세상의 끝: End of the World

Forest Sunlight

Lee Minho frowned down at some reports. He sat at his desk, the sun shining through the window behind him. Though it was a beautiful day outside, he didn't have the luxury of appreciating it.

The human population continued to dwindle, yet the number of zombies continued to rise. Not only that, but the zombies were becoming stronger. Up until the third year of the zombie apocalypse, most zombies were only about level 2 or 3. The most dangerous zones might have up to level 5 or 6 zombies, and any zombies stronger than that were singular appearances.

But now, ever since that level 10 zombie had appeared a year ago, the average strength of the zombies had jumped to level 5, and it was even common to see stronger zombies than those milling in the area.

Over the past four years, Lee Minho had worked to keep the borders of his territory and the road to Gimpo City clear and safe. But now, the base suffered weekly attacks. Something had happened that had made the zombies stronger.

Reading this report, Lee Minho's brows furrowed, and he tapped a finger on his desk. He needed more information. More importantly, humanity needed to find a way to defend themselves from the ever more powerful zombies.

Gimpo City's government base was on the verge of collapse. At first, Lee Minho had tried to support it, but when the zombies started attacking the SKZ, he had to return to defend his own group. And when Lee Minho had left, the ones who stepped in were the triad group led by a mysterious man who Lee Minho only knew as "San".

The triad group had brought stability to Gimpo City, but the local government had folded under its power. Now, the connection between Gimpo City's government and the SKZ was just holding on by a thread.

Lee Minho had no interest in the politics of groups or territorial warfare. The SKZ was self-sufficient, and the last thing he wanted was to fight other humans. But the triad wasn't the same. To the triad, the SKZ, which didn't bow down to its tyrannical requests, was simply a thorn in its side. As such, it seemed that future conflict would be inevitable.

Lee Minho sighed. He wished that he could discuss this in depth, have someone to bounce his thoughts off of. But Lisa had been gone for the past four days to scope out Gimpo City and to find out more about the triad's influence, and no one other than her knew better about the current situation.

Still, staying cooped up here would do him no good. Lee Minho got up, leaving the reports on his desk.

Outside of the villa, which lay at the heart of the base, the territory of the SKZ had undergone enormous change. Watchtowers rose up over the many walls and gates dividing and protecting the camp. On-duty SKZ members stood on guard at various entrances and vantage points, looking over the roads that led to the residential areas and toward the entrance to the base.

Lee Minho walked out of the heavily-guarded section of the villa and into the forest at the back of the camp. The forest was used as a training ground, sometimes, and even now several recruits ran their laps between the trees, panting as they jumped over logs and hustled over the uneven forest floor. They saluted Lee Minho upon spotting him, and Lee Minho waved a hand with an encouraging smile.

He continued walking further into the forest until the tree coverage grew so thick that the few spots of sunlight glowed bright white against the shadows. And there, at the edge of the cliff, was a sturdy tree.

Lee Minho reached the base of that tree and looked up. A small treehouse was nestled between the branches. Without much effort, Lee Minho leaped up along the tree's branches until he reached a small footstep in front of the house's door. A mechanical pulley sat on that footstep. Lee Minho knocked on the door with short, sharp raps, then opened it. Beyond that door, sitting at a table beside the small treehouse's window, was Han Jisung.