Chapter 2
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Preparing for Doomsday
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"Fuck, why is this here?"
An all-too-familiar presence.
I knew that uneasy word "Doomsday" floating in the air, along with the countdown ticking down in real time right beside it, all too well.
Because this was exactly what appeared before the protagonist's eyes in the prologue intro of Ajeol.
To be precise, it was a countdown to destruction set to appear before the eyes of every human in the world.
Was I hallucinating right now?
The thought crossed my mind for a second, but I'd been diagnosed with a perfectly sound mental state back in school—thanks to all those "counseling" tests they ran on the orphan kid—so that wasn't likely.
Which meant this was really happening. Reality.
"No way... why all of a sudden...?"
The situation had caught me off guard, plunging me into confusion, but the countdown numbers kept relentlessly dropping even now.
Doomsday 39:30
Already thirty seconds gone.
Whatever else, I needed to move first.
'Plenty of time to think later!'
Even if this turned out to be a hallucination, I'd just feel a bit embarrassed for a moment.
But if it was real, this was life-or-death.
I wasn't some idiot who'd cling to pointless common sense and throw my life away.
Forcing down the emotions welling up inside me, I cooled my head and got to work.
I shoved aside the half-eaten chicken, jumped up from my seat, and quickly gathered every electronic device in the house.
The moment this incomprehensible situation hit, I'd recalled everything I knew from Ajeol's original story and ranked what I'd need most for what was coming.
Knowledge, food, shelter.
In Ajeol's world, these were top-three priorities by importance.
And the absolute most critical? Knowledge.
Medicine, cooking, construction—modern knowledge touched every part of our lives.
Plus, the second doomsday kicked off, the internet would vanish.
All that data, gone in an instant.
I didn't know the mechanics, but in Ajeol, nearly every means of information exchange, storage, and access just... ceased to exist the moment destruction began.
Which meant any info on the net had to be saved now, or it was lost forever.
Tablet: 1
Smartphones (including burners): 2
Laptop: 1
Desktop: 1
These were all the devices I could scrounge up after tearing through the house.
Thank goodness I was a gamer with a tablet at least—this was decent.
'Honestly, still not enough, but it'll have to do for now.'
I piled all the gadgets together, powered them on, and set the tablets and phones to download ebooks from the internet while the computers grabbed movies, dramas, and more.
For extra storage, I raided my USB drives.
Downloads took time, but luckily I'd shelled out for the fastest internet plan, so they flew along nicely.
While that ran, I searched for the nearest warehouse-style megamart.
Knowledge and entertainment—priceless in a ruined world—were covered. Next up: food, the key to survival.
One thing I'd always wondered watching zombie flicks: if you hit a big warehouse mart, wouldn't food be overflowing?
I'd think that every time stories stuck to corner stores, malls, or department stores.
Not one ever mentioned a warehouse mart, where characters inexplicably never went despite the mountains of stock that could feed thousands for weeks.
Maybe it was realism—pretty girls don't shop in bulk at those upscale-warehouse spots where you drive up and load carts like crazy.
Content sells looks, so department stores packed with hotties felt more "natural."
Whatever. Plausibility didn't matter to me.
I was going with reality.
'Mastco. Yeah, that's the closest.'
About 5km away: Mastco, a warehouse megamart.
A bit of a hike, but doable.
I screenshotted the map, saved it to my phone, grabbed my wallet and a bag for loot, and headed out.
Destination: the hardware store right by my building.
The only one in the neighborhood, run by some old grandpa.
I was here for weapons—blades—to survive the zombie apocalypse ahead.
Kitchen knives were easy to grab at home, but they weren't built for hacking living corpses.
I'd tossed a few in the basket as backups, but that wasn't enough.
Rummaging through the store, I spotted a long machete hanging in the corner display.
'Weed-whacker machete...?'
Ferocious-looking thing—did they even sell these here?
Handle to tip, it was pushing 60cm.
Ergonomic grip for perfect hold, body designed to channel power efficiently.
Swing it, and it'd look deadly—exactly the weapon I wanted.
'This'll drop zombies and humans alike with a good swing.'
Not that I'd want to use it on people, but you never knew.
Humans could be scarier than zombies, after all.
I grabbed all three black-bladed machetes from the rack, added a few simple whetstones for easy sharpening off the wall or table, and checked out.
Kitchen knives, awls, tools, extensions, and now machetes.
Grandpa eyed me like a weirdo while ringing me up, but I kept a straight face and left.
Won't see him again anyway—no point caring.
Stuffed the heavy metal haul in my bag and trudged home, grunting.
In the corner of my vision, the translucent hologram still spat out the doomsday countdown.
Doomsday 24:52
Just over 25 minutes left.
The dropping numbers quickened my pulse, fear creeping in bit by bit.
If that countdown was real, this peaceful street I saw would turn into a blood-soaked nightmare minutes after it hit zero.
Maybe it was a hallucination.
Wouldn't that be better? Nothing happens.
Hopeful thoughts spun up, but reason shut them down—fat chance.
The hologram dogging my vision felt too damn real to deny.
'It's this real, that's why I'm not denying it and prepping instead.'
Back home, I dropped the bag and bolted to the little neighborhood mart next door.
Twenty minutes later, I emerged, hands loaded with plastic bags stuffed with every can, instant rice, ready-meals, and water packs I could carry.
No ramen or anything needing cooking.
Doomsday wipes internet records—and water, gas, electricity too.
'Oh, wait—electricity's the exception.'
Brief slip-up.
Power sticks around until the plants shut down—not gone instantly.
In the original, it lasted a month; fingers crossed for real life too.
I wasn't sure why, but that's how Ajeol had it.
Everything microwaveable had a reason.
Hauling massive bags home.
The street—soon to fill with blood and screams—still hummed with everyday peace.
That's when it hit me.
'Why's it so quiet?'
Too quiet.
Just over 4 minutes left.
Yet in 36 minutes, no stir from the floating hologram—not even a whisper of panic.
'Even so, crowds should've started murmuring by now, internet forums blowing up.'
Like it was visible only to me—the world stayed dead silent.
In the original, everyone saw it at once...
But I quashed the growing doubts.
Quiet? Peaceful? Didn't matter.
Better to prep fast and thorough than question it.
"Hoo... gonna die of exhaustion."
Thud.
Two heavy hauls wore me out—I collapsed the second I hit home.
Limbs shaking.
Thought I was in decent shape, but nah—total newbie next to the gym rats.
I eyed the countdown in my vision.
It had dipped into the final 30 seconds.
Nothing left to do.
Tools, weapons, ample food, tub and bowls full of water, drinking supply, endless books and vids.
No more prep ideas surfaced.
If I were smarter, maybe more—but wishing won't make it so.
Better steel my mind for the zombie apocalypse ahead.
'Just hold the mental game together.'
Sudden, shocking mess.
I knew my limits—no arrogance, just do what I could.
To stay calm, no panic in the coming hell—
Yeah, right.
I just stared blankly at the ceiling.
Doomsday 00:05
Doomsday 00:04
Doomsday 00:03