Chapter 35

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 35

Chapter Title: Finding a Car

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I had breakfast with the dried pollock soup cup rice I'd farmed from the convenience store.

It wasn't as good as something cooked from scratch, but it made for a solid hangover cure.

It was the same old notice I'd seen a million times in the game.

Probably the menus mentioned in the episode clear message had been added.

Opening the Status Window, I saw that the Navigation menu had been updated and a new Zombie AI menu had been added.

It was like the map function from the game had been ported over here.

Now I could search maps right from the Status Window.

It seemed like a question-based search function.

With the internet down, even something like a wiki search would be incredibly useful.

It looked just like ChatGPT.

Guess it dug up relevant info when I typed in a question.

'Just think it?'

What an amazing feature.

No need to type or speak.

I thought of the thing I was most curious about.

'Why did the Status Window appear in reality?'

It wouldn't answer because it was outside the system's allowed range.

There wasn't much else to ask about besides the Status Window or the system itself.

Curious how it responded, I tried something else.

'What's a good position for sex with a virgin?'

It rattled off the pros and cons of various positions.

I hadn't expected it to answer something like that, but it got surprisingly detailed.

A few more questions, and all the answers were satisfying.

'This could replace internet searches.'

After the zombie outbreak, communications went down first, then water, then power.

PCs and phones became useless right away.

That's why the navigation and search functions were such a godsend.

In a situation like this, information and knowledge were more vital to survival than anything.

"What're you thinking about?"

Ji-eun came over and sat beside me.

She'd said she was organizing the clothes from the mart, but she must've finished already.

"Oppa, you were a manager, right?"

She must've heard from Yun-ji.

I'd only told Yun-ji about being a manager.

"Yeah, I was."

"KG Entertainment..."

"Yep. Actor Team 1."

"Actor Team..."

She seemed lost in thought.

"Then you must know Seo-young."

"Han Seo-young?"

"Yeah."

I'd blissfully forgotten about her for days.

Thinking of that bitch made my head throb.

"Managed her for about a year. Why? You two close?"

"We're close. She's my school junior, and we've done a few projects together. The media hypes us as rivals, which gets annoying."

This world loved manufacturing rivalries.

Pair up similars, spice it up, and views were guaranteed.

Song Ji-eun and Han Seo-young were perfect for that.

Both top-class actresses with killer looks—their popularity made for endless comparisons.

"Your face soured. Didn't like Seo-young?"

"Hated her guts. She acted like she couldn't rest until she'd devoured me. Wonder how I survived a year."

"Hmm..."

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at me.

"What?"

"It's just surprising that Seo-young bullied you. Into that kind of thing?"

"What thing? Easy to bully?"

"I know a habit of hers that people don't."

"Habit? What habit?"

"When she likes someone, she starts by bullying them. To make them focus only on her."

What a habit...

Wait.

"What? So you're saying Han Seo-young had a thing for me?"

"Who knows. Maybe she did, or maybe she just hated your face."

She smiled enigmatically and headed back to the others.

Han Seo-young liking me?

Ridiculous.

It just said one episode was done—no hints on what came next.

Best to do what I could in the meantime.

No telling when it'd tell me to rescue someone else.

'What to do first?'

All I knew right now was the episode evaluation.

I reviewed the mix of praise and advice.

Dominant trait is progressing correctly.

Actively utilize the heroines' erogenous zones.

Stock up on more Life Kits.

No means of transport—prepare one.

Increase skill usage frequency.

'Trait's on track, erogenous zones I can focus when needed, Life Kits I'll buy as points allow, skill uses'll ramp up with daily practice.'

What was left was transportation—a vehicle.

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had my beat-up commuter car, but it'd be packed tight with just the four of us.

'Long trips mean loading gear too.'

There'd even been a road movie arc where we roamed in a camper van.

A manager's car was practically an extension of himself—I might have to tool around in one.

We needed a mobile shelter, and my current ride wouldn't cut it.

"Gather 'round. Let's talk."

We needed to farm a usable vehicle, not food or clothes.

"So, we're going somewhere else?"

"Not yet. But I don't know what the system'll throw at us. If it sends us far to rescue people or solve problems, we'll need a car that fits us plus gear."

I went with "system" since calling it some vague "existence" felt awkward.

This wasn't a normal world anyway—no one'd care what I called it.

"What about a camper van?"

Bora suggested.

"Camper van?"

"Yeah, Oppa had one."

Apparently, Oppa loved camping and modded a van into one.

"We went every weekend with Unni. Not huge, but the seats folded into a bed, it had a toilet, and tons of cargo space."

"That'd be great if we had one, but where do you find a camper van? They're not as common as sedans."

I knew camping was booming, with rental outfits for gear and cars.

But in this mess? Good luck tracking one down.

"I know ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠where there's a camper van."

Huh?

It was Ji-eun, who'd been sitting quietly.

"The CEO's a camping freak—always parks it in the company lot. We even did a web variety show with agency kids in it."

Totally unexpected intel.

A camper van right nearby.

"I rode in it once. The interior setup was insane. For, uh, what was it? Car camping?"

"Car-camping, yeah."

"Right, that."

"Whoa, the company CEO's camper's gotta be top-tier. I wanna check it out."

Yun-ji's eyes sparkled.

Curious about Ji-eun's camper, I asked Zombie AI.

'Mir Entertainment CEO has a camper van. Look it up.'

Ji-eun's agency, Mir Entertainment, posted web shows on their official channel.

There had to be articles—any decent AI search should find it.

If not, it'd be worthless.

It was a Mercedes-Benz e-Sprinter converted into a camper.

Car price plus mods came to hundreds of millions of won. A beast.

The good news: e-Sprinter was an EV-only line.

As I read the summary from the AI, a camera icon popped up in the corner.

'What's that icon? Looks like a camera.'

Every feature under the sun.

'Gotta capture this and show the girls.'

I captured it and floated it in the air.

Their eyes went wide.

"Whoa, what's this?"

"System's got a search function. CEO must've bragged—articles everywhere. This the one?"

"Yeah, that's it. Photo's from the actor team trip."

"Why didn't you go?"

"Don't like wandering around."

Ah, gotcha.

"Oppa! Let's go get this car. Long trips might mean sleeping outside."

"Yeah, Master. I wanna sleep in it."

They kept begging, but a camper wasn't strictly necessary.

A decent pickup truck for gear would've solved most issues.

I opened the Status Window and searched for the Mir Entertainment building.

On the map, my studio was a red dot, the building a black one.

Like a car navi, it drew the shortest route.

'Distance 27km, car 38 minutes, walking... 9 hours 2 minutes. Damn.'

Not a walking distance.

Even by car, jams meant detours and endless looping.

Pity about the camper, but finding an alternative nearby was the smart play.

'Gotta tell the girls to scout for pickups or something.'