The Contaminated Source
The [Contaminated Source] event had concluded. The reason I'd left the zombies outside and entered the store alone was purely based on experience. Didn't events always demand the strength of the few? That was why I'd chosen the strongest among my allies—myself—as the solution to this problem. Not that I'd skipped taking out insurance. The zombies were stationed nearby, ready to be deployed at any moment.
Thus the event began, and I emerged. The same physical abilities, voice, and face. If he escaped and turned this into a guerrilla war, the damage would be catastrophic. So I grabbed him immediately. Our strength was identical, so one additional variable would guarantee an easy victory. But the stupid zombies couldn't tell the difference between him and me. Worst-case scenario.
In that brief moment, countless strategies formed and were discarded in rapid succession. Maybe he was thinking the exact same thing. We stared at each other, desperately calculating. Then—thud. Baengnae's sword pierced his heart.
He could have dodged the moment the blade entered his chest. The gap between Baengnae and me was that wide. But he didn't even struggle. Just like my thoughts had become tangled, he hadn't expected Baengnae to distinguish us so easily.
"The outcome's good, but..." I stared at Baengnae. Her eyes had returned to their original dark brown. Her expression was the usual mischievous Baengnae.
"Baengnae?"
Baengnae grinned. "Madda. Baengnae did it."
"What was that just now?"
Baengnae tilted her head, looking confused.
"How did you know I was the real one?"
"Baengnae knows."
'She just knew?' Would Baengnae have any reason to lie to me? She was a zombie too. She couldn't lie to her summoner. Baengnae took her honey jar back from Shinnip and scooped a big handful into her mouth.
"Nom nom. Hehe."
'...' Staring at that dumb expression somehow cleared my head a little. It had all been meaningless worry. Not about Baengnae. Wasn't I a Zombie Summoner? I could've just stored one zombie and resummoned it to prove who I was. Maybe Baengnae had noticed that too. I'd just been overthinking because of unnecessary doubts...
'Ah, so that's what it was?' [Contaminated Source]. It must've meant it polluted my thoughts. No wonder my head felt tired from thinking too much.
"Ugh... Every single event is like this."
Still, Baengnae's anomaly wasn't a bad thing. The changes were in her eyes, speech, and pronunciation. Her swordsmanship also felt more precise. Eating random things must've triggered some beneficial effect. My head hurt, so I moved on.
I clapped my hands to change the mood. "Everyone, back to work. We've got mountains of things to do, mountains!"
The zombies scattered to their assigned tasks. I turned to look at what was likely the reward from the [Contaminated Source]—a gray octopus. Honestly, feeding a corpse that looked like me to Baengnae had felt off, but this was a relief.
"Baengnae, take this too. It's probably a unique ingredient."
"That one madda..."
"You don't get it. That's the best part."
Usually, the worse it tasted, the better it was for the body. With all the homework done, it was finally time to open the gym in earnest.
***
Lately, the hottest topic on the community was the "Supporters" or "Rescue Team." The top users who had been receiving support had kept the Supporters' existence a secret. Half of it was selfishness—they didn't want to share the benefits—and half was the inherent threat the Supporters posed. Under the pretext of "newbie protection," they'd controlled the information about Supporters shared on the community.
But one day, the Supporters suddenly started dumping massive amounts of resources into Stage 3. So rapidly that the information couldn't be controlled. Naturally, details about the Supporters rose to the surface.
This new faction had a peculiar trait. Unlike previous Supporters, they even supported those judged as "hopeless." Their actions were so different from before that they earned the nickname "Rescue Team."
The reason users got stuck in a specific stage was usually the same. Nine times out of ten, it was because their forces were depleted. When a user who once had thirty summons was down to five, they lost the courage to press the [Combat Start] button. The moment the "growth button" became a "suicide button," their mysterious and enjoyable otherworld exploration ended. It turned into a desperate survival game. For those without the strength to move to the next world, the world in front of them became their everything.
Very rarely, some tried to train their summons for another attempt. But only a tiny fraction succeeded. Ordinary people naturally became the ghosts of the Japan Server, sharing livelihood tips. That was also why words like "eliminated" or "dropout" were banned on the Japan Server. It was a grooming ground for the fallen.
But there was always a basement beneath the floor. Those exchanging livelihood tips on the Japan Server were usually trying to at least unlock healing items with their few summons. Completely isolated users mostly suffered from mental illness and, unable to endure the loneliness, eventually visited boards discussing euthanasia.
In this ecosystem, the appearance of the "Rescue Team" sparked hope for users who had been in the basement. Because of the advance payment reward structure. Wasn't it better to take the reward in advance and get another chance rather than committing suicide right away? Thus, "summoning rights" became a massive trend among Stage 3 users. It was a general term for all kinds of items, rituals, and reward systems that could trigger additional summons.
If someone spoke to them, they would accept first and then demand a "summoning right." In Stage 3, various boards using "Rescue Team" as a keyword multiplied. Most were posts praising them. The rest shared tips on how to meet them. Frequencies that increased the chances of encountering the Rescue Team also appeared.
Generally, excluding the absolute top rankers, Stage 6 users were called rankers, Stage 5 users were upper ranks, and Stage 4 users were middle ranks. All users below Stage 3 were dropouts. Or called "newbies." Among those newbies, a mysterious wind of ascent whose origin was unknown was beginning to blow.
***
I conducted the planned experiment. I attempted to zombify bees. The result was, in a way, expected. The bees quickly turned into zombies, flapping their wings as they flew into the air. And that was the end.
Do you know how bees communicate? They convey information to each other through dance.
'Hmm...' After becoming zombies, the bees danced lightly in the air. What were they saying? I wasn't curious, and I didn't need to know.
"Discard them all."
The honeybees were converted into food. I wouldn't zombify them again. Just in case, I tried zombifying various creatures that had appeared as ingredients. And the conclusion: humanoid forms were better, at least. The dwarf zombies that had seemed like trash suddenly looked like angels.
"Time to dismantle the lab."
"Alight."
The lab that had provided a meaningful lesson was discarded. The test subjects here would all be moved to the food storage. No real loss. After all, if you killed a zombie again, it became an ingredient.
We headed to the manufacturing plant, an important facility. Numerous zombies were using [Tools] to trim, slice, and boil ingredients. Their skills didn't seem bad at all.
'Did their previous jobs have an influence?' It felt that way. Baengnae was smarter than them, but when it came to handling ingredients, they were five times faster.
Tap tap tap tap—bubble bubble—the various foods and supplements piled up in an instant. Enough to go around to all the zombies, with leftovers. Yet the food storage was still packed full.
'Heh heh. Nice.'
"Nothing to touch here. Let's go to the gym."
Baengnae hovered around the ingredient table, then sneakily grabbed a small piece of meat. She glanced around and said, "Umm... Baengnae will stay here."
Baengnae's opinion was instantly rejected.
"Don't say nonsense and come quickly."
"Ah, alight..."
"Ugh, you can bring the meat."
"Hehe. Alight!"
Baengnae put the meat in her mouth and chewed. There was no satiety or nutrients in Stage 3 anyway, yet she was happily picking things up to eat. Was this what created the anomaly? After leaving the manufacturing plant, we headed to the city's most important facility.
Did you know? Both the lab and manufacturing plant we just saw were facilities made by remodeling stores in the food alley. But the gym was actually a gym!
Stage 3's concept was a city. And I'd found an abandoned gym not far from the store.
"Hahaha! This is paradise!"
"It failed."
"What?"
"Madda. I said madda."
"Yeah, yeah."
Whatever Baengnae whined about didn't matter. I'd obtained everything I needed. Sometimes on the community, I'd see dropouts saying they had to live in the city from now on. Why were they sad? Their city definitely had this gym too. Of course, the lack of supplements was a bit disappointing. But didn't it provide unlimited nutrients? If I trained steadily every day, I could easily beat Stage 3 dwarves without any difficulty increase.
Accidentally raised the difficulty? Then train two or three times harder. We were no longer ordinary city dwellers with weak 21st-century bodies. Hadn't we leveled up multiple times already? In my view, what had degenerated wasn't their physical strength but their rotten mindset. Having obtained the summoner class, they became lazy because they were treated to everything from meals to clothing.
In that sense, this gym was a ritual for me. I was human too. How could I not have wanted to rest and leave everything to the zombies? 'Laziness starts in the mind, dominates the body, and eventually spreads to my surroundings and the zombies.'
Hadn't the old scholars said it? Cultivate yourself, manage your family, govern the nation, bring peace to the world. Everything ultimately starts from oneself, so training my body was the first step toward world conquest.
"So work hard."
"Hi... hiii..."
Baengnae was holding the bench, her arms trembling as if they would fall off. But there was no need to worry. I fed her the nasty gel that stabilized muscles and aided recovery.
"Ugh... uwee... Baengnae dying..."
"Don't worry. If you die, I'll revive you."
"Uwaaeng..."
Baengnae continued training, shedding liquid that was either sweat or tears. Until the day she became stronger than me, Baengnae's training would never stop.