Chapter 109 – New Port (3)

Even to me, it seemed like a good idea to use vertically placed containers as passages within the long container wall fortifications.

We entered the port through the opposite hole after passing through that container.

Inside the container walls, people were gathered waiting for us. Being a port, most of those waiting were large middle-aged men.

As we approached, a white-haired middle-aged man who looked older spoke to us:

“Thanks to you we survived. I thought it was just a rumor, but superhumans really do exist.”

The sturdy men with him whispered quietly:

“Do superhumans change appearance too? Those long ears on that beautiful woman are real, right?”

“But the woman next to her doesn’t look that different? She’s pretty but not an incredible beauty like the long-eared one.”

“What was that young man thinking wearing armor like that?”

“Probably to avoid zombie bites. I’d wear it too if it wasn’t heavy.”

While some men whispered about the female party members, others looked me up and down.

“More importantly, those are U.S. military right? Why are they here?”

“And aren’t those people coming behind them crew from the Almeria?”

“Oh yeah. Could they be here to move the ship?”

And some had figured out why we came.

“Everyone be quiet! Can’t hear anything with all this noise.”

The white-haired man waved his hand and shouted at the scattered chatter.

He frowned, seemingly in pain from his bandaged arm after waving.

A man beside him carefully asked while looking at the white-haired man’s arm:

“Oh, are you hurt?”

“Yes, I’m hurt. Grazed by a spear tip.”

The man clicked his tongue at his words.

“You should be careful. Just need to push them back with spears, why get hurt? You’re getting old, Union Chief.”

“Damn it, yes I’m old. Anyway, be quiet. Let me talk too.”

The white-haired man, the union chief, pushed away the man picking at him with his other arm and approached us.

“It’s been a while. Never thought I’d see you again.”

The union chief passed by me and took the hand of the captain among the crew.

“Thought I wouldn’t see you either.”

The captain patted the union chief’s shoulder with his other hand.

“You really appeared at a dangerous moment. The front line was breached, right?”

“That’s what I heard too.”

When the captain nodded, the union chief looked around at our group with a darkened expression.

“But seeing you all come together, doesn’t seem like you came to save us…”

“You can see for yourself. And I’m not in charge, talk to the knight.”

The captain raised his hand pointing at me in response to the union chief’s question.

At the captain’s words, the union chief narrowed his eyes looking at me.

“Looking at the armor, you do seem like a knight… No, more importantly, can you speak Korean?”

“Though I don’t use this world’s language, there’s no problem hearing and conveying words.”

“Oh… Your Korean is quite good.”

But the union chief tilted his head at my words.

Seems my words sounded like Korean to him too. Indeed, Zahina’s translation ability was amazing.

However, thanks to me mentioning it first, someone noticed something strange.

A young man behind the union chief muttered quietly:

“Wait, his lip movements are different.”

“How did you notice that?”

When the person next to him asked, he answered with a proud expression:

“Thanks to watching lots of dubbed movies and games.”

“Come on, still playing games at your age?”

The men swung their fists at him.

While he received their punches, the union chief looked at me with an amazed expression.

“Is this also… is this also a superpower?”

“Something similar.”

Explaining once or twice is fine, but it was tiresome to explain about coming from another world every time we met people.

Others would explain anyway, so I decided to let them believe we were superhumans for now.

“Since we can communicate, I’ll ask again. Why have you come to our stronghold, Busan New Port?”

To the union chief asking with a serious expression, I answered calmly:

“We plan to put a container ship back to sea.”

At my words the union chief’s expression darkened further, but I wasn’t finished.

“You should all come too.”

The union chief’s eyes widened.

“Us too?”

“Yes. The ice on those container walls was frozen with superpowers, so it will stay frozen much longer than normal ice, but it will still melt in a few hours. We need to leave before then.”

The men behind the union chief started murmuring again.

Unlike before, the union chief didn’t stop them and asked me:

“Where to? Are we going to Yeongdo?”

“Yeongdo is just a stopover. We’ll head to Jeju Island via Yeongdo and Haeundae.”

Of course, both Yeongdo and Haeundae would need to hold out until then, but we planned to visit no matter what.

As the union chief was nodding at my words, a shout burst out from behind:

“Jeju Island? You think those people there will accept us? They’re the ones who abandoned us here!”

A man with a healthy body like the others but a face full of wrinkles continued shouting, spitting:

“Same with the Yeongdo people. They never showed their faces unless they needed something!”

It certainly wasn’t wrong.

Honestly, I couldn’t be sure the people in Jeju would accept the container ship and people either.

Though there were the lieutenant colonel’s words and the U.S. forces and David seemed willing to help, this was still the Jeju government that had abandoned even the people in Yeongdo.

If they really decided to refuse, the container ship would have to become sea refugees.

However, there was no other alternative.

The captain thought the same:

“I plan to force our way into Jeju port even if we have to crash the ship. They can’t drive people away once they’re on land.”

“Indeed, seems we’ll have to use that method.”

The union chief nodded at the captain’s words.

Just as things seemed to be settling, that man kept objecting:

“We can just stay and hold out here. Honestly, there’s no better place than here. We can build walls with containers, and there’s still lots of food in the containers. We’ll all starve to death if we go to Jeju.”

Some people seemed to be considering his words.

To help their decision, I spoke to everyone:

“We can’t force you if you won’t come, so we’ll go alone. Time is short, so please make way if you’re staying.”

The contemplating people looked at me startled at my words.

The objecting man also burst out shouting at my words:

“No way! Where would you go? What will we do when the ice melts – you all need to stay here too!”

Everyone looked at him at his words.

“No, we can’t defend alone, we need help. If these superhumans and U.S. forces help, we could defend this port like a real fortress.”

Though he tried to persuade people again, his words wouldn’t work now.

“That’s enough already.”

“Brother Kim, you’re going too far. You’re being too pushy.”

When even the contemplating people started stopping him, he turned his anger on them:

“Damn it, are you ignoring me because I came later! What’s this!”

“That’s not it.”

“What do you mean that’s not it. Damn regionalists. How are you taking people’s words?”

As things seemed to be getting out of hand, I was about to say something, but someone spoke first:

“Um, but I think I’ve seen you before… Haven’t I seen you?”

The speaker was one of the crew who came with us.

It was just an ordinary question, but ridiculously, the man who had been snapping at everyone hurriedly denied:

“No, never seen you. How would I know you!”

While everyone was puzzled by his vehement denial, the crew member succeeded in remembering him:

“No… Where did I see him. Ah. Right. Damn, that guy, I saw him in detention before everything happened.”

The crew member continued speaking to the captain:

“Remember when I got in trouble before, you got me out of detention? I saw him then. He definitely came in for murder and the police said he’d get life in prison. Being caught in the act, there’s no way he could be out like this…”

“It’s not me. You saw wrong. What nonsense!”

Though his face turned red with anger, the people beside him quickly moved away.

Simultaneously, the captain confirmed:

“Now that you mention it, I remember. He is that murderer we saw then.”

“No, what are you…”

As the man tried to shout again, the union chief gestured to people first:

“Grab him!”

People instantly rushed and pinned him down.

When five or six sturdy men pounced on him, he was flattened to the ground.

“Urgh, I-I said it’s not me. What are you doing!”

Though the man pinned to the ground growled at the union chief, the union chief continued giving orders while rubbing his injured arm:

“Drag him to the warehouse and lock him up. We’ll decide what to do after getting people on the ship.”

At the union chief’s order, people started dragging him away.

When no one listened to him, he shouted furiously while being dragged:

“Fine, I killed them! Damn it, I was living well without being caught. You bastards! Won’t let this go! Think I’ll die alone? You’ll all die too!”

Watching him being dragged away, the union chief clicked his tongue:

“Knew he came after causing some incident, but left him alone since he was quiet. To think it was murder.”

From the union chief’s words, it seemed the dragged man had drifted to the port after the zombie outbreak.

With communications cut off due to the zombie situation and needing immediate help, it must have been hard to verify identities.

“Is that why he caused such a fuss? Afraid of being discovered as a murderer?”

“Must be. But how is a murderer walking around free?”

“Must have escaped. Zombies would have appeared in prison too, so guards wouldn’t be watching… Everyone must have run out.”

“My, do we have to watch out for people besides zombies?”

“People were always something to watch out for.”

Listening to the remaining people’s chatter, we crossed the port.

Thanks to the container walls, we crossed the empty port and stopped in front of a massive ship.

After looking the ship over, the captain nodded:

“Looks fine from the outside…”

“It should be fine. Made sure no one could touch it just in case.”

The union chief beat his chest speaking at the captain’s words.

“Still need to try moving it.”

At the captain’s words, David looked around at the crew and asked:

“Will this many people be enough?”

As David worried, there were only 10 crew members.

“Well, foreigners left, some went home and lost contact, so only this many remain.

Still, if the ship isn’t damaged, operation itself should be possible. Getting out of port without a pilot boat is an issue but… right now, doesn’t matter if it gets a bit damaged.”

Though his words seemed to ignore future consequences, at the mention of being able to move, the union chief shouted:

“Bring the people! Pack only what you can carry on your backs! No time – we’ll leave you behind if you’re late!”

“Yes!”

At the union chief’s words people ran off, and he rubbed his bandaged arm watching them go.

Black blood was slowly seeping through the bandage.