Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Chapter 7. Entering the Treasure Vault
“Boss Park, are you really okay? The first symptom people exposed to chemical weapons show is that they get easily agitated and violent.”
Before he could even finish speaking, everyone present hurriedly moved as far away from Thug #1 as possible.
‘Yeah, that’s right. Good job.’
That was a welcome sight for me as well. If they lingered around and turned into zombies, that’d just be a headache.
Thug #1 was by no means an easy opponent.
First of all, he was huge. So tall it’d be difficult to even hit his head. And with a golf club in his hands, he looked even more threatening.
“What? You bastard, trying to frame me for nothing. You just want to take my golf club, don’t you?”
Thug #1 tightened his grip on the golf club as he spoke.
“Boss Park. This is an emergency situation. If you don’t put down that weapon, I’ll shoot.”
Judging that the situation was deteriorating, I gave him one last warning and pulled the trigger.
If a man doesn’t even try to solve things through words when a gun is pointed at his head, then he’s definitely infected…
Thud!
‘Huh?’
Just then, a dull sound rang out as something struck Thug #1 squarely on the side of his face.
“Urgh! You…!”
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Thug #1 tried to say something but collapsed immediately.
The one who smashed his skull was none other than his own underling, Thug #2.
“Huff, huff... Th-this bastard…”
No, wait… how could he be that cold-blooded, smashing his boss’s head just like that?
Seriously heartless. He wasn’t even confirmed to be infected yet, and you just go for the skull? This guy’s even more ruthless than me.
“D-die!”
But just as Thug #2 raised a steel rod, a thought flashed through my mind.
Something felt off.
Without hesitation, I lunged forward with my police baton in hand.
Thug #2 immediately switched his target to me and swung the steel rod.
“Step back!”
I twisted my body, narrowly dodging the blow, and the steel bar crashed against the ground, missing me.
“Graaagh!”
But Thug #2 didn’t even seem to feel pain. He swung the rod again, roaring furiously.
That confirmed it.
‘Damn it, this one’s infected.’
Thug #1’s antics were such a good distraction that I’d been momentarily misled.
In a sense, these two really had great chemistry.
Whoosh, whoosh!
A sharp whistling sound cut through the air as the steel bar swung past my ears.
‘If I can’t close in and end this in one hit, I might be the one to go down…’
The problem was that damn length advantage.
The reach difference made it hard to approach him. Even if I managed to get close, if I didn’t finish him in one strike, he’d counterattack right away.
‘I’ll have to deal with that reach first.’
Clang!
Pivoting on my left foot, I spun like a boxer, dodging his attacks.
“Graaaah!”
And when Thug #2’s movements grew wilder with anger, I threw myself forward with all my strength.
‘Got it.’
Rolling across the floor, I snatched up Boss Park’s fallen golf club.
『Activating ability.』
『Reinforcing golf club.』
『Golf club becomes sturdier.』
The enraged Thug #2 didn’t even notice the change and continued swinging his steel rod in wild arcs.
Whack!
In return, my perfectly aimed drive shot smashed straight into his temple.
“Agh…”
The reinforced golf club connected cleanly with his head, and Thug #2 collapsed on the spot.
Thud, thud, thud!
I swung the club several more times with all my might, making sure the infected bastard stayed down for good.
“Uuugh…”
The bald man retched immediately at the gruesome sight, and the other two trembled all over like leaves in the wind.
“Huff… huff…”
After catching my breath, I spoke to the remaining survivors.
“You all saw that, right?”
The three, still pale with fear, could only nod silently.
“When someone suddenly gets infected and starts rampaging, there’s nothing you can do. That’s why you must never, ever stick too close to others.”
Hearing about danger and seeing it firsthand were worlds apart.
Now, these three would go around warning others about how terrifying the infected were, being more cautious with every move they made. That alone would drastically increase their chances of survival, and help slow the spread a little. And that would be a huge benefit for my future plans. After all, a base camp surrounded only by zombies is pointless.
“If you meet other people, make sure you tell them exactly what I’ve just told you.”
Then I repeated the same explanation I’d given to Lee Juhun earlier.
The symptoms of infection, the absolute necessity of killing them without hesitation, and the fact that a single wound from an infected meant you’d turn into a zombie.
When I finished, the scruffy middle-aged man cautiously raised his hand.
“Then how long do we have to stay like this?”
“Just hold out a bit longer. The military and police will eventually take action. Until then, focus on staying alive.”
Right now, the priority was to prevent people from panicking and running around aimlessly, turning themselves into zombies.
After some time, awakeners would start appearing, people capable of resisting zombies. Most importantly, in a crisis like this, what people needed was hope. They had to believe this nightmare would end one day in order to endure.
“O-okay.”
The scruffy man nodded nervously.
“Man, you’re incredible. It felt like I was watching an action movie.”
Then the bald guy spoke up, still in awe.
“Yeah, what was that? Some kind of special forces martial art?”
Even the thick-haired man joined in, showering me with compliments.
Half genuine admiration, half flattery out of hope that I might protect them.
But I’ve got too much experience to be swayed by empty praise like that.
“Then I’ll head down now.”
After finishing my explanations, I hesitated for a moment before handing them the golf club. It was the last bit of kindness I could afford.
“One of you take this. One stays on the rooftop, and the others go to different floors. Do not stay together.”
Then I gave them simple survival instructions.
“The person on the roof should keep checking on the others below. Everyone else, lock your doors and stay hidden. If someone stops responding, assume they’ve turned.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll take this with me.”
I said, picking up the steel rod that the underling had dropped.
The golf club had better impact power, but the steel rod seemed more practical overall.
‘If I eat and reinforce it, then sharpen one end, I can turn it into a spear.’
Besides, carrying both would just be unnecessary baggage.
Better to give the golf club away and leave quickly.
If I walked away without giving them anything, they might suddenly turn hostile.
“Uh… Officer, can’t we come with you? What if those monsters climb up here?”
Sure enough, the bald man, looking terrified, grabbed my arm as I was about to leave.
“You can’t. You saw what just happened. If even one person in a group gets infected, it’s over for everyone.”
I rejected his request firmly.
I didn’t want to drag along dead weight or risk factors when I had no combat-related abilities and the body of an average office worker.
Then, unexpectedly, the scruffy man made a proposal.
“Hey, that steel rod… why don’t you give it to Boss Kim here instead? In return, I’ll take you to my hardware store downstairs and get you something way better. I’ve got real weapons there. Let’s just go that far together.”
“You own a hardware store?”
* * *
We went down the stairs together and headed for the hardware store on the first floor.
Originally, I’d planned to rest upstairs, scout the area, then break in myself, but this way, I could save my fullness.
While I stayed alert for zombies nearby, the man quickly unlocked the door.
“Take whatever you need. I’ll go in and grab something special for you.”
With that, he disappeared into the back of the old shop.
“Thank you.”
I quickly scanned the shelves.
In an apocalypse, a hardware store was practically a treasure vault.
First up, a hammer claw. More destructive than a police baton and usable as a tool too, a must-have.
Using my ability for every little thing would only make me starve faster, so this was perfect.
“Oh!”
Next, my eyes caught a roll of duct tape.
I immediately took off my hoodie and ripped the tape open.
Wearing only a T-shirt, I began wrapping my forearms tightly, starting from the wrists all the way up. It wouldn’t offer much defense, but at least it’d make it harder for zombies to bite through.
Once my makeshift armguards were done, I scraped them with my fingernails to test the durability.
“Oh, not bad.”
Someday, when my crafting skill level rose, I’d probably be strapping real metal plates to my arms, but for now, this was good enough.
Just then, something incredible caught my eye.
‘No way… there’s one of these here?!’
Perfect thickness, wearable under a jacket, no restriction on arm movement and it even had multiple small pockets that could serve as perfect storage. Its defensive value might be minimal, but its versatility and freedom of movement were priceless.
A work vest.
Best of all…
‘With this, I can finally store snacks safely!’
The clothes I’d been wearing until now made it impossible to carry food without it getting crushed or falling out. And since food was equal combat power for me, that was a serious issue. But with this work vest, I could safely carry candy, chocolate, and jelly with me.
“Jackpot…”
With a look of pure bliss, I turned the black work vest around in my hands and stroked it lovingly.
Then I headed to the tool section and grabbed a few small monkey wrenches, sliding them neatly into the vest pockets.
Next on the list were work gloves. They’d protect my hands from the cold, keep my grip steady, and prevent weapons from slipping.
With the claw hammer as my melee weapon, the monkey wrenches as throwable weapons, and the durable work gloves for grip and warmth—
‘Perfect.’
Flawless armament.
‘Earth really is the best.’
So many resources, and weapons this easy to find.
Finally, I wrapped some black electrical wire around my waist for good measure.
Then, while waiting for the man to return with the so-called “stronger weapon” than my steel rod, I wandered around the store.
‘The most important thing is reach.’
The sturdier the material, the better.
Even if I reinforced both, there was a world of difference between steel and glass.
‘A sledgehammer isn’t bad either, but…’
The problem was the weight.
Just swinging a sledgehammer properly took a lot of strength and stamina.
And its attack patterns were too limited. What I really needed was something long, durable, and versatile for both thrusting and swinging.
‘If something like that exists, it’d be perfect.’
Just then, the store owner came back from the inner room holding something in his hand.
“How about this?”
And the moment I saw what he was holding…
A wide grin naturally spread across my face.
“That’s perfect.”