Chapter 11. Farming

Chapter 11. Farming

The building corridor, once filled with silence, now echoed with the wails of Zombies.

It was the cries of Zombies gathered near the Rooftop stairs.

I couldn’t tell how many there were. The echoing roars of the Zombies overlapped, making it impossible to discern their exact numbers.

*This is totally unfair. How could a wooden bat roll so loudly?*

I didn’t blame Seonyoung for dropping the bat. She probably felt it was unfair too. Bumping into the person in front, while caused by carelessness, was a mistake anyone could make. It was slightly different from neglecting to watch the road while driving.

If I had to compare… it reminded me of my days as a soldier, more than ten years ago. We were on a return march after winter training. It was a cold winter, and we had set off after an early dinner, marching through the night.

A dark mountain path. The accumulated snow made even careful walking dangerous, but after hours of mindless trudging, I couldn’t fight off the encroaching sleepiness. I was half-asleep, walking at a steady pace, when I suddenly felt an impact. As a private first class back then, I hadn’t noticed the senior walking in front of me had stopped, and I slammed my face right into his military pack. I lost my balance and was about to tumble down the slope beside us, but another senior quickly grabbed my pack from behind, preventing an accident.

Accidents can happen in an instant, and just like then, the reaction needs to be swift. If I had been fully alert, I wouldn’t have bumped into him in the first place, but what’s done is done. Once you experience something, you learn to be more careful next time. It had only been a day, but having faced several crises with Seonyoung, I thought we worked well together. A mistake like this was unavoidable. At least, until you’ve experienced it yourself.

*Rwaaargh!*

Hearing the echoing roars of the Zombies, I grabbed Seonyoung’s hand and bolted. There was no time to escape outside. In fact, it might be even more dangerous out there. In that case, I’d lure them into a narrow passage.

“Seonyoung! Get your Shield ready!” I roughly pushed open the Fitness Center door, entered, and shouted at Seonyoung.

*Drrr-thud!*

I didn’t know where I found the strength. I dragged a shoe cabinet that had been lining one wall, toppled it, and blocked the entrance. A horde of Zombies was rushing down the corridor at high speed.

*One, two, three… five of them.*

All of them were female Zombies, clad in leggings. Had there been a yoga class in the Fitness Center? I focused on the Zombie at the very front. Its top was gone, and it roared with a ferocious face, its flat, unmoving chest thrust forward. It truly looked vicious.

*Rwaaargh! Thump! Thump! Thump!*

To make matters worse, rough growls came from the sliding door inside. It seemed the remaining Zombies inside were agitated by the noise and were thrashing about.

“I’ll try to hold this door somehow! Shield!”

The horde of leggings-clad Zombies drew closer. The colorful leggings blurred my vision. I grabbed a red fire extinguisher from beside the desk.

*Please hit.*

*Whoosh!*

I hurled the fire extinguisher with all my might. The extinguisher flew past the flat-chested Zombie, missing it uselessly. Still, I was lucky. The missed extinguisher struck the head of the black leggings Zombie following behind, squarely. I hadn’t aimed for it, but whatever.

*The one in front first.*

The flat-chested Zombie charged, its upper body slightly bent. My body instinctively adopted the familiar stance, honed through countless repetitions, as I focused on its head. I gripped the Baseball Bat lightly, relaxing my tension. My feet were naturally spread, knees slightly bent. My body assumed the posture in less than half a second.

*Just a little more.*

I raised the Baseball Bat, taking it back. My gaze was fixed on the Zombie’s head, waiting for the perfect timing.

*Now!*

My hips rotated, and I swung. No need to even look. It was a clean hit. Immediately after, another Zombie, tripped by the collapsing black leggings Zombie in front, slid towards me. Just like a runner sliding into base.

*Splat!*

I quickly recovered the swung Baseball Bat and raised it above my head. I consciously tried to relax my grip. There was no need to put all my strength into hitting a head with weak durability.

*Whoosh! Thwack!*

With a light downward swing, the Zombie’s head burst open. The remaining two were a bit further away, so I glanced back. The sliding door rattled violently, as if Zombies were ramming into it with their bodies. Seonyoung was holding it back as best she could, but it looked like it would break through any moment.

“Shield.”

How many Shields had this been? Seonyoung cleverly deployed her Shield right against the door, but under the continuous impacts, the Shield began to crack.

*Rwaaargh!*

Just as I turned my head to assess the situation behind me… The two leggings-clad Zombies that had lagged behind were now right upon me.

*Whoosh! Thwack!*

This time, for a quicker recovery, I thrust the Baseball Bat forward as if it were a sword. The rounded head of the Baseball Bat struck the left Zombie’s head. The grotesque sight of its eyeball shattering and forehead bone cracking was vividly imprinted in my mind. At the same time, the other Zombie beside it, mouth agape as if begging for a bite, caught my eye.

*Crack! Rwaaargh!*

From behind me, an ominous crashing sound echoed, and simultaneously, the Zombie’s roar grew louder. I pulled back the Baseball Bat I had thrust forward, sliding one hand down to grip the head of the bat. Something unpleasantly sticky coated it, but I had no time to worry about that.

*Swish! Whoosh!*

I actually took a step closer to the Zombie on my right. Using the bat’s head as a pivot, I swung the handle end. Like a short, sharp chop.

*Thwack!*

The very end of the handle precisely dug into the Zombie’s head. I immediately spun around, regrouping my hands to properly grip the Baseball Bat. Turning around, I saw Seonyoung struggling to fend off a male Zombie’s maw, which was climbing over her Shield, using a drum stick. I stomped my foot and charged straight at the male Zombie.

*Whoosh!*

The Baseball Bat, whistling as it narrowly passed over Seonyoung’s head, exploded the male Zombie’s skull. Perhaps due to my urgency, the movement was excessively large. Gooey black blood and brain matter splattered everywhere from the Zombie’s head, which had burst open like an explosion. Amidst the scattering, disgusting fragments, I saw a female Zombie charging from inside the door. I had just swung and hadn’t yet regained my stance. Seonyoung instinctively squeezed her eyes shut and ducked her head as the fragments flew.

All these scenes unfolded in slow motion. The thought that I couldn’t hit the female Zombie’s head flashed through my mind, and simultaneously, I used centrifugal force to throw my body forward.

*Thud! Whoosh!*

I lowered my head as much as possible and rammed my shoulder into the charging female Zombie’s chest. A sound like breaking bones echoed, and the female Zombie was sent flying by my impact. I, who had slammed into the female Zombie, also crashed roughly onto the floor.

*Crash!*

I rolled once on the floor and quickly got back up. I first saw Seonyoung, sitting stunned in place. I quickly whipped my head around to assess the situation. On the floor, covered with several mats, lay two corpses. The female Zombie that had been flung away by me seemed to have hit a window frame, its skull cracked at the back.

*Haaah… I survived.*

A strong pain shot through my side, coinciding with a wave of relief. With a grunt, I clutched my side and slumped to the floor. It had been a short battle, less than ten minutes in reality, but my entire body was exhausted, unable to move. My ragged breathing wouldn’t normalize, and as I panted, the pain in my side persisted. It seemed I had landed awkwardly on the floor, causing the impact.

*Tap-tap.*

With soft footsteps, Seonyoung, who had somehow gotten up, approached me. Her fidgeting movements and anxiously trembling eyes seemed to speak for her troubled mind. I managed a strained smile to reassure her.

*Did I look too idiotic smiling like that?*

Inside the Fitness Center’s sliding door was an empty space, with several yoga mats laid out on the floor. Only two Zombies had remained: one male and one female. It was a disgusting space, with blood splattered on the floor and walls, but I was too exhausted to move immediately, so I just lay down.

*Rustle.*

Seonyoung carefully lifted my head. Soon, a soft sensation touched the back of my head. Opening my closed eyes, I saw her ample chest and her worried face looking down at me. A Water Bottle was soon offered to my lips. It was lukewarm water, no doubt, but it felt cooler than anything I’d ever tasted. After carefully giving me water, Seonyoung wet a Towel with the remaining water and wiped the blood from my face and neck. I felt a sense of luxury and comfort.

“Team Leader… are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine. I just landed on my side when I fell, so it hurts a little. Just a little.”

“What about elsewhere? It would be terrible if you broke a bone… *sniff*.”

“Everywhere else is fine. I don’t know if it’s broken or just a bruise, but I’ll try to get up after resting a bit.”

I heard a soft sob along with her “Yes.” Was it guilt, or just shock? It was heartbreaking to see the woman who had been so composed until now shedding tears.

“It’s because of me… *sniff*… I’m sorry. The Zombies gathered because of me… *sniff*.”

“Seonyoung. This is because of these damn Zombies, not because of you. It’s okay, don’t cry, save your strength.”

*Damn my vocabulary. “Save your strength,” really?* What a pathetic thing to say to a woman crying out of guilt. But it felt awkward to say anything more, so I kept my mouth shut. While Seonyoung was important, I was more worried about my own injury. Especially since going to a hospital was out of the question.

Thinking I should at least raise my Increased Resilience with the Acquired points, I closed my eyes and brought up the Status Window.

* Transformation: Optimization

* Increased Resilience (5), Body Reinforcement

* Acquired: 11

*Huh?*

I rubbed my eyes, then closed and reopened them. A new entry had appeared on the second line. No matter what I did, the Status Window remained unchanged. Increased Resilience and Body Reinforcement. I intuitively understood what they meant, but I had no idea why new entries had suddenly appeared. What was clear was that something could be added.

*Could it be because Acquired went over 10?*

I couldn’t get an answer from the still unhelpful Status Window. And I was too much pain right now to accumulate more Acquired points just to solve this mystery. After a moment of deliberation, I decided to invest. I needed to invest now if I wanted to survive long enough to accumulate more Acquired points. What good would it do to save them if they became useless? I wasn’t even sure if it was related to accumulating Acquired points.

* Transformation: Optimization

* Increased Resilience (10), Body Reinforcement (6)

* Acquired: 0

If the system was structured so that accumulating Acquired points unlocked new abilities, how many more would I need for the next one? It seemed likely to be in increments of 10.

*No use thinking about it now… Haaah.*

No matter how much I thought about it alone, I couldn’t find an answer. Just like on the first day, I decided to accept it and put off worrying about it. What mattered was the present. After spending all my Acquired points, I clenched and unclenched my fists, trying to feel any changes in my body.

Hmm… I felt nothing.

I really had no idea.

*Damn Status Window.*