Stocking the Warehouse – Hari's Defiant Raid
Lee Hari bit her lip hard. Around her, four girls held their breath, ears pressed to the sounds coming from inside the room.
"Hnnngh..."
It was a moan. They weren't kids anymore—not so young that they didn't know what it meant when a man and woman shared a room and the woman cried out like that.
Seon Yeowon was their friend, their mother, their leader. Everyone respected her thoughts and followed them. They knew she was the only one who could care for these orphanage kids, abandoned by the world, with genuine love.
But now she was grieving. In pain. Hurting.
"Honestly, she doesn't sound that pained..." whispered a girl behind Hari.
"Bullshit," Hari snapped, grabbing her shoulder. "You have no idea what's happening in there... Trust me."
She'd seen it with her own eyes—men and women coupling. In this world, parents treated their kids like accessories. Maybe not mothers, but fathers? They were all like that. They'd fuck a woman right in front of their daughters, treating the girls like background noise without a second thought. And it was a horrific, agonizing ordeal.
Damn it...
Men got off on seeing women suffer. They felt conquered when their possessions bled. Hari knew it all too well. That's why it had to hurt. She could imagine exactly what was happening behind that door.
"..."
Part of her wanted to bust in right then, charge at that bastard of a man. But she couldn't.
Goddamn it...
She was scared. Terrified. She knew better than anyone what horrors a man could inflict.
That humiliation made her feel even more pathetic.
From the start...!
Hari respected Yeowon, but she didn't agree with everything. To save all the kids, some had to be sacrificed—that was just reality. And kids who couldn't fulfill their duties even after growing up? They got discarded. That was natural.
But Yeowon refused to accept it. And because of her naive compassion, the whole orphanage was in danger. Danger enough that the director was offering her body to some guy she'd barely met.
"Let's head down."
Lingering here was pointless. They'd confirmed what was happening inside.
Once downstairs, Hari scanned the girls around her.
"Fuck, you get it, right? Director's in that mess because of us."
"We know, but..."
"There's nothing we can do. We can't stop it—"
The other girls averted their eyes, trailing off.
"Sure, nothing right now. But you wanna keep watching this shit every time? That asshole bringing worthless supplies and fucking our director?"
The little girls playing on the first floor perked up at Hari's words, eyes sparkling.
"What's bro doing?"
"What were you and the director up to?"
Hari scowled, shooing the brats away. With the director's softer touch gone, keeping discipline in the orphanage always fell to her.
"So... what do we do?" A girl beside her peeked up cautiously.
"We get the supplies ourselves. If we've got enough food, she won't have to take that guy."
"The convenience store nearby is empty?"
"Not that one. Somewhere else. I've already scouted it."
Hari sometimes borrowed Yeowon's rifle, climbing to the roof to surveil the area. Naturally, she'd spotted new supply points—and even seen that man's car parked near one.
It wasn't far. One kilometer. Maybe closer.
"It's not like we've never gone out before, right?"
"But that's..."
They'd only dashed to the convenience store 100 meters away, under Yeowon's cover fire from the roof. Running to a real supply point for loot? That was worlds more dangerous.
"Director said never to go out!"
"Sh-she'll chew us out if we get back. It's too risky!"
Hari grabbed the girl by the collar.
"Then what?"
Her icy glare pierced deep into the girl's chest.
"Our director's getting fucked in there, and you're not even willing to risk your life? You a coward too? Like Kim Haena?"
Hari invoked the name of the girl no longer at the orphanage—the root cause of this mess.
"You always gotta say it like that!"
The girl, taking the comparison as an insult, shoved Hari's arm away.
Hari spoke calmly.
"We can do it."
She declared it confidently, as if failure wasn't an option.
"We can. Got it?"
"..."
"Grab your weapons. We go while the director's tied up. Clear?"
The black-haired woman and blonde delinquent who'd come with the man watched them worriedly. Hari frowned, slung on her backpack, and grabbed her rifle.
If food shortages forced Yeowon to sell her body, Hari would make sure food was never short again.
Even if it cost her life.
"Fire! No elite monsters! Just drop 'em!"
They might be nearly adults, but they were still minors. Levels weren't high, armor was nonexistent, and proper weapons? Forget it. One rusty single-shot rifle, one crossbow, two clubs. Hari's military assault rifle looked decent, but against Anseongu zombies, it felt shaky.
Still, her orders were crisp.
"Smash the closest ones first! Front line, hold position! One stray bullet in the back and you're done for!"
They had solid marksmanship, but no real combat experience. Facing charging zombies, they couldn't aim calmly like in training.
That's where the front line mattered—they had to buy time, reassure the ranged fighters.
"Run and you eat a bullet to the skull! Don't let 'em bite—sever the neck and drop 'em!"
Hari barked orders nonstop, but her hands weren't idle. Each crack from her rifle shattered a zombie skull reliably.
"Ha... that's it! We won!"
Luckily, no elites. Faster and tougher than zombies elsewhere, sure—but just mindless biters. Hari's group mowed them down fast. No injuries.
"Sc-scary..."
"You gonna sit there shaking? We won! That's what counts!"
Hari extended a hand to the slumped girl.
"Don't grab it and you die."
"Ugh..."
The girl reluctantly took it and got yanked upright.
"More zombies? No problem. Just like this. Got it?"
"Yeah..."
They pressed on.
...This is risky.
Hari had sounded confident, but her face was grim. Ammo and stamina were limited. They'd eaten recently, but not full. Two or three more fights—or one elite—and they'd be wiped.
"Move fast. You wanna loiter in these streets?"
"Got it..."
Lady Luck smiled. No resistance en route—they reached the mart intact.
"Whoa..."
"Tons of food! If we can haul this..."
"Can't we eat first? I'm starving..."
Hari yelled, face twisted.
"Shut it! Secure the inside first. Supply points can have hidden zombies—you know that!"
Unlike the others, Hari had elite training: mercenary tactics as an officer, marksmanship as a soldier, zombie countermeasures as a survivor.
All to make her the "perfect offering."
"Group up, check for zombies, scarf high-cal snacks in five minutes flat, grab food, and bounce! You hear—"
Something moved in Hari's sight.
"...Huh?"
Not a zombie. A person. A familiar face.
Kim Haena. The coward she used to live with at the orphanage—the one she now despised—stood right there.
"Freeze, you bitch!!!"
Hari charged, sanity gone. Haena's anxious eyes met Hari's razor-sharp glare.