Infected - Chapter 574



Only Noblemtl

Side story episode 61

The next morning.

Two familiar faces climbed the ridge in front of the outpost.

It was Wolhwa and Yang Seongyeol who barely escaped after breaking through the strict security.

“I hope your friend is doing well.”

Yang Seong-yeol asked, thinking of the polka dots.

“maybe?”

“Are you close?”

“No, this is the first time we’ve met.”

“Oh, I see. Anyway, I’m glad you escaped safely.”

“To this extent, what… … .”

“Are you going to Seoul now?”

“That’s right. Have you ever been to Seoul?”

“No. There isn’t.”

“Go and see everything while you have the chance. Or just live there.”

“There’s nothing wrong with me. But why are you looking at me like that?”

Wolhwa, who had been looking down at the outpost with a stern face, turned her head.

“No, I just thought it would be okay to leave it like that.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“All of them.”

Yang Seong-yeol did not understand what Wol-hwa was saying.

I just barely got out and now you’re suddenly asking if it’s okay to keep going like this.

“I don’t understand what you are saying… … .”

“You know. All those kids over there are on drugs.”

“That, that’s right… … .”

“I’m not saying anything. Just look at the situation. You did what you were told and you had no choice.”

“I feel guilty.”

Wolhwa still couldn’t take her eyes off the outpost.

“I just wish… they would all just die instead. There are so many dreams and things I want to do… … .”

Her eyes were sad, unusual for her.

Most of the children seen at the outpost were the same age as Wolhwa ten years ago.

At that time, Wolhwa really had a lot of things she wanted to do.

Because when I became an adult, I was able to escape the stifling status of being a student.

Then I thought I could live my life solely without anyone’s permission or attention.

But that world never came.

The zombie virus took everything away, even crushing dreams and hopes.

Maybe that’s why.

Wolhwa didn’t have any regrets about life.

Just living to survive.

The children staying at the outpost seemed even more serious.

Wouldn’t it be better to just die than to live like that?

“That’s true, but not everyone can live the life they want. Unfortunately, the world doesn’t let you do that.”

“Yeah. That’s why I want you to die.”

“Uh… but, what is that?”

“what?”

“What’s that black thing over there… … .”

Wolhwa followed Yang Seongyeol’s voice and looked around.

Where his finger is pointing.

A black wave surges forward, filling a country road about 1km away from the outpost.

Yang Seong-yeol’s mouth opened wide as he realized the identity.

“Zombie, zombie, zombie! It’s a zombie horde! Run away now… … .”

Yang Seong-yeol turned his head and couldn’t finish speaking.

Because Wolhwa’s expression was so bright it was scary.

“Nice timing!”

“Huh? Nice timing?”

Meanwhile, the outpost was in chaos.

People were running around with walkie-talkies, shouting, and armed soldiers and drugged people were rushing to the main gate.

“If we leave them alone, we’ll all really die. Why don’t they run away and do this?”

“It’s different when you see it from above than when you see it from below. Oh, well, it’s fine anyway. Just… just die!”

Wolhwa stretched out her arms and yawned in joy.

It was a reaction completely out of place for the dire situation that was about to unfold.

Yang Seong-yeol thought while looking at the pitch-black waves.

The fact that the enormous army that can be seen from above is nothing more than a large number of zombies from below.

Then a huge amount of bullets began to pour out from the outpost.

But that was all.

Two or three out of ten shots will probably graze your head.

The overwhelming horde of zombies that changed the colors of the area covered the outpost.

A roar, as if a large choir was singing, drowned out the gunfire.

“Are you going to leave me alone? Where on earth did all those zombies come from?”

“What can we do? If you can, you try.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean it like that… … .”

“Then just watch quietly.”

“Are we on the same side?”

“Oh. Right. On the same side.”

The zombie horde, numbering in the tens of thousands, was part of the zombie horde that the doctor had been taming for the past ten years.

* * *

Same time, somewhere in the city center.

The atmosphere inside was so heavy that it was almost suffocating.

The executives and a man sitting among them.

He pushed up his glasses and spoke with a stern face.

“… Am I overestimating you guys?”

The three executives couldn’t bring themselves to answer.

I didn’t know what would happen if I said something useless.

He may seem gentle on the outside, but once he fell out of favor, that was the end of him.

“We have been preparing for this day for nearly ten years. But does it make sense that the outpost will collapse and the executives of the organization will die because we failed to properly manage people?”

“Because each and every one of them is so outstanding… … I’m sorry.”

“We spent so much time training a spy, and we didn’t expect him to turn away so easily. Why did it have to be that guy… …”

“There are so many unexpected things. Like the sudden appearance of a horde of zombies. It’s all my fault. I should have known in advance… … .”

The man who heard the story nodded slowly.

“I didn’t know, I’m sorry, I’m not good enough. Aren’t these all excuses? So you’re saying that you have no plan and that you’re just going to talk about things that I already know. I don’t think you have any reason to be here.”

At those words, the faces of the three people turned pale.

There are many reasons why they are afraid of men, but the most frightening of all is the sense of crisis that they could be pushed out at any time.

“As I always say, I don’t need anyone to replace me. I’ll give you one last chance, Mr. Choi?”

The old man who had met with finances turned his head.

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Let’s start in Seoul in two days, when the full moon arrives.”

“All right.”

“You two, contact the forces you are managing and tell them to gather every last one of you and prepare for an all-out war.”

“…All-out war?”

The man got up from his seat and approached the map on the wall.

“It may seem to the enemy that we are retreating, but if we advance from multiple directions simultaneously, they will be surrounded. The first battleground will be the safe zone in the mountains and rivers.”

A long baton touched the safety zone circled in red on the mountain.

“If we poison Seoul, the enemy will send some of their troops to Seoul to recover. If our internal spies respond at that time, the situation will change in an instant. We will occupy this place in the shortest possible time and attack Seoul without any preparation. And… … .”

A dark murderous look appeared in the eyes of the man who lowered the baton.

“There are no prisoners in this all-out war. Kill them all.”

His identity is revealed as he slowly pushes up his glasses.

He was none other than Ken Yuk-seong.

* * *

A time of rapid change.

The finances that had destroyed the stronghold were staying in the safe zone below.

There was a good reason why he, who by now would have been leading his party on the front lines, was still in the rear.

It was because of his own wife, Anna.

“I said no.”

“why?”

Anna glared at Jaegye, who kept repeating the same thing.

Jae-jae, who had been avoiding eye contact, stood up and stirred his coffee.

“Sit down. Where are you going?”

“My back hurts because I sat all day… … .”

“I told you to sit down.”

Finance sat back down in his chair, licking his lips.

“No, Anna. Let me think about it. If I just do whatever I want, it won’t work out… .”

“property?”

“You have to think about the kids. This is war. We’re not as hot-blooded as we used to be, and I’m in command, so why do you insist on going out yourself?”

“I’m doing this because I think of the kids. I don’t want to be an embarrassing mother.”

Jae-jae put down his coffee cup and walked around the table to the sofa.

Then he sat down next to his wife and gently wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

“Enough is enough. So listen to me this time.”

“Everyone is fighting for their lives. How can I be the only one to fall behind? Oppa, that’s an abuse of power. Do you understand? What do you think people will think of me?”

“What do you think? I think it’s pretty.”

“Oh, really… … .”

The two had been bickering over the same issue for several days.

Anna has to go to the front lines, finances won’t allow it.

Of course, Anna’s temperament, which I have seen over the years, would never back down, but finances were in a different position than back then.

As a leader, there is no need to be caught up in personal feelings.

But if you look at it objectively, Anna was also one of the residents of the safe zone that he had to protect.

Even if it weren’t for her, I probably wouldn’t have allowed it in the same way.

From a financial standpoint, there was no reason to back down given such a good excuse.

“I said it wouldn’t work even if it was someone else. Before you were my wife, you were my children’s mother, and you were one of the people I had to protect.”

“Am I talking about that now? Yeah, that’s good. My husband is not an ordinary person. Even if everyone else backs off, I shouldn’t be like this. I should go crazy and run wild. And this is all my help, oppa.”

“And what if something goes wrong with you?”

“If I was going to die dealing with those things, I would have died already.”

Instead of answering, Jae-jae caressed the area above Anna’s right breast.

“… Have you already forgotten?”

“This is… … .”

Anna tried to say something, then let out a deep sigh.

In the past, Anna had made great contributions in the war against the soldiers.

He participated in almost every battle and was known as a grim reaper who only targeted enemy commanders.

But becoming famous means you’ll also be noticed by your enemies.

In particular, the large bow Anna carried around was bound to fly wherever she went.

As a result, Anna suffered two gunshot wounds to one side of her chest and was bedridden for a whole month.

“You don’t know how long I regretted it when you were lying there. Yeah. It’s okay what people say. People were muttering about how they could let their wife get to that point, but they don’t really know what they’re talking about. But even apart from that, it was a hellish time for me.”

“… … .”

“Honey, I want you to listen to me this time. Think about the kids. They can live without their dad, but they can’t live without their mom.”

“Then let me stay here.”

“No. Let’s go back to Seoul.”

“Brother. I don’t even know what’s going on right now. I understand that you want to protect them, but this isn’t right. If you’re going to send them back, send Gaon and Seonwoo back first. They’ve already done enough.”

“I want to do that too… … . The kids are all grown up now. It’s past the time for them to listen to me.”

“Look at their condition. Look at the life they’ve lived. How is that the life of a nineteen-year-old? Nineteen is the time when your heart flutters just by looking at the buds on the trees in spring.”

Finance sighed and nodded.

“I know, I know. But Anna. Times have changed now. I also wanted those children to grow up to be the children I knew in the old world. So I tried my best, but I couldn’t finish it. The war is still going on.”

“so?”

“The next generation will be led by kids like Gaon and Seonwoo. Why? So that they can achieve what we couldn’t. Then the next generation won’t grow up like you. They’ll be able to grow up with hearts fluttering like flower buds, just like you said.”

“ha…….”

Anna couldn’t refute and just looked away.

Words couldn’t overcome finances.

If I were to just throw a tantrum, every word of what I said was correct.

“I just wanted to protect the kids. Every time they got covered in blood, it felt like I was away… … .”

“I understand. I was like that too. But when we met and talked, we realized that we were worrying too much. They were too big to just protect and say they were precious. Whether they fight and die or whatever happens, that’s their responsibility too. All we can do is quietly watch and support them. Help them from a place they can’t see so they don’t get hurt or die. Can you do that? You have to understand me.”

Anna lowered her head as she recalled Gaon and Seonwoo’s faces.

From one to ten, the more I thought about them, the more heartbreaking and sad they were.

“Honey, it’s the end. They’ve been pushed back as far as they can go, and no matter how much they run, they’re still being exposed. Soon they’ll do everything they can to turn the situation around. All we have to do is stop them. If we can stop them, this war will end.”

“… Will that happen? How many more people will die? I don’t want to feel guilty anymore.”

“You don’t have to feel guilty, Anna. We can’t save everyone. Trust me. I won’t repeat the mistakes I made at the Anonymous Church again.”

“…Please win, please.”

Finance quietly wrapped his arms around Anna’s slumped shoulders.

Infected people