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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Base Camp. (1)
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A woman in civilian clothes awkwardly bowed her head in greeting.
"Y-yes... I'm fine. ...So-eun-ah, are you okay?"
The girl in the school uniform nodded.
She looked unharmed at first glance. If she'd been hurt, those bitches would have thrown a massive fit by now.
Anyway, as long as she hadn't been bitten, it was fine.
If she had been...
The handle of the telescopic baton felt rough in his grip.
Even swinging it with full force, it wouldn't slip from his hand.
...Fuck.
Best not to think about it.
She wasn't bitten. That was just good luck.
Grrrowl.
Ah... I'm starving.
He pressed his ear lightly against the warehouse door.
Shhhrrrk, grrrrk—intermittent sounds came from inside. They didn't seem to be trying to break the door down anymore, but they were still there.
No idea how many there were.
He pointed at the door and whispered softly.
"They're still there. We have to stay quiet."
The woman in civilian clothes nodded.
He carefully stepped away from the door and leaned against the wall.
Grrrowl.
Ugh, fuck. Can't take the hunger anymore.
Nothing but Gatorade and water all day—he had no energy left.
Maybe eat something.
He picked up his bag. Fuck, it was frosted over, ice-cold. The frozen dumplings hadn't thawed at all.
Could he just chew them like this?
"Ha..."
As he carefully unzipped the bag and let out a deep sigh, the woman in civilian clothes held out a cream-filled red bean bun.
"H-here... If it's okay with you..."
He glanced back and forth between the bun and the woman.
"Isn't that the one you grabbed for yourself?"
Grrrowl.
Ugh, fuck.
The woman spoke up.
"I-It's fine. We... boiled some ramen at home before coming. We just came out to grab some snacks, just in case..."
Her hand trembled noticeably.
Tears began welling up in her eyes.
"...What the hell is going on...? Why...?"
Hmm...
If he explained kindly, in a gentle voice, that it was the apocalypse, would she calm down?
Not a chance. He'd bet on it.
He nodded and took the cream bun.
"Thanks, I'll dig in."
Crumple.
Even tearing open the bun felt too loud—he was paranoid.
Damn it.
He took a big bite.
Fluffy bread filled with sweet cream and sweet red bean paste. Damn, this was good.
Maybe because he was starving.
Man, absolute honey flavor.
As he munched on the bun, he looked around the warehouse.
Lights on, stacks of boxes everywhere, no windows.
...No windows.
"...Good."
Lucky break.
He immediately pulled out his phone.
First thing: call his parents.
...No answer.
Fuck!
"Haa."
No answer from that vengeful bitch little sister either.
Damn it, she should check in periodically.
Anyway...
Battery at 65% now.
Where the hell was he supposed to charge it? Charger was back at the goshiwon.
Ah, fuck, this is tricky...
Did the convenience store have portable batteries?
Thinking that, he turned on the news.
[WHO Acknowledges Global Pandemic.]
Amid a flood of international news in the regional updates, one headline caught his eye.
[...The highly contagious new virus has been confirmed to induce extreme violence in the infected, prompting the WHO Director-General to urge utmost caution. The WHO is currently collaborating with pharmaceutical companies worldwide to identify the cause of the new contagion...]
...Pharmaceutical companies, my ass.
Treating dead things that run around tackling people? With penicillin? Fuck off.
Anything else?
[New Virus Infected Spotted at Cheorwon Military Base?!]
[Series of Maritime Accidents Linked to New Virus.]
[Cargo Transport Disrupted by Road Congestion.]
[KORAIL Announces Subway Shutdown.]
...Fuck.....
National functions were grinding to a halt.
In just one day!
If Human Beasts were showing up at military bases, the army couldn't move recklessly, could they?
Ah.
What about the president's press conference?
[President Warns of National Crisis in Press Conference.]
He tapped the article.
[...The president acknowledged the national crisis, issued warnings, and vowed to take all necessary measures. However, he declared no martial law, drawing fierce backlash from the opposition. According to a prominent military expert, rumors of infected at military bases are true, and prioritizing that takes precedence...]
...So it really happened.
The military too...
Probably more bases falling one by one.
In StarCraft terms...
It was like setting up multis everywhere, but the enemy spawning simultaneously across all of them, leaving only a few defensible.
Roads blocked, couldn't move troops rashly; leave a base empty and something might happen; send help to another unit and your own guys get sacrificed too.
...What about airstrikes?
...On second thought, that's tricky too.
Where would they even bomb?
The biggest casualties were probably in civilian areas. Drop bombs there?
No way to tell infected from survivors?
Even this convenience store: Human Beasts growling outside, but three people including him trapped inside the warehouse.
If someone dropped a bomb here, fuck, he'd grab their collar and smash their head into the concrete floor, and it still wouldn't be enough.
These women survived. He survived.
Lots of survivors out there, probably.
...Airstrikes were off the table.
Down to street fighting, but the military was tied up.
...That's the situation.
Headache, fuck.
...Mom, Dad.
Why aren't you picking up?
Did something happen to you?
Bitch sister, you dead?
...Going crazy here.
"Haa..."
Without realizing, he buried his face in his knees and sighed.
Meanwhile, the damn bun was tastelessly delicious.
"...Um..."
A hesitant woman's voice.
He glanced up.
The woman was looking at him cautiously.
"...O-our house is right around the corner down that alley... S-sorry, but could you take us there...?"
...Take them there...?
My own nose is made of stone right now—who the hell am I supposed to help?
You joking?
He blinked slowly and replied.
"...I don't even have anywhere to go myself right now."
He'd come here to reenroll in school, not to hole up like some local.
Going home meant catching a fucking plane.
His old goshiwon was way out here somewhere.
He'd never even been to this neighborhood before.
Fucking hell.
The woman said,
"...O-our place has an empty rooftop room. If that's okay with you..."
...Rooftop room?
Didn't know what to say.
As he stared blankly, the woman continued.
"The previous tenant got a job elsewhere and moved out last month. Our house... runs a boarding house right up ahead."
"...A boarding house?"
The woman nodded.
Ah, near the school. Makes sense they'd have something like that.
"Right now at our place... it's our family and one college girl. If it's okay..."
"Your parents are there too?"
She shook her head.
"Grandma's there. Mom and Dad went to Japan for a trip last week... Just us girls..."
...Just girls?
So they went out scavenging for food by themselves and this shit happened.
Could use a guy around, huh.
...Hmm...
The offer wasn't bad, at least.
He needed periodic mental power recovery to level up, and rest was the only method he knew.
He needed a place to crash.
"...You cleaned the rooftop room?"
Her face brightened a bit.
"Yes. My sister and I scrubbed it together. No furnishings... but we can give you some of ours."
Like he'd do housework.
He smirked.
"Just need a spot to sleep."
He eyed the warehouse door.
This was nuts.
If he knew how many were out there, he could plan something.
"...Problem is getting out of here."
Not that he expected an answer.
He scanned the warehouse.
Anything useful?
He carefully opened boxes one by one.
Cola, cider, snacks, cup ramen—everything under the sun.
Tissues, pads too.
Hmm...
Raiding a supermarket wouldn't be bad.
No.
Wait.
...Daiso?!
Daiso could work!
They had everything!
Might even find something weapon-like.
...Fuck.
On second thought, no assault rifles, longswords, or maces at Daiso.
Damn it. If he'd ever lived thinking about weapons, his brain would spin with ideas now.
Daiso was the best he could come up with.
Opening boxes yielded nothing useful.
"Haa..."
Wait.
The shelves stacked with boxes...
Looked just like steel pipes?
Screw-assembled shelves.
Unscrew and disassemble.
The women just watched him.
Whatever. He started unscrewing by hand. Fuck, tough without tools.
The woman in civilian clothes, who'd been watching, pulled something from her pocket and handed it over.
A key.
"T-try this..."
He nodded, took it, and tried on the Phillips screw. Damn, no good.
"Haa..."
Anything else?
Then the uniform girl, who'd been stock-still, tossed something at his feet.
A utility knife.
He saw her wrist as she threw it...
Plenty of cuts. Heavy self-harmer.
The civilian-clothes woman glared at the uniform girl.
"So-eun-ah. You still carrying this around?"
So-eun in the uniform said nothing.
Just buried her head in her knees.
Fucking exasperating bitch.
Chattering away at the store entrance earlier.
He picked up the utility knife and fitted it to the screw.
This should work.
"I'll put it to good use."
He slowly began unscrewing.