Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Survivor
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The basement was the food section.
And it was dark.
He considered using infrared vision, but he didn't want to terrify the survivor by approaching as a shadowy black figure.
He pulled a bright lamp from his Inventory and moved forward.
He could guess why the survivor was here.
With so much food around, it made sense this would be the best spot for survival.
Occasionally, zombies lunged from the darkness, but he casually smashed their heads as he headed downstairs.
'Is this it?'
It looked like an employee break room.
-Click.
The door was locked.
-Knock. Knock.
He gave it a light knock first.
If it was a survivor, they wouldn't expect a zombie to knock, so maybe they'd realize he was human.
"......"
No response.
"Ahem. Anyone there? I'm a survivor too. I'd like to talk."
He tried speaking politely.
"......"
Still no response.
Should he break it down?
He hesitated.
He didn't want to scare them too much.
But he couldn't just stand there staring at the door forever.
No choice.
-Crack.
He forced the door open and went inside.
The empty room showed no sign of anyone.
But his awakener senses picked up a presence from inside the cabinet.
They were hiding in there.
What now?
It was a messed-up world like this.
Even humans couldn't be trusted blindly.
He understood that.
"Ahem. I'm a decent... person. You can come out."
He tried to make his voice as gentle as possible.
"......"
"......"
Still no response.
He couldn't stand there like an idiot waiting forever.
-Creak.
He yanked open the cabinet door.
A musty smell wafted out, along with a huddled figure inside.
"......"
"......"
'Shit...'
Honestly, it felt like stepping in dog crap.
A scrawny, filthy little kid with a tiny frame stared up at him blankly, mouth half-open while crouched.
With long hair and a grimy dress of indeterminate color, she seemed to be a girl.
"........."
Truth be told, he didn't like kids.
More precisely, he disliked dealing with them.
He couldn't stand their innocent, bubbly energy.
Kids were noisy and unpredictable.
He knew that was just how they were.
He couldn't blame them for it.
Once they hit middle or high school, he could curse them out if needed.
But with a kid like this, whatever he did, he'd be the bad guy.
He'd just end up looking petty and weird.
This was a major roadblock.
He wanted to shut the cabinet and leave.
But he'd already seen what he shouldn't have.
Leaving her behind tugged at him, even if just a little.
If she were a bit older, he wouldn't even be agonizing like this.
"......"
"......"
But taking her along would be a huge burden for him.
There was no good way to handle it in a world like this.
If he could take her back to his original world, dropping her at an orphanage would be easy...
It was tricky.
'What do I do?'
How many times in his life had he been this stuck?
Taking her meant endless hassle—he could already picture it.
Leaving her felt like it'd nag at him forever.
Sure, since this kid survived, maybe there were other survivors out there holding onto hope.
'Shit... Sigh...'
No helping it.
He'd take her for now and dump her with any survivor group he found.
Surely somewhere out there were naive folks full of compassion who didn't know the ways of the world yet.
"What do you say? Wanna come with me?"
Honestly, if she refused, he had no intention of forcing her.
Deep down, he even hoped she'd reject him.
If she did, the guilt of leaving her wouldn't linger.
He had zero interest in dragging a reluctant kid around and suffering for it.
She could just stay here like always.
Heck...
If he left plenty of supplies, wouldn't that be enough?
With luck, some other survivor she'd like might come by and take her.
But the kid dashed his expectations.
Her tiny hand reached out and grabbed his finger.
"......"
'Sigh... No choice, then.'
A sigh escaped him naturally.
Looking at her, he could tell the zombie outbreak hadn't been going on too long.
Her survival was proof of that.
Snack wrappers scattered in the cabinet suggested she'd been sneaking food from the section.
"What's your name?"
"........."
No answer.
He couldn't tell if she couldn't speak or was just scared of him.
It was awkward.
"Can you understand what I'm saying?"
-Nod.
The kid gave a small nod.
One problem after another.
Congenital or trauma-induced, he didn't know...
At least she understood him, which was a relief.
Lucky in the midst of misfortune.
Whether she talked or not, what did it matter?
Her silence might even be a plus.
He had no plans to force her to speak.
No name? Fine, he'd call her "kiddo."
She reeked, so he grabbed shampoo, soap, and such from the mart, then bathed her with bottled water.
No electricity meant no running water, naturally.
This kid was getting a bottled water bath—something even he hadn't done.
She was so filthy it took a ridiculous amount of water.
Quite the luxury bath.
He had plenty in his Inventory and the mart, so water wasn't an issue, but it was still a massive waste.
Who'd have thought he'd bathe someone else's kid first?
He was so grossed out by the dirt and smell that he couldn't imagine traveling with her like that.
Here to level up, and now he's playing nanny.
A sigh slipped out.
At least she was well-behaved.
After cleaning her up, he took her to the kids' clothing section.
She froze at first when zombies charged, but once she saw him dispatch them easily with his spear, her eyes sparkled and she calmed down.
She seemed fascinated by the spear materializing and vanishing from his hand.
It was a pretty amazing ability, even to him.
Anyone would think so.
Still, he wasn't about to hide his powers for her sake.
He found clothes in the kids' section and dressed her.
Now clean, she looked almost human.
After a full day of babysitting, the sun was setting.
He cleared a zombie-free office in the mart, pitched two tents.
No way was he sleeping next to her uncomfortably.
Good thing he'd brought a spare tent just in case.
With capable guard Suni and all entrances blocked, it was safe enough to sleep separately.
A light dinner and bed would do.
The mart had plenty of instant porridge.
She looked malnourished, and after starving so long, porridge beat anything stimulating.
Expiration date: 2024.03.24.
He checked the instant porridge's date.
Should still be fine?
His original world was 2042.
And he knew this world lagged about 20 years behind his.
Prep was simple, like three-minute curry—just heat it up.
Smelled good, tasted decent, so he warmed some for her.
The kid seemed to like it and ate well enough.
Full and drowsy, she nodded off.
He carried her to her tent and tucked her in.
The tent floor had an expensive mattress—she'd sleep soundly.
Here to level up, turned into a parenting trial.
He woke to find the kid he'd put in the other tent sprawled on top of him.
She must've come over while he slept.
Did he have one of those faces kids latched onto?
'Nah, probably not...'
Kids could spot good looks and feel affinity.
But he'd never thought himself handsome.
And his face wasn't the kid-friendly type anyway.
"Zzz..."
Drool from her mouth dripped onto his chest.
'Ugh... Gross drool...'
"......"
He gently lifted her off, laid her beside him, and slipped out of the tent.
"This is nuts."
What to do?
Park her here and scout for nearby survivors?
Or look on the way to Seoul?
-Scratch. Scratch.
Frustrated, he scratched his head.
Breakfast was chicken and beer for him.
Kid got porridge again—abalone this time, different from yesterday.
She kept sneaking glances at his chicken, clearly wanting some.
But no way.
After prolonged malnutrition, fried chicken was off-limits.
Porridge for a week, at least.
He wasn't a doctor, but after that, mild stimulants should be okay.
Cookies maybe?
She'd survived on them before, so probably fine.
'Shit. Why am I even thinking about this crap...'
He felt her gaze while eating chicken but ignored it.
He was her lifesaver.
No reason to feel guilty.