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Im Do-young was trapped alone in the hardware store.
To communicate via the Communication Skill, Im Do-young needed to reach level 10.
It wasn't exactly an emergency, but he was still a minor, and leaving him alone was a bit worrying.
Since his job title was Repairman, I had assumed his main duty would be fixing defects in the villa, but he turned out to be excellent at weapon repair and crafting, so I thought I should prioritize promoting him over the other tenants.
With that in mind, I raised him 3 levels to reach level 7.
But I had to stop leveling up due to a lack of coins.
There are a few ways to acquire coins.
The easiest way, of course, was catching zombies.
You don't even have to do anything special; you just get 1 coin for every one you catch.
However, Kang Mu-yeol, who would be the one slaughtering the zombies, was currently in self-quarantine in Room 301.
And even if I went up to the roof to snipe with my slingshot, I had already cleared the area around the villa, so there weren't many zombies left to catch for coins.
Actually, leveling up doesn't cost that many coins.
It's just the promotion that costs 100 coins.
To raise a single level, it only costs as many coins as the current level.
If he's level 7 now, it only takes 7 coins to reach level 8.
Which means 24 coins are enough to reach level 10.
'If Kang Mu-yeol were here, he would have earned them in no time.'
Just as I was clicking my tongue in regret,
「Room 302 has been secured.」
「Reward has been issued.」
Suddenly, 12 coins came in.
Who secured Room 302?
Aside from Kang Mu-yeol and Im Do-young, the other tenants should be in their respective rooms by now, right?
"Kang Mu-yeol-ssi? Did you happen to secure it?"
-Secure what, sir?
"Room 302."
-Ah! Yes, I just secured it. I was bored just staying in the room, you see. Did I make a mistake...?
A mistake? No, not at all.
If anything, he did a good job.
He'd been fighting zombies all this time, so I intended to let him rest.
Making him work constantly would make me look like a crooked landlord.
But he went and found other work on his own?
And he even did it well?
He's the best tenant.
"No. You did well. Try to do it within reasonable limits."
-Thank you. I will show you something.
"No.... I told you to do it within reasonable limits."
-I will show you something within reasonable limits. Hahahaha!
Hahahahahaha!
Kang Mu-yeol's laughter could be heard all the way up to the roof.
How hearty it was.
I used the coins Kang Mu-yeol earned to raise Im Do-young's level.
Just as I was running low on coins, a message popped up saying Room 303 had been secured. 11 coins were received as a reward.
I was 1 coin short of reaching level 10.
I could earn 1 coin on my own.
I hooked a steel ball onto the slingshot and pulled back.
Jju-uu-uuk.
Zombies in a dormant state were easy to catch.
I simply pierced its head and received the coin.
The moment I raised Im Do-young's level to 10.
A message came in saying Room 304 had been secured.
Along with a message that the 3rd floor had become a Safe Zone.
'He's fast, really fast.'
In the time it took me to catch one dormant zombie, Kang Mu-yeol secured a whole house.
Has he become a master of house securing?
Usually, it takes quite a while to carefully enter a house and check every room.
It seemed like that process was gone now.
"Can you hear me? It's Kwon Min-jun."
-Uh, uh-uh? Is this an auditory hallucination...?
"It's not a hallucination. You got a lot of messages about leveling up, right? I reached level 10, so two-way communication is now possible. I don't know the principle, whether it's brain waves or whatever."
-Oh-oh... Can you hear my voice, too?
"I can hear you clearly. Are you hurt anywhere?"
-No, fortunately. Thanks to Mu-yeol-hyung-nim looking out for me, I was safe. The villa was noisy for a while, but it's quiet now. Is it over?
"It's over. We're in the cleanup phase now."
-Is there anything to clean up?
The cleanup wasn't anything else.
It was just checking to see if Kang Mu-yeol, who had been bitten, chewed on, and scratched by zombies, wouldn't turn into a zombie himself. That was all.
Ah, no, that's not it. We also have to clear out the zombie corpses filling the villa.
Since Kang Mu-yeol went so wild, there must be a huge pile of corpses.
Of course, I planned to leave that to Nam Hyun-sik, the Cleaner.
Everyone has their own role.
"Wait. Just a second."
Let's think about the house securing system.
Even if the wallpaper is torn, blood is splattered on the walls, and zombie corpses are scattered about, once you secure the house, it gets remodeled and everything disappears.
"Then the stairs and the hallway too...?"
Since the 3rd-floor hallway became a Safe Zone, maybe the stairs and hallway were all cleaned up too?
"Can't hold back."
-What's wrong? What can't you hold back suddenly?
"I'll check and let you know."
Im Do-young seemed to be doing fine without being scared, so I was relieved for now.
There was something I wanted to check right now.
I went down the stairs.
From the roof to the 4th floor.
From the 4th floor to the 3rd floor.
"...Oh!"
Actually, the moment I saw the stairs going down from the 4th floor to the 3rd, I started to have expectations.
I couldn't see a single zombie corpse that had been filling the stairs.
There's no way the corpses would just evaporate all at once.
Cleaner Nam Hyun-sik?
Well. The 3rd floor wasn't a Safe Zone. Until just a moment ago.
I didn't think he would have left the Safe Zone without telling me.
'Then, as expected?'
I went down to the 3rd floor along the clean stairs.
Even the 3rd-floor hallway was clean.
'As expected!'
It could only mean that as the 3rd-floor hallway became a Safe Zone, it was completely cleaned.
"Kang Mu-yeol-ssi? Where are you?"
I knocked on the doors on the 3rd floor.
Kang Mu-yeol came out of Room 304.
Kang Mu-yeol looked at the hallway and was startled.
"When did you clean this up? There wasn't even room to step!"
"Well... that's how it happened."
I couldn't think of any other answer than saying that's how it happened.
I hadn't seen the moment it became clean either.
I approached Kang Mu-yeol and checked his complexion.
The red haze that had been rising was gone.
His bloodshot eyes had also regained their original color.
"Shall I see your wounds?"
"My wounds, sir?"
At my words, Kang Mu-yeol extended his arm.
If the wounds were festering, it would be a big problem.
I would have to show them to Ju Hye-kyung, the nurse.
"Hmm...."
Far from festering, only faint scratch marks remained, and they were almost healed.
Phenomenal recovery speed.
Is it because he's a Berserker?
"When did you recover like this?"
"How did you do it!"
"No, I was asking because I was curious."
It seemed Kang Mu-yeol didn't know when or how he recovered either.
Anyway, I secured up to the 3rd floor.
I felt like I could just keep going and secure up to the main entrance while I was at it.
There aren't any tenants coming in yet, but making the whole villa a Safe Zone in advance wouldn't be bad.
I wouldn't have to worry about zombies entering the villa.
And having zombie corpses in the villa hallway isn't good for aesthetics or hygiene.
"If you're bored, shall we secure the entire villa this time? It would be good to make everything a Safe Zone."
"That's a great idea. Shall we go right now?"
"Let's go."
"Oh, are you coming with me, Boss?"
"I have to play the role of Control Tower."
"Control Tower? I don't know what that is, but it sounds like an important job. Then I'll be going."
Control Tower. It just means exchanging communications with tenants who can communicate.
The only people I can communicate with right now are Kang Mu-yeol and Im Do-young.
It was just an excuse.
After Kang Mu-yeol went downstairs, I sent a message to Im Do-young again.
"Everything okay?"
-Whoa, you scared me!
I was also startled by Im Do-young's surprised voice.
Come to think of it, it was definitely something to be surprised about. Suddenly hearing a strange voice in your ear.
Kang Mu-yeol never seemed surprised, so I thought that was the default.
-I'm a bit frazzled right now. I might have to stay here for a while.
"No. I'll save you soon. Nothing's wrong, right?"
-Ah, that's not what I meant. Looking at the tools in the hardware store, ideas of what I want to do keep popping up...! I think I can upgrade the slingshot you use even more. No. Maybe it's better to make a new one entirely?
Im Do-young definitely seemed frazzled.
'Is it because I raised his level all at once...?'
Maybe I should refrain from raising levels all at once.
Even while talking to Im Do-young, system messages about securing rooms kept popping up.
「Room 201 has been secured.」
「Reward has been issued.」
「Room 202 has been secured.」
「Reward has been issued.」
...
Should have left it to him sooner.
'Is checking Kang Mu-yeol's condition this much enough? His wounds seem to have healed anyway....'
The system didn't lie, as expected.
Kang Mu-yeol didn't turn into a zombie.
I can't guarantee if he's immune to the zombie virus.
The red haze that appears during battle, the body heat, and the bloodshot eyes seem to have some effect.
There's no one to ask, and no one to answer.
"Just stay inside the hardware store for now. Don't go outside. Got it?"
-Yes, Boss. Oh, I can try using that. Hehehe....
He didn't even seem to have the capacity to answer.
This time, I contacted Kang Mu-yeol.
"Everything okay?"
-Yes. Am I a bit late? I'll secure it all soon. Please wait a moment!
"No, no. You're not late. I didn't contact you to pressure you. I just contacted you to see if things were going well."
-I see. Are you still on the 3rd floor?
"Yes. I'm playing the role of Control Tower."
-Then please wait a moment. I'll be up soon!
"I told you there's no need to rush...."
The communication was cut off unilaterally.
I waited for a moment, and a message popped up saying the 2nd floor had become a Safe Zone.
Wait a moment, my foot. He still has to secure the entire 1st floor.
Since the 2nd floor was now a Safe Zone, I walked down the stairs at a leisurely pace.
It would still take some time, though.
That was when.
"Hahahahahaha!"
Kang Mu-yeol's laughter was heard.
「Room 101 has been secured.」
「Room 102 has been secured.」
「Room 103 has been secured.」
「Room 104 has been secured.」
「Safe Zone is being reset.」
「The villa has been set as a Safe Zone.」
「Reward has been issued.」
System messages appeared in a row.
What the, how did he do that?