1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 98



Only Krnovel

Episode 98

What makes a swarm of infected people so threatening isn’t just their sheer numbers.

Among the gathered infected, a scream mutant, or Q1, is bound to appear.

The moment he appears, the infected group gains the power to move as a communal colony.

But a horde of infected people and Q1s numbering in the hundreds of thousands were flocking here.

‘It’s dangerous.’

The current battlefield is not a flat area, but the middle of a perfectly urban area with buildings built close together.

No matter how strong the firepower of an army was, its power was bound to be dispersed.

But, unfortunately, we ran into a group of infected people while securing the area.

Right now, the front line will be too busy trying to stop the oncoming enemies, let alone build a defensive line.

Kwung, thump!

A loud explosion could be heard from far away in the city, as if mortars were being fired.

As time went by, the noise grew closer and closer, and the commotion also grew more and more widespread.

Chi-chik!

At that moment, the radio installed at the outpost rang and one of the sentries ran over quickly.

I didn’t hear the details, but I could tell just by looking that the situation was serious.

“We’re going to retreat here soon! Get back to the shelter quickly before it’s too late!”

The friendly sentry waved his hand at us who were still there and ran to the outpost.

Shouts were heard from all directions, and the remaining soldiers hurriedly boarded the truck.

The moment the retreat from the forward stronghold was decided, there was nothing they could do.

“Mr. Daesu! Over there!”

At that moment, a line of dump trucks came rushing forward, where an explosive sound was heard.

Thinking that it might be the 2nd Platoon, I quickly ran over and checked the seating area.

‘doesn’t exist.’

But Private First Class Oh Chan-il and Private First Class Lee Hyeon-su were nowhere to be seen.

Feeling suffocated, I ended up hanging on to the rearview mirror of a truck that was slowly approaching me.

“Do you happen to know where the 2nd Platoon is?”

“Hey, hey! Sir, you shouldn’t be hanging here!”

“Looking for the 2nd Platoon!”

“Why are you looking for another platoon here? The front line has already been ordered to retreat long ago!”

“There must be a gathering place!”

“Damn it, we don’t even know! We were just sent forward and are now in a hurry to retreat!”

The driver adjusted his military cap with a look of confusion on his face, as if he himself was out of his mind.

I also stopped all the two and a half trucks that were following me and asked them where they were going.

“We don’t know either!”

“Wait a minute! Isn’t this guy a civilian?”

“Go drive, kid!”

But the other two and a half trucks also didn’t know where the final assembly point was.

They were simply retreating hastily to the rear to avoid the oncoming hordes of infected.

‘shit.’

The time when most casualties occur during a combat situation is when retreating to the rear.

Especially in a case of such a reckless retreat, there could be people who end up completely isolated.

I prayed that it wasn’t the case, but how could it be like this without any field experience?

This was clearly a command error and a complete misjudgment due to a lack of understanding of the battlefield.

Kkaaaaaaah-!!

At that moment, screams, presumed to be from Q1, began to be heard from the distance in the direction of Sinwon-dong.

The distance is about 500m, and they managed to break through the defense line and come here.

I gritted my teeth and looked back and forth between the front and my watch as the shelling died down.

Then, Kim Jin-kyung and Olivia, whose faces also became serious, approached me.

“What should I do?”

“… … Let’s go back.”

No matter how many battles we have been through, dealing with hundreds of thousands of infected people is impossible.

If we delay any longer here, we will end up in a dangerous situation.

For now, all we could do was return to campus, praying that the 2nd Platoon had retreated safely.

After picking up the cold kimbap, we followed the line of trucks that was slowly moving away.

* * *

The main campus gate, which we arrived at after 30 minutes, was already in chaos.

This was because a large-scale, short-term force had to be received as an indiscriminate retreat occurred suddenly.

The units had long since been mixed up, and everywhere there was a noise of voices looking for members of the same unit.

“Mr. Chan-il! Mr. Hyun-soo!”

Of course, my group and I, who entered last, also raised our voices among them.

An hour of frantically searching through the crowds to see if my name was on the casualty list.

But no matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find even the 2nd platoon, let alone the two people.

Kyaaaah-!!

At that moment, the screams of the men could be heard from far away outside the main gate.

The aftermath of the outbreak that started in Sinwon-dong eventually reached the shelter.

People were startled by the sound they had never heard before, and the song soon spread like wildfire.

“Close the door, quickly!”

“Hurry up!”

Fortunately, the soldiers who had come to their senses quickly climbed up the wall and tried to close the main gate.

“No! I haven’t gotten in yet!”

“Fuck! What do you want me to do with the people outside!”

However, more than one-fifth of the total number of people outside have not yet entered.

Some soldiers and their families who had come with anxious hearts came running desperately.

“Wait, wait! You can’t do that!”

“If you are late, you will all die!”

The startled soldiers rushed in and desperately pushed away those who were trying to block the door.

In an instant, the area in front of the main gate of the campus was filled with crowds of people pushing and shoving, along with riot police.

Kikkikkik, thump!

But despite their efforts, the campus gate was closed too easily.

“Commence firing!”

At the same time, firearms installed on the barriers fired as they fought off the hordes of infected that were advancing.

Fortunately, the main campus gate, reinforced with containers and buses, easily held them back.

Some people feel relieved,

Someone despaired.

The survivors sat down on the ground one by one, looking at the sight in vain.

‘Could not come back.’

I quickly accepted the reality, pressing my forehead as a headache began to build up.

The 2nd Platoon failed to return, and two men are now dead or stranded somewhere on the battlefield.

Let’s think about it calmly.

What are the chances of surviving?

Also, the probability of obtaining it is.

‘Understanding the material comes first.’

“Mr. Daesu!”

“Wait here.”

After making a quick decision, I left the main gate and ran to the main building where the command center was located.

As expected, a huge crowd was gathered in front of the main building, screaming, and a large number of soldiers were standing in a line to block them.

I desperately squeezed through the gap and barely managed to get to the fence.

‘Lieutenant Colonel Choi.’

In the command headquarters barracks, Lieutenant Colonel Choi was gathered with his staff and talking.

Judging by the serious expressions on their faces, they don’t seem to realize how big of a mess they’ve made.

But when I saw the face of the beast standing still, I felt a surge of excitement.

“Get out of the way! Get out of the way, fucking hell!”

At that moment, there was suddenly a commotion behind me and a familiar voice was heard.

Sergeant Park, who had just heard the news, was running towards them, pushing through the crowd and soldiers.

“You can’t do that, Sergeant Park!”

“You can’t see that!

They were squad members who had been living in the same barracks and had been through thick and thin together, and who I thought of as more than brothers.

Sergeant Park had already lost half his mind when he heard that those squad members had not returned.

The soldiers blocking his way knew his feelings, so they could only hug Sergeant Park and not push him away.

“What are you doing if you don’t pull it out quickly!”

But one lieutenant behind the fence shouted, apparently displeased with the sight.

Then, soldiers and non-commissioned officers who appeared to be from the headquarters company rushed to subdue Sergeant Park.

“Let go! Let go!”

“Is this kid really crazy!”

Even if he is a Sergeant Park, it is difficult to exert force in front of a large number of people who are determined to rush in.

“Ahh!”

Sergeant Park, who was kicked in the groin, eventually fell to his knees and was grabbed by the nape of his neck.

But the soldiers didn’t stop there and tried to strike his waist with a staff.

widely!

At that moment, I quickly grabbed the flying pole over the fence with my hand.

“What, what are you!”

Then, the panicked sergeant struggled to pull out the caught baton.

But no matter how hard I tried, the three-stage staff in my hand would not move.

“What the heck… … ! Kkaaaak!”

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he grabbed the soldier’s hand as he was about to swing his fist and bent it back.

As soon as the baton hit the ground, the other soldiers, startled, rushed to me.

widely!

Kwajik!

He lightly kicked the ankle, knocking him down, and easily subdued the soldier who was rushing after him.

The startled soldiers rushed to both sides at the same time, but the result was the same.

“… … .”

It was a split second.

Only about five seconds had passed, and there were five soldiers lying on the ground.

At that moment, the loud noise died down and a heavy silence fell over the surroundings.

The sudden commotion made people, including Lieutenant Colonel Choi, look here.

But even though five soldiers had fallen, no one rushed forward easily.

“Get out of the way.”

“Yes, yes!”

He is not someone who has been loyal to his country and people just to receive this kind of treatment.

I pushed past the soldiers who were standing there awkwardly and helped Sergeant Park up from his seat.

Then the noisy crowd parted like the Red Sea, making way for us.

“Mr. Dae-su.”

“Are you coming to your senses?”

“Ugh, shit… … !”

“Let’s go back.”

I know better than anyone here how angry and resentful you feel.

But now I need to calm down and think about how to save my platoon members.

I looked at the sunset in the distance and took heavy steps forward.

* * *

Time passed and the sun set.

The world was covered in pitch darkness, and even the noisy campus shelter was enveloped in darkness.

Kwung, thump!

But even though it was very late, the noise and gunshots could still be heard.

This is because the attack by the infected group that started in the afternoon is still ongoing.

Soldiers climbing the wall without resting due to continuous intermittent attacks.

People who felt anxious about this were unable to go to bed late at night.

Of course, my companions and I were also up all night when we arrived at our accommodation.

With the golden time running out, I couldn’t afford to waste time being tired.

“Mr. Daesu, I found it!”

“Where are you?”

“Let’s go to the student council office first.”

Kang Pil-jae, who had been assigned the wanted case, finally succeeded in finding the witness.

As soon as my companions and I heard the news, we quickly left the dorm and headed to the student corps office.

CLANG!

At the ROTC office, Corporal Jang, Corporal Park, and Captain Kang arrived first.

“Witnesses?”

“This way.”

Sitting on the office sofa was a soldier who I definitely remembered seeing somewhere.

Judging by his rank, he seemed to be a new recruit, but he had an anxious look on his face and his hands were shaking.

“Did you find out anything?”

“I guess my memory is a bit hazy because I was so shocked. I’m still trying to figure it out, but it’ll probably take some time.”

“Let me tell you something.”

He was a soldier who was showing early symptoms of PTSD, probably because he had suffered a lot at the front line.

I pulled up a chair, took out a cigarette I had brought with me, and handed it to him.

“Just have a smoke.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Then, as if he had been waiting, the soldier took the cigarette, put it in his mouth, and immediately lit it.

I waited until he puffed out a few puffs of smoke and then leaned my chair forward.

“I’ll show you some photos now. Just pick out a few people you remember and tell me. That’s it.”

“Okay, I understand.”

For people whose memories are not complete, simple image memory is the answer.

I laid out the photos of the platoon members I had collected in advance, one by one, on the desk in front of the sofa.

Then the soldier looked at each photo, one by one, while smoking a cigarette with trembling hands.

Gulp.

A suffocating silence followed.

We waited quietly, arms linked, praying that we would get just one.

After looking at about 10 pages like that, the soldier who had not been responding suddenly opened his eyes wide.

“Sleep, just a moment.”

And then he nodded, tapping one of the photos with his finger.

“This is the guy.”

That photo was none other than the photo of Private Lee Hyeon-su that was found in the group’s room.

In the photo, Private Lee Hyeon-su and his late grandmother were smiling brightly.

“Do you remember the time?”

“Yes, yes. I sprained my ankle a little bit back then, and this guy helped me up. I think it was right when the order to retreat was given.”

“Where is it?”

“Yes, it’s the Shillim Bridge in front of the intersection. Our job was to block the bridge.”

“But why didn’t you come with me?”

At that time, while defending Shillim Bridge, they received an order to retreat and began to retreat.

If so, the last sighting location should have been further back, not at Shillim Bridge.

But the soldier shook his head as if to say no and said something unexpected.

“Those people were going in the opposite direction.”

“yes?”

“They were going in the opposite direction from us.”