Chapter 147 – Heading to New York (1)

The United States of America.

In my past life, and even now, with zombies roaming the earth, it remained the most powerful nation on the planet.

A country with the strongest military and economic power in the world, where most citizens owned guns.

Even after the zombie outbreak, they had recalled all their overseas troops, maintaining national administration better than other countries.

However, that impressive administrative capability was utterly destroyed on the day the satellites rained from the sky.

The fleets in the harbors were sunk by satellite attacks, and military bases across the country turned into rubble.

Moreover, the national security they had worked so hard to protect by recalling their troops was completely obliterated by a single satellite strike.

The satellite attacks on major cities released quarantined patients—no, zombies—into the streets, and American cities finally fell into the hands of the undead.

This was no different for New York, the central city of the eastern United States.

Satellites that fell in various parts of Manhattan and Central Park destroyed the city, and zombies that had been locked in hospitals and detention centers poured out.

And the administrative power needed to stop the zombies no longer existed in the United States.

This time, even the Pentagon and the White House were hit by satellites, so it was a miracle that we could still communicate with South Korea.

“Fortunately, the Vice President is safe. After the zombie outbreak, the President and Vice President took turns on Air Force One, and during the satellite strike, the Vice President was on board.”

David, who had unexpectedly brought up the topic of the gold bars in New York, explained the backstory.

“So, this is the Vice President’s directive, then?”

“It’s the directive of the Vice President, now the new President, but it’s also part of the emergency protocol.”

A procedure to handle crises in a predetermined manner when the nation is in danger.

It wasn’t strange to move national assets to a safe place during a crisis.

It was just strange that we were the ones doing it.

“If these were the kind of zombies that could be taken down with guns, like in the movies, we wouldn’t need your help. But these aren’t those kinds of zombies.”

He was right, but it was unlikely that hard-headed politicians would think that way.

Perhaps it was because the new President was a businessman.

A results-oriented businessman-turned-President and the expeditionary force that needed to investigate the rift in New York must have reached an agreement.

Moreover, the gold bar story was likely David’s way of baiting me, having figured out my personality.

In truth, even without the gold bar bait, I had already planned to go to New York.

After hearing the news that a new gate to the Land of the Divine Tree had opened in Pyongyang and that the existing gate in Ea had been sealed, Zahina’s expression had darkened.

Even if her people didn’t accept her, she was still the daughter of the Divine Tree.

Even if it wasn’t for the people of Ea, she couldn’t help but worry when her homeland was in danger.

Besides, we had done this before.

With Zahina here, we could hold out until a new gate was created.

In fact, there was no guarantee that we could even reach the Land of the Divine Tree through the rift in New York.

But with a side quest offering additional rewards?

There was no way I could refuse.

To be honest, I agreed to the mission for the sake of my worried party members.

I was not blinded by the gold bars.

“Understood. We’ll take it on. But please provide us with spatial expansion bags for supplies.”

Only my party members knew that I already had two spatial expansion bags.

And that more than half of their contents were filled with gold.

“Very well. We’ll provide that.”

The expeditionary force commander, Count Richard, readily accepted my condition.

It would be difficult to obtain spatial expansion bags here, but I didn’t need to worry about that.

However, the next day, I regretted not worrying about it sooner.

As expected, it was difficult to obtain spatial expansion bags here.

Few people had them, and we couldn’t just take them by force.

So, Count Richard solved my condition in another way.

“I heard you need a mage who can use subspace magic.”

Instead of giving me spatial expansion bags, the Count sent a traditional mage who could use subspace magic.

Fortunately, it wasn’t someone I didn’t know.

Yelena, the former traditional mage.

She was the mage to whom I had handed over my master’s legacy in the capital.

It wasn’t what I had planned, but it was hard to refuse.

The Count had sent a mage who could use subspace magic instead of spatial expansion bags, but from a third party’s perspective, it was an even better outcome.

If I sent her back and demanded spatial expansion bags, it would only raise suspicions.

The U.S. was one thing, but the expeditionary force headquarters was also full of difficult people.

In truth, I didn’t mind Yelena joining my party.

She was a ‘traditional mage’ who could fight properly.

With one more member added to our party, we boarded a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that had flown in from Japan and headed to a U.S. military base in Japan.

The V-22 Osprey, with its two large propellers on the wings that could move vertically and horizontally for vertical landings.

The vertical takeoff and landing aircraft from Japan landed in the parking lot, picked up David and our party members, and headed to the U.S. military base in Japan.

“Don’t worry. As long as we don’t approach the Nakdong River and maintain sufficient altitude, we won’t be attacked by zombie birds.

We’ve checked several times since the last helicopter was shot down.”

The pilot confidently reassured us, who were worried about another crash.

Fortunately, the plane wasn’t attacked as we flew along the southern coast and arrived in Okinawa.

After flying for a while and seeing Okinawa Island in the distance, David explained our next steps.

“We’ll board a transport plane at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa and head to the Atlantic Fleet’s aircraft carrier off the coast of New York.”

Yerim tilted her head at David’s explanation, which came through the headset over the roar of the propellers.

“An aircraft carrier?”

“The airports in New York and nearby military bases have been taken over by zombies, so we can’t land there.”

If the U.S. is in chaos, is Japan okay?

“Are the airports in Japan safe?”

David waved his hand as if to say not to worry.

“Unlike the mainland, the U.S. military bases in Okinawa are safe.”

It seemed that the airports on Japan’s mainland were also in trouble.

Then again, the Demon King had dropped more than one or two satellites.

It was a miracle that the airport in Okinawa was still intact.

However, upon arriving in Okinawa, I realized why the Demon King hadn’t attacked the airport there.

*Screech!*

Countless zombies were emerging from the sea onto Okinawa’s beaches.

All of them were zombies that had come from the sea.

Zombies wearing clothes with Korean writing, bloated from the water.

The zombies coming ashore were all Koreans.

The Korean zombies that had entered the sea via Busan had arrived in Okinawa.

Everyone on the plane grew grim as they saw the hundreds, thousands of zombies coming ashore.

“My God.”

Some were shocked to see the scene they had only witnessed in movies, while others were worried about the current situation.

“Is Jeju Island okay?”

Yerim was concerned about Jeju Island, located between Okinawa and the southern coast.

“If they’re heading this way, the U.S. military base is in danger!”

David was worried about the U.S. military base south of Okinawa that we were heading to.

“A horde of zombies from the sea is moving south!”

[What? A horde of zombies? What are you talking about? This is Okinawa!]

The pilot urgently contacted the airfield, but the control tower didn’t believe him.

“What do you mean it’s okay? Zombies are coming out of the sea!”

The pilot also exploded in anger, and David, who had rushed to the cockpit, took the radio to explain the situation.

“Zombies from Korea have crossed the sea and are coming ashore. There are thousands visible now, and the number is increasing. The zombies are currently moving south past the beach. Declare an emergency immediately!”

[What? No, that can’t be… Damn it, emergency, emergency!]

“And contact the transport plane to prepare for takeoff. We need to leave right away.”

“Understood!”

At David’s words, the pilots sprang into action.

To land the plane before the zombies reached the airfield, they increased speed, contacted the control tower and the transport plane to clear the runway, and prepared the transport plane for departure.

[There’s a plane currently waiting on the runway.]

“Clear it now! This plane is on a mission ordered by the President!”

“You haven’t finished refueling? What the hell have you been doing? Can we make it to the U.S.? Pull the hose and prepare for takeoff now!”

The pilots and David shouted at the control tower and the transport plane’s pilot, and the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft rushed toward the airfield as if it were about to crash.

The plane actually sped up as it approached the airfield.

Upon reaching the runway, the propellers on the wings reversed, and the plane descended onto the runway as if crashing.

*Boom. Thud.*

Sparks flew from the wheels, and the plane shook violently.

The plane hurriedly passed by another plane that had moved aside.

It passed by the other plane as if about to collide and stopped in the middle of the runway.

David and the party members jumped out of the open door onto the runway.

Before I got off the plane, I looked at the pilots in the cockpit.

“Don’t worry. We’ll take off right away.”

“It’s fine. As long as we reach the fleet, we’ll be okay. If not, we’ll just parachute out.”

The pilot and co-pilot waved their hands as if to say not to worry, but I couldn’t help but be concerned.

I knew that the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, which had shuttled between Daejeon and Okinawa, didn’t have much fuel left.

But I couldn’t waste time worrying about them.

Because zombies were already starting to appear at the end of the runway.

A horde of zombies covering the horizon like a wave—this was a number I couldn’t handle.

With a stern face, I saluted them and followed the party members who had already jumped out.

Fortunately, the transport plane had finished its preparations for departure without delay.

We boarded the transport plane in one swift move, and in the meantime, the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft took off to clear the runway.

The vertical takeoff and landing aircraft headed north again.

It didn’t have enough fuel to return to Daejeon, but the plane flew magnificently as if it had no worries.

Now it was our turn.

The transport plane carrying us began to taxi down the runway, following the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that had taken off first.

Zombies filled the runway as they rushed toward us.

“Damn it, the distance is too short! Takeoff is going to be difficult!”

We on the transport plane heard the screams from the cockpit.

Fortunately, this plane had mages on board.

Zahina summoned a headwind, and Yelena accelerated the propellers, allowing the transport plane to take off just before the zombies could swarm it.

Our destination: New York.

The transport plane left the airfield, now filled with zombies.