Chapter 121

The bike carrying Yohan and Hajin raced forward, cutting through the wind. A chilly sensation crept up from behind. And within that coldness, a sharp sense of unease accompanied it. As if the creature had caught up already.

“Is it following us?”

“Seems like it.”

Yohan gave a curt reply to Hajin’s question. It wasn’t visible, but its presence was unmistakably palpable.

Screeech—!

Yohan tilted the bike sharply, making a sudden turn. The goal was to reach an open area where the creature couldn’t hide. The bike’s speed surged in an instant.

Finally, when they reached a place where it could no longer remain hidden, the mutant revealed its grotesque form. Like a leopard hunting its prey, the mutant shark charged toward them on all fours.

‘So it has both speed and endurance…’

Even while moving by bike, the distance was slowly but surely closing.

This one was, without a doubt, the strongest and most dangerous mutant Yohan had ever faced.

Yohan weaved the bike through the terrain like a circus act, luring the creature exactly where he wanted.

At last, a warship appeared before them.

“Hajin, it’s up to you.”

“How much time do you need?”

“Five minutes is enough.”

“Not enough to die?”

“If you die, I’ll bury you somewhere sunny where the skylarks sing.”

“…Thanks.”

Yohan hit the brakes and twisted his body sideways.

Screeeech—!

With a loud screech, the bike came to a stop and Hajin jumped off the back seat.

As soon as Yohan confirmed Hajin had dismounted, he revved the bike back up and sped off toward the warship.

Hajin stood his ground against the charging mutant. It was a terrifying sensation. Like facing a beast sprinting straight at him. His knees trembled, and his whole body tingled. As if the creature might pounce and tear him apart at any moment.

Click. Hajin drew the blade from his prosthetic arm and gripped the steel shield on his back tightly with his other hand.

His side throbbed with pain, but this level of ache was nothing.

“Come at me.”

Hajin shifted his stance slightly, foot sliding back. He wasn’t going to dodge.

The mutant shark drew near. 50 meters, 30 meters, and then—collision.

Thud!

The creature rammed full speed into Hajin’s shield.

The first clash. The impact was immense.

Hajin was pushed back, carving long skid marks across the ground.

But he held firm.

“Lost some strength, huh.”

It was noticeably weaker than a few days ago. The spicy taste of that grenade appetizer still hadn’t worn off, it seemed.

It acted smart, but in the end, a zombie’s still a zombie. Coming out like this when it’s not even in full condition.

If it had more intelligence, it would’ve waited to recover before showing itself.

Thud! Hajin slammed his shield down on the creature’s skull. It felt like striking a boulder—his hand went numb.

Screeeeech—!

The creature was still ruled by its instincts.

Devouring the human before it—that overpowering urge had consumed its entire being.

Thanks for that.

Thanks to it, his chances of winning just went up a notch.

Clang!

Hajin bashed the creature’s torso with his shield again. His hand buzzed from the force of the blow, but the creature didn’t budge.

Still no effect?

The creature counterattacked. Its claws curved in with no attempt to hide its intent. Hajin spun his shield horizontally, deflecting the strike.

Then he let the shield fall naturally while grabbing the creature’s leg with one arm and spun it in circles.

Screeeeech—!

Flung mercilessly by Hajin, the mutant shark twirled mid-air, landed, and let out a displeased roar.

“Haaaaah!”

Not to be outdone, Hajin shouted right back. As if it were a contest of who had the louder voice.

Kyaaaaaak!

“Haaaaah!”

Another exchange of roars.

Yohan peeled the cover off the launcher and watched the fight from the corner of his eye. He had no idea why Hajin kept screaming, but he was definitely buying time—very effectively.

‘Seriously, what a monster.’

And he wasn’t referring to the mutant.

Hajin often said that Yohan and the Sweeper didn’t seem human, but from Yohan’s perspective, it looked like Hajin’s own combat prowess had long since left the realm of ordinary humans.

This mutant had skin as hard as steel. Just imagining its weight was daunting.

Yet Hajin had grabbed and thrown it with one hand. That strength bordered on superhuman. Even for someone who could do one-handed handstand push-ups like it was nothing.

Yohan opened the front and rear lids of the Mistral ammo container he’d brought from the warship’s magazine and loaded a heavy round onto the launcher. Then he removed the foam covers on both ends and got ready to fire.

Despite the preparations, anxiety lingered. He had learned it could be used for ground targets to some extent, but it was still a surface-to-air missile. Would it really work?

Maybe he should’ve tortured the sailors to get instructions for other shared-use weapons.

He had executed them to prevent any future consequences from letting them live and escaping his control, but now, he regretted it.

Beep, beep.

The reticle, powered by electricity, blinked with multiple status icons. The machine was working fine.

Vrrrrrm! The gyroscope spun furiously with a low mechanical hum.

“Hajin! Ready!”

“Haaaaa!”

Just as Hajin was on the brink of being overwhelmed by the mutant’s relentless attacks, he shoved it back hard and detonated a smoke grenade on the ground.

The thick smoke clouded vision and overwhelmed the nose. The confused mutant glanced around frantically, and Hajin darted through the smoke.

He ran toward a parked SUV. By the time the mutant spotted him and gave chase, Hajin had already started the engine.

The SUV roared to life, ramped up its RPM, and charged head-on into the mutant.

Crash! The creature was struck by the bumper, rolled up the hood and windshield, then tumbled off the roof and landed behind the vehicle. The bumper and hood were mangled, the windshield cracked to the brink of shattering.

The mutant rolled across the ground, finally regaining its balance, and let out a furious roar toward Hajin.

Screeeech!

It was furious now. Hajin muttered under his breath and floored the accelerator. The SUV sped down the coastline at full throttle, and the mutant began chasing him a moment later.

At the same time, the infrared detector in Yohan’s scope activated.

“Come on, come on, detect it…”

But the angle was too low. Even with the launcher set to its minimum elevation, it wasn’t enough.

Meanwhile, Hajin’s SUV charged full speed toward the sea cliff. His one-handed driving skills were unbelievable.

At last, Hajin’s vehicle soared into the air, hovered briefly, and plunged into the sea.

‘Come on. Jump. Jump.’

If even one calculation was off, the whole plan would unravel.

The pursuing mutant leapt without hesitation. As if even the ocean were its domain.

Just then, the targeting reticle blinked, and a second indicator lit up.

Target detected—fire.

The Mistral guided missile blasted into the air with a deafening roar.

Like a jet fighter, the missile streaked through the sky toward the creature, leaving a trail in its wake.

In a split-second moment sliced thinner than a second—

The missile brushed past the airborne mutant. Then suddenly, it arced into a U-turn in midair and began its descent.

Straight toward the mutant shark.

BOOM!—

A blinding explosion in the sky. Shrapnel scattered. The blast swallowed even its scream.

The mutant’s fragments scattered over the beach like falling cherry blossoms.

Smoke billowed just above the sea’s surface. Yohan quickly picked up the bike and raced toward the cliff. Down by the shore, Hajin—soaked to the bone—coughed violently, spitting out seawater.

Yohan collapsed to his knees before he even realized it.

* * *

The battle with the mutant shark was over.

More shocking than the fight with David, more devastating than the clash with the Seoul Survival Union—it had delivered a death unlike any other. And Hajin and Yohan had left not a single piece of flesh behind.

After confirming the mutant’s death and returning to the shelter, funerals for Junghwan and Ah-young were held in Sindo.

Until now, the dead had been remembered with a single drink. But this time, everyone wanted to honor Junghwan and Ah-young properly.

“Hrk… sob… ngh…”

They’d won the battle, but the atmosphere was grim.

No one spoke much.

The people of Sindo either wept or stared blankly at the sky, chain-smoking cigarette after cigarette. One or the other.

The death of a young high school girl and the group’s emotional pillar had ripped the hearts of the survivors to shreds.

People had relied more on Junghwan than even the Sweeper, Yohan, or Hajin.

Those three were reliable allies, yes—but their overwhelming combat aura and inhuman strength made them feel too distant. In contrast, it had been Hyuk, Seri, and Junghwan who gave the others emotional stability.

They were the most ordinary. Ordinary, yet they had fought to survive to the very end. And Junghwan had taken the utmost care of the residents. That’s why not a single person was left untouched by sorrow.

He had been the first to barricade the entrance to the mart. Had sacrificed himself during the first zombie wave to save his siblings. Had always stood at the front in battle. Had even killed one of the Seoul Survival Union’s top officers—and survived until now.

And now, he lay buried here.

Two new graves were dug in Sindo. Junghwan and Ah-young were laid to rest side by side.

On their graves were placed nameless white flowers, a glass of alcohol, and Junghwan’s personal belongings.

Seri and Ji-hye, who had shared a special bond with him, wept uncontrollably in front of his grave. Hyuk stood with his head bowed, a look of utter despair on his face.

“Hoo…”

Yohan snuffed out his cigarette.

“Can we keep surviving like this? For how long?”

Someone muttered bitterly, but even that didn’t register anymore.

‘Keep it together, Junghwan.’

‘Sorry, bro.’

Only now did Yohan realize—what he’d heard from Junghwan the most was the word “sorry.”

All he’d ever wanted was to keep him alive. That was why he had been so harsh. So that Junghwan wouldn’t die.

Yohan didn’t cry.

Too many people were already crying for him to shed tears of his own.

But his heart ached.

* * *

Yohan stood up.

If people wanted to call him heartless, so be it. A day was enough to mourn the dead. The living had to survive the next day.

The aftermath of battle gave them no rest.

From the sunken passenger ship off Sindo’s coast, zombies kept drifting in.

Some were still moving, their bodies bloated from the sea. The scouts worked nonstop.

It wasn’t until a full day had passed—after all the zombies crawling ashore had been disposed of and their corpses burned—that they were finally done.

Only when the next day’s sun rose did the exhausted people begin to stagger back to their sleeping quarters.

Yohan approached Seri, Ji-hye, and Hyuk—who had collapsed in front of Junghwan’s grave—to send them back.

“Go to bed. Enough with the theatrics.”

Cold and blunt, yet unmistakably Yohan in tone. The three got up without a word.

“…Wait.”

Seri trudged over to Heukgu, who had been standing vigil at the grave.

The dog, having lost his family so suddenly and failed to protect his master, looked utterly dejected.

Seri stroked Heukgu’s back.

“It’s not your fault.”

Even at her comfort, Heukgu let out a faint whimper, still looking despondent.

“If no one takes care of him, he’ll die here for sure. Anyone want to take him in?”

Yohan asked. People looked at each other before Seri raised her hand.

“I’ll do it.”

Yohan frowned slightly, prompting Seri to snap.

“What’s with that face? You look like you totally don’t trust me.”

“I’ve said this before, right?”

“What?”

“You’re surprisingly sharp sometimes.”

Seri glared weakly and tried to take care of Heukgu. But as soon as she pulled him away from the grave, he began to whimper and cry again.

As Seri panicked, Yohan grabbed the scruff of the dog’s neck.

“You didn’t even protect your master. One more stunt like that, and you’re heading straight to the supply shed. Got it, emergency rations?”

The dog whimpered, but couldn’t escape Yohan’s iron grip.

“Cold-blooded bastard.”

Yohan tossed Heukgu to Seri, who hugged him tightly in her arms.

“Don’t raise a hunting dog. Raise a combat dog. We don’t need hunting dogs that run away from a fight.”