Zombie Apocalypse Whiteout - 27
EP27 Shoot Out (1)
- Kzzzt! What the hell? Yu-bin, what was that gunfire?!
Jin-woo’s voice crackled through the receiver, alarmed by the unexpected sound of gunshots. Meanwhile, the witch kept screeching in the background, making the already chaotic situation even worse.
“This is why I warned you the ransom plan was impossible! Why didn’t you listen to me? You saw it! There are seriously so many people out to kill me!”
“I don’t know! Haaah… They just… suddenly started shooting their own guys… Three of them are dead…!”
Still shaken by the sudden turn of events, Yu-bin pressed the transmitter and tried to answer Jin-woo. Meanwhile, armed troops began pouring out of the Black Hawk. Eight of them, all clad in black military uniforms, carrying MP5s and polycarbonate riot shields.
‘What the hell? Why were there eight guys packed into that chopper? Can that thing even hold that many?’
A flurry of questions rushed through Yu-bin’s mind. It wasn’t until a few seconds later that he realized, they had never planned to take the witch and her team back alive.
By now, the black-uniformed troops were advancing quickly toward the floating café, using the fake Lieutenant General Park as a human shield. And the Black Hawk that had dropped them off quickly ascended back into the sky.
“Down!”
The sheriff, eyes like a hawk, shouted as he dove forward to shield Yu-bin and the witch. Min-gu, mirroring his movement from the other side, tackled them both to the ground.
RATATATAT-! RATATATATAT-!
Gunfire erupted as the black-uniformed men fired warning shots through the gaps in their shields. The café’s glass windows shattered, and bullets ricocheted off the steel pillars.
CRASH! SHATTER! TWANG!
They weren’t aiming directly yet, but the sheer force and sound of the gunfire were enough to rattle the nerves.
“KYAAAH!”
Flattened against the floor, the witch screamed with her eyes squeezed shut.
“…Are they out of their goddamn minds?”
The sheriff muttered in disbelief as he raised his head slightly, then shouted toward the attackers:
“Your boss is being held hostage here, you sons of bitches! Stop shooting!”
RATATATAT-! RATATATATAT-!
As if to respond, they let loose another burst. Thanks to the sheriff shouting and giving away their location, the aim this time was slightly more accurate.
CRASH! CLANG! SHATTER! WHIZ!
Glass shattered above and below them. Sounds of things breaking and collapsing echoed nonstop.
“She’s not a hostage… They’ve been trying to kill her from the start…”
Yu-bin muttered as he grasped the situation, and Min-gu gave a small nod in agreement.
“A coup.”
Even as they spoke, the enemy kept approaching slowly in crouched formation, firing every couple of seconds without pause.
RATATATAT! RATATAT! RATATATA!
The relentless gunfire pinned Yu-bin’s group down on the third floor. Shards of glass and powdered debris flew from behind them, and even the floor was catching stray rounds.
“Coup or not, I don’t give a damn… Ugh!”
The sheriff crawled backward and, using only his arms, lifted a thick bulletproof table and flipped it onto its side.
THUD!
He set the heavy table upright in the direction of the gunfire and gestured to everyone else.
“Over here! Get behind this!”
“Go, bro! You too!”
Yu-bin shouted, but the witch, still in a panic, kept clutching her head and screaming at a pitch that could break glass.
“WAAAAAH! KYAAAAAH!”
“Move already!”
Yu-bin raised his voice again, grabbing her and trying to pull her along. But she was curled up like a shrimp and wouldn’t budge. In his current crouched position, he didn’t have the leverage to lift her properly, and if he stood up even slightly, he’d risk having his head blown off.
RATATATAT! RATATATA! CRASH! CRASH! WHIZ!
Bullets zipped over their heads, glass shattered all around, and several rounds pinged off the edge of the table. If the sheriff wasn’t bracing it with his back, it would’ve flipped over by now.
“Leave her! Don’t risk it!”
Min-gu grabbed Yu-bin by the shoulder and yanked him toward cover. To them, this tricky bastard was far more important than some deranged woman. But Yu-bin shook his head in defiance.
“We have to save her!”
Even though things had spiraled completely out of control, he still believed this woman held significant ransom value. With the young chairman zombified, Hwang Na-yeon was now the only surviving heir of the Taeyang Group.
“Gaaahhhh! Aaaahhh!”
Panicked, the witch screamed at the top of her lungs, yanking at her own hair. With that much noise, it was practically impossible for the enemy not to know exactly where they were.
“Ugh… this damn woman is driving me nuts!”
The sheriff stretched out from behind the ballistic table and yanked her by the ankle.
Rrrrip!
Her stockings and uniform skirt tore against the floor as she slid across it, but the witch was surprisingly light and easily pulled behind the cover.
Pipipip! Ping!
Bullets immediately struck the spot where she’d just been curled up. Her small handbag, the one she’d been carrying, got punctured clean through, and smoke began to curl from the hole. Her eyes went wide.
“…Oh, Jesus! That was really dangerous!”
“Then what the hell do you think we’ve been yelling at you to get down for, you idiot?! Keep your head down!”
The sheriff pulled her in close and forcefully pushed her head down next to his.
Ping! Clang, ping!
The edges of the ballistic table, those not covered by the polycarbonate shield, kept splintering and breaking under gunfire. Yu-bin and the others remained huddled behind it, pressed so close together they couldn’t even twitch. Meanwhile, the black-uniformed bastards, hidden from Jin-woo’s line of sight, continued to fire calculated bursts with their MP5s while creeping forward.
Their side had only pistols and knives. There was a submachine gun stashed in a bag a few meters behind them, but reaching it would require braving serious danger. Worse yet...
Even if they got the gun, none of them were skilled marksmen. Engaging in a firefight against eight professionally trained operatives was a death sentence.
As if things weren’t bad enough, the sound of another helicopter echoed from above.
Whup-whup-whup-whup!
This time, a black helicopter with a huge speaker mounted on its exterior appeared.
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat! Tat-tat-tat-tat!
It hovered diagonally above the rooftop café, fired a few warning shots into the river, then blared a message through the loudspeaker.
“If you don’t resist, no one will get hurt! We only want Hwang Na-yeon and the serum! Just hand those two over quietly! I repeat! If you don’t resist, no one will be harmed! We don’t want to hurt you! Just surrender Hwang Na-yeon and the serum! Hands above your head and stand up!”
“…Fuck. This is insane.”
The sheriff clenched his teeth. Eight men with shields up front. A marksman with a gun trained on them from the rear in the helicopter. By all appearances, it was a hopeless situation. If they didn’t have their secret weapon, Jin-woo, this might’ve been the end.
“…What the hell is going on over there?”
Watching from a distance through the K2 scope, Jin-woo clicked his tongue. He could see the group hunkered behind the ballistic table, bullets striking all around them, but the enemy's numbers were still unclear. From where he was hiding with Sam-sook, the pillars blocked any view of the plaza where the helicopter had landed.
Then the black chopper came into view and turned on its loudspeaker.
“If you don’t resist, no one will get hurt! We only want Hwang Na-yeon and the serum! Just hand those two over quietly! I repeat! If you don’t resist, no one will be harmed! We don’t want to hurt you! Just surrender Hwang Na-yeon and the serum! Hands above your head and stand up!”
The booming voice was loud enough to reach Jin-woo even from over 500 meters away. He knew Yu-bin wasn’t stupid enough to stand up and comply, but still, it was clear things had taken an even worse turn.
“Yu-bin! Can you hear me?”
He pressed the transmitter button on his radio and called out. If Yu-bin’s radio had been damaged, things would’ve become a whole lot more complicated.
Crackle!
“Yeah! Haa… I hear you! Tat-tat-tat! Tat-tat!”
Thankfully, Yu-bin replied right away, even as gunfire continued to echo in the background.
“How many coming from the front?”
Jin-woo asked quickly. Getting an accurate headcount was the most critical thing right now. If he pulled the trigger too soon and missed a few, escaping would be a nightmare.
Crack!
“Eight! And they’re all carrying shields! But Jin-woo, that’s not the real problem… What do we do about the helicopter?”
Ksshh!
Yu-bin’s voice came through, tense with worry. Jin-woo tensed his core, trying to suppress the anxiety rising inside him as he answered.
“I’ll handle it. Just hold on a little longer.”
While Jin-woo exchanged radio messages with Yu-bin, the black helicopter overhead continued to blare out nearly the same threat as before.
“Do not resist! We don’t want to hurt you! Hand over Hwang Na-yeon and the serum, and we promise you’ll walk away unharmed! I repeat! Do not resist! Surrender Hwang Na-yeon and the serum! Put your hands above your head and stand up right now! We will not fire if you surrender!”
Despite having a perfectly clear line of fire, the enemy wasn’t opening up. There could only be one reason for that: the serum. They were afraid of damaging it, which is why they hadn’t gone in guns blazing. That meant Yu-bin still had a little bit of time left, just barely.
“…Perfect.”
When all eight figures in black uniforms finally stepped into his line of sight, Jin-woo gave a small nod. Whether they were crouched behind polycarbonate shields or had put that fake General Park up front, it didn’t matter. Now it was time to take them out one by one.
Click.
Jin-woo set down the K2 and grabbed the Lapua Magnum sniper rifle he’d placed beside him. He brought his eye to the scope. The first target: the side of the black helicopter still hovering in the air. From his angle, it was slightly diagonal, but that actually worked in his favor.
One of the gunners was leaning halfway out the open door, aiming a submachine gun downward without a hint of fear or caution on his face. Not surprising, he had no reason to think he was in danger.
“You underestimated us.”
Reading the gentle rhythm of the gunner swaying with the airflow, Jin-woo whispered and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
As the first shot rang out, he immediately worked the bolt and chambered the next round. His finger went right back to the trigger.
BAANG!
The second shot cracked through the air.
Clack!
By the time Jin-woo had reloaded again at lightning speed, the gunner’s head had exploded inside the scope’s view, painting the helicopter’s interior with blood. The second shot landed a beat later, spraying another burst of red mist from the co-pilot’s seat. The helmets they wore might as well have been paper against the raw power of a .338 Magnum.
Whup-whup-whup-whup! Whiiiiir!
The pilot, now minus a gunner and a crew member, panicked. He yanked the chopper around and pulled it into a steep climb. The helicopter banked away toward Gangnam, the gunner’s lifeless body swaying out of the open door. The odds of it returning anytime soon were now next to zero.
Click.
Jin-woo set the sniper rifle aside and picked up the K2 again. This time, the target was the eight black-clad soldiers who had made it all the way to the front of the floating bridge. Startled by the sudden sniper shots and the death of their air support, they froze mid-advance and opened fire in every direction in a panic.
“You’re too late.”
Jin-woo muttered coldly, watching them lower their shields and crouch as fast as they could. He had no intention of showing mercy to people who had pointed guns at his friends. He’d learned the hard way what kind of grief that led to. He would never forget.
Through the scope, Jin-woo zeroed in on the ankle of the soldier farthest to the left, just barely exposed beneath his shield, and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
As always, his K2 didn’t let him down. The bullet landed exactly where he aimed.
Thud!
The man’s ankle shattered, and he collapsed. His shield tilted, exposing a weak point in the formation. Jin-woo didn’t miss a beat.
Bang! Bang! Bang-bang!
The soldier on the left took a bullet to the head. The one next to him was shot in the heart. A third round slammed straight into the forehead of the third man. Blood sprayed in every direction.
Five left.
They scrambled to flee, twisting around and trying to escape, but to do so, they’d have to climb over the corpses of their fallen comrades on the narrow bridge.
“No one’s getting away.”
Jin-woo growled like the grim reaper himself and let the 5.56mm rounds fly once more.
Bang! Bang-bang! BAANG!