episode_0007

The quiet road quickly filled with cars.

To the extent that the awkward silence from moments ago became meaningless.

The air was filled with shouts and blaring horns, a clamor everywhere.

‘It’s exactly like a scene from a disaster movie where people are evacuating.’

That’s exactly how it felt.

The downside of the current situation was that all the zombies, who had been hidden somewhere, had burst out.

The upside was that most of the zombies’ attention was directed towards the cars.

Thanks to that, I could move more easily than expected and reached HomePlus.

However, a problem arose at the entrance.

“Where did they all go?”

When I first fled from the food section, a considerable number of zombies had followed.

I had run quickly from the entrance, shaken them off, and entered the goshiwon.

So, there should have been a fair number of zombies lurking around the entrance.

Because of that, I had considered entering through the back door or the parking lot, but…

‘I don’t know if they were driven that way or just gathered there, but they’ve dispersed.’

About 20 meters away, there were scattered corpses and bloodstains.

It seemed people had tried to enter here, so I also needed to hurry.

Before people swept everything away.

I entered HomePlus without hesitation.

The moving walkway was still operating, but it was covered in blood.

On the floor, unlike before, there were numerous footprints.

As I scanned my surroundings, I felt my senses sharpen slightly.

Having skipped breakfast and lunch and doing all this, I must have become sensitive.

I really hate the feeling of hunger.

When I went down to the first basement floor, the surroundings were empty.

However, a chilling sensation came from one direction, and that direction was…

“Ah, damn it…”

What I saw in the distance was, of all things, zombies gathered at the entrance leading down to the food section.

Their numbers didn’t seem large, but zombies gather when there’s a commotion.

Deciding the moving walkway was out of the question, I headed for the elevator.

I prepared to stab with the sharpened end of the crowbar and pressed the button.

*Ding-*

Fortunately, the elevator was empty, and I quietly got in, heading for the second basement floor.

*Ding-*

The buzzer sound, which I wouldn’t normally care about, was incredibly annoying.

Since I had confirmed that zombies outside reacted to sounds, it bothered me.

Fighting the zombies themselves wasn’t the problem.

The other problem was that I hated getting dirty.

‘The stench is terrible, and if blood splatters, I feel like I’ll get sick…’

I’m not a neat freak, but thinking about being covered in zombie fluids and flesh makes me wonder if I’ll develop germophobia where there was none before. I want to avoid direct confrontation as much as possible.

Leaning against the wall, I cautiously scanned my surroundings.

In the distance, I saw more zombies gathered near the moving walkway on the opposite side.

It seemed people had been attacked as soon as they came down.

‘Why was it quiet when I came down?’

I set that thought aside for a moment and moved quietly towards the meat section.

As soon as I confirmed there were no zombies, I opened my inventory and swept everything into it.

Initially, the inventory opening only opened 30cm, but now it opened up to 1m.

I had a feeling it would open even wider with time, but right now, it was about the meat.

I didn’t discriminate by type; I just grabbed whatever I could and put it in.

Perhaps because they were prepared for weekend sales, the display cases were fully stocked.

The meat also looked fresh with its vibrant red color.

It didn’t take long to clear the display cases, and I immediately headed inside the counter area.

Inside, there were commercial freezers, which filled me with a certain expectation.

Fortunately, the freezers, still operating, had meat organized by cut.

“…Yeah. This is it.”

It wasn’t whole carcasses hanging like in movies, but that made it even more convenient.

I put off checking for later, gathered all the meat, and turned around.

“Oh…”

What met my eyes as I turned were sets of butcher knives.

“Ah, I hadn’t thought of these. I’ll use them gratefully.”

I put off checking for later and packed both the knives and the sharpening stones.

Even after packing all this, I could feel that the inventory still had plenty of space.

‘The amount of meat I’ve stored so far is considerable; this is truly a gain.’

Moreover, with the time-stop option still intact, the more I put in, the greater the advantage.

Normally, I would have packed as much as I could into a large bag.

And I wouldn’t even have dared to touch raw meat like this.

While others would focus on long-term preservation foods, I profit by doing the opposite.

I moved quietly and swept all the seafood into my inventory as well.

Frankly, I was reluctant because of Japan’s contaminated water issue, but I wasn’t in a position to be picky.

While doing so, I learned another new fact.

“Why isn’t this going in??”

I tried to put an abalone in, but it wouldn’t go, so I examined it.

*Squirming-*

When I poked it, I saw the abalone squirming strangely, realizing it was alive.

In other words, live creatures cannot be put into the current inventory.

Before, I could put small creatures, flowers, or herbs in.

Because of that, it was very useful for maintaining freshness, but now it’s not possible.

It was already excellent enough, so I set aside my disappointment.

I emptied the eco-bag from my inventory and put all the abalones into it.

I couldn’t give up on abalones that I might never see again.

Looking at the bag bulging with abalones, I felt incredibly rich, like I was flexing.

That feeling was short-lived.

*Rumble rumble~*

“…No good. I need to eat something first.”

I crossed over into the counter area, crouched down, and hid.

I cautiously poked my head out to scan the surroundings, then took out food and began to eat.

The menu was the packaged sushi I had just swept into my inventory.

Only after eating two large trays did my hunger subside.

‘It seems like the amount I eat has increased…’

I finished a 500ml bottle of water and began collecting groceries again.

Without leaving anything behind.

***

‘Ugh, damn it, this is so annoying.’

Three hours had passed since I started scavenging for food.

Avoiding zombies was part of it, but it also took a lot more meticulous effort than I expected, which prolonged the time.

In particular, having to pick up each item by hand also contributed.

Looting turned out to be much more laborious than I thought.

‘Now I understand why game companies make auto-looting pets. If I could use one now, I’d pay any amount. Ugh!’

It wasn’t because I was tired or exhausted, but out of sheer annoyance that I almost went home.

But this was almost over now.

Over a long period, I had swept up most of the food ingredients.

All that remained were the grains and fruits near the entrance where the zombies had gathered.

I wouldn’t mind giving up on the fruits, but vegetables happened to be with them.

Their number was roughly ten or more.

Hiding behind a display shelf, I pondered what to do.

‘If it gets noisy for no reason, the ones directly above will rush down too…’

The moment I poked my head out to check again.

“…”

“…”

…I made eye contact with one of them.

Startled, I quickly hid again, but I could feel its gaze.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

‘Alright. Let’s have a grand exorcism before I go.’

I carefully concealed my precious eco-bag, full of abalones.

I took a deep breath and revealed my hidden body.

The zombies’ sticky gazes from ahead focused on my body.

“Hey!!”

“G-grrrk…?”

I shouted one of the things I’d always wanted to say.

“You sons of bitches—!!”

The effect was tremendous.

“Kroooaaaargh!!”

The zombies, already with dead eyes, rolled them back and rushed forward in a swarm.

Seeing them in person, they looked even more punchable than in movies.

“Yeah. Come on over.”

As soon as I pulled the crowbar from my inventory, I took a striking stance.

I swung with a full motion for the one rushing closest.

*Thwack-!!*

With a sound that shouldn’t be heard from a living human, it flew away with a whoosh.

It flew in the opposite direction from which it came, falling along with a few zombies behind it.

*Thud! Thud! Crack!*

One, two, three… one zombie with each swing.

The zombies that rushed forward with slight gaps had their heads explode before they could even reach me.

The unpleasant sensation of shattering skulls continued to transmit through my hand.

*Whoosh-! Whoosh-!*

Every time the crowbar swung, heads inevitably burst open.

The heavy crowbar, weighing over 10kg, made threatening sounds as it moved at high speed.

A crowbar is a tool used on the principle of a lever, not for swinging.

However, now, by my hand, it had been reborn as an excellent blunt weapon.

‘Fourteen. Behind!’

After taking care of all the zombies in front, more rushed from behind.

Matching their approaching timing, I lifted my right leg, folded.

*Wham-!!!*

I kicked forward with my full body weight.

Vomiting dark red blood from its mouth, the zombie flew back the way it came, soaring over 10 meters before smashing into a display shelf.

“Oh, wow? Zombies can regurgitate blood too?”

I approached the flying zombie with relaxed steps.

Any zombies that discovered me and rushed in between were kindly given a cracked skull.

“Cough-!! Kroooargh!”

The crashed zombie couldn’t get up, just shrieked and gnashed its teeth.

Before disposing of it immediately, I took a moment.

Upon inspection, perhaps due to the impact of the kick, its back was completely burst open.

I wondered if it couldn’t move because its spine was severed.

“Hmm…”

Basically, it was indeed the common type of zombie I knew.

Although its motor skills were superior to the others, it seemed to be equally mindless.

But there were no traces of magic.

The zombies I knew were wretched corpses raised through dark magic.

‘Fundamentally, it’s different from the zombies I know. How in modern times…?’

I ended my brief thoughts and swung the crowbar, sending the zombie to its end.

*Splat-!*

Thick liquid oozed from the shattered head.

“…? What is this?”

As I turned to leave, something strange caught my eye.

When I examined the shattered head…

“Why doesn’t this bastard have a brain?”

There was no brain.

Instead, only a thick, blackish-blue liquid flowed, as if it had filled the skull.

“Uh… wait?”

Just now, when I smashed the zombies’ heads, I hadn’t seen any brain fragments either.

I had just thought it was a lot of rotten blood, but that wasn’t it.

It was different from the zombies I knew, but I couldn’t figure anything out right now.

*Swish-*

I swung the crowbar, splattering the attached flesh and blood.

‘I can investigate later if I get a chance. For now, well…’

Anyway, I would encounter many more zombies in the future.

It wasn’t urgent right now.

Now that I had finished tidying up, I started collecting the remaining food items.

Rice. Grain flour, fruits, potatoes, carrots, garlic, and so on.

Finally, I had completely cleaned out the food section.

I looked around, and the display shelves and counters were empty.

‘…What a sight.’

Looking at the empty floor, I felt an unearned sense of satisfaction.

I picked up the carefully hidden abalones.

Holding my breath, I moved quietly towards the elevator.

‘I’ll come back for the other floors later.’

*Ding-*

Stepping into the elevator, I let out a small sigh.

I thought this much was enough for today.

First, I needed to go back and rest a bit.

My body was fine, but I was slightly tired from the long hours of what wasn’t quite manual labor, but felt like it.

Just after quietly extracting myself with those thoughts, I saw the scene outside.

The surroundings had drastically changed in just a few hours.

The city was collapsing faster than I had imagined.

I couldn’t help but stand still, momentarily stunned.