Chapter 156: After the Storm
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 156: After the Storm
The storm had passed.
I wasn't sure if that was the right expression to use during a Zombie Wave, but...
By afternoon, Paradise was quieter and more peaceful than at any other point during the Zombie Rush.
Except for the fact that the streets were piled so high with zombie corpses that they were impassable, you could have easily mistaken it for the Paradise of pre-Zombie Rush days.
Actually, wasn't it even more peaceful than before?
Back then, the noise of countless people coming and going to buy provisions had been quite loud.
It was quiet.
Even as morning turned to afternoon.
Even if it wasn't a full wave, groups of zombies would approach, only to turn back when blocked by the walls of corpses.
Thus, ironically, Paradise spent its fifth day in the utmost quiet.
[The Zombie Rush has ended.]
The storm had passed.
But the wreckage left in its wake still remained.
-
The Zombie Rush wasn't a system that simply spawned zombies with a click, scattered them around, and then recalled them with another click when it was over.
It spawned them, but it never recalled them.
Well, strictly speaking, the system did clean up the corpses twenty-four hours after they died, so I suppose that counted as a recall of sorts.
I had a theory that those dead zombies were the ones respawning in the next Zombie Rush. If that was true, burning all the corpses would be one way to minimize their respawn rate.
But what would be the point of that?
For me, if not for others, zombies were my currency, my source of materials, my source of enhancement materials, and my life's joy and entertainment.
If anything, I was the one who wanted to find a way to make them respawn even more.
After getting plenty of sleep and rest, I woke up at dawn, stretched, and took a walk around the Residential District.
My sleeping schedule had shifted in a highly annoying way, but I had to wake up a bit early today.
And I sent out a notice to the other people of Paradise as well.
When the time came.
The roads began to be cleaned up.
Though, I wasn't sure if "cleaned up" was the right term.
The bloodstains on the asphalt remained, but at least the piles of rotting corpses that had kept everyone trapped behind the automatic doors due to the stench were disappearing.
Even after the zombies vanished completely, the smell still lingered.
"Whew. Making a living is tough."
"Whoa. What is all this? The ground is covered in items!"
"Hey, Cam Whore. Don't film this, okay?"
"Eh? Why?"
"Do you want to deal with a Beggar Rush right after a Zombie Rush?"
"Ah... Right. I won't film this."
On the ground where the zombies had vanished lay a massive hoard of dropped items: all kinds of meat, Enhancement Stones, and Enchantment Stones.
Other items were just a bonus.
Around thirty members of the Medical Association, ten from the Hunting Squad, the Eagle Five Squad, and the residents.
Paradise actually had quite a few people now.
The crowd of about fifty people made their way over, carefully stepping around the items on the ground.
In truth, there were so many items that avoiding them was practically impossible; they had to kick them aside just to walk.
"Don't just kick them aside, pick them up. Gather them first, then come over here."
Kim Ji-hee distributed Level 3 Backpacks she had brought from the warehouse, giving three to each person.
"What are these for?"
"What do you mean, 'what for'? Don't you see all this stuff on the ground? Start picking them up."
"Ah!"
The quick-witted Eagle Five Squad was already stuffing items into their backpacks.
Since they didn't have to worry about which items to farm, which to filter out, or rummage through zombie corpses—they just had to scoop up everything on the ground—the sheer volume of drops wasn't an issue.
"Wow. How much is all this worth?"
"Oppa, are we having a meat party today?"
"You didn't even do anything, and all you can think about is eating?"
"Hey... I did my best cheering them on with dances and comforting the people of Paradise so they wouldn't commit suicide..."
Well, I suppose everyone had done their part in their own way.
Though some people were bound to be useless during events like this.
Jeon Ye-sol arrived with Lee Mi-sook and accepted a backpack.
"Are you going to help too, Ye-sol?"
She nodded at Kim Ji-hee's question.
"Then just take one, since they're heavy. Just fill one up, follow me inside, and unload it, okay?"
"Okay~"
If anyone was genuinely weak, it was Jeon Ye-sol.
After all, she had "Frailty" as a status.
As everyone began working, I couldn't help but admire the Eagle Five Squad's work efficiency.
"Man, experienced workers really are different."
I didn't bother giving them step-by-step instructions on how to do the job.
Having to micromanage things like this would only stress me out.
The people here would handle the labor anyway, and Kim Ji-hee would be the one doing the final sorting.
Kim Ji-hee looked at me and asked,
"What is it?"
"Compare them to that Cam Whore over there. See the difference?"
"..."
Kim Ji-hee looked back and forth between the Eagle Five Squad and Lee Yu-ri for a moment, then gasped as realization struck.
"Wait, stop, everyone!!!!!!"
At her urgent shout, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her.
Ji-hee's gaze was fixed on Lee Yu-ri, who was happily stuffing a random assortment of items into her backpack as if she were on a shopping spree.
"We have to separate the meat, the items, and the stones later... so please, only put one type of item in each backpack."
"Ah!"
"Pfft."
Some groaned in realization, while the Eagle Five Squad and the Main Hunting Squad smirked, having already anticipated this.
Soldiers really were different.
Even without prior experience in a zombie apocalypse, they worked with systematic efficiency. How reliable.
"Eh. Then can I just keep this backpack and start fresh with the next one—eek!"
I snatched the backpack from Lee Yu-ri's hands and handed it to Kim Ji-hee.
She had been shoveling things in so enthusiastically that it was already full to the brim.
"Hey! Oppa, are you trying to drive a wedge between Ji-hee and me?! Give it back! I'll sort it out myself!"
"No, it's fine, Unni... As the person in charge of inventory, I should take responsibility... Just do it right from now on."
"Heeek! No! Now I'm on her bad side!"
Kim Ji-hee, catching onto my intent, immediately put on a gloomy face to tease Yu-ri, though her words carried a half-truth.
If she had to sort through all of this alone, it might literally take her a week.
Of course, with fifty people helping, it would go quickly as long as they sorted them properly from the start.
But in the end, sorting the Enchantment Stones and Enhancement Stones was most efficient when she did it herself after everything was gathered, which was still a massive chore.
So, I had to minimize her workload as much as possible while we had the manpower.
Before sunrise, Lee Mi-sook went to the cafeteria with Oh Se-i.
Even though everyone was scooping up items by the armful, the sheer volume on the ground made it seem like the pile wasn't shrinking at all.
Granted, because they were doing a primary sort—picking up meat as meat, and items as items, rather than mindlessly shoveling everything like Lee Yu-ri—it naturally took a bit longer.
Around sunrise.
Lee Mi-sook called everyone to the cafeteria, and we all went inside to eat.
"Whoa!!!!! A meat party!!!! Lettuce!!!!! Ssamjang!!!"
Beef, pork, chicken.
Every table was piled high with freshly grilled meats of all kinds, and a buffet was set up so everyone could choose between rice or noodles.
I had also brought out plenty of drinks, along with various special meals.
If they work, they should be fed.
Even if their labor was technically unpaid.
"Thank you for the food!!"
They had probably eaten well during the Zombie Rush thanks to the provisions and special meals I provided, but eating freshly grilled meat like this was a luxury even for Level 3s or residents.
After all, buying meat separately was only possible by spending Coins.
For about an hour.
I gave them plenty of time to eat before starting the second phase of farming.
This time, I sent the Hunting Squads and the Eagle Five Squad to the outer edges of the roads leading toward the city center.
"The local beggars are probably going to start crawling out soon, so start farming from the outer edges. Work in two shifts when transporting things back to the warehouse."
"Yes, sir!"
"Understood!"
The rest of us farmed from the inside out.
I watched them farm for a bit, then went inside to take a quick nap.
Ever since the Zombie Rush, sleeping during the day in short bursts after staying up all night was starting to take a toll on me.
By afternoon, I felt refreshed after a nice soak in the hot spring, but when I stepped outside, the intersection was in an uproar.
Everyone must have worked hard, because the roads were almost completely cleared.
"What's going on?"
"Oh, Oppa. You're here."
"Captain. We caught these people trying to steal our stuff."
The Eagle Five Squad reported, looking thoroughly annoyed.
There were about four people caught, looking like a family of four with a child.
Not a typical mother, father, and two kids, though.
It was an elderly man, a middle-aged woman, a child, and a young man.
They didn't look particularly strong.
But you could never judge by appearances.
The middle-aged woman and the young man seemed capable enough to have survived the 2nd Zombie Rush, while the elderly man and the child were just ordinary.
"So why are you all just standing around?"
"They're denying that they stole anything..."
"How do you know they stole it?"
"We found meat and stones hidden on them."
"You! You touched my body without permission! I'm going to report you!"
"...Which is why a woman did the search."
Since everyone was gathered anyway, I called them over.
"Beggars are going to start swarming our Paradise soon. Are we going to make a scene like this every single time? It's too noisy. Let me show you the manual."
I walked up to the loudest and strongest-looking one, the middle-aged woman.
She shrieked,
"Are you the one in charge? I'm a membership member too! How can you treat a member like this?!"
Instead of replying, I drew and sheathed my longsword.
It was a move dripping with sheer showmanship, utilizing both "Time Acceleration" and "Time Deceleration."
To those without high Agility, it would have looked like my hand merely touched the hilt before it was over.
"We didn't ste—"
Thud.
Not a single drop of blood splattered.
This was why I liked longswords.
They were clean.
When you were fast and strong enough to be clean, most things you imagined became possible.
Next was the young man.
"Why did you steal?"
"I didn't ste—"
The young man's head rolled as well.
I stepped toward the child.
The elderly man clung to me, his voice trembling violently.
"I-I'm sorry!!! We were just so hungry... It was lying right in front of our house, so greed got the b-best of us... The child was crying so much. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
I sliced the necks of the elderly man and the child, who were trembling with fear, unable to tear their eyes away from the two decapitated corpses.
"If you want to show mercy, extract a price. Whether it's their body or something else. But there is no charity for beggars. If anyone wants to play the self-righteous saint, ask her what happens."
I pointed at Oh Se-i.
Oh Se-i began moving the corpses without a change in her expression.
The others silently resumed their farming.