By Zephyria 
After a moment of silence, Eden nonchalantly soothed Ha-jin, who was completely worn out, and Pie, who was constantly growling.
“We don’t have a choice anyway. Let’s go.”
“What if they take all our supplies? The way they’re staring with weapons is making me suspicious.”
“It’s a relief if they only take the supplies. Avoid conflict as much as possible and throw them what they want. Be careful not to get hurt.”
Ha-jin widened his eyes as if surprised.
“You’re just going to give them the food?”
“Yes.”
From Eden’s perspective, there was no room for hesitation. If he were alone, he would have killed someone to break their spirit or threatened them to get away, but now there was a high probability that Do Ha-jin and Pie would be taken hostage.
There were as many as 13 opponents, and there was no need to risk getting hurt to protect the food. Even if it meant going hungry for a while, they had to choose a path that would protect them as much as possible.
Not understanding the deeper meaning, Do Ha-jin grumbled with a dissatisfied expression.
“Delta Force, really…?”
Annoyed, he glared at Ha-jin and snapped.
“Can’t you see the sun setting? There are 13 people standing there. Even if I’m from Delta Force, what more can I do here? Special forces aren’t gods.”
Just then, a murmuring sound came from afar. Listening carefully, the conversation filled with laughter and curses was quite clear.
“…I think they’re saying we stopped because we’re scared of them?”
Ha-jin sighed deeply, tearing at his dirty hair. As expected, his sad premonition was correct. The thought of all the rice and tuna cans he had struggled to carry being taken away already made his heart ache.
He stroked Pie’s back as if to soothe him, and reluctantly moved his feet.
❖ ❖ ❖
Ha-jin watched his anxiety become reality and tore at his hair once again.
“Is this all the food you have? No more? You’ll die if you lie, Hyungs.”
“Hey, hey, take it easy. They’re listening well, so don’t scare them for no reason.”
“Rice too? Wow, jackpot…!”
The two were surrounded by wanderers occupying the road, handing over their bundles. They were being compliant to avoid conflict, but Ha-jin felt a sense of wounded pride and had to bite down hard on his lower lip.
The ones covered in tattoos were probably just barely twenty years old. They might be youngsters, but their size was by no means inferior to Eden’s. Ha-jin sighed as he looked at the delinquent teenagers spouting curses and speaking informally.
‘What’s happening to the world…?’
No, since it’s already ruined, is it natural for these ruthless guys to survive? He turned his head and looked at the green tent tucked away in a corner. It was filled with an excessive number of bags at a glance.
Judging by the amount, they had been camped here for quite some time, threatening passersby.
Could Jeffrey, Mi-so, and Byeol have passed through here too? Ha-jin, thinking of his group, looked into the tent with longing eyes, hoping to see a familiar bag. Unfortunately, the day was ending and his vision was blurry.
Even the crescent moon that had been lighting the way was obscured by clouds, and darkness clouded his vision.
The delinquent teenagers who had dismantled the bundles whistled with satisfaction. The man who seemed to have the worst temper among them gave Eden and Ha-jin a thumbs up.
“Thanks for carrying the rice, Hyungs? Only weaklings have passed by for the past few days, so I was getting pissed, but we got something this time.”
Since when were we Hyungs? Ha-jin swallowed his curses and quietly breathed. As if to soothe his anxious heart, Eden briefly grabbed his hand tightly and then let go. Startled, he flinched, while Pie, who was lying flat, growled in his throat.
“Aah! Shit, you scared me, I was so freaked out.”
Someone who had tried to touch Pie secretly fell on his butt. The rest of the youngsters burst into laughter.
Ha-jin’s heart began to beat unpleasantly at the fearless commotion.
‘What if zombies come, you crazy bastards…!’
At that moment, Eden, who had been silent, asked the youngster who seemed to be the leader.
“The road is open, so it must be dangerous. Why did you set up camp here?”
At the same time, everyone’s attention turned to Eden. The crescent moon, which had been hidden by the clouds, reappeared, casting a faint light on the road. Standing proudly in the moonlight, he asked again.
“I’m asking if there’s a high risk of encountering zombies here, since there’s no good place to escape.”
The leader’s eyes widened for some reason, and he stared at Eden for a while. He twitched his lips and made a strange expression before bursting into loud laughter.
“Hahaha! Wow, Hyung, are you worried about us? Why are you making us feel bad when you just had your food stolen, really!”
The man, who seemed to be in a good mood, waved his hand.
“Sigh, sigh… since you listen so well and are so handsome, I’ll do you a favor! I’ll tell you a secret.”
Ha-jin’s eyes shook uneasily at the word “secret.” The man twisted his lion-like hair with his finger and whispered mischievously.
“The truth is, this is a zombie-free zone itself, because…”
He put his hand to the side of his lips and continued.
“The road behind us is just— boom!”
“……”
“It exploded. Do you understand what I’m saying? This fucking road is just cut off!”
A cold silence fell after the man’s exaggerated words.
Ha-jin’s head slowly turned towards Eden. He had been watching since when, and he also turned his gaze to him. Ha-jin, unable to speak for a while, looked back at the man with a stiff gaze.
“What do you mean by exploded?”
“Ah. Don’t you guys know? The soldiers cut off all the bridges in this area. They’re real bastards, right? There probably aren’t any roads in Hwajeong City that are intact either. So don’t bother suffering and either go sideways from here or turn back.”
“……”
“Well… and since we’re on the subject, it’s not like we want to do this here either? This is all because the government abandoned us. There are zombies swarming below, and all the roads leading to the metropolitan area are blocked, so what choice do we have?”
The youngsters standing next to him chimed in, agreeing with the man’s words.
“Shit, we have to eat to live. Isn’t that right?”
“Even though we look like this, we don’t kill people. We don’t touch the elderly or the weak, and we don’t touch women or babies. We have our own principles. We just steal food from strong men like us, that’s all.”
“Wow~ look at that bastard changing his words. When did you say you’d have fun if a woman came along, you crazy bastard.”
“Ah, you crazy bastard. That was a joke!”
“Hehe. That guy’s a virgin, so he pees his pants just looking at women.”
“You fucking bastards!”
Amidst the commotion, Ha-jin quickly raised his hand and shouted.
“I have a question!”
The men, who had been punching each other’s shoulders, turned to Ha-jin.
“Have you seen three people pass by here, a foreign man, a woman with long hair, and a baby? There are three of them…!”
As soon as the disorganized question ended, an answer popped out from somewhere.
“Oh? That foreigner with a lot of hair on his chin and a tall woman? And a girl with her hair braided in pigtails?”
Ha-jin’s eyes widened at the description that exactly matched his group. This time, Eden strode towards the man who had answered.
“When did those people pass by here? How are they, are they safe?”
It was ironic that they were asking the looters who had stolen their food about the safety of their group, but neither of them had time to consider such things now. Ha-jin also stood close behind the excited Eden, waiting for the man’s answer with desperate eyes.
He scratched his cheek as if embarrassed and replied.
“Ah… I only remember them cursing. When I told them the road ahead was cut off, the woman kept saying ‘fuck, fuck’… or was it the baby who cursed?”
Then, one of the youngsters standing next to him chimed in.
“I think they all cursed? That foreigner was also saying ‘fuck! shit!’ and stuff.”
“Oh, that’s right. Anyway, they didn’t have any food and were completely broke, so we just sent them back.”
Ha-jin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and let out a sigh of relief. To think that they had been cursing so enthusiastically in front of these mountain-sized youngsters without being intimidated. As he thought of the three of them, full of spirit, the longing he had been trying to suppress washed over him.
Eden, who had swept back his bangs, asked again.
“Do you know when they passed by?”
“Hmm, when was it…? It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago. Maybe two days ago?”
Two days.
Fortunately, it was less than the expected time difference. If they moved diligently, there was a possibility that they could reunite before reaching the Yongun Tollgate.
Eden turned to Ha-jin, his face flushed.
“Let’s try a little harder.”
Ha-jin nodded vigorously at the quiet words.