세상의 끝: End of the World

From The Distance

The trucks rolled in from the distance. Lee Minho peered at them from his vantage point atop the wall while behind him, the other members of the Stray Kids squinted, their hands blocking the sun from their eyes. The military convoy had five trucks. That was three more than the last time.

Lee Minho's gaze tracked the approaching trucks, watching the dust from the dirt roads kick up from their wheels. It could be that the military trusted the SKZ more, now that this was their third cooperation. More likely, however, something had happened in the city which caused the military to tighten their resources - and as such, extradite any 'refugees' that the military didn't want to spend resources on protecting. Now, in the third year of the apocalypse, it was impossible to survive alone. All surviving humans found refuge in bases-military bases founded by the government, or mafia bases backed by criminals and arms dealers.

At first, the government bases tried to take in any and all civilians who needed protection. As casualties rose and infection spread, however, it became impossible to support everyone. Anyone who wished to stay within the safety of the base had to prove their value by working and contributing, and those who failed to contribute sufficiently would be forced out of the base and left to fend for themselves. Most of these people died, if not from the zombies then from exhaustion or starvation.

It was only in the area of Gimpo City that the 'leftovers' were not sent to die, but instead sent to another safehaven - the Stray Kids. That was a group headed by a mysterious young man whose powers were rumored to be strong enough to kill any zombie, even the advanced mutations. In terms of strength, he would be considered "S-class". An anomaly far more powerful than anyone, including all members of the military and of the mafia, had ever seen before.

Yet the Stray Kids he led was exclusively a defensive group. The SKZ performed rescue missions in the cities, fought back zombies to free resources, and cooperated to restore stability to the region of Gimpo city. Over time, the SKZ's influence expanded until it was almost as powerful as the military force in Seoul. In light of this, the official government-or what was left of it, anyway-decided to officially recognize the SKZ as an independent group, and requested to cooperate with the SKZ for the sake of protecting the country's citizens.

The government would send refugees and resources to the SKZ. The SKZ, in return, would perform high-risk specialist missions for the government.
When the military caravan came to a stop at the tall barricade, Lee Minho jumped from the 4-meter wall, landing lightly on his feet. The military officer who had exited the truck paused for a split second, but when Lee Minho approached, the man masked his astonishment and walked forward with a neutral expression. The two men shook hands cordially, the officer nodding respectfully at Lee Minho. "Greetings, Mr Lee."

"Good to see you, Officer Bang." After separating, Lee Minho smirked sharply at the officer and directed his gaze to the convoy. The military man stood stock-still, as if not daring to turn away.
"This is more than I was expecting," Lee Minho said, and though he had a smirk on his face, the officer felt a cold breeze pass through him. The officer cleared his throat and reached for the bag slung across his shoulder. He pulled a dossier from it, which he held out to Lee Minho. His gaze alighted on the stack of papers, but he didn't immediately move to grab it.

"This is a list of new arrivals," the officer explained. "Resources we have provided. Most crucial is the intelligence report, which contains all we know of the most recent mutations." The officer's face twitched into a grimace, and a flicker of understanding passed through Lee Minho's eyes. "I understand. Thanks." To the officer's relief, Lee Minho took the dossier and flipped it open. There on the first page was a report detailing the newest breed of evolved zombie. More powerful than current known limitations, it said. Beyond S-class. K-class.
"Interesting," Lee Minho said.

"The General requests..." the officer began, but Lee Minho cut him off. "I know. We'll set off after I get these people settled." Lee Minho didn't look up as he replied, still reading through the report on the K-class zombie which had decimated Seoul and rampaged through part of the military base before eventually being worn down by a series of explosive blasts. It had retreated temporarily to heal. Just that act alone showed it to be unprecedentedly dangerous.

After finishing the report, Lee Minho flipped to the next page, which listed a number of resources provided by the military. He took a brief look, then pulled the paper from the dossier and held it out beside him. A slim hand took the paper. Officer Bang jumped. The girl standing next to Lee Minho hadn't been there a second before, had she? The young woman smiled, the peach-blossom eyes on her beautiful face sparkling. Enraptured, the officer stared at her, but in the next moment, his eyes grew dull once again, and the young woman walked away without anyone noticing.

While Jeonjin went to go covertly check over the resources, Lee Minho continued on to the next page in the dossier. This one was a profile of a person. The name was at the top left, and listed on the rest of the page were age, physical body information, previous career, abilities, skills, and some small miscellaneous notes regarding personality and character. The profiles didn't have any pictures, so Lee Minho flipped disinterestedly through these while listening to the metal bustle of trucks opening and dispensing their cargo.
The crowd of refugees hesitantly exited the trucks. Their number amounted to over 60 people. Though it didn't sound like much, most post-apocalyptic settlements would hesitate to take in one unplanned person, let alone sixty of them all at once. Furthermore, the military hadn't provided any warning to Lee Minho's group, so now they would have to scramble to provide accommodation for these people tonight. Thankfully, the military had also provided tents and sleeping bags to use as temporary lodging.

Lee Minho stopped skimming through the profiles after landing on a certain one. His eyes narrowed in interest. "Officer Bang, this person..." he began.
The dazed Officer Bang snapped back to his senses and leaned forward to peer at the name on the paper. "Ah, yes. This person is one of the most valuable people at our base. Highly intelligent and protected by the higher-ups. Her laboratory had been destroyed in the attack, and she herself had nearly been killed. It was decided that until we can secure the base, it would be best to entrust her to the SKZ."

The female scientist named Jennie had studied overseas under the leading researcher for genetic mutations and diseases in humans. She was one of the bright stars in the current era. The government at Gimpo City hoped she could find a cure to end the apocalypse, though no one held their breath; the scientists at Incheon City's base were better funded and more numerous.
Lee Minho, however, was intrigued. He looked up toward the large cluster of refugees, which the other members of the SKZ herded forward. The military had provided the SKZ with the names of the refugees, so the SKZ did a headcount by calling up each person's name. Each refugee was checked for weapons and infection before being allowed inside.

When the name "Jennie" rang out, Lee Minho's eyes alighted on the beautiful and proud-looking woman who walked out, her hair tied back in a utilitarian style with thick-framed red glasses hanging in front of her eyes. Putting a slight smile on his face, Lee Minho walked forward to personally greet her.
"Scientist Jennie?"