Chapter 105: Unexpected Attacker

"How did the Korean armed forces react in this situation? Do you have any ideas? Because when we got here, one of their aircrafts intercepted us."

"I don’t have full intel," she said. "But during the first few days... the military moved fast."

Ryan listened.

"How fast?" he asked.

"Immediate mobilization," she replied. "Quarantine zones, roadblocks, checkpoints across major cities. Seoul, Busan, Incheon—everything was locked down within hours."

Adrian nodded slightly.

"That lines up," he said.

"They tried to contain it," she continued. "At first, it looked like it was working. The infected were isolated. Civilians were being evacuated to controlled zones."

She paused.

Then shook her head slightly.

"But the numbers kept rising."

Ryan frowned.

"Too fast?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. "The infection rate was higher than what they expected. It wasn’t just bites. Close contact was enough in some cases. Panic made it worse. People ran, broke containment, spread it further."

Adrian’s expression didn’t change.

"So containment collapsed," he said.

Seo-yeon nodded.

"Within days," she said. "Units started getting overrun. Not because they were weak... but because they were outnumbered."

Ryan exhaled quietly.

"Same everywhere," he muttered.

She continued.

"After that, they shifted strategy," she said. "From containment to suppression. Air support, heavy weapons, clearing operations."

Adrian glanced at Ryan.

"That explains the interceptor," he said.

"Yes," Seo-yeon replied. "Airspace control became strict. Any unknown aircraft is treated as a threat. They don’t have the luxury to verify anymore."

Ryan nodded.

"Makes sense."

Seo-yeon’s expression shifted slightly.

"There’s more," she said.

Adrian looked at her.

"What?"

She hesitated for a brief second.

Then—

"North Korea," she said.

That got their full attention.

"What about them?" Ryan asked.

"I heard reports," she said. "Before communication networks collapsed. There were intelligence briefings... rumors, mostly."

"About what?" Adrian asked.

Seo-yeon met his gaze.

"That they don’t have the same outbreak," she said.

Silence settled.

Ryan frowned.

"That doesn’t sound right," he said.

"I know," she replied. "But the reports were consistent. No major infection spikes. No collapse like this."

Adrian’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"And their military?" he asked.

Seo-yeon exhaled slowly.

"Movement," she said. "Troop repositioning near the border. Increased activity. Not defensive."

Ryan’s expression hardened.

"Offensive?" he asked.

"That’s what it looked like," she said.

Adrian processed that.

"If they’re unaffected..." he said slowly, "that means they know something about the virus. Because it doesn’t make sense if North Korea doesn’t have a zombie within their borders."

Seo-yeon nodded slightly.

"That’s a plausible inference," she said, "but their allies—Russia and China—are suffering the same collapse."

Ryan frowned.

"Meaning it’s not selective," he said.

"Exactly," she replied. "If this was natural spread, you would expect uneven impact, but not complete immunity in one region while neighboring states fall at the same time."

Adrian crossed his arms slightly.

"So either they got lucky," he said.

Seo-yeon shook her head.

"No," she said. "This isn’t luck."

She stepped a bit closer, lowering her voice slightly.

"If they are unaffected, then one of three things is happening," she continued. "One, they had prior knowledge and prepared for it. Two, they developed some form of countermeasure early—containment, suppression, or even a vaccine prototype."

Ryan tilted his head.

"And three?"

Seo-yeon didn’t answer immediately.

Then—

"They were never exposed the same way," she said.

That sat heavier than the others.

Adrian’s eyes narrowed.

"Meaning?" he asked.

She held his gaze.

"Meaning the vector—the way this virus spread globally—might not have reached them in the same form," she said. "Or worse... they were part of how it spread."

Silence followed.

Ryan exhaled slowly.

"That’s one hell of a leap," he said.

"Yes," Seo-yeon replied. "But so is everything we’ve seen so far."

Another faint tremor passed beneath the floor.

Closer this time.

Adrian glanced down briefly, then back at her.

"If they’re moving troops," he said, "then they’re not just sitting this out."

"No," she said. "They’re watching. And if they believe the South has collapsed enough..."

"They’ll move in," Ryan finished.

Seo-yeon nodded once.

"Yes."

Adrian shifted his stance slightly.

"Then South Korea is fighting two battles," he said. "One against the outbreak... and one that hasn’t started yet."

While they were talking, suddenly the Sentinel Eye sounded.

"Cold Reach One, Sentinel Eye," the AWACS cut in, voice sharper than before. "Multiple bogeys detected. Bearing zero-three-zero. Range eighty kilometers and closing fast. Count... twelve to fifteen aircraft."

The room went still.

Adrian’s head snapped toward the window.

"Identify," he said immediately.

"Working," Sentinel Eye replied. "No IFF response. Flight profile low altitude, high speed."

Ryan frowned.

"South Korean?" he asked.

Adrian didn’t answer.

"Sentinel Eye," he said. "Are they ROKAF?"

"Negative," the AWACS replied. "Signatures do not match Republic of Korea Air Force..."

Ryan’s expression hardened.

"Then who the hell—"

"Cold Reach One," Sentinel Eye cut in again. "Bogeys are now entering engagement range. Weapons systems active."

Adrian didn’t need another prompt.

"Everyone stay low," he said. "Get away from the windows."

But he didn’t move.

Instead, he stepped closer again and peeled back a narrow strip of newspaper.

Just enough to see.

Adrian narrowed his eyes.

"...MiG-21," he muttered.

Ryan stepped beside him.

"You sure?" he asked.

Adrian nodded once.

"Russian design," he said. "Export model."

Seo-yeon’s voice came from behind them.

"...North?"

Adrian didn’t answer.

"Missile launch detected!" Sentinel Eye shouted.

Adrian’s gaze snapped upward.

From each aircraft, trails of smoke streaked out.

Dozens of them.

Missiles.

They cut through the sky in converging lines, all angled toward the same point.

"Impact in three—" Sentinel Eye started.

Then, the first explosion hit.

A massive blast tore through the street, sending debris and fire upward in a violent column. The shockwave reached even the building, rattling the structure hard enough to make the walls groan.

Then another.

And another.

Missiles slammed into the ground in rapid succession, each impact carving deeper into the city, tearing apart asphalt and concrete like it was nothing.

"Holy—" Ryan muttered.

The barrage didn’t stop.

It continued.

Twelve... fifteen impacts in total, each one striking within the same zone, saturating the area with explosive force.

A massive section of the worm’s body burst out of the ground, tearing through the burning street as if the explosions meant nothing.

It rose.

Higher.

Parts of its armored surface were scorched, fragments missing, but it wasn’t destroyed.

Not even close.

Seo-yeon stepped back slightly.

"What the fuck are the North Koreans doing?"