Rubber-Band Crossbow
I loosened my grip just a little on the man's throat.
"Save me?"
"You were aiming for revenge on me, weren't you?"
"I-I didn't know... I'm sorry... I'll never..."
"What should I trust you with to save you?"
"Please... never... my food is..."
"No, I'll get food and bring it to you... please..."
"Hey."
"Y-Yes...?"
"Did you make that yourself? The crossbow that looks like a stonebow."
"Y-Yes... I have some hand skills... and I'm interested in crossbows and bows... if you want, you can take it."
I released him and pulled him to his feet.
"I'll let you live. Can you make more of that and give it to me?"
"O-Of course. I'll give you the rubber-band crossbow too... and I'll get food for you."
"Food's fine. What I want first is that thing. Make multiple bolts. That's the condition for saving you. If you want, I can take you on raids... no, farming too. The food I get from farming, I'll divide some with you."
"R-Really?"
"Yeah. Shit, weren't you trying to steal my food and kill me to get revenge? You were after the food I gathered after I died. I'd have done the same. You need courage to do something like that."
"T-Thank you... yes. I have no grudge against you, hyung. If I can just get food, I can do anything. I've been hungry for two days now..."
"Good."
I held out my hand to the man and we shook. Now I had one usable fighter. He should be called a deal-maker, right? Or a damage dealer.
He's already fired a bow at a living person without mercy. He's capable of murder.
"B-But is the place where the bolt hit okay?"
"It's fine. I have a good constitution. But bolt?"
"Yes, this small arrow used in crossbows is called a bolt."
"I see. Farming is done at night. How long does it take to make a crossbow?"
"The crossbow itself is simple to structure, so I can make it quickly. By evening. The problem is I don't have many bolts yet."
"Really? It looks simple, but it takes a lot of handwork. Of course, because you have to shape the wood. How many do you have now?"
"Five."
"Then I'll assign work."
I called Keyong and Iljinyeo, and had them help him make bolts too.
They were just sitting at home doing nothing anyway. Good people for manual labor.
"Learn to make these small arrows from the black guy. And keep making them as time allows. More bolts are better, so the one who makes the most will get more food or goods."
"T-The black guy?"
"Yeah, you're pretty black. Did you grow up in the countryside?"
"Yes... that's right. My name is Kwon Su-hyeok."
Long-range weapons are always right.
It's best to kill before the enemy gets close.
Even if a gun isn't one-shot lethal, can someone who gets hit by an arrow fight properly?
People like me who have perfect regeneration or battle-hardened fighters mostly run away scared, and without proper treatment, they can bleed out.
Right now, everyone in the world is equipping themselves with weapons.
There are people who looted police stations for guns, people with archery bows, and probably people like him making handmade crossbows or bows.
We need to secure enough long-range weapons.
I stuck a tape with strong adhesion on the spot hit by the bolt. If it stays fixed so the wound doesn't open, the flesh will knit together quickly, and even with emergency tape, the wound heals easily.
Anyway, I gave the black guy a bit of food for a day. His eyes shone with trust when I actually gave him food as he swallowed hard.
He tore open canned food in a hurry and devoured it greedily. It was the look of a truly starving person.
By evening, I helped the black guy finish the crossbow myself.
It uses multiple layers of rubber bands to produce power far stronger than a slingshot.
If you just pull it by hand, it's hard to cock. But by standing the bottom on the floor and pulling it with your foot, it's easy to cock.
It has a simple wooden pole with a simple cocking handle structure.
At the end, I insert a nail and put on two short plastic-fletched bolts. Cocking is complete.
- PANG!
It's close-range power, but it can easily pierce a solid wooden chest.
Even after combining with Keyong and Iljinyeo, I made fewer than ten bolts by evening. It was quite hard work after all.
In ancient wars, this must have been essential. It wasn't that there were separate arrow-makers for nothing.
Looking out the window, a corpse had appeared on the street.
A middle-aged woman, but no one cares about the corpse on the street.
Quiet and hunger. Occasional brutality from looters. This was the real face of apocalypse.
In the distance, several people with heavy loads on their backs were walking.
There are kids, so it's not looting. Maybe they're moving to distant countryside after leaving Seoul.
People abandoning their residences are increasing. Can they safely reach the countryside... looters will target their loads on the way. Even then, I wonder if they can survive properly. It's not that food and houses overflow in the countryside.
By night, I had eaten fifteen cans alone.
Super Regeneration's mechanism probably takes in nutrition anyway.
To make flesh and blood, I need that much nutrition. When wounds regenerate, I feel my body weight dropping rapidly and an enormous hunger comes.
If I don't eat after taking a big wound, I might dry up completely. In that sense, Super Regeneration isn't invincible.
Today, looting starts at 3 AM.
I took Keyong and called the black guy. I thought about calling him a deal-maker, but since he might stick to that role and not come forward, I decided to call him the black guy.
I head to an unexplored villa.
The blood-red aurora in the sky and countless stars light up the dark streets even at midnight.
At that moment, noisy sounds came from far away. On my signal, everyone hid in the small alleys between villas.
Yells, curses, and thuds. A group of people is clearly fighting.
I waited a while for the sounds to subside, and soon they almost disappeared, even the small ones fading into the distance.
I moved quietly to the place where the sound occurred.
On the ground, there were three corpses. Two male and one female.
They all seem to have died in the fight. No bags, just a few weapons on the ground.
There are several iron pipes that look useless, but a thin iron spear looks usable.
Slightly heavy, but stronger than a wooden spear, it suits me who's strong in power.
I picked up the iron spear and gave my own spear to the black guy.
I found a knife. A small but sharp and sturdy knife in its sheath. This is probably called a camping knife or a tactical knife.
Compared to using a cleaver, using this would be better in many ways.
The bodies seem far from tattooed yakuza delinquents, and the ages are mostly in their 30s and 40s. They could be ordinary office workers or family heads.
Now it's not just delinquents looting. Everyone is coming out with weapons to secure food.
We loaded the goods and quickly left the spot.
I chose a villa that had never been looted and was quiet, and entered.
In both hands, I held the cocked crossbow, a bag on my back, and a spear hanging next to the bag. A tactical knife at my waist.
The first house was empty, so I easily secured some food.
The second house, as soon as we opened the door, a person woke up. A man in his 30s holding a weapon in his hand.
The man doesn't surrender even when threatened. Holding an aluminum bat while asleep, he seems prepared for thieves.
Before he could protest that he couldn't give food and scream, I fired my crossbow at his chest first. As I fired, the bolt from the black guy also stabbed into his belly.
- Thud!
Blood flowed from the man's chest and belly where the bolt was stuck.
"Kuk... kuhuk... ah... ah... you shit... go to hell..."
After saying those words, the man couldn't spit out any more. My spear end pierced the man's head, and I pulled out the bolt stuck in his chest, wiped off the blood, and stored it.
Hell... this world is just a simulation.
[Soul 1 absorbed]
[Super Regeneration: 9]
The man's house had abundant food. The stronger the person's will to live, the more food there was in the house.
Except for that man, no one showed strong resistance. Realizing what hunger feels like after being deprived of food, but being alone, they have no choice but to be powerless. After we take it from them, they will have to steal food from elsewhere to survive.
Our group is also increasing in looting houses in this way.
Fortunately, without major damage, we filled all three backpacks. In addition to food, we also got some tools, toilet paper, and some medicine.
Back at our villa, we divided about 5 portions of food to Keyong and the black guy. The black guy, who finished the first looting, was extremely happy.
We scattered to our respective houses and went to sleep. Thanks to Super Regeneration, even a short rest recovers fatigue, and I don't need to sleep long.
It feels like making the whole body superhuman.
Early morning, footsteps came from the stairs. The world became quiet, but my hearing also seemed to have become sharper.
I quickly approached the front door and looked outside with my scope. A woman in leggings was standing there. She wasn't holding any weapon. A woman living in the same villa. 503-ho, right?
She raised her trembling hand to knock on the door, then lowered it again. She seemed to be thinking for a moment, and finally knocked on the door.