Chapter 101: Loss
Chapter 101: Loss
#
[Type 1 Supply Warehouse]
A sign hung from the ceiling.
The room had served as the unit's supply warehouse.
'Fuck, now this was more like it.'
Entranced, I inspected the steel shelves one by one.
As expected of soldiers, everything had been organized neatly.
Starting with ingredients that had already spoiled, various foods were arranged by type.
The ingredients, now covered in multicolored mold, gave off an unbearable stench.
But the preserved foods farther inside remained perfectly fine.
'If I ate all of this alone, it would last a long time.'
I'd awakened at dawn and eaten only a few cookies.
Now it was already night.
The moment I saw food, my stomach loudly demanded to be filled.
I immediately took a combat ration and entered the cleanest barracks room.
[Ration, Instant-Eat Type, Combat Ga-1]
The ration came in a cardboard box.
I read the instructions and checked the contents.
It required no cooking. I only had to heat it with the included self-heating pack.
It contained fried rice, three side dishes, and two desserts.
It even included a plastic spoon.
'The world had certainly advanced.'
That single small box provided an entire meal.
At nearly 1,300 calories, it was an invaluable treasure in a world like this.
I prepared it according to the instructions and waited.
'The rations I ate during my service weren't this convenient...'
Perhaps my unit had been issued older-style combat rations during training.
Their calories had been similarly high, but they tasted awful.
The menu had included things like shriveled cucumbers and kidney beans.
The ration I found here looked far more promising.
The warehouse also contained four other varieties with different flavors.
Their basic composition was similar, but the fried rice and side dishes differed, so I was less likely to tire of them quickly.
Steam poured from the ration as its heating pack activated.
Finding these combat rations alone made all my hardship feel worthwhile.
Gulp.
At last, I picked up the spoon and began a proper meal.
My thought that it tasted delicious lasted only a moment. Soon I was bent over the box, shoveling food into my mouth.
When I finally came to my senses, only an empty box remained.
Still unsatisfied, I seriously considered eating another before rising.
'Had I broken the door for nothing...?'
This time, I brought out a Ga-2 ration.
Looking at the shattered door, I regretted my earlier choice.
I couldn't carry all the food, and I wanted to hide it, but had no suitable method.
While worrying about that, I devoured the second ration.
Perhaps because I was already partly full, the second ration didn't taste as good as the first.
Still, it had been a long time since I'd felt so full.
With my stomach satisfied, I noticed the night view through the barracks window and felt inexplicably cheerful.
Humming, I ate a chocolate ball for dessert and inspected the rifles and magazines I'd collected.
'Oh? One blank round and the rest live ammunition. Why, when this wasn't even a frontline unit?'
Each twenty-round magazine held fifteen cartridges.
I tore away all the irritating sealing tape.
Without inserting a magazine, I first dry-fired the empty rifle.
It had been years since I held one, even my reserve service having ended, but my body still remembered.
While I was at it, I disassembled and reassembled the rifle, then picked up a magazine.
I automatically inspected it as I had before guard duty.
'Fifteen rounds, with the top cartridge on the upper right. Or had my unit used upper left?'
It no longer mattered.
I turned the magazine over in my hands before inserting it into the rifle.
Slide—click.
Of course, I had to slap it with my palm at the end.
I seated the magazine firmly and sent the bolt forward.
'Hoo...'
Lacking earplugs, I rolled up tissue from the barracks and stuffed it into my ears.
I selected a zombie lying motionless in the corridor as my target.
I put some distance between us, lay prone on the bare floor, and took aim.
'Ah. I had gone prone without thinking.'
I set the selector to semi-automatic and aimed at the zombie.
Its head settled above the front sight.
Slightly tense, I held my breath.
Click. Tick.
'What the hell?'
I'd braced for recoil, but the rifle didn't fire.
I tried again with the same result.
I pulled and locked the bolt to the rear, then removed the magazine.
Suspecting a malfunction, I brought another rifle.
Click. Click.
'This one didn't fire either...'
I brought more rifles from the barracks and tried repeatedly, but no gunshot echoed through the building.
I began doubting myself.
What was I doing wrong?
Yet the firing procedure remained far too familiar for me to have missed a step.
"Insert magazine. Bolt forward. Selector to semi-auto. Ready shooter— Ah, fuck."
I even recited the commands and tried again, but it was useless.
Thirty K2 rifles now lay lined up beside me.
They could not all have malfunctioned.
Frustrated, I gave up for the moment and went to inspect the final room.
'This was a proper storage room.'
The room beyond the Type 1 Supply Warehouse was a general storeroom.
It contained military uniforms, field packs, duffel bags, protective gear, and other equipment.
Other unused items had been stored there as well.
I packed toothpaste, a toothbrush, soap, and a razor into a toiletry bag.
Then I returned to the barracks and took the soldiers' shampoo, body wash, and facial cleanser.
Humming, I headed to the showers.
'I had felt filthy after going two days without washing.'
I happily washed myself from head to toe.
I opened a random locker, applied some toner and lotion, and searched for fresh clothes.
In the neighboring barracks, I found exercise clothes in my size on a drying rack.
They smelled pleasant from fabric softener.
'Somehow, the soldiers seemed to have been the cleanest people around.'
I put on a sheet mask from someone's locker and lay on a mattress.
This place truly had everything.
There were plenty of novels and adult magazines.
Someone had even placed a reed diffuser in the barracks.
The idea of simply settling here came naturally.
At least for a while, I wouldn't need to worry about food.
I covered myself with a blanket and fell asleep while pondering why the rifles wouldn't fire.
#
Morning Wood.
It was still dawn, before sunrise.
I awoke with a vigorous morning erection.
Thanks to that other self of mine, I felt exceptionally healthy each morning.
I tidied my bedding and checked my condition.
Although I had eaten late the previous night, my face wasn't swollen and my stomach didn't feel heavy.
My head felt clear, and my body was in excellent condition.
Only my still-unsettled lower half felt burdensome.
I quickly ate a combat ration and went to the rooftop.
Because it was the tallest building nearby, the view was unobstructed.
As I enjoyed the quiet, the surroundings gradually brightened until the sun rose.
I watched the sunrise while drinking hot instant coffee.
Between the previous night and that morning, I had organized my thoughts.
I resolved to continue east.
I had strongly considered remaining there.
With food, clothing, and shelter immediately secured, I wanted to stay as long as possible.
It was also safe. I had cleared the zombies, and no other obvious threats remained nearby.
But there must have been a reason I had been traveling before losing my memory.
Jin-su's request was one reason, but surely not the only one.
Perhaps I had been thinking long-term and trying to escape Seoul.
'Ah... I wanted sex.'
Was it because my body had grown younger?
The libido that had gradually faded during my working life now surged repeatedly.
I should probably visit Na-yeon before leaving.
After finishing my coffee, I returned downstairs and began packing.
I brought out a duffel bag and filled it with food and daily necessities.
I prioritized combat rations, then added rice and canned goods.
The canned goods included kimchi and many other varieties, though I didn't know how they'd taste.
They were probably loaded with preservatives, but this was no time to be picky, so I packed them all.
I also took seasonings, cooking oil, and the various instant noodles stored as supplementary provisions.
'NoMatStar... What was I supposed to do with this? Why had military drinks never improved...?'
After hesitating, I packed the issued canned drinks and hardtack as well.
Anything edible was worth taking.
Once I packed everything I wanted, I had eight duffel bags.
Regardless of weight, carrying that many was nearly impossible.
I reluctantly reduced the load.
I divided bulk items such as salt into smaller zipper bags.
After struggling for some time, I reduced the total to six duffel bags.
I placed some food in the backpack I would wear and strapped it across my chest.
I slung two duffel bags across my back and stared at the remainder.
'Could Telekinesis somehow solve this?'
Of course it could not.
I forced two more duffel bags over my shoulders and carried the rest by hand.
'Was I truly supposed to travel like this?'
I still had to carry weapons on top of everything else.
In the end, I set the bags down again.
Traveling with all of that would be like begging to be killed.
'Humans were meant to use tools.'
I remembered the handcart near the elevator.
I'd often seen market vendors and delivery workers use that kind.
Its frame was painted blue, with two rubber wheels at the bottom.
I pulled the chest-high handle toward myself and tilted the cart.
When I pushed it, it rolled quietly.
The soldiers had probably used it when receiving provisions and supplies.
I repacked the items I had removed.
It felt like pointless busywork, but the task was important.
In the end, I returned to the original eight duffel bags.
I intended to use one as payment for sex, so I packed it generously.
That amount should allow Na-yeon to survive for quite some time.
I secured the duffel bags to the cart with a restraint rope.
By the time I finished, it was already noon.
I planned to visit Na-yeon, eat with her, and accomplish two things at once.
I put protective gear over my baseball uniform and strapped on my backpack.
I also took the rifle and began pushing the cart.
The combined load was enormous, yet I found it surprisingly manageable.
'But how was I supposed to get this downstairs...?'
The stairs posed an entirely different problem.
Would I have to carry it down?
Then the elevator occurred to me.
Until then, I'd always taken the stairs without thinking.
Ding
I loaded only the cart, then pressed the button for the first floor.
Riding with it made me uneasy, so I planned to run down the stairs.
'Surely no one would steal it in the meantime.'
Thud Thud Thud Thud Thud
Taking three steps at a time, I reached the first floor.
Circling in the same direction all the way down left me slightly dizzy.
When I opened the elevator, the cart remained safely inside.
'Well then. Time to go.'