The Apocalypse Regressor's All-Purpose Shelter

“I’m sorry. You should really be getting some proper rest.”

“No, I should be the one saying that. All I’m doing is sitting here watching monitors, so what’s hard about it... But are you really going to be okay? I think you should at least try to sleep a little.”

Lee Myeongseon looked at Junho with eyes full of guilt and concern as he prepared to head back outside without even getting proper sleep.

No matter how necessary it was, after seeing what Junho had done overnight with her own eyes, she found his unbelievable stamina astonishing—but even more than that, his sense of responsibility and sheer ability to act bordered on awe-inspiring.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll have to move again after sunset tomorrow anyway. Ah—well, today now.”

When he smiled awkwardly like that, he looked exactly like a polite young man his age.

But Lee Myeongseon had personally witnessed what Junho did, and how he did it.

Even among fellow police officers, she had rarely ever seen someone as coldly rational and decisive as him.

Especially when it came to using violence, he had absolutely no hesitation. Before the world became like this, that might have disturbed her.

But now she knew.

When all was said and done, Junho had personally handled the final moments of the gym owner and his family—people who technically weren’t even all that close to him.

That was not something a person who was merely cruel and cold-hearted could do.

“Anyway, be careful out there. I’ll keep watch here. Honestly, it feels kind of nice standing duty again after so long.”

“Yes. Then....”

After leaving the youth training center’s management office, Junho climbed the stairs to the rooftop.

Kim Jimin and one of the reservists were up there chatting quietly while standing guard.

“Ah, you’re heading out now?”

“Yeah. Everything quiet?”

At Junho’s question, Kim Jimin checked the tablet synced to the drone controller display and answered.

“Nothing besides heat signatures from animals wandering around the mountains.”

“It’s honestly been forever since I’ve seen a neighborhood this empty of both zombies and people. Feels like somebody’s grandpa’s countryside house.”

They were right.

The area Junho had discovered while crossing Wonmi Mountain was surrounded entirely by rice paddies and farmland, and on top of that, it was part of a redevelopment zone.

It wasn’t that there were no houses or buildings at all, but there were so few they could practically be ignored. In terms of population density within a one-kilometer radius, it was even lower than Gahyeon-ri.

Furthermore, the training center itself sat right against the foothills of Wonmi Mountain, and to reach the nearest road, someone had to walk over three hundred meters.

And because of the wildly overgrown roadside trees and weeds, finding the entrance from the road itself was difficult.

It was like an island hidden inside the city.

“Still, you never know.”

“Of course. Anyway, don’t worry and have a safe trip.”

“Will do.”

Lightly equipped, Junho headed back down from the rooftop.

Soon, Kim Jimin watched Junho’s heat signature sprinting rapidly across Wonmi Mountain through the tablet display and clicked his tongue.

“Amazing. Seriously amazing. The guy practically moved all those supplies from the subway station by himself, and now he’s heading all the way back home again.”

“He’s seriously insane. What did Mr. Junho even do before all this?”

“I honestly don’t know much either. Just that he’s been super close with our boss for a long time.”

“Damn....”

“But there’s one thing I know for sure.”

“...?”

Watching Junho’s heat signature leave the drone’s surveillance radius of roughly three hundred meters in less than a minute, Kim Jimin spoke with complete certainty.

“He’s the most trustworthy person left in this world. If you stick close to Brother Junho, even impossible things somehow work out. We’re seriously lucky.”

The reservist silently nodded.

He pretty much felt the same way.

***

After spending the entire night moving supplies left behind in the Bucheon house and the city integrated control center back and forth with a carrier frame until dawn, Junho had only barely managed to fall asleep right before sunrise.

No matter how iron-like his stamina was, it had still been an exhausting night, and he ended up sleeping a full ten hours straight before finally waking up.

Afterward, he ate a meal totaling well over three thousand calories and then immediately began working with several others.

First, he installed the PTZ camera from the Bucheon house onto the satellite-antenna pole atop the training-center building.

Then he moved to the road entrance leading into the area and finished setting traps and booby traps there as well.

After that, Junho visited the handful of houses scattered among the surrounding rice fields within a three-hundred-meter radius and conducted reconnaissance.

Just as expected, they were homes used only seasonally during farming periods. There were household goods inside, but no people.

Within roughly three hundred meters centered around the training center, the entire area was a complete no-man’s-land.

“For now, it’ll be enough if you only farm the vinyl greenhouses and fields right beside the training center. There are four greenhouse units alone, so as long as you diligently grow potatoes and sweet potatoes, food shouldn’t become a problem.”

The nuns already had some seeds stored away, but there was also a seedling shop along the roadside, meaning both the variety and quantity were more than sufficient.

In other words, even if it wasn’t perfect, there probably wasn’t a safer or more livable place left anywhere in Bucheon than this.

And once Junho finished all his plans, former special-forces reservists armed with live ammunition would also be stationed here.

In terms of safety, it would become nearly ideal.

“Then....”

But not everything was finished yet.

There was still one remaining “problem” connected to the single most important reason Junho had come to Bucheon in the first place—

Something even Junho himself had not fully anticipated.

He needed to persuade Choi Hyunwoo’s mother, Lee Myeongseon.

***

“I’ll stay here, so take Hyunwoo with you.”

“...What?”

For the first time in a long while, Junho looked genuinely startled.

Lee Myeongseon smiled at him.

“What? Did you think I was going to object?”

“...Yes.”

“Well, I suppose that makes sense. Sending my son all the way out there after finally seeing him again for the first time in ten months... and in a world like this too. As a mother, maybe it does sound heartless. But it’s exactly because the world’s become like this that I’m sending him.”

“...!?”

As Junho looked even more puzzled, Lee Myeongseon continued with a firmer expression.

“Because the world’s become like this... I want my son to stay in the safest place possible. Right beside you, Mr. Junho.”

“Ah....”

Only then did Junho finally understand how she felt.

“The reason Hyunwoo and I survived this long is entirely thanks to you. Especially Hyunwoo—he survived because of your house, and because of the things you left behind there. So I’m truly grateful. To you, Mr. Junho... and also to Junhyeok, who became friends with Hyunwoo long ago.”

“I’m the one who owes Hyunwoo more than I can repay. You probably already know this, but thanks to Hyunwoo, Junhyeok managed to endure a really difficult period.”

That was true.

After their father died in an accident, Junhyeok had gone astray for a while.

But Junho had been working at the time and overwhelmed with countless problems, so he couldn’t constantly look after his younger brother.

Then several months later, after finishing his military service, Choi Hyunwoo began spending nearly every day with Junhyeok and helping him however he could.

Thanks to that, Junhyeok quickly returned to himself.

“See? Must’ve taken after me. He’s warmhearted, and when it matters, he steps up.”

Smiling softly, Lee Myeongseon turned toward the window.

Outside, Choi Hyunwoo and Han Areum were playing with the children.

The sight of the huge Hyunwoo noisily running away from them looked pretty ridiculous.

“Though honestly, I wish he’d only taken after me. He takes after his father too, so sometimes he lets his temper get the better of him and causes trouble. So I hope you’ll keep an eye on him and guide him a little, Mr. Junho.”

“That’s not true. Hyunwoo does perfectly well on his own, ma’am. He’s always dependable.”

“Really? Hand on your heart, honestly?”

“.......”

“Hoho. See? I’m his mother. You think I wouldn’t know when my idiot son does strange things sometimes?”

Unable to answer properly, Junho’s reaction made Lee Myeongseon burst out laughing.

But after calming down, she spoke seriously again.

“Hyunwoo talks about you sometimes, so I know. And when Junhyeok came over to our house before, I paid close attention. He turned out really well. But who do you think made him that way? It’s all thanks to his older brother. That’s why I want you to take Hyunwoo with you.”

“What about coming with us yourself, ma’am?”

“No. I have to stay in Bucheon. Our Lieutenant Colonel Choi Gilheon will come back someday, and at least one person should be waiting for him. Imagine if he barely managed to survive and return, only to find his wife gone too. He was already heartbroken enough about having to retire without making colonel.”

Junho already knew Hyunwoo’s father was a Navy frigate captain.

But he had only recently learned that when the outbreak began, the man had been deployed somewhere in the Yellow Sea—whether for operations or training, Junho didn’t know.

Meaning he had faced the infection crisis trapped aboard a warship in the middle of the ocean.

And Lee Myeongseon—not only Hyunwoo’s mother, but also the wife of a soldier—had decided that at the very least, she would remain behind waiting for her husband, whose fate was still unknown.

“So please take good care of our Hyunwoo, Mr. Junho. Goodness, I’m saying something I should be telling a future daughter-in-law candidate instead. Anyway, you understand how I feel, right?”

“Yes. I understand completely.”

Lee Myeongseon wanted to send her son to “the safest place.”

And that place was wherever Junho was.

Not because of rumors or assumptions.

Because she had personally seen it for herself and lived through it.

***

The sun set once more.

Junho left the training center alongside Yoon Seolhee, Kim Jimin, and the reservists.

Choi Hyunwoo, Kim Taeyoung, and Han Areum remained behind to protect the training center.

The three of them had wanted to come along too, but this operation was a full-scale military operation.

Kim Taeyoung and Han Areum, who had never even completed military service, were out of the question, and even Hyunwoo still lacked sufficient training.

More importantly, he would soon be separated from his mother again, so it was better for them to spend at least a little more time together.

The drones and electronic equipment had all been fully recharged.

Fully armed, the group crossed the underpass beneath Yeokgok-ro several hundred meters from the training center and climbed Waryong Mountain, which stretched from Onsu-dong toward Oryu-dong.

At less than a hundred meters at its highest point, Waryong Mountain was closer to a large forest than an actual mountain.

And beyond Waryong Mountain, beneath Maebong Mountain, stood Saekkeut Grace Church—the base of the Final Judgment Society.

The straight-line distance was around 2.5 kilometers, but avoiding residential areas and taking low-traffic routes made it closer to three.

“There’s a high chance there are multiple survivors hiding in these mountains. And among them, there may even be troops from Jeju like yourselves.”

Before the regression, the force that attacked Saekkeut Grace Church had numbered well over ten men.

Meaning Shin Hocheol’s group had most likely encountered the rest of those scattered troops somewhere around Waryong Mountain or Maebong Mountain.

“So what, we’re going to contact them and pull them onto our side?”

“Mmm. Won’t be easy. A lot of people are pretty damn bitter.”

At Kang Juyoung’s words, Shin Hocheol rubbed his rough chin and smacked his lips.

Just like them, most of the troops who came here from Jeju had not volunteered.

They were reservists or civil-defense conscripts dragged into service against their will.

From the beginning, their feelings toward the government had never been particularly good.

And after the operation had failed so catastrophically—after barely surviving or being abandoned behind—their resentment had only grown stronger.

After suffering through hell and still having no guarantee of survival, becoming defensive and selfish was inevitable.

“If we make contact, they’ll cooperate.”

“...Huh?”

“How?”

Before Junho could answer, Yoon Seolhee spoke instead.

“There are active-duty UDT operators at Nanji World Cup Park. The original objective of the deployed forces was to establish a bridgehead there.”

“...!?”

“If they cooperate with us, we’ll send them there.”

Moon Younghoon and Park Sangsik—the UDT operators working with the Nanji World Cup Park survivor group—were still maintaining communication with Navy Headquarters.

Meaning the information they wanted most was the current status of the Jeju deployment forces.

For Junho, obtaining veteran troops who had successfully attacked the cult before the regression was beneficial.

For the UDT operators at World Cup Park, securing surviving Jeju troops and learning the situation in Incheon and Bucheon was beneficial.

And for the surviving forces who had accompanied Shin Hocheol before the regression, being able to move toward the relatively safe World Cup Park instead of wandering starving through zombie-filled urban territory was beneficial too.

“In the end, it’s a deal where everybody wins.”

“Wow....”

The reservists looked at Junho with renewed admiration and certainty.

Meeting him in this godforsaken world really had been the greatest luck of their lives.

***

“Fuck, why the hell is it this cold in May?”

“Cold and starving. Fucking hell, this miserable life....”

Deep within Maebong Mountain.

Several soldiers hiding inside a junkyard located administratively in Gung-dong, Guro District huddled beneath issued sleeping bags and scavenged blankets while grumbling.

They had already exhausted all their combat rations, and even after thoroughly searching nearby houses, they had found almost nothing edible.

After going hungry for over a day, the only fortunate thing left was that they could at least boil water over solid fuel tablets.

“Seongtaek, try the radio again.”

“Battery’s almost dead, hyung.”

The reservist sitting beside a PRC-999K VHF tactical radio supplied to platoon-level units and above shook his head.

If even that stopped working, they would truly be stranded here with no way out.

“Then what, we just keep sitting here like this? Fuck, contact anybody, anywhere—”

Bang!

“Hyungs! Friendly forces! Friendly forces!”

“What!?”

The soldier standing watch outside the junkyard came running in, and everyone instantly shot to their feet.

“Hurry! Hurry and come look!”

The six soldiers—a mix of routed troops and stragglers—rushed outside all at once.

“Huh...!?”

And the thing they saw immediately—

Wiiiiiiiiing...!

—was a large, beautiful drone.

A machine that looked like civilization itself.