Cleanup
Cleanup
Thwack!
The tip of the spear, thrust with all my might, pierced the zombie's head.
Fortunately, as in the common cliché, the head seemed to be its weak point, and the zombie crumbled.
Thump! Thump!
My heart pounded violently, as if it were broken.
Was it guilt for having killed a being that was human just a few hours ago?
No, this pounding wasn't born from such dark emotions.
It was due to the sense of accomplishment, excitement, and fighting spirit that came from killing an enemy I could never associate with.
"Could it be that I have the talent of a warrior...?"
-Ding! You have succeeded in your first hunt. As a token of support for the courageous survivor-nim, 1 Point will be awarded.
-Warning. This special privilege is a one-time offer, so please do not overexert yourself due to unnecessary ambition.
-Note. Organisms within the solar system instinctively harbor hostility towards organisms outside the solar system. Surely, no one would mistakenly believe they possess the talent of a warrior, right? Pfft!
"...You should have told me that earlier!"
-Ding! Eheh!
"Eheh! What's with that 'Eheh'! Are you messing with me right now?! No, to begin with, for a System, your ego is too distinct!"
-To prevent loners like survivor-nim from dying alone, the Creator-nim bestowed a slight ego upon the System. Be grateful for the Creator-nim's grace.
Thank you, Creator-nim! But since you were going to bestow it anyway, why didn't you also bestow a sense of respect for survivors?!
I looked up at the sky, conveying my gratitude and complaints, then plopped down onto the floor.
After bickering with the System, the tension completely drained from me, and I didn't want to move anymore.
'Even if I rest, I should close the back door first.'
I had killed the zombie but hadn't closed the back door yet.
If I left it open, I wouldn't know when a zombie might come in, so I had to go and close it quickly.
But I couldn't.
Because it was incredibly difficult to re-energize a body that had just relaxed.
'I was moving perfectly fine just a moment ago, why is this happening?'
The question lingered only briefly before I remembered.
That I was in such a bad state that I needed to go to the hospital.
Perhaps the reason I was moving so well earlier was just a temporary suppression of my illness by the superhuman strength that manifests in emergencies?
If so, then my body's current inability to move must be a side effect of that.
'What should I do? Is there any good way?'
The euphoria faded, and anxiety washed over me.
Lala, noticing my state, jumped up and down in place, as if stomping her feet in distress.
'...If Telepathy can convey not only words but also emotions, then wouldn't it be possible to convey images as well?'
Just in case, I imagined Lala closing and locking the back door.
Lala hopped excitedly, as if she understood, and then headed straight for the back door.
I couldn't see her directly because of the corner, but judging by the sound of the door closing and then the lock engaging, Lala seemed to have successfully completed the command.
"Lala, good job! You're the best partner!"
Pong! Pong! Kkuing♥
I showered Lala with praise when she returned after completing her mission.
Perhaps unable to control her emotions from my continuous praise, Lala bounced around before leaping straight into my arms.
I struggled to lift my still-weak arm and stroked Lala.
Lala rejoiced as if she had the whole world with just that, but I couldn't be satisfied with only that.
"Lala, I believe everyone should receive as much as they've worked for. So..."
-Ding! Consuming a Point to enhance the Slime (Lala). Before enhancement, I will ask again. Do you truly wish to enhance the Slime (Lala)?
"This Point is yours."
-You have chosen affirmative. Enhancing the Slime (Lala). The Slime (Lala)'s physical abilities and skills will be enhanced.
Lala was startled by my words for only a moment before a brilliant light began to emanate from her body.
Just like when a PoXmon evolves in a PokémonXter.
So I secretly had expectations, but unfortunately, it ended up being a baseless hope.
Even if a Slime evolves, it's still just a Slime.
After the enhancement, Lala had only grown a tiny bit in size; no other changes could be found.
Pong! Pong!
"...Alright, if you like it, then it must be good."
I gently detached Lala, who kept clinging to me in joy, and stood up.
Thanks to the rest, I was able to do that much.
Well, anything more than that was still impossible.
"So, today's hunt ends here. Let's just clean up this corpse and rest well today."
Pong! Pong!
"You agree? That's a relief. By the way, what should I do with this corpse?"
Should I just throw it outside the back door?
That would be the easiest, but upon thinking about it, it didn't seem like a good idea.
Outside the back door was both a hunting ground and an escape route for emergencies.
I couldn't clutter such a place with a corpse.
"...No choice then."
After some thought, I decided to stash it in a secluded corner of the convenience store.
Once decomposition began, problems like foul odors would arise, but for now, there was no other way.
I grabbed the zombie's leg and dragged it.
Lala wrapped a Tentacle around my waist and pulled, adding her strength.
"Phew~. This won't do. I need to sleep now."
After dealing with the corpse, my body felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
I dragged my exhausted body towards the break room.
Sleeping on the bare floor would only worsen my condition instead of improving it, but fortunately, the break room had a foldable cot that the owner occasionally used when they were too lazy to go home.
-Ding! It is recommended to wash your body thoroughly and consume sufficient nutrients before sleeping.
"No. Too troublesome. I'll just sleep."
-Survivor-nim, snap out of it. The most dangerous thing for you is not the zombie, but the Malum Virus.
At the System's advice, my half-closed eyes snapped open.
The zombie had been so shocking that I had completely forgotten.
As the System said, the most dangerous thing for me was not the zombie, but the Malum Virus that turns humans into zombies.
"Alright. I'll do as you say. Ah, before that, let's take the corpse outside."
-There's no need to go that far. In exchange for transforming humans into zombies, the Malum Virus's infectivity has significantly decreased.
"Then?"
-Simply not getting close is enough. And after getting close, be sure to wash your body thoroughly.
"So I always have to do that, right? That's troublesome. Right now, with social infrastructure still intact, maintaining cleanliness isn't that difficult, but..."
If social infrastructure collapses, and electricity and water are cut off as a result, maintaining cleanliness will certainly not be easy.
'...I'll worry about that when the time comes.'
With my future looking bleak, I decided to leave future problems to my future self, and gathered wet wipes, toiletries, underwear, and outerwear from the display shelves before heading to the bathroom.
"Lala, come here. Let's wash together."
-Ding! A Slime's body is weakly acidic, so there's no need to wash it separately. Look now.
At the System's words, I looked at Lala, who had followed me into the bathroom.
Then I could see it.
The scene of the uncleaned, yellowed bathroom floor becoming as clean as new the moment Lala passed over it.
-This is the effect of the Digestion skill. It is recommended to use that skill to thoroughly clean the hallway stained with zombie blood and to dispose of the corpse.
"Feed blood and corpses to Lala? No matter what, that's a bit..."
-Even if Lala eats blood and corpses, she will be cleaner than survivor-nim after you've washed.
"What, are you saying I'm dirty even after washing?!"
Though I grumbled at the System's words, I followed its advice nonetheless.
Lala happily accepted my command to dispose of the blood and corpses.
A short while later, when I came out after washing, a hallway sparkling like new greeted me.
Pong! Pong!
"Ah, Lala, good work. But have you already disposed of the corpse too?"
Shake, shake
"What? You're full and didn't even touch it? Well, having good digestive ability doesn't mean your appetite increases."
Nodding as if I understood, I hugged Lala, who seemed to feel guilty for not completing the command, and entered the break room.
Then, eating the lunchbox (not past its expiration date!) I had brought beforehand, I turned on my smartphone.
"Huh? What's wrong with this?"
Even though I hadn't removed the SIM card, a 'call unavailable' message was displayed for some reason.
Neither wireless network nor Wi-Fi was detected, and not a single emergency safety alert message, which always comes during emergencies, had arrived.
I had intended to investigate the situation outside, but this made it impossible.
-Ding! This is because the Outer God neutralized all of Earth's communication networks when enhancing the Malum Virus.
"Disrupting the enemy's communication network is a basic principle of war. It really hits me again that we're in a war."
I had to keep that in mind.
That this Zombie Apocalypse was not a disaster (Disaster) but a war (War).
I didn't know when or where overt malice would strike us.
Feeling utterly gloomy, I quickly finished my lunchbox and lay down on the cot.
"...Ah, this fucking sucks."
No matter how hard I tried to close my eyes, I couldn't fall asleep.
Due to worries about the future and stress from the lack of information, my mind became increasingly clear instead of falling asleep.
-Ding! The survivor's stress level is rapidly rising. It is recommended to relieve stress quickly.
"How am I supposed to relieve stress in this situation? I can't play games, and I can't watch YouTube."
I have a few web novels downloaded on my smartphone, but right now, I couldn't possibly focus on reading.
If so, there was only one method left.
"System, could you go somewhere for a bit?"
-Are you going to masturbate?
"...If you noticed, would it kill you to just pretend you didn't?"
The System did not reply.
It seemed to have decided that my stress relief was more important than teasing me.
I considered sending Lala out of the break room too, but decided to just leave her be.
Would she even know what masturbation is?
Feeling reassured, I began to masturbate.
However, the more I masturbated, the more my stress accumulated instead of dissipating.
This was because the strength in my grip was insufficient to adequately stimulate my Flesh Rod.
That's when it happened.
Leap!
"La-Lala! What are you doing all of a sudden!"
Lala, who had been intently watching my actions, suddenly leaped onto my body and swallowed my Flesh Rod in one gulp.