Chapter 10: Preparation
A day of pure happiness. In a world stripped of all law and order, I had done exactly as I pleased.
Returning to the base, I opened the door once more to reality and the past.
The room was identical, yet it felt profoundly different.
At last I had reached a world governed by laws, free of zombies, and closed the door behind me.
Thinking about it, who knew someone might slip in while I was away?
I should at least secure the lock.
Lying alone in the room without Lee Soyeon, the vivid taste of her body that had lingered in my mind all day yesterday kept replaying endlessly.
It was so intense I wanted to rush over right now. Not anyone else—Lee Soyeon herself.
In the phone’s advertisement video, Lee Soyeon smiled brightly while filming the ad, and the image remained vivid.
From now on, would that belong to me?
The refreshing impression of her slightly turning her head, that hair. To dirty it as I wished.
It felt like a dream.
Whoever it was, thank you. After all, it was connected to the future.
Past and present. What I needed to do was prevent any accidents that would appear on our side in advance.
If I announced that I had created a zombie virus in Wuhan, China out of nowhere, I would simply be labeled insane.
In reality, when the coronavirus had erupted in Wuhan before, we had only assessed the situation afterward and made estimates.
That meant, if I gave even the slightest hint, the United States could move.
Given the precedent, it seemed possible enough. I hurriedly pulled out my bank account.
But if I prevented it this way, would the future itself change?
If I stopped zombies, would the future world change too? The tales of time paradoxes or entirely new worlds being born had already grown tiresome from movies.
I had no idea which direction my tampering with the past would lead. For now, the only certainty was that it connected to the future.
That I had discovered that place. Nothing more.
I could use the technology from when humanity in the past had been fine, at any time.
For the moment, this was all. My predecessor likely had not known it would connect in this way either. He would not have known.
“Hmph. I ate everything and won like a dog.”
Even if I was a dog, I wanted this world to remain fine.
The reason I was trying to help the future world again was because my predecessor’s assistance had turned me into a billionaire with hundreds of billions of won. And most importantly, I possessed a safe place—both past and present.
There was plenty I could supplement, and I had a solid back.
“No, what was I overthinking?”
I was not the type to complicate things unnecessarily. I simply did as I wished.
That was all there was to it.
Since I had completed my first experience, I should prepare what I needed to do based on that.
First, I needed the strongest weapon I had not brought because I had rushed here.
Primarily firearms.
Although the noise issue was severe, the number of zombies around here was small—I guessed my predecessor had handled it.
They were not the type that reacted immediately to the noise and came running. Rather, they were good for dealing with through delay.
So, when examining firearms, I noticed some unexpected regulations.
“Firearms require a license, and it’s complicated.”
Our country was not the United States, so it was only natural. Honestly, I could obtain them through illegal routes, but why bother with such crimes?
The firearms obtainable through official licenses were air guns.
Even though they were classified as air guns, shotguns existed within that category.
In terms of power, many could overpower zombies. I needed to buy one, but I discovered some unexpected harsh conditions.
“What? Owning it at a police station and keeping it at home is prohibited?”
What kind of doggy rule was this? Apparently, it was strongly suppressed due to gun accidents.
“GPS mandatory installation. No thanks. Only permitted during hunting season…”
Since I would use it in the future, I would use it if needed, but it was troublesome, and most importantly, they would not lend it casually.
“Moreover, if I did not actually go hunting, they would suspect me through GPS tracking.”
Did I really need to obtain an illegal homemade gun? The first goal was already blocked.
“Acquire a gun and collect information in China…”
Would this work properly? Going myself was impossible.
“Hmph.”
At this moment, a necessary place for obtaining information came to mind.
“But it could not be half-assed. I needed to look into this further.”
I was trying to remove my disguise in the room when I saw zombie blood.
This… I should not just do it, right? I had been worried about contamination while going to the bathroom to wash.
Honestly, it was frightening. I knew people did not get infected like this, but the “what if” remained.
I did not know much about this zombie virus.
“Predecessor Help Me!”
I immediately searched the materials my predecessor had left. This person knew far more about zombies and viruses.
[About the zombie virus]
- No matter what, caution was required, but diluting it sharply reduced the virus’s danger. Originally, if it had retained infection power even after mixing with water, countless battlefields like rivers and seas would have been contaminated, and humanity would not have been able to eat fish. This material had been discovered by the island nations of the United Kingdom and Japan. After investigating fish in places where water mixed with zombies or zombie bodily fluids had fallen, it was found that the infection power was not particularly great.
- Although the probability of infection was extremely low if it flowed into rivers or seas, honestly, whether it was edible was a separate issue. Just as food ingredients near nuclear accidents, no matter how safe, could not be easily consumed.
- The direct cause was direct transmission due to virus exposure and the zombie virus spreading through the air, already containing “infection factors,” with emotional excitement (this was still under investigation) activating the zombie factor to an extreme degree.
- The virus’s transmission power was terrifying, but the actual probability of manifestation was low. This was good to be relieved. Since it was transmitted through air, if the manifestation rate were high, there would have been no one left alive on this earth.
“So it’s fine?”
But it was unbearably uneasy, so I wore rubber gloves in the yard and wiped it away with a mop. And how was I supposed to dispose of this mop?
Burn it.
I burned the towels in the yard as they were. The torch I had bought when I went to play with my older brothers who had been doing hard labor would be useful in times like this.
Wait? Thinking about it, in the future world there was no gas supply, so there would be a great need for such things, right?
The farther the distance, the more camping gear would be needed.
“Survival goods.”
Yes, carrying survival backpacks like those seen on the internet in peacetime.
My hand moved busily toward the laptop. To use firearms freely, I probably needed to enter the illegal world.
I obtained information about survival backpacks on the internet.
Things for three days, medium term, and long term survival.
“Well, I did not have a means of transportation here either.”
Could I not bring a car to the future world?
But if I did too many things at once, my head would overload.
[When things get complicated, you need to set priorities.]
Following the internet’s proverb, I set priorities. Blocking research institutes in China was impossible in the near future. More than that, it was not the position.
This would be pushed to the back because I needed to send people to China.
For now, what I liked to hunt. Survival items and backpacks. Bicycle… Yeah. A bicycle that made no noise and was easy to travel for a reasonable distance.
That way, I could quickly reach Soyeon’s house as well.
For motorcycles, with my current license, only under 125cc was possible. The second-class small license allowed more.
To ride a large and stable one, it would be good to obtain that as well.
First, the bicycle, license later.
Firearms were the same. While probing the official route, I would contact the illegal side.
Currently, the story of bicycle and survival backpack being the top priority had come out.
“Ah, right. Thinking about it, Soyeon’s house also did not have much food, did it?”
I had said I would take responsibility. I could not simply leave it like that.
It would be better to help with rice and a portable burner?
Preserved foods were good, but on this side I could freely mobilize foods in a state that did not break.
Good. I would order this.
Order a survival backpack, a tough bag with waterproof treatment, and plenty of preserved foods and canned goods.
It cost over two million won in food and survival items.
But this was a drop in the bucket. In Seocho-gu, they had facilities worth over ten million won. Moreover, for their own solar and self-sufficiency system, they would be doing remodeling like our current house.
Thoroughly fortify and manage to prepare for contingencies.
It could be called Noah’s ark for preparing for the case where my operation failed and it collapsed now.
In addition, I ordered portable burners, butane gas, compasses, and other miscellaneous items needed for survival goods.
Since gas did not flow and electricity did not, more preparation was needed for the benefits of civilization.
“I need to buy a generator.”
The price was over twenty million won, but my financial sense was slightly numb.
Since the time I had bought the eight-billion-won bunker-equipped house.
I went outside again. Because I had to go to the hardware store because of the lock or lock.
After all, the interior of the underground room was a place that should not be touched by anyone, as I had said before. Tie it with a steel chain and thoroughly secure security.
It was not good if my zombie virus spread by mistake.
And now that place was my territory. Looking at the dark night, I felt an odd sense of unease.
I did not know what this unease was for now, but suddenly one person passed by.
“Hmph!”
Reflexively stepping back, the auntie looked at me strangely and left.
Calm down. It was not that zombie world.
It was the same but different place. A place where people lived very peacefully.
Yeah, this was reality. Clear reality. A world where nothing happened, different from the future.
No, I had misspoke. A world where it had not happened yet. Whether to prevent it or not was now in my hands.
“Haa. Yeah, let’s rest a bit.”
I had slept like an animal all night, and my body kept feeling lazy.
I went to the hardware store, bought additional locks and steel latches as quickly as possible, and returned.
*
The next day, to soothe the fatigue, I woke up for lunch and plunged into the next task.
“Where to look, I need to get a hunting license…”
It was a problem-bank style question, so if you solved it, you got it right. This was the only way—studying on the side.
I downloaded the problem book on my phone and started solving it occasionally, then next was obtaining the second-class small license.
Under 125cc? Instead of doing that, I would buy a more stable and powerful motorcycle.
So, I would ride it while practicing motorcycle driving.
This also took time.
But first, the bicycle. Survival items and food would come by delivery.
Without rushing, one by one was being done. It had only been a day.
I took a taxi to the bicycle specialty store for a small luxury and told them the desired items.
“Any electric bicycle. Nowadays, they’re all the same, right?”
“No, no matter how, they differ in quality. Good ones from overseas cost tens of millions of won.”
“Haha, that’s amazing. Anyway, I want it to be sturdy and large.”
“Size… Since you look like you have a good body, I’ll show you a larger model.”
Yeah, what I was buying was not just a bicycle. It was an electric bicycle that could be operated like a long-distance bike despite being heavy.
The speed was limited to 30km, but that was coverable.
How?
I quietly whispered to the bicycle shop uncle.
“But there’s also tuning, right? Removing the speed limit.”
“But that’s illegal. And safety is dangerous.”
“It’s okay. I just want to make it look cool. Just tell me. Honestly, I came after seeing reviews on the internet.”
Yeah, why would I take a taxi to a place not nearby.
Because the owner here was also involved in the tuning side.
After looking up bike reviews, I chose this place.
Finally, the electric bicycle appeared in front of me in its new form, and I lightly got on.
“Pay attention to the buttons on both sides of the handle and the display in the center. It’s shifting gears by turning the handle.”
“Oh ho.”
I started the first test lightly, and the bicycle suddenly jumped out by itself.
This was an electric bicycle that ran on a motor?
Faster than I thought in feel, but it was not enough considering those beasts.
Now, after completing the transaction with cash, I headed to the tuning place the owner recommended.
There, the tuning team with caps and work clothes was busy fixing the bicycles.
“Hello. I received it from the bicycle sales shop, but…”
“Welcome. Did you come to remove the speed limit?”
A brisk man greeted me.
“And do some tuning too.”
“You came right away. We’re specialists. But since it’s illegal, don’t blame us if you’re caught.”
“Of course, between acquaintances~”
We agreed on opinions, and I told them the tuning box I thought.
But soon, I saw their expressions of disbelief.
“No, are you crazy? What kind of bicycle is this? What are you going to use it for?”
“There’s a lot of uses. So, is it possible? Or is it impossible to modify?”
“Modification is possible, but why…”
At this time, I immediately took out a pile of cash from my pocket and handed it over.
“Just having a tuning competition among acquaintances. I’ll give you double the money. Do you think this is to beat someone?”
“…Hmph.”
I felt their expressions wavering at the cash bundle I sent.
“You’re still not enough? Greedy. Here, one more. Instead, it has to be made with really good materials.”
Five hundred thousand more for five hundred thousand. In the end, the employee accepted my opinion and started the modification.
Now, the time when it was completed was awaited. The remaining was only time. It was just waiting.