episode_0054

One of the things that supports a man’s confidence is the thickness of his wallet.

Now that lifestyles have changed greatly, its meaning has faded a bit, but the heft of a thick wad of cash fills one’s mind with peace of mind.

And in my current case, it’s an inventory full of supplies.

As I’m thoroughly clearing out the cargo bay now, my heart is filling with a sense of relaxation and abundance as the space empties.

Unfortunately, I’m working now without time to fully enjoy that feeling.

Thanks to a new sub-skill I suddenly acquired, the work was several times faster.

As a result, it took some time, but I managed to empty most of the colossal cargo bay.

Looking at the empty, magnificent sight, I feel pleased.

Then I turned my gaze to the countless discarded cargo trucks outside.

What if those cargo compartments are full of goods?

I could obtain nearly new supplies, completely undamaged.

It would take some effort, but I intend to search through each one.

The sun is still high in the sky, so I have a little time.

Without further thought, I approached the abandoned cargo trucks.

Conveniently, there was no sign or sound of zombies around.

The timing was perfect.

First, I collected anything lying on the ground that was in good condition.

The rear of the vehicle I approached had its doors tightly shut.

‘Let’s see….’

Unlocking the mechanism, which presented no particular difficulty, was easy.

It was merely sturdily attached.

Soon, the wide-open door revealed the contents of the hidden cargo.

Inside, it was full of neatly packaged food ingredients.

Grains like rice and flour were neatly packaged and stacked high.

Perhaps thanks to the cool weather, they hadn’t spoiled or rotted, so there was no unpleasant smell.

Although I had already taken an enormous amount from the cargo bay, it was always better to have more staples. I nodded in satisfaction and took everything.

My looting, having advanced a step further, didn’t take much time.

After quickly emptying one trailer, I surveyed the surroundings.

A few visible trailers and cargo trucks.

I thoroughly searched all the large trailers as well, taking everything.

Most of the items in each truck were grouped together by similar type.

Thanks to this, I could roughly estimate the quantities as I gathered the items.

I was also able to obtain plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, which I had secretly hoped for.

It was fortunate that they hadn’t spoiled or rotted, probably thanks to the cool weather.

I don’t know if I’ll be able to find them in the future.

In fact, for the sake of sustaining life and providing energy, focusing on high-calorie foods would be sufficient. But humans cannot live on that alone.

Adding a practical reason, considering bodily balance and health, it’s necessary to stock as diverse a range of ingredients as possible.

Thinking about the future, it feels like monopolizing items that will become rarer.

In that sense, making the effort to come all this way was the right answer.

Every time I emptied a cargo truck, I felt incredibly good.

The situation was enjoyable, similar to casually picking up money discarded on the ground.

What if, on a day I was sweeping up supplies, someone, out of jealousy, reported this scene to the police and I got arrested?

‘I wonder how long my sentence would be?’

It would probably become a historically significant record in many ways.

I was diligently opening doors and gathering supplies.

Perhaps it was because I had improper thoughts.

I hit a dud.

“What is this?”

Up until now, the cargo trucks had been loaded with uniform bundles.

Like, fruits if it was fruit, vegetables if it was vegetables.

But this time, the category suddenly changed.

What met my slightly disappointed eyes were construction materials piled high.

It was full of things like mortar, cement, and bricks.

‘Do supermarkets sell this kind of stuff?’

From my perspective, it didn’t make sense, but it was there before me nonetheless.

I considered just passing by, but then thought it was better than nothing, so I took it.

I wonder if it will ever be useful, but if not, I’ll use it to block paths or something.

After that, one or two more vehicles carried similar types of cargo.

There was construction silicone, various tools, and even scaffolding pipes.

I was surprised before when I saw them selling firewood axes at the supermarket, but this seemed to be on a different level. I strongly felt that they sold anything that made money.

After scratching my head for a moment, I ended up taking everything.

‘If I don’t use it, I can just swing it as a weapon, right?’

I didn’t forget to take some system scaffolding and clamps as well.

“It’s good to have. To have.”

I thought positively and patted myself on the back.

However, my positive mindset was rendered meaningless as the next truck was no less challenging.

【Daepung Horticultural Soil】

It was soil. Soil came out.

The moment I saw these, I was certain.

This place truly sells anything that makes money, at that level.

Feeling my enthusiasm plummet, I walked toward another truck.

Of all things, now even soil—

‘No. Wait a minute….’

Something came to mind, and I stopped walking.

I went back and checked the cargo; it was still soil.

Neatly packaged soil bags in 20L, 30L, and 50L capacities.

After a brief moment of deliberation, I ended up taking all of them.

A considerable amount of potting soil and fertilizers.

An amount that made me think I could make a pretty substantial vegetable garden if I managed it well.

The reason I took these was none other than a memory from a movie I’d seen before: a scientist isolated on Mars, surviving by farming potatoes.

From beginning to end, it was quite impressive.

‘If I meet the right conditions, couldn’t I achieve partial self-sufficiency?’

I’m not making light of farming, but it’s worth a try.

Once I’ve established a suitable base, I think it would be worth trying when the opportunity arises.

I completely emptied the long, large trailer and then took two more similar trailers worth of material from nearby. In terms of quantity alone, it seemed I could easily create a moderately sized field.

I cleared out all the remaining cargo trucks and other vehicles.

Thanks to this, I was able to obtain additional salt, bottled water, and alcohol.

I looked around for anything else, but those vehicles were the last.

As I took out a cigarette to take a breather, a laugh escaped me.

“Now, of all things, I’m even considering farming.”

As society’s infrastructure collapses, the things an individual has to do increase.

At this rate, I might end up filming a live-action version of Robinson Crusoe.

“That novel doesn’t even have zombies…”

This side includes self-sufficient survival with zombie action thrown in.

With a sudden heavy feeling in my chest, I looked up at the sky.

Whether it knew my feelings or not, the sky was simply blue.

The unnecessarily clear weather felt cruel.

I felt hungry and considered eating something, but I put it off.

The smell of burning rotten meat from the opposite side of the building wafted all the way here.

It was absolutely not a situation where I could eat anything.

It felt as if it was telling me to get out of here quickly.

But I had only just cleared out the cargo bay.

Now it was time to examine the inside.

I took out a can of cola, drank it, and moved forward.

I planned to finish searching the cargo bay before going inside.

Feeling the temperature drop slightly, it seemed a lot of time had passed. I decided to hurry a bit and increased my walking pace.

Although the cargo bay had already been cleared, there was something I wanted to look for, just in case.

‘I think it might be there….’

I moved through the wide cargo bay, half-running, half-walking, as I searched.

Nothing particularly special was visible.

In the empty space, only the cold wind blowing from outside could be felt.

I hadn’t had high expectations, so I gave up.

I began to shuffle toward the store.

‘Is this… blood? Bloody water?’

On the floor in my walking path, I saw a nearly dried bloodstain.

It was discolored, but it wasn’t rotten zombie blood.

It was too watery to be human blood.

The moment I confirmed the bloodstain, my nerves sharpened.

As a habit, I calmly scanned my surroundings.

Nothing appeared to be moving, and no sounds were heard.

Only the sound of my own breath, exhaling in a controlled manner in case of emergency, could be heard.

All around was silent, with no sign of anything.

I turned my gaze back to the ominous trail.

The trail of blood drops, which seemed to have trickled out little by little, continued.

Slowly, I followed the dried trail, pulling out my crowbar.

Although I had already secured a large amount of supplies, I didn’t want to retreat.

Since I had come this far, I intended to see it to the end.

Because I wouldn’t have to come here again.

As I solidified my resolve and followed the trail, there were more footprints.

Faint tire marks indicated that a forklift had passed through.

Among them, though somewhat faded, bloodstains were spotted.

Slowly, I continued to follow the trail, and as a result, I reached the end.

‘…This place… no way?’

The blood trail ended at the door directly in front of me.

I presumed it surely continued inside.

But the visible door was the problem.

I saw a large freezer door, like one used in a butcher shop.

However, it was truly an enormous door.

Looking at its structure, it was a door that could be pushed open from the center to the left and right.

A generous size, large enough for a forklift to pass through once opened.

This was the place I was looking for. A freezer.

Seeing that goods were organized in the cargo bay, I wondered if there might be facilities for meat or fish. That’s why I searched, and fortunately, it was there, and I found it.

But I couldn’t just be happy.

I had discovered this place by following a trail of blood.

And the trail continued inside.

Regrettable past memories came to mind.

I felt pity for the victim who died before my eyes.

And I felt pity for all that meat that had melted and become unusable.

With those memories resurfacing now, a conflict arose instantly.

‘Go in? Or not?’

A freezer of a size I had never seen before.

If all the meat inside were unusable, I didn’t have the confidence to endure the sense of loss.

“Huuu…”

I leaned close to the door and pressed my ear against it, but only the hum of machinery was audible.

I couldn’t feel any sign of human presence either.

After a moment of thought, I soon opened the small side door.

With my eyes squeezed shut.

The moment I pushed open the smoothly gliding door, an intense blast of cold air enveloped my entire body.

For now, the freezer was maintaining its function.

Slowly, I stepped inside.

The inside of the freezer was incredibly large and spacious.

Larger than most warehouses.

And inside, mountains of frozen, slumbering meat were piled up.

It was a sight that deserved cheers and awe, but not yet.

Something else might be there, just like before.

Slowly, I exhaled and moved further inside.

Thanks to the functioning freezer, my faint breaths spread out as thick mist.

And inside here, the hum of the freezer’s machinery echoed loudly.

Fortunately, no other sounds were heard yet.

There was nothing squirming, and no presence could be felt.

I continued to follow the faint trail I had been tracing.

And the trail soon ended.

“…??”

At the end of the trail, huge, packaged blocks of meat were stacked.

The meat was skillfully arranged in neat stacks on pallets.

On the pallets supporting the meat, the frozen traces of the meat drippings I had been following were abundant.

“Damn it! Seriously!!”

I ended up jumping up and down in exasperation.

What I had been tracking in tension was indeed bloody liquid.

However, it was not zombie blood or human blood, but meat drippings.

It seemed the packaging had torn in places, and the meat drippings leaking through the gaps had soaked the pallets and left a long trail in the corridor. Circumstantially, that was clear.

“Ugh! Damn it, seriously! You scared me! Ugh!”

Forgetting the cold inside the freezer, I jumped around, fuming.

It was almost a waste of the calories I had burned walking here in tension.

With my insides flaring up, I quickly looked around the freezer.

Naturally, there was nothing wrong.

“…Damn it! Seriously…!”

Although it was like a wasted effort, the result wasn’t bad.

No, it was more than sweet; it was electrifying.

“…Heh, heh-heh. Heh-heh-heh~”

Exasperation and annoyance soon turned into joy.

I couldn’t suppress the corners of my mouth from rising.

There was a momentary embarrassment, but the outcome was nothing short of magnificent.

Pork, beef, chicken, etc. — the large freezer was filled with meat.

There were no zombies and no defects whatsoever.

“Excellent~!!”

The huge opportunity I had regretfully missed at Gocheok.

The painful memory of turning away, swallowing bitter tears.

That opportunity had returned as several times greater fortune, now embraced within my grasp.