RE: Survival - Chapter 21

“There were over fifty of them visible, and only thirty-six bullets. Plus, four of them had firearms. Sacrificing anyone in an unwinnable fight would make negotiating impossible if captured, don’t you think?”

“And if you had over fifty bullets?”

“I’d hit the smallest group first and then escape.”

The executive let out a loud laugh and clapped.

“Where did you get the guns?”

“There’s a gun shop near Bucheon Station.”

“Are there still guns left there?”

“It’s only been three days since I was there, so unless someone cleaned it out, there should be plenty.”

The executive stroked his chin several times. This guy was overly straightforward. There wasn’t even a hint of fear in his demeanor. He had gone alone to secure firearms and roamed freely, hunting. Trusting him wasn’t easy, but it seemed a waste to simply kill him or let him go.

“I’ll give you a chance to work under me.”

The executive grinned. Yohan pretended to hesitate before replying.

“At the very least, I want a guarantee of becoming your second-in-command.”

“Puhaha! You’ve got guts. Impressive.”

“Give me a few nimble people. I’ll secure firearms and prove my worth.”

“No, no need. I’ll send others. First, I need to verify if what you’re saying is true. Tell me the exact location.”

“Understood.”

“If you’re lying, you’re dead. Got it?”

“There’s no reason for me to lie.”

Satisfied, the executive patted Yohan on the shoulder, hard enough to make him stumble forward.

Yohan had been looking for a chance to escape, but they weren’t letting their guard down easily. He had to admit, the executive was a fitting leader for a group surviving in chaos. Yohan had mixed truth with lies.

The location of the gun shop was real. But the claim that there were guns left was false. The shop had been emptied long ago—three months, to be precise. Even if the truth came out, no one could blame him.

“I’ll be back later. Everyone except him should grab their tools and follow me.”

“Should we call the guards on watch too?”

“No. Tell them to stay alert.”

Having received the answer he wanted, the executive laughed heartily and walked off. The men who had caused such a commotion flowed out like a receding tide.

The man assigned to watch the two of them remained bowed until the executive was out of sight. Once the executive was gone, he relaxed, sat by the door, and lit a cigarette.

As the others disappeared, Yohan let out a faint sigh. Behind him, Sweeper’s mocking voice rang out.

“Wow, your bootlicking was a masterpiece.”

“Just focus on assessing the situation.”

Sweeper clicked his tongue, astonished by how drastically Yohan’s demeanor shifted. The difference between how he dealt with the executive and how he spoke to Sweeper was like night and day.

While Sweeper clucked his tongue, Yohan stayed silent, looking for an opening. He ignored Sweeper’s occasional remarks and continued his vigil.

After an hour or two, the guard stepped outside. The sound of the door locking clicked from outside.

‘If there’s only one person on watch, there’s bound to be a gap.’

Guards should always work in pairs. People need to eat, and eating means needing to relieve themselves.

Seizing the opportunity, Yohan struggled to remove his boots while still tied up. He had deliberately left one of his boots loosely tied, making it easier to slip off.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

Yohan ignored Sweeper’s question and focused on slipping off his boot. While the situation wasn’t dire yet, he still needed to hurry.

The executive wasn’t here right now. Considering the importance of securing firearms, the executive wouldn’t have sent all his subordinates to the gun shop. He must have gone there himself with his men. Even if they returned quickly, Yohan calculated at least six hours of leeway.

After some effort, Yohan finally slipped off his boot, revealing a razor blade tucked into his sock. Bending his legs like a flopping fish, he maneuvered the blade to his hands.

The scene might have looked ridiculous, but he successfully transferred the razor to his hands.

From there, it was smooth sailing. Yohan cut through the ropes binding his hands and feet, dusted himself off, and stood up.

“Huh? Huh?”

“Why so surprised? Never seen anyone escape before?”

“I can’t believe you had something hidden like that.”

“In a world like this, nothing’s surprising anymore.”

When Yohan held a finger to his lips, Sweeper immediately shut up. Yohan tore some fabric to wrap his palm and retrieved a fishing line from his other boot. Soon, he heard footsteps. As the door opened, Yohan swiftly wrapped the fishing line around the man’s neck and pulled.

“Guh, gurgle…”

Yohan tightened his grip as the man’s face turned blue and his body slackened. After confirming the man had stopped breathing, Yohan retrieved a knife from his clothing and stabbed his brain. Searching the corpse, he found a walkie-talkie.

“Did you really have to kill him?”

“Once he laid hands on me, it became self-defense.”

Yohan opened the ventilation shaft. The passage was narrow but large enough to crawl through. However, he had no intention of using it. Instead, he stepped away, only to hear an urgent voice behind him.

“Didn’t you forget something?”

“Huh? What?”

“Me! Aren’t you going to untie me?”

A puzzled expression crossed Yohan’s face. What nonsense is this?

“Why would I untie you?”

“Come on, don’t be so cold. Just once, please? If you leave me like this, I’m dead for sure. You saw it earlier!”

Yohan frowned at Sweeper’s sudden shift in tone.

“Why are you suddenly so polite?”

“Please, sir!”

“Consider yourself lucky I’m not killing you. I’m keeping you alive because I need you for something.”

“For something…?”

“If they ask where I escaped to, say I went through that vent to the roof. If you’re still alive when they’re done hunting, I’ll let you go.”

“Sir! Hey!”

Without hesitation, Yohan darted out the open door.

—

The executive and his group reached the gun shop near Bucheon Station. The location was as described, but the shop had already been completely ransacked. Not a single gun remained.

The place bore clear signs of a gunfight—armored corpses, bodies that had died before turning into zombies, and bullet holes everywhere. It was obvious there had been a fierce battle.

“Uh… Executive, there’s nothing left here.”

One of the subordinates asked hesitantly.

“I have eyes too, you know.”

At that, the subordinate fell silent.

They had lost two men just getting here, and now they had to return empty-handed. The executive’s eyes glinted murderously.

Someone else could have taken the guns, but the executive couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Inspecting the area, he brushed a hand over a bullet-riddled crate. Dust had settled even inside the holes—this wasn’t recent.

“We need to get back, quickly.”

The executive grabbed a walkie-talkie from one of his men and called the remaining guard.

“Is everything fine there?”

The response crackled with static, but the voice seemed calm.

“Everything’s fine.”

The executive frowned. Something about the voice felt off. He threw the walkie-talkie aside in frustration.

“Let’s hurry back.”

—

Three hours later, they returned to find the holding area empty, with only a single corpse left behind. The executive searched the body—no walkie-talkie.

One of the men burst in, panting. “Sir! Mingu and Minseok have been taken out!”

The corpse showed strangulation marks and a stab wound. Thin, strong material had been used to strangle, followed by a precise stab to the brainstem. This wasn’t the work of an amateur.

The executive thought back to the voice he’d heard over the walkie-talkie. That man—they had underestimated him.

With his anger boiling over, the executive laughed coldly. “You’re still here, aren’t you?”

At that moment, the walkie-talkie crackled to life.

“Sir, he’s on the roof!”

It was an unfamiliar voice. The executive narrowed his eyes, realizing it had to be the stolen walkie-talkie.

“Who are you?”

The walkie-talkie remained silent.

Seething with rage, the executive kicked over a chair. “What a cheeky little bastard!”