Infected - Chapter 514



Only Noblemtl

Side story episode 1

It was an afternoon with raindrops falling steadily.

Seoul was as dark as midnight, with pitch-black clouds hanging low.

A city center that once flourished as a brilliant civilization.

But now it is a ruin covered with all kinds of weeds and vines.

The exterior walls of the tall building were covered with scars that ran down as if someone had scratched them.

Above the leisurely flowing Han River, the bridges that had been cut off suddenly all collapsed, revealing only their shabby steel frames.

Even that was covered in moss, making it difficult to determine its past purpose.

Except for the Han River Bridge, which was constantly maintained and used by people, it was virtually gone.

Beyond the riverside scenery that could be called ruins.

The long outer wall continues endlessly, as if the Great Wall of China had been built.

Beyond that, a large safety zone was created that surrounded the entire area north of the Han River.

Ten years have changed a lot of things.

From the place where we live to the people who live there and their thoughts.

On the pavement blocks, a well-kept garden is adorned, unlike the outside scenery.

The pitch-black boots pass by, splashing through the shallow pool of rainwater.

On the road, a group of people wearing raincoats were loading something into a van.

“We have to leave before the rain gets heavier! Hurry up!”

A middle-aged man shouted as he emerged from the warehouse carrying a large box.

He was wearing two thick masks on his face.

He stumbled into the warehouse, lowered his mask as he looked at the few boxes remaining.

A face revealed with a rough beard.

He was none other than Hyun-tae, with his deep wrinkles on his forehead and the corners of his eyes worn down by time.

“Hey, Choi Seon-woo. Where are you?”

“why?”

Seonwoo, who had been hunched over behind the shelf, poked his head out.

He is the son of Choi Hyeong-gi, who attacked a group in Gyeonggi Province 10 years ago.

“Have you packed all your tools?”

“almost.”

“Ouch, sir. Why is this so heavy?”

“Get out of the way.”

Seonwoo, who was carrying a tool bag on his back, pushed away Hyuntae, who was groaning.

Then he quickly lifted up a large box.

“Oh, it’s good to be young. My back isn’t feeling so good these days… .”

“You said it wasn’t a joke back then, but it was all a lie?”

“It’s not a lie. Ask people. My uncle is someone who has made great achievements in the war against the nameless sect.”

“What is that name, an anonymous religion, an anonymous religion?”

Seonwoo shook his head and left the warehouse.

Outside, raindrops were still falling steadily.

Only God knew whether the rain would suddenly become heavier or stop.

So, we had to move when it got even a little less rainy.

The two people who returned to the warehouse were checking to see if anything was missing.

Squeak!

As the warehouse door opened, heavy boots came in.

A tall man, nearly 170cm tall, with long legs and neatly tied hair visible under a transparent raincoat.

It was Gaon.

“What are you doing? Uncle, are you still far?”

As the raincoat covering him was removed, his characteristically large eyes and thick eyebrows were revealed under the dim light.

“I’m done. I’m just checking to see if I missed anything.”

“Let’s go. The clouds keep gathering, so it’s not like the rain will stop any time soon. Hey, Choi Seon-woo.”

“uh?”

“You drive.”

Car keys flying in.

“I?”

“I’m tired. You know what it’s like on a rainy day.”

“okay.”

Seonwoo obediently picked up the car keys and followed Gaon.

After a while.

Hyun-tae approached the rattling van and shouted while knocking on the passenger seat where Ga-on was sitting.

“Take good care of Grandpa Kim! Don’t even think about coming back until the rain stops! Got it?”

“don’t worry.”

“Seonwoo! This car has cooking oil in it, so you shouldn’t step on it! You understand? Just go slowly!”

“Okay, okay. Don’t worry and go in. If you don’t, your cold will get worse.”

Only then did Hyun-tae nod and knock on the car body.

A passenger car gradually picking up speed.

Inside, Seonwoo was seen holding the steering wheel, Gaon was sitting in the passenger seat, and Kim was lying down with the seat half-reclined.

When we were halfway through the wide safe zone, Seonwoo glanced at the rearview mirror and asked.

“Grandpa Kim. Are you okay? You don’t seem to be feeling well.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Aren’t you saying that Daewoong drank alcohol without any side dishes until dawn because of that kid?”

Mr. Kim muttered with his eyes closed.

His gray hair and deep wrinkles revealed the passage of time.

“Ah, that’s the smell of alcohol. What was that smell… ?”

“You must never learn to drink.”

“I only eat delicious food. But, can I work like that?”

“I have to.”

Mr. Kim, who had been lying still, suddenly sat up straight.

“Oh, the more I think about it, the angrier I get. I’ve been going back and forth to Yeongjong Island to teach for over five years, and now I, who’s over sixty, have to go there myself just for solar energy?”

“But think positively. After all, I can’t go on without my grandfather for now.”

“Damn it. How can you think that’s a good thing? This time, we should just burn down all the equipment. You ignorant bastards. If you don’t know even after being taught that, it’s not a problem of talent, it’s a problem of intelligence.”

“No, it’s just that someone keeps breaking the equipment.”

“What? You broke it? Why?”

Seonwoo shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know. We’ll take care of the maintenance ourselves, but if it breaks down, there’s no other way than for Grandpa to go. So I’m asking you to think positively.”

“What kind of crazy person would break that?”

“That’s why my uncle personally took care of the finances, so if we meet today, we’ll see what they have to say.”

“Oh my, my fate… … .”

Mr. Kim lay down again and closed his eyes.

Yeongjong Island.

The safest area near the coast where the power plants that supply electricity to Seoul are located.

Ten years ago, under the direction of Gongdu, the workers who were operating the power plant gathered survivors from nearby areas and established a safe zone on Yeongjong Island.

As such, Yeongjong Island’s role was still focused on energy production even after 10 years.

But the gas soon ran out and a new alternative was needed.

At that time, Yeongjong Island began using solar power generators at Mr. Kim’s suggestion.

Of course, the beginning was humble.

Because it could only produce electricity during the day when there was plenty of sunlight, it was not enough to power daily life.

But Kim didn’t give up, and eventually came up with a way to generate electricity at night.

After the sun sets, the temperature of the Earth’s surface drops as it releases radiant energy, and the same goes for solar cells.

So, they generated electricity by using the temperature difference between the solar cell and the atmosphere overnight.

Mr. Kim’s plan completely turned the situation around.

Not only can we use electricity for our daily lives, but we have enough reserves to supply electricity to nearby areas.

Seonwoo shifted his gaze and looked at Gaon, who was sitting in the passenger seat.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Uh. So-so.”

“What do you do when you get fat and sag like that…?”

“I don’t know. But why does the car sound so unsettling?”

“What else can we do? Electric cars are the last resort. We have to start with what we can run.”

“Did you touch the injector?”

“no.”

“… I won’t be able to go very far.”

“maybe?”

Seonwoo smiled and turned the steering wheel.

To him, Gaon was an absolute being.

10 years ago, when I arrived at the bunker, away from my father who would do anything to survive.

If it weren’t for Gaon, I would never have been able to adapt to unfamiliar bunker life.

On days when we missed our parents, we would hug each other and cry as if we were siblings.

It was a deep and long period of time that cannot be defined with words like friend, colleague, or lover.

“Turn left at the three-way intersection and go around.”

“Isn’t going straight faster?”

“There’s a sinkhole.”

“ah…….”

Seonwoo slowly turned the steering wheel, impressed by Gaon’s memory.

“There are tree roots sticking out in front of the bank, so stick to the right and go.”

“Okay. Just close your eyes for a bit. You must be tired.”

“are you okay.”

“Come to think of it, if we meet today, it will be the first time in a long time that I’ve seen Uncle Jae-jae? Same goes for the other uncles.”

“Me too. I heard there are aunts too.”

Gaon nodded, looking at the raindrops on the window.

Due to the continued influx of population, the safe zone has grown several times larger than it was in the beginning.

In the process, Jinna and Beomsik also joined.

The bunker was left as a last resort in case of emergency.

Then one day.

Puberty has come to Gaon as well.

For her, who was going through great changes both physically and mentally, Jinna and Beomsik provided a new home.

After that, we couldn’t meet every day like before.

Gaon formed a group with people his age, and the adults spent their busy days following Zhang Liming back and forth to China.

As a result, several safe zones have formed a network across borders.

It was a huge alliance that extended from the nuclear power plant in the East Sea, the safe zone in Seoul, Yeongjong Island, and Weihai in China to Shanghai.

Unlike the Korean Peninsula, China was able to drill for oil directly.

Prime Minister Zhang and Zhang Liming did not forget the kindness of the Marines and their party who helped reclaim the mainland.

Many problems have been solved thanks to their free oil support every year.

It wasn’t enough to run a fleet of cars, but it was enough to run several production plants.

“Gaon-ah.”

“why?”

Gaon, who was looking out the window, turned his head.

“Don’t you want to go south?”

“south?”

“Oh. I was curious. Actually, I’ve only known Seoul up until now. There must be people living in the South, too.”

“It’ll be the same there. Wherever you go, there’ll be nothing but weeds and ruins.”

“No, not that. I mean people. There are over 200,000 people living in Seoul alone, but there aren’t many people our age. I wonder how many of us will be left after all the adults die.”

Gaon blinked at the unexpected words.

His concerns were quite plausible.

The population over the age of 15 who can shoot guns and swing knives is a tiny number, less than 5% of the total.

If time went on like this, it would be difficult to maintain the current scale no matter how many children were born.

“You have a lot of younger siblings. They’ll figure it out.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s not too late to think about that slowly.”

“We’re a very ambiguous generation, aren’t we? There are younger people below us, and only older adults above us.”

“Didn’t you hear what Uncle Hyunsoo said? Most of your worries are things that can’t be solved right away. Nothing will change.”

“That’s true.”

“You’ve had too many useless thoughts since long ago.”

“But shouldn’t someone do it?”

“You don’t have to do it.”

“Because I have to protect you?”

“… What are you talking about, you crazy bastard. It’s giving me goosebumps.”

“You guys! Get some sleep, get some sleep.”

Mr. Kim screamed and then fell back asleep as if nothing had happened.

Thanks to that, the car quickly became quiet.

There was only the sound of raindrops hitting the car body.

The sound of rain, the shaking body, and the wipers that move without stopping.

Gaon, who was looking at the scenery outside the window, quickly fell asleep.

* * *

The van arrived at Yeongjong Island a long time later.

As we passed the wide open field and followed the signs for Airport New Town, we finally saw the entrance to the safe zone.

Gaon gets out of the car and looks up at the sky with a frown.

The sky, from which the rain clouds had cleared, was pouring out bright light as if nothing had happened.

In just one hour, the weather changed to sunny weather without a single cloud in sight.

The three people who entered the new city walked silently.

Compared to the safe zone of Seoul, Yeongjong Island was full of traces of less human hands.

It was as they stepped onto the sidewalk past the vine-covered sign.

The voices of many children were mingled together.

When I looked to see what was going on, I saw that more than ten children were raising their voices.

“Miss! I told you I was right!”

“No! We don’t do that!”

“Hey, what do you country bumpkins know?”

Gaon, who had been silently watching the scene, turned his gaze to one child.

“Han Ji-ho!”

I think I was about ten years old.

He was a kid who used to ignore the kids here and call them country bumpkins.

“Huh? Sister!”

As the child called Jiho ran towards Gaon, the other children quickly followed him.

Each child strangely resembled someone.

“Why are you fighting?”

“No, we play together, but they keep telling me to follow their rules.”

“Then just do as you say. Is this Seoul? You came here as a guest.”

“Oh, I don’t like it!”

The child screamed and glared at me with his long eyes stretched out to the side.

Taller and bigger than his peers, with sharp eyes.

The features were so distinct that you could tell which family the child was from just a glance.

Infected people