Chapter 67: Roles
Chapter 67: Roles
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"Huff... huff..."
By the time we reached the fifth floor, Ye-jin was breathing heavily.
Perhaps her backpack was too heavy.
"Is it that difficult? Give me your bag."
"It's... huff... not the bag. I'm just... huff, huff... terribly out of shape..."
"Let's take a quick breather then."
At my suggestion, she immediately sank onto the living-room floor.
Her stamina was truly bottom-tier.
While Ye-jin recovered her breath, I went onto the balcony and secured a rope to the fire-safety anchor.
"Sorry... I almost never exercised..."
After a short rest, Ye-jin joined me with a helpless expression.
She looked so frail that I doubted she could properly swing the steel pipe in her hand.
"Your stamina will improve after a few hard days. Ready to go?"
"Yeah. I'll do my best!"
We left our backpacks behind and connected our safety harnesses.
I moved the spare rope and weapons from my pack into the backpack Ye-jin would continue wearing.
"All right, climb onto my back. Put your feet through these loops."
"Are you truly all right with this? I'm heavier than I look."
"I could carry several more people, so don't worry about your weight."
I planned to carry every woman except Ga-yeong and Eun-mi between floors on my back.
For that purpose, I'd learned several knots from Eun-mi and prepared foot loops in advance.
Ye-jin hesitated, fussing over unnecessary concerns.
She was probably afraid that she would fall.
I understood her anxiety, but no other practical method came to mind.
Climbing the exterior wall by herself would be brutal, and having me ascend first and haul her up would place the same burden on my body.
"What is it? You don't want me to carry you?"
"Oh, no. Excuse me, then."
Slightly frustrated, I wondered whether some other concern was stopping her.
After several more moments of hesitation, she finally settled gently onto my back as I knelt.
"Hold tightly. The harness will catch you if you slip, but falling is still dangerous."
"Yep."
Only then did the arms around my neck tighten and the legs around my waist squeeze inward.
Once I confirmed that she was secure, I rose smoothly.
Whenever I crossed a window or changed floors, I now had to account for both Ye-jin and the backpack on her back.
"I'll be careful, but tell me immediately if anything is about to catch or snag."
"Okay, I'll keep an eye out too."
I opened the screen and window fully, then climbed carefully over the railing.
I felt like a mother monkey climbing with her infant clinging to her back.
The railing reached my waist, and the window was wide enough for us to squeeze through.
Now I needed to establish my footing and jump directly to the railing above.
"Jumping."
"Kyaak!"
Tap
I had misjudged my strength.
It was my first time jumping with a person on my back, and I launched us far too high.
After a brief free fall, I still managed to land safely on both hands and feet.
"Ow, my ears. You'll summon every zombie in the neighboring complex."
"Ahahaha... sorry."
The sudden jump had startled a scream from her. I had meant the remark as a joke, but...
Her forced laugh made me realize that I should ease up.
Grruk grruk
Once we entered the living room, scratching sounded from behind one of the doors.
"It must be in a bedroom. How many do you think?"
"Sounds like just one?"
"Then you can handle it. The doorway is too cramped for a swing, so use the stainless-steel spear and stab its head."
I dragged over the four-person kitchen table.
I kicked off and broke the legs, then stood the tabletop lengthwise in front of the door.
"Hold this for a moment."
I then pulled the living-room sofa over to brace the tabletop and keep it from falling.
Allowing a complete novice like Ye-jin to kill a zombie safely required an exhausting amount of preparation.
Ah, I missed having Shield.
You never appreciated what you had until it was gone.
"Raid Leader, what if I miss?"
"Then keep thrusting until you hit. Tensing up will only make you miss more, so take a deep breath."
I waited for Ye-jin to ready the stainless-steel spear.
Had I come alone, I'd probably have cleared two more floors by then.
The painfully slow pace was making me restless.
"Hoo... ready."
"Right. Even if there are more zombies than expected or something goes wrong, stay calm. Concentrate only on striking the head of your target."
"Understood. With you here, Raid Leader, I won't worry about anything else."
"Opening it."
Bang
I turned the handle and shoved the door hard.
A loud impact followed, as though the zombie leaning against the other side had been hurled backward.
Kwoooorgh
Through the open doorway, I saw a fallen zombie crawling toward us.
"H-yah."
Sywook Thwack
With an almost endearing battle cry, Ye-jin repeatedly thrust the spear from atop the table.
Unable even to stand, the zombie was stabbed across several parts of its body.
"Good work. That was acceptable. Did your Available Points increase?"
"One sec. Yeah, they went up."
"Check your Available Points after every kill. That will confirm whether the zombie is truly dead."
In truth, she had performed poorly.
The zombie repeatedly lifted its head as though begging to be finished, yet Ye-jin kept striking its shoulders and torso.
Four holes pierced the corpse's torso.
Perhaps the spear was more difficult to use than I had expected.
Seon-yeong had killed her first zombie with a single baseball-bat swing.
"Let's continue. No matter what happens, do not panic."
"Yes!"
Suppressing my impatience, I continued clearing apartments with Ye-jin.
Any visible disapproval from me would probably make her even more timid.
This wasn't a struggle against zombies. It was a struggle against my own patience.
#
"Good work."
"Yes, good work. I'm going to be sore tomorrow."
"Probably. You should stretch thoroughly."
On the way home,
Ye-jin replied with a bright expression.
She was naturally quiet and hadn't spoken once until I addressed her.
I preferred quiet to constant chatter, but she'd remained rigid and tense the entire time. Sore muscles were inevitable.
"Ah, Raid Leader. Did you return safely?"
"Uh, yeah. Why are you down here?"
"I was examining whether we could build a barricade at the entrance."
Eun-mi stood at the apartment entrance, studying the area with paper and pencil in hand.
"Ye-jin, how was it?"
"I was fine. Raid Leader had a difficult time because of me, though..."
"Everything worked out, so don't worry. More importantly, have you estimated what we need?"
"Yes, I think it's doable."
I sent Ye-jin upstairs, then studied Eun-mi's sketch of the layout and took out a cigarette.
Chik chik
"Ah, you don't smoke, do you? Go upstairs first."
"It's fine. You can smoke comfortably."
"No, it's not that... You should go."
"I mean it. You're too considerate, Raid Leader. Please stop walking on eggshells around us and make yourself comfortable. It'll be easier for everyone if you don't concern yourself with every minor detail."
Eun-mi sounded so sincere that I lit the cigarette again.
She was right. I had been behaving somewhat cautiously around them.
The more I considered her words, the clearer it became that if I relaxed, the women would feel less need to fuss over me as well.
"I'll move the bookcases and other heavy furniture. The heavier pieces should make a sturdier barricade anyway."
"Yes, thank you."
"You worked hard, Tae-sik. Here."
Seon-yeong came downstairs carrying a cold drink for me.
It was weird.
Ever since the Zombie Outbreak and the arrival of the other women, my quality of life seemed to have improved.
I'd entertained a similar thought before...
The scarcity of food was a separate matter.
Still, I no longer even washed my own underwear.
Whenever I looked around for something to do, someone approached and asked whether I needed anything.
It was only a guess, but the women had probably discussed how to treat me among themselves.
The convenience was pleasant, yet the situation still made me uncomfortable.
"There isn't enough time to go out and return before dinner, so should we start the barricade now?"
"Yes. If you carry down the heavy pieces, the rest of us can manage everything else."
Before dinner, we visited several apartments and carried furniture to the first floor.
Eun-mi and So-ra accompanied me and moved tables, chairs, and similar items.
I hauled bookcases, beds, and other heavy furniture down the stairs.
The barricade design shown on the sketch was simple.
It consisted of three ascending tiers behind a wall roughly two meters high that enclosed the entrance.
From outside, it would appear to be a solid wall. From inside, we could climb the tiered furniture like steps.
The structure occupied a wide area and screened roughly half of the first floor.
It was remarkable what became possible after emptying the hardware store.
Adding another layer of defense eased my mind, even if only slightly.
#
"Thank you for the food."
If I added together every staircase I'd climbed before dinner, how many floors would it equal?
I hadn't rested once that day, so the total exercise was enormous.
Perhaps the others realized it, because the bowl of rice before me was heaped high.
"Oh, meat."
"Yes. We minced several kinds together and grilled them. Do you want a protein shake too?"
"Sure. Give me anything edible."
"You know, when Ye-jin uses Information Display, she can tell whether food has spoiled."
"Really? That's excellent. Until now, we simply smelled anything past its expiration date and guessed."
I knew that the printed expiration date and the actual safe consumption period were not identical.
Still, eating carelessly and becoming ill could cost us more than the food we saved, leaving many questionable items difficult to judge.
Now that uncertainty was gone.
"You're taking three people out after dinner, right?"
"Yes. Who should come?"
"Me, Eun-mi, and Su-jin."
There was no shortage of work at night either.
We needed to revisit the cleared apartments, collect the zombie corpses, and scavenge useful items.
Those who remained home would wash dishes, clean, and prepare for the night's training.
Everyone also had personal maintenance and practice that required time.
Each member stayed busy fulfilling her role.
The division of labor hadn't yet become perfectly defined.
People regularly helped with tasks outside their assigned area.
All of it was shared work, and everyone had to support one another.
Even so, coordinating around the external schedule and assigning primary responsibilities had already improved our efficiency.
"Seon-yeong, could you teach me some yoga before bed?"
"Oh, why? Ah... hohoho, you had a hard day, didn't you?"
"Yes. If I go directly to sleep, I think I'll feel even worse tomorrow."
"Of course. I used to practice every morning, but starting today I'll divide the routine between morning and evening."
"Seon-yeong, me too!"
"Okay, okay. Everyone who wants to, come on over."
When Ye-jin raised the subject with Seon-yeong, the others volunteered one after another.
Whenever I watched Seon-yeong perform yoga, it looked like a substantial workout.
If the other women practiced consistently, their stamina should improve. The idea was promising.
"Since everyone wants to participate, I'll adjust the schedule."
Even then, Eun-mi looked worried that the new activity might disrupt the timetable.
"Eun-mi, don't schedule every minute. Pushing people until they collapse for a day or two would be worse."
"Understood, Raid Leader. I'll also monitor everyone's condition carefully."
"I mean you as well. You seem to be handling far too many things."
"Not at all. The others help considerably, and I'm pacing myself."
Eun-mi possessed far more stamina than the other women, but even she could not realistically maintain my pace in every activity.
I hadn't noticed while watching only Seon-yeong and Ga-yeong, but both of them were actually quite fit.
The women differed greatly in physical ability, so a few naturally carried a larger share of the demanding work.
Eun-mi stood far above the rest in that respect.
"All right, I'll stop nagging. Let's keep the pace sustainable and think long-term."
"Yes. Thank you for worrying about me."
After dinner, we split into two groups. Half washed dishes and cleaned the apartments, while the rest put on scavenging gear.
"Shall we go? Prepare yourselves. The bodies are decomposing quickly."
"Ugh... That sounds awful. I absolutely hate insects."
Until then, I'd handled the zombie corpses alone. When I described their likely condition, everyone grew visibly tense.
The stench and insects disturbed me as well, but eventually every member needed to experience the work.
Along with our Survival Packs, each of us carried an extra-large body bag as we left the building.
"Eek! Oh my..."
"Oh god..."
The moment we stepped beyond the apartment entrance, a black silhouette greeted us.
The women screamed immediately.
Who are you?