episode_0172

After morning came, I went straight to where people were gathered.

I was planning to go and make eye contact with people and ask if there was anything I could do to help them.

But surprisingly, nothing was given to me.

Everyone said there was no need to help them, so they were just left behind.

It looks like there’s plenty to do if you go out to the outskirts…

I didn’t think about going to the outskirts of Chukdong-myeon and guarding this place.

Anyway, everyone there knows how to protect it.

Still, it seemed like they were completely overloaded with workers, and after a while, they seemed to be looking for someone to help them.

“Oh, you’re new.”

“My name is Yeji Lee. Nice to meet you.”

“Jang Taesup. It just so happened that it worked out well. I needed someone to chop firewood.”

“Firewood? Ah.”

I don’t get cold because my body has a lot of heat, but other people didn’t seem to feel that way.

You probably won’t be able to sleep properly on windy days.

So I thought it would be necessary to heat with firewood.

It can be used not only for heating, but also for cooking and various other purposes.

Even though I had no sleeves to roll up, I was ready to work hard.

So, following Tae-su Jang, I walked towards the firewood pile near the industrial complex.

The pile of firewood was quite large.

So, at least three piles of things the same size as me?

I thought this was a lot, but Jang Tae-su shook his head and said.

“This may seem like a lot, but it will all run out quickly. Since we will always need fire, it is better to save it one way or another.”

“Oh, it looks like you use it for more than just heating.”

“Even if it is a nocturnal variant, you have to bring a torch on the day it is discovered, so there is nothing you can do about it.”

Jang Tae-su naturally picked up the axe.

Listening to the story, it seems that he was originally in charge of chopping firewood.

Somehow, the form of chopping firewood seemed quite familiar.

“This was firewood that was used for company dinners among industrial complex members. Who knew it would end up like this.”

“Well, did I know it would end up like this? If I had known this would happen, I would have eaten more delicious food.”

Taesu Jang chuckled.

And he started teaching me how to chop firewood.

It seemed like they didn’t expect me to do a good job.

Just because they had new workers, it was clear that they wanted to train them well and put them to good use.

Once you teach it, you won’t be in trouble later because you don’t have anyone to work with.

I studied diligently as Tae-su Jang taught.

Surprisingly, chopping firewood was easy.

It may have been because I have good physical strength, but it sounded fun so it was quite okay.

I thought I would probably be able to use it usefully when I go to campus later.

Likewise, we were unprepared for heating.

They were just covering themselves up with more blankets than there were buildings and people.

Although electricity has come on to some extent recently, I couldn’t really trust it.

Since it is not surprising if the electricity goes out at any time, it was better to prepare heating measures in advance.

Kang Si-woo would also teach him how to chop firewood, but it seemed like there wouldn’t be a problem if he learned it in advance.

While I was splitting the firewood into four pieces, Tae-su Jang cleaned up the area around the pile of firewood.

I looked to see something, and I saw things that looked like pine cones gathered in one place.

To be honest, I was curious, but I thought there must be a reason.

So, I didn’t care and started chopping firewood, and together with Tae-su Jang, I piled up the firewood.

After that was over, I went back to looking for something else to do.

This time I got to work tending the field.

field… It was a bit harsh to say that, but whatever.

Still, a field was a field. It’s just because there are fruits hanging around that look like they could only be found in an orchard.

“It must be delicious.”

I muttered while looking at the orange fruit.

These people may have gone through their own trial and error, but only edible fruits were planted.

Green and orange were seen the most, followed by blue berries.

It wasn’t that there were no black fruits at all, but they didn’t seem to be edible.

It was clear that it was intended to be used instead of a Molotov cocktail in an emergency.

Otherwise, there would be no way to raise it with a fence in one corner.

“Kung!”

Near the field, Taengchil was patrolling the area.

Now that I looked at it, it seemed like there were other dogs besides Taengchil playing near the field.

And it seems like Taengchil is the leader of those dogs.

Now that I think about it, it seemed like there were a lot of people just in this field.

I could see at least ten people working in the field.

To be honest, it wasn’t so much work that there were ten people.

There was nothing to do except fertilize the fields, pick the fully grown fruits, and store them in baskets.

Like other plants, weeds didn’t grow around it, and it didn’t dry out and die with little care.

So it was very easy to grow plants grown from zombie corpses.

It was a matter of simply replenishing nutrients in some way so that the intellect would not be damaged.

And since this world was full of rotting food that could be used as fertilizer, it was even more strange that it couldn’t be grown.

Perhaps the reason there were so many people and dogs together was because the value of the fruit was so important.

The fruit was certainly a useful food.

Regardless of the weather, as long as there are nutrients and water, it grows well and grows quickly.

It has the disadvantage of consuming a lot of energy, but this problem could be solved by planting beans and pumpkins together.

However, the food was not valuable enough to require a large number of people to be guarded.

This is especially true for people in industrial complexes who also raise other crops and livestock.

Fruits were just another option, not a necessity.

But these people were acting like it was essential.

“Then… ”

The industrial complex had enough food to cook several types of meat, but it seemed like that was all there was to it.

It seemed like there wasn’t enough food to be self-sufficient without outside help.

In that case, it seemed like there would be no food to feed the livestock.

Most livestock were not that cost-effective.

It was more cost-effective to eat food to feed livestock than to eat livestock.

It seemed that the industrial complex supplied as much food as possible from the fields and fed the surplus to livestock.

And it was clear that they slaughtered animals without hesitation when food was scarce or protein was needed.

Even though meat can be stored for a long time, it was inevitable that it would spoil if not cooked.

Not everyone has a strong stomach like me, so it would be best to eat quickly.

“Where do I get other food?”

I thought about it as I picked the fruit and put it in the basket.

No matter how carefully controlled, food could not be completely controlled.

It was clear that sometimes there would be a lot, and sometimes there would be not enough.

So, I was curious about where to get food when there is a shortage.

“Of course I come from the mountain.”

“Wow, what a surprise!”

I calmed my startled heart and rolled my eyes.

Lee Sang looked surprised and lifted up the basket containing the fruits I had picked.

“There are many places around here where animals can live. If you use the forest, you can go far and come back.”

“Ah, as expected. Do you use a shotgun when hunting?”

“I tend to use it if necessary. But most people catch them using traps.”

“Well.”

A gun was not a weapon that could be used carelessly.

Although it was a powerful weapon, it was also a dangerous weapon.

Gunshots tend to attract other things.

A group of zombies coming from afar with a general direction, or a group of survivors with dark intentions.

So guns were mostly used for threats even in these situations.

Unless you were in a situation where you really had to shoot or were in a safe place, it was practically nothing more than decoration.

This seemed to work the same way here.

I said, putting one more fruit in the basket.

“Could it be possible for me to learn to set traps?”

“Nothing can’t be done. I can teach you fishing too. It’s fishing with bare hands, but it’ll probably be useful.”

“… Fishing?”

“There is a reservoir nearby. There are quite a few fish. The food shortage is covered there too.”

“But what do you do with your bare hands?”

When I think of fishing with bare hands, that’s the only thing that comes to mind.

This means catching fish with only your bare hands and without any tools.

However, after listening to the explanation above, it seemed like fishing line and bait were used.

There is no time to just hang a fishing rod and be calm, so fishing is done with a line wrapped around your hand.

I stayed still for a moment, then pointed out one fact to Lee Sang.

“Then it’s line fishing. You don’t do it with your bare hands.”

“… Is that so?”

“He also has a really stupid side.”

“What?”

“I’m just kidding, why are you acting so angry?”

“It’s okay if you don’t know.”

Lee Sang sighed and walked away carrying the basket.

I stood up, took the basket from Lee Sang, and held it.

It was heavy because there were quite a lot of fruits in it, but I couldn’t just hold it.

Well, since he’s so strong, it wouldn’t have been much of a problem to lift him.

As I will be in a position where I will have to ask questions and request things frequently from now on, it was nice to be able to leave such a positive impression.

As I walked down the street with Lee Sang, we started talking.

The content was a topic I had already discussed with Park Sang-cheol.

But there wasn’t much to be gained.

Although he knew a little more than Park Sang-cheol, he was there.

I knew less about the saint than Park Sang-cheol.

In the end, it was a day when it became clear that I had to go to another faction and run on my own.