Chapter 15
Chapter 15
After crossing the highway,
we finally entered Sejong City.
Looking around the area—
“There’s nothing here.”
“Seriously.”
There were barely any zombies or people around.
Aside from a few ordinary zombies, the number wandering the streets was less than a tenth of what we saw in Daejeon.
The streets being this empty actually felt strange.
“But isn’t this good news? It means they regularly clear out the zombies.”
“That’s true.”
Honestly, this was something to view positively.
It meant they were actively maintaining the streets.
And it probably meant supplies were plentiful too.
You couldn’t keep clearing zombies like this unless you had enough resources to spare.
“Anyway, let’s head to the shelter.”
At this point, we didn’t even need the map anymore.
There were tire tracks all over the ground.
“Looks like they trade with a lot of places.”
“Seems like it.”
There were tracks from countless vehicles.
Even large cargo trucks.
And if they could operate trucks regularly, it meant they had enough fuel to support them.
After walking for several more minutes—
“There.”
“Oh…”
Something like a massive steel fortress came into view.
That was the Sejong Shelter.
“Damn… it’s huge.”
“No kidding.”
Even the gates alone were as large as ordinary buildings.
Guards stood atop the walls, and lights had been installed at intervals.
At night, those lights would probably be visible from far away.
But—
“What are those people doing?”
“Huh? Yeah…”
There was a crowd gathered in front of the shelter.
Most of them looked like drifters.
“Ah. No entry permits?”
“That’s rough…”
To enter the shelter, you needed qualifications.
At minimum, being a young adult in your twenties, having engineering knowledge, possessing food supplies, and things like that.
Only people with useful skills, youth, or resources could enter.
But—
“Look over there.”
“…Hmm.”
Near the gates,
people were being screened one by one.
It looked like they were allowing entry in sequence.
And on top of that—
people wearing black armor-like uniforms moved through the crowd personally checking for infected individuals.
“At least they seem responsible.”
“Yeah.”
Our first impression of the shelter was surprisingly good.
They were actually trying to take care of the people outside.
“We should be able to get in, right?”
“Yeah. You brought food, didn’t you?”
“Of course.”
I planned to use the large amount of food I pulled from the darkroom as our entry ticket.
Eventually it became our turn.
-This is a quarantine zone. Please follow instructions.
Lee Sua and I were separated.
Apparently men and women were processed separately.
As instructed, I stepped forward, and a tired-looking employee questioned me.
“Are you Korean?”
“Yes.”
“Please pronounce ‘probability distribution table.’”
“Probability distribution table.”
“Confirmed.”
…That was the test?
Honestly, it felt ridiculous.
It was way too easy.
But listening behind me—
“Pwobabibity dis…trib…”
“You may leave.”
Some people were failing.
Looks like they weren’t accepting foreigners or mentally unstable people.
I moved to the next section.
Questions about why I came, my school history, personality evaluations, and similar things.
After somehow passing that—
I arrived at the inspection checkpoint.
The officer there wore combat gear.
A sergeant.
He inspected my body thoroughly before speaking.
“Temperature normal. No bite marks. No weapons.”
Passed immediately.
“So far it’s easy, huh?”
Looking around, I saw some people being locked into isolation rooms, while others were escorted into suspicious containers alongside soldiers.
“…Hmm.”
Looks like anyone clearly infected was executed immediately.
Anyway.
There was one final step.
“Do you possess exceptional talent, knowledge, information, abilities, or supplies?”
This time it was a female soldier.
She wore glasses and looked incredibly strict.
But after checking her rank insignia, I understood immediately.
Master Sergeant. Administrative Supply Officer.
“…Yeah, that explains it.”
I showed her my backpack.
Inside was the large amount of food Lee Sua and I had divided up earlier.
The supply officer nodded repeatedly before smiling in satisfaction.
“Passed.”
Then she took the backpack and let me through.
‘Wait. My food.’
Well, whatever.
At least I got inside.
After passing the screening, I was finally allowed into the shelter proper.
Several soldiers stood near the entrance and handed me something.
“This is an electronic bracelet. Do not lose it under any circumstances.”
It looked like a smartwatch.
When I checked the display, there were strange numbers and a currency balance shown.
So this place also used a monetary system.
“That’s interesting… there are guides too.”
Some people acted as guides, explaining things, while newcomers like me listened carefully like baby birds.
‘You’re free, but if you act recklessly, your citizen score decreases.’
That was the simplified explanation.
Apparently this place used something called Citizen Points.
At -5 points, you were automatically exiled.
At -10 points, executed.
Crimes like rape, murder, and robbery immediately dropped you to -10.
“Damn… feels kind of communist, but…”
Still, nothing controlled people better than a system like this.
“Is Sua still processing?”
It seemed like her screening was taking longer.
“Should I look around?”
I was curious about the shelter interior.
So I wandered around aimlessly.
“Oh…”
There was an apartment complex.
I stopped a passerby.
“Excuse me. How do you get into those apartments?”
“Uh… only high-ranking officials and soldiers can live there.”
“Ah… normal citizens can’t?”
“Not really. Though I heard if your citizen rank and money are high enough, you can. Not sure though.”
“I see. Thanks.”
After sending the man off, I stared at the apartments again.
They looked ridiculously comfortable.
Sure, apartments were cramped, but they solved electricity, heating, and water all at once.
“…I want one.”
As I stood there drooling mentally—
“What are you doing? Let’s go.”
Lee Sua appeared behind me.
She was also wearing an electronic bracelet now.
“Where?”
“To work?”
“…Work?”
What was she talking about?
Did she hit her head?
“Aren’t we hunting zombies?”
“Zombies? Where are zombies here?”
“There are supposedly tons underground. Apparently they pay money if you kill them.”
“…Really?”
That was excellent news.
At this point, Lee Sua and I could practically be called zombie specialists.
We were natural counters to zombies.
“How much per zombie?”
“10,000 won.”
“That’s it?”
“Hey, one ramen packet costs 5,000 won here.”
“…What?!”
Did I hear that right?
Ramen that used to cost 700 won was now 5,000.
“Seven times the price…”
The inflation was insane.
“Then water costs…”
“4,000 won.”
“Holy shit.”
One zombie.
And you had to physically drag back proof of the corpse just to earn 10,000 won.
Meaning people had to risk their lives killing one or two zombies just to eat one meal a day.
To ordinary civilians, a gas burner, water, and a pack of ramen literally cost lives.
“But won’t everyone die like this?”
If there were zombies underground, then they could potentially come up, couldn’t they?
Wouldn’t that become a disaster?
“They said the structure makes that impossible.”
“…”
“You’ll understand when we get there.”
Acting completely confident, Lee Sua led me toward the zombie hunting grounds.
Zombie Hunting Grounds.
A place beneath the Sejong Shelter overflowing with zombies.
Being underground, it was incredibly dark and dangerous.
The moment we approached the entrance, cold air rose upward.
The smell was completely different from the surface.
“Ah… so this is why they said zombies can’t come up.”
“Yeah.”
There were many paths leading toward the hunting grounds.
But—
there was no way zombies could climb up.
“This ladder is… thirty meters long?!”
We had to descend using a massive steel ladder.
Thirty whole meters.
Almost the height of an apartment building.
“No wonder they can’t climb.”
There were several ladders though.
About three.
Some new ones were still being installed.
“Those people…”
“Looks like they just came back from hunting.”
They looked like young men in their twenties.
Each one wore exhausted expressions while handing zombie parts to soldiers.
Dark circles filled their eyes.
Faces of people who had fought too long.
“Ah. So you don’t need to bring the whole corpse back.”
“Looks like it.”
Apparently bringing just the zombie’s nose was enough proof.
“Judging from them, most people kill about two zombies before returning.”
“Yeah… that’s the safest way.”
If you got greedy, you could easily become a zombie yourself.
There was a reason the reward was only 10,000 won per zombie.
“Let’s go.”
“Sure.”
We started climbing down the ladder.
Thirty meters had never felt so long before.
Thud! Thud!
The moment Lee Sua and I landed, the sound echoed through the underground like a cave.
The place resembled a mine.
Cold, damp air.
Uneven ground beneath our feet.
The distant sound of dripping water echoed somewhere in the darkness.
“Were they trying to build an underground bunker?”
“No clue. But lower your voice. The echoes are bad.”
We scanned our surroundings using headlamps.
Maybe because of the cold, goosebumps rose across my skin.
Then—
CLANG!
Someone was fighting zombies nearby.
A teenage boy swung a metal baseball bat desperately.
Judging by how thin he looked, he clearly wasn’t eating properly.
Bruises covered his arms.
And beside him—
stood a young girl.
Probably his little sister.
As we watched silently—
“What are you staring at?”
Wow. What a sharp personality.
Lee Sua seemed to find it adorable and spoke first.
“Hey! Are you two alone? Want to hunt zombies with us?”
“Who’re you calling kid, lady?”
“…What?”
Lee Sua’s expression instantly froze.
I barely managed to suppress my laughter while desperately stopping her.
“Hey hey, he’s just a kid!”
“There’s no juvenile protection law anymore. Let me go for a second.”
After somehow calming her down—
“Big bro will help you. Let’s move together.”
At my words, the kids hesitated slightly.
“I don’t think they’re bad people, oppa.”
“…Still…”
“Trust my instincts for once. I’ve never been wrong.”
Unable to beat his younger sister’s insistence, the teenage boy reluctantly agreed.
“Names?”
“Kang Taesan. And this is Kang Jua.”
“I’m Choi Han. This is Lee Sua.”
Just like that, we formed a party.
After teaming up,
we began searching for zombies.
Near the entrance, most had already been cleared out by other hunters.
But the deeper we went—
the louder the zombie noises became.
“Grrr…”
“Urrr…”
Hearing the massive number of zombies, Kang Taesan tightened his grip on the bat nervously.
“Hey, don’t worry. Big bro’s got this.”
I confidently stepped forward.
“Like this!”
I threw a punch at the approaching zombie.
Then—
-Level Up!
“Huh?”
A sudden level up notification appeared out of nowhere.
Then—
-Level 10 achieved.
-Dimensional Category unlocked.
-Choose one: Apocalypse, Cyberpunk, Murim, Immortal Cultivation, Spirit Realm…