Oh Minhyuk, who had been looking at the map, spoke to me.
"There's a place called Wind Hill."
It wasn't very high, but from there we should be able to roughly see the area around Mukho Port. Without looking back, we headed straight for the place called Wind Hill.
Of course, we weren't just moving normally.
"We're smashing everything on the way."
Luring the insects was the job from now on. We had to cause such a mess that they wouldn't be able to endure it without coming.
"Everyone, gather up!"
Explosive rounds and grenades flew toward the beehives clinging like tumors to the larger buildings.
Fierce gunfire and violent explosions rang out. Pieces of shattered beehives rained down, striking the ground with loud crashes.
First, the insects that had been resting on the building walls took flight. We kept running.
"I'll help too."
Running beside me, Oh Minhyuk pulled something out of his pocket. It was a bright red oil lighter. Before I could even wonder what it was, the lighter flicked on with a click and a small flame bloomed.
That flame gathered near Oh Minhyuk like a tangled thread, forming a mass about the size of a human head.
Then the mass flew off, struck a building, and exploded.
"Do you need that lighter?"
"It's easier to grow an existing flame than to create fire from nothing."
That made sense. I immediately accepted the explanation.
"There are more than I expected."
Hundreds, maybe thousands.
The insects clearly didn't like us interrupting their rest and smashing their homes.
They flew at us, raising their scythe-like forelegs and drawing out their venomous stingers.
Enraged was the perfect word for their flight. In their compound eyes, they probably saw nothing but the three of us.
"It's not that overwhelming."
The machine gun in my hands roared, greedily devouring the explosive rounds linked in the belt and spitting out shells. The fired rounds struck the insects directly and detonated, or exploded as they skimmed past them.
Each one didn't seem particularly strong. Of course, even so, numbers like that alone were violent enough.
"Deploying."
The moment we arrived at Wind Hill in Mukho Port, I pulled out the sentinels from my inventory and tossed them.
The two sentinels immediately deployed and began guarding their assigned areas.
"And then…."
I pulled out the machine gun and sprayed bullets wildly toward a distant apartment building covered in beehives.
Roles were divided quickly.
I kept provoking the beehives, and Oh Minhyuk swept away anything charging at us with flames.
And if some still made it to us?
"Hoo…."
Han Sehee stood ready with a deep pink dagger in hand. The moment an insect came close, its focus was completely drained with her breath.
While it stood dazed, she slit its throat.
"They're swarming like crazy!"
Oh Minhyuk's shout wasn't wrong.
"It's not like we didn't expect this."
As I stowed the machine gun, I pulled out a rifle and fired a grenade. With a thump, the grenade flew out and exploded, sweeping away a dozen or so insects.
"Catch!"
Han Sehee shouted as she threw something toward me.
"Thanks!"
It was an insect's scythe blade. In other words, a sturdy, razor-sharp blade about 50 centimeters long.
I stabbed the abdomen of an insect that lunged at me with a loud buzz of wings. The blade tore into it with a sensation like crushing potato chips.
"Cuts well."
How many more minutes passed like that. I swapped magazines fifteen times, replaced the ammo boxes on the sentinels three times, and threw four grenades and fired fifteen grenades from the launcher.
"No, this… why do they keep increasing?"
Even so, the insects still swarmed endlessly.
"..."
There is a limit to human stamina. We were no exception. Our words grew fewer and fewer.
Of course they did. We had slaughtered at least a thousand insects. A beeping sound rang from my wrist.
The force field generator's battery was depleted.
When I pressed the button, there was a ping and the coin-shaped mana battery popped out of the force field generator and fell to the ground.
"Damn it."
Each one wasn't that strong, but there were just too many. Quickly, I inserted a new coin-shaped battery into the small slot.
"Just wait a second!"
Unable to hold back, several insects lunged at me, swinging their scythe blades and trying to stab me with their stingers.
I barely dodged, smashed one's head with the rifle butt, and finished off the rest with my pistol.
"By this point, shouldn't everyone have evacuated already, logically?!"
Oh Minhyuk shouted while sweeping the area with flames.
"I don't know, but they should have evacuated!"
Holding out any longer was impossible. If we stayed like this, one of us would die. If that damn civil servant hadn't arbitrarily sealed the shelter, we wouldn't have had to do this.
"Ah… aaaaaaagh!"
As expected, when I turned my gaze to the side, I saw Han Sehee screaming as her abdomen was slashed by a scythe.
I immediately pulled the pin on a grenade and threw it her way. With a thunderous blast, the charging insects were torn apart by shrapnel and flames.
All that remained at the center of the explosion was Han Sehee, clutching her stomach.
"Stings a bit."
Saying that, I injected a high-speed recovery drug into her abdomen. With a hiss of escaping air, the medicine was administered.
"Fall back for a moment until it heals."
"More important, behind you!"
At Han Sehee's shout, I spun around instantly. An insect was flying in. I drew my pistol like lightning and put bullets into its torso and head.
Thanks to the shooting practice I had kept up for days, my body moved faster than my thoughts.
"Healing's done!"
Han Sehee stood up and took a deep breath. Her stomach had been torn open, yet it healed in no time. The performance was truly incredible.
"Are we really going to keep holding out here?! I'm against that!"
I checked the time and spoke through the in-ear.
"Sanitation Worker Yoo Sangcheol, we can't hold out any longer."
Yeah, got it. I'll lower the bulkhead now.
The reply came immediately.
"Is it okay not to hold out any longer?"
You said you couldn't hold out.
"But…."
Was it really okay to retreat? Before I could continue thinking, Yoo Sangcheol spoke again.
You're retreating under my orders. No need to feel guilty. I've already pressed the button to lower the bulkhead, so don't worry about it.
If the bulkhead was already down, there was no room left to hesitate. I threw three smoke grenades at once and shouted.
"Now, scatter!"
We had bought enough time by thoroughly provoking the beehives. Now it was time to retreat. Once the three of us scattered and hid quickly, those insects wouldn't be able to find us easily.
Our physical abilities were far superior, after all. Communication through the in-ears wouldn't be a problem.
The smoke spread rapidly, blocking everyone's view.
"Then, let's meet alive!"
With those words, we each took off running in different directions. The insects that had been charging at us like enraged bulls hesitated for a moment, then split up and continued the pursuit after each of us.
"If you find a place that seems like it could be the contamination source, share it immediately."
Got it.
Yes.
Keeping up communication through the in-ears, I kept running.
How many insects had I put into my inventory? At least fifty, even conservatively. I had also collected their scythe blades and stingers whenever I had the chance.
This was enough. There was no need to collect more. Feeling the sound of wings closing in from behind, I didn't look back and simply pulled the pin on an incendiary grenade and threw it backward.
With a loud explosion, the sound of wings faded away. Taking advantage of the moment…
I suddenly opened a sewer manhole and slipped straight inside.
"This smell is disgusting."
Still, it was probably better than the scent of incense behind a folding screen. In the pitch-dark sewer, I cracked a light stick to illuminate the surroundings.
In any case, I didn't plan to stay here long.
All units, report positions.
This is Han Sehee. I'm at, uh… inside a sundae soup restaurant.
This is Oh Minhyuk, I'm hiding.
At Yoo Sangcheol's prompt, the two reported quickly.
"I'm in the sewer."
After replying, I scanned the surroundings with the light stick.
Mario, can you get out through another opening?
"I'll check."
Not all sewer systems are designed so people can exit elsewhere. So this was essentially leaving it to luck.
If the path was blocked, the only option would be to crawl back out the way I came in. Still, after some time passed, the insects would probably leave anyway, so it wouldn't be a big problem.
Can everyone hear me? This is Oh Minhyuk. If those insects can't find us in the end, won't they return to their base?
I let out a small "ah" at his words. We had suddenly stirred up chaos, putting them on high alert.
But could a state of high alert last forever?
Impossible. If they couldn't find us, they would eventually return to their base.
And that place would be where the contamination source was.
With Yoo Sangcheol at the community center, it was safe enough to assume that place was secure. I thought for a moment.
Aside from their scythe blades, those monsters had the form of hornets. Wouldn't their habits be similar too?
If so, there would be a nest….
"Usually, a beehive has only one entrance."
No matter how big the hive, it ultimately has just one entrance. What happens if that gets blocked?
Insects never break their own nest to get out. Even if they could, they wouldn't. Instinctively, they try to exit through the entrance.
And if it's blocked? They can't get out. They just rage inside the hive.
"Minhyuk, if you find the hive, I'll block the entrance."
Is that possible? Even if you block it, won't they just tear it open and come out?
That was Han Sehee's objection. Under normal circumstances, it was a valid point. These weren't tiny insects. If you blocked the entrance with something half-hearted, they'd break through easily.
But I was confident.
"They absolutely won't get out, so don't worry."
If you say that much, I guess I have to believe you.
And after waiting for some time…
They're going back!
Han Sehee's shout rang in my ears. It seemed they had stopped the pursuit. I immediately opened the manhole cover and climbed out.
"If you find it first, don't move alone. Wait for me."
Only one of the three of us needed to succeed in tracking them. I grabbed the manhole cover I had set aside and began chasing the insects.
"Oh, I should grab this too."
While in pursuit, I spotted a large vinyl tarp hanging in front of a nearby raw fish restaurant. I punched a fist-sized hole in the center and stuffed it into my inventory as well.
I found it. This is… an elementary school. Yes, that's right. There's a hole in the middle of the playground. That's the entrance.
The one who succeeded in tracking them was Oh Minhyuk.
So they built their nest underground. I thought they were hornets, but they were ground wasps. Well, to pour out such an enormous number of insects, the nest would have to be massive.
And no hive that large had been found above ground in this contaminated zone.
Minhyuk, about how big does the entrance look?
Han Sehee asked a very important question.
You know the circle drawn at the center of a soccer field? About that size.
I could roughly picture it. Recalling the size of the tarp I had collected, I felt confident. This would work.
I'll guide you to the location.
From the community center, Yoo Sangcheol guided Han Sehee and me to the elementary school that Oh Minhyuk had discovered. He must have had a map.