Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Translator: M.N 1391
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Translator : M.N 1391
Title: The Landlord of the Apocalypse(?)
Chapter : 12
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『Strength has increased by 1.』
『Stamina has increased by 1.』
The moment I confirmed the reward, the corners of my mouth lifted up slightly before I even realized it.
‘Just what I needed.’
When you deal with special entities like the Abnormal Glutton or Mutant Types, you get random special rewards. Because of that, sometimes you risk your life fighting and end up with something so useless it’s not even fit to be monster chow.
Well, if you got something worthwhile every time, it wouldn’t have taken me 200 years to purify Achaia.
Still, this time luck was on my side.
For a weak, low-stamina office worker like Kim Dae-shik, what he needed most was stamina and musc— no, strength.
I clenched and unclenched my fist right away to see how much stronger I’d gotten.
At first glance, “1” sounds insignificant, but the difference is surprisingly tangible.
If you think of it in game terms, this isn’t the kind of game where every normal hit deals billions of damage, it’s the kind where a single point in your stats can decide life or death.
‘Ohhh…’
Sure enough, I could feel that my grip had gotten much stronger.
It was still lacking against something like the Abnormal Glutton, but enough to make a real difference against regular infected.
Seeing me absent-mindedly open and close my hand, maybe she misunderstood something, the woman looked at me with a worried expression and spoke again.
“Um, are you really okay?”
“Yes.”
She looked to be in her mid to late twenties.
Judging by her clothes, she was probably an office worker. Since she hadn’t changed into casual wear, it looked like she’d been on her way home from work when the monsters appeared, and never even made it back.
“Uh… my name is Lee Hye-na. You saved my life. Thank you so much.”
After a short hesitation, she introduced herself and bowed politely.
“Kim Dae-shik.”
I also gave a brief introduction of my own.
“······.”
“······.”
With a monster corpse lying between us, an awkward silence fell.
Honestly, it wasn’t like there was anything particular to say right now.
Have you eaten? Are your parents healthy? Where do you live? What food do you like? Do you have a boyfriend? Do you like movies?
See? No matter what you ask, it just sounds weird.
“Uh, um… where do you think those monsters came from?”
Maybe she just wanted to break the awkwardness, Hye-na opened her mouth again.
“No idea.”
“But the military and police exist, right? I’m sure they’ll take care of it soon?”
She spoke with the kind of calm logic typical of modern people.
Of course, my opinion was different.
“If that were true, wouldn’t the military or police already be out there shooting the monsters?”
“But the soldiers have guns.”
“Have you seen people turning into zombies?”
She grimaced, nodding with a disgusted look just from imagining it.
“Soldiers live packed together in barracks. If even one person gets infected, wouldn’t the number of zombies skyrocket instantly?”
Unless they had live ammunition already distributed in the sleeping quarters,
I figured the whole thing would be over before they even had time to load their guns.
One infected in a barracks, and bam, instant zombie party.
Well, no need to go into that level of grim detail.
“Y-yeah… that’s true…”
Hearing my explanation, she swallowed dryly with a frightened look.
“Even if some lucky units managed to suppress the outbreak early on,
it would take them at least a year to fully get things under control.”
That was actually a rosy estimate. But there was no point in telling her that, no reason to crush someone completely with despair.
“Then what should we do now?”
“Every man for himself.”
At that short reply, her face darkened even further.
Judging by her expression, she must’ve picked up on the hidden meaning, survive on your own.
— “How can you say that?”
— “You’re telling me to survive on my own when monsters like that are everywhere? That’s the same as telling me to die.”
Those were the sorts of cliché lines I imagined running through her head. But the words that came out of her mouth next were quite surprising.
“Um… I’m a doctor.”
She pulled out an ID card that read XX Medical University Emergency Center and held it out to me.
“Mr. Dae-shik, you won’t always get through fights with those monsters unscathed, will you?”
* * *
Lee Hye-na was a clever woman.
At least clever enough to know that blaming, resenting, or preaching morals in this situation was utterly pointless. Besides, the man in front of her had literally saved her life.
To call him a bad person now would’ve been shameless, even to herself.
But still, going out there alone? She knew exactly how that would end.
She wanted to live, just not by begging pathetically for it.
And a doctor, well, that was one of the most useful professions to have in a situation like this.
‘Wouldn’t it work? I mean, in movies, doctors always end up being essential in these scenarios…’
But the man stayed silent for a long time, lost in thought. Her lips were getting dry from anxiety, afraid he might refuse.
Just as she opened her mouth to speak again, Dae-shik spoke first.
“You can’t live together with me.”
“Huh?”
The words were so out of nowhere that she tilted her head in confusion.
“You never know when someone might get infected. It’s too risky to share space.
I’ll give you a room on the 4th floor. Live there.”
“Huh? But I haven’t been bitten by a zombie.”
“There’s more to it than that. Anyway, is that fine?”
“Y-yes… but, Mr. Dae-shik, are you the landlord of this building?”
“No.”
“Then how…”
“With the world in ruins, does that even matter? Help me move this.”
He said as he dragged the monster corpse, the one with the metal rod stuck in it, toward the entrance.
Before she could even think, Hye-na rushed to help him. They dumped the body somewhere outside the building and went back upstairs together.
* * *
“First, we’ll get food. Then medicine.”
Back in his sweet home on the 5th floor, Dae-shik began explaining the plan right away.
He pulled clothes out of his hiking backpack.
“Throw away those clothes. Change into these. Blood smell attracts zombies.”
“Thank you.”
Where on earth did he even get these?
Did he grab clothes first thing when the monsters appeared and flee from home?
Normally, the logical choice would’ve been to lock yourself inside your house.
And if this wasn’t even his building, how did he get in? And seriously, killing a monster like that with just a metal bar?
Even a special forces veteran or assassin would struggle with that.
Her head filled with questions.
“Once you change, toss those old clothes out the window.”
“Okay.”
Still dazed, Hye-na went into another room, changed, and threw her bloody clothes outside as instructed. But while changing, another question popped up.
‘Why does he have women’s clothes?’
The pants and windbreaker were unisex, but the T-shirt was clearly a woman’s, just oversized.
When she came back, unable to hold back her curiosity, she asked carefully,
“Um, where did you get these clothes—”
“You’re a doctor, right? You know about medicine?”
But Dae-shik had no intention of answering her question.
“Yes, I know the basics at least.”
Dae-shik was in a good mood.
Having a doctor was invaluable. Even with a bit of risk, it was worth keeping her around.
Of course, if she hadn’t had a place to stay, he would’ve said goodbye right away.
He couldn’t drag around someone who might turn infected at any time.
But just yesterday, he’d become a building owner.
In this peaceful world? Unthinkable.
But now? He was a God-Landlord. Thanks to that, he could afford to keep someone useful under his roof.
‘So this is why everyone wants to be a landlord.’
He probably wasn’t the only landlord in the apocalypse, but the feeling was still pretty damn good. Even if, realistically, they’d live separately most of the time…then team up when necessary and if someone got infected, bash each other’s skulls in.
“That’s fine. Just tell me what kind of medicine we should prioritize right now.”
Dae-shik said while looking around for something to write with.
Headache, toothache, cramps? X-borin.
Stomach ache? X-phos.
Scraped? Red ointment.
Bruised? X-soladam.
If unsure? Tyxenol.
That was about the extent of Dae-shik’s pharmaceutical knowledge.
Calling it “knowledge” was generous, he was basically illiterate in medicine.
But now, by pure luck, a real doctor had appeared.
How could he not be pleased?
“Wouldn’t it be better if I went with you?”
Hye-na’s voice carried both worry and guilt.
After all, this man had saved her life and now she was supposed to just sit back while he went scavenging for medicine alone?
“Can you fight zombies?”
“No…”
“Can you at least run away by yourself?”
“Uh, no…”
“Can you promise not to scream?”
“······.”
“Then you’d just slow me down, right?”
The brutally logical words stung a little. But when she thought about it, everything he said was purely out of concern for her safety. That unintentional push-and-pull left her speechless again.
‘He’s kind-hearted… he just talks coldly, that’s all.’
Then, as Dae-shik finished emptying out his bag, he spoke again.
“If you feel bad about sitting idle, look out the hallway window. I’ll tell you what to do.”
So he really was a kind man.
He even cared enough to give her something to do so she wouldn’t feel guilty. Having no idea what she was thinking, Dae-shik tied a piece of cloth to the broken railing to make a flag.
“Alright, stick this out the window.”
Then he explained a few simple hand-flag signals.
“If you see a bunch of them gathering, move it up and down.”
“If I make a circle with my hand, point toward the direction they’re coming from.”
“If there’s something weird or dangerous like that last monster, wave it side to side.”
Hye-na memorized the simple signals, repeating them several times in her head.
She didn’t want to make a mistake.
“Yes. I’ve got it all memorized.”
“Good. I’m heading out. Watch carefully, and if you see zombies or anything strange,
get back inside, lock the door, and stay there until I return.”
* * *
As I went down the stairs, my stomach started sending signals.
‘How much do I have left?’
Satiety remaining: 20.
I’d used up 20 just reshaping the broken railing into a sharp weapon during the fight with the Abnormal Glutton.
Still, I’d recruited a valuable member for my “Hero Party”
and gained Strength and Stamina stats, a pretty solid deal overall.
‘Food first, then the pharmacy.’
I looked around carefully, then lifted my head to check the flag sticking out of the upper window.
She might not be a fighter, but just having someone up there giving early warnings was worth a lot. Accurate information is more valuable than a hundred soldiers. And there was one more thing, something I wanted to confirm through that woman.
If I could verify that, then taking her in as a tenant(?) would be more than worth it.
Translator: M.N 1391