Red Dot - 144

Chapter 144

When Junseong and Hanseo secured the “solution” at the director’s house, the bus team was moving forward quite smoothly.

“Oops, a zombie up ahead…!”

One person opened their mouth upon seeing a zombie pop out on the roadside.

Thud-!

“…was there, but it’s gone now.”

He awkwardly scratched the back of his head while looking at the zombie that was immediately knocked down by the bus.

The bus was sturdy enough to have casually struck over a dozen zombies so far. They had meticulously covered the front, back, and sides with thin, strong steel plates used at construction sites. Especially at the front, they attached three steel plates on each side, slanted to form a shape like the Chinese character for “person” (人).

Thanks to this, the sturdy triangular steel plates acted like a ship’s ram, allowing the bus to push through groups of zombies relatively easily. Unfortunately, because the number of zombies wandering on the route Junseong had planned was so low, they hadn’t fully tested it.

“But really, there are so few zombies. How did he know about this route?”

One of Daewook’s colleagues, who was constantly on guard, asked with sparkling eyes. Daewook simply replied that it was a safe route Junseong had created by recalling his experience passing through a few days ago.

The group, moving slowly to minimize engine noise along a route with notably few zombies, soon encountered a tunnel.

In fact, when planning this safe route, Dujae, who was nervously stroking his bald head, had raised a concern about the tunnel.

“Isn’t the tunnel dangerous? If zombies are inside, the tunnel is narrow, so it’s easy to get surrounded, and there’s no easy way out.”

His worry was valid.

There were only two tunnels in Inhan City. Dujae had once visited a shelter in one of them to search for survivors. The situation at the shelter was, as expected, disastrous, but the tunnel itself was even worse.

Due to the aftermath of the zombie outbreak, Dujae had experienced cars crashing and breaking down, with zombies unexpectedly popping out from between them. It was reasonable for him to voice his concerns.

Back then, only three people—Dujae, Namsub, and Yuseul—had moved on foot, dodging here and there to escape. But this time, they were driving a bus with many people. If they faced the same scene in this tunnel, with tangled cars and zombies rushing chaotically, the bus could become a burdensome liability.

But Junseong told them not to worry and planned the route beyond the tunnel without issue.

When the group faced the tunnel, they finally understood the meaning of Junseong’s words.

[Under Construction]
[We apologize for the inconvenience caused by the passage.]
[We will complete the construction as soon as possible.]
[Construction Details: Improvement of outdated lighting facilities]
[Construction Period: 10/01 ~ 11/01]

It was a tunnel under construction.

The entrance had a temporary wooden gate made of brown planks to prevent entry during construction, and it was currently locked tightly. Near the fork leading to the tunnel, white and red barricades were set up to block the road, and a construction notice banner was hung, so no vehicles had entered this route.

When they reached the tunnel entrance, no construction equipment or related vehicles were visible anywhere.

Usually, on the last day of such construction, the phase of using heavy equipment was over, and it was just a matter of checking if the work was completed properly.

The last day of construction was November 1st—the day the zombie virus spread.

If the world hadn’t changed like this, they could have smoothly opened the tunnel the next day, but it was a pity.

The group stopped the bus in front of the tunnel and checked for any zombies nearby. Fortunately, all they saw was the empty road in front of the tunnel.

It seemed the workers inspecting the tunnel on the last day had left early. Since they weren’t digging a new tunnel or installing something new but merely replacing lighting facilities, there might not have been much to check.

Because of this, a lock was firmly attached to the temporary gate blocking the entrance.

In other words, the lock meant there was no one inside the tunnel.

Confirming that the tunnel was practically a clean zone, Dujae voluntarily stepped out of the bus. In his hand, he held pliers that Junseong had given him, saying they would be needed.

“He even knew about this.”

Dujae was newly amazed by Junseong’s foresight and intelligence.

Even if Junseong had learned this by chance in a dream, remembering it all clearly and planning a safe route without any issues wasn’t something just anyone could do. Moreover, he was thorough enough to prepare pliers like these.

Dujae thought he should never argue with Junseong’s words again, and with a single snip, he cut the lock’s chain with the pliers.

After removing the lock and entering the empty tunnel, the group was met with oppressive darkness. The tunnel wasn’t very long, but since the exit on the other side was blocked in a similar way, no light could be expected.

Anyway, it was certain there were no zombies inside the tunnel.

For the first time, the group turned on all the bus’s interior lights and began moving forward smoothly.

Not long after the bus entered the tunnel, Gyeong-oh, who was quietly sitting in his seat, suddenly stood up.

“Hey, over there! Argh!”

His head hit the bus ceiling hard, making a dull thud.

Groaning briefly while rubbing his head, Gyeong-oh swallowed dryly, looking nervous as the group’s attention turned to him.

“Um, I have something to say before we exit the tunnel…”

For some reason, his face was pale, and he looked like he was about to make a huge confession.

“Actually, I… I’m the one who set off the bomb!”

No, it wasn’t just “like” a huge confession—he really made a shocking confession.

Everyone staring at Gyeong-oh wore stunned expressions, and the driver, who had been quietly holding the wheel, stepped on the brake and turned around.

Having blurted out the absurd confession, Gyeong-oh stepped into the middle of the bus, knelt down, and pressed his forehead to the floor with a thud, just like when he hit his head. His body trembled.

“I-I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, everyone…”

He didn’t bother with evasive excuses like it wasn’t intentional, he didn’t know it would happen, or he was just following orders.

It was an undeniable truth that his mistake caused the hospital to collapse and put everyone in danger. No matter how he dressed it up, that wouldn’t change.

The words Changmin had said to him at dawn made Gyeong-oh think deeply.

The group, hearing the unexpected bombshell, frowned a beat late. Among them, Yuseul, who had a fiery temper, was the first to speak.

“Is that true?! Were you trying to kill us all?!”

The moment of escaping the collapsing Inhan Hospital basement was one of the most terrifying experiences Yuseul had ever felt. It was scarier than being chased by a horde of zombies, so the expression “her heart shrank” was perfectly fitting.

The other group members felt the same.

And yet, that incident was caused by an ally’s attack.

It was hard to believe, but Gyeong-oh, with tears welling up, kept apologizing. It was impossible not to believe him.

Just as the group, grasping the situation, was about to lash out one by one, Changmin raised his hand and stood up.

“I’m sorry too.”

“I knew what Gyeong-oh hyung did but kept my mouth shut until now. I’m sorry.”

With a bitter expression, Changmin bowed his head, and the group became even more confused.

Looking up at their expressions, Changmin spoke on behalf of Gyeong-oh, who still had his forehead pressed to the floor, and revealed the truth. He explained how Ki-hyuk had approached Gyeong-oh, and how his actions led to the disaster.

After hearing the story, the group couldn’t simply stay angry.

Gyeong-oh had no choice but to follow Ki-hyuk’s orders because his family was held hostage, and he couldn’t tell the group. Ki-hyuk had contacted him using Namsub’s phone, who had joined the group with Dujae. He even showed Gyeong-oh a photo of Yuseul’s younger sibling to confirm the hostage situation.

Moreover, Gyeong-oh didn’t have enough time to think properly. If he didn’t send a signal to Ki-hyuk’s side by midnight that day, the hostages’ lives were as good as gone.

But he never imagined it would trigger a bomb. Even the group listening to the story swallowed hard at this point.

“…That’s how it happened. You may not believe it, but if they had ordered him to directly harm the group, Gyeong-oh hyung would never have complied.”

The timid Gyeong-oh wouldn’t have done anything to directly hurt the group, even to save his family. At least, that’s how Changmin saw it from their time together.

Jian, who had been listening, hurriedly stepped forward and shouted.

“That’s right! Gyeong-oh ajussi was just used by that bad guy! The real bad one is that murderer Ki-hyuk!”

Jian spread her arms wide, as if shielding Gyeong-oh, her expression fierce not because she hated Gyeong-oh or was glaring at the group, but because of the true culprit behind this.

“Yeah, the bad one is that bastard.”

Yuseul, who had been glaring at Gyeong-oh more fiercely than anyone earlier, stood up and added calmly.

“But why say this now? If you were going to confess, why not do it when Junseong was here?”

There was no accusation in Yuseul’s question. She was purely curious.

It seemed that even those who gathered for the morning meeting, except Changmin, didn’t know. Perhaps Changmin had told Junseong separately the previous night.

In place of the sniffling Gyeong-oh, Changmin answered.

“I didn’t tell Junseong on purpose.”

“Why?”

“Because we needed to make a secondary plan that Junseong didn’t know about.”

At Changmin’s response, confusion appeared on everyone’s faces except Gyeong-oh’s.

Changmin helped the still-prostrate Gyeong-oh stand and spoke to the group.

“From now on, we need to split into two teams again.”

Within Junseong’s safe route, Changmin and Gyeong-oh began preparing to head toward another route created by Hanseo.