— ...this unit and the surrounding area are under the operational control of the Republic of Korea Army! Surrender immediately! Failure to comply will result in armed—huh!? Wh-what the hell!?

The arrogant, irritating voice that had continued on cut off with a cry of shock.

Because the A1 drone, which had flown a little over 1.5 kilometers at top speed, had reached the barracks area and opened fire.

“Let’s go for now.”

“What? Ah, yes!”

As Junho quickly moved toward where the squad members were, Kim Sangmin and the survivors rushed after him.

— We successfully rescued the people here! We’ll pull out and head your way immediately!

“No. Stay there. I’m heading your way now with the other survivors. Don’t overextend yourselves under any circumstances.”

— Ah, yes!

After finishing the communication with Kim Jimin, Junho kept moving and spoke to Park Cheolyong and the survivors.

“My people rescued your group.”

“Ah...! Th-thank you!”

The faces of Kim Sangmin and the other survivors, which had been nothing but dark a moment ago, brightened instantly.

“This way!”

Baek Suho, Kim Jimin, and the squad members were taking cover behind a temporary barricade outside the barracks building with around ten survivors.

Paang...! Paang...! Paang...!

The A1 drone circled outside the building while firing, and the G1 drone intermittently fired tungsten rounds toward the interior near the building entrance.

Taaang! Tatang!

The soldiers inside the building fired their rifles too, but it was useless.

Hitting a drone in flight with a rifle was difficult even for an elite unit.

For troops serving at a reserve-force unit to succeed at it was practically impossible.

On top of that, it was obvious the soldiers had not even figured out that the thing firing at them was a drone. They were just sticking their muzzles out the doorway and shooting blindly.

“What about the wounded?”

Leaving the combat to the drones, Junho asked.

“He got really lucky. He was wearing a ballistic vest, so it looks like he only has fractures. No bleeding for now.”

Just as Kim Jimin said, one man was sitting surrounded by his companions, panting in pain.

Even with a ballistic vest on, getting hit by a rifle round within effective range was enough to put most people out of action. It only meant the bullet did not kill you outright.

“Younghyo! Younghyo, are you okay!?”

Kim Sangmin and the others, apparently close to him, rushed over to the wounded man.

Paang...! Paang...!

Junho watched them for a moment while listening to the continued sound of drone fire, then spoke to Baek Suho and the squad members.

“You guys keep your guard up for now. Keep watching the situation and fire warning shots if necessary. Watch the drone feed closely and follow the operator’s instructions. Their shooting is complete garbage, so there’s almost no chance you’ll get hit, but stray bullets still exist, so don’t push it.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Understood.”

One drone showed the opponent’s movements in detail from high altitude, another circled the area, and on top of that they were being given appropriate responses for each situation.

That was an enormous advantage.

Having personally experienced that effect to a degree that had shocked them, they answered with strength in their voices.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Then a warning tone sounded, followed by Akina’s voice.

— A1. Remaining battery 19 percent. Withdrawing in one minute.

The A1 drone originally had an operating time of only around twenty minutes, and because the successive battles had prevented proper charging, its operating time seemed to have shortened even more.

“Got it. Send another unit immediately, even if it’s only charged to about 60 percent. It’ll only take a few minutes.”

— Confirmed.

After giving that order, Junho headed toward the civilian survivors with Kim Jimin.

“......!”

Because all of them had witnessed what Junho had done on the parade ground, the survivors flinched and made way when he approached.

Kim Sangmin and another man, who had been tending to the wounded man whose ribs had apparently been broken by the bullet impact, stood when they saw Junho.

“I’m late introducing myself. I’m Ha Younghyeon.”

“Lee Junho. Is he family?”

“Yes. My cousin.”

Ha Younghyeon, who looked about Junho’s age, looked down worriedly at the wounded man, who was sweating cold sweat.

“Anyway, thank you so much. For saving my younger cousin and taking care of the zombies too. But I just heard from Sangmin. You said you’d been watching the situation here for several hours?”

The two hours he had initially mentioned seemed to have grown into several.

But Junho did not show it and simply nodded.

“Yes. And there were an enormous number of zombies in the village outside this unit. They followed you here, correct? Did you deliberately draw aggro and lead them in?”

“Those zombies? Ha...! Well, if you saw it by drone, I can see why you’d think that.”

At Junho’s blunt question, Ha Younghyeon spoke as if dumbfounded, then soon burst out in anger.

“But we had no choice if we wanted to live. We came here in the first place because we were running away.”

“...Explain in detail.”

“Come on, if you saw it with a drone, you should know. We were originally staying over by the place with all the pensions near Yeongil Stream. But these soldier bastards here....”

That was when it happened.

— Ahh! Ahh! I repeat, to the personnel who illegally infiltrated this unit! This is your final warning! Immediately—

Perhaps because he was furious, the voice began coming through the base loudspeakers again, much louder and more overbearing than before.

“No, that fucking bastard really....”

And the instant Kim Sangmin cursed aloud—

“.......”

Without a word, Junho loaded slug rounds into the M4 shotgun and spoke to the startled civilian survivors.

“Move away from me a little, and everyone cover your ears.”

“Y-yes.”

As everyone covered their ears with both hands, Junho first aimed at a loudspeaker mounted high in one section of the parade ground and pulled the trigger.

Kwaang!

Cheolkak! Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!

After blowing apart every loudspeaker he could see within effective range with the shotgun, Junho—

Chak, chak, chak, chak....

reloaded the shells and shouted toward the barracks entrance blocked by barricades.

“Shut your fucking mouth and come out, you son of a bitch!”

His thunderous roar rang throughout the base.

But there was no real response from inside the building. Only the intermittent gunfire stopped completely.

“Ugh....”

Leaving behind the gazes of the civilian survivors, who looked utterly appalled, Junho stepped over the obstacles and walked straight toward the barracks building.

“N-no, that’s dangerous....”

Ha Younghyeon hurriedly tried to warn him, but Kim Jimin stopped him and pointed at the sky.

After confirming that two drones were still watching over the unit and the building, he soon nodded and backed down.

Junho strode to the front of the barracks and shouted.

“You were the ones who shot at civilians first! So! Stop spewing bullshit about surrender or whatever the hell else! Come out first! I’ll give you thirty seconds!”

— Movement detected from targets in the hallway of the target building. They are moving farther inside.

You bastards...! Move faster...!

Can’t you shoot that bastard right now...? No angle...!? You useless idiots...!

Following Akina’s report, a man’s voice mixed with irritation and urgency drifted out from inside the barracks building.

But it was clearly directed not at Junho, but at the soldiers with him.

“.......”

Junho had politely requested a conversation, yet instead of coming out, they hid deeper inside, and he had even heard the man ordering them to shoot him dead.

His expression turned even colder.

“Akina. Mark the areas in this building with no people.”

Junho spoke low as he put a hand into a pouch on his tactical vest.

— Confirmed.

After one drone busily moved around here and there for a moment, several red dots appeared on the tablet.

— Wide-angle camera and thermal camera both confirmed.

Junho visually checked the section of the barracks determined with certainty to have no people inside.

Kwaang!

Then, after shattering the windows in that section with the M4 shotgun—

Ting!

he pulled the safety pin from a grenade and hurled it with all his strength.

Kwahuuuung...!!!

With an intense explosion, dust and debris burst outward all at once.

“Uwaaaah!?”

The startled civilians fell on their asses or flattened themselves to the ground.

They stared at Junho in horror, as if unable to believe what was happening.

But whether people were startled or not, Junho did not care. He shattered the window of another people-free section with the shotgun.

Then he took out another grenade, pulled the pin, and threw it there.

Kuwaaaang...!!!

The terrifying explosion and powerful shockwave cracked nearby windows in jagged lines.

Whooooo....

Soon, the roar, shockwave, and thick dust slowly settled.

“......!”

The civilian survivors stared at him with their mouths hanging open after witnessing an utterly unbelievable act: him pulling grenades and detonating them without hesitation.

“I’m warning the personnel inside one last time! Crawl out first! If you don’t come out, I’ll keep throwing grenades! I’ve still got ten more!”

After giving them a warning similar to the one the arrogant, irritating soldier had issued, Junho went and stood at the front entrance of the barracks building.

A short while later—

“I-I’m coming out! Don’t shoot! We’re Republic of Korea Army!”

After a tense but still irritating voice rang out, an officer in his thirties wearing a captain’s insignia and several soldiers carefully appeared from the end of the hallway.

***

“I am Gu Junseok, supply company commander of the Logistics Support Battalion, 505th Infantry Brigade, Chungyong Unit.”

Junho looked expressionlessly at Gu Junseok, who had a somewhat long, horse-like lower face, then replied.

“Lee Junho. Civilian from Namyangju.”

“What? Are you joking right now? You’re a civilian? A civilian put on a military uniform, fired illegal firearms inside a military base, and even detonated grenades? Are you out of your mind and trying to die?” 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

“.......”

Even as Gu Junseok pointed his finger at him, Junho continued watching him with indifferent eyes.

Meanwhile, the others watching nervously from behind, especially Junho’s group, unconsciously let their mouths fall open.

That was how far beyond imagination Supply Company Commander Gu Junseok’s words and actions were.

But Kim Sangmin, Ha Younghyeon, and the civilian survivors, who already knew Gu Junseok, ground their teeth with ferocious expressions.

“That crazy bastard....”

“He’s still doing this shit even now. Fucking psycho son of a bitch!”

“Bosses. You know that bastard—I mean, that man? What is he? An officer at this unit?”

When Baek Suho, whose impression was rather mild, asked, Kim Sangmin sighed and answered.

“No. This place is a reserve-force division or brigade or whatever, and he’s an officer from the logistics battalion. When the outbreak happened, he was the officer in charge of the transport unit bringing reserve-force personal weapons, ammunition, and supplies here.”

“So he’s logistics support? No, then why the hell is a logistics officer acting like that? Is he insane or what?”

“He’s beyond insane. That bastard is a complete psychopath. What that lunatic did was....”

When Kim Sangmin began talking about Gu Junseok, Kim Jimin and the squad members also listened to his story.

In the meantime, Gu Junseok continued heading further and further beyond the pale.

“Turn over your firearms while I’m still asking nicely and comply with our control. In these severe times, how dare a civilian— And you. You received mobilization orders, didn’t you? I can tell at a glance you discharged as a sergeant....”

Junho quietly stared at Gu Junseok, who arrogantly looked him up and down, with eyes that held no emotion at all.

If he had not regressed, if he had not already experienced more than two years of the apocalypse once, he probably would have been extremely flustered or angry.

He would have wondered how a human like this could exist, whether this really was an officer of the Republic of Korea Army, whether the man could not even see the gun in his hands right now.

But Junho knew.

“From this moment on, you are assigned to this unit. It’s informal, but if I take responsibility, that’ll be enough, so understand it that way. I’ll report it separately to Army Headquarters later. And those guys are active-duty, right? Hey! You little bastards, why aren’t you running over here right now!?”

In the apocalypse, officers like Major Lee Seokjin were extremely rare.

People like Gu Junseok, the man in front of him, were far more common.

Quite a few military officers equated the state with themselves.

They believed that everyone lower in rank than them—even civilians—had to obey their instructions and orders, and naturally would.

Of course, this arrogant blowhard was fairly severe even among them.

He had probably been hiding inside this unit since the very beginning of the apocalypse and had no understanding of reality at all.

He did not know that the proud government and the top command of the Republic of Korea Army had fled to Jeju long ago.

Nor did he know that no survivor who had made it this far—not even fellow Republic of Korea Army personnel—would follow the instructions and orders of a mere captain with no grasp of reality whatsoever.

And so Junho decided not to teach Gu Junseok reality.

“Hey.”

“What did you just say? Hey?”

As Gu Junseok’s eyes bulged, Junho said coldly,

“Just hurry up and die.”

Kwaang!

The slug round tore through the Level 3A ballistic vest of one of the apocalypse’s many fascist lunatic soldiers and punched all the way through his chest.

It was not a double barrel, but when it came to teaching manners, a shotgun was definitely the best.