Episode 1.
* * *
[You have won first place in the Apocalypse Lottery.]
[Special Benefit: Point acquisition increases by 10 times for 30 days.]
[Special Benefit: The Shop Window has been unlocked.]
"Huh?"
The world has ended, but is my life only just beginning?
To verify the truth, I shouted,
"Open shop window."
[Daily Life] [Combat] [Miscellaneous]
Surprisingly, the shop window opened, but I wasn't surprised.
"But why is it so simple?"
The world is ruined, and outside the building, it's full of zombies. With zombies running around, what's an unknown shop window to talk about? Needless to say.
I was willing to accept anything if it helped me survive.
I raised my hand and clicked on the Combat tab first since it was urgent.
[Attack] [Defense] [Body Modification]
When I clicked Attack, the list displayed everything from cold weapons to modern firearms and even futuristic weapons.
To make a purchase, I checked my points.
"Let's see, my points are...."
[0 POINT]
"Ah...."
Frustration boiled up inside me.
If the being who gave me this shop window were in front of me, there was a 100% chance I would punch them.
A lottery, they said? First prize, they said? But does it make sense to have 0 points?
I grabbed my head and fell into deep thought.
"In the end, I have to catch zombies...."
A salaryman in his late twenties. The most accurate term to describe me.
Of course, as a healthy male in his twenties who had been discharged from active military service, I was in the best possible condition among humans.
But still.
"Kuaaaek!"
"Krrrr...."
The problem was that seeing the horde of zombies outside the window voraciously chewing on a healthy male made me realize I was just a healthy piece of meat.
"Hey, Deputy Choi. Have you decided?"
Pot-bellied Manager Kim approached me.
"What are you worrying so much about?"
This was another problem.
The world had ended, but unfortunately, I was at the company, and the company was in the middle of a fierce factional struggle.
"In a situation like this, unity is necessary. You agree, right?"
"Yes, well...."
"Do you think the world will stay like this? Eventually, humanity will get back on its feet. If you look good in front of the CEO now, what do you think will happen later? Think carefully."
"Yes.... Well, you're right."
Manager Kim tried to recruit me by mentioning the future, but I could only scoff inwardly.
Can't he see outside? Do I look like I have the luxury to worry about the future right now?
"Minjun!"
My colleague Yeongwoo urgently approached.
Yeongwoo glanced sideways at Manager Kim with a displeased expression.
"You've stalled long enough. Let's go now. Everyone's waiting."
The group Yeongwoo belonged to was made up of young men.
A group that believed it was most rational to break through the current situation with force since no one knew what would happen.
"We need a brain capable of quick situational judgment. Minjun. You're the only one."
"Hm...."
While I was hesitating to answer, Manager Kim started getting angry at Yeongwoo.
"Hey, you deputy. What do you think you're doing? Don't you know how dangerous it is to cause division in a situation like this?"
"Division? Isn't Manager Kim the one causing division? Are you still going on about the company? Get a grip."
"What? Get a grip? You bastard."
"Please don't curse."
While the two were confronting each other, another figure approached.
"Mr. Minjun, please help."
Queen bee Manager Park.
After rallying the female employees, she had started recruiting men as well, appealing to their humanity.
"It doesn't make sense to abandon the weak and elderly in a situation like this. We have to protect them."
"Well, you're right."
Before the world ended, I had been an outcast.
I wasn't an outcast because I was incompetent; I was an outcast because I only ever worked.
"Deputy Choi."
To my superiors, a competent subordinate who threatened their position.
"Minjun!"
To my colleagues, a competitor who made them feel inadequate at work.
"Mr. Minjun...."
To the female employees, a foolish man who knew nothing but work and had been pushed out of their clique.
There were other reasons too, but I now knew that the biggest reason was that I hadn't made any allies within the company.
But now, everyone wanted me in unison.
The reason they wanted me was due to my actions yesterday afternoon, when the world was ending.
[Zombies have appeared! Do not go outside and wait indoors. Citizens. The nation has not abandoned you. Trust the government and wait at home until the rescue team arrives. Once again....]
When everyone was panicking at the sudden breaking news, I ran to the company entrance and closed the steel door first.
Fortunately, our company had thorough security, and blocking just the entrance's steel door guaranteed safety for the time being.
"What's going on?"
"Zombies?"
I stepped forward in front of the bewildered people.
"First, we need to secure food and drinking water."
What was even more fortunate was that there was a cafeteria and a convenience store inside the company.
I led the employees to secure supplies from the cafeteria and convenience store, and procured anything that could hold water to store as much drinking water as possible.
"Everyone, gather around."
That was when factions began to form.
"Times like this call for unity. You know?"
"We don't know what might happen, so let's gather the men for now."
"Women, come here. Let's do what we can do."
The groups that had started that way had now evolved into competing over manpower, and eventually reached me.
The CEO faction, which needed a workhorse who toiled without complaint.
The group of young men, which needed a strategist with quick situational judgment.
Manager Park's group, which needed a show of strength to prove they weren't weak.
But what mattered to me now wasn't which group I belonged to.
"Let me ask just one thing."
Everyone watched in silence.
"Anyone willing to hunt zombies?"
Right now, zombie hunting was urgent for me.
* * *
All three looked at me as if I were crazy and returned to their groups.
"Quiet at last."
'Open shop window.'
I had shouted it out loud earlier because I was flustered, but from now on, I needed to open the shop window without speaking.
The enemy isn't just zombies. Humans who aren't in their right minds are more dangerous right now.
[Daily Life] [Combat] [Miscellaneous]
Fortunately, the shop window opened even when I thought about it internally.
I opened the shop window and fell into thought.
'Even if I hunt zombies, summoning a weapon first is not desirable.'
It was the conclusion I reached after careful consideration.
If I hunt zombies right away and summon a high-performance weapon?
'I'll be attacked by people, not zombies.'
To them, where the weapon came from wouldn't matter. If they could somehow secure the weapon, they'd be satisfied with that.
I revised my plan. I clicked on Body Modification in the Combat tab.
[Body Modification]
[Strength +1] 100P
[Agility +1] 100P
[Stamina +1] 100P
[Intelligence +1] 100P
[Status Window Open] 1,000P
[Skill Open] 50,000P
"Please...."
I checked the modification tab and prayed earnestly with my hands clasped.
"Please let me get 100 points per zombie...."
If I only got 1 point for hunting one zombie, even with the special benefit of 10 times that—10 points—it would mean I had to catch hundreds just to improve my abilities.
If that were the case, I intended to give up hunting.
I was hunting zombies to become safer, but if I had to hunt too many zombies, it would be like throwing myself into danger instead.
After finishing my prayer, I headed to the materials warehouse, which was separate from the main building, to secure a weapon.
The easiest weapon to get was the mop in the restroom, but I excluded that.
Fighting zombies with a weapon that bends after one or two attacks is like asking the zombies to eat me.
'I need an iron weapon.'
The most reasonable option was to tear down a steel shelf.
Actually, tearing down the shelves at the convenience store would be fastest, but that place was one of the CEO faction's hideouts, so they probably wouldn't let me in. That's why I came to the materials warehouse.
Upon arriving at the materials warehouse, I began dismantling a shelf on one side.
Screech.
After dismantling it, I overlapped the long parts of the shelf and wrapped them with tape to make them one piece.
"This should be enough...."
And I started cutting the end diagonally with a hacksaw.
Srrng, srrng. Clang.
After struggling for about ten minutes, I managed to cut the end sharp, though not to my satisfaction.
"Damn, this is hard...."
Crude, but the spear was complete.
I was about to go out like this, but just in case, I invested another 30 minutes to make a spare, then stood up.
Now I just had to decide on a hunting ground and put the zombie hunt into action.
'Hmm....'
The first place I thought of was the entrance.
If the steel door at the entrance had been a barred type where you could see inside and outside, the entrance would have been the best place to hunt, but unfortunately, it was a solid steel door.
'Giving up on the entrance.'
The next candidate was the roof of the security room.
If it was the roof of the security room attached to the fence surrounding the company, I should be able to thrust a spear outward.
Carrying the two improvised spears, I headed to the security room.
And upon arriving at the security room, I threw a spear up to the roof first, stepped on the air conditioner outdoor unit, and pulled myself up.
"Up!"
Picking up one spear, I looked outside the fence.
"Kuaaaek."
"Kuaaark."
Zombies walking around aimlessly, not having noticed me above the fence.
I gently hit the wall with the spear to make a sound.
Clang.
The zombies that heard the sound all looked up at once.
"Kuaek."
"Kuek."
The zombies flocked to the fence right below me and looked up.
"Perfect. Please...."
I aimed the spear at the face of the nearest male zombie.
"Please... 100 points...."
And I thrust the spear.
Thud. Thud. Squelch.
After several attempts, the spear finally pierced through the eye, and the male zombie stopped moving without even a scream.
I pulled out the spear, stepped back, and opened the shop window.
[100 POINTS]
"Wow, fuck."
A curse slipped out in joy.
"I did it! It's working! Thank you! Thank you!"
Gratitude burst out toward a being I didn't even know.
"Kuaaark."
I excitedly thrust the spear downward.
"Yes. I'll get them all for you."
Thud. Squelch.
"Kueeeek."
"Huff... huff...."
But it seemed my will was stronger than my body.
After catching 3 more, I stopped hunting and sat down on the rooftop.
"This is fucking exhausting..."
My hands were trembling.
The thought of saving points and using them strategically vanished completely.
"I need to invest in stats...."
[400 POINTS]
I opened the shop window and invested 200 points in Stamina, and 100 points each in Strength and Agility.
"Ugh..."
Then my body began to change.
My lower stomach tightened, muscles filled my entire body, my vision became clearer, and fatigue disappeared.
I clenched my fist and looked down at my body.
"This is the most refreshing moment of my life."
My condition reached its peak beyond belief.
"Now I'll really get them all."
I picked up the spear and began thrusting it down at the horde of zombies.
Now that I had raised my stats, my arm didn't tire easily from striking down, and my accuracy seemed to have improved, allowing me to pierce an eye in one blow.
Kuaaark.
Kyaaaa.
"Hm...."
But this time, I had to stop hunting due to another problem.
"These things. They're trying to climb up...."
As corpses piled up, zombies climbed on top of them, gradually raising their height.
I opened the shop window to check my points.
[2,000 POINTS]
'So I've caught 20 now?'
I changed locations and continued hunting, but corpses soon piled up there too.
But thinking this was still the best option, I continued hunting while changing locations.
[5,800 POINTS]
'Is this the limit?'
I could have caught a few more while checking their rising height, but I stopped here.
Safety comes before anything else. What could be a more futile death than dying from greed?
I stepped back and out of the zombies' sight.
Now to distribute my points....
"Hey! What are you doing there!"
When I turned around, Manager Kim was in front of the security room looking up at me and shouting, having arrived at some point.
'Of all times....'
"I didn't want to believe it.... Hey! Why are you catching zombies for no reason? What if they swarm here? Get down."
"...."
As expected, people are the problem, not zombies.
'No matter how much I think about it, the world is going to collapse completely before long. First, electricity and water will be cut off. Next, food. When that happens, the era of power will come.'
But at a time like this, I was given the fortune of this nonsensical shop window.
Moreover, these 30 days with 10 times the point acquisition are more important than anything else to me.
These 30 days will change my life going forward.
"I said get down!"
'Jeez, he's nagging like hell.'
So quitting really is the answer.