Chapter 1878 – 1878. Eternal Eden
Like striking while the iron is hot, Seong Yu-jin decided to move as soon as she stamped her seal on the contract. Of course, she didn’t move alone. She took the entire 30-member security team with her. She was planning to test the security team on this occasion. If she determined they were of no help at all, she would replace them all.
It wasn’t without thought that she took the entire security team. Even without the security team, the walls of Seongak Elementary School were high enough to prevent zombies from entering.
Moreover, there weren’t many zombies around Seongak Elementary School. She judged that there would be no problem even if she left for a few hours. The order within Seongak Elementary School was already established. And that was Seong Yu-jin’s delusion and miscalculation.
Among the 200 people who had taken refuge in the current Seongak Elementary School, there were those who were dissatisfied with the order of Seongak Elementary School. They had no choice but to suppress their dissatisfaction. Because Seong Yu-jin was there. And because there was a security team armed with guns.
But now, the security team was gone. Seong Yu-jin, who had cut down hundreds of zombies, was also gone. People had different thoughts. A prime example was Yoo Dong-hak, who was the head of the marketing department of a well-known company.
He was dissatisfied with everything.
Living in container boxes scattered around the playground, the tasteless basic meals provided in the cafeteria, the arrogant attitude of the security team, and the simple labor of just moving heavy objects. He didn’t like any of it.
What he disliked the most was that the technicians he had always looked down on were being treated preferentially here. They ate better food. They even lived in temporary shelters built behind the school building. They were also buildings made of containers, but they were of a different standard than those scattered around the playground.
Yoo Dong-hak was always looking for an opportunity. Whether it was politics, bribery, or threats, he was confident he could do anything to rise, and he had actually done it.
He gathered those who were close to him, who were also dissatisfied with Seongak Elementary School. All of them had lived relatively well before the D virus outbreak. Like him, they were department heads or section chiefs of companies, building owners, or phone sellers.
“Seong Yu-jin and the security team have gone out. I heard they’ll be back in a few hours. This is an opportunity. How about we run Seongak Elementary School this time? You all know how badly that guy runs this place, don’t you? Seongak Elementary School should be run for the benefit of many people. Without discrimination.”
“Mr. Yoo Dong-hak is right. There’s too much discrimination. Especially that Seong Yu-jin, he doesn’t hesitate to punch people. Last time, my son went into the main building because he wanted to play computer games, and he got beaten up by Seong Yu-jin. My son’s arm was broken, broken!”
“It’s a bit much to go into a restricted area without permission, but the punishment was too harsh. Even if the law isn’t being properly enforced now… tsk.”
“You have to work for three days to eat one pack of ramen. This is ridiculous.”
“Do you know Park Seong-sik, who used to work under me? That guy is cutting steak every day with his wife and children. He even came to brag to me? A guy who used to be so careful around me in society…”
They occupied a container and all vented their dissatisfaction. Time passed. But Yoo Dong-hak didn’t stop them, he encouraged them. That way, their dissatisfaction would grow.
And then someone asked the question Yoo Dong-hak wanted.
“Mr. Yoo Dong-hak. You said it was an opportunity earlier. What exactly do you mean?”
“The owner of this Seongak Elementary School is Seong Yu-jin. When that guy is not here, the one who manages it is his woman, Dr. Na Chae-yeong. I heard she’s the one who made the guns.”
“Are you suggesting we kill that woman…?”
“Oh my! That’s a dangerous thing to say! We have to capture her and persuade her. That way, she’ll make weapons for us, won’t she?”
“Do you think she’ll follow us so easily?”
“Well, it might be okay to intimidate her a little. The important thing is that it’s for everyone, isn’t it? Once we capture her, we can persuade her slowly.”
“What if Seong Yu-jin comes back? When I think about how he cut down hundreds of zombies a week ago, my legs still…”
Shudder. The middle-aged man shook his legs uncontrollably. That ridiculous sight was surprisingly not an exaggeration.
“That guy is also human. He’ll die if he gets shot here. Is there anyone here who hasn’t been to the military? We just need to get our hands on the guns in the armory. After that, we can manage Seongak Elementary School. Even if the security team comes back, we can fight back with guns. You know how high the walls of the elementary school are. We have the advantage.”
“…Can we do it among ourselves? It seems like we’re a bit short on numbers.”
“We need to gather people we can trust. We just need to raid the armory on the second floor of the main building. Just the armory.”
“That’s not going to be an easy place to get into…”
“Let’s capture that technician Park Seong-sik and make him open the armory. He must have the equipment. Once we get our hands on the guns in the armory, what can that Dr. Na do? Oh, do you know about the people locked up in the detention room?”
“You mean those troublemakers?”
If you caused a big or small problem at Seongak Elementary School, you would be caught by the security team and taken to the detention room. In short, the detention room was a place for punishment. If you committed a crime that went too far, you would be expelled from Seongak Elementary School with nothing.
“Let’s persuade them. They must have a lot of complaints. If we gather enough people… more people will agree with us. Who is satisfied with this life?”
If people gather, it’s possible. The more people gather, the stronger they become. That’s common sense. A superhuman like Seong Yu-jin is an exception to common sense. And currently, that exception to common sense is not here.
Everyone’s eyes lit up. Specific plans were exchanged, and actions were taken. First, they decided to capture the technicians, including Park Seong-sik. It was almost lunchtime.
Most people received food in the cafeteria on the first floor, and those who were treated preferentially, including the technicians, ate in the restaurant on the second floor. It wasn’t difficult to go up to the second floor. Yoo Dong-hak divided the people. One group was for the technicians, and the other was for the detention room.
They recruited people. Including those recruited, there were over 60 people. The rest were not recruited on purpose. They didn’t truly want equality.
It wasn’t difficult to surround and restrain the technicians. The rebel forces had more people, and the technicians were completely unaware of the attack.
“Cooperate with us. This elementary school should be run without discrimination. Do you really think the current situation is right?”
“Ungrateful bastards. I actually felt a little sorry for you guys… but not anymore. Seong Yu-jin was right when he said that humans reveal their true nature when they’re let loose.”
Yoo Dong-hak frowned. There were a total of six technicians captured. All of them were hostile. There was no sign of cooperation at all.
“We don’t want to resort to violence. We know better than anyone how important technicians like you are in this era. Join us. We’ll treat you without discrimination too.”
“Why don’t you put down the clubs you’re holding first? You guys just want power. Money doesn’t work here, and your careers in society don’t work either, so you must be dying. When Seong Yu-jin comes, you’re all going to die. I know his personality, it’s no joke. Oh, maybe you won’t even be able to die. Do you know there’s a special detention room under the detention room? That place is hell. If I were you, I’d just leave this place. But I wouldn’t have done that kind of thing in the first place.”
“…You’ve been thoroughly brainwashed.”
Yoo Dong-hak was annoyed. He didn’t like the way the insignificant guy was looking at him with pity. In the end, he beat the technicians with clubs. But the technicians were stubborn. Not a single one of them said they would cooperate. He had no choice but to stop hitting them before they died.
He couldn’t kill them. Using violence was already slightly over the line. If he killed them, the justification would collapse. And the technicians were still needed in the future.
Ding!
A message came on his smartphone.
“Everyone. The people who were locked up in the detention room have agreed to cooperate with us!”
“Waaaaah!”
Some of the detainees were too scared to cooperate, but it didn’t matter.
‘Most of the detainees are strong guys… if we put them in front, they’ll be helpful.’
That’s when it happened.
The ceiling speaker turned on, and a sigh was heard.
-Haa. A rebellion… This proves Yu-jin is right.
A woman’s voice.
It was definitely Dr. Na Chae-yeong’s. It seemed she had been caught because there were cameras all over the elementary school. Yoo Dong-hak didn’t care. It was something he had already expected.
-I’ll give you one last chance. I’ll give you some necessities, so I want you to leave the elementary school. There’s a famous saying, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” right? There’s also a saying that if you don’t like the temple, the monk should leave. Let’s end this nicely. Please leave.
‘That’s ridiculous. If we leave this place, we’ll just get eaten by zombies.’
It’s not that they dislike this place. Who would dislike this place, which is like an ark? What they dislike is their position of working at the bottom.
“That woman is just talking one-sidedly! If we leave here, we’ll just die! What we want is equality! Look! She doesn’t even think about communicating with us! We need to go to that woman and tell her what we want!”
Yoo Dong-hak, speaking forcefully, knew it was time to move as quickly as possible. If they gave them time, the people in the main building would arm themselves with guns. He could become disadvantaged.
“Let’s go!!”
As Yoo Dong-hak ran, people followed him in a rush. It wasn’t far from the main building, so they arrived soon. The entrance to the main building was closed with a steel shutter, as expected.
‘Damn it. There are iron bars on the windows too. There’s no time or equipment to cut through the iron bars. There are no iron bars on the windows on the 4th and 5th floors, so should I quickly get a ladder and go up there?’
Honk honk!
A car horn sounded.
It was a truck used for work. The truck driver was a detainee. A middle-aged man who had been imprisoned for fighting with the kitchen lady over a food issue.
“Get out of the way! I’m going to smash through this!”
Enraged by his time in detention, he rammed straight into the entrance.
Crash! Shatter!
The shutter and glass door were smashed. The old man slumped over the steering wheel and passed out.
‘Crazy bastard.’
Yoo Dong-hak was a little disgusted, but this was an opportunity.
“The door is open! Let’s go!! For freedom and equality!!”
“For freedom and equality!!”
People shouted and ran towards the main building.
-Idiots.
Na Chae-yeong’s monotonous voice echoed through the speaker.
And immediately after.
Dudududududududu.
‘Helicopter sound?’
No. The sound was too cute to be a helicopter. It was a drone. Five combat drones the size of a human torso greeted them as soon as they entered the entrance.
-Yu-jin’s answer just came in. He said not to kill them, but to subdue them. It seems he doesn’t intend to just kill you.
Yoo Dong-hak and the others were too distracted to listen to Na Chae-yeong’s words. The combat drones’ guns spat fire. But the gunshots weren’t that loud. What flew out of the guns were taser rounds.
Taser guns. Of course, they weren’t ordinary taser guns. They had been modified with galchium, reducing the size of the taser rounds, and even a glancing blow would knock out an ordinary human.
Tat tat tat tat tat!
The sound of the combat drones firing tasers was strangely addictive. But there was no one to savor the sound.
“Aaaaaaaah!”
“Shit!!!”
“G-get out of the way!!”
Chaos. The moment they saw the five combat drones, people lost their will to fight and started to run away. Of course, no matter how hard they ran, they couldn’t shake off the combat drones. The combat drones could fly.
After a minute, there was no one left standing on two feet. Some even wet themselves.
-The combat AI’s first real battle was a success. But… haa. When am I going to clean all this up?
Na Chae-yeong’s sighs just kept increasing.
