Infected - Chapter 524



Only Noblemtl

Side story 11

“Answer me. What are you?”

Gaon tilted his head and glared at the soldier.

In her opinion, it was so.

If he knows something that Son Ye-joo, Hwang Si-won, and Han Seung-woo don’t know, he’s definitely not an ordinary person.

If it was something everyone knew, the three people would have been fully aware of it as they came and went.

“I am…….”

The soldier seemed to look straight into Gaon’s eyes, but then quickly averted his gaze.

“He is the platoon leader leading the 7th Platoon.”

“Sergeant? So, the guys who died today are your platoon members?”

“No. This outpost was built relatively recently. That’s why we sent only the best men from the company.”

“That’s fun.”

Gaon couldn’t control his facial expressions.

The number of people who could put it on the palm of their hand and play with it was only a handful in the company.

“So where is your platoon?”

“It’s in another outpost. It’s a lot further than the rice mill.”

“You’re better than I thought.”

Knock knock!

Gaon picked up the hatchet on the table and walked slowly around the chair.

“To be honest, I had no intention of just sending it back. I was going to cut something and send it… … .”

The soldier flinched involuntarily when the sharp axe blade touched the back of his hand.

A hatchet that extends all the way up the back of the hand to the elbow.

“Thanks to you being honest with me, my mind has changed.”

“ha…….”

He let out a sigh of relief as soon as the axe blade left his body.

“Instead, I won’t send you back.”

“what?”

“Let’s go together. From now on, too.”

“Ah, no. Why all of a sudden?”

“I have some work to do for you.”

In that moment, all kinds of thoughts came to his mind.

If you follow them around foolishly, you might end up with nothing.

A situation where one wrong move could make both sides enemies.

However, if you were to be noticed while helping them, your family’s safety could never be guaranteed.

And that’s not all.

If you lose, there is no place to return to.

I was scared.

It wasn’t death itself that I was afraid of, but rather the process of it.

Not only will you have to watch your loved ones die, but even that will come to a terrible end.

“… If that’s the case, then it would be better to kill me here.”

“You don’t like it?”

“Please, I beg you!”

The soldier pleaded so loudly that the chair rattled.

“Are you doing this because of your family?”

“If you know, just end it here. Please.”

“If you confront me, your family will die anyway.”

“If I follow you guys around, someone will recognize me. Then the result will be the same. Bam!”

“hey.”

Gaon stretched out his arm and pressed hard against the soldier’s neck.

His face turned red as he gasped for breath.

“… Instead of worrying about that, think about how to please me. I’ll decide whether to use it all up or not based on your actions. The same goes for your family.”

As the rising heat turned my pupils red, my blocked throat slowly cleared.

“Ugh! Ugh!”

“Keep that in mind.”

With those words, Gaon left the store.

Then he spoke to Seonwoo with a thoughtful face.

“Let’s get out of here.”

“now?”

“I have a good idea. Can you trust me and follow it?”

“Of course I am.”

“I’m going to the outpost I heard about earlier.”

“And then what?”

Instead of answering, Gaon smiled coldly.

***

It was an evening when the entire city center was enveloped in pitch darkness.

Several flashlights wearing identical clothing began to move east.

The group has now grown to six people.

Before setting out, they cleared the streets where the battle had taken place.

The body was hidden far away in the vines, and the bloodstains were covered with debris from the scrap car.

Even if other traces are found quickly, the body will never be found.

That part was the most important for things to go according to plan.

Gaon, who was walking with the soldier, looks back.

I saw three people walking side by side and Seonwoo following them while looking behind them.

It couldn’t have been easy to wear a dead person’s clothes.

All three followed along silently.

No, it seemed like that.

Han Seung-woo, shining a flashlight on his combat uniform, barely calms his rumbling stomach.

After giving the clean clothes to Son Ye-ju, all that was left were wet, blood-soaked clothes.

This thick, bloody smell was completely different from the putrid smell I had smelled from zombies.

Should I say that it secretly hovers around and turns your insides upside down?

“Hey, Yeju.”

“why?”

“Wear those clothes carefully.”

“suddenly?”

“I gave in. You know that, right?”

“Oh my… … .”

“This is not true. Do you know? My feelings as I endure this terrible smell of blood and move forward. This is the way of a man.”

“Change your clothes.”

“I’m not that petty.”

“Then what? You’re making people feel bad for no reason. If I knew you were going to compromise, I would have worn something else.”

“Our Yeju is smart and pretty, but she has no tact.”

A laugh escaped Hwang Si-won, who had been walking silently.

“He’s doing this because he wants to hear thank you.”

Son Ye-ju looked at Han Seung-woo quietly and then snorted.

“Oh, okay. Thank you very much.”

“You really have no soul… … .”

Son Ye-ju, who had been passing by shaking her head, looked for Ga-on.

“Gaon-ah.”

“uh.”

“We fought once before, no. It wasn’t a fight, but… … .”

“That’s right. We fought. It would have been hard without you guys.”

“really?”

“huh.”

“Thank you for your words. But after experiencing it once, I don’t think it can go on like this.”

“what?”

“Teach me how to shoot a gun. I barely hit a target. It’s not just me. They’re the same.”

“I told you earlier.”

Gaon said, shining a flashlight across the street.

“That’s how to use it. What I’m curious about is how to shoot it well like you guys.”

“What are you going to do with learning it?”

“At least we should do our part. Thanks to that, we’re still alive.”

“Killing people isn’t easy.”

“But it’s better than me dying.”

“You could feel guilty for the rest of your life.”

“It’s okay. I can’t hide behind you guys forever. If you think about it, they’re fighting for our sake.”

“I’ve told you over and over again, I’m not doing this to help you. If it was someone else who messed with Yeongjong Island and planted spies in Seoul, we would have just saved you and passed by. This is our fight. It’s my fight too.”

“It’s cool… … .”

Gaon looked at her, frowning.

It may look great on the outside, but Gaon and Seonwoo’s lives were not like that.

Seven years ago, in a war with soldiers, the two killed a person for the first time.

Although he was only 12 years old and unable to engage in close combat, he was quite capable of pulling the trigger from a distance.

At that time, I was young and proud of the fact that I was good at handling weapons.

Above all, he was so excited by the thought of being able to help adults that he pulled the trigger without permission.

But the courage to pull the trigger and the weight of death were not similar.

Death was so cruel that it could not be covered up with such pride.

Yeju, who couldn’t know that fact, instead looked at him with longing.

“I like how confident you are. I, no, we want to be strong like you. So let me know. I can do anything to survive. I mean it.”

Gaon stops walking and stares at her again.

Under the shining moonlight.

Son Ye-ju’s eyes sparkled with tragedy.

The same goes for Han Seung-woo and Hwang Si-won who followed.

Gaon thought for a moment and then slowly nodded.

“Okay, I understand, so go back.”

Then he turned his gaze to the soldier who was walking alongside him.

“What is your name?”

“name?”

“Don’t ask again.”

“… It’s Kim Yu-jin.”

“It sounds like a girl’s name.”

That was the end of it.

A conversation so short that it was embarrassing for the person answering.

Eugene, who had been observing the situation, opened his mouth carefully.

“Is your name Gaon?”

“You heard.”

“That’s right.”

The silence has returned.

“Can I ask what to do when you get to the outpost?”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Ah, no. Why are you suddenly angry… … .”

“What do you mean, ‘Can I ask a question while asking?’”

“Sorry. I was worried that you might kill all the platoon members… … .”

“Don’t worry about me.”

“They’re like my little brothers. Of course, I’m not in a position to ask them to do this, but when we get there, can we have a conversation first? They’re not guys I can’t communicate with. I’ll ask you something. No, if you tell me to kneel, I’ll kneel.”

“Because I saw what you were doing.”

Eugene let out a sigh of relief.

Anyway, that means I won’t kill you the moment I strike you.

“How many years have you been a platoon leader?”

“It’s been three years.”

“You must have heard a lot about it.”

“…yes.”

“We must have done a lot of bad things together. Whenever we saw a living person, we would threaten them, push them around, and shoot them to death if they didn’t listen.”

Is it because of my mood that the atmosphere is flowing strangely?

Gulp!

Eugene kept his mouth shut as if he had eaten honey.

“You must have done all sorts of things under the pretense of protecting your family, maintaining the group, and fulfilling your duty. And those guys who shot at you are good brothers, so please spare them. Aren’t you lacking something?”

“… … .”

“answer.”

“Sorry.”

“What are you saying, why are you sorry to me?”

“… … .”

As he closed his mouth again, a sharp hand struck the back of his head.

puck!

“Answer me.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Does it hurt to be hit by someone younger than you?”

“no.”

“It feels dirty.”

“No, it’s really okay.”

“Then would you like it more?”

“Oh, no.”

“Let’s do well.”

Eugene nodded quickly.

There was no conversation for a while after that.

How many hours have I been walking already?

Eugene’s back was starting to hurt and his legs were starting to feel heavy.

Is it just me or is it because I feel like my backpack is particularly heavy even though we are all carrying backpacks?

It was difficult to even ask Gaon since he was the one who packed the bags in the first place.

No, I was scared.

Because I felt like if I said something stupid one more time, he would do something.

A monster that can fight dozens of people alone.

He said that wherever the dagger passed, there was no one left standing still.

The image of the surviving pursuers making a fuss was still vivid.

“excuse me…….”

Gaon turned his head with a cold gaze.

“I’m just saying this because I’m really curious about something… … .”

“say.”

“Are you the strongest in Seoul?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“No?”

Eugene’s eyes widened.

“It’s been 11 years since the virus broke out. I was 8 years old then. Do you think I could have ended up like this on my own?”

“ah…….”

“If you attack Seoul, you will meet tens of thousands of people again.”

Eugene was shocked by those words.

Of course, I didn’t think Gaon would grow like this on his own.

I naturally thought that there would be someone who would lead the way.

But the number is not two or three, but tens of thousands.

Leaving aside strategy and tactics, the relationship was such that a fight could not have taken place from the beginning.

It was literally like stirring up a beehive.

Eugene finished thinking and let out a sigh of relief.

“… It was never going to work in the first place. There aren’t even ten people like you. In fact, I’m not even sure if we can handle you. Maybe if we all attack at once.”

“I have no intention of confronting you head on either.”

“Then why are you going to the outpost?”

“To raise the board.”

“Surely… you’re not planning to go to war with the governor with your platoon members?”

“Why? No?”

“Even if you say they’re a platoon, there are only twenty of them. How are they going to deal with tens of thousands of people?”

“Is your speech really like that?”

“ah!”

Eugene quickly slapped my cheek.

Then he continued speaking with his head slightly bowed.

“I’m saying this because it’s my fight now. I don’t want to die. I want to survive somehow. So if you’re going to use me, I want you to win.”

He said that he had decided on his own route.

Now all that remains is the safety of my family and my platoon mates.

In order to protect them, I had to act without revealing my identity as much as possible.

But, out of the blue, you’re going to go to war with only your platoon members.

As a tightrope walker between prisoners and comrades, he couldn’t help but feel excited.

Gaon, who had been quietly looking into Eugene’s sincere eyes, snorted as if it was not right.

“Don’t overdo it, it’s not as ignorant as you think.”

“Ha, that’s a relief.”

“I never start a fight I can’t win. That’s what I learned, and that’s what I’ll continue to do. Just lead the way.”

Only then did Eugene turn the corner, clearing his throat.

How many times do you go back and forth between heaven and hell?

It was a terribly long day.