“Purdy.”
Purdy, who had been resting in the kennel after finishing the raw chicken he’d been given as a special treat, ca running out at once.
Kkamsoonie had gone with Junhyeok to check on the chicken coop and the greenhouses.
Except for one fallow greenhouse where beans and clover were being grown and the chickens used it as a sort of playground, the other four greenhouses were now fully in use growing crops ant to beco side dishes and staples.
The AI computing system had automated everything, but even so, soone still had to check on things every day and handle the basic upkeep.
Junho took Purdy with him and headed toward the workshop.
While Baek Hail and Yoon Youngsu were hard at work building ground-attack drones using cloned air rifles and several children’s electric ride-on cars,
Junho entered the parking structure attached directly to the workshop.
The shelter’s parking structure had two levels, one aboveground and one underground.
On the ground floor were the diesel SUV and diesel truck, along with an electric excavator and tractor.
The larger underground level housed the electric vehicles and carts, and all across the ceiling there was an unmanned automated deluge fire-suppression system that would drop down and blanket the vehicles imdiately in the event of a fire.
“All right. Get in.”
Purdy hopped up into the rear cargo bed, and Junho loaded in a hard case containing a cloned air rifle and four spare air tanks.
Following what he had learned at Redrock Academy, Junho placed the AR-15 in the custom firearm mounts built separately beside the driver’s seat and passenger seat.
He fixed the KP9 to the center of his tactical vest where he could respond instantly if needed, then started the electric cart.
Whiiir...
With the smooth sound of the electric motor, the two-seat multipurpose cart began moving slowly.
The sporty-looking cart was nothing like the ones old people rode around the countryside. It really was multipurpose in the literal sense.
The cargo bed had a hydraulic dump function, and with a 500-kilogram load capacity, it could carry heavy freight easily, or even three or four people besides the driver without any problem.
Its downsides were that it only had a roof and front windshield, with an open structure that offered no insulation and no heating or air conditioning, and that its top speed was only about thirty kiloters per hour.
But since it was only ant for work and patrols around the shelter grounds and nearby areas, that was not really a problem.
After coming out of the underground garage, Junho paused briefly, then used the tablet to launch a drone that had been waiting on the retractable takeoff-and-landing pad in the main building’s control room.
This was an industrial model with about an hour of flight ti, fitted with a wide-angle cara and a thermal cara, making it extrely useful for reconnaissance and searches.
It was also the exact model that had been used in the operation to rescue Choi Jeongwoo’s group.
On top of that, Yoon Youngsu had hacked it and removed the altitude restriction, so it could fly and film stably up to around four to five hundred ters.
Of course, it could go higher than that, but because of strong high-altitude winds and possible signal interference, around four hundred ters was the most stable.
After switching the drone to follow mode so it would trail him, Junho fixed the tablet into the passenger-side mount and drove the cart again, heading onto the back-mountain walking trail.
***
There were no issues at any of the five watch posts built along the back-mountain trail.
But outside, as seen through the high-performance CCTV caras installed there, was literal hell on earth—destruction, death, and chaos.
Black smoke was rising from place after place, and every so often there were explosions, large and small.
Only this patch of mountains centered around their shelter—about ten square kiloters in area, a little larger than Yeouido—was peaceful, as if it had been severed from the rest of the world.
Not just Gahyeon-ri, but also Saseok-ri and Daedong-ri in Ongwan-myeon to the north, and the Yeondeok district and Cheondo-eup to the west toward Seoul, all looked like war zones.
There were zombies swarming like columns of ants, and people fleeing from them in blind panic.
Cars that had lost their way kept lurching forward and back in confusion, only to slam at high speed into other vehicles or guardrails, or plunge off beneath bridges.
With so many electric cars around, parking lots and roads everywhere were littered with burning vehicles.
And people who had failed to overco their fear and foolishly chosen to get out of their cars ran between them, only to be overtaken by the creatures in the end.
But even though it had already been two or three hours since the disaster began, there was still no sign at all of tanks, armored vehicles, helicopters, or soldiers.
Which made sense. In Namyangju, there were mobilization divisions and artillery, but no combat-ready frontline units that would be deployed directly into this kind of situation.
And even if there were units Junho did not know about, they would be sent into Seoul first, not show up in places like this full of nothing but small towns and villages.
Before the regression, that was exactly why the land that beca their shelter had gone untouched and abandoned for years.
Not just their shelter site, but most places like this—technically part of the capital region, but sohow still in a vague in-between zone—had simply been left alone.
“Haa...”
Even at this very mont, hundreds, maybe thousands of people living out there were dying horribly without help, or turning into zombies.
But because a location like this was undeniably better for the shelter’s long-term survival, Junho forced down his guilt and ca down from the watch post.
After spending roughly forty minutes thoroughly checking all five posts and the situation outside,
Junho sent the drone back to the main building and at the sa ti called up a freshly charged replacent drone.
Then he drove the cart downhill along the narrow path they had secretly left open beside the industrial-road sound barrier.
Behind the five-ter-high wall was thick with trees and brush, so neither the path itself nor the low-noise electric cart moving along it would be noticed.
At last, after the sound barrier ended and he reached the area near a small creek about six or seven ters across,
Junho checked the live footage being sent by the drone, which was following the cart in follow mode while keeping constant watch over a broad zone with a radius of about three hundred ters, more than six hundred ters across in total.
There were only a few birds and small animals near the creek. No cars, no people, and no zombies.
Then again, if there had been any anomaly or dangerous target, the shelter’s AI computing system linked to the drone would already have warned him.
Junho stepped on the accelerator and crossed the creek quickly, then completed the entire reconnaissance route from the back-mountain walking trail to the inner zone beyond the sealed tunnel before returning to the shelter.
Rushhh... Boom... Rumble...
Under the blazing sumr sunlight as noon approached, the distant sounds of explosions and fighter jets echoed faintly from far away.
The apocalypse was now fully underway.
***
“Kkamsoonie! Here, over here! Eeeheehee...!”
Woof! Woof-woof!
Choi Jeongwoo watched his daughter playing excitedly with the black dog, his expression complicated.
Together with his daughter, Kim Junseo was also there, still a little awkward but smiling now as he played too, throwing a flying disc with her.
After drinking the soy milk and eating the ready-made als from the refrigerator in the container lodging, and then fruit just a little while ago, both children were full to bursting.
“Mr. Choi Jeongwoo.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
At the voice, Choi Jeongwoo jolted so hard he nearly jumped, and Kim Hayoon—startled too even though she had not been the one called—snapped her head toward the speaker.
That morning he had been wearing a helt, goggles, and a mask, so they had not really known what he looked like, but the young man standing there with a calm expression looked much more ordinary than they had expected.
But the build visible under his brown short-sleeved T-shirt and the muscular forearms coiled thick as pythons gave off a frightening pressure.
For a mont the two of them practically forgot to breathe as they stared at the young man, Junho, with eyes full of tension.
“First, I’m sincerely sorry about your wife. My condolences.”
“Kh...”
As he watched Choi Jeongwoo grit his teeth and try to hold back tears, Junho felt a bitter heaviness.
But even though it felt cruel to say sothing like this without giving him any ti at all to gather himself after losing his wife, as the shelter’s owner he had to say it.
“I think by now you understand the situation outside. You saw it on the TV in the lodging. Korea... no, the world is going to collapse very soon.”
“......!!!”
At Junho’s blunt certainty, both their eyes flew wide open.
“You’ve seen zombie movies or TV shows before, right?”
“Yes, yes...”
“In things like that, there’s usually an origin point or outbreak zone. A place where it starts, a region it spreads out from. But this ti there is no such thing. It’s happening simultaneously in every country in the world... in every city and every town. By now, not hundreds of thousands but tens of millions have probably already died.”
“Ah...”
Both of them trembled and lowered their heads.
They had watched the news too inside that container, with its air conditioner, mini fridge, and TV.
Anchors frozen in panic, not knowing what to do...
There had even been one anchor who had been delivering disaster news in a voice thick with tears, then finally broke and ran off set.
Even that had been one of the better cases. Quite a few channels were not broadcasting at all, as if sothing had happened there outright.
Not just Seoul and the greater capital region, but Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, Daejeon—there was not a single city that had escaped this disaster.
No, not just Korea. As the sun ca up and people began starting their day, nearly every country in the world was taking its turn entering a hell headed toward ruin.
“As you know, it broke out at military bases too. There is absolutely no stopping this. The world we knew up through yesterday will probably be gone within a month.”
“Ugh...!”
As the still-young Kim Hayoon finally burst into tears, Choi Jeongwoo spoke through clenched teeth.
“Th-then what do we do? Us... and my daughter Jiwoo, and Hayoon and Junseo here—what are we supposed to do, sir?”
“If you want, all of you can live here.”
“......!!!”
“Though not the children—they’re still too young—but you, Mr. Choi Jeongwoo, and student Kim Hayoon, would have to work. Do sothing.”
“W-work?”
“Yes.”
Junho took out canned beer and soda from the cooler he had brought and held them out to the two of them.
Then he spoke to them as they accepted the drinks carefully.
“You probably get the idea already, but even things like this won’t be easy to find outside anymore. But we have them here. Enough to keep drinking them for years.”
“...Kgh!”
Choi Jeongwoo, who had been gulping down the cold beer, jerked in surprise and sprayed foam from his mouth.
“S-sorry...”
“No, it’s fine. There are about a thousand more. Anyway.”
After taking a sip of the imported stout he occasionally liked to drink, Junho continued.
“What you’ll be enjoying here won’t be free. You understand that from the perspective of people surviving outside, this place would probably feel like heaven, right?”
“Yes... th-then what kind of work would I...”
“What are you good at?”
“Ah, I-I can drive a forklift. I have an electrical technician’s license, and I know how to weld too. My current job’s with a company that installs solar systems and boilers.”
“Oh, really? You’ve got a lot of skills. How did you end up learning all that?”
As he asked, Junho thought inwardly that his choice had been the right one after all.
“Well... I ca from serious poverty. Dirt poor. I graduated from a technical high school, and trying to make a living on my own, I just learned whatever I could get my hands on...”
“Then your parents, Mr. Choi Jeongwoo...?”
For a mont Choi Jeongwoo’s expression twisted slightly.
“The woman who was supposed to be my mother ran off when I was eight, and my father drank himself senseless until I was in high school. Now he’s in so long-term hospital sowhere in Gangwon. Haven’t seen his face in over ten years. Last ti I did, he was causing a scene and demanding I bring him alcohol...”
For him, it was a tragic family history, but from this side of things, it was fortunate, and Junho felt relieved inside.
“Then, Mr. Choi Jeongwoo.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Would you like to live here with your daughter? While doing the work you’re capable of?”
“P-please, let . Forget , but my daughter... at least Jiwoo... she doesn’t even have a mother anymore now... please, sohow, please...”
Watching Choi Jeongwoo swallow back his tears at last, Junho thought it was fortunate.
It might sound excessively cold—no, it was in fact an extrely cold judgnt—
but for the shelter, bringing in a parent like this, one who would do anything for a child, was the right choice.
Before the regression, Baek Hail had done anything at all that a cult ordered him to do just to keep Baek Suho alive.
“Then as for student Kim Hayoon...”
“I-I’m not really good at anything. I’m only in middle school... but please just tell to do anything. I’ll do anything, really. Just Junseo and my grandma, please... hic... we have to find my grandma...”
“Your grandmother?”
“Yes, yes! Mister, please, I’m begging you. Please find my grandma. I’ll really do anything, anything at all... okay? I an it.”
At the sight of Kim Hayoon kneeling so low she looked ready to collapse to the ground, begging through tears, Junho frowned.
Realistically, the woman was probably already dead or a zombie, but Hayoon was both a minor and an adolescent. Whether she still had a guardian or not would have a huge effect on her psychological state...
“I-I know this is too much to ask and completely shaless, but I’m begging too. Their grandma works at a nursing ho in the village. It’s called Hanareum Nursing Ho, and of all things she happened to go in early this morning...”
“Wait. Hanareum Nursing Ho?”
“Yes, yes. Hanareum Nursing Ho, halfway up Mount Cheonghak in Gahyeon-ri over there. I think there are maybe about twenty elderly residents? Anyway, not that many...”
“Hold on. Let sort this out.”
“Yes, sir.”
Choi Jeongwoo imdiately fell silent, and beside him Kim Hayoon wiped her tears, looking at Junho with a desperate face.
After thinking for a mont, Junho spoke calmly.
“Kim Hayoon.”
“Yes, mister. Please...”
Junho raised a hand to stop her before she could start pleading again.
“First. If you and your brother live here, you’ll probably be doing odd jobs.”
“Yes, yes...! I’ll work really hard, no matter what!”
“Second. Whether I should call it lucky or not... anyway, I do have a reason to go to Hanareum Nursing Ho.”
The Kim siblings were incredibly lucky.
Because Hanareum Nursing Ho was exactly the place where the doctor couple Junho absolutely had to recruit went every month in the middle of the month for regular one-night, two-day volunteer work.
Which ant that unless there were two Hanareum Nursing Hos in Gahyeon-ri, Namyangju, the Kim siblings’ grandmother and the doctor couple were in the sa place right now.
“......!!!”
Looking down at Kim Hayoon’s face as her eyes flew wide and life suddenly rushed back into them, Junho continued in an even tone.
“I can promise I’ll go there and look for your grandmother. But... as I’m sure you understand, today isn’t possible. And even if I go within the next few days, I can’t guarantee whether she’s alive or dead. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Ah... yes, yes...”
“Anyway, I’m not saying I won’t go. I will go soon. Just understand it that way for now. And.”
Turning his gaze from Kim Hayoon, who was nodding hard with a tearful face, Junho spoke to Choi Jeongwoo, whose expression beside her had gone through so many changes it looked like he had been riding a roller coaster.
“I think you need to co with sowhere today, Mr. Choi Jeongwoo.”
“Huh? W-where do you an, sir? Right now...?”
“Yes.”
Junho turned and said,
“Mount Cheonghak should be sowhere in that direction. And there’s a communications relay station up there.”
Mount Cheonghak was one of the two mountains surrounding the shelter grounds, along with the back mountain connected to the watch post overlooking the industrial road. It was the one Junho usually called the front mountain.
Its peak was about six hundred ters high, making it one of the taller mountains in the area.
And once you climbed only about seventy to eighty percent of the way up its southern slope, it beca a strategic overlook where you could take in not only Gahyeon-ri, but also the large apartnt complexes, the comrcial district, and even Moku-ri with its Gyeongchun Line station.
And on the mountain’s southwestern slope, about ninety percent of the way up, there was a fairly large relay station and steel communications tower operated by one of Korea’s three major telecom companies.
Originally, Junho had planned to seize that relay station today, on the very first day the apocalypse broke out, and use it to establish the shelter’s wireless communications network and local network on stable footing.
And to do that, he absolutely needed repeaters, signal amplifiers, and the solar panels and ESS batteries to power them.
Choi Jeongwoo was the perfect SCV—no, the perfect skilled worker—for the job.
“Um, sir. If you’re telling to do it, then of course I will. But... to do that kind of work, we’d need wireless repeaters, and UPS units or battery packs...”
“We have them.”
“...What?”
“We have all of it. Everything you just ntioned.”
“......!”
“And there’s a reason it has to be done today.”
Junho turned his gaze to Kim Hayoon, whose face had gone dark again.
“If we want to assess the situation at Hanareum Nursing Ho, drones are essential. And if we want to fly a drone all the way there and check the footage, what do we need to do first?”
“Ah...!”
“Exactly. So we need to get to the relay station and do the work as soon as possible. That’s also the fastest way to find your grandmother sooner.”
Whip!
“Mr. Jeongwoo...”
In the desperate gaze of the kind girl next door, who had sotis even looked after his daughter over the past few years they had lived as neighbors, and thinking of the kindly old woman next door who had made side dishes for them every month despite not having much herself,
the father of a young daughter, not even a full day after losing his wife, clenched his fist hard.
“Yes. I’ll give it a shot.”
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