Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

People in the government shelter were supposed to eat in the cafeteria. Because the organization was systematized, the meal schedule, as well as the menu were always set. So, whether it's the former president or just a normal civilian, everyone gets the same menu. It was an unavoidable measure because the shelter's food situation was not so good. Of course, Da-jeong, who had just entered the shelter was no exception, as she was also given the same menu.

Da-jeong looked down at the plastic plate in front of her. Soup, some potatoes and unfermented bread were waiting for her.

‘I ate this yesterday too…' Looking around, it seems that everyone was hungry, as they devoured the food in front of them in a hurry. Da-jeong put her fork down, losing her appetite.

“Haha, what the hell is this?”

Da-jeong remembered the time when she first arrived in this shelter. Back then, Lee Beomseok, a close aide of the president, said she should expect the meal here.

At first, she thought that it would be plentiful since it was a government shelter, but the reality was, it was horrible. No, even that word is an understatement.

Moreover, what made Da-jeong more angry was due to the fact that vegetable bibimbap, bread, soup, potatoes, and curry rice were served on the 15th, but on the 16th, curry rice, vegetable bibimbap, bread, soup, and potatoes were served.

In other words, they're the same menu. They're just put in a different order.

The rotation would last for several days. Only after a few complaints were filed did the new menu come out. Actually, there were complicated circumstances behind the curtain for that to happen, but Da-jeong did not think that far nor did she care.

“What the hell is this!!!!” She suddenly screamed and everyone around her looked at her. Da-jeong quickly quenched her anger and chewed the bread. It really didn't taste like anything. But to be honest, it's still amazing that these guys could still make bread even when they were lacking a lot of things.

When she was with Seongho, she could enjoy heavenly food often. And when she's not, she could still buy Seongho's food through the Auction House. However, since the last time he said that he's dealing with the endangered species in Changwon together with Rapwi, he hadn't come online to the Auction House.

“Once you come. I will suck you dry.”

When Da-jeong cooled her anger once again, a man sat in the empty seat in front of her. The person was none other than Bae Geom-in.

Without reading Da-jeong's atmosphere, he spoke with a smirk on his face.

“Is the menu okay today? I asked the chef to put sugar on the potatoes. It should be delicious.”

“…”

Da-jeong stared at him without a word, and Geom-in was perplexed.

Why is she exuding this much pressure in the morning?

Geom-in avoided talking more and bowed his head to start eating. Compared to Da-jeong, who was chewing on her bread and potatoes as if she was trying to kill them, Geom-in looks quite happy while chewing.

Da-jeong, with a heavy voice, asked nervously.

“…is that delicious?”

"This? to be honest, it doesn't taste good."

“So, why did you look so happy?”

“Well, it can’t be helped. After all, you can't expect good quality food in a shelter with dozens of people like this. I'm just thankful I'm not hungry."

Da-jeong's eyes widened slightly at the unexpected answer.

Does he have this side on him?

While moving his plastic fork, Geom-in spoke.

"The government shelter had a capacity of 30 people. But now there are over 50 people here because people keep coming in. That is thanks to my publicity.”

The downside of this man is that he always finds a way to credit himself to whatever is happening on the government side.

Da-jeong was hungry, but he decided to listen first rather than eat.

"Then?"

“To exceed the originally planned capacity is scary. So, the person in charge of food supply has no choice but to plan the menu conservatively. They chose to lower the quality rather than to give the people here an insufficient amount.”

“Hmmmm, is that so?”

When Geom-in see Da-jeong listened carefully, he was excited. Normally it was hard to make her listen to his words, but today she was a little different.

Maybe she felt a little soft today?

Geom-in thought that he could score some points with her today.

He hinted at caution. “Have you met someone who called himself Joo Seungcheol? He probably has made an offer to you by now and says he will provide you with a delicious meal.”

“But he didn't say so?”

Seungcheol, the third-generation heir of conglomerates. Da-jeong had met him and exchanged a few words with him. However, It was the first time she heard that Daehyun Group was the one in charge of the construction of this shelter.

Geom-in leaned towards Da-jeong and said cautiously.

“I think you have decided that you haven’t been able to trust me yet. So be careful. He's going to ask you to go to his shelter."

"Why? Because he wants to spread my legs?”

Geom-in panicked at her straightforward and racy remark, but he managed to carry on with his words. “Kuhum. It could be said that it might be a pig in a poke. Rumor has it that there is a lot of food there. But I don't know for sure since I haven't been there."

"What? He's rich. Why do I have to say no to a rich man?”

“That, the rumor…” Geom-in suddenly stopped. He was hesitating whether to tell it to Da-jeong or not. In cases like this, normally if you don't tell the people outright, they will try to get close to you in order to be told. However,

Since Da-jeong had been with him for a few days, he had a rough idea of ​what she would do.

“He's tall, rich and has a shelter. It would be perfect if we were to date."

As Geom-in heard those words, anger rose up in his heart. So he revealed what he had been hiding.

“Are you sure? Let me tell you this… The company he owns invested in the production company Survival Life.”

"Really?"

"Yeah. This is information which is only available to me, the president and Beomseok. To put it simply, a man named Seungcheol knew something about this apocalypse before it happened. It's still speculation, though."

Oh~~

Da-jeong tries so hard to not let herself grin. She got some good information unexpectedly.

“After hearing about the thing you said, I want to go to Seungcheol’s shelter even more. Could it be that there are a lot of strange things there?”

“I-it's dangerous…”

"Hey, Geom-in.”

When Da-jeong called him by his name for the first time, Geom-in was startled. After all, before this, Da-jeong had always called him Ahjussi. Da-jeong even pulled out the chair next to her and sat down. Thanks to that, the distance between the two became extremely closer than it ever was.

“Oh, yes. Say anything.”

“Didn't you say that we need to help each other?”

Geom-in smiled at her words.

“O-of course! Strong monsters are going to pour out in the future, so we have to live while helping each other…”

“So push me.”

"Huh?"

What is she talking about all of a sudden?

Geom-in, who was dreaming of a sweet life with Da-jeong, woke up from his dream.

And then, Da-jeong pounded her chest.

“I’m going to be a queen, so support me.”

Geom-in was shocked at her sudden declaration and instantly clenched his mouth shut.

Is this woman insane?

Being in a comfortable place makes people lazy. Those words hold true for the people on the island.

After Seongho left, Hyung-jun and Sooyeon, as the elder of the bunch, suggested that even though they had acquired a safe place to live at, they shouldn't let their guard down and become too comfortable. Afterall, since they don't know when a fight will happen, they need to have the minimum combat power to respond and defend what's theirs.

At first, everyone agreed with their sentiment. In preparation for the appearance of werewolves, they made nets and spears, and trained to defeat them cooperatively. And of course, they also did some field practice by hunting on land with the help of Mikyung.

However, as time went on, less and less people were focused on hunting and training. It was due to the fact that the island was so abundant and comfortable. Seongho was excellent in looting, so he had left some supplies which could sustain them for months even without hunting in the island.

And even if the supply ran out, they wouldn't be hungry because there was Jiman with them. WIth him around, vegetables grew rapidly in the garden, and on some days where they all went fishing together, everyone always got their share of fish.

As the eldest and leader, Hyung-jun sometimes nagged at the other members, but he also couldn't escape the tempting laziness as the island was so quiet. Even when the werewolves finally appeared, the quiet wasn't interrupted as they couldn't get to the island because of the sea and the distance.

Occasionally, there were monsters that spawned on the island, but the members were not weak, so they were easily defeated. The mainland was full of zombies and other monsters, but the island was peaceful.

However, there's exactly two people who weren't affected by those temptations. It was Jiman and Mikyung. They were still hunting even though their current life is very fulfilling.

With the help of Mikyung, they move to the hunting grounds and shoot arrows at their prey. Both of them held the 60-pound bow that Seongho had left behind. And since Mikyung's blink ensures them a good escape path, the risk wasn't that big.

Of course, there is a disadvantage of doing so, since leveling up will be slow. But the two endured it and continued to catch only zombies and goblins, as other monsters were too dangerous and they didn't even dare to touch them.

When they were in the middle of hunting, an orc found them and ran towards them.

“Let’s run!”

Mikyung hurriedly puts her hand on Jiman’s shoulder and blinks away. The two moved to a nearby dilapidated building to catch their breath. Meanwhile, the angry orc which ran towards them before was thumping in place, clearly angry because it just lost a prey.

“Hey, let’s take a break here.”

"Yes. You worked so hard today.”

Mikyung ran her sweat-drenched hair behind her ear and looked at the island through the broken window.

‘The others must be digging radishes by now.' She thought. Some of them would go fishing. They were all busy with their survival activities.

But Mikyung had to focus on hunting.

Because…

After staring emptily into the air, her face brightened.

Suddenly,

“Noona, I’m level 8 now.”

“Wow, that’s good. Just a little bit more and you’ll be level 10.”

"Right? When I reach level 10, I might be able to ride a dolphin for real.”

“Oh, dolphin, oh…….”

The reason the two of them were so focused on hunting was the same: they wanted to show that they had grown when they met Seongho again someday.

Mikyung had a feeling that the reason Seongho hides something from her is because she's weak. Therefore, she wants to grow her strength in case they meet again someday.

While for Jiman, he knew that his unique skill is helpful to everyone. So he thought that as Seongho stationed him there, he had to take care of the rest of the group.

They both wanted to quickly hit level 10 and 15 to unlock additional effects.

The two hunted for several more days to raise their level, and finally reached levels 13 and 10, respectively. And Mikyung got to see an amazing sight.

"Wow…" Mikyung exclaimed as Jiman was riding something in the waters off Masan. She looked at the dorsal fin and found out that it was a shark.

She instantly moved to the island and called the others. When they arrived on the seashore, they were all astonished to see all the sharks roaming the waters around Jiman.

“Wait, isn’t this dangerous?”

“But Jiman's unique skill is bio-friendliness…”

“But they look very friendly…”

“Is he waving this way?”

Sharks were gathering around Jiman as if they were guarding him. On the other hand, Jiman handled the sharks as if they were his kids. When he tapped on the back of the shark he rode and pointed towards the group's direction, it swam all the way to the island and dropped him off. It was a dream-like scene to see the sharks see him off as a group.

Now, the sharks take turns swimming around the island to become defensive. So, even if a monster appeared in the sea, they would attack it.

With Jiman, whose unique skill wasn't combat related, grew stronger, the island had become even more safer. So those who had been lazy because of the comfort the island presented to them, finally got a wake up call.

Thus, there was a hunting competition among the members of the Island. But the one who was truly busy was Mikyung as she had to transport them to the main island one by one.

But she didn't complain. With this, she thought that she will have a lot more to show when she sees him again someday.

I found the two survivors who survived Cheolseong's deathmatch event. There was a possibility that they had heard my conversation with Cheolseong, so I thought I shouldn't let them go like this.

At the very least I had to check.

When I looked around for them with Seokhyun, we found them hiding in a commercial building. I infiltrated the building alone and hid inside the portal. When some sound echoed through the building, one person came out to check, but seeing that no one was there, he returned immediately

“You know… Wouldn’t it be better for us to stick with those people? They are strong…”

“Do they need us? That's the question. We are lucky they didn't kill us because they found us annoying."

“I don’t think those two are that cruel…”

“That one guy who wears only panties is definitely Rabbit Princess.”

“And the other one?"

"I don't know. It could be another stagnant water or maybe just a powerful survivor."

It seems like they didn't know my identity for sure. Thus, the need to kill them was eliminated. When I listened to their conversation moere, I was able to roughly find out the location of the Changwon Clan.

“I heard that the boss' hideout was around the square next to E-Mart. Let's loot that place."

“There? Wouldn't it be dangerous?”

“The boss is dead and most of his direct subordinates were also dead. The one who took supplies first is the new owner.”

I quickly escaped from the portal, taking advantage of the fact that they had to go somewhere else after their conversation and went back to Seokhyun to tell him about the hideout.

“If we loot that place, can you put the supplies inside your portal?”

“Yeah, but I have to expand it next time because I think it's almost full by now.”

“Then, let's do the expansion work before we go to Seoul.”

“I have to be inside for quite some time, then… What will you do while I'm working?”

He looked up and raised his fist. “Take my clothes all off and hang out with the werewolves.”

Ah yeah, this guy is not exactly a normal human, wasn't he?

But, it's only natural for him to do so since as long as he had enough points, he wouldn't die.

I ran to E-Mart in Jungang-dong with Seokhyun. Near the E-mart was a densely populated area of ​​shopping malls, motels, and studios. As I entered a shabby motel, I could see that various goods were piled up inside.

There's no one here yet… Good.

When I opened the portal on the wall, Seokhyun pushed it with his hand and tilted his head.

“Are you sure it's open? Isn't this just a wall?”

“I’ll be working, so you just go play.” When I pushed my leg in, Seokhyun said ah, and scratched his hair.

Now it's time to do those things which I am already used to; looting supplies. Before long, all the supplies were piled up in the shelter. I worked non-stop for an hour, but I didn't get tired. It seems like I've grown quite a bit.

I took a cool coke from the shelter and threw it at Seokhyun.

“It looks like it’s still cold inside.”

“The season inside seemed to be opposite of Earth.”

“It’s great… And this coke is still cold. This taste is what I miss the most..”

We moved to a safe place and decided on our next destination.

“I have to go to Bonghwa-gun through Daegu. There is a seed vault there.”

“Seed vault?”

“It’s a seed warehouse. The electricity will be out, but there still will be some to salvage.”

I used this as an excuse to the members of the island, but the seeds were necessary. That seed vault was said to be the largest seed vault in Asia, so a huge amount of seed must've been stored there.

Seokhyun wondered why I needed it, but when I told him about Poor Man, he was startled.

“Have you met that person?”

“I brought him to Masan. His unique skill is bio-friendly, it can…”

When I explained in detail, Seokhyun tapped his knee.

“Awesome.”

“It’s really great. Once you go to the sea with a fishing rod with him, the fish will bite as soon as you throw it in. We always have bowl full of fish in the island”

“Then, he can easily become friends with Dingo.”

“…well, that’s right.”

Dingo was wary of people other than myself. To be more precise, it's closer to being unfriendly rather than being wary. Seokhyun was no exception, so when he tried to pet him, DIngo would twist his body and run away.

Just then, Dingo came up from the first floor and stared at us.

Instantly, Seokhyun jumped to the guy and grabbed him.

“Then I will bite you.” Seokhyun frowned as if he was really serious about it. And when I thought it was just a joke, he really bit Dingo's back.

Whine-!!

Surprised, Dingo instantly struggled to get out from Seokhyun's grab, and the two of them rolled around.

“Because you are the one who bite me first, I'll bite you too. Woof!"

Not only is he not a normal human, it seems that he had decided to be a wolf.

Without paying more attention to them, I entered the portal and started the mini forklift.

After the expansion work finished, it was time to go to Seoul while transiting on the Seed Vault.

It's going to be a long journey.