RE: Survival - Chapter 70

A primal fear had crept into the air. Despite knowing the Messiah deserved to die, there was an underlying sense that Yohan’s methods were extreme. And yet, there was an overwhelming sense of relief that Yohan was on their side.

The room remained silent, heavy like the air before a thunderstorm. Eventually, the Messiah’s convulsions subsided. Sweeper approached, lightly poked the man’s face, and shrugged.

“He’s dead.”

“It doesn’t matter. I planned to kill him anyway. We just need to see if he turns into a zombie.”

“Damn shame. I wanted to finish off that fake myself.”

“Fake?” Yohan raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I’m a devout Christian.”

“I’ve never seen you pray before eating.”

“…I save up and repent all at once,” Sweeper said, grinning.

As they exchanged meaningless banter, time passed, but the Messiah didn’t show any signs of turning. After being bitten, a person should have turned into a zombie by now—whether alive or dead.

“Should we wait longer?” Sweeper asked.

“There’s always a delay. Keep an eye on him.”

“Got it.”

With a curt nod, Sweeper pulled out a hatchet and severed the Messiah’s limbs. The precaution ensured the corpse wouldn’t pose a threat if it reanimated—a prudent, if grim, decision.

Feeling assured, Yohan turned his attention to the camp survivors, scanning their faces. Wherever his gaze landed, the survivors flinched in fear. Among them were men, elderly individuals, and middle-aged people, but the overwhelming majority were women—a strangely disproportionate ratio.

“Ji-won, Jung-su, collect the weapons and gather any usable supplies. As for these people—” Yohan paused, considering his next words carefully before speaking firmly. “Kill them all.”

It was the cleanest solution.

Before anyone could react, Hyuk spoke up, his voice weak but resolute. “Hyung.”

“No.”

Yohan’s reply was immediate and final. He already knew what Hyuk would say—something about these people being innocent victims.

“They’re victims…” Hyuk argued weakly.

Yohan exhaled a quiet sigh. Hyuk was his weak spot. Despite everything, Yohan cared deeply for him.

Hyuk wasn’t just a skilled athlete and a reliable ally—he was the younger brother of Yohan’s closest comrade, who had once saved his life. But Hyuk’s soft-hearted nature made it impossible to entrust him with others’ lives. And above all, Yohan didn’t want Hyuk to die because of his own idealism.

“The foundation of any cult is planting insiders among the followers. Someone here is one of that fake Messiah’s spies. And we have no way of identifying them,” Yohan explained.

“But there are real victims here who don’t know anything…”

“Don’t be naive. You’ve already risked your team with that stupidity.”

Hyuk fell silent. Yohan was right, and Hyuk had no defense. He had made a mistake, and the consequences had been dire.

“I wanted to expel you from the camp as punishment for this incident,” Yohan continued, “but the unanimous objection of the search team saved you this time. Still, you’re being demoted. From now on, you’re no longer the leader of Team 2. You’ll join Team 1 under my command. Hajin will take over Team 2.”

“I understand, hyung. I’ll accept any punishment. But please… these people have already suffered…”

Hyuk’s youthful face showed desperation as he pointed to the survivors, many of whom were crying silently. They weren’t weeping out of fear of their own deaths, but for the people who had died before them. Family, friends—those they had believed had ascended—had been slaughtered and desecrated. Now, the harsh truth had shattered their faith.

Yohan sighed heavily. Hyuk had always been his soft spot. As cold and ruthless as Yohan could be, he could never bring himself to be indifferent to Hyuk.

“Gun,” Yohan muttered under his breath, addressing Hyuk’s late older brother. “You really screwed this kid up before you left.”

A memory surfaced—Gun’s parting words to Yohan: ‘“No matter how hard life gets, don’t lose your humanity. To help others is what makes us human.”’

Yohan repeated the words softly. Hearing them, a faint light of hope returned to Hyuk’s expression.

“You remember every word, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Do you remember what he said before that?”

“Before…?”

“’Live. Survive. Do it for me.’”

“…”

“Forget your humanity or helping others for now. Surviving, even for Gun’s sake, comes first.”

After Yohan’s words, Seri and Hajin chimed in.

“Oppa, this kid still doesn’t get it. He needs a beating,” Seri said.

“I respect his outlook, though,” Hajin added. “Having that kind of mindset in this world isn’t easy. Not that I agree with it.”

Sweeper clapped Hyuk on the back and added, “Listen, kid. Keep this up, and I’ll bet Jung-hwan’s manhood that you won’t last six months. And trust me, it’s brand new.”

“Hyung!” Jung-hwan yelled, startled.

“Oh, you’re here? When did you show up?” Sweeper replied with a grin.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Man, you’ve got a loud voice,” Sweeper muttered, rubbing his ears.

Yohan cut through the chaotic chatter to refocus the group. “All right, let’s figure out who’s useful and who isn’t. Everyone, stand up with your hands on your heads.”

The survivors, still trembling, slowly rose to their feet.

“If anything I say applies to you, raise your hand immediately,” Yohan said. “Are there any doctors or nurses?”

No one raised their hand.

“Any engineers? Electrical, mechanical, construction—anything?”

Still no response.

“Any explosive experts or people with certifications in handling explosives?”

Yohan didn’t expect an answer, and he wasn’t surprised when he didn’t get one. The survivors simply stared at him, their faces filled with fear and confusion.

“Does anyone here have ‘any’ special skills? Hell, if you can fight ten zombies on your own, that’ll do.”

Finally, a young man hesitantly raised his hand. Yohan nodded toward him. “What’s your skill?”

“I’m… a comic artist.”

“Put your hand down,” Yohan said flatly, his expression hardening slightly. Whatever use the young man’s skill might have had before the apocalypse, it was utterly worthless now. The artist lowered his hand with a crestfallen look, but Seri guided him to the side.

“What’s this?” Yohan asked with a raised eyebrow.

“You’re not taking him with us, are you?” one of the team members asked.

“The comic artist?” Seri questioned.

“Yeah,” Yohan replied casually.

“What on earth could we possibly use a comic artist for?” he pressed.

“To draw… adult comics,” Seri deadpanned.

“…”

Yohan gave her a look of pure disbelief. Seri stared back at him with a hint of exasperation, while a few team members raised their thumbs at her suggestion, smirking. Yohan let out a faint sigh.

Even after pressing the survivors multiple times, no one else with any notable or useful skills came forward. With that, Yohan decided to proceed with the next step.

“Seri, handle the body search for the women,” Yohan instructed.

While Seri conducted the search among the female survivors, Yohan personally searched the male survivors. Apart from the comic artist, two male survivors were found carrying concealed knives wrapped in cases.

Yohan silently drew his pistol and aimed it at one of the men.

“W-wait…”

‘Bang! Bang!’

Two quick gunshots rang out, and both men fell to the ground. Their deaths sent the room into a frenzy, with screams and panic breaking out among the remaining survivors. The team looked at Yohan, stunned.

“What the hell was that?!” someone blurted.

“What are you doing? Finish the job,” Yohan replied calmly.

The team exchanged uncertain glances but complied with Yohan’s unspoken logic. He explained his reasoning quietly.

“They were spies.”

“How could you know that?” Seri asked, her voice tinged with doubt.

“Sanctuary members aren’t supposed to carry weapons.”

The room fell into an eerie silence.

The sanctuary was meant to be a place of peace, where weapons were forbidden. If someone was hiding a weapon, it meant they weren’t true believers. Instead, they were likely spies planted by the Messiah to infiltrate or manipulate the group. Anyone willing to violate such a sacred tenet wasn’t trustworthy.

Even if they weren’t explicitly spies, someone who infiltrated a religious group and pretended to believe was still suspicious.

“Bind the rest and keep them under guard. We’ll move them tomorrow,” Yohan ordered.

“Move them? We’re not taking them to the camp, are we? I didn’t want to kill them, but bringing them back seems… risky,” Seri said hesitantly.

“We’re not taking them back,” Yohan clarified.

“Then what?”

“We’ll use them to our advantage,” Yohan replied cryptically.

The team exchanged puzzled looks, clearly not understanding what Yohan meant. Despite rebuking Hyuk earlier, Yohan himself felt uncomfortable with the idea of killing defenseless survivors indiscriminately. At the same time, he couldn’t trust such a suspicious group. A different approach was needed.

The solution Yohan devised was to use “barbarians against barbarians”—pitting one problem against another. He intended to offload this troublesome group onto another.

“Everyone from the external standby team, get in here,” Yohan called out over the radio.

The remaining team members and those who had been gathering supplies soon entered the sanctuary, joining the others. In front of them lay the cache of stolen resources they had amassed.

Yohan slowly inspected the supplies, turning over various items and noting their abundance. There was more than he had expected, and even the other survivors seemed surprised by the sheer amount.

“This is more than I thought,” Yohan remarked. “Focus on taking the most useful items. The sun’s down, so we’ll stay here tonight. Teams 1 and 2 will keep watch outside, and Team 3 will monitor the survivors. Rotate shifts in order.”

The team members nodded and began organizing their tasks.

Meanwhile, it became clear that the Messiah wasn’t going to turn into a zombie. This all but confirmed the existence of immunity. People with immunity could survive a zombie bite without becoming infected. For Yohan, this was significant.

Of course, he didn’t plan to test his luck intentionally, but if worst came to worst, being bitten wouldn’t necessarily mean the end. Yohan pointed to the Messiah’s mutilated body.

“Dispose of it. And as for immunity, let’s not treat it as fact until we see more cases. In the meantime, if someone gets bitten, isolate them rather than killing them outright.”

The team’s faces reflected a mix of astonishment and curiosity at the new discovery. Whether this revelation would lead to hope or chaos remained to be seen.

“Dismissed. Oh, and Jinsu, stay behind for a moment.”

As the others dispersed to their duties, only Jinsu and Hajin, who was on survivor watch, remained with Yohan. Yohan led Jinsu to a waiting room at the back of the sanctuary. Now it was time to deal with a truly troubling matter.

Jinsu, ever cheerful and youthful, was smiling brightly as if he were unaware of the storm brewing.

“You did well today,” Yohan said.

“It’s nothing!” Jinsu replied with enthusiasm.

Every time Yohan saw him, he couldn’t help but admire Jinsu’s energy. Despite being just a teenager, he hadn’t faltered in the face of zombies or during their first long-distance mission. He didn’t seem like the type to get caught up in anything unsavory.

“You know why I called you, right?”

“Uh… no, not really,” Jinsu replied, his smile faltering slightly.

Yohan’s sharp gaze fixed on him. Though Yohan had no supernatural ability to discern truth from lies, he relied on context and conversation to make judgments. Once he made a decision, someone would have to take responsibility for their actions—whether they were a legitimate offender or an unfortunate scapegoat.

“A female survivor from Parktown Camp has accused you,” Yohan began.

“What?! Accused me of what?” Jinsu exclaimed, his eyes wide with shock.

“She claims you abused your authority as a search team member to demand… favors from her.”

“That’s ridiculous! Who would say something like that?!”

Yohan paused, debating whether to reveal the accuser’s identity to protect her privacy or to ensure clarity in the situation.

“Do you have anyone in mind who might accuse you?” he finally asked.

“No, not at all…” Jinsu said, shaking his head nervously.

Yohan sighed, deciding quickly. “It was Suhee, one of the survivors.”

“What?! Suhee?!” Jinsu’s eyes darted wildly as his hands trembled slightly. It was clear he was deeply unsettled.

“I’m innocent! I swear!” Jinsu pleaded.