Chapter 100
The old fishing boat, loaded with people and supplies, cut through the sea. The cool night breeze mixed with the salty scent of the ocean, stinging their noses.
“We’re sailing! The Going Yohan is at full speed!” (T/N: The author must be really a huge fan of One Piece. He keeps on referencing it.)
Please stop.
Yohan buried his face in his hands as he watched three self-proclaimed pirates shouting on deck. He had no idea why the embarrassment always fell on him.
The boat wasn’t fast, but it moved steadily under his control. With only two previous attempts at piloting, he was far from confident. If they hit a reef, all their hard-earned efforts would crumble like a sandcastle.
The distance wasn’t far, but the tension was unavoidable.
As Yohan struggled with the wheel, Jung-hwan entered the wheelhouse, his face filled with curiosity. Ever since seeing the boat, he had been begging to learn how to steer.
“Hyung, when did you learn how to do this?”
“A month before everything collapsed. I’ve only done it twice.”
“That’s amazing…”
Yohan’s boat—strained under both the pressure of navigating and Jung-hwan’s admiration—finally completed its first voyage.
Though Sindo was close enough to see from Yeongjong-do, Yohan’s inexperience made the trip take longer than expected.
After dropping off the advance team, he turned the boat toward the uninhabited island.
Stashing supplies and livestock on the island had been a gamble. Raiders could easily loot any hidden cache, so this seemed like the best option. If this place wasn’t safe, nowhere would be.
Fortunately, everything was intact. Not only that, but some pigs had given birth, and tiny chicks scurried about.
“Alright, let’s get to work.”
With Yohan’s all-too-familiar signal, the group began hauling supplies down the mountain and loading livestock onto the boat. The island echoed with the squeals of captured pigs, the frantic flapping of chickens, and the occasional yelp or grunt.
“Oppa, what about the chicks?”
“They’re ours too. Gather them all. Not a single one stays behind.”
Yohan left nothing behind—not even freshly laid eggs. The meticulous way he secured everything made others shake their heads in disbelief.
The relocation took much longer than expected.
—
Meanwhile, Sweeper’s team had already landed on Sindo and was preparing for combat.
“Hold on, let me check the situation first, guys.”
Leaving the others to stand by, Sweeper climbed a nearby transmission tower. The ascent looked precarious, but his movements were effortless, showing he had no fear of heights.
“Ho~”
Through the binoculars hanging around his neck, he surveyed the island’s landscape. The reservoir, rice fields, and houses were densely packed, making good use of the land.
At a glance, it was clear why their meticulous leader had chosen this place.
There were no signs of survivors. The only things wandering the streets were zombies searching for food.
Sweeper shouted down to Hajin.
“Hyung, just fire a shot! If we go looking for them one by one, we’ll be here forever!”
“You sure about this?”
Hajin’s question wasn’t about attracting zombies—it was about the risk of alerting hidden survivors.
“I don’t see any survivors!”
“Alright, let’s do it.”
Hajin raised his pistol and fired a single shot into the air.
Bang!
The sharp gunshot echoed across the island, drawing the attention of every zombie in earshot. The undead turned in unison, moving like a wave toward the source of the sound.
“Get ready. It’s showtime.”
At Hajin’s command, the four fighters positioned themselves in a semi-circle around him, bracing for battle.
There were around two to three hundred zombies—not a small number—but the wide, open space made it less of a threat.
At least, by their standards.
Thwip! Thwip!
Zombies approaching from a distance fell one by one, struck by bolts from Jung-hwan and Seri’s crossbows.
As the next wave closed in, the first to meet them was Hajin—the undisputed warrior of Bucheon’s Middle District.
Zombies crumpled with sickening thunks as his kukri blade slashed through them.
The few that managed to bypass Hajin lunged toward the others, only to be met with Hyuk and Jung-hwan’s practiced knife strikes.
With long blades, they decapitated the zombies before they could even get close.
They were warriors praised as one-man armies. Against them, the zombies’ numbers simply weren’t enough.
“Hah… Hah…”
The only one struggling was Sergeant Ong.
He had always been a sniper, fighting from long range. Close combat was not his strength.
Even after taking down a single zombie, his heavy breathing drew the attention of his teammates.
Jung-hwan called out to him.
“Ong, what are you doing? Just get to the back and shoot them. That rifle’s suppressor keeps it quiet, right?”
“I know, but… I don’t have enough ammo. I need to conserve my rounds.”
Sergeant Ong pointed to his ammo belt with a distressed look. His supply of 7.62mm rounds was nearly depleted.
“Oh, right.”
He had been complaining about that for days.
Jung-hwan nodded and tossed him a crossbow.
“Fall back and pick off the ones further away. Guys like us aren’t great at close combat anyway. Might as well practice with this.”
Sergeant Ong frowned. Guys like us?
He wanted to ask but had no time—the next zombie was already closing in.
He had learned the basics of using a crossbow, so firing wasn’t an issue.
Thwip!
The bolt shot forward but lodged in the zombie’s neck.
Dark blood spurted, but the undead kept coming.
Panicked, Ong quickly reloaded and fired again.
This time, the bolt struck its mouth.
“Shit—!”
As the zombie staggered closer, Ong swung his crossbow in desperation, bashing its head.
The creature collapsed, and he stomped on its skull until it was nothing but pulp.
By the time Sweeper climbed down from the transmission tower and joined the fight, the battle was already over.
“What the hell, guys? You didn’t save any for me?”
“You should’ve just jumped down.”
“Even if I rolled properly, my guts would’ve exploded.”
Sweeper looked irritated, itching for a fight. Seri turned to him and asked,
“That’s it?”
“No. The ones crawling over from the other end of the island will take a while to get here. If we stick together, we’ll be at this forever.”
The island was bigger than expected—at least too big for six people to sweep in just a few hours. Even walking around the perimeter would take an hour or two.
“For now, let’s station one person at the bridge to stop zombies from crossing over. Two people will guard the dock and protect the workers. The remaining three will spread out in a fan formation to clear the island.”
“Another solo mission, huh.”
“What, one-armed hyung, you scared?”
“Cut the crap.”
Hajin shot Sweeper a warning glare, but their usual banter soon turned into a bet on who could clear the most zombies first.
Jung-hwan, trying to stop their bickering, asked Sweeper,
“Hyung, are you sure there aren’t any people here? If survivors suddenly pop out and ambush us, it could be dangerous.”
“Don’t worry, fresh sprout Jung-hwan. There are tons of zombies, but not a single body. If survivors were here, you’d at least see some zombie corpses lying around.”
“Good point.”
“Alright, let’s split up. Seri and Hyuk take the dock, Ong guards the bridge, and the rest of us clear the island. I’ll take the left.”
“Then I’ll go right.”
“I guess that leaves me in the center—wait, hyungs, the center is all mountain trails!”
“Good luck.”
Both men patted Jung-hwan’s shoulder before walking off.
He had been tricked by them again.
—
About four hours later, Yohan was checking the roster after moving all the supplies onto Sindo when he noticed someone missing.
“Where’s Jung-hwan?”
“Dunno. He hasn’t come back yet.”
The two shrugged like it wasn’t their problem. Yohan frowned and radioed him.
“Kim Jung-hwan. Where are you?”
-On my way…
Another thirty minutes passed before Jung-hwan came running, panting.
Yohan gave him a blank stare and muttered,
“You weakling. Couldn’t you have come sooner?”
Jung-hwan was deeply offended.
—
“Sindo got its name because the people here were known for being honest and hardworking. It’s famous for salt, rice, goby fish, and razor clams.”
Jae-ho rambled on while clearing zombie corpses.
After a full day of grueling labor, people spoke less and less. But thanks to Jae-ho’s nonstop chatter, the tedious work was at least a little more bearable.
“These are the Three Brother Islands of Incheon, all connected by bridges. Choosing this as a base was a brilliant move. It’s rich in natural resources.”
No one had asked, but Jae-ho kept talking to himself, caught somewhere between excitement and melancholy.
Meanwhile, Yohan silently listened while focusing on something else—the condition of the local corpses.
Even considering that zombies decayed slower than normal bodies, these remains were surprisingly well-preserved.
They looked like they had only been dead for a couple of months at most.
Probably because the island was isolated from the mainland.
The apocalypse must have reached here much later. With fewer people, the infection likely spread more slowly.
Just as Yohan finished his thoughts, Old Man Park muttered to himself,
“These folks must’ve died recently—within the last month or two.”
“Huh? How can you tell?”
Zombies usually rot within a month of turning. Unless you were highly observant, distinguishing between a one-month-old corpse and a six-month-old one wasn’t easy.
Yohan’s curiosity was evident in his voice, so the old man explained,
“The rice fields are well-maintained. Looks like someone was tending to them recently. At this rate, we can harvest by autumn. That’s good news—their hard work won’t go to waste.”
Perhaps it was the wisdom of experience.
Yohan had only thought about solving their food shortage. But Old Man Park saw it differently.
Following his gaze, Yohan looked at the fields.
Lush green rice paddies stretched before them, full of life. As the old man said, they had been cared for until recently.
“Hah, without farming equipment, harvesting is gonna be a nightmare.”
“There are even bigger fields further inland in Sindo 3rd and 4th districts.”
Jae-ho, having somehow joined the conversation, eagerly added,
“Sindo has a high yield per unit area.”
“Looks like it. At this rate, we’ll need dozens of farmers.”
“That’s true.”
Having to worry about too much food production—this was an entirely unexpected problem.
They would need to assign far more people to the farming team than planned.
It was a good problem to have.
