episode_0019

019

Healthy Life

[Contaminated Source] has ended.

The reason I left the zombies outside for this event and entered the store alone was the same as the previous battles.

The purpose is resource preservation.

The event requires the strength of a few.

That’s why I, the strongest among my allied forces, was chosen as the problem solver for this task.

It’s not that I didn’t take precautions.

The zombies were nearby so they could be mobilized immediately.

The event started, and a guy who duplicated me popped out.

The same strength, speed, and build as me.

I judged that if he escaped and engaged in guerrilla tactics, tremendous damage would occur.

So I immediately rushed in and grabbed him.

The thought, ‘I can catch him in this state!’ flashed, and I shifted the battlefield towards the direction where my allies were.

But the zombies couldn’t distinguish between him and me.

The worst-case scenario was instantly pictured.

Countless calculations and strategies were created and discarded again in a short moment.

Perhaps he was having the same thoughts.

We stared at each other, desperately contemplating.

And *thud*.

Suddenly, Bangnae’s sword pierced his heart.

Neither he nor I understood the situation.

He could have surely pulled his body back the moment the sword entered his heart.

But he couldn’t even attempt a final struggle.

Just like how my thoughts are tangled right now.

Having duplicated me, he even took my weakness.

‘Although it’s a good thing in the end…’

I quietly looked at Bangnae.

Her eyes had returned to black-brown.

The atmosphere that felt like it was oppressing the surroundings wasn’t felt either.

That’s the usual mischievous Bangnae.

“Bangnae?”

Bangnae smiles.

“Dat’s right. Bangnae did it.”

“What was that just now?”

Bangnae has a look like she doesn’t understand what I’m saying.

She just tilts her head.

Bangnae also cannot escape the framework of being a zombie.

She cannot lie in response to the summoner’s questions.

If she cannot answer when I ask ‘What is that?’, it means that even Bangnae doesn’t know.

I decided to change the question.

“How did you know I was the real one?”

“Bangnae knows.”

‘She just knew?’

Thinking back on what Bangnae said, she mentioned ‘there’s no smell’.

Bangnae is my first summon.

Perhaps there is a special method of identification for summons with a deep bond.

Bangnae got her honey pot back from the brute.

And she dips her hand in and scoops it up to eat.

“Yummy. Hehe.”

‘I don’t know… It seems like she ate something wrong…’

Since she says she doesn’t know, there’s no other way.

I think asking the Cat Lord later is probably the best method.

More than anything, it’s actually not a bad thing.

After all, doesn’t this mean Bangnae can awaken with something unknown?

The points of change were her eyes, tone, and pronunciation.

Other than that, it felt like her hand technique had improved a bit.

Bangnae’s swordplay cannot cleanly carve out a heart like that.

Calculating things she cannot control into the battle plan is also not the right choice.

Let’s just leave it be.

It seems like the kind of thing that will resolve itself over time.

I finished organizing my thoughts and drew attention to the surroundings.

“Everyone! Let’s get to work. There’s a mountain of things to do.”

After a brief commotion, the zombies scattered to carry out their assigned duties.

I turned my head and looked at the protagonist of the deceased event.

After death, it turned into something like a grey octopus.

It seems its original form looked like that.

“Bangnae. Take this too. It’s probably a unique material.”

Bangnae shakes her head wildly at the octopus.

“That doesn’t taste good…”

“This kid doesn’t know anything. That’s the good part.”

What tastes bad is usually good for the body.

Now that I’ve finished my homework.

It’s time to officially open the gym.

***

The hottest topic in the community these days is ‘Supporters’ or ‘Rescue Squad’.

High-ranking users who previously received support kept their existence a secret.

Half of it was selfishness, not wanting to share profits, and the other half was due to the inherent threat posed by the presence of supporters.

They blocked information about supporters shared in the community under the guise of ‘Newbie Protection’.

But from a certain day, for unknown reasons, supporters started distributing resources in Phase 3.

Accordingly, the existence of supporters naturally came to the surface.

One more strange thing.

These new Phase 3 supporters, unlike the existing ones, started supporting even those who were determined to be ‘hopeless’ and had fallen behind.

Because of this, the community started calling these new supporters the ‘Rescue Squad’.

The reasons why a user gets isolated in a certain phase are generally similar.

Nine out of ten times, the cause is the depletion of troops.

Naturally, if the summons that were originally 30 become 5, one loses the audacity to press the [Start Battle] button.

Although there are occasionally those who train their remaining summons and try again, those who succeed are very few.

It is a structure where people who reside in a specific phase naturally appear.

Those who have at least one summon remaining can be said to be somewhat fortunate.

Most of those left alone suffer from mental illness and sometimes make extreme choices out of loneliness.

Amidst all this, the emergence of the ‘Rescue Squad’ ignited a fire in the hearts of these lagging users.

The reward structure of advance payment gave them hope.

Among them, something called a ‘Summon Ticket’ caused a tremendous craze.

Users collectively referred to items that could increase summons without engaging in battle as ‘Summon Tickets’.

The types of Summon Tickets were diverse.

From those that looked like paper and generated a summon just by tearing them, to methods of offering a sacrifice somewhere to summon.

Those who had lost their summons were even more enthusiastic.

Starting with Phase 3 users, groups praising the ‘Rescue Squad’ even emerged, and national forums were also opened.

Excluding Phase 7, the top-ranked players.

They are called the leading Phase 6, the middle Phase 5, and the rear guard Phase 4, forming a triangular distribution.

In this structure, a new wind began to blow from Phase 3, which was considered completely left behind.

***

I proceeded with the planned experiment.

I attempted zombie transformation using the collected bee corpses.

The experiment was both a success and a failure.

Firstly, I succeeded in turning the bees into zombies.

And that’s the end of the good news.

The zombie honeybees were quite unsuitable as combatants.

Their own combat power was too low, and they couldn’t even understand words.

They just turned into ugly and big wild bees.

“…Discard all of them…”

‘These are burdens.’ That was the conclusion of the experiment.

Just in case, I also tried zombifying the fish that came out as ingredients, but I got the same result for all of them.

It seems a minimum set of conditions is required to have value as a combatant.

“Just wasted time. Dismantle the zombie lab.”

“Got it.”

The corpses and materials from the lab will be moved to the ingredient storage.

There will be no more experiments in Phase 3.

I moved my feet and headed towards the manufacturing facility.

The pizza place was chosen as the manufacturing facility because it was right in the middle of the food alley.

Entering the store, countless zombies were trimming, chopping, and boiling ingredients.

Perhaps because they were all cooks in their past lives, their skills aren’t too bad.

*Tap tap tap tap* –

*Boil boil* – *Boil boil* –

Various foods and supplements are steadily piling up.

Since there are 6 [Tools], the variety is also wide.

I looked at the cooks with satisfaction.

“Good, there’s nothing to touch. Let’s go to the gym.”

Bangnae hovered around the ingredients and subtly picked up a small piece of meat from the table.

“Ung… Bangnae will stay here.”

“Don’t say something ridiculous and hurry up and come.”

Bangnae’s opinion was instantly dismissed.

“Got it…”

“Ugh. You can bring the meat you’re holding.”

“Hehe. Got it!”

Bangnae puts the meat in her mouth and chews it.

Even though it doesn’t provide satiety or nutrients, she picks it up and eats it well.

We headed towards the long-awaited gym.

The location of the gym is surprisingly an actual gym.

Since the concept of Phase 3 is a city, we found an abandoned gym not far from the store.

A slight drawback is that there’s no electricity.

Because of this, equipment like ‘running machines’ or ‘Stairway to Heaven’ cannot be used.

But is that a problem?

Running can be done on the road, and stairs can be climbed up and down buildings.

I spread my arms wide and shouted happily.

“Hahaha! This is heaven!”

“Ruined.”

“What?”

“Dat’s right. Said ‘dat’s right’.”

‘Hmm…’

Entering the gym, a brute newcomer was doing a plank on the floor.

‘His posture is a little off.’

I approached and gently pressed his butt down.

And I gave him customized advice.

“Since you have 6 arms, it would be good to increase the weight a bit. You won’t get much stimulation this way.”

And I put 5 sandbags each on his shoulders and back.

He lets out a cheer of joy.

Seeing the newcomer work hard makes me feel good too.

After checking on the zombies exercising in the gym one by one, I ultimately fell into deep contemplation.

This is a truly serious dilemma.

If I go up to Phase 4, calorie intake becomes possible.

In other words, I can arrange my diet however I want.

But the conditions in Phase 3 have become too good.

Unlimited supply of supplements, a mechanized gym, a spacious and open environment… It’s too excellent.

“Ah… why am I facing such a trial?”

I started stretching to shake off the worries.

Let’s follow the teachings of our ancestors who said there’s nothing better than exercise for relieving stress since ancient times.

‘Hmm?’

“Bangnae, what are you doing? Aren’t you doing it?”

“Got it…”

For safety, always exercise with a partner.