24. Hello

Leaving behind the grotesque scene staged by the three zombies, I finished searching the eerily quiet sixth floor. That's when my phone buzzed with a quest completion alert.

In response to the system's question about checking the new option right away, I moved from room 603—littered with dead zombies—to 604 instead. I closed the front door and tapped the 'Yes' button.

With some spare points and the need to block zombies or threatening survivors on other floors, I immediately invested 30 MP in 'Barricade Construction'. Following the system's instructions with a few taps, a barbed wire fence—far sturdier than anything I'd seen in the military—appeared at the sixth-floor stairwell entrance.

"Oh... this is better than I expected."

The fence was solidly fixed to the walls and floor, as if it had been there since the apartment was built. Even shaking it by hand, it didn't budge an inch. It looked like it could hold off a horde of zombies. Plus, it had a gate wide enough for one person to pass, making it practical too. For a moment, I even felt a sense of 'security'.

I set up another fence at the eighth-floor stairwell entrance, then headed straight back home where Aunt Hye-yeon was waiting.

Clunk.

"Minwoo!"

The door had barely opened when Hye-yeon auntie rushed over with a face full of relief, arms outstretched for a hug. Part of me wanted to scoop her up, bury my face in those luscious tits, and grab handfuls of her 40-inch hips... but the zombie fluids splattered all over my suit made that impossible.

Not just because it'd dirty her fresh clothes—it might harm her skin too. So, reluctantly, I stopped her with my bare hands, gloves off.

"Auntie, hold on. The suit's covered in zombie blood and guts..."

"Oh... okay..."

Rejected by me—the guy she'd fucked endlessly last night—she couldn't hide her disappointed expression or awkward tone. Seeing her like that made her even cuter and more lovable. Holding back a smile, I leaned in and whispered softly in her ear.

"I'll hug you plenty ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠later. Until nightfall."

"Haa... pervert♡"

Once things were somewhat sorted, my euphemism for lots of dirty fun drew a lewd smile from her. Calling me a 'pervert' with those sultry eyes had blood rushing south, but dealing with the zombie corpses scattered on the sixth and seventh floors came first.

Leaving them to rot with their black blood oozing would fill our new homes with a horrific stench...

....

"Ugh... gross."

Thud!

While I tossed the bodies out the window, auntie—wearing a disposable raincoat—wiped up the black blood and fluids splattered across the hallway and interiors with a rag. After I finished with the corpses, we both scrubbed the stains for about an hour. Aside from the deeply soaked wallpaper, everything looked almost pre-apocalypse clean.

"Phew... all done. You worked hard today, Minwoo."

"Yeah... I did. So let's wash up quick and..."

As I let out my pent-up lust toward auntie, who was wiping sweat from my forehead with a handkerchief from her pocket, a woman's voice came from outside room 604—right by the fence.

"Is anyone there~?"

A slightly slurred feminine tone. I grabbed my crossbow and headed to the door, while auntie picked up her kitchen knife spear and followed.

The sturdy barbed wire was there, but the owner of that unknown voice might be armed. Aiming my crossbow, I slowly edged out, narrowing the angle.

Soon, beyond the solidly placed fence at the stairwell, a woman came into view. A blonde foreigner gripping a massive fire axe.

Our eyes met through the wire, and the stranger—whose name I didn't know yet—gave an awkward smile and greeted me.

"H-hello~."

"Uh... hello?"

"P-please save me~."

....

Clank... creak...

First, I told her to drop the axe, and the blonde foreigner obeyed without hesitation. Keeping my guard up, I cautiously opened the fence gate. Raising both hands, she stepped inside slowly and bowed deeply.

"Th-thank you for s-saving me."

She didn't stop there, bowing repeatedly from the waist. In the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠process, her heavy breasts jiggled assertively over her black t-shirt. Fixing her slightly tousled hair, she introduced herself.

"Um... f-first, my name is Catherine. You can call me Cathy if you want."

For some reason, she pointed to her bulging chest while saying her name. Then she began explaining how she'd ended up here.

"I got out of the US army and teach English nearby. Went out for lunch like usual, but zombies with no moms jumped out. So I ran and came ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to this apartment."

"Did you build the barricade at the first-floor entrance, Catherine?"

"Yes, that's right. I blocked it the first night."

"You couldn't have done that alone. Are there survivors downstairs?"

"Yes. 11 people. Nine women, two men... but all no moms..."

When I asked about survivors below, anger flashed across her face as she called them 'no moms'. Her blue eyes, which had seemed kind, trembled slightly—something bad had clearly happened.

"Why no moms? What went down below?"

Grind...

Asking what had happened with the survivors over the past two days, Catherine gritted her teeth, breathing heavily. But after a deep breath, she started from the beginning, when she'd first entered the apartment.

"Hoo... First day, I blocked the entrance and cleared up to the fifth floor, then those no-moms crawled out."

****

Catherine Smith. At 34 years old, she'd served 12 years in the US army while earning a degree on the side. Crossing to Korea— a place that had always interested her—she'd been teaching English at an academy.

Six months in, she was enjoying teaching kids more than expected and Seoul's safe life. Then the unimaginable 'zombie apocalypse' hit—right in the middle of lunch.

"Fuck! Shit! Son of a bitch!"

Hell unfolding in downtown Seoul. Armed with an axe she'd picked up midway, spewing curses, she desperately broke through until she reached Pu-reum Apartment, where Kim Minwoo now stayed.

After securing floors 1 through 5, and that night building a barricade at the entrance with late-emerging residents, she'd thought she'd get along well with the survivors.

But human selfishness and ugliness in a 'survival' situation were far more vicious than imagined.

"Whew, thanks miss."

"Thank you, thank you."

With the barricade up and minimal safety secured, the residents wiped their mouths clean and retreated to their homes. A kindly 60-something man invited her in, giving her a late meal and bed... but that's when Catherine's ordeal began.

The next day. Gathered in a third-floor apartment to discuss future plans.

"We need to clear up to the 20th floor for safety and resources until rescue."

When she emphasized securing all rooms on the 3- and 4-unit lines per floor, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠40s and 50s women residents voted against it.

"Government says army's coming back in a week—no need to take risks."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Everyone's got two weeks' food, so let's talk later if things change."

Catherine could accept that. Unlike her with nothing, they had homes—not desperate yet. No wonder they didn't want danger.

But then unexpected 'tribal snobbery' hit her.

"Anyway, why's that foreign chick butting in? Not even a resident."

"Yeah... and a grown woman going into a single guy's place without fear..."

Even as the world crumbled, they couldn't drop their prejudices, badmouthing their benefactor Catherine. She could overlook the gossip... but the incident that second night flipped her thinking completely.

"Thanks for the meal and room, mister."

Thanking house owner Lee Chang-seop again for the bed, Catherine drifted off, vowing to convince some for upstairs searches tomorrow. About three hours later, as she lay on her side, someone pressed against her back.

Then rough hands lifted the blanket, groping her massive breasts.

Squish♡

Her eyes and mouth snapped open.

"You f-fucking bastard!!"