Stagnant Water of Apocalypse - Chapter 32

A lot of things had happened in the span of three days. A lot of people said that barricades had been set up in places leading to the outskirts, such as highways. At some places, not only barricades but also military trucks were parked in the middle of the road. When people protested, the soldiers showed a strong attitude towards them, while saying that they were only doing orders from their superiors. Fortunately, Hyung-jun Hyung was able to return to the gym through a provincial road where no barricades were installed. Though, he was currently saddened by the fact that her daughter had become quite rebellious towards him.

“By the way, while I’m on my way here, the atmosphere was no joke. It feels like there’s poison in the eyes of the soldiers. It was completely different from yesterday when they were a little bit tame.”

“They must have heard some bad news.”

“I believe so. The person who stopped me said that he’s a captain. I heard from him that some military personnel have been deployed to the nuclear power plant.”

“To the nuclear power plant?”

“Yeah.”

“Seems like whatever reason they got sent there is the cause of the power outage.”

“I thought so too. I also heard from someone who, by accident, heard an announcement in Ulsan. Those living near the oil production complex were ordered to evacuate.”

“Woah… that many people were ordered to evacuate all at once?”

“Whether it’s a war or a coup, that’s just crazy. How is the government planning to restore everything once it’s done?”

“Hyung-nim, what if… they think that there is no need to restore it?”

Hyung-jun Hyung’s eyes opened wide. Seemed like he realized what I meant, “Are you talking about the zombie apocalypse?”

“I don’t know whether it was due to the apocalypse or not, but judging from the government’s action, it seems likely, no? Moreover, even though they are deploying soldiers into important infrastructures, they didn’t even call the reserve force.”

“Hmm… It does make sense. I stopped by the district office on the way here, but none of the civil officers were there, they all went home.”

“Then my thought should be correct. It’s all because of the zombie apocalypse.”

Seems like the President decided to enact the Martial law in order to achieve an orderly end. Looks like he’s also shutting down the nuclear power plants and evacuated people living close to a petrochemical production complex in order to help future survivors living in an apocalyptic world. Apart from those, there are many other measures being taken. Such as shutting down the gas supply to the city, just like what happened right now.

“They even turned off the city gas. Wow, how the fuck are we supposed to live?” Hyung-jun Hyung grumbled as the gas stove in the kitchen refused to light up. At that time, Kyunghoon and Bora returned to the gym. Both of them looked very excited.

“The atmosphere outside is no joke. Some of the soldiers even started to use violence.”

“Really?”

“Yes. They probably become like that because there are stubborn people who won’t follow their order. But, if they expect us to follow their order, can they at least tell us the reason? How can they just order people around without any reason like that?”

“It seems like the situation is getting worse.”

Then, not long after, Mikyung and Yoohyeon also returned. Their eyes were red. It seems like they have a problem with their family, so it’s best to just keep my mouth shut.

Hyung-jun Hyung then called people together. “Let’s gather together first. Seongho… is also a member of ours in a way, so stay and listen too.”

Looking at his expression, it seems that Kyunghoon disagrees with that statement, but he did not dare to bring it up. It seems like he thinks that there is no need to fight with Hyung-jun Hyung.

“I heard a couple things when returning here from Gimhae. Big accidents are happening all around the country right now. Electricity, gas, internet, nothing works, so isn’t it reasonable to call it an apocalypse already?”

“Yes…” The gym member answered in unison.

“I don’t know when the zombie apocalypse will happen, but let’s act according to our plan from now on. We’ll start to limit the amount of food that we can consume for each day… and we’ll also have to secure as much drinking water as we can.”

“From now on?” When Mikyung asked, Hyung-jun Hyung simply nodded his head.

“Our situation right now, it’s like an apocalypse, just without the zombies, right? We don’t know when this situation will end, so we can’t just recklessly consume the food we have.”

“That’s right.” Bora nodded in agreement.

Things would become clear as soon as tomorrow comes anyway. It wouldn’t get better, rather it would get worse and worse.

Anyway, as soon as the meeting was over, everyone started complaining about the heat. It was summer currently, so without an air conditioner or fan, it was obvious that everyone was drenched in sweat.

Everyone fanned themselves with the front of their T-shirt and grumbled.

“Wow, it’s hot. I’m dying, really.”

“It’s completely steamy because of the high humidity.”

Meanwhile, I quickly jotted down a tutorial plan in a note before giving it to Hyung-jun Hyung. It was a strategy I devised while taking the lowered difficulty into account. As soon as Hyung-jun Hyung saw the note, his eyes widened.

“This…”

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen his videos, so it wouldn’t be 100% accurate, but it should be roughly correct. Please keep in mind that you have to be extra careful because the escape route at the beginning varies depending on your location. And after the tutorial is over, items will appear, and you need to take it with you.”

“Where will the items appear?”

“In the game, items will spawn in a nearby location. The location is random, so you have to find it by yourself.”

“Huh? So, items will appear from empty air?”

“Didn’t the goblins appear like that too?”

“…well, yeah.”

In this kind of time and situation, it wouldn’t be surprising if magicians and dragons from fantasy worlds start to appear.

Hyung-jun Hyung grabbed the note and tapped my shoulder.

“Thank you. Actually, I worried about this a lot. That Kyunghoon said that he had watched many Survival Life tutorial videos. I want to ask him about it but I’m never really sure how to ask.”

“Don’t thank me, Hyung-nim, it’s only natural. Rather, I’m sorry that this is all I know.”

“What are you sorry for? In the future, if you ran out of food, come to me.”

“I will do so, if I still survived at that time.”

“That’s right…”

I said my goodbye to the gym members and went out. I still thought that not joining their group was the best choice. If I let Hyung know about my abilities and join his group, my post-apocalyptic life would certainly become more comfortable. But, it would be difficult for them to survive. Although the difficulty was lowered, zombies were still a scary opponent. Even more so if it was a reinforced zombie. Just the thought that reinforced zombies would be mixed in the middle of countless normal zombies while attacking the gym sent shivers down my spine. They would be unable to survive if they were together with a guy like me, as stronger zombies and monsters would spawn in my vicinity.

As I was on my way to my house, I heard a loud noise from a distance. It was from the convoy led by the tattooed man’s tow truck, running crazily on the empty road. The soldiers blew whistles to stop them, but to no avail. They only keep accelerating even more.

Two thugs who were sitting on top of the storage box saw me and spitted on me.

“See you later, you bastard! Hahaha!”

Yeah, see you tomorrow.

.

.

.

As I arrived in front of my house, I got reprimanded by the soldiers who passed by my home. They ordered me to quickly enter my house. It seems like after working nonstop for several days, there’s no more trace of their gentle and persuasive tone, replaced by a thorny and aggressive tone.

When I went up to the second floor, I saw a woman hiding in an empty place on the first floor.

“Sooyeon, is that you?”

“Shh. Have the soldiers gone away yet?”

“Yes, they went away already. But, what are you doing here?”

“I have something to tell you. In the underground parking lot of Busan Civic Park, there’s a construction going on.”

“A construction?”

“Yes. The laborers and materials just suddenly arrived one day. I saw it from my house using a telescope a few days ago.”

“Is it currently still under construction?”

“No. It’s already finished. They are insanely fast, aren’t they?” Sooyeon shook her head.

I don’t know what was being built there, but does it make sense to finish it in mere three days?

“I can’t explain it, but it seemed like the whole process was rushed. The parking lot was quite large, so the laborers and materials needed to build whatever inside must be substantial… Afterwards, a wing body truck just came in. They must have put something important inside.”

Seems like they were building an unbreachable shelter.

“It looks like they’re making a shelter.”

“That’s right. Rather than making shelter for the people, the government just makes shelters for the politicians. Usually, people like them who could move undetected were the most dangerous kind of people.”

“Since they’re in a rush, it seems like something is about to happen soon.”

Sooyeon nooded. Her shoulders slumped. “Haaaah, I hope it will happen sooner rather than later. This situation is just so messed up!”

“There’s no guarantee we won’t turn into zombies though.”

“I’m just frustrated. Don’t you feel something like this sometimes? When you don’t do anything, you feel frustrated. You just want to do something or you feel like you will explode.”

She’s indeed a fiery noonim.

“Why are you telling me all this?” I asked her.

“If I say it was just cause… it will be weird, right? Somehow I feel something from Seongho.”

“What kind of feeling? I’m nothing but a slightly buff guy.”

“Before, when we met for the first time in front of the hardware store, you told us that a war club was the most suitable weapon, didn’t you? I’ve been gathering informations on my own, and it seems like the spores that infects people and turn them into zombies are settling in the skull?”

“It seems so.”

“However, people didn’t believe the information which said that once the spores settled in, the most suitable method to get rid of it was drilling through the weakened skull.”

“Well, in the first place, there’s so much information on the internet to the point where people can’t decide which one to believe.”

Kwon also posted some information, but after stealing his phone, I deleted all of it. As a result, until a few days ago, the awakened community was tainted with all sorts of unverified tips. Some of them might be written in the wrong way deliberately to make people suffer.

“I remembered what Seongho said back then. Weapons that have some protrusion works better against zombies. The ebony sticks that are rumoured will be available to be bought with points once the Shop is open, does it perhaps also have some protrusions?” Sooyeon said while clasping her fist with the other hand.

“I think so… yeah… I think I remember seeing it in one of his videos.” I deliberately said it vaguely.

Sooyeon’s eyeglasses gleamed. “I know that you gave Manager Hyung-jun a method to avoid the zombies. You are awesome. It would have been great if the men in my group were like Seongho.”

“How are the people on your team?”

“It’s a bit strange for me to say this when I’m the one who decided to work with them, but they were people who didn’t want to work hard but still expect to get a share from the result. Anyway, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being close with Seongho. I’m not being a nuisance, am I?”

“Not at all. If both of us survive, we should help each other later.”

“It’s nice to hear that.” As Sooyeon had brought me some information, I should give her something too. I took my notes out, ripped a page out of it and squatted down. Then Sooyeon squatted beside me.

“What are you writing?”

“Tutorial strategy.”

“Sorry? Didn’t you say you haven’t played the game?”

“That’s right. But I often watch the live stream of I Love Gimbap. My memory isn’t accurate, so do take it with a grain of salt.”

She happily clasped her palms. “Wow, if I take this and spread it around, will I become well-known?”

“Since you’re a doctor, aren’t you popular enough?”

“I’m not. I felt like people in my group were slightly ostracizing me as I wasn’t an awakened.”

“If they think that since they have some superpowers, they can fight against the zombies, then they wouldn’t be able to survive for long.”

“I know, right. I have to go and try to convince them not to try and fight against the zombies.”

She stood up and took a pen from the front pocket of her jeans. Then, she wrote something on the palm of my hand.

“This is my place. Eden Villa Room 302. If you heard rumors that I was dead, take everything inside.”

She would know that what she said doesn’t make sense. I don’t even know where her group was, so how could I hear anything if something happened to her? But I understood her feelings. She just wants someone she knows and trusts to use the supplies she stored up to survive, which in this case, was me. Though, I don’t know why she suddenly thought about something like that.

“All right. Be sure to survive. I’ll see you later.” At my words, she smiled and handed me a pouch. It’s the same pouch which contains a pain reliever antibiotic pack I got from her before.

“For some reason, I felt that because Seongho fights well, you will get hurt a lot, so I prepared some more for you.”

“Thank you very much.”

“See you next time.”

She turned around and left as if nothing had happened.

.

.

.

20 hours until the zombie apocalypse happens.

I spent the remaining time inside the forest while doing chores, such as organizing the warehouse. Although the moat was still far away from being done and it’s still a little dangerous here, I just kind of wanted to be here to calm my mind.

“When looting tomorrow, I should put the portal here.” The place I would anchor my portal at was the vacant lot in front of the cave. It’s because the time I have to loot was limited, so I won’t have enough time to organize every single thing that I looted.

“There are too many places to loot… Looks like I have to prioritize looting metal-made things and medicines ” The rest could be delayed as they wouldn’t be destroyed. I could just loot it in the future.

I checked the map of my neighborhood and decided on a route. I have to move as effectively as possible because there’s only 5 hours between the arrival of the zombies and the corrosive disease. On top of that, I also had to prepare for the tutorial.

“Currently, I’m level 6…” and there’s an opportunity for levelling up waiting for me tomorrow. It was a method which could only be used right when the corrosive disease struck. If I do it right, I could gain levels as well as a lot of points easily.

“The possibilities are good enough.” I nodded and closed the map. With Dingo in tow, I walked around the forest near my shelter. Because I have a big job waiting for me tomorrow, I didn’t want to exhaust my stamina today if possible. I hoped those damn goblins were busy today and didn’t show up here.

Dingo sniffed a couple times and went ahead to lead me somewhere.

“Ah, they were the first thing I ever found in this forest.” To my surprise, Dingo led me to the solar apple tree I stumbled upon on my first day in the forest. On its branch, there were 2 plump apples dangling ready to be picked.

“…it’s strange.” It’s only been around a month, but there’s already 2 full grown apples? No matter how I looked at it, the solar apples on the branch had the exact same size as the solar apples I picked back then.

“How did you grow so fast?” Perhaps it was because the soil on this forest was so nutritious since there are various monster poops and carcasses?

I picked the two solar apples and put them in my backpack.

“However, it just doesn’t make any sense that they grow this fast simply because the soil is good.” Another reason buds in the back of my mind. Perhaps, it was because the whole forest was enchanted? If it was indeed the case, if I make a garden and plant some crops, will it grow faster?

“I need to check.” It’s difficult to do it right away, but once things stabilize, it’s worth a try. I don’t know anything about farming except for digging the soil and putting the seeds in, but as I have books and many videos about basic farming methods, I could just learn from them in the future, when I have the time.

I wandered around the shelter some more to check whether the goblins had dug some traps. As it turns out, they have. Dingo sniffed at the ground before pounded the ground with his front paws. When I dug into the soil Dingo pounded at with a shovel, I was greeted with a hole. Several wooden spears could be seen protruding upwards at the bottom of the hole.

It’s a trap which had been made meticulously by the goblin… However…

“I’m big, you idiots.” On top of that, I’m not even barefoot. Let alone my feet, stepping on something like this won’t even leave a dent on my boots. Well, all traps made by goblins were always like this. Meticulous but sloppy at the same time. I broke the wooden spears and covered the hole with soil.

“There’s still 19 hours left…” Now, it’s time to calmly wait for the zombie apocalypse to come. I returned to the shelter, checked the CCTV for any kind of movement outside, before playing the tutorial video on repeat.

“It won’t be too difficult because the difficulty has been lowered.” The method of gaining points had also been expanded. I was really curious about what those methods were going to be.

“Well, I guess I will find out tomorrow.” I opened the portal at the vacant lot in front of the cave and returned to the otherside together with Dingo.

There really isn’t much time left now.

.

.

.

At midnight, I went up to the roof of my house with Dingo. But contrary to the time, the weather was piping hot.

“At this point, I feel like living in a tropical nation, it’s no joke.” A report from the Korea Meteorological Administration said that this summer would record the worst heat wave in 40 years. Though, it was not too surprising as those guys always said something like that every summer.

Because of the heat, Dingo stood a little bit away from me. Truly, what a naughty guy.

I looked up at the sky.

“By now, the US military forces should be preparing to intercept the meteorites…” Well, it was just a deduction. Because no matter how I think about it, I wouldn’t be able to get my hands on those kinds of informations. Afterall, all kinds of ways to acquire information such as the internet and TV channels were being restricted. It was hard to even know what the Korean government was doing, let alone the governments of foreign countries. All I knew was that there were a lot of soldiers around the Busan area.

“And that the end is coming…” There’s still 13 hours left. While the hot night breeze hits my face, I suddenly remembered the moment when I opened my status window for the first time and became aware of the situation. I remembered I still served Mikyung a bowl of tteokbokki after I heard the news about the Silver Dragon meteor.

In the meantime, for the last 32 days, I had made a lot of preparations. But I couldn’t confidently say that it was enough in any way. There must be something I have missed. I’m still human after all.

However,

“I have no regrets.” It was useless and dumb to cling on to the time that had already passed. It was better to use that time to just run straight ahead.

“…” The wind hit my body once again. But this time, the wind carried some strange sensation. I opened my eyes and looked at the sky above. The night sky in the northwest was shining red. It was not a pleasing red but a bloody and violent red.

Then moments later,

“Oh…”

Hundreds of lines passed through the night sky.

It was only at that time I finally realized. The Silver Dragon meteorites had finally arrived on Earth. And that meant one thing. The Americans had failed to intercept the meteorites.

“Finally…”

The apocalypse is just around the corner.