Opening the Shop (1)
I'd been bawling my eyes out for a good long while, but finally, I wiped my tears and made a solemn vow.
"Hyungnim... someday, I'll give you a proper funeral."
Someday, I'd recover his remains and build him a real grave. A shitty little memorial like this couldn't honor his achievements.
Come to think of it, this was the first real goal I'd ever set for myself in my worthless life as a total loser.
"But first, I've gotta survive."
Step one: assess the situation. What was going on with other survivors and regions?
I pulled up the newbie essential post that was pinned at the top of the gallery.
You're probably itching to go trash-pick after awakening, so know this before you head out.
Red Zone: Northernmost Seongnam, Jamsil area. Even now, if 10 stalkers go in, barely one limps back out. Total hellgate. Most hunters come from here.
Overflowing with farming spots these days, but newbies get one-shotted in 3 seconds by zombies that don't play by the rules. Leave it to vets and hunters.
Orange Zone & Yellow Zone: Pangyo, Bundang / Suwon outskirts. This is your main stage. Frontline defenses against waves (orange) and refugee camps (yellow) coexist.
Best bet overall. Farm magic stones like rice here.
Green Zone: Southern Bundang, central Suwon. Artificial paradise on land. Walls built by awakeners and rich folks post-apocalypse dumping magic stones like water.
Tutorial ended first here, gallery opened first too. But it spits out the most trash awakeners. Hunters cleared the whole area, turning it white zone now.
Rich and hunters live there mostly, so kiss ass accordingly. I still can't get in, fuck lol.
Newbie post +1
Whole village got infected last time, had to mobilize stalkers en masse, fuck
"Oh man..."
As a gallery vet of over 10 years, I had the full picture now. The outside world had long turned into a brutal eat-or-be-eaten society, just as I'd feared.
Areas were divided by system-designated danger levels: Green Zone, Yellow Zone, Orange Zone, Red Zone, and so on.
Powerful awakeners were called Stalkers, venturing into danger zones to farm. Weaker ones—armed civilians—were Ragtag or Rats. The strongest got certified by the control nation as Hunters.
"How far ahead was that old DCInside timer...!"
Trash-picking game turned real life.
"But why no mention past Red Zone?"
I'd said from the start: Black Zone. And zero word on Seoul.
"Guess I'll ask."
Newbies should lurk, but no time for that. I threw up a post with a throwaway nick.
What happened to Seoul?
I waited for replies, but...
"What the...?"
Shockingly, zero interest.
Black Zone awakener throwaway, nice lol
"Why?!"
Black Zone's insane difficulty, let alone Red
"Fuck."
Yeah. Yeouido—where I was—plus Gangnam, Jongno, and greater Seoul: apocalypse ground zero. Not a single awakener survivor, let alone anyone approaching.
Ultimate hell zone. Ignore anyone claiming Black Zone origin.
Northern Gyeonggi got physically overrun by zombie waves from the DMZ and totally annihilated. So this "Capital Region Survivor Gallery" was really just southern Gyeonggi survivors—Seoul-less Seoul team.
"..."
Yeouido wasn't the only Black Zone. All of vast Seoul was, and I was truly alone.
Survive a zone's set time, become awakener. Power scaled to zone difficulty.
"So how strong was Hyungnim..."
Probably a real hunter grandpa-level awakener.
"But what am I..."
Name: Shin Sok
Architect: You are the absolute ruler of buildings and territories.
"Absolute ruler my ass..."
Still just utility, no combat. Magic stones vs. life—shitty balance game, how long?
Zombie farming for stones sucks enough...
While others risk life farming zombies and trash for stones, I designate invincibility zone, open shop, click-click sell goods for stones... that's it...
"Wahh... fuck... this is total OP cheese..."
Cheese...
"This is insanely OP cheese!!!!!"
In games, top broken shit always comes from utility, not combat. I was SSSR-tier after all!!!
"Alright!!!"
Warning: Insufficient magic stones to extend ownership.
Stones held: 0
Ownership remaining: 4 days, 22 hours, 35 minutes
Ownership releases upon expiration.
"From now on, I'll focus, do business, live right!"
I fired up the member list.
Test run: picked one at random.
"You're the one!!"
*****
Same time. Orange Zone, Bundang outskirts—skeletal remains of an abandoned commercial building basement.
"Huff—! Huff—!"
A guy operating under a throwaway nick in the survivor gallery spat ragged breaths through cracked, parched lips.
Outside was pure hell.
"Grrr..."
From cracks in shattered concrete: grotesque mutant wild dog pack, human-sized, slobbering as they prowled.
"F-fuck..."
His party long dog food. Body wrecked with wounds, left leg crushed under debris—critical.
Bleeding stemmed with torn cloth, but real issues: dehydration, infection. No wound cleaning, three days isolated—no food, no water.
He'd die of thirst before monsters ate him. Squeezed last wits into a gallery post.
Orange Zone motel basement, leg busted can't move... Party wiped
Not a trap, dying of thirst first...
Drop a bottle here or nearby, I'll handle escape... Please...
Dogs make it insane difficulty anyway;;
"Wasn't going anyway"
Only mocking replies.
"Yeah... who'd come to this hellhole..."
Who'd risk life delivering one bottle to this death trap?
"If there's a god... grant me a merciful end..."
His head lolled, vision blacking out—then.
"Wh-what's this...?"
Status window-like UI, but totally new format.
"D-did the system patch...?"
Ships to buyer coordinates upon purchase
"Or a new... anomaly?"
No time to think. At his limit, and that price for water? Steal.
"Fuck... nothing to lose...!"
Bloody finger set quantity to 2, hit [Buy].
Odasu 500ml x2 purchase complete
40 magic stones deducted
"Wha...? Huh?"
His hidden pocket stones dissolved into air.
Item shipped to buyer coordinates
Blue alert faded—space tore open before him.
Thwack—! Thwack—!
Items shot out, smacking his face, hitting floor.
"Ah... fuck what—!"
Roll—!
Two transparent plastic bottles tumbling across dusty, bloody basement floor.
Pain forgotten, his eyes locked on them.
"No way... n-no fucking way..."
Frost on bottles melting into droplets. Contents clear. Not rainwater, not mud. Chill from feet confirmed: fridge-fresh pre-apocalypse water.
"Impossible..."
Hadn't tasted fridge-cold water since apocalypse.
"F-fuck, I'm alive. Alive!!"
No time for questions. He uncapped, guzzled.
Cool rush down throat. Body soaking in hydration.
"Ahh... god's grace...!"
Words slipped out unbidden.
"Th-thank you...!! Thank you!!!!"
Hands clasped to sky, he prayed.