012
012
I dragged the Looters' corpses into Unit 401 and cleared out the zombies to secure the unit.
Then, the corpses disappeared along with the traces of the zombies.
A white-toned interior that looked like it had just been remodeled.
I couldn't help but feel a bit bitter.
'My place is the worst one.'
Every other unit had been changed to a new interior, but mine remained exactly as it was.
Not that I wanted to move, though.
In this world where even stepping out the front door requires a huge resolve, moving was a luxury.
Besides, it wasn't that my place hadn't been remodeled; it was actually quite clean in its own way.
And I had grown attached to it.
「Unit 401 secured successfully.」
「Reward issued.」
Even though I hadn't received a quest, a reward was given.
Since I'd even taken care of the Looters' corpses, it was killing two birds with one stone.
If this method hadn't worked, it would have been quite a hassle to dispose of the bodies.
「4th floor secured successfully.」
「4th floor set as a Safe Zone.」
「Reward issued.」
"Oh."
This, I hadn't expected.
I thought securing Unit 401 was the end of it.
If the entire 4th floor had become a Safe Zone, it meant the hallway was safe too.
Now I could walk around to other units to my heart's content.
"What's going on?"
I shared the happy news with Kang Mu-yeol that the entire 4th floor had become a Safe Zone.
"That is truly good news. If you are happy, Boss-nim, then I am happy too."
He said that, but he didn't seem all that thrilled.
Well, that's Kang Mu-yeol for you.
He was a Tenant who had been roaming the hallway to his heart's content even before the 4th floor became a Safe Zone.
He was just pretending to be happy because I was.
"But think about it. Now, even if Looters come again, they won't be able to break into the hallway. Because the hallway has become a Safe Zone."
"I see."
"Wouldn't it be easier to block them at the stairs? Even if dozens of them swarm in, I feel like you could hold them off by yourself. For a defensive battle, it seems better than the hallway."
"Now that you mention it, that's true. The stairs are better than the hallway. And it's also good for you to support me with your slingshot."
Ah, do I have to participate in the battle too?
Well, it is a fight to protect my home, so I should participate.
Strictly speaking, among the residents of this Villa, Kang Mu-yeol was the only combatant.
If I provide rear support with the slingshot, I could probably do about 0.5 person's worth of work.
"Think of the Looters as bugs. They're bastards you don't need to show any mercy to. That shot earlier was really good."
He was talking about the shot that blew up one of the Looters' heads.
My hands shake just thinking about it again.
Who would have known a slingshot could pierce a person's head?
Is this the slingshot of a Level 4 Repairman?
Or is it thanks to a skill?
"Just because we secured the 4th floor doesn't mean we're invincible. It means the other floors aren't Safe Zones yet."
"Isn't the 4th floor enough?"
"Think about the Looters setting a fire from the outside."
"That... is true."
In truth, I don't know what would happen if they set a fire.
Maybe the 4th floor would be safe even if all the other floors burned down.
To check properly, the surest way would be to try it, but I didn't want to set the building on fire.
Even if the 4th floor were safe, it would be hard to just sit there and watch the flames roaring outside the window.
Still, hope has emerged.
If I could secure everything down to the 1st floor, this entire Villa could become a Safe Zone.
Though recruiting that many Tenants was a separate issue.
If an entire building becomes a Safe Zone, there's nothing more reassuring than that.
I also shared this news with the siblings, Im Ji-ah and Im Do-yeong.
"Then Mu-yeol-ssi doesn't need to personally escort us anymore, right? Since we can just cross over to this unit."
Im Ji-ah said, glancing at Kang Mu-yeol.
She seemed scared of Kang Mu-yeol's threatening demeanor.
"How was the slingshot? I think you took one out with it earlier."
Shouldn't he change his job from Repairman to Slingshot Maker instead?
A certain house.
A middle-aged man, a middle-aged woman, and a girl who looked like a high school student were standing in front of the front door.
The man, with a dark blue bruise on his eyelid, was holding a chair, and the middle-aged woman was gripping a kitchen knife so hard her hands had turned white. Even so, her hands were trembling.
"Honey, is this really the right choice?"
The middle-aged woman, Ju Hye-kyung, asked her husband, Nam Hyun-sik.
Nam Hyun-sik glanced at their daughter, Nam I-seo, and nodded with a hardened face.
"There's no other way. You saw it too, didn't you?"
A while ago, Looters broke into their house.
They caused all sorts of trouble and even stole all the food the family had been saving.
They even leered at their daughter, Nam I-seo, and talked about taking her away.
Nam Hyun-sik had endured the assault, but he couldn't stand it when they talked about his daughter, so he eventually lunged at the Looters.
He was subdued with a single kick, but it was a situation where he could have lost his life.
The Looters left, but the family could no longer stay in this house.
They didn't know when the Looters might return.
Next time, they might really take their daughter.
Nam Hyun-sik decided to abandon their home.
It was a house they had spent over twenty years in, but there was no choice.
'Even if I die, I have to save I-seo.'
Once I secured Unit 401, the entire 4th floor turned into a Safe Zone.
I, who hadn't taken a single step out of my house, was now able to leisurely stroll through the hallway.
Walking back and forth in the relatively long hallway was better for exercise than spinning around in my cramped house.
I was walking without much thought when the front door of Unit 402 slid open.
Im Ji-ah poked her head out.
"Oh, it's you, Boss-nim. What are you doing there?"
"Um... a walk?"
I'm not sure if walking back and forth in the hallway can be called a walk, though.
Anyway, since the activity most similar to what I was doing was a walk, I answered that.
"Can I join you?"
"Of course. Feel free."
Im Ji-ah came out in her slippers.
Im Do-yeong followed behind Im Ji-ah.
"Are you going for a walk too, Im Do-yeong-ssi?"
"They say walking is good when you're thinking about something."
"Do you have something to think about?"
"I'm contemplating whether to make a new slingshot. The one you're using now seems a bit lacking."
His head is entirely filled with thoughts of slingshots.
As expected, Slingshot Maker suits him better than Repairman.
Anyway, the three of us walked down the hallway in a line.
Hitting the wall, turning around, hitting the opposite wall, turning again, hitting the opposite wall...
Honestly, the hallway wasn't long.
We turned around very quickly.
When we had repeated it three or four times, the door to Unit 403 opened.
"What are you all doing?"
Even though the hallway had become a Safe Zone, Kang Mu-yeol still carried his baseball bat around.
"Um... a walk?"
"If you wanted to go for a walk, why didn't you tell me? I would have guided you outside."
"No, no. There's no need for that."
I didn't want to go outside.
It's not a Safe Zone, after all.
Kang Mu-yeol joined the hallway walk.
The four of us walked side-by-side down the hallway.
When we had gone back and forth a couple of times, Kang Mu-yeol, perhaps finding it boring, pointed to the stairs.
"What's on the floor above?"
It was the stairs going up.
"It's the rooftop."
It's a rooftop covered in green waterproof paint.
Sometimes when the sun was nice, I would take the drying rack up there to dry laundry.
Now that I think about it, there was a rooftop.
I wonder if the rooftop can also be secured as a Safe Zone?
"Shall we go up?"
If I can secure the rooftop, I can have a much healthier walk than going back and forth in the hallway.
After all, a walk isn't a walk without sunshine.
"Sounds good!"
"I will take the lead."
"Where can I get materials for a slingshot..."
Kang Mu-yeol went up the stairs first.
Im Ji-ah, Im Do-yeong, and I followed behind him.
Im Ji-ah had an expectant look on her face, but Im Do-yeong was just following the person in front of him.
There weren't many stairs.
We arrived at the rooftop door in no time.
"I'm opening it."
Kang Mu-yeol opened the rooftop door.
Fresh air came through the open door.
Sunlight poured in as well.
"Huuuup."
I inhaled the clear, warm air.
After being stuck in a house and hallway with poor ventilation every day, breathing in fresh air felt like my lungs were being purified.
"There are zombies."
Was it the scent of zombies?
"Please wait a moment, you three. Hahahaha."
Kang Mu-yeol walked onto the rooftop, dragging his baseball bat.
"Im Ji-ah-ssi and Im Do-yeong-ssi, please don't look."
I peeked at the situation on the rooftop through the door.
There were two zombies in total.
The zombies, whose sunbathing had been interrupted by the sound of the baseball bat dragging on the floor, woke up from their dormant state.
It was already too late.
Kkang!
Kang Mu-yeol hit a home run with the zombie's head.
The headless zombie collapsed onto the green waterproof floor.
The remaining one reached out and approached Kang Mu-yeol.
Kang Mu-yeol took a swinging stance and blew the other zombie's head off too.
"That's a home run."
I clapped for him.
"Hahahaha. That's 2 points."
Kang Mu-yeol spun his baseball bat in the air, showing off his celebration.
Just then, a bright light burst from the green waterproof floor.
It was brighter than the sunlight.
Since it had been a while since I'd been in direct sunlight, I thought some side effect had triggered.
「Rooftop secured.」
「You can now freely use the rooftop.」
So the rooftop could be secured too?
If I had known, I would have secured it sooner.
The headless zombie corpses vanished completely.
The green waterproof floor sparkled even more under the sunlight.
"You can come up now."
I said to Im Ji-ah and Im Do-yeong, who were waiting on the stairs.
Im Ji-ah and Im Do-yeong came up to the rooftop as well.
"...Wow!"
Im Ji-ah, looking around the rooftop, exclaimed in admiration.
It's worth admiring.
There weren't many tall buildings around, so the view was wide open.
"The slingshot...."
Leaving Im Do-yeong be.
"This would be great for sniping, wouldn't it?"
I shared my thoughts while looking down below.
Honestly, it was too cramped to shoot a slingshot from the window.
I thought that from the rooftop, I could cover a much wider range.
As I looked around the rooftop, something moving caught my eye.
It was a movement different from a zombie.
I saw three people crossing the alley, hunched over and constantly looking around.
The middle-aged woman standing at the very back caught my eye.
「Name : Ju Hye-kyung」
「Occupation : Nurse」
「Level : 5」
"A nurse?"
In an apocalypse situation, the value of medical personnel is high.
It's fine even if she's not a doctor.
Just looking at her age, she seemed like an experienced nurse, and seeing her level made it even more certain.
'She's a skilled nurse.'
"Do you see those people?"
I gave the next order to Kang Mu-yeol.
"We must save those people."
Can't pass up on medical personnel.