Chapter 59

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Translator: Ace

Chapter: 59

Chapter Title: The Additional Zone

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Yesterday, when I expanded the base radius by more than 100 meters, two buildings fell within its range—both officetels similar to the one I was living in.

Curious about how it worked, I walked over to one of the buildings. The officetel I currently lived in functioned as the base, so through base management, I could immediately see who was inside. There was one person each on the third and fourth floors, with their names displayed above, letting me know exactly who was where.

But no matter how much I checked, there was no information about the other officetel besides the one I was staying in.

Even when I personally entered the other officetel, nothing changed, and no new system window appeared.

Just as I was thinking it was no different from any ordinary building within the base radius, I remembered I had a skill called Base Designation.

Doubting it but giving it a try anyway, I used the Base Designation skill on the officetel I'd entered, and a system window popped up.

It was just as I'd suspected. Expanding the base radius from the initial designated base didn't automatically apply my skill to the newly included buildings; I had to designate them additionally.

But what exactly was an "additional zone"?

I wondered why it cost a whopping 2,000 Coins to designate one.

I wanted to check for information on additional zones, but no matter where I looked, there was nothing.

Usually, unfamiliar terms came with explanations, but not this time. It seemed like it just added another area within the base where my skills would apply... though I couldn't quite grasp it.

So, there was no need to spend 2,000 Coins to designate one right now. It wasn't like skipping it would cause any big problems, and with that many Coins, there were plenty of other things I could do.

Maybe an opportunity to figure out what an additional zone was would come with time.

"Jaehwan, you're up already?"

Just then, Miyeong's voice came from behind me. I turned around to see her smiling as she walked toward me.

"Gotta get up early in the morning to head out and hunt zombies. The more Coins, the better."

"Coins are basically the currency in this world, right? Yeah, the more, the better."

Miyeong nodded at my words, and with the slight motion, her breasts jiggled noticeably.

Even bigger than Yejin's, which I'd held yesterday—they were so impressive, it was hard to believe they were real.

"Out of nowhere, I'm curious... how old are you, anyway?"

"Huh? My age? Well... I'll be 38 this year..."

Miyeong turned her head slightly, her face flushing as if embarrassed to admit it, and answered cautiously.

"38? You don't look it at all. You're ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠telling me you're ten years older than me?"

Hearing her age, I couldn't help but raise my voice in shock.

She looked mid-20s at most, so late 30s was unbelievable. I'd been speaking casually to her assuming we were close in age, but she was way more adult than me.

"Don't freak out too much."

"How could I not? Damn, this is a real shock. I thought we were around the same age and talked casually... should I start using polite speech now?"

I tossed in a bit of teasing, but Miyeong shook her head.

"No, it's fine. In this world now, does a few extra years even matter? Without you, Sohee and I wouldn't have survived. Just keep calling me casually. It's more comfortable for me too."

"Well, if you say so. Then how old's Sohee? If you're 38, I'm guessing... she was born when you were 18, high schooler?"

Assuming Miyeong had married and had her right at 20, Sohee would be 18.

But seeing her dyed blonde hair, that didn't seem right. She looked more early 20s, which would make Miyeong's age weird again.

The moment Sohee hit 20 or over, it implied Miyeong had her as a minor.

Given Miyeong's looks, it wasn't impossible some rich guy snatched her up in high school, married her, and had a kid... but something about it felt off.

"Sohee's 21."

"What? Hold on—that means you had her at 17?"

The hunch that it couldn't be true turned out to be exactly that, and I yelled in surprise. Miyeong closed her eyes and shook her head at my words.

"No. Actually, Sohee isn't my biological daughter."

"What do you mean?"

Miyeong told me about how she and Sohee met before the zombie apocalypse—how she'd lost her mom and was grieving, how they met through Miyeong's remarriage and became mother and daughter, and the events that led Sohee to accept her.

Suddenly, Sohee's obsessive behavior toward her mom started making sense. Regardless of how she saw it herself, the trauma of losing her real mom young meant she didn't want to lose this new mother figure, Miyeong.

That explained why she accepted my outrageous 100,000 Coin demand so readily.

"In that case, you need to earn some money somehow too. Otherwise, Sohee'll push herself hunting zombies."

"Yeah. But right now, besides selling my body to you, Jaehwan, I can't think of any other way."

Even after late-night sex with Yejin yesterday, seeing Miyeong's body got me reacting. But I wasn't in the mood right now—I planned to chat a bit then head out.

"Share your status window with me. I want to check out that Farmer trait."

"My status window? How do I... Oh, like this?"

After a short wait, I could view Miyeong's status window info.

The Farmland Designation skill was exactly what it sounded like: the Farmer designating space to grow crops. To expand it, you had to spend Coins.

Currently, only 3 square meters? That's barely one ping.

Looking at this, Farmers and Technicians seemed pretty useless in the early zombie apocalypse.

This one was straightforward too, just like Farmland Designation. It sped up crop growth to bring harvest times sooner.

For now, in the early apocalypse, we could survive on existing food stocks, but when those ran out, this Farmer's abilities would become crucial.

Without modern tech, mass-producing food would be nearly impossible.

But if these skills allowed early harvests and ongoing food supply, we'd never worry about starvation.

Thanks to my Base Manager trait, external safety, electricity, and drinking water were all sorted. I'd keep generators running to stockpile power, purify water on-site, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠draw from external sources if needed—no issues for survival.

Even countries struggle with food production, but utilizing the Farmer trait could solve that. Strengthening skills with Coins might add more benefits too.

"Your Farmer skills look pretty useful. Reinforcing them with Coins would make them even better, right?"

"R-Really? But I don't have any Coins..."

Her face lit up at "useful," then darkened at the Coin mention. She and Sohee owed me Coins, so they'd use them all for repayment, leaving none for skills.

But there was a way.

"Let's make a deal."

"Huh? A deal?"

"Yeah. I'll provide the Coins to upgrade your skills. Not a loan—you won't owe me back."

Miyeong's eyes widened in shock at my words. They were too sweet to pass up.

But her expression quickly normalized. She realized I wouldn't give Coins for free.

"What do I have to do? Offer my body more...?"

"No, you're already repaying Sohee's debt bit by bit with your body. I'm asking for something else."

"Then what?"

"Ownership of all crops you harvest with your skills."

Miyeong's face filled with worry. Understandably—she'd have to hand over everything she grew to me. Even upgraded, the crops wouldn't be hers, hence the reaction.

"Of course, I'm not saying you get none. We'll share for ourselves. And as we upgrade with my Coins, we'll scale up to sell to others. The profits from that? All mine."

She pondered briefly, then nodded.

"Got it. I'll do as you say, Jaehwan."

"Thought it'd take longer to decide."

"It's hard to earn Coins for upgrades now anyway. And even if I could grow crops safely, I'd need a secure place—like this base."

I smiled involuntarily at her answer, which matched my thinking exactly.

As she said, growing crops outside my base was tough—zombie ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠attacks, looting risks.

Inside my base? Perfectly safe. Especially after expanding the radius yesterday.

"Alright, then. Shall we upgrade your skills?"