Cheering for a New Start - 2
Workbench. Doubting if that was really everything, I checked my status window, but it clearly conveyed the message: 'Your base has been created.'
Your base has been created.
I stared blankly at the workbench.
"This is... it?"
I hurriedly looked around, but all the women just shook their heads warily. It was only natural. No one who knew how bases were made would be wandering around here.
"Well, then... uh... let's get started, I guess."
I slowly approached the workbench. A hologram-like status window popped up.
"Hmm..."
I'd naturally assumed something like 'Add Facility' where I could just pay money and plop down buildings. A 'Purchasable' section did appear, but the items inside weren't buildings.
"Saw, hammer, shovel, axe..."
And they weren't cheap either. Not on the level of the insane cost to unlock a single room in my apartment, but still enough to make me think, 'Can normal people even afford this?'
Still, I needed these for now. There were no places nearby to scavenge tools like this. Tools began materializing one by one in the box under the workbench. After buying a few sets, I stared piercingly at the status window.
"Phew..."
No matter what I did from here, I'd have to build it myself. I let out a deep sigh.
"Well, first things first... shall we start with a house?"
"Yes! We'll work hard, so please just rest a bit and wait!"
I shook my head.
"I'll handle it for now."
The beginning had to be done by me. If problems arose or accidents happened, my direct involvement in the construction would let me fix mistakes quickly.
The status window was showing me something like an instruction manual. The kind with a vibe like 'Idiot-Proof Super-Speed Base Building!'
"So, from here to here... something like that?"
I laid down a few rocks to mark the safe zone the base had designated.
"It's... not as big as I thought?"
"Isn't that huge if it's all a safe zone?" Roa tilted her head.
"That much? But you need a safe zone for people to rest easy, right?"
"Rest easy?"
For a moment, I felt like an idiot. Roa, Sua, Seohee, and even the women who'd just moved into the apartment were staring at me with wide eyes.
"Y-yeah. You can't sleep soundly in a place where zombies could show up anytime, right?"
"Sleeping soundly... isn't that weird?"
Ah. I was thinking wrong about something.
Places like the orphanage, the hospital, and my apartment were exceptions in this world. Normal people wandered the streets, living in constant anxiety, never knowing when zombies might kill them. Even those in organizations weren't much different. At best, they had safe zones the size of one or two buildings, always ready to fight zombies.
"...Yeah. Everyone lives like that, huh."
I frowned.
"Still, building structures and moving people in right away would be too much."
"W-we're fine!"
I shook my head firmly.
"It's questionable if we'll even finish the base headquarters today, and even if we do, there are too many issues."
I didn't know how people in this world saw it, but by my standards, this land wasn't livable yet.
"Can't even make a proper shower room, and no decent lighting either. No electricity."
"That's plenty!"
"It's okay, it's okay."
I waved my hand to cut off the residents' protests.
"We still have one injured person, and no new guests have arrived, so let's just commute for now."
There was no time for arguments. I opened the base management status window again and checked the types of buildings and facilities I could construct.
Idiot-Proof Super-Speed Base Building Guide
Rough blueprints with basic instructions: "Do this to build that structure."
What I could see were manuals. Crude, rough blueprints showing only what needed to be done to build each structure. But with no skilled builders around, even these rough plans were precious to me.
"First off..."
Lucky or not, the required materials weren't complicated.
"Some foundation work, split some rocks, make logs..."
My head hurt a bit, but it didn't seem impossible.
"Guess I have to start."
I picked up the shovel. Looked like I'd be digging for a while.
//////
That same morning. The women sat ramrod straight in the living room, forcing down their trembling hearts.
The door opened.
"Hey, you all done eating? Once you're finished, let's get ready. No one's skipping out, right?"
Seohee walked in. The women replied in unison.
"No problems!"
They'd already received more grace than they deserved. Clean water, delicious food, comfortable beds. Just days ago, it had been unimaginable luck. Back then, they'd only prayed things like, 'Please don't let us meet zombies today.'
They didn't want to lose this fortune. So they strove to become 'obedient, good prisoners,' no matter what it took.
"Sheesh, why so stiff? Relax, relax. Our Master won't touch you as long as you follow the rules."
A rough-looking woman joked around. But the seated women couldn't relax. They had no idea what 'follow the rules' even meant.
"Anyway, can you head out now?"
"Yes!"
"Alright, let's go. He'll call for us too, so wait in front of the apartment for a bit."
Han Seohee, standing before them, smiled and led the way.
Out in the yard, the women whispered softly.
"G-good... seems okay for now."
"Still, we could get kicked out anytime. Whatever they ask, we gotta do it sincerely..."
"They won't use us as sacrifices or something, right?"
"They wouldn't heal the injured if that were the case. Stop overthinking and figure out how to work hard."
Some were anxious, others steeling their resolve. What they all agreed on deep down was that the man, Sunwoo, would use them like slaves from here on.
"We gotta... work hard. They feed us and let us sleep."
They figured there must be a reason he saved, fed, and sheltered them. But they vowed to endure whatever grueling labor came, no matter how harsh. Labor was expected once you joined an organization. In this era, everyone had to prove their worth. The powerful had no reason to keep useless weaklings around.
More important than the labor was whether the rewards matched—essentials like safety and food. But that man had already paid upfront, and the new women were mentally prepared to be faithful slaves.
With faint hopes, they followed him to the park. And a small commotion arose.
The 'new base' he'd mentioned wasn't a lie, but the place he called a 'base' was just an empty park. Still, they didn't despair. No monsters prowled nearby, and he didn't seem like the type to abandon them after some hard work.
But what happened next exceeded their expectations.
"Wha... what?"
The man with the shovel—the base's owner and their ruler—was digging away at the ground with gusto.
One of the new women approached Sua.
"Sh-should we... help?"
Sua wore a serious expression instead of the warm, bright smile she showed around her master.
"I'm thinking about it too."
Her face was coldly stern, but Sua was just deeply pondering.
"If we work all day, shed blood and sweat... to ease Master's burden even a little. If we can let him rest even one minute, we should—"
Extreme words, but the women agreed. It was ridiculous, but just watching him dig showed his strength. They'd never seen real heavy machinery in action, so no fitting metaphor came to mind, but they knew that speed was unnatural.
Submitting to such a man was natural. Striving not to upset him was instinctive.
"If we butt in, it'll... slow him down, right?"
No one could argue with Sua.
"Once Master finishes that, we'll ask what we can do. I have no experience either... so, uh, just rest for now."
Hearing that, the women relaxed a bit and took a break.
Something feels... off?
They'd imagined the boss or his woman barking, 'Dig from here to there!' and them grabbing shovels to toil. But now, they sat comfortably on benches, watching the man lead by example for their sake.
The pressure to obey faded from their hearts, replaced by a desire to revere and follow him.
The man was digging.