2. Going Out
2. Going Out
ㅡClick
I opened the fridge.
Electricity and water are still running.
Though the internet was cut off a month ago.
But who knows when they'll cut off.
'A week, maybe.'
However, food was scarce.
The first day of the apocalypse. Right after getting my superpower, I raided the convenience store in front of my house and rationed the hell out of it, but I've hit my limit.
I tried to go back and grab a bunch more, but when I went, it had already been picked clean.
Guess people snatched it all up in the meantime.
ㅡWhirrr
I turned on the computer again.
I pulled up the information I'd captured and loaded the satellite map I'd downloaded.
I'm in Cheongju.
It's the city I was transferred to from Seoul by the company.
I only came here because a female colleague was bawling her eyes out, but a city's a city, I guess.
Hope Villa, stuck in the east side of Cheongju.
Unit 401.
There's fucking nobody living here. And those few people who were here probably died early on, so there's no one left in the villa.
"Manager Yoon, you son of a bitch."
[Assistant Manager Kim. Uh, can you transport this? You know? IN Company Cheongju Branch. The place we've been to a few times.]
An order from a manager who only gives a damn about women.
At the time of the apocalypse,
I was on my way to IN Company with the items Manager Yoon had entrusted to me.
I was pissed off, so I stopped midway to grab a coffee, but then I got into a car accident because of an Infected and everything got smashed, and the world ended up like this.
Actually, that's why I survived.
Though, that stuff I was moving... it must've been some fucked up cargo.
Something that shattered and sprayed all over my body along with the glass. Then the Nexus Core and superpowers appeared.
'The comments definitely said it was random.'
It seemed like if you got covered in something related to the Infected, you'd get a superpower.
What the hell did those bastards at IN Company create?
ㅡCreak
Making a bizarre sound, blue veins rise up on the back of my hand.
=========================
Nexus Core : Metallokinesis lv.2 [ 0 /100]
=========================
What did it say when it first popped up?
I wrote it down somewhere.
=========================
Nexus Core activated.
Compatibility : 97.2%
Acquire a Nexus suitable for the user.
Nexus Core : Metallokinesis lv.1 acquired
=========================
Right, that's what it said.
I was terrified. Because alien-like veins came out of the back of my hand and formed letters.
I grew it to lv.2 by catching Infected, the Infected around me.
Because the ability called Metal Manipulation couldn't even lift a coin at the start.
I created Metallokinesis lv.2 by barely luring and catching the transformed Walkers and Runners around Hope Villa with a crowbar.
Now I can lift things like bullets, keys, and coins.
How did I know that?
I found out when I got this rifle.
Some crazy reservist guy came this way firing a K2 rifle wildly.
Of course, he died to the Walkers and Runners not long after. He only had 4 bullets, but I used that gun well. Until yesterday, that is.
I used up all 4 bullets killing the guy, and now only an empty magazine remains.
What I got was an M60 revolver that uses .357 rounds, which I got after killing those bastards, and 6 bullets.
I think it's a police gun; seeing this, it's certain that the police and the military have all collapsed.
I don't see a future. Food is running low, there are few Infected around, but now the Nexus Core isn't leveling up.
Metal Manipulation lv.2 isn't a very strong ability.
I don't have the ability to fire bullets at gun speed.
I can only manipulate metal similar in size to a bullet.
The speed increased a bit, but not enough to kill a person.
I was actually just using it for defense.
Because I can manipulate things whether they're floating in the air or flying at me.
It means I can manipulate things at a certain speed based on pure weight.
=========================
Nexus Core : Metallokinesis lv.2 [ 0 /100]
=========================
At lv.1, it went up by 1 just from Walkers and Runners, but now it doesn't.
And humans, naturally, didn't give me anything.
If I level this up more, I could really do the stuff you see in movies...
Information that was on the internet.
And based on my experience, I think I need to catch stronger Infected for it to go up. I don't know if I can catch them with my current ability.
So,
what I need right now is firearms, food, and water.
I can hold out inside Hope Villa for a week.
I got impatient and went a bit further out, and ran into those fucked up bastards, but it couldn't be helped.
'I have to move. If I don't move, I die.'
I'll get firearms somehow.
Get firearms, catch Infected. And level up my ability.
Go up to Seoul. Check on my family home.
And...
'...I should do what I want to do.'
Whether it's finding and killing the bastards who made the world like this.
Or just living however the fuck I want.
If the country hasn't normalized in a month, no internet, no broadcasts, no texts, no contact, then it's definitely ruined.
And it's already too late.
Because I've already killed a lot of people.
Still, I have to confirm.
I needed certainty.
Certainty that the country is fucked.
Only then can I live however the fuck I want.
I found my smartphone.
A text from a month ago.
===================================
[Wartime Mobilization Order.]
[Emergency National Mobilization Order Declared]
We inform the respected reservist Kim Yu-seong.
A national mobilization order has been declared due to the current situation.
Please move according to the wartime mobilization order you received as follows.
Mobilization Date/Time : By 20:00 on January 07, 2026.
Mobilization Location : Eunha High School Playground, Cheongju.
Preparation: Preparations are omitted due to the emergency national mobilization order.
Failure to comply with the mobilization may result in punishment under the Military Service Act.
===================================
Eunha High School.
It's the high school I saw on my way to work.
I remember it being quite a distance from here.
Anyway, it's definitely ruined.
If it were fine, the night wouldn't be this quiet.
I hear occasional gunshots, but it doesn't feel like a group is holding it off.
And if the country were going to normalize, it would have ended within 2 weeks.
There's something going on here.
Something that fucked the country up.
'...Better than not going.'
Who knows?
Maybe there's a gun or something.
'I'm going out tonight.'
I put the satellite map and captured photos into my smartphone and shoved my body into the bed.
#
February 7th, night.
ㅡCreeeak
Carefully opened the villa door and came out.
Chilly weather.
Outside, I can see Walkers and Runners crawling around.
I don't see any Infected beyond that.
I killed a lot of them in the first place.
A scene I've seen endlessly for a month.
But now is the time to move.
'It would be nice if the internet worked.'
It's been a long time since it was cut off a month ago.
Now I have to find information on my own.
And in my experience, moving during the day is really not good. Even though only Walkers and Runners are left, they track human locations with sight, hearing, and smell.
'And I have good night vision.'
I moved my body carefully.
Hope Villa.
The villa stuck in the east is located on a slight hill.
If you come right outside, you can see the GP Convenience Store down there. And if you go a little further from the GP Convenience Store, there's the IN Convenience Store.
The place where I killed that man and woman this time is that IN Convenience Store. Naturally, there's no food left.
Anyway, if you pass that, you immediately reach U-Gwang Apartment. If you go further from there, you get to the shopping district and the road.
If you break through the shopping district or go around the road, that's Eunha High School.
'It's fucking far.'
The problem is there are many Infected on the way.
But they do something similar to sleeping at night, so it's not a big problem.
This is also information I got while wandering around in front of my house for a month.
'......'
ㅡGroan
Infected moving while making groaning sounds.
Walkers and Runners are easy to deal with, but I don't bother causing a scene.
Because there's no need to touch those Infected that don't even give experience.
Of course, it's not like they won't come just because I don't touch them.
ㅡChew
ㅡChew
Busy tearing into something that became a lump of flesh, whether it's an Infected or a human.
Plus, because of the sound of them eating the corpse, they're slow to notice me.
"Kieeee...!"
ㅡWhoosh
ㅡCrunch
ㅡThud
Of course, there were cases where I had to kill them.
The rotting corpse of a Walker collapses.
A strike with minimal sound.
Still, there's one that's attracted.
"Kieeeek!"
Die.
ㅡThwack
ㅡWhoosh
ㅡSquish
One Walker falls.
The problem is
"Kieeeek!"
ㅡPatter
A Runner running over.
Unlike Walkers, which have the strength of an adult woman, Runners have the strength of an average adult male.
ㅡSmack
First, I kick it in the stomach.
The guy staggers.
Immediately, I smash its head with the crowbar.
ㅡWhoosh
ㅡCrack
"Gurgle! Gurgle!"
Missed.
ㅡSwish
Quickly pull out the crowbar and swing it again.
The guy trying to crawl on the brick floor with its fingernails.
ㅡWhoosh
Crack
The Runner dies.
Quickly hide in a blind spot.
"Kieeeek."
"Gurgle."
Fortunately, the ones coming didn't find me.
The ones crawling back to the corpse to eat and the ones standing blankly.
After that, I move carefully so they don't notice.
Arrived at U-Gwang Apartment.
'Is there anyone?'
I checked if there were other Infected around here, but all I see are the Walkers and Runners I've seen tiresomely every day.
The gallery definitely said there were other guys like Sirens and Mirrors, but I've never seen such guys.
I see a few places with lights on.
The place where the woman I killed yesterday was.
'Should've extracted more info.'
Well, it doesn't matter if it's true or not. I'll just go and see for myself.
Doesn't seem like there's a group.
To have a group, there needs to be discipline, and those man and woman didn't seem like the type to live by discipline.
'Just looking at what I see right now.'
If there were, there would be barricades, but there aren't any.
Only traces.
'Then it's worth searching.'
Apartment.
Could there be guys with food?
The problem is picking the lock.
===============================
Nexus Core : Metallokinesis lv.2 [0/100]
===============================
I can pick the lock with this.
Metal Manipulation.
Well, I thought I could rob it later with this.
'First, Eunha High School.'
Of course, that's only after I'm truly certain the country is fucked.
I walked down the dark night street and headed to Eunha High School.
#
Shopping district and road visible.
Inside the shopping district...
'......'
If I go in, I'll die immediately.
Can't go. And no reason to go.
No need to go into the shopping district, so I move to the road.
Road.
A few streetlights are on.
Under them, I see a few Walkers staggering.
They're not eating, just staggering.
'...Doesn't look like they're sleeping.'
Movements are a bit big.
Doesn't seem like it'll work.
But I don't want to cause a scene either.
Wait a bit.
Enough to move with minimal risk.
Four Walkers visible.
Wait.
About 20 minutes.
I see two guys disappear.
Two.
One is walking with its back turned, and one is coming towards me.
Hide at the end of the road and wait.
One.
Two.
Three.
ㅡPatter
ㅡWhoosh
"Kie..!"
ㅡCrunch
Crowbar gets stuck in its head. ㅡWalker collapses.
This isn't the important part.
'Did I get caught?'
Fortunately, I didn't get caught.
The remaining guy...
The staggering guy.
Go behind and swing the crowbar.
ㅡSquish
Dealt with both easily.
Now check if there are Infected.
'None.'
The ones that went first must have taken a different path, they're not visible.
If I go this way now, it's Eunha High School.
Before the apocalypse, it was a path that took less than 5 minutes. To think it takes this long.
However, this is this ruined world.
'Phew.'
I sighed and looked ahead.
Eunha High School.
Eunha High School was quiet.
It's not strange that the entire high school entrance is surrounded by barricades.
The problem was that I couldn't see inside Eunha High School in front of me.
'......'
The only thing I know is that there are no people.
The quiet school was really quiet, as if there wasn't a single person.
The problem is that no Infected are visible either.
'What is it?'
No lights turning on or off.
'Could be sleeping.'
It makes no sense that there's no night watch.
The reservist notice definitely came here, so where did everyone go?
Where, what?
They all died or scattered.
If it was wartime mobilization, the military unit would have come down here.
The fact that they're not here means even the military unit had a hard time saving their own lives.
'......'
That reservist guy came down last time, right? Was it 2 weeks ago? 3 weeks ago? Then did this place go under then?
I guess I'd have to go in to know...
The smell of corpses is strong.
Plus, some ominous feeling.
'It's scary to just go in blindly.'
I don't know what might be inside.
Even though I have Metal Manipulation, I can only block bullets; frankly, if someone swings an axe or hammer, I'm dead.
Infected are a given.
In that situation, going there with just a revolver and a crowbar is a bit much. Especially since a school would have many blind spots.
This couldn't be helped.
I have no choice but to change my target.
U-Gwang Apartment.
I'll pick the lock there, find some people, and get information about Eunha High School.
Because I have a gun.
I think there might be superpower users, but looking at the state of my ability, it's obvious what the others are like.
What if they have guns too?
My ability is crappy, but I block bullets well.
ㅡGrip
If I just use the revolver well, it'll work out. I turned my body back the way I came.