Chapter 1 - Intimidation (1)

Three months ago, on a sunny Saturday.

That day, there was a forecast of low pollution levels in the air. As it had been some time since the last clear day like this, people gathered in small groups on the streets.

Boyeon couldn't care less what the weather looked like; she desperately needed a nap. It was the day after her first final exam in college. She dozed all day to make up for the sleep she lacked throughout the exam period.

Ding!

***

[URGENT - Emergency Disaster Notice]

(Ministry of Health and Welfare) A red fog has appeared centered around the Incheon Sea where the meteorites have landed. Infectious substances are spreading via air. Please refrain from going outside.

***

Boyeon woke up and read the message half-asleep.

'Red... fog?’

Natural phenomena like the red tide and watermelon snow in the Alps came to mind, but she couldn't figure out what they meant by "infectious."

Last night, news broke that dozens of meteorites would be falling over a long duration of time. When they enter the Earth's atmosphere, they generate enormous drag and heat, so unless they are particularly large, most of them are destroyed, and 70% of the surviving ones fall into the ocean, so very few people pay much mind to meteorites.

Ding!

Another message chimed.

***

[URGENT - Emergency Disaster Notice]

(Ministry of Health and Welfare) An infectious disease outbreak accompanied by abnormal symptoms such as bloodshot eyes, toothache, delirium, and excessive violence has occurred. Please limit contact with the outdoors as much as possible and stay home.

***

'What in the world is happening?'

BOOM!

An explosion sounded in the distance.

Boyeon ran out into the living room and locked eyes with a man standing on the other side of the wall. His ghastly eyes staring at her were completely bloodshot as if they were smeared with red ink. He was also drenched in blood, most notably from the corners of his mouth.

Bloodshot eyes. Infected person. Excessive violence. Infectious disease outbreak.

In her panic, those words flashed across her mind indiscriminately.

The infected quickly scaled the fence and rushed to the living room window, where he slammed his head against it, causing a torrent of red blood to flow forth.

BANG! BANG!

The sounds were so loud as if he couldn't feel the pain from his injuries. The window shattered from the brutal force of the blows.

"...!"

Boyeon, who was frozen in shock, quickly came to her senses and bolted. All she could think about was that she needed to hide somewhere safe. Clutching her cell phone tightly, she dashed into her study and locked the door. The man chased after her and hammered on the door. The force was so strong that the wooden door was gradually breaking apart.

"Quickly, quickly...."

With trembling hands, Boyeon pulled out a red book from the top of the bookcase and pressed a hidden button. The lock released and the bookshelf slid aside.

She was trying to unlock the door hidden in the space behind the bookcase.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

She tapped on the keypad and entered the password, her hands sweated profusely, her fingers slick. Boyeon's heart lurched with each bright, electronic chirp. The bookshelf rattled as the man finally broke through the door.

"KAAAH!"

The bookshelf shook from the man's strength. Books fell and holes were gouged in the wooden furniture. A blood-soaked hand reached out as if to snatch Boyeon at a moment's notice.

Boyeon barely managed to tumble into the door. She had almost no time to catch her breath before she had to scramble down the stairs, open another thick door, and slip into her shelter.

"..."

As silence fell, unable to hear anything except the pounding of her heart, she finally took a moment to breathe.

"Huck, ha... ugh! Hu... kgh!"

And with that, Boyeon's bunker life had begun.

---

In the basements of some city center homes, there were air-raid shelters built in preparation for past wars.

It was by chance that Boyeon's grandfather ended up purchasing one of them. This place, surrounded by 120cm of reinforced concrete, was discovered while the house was being rebuilt. It was a space he didn't even know existed, but her grandfather didn't want it to go to waste, so he spared no expense to equip it with state-of-the-art machinery.

Inside were solar power generation facilities, an enormous tank to draw underground water, air purification devices to filter out pollutants, a food storage unit enough to last for several years, and a variety of survival supplies.

Eventually, it became his hobby, but it was also a place for his children and grandchildren. Her grandfather once said he hoped this place would never be used. Opening the bunker meant that the safety of his loved ones would be in peril.

However, less than six months after her grandfather passed away, Boyeon ended up opening the underground bunker.

The thick concrete walls of the basement made it almost impossible to get a signal. After a while, Boyeon worked up the courage to open the thick door to the basement. After a series of twists and turns of trying various angles, she placed her cell phone in the cracks of the first-floor door leading to the outside and managed to get through to her aunt.

[Boyeon, your aunt and uncle will be there soon. Don't move. Stay inside. It's dangerous, so don't let anyone else in. Okay?]

Her aunt and uncle were heading this way to take refuge.

After her parents died in an accident, Boyeon lived with her grandfather. Her aunt and uncle often visited his house, even if there wasn't a special occasion. Everyone knew this house had a safe bunker.

"In the house, hic, an infected person, got in..."

[Don't worry, the adults will take care of it, just wait there. It's very dangerous outside! Don't come out! Never come out! You can't come out! You hear me... Aaaah! Honey!]

The phone call ended abruptly with an ominous scream.

"Auntie! Auntie!"

Boyeon desperately called for her aunt, but it was no use.

"..."

She was terrified that something had happened to her aunt, but she didn't want to immediately call her for fear that the urgency of the situation would cause her aunt harm. Boyeon sat there in a daze, clutching the disconnected phone. Only after a full day had passed did she cautiously send a message. There was no reply.

[The number you have been trying to reach is not available. Please leave a message after the tone.]

Her aunt and uncle's phones were turned off. She couldn't reach her cousins either. Even though none of them live far away, several days passed with no contact.

Boyeon understood that something must have happened, but she refused to think about it. She sank into a deep slumber as if entering hibernation.

Time passed in a blur for Boyeon, who was left alone in the underground bunker.

***

A red mist has swept across the world, followed by an unknown pandemic. Dozens of meteorites are believed to be the culprit, each falling near densely populated cities around the world, causing the outbreak to spread rapidly. Those infected have ceased cardiopulmonary function and are medically declared dead...

***

She was able to use the internet for the first few days.

***

This disease is characterized by changes in the oral cavity. Originally, human canines degenerated with the development of civilization. The discovery of fire and the advancements in cooking led to the creation of softer foods, reducing the masticatory role of the fangs in tearing food into small pieces. When infected with the new plague, the fangs become sharp and elongated, and venom glands containing infectious substances appear at the roots of the teeth. Additionally, the infected's bite force undergoes a significant increase in strength. The good news is that transmission of the disease occurs solely through these fangs and venom glands. We are safe from contact and airborne infections...

***

A specialist came out and explained the characteristics and contagiousness of the new pandemic.

***

It seems that infected people are being called ‘zombies’ on the Internet because of their ability to reanimate, move, and bite. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's investigation, a large number of people with immunity to ZB0, a microorganism presumed to be an infectious agent, were discovered. Through global collaborative research… 

***

Microorganism? Does this mean that microorganisms were discovered in the meteorites? If it were a pathogen like a virus or bacteria, they would have chosen a more definitive word. The ambiguity gave a strange nuance.

***

In the case of nuclear power plants, which many people are concerned about, they have been built strong enough to withstand wartime. When an earthquake occurs, it is safer to evacuate to a nuclear power plant. In addition, our military has successfully established a defense line that extends to parts of Gangwon-do and southern Chungcheong-do, completing the blockade of the nuclear power plants. If you trust our military and wait just a little longer, we will be able to...

***

If all the people managing the nuclear power plant turned into zombies, a disaster would inevitably occur where the coolant could not be replenished, and the reactor would melt down. The military devoted most of its forces to building a defense line surrounding nuclear power plants.

Seoul was not among them. Rumors circulated online that the government had abandoned Seoul, the capital of South Korea and a city boasting a population of 10 million people.

[Corpse]

[Zombie] 

[Zombie microorganism] 

[Parasite] 

[ZB0] 

[Immune] 

[Tokyo's destruction] 

[National Army's defeat] 

[Seoul] 

[Seoul abandoned]

All of the top search terms were related to the ongoing crisis.

The pandemic spread at an unprecedented speed in the densely populated Seoul. It was said that every corner of the city had been turned into a zombie hellscape that was impossible to contain without a nuclear strike. The rest of the world was no exception. Every country had abandoned vast stretches of their territories.

In just a few days, a lawless zone was created where zombies and survivors melded together. On various social media outlets, warnings about survivors going to extreme lengths to survive and images of the city turning into a lawless zone were being posted incessantly. But soon, even the internet was completely cut off.

[Unable to connect to the network.]

The only form of contact with the outside world had disappeared.

'It's very dangerous outside! Don't come out! Never come out! You can't come out!'

Boyeon clung to her aunt’s last words. For Boyeon, who lost her parents at an early age, her aunt was like a mother. Her aunt also treated Boyeon, who had just become an adult, as if she was still a child. Boyeon did not think of herself as a responsible adult. Her aunt told her to wait, so that's what she should do.

One month, two months, three months… 

She waited in silence for an entire three months.

But the door to the bunker never opened.

Auntie, Uncle, Haein, Doyun, Subin... 

What happened to everyone?

Are they still alive?

"..."

Boyeon looked as helpless as a forlorn puppy that had been waiting for its owner to return. Even the sound of her breathing was faint, the only noise in the bunker being the whirring of the air purifiers. As she listened to the thrum of the machine in silence, she felt that her surroundings had become numbingly cold. She couldn't bear it any longer.

"Hi-hic...! Ugh, hah...!"

She was out of breath. Growing up, Boyeon suffered from childhood asthma. Her symptoms improved with age, but sometimes she had flare-ups during times of stress or emotional upheaval. Lately, her asthma has been getting worse.

Suddenly Boyeon was having an asthma attack and couldn't breathe. Gasping for air, she felt her eyes roll as she lay there panting. In the end, she passed out.

"Haah..."

After a while, she regained consciousness but was worried that she was going to die of respiratory distress rather than a zombie.

Suddenly, a powder inhaler with a bronchodilator popped into her mind. She remembered she had a new one laying around the house.

Boyeon was determined to retrieve it before her symptoms got any worse.

Fortunately, there were quite a few useful items in the bunker.

"Can I use this?"

Among the various survival tools, the drone was the one Boyeon was most comfortable handling. She had been working with drones since she was young due to the influence of her grandfather, a former research director at the Defense Technology Research Institute and a specialist in drone development. She was so good at piloting that she was scouted as a potential drone athlete.

The problem was that the drone her grandfather had secretly stashed in the bunker was a personal portable combat drone called PCD (Portable Combat Drone).

"It's a military drone...."

She would have never guessed there would be one in the bunker, so she was shocked when she found it.

The PCD was characterized by its cylindrical shape, not the typical drone shape. The wings were usually hidden, so someone who wasn't familiar with them might think it was a cooking appliance. Modules with various functions could be interchanged and attached to the lower part of the cylinder. Explosives could be hung, and combat assistance such as surveillance and reconnaissance, lighting, and smoke screens could also be provided.

There was no use in keeping it hidden, anyway. She walked out of the bunker holding the drone.

Boyeon's plan was simple. There wasn't much to it: just open the door very quietly and slip the drone through the gaping hole in the bookcase. Her plan went surprisingly well. The house was quiet, even though she made the mistake of rattling the door and making a bit of noise.

"Okay, that's it..."

Boyeon controlled the drone and flew it just outside of the first door. The current state of the house's interior was reflected on the screen of the drone controller.

There was nothing in the study, the room she was most concerned about. It was the same for the others.

"..."

Before the internet went out, Boyeon was able to glean a lot of information about zombies thanks to the posts on social media. Supposedly, zombies have low intelligence and react sensitively to loud noises.

Boyeon's house was in the center of the city. While she was in hiding, other sounds must have been heard here and there. It was unlikely that a zombie would have stayed in her house for more than three months.

"There aren't any zombies left, so why didn't anyone come...."

Boyeon was on the verge of tears but held them back as she looked around the house a bit more.

The house was in disarray as if zombies had run amok. There were old bloodstains, but open drawers and cupboards showed signs of human presence. Someone had ransacked the house searching for food and supplies.

And in a disaster like this, medicine was as scarce as food. The living room drawer containing portable inhalers and medications was left open.

"Ah..."

The inhalers were gone, which meant that her only luck in getting one would be going to a nearby pharmacy.

Boyeon felt a pang of sorrow and decided to take a look outside. The combat drone, designed to make little noise from its rotating wings, flew silently overhead.

"People...?"

Dilapidated buildings and crumbling roads filled her view. All the figures that she thought were people simply stood without moving as if they were blocks of wood.

Boyeon, who had been cut off from any outside information for a long time, did not know what this phenomenon meant. She could only speculate that they were not moving to conserve energy.

However, she was devastated to learn that the countless people filling the streets were all zombies. There was not a single human in sight. She wanted to believe that everyone was hiding.

As the combat drone drew closer, the zombies, hearing a faint noise, collectively raised their heads to peer at the sky. Hundreds of pairs of bloodshot eyes met hers through the screen. A wave-like commotion erupted. The zombies screeched and stretched out their arms. If Hell existed, this would be it. Boyeon's skin crawled, forming goosebumps, as she watched on in horror.

Beep-beep!

[Battery is less than 10%.]

Seeing this, Boyeon stepped outside while navigating the drone back to the house.

Creek.

Perhaps because she had just witnessed the devastation outside, the sound of the bookshelf being pushed was particularly frightening, akin to going out alone in the darkness of dawn. Boyeon hurriedly reached out to retrieve the drone.

"Huh...?"

Black military boots were next to the drone. Before she could even think about what that meant-

Thunk.

A cold, metallic touch on her temple sent chills down her spine.

It was a gun.