also said there were none…

‘When are we going to cut this and climb over?’

Crack-

‘Not too loud, quietly, quietly…’

I gently clenched my fist and hit the wall.

Thud- Crumble!

Thump- Crumble-

With a dull thud, a hole was punched in the outer wall. The sound of stone dust crumbling and falling followed, and dust billowed up. The wall, which had served as an outer wall for a long time, soon had several holes punched into it.

Thwack-! Collapse-!

When I struck the middle of the wall, which now had several holes, it collapsed into a pile of rubble. A hole large enough for one person to pass through was created in the outer wall.

“Oh, no, this is…”

“Whoa…”

Ignoring Captain Lee and the soldiers, who were frozen with wide eyes, I passed through the newly created opening.

‘…….’

I quickly scanned left, right, and straight ahead. It was a slight noise in the quiet, but fortunately, no zombies had been attracted. For now. There was nothing on the street. More precisely, no moving zombies. A considerable number of scattered corpses were everywhere on the street. It was a momentous entry into the USFK base, but the first impression was a mess. I hurried, with no time to examine the street scenery or anything else. As soon as I signaled from beyond the wall, the soldiers followed. Even if Captain Lee had seen it before, the other soldiers started to tense up again upon seeing the corpses. Sergeant Kim swallowed hard and spoke in a low voice.

“Are they all dead…?”

“No.”

All eyes turned to my short answer.

“There are zombies.”

At my reply, the soldiers reflexively scanned their surroundings. Nothing was immediately visible. But a familiar atmosphere and feeling could be sensed. An unnatural quiet, so silent it was heavy, as if the stillness had been forcibly severed. A subtly uncomfortable air, feeling sticky somehow. And a warning sensation, signaling a reluctance to enter, rose within me. Zombies were clearly scattered throughout the base.

Captain Lee approached me and pointed in one direction with her finger.

“We need to go that way.”

“…Let’s move as quietly as possible, without making any noise.”

I took the lead without hesitation. Behind me, Sergeant Kim, responsible for the patient, and the female soldiers lined up. Captain Lee raised her rifle and moved to the rear. The formation was quickly set, and the moment we took a step.

Groan- Moan-

Small, but clearly audible. The groans of zombies aimlessly wandering, with no particular stimulus or target. The soldiers were slightly startled by my sudden halt. Unlike me, they hadn’t heard the sound. I gently brought my index finger to my lips and began to move again. Cold sweat trickled down my spine, accompanied by a sharp tension. Our mission begins now.