The Adult Shop Jackpot
I sighed. “Ugh… there’s nothing worth taking here.”
It was a tiny house. So small and shabby that people had probably passed it by without a second glance. I’d wandered all the way out here, well beyond my usual range in the Developed Land, feeling like I was exploring uncharted territory. I’d kept walking until I reached the far right edge, almost five hundred meters out—right up to the boundary where the road met the Undeveloped Land.
Since moving out on my own, this would be the first time I’d see my family. Even if the pickings were slim, I wanted to bring back something that at least resembled a proper gift. That’s just how people are. The farther you go, the better the stuff feels, right? So when I spotted this little forgotten house that no one else had bothered with, I thought, ‘Oh? This place might actually be a hidden gem!’ and stepped inside…
Yeah. Should’ve known.
“Guess my gut was just full of shit.”
There were no signs that anyone else had been here, yet the place was so bare it was hard to believe a person had ever lived in it. Must have belonged to some old loner. The few pathetic belongings that remained practically oozed loneliness.
The only sliver of hope left was the wardrobe I hadn’t checked yet. I walked over and gave it a couple of knocks.
Tap. Tap.
I pressed my ear against it and listened. A faint rustling sound came from inside.
It wasn’t that I was worried about a zombie hiding in there. I was just grossed out at the thought of a swarm of bugs. I still remembered the time I’d opened a wardrobe without thinking and cockroaches had exploded out in every direction. I’d nearly had a heart attack.
Judging by the rustling, there were definitely bugs in there.
“Yeah… I’m gonna pass on this one.”
If it had been a house that looked like it might actually have something valuable, maybe I would’ve taken the risk. But expecting anything good from a wardrobe in a dump like this? Not a chance. At best I’d find a moldy blanket or a flattened pillow. I left the house without a shred of regret.
“No wonder nobody ever bothered with places like this. Smart bastards.”
I looked around at the buildings on either side of the street. Because I’d pushed myself to travel a full hour away from my usual area, everything I saw felt fresh and new. There were probably plenty of untouched buildings around here. For the first time, I really felt like an adult. Just a year ago, I never would’ve imagined coming this far.
That’s how precious my mother was to me. Even though we weren’t related by blood… or maybe because we weren’t. I’d always been called a coward, always hidden behind her. Yet here I was, standing tall just because I wanted to bring her a gift.
“Alright. Let’s take a proper look around!”
I planted my feet. Time to start farming.
Three hours later.
I’d found two decent-looking houses nearby and gone through them. Luck was on my side—I managed to snag three genuinely useful items.
The first house gave me what looked like an expensive multi-tool knife. It had blades of different lengths, pliers, a saw, small scissors, and both Phillips and flathead screwdrivers all folded into one sturdy tool. I had no idea what the material was, but even though it was decades old, there wasn’t a speck of rust on it. Solid as hell.
“You’re a beauty. Big brother’s gonna put you to good use.”
I used to carry a Phillips and flathead screwdriver separately in my bag. Now I wouldn’t have to anymore.
The second find was a snow globe. I didn’t know the exact name for it. Inside a fist-sized transparent sphere, a man and woman were kissing. When you shook it, white flakes swirled around them. I wasn’t sure if it was a toy or a piece of art, but it was genuinely beautiful. I shook it gently, then stopped, watching the snow drift down around the kissing couple.
“Ah… this is awkward.”
It really was pretty. But giving it to my mother felt… weird. A decoration of a man and woman kissing? Not exactly the kind of present you hand to your mom. Maybe if it was for a girlfriend I was romantically involved with, but…
“What a shame. Would’ve been perfect if it was a house or something instead of a couple.”
Still, I figured it would sell for more than the knife. It was practically made for a confession. ‘No. I can’t sell this.’ Who knows? I might need it someday. I should keep it safe. If I gave this to a girl while confessing, it would probably boost my success rate by at least ten percent. An incredible item that could turn my zero-percent charm into ten percent! A true must-have!
And finally, the third item came from the second house. Just one thing: a hard drive.
There had been a computer in the small room—probably the son’s bedroom. In the trash can without a lid, I saw a clump of used tissues that had dried up and rotted. ‘I feel like Sherlock Holmes right now.’ Used tissues = boy’s room. The accuracy rate was shockingly high.
I immediately unscrewed the computer case, pulled out the hard drive, and stuffed it into my bag. This was the third hard drive I’d gotten, including today. Out of the previous two, both had been broken. Still, the familiar hope that this one might actually work made my heart flutter with excitement. It was the same thrilling mix of anticipation and satisfaction I imagined people felt when they bought a lottery ticket—even though I’d never actually bought one.
From what I’d heard, if the hard drive was dead, the computer itself was probably dead too. And if the hard drive was fine, the computer usually was as well. Same went for the monitor and other accessories. That’s why I only took the hard drive. No point lugging around a heavy case when I didn’t know if it worked.
If this hard drive turned out to be perfectly fine, I’d come back later—even if it was a pain in the ass—and haul the rest of it home.
“I’ll use the hard drive myself and sell everything else.”
A broken computer was just heavy garbage, but even an old working one could sell for fifty to a hundred thousand won. That was an insane price. Anyway.
I’d come out here looking for a present for my mother, but somehow I’d only found things that were good for me. Not that I’d expected to hit the jackpot on the first try.
“Guess I’ll have to come back tomorrow. There’s still a week until her birthday. If I farm every day, I’m bound to find something.”
Looked like I’d be in full farming mode for a while. Even for the first day, the haul wasn’t bad. I could head home in a good mood. Just feeling the weight of the hard drive in my bag made me feel like I owned the whole world.
I breathed on the snow globe one last time, wiped it clean with my sleeve, and tucked it away. Then I looked across the street.
“Whoa… never thought I’d be staring at the Undeveloped Land like this.”
Far across the road, I could see zombies scattered here and there. The common theory was that a zombie’s grayed-out pupils meant their eyesight had deteriorated. Their hearing, on the other hand, became extremely sharp. At this distance, as long as I didn’t scream, they shouldn’t be able to spot me.
Seeing them with my own eyes instead of through a telescope felt both new and strangely fascinating. I’d never come all the way to the edge like this before. There were plenty of places to farm near the village entrance, so I’d never had a reason to push this far. Today was a first.
I might be a coward, but what I was afraid of was running into zombies in a cramped space with no escape. Out here in the open Undeveloped Land, if they spotted me and came running, I wasn’t that scared. I could just run. How far could they really chase me? Like most skinny guys, I was pretty confident in my running ability. ‘My body’s light as a feather, after all.’
If I got chased for about two hundred meters toward the village, the patrol team would spot me and send out a pursuit squad right away. Even if I wasn’t the fastest, I didn’t have to worry.
“That’s enough for today. Let’s head home.”
The clock said 4:10. I needed to start heading back before it got dark. Even in the Developed Land, walking down those gloomy, pitch-black streets wasn’t exactly pleasant. Nobody liked it.
Step. Step. Step.
Instead of retracing my exact path, I cut over two blocks to the side and started heading back that way.
“I already saw the buildings on the other street on my way here, so I might as well check out this side on the way back.”
As I walked down the new street, I made mental notes of any promising buildings so I could come back and check them tomorrow.
How long had I been walking?
“…Huh?”
I suddenly stopped in my tracks. Or rather, something made me stop. I’d seen something I couldn’t just walk past.
Wait a second. Did I see that right?
I moved closer to get a better look. The faded sign read [Adult Shop].
Holy shit…
“An adult store?!”
Whoa! Whoaaa!… I clapped a hand over my mouth. I’d almost screamed out loud. I still couldn’t believe what I was seeing. What the hell was inside that place?!
For someone who wrote erotic web novels, this was basically paradise.
“Please, please…”
I rushed over and pushed and pulled on the door.
Rattle rattle rattle.
It was locked. Instead of disappointment, I felt relief. Actually, this was perfect. It meant no one had been inside yet.
There was a reason we rarely found valuable jewelry or precious metals even though we went farming house to house. Back when the zombie outbreak hit, most homeowners had grabbed their valuables before fleeing. No matter how desperate you were, who would leave empty-handed?
But an adult shop was different. Would anyone really have bothered to take those things with them? No way. Dildos, onaholes—whatever was in there, it should still be waiting.
Rattle rattle.
Even though I knew I had to head home, I couldn’t help shaking the other side of the door too, reluctant to leave. Adult toys sold for a lot of money, but beyond that, they had special value to me. An onahole, for example, was molded after the shape of a vagina. I’d heard that high-quality ones looked almost exactly like the real thing. Same with dildos. If I could study them to my heart’s content, it would give me an enormous advantage when describing my characters’ genitals.
Plus, using an onahole would let me experience—at least somewhat—what sex actually felt like. Definitely!
This was a true jackpot.