Chapter 120 – Reconnaissance Results
I’m almost mastering the infectious agent encyclopedia.
[Jinsu, come to the central control room right now.]
Artemis found me in a hurry.
Finally, the drones dispatched beyond the South Sea returned.
I ran to the central control room in a month. It is convenient because you do not feel short of breath after strengthening the blood.
Waiting for command.
A short phrase that appeared in the drone command window. I’ve seen this phrase a hundred times and could never find it so welcoming and special.
Artemis had already edited only the useful video and was waiting for me.
The starting point of reconnaissance is the sea off Busan. The goal was to start from there, explore all the islands in the South Sea, and head to Jeju Island.
The video begins with a dark gray rocky area on the outskirts of a small island. The waves crashed continuously, scattering white foam in the air.
The sea next to me was as clear as crystal, so much so that I could see fish swimming leisurely along the current.
The clear sound of waves and sea breeze comes through the speakers and fills the central control room.
A brown body stands out alone in the blue sea. A long stream of white water stretches behind the powerfully swimming legs.
“Survivor!”
[That’s right. There were survivors.]
Unlike mine, which was more of an exclamation, her tone was closer to giving information.
One second of hers is worth more than a day to her. Even if she receives the information at the same time, she lives in a different time zone and would have already completed all of her analysis.
This relationship will not change in the future.
“Do you think the survivors’ situation is better than expected?”
[How did you know?]
She asked as if she was surprised.
“Well.”
If it’s good news, Artemis’s tone is somewhat itchy. It’s a very subtle difference, but now I can feel it.
“Enlarge the video.”
A naked woman swimming alone against an all-blue background. He appears to be in his 20s or 30s.
It will be full winter soon, but the temperature is high this year.
Considering the warm ocean current coming from the south, there will be no disruption to sea activities.
Three other women greeted her as she walked up to her rocky beach. One person looked close to 50s and the other two were in their 20s.
Each person is holding a net in one hand, and the net is full of fish and shellfish.
[The South Sea has been a treasure trove of fish resources since ancient times. Now that all kinds of modern fishing and environmental pollution have stopped, there will be plenty under the sea. If an experienced veteran guides you, earning a living will not be a problem.]
She thought that only Jeju Island, which was completely isolated from the mainland, would be safe, but that was not the case.
The South Sea has so many islands that it is called Dadohae.
While walking around there, similar scenes kept appearing. There were female divers everywhere, swimming and diving repeatedly in the nearby sea.
The composition of the team is similar enough that it can be said to be identical, with the team consisting of one older female diver and several younger female divers.
The veteran female divers, who suddenly had a lot of young disciples, led the girls with a serious yet warm look.
They are all good swimmers and have bronze-colored skin with no traces of swimsuits. Beautiful muscles are built without any flab.
It seems like it’s been a while since I started making a living like this.
“Korea is Korea, but there must be enough survivors all over the world, right?”
At this rate, there would be a significant number of survivors living in Indonesia, which is an archipelago, England, Japan, Vietnam, and islands in the Mediterranean and Caribbean.
“There was an army left.”
Although it had not been long since we departed from Busan, we discovered a large group of survivors. That place is Geoje Island.
Shopping malls around Geoje Bridge, which connects inland. There, a platoon-sized army was distributing rations.
[More like a warlord than an army. If you look at the other videos together, it doesn’t seem like they are following the unified command of the country. It seems that they are working separately with the military in other regions such as Yeosu, Namhae, Goheung, and Jeju Island.]
Geoga Bridge, Geoje Bridge, and New Geoje Bridge connecting Geoje Island with the inland regions of Korea were all collapsed.
“Could you enlarge the leg area?”
After looking at it for a moment, I nodded.
“You cut it off intentionally.”
There are traces that explosives were installed and detonated at the point where the load was most severe.
This may be to cut off the influx of infectious agents from the inland and isolate themselves.
The drone carriers continued heading towards Jeju Island and captured all the scenes below on camera.
A scene that was truly a human hymn unfolded.
Even on islands with only a national park or reservoir, you can see quite a few people. They were squeezing out as much as they could to cultivate the fields and go fishing.
“Isn’t this too progressive?”
If you hit a home run while playing baseball, it’s all right! There are people living even on islands that are small enough to disappear.
[There is a water source on the island.]
When Artemis enlarged one part of the video, a stream of water was seen flowing from a crevice in the rock. There is also a pretty good vegetable garden nearby.
[The equipment is also sturdy.]
Next to the tent, harpoon guns, fishing rods, and nets are arranged by type.
There is a dining place a little further away. There is a bonfire site made of large stones piled up in a circle, and the surrounding area is full of fish bones.
There were also two chickens with yellow chicks.
[They fed fish heads, intestines, jellyfish, etc. Fish bones are ground with stones and fed to mother chickens. Chickens need calcium to lay eggs, so this is the right method.]
There is even a black marine boat docked near the beach. Next to it, there is even the Taegeukgi waving tied to a linen sack.
[They rode that to a nearby medium-sized island and exchanged goods for goods.]
“By rowing alone?”
[It was churning at a speed comparable to that of a motorboat?]
A muscular man warming up by doing exercises next to a boat.
“And what if I come across a large species in the sea…”
The man’s face is full of fighting spirit for life. He is shouting something hard during his gymnastics.
[I’m singing a military song.]
My mouth fell open.
“I really want to take care of something.”
I can only laugh at that grit.
When we finally arrived at Jeju Island, there were tents everywhere.
There were quite a few groups of survivors in Geoje-si, Namhae-gun, Goheung-gun, and Yeosu-si, but they were nothing compared to Jeju Island.
However, the people’s behavior is more shabby here.
It’s a good thing if you’re wearing tattered clothes and old shoes. There were also cases where people had plastic bags wrapped around their feet or walked around barefoot.
Wounds, rashes, and discolored skin are common. Looking at the dirty hair, I guess that head lice will be prevalent again, going back in time.
In fact, the survivors on the small island I saw on the way here look healthier.
A life of going to the sea and eating seafood every day would have had a positive impact on both hygiene and nutrition.
There are no signs of hope, and all that comes to mind is the hardships we face every day. Some walk around with crude weapons.
As we got closer to the city, people’s behavior gradually improved. Wear proper clothes and cover your body with a jumper or blanket.
Looking at the sometimes messy people outside with wary eyes clearly shows the relationship between Jeju Island residents and refugees.
Villages, no matter how big or small, have their entrances blocked off with barricades.
Soldiers wearing bulletproof helmets and carrying personal equipment and rifles stand guard at the entrance.
Some villages are guarded by people dressed as police officers holding pistols and shotguns.
In poor villages, civilians are on guard with hunting air rifles.
None of the villages were completely open to the outside.
It’s peaceful inside. Some people repair fishing gear and others take care of crops. Small markets were also opened and large and small transactions were made.
Although it is more orderly than expected, it is difficult to call it a country. It was almost like the villages were connected in parallel.
Even while conducting extensive reconnaissance, the survivors were unable to spot the drone carrier in the sky.
Because it is an airship, it makes very little noise and is painted in camouflage so as not to be noticeable when looking at the sky.
Crucially, people rarely looked up at the sky. All you do is look at the ground with your back hunched over or check out what’s around you.
“How long do you think you can last in this condition?”
To vaguely say, ‘Let’s help people!’, I have no idea where to start.
[Based on the fact that there is a lifeline attached, I don’t think there will be any restrictions, right? It looks like it can last for a few years like this.]
Places cut off from the mainland, including Geoje Island and Jeju Island, seem to have overcome the threat of infectious agents. No infectious agents were found in walkers or wild animals.
Thanks to this, people were seen setting up settlements in the middle of the forest or in caves. If you do that inland, you won’t be able to last even a week.
“Ship?”
And surprisingly, he was operating the ship.
The navy is being destroyed by giant monsters in the sea, and even underwater drones are being destroyed.
Fishermen returning from fishing got off their boats and were tying ropes to the ferry dock. Nearby, several similarly anchored boats are shaking.
[Does this mean that old-fashioned methods actually work against cutting-edge security systems?]
Each of the ships had their motors removed and were equipped with oars like galleys. There are many ferry boats that seem to have been hastily built.
The sailors trudging down were all men, and they all had strong shoulders.
“How come there are only divers in the sea and no men to be seen?”
There was a ship at anchor in Geoje Island, but it was not abandoned but was resting.
“Are sea monsters sensitive to the sound of machinery running?”
[It is impossible to know whether it is 100% safe if you just turn off the machine, or whether the machine is running is a big factor among many factors.]
The ships are all small ships, and at first glance they appear to only be active near the coast.
[Are we going to reveal our existence to them?]
“Of course. Otherwise, why would we have sent a drone?”
The problem was with whom to communicate.
The survivors are distributed in the form of point organizations, and the city’s larger organizations do not seem to follow a unified command system.
Even if you look at it from above, it is divided into several forces.
The first is the group that dominates the coast.
Since there are many men in navy uniform, they are presumed to be remnants of the navy. It occupies the coastal area, including the port.
The fishermen we saw earlier are also part of this group.
The second is the force that controls the city.
There was a large organization centered on Jeju City in the north and Seogwipo in the south. Given the circumstances, the two appear to be separate forces.
The city group and the coastal group even engaged in a gunfight with each other.
The mountain survivors who had been chasing deer from the mountains finally succeeded in hunting, and it happened to be the borderline between the city forces and the coastal forces.
Five men from the city who were patrolling with guns ran up and became territorial and tried to take away the game.
Bang!
Then, with the sound of a gunshot, one of the city patrolmen fell, and a firefight broke out with a group of navy uniforms attacking from beyond.
There was no winner. This is because both sides withdrew after suffering some casualties. No one wants to get a bullet hole in their body while trying to move a deer.
The coastal group also has forces in the east, north, and south, but there is no way to know whether they are all integrated or different.
There are groups wearing white clothes and carrying out religious activities, and there are also groups that appear to be militia.
If you take into account even small organizations, there are too many groups.
The information that can be obtained through aerial reconnaissance alone is limited.
“Who are you trying to contact?”
Making our presence known does not create danger. There are more than one wall they have to overcome in order to harm us.
However, if we were going to exchange information and provide material support, we wanted to select a group that was competent and loyal to public support.
[Looking at their condition, they don’t need our help right away. I can survive like this for a few years. There are limits to what we can do to help in a situation where we have to rely on air transportation in the first place.]
So two plans were prepared.
The first is a spy drone carrier.
Considering that various communications are taking place within Jeju Island, an aircraft specialized for intercepting communications was customized.
The docking bay for the Scout drone was removed and a large amount of medicine, including antibiotics, was placed in its place.
After scouting the entire island, we plan to take it as a gift to the most trustworthy organization.
The second is the destruction of the noise tree.
Communication in the form of exchanging pre-stored messages between noise trees is also possible, but this has clear limitations.
Communication that takes more than several hours to communicate once is similar to the method in science fiction novels where a ship ten of thousands of light years away and a home planet communicate.
This is a method of communicating by warping a small device containing a letter. Proper communication is not an option.
[There is no need to destroy all objects.]
She put her plan of action on her screen.
Shelter-low-orbit satellite-noise tree-straight line distance to Jeju Island.
The plan was to intensively destroy the noise trees along the route and then fly several airship drones on top of them to use them as an intermediate communication waypoint.
[With this method, real-time communication will be sufficiently possible.]
“I’m going to be busy again for a while.”
I nodded. There was no reason to oppose.
The screen changed and fluttering white mutant trees appeared.
‘What do you really want to see? The sight of them all burning brightly and then collapsing.’
I can’t believe it’s been so long since I said that I’m already doing it.
I think the starting point was seeing the flooded and damaged facilities at Seedbolt. We were rushing to do the things we had to do.
As the situation gets worse, we must act quickly.
“Then, shall we make plans for the next expedition?”
[Isn’t it too early?]
I shook my head.
“Unless an adaptation period is needed like an implant, there is no need for a long break.”
I carefully looked through the information on my next destination through my PDA.
It contains very useful technology, but it’s a place I’ve been eyeing for a long time.
Geno Plan.
‘Design your muscles.’
A poster showing a muscular man and woman grinning while showing off their biceps. At first glance, it looked like an advertisement for a gym, but it wasn’t.
Arrows protrude outward from the biceps, abs, and leg muscles of men and women. Attached to the end of the arrow is a round photo depicting the inside of her muscles.
These are all scenes depicting muscles that have been artificially redesigned.
