Chapter 168

               

The private who had rushed off to report to the company commander returned in less than half an hour, out of breath from running through the gymnasium. The corporal asked the private,

“What did he say?”

“He said to go ahead with the admission process and to come see him right away for an interview. You can sign later.”

At the private’s words, the corporal nodded and handed Sweeper a bathhouse locker key.

“This is the locker key. You can store your personal belongings at the entrance on the first floor. But you can’t bring dangerous weapons inside, so we’ll keep those for you.”

“Alright.”

Sweeper nodded. His axe went into the green storage locker.

“And…”

The corporal hesitated, looking a little awkward. After a moment of silence, he scratched his head and looked down.

“Sorry, but our supplies aren’t good right now, so we can’t offer much. If we get resupplied from above, we’ll make sure to take care of you.”

“It’s fine. I brought plenty from outside.”

Sweeper patted him on the shoulder to show it was alright. The corporal flinched and hunched his shoulders, then added carefully,

“Please watch out for theft inside.”

“Why, are people angry?”

“It’s not that, but…”

It was a cute concern.

Sweeper gave a small laugh, patted his shoulder again, and slung on his backpack.

“The company commander’s office is on the third floor.”

“Okay.”

Sweeper walked to the personal storage area, put his backpack away, and headed straight to the company commander’s office.

A quick glance around the shelter showed things were worse than he’d thought. Rather than a group of evacuees, it looked more like defeated soldiers after a lost battle.

People were sprawled all over the gym, and even though so many had gathered, there was hardly any noise. Except for a few people grumbling or cursing, most just lay there like corpses.

‘This is pretty bad.’

The dim gym, barely lit, looked like a volcano about to erupt at any moment.

‘Hmm.’

He was curious. In the midst of all this chaos, how would the shelter commander manage to overcome this crisis?

Lost in thought, Sweeper soon found himself at the company commander’s door and knocked.

“Come in.”

The tightly closed door opened. The company commander’s office was a bright, sunlit room. Sweeper bowed his head to the commander sitting at the desk. The commander adjusted his glasses and stood up.

“I heard you were looking for me.”

“Yes. Nice to meet you. I’m Lieutenant Colonel Shin Hyung-chul, commander of Unit 8771 of the Capital Corps. You’re with the UN forces?”

“Yes. I’m Lieutenant Steven Lee.” (T/N: I wonder if this is Sweeper’s real name.)

Lieutenant Colonel Shin approached and offered his hand, which Sweeper shook. Their eyes met for a moment as if sizing each other up.

For a lieutenant colonel, Shin looked quite young. He didn’t have a harsh or intimidating aura, but seemed solid enough.

Lieutenant Colonel Shin also looked at him as if seeing right through him. Their eyes met in midair, and for a moment, time seemed to stop.

“Well then, have a seat.”

Lieutenant Colonel Shin leaned back on a black sofa and gestured to the seat opposite. In his hand was the fake ID the private had taken earlier.

He fiddled with the ID for a few minutes, but probably wouldn’t find anything suspicious. It was perfectly forged.

After a few minutes, Shin put the ID down on the table and slid it over.

“How did you end up moving alone?”

“I came to Korea on leave for a special assignment, but I got stuck here when this happened. I did contact my unit and requested rescue, though,”

Lieutenant Colonel Shin’s expression changed for a second.

“Before that, I stopped by to check on the nearby shelter. From what I saw, things seemed a bit off.”

“Are you in contact with the UN?”

Sweeper nodded wordlessly. His expression was as natural as when he’d infiltrated as an insurance salesman. This was a crucial moment, and he was almost an expert at acting by now.

“Yes, I was.”

“As you’ve seen, things are difficult. Is there any chance of UN support?”

The commander’s voice was much more eager now than before.

“Let’s stay calm, sir. How is the situation?”

Sweeper tossed the ball back to him. The commander paused for a moment, sighed lightly, and began explaining.

After martial law was declared, the military government ordered the Capital Defense Command, the Capital Corps, and several front-line units to reorganize major battalion-level subunits to run temporary shelters.

It was a fairly efficient and flexible response. Supplies were also distributed quickly.

But that was the last order.

After that, all contact with higher commands and headquarters was lost. Naturally, the chain of command broke down.

Same with supplies.

No more deliveries came in, and they couldn’t manage their own resupply, so after just a week, things were on the brink.

So Lieutenant Colonel Shin had finally made up his mind.

Rather than moving recklessly, he’d decided it was better to keep everyone inside, get organized, and prevent further infections. That was the best option for now.

‘Cautious and rational,’ Sweeper thought to himself, then spoke.

“Organizing the shelter is good, but I think you need to clear out the zombies nearby first. There are so many, it’s hard to move around or bring in more survivors.”

“… I’ve considered that. But there’s a reason it’s too soon.”

“A reason?”

“First, if gunshots go off, all the zombies nearby will swarm us. Second, the soldiers are all barely trained, so there’s no telling what safety accidents might happen in the field. And finally…”

Lieutenant Colonel Shin trailed off, then continued.

“There’s been no kill order from above. The last order we got was to protect and isolate survivors.”

“What do you mean…?”

“They probably think a cure could be developed, so they don’t want to fire on civilians. If you saw the news early on, there was a big debate about whether to kill the infected or not. It’s the same for nearby units. Everyone’s reluctant to act until things get worse. But it’s hard to go ahead independently, for the first two reasons I mentioned.”

The commander held his forehead like just thinking about it gave him a headache.

“And there’s something else. Some nearby units with impatient commanders did start their own operations, but after that, all contact with them stopped. Something happened.”

“Were they targeted by zombies?”

“Most likely. Like I said, these soldiers only fire at the range a couple times a year. No one can guarantee what will happen in a real fight.”

“Hmm…”

“We don’t have enough troops for a mobile strike team, and the mention of a ‘cure’ on TV before the broadcast was cut makes it even harder to kill zombies freely. Public opinion in the shelter is bad. Most people here left zombie family members locked up at home.”

The commander let out a deep sigh.

“That’s not all. Something strange is happening. Even with no outsiders, new infections keep popping up. Every time there’s an incident, nearly ten people die, and the survivors demand to be let out. It’s total chaos. But…”

Lieutenant Colonel Shin continued.

“We’re at our limit. As a commander, I have to make a decision.”

His gaze shone sharply.

“That’s why I need your help, Lieutenant Steven. If you’re really with the UN, please request a rescue.”

“I’ve already sent the request. But this isn’t just happening in Seoul, sir.”

“What did you say?”

“Sir.”

Lieutenant Colonel Shin jumped up.

“This crisis is worldwide, not just Korea. I’ve sent the request, but there’s no telling when anything will happen. So, for now… we just have to wait for other regions to get things under control first. From what I’ve seen, Korea failed to respond at the start.”

“…No way…”

A heavy silence fell. No wonder—the government and military had stopped responding, and now to hear it was a global crisis was like a bolt from the blue. Maybe they’d been hoping for help from neighboring countries.

“Would you like a cigarette?”

“No, thank you. I’m trying to quit.”

Lieutenant Colonel Shin wiped his face and looked at Sweeper with a serious expression.

“Lieutenant Steven, can you keep this confidential?”

“If you need me to.”

“The troops and survivors here are already on edge. If they get any worse news, who knows what’ll happen…”

“You’re right. Some people might even commit suicide. Did you already remove all the rods from the restrooms?”

Shin grimaced for a second, then changed the subject, maybe thinking it was a joke.

“I’d just like your cooperation on one thing. Since you’re with another organization, I won’t give you orders or ask too much.”

“Of course. Please, go ahead.”

“You’ve been moving around alone, so I think you’re the best fit. Can you select some strong survivors and form a mobile strike team?”

“I’m not interested. That’s too much of a burden.”

“….”

Shin was visibly flustered by the blunt rejection.

He said I could speak freely, but that didn’t mean I’d agree to everything. Why was he being like this?

“Then, at least, would you mind if I announced to the survivors that a UN rescue team will be arriving soon?”

Sweeper thought for a moment and nodded.

That should be fine. It felt like a massive con, but if things went bad, he could just walk away.

“That’s fine. It’s the truth.”

Lieutenant Colonel Shin’s face lit up.

“What about you, sir?”

“I’ll form a strike team. The people here are starving. We need to gather civilian supplies.”

That’s a good plan. Good luck.

Sweeper nodded with a smile.

“I’m counting on you, Lieutenant Steven.”

“Likewise.”