Money Can Buy Anything
After passing the quarantine check, Jun-ho listened to the gym manager's instructions, changed into his workout clothes in the locker room, and entered the gym. Due to the pandemic restrictions, the gym was allowed to open early in the morning and operate until 9:00 PM, so there were a couple of people working out despite the early hour.
"Hello! Nice to meet you! You must be Mr. Jun-ho!"
The trainer, who looked to be around Jun-ho's age, was brimming with energy.
"Yes, nice to meet you."
Jun-ho had grown accustomed to dealing with strangers, so he offered a standard, polite greeting.
"You know, because of COVID, we open at this hour, but we don't actually get many members coming in to work out. But you, sir, you're truly impressive from day one. Willpower is the most important thing in exercise, and in that regard, you've already scored 90 points before even starting."
The trainer was not just energetic; he was excessively kind. It was understandable, though. The industry had been effectively facing a death sentence for the past two years due to the pandemic. Even with the slight easing of restrictions, signs of a revival were still distant, so he was likely incredibly grateful for a new member.
"Now, Mr. Jun-ho, let's start with some light running!"
"Oh, I don't need to do that. I ran here from home."
"Oh, really? Still, how about a light 1-kilometer run..."
"My house is near Chunui Station."
"Excuse me...?"
The trainer looked genuinely shocked. It had to be at least 2 or 3 kilometers—he’d run that entire distance?
"That is absolutely incredible! Alright then, sir, let's do some light stretching and warm-ups, and then we'll move on to the bench press."
His way of speaking was a bit odd, but he seemed like a kind and decent trainer.
"Now, a human body is similar to a car or a machine. You have to oil the joints properly first. If you don't prepare correctly, you'll get injured."
Jun-ho followed the trainer's instructions, rotating his arms, bending his elbows, and moving his shoulders.
"Excellent! You're doing great, sir!"
Was this really doing great? Regardless, after about five minutes of stretching, Jun-ho followed the trainer's guidance and lay down under the barbell.
"Since you have a good physique, let's start light with 20kg. Now, the posture is like this. Grip it like this. Don't lift with your arms; stabilize with your back and press down with your chest. Excellent. Inhale when you lower it, exhale when you lift. That's it, that's it."
Perhaps it was because the trainer was skilled, or perhaps it was something else, but Jun-ho lowered and lifted the barbell without much difficulty.
"Eleven, twelve. That's one set! Wow, you're really good at this, sir. Alright, let's add 10kg and try again."
Jun-ho silently lifted the barbell as instructed. As he did, the trainer, who had been shouting "Go! You can do it!" while counting, saw his expression change subtly as time passed.
"Mr. Jun-ho, are you sure you've barely worked out before?"
Jun-ho nodded at the trainer's question during a short break after finishing the fourth set.
"Yes. I dabbled a bit during my final months in the military, but this is my first time doing it seriously."
"Wow, then you're a natural talent."
Jun-ho felt a strange chill at the trainer's gaze as he scanned him from head to toe. The PTSD he had felt on his first day of regression had largely faded after meeting the various technicians who had visited his home, so it wasn't that kind of tension. The trainer's look was remarkably similar to the one senior soldiers gave when a new recruit joined who had been on the soccer team until high school.
"Alright, let's crush some push-ups and dumbbell flies as a superset. Watch me first."
Surprisingly, Jun-ho followed along perfectly on the first try.
"You're truly amazing, Mr. Jun-ho. You remembered the form on the first try."
With the word "our" now added to his address, Jun-ho spent the next ten minutes performing the two exercises continuously under the trainer's sticky, intense gaze. Even after that, he showed no signs of fatigue, so the trainer’s eyes sparkled even more brightly. After finishing off Jun-ho's back with lat pulldowns, he helped him loosen up with more stretching.
"Great work, Mr. Jun-ho. By the way, you're so different from the other new members."
"Thank you."
"Anyway, you'll have muscle soreness starting this evening, but that's a good sign, so don't worry. You'll be here at this time tomorrow, right? We open at 5:00 AM, so you can come even earlier if you want."
"Yes, thank you."
"Go, go!"
"...Go, go."
He was a bit excessively energetic, but he seemed like a diligent and attentive trainer. And thanks to working out with him today, one thing became absolutely certain.
'My body has changed. My physical capabilities have improved tremendously...'
Convinced of this, Jun-ho finished his first workout, showered, changed into the new underwear and workout clothes he had packed in his backpack, and ran back home.
***
"What? You ran 8 kilometers there and 8 kilometers back?"
Jun-hyeok, his hair a mess and still half-asleep, widened his eyes in disbelief.
"Yeah."
"Are you serious? Brother, you're lying, right?"
"Why would I lie to you?"
As Jun-ho answered calmly, Jun-hyeok sat there with his spoon in his hand, mouth agape.
"That's insane... No, this really doesn't make sense..."
"What doesn't?"
"No, brother. Even if you don't know much about exercise, does it make sense for an ordinary person to run 16 kilometers and then crush an hour-long workout at the gym? That's what the athletic department kids do. People who are properly trained."
"I see. I'm just satisfied that I won't turn into a zombie."
Since it was better not to tell his younger brother yet, Jun-ho answered nonchalantly, grilling a large can of Spam and wrapping it in lettuce for breakfast. Jun-hyeok raised his voice, clearly frustrated.
"Well, that's a huge relief, but! Brother, even the people at our gym don't go that far. Of course, there are some guys who work out harder all day, but those guys are pro-fighter level. They're monsters, absolute monsters. But you're an office worker who started working out a week ago, and you're doing that? It's nonsense. Normal people are gasping for air after just 3 or 4 kilometers of jogging!"
"Really? I didn't even feel like I was running when I did 3 or 4 kilometers. That's why I increased it to 8 kilometers."
"That's what's crazy! No, brother. When you went to the military, could you run the morning formation run well from the start?"
"That's not true."
"See? Even in your prime, that's how it usually is. Honestly, your current state doesn't seem normal. Someone who didn't exercise regularly could never do that."
"Hmm."
At Jun-hyeok's fussing, Jun-ho thought as he took a large bite of rice topped with a thick slice of Spam.
'Could it be that the abilities of an Alpha were transferred?'
Being an Alpha didn't necessarily mean having superhuman strength. As far as it was known, unlike other regular zombies, their skin didn't rot easily, they could think to some extent like cunning predators, and they could issue simple commands to other zombies. Of course, that alone made them dangerous, but Jun-ho had never heard of an Alpha wiping out a group of survivors single-handedly.
However, information about Alphas hadn't been widely known for long even before his regression. This meant there could be plenty of truths about Alphas that he didn't know yet. In any case, one thing was certain...
'I must accept the change and fully adapt to this body. And... I must not get caught.'
"Anyway, brother. Let's build up our bodies quickly and go work out together."
"Yeah."
Deep down, he felt he could start learning MMA right away, but he decided he needed about two more weeks to build his body and adapt. Besides, he felt he should learn martial arts only after he could hit a total of 300kg in the big three lifts.
***
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah! Let's go, brother."
As soon as it was past 9:00 AM, the brothers left the house. Today was a day they had to move busily from start to finish. The two took a taxi to a direct-managed used car dealership they had booked in advance. There, they immediately purchased a domestic diesel SUV they had been eyeing. Although it was a used car, it was guaranteed by the dealership, so its condition was top-tier. On top of that, it had only 60,000 kilometers on the odometer. It was more than just running well; it was overflowing with power.
"The car is great. Brother, can I drive it once I get my license?"
"Of course you should. You need to know how to drive, too. Practice a lot."
"I guess that's true. But why did you buy it on an installment plan? They say you shouldn't buy used cars on installments."
The SUV cost just under 30 million KRW, including registration fees. Jun-ho paid a 5 million KRW down payment and set it up for a 72-month long-term installment plan.
"It becomes our car in two years anyway. There's no need to pay the full 30 million at once. I just need to pay 400,000 KRW every month until the apocalypse hits. Then, including the down payment, it'll cost less than 15 million."
"Ah..."
Jun-hyeok nodded and muttered, "Then from now on, whenever we buy something expensive, we should definitely use installment plans."
"Yeah. If the installment period is under 24 months, just buy it, and if it's longer, definitely use installments. But for items worth a few million, 36-month or longer installments are usually possible, so that won't be a problem."
Jun-ho intended to do the same for the equipment and facilities he would later install in the shelter, not to mention the items he was buying right now for rehearsals and experiments at home. That way, he could reduce the cost of purchasing equipment and facilities by at least 20-30%, and up to more than half. Of course, the monthly installment payments might reach tens of millions, or perhaps even hundreds of millions of KRW. But it didn't matter. If the Selene Coin exploded soon, it wouldn't be a burden at all. In fact, it would allow him to utilize his funds more flexibly and efficiently.
"Ah, but brother, is it really okay to just get the Level 3 drone license?"
"Yeah. I looked into it, and a Level 3 license is enough."
Jun-ho planned to prepare two types of drones for the shelter. An industrial drone with a basic weight of over 3 kilograms and a maximum takeoff weight of nearly 10 kilograms, and a common general-purpose drone weighing under 2 kilograms. Industrial drones technically required a Level 2 license, but for actual flight, a Level 3 license was sufficient for most practical purposes. It was more important to thoroughly understand the characteristics of the drone being operated and practice flying a lot, rather than focusing on the license grade. Furthermore, drones with a maximum takeoff weight of 2 kilograms or less could be operated without a license. So, getting the Level 3 license first was enough, and if needed later, he could accumulate more flight hours and get the Level 2 license.
"And..." Jun-ho added meaningfully, "In our shelter, there won't be many times when a human needs to pilot a drone directly."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because the AI will take care of it."
"Brother... haven't you watched too many movies?"
Jun-ho could understand why Jun-hyeok looked at him with such disbelief. He would have reacted the same way if he hadn't seen groups of survivors operating drones in the apocalypse. Technically, autonomous flight for drones had already been perfectly implemented. From taking off on its own at the scheduled time, patrolling a set route, to returning automatically—all of it was possible. The only thing a human needed to do was change the battery. He wouldn't even need to stare at the screen intently. The AI computing system would analyze the drone camera footage, automatically distinguish between humans, zombies, animals, and vehicles, and even judge the level of danger to provide warnings. Of course, there was an important prerequisite for that.
"Money. A lot of money can buy anything."
"So it's money after all."
In his conversation with his brother, Jun-ho made a resolution once again. As soon as the funds were ready, he had to go and meet the two people he had marked as shelter members. Only when those two joined quickly could the shelter he had planned be realized in reality faster.
In the meantime, the SUV arrived at the drone training center.