Chapter 45

In a remote corner of Gangwon Province stands an old, dilapidated building. Inside one of its rooms, nearly all traces of its once normal state have vanished.

A man was there, fiddling with his firearm.

He meticulously cleaned the gun with an oil-stained cloth.

Just then.

Someone opened the door and entered the room.

“I’m back.”

“Is that you, Jin-yeong?”

They seemed to be familiar with each other.

They exchanged brief greetings.

What made this scene a bit unusual was…

Both of them were wearing military uniforms.

“How’s business, any luck?”

“Another empty day.”

“…Tch.”

“It’s getting tougher to operate around here.”

The man who had just entered the room, Jin-yeong, leaned his firearm against the wall and continued.

“I think rumors are spreading.”

“What rumors?”

“What else? That there are deserters hiding around here.”

“…Hey. Do we really need to call ourselves deserters?”

“Logically speaking it’s not incorrect. If that bothers you, you shouldn’t have deserted in the first place.”

“Tsk tsk”

Jin-yeong plopped down onto an old sofa with a serious expression.

“We set up here because we heard about a large survivor group forming nearby. But we overlooked the possibility of rumors spreading about us.”

“How do rumors spread so fast when it’s hard enough just to get around with all these monsters and zombies?”

“Anyway, it’s all gone to shit. Damn it. And the slave died recently. I was planning to grab another survivor next time.”

“That’s why I said we shouldn’t kill them unnecessarily…”

“Ah! How was I supposed to know that survivors would suddenly stop coming through here?”

Jin-yeong’s outburst left a brief silence between them.

After a moment, the man who was cleaning his gun spoke up.

“Hey.”

“Ah, I already apologized for killing the slave last time.”

“It’s not that, idiot.”

“Huh?”

With a weary expression, the man continued.

“You said there aren’t any people coming around here anymore, right?”

“Yeah. It’s a real mess.”

“Then… why don’t we stop this nonsense?”

“What?”

Jin-yeong couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“We can’t keep surviving by looting forever. We’ve got guns, don’t we? Why not find some isolated mountain, claim a bit of land, and farm? We could at least sustain ourselves.”

Jin-yeong was momentarily stunned by the suggestion.

Then he let out a bitter laugh.

“Are you crazy?”

“What?”

“Ha… You’re such a fool.”

Jin-yeong scratched his head in frustration.

“Guns? Sure, they’re great. They’ve been keeping us alive. But you know how loud gunfire is, right?”

“…”

“Farming in the mountains? What happens when the monsters come?”

“We can handle most monsters with our guns—”

“Let’s say we take down one monster with a gun. What about the ones that come running at the sound?”

“That…”

“Did you forget? The monsters that swarmed our unit.”

Even though Jin-yeong was the one who brought it up, he felt a chill run down his spine.

It was just a month or two ago.

Their unit, which had been fine, was suddenly overrun by monsters.

Most of the soldiers were killed in the sudden attack.

The survivors fought back, but…

“It was useless.”

They were cut off from the outside world.

If they had stayed, they would have been wiped out.

While the soldiers tried to hold out in the building, Jin-yeong and a few others had a different idea.

They secured as much ammunition as possible, stole a vehicle, and broke through the monster’s encirclement to escape.

“Honestly, we were lucky. We’d have died if we stayed too.”

Less than half of those who attempted to escape with Jin-yeong survived.

Their escape left the side they were guarding completely undefended.

The unit would have been wiped out soon anyway, but their escape might have hastened it.

But Jin-yeong thought.

“So what? Someone would have tried to escape eventually.”

Why should it matter if he was the one who did it first?

Having already betrayed their comrades, they had nothing left to lose.

“If monsters swarm us like before, there’s no hope. Farming is suicide. On the other hand…”

Jin-yeong grinned.

“Isn’t it easy dealing with humans?”

Shooting a gun would attract monsters.

But.

“We don’t even need to shoot humans.”

Unlike zombies and monsters, humans could be intimidated without firing a shot.

The power of a gun, a symbol of strength in the 21st century, was deeply ingrained in people’s minds.

Just pointing a gun and threatening them was enough.

Survivors would willingly hand over their possessions.

Even with the emergence of superhumans among survivors, it was the same.

Superhuman or not, a bullet would still kill them.

“We need to secure enough supplies to last until this situation is resolved. Until then, we can’t afford to stop this. If you don’t like it, leave. Go on your own.”

“…No.”

The man cleaning his gun replied to Jin-yeong’s growl.”

“I was wrong. We’ve already killed our comrades, so there’s no reason to worry about our conscience now.” Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NʘvᴇlFirᴇ.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“That’s right. Good thinking. I thought you lost your mind for a moment.”

“Ah, you’re really giving me a hard time just because of one wrong word.”

“Sorry, okay? Is that good enough?”

Despite the seemingly resolved conversation, Jin-yeong had different thoughts.

‘This guy still seems a bit shaky.’

If a colleague leaves, tormented by their conscience, it’s no big deal.

The real issue lies with the guns and bullets.

Even if they take just a portion, it could spell disaster for us.

These are as good as lifelines for everyone here.

Jin-yeong pondered for a moment before making his decision.

‘If there’s a risk of them running away, it’s better to take them out preemptively.’

This was a colleague who already showed signs of wavering.

If he uses that as an excuse and kills them, the other colleagues might understand.

Just as he was thinking this, another colleague, who was keeping watch on the building’s balcony, interrupted him.

“Hey, sorry to interrupt, but someone’s coming.”

“What?”

They were just talking about rumors spreading nearby.

Yet here came some survivors heading this way.

“Maybe they haven’t heard the rumors?”

“Could be folks who just arrived from another area.”

However.

“Ha, ha. Either way, it doesn’t matter.”

Business had been slow lately, so this could be a blessing in disguise.

“Let’s grab a few people to use as slaves this time.”

“Wait a minute.”

“Huh?”

“Something’s off.”

The lookout, using binoculars, frowned.

“They look like soldiers.”

“What?”

Jin-yeong grabbed the binoculars and took a look.

Sure enough, there were men in military uniforms approaching.

“They really are soldiers?”

“They don’t seem like our unit. I don’t recognize their faces.”

“Maybe they’re deserters like us.”

“If they’re soldiers, it’s best to just let them pass.”

The other colleagues recognized the uniforms too.

If they were deserters, they’d likely have guns, making intimidation useless.

The group’s mood deflated.

But.

“No.”

Jin-yeong thought differently.

“Look closely. They don’t have guns.”

“Huh?”

Just as he said, the soldiers carried hammers or knives, but no guns.

“Seriously? Soldiers without guns?”

“They might have survived an outing only to run into monsters.”

“In that case…”

“What’s there to hesitate about?”

Jin-yeong grabbed his K2 rifle from the corner of the room.

“You guys stay here and just make a show of threatening them.”

“You’re going?”

“Remember, before deserting, I was the youngest. I should go.”

Jin-yeong exited the building after slinging the K2 over his shoulder.

At the entrance, he saw the group approaching, clueless about what awaited them.

Jin-yeong called out to them.

“Hey, you guys over there!”

“…?”

“Leave everything you have and walk away.”

* * *

‘Who’s this now?’

Seeing someone come out of the building was surprising.

But the uniform he wore, the way he casually held his gun, and what he said at the end…

“He’s the deserter the survivors mentioned earlier.”

“Didn’t take long to run into him.”

The deserter, brimming with confidence, stared us down.

I pondered about our next move.

‘What should we do?’

Ignoring and passing by wasn’t an option.

He seemed interested in our supplies.

Besides, these were the people we needed to deal with swiftly.

“Minjae hyung.”

“What is it?”

“Can we win against armed soldiers?”

“Hmm. That’s a serious question.”

When we tried escaping through the mountains, we experienced the bullets of zombie soldiers.

A wounded soldier mentioned that it hurt like hell.

But our uniforms weren’t ordinary, so they absorbed the impact without penetration.

Unless they were sharpshooters…

From the looks of it, it doesn’t feel that way.

“Hmm. It depends on the situation.”

“For example?”

“If the soldiers are defending like we did with ample visibility and distance, it would be hard to break through.”

“Then, what if one person takes the front and the rest are in buildings within 100 meters?”

“Do you really not know?”

Min-jae hyung chuckled.

“Inside a building, the effective range of a gun is reduced.”

“Hmm.”

“On the other hand, our soldiers can close the distance in an instant.”

“So, what’s the conclusion?”

“A decisive victory is expected.”

Well, I thought so too.

“Alright, everyone heard that?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Everyone, take out your combat rations.”

The soldiers promptly took out their combat rations.

Watching us, the deserter looked incredulous.

“Hey, you guys.”

“I’ll take care of the one in front. The rest of you enter the building. Lieutenant Kim, give the signal.”

“What are you suddenly pulling out—?”

“One, two…”

“What?”

Did they think showing their guns would scare us?

[All stats slightly increased—]

He watched us blankly as we ate.

“Three!”

We charged at him.

“W-What!?”

The startled deserter finally adjusted his grip on the gun.

The barrel was aimed at us but…

It was too late.

“Ugh…!”

“If you’re going to threaten with a gun, you should have kept your distance.”

For regular people, tackling someone with a gun might not have been an option.

But all of us here are awakened.

With my cooking and Lieutenant Kim’s command, no distance was too far.

I knocked the gun out of his hands and pinned him to the ground.

“Let go, you bastard—!”

“Calm down, mister.”

He struggled, but—

“Ugh, what strength…?”

The physical abilities of the awakened far surpass those of ordinary people.

Even I, not being in a combat role, could easily overpower an average man.

“Feeling calmer now?”

“Heh… You must be one of those superhumans that have been appearing lately.”

“Hmm?”

The deserter, pinned beneath me, sneered up at me.

“Yeah. With sudden power like that, you’d be confident.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“You’re probably fine, but what about your comrades?”

While I was subduing the deserter, the rest of the soldiers had entered the building.

“There are nearly ten of my comrades in there, all armed.”

“Is that so.”

“They must have seen me being taken down and will must be on high alert.”

He chuckled, even as his face pressed against the ground.

“Even if you manage it somehow with you superhuman powers, will your comrades inside make it out, safely?”

Ah, so that’s what he was getting at.

“That’s all?”

At that moment—

– They took down Jin-yeong!

– Damn it, kill them!

A deserter on the balcony aimed his gun at us.

“Heh… Your comrades won’t die easily. Especially you. I’ll make sure to make you suffer—”

“Min-jae hyung.”

Ignoring the deserter’s nonsense, I looked at Min-Jae.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to take him down?”

“I was just about to.”

At my words, Min-Jae hyung pointed his finger at the balcony.

“One hundred thousand volts.”

Bzzzt!

– Ugh…!

With a playful phrase, a blue bolt of electricity shot out.

The deserter on the balcony was hit directly and collapsed, dropping his gun.

“What…?”

His eyes widened in shock, but that wasn’t the end of it.

From inside the building, we heard shouts.

– Should we shoot? Monsters might come…

– Idiot! Now’s not the time to worry about that, ugh.

– Damn. Are they all superhumans?

Most of the noise belonged to those deserters’ screams.

“Hmm. Looks like they are done already.”

“…”

“Oh, mister. What were you saying, again? I was too busy to catch that.”

It took less than five minutes to subdue over ten deserters.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Translator: One Force

TL Note:

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