Chapter 131
“Ugh…”
Several survivors grimaced. Yohan scanned the zombie corpse up and down. Hajin and Sweeper bantered back and forth.
“That’s disgusting.”
“Reminds me of Goldmoon Executive.”
“Man, it’s been a while since I heard that name. That was where it all started for us. The beginning of the legend, right, bro?”
“I should’ve never met you guys back then.”
“If you hadn’t, wouldn’t you have been dead already?”
While the two chattered away, Yohan still couldn’t take his eyes off the zombie.
“Boss, what are you looking at so intently?”
“I was checking for any wounds.”
“Why wounds?”
Sweeper asked back, but Yohan just shook his head. Sweeper tilted his head. His expression seemed complicated, but it was hard to guess what he was thinking.
“I feel like someone’s watching us.”
“Huh? I don’t feel anything.”
“Maybe it’s just my imagination.”
After granting peace to the zombie, Yohan looked around. He still felt the sensation of being watched, but there were no cameras or signs of people nearby.
“Hey, Sweeper.”
“Yeah?”
“Talking about Goldmoon just reminded me… back when we first met, you said you were looking for something at H Department Store, right?”
“Wow, you’re bringing that up now!”
“Somehow I forgot. Didn’t really have a chance to ask before.”
In response to Yohan’s question, Sweeper just smiled brightly, showing no intention of answering. Yohan didn’t press further.
“What, is it a secret?”
“……”
“Alright. Some secrets are best left alone.”
“It’s not some big secret. Just a bit of a dark past, that’s all.”
“Let’s move. Stay alert past the screen doors.”
The search team moved forward again. As they advanced, holding their breath in the suffocating darkness—
Bang! Screech!
“Ah, shit! Damn it…”
The sudden sound of something slamming against a glass door, combined with the zombies’ howling, startled Seri into a commotion.
What almost gave the team a collective heart attack was an abandoned subway car.
The car was stalled on an off-track line, filled with zombies that looked ready to shatter the glass at any moment.
“Ugh, I hate this.”
As the survivors approached, the zombies inside the car, sensing movement, began to go wild.
They slammed against the doors and twisted their bodies, piling up so much that the zombies at the front were crushed under the pressure, their innards bursting out.
“Stop looking. Let’s move.”
Yohan urged the pale-faced survivors forward. It wasn’t like this was the first time they’d seen such scenes; they needed to control their emotions.
After walking for several minutes, Jae-ho shone his flashlight on a sign and spoke.
“This is Singil Station.”
If they switched to Line 1 at Singil Station, they would reach an above-ground track. They wouldn’t have to endure this suffocating, claustrophobic fear anymore. A few members looked visibly relieved.
Aside from the zombies trapped in the cars like animals at a zoo, there were no zombies in sight. Walking along the tracks past the screen doors wasn’t easy for zombies either.
The sound of their footsteps echoed loudly through the stillness. Sixteen swaying beams of flashlight cut through the pitch-black subway tunnels.
The underground was safe.
However—
‘This is harder than I thought.’
The oppressive darkness that could trigger claustrophobia, the inconvenience of walking, and the limited availability of lighting for long-term use—all three needed to be overcome.
Among these, the suffocating darkness, which heightened all the senses, wore down their sharpened awareness and slowly made them fatigued.
There was one more thing to worry about. Something that immediately came to mind when thinking of underground spaces: Mutant Gollum.
Mutants weren’t common to begin with, but Gollum was among the ones survivors most frequently encountered.
They mainly appeared in dark, damp places like caves and subways. Especially in a city like Seoul, crisscrossed with subway lines, the frequency of Gollum appearances was even higher.
There were other Mutants with preferred habitats too, like David. That one particularly liked military bases. Considering its habit of chewing and spitting out metal, it was probably drawn to the smell of steel or gunpowder.
‘Whenever it gets this peaceful, something has to mess it up…’
Growl…
‘Told you.’
It was almost terrifying how predictable it was.
It wasn’t the groaning of a zombie. It was lower, clearer—a definite beastly growl.
A Mutant Gollum appeared.
The very first Mutant they’d ever encountered was once again baring its yellowed fangs at them.
Yohan lifted his flashlight slightly to illuminate the distance. Hanging from the ceiling like a bat, the Mutant Gollum let out a guttural cry.
“Freeze. It’s a Mutant.”
At Yohan’s signal, everyone immediately froze and tensed, ready to fight. Since hand signals weren’t visible, Yohan gave clear verbal instructions.
“Don’t fire your guns. Sergeant Ong, So-hee, Seri—grab crossbows and bows. Sweeper and Hajin—prepare for close combat. The rest of you—half light up the area, half guard the rear for any approaching zombies.”
Everyone here already knew how to handle a Gollum. Its attack patterns were simple, and it was only moderately difficult.
The six selected for combat slowly closed the distance. Sensing their approach, the Gollum’s eyes began to glow red.
Yohan, just outside the range where the Gollum would initiate its attack, gave the signal for a ranged assault.
Twang—!
Three arrows flew at once, embedding themselves into the Mutant’s body.
Screeech!
The wounded Mutant shrieked, enraged. Yohan immediately threw a throwing dagger straight into its mouth.
The dagger lodged itself deep into the creature’s throat.
Another horrific scream followed.
As it kept getting attacked from outside its reach, the Mutant Gollum curled up once, then started to crawl along the wall, circling around them.
Twang! In the middle of that, an arrow shot by So-hee pierced the creature again.
The Gollum spun around with several arrows stuck in its body, looking like a hedgehog running on a wheel.
Three laps, then four, then on the fifth lap—
“It’s coming.”
Kyaaaah!
At the same moment Yohan’s short warning rang out, the Mutant let out a shriek and charged.
In an instant, Hajin leapt forward and slammed his iron shield into the creature’s body.
Bang! A heavy impact resounded as the Mutant’s attack was completely blocked by the shield. A clean defense. Just as the creature realized its attack had failed and tried to leap again, Yohan and Sweeper simultaneously sliced off its arms. It all happened in the blink of an eye.
Screeeeech!!
The Mutant’s scream echoed across the tracks, a horrifying screech like fingernails raking across a chalkboard. It was so terrible that everyone instinctively covered their ears.
While the creature faltered for a moment, preparing to leap again, Hajin’s shield struck its head first.
Thunk! With a heavy thud, the Gollum tumbled to the ground. Almost simultaneously, Yohan and Sweeper severed both of its legs.
Screech, skreech—!
The Mutant, now reduced to just a squirming body and head, was brutally and mercilessly attacked.
Without even managing a proper counterattack, it had all its limbs severed. Hajin then positioned the edge of his shield over it—and began striking down with all his might.
Thud! Thud!
Each time the iron shield came down, dark red blood sprayed into the air. His savage pounding continued until the Gollum’s howls were completely silenced.
It took less than fifteen minutes for the once-aggressive Mutant to be reduced to a pulp.
The three wiped off the blood splattered on their daggers and shields, while the rest of the search team shook their heads with disgusted expressions.
“Monsters… without a shred of mercy.”
It was getting harder to tell who the real monsters were.
“Hey, everyone.”
Yohan’s cold voice made everyone flinch in surprise.
“Who told you it was okay to get distracted during watch duty?”
“S-sorry…”
Yohan lightly tapped Jung-su, who was standing at the front, on the shoulder and motioned with his chin.
“Let’s go.”
At Yohan’s command, the group quickly got moving.
“If this were a game, we’d at least get a reward for killing that thing. But here, all we get is exhaustion.”
“Still, it’s good we finished it quickly. If we’d dragged it out any longer, the zombies in that stalled subway car might’ve broken through the glass.”
“Now that’s a terrifying thought.”
Yohan slowed their pace. Whether they intended it or not, the team had gotten a bit noisy. It was dangerously dark and the air was thick with unease.
Then, near Sweeper’s foot, a zombie with both legs mangled and seemingly dead suddenly opened its eyes.
It immediately lunged toward Sweeper with bared teeth.
Sweeper dodged the bite and slammed the zombie’s head down with his heel.
Crunch! The zombie’s face smashed against the ground, and Sweeper brought his axe down on its neck.
“Geez, seriously. What’s with you zombie dudes? Been watching too many horror movies or something?”
“Slow down. Move even slower.”
Yohan’s barely audible voice halted the group. It felt like their marching pace had been gradually speeding up out of fear. The atmosphere was so tense it felt like something could explode at any moment. Yohan needed to rein them in.
“Our advance speed is too fast.”
Before they knew it, the number of dead zombie corpses stuck to the walls or floors had increased. The search team moved quietly, hugging the walls and minimizing their presence.
Finally, they reached Singil Station’s boarding platform. They passed through several corridors lined with shuttered stores, and at last, a bright light welcomed them.
They had transferred from the subway to the overground rail. Only a few more stops to go until their destination.
Yohan carefully scanned the tracks ahead through binoculars from the platform at Singil Station. He checked for zombies—or signs of other survivors.
Determining there were no immediate threats, Yohan gave the order to move. They passed through Daebang Station and Noryangjin Station peacefully.
Finally, they could see the Hangang Railway Bridge and beyond it, Yongsan Station.
Yohan gave the signal to stop.
“We’ll move up to here for today. Tomorrow before sunrise, we’ll circle around the back of Yongsan Station via the tracks and head to Namyeong Station.”
“Why before sunrise?”
“There might be survivors at Yongsan Station. To avoid any unwanted encounters, it’s best to move when visibility is low.”
He didn’t say it out loud, but the exhaustion on everyone’s faces was obvious. The long, drawn-out fights with zombies, and the nerve-wracking underground march, had drained them to the bone. They needed rest.
Inside the cramped Singil Station customer center, people one by one collapsed to the ground.
“It’s uncomfortable, but everyone will sleep in the same spot. We’ll set up a rotating watch, starting with Team 1. Two-hour shifts.”
“What about the people following behind us?”
“They’ll figure it out themselves. Don’t worry.”
As soon as the rest order was given, people sprawled out on the marble floor.
“This is brutal.”
“This was seriously the toughest scouting mission yet.”
Groans echoed from all around. Yohan stood up silently to take the first watch.
Two hours later, as he returned to switch shifts, Yohan caught sight of four women huddled together. They seemed to be giggling quietly.
“Hey, Pio, time to switch. What are you guys doing? You’re supposed to be sleeping.”
“But the sun hasn’t even set yet. We can’t sleep.”
Yohan frowned slightly and approached them. Their hurried attempt to hide something looked highly suspicious.
“Planning to cause trouble during a mission, huh? What are you brats plotting?”
Yohan snatched the item Jung-eun was trying to hide—it was a Maxim magazine.
It seemed they had found it in a personal locker belonging to one of the station’s former employees.
After skimming through it, Yohan awkwardly tossed it back to them. A little tension relief wasn’t a bad thing.
Trying to act nonchalant, Yohan turned away, while the four girls threw mischievous glances at him. Yohan spun around quickly.
Despite it being the middle of winter, the air was stuffy from the sheer number of people crammed inside.
—
The hot night passed, and the dawn cried out.
The next morning, still before sunrise, Yohan’s group moved stealthily around Yongsan Station along the railway tracks, keeping even their flashlight beams to a bare minimum.
Like cats prowling between alleyways, they moved quietly and carefully—until they had to stop at the far end of Yongsan Station.
“It’s blocked, bro.”
Every passage past the railway behind Yongsan Station was blocked by sharp barbed wire.
On either side, massive metal walls had been erected to block out noise from the tracks, and ahead of them, a barbed wire fence had been installed.
“Ow, it stings. What the—?”
While Yohan was thinking, Jung-su grabbed his stinging arm. At first, he thought it was a bite—but no. It was a thin, clean cut across his skin, as if by razor-sharp paper or glass.
Yohan frowned slightly at the small noise and turned to Jung-su.
“Keep your voice down. What happened?”
“There’s something like a sharp string here. I’m bleeding…”
Yohan’s face hardened. Sharp string?
“First, disinfect it and tape it up.”
Jung-su hastily opened his pack to find emergency supplies. But it was too dark to see inside. As he clumsily fumbled and finally switched on his light at minimal brightness—
Bang!
An all-too-familiar sound rang out as something shot through Jung-su’s forehead.
