The company dinner arranged by Yoo Sangcheol ended a few hours later.
"Then, see you again next time!"
Han Sehee waved her hand vigorously at me and Oh Minhyuk as she walked away.
As time passed during the dinner, Han Sehee and I naturally agreed to drop formal speech with each other. We told Oh Minhyuk to do the same, but the age gap seemed to make him a bit uncomfortable. Still, Oh Minhyuk had also become much friendlier in his attitude.
Anyway, you could call this a kind of achievement. It meant that a lot of the awkwardness had faded.
When I got home, I fiddled with my phone for a bit before falling asleep.
After that, until the rest period we earned through dealing with Gapsuni's place ended, my days were spent repeatedly going back and forth between the training center and home. They gave free meals and let us train, so there was no reason not to go.
Of course, that was not all I did. I also focused on purchasing fairly dangerous items by making use of what I already knew.
Like the butane gas I had bought before, these were items that were not necessarily military-grade but were still dangerous enough.
Time flew by like that, and then I received a text message from Yoo Sangcheol.
As of 7 a.m. tomorrow, the rest period is over. Everyone, prepare yourselves mentally.
At last, the rest period had ended. It was the signal flare announcing the end of what had been a relatively peaceful time.
And today at 8:18 a.m.
As of this moment, all personnel are to assemble.
As if they had been waiting, the Korean government handed us a cleanup job.
"I'm seriously going to lose it."
The moment our break ended, they put us to work. I had just finished breakfast, and without even having time to wash the dishes, I had to run outside.
The destination was a nearby helipad. Han Sehee, Oh Minhyuk, and I arrived at almost the same time.
"Hello!"
"You're all here. Get on!"
Yoo Sangcheol was already aboard the helicopter, looking at us. It seemed he planned to give the detailed explanation while we were in the air.
We boarded without complaint, and the helicopter lifted into the sky.
"Where are we going?"
"Mukho Port in Donghae City."
I took out the in-ear devices processed through the Gakdugi system from my inventory and handed them to the three of them.
"Everyone, switch your in-ears to these."
"Huh?"
Yoo Sangcheol seemed to understand as soon as he heard the words Gakdugi system, but the other two looked clueless.
"They'll prevent you from taking damage from the bullets or explosions of the weapons I use."
After hearing my explanation, they swapped out their in-ears without protest. No one wanted to get hit by a stray bullet.
"Mukho Port in Donghae City. Specifically, where?"
Yoo Sangcheol answered Han Sehee's question.
"Centered on the passenger terminal, the contaminated zone has a radius of about 1.6 kilometers."
Checking the map, it was basically the entire Mukho Port area that had been swallowed by the contaminated zone. It had even taken over the station.
"Oh no…."
After hearing that, Han Sehee checked the time with a complicated expression. Our estimated arrival time was 8:47 a.m.
"I wonder how many people will still be alive by the time we get there."
Sensing something in her voice, Yoo Sangcheol spoke up.
"Did you slack off after hearing the assembly order?"
"What? What are you talking about? I didn't even have time to dry my hair before I ran out."
The moment the assembly order came down, we had rushed to the helipad at full speed.
The helicopter departed immediately and was heading toward Mukho Port.
To go any faster than this, we would need to borrow the power of a sanitation worker capable of teleportation, and that was not easy.
"We're doing our best. Any casualties before we arrive aren't our fault."
It might hurt the victims to hear that, but it wasn't wrong. And even after we arrive, there will inevitably be people we simply cannot save.
"We're not omnipotent saviors. Stop thinking useless thoughts and check your equipment."
At Yoo Sangcheol's words, we each checked our gear. While I had been doing various kinds of training, it seemed the other two had not been idle either.
The helicopter arrived at Donghae City. The ground came into view. I could also see a hemispherical black wall surrounding what used to be the port.
Beyond that wall, an inhuman hellscape must be unfolding.
Since the contaminated zone formed near the sea, maybe it would be related to the ocean.
"We're dropping."
A rope ladder was thrown down. As soon as its end hit the ground, we descended immediately.
"We're entering right away."
Having already gone through two contaminated zones, we had a rough idea of what needed to be prepared. None of us needed a long preparation time.
"Yes, entering."
We threw ourselves toward the wall filled with malice.
Despite being called a contaminated zone that occurred at a port, the threat unfolding before my eyes had nothing to do with the sea at all.
"…What are those lumps?"
Han Sehee pointed somewhere. A five-story building that looked like it used to be a raw fish restaurant was covered in yellowish-brown masses. They looked hard, like calluses.
"Hmm, bees?"
Several giant bees clung to the contaminated raw fish restaurant, twitching their antennae as they rested. They were almost the size of wardrobes.
Honestly, it was hard to even call them bees. What kind of bee in the world has scythe-like mantis blades?
"The fact that Earth's buildings are retaining their shape inside the contaminated zone is good news. It won't be as miserable as last time."
Yoo Sangcheol said.
Now that I thought about it, the first contaminated zone we entered had also preserved the shape of a school.
But that damn Gapsuni's place was so twisted that it was impossible to even guess what had originally been there.
"First priority is to secure the community center."
When a contaminated zone occurs, everyone heads to designated evacuation points as they've been trained. In the case of Mukho Port, the community center serves that role. Fortunately, this time the evacuation site was included within the contaminated zone.
If there were any residents still alive, they would inevitably be most concentrated at the community center.
"Understood."
The cleanup was starting. We immediately ran toward the community center. The distance wasn't that far, but….
"There are a ton of flying insects."
The wandering hornets were a problem. They continuously beat their wings while roaming in search of prey.
"Maybe that's actually a good thing."
As the saying goes, if you disturb a beehive, a swarm pours out. And I had an obligation to provide the Korean government with a tremendous amount of contaminated material.
"There, it's right ahead."
While moving, we managed to reach the community center. The building was already sealed off from outside access by sturdy-looking bulkheads.
Once those bulkheads come down, they can only be opened by a sanitation worker using an ID. Other than that, they won't open unless you break them.
"Open it?"
As Han Sehee said that, she brought her ID up to the scanner.
Currently, one person is taking shelter inside the Mukho Port evacuation center. It was fully sealed 30 seconds after the contaminated zone occurred.
I could only make a dumbfounded expression. Thirty seconds after the first civilian took shelter. As far as I knew, the authority to isolate the shelter lay with the on-duty civil servant.
"That crazy bastard."
The moment the contaminated zone appeared, he sealed the shelter without even looking back.
As I watched the bulkhead slowly rise, I reached out, forcibly pushed it up further, and went inside.
"Y-you're a sanitation worker?! I'm saved!"
You son of a bitch. I grabbed the bastard rushing toward me by the collar, lifted him up, and locked eyes with him.
"They said the bulkhead came down in thirty seconds."
The guy I was holding flailed and spoke.
"I-I had no choice!"
"Convince me."
At my words, his body trembled as he answered.
"Then what was I supposed to do?!"
"The regulations say that the bulkhead is to be lowered at least one hour after the contaminated zone occurs."
Oh Minhyuk said in a slightly subdued voice. Immediately after, the civil servant replied in a tearful voice.
"So what?! Are you saying I should have really waited a full hour?"
I understood. Waiting a full hour would be difficult. If something went wrong, even the people who managed to reach the shelter could die.
"But not thirty seconds, you bastard. Not thirty seconds."
This bastard dropped the shelter's bulkhead immediately just to save himself. Even though the situation had not yet become dangerous, he panicked and sealed it off.
"So you're saying I should die too? I'm just an ordinary person. If I'm scared, I can panic and make the wrong judgment… why are you being so harsh on me!"
The guy whose collar I was holding thrashed around, shouting with bloodshot eyes. I understood. Any person could end up like that. But.
"Ordinary person? Don't make me laugh. You're a civil servant."
Is there any reason for the army and police to exist if they run away out of fear of contaminated zones and their aftermath?
There isn't. They are people who deal with danger from the start, and they have a duty to overcome the instinctive fear that humans naturally possess.
That is the basis on which police officers and soldiers wield privileges in this country.
When the most dangerous situations arise, the belief that they will fulfill their given duties guarantees the privileges they enjoy.
Civil servants are the same.
"In normal times, you probably strutted around too."
Korean civil servants enjoy privileges comparable to soldiers and police. And people accept that, and understand it.
Because they believe that when situations like this arise, they will carry out their duties.
"Everyone who realized they were caught in a contaminated zone would have headed to the community center."
And what awaited those who arrived here would have been a tightly sealed community center. With people gathering there, do you think those flying insect bastards would have left them alone?
Everyone who came here would be dead. The reason there are no bodies is obvious. Those insect bastards dragged them off and fed them to their larvae, or stuffed them straight into their own mouths.
Because of this one bastard, everyone who headed here is dead.
"A fitting punishment awaits you. I will absolutely not let this slide."
I would personally track down and confirm what measures were taken and what punishment this bastard received.
I tossed him roughly to the side.
"So what do we do now?"
At Han Sehee's words, I rapidly turned my thoughts. What should we do in this situation?
"…Let's broadcast."
Every community center has broadcast equipment to inform nearby residents.
"And we draw their attention."
We would deliberately disturb the beehives and make the enraged insects pour out and target us.
Then, in that opening, any people still alive could evacuate.
If there were any still alive, that is.
"I'll do the broadcast."
Han Sehee said calmly, then kicked the backside of the civil servant bastard who was standing there pale-faced and stammering.
"Hey, guide me to the broadcast room."
The civil servant flinched, stood up, and hesitantly led Han Sehee away. In the meantime, I reported the situation to Yoo Sangcheol through the in-ear.
Got it. I'll stay at the community center.
The bulkhead of the community center could be closed again. But since I couldn't give that authority back to this damn civil servant bastard, I contacted Yoo Sangcheol, explained the situation, and asked for cooperation.
Meanwhile, Han Sehee's broadcast echoed through the contaminated zone.
Sanitation workers have arrived. Residents, please remain calm and stay where you are. Later, when the insects begin to move along with sudden noises, please come to the community center about thirty minutes later while avoiding their attention.
It was an appropriate amount of time. If people showed themselves too soon after the insects went wild, they would just die on the spot.
After about thirty minutes of us drawing attention, most of the existing insects would gather toward us.
Once again, Han Sehee repeated the same message.
"Let's begin."
We had to deliberately disturb the beehives. Because of one dogshit bastard stirring things up, what might have been resolved easily had become a complete mess.