Immortals vs. Grim Reapers - chapter 20
Chapter 20. Noisy Neighbors (1)
“One location? We could just report that to the military.”
“There might be someone like Lopez there. According to intelligence, there are definitely ghouls present.”
Ghouls. Zombies with intelligence.
For now, it meant zombies that obeyed immortals’ commands. Gangrim hadn’t properly fought ghouls yet. The fake Lopez had merely acted as bait before exploding.
“But we shouldn’t worry about incidents like the fake Lopez. They say the movements are still sluggish, with only ghouls acting as menial laborers carrying cargo.”
“…So they’re using zombies as free labor.”
Gangrim muttered with a bitter smile.
After all, there’s no better workforce than obedient zombies.
No need for rest, wages, or even the possibility of rebellion.
But Wol-ryeong remained impassive.
The origin of zombies began in Haiti.
A sorcerer would drug a man into a death-like state. Then, after digging him up and reviving him, they’d administer mind-altering drugs to use him as a slave.
This was the origin of zombies.
“Perhaps they’re using zombies efficiently, true to their original meaning. After all, zombies are everywhere now.”
“Do you think so?”
“No. If that were the case, it’d be better to use ghouls as combat units. If they could make zombies fight each other, even with vast zombie hordes, humanity wouldn’t need to worry about extinction.”
That was the unforgivable part. If they had known about the knowledge of necromancy earlier, humans wouldn’t have been pushed so far onto the defensive.
“Anyway, that’s fine. Let’s go put these zombies to rest.”
It’s time to apply what he’d learned in practice.
Above all, Gangrim ‘s social identity was a zombie hunter, so he needed to build a career as one to avoid suspicion from Clint.
However, Wol-ryeong shook his head.
“I’m not going.”
“Ah, do you have business?”
Wol-ryeong had guided Gangrim in many ways but wasn’t always with him.
She frequently left periodically, handling some business each time. It was natural, as Wol-ryeong’s job was that of a Grim Reaper, not a caretaker.
“Yes. I think I’ll need to go to Busan for a while this time.”
“Alright. I’ll go alone then. Well.”
Gangrim wasn’t particularly worried.
To him, the job of a zombie hunter and a Grim Reaper didn’t differ much, and he had performed countless solo missions as a zombie hunter.
Dealing with a few ghouls would be simple.
“Give me the address.”
Ding. As soon as Gangrim finished speaking, his memo chimed.
「Mission: Plucking the Elder’s Beard」
「Objective: Destroy the ‘SAMZ’ warehouse at 19 Daeun-ro, Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul」
「Reward: 500 nyang of soul money」
“…You could have just sent the address as a message.”
In response to Gangrim ‘s muttering, Wol-ryeong checked the memo and spoke.
“A driver will be waiting outside. He can take you as far as Yanghwa Bridge.”
***
Gangrim traveled by car to Yanghwa Bridge.
Most bridges leading to the northern part of Seoul were now being closed, but Yanghwa Bridge was still one of the few that soldiers and hunters could use.
As they approached Yanghwa Bridge, they could already see soldiers on high alert and explosive devices being installed on the bridge.
It was to blow up the bridge in case dangerous monsters appeared.
‘If it’s truly a dangerous monster, it’d still be dangerous even if dropped in the water.’
Gangrim thought to himself but didn’t say it aloud. They wouldn’t listen anyway, and they were just following orders from above.
But anyway, monsters would stay around the North Han Mountain Gate for a while.
Unless one deliberately went there, there was no need to worry.
‘By now, most hunters at North Han Mountain would have retreated… Seoul has completely turned into a dungeon.’
An area where Gates constantly open.
Later, as such areas increased, they began to be called dungeons.
Dungeonized areas start experiencing bizarre monsters and unexplainable phenomena, becoming uninhabitable for humans. Even so, it would be years before Seoul reached that state.
Gangrim showed his hunter registration to the soldiers guarding the bridge.
The soldiers looked Gangrim up and down after checking his registration.
Gangrim wore tactical combat gear that allowed efficient movement even without manifesting his official attire.
Tough material clothes that zombies’ teeth couldn’t easily penetrate, arm and leg guards that could break bones with a single strike, and neck protection.
It was the same equipment he used during his active duty.
After confirming his attire, the soldiers let him pass without further checks.
They might stop people coming from the north who might have been bitten by zombies, but there was no reason to stop someone heading north.
Especially if they were a zombie hunter.
“There are a lot of people crossing this bridge today.”
Gangrim, about to pass, stopped at the soldier’s words.
“A lot?”
“Earlier, a group of hunters moved in a bus. Not dressed up like you, though.”
Hunters not dressed up. They were likely newly minted hunters from the northern refugee population.
Gangrim felt bitter.
If they hunted zombies honestly, collecting black matter to sell, it would be fine, but the chances of that seemed low.
Most of them would likely be more interested in looting property left in the north than hunting zombies. It was safer that way.
As a result, the already poor perception of zombie hunters would hit rock bottom.
‘It can’t be helped.’
Gangrim grabbed his Death Sword and began crossing Yanghwa Bridge. The sun was setting.
It was time for the Grim Reaper to roam the streets.
***
Gangrim moved to the address given in the memo. Soon, he found a nondescript building with a large red sign reading ‘SAMZ’.
As he approached the warehouse, Gangrim couldn’t believe his ears.
‘Music?’
Loud music was blaring from the warehouse.
He hadn’t noticed until he got close, but it seemed they were playing music quite loudly inside.
Whether it was hip-hop or metal, Gangrim couldn’t tell, but he wondered if playing music in the middle of zombie-infested streets was normal.
‘The zombies… are indeed gathering.’
Zombies attracted by the noise were clinging to the fence around the warehouse, wailing. It was hard to find a gap to enter.
Gangrim suddenly thought this might be an intentional strategy.
‘Attracting zombies to block unwanted outsiders? Clever strategy.’
If the safety issue with zombies could be resolved, zombies would make an excellent moat and defensive barrier.
Gangrim judged that, as Wol-ryeong said, there must be ghouls here.
‘And those controlling these ghouls.’
If so, there should be plenty of surveillance personnel.
Gangrim hid in the darkness, looking for a way into the warehouse. Fortunately, he found an alley difficult for zombies to access.
There was a high fence blocking the way, but it wasn’t a significant problem.
As Gangrim prepared to climb the wall and jump over the fence, he hesitated upon spotting a man standing at the base of the fence.
Gangrim thought he’d been spotted for a moment, but the man continued standing still without any movement.
Gangrim wondered if it was due to his stealth ability, but he soon realized the reason.
‘It’s a ghoul.’
A human might not have noticed Gangrim, but they would have sensed something off about a moving shape in the darkness.
But the ghoul couldn’t make that judgment. It seemed to be programmed only to attack entities approaching the fence.
Gangrim leaped towards the ghoul in one swift motion.
Thwack, thud.
The ghoul, its head split by the hand axe as Gangrim jumped down, crumbled to the ground.
Gangrim roughly hid the ghoul’s corpse and surveyed the area. There were ghouls patrolling around the fence, but the darkness concealed Gangrim sufficiently.
‘Hmm, I suppose. They can’t have humans or immortals on guard as it would overstimulate the zombies too much.’
Gangrim moved towards the warehouse. As he got closer, the music became painfully loud.
Gangrim split the head of the ghoul guarding the back door and slightly opened it to peek inside.
Amidst the boisterous music, people wearing masks and hats were moving busily.
The warehouse was filled with all kinds of firearms, grenades, and explosives.
Gangrim noticed that all the personnel carrying the cargo were ghouls.
‘Then are the rest immortals?’
Besides those moving cargo, there were people supervising and observing the ghouls.
All eight people were heavily armed. But they didn’t look like soldiers or hunters. At best, they seemed like gang members.
‘Ordinary humans?’
If necromancy wasn’t exclusive to immortals but some form of knowledge, it wouldn’t be strange for non-immortals to use it.
Or perhaps only one or some of them were necromancers. No, that was certain. A necromancer and personnel to assist them.
‘Still, it would be tough to charge in head-on.’
Gangrim began to consider how to deal with them.
It wasn’t that he had no options.
There were too many.
‘Even without my Grim Reaper abilities, taking down personnel in this state of training would be a piece of cake.’
Fortunately, none of them seemed worth sparing.
Gangrim ended his brief deliberation and chose a method to deliver hell to them.
***
“Is this the last truck?”
“Hmm, seems so. But why the sudden order to send everything?”
The gang member muttered while looking at the boxes packed in the truck. It was filled not only with firearms and ammunition but also C-rations.
They had received an abrupt order to send all the weapons they had been gradually smuggling out of Yongsan to another base.
“What, haven’t you heard? The guy sneaking weapons out of Yongsan got caught and killed.”
“What? Wait a minute. Aren’t these U.S. military weapons? Are we going down too?”
“The world’s going to hell anyway. You think the U.S. military has the power to do anything? If they could, they would have done it already. We just need to trust the Elder.”
“That’s true, but if the U.S. military actually comes with guns, we can’t do anything, right?”
“Don’t we have guns too?”
“Are all guns the same? Haven’t you seen movies? Special forces like DevGru intentionally leave traces to show they did it, like splitting open the heads of their targets.”
“What kind of crazy… Ah, damn it. Just shut up. I’m already on edge.”
Despite their words, these men had grown up hearing about America’s greatness and strength throughout their lives.
Even as they followed orders, they couldn’t shake the uneasiness of handling stolen goods from the world’s superpower.
As a strange silence fell, one gang member muttered irritably.
“Ah, damn it. Can’t they turn down the music a bit? It’s really hurting my ears.”
Thump.
That’s when it happened.
Suddenly, the music stopped, and the lights in the warehouse went out.
As the deafening club music that had been pounding their heads ceased, the gang members felt as if their ears had gone numb.
Without anyone taking the lead, they quickly drew their guns. Their muzzles pointed towards the ghouls who had been moving cargo.
Though they were said to be obedient zombies under necromancy, zombies were still zombies.
There was an underlying anxiety deep in their hearts. But the ghouls didn’t budge.
Then, a voice came from the second-floor corridor.
“Hey, you. Go out and check.”
It was the voice of the leader in charge of this warehouse. The gang member who was singled out looked uneasy but had no choice but to move.
The gang member peered outside through the glass on the door.
“There’s nothing…”
Bang! Suddenly, a loud knock on the door made the gang member stumble backward and fall.
“Gah, gaahk…”
“Shit, zombies have gotten in!”
“What? How…”
Another gang member on guard on the second floor quickly looked out the window. Then he wore an expression of disbelief.
The main gate, which should only open with a key, was wide open. And through that open gate, countless zombies were surrounding the warehouse.
“What were you doing to let it get this bad!”
“The music was too loud, so…”
Thump thump, bang. Thump.
The sound of zombies pounding on the walls started coming from all directions. Cold sweat broke out on the gang members’ backs. The warehouse was completely surrounded by zombies.
The leader gritted his teeth and spoke.
“Everyone shut up and stay quiet. There were no enhanced zombies, so they can’t break through the doors. We turned off the music too, so if there’s no reaction from our side, they’ll disperse. We’ll leave by car then.”
“Y-yes.”
“For now, don’t move alone. Always stick together in pairs. And check the electrical room. Why is the power in this state?”
“H-huaaagh!”
A scream erupted just as he ordered them to be quiet, making the leader clench his teeth.
“Stop screaming over mere zombies…”
But the leader’s words were cut short. When a flashlight illuminated the source of the scream, they saw the corpse of a gang member with his head split in half.
The gang member seemed to have died without even realizing what had happened to him, slumped on the floor.
One of the gang members screamed.
“It’s the U.S. military! The U.S. military is here!”