11. First Mission (1)

『Kwang Hwi Baek’s Mission』

『Obtain the necessary medical supplies from Dongducheon General Hospital.』

『Mission Rewards: Unlock <Armored Vehicle>, 300,000 MP.』

Kwang Hwi rubbed his eyes in disbelief, but the mission reward remained unchanged. ‘In addition to unlocking <Armored Vehicle>, it also gave 300,000 MP?’ Similar to the amount given when he awakened his ability, the reward for completing this quest was enormous.

“Dongducheon General Hospital?”

He knew where that was. With the ambition of becoming the largest hospital in Asia, it had only opened last year after 22 years of construction. But what he couldn’t wrap his head around was why.

In the grand scheme of things, there were plenty of other places to secure. Military camps, police stations, fire departments, and the city hall were all crucial to their plans of conquest. He glanced at the whiteboard in his office. It listed their current status and future plans per Kwang Hwi and his subordinates.

Weapons – Secured

Land – Secured

Troops – Ongoing

Energy – Limited

Supplies – Ongoing (Medical Supplies URGENT)

For a long time, he couldn’t take his eyes off of the whiteboard.

‘Could that be it…?’

Last time, when they went to secure supplies at the L-mart, they were only able to secure basic supplies. Hygienic supplies, food, and clean water were abundant, but they were low on proper medical supplies. That, alongside with their lack of doctors and nurses meant any injuries had a serious chance of escalating. The system appeared to be reading his mind as it assigned him a mission to secure supplies from the hospital. Grabbing his walkie-talkie, he ordered Soo Min to come to his office.

***

“Tell me what the minimum number of people needed to defend the base is.”

While others would have been perplexed by Kwang Hwi’s odd question, Soo Min didn’t bat an eye and answered immediately.

“10 people.”

Kwang Hwi agreed with his compatriot. In fact, 10 was a bare minimum. As they expanded further, that number would progressively increase.

“Did something happen?” asked Soo Min carefully.

“We need to secure a hospital—a reasonably large one, so I’m planning a full force expedition.”

Looting every single minor hospital in their way would dig into their time. While he would prefer to go with only his subordinates, he understood that they needed to provide some semblance of protection for their base. With the substantial reward, there was danger lurking beneath the surface. Soo Min caught on to his boss’ thoughts and did his best to assuage his concerns.

“Boss. I understand how you feel, but we can’t keep treating them as recruits.”

“…You’re right.”

Kwang Hwi had to accept that casualties would occur during the mission. The new recruits needed to learn in a trial by fire, but it was also too dangerous to take them to such a place. Any mission worth 300,000 MP was most certainly fraught with danger. Taking them to build experience was one thing, sending them out like lambs to the slaughter was something entirely different. Soo Min could see the moral dilemma going on in his boss’ head.

“Boss, we know how much you care, but you need to believe in us and the recruits we’ve trained.”

Kwang Hwi nodded. They weren’t flowers in a greenhouse. Only through hardship would they be able to grow into capable, diligent soldiers that sneer in the face of danger.

“Form a team that will plunder the hospital by 22:00 today. You’ll stay here as the temporary Commanding Officer.”

Within the team, Soo Min occupied an unusual position. During regular operations, he acted as the sniper. In the absence of Kwang Hwi, he was the acting Commanding Officer. While unreliable at times, Soo Min was someone that he could trust. After he left the room, Kwang Hwi opened up the Merit Shop and made some final preparations for the mission tomorrow.

***

Next morning, Kwang Hwi did a final check on the men’s equipment before they headed out. For their mission, there were 8 people on the team: 4 recruits and 4 of his subordinates. Naturally, Kwang Hwi was leading them.

“Today, we’ll be heading to the Dongducheon General Hospital. Our objective is to salvage medical supplies and bring them back to our base.”

Some of them were surprised that they were sending such a small crew to raid the hospital, but Kwang Hwi pretended not to notice.

“Don’t think that 8 people is too small. We are now the only military force around. Follow my commands and we will survive. Everybody, on board.” Kwang Hwi boarded the SUV and waved the rest of his troops in. Whoever was left settled in the Medium Tactical Vehicle.

“Yes, sir!”

With a loud whirring, the SUV and Medium Tactical Vehicle lurched forward. Blades were attached to the front of the trucks—another perk from the Merit Shop. It tore apart obstacles on the road, such as stationary cars from before the incident and monsters charging at them at a breakneck pace. In less than an hour, the blades were covered in the stench of monster flesh and black blood. As the trucks screeched to a halt, Kwang Hwi ordered them to start reconnaissance.

The drone that was used last time was sent in to scout. Discarded cars littered the side of the slope leading to the hospital. As the drone got past the slope, it entered through the parking lot entrance.

Corpses were strewn across the parking lot, most likely shredded by monsters. It had been some time since they had been murdered and the corpses had been rotting for a little while now. A dreary feeling crept up behind them. An ambulance was stuck in the lobby of the first floor, but a strange feeling washed over him.

‘Are there no monsters?’

The drone hovered in the vicinity of the hospital for a long time, but no monsters were caught on camera.

“Carry on.”

— “Roger.”

The Medium Tactical Vehicle continued to wade through the obstacles, driving over corpses, bulldozing other cars, and paving the way for the other soldiers. Once stopped, the team exited the vehicles and fanned out to secure the perimeter. Despite the loud noises, nary a response was to be found. Without the emergency power, the only source of light in the entire hospital was the natural light coming from the windows. The deeper they headed into the hospital, the more the darkness flooded their vision and left them blind.

Kwang Hwi didn’t panic and opened up the Merit Shop.

『GPNVG-18』

『Night-vision goggles used by special task forces such as the DEVGRU in the United States. Compared to the traditional dual-tube goggles, it offers a wider range of vision. Additionally, it blocks strong sources of light to prevent glare.』

“Wear these.”

Kwang Hwi distributed night vision goggles to each of his troop. Now their vision was clear, albeit tinged in blue. As they continued further into the hospital the darkness swallowed Kwang Hwi and his men, one by one.

— Ω —