Burning Happiness Circuits
I ended up inside a zombie apocalypse novel. Come to think of it, there might have been more stuff worth grabbing. There was a clothing store in there too, if I remembered right. Noh Changhun would need clothes as well. Winter was creeping in, so at the very least he’d have to switch to long sleeves and some warm pants. I jogged in place a few times to loosen up, then slung the bag over my shoulder.
“Hey, Changhun.”
“What.”
“Don’t we need clothes?”
“No shit.”
“Then why the hell are you dressed like that?”
Noh Changhun glanced down at himself and shrugged.
“You son of a bitch. If you knew that, why point it out?”
“I’m kidding. Pants that actually keep you warm would be nice. Short sleeves for the shirt, though.”
“Why?”
“We run fevers when we’re recovering from injuries, remember? You could literally cook yourself to death.”
“Ah.”
Then I should grab a short-sleeve tee and a decent pair of pants too. Just like he said, we both ran hot during recovery. Besides, as long as it wasn’t brutally cold, we could move around fine. Yeah. Short sleeves plus a jacket would work. If I carried three or four sets and rotated them, that should be enough. Completely ignoring hygiene was dangerous, so changing clothes was non-negotiable. At least I could still care about looking decent. Fashion wasn’t completely dead.
I turned to Noh Changhun right away.
“How about a jacket, short-sleeve tee, and jeans?”
“Go get them.”
“What size?”
“Why, you gonna measure me?”
“No, your size.”
“The biggest thing they sell in the store.”
“Ah.”
Made sense. With his build, even the largest size would probably still be tight. The question had been pointless from the start. But now my size was the problem. I knew men’s sizing, not women’s. And it wasn’t like I could try stuff on in front of him.
“Uh, Changhun.”
“What.”
“Get out.”
“Aha.”
“Fuck, just get out. Before I start using your full name like a threat.”
It pissed me off how he grinned every single time he got a chance to tease me. I wanted to fire back, but I didn’t have any decent material. Brains, brawn, even the knowledge I’d brought with me—everything was lacking. So I had no choice but to keep my mouth shut. Still, it was nice that he left without a fight. I’d expected at least a few minutes of mockery.
“Fuck.”
Only after stripping down and checking the tags could I finally head out. Just in case I forgot, I’d written every measurement down in a notebook from the store. No worries now.
Noh Changhun was apparently skipping meals to build something in the hardware store. I told him to eat as I walked past, but he didn’t even acknowledge me. Must’ve been deep in concentration. I figured he’d handle his own food and zombie-killing just fine, so I tightened my grip on Beopbong and moved on.
There were more zombies than yesterday. Most were normal ones, but I spotted a few annoying variants too—Poisoners, Runners, that sort of thing. The kind that made outdoor encounters exhausting. There were Pointers as well, and the fact that one of them had a Marker mixed in was unsettling.
I really don’t want to get jumped by Hunters…
It wasn’t that I couldn’t kill them, but they were a pain in the ass. More than anything, just thinking about Hunters made the spot where I’d slammed into the railing throb again. At least that was a mental issue, so it was manageable. But actual injuries would mean serious wounds, and that would burn through food at an insane rate. We were reaching the point where even frozen stuff couldn’t be trusted anymore. If I ate random garbage just to heal up, I’d probably drop dead. That was why the protagonist had scraped up every drop of fuel the moment he got the university generator running—to keep the fridges alive one more day. Man, it would’ve been nice if the point shop had been more efficient.
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, I just needed to bring back spider webs. Wrap food in them and it wouldn’t rot. The big mart had been absolutely full of the stuff. I could haul it all back in boxes. Instant makeshift preservation system. Well, I couldn’t control the temperature, so it wasn’t exactly a fridge, but still.
“Heh. I really am smart.”
That entire shopping complex was my territory anyway. Regular zombies probably wouldn’t even set foot inside, so I could take my time picking out clothes. Oh, right—I could use the shopping carts from the mart too.
“Those things are metal. Metal.”
Noh Changhun had mentioned needing materials for a mold, so I could grab one. Even if he didn’t need it, the carts would make moving corpses way easier. Useful all around. My happiness circuit was running at maximum burn. It felt like I could actually live a decent life.
I changed at the clothing store, stuffed the bag full of spares, and headed back to the hardware store. Noh Changhun was wiping his hands with wet wipes, clearly about to eat. But why were there even more smashed zombie corpses here than yesterday?
“So… how strong is your fist, exactly?”
“Huh?”
“No, it’s just… every time I see the bodies it looks brutal.”
“A proper hit can punch straight through a General-level variant.”
“…………………Ah.”
“Hunters just explode. Their bodies aren’t as solid, I guess.”
“Was that full power?”
“Yeah. Full power.”
“Fuck… so I had to survive three of those?”
“Why?”
No wonder it had felt like I was dying. There was a reason. I’d thought I was overreacting after just two gut punches. But surviving a real hit from that fist? I should probably be grateful. In that situation, calling me a bitch or a slave would’ve been fair game. Yeah. None of this was my fault. It wasn’t female corruption—it was pure survival instinct kicking in.
“I don’t know what kind of stupid thoughts you’re having, but let’s hear them.”
“They’re not stupid! We should collect spider webs from the Spiders.”
“Ah. Then go ahead. Eat first if you want.”
“See! Not stupid!”
“But don’t bring too many. If the Spider doesn’t maintain them, they rot.”
“Wait, then the effect is useless?”
“That’s why they need to be mixed into packaging and integrated. Then there’s no problem.”
“So pure spider webs without anything mixed in will rot over time?”
“Yep.”
“Then I’ll just bring a ton and wrap everything.”
“How the hell did this idiot hear what I said?”
Noh Changhun let out a long sigh. When I argued that I could just raid other convenience stores, he finally nodded. He did keep stressing that I had to use them within a week, which was annoying. There were several convenience stores in this complex alone. If I cleared them all and wrapped everything, I’d have to make multiple trips. I wanted to grumble that I was mad, but the meal he’d prepared melted my irritation away. Honestly, I couldn’t resist sweet snacks mixed with salty melted cheese.
“Look at her smiling because the food made her anger disappear. Pathetic.”
“Why! Everyone knows you don’t bother a dog when it’s eating. Are you a dog, Changhun? Go on, bark.”
“That saying doesn’t mean dogs don’t bother people while they’re eating.”
“Then what?”
“It means you don’t bother the dog even when it’s eating. Our Yeji. Are you a bitch? Yeah, you’re definitely a bitch. You barked really well last time.”
“……………………”
“Thinking about it pisses me off again. Getting killed by an idiot like this.”
“Th-that’s a completely different field, okay? Don’t ask common sense from someone who specializes in incitement and fabrication.”
“Sure.”
Noh Changhun nodded like he couldn’t be bothered anymore. It was so annoying that I decided I really did need to join a survivor group later. If I could carve out a position there with my incitement and fabrication… Wait. That might actually be bad.
“Ah, fuck!”
“What now.”
“I was planning to use incitement and fabrication to get a good spot in a survivor group later…”
“Then you can’t. Unless your goal is to destroy the group.”
“Damn it. So I should just catch the people doing the inciting and beat them up?”
“Idiot.”
“Shut up! Whatever, I’m done eating. I’ll go get the spider webs.”
Noh Changhun gave a slow nod. Then, just in case, he opened my bag and stuffed in bottled water and snacks. He said if he got really hungry he could eat frozen food or grab anything from the convenience store.
Come to think of it, my stomach should be getting stronger by now too. Oh. One good idea hit me.
“……Hmm.”
“What stupid thought is it this time?”
“No, Changhun. In your settings, did you ever decide when our digestion would get stronger?”
“Huh? One month. Starting one month after the outbreak, we begin gaining resistance to spoiled food.”
“So we won’t get sick even if we eat spoiled stuff.”
“And?”
“Then couldn’t we store seeds and things with spider webs?”
“Ah?”
“Think about it. Sweet potatoes, potatoes—wrap them in spider webs so they don’t spoil, then plant them later.”
Noh Changhun’s eyes widened. I giggled, proud of myself. Take that. See? Stop treating me like an idiot all the time.
“Am I wrong? Plants that grow from zombie corpses sprout randomly anyway.”
“That was actually smart.”
“Yeah, that’s how I am. I’ll grab potatoes and sweet potatoes from the big mart. There was a small mart around here too, right?”
“I’ll handle that one.”
“It’s fine, Changhun. You just work in the hardware store.”
I rested Beopbong on my shoulder and struck a pose.
“This big brother—no, big sister—will take care of everything!”
“So you’ve completely given up on turning back into a man?”
“No, fuck. They said three hits and you die! What’s the point if you’re dead?”
“You never know. You might still be breathing after three.”
“Hey, Mr. Noh! Shut up and get back to work!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Noh Changhun dusted off his hands and started searching for materials. I watched for a moment, tossed the corpses into a rough pile, and headed for the large mart. My happiness circuit was spinning at full throttle. I could already picture showing up at some survivor group that wanted to start farming and dropping potatoes on them like a mic drop.
I stepped into the big mart and immediately sensed someone inside. It was dark, but the figure looked human, so I moved closer. Then I saw the green skin.
“Grrrrrrrrrrr!”
“Oh.”
The General that had been examining the Spider King’s corpse turned around. But it was different from the one I’d killed before. Its head was one and a half sizes smaller, its muscles less developed. There was also a pattern on its forehead—the Baron mark I’d read about in the novel. My body instinctively heated up, and I understood immediately.
“You. You just mutated, so you’re still weak, huh?”
“Grr……”
“What, did your master order you to take this place?”
“Grrrrrrrrrrr!!!”
The furious General roared, but it didn’t scare me. My current state was Ultimate…! There was no way I, after grinding so much experience, would lose to a freshly mutated General.