Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Multi
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Having insomnia doesn't make you invincible when it comes to sleep. You just can't sleep when you need to, but that doesn't mean fatigue doesn't build up.
In fact, without the body's safety net, things often spiral downhill fast. I don't know about other insomniacs, but that's how it is for me.
Fatigue doesn't come with a neat numerical readout, so you have to sleep long enough to flush it all out completely.
The ridiculous part? Just sleeping doesn't even guarantee the fatigue goes away. It's the kind of condition where you can wake up even more exhausted than before.
I spent about three days cycling through sleep, waking up for a bit, then crashing again to gauge my condition.
Eat, hydrate, take a shit, sleep... After all that, I finally glanced in the mirror and saw something resembling a human again.
Whew...
Going to the officetel had been the right call, at least. I'd scored a ton of loot.
But I hadn't gotten the one thing I really wanted.
A woman.
Fuck... This is getting annoying as hell. There has to be some way.
I eyed the room where Min-ji had been.
Teaching assistant... Yeah, right. Dream on. That's just some manga fantasy for guys. Don't even go there.
What was it called? Stockholm syndrome? Could happen, I guess. But not to me.
Kidnap her, lock her up... keep her like livestock. That feels more realistic.
Lewd thoughts started flooding in.
Maybe because I'd struck out last time, they hit even harder. I checked the clock: 3 p.m. Even so, it was way too early to head out.
I shoved down the boiling urges and scrounged for something to kill time with.
Then my eyes landed on the crossbow.
What a badass-looking piece. Any guy would want to take it for a spin.
How do you even fire this thing? Hmm... Doesn't seem too tricky.
Cock the string, load a bolt. Yeah, that's the crossbow's big advantage over a regular bow—simple operation.
I'd brought eleven bolts. Slotted one in, took aim.
Let's see... what to shoot?
I lined up on a tin can lid on the table and squeezed the trigger.
Thwack! A solid crack echoed as the lid got punched right through. Holy shit... fuck, what is this thing?
Way more power than I'd expected. If this hits a person, they're done for, no question.
I killed time blasting away with the crossbow.
Today, I'd test this baby out properly. Time to head outside.
By 9 p.m., I couldn't wait anymore and stepped out.
Adding the crossbow to my usual kit made me feel like a legit hunter.
Crossbow in one hand, machete in the other. Heh... why does this feel so damn goofy?
Carrying the crossbow outright was a hassle, but slinging it on the pack made it clatter everywhere.
Super annoying. Still, better safe than sorry—I'd tote it along. Gotta get used to whatever works.
Where to? Same old dilemma.
The area's population had definitely thinned out. Makes sense—no way people are still holing up in a quiet residential neighborhood like this.
Could use another skill. Something like human detection.
Wait, does a skill like that even exist? It'd be ridiculously overpowered if it did.
Wonder if I could snag one for like 100,000 coins. I've got plenty. Shame the shop doesn't sell skills.
Why'd the bastards who turned the world to shit bother giving us a shop? Probably motivation to hunt coins, but who knows.
No matter how I slice it, the whole system's a pain in the ass. Can't quite wrap my head around whatever twisted logic they had for designing it this way.
Thought about hitting the subway station, but underground spots give me the creeps. Been a while since I went down there... still, nah.
Decided to just wander wherever my feet took me.
Somewhere people might be. Bonus points if there's a hot chick.
Nothing beats sneaking up on rival groups mid-fight and cracking skulls.
I roamed all through the pre-dawn hours, but no signs of life anywhere. Blind wandering like this is a waste. Time to think smart.
Straying too far from the bunker isn't ideal either. Even if I snag a woman, dragging her all the way back would take forever—pointless.
Ah, got a good idea. That chore I'd been putting off because it was a hassle.
I slipped into what looked like a safe one-room building and found a house with the door ajar.
Checked the interior—no one around. Under the bright living room light, I pulled an A4 sheet from the neatly folded spot in my backpack.
The very first thing I did when the world went to hell? Googled companies that build bunkers.
I pulled up their sites, jotted down the nearest ones, and paid visits.
It was right in the thick of the indiscriminate killing sprees—a brutal, insane time when the world was losing its mind.
Sneaking into the closest company wasn't hard at all.
No one showing up for work when society's collapsing? Shocker.
There, I found their records: a customer list for bunkers they'd built.
That's this paper right here. Precious intel on bunker locations across the country.
I checked the nearest one from my current spot.
Eh, I'd verified it plenty of times—I knew roughly where. Three subway stops away, in a housing complex.
Today's destination: locked in. Time to secure a multi-bunker setup.
If I score a woman en route, perfect. Otherwise, bunker first.
I repacked my gear and headed out quietly.
People glued to smartphone maps turned into total lost causes once those went dark.
Hilarious, really. Folks can't navigate to the next neighborhood over without one.
I was the same... not anymore, though.
I crept through the dawn streets.
The night air sent chills down my spine, imagining eyes watching from the shadows.
I stuck to shade and darkness, deliberately zigzagging now and then to break line of sight.
If no one's watching, it's pointless thrashing around. But I'm not bold enough to stroll openly without precautions.
Only got one life. In this cutthroat world where surviving's worth even a single coin.
Three subway stops took me three hours on foot. I slipped into the housing complex.
First time here, but damn, it's upscale.
Houses with garages everywhere... jealous.
Still, prime targets like these got looted ages ago. Not many left untouched.
Wonder if the bunker's still intact?
I scanned nameplates by the gates, cautiously hunting the right house.
Here we go...
A massive plot, house taking up the whole thing. Yeah, takes that kind of space to even consider a bunker.
I eased the front gate open—and it swung smoothly.
It let out a rusty screeeeech that sounded deafening.
Jumped a bit, but that kind of noise happens plenty with wind-rattled doors. No big worry.
The yard was a jungle of overgrown weeds from long neglect. The mansion door hung wide open.
Lights on inside, but I wasn't sweating it. Piles of dust at the entryway screamed "uninhabited for ages."
House was picked clean. Anything useful? Long gone.
Drawers yanked open, junk strewn everywhere under thick dust coatings.
Perfect. Time to hunt for the bunker.
Same builder, so probably identical setup.
Entrance with a keypad lock, sure. But no sweat.
Master card from the construction company. Swipe it, punch in 000000, and it resets the password.
Dunno why they built it that way, but hey, I'm grateful. Moral of the story: always read the manual.
Makes sense, though—you can still bolt it manually from inside anyway. That's what bunkers are for.
Back to the yard to scout the entrance.
Living in one makes spotting them a breeze.
Tucked cleverly in a small shed. Obvious to anyone in the know, invisible to outsiders.
No signs of people inside. Dust blanketing the shed said it all.
You can fake camouflage, but not dust.
I eyed the floor, located the bunker hatch, and popped open the keypad panel beside it.
Still functional. Swiped the master key, entered 000000.
A soft click as the lock released.
Heart pounding, I pried open the bunker entrance.
At this point, it's basically mine. Thank fuck the builders knew their stuff.
I sealed the hatch behind me and climbed down the ladder.
Exact same layout as my place.
No human traces whatsoever. Airtight seal kept the dust minimal.
Power, water... stockpiled food... checked it all. Completely barren bunker.
Feels like they built it and never once used it. Suits me fine.
Headed straight to the monitor room and fired up the gear.
Nine-split screen, but only four cams feeding in.
Hmm... not great. Too many blind spots. Can I fix it? Maybe tweak the angles?
Still, scoring a fresh multi put me in a good mood.
I could almost thank the bunker company.
First things first: spruce this place up. Then scope the neighborhood.