Free Web NovelOf course, for anyone coming from that direction to reach this place—including the main-gate access road and the area Junho had designated as the “safe zone”—they would have to cross the mountain road that turned into dirt halfway up.
Between the reservoir and the top of the pass, the area was barely maintained, so even finding the road was difficult.
Which meant that aside from longtime locals who had lived in Gahyeon-ri for years, very few people even knew you could drive from the reservoir at the top of the pass down toward the safe zone.
Even so, the reason Junho kept such a close watch on that point with drones and the CCTV mounted in the upper-floor safe house at the apartment complex was—
“Eoktenz? Is that a name? What the hell is that?”
Junhyeok tilted his head, and Yoon Youngsu clicked his tongue.
“No, seriously, Junhyeok, you’re younger than me and you don’t even know that? Just hearing it, it’s obviously some name a bunch of Gen Z high school punks came up with. Forced hype. What’s the z for? Some kind of group thing?”
“It’s Z. As in zombie.”
“Ah...”
As the two of them nodded, Junho continued,
“Remember when I told you to classify the Hanchang Development thugs into ‘watch targets’ and ‘elimination targets’? These EoktenZ bastards are top-priority elimination targets.”
“Huh? What’s so bad about them?”
“They’re an alumni crew of delinquent high school punks from all over Gado-eup, including Moku-ri, where the light-rail station is.”
“......?”
Seeing the look that said So what? That doesn’t sound that unusual, Junho went on,
“Those bastards killed people before the apocalypse even started and buried them in an empty lot.”
“......!!!”
“You know the area I mentioned earlier?”
“Between the apartment complex and the road leading to the country-house neighborhood?”
“Yeah. Somewhere around there, they rented out an entire building—some mansion or villa or whatever—for a short-term stay. Supposedly some summer bonding retreat or some shit. Anyway, they were having sex parties and drug parties in there when the apocalypse hit. That’s where they committed the murder too, and they buried the bodies in a vacant lot nearby.” free𝑤ebnovel.com
“That’s insane...”
“Damn. Those little bastards were completely out of control.”
In peacetime, it would have been the kind of major incident that turned the whole country upside down.
But once the world had really been turned upside down, what EoktenZ had done was no longer even a crime. It was just another ordinary part of apocalypse life.
“Anyway. I know they’re somewhere around there, but I don’t know their exact location. That’s why I told you to keep a close watch on it. Now that the power and water are cut off, those bastards should start crawling out soon. And once they start taking over all the mansions and villas around there—”
Beep... beep...
At the sound, all three of them turned toward the control-room monitors at the same time.
— A vehicle is traveling along Gahyeon-ro from the direction of the Gahyeon Hanbit Riverview Edutown complex. Model identified as a Kia EV9. Approximate speed: 40 kilometers per hour. Number of occupants unknown.
Along with Akina’s voice, the CCTV feed from the apartment complex—absurdly named Gahyeon Hanbit Riverview Edutown, where Junho had built a high-floor safe house—began tracking the electric SUV as it passed the front of the complex.
Dozens of zombies were persistently chasing behind it.
And along the direction the EV was heading, the ones standing by the roadside all turned toward it at once.
“Are they insane? No, wait, how’d they even get this far? Isn’t Moku-ri in the direction that car came from? It should be crawling with zombies there.”
“Who knows. Anyway, we ignore it and— huh?”
“Why’s it turning in there?”
Junho narrowed his eyes, and Yoon Youngsu flinched, then hurriedly worked the keyboard and mouse.
A drone that had been monitoring the country houses and townhouse complex controlled by the Hanchang Development gang immediately changed course and began following the EV.
“It’s entering the road that goes up to the reservoir.”
“Probably because there are fewer people and fewer zombies up that way.”
“The main road goes right through the middle of Gahyeon-ri, so there are way too many zombies there. And since navigation’s dead, they probably just took the road they could see. Tch...”
At their words, Junho clicked his tongue.
If that electric SUV kept climbing the mountain road, it would eventually reach the reservoir at the top of the pass.
And then, in the worst case, it might discover the road leading into the shelter safe zone.
Of course, it would not be easy to find, and he had already blocked it off with barricades and other obstacles, so a car would not get through easily.
Still, you never knew.
That was when—
— Multiple fast-moving objects detected approaching the electric vehicle being followed by Drone Number 06. Motorbikes and scooters. Four vehicles. Total riders: seven.
Akina’s cold voice rang out again.
“...! Zoom in more.”
— Zooming in. One female, six males. Vehicles appear to be electric scooters and electric motorbikes.
Junho stared at the drone footage.
The people riding the scooters and bikes, covered in long sleeves and pants, safety helmets, motorcycle helmets, and protective gear layered all over themselves, were obviously chasing the electric SUV.
And the ones riding on the back were all carrying weapons—short spears made by fastening kitchen knives to poles, fire axes, machete-like blades.
Most decisive of all, though, were the faces under those helmets.
“They look, what, maybe twenty at most? Ah! Hyung, could they be...?”
“EoktenZ... those bastards.”
Having just spotted part of a top-priority elimination target group, Junho’s eyes went cold.
“Junhyeok, get ready to move. Bring only the air rifle.”
“Got it. What about you?”
Junho rose from his seat and started walking, answering in a flat voice,
“This time, I’m only bringing a blade.” ƒrēewebnovel.com
Because he needed to butcher them as thoroughly as possible.
That way, those human rejects would either never dare come near the reservoir at the top of the pass again—or they would keep sending more people up a few at a time instead.
And that meant he could quietly reduce the early fighting strength of EoktenZ, the group that would become one of the biggest headaches when the time came to take control of Gahyeon-ri, before their numbers doubled or tripled from what they were now.
***
Whirrr...
The multipurpose electric cart carrying Junho, Junhyeok, and Purdy sped along the cement-paved access road.
The brothers’ clothing—especially Junho’s—was a little different this time.
He was still wearing a dark Gore-Tex work suit under a tactical vest, but instead of ballistic panels, the vest was loaded with stab-resistant panels.
And he had protective guards strapped to his elbows, upper arms, forearms, knees, and thighs.
They were made of lightweight, durable reinforced plastic, so they did not interfere with movement.
They could blunt the impact of edged weapons like knives and axes, and even absorb some of the force from blunt weapons like metal pipes or baseball bats.
There was also a wide-visibility full-face defensive helmet in the cargo bed where Purdy was sitting.
It was personal gear they had prepared for situations where they needed to quietly deal with hostile targets—including zombies—without using firearms.
“We’re almost there. You go straight to the point and get set up for the snipe. If you can, shoot the scooters and bikes. Don’t let them get away.”
“Got it.”
Junhyeok, sitting in the passenger seat with the air rifle held between his knees, nodded.
Even though his brother was about to go deal with multiple people alone without a gun, Junhyeok was not worried in the slightest.
Not when Junho was wearing specially made protective gear.
He could wipe out a pack of punk kids even without stab-resistant armor.
The brothers had paid a group of security-studies students from a university good money to train against multiple opponents over and over again.
And unlike Junhyeok, who had found himself pinned or rushed by several people in just a few seconds, his brother Junho, even against trained martial arts students from that department...
Wasn’t human. Back then, hyung was...
As Junhyeok recalled that moment, Junho spoke.
“We’re here. Bring Purdy with you, but this side isn’t an area we’ve scouted with drones that often, so keep your ears open.”
“Okay.”
If anything came within a three-hundred-meter radius, the drone following him in follow mode would spot it, and the AI would warn him immediately.
On top of that, he had Purdy with him, the most reassuring backup he could ask for in a situation like this.
So Junhyeok was not worried at all.
“Let’s go, Purdy.”
With the air rifle in hand and three spare air tanks clipped to his tactical belt, Junhyeok ran quickly up the mountain path with Purdy.
Whirrr...
Junho drove the electric cart again and headed up the dirt mountain road.
Its top speed was only thirty kilometers per hour, but the tires were made for off-road use and the motor had good torque, so on rough mountain roads like this, it was actually better than an ordinary car.
— Boss, the crazy people’s EV is almost at the reservoir. The EoktenZ punks are right on its ass, smashing at it with metal pipes and knives.
— I’m almost at the point too. I’ll be there in under two minutes. Hah, hah...
Yoon Youngsu’s and Junhyeok’s transmissions came one after the other.
A moment later, Junho reached the spot where they had blocked off the dirt mountain road with barricades and barbed wire.
He pulled out his helmet and his personal machete from the cargo bed, then started running up the mountain road.
“What’s the situation?”
— The crazy people can’t find the way out. The road’s too narrow and there’s too much junk in the way, so they can’t even turn the car around. Ah! The punks just smashed the rear window.
— Huh, huh... I’m here now. As soon as I catch my breath, I can shoot. Whew... What about you, hyung?
“I can... see them.”
Even after sprinting more than three hundred meters up a fairly steep mountain road, Junho’s breathing was perfectly steady.
Through a mess of rusted duck boats and piles of trash, he could see the electric SUV lurching back and forth in a wrecked panic, trying to reverse and pull forward,
and the punks, around twenty years old, circling it on electric scooters and bikes while hammering and chopping at it with all kinds of weapons.
“Fuck! You not getting out!? Huh!? You still not getting out!?”
“Damn, she’s fucking hot. Hey, the bitch in the passenger seat is sexy as hell!”
“You fucking bitch! Stop the car! Get the fuck out already!”
The zombies had not followed them this far. Once the target got too far away or disappeared from sight, they would keep chasing for a few more minutes, then give up.
So at the reservoir, the only sounds were the curses of the punks who looked like EoktenZ, and the noise of them attacking the car.
Because of that, Junho was able to move quietly through a drainage ditch behind a pile of trash and an old container.
Once he had taken up a position behind the direction the SUV and the punks had come from, he spoke.
“Now.”
***
Twang!
“The fuck!?”
The punk riding a scooter alone jerked in surprise.
The tungsten round Junhyeok fired had hit the underside of the scooter seat.
And that was usually where the battery was.
Ssssss...
White smoke began pouring out instantly.
Boom!
“Shit!”
With a heavy blast and a burst of sparks, the punk panicked, shoved the scooter away like he was throwing it off himself, and jumped off.
“Hey, what the hell was that? Did the fucking battery explode?”
“Man, what a dumbass.”
The punks, having never heard the sound of the air rifle, had no idea what had just happened and only laughed and mocked their friend.
Then suddenly—
“Kim Seongcheol is hilarious! Ahahaha... huh?”
The ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) girl punk with the poop-brown dyed hair, laughing from the back seat of her boyfriend’s bike, went wide-eyed.
From the direction of the mountain road they had come up,
a huge man dressed all in black, with a black helmet on too,
was walking toward them with something long in one hand.
“Oppa, oppa... hey, oppaaa!”
“What now?”
“Over there, over there.”
The guy in the white motorcycle helmet turned his head toward where the girl was pointing.
“The hell? What’s that supposed to be?”
“What, what is it?”
“Aw, fuck it. You guys keep smashing that car. Hey, just shred the tires, right?”
“All right, all right.”
At the white-helmeted guy’s words, the others went back to wrecking the electric SUV.
Then—
“Huh? Is that fucker insane— holy shit!?”
The man dressed all in black came sprinting at them.
Only then did the two punks realize that the dark object in his hand was a blackened blade.
“A k-knife! That crazy fucker’s got a knife!”
“What... what!?”
He was too fast.
In what felt like less than ten seconds, the man had closed a hundred meters in one rush—
then raised the machete high overhead and leaped.
