Chapter 159: You Getting Cocky?

There is a saying that magpies cry when a welcome guest arrives. That is why, in Korea, magpies are considered a good omen.

But the same is true of crows.

Because both are territorial animals, and they have a habit of crying out when a stranger enters the place where they live.

In other words, both can “distinguish” between familiar beings inside their territory and unfamiliar beings from outside.

“Except crows are smarter....”

“Sir? What did you say?”

When Kim Jaemun asked, Junho lightly shook his head.

“Nothing. I’ll explain later. For now, let’s go to the medical room.”

“Ah, yes.”

Kim Jaemun tilted his head as he followed Junho, then looked at the crows lined up on the roof and windowsills and said,

“Wouldn’t it be better to shoot them now? If we drive them toward the main building and have the drones fire all at once like before, I think it’ll work.”

“No. Leave them alone. I have something I want to test, so I’m going to watch them for now.”

“......?”

Kim Jaemun found it strange, but because it was Junho’s order, he obeyed.

Soon, the two reached the building used as the workshop’s equipment and parts storage. The second floor of that building was the shelter’s medical room.

“...Uh, why aren’t they running away? Aren’t they scared?”

“They probably recognize me.”

“Sir? Recognize you?”

Kim Jaemun, who had only recently become part of the shelter family, might not know, but Junho had spent the longest time here as the owner of the shelter.

They had to know him.

Otherwise, those smart things would never stay put when a human carrying a “gun” approached them.

Chiiiik!

— Master Lee Junho. Resident Kim Jaemun. Confirmed.

Beep. Whirr.

After the automatic shoe cleaner thoroughly shook the dirt and dust off their shoes, Akina confirmed Junho and Kim Jaemun through the CCTV and opened the door.

And even that was not the end. Only after they passed through the medical room’s dedicated ultraviolet disinfection unit could the two men go up to the second floor. Even Junho was no exception here, because hygiene and disinfection were more important in this place than anywhere else in the shelter.

Knock, knock.

After knocking lightly, Junho entered the office and examination room attached to the medical room.

Since the crows were sitting near the office windows rather than the operating room, he expected the crow that had fallen after being injured in the fight to be here.

“Oh, you’re here.”

“Mr. Junho.”

As Choi Uisu and Kim Heeyoung greeted him with their eyes, Choi Jiwoo and Kim Junseo came running over to Junho.

“Mister, mister! I found, um, the crow got hurt, and I brought it here because I was going to do surgery on it!”

“Hello, mister.”

As always, Choi Jiwoo chattered excitedly, while Kim Junseo bowed politely with his hands over his stomach.

“Yeah. I heard about it too. Jiwoo did a good thing.”

“Really? Hehe.”

Praised, Choi Jiwoo twisted her body shyly.

“Kgh....”

Watching her, Kim Jaemun had to struggle to hold back his laughter.

Because this child, who had only just turned six, was wearing a mask and something like green surgical scrubs as though she had become a doctor.

The problem was that they were not real surgical scrubs, but something someone had handmade, so she looked as if someone had put a green cloth with a hole cut through it over her.

“Ah.”

Then, suddenly, Kim Jaemun remembered something.

The children around the same age back at the resort.

Kangho Resort had been full of families at the tail end of vacation season, so there were dozens of children around Choi Jiwoo and Kim Junseo’s age.

But most of those children could not smile as guilelessly as Choi Jiwoo.

Many of them had lost their parents, or had watched them become zombies, and they had clearly seen people transform into monsters that killed and ate others.

Except for the children who had not witnessed that sight, or the very young ones, most of them had gone through the same thing.

The children always wore dark faces, watched the adults’ moods, and sometimes, if someone called out to them or touched them lightly, they would flinch in terror and burst into tears.

And the PTSD and lingering fear of those children spread to the adults, becoming one of the reasons incidents and fights broke out between survivors at the resort almost every day.

'This place really is heaven...'

As Kim Jaemun wore a bitter expression at that thought, Choi Uisu gestured Junho over with his eyes and whispered quietly in his ear.

“I never thought I’d end up treating a crow when I’m not even a veterinarian.”

“But Doctor, those clothes....”

Choi Uisu and Kim Heeyoung were wearing real surgical scrubs.

“Jiwoo made such a fuss about surgery that we at least dressed like this.”

“Our little girl had {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} such high expectations. Hehe.”

Beside Choi Uisu, who spoke awkwardly, Kim Heeyoung laughed softly.

They could have simply ignored her or persuaded her otherwise, but this couple really were good people.

“But how is this thing? It feels a little strange saying this about a crow, but it isn’t in critical condition or dying, is it?”

“It is injured a little, but it seems to have fallen because of a concussion. If we just suture it lightly, feed it well, and let it rest, it should recover quickly.”

“Ah, that’s a relief.”

“Relief?”

At Choi Uisu’s look, as if asking when Junho had started caring about some random crow, Junho grinned.

“There’s a reason. Anyway, it’ll recover, right?”

“Yes, well. Two or three days? If we keep checking the wound, it should be fine within a week.”

“Then that’s enough. And you see those, right?”

The couple’s eyes followed Junho’s gaze toward the window.

Outside the perfectly insulated and soundproof double window, three or four crows stood in a row, staring in at them.

“Please make it look like you’re treating it where those things can see clearly. Like you’re giving it very proper care. And please make sure they can see Jiwoo worrying over it and treating it affectionately. Just for a few days.”

“...I have no idea what you’re trying to do, but understood.”

As always, there had to be a reason behind anything Junho did, so the couple accepted it obediently.

With the two nurses Choi Jiwoo and Kim Junseo assisting them, the couple disinfected the wounds on the crow’s body and wings and treated them appropriately, doing it very slowly and carefully.

After confirming that the crows outside the window were staring intently at the entire scene, Junho left the medical room with a quietly satisfied smile.

And among the crows perched on the medical-room building, the largest one stared hard at Junho.

***

After the magpie and crow commotion ended, the birdsong around the shelter died down as if by magic.

Starting the next day, birds could barely be seen at all on the field site where the solar panels and five greenhouses stood. Only a few nameless mountain birds would loiter there and leave.

But at the medical-room building, anywhere from five or six to over twenty crows came and went all day.

After telling everyone to leave them alone, Junho went there with Park Sunhee whenever he had time and deliberately scattered walnuts, peanuts, and leftover pieces of meat where they could see.

'This should be enough. If trust doesn’t form, then there’s nothing I can do.'

“What are we doing with the food scraps and the sludge coming out of the wastewater treatment room? Who are you working with these days?”

“The Blossom girls take turns helping me. We give the dried food waste to the chickens as feed. We’re storing the sludge to mix into fertilizer. But why are you asking?”

As the shelter’s official workhorse, Park Sunhee was now skilled even at working with the shelter’s underground purification facilities.

Of course, by “work,” it mostly meant cleaning equipment and facilities every week with the AI’s assistance and moving sludge.

Still, it was something that required some training from Baek Hail and a working knowledge of the equipment.

“For the next few days, set aside a small amount of food scraps at the incinerator. Make a suitable spot and leave them there for the crows to eat.”

“Huh? Ah, yes.”

They would be useful if it worked, and if not, that was that. So Junho did only that much and stopped paying attention to the crows.

Because he had something more important to do.

***

“Unfortunately, we can’t fly drones all the way to the reserve-force unit. For now, I think you’ll have to go near the area and fly them yourself.”

Looking at the aerial map displayed on the main monitor, Yoon Youngsu shrugged.

“Seven kilometers. If we have a relay in between, wouldn’t it be possible?”

“Then it’d be close, but it should work.”

“Good. Then it might be doable.”

“Huh? How?”

“We should take the armored vehicle out for the first time in a while.”

“Ah. Right, we had that.”

Yoon Youngsu snapped his fingers.

The shelter’s armored vehicles had vehicle-mounted relays installed as standard equipment.

If they positioned one well, it would be more than enough to serve as a temporary wireless relay station connecting the shelter to the reserve-force unit.

“For now, let’s go there, map the area again from the air, and check the situation on that side. We’ll make the detailed plan after that.”

“Yep.”

“Then, hyung, am I going out this time too?”

Junhyeok, who had only been going between the shelter, Gahyeon-ri, and Yeongho-ri while Junho was making his rounds outside, asked with an expectant expression.

After thinking briefly, Junho nodded.

“Let’s do that.”

It might have been different before, but now that Yoon Seolhee and the KJM brothers had joined them, there should be no problem if he and Junhyeok went somewhere nearby at the same time.

Even if something happened at the shelter in the meantime, they could return quickly from this distance.

“Assistant Manager Yoon Seolhee should probably stay on standby at the shelter. Deokcheol’s been running around a lot lately too, so tell him to rest.”

One squad from the soldiers in Yeongho-ri and one of the KJM brothers would probably be enough. Because they were taking five G1 drones.

But then—

“How about Suho?”

“Hm? Suho?”

When Junhyeok mentioned Baek Suho, Junho tilted his head.

“Yeah. Suho trained with Deokcheol too. He did well back then. And while you were gone, he trained hard with Seolhee and the KJM brothers too. Everyone praised him. Maybe it’s because he was active duty until last year, but he’s quick on his feet.”

“Suho. Suho, huh....”

Freed from his role as the shelter’s only workhorse, Baek Suho now performed various tasks while also taking guard shifts.

But how should Junho put it? Something about him was slightly ambiguous.

He was an important worker they absolutely could not do without, but his position was not firmly established.

“Hyung, do you know something?”

“Hm?”

Seeing Junhyeok’s serious face for the first time in a while, Junho grew curious.

“Suho’s been feeling a sense of crisis lately.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know how Sunhee’s so good at work that the amount of stuff Suho has to do dropped a lot? At first he liked it too. But then the KJM brothers came from the resort, so his role in security and combat shrank too. In the end, Suho’s position in the shelter got smaller. But you know he might look light on the outside, but he’s diligent and has a crazy strong sense of responsibility, right?”

“.......”

Now that he heard it, Baek Suho definitely had reason to feel a sense of crisis.

“Good. Then let’s ask Suho and bring him along.”

“What? Whew, tsk tsk...!”

“Why? What, you punk?”

When Junhyeok clicked his tongue, Junho frowned.

“Hyung, in times like this, you know. It’s better if you step up and just order Suho. Not ask whether he wants to go or not. You’re the boss here, so you need to give him the feeling that, You are the right man for this mission! You absolutely have to go! That way Suho’s confidence will go way up. You know what I mean?”

“.......”

Junho had nothing to say.

Maybe because Junhyeok had been a social butterfly since he was young, he really was unusually good at reading the mood and dealing with people.

And now that he was a little older, he seemed even more skilled at it.

But.

“You, Lee Junhyeok, getting cocky now? Huh?”

“Ah!? Agh!”

When Junho’s python-like arm wrapped around his neck, Junhyeok screamed.

“You little brat, just because your head’s gotten a little bigger, now you’re trying to teach your older brother? You don’t want to get married? Want me to wreck it for you?”

“Ack! Stop. It—it really hurts. Ugh!”

“You little punk. Huh? Huh?”

“Aaaah! It really hurts. I surrender, I surrender!”

And so, for the first time in a while, Junho bestowed a deep older brother’s love upon his younger brother to his heart’s content.

***

Two days later.

The Bionic5 armored vehicle and two electric trucks departed the shelter with eight people who would move supplies from Gahyeon-ri and headed for Yeongho-ri.

At Yeongho-ri, one squad of soldiers from Lee Seokjin’s Deokso unit joined them, and with Junho’s armored vehicle in the lead, the vehicles crossed the mountain road and moved toward the Sang-myeon reserve-force unit.

Because this was a region they had never been to, let alone reconnoitered with drones, their movement was slow and careful.

And a few minutes after they crossed the mountain road and flew a drone toward the reserve-force unit—

“.......”

Everyone, Junho included, found themselves unable to speak.

The reserve-force unit and the surrounding area were, quite literally, hell on earth.