Chapter 152 – Good Reception (3)
The days are short in winter.
It was only slightly late afternoon when Eugene and his group entered the mountain cabin.
I thought there was quite a bit of time left until night, but the sun went down in an instant.
It was easy to lose one’s sense of direction as darkness fell upon entering the situation to ensure sufficient communication distance.
In this situation, I was very grateful for the presence of a drone that flew in front of the lead vehicle and guided it.
But not everyone is grateful.
“Can I trust this and follow it?”
“It feels like I’m spinning around.”
The two men in the back seat said. Eugene’s hands holding the steering wheel became tense.
This is because their voices were not only filled with questions, but also dissatisfaction with Eugene.
Although he seems to have tried to hide it, Eugene is very sensitive to other people’s emotions. It easily catches subtle changes in facial expressions and tremors in the voice.
“You don’t look like someone who would fool us. There is no reason to do so, and there is no benefit to be gained. “I don’t have the confidence to get out safely in the middle of the night without help.”
The two were unable to refute the truth. Moreover, the sight of Eugene looking at them through the rearview mirror made them silent.
“Driving off-road at night while tracking a drone in the sky is not easy. “Stop talking.”
The giant in the seat next to me, Jincheol, spoke in his characteristic deep voice.
He was also very dissatisfied with Eugene, but decided to postpone everything until he got out to a safe area.
“Can’t you ask me to turn off that drone light? What if they see that and come rushing in?”
“Then what are we looking for and chasing after? “It’s night, so you won’t be able to see anything.”
“Oh, I see.”
The sound of the search team’s only couple chatting made Eugene’s forehead wrinkle.
‘Join an unidentified powerful force.’
Even though everyone knew that it was a highly unlikely plan, it failed anyway.
Considering the fuel, bullets, and food used, it will be difficult for Eugene to speak out for a while.
“Amazing.”
Jincheol said.
He was looking at the drone and the surrounding scenery alternately with his arms crossed.
“What?”
Eugene asked.
“Listen.”
Jincheol rolled down the window halfway. The sounds from outside came in more clearly along with the cold air.
Infected humans, infected animals, infected bugs. The sounds they make are usually closer to a roar, but sometimes they cry like sobbing.
When their sounds are mixed with the sounds made by frightened mountain animals, an indescribable and gloomy chorus is completed.
In the distance between private houses, red eyes occasionally flash like a will-o’-the-wisp. I hope they weren’t looking at themselves.
“You can hear crying coming from all directions, but you haven’t encountered them even once before, right?”
“You must be good at guiding.”
Eugene recalled the voice of the manager who had always calmly led the way through the communication device.
So far, I have heard the voices of various survival camps, military commanders, and politicians over the radio.
There were many who talked about survival, protection, food, etc., But there were few who said that they would wipe them out from the world.
Even if there are sometimes, it is just a false promise to strengthen one’s political position.
But managers are different.
‘For me, this war is ongoing. I will definitely erase them all.’
There was no bragging in his words.
He was the one who gave that strange feeling that even if 10,000 monsters were targeting the village, if he was on guard duty, everyone would be able to sleep in peace…
“Nothing really comes out. The story of those white trees was true.”
The man operating the portable radio said.
No matter how much you adjust the frequency, you only hear crackling noise.
“There’s a talk show I have to watch today.”
The man grumbled as he turned off the radio.
This refers to a show run by a broadcasting station run by a government faction in Jeju Island.
It was a program formed by a mix of famous pre-war MCs, YouTube current affairs program hosts, announcers, and comedians.
Because it operates under the protection of the government, there is a lot of biased content, but everyone is good at talking, so it was quite fun to listen to.
Southern survivors openly said that this was the most useful thing the South Korean government had done since the Infection War.
Support for them was maintained even after the armed uprising and purge that occurred not long ago.
In addition, additional personnel are being secured, and additional entertainment broadcasts are being organized, which appears to be aimed at allaying public discontent.
“I turned it off as soon as I heard it. What fun is there in watching something like that?”
“There’s nothing to see other than that, right? “Right now, I’m confident I’ll become a loyal subscriber even if I just tune in to Buddhist broadcasts.”
Mate!
At that moment, there was applause and a small exclamation.
“Ahh! “It’s finally here!”
The woman in the back seat pointed with her finger in a direction. It is a sign erected on the roadside at an intersection.
“Do you remember that?”
Everyone cheered, but became quiet after hearing something from Jincheol. But his face was full of smiles.
The following is written in red on the rectangular sign:
From here, it’s a safari.
Never get out of the car.
If you don’t want to be left behind.
On top of the sign were the skulls of infected dogs, pigs, and cows.
This is advice left by a search team that visited the area out of consideration for those behind them.
Recently, it has become common for those who pioneered this method to leave messages for those behind them.
For reference, the place where this sign is placed is near the entrance to the danger zone in northern Honam.
As long as you pass through here, you can feel relatively safe. Of course, you have to be careful about the variable of driving at night.
“This is why I didn’t want to even set foot in the countryside. “There is nowhere to rob, but the monsters are attacking us.”
One of my colleagues grumbled, but his voice contained more joy than frustration.
“Come on, everyone worked hard, now we just have to go a little further.”
Jincheol said.
“Shall we stop by a rest area? “I heard they are offering various services right now in the early stages of opening.”
The radio man recalled the rest area he stopped by on his way here.
Although it is for groups, it provides indoor lodging and allows people to sleep on field beds rather than on the floor.
A simple shower room similar to that found at a summer resort, a fairly decent trading market, a vehicle repair shop, and finally, a food corner that cannot be left out when talking about a rest area.
The world is so big that it is difficult to find precious foods like hot dogs or walnut snacks.
Several stalls sell difficult foods such as potatoes without seasoning, canned meals, unidentified stewed oatmeal, roasted field mice, roasted pigeons, and elk meat.
However, although there are people who can’t eat because they don’t have anything, there are no people who can’t eat because they don’t have a good stomach.
However, there was one exception.
“Would you like to try the special menu?”
“Ah…”
“Ugh…”
Everyone made rotten expressions at the radio man’s words.
The special menu he mentioned was cheaper than rat meat and was plentiful, but I didn’t feel like messing with it.
Among the homeless people who are just starting out in life, only the most elite homeless people tried the special menu.
“That’s right! I want to take a hot bath. Was there a can of canned food in one hot bath?”
The woman of the couple rummaged through her backpack and took out something.
“Is this okay?”
What she held in her hand was a can of pickles.
“Do you have no conscience? If it’s pickles, I guess I should give them three?”
The radio man said.
“What about pickles!”
“The only things that end up in one can are meal replacements such as meat, corn, and fruit. “Don’t waste it on useless things.”
Jincheol said.
“Shall we change it soon? “You’ve always been driving alone.”
“Once that drone’s guidance is over. “You seem wise to stop now.”
Jincheol nodded her head in response to Eugene.
“When I return, I think it would be nice to go to Yeosu. “It is the area that is most actively recruiting workers and has the least amount of connections with Raven Rock managers.”
“… We’ll talk about that later.”
It wasn’t a bad plan, but Jincheol was uncomfortable hearing it.
No matter how right it is, it will be difficult if Eugene continues to express his opinion and her colleagues agree with it.
“Okay, let’s talk later.”
Eugene also knew that feeling, so he didn’t bother to touch it.
“Great! Canned kimchi! Mixing this with canned pickles is enough…”
“Kwoaaaaa Unit (-)-!) -!)?
Her words, as she took out a new can from her boyfriend’s bag, were cut off by a scream that shook the world.
* * *
“You’re screwed.”
A black dot appeared running toward the green dots on the map.
It’s a juggernaut.
Objects attracted by so-called ‘aggro’ and objects that approach with a clear intention to attack change from red dots to black dots.
[Everyone is in the vehicle, and they are following from behind, so it won’t be easy to catch up. But…]
“The problem is that he is the best off-roader.”
Cars must move along the road. Not only is the pavement in bad condition, but the winding roads lead to waste in movement.
On the other hand, that Juggernaut didn’t have a bulldozer.
They chase in a straight line, trampling and jumping over roads, rice field ridges, houses, and fences.
We can see the scene clearly.
The drone that leads Eugene’s group is equipped with an ultra-high-performance camera, allowing high-resolution observations from afar even at night.
Moreover, the problem is not just Juggernaut.
There were dozens of red dots on the path Eugene and his group escaped.
[A group of Slave Cows were discovered along the vehicle’s escape route. They were originally 10 km away…]
“I was chased here and dragged everyone with me.”
A van that was completely destroyed and fell over with its lid blown off.
Four corpses were thrown around there. There were already only parts left that I couldn’t eat.
Is he even ruminating? Monster cows with red eyes, without even a trace of past innocence, mutter their mouths.
One of them had thick, long intestines hanging from the corner of its mouth.
The small horn had grown violently, and flesh and blood were stuck to the end.
A long black tongue crawled out like a snake and licked the flesh and blood from the horn.
For a moment, his ears perk up, and he quickly looks in one direction. This is the direction of Eugene and his party.
As soon as the intestines around its mouth were sucked out, it roared loudly.
“Damn, I got caught.”
Dozens of medium-sized red dots and one black dot.
It started to turn black in an instant, like falling dominoes.
It’s the embodiment of aggro… It’s a creepy scene.
Black dots run at once. Individually, they are much less powerful than a juggernaut, but together they are literally a tidal wave of weight.
And the last force. The blue dot that was flying hard from the outermost part of the map has now arrived at close range.
Green dot.
Black dot.
Blue dot.
Red puddles surrounding them.
A frantic race is taking place under the night sky.
A solid line was drawn between the black and blue dots, and at the end of it, the estimated arrival time was decreasing in real time.
“I can barely make it on time.”
The blue dot arrived slightly faster.
The distance was the farthest, but it did not necessarily have to be in the same location as the green dot.
The only thing the blue dot needs to arrive at on time is ‘range’.
It’s an attack drone we sent.
In the past, during an inland exploration, I destroyed a nest and the surrounding land shook as if an earthquake had occurred.
One by one, black heads popped up from the shaking ground, and soon the number grew into hundreds and thousands.
Waves of insect-like infectious agents pouring out like that. It was a terrible sight.
Dealing with infectious agents in the inland area, our main activity area, is like facing the violence of numbers.
This led to the development of a unique type of drone attack aircraft that is an intermediate step between an attack helicopter and an attack aircraft.
However, I never thought that it would be put into actual combat in this form.
[Are you ready?]
Artemis activated the control mode on the panel where I was sitting.
Gray-white thermal imaging surveillance equipment taken from above pierces all the darkness and dissects the ground piece by piece.
The shooting circle with a cross mark, the delay time from firing to arrival, and the predicted aiming point taking that into account are displayed.
“You want me to shoot? It would be much more accurate for you to control it.”
[You should handle it yourself at least once. Since we also have an escort, it will be a real-life test. It’s truly perfect.]
“What if I catch a comb or something?”
[If you don’t want to become a murderer, you should shoot well, right? Fighting!]
“…”
I calmly placed my hand on the panel.
[Should I turn on the peer identification mode?]
“No, you don’t need to.”
It is not a fight between humans, but a fight between monsters and humans.
Since there are no civilians or houses nearby, it is very easy to distinguish between enemies and enemies.
There are now 10 seconds left until arrival.
Bang bang bang!
Eugene and his group started shooting through the vehicle window.
Yellow flashes frequently flash in the dark night sky.
“Don’t waste bullets, just save them.”
[Because they don’t know the situation.]
5 seconds.
In the enlarged screen, the monsters and Eugene and his group are captured at once.
Yellow flashes appear more intensely.
2 seconds.
Now the distance between the slave cow and the vehicle is less than 100 m.
Persons on motorcycles attempted to leave the scene. It’s actually worth holding on until now.
If left like this, it will interfere with the attacker’s right to fire.
0 seconds.
But time is up.
“We engage.”
Boom! Boom! Boom! Tung!
As my finger applied pressure, a heavy sound was heard through the speaker.
A grenade of Shelter’s unique standard traverses the gray-white world.
The momentum of the slave cows is ferocious.
It is charging with a momentum that makes you think, ‘Wouldn’t it be like this if the Minotaur walked on all fours?’
A grenade lands on their leader.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Pieces of cows’ limbs were scattered along with a rhythmic explosion sound.
In thermal imaging, the dirt that has melted from the heat of the explosion glows a very dark white color.
One of the bikes stumbled and fell, probably surprised by the sudden bombardment. It rolls loudly with the bike.
“Oh my.”
[Are you okay. The speed when I fell was slow, and the angle of impact wasn’t bad. It will happen.]
As Artemis said, the rider who fell got up immediately and ran towards the bike.
[4 slave dogs in the rice field at 5 o’clock. Targeting straggler riders.]
Looking at the spot she had marked, she saw five small objects approaching and damaging her ridge. It was an incredible speed.
The rider must have noticed the presence of the dogs and froze while running.
It seems like my brain stopped, wondering if I should give up the bike and run in the opposite direction. But anyway, if you run, the only thing that awaits you is death after falling.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Before they attacked the rider, they sent him to heaven at about 20 m.
When the rider thought that the slave dogs that had been targeting him were ‘dead now!’, He was distracted by two consecutive bombardments of salvation.
“Get on there quickly, you idiot!”
Did it reach my heart? I suddenly came to my senses and ran to the bike and boarded it.
“Yes, if you want to survive on the battlefield, you have to run like that.”
[The cows are moving again.]
“It’s very comfortable because it moves in a straight line.”
Boom! Boom! Boom! Tung!
The grenades that flew across the line made white flowers bloom again.
[Hit! Another hit!]
Artemis shouted as if she was relieved.
They are so big that their limbs and limbs being torn apart by the explosion are truly dazzling.
“A straight rush without fear of death and no retreat.”
[Huh?]
When the fire button is pressed, a dull sound echoes through the central control room.
“It’s a trait that can’t be that annoying when dealing with enemies on the ground, but it’s really convenient when doing an aerial bombing. It’s easy to fit.”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
About 10 cows were turned into pulverized meat, while one cow at the edge of the explosion was caught up in the tyranny and flew into the sky.
[Home Run!]
It makes me laugh to see it spin around and fly tens of meters with its four legs stretched out in a U-shape.
“When dealing with people, even if one shot explodes, everyone scatters in all directions, requiring more effort, but these guys don’t have that.”
[Firing from the vehicle has stopped.]
“You must have figured out the situation. Outside, saving just three bullets is considered a meal?”
The largest grey-white lump. The Juggernaut came into view.
“Aren’t you tired of running around like a crazy dog with that size?”
[Because I have four lungs.]
The anatomy of the Juggernaut appeared in a pop-up format.
Two on each side of the chest and two on the abdomen. The enormous size of the lungs filled more than half of the body.
“I didn’t know that.”
Paang!
A fiery projectile flew from its tail with a clear sound.
It changed direction to match the Juggernaut’s tremendous sprint.
Kwaaaaang!
Tremendous flames and dust swirled around, engulfing the Juggernaut. Even though it boasts an enormous size, not even a single limb can be found.
As the flames subside a little, only a few rolling lumps of flesh can be seen.
[The cows are moving again.]
“I’m watching.”
The grenade that flew across the line explodes once again.
[Perfect!]
“I’m going to prey on the animals in that area today.”
Everywhere in the thermal imaging field of view is burning white.
The very dark white color is dirt that melts in fire.
The dark white color is their blood scattered everywhere.
The white ones are the flesh of the guys that are twitching like beef right after slaughter.
“I wonder what it smells like. Is it a savory smell? After all, this is why I like the site.”
[Ugh.]
Artemis was horrified.
With this, the Slave Cow and Juggernaut that were chasing the vehicle were eliminated.
[Do you see that?]
“Which one?”
Artemis displayed an enlarged video in a pop-up format.
It was a slap.
Numerous thumbs are sticking out from the window of a moving vehicle.
Those riding bikes also cheered, raising their weapons to the sky.
“I think it’s still a little early, though.”
[It’s just as you said. At 11 o’clock, a fallen bus is blocking the vehicle’s path.]
When I zoomed out the screen, I saw a bus blocking the exact path of the vehicle.
[Should I clean it up?]
“Are you going to blow it up with tyranny? In that case, shoot it yourself. “Such precise calculations are not my area.”
[As you wish.]
The message ‘Auto combat’ started flashing at the top of the screen.
Paang!
The projectile flew with violent flames and hit the bottom of the rear end of the bus.
Wow!
With a loud noise, the bus went around one and a half times and then fell into the rice field. Even the roadside was barely damaged. It’s a ridiculous level of fire control.
Immediately the auto combat message disappeared and control returned to me.
“Is this the end?”
[There are many infectious agents, but there are none that can directly threaten them. The operation is complete. Good job.]
A cup of coffee was delivered to me as I sighed with relief.
While the warm cup returned warmth to my cold hands, the car sped through the white puddles.
* * *
[Thank you. Thanks to you, my life was saved.]
After evacuating to a completely safe place, Eugene and his group stopped the car.
And he repeatedly expressed his gratitude to us.
Their faces were filled with wonder at witnessing the majestic firepower.
“You guys have gone through such a difficult journey. I’m sorry I can’t accept it. It’s hardly a farewell gift, but at least this is…”
When the touchpad was operated, the drones’ chambers opened and the 5.56 mm bullets they contained poured out onto the ground.
[Oh!]
[Thank you!]
Everyone looked at the accumulation of more than 400 rounds of bullets and looked like they had made a fortune.
That’s because you can exchange it for a significant amount of supplies at survivor camps, including rest areas.
Even after making up for the wasted losses this time, there was still a lot of left over.
“Then good luck.”
People who nod and say hello to the point of embarrassment, Eugene with a relieved face, and a giant with a rotten expression.
This was the last time I saw them.
* * *
A few days after that.
It is time to collect the rewards obtained from the Brain and Nerve Research Institute.
There are two main types of materials and technologies brought there.
One is a challenging experiment into unknown territory.
These are the test subjects with hideously enlarged heads that we discovered.
If successful, great progress can be achieved, but since it is still in its early stages, numerous failures are expected.
The other is to make already stabilized technology more detailed and precise.
For example, there is an implant procedure that assists the brain.
Although it is very expensive, it is already a commercialized technology, and I am ready to apply it to myself.
There were many other brain-related derivative technologies that were also useful.
These technologies are not just for me.
Artemis.
All her puzzles are ready for her.
