Can a Sledgehammer, a Crowbar, and a Fire Axe Destroy Hwaseong Haenggung Palace?

Even if a zombie apocalypse were to break out, there isn't anyone in this officetel building worth fucking. There are too many vacant units, and the few residents who actually live here are mostly middle-aged men and women, scrawny college kids, or fat, short-haired girls who look like radical feminists. Oh, wait. There is one girl who looks like she might still be a virgin. If the world ends, I should definitely claim her before I die.

She looks so incredibly weak-willed that even if I took her by force, she wouldn't have the guts to stab me in my sleep or poison my food out of revenge.

She doesn't wear makeup, doesn't dress up, and has flat tits and a flat ass. But she's a total shut-in who never leaves her room except to go to work, which means there's a very high chance she's a virgin—and isn't that what really matters? She looks to be about twenty. Since she didn't go to college and only shuttles back and forth between her office and home, she probably hasn't even had the chance to meet a guy.

If the apocalypse hits, a girl like her will probably just lock herself in her room and starve to death anyway. Instead of letting her body rot, it would be much better for me to put it to good use. The middle-aged losers in this building don't seem to care about a gloomy, socially awkward outcast like her. Though, once the law crumbles, even those old bastards might try to force themselves on her for a quick lay.

She's the type who would probably just squeak and stammer, unable to even utter a proper word if she got violated. Listening to the men in this building babble when they're drunk, most of them are day laborers whose only hobby is gambling. As for the women, they're mostly single middle-aged ladies who look like they got divorced after getting caught cheating. And the scrawny college kids or the feminists? Please...

The building has a small convenience store and one other commercial shop on the first floor, along with a tiny parking lot.

Bicycle thieves have been rampant in the neighborhood lately, so I decided to buy a lock and a heavy iron chain to secure mine. Before heading to the local hardware store, I checked the loser girl's mailbox. Ah, her name is Jeong Minji.

Hardware stores are hard to find these days, but my neighborhood is so outdated that we still have one. It makes sense, considering this is an old area where a fortress and a palace from the Joseon Dynasty still stand.

"How much is this?"

"Twelve thousand won."

I can't believe there are still shops operating without price tags on their items.

I should buy a crowbar, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠too. In post-apocalyptic web novels, they're always portrayed as the ultimate multi-tool. I'll grab an axe and a sledgehammer as well. A sledgehammer is just a massive hammer, but the great thing about these tools is that they're dirt cheap compared to something like a real sword—only costing a few tens of thousands of won.

Since the hardware store was located in a market near the Namsumun Stream Gate, I bought the lock, the chain, and the tools. On my way back home, the Suwon Hwaseong Fortress caught my eye. Parts of the fortress walls had crumbled over time, but if they were rebuilt, it could function perfectly as a tourist attraction.

Since historical structures like Hwaseong Haenggung Palace—where King Jeongjo once stayed—are still preserved, it would be amazing to tear down all the modern buildings inside the fortress walls and replace them with traditional Hanok houses. It would turn the whole area into a world-class tourist destination, just like the ancient castles in Europe. A grand fortress wall enclosing traditional architecture.

When you travel to Europe, the old historic districts have a lord's castle and a cathedral nestled inside the fortress walls. People still live in those centuries-old buildings, with shops lining the ground floors, turning the entire neighborhood into a living tourist attraction. Of course, the roads are narrow, and most of them are built on steep hills for defense, so they only look nice from afar. Living there must be a massive pain.

The layout of Suwon Hwaseong Fortress is pentagonal rather than rectangular. Because of this, the West Gate and East Gate are actually positioned to the northwest and northeast, to the point where they might as well be called the Northwest Gate and Northeast Gate.

Since I'm already at the fortress, I might as well take a walk before heading back. It takes me about a minute and thirty seconds to walk 100 meters. That means 1 kilometer takes roughly 15 minutes, 500 meters takes about 7 minutes, and I can cover around 700 meters in 10 minutes.

If I start from the Namsumun Stream Gate and walk clockwise along the perimeter of the fortress, it takes about an hour and fifteen minutes. That puts the total distance at roughly 5 kilometers.

If I treat the Namsumun Stream Gate, the Southwest Secret Gate, the West Gate, the North Gate, and the East Gate as checkpoints, the estimated distances between them based on my walking speed are roughly 0.7, 1.0, 0.5, 1.4, and 1.4 kilometers, respectively.

Just by measuring my walking time, a rough map of the fortress's scale forms clearly in my head.

The Haenggung-dong Community Service Center, where I made that police report last time, lies just north of Hwaseong Haenggung Palace. If you divide the fortress into four quadrants using the main roads passing through the gates, the palace sits in the southwestern quadrant. Because I'm broke, I live in a cheap place halfway up the slopes of Mount Paldal instead of on flat ground. But historically, the local governors and even the king stayed at the palace, which is right near my neighborhood.

Anyone can enter Hwaseong Haenggung Palace as long as they pay the admission fee. I've been inside a few times myself, but there wasn't anything particularly special about it just because a king once stayed there. Though, it did make me feel like a king for a brief moment.

Walking along the fortress walls, I can see the Paldal-gu Office in the northeastern quadrant. Come to think of it, there's a museum right next to the district office. The admission fee was cheap, so I checked it out once. They had actual weapons like swords, bows, arrows, and quivers, as well as defensive gear like armor and shields. Near that area, I can also see the police substation where I was locked up last time. The substation is technically in the southeastern quadrant of the fortress, but it's still close to the district office.

While many local police substations have been consolidated into larger precinct stations elsewhere, this neighborhood still has its own small substation. From what I've observed during my frequent walks, the on-duty staff ranges from one to five officers. If the two-man patrol unit is back, there are five of them. Since they operate on a four-team, two-shift rotation, I estimate the total force to be around twenty officers.

There is a larger police station nearby as well, but you have to head northeast outside the fortress walls to reach it.

Having a police substation, a main police station, and a general hospital all close to home makes this a very safe and convenient place to live. I guess this is why people choose to live in the city instead of the countryside. Well, if an apocalypse actually happens, all of this will become completely useless anyway.

I'm slowly running out of money. I need to earn a living, but day labor is physically exhausting, and the old bastards on site are always picking fights, which drains me mentally. Working at a convenience store is just as bad because of all the entitled customers throwing tantrums. To make matters worse, my visit to the hospital yesterday shaved off what little remained of my bank balance.

These days, even the nurses have the nerve to wear pants just like the doctors. It makes paying those hospital bills feel like a total waste of money.

Since some crazy bastard bit me, there's zero chance of ever squeezing any compensation out of him. The female doctor told me to come back on March 14th, which is tomorrow. Even if the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠doctor is a woman, it's not like there's anything to look at. She was completely bundled up, and you could tell her attitude just by how she dragged her slippers around.

They just washed the wound, dressed it, and prescribed some antibiotics. I went to the pharmacy this morning to pick up the meds. After all, my body is precious.

Fuck it, when you're bored, nothing beats a walk. I know the geography around here like the back of my hand. Whenever I had nothing to do, I'd go jogging along the fortress walls.

Jogging lightly along the fortress, I spot a pavilion and a pond in the distance. The pond is called Yongyeon, and the pavilion is Banghasuryujeong, located near the Hwahongmun Gate, which is the northern stream gate. There's also the North Secret Gate nearby. Unlike the massive, highly visible main gates, a secret gate is a hidden passageway used for moving soldiers and supplies stealthily.

Since it's already March, I can see eyesore couples loitering around the pond. I hope they all die. Man, I wish the apocalypse would just hurry up and get here.

Running under the guise of "taking a walk" seems to have boosted my stamina. Now that I know every nook and cranny of this neighborhood, I could probably play tag with zombies and never get caught.

Today, I told myself I'd watch just one more video on RadioTube and then study, but before I knew it, it was midnight. I'll study hard starting tomorrow. Tonight, I'll just browse Novelpia and go to sleep. I'm starting to feel anxious because I won't even be able to afford studying soon. The time to go out and make money is drawing closer.

The next day.

Today is Monday, March 14th. The day the doctor told me to return to the hospital.

I was lying down, scrolling through my smartphone, when a sudden ding echoed in my head, and a status window materialized before my eyes. I knew I'd been under a lot of stress lately, but I didn't think I was crazy enough to start hallucinating.

When I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠focused my mind on the terms I was curious about, additional explanations popped up.

Mathematically speaking, as long as I only keep one sex slave branded, I can maintain it indefinitely. The drain rate matches my recovery rate perfectly. But to verify whether this is just schizophrenia or an actual system status window, I need to test it on someone. My only real option is that bitch Minji on my floor. I have to go to the hospital today, so I'll tail her tomorrow to find the right time and place, and then make my move the day after.

On second thought, even if I want to test this on Minji, it makes more sense to get my wound stitched up and let it heal a bit first.

Today is the day the doctor scheduled my follow-up. It's absolutely not because I was eager to see the female doctor that I, a guy who is chronically late to everything, arrived early and sat waiting. I just have a busy schedule today, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so I came early to get things out of the way.

After checking in with the nurse and waiting for a bit, they called my name. But when I walked into the general surgery clinic, the doctor sitting there wasn't the one from the other day. In fact, he wasn't even a woman. Why the hell would a male doctor use a feminine name and confuse people? His last name was Park, too. Shouldn't the doctor who started the treatment be the one to finish it?

"Hello."

"Yes, hello. You visited the emergency room the day before yesterday for a bite wound, correct? Let's take a look at it."

The male doctor poked and prodded at my arm, inspecting the wound.

"Dr. Park did a good job treating it in the ER. It doesn't look infected. You can come back in two days to get it stitched up. The nurse outside will disinfect it and help you schedule your next appointment."

"Is the female doctor from the other day not coming in?"

"Dr. Park was on the ER night shift, so she's probably asleep right now."

The consultation lasted barely a minute. What a waste of money. If it had been the female doctor, at least I would've had some eye candy.

I didn't even bother bringing up the status window to him. If I did, he'd probably refer me straight to the psych ward.

"Please step over here."

The nurse began disinfecting my wound. At least a woman's touch was better than a man's.

"Mr. Park Doyoung, shall we schedule your next appointment for Wednesday, March 16th?"

I might look like an unemployed bum, but I actually have plans on March 16th. I need to tail Minji and find out exactly where she works.

"I'm busy that day. Can we do March 17th instead?"

"In that case, I'll book you for Thursday, March 17th, at 2:15 PM. You can pay at the front desk on your way out. If you parked here, don't forget to grab a parking validation ticket."

My bank balance shrank yet again today from another useless treatment. Well, maybe not entirely useless. If it festered and left an ugly scar, I'd be the one losing out.

I went home and played some games, and before I knew it, the day was over. What the hell? I was only planning to play for a little bit.