Chapter 110: On the Way Home

In the cabin of the C-130, everyone’s shoulders finally eased as the aircraft leveled out, pushing steadily away from the Korean peninsula.

Adrian let out a slow breath.

He thought he’d be trapped there.

Between the outbreak and the invasion, the odds were stacked against them from the start.

To think that the North Koreans would invade the south because of the zombie apocalypse, it felt wrong and unfair. But there’s no morality when it comes to war.

Well, that would be the problem for the South Koreans. As for his operation, it was a success, they managed to retrieve the virologist they were looking for. And they don’t need to go to Japan for plan b.

He looked at her, who was sitting in one of the chairs. She’ll be the key for them to understand what this outbreak is.

"Sentinel Eye, final report, do we still have bogeys in the sky?" Adrian asked, pressing his earpiece.

"Cold Reach One, Sentinel Eye, the sky is clear," the AWACS replied. "No active bogeys within a two-hundred-kilometer radius. You are clear along your route."

"That’s good to hear. We will see you in the Philippines okay?"

"Copy that sir, Sentinel Eye out here."

Ryan stretched his shoulders and let out a breath.

"Feels weird," he said. "Not getting shot at."

Adrian gave a faint nod.

"Enjoy it while it lasts."

One of the loadmasters moved down the aisle, opening a storage compartment.

"Alright, listen up," he called out. "We’ve got MREs. Not much, but it’ll keep you going."

A few of the operators let out quiet chuckles.

"Better than nothing," one of them said.

"Way better," another added.

The crew started passing them out—brown sealed packs handed one by one across the cabin.

Adrian reached out and took two.

He stood, walked over, and handed one to Seo-yeon.

"Here," he said. "Eat."

She looked at the package, turning it over slightly.

"...What is this?"

"Meal Ready-to-Eat," Ryan answered from behind. "Military food. Not great, not terrible."

She gave a small nod.

"I’ll take not terrible."

Adrian sat down beside her, opening his own pack. He tore through the seal and started laying out the contents—main meal, crackers, a small dessert, heater pack.

Seo-yeon watched him for a second, then followed.

"You’ve done this a lot," she said.

"Not really, this is my first time," Adrian said.

He poured a bit of water into the heater pouch and slid the meal inside.

"Give it a minute," he added.

Around them, the rest of the team did the same. The cabin filled with the faint smell of heated rations, plastic and processed food mixing with the metallic scent of the aircraft.

Seo-yeon opened hers, inspecting each item carefully.

"This is what soldiers eat?" she asked.

Ryan smirked.

"Welcome to the field. But yeah, in the Philippines, we still have meat supply, though the quality is frozen now, you can’t really complain. After all, fresh produces and meats disappeared when this outbreak occurred."

Seo-yeon paused at that.

"Disappeared?" she asked.

Ryan nodded, tearing open his own pack.

"Supply chains broke fast," he said. "Markets shut down. Farms got hit. Whatever didn’t get infected got abandoned."

Adrian added, "Cold storage kept some things usable, but that only lasts so long. Fresh food is rare now."

She looked down at the MRE again.

"...So this is normal now."

"For now," Adrian said. "Until we stabilize something."

The heater pack started to react, a faint hiss building inside the pouch. Warmth spread through the meal as steam rose slightly.

After a minute, Adrian pulled the meal out and opened it. Steam escaped as he took a bite without hesitation.

Seo-yeon followed, slower.

She tasted it.

Paused.

Then nodded once.

"...It’s fine."

Ryan chuckled.

"That’s high praise for an MRE."

Around them, the mood eased a bit more. A few operators leaned back against the cargo walls, eating in silence. Others spoke in low voices, the tension from earlier replaced by a quiet focus.

Adrian glanced at Seo-yeon again.

"When we land, you’ll get proper food," he said. "This is just temporary."

She shook her head slightly.

"I’m not worried about food," she replied. "I’m thinking about what comes next."

Adrian leaned back, resting his shoulders against the frame.

"Yeah, you should relax a little. It’s going to be a luxury in this new world. And after that, you’ll be all day working and studying the outbreak. As for the lab, it’ll take weeks to set up. And I hope, you can give us answers, even if it’s not the full answer," Adrian continued, "we just need a direction."

Seo-yeon held her spoon still for a second, then nodded.

"That’s fair," she said. "Science doesn’t give complete answers overnight. But I can narrow things down."

Ryan leaned forward slightly.

"What’s the first thing you’ll check?" he asked.

She didn’t hesitate.

"Structure," she said. "If this is engineered, there will be markers. Something unnatural in its composition. Protein chains, replication behavior, mutation pattern."

Adrian listened.

"And if it’s clean?" he asked.

She gave a small shake of her head.

"Then whoever made it knew what they were doing," she said. "Which makes it worse."

Ryan let out a quiet breath.

"Great," he muttered.

One of the crew walked past, securing a loose strap near the wall.

"Two hours out," he called.

Adrian nodded.

"Understood."

Seo-yeon looked up slightly.

"Philippines," she said. "How stable is it?"

Ryan and Adrian exchanged a brief glance.

"Similar to South Korea, major cities are destroyed," Ryan answered. "The only place we are staying is a Philippine Air Force Base called Basa Air Base. It’s far from the city center and those near are eliminated. There will be no immediate threat in the area so if you are scared of zombies, I’m pretty sure you can sleep at night peacefully. And don’t you worry, you are not the only civilians there."

"That’s good to hear," Seo-yeon chuckled. "I will do my best to work with you, sir."