Episode 5.
* * *
I briefly considered going outside to find a new house, but the zombies in the vicinity had probably already gathered to some degree due to the commotion.
Wandering around outside again would be a bit dangerous.
‘Let’s try negotiating with the homeowner.’
I needed to stay here at least until the zombies scattered again. It wouldn’t be that long, so wouldn’t it be entirely possible to negotiate a temporary stay?
First, I checked whether zombies were gathering around.
‘.......’
I circled the wall and checked for signs outside; seeing that they didn’t seem like they’d be scattering anytime soon, I moved quietly toward the house.
Tap, tap. Tap, tap.
I tapped the glass by the front door lightly so the sound wouldn’t echo.
After a few taps like that, I sensed a person’s presence from inside and heard a man’s voice.
“W-what is it?”
“I’d like to stay here for a moment.”
“.......”
The inside fell silent.
He seemed to have misunderstood something—I wasn’t saying I’d go inside the house. I just wanted to use the fence a bit.
“I’m not saying I’ll go inside. I’ll be outside, but I should get the homeowner’s permission, so I’m asking.”
“.......”
Even after explaining the situation, there was no response from inside, so I just turned away.
I had conveyed my position, and the homeowner didn’t seem to have any intention of coming out.
I looked for a place away from the front door that could serve as a space to rest.
The candidates were the yard or the rooftop.
The yard made it easy to notice danger and flee immediately, while the rooftop was fairly safe as long as you blocked the entrance.
After a moment of thought, I headed for the stairs leading to the rooftop.
‘It’s better to avoid even risks that seem trivial.’
Even if the rooftop entrance was blocked by zombies, I could escape easily enough.
‘Since I have a gun, I don’t need to worry too much about breaking through. Getting surrounded is the bigger problem.’
I changed direction and climbed the stairs attached to the side of the house, stopping midway.
Then I opened the shop window, pressed on facilities, and purchased a desk.
“So this is what it was for. I wondered why something like this existed.”
The facilities tab had many items that could be used inside a safe zone, including housing, and furniture was included among them.
I had wondered if there was anything to study in times like these, but apparently a desk wasn’t for studying after all.
I took out two or three desks and arranged them in a line on the stairs so they wouldn’t slip, then entered the rooftop.
“.......”
The rooftop looked ordinary, like any other house. There was a place that looked like a storage shed among it, so I tried opening the door.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be locked; the door opened when I turned the handle.
Creak.
Looking inside, various items were piled up, but if I organized the items near the entrance a bit, it seemed like there would be enough space to lie down.
I immediately organized the items and opened the shop to purchase a shelter first.
“At this rate... 2 pyeong should be enough.”
I paid 2,000 points, purchased the shelter, and tried installing it in the organized space.
Then a hazy rectangle appeared for a moment before becoming transparent again.
“Did it work?”
Contrary to my expectation that some kind of barrier would appear, after installation the shelter showed no signs at all.
‘I’ll need to mark the exact area after installing the shelter.’
Once the shelter was installed, my tension completely released. I bought a sleeping bag, laid it out inside the space, and flopped down on top of it.
“Phew. I haven’t even done anything, why am I so tired.......”
Now that I was sitting, I didn’t want to get back up.
I stared blankly at the storeroom wall for a moment, then rose.
‘Let’s finish everything I need to do before resting.’
Resting is a luxury right now.
First, let’s check the surroundings.
I went outside the storeroom and moved to the rooftop railing, circling around to check the surroundings.
“Two directions are blocked by buildings.......”
Because of the studio apartment building visible to the side, two directions had narrow sidewalks that were even shaded, so not many zombies were wandering around.
If, by any chance, a situation arose, this would be the escape route.
Looking at the opposite side, a large road stretched out in a straight line, and the zombies wandering there came into view.
“I can shoot from here? At this distance... 30 meters?”
There’s no need to hesitate about this.
I immediately raised my gun, looked through the scope, and fired a shot.
Tung.
Thwack.
“Nice!”
Fortunately, perhaps my skills hadn’t rusted, or maybe because it was relatively close, the bullet didn’t miss and hit the zombie’s head.
“Thankfully, the sound doesn’t seem to carry far along the road either.......”
This is doable.
It was a bit unsettling that zombies might pile up since I had to keep shooting the same place, but since they’d be piling up on the road, it wouldn’t be a huge variable.
Let’s hunt here.
Tung. Tung. Tung.
Having made up my mind, there was no need to hesitate.
I dove straight into hunting.
* * *
Tung. Tung-tung. Tung.
Before I knew it, the sun was setting while I was firing down the alley.
“Phew... Is this enough?”
I backed away from the railing and walked toward the storeroom, opening the shop window to check my points.
[72,400 POINTS]
“Not bad. I should buy it right away.”
I pressed the defense tab in the shop and immediately purchased one of the things I considered essential.
[KX-P Type Full-Body Protective Suit] 50,000P
Personal full-body protective suit for defense.
Protects the user from various contaminations.
Demonstrates excellent defensive effects against cold weapons and firearms.
Adjusts size to fit the user’s body.
When you pull down the crown part of the hood, the face filter activates, and it can also be used as night vision.
Originally, I would have saved up a bit more points and bought the things I needed more first, but now that I was outside, survival gear had become what I needed most.
“It’s fine. I still have plenty of points. I need to survive first.”
When I pressed purchase, the protective suit materialized above my hand.
A black full-body tights.
I thought it would be made of a rubber-like material, but surprisingly it was cloth.
I took off my clothes and put it on immediately.
I put my legs and arms into the protective suit, pulled up the hood that covered down to my neck, and zipped up the front, whereupon the size shrank to fit my body.
Since I was wearing it anyway, I tried pulling down the crown.
“Uh.......”
When the face filter activated, everything visible to my eyes looked brighter.
“It’s like a beauty mode.”
That eased my worries about defense a bit.
I wouldn’t turn into a zombie from being bitten anymore.
I went into the storeroom and laid down on the sleeping bag.
“.......”
The storeroom was steeped in silence the moment I stopped talking.
A sudden loneliness from being alone washed over me.
“Keuheuheu. Shit.......”
Why am I feeling down over this?
I bolted upright.
“When did I ever have people around me? Hmph.”
The situation had changed, and I missed people—thinking it was a truly privileged thing to say, I inwardly mocked myself once and opened the shop.
“Let’s just eat. Yeah. So what if I’m alone? Since I’m alone, I can take out whatever I want to eat without worrying about what others think, right?”
I scrolled through the food tab.
“What would make a good gift for me for surviving today? I’ve got to eat something incredibly delicious.”
As I scrolled through the food tab, my hand stopped abruptly at Hanwoo.
“Yeah. Let’s splurge just once. This is exactly when you should splurge.”
Without hesitation, I immediately purchased the Hanwoo, which cost a whopping 5 points.
Then, freshly grilled Hanwoo steak in a takeout container dropped down in front of me.
“Is this Baemin? Or Yogiyo? Hehehe.”
I smirked as I tore open the container, then picked up the entire piece of meat and took a huge bite.
“Munch munch... Gulp.......”
Oh my!
I don’t want to describe the taste!
I held the meat as it was and hastily devoured the rest.
Only after eating all the meat did regret creep in.
“What a person I am. I have no class. I was like a beggar.......”
Next time, I definitely have to eat with some style and manners.
Anyway, my mood soared as if it would take flight.
I had spent the astronomical sum of 5 points, but it wasn’t to the point where I felt pressured by points, and in my previous life I would never have conceived of buying Hanwoo to change my mood, so it felt like I was living a somewhat better life, and a silly smile came to my face.
“Life is fun.”
I buried myself in the sleeping bag, clasped my hands behind my head, and fell into thought.
‘What will happen from now on?’
The world was no longer a realm of adaptation, but of response.
To survive, you had to fiercely respond to survive, not just adapt.
The luck that had fallen to me in that situation.
I closed my eyes and fell deep into thought about how to use it.
“...Huh?”
And when I opened my eyes, it was morning?
“Ugh. I guess I was tired yesterday. What was I thinking about when I fell asleep?”
I shook off my drowsiness, got up, went outside the storeroom, and circled the rooftop to check if anything had happened overnight.
“What’s changed is...!!!”
Nothing.
No, no. It’s not that nothing changed—the corpses are gone!
The zombie corpses I had hunted all day yesterday had disappeared cleanly, as if pushed away by a snowplow.
“What?”
I stared blankly at the road, lost in thought.
‘Can something like this happen?’
There was no way there were humans collecting zombie corpses in times like these.
Then it had to be the work of zombies.
‘Could it be... do zombies eat each other too?’
Nothing else made sense.
“Sigh.......”
If I thought about it simply, I could say they ate each other and their numbers would decrease, but what if that wasn’t it?
‘It means I might need to prepare for something. Hoo.......’
I let out a deep sigh.
Then I started stretching and preparing to hunt.
‘It’s impossible to prepare for something right now. In the end, what I need to do... is hunt.’
I don’t know what’s going on.
But my plan doesn’t change. I don’t know what’s happening, but the best preparation is gathering points—it’s the only method I have.
Click-clack.
I checked the magazine, lined them up on the railing, and started hunting.
Tung. Tung.
While I was focused on hunting zombies on the road for a while, I suddenly saw two people who looked like a couple run out holding hands from the studio apartment building across the road.
“Hurry, hurry.”
“I know.”
And the two sprinted toward the house where I was.
“...What are they trying to do?”
There were zombies around; it was absurd that they were running right through the midst of them.
If I left them alone, they were 100% zombie food.
“.......”
I hesitated for a moment.
No matter how I looked at it, they seemed to be running thinking I would save them?
But do they even know what kind of person I am and still run here?
“...Sigh.”
I had a strong feeling that if I saved them, they’d just leech off me.
Yeah. Even if I make a hundred concessions, I don’t want to see someone become zombie food right before my eyes, so I could save them.
But you see, right now is the special bonus period.
I have no intention of getting held back by others.
“Kyaa!”
“Subin!”
Even while I was watching blankly, the situation was progressing, and the woman running frantically ended up tripping.
“Ugh.......”
I’ll save them for now.
Tung. Tung-tung. Tung.
I raised my gun and took care of the zombies approaching them; the man helped the fallen woman up, then ran again, reached the wall of the house, and jumped over it.
Then he pulled the woman up, and the two fell inside the wall.
“We survived! Haha. Subin, we did it!”
“*Sob* We’re going to live now.”
“Let’s go! We won’t have to starve now.”
“Yeah. I’m hungry.”
Listening to the couple’s conversation from the rooftop, I slightly regretted my choice from just now.
Sigh. Guess I’m unlucky today as well.