Hiding a Logistics Center in the Apocalypse - Part 3
(A Nuclear Family's Apocalypse (3))
After roughly finishing my preparations, I slipped back outside.
The first thing I did was pull the axe embedded in the orc's head.
Shluck!
Thick green blood surged and splattered.
I swung the axe to shake off the remaining blood.
"So this thing has a magic stone in its body?"
[That is correct. It is usually located near the heart.]
Just as I was about to tear into the thing's chest in earnest, I remembered something I had left behind.
"Ah, right. The dagger."
I had an axe in my hand, but it looked inconvenient for butchering.
I could do it if I had to, but there were daggers piled up in the subspace anyway.
Pax gave me new information, as I had forgotten.
[You can ship products right here without entering the subspace.]
"Really?"
That was welcome news.
It meant I didn't need to go back and forth through the portal inconveniently just for one item.
But there was a limitation.
[However, shipping is only possible once every 30 seconds.]
"That's an awkwardly inconvenient interval."
It wasn't a long time, but it seemed like it would be annoying if I tried to take out several types of items at once.
Plus, wasn't I a Korean who liked things done quickly?
If a webpage loaded only once every thirty seconds, I might get so furious I'd smash the monitor.
[If you strengthen the skill, you can reduce the shipping time.]
"Ah, that was a skill?"
[That is correct. Simply recall a registered product and say 'ship.']
"I see... Then can you show me some decent daggers for now?"
Ding!
Soon Pax displayed a list.
It was the same screen I had seen on the monitor at the picking station.
I set the product page to 'highest price first.'
Most likely, the expensive ones performed better too.
Among them, I chose a kukri machete with a black-and-green handle and a silver blade sharpened to a wicked edge.
The back of the blade had serrations for cutting wood.
[Marine Force Kukri Machete 40cm, price is 211,120 won.]
[Please say 'ship' if you wish to ship it.]
"Let's see... Yeah, ship."
Whirrr!
In the blink of an eye, a small portal appeared at my fingertips.
The shipment was immediate.
And then,
Swoosh—Thud!
It slammed into the ground in an instant.
It came out so fast that the dagger had pierced straight through its packaging box.
I grumbled as I tore away the tattered packaging.
"...Why is it so fast?"
[The default shipping speed is 60 km/h.]
[You can adjust the speed if you wish.]
Surprisingly, detailed settings were possible.
Because of that, another question came to mind.
"...Can it go even faster than this?"
[Currently, the maximum is 75 km/h. Beyond that, you must strengthen the skill.]
The talk of strengthening came up again.
"How do I strengthen it?"
[You can use magic stones.]
"Figures."
From facility maintenance costs to skill strengthening.
Magic stones had many uses all around.
First, I decided to take care of the orc before me.
Shhk!
I stabbed the center of the orc's chest.
As I tore the flesh open, the magic stone embedded in the center of the torso emitted a faint light.
I angled the dagger and flicked out the embedded magic stone with a tap.
"Got another one."
[Will you use it for center power costs?]
"Let's think about that later. I have a day. And there's one more thing I'd like to ask..."
[What can I help you with?]
"When it ships, can you send it out with the packaging removed?"
I showed Pax the sharp dagger and axe.
I had just verified it moments ago.
That throwing objects using the subspace's 'shipping' skill was far more powerful than throwing them myself.
I was planning to use this 'shipping' skill as a proper attack skill.
Fortunately, AI Pax's answer was positive.
[It is possible. I will note it in the order requests.]
I took it a step further.
I held the dagger straight up, and showed the axe with its blade angled forward.
"And at exactly this angle, in this direction. Is that possible?"
[I will note that in the order requests as well.]
"Good."
Preparations were complete.
The area around the logistics center was eerily silent, as if even the mice were dead.
Whirrr—
Listening to the smooth hum of the electric bicycle, I rode up a nearby mountain path.
It was about 200 meters from the disappeared logistics center.
Arriving at a suitable spot, I stood before a large zelkova tree and recalled the kukri machete from earlier.
I had set the shipping speed to the maximum of 75 km/h.
And I shouted.
"Ship."
Swhooooosh!
The blade, held upright, shot out,
Thwack!
And lodged squarely in the middle of the zelkova tree.
It had gone in quite deep at a glance.
Thud!
The axe I fired shortly after was the same.
Perhaps due to its weight, it had even more destructive power than the blade.
In many ways, the experiment was a success.
A subspace that could launch axes or daggers like missiles once every 30 seconds.
Now that was my weapon.
I was getting on the bicycle, about to pull out a map book, when—
In the distance, trees shook and birds took flight with a flapping sound.
I pricked my ears.
"...A scream?"
I hurriedly pedaled.
***
"Huff... huff..."
Two men in gray work uniforms were sprinting up the mountain path.
Likewise, two orcs were chasing them.
"Damn it...! Damn it...!"
Among them was I Yongsu.
It felt like foam would pour from his mouth.
"Why is this happening..."
It had been three days.
The apocalypse happened overnight.
Suddenly, breaking news flashed on TV.
Unidentified monsters had appeared simultaneously across the country.
Footage of people in pandemonium, footage stained black with people trampled underfoot, footage painted with blood by monsters.
The apocalypse appeared in various forms to everyone.
But that was all the information given.
Because TV, radio, internet, and all other communications had paralyzed at once.
They say that telecommunications companies and broadcast stations are the last to hold out, even if war breaks out.
I Yongsu simply could not understand the current state of affairs.
Word spread that armed soldiers had been seen here and there.
And word that they had all been crushed to death on the asphalt.
It wasn't hard to guess the world's fate.
A return to the prehistoric past where survival was the first principle.
Civilization was overturned into ruins in a single moment, just like that.
I Yongsu bit his lip tightly.
"If only I were a little stronger..."
What was given was not only destruction.
Because some chosen people had suddenly awakened abilities akin to supernatural powers.
I Yongsu had fortunately become an Awakened too, but unfortunately, he had not gained an ability capable of killing an orc.
Before the great apocalypse, he was nothing more than a powerless ant.
He ran frantically with all his might, but,
"Please... please..."
The giant shadow was much faster than him.
"..."
He turned around unconsciously.
What he saw was,
"......!"
Despair.
A giant orc was approaching right before him.
Slump.
Strength drained from his legs.
They were legs that had already passed their limits several times.
"..."
I Yongsu closed his eyes.
And calmly accepted his fate.
And so,
Splat!
A sound rang out.
"...Huh?"
What had burst was not his head.
Thud—instead, the vicious orc that had been chasing him had collapsed.
A black axe was embedded in its head.
It was merely a camping axe used for splitting firewood, but what truly surprised I Yongsu was something else.
'...Its head completely burst, didn't it?'
Rather than merely embedding, the axe had shattered the orc's skull.
Turning his head, he saw a man withdrawing his hand from about 10 meters away.
It was unmistakably the posture of someone who had just finished throwing.
I Yongsu snapped his mouth shut with a gasp.
'What kind of strength...?'
I Yongsu surveyed his surroundings again.
He wasn't the only one being chased, and there wasn't just one orc.
Sure enough, he saw his colleague Choe Byeongcheol going down the incline on the opposite side.
An orc was closely chasing behind him.
"...Mr. Choe!"
As he stamped his feet anxiously, he saw the man who threw the axe moving again.
I Yongsu couldn't help but be surprised once more.
'...He's riding a bicycle?'
Was he performing some kind of feat? He couldn't easily imagine throwing an axe while riding a bicycle.
I Yongsu's gaze continued to follow him, but,
'...I can't see him.'
He was hidden by trees and no longer visible.
He had no choice but to desperately pray that the man would save Choe Byeongcheol.
He clasped his hands together,
Thwack!
And that prayer was answered.
Before long, the head of the orc chasing his colleague burst apart.
"What on earth......"
The man was still riding his bicycle.
***
Shhk!
I stabbed the dagger into the orc's corpse.
Whatever the case, I had to secure the magic stone first.
Two now, including the one I got earlier.
Counting the one from in front of the subspace portal, I had already collected three.
Partly I had saved them because they were visible, but I also needed information.
What the hell was happening now, why these monsters were roaming around.
They seemed likely to know a bit more than me, who had been trapped in the logistics center for three days.
But whether they knew my feelings or not, they were busy bowing their heads and expressing gratitude repeatedly.
"Thank you... thank you. We survived thanks to you."
Moreover, they seemed to be misunderstanding something.
"You must be a soldier. Looking at your clothes... you don't seem to be ordinary army. Are you perhaps special forces? How can you throw an axe like that while riding a bicycle..."
He was looking at the tactical vest I was wearing.
I waved my hands.
"No. It hasn't been long since I was discharged, but..."
"Ah, as expected!"
The man's eyes shone even brighter.
No, that's really not it.
"It's truly a godsend. We thought there was no one else around here."
"Are you two all there is?"
Even if it wasn't a residential area, the logistics complex visible below was extremely desolate.
I Yongsu and Choe Byeongcheol both shook their heads.
"There are more people gathered in Building E. About a dozen or so... we're all stranded together."
"Stranded?"
I Yongsu explained the situation.
"Yes, that's how the situation is now. This logistics complex is blocked on the east and north sides by design... and now the Yeongdong Expressway below is half-destroyed too. We were looking for another route that cars could take."
Getting out of this area by car.
That was something I needed too.
Since it wouldn't be easy to get to Gangnam by bicycle.
I Yongsu proposed.
"Shall we go together for now? We can provide you with some simple snacks."
Without refusing, I got up.
I didn't need snacks, but our goals were the same anyway.
I could roughly find out what the situation around here was.
"Let's do that."
The past 3 days.
It seemed I hadn't been the only one trapped.