Chapter 30

“This time, let’s organize into squads and act.” We decided not to lead all the unit members to the barracks.

It’s difficult to move with over a hundred people.

“Each vice guild master capable of sending guild messages leads ten-unit members on the move.”

“We should prioritize high-level soldiers in the formation.”

“So, three squads?”

The squad leaders looked puzzled at my words.

“Corporal Seo Su-hyeok”

“Yes. Corporal Seo Su-hyeok.”

“You’ll stay here with the marksmen and guard this place.”

“…Hmm.”

Corporal Seo Su-hyeok, after receiving the order, seemed to ponder for a moment before speaking up.

“Because of the noise, right?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

At this point, the marksmen’s bullets are our unit’s most powerful firepower.

Their bullets are even stronger than those of the mages.

However, they might not be very helpful in this battle.

“After all, we’re almost out of bullets.”

We need to conserve their bullets.

It’s not feasible to include them in every battle.

Moreover, gunfire might attract more enemies.

Unlike mages, marksmen can’t adjust firepower to reduce noise.

If it’s a defensive mission in an open area, they can fulfill their roles.

But it’s not suitable for exploring new places.

After hearing my response, Corporal Seo Su-hyeok seemed to ponder for a moment before nodding.

“I think it’s a rational decision.”

He nodded immediately.

“There’s no need to thank me. I also think it was the most efficient decision. Take care.”

Fortunately, Corporal Seo Su-hyeok didn’t seem to have any complaints.

He didn’t seem relieved to be excluded from the battle.

It was simply a clear and reasonable attitude without complaints.

“As long as I give rational orders, they’ll follow them obediently. It’s convenient.”

Anyway, the decision was made.

Including me, Sergeant Lee Min-jae, and Corporal Jeon Gwang-il each formed our own squads.

“I think it’s best for me to join this side.”

Another squad leader.

In the case of Lee Sang-ahh, she decided to join my squad for this operation.

Although she was appointed as a squad leader,

Since she joined the unit recently, she hadn’t formed strong relationships with the unit members yet.

It’s not suitable for commanding.

“Instead, she’s a survivor from the destroyed city.”

Her strength lies not in command but in her survival skills on the ground.

Perhaps she’s even more skilled in that aspect than anyone else in our unit.

“Can she utilize that survival knowledge and expertise?”

In addition to Lee Sang-ahh, who joined my squad,

Survivors were also included in the squads led by Sergeant Lee Min-jae and Corporal Jeon Gwang-il.

“Can we trust criminals?”

“Now that they’ve shown repentance, let’s give them a chance. Don’t cause trouble either.”

“Hehe, leave it to us.”

“After work, just make snacks for us, and we’ll do anything.”

The former criminals have now become the “permanent youngest” members of our unit.

They were treated the same way as Lieutenant and thanks to that they were showing their utmost loyalty towards me.

Like Lee Sang-ah, they are likely well-informed about the surface.

Their survival knowledge could be helpful.

“Alright then. Let’s go first.”

“Let’s meet near the barracks!”

After each squad was formed and the necessary supplies were checked,

Sergeant Lee Min-jae and Corporal Jeon Gwang-il’s squad departed first.

With about thirty members, moving all together would attract too much attention.

So, we planned to move separately and meet in front of the barracks.

“Let’s start moving as well.”

After the other two squads disappeared from sight,

Our squad also began to move.

Through an old path which was rarely used by the people.

The soldiers, carrying their gear, began their silent march, concealing any sign of their presence.

Although the barracks were relatively close,

But that was a tale from the days when we used to travel by car.

It would take quite a while if we were to travel on foot.

I spoke in a low voice to Lee Sang-ah, who was walking behind me.

“Squad leader Lee Sang-ah.”

“Yes?”

“From what I heard last time, survivors mainly active in cities.”

The scene of the city described by the soldier’s words raised the first question in my mind.

“How? I mean, why are they active there?”

Survivors were mainly active near cities.

In such cities, how?

Just why?

“They didn’t have much choice.”

Sang-ah shrugged, explaining the surprisingly simple reason.

“They found places where they could get food. There was plenty of food in places where people used to gather.”

“Hmm.”

“Monsters and zombies aside, hunger was also a serious threat.”

Food naturally gathers at places where there’s demand.

In a society where civilization has collapsed, obtaining food has become a struggle.

“It’s fortunate that we didn’t have to suffer from hunger after joining the unit. Before that, we had to risk our lives every day to get food. In fact, there were overwhelmingly more days of hunger.”

“How did you wander around in such cities and find food?”

“We were told by commanders that those dense buildings limited their vision and firepower, but that’s not the case for us.”

She turned her head, scanning the surroundings.

“Rather than open fields like this, cities with many buildings where you can hide are better.”

“Why is that?”

“You can hide and move around. Even if you’re spotted by unbeatable monsters, you can create variables by turning buildings into obstacles to escape. In open fields, if you’re pursued by monsters, you’ll only die.”

Indeed.

The environment that acts as a penalty for us may be an advantage for survivors.

That means…

“There’s still a high chance of people being left in the city, right?”

“Probably? We had quite a few encounters with other survivors back then. There might still be many people hiding somewhere.”

After hearing that, my worries deepened.

The reason we decided to come down to the surface was to secure resources and expand our influence.

Like Lee Sang-ah’s group joining our unit, someday we’ll have to grow our unit through survivors.

But blindly bringing in survivors might also bring in people like those criminals.

Moreover, just finding survivors and entering that city itself is a challenging task.

“Ahh… My head hurts.”

While I was pondering,

Pak!

Someone grabbed my arm from behind.

“Wait a moment.”

Lee Sang-ah, who was walking behind me.

She spoke with a serious expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“Shh, be quiet.”

She placed her finger on her lips and spoke in a low voice.

I silenced myself and glanced around.

“…I don’t see anything?”

The surrounding squad members were also scanning around, but it seemed like they couldn’t see anything.

I looked at her with curiosity.

She spoke in a hushed voice.

“Can you hear it?”

“I don’t see anything. What on earth…”

“It’s not about seeing. You have to listen. Focus. There will be something to hear.”

Listen?

Following her words, I held my breath and focused on the sound reaching my ears.

Then, there it was.

A faint sound.

Grr… Grr…

“Is that rough breathing?”

It wasn’t the sound the soldiers made.

I looked at Lee Sang-ah.

She silently moved her lips.

The message she conveyed was simple.

“Zombies.”

She gestured for us to stay still and began to move somewhere.

In her hand was a large pair of scissors, pulled out at some point.

Grr…

A faint sound in the empty surroundings.

Lee Sang-ah moving along with the sound.

Where she arrived was a small sewer.

Typically, an ordinary sewer beside the road.

But inside the concealed sewer grate,

There was something.

In that moment.

Clang!

The roar of a beast echoed. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ ɴøvᴇl_Firᴇ.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Swoosh.

Simultaneously, Lee Sang-ah’s scissors moved.

With her snipping, the roar that was about to spread stopped abruptly.

“It’s done.”

Lee Sang-ah wiped her cold sweat and said calmly.

Her familiar action of wiping sweat with a cloth and cleaning the blood on the scissors was so natural.

“What just happened?”

It might be a routine thing for her, but not for us.

What on earth just happened?

“Um. Since you said you don’t know much about zombies, I should explain clearly and move on.”

Lee Sang-ah calmly began her explanation.

“Most zombies are weaker compared to monsters. At best, they are as strong as adult men. I’ve killed zombies and awakened, so I know.”

Continuing her explanation, she reached out to the sewer block where she had inserted the scissors.

“But survivors can never ignore zombies.”

Crunch.

An unpleasant sound came as she lifted the sewer block.

Inside was a bloated corpse swollen from the flowing water.

“This is why.”

“What on earth…”

“Many zombies retain human habits, but there are also many who exhibit unpredictable behaviors like this.”

A zombie lurking in the outskirts of the sewer. It’s definitely hard to anticipate.

“There are even aspects where they’re worse off compared to monsters.”

“What if we hadn’t noticed and just passed by?”

“Zombies are inherently hostile to humans. We are lucky if we pass unnoticed but the moment, we stepped onto them without noticing, we’d be attacked.”

A cold sweat ran down my spine.

Zombies, you say.

“It’s like a booby trap, isn’t it?”

Even if the squad members have become awakened and stronger, it would be difficult to anticipate attacks coming from underfoot.

“That’s not the only danger these creatures pose. Once bitten by a zombie, the body slowly rots from the bitten area.”

“….”

“Those people eventually die with their entire bodies rotting and turn into another zombie.”

“Do you mean getting bitten is a death sentence?”

“Not necessarily, but you have to amputate the bitten area. And in a world like this, losing a part of your body is almost tantamount to death.”

Her expression darkened notably when she mentioned this.

I wonder if there were comrades who had to resort to such drastic measures.

“Is there no way to deal with this? Like completely hiding to avoid detection, perhaps…”

“You just heard, right? Their breathing.”

Ah.

“Zombies inherently have rough breathing. If you concentrate with the awakened’s hearing, you can easily discern it in quiet environments.”

“Indeed.”

The only way is through hearing.

It’s absurd, but at least there’s a method.

It’s better than being caught off guard and attacked.

“Be careful. It’s better to die at the hands of monsters than zombies. Those bitten by zombies never die peacefully.”

I realize how lucky we were that no zombies appeared on the mountain.

The lizard creatures that attacked our unit were already overwhelming enemies.

And if we think about it, if the deceased unit members had turned into those zombies…

It’s troublesome just thinking about it.

We can’t just sit around worrying about how troublesome the zombies are.

We have to come up with a plan.

“Hmm.”

I discreetly reached behind my back and touched the military backpack I was carrying.

Solid and slightly cool to the touch.

“This might be the solution.”

After our encounter with the zombies was over,

We resumed our journey towards the barracks.

We encountered similar hidden zombies along the way, but

This time, the squad members were also focusing on the sound.

“Even so, it seems we can hear them when we concentrate.”

“You did well.”

We managed to handle them somehow.

And thus, we arrived at our unit’s barracks.

“Has Young-joon arrived?”

“What’s up, am I the last one?”

“We just arrived ourselves.”

Three squads that moved through different routes.

We reunited at the courtyard in front of the barracks.

“What’s it like inside?”

“It’s still quiet.”

Upon Min-jae’s response, I looked at the barracks buildings in front of me.

The barracks are primarily residential spaces for officers.

Out of our unit’s approximately 100 officers, more than half, around 60, live in the barracks.

Especially since our unit is in a strategically difficult location, it’s inconvenient for soldiers to come and go. So, soldiers on leave typically stay in the barracks before and after their breaks.

Considering those soldiers as well.

Even though it’s the weekend and they might not be at the barracks, quite a few would still be there.

But right now, it’s eerily quiet.

If everyone managed to find safety, that’s fortunate, but…

“The likelihood seems low.”

I’m already prepared for the worst.

I looked at Min-jae and Gwang-il and asked, “Did you hear about the zombies?”

“Yes. We encountered and hunted down a few on the way here.”

“I heard something from the youngest too. He mentioned we need to focus on listening for sounds, right?”

“Right.”

Since it seems like other squad members also know how to deal with zombies, there’s no need to waste time.

I commanded the soldiers, “Let’s enter.”

“Yes!”

The soldiers seemed a bit tense before the battle.

Leading them, we approached the outermost building of the barracks.

“I’ll open it. Don’t forget to detect the enemies’ positions through sound.”

“Yes!”

Creak…

As soon as we opened the barracks door and entered inside,

Groaning sounds echoed nearby.

Up to this point, it was expected, but…

The problem is…

Groaning…

Thunk…

Gurgle… Click…

“Wow, the soundproofing here is terrible.”

It’s not just one or two sounds that we’re hearing.

Inside the barracks…

It was filled with dozens of rough breathing sounds.

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Translator: One Force

TL Note:

2 additional chapters (For NU voting target completion) will be uploaded soon.

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