Chapter 61 - The soldiers who arrived late
Lieutenant Colonel Park was still sitting on the sofa even after Sunwoo left. Since he couldn’t swallow his pride, he got upset with Sungwoo, and he felt frustrated because his important talks with Sungwoo broke down.
“Battalion commander, honestly, there is no strongman like him here. I saw him fighting vampires. He is a super fighter,” said the captain as if he was very impressed with Sungwoo’s brilliant fighting. The captain was in charge of monitoring the survivors gathered in the Safe Zone after infiltrating a building near Hwaseong Haenggung with Sgt. Kim.
Right there, he witnessed something he could not believe. Commanding dozens of undead, Sungwoo killed the supernatural monsters.
“Sgt. First Class Kang, can’t you deal with them?”
Sgt. First Class Jin-wook Kang was a Level 9 player, the highest level in his unit.
Until now, he had been at the forefront of the monster crackdown team, killing numerous monsters.
“Well, it’s different this time. If Kang is a single strong soldier, Sungwoo is like an army.”
“Army? Isn’t it the same with us? I think that if our soldiers led by Kang join hands, they can beat that guy controlling the skulls. That’s the power of our army, isn’t it?”
When the captain mentioned his name, a bronze-skinned soldier approached.
He seemed to have served in a special force, given the various patches, such as the HALO patch signifying the completion of high altitude descent training, attached to his military uniform.
“My name is Jin-wook Kang, Sgt. First Class. Unfortunately, it looks like I’m going to join you as your deputy in this operation.”
He held out his thick hand to Sungwoo, who grabbed it silently. Sgt. Kang was frowning a lot, but he was not foolish enough to tighten his hand around Sungwoo’s.
“How about your level? If you are lower than me, I feel like I am going to be uncomfortable.”
“I’m Level 10.”
When Sungwoo said that, Sgt. Kang looked surprised.
“Damn it, how did your level go up? I couldn’t even though I killed orcs all day long.”
Sungwoo’s answer was simple.
“Well, it’s simple. Just kill a monster stronger than an orc.”
“Hah hah hah, if I may give you some advice, you should not be too conceited this time. The crazy monsters residing on the runway of the 10th Fighter Wing are different.”
According to Sgt. Kim’s tipoff a moment ago, they had dispatched about 20 soldiers to take down the monsters and retake the runway of the 10th Fighter Wing, but they were annihilated in 10 minutes. Sgt. First Class Kang was the only one who survived from the group.
“Thank you for the advice. Then, please level up for the next three days.”
Sungwoo did not want to banter with these soldiers anymore, so he turned away.
***
The survivors of the plaza, who almost became prey of the vampires, stayed around Sungwoo since then. This was what Sungwoo expected.
However, he didn’t even think that whenever he showed up on the first floor, he would be showered with all sorts of applause and shouting from them.
“Oh! Sungwoo is here!”
“Thank you, as always, Sungwoo!”
“Please protect us! Please!”
As if they found out that they had to stay around him to survive, they showered him with all kinds of flattery and crude gifts. A young woman even offered to sleep with him.
They keenly realized that they couldn’t save their lives by themselves.
They felt so insecure at the moment.
“Sungwoo, I just don’t know how to handle such a big crowd,” said Hanho.
After the soldiers appeared from a nearby base, they seemed to show interest in their military strength, but they just relied more on Sungwoo for their safety.
‘Obviously, I have use for them,’ Sungwoo thought to himself.
Come to think of it, he thought they were not simple refugees, and they were not incapacitated.
‘All of them are players who survived this situation in one way or another. Each of them has a variety of abilities depending on their occupations.”
Of course, Hanho’s parents proved useless in battle. However, they proved they were still useful in other ways by displaying their respective skills. Sungwoo thought the survivors were like Hanho’s parents.
“Hanho, when you see your father, tell him he should set a Safety Zone in the inner exhibition hall over there.”
That’s why Sungwoo planned to take the group of survivors staying at the abandoned factory here. Several hours ago, Kyongsu and Taesung already set out to carry out the mission of escorting them here.
A little later, two buses carrying a group of survivors and all kinds of supplies arrived.
“Oh, this place is definitely more spacious and secure. The facilities are also clean. Good! Hanho, did you say I could make a Safety Zone over there?” asked Hanho’s father.
The municipal art museum was quite large enough with 3,000-pyong (106,761 sq ft), so even if a Safety Zone was created, only a small number of the survivors could be housed.
However, the Safe Zone was good enough as a shelter for them.
“But Dad, you don’t need to install it now. I just want you to know that if something happens, you have to set up a Safety Zone right there.”
It would cost money to maintain the Safety Zone, and the monsters didn’t pose a threat to them all the time. Besides, a well-built concrete wall existed, so there was no need to keep the Safety Zone open at all times.
“Got it. Let me keep it in mind.”
Meanwhile, Sungwoo called Kyungsoo to the conference room on the second floor.
“Kyungsoo, thanks for driving here on a dangerous road, but I would like to ask you another favor.”
“No problem.”
Except for Hanho, Kyongsu was the man that Sungwoo could trust the most. They had already shared their fate several times.
“I hope you can make this location a nice place where the survivors can live, so we can make use of them in the right place at the right time based on their selected jobs.”
“I think I know what you mean. There are not only combat-related jobs, but also those related to their daily lives or production. We have to use them.”
“Yeah. That’s my point. Nobody here is useless as long as they have jobs and skills. And…”