Life Mission

“But why did you wake me? Me, in this hell? Why? Why did you wake me! Ack!”

The lieutenant expresses his madness. The force members feel bad for him. They can understand. Not even they could guarantee that they would not have gone crazy in his position.

“Please help us, Lieutenant.”

“You’re asking me to help you?”

“Yes!”

Han Chang Jin is a soldier. He can understand the burden that the lieutenant had felt.

“We are the Special Forces from Korea. Each person is an incredible warrior. If you help us, we can take over the ark again!”

He gushes in words that would be seen in a comic book. The force members put their heads down in embarrassment. For him to say such cheesy things as though it is nothing!

The lieutenant’s eyes grow wide as he looks at the force members. It seems it had an effect. He looks on in admiration, full of anticipation.

“Restore the ark!”

“That’s right.”

“Are we taking the infected city back as well! Korea is going to fight the parasites!”

It felt like this was getting bigger, but Han Chang Jin listened quietly. Now is the ark, but they would complete the infected city later.

“Ah! If we take back the ark, the infected city will be easy!”

The ark is full of gear that could arm a legion class force. The basic weapons are a given, but there are also tanks, armored cars, and fighter planes.

If they had known that Tonga was hell, they would have wiped it out. Without knowing this, they had embarked for the country and gotten in trouble. They will not lose this time. They will win!

“Captain. What are you thinking of doing with the 1199 people frozen in the sleeping rooms?”

A force member asks Han Chang Jin. If the people are mixed together, they all need to be killed whether they distinguish or ignore them. When considering the cases, it is easiest to kill them.

“We need to save them.”

“Seven Stars is against it. Rescuing is good, but there’s no way to distinguish between all of those people. Are you trying to put the force in danger?”

Han Chang Jin looks over at Cha Jun Sung. He looks at Hercules to be precise.

“Huh? I know what you mean, but it can’t. It might be possible if there were just a few people, but scanning thousands of people will use up the entire energy core.”

He brought 10 batteries. With 3, Hercules’ energy core is charged 100%. They need to be used in emergencies. He cannot waste them on scanning.

How could they use all of Hercules’ energy on distinguishing between the people when it has so many uses? It is a matter of saving lives, but what cannot be done cannot be done.

One out of three options had been left out. If they cannot make a distinction, they need to kill or ignore them. This is also an issue. Each has its pros and cons.

They will earn points if they kill infected hosts, but they will also be killing people.

They can distance themselves from guilt if they ignore them, but that would mean they do not earn points and are leaving infection threats as they are.

“There is a way.....”

“What?”

“We can lock the capsule, thaw everyone at the same time, and watch the process.”

The lieutenant joined the conversation. It takes a long time, but they only need to be watched for a day. They capture and kill those who are infected, and release anyone who is not.

The capsules are so strong that bullets cannot go through them, so there is no chance that they would be able to escape.

-[I’m against it.]

-[Opposed!]

The cadres oppose it. First, there will be more than 1100 hosts among the 1199 people according to the lieutenant’s explanation.

Even if the capsule is strong, there is a great danger. Second, it is better for everyone not to wake the survivors if the force is going to leave them behind once the mission is complete.

It would be easier to make a choice if the damned helpers would let them know.

“Or we can force everyone to thaw and kill them all.”

Usually, the parasite needs to find a new roost if its host is killed. Since they are in a frozen state however, they would not be able to withstand the forced defrosting.

‘Figure it out amongst yourselves.’

Cha Jun Sung stayed true to his role as a bystander in the opinions going back and forth. This is why it is difficult for decision makers. It is best to follow what he is told to do.

-[Freezer capsule numbers 1 through 1199 are being thawed. 5 minutes until thawed. The temperature of the sleeping rooms is being raised to the normal temperature.]

The force chose to collectively thaw. The lieutenant’s opinion played a great role in this.

‘I’ll do my best to help you, so just help us get the ark back from the parasites. Then we will figure out how to live on our own.’

As long as there are no parasites, they can live in the middle of the sea. They decided to send the survivors to the bunker. They would be able to last months because there are so few of them.

The survivors and infected wake up. They are all out of it and act exactly as the lieutenant did at first. With time, their vision gains focus.

They did not seem to be able to recognize the situation properly. The force members stood still in one place. It is better to let them realize for themselves.

“Ack! It’s a parasite!”

“Ack!”

As soon as the word ‘parasite’ came from capsule number 755, the entire place fell into confusion. It had not really appeared. They have been frozen in time for 4 years.

Since the past 4 years is the same as 1 second to these people, their memories are continuing from that point. Their fear had progressed rather than diminished.

“Get me out!”

“They’re coming! Run away!”

Bang bang!

They bang on the capsule. They are not able to come out of the border between reality and their dreams. They do not show signs of becoming better. It becomes worse.

-[Can you hear?]

The lieutenant turned on the microphone in the machinery. Then he spoke to the survivors in the capsule. When they heard noise, some of the fuss was reduced.

“Who is it!”

“Please!”

“Open this door!”

-[This is 3rd Lieutenant, Andre. I was thawed a little before you all were.]

“Ah!”

“Lieutenant!”

“What about the parasites? What happened to us? Are you okay?”

There must be a few sane people, because they speak normally. The lieutenant gave them a death sentence.

-[Listen well.]

‘4 years have passed since we have been frozen. The ark is still occupied. We woke you up to figure out who is infected and who is not.’

-[Stay for just a day. If you have parasites in your body, they will act soon.]

“Asshole!”

“Let us out!”

Swearing is rampant. They guarantee that they are not hosts, but the lieutenant is sure that most of those people are already infected.

1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 10 hours. Whether the survivors were fired out or had accepted the reality, they stopped expressing their feelings externally, and kept to themselves.

4 years ago, the parasite was introduced in their drinking water. They had quickly filtered it, but it was after the parasite had already spread. Anyone who drank the water before that were infected without exception.

“Huh?”

A man in capsule number 155 lowers his head as he feels something in his stomach. Something is wriggling. Then he feels abdominal pain.

“My st- stomach is weird!”

“Me too!”

“Ack!”

Parasites do not kill their hosts. They take nutrients during their incubation period and move to the brain once they are adults. They need to steer.

This is also different by case. If the situation is severe, they skip the nutrients and secure the brain from the start. They also received nutrients from parasites of the same level.

“It’s started.”

The lieutenant mumbles. The survivors are experiencing the parasites maturing into adults and moving into the brain. This part just needs to pass.

-[Get into position from number 1.]

-[Yes!]

The force members went in front of the capsule when they heard Lim Si Hyun and Han Chang Jin’s command. If there are symptoms, they will be apparent to the eye as well.

The expressions of the force members looking at capsule number 1 distort strangely. A bright blue vein rises on the survivors’ faces with weird bumps in them.

Their eyes roll back and a yellow liquid seeps from between their lips.

-[If there is a change, adjust the flame thrower’s compression. If there isn’t a change, wait for a bit longer. Don’t just trust the capsule and stay alert.]

There is compression and jet on the flame thrower. The compression makes it go out in a straight line like with welding, and it is advantageous when fighting a small number of enemies.

The level 1 parasites living in these weak bodies would melt just by being touched.

Ack!

Bang bang!

The hosts whose brains had been seized banged on the glass as though they would break through it. They had no chance because it is bulletproof, but they cannot help but feel aversion.

-[Open it and melt them.]

As soon as the force members pressed the button outside, the capsule opened and the hosts ran at them. Before they could take 2 steps, they were cooked.