1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 40



Only Krnovel

Episode 40

Only a very few people know this codebook password.

Of course, it can’t be otherwise.

Because only 10 team members, including me, knew the entire password by heart.

Five of them died and the remaining four disappeared, so it was effectively a lost code.

But one of them suddenly appeared and left behind a nearby coordinate.

And not by text or phone, but directly to the accommodations where my companions and I were living.

No matter how much I thought about it, there was only one person who could have done something like this.

I told my companions to eat first, then I packed my bag and pistol and went out.

The coordinates led to Gwanaksan Mountain.

After a long time, I crossed the campus boundary and walked deep into Gwanaksan Mountain.

Hehe!

The mountains, where no human footsteps could reach, were covered in white snow.

Coco was running around on it happily, leaving jelly-like footprints behind.

After some time had passed, we finally arrived at the coordinates written on the note.

Growl!

At that moment, Coco, who had been innocently staring at the viewer, suddenly showed her teeth and growled.

No matter how much time passes, the strong smell of blood that cannot be hidden passes by the tip of my nose.

When I turned my gaze in that direction, a woman was slowly approaching me.

Sabak, sabak.

A short-haired woman wearing a thick green beanie and goggles over her face.

She, no, Park Hanna, stopped at a certain distance from me and took off the goggles she was wearing.

“It’s been a while, senior.”

This was the first time we had seen each other face to face since the day the team disappeared.

Even though quite a lot of time had passed, Park Han-na looked exactly the same as before.

Except that his face, which had always been full of composure and confidence, had become very gaunt.

“How did you find this place?”

“I’ve been chasing you since Chungju. I had a really hard time getting here, so don’t ask me for details.”

Even if you knew where I lived, it is truly a crazy obsession to chase me all the way from Chungju to this far away Seoul.

She did everything by herself: gathering information, tracking, and even the most difficult movements.

On the contrary, I was curious as to what on earth had moved Park Han-na to this extent.

“So, what’s your business?”

“The summons has been given.”

I felt a hot fire rising inside me at the completely unexpected answer.

what?

command?

I barely resisted the urge to pull out my gun and asked Park Han-na.

“Did I mishear that?”

“No, I heard you correctly. I have issued a summons order to all five living people from above.”

“Are there any guys left to give orders?”

“There were. And there were a lot of them.”

After the regime’s guidelines changed, everyone involved in the operation was replaced.

Even if the information remained on paper, no one would want to bring up an obnoxious secret that had long since disappeared.

But when things got to this point, the higher-ups eventually decided to open a box that shouldn’t have been opened.

The ghosts of the past, the ones we created and destroyed with our own hands.

“Are you sure you came here to take me away?”

The fact that he came to personally deliver the message of the summons means that Park Han-na also agreed with it.

More than anything, I was the one who was most angry about this, so I glared at her fiercely as she kept her mouth shut.

Not only was he abandoned by his country, but his teammates, who were like brothers to him, were also killed.

Even when he spoke as if he was doing me a favor by throwing me a few pennies in pension money, and even when he threatened me using my family as an excuse, I endured it, thinking that it was for the good of the country.

But now that things have turned out like this, you want me to join you?

Is that something a person would say?

“senior.”

“Shut up and explain. What on earth is the reason?”

I growled at my former teammate, Park Han-na, as if to ask her to explain herself.

Then, after hesitating for a while, she took out a photo with trembling hands and showed it to me.

In the photo, a girl who looked exactly like someone was smiling brightly.

“She’s my daughter. She’s five years old now.”

People become strong when they have something to protect, but conversely, they become weak when they have too many things to protect.

Park Han-na, who had been confident that she would never have a family, had become a mother before she knew it.

Just as I came here to find my blood relatives, she also came here to protect her daughter.

“I got the offer first. If I just give the order to assemble my team, they’ll take me and my daughter to Jeju Island. It’s safe there now.”

“Quarantine was successful?”

“Yes. Most government departments and personnel have moved there.”

“Other areas in the south.”

“We’re trying to block it for now, but you know that there are too many refugees.”

An estimated millions of refugees were moving south to safety.

In this situation where we don’t even know the route of transmission, there is no way to confirm infection.

The situation was more dangerous with the unspecified number of people screaming for help than with the number of infected people rushing in.

“… …What do you want to say?”

“Let’s go together. You and your family can all go to Jeju Island. I will ensure your safety.”

“You wanted to convince me?”

“I won’t deny it. But, senior, think carefully. This is a rare opportunity. Do you know what the situation is like in other countries right now?”

Humans instinctively seek safety and are willing to sacrifice other things for it.

For Park Han-na, whose daughter was her top priority, there would have been no other way than to accept the offer.

But I could never shake off this unpleasantness rising from the depths of my soul.

The mockery of those men.

Team members who died with regret.

How could I forget?

The memory of that day is still etched in my mind like an awl.

I answered Park Han-na with all the resentment and anger that had built up over time.

“go.”

“senior!”

“Just go when they say nice things to you.”

Where have we gone from our youth, and now only the ghosts of a weak and miserable past remain.

Two lines that once ran toward the same goal finally intersected and split into two.

“… … If you change your mind, contact me.”

Park Han-na, who had been bowing her head with a miserable face, put down the bag she was holding.

And then, walking through the blowing snowstorm, he disappeared in an instant.

Squeak.

Coco, who had been quietly observing from the side, quietly approached and licked the back of his hand.

“are you okay.”

I patted the guy’s head and looked at the bag that Park Han-na had left behind.

Click.

Inside the bag was a familiar pistol along with a satellite phone.

It was a pistol that was fully customized to the model that was mainly used during active duty.

‘This is.’

Even the included gun case contained subsonic, or 9mm, ammunition along with a silencer that is hard to find in Korea.

A setting that drastically reduces noise at the expense of reduced range and accuracy.

In an environment like today where guns are not available, there is no better weapon.

I put the gun back in and took out a small note that was lying next to the case.

[They will keep trying to contact you from above. I will do my best to block them, so please get to a safe place quickly. I am really sorry for coming to you so suddenly, Senior. Please stay healthy.]

Park Han-na seemed to have already guessed that I would reject the offer.

Perhaps the reason they came like this was to warn us that there was movement from above.

I thought it would be best to ask Captain Kang to protect Yebin.

Of course, the best thing would be for me to rescue my sister as quickly as possible and return.

I stared in the direction she disappeared for a while, then quietly turned around and walked away.

The sky, which had been clear until just a moment ago, was now covered with black storm clouds.

The wind is cold.

It looks like it’s going to snow again.

* * *

Two days passed by in an instant and the day I had promised to Captain Kang finally arrived.

My companions and I woke up early in the morning, packed our luggage that we had prepared in advance, and headed out.

“You’re leaving now.”

“Mr. Seongcheol? Sergeant Jang? What brings you… … .”

“Haha, I should say hello.”

In front of our accommodation, people who had been waiting for us were gathered, rubbing their sleepy eyes.

I didn’t know that they would even send me off like this, so I greeted each person one by one.

Thanks to this, the early morning hours, which should have been quiet, became noisy with people gathering.

“Uncle, have a safe trip.”

Finally, Yebin, whose eyes were swollen shut, handed over the coffee and lunch box she had made herself.

I finally set off for Gwanaksan Mountain with the promise that I would definitely return safely.

Sabak, sabak.

The snowstorm that had been pouring down like crazy for two days has stopped and the wind has also died down a lot.

I was worried that the helicopter might not be able to take off, but it was more than enough to move around.

After climbing the mountain path, we soon arrived at the landing pad in the middle of Mt. Gwanak.

“This way!”

At the landing pad, the squad members, including Sergeant Park, arrived early and were lighting a bonfire.

We gathered naturally in front of the drums filled with firewood and thawed our frozen bodies.

“Is that it?”

“Yes, this is the helicopter we will be taking.”

On the well-maintained landing pad, a familiar transport helicopter stood proudly.

Since it has already completed several test runs and other schedules, there should be no issues with its performance.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, let’s go.”

After sharing coffee and packed lunches in front of the campfire, we soon walked to the landing pad.

And as I had been instructed in advance, I sat down in my assigned seat and quietly took a deep breath.

[Then let’s depart.]

The helicopter rotors turned at the last signal from the pilot warrant officer wearing fancy sunglasses.

A moment later, I felt a sense of floating along with a loud noise, and soon my vision quickly shot upwards.

Doo doo doo doo doo-!!

The helicopter, which had left Mt. Gwanak at high altitude, quickly entered the skies over Seoul.

“Ugh… … .”

“Are you shaking?”

“Even a snake like that shouldn’t stutter.”

The trio, who were riding a helicopter for the first time, held onto the handlebars with frightened faces.

Even Jin-Kyung Kim, who was the best at canning, seemed to be very nervous as she didn’t say anything.

“Mr. Daesu, you look familiar.”

“Yes, I’ve ridden it a few times.”

I’ve probably spent as much time traveling by helicopter as I have walking on foot.

Especially in Syria, I remember flying through the sky without even being able to set foot on the ground.

Of course, back then it was a feast of golden deserts and plateaus, but now only gloomy gray cities and black smoke filled the world.

I looked down at this with a bitter face and stroked Coco, who was curled up at my feet.

As time passed, Seoul began to move further away and Incheon finally came into view.

“Do you have any information about Incheon Airport?”

“We don’t know the details of the situation on Yeongjong Island. We know that military units were deployed at the beginning of the situation, but the speed of transmission is so fast.”

Assuming the virus originated in China, the most dangerous place is Incheon Airport.

Accordingly, it was highly likely that the military unit deployed to Yeongjong Island had already closed the island.

Sergeant Park handed me the small green terminal he had been using while I was struggling.

“Just in case, take it with you. It’s a GPS terminal, but it’s probably more convenient than a map.”

“thank you.”

The helicopter, which had just passed over Incheon, entered the West Sea where waves were rolling.

I quickly took out my telescope and started looking at Yeongjong Island in the distance.

‘It’s blocked.’

As expected, both bridges leading from Incheon to Yeongjong Island were bombed and broken.

As if that wasn’t enough, the docks were full of abandoned ships, as if the sea had been blocked.

When I closed my mouth with a serious expression, Sergeant Park said nothing more.

[Arriving soon.]

Meanwhile, the helicopter quickly crossed the West Sea and entered Yeongjong Island through the collapsed bridge.

Then it began to slowly lower its altitude and soon made a long circle towards the landing site.

We’ll be there soon.

My companions and I packed our equipment one by one and checked our weapons one last time.

Just then, the final destination, Incheon Airport terminal, began to appear on the left side of the helicopter.

“What is that?”

But where there should clearly be an airport and runway, all that was visible was a strange soot cloud.

Was there a fire?

For a moment, we couldn’t believe our eyes and we both stuck our heads out without saying a word.

And soon we confirmed that it was not soot, but infected people filling the runway.

I had prepared myself for this situation, but seeing it with my own eyes left me speechless.

“… … Would you like a cigarette?”

“yes.”

We just shared a cigarette in silence and had our last smoke before landing.

Meanwhile, the helicopter, which had narrowly avoided the aggro’s firing range, headed to the golf course, its landing site.

Doo doo doo doo doo-!!

As we gradually lowered our altitude, the ground, which had seemed so far away, quickly became closer.

We immediately took off our headsets and seat belts, split into two groups, and aimed our guns.

Kyaaaaaaaah-!!

Even though it was a quiet golf course, the rotor noise was so loud that it attracted aggro.

“Get down!”

The moment the helicopter landed, Sergeant Park and his squad members were the first to descend to the ground.

And in an instant, he took a shooting stance and pulled the trigger at the running infected.

Knock knock!

Taang! Bang!

However, it was not intended to subdue, but rather to attract attention.

Sergeant Park, who had quickly emptied one of the bullet casings, shouted toward the waiting group.

“Now is the time! Go!”

After figuring out the surrounding terrain with GPS, I led my group and escaped to the other side of the site.

The escort team, as if they had been waiting, increased their firepower and began to sweep away the incoming infected.

Phew, whoosh!

Added speed to the jumping.

As more and more infected people flocked to the helicopter, the surrounding area became empty.

With the escort team’s protection on our backs, we were able to safely leave the landing site.

“This way!”

I led my group to the nearest building and quickly hid myself.

Doo doo doo doo doo-!!

After a while, the helicopter that had brought us began to slowly ascend.

Cheek!

[good luck!]

The escort team that lured the infected until the end sincerely wished us good luck.

ruler.

Now is the beginning.