The Day After Worries
The next day, after all that worrying, I lay on my bed and eyed the pile of supplies stacked in the living room beyond the door. Food's plenty. Essentials too. I'd hauled most of the convenience store's stock back to the villa. Of course, the frozen stuff stayed put at the GOS Convenience Store. Our fridge had been stuffed to bursting long ago.
But even staring at all those goods didn't bring peace of mind—it just stirred up more anxiety. Why was that?
Sigh... I knew why. This was just status quo. Right now, I was scraping by on convenience store eats and clean tap water, but how long could that last?
Water aside, when the power and gas run out... No rescue in sight. No Seoul reclamation op or anything. If this dragged on, the city's infrastructure would be toast in months, no doubt.
Tsk... My future looked bleak. Power outage hits, and in this rundown villa with shaky food supplies, I'd wither away. Reunion with family? Probably pipe dream.
Haa... What could I do, though? Even with magic-like powers and this ridiculous Status Window, escaping a crumbled city was a pipe dream. I let out another sigh.
Survivors, murderers... I'd mulled it over yesterday, but were there even living people left? Especially after five days without spotting a single human face.
Zombies tougher than expected? But it didn't add up. Sure, the army might've taken hits, but Korea had modern weapons—guns, tanks.
Zombies can't beat a tank. That 20% instant infection at night was nasty, no question. Still, survivors in the military had to be out there. Especially bases near Seoul with tanks. Even one rolling out would shred these mutated human zombies.
Plus, if zombies broke out inside a base, a handful of survivors with rifles could mop them up easy.
Something's off... Government collapsed, army too—fine. But if survivors could run tanks or choppers, rescue should've come. Yet five days in Seoul's capital: no tanks, no helos.
So what the hell were units like the Capital Defense Command, or bases in Goyang and Gwacheon, doing?
What the fuck?
I pulled up my Status Window and checked the quest tab. Savior and Ruin Fragment. Was the military tied up by some Status Window bullshit? Zombie novels often threw in god-like foes to block the army or wiped them out for plot. But even then, it was weird. Modern weapons outclassed Status Window powers.
My abilities were strong, sure, but guns, tanks, jets? No contest. I'd drop dozens of soldiers maybe, but I'd die. Soldiers with gear? Untouchable. Zombies were just moving targets—few bullets each. Strong enemies? If they followed physics, modern arms would waste them.
So god intervention seemed unlikely. But a divine entity nuking the military alone for a zombie experiment? That didn't track. Or... maybe.
If it's the Status Window maker's lab rat setup... But my window had no forced quests or nudges like in stories.
Hell, it even warned me off skill picks. Warnings about the Abyss and such meant it wasn't outright hostile. If it was, I'd be dead. Giving me cheat-tier Ice Spear from the start? My Status Window wanted me hunting Saviors for some reason.
So I flipped the script.
Am I the only one with a Status Window?
Who knew. If everyone had one, zombies would've been curb-stomped quick. Dozens or hundreds like me? Dead meat. But me alone? Too egocentric.
Think realistically.
I shelved divine crap and Status Windows. COVID-23 air infection: 20% instant zombies. State's response? Nation zombie-fied, military thinned—how to handle?
Nukes? No, power plants. Nukes or hydro? Day 5 of apocalypse: plants offline, whole system crashes. Nukes are ticking bombs.
If they're fixing that, it fits. Realistic take: plant staff zombied too, so priority reclaim. Internet dead, phones out, but power and water flowing. Military hammered by night infections—makes sense they'd lag on civvie rescues. Infrastructure first, or no survival.
Or...
Infighting? Nuke it all or rescue? Another angle: zombie freakshow hits—reclaim cities how? Sweep survivor zones means troops in. Tanks/missiles kill zombies but wreck civ.
Plausible, but... Or just manpower shortage. Seoul: 10 mil. Gyeonggi bases: near 15 mil. Northdong sparse, but Southdong, Cheongdong denser. Wondong, Sangdong packed. Military direct-saving? Tough with 20% initial—5 mil infected in Seoul/Gyeonggi alone.
All brain farts, sure... Status Window, plants, variants, bottom-up clears—speculation. Worst case: military wiped, gear trashed. No one else has Status Window, fighting zombies with standard kit.
Sigh... Scout bases myself? Stuck in villa, no way. Only surefire: eyes on. Head to military?
Tsk... Shook my head. Too far. Nearest base: hour drive minimum. Roads fucked, walking? God knows. Zombies en route? No.
With that power, I'd be homeward bound already.
No clue. Frustrating. Status Window cold. Zombies. Power/water. Military. Gov. Food. Family. Endless worries, zero moves. Powerless.
Stuck, can't decide.
So, what can I do now?
Hm... I fired up my phone, checked emergency alerts. From 132: greeting to Reserve Soldier Kim Junyoung, urging families to Northdong Office shelter.
Northdong Office. Seoul's district offices might stock rifles and ammo. Outbreak hits, bases supply 'em. Five days on, survivors likely—if they held zombies.
Worth a peek. Close enough. Slow, zombie-dodge: doable. Under 1km—realistic vs. bases, plants, hometown.
Stay put, thirst to death. Status Window or not, solo act. Systems hold: link with survivors, intel grab. Status Window, zombies—critical for life, family.
Not risk-free. Zombie hordes roam, office central spot. Scary. Swarmed? Dead. Ashes Veil 6-sec save, Ice Spear strong—no horde-clear.
But try beats rotting home.
Gotta go. Steel for outside. Not now. Supplies good, no rush. Haste makes waste, right? Rescue not ruled out. Korea's admin, defense: 5 days too short nationwide.
Week min, two max—wait game. Korean War: Seoul retake in weeks. Hole up, army hits Northdong? Bail then. Or helo hum.
Tough call. Rush survivors or bunker for army?
Dunno. No intel: risk out or hunker safe?
I stood, booted PC. Net still dead.
Haa...
Scraaape—window open, fresh air in. Cool weather blocked zombie reek.
Life. Grabbed cold tteokbokki from GOS stash, microwaved, back to room.
Vrrrrm
This goddamn Steam game. Fired up an offline HDD game I'd downloaded but ignored. Offline play: win. Most fun ones online—trap. Still, time-killer gold in this shit world.
This right? Yeah, escapism it was. Game on, tteokbokki chomped—pre-apoc day vibes. But doubts nagged.
No choice. Nothing else doable home but deny reality. Honestly, it'll work out somehow first.
Fuck it.
Tap tap tap
Mood lifted. Gaming, snacking—like old times. I whittled away apocalypse day one: PC, convenience chow.