Chapter 19. Adaptation

Chapter 19. Adaptation

I indulged myself and went shopping at the Convenience Store again.

I started by grabbing a few Power Banks that Seonyoung had asked for. I also packed Travel Toiletries, the last few remaining Snacks and Ramen, Socks, Underwear, and other necessities. After adding a few boxes of Condoms and several more cartons of Cigarettes, there wasn’t much room left in my Backpack. Damn Nitrogen Snacks weren’t heavy, but they took up a lot of space.

‘Can’t fit anything else.’

As I scanned the road, thinking about heading back, a strange feeling washed over me. What was it? This feeling that I was missing something. Pondering deeply, I recalled what had changed. The corpse of the Convenience Store Clerk Zombie was gone. I’d definitely left it near the entrance. Feeling uneasy, I headed towards the car of the Driver Zombie I’d dealt with on the first day.

‘Ugh.’

The corpse was still inside the car. The seatbelt was still fastened. What was strange was that one arm was missing, and there was hardly any flesh left on the body. It was mostly bones, swarming with maggots. Do bodies normally decompose this fast? It was odd, but there was nothing I could do about it right now, so I turned back.

Arriving at the Apartment Entrance without incident, I lit a Cigarette before climbing the stairs. Since all the Zombies were dealt with, could I use the Elevator now?

‘No, better not. Just in case.’

I immediately dismissed the thought of the Elevator. If it broke down, there’d be no one to help, so I just took the stairs.

Tap, tap-tap, tap-tap-tap

Tap, tap-tap, tap-tap-tap

I knocked on the front door, repeating a 1-2-3 rhythm. When I’d come home earlier, I’d just knocked normally. Then, a voice from inside had asked, “Who is it?” Normally, that wouldn’t matter, but not now. Some other bad person might come looking for the house. That’s why we’d decided on our own secret knock. It also prevented Seonyoung from teasing me with “Oh, Taesik’s back.”

‘How did she hold back all this time… Heh heh.’

Even her lame jokes seemed cute. Still, setting up a code seemed like a good idea. That way, we could signal our presence to each other even in situations where we couldn’t speak.

After a brief wait, the door opened without a word.

“I’m back.”

“Mister! You told me to call you Mister!”

This time, Gayoung had opened the door. Looking at her face, she seemed much better.

“Why can’t I call you Oppa?”

“People would talk.”

I replied casually and stepped inside. As I entered the kitchen, a slightly spicy and delicious aroma wafted through the air.

“Welcome back! Another heavy load, I see. You worked hard.”

“Hardly. What’s that smell? Something delicious?”

“Hungry, aren’t you? Dinner’s almost ready! We should eat the ingredients before they spoil.”

I went over to Seonyoung and saw her cooking Kimchi Stew with Pork. She was also preparing Fish. Gayoung opened the Backpacks I’d set down and started unpacking.

“Need any help?”

“Gayoung and I can handle it. Go wash up, or just rest. It’ll take a little longer.”

Even Gayoung told me to rest, saying she was fine, so I went into the study. I took off my Raincoat and wiped away the bloodstains with Wet Wipes. Then, I grabbed some Underwear and clothes to change into and headed to the Master Bedroom Bathroom. I’d sweated a bit and fought Zombies, so a shower was desperately needed.

I stripped in the Restroom and stood before the mirror. Looking at my body, my muscles were more defined. A lot of fat had disappeared, and the striations of my muscles were visible.

‘Oh? That’s impossible.’

I fiddled with my dangling “alter ego” a few times and struck some poses naked. It felt like I was on performance-enhancing drugs. Feeling satisfied, I hummed a tune and started my shower, thinking that at least when it came to building my body, my abilities were completely overpowered.

After showering, I came out and sat briefly in front of the Dressing Table. Various Cosmetics and Skincare Products, presumably Seonyoung’s, were neatly arranged. More than ten different products. Next to them was my single All-in-One Lotion. And right beside that, three boxes of Condoms.

‘Who put these here?’

Gayoung had done the second round of unpacking. I felt embarrassed but tried to ignore it. From what I’d learned from videos, Condoms could be used for various purposes beyond their original intent. So, in this world, they could be considered very useful survival tools.

‘Wait, now that I think about it, where did one box go?’

A small question arose, but I swallowed it, choosing not to ask anyone. While resting, I should watch Survival Man MeTube. Had today’s video been uploaded?

“- Hello everyone! I hope you all survived safely today… This is Survival Man, on Survival Day 3, greeting you. Ta-da! Everyone. Do you see what this is? It’s huge, isn’t it? The identity of this massive creature is none other than… a Pheasant! It’s prey I caught myself.”

Checking Survival Man’s channel, the Survival Day 3 video was already up. He was certainly diligent. In the video, a rather large Pheasant was zoomed in, appearing quite big even through the screen.

‘So that’s what a Pheasant looks like.’

Soon, the camera panned back, showing Survival Man’s face again. His beard had grown quite a bit in a day, and he looked a little grubbier. Still, he had survived safely.

Survival Man’s video was simply a series of cuts and splices. Skipping the intermediate steps, suddenly, Pheasant meat appeared, skewered on a wooden stick and roasting whole over a fire.

‘How on earth did he catch that Pheasant?’

He really was a capable person. Finding a wild Pheasant was impressive, and catching it was even more so.

“- I was lucky enough to find it near my Shelter. It was diligently pecking at the ground… Ha. Isn’t Survival Man practically a wizard? Now, it’s destined to become my next meal.”

The Pheasant in the video looked about a meter long by eye. I didn’t know how tall Survival Man was, but the Pheasant looked bigger than an adult man’s torso. Where exactly was his Shelter that such a huge Pheasant was roaming around? And were Pheasants originally that big? All sorts of questions arose, but Survival Man seemed to be completely fixated on the meat, busy showing off his Cooking Show. Skipping ahead, today’s video ended with an Eating Show of him devouring the roasted Pheasant. I was curious how he caught it, and if it was even a real Pheasant, so it was a bit disappointing.

“Oppa! Dinner’s ready!”

Perhaps because I’d watched the Eating Show, my appetite was roaring. Just then, I heard a call from outside and went into the kitchen.

“Wow~ Unnie! This is really delicious! I wish I could keep living with you.”

It really was delicious. The table was laden with Kimchi Stew with Pork and Grilled Mackerel as the main dishes, along with various Side Dishes from the refrigerator. My palate was enjoying itself more these days than before the Zombie Apocalypse. Of course, that wouldn’t last once the ingredients ran out.

“Oh, it’s not that good. Thanks for enjoying it.”

“Seonyoung, it really is that good. It’s delicious.”

I could feel Gayoung’s subtle wish for us to stay. She must be worried, knowing that while we’d stay together for a while, we’d eventually leave. If Gayoung’s father arrived safely, I think we could leave with a little more peace of mind.

“You know that Convenience Store we first stopped at?”

“The one with the big storage room? And the Drum Academy on the second floor?”

“Yeah. I went there earlier, and it looked like someone had been there. We didn’t take *that* much, did we?”

“No, we left quite a bit, I think. Why? Is there nothing left?”

“It wasn’t completely empty, but it was noticeably depleted. I cleared it out one more time, so now it’s completely empty. It seems other people are also roaming around, mostly Farming for food.”

“Oh my god, really? Then shouldn’t we move tonight? We should hurry.”

“I thought about that too… But how are you two feeling? If you overexert yourselves and get sick, that’s an even bigger loss. So don’t feel pressured, just tell me honestly.”

During dinner, I mentioned that the Convenience Store across the street had been raided by others. Hearing this, Seonyoung seemed to get anxious, thinking we needed to secure more supplies quickly. I thought so too. But if we pushed ourselves too hard and got sick for a long time, that would be even more dangerous. Their condition was important.

“I rested well for a day, so I’m fine!”

“Gayoung, be honest. There are no hospitals or doctors right now. If you get sick, think of it as directly threatening your life.”

I spoke a bit dramatically, worried she might feel pressured, especially since Gayoung was so considerate.

“I really am fine… *sniffle*.”

“Oppa, why are you scaring her while we’re eating? I’m fine too, so let’s start after dinner. Gayoung, if anything feels even slightly off when we’re out, tell us immediately.”

Seonyoung settled the discussion, acting as a mediator. We had been moving non-stop since morning, and now we decided to go out again after dinner. It was a pretty tough day, but it was much better than feeling anxious while doing nothing.

As the sun slowly set, painting the sky orange. Having finished dinner, we all went outside. I reinserted the batteries into the Door Lock and silenced its sounds. Each of us shouldered a Backpack; Seonyoung carried a Baseball Bat, and Gayoung held a Golf Club. Our attire wasn’t exactly for it, but with full stomachs and good weather, it felt like we were out for a stroll. Seonyoung and Gayoung were very tense, their shoulders stiff. I figured they’d tire quickly like that, so I smiled and patted their backs, which made them relax a little.

‘Still the same.’

I cautiously scanned our surroundings. Still, we significantly reduced the time we spent stopping and waiting compared to when we first started moving around. Keeping our ears open, we walked slowly, and it wasn’t long before we reached the Apartment Complex Shopping Area. We arrived at the Convenience Store less than 10 minutes after leaving home.

“Let’s think of it as moving everything here. Prioritize what looks essential.”

We each spread out and started filling our Backpacks with various items. My Backpack was filled with drinks and alcohol from a wall full of them. Due to the sheer volume, I couldn’t even pack half the stock, but the weight was considerable. Carrying it wasn’t the problem; I was worried if the Backpack itself could withstand the strain.

“Gayoung, hold on a second.”

Gayoung’s movements seemed off, so I opened her Backpack. It must have been too heavy. I took out about half of the contents she had greedily packed.

“Just carry this much. We’ll have to keep taking the stairs, so don’t get too greedy.”

As I inspected Gayoung’s bag, Seonyoung, who was on the other side, noticed and reduced the weight in her own bag without being told. I lifted her bag with one hand to gauge its weight, and it felt similar to Gayoung’s Backpack. The Backpack I was carrying weighed more than the combined weight of both women’s Backpacks. At this rate, I wondered if it wouldn’t be better for me to just carry two Backpacks myself.

“Let’s head back home now.”

“Okay!” “Yes~”

As we left the Convenience Store, I checked the remaining stock and estimated we’d need to make at least five more round trips. We continued our forced march, moving busily until deep into the night.