Infected - Chapter 500



Only Noblemtl

Episode 499

When finances found their way back to the hospital room.

Hyunsoo was deeply asleep.

That night, the next day, and two days later.

At first, everyone was confused, but because all of the body’s rhythms were strangely normal, it was difficult to see a problem.

In the end, Min-young dragged Hyun-soo’s bed and filmed it twice more over two days.

The result was the same.

In fact, the virus’ activity was even reduced compared to when it was first tested.

To put it simply, it was a situation where the cause was unknown.

Finance wasn’t completely absent-minded either.

I went outside alone several times to look for a route to move the suspension bridge.

The problem was that every time someone was following me.

I tried to lure him into a dead end and tried to catch him by tricking his eyes, but he just wouldn’t fall for it.

Since he had already been hurt several times, it seemed that the anonymous church was also very nervous.

What’s strange is that when I was leaving the apartment complex, I suddenly started being followed by someone who wasn’t there before.

As if he knew the group’s route and destination.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group also learned of Hyun-soo’s condition.

Among the people coming in and out of the hospital room several times a day were Lee Tae-seong and Anna, who had been in bed for nearly a week and returned.

Anna, sitting next to the hospital bed, stares blankly at Hyun-soo, who is deeply asleep.

Lee Tae-seong was guarding the entrance, leaning against the wall.

Although they didn’t have much conversation, the two became very close while they were hospitalized.

Anna grabs Hyunsoo’s calloused hand.

Then he stroked the back of my hand with a sad expression.

Looking back, a lot has happened during that time.

I missed him every single day when I thought Hyunsoo was dead, but after meeting him again, I couldn’t be happier.

But maybe it was because he knew Hyunsoo couldn’t speak, or maybe he was just too absent-minded.

We haven’t had a single meaningful conversation since we met again.

Sometimes, when I looked at him curiously because he was next to me, Hyunsoo would respond with his signature innocent smile.

Tears welled up in Anna’s eyes as she reminisced.

“I don’t want you to be unhappy anymore, Hyunsoo. I just… want you to live happily with Hayeon, but it’s so hard.”

Then, he gently patted Hyun-soo’s hand as if he were patting a child’s stomach.

“… It’s not easy. At first, I thought I just had to beat up the zombies that killed my father. But I’ve been through so much on the long way back to Seoul. Now that the zombies have disappeared, people are having a blast. What will be the end of this fight? Will everyone be able to survive…?”

The unexpected kidnapping, confinement, and brutal assault I suffered in prison.

Maybe it was because I had just recovered from that shock.

Anna lowered her gaze, overcome with emotion.

Then, Lee Tae-seong approached slowly and spoke carefully.

“Sister, don’t worry too much. You never know what’s going to happen in life.”

“… That’s why I feel more anxious. Because I don’t know what will happen in the future, I keep having negative thoughts.”

“I thought about it the whole time I followed my father to South Korea. From the moment I went south, I would never be able to return. Failure would have meant death. How are you now? Who would have thought that Nae-rae would be alive? If you think about my case, you will probably understand that this comrade has a much higher chance of surviving.”

Anna nodded, letting out a long sigh.

Thinking back to that time, the chances of Lee Ho-seong and Lee Tae-seong being alive were extremely slim.

Hyunsoo had a choice, but Lee Taesung didn’t.

Because the world was not so leisurely as to be lenient in forgiving a defeated enemy general.

But why can’t I think positively?

Maybe I was just too tired.

To viruses, to zombies, and to people.

This horrible apocalypse was too horrific for humans living ordinary lives to accept.

Even if you witness a terrible car accident, you will toss and turn for days and suffer from trauma for years.

The sight of people being torn alive and running around in a horrific manner that is hard to describe in words.

It was something that someone who had not experienced it could never know.

Plus, when I close my eyes, countless screams ring in my head.

How many times in our lives will we hear the desperate cries of someone struggling and screaming in the face of death?

Even though several months had passed, those memories still lingered in my mind.

Rather, they were piling up and overlapping more and more.

Anna wiped her tears and raised her head.

His red, bloodshot eyes were looking for something to complain about.

If you think about it, all the hardships the group went through were because of the nameless sect.

Because of that, he had to listen to Min-yeong’s uncomfortable confession, and he followed Yui Go to counterattack, and even Hyun-soo lost consciousness.

Of course, it wasn’t because she was directly attacked by the Nameless Cult, but that didn’t matter to Anna right now.

Since this happened while dealing with them, they are also responsible for it.

I thought so.

“… I just want to kill them all. Don’t complicate things.”

“Comrade Jae-jeong said that it is much harder to save someone than to kill them. If I had tried to take it easy, I wouldn’t have been able to move with my comrades like this. I would have already died. Aren’t those bastards the same? If you take off the hat on their heads, they are no different from this Lee Tae-seong. It’s not too late to think about killing everyone you come across.”

“Why should I think about that? Those bastards were trying to kill us. No, they could have done worse. You were hit too. Aren’t you angry after being hit like that?”

Lee Tae-seong let out a short sigh.

“Why aren’t you angry? If it were up to me, I would tie you up and tear your limbs apart. Think about it. My American comrades are men, but my sister is different. Even if she gets hit once, her body can’t withstand it. Even now, when I think about the time when my comrade got hit, my blood boils.”

“I don’t know. No matter what you say, I will never forgive those bastards. Up until now, we’ve been dealing with them without knowing what was going on, but from now on, it’ll be different. If they try to kill us, we have no choice but to kill them first. Whether they’re zombies or people.”

Lee Tae-seong couldn’t answer right away.

Because the hostility I felt from Anna was so familiar and so clear.

Because he had been observing the power struggles between the military forces within North Korea since childhood.

I couldn’t help but stiffen at Anna’s barbed voice directed at the other forces.

“…Girae. If you are so inclined, then there is nothing you can do. But for now, bear with it. Comrade Jaejae will have something to say soon.”

Anna lowered her head and gripped her bow tightly instead of answering.

* * *

Same time.

On the rooftop, Jae-jae and Young-man were talking.

The conversation was similar.

“…So time is the issue?”

Jae-jae, who was smoking a cigarette, nods his head.

“Actually, it’s not that there’s no way, but there are various problems if you do it that way.”

“What method?”

“At the same time as sending Hyun-soo to the bunker, we will join forces with the people from the apartment to attack the nameless sect. Of course, we are severely lacking in numbers, so we will have to persuade Gong-du. That is why I said I would go meet Gong-du at the apartment.”

“That’s a good idea. If you look away like that, Hyunsoo will be able to get to the bunker safely.”

“Yes. But the problem is that the promised date was yesterday, and no one from the apartment has come yet. Most men know how to handle a gun, but that was a long time ago, so it must be mentioned. Women go without saying. And in order to push forward with some degree of force, even if it is not hands and feet, you need to have a basic understanding of military operations.”

“Well… we’ll have to fight against numbers that are much larger than ours.”

Finance nodded and crushed the cigarette butt.

“So I thought about it carefully, and I realized that I only have one choice right now.”

“What is that?”

“I’m going to find an apartment before it gets any worse. Even if I have to stay for a day, I’m going to do some basic training. Then, when I meet Gongdu, I think things will be resolved to some extent.”

“Are you confident that you can persuade Gongdu?”

“yes.”

Youngman tilted his head.

“Is there something I don’t know? Your expression seems a little different than usual. In the current situation, the only thing you can do is threaten, but there’s no way that a powerful man like you would fall for such threats.”

“No. What would I have to hide? I’m just meeting you. Of course, there will be some threats. For example, you have a choice now, but after we defeat the Nameless Cult, that choice will disappear?”

“That’s a threat to kill.”

Finance smiled faintly.

“That’s what I mean. Would you even blink if I said that? If you don’t like us, just attack us from both sides with the Nameless Sect. I’m thinking of going to have a conversation, literally.”

“I trust you.”

Youngman answered only like that.

In my experience, I have never stepped forward in situations where finances were uncertain.

He was a man who was bolder than anyone else when it came to being bold, but he needed time to get there.

I would say he is a cautious type who thinks through all possible scenarios before making a move.

The fact that he was so confident about Gongdu meant that there must have been something that Youngman didn’t know about.

But Young-man didn’t bother to ask.

It’s something we’ll find out when the time comes.

“Oh, and by the way. How long do you plan on dragging that guy around like a prisoner?”

“Who?”

“It’s Yuigo. I’ve been watching you for a while now, and you seem like a pretty decent person.”

“Well… I’m just being careful. There’s no special reason. It hasn’t been that long since I found out about it. It’s also connected to the Anonymous Sect.”

“I see.”

“Why all of a sudden?”

Youngman paused for a moment.

“That’s… Actually, I saw him on my way back from my night shift yesterday, and he was standing by the window in the hallway, crying.”

“Huh? You cried?”

“Yes. I was so sad that I couldn’t even ask why. I just watched from afar and then went back. I didn’t think much of it. It’s just that I thought maybe we neglected him too much, that’s all.”

Finance stared out into the city center with unfocused eyes, lost in thought.

“Why did you cry… … .”

“I don’t know. Maybe it was because of the colleagues who left first. When things really started to happen, he didn’t have time to be sad. Come to think of it, he never showed that side of himself in front of us. On the other hand, he’s a really pitiful friend.”

“That’s true. I’ve rarely seen him emotionally shaken. Well… let’s think about that later. We’ll find out for sure as we attack the Nameless Sect together.”

“Okay. But what are you going to do with the believer you locked up last time? His name is… .”

“This is Han Joo-won.”

“Yes, Han Ju-won. I heard he was locked up like an animal.”

“I’m going to go now anyway. I need to make sure that I have received some solid mental education so that I can use it.”

“Mental education?”

“Yes. He wasn’t the kind of person who became a believer because he had religious beliefs. He would probably do whatever you tell him to do. That’s because he was always stuck in it.”

Youngman shook his head.

“Sometimes I feel like you’re half-mad, pretending you’re not. I thought you just locked me up without thinking about it.”

“No way.”

“Anyway, I understand. So are you leaving today?”

“Yes. There’s no point in delaying here any longer. Let’s leave right away once I bring Han Joo-won out.”

“How many people? If you let me know in advance, I can have them on standby.”

“Me, you, and Lee Tae-seong. Tell the reconnaissance team that went out to the field to return in groups every six hours.”

“Okay.”

Young-man nodded and went down the stairs.

Jae-jae, who was left alone, took out another cigarette and lit it.

Now it was time to begin the full-scale war against the Anonymous Church.

It was a fight that might take days or weeks, but I wasn’t afraid of finances.

There was only one reason why I followed Yui, whom I had just met, through the prison and to the armory.

It was to determine the power of the believers.

Although I heard a lot through Yuigo, hearing and experiencing it firsthand are bound to be different.

At the time, I was being chased by believers near the armory.

Finance calculated the time from when the gunshots were fired until the believers from other places started to rush in.

And I inferred a lot.

From the distance between believers who are said to be as tightly connected as a spider’s web to their firepower and individual abilities.

Jae-yi’s eyes turned cold as he threw away the cigarette butt and turned around.

If it was a new type of enemy you encountered, the way to deal with it would also be different than before.

Infected people