Chapter 2
Chapter 2
I trusted the system's words and headed out to the yard, which was the advantage of having a small single-family house.
"Ugh... Not only are Mom's cucumbers and green onions gone, but the entire yard has turned into a forest..."
The yard looked completely different from my memories, so I let out a hollow laugh and pulled up the grass under my foot to use my ability.
[Weed]
Info 1: Eating it will make your stomach burn.
As expected.
I shook off my hand, tossed the weed aside, and this time approached the massive vegetable that could no longer be called a cucumber, then used my ability.
[Cucumber]
Info 1: Eating it grants a Vitality Regeneration effect for 30 minutes.
"What?! Vitality Regeneration for 30 minutes?
In the Ruined Game, that kind of effect only came from potions worth five jars of Peanut Butter...
Cucumbers... gotta grow these well, right?!"
The description was totally different from the weed, so I hurriedly went back inside the house and opened the fridge, using my ability on the yard-grown cucumber that Mom had harvested last night.
[Cucumber]
Info 1: Eating it will make you feel cool.
Unlike my expectations, the cucumber that had already been harvested and stored in the fridge was ordinary.
"So, you have to be under the Ruined Game's effects to get those kinds of benefits...
In that case, wouldn't farms or mountains have tons of weird ingredients...?"
High risk, high return.
In a world overrun by dangerous zombies and crazies, to survive, I needed to get my hands on items with better effects than cucumbers.
"But being able to read item info at will is an insane power...
I gotta stay under the radar as much as possible... rack up gains... and survive..."
I went back out to the yard and opened the door to the shed outside.
Basrak.... Deulkeok... Basrak..
Oh!
In the shed, I found the sickle, pruning shears, and Trifoliate Orange Shears that I'd used a few days ago when Mom nagged me to clear the weeds from the vegetable patch.
"If I'd known, I would've taken better care of them..."
Kkiiik.. Teureok..
The sickle and pruning shears were in good condition, but the Trifoliate Orange Shears had been stuck in the ground after use and neglected, so they were rusted and seemed impractical as weapons.
[Gardening Pruning Shears]
Info 1: Pruning shears made by Sumiko Co.
Durability 37/50
Attack Power 7~9
[Sickle]
Info 1: A sickle made by Sumiko Co.
Durability 23/30
Attack Power 14~15
The shears and sickle were in good shape with decent durability and attack power stronger than the beginner daggers from the early Ruined Game, but their short range meant I could end up in danger if I wasn't careful.
"With no skills and barely any exercise, going out with just these weapons would be suicide...
But there's no way we have rifles or bows lying around the house."
I sat on the chair in the yard, pondering for a bit, then had a good idea.
I got up from the chair, pulled out the rusted Trifoliate Orange Shears from the shed, and used the rubber bands rolling around in the corner of the shed to disassemble them.
"If I got no teeth, I'd have to gum it... damn it.."
In an instant, I got two wooden sticks, went inside the house, and used the kitchen knife Mom had used to slice pork just yesterday along with some tape to assemble a makeshift spear.
[Crude Spear]
Info 1: A crude spear made by traveler Kim Geum-seul.
Durability 10/10
Attack Power 20~21
Thanks to the sharply honed kitchen knife blade, the attack power was high, but because it was wrapped tightly with tape, the durability was low.
"Before it gets any darker, I gotta do something... Dad's company is closer than Mom's, so I should head there first."
I went inside the house, dumped all my major textbooks out of my bag and slung it on my back,
put on a bicycle helmet, grabbed the assembled spear, and headed to the yard.
"Damn it.. why don't we have knee pads or something at home..."
Even with the system's protection, it was better to be cautious, so I locked the front door, checked it twice—no, three times—and quietly walked over to open the front gate.
Tang!
"Damn it!"
Things had escalated so quickly that I'd forgotten, but our front gate was an old iron-barred one, and opening it always made a loud clang from the lock hitting the metal.
The gate let out a crisp, loud noise again, and I panicked, quickly shut it, backed away, and watched the situation.
"Huff... huff... Are there no zombies around...?"
Through the bars, all I could see outside were weeds grown knee-high and the small animals from the Ruined Game.
Feeling relieved, I cautiously opened the gate again.
Teong!
Sasak! Purrur!
I stayed alert around me at the loud clang of metal, but fortunately, it was just small animals startled and fleeing.
"Whew... If it's already like this at the start, what the hell..."
I let out a sigh of relief, carefully closed the gate, and made sure not to lose the keychain by putting it securely in my pocket.
Sabak... Sabak...
I was walking the same path as always, but instead of the hard pavement feel, the soft squish of stepping on grass hit me, making the reality that this world had truly changed sink in deep.
Jjeobuk.. Jjeobuk...
Teong... Teong...
Kureureu...
Under the purple sky and the thick grassy scent, I'd let my guard down while walking, but the zombie groan made me tense up, and I gripped the Crude Spear tightly with both hands.
'Crazy! How long since I left the house and already a zombie—fucking hell!?'
I pressed my body against the wall of Grandma Seo's house, which I'd known for years, peeked out to check the street, and saw a zombie from the Ruined Game shambling along, banging its head against the wall.
'Damn.. even in the game it looked too gruesome and people complained, but seeing it in real life is even grosser...'
"Huff?!"
The Ruined Game devs must've ground up aliens for the details, because not only the game system but even the zombies' appearances were all different—they were dead serious about zombies.
The zombie near Geum-seul now seemed freshly respawned, with no major bodily damage, wearing only bottoms—a young female zombie.
I yelped in shock at the sight of her small but perky breasts fully exposed.
Kureureu!
The zombie, with its sensitive hearing, turned its head toward me and slowly started approaching.
'Damn it!! Why the hell is a cutie like that a half-naked zombie flashing her tits!!!'
Back in the Ruined Game days, most male players hunted for big-titted zombies for fun,
and a few hardcore vets used the extreme freedom to fuck zombies or strip them for public strip shows.
'But this is reality!! If you die, no character delete—it's real death!!'
My trembling hands gripped the spear so hard they hurt, and I recalled a strategy post from a Ruined Game vet.
--
[Title: You Can Fuck Her Too!! Zombie Girl Part 1
This game is a total god game!!
You can fuck zombies—woo-hoo!!
But newbie bros, to chow down on cutie zombies, you gotta level up first!
...
Once you've learned basic skills in town the way I said, head out!]
'Aw, shit.. right.. I should've learned basic skills first...'
I lamented my head for only now remembering the guide.
[Respawned zombies are fucking weak, except the occasional mutant spawns
Doesn't matter if they swarm, but solo? You could kill 'em blindfolded, no worries!
Head! Aim for the head and zombies drop!
Vets like me slice ankles and wrists to turn zombies into...]
'Yeah, the head... that exposed zombie bitch is respawned, so one shot to the noggin should do it..'
My thinking took too long, and the zombie was already close.
'Fuck! If I can't even do this, how the hell am I gonna survive?! Bare-handed from here on!!!'
Puk!!!
Keueueok.... Teolseok
My shaky thrust must've had beginner's luck, because the spear pierced the zombie girl's head.
The zombie let out a low wail and collapsed to the ground, and the horror of stabbing a human head made me fall back on my ass.
"Huff... huff... I... did it.... fuck..."
After my first kill, my whole body went limp, and I sprawled out flat on the ground, staring at the purple sky.
Then, with a pop, the zombie broke down into small polygons and floated up to the sky, and a new interface appeared before my eyes.
[Acquired 5 EXP]
'Damn... Ruined Game sucks...'
I lifted my head and checked the Crude Spear tossed where the zombie had been, along with the Peanut Butter jar it dropped.
'Huff... Now... it begins... gonna lose my mind...'
I barely calmed my shaking body, slowly stood up, gripped the spear, and picked up the Peanut Butter jar rolling in the wind.
"Eh...?"
In the Ruined Game, killing normal zombies dropped a spoonful of Peanut Butter, which you'd put in a free shop jar to use as currency,
but maybe reality got a convenience patch, because it dropped a jar already containing a small amount of Peanut Butter.
'In the game, vets would beat zombies with the dropped spoons for spoon murderer play... can't do that here, lol...'
Having killed one zombie, I felt more at ease than before, even having weird thoughts, and the shaking lessened.
Just in case, I raised my hand to call the system and tapped the inventory that existed back in the Ruined Game days.
Bbiik!
[Inventory slots insufficient]
[Purchase 7 slots: 1 Peanut Butter jar]
"Damn it..."
In the game, you got 14 free slots, but in reality, it seemed you had to pay.
I opened the bag on my back, put in the spoonful-equivalent Peanut Butter jar, grabbed the spear again, and headed to Dad's company.
--
Kyaah!! Help.. argh!!
You bastard!!! How dare you!! Argh!!!
S-sorry!!
Peng!! Jjanggeurang!!!
People getting bitten by zombies after tripping while fleeing,
People tossing allies as bait to escape,
People using magic or superpowers to kill zombies.
As I reached the main street, chaos unfolded right before my eyes, just like the word implied.
'Damn it... is this for real!!!'
Cursing inwardly, thanks to people drawing the zombies' attention, I safely crossed the 8-lane road.
But around the sidewalks, zombies that had grown by eating people, plus newly infected bitten folks, were approaching fresh prey.
Startled, I hurriedly dove into an open apartment shopping complex.
Cheolpudeok!
"Ugh.. it hurts..."
The zombies tried to follow Geum-seul through the open door but were blocked by something, unable to enter a certain range.
'Without the system, I'd be dead...'
I let out a sigh of relief and read the building's info.
[Daebori Apartment Shopping Center]
My Home Owner: Kim Sang-deok
Current Function: Absolute Protection (6 days 21:17)
I mentally thanked the owner whose name I'd have to look up in Alaska later and exited through the back door of the shopping center.
The chaos was the same inside the apartment complex.
Just with a younger age group as the victims.
I grimaced at the unspeakable situation and quietly killed only the zombies blocking the road ahead, pressing on.
--
Spotting the Electronics Mall where Dad worked, I didn't just proceed cautiously—I sprinted full-tilt into the building.
"Huff... huff.... Made it... here... should be... safe... now... haa..."
I opened my bag, chugged the water I'd brought, and moistened my parched, twisting throat.
At that moment, a security guard approached me as I sat on the floor resting.
The guard knew zombies couldn't enter the building, so even with one at the door, he wasn't worried and spoke casually.
"You!! You came from out there, didn't you!?"
"Huff... yes... hello...."
"Young buck with some guts... So, what's a guy like you doing in a place full of nothing but scrap metal like this?"
The first floor of the Electronics Mall sold appliances like fridges and TVs, but with power out, they were junk, and floors 2 and 3 only had computer stuff, so that's why he asked.
"Huff... My... dad.. works.. here.."
"Yeah? Searching for your dad in this world—filial piety! Haha
Dunno which floor, but everyone's gathered in the 1st floor lobby for now, so let's head there."
The guard turned and walked toward the only lit space in the dark building, illuminated by candlelight,
and I got up and followed behind the guard uncle.