Chapter 28
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Shelter D Retrieval
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I was heading to Shelter D, but I didn’t hold out much hope of getting my supplies back. Sure, the genre had changed, but this was still the ‘Apocalypse’ world overrun by the zombie virus.
In a world where people swindle even their own families and relatives just to secure resources, it was hardly surprising if they did the same to total strangers.
‘I hope Zixuan hands it over nicely.’
All I could do was desperately wish that Zixuan hadn’t revealed her abilities in front of the survivors. A healer’s powers would look incredibly appealing to them.
In this world with no proper doctors or medical supplies, a healer was an ‘indispensable’ existence—nothing more than empty words otherwise. If the survivors learned about Zixuan’s abilities, would they really let her go that easily?
‘No, probably not.’
In the worst case, we could end up in open hostility with Shelter D. Of course, that was just the worst-case scenario, and I could only pray it didn’t come to that.
For one thing, I didn’t want to turn against fellow humans… and survivors could be pretty tricky opponents.
Lost in these thoughts, I arrived at the walls of Shelter D. It was the barrier the survivors there called the ‘Steel Wall.’
True to its name, the sturdy steel barrier was impervious even to variant zombies.
Well, impervious to them breaking through, anyway. They could climb over or crawl up just fine.
Zombies lay scattered in front of Shelter D’s walls.
There were plenty of decayed corpses, but also many fresh ones that hadn’t rotted yet. Probably recent kills. I looked up at the top of the wall.
A male survivor standing atop it spotted me and aimed his gun.
“Who are you?”
His face was full of suspicion. He was probably wondering if I was a scavenger. To clear up the misunderstanding, I set down the gun I was carrying and spoke.
“I’m from Shelter A. I got a note saying Zixuan came here, so I’ve come to find her.”
“Zixuan? Who’s that?”
Is he lying? I stared at him, but his expression seemed genuine—he really didn’t know.
He didn’t look like he was acting. The situation was clear: Zixuan had definitely entered Shelter D, so what do I do if they claim ignorance?
That’s when it happened, as I stood there stumped. A black-haired Western woman appeared next to the man. I recognized her face. She was Sophia, one of Shelter D’s main NPCs.
“Park Si-hyun?”
Since she knew my name, it looked like Sophia was the one who’d brought Zixuan here. I nodded.
“That’s right.”
“Just as you said, we have Zixuan with us.”
“Please return her to me.”
Sophia shrugged.
“Well, before we hand her over, there’s a promise you need to keep first.”
“A promise?”
“I’d like half of the supplies you have. Canned goods and bottled water, mainly.”
It was as good as telling me to empty my pockets.
“…Understood.”
Of course, I had no real choice but to accept her demand. My stomach churned with anger, but they were only taking half… what could I do?
“Don’t take it too hard. We don’t want to do this either… Just think of it as rice cake money. Like you’re sharing some because you’ve met good neighbors.”
Her brazen tone made me want to curse inwardly.
Who gives out rice cakes by forking over half their entire fortune? But I kept a straight face and nodded. No need to scowl and invite more trouble.
‘At least it’s not the worst case.’
They took some supplies, but it hadn’t escalated to the nightmare scenario.
“Wait just a—”
She didn’t get to finish. I turned to follow her gaze—behind me. Several variant zombies were charging at me.
I grabbed my assault rifle.
Bang, bang, bang.
The assault rifle spat fire. A hail of bullets dropped three or four variant zombies. But two broke through the barrage and closed in on me.
They were Drags—more alien-like than zombie, straight out of something like Metal Slug. This one’s elongated tentacles wrapped around me. Drags were like gentlemen of the zombie world; if you died to one, you didn’t turn into a zombie. That’s where the name came from. Get bound by its tentacles, and it’d suck you dry like a mummy until you died.
Of course, wearing Aegis, I had no such worries.
I flexed my muscles. Drags’ grips were tough to escape normally, but Aegis’s +10 strength boost made it possible.
As its grip loosened, I swung my fist into the Drag’s triangular head.
The triangle turned into a mangled square. Fluids gushed from the torn wound. I ripped it open wider and plunged my fist inside, thrashing around.
The Drag struggled violently, but once its brain was mashed like crushed potatoes, it went still. Next… the Jumper’s elongated claws raked at me. Naturally, they did no damage. Aegis’s defense wasn’t something a jump-specialized Jumper could pierce.
I grabbed its claws and yanked. Snap. They shattered. I kicked it away, aimed my assault rifle at its head, and pulled the trigger.
Bang, bang.
Critical hits with just two shots, and it crumpled. I caught my breath. Feeling eyes on me, I glanced up at the wall.
The survivors stared in awe. Sophia was no exception. Only Zixuan, whom she’d brought along, beamed at me.
“Si-hyun!”
Soon the shelter gate opened, and I entered Shelter D.
“Is that guy even human?”
“I knew something was off when he strolled in with zombies trailing him like a tail. You think that looks human?”
Sophia shook her head.
“But… what if he holds a grudge over the supplies and turns on us?”
The words came from the male survivor who’d just aimed his gun at Park Si-hyun. The others fell into thought.
A monster who smashed mutants barehanded—even ripping heads apart in close combat. If he turned hostile…
The mere thought was horrifying.
“He won’t.”
“We should just kill him now…”
Sophia shook her head again.
“Don’t talk crazy. Didn’t you see what he was wearing? A power suit. A power suit—one you’d need a grenade launcher to breach head-on.”
Sophia meant it to calm the crowd, but instead, their eyes gleamed with greed, contrary to her intent.
“Then we just take that power suit, right?”
“With that, scavenging would be a breeze.”
“Don’t get greedy, you idiots. Fail, and that psycho will come at us with everything he’s got. Try it if you think you can handle it. And… crucially, we’re not scavengers. If you’re that pissed, I’m out—do it yourselves.”
The group exchanged uneasy glances.
* * *
“I’m so glad you’re alive.”
“Sorry… because of me…”
Zixuan looked dejected. I shook my head.
“It’s not your fault, Zixuan. You’re safe, that’s what matters. Help me load that.”
“Okay.”
She carefully stacked the crates onto the truck. Shelter D had plenty of trucks, so we’d borrowed one. Normally they wouldn’t lend them out easily, but Sophia had generously offered.
I knew full well that accepting favors like this just piled on debt, but I took it anyway. Worst case, they’d demand payment I didn’t have.
Speaking of which, they’d said half the supplies, but it felt like they’d taken way more. The canned goods and water looked more like a tenth.
I knew complaining wouldn’t get them back, so I didn’t bother. I just glared at the survivors guarding the supplies.
“W-Why are you looking at me like that?”
A female survivor flinched. What, did I eat someone? All I did was give a dirty look—why the overreaction?
“Oh, just that my stuff seems to have shrunk a lot.”
“I-I don’t know anything about that.”
No one said you did. I turned away from her and resumed loading. I’d originally planned to hole up in the munitions factory making android robots until John Bear was ready, but that was changing.
I needed to secure food and water. Enough for the two of us for at least a year. Impossible in the factory district where finding food was like reaching for stars, so I’d have to venture outside.
“Si-hyun, Si-hyun, you were so cool earlier.”
She hummed coyly through her nose.
“…What’s with the tone?”
Must’ve picked up some weird habit while I wasn’t looking.
“The NPC kid taught me. Calling a name twice means you’re close.”
I tried it out.
“Zixuan, Zixuan.”
“Oh, that’s a bit…”
We loaded the supplies onto the truck steadily, finishing up quickly.
At least the solar generators and other parts for Sirius 2 that I’d brought were left untouched. Not that they could use them anyway.
We climbed into the truck and headed to the munitions factory. A male survivor who’d tagged along asked if he could come inside. I told him to scram.
They’d already taken their cut—what, trying to rob me blind now?
“You’ll regret this.”
Hurt by the dismissal, he muttered bitterly as he vanished with the truck. Hope you don’t regret it yourself. Run into some variants on the road.
Thinking that, I placed my hand on the main gate. Rumble. Using Metal Transformation, the gate rumbled open. We entered.
“It’s safe inside, right?”
“I took care of all the zombies.”
Of course, the gruesome traces—zombie corpses and bloodstains—remained. Like at the mart, I’d need to clean up the bodies here too.
No telling how long we’d stay, but living with zombie corpses wasn’t happening.
“We can rest easy tonight.”
“I’ll make sure we rest easy from now on.”
I planned to turn this place into the ‘ultimate shelter.’ One outsiders couldn’t even dream of.
For now, it was just the beginning.