Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: 20. Raid Again. (1)
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"..."
I'm looking down at the corpse.
It's a young woman's body.
Pale, hollow-cheeked, so gaunt she looks like she'd crumble to dust if I touched her—a young woman dead in utter exhaustion.
Diet food wrappers are scattered in every corner of the room.
She must've been trying to lose weight.
She wasn't even that overweight.
She was slim.
And yet she lived off that stuff. I can't wrap my head around it.
Probably because I'm a guy.
This woman hadn't left the house since the apocalypse hit. She'd been holed up inside, trembling in fear.
Even peeking outside must've terrified her—she'd drawn the curtains tight, leaving the room dim and gloomy.
The only food she had left was zero-calorie diet jelly.
Just water and konjac in the fridge.
In the end, she must've held out by drinking tap water.
Until she starved to death.
Corpses like this are starting to appear now.
It's been about three weeks.
If you didn't stockpile food at home, you'd starve.
Even so, she seemed like someone who'd made decent money. Yoga flyers are scattered around, with her face printed on them.
Probably worked at a popular Pilates/yoga studio in this affluent neighborhood.
I'd opened every door on the ninth floor.
No living people.
Just two dead women.
The one lying dead in front of me now, and another who'd swallowed nearly a month's worth of antidepressants and sleeping pills in one go to kill herself.
The ones with some energy, who wanted to live, who had a bit of courage—they'd gone downstairs to scavenge food and turned into zombies.
A completely empty ghost floor.
Yeah.
This is the apocalypse right now.
Even if I'm having sex with Su-hyun every day, people get along, we smile and chat when we meet, and life feels just like normal.
This is the apocalypse.
A world where you can live like that is the abnormal one.
I feel it as I look down at this woman.
"...Let's go, oppa. We'll ask the others to handle the bodies."
"Yeah."
I stepped out of the apartment and lit a cigarette.
I thought I'd graduated from feeling bitter about seeing the dead, but apparently, there's still quite a bit of that sentiment left in me.
Seeing someone die alone and pathetically like this sours my mood.
Exhale.
The cigarette smoke drifts away.
Su-hyun spoke up while packing her tools.
"What now?"
I took another drag from my cigarette.
This building—we'd cleared it completely.
Leveled up plenty too.
Just need to clear the bodies, and it's perfect.
But simply surviving isn't enough for me.
I need to level up.
Exhale.
I blew out the smoke and said,
"Gonna rest a bit, then head outside."
"Outside?"
I put the cigarette back in my mouth.
Feeling kinda stuffy.
"Yeah. You saw those YouTube videos. Massive hordes. Suck—exhale..."
Su-hyun nodded, watching me.
I continued,
"No rule saying they won't show up here. From the videos, when they appear, nearby ones get aggro'd too and come swarming out. Not sure if it's the noise or something else."
This cigarette tastes good.
Suck—exhale.
I watched the smoke dissipate and said,
"Can't check every house, but I'll handle any hordes I can on my end. Don't want a zombie swarm sucking in all the factions around here if it happens. Dangerous for us too."
Su-hyun slowly nodded, seeing the logic in it.
"Where to?"
I had a spot in mind.
"The underpass."
The place where just nearing the stairs sent vibrations rumbling like an earthquake.
The underpass connected to the underground mall, bustling with crowds even on weekdays, and linked to the subway station.
Not certain, of course.
No idea how many are there.
Just vaguely figuring at least a thousand, maybe.
A thousand.
My...
Perfect prey.
Su-hyun said worriedly,
"...So you might be out overnight again?"
Hmm...
Depends on how big and deep the subway station and mall are. Even without details, at least ten times bigger than this department store, right?
If I get carried away leveling, yeah, probably overnight.
I nodded.
"Maybe."
Su-hyun's face darkened a little.
"...Be careful. Okay?"
Suck—exhale.
I dropped the cigarette on the floor and stomped it out.
Then smiled.
"When have I not come back safe? Don't worry."
Still, Su-hyun kept looking at me.
Like she had something to say.
I chuckled and pulled her shoulder into a hug.
Mm, nice to hold.
Her full breasts are especially soft and feel great.
"If I don't come back, I can't hold you. Too much of a waste."
Su-hyun pinched my side.
"Ow!"
"Ugh, really."
I let go, and she shot me a glare before walking off.
"I'm heading down to finish the shutter work. Gotta weld now. Hmph!"
I laughed and said,
"Yeah. I'll head up and rest. Call if anything comes up."
Su-hyun turned, stuck out her tongue.
Cute.
I lounged around at home until Su-hyun came up, then we ate lunch together and lounged some more.
She told me they're planning to weld aluminum sheets over the top of the shutters so they can't be pulled back up.
And use aluminum panels stripped from cars, weld them onto the shutters for durability.
Sounds simple, but it's a ton of work.
This massive building, 4,000 square feet per floor, most of the first floor glass walls—lowering shutters everywhere, sealing with silicone, plating them, welding the tops. Not a one-day job.
Hoon's uncle is learning to apply silicone on the fly, but hands are still short.
The Inline folks are helping in various ways, but clearing bodies from 1st to 9th floors is no small task, and they're stripping cars for panels too.
Dung Breath is hustling hard, but that guy... doesn't seem much help. Weak.
Guy like that, tsk.
Meanwhile, Ye-eun, So-eun, Grandmother, and the married woman are setting up a rooftop garden for veggies we'll eat later.
Hoon's uncle scooped soil from the street planters and trees while doing construction for that.
Everyone's busy as hell.
Of course, I'm lounging through it all.
I just level up.
Took a stroll outside to digest, and spotted an unfamiliar woman sneaking out of her place with a bag.
Our eyes met.
Ah, her.
The one who'd been scared of me.
Her eyes widened as she looked at me.
Then she bowed awkwardly.
"Ah... hello."
I chuckled and nodded.
"Yeah. Feeling better now?"
"Ah... yes."
"Eating okay?"
She clasped her hands around the bag and bowed politely.
"Yes. Thanks to everyone... Sorry about before. Thank you."
"No worries. You're safe now. Need anything? Head to the mart and grab it. No charge."
I said it with a chuckle.
She smiled awkwardly and bowed again.
"Um, then..."
"Yeah. See you."
I waved, and we went our separate ways.
Pretty cute.
That long skirt suits her.
At a glance, she looks like a housewife, but living alone, probably not married.
Just likes dressing like that?
Bag's probably trash.
I walked to the end of the hall, pushed the window open a crack, and lit a cigarette.
The street was as quiet as ever.
Inline club guys and gals stripping cars. Another pair hauling bodies out two by two.
Piling them on the road—gonna burn 'em.
Hmm.
Rain coming?
Lots of clouds.
Better prep soon.
Smoked it to the filter, then flicked it out the window.
Back home, grabbed my bag and sword, headed to the first floor.
Su-hyun's right.
Might be overnight.
Living with these people isn't bad for me.
Su-hyun takes me whenever I want, and she says the other women will too.
The vibe at meals or passing by is nice, no prickly personalities to deal with.
But more than that, I crave leveling up.
Recover faster, kill more, grow stronger.
Want that new specialization ASAP, curious what I'll become at the end of this growth.
Growth desire beats sex drive.
Women anytime.
Level up now.
That's the feeling.
Down to the first floor, stocked up on chocolate bars, energy bars, and water from the snack corner.
Assuming overnight, bag got nicely full.
Good.
Time to go.
Checked stats fully recharged, headed straight for the side door.
Su-hyun's welding.
Zzzzzz, zzzzzzt—
"Su-hyun. Heading out."
She lifted her mask from her chin and turned.
"Huh? Oppa, now? We're grilling meat on the roof tonight with everyone. Celebrating mart access. Tomorrow okay?"
I smiled and said,
"Safety first."
Stepped out the side door.
Su-hyun called loudly from behind.
"Oppa, be careful! Okay? Be careful!"
"Got it."
Waved and stepped onto the sidewalk.
Up ahead, convenience store.
Next to it, underpass entrance.
Raid again.
Let's level up.