Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

Seongho stood in the hallway for a moment, scanning the faces of four people inside the room. From how chubby their bodies were, it was clear that they were eating well and having a good time.

Next to him, Sooyeon was informing him the identities of the people in his sight through a whisper.

“That tall man is Oh Jeong-min. He was the director of Mirae Group. The woman next to him was a famous golfer if I remember correctly.”

Seongho nodded. He felt he had seen her somewhere, and it turned out she was a professional golfer. Sooyeon also told him the names and backgrounds of the other two men. It was information that Seongho–owner of an ordinary snack bar–could not even dream of digging by himself.

“Thank you. Because they had sought for us first, let’s have a talk with them.”

The two walked side by side and entered the meeting room. To Seongho’s surprise, their current meeting room was the living room of the villa. It means, the villa they lived at was so enormous to the point it had a separate living room.

Slowly, Seongho sat down on the sofa. Through the corner of his eyes, he could see eyes full of fear and curiosity probing him.

Oh Jung-min spoke first.

“Uh, congratulations for killing the ogre, Seongho-ssi. It’s surprising for us that such a monster came out, but to think you killed it… We never thought it would be possible.”

A flattery. Seongho frowned. He didn’t particularly like that kind of treatment. He’d rather talk straight to the point of what they could give him and what they want from him.

“Jungmin-ssi, can you open the Auction House?”

“Yes. Ji-eun can do it too.”

“I heard you were staying in the bunker up until a few days ago. But your level seems to be higher than I thought.”

“Haha, no no. We don’t just stay in the bunker every day.”

“Our group mainly hunted in the Gangbuk area. It’s a place the Government Shelter doesn’t have any information on.”

“How about you two?”

Lee Min-soo and Park Kyung-hoo, who suddenly became the center of everyone’s attention, shook.

“U-uh but what level are you Seongho-ssi?” Lee Min-soo slapped himself mentally as soon as he finished his words. He didn’t mean to ask that question. He was too flustered to the point he spit out what he had in his head without thinking about it more.

Seongho, whose eyes opened wide because of the blunt question, unexpectedly opened his mouth. “Thanks to the Ogre, I am now level 33.”

When his level was revealed, everyone burst into sighs.

“Level 33…”

“Woah…”

The shock of Oh Jung-min and Kim Ji-eun in particular was worse than others. The two knew that the experience point was hard to earn starting level 15. The difficulty was commonly referred to as Hell Section by people in the Auction House.

It’s difficult to even raise their level by 1 even if they hunt everyday without rest. But to think the man in front of them was level 33…

Meanwhile, Sooyeon was caught up in mixed feelings at the unfolding situation. The four people in front of her were those who, up until a few months ago, lived among the highest class in South Korea. On the other hand, Seongho was only an owner of a snack bar. Although she didn’t see Seongho’s profession as a bad profession, she couldn’t deny that the situation in front of her was a strange one. Their position had been completely reversed.

Lee Min-soo could not get out of the shock and shook. His head was screaming at him to look good at the man.

“Are you in a romantic relationship with the person next to you?”

Kim Ji-eun burst into laughter inwardly. It was because the man was trying hard to make a connection between him and Seongho. However, in her opinion, the woman next to Seongho was more attractive than many celebrities in their shelter. Unlike them, her skin was smooth and her hair was well-groomed. It was as if she was living in a normal world where water was plenty.

Seongho looked at Sooyeon for a moment and then said, “She’s a precious person.”

Precious person…

It wasn’t wrong, but it was also very vague. Sooyeon mustered up her courage to put her arms around him and rest her head on his shoulder. Now the people would believe she was Seongho’s lover.

Seongho looked at his watch and straightened his posture. “I don’t have much time. Now let’s talk about why you called me here. What do you want?”

A straightforward action.

Oh Jung-min said what he got in his head. “Uh… I know that you don’t know about it, but we’re trying to establish our own forces around here.”

“A force centered around the four of you?”

“That’s right… If you look at our level, it might sound funny. But, we have guns. It came from Russia.”

“Are you going to use it to gather people and build power? That’s a good idea.”

Seongho’s evaluation was a little different, but he didn’t need to tell them here. He only needs to receive what he’s going to receive.

Kim Ji-eun corrected her posture and opened her mouth. “There are quite a few celebrities under Mr. Lee. They were all quite famous. We plan to use their popularity to create a clan around this villa.”

“Clan? There’s already a few of them all around korea.” Seongho said. The clan he himself had destroyed while wandering around would be around 10. But their goals were not so vague like these guys.

“Comparing us to the other clans is a bit harsh. Our goal is to build a safe zone and empower people. We don’t just have weapons.”

Park Kyung-hoo hastily pulled out a list from his pocket and showed it to Seongho. When he lay his eyes on the paper, he was amazed at the variety of things they had. The amount was simply mind boggling which he thought would be difficult unless they prepared in advance.

At the same time, a question arose inside Seongho’s mind as to how these people came up with the idea of building a bunker and stockpiling materials.

Isn’t it strange that the Hannam-dong chaebols all built a bunker?

“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time… Where did you guys get the information about digging underground?”

“When you run a business, you are bound to come across various information.”

“When did you get it?” Seongho asked. He refused to let it go just because they wanted to sweep it under the rug. In fact, for Seongho, the timing of the acquisition of the information was very important. Even the Government started to make bunkers and depots not long before the end. Even if the chaebols obtained information at the same time as the government, there’s still a limit to the manpower and equipment they could mobilize. They were far too fast for it to be true.

Seongho had suspicions that they obtained the information through other sources.

“Exactly when? I’m going to ask Geom-in, so it would be better for you to give me an accurate answer.”

“Uh… Who is Geom-in?”

The other characters were famous for their shocking visuals and performances, but Survivor 1 was surprisingly unknown. Lately, he hasn’t had anything to brag about, so his presence had dimmed even more.

“He’s my friend. Just like me, he’s stagnant water. He is also the one who told the government the information about the apocalypse.”

In an instant, the four’s hearts sank. It would be a big deal if their answer didn’t match the time the person Geom-in told Seongho. Did the government really get the information a few days before the end? If you think about stockpiling various materials in that short amount of time, it didn’t make sense.

Seongho picked up momentum and raised his voice. “It would be better not to say that you guys obtained the information from the government. After all, I know Geom-in didn’t tell anyone other than the President.”

Actually, those words were nothing but lies. He was in the dark of whom Geom-in gave the information to. It was just a rough guess on his part, but the four people who didn’t know the situation had no choice but to panic.

Seongho’s finger pressed against the table. The sturdy solid wood cracked soon after. It was a show of great power.

Someone out of the four swallowed their saliva.

“I also went to Joo Seung-cheol’s bunker and learned that he received a resurrection scroll as a gift from someone. My guess is, you guys also got information from that person… don’t you?”

“…”

The four looked at each other. Actually, they didn’t have any connection to the one who gave them the information. They just got a note from someone and executed it before the apocalypse D-day.

Seongho’s finger pierced a hole on the table at that moment. Lee Min-soo, unable to bear the tension that took his breath away, declared surrender.

“W-we got a note…”

“Did the sender know your circumstances?”

“Yes…”

Those guys even know his records in the game, so knowing information about people in Korea should be a piece of cake for them.

“Did everyone dig a bunker and stockpile after seeing that note?”

nod nod.

Seongho sighed mentally. They were not scarab but human, so why the nod?

“You really don’t know who the sender is?”

“Yes, we don’t know at all.”

“The things we knew about the apocalypse were close to none. That note is the only thing we know.”

There were four mouths, but the words they said all hold the same meaning.

Well, there’s no way those people will show their tail so easily…

Seongho took a map out of his pocket and held it out. “I have killed 3 people before the ogre came out. They are all related to Director Kim and Chief Lee… Please mark the location of their bunker.”

The men only cocked their heads to the side at the order. Kim Ji-eun was the only one who immediately moved by marking the location they were being asked for with a pen. She was quick-witted, so she knew that she had to cooperate with the person in front of her as best as she could.

“The subordinates will still be there. Be careful.”

“If we hit them strong enough, they’ll leave.”

He’ll probably kill them, right?

Seongho folded the map and left a few marks on the list Park Kyung-hoo took out.

“There are a lot of machine tools in this list. I need this one.., I want this too…”

“I-if we give you all the things you need…”

Seongho stared at Park Kyung-hoo. “Not long ago, I had a fight with a certain doctor at the subway station. He was a mad doctor with hundreds of monsters under his command. His stats were also great, he gave the four of us a difficult fight. I think you might have a connection with that guy’s faction… Am I right?”

“Absolutely not.”

“We would never hold hands with someone like that.”

“But what can I do? Words can lie. Isn’t it something that can be seen with just a little thought that the person who sent you the note and the mad doctor are the same faction? Or do you think I’m bullshitting?”

The four didn’t know what to do under Seongho’s gaze. His gaze was so bloody that they didn’t even think of bringing out the pistol. They doubted the guns would work for a man who pokes holes in a wooden table with his finger alone. They felt like as soon as they aimed at him, their heads would be cut off.

Oh Jung-min looked into the eyes of other people and made a decision. “We will give you anything you want. But, can you give us some information?”

“I’ll think about that.”

Sooyeon, who was listening next to Seongho, felt absurd and almost burst out laughing. The three men all wanted a good relationship with Seongho while the man in question was… Greedy.

The four pulled out a list one after another, and Seongho picked the things he liked.

“If you tell me where the things are stored, I will take care of it by myself. And Kim Ji-eun seems to communicate well, so I will send a paper airplane to her from now on.”

A blush flashed across her face. WIth the man’s words, she had become a person who could be in touch with I Love Gimbap. She would be able to exert considerable influence once the force was created.

Seongho moved his hands to grab a pen and wrote about Owlbear on the blank paper.

“It’s good to make a shelter, but it shouldn’t be too crowded. A battle royale event is coming soon.”

“If it’s a battle royale… isn’t it an event where you enter a dimension and kill each other?”

“Yes. But this time, it will happen on Earth. Except for the last one standing, the rest will die. So, you need to stay away from each other.” Seongho then circled the word Owlbear. “Once spring comes, zombies and ghouls will disappear. Strange plants will start to grow on the streets. From that point, there will be more plant-type monsters on Earth. Animals including Owlbear will appear too. After that, the Battle Royale event will take place, so it would be a good idea to prepare in advance. And please remember…”

Seongho put his finger on his lips.

“You guys are the only people I told about this matter.”

The four hurriedly bowed their heads. Seongho stood up and left the building. Once they were outside, he called Sooyeon.

“I hope you can help me for a moment.”

“Of course.”

“We need to do some exercise too, will it be okay?”

“It’s much better to move outside than to be locked in the shelter.”

The Government Shelter had various facilities, but it was just dull and boring for Sooyeon.

“I got a lot of help from Sooyeon-ssi, I don’t know how to repay it.”

“Repay? I don’t need it. Just forget it.” However, betraying her words, she actually wanted to eat something delicious. Also, a bath.

As she whispered it in his ear, Seongho nodded his head.

“Would you like some pasta too?”

“Why pasta?”

“Ah, because it somehow fits with Sooyeon’s image. The red sports car from before and all that.”

Sooyeon smiled softly at his answer.

“I like mackerel and kimchi stew.”

Surprisingly, her preferences were normal.

Seongho erased his shock and went inside the bunker.

“Let’s get some stuff.”

The fun farming time had come.

.

.

.

The work went on almost all day long. Through force, Seongho drove the people occupying the three bunkers out and obtained the supplies stored inside. At some point, Da-jeong had to drive a mini fork crane to help him. Of course, not without complaining.

-You brought more stuff? This farming mania, really!

Not minding her outburst, Seongho moved the supplies to the storage with Da-jeong and Seokhyun. Only when the morning came was it all over. Everyone was exhausted and sat down in a suitable place to eat. The menu was quite luxurious considering that it was an apocalypse. It was kimchi stew and grilled mackerel.

Once they finished their food, Seongho took off the gloves he wore and handed it to Seokhyun, who seemed to have died from overeating.

“Give me your gloves and use these ones from now on.”

“Why? You are the one who got it.”

“It doesn’t suit me.”

Ogre Gloves allowed the user to use ogre’s powers. However, its utility would be reduced as his body was not strong enough to bear the kickback of the power. The effect of the skill he just received was vigor and super-regeneration. But, it was related to recovery and did not strengthen his body.

“Yeah, those gloves would be more suited to Rapwi. He has a very strong body after all.” Da-jeong said as she cleaned the smudge around her mouth.

“…” Wordlessly, Seokhyun put on the gloves, his eyes shining. He looked like a little child who had been given a gift. When he took a concrete shard in his hand and clenched it, it was easily grounded to dust.

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah…”

“Take a scarab with you!” Seongho shouted as Seokhyun stood up and jumped towards the portal. It was clear that he’s going to test the gloves’ power against monsters in the forest.

Da-jeong hurriedly followed the guy to the portal and put a scarab on him before returning to where Seongho sat. “Seems like that guys will seriously fight. He even took off his panties.”

“You are talking about panties after eating? It’s gross. Stop it.”

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!” Da-jeong held her stomach and rolled on the floor. After laughing for a long time, she stood up and placed her legs on Seongho’s little brother.

“You have given Rapwi a nice present. What about me? You aren’t going to just forget me, are you?”

“I’ll help you level up. If you don’t get another ability, it will be disastrous once the zombies and ghouls disappear later.”

To be exact, they did not disappear. They just become plants.

Da-jeong puffed her cheeks, clearly didn’t like his answer. “Isn’t there anything more important than that?”

“What is it I wonder?”

“You haven’t tested the Vigor skill yet, have you? I’ll do it for you, so free up your time. One day should be enough.”

“The group will do the portal quest today. They are waiting for me.”

“Sheesh.” Da-jeong smiled at Sooyeon. The latter pretended not to know about what she was trying to imply.

While Seongho was doing this, a big event was taking place at the Government Shelter. Judging that the Corrosive Disease had completely disappeared, they began to take out the materials they piled. Upon hearing the news, many people flocked to government shelters.

Jang Won-taek greeted them with a somewhat tense face. After all, it was unclear whether they could get along harmoniously with each other. But he needs to believe. If he starts to doubt each and every one of them, he wouldn’t be able to achieve his goal to preserve the existence of humanity.

Jang Won-taek stood at the entrance and greeted the people who came in.

“Welcome to Korea Shelter.”