A Gate Opened On My First Day As A Politician - Chapter 19: Hunters (3)

At the heart of the largest refugee rescue operation, I planned to stay behind until the very end, recruit the pyrokinetic, and gain media coverage.

The skies were secure, with attack helicopters already dispatched to the vicinity. With helicopters capable of obliterating small towns single-handedly, how could this possibly be dangerous?

It felt like a reasonable gamble.

But who could have predicted that another Gate would open, right behind us no less, and that flying monsters would appear for the first time?

The result was inevitable, and excuses were unnecessary. The gamble had failed.

There was no point in lamenting. The situation wouldn’t change.

I needed to calculate the practical benefits and formulate a strategy for what came next.

If I wanted to scrape up even the crumbs, I had to give it everything I had.

* * *

In the distance, I could see the Olympic Stadium and Kyunggi High School—this must be Cheongdam-dong. Assemblyman Yang Pan-seok’s granddaughter goes to school here.

I occasionally drove her, so I knew the area well. Following the road toward the community center would lead us straight to Apgujeong.

Monsters were already beginning to emerge from the Gate in the sky. A few helicopters launched Hellfire missiles, but they weren’t enough to secure air supremacy. Apaches, after all, are designed for ground-to-air combat.

And this was directly beneath the Gate. It was like dumping a school of minnows into a fish tank—swarms of bat-winged flesh creatures poured out.

The rescue mission was doomed.

On the rooftop, there were three soldiers. Including Yeo Do-yeon and me, that made five.

The prosthetic leg I had gotten from the military hospital felt loose. I could walk, but running was out of the question.

I grabbed the handle of the rooftop door.

“The rescue mission is a failure. We need to move insi—”

—*Clang!*

As soon as I opened the door, a long, thin hand shot out and grabbed me. The problem was, the hand was purple.

It was about three times the length and width of a normal human hand, like the legs of a spider.

Through the crack in the door, a grotesque creature with two jaws pushed its head through. Its five yellow, pus-filled eyes were utterly repulsive.

Its gaping mouth opened unnaturally wide, about to swallow my head—

—*Bang!*

A soldier fired a shot, hitting the creature squarely in the head.

Before I could even react, someone yanked me backward by the collar.

Yeo Do-yeon threw me aside and charged at the monster. Her eyes were filled with a lethal intensity.

Fearlessly, she smashed her fist into the creature’s mouth, shattering its teeth.

She then grabbed its lower jaw with one hand, pulling it open, and delivered an uppercut with the other, piercing its palate.

When she finally withdrew her hand and shook it clean, the brain-damaged creature collapsed in a heap.

Casting a menacing glare at all of us, she jerked her chin toward the interior of the building and stormed inside.

Above us, helicopters launched missiles at the monsters as they retreated, and the horrifying cries of beasts echoed across Seoul’s gray skies.

The soldier who had shot the monster helped me to my feet.

“Ah, thank you. Really—”

“I’ve only used AK-47s dropped by rebels before. This is my first time with a K2.”

The familiar voice startled me, and I turned to look at the soldier.

“Uh… well, 17 years as a war correspondent makes shooting a basic skill.”

A face both strange and familiar.

Gam Chul grinned mischievously, his face bare.

“Actually, these glasses are just for fashion.”

* * *

Yeo Do-yeon, Gam Chul (disguised as a soldier), two real soldiers, and I were now inside a nondescript office.

The power was out, and the only light came from the pale gray sky seeping through the drawn curtains.

The air inside the empty office was eerily cold.

“…Captain…”

One of the soldiers slumped into a chair, wiping his teary eyes.

“He sacrificed himself to save us…!”

Another soldier patted his comrade on the back, offering comfort. It didn’t look like this was going to end anytime soon, leaving us with some time to spare.

I turned to Gam Chul, exasperated.

“…How did you even get here?”

He smiled smugly and gave a cheeky reply.

“With my experience, there are always ways.”

Fair enough. That was a stupid question. I asked something more direct.

“Why did you come?”

Gam Chul glanced around cautiously before leaning in to whisper.

“There are rumors that the military deliberately avoided rescuing the Apgujeong camp…”

How does he know that?

“Do you know anything about it?”

“How would I know that?”

“…Are you sure?”

“Well, wasn’t the plan to start with the outskirts of Seoul? I’m no military expert, but I trust Vice Minister Cha has his reasons—”

*Thud.*

Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine.

I wasn’t the only one who heard it. Everyone fell silent and crouched low.

One of the soldiers, sharp-eyed, pointed at something.

Across the office, a chair had moved slightly.

Yeo Do-yeon sidled up beside me and grabbed my hand, while the others raised their weapons.

From under a desk, a black figure slowly rose.

It looked human.

“Ah…!”

A woman’s voice.

“Are… are you a person…!?”

It spoke. It was human.

Only then did I use the light from my phone to illuminate her form.

A bloodied woman was staggering toward us, her hands raised in surrender.

The two soldiers lowered their weapons.

“Ah! Are you alright?!”

“A… a person! She’s a person!”

When Yeo Do-yeon tried to move forward to help her, I grabbed her hand, holding her back.

The bloodied woman staggered toward us with a twisted smile.

I dug my nails into Yeo Do-yeon and Gam Chul’s hands, scratching an X as a warning to stay put.

We had just killed a monster that had been waiting by the rooftop door.

But this woman had supposedly survived with monsters roaming the building, merely hiding under a desk.

Even if she had sought refuge in desperation, the odds of someone hiding under a desk surviving this long were slim.

If we considered the existence of superpowered individuals, this woman might be someone who didn’t need to hide from monsters.

…Which begged the question: Why had she hidden?

* * *

“Ah, there are people downstairs.”

“Thank goodness.”

The woman, trembling, pointed toward the stairs. We proceeded cautiously, keeping our eyes peeled in all directions as we descended the emergency stairwell.

Of course, my concern wasn’t for external threats but for the enemy within. Deliberately, I positioned myself directly behind the woman as I spoke to the soldiers.

“Shouldn’t we head to the Apgujeong camp?”

“Maybe it’s better to just retreat—”

“We’re in Cheongdam-dong. The nearest safe option is to join the camp right next door.”

Even as I spoke, I kept an eye on the bloodied woman stumbling down the stairs ahead of us.

For someone covered in blood, she didn’t look like she’d been starving for weeks.

She glanced back briefly, and our eyes met. Her expression faltered slightly.

She furrowed her brow, then quickly turned her head downward. With trembling fingers, she pointed to a door.

“They’re… they’re all in here.”

One of the soldiers cautiously opened the door while another raised his rifle.

And then—

“You’re coming in here too.”

The woman shoved both hands into the soldiers’ sides.

The startled soldiers pulled their triggers, but their guns only sprayed bullets into the ground as they fell.

She pulled something out of their bodies. As she tugged at whatever it was, one soldier collapsed, and the other tumbled down the stairs.

I couldn’t see what was inside the door, but the stench that poured out told me enough.

A food storage area.

Gam Chul had already aimed his rifle at the woman the moment her hands pierced the soldiers. He fired the moment she withdrew her hands.

But—

Would bullets work on someone who could tear through bulletproof vests with their bare hands?

I couldn’t tell.

Maybe the bullets didn’t hit. Maybe Gam Chul missed. Maybe she dodged.

What was certain was—

“How unfortunate.”

She had grabbed me while I was right behind her.

“Things would’ve been easier if we all went together…”

She was using me as a human shield, her hand locked around my neck.

Yeo Do-yeon’s face was filled with panic, and Gam Chul hesitated with a pained expression as he aimed his rifle.

Despite being her hostage, I calmly reached up and grabbed her wrist.

“Gam Chul, I’m fine, so—”

“I can’t do that!”

“No, don’t shoot her.”

“What?”

I firmly gripped the hand choking my neck.

“I’ve lived…!”

Then I threw her forward with all my strength.

“…with a professional fighter for years!”

This crazed murderer and I were on equal physical footing.

She tried to rip out my throat, but only managed to scratch my neck lightly, leaving a sting.

I blinded her by pressing my thumbs into her eyes.

Her expression twisted in pain, but I didn’t have time to care.

I maintained my composure and ‘neutralized’ her, ensuring she wouldn’t move again.

As she convulsed and slumped to the floor, my eyes finally turned to the door she had wanted to lead us through.

Inside was a bin overflowing with rotting food scraps.

* * *

Fortunately, there were no monsters or people left on the lower floors of the building—only the remains of what *used to be*.

We found a relatively clean staff room where we could rest. Along the way, I had to vomit twice in a dirty bathroom.

Yeo Do-yeon patted my back as I heaved. With no running water, I couldn’t even wash my hands. My body still trembled uncontrollably.

I wiped away the few tears that trickled out with a shaking hand, knowing some blood had probably smeared onto my face.

Gam Chul muttered with a dark expression.

“…Why would she do that?”

There could have been many reasons.

Maybe she awakened just before being assaulted by her group, and then took her revenge, only to lose her mind in the process.

Or maybe food was so scarce that they drew lots, and when she was chosen to be sacrificed, she killed the others instead.

“That’s… not something worth thinking about right now.”

I wiped the blood and flesh off my hands onto the staff room’s blanket and steeled myself.

“The enemy killed two of our soldiers. We killed one enemy. Let’s not dwell on the details.”

“But… still…”

Gam Chul covered his face with his hands.

“How did the world… end up like this…?”

A war correspondent with 17 years of experience was rendered speechless by the horrors he had seen.

The excuse that “it’s always been like this” wouldn’t work here.

It was time to face reality.

The world was no longer the same.

Through the crack in the window, I could see the gray sky and the ominously glowing Gate.

In Apgujeong, in the heart of Seoul,

We were staring directly into the apocalypse.