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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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So, what were they living on?
He decided not to ask.
He’d probably hear something like, “We’re soaking cardboard boxes in tap water and eating them.”
Ah, but he was curious.
He was suppressing his curiosity when Sung Kyu-hyuk asked,
“What about your group? Aren’t there dozens of you as well? I imagine your situation isn’t easy either.”
…Hmm.
Not easy?
He thought for a moment.
Aside from the zombie waves, not really.
He shrugged and said,
“Not particularly. I had ham and cheese toast with coffee yesterday morning. It was quite good. I’m thinking of asking for it again when I get back.”
The team members’ and Sung Ga-yeon’s eyes widened slightly.
Sung Ga-yeon asked,
“…Ham and cheese toast? Ham and cheese… I can understand that, but where would you even get bread these days…?”
“We have someone who makes bread. She’s still young, but she has a knack for it. The hypermarket downstairs has more flour and butter than we know what to do with, so it’s practically a bread party every day.”
He rested his chin on his hand and looked up at the sky.
The stars were beautiful.
“We’re a little short on side dishes, but we’re growing peppers, cabbage, and lettuce on the rooftop, so we’ll be able to enjoy fresh vegetables soon enough. It’s… not bad.”
The team members exchanged glances.
Sung Kyu-hyuk asked,
“A hypermarket… there must have been a lot of… them there. How did you deal with them?”
He chuckled.
“You saw the video.”
The team members exclaimed softly, “Ah.”
They had all seen how he fought.
Especially Sung Ga-yeon…
There was no way she could doubt him now.
“Our people worked hard to clear out the market, bring down the shutters, weld them shut, and all sorts of other things. Thanks to that, we’ve been quite safe, even when the zombie waves came. Oh, and thanks for having your helicopters clear them all out for us.”
He smiled.
They were doing quite well.
Unlike you guys, apparently.
He didn’t say that out loud.
Sung Ga-yeon stared into space and murmured softly,
“Ham and cheese toast… sounds delicious…”
She seemed to have mumbled it almost unconsciously.
She seemed startled by her own words and looked at her brother and the team members.
Sung Kyu-hyuk’s expression turned somber.
…Ah…
Damn…
He felt a pang of sympathy.
He needed to think this through.
These people.
They were trained warriors.
They had a helicopter and a light aircraft.
In terms of equipment, they weren’t badly off.
Now that they had acquired weapons, they could protect themselves and others.
If this group grew a little stronger…
Perhaps they could be even more helpful in overcoming this apocalypse.
No, they would be helpful.
Would they act like the Cockroaches?
He doubted it.
Based on his experiences so far, it seemed unlikely.
They had said their objective was to rescue people. Among those they rescued, there might be other Cockroaches, of course.
But these people weren’t like that.
Right.
So then…
He rested his chin on his hand and asked,
“There must be a hypermarket in Banpo, right?”
Sung Kyu-hyuk nodded.
“There is. But… it will be difficult.”
“Why?”
Sung Kyu-hyuk looked at his team members, then turned and pointed beyond Banpo Bridge.
A round building was visible in the distance.
Brightly lit.
He tilted his head.
What was that?
Sung Kyu-hyuk replied,
“Our helicopter landing zone, Some Sevit Floating Islands, is over there.”
Huh? Helicopter?
He lifted his chin from his hand and looked into the distance.
“Some Sevit? Is that it?”
Sung Kyu-hyuk nodded.
“We’ve been landing on the roof, which is frankly quite precarious. It’s a sturdy building, so there haven’t been any problems so far, but there’s no guarantee it will stay that way. We need to establish a new landing zone soon.”
Sung Kyu-hyuk took the water bottle from his sister, drank, and continued,
“We use the helicopter to herd the monsters in the vicinity and lure them into the river before landing, but the problem is, every time we fly the helicopter, more monsters swarm in from Gwacheon and Dongjak-gu. The area never stays clear.”
…Ah.
They cleared the area using the helicopter noise as bait, but more monsters from the surrounding areas filled the void, and the cycle repeated.
From what he was hearing, the creatures that formed these quasi-waves didn’t seem to return to their original locations, even after the commotion died down.
Having traveled so far, they simply settled in the new area.
…That was problematic.
It meant that convenience stores and other shops would rarely be empty.
On the contrary, they’d be overflowing.
The creatures would just burrow into any available space when they weren’t actively hunting.
Sung Kyu-hyuk continued,
“Every time we fly around to lure them, we also attract the creatures in the surrounding areas, so we can’t really shake them off. Would you believe it if I told you the Han River is teeming with them right now?”
…He believed it.
He nodded.
He didn’t know how many times the helicopter had flown, but every time it did, it must have triggered a zombie wave.
“The creatures lurking in the river constantly crawl onto land. You can’t see them now because it’s night, but they’re climbing up into Banpo and Yongsan even as we speak. They’re just slow in the water, so it’s not as noticeable.”
Sung Kyu-hyuk tossed the empty energy bar wrapper aside and said,
“Every time we operate the helicopter or the light aircraft, they swarm. We’ve managed to drown them all so far, but at some point, they’re going to burst out. That’s what I think, anyway.”
…Hmm…
That was a definite possibility.
Sung Ga-yeon added,
“There was a zombie wave in Gangnam not too long ago. Some of them kept converging on Banpo. Not the entire wave, but even a small portion of it was a considerable force.”
“Yes. If Captain Park hadn’t herded and drowned them all, none of us would have survived.”
Captain Park, the one who had swept up all the human beasts and dumped them in the Han River?
…He wanted to meet this Captain.
He nodded and asked,
“You launch the helicopter from Some Sevit, but where does the light aircraft take off and land?”
Sung Kyu-hyuk replied,
“Banpo Sports Complex. We cleared out all the soccer goals and tennis nets to create a makeshift runway. It doesn’t need a long runway, so that was sufficient.”
Sung Ga-yeon nodded and said,
“The problem is the monsters swarming. Every time Captain Kim lands, Captain Park has to take the helicopter up and lure them into the Han River. Captain Park has been working incredibly hard.”
“Hmm.”
Sung Kyu-hyuk nodded.
Some Sevit and Banpo Sports Complex…
A helicopter and a light aircraft.
So that’s how it was.
He nodded.
“Alright. I understand.”
He looked out beyond Banpo Bridge.
Then, he said,
“…When we arrive, let me know the location of the hypermarket.”
The team members looked at him.
He didn’t know the specifics yet, damn it.
He’d establish these people as a faction and then form an alliance.
Soo-hyun, Ye-eun, Eun-seo, and his unnamed woman. They would have to wait a little longer.
After their brief rest, they stood up and continued across Banpo Bridge.
“Ugh…!”
Sung Ga-yeon, supported by her brother, winced.
She was limping badly. The pain, which had subsided somewhat while she rested, was returning with a vengeance.
As they walked across the bridge, he took out his phone and made a call.
Soo-hyun answered with a cheerful voice.
“Oppa! Where are you? When are you coming back?”
“Hey, Soo-hyun. How are everyone? Everything okay?”
“Yep! The streets are really quiet! Grandma said she can finally get some sleep. When are you coming back? Ye-eun unni and Eun-seo unni miss you too.”
Oh…
He felt a pang in his chest.
He smiled wryly and said,
“It might take a while. But it won’t be too long.”
Soo-hyun’s voice became slightly subdued.
“How long? Did something happen?”
She had become quite attached to him.
They’d been intimate, and they had been through a lot together.
He smiled and said,
“No, nothing happened. I’m crossing Banpo Bridge right now. I think I’m going to meet the president.”
“The president? You’re crossing Banpo Bridge?”
“Yeah.”
Meeting the president.
Before the apocalypse, he’d never imagined saying those words.
He chuckled.
“I’ll be back soon, so don’t worry. Call me if anything happens. Okay?”
“Okay. Come back soon. Okay? Oppa. Be careful, okay?”
“Okay.”
He hung up.
“Phew.”
He sighed involuntarily.
By now, he would have been enjoying a delicious meal prepared by Ye-eun, chatting and relaxing.
And having sex before bed.
“You have a girlfriend?”
Sung Ga-yeon asked, looking at him.
He chuckled.
“Ah, yes. Sort of.”
More than one, actually.
Sung Ga-yeon smiled, despite the sweat beading on her forehead.
“In times like these, such connections are precious. Cherish her.”
Hmm.
Wise words.
“Don’t you have a boyfriend, Ga-yeon?”
He asked, and Sung Ga-yeon’s face darkened slightly.
Sung Kyu-hyuk, who had his arm around his sister’s shoulders, looked at him.
“He… he turned that day. Ga-yeon barely escaped.”
…Ah.
So that’s how it was…
He nodded silently.
He saw the somber expressions on the other team members’ faces.
They probably all had girlfriends or wives.
They were tall, well-built, and handsome.
But now they were alone.
He didn’t need to ask.
The first day of the apocalypse.
And these were the ones who had survived.
They crossed Banpo Bridge and entered Banpo-daero.
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