Hiding a Logistics Center in the Apocalypse - Episode 11
(The Tycoon of Infinite Magazines (1))
How many hours had passed?
I opened my eyes amid a white goose-down blanket.
Thanks to the firm mattress cushioning, my stiff shoulders moved as lightly as if they had been oiled.
On the bedside table sat a clear water bottle.
Gurgle…
Pouring water from the bottle and drinking, I thought,
‘This is way better than when I lived in my studio apartment…?’
Who would look at this and call it life in the apocalypse?
Not even the underground bunkers of Saudi tycoons could compare to this Pax Fulfillment Center.
Their warehouses aren’t infinite, after all.
Just as I got up and was straightening my clothes, I heard a knock at the door.
“Jeonggyeom-ssi, it’s me.”
“Yes, Yongsu-ssi. Come in.”
“My wife is preparing a meal. I was wondering if you’d like to join us since you’re up.”
“Sounds good.”
With my answer, I tightened the laces of my combat boots.
The feeling of stiff new socks gently wrapped around my feet.
Outside the break room, Yongsu, who had finished getting ready first, was waiting.
I followed him up to the cafeteria on the second floor.
He said,
“My wife is excited. She says there’s nothing this kitchen doesn’t have…”
It was an employee cafeteria that normally served hundreds of servings as a baseline.
It would naturally be equipped with all sorts of gear.
And if something was missing, the logistics center below was practically overflowing with cooking tools.
Click.
As I pushed open the cafeteria door,
Sniff, sniff.
The tip of my nose reacted on its own.
The dining table near the kitchen.
Right there, meals for Yongsu and me had been prepared.
Chef Oh Jisu explained today’s dish.
“I kept it simple this time. Honestly, I ran out of time looking around the kitchen and the Fresh Center… Still, it should be quite nice for breakfast.”
A wide plate sat before each of us.
Just as she said, it wasn’t a complicated dish.
Three sunny-side-up eggs with runny yolks, German sausages slightly charred at the ends, three strips of thick bacon with savory baked beans, and finally, moist pancakes as fluffy as a soufflé.
She revealed the identity of this magnificent symphony.
“It’s called a Lumberjack Breakfast. Something we used to make often.”
“What… a jack?”
Yongsu, sitting beside me, whispered the way to handle it.
“…Just eat it thinking that such a thing exists in the world.”
“Ah…”
As expected of an experienced man, his years showed.
With an awkward expression, I held the fork and knife side by side.
“Let’s eat gratefully?!”
“There’s more, so let me know if you need anything.”
She smiled brightly and poured maple syrup over the pancakes on my plate.
I cut the moist pancake with a fork.
Then I piled on half-burst yolk, bacon, and baked beans.
“…!”
The pancake crumbled in my mouth like cream.
The rich flavor of baked beans filling that empty space.
Finally, the firm bacon filled the texture, and when I bit into the well-cooked German sausage…
“…This is insane.”
I couldn’t help but say so.
But it was too early to be surprised.
Because the final protagonist to crown the finale still remained.
Thud.
Oh Jisu placed steaming black coffee before Yongsu and me.
“There was a coffee machine in the logistics center that I wanted so badly. I begged to buy it when we were setting up our newlywed home…”
The coffee in the white cups gently wafted up its aroma.
Coffee with a brunch menu.
It was truly the finishing touch.
Sip.
As if we had planned it, the two of us raised our cups at the same time…
“This is insane.”
“This is insane.”
We couldn’t help but say so.
***
Having returned to the first floor, I patted my swollen belly with a thud-thud.
However, that happiness wasn’t free.
[Approximately 36 hours remain until power shutdown.]
[Approximately 43 hours remain until gas/water supply shutdown.]
The remaining time was about a day and a half.
And the number of magic stones remaining in my hands… was a mere sixteen.
“This thing is quite the money-guzzling hippo…”
Leveling up itself was good, but the maintenance cost had jumped up.
Now, a whopping six magic stones were needed per day.
Even with simple calculations, it was hard to last more than three days.
The problem wasn’t just that.
“I need to strengthen the skill too… and unlock abilities.”
Ding!
Pax brought up a window.
----[Enhanceable Items]----
[Cost: 5]
◈ Dispatch Time [5 sec] [+]
◈ Dispatch Range [10m] [+] (However, up to 15m, a cost of 1 applies.)
◈ Dispatch Speed [Max 100km/h] [+]
-------------------------
----[Unlockable Items]----
[Cost: 50]
◈ Simultaneous Dispatch (2)
-Maximum, you can dispatch up to four items simultaneously.
◈ Tracking Delivery
-Dispatched items automatically track their set destination.
◈ Item Retrieval
-Opens a separate portal to retrieve items. (However, limited to objects registered in the subspace.)
-------------------------
It was thanks to having achieved Subspace Level 2.
I could now strengthen the dispatch skill further, or unlock new abilities.
However…
“…Is this price right?”
Enhancement cost was 5, ability unlock cost was 50.
It had jumped to a whopping five times the original.
But the most outrageous thing was…
[To ascend to Level 3, 1,000 magic stones are required.]
A thousand.
A cost ten times that of before.
“I can’t even dream of that for the time being.”
Still, it would be possible someday.
Because the speed at which I obtained magic stones was gradually increasing.
And especially this time,
“Because I’ve obtained new weapons.”
I ordered an item from the Picking Station.
Thud!
An object wrapped loosely in a clear plastic bag without any special packaging.
As I took hold of the heavy object, Pax called out the item’s name.
[K2 Rifle, price has not been set.]
Plus a few other things.
[5.56mm NATO rounds, 10 per box * 3 sets]
[STANAG 30-round magazine]
[K413 Fragmentation Grenade * 3 sets]
A sharp, metallic smell.
I felt anew that my combat power had strengthened by leaps and bounds.
This was a ‘real’ lethal weapon that couldn’t be compared to a camping hatchet.
Click! Click!
I inserted each 5.56mm round into the magazine.
Remembering hearing that it jams frequently when fully loaded, I loaded exactly twenty-eight rounds.
Then I held out the heavy magazine to Pax.
“Is it possible to dispatch like this too?”
[Two items can be combined and dispatched as a set item.]
[Shall I register them as a set?]
“Yeah, please do.”
[Understood.]
After additionally ordering a tactical vest, combat boots, and a rifle, I called Yongsu over.
“Did you call for me?”
“Take this. You served in the military, right?”
“Ah, yes. I served.”
He took the rifle with practiced hands.
“I think it’s time to head out. It could be dangerous… If push comes to shove, let’s fight with this.”
“A rifle… now there’s truly nothing to fear.”
We were gradually becoming the strongest in the apocalypse.
“Still, we can’t let our guard down. If it seems dangerous, jump into the portal at any time.”
“I will keep that in mind. I can’t afford to get hurt now.”
He steeled his resolve as well.
As the portal leading outside opened, Yongsu said,
“Thankfully, it seems they’ve all retreated.”
The figures that had covered the sky like clouds were nowhere to be seen; only the dark, blue early-evening sky greeted us.
Slowly, I stepped out of the portal,
Whoooosh—
A desolate wind blew.
While looking around, I discovered something.
“It’s those thugs.”
The commander, the regiment commander, the battalion commander, and the other underlings.
Their clothes had been torn to shreds.
Dried blackish-red bloodstains had taken the place of their corpses.
“Let’s get out of here quickly for now.”
We had to hurry.
They would return in time.
But just as we were preparing to do so,
“…Damn.”
I stopped dead in my tracks.
“What’s wrong?”
Yongsu asked, but
Bzzt—
I first opened a portal so we could flee at any time.
“They haven’t left yet.”
“…They? Don’t tell me you mean those wyverns from earlier?”
“Probably…”
Suddenly, the eyes of the dragon I had encountered earlier came to mind.
“…It seems they’ve been waiting for us this whole time.”
Screeeeeech!
Screech!
Hair-raising cries came from the dense forest.
Flap!
Flap!
Countless overlapping wing beats.
They began to fill the sky black.
Yongsu urged me to jump into the portal immediately.
“Jeonggyeom-ssi, I think we came out too soon. For now…”
But that wouldn’t do.
“They’ll keep waiting. And it’s not like we can exit somewhere else.”
That was the greatest weakness of my subspace ability.
If the portal’s location wasn’t safe, I would end up trapped in the subspace instead.
But…
“There’s one thing they don’t know yet.”
Click!
I turned my back to the portal and raised my gun barrel toward the diving wyverns.
Then,
Ratatatatatata—!
I sprayed bullets like a madman.
It was the selector switch set to ‘automatic,’ which I had absolutely never used during my entire military service.
Naturally, the ammunition ran dry in seconds,
Clack.
The empty magazine fell to the ground.
However,
Shwick!
A freshly dispatched new magazine was gripped in my hand.
It was the twenty-eight-round magazine I had pre-loaded.
Click!
I finished loading the rounds,
Ratatatatata!
And fired again.
Each time bullets skimmed past the early-evening sky,
Screeeech!
Screech!
The sky returned strange cries.
Yongsu also fired acrid bullets skyward,
Using the ‘Multiple Dispatch’ ability, I delivered a fresh magazine to him every 5 seconds as well.
And so, two rifles spat out flames.
Ting! Click! Clang! Clack! Rattle…
Spent casings and empty magazines piled up thickly at our feet.
And the same was true for the wyverns.
Screech!
Boom!
Those showered with bullets crashed into the clearing one after another.
The corpses gathered one by one gradually formed a hill to the sound of gunfire.
I was riddling them with holes to my heart’s content, but I didn’t let my guard down until the end.
Because the leader remained.
Flutter.
Wing beats of a completely different presence.
It rose into the sky.
I flinched.
For a moment, my body trembled.
Because its golden-yellow eyes were looking at me.
Somehow…
It seemed to be looking back and forth between me and my portal.
Yongsu delivered welcome news.
“Jeonggyeom-ssi…! I think they’re leaving?”
Just as he said.
The black dragon puffed a heavy snort and moved away, and the flock of wyverns that had stopped attacking followed behind.
Black Dragon.
A monster, yes, but one with intelligence.
Perhaps it realized that as long as the subspace portal existed, there was no way to catch me.
I summarized the situation in one sentence.
“…We survived.”
Now, only the cleanup remained.
Yongsu looked at the wyvern corpses and spoke as if fed up.
“I wonder how long it’ll take to harvest all of these. I think there’s at least a hundred…”
“As for that, I have an idea. Let’s quickly gather just fifty for now.”
The shortage was thirty-four magic stones.
Puk!
I cut open the chests and pulled out magic stones.
Mostly three, occasionally four magic stones came out.
“That should do it.”
After butchering exactly ten wyverns, I was able to collect fifty magic stones.
Even after cleaning up ten, at least several dozen corpses were still piled up in heaps.
I immediately called Pax.
[Speak.]
“Among the abilities I can unlock this time, there’s one called ‘Item Retrieval,’ right?”
[That is correct.]
To be precise, this was its description.
◈ Item Retrieval
-Opens a separate portal to retrieve items. (However, limited to objects registered in the subspace.)
What caught my attention was the phrase ‘objects registered in the subspace.’
Originally, it was a useful ability to retrieve dispatched items back to the subspace.
Its high price was the only flaw.
“Is it possible to retrieve magic stones too? These are also objects registered in the subspace. After all, it gave me magic stones when I first awakened.”
[I will check.]
[Calculating…]
After a brief pause, Pax finally answered.
[I have confirmed the magic stone’s classification code.]
[The classification code is…]
[Non-sale item. As it corresponds to an item registered in the subspace, retrieval is possible.]
I clenched my fist tightly.
“Item Retrieval, unlock it right now.”
[50 magic stones have been received.]
The rest went swimmingly.
I immediately activated ‘Item Retrieval.’
The retrieval range was the 10-meter range of the dispatch skill.
I walked among the piled-up wyvern corpses.
And each time, a spectacular sight unfolded.
“…My god.”
Yongsu couldn’t close his mouth.
A retrieval portal generated above my head.
Right into it, casings and leftover empty magazines were sucked in with a whoosh.
And then…
Pop!
Pop!
Magic stones tore through the wyvern corpses and flew up.
Shuuuuuuck!
The portal sucked in the magic stones.
Like a black hole.
The amount of magic stones sucked in that way…
reached a whopping 311.
.
.
.
“Are we leaving right away?”
“We have to.”
I called Pax and looked over the product page.
Yongsu’s truck had been wrecked by the wyverns, but I planned to newly dispatch a military vehicle and ride out.
I unfolded a map and showed the destination to Yongsu.
Gangnam Severance Hospital.
It was where my older sister worked.
Even with the world in chaos, she would surely be holed up in the hospital, going on about a medic’s duty or something.
“Stay alive no matter what. Sister Kim Number One.”
Now, the car would run at full speed to Gangnam.
But even while doing so, there was work to be done.
‘Got to earn magic stones.’
Fire a rifle at the monsters on the streets from inside the moving car.
I intended to greedily suck up their magic stones through Item Retrieval at the same time.
You could call it that.
The Apocalypse Combine.
By that name.