Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: 26. I'll Offer Myself to You. (1)
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The next morning.
I headed out of the building with Hoon-ajussi, Junhyeok, and Taeyoung.
Watching the men wave to the women seeing us off brought a smile to my face.
Hantae and the women were handling nearly all the work inside the building—ripping out materials to reinforce the shutters and glass walls one by one, or tending to the vegetable garden.
The men, meanwhile, scavenged aluminum sheets from outside or grabbed useful items from the stores I'd already cleared out before.
In between, they practiced with their bows.
It had become natural somehow—no one ordered them to, but everyone just knew what to do and got to work.
The snacks, pies, ham, sausages, instant noodles, and all sorts of other goods still displayed in the large mart were overflowing. We hadn't even touched the stock in the third-floor warehouse, leaving it intact.
At this rate, food wouldn't be an issue for at least a year or two.
Today's raid target was a mid-sized pharmacy.
Yesterday, a bunch of women had poured in, and most of them were in poor nutritional or health condition.
The nurse auntie said we were short on medicine, so I planned to clean out an entire pharmacy.
With three men and me—boosted by my Stamina Achievement skill—each carrying a full bag back, even a mid-sized pharmacy would be stripped bare.
As for the cockroaches?
Did I really need to care?
Let them starve to death for all I cared.
They didn't have much time left anyway.
On the way to Cheonggyecheon Stream.
A large pharmacy stood by the roadside, where towering skyscrapers reached for the sky.
The street in front of the pharmacy was a mess.
It looked like a major traffic accident had happened when the apocalypse hit.
A truck and a few passenger cars were flipped over, with debris from the wrecked vehicles scattered across the road.
But there were no bodies.
The seatbelts in the drivers' seats were roughly torn or chewed through, and blood pooled everywhere, but no one was there.
Just a severed arm or hand here and there on the ground.
No way paramedics had come and taken them.
They'd probably turned into a zombie wave.
I led the men behind the overturned truck and said,
"Wait here."
Hoon-ajussi, Junhyeok, and Taeyoung nodded.
"Yes, sir."
"Got it."
Leaving the men behind, I drew my sword and walked toward the pharmacy.
Glancing inside, there seemed to be four or five human beasts. Accounting for those sprawled on the floor, maybe six or seven? Could be more.
I shouldered open the pharmacy door and stepped in.
I whirled into action.
And then I stepped back out.
Crashing and rumbling sounds followed.
Blood dripped from my chin—plink, plink.
I wiped my chin with the back of my hand and sheathed my sword.
Shing—click.
"Come on in."
The men stared at me with wide eyes.
Even after seeing it multiple times, their faces said they still couldn't get used to it.
With tense expressions, the men entered the pharmacy.
A dozen dead human beasts.
Bodies with heads sliced or pierced lay sprawled on the floor.
"Whew."
"Every time, it's insane, Seong-hun."
"That's our teacher for you. Alright, let's pack it up. What should we grab first?"
The men scattered, sweeping medicines into their backpacks.
I chuckled and looked around the pharmacy.
Medicine, huh.
Whatever it was, having plenty couldn't hurt.
Might as well grab some.
I unzipped the backpack on my back.
Ziiiip.
The four bags we carried were now bulging.
We'd taken about half of the displayed stock.
There was probably a storage room in the back, but the bags were already stuffed.
"Come back with you three later and get the rest."
"Yes, sir. Don't worry about it."
The men nodded as they looked at me.
Their gazes held unwavering trust.
Hmm.
It felt a bit off having the men look at me like that.
I smiled and headed out of the pharmacy.
"Let's go."
As the four of us shouldered our bulging bags and stepped out, a distant putt-putt-putt like popping beans echoed from the road.
A light aircraft.
Taeyoung said,
"I've been seeing those a lot lately."
"Maybe another group of survivors?"
Hoon-ajussi tilted his head and looked up at the sky.
Junhyeok said,
"Probably. We're alive, those cockroaches are still kicking—gotta be people out there somewhere. But we shouldn't go looking for them blindly."
The men looked at Junhyeok.
He said cautiously to me,
"Times being what they are. We don't know what kind of people are with that plane, but better to be careful. If they're no better than cockroaches, we'll end up spilling blood again."
Hoon-ajussi, who'd been listening, nodded.
"Last time, our teacher chased those guys off because he was there. But what if next time he's not around and a horde like that shows up? They might hurt our people."
Taeyoung nodded too.
"The hyungs are right. It could be dangerous."
Hm.
They had a point.
I glanced at the plane for a moment, then turned away.
"Let's go."
"Yes, sir."
"Got it."
"Hoo..."
My hair was starting to creep down to my eyes.
Gotta cut it soon.
I swept my hair back, and bloody water trickled down.
The moon hung in the night sky—no rain tonight.
"Back already, Seong-hun hyung?"
Hantae.
He'd been on watch from the second floor, apparently.
...Hm?
Smoke was rising from behind him.
...I get it.
I couldn't help but chuckle in disbelief as I looked up at Hantae.
"You smoke?"
Hantae rolled his eyes awkwardly and grinned sheepishly.
Then his head vanished.
He poked it back out and said,
"Ah, no. I don't smoke, hyung."
"Kid like you. How old are you again?"
"Se... seventeen..."
Sheesh.
Well, thinking back, I hid in a corner and tried my first cigarette around that age too.
Thought it was crap and quit right away, though.
But this was the apocalypse now.
Who was gonna fine a kid for sneaking a smoke in the corner? Or beat him black and blue if his parents were around?
No cops, no courts, no government.
I shook my head and said,
"Open the door, punk."
"Yes, hyung. Opening it now."
I waited a moment, and the shutter rolled up.
Rattle-rattle-rattle—
Hantae scratched his head sheepishly.
A whiff of cigarette smoke hit me.
"Heh heh."
I stared at Hantae, then burst out laughing in disbelief and climbed the stairs.
"Nothing happen?"
"No, hyung. All quiet."
"Good."
Thwip, thwip—sounds came from the mart side.
People were practicing archery.
Su-hyun and Eun-seo from Fresh Corner, then the adjoining butcher shop, seafood, and vegetable sections.
They were using the now-empty hallway there for practice. Spotting me, Su-hyun, Eun-seo, Junhyeok, and Taeyoung waved with bright faces.
"Oppa! You're back?"
"Seong-hun. Good work."
I smiled and approached them.
"Practicing, huh?"
Taeyoung grinned.
"Yeah, hyung. This is actually pretty fun once you get into it."
I laughed.
"Good. Keep at it."
"Yes, hyung!"
I looked at Su-hyun and Eun-seo.
"I'm heading up to wash."
"Okay, Seong-hun."
"Oppa, I'll be up soon. Go on ahead."
I waved and turned, when a startled gasp came from the side.
...A woman I'd never seen before.
Bruise on her cheekbone.
Ah, one of the new ones.
She held a basket with ramen, snacks, and Fanta.
Her face pale, she trembled faintly—like she'd seen something terrifying.
Why?
Plip.
Blood dripped from my chin.
That's when it hit me.
I was covered head to toe in blood right now.
Two swords at my waist, bow and arrows on my back, blood dripping everywhere—how horrifying, savage, and dangerous must I look? The woman's face told me everything.
It was understandable.
Anyone not used to seeing me like this after multiple times would be shocked.
I'd grown numb to being drenched in blood myself.
The woman trembled faintly.
I said,
"...How's your body holding up? You okay?"
She just panted—hic, sob—unable to answer.
I smiled faintly, gave a slight nod, and walked on.
Not sure how friendly I looked smiling with blood streaming down my face.
In Ye-eun's room, I showered and opened my status window.
Chosen OneSpecialization:Wild Hunter | Level:30Title:Growing
Stats
Distribution Points:8
Skills
Already level 30.
Choosing an attack specialization was definitely the right call.
At this rate, I'd hit max level soon.
I put 8 points into Senses, bringing it to 27.
I could really feel myself growing.
While washing up, Su-hyun came in. After dinner with Ye-eun, I held each of the two women once and fell asleep.
Pretty...
...not a bad life.
Even after days of slaughtering dozens, hundreds of them every day since the apocalypse—days without a single moment free of blood drenching me—I still felt that way.
I'm alive right now.
I've never felt it more than lately.