The First Week

Dohyun confirmed that Dongwoo hadn't turned into a zombie, and immediately picked up his phone.

"Hey! Hyung!"

The person who answered was his younger brother, Kang Dohun.

"You okay? You're at home, right?"

"Yeah! But, hyung... this... the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠apocalypse, it really happened?"

"Look, I don't have time to explain. Communications are going to go down soon. I'll just hit the key points. Check the note on your desk. Like I told you, absolutely do not go outside. Seal yourself off from the outside world completely. Just exercise at home. The power's going to cut out soon. I've stocked food and water in my room. And—"

Before he could finish, the phone went dead.

"Haa..."

The communication network was collapsing rapidly. It would take a long time before it was restored.

When his brother's call cut out, Dohun muttered to himself.

"Wow, our hyung is amazing. He really was a regressor, huh?"

The apocalypse his brother had warned about had truly begun. That meant there was no question about it—he had to follow his brother's instructions without hesitation.

He started by going through the house and closing every curtain. Then he used large furniture to block the front entrance, making it impossible to leave.

'They won't come through the windows, right? No, I don't know. Better prepare for it.'

The apartment was on the 12th floor, so he figured they wouldn't climb up through the windows, but just in case, he taped the window gaps shut to make them as hard to open as possible.

With his first priority—sealing off the outside world—complete, Dohun moved to his brother's room.

"Wow...."

His brother's room was stacked with 1.5-liter bottled water, and beside it sat ten boxes of combat rations and ten large containers of protein shake mix.

"Hyung really prepared thoroughly."

He checked the note his brother had left. It contained incredibly detailed instructions.

"So he wants me to exercise at home until he comes back."

Staying cooped up at home would be a little suffocating, but it was certainly bearable.

"Alright, let's work out."

Dohun started exercising using the equipment his brother had bought.

After finishing the call, Dohyun let out a sigh of relief knowing his brother was safe. Then he turned to Lee Dongwoo beside him.

"Dongwoo, say 'status window' out loud."

"Huh? Oh! Status window."

A status window appeared before Dongwoo's eyes.

"Wow..."

Seeing his friend marvel at the status window he'd never seen before, Dohyun opened his own.

It was a very simple status window. But there was a welcome trait among the entries.

'Still the same.'

Presence Detection—a trait that let him detect moving objects in the vicinity. He could identify whether something was human, zombie, or even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠animal, as long as it was within a certain range.

It was extremely advantageous for survival, though the fact that it didn't boost combat ability was a slight disappointment. But for Dohyun, who knew exactly how to exploit it, it was the best possible trait.

After confirming his own trait, he asked Dongwoo.

"Dongwoo, do you have any traits, skills, or achievements?"

"Hmm? I have a trait called Strong Constitution."

"Oh!"

Strong Constitution—a pretty good trait. It increased vitality, reduced fatigue, and sped up recovery from exhaustion.

It was useful for both survival and combat. And especially according to the plans Dohyun currently had in mind, Dongwoo had the potential to become the best producer.

"Good. Dongwoo, let's go."

"What? In the middle of the night?"

It was midnight, but this wasn't the time to be sleeping.

"Look, I don't have time to explain. Just trust me and follow."

Dohyun and Dongwoo left the house together.

The uninhabited island had a fishing spot, and at that spot was a small hut he'd built in advance.

Calling it a hut was generous—it was closer to a small house. It had sleeping bags for rest, facilities for cooking meals, and even heating equipment.

You could cast a fishing line right from here.

"Fish while you sleep."

"What? Hyung, was this the reason you taught me fishing when we came to the island?"

Dohyun nodded.

"For a while, you're going to farm and fish. And in between, work out with the dumbbells over there. Keep it up."

"Ah... But why?"

The apocalypse had begun. And yet, his close friend's instructions were farming, fishing, and exercise.

"Dongwoo, have I ever told you to do something and you regretted it?"

Dongwoo shook his head. From childhood until now, Kang Dohyun had always helped him and given only the advice he needed.

"Even in an apocalypse, I said you'd enjoy wealth and honor if you just do what I tell you. So for the next week, work hard at farming and fishing."

"Okay, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trust you, hyung. Got it."

With that answer, Dongwoo cast his fishing line from inside the hut and began fishing.

After setting Dongwoo to fishing, Dohyun returned to the house on the uninhabited island. He went up to the second floor, where various exercise equipment was set up.

"Let's get started quickly."

And he began working out.

"Hah... hah... hah..."

It was late at night, but he pushed through, sweating hard. When drowsiness hit—

"Pff... hah!"

He splashed water on his face to wake himself up, then went right back to exercising.

"Hold on, hold on! Even sleep is a waste of time!"

The first week after the apocalypse began—this time was truly critical.

Even sleep felt like a waste.

Fortunately, being on the uninhabited island meant he didn't need to waste time fighting zombies.

Dohyun pushed through even the urge to sleep and kept exercising.

As the zombie apocalypse began, the world descended into chaos.

Ten percent of the global population had turned into zombies. Family members, friends, coworkers—all becoming monsters.

At first, people couldn't believe the system's messages.

"Darina, my daughter, Dad will protect you. Let's go to the hospital. Argh!"

There were people who were bitten and turned into zombies by their own daughters, the ones they loved most.

"Hye-yeon, what's wrong with you? Get away! Get away, you say... Argh!"

There were cases where former lovers turned into zombies and bit the people they once loved.

"Hey! What's wrong with you, get your head... AAAARGH!!"

Many people were bitten by their close friends.

It started at ten percent, but the number of people infected by zombie bites began to surge rapidly. The situation was especially dire in densely populated areas.

While the entire world was descending into chaos, the uninhabited island where Dohyun and Dongwoo were remained peaceful.

Dongwoo farmed during the day and fished in his spare time. He exercised occasionally, but most of his time went into farming and fishing.

Dohyun exercised from morning until evening—or rather, until the night wore away. If he got too sleepy, he'd take a brief nap, but otherwise he worked through various exercises without stopping.

He even found eating time wasteful, so he'd drink protein shakes while lifting dumbbells.

That was how the two of them spent the week—boring, repetitive, but diligently carried out.

One week after the apocalypse began—

Exactly at midnight, the system's message window appeared.

The settlement was based on actions taken over the past week. Dohyun waited with anticipation for the next message.

'Nice!'

But it didn't end there.

"Nice!"

Chosen by the God of Exercise. He'd aimed for it, and had worried just in case, but thankfully he'd actually gotten it.

Satisfied with his results, Dohyun turned to Dongwoo beside him.

"Dongwoo, did you get any achievements? What kind?"

"Huh? I got three achievements."

Dongwoo's three achievements were Passionate Angler, Diligent Farmer, and Exercise Enthusiast.

Passionate Angler improved fishing ability, Diligent Farmer increased crop yields, and Exercise Enthusiast slightly boosted exercise effectiveness.

"Not bad."

"Wait, I just got one more."

"What?"

"It says I've been chosen by Jiang Taigong?"

Over the past week, Dongwoo had fished more than anyone else in East Asia, earning the selection of Jiang Taigong—the legendary fisherman. His probability of catching fish had surged dramatically.

"That's incredible."

Dongwoo had secured the best possible foundation for agriculture and fishing.

The first week after the apocalypse was a period for distributing achievements. Based on what people had done over the week, the system granted related achievements.

To be precise, the first month was far more generous with achievements than usual, and the ones received during this period would have a major impact on surviving the apocalypse.

Dohyun had obtained the best possible exercise-related achievements he'd aimed for. And Dongwoo had acquired excellent production-related achievements.

"Good work. You did great."

"I just followed what hyung told me to do."

The two celebrated their hard work with a beer, toasting to the rewards of their efforts.

They slept deeply for the first time in a while.

When morning came, Dohyun prepared to leave the island.

"Hyung, are you sure you're okay?"

The existing communication networks had collapsed, but through Starlink, Dohyun and Dongwoo had limited awareness of the outside situation.

There was plenty of evidence that the world's law enforcement systems were crumbling due to zombies.

People were suffering a double burden—fighting zombies to survive while also having to dodge attacks from people who had gained special abilities.

Murder, violence, robbery, rape—the outside world was a hellscape. Truly dangerous.

Dongwoo was worried, but Dohyun smiled as he packed his hiking bag.

"I'll be fine. You keep farming and fishing, and exercise in between."

As he spoke, he handed Dongwoo one of the crossbows he'd bought in advance and checked with him.

"What do you do if someone approaches the island while I'm gone?"

"I warn them to stay away. If they don't leave, I attack with the crossbow. If I can't handle them and an enemy lands on the island, I hide in the bunker in the basement of the house."

"Right. The bunker has enough food and water for you. You exercise inside and hold out until I come back."

With that, Dohyun set a boat out on the sea.

"I'm going to Suwon to pick up Dohun."

After the first week of earning achievements and preparing, it was now time to safely bring his younger brother, Dohun, to him.