Chapter 116

Yohan recalled all the strange things he had noticed, the rules of this world, and so on. Surprisingly, what she said was true.

“What are you trying to say?”

“Exactly as I mentioned. Please stop the attacks on humanity. It’s time to fight not for collective survival, but for the survival of the species. I believe all of you gathered here have been given roles aligned with that purpose.”

“Hyuk would love to hear that.”

“I’m listening, hyung.”

“Yeah, that’s why I said you’d love it.”

Yohan slowly sorted through the situation. Black magic created a monster, and those monsters continually gave birth to mutants. The mutants turned people into zombies.

The objective: extermination of humanity.

Then there’s Rina, who receives revelations. And himself—the world’s only regressor.

‘This is a complete mess of absurd nonsense.’

The more absurd part was how this mess of nonsense was starting to fit together like puzzle pieces.

Someone was orchestrating things for humanity’s extinction, while others were setting up to stop it. That vague sense he had was becoming more certain.

“Uh, Captain?”

That was when Jae-ho spoke up.

“I’m sorry to bring this up at such a weird time, but… would it be alright if I acted alone for a bit?”

“Acted alone for what?”

“I want to visit the National Museum of Korea.”

“No.”

Yohan answered firmly. Not even worth entertaining.

“I’ll take in the info, but I can’t let the team be put at risk over some pie-in-the-sky idea. Everyone needs to focus on survival in front of them.”

One side wants to wipe out humanity, the other wants to protect it—Rina’s claim. Still lacks persuasive power.

Frankly, the idea of divine beings playing a game using Earth as their board sounds more believable.

Early on, it was a survival game against zombies. In the middle, it became survival of the fittest among survivors. And now, divine beings laugh as they watch even the last handful of survivors be wiped out.

That scenario almost made more sense.

Of course, it was a stretch.

Yohan shook his head. The conclusion was simple and clear. There was nothing they could do. Information was still lacking, and the future remained fragmented.

“Don’t even think about it, Jae-ho.”

“Captain, there’s a saying, ‘The drive to explore phenomena and knowledge is what makes humans human.'”

“You’d die a pointless death.”

Yohan dismissed it. A pointless death. There was no guarantee the risk would be worth anything.

“Now’s the time to stay cautious and lie low. We don’t know what could happen. We bunker down and endure. Double or triple our perimeter defenses and cancel any planned raids on the military. From now on, we’re starting tactical and firearms training. For real this time. The goal is still preparation for the unidentified mutant and the harvest. But if those bastards catch even a whiff of what we’re doing or try a preemptive strike, we’re not going to sit still.”

He didn’t agree, but Yohan had made up his mind. In a situation where they couldn’t see even a step ahead, there was no reason to provoke more conflict. Rina bowed her head.

“Thank you, Yohan-nim.”

“From now on, we’re forming teams, including the new recruits. Bite down and keep up.”

Survival always comes first.

Still, we were—undeniably—still alive here.

—

Training began in earnest, and elsewhere, harvesting had started. The weather, already past October, grew chillier to the point where winter coats would soon be necessary.

Yohan’s top priority was preparing for a battle against the major mutant.

There was little they could actually do to prepare for mutant fights. At best, they could learn the listed patterns and weaknesses of known mutants.

In fights against mutants, the keys were maintaining distance, understanding their behavior, and executing precise, rapid shots. Yohan made sure everyone knew how to handle mutants no matter where they encountered one.

The second focus was on team play.

Training was held for scenarios where factions or squads clashed.

“When you’re in a squad-level battle, staying grouped up is suicide. The four most important things are personnel distribution, sound play, positioning, and crossfire.”

Yohan moved the tokens on the strategy board. Everyone perked up, listening closely.

“First, personnel distribution. When taking control of an area, move in teams of two—four people per squad total. Never have more than two together. Your field of vision narrows, and a single grenade or launcher shot could wipe you all out.”

When the explanation got lengthy, Yohan paused briefly before continuing.

“A squad of four should be split like this—two with good aim, two who are quick on their feet. Each team watches the opposite direction and covers each other. If a firefight breaks out and someone gets hit, don’t rush in to help right away.”

“Then what?”

“Eliminating the enemy comes first. If you focus on the injured while the enemy is still present, you’re both as good as dead. Only retrieve the wounded after confirming the enemy is either down or gone. Always remember—taking out the enemy comes first.”

People nodded. Yohan turned back to the strategy board and continued.

“The two teams keep about a building’s distance between them and watch opposite directions. Team 1 watches northeast, Team 2 covers southwest. Now, if an enemy appears, what’s the first thing you do?”

“Briefing.”

The answer came from Berda. Yohan gave her a small smile.

“Correct. Everyone on the team, not just your squad, needs to hear over comms: the position, distance, and number.”

Position. Distance. Number. Yohan repeated it clearly, drilling it into their ears.

“Second is sound play. In a world with no ambient noise, gunshots, footsteps, falling objects—they all matter. Minimize your own noise and learn to pinpoint direction and distance of sounds accurately. When moving, always be conscious of the sound you make. Making unnecessary noise in combat is basically begging to die. Especially you guys.”

Yohan pointed at several people, including Seri and Jung-hwan.

“No chit-chat.”

“…Understood.”

“Third is positioning. What’s most important is being able to see your enemy while keeping yourself hidden. Take positions in high ground or places with lots of cover.”

This was a basic principle. Yohan moved on quickly.

“Last is the core of team play—crossfire.”

“…Crossfire?”

Pio asked, unfamiliar with the term.

“Exactly what it sounds like—taking angles from both sides. In a firefight where both sides are using cover, if it’s a distance where throwing a grenade isn’t feasible, the two with good aim stay in their current positions and keep pressuring the enemy in cover. Meanwhile, the two fast movers immediately break out of enemy sight and take a wide route to flank behind the enemy’s cover.”

“In simple terms—back attack.”

Sweeper added with a goofy grin.

“Start with a briefing. Left and right can be hard to identify in combat. Always base your briefing on a neutral reference point, not your own perspective. ‘A house with a red roof X meters away.’ ‘X number of enemies on the third floor.’ That’s the format. If all four of you perfectly understand the cardinal directions, you can brief using compass points, but ideally, describe the exact location as clearly as possible.”

After finishing the theory explanation, Yohan made the new recruits practice briefing over and over.

Objective position, distance, number.

The fighters had to train until they could pop up from sleep and give a briefing without hesitation.

After several days of practicing the briefings aloud from their seats, Yohan introduced actual field training.

“There’ll be four squads in total. Squad 1 is me, Rina, Pio, and Sergeant Ong. Squad 2 is Sweeper, Hajin, Seri, and Ji-won. Squad 3 is Hyuk, Berda, Jung-su, and Eddy. Squad 4 is Jung-hwan, So-hee, Jinsu, and Jae-ho. The first name in each group is the squad leader.”

It was an unfamiliar lineup compared to before. Sweeper tilted his head.

“But the one-armed hyung isn’t a squad leader? Squad 3 and 4 seem a bit shaky.”

It wasn’t an unreasonable concern, considering the youngest squad leaders, new recruits, and inexperienced members had been clustered together.

“Squads 1 and 2 are the main force. 3 and 4 are support. Ideally, 1 and 2 will handle everything. If it gets to the point that 3 and 4 are needed, it’s practically a full-blown war.”

“What about Jeong-eun and the others who aren’t on this list?”

“They’re backup.”

This setup was designed specifically with a faction battle in mind. Since Yohan’s style involved constantly changing squad formations, no one bothered to complain further.

Due to the lack of survival gear, live combat training had to be split into tactical drills and shooting practice.

At first, people joined in casually like a game of tag with empty guns, but after hearing Yohan’s harsh barking once, they had no choice but to take it seriously.

Location selection, briefing, movement timing—if anything felt even slightly off, Yohan’s scolding came down hard.

“Give your briefing properly. There are two houses with blue roofs in front. Don’t you think that’s confusing? Brief over comms clearly and concisely, and release the transmit button as soon as you’re done.”

“Briefings are overlapping. Don’t press the button at the same time.”

“Backup! Too slow!”

“You gonna stay out of it mentally?”

“What were you thinking, opening fire without briefing your teammates? You think you can take out all the enemies by yourself?”

Yohan kept barking nonstop until he finally called out one unfortunate soul.

“Jung-hwan, come here.”

He was doing his best, but something about this large-scale tactical training just didn’t click with him. And as a squad leader, Yohan came down on him especially hard.

“When a squad leader acts like that, the three people depending on you are basically being told to go die.”

“Sorry, hyung.”

“Do it right.”

“Yes.”

Shooting training included standing fire, kneeling fire, prone fire, as well as shooting while moving and aiming at moving targets.

Since they didn’t have many weapons equipped with suppressors, it took a fair amount of time. But Yohan demanded an unreasonably high hit rate.

Jung-hwan’s stockpile of drones proved especially useful.

Sweeper and Hajin were in charge of hand-to-hand combat training.

And most important of all—physical training.

As if preparing for the World Cup national team’s off-season camp, Yohan pushed the squad harder than ever. He drilled them, over and over, until they coughed up stomach acid and tasted metal in their mouths.

‘The only thing we can do right now is train.’

Yohan’s resolve was firm.

The military base in Yeongjongdo, the mutant Shark (Yohan’s name for the one that wiped out Camp Yohan), the mutant Piccolo (Sweeper’s name for the mutant that spawns others)—despite being surrounded by countless threats and dangers, there was nothing Yohan could actually prepare.

Like the shrinking blue zone in a battle royale game, the looming danger slowly tightened around his neck, but training was the only thing he could do.

So during this relatively calm and peaceful period, Yohan pushed them harder than ever before.