The apartment complexes that had been the territory of the zombies that swarmed in last night were searched and cleared by Lee Seokjin’s unit.
Since the Alphas that had ruled those three complexes had been killed, along with nearly all the slave zombies and ordinary zombies they had brought with them, there were not many zombies left there.
And since all of them were individuals trapped inside apartments and unable to come out, dealing with them was not especially difficult.
Junho tried to lend a hand again this time, but Lee Seokjin and the officers firmly refused.
“We can handle this much. Mr. Lee Junho, just rest. You too, Manager.”
Thanks to that, Junho, Park Deokcheol, and the resort combat personnel led by Park Cheolwoo were able to do personal maintenance and rest properly for several hours.
Then, a little after lunch, the two platoons that had gone to clear the apartment complexes returned with a group of survivors.
From three apartment complexes totaling nearly three thousand households, fewer than five hundred people had survived.
Usually about one-third survived, but the reason this place alone had suffered such heavy losses was, as expected, that the survivors had split into factions and fought each other until a major incident broke out.
Even in a world like this, humans fighting one another had ultimately only done the zombies a favor.
In any case, including Major Lee Seokjin’s unit, the number of people now staying at Golden Heights had reached the thousands.
Power and drinking water were no problem at all, but even with the food the Daeseong syndicate had left behind, it would now be hard to last more than half a year.
But neither Junho nor Lee Seokjin was particularly worried.
“You’re starting farming right away, correct? I’ll take troops to Yeongho-ri and send rice over. We have to install relays there anyway.”
“Thank you, Mr. Junho.”
“No need. It’s something I need too. Oh, and on the way, I’ll send you some chickens and rabbits as well.”
“Pardon?”
“L-livestock too?”
When not only Lee Seokjin but also the officers widened their eyes, Junho nodded.
“Yes. There’s an old man I know well in Gahyeon-ri. He spent his whole life farming and raising livestock. He’s increased the number of rabbits tremendously in half a year.”
Go Jeongnam and Go Seokjin, the father and son from the nursing home, were true livestock professionals.
In particular, Elder Go Jeongnam had, by some unknown method, performed the remarkable feat of raising the original thirty-odd rabbits to more than two hundred.
That was even after they had slaughtered several of them here and there along the way.
On top of that, after obtaining and raising a few chickens, the last time Junho checked, there had been around two hundred young chickens alone.
“I’ll send over some rabbits and chickens. As for the chickens, just eat the eggs in moderation for now and increase their numbers.”
“Thank you very much.”
“It’s nothing.”
Golden Heights, where Major Lee Seokjin’s unit would be stationed, sat at the entrance to Namyangju and had a natural advantage with the Han River in plain view.
Unless someone was insane enough to try passing through the densely populated area around Namyangju City Hall’s first and second offices, anyone entering Namyangju from the direction of Seoul would almost certainly have to pass through this place.
Especially considering that before the regression, survivors from Seoul and neighboring metropolitan cities alike had used either the riverside or the Han River itself when moving east and west.
This place, which would be connected to the shelter through relays, was a perfect forward outpost and tripwire.
So the better these people ate, survived, and fought, the safer Gahyeon-ri—and the shelter—would be.
“Then we’ll go to the ecological park at Paldang Lake first and clear that area. After that, the vehicles we left at Ungilsan Station should be able to come and go relatively safely along the riverside bike path.”
“Yes. Please do. We’ll send our troops straight to Ungilsan Station along the Gyeongui-Jungang Line.”
“Yes. Send them out tomorrow. We need to stop by the resort first.”
“Understood.”
Lee Seokjin and the officers were endlessly grateful to Junho for refusing to spare himself even until the end.
After exchanging farewells, the resort combat team led by Junho and Park Cheolwoo once again boarded the electric motorboat and headed upstream along the Han River.
***
After recovering the electric motorboat near Paldang Lake, Junho and the combat team crossed Paldang Dam and moved on foot along the bike path to the ecological park.
Since Onae-ri, where Paldang Dam and Paldang Lake were located, had been a water-resource protection zone to begin with, the population there was extremely small, and the number of zombies they encountered was also very low.
There was only one Alpha as well, perhaps because the Daeseong syndicate had already captured most of them.
Junho killed it with the AR-15, and the combat team easily dealt with the remaining slaves.
In that way, Junho and the combat team killed the nearby zombies centered around the ecological park, then assembled the electric motorboat there again and moved along Gyeongan Stream toward the resort.
“Manager!”
“You all made it back safely!”
At the village riverside where they had encountered and fought the Daeseong syndicate gangsters who had been targeting the resort, resort employees were stationed.
On top of that, just as Junho had ordered before leaving, they had built a guard post and even a structure like a ferry landing that made it easier to keep boats ready.
From now on, this place would be used to transport people and supplies to Namyangju by electric motorboat.
“You built it well. Everyone worked hard.”
“Oh, come on! We didn’t work hard. All we did was farm and do construction labor. The manager and the staff here were the ones who really worked hard. Now, everyone, please follow us.”
The other employees enthusiastically welcomed the combat team, who had returned safely without a single death—or even an injury—and guided them to the village hall.
And inside the village hall, which was being used as both an office and lodging for “reform laborers,” there were unexpected people.
The Blossom members, including Park Deokcheol’s almost-girlfriend, Cherry Ahn Yujeong.
And the combat personnel who would be dispatched to the shelter, led by Yoon Seolhee.
“The CEO said it would be better not to go through the trouble of stopping by the resort, and to leave directly from here.”
“Oh, really? I was still planning to see his face once before leaving. That’s a little disappointing.”
At Junho’s words, Yoon Seolhee, who had recovered significantly from her injury as though proving that while she was not a superhuman like him, she was not an ordinary person either, spoke with her usual calm expression.
“The truth is, the CEO is rather busy. I don’t know where the rumors came from, but survivors keep gathering at the resort.”
“Oh, really?”
Junho already knew that before the regression, Kangho Resort led by Kang Baekho had become one of the largest survivor groups not only in Gwangju but in the entire metropolitan region, but he deliberately asked back as though surprised.
“Yes. Every three days or so, at least three or four people come, and sometimes more than ten. It seems they heard the gunfire from when we fought the gangsters here and thought the army had arrived. But some of them are not exactly high-quality people....”
At Yoon Seolhee’s glance, Junho lowered his gaze.
On the road below the village hall rooftop, men who looked at a glance like neighborhood thugs or punks were shuffling along among the others in shabby clothes, shoulders drooping.
Every one of them either had blue bruises around their eyes or bandages stuck across their faces.
It was obvious who had done it, so Junho gave a small laugh.
“Looks like you handled them properly, Manager?”
“Yes. I was thinking of dealing with one more today, but... hm?”
Yoon Seolhee, who had been looking at them with cold eyes, soon tilted her head.
“What is it?”
“The person I was planning to discipline isn’t there. I’m sure they all went to work together....”
That was when it happened.
Thud! Thud-thud!
A heavy sound rang out, followed by a clattering crash.
“You fucking bastards!”
“Come on! All of you, come at me, you sons of bitches!”
“Come on! Try me, asshole!”
Three men began threatening the people around them with knives and hand axes.
“Ugh....”
“Stay still, you fucking bastard! Move and I’ll stab you! You want to die?”
“Kh!”
Among them, a sturdy man who looked about one hundred ninety centimeters tall had one arm wrapped around a resort employee’s throat, pressing a knife to his Adam’s apple.
On either side of him, two skinny men waved around an ax and a kitchen knife while shrieking.
“You motherfuckers! You fucking pieces of shit!”
“Fuck! You work people to death over one tiny mistake? You bastards!”
They were the rappers called LD and Kelvin or whatever.
***
“Put the knife down! Put the knife down, LD!”
“Fuck off, asshole! You little shit! Who the hell are you to run your mouth? Go get CEO Kang! Bring Kang Baekho here! Now!”
No matter how skinny a person was, if they were holding a weapon, avoiding them was the absolute rule.
There was /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ a reason even professional-level boxers and mixed martial artists said that if the opponent had a weapon, you should run first.
Moreover, setting aside LD and Kelvin, the man with his arm wrapped around the employee’s throat and threatening him looked, from his build and bearing, like he was no ordinary thug.
“Hoo... Of all days. You all came back after all that hard work, and now you have to see this. I’ll go down and handle it.”
Yoon Seolhee let out a deep sigh and started moving.
“You fucking losers. You think having guns is everything? Go on, shoot me. Without guns, you worthless trash are nothing....”
At that moment, Junho, who had been watching the big man’s behavior from the rooftop, simply jumped down.
Pak!
“Gasp!?”
Everyone’s eyes widened at the sight of him landing far too lightly from a six-meter-high rooftop.
“Hey.”
“Hiiik!? Y-you....”
The moment LD and Kelvin made eye contact with Junho, they were not merely startled but horrified, staggering backward as if they might fall over.
“You still haven’t come to your senses. I know I told you. This isn’t the world you used to know anymore.”
“U-uuuh....”
As Junho moved, the two rappers backed away while trembling like rabbits before a predator.
But unlike those two, the man holding the employee hostage was seeing Junho for the first time today.
“What the fuck are you? Damn dog, you’re carrying a gun too? Figures. Without guns, you worthless bastards are nothing, but you sure love acting tough. Heh....”
He openly ignored him and sneered.
“.......”
Junho turned his face toward the big man.
“What? Why? Did that sting? Piss you off? So what are you going to do? Hey, you fucker, shoot me with that fancy gun of yours. That’d be simple, wouldn’t it? You worthless little—hm?”
The big man, who had been mocking and provoking Junho, soon narrowed his eyes.
Junho was significantly built, but about half a span shorter than him, and he had suddenly begun taking off not only his firearm but also all his weapons, including the machete and commando dagger.
“Deokcheol. Hold these for me.”
“Yes, sir!”
Park Deokcheol, who had been ready to pull the trigger at any moment if ordered, quickly came over and took Junho’s gear.
Junho rolled both shoulders broadly and walked toward the big man.
The big man looked at Junho as if he found the whole thing absurd and sneered.
“Ha-ha, look at this bastard. Hey, you little shit. Did you think I’d just happily let the hostage go? Like I don’t know you’ll shoot me the second I—”
“No one fire. Absolutely no one.”
Junho cut off the big man.
Clack! Clack-clack!
Then, as if they had all agreed on it beforehand, every resort employee lowered not only their guns but their other weapons as well.
“......!?”
Flustered, the big man flicked his gaze around while keeping the knife pressed to the hostage’s throat.
His face, marked with several long scars that looked like knife wounds, soon twisted violently.
Most of the people were expressionless, but a few were looking at him as if they pitied him, and some were even mocking him.
That was when Junho spoke to the big man.
“Why? Scared?”
“...What? Ha! You fucking—”
The big man spat profanity as if he could not believe what he had heard, and at some point, his eyes flashed sharply.
“You’re dead today.”
Pak!
He shoved the employee he had been holding roughly by the shoulder.
“Gah!?”
In that instant, the employee’s body, falling forward, blocked Junho’s vision.
“You son of a bitch!”
Aiming precisely for that opening, the big man swung his right hand quickly.
In that brief moment, Junho clearly took in the snap of the man’s wrist, the angle of his arm, and the rotation of his waist.
Just as expected, he was an experienced knife fighter who had done a great deal of “cutting” against people since long ago.
But that was only true when his opponents were civilians or other gangsters.
Swish.
Avoiding the employee, Junho lightly caught the big man’s right hand with his left, then pulled the man’s body in.
And drove a straight punch into the big man’s scarred face.
Baaaak!!!
The black glove did more than crush his front teeth and nasal bone; it caved them inward as though collapsing his face.
The impact snapped the man’s head violently backward.
Clang!
The knife dropped weakly from the big man’s hand as his upper body swayed.
“Khh... khuuuh....”
Staggering backward, pouring red blood and fragments from his nose and mouth, the big man struggled through several breaths.
Then he immediately sank to his knees and collapsed forward where he stood.
After making his opponent half-dead with a single blow, Junho shook the teeth embedded in his glove loose and turned toward the two rappers, only to freeze.
“.......”
“.......”
LD and Kelvin had already thrown away their weapons and were kneeling obediently on the ground.
