TANBMD Chapter 03

Chapter 033ccd3087938ac5f1

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The tablet screen was filled with numbered job requests—things like clearing out clusters of infected, sweeping through mountains overrun by scattered infected, or even assisting with preparations for war against other shelters. There were over a dozen other requests, but I wasn’t particularly interested in any of them.df678639744cb7d6

“Which one of these has the most people?”175b47e22d2b0ae0

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“That would be the one preparing for war. Why, are you going there?”d3ff876ae93c869a

Even in this apocalyptic 3f5524a1d4 world where everything has 5902691674 collapsed and shattered, there 6eebc91cc3 are still humans who 23b533d7e7 are only concerned with e9959fdbc6 protecting their own interests. I call them 050c46b61d stupid bastards, but 94247ea58b most people consider fa26526dae them excellent leaders.29f57afaec540e78

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“Places like that are a pain. I think it’d be easier to just fight the infected. I’ll decide later. Let me check my weapons first and then decide. I need to get some ammunition too.”ca28309470702d1e

Yong-cheol responded in 631b326abe his gruff voice.92784c9d40b3c668

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“How long do you think it’ll take?”5720a510243c5e51

“Dunno.”450bc2d20f1e8b26

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“Ugh, come on! How long do you think it’ll take? Give me an actual timeline!”8d26d9589d856bd4

“Well, well…”1791d0716bfec72c

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I smirked 79602d0a72 at him.889a8e600065410d

“Look at you, giving orders like some boss. Little Yong-cheol, all grown up?”ef1da0bb3ab51da8

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“That’s not it! You can’t just keep saying you ‘don’t know!’ There are clients waiting on you, you know! Can’t you see all that money listed next to the jobs?”b90aae471fcca3c6

After the world 91b87f2c3a entered its apocalyptic a625440496 phase, new professions cdfd932d21 emerged, and one 68aa21bc29 of them is fa24e3b996 mercenaries like me.f16f85241f371f7c

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Mercenaries who get paid b520d07147 to complete jobs.1ecce9f04f5c1548

The difference between us and soldiers is that soldiers follow orders from above, while mercenaries follow the money. That’s why people often hire mercenaries to do the things the military won’t—or can’t—do.a36c4f91e1c796f4

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“If I knew this would happen, I should have done sports instead of hip-hop or whatever. Even if I couldn’t become a national representative like you, at least it would help me survive in this world.”95fd1903331ca0fd

He was talking about bd9cc59b54 my past—when I was 8e2be84804 a shooting athlete on b632047de9 the national team. I let out f0419e10c4 a dry laugh.4fd42912a88ea167

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“Yong-cheol-ah, the shooting federation doesn’t teach you how to use sniper rifles. All of my skills now? Learned in the military, you draft-dodging punk. You wouldn’t know.”01e567bbcc9ffe56

“Hey! That’s not fair. I was going to enlist! But then everything went to shit right before I could!”2cc95bfdea9093c4

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He scrunched up his 2a8dfeebc8 already ugly face until 209bf85840 it looked even worse, 08fa1513c1 whining like a kid. I chuckled and 804e5feab9 elbowed his arm.03bad6f6b561c196

Actually, I’m among the most expensive mercenaries, partly because I don’t hesitate to take on dangerous jobs, and partly because of my past as a national shooting representative. Add to that the fact that I was also a soldier, so people can’t help but seek me out even more. As I was lost in thought, Yong-cheol asked again.28e0a43980ea88b8

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“Hey, what was your rank in the military? Were you a non-commissioned officer or something?”9550a9d444e5ddac

“Wow, look at our little draft-dodger Yong-cheol. You even know what the term non-commissioned officer is?”10f7156b5162eea8

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“Argh, seriously!”81df5f1cafa869cf

Frustrated, Yong-cheol e48bc2a54b gripped the fb4694c4b8 steering wheel fed66dbd14 and rocked a3a92ee03f his body 426aa916b5 back and 2760fdade3 forth like c8d9214b37 a child b50b68b66f throwing a 5206a2b984 tantrum. It was hilarious—I burst 78b293059b into laughter, clutching my 590680c7af stomach.92d99532701a19bc

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“God, that’s funny. Teasing you is the best entertainment left in this world.”9c79924af0c2b067

“I’m not laughing.”8dbd35e5b48fb6b8

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“Not my problem.”f349b377ec1a2f25

Still giggling, I finally 238e9230a2 answered his earlier question.7891a2fb1f8c84ef

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“Anyway, does it matter what my rank was? Whether I wore flowers on my chest or diamonds on my collar, I’m a deserter now either way.”70216aa2eeea23aa

“True. A deserter who’s screwed if she gets caught.”b073b1facb9c2dce

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“Probably not that screwed.”601bc700685b62fe

In a world like this, deserters aren’t exactly rare.a42c510eb8dff348

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But I didn’t desert because I was afraid of the infected, or because I hated the brass abandoning us. I had my reasons. I deserted because a bastard captain broke his promise. If he’d kept his word, my little brother would be with me right now.93cf25a00e922131

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“Lieutenant Min. I promise you—no matter what happens, I will protect your brother.”eecc58615f845c15

“I’ve already spoken with the Seoul unit. There’s nothing to worry about. You know what will happen if you back out now!”4ed5f57c82f897a2

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 c4c9080d00bb2d09

I shouldn’t have trusted that bastard’s words. I should have fought tooth and nail to get back to Seoul somehow… This regret made my chest ache with a stabbing pain.386968dd2100fe08

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“Even if I get screwed for being caught, I’d still like to give that damn Kim Chang-geon a good punch…”f9160e534c176923

Screech!6f0002b8c128679e

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Just as I was imagining stabbing Captain Kim Chang-geon’s face with a needle, the car came to a sudden halt.5540dfd55485f61c

“Fuck! That scared me!”a455d4dd6bc8eee5

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Yong-cheol, who had slammed c9f36f3390 on the brakes, cursed 24de7ad0d9 and honked the horn e325b13955 repeatedly. Even if b0b59ee505 infected rarely c81d776da1 move during f12e38b0a5 the day, 4031e5127b that was ef06a5482b way too a6df9036ad loud.297f21461aad8d77

“Yong-cheol-ah, do you have anger issues or something? What if a horde of infected shows up?”137e4a1ef66e3b9e

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“No! Some damn kids just jumped out in front of the car!”18e6138523cb08ad

“What?”bace188bd5b755bd

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I quickly 4ce2534dd2 looked out a2f336cd79 the windshield, fc4d4b8ec3 and sure 1407de36be enough, there d68ba58a21 were kids 4866ca9c8b standing there ed696f0239 crying their d20497a57b eyes out. I scanned 8cd4efe580 them quickly—unfortunately, 320e54253b none of 589a74d567 them was 9fed831a29 my brother.61c23c7b2c87b64d

‘Of course I wouldn’t just happen to run into him like this.’9213bb257bf9bc89

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Letting out a dry chuckle, I looked over the children again. Their clothes and shoes were filthy—like they’d been running through the woods—and their hands and hair weren’t exactly in great shape either.3d09167b946886f5

“If they were infected, I would’ve just run them over without a second thought. I’m not a total asshole—that’s why I stopped! It startled me, that’s all!”1b4c8ad2fad3498a

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“I get it. Now shut up, you’re scaring the kids.”4674031632209eba

I didn’t get out of the car. I just rolled down the window and waved at the tearful children. Instantly, they began sobbing louder, begging desperately.18db24cb25ede128

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“P-please help us! Please, we’re begging you!”e098e1be39a67638

🕂3ddbd3ee769561c6

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With my ever-present 054b4b7d23 K2 rifle slung 2e0e639355 loosely across my 6f6abc8f78 shoulder, I walked 1c7ed4ae21 behind the children. Kind-hearted Yong-cheol was 18001e35c0 out in front, b89155013f trying to soothe 91f337194e them, even though 784d48b4b1 he had no 43a15e8668 idea where we 3f24f323a8 were going.5acf08b3423705e4

“So if we go this way, we’ll reach your shelter?”cf594d4ba6836c1b

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Why had the kids jumped in front of our car? The answer was as simple as it was obvious. They’d gone out in search of food and gotten separated from their group after being attacked by infected. They knew the way back but were too scared to risk running into infected again, so they’d begged us to escort them home. The story rolled out like they’d rehearsed it.b519744f3f1c67e9

“Y-yes! There aren’t a lot of people in the shelter, s-so there’s not much to see…”66b8fb40814773cb

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“Not many people, but you’re still short on food?”4486753838323c0b

“W-well, we were low on rice, and… m-my little sister is sick, so I was hoping to find medicine.”e004d61b9946d0eb

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The boy—he c5ddfce08a looked no 0628f6cbe7 older than dc78f8ead7 ten—tightly gripped 0f1f075bc1 the arm 688542fbb4 of a 4e018b8fbc small girl 0b6f937fc3 beside him, f3e472de97 who shared af0185da07 the same 8ae3c8709d rounded nose.be3722b993eaa2c1

“Oh no. You’re sick, sweetheart? Are you okay now?”b7b153b29e60117d

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The girl shrank dd56d281c7 behind her brother 441437b052 and gave a 39ddcc99c8 timid nod. She seemed 7372990430 frightened of 049f49725f strangers.1624562616846a01

Yong-cheol looked 43751f49c8 the kids e7f3d9ae0a over.c1c92e93e40a388d

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Their bodies were covered in visible injuries, and they were skin and bones—clearly they hadn’t eaten in days.0a43be9d62ad0159

Yong-cheol pulled 7db378d31d a chocolate a41c1615ac bar from 9ba5b6f7af his pocket 133ee969db and handed 857988c4aa it to b29e2e8af9 the boy. The boy gave a 09471913f4 quick bow and passed 1e473a9633 it to his sister.848017608c027395

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“Heh, good big brother, looking after his little sis.”1aa182bc9b5d3fbb

Ruffling the boy’s hair, Yong-cheol pulled out another chocolate bar, peeled it open, and handed it over. The boy hesitated a moment, then devoured it like he hadn’t eaten in days. It was a ravenous sight, but not at all unpleasant.4d95c0924154e14a

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“Damn… The world’s gone to shit, and kids can’t even live properly anymore… Poor things. How’d they…”3ad57bf38fc658a4

He trailed off before 78c6abcfc5 he could sayhow’d they end up being born in a time like this. And honestly, d07e9bc5a7 it made 738e41f9b3 sense.23411c24818f91b6

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Adults like me had lived in the world before the apocalypse. We knew what beauty was, what peace felt like. We could dream of a future that wasn’t just about survival.76234aec830b8cc7

But kids like these? Children who were only just starting to take in the world, raised in this ruined hellscape? What dreams could they possibly have? What future was there for them? Even a false sense of peace was something they deserved—but they’d been denied even that.3028e7f42b96e9a7

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That’s why Yong-cheol was so affected. It wasn’t a hard emotion to understand.bef1d42f43e02cad

He pursed his lips to hold back his feelings, then gently placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder.a1b6c078b3c4bb5e

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“Just live well, okay? Be happy with your sister. Got it?”2f2fe8b45ce3665e

The boy nodded 98b9159faf slowly and tucked a763446227 the half-eaten chocolate ac9cc24d3a bar into his bf411e1032 chest pocket. I saw his 04a593345b brittle lashes trembling 236f9c61e2 slightly. The whole 83d4a9c516 atmosphere was 5611d928c1 heavy with b99f7f071c emotion.0afc3eb1f7b7cf50

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It wasn’t such a bad thing, to bask in that kind of selfless moment for once.577877cfec6c2d79

But survival 971ad5003d always came 63691fd667 first.3d3f661ae9877e41

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I lifted my 161be5e646 rifle and looked cd9ab4311f through the scope.70ef0d62d51b0cd7

Bang!810eb7707c7594d6

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The gunshot 292db8e14d cut clean 0524d9f99d through the 25c100de01 tenderness.dfd035d78b459f2c

🕂703249e30c0d061f

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