Taking care of the zombies remaining in the plaza and parking lot was not difficult.
They were only individuals that had either been extremely old at the time of infection or had suffered major injuries that kept them from moving properly.
The combat team killed the remaining zombies using only knives, without firearms.
Also, because of the noise caused by Junho’s battle, zombies from around the station came as well.
But Paldang Station had no residential area within a roughly two-hundred-meter radius to begin with, so dealing with fewer than thirty of them was easy.
After clearing Paldang Station and all the surrounding zombies that way, the combat team burned every zombie corpse beneath Paldang Bridge, then even drew water from the Han River and prepared a meal.
The meal was MRE combat rations that required no water, and the drinking water was Han River water filtered through portable purifiers containing layered filters of filter cloth, activated carbon, coral sand, and more.
As they enjoyed a meal with enough calories and nutrients, along with clean water, the Han River wind brushed against their faces, stained with blood and dust.
Only then did the combat team finally feel that the fight was over.
But their gazes kept searching for the “human weapon” who had just fought an unbelievable battle.
***
“If it’s this easy every time, this’ll really be nothing. The army should be able to retake the capital region pretty quickly too.”
“Right? But seriously, where the hell is the ROK Army and what are they even doing?”
The combat team chatted among themselves as they eagerly shoveled down their combat rations.
Then Junho, who had just finished a meal nearly twice the size of everyone else’s, swallowed a multivitamin with water and said to them,
“They’re probably trying to retake cities somehow. Especially Seoul, since it’s important, and the capital-region cities connected to it. Of course, they probably got their asses kicked trying. By now, they’ve most likely half given up.”
“Ah, i-is that so?”
The combat team all grew flustered at once and snapped into rigid posture.
Ever since witnessing Junho’s terrifying performance, which had not seemed human at all, they tensed up like this whenever they spoke with him.
However, this was closer to reverence than fear.
“Eat comfortably. We’re on the same side.”
“Ah, yes, sir.”
They answered that way, but the combat team kept glancing at Junho.
Seeing them like that, Junho was certain they now “respected” him deep down.
It was somewhat childish, but in the apocalypse, if you wanted sincere respect from others, you had to show them your “strength” this clearly.
Because in the apocalypse, powerful force was the same as wealth or social status during peacetime.
“And Paldang Station was easy to occupy because the zombies were only in the station plaza and parking lot. There were almost no civilian houses around the station either. Downtown areas or Deokso Station will be completely different. You absolutely can’t do what we did today in places like that. Thousands could swarm in within moments.”
“Ah....”
“Anyway, you really have to be careful with subway stations close to cities or right in the middle of them. The ROK Army probably succeeded in occupying a few remote areas or small towns and got complacent. Then they took a major hit.”
“I-I see. I’m sorry. I didn’t know what I was talking about....”
Junho shook his head at the embarrassed combat team member.
It was only natural that people who had stayed only at Kangho Resort from immediately after the outbreak would not know the situation well.
“No, it’s fine. Anyway, we have to pass Dosim Station and reach Deokso by the end of the day, so make sure you all get some rest. Enjoy your meal.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Understood.”
The combat team kept springing up like raw recruits, and Junho waved once to tell them not to before passing through the ticket gate and entering the waiting room.
Inside, Park Cheolwoo, who had finished eating quickly, was talking with one KW Cops assistant manager while looking at a tablet displaying an aerial map.
“There are soundproof walls installed here and there, but most of it is separated by wire fencing. If we move along the tracks during the day, zombies in the buildings around the tracks might see us or hear us. How about moving after the sun goes down?”
“No. That would actually be more dangerous.”
As Park Cheolwoo shook his head, Junho joined in.
“The manager is right. If we move at night, we’ll have to turn on flashlights, and that’ll make us easier for the zombies to detect. It’ll also be harder to respond if we get attacked. It’s better to move quietly during the day.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“Yes. If we rest a little longer and move right away, we should be able to reach Geumdae Mountain here before sunset.”
Junho pointed to one place on the map and continued.
“When the gangsters traveled back and forth between Guri and Namyangju, they didn’t all use the Gyeongui-Jungang Line tracks. Some crossed over the tracks midway and entered Wabu-eup through Geumdae Mountain, right before Dosim Station.”
“...The mountain is low, so it won’t be difficult to move through, and it connects to the expressway in the middle. The villages are all narrowly formed with the mountain between them, so the population is low too.”
“Yes. They probably sent members to those villages too, like in Gwangju, to check whether there were Alphas.”
They must have used the Gyeongchun Line and Gyeongui-Jungang Line tracks to move around, crossing over the tracks in sections without residential areas and using mountain trails to inspect only easy villages.
Of course, they absolutely would not have used the tracks and stations in places like Moku-ri, where the area around the subway station was bustling and the zombies numbered at least in the thousands.
“Anyway, the mountain is low, but once we get to the summit, we should be able to see all of Deokso and Dosim.”
“Good. We can’t enter Deokso Station, so let’s observe the situation from the mountain first and make a plan.”
“Yes. We can use the drones.”
Junho nodded at Park Cheolwoo’s words.
Because the Daeseong syndicate gangsters had completely occupied Deokso Station, their members could freely enter and exit Deokso Station and use the Gyeongui-Jungang Line tracks, but the combat team would be discovered by them the moment they tried to enter.
And according to the police officers they had pretended were dead and brought to the resort,
the gangsters had generators running, so the CCTV at Deokso Station still worked, and they had blocked every entrance except ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) the tracks and stationed dozens of men there at all times.
In other words, Deokso Station was the Daeseong syndicate gangsters’ forward base.
“Let’s move for now. We’ll fully assess the situation on-site and make a plan.”
***
The combat team rested for about twenty more minutes, then began moving through the Gyeongui-Jungang Line tracks.
The route to Dosim Station was almost entirely exposed aboveground, so they sent drones ahead and moved while scouting roughly a hundred-fifty-meter radius around the tracks in advance.
Since it was a route the gangsters had used, there probably would not be any zombies, but one never knew, so Junho did not neglect reconnaissance.
Also, when they encountered tunnels along the way, they did not pass through them. Instead, from the entrance, they jumped over the soundproof walls or wire fences and continued moving over the mountain the tunnel passed through.
Because of that, although the distance itself was only a little over five kilometers, it took more than two hours—almost three—to arrive in front of Geumdae Mountain, which divided Dosim and Deokso.
They had heard from the police officers that Dosim Station was safe, but there were several large apartment complexes and shopping districts formed around the station, so they had to pay close attention while passing through.
Because of things like this.
“You can’t see them anymore, right?”
“Yes. Whew, I thought I was going to get chills to death.”
At the words of the combat team member in charge of drones, Junho looked back in the direction of Dosim Station, which they had just passed, and said,
“That apartment building we just saw was taken as an Alpha’s territory. The apartment is higher than the subway line, so it watches everything from the roof.”
That was right.
One of the apartment complexes around Dosim Station, which they had passed a little while ago, was only about fifty meters from the subway line.
And on the roof of Building 101 in that apartment complex, dozens of zombies had been staring fixedly at Junho and the combat team as they walked along the subway line separated by the soundproof wall.
“You get it now, right? How cunning Alphas in cities or crowded places can be. That bastard Alpha on the roof only watched because it didn’t have many slave zombies. If it had over a thousand, it might have built a zombie hill and jumped over the soundproof wall.”
“I-I see.”
Everyone swallowed dryly as a scene from a famous zombie blockbuster movie came to mind without them meaning to.
Only then did they understand how dangerous zombies in densely populated areas could be, just as Junho had warned them several times.
“All right. Let’s go up.”
Junho and the combat team crossed a small opening in the wire fencing between the tall soundproof walls just before the tunnel entrance and entered the mountain.
It was a neighborhood back mountain that could be found anywhere, less than a hundred meters high.
But after more than half a year without human footsteps, the mountain was fairly rough.
However, using the aerial map and drones, they were able to reach the highest point relatively easily.
“We’ll have to spend the night here today, so let’s scout the area first.”
At Park Cheolwoo’s words, the combat team split into pairs and searched the surroundings. Meanwhile, Junho used the drones to support them while thoroughly scouting Geumdae Mountain.
“Hm?”
At that moment, something unusual appeared on the controller screen.
“Manager. Look here.”
“Hm? Why?”
Park Cheolwoo came over and looked down at the drone controller screen.
“Here. It looks like a public facility to you too, doesn’t it?”
“It certainly does. Ordinary private warehouses aren’t built with concrete like this.”
On the controller screen, five or six small buildings stood in orderly fashion around a fairly large building whose roof was completely covered with solar panels.
On top of that, it was in a remote spot halfway up the mountain, with almost no civilian houses nearby.
“I’ll lower the flight altitude and zoom in.”
When he lowered the drone to a hundred meters and pulled the zoom all the way in, the place came into clear view.
After checking the screen, Junho and Park Cheolwoo unconsciously widened their eyes and lifted their heads to look at each other.
“Soldiers at a water-treatment plant?”
“Looks like Major Lee Seokjin’s unit, doesn’t it?”
The two spoke almost at the same time, and their faces immediately brightened.
They had discovered a “powerful ally” in a place they had never expected.
***
The soldiers at the waterworks facility seemed almost certainly to be Major Lee Seokjin’s unit.
But since there was no telling for sure, Junho decided he would personally approach nearby, assess the situation carefully, and then make contact.
Junho carefully descended with Park Cheolwoo to a spot right near the waterworks facility, only a few hundred meters from where the combat team had taken position.
Then he launched a mini drone and confirmed that the facility, which had standard fencing with coiled razor wire installed above it, was Dogok Water Treatment Plant.
He also confirmed that the soldiers keeping watch from sandbagged guard posts at the entrance and various other points were members of Major Lee Seokjin’s unit.
“It’s Major Lee Seokjin’s unit. I know that guy.”
Junho recognized one of the two soldiers crouched low at the guard post by the water-treatment plant entrance as a private first class who had gone farming with him in Yeongho-ri, and continued,
“Still, just in case.”
“Only you, since they know your face, should go. I’ll stand by here to shoot.”
Like the combat professional he was, Park Cheolwoo understood Junho without Junho needing to say it, and grinned.
Soon, Junho slung his AR-15 over his back and slowly walked toward the entrance of the water-treatment plant with both hands raised to shoulder height.
“Uh...?”
The two soldiers, who had been watching outside the water-treatment plant while extremely tense, soon spotted Junho.
They quickly took firing positions from the guard post and shouted,
“Stop, stop! Don’t move! Move and we shoot!”
Junho gave a faint laugh and raised his voice toward the guard post.
“You’re Private First Class Kim Haecheol, right? It’s me, Lee Junho.”
“What? Who the hell is Lee Junho—eek!? B-Brother Junho? Is that really you, Brother Junho!?”
“Yeah. The Lee Junho who hit the farming jackpot with you in Yeongho-ri.”
“Uwaaagh!”
The young soldier was shocked to see Junho again here, dozens of kilometers away from Yeongho-ri.
That fact was quickly reported up the chain, and in less than a minute, Lee Seokjin and the other officers came rushing out in a panic.
