Magic on the Dead Chapter 71

The dawn on the ranch was closer to early winter than summer. Hajin hugged his shivering torso, crossing his arms, and silently followed Private Gu.

Fitting for his rank, the private’s hair was as short and coarse as the artificial turf of a soccer field. His stiff neck, the sharp angles of his gait, and his two tightly clenched fists, as if in tension, were unusual.

He was completely silent, but Hajin had already noticed the man stealing glances at him with eyes full of curiosity.

“Mr. Gu. May I ask your name?”

“Wh-why, why are you asking for my name, sir?”

“I just wanted to formally introduce myself. As you know, I haven’t been here long, so I don’t have many friends…”

“What does that ha-have to do with me, sir?”

Despite putting up his soft thorns, Private Gu kept sneaking glances at Hajin. Hajin, who had easily seen through the man’s somewhat socially awkward disposition, was inwardly relieved. If he could coax him the right way, he might be able to find out not only who killed Chunbeom, but also the ranch’s secrets.

Warm sunlight cast down on the ranch while they cleaned up the warehouse where all hell had broken loose and sorted the hay to feed the sheep. Hajin began his operation.

“Mr. Gu, how are you so good at handling the sheep? You probably didn’t even have anyone to teach you.”

“…”

“The sheep follow you so well, Mr. Gu. We’re both giving them hay, but they don’t even spare me a glance.”

Private Gu’s ears turned bright red, as if the continued compliments were both ticklish and awkward.

“Do-don’t give them the grass in, in long strands like this. I-if you fold it in half to make it thick, the ki-kids like it because it’s che-chewy.”

“As expected, there’s nothing you can’t do, Mr. Gu.”

Confirming that the man’s guard had been lowered a notch, Hajin naturally changed the subject.

“Mr. Gu, it seems you’ve been here ever since the zombie outbreak started.”

“Ye-yes, th-that’s right.”

“Don’t you miss your family?”

“I, I do miss them. But th-they say the zombies in the ca-capital region will be taken care of so-soon, so if I wait just a little longer, I’ll be able to go see them. U-until then, I will be co-completely loyal to the ba-battalion commander’s orders.”

Hajin secretly frowned at his innocent reply. It seemed Lieutenant Colonel So had been feeding his subordinates the same sweet talk he had used to detain them.

“Actually, I was looking for my father too. I vaguely heard he came to this ranch… Have you by any chance seen a man about 170cm tall who limps on his left leg?”

“I, I haven’t seen anyone like that.”

“Ah, I see.”

Hiding his disappointment, he quickly threw out the next question.

“Could you tell me a bit more about the zombie extermination operation?”

Private Gu looked at Hajin in surprise, as if he knew more than expected.

“I-I don’t know the details either. Why do you ask, sir?”

“Because my father might have been caught up in that incident.”

“Ah… Th-that time, all I remember is Sergeant Shin suddenly telling us to follow him with our guns, and th-then shooting with my e-eyes closed.”

‘He doesn’t know a single thing.’

Having failed to obtain any meaningful information from the man after all, Hajin used the restroom as an excuse to leave the pasture. He was thinking of going straight to the feeding experience center, his next target location.

As he got closer to his destination, a horrendous stench stimulated his sense of smell. He felt a wave of nausea while mentally drawing a map as he walked.

“Ugh.”

Beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead trickled down his temple. Covering his nose with the back of his hand, he carefully observed the stables lined up on both sides. Fortunately, there were no guards at the entrance.

Hajin gathered his courage and stepped inside the experience center, and the fierce roars of zombies followed.

“Krrruuuhhh!”

“Kyaaaak!”

The experience center, designed like stables, had been completely boarded up with wooden planks to prevent the zombies from getting out. Through the crude gaps, his eyes met with the zombies’ gray eyeballs.

But there was something strange about the zombies’ appearance.

“What… in the world…”

They had no hands or feet. All the zombies were screaming through the gaps in the planks, their limbs cut off. It was as if someone had deliberately aimed for and severed only their arms and legs.

“Woof! Wo-woof!”

Just then, the sound of a dog barking ferociously could be heard. Hajin barely managed to bolt out of the experience center and ran toward the source of the sound. Even as he ran, the ghastly images of the zombies, with only their torsos left, swirled in his head, making his stomach churn.

The place he arrived at was near the entrance. He quickly hid himself in the bushes and assessed the situation. Two soldiers holding a military dog’s leash were aiming their rifles at someone outside the wall.

“So, where did you walk from?”

“We walked from the Jeongsan Chestnut Rest Area! My son here and I faced death multiple times to get here!”

Hajin’s eyes widened at the voice coming from beyond the wall. A familiar voice, and the Chestnut Rest Area. Could it be… that cult leader?

The soldier holding the military dog’s leash ordered the man.

“Throw the bag on your shoulder over here.”

“Excuse me?”

“We need to check if you have any dangerous items, so throw it over here.”

“Ah, yes! O-of course!”

Two heavy bags fell at the soldiers’ feet, and the retort pouches and snacks inside them scattered on the ground.

The soldiers, who exchanged glances, let the father and son inside with noticeably more relaxed faces.

“Thank you, thank you!”

Though his face had thinned from hardship, Hajin recognized the man at once.

A middle-aged man with a grumpy-looking mole in the middle of his cheek, wearing blue glasses. It was the cult leader who claimed to serve Wonsin-nim. Even though he was the cultist who had called him a devil and poured juice on his cards, a look of surprise and gladness crossed Hajin’s face upon seeing him in such an unexpected place.

Next to the middle-aged man was his son, his head hanging low, devoid of any vitality. The memory of his bright smile was still vivid, but his complexion was terrible, as if something had happened in the meantime. Hajin bit his lower lip in pity.

A soldier, after stuffing the food back into the bags, gestured to the cult leader.

“Mister, you follow me, and the friend you call your son can go that way.”

“Excuse me, sir. I don’t know what’s going on, but can’t I go with my son? As you can see, this kid went through a lot to get here, so he’s in a very unstable state mentally. I think it’s best if his father stays by his side…”

“We’ll let you meet again at the lodging, so just follow me quietly.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“It’s just a temporary separation to check for infection. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Hajin calmly followed the confused-looking cult leader and the soldier. Their final destination was the feeding experience center that Hajin had stopped by on his way.

‘Why here…’

Covering his nose and mouth against the stench that was wafting over again, he leaned his back against the outside of the entrance. When he peeked his head inside, he could see the cult leader’s face, looking around with an expression full of fear.

“E-excuse me, soldier sir… what are all these ma-many zo-zombies? Why are all their legs…”

Ignoring the man’s words, the soldier then took a black cloth out of his pants pocket.

“There’s something I need to check, so could you please turn around for a moment?”

“Excuse me? No, what…”

“I won’t say it twice.”

“I mean, wha…”

A black cloth was instantly shoved into the mouth of the man who was about to say something more.

“Mmph?!”

The soldier, who had bound the man with practiced hands, threw open one of the stables.

“Kaaahk—!”

A zombie with severed limbs came tumbling out. Its hard teeth then sank, chomp!, into the ankle of the middle-aged man, who had collapsed in shock.

Hajin’s body froze cold at the shocking sight.

“Mmph! Mmugh!”

A muffled scream burst from the mouth of the man whose ankle was being torn into. The soldier who was watching jotted something down on a document, then glanced at the watch on his wrist.

The zombie, having completed its task, was thrown back into the stable by the soldier. Thump! The flimsy wooden plank door was closed.

“Mmmph! Mm-mmmph…!”

“He turned pretty fast today. The wound is on the weaker side, too… I guess it really does vary from person to person.”

After confirming that the man’s nose had started to bleed, the soldier once again moved his pen across the paper. Then, he bent one knee and squatted down to meet the cultist’s eyes.

“Your son will be fine, Mister. He’s a kid, so he’s perfect for putting to work.”

“Ughh! Mmmph!!”

A sharp dagger then emerged from the soldier’s chest. The well-honed dagger began to mercilessly saw off the cultist’s infected ankle.

“Ugh!”

Hajin had to stop his spying there. The moment he turned his head, the stomach acid he had been desperately holding back surged up.

‘This is dangerous.’

At this very moment, only one person came to mind. Hajin desperately moved his frozen hands and feet, crawling on the ground to get out of the experience center.

He had to hurry and tell Eden the ranch’s secret before something worse happened. Barely getting to his feet, he started running toward the campsite at full speed.