episode_0230

How many times in a person’s life would they sprint through a vehicular tunnel?

Probably not at all, in ‘normal’ circumstances.

Normally, traffic police would have been dispatched immediately to apprehend them, but it was fine now.

With the world in this state, it was just a stuffy, long passageway.

A frustratingly stuffy, dark, and endless tunnel.

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

Only the sound of footsteps echoed, replacing the swirling wind inside.

Perhaps because he was running so fast, his own footsteps seemed to come from behind him.

‘Ah… my eyes.’

Relying on a single flashlight, running through Yongma Tunnel, his eyeballs felt dizzy.

Thanks to the flashlight in boost mode, his vision was bright.

It effectively pushed back the darkness of the black tunnel, doing its job.

But it was shaking so relentlessly that he felt a non-existent motion sickness.

He even felt the illusion that his eyesight was deteriorating in real-time.

It would be fortunate if that were the only issue, but it wasn’t a good environment.

Large ventilation fans hung at regular intervals from the tunnel ceiling.

Having stopped working, they were nothing more than dangerous scrap metal that could fall at any moment.

Thanks to them, the tunnel was filled with stuffy, musty air.

On top of that, there were even thick specks of dust visible floating in the air.

It wasn’t a problem a thin mask could solve, so he just ran.

‘Damn it… I’ll get cancer at this rate.’

The dust, floating like plankton in the sea, grew thicker and thicker.

Running through it, the air even felt slightly viscous.

By the time he realized he was deep inside the tunnel, the mustiness had turned into an unpleasant stench.

Normally, he wouldn’t have chosen this path, but today was different.

Because of the numerous personal reasons, he kept moving his feet diligently despite grimacing.

‘……’

As he ran quickly, he took in the tunnel interior rushing past.

Tunnels were pretty much all the same, appearance-wise.

Of course, there were a few differences.

For one, abandoned vehicles were pushed tightly to both sides.

Many were burned or severely damaged, but they all had a definite commonality.

It was proof that someone had cleared them, making way.

What was visible now was enough for even large vehicles to pass without difficulty.

It was at this moment he finally understood how those weaklings, relying on their gear, had managed to travel to Sagajeong.

That wasn’t all he saw.

Even in this place, there must have been zombies, as there were significant traces of battle.

Bullet casings rolled on the ground, and there were black scorch marks and gouges.

Pockmarks from bullet impacts pierced the walls and car bodies.

‘…Crazy bastards.’

A tunnel was a surprisingly delicate structure, or facility.

Fighting was one thing, but grenades in a place like this?

Perhaps it was a desperate resolve not to die alone.

It truly wouldn’t take much for it to collapse.

He wondered about the mental state of the person who used explosives.

Still, looking at the traces of combat, it wasn’t hard to understand why they might have taken such extreme measures.

“Wow…”

Traces of battle, witnessed deeper inside the tunnel.

No, it was more accurate to say it looked like a full-blown war had taken place.

The floor, the walls, the ceiling… every visible surface was left in ruins.

It was in such a precarious state that it genuinely felt like it might collapse at any moment.

Unidentifiable stains were splattered everywhere.

Unlike the areas he’d passed through so far, decaying fragments of flesh and internal organs that hadn’t been fully cleared remained.

Blatant traces of a fierce battle.

Given that only bodies and vehicles were cleared, leaving everything else, it seemed this route was considered half-abandoned.

He crossed through the obvious battleground where humans and zombies had clashed.

The traces of combat continued in the direction he ran.

And even after exiting the tunnel, the signs did not cease.

As he diligently ran, he dimly saw the moonlight of the night descending ahead, instead of the pitch-black darkness.

Running with difficulty breathing, he finally saw the end.

*Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!*

“Gasp—!”

As soon as the cold, fresh air touched his face, he took a deep breath.

He panted as if to expel all the dust he had inhaled so far.

He slowed down, regulated his breathing, and looked around.

“Hmm…”

He couldn’t tell if it was the military who fought or Taeseong.

But it was immediately clear that there had been fierce resistance.

Broken barricades and sandbag embankments replacing trenches were strewn everywhere.

Various objects, damaged, stood their ground, seemingly intended to block the tunnel exit in a horseshoe shape and then impede movement behind it.

Sandbags, abandoned cars, barbed wire, and even on-site defensive walls.

It felt as though they had used whatever was at hand, sparing no means or methods.

They had to stop them, no matter what!

Seeing the piles of bullet casings on the ground, he understood.

A serious battle had taken place here.

Despite that, the defensive line had been breached, and none of the facilities were intact.

‘……’

Beyond the wide lanes, to the left and right, bodies formed mounds.

The small mountains of corpses, created at regular intervals here and there, looked like charred remains, as if they had been burned.

The confusing scene, unclear whether it was a victory or a defeat, continued a little further down the road.

【Acheon】

The traces of the battle extended to the half-destroyed tollgate.

Beyond that, the signs of combat abruptly ceased, as if by magic.

Looking around, he realized the battle had ended in a human victory.

But that was all there was.

Aside from the piled and burned mountains of rotting corpses, nothing remained.

No one guarded the scene of victory, nor was there any sign of a defensive line.

Only a clean, fresh trail was left, as if they had repelled the zombies and then simply left.

Perhaps that was why.

A feeling of emptiness lingered over the battleground where the fighting had ended.

He took a step, clicking his tongue softly.

“They *can* do it, can’t they? Those damn bastards.”

As long as they fought zombies, material and human casualties were unavoidable.

But there was proof that they could do well if they truly committed to the fight.

Hadn’t they just fought and defeated a large horde of zombies, burning them afterward?

And yet, with such capabilities, these guys were making such huge blunders.

That’s why he felt so annoyed.

…The scene of a hollow victory left a bitter taste in my mouth.

He passed the half-destroyed tollgate and started running again.

After running for a long time along the road, the scenery dramatically changed.

A faint scent of fishiness was carried on the gentle breeze.

【Guri-Amsa Bridge】

A large, intact bridge spanning the Han River, which flowed calmly and undulatingly.

He stopped briefly at the bridge entrance.

With the sudden proliferation of branching paths, he first checked the map.

The terminal that Manager Kim, who was a petty bastard, had left behind.

He had been quite a pain, but it was fortunate he’d left something useful before departing.

Coincidentally, its operation wasn’t much different from a smartphone, making it easy to use.

The terminal, in good condition, worked properly and boasted excellent performance.

‘…Is this it?’

He touched the screen, and a detailed map with a blue line appeared.

It was obvious at a glance what the blue line meant.

At the end of the winding blue line, his destination was visible.

It wasn’t very far.

He hadn’t realized it while running, but looking at the map, he had covered a considerable distance.

He memorized the route to some extent and put the terminal into his inventory.

‘I should give this to someone knowledgeable.’

With the expectation of potentially finding something useful from the terminal, he began crossing Amsa Bridge.

The wide, three-lane bridge had exactly two lanes cleared.

One side was left entirely abandoned, and the other appeared to have been forced open.

Having come this far, it seemed the two bastards he had interviewed hadn’t lied.

‘…Good.’

He gradually put more power into his legs, accelerating his movement across the bridge.

*Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!*

As he passed each non-functional streetlight, he heard the sound of the wind being cut.

The air he sliced through felt colder as he picked up speed.

Distant scenery rapidly drew near.

The shapes of abandoned cars rushing past him blurred.

*Whoosh!*

He crossed the bridge in an instant and ran along Olympic-daero.

*Thump-thump-thump! Clang!*

There was no need to stay strictly on the road lanes.

He jumped down in search of a direction, then leaped over obstacles towards it.

The abandoned cars filling the lanes didn’t hinder him.

He moved his legs freely, propelled by acceleration, sprinting rapidly.

It didn’t take long to pass Gangil IC and exit at Sangil IC.

And then, his destination immediately came into view.

The moment his destination appeared, he couldn’t help but pause his movement.

He had no choice, as it was remarkably visible even from a distance.

‘……’

A large building emitting light alone from the darkness far away.

The destination, flaunting its presence like a lighthouse guiding ships in the night sea, looked like a landmark signaling a goal.

“…Is it a city that never sleeps?”

‘City that never sleeps’ was the apt description.

Their lavish use of electricity, as if they didn’t know how precious it was, fit perfectly.

If it looked like this from afar, what would it be like up close?

They had claimed to produce and use their own electricity, and it wasn’t a lie.

He was slowly beginning to feel a bit of anticipation about how well that base, which lit up the night alone, was set up.

He started moving his legs again, running towards the base.

But it wasn’t long before he entered the wide expanse of Cheonho-daero.

“Wow… damn.”

He had no choice but to slow down for a moment and survey the surroundings.

The building site used as the base was immediately visible.

As the team leader had said, it was true that they had erected a defensive wall for safety.

A wall about five or six stories high looked incredibly sturdy.

The problem was that it was a properly constructed wall.

He had expected that they would at most hastily drive in H-beams, steel plates, and shoring boards to create temporary partition walls.

But this, by all accounts, was an incredibly thick concrete wall.

Unlike its plain exterior, it exuded a sense of solid defense.

To compare, it resembled the defensive walls seen in movies where giant monsters and robots fought.

A wall purely focused on function.

At this level, couldn’t it be considered a main base rather than just an outpost?

It was hard to believe such a facility could be built in such a short period without any rumors spreading.

He was genuinely impressed.

He didn’t know if it was their ability, their wealth, or both.

In any case, he confirmed they possessed definite underlying power.

“Hmph… really…”

That’s why an even more absurd laugh escaped him.

It was certainly no empty boast that they were a company representing Korea.

‘But then…’

But it was simply laughable that these guys, with such capabilities, had caused this whole mess.

They had instantly built a hideous wall in the middle of the city.

They also had the influence to suppress any dissent, whether it was about money or anything else.

Now that the world had lost its civilization, this place stood proudly, shining alone.

So what could they have possibly lacked so much?

What on earth could they have coveted so greatly?

“Heh heh… Hmm…”

He swallowed and suppressed the laughter that had been quietly escaping.

He shook his head roughly.

He had no business knowing what those powerful people thought.

Even this impressive base was no different from a dog kennel where those bastards resided.

Or perhaps it was a luxurious prison.

Anyway, he erased those thoughts.

…His task was already set.

Having confirmed the astonishing base, he began to move again.

Tonight.

This place was going to turn into a complete mess.