episode_0173

We crossed the chaotic road.

Itaewon-ro, which bisects Yongsan Base.

This road is the dividing line between Main Post and South Post.

It might seem odd to have a road passing right through the middle of a military base.

But that’s not what’s important right now.

The street name Itaewon-ro was quite irritating.

Sure enough.

Just in case, I asked if Itaewon was nearby, and they said it was right there.

At that, a chill ran down my spine.

What comes to mind when you think of Itaewon is a bustling, crowded downtown area, isn’t it?

Just then, we passed by traces that looked like zombies had swarmed there.

Moreover, that direction matched our line of advance.

‘…I hope not…’

To the left, Yongsan, to the right, Itaewon.

People might have gathered at Yongsan Base, stuck in the middle.

From a civilian’s perspective, there would be nothing as trustworthy as the military in an emergency.

If you think about that for a moment, it also means there are zombies.

Whether infected people slipped in, or they brought zombies with them.

It’s different from the desolate Main Post.

In the South Post we’ve entered, there are definitely zombies.

I don’t know if the zombies are American or Korean.

I can only infer from the scene unfolding before my eyes.

Most of the buildings in Main Post had been demolished, it was empty, and there were no zombies.

The only encounters were a few zombies in the apartment complex, and finding about twenty corpses at the PX.

However, now the atmosphere had completely shifted.

From the moment we passed the gate, a faint gloominess was palpable.

A strange, subtle smell tickled my nose.

My shoulders stiffened, feeling as if my neck wanted to retract.

Even an annoying feeling that unnecessarily troubled my mind.

‘…I don’t want to go…’

This feeling that makes me want to turn back automatically.

The sense of danger, like my life is at risk, is small.

But it’s the feeling that if we continue like this, nothing good will come of it.

My mouth went dry from the faint sensation that stirred my chest.

This feeling intensified the further we went in, the closer we got to the streets.

The abandoned streets greeted us, leaving behind a repulsive and eerie sensation.

‘……’

Finally, abandoned cars began to appear on the road.

It wasn’t a scene as densely packed as the middle of a city.

Scattered, haphazardly abandoned wrecks.

If they were simply abandoned neatly on the road, that would be acceptable.

I saw a car that had crashed into a utility pole and was pinned beneath it.

There was also a car that had apparently crashed into a building, breaking through a wall and parking inside a store.

And cars completely incinerated, charred black, seemingly burned along with the buildings.

Though I wasn’t an investigator, it wasn’t hard to figure out what had happened.

Struggles fueled by terror, confusion, and lost reason.

Every uncontrolled, frantic action led to disaster.

At least, to me, that’s how the scene was interpreted.

The vehicle carrying us slowed down and carefully passed through the wrecked streets.

Captain Lee, who was in the back with me, was also diligently scanning the streets.

Captain Lee’s facial muscles were rigid, and he was steadying his breath.

He was stoically taking in the horrors etched into the streets.

Captain Lee’s eyes trembled subtly, but they were firm.

Even in such a scene, he seemed to be trying to gather information and find a way out.

I didn’t disturb him while he was concentrating.

And I, too, re-examined the streets.

Near the abandoned cars were all sorts of traces.

Whether fresh or decaying.

Everywhere I looked, there was trouble.

I saw scenes that made me frown slightly.

I also saw scenes that made me involuntarily look away.

There were even grotesque scenes that made me stare blankly for a moment.

“……”

When following the tracks left by a minibus, I had nothing to say.

At the end of the long tire marks lay an overturned minibus.

It seemed to have sped through, ramming everything—people and all—out of its way.

Traces of it zigzagging from the road to the sidewalk, and from the sidewalk back to the road.

Along the tire tracks, bloodstains and squashed, burst pieces of flesh drew a line.

Glass shards, debris from what used to be buildings, and the side of a broken car.

It was a timeline that suggested the driver had lost control due to rage.

A scene of an accident that would have been front-page news if society were normal was overlapping with our path.

‘What a deadly atmosphere.’

Wasn’t it said that this place was America planted within Korean territory?

It looked as if a small American town had been transplanted directly here.

I knew well that such an assessment was not nonsense.

Perhaps that’s why.

The horrific realism of the scene, mixed with exotic ambiance, felt different.

To exaggerate a bit, it felt like being inside a movie.

Movies and reality are different.

But this feeling now, so quiet it makes my hair stand on end, what i—

“Stop.”

At my sharply lowered voice, Captain Lee quickly ordered a halt.

The car smoothly stopped, and I slowly straightened my body.

‘……’

I strained my eyes and meticulously scanned the street.

“…What is it?”

I replied a little late to Captain Lee’s soft whisper.

“…The sound died.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, the feeling is strange.”

“What does that… Hmm?”

Even Captain Lee, who seemed to be thinking, “What nonsense is this?” at my perplexing expression, shut his mouth.

Suddenly, the sound disappeared.

It’s hard to describe, but if I had to compare it, it’s as if the sound had been cut off.

Not even the sound of the wind could be heard.

The severed silence felt alien.

Even the car’s engine sound felt like a disharmony.

The air had settled, one might say.

Nothing visible, yet a sensation subtly tickled my shoulders.

Something heavy, sticky, and chilling…

“This goddamn…”

Rolling my eyes amidst the unpleasant sensation, I couldn’t help but utter a word.

Captain Lee reacted to my sudden curse, but I couldn’t move my gaze.

Captain Lee, turning his gaze to follow mine in confusion, flinched.

At the end of our gaze lay a single zombie.

Approximately 30 meters away.

On the road, where there had clearly been nothing, a single zombie appeared.

Captain Lee tensed at the ominous sign.

“It’s just one, dealing with it…”

“No. We shouldn’t go further.”

“Hmm…”

At my firm refusal, Captain Lee closed his mouth.

I got the feeling that if we went any further like this, we’d be screwed.

Keeping my gaze fixed forward, I quietly asked.

“Is there no other way? A path we could detour by…”

“No. Unless we go completely outside the gate and detour from another direction, we have to go forward.”

He could have dismissed it as just one zombie, but he didn’t take my words lightly.

“First, quietly reverse… Seonghan-ssi, is that… now?”

“…It’s noticed us.”

The zombie, which had been facing sideways, turned its body.

Precisely towards us.

And it definitely seemed like our eyes met.

What in the world are these things, with their poor eyesight…

“……”

“……”

Captain Lee calmly raised his gun and took aim.

The zombie that had discovered us began to move slowly.

Slowly, clumsily.

The zombie, uncomfortably swaying its body, clearly stared at us.

The zombie swayed slowly, like a sick person.

“We’ll deal with it and quickly pass… damn it!”

Captain Lee braced his body, resting his gun on the car roof.

Beyond the slowly approaching zombie, more zombies began to appear.

One, two… their numbers steadily increased.

Zombies rose from inside buildings, and from the overturned minibus.

What were once corpses, with no intact parts, stretched themselves.

And they began to approach us.

“Seonghan-ssi, those guys are strange.”

“……”

Captain Lee was right.

The zombies multiplying up ahead were slow.

Lacking in ferocity, you could say.

They were completely different from the ones that used to rush in with bloodshot eyes.

Honestly, they looked easy to handle.

Despite that, the unpleasant feeling didn’t subside.

‘…No choice, I guess.’

If I were alone, I would have changed direction, but not now.

As I prepared to fight, Captain Lee radioed.

“All units, prepare for combat. Eliminate quickly and break through—”

*Crunch!*

The sound of stepping on glass fragments.

I turned my head towards what was mixed with Captain Lee’s voice.

And reacting immediately, I shouted fiercely.

“Go! Drive over them!!!!!!”

“A guttural roar!”

Zombies appeared on the rooftop of a two-story building.

The moment one of them and I made eye contact, we both reacted.

*Thud thud thud!*

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Swish!*

“Oh, damn it…”

The zombies, appearing without a sound, moved boisterously.

They ran like mad and jumped down.

No, they just fell.

Onto the vehicle we were in.

*Thud!*

I shoved away the one falling onto Captain Lee’s head.

Even then, zombies poured down in heaps.

Some flew onto the car, while others simply plummeted, falling as they had been running.

The sound of something breaking was incessant as they fell.

But the zombies moved on, unconcerned.

Staring only at us, the living.

They glared at us, even as they dragged their twitching bodies.

*Bang! Bang-bang! Bang-bang!*

A distinctly smaller gunshot sound was heard, completely different from the gunshots I knew.

Captain Lee, who had reflexively started firing, couldn’t hide his great surprise.

And he yelled irritably.

“Jo Junwi!!!”

*Vroooom!*

Whether he stomped on the accelerator, the car violently lurched forward with the sound of tires screeching.

I supported my swaying body by gripping the car roof.

“Don’t stick your head out!”

I shouted at Jo Junwi, who was leaning out from the passenger seat to provide support.

The moment she quickly pulled her body back in, a zombie fell onto the spot where her head had been.

“Damn it! Sergeant Kim!”

At Captain Lee’s shout, calling out “Balloon Man” not over the radio but with his raw voice, I looked back.

Unlike us, who had started quickly, the deuce-and-a-half truck was a beat slower.

It was speeding towards us with a mighty roar, but zombies were clinging to it.

Through the window, Sergeant Kim and Staff Sergeant Park’s horrified expressions were clearly visible.

“Captain Lee! Front!”

*Thump! Bang! Bang-bang! Bang-bang!*

Captain Lee, understanding my words perfectly, dealt with the zombies approaching from our direction.

*Clunk!!*

Did we run over a fallen zombie?

My body swayed with the sudden jolt.

*Clench!*

I firmly braced my lower body.

Immediately regaining my balance, I stepped on the cargo in the back and moved.

Sergeant Kim and Staff Sergeant Park are in danger.

The two were struggling to deal with the clinging zombies.

Even if they managed to shake them off, they kept clinging back on.

I took up a position at the very back and opened my inventory.

*Whizz! Whizz! Swish!*

I threw kitchen knives one after another, knocking off the zombies clinging to the deuce-and-a-half truck.

Still, some zombies remained stuck.

I supported the deuce-and-a-half truck, which was dangerously swaying and shaking left and right.

Even amidst that, the zombies increased in number.

Buildings, between buildings, alleys, and rooftops.

From where we were trying to pass, zombies poured out.

‘Damn it! My big mouth!’

This trouble is because I carelessly said something like, “They’ll probably be swarming in South Post.”

As I diligently threw kitchen knives, cursing my chatterbox mouth.

*Clunk-*

*Thump-!!*

“Ugh?!”

The car seemed to jolt, and then suddenly something struck my back.

I couldn’t even react as I was swinging my arm to throw.

An attack without warning.

*Crash!*

Immediately after falling from the car and rolling on the ground, I grasped the situation.

It seemed the zombie Jo Junwi had run into rolled onto the car roof and fell onto me.

“Team kill, damn it!”

*Crunch!*

Still lying down, I brought my hand down hard and forcefully onto its head.

I crushed the head of the zombie that had pushed me onto my back and rolled with me onto the ground.

*Honk! Honk!*

At the loud honk, I reflexively turned my head.

“Oh, come on!”

I swiftly flipped over and pushed off the ground to stand.

*Thwump!*

A heavy, gravity-defying sensation spread through my entire body, and I floated upwards.

*Whoosh – Thud!*

As I floated up to car height, the deuce-and-a-half truck narrowly passed beneath my feet.

I kicked a zombie that was on the car roof and twisted my body.

*Grab!*

As my body fell again, I snatched onto the rear of the passing deuce-and-a-half truck.

“Hoo!”

My body jolted, and I felt a floating sensation as I was dragged along.

Exhaling, I put strength into my arms and pulled.

*Thump! Swish!*

I lightly maneuvered myself onto the roof.

Since the roof was a camouflage net instead of metal, I couldn’t step carelessly.

The moment I misstepped, a hole would appear.

*Stomp, stomp-*

Stepping on the framework that shaped the roof, I moved towards the driver’s seat.

Zombies were clinging to the driver’s side roof and the doors on both sides, resisting.

*Shing!*

The feeling of grasping something that perfectly filled my hand.

I drew my knife after a long time.

*Slice! Stab-! Stab!*

I quickly slashed a neck and pierced the heads of the zombies clinging to both sides.

Once the threats were cleared, Sergeant Kim could focus on driving.

Correcting the vehicle that had been tilting left and right was instantaneous.

*Vroom!*

The deuce-and-a-half truck began to pick up speed again.

Just as it was about to catch up to Captain Lee’s pickup truck ahead.

*Thump-thump! Thump-thump! Thump-thump!*

The sound of an animal running on all fours could be heard.

“……”

A zombie visible on the rooftop of the building to the left of the deuce-and-a-half truck.

That very one, whose eyes had met mine, was running on all fours.

*Thump! Whizz!*

As the speed difference began to widen, the zombie jumped without hesitation.

It was a U.S. soldier.

The blood-soaked uniform was that of a U.S. soldier.

Its bare scalp, perhaps once a skinhead, was half torn off.

And it had an excellent physique, as if it had exercised quite a bit.

That muscular zombie charged threateningly.

Its leaping charge was faster and more dangerous than its running speed.

It timed its approach to me, standing on the car roof.

*Slish!*

“A gurgling shriek…”

In a straight posture, I drew a powerful semi-circle from bottom to top.

At the same time, the bald one lost its body and fell to the ground.

The bald head, rolling on the ground, was trampled and burst open by the zombies running behind it.

The distance from the zombies instantly widened.

Though they ran, shrieking like children throwing tantrums on a toy store floor, the distance grew, and their maddening roars faded away.

For now, we had shaken off the zombies.

“Are you alright!”

Staff Sergeant Park’s shout was heard from the passenger seat.

In response, I lowered my knees and tapped the roof.

*Thump~ Thump~*

“Alright!”

Since I was already bent down, I grabbed onto the edge of the roof and held on.

Quite a few zombie corpses were sprawled in front of the deuce-and-a-half truck.

Every single one had bullet holes in its body.

Seeing that some twitching zombies remained, it seemed they had focused on clearing a path rather than completely eliminating them.

The two vehicles, maintaining a close distance, matched their speeds.

In that short time, the red pickup truck had taken on a murky, dark color.

“Huu~”

My eyes met Captain Lee’s, who was leaning against the cargo and bracing himself in the truck bed.

*Thumb up!*

Captain Lee, maintaining his braced standing posture, raised his hand and gave a thumbs-up.

‘Honestly…’

Reluctantly, I returned the same gesture.

It wasn’t because I saw Captain Lee’s legs trembling.

It was a signal meaning “well done” and “good job.”

We had escaped the crisis to the point where we could commend each other.

After a quick glance back, no more zombies were visible.

Perhaps they were too far out of sight.

It seemed they had given up on following.

‘I wish they’d just stay put.’

I know it’s not true, but I hold a small hope.

We have so much to do, and to be exhausted like this right from the start.

Contrary to expectations, the upcoming schedule seems like it won’t be easy.

*Rattle, rattle, rattle-*

My stray thoughts ended with the strange trembling vibration of the vehicle’s body.

“…It’ll be alright, won’t it?”

I muttered softly.

I wasn’t sure if this lingering worry was for the car or for what lay ahead.

I just kept my gaze fixed on the pickup truck ahead.

Both the pickup truck and the deuce-and-a-half truck.

It felt like the vehicles carrying us were somehow precarious, but it was probably just my imagination.