Episode 13
Team 01 quickly dashed to the office.
Clank, clank.
Clack, clack.
They donned silver armor and fastened weapons to their waists.
They grabbed shields as well.
Those who finished arming themselves hurriedly ran to the assembly point.
An urgent sprint where every second counted.
Nam Gyu-il was about to step over the threshold when he suddenly looked back at his desk.
Sliiide.
He opened the drawer.
The staff he had obtained from defeating the Pharaoh was inside.
Nam Gyu-il took it with him.
Lieutenant Park Hui-ryeong shouted as she looked at Team 01, who had assembled.
“A Gate has appeared in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam. The monster type is reported to be zombies.”
At her words, Team 01 flinched.
It was because zombies were the monsters that National Hunters feared the most.
“Zombies are extremely dangerous monsters. That’s why we’ve decided to send the best team.”
Lieutenant Park Hui-ryeong looked at everyone with an expectant expression.
But contrary to her expectations, the faces of Team 01 darkened.
Ironically, the better their performance, the higher the probability they would be assigned to the most dangerous missions.
“Then, everyone board the vehicles!!”
At Park Hui-ryeong’s command, everyone boarded the military vehicles.
Vroom.
The vehicles spewed black exhaust and set off.
A gloomy atmosphere hung over Team 01.
“Of all things, it had to be zombies.”
Lee Chan-woo muttered with a pale face.
As everyone’s expressions stiffened, Hong Shin-woo, who had grown anxious as well, asked quietly.
“Sergeant Lee Chan-woo.”
“What?”
“Are zombies really that scary?”
“Of course—!!”
Lee Chan-woo burst out shouting in frustration.
Then, even spraying spit, he explained one by one why zombies were dangerous.
“First, their vitality is tenacious.”
“Other monsters either die or at least slow down when injured.”
“Zombies don’t do that.”
“They don’t slow down even from considerable injuries.”
“Even if you stab a blade into their stomachs.”
“These bastards go ‘guh-uh’ and walk around like nothing happened.”
“Their weakness is smashing their heads.”
“But they’re bastards who keep moving as long as their heads are intact, no matter how injured they are……”
“And it’s hard to even aim for their heads.”
Lee Chan-woo let out a deep sigh.
Moreover, the scariest part of zombies was infection.
“If you’re bitten even once, you’ll suffer from stomach pain and dizziness before turning into a zombie. A guy who was your colleague until just moments ago could become a monster.”
“What do you think happens when National Hunters swarm in hordes against zombies?”
“The worst-case scenario unfolds.”
“The unskilled bastards get bitten by zombies unconditionally.”
“If that happens, they only end up increasing the number of zombies and have to flee from the Gate.”
“That’s why there’s only one strategy.”
“A small elite group enters the Gate and destroys the core.”
“That’s all there is to it.”
Lee Chan-woo scratched his head irritably and let out a gloomy voice.
“AAAH—!! What the hell! Zombies, they say. We’re all dead!!”
Then Nam Gyu-il spoke up.
“Calm down.”
“Hyung, how can I calm down!? We’re all going to die like this!! If I had known we’d be thrown into a mission like this just because our performance is good……”
“I said quiet!!”
Thud—
Nam Gyu-il stomped his foot hard.
Everyone was startled for a moment.
He created an oppressive atmosphere and lowered his voice.
“Lee Chan-woo. I’m telling you this as your team leader.”
“…….”
“Be quiet.”
Lee Chan-woo pressed his lips shut.
Nam Gyu-il had cut him off because of the drop in morale.
Because of Lee Chan-woo making a fuss about how scared he was, the already frightened Team 01 members cowered even more.
This wouldn’t do.
If they were steeped in defeat before even fighting, they couldn’t win battles they were capable of winning.
He had to put a stop to that, at the very least.
Well, it wasn’t as if Lee Chan-woo was wrong.
Zombies were tricky opponents.
But Nam Gyu-il reminded them of a very important fact that everyone had forgotten.
“The reason zombies are difficult to deal with is because there was no armor and the weapons were inadequate. They aren’t strong. Their tenacious vitality and infection are what’s scary.”
The Team 01 members quietly looked at him.
Everyone perked up their ears.
Nam Gyu-il gave an example.
“When zombies came out of a Gate, was there massive damage? No.”
At his words, several team members nodded.
It was true.
They had never seen news about zombies emerging from a Gate causing major problems.
“The monster that dies most powerlessly outside a Gate is the zombie.”
Nam Gyu-il emphasized once more.
“Remember. Zombies have tenacious vitality, but their strength is weaker than ours. Inside a Gate, zombies were dangerous because we had to fight with daggers that could break at any moment.”
Nam Gyu-il tapped the armor he wore with his fingers.
“Now it’s different. We have armor, and our weapons are top-grade. Zombies can’t bite through our armor.”
The Team 01 members looked at each other with sparkling eyes.
Now that they thought about it, it was true.
Catching zombies while poorly armed was difficult, but with proper armor and weapons, there was nothing to fear.
“So don’t be afraid. Be confident.”
Nam Gyu-il grinned.
“Our equipment isn’t weak enough for us to die to mere zombies.”
Those words instilled courage in everyone.
The atmosphere, which had sunk as if stuck in a swamp, changed in an instant.
Smiles spread across everyone’s faces.
Hope and expectation arose—perhaps they could close this Gate easily, and perhaps they could return safely today as well.
Finally, to lighten the mood, Nam Gyu-il shouted.
“If we close this Gate with everyone safe, this hyung will buy you all a huge meal! Everyone fight with everything you’ve got!!”
Then everyone cheered.
“Ooh—!!”
“Is that for real?”
“This time, Chef Kim Baek’s course meal for sure……”
Lee Chan-woo, still out of it, resolved once again to eat expensive food, and Nam Gyu-il responded with a flick to his forehead.
***
The military bus arrived in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam.
This Gate’s location was in the middle of the road.
Police stepped in to divert vehicles in other directions, while soldiers set up machine gun mounts on the ground.
Squeak.
The military bus doors opened, and…
Clank, clank.
Team 01, clad in armor, exited the vehicle.
With every step, the soles of their armor struck the asphalt, producing dull thuds.
“Hm? Huh??”
The soldiers who saw Team 01 opened their eyes wide.
“What the? Weren’t the Hunter Bureau guys coming today? Why’s a guild here?”
“I don’t think it’s a guild. You saw them arriving in a military bus. They’re definitely National Hunters.”
“Wow, National Hunters armed like that?”
“It is pretty fascinating.”
“Right? The National Hunters’ gear is on par with the large guilds.”
Team 01 stood before the Gate.
Nam Gyu-il, who stood at the front, paused for a moment and looked at everyone.
He checked one last time to see if anyone was still trembling, but fortunately, everyone’s eyes were bright and determined.
There wasn’t a single frightened soul among them.
Nam Gyu-il drew the long sword on his shoulder and shouted mightily.
“Then let’s go, you bastards—!!”
The Team 01 members shouted in response.
“Yes—!!”
“Let’s go.”
“Oooooh~!!”
Everyone was overflowing with confidence.
Such expressions were possible because everyone believed Nam Gyu-il’s words.
Nam Gyu-il led the team members into the Gate.
Lee Chan-woo, entering last, raised his hand high and shouted at the top of his lungs.
“For Chef Kim Baek’s course meal!!”
***
Team 01 entered the Gate.
Everyone watched their surroundings with solemn faces.
Compared to other monsters, zombies were far greater in number and always charged in hordes.
Lacking individual strength, they tended to push with numbers, so they had to fight systematically.
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
Something could be seen running from afar.
“Zombies!!”
Hwang Il-su shouted at the top of his voice.
At his shout, everyone raised their shields and put on determined expressions.
Nam Gyu-il immediately gave an order.
“Circular formation.”
The Team 01 members gathered in a circle.
The zombies that had been running from afar arrived right before them.
Their appearance was disgusting.
A stench that pierced the nose.
The nauseating smell of rotting corpses.
Bones visible between torn muscles.
Blackened, rotting teeth.
Their forms were moving corpses incarnate.
“Urgh!!”
Hong Shin-woo furrowed his brows.
Their appearance was so horrific it brought one to the verge of vomiting; it felt like his stomach was twisting.
“Guh-uh-uh.”
The zombies charged at the Team 01 members.
They bared their teeth.
They bit recklessly to turn people into zombies.
But their teeth couldn’t penetrate the hard armor.
Only the sound of fangs grinding was heard.
Tuk.
A zombie’s tooth, blackened with cavities, broke and fell to the ground.
Nam Gyu-il shouted.
“They can’t bite us! Don’t be afraid and fight! We will win!!”
Strength entered the hands of the Team 01 members gripping their weapons.
Nam Gyu-il’s words were true.
The zombies couldn’t harm them.
Swhack—!!
Nam Gyu-il swung his sword.
He cleaved the zombie’s head in half and felled it.
Everyone who saw it shouted.
“Mere zombies are no match for us!”
“Let’s go, kill them all.”
When Nam Gyu-il killed a zombie himself, the team members also fought with burning fighting spirit.
The zombies’ offensive didn’t work, and since they could attack one-sidedly, there was nothing to fear.
It was enough to fight with raised shouts.
Swhack!
The zombies helplessly fell to the Team 01 members’ attacks.
All their heads were cut off.
Han Gang-su glanced at Nam Gyu-il.
‘He resembles him.’
His actions brought to mind a certain figure.
It was none other than his own father, Han Du-cheol.
He recalled the image of his father leading Hunters with outstanding skill and charisma.
Calming colleagues trembling in fear, judging logically, and even instilling the confidence that they could win by personally felling zombies.
Thanks to that, morale soared endlessly.
Nam Gyu-il showed everyone exactly what a team leader looked like.
‘So this is why Team 01 has been showing consecutive no-accident records.’
Wasn’t it truly amazing?
Everyone moved as one, centered around Nam Gyu-il.
He was an outstanding leader.
Team 01 continued fighting the horde of zombies rushing in.
Thus ended a bloody battle lasting nearly 30 minutes.
Huff, huff, huff.
Everyone caught their rough breath and looked around.
No more zombies were in sight.
For now, the first battle seemed to have ended somehow.
“Rest.”
At Nam Gyu-il’s command, everyone sat on the ground away from the zombies.
It had been quite difficult.
Lee Chan-woo also plopped down and caught his breath.
He stared blankly at the zombies that had become ordinary corpses.
Without a single thought.
When the motionless zombies filled his vision.
“Hm?!”
He discovered something strange.
Lee Chan-woo got up and approached a motionless zombie.
And he looked at it carefully.
Nam Gyu-il noticed Lee Chan-woo and approached him.
“What’s wrong? What is it?”
He was worried because the guy who usually goofed around was suddenly approaching a zombie.
Lee Chan-woo turned to look at Nam Gyu-il, then looked back at the zombie.
“It’s nothing. Something peculiar caught my eye.”
“What?”
“Isn’t that kinda strange?”
Lee Chan-woo pointed at one fallen zombie with his hand.
Nam Gyu-il’s eyes went wide seeing it.
The corner of his mouth turned up slightly.
A smooth stone was embedded in the fallen zombie’s chest.
‘To think he’d discover that!!’
Nam Gyu-il ruffled Lee Chan-woo’s hair and praised him.
“Good job, you bastard.”
“Huh?”
Lee Chan-woo looked at him with an expression that said he had no idea what he’d done right.