Side Story 3: Stories of Russia (3)đ»đ»đŠđđđđ«đ·đđđŠđ”.đŹđ°đ
All the while, when we were hunting Hounds in Jeju Island, Kim Dae-Young hadnât gotten to eat a brain.
Me, Kim Hyeong-Jun, Do Han-Sol, and Jeong Jin-Young had eaten the enemy leadersâ brains and slept, but Kim Dae-Young had been busy standing guard, and had not had time to eat one.
âWhen was the last time you ate a brain?â I asked as I looked at him.
âItâs been several months.â
âWhen, specifically?â
âIâd say⊠At least four months.â
Four months.
His current state seemed to be more severe than Kim Hyeong-Junâs when heâd grown aggressive in the past.
âWhen did your symptoms appear?â I asked with a frown.
"A week⊠Maybe more than that.â
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"Then you shouldâve told us right away. Why keep it to yourself?â
As I raised my voice, Kim Hyeong-Jun, who was next to me, spoke up.
âAhjussi, calm down. This is the first time Mr. Kim Dae-Young is experiencing this.â
âYou, stay here and keep an eye on Dae-Young.â
With that, I headed to the lab where Tommy and Alyosha were. When I barged in, Tommy took his eyes off the microscope heâd been looking through and turned around.
âIs something going on? Why does it seem like somethingâs going on?â
âTommy, I need some drugs that can suppress zombie instincts.â
"Pardon? What are you talking about all of a sudden?â
After I briefly explained what was going on, Tommyâs face grew troubled. He quietly rubbed his chin and got lost in thought. It seemed like he didnât have any proper solutions for me. I waited patiently, and after a moment, Tommy spoke up.
âOkay, letâs start with bringing him here,â he said, his voice slightly timid. âWe need to get his blood and diagnose it to do any experiments or anything.â
âIf itâs possible, Iâd like Alyosha and Elena to put their research on hold for a while, until we sort this issue out.â
âOf course, for sure. Someoneâs life is at stake right now.â
After hearing his answer, I went back out again. When I came back with Kim Dae-Young, Tommy expertly collected a sample of his blood and gave it to Alyosha and Elena. The three of them examined his blood through their microscopes, then began to discuss what theyâd observed.
In the meantime, I looked for Kim Hyeong-Jun and Do Han-Sol.
âItâs very unlikely that the drug will be developed in time. Weâre going to have to go outside and look for red-eyed zombies.â
âHow are we going to find any red-eyed zombies in this vast, vast country? There arenât any densely populated areas around here.â
âVladivostok is the most populous city in the Primorsky Krai area. There has to be at least one red-eyed zombie out there.â
âFree what?â
âNo, Primorsky Krai.â
"Oh."
It seemed like Kim Hyeong-Jun didnât know the names of the places around this area. I didnât blame him, since Iâd also had a hard time learning them at first.
âBut⊠didnât you hear what Tommy said the other day?â he said, smacking his lips. âVladivostok was the first place where the Russian army wiped out the zombies.â
âThereâs a high chance that they came up with that to calm the populace. I canât imagine the zombies that attacked the lab coming from somewhere other than Vladivostok.â
Kim Hyeong-Jun clicked his tongue loudly and gave me a disapproving look. Tommy, who was peering into his microscope, spoke.
âThere might be one in Ussuriysk, but I canât be certain.â
âUssuriysk? Whatâs that?â
âItâs a city located about one hundred and ten kilometers north of Vladivostok. Itâs the second most populous city in the Primorsky Krai area.â
One hundred and ten kilometers was about an hourâs distance, if we ran at full speed. I took a quick breath and gave everyone orders.
âLetâs do this. Hyeong-Jun, you check out Vladivostok. Han-Sol, you stay here and keep an eye on Dae-Young. Whereâs Jin-Young?â
âProbably at the zombie camp.â
I nodded.
âOkay, then. Letâs get going. We have no clue how much time we have left.â
âAhjussi, thereâs something I want to talk about before we go.â
âWhat is it?â
âWhat if we find a red-eyed zombie, but itâs a red-eyed zombie that lives for humans?â
For a split second, I didnât know what to say. I had no clue what would be the right thing to do if we ran into such a situation. I wondered if it was alright to sacrifice others so that my people would be safe. I remained silent, contemplating the question. Tommy let out a sigh.
âLetâs leave that up to everyoneâs individual discretion. Whatâs the point of thinking about that when weâre not yet faced with such a situation?â
âTommy, how long do you think it will take to develop the new drug?â
âI canât give you a definitive answer. However, itâs a much more approachable issue, compared to coming up with vaccines or cures. Doable, in a way.â
âAre you saying that such a thing is possible?â
âYes. As long as weâre trying to suppress the virus, instead of destroying it⊠We might just be able to make it, given the research data we have so far.â
I was glad that Tommy was saying something positive. His words helped to soothe my anxious, frazzled mind.
âIâll go ahead and give one of my stage-one mutants to each of you,â said Do Han-Sol. âIf the lab is in danger, or if Mr. Kim Dae-Young gets better, Iâll let you know.â
âUssuriysk is one hundred and ten kilometers from here. Itâll be difficult to signal across such a long distance.â
âThe stronger we are, the deeper our bonds with our underlings become, which in turn means that the distances across which we are allowed to transmit signals increases.â
Distance.
I hadnât thought about this since the first time Iâd met Kim Hyeong-Jun because I never had to think about it. The maximum distance I was aware of was five kilometers. I also knew that, if we stationed an underling every five kilometers, theyâd be connected like beacons, which could help us to send our signals across further distances.
I looked at Kim Hyeong-Jun, who looked at Do Han-Sol.
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âHan-Sol, howâd you figure this out?â he asked. It seemed like he hadnât figured this out either.
âIâve always been in charge of defense. What else did you think Iâd do besides just standing around? I did my fair amount of experimenting with my underlings.â
âThen whatâs the maximum distance that you can transmit?â
âMy maximum range increased dramatically after eating the black creatureâs brain. The last time I checked before leaving Jeju Island, my range was forty kilometers.â
âForty kilometers? Is that even possible?â
Do Han-Sol chuckled.
"Well, I wouldnât be lying to you, would I?â
With that, Kim Hyeong-Jun snorted and looked at me. I never thought his trivial experiments could come in this handily. The idea that five kilometers was the limit was also something Kim Hyeong-Jun had figured out before heâd eaten a black creatureâs brain. Back then, he couldnât even exert control over one thousand underlings.
The distance of forty kilometers mentioned by Do Han-Sol seemed absurd, but if we considered the physical changes we had gone through between then and now, it made a certain kind of sense. All this time, Iâd thought that eating a black creatureâs brain only increased our regenerative powers and physical capabilities. I just realized that it also increased the distance across which we could transmit signals as well.
It was great to have more people tackling the same problem. Weâd come up with a solution to a problem that had almost seemed impossible.
I nodded vigorously and looked over at Do Han-Sol.
âYes. Make your mutants shout or something if anything happens.â
"Got it. Iâll send one mutant to follow Mr. Kim Hyeong-Jun, and three will follow you. Iâll order them to station themselves at the point where the maximum range is reached, so donât be surprised if you start to see fewer mutants following you. Theyâll know where to stop.â
I gestured to show that I understood, then looked at Kim Hyeong-Jun.
âDo you agree with this plan?â
âOh, why would you think that Iâd disagree now?â
Just like that, we all came together with the goal of saving Kim Dae-Young. When Tommy saw us unite, he handed me the travel brochure that he was holding.
âHere, take this map with you. The way to Ussuriysk is marked in blue.â
âIt looks like there are a couple of villages on the way.â
âThere arenât that many people outside the big cities. It wonât matter if you stop by them on the way⊠But Iâm pretty sure you wonât find much there to help you.â
I put the map Tommy gave me in my pocket and immediately looked at Kim Hyeong-Jun.
âLetâs go.â
"Okay."
* * *
I looked around as I ran at full speed along the highway. Unlike the highways in Korea, the roads here were not as well-maintained. There were several buildings along the highway that seemed like rest stops, but almost all of them were just small, shabby stores that looked like shacks. They might have been mistaken for hotdog stands.
Whenever I came close to a town, I slowed down for a bit and focused my hearing and my vision to see if there were any people around. Unfortunately, though, I heard nothing except for the throat-rending cries that zombies made.
The eerie zombie cries that filled this damned world⊠They made it feel as though I was living in hell. Every now and then, I would mistake the deer that I saw as humans. Their cautious, vigilant movements were similar to what humans would adopt. The more I grew wary of my surroundings, the more anxious and sensitive I got. In the end, I was filled with anxiety.
It felt like time itself was chasing me. In fact, it felt as though some unexpected death was approaching me.
After moving nonstop for about an hour in this manner, all I had for company was Ji-Eun, five stage-one mutants, and one of Do Han-Solâs stage-one mutants. Iâd started off with three of his underlings, but one of them would stop and position itself every forty kilometers we traveled.
I examined the brochure Tommy had given me as I let my torn-up soles regenerate. According to this map, I was about to come across a big city pretty soon.
Suddenly, I spied a road sign about one hundred meters away. I ran to the sign and looked at the letters written on it.
âOh darnâŠâ
I couldnât help but sigh.
How was I supposed to read signs written in Russian?
I opened the guidebook and started comparing all the letters and shapes one by one to see if they were the same or not. It felt as though I were playing Whereâs Waldo..
- Ussuriysk.
I was surprised to realize that Tommy had labeled every area on the brochure clearly in Korean. Each area had their Korean names written beneath them. I was surprised that heâd been able to foresee this situation. I couldnât help but feel sorry yet so thankful for his considerate nature.
I couldnât read the letters, but I could definitely read the numbers. I ended up looking back and forth between the brochure and the sign, and finally realized that I was only a kilometer away from Ussuriysk.
âSo itâs this way.â
My blue eyes flashed once again, and I continued along the empty highway.
* * *
Buildings began to appear in the distance. I couldnât believe that I hadnât been able to locate where Ussuriysk was from a kilometer away. I couldnât help but think that my eyesight had deteriorated. However, it wasnât until I got to the main part of Ussuriysk that I realized that there was nothing wrong with my eyes.
Most of the buildings in Ussuriysk were single-story or three-story buildings. There were a couple of unfinished apartment complexes, but those were also hidden behind the mountains. On top of that, the gaps between the buildings were wide, unlike in Korea, and the place was sparsely dotted with trees and grass.
Kudzu-like vines covered the buildings, and mysterious-looking grass that grew up to my waist had begun popping up all over the place. Within a span of less than a year, the world was rapidly giving up the façade of civilization.
I heightened my five senses and increased my vigilance toward my surroundings. I walked through the eerie streets of Ussuriysk, channeling strength into my legs so that I could react instantly by moving away if I sensed someone or some sort of murderous intent.
To my surprise, though, the wind that was blowing through this abandoned city felt strange to me. The wind that blew against my cheeks seemed to carry a strong smell. It felt as though the concentrated smell of grass was purifying my rotten lungs.
Rustleâ
At that moment, I sensed movement from the bushes on the left. I crouched, using the abandoned, derelict cars as cover. I turned my gaze to where the sound had come from, and saw a pair of deer grazing there. A strange feeling tickled the back of my mind as I saw the deer enjoying a peaceful moment.
I wasnât exactly sure how to express the feeling that had come over me. It was a vague, uncomfortable sadness, a sense of missing, longing. There was something poetic or lyrical about the way I was feeling.
I had thought that everything was over, that the end of mankind would be the end of the world, but nature was diligently going on with its cycle. For a brief moment, I forgot why I had come to this place as I stared at the wonders of nature in front of me. It felt as though nature was taking in all the broken moments of humanity that I faced every day and was purifying them.
Twang!
A sharp arrow whizzed by out of nowhere, piercing the deer in its neck. Blood leaked out of its wound as the surprised deer began to hop around frantically. It quickly collapsed to the ground as if in a state of panic, struggling. It twitched a couple of times, and finally stopped moving.
I took a closer look at the deerâs neck and realized that the object sticking out of it was a crossbow bolt. In an instant, I snapped back to reality, my eyes open wide as I scanned my surroundings.
I spotted a man wearing a hood on the roof of a three-story building to my left. I heard some Russian, and another man and a woman appeared next to the man with the crossbow.
I looked at them, wondering if this was their way of life.
The man holding the crossbow gave out orders, and the two newcomers scattered left and right at once, moving toward the deer. The man pulled out a hunting knife that had been strapped to his side and crouched down close to the deerâs head.
The deer was still alive; its heart was beating faster than ever, but very faintly. The man closed the deerâs eyes and muttered in a low voice, âAmen.â
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he stabbed the hunting knife through the deerâs heart.
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