Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Chapter 5. The Power of Science
“Ugh, seriously, fuck...”
A curse slipped out of Daesik’s mouth on its own.
Just came back, barely had a single bowl of sundae soup, and now it’s the apocalypse? Even if Buddha himself came down split in half, it’d still be impossible not to swear in this situation.
Slamming the car door shut, he darted toward the sidewalk and reinforced the ‘plastic string’ he’d made by hand.
『Ability is activated.』
『Durability of Plastic String increases.』
『Fullness decreases.』
『Current Fullness Level: 100 -> 90』
Then, he raised his police baton and knocked on the hood of a car parked on the road.
People were too busy fleeing from the zombies and the infected.
In a situation like this, the only crazy guy drawing attention from the monsters on purpose was Daesik.
Bang, bang-bang!
Next, he kicked over the ‘bullet’ materials he’d spotted before getting out of the car, moving them to a suitable position.
The next task was to turn those materials into bullets.
『Ability is activated.』
『Transforming the shape of the Baton.』
『The Baton becomes harder.』
『Fullness decreases. 90 -> 70』
Once the preparations were done, he crouched down and started smashing a sidewalk tile using the police baton he had reshaped into a hammer. Whether because it was an old neighborhood far from redevelopment or because of the accident, a few broken paving blocks were lying around near the sidewalk.
And rock throwing, that was one of his specialties.
In Achaia, everything that could be picked up had to be used as a weapon.
‘Back then, there wasn’t a walking catapult better than me.’
Recalling his “glory days,” Daesik placed a suitably sized stone fragment on the sling made from reinforced plastic string and began spinning it in circles. Overcoming lacking physical ability with technology and tools, that was the true method of human survival.
‘Die!’
The plastic-made sling spat out its projectile.
Swish!
The stone fragment sliced through the air with a vicious sound.
Thud!
The zombie hit squarely by the flying rock fell to the ground, trembling like a bug sprayed with insecticide.
“That’s right!”
Confidence rising, Daesik drew more attention from the zombies and prepared the next shot.
“Come on, then!”
“Graaaahhh!”
At that moment, one infected blocking the police car’s path began sprinting toward Daesik at alarming speed.
Its enhanced physique rapidly closed the distance between them.
‘He must’ve been an athlete when alive. Why the hell’s he so fast?’
Daesik hastily fired the third shot. But what followed was not what he expected.
Tap!
The infected swung its arm, deflecting his stone projectile.
“Huh?”
Daesik’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
“Graaaahhh!”
The infected, as if enraged by being attacked, screamed and accelerated. But Daesik didn’t back down and once again activated his ability.
If he were the type to get beaten by just one infected, he wouldn’t have gotten out of the car in the first place.
『Activating ability.』
『Reinforcing the sidewalk block.』
『Fullness decreases. 60 -> 55』
‘Three, two...’
Daesik spun the reinforced projectile, waiting for the infected to come just a little closer.
And the moment it entered range…
‘One! Die!’
He released the sling at the perfect timing.
Thud!
“G—grrkk...”
The reinforced projectile shattered the infected’s defense and instantly smashed its head.
“Phew...”
The result was successful.
Still, the fact that crafting one reinforced projectile consumed five points of fullness was quite the burden.
‘Better not use that too often.’
While Daesik was dealing with the infected, the slower-moving zombies had already gotten quite close.
There were roughly ten of them.
A bit too many to handle by standing still and slinging stones.
Yet, a faint smile curved Daesik’s lips.
If they had gathered like this, that meant his plan had worked.
Vroooom!
As the road cleared, Juhun immediately drove the police car forward.
“Huh?”
But the smile on Daesik’s lips twisted into a frown.
‘Hey, what’s with that direction? That’s not the way! Why are you driving this way!’
The car’s trajectory… was weird.
“Hey!”
Just as Daesik yelled angrily…
Thud!
“Thank you, I’ll make sure to convince the higher-ups!”
Juhun, who had rammed into two zombies from the side, rolled down the window and shouted.
“Ha... Kid’s got guts.”
Daesik muttered with a smirk.
“Shut up! Just go already!”
Waving his hand, Daesik ran off in the opposite direction while the police car reversed and turned sharply toward the police station.
‘Gotta admit, I like him. Stay alive, kid. Let’s meet again someday.’
Watching the tail lights disappear into the distance, Daesik launched another reinforced projectile, shattering another infected’s skull.
Thud!
‘Alright, looks like the infected are all taken care of.’
Now, only the slow-footed zombies remained.
‘Phew, time for me to retreat.’
With that, Daesik began falling back toward his predetermined spot, occasionally mixing in a few stone throws to cover his movement.
* * *
“Huff, huff...”
Thud, thud!
Even though the weather was fairly chilly, playing tag with zombies had his whole body burning hot and sweat pouring down like rain.
His arms ached, and his grip felt numb.
Still, he’d successfully reached his first destination.
The “perfect spot” he had picked was an old commercial building with a hardware store on the first floor.
Every old neighborhood had one like it, the kind you’d wonder if it was even open for business, lights barely ever on.
“Whew...”
As expected, the stairwell was so narrow that only one person could squeeze through at a time.
That made dealing with zombies much easier.
Thud!
He smashed the skull of the first one that reached him and casually rolled it down the stairs.
“Gwoook!”
That would trip up a few others as well.
Crash!
Then, the bravest remaining one would charge forward to lead the way.
Thud, thud-thud!
And Daesik would crush its skull like so.
“Ungh-cha...”
And roll it down again.
“Gwoook!”
Repeat this a few times, and the situation was solved.
‘Huff, huff... Easy, right?’
Of course, this wasn’t something beginners should try.
If you mess up the timing and get grabbed while trying this, that’s a one-way ticket across the River Styx. Especially if there’s even one infected among the zombies, their sheer strength would overpower you and tear you apart. This trick only worked under the condition that the infected had already been dealt with.
Also, unless you had a proper weapon, it was impossible to smash skulls this cleanly. It was only doable thanks to the enchanted hammer he’d made by burning precious fullness points.
“Haah, I’m exhausted.”
After handing out one-way tickets to the underworld to the gathered zombies, Daesik started climbing the stairs again.
Inside the building, not a soul, not even a rat, could be seen.
Well, that was why he had chosen this place to begin with.
The first floor was the old hardware store, the second an old tax office, the third a loan company, and the fourth an unmarked empty office.
No restaurants, no convenience stores, no homes. In other words, the odds of anyone being inside this building at this late hour were quite low.
‘Let’s catch my breath first.’
Panting, Daesik sat down in a corner to rest.
No people inside meant no zombies or infected either. That made this the perfect spot to regroup and recover.
For an out-of-shape office worker like Kim Daesik, a proper break was a necessity.
Growl…!
Maybe because the tension was easing, his stomach growled loudly.
‘Haah... Guess I’ll rest a bit, then look for food.’
Fortunately, it was still the early phase of the apocalypse, and, more importantly, this was modern society, overflowing with food.
While everyone else was busy running for their lives, finding something to eat wouldn’t be too difficult. Even better news was...
『Trait ‘Blacksmith’ has leveled up. (Lv1 -> Lv2)』
『You may select one sub-trait to enhance.』
『Transformation range has expanded.』
『Reinforcement effects increased.』
『Fullness consumption decreased.』
In short, his ability had gotten stronger.
Sure, there were still many hurdles ahead, but growing his power while others were too busy fleeing, that was what truly mattered.
‘Alright, let’s head up.’
Once his breathing had settled, he stood back up and began climbing to the roof.
The next step was to reach the rooftop and scout the surroundings.
The biggest obstacle right now was that he could barely remember the geography of this area.
Two hundred years was plenty of time to forget one’s hometown.
So first, get to the rooftop, check the area, and find a place that could serve as a safe house.
Obviously, not just any building would do. Preferably somewhere with few or no people around, low population density nearby, and yet not too far from sources of food and supplies. That was the kind of place he needed.
“Huff, huff...”
Finally reaching the rooftop door, he caught his breath and grabbed the handle.
Click! Click!
Wait, was this locked? Aren’t rooftop doors supposed to be always open?!
‘Ugh!’
Cursing the lawless building owner who ignored fire safety regulations, Daesik sighed deeply and grabbed the handle again, activating his ability.
『The door handle is transforming.』
『Fullness decreases.』
‘No choice. If you’re thirsty, you dig your own well.’
Planting a foot against the door, he yanked hard on the reshaped handle and—Pop!—the handle came right off.
‘Man, this takes me back.’
He’d pulled this trick a lot back in Achaia.
Though, admittedly, the doors there were far more primitive than Earth’s.
“Phew...”
The next step was simple: reshape the lock itself and pull it out.
『Fullness decreases.』
『Current Fullness Level: 45.』
He managed to unlock the door, but it wasn’t cheap.
Still, scouting the terrain was crucial.
In a disaster, wandering around without information was the fastest way to die.
‘Ugh, I’m beat... Let’s go find a fried chicken joint or something.’
First, recover stamina up there.
Then check the terrain and mark useful locations.
‘Weapons, I can restock at the hardware store...’
The police baton wasn’t bad, but its length was awkward.
Better to get a proper weapon soon.
Whoosh!
But just as he stepped onto the rooftop with hopeful thoughts of tomorrow, a chilling sound of wind cutting through the air brushed against his ear.