Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

-Announcing the information that Corrosive Disease has gone from Korea Shelter

Those words came to the Auction House in mid-February. Since the source was the government’s publicity auction product comment section, the credibility wasn’t up for any discussion.

However, the survivors still did not know what to do. Except for Magic Metal, it had been a while since they had seen metal. To them, it was like a remnant of an old, long-lost era.

Therefore, when Corrosive Disease was finally gone, a question followed the survivors.

‘What should I do?’

Thankfully, Korea Shelter presented an answer to them.

-Please come to Yeouido. Come and fight together with us for a better future. Monsters are no longer our enemies.

There were of course some monsters which even guns couldn’t kill, like ogre. But all in all, most monsters should possess no resistance against guns.

On top of it, wasn’t the Ogre Killer in Korea Shelter?

It’s surprising that an ogre had appeared, but it’s even more surprising that someone killed it. There was no one who was foolish enough to not believe such a feast this time around, after all the ogre’s body was still in front of the museum.

It was hard to gauge the monster’s power from the appearance alone, but people realized. In the future, more and more monsters which couldn’t be dealt with by normal means will appear. If they want to live, they must rely on power. Either it was the power of many, or power of an individual.

-Let’s go to the Korea Shelter!

-You want to go there and be controlled by someone?

-Even if we are controlled, it’s better to live like a human being. How long are we going to live like this?

-What does it mean to live like a human being?

-Hunting together with a party, talking without fear, meeting new people, and other things.

-Have sex too…

-That’s the main purpose, of course.

-Can we meet a woman in the Korea Shelter?

-I think it’s possible. But if you are weak I bet no woman will look at you!

-But, guys. If many survivors gathered in the same places, wouldn’t a fight break out? Among those people I’m sure there’s people who have bad blood with each other.

That was exactly the problem the Korea Shelter faced. The upper echelon of the shelter had made some preparation to mediate any problem that arose between people, but it was still unclear whether the survivors–with how strong they had become–would accept it or not.

There was also opinion like this among the people who want to join Korea Shelter:

-Everyone, even if up until now you can live by taking the supplies from the time shelter, things will be different pretty soon.

-What will be different?

-Think about it. Food stockpiles in the city continue to decline. Moreover, the rice center in southern Gyeonggi-do has already been swept clean! The monsters entered it and ate them all!

-*Shiver**Shiver*

-That means, we need a way to get food in the long term. And in Korea Shelter, they have a lot of seed stockpiled!

-Isn’t it okay to go to the beach for food? We can catch fish and other seafood.

-But I want to eat rice…

-You can just farm along the shore..

-Alone?

-Oh shit, that’s a problem…

-Do I really have to go there? I’m tired of living alone. Should I just live with other people?

Of course, there were also people who had different opinions about going to the Korea Shelter. Those people were mostly those who had formed their own powerful group in the region. They had achieved so many things while living without any support from the Government, so they felt a bit iffy to let go of their area and go under the Government’s wing.

They shared something in common to not want to go to Korea Shelter.

-If we go there, we must live under their rule, right? I don’t like it.

-The thing the President hates the most is the power struggle between factions inside of the shelter.

-Then we can’t join them. Anyone with any other opinions?

-We should have guns too.

-Who doesn’t know that? The problem is most guns are stored only in Korea Shelters.

-I don’t think that’s necessarily the case. I found a suspicious hole in a subway station north of the Han river. Now people are rushing in and trying to get the concrete cover off.

-There must be a lot of monsters there, right?

-It’s a mess here. The inside is so narrow and the passageway is so small. We never know who will be dying next.

One of the spare shelters that the government had kept secret was discovered. In fact, Jang Won-taek, the one who had instructed the creation of it, never thought it would remain a secret forever. However, he hoped that the sharing process of the supplies could be done in a more organized way to prevent lives from being taken.

In any case, the clans which knew they were strong enough to stand alone were reluctant to join the Korea Shelter. They felt it was foolish to share the wealth and power they had accumulated so far. Procuring guns was difficult for them, but this kind of talk was circulating at the Auction House:

-Don’t you think there will be guns stored in a military bunker?

-That’s possible.

-Anyone knows any military bunkers?

However, as always, no one knew exactly where a military bunker was. Most of those who were in the know had died or had become members of Korea Shelter, so there was no reason for them to spill the beans.

But since the clans finally found a way to procure guns, each and every one of them started to look for a Military Bunker. Of course such movements wouldn’t be unnoticed by Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok. However, they couldn’t do anything right away. Their hands were currently tied by the task of moving the stored goods from the underground shelter to the ground.

The Korea shelter was about to be completed.

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Unlike the name, Korea Shelter didn’t only encompass the building where Jang Won-taek and the other government personnel lived but all intact buildings around the commercial district in front of the National Assembly building. The government built a barricade around those many intact buildings and turned it into housing for the survivors.

On top of that, because of the totem, no zombie raids would occur; leaving only a few wandering monsters to come and go. Thanks to that, instead of flying confetti, gunshots were the ones who welcomed us to our new dwellings.

“Let’s all do the portal quest starting from Geom-in. Take this.” I put a backpack full of gear on the floor as I said that.

“Is it really necessary to give us this?” Geom-in looked at me as soon as he opened the backpack and saw the resurrection scroll stored inside.

“It is. It would be good if you didn’t end up using it. But the risk is too great for you to go in without it.”

Even though Geom-in looks a bit weak compared to me, Da-jeong and Seokhyun, he’s a fairly strong person thanks to his multiple unique skills. If he fails even with guns in his hand, no one else would be able to complete the quest.

“Oh….” Geom-in said as soon as he made contact with the portal I summoned.

“A strange message popped up?” Once I said so, another portal for the quest taker opened up. I called Dingo and a scarab before trusting him to them.

“It should be easy for you to clear it. See you later.”

“…I will definitely do it.” Leaving those words behind, Geom-in entered the portal. Meanwhile, the others were looking at where the portal stood. Seems like they had no intention of doing anything whatsoever today.

“It’s like taking a test.” Everyone nodded at Yoohyeon’s words. The fate that waited for them was to either they pass or fail.

I clapped my hands to get their attention.

“It will take some time for Geom-in to finish the quest, so let’s all do our part. We should move things and clean up the place.”

“Seongho, can I talk to you after lunch?” Hyungjun hyung came in with his luggage and said. Meanwhile, the two high school students, whose names I couldn’t remember, were nowhere to be seen.

Yeowool, who was looking at the window, said. “They went to Major Kim. They said they want to shoot a gun.”

“Are they planning to join that side?”

“They said they love shooting. So it seems like it.”

I nodded at Yeowool’s answer. If the two of them had such thoughts, there was no reason for me to stop them. The choice and responsibility of any individual was solely up to them, after all.

I called people together. “Anyone want to join another group? I won’t stop you or even hold any grudge if you decide to do so.”

No one raised a hand at my question.

I asked again. “That means, all of you want to stay inside my portal, right?”

Then, Yeowool raised her hand.

“But Ahjussi.”

“Yeah?”

“If we go inside the portal, we can’t leave whenever we want, can we?”

“That’s the case if I don’t open the portal.”

“Then we’re stuck inside the portal?”

“I will open the portal when I eat. So, around three times a day?”

“Um… is there any other way to get out?”

“If there is anything urgent, you can call me through the Auction House and I will open it for you.”

“Okay then.”

“If you have any other questions, ask.”

Others started asking questions as if they were waiting for someone to start it. Most of them were questions regarding things inside the portal, so it was not difficult for me to answer it.

“Seongho, let me talk to you for a moment.” Hyungjun hyung called me and I followed him. Once we were alone, he lit up the cigarette in his mouth. “Fuuhh… everyone is in a good mood, so it’s hard to tell you this there. I don’t think I’ll be able to go in for a while.”

“Because of sister-in-law?”

“Yeah. I haven’t got the chance to bring the matter to her, but it seems like she wants to be here in the shelter.”

My new sister-in-law was a woman in his 30s whom Hyungjun hyung had just started dating. From what I heard, she entered the Government Shelter after experiencing her share of hardships. However, even though she had a good unique skill, she doesn’t really help in battle since she doesn’t like fighting monsters.

In the first place, I had no intention of accepting such a person. After all, when people enter the portal, they have to work and fight monsters.

“Just tell me when you decide you want to enter. I am not going anywhere.”

“Sorry.”

“I don’t think there’s something you need to be sorry for, Hyung-nim.”

“Sigh…” He let out a long puff of cigarette smoke.

Of course without him saying it, I know what he’s sorry for. He found a new relationship after half a year, but turns out, his partner was someone who didn’t suit my philosophy. So he might feel that his decision was like betraying me in some way.

Well, that’s not something I could help him with. He needs to figure it out himself.

In the end, three people were removed from the original planned number of people. Now there would only be 8 people, including myself who will live inside the portal.

“I’m worried about Yeowool…” She had the same unique skill as Yoohyeon, but since she was a girl, I wondered if she could fight well. Although she had fought monsters before, it was together with other people. This quest would be the first time for her to fight alone.

“If she fails, she can just try it again at a later date.” After all, Korea Shelter wouldn’t go anywhere. She could just live here until that time.

As I finished thinking so, I went up to the roof and opened the drone case I looted from Hannam-dong.

“This… As expected from rich people” It was different from the drones I used to operate. The size, weight, and the attached camera were leagues better.

How many kilometers could this thing go?

When I set it up and flew it, I felt like dozens of wasps were flying.

“Awesome.”

I checked the video by flying the drone around the shelter. I could see The entirety of Korea Shelter and all the barricades which were erected around the commercial district.

“Since it is still inadequate, they want to build a wall too…” I could see Seokhyun and Da-jeong roam around outside of the barricade. They were tasked to protect the people who were working on building the wall. In any case, the Korea Shelter was closer to a village than a Shelter in common meaning.

As the Shelter was quite enormous, the area which needed to be defended was also big. Thankfully, there were many people, so I thought it would not be a problem.

“When the guards inform them of danger, they give out firearms to people to defend themselves… It’s not bad.” Jang Won-taek seems to think that it is better to centrally manage guns than to distribute them to each individual. A good move in my opinion. After all, you would never know what might happen if you hand out guns to the survivors.

When the drone was moved to another area, I could see people coming in through the barricades and walls. Those people were survivors who wanted to join the shelter. Everyone was armed, so it was difficult to check their faces, but I could easily tell that they had lived a rough life.

“They will not stay quiet for long.” I sighed. When the number of people increases, collisions are bound to occur. On top of it, since it’s currently a lawless world, the conflict will be even more violent.

Fortunately, I don’t have to be there.

“I should just stay quiet… and leave when things are stable.” In fact, I could just run away before then. Yongsan bunker has been taken care of, so we can loot it as we leave.

Everything was going smoothly as of now, but things would change a lot in spring.

“The erosion will start soon, so we need to take measures.” Until now, survivors only had to be careful about monsters and people, but starting from spring, the environment itself would become their enemy. Plants with vines attached to the building will become the norm. They were not normal plants either since they would attack using their teeth which were hidden inside their body.

“Respwan is only possible in the game…” Everyone only has one life, so they must be careful. I also have to do the same even though I have the Spring to revive me.

As I was thinking about various things, gunshots rang out. I could see people in military uniforms, including Hyun-woo, shot at monsters running behind the incoming survivors.

The gray asphalt road was splattered with blood and body fluids.

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“Geom-in is here!” In the middle of the night, Yoohyeon shouted as Geom-in jumped out of the portal. He had successfully finished the quest, therefore, the resurrection scroll was not spent.

Thanks to the shout, people got out of their bedroom and gathered to see Geom-in. Meanwhile, the man in question just unpacked his gear and put the scarab on top of Dingo’s head.

“Thank you so much. I survived thanks to you two.” In his hand were three golden etherstones. After a while, Seongho came and Geom-in was able to enter the portal by offering 3 etherstones.

“Huh?” Geom-in’s eyes went wide as soon as he enter Seongho’s shelter. After all, what he saw was beyond his expectation.

“Amazing…” Geom-in said as he crossed the cave’s door. A vacant lot full of sandwich panels, and a hut which was exactly the same as what he had heard from Seongho greeted him.

Seokhyun and Da-jeong, who were working a few distances away from the cave, came running as soon as they saw him.

“Geom-in has arrived!”

“Welcome! Welcome!”

Their appearance was reminiscent of a group of lions who found gazelles in the prairie.

“Uh… Uh… Huh?” He couldn’t utter any words before he found himself being dragged by the two and being thrown into the mini fork crane.

“I’ll teach you how to use it, so finish this work. This is the…” Without his consent, Geom-in was forced to start working.

When Seongho passed by, he preached. “Since this place is our shelter, we have to take good care of it.”

“…” Geom-in sat in the mini fork crane seat and looked around. From how hot the air was, and the sound of cicadas, he instantly knew that the current season was summer. Outside the fence, a wild boar with a large hump was moving together with its herd.

‘This is the place.’ Geom-in smiled. This place was where he will live in the future. He vowed he would use his old skills to make the shelter strong and safe.

He stopped the forklift and ran to Seongho.

“Can I use a drone?”

“Of course. But what are you going to do with it?”

“I need to do some reconnaissance from above to build a better shelter. I don’t really like the current shape of this shelter.”

Seongho nodded at his explanation. In fact, the current shelter was haphazardly expanded. He just built whatever needed to be built in whichever area still available without any plan.

“Sure. You can do whatever you want.”

Geom-in got excited and went into the cave. Meanwhile, the three stagnant waters only looked at his back.

“Tsk tsk tsk… He also fell for Seongho’s magic.”

“Now he will be working forever.”

Seong-ho, who was listening, looked at the two with a frown.

“Aren’t you guys supposed to be working?”