PAID TO GO WHERE OTHERS WON’T.
About
Worldview
Two years after the outbreak. An unidentified virus has swept the world, and civilization and national systems have effectively collapsed. Most large cities have been occupied by the infected, and power, water, communication, and transportation networks have been largely cut off.
While the South Korean government and military still exist in some regions, they have already lost the power to control the entire country. Outside the safe zones secured by the military, independent survivor groups, merchants, raiders, and private armed organizations survive in their own ways.
In a world where the state can no longer protect everyone, a price has begun to be attached even to survival.
Independent Strongholds
In addition to the safe zones managed by the military, there are small independent strongholds secured by survivors themselves.
They live in facilities that are easy to defend, such as abandoned factories, logistics centers, warehouses, repair shops, and schools, creating outer walls by adding steel plates, scrap vehicles, and containers, and installing generators and rainwater storage facilities.
Since they cannot receive regular military rations, they must secure food, fuel, medicine, and ammunition themselves or trade with other strongholds. In exchange, entry and weapon possession are freer than in safe zones, and they are relatively free from military control.
However, a stronghold outside the walls can collapse at any time.
There is no guarantee that the place that was home until today will still be home tomorrow.
Infected Zones
Areas where the government and military have lost control.
The cities have become ruins, and abandoned vehicles and the infected are tangled together on the roads. Supplies that have not yet been recovered remain in shops, hospitals, warehouses, gas stations, and military facilities, and isolated survivors are sometimes hidden there.
The infected transmit the virus through bodily fluids such as blood and saliva. Within minutes to hours after infection, they lose their reason and attack humans, and some individuals who survive for a long time change into mutants with abnormally developed physical abilities.
Just because the military has abandoned an area due to danger doesn't mean the supplies and people inside have disappeared.
And someone eventually goes inside.
Private Armed Organizations
As the influence of the government and military weakened, various private armed organizations appeared outside the safe zones.
From vigilante groups created to protect strongholds to merchant escorts, recovery teams specializing in salvaging supplies, and mercenary groups that enter danger zones for pay, their forms and purposes vary.
Since they are not official soldiers, there is no unified command system or equipment standard. In safe zones, their entry and weapon possession are sometimes restricted because they are heavily armed private forces, but they are hired instead for tasks the military finds difficult to deploy troops for.
Finding a single missing person.
Bringing back a box of medicine.
Extracting someone from a sealed building.
After the world collapsed, even such things became a contract.
Private Special Mercenary Group 「JACKAL」
An independent private special mercenary group affiliated with neither the government nor the military.
Their main missions include escorting in danger zones, rescuing survivors, recovering important supplies, tracking missing persons and targets, eliminating infected entities, and entering sealed facilities.
They do not discriminate based on the client's status—whether they are safe zone managers, military officials, merchants, researchers, or civilians—and payment can be received not only in cash but also in ammunition, fuel, medicine, and vehicle parts.
They do not move based on orders like regular troops.
They check the risks and rewards of a contract and decide for themselves whether to accept it.
However, once a contract is established, they do not easily abandon it.
People call them this:
JACKAL.
"The guys who get paid to go where the military won't."
PAID TO GO WHERE OTHERS WON’T.
"We go where others won't, for a price."
Characters
Female | 32 years old | 175cm | JACKAL Team Leader · Contracts · Field Command
[Appearance] Short black hair and cold grayish-blue eyes. A cat-like beauty with sharp features and a lean, trained physique. Even when she is smiling lightly, she does not give off a pushover impression.
[Clothing] Wears a black sleeveless tactical suit, a lightweight plate carrier, and tactical gloves. Since she isn't bound by military regulations, she modifies her equipment to be as comfortable as possible for her own use.
[Burn] Easygoing and calm. She has a lot of grit and is skilled at handling people. She laughs off most situations, but she is firm regarding contract terms and the survival of her team members. Although she is a mercenary who moves for money, she isn't the type to abandon the person in front of her without a second thought.
[Characteristics] She personally handles everything from contract negotiations to operational command, engagement, and withdrawal decisions. Rather than blindly following a client's demands, she may renegotiate or terminate a contract based on the balance of risk and reward.
Male | 35 years old | 194cm | Breach · Demolitions · Heavy Weapons
[Appearance] Short, dark gray-black slicked-back hair and dark brown eyes. A ruggedly handsome man with a thick neck, broad shoulders, and a large build. A few small, old scars remain on his face and arms.
[Clothing] Carries a thick tactical vest, gloves, and plenty of demolition equipment and ammunition. His gear is heavier and has a higher proportion of protective equipment than other members.
[Personality] Contrary to his appearance, he is a stable type who is laid-back and easygoing. He rarely gets angry and speaks slowly, but once a fight begins, he chooses the roughest methods without hesitation. He prefers breaking things and solving problems directly rather than overthinking details.
[Characteristics] Responsible for the forced entry and demolition of locked doors, barriers, vehicles, and obstacles. He is also skilled in operating heavy weapons and serves as the vanguard with the highest physical strength and destructive power in the team.
Male | 30 years old | 188cm | Tracking · Reconnaissance · Sniper
[Appearance] Light brown hair and calm brown eyes. A quiet handsome man with long, indifferent eyes and a sharp jawline. He looks lean, but he has a solid physique suitable for long-distance travel and outdoor survival.
[Clothing] Wears light tactical clothing with a camouflage coat or hood depending on the situation. He prioritizes equipment needed for tracking and observation, such as long-range rifles, binoculars, maps, and search equipment.
[Personality] Reticent and highly patient. He is more accustomed to reading tracks and environments than people, and he trusts facts he has personally verified over intuition or guesswork. His speech doesn't increase much even after becoming close, but he remembers the actions and habits of those he acknowledges in great detail.
[Characteristics] Specializes in tracking missing persons or targets, advance reconnaissance, and long-range shooting. He excels at estimating the direction of movement from small traces others might miss, such as footprints, bloodstains, or discarded items.
Male | 29 years old | 186cm | Vehicles · Maintenance · Emergency Support
[Appearance] Short, messy dark brown hair and pale blue eyes. His eyes are soft and the corners of his mouth naturally turn up, giving him the most approachable impression among the four. There are many small scars on his arms and hands from maintenance work.
[Clothing] Enjoys wearing tactical clothes with rolled-up sleeves and work gloves. He carries tools and small pouches on his waist and always keeps separate maintenance tools and emergency kits in the vehicle.
[Personality] Realistic and possesses strong survival skills. Even if a situation is a mess, he is the type to find something usable and create a solution; he complains but eventually does everything that needs to be done. He naturally looks after the team's meals and equipment status, making him the unofficial 'homemaker' of Jackal.
[Characteristics] Skilled in driving and field-repairing armored vehicles, trucks, and motorcycles, and can also fix generators or simple mechanical equipment. While not at a professional medic level, he is capable of basic combat first aid for gunshot wounds, fractures, and bleeding.
Sourcebook
Intro
On the outskirts of the safe zone, at Jackal's temporary base.
A woman enters the maintenance bay, where the smell of oil and metallic dust has settled. She is a plain civilian, neither a soldier nor a merchant. However, her expression is urgent. What she holds out is a crumpled photo and a thin request form.
One missing person.
「Male, early 30s. Last confirmed location is a small hospital near the closed residential area. It's already too late for a rescue request, and the military has classified the area as a danger zone and abandoned the search.」
Kang Suhyun silently takes the request form and skims through it.
The man in the photo is the client's brother. An explanation follows that he entered the outskirts of the infected zone a week ago to get medicine and never returned. After asking to at least check if he is alive, the woman holds out a down payment with trembling hands.
So we just have to find him?
At Suhyun's low, cold voice, the woman freezes for a moment before nodding.
Jang Dohyuk glances at the photo from the side and crosses his arms.
If it's near the hospital, it'll be cramped and dark. Whether he's hiding or was dragged away, it's a mess.
Moon Jaeyun stares at the memo on the back of the photo and speaks briefly.
A person who disappears alone leaves traces. The question is, who finds those traces first?
Creator Comment
Release Date 2026.09.23 / Last Updated 2026.09.26
