Infected - Chapter 65



Only Noblemtl

Episode 64

“Brother! No!”

“Please think again.”

“Why on earth… We’ll go!”

The big guys stamped their feet without being able to touch the body.

But there was no change in Beomsik’s face.

The foreman smiled strangely.

“Okay. Then who will wait near the bridge with the soldiers?”

People are really strange.

I don’t know if it’s mob psychology or what, but when someone actively steps forward, supporters appear from all over as if they had made a promise.

I couldn’t tell if it was because his hesitant heart had been ignited, or if he was just a person who liked to take the initiative, or if he was just impatient and wanted a quick decision.

There could be other reasons too.

“I’ll go!”

It was not far from Beomsik.

A man who looked to be in his late 30s waved his hand loudly.

Until then, he had been quiet, but then suddenly he wanted to go and he reacted like a person who had gone crazy.

“Blue clothes! Okay!”

The man in blue squatted down in front of his young daughter, level with her.

The child cried and begged not to go, but the man had to persuade the child.

It’s important to protect others, but in this world…

It might have been more important to lead by example.

That’s what education is.

“Let’s go like this, the two of you. Well, let me say this again, I can go instead, but please understand that I can’t do whatever I want. Since time is running out, just follow the instructions and move well, and do the work as I’ve said repeatedly for the past few days. When heavy equipment moves, don’t go near it and just stay in your own place. Let’s use this as an opportunity to quickly live like humans in a nice house.”

As the foreman stepped down from the table, people began to move busily to find their groups.

After tearing down the outer wall, the workers decided to clean up the remaining debris.

I had to watch over the process of heavy equipment tearing down the outer wall and loading it onto a truck, and I had to manually remove any debris that might cause problems in the area where the new wall was to be built.

It was my job to take care of the details that the equipment couldn’t handle.

So, in order to avoid being confused, we formed groups, and each group consisted of ten people, and we had to move in unison under the group leader’s instructions.

Even in a harsh environment, the expansion plan was more meticulously planned than expected.

The team leader reported to the doctor every day about the plans and matters decided upon.

If this goes well… … .

The foreman seeped into the ranks.

It was about approaching Beomsik.

“Brother, are you really going?”

Hyunsoo asked with a slightly surprised look on his face.

“Yeah, I told you I was going.”

“It seems dangerous.”

“If you keep thinking about all that, you won’t be able to accomplish anything.”

Beomsik answered absentmindedly, wiping the dust off his hands.

Then his younger siblings tried to dissuade him again.

“We will go, brother. Could you please reconsider?”

“Then you should have said you were going from the beginning.”

“that…….”

The younger brothers were speechless.

They also knew Beomsik’s personality.

He is not the type of person who likes to step forward, but when it comes to taking responsibility, he is the type of person who does not care about the consequences.

And I absolutely hated going back on my decision once I had made it.

He was a person who thought and acted sufficiently.

Talk less, think more.

The big guys bowed their heads and stepped back.

Because rather than hanging on here any longer, it might be better to go out and fight the infected.

To them, the law itself was the law.

At that moment, the foreman approached.

“Can you go?”

“Do you think you can’t do it?”

Perhaps because we had a common interest the other day, we were able to talk more comfortably.

The foreman looked at the big guys and said.

“That’s not it, but honestly… you could die. It’s that dangerous. You said you knew what you were doing, right? And if you mess up, I don’t think those guys will leave me alone.”

“Is there a problem?”

“… None, brother.”

When Beomsik asked with a sidelong glance, the big guys all bent down.

“Okay?”

“It’s simple. The work is just as simple. You see, there’s nothing else. All you have to do is run. There’s nothing difficult, right?”

Nod.

That was the end of the conversation.

* * *

The flare exploded in the sky on the opposite side of the safe zone.

A red light rose through the fog, accompanied by a loud, eye-catching sound.

If it had been a dark night, the area would have been brightly lit, but it was broad daylight and the sun was out, so there was no such effect.

Although the flare didn’t make much noise, it was enough to attract the attention of the hearing-sensitive infected.

The sound of a flare exploding somewhere in the thick fog would gather all the infected people in Yeouido.

Beomsik pricked up his ears.

This is because immediately after the flare exploded, a tremendous cheer was heard from beyond the outer wall.

Judging from the sound alone, there were at least several thousand people.

I turned my head.

Next to it, heavy equipment and large construction equipment were lined up.

The tension was evident on the faces of those sitting in the cockpit.

Now it was time to tear down the wall.

The soldiers in the company behind them were equally nervous.

If there were any units left, there was a high probability that all plans would go down the drain.

Because once the number of enemies exceeds the number that can be resolved through close combat, shooting becomes inevitable.

If you shoot a gun… … .

The ones who left are coming back.

Then we can’t do anything and have to close the outer wall.

In that case, it is not even certain whether the outer wall can be safely closed.

In an urgent situation, elaborate construction would not have been possible, and the infected would have surged in like waves, breaking through the gaps in the outer walls being constructed and leaving the safe zone in ruins.

The entire unit would run out and start shooting, and the gunfire would cause more infected to rush in.

So shooting was the last resort.

The eyes of the workers standing around the outer wall sparkled.

It had to be that way.

The structure of the safe zone was what made them that way.

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for those living in the marginalized zone, the lowest of the low.

This was because only by steadily expanding the safe zone this time could they secure their own places of residence in the future.

If you fail here, you’ll have to go back to the tent again.

Giving up hygiene is no different from giving up human life.

I couldn’t stand it any longer.

Beomsik clenched his teeth.

I came in midway, but the time in between was hellishly long.

I felt like I wouldn’t be able to live in my right mind if I continued to live in this kind of environment.

The same was true for the younger siblings standing next to me.

Seeing such a serious expression on his face made me realize once again how important this issue is.

This wasn’t a fight between people.

Even if you make a mistake, there is no room for survival, and there is no humanity waiting for you, such as forgiveness, tolerance, or preferential treatment.

If you fail… there is only death.

As I was going to get the liner, I felt a child staring at me.

It was the daughter of the man in blue who volunteered earlier.

The way he looked at Beomsik was quite complicated for a child, so I had no time to understand it.

Now it was really time to get going.

The area was plunged into silence, and everyone looked up at the rooftops of the production area apartments.

The fog was thick, but it wasn’t so thick that I couldn’t see anything because it wasn’t that far away.

After some time had passed, a flag was raised and began to flutter from side to side.

It seemed like they were all chasing the flare.

Unlike below, the high floors provided a clear view of the entire area, so the lines of infected people moving like snakes could be seen here and there.

Boohoo! Crunch! Boom! Boom!

The construction machines moved forward simultaneously, emitting smoke.

As the entire outer wall, which seemed to have been glued together, was torn off, a thick, smoky dust thicker than fog covered the area.

Soon, a line of trucks appeared, lined up to load the outer walls.

The smoky dust rises once again.

Anna, Hyunsoo, and all the workers stared at it.

After a while.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Beomsik, wearing a dusty T-shirt, emerged from the dust with the sound of wheels rolling on the floor.

A company-sized force followed behind Beomsik, who was running while dragging a liner, forming a line and following him.

Thick fog that makes it difficult to see more than a few dozen meters ahead.

When Beomsik arrives at his final destination with his liner in tow, heavy equipment and construction machines will arrive to build the outer wall along the white lines drawn on the wall.

Knock knock! Knock knock!

The area was filled with the sound of the liner’s wheels rolling and the sound of military boots running along with the wheels.

At each section, workers flocked in like citizens watching a marathon.

Beomsik was out of breath.

But I was more distracted by the gazes than by the rising breath.

Strange faces, a mixture of curiosity, anticipation, and worry, turned toward him.

Originally, I wasn’t the type to be outgoing.

But someone had to run with the liner.

Because construction machines cannot work in the fog by adjusting their angles individually.

But no one volunteered.

The operation had to be carried out as quickly as possible after the infected disappeared.

So I set out.

My younger siblings tried to stop me, but I didn’t care.

The foreman said he could die.

It was okay.

Because I’m not afraid of dying.

I just thought that if no one did it, then the frustrated person would have no choice but to step forward.

But the look in their eyes now.

I wasn’t used to it at all.

It was different from the longing gazes my younger siblings had.

Their expectations and hopes followed them, hanging on their two legs.

It was a feeling I felt for the first time.

‘I have to do it.’

For some reason, the thought that I had to meet their expectations dominated my mind.

‘Okay, let’s run. Until the end.’

Every time I exhaled, spittle flew out and it felt like my sides were going to burst.

‘Damn, is Yeouido this big? I used to be proud that I had the stamina to compete with anyone.’

At some point, people disappeared from sight.

I started from the riverside where the kindergarten was visible and had to run all the way to the entrance of the bridge.

If you don’t see any more people, you’ve reached the area around the school.

A little further on you will reach the station, and from there, if you run one more block you will reach Daegyo Bridge.

Beomsik, who was running along the river, looked up to the left.

There was a row of hills and steps, and the slope became steeper and steeper as I went up.

Beyond that, apartment complexes lined the street.

Tall buildings were also visible.

‘If only I could secure that area… … .’

I looked back.

Was it because I ran too fast?

There were no soldiers in sight.

Looking ahead again, the fog is even thicker.

It was clear that we had reached the bridge.

But why hasn’t the person who was supposed to be holding the flag at the destination been seen yet?

How much longer do I have to run to get there?

at that time.

A human figure appeared out of the fog.

I was so happy that I could barely muster the strength to stand on my two legs that were about to collapse.

At the same time, the sound of a truck engine could be heard from far away.

They would be trucks carrying the outer walls.

But it was strange.

There was not one person.

Two, three, four, five!

The shape continued to grow.

They were running.

Infected people.

Beomsik came to a sudden stop, skidding on the dirt floor like a car coming to a sudden stop.

Then, the infected appeared through the fog and opened their mouths wide and attacked us.

Looking at their faces, they were the men holding flags and the soldiers who had set out first.

‘no way……!’

As expected, there was a man in blue holding a flag among them.

That’s why there was no news.

Behind them, the entrance to the bridge was vaguely visible.

‘Fuck, we’re all here.’

Beomsik thought of his daughter as he watched the man in blue approaching him with drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.

The sight of them crouching down affectionately and looking into each other’s eyes.

And the child who was crying.

What on earth was the child’s father thinking, having to die such a miserable death in this place?

If you had thought about your daughter who would be left alone, from the beginning… … .

no.

This was not a matter for others to judge.

I looked back again.

It wasn’t to the point where I couldn’t move, but I didn’t have enough strength to turn around and run.

Is this the end?

Where did all the soldiers who followed go?

‘No. I can’t die like this.’

I put the liner down and looked around.

The park was littered with fallen branches and rocks.

I looked at the infected people running towards me, holding them one by one in their hands.

Five people.

Honestly, it wasn’t hard to defeat five of them, but the problem was that they didn’t feel pain and it was impossible to finish them off unless you killed them by attacking their head.

But I had to do it.

Otherwise, die.

Anyway, I’ve lived a life where I’ve tasted sweet, bitter, and shit.

Would a man who has been rolling around in the mud avoid blood?

Suddenly, I remembered the first time I exchanged punches with someone.

It was difficult, scary, and painful when I was young.

But I survived and adapted to the end.

The pain and feelings from that time were faint, but the memories were still vivid.

This time it was the same.

It was so dangerous it was next to impossible.

Still, I will survive till the end.

We will overcome, survive, and adapt.

Whoever the opponent is.

Beomsik stood there blankly, holding a branch and a stone.

Then I prepared myself mentally by looking at the order in which the men were running.

Infected people