Honestly, I couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement at the mention of a stream.
If nothing else, I harbored the expectation that we might catch some fish, just as Old Man Oh Beomgyu had said.
But upon actually arriving at the stream, the scene was different from what I’d imagined.
“It’s… quite shallow, isn’t it?”
The water wasn’t very deep.
If I were to step in, it would probably only reach my knees.
More importantly, we couldn’t even enter it.
“It looks like it’s completely frozen over.”
The ice appeared quite thick.
Han Seonah cautiously asked.
“On TV, don’t these kinds of things have a really thick layer on top, but water still flows underneath where fish live?”
“Ah, that’s generally true in winter, yes.”
Assistant Manager Choi Jaeseung adjusted his glasses and explained.
“Water usually doesn’t freeze easily due to the friction heat generated by its flow, but considering how shallow it is and how incredibly low the temperature has been… it’s probably all frozen solid inside too.”
I had forgotten recently, but Assistant Manager Choi Jaeseung was indeed a science enthusiast.
“Assistant Manager Choi. What about the fish inside, then?”
“Normally, if it freezes slowly, they’d flow downstream, but given the sudden drop in temperature… they might be frozen along with the water.”
“You mean they’re in here?”
“Yes. There’s a strong possibility.”
Just then, Oh Beomgyu, who had gone down first, crouched low, examining the ground as he spoke.
“Everyone, take a look here.”
While other areas were flat, the ice where he pointed was conspicuously bulging.
“These are traces of someone having drilled through the ice here. The water and ice fragments that splashed as it melted have frozen over again.”
“Ah…”
That wasn’t good news.
“So, does that mean there are no fish?”
“Still, we might as well look, just in case.”
I wanted to turn over every inch of the stream bed to check, but.
The ice was incredibly thick, and the stream wasn’t short, so checking only a portion was our best bet.
“Let’s take our time to look around, and only break the ice where it seems likely there are fish.”
“Understood.”
We slowly walked across the ice.
The water had frozen opaque, making it impossible to see what was inside.
‘Will we even find anything…?’
That thought lasted only a moment.
“…Huh?!”
Assistant Manager Choi Jaeseung’s soft gasp was heard.
“Is there something?”
“Yes.”
He tapped the ice on the side of the stream with a hammer.
“Unlike other places, isn’t the color here a bit darker?”
As he said, it was dark, as if a blind had been drawn over it.
“…Shall we try breaking it?”
“Let’s do it.”
Clang!
“Assistant Manager Choi. Be gentle.”
“Ah…”
A loud noise could draw in zombies hiding nearby.
“My apologies.”
Thwack!
To minimize the noise, he had to strike it several times with the axe.
Fortunately, it wasn’t long before the ice broke completely.
Just as expected, the stream was frozen solid all the way to the bottom.
He lifted out a broken piece of ice.
It was still quite large, so he chopped at it a few more times with the axe.
The ice cracked and split a couple of times, revealing a grey object inside.
“…Oh?”
I unconsciously shifted my body.
“This looks like a crucian carp, doesn’t it?”
It was quite large too.
It was the size of a forearm, plump and well-fed, as if it had frozen solid the moment the ice age hit without starving.
“A crucian carp?”
Assistant Manager Choi Jaeseung blinked, looking at me.
“So we can eat it?”
“Of course.”
“…Awesome!”
He was already salivating.
“Let’s have a grilled fish feast for dinner tonight!”
Assistant Manager Choi Jaeseung enthusiastically rolled up his sleeves.
“I’ll throw you a party today!”
However, in less than three minutes, he slowly pulled his sleeves back down.
“…It’s really cold like this.”
He awkwardly scratched his head.
I let out a small laugh at his expression.
“We have plenty of time, so let’s search slowly.”
“Yes!”
Assistant Manager Choi Jaeseung began to scour the ground with fierce determination.
“Shall we head back soon?”
“Let’s go.”
Assistant Manager Choi Jaeseung held three crucian carp in his hands.
“It’s a bit of a shame they froze solid right after being caught, but…”
He grinned widely.
Contrary to his words, his face was filled with a look of utter satisfaction.
All of them had been found and caught by Assistant Manager Choi Jaeseung alone.
He might not have had a talent for zombie hunting, but he excelled at fish hunting.
I patted his shoulder.
“You really did great today. Let’s hurry back and grill them up.”
“Excellent. Hehehe.”
He carefully placed the crucian carp into his bag.
“I think this is the first time I’ve eaten fish since the Ice Age began.”
“That’s right. The only fish we’ve had were those few cans of mackerel pike we found at the second site.”
It’s quite strange, but when canned food, especially fish, freezes solid, it gets an incredibly strong fishy smell compared to just eating it as is.
“It feels like we’ve been feasting a lot lately.”
Assistant Manager Choi Jaeseung’s grin stretched from ear to ear.
“First the whole roasted pig last time, and now fish…”
He looked westward with a pleased expression.
“Most of all, I’m proud that we can provide good nutrition for our Bitna during her growth spurt.”
“I’m glad about that too.”
At first, having a child felt like a burden and a weight.
Now, it was almost like looking at a beloved first niece.
Old Man Oh Beomgyu, who had been listening to our conversation, simply murmured, “Thank you.”
We had walked westward for some time when…
“Let’s play together!”
“…?”
All four of us stopped simultaneously.
“Did you hear that?”
Assistant Manager Choi Jaeseung looked at me with a startled expression.
“You just heard that, didn’t you?”
“Uh…”
“Could this be…”
“Shh.”
I put my index finger to my lips and listened intently.
“Love happily with a bicycle!”
An echo reached us.
A woman’s voice.
But the pronunciation was imprecise, and the words didn’t match up.
This could only mean one thing.
‘A Variant Zombie!’
That insane zombie, over three meters tall, that we’d encountered in the western forest a while ago.
While not identical to the voice from back then, it was definitely the same type of Variant Zombie.
It was probably a different individual.
I quickly scanned the surroundings, but.
‘I don’t see anything…’
It wasn’t detected by the Variant Detection Lens.
It seemed to have hit the range limit mentioned in its description.
“Stay calm for now.”
I calmly tried to soothe Choi Jaeseung’s rapid breathing.
“If we can’t see it from here, it must be quite far away.”
The voice came from the north.
However, because it was echoing, I couldn’t pinpoint exactly where in the north it was coming from.
Even amidst this, the echo continued.
“Mom! I want to see the computer!”
We had been lucky to survive last time, but.
“This time, we have to avoid it.”
There was no guarantee we’d survive if we faced it today.
The distance to the Logistics Warehouse was much greater compared to the forest encounter.
Both in terms of stamina and ammunition, we were at a much greater disadvantage now.
“If it’s north, isn’t that towards the Abandoned Military Base?”
Han Seonah turned her head.
“Could it be following the others?”
It was a perfectly reasonable deduction.
The ones moving on snowmobiles had been discovered, and while it had chased them north.
Even a Variant Zombie couldn’t have kept up with the speed of a motor, so it must have lost them at some point.
It was probably echoing like that to lure humans.
“Let’s head south for now.”
“That’ll be a much longer way around.”
“It’s better than not being able to go back at all, isn’t it?”
“…”
My companions followed behind me without another word.
Just in case, I kept glancing behind us.
Since its eyesight was superior to ours, I only dared to take quick glances, fearing it would notice if I stared.
Fortunately, it seemed the creature hadn’t spotted us, as it didn’t give chase.
“Ice water is hot!”
“In the bathroom, it’s a speaker!”
The echoes grew fainter and fainter.
Only after walking for a long time did the echoes finally cease.
“Let’s catch our breath first…”
We sought shelter from the wind inside a small villa.
“Huuuhh…”
“We made it…”
Only then did everyone let out sighs of relief and relax their tension.
“It won’t be able to follow us this far, right?”
“It shouldn’t.”
Assistant Manager Choi Jaeseung was so tense that he was breaking out in a cold sweat despite the freezing weather.
“Just sit down for now.”
“Okay…”
Old Man Oh Beomgyu sat silently on the railing.
“Old Man, are your legs doing alright?”
“Still manageable.”
“That’s good to hear.”
I had wondered if walking for so long might be too much for him.
It seemed he had recovered quite a bit.
I, too, leaned against the wall, blankly catching my breath.
My throat was parched.
I wanted to drink even a sip of water, but since everything froze outdoors, I hadn’t brought any.
I considered replenishing my energy with a few biscuits, but decided against it, fearing it would only make my mouth even drier.
I gently closed my eyes.
After seeing nothing but white snow, the darkness felt like a slight relief for my eyes.
I felt like I could fall asleep in an instant, but I deliberately fiddled with my crossbow, trying to stay awake.
We rested for about thirty minutes.
The time was already indicating 4 PM.
My body felt heavy from walking through the snow since morning and enduring extreme tension.
“Assistant Manager, are you doing okay physically?”
Perhaps it showed, as Han Seonah cautiously asked.
“If you’re not feeling well, should we rest here for the day?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
Although we had brought food and sleeping bags in case of an unforeseen situation.
Staying here for too long was a hardship in itself.
Besides, Bitna was on my mind.
Although she claimed to be used to playing alone, leaving her by herself for a whole night didn’t sit right with me.
“It’s better to get back today, even if it’s late.”
“…Okay. Then I think we should start moving soon.”
Han Seonah looked out the window.
“The sun looks like it’ll set soon.”
“Right.”
8:20 PM.
We had taken a detour, and the encroaching darkness forced us to walk with increased vigilance, causing us to return to the Logistics Warehouse much later than originally anticipated.
“The lights are off.”
Given how dark it was everywhere, if a candle were lit on the second floor, light should normally be visible spilling out from outside.
“Has she already fallen asleep…?”
I hadn’t seen her sleep at this hour before.
“She must have been bored being alone.”
Han Seonah wore a wistful expression.
“I want to go play with her right away.”
I pushed open the iron door and stepped inside the Logistics Warehouse.
The floor felt subtly different from usual.
“Assistant Manager Choi.”
“Yes?”
“Was the iron door properly locked?”
“Yes. It was exactly as I had left it after locking it.”
‘Is it just my imagination?’
I wished it were.
This uneasy feeling wouldn’t go away.
I hurried up into the Logistics Warehouse building.
“Bitna—”
Han Seonah, who had followed me up, called out in a gentle voice.
“I caught some fish. I’ll make you grilled fish. Wake up~”
Only silence filled the air.
Han Seonah tilted her head and opened the bedroom door.
“If you sleep now, you won’t be able to sleep at dawn. Wake up, eat, then go to bed.”
“…”
She flinched, her brow furrowed.
Just in case, I asked.
“She’s not there?”
“…No.”
Han Seonah turned to me with a bewildered expression.
“Could she be sleeping in the kitchen?”
Thwack—
I went into the kitchen, but.
It was empty.
The inside was also extremely cold.
To keep warm, we’d light the brazier, or at least keep the LPG gas stove lit.
Oh Bitna had never let it go out, even when she was alone.
‘The fire is out…’
Moreover, judging by the chill in the room, the wood fire in the brazier must have gone out quite a while ago.
“Bitna!”
Han Seonah urgently headed upstairs.
I followed her up.
I wondered if she might be running the bicycle generator, but.
“She’s not here.”
Han Seonah, after checking the fifth floor, said with a worried expression.
“She’s completely gone.”
“…Gone?”
Not only the second and fifth floors.
But she wasn’t anywhere inside the Logistics Warehouse building.
‘No way…’
Just as an ominous thought began to consume my mind.
“Senior…”
Assistant Manager Choi Jaeseung approached me, holding something in his hand.
“This…”
What he handed me was none other than one of Bitna’s shoes.
“Where did you find it?”
“I found it at the foot of the wall, in the corner of the yard…”
Assistant Manager Choi Jaeseung bit his lip tightly.
“It looks like Bitna has been kidnapped.”