episode_0237

The barrier was built to encircle three buildings: Engineering, Logistics, and Digital Center. Over 20 stories above ground, and 5 stories underground. The buildings also boasted considerable floor space.

These massive structures are now my targets to search. I don’t know what or how much there will be, but a small sense of anticipation rises within me.

My plan was to start by searching near the main gate, where the skirmish had occurred. I considered picking up the discarded firearms and heavy weapons, but…

“Gag! Ugh!” “……” Kim Hyunwoo, trembling with a completely drained face, finally bent at the waist.

“Are you alright?” “Ugh! I-I can’t stay here… Ugh!” “Then perhaps you should wait somewhere else for a moment.”

He shook his head. I suggested he wait in a quiet place, but he tried his best to stick with me until the end. He said he was too scared to be alone.

Unable to watch any longer, I decided to change my plan and entered the Engineering building first. Kim Hyunwoo, still repulsed by the chaotic lobby, struggled to adapt to the situation.

“W-wait a moment. Let’s go together, Hyung-nim.”

Yet, he followed me diligently. I, with this man trailing behind me like a retriever unwilling to leave its owner’s side, headed for the elevator.

The office floor lights were senselessly left on, and just as I suspected, one of the two elevators was working.

Ding! Seeing the elevator smoothly slide open was incredibly welcoming. Even the illuminated buttons and the small digital screen felt comforting.

The silent descent brought back a forgotten sense of convenience.

“Those despicable bastards.” “Huh? What?” “It’s nothing.”

They caused all this trouble, yet they were the only ones living comfortably. Added charge: villainy. Any scumbags I encounter from now on will pay dearly for this feeling too.

Ding! [B2 – Parking Lot] I exited the elevator without hesitation, and Kim Hyunwoo trotted after me.

Even though we’d only descended to the basement, the parking lot was warmer than outside. Kim Hyunwoo seemed bewildered by the temperature difference.

“Oh? It’s not cold here?” “That’s probably because the ventilation system is off.” “Ah ha… But how do you know?” “I’ve been here before.” “Ah~ So that’s why you know so much.” “…Quiet.”

With no corpses in sight, Kim Hyunwoo’s complexion returned, and he readily obeyed my words.

‘…Good.’ The parking lot was not just quiet, but eerily still. Judging that there were no particular problems, I took a step forward, but had to stop again.

“W-wow… Isn’t this a parking lot? What is all this?” “……”

I wondered too. I wondered where all this came from and what these bastards had been doing. The parking lot was so filled with boxes that such thoughts naturally arose.

Parking spaces and driving lanes alike were simply packed with boxes. The parking area had transformed from its original purpose into a massive warehouse. Boxes were stacked taller than a person, almost touching the pipes running along the ceiling. If not for the rectangular pillars indicating it was a parking lot, one might easily mistake this place for a storage facility.

I felt a small sense of admiration seeing the tremendous quantity of boxes neatly arranged as if in a game of Tetris. They varied in size and type, but were uniformly squared off and organized.

Approaching the nearest box, I looked it over carefully.

‘What kind of confidence is this?’ Surprisingly, it was completely undefended. No particular measures seemed to have been taken. Without hesitation, I lightly slit the side of a box to check its contents.

The contents peeking out from inside the box were—

“Oh?! This!” “…Do you know what this is?” “Yes! This is really expensive and delicious!”

I didn’t recognize it, so I had no idea. I alternated my gaze between the can and Kim Hyunwoo, who was gulping and drooling with a conflicted expression.

Kim Hyunwoo, his eyes shining, suddenly raised his head with a gasp. “Th-then all of this is…” “It seems so.” “Wow……”

Kim Hyunwoo, wide-eyed, looked around and suddenly exploded in rage. He fumed. “Bad guys! You, you bastards!”

…His cursing sounded a bit awkward, as if he wasn’t used to it.

“Why are you suddenly like this?” “There’s so much food here! And they only gave us scraps of bread and water every day!”

‘Ah, so that was the problem.’ Kim Hyunwoo, recalling the past time he was trapped and hungry, was truly enraged. It was like a hungry puppy growling.

I chuckled softly and wordlessly handed him a can. “Oh?! C-can I eat this?” He carefully took the can with both hands, watching my expression. He was like a dog commanded to ‘wait!’

When I nodded, Kim Hyunwoo urgently opened the can and began to pour its contents into his mouth. He ate with loud slurping sounds. “…It’s delicious!!” “……”

Kim Hyunwoo devoured the unknown contents, truly enjoying it. His face clearly showed a ‘I’m so happy~’ expression.

Seeing that, I unconsciously asked. “What exactly is that?” “Slurp slurp- Oh, this? It’s tomato sauce! It has bacon and mushrooms, so it’s delicious!” “……Huh?”

“It’s pasta sauce, but it’s delicious even if you just eat it like this.” “Um…” He said it was expensive, so it must taste good too. And he must have been very hungry, so I can understand…

“I want to mix it with rice and eat it~” …I could only respect his personal preference.

While this cheerful friend spooned up the sauce, I looked around. ‘So all of this is food supply.’ They said they stockpiled supplies, and it wasn’t wrong. I never imagined they would foolishly accumulate such an enormous quantity in this manner.

How much cost, time, and effort those damn bastards must have poured into this. A grin spread across my face. Of course, that’s none of my concern.

A sudden, uncontrollable surge of pleasure. Unable to suppress the smile that crept onto my face, I thought. If I were to sweep all of this away…

‘They’ll be left sucking their fingers? Oh, no, they’ll be utterly screwed.’

On top of that, they’d experience deep frustration and stress. You don’t always have to be direct to infuriate someone. Dopamine felt like it was gushing out at the undeniable prospect of a delightful time ahead in many ways.

I put the pleasure aside for a moment and got moving. I tossed Kim Hyunwoo another can and then tried to recall my memory. ‘…Which way was the exit again?’

As I moved without hesitation, Kim Hyunwoo scurried to follow. Yet, he still completely emptied the can of sauce.

“Slurp slurp. Hyung-nim. Mmm. Where are you going? Gulp-” “…I’m looking for something.” “Ah ha.”

After wandering for a bit, I found the exit. And…

“Found it.” “That truck?” “Yes.”

In a line near the exit, several vehicles were neatly parked. All of them were cargo trucks capable of transporting goods. If there’s cargo, there must be a means to transport it. It’s not like the old days when you could just call and order a truck. I’d wondered if they would have prepared vehicles, so it was fortunate.

I approached a vehicle that caught my eye among the cars. ‘This one will do.’ A 3.5-ton cargo truck was very appealing. If I were planning to drive on roads, I’d have to avoid large vehicles. But it doesn’t matter if I’m just going from here to Sagajeong. ‘It doesn’t matter if it gets a bit wrecked either.’

Click- The door wasn’t locked. A rustle and a clatter. The car key was hidden in the driver’s side sun visor.

Click- Ding~ Ding~ Ding~ I inserted the key and turned it slightly to check, and the fuel was perfect. As I confirmed everything was in order, Kim Hyunwoo approached, smacking his lips.

“Are you leaving now?” “……” “Uh, why, why?”

I stared at him, then approached the slightly flustered Kim Hyunwoo. “Kim Hyunwoo.” “Y-yes?” “Get some sleep for a bit.” “Huh? Ugh?”

Thump- Grab- Thud-! I caught his collapsing body and the precious can he was holding. For now, I decided to lightly strike his neck to put him to sleep for a while.

Following me around was annoying, and I couldn’t let him see me collecting items. I seated the unconscious Kim Hyunwoo in the passenger seat and placed the can on his hand.

“……Hmm.” With that, preparations were complete. I immediately began to move quickly.

Upper floors aside, the parking lot alone was considerably vast. Since the building was old, the parking lot wasn’t particularly large compared to the building’s overall size. The problem was that it merged with the Logistics building’s parking lot. And that side was much wider and larger.

The conclusion was that I needed to move diligently from now on. Because of this, my footsteps became like those of a fugitive racing against time. Unconsciously, I maintained a considerably hurried pace.

The silver lining was that my utility was different from before. The old me, squatting and struggling, no longer existed. I opened my inventory wide and walked quickly. Sweeping everything I saw into it with a brush of my fingertips.

I didn’t know how much effort Taesong had put into this. I could only guess how much trouble they went through to gather so many items. But-

‘Now it’s all mine.’ The important thing was that I had done it again today.

As the boxes vanished, the empty space gradually increased. I gazed contentedly at the expanse of food supplies spread before my eyes. They say human greed has no end, and that was certainly true.

I already had enough food to last a lifetime, or so it seemed. Despite that, I didn’t want to leave even a single can of cola behind. Rather, thinking that I was giving Taesong a huge ‘screw you’ made my spirits soar.

Especially since they would surely return to collect the supplies here. What would happen if they saw this place completely empty? Imagining their faces filled with rage, frustration, and emptiness sent shivers down my spine.

I picked up the pace, carefully plundering the precious supplies. Perhaps it was because of my mood. The way I was collecting the supplies felt like a vacuum cleaner sucking everything up.

One line, one space, one floor, another floor, and another floor. I cleared out the volume at a rapid pace. Even the large space that had been used as both a disaster prevention room and a safety training area, which I almost missed in between. I ripped off the door and ransacked that too. I was so grateful that these bastards had utilized every space so thoroughly.

After moving like a blur for a little over an hour. I finally managed to completely empty the parking lot that had been transformed into a warehouse. But this was just the beginning.

‘For now…’ Thump-thump-thump~ With light footsteps, I ran through the exit and went outside.

Near the main gate, which I hadn’t been able to fully check earlier. Facing the suddenly colder air, I moved between the top of the barrier and the corpses. I simply picked up and stored the firearms, magazines, and discarded heavy weapons that the bastards had dropped. Regardless of damage, if it looked okay on the surface, I just took it. …If there were any problems, I could just pawn them off on an expert.

And then there was the rectangular facility that had bothered me from the start. Hummmmm- The surprisingly low operating noise was impressive. Its configuration wasn’t significantly different from what I knew. A simple operating method. Thick electrical wires stretching out from connections. Bundles of wires branching out from transformers installed here and there. The object, with the appearance of a neat, 2-meter-high steel box, was indeed a generator. However, all the wires were running along the top of the barrier.

‘What the hell did they do?’ I thought it would be impossible to supply electricity to a building of this size with just this kind of generator. I searched every corner inside the building and in the basement where such facilities might be, but found nothing related to electricity. I was curious how they were supplying electricity to that building, which was emitting light right before my eyes.

Even as I fumbled to turn off the generator and put it into my inventory, my curiosity didn’t fade. My curiosity remained even as I gathered the electrical wires that would sell for a high price at a junkyard. ‘…Does it matter?’

What good would it do to rack my brains with such poor imagination? It would only give me a headache. I dismissed the thought and immediately began exploring the upper floors.

To begin, the 2nd and 3rd floors were duds. There was nothing to see except for a section that had been converted into something like a prison. The fortunate thing, perhaps, was that there were no corpses. Other than that, it seemed to have been the living quarters for the bastards who used to be here. There was nothing salvageable, including smelly clothes. Complaints arose about the strange use of space, but those complaints vanished completely on the 4th floor.

Black objects filled the vast space, stripped of all furnishings. “…Were they planning a war or something…?” What was on the 4th floor were weapons. Contents utterly unfitting for an office building. A uniform black color designed to be inconspicuous. Cleanliness that tolerated not a single speck of dust. Countless guns neatly arranged on racks. I slowly walked towards the sight that seemed to draw my gaze in.

“……” They looked similar, but were different from the old K-2s. The weapons they carried, which looked somewhat better. The tightly packed items weren’t just rifles.

“Oh… this?” I also saw the grenade launcher that Heize had shown me in Yongsan. Though this one looked more sophisticated. Its appearance, like a large revolver, had made it seem like a toy, but seeing it here made me glad.

My dissatisfaction from the lower floors was brief. My mood improved in a different way than it had in the basement. Amidst that, something large drew my gaze while I was fiddling with the grenade launcher. As if possessed, I moved on to the next item. And on the piece of paper I looked down at, short English text was written. M134D-K1.P

“……Oh my.” One of the heavy weapons I’d only seen in movies, or on top of the barrier. That weapon that stirs a man’s romance. I gasped in admiration, looking at the minigun displaying its magnificent form.

After diligently toiling tonight. I had succeeded with just this minigun alone.