Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Zombie Apocalypse (12)
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There had been a few zombies shambling in from the gas station, but now there were none.
Even after completing the quest, I'd taken down about three more, but the Status Window just said quest on standby, and they hadn't counted toward anything special.
It had been lucky that consecutive zombie-slaying quests popped up at the department store that morning.
If I'd built deeper connections with the Q Class kids, I might've learned more about quests, but since I was going it alone, I didn't know much.
The professors only guided Q Class students toward what they needed—they didn't know much about quests themselves.
They saw it as a convenient way to steer lessons in the direction the quests wanted, so I'd inefficiently focused on training just my body to hunt down possession vessels. The result? A massive gap between this vessel, Lee Sian, and my main body, Yoo Sian, in terms of combat power.
Almost five times the difference.
But if there were five Yoo Sians, could they beat Lee Sian? Nah, not necessarily.
Combat power was more like an indicator of strength than an absolute number.
'What's Insight? Feels like an active skill.'
The physical enhancements had boosted combat power by nearly double, and Insight piled on another 1.5 times.
I'd picked up an active skill instead of a passive one, and it was 1.5x—what kind of effect would it really have in practice?
Zombies or not, I wanted to test it out, but then I remembered the line about it guzzling mental power.
If I collapsed from mental exhaustion, that'd be a disaster. Best to experiment with Na-eun nearby, I figured. With that thought, I headed home.
Fingerprint scan at officetel third floor, room 302. As I stepped inside, the deliciously spicy scent of slightly charred gochujang hit me.
"Sian! You're back? No injuries? You didn't get bitten, right?"
Na-eun rushed out from the kitchen at the sound of me coming in, her voice thick with worry. Seeing that warmed my heart immensely.
Was this what a girlfriend's genuine concern felt like?
Seo Yeon had worried about me sometimes too, but back then, we were stronger than regular folks thanks to our Status Windows.
The worry back in that safe situation felt different from this—in a world crawling with danger.
"Yeah, I'm good. Who do you think I am?"
"Dinner's ready. Go wash up and eat."
I stripped off the cardboard box armor, rinsed the bat in the shower, then propped it in the bathroom.
Washed my hands and face clean, then dug into the gochujang-glazed chicken breast and sliced cucumbers Na-eun had set out.
The taste? Pure protein overload. The cucumbers at least made it feel somewhat balanced.
She'd even made rice—one big clump, like from a Korean-Chinese joint. Who knew rice could be this sweet?
Felt sweeter than the energy bars, even.
"Tasty? Edible?"
"It's fine. Way better than anything I could whip up."
She started eating after hearing that.
Chewing carefully—it seemed decent enough to her. A slightly early dinner.
I did the dishes and tidied up, then sat on the bed, my little shelter zone in the room.
Na-eun plopped onto my lap for some reason. Like she was scheming to keep me from heading out?
Her firm butt rubbing softly against me—maybe she wanted something else?
A bit of time left, but going to the meeting right after sex? Not appealing. I endured desperately.
"Haa. Never thought checking overseas news on my smartphone would scare me like this."
Thankfully, communications, electricity, and water were all still running.
Na-eun browsed the internet for overseas updates.
It'd be nighttime there now, after the zombie outbreak kicked off during the day...
"A few news sites haven't updated."
She hopped through several English-language sites—definitely some stalled out.
"Countries have way more land. What happened?"
News sites down, so we checked videos uploaded to places like YouTube from abroad.
Amateur footage, but enough to gauge the situation in those countries.
A video from a high-rise at dusk, filming the streets below—packed with zombies.
More than the army unit we'd seen turn into a zombie horde earlier that day. A full-on swarm.
Could anyone clock in and post articles for review in a state like that? Grateful for these raw uploads sharing the reality.
"Wanna hunt for some hopeful videos?"
Na-eun searched for zombie-killing clips.
Even searching in Korean pulled up overseas ones.
Videos of sturdy rally cars plowing through zombie packs. Groups ganging up to beat them down.
After a few, Na-eun cleared the search and said,
"Sian's one-shot head explosions looked better."
"Yeah? If that puts your mind at ease, wanna film next time? We could upload too."
"Once might be okay."
"But no more going out today. You stay in too. Supplies outside are gone anyway."
I pulled the sulking Na-eun into a hug and lay back on the bed.
"What time is it? How long till 8?"
"About two and a half hours."
5:30. Nap through this awkward stretch?
Na-eun read my mind and set an alarm for 7:50.
"Gonna sleep?"
"Yeah. We'll do that after you get back."
"Pervert."
She plugged her smartphone into the charger and snuggled into my arms.
Just a quick shut-eye. The quest right now was basically just killing time anyway.
"Sian, alarm's going off."
Na-eun shook me awake.
"Ah. Already?"
More fatigue built up than I'd realized.
Slept like the dead.
Outside was properly dark now. I got up from bed and stretched.
No fights expected, but I grabbed the bat—irreplaceable now—and slipped on my shoes.
Na-eun grabbed her bat and followed me.
Jung Jun-ho came out too, hearing our door.
"Hi. Lee Sian-ssi?"
"Yeah. Rest well, Jung Jun-ho-ssi?"
"Yes. Can't forage more supplies, so gotta conserve energy."
Na-eun just nodded silently, and we headed down to the front yard.
A few already there; others followed us down. Once everyone gathered, it was eight people.
Na-eun came with me, so seven rooms occupied?
With everyone out, the bushy-haired guy from 104 cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Hi. This is 104 room. Called you to make a few promises. You're all staying in the officetel, so I figure you're confident you can hold out till the 30-day mark when humanity strikes back. Prevent disputes till then."
I figured that part was reasonable enough.
Sticking around meant you had supplies left.
"But supplies might run short. Could burn through faster than expected. So we're checking empty rooms. They might've taken everything when they left, but some could've abandoned stuff—like laptops, books for fuel, clothes, that sort."
"What about returners?"
A woman with long brown hair raised her hand.
"Which room?"
"106."
"Ah, next door over. So deadline tomorrow noon. Assuming they stop wandering at night, anyone planning to return would by then, right?"
104's guy laid out what seemed like a fair point, but 106's woman wasn't buying it.
She let out a small sigh, then spoke.
"Saw you yesterday hauling that woman zombie's body. Gonna open her room and dress her up? Pervert."
Her icy words froze the yard in silence the moment everyone heard.
104's guy's breathing grew ragged; others edged back a bit.
"Fuck. Yeah, true. Better than jerking off alone like a virgin waiting out the apocalypse—gonna fuck a corpse at least! What, did I rape her? Just a woman corpse with a clean head burst! Fuck. Bitch won't even pretend not to see."
The mood flipped hard with 104's outburst. The guys felt a twinge of pity.
But 106's woman, the other woman, and Na-eun shot looks of pure contempt.
One guy raised his hand.
"Hey. Cut the women some slack. Ain't pitiful? Fuck, might get infected mid-thrust and turn zombie himself. Man's gotta man up and pound. Says he'll handle it quiet alone?"
Na-eun pinched my side hard.
Like she wanted me to voice opposition. But I wasn't fully against it myself.
The other guys were leaning toward leniency; with me staying mum for Na-eun, it was 4:4.
The men shot me subtle glances—the guy who'd pulped a zombie head needed to wrap this up.
"You know sex could turn you zombie?"
"Not fucking a live one—corpse. Saw posts, some already doing it."
"Which room's woman?"
"101."
"Good. Owner's dead for sure, so we open 101. But all together, and you grab just what you want—clothes? Underwear? Rest we split."
"Sian? You're allowing it? For real?"
Na-eun sounded pretty shocked.
"If you're doing it, lock the room tight from inside. Make sure even a zombie can't unlock. If one starts wandering outside, I'll burst its head like hers."
Agreement reached, we smashed open 101's front door.
101's owner hadn't kept it tidy—looked like a trash heap.
104 dove for the closet, snagged clothes and undies, and bolted fastest.
Men saw nothing worth salvaging in the trash, gave up digging. Women grabbed a bit of makeup and headed back.
Back in my room, Na-eun grumbled.
"Gross. Won't be satisfied with a corpse—gonna rape women next. 106 woman in danger?"
"Probably. But now she knows, she'll barricade good."
Get deep sleep within the time limit.
- Remaining Time: 1:59:59
- On Completion: [Skill] Survival Rules (E) Enhanced
What? I just woke up from a nap? How do I burn stamina fast?
Then my eyes landed on Na-eun, still grumbling.
Not the mood for that right now!