Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator : M.N 1391
Title: To the Next Destination
Chapter: 24
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“Ta-dah!”
What Hyena held out before them was a large icebox.
Dae-shik’s expression, as he looked at the icebox, was the brightest it had been since the apocalypse began.
In the apocalypse, the most precious thing was, of course, food. But finding food didn’t mean the problem was solved. The next issue was how to store that food.
Especially things like fresh vegetables or meat, those spoiled in no time.
In that sense, an icebox that could extend the shelf life of food was even more valuable than the food itself.
“Then we can pack up the side dishes and other stuff that spoil easily and head back.”
At Dae-shik’s words, Juhun gave him a slightly puzzled look and asked,
“You’re going back? I thought you planned to stay and live at the police station?”
Dae-shik shook his head firmly.
“No, this place is too big. Too many passageways.”
“In other words, not suitable for defending with our numbers, eh.”
Catching on right away, the hardware store man nodded and picked up the thread.
“And at the same time, this will probably be the place most Awakened ones aim for.”
Dae-shik had never intended to stay at the police station. What he wanted were the guns, ammunition, and the taser. And as a bonus, he had gained three Awakened, a porter, an icebox, and a bit of food. It was about time to return to the safe house.
“Well, yeah. We’re not the only ones who want weapons.”
Juhun nodded, seeming to accept that.
But his expression hardened at Dae-shik’s next words.
“Yes. So I plan to seal the armory.”
“The armory?”
“Yes. We’ll take the ammo and rifles we need, and block the rest for now.”
The hardware store man nodded, agreeing with the idea.
Juhun, however, didn’t seem convinced.
“Why? If we hand out weapons, the others could also—”
“You, did you forget what I said on the first day?”
“You mean, about how if we gave guns to the infected, they might at least be able to pull the trigger? Then maybe just give them to the Awakened—”
“Then what do you think the non-Awakened would say?”
As the two squared off, silence briefly filled the air.
“If you told those people, ‘Once you Awaken, we’ll give you a gun,’ do you really think they’d accept that?”
The answer was obvious.
When your life was on the line, if guns were given to some and not others for such a reason, the rest would be sure to harbor resentment.
“I’m with Dae-shik on this. Besides, those guns could end up pointed right back at us, so we can’t just hand them out. In the apocalypse, people are scarier than zombies, y’know.”
The hardware store man expressed his agreement.
A gun was different from a knife or a spear.
You just pulled the trigger, and it fired.
If the other person didn’t have a gun, you could kill without any risk to yourself.
In the apocalypse, giving that kind of weapon to a stranger was practically suicide.
“Um... excuse me.”
Just then, Hyena timidly raised her hand.
“On our way here earlier, we ran into a zombie that could shoot a gun. One of them, Dae-shik handled somehow, but if those kinds of zombies start increasing everywhere, we’ll have a serious problem.”
As everyone seemed to agree with Dae-shik’s reasoning, Juhun hesitated for a while before speaking again.
“Then what are we going to do? Just leave everyone else to die?”
“Surviving ourselves comes first. Saving or helping others comes after that.”
Dae-shik stated his rule of action firmly. Then he added,
“If I’d come to the police station on the first day saying I’d convince everyone no matter what, we wouldn’t even be here right now. I’d be locked up in the cell and turned into a zombie. My principle is simple: I change things only after I’m strong enough to control the situation.”
“Then... once we’re strong enough, can we help others?”
“Except for bastards like that fat prick from before.”
Juhun fell silent, lost in thought.
Dae-shik didn’t rush him. He didn’t scold him for being naïve or unrealistic either.
If their ideas didn’t match, they could part ways. There was no reason to insult someone and sour the relationship unnecessarily.
“Understood.”
After some time, Juhun nodded slowly.
“Good. Then it’s agreed. But I’ll promise this too: once our group’s strong enough, we’ll help other survivors, within our means.”
“Thanks. Let’s go lock the armory then.”
Juhun said as he began walking toward the armory.
* * *
Once back in the armory, Dae-shik immediately placed his hand on the door and activated his ability.
『Ability activated.』
『Transforming the ‘bolt’ structure.』
『Reinforcing the ‘bolt’.』
『Reinforcing the ‘door’.』
『Satiety decreases.』
『Remaining Satiety: 10』
『Entering Hunger State soon.』
Feeling his stomach suddenly empty, Dae-shik popped the last chocolate bar into his mouth. That still wasn’t enough, so he opened his bag and stuffed in various leftover snacks before finally standing up.
“Will that do?”
The hardware store man tapped the iron door with a clang-clang.
With the bolt warped by Dae-shik’s ability, the door couldn’t be opened even with the key. The only way to get through it now was to bend or cut through the metal bars directly.
“Yes, no one’s breaking that. Unless they’ve got a bomb.”
Dae-shik trusted his strengthening ability.
He had even poured his backup battery into the reinforcement, this iron door wouldn’t budge even if you smashed it with a sledgehammer.
“Then let’s go.”
* * *
Leaving the police station, Dae-shik led the group, holding the pry bar and shield.
The hardware store man carried Dae-shik’s bag for him.
Juhun and the old man each had a rifle slung over their shoulders, and in their hands they held spare metal rods Dae-shik had prepared.
“Try not to shoot unless absolutely necessary. Only when I give the signal.”
Dae-shik turned to the two as he spoke.
Though he’d given them rifles, that was only for emergencies.
If they started firing recklessly, they’d only draw the zombies’ attention.
Meanwhile, Ji-hyuk, who had been “hired” as the porter, was carrying the icebox and another bag instead of a rifle. Even though it would have been natural for him to ask for a weapon too, he made no complaint. After all, he had just joined the group. Giving a dangerous weapon like a gun to a newcomer would be stranger.
But the bigger reason was fear…fear of Dae-shik. The image of Dae-shik skillfully slicing the fat man’s throat was still vivid in his mind.
‘Is he really from the National Intelligence Service?’
Whether NIS or special forces, Ji-hyuk had no intention of crossing Dae-shik.
First, because he was terrifying.
Second, because Ji-hyuk felt sure that following this man was his best shot at surviving. Those two reasons were more than enough to follow someone in the apocalypse.
As he stared at Dae-shik’s back, Hyena spoke up in a tense voice.
“But, um....”
Her tone was unusually deflated.
“How do I shoot this?”
The four ex-soldiers, who had been naturally keeping watch in formation, all froze at once.
A cold winter wind blew between them.
“Ahem, ahem!”
Juhun cleared his throat.
“Hehe, come to think of it, our doctor here never served in the army.”
The hardware store man chuckled awkwardly, glancing at Juhun.
“I’ll teach you when we get back.”
At Juhun’s words, Hyena nodded once, then gripped the metal rod Dae-shik had made for her again. Since she didn’t even know how to fire it, there was no point lugging the gun around anyway.
“Then this way.”
Trying to shake off the awkwardness, Hyena raised her hand and pointed left.
Their next destination was the pharmacy. Even though she had gained a healing ability, it was something she reserved for serious injuries only.
She couldn’t spend her points on every minor cut and bruise. Besides, her skill didn’t work on illnesses. Considering things like bacterial infections, they still needed medicine.
As they turned the corner, a group of zombies came into view. Despite clearing out many on their way here, they were crawling out again like cockroaches.
Dae-shik sighed, looking disgusted.
“Dae-shik, when we kill them, we do get stronger, right?”
Juhun stepped forward, facing the zombie group. Apparently, their earlier conversation had given him new resolve.
“You get points, at least. Good practice too.”
“Understood. Let’s do this.”
From Juhun’s back, a strong sense of duty radiated.
Dae-shik couldn’t help but smile faintly.
A little slow, but not a bad sort of guy.
“I’ll handle the infected ones for now, they’re still too much. Once we get back to the safe house, you and I will train.”
He wasn’t sure how strong Juhun could become, but Dae-shik found himself looking forward to it. Even back in Archaia, people like him tended to grow stronger faster. Some people got stronger out of sheer conviction and sense of duty. And with a skill like invisibility, that potential was even greater.
“Understood.”
No sooner had Juhun nodded than Dae-shik charged toward the infected.
Now that he had two people watching his back, plus a shield, there was nothing to fear from ordinary infected.
“Graaah!”
The infected screeched as Dae-shik struck first, baring its fangs in retaliation.
Clang!
Dae-shik easily blocked the attack with his pot-lid shield.
Then, with a swing of his pry bar, he drove it straight through the creature’s skull.
『Title ‘Zombie Slayer’ is applied.』
『Strength +1.』
『Vitality +1.』
A message flashed before Dae-shik’s eyes showing his stats rising.
But there was no time to celebrate.
Whoosh!
Dae-shik spun around and smashed his pry bar down on the zombie the old man was fighting.
The zombie dropped to the ground, twitching slightly, it wasn’t dead yet.
“Old man, finish it.”
Stab!
Before Dae-shik even finished speaking, the old man’s iron rod had pierced the zombie’s skull.
Meanwhile, Juhun had already taken down two zombies on his own.
‘Not bad at all.’
After cleaning up that wave, their total purification points came to around 10. Since an ordinary zombie gave 1 point, that meant they’d killed about 10 of them.
Not a bad haul. Unlike Dae-shik, most Awakened needed purification points, so hunting zombies when time allowed was like putting savings away for the future.
“We’re almost there.”
Hyena pointed ahead.
“Just around that corner.”
Then, as the wind blew, everyone instinctively pinched their noses.
“Ugh, that stench....”
“Must be a ton of zombies over there.”
Ji-hyuk even gagged, his face twisting in disgust.
“Let’s go.”
Hyena said, still holding her nose, and began to move forward—
“Wait, stop.”
Dae-shik stopped her with a serious expression.
Just from the smell, he could tell how long a body had been rotting.
In midwinter, for the stench to carry this far was not normal.
“What is it?”
“Hold on.”
Dae-shik stayed still, waiting for the wind to blow again.
Soon, a freezing gust swept past them.
As it did, Dae-shik drew in a deep breath.
Beneath the reek of decay, he caught another scent, one he knew all too well.