By Zephyria 
“Gilsu! Get in quickly.”
Baek Seol, sitting in the driver’s seat, shouted loudly. In the cargo area of the modified military truck, Jang-cheon and Gangsan, along with several gang members, were riding together. After confirming everyone was on board, Baek Seol started the vehicle.
Thinking that he would actually see the gold mine he had only heard about today, he was very excited. On the other hand, he was also worried about the existence of the monstrous creature said to have been discovered there. As they drove, kicking up a dust storm, a thudding sound came from behind. When he opened the window connected to the cargo area, Gilsu poked his head out.
“How much further?”
Ire, who was looking at the map next to Baek Seol, answered instead.
“We still have two hours to go.”
“We’ll never get there this slow! Can’t you step on it harder?”
Baek Seol closed the window, telling him to shut up. No matter how much it had been modified, there were limits to what this old truck could do. After driving for a long time without stopping, a construction site for a new city came into view. Baek Seol couldn’t stop marveling at the large cranes and the trucks constantly coming and going.
“The scale is immense. They said the district A guys were putting a lot of effort into this, and it’s true.”
Just then, a nearby guard stopped their vehicle. They seemed suspicious of the old truck appearing. The man behind him fiddled with the pistol at his waist, his eyes sharp. When asked how they got there, Ire gave Kim Ha-yoon’s name, and the guard made a radio call somewhere.
Baek Seol, tense, fumbled for the pistol under the steering wheel. A moment later, the man who received the call offered a polite apology. Baek Seol let out a sigh of relief as they passed through immediately.
“It’s amazing. Just by saying that one man’s name, the treatment changed so much.”
Baek Seol was similar to his past self. That time when he was blinded by Kim Ha-yoon and couldn’t see clearly. His head still throbbed from being hit, and the hatred for him remained in his heart. Sometimes he dreamed of Matteo falling off a cliff, and on those days, Kim Ha-yoon would always appear with him.
While lost in old memories, Baek Seol brought up an unexpected topic.
“The Captain’s family, you know. We’ll be living together later, right?”
“Yes.”
“Do they know?”
Ire couldn’t answer readily to her question. Unlike at first, the children had adapted to their current place, and judging by the occasional news Anna sent, they were living a life that left nothing to be desired. If they came to Zone D, they would lose what they currently enjoyed. There would be no good houses or schools, and the same went for food.
Would the children feel a sense of loss? As a human being, he couldn’t help but ponder that. While he was thinking, their destination was getting closer. The scale of the military presence was significantly larger than before. It seemed like other units besides the special forces had been deployed. Seeing helicopters and tanks, Baek Seol looked at Ire with a disgusted expression.
“What is that…?”
Ire was just as taken aback by the sight, which exceeded his expectations. Compared to district A, the number of people they had brought was like children playing house. The supplies and personnel, reminiscent of a wartime situation, made the rest of their companions behind them uneasy.
“Captain. Are we really okay going like this? It’s not a trap, is it?”
Gilsu poked his face through the narrow window, expressing his worry. Ire let out a quiet sigh. If they had truly come to fight, there would be no reason to summon them all here. He didn’t know how many more of the monsters they had seen before might be present, and Kim Ha-yoon was also concerned about that.
After stopping the vehicle, Ire ordered his companions to remain there. He walked alone towards the district A encampment, and he saw a few familiar faces. Seo Young-jun and Oh Nam-gi exchanged glances with him before quickly averting their eyes elsewhere.
Wondering why, he saw the brothers Park Mu-jin and Park Woo-jin nearby. Park Woo-jin, who had beaten him until the day he fled, had now become a second lieutenant. It was likely that his father’s influence played a role in him being commissioned as an officer faster than anyone else.
He knew their gazes were displeased, but he didn’t care. As he approached Lieutenant Colonel Kim Seon-oh, who was giving orders to his subordinates, Kim Seon-oh waved at Ire.
“You’re here?”
Kim Seon-oh glanced at the truck behind him and pointed somewhere with his hand. He said they would set up military tents here tonight and observe the situation. If there were no issues, they would blow up the opposite side tomorrow or the day after to advance.
Ire, who had been listening silently, scanned his surroundings. Kim Ha-yoon was nowhere to be seen. The perceptive Kim Seon-oh added an explanation.
“Ha-yoon hyung is busy with work and couldn’t come. If you have something to say, tell me. First, your tent is over there. We’ll provide meals, and if you need anything, talk to Second Lieutenant Park Woo-jin. You two know each other, right?”
Park Woo-jin, who was nearby, smirked. “Yes, of course. I know him very well.” His glare was filled with deep disgust. To him, Ire was still like a bug, just as he had been before. However, he hadn’t come here for a childish power struggle.
After hearing the rest of the explanation, Ire went back to his companions to relay the situation and then went to their tent to unpack. Then, sensing someone’s presence, he turned around to see Park Mu-jin standing there. He looked imposing, accompanied by a subordinate.
“Hey, Private Kim.”
“Yes, Sergeant Park.”
“Burn all the items these guys used after the work is done. It’s troublesome if even a disease spreads.”
Gilsu, who had been listening, bristled and stepped forward. “What the hell, you bastard?” Just as he was about to grab him by the collar, Ire put his hand on his shoulder first. “Stop it.” As soon as he pulled him away, Park Mu-jin sneered at Ire.
“Is it fun? Playing the captain by gathering a bunch of riff-raff?”
Baek Seol’s eyes flashed, and he raised his voice.
“Shut up! If you keep yapping, I’ll skin your belly and make shoes out of it for me!”
“Oh, I’m so scared.” Park Mu-jin provocatively thrust his face forward. “If you’re so confident, go ahead and do it.” Baek Seol gritted his teeth. Just as a brawl was about to break out, Ire stopped his companions and advised them to ignore the man as he wasn’t worth their time.
Then, he told Park Mu-jin to get lost and stop causing trouble. After Park Mu-jin left with a smug grin on his unpleasant face, Baek Seol kicked a stone on the ground and swore.
“I’m going to kill that bastard for sure!”
The flying stone hit someone’s back with a thud and fell. The atmosphere instantly turned cold. The person who turned around was none other than Seo Young-jun. He gestured to Baek Seol, who was scowling fiercely, that he was fine and smiled. Seeing that, Baek Seol’s face turned red.
“What is it… that heartwarming man?”
Gilsu, who had been listening, chided him, “Are you crazy?”
“He looks familiar.”
Jang-cheon also chimed in, and Baek Seol nodded in agreement. The three of them pondered where they had seen him but gave up when they couldn’t recall. After unpacking and discussing the day’s schedule, Ire headed towards the lake.
There, Kim Seon-oh was talking to a man wearing a diving suit. As he approached, the man showed him a video. It was filmed from inside, and unlike before, the light was strong, revealing the cave’s interior in relative detail.
The cave was deeper than expected and divided into several branches. Ire’s expression darkened at the unexpectedly complex internal structure.
“It was too difficult to penetrate further inside.”
Next, piles of bones appeared on the screen. They were animal carcasses, and there were many heads. According to Kim Ha-yoon, traces of wild dogs torn to death had been found at the construction site, and only the heads were missing. He had wondered why they would take the heads, which were not as nutritious as the internal organs, but Kim Seon-oh provided the answer.
“See this hole here? It looks like they cracked the heads open and ate the brains.”
“What a peculiar diet.”
He recalled the monster’s tentacles he had seen that day. Given their strength, capable of piercing a car, it was possible they could easily crush heads. The video repeatedly cut out and resumed, so he pressed the pause button. Nearby, two robot animals were being loaded onto a boat.
“Can you see? Two reconnaissance robots are preparing to enter. We’ll know what’s inside by tomorrow morning.”
Ire looked at Kim Seon-oh with a somewhat worried expression.
“What if they appear tonight?”
Kim Seon-oh shook his head, as if certain it wouldn’t happen.
“According to the research institute, they have a certain level of intelligence. Not human, but perhaps orangutan-like?”
When Ire didn’t understand “orangutan,” Kim Seon-oh scratched his cheek with a strange expression and mimicked. “Oo-oo-oo-oo.” He even made sounds, making Ire wonder if he was being teased, but as he slowly recalled, it seemed like he had seen it somewhere before.
“No matter how many are inside, they won’t dare approach with this much force.”
As Ire felt relieved, he added an explanation.
“Ah, and the black substance smeared on the walls was apparently created by them. The same substance was found on the recovered carcasses. They didn’t apply it intentionally; it seems to have naturally seeped into the walls while they were staying inside. It could be excrement.”
He frowned, imagining what it was, then looked back and chuckled. Seeing the interest in his eyes, Ire had a bad premonition. He looked back and, as expected, Gilsu was shaking Park Mu-jin by the collar. Damn it. He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again to see Kim Seon-oh patting his shoulder.
“Go and calm them down. You know, our guys can be quite rough.”