Chapter 71

42. Paradise (4)

Click.

Everything comes with a price.

I felt that the era of fighting for grand causes and the fate of the world had long passed, but if the trajectory intersects with my survival, perhaps it is for the grand cause.

I checked my weapon and verified the trap.

I removed the other items to make it identical to the trap and dug a death trap in my bunker.

I must prepare for battle.

It's not that I intend to use my stronghold as a defensive position.

It's obvious that if I can't drive away the group, likely part of the Legion, that the incoming National Assembly forces will target me.

Then, I won't be able to deceive them with mere words.

They will likely push me harshly, search everything, and perhaps even torture me.

While painting the stairs leading down to the main bunker, Ji-Young-hee came to find me.

I moved to the camouflage house to greet her.

"The blood test results are in. I tried to contact you over the radio, but there was no response."

"I suddenly didn't feel well."

"Maybe a cold?"

"It feels similar."

"You should get better soon. Oh, by the way, is Hunter Park still staying there? It's a bit concerning to see someone as capable as Hunter Park living in seclusion like this."

"I'm fine. Actually, my knees are bad. I can't walk much."

I lied effortlessly while observing her face.

Her face remained as official and mechanical as ever.

Beautiful, but somehow lacking in human warmth, like a doll.

Perhaps the human touch that once subtly blamed her father has been diluted.

Even if she hasn't suffered, this is a change the war has left in her.

Ji-Young-hee looked at me from the shadows and said, "Are you interested in the Legion?"

"No. I have no interest in any group. I'm tired, I guess. Organizational life doesn't suit me."

"I see. I'm going to check it out."

She handed me the blood test results.

The results were normal.

Rebecca and Su were both fine.

However, Rebecca's liver function was poor, so she included a bottle of pills to improve it, with instructions to take one daily after meals.

Shortly after, vehicles, including trailers and trucks, left the site.

The large vehicles were gone, but workers were busy repairing the runway and technicians were fixing the plane.

Despite the many people, my eyes were drawn to the white plane, absurdly beautiful in this terrible world.

Now with two wings, it seemed ready to take off gracefully at any moment.

I thought to myself,

If I could board that plane, where would I go?

It was a question I had discussed with Park Cheol-ju.

Perhaps India would be good.

They say the rift has closed there.

But if I go, I'll be a foreigner.

A caste system, as brutal as any monster, divides people by rank.

Would I be treated like a talking monkey just because I look different?

What about the Ogasawara Islands?

I had no particular interest, but President Park Cheol-ju's words piqued my curiosity.

But even there, the situation wouldn't be much different.

I can't speak Japanese, so I'd still be a foreigner.

Is there a place for me, a foreigner even in Korea?

Staring at the fortified bunker, I noticed a laptop tucked away in a corner and opened it.

<Viva! Apocalypse! Korean Board>

I looked at the trivial posts appearing.

"Hmm."

Yes, here.

This is my paradise.

Let's just say that.

Thinking too deeply will only lead to madness.

*

The radio crackled early in the morning.

"This is Colonel Jo Sung-yong of the 21st Pioneer Corps. Can you hear me? This is Colonel Jo Sung-yong of the 21st Pioneer Corps. The area you are occupying without permission is land granted to our corps. All rights except for the use, benefit, and disposal of the land belong to us. Once again..."

I quickly washed my face and checked the situation outside.

"Damn."

The arrival of such disappointing reinforcements was enough to make me swear.

The Pioneer Corps.

Woo Min-hee, do you have any plans?

Sending such trash when they assumed the opponent was the Legion.

The core of the Legion isn't equipment.

The seasoned soldiers who have seen it all are their heart.

The bodyguards I witnessed, supposedly working for Park Cheol-ju, were all experienced soldiers with real combat experience.

They were likely more than just bodyguards.

They are the Legion.

Everyone, including Kim Pil-sung, is part of the Legion.

How could a ruined tycoon keep such formidable bodyguards?

Was he just pretending to be crazy?

Various thoughts raced through my mind as I observed the situation.

Colonel Jo Sung-yong brought about ten vehicles, including an armored car.

"We are about to begin the search. Your cooperation is requested."

The Pioneer Corps members, wearing armbands, approached the U.S. military base.

Bang!

A sharp gunshot rang out.

A piercing scream echoed.

"Aaaaaah!"

A scream of agony, high and drawn out.

"Aaaaaah!!"

It was so high and long that it was chilling.

Perhaps the shooter was trying to elicit this scream.

I climbed the hill.

Sure enough, a man was lying on the ground, screaming in terror. The ground was soaked with blood.

"Get lost."

Kim Pil-sung's voice came over the radio.

"I'll just take off with the plane. Why are you causing such a fuss? It's no fun."

The K-walkie-talkie kept ringing while workers at the airport were loading a heavy nuclear warhead into the plane.

The warhead was equipped with electronic devices that looked like detonators, which were not there before.

Technicians seemed to be explaining something to a pilot.

Watching their busy yet organized response, it felt like the assumptions I made with Woo Min-hee were becoming more concrete.

"These people~. They don't understand. Since you refused to vacate, we will use force."

Colonel Jo Sung-yong's voice came over the radio.

What gave him the confidence to say such things?

Soon, his confidence was revealed.

Whirr—

A helicopter.

A combat helicopter was flying this way.

"Can you see it? Can you see it? Shitheads? You're all dead!"

Colonel Jo Sung-yong laughed with his subordinates.

Indeed, a combat helicopter is a death angel against small-scale combatants.

Fast, strong, and deadly.

But before it could even reach the site, a sharp roar came from the eastern sky.

"Oh."

A sigh, likely from the Pioneer Corps, came over the radio.

It was an anti-aircraft missile.

The missile flew straight toward the helicopter, which tried to evade but was hit by the supersonic missile and exploded in mid-air.

"Is the force over?"

Kim Pil-sung's taunt echoed before the debris even hit the ground.

This confirmed it.

There was already a 99% chance, but now it's 100%.

They are the Legion.

A single army.

They likely had radar networks set up in all directions and launched anti-aircraft missiles from several kilometers away as soon as the helicopter appeared.

Perhaps they even had combat aircraft deployed in the sky we couldn't see.

That's what an army is.

The most powerful violence humans can wield.

To face such an army, you need an army.

A simple truth, but Woo Min-hee didn't do it.

What's clear is that my fate is now precarious.

"Hunter Park~ Hunter Park~."

Kim Pil-sung is calling me.

He suspects me.

It's a warning.

Or perhaps, it's evidence that he has the leisure to look for me in this situation.

Sure enough.

Rumble— Rumble— Rumble—

A ominous sound, like a ghost wailing, came from the sky.

I immediately ran into the bunker to prepare for the chaos to come.

Boom! Boom! Bang!

Boom!

Long-range artillery.

155mm shells hit the Pioneer Corps' camp with precision.

Almost nothing can stand against the firepower of artillery.

Even monsters melt, let alone humans.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

Those who survived the chaos tried to flee, but the shell impact area was calculated to chase them as they retreated.

Only two of the ten vehicles managed to escape.

The rest were left as countless shell holes, black ash, and unrecognizable remains.

"Those little bastards got cocky."

Kim Pil-sung composed his voice.

"Park Gyu. Are you there? Can we talk for a moment?"

I didn't answer.

There was no need.

Answering would only reveal my presence.

I, Park Gyu, have left this place.

I escaped this area silently.

A few drones flew into the sky.

They carefully scanned the area around my camouflage house.

"Park Gyu. If you can hear me, come out. You might have been a snitch. I can forgive you. Just take one punch? Yeah? I'm not going to kill you. Why would I kill a professor?"

"..."

"Come to us. Join the Legion. We can be treated well in the Legion. There are Awakened here, but they don't hunt monsters. We have work to do. You might not understand, but that's how the world is. Who knew so many North Koreans would come over?"

Kim Pil-sung kept talking.

I just listened.

I will just listen.

Until this storm passes.

Soldiers soon appeared in my area.

They searched the camouflage house nervously.

The sound of breaking objects and kicking the container walls echoed.

"Be careful. There might be traps around here."

Kim Pil-sung's voice came from the listening device.

He's close.

My former comrade, who fought with cold weapons, is looking for me nearby.

There are no traps except for the bombs in the dummy bunker.

At least, nothing that looks like a trap.

There are subtle tricks, like adjusting angles and slopes to break ankles or creating optical illusions with dense shrubs and grass to misstep, but no artificial traps.

The greatest defense of my area is its secrecy.

The death traps are inside the bunker.

I checked the tripwire of the Claymore and verified the connection to the remote detonator.

Beep— Beep—

The motion sensors flashed continuously.

North, south, east, and west. All around.

"Nothing here."

"We looked for vents, but there are none."

"There are no signs of survivors in the sewers either."

The listening device relayed their conversation to me.

Soon, Kim Pil-sung's voice came.

"Drones?"

"We haven't found them yet."

"He's likely hiding in the bushes. Assuming he's on foot, search the area intensively. He can't have gone far."

Right after his voice, the radio crackled.

"Park Gyu. Is that Kim Da-ram?"

"..."

"That arrogant girl who was even a committee member. Oh, now she's a colonel?"

"..."

"She ordered it. She planned it. She bought nukes from the Chinese to wipe out those bastards who used and discarded us."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Is it just a feeling?

Bad assumptions and imaginations always come true.

The face of my junior, who was amazed at my toilet in the bunker, flashed before my eyes.

Why did she make that choice?

Was there no other way?

Would she have made the same choice even if my toilet was elsewhere?

I don't know.

She said I looked young.

I'm not so naive as to not understand the bone-deep mockery.

She must have seen me as a young man who had only aged, fleeing the battlefield and living comfortably in a bunker.

Now, it's different.

I've never seen my junior look so young.

Kim Pil-sung's sharp voice came from the listening device.

"Connect me to Kim Da-ram. What? She's busy? Stop bullshitting and say Park Gyu called. Connect me now!"

After a moment of silence, the radio crackled again.

"Hey. Park Gyu."

"..."

"Are you here? Yeah?"

"..."

"Kim Da-ram said you built a bunker here. Want to play hide and seek?"

I exhaled the last breath in my lungs and opened my eyes.

And I said,

"..."

"I'm here."

One of the Hunter principles instilled by Jang Gi-yeong flashed before my eyes.

"Come and kill me."

Be indifferent to death.

I will say it differently.

I won't die disgracefully.

I won't be caught like a pig and slaughtered.

I will wound and