Chapter 99
Jung-hwan grumbled as he gathered supplies after making a round inside the building. Since the store carried both fishing gear and household goods, there were still plenty of useful items left.
‘Priority for scavenging: First, guns and ammunition. Second, food. Third, food supplements. Everything else can wait.’
“Let’s see…”
He grabbed some cigarettes for the older guys and then prioritized canned food. Since they were close to their destination, taking only the most urgent supplies was enough.
As Jung-hwan moved supplies in and out of the store, Ah-young tried to come in to help.
“Don’t come in!”
Jung-hwan instinctively raised his voice. Ah-young flinched mid-step, her expression turning as if she were about to cry. A cold sweat ran down his back.
‘There aren’t even any zombies inside, so why am I yelling at her for trying to help…?’
During scavenging, his nerves were always on edge, his vigilance heightened to the extreme. That made him react more sharply than necessary. From Ah-young’s perspective, she was just trying to assist. He had been too harsh.
“Ah, sorry. I was just worried it might be dangerous. If you’re careful, you can come in. Can you hold this support bar for me?”
He was almost done anyway—just needed to grab this fishing bag before heading out. Since they were going to an island, having a good fishing rod set would be useful. It was on the highest shelf, slightly off balance. Perfect timing.
“Hold it tight.”
“Yes.”
Jung-hwan pulled down the largest fishing bag with all his strength.
Grumble—
“…!”
Suddenly, a low growl echoed. Jung-hwan’s body stiffened. It was faint but unmistakable. A tense silence filled the air.
He instinctively pushed Ah-young behind him, gripping his knife tightly.
Yet, nothing happened.
One minute. Two minutes. Five minutes. Still no zombies.
Jung-hwan slowly moved.
The time for panicking over one or two zombies had long passed. His countless fights and victories assured him that he could survive any crisis.
Eliminate the threat. Never leave loose ends. That was the rule.
Jung-hwan moved cautiously. He could feel Ah-young gripping the back of his shirt.
Retreating and placing Ah-young in a safe spot before fighting was an option, but turning his back on zombies was even riskier. That was a certainty.
However, the danger never came. Instead, when he found the source of the growl, his body relaxed, his arms going limp.
The “threat” was a group of small puppies—barely six months old.
“…They’re just puppies.”
Ah-young peeked out from behind him and gasped softly.
They were in what seemed to be a makeshift storage area. A metal hatch, about 40 cm above the ground, was locked shut. Inside was the corpse of a mother dog and her starving puppies still nursing from her lifeless body.
Scattered around them were torn sacks of fishing bait and punctured water bottles, gnawed by tiny teeth.
When Jung-hwan let go of the iron bars, a dark red stain peeled off his fingers.
The situation was clear.
The mother dog, wounded by zombies, had sought shelter here to give birth. She raised her pups as long as she could before succumbing to her injuries.
The puppies had survived by drinking her milk, licking spilled water, and eating soggy fishing bait.
Their condition was dire. Their whimpers were barely audible, their ribs protruded, and their eyelids drooped from exhaustion.
They didn’t even resist when a stranger reached in to pick them up.
“So pitiful.”
Ah-young reached out toward the puppies.
Crunch!
At that moment, the ceiling collapsed.
Ah-young clamped both hands over her mouth to stifle a scream. Zombies came crashing down from above.
“Aaah!”
A zombie lunged at her, hands grasping. Despite trying to stay silent, a whimper slipped through her fingers.
Jung-hwan instinctively shoved the zombies away and swung his large knife at their legs.
“Run! Get out! Now!”
He shouted desperately at Ah-young.
“A-ah… Ugh… Aaah!”
“Hurry!”
A foreign sensation. Paralyzing fear. Ah-young couldn’t move. (T/N: Shit. Please don’t die. You are my fav character in this series!)
—
From a distance, Yohan saw Ah-young sprinting toward them and signaled the others to stop loading supplies. His gaze was cold as he looked at her.
“Why are you wandering around alone? Didn’t you hear the order to stay with the minors?”
“J-Jung-hwan oppa…”
“What happened—no, where is he?”
“T-The supermarket…”
Yohan took off running. Sweeper, who had already finished organizing, sprinted after him.
Upon reaching the fish market, they found Jung-hwan surrounded by five zombies.
In the cramped space, he was desperately fending them off, barely keeping them from biting him.
Yohan threw a knife.
The blade whizzed through the air, burying itself in the back of a zombie’s head.
Sweeper followed, tearing two zombies off Jung-hwan.
“Hah… Hah… Hyung…”
Yohan’s face hardened.
He pulled Jung-hwan out into the light and quickly checked his body.
“Were you bitten?”
“My hand—just now—”
Suppressing a curse, Yohan yanked off his gloves. Faint teeth marks were visible.
But the skin wasn’t broken. The thick leather gloves had saved him.
“Damn it, kid. How long have you been doing this, and you still can’t handle five zombies? You almost gave us all a heart attack.”
Sweeper smacked the back of his head. Jung-hwan hung his head.
Then, Yohan’s cold, cutting words followed.
“You. Why were you with that girl?”
“Well…”
“Were you trying to set a good example of how to die for love?”
“Hyung…”
Sweeper hesitated, as if thinking Yohan’s words were too harsh. It was unusual for Yohan to be this agitated.
“I thought I told you not to let your guard down.”
“I’m sorry.”
Jung-hwan had been in a situation where getting bitten wouldn’t have been surprising. In that cramped space, unable to properly wield his weapon, if they had been just a little slower, he might not have made it.
He had survived two zombie waves and three battles against Seoul Survival Union.
He might not realize it himself, but to Yohan, Jung-hwan was not someone who could be easily replaced. He couldn’t afford to let emotions cloud his judgment and make careless mistakes.
Dying now would be a meaningless death.
“Stay sharp. Consider this a warning.”
“Yes, Hyung. I’m sorry.”
Jung-hwan lowered his head, knowing Yohan was speaking out of concern. He also knew he had been reckless.
“Hah… Let’s go.”
As Yohan and Sweeper left, Jung-hwan smacked his own head a couple of times before standing up. Just as he was about to take a step, he heard a faint whimpering sound.
Among the puppies that had been torn apart by zombies, one was still alive, struggling to crawl toward him.
Jung-hwan picked up the tiny creature with one hand.
“What’s that?”
Yohan frowned as Jung-hwan stepped outside with the puppy.
“It was inside… The mother dog is dead.”
“You planning to keep it?”
“If I leave it, it’ll definitely die…”
His voice trailed off, guilt creeping in. He glanced at Yohan’s expression, but it was unreadable.
Keeping pets had its pros and cons. Yohan, for one, wasn’t fond of the idea. Controlling their noise was difficult, and training them properly was even harder.
Most importantly, food was already scarce for people. They had no supplies for pet food.
Yohan hesitated, deep in thought. Sensing this, Jung-hwan quickly added,
“I saw someone raising hunting dogs during our fight with Seoul Survival Union. They were incredibly sharp at detecting movement. Having one could be useful.”
Seoul Survival Union’s Gaeko.
Jung-hwan had fought and won against him. Remembering that victory softened Yohan’s resolve.
‘I really need to stop going soft on my younger guys.’
With a reluctant nod, Yohan gave in. Jung-hwan beamed and handed the puppy to Ah-young. But before she could hold it, Yohan snatched it away and shoved it back at Jung-hwan.
“You take care of it. Don’t leave it to the kid. And if it can’t be trained, handle it yourself. It’s not a pet—it’s a hunting dog.”
“Yes, Hyung.”
Yohan turned away, and Sweeper fell into step beside him.
“You’re unusually generous today.”
“It’s emergency rations.” (T/N: HAHAHAHAHA. WTF)
Sweeper snickered.
“Well, once we settle somewhere, we were planning on raising livestock anyway.”
A well-trained hunting dog would be incredibly useful in a secure base.
“As expected of our great leader.”
Yohan scowled at Sweeper’s smug tone and kept walking. He knew the guy was amused by how soft he was on Jung-hwan and Hyuk.
As the scouting teams returned, Yohan gathered everyone near the fishing boat.
It was old but large. They had spent a hefty sum securing this vessel to transport supplies efficiently.
People stared at it, their thoughts varying, but most were filled with admiration.
“It’s a small boat, so we’ll need multiple trips. First, the advance team will go and clear out zombies on the island. The rest will transport supplies back and forth.”
Yohan swept his gaze over the group before assigning roles.
“The advance team: Sweeper, Hajin, Jung-hwan, Hyuk, Seri, and Sergeant Ong.”
“You really work us to the bone, don’t you?”
“I’d rather fight than carry cargo.”
“True, that’s fair.”
“You’re all marksmen, so don’t slack off. Finish clearing before the transport is done.”
“How long do we have?”
“Five hours.”
“That’s plenty.”
Sweeper glanced between Seri and Hajin with a smirk.
“By the way, isn’t it crazy how much Seri has improved? Right?”
“Well, she’s definitely better than most people now.”
“Of course! I’m finally pulling my weight, right, Oppa?”
Seri looked at Yohan expectantly, but his response was indifferent.
“I’d say you’re about 0.8 of a person.”
Seri made a spitting motion in mock offense.
“Sweeper, you’re leading the team. Wipe out every zombie inside.”
“Aye, aye, sir. Oh, and if there are people inside? Should we kill them?”
“If they’re a threat, yes. If not, disarm them and keep them contained.”
“Roger.”
With that, the fishing boat set sail.
