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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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“Missing. So you don’t know for sure if Team 1 was completely wiped out. You just assume they were, based on the circumstances. Correct?”
“That is correct.”
I nodded and said,
“Is Team 2’s leader still there? His name was Sung… ah, Sung Kyu-hyuk, if I remember correctly. Is he also missing?”
“The other teams haven’t been deployed yet.”
Other teams…
So, there were several teams besides Team 2.
But they had no weapons.
What was going on?
If they were survivors who had escaped from a military base, they should have been somewhat well-armed, but they only had two pistols and two rifles.
…I had a hunch.
“Excuse me, but are the current Special Task Force members active-duty soldiers?”
Secretary Ahn replied,
“Only two are on active duty. And one of them is missing.”
I see.
So, it was likely that the others were civilians who had joined them.
They would have sought out the government or the military after the outbreak.
The fact that they had managed to join them without weapons and without dying along the way meant they were well-trained soldiers.
It would have been difficult for married soldiers with children to travel and join them, so they were probably mostly single men who had been working civilian jobs after their discharge.
They had people who could fight, but they had no weapons.
That was their current situation.
I nodded and said,
“I understand. I’ll join you.”
Secretary Ahn sighed quietly and said,
“I’m glad to hear that. I look forward to meeting you. We’ll contact you soon.”
“Yes. See you later.”
I hung up.
Soldiers and weapons.
It depended on what kind of people they were, but an alliance with a well-trained group of soldiers would definitely make navigating the apocalypse easier.
I wasn’t the only one who needed to find their family.
Everyone was worried about their families.
Me, my group, and them.
Forming an alliance and building a stronger force.
It wasn’t a bad idea.
I picked up my bow from the ground.
“I suppose I’ll have to meet them to find out what they’re like.”
I knocked an arrow, aimed downwards, and drew the string.
Whoosh-
“So far…”
I whispered softly and released the string.
Phit.
The arrow plunged downwards with a popping sound, piercing the crown of a human beast’s head.
The red glow vanished.
Exhale.
I sighed and picked up another arrow.
“They don’t seem too bad.”
They were definitely different from the Cockroaches.
As I continued shooting arrows, my phone rang.
It was an unknown number.
And it was a video call.
…What was this?
I set my bow down and answered the call.
My eyes widened.
The man on the screen…
An elderly gentleman.
“You are…”
He smiled before I could finish my sentence and said,
“Greetings, Han Sung-hoon. I am Min Jung-woo, President of the Republic of Korea.”
Seriously?
He was the actual President.
I blinked a few times and said,
“Ah, yes. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Han Sung-hoon.”
He looked haggard.
He wasn’t eating properly.
President Min smiled and said,
“It’s hard to casually call oneself the President of the Republic of Korea in times like these. We’re struggling, but I’ve heard you’re taking care of a group of people, Sung-hoon. You’re doing commendable work.”
“Thank you, sir.”
I’d always hated politicians, but meeting the President in person felt different.
President Min said,
“How are you doing? Are you eating well? Are your people healthy?”
“Yes, we’re fine.”
I took a breath and subtly gestured downwards with my head.
“We have a supermarket downstairs, so food and supplies aren’t a problem. How are you, Mr. President?”
President Min smiled.
He seemed like a kind man.
“I’m glad to hear that. Knowing there are people like you, Sung-hoon, gives us hope.”
He avoided talking about his own situation.
It must be difficult.
Seeing such a kind-looking old man with such a haggard face made me feel bad.
President Min said,
“Secretary Ahn told me you’ve decided to join us. And that you want to find your family.”
“That’s correct.”
The President nodded and said with a somber expression,
“I don’t understand how all of this happened. But Sung-hoon, don’t lose hope. I truly hope you find your family. We will help you in any way we can, so please help us as well.”
I nodded.
“I understand.”
President Min smiled faintly.
“I look forward to meeting you.”
“Yes, sir.”
The call ended.
“Huu…”
The President…
The background behind him didn’t look like an office at all.
It just looked like a regular apartment.
It wasn’t spacious, and it certainly didn’t look like a place where the President would be, more like a motel room.
It wasn’t the Blue House.
I didn’t see the First Lady either.
Had she… been a victim?
Or had she… turned?
I lit a cigarette and looked down at my phone.
The apocalypse had taken everything.
Even the President wasn’t exempt.
It was a sobering thought.
Still, he was the President of the Republic of Korea; shouldn’t he be in a more impressive place?
I knew, rationally, that everyone had either died or turned, and only factions of survivors remained.
But I had been hoping, deep down, that there was still a functioning military and chain of command that could resolve this zombie wave and bring things back to normal.
And that I could use my abilities to help.
I had truly been hoping for that.
But seeing the President in such a state dashed my hopes even further.
He had said he saw hope in me, but those were just empty words.
He’d only seen a video; how could he place his hope and trust in me so readily without knowing what I could actually do?
It just showed how desperate he was.
As I finished my cigarette, my phone rang again.
It was a saved contact.
[Sung Kyu-hyuk, Special Task Force Team 2 Leader]
Hmm.
The report must have reached the President, and he was calling me directly.
It was about time the Special Task Force Leader called.
I answered the call.
“Hello, this is Han Sung-hoon.”
“This is Special Task Force Leader Sung Kyu-hyuk. I just heard from the President that you’ve agreed to join us.”
I chuckled and picked up my bow.
“That’s right. Let’s do this.”
Special Task Force Leader Sung sighed quietly and said,
“Han Sung-hoon, I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I still don’t trust you. Frankly, I think that video is fabricated.”
Hmm.
He was honest.
I wouldn’t have trusted that video either.
Who would believe a YouTube video without any other evidence?
They were desperate, so they’d searched for him, hoping he wasn’t a scammer, clinging to any shred of hope.
In that sense, Sung Kyu-hyuk was quite honest.
I had already confirmed during our previous conversation that he was a rational thinker.
I chuckled.
“Whether you trust me or not isn’t important.”
“What do you mean?”
“Securing the weapons is what’s important, isn’t it? Not whether you trust me or not.”
Special Task Force Leader Sung didn’t reply, seemingly at a loss for words.
I said,
“My conditions are the same. I go in alone. There will be no risk to your people. After I’m done, half the weapons. You’ll transport them by helicopter and drop them off on the roof of this building, for my people.”
I couldn’t have them leave the weapons on the street. Another zombie wave might appear, and my people, my women, could be bitten.
Besides, I couldn’t carry hundreds of weapons back by myself, however many there were.
It was too risky to have my people go on a scavenging mission to such a distant location.
Helicopter transport was the best option.
And the fact that they had gathered to rescue survivors meant they deserved to have weapons.
I said,
“You don’t need to trust me in this process.”
Special Task Force Leader Sung said,
“I understand. Our conditions are also the same. If you fail, there will be no rescue operation.”
I chuckled.
“Alright. Let’s do it that way.”
A rescue operation…
I tilted my head and asked,
“I heard Special Task Force Team 1 went missing. Aren’t you going to conduct a rescue operation for them?”
“No.”
Hmm.
He was ruthless.
It seemed he applied his conditions equally to everyone.
I nodded and said,
“How did they go missing? They’re special forces, even if their weaponry is lacking.”
Special Task Force Leader Sung inhaled sharply and slowly said,
“Team 1’s mission was to infiltrate an armory. They were discovered and opened fire. They’ve been missing ever since.”
Hmm.
If they’d opened fire, they would have attracted every human beast in the vicinity.
If hundreds of them swarmed them from all directions…
Since they couldn’t kill them by shooting their bodies, they would have had to get headshots, which would have been impossible.
“There’s been no news of any survivors?”
“None.”
Special Task Force Leader Sung sighed.
“They knew the risks. They knew they wouldn’t be rescued. They went on a mission and failed. That’s all. Don’t ask any more questions.”
I nodded.
It seemed someone close to him had been on Team 1.
I could sense his grief.
“I understand. Then I’ll join you. Let’s carry out the operation as soon as possible.”
“Yes. 05:00 today. The helicopter will be deployed. That is all.”
The call ended.
Hmm.
Special Task Force Leader Sung Kyu-hyuk.
I liked him for some reason.
He felt like a true professional.
I chuckled and picked up an arrow.
Now…
A new day would begin with the sunrise.
Looking at the still-bright moon, I knocked the arrow.
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