Chapter 24

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 24

Chapter Title: Zombie Apocalypse (21)

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After finishing up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at the mart and coming back, I slept deeply and woke up refreshed.

Whether it was the effect of Combat Sleep or because I'd overused my mental energy a bit yesterday, my body and mind felt perfectly fine.

If I'd had to smash the zombies at the entrance and deal with all those people by myself, it would've been a real hassle, but having the spear wielders around made the fight go a lot smoother in every way.

Today, I gently stroked Na-eun's firm butt—she'd slept in a little longer than me.

Then I closed my eyes and activated Presence Detection.

As I expanded the range, my head started to ache a bit, but I figured I could at least sense the zombies inside and near the house, so I kept going until I gave up.

The detection spread out in a circular pattern, and using it from the third floor required too much mental energy to pick up zombies on the ground level. Better to just check with my eyes.

While searching for zombies, I pinpointed Jung Jun-ho's location—he should've been in 303, but he seemed to be sleeping in 304.

He'd blocked off the entrance himself, so he should be fine on his own.

I picked up my smartphone to check the time.

It had been exactly two days and twelve hours since the zombie outbreak—right at the halfway mark.

I unlocked it and decided to browse the news and community sites.

Overseas areas hit hard with massive zombie outbreaks had tons of sites that were dead without updates.

Nertube seemed to be running somehow, but I could only trust raw info uploaded by individuals there.

Videos of people fighting zombie hordes were popping up everywhere now, and fortunately, many ended in victory.

They looked like live streams, and the real-time chats were total chaos.

When everyone should be praying for victory, some idiot was cracking jokes like "Don't zombies have rights?" and others begging for help.

Ignoring that nonsense, I checked their fighting methods—they were mostly using long-range weapons like spears.

Swinging a baseball bat around in this situation would just be stupid.

Then I remembered something I'd improvised during yesterday's fight.

A shield.

I'd swung the bag holding my baseball bat like a shield, and it occurred to me that it could work as actual defensive gear.

I got out of bed and opened the bag, which was a bit torn from the knife slash.

Inside were three baseball bats. Arranging them forward, reverse, forward created a shape that wasn't too big but felt pretty solid.

Two more would make the width perfect, but Na-eun and I were already using them, so I couldn't spare any.

I started regretting only grabbing the gas burner and canisters from the mart.

There would've been way more usable sheet metal there.

Or I could rip the fridge door off from 301.

It might run empty a bit early tomorrow anyway.

"What're you doing?"

Na-eun asked, seeing me fiddling with the taped-together bats.

"Pondering shields. Sleep well, Na-eun?"

I turned toward the bed, and she looked utterly exhausted.

Without Combat Sleep like me, the fatigue must've built up.

"I feel like I slept okay, but I'm tired. Guess I was on edge last night."

Na-eun grabbed her smartphone right away and started texting.

Then a call came in.

"Is it okay to call Young-eun?"

Na-eun switched to speakerphone, and I sat beside her.

"Yeah. The mart's calmed down a bit."

"Good. You okay?"

"Gotta be. Yesterday, the survivors gathered, washed up, and all cried their eyes out together—it was cathartic. Those bastards are all dead now. The living have to keep going."

Her voice sounded much more at ease than our chat last night—she'd pulled herself together some.

"Good job. Any plans for the mart now?"

"We were busy washing up and missed some details, but they're stopping the survivor gatherings. They'll lay low until the injured recover their strength. The women are practicing weapons too. Folks handy with tools are making more spears—still at it now."

Listening closely, I could hear distant clanging of metal from far off.

They must've realized that lacking the power to protect their comrades was scarier than incoming zombies.

Once the injured recovered, the mart would be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠much stronger.

"Come by if you need supplies later. You can join us too."

"Got it."

And with that, the call with Young-eun ended.

After a quiet moment, I spoke up.

"Na-eun, lunch time?"

"Sure. What're we making today?"

Whatever it was, gochujang would be involved.

No quests today, so Na-eun and I decided to chill in the room.

After pushing hard last night, she still looked worn even after sleeping.

We'd had our red lunch, then bundled under the covers on the bed when things got noisy outside.

"Someone's here? I'll check."

"Okay. Bring melon bars."

I flicked her forehead lightly—she was talking about ice cream that's getting hard to find—then headed to the hallway.

Three guys outside were swinging weapons, taking out zombies, and trying to enter the officetel.

They weren't just luring zombies mindlessly—they were killing as they came. Humanity check: passed.

To chat with them, I called down.

"Who're you?"

"Gah? People?"

"Yeah. You saw all the weird zombie corpses here."

"Damn. This place got residents? Everywhere else has barbed wire and blocked entrances. Nothing here."

The men talked among themselves, then one explained why they'd come to our officetel.

No defenses against zombies, so they figured it was ripe for looting.

"Heard about it? Yesterday or before—zombies were spawning in crowded spots on purpose. Fewer people here made it easier to hold out."

"Tch. But you're the only one showing your face. No one else around, or just you? Bluffing?"

True, I was the only one speaking up for this place.

First and second floors must've heard the commotion but stayed holed up.

Easy to think I was solo-claiming the building.

They weren't well-armed, looked beat from the trek, and I was confident I could take them alone.

Maybe go down and break an arm? Then a man's voice from upstairs.

"We've got enough to smash you punks. Just leave. Wasting energy sleeping, and you wake us up? Fuck off."

"Shit... Live fat and happy, assholes!"

The intruder grabbed a rock from the ground and hurled it at the first-floor hallway window.

Crash.

The shattering glass echoed loudly, and the intruders fled with their weapons.

"We should block the entrance."

Too annoying alone, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and for everyone's benefit, I said it loud enough for upstairs.

"Do it yourself if you want."

That came from above, followed by a slammed door.

Weirdos.

The guy in 104 overlooks his zombie chick antics but won't help protect the officetel.

"Guess it's on the desperate ones."

Just under two and a half days left—hold out for Yoo Sian's quest completion, then spend the rest quietly with Na-eun.

Going to the mart yesterday was honestly overkill.

Back in the room, Na-eun was still asleep despite the noise, so I headed out solo.

First, I smashed open 102's door.

No reaction from 104 or 106.

Dead?

Presence Detection—they were both alive, doing something inside.

102's place was spotless compared to next door, but instant noodle cups everywhere. Must've swept the convenience store when it started.

Never made it back.

I stuffed my bag with the noodles and yanked off the front door—that was key.

With my strength, unlocking and kicking it flew off in one go.

I did the same for 101's trash heap door and propped it at the officetel entrance.

To keep it from sliding easy, needed weight. Back to 102.

Fridge was heaviest, but maybe not enough for blocking.

I could smash the fridge-and-junk wall in 302-303 if I wanted.

"My standards too high?"

Fridge is decently heavy.

I hefted it with both hands, stacked it behind the propped door at the entrance.

Ripped down curtains and wrapped the door and fridge tight—crude blockade done.

Really, the path from the third-floor stairs to our place mattered most.

Seal that perfectly, and I'm golden.

For emergencies, securing an escape route might be smart, but it'll be fine.

Days three and four passed uneventfully.

The makeshift entrance block worked—no zombies in the front yard on day three. Slept soundly, woke refreshed, and spent sweet time with recovered Na-eun.

Day four, loud bangs from upstairs like they were busting a door, but I ignored it.

I'd smashed two without consulting residents myself.

Na-eun called Young-eun daily for mart updates, and on day four, shakily phoned her parents.

Luckily, both were hunkered at home, cut off from outside.

I called Lee Sian's parents too—they were rationing home food, staying in.

'Just 24 hours left.'