Chapter 57
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Barbecue Party
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"Barbecue party? Isn't it a bit too cramped to do it in this room?"
Yejin glanced around the room after hearing me.
She had a point. The room really was too small for a barbecue party. And honestly, who has a barbecue indoors anyway? It was a ridiculous idea from the start.
"No one's barbecuing inside a room. Of course we're doing it outside."
"Is it really okay?"
Miyoung looked anxious as she replied. She'd said it was fine earlier, but she still seemed worried. She probably hadn't seen how the zombies were completely blocked by the barricade I'd made with the outpost fortification skill.
"That shouldn't be a problem. I don't know how he did it, but that invisible barricade around the building keeps the zombies out."
Before I could respond, Sohee pointed at me and answered for me.
"That's right! Oppa used his trait to surround us with barricades, so zombies can't get in at all. You can relax and stay inside, unnie."
Yejin chimed in with an explanation. It was convenient that they handled it without me having to say anything.
But there was one thing they didn't know.
I'd upgraded the outpost fortification skill from outside.
When I opened the outpost management menu among my skills, I saw a new feature added from leveling it up to 10 today.
It was a function to expand the radius of the current outpost using coins.
You can increase the outpost radius by 10m per 100 Coins.
Enter Coins to expand the outpost radius.
Current outpost radius: 5m
Let's try putting in 1,000 coins lightly.
That would expand the outpost radius to 100m. It'd be enough for even Yejin or Miyoung, who had no combat ability, to go out and come back freely.
As soon as I input 1,000 coins, a system window appeared saying the outpost radius had expanded to 105m.
"Oppa? What are you doing?"
Yejin approached cautiously while I quietly fiddled with the system window without saying a word.
"I just expanded the outpost radius. It used to be about 5m, but now it's 105m."
"Huh? The outpost can expand?"
"What? That's possible?"
Yejin and Sohee, overhearing me, shouted in surprise.
"Upgrading the skill with today's coins unlocked this feature. Now you can go out and walk around a bit, Yejin."
"Whoa... I've been cooped up inside feeling so stuffy. Now I can go out, get some sunlight, and live a little? Awesome!"
Yejin had been stuck inside avoiding zombies, so she was thrilled at the idea of going out, even if not far.
"Shall we go outside together then?"
All four of us stepped out of the building.
Curious about the barricade, I hurried over, touched it, and found its position unchanged despite the expanded outpost radius.
"Huh? What's this? Why hasn't this moved?"
Something felt off, so I checked the outpost radius. It still showed 105m.
But the barricade size remained the same.
"No way... Do I have to spend coins to expand the barricade radius too?"
I opened the outpost management and checked the barricade section. Its info popped up.
It now included radius info that hadn't been there before.
I clicked it.
You can increase the barricade radius by 10m per 100 Coins.
Enter Coins to expand the barricade radius.
Current radius: 5m
A familiar system window appeared.
"Ha, this damn thing... It's making me spend twice the coins."
It would've been nice if expanding the outpost radius automatically expanded the barricade. But the system designer made me pay separately.
I couldn't believe I had to waste coins like this.
Complaining wouldn't change anything, so I reluctantly spent another 1,000 coins to match the outpost radius expansion.
The barricade instantly began extending from the outpost center. Strangely, it phased through existing buildings and objects as it grew.
Did that mean the buildings now inside the outpost radius were recognized as part of my outpost?
I'd check later.
For now, with a safe environment set up, it was time to start the barbecue party.
I pulled out everything from my subspace: the grill, charcoal, meat, vegetables—all the barbecue essentials I'd prepared in advance.
Good thing I'd anticipated something like this.
"Hey, what's all this now?"
As I kept taking items out one by one, Sohee muttered in disbelief from beside me.
Had I never taken things out in front of Sohee before?
I had pulled out the antidote, but she must not remember because Miyoung was zombie-infected and delirious at the time.
Yejin placed a hand on Sohee's shoulder and spoke.
"Haha, just watch. We don't need to understand what Oppa does. Just think, 'Ah, Oppa's doing something beyond common sense again.'"
Seeing Yejin talk like a senior made me chuckle. Strictly speaking, she'd only been with me for less than two weeks.
Yet she acted like we'd been together forever. It was absurd, but true—she'd spent more time with me than Sohee. If you counted the onahole doll, she was definitely the senior.
While they chattered, I finished unloading everything from the subspace and pointed at the items, shouting to the three of them.
"Alright, grill some tasty meat! I'll just sit here and eat."
"Yes~ I'll make it super delicious!"
"What? I have to grill too?"
"Sohee, I'll grill instead, so just sit."
Yejin rushed over excitedly at my words, Sohee looked flustered at having to cook, and Miyoung volunteered to grill in her place. I sat in a chair from the subspace.
With the table for food and four chairs set up, it really felt like a barbecue party in front of the officetel.
Even in a zombie apocalypse.
Everyone else surviving outside was probably living in silence to avoid zombies.
By day 3, zombies' detection had improved, and they stacked up to climb buildings. Nowhere was truly safe, so they had to be ultra-cautious.
The Haedong Faction I'd helped and the Guro apartment we'd met today were likely the same.
Even if some zombies were cleared, the fear of more coming anytime kept stress sky-high.
But not here.
We were boldly grilling meat on the barbecue, the sounds and smells spreading everywhere—exactly what you're never supposed to do.
- Grroooaaar...
Zombie groans came from afar. Looking around, a horde was drawn by our noise, clawing at my barricade, desperate to get in.
But no matter what they did, they couldn't breach it. Its HP didn't budge, and it blocked their stacking attempts. Not a single zombie could enter my outpost.
Where else could you enjoy a barbecue surrounded by zombies in peace?
They said Yeouido was paradise, but wasn't this the real paradise in the zombie apocalypse?
Safe from zombies.
With electricity and water secured indefinitely, we could live normally.
"Oppa! Meat's ready!"
As I admired my paradise happily, Yejin approached with a plate of sizzling beef, beaming.
The outside was browned perfectly, the inside slightly pink, cut to bite-sized pieces—it looked delicious. I picked up a piece with chopsticks, dipped it in salt, and popped it in. Juices burst out, pure bliss.
This was living.
"Grilled it well? Guess you're not hopeless at meat."
"Ahaha..."
Yejin avoided my eyes, staring at distant mountains after my praise.
That reaction meant...
"You didn't grill this?"
"Well... I really wanted to grill it tasty... but it just burned..."
Like those comic characters with the "hopeless cook" trait who ruin everything. Never imagined it in real life.
"Don't be too hard on her. Yejin, you'll get better with practice."
Miyoung smiled as she set down another plate of grilled meat.
From the looks, the one Yejin brought was probably Miyoung's.
"You should just handle all the cooking. You got the Chef trait anyway, right? Use that for buffs."
"Chef trait? There's something like that? But is it okay for me to use it? You earned it..."
"Of course, since it was mine. Consider it an investment for later."
As I replied to Miyoung, I grabbed meat from another plate.
"Hm? This one's grilled perfectly too. You could really be a chef."
I pointed at the plate with my chopsticks. Miyoung shook her head.
"I didn't grill that one."
"Huh? Then Yejin, you did? But you can't cook. So that means... Sohee?"
Not Miyoung, and Yejin burns it, so by elimination, Sohee.
"Ugh... Yeah! I grilled it! Got a problem?!"
Sohee blushed at the praise and yelled. Her embarrassed look was surprisingly cute. She had that delinquent vibe, so I'd expected nonchalance.
After enjoying the outdoor barbecue, once the meat was gone, Yejin and Miyoung cleaned up while Sohee and I cleared the zombie horde around the barricade.
By the time we finished, Yejin and Miyoung had already tidied up and returned to their rooms. Sohee and I headed to ours.
As I entered my room, Yejin—who'd gone ahead—leaped out and hugged me.
"Oppa~ Yejin-nyang wants to continue what we did during the day-nyang!"
In that cat persona from earlier today.