Chapter 140
Yohan, lost in thought after hearing Noah’s story, suddenly widened his eyes, as if something had clicked.
“Piccolo has no combat ability… looks like the immune system of the immune ones is working. A blessing in misfortune.”
Noah blinked, dumbfounded, not understanding a word. Same with the rest of the Yeouido Camp members, who wore equally confused expressions.
“Piccolo? Immune? What are you talking about?”
“You don’t know about immunity?”
“No. Not at all…”
Yohan had assumed they must’ve encountered at least one immune person during their battle with Gae Baekjong.
He hesitated, unsure where to begin, then calmly explained.
“Rarely, there are people who are immune to the current outbreak. Even if they’re bitten by a zombie or attacked by a mutant, they don’t turn.”
“What?”
Noah was so shocked he instinctively repeated the word. A murmur spread throughout the group.
The fact that Noah’s team had never encountered an immune person until now was surprising, especially since Camp Yohan had three.
“You seriously never had one?”
“No. Or… maybe we did, but we’d never know. Our camp’s rule is to kill the bitten immediately. No pain. No suffering.”
“I see.”
Noah’s expression showed guilt. If immunity was real, someone might’ve died unjustly under his rule.
But given that they didn’t know such immunity existed, the rule itself had been sound—eliminating risk swiftly and effectively.
“You made the right call. Don’t feel guilty.”
It took serious resolve to kill someone who hadn’t turned. That kind of determination couldn’t be faulted.
Of course, that same rule meant they had no way of learning about immune individuals.
Noah himself had been a recipient of that “gift.” Another puzzle piece snapped into place in Yohan’s mind.
“The mutant we call Piccolo—it’s just a nickname we gave it—but it’s one we’re watching closely. A horrifying mutant that infects people just by being near them. The one you killed probably turned your comrades and the JCS troops in an instant.”
“Goddamn…”
Noah cursed under his breath. Yohan smiled faintly—it didn’t seem like swearing was in his nature.
With the explanation wrapped up for Noah and the other new allies, Yohan gathered his thoughts. A whirlwind of theories raced through his mind.
First, the certainties.
That mutant was the spark of the apocalypse.
Piccolo-like mutants emerged around the world, generating other mutants and immediately infecting nearby humans. In other words, they seeded ground zero.
Forget David, Shark, Gollum—they weren’t the real problem. The ones that dismantled entire nations and their militaries were probably these merciless monsters.
A mutant that zombifies everything nearby upon appearance—how do you even fight that?
It wasn’t like they’d never encounter one again. He had to prepare.
The one silver lining—immune individuals.
In his previous life, immunity had never been a thing. Not even once in three years.
Anyone who was bitten or scratched turned. So nobody, including Yohan, ever learned about Piccolo’s true nature. There couldn’t be witnesses—just being near one was lethal.
Now that he thought about it, if immunity didn’t exist, this timeline would’ve already been catastrophic.
Noah would be dead. Camp Yohan—completely wiped out, unaware of the mutant’s existence.
Yohan felt chills crawl down his back.
‘But we still don’t know why immunity exists—or under what conditions it manifests.’
He pulled the lurking question into the open.
There were too many immune people. Suspiciously many.
‘Sweeper, Hajin, Noah, Jae-won, Gae Baekjong, Messiah…’
And himself. And there could be more among his crew.
Immune people had things in common.
Whether it was physical condition, survival instinct, intelligence—or even backstabbing skills—they were all highly adaptable, highly capable individuals.
He, Noah, and Jae-won had all survived to the bitter end in their previous lives.
‘Me, Gae Baekjong, Noah, Jae-won—all of us made it to nearly the end before regression. Based on their survivability, Sweeper and Hajin probably lasted a long time too.’
Yohan frowned.
It was all speculation. But his instincts added weight to it.
First theory: The more zombies you face, the stronger your immunity becomes.
Second: It’s tied to how long you survived in the previous timeline.
Third: It’s pure coincidence.
If the first, they’d need to actively confront more zombies—but there was no way to prove it.
The second and third didn’t impact the present. They were just answers to his personal curiosity.
‘Pointless speculation?’
His curiosity about the origin of it all kept peeking out. But in the end, the final boss of this survival game was the apocalypse itself—and his only goal was to reach the end without looking back.
—
Dawn broke.
Dim light ushered in the morning, and the pitch-black world began to stir.
As soon as it was bright enough, Yohan’s group moved to Yongsan Gamdong Church, where the Joint Chiefs of Staff building could be clearly seen.
Standing in front of the real thing, Yohan began the briefing.
They had no internal info on the Joint Command. They’d have to go in blind.
“We’re reassigning teams. Anti-mutant formation. First insertion will be the advance squad. They’ll scout and carve a path to the target.”
“I know the location of the welfare center and supply depot.”
At Noah’s comment, Yohan shook his head.
“No need. We’ve got more supplies than we need.”
“Wow.”
“We’re heading to the new headquarters building. Advance team: Sweeper, Hajin, and Noah.”
Unlike regular combat, anti-zombie operations require the strongest, most reliable individuals to take the lead. These four were the best—and only—choice.
“Only four of you going in? That sounds way too dangerous.”
“They’ll check for any Piccolos or other mutants inside first. That way, we can prevent further losses.”
Noah found the strategy hard to grasp. No matter how skilled the individuals, the place was crawling with zombies.
He could understand risking himself—he’d already been through this hell once—but for the others, this was a heavy burden.
He glanced at the two people named beside him. Surprisingly, neither of them flinched. They simply nodded at Yohan’s command like it was nothing. Beyond calm—they didn’t seem to care at all.
‘What the hell are these people?’
That reaction was only natural.
Even Yohan seemed equally unfazed, just continuing his explanation.
“The main unit will thin out the outer perimeter and make sure no zombies sneak in through the rear checkpoint. No matter how many there are, we’ve got enough people to manage it. Once the area’s secure, we move to the new building and collect what we came for.”
Everyone nodded. Noah followed up.
“That blueprint or whatever?”
“I just said that as cover. Couldn’t reveal our real goal back then.”
“Wow. I actually believed you.”
“Our goal is to sail out to sea on a warship. Keyword: Baengnyeongham. Assume we’re grabbing every document related to it—navigation, refueling, maintenance, infrastructure, anything. Take it all.”
People nodded again, this time more focused. Even the comrades who had come with Noah were paying close attention, eyes gleaming.
“Hyuk, you’ll lead the second unit.”
“Got it.”
“We don’t know how long it’ll take to comb through the new building. The main force will eventually join, but your top priority is safety. No casualties. If even one person shows signs of airborne infection, report it and retreat to Yongsan Station immediately.”
“Understood.”
“Once we’re inside the new HQ, some will guard the entrance, the rest help with the search.”
“Okay.”
“Good. Safety first. Safety second. Don’t forget that.”
Yohan repeated it like a mantra, then sent the group into motion.
The four-person advance team.
Sweeper and Hajin on the flanks, Noah bringing up the rear. With Yohan at the front, he had never felt more secure.
These people radiated an aura like they could smash through any enemy that appeared.
“Let’s move.”
The four of them climbed over the wall near the rear checkpoint.
Yohan slung his K2 tightly across his back, machete on his belt, and carried a crossbow handed to him by one of the crew. The feel of it in his hand was strangely unfamiliar—it had been a while.
Inside the base, decaying corpses filled the air with a foul stench, sharp enough to sting the nose.
Zombies still roamed in dense clusters.
‘Push through.’
At his signal, the bolt flew from his crossbow, piercing a zombie’s skull cleanly.
Click. As he reloaded, they crushed the zombies approaching from both sides without hesitation.
The four moved like a blender—pure destruction. Zombie heads flew, bodies dropped, carpeting their path in gore.
Noah, unfamiliar with their full strength, was stunned.
Even if you get used to the zombies approaching in the open, a swarm this size would make anyone hesitate. But these people didn’t care if there were two or three at once.
Hajin swung a kukri with one hand, cleaving two or three heads in one strike. Sweeper moved so fast he sometimes vanished from Noah’s vision.
It was awe-inspiring.
If this was the kind of monsters they had, it wasn’t surprising Jae-won got taken down. In fact, it felt inevitable.
Then there was Yohan—demonstrating the pinnacle of efficient combat.
‘He said he could just barely hold his own—what a load of crap… These guys aren’t even human.’
Noah, who had worried about them before the mission, now felt drained.
He had always believed his own physical ability was second to none. He led his camp even after evacuating his comrades to Mapo, all based on that strength.
Now, for the first time in his life, he was struggling to keep up with the zombie kill rate and advance speed.
But Yohan couldn’t have been more pleased with the squad.
Unshakeable.
In both his past and current lives, he’d never felt so relaxed watching someone else’s back. All he had to do was focus on the zombies in front.
Even Noah, the new addition, was exceeding expectations.
Holding the rearguard—often the riskiest position—he followed tightly without a hint of hesitation.
As expected of a former elite special forces soldier—his movements were razor-sharp, without a single wasted motion.
And that wasn’t all. His precise judgment, calm but kind leadership, strong close-combat skills, infiltration, recon, amphibious assault, parkour, climbing—Noah’s all-around capabilities would become a massive asset to the camp.
Yohan headed straight for the place where Noah said he encountered the mutant Piccolo. Sure enough, the creature’s shredded remains were there.
Or rather—not quite a corpse. Though its body was in tatters, it still twitched like an insect.
“This is the one.”
It looked too torn apart to regenerate or recover.
“Damn, you really did a number on it.”
“I had no choice. It just wouldn’t die.”
“Let’s burn it.”
Whether it was dead or not didn’t matter. Leaving behind a twitching mutant felt too wrong.
Yohan gathered anything flammable nearby and set it ablaze with a lighter. Acrid smoke and the stench of burning flesh filled the air, like rotting squid left on a grill.
“Let’s move.”
The smoke had surely drawn attention. They had to leave before zombies swarmed the area.
The advance team moved with calm efficiency—almost to the point of seeming relaxed.
They circled widely around the new headquarters, eventually stepping inside for a brief break. As they entered, Noah wiped his sweat and asked Yohan,
“Aren’t we being a bit too relaxed? It feels like the zombies are endless.”
“What, tired already?”
“It’s not that…”
Though he wasn’t exhausted physically, the prolonged tension and nonstop fighting were wearing him down.
Despite Noah’s concern, Yohan only took a single breath before signaling the advance team to move again. He and the two by his side handled the zombies in silence, showing no signs of strain—clearly used to this kind of hardcore pace.
Noah clicked his tongue in disbelief. Still, he didn’t forget to stay sharp and guard their rear.
It felt like standing behind giants. A slight sense of inadequacy tugged at him.
‘It’s probably just in my head.’
And yet… a small, undeniable part of him was excited.
* * * * * * *
(T/N: I’m alive! 😂 Just dropping in with a quick update. Still not back to a regular upload schedule, but I’ll be uploading at least 5 chapters per series every week, in order based on the most recent series I picked up. No fixed days yet, but I’ll keep the bulk uploads coming as best as I can!)
