Chapter 47
Upon hearing the shocking words from the female survivor, Jung Dong-gun halted further advance.
The vanguard, having stopped, immediately contacted Yuna back at the cult headquarters to request support.
“Let’s make this intersection the forward base for the expedition team. Moving forward any further… it’s beyond our current capacity.”
“I agree, Captain.”
Declaring that they would establish the buildings around the intersection as the forward base for the expedition team’s advance, they rescued the nearby survivors.
After rescuing the survivors who were all left in a weakened state, they arranged for the survivors to rest comfortably in the troop transport buses that had just carried Jung Dong-gun and his troops.
As one transport bus was not enough to accommodate all the survivors, they first boarded the severely injured survivors, and provided tents for the remaining survivors to rest in.
“We have an emergency medical kit with us, so we will administer first aid to you all. Once the transport vehicles arrive, you will be able to receive full treatment at the hospital.”
“Th-Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Then, taking out the medical supplies they had stored in the bus, they began treating the survivors one by one.
For the survivors who had lacked any medical supplies, the medical kit provided by Jung Dong-gun felt like a gift from heaven.
Survivors, who had suffered pain due to the lack of even a single painkiller, received emergency treatment with the medical kit, and their complexion gradually began to improve.
In the case of patients with serious conditions, the only option was to reduce their pain slightly with painkillers, but for those, Jung Dong-gun reassured them personally, promising to arrange immediate hospital transport.
“By the way, are you… the leader of this camp?”
“Yes. My name is Son Sang-hui.”
Only now was he able to have an honest conversation with the leader of the survivor camp that had been living at the intersection, though in truth, it wasn’t necessary.
The female survivor he had first encountered was actually the leader of the intersection survivor camp, and now, having received emergency treatment with the medical kit from Jung Dong-gun, she was speaking to him in a calmer manner.
‘She’s younger than I thought. But then again, considering Lady Yuna, age doesn’t seem to matter for the awakened.’
Seeing her in the dark building with her worn-out appearance, he hadn’t realized, but Son Sang-hui, the leader of the survivors, was younger than expected.
Though she looked to be barely an adult, Jung Dong-gun pondered briefly. But thinking of Yuna, whom he served, who was also not yet an adult, he acknowledged that age held little importance for the awakened.
“Sang-hui, is it safe to assume that all other camps besides yours have been destroyed?”
“I’m not sure. Pohang is vast. As long as we avoid that alien… no, that mutant spider zombie, it’s certainly possible to survive. Especially the Marines or fishermen by the port would have a much easier time if they could escape to the sea by boat.”
“So, there are still survivors within Pohang. I’ll take it that way.”
“If you search carefully around the Pohang Airport area, there should still be many small camps left. After all, we’re still alive too.”
Jung Dong-gun asked about the survival of other survivors within Pohang, and Sang-hui responded that she wasn’t sure.
However, she stated that Pohang was very large and that survival was certainly possible if they could avoid the newly emerged mutant zombies.
And when she mentioned that those stationed by the sea could escape by boat, Jung Dong-gun confirmed that there were potential collaborators within Pohang.
For the retaking of Pohang, if he could gain the cooperation of these survivors, Jung Dong-gun believed the mission could become much easier.
“So, the Navy has survived as well.”
“Yes. Although there are fewer Marines now, they’re still intact. During more stable times, they took civilians out to sea on boats.”
Sang-hui mentioned the survival of the Navy stationed in Pohang.
Hearing this, Sang-hui noted that while many Marines had perished, the military itself was intact and that they were currently focused on rescuing civilians and taking them out to sea.
Seeing that the military forces were still largely intact, Jung Dong-gun showed a relieved expression.
“At least, there hasn’t been a countercharge.”
“Countercharge?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Thinking to himself that it was fortunate they hadn’t resorted to the infamous Marine tactic, he was relieved.
Although it was unfortunate that the Navy hadn’t managed to reclaim Pohang, he judged them as a viable ally since they were focused on rescuing civilians and striving to reclaim Pohang.
For now, the Navy base in Pohang was still fulfilling its military duty.
“In any case, we plan to use this place as a forward base to strike Pohang. Would you be willing to help us?”
“You saved us, so of course, we would cooperate with you, Captain. But… I wonder if we could be of any help?”
Having assessed the situation in Pohang, Jung Dong-gun requested Sang-hui’s cooperation.
To reclaim Pohang, collaboration with local residents was essential, and as it stood, Sang-hui was the only local he could ally with.
Naturally, Sang-hui, feeling deep gratitude for having been saved, promised to cooperate but looked doubtful about her potential usefulness.
“You could be of great help. This is our first time in Pohang. While we can view satellite photos of Pohang as much as we want through Starlink, we know nothing about the nature of survivor camps here or which survivors might be willing to cooperate. If you have survived in Pohang until now, you must be familiar with them.”
“Yes, yes! I know them well.”
In fact, they could indeed be of great help.
While they could view satellite images of Pohang through Starlink or an app, they knew nothing about the nature of the many survivor camps within Pohang.
They couldn’t entirely trust posts from internet communities, and to truly understand these internal circumstances, they required the help of local collaborators like Sang-hui, who had firsthand experience within Pohang.
With her assistance, they could reach out to survivor camps willing to cooperate and prepare for the reclamation of Pohang.
Listening to Jung Dong-gun’s sincere explanation, Sang-hui gazed at him with a deeply trusting expression, her cheeks flushed.
“That’s the best help we could ask for. First, we’ll send those in urgent need of medical attention directly to the hospital in Gyeongju on the transport vehicles.”
“Gyeongju… Gyeongju… isn’t that where that cult is?”
“Ahem!”
However, Jung Dong-gun’s slip of the tongue almost shattered their cooperation in an instant.
Out of habit, Jung Dong-gun had mentioned Gyeongju, and at his words, Sang-hui murmured ‘Gyeongju’ to herself, then soon remarked on the cult – namely, the Balhut Cult.
Upon hearing this, the soldier beside him cleared his throat awkwardly, averting his gaze.
‘Damn it!’
Jung Dong-gun realized he had made a slip of the tongue.
Cursing inwardly, he wondered how he could get out of this situation.
‘Although her reaction is completely understandable, it’s still a bit sad.’
The soldiers watching understood Son Sang-hui’s sentiments.
In fact, before the apocalypse, mentioning a group like the Balhut Cult would immediately bring accusations of being a doomsday cult. This response would have been entirely normal back then.
“It’s alright. Gyeongju is now in a stable state. I assure you, there is nothing for you to worry about, Sang-hui.”
Jung Dong-gun tried to calm Sang-hui to remedy his own verbal blunder.
“But, but I read on community posts that a dangerous cult had wreaked havoc in Gyeongju, and that even North Gyeongju was suffering under the cult’s control.”
“That’s just propaganda and lies. All of it is false. The tyrant Do Josoon of North Gyeongju has been overthrown, and North Gyeongju has regained its freedom.”
“Is… is that so?”
He was being plagued by rumors spread by the remnants of Do Josoon’s faction, who slandered the cult.
After firmly stating that it was all lies, he added that there had been a tyrant in North Gyeongju, but they had overthrown him and regained their freedom.
However, seeing Sang-hui’s hesitant expression, Jung Dong-gun fell into momentary contemplation over what he should do next.
“Captain, Yoo Soo-sung has arrived.”
“Bring him here at once!”
Just then, Yoo Soo-sung arrived with the following group, and they called him over immediately.
Jung Dong-gun’s last resort to escape this delicate situation was Yoo Soo-sung’s timely arrival, and as he came to the temporary tent, he greeted him with a genuinely relieved smile.
“Yoo Soo-sung, you’re here.”
“Of course. How could I miss out on establishing a forward base? But why do you look so cheerful?”
Seeing Jung Dong-gun’s welcoming expression, Yoo Soo-sung looked at him suspiciously, as if wondering if he had eaten something strange.
However, to defuse this tense situation, Jung Dong-gun desperately signaled to Yoo Soo-sung in Morse code.
“And this person is…?”
“Well…”
It was hard to explain.
If he introduced Yoo Soo-sung to Sang-hui as an officer of the Balhut Cult, it would only raise more suspicion. Jung Dong-gun’s mind raced to come up with an explanation.
“…He’s the commander of the engineering corps.”
“Is… is that so?”
After much deliberation, he finally settled on introducing him as the commander of the engineering corps.
Sang-hui looked at Yoo Soo-sung, asking if it was true.
“Haha, as the one responsible for building this forward base, that would be me.”
Yoo Soo-sung, catching on quickly, played along.
Having noticed Jung Dong-gun’s desperate expression and intuitively sensing that he had made a mistake, Yoo Soo-sung took his cue from Jung Dong-gun’s silent Morse signals and played along accordingly.
“Let’s unload all the building materials from the truck, and use the buses that transported the workers to carry the severely injured.”
“Good idea. Once the buses that took the injured to the hospital return, we can use them to transport the workers back to Gyeongju.”
However, this was still the Pohang expedition.
With introductions out of the way, Yoo Soo-sung moved to the main topic, suggesting that the buses used to transport the workers could be repurposed to carry the survivors.
Since they couldn’t shelter survivors who couldn’t fight, Jung Dong-gun agreed with Yoo Soo-sung’s suggestion.
This forward base needed to only keep those who could fight, sending the injured and non-combatant survivors to the rear.
“And where is the rest of the expedition team?”
“They’re all assembled, with Lady Yuna leading them.”
“The plan is going smoothly, then.”
It appeared that the entire expedition team had been summoned and was now under the command of the Balhut Cult’s leader, Yuna.
Once the expedition team successfully arrived, it would mark the beginning of the operation to capture Pohang.
Relieved at Yoo Soo-sung’s update that everything was proceeding as planned, Jung Dong-gun thought about someone who would likely appear soon.
“That’s a relief. So, where’s Taehyun, who always follows behind us?”
“Right here, Captain Jung Dong-gun!”
“Haha. That guy really shows up everywhere.”
As expected, Kim Taehyun, who came to do business with the vanguard, had arrived.
Seeing him, Yoo Soo-sung chuckled wryly, remarking that Kim Taehyun’s face could be seen wherever they went, as he slowly stood up.
Jung Dong-gun, as part of the vanguard, had already fulfilled his duty by securing the site for the forward base, but now it was Yoo Soo-sung’s responsibility to prepare this base for the expedition team.
Since his work was just beginning, he didn’t have time for idle chatter, so he went outside to start working immediately.
And then…
“I’ll cover the cost, so please feed them.”
“Oh, absolutely, I’ll serve them for free.”
Jung Dong-gun opened his wallet to serve warm food to the survivors.
In response, Kim Taehyun cheerfully announced that he would serve the food at no charge.
“Come, everyone! We have hot fish cake soup and refreshing drinks. Eat as much as you like.”
“Wow!”
“If you ever go to Gyeongju, remember Kim Taehyun Company!”
He indeed began distributing food to the survivors for free.
Of course, Kim Taehyun’s actions weren’t purely out of goodwill; he was using this opportunity to promote his brand for self-gain.
But…
‘In these times, even that kind of kindness is needed.’
Knowing all too well that even such kindness was a luxury in this era, Jung Dong-gun had no intention of stopping Kim Taehyun.
If that kindness could save even one life, wasn’t it worth it?
“Um, excuse me… Is it really okay to give out supplies like this?”
Seeing Kim Taehyun distribute the supplies freely, Sang-hui cautiously asked if it was alright.
Her gaze implied concern about wasting so many resources, and at her look, Jung Dong-gun replied,
“That guy… he’s actually wealthy.”
He couldn’t help but call Kim Taehyun a wealthy man.
He had consistently sold supplies to the cult’s army, and with the IOUs he’d earned from the soldiers, he likely had the financial power to buy a building near the cult’s headquarters with ease.
“Wealthy? In this disaster, does wealth even matter?”
“Does it…? Maybe?”
Hearing the word “wealthy,” Sang-hui looked at Jung Dong-gun with an even more puzzled expression.
Facing her bewildered look, as if he were an alien creature, Jung Dong-gun avoided her gaze.
Well, in these times, what did wealth even mean?
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click here -> https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
Comment