Chapter 41
He quickly darted across the hallway, bouncing lightly in the opposite direction of the people pointing fingers and chasing after him. The men in military uniforms shouted, “Stop right there!” as they pursued him like villains from a third-rate action movie.
A high school boy suddenly blocked Sweeper’s path. Despite his youthful face, his tall stature made him seem determined as he spread his arms wide, trying to catch Sweeper.
“Hiya!”
Sweeper leaned back as if doing a limbo to avoid the boy’s outstretched arms, slipping past him with ease.
“Wait a second.”
A thought suddenly struck him—why was he running? On reflection, he realized he had no real reason to flee. These weren’t strangers; he had already interacted with some of them and even had a conversation. Moreover, they had established this camp to protect the students, so they didn’t seem particularly dangerous.
Someone with his kind and trustworthy demeanor didn’t need to run. It was possible to talk things through.
Having made up his mind, Sweeper turned on his heel and spread his arms wide. The men chasing him came to an abrupt halt in front of him.
“Pardon my intrusion for a night, gentlemen. Shall we have a chat?”
“You’re…”
“We’ve met before, haven’t we, Lieutenant?”
Sweeper smiled brightly at the lieutenant standing directly in front of him, greeting him cheerfully. Recognizing Sweeper, the lieutenant’s expression grew complicated.
“How did you get here? Don’t tell me you’ve been following us! What’s your game? Could it be that your cooperation earlier was all part of a plan to target our camp…?”
“You’re one-third right and two-thirds wrong,” Sweeper replied with an awkward grin. “Yes, I followed you, but no, I don’t have ulterior motives or plans to target your camp. I needed to make sure you weren’t dangerous or planning retaliation. Now, how about we go inside and talk comfortably? I’d appreciate a cup of tea too.”
The faces of the men around him twisted in identical expressions of suspicion, as if they couldn’t figure out his intentions.
Eventually, though, they seemed to relax in the face of Sweeper’s smiling demeanor. Lowering their weapons, the lieutenant spoke hesitantly.
“Disarm yourself first.”
“That’s a bit difficult. You’ve got the numbers advantage anyway. Besides, you didn’t disarm yourselves when you were at our camp.”
An uncomfortable silence followed once again. When the soldiers glanced at him, the lieutenant nodded reluctantly.
“Follow me.”
They led Sweeper to a science lab. Inside, survivors had gathered. The lab consisted of three smaller rooms and had a modern steel door—the only sturdy entrance in the building—which must have made it an ideal place to use as a shelter.
“Plenty of useful tools here,” Sweeper thought, taking note of the various laboratory instruments.
“In any case, tailing us like this was extremely rude. Even though you’ve shared supplies with us, that doesn’t give you the right…”
Sweeper clasped his hands together and put on an apologetic expression.
“Oh, I’m really sorry about that. I didn’t mean to offend. Originally, I just planned to eavesdrop and leave, but I got caught up in the moment. Honestly didn’t think I’d get caught.”
“…”
“Thanks to that, I got a good—uh, anyway. Can I ask a few questions?”
“Answer ours first,” the lieutenant interjected.
“Let’s take turns, then. You go first.”
After a moment’s thought, the lieutenant asked, “A few days ago, some armed motorcyclists stormed the shelter. Were they part of your group, or do you know them?”
“No, and yes.”
“What?”
“They’re not part of my group, but I do know them. Probably enemies. My turn now—how many attackers were there when they raided your camp?”
The lieutenant looked to the students. One of them hesitantly answered, “Around forty…”
“That’s a lot.”
“My turn. Who are you people, really?”
“That’s a tough one. I’m new to my group too, so I don’t know everything. But if I had to sum it up, we’re just survivors gathered together. Our leader has a bit of experience and intuition. Now, my question—how were the attackers armed?”
Once again, the lieutenant turned to the students. Even as a reserve platoon leader, he found it strange that no one had detailed information on the attackers’ numbers or weapons.
“Well… we’re not sure.”
“Did they use guns?”
“No…”
“Bows?”
“Yes! Someone had a bow!”
“What kind of bow? Like an archery bow?”
“No, it looked more like a crossbow.”
So they’re using crossbows, Sweeper mused. A group capable of long-range assaults. He didn’t rule out the possibility that they also had firearms.
“Any more questions?” Sweeper asked, turning to the lieutenant, who hesitated, unable to think of anything.
“If not, you can ask later. For now, my question—would you consider joining our side?”
—
Yohan distributed firearms to the survivors. He gave M16 rifles to Hajin and Dongseok, who were part of the search team. Female survivors received revolvers, while male survivors were armed with Maxus shotguns.
Unlike before, when the guards shared firearms, this time, everyone was given their own weapon. However, there weren’t enough guns or ammunition to go around for everyone. Yohan prioritized distributing firearms to military-trained men, adults, and the able-bodied, especially those from the mart camp. For the rest, he taught them how to use slingshots as a fallback.
“I’ll need to visit a military base soon,” Yohan thought. While he couldn’t leave right away, he planned to visit the ammunition depot the lieutenant had mentioned once they dealt with the raiders.
“Oppa, my arms hurt. How long do I have to hold this up?” one survivor whined.
In the parking lot, survivors practiced aiming their newly acquired firearms. Due to the lack of ammunition, they focused on training in aiming, loading, firing mechanisms, and ammunition replacement.
This was especially important for revolvers and Maxus shotguns, which required precision and a degree of familiarity. Without sufficient practice, people were likely to fumble under pressure during actual combat.
In the background, the survivors lined up in a row, aiming their weapons at the zombies below the building.
“Practice moving around and then re-aiming. You don’t have to stay still the whole time.”
“You should’ve told us that earlier.”
“If I haven’t mentioned it already—if even one person accidentally fires a live round, every single one of you will be knocking your heads on the parking lot floor. Don’t disengage the safety. And if anyone points their muzzle at a person, I’ll strip you down to your underwear and throw you to the first floor.”
“Wow, you’re really harsh,” someone murmured.
The walkie-talkie crackled to life.
– Leader.
“Hold on. Keep training, no slacking.”
It was a transmission from Sweeper. Yohan stepped away to a quieter part of the parking lot and adjusted the volume on the walkie-talkie.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
– I’ve made contact with the soldiers’ camp. Got info on the motorcycle gang.
“Go on, I’m listening.”
– There are about forty of them. Some are armed with crossbows, and most carry blunt weapons. The presence of firearms is uncertain.
“I see.”
– But their goal isn’t supplies or people.
The ominous tone made Yohan frown.
– They’re hunting purely to kill.
It was just as Yohan had suspected.
– I’ll bring the people here back to camp.
“How many are with you?”
– Eight soldiers and five kids.
“Are they holding a grudge? One of their men died.”
– The lieutenant blames himself for that. Don’t worry.
“Got it. Understood.”
– We’ve got a lot of baggage, so we’ll head out either later today or tomorrow morning.
“Roger that. Stay safe.”
After ending the transmission, Yohan scanned the training area. Everyone was drenched in sweat, gasping for breath. He glanced at his analog watch—exactly two hours since they’d started.
Just then, Son Ji-hye approached from the emergency stairwell. Yohan signaled to the others, giving them permission to take a break. One by one, they collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.
“Oppa, is the training done?”
“Almost.”
“Mr. Kim says the lightbulbs are all installed!”
“Oh, really? I should go check that out.”
It was perfect timing, as their supply of candles was running low. Yohan’s face brightened at the news.
Mr. Kim, who ran the hardware store, had managed to power the first floor and basement level using a portable generator he brought from his shop.
As onlookers gathered, Mr. Kim enthusiastically explained the workings of the generator, rectifier, and inverter. However, Seri interrupted impatiently, saying she didn’t understand any of it and urged him to just turn the lights on.
With a flicker, the incandescent bulbs illuminated the area, radiating a warm glow.
The survivors couldn’t help but let out gasps of amazement.
Though the setup was rough and the wiring messy, the small piece of reclaimed civilization—a simple glowing lightbulb—evoked a bittersweet sense of nostalgia in the survivors.
While most people were enraptured by the lights, Yohan couldn’t help but notice the drawbacks. The generator was noisier than expected, and its reliance on gasoline was a downside. Though gasoline was still relatively easy to scavenge for now, it wasn’t a sustainable solution.
Still, the prospect of no longer sitting in complete darkness at night added a newfound vibrancy to the camp.
“I’ll gradually set these up in individual rooms as well,” Mr. Kim announced, causing everyone’s faces to light up.
The camp had recently established individual living quarters for the survivors. They had cleared out old stores, creating ten rooms and furnishing them with bedding. Though it required two people to share a room, it was a vast improvement over sleeping on the ground like refugees. The light from the bulbs seemed to brighten not just the rooms but also the spirits of the people.
“By the way, Elder…”
Yohan called out to Old Man Park, who had come down to the basement after a long time. Recently, the elder had been enjoying tending to the rooftop garden.
“Oh, Yohan. What is it?”
“Nothing much, just a few things to discuss. Could I have a moment of your time?”
Seo-jun, who was nearby, nodded in agreement.
“Of course.”
“Jung-hwan and the entire search team, come join us too,” Yohan added, gathering the key personnel. It was time to discuss the impending confrontation with the hostile group.
“I’ve called you all here to prepare for the battle ahead. We…”
Up until now, their efforts had been focused on killing zombies. When it came to dealing with other humans, Yohan had tried to shoulder that burden alone. But it was no longer possible to keep everyone safe by himself.
What Yohan wanted to convey was simple but grim: to protect their peace, they would have to break it.
To survive, they would have to kill.
“What’s the matter? You look so serious.”
In the meeting room, Yohan was joined by three search team members and three camp managers. Seo-jun, noticing Yohan’s unusually tense expression, asked cautiously.
“Some of you may already know this,” Yohan began, his voice steady as he organized his thoughts.
“We’re currently under threat from an unidentified group.”
“Threat?” someone echoed.
Calmly and without omission, Yohan recounted everything he’d learned—what he had heard at the hospital, the corpses he had seen at the nursing home, and the information he had just received from Sweeper over the walkie-talkie.