<D-23>

Translator: Asta

Editor: Kig

“That person who’s been trending on the internet?”

“Yes, that person!”

“I heard that he had been playing Survival Life for a long time?”

“It’s not just a long time. The Internet said it was 4,000 hours.” Mikyung whispered to me as she leaned her upper body towards me as if she was telling me about a closely guarded secret.

However, unfortunately for her, she was completely off the mark. My mouth was itching to tell her that by the time the game was terminated, my playtime was 5,541 hours. I could hold it in, though, albeit barely.

Then, she shoved her smartphone at me.

“I was really surprised to see this.”

“What is it?”

An absurd passage appeared on the screen of her phone.

―If in the past, you and I Love Gimbap has 10 points, now he would’ve had more than 20.

―One day, an ogre came to I Love Gimbap. After three days of intense battle, the ogre died.

―I Love Gimbap’s level is ∞, and this is only an approximation of his strength.

Well… To be honest, I’ve read articles like these several times. It was a nonsensical article which was created because of the fact that all stagnant waters could easily defeat any zombie and monsters.

Let’s put a surprised expression on, a surprised expression!

“Wow, that’s great! Even if it’s a joke, it means that person had played the game very well.”

“Uh? Was this a joke…?” Mikyung panicked and covered her mouth with her hand.

“…”

Did she really believe that it was real? What an innocent girl.

“I also have heard a bit about it. But I think that person said it was not real. It just blew up like this because of the fact the stagnant waters were so good at playing the game.” I briefly explained to her.

Mikyung’s face turned red in real time and she suddenly said she coughed, “Kuuhum. I wonder why that person wasn’t active on the internet…”

“Beats me.” Well, to be honest, it was because ‘that person’ had an ability which was difficult to tell to others. If my unique skill wasn’t for opening a portal, but combat related stuff, I would have written a post to look for the other stagnant waters without hesitation. However, since my unique skill could only be used by me, there’s no reason for me to do so.

Anyway…

In apocalyptic words, being a pushover would be synonymous to death. It’s only in the game that I wouldn’t really die so I could still have fun while doing crazy things, but in reality things would be different.

When my expression became serious, Mikyung looked at me while scooping her tteokbokki. She then spoke out of nowhere which I perceived as her trying to change the mood.

“By the way, Ahjussi. I turned that offer down.”

“Are you talking about the offer you get from the tow truck driver?”

“Yes, that one. The things Ahjussi said last time to me was one of the reasons…but this one was what made me decide it was for the best.”

She fiddled through her smartphone with her thumb for several seconds before a slightly high-pitched male voice came out.

-That bitch holding up pretty well…What am I supposed to say to that bastard?

“This… was recorded at the cafe where I met with that person. I left my phone in my bag then went to the bathroom for a while.”

“Seems like you made it obvious that you don’t want to join them.”

“Yes. It was the only thing I could think of after hearing Ahjussi’s story last time, but hearing this gave me goosebumps…”

Mikyung then played another file.

-Just you wait. If you ever appear in front of me again, I’ll get you and make you moan in pleasure heh heh heh heh.

A sinister laugh was heard.

What the fuck?

“I don’t think it was okay to treat other people like that. Why did he do something like this to me when I didn’t do anything against him…”

“Miss Mikyung, you have to be careful,” That was the only thing I could tell her.

For now, she was safe because CCTV and public authorities were protecting her. But when the zombie apocalypse breaks out, she would no longer be protected by anyone. She only had her own power to believe in.

“I was so shocked when I browsed the internet. Some people say they’re going to kill some people… and some say things I can’t say with my mouth…” She said weakly.

“There are many people like that in the world. When that happens, the only thing you can trust is yourself.”

“How about you Ahjussi? Can’t I trust you?” She said as she gave me a puppy eye.

But I cut it coldly.

“I don’t know… Afterall, I might turn into a zombie and attack Miss Mikyung.”

“Oh…”

She hesitated for a brief moment before finally telling me.

“The zombie thing… I told it to my aunt. But she told me to stop saying nonsense and told me if I have the time to imagine something, I better use that time to quickly get married…”

Well, it’s indeed an absurd thing for older people to believe.

Then, Mikyung’s eyes turned red.

“I, uh, I don’t know what to do… I don’t know a lot of people…”

It seems like she didn’t have many friends. Well, that explains why she asked someone like me out of the blue.

“For now… You need to find someone other than those bastards. There must be people around Miss Mikyung who are in the same situation as you.” I advised her.

“Oh yeah, I saw on the internet that some people were recruiting. They even interviewed the applicant before they decided.”

“It wouldn’t be bad to join a place like that.” At least it would be better than being alone.

But not for me. Afterall, I don’t have any need for a deadweight.

Throughout the chatter, it seems like Mikyung has somehow relaxed and opened up to me as she confessed that her ability was [Blink].

She said it was an ability that could make her instantly move within a distance of 10 meters, and she could use it several times a day depending on her concentration.

She also told me that the tow truck driver’s ability was shooting lightning from his hands.

It was an unexpected piece of information which was very beneficial for me. 

When I asked her if she could show me her abilities, she nodded with a smile and got up.

“Uh…It’s a bit difficult to activate it. I need to focus on the place I want to go…”

Then, she suddenly disappeared from my sight. And then, the bathroom door opened as Mikyung walked out while rubbing her red forehead.

“It hurts…”

I could barely hold my laughter back at her action. Truly, what a careless girl.

Still, it was quite a productive chat as I could discover her abilities. Maybe one day I would ask her for help. Therefore, it seems like I should pay more attention to her.

.

.

.

After finishing my chat with Mikyung, I wandered around the streets of the neighbourhood to do some terrain reconnaissance. The reason I’m doing this was because the timing of the zombie apocalypse and the corrosive disease was different. It was separated by a time frame of several hours.

“The gap was five hours…” When the whole area was engulfed in chaos because of the zombies, I must loot everything I need before the corrosive disease spreads.

“This is… a hardware store.” I noted its location on the map I drew in my notebook. What I paid attention the most was of course things which have quite a lot of metal inside, like the hardware store or a department store.

While I was busy surveying and noting the location of important places, I saw a motorcycle shop across the street. I could see from the window that they were displaying a 4-wheel motorcycle. I really like it as it seemed like it would work well even in the forest.

“The gas station will be destroyed, but there should be plenty of oil left in it.” If I could pull those oils out, my life in the apocalypse should be pretty easy.

Then, for the pharmacy next to it, I should break into it once the chaos begins. Having no antibiotics and painkillers in the apocalypse was just simply unthinkable.

“There is a new supermarket here, huh?” Unfortunately, contrary to popular belief, if a zombie apocalypse occurs, a supermarket was a place you should never go to either because the guests would turn into zombies, or the surrounding zombies would flock to it in case the guest was yet to turn into a zombie.

“Back in the early days, I remembered there were some beginners who went to the mart without knowing anything and were killed.” In Survival Life, people got turned into zombies because they were infected by spores which controlled their minds. Just like any other living being, the spores require energy to keep living and it took it from food and water. Because of that, it was a wide-spread knowledge amongst the players that a supermarket was a place where a lot of zombies gathered.

“I think convenience stores will be fine though…” Even if the part-timer became a zombie, I could just shut the shutter, kill it and throw all the things I need through the portal. And in case the guest also becomes a zombie, there should be only one or two so it shouldn’t be a problem.

“The shutter is pretty strong.” The corrosive disease strikes a few hours after the zombie outbreak, so it would be okay if I could quickly loot it all clean then disappear.

I noted the two convenience stores facing each other in my notebook.

As I was walking in front of a certain building, the smoking, muscular man nearby suddenly called my name.

“Uh, hey, Seongho.”

“Oh, Hyung-nim.”

The muscular man was someone I knew; his name is Oh Hyeong-jun. He was about forty years old and was running a fitness club. He’s also married and had a child, but got divorced because their personalities didn’t suit each other.

He had a very easy-going personality which made him popular among the young men around him. Though, his obsession for muscles is a little bit….

With a cigarette pinched around his fingers, he got up with a strange expression on his face.

“Seongho, you’ve lost a lot of weight! Did you exercise?”

“I feel like my stomach is coming out these days…”

“Stop.”

He squinted his eyes towards me. It was some kind of silent protest because he thought I was working out at another gym rather than his gym. In fact, Hyungjun Hyung had offered to help me exercise many times.

“Kang Seongho, you are exercising somewhere other than Oh Hyung-jun’s shabby gym?”

“It’s not like that, brother.”

I quickly explained to him that I ran around town at dawn everyday and stopped snacking. 

“Well, exercising in the morning is good for your body. But what’s up with the sudden change of heart? normally, you don’t even come out much, don’t you?” He said while smiling shyly.

“It’s because of the strange rumours going around these days.”

As he spends a lot of time with the young people in his gym, he immediately understood what rumour I was referring to.

“Oh, is it about that zombie apocalypse or something? The members of my gym are going crazy because of that. Sit here.”

“Thank you, Hyung-nim.”

We sat cross-legged on the railing of the stairs. If someone sees us, they probably mistook us for neighbourhood thugs with nothing to do.

“Was it a week ago? A young kid who doesn’t even exercise and only hangs out with girls every day came and said that he had awakened.”

“Those status windows and skills thingy?”

“I see, it seems you’ve already heard about it too… By the way, back then I was like ‘What the hell is this kid saying?’ and then, it turns out, a zombie apocalypse would happen in a month or two. He also wasn’t the only member to say that.”

“Did he show you his skill?”

“Yep. I saw him flying with my own eyes. His body floated about 50 cm above the ground. I thought that my eyes had finally gone bad, so I was really trying to figure out the trick he was using.”

A 50cm levitation? What will it be useful for? It would heavily depend on how the user uses it, but it didn’t seem like it was usable for battle right now. It’d be nice to use it to run away, though.

I wiped my lips with my tongue to look nervous.

“But it wasn’t?”

Hyung-jun Hyung swallowed his saliva.

“…It’s a real superpower. And one more member said, ‘Director, I think I should prepare in advance for the zombie apocalypse’. Then, he quit.”

“They kicked up a lot of fuss, huh, Hyung-nim?”

“I’m going crazy these days. All my gym members don’t come here to exercise anymore. What should I do with all this spare time?”

“But Hyung-nim, if a zombie apocalypse really happens, exercise and everything is useless.”

“Haaaa… Whatever, really.”

“By the way, what should we do, Hyung-nim?”

I pretended not to know and asked him.

“Why are you asking me that? Of course, we should try not to be bitten by zombies.”

“Hyung-nim, the infection spread because of spores carried in the air.”

“Wouldn’t it be fine if we turn on the air purifier?” 

“I do not know…”

Seeing that people who were hiding themselves in a luxury bunker were also infected, I don’t think that would be fine.

Feeling frustrated, Hyung-nim pulled out a new cigarette and lit it.

“By the way… you know, that levitating kid I just told you? He went to Seoul this morning. He said he was going to appear in a program.”

“He’s appearing in a broadcast program!?”

“Yeah. He said he wanted to take part in it. So, I couldn’t stop him. After All, I’m not even his parent.”

Hyung-nim said it as if it was not a big deal, but it hit different to me.

A superhuman revealing their ability in a broadcast…

That means the government would soon find out about the truth. If there were many awakeners who revealed their abilities to the world, the government could no longer dismiss it as a mere internet rumour. The truth would be investigated, and Survival Life and their production team would be known.

If all of that happened, it would not be long before mens in black suits came knocking on my door.

“It’s a big deal.”

“It’s truly a big deal. If we turn into zombies, isn’t it’s really fucked up? We will lose a lot of muscle.”

That’s the problem? I let out a long sigh and before saying goodbye to Hyung-jun Hyung.

“Hyung-nim I’m a little busy today, so I’ll go first.”

“Seongho, come to my gym when you have time. Let’s do some exercise and have a serious conversation. With that height and that size, If you learn how to exercise properly, it won’t be a joke.”

“Yes Hyung-nim, I’ll think about it.”

“What’s there to think about? You just have to come.”

If the zombie apocalypse doesn’t happen, I would love to do your suggestion, Hyung-nim.

I finished my terrain reconnaissance, got a tetanus shot, and then returned home. Then, I proceed to order more drinking water and spam through the internet shopping mall before thinking about the information I just got.

“It was something that was bound to be known.” Thousands of people had awakened and gained superpowers. The fact it was not being widely known after just a few days was a miracle itself. And once society knew about them, more and more people would have to take the zombie apocalypse seriously.

But what would change? Nothing. In the end, the Silver Dragon Meteor would still fall into the Pacific Ocean and our world would come to an end.

“Let’s stop worrying and just do what I need to do.” I opened the portal and headed to the forest. Then, I took the fully charged drone and piloted it. On my laptop, a live video feed of the drone was being broadcasted. 

The vast forest and sea filled my eyes.