Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

-So, in the end, we will all turn into zombies?

-Yes. Once the zombie apocalypse happens, most people will become zombies. But we, awakeners, are a little different.

-How are you different?

-We have superpowers and information. It was enough to survive even when zombies and monsters popped out.

-Is there any guarantee that awakeners wouldn’t turn into zombies?

-Uh, that’s…

The man who was being interviewed stuttered, seemingly lost about what to answer. And to be honest, I also didn’t know for certain whether awakeners are immune to the spores or not.

Looking at the faltering man, a bitter smile was etched on the reporter’s lips.

-Next question. Hypothetically, how would our society change if the apocalypse happened?

-I’ve told you! It will really happen. Anyway, once it happens, personal strength becomes the most important thing. Whoever wins the fight is the winner. Well, working and earning money will be useless. Basically, the rule of the jungle will be applied to the society, where the strong will survive and the weak will be eradicated.

The awakened let out a rough breath. It seems like he’s feeling excited. From his tone of voice, it was clear as day that he was waiting for the end.

Did he perhaps have a lot of pent up frustration on his social life? If that’s the case, I could sympathize with him. Back when I was still working in a factory in my early 20s, I often hated the times when I had to wake up and go to work, to the point where sometimes I considered dying would be far better. But isn’t that still better than the world coming to an end?

Hyung-jun Hyung, who was scowling at the TV with his arms crossed, opened his mouth, “In my opinion, he’s jobless. That’s why he cursed the world and hoped it would be destroyed.”

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement at Hyung-jun Hyung’s words.

“But the interviewer does have a point… how do we distinguish those who will be turned into a zombie and those who won’t?” Bora asked.

“If there’s no one who spread the words up to this moment, it’s safe to say that nobody knows.” Hyung-jun Hyung spoke. However, the misinformation guy quickly opened his mouth.

“That’s not it, Manager. People who stay around an awakener will be fine.”

“What do you mean?” Bora raised her eyes.

“Do you know why people awakened? It was because they had played Survival Life before. In other words, they have made contact with Survival Life. Now, who has made contact with me?” The man smiled as his gaze fell on Bora and Hyung-jun Hyung. It seems like he didn’t bother to look at Mikyung as she’s also an awakened. While the reason he didn’t look at me was obvious, as I am not even in their group.

“Ahhh, so you’re saying that Bora and I wouldn’t turn into zombies because we had made contact with you?” Hyung-jun Hyung asked.

“I’m not sure, but I think so.” Kyunghoon shrugged his shoulders.

“Then, should I follow Kyunghoon wherever you go?”

He seemed to be in a good mood as Bora asked while stroking his muscular forearm.

“Haha, just trust me. Those zombies can’t even move quickly. If I just beat them up, we’ll be safe.”

“The tutorial was very difficult though…” As Mikyung spoke, Hyung-jun Hyung turned his head towards her.

“I heard that it’s difficult, but just how difficult is it?”

“It’s really hard… I couldn’t even get past the beginning part of the tutorial and died. Those zombies move so fast.”

Hearing Mikyung’s words, Bora rolled her eyes at Kyunghoon.

“Didn’t you say zombies are slow earlier?”

“It feels different from person to person.”

“So, how far did you go? Did you manage to clear the tutorial?”

“Ehm… It was a long time ago, so I can’t remember very well, but I must have cleared it.”

By his words, I could easily tell that he couldn’t even finish the tutorial. I wonder just where his confidence came from. By all the good things in the world, please stop confusing Hyung-jun Hyung by spreading wrong information!

Without knowing my feelings, the guy moved his body and said proudly, “So, imagine the zombies are coming… Because they can’t move normally, so you can move like this. Backwards, backwards.”

I sighed in my mind at his ridiculous display. Meanwhile, beside me Hyung-jun Hyung gave Kyunghoon a questioning gaze.

“Is that information true? Didn’t you tell me to go to the hardware store when we were talking about weapons before?”

“Ah, Manager…. I was a little confused back then. It’s been a while since I played the game.”

Long? It’s been less than two years, you bluff. As I can’t just let this idiot confuse Hyung-jun Hyung anymore, I whispered to him and dragged him to the corner.

“Hyungnim, I heard from I Love Gimbap on one of his broadcasts. He said that if you run into a zombie, you have to avoid it.”

“Why?”

“In the apocalypse, the roads will be incredibly messy. Buildings and car wreckages, corpses of both humans and zombies, debris… If you just move backwards carelessly, you will definitely trip over something.”

“Thinking about it… It should be like that, isn’t it? So, we need to move to the side?”

“Yes. Before the zombies arrive, take a good look at your surroundings. Then, you have to be careful with every step you take. In fact, fighting zombies isn’t a very good way to do it either. You should avoid it if you can.”

“I’ll be sure to remember it.”

“Hyung-nim, do you know how many people there are in our neighborhood? Imagine all of them turning to zombies. If we decide to fight them all at once, we will instantly get surrounded.”

“Hmm…”

Hyung-jun Hyung looked at Bora and Mikyung before throwing an incredulous face towards Kyunghoon, who was busy boasting about something.

“You should have joined instead of that man.”

“It’s already full, I can’t help it. By the way, where did the other one go?”

“Do you know there’s a store nearby that sells things related to camping? That store is currently holding a huge sale. He went there.”

Big discount on camping supplies huh… what a temptation. When the D-day arrives, it will be a better option to break into it rather than a convenience store. I checked it out on the internet and was about to bid a farewell to Hyung-jun Hyung. But, the front door of the gym suddenly opened and someone’s head peeked inside.

It was Sooyeon, the doctor that I met at the hardware store. Though, she’s no longer a doctor.

“Sooyeon, what are you doing here?”

“I have something to give you. Wait a minute, okay?”

“Come in, come in.”

Sooyeon headed towards us and greeted the other gym members before taking something out of her bag. It was a red bag with a white cross printed on top of it. “This is a pain reliever, antibiotic, and anti-inflammatory pain reliever pack. When you get hurt, you just have to use one of these.”

“Wow…”

I was quite surprised by what she took out. From what I knew, it was something which couldn’t be bought without prescription. So, who the hell prescribes… Ah….

Sooyeon, who received the attention of the people, said confidently.

“I personally forged the prescription.”

“Isn’t it illegal because you quit being a doctor?”

When Hyung-jun Hyung smirked, Sooyeon smiled and pulled the first aid kit bag closer to her, “I still have my medical license. So, you don’t want it or not, Manager?

“No, no, I do want it. Thank you.”

“I have been watching TV since this morning. Because of those goblins, they all went crazy.”

Ah, that’s why you finally decided to join here.

“In the end, the world is going to be ruined anyway, so who would care even if I forged some prescriptions?” Sooyeon gave a brief glance towards all the members and shrugged.

“You’re so cool, Sooyeon.” Hyung-jun Hyung chuckled.

“Ah by the way, Seongho, are you also in this group?”

“No. I’m not with them.”

“Oh. Then I’ll just give you this.”

What she handed me was a small pouch. When I opened it, there were several medicine bags identical to those in the first aid kit.

“Thank you. Someday, I will pay you back.”

Sooyeon tapped my shoulder as she heard my words, “Don’t forget that kindness, and if we do meet next time and I get into trouble, please help me.”

As long as I’m not in danger, I would make sure I would pay her back. I put the pouch in my backpack and finally gave my farewell to all the gym members.

From his gaze and body language, Hyung-jun Hyung seemed to still want me to join their group. However, I simply couldn’t join them as I have a lot of work to do once the apocalypse descends. Moreover, as my level became higher, being next to me was considerably more dangerous as stronger monsters would spawn more frequently around me.

Even normal zombies that appear in the beginning were a big threat to them, so let’s not talk about how threatening reinforced zombies are to them.

I got in the SUV and headed to my next destination.

.

.

.

The plant nursery I was currently at was full of seeds I had never heard of in my life.

Coastal hog fennel? Heracleum? Sweet wormwood?

My mind blanked out because of the plant names I heard for the first time. And to be honest, it would be a waste to stock up seeds I had never even heard of, because if I somehow choose a seed of a fruit that has a disgusting taste, I will have to endure and eat it anyway, as those fruits are my source of energy. Therefore, I decided to just choose seeds that I frequently encountered.

After purchasing hundreds of thousands won worth of seeds, the owner added some seeds as a bonus.

“Thank you very much, please come again.”

I smiled at her words. I will definitely come again in the near future. At that time, I would probably wipe the store clean. In fact, however, there was a more important place than this plant nursery. It was the seed vault located in Gyeongbuk. From what I heard, it was the biggest seed storage in the entire Asia which houses approximately 50,000 seeds.

When the D-day arrived, naturally, the electricity which powered the vault would be cut off, so it would be difficult for the seeds to survive.

“Still, because they’re seeds, those things will definitely hold up well.” When the corrosive disease subsided, I would pay a visit to that vault with the motorcycle I had stored in the cave.

“By the way, there are too many places to rob.” As most of the foods in convenience stores had a short lifespan. It would be better to just loot the plant nursery, the hardware store, and camping equipment store. The list just kept getting longer and longer. I was worried about my ability to loot everything in just five hours.

“Because you never know how things will change.” What would await me on the D-day was either an orderly end or a chaotic ruin. It depends on the government’s actions.

“I think it would be ok if I tell them when it will happen.” It would also be a good way to teach reporters who were thirsty for the scoop on the exact timing. Though, it would be useless if the government managed to secure the Survival Life’s developer team, as no matter how good I am at the game, I can’t compete with those who created the game.

When I arrived at the camping supply store, the sheer size of the parking lot shocked me.

“Why is it so big…” Can I loot the whole place in just one day? I think zombies would be swarming here too…

Upon entering the store, which was tiny when compared to the size of the parking lot, it was jam-packed with customers. They were all young people with backpacks on their backs. Looking at the spectacle, realization dawned to me. It seems that rumors about the apocalypse had finally penetrated deep into daily life. It was proven by the fact that even the counter staff was watching the news about the goblin finding on their smartphones. Everywhere, the talk about goblins, zombies, and the apocalypse could be heard.

“Rope… is here.” After browsing through the display, I found a good quality paracord. Nowadays, it was also commonly used as a material to make bracelets, but its main use was a parachute cord. It was said to be very strong and could withstand a load of 250 kg with only a single rope. It would certainly be useful for my life in the forest.

Besides the paracord, there’s also many products which caught my eyes. For example, the gorgeous ceramic kitchen set and tableware set which I’m seeing right now. Unfortunately, when I look at the price tag, “Damn, it’s too expensive.”

What kind of chopsticks cost 10,000 won? Outrageous!

I stuck my tongue out and erased the thought of buying products that are too pricey or unnecessary for me. On the day of the apocalypse, the hardware store, the pharmacy, and this place were places I should prioritize on looting first.

After buying the paracord and some other supplies, I went out. When I got back into the SUV and was about to drive away, I incidentally saw a heavy equipment rental company on the side of the street. Various equipment was lined up in the vacant lot, but what caught my eye the most was the cute mini sized fork crane.

“There’s a small fork crane?”

With that size, it would fit into the portal, right?

I drove the car to the empty lot, and checked the mini fork crane with a tape measure. The result made a smile bloom in my face. It was only 80cm wide.

“It fits.”

And then, an old man who appears to be the president of the company came out.

“Will you rent 008?”

It seems that 008 was what this mini fork crane is called. I nodded my head heavily towards him while smiling, feeling happy that I don’t have to dig all those moats alone manually. However, my smile fell apart when the president asked me whether I have a heavy machinery license or not.

While I was making a sad face, the president told me. “You can get a license in just two days, don’t worry.”

“Is that so?” My voice filled with power once again. There were 10 days left before the apocalypse, so there was enough time to get it. Rather than digging a moat for two days by hand, it would be much better to wait to get a license before digging the moat using the crane.

I followed the president to look around the inside of the company. Then, a peculiar piece of equipment tickled my curiosity.

“President, what is that?”

“Oh, that? It’s a hydraulic ax. You use it to cut firewood.”

“Nowadays, even cutting firewood could be automatic, huh?”

The boss immediately headed towards the machine and manned it. He took a piece of log and put it on the blade. When he flipped the switch, the machine roared as the log split in half.

“It’s strong.”

“It’s strong, isn’t it? I’ll lend you one at a cheap price.”

However, because the hydraulic ax ran on electricity, it wasn’t something I could use in the forest. The electricity gathered from the solar panels was simply not enough to power it.

“Do you have anything similar that runs on gasoline?”

“There is, but it’s a bit expensive…”

“Please show me.”

The gasoline hydraulic ax the president showed was much larger than the hydraulic one. It weighed more than 200 kg. However, there would be no problem moving it as it was equipped with wheels. So I made a contract to loan one. Additionally, I also ordered a chainsaw, engine oil, and an oxygen cutter. Of course, the loan duration was 11 days.

“I was an idiot for not knowing this.”

The next place I would stop by was the bookstore. It might be redundant to store books in the cave as I already possessed a splendid substitute for it, which was various videos ranging from tutorials to survival tips downloaded from MeTube. However, the knowledge I could get from the videos was limited as there were many parts that were difficult to interpret because I wasn’t familiar with all the terminology.

“For Koreans, Hangul is the best.” I hummed as I browsed at the list of gardening books displayed on the shelf. Just in case, I also picked books about electricity, electronics, and basic construction.

“…I should definitely come here too.” By the sheer number of stores I planned on looting on the D-day, It seems like I would die because of exhaustion, not because of zombies. However, I couldn’t just give up on them for they were things that would enrich my life.

I put all the books I just bought on the back of the car. The last thing on today’s itinerarium is buying jerry cans and going to the gas station to get gasoline. It was something which needed to be stocked up as it was hard to get it once the apocalypse starts.

“I need to find a way to store it somehow.”

I got gasoline and stopped by Daiso to buy the things I needed from the 4th floor to the 1st floor. Toothpaste, toilet paper, soap, sewing set, tableware, etc…

“Come to think of it, this place has so many useful things.” So, after the tutorial ended, it seemed that looting this place would be the number one priority.

When I got home with a lot of luggage in the back of my car, the president of the heavy equipment company came to deliver what I borrowed.

“Please put it here, I’ll take care of the rest by myself.”

“I understand.”

As soon as the president left after he finished loading off the machinery, I opened the portal and carried all the equipment and the things I just borrowed into the forest.

Dingo overreacted as soon as he saw me and all the new things and ran towards me.

“Go away, go away. These things are dangerous.” However, he didn’t heed my warning at all. Therefore, I went to the house for a second, took some vinegar, and sprinkled it onto all the dangerous machinery.

When he ran towards the chainsaw, he yelped and quickly ran away because of the vinegar smell. Sorry Dingo, it’s all for your safety.

I read the manual slowly before starting the chainsaw.

Wooaaang-!!

A roar of machines echoed throughout the forest. Countless birds were startled by the noise and flew away as they chirped. It seems like monsters in the vicinity of the cave would soon flock into this place. However, it’s all fine as long as they were only small sized monsters. The barbed wire would fence them out.

When I hit a tree that was too big to get rid of with the hacksaw, the chainsaw went in easily like a hot knife cutting butter. It was really cool.

Just like that, three days passed in a blink of eyes.